《After Ten Millennia in Hell》


 Chapter 1 - The Lord of the Nine Hells Returns to Earth (1)

    Chapter 1 - The Lord of the Nine Hells Returns to Earth (1)


    The Ninth Hell was said to be a ce where only the strongest demons were gathered. Undying mes covered the distortedndscape under a blood-red sky. There, demons battled against each other for all eternity. They weren''t fighting to see who was the strongest; all of the battles over thest ten millennia had already made that clear.


    The demon king, who was considered the pinnacle of all evil, lived in an out-of-ce castle in the destend at the heart of the Ninth Hell. He had managed to unify Hell, which had been divided into seven factions.


    A young man with ck hair sat on a giant white throne made with the bones of the seven princes of Hell. Although he was sitting there with his eyes closed, a breathtakingly strong demonic energy emanated from him, terrifying the thousands of demons kneeling on one knee in front of him.


    One of the kneeling demons got up and walked slowly toward the throne. He was a demon over five meters tall. The demon had skin covered in red fur, a muscr body as sturdy as stone, horns resembling those of a goat on his forehead, sharp and protruding mrs, and giant bat wings on his back.


    He, who had the typical appearance of a demon, kneeled before the demon king and said, "My king¡­"


    His name was Balrog. Despite being unmatched in the Nine Hells except against the seven princes, he called out to the young man in fear. It was bizarre to see Balrog, who was a monster in appearance, so afraid of someone who looked like a human being, but every single kneeling demon perfectly understood his fear.


    The demon king had been an insignificant human when he fell into Hell ten millennia ago, but he had used his Authority of Predation to devour other demons.


    After ten millennia, the human, who had grown by eating demons from the First to the Ninth Hell, became the lord of Hell. Hundreds of thousands of demons were eaten by his Authority. In the end, even the seven princes of Hell, who had been incapable of killing one another because they had each been too powerful, kneeled before him.


    So, it was understandable that even the fearless Balrog would fear the pinnacle of all evil, the monster who had devoured countless demons of the Nine Hells.


    "Why are you trying to go back? You already have everything that you could possibly desire here in Hell," Balrog asked while trembling in fear.


    The young man slowly opened his eyes, and even stronger demonic energy surged from him.


    "I have everything? Like what?"


    "¡­"


    Oh Kang-Woo''s voice echoed from his figure on the throne as his face distorted in rage.


    "There''s nothing for me to have here. Enlighten me on what exactly there is here for me to have."


    One could hear the clear depression in his voice.


    "There''s nothing to eat, and there''s no form of entertainment. I''m not sure what this damn ce has that makes you say I have everything."


    There was nothing but a destendscape, a red sky, and undying mes in these nine Hells.


    Balrog''s eyes widened as he asked, "Were you hungry? I just recently obtained food worthy of my king. Guys! Bring that out!"


    "Yes, sir!"


    A group of demons brought out a giant te at Balrog''smand. On it was the head of a demon that was spouting out blood.


    "We recently defeated Focalor, the one leading thergest remnant force of the seven princes. My king, although this may not satisfy you since you have already devoured countless demons, please ept this offering from your loyal underling!"


    Kang-Woo scowled at Focalor''s grotesque head, saying, "I don''t need it, dumbass."


    Shatter!


    He threw the te containing Focalor''s head to the ground and stomped his feet hard on the floor with his fists clenched.


    "I don''t want to eat something so grotesque and tasteless! I¡­ I¡­!"


    Kang-Woo''s fists trembled.


    He then said desperately, "Kimchi stew¡­ I want to eat Kimchi stew."


    "Kimchi stew!"


    "The ultimate food that the Emperor of Predation desires!"


    "A food full of blood and meat!"


    "No¡­ No, you idiots!" Kang-Woo cried out while clenching his fists.


    Although meat was an ingredient of kimchi stew, it probably wasn''t anything close to what the demons were imagining.


    Balrog looked at Kang-Woo with eyes zing with loyalty. "Which being''s head is it made of? Or maybe an organ? Please just say the word, and I will tear anyone and anything apart and offer it to my king."


    "Kimchi stew isn''t that kind of food¡­" Kang-Woo expressed while suppressing his frustration. They were driving him to the edge of madness.


    Exining what food was to a demon didn''t make sense from the beginning. After all, food for demons was nothing more than the right they held over the loser if they won a battle.


    "And there''s no entertainment¡­? It seems that you have gotten bored of ughter after killing the seven princes."


    "As expected of the demon king¡­"


    "The Emperor of Blood and ughter!"


    "I was talking about manhwas and novels," Kang-Woo stated.


    Balrog mmed his fists on the floor in anger with himself, crushing the castle''s floor. "I cannot satisfy your demands because of my weakness¡­ So, please, kill me¡­!!"


    "Please, listen to what I''m saying." Kang-Woo sat back on the throne in exasperation. "If there was at least a woman¡­"


    "Oh? But if we''re talking about women, you have me, Lilith."


    "Lilith!"


    "The subus queen!"


    "The most beautiful woman in Hell!"


    One of the kneeling demons approached Kang-Woo.


    "Is my affection not enough for you, my king?" Lilith asked seductively as she caressed Kang-Woo''s arm with dozens of her tentacles.


    The eighteen eyes covering her entire face radiated a mellow atmosphere.


    "¡­"


    Eighteen eyes, dozens of squirming tentaclesing out from all over her body, and a snake tongue¡­ Kang-Wooid his hand on his forehead as if he was getting a headache from looking at Lilith, who was considered the most beautiful woman in Hell.


    "Why¡­ Why does a subus look like¡­ Just why¡­" Kang-Woo muttered.


    The subi that lived by absorbing a male''s sexual energy had been far from the beautiful women that Kang-Woo had known them to be. From his point of view, Lilith looked more grotesque than Balrog. It wasn''t just Lilith; the rest of the subi also looked like her.


    "I wille join you in your chambers tonight."


    "No¡­ Please don''t."


    "Oh, my. Fufu. Don''t be so embarrassed. How could you call yourself the lord of the Nine Hells like that?"


    "You''d better note¡­"


    "My, how cute. Fufu, you don''t need to be so embarrassed. I, Lilith, will forever serve you by your side."


    "Please, just leave me alone¡­"


    Kang-Woo hung his head forward and covered his face with his hands. He wasn''t the kind of person to judge people based on their appearance, nor did he believe that appearance was an important factor in love. Still¡­


    ''This is too much.''


    This wasn''t a matter of whether she was pretty or ugly; her appearance just didn''t fit human aesthetic standards.


    "Earth¡­" Kang-Woo muttered while clenching his fists in desperation. "I must return to Earth¡­"


    His subordinates could not change his mind. It actually only made his decision firmer.


    ''I''m going back.''


    A few days ago, Kang-Woo managed to devour Bael, thest remaining prince of Hell standing against him. With that, Kang-Woo managed to be the demon king.


    All the preparations were nowplete. It was time for him to be rewarded for his ten millennia of suffering.

 Chapter 2 - The Lord of the Nine Hells Returns to Earth (2)

    Chapter 2 - The Lord of the Nine Hells Returns to Earth (2)


    "Get everything ready."


    "My king¡­"


    After hearing his firm tone, Balrog lowered his head in sadness. ''If this is what the demon king wishes¡­''


    Since he had sworn eternal loyalty to Oh Kang-Woo, he had to follow his wishes.


    "Balrog, are you going to make me repeat myself?"


    "¡­ My apologies."


    Balrog bowed and ordered the subordinates to bring out the items Kang-Woo had mentioned. The items he''d asked them to prepare were armaments that had belonged to the seven princes of Hell. Each of the weapons had the strength of the Nine Hells inside them. It was said that if one managed to gather all seven of them, one would gain enough power to twist the boundary between time and space.


    After killing Bael a little while ago, Kang-Woo had managed to collect all of the equipment, and they were all lined up neatly in front of him now.


    "The preparations areplete."


    "Okay."


    Kang-Woo slowly stood up from the throne and walked toward the seven armaments of different shapes and colors. The seven armaments that held the power of the Nine Hells were interacting with each other and amplifying the demonic energy inside each of them.


    ''If I infuse the demonic energy that I''ve absorbed into them¡­''


    It was possible to forcibly open a dimensional rift.


    Kang-Woo sighed. He couldn''t believe that he was finally about to return to Earth.


    ''Finally¡­''


    He was going back.


    Fwoooom!


    A huge amount of demonic energy flowed from his body toward the armaments. He had devoured hundreds of thousands of demons through the Authority of Predation. He had so much demonic energy inside of him that it would be no exaggeration to say that he was the embodiment of the Nine Hells.


    ''Ten Thousand Demon Core'' was what Kang-Woo used to describe the giant ball of demonic energy inside his body. He thought it was an appropriate name since there weren''t many famous demons that he hadn''t devoured.


    The demonic energy that came from the Ten Thousand Demon Core began to interact with the seven armaments. A rift was formed in the space, and a ck gate appeared before him.


    ''I can finally return to Earth.''


    Remnants of his memories from Earth came back to him. Even after ten millennia, he hadn''t been able to forget about his home. It wasn''t like he had a family waiting for him, nor did he have a partner whom he had promised to spend the rest of his life with. However¡­


    ''I''m sure it''ll still be far better than this ce.''


    Kang-Woo was willing to do anything to be able to get away from this ce that had no good food or entertainment, just blood and ughter.


    ''I also need to adjust the time.''


    He had no intention of returning to an Earth where ten millennia had passed. Many of the things that he missed about Earth were probably no longer around after that much time.


    ''Kimchi stew might have disappeared.''


    Kang-Woo didn''t even want to think about an Earth without kimchi stew. He wanted to return to the past, to the Earth from before he had arrived in the Hells. Thankfully, he could also adjust time by using the armaments of the seven princes of Hell.


    "Well then, see ya," Kang-Woo expressed.


    "My king¡­"


    After hearing the determination in Kang-Woo''s words, Balrog lowered his head in sadness.


    Tears dripped from all eighteen of Lilith''s eyes while she opened her long mouth and said, "Sniff, a-are you really going to abandon me?"


    "Don''t cry," Kang-Woo replied.


    ''You look terrifying,'' he remarked inwardly.


    The sight of Lilith crying was straight out of a scene from a horror movie. It seemed like she''d misunderstood his words.


    She shouted as her tentacles trembled, "Oh! Your kind words have moved me! My heart is about to burst from your love."


    After saying that, one of the tentacles linked to Lilith''s chest exploded, and yellow pus came out of it.


    ''Oh, heavens,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    "My king! My love!"


    ''Stay away from me.''


    "Ahh, I will go with you, my king!"


    ''Screw off.''


    Upon seeing Lilith, who was covered in yellow pus, approach him, Kang-Woo threw himself into the dimensional rift.


    "My king! I, Lilith, wille find you, no matter what happens!"


    When Kang-Woo heard the chilling shout ring out behind him, a weird sensation swept through his body.


    ''Let''s never meet again.''


    While raising his middle finger toward Lilith¡ªno, the Hells that had made him suffer for ten millennia, Kang-Woo regted the boundary of time inside the dimension.


    ''This is pretty hard.''


    Controlling an absolute entity such as time was a difficult task, even for him. Kang-Woo was trying to adjust the time settings to be as simr to the period when he fell into the Hells as possible.


    ''I''m okay with a difference of around ten or twenty years.''


    Because he had been born an orphan, there wasn''t a past he wanted to change or a future he wanted to go to. He was okay as long as some of the Earth he remembered was still there.


    Fwoooosh!


    "Urgh!"


    When he finished setting up the time, a strong force sucked him in. Kang-Woo closed his eyes as he was pulled by a force he couldn''t resist.


    - A Rift Core has been detected.


    - Activating the Dimensional Defense Mechanism ''Gaia System.''


    - Fail. Fail.


    - The Rift Core is too powerful.


    - Focusing all defense mechanisms of the infinite dimension on the Rift Core. The Gaia System is being overloaded.


    - Fail. Fail.


    - The Rift Core is too powerful. Complete elimination of the Rift Core is impossible.


    - Complete elimination deemed impossible. Beginning sealing process of the Rift Core.


    - Fail. Fail.


    - The Rift Core is too powerful. Complete sealing of the Rift Core is impossible.


    - Applying a limiting seal on the Rift Core.


    ''What is it saying?''


    Kang-Woo frowned when he heard a voice in his ears. However, his thoughts did notst long.


    ''Ah¡­''


    The world seemed to distort as he lost consciousness.


    ***


    "Urgghhh¡­!"


    Kang-Woo felt an intense pain weighing on his body. He was struggling to even move a finger.


    Aftering back to his senses, Kang-Woo opened his eyes while groaning.


    ''Where am I?''


    The first thing he saw was a dense forest. The light shining through the thick bushes tickled Kang-Woo''s cheeks.


    "Fuu¡­" Kang-Woo stood up while taking a deep breath.


    The pain that was spreading through his body made him feel dizzy.


    ''First, I need to check my status.''


    He needed to know what had happened to his body.


    Riiing!


    [Opening the Status Window.]


    "Eh?"


    The moment he thought that he should check his current status, a blue window opened in front of his eyes. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes to stare at the unexpected blue status window in front of him.


    [Status Window]


    [yer Name: Oh Kang-Woo


    Level: 1 (First Awakening)


    First Awakening Trait: Authority of Predation (Rank: ???) *The majority of the trait''s power is currently sealed.


    Strength: 8


    Dexterity: 9


    Health: 7


    Mana: 0


    Demonic Energy (Unique Stat): 12


    Intelligence: 8


    Wisdom: 7]


    "¡­ What the hell is this?"


    The status window reminded him of the games that he used to y a long time ago before falling into the Hells.


    Kang-Woo frowned at the phenomenon he couldn''t get a grasp on.


    ''Most of the power of Predation has been sealed?''


    Authority of Predation was the only power he''d had when he had fallen into the Hells, and it was what had made him the lord of the Nine Hells. It was the authority thaty dormant within the Ten Thousand Demon Core, which he considered the entirety of his power.


    The moment Kang-Woo read that the strength he had umted for ten millennia had been sealed, he started to feel anxious.


    "Fuu." Kang-Woo took a deep breath and tried to calm down.


    Being anxious because something unexpected happened would only make things worse.


    ''Calm down.''


    The most important thing was checking out his current status. Kang-Woo tried to bring out the strength of his Ten Thousand Demon Core, which contained the demonic energy of hundreds of thousands of demons.


    ''It isn''t moving.''


    To be more precise, he could only move a tiny bit of his demonic energy by will¡ªwhich was almost nothing, considering the limitless amount of demonic energy it contained.


    "At this rate, I''ll have trouble using my Authorities as well," Kang-Woo mumbled while frowning.


    A few demons possessed a special Authority simr to his Authority of Predation. Among the hundreds of thousands of demons he had devoured, only six hundred and sixty-six of them had possessed an Authority. Apart from the ones that the seven princes of Hell used to have, he could use the rest.


    Each Authority required a certain amount of demonic energy to activate, although the amount required varied between them. With the amount of demonic energy he currently had ess to, there were more Authorities he couldn''t use than ones he could.


    ''With my current demonic energy, I''ll probably struggle with even the Authority of des.''


    Authority of des was the Authority of the demon Sabnak. It allowed one to pull out des made of demonic energy from one''s body.


    ''But it isn''t a good Authority.''


    There were ways in which he could use the Authority of des effectively with enough demonic energy, but it would be difficult with the amount that he had right now.


    Kang-Woo focused on his left hand and used the Authority of des.


    Schwiiing!


    A sharp ck de sprang out from the back of his left hand. He felt the demonic energy leaving his body.


    ''It''s hard getting used to it.''


    It was stifling to go from having unlimited demonic energy to it being limited. At present, he couldn''t freely use the Authorities he had ess to as he had done before.


    "Anyway, it seems like the information on this status window is true."


    Kang-Woo didn''t know why his Authority had been sealed, but it was true that he couldn''t use most of the demonic energy he had stored inside the Ten Thousand Demon Core. That meant that the status window in front of him showed exactly his current state.


    "¡­ Am I actually inside a game?"


    At that point, the thought of whether or not this was truly Earth made Kang-Woo feel a bit anxious.


    "Skree, skree!"


    He suddenly heard an ear-splitting sound. Kang-Woo turned toward where the sound hade from.


    "Damn it."


    He scowled upon finding out what had made such an unpleasant sound. It was a small creature with green skin, sharp teeth, and a height that reached Kang-Woo''s chest. The creature was as ugly as one of the monsters that roamed around the First Hell. There weren''t monsters like these on the Earth that Kang-Woo knew.


    "Is this¡­ seriously not Earth?" Kang-Woo murmured in despair.


    He couldn''t evenugh at the thought that the ce he hade to after ten millennia of suffering might not be Earth.


    "Skreeee!!"


    Upon seeing Kang-Woo, the green monsters charged toward him.

 Chapter 3 - The Lord of the Nine Hells Returns to Earth (3)

    Chapter 3 - The Lord of the Nine Hells Returns to Earth (3)


    ''Just¡­ what went wrong?''


    Oh Kang-Woo was sure he had opened a gate to Earth. He had also felt the same sensation from ten millennia ago when he was dragged into the dimensional rift.


    Amid this desperate situation, Kang-Woo fell into confusion.


    "Skreeee!" the green monsters shrieked even louder when they saw that their prey wasn''t moving.


    Then they swung their crude knives at Kang-Woo.


    sh!


    "Kiiiik!"


    Yet, the arm of one of the green monsters fell to the ground from an instant sh of a ck de.


    Kang-Woo turned his body around and swung the de he had created with the Authority of des. Although most of his demonic energy had been sealed, he was still the demon king who ruled over the Nine Hells. There was no way he wouldn''t be able to win against such worthless opponents.


    ''First, I should take care of these guys.''


    Regardless, he didn''t have time to think about anything else right now. Enemies were charging at him with their lives on the line.


    As Kang-Woo red at the monsters that were leaping toward him from all directions, he exuded a bloodlust simr to that of a beast.


    "Kiee?!"


    Upon sensing Kang-Woo''s killing intent, the green monsters trembled.


    ''There are around eight of them,'' Kang-Woo observed inwardly.


    If he had ess to his Ten Thousand Demon Core, he would be able to kill the green monsters without even moving; all he would need to do was release some energy. Nevertheless, he couldn''t do that right now.


    "It''s been a long time since I''ve moved my body like this."


    Kang-Woo stepped lightly and dodged the attacks of the crazed green monsters. He then cut their necks with a de made of demonic energy.


    sh!


    "Skreee!"


    Thanks to all of the battle experience Kang-Woo had gained through the years, the monsters died without being able to deal any damage to him.


    Riiing!


    [You have sessfully defeated the E-rankmon monster, Goblin.]


    [Increasing EXP.]


    [Your level has risen to 3.]


    ''Level up?''


    Blue message windows appeared before him after the Goblins died. When Kang-Woo opened the status window again, he found that he had risen from Level 1 to 3.


    ''My stats went up as well.''


    His strength, health, and dexterity stats had risen by one point each. Furthermore, it wasn''t simply just an increase in the stats numbers. He could also feel his body get stronger, albeit only slightly.


    "But that''s not the important thing here."


    Right now, it didn''t matter if his level went up or if his stats increased. What he needed to do was confirm if he was currently on Earth and if there were even humans here.


    "Tsk, in situations like this, it would be morefortable if I could use Alloces'' Authority."


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly while thinking of the Authority that would let him fly freely through the skies. The Authority of the Sky allowed him to ignore gravity and move freely through the air, so it required a lot of demonic energy. However, with his current amount of demonic energy, he would only be able to jump high.


    He then walked toward the Goblins'' corpses.


    ''It would be great if I could obtain more information about this unknown world.''


    He extended his hands toward the Goblins'' corpses and murmured in a low voice, "Predation."


    Authority of Predation, the ultimate Authority that had allowed him to be the lord of the Nine Hells, was activated. ck demonic energy flowed out of his hand and covered the corpses of the Goblins.


    Crush! Crunch!


    Creepy sounds rang out as the mass of ck energy surrounding the Goblins'' corpses reduced in size. Kang-Woo then began receiving information about the Goblins in his mind.


    With the Authority of Predation, he couldn''t read the target''s memories, but he could get their biometric information, such as the Goblins'' physical characteristics, habits, how they lived their daily lives, and what their weaknesses were. However, the biometric information did not have anything that could help him know more about the world that he had found himself in.


    "Damn it," he cursed, feeling disappointed.


    Suddenly¡­


    "Hmm?"


    While absorbing the Goblins'' energy with Predation, Kang-Woo felt a very familiar energy.


    ''This is¡­''


    There was only a very small amount of it, but his senses could not be deceived. Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up.


    ''Demonic energy.''


    Inside the Goblins'' bodies was a very tiny amount of demonic energy.


    Riiing!


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 1.]


    As if confirming his guess, he got a message saying that his demonic energy stat had increased. With that, he felt the demonic energy inside his body expand and thicken.


    "¡­ Damn it."


    Although Kang-Woo''s demonic energy had increased, what came out of his mouth were curses.


    Demonic energy was an energy that everyone in the Nine Hells possessed. So, finding that energy here meant that the probability of this ce not being Earth had increased.


    ''No¡­''


    Kang-Woo was starting to get anxious. The only reason he had managed to endure the Nine Hells all this time had been his hope of being able to return to Earth one day.


    Memories of all the years he had spent among demons whose only interests were fighting and killing each other flooded into his mind.


    "This can''t be happening."


    He felt even more frustrated than all those times when he was almost driven to death while fighting against a prince of Hell.


    "Kyaaaa!"


    Kang-Woo suddenly heard a scream from far away, and his hopeless eyes came back to life.


    "This¡­"


    It wasn''t the voice of a demon or a monster. He could sense that the shout belonged to a human, but more importantly¡­


    "It''s a woman."


    Kang-Woo started to tremble as a shiver swept through him.


    The echo of the scream seemed to spread through his entire body, right into his soul.


    "A woman!"


    If someone were to have heard him, they would probably think he was a pervert. Regardless, he didn''t have enough mental space to think about his dignity right now.


    It had been ten millennia. For ten millennia, he hadn''t been able to even look at a video in which a woman appeared. So, it would be strange if he could stay rational in this situation.


    Stomp!


    With aggressive steps, Kang-Woo ran over to where the scream wasing from. Simultaneously, he activated the Authority of Haste, the Authority of the demon Valefor.


    Demonic energy flowed out of his body and pooled around his legs. The demonic energy inside his body was depleted swiftly, and his body shot forward like an arrow.


    Although this was a frighteningly fast speed for an ordinary human, it felt slow for Kang-Woo.


    ''If only I had more demonic energy!''


    If he had ess to all the demonic energy inside his Ten Thousand Demon Core, then he would be able to move at speeds so fast it would be like teleporting. Kang-Woo couldn''t help but feel resentful that he couldn''t do so.


    "Kiieekk!"


    "Kyaaaaa!"


    The screams got clearer. There were also shouts simr to those of the Goblins that had attacked Kang-Woo earlier.


    ''I just hope it isn''t a monster like Lilith!''


    Kang-Woo was fine with it if the woman was ugly. She could even be fat. He was okay as long as she had two eyes, one nose, and one mouth.


    ''And no tentacles, please!''


    He kept focusing his demonic energy on his feet while thinking about Lilith''s absolutely horrifying tentacles.


    For the first time in many years, Kang-Woo felt out of breath. He felt frustrated by how breathless he was just from running. The fight had not even begun yet.


    ''I found her.''


    As he moved through some dense grass, he found an open space. There, he saw a frightened woman surrounded by more than ten Goblins. She was pressing her hands on her leg wounds to stem the blood loss.


    "Ah¡­" a gasp emerged from Kang-Woo''s mouth.


    The moment he saw the woman surrounded by a group of Goblins, he shuddered.


    The woman had ck hair that reached her waist, big eyes, thick lips, and a high nose bridge. She even had a small mole near the left side of her mouth. She was so pretty that if one saw her on the street, one would have instinctively turned around.


    Nevertheless, her beauty wasn''t important to Kang-Woo right now.


    ''She''s human.''


    The main point was that the woman was a human¡­ with two eyes, one mouth, and one nose. She was just a simple human who didn''t have tentacles from which pus emerged, nor did she have bat wings or red fur covering her body.


    ''Thank heavens¡­''


    Kang-Woo was so touched that he wanted to thank the god who had ignored him for the past ten millennia.


    "Grrrrr!"


    "Ugh!"


    As the Goblins charged at the woman with rusty knives, she closed her eyes. The sight of the knives swinging in her direction made her think she would die there.


    sh!


    "Kiieekk?!" the Goblins shouted in surprise.


    Kang-Woo suddenly appeared, moving swiftly like an agile beast as he killed the Goblins.


    "Huh?" The eyes of the ck-haired woman widened.


    She couldn''t believe what she was seeing. Kang-Woo had yed the group of more than ten Goblins in just a few seconds.


    Stab!


    "Kiieekk!"


    Kang-Woo''s ck de cut the neck of thest Goblin.


    After twisting the de andpletely slicing through the Goblin''s neck, Kang-Woo approached the woman sitting on the ground.


    "Th-Thank you," the woman said.


    Although hurt, she stood up with some struggle and bowed to him. Kang-Woo grabbed her hands and helped her maintain her bnce.


    "Ah¡­" Kang-Woo gasped the moment he grabbed the woman''s hands.


    That soft sensation was something he couldn''t have felt in the Nine Hells. She was definitely human¡ªthe species that he had wanted to see and interact with so much for all this time.


    Overwhelmed by his emotions, Kang-Woo''s mind went nk. All the emotions he had forced himself to suppress had exploded and blocked off his rationality.


    "My name is Han Seol-Ah. Thank you for saving me," the woman said.


    She was surprised to see Kang-Woo feel so moved while grabbing her hands. Nevertheless, she bowed again without freeing her hands from his grip.


    Kang-Woo gazed at Han Seol-Ah and stated in a serious tone, "Let''s get married."


    "What?"


    "Three kids sounds good."


    "What¡­?"

 Chapter 4 - Unfamiliar Earth, Familiar Scenery (1)

    Chapter 4 - Unfamiliar Earth, Familiar Scenery (1)


    "Uhm¡­ What do you mean¡­?" Han Seol-Ah gazed at Oh Kang-Woo disconcertedly.


    It looked like she didn''t know whether to get angry or thank him.


    "Oh, I''m sorry," Kang-Woo said.


    He let go of Seol-Ah''s hand and shook his head to try to regain his rationality.


    ''I need to get a hold of myself.''


    Since Kang-Woo had been lucky enough to find another person, he couldn''t let her think he was crazy.


    "I''m Oh Kang-Woo. You said that your name''s Han Seol-Ah, right? Are you hurt?"


    "Yes, but it isn''t a big injury¡ªUgh!"


    The pain in Seol-Ah''s leg caused her to groan and fall to the ground. As she fell, a small rectangr object tumbled from her pockets.


    ''It''s a smartphone,'' Kang-Woo realized.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up. The object was definitely something he had a faint memory of¡ªa smartphone.


    ''Could this really be¡­ Earth?''


    The smartphone, the obviously Korean name ''Han Seol-Ah,'' and most of all¡­


    ''I can converse with her.''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t talking to Seol-Ah in thenguage of the demons; he was using the humannguage he had used before falling to Hell. The fact that they couldmunicate meant he was indeed on Earth, and Seol-Ah was Korean.


    ''I''m d I kept practicing it so I wouldn''t forget it.''


    In Hell, Kang-Woo had taught Korean to his underlings and forbidden them to use the demonguage, forcing them to use Korean instead.


    "Are you okay?" Kang-Woo asked Seol-Ah.


    Riiip!


    Kang-Woo ripped apart one of his garments and used it to bind the wound on Seol-Ah''s leg. This was a rare Hell-made garment, made with fabrics that were hard to get in Hell because most demons didn''t understand the concept of putting clothes on.


    "Ah¡­ Yes, thank you."


    A slight blush crept up Seol-Ah''s cheeks as she looked up at Kang-Woo, who had turned his garment into bandages for her leg without hesitation.


    Seol-Ah had been wary of him initially because he had said weird things such as "Let''s get married," and "Three kids would be okay." However, Kang-Woo''s warm actions melted that wariness.


    "Thank you for helping me," Seol-Ah said.


    If it hadn''t been for Kang-Woo, Seol-Ah would''ve been killed by Goblins¡­ or worse.


    ''I''ve heard that, among monsters, there are some that lust over humans,'' Seol-Ah thought.


    With that in mind, Kang-Woo was very much her savior, so she felt guilty for having doubted him even a little.


    ''I''m very grateful to him.'' Seol-Ah nodded to herself, and her lips widened into a smile.


    It hadn''t been long since she had awakened as a yer, but she had heard many things about them, such as that they wouldn''t hesitate to betray a party member for profit. Although not everyone was that selfish, it was odd for a yer toe running to help someone just from hearing them scream.


    "Take it easy," Kang-Woo advised.


    "Okay," Seol-Ah replied.


    Seeing the smile on Seol-Ah''s face, Kang-Woo smiled too. ''Good.''


    It meant a lot to him that he had managed to get on her good side.


    Seol-Ah was very important to Kang-Woo. Not only was she the first human he had met after returning from Hell, but she was also a great source of information for him.


    ''Why have monsters like this appeared on Earth?''


    The Earth he was on now was too different from the one that he remembered, and Seol-Ah was the only person who could exin such things to him at present.


    ''First¡­''


    Kang-Woo grabbed the phone that had fallen out of Seol-Ah''s pocket, pressed the home button, and saw the information he wanted to know the most.


    [May 22, 2023 3:34 PM]


    ''2023?''


    It had been 2018 when he fell into Hell, so that meant that he was now five years in the future from that day.


    ''I didn''t fail in controlling the time of return.''


    Kang-Woo had been prepared for a time difference of ten or even twenty years. The time difference of just five years meant that he had done a better job than he had expected. However, way too many things had changed on Earth in just five years.


    ''It has only been five years, yet such monsters appeared on Earth during that time?''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t figure out what might have happened during the past five years for there to now be monsters on Earth like those Goblins that roamed freely in the forest.


    ''I need more information on the current situation.''


    Kang-Woo turned his head around toward Seol-Ah and said, "Here''s your smartphone."


    "Oh, thank you very much."


    "Why were you in a ce like this?"


    "Ugh¡­" Seol-Ah groaned at that question. Then she replied quietly, "I have¡­ a situation, so I tried solo-hunting a Gate. Haha. I just awakened as a yer, yet I tried hunting in an E-rank Gate¡­ I was stupid."


    Seol-Ah was very reproachful of herself.


    Meanwhile, Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up. ''Gate, yer.''


    ''Gate'' probably referred to the ce where they currently were.


    ''And as for awakening as a yer¡­''


    Kang-Woo remembered his status window. There had clearly been a ''yer Name'' category.


    "What''s your current level?" Kang-Woo asked her naturally.


    "I''ve just awakened, so I''m Level 6. But what''s a high-level yer like you doing in an E-rank Gate?"


    Seol-Ah thought Kang-Woo was a high-level yer, despite him being only Level 3.


    ''I guess it''s obvious she would think that,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    He had annihted a group of Goblins she had been struggling to deal with. If the Level she was talking about was the stat that indicated how strong someone was, then it was natural that she would mistake him for a high-level yer.


    "I have my reasons," Kang-Woo replied.


    "Oh¡­ I see." Seol-Ah just nodded instead of persisting with the topic, as Kang-Woo was clearly dodging her question.


    It wasn''t normal for high-level yers toe to a low-ranking Gate, but if Kang-Woo didn''t want to tell her the reason, Seol-Ah had no right to ask any further.


    "Ugh¡­" Seol-Ah groaned again.


    "Can you stand up?"


    "Yes. Thanks to your help, I think I can walk a bit."


    "I''ll help you."


    "N-No. It''s okay. I don''t want to bother you anymore¡­"


    "Refusing an offer isn''t the same as being modest."


    Kang-Woo grabbed her arm. Feeling a warm blush rush into her cheeks, Seol-Ah lowered her head embarrassedly.


    "Which way should we go?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Th-This way."


    Seol-Ah was so embarrassed that she didn''t even think about why a high-level yer like Kang-Woo didn''t even know where the Gate portal was and just pointed out the direction with her finger.


    "Let''s go, then," Kang-Woo said.


    With Kang-Woo supporting Seol-Ah, they began slowly walking toward the Gate.


    ''Thankfully, it doesn''t seem like she''s suspicious of anything,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    There was no way Seol-Ah would know of Kang-Woo''s real identity, but he wanted to avoid seeming like a suspicious person.


    ''She''ll probably think I''m crazy.''


    Kang-Woo didn''t want the first woman he saw in ten millennia¡ªa pretty one at that¡ªto think he was crazy. The first step of his return to Earth was to integrate into society as naturally as possible.


    While thinking that, he subtly changed his walking pace to match Seol-Ah''s.


    "This¡­" Kang-Woo muttered.


    "We''ve reached the portal," Seol-Ah stated.


    Whirrr.


    Seol-Ah was pointing at a white Gate. It was around thirty meters tall and much bigger than the pitch-ck Gate that Kang-Woo had gone through to return to Earth.


    ''That means this ce isn''t technically Earth.''


    Since people had to go through a Gate to get here, that meant that this forest where monsters roamed freely wasn''t actually Earth.


    ''Is it a ce like Hell¡­?''


    It was simr to Hell in that it was a dimension that had to be entered through a Gate.


    ''How is this Gate being maintained?''


    Kang-Woo looked at the slightly-murky white Gate in amazement. He couldn''t see any strong armaments, like the armaments of the seven princes of Hell, creating a dimensional rift.


    "Kang-Woo?"


    "Oh, I''m sorry. Let''s get out of here."


    Kang-Woo returned to his senses after Seol-Ah called his name, and he walked through the Gate while supporting her. As they crossed to the other side, the weird sensation of moving through different dimensions swept over them.


    Murmur.


    "We''re looking for party members to hunt Goblins in the E-rank Gate!"


    "Recruiting tanks! Are there any tanks here?!"


    "I''m a rogue¡­ Can I join your party?"


    "Oh, sorry. We don''t ept rogues."


    Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah could hear people shouting everywhere as they walked out of the Gate. It was as if they had arrived at a marketce.


    "Ah¡­" Kang-Woo felt a thrill from looking at all the people gathered around the Gate.


    ''Humans¡­''


    There were humans all around him.


    ''I''m really back¡­''


    Although this was an unfamiliar version of Earth, the sight of a crowd was familiar. Kang-Woo realized then that he had truly returned to Earth. All his doubts and fears disappeared, and energy spread throughout his body. Kang-Woo was so moved that his body even trembled a bit.


    "Uhmm¡­ Kang-Woo," Seol-Ah carefully called his name.


    Kang-Woo turned his head to look at her.


    "If it''s okay with you, would you like toe to my house? I would like to at least treat you to dinner," Seol-Ah said in an apologetic tone while looking at Kang-Woo''s clothes, which had been ripped to bind her wounded leg.


    In reality, giving money aspensation would''ve been the correct choice, but she did not have the financial ability for that at the moment. Nevertheless, she didn''t just want to thank the person who had saved her life and then walk away.


    "¡­!" Kang-Woo trembled some more after he heard her words.


    It was unexpected that a girl would invite him to her house¡­ Furthermore, it was the girl whom he had just helped. This was too stimting for Kang-Woo, who had only met girls through his imagination for the past ten millennia.


    He felt as if Seol-Ah had said, ''Oppa, would you like toe over and have some ramen?''[1]


    ''This¡­''


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists. Excitement was surging inside his body.


    ''There''s a breeze.''


    All sorts of different thoughts crossed his mind. He imagined a happy life in a house with Seol-Ah and three kids.


    ''There''s a breeze!!!''


    A warm spring breeze was blowing in his heart that had rotted after spending ten millennia in Hell.


    1. This is the Korean equivalent of Netflix & Chill. ?

 Chapter 5 - Unfamiliar Earth, Familiar Scenery (2)

    Chapter 5 - Unfamiliar Earth, Familiar Scenery (2)


    "I''m the one who said that refusing an offer isn''t the same as being modest, so I guess I can''t refuse," Oh Kang-Woo said while nodding with bright eyes.


    It was obvious from his attitude that he hadn''t had any intentions of refusing right from the beginning.


    "Fufu. Okay, then please follow me," Han Seol-Ah replied with a smile and turned around.


    At that moment, a man who was in front of the Gate walked toward Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah. He was dressed in what seemed to be a military uniform.


    "Your yer license, please," the man said.


    "Oh, yes. Here you go." Seol-Ah nodded and showed him a license with ''E-rank'' written on it.


    "Thank you."


    The man merely looked at Seol-Ah''s yer license for a second before nodding in acknowledgement. It was as if doing this job bothered him.


    This was a simr procedure to when employees asked for your identification card in a bar.


    "You too, sir," the man said to Kang-Woo.


    ''Damn it.'' Kang-Woo frowned a bit. ''I wasn''t expecting someone to ask for my license.''


    He was in trouble. Kang-Woo didn''t have a yer license.


    ''If I say I forgot it, I''ll probably have to go through some long-winded process.''


    Without a license, things could get rather bothersome. After all, Kang-Woo had been missing for five years. This meant he was in a weird ce regarding his identity. So, it wasn''t even just that things could get bothersome; his n of trying to integrate into society as naturally as possible could crumble as well.


    ''But most importantly¡­''


    The great opportunity that he had spent ten millennia waiting for could fade away into nothing.


    ''I must prevent that from happening.''


    Only an idiot would let an opportunity like that go.


    "Just a moment, please," Kang-Woo said and put his hand into his pocket.


    Of course, there wasn''t anything inside the pocket.


    ''This Authority will be a bit difficult to use with my remaining demonic energy, but¡­''


    He remembered the attitude of the man when he checked Seol-Ah''s license. The man had only looked at it for a second.


    ''If it''s only for that long¡­''


    It was worth a shot, even with Kang-Woo''s current amount of demonic energy.


    "Here it is."


    While saying that, Kang-Woo took out his hand from his pocket and showed his middle finger to the man.


    Simultaneously, Kang-Woo activated one of his Authorities¡ªthe Authority of Blindness. It was Dantalion''s Authority, and it distorted the target''s perception and deceived their eyes. However, an enormous amount of demonic energy had to be consumed to produce this effect. The stronger the target, the more the amount of demon energy consumed would increase.


    Nevertheless, the soldier checking the licenses seemed weaker than the Level-6 Seol-Ah. His eyes became blurry under the effect of the Authority of Blindness, and he nodded at Kang-Woo, who still had his middle finger raised.


    "Thank you," the soldier said.


    It had been only for one second, but Kang-Woo felt as if most of his demonic energy had been drained from his body. Kang-Woo put his hand down while trying to control his breathing.


    "Then let''s go."


    "Okay."


    After that, Kang-Woo joined Seol-Ah, and they headed toward her home.


    ''Finally,'' Kang-Woo thought as he followed her with light steps.


    Didn''t people say that there was no end to a human''s greed?


    At first, Kang-Woo had said he would be okay with it as long as she had two eyes, one nose, and one mouth, but as time passed, he couldn''t help but appreciate how beautiful Seol-Ah was.


    He clenched his fists while thinking of everything that was about to happen.


    ''YOLO!''


    ***


    "This is my home."


    The pair had arrived at a shabby-looking apartment. However, it wasn''t just her apartment; all the other apartment buildings in the area also seemed very old and shabby.


    ''It seems like they''re financially struggling.''


    The buildings here looked different from the modern buildings that he had been expecting.


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo looked at Seol-Ah with a determined gaze. ''Don''t worry, my honey! I''ll quickly earn a lot of money and buy a nice house for us!''


    Although they had just met, they already had a happy future in his mind.


    Creeeak.


    "Mom, I''m home," Seol-Ah greeted as she opened the door to her apartment.


    ''Wait¡­ Mom?'' Kang-Woo thought in surprise.


    He had been certain that Seol-Ah would be living alone, considering how Seol-Ah had seduced him so confidently.


    A woman with a tired expression quickly walked out to meet them.


    She said to her daughter, "A-Are you okay? Aren''t you hurt anywhere?"


    "Yes, I''m okay," Seol-Ah replied.


    "You went to the Gate with a party like I''d told you to, right?"


    "Oh¡­ Yes, of course," Seol-Ah mumbled while avoiding her mother''s gaze. Then she nced at Kang-Woo. "This is Mr. Oh Kang-Woo. I met him inside the Gate. I found myself in a dangerous situation while hunting monsters, but I was able to get out safely thanks to him."


    "Oh! Th-Thank you very much!" The middle-aged woman grabbed Kang-Woo''s hand and bowed her head in gratitude.


    It showed just how worried she had been about Seol-Ah entering the Gate.


    ''Damn,'' Kang-Woo cursed inwardly.


    He wasn''t listening to Seol-Ah''s mother''s words of gratitude at all.


    ''I can''t believe she really meant just dinner.''


    Kang-Woo looked at Seol-Ah dejectedly. The future that he had imagined having with her shattered. He felt as if the ne he was on had fallen down a cliff before it even gained enough speed to take off.


    "Kang-Woo¡­?" Seol-Ah called out.


    "Oh, I''m sorry. It''s nothing," Kang-Woo replied quietly and shook his head.


    It was his fault for having thought too far ahead, but he couldn''t help feeling a little bit disappointed.


    "Haha. This ce¡­ isn''t that great, is it? But don''t worry. I''m quite confident in my cooking skills," Seol-Ah said slightly gloomily.


    She thought that Kang-Woo''s disappointment was from seeing the state of her home.


    "Oh, it''s not about that, so please don''t worry," Kang-Woo rified.


    He had been born an orphan, so before falling to the Nine Hells, he''d lived in a home smaller and more worn down than Seol-Ah''s. Those had been miserable times when he struggled to eat and live each day.


    ''But it was still better than Hell.''


    In the Nine Hells, he had to fight each day for his life. So, even though he had suffered from ack of food on Earth, life here had been far better than in the Hells.


    "Come in, Kang-Woo."


    "Ahem, I''m sorry for inviting you into such a shabby ce¡­"


    Kang-Woo entered the home while receiving a warm wee from the mother and daughter.


    The apartment had an approximate surface area of sixty-six square meters. It was quite spaciouspared to how aged and withered it was.


    "Give me a few minutes, Kang-Woo. I''ll get dinner ready immediately," Seol-Ah said.


    "Oh, can I ask something?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Yes, of course." Seol-Ah nodded without hesitation.


    "I''ve lost my smartphone. Could you lend me yours for a little while?" Kang-Woo asked her with a calm voice.


    "Oh! Sure thing." She took her smartphone from her pocket and gave it to him.


    Taking a closer look at Seol-Ah''s phone now, Kang-Woo saw that her phone was also quite old, with a long crack running across the screen. Additionally, he knew its exact model and generation number.


    ''Considering that five years have passed¡­''


    He once again realized that their financial situation wasn''t good.


    ''I guess it''s good enough to search up some articles on the inte.''


    Kang-Woo wanted to know what had happened on Earth in the past five years. Gates and yers¡ªsuch things hadn''t existed on the Earth that he knew from the past.


    He slowly began reading articles from five years ago.


    [February 22, 2018, the Day of Cmity. The world has been turned upside down.]


    [The world enters a chaotic state after hundreds of Gates suddenly appear.]


    [Firearms are useless against the monsters that appeared from the Gates. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers have died at the hands of monsters.]


    [The U.S. creates a worldwide emergency alliance. Korea bes the ninth member.]


    [The first yer appears in the U.S. Who is she?]


    [The number of yers increases worldwide. Are they the hope of humanity?]


    [A novel became a reality? Korean fantasy novels predicted the appearance of yers for many years. Just searching ''yer'' gives hundreds of different titles to read¡­]


    "Hmm¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed after reading the new articles.


    ''February 22, 2018¡­''


    That had been the day when Gates suddenly appeared all around the world. It was also the day when Kang-Woo was absorbed by a pitch-ck Gate and thrown down into the Nine Hells.


    ''Does that mean I was absorbed by one of these Gates that suddenly appeared?''


    Considering the circumstances, that seemed the most likely answer.


    Kang-Woo tried to search for some information on the Gate that had sent him to the Nine Hells for ten millennia, but he couldn''t find anything. All avable information was spection, and none of them contained detailed exnations about what the Gates were.


    ''I''ll have to search for more information myself.''


    Maybe an important federal organization had information that wasn''t publicly avable. Kang-Woo decided he would infiltrate a federal organizationter once his life became more stable and he had recovered his strength.


    "What are you searching for?" Seol-Ah asked him while she was cooking.


    "I was looking at some news because there was something I needed to check," Kang-Woo replied.


    "I see. Then should I prepare dinnerter?"


    "No, it''s okay. Let''s eat as soon as it''s ready."


    Anyway, he understood the general situation now. It was better to go looking for answers to his questions on his own.


    "Then just wait for a little bit. I''ve just finished cooking," Seol-Ah said. She returned to the kitchen and brought out a pot. "It''s kimchi stew. I wanted to treat you to something better, but¡­ I''m sorry."


    While making an apologetic expression, she put the pot on the table and opened the lid. White steam rose out of the pot, and a mouthwatering aroma emerged.


    "¡­!" Kang-Woo''s eyes widened as a shiver ran through his body. "Kimchi¡­ stew¡­"


    His eyes trembled while looking at the kimchi stew on the table. The hot stew with red kimchi and slices of pork belly drew him in.


    "Kimchi stew!!!" he eximed excitedly.


    Thump!


    How long had Kang-Woo been waiting for this moment? He had dreamed about it almost every day in his sleep.


    Kang-woo rushed to the table like someone who had starved for many days.


    ''I''m d I returned.''


    A warm tear ran down his cheek.

 Chapter 6 - Demon Kings Rage (1)

    Chapter 6 - Demon King''s Rage (1)


    Slurp! Crunch! Munch!


    "¡­"


    Loud eating noises filled the small home.


    "I-It seems like you were really hungry." Han Seol-Ah smiled awkwardly upon seeing Oh Kang-Woo eat the kimchi stew as if he were a starving demon.


    It did not make her happy to see someone eat her food like that; rather, it disconcerted her.


    Slurp! Munch, munch!


    However, Kang-Woo didn''t seem to care that Seol-Ah was watching him. He was just focused on eating.


    ''It''s delicious.''


    Kang-Woo took a spoonful of rice, put a slice of pork belly on top of it, and then ced a slice of kimchi on top of that. He opened his mouth wide and put the heaping spoon into his mouth. A new world of sensations spread through his body.


    ''This is too delicious!!!''


    His taste buds, which had been lying around without doing anything for ten millennia, were going crazy.


    Kang-Woo''s feelings now were simr to when he had met Han Seol-Ah for the first time. His mind went nk.


    "Sniff¡­" He was overwhelmed by emotion.


    Memories of his ten millennia of suffering shed through his mind.


    "Sniff¡­ Hic. Fuck¡­ This is too delicious."


    Kang-Woo ate the kimchi stew while crying like a little kid.


    After he epted demonic energy into his body in the Nine Hells, he had practically be half-demon and thus no longer needed to consume food to live. Demons maintained and moved their bodies through demonic energy, so they didn''t need to eat.


    ''Those poor guys.'' Kang-Woo pitied the demons who didn''t know about the pleasure one could get from eating food.


    Although he did not need to eat, Kang-Woo''s taste buds were still intact because part of his body was still human. Demons, on the other hand, had weak taste buds to begin with because their bodies didn''t require sustenance in the form of food.


    "I-Is it that delicious?" Seol-Ah stuttered while watching Kang-Woo eat the kimchi stew while crying.


    She was confident in her cooking skills, as she had done most of the housework ever since she was little. So, the kimchi stew she had cooked was the result of the skills and experience she had umted throughout the years. However¡­ Seol-Ah didn''t think her food was good enough to cause a person to shed tears while eating it.


    "It''s¡­ too delicious¡­" Kang-Woo nodded while emptying the kimchi stew.


    "I''m d that you like it." Seol-Ah smiled proudly.


    Nevertheless, she still found his reaction awkward since he wasn''t like those people in charge of making reactions in cooking manhwas. Despite that, she didn''t hate it. Kang-Woo''s reaction just meant that he really liked what she had cooked for him.


    ''I''m d,'' Seol-Ah thought.


    She had felt a bit guilty because the only thing she could offer to the person who had saved her life was kimchi stew, but seeing how much he enjoyed eating it made her feel relieved.


    Kang-Woo seemed to have a pure side, which made her more interested in him.


    ''What am I thinking?''


    Seol-Ah didn''t have time to think about rtionships. She sighed while thinking of her current situation.


    tter!


    "Ah¡­" Kang-Woo let out a sad gasp after seeing the empty pot.


    ''I haven''t had enough yet,'' hemented inwardly.


    He had a body that didn''t require food, but his taste buds, which had activated after ten millennia of dormancy, weren''t satisfied.


    "Should I make a bit more?" Seol-Ah asked.


    "Yes!"


    "Fufu. Then wait a moment, please."


    Kang-Woo nodded without a moment of hesitation.


    Seol-Ah took the empty pot and stood up from her seat with a smile. Perhaps it was because she found Kang-Woo''s behavior cute.


    "It''s nice to see a young man who eats well," Seol-Ah''s mother remarked.


    "It''s the most delicious kimchi stew I have ever eaten," Kang-Woo stated.


    He wasn''t exaggerating. The kimchi stew had tasted so good that it was as if Seol-Ah had put all kinds of drugs inside it.


    ''I cannot lose this.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t let that kimchi stew go.


    ''The answer is marriage.''


    In truth, the reason why it tasted so good to him was because he hadn''t eaten proper food for the past ten millennia. Nheless, he didn''t have the rationality toe to that conclusion at the moment.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone as he imagined his future with her, full of her kimchi stew.


    ''Darling, I''m going to make you happy!''


    The lord of the Nine Hells, a gluttonous monster who had devoured more than hundreds of thousands of demons¡­ This scene of the demon king, who had been at the top of the food chain in the Nine Hells, losing his reason because of a kimchi stew felt like a tragedy.


    Bubble bubble.


    "Since you enjoyed it so much earlier, I''ve made more this time," Seol-Ah said.


    She knew nothing about Kang-Woo, who had eaten all the stew, yet she smiled and brought out another bubbling pot of kimchi stew.


    "Thanks for the meal!" Kang-Woo told her.


    Slurp! Munch!


    Kang-Woo grabbed the spoon and once again began emptying the pot of kimchi stew.


    ''Like I thought, it''s still delicious!'' he thought, once again moved by the taste of the stew on his tongue.


    Seol-Ah smiled proudly while looking at how eagerly he was eating the kimchi stew.


    Boom!


    The door suddenly mmed open, and a young man entered the house.


    "Hey, Seol-Ah! I heard that you entered a Gate without my permission! Come here!" he yelled.


    The young man, who was dressed in a suit, had short blond hair and fine facial features. He approached Seol-Ah while letting out a slew of curses.


    Seol-Ah froze upon seeing him.


    "O-Oppa¡­"


    "Tae-Hyun! H-How can you talk to Seol-Ah like that?!"


    Seol-Ah and her mother trembled because of Han Tae-Hyun''s sudden appearance in the apartment.


    Tae-Hyun snorted indifferently and walked over to Seol-Ah.


    He questioned, "Who gave you permission to enter a Gate by yourself?"


    "I-I''m a yer now. Also, it was you who stopped me from getting a party!" Seol-Ah replied.


    "Hmph, you talk too much nonsense for a newbie who hasn''t even received basic training," Tae-Hyun said. Then he grabbed Seol-Ah''s shoulders while smiling. With eyes of ambition, he whispered to Seol-Ah, "I told you to stop this nonsense and join our guild. I''ll introduce you to some kind people."


    "Ugh¡­" Seol-Ah looked at Tae-Hyun with a disgusted expression.


    Tae-Hyun was Seol-Ah''s biological older brother, and he was three years older than her.


    ''This human garbage isn''t my brother.'' Seol-Ah clenched her fists and red at him.


    Tae-Hyun had been a troublemaker even before the Gates had appeared five years ago.


    Seol-Ah and Tae-Hyun''s father had died at a young age, but their household circumstances hadn''t been that bad despite their mother raising them by herself. Their mother had been a skillful career woman, so she had earned a decent amount of money.


    However, ever since middle school, Tae-Hyun had been involved in many acts of violence. He even assaulted his mother and robbed her of the valuables she had at home. After that, her mother fell sick from all the stress Tae-Hyun''s behavior caused her, and that made their household situation worsen.


    On top of that, Tae-Hyun had awakened as a yer. He was a very talented yer. When he reached Level 10 and achieved his Second Awakening, he received a B-rank Trait and joined the Andras Guild.


    The Andras Guild was a guild whose name was based on one of the seventy-two demons of Solomon, and just like their name, they were famous for doing all sorts of horrible things.


    After entering the Andras Guild, Tae-Hyun did everything he could to reach a higher position. The Andras Guild wasn''t big, but it was still quitergepared to mid-sized guilds.


    In such arge guild, Tae-Hyun''s abilities were only considered average, so he was struggling to climb up. That''s when he thought of Seol-Ah, his beautiful little sister.


    ''If I put her in the same party as my superiors¡­''


    There weren''t many women that were as pretty as Seol-Ah. If she were offered to them, he would probably be able to reach a higher position. Tae-Hyun was a lowlife who didn''t feel remorse for wanting to sacrifice his family member for personal gain.


    "No. I''ll never join your guild," Seol-Ah dered.


    "Hah. It seems like you''re still far too naive to understand how the world works. This isn''t a world you can live in just by doing things you like. If you receive the love of my superiors, your life will improve immediately, and so will mine."


    "How¡­ How can you say something like that to your family?"


    "Huh? Family? Don''t bullshit me. How could I call such a poor and useless bunch like this my family?"


    "Whose fault do you think that is?!"


    Tae-Hyunughed at Seol-Ah''s shout and then said, "Whose fault? It''s obviously because of Dad, who died too early, and Mom, who can only earn pennies."


    "You crazy bastard!"


    Seol-Ah couldn''t contain her anger anymore. She clenched her fists and tried to punch him.


    Tae-Hyun wasn''t her family member anymore; he was just a beast wearing the skin of a human. No, he was trash.


    Grab!


    "Ugh!!" Seol-Ah groaned in pain when Tae-Hyun grabbed Seol-Ah''s wrist.


    Seol-Ah shook because of the pain in her wrist. She had just reached Level 6, so overpowering Tae-Hyun, who was very close to Level 30, was impossible for her.


    "Let me go!" she screamed.


    "The only thing useful about you is your pretty face. So, you should think of using that to at least be of some help. Don''t you think so? How could you talk to your older brother like that? You spoiled little¡ª"


    "T-Tae-Hyun!" the siblings'' mother called out.


    "Get out of the way, you old hag!" Tae-Hyun spat.


    He ignored his mother, who stood in his way, and walked toward the living room while holding Seol-Ah''s wrist.


    "Today, I will make sure to¡­ Huh?"


    Slurp! Munch!


    The moment he entered the living room, he saw Kang-Woo, who was concentrating on eating the kimchi stew.


    "What, did you seduce some man?" Tae-Hyun said whileughing at Seol-Ah.


    He let go of her wrist, walked toward Kang-Woo, and said, "Hey, man. You''re a bother, so get the fuck out."


    Slurp!


    Even though Tae-Hyun had threatened him, Kang-Woo just ignored Tae-Hyun and kept eating the kimchi stew.


    "I told you to get the fuck out!" Tae-Hyun repeated.


    However, Kang-Woo continued ignoring him, so Tae-Hyun violently kicked the table.


    m!


    The table was overturned, and¡­


    "Ah¡­" Kang-Woo gasped.


    The kimchi stew¡­ was spilled¡­ on the floor¡­


    "AAAHHH!"


    The lord of the Nine Hells, the monster that had devoured the seven princes of Hell who used to rule Hell¡­ He was the demon of demons, the predator of predators, and an existence that was like the Hell of the Hells. He was the master of demons who had devoured more than a hundred thousand demons.


    The scream from the demon king, the pinnacle of all demons, spread through the worn-down apartment.


    "MY KIMCHI STEEWWW!!!"

 Chapter 7 - Demon Kings Rage (2)

    Chapter 7 - Demon King''s Rage (2)


    ''What''s up with this bastard?'' Han Tae-Hyun wondered inwardly.


    Heughed at Oh Kang-Woo, who was crying out because of the spilled kimchi stew.


    "Is he crazy?" Tae-Hyun said.


    Tae-Hyun thought that his unnecessarily kind sister had invited a beggar to the house.


    "Where did you find a hobo like this?" he asked.


    "R-Run, Kang-Woo!" Han Seol-Ah shouted while ignoring Tae-Hyun''s question.


    Tae-Hyun was a summoner who was almost at Level 30 and about to achieve his Fourth Awakening. At almost Level 30, he was by no means considered a high-level summoner. However, he was extremely strongpared to the current Seol-Ah, and she didn''t want to see her brother hurt the person who had saved her.


    For a moment, Seol-Ah thought that maybe Kang-Woo could resolve the situation, but she then shook her head.


    ''Oppa unlocked a B-rank Trait in his Second Awakening.''


    It was a Trait that people usually unlocked in either the Third or Fourth Awakening. The strength of a yer was determined by the rank of their Traits and level. Because of that, Tae-Hyun was considered more talented than normal people.


    ''Kang-Woo is in danger.'' Seol-Ah looked at Kang-Woo frantically.


    "Sniff, sniff. My k-kimchi steeew¡­" Kang-Woomented.


    He was seemingly unaware of how much Seol-Ah was worrying about him and just cried while gazing at the spilled kimchi stew.


    Tae-Hyun frowned at the sight. "Hey, hobo. Stop crying, and stand up."


    "¡­" Kang-Woo slowly turned his head toward Tae-Hyun, who had called on him rudely, and emitted a strong bloodlust.


    "Ugh?!" Tae-Hyun backed off unconsciously the moment his eyes met Kang-Woo''s.


    ''What?'' Tae-Hyun was shocked.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes weren''t the eyes of a human. He had a ferocious gaze simr to that of a wild beast or maybe a reptile.


    ''No.'' Tae-Hyun''s face turned pale.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t anything like a wild beast or reptile. His bloodlust was thicker and more frightening than that of a wild beast.


    Fear spread through Tae-Hyun''s body as if he were looking into an abyss.


    ''He''s like a¡­'' Tae-Hyun searched for a word that matched those murderous eyes.


    He didn''t have to think for long.


    "Demon¡­" Tae-Hyun muttered.


    He had never seen a demon in real life, nor did he know a lot about them, but he somehow thought there was probably no better word to describe Kang-Woo than ''demon.''


    "Huff, huff."


    Whir.


    Tae-Hyun panted as he gathered his mana. The thick bloodlust that had overwhelmed him gradually disappeared.


    ''I must have been mistaken.''


    He red at Kang-Woo. There was no way that hobo would be capable of emitting bloodlust that could overwhelm him.


    Tae-Hyun shook his head to erase the bloodlust he''d just felt from his memories. He didn''t want to admit that he had shaken in fear of a hobo who cried because his kimchi stew spilled onto the ground.


    Kang-Woo, who was silently ring at Tae-Hyun, spoke in a low voice, "Are you the one?"


    "¡­ What?"


    "The one who dared to spill my kimchi stew?"


    "Hah, have you lost your mind, hobo?" Tae-Hyun smiled and focused his mana on his fists.


    He activated ming Touch, the Second Awakening Trait he had unlocked when he reached Level 10.


    Fwoosh!


    Blue mes enveloped his fists. The mes were so intense that it seemed like they were about to burn down the entire apartment.


    yers had the unique ability to use the power of the Trait that they had unlocked as a Trait skill. This power was what allowed yers to fight back against the monsters that were flooding into Earth from the Gates.


    Seol-Ah extended her hands while shouting, "Be careful!"


    Then she shot an arrow made of light at Tae-Hyun''s head.


    The Trait she had obtained after awakening as a yer was Trace of Light, a D-rank Trait. It wasn''t an offensive Trait; it was more focused on buffs and healing.


    "Hmph," Tae-Hyun scoffed.


    Paf! He easily obliterated the arrow with just a light swing of his hand.


    Tae-Hyun wasn''t so weak as to lose to a low-level yer who hadn''t awakened an offensive Trait.


    "Haap!" Tae-Hyun uttered.


    Right after, he charged forth and fired the blue mes enveloping his hands at Kang-Woo.


    Swoosh!


    "Huh?" Kang-Woo merely tilted his head a bit and dodged the mes.


    Then a ck de extended from the back of his left hand. Kang-Woo bent down and easily dodged Tae-Hyun''s next attack aimed at his head, following up with a swing of his de.


    "Ugh!" Tae-Hyun groaned as he twisted his body forcefully to avoid the attack.


    ''He''s not fast,'' Tae-Hyun thought.


    Although he could feel menacing energying from the de, it wasn''t moving swiftly. So, Tae-Hyun moved while focusing his attention solely on the de.


    m!


    "Kurgh!" Tae-Hyun let out yet another groan.


    Kang-Woo''s foot had struck Tae-Hyun''s sr plexus. The ck de had been bait right from the very beginning¡ªa fake to ce Tae-Hyun''s attention somewhere else.


    "Son of a bitch!" Tae-Hyun yelled.


    He didn''t receive a great amount of damage, but he cursed while swinging his fists.


    Once again, Kang-Woo dodged Tae-Hyun''s attack with minimal movements. After that, he punched Tae-Hyun twice in the face.


    Whack! Paf!


    "Kurgh! Urgh!"


    Kang-Woo bent toward the staggering Tae-Hyun and swung his left hand. Seeing that, Tae-Hyun quickly moved his blue-me-covered arms toward Kang-Woo''s left hand.


    m!


    "Cough!"


    Boom!


    However, Kang-Woo seemed to have expected that. He immediately pulled his left hand back and mmed an uppercut with his right fist into Tae-Hyun, sending him tumbling to the ground.


    "Huff, huff." Tae-Hyun looked up at Kang-Woo with a pale look on his face.


    Tae-Hyun was stronger and faster, which meant that Kang-Woo had a lower level and stats than him.


    Yet¡­


    ''Just who the hell is this bastard?''


    Kang-Woo''s fighting style was something Tae-Hyun had never even imagined. Most people would use their main weapon to attack, but Kang-Woo had used it as a fake and used that momentary gap in Tae-Hyun''s defense to counter. It was as if a swordsman had used his sword as bait and engaged in hand-to-handbat.


    "Aaarrgh!" Tae-Hyun roared in a fit of rage and leaped toward Kang-Woo.


    Nevertheless, the result was the same. Kang-Woopletely overwhelmed Tae-Hyun as if he were fighting against a child.


    Paf!


    "Cough! Wh-What the hell are you?!" Tae-Hyun eximed.


    Kang-Woo had no openings. Tae-Hyun could feel the overwhelming difference in battle experience between them. Was this what it would feel like fighting against a warrior who had fought on the battlefield for decades?


    Tae-Hyun was being beaten up by a hobo who had been crying over kimchi stew.


    Smash!


    "Aaarrgh!" Tae-Hyun yelped.


    The ck de pierced his left wrist.


    "I-It hurts!!! It hurts!!!" he yelled.


    "It isn''t over yet," Kang-Woo stated coldly.


    He twisted the ck de.


    Crunch.


    The chilling sound of Tae-Hyun''s wrist bones being broken rang out.


    "AAARRGGHH!" Tae-Hyun screamed.


    He thrashed around like a fish out of water as the pain spread through his body.


    Kang-Woo used his ck de to stab Tae-Hyun''s right wrist next. The rage of the demon king wouldn''t be appeased with the crippling of just one hand.


    "There''s still a long way to go before you pay the price for spilling my kimchi stew," Kang-Woo said.


    "Wh-Why are you doing this?! It''s just kimchi stew!" Tae-Hyun shouted.


    "¡­" Kang-Woo froze upon hearing that. "What¡­ did you say?"


    He looked at Tae-Hyun as if he had said something outrageous.


    "Did you say¡­ it''s just¡­ kimchi stew?" Kang-Woo questioned.


    He couldn''t believe Tae-Hyun had said something so outrageous. That was something that should never be said. The mention of ''kimchi stew'' did not go together with the word ''just.'' Kimchi stew was much more sacred than that.


    "Just! Kimchi stew?!" Kang-Woo raged.


    Paf! Pow!


    "Cough! Kurgh! Ahh! S-Spare me!!"


    Kang-Woo''s assault on Tae-Hyun became more aggressive. He kicked Tae-Hyun''s head as if it were a football, instantly covering Tae-Hyun''s face in blood.


    "Cough! Ugh!" Tae-Hyun let out a painful groan.


    Tae-Hyun''s stats were higher than Kang-Woo''s, yet he couldn''t help but suffer in pain in this one-sided fight. Mind-numbing pain spread through his body.


    "Huff, huff¡­ Now, say that again. What did you say about kimchi stew?"


    "Cough¡­ K-Kimchi stew is¡­ a sacred f-food¡­"


    "Good," Kang-Woo said.


    He seemed to like that answer, and he nodded with a smile.


    Then he grabbed the hair of the terrified Tae-Hyun and spoke in a low voice, "Now, if you understand, say it one more time. Kimchi stew is what?"


    "A¡­ s-sacred existence," Tae-Hyun said while trembling.


    Kang-Woo frowned. It seemed that he didn''t like how Tae-Hyun had said it.


    "Your voice is too low," Kang-Woo admonished.


    "K-Kimchi stew is a sacred existence!"


    "You''re not putting enough heart into it!"


    "Kimchi stew! Is a sacred! Existence!"


    "Louder! As if you''re praying to God! As if you''re a man confessing your love to a girl! Shout it with more heart!"


    "KIMCHI STEW!!! IS A SACRED EXISTEEEEEEEEENCE!!!"


    It was a scream that was closer to a cry, yet it still didn''t have the tone Kang-Woo wanted.


    Kang-Woo shouted while shaking his head, "That''s not it! It''s stillcking!! Turn it up seven notches!!"


    "Kimchi st¡ª!! Kurgh! Cough! Cough!" Tae-Hyun forcibly raised his voice and ended up coughing.


    Kang-Woo once again emitted bloodlust. "What do you think you''re doing? Are you fucking with me?"


    "I-I''m sorry, sir!"


    "One more time!! Louder!! Squeeze your soul out!!"


    "KIMCHI STEEEEW!! IS A SACRED EXISTEEEENCE!!" Tae-Hyun squeezed everything he could muster into this cry.


    Kang-Woo finally seemed satisfied with the answer, and he patted Tae-Hyun''s shoulder.


    "Sob sob, sniff¡­" Tae-Hyun began crying.


    With his face covered in tears and snot, Tae-Hyun muttered, "Just what''s wrong with this crazy bastard¡­ Sob sob."

 Chapter 8 - Demon Kings Rage (3)

    Chapter 8 - Demon King''s Rage (3)


    "Sob, sob, sniff." Han Tae-Hyun''s sorrowful cries filled the house.


    ''Why did I have to meet a guy like that?''


    If Tae-Hyun had been beaten up by someone who was like a superhero that appeared in novels or manhwas, he wouldn''t feel so frustrated. However, the guy who had just beaten him up was more of a viin than a hero.


    ''The kimchi stew viin¡­'' Tae-Hyun looked at Oh Kang-Woo with eyes full of resentment.


    Upon catching a glimpse of that resentful gaze, Kang-Wooughed. "What? Do I look like a lunatic to you because I''m so obsessed with kimchi stew?"


    "N-No, not at all!" Tae-Hyun quickly shook his head.


    With deep and sunken eyes, Kang-Woo continued, "You¡­ have absolutely no idea."


    There was no way Tae-Hyun would know what sorts of feelings and thoughts Kang-Woo had had during the past ten millennia.


    Demons did not have a lifespan; they could live forever without eating or drinking. After Kang-Woo acquired demonic energy, he had basically be a half-demon, and just like the demons, the concept of a lifespan had vanished for him.


    Despite that¡­ he still had a human side left. His mind and bodily senses still remembered the pleasures of eating and drinking. Yet, the things that he craved didn''t exist at all in the Nine Hells. That was because the demons didn''t need what he was craving.


    Moreover, it was impossible for him to give up on his desires. A demon''s body was built in a way that prevented their mind from breaking down and, in turn, made it impossible for them to give up their desires. This was why Kang-Woo had managed to remain sane while living for more than ten millennia, and it was also why demons fought endlessly for all eternity.


    Living the life of a demon while being human was like being tortured for all eternity. Kang-Woo''s desires couldn''t be fulfilled, nor could his thirst be quenched.


    The reason why Hell truly felt like Hell to him wasn''t because of the eternally burning mes or the destend. It was because there was truly nothing there that he desired.


    "You just don''t understand how wonderful your life is," Kang-Woo stated.


    It was the same as people not realizing how thankful they should be for the air. Although humans would die in a few seconds without air, no one was thankful for it each time they breathed. A person only craved normal things when they ceased to be normal.


    "Ugh. I¡­ I''m sorry! I was wrong!"


    Tae-Hyun couldn''t understand the meaning behind his words, but there was nothing he could do now except ask for forgiveness.


    "Okay, I''ll forgive you," Kang-Woo said and grabbed Tae-Hyun by the cor.


    "Eek! P-Please don''t kill me!"


    "Don''t worry. I won''t kill you."


    Kang-Woo wasn''t letting Tae-Hyun live out of sympathy or because he hated the idea of murdering someone.


    There was only one reason why he wasn''t killing Tae-Hyun.


    ''It''d be bothersome.''


    If this were Hell, things would be different, but on Earth, killing another person was a crime. Of course, letting Tae-Hyun off could create trouble for him in the future, so Kang-Woo thought of something better.


    "Th-Thank you!" Tae-Hyun bowed with hopeful eyes after hearing that Kang-Woo wasn''t going to kill him.


    However, Kang-Woo smirked while looking at Tae-Hyun. "Dying would''ve been better for you."


    "¡­?"


    "Well, you''ll find out soon."


    After saying that, Kang-Woo''s demonic energy began pouring out as he activated the Authority of Fear, Orobas''s Authority. It engraved the target''s fear on their soul, turning them into a puppet that couldn''t even fathom the idea of going against the caster. It wasn''t an Authority that consumed a lot of demonic energy, but it had rather harsh prerequisites.


    ''It''s hard to produce an extreme state of fear in someone.''


    It was difficult to inflict enough fear on someone to engrave it on their soul, so it was impossible to use the Authority unless the difference in power with the opponent was made clear, like in the current situation. However, if the Authority of Fear could be used, it worked like a charm.


    "Ah, aah¡­" Tae-Hyun uttered.


    The Authority of Fear amplified the fear that Tae-Hyun was feeling. He peed his pants and looked at Kang-Woo nkly.


    "You''ll have to live forever while feeling these emotions." Kang-Woo smiled as he watched Tae-Hyun tremble.


    "N-No¡­" Tae-Hyun said while squeezing out what was left of his rationality.


    Kang-Woo shrugged and replied in a light tone, "This isn''t a world you can live in just by doing things you like."


    The words that Tae-Hyun had said to Han Seol-Ah earlier had turned into a sharp arrow that was shot back at him.


    "You can go now. And don''t tell anyone about what happened here." Kang-Woo waved his hand in irritation to shoo Tae-Hyun away.


    Tae-Hyun had be Kang-Woo''s puppet. Even if Tae-Hyun were tortured, he likely wouldn''t be able to say anything about what had happened here.


    Tae-Hyun just stood up nkly and staggered out.


    After seeing Tae-Hyun leave, Seol-Ah walked toward Kang-Woo and bowed to him.


    She said, "Thank you. If it weren''t for you¡­ I wouldn''t have been able to stop him."


    Not only had Kang-Woo saved Seol-Ah from the Goblins, but he had also saved her and her mother from Tae-Hyun, who had been bothering them for many years. Consequently, Seol-Ah wasn''t sure about how to repay Kang-Woo. Simply saying thanks wasn''t anywhere near enough.


    "I''ll try my best¡­ to repay your generosity," she said sincerely while bowing.


    Kang-Woo gazed at her with a smile. "First, let''s clean this ce up."


    The apartment had be a mess because of Kang-Woo and Tae-Hyun''s fight.


    "Oh, I can do it myself¡­"


    "It''ll be faster if we do it together."


    Then Kang-Woo began cleaning the apartment with Seol-Ah.


    While they were cleaning, she carefully asked him, "Come to think of it, where do you live, Kang-Woo?"


    "Ah," a brief utterance emerged from Kang-Woo''s mouth at her sudden question.


    ''Now that I think about it, the ce where I used to live is probably gone.''


    Kang-Woo hadn''t paid rent for five years, so there was probably another person living in what used to be his home. It was then that he realized that he had no ce to sleep.


    ''I''ll have to find a ce to live first.''


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo wasn''t that worried. He now had power that made him iparable to his past human self, so it shouldn''t be hard for him to get a ce to live.


    "Because of certain circumstances, I don''t have a ce to stay at the moment," Kang-Woo answered.


    "Does that mean¡­?"


    "Well, I''m homeless for the moment," Kang-Woo replied with a shrug.


    Seol-Ah thought about it for a moment.


    "In that case¡­" Seol-Ah began while blushing slightly. She clenched her fists and asked nervously, "W-Would you like to live here until you find a ce to live?"


    The truth was that what she was doing was irrational. Although she was indebted to Kang-Woo, there was no way that a rational woman would offer such a thing to a man whom she had only met a few hours ago.


    ''I know that, but¡­'' Seol-Ah wanted to know more about the man named Oh Kang-Woo.


    She wanted to know who he was and what kind of life he had lived until now. To put it bluntly, she was kind of interested in him.


    "Oh." Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up.


    It turned out that he didn''t even need to think about finding a ce to stay. There probably wasn''t a better ce than here for him to stay and get used to life on Earth. Kang-Woo wouldn''t be able to livefortably because of Seol-Ah''s financial situation, but that really didn''t matter to him.


    ''I can earn money myself,'' he thought.


    If power was the most important thing in Hell, then money was the most important thing on Earth. In a capitalist society, money was an entity simr to a god.


    "Okay. Then I''ll be in your care for a little bit," Kang-Woo said.


    "Ah," Seol-Ah uttered.


    Her anxious face reddened in embarrassment. She knew that her behavior was abnormal.


    "I''ll be in your care, Seol-Ah."


    "L-Likewise!" Seol-Ah said. She bowed while shaking hands with Kang-Woo. Then she added, "You can use my brother''s old room."


    "Okay," Kang-Woo replied with a nod.


    After that, Seol-Ah brought him to her brother''s room.


    ''First, I need to take care of two things,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    He needed to raise his demonic energy so that he could use it in ce of his sealed Ten Thousand Demon Core and earn some money for his daily expenses. Among the hundreds of Authorities he possessed, many were useful even outside of battle. If he wanted to livefortably from now on, then he had to be able to use all of them freely. However, to do that, he needed to increase the amount of demonic energy he had ess to.


    ''I might get involved with more guys like Tae-Hyun down the road.''


    Kang-Woo had won easily against Tae-Hyun, despite his stats being absurdly lower than Tae-Hyun''s. However, that was because Tae-Hyun''sbat prowess was horribly bad. If Kang-Woo''s opponent were someone of a higher level and with better technique than Tae-Hyun, Kang-Woo would have trouble fighting against them because his Ten Thousand Demon Core was sealed. So, Kang-Woo''s number one priority at the moment was increasing his demonic energy.


    ''Also, money.''


    He''d learned from the inte that yers earned money by hunting monsters.


    "Seol-Ah, do you have a mana stone with you?"


    "Oh, yes. I don''t have that many, but I have a few E-rank ones."


    "Could I take a look at them?"


    "Of course." Seol-Ah nodded and took out a mana stone, which was emitting white light, from her bag.


    While looking at it, Kang-Woo remembered something that had been written in an online article. ''They said that the closer it is to ck, the higher rank it has.''


    It was the same with Gates. The lowest rank that a Gate could have was F, and they were white. The higher a Gate''s rank was, the more murky its color became, peaking with ck.


    The more highly ranked a mana stone was, the higher the amount of mana would be contained inside, and thus, you could sell it for a higher price. Most yers earned an ie by selling the mana stones they obtained by hunting.


    After taking the E-rank mana stone from Seol-Ah and cing it in his hand, Kang-Woo closed his eyes. He focused his attention on the energy inside the mana stone.


    ''I can''t feel any demonic energy inside.''


    Kang-Woo remembered when he''d used the Authority of Predation on the Goblins'' corpses. The corpses had contained demonic energy, although it was only a very small amount. Consequently, Kang-Woo thought that there would be demonic energy inside the mana stones too, which were considered to be the monsters'' core.


    Nheless, that did not seem to be the case. The energy inside the mana stone wasn''t demonic energy but mana.


    ''Then¡­ where is the demonic energy stored?''


    He hadn''t checked for that when he used the Authority of Predation on the corpses because he had not even considered the possibility that the monsters would have demonic energy.


    ''I''ll also have to confirm that.''


    However, the most important thing wasn''t figuring out where the monsters stored demonic energy. What mattered was that they had demonic energy and mana stones, which could be sold for a profit.


    Just by hunting, Kang-Woo could achieve his two goals.


    "Seol-Ah, is there a yer Management Office near here?"


    "No. We''re on the outskirts of Seoul, so you''ll have to go further into the city."


    "I see. Would you mind taking me there?"


    "Sure. I was also nning on going," Seol-Ah answered while nodding.


    "You too?"


    "Yes. After today''s incident, I realized how hasty I was. Although it may take some time¡­ I''m going to enter a Gate after receiving basic training."


    In Korea, there was a program in ce that supported yers and helped them level up safely until they reached Level 10 and unlocked their Second Awakening Trait.


    The program was supposed to support new yers, but it was way too expensive to take. That''s why most yers from poor households like Seol-Ah could barely afford to take it.


    In any case, she had realized from the day''s incident that entering a Gate without her Second Awakening was likemitting suicide.


    "Hmm." Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed at her words.


    ''Should I help her?''


    With his strength, it shouldn''t be hard for him to help Seol-Ah level up.


    His level was lower than hers, but he had all the battle experience that he had gained throughout thest ten millennia, as well as all sorts of Authorities. Bringing someone along for his hunts wouldn''t burden him.


    ''No.'' He shook his head after thinking about it for a moment. ''The hunts won''t be as efficient.''


    Maybe they could hunt togetherter on, but with Seol-Ah''s current abilities, Kang-Woo had more to lose than gain.


    ''I have no reason to have a party or use a strategy that hinders me.''


    It was true that he had taken a liking to Seol-Ah. She was the first human that he had met since returning to Earth. Furthermore, she was also the woman who had cooked him the food he''d been craving for a long time. Still, that was no reason for Kang-Woo to suffer losses by taking her around with him.


    ''I need to separate these things.''


    Kang-Woo was a calcting person. No, to be more precise, ten millennia in Hell had made him calctive. He used to be at the bottom of the food chain while in Hell. For someone who had been as weak as him to survive, he''d had no other choice but to be calctive.


    Of course, after time went on and he had devoured tons of demons with his Authority of Predation, Kang-Woo went up in the food chain. Nevertheless, the habits engraved in his soul didn''t disappear.


    ''I''ll think about it after regaining my power.''

 Chapter 9 - Demonic Energy Accumulation Project (1)

    Chapter 9 - Demonic Energy umtion Project (1)


    "Here is your re-issued identification card."


    "¡­"


    Oh Kang-Woo was visiting the nearby district office before going to the yer Management Office. Currently, he was looking at the receptionist in slight disappointment.


    ''I can''t believe no one reported that I was missing.''


    He had been thinking about how to exin the five years that he had been missing when the receptionist suddenly gave him his new identification card.


    Although Kang-Woo had disappeared from Earth for five years, no one had reported him missing.


    ''Did no one notice that I disappeared?''


    Maybe it was simply that no one had cared about him.


    Kang-Woo looked at his new identification card bitterly. He realized he''d lived a really lonely life in the past.


    ''But it''s going to be different now.''


    He had no intention of living the same way as his past self, especially after having spent ten millennia in Hell.


    Kang-Woo grabbed the identification card and went to where he had promised to meet up with Han Seol-Ah.


    "Oh, wee back, Kang-Woo."


    "Thank you."


    "Fufu, then let''s go."


    The pair set off with Seol-Ah leading the way.


    * * *


    [The next station is Seoul Station, Seoul Station.]


    "Kang-Woo, we''re here," Seol-Ah said.


    Lost for words, Kang-Woo didn''t reply to her.


    "Woah!" Kang-Woo then eximed in surprise.


    He excitedly looked at the huge crowd walking around the station.


    ''Now, this is what you call a city!''


    The area where Seol-Ah lived was a littleckluster to call a city, but this ce really felt like one.


    After following Seol-Ah out of the station, Kang-Woo was once again surprised.


    Vroom!


    There were car exhaust fumes, high-rise buildings, asphalt roads, and people who were walking busily to their destinations.


    "I''m really back," Kang-Woo muttered to himself.


    It was only after seeing this familiar scene that it finally hit him that he had truly returned to Earth.


    "Kang-Woo, that ce is the Seoul yer Management Office."


    "Oh, okay."


    Kang-Woo turned toward where Seol-Ah was pointing to, and he couldn''t believe what his eyes were seeing.


    ''Incheon Airport?''


    The building that Seol-Ah had pointed at was so big that it reminded him of the Incheon Airport. Kang-Woo couldn''t believe that they had built such a massive building in the middle of Seoul. It had probably cost a ridiculous amount of money to build.


    ''This just shows how important yers have be for society, I guess.''


    The situation was understandable since yers were the ones protecting Earth from its demise.


    "Then I''ll go and enroll in the basic training course. I think the first lesson is a theory one, so I will probably get homete," Seol-Ah said.


    "Then I''ll see you at home."


    "Okay, Kang-Woo."


    Seol-Ah waved goodbye to Kang-Woo and left to enroll in the basic training course.


    Meanwhile, Kang-Woo walked toward the ce in charge of registering new yers. The process didn''t take long.


    After checking Kang-Woo''s identification card a few times, the receptionist said in a robotic tone, "Then please move to the test room."


    "Okay, thank you." Kang-Woo grabbed the ticket from the receptionist and turned around.


    Many people were sitting excitedly in front of the test room.


    "Hello? Mom? Oh, I''m in front of the test room. Yeah. I''m gonna take the basic training course once I get the license. Hehe, just you wait. I''ll make it big and get tons of offers fromrge guilds."


    "Excuse me, what rank Trait did you get on your First Awakening?"


    "I got D-rank."


    "Whoa, that''s pretty high. Maybe you''ll get a B-rank one on your Second Awakening."


    "Haha, but that''ll still be nothingpared to yers like Baek Kang-Hyun or Cha Yeon-Joo."


    "Come on. Those people apparently got S-rank Traits with their First Awakening. We can''tpare ourselves to them."


    "Have you heard about Nam Ki-Tae?"


    "The person who was immediately scouted by the Hanul[1] Guild after getting an S-rank Trait with their Fifth Awakening?"


    "Yes. I was so envious of him. I honestly don''t expect to get such a rank with my First or Second Awakening, but if I could get er on¡­"


    "Then your life would take a 180-degree turn."


    Kang-Woo sat down and silently eavesdropped on what other people were saying.


    ''I guess Trait ranks truly are important.''


    yers unlocked a different Trait every ten levels. To them, Trait ranks practically decided the hierarchy, so the ranks of the Traits that a yer obtained at lower levels were especially important. The reason was that yers with low-rank Traits struggled to level up and were very unlikely to be able to have more Awakenings. The chances of getting a higher-ranked Trait increased as a yer achieved more Awakenings, but yers starting with low-rank Traits wouldn''t even be able to get that chance.


    "Hmm¡­" Kang-Woo opened his status window and checked the Trait he acquired with his First Awakening.


    "???-rank Trait. Huh?"


    The rank of his Trait, Authority of Predation, was unknown.


    ''Is it because it''s beyond the norm?''


    Kang-Woo had a rough idea of why this might be the case. He didn''t know how strong S, SS, or even SSS-rank Traits were, but he was sure they couldn''t bepared to his Authority of Predation.


    ''My Authority is seriously broken, after all.''


    The best part of the Authority of Predation was that it allowed him to grow indefinitely. Thanks to that, Kang-Woo had reached a point no demon could reach.


    ''Although, I''m not at that point anymore.''


    Nevertheless, he wasn''t worried. His Authority of Predation had been sealed, but he still had ways of replenishing his demonic energy. Once he gathered more demonic energy, it should be possible for him to regain his old strength.


    ''No, if I use the power of this yer thing or whatever it is¡­''


    He might even be able to surpass his old self.


    "Mr. Oh Kang-Woo."


    "Yes," Kang-Woo answered when his name was called.


    Then he entered the test room. Inside the test room, there were many white testing orbs. Many nervous yers stood before the white orbs and ced their hands on top of them.


    A woman wearing round sses approached Kang-Woo and said, "Please ce your hand here. Once you activate your power, the color of the orb will change based on your Trait rank."


    "How does it change?"


    "It''s the same as Gates. The higher the rank, the darker the color will be."


    Kang-Woo nodded at her words.


    ''I wonder how it will be represented?''


    His Trait rank was outside the norm, so he was curious about what reaction the orb would show.


    ''Well, I guess it doesn''t matter.''


    After all, Kang-Woo wasn''t the type to hide his strength to avoid receiving as little attention as possible. On the contrary, he was the type of person who stepped up when needed.


    Without any hesitation, Kang-Woo ced his hand on the orb.


    After checking that the color had barely changed, the woman stated with a dull voice while writing something, "It''s an F-rank Trait."


    ''Huh?'' Kang-Woo tilted his head at the unexpected result. ''Is it because its power is mostly sealed?''


    There was no way for him to know. It was also possible that the power couldn''t be measured because it was outside of the norm.


    ''Well, it can''t be helped.''


    There was no way to change the results.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. He would''ve preferred it if they had brought a monster for him to fight against.


    "yers with a Trait lower than D-rank will receive an E-rank yer license. You can freely enter Gates of the same rank. As for Gates of higher rank, you''ll need to apply for someone of higher rank to apany you."


    "What can I do to increase my yer rank?"


    "If you take the basic training course, you''ll immediately be promoted to D-rank. Beyond that, you''ll need to sell more than a designated quota of mana stones."


    "Okay."


    "Then, please wait at the counter. I''ll get you your license immediately. Oh, if you would like to take the basic training course, you''ll have to apply for it separately at the counter."


    "It''s okay."


    Kang-Woo had no intention of taking a basic training course. He could easily kill Goblins even with the insignificant amount of demonic energy that he currently had.


    ''It''s just a waste of time.''


    He had heard that they taught yers the basics they needed to know to fight, but that had no meaning to him. Kang-Woo had all the experience he had gained while fighting for ten millennia, so he did not intend to waste time and money by doing the basic education course.


    Kang-Woo turned around and left the test room.


    The woman with the round sses sighed while watching Kang-Woo leave the test room.


    ''He''s absurdly untalented,'' she remarked inwardly.


    Almost no one got an F-rank Trait, even at their First Awakening. The average was E-rank or sometimes D-rank.


    ''He''s not even taking the basic training course.''


    Just getting an F-rank was awful, but if a yer didn''t receive the basic training course as well, the oue was obvious.


    ''He''s probably going to die as soon as he enters a Gate.''


    No party would ept a yer with an F-rank Trait into their party.


    If that happened, most people would try to reach the Second or even Third Awakening by hunting alone and end up dying in the process.


    The woman sighed. ''He''s better off not bing a yer if he has an F-rank Trait.''


    It was sad living while doing a desk job in a world that could end at any time, but it was still better than being a yer with an F-rank Trait whose death was almost assured.


    "Hmm¡­?"


    At that moment, she saw something in the crystal orb that had been used to test Kang-Woo.


    "What''s happening?"


    The crystal orb started to darken.


    From white to light gray and then to a darker gray before finally bing¡­ pitch ck.


    "Is it broken?"


    The woman had never seen an orb''s color change by itself. She looked at the crystal orb with a confused expression on her face.


    Crack!


    The surface of the pitch-ck crystal orb began breaking and eventually shattered into pieces.


    "Ugh¡­ It''s definitely broken."


    As the woman gazed at the shattered crystal orb, she put on an expression that seemed to say "as expected."


    ''There''s no way he could have gotten a ck Trait rank.''


    Even Baek Kang-Hyun, who had gotten an S-rank with his First Awakening, had only managed to turn the orb into a slightly intense gray.


    Yet, this wasn''t gray but pitch ck. This was an urrence that did not exist in the records.


    She grabbed the broken crystal orb and yelled, "Urgh. Next person, please wait a moment!"


    1. Hanul (??) is a pure Korean word (one that is not derived from Chinese characters) that literally means ''big existence'', but it''s defined as the existence of the universe through one''s own view of heaven. ?

 Chapter 10 - Demonic Energy Accumulation Project (2)

    Chapter 10 - Demonic Energy umtion Project (2)


    "We''re looking for a healer! We only ept people whose Trait is D-rank or higher!"


    "Tanks! Are there any tanks here?"


    "I''m¡­ a rogue¡­"


    "Oh, sorry. We don''t ept rogues."


    Many yers were looking for a party in front of an E-rank Gate located on the outskirts of Seoul.


    ''What''s wrong with rogues?'' Oh Kang-Woo remembered that he''d heard something simr before.


    Usually, Gate hunting was done in parties, so it seemed like there was a certain formation that yers liked.


    ''Well, either way, I don''t really care.''


    Since Kang-Woo was nning to hunt alone, none of those things mattered to him.


    He presented his newly acquired license to the soldier manning the Gate.


    "Okay, confirmed," the soldier said.


    ''Are all soldiers like this?'' Kang-Woo wondered inwardly.


    Just like in Kang-Woo''s first encounter with a soldier, this soldier manning the E-rank Gate returned Kang-Woo''s license after barely looking at it.


    Kang-Woo thought that even without using the Authority of Blindness, he would be able to enter the Gate just by showing his middle finger.


    Whiiir.


    ''I still don''t like how this feels.''


    The sensation of crossing through Gates reminded Kang-Woo of the day he''d fallen into the Nine Hells.


    After crossing the E-rank Gate, Kang-Woo entered the forest to hunt.


    It was at this moment that he heard someone with a hoarse voice calling out to him. "Hey, mister, are you alone?"


    Kang-Woo turned his head toward the direction of the voice and saw a man with a giant shield who was apanied by two other people. He was about two meters tall and ripped with muscles.


    ''Is he a bear?'' Kang-Woo wondered inwardly.


    The man with the shield was definitely a person, but with hisrge stature, he looked like a bear.


    "Yes, I''m alone," Kang-Woo replied.


    "Are you nning to hunt alone?" the man asked.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    The man swallowed a short sigh and kept talking, "Have you gotten your Second Awakening?"


    "No."


    "Oof. It seems like you must not have received basic training. Did you perhaps awaken an F-rank Trait? If so, don''t hunt alone. Although Goblins are small and look weak, they are still monsters," the bear-like man said worriedly. "If you''re nning to hunt alone because you can''t get a party, join us for a little bit and at least check out what the Goblins look like before you go off by yourself."


    "Tae-Soo, why did you decide that on your own?"ined one of the bear-like man''s party members.


    "That''s right. If he has an F-rank Trait, he probably won''t even be of help. So, just leave him alone," another chimed in.


    "Jeez! Don''t you understand what situation this mister is in?!" Tae-Soo, the bear-like man, shouted with a scowl.


    The party members shuddered, feeling intimidated by his fierceness.


    "We''re saving the life of a person. If you really don''t want to, I''ll give up my share of the mana stones. So, let him join," Tae-Soo insisted.


    "Sigh."


    "Well, as long as he doesn''t bother us¡­"


    After hearing that Tae-Soo wouldn''t take his cut of the mana stones, the rest of his party members clicked their tongues but nodded to show their eptance.


    Tae-Soo looked at them miserably before turning around to face Kang-Woo.


    "I''m Kang Tae-Soo. What''s your name, mister?"


    "My name is Oh Kang-Woo."


    "Haha, you don''t have to speak so formally with me. I may not look like it, but I''m twenty-four years old.


    ''Don''t lie,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    At first nce, Tae-Soo looked like someone who was over thirty years old, so Kang-Woo naturally thought he was lying.


    "Hmm? You don''t believe me? Check this out! I was born in the year 2000! I, Kang Tae-Soo, was born at the beginning of the new millennium!" Tae-Soo shouted while showing his yer license to Kang-Woo.


    It seemed like Tae-Soo had experienced situations like this many times.


    ''Woah¡­ He''s twenty-four with that face[1]?'' Kang-Woo couldn''t believe that Tae-Soo really was twenty-four years old. ''Is he cursed?''


    Kang-Woo grinned and then shook his head. "Well, if you insist, I''ll speak casually to you."


    "Haha, you''re fast, mister. How about it? Join our party to get some experience. You don''t need to feel burdened by it."


    "Thanks, but I''m okay. It''s not like I was nning to wander around mindlessly," Kang-Woo said very calmly.


    Tae-Soo took a deep breath in. "Well, if you say so, I guess there''s nothing I can do. But be careful. If you happen to see a big brown Goblin, run. That''s a monster called a Hobgoblin, the boss monster of this Gate."


    "Thanks for the information."


    "Stay safe!"


    Then Tae-Soo turned around and went into the forest with his two party members.


    Kang-Woo smiled while watching Tae-Soo leave.


    ''He''s a good guy.''


    Although Tae-Soo was a bit quirky, he had wanted to help Kang-Soo, even if that meant he had to give up his share of the loot. If Kang-Woo really were a newbie yer with an F-rank Trait, Tae-Soo would have been of great help.


    "I should get going too." Kang-Woo turned around and left with a lighter feeling in his steps.


    As he walked through the forest, Kang-Woo discovered a group of Goblins.


    "Kiiieeekkk!!"


    ''There seems to be around five of them.''


    sh.


    Kang-Woo focused his demonic energy on his left hand, and a ck de shot out.


    Stomp!


    Moving as fast as a wild beast, Kang-Woo leaped toward the Goblins. The Goblins were objects of fear for most people who hunted in this Gate, but in Kang-Woo''s eyes, they were nothing but prey that increased his demonic energy.


    "Kiiieeekkk!!"


    Crack! sh!


    The de made of demonic energy sliced the Goblins'' necks in session.


    Kang-Woo had killed more than ten Goblins in the blink of an eye once before. Killing these five wasn''t even enough to serve as a warm-up for him.


    "Kiieekk!! Krugh!"


    "Kurrr¡­"


    "Easy, as expected," Kang-Woo said.


    It felt like fighting against a scarecrow.


    Kang-Woo felt bored as he killed thest remaining Goblin. The Goblin''s head dropped to the ground with a chilling thud.


    Riiing.


    [You have sessfully defeated the E-rank monster Goblin.]


    [Increasing EXP.]


    [Your level has risen to 4.]


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 1.]


    ''I leveled up.'' Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up.


    He had been too distracted the first time he had leveled up, so he hadn''t paid attention to the changes.


    This time, Kang-Woo opened his status window immediately and checked his current stats.


    [Status Window]


    [yer Name: Oh Kang-Woo


    Level: 4 (First Awakening)


    First Awakening Trait: Authority of Predation (Rank: ???) *The majority of the Trait''s power is currently sealed.


    Strength: 9


    Dexterity: 10


    Health: 8


    Mana: 0


    Demonic Energy (Unique Stat): 14


    Intelligence: 8


    Wisdom: 7]


    ''Interesting.''


    The status window, which reminded him of a game, surprised him no matter how many times he looked at it. The thing that interested him the most was the increase in stats.


    ''My demonic energy really went up.''


    Kang-woo had not used his Authority of Predation, nor had the seal on the Ten Thousand Demon Core be any weaker. Yet, the amount of demonic energy he possessed had increased with his stats. It was as if additional demonic energy had been created out of nothing.


    "This means I can also umte demonic energy by leveling up."


    There was still one more reason for him to hunt monsters.


    Kang-Woo approached the Goblins'' corpses.


    ''I''ve already checked that demonic energy isn''t in the mana stones.''


    He had to find out where they held demonic energy inside their bodies.


    "Predation."


    Kang-Woo used his Authority of Predation to devour the Goblins'' corpses. ck smoke emerged from his body and enveloped the Goblins.


    Crunch!


    There was a chilling sound of skin being torn and bone being chewed. Kang-Woo deliberately avoided consuming the mana stone, from which he could sense mana, and instead consumed the other body parts one by one.


    Once again, he could feel a little bit of demonic energy enter his body. Kang-Woo closed his eyes and tried to sense where the demonic energy wasing from. It did not take him very long to find out.


    ''It''s the body as a whole.''


    More urately, it wasing from the monster''s soul embedded in the body. The souls of recently deceased beings remained in their corpses, and that''s where the demonic energy wasing from.


    "Which means¡­"


    Kang-Woo could obtain demonic energy from monsters that he had just killed by using his Authority of Predation.


    "Nice."


    From what he''d heard, he could also obtain money by selling some parts of the monster''s body, but the main source of ie was the mana stone. He was willing to forgo selling the monster''s bodies to gather more demonic energy.


    After clearing out the Goblins'' corpses using Predation, he picked up an E-rank mana stone the size of a finger and put it in his bag.


    ''It feels like I''ve just finished eating a fried chicken, and only bones are left.''


    This was how he felt upon obtaining a mana stone after devouring the monsters'' corpses with Predation.


    ''Speaking of chicken, I want to eat fried chicken.''


    Kang-Woo drooled at the sudden thought of fried chicken. Kimchi stew was good, but now he really wanted to eat fried chicken.


    ''A freshly fried chicken with a cold beer¡­''


    Just thinking about it gave him chills.


    ''Should I go now?''


    He was tempted to go out of the Gate immediately, but he ultimately shook his head.


    "I should keep hunting."


    Kang-Woo had only just begun his demonic energy umtion project. He really wanted to eat fried chicken, but he couldn''t go back after killing just five Goblins.


    ''I should take Seol-Ah outter and go to eat fried chicken together.''


    While thinking about food, Kang-Woo resumed walking through the forest.


    ''What''s that?''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up when he found some poorly built houses deep inside the forest. He then approached the area.


    "Kiieekk."


    "Krrrr."


    There were dozens of Goblins here.


    This was a Monster Hideout, the number one ce that newbie yers should avoid. It was where the various monsters that a yer might encounter in a Gate gathered. Furthermore, it was the location that had the highest chance of a boss monster appearing. If a yer wasn''t careful, they could end up dying even if they were with a party.


    However¡­


    "Jackpot!" Kang-Woo shouted after looking at the dozens of monsters.


    He saw this ce, which was the object of fear for most yers hunting in the gate, as a goldennd full of riches.


    ''Good.''


    With that many Goblins gathered, it meant he could obtain many mana stones and a lot of demonic energy at once. Devouring the corpses would give him demonic energy, and he could sell the remaining mana stones for a profit, which was the most important thing to him now.


    ''Very nice.''


    Once he had money, he would be able to buy what he was craving, and there was only one thing he wanted at this moment.


    "Fried chicken, here I cooooooome!!!"


    While drooling at the thought of fried chicken, Kang-Woo leaped toward the Monster Hideout.


    "Half-fried and half-seasoned! Also, please give me lots of radish!!" he shouted as if he''d already entered a fried chicken restaurant.


    Simultaneously, he shed down on the Goblins'' necks with his ck de.


    1. Some of the astute readers might have noticed that he¡¯s 24 when he was born in 2000, and the year is currently 2023. Well, the Korean age system deems babies to be one year old at birth, so that is the cause of the discrepancy. ?

 Chapter 11 - Demonic Energy Accumulation Project (3)

    Chapter 11 - Demonic Energy umtion Project (3)


    "Huff, huff."


    A rough breath emerged from Oh Kang-Woo''s mouth.


    There were dozens of Goblin corpses around him.


    "Fuu."


    Kang-Woo tried to calm down as he stood up.


    He dismissed the de he had been maintaining with his meager demonic energy.


    ''As expected, it''s more difficult going against more of them.''


    He had struggled quite a lot during this fight, despite how confidently he had leaped toward them while shouting about fried chicken. There had been arge number of them, and because they moved as a group, he couldn''t deal with them mindlessly.


    However, the biggest problem was that his stamina had be a lot weaker ever since his Ten Thousand Demon Core had been sealed. Kang-woo had quickly exhausted his already low amount of demonic energy, and that made him use up quite a lot of stamina.


    After killing thest five Goblins, he even struggled to maintain his Authority of des.


    ''But still¡­''


    Kang-Woo smiled while looking at the corpses of the Goblins around him.


    "I was able to kill a lot of them."


    He had struggled quite a bit, but the result was positive.


    ''My level has also increased.''


    After clearing out the Monster Hideout, his level rose by four, and he was now Level 8.


    ''But the demonic energy stat didn''t increase.''


    A yer''s stats randomly rose by one to three points whenever they leveled up. Yet, all of Kang-Woo''s stats increased except the one he needed the most. He didn''t know if this was because he was just unlucky or because there was some sort of rule that he didn''t know about.


    ''Well, I guess it doesn''t matter. I can also increase demonic energy with the Authority of Predation.''


    Other yers might feel disappointed if the stat that they needed the most didn''t increase, but that wasn''t the case with Kang-Woo. He had a cheat skill that allowed him to increase his most important stat without leveling up.


    "Predation."


    ck smoke emerged from his body and spread all around him. The Authority of Predation began consuming the Goblins that were closest to him first.


    Crunch! Crunch!


    ''If I gain enough demonic energy, I will be able to use the Authority of Predation for offense.''


    The biggest strength of the Authority of Predation was its ability to devour the corpses of enemies and absorb their power, but it wasn''t the only possible usage. With enough demonic power, he could also use it inbat. Since it was an Authority he had used for ten millennia, he knew how to use it very well.


    ''I still need more demonic energy before I can use it offensively.''


    With a somewhat disappointed expression, Kang-Woo devoured all of the Goblin corpses around him.


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 2.]


    ''Good.''


    It was only a small amount, but Kang-Woo smiled after feeling that his demonic energy had increased. Stacking demonic energy little by little like this reminded him of the early days when he had just fallen to Hell.


    Back then, he''d gained strength by devouring the weakest demonic beasts of Hell first, just like he was doing right now with the weakest monsters.


    ''But I''m different from who I was back then.''


    When Kang-Woo had just fallen to Hell, he had no time to rx. He took action desperately by following his natural desire to survive.


    However, things were different now. He knew exactly what he needed to do to be stronger and faster more efficiently. It was like ying a game that he had already cleared.


    Kang-Woo was bing stronger at a speed and level of stability that was iparable to his initial days in Hell.


    ''My current Demonic Energy stat is 16.''


    He didn''t know what kind of numbers other yers on a simr level had for their stats, but he was sure that his wasn''t low.


    "This is just the beginning."


    Kang-Woo sat on top of a Goblin''s house that had been destroyed from the fighting, and he rested a bit to recover his demonic energy.


    He was only hunting Goblins right now, but once he became stronger, he would probably be able to hunt in Gates with a higher rank. Then, he would be able to gather more demonic energy and thus recover his old level of power faster.


    ''I''m sure Goblins aren''t the only monsters with demonic energy.''


    Kang-Woo felt slightly anxious since he hadn''t faced any other types of monsters after returning to Earth. Nevertheless, he thought that it was unlikely that there were no other monsters with demonic energy.


    Rustle.


    "Krrrrr."


    "Hmm?"


    Kang-Woo was deeply immersed in his thoughts, but he suddenly heard a monster approach while making a ferocious cry. Its cry was different from that of a regr Goblin.


    He frowned and turned around to see a giant Goblin with brown skin emerge from the bushes. Unlike the normal Goblins that were around a hundred and fifty centimeters tall, the height of this brown Goblin was nearly two meters.


    Upon seeing the brown Goblin, Kang-Woo remembered what he had heard from Tae-Soo.


    "That must be the Hobgoblin."


    He had found it weird that the boss had been nowhere to be seen while he cleared out the Monster Hideout. It appeared that the Hobgoblin had just gone out for a moment.


    ''I''m d.''


    Kang-woo wasn''t sure how strong the Hobgoblin was. However, he knew he would''ve struggled a lot if he''d fought against it while trying to deal with dozens of Goblins.


    Regardless, Kang-Woo prepared himself to fight, manifesting a ck de out of demonic energy that had been replenished while he rested.


    "Graaaaahhh!!!"


    Stomp! Stomp!


    When the Hobgoblin saw that its hideout had been destroyed, it roared angrily and charged at Kang-Woo. Unlike the poorly made knives that most Goblins had, the Hobgoblin had a sharp greatsword.


    ''Mana?''


    Additionally, Kang-Woo could see a tiny amount of mana enveloping the Hobgoblin''s greatsword.


    ''So, monsters can use mana too?''


    The mana stone was their core, so it wasn''t weird that they could control mana.


    The Hobgoblin fiercely tried to sh Kang-Woo, but Kang-Woo lifted his left hand and blocked the attack.


    Bang!


    "Kurgh¡­"


    There was a sound simr to that of an explosion as the two beings collided, and Kang-Woo was pushed back.


    ''It seems like it''s still a bit hard to block the Hobgoblin''s attacks directly.''


    The problem wasn''t the mana infused in the Hobgoblin''s sword. In terms of raw power, demonic energy was stronger than mana, so that wasn''t the reason why Kang-Woo was pushed back. Rather, it was simply because of the difference between their physical parameters¡ªit was purely a difference in strength.


    The explosive power from the almost two-meter-tall Hobgoblin was hard to withstand even with Kang-Woo''s strength, which had been supplemented with demonic energy.


    ''Then¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s gaze sank.


    However, he wasn''t anxious just because he couldn''t fight against the Hobgoblin head on. He was used to fighting in conditions that weren''t favorable to him. In the countless battles he''d experienced, there had been more instances in which he didn''t have the advantage.


    "Graaaaahhh!"


    Stomp! Bang!


    The Hobgoblin kept roaring angrily because its hideout had been destroyed.


    Monsters were living creatures with emotions, so it was expected that they would be angry in such a situation where their home had been destroyed and their underlings had been killed.


    Kang-Woo smiled upon seeing the Hobgoblin charge at him in a blind rage.


    ''I can use this.''


    Kang-Woo dodged the Hobgoblin''s greatsword by a narrow margin and extended his hands toward it.


    "Authority of Rage."


    He activated the Authority of the demon Crocell. The Authority of Rage was usually used to make its user enter a state of rage, simultaneously bestowing enormous power onto them. It was mostly used as a buff.


    Yet, Kang-Woo used that Authority on the Hobgoblin instead of himself, making the movements of the Hobgoblin faster and stronger. Most people wouldn''t understand why Kang-Woo did that.


    "AARRGGHH!! GRRRR!!"


    Bang! Stomp!


    ''This isn''t really a buff.''


    Kang-Woo watched with cold eyes as the Hobgoblin went berserk.


    It was true that the Hobgoblin had be stronger thanks to the Authority of Rage, but that wasn''t the point.


    m!


    Kang-Woo was able to easily dodge the Hobgoblin''s extremely simple attacks. He could now clearly see how the Hobgoblin would move and attack.


    "Graaahhh!"


    ''This is a curse.''


    Kang-Woo had never used the Authority of Rage on himself. Getting stronger by bing angrier was something that worked only in a manhwa. In reality, the angrier a person became, the more their rationality faded, making their movements simpler. This made bing stronger meaningless.


    Consequently, Kang-Woo was now able to read all the Hobgoblin''s movements easily. Being strong meant nothing if the Hobgoblin couldn''tnd its attacks on its opponent.


    ''Here ites.''


    The Hobgoblin''s greatsword sliced through the air, making an unsettling sound. Thisrge movement left the Hobgoblin''s defense full of openings, perhaps because the Hobgoblin had lost its rationality.


    Kang-Woo ducked and dodged the greatsword. Then he stabbed the Hobgoblin''s knees with his de.


    "GRRRRRR!" the Hobgoblin growled.


    Despite its crumbling posture, the Hobgoblin swung its greatsword toward Kang-Woo yet again. However, there was no way the Hobgoblin would be able to put enough power into its swing with its current posture.


    An even bigger opening appeared in its defense.


    "Grrr¡­"


    Kang-Woo bounced back up and stabbed his de into the Hobgoblin''s head, piercing its chin and going all the way to the top of its head. The Hobgoblin began to stagger, and it soon copsed after taking a few steps.


    "Huu." Kang-Woo looked down at the Hobgoblin while trying to catch his breath.


    ''Fighting with low demonic energy sure is ufortable.''


    He found it annoying that he struggled so much against an opponent that wouldn''t have been his match before.


    "I need to hurry up and umte more demonic energy."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and approached the Hobgoblin''s corpse.


    Looking down at it expectantly, he wondered inwardly, ''I wonder how much demonic energy this guy is going to give me?''


    The amount of demonic energy a Goblin possessed was very low, so hunting them was bad in terms of efficiency. While it was true that even a small amount was of great help to Kang-Woo, the fact that it was such a small amount didn''t change.


    However, the Hobgoblin''s strength was iparable to that of a normal Goblin, so Kang-Woo expected the Hobgoblin''s corpse to give him arger amount of demonic energy.


    He slowly extended his hand.


    It was at this moment that¡­


    Riiing.


    A sound he had gotten used to hearing rang in his ears.


    [You have decimated a Monster Hideout by yourself.]


    [You have obtained 150% additional EXP.]


    [You have sessfully defeated the C-rank boss monster Hobgoblin.]


    [Your level has risen by 3.]


    [You have reached Level 10 and have achieved your Second Awakening.]


    [Your Second Awakening Trait has been unlocked.]

 Chapter 12 - Second Awakening (1)

    Chapter 12 - Second Awakening (1)


    Oh Kang-Woo looked with great interest at the message that had just popped up in front of him.


    ''Second Awakening Trait, huh?''


    Kang-Woo opened his status window and checked out his new Trait.


    [Second Awakening Trait: Insatiable Hunger (Rank: C)]


    [Effect: The yer can absorb even more Demonic Energy from a target using Authority of Predation.]


    ''This is¡­'' Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up.


    The rank of the new Trait he had unlocked wasn''t high, but that wasn''t important. The notable thing was that it had the power to fill up Kang-Woo''s store of demonic energy faster, which was what he needed the most.


    "Good." Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction with his new Trait.


    His First Awakening Trait was the same one he used to have in Hell, but the Trait that he acquired was different upon his Second Awakening. The new Trait, Insatiable Hunger, and the stats that rose with his level were things he hadn''t had before.


    ''By using the power of a yer, I''ll be able to be stronger much faster than before.''


    Kang-Woo smiled. He was enjoying the fun of growing stronger for the first time in a long while.


    "Then¡­ should I check how effective the new Trait is?"


    Kang-Woo extended his hand expectantly toward the dead Hobgoblin. ck smoke emerged from his hand and covered the corpse.


    ''The smoke got thicker.''


    Was that because of the Trait?


    Crunch!


    The Authority of Predationpletely enveloped the Hobgoblin and began devouring its corpse. Just as Kang-Woo had expected, there was more demonic energy inside the Hobgoblin than in the normal Goblins.


    After he had almost finished devouring the Hobgoblin''s corpse, a blue message window popped in front of him.


    [Activating the effect of the Trait, Insatiable Hunger.]


    [Absorbing even more Demonic Energy.]


    "Wow."


    When the message window appeared, the amount of demonic energy he was absorbing increased by around ten to twenty percent. It might not seem like a lot just going by the jump in percentage, but Kang-Woo didn''t think it was little at all since it was free demonic energy.


    ''This means that the more demonic energy a monster has, the more free energy I''ll be able to absorb.''


    Furthermore, this Trait would be even more useful as Kang-Woo hunted stronger monsters because the extra demonic energy was a percentage of the initial amount rather than a fixed amount.


    Riiing.


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 3.]


    The amount of demonic energy he''d obtained from killing one Hobgoblin was more than what he''d gotten from killing dozens of Goblins.


    Of course, it was in part due to the effect of the Trait, but judging by the huge difference, it seemed like higher-ranking monsters had more demonic energy than lower-ranking ones.


    ''Killing higher-ranking monsters is the answer.''


    If the difference were smaller, horde hunting might be more effective. However, judging from what had just happened, it was clear that killing one higher-ranking monster was far more effective.


    ''If I remember correctly, the higher a stat gets, the more difficult it bes to raise.''


    Increasing stats was simr to leveling up. Going from a stat of 1 to 2 was easy, but taking it from 10 to 11 required more effort. In consideration of that, he was lucky that his demonic energy stat had increased by three points just by killing one Hobgoblin.


    Kang-Woo smiled with satisfaction while looking at his demonic energy stat, which had reached 19.


    ''Should I test it?''


    His demonic energy stat had increased by five points in total since clearing out all the monsters in this area, so he wanted to check out how much the demonic energy that he possessed had increased.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and began drawing out the demonic energy inside his body.


    "Hmm¡­?"


    He suddenly frowned.


    Considering that his demonic energy stat had risen from 14 to 19, his demonic energy should have risen by 1.3 times. Even under the assumption that the effect of the stat was further amplified the higher it got, the maximum increase should have been around twofold.


    Yet¡­


    ''Threefold? No¡­ it''s more than that.''


    The amount of demonic energy flowing out of his body was iparable to before today''s hunt. It was an amount that couldn''t be exined by the five-point increase in the demonic energy stat.


    ''What happened?''


    Despite the explosive increase of demonic energy, Kang-Woo couldn''t just be happy about this when he didn''t understand the reason for it.


    After all, gaining power with an unknown source was like a ticking time bomb. An optimistic thought such as "it''s good, so it doesn''t matter" was dangerous.


    Kang-Woo stood in ce and focused his attention on his body. A few momentster, he noticed why his demonic energy had suddenly increased so much.


    ''The seal on the Ten Thousand Demon Core has gotten weaker.''


    The unknown force that was restraining his power had gotten weaker, and thanks to that, the boundless demonic energy that had been lying dormant was starting to leak.


    Of course, the amount of demonic energy that he had ess to now was nothingpared to the full amount in the Ten Thousand Demon Core, but it was still a lotpared to before.


    ''Is it because of the Awakening?''


    yers awakened every ten levels. Kang-Woo had surpassed Level 10 after defeating the Hobgoblin, and thanks to that, he had achieved his Second Awakening.


    There had been no major changes other than the Awakening, so there wasn''t a more usible cause for the Ten Thousand Demon Core''s weakened seal than that.


    ''Does the seal weaken more every time I awaken?''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up.


    If so, that meant that he would be able to recover his old level of power just by leveling up mindlessly.


    "Hmm¡­"


    However, to confirm his theory, he had to reach Level 20 and achieve his Third Awakening first.


    ''I need to go to higher-ranking Gates.''


    The necessary EXP required to level up increased with one''s level, so he couldn''t just keep hunting Goblins.


    Kang-Woo picked up the mana stone on the ground and put it in his bag. Then he walked toward the Gate.


    To ess higher-ranking Gates, he had to raise his yer rank, and to do that, he had to sell mana stones.


    ''I even killed a boss monster, so I''m sure it will go up.''


    Kang-Woo looked at the C-rank mana stone that he had received after killing the Hobgoblin. It had a darker color than the E-rank mana stones.


    He had killed a group of Goblins and even a Hobgoblin alone, so there was no way his yer rank wouldn''t go up.


    After picking up all the mana stones, Kang-Woo walked out of the Gate.


    His steps felt lighter leaving the Gatepared to when he entered it earlier. Perhaps, it was because his demonic energy had increased.


    ''With this amount of demonic energy, I''ll be able to use a wider variety of Authorities.''


    Kang-Woo felt good now that his options had increased. He used the Authority of Haste and sped toward the Mana Stone Exchange Center.


    Rumble.


    "Please exchange all of these for money. I''d also like an exchange receipt," Kang-Woo said when he arrived at the Mana Stone Exchange Center.


    "¡­" The person at the counter flinched upon seeing all the mana stones that Kang-Woo had shaken out of his bag. The person then said, "Sixty-one E-rank mana stones and¡­ one C-rank mana stone."


    "How much can I get for these?"


    "After subtracting the tax, E-rank mana stones sell for 36,000 won each, and C-rank mana stones sell for 2,570,000 won."


    "Interesting."


    That meant that Kang-Woo had earned almost five million won.


    ''Later on, in higher-ranking Gates, I''ll probably be able to earn tens of millions of won easily.''


    He now understood why yers were so glorified on Earth.


    "Please give me your yer license."


    "Here it is."


    "Hmm."


    The person at the counter frowned after looking at Kang-Woo''s yer license.


    "You need to give me the licenses of your other party members too," the person at the counter said firmly. The person was with the belief that there was no way that an E-rank yer had managed to gather this many mana stones.


    "I don''t have any."


    "I''m sorry?"


    "I hunted alone."


    "You hunted all these alone?" the clerk asked in astonishment.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    The clerk looked back and forth at the mana stones on the table and Kang-Woo.


    An E-rank yer couldn''t possibly get that many mana stones while hunting alone.


    ''He even killed the boss monster,'' the clerk thought.


    The fact that there was a C-rank mana stone among the E-rank ones meant that he had sessfully hunted the boss monster of the Gate.


    ''Was he carried?''


    asionally, some people would skip basic training and receive help from a high-level yer.


    ''That doesn''t seem to be the case.''


    Kang-Woo''s clothes didn''t look expensive, nor did he possess high-ranking armor or weapons. This was the opposite of the cases where low-level yers received help from high-level yers. They normally covered themselves with high-ranking equipment and weapons before beginning to hunt at a Gate.


    ''Is he someone from a rich family who wishes to hide his identity?''


    That was the only exnation the clerk coulde up with from the fact that a yer with an F-rank Trait had been able to solo an E-rank Gate.


    ''Let''s not get involved with him.''


    The basic rule of a sryman was to never act rashly.


    "Okay. Would you like to receive the money from the mana stones in cash, or should I deposit it into your ount? As long as it''s less than ten million won, you can receive it in cash."


    "I''d like it in cash, please."


    Kang-Woo figured out that the clerk didn''t believe he had hunted alone, but the clerk surprisingly didn''t do anything to correct him.


    After a little while, the clerk came back with 4,766,000 won in cash and gave it to Kang-Woo. Then, Kang-Woo walked out of the Mana Stone Exchange Center.


    ''First, I should get a cellphone,'' Kang-Woo decided.


    To get used to life on Earth, having a smartphone was a necessity.


    After entering a cell phone store and buying a smartphone, Kang-Woo called someone¡ªHan Seol-Ah. He had gotten her phone number before parting with her at the yer Management Office.


    [Hello?]


    "Oh, Seol-Ah, it''s me. Kang-Woo."


    [Oh, I see you''ve bought a cellphone.]


    "Yes."


    [Fufu, I''ll save your number right away. Where are you?]


    "I''m near the Mana Stone Exchange Center."


    [Are you going toe home right away?]


    "No, there''s a ce I want to go. But I thought it would be good if you could join me, so I called you."


    [Me¡­?] Seol-Ah asked in surprise at the sudden invitation. [Where do you want to go?]


    "Seol-ah¡­"


    [¡­Yes?] Seol-Ah answered nervously after sensing the graveness in Kang-Woo''s voice.


    She felt that he was about to say something very important.


    Kang-Woo spoke to her with a very serious tone, "Let''s go get some fried chicken."


    [¡­]

 Chapter 13 - Second Awakening (2)

    Chapter 13 - Second Awakening (2)


    Munch, munch.


    "¡­"


    Glug, glug.


    "Kaaah!"


    ng.


    Oh Kang-Woo trembled after finishing a pint of beer. The beer flowed throughout his body like water seeping into dry, drought-stricken ground.


    ''Yes, this is it!''


    It was a taste that made a person nod with satisfaction.


    Fried chicken and beer was abination that couldn''t even be imagined in hell.


    "Is it good?"


    "Yes, it''s the best."


    "Hmm." Han Seol-Ah narrowed her eyes as she looked at Kang-Woo, who was frantically eating the chicken.


    She spoke while sulking slightly, "Is it better than my kimchi stew?"


    Seol-Ah knew that being jealous because of something like this was ridiculous, but she couldn''t help but feel a bit jealous when he saw Kang-Woo enjoy eating the fried chicken that much.


    "Umm¡­"


    There was a visible sense of internal conflict in Kang-Woo''s eyes. Choosing between fried chicken and kimchi stew¡­ wasn''t an easy decision to make.


    "¡­Even so, I prefer your kimchi stew," Kang-Woo ultimately answered after thinking about it for a while.


    The chicken was delicious, but his love for kimchi stew was stronger.


    "Ahem. R-Really?" Seol-Ah said, blushing slightly. Then she giggled and expressed, "I think you''re a bit quirky, Kang-Woo."


    Kang-Woo had seemed like a violent beast while fighting against Tae-Hyun, and his usual appearance was cold and calm. Yet, he looked as pure as a child when he was eating.


    Seol-Ah couldn''t find a better word than ''quirky'' to describe Kang-Woo. She found it hard not to be curious about him.


    "Kang-Woo¡­ do you have any friends or f-family?"


    Seol-Ah thought that if she met people who knew Kang-Woo, she''d be able to hear more about him.


    When Kang-Woo heard that question, he silently took a sip of beer.


    Eventually, he replied, "I don''t."


    "Pardon?"


    "I don''t have friends or family."


    Seol-Ah fell silent for a moment.


    Kang-Woo had lived his whole life alone. His parents had abandoned him back when he was just a baby. Then, after he left the orphanage, he''d been so busy making a living that he hadn''t had time to make friends. During those times, the only thing that kept him going was the delicious food he ate from time to time. He might have given up living a long time ago if it wasn''t for that.


    "Then why were you at that E-rank Gate¡ª"


    "One day¡­" Kang-Woo cut Seol-Ah off. He looked at her with deep, sunken eyes and stated, "I''ll tell you everything one day."


    There was no point in exining his situation to Seol-Ah right now. She probably wouldn''t believe him, but even if she did, he didn''t want to tell her yet.


    "Okay. I understand," Seol-Ah said while smiling bitterly. "I''ll trust you to tell me one day."


    "Thank you."


    With a slight nod, Kang-Woo took out an envelope and gave it to Seol-Ah.


    "What''s this¡­?" she asked.


    "It''s the money that was left over after buying a smartphone. It should be approximately three million won."


    "Why are you giving me this¡­?"


    "I''m staying at your house, so think of this as paying for the rent."


    "N-No! I can''t ept this." Seol-Ah shook her head.


    Kang-Woo had saved her life. She couldn''t ept money from him as payment for rent.


    "You''ve spent a lot of money on basic training. I know that your family isn''t very well-off."


    "But¡­"


    "You don''t have to feel burdened by it since I''m getting to eat your delicious food every day. If you don''t feelfortable considering it as rent, think of it as money for groceries."


    Even objectively speaking, Seol-Ah''s cooking skills were very good. It would be a huge loss for Kang-Woo if she couldn''t show the full extent of her abilities because she didn''t have money to buy ingredients.


    "Thank you very much, Kang-Woo."


    Seol-Ah epted the envelope while looking like she was about to cry at any moment. She had been worried about this month''s living expenses, so that envelope of money was equivalent to rain in the middle of a drought.


    "Fufu, tomorrow I''ll buy better meat for the kimchi stew. It''ll be even more delicious thanst time," Seol-Ah said with a kind smile before cing the envelope in her bag.


    "Woah¡­"


    The moment he heard the words ''kimchi stew,'' Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up. Seol-Ah hadn''t meant much by what she said, but Kang-Woo was so moved by her words that his hands shook and clenched into fists excitedly.


    ''Seol-ah seriously is an angel.''


    She was going to make him kimchi stew every day¡­? That wasn''t something someone could do unless they were an angel.


    ''Let''s spend the rest of our lives together, darling!''


    A field of flowers appeared in Kang-Woo''s mind, and in that flower field stood Seol-Ah. She had wings on her back, and she was smiling at him. Pots of steaming hot kimchi stews were floating around her.


    An ironic scene of a demon feeling moved by his imagination of an angel and kimchi stew was ying out at this moment. If someone who knew Kang-Woo''s identity as the demon king saw what he was imagining, they would''ve been shocked by the abomination.


    "Oh,e to think of it, Seol-ah¡­"


    "Yes?"


    "Is there a D-rank Gate around here?"


    "Hmm¡­ Yes, there''s one," Seol-Ah said as she recalled the Gate.


    "I see. What monsters are in that Gate?"


    "I haven''t been in there myself, but I''ve heard that there are Lizardmen."


    "Lizardmen, huh?"


    It was a monster that often appeared in fantasy novels.


    ''I''ll go there tomorrow.''


    While thinking that, Kang-Woo continued talking.


    He asked, "Is there anything you know about them? Things like habits or weaknesses."


    Kang-Woo had no intention of rxing just because they were D-rank monsters. Being confident about one''s skills was a good thing, but being overly confident could bring trouble. By then, one''s overconfidence would turn into a sharp knife and sh their throat. The reason why Kang-Woo had been able to kill countless demons was that they''d underestimated him as a weak human.


    So, it didn''t matter if Seol-Ah didn''t know anything about the Lizardmen, but it was better if Kang-Woo could learn as much about his opponents as possible before trying to hunt them.


    "Lizardmen are weak to fire. And¡­ they''re very sensitive to sound."


    "Sound?"


    "Yes. They have bad eyesight, but they can use sound to detect the presence of enemies. Parties that hunt Lizardmen try to kill them quickly while making as little sound as possible."


    "I see¡­"


    It was useful information.


    ''Weak to fire, huh?''


    Kang-Woo thought of one of the Authorities he was now able to use thanks to his explosive increase in demonic energy.


    ''Hunting them is going to be easy.''


    He smiled at the thought of getting enough mana stones to increase his yer rank.


    "Kang-Woo, don''t you have to buy equipment like armor or weapons?"


    Seol-Ah tilted her head while looking at Kang-Woo, whom she thought was a high-level yer but had equipment that was worse than a newbie''s.


    "I don''t feel the need for them at the moment."


    Kang-Woo had the Authority of des as his weapon. On top of that, he had dozens of different defensive Authorities he could use.


    If he bought equipment, he could hunt more efficiently because the amount of demonic energy that he needed to consume would be reduced. However, for now, he wasn''t going to be doing any difficult hunts that required him to buy equipment.


    ''I can always buy equipmentter on.''


    With the amount of money that yers earned, Kang-Woo would probably be able to livefortably soon. He could always buy equipment once he reached that point.


    The most important thing for him now was to level up.


    ''I need to achieve my Third Awakening and check if that weakens the Ten Thousand Demon Core''s seal.''


    From what he''d read, it normally took other yers between two to three months before they were able to achieve their Third Awakening. Meanwhile, yers with lower-ranking Traits often needed up to six months.


    Nevertheless, that didn''t apply to Kang-Woo. He already possessed great power that was iparable to yers of the same level as him.


    ''I guess I''ll be eating grilled lizard tomorrow.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up as he bit into a chicken leg. "Hmm¡­"


    "Did something happen?"


    "No, I was just wondering what grilled lizard tastes like."


    "¡­?"


    It was said that one''s thoughts usually followed a stream of consciousness.


    ''Now I really want to eat it.''


    Kang-Woo finished his beer while thinking that he should cut off and bring a Lizardman''s tail with him tomorrow.


    "One more pint, please!"


    * * *


    "Have a safe trip, Kang-Woo."


    "Thank you. Good luck with your basic training, Seol-Ah."


    "Fufu, thank you. I want to achieve my Second Awakening as soon as possible so I can be a full-fledged yer like you!" Seol-Ah answered with a firm voice, clenched fists, and bright eyes.


    ''What an angel.'' Kang-Woo smiled as he gazed at her.


    After a little while, he turned away and said, "Right, let''s get going then."


    Kang-Woo went to request for his yer rank to be raised with the exchange receipt that he had received from the Mana Stone Exchange Center the day before. He had decimated a Monster Hideout alone, so his rank went up by one letter. In just a day, he had be a D-rank yer.


    Murmur.


    "Looking for a healer who haspleted their Second Awakening! C-rank Trait or above!"


    "Offering a carry service to quickly and safely reach your Third Awakening! We charge 1.3 million won per hour!"


    "I''m a rogue! Someone, anyone, please let me join your party! I''ll provide first aid if nothing else!!"


    There were several times more people gathered in front of the D-rank Gate than the E-rank one. yers who hadpleted the basic training course were immediately promoted to D-rank, so that''s why they went straight to a D-rank Gate afterpleting the course.


    However, it was undoubtedly difficult for yers who had only just achieved their Second Awakening to hunt in a D-rank Gate. Rank aside, most of these yers had little to no battle experience.


    That''s why many yers with more experience offered to help others as a paid service. Kang-Woo, who wasn''t interested in those people, paid them no mind.


    ''Someone, just take that rogue with you.''


    Kang-Woo''s attention was focused on the young man shouting for someone to let him join their party. He looked at him with pity, but he turned away too. After all, he had no reason or obligation to help the young man.


    "Excuse me," someone called out to Kang-Woo.


    It was right when Kang-Woo was about to enter the Gate after getting his yer license checked.


    Kang-Woo turned his head toward where the voice came from and saw that the person who had called him was a young man with a shortsword. Behind him were four other people who seemed to be his party members.


    ''Are these guys like Tae-Soo?''


    While thinking about the guy he''d seen the day before, Kang-Woo said, "Yes, can I help you?"


    "Judging by your equipment, you seem to be a newbie. Would you like us to carry you?" the young man, who had e on his face, asked with a smile.


    "We''ll level you up safely, Oppa~" a young woman who was quite pretty said to Kang-Woo while winking.


    If Kang-Woo had met them right when he first arrived on Earth, he might have mindlessly followed them. However, he was currently living with a woman that looked like a model¡ªSeol-Ah. The words of a woman with only decent looks couldn''t move Kang-Woo anymore.


    "I''m fine," Kang-Woo answered coldly and entered the Gate.


    "Ah, wait!" the young man called out.


    He extended his hand and tried to grab Kang-Woo to no avail. The young man frowned angrily.


    "Arrogant prick¡­" he muttered while gazing fiercely at the Gate.

 Chapter 14 - Are You Sure Youre Fine with Just That? (1)

    Chapter 14 - Are You Sure You''re Fine with Just That? (1)


    Ssh.


    ''So, this is a D-rank Gate.''


    Oh Kang-Woo frowned at the difort that the wet environment gave him.


    "So, the environment of each Gate is different."


    The environment of this D-rank Gate was greatly different from the dense forest of thest Gate that he had entered. This ce, where the Lizardmen lived, was a muddy swamp.


    ''It''s a bad ce for melee sses to hunt.''


    Moving in this swampy area rapidly sapped one''s stamina, unlike in a forest where you fought while stepping on solid ground.


    Until then, Kang-Woo had been using the Authority of des to engage in meleebat, so this environment was unfavorable to him.


    ''Well, I''ll just have to use a long-range offensive Authority.''


    He had more than a hundred long-range offensive Authorities. Most yers were either specialized in ranged or meleebat, but Kang-Woo didn''t have such limitations.


    "Authority of Silence."


    The Authority of Silence muted sounds of the caster''s choice. This allowed Kang-Woo to move silently while looking for the Lizardmen, just like what Seol-Ah had advised.


    ''There are three.''


    Kang-Woo saw three Lizardmen moving in a group not far from where he was.


    The Lizardmen were almost as tall as an average person. They had sharp spears and were vignt of their surroundings. They certainly looked more dangerous than Goblins.


    ''She said that they have bad eyesight, right?''


    A Lizardman''s body was simr to that of a lizard''s, so instead of sight, they relied more on their auditory senses to hunt.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Silence to get closer to the Lizardmen to test that information, but they weren''t able to notice his presence at all.


    ''Good.'' Kang-Woo situated himself behind them and smiled.


    This would be an easy hunt, seeing as a one-sided ambush was possible.


    ''Authority of Hellfire.''


    It was the Authority that the demon Andras had possessed. As expected from a high-ranking demon, it was an extremely destructive Authority.


    Fwoosh.


    A ck me appeared from Kang-Woo''s right hand. This ck me was hellfire, which was far more destructive than regr fire.


    Kang-Woo shot the hellfire in his hand toward the Lizardmen.


    Fwoosh-!!


    "Kiieekk!"


    The hellfire was only the size of the palm of his hand. Yet, the moment it touched the bodies of the Lizardmen, it grew in size by devouring their bodies.


    The three Lizardmen were surprised by Kang-Woo''s ambush. They immediately turned toward Kang-Woo and tried to attack him with their spears.


    However, Kang-Woo moved backward and easily dodged their attacks. Then, he patiently waited for the hellfire to devour their life forcepletely.


    "Kiieekk¡­"


    A few momentster, the Lizardmen copsed to the ground. Although their entire bodies had been covered in fire, there weren''t any burn marks on their bodies.


    ''Andras''s Authority sure is strong.''


    The hellfire made with Andras''s Authority didn''t burn the target''s body. Instead, it stuck to their body and devoured their life force. That was the power of hellfire. Once its me touched the target, the hellfire was impossible to extinguish. It could only be pushed away with either demonic energy or mana.


    ''I struggled quite a bit while fighting against him.''


    While thinking of his battle against Andras, Kang-Woo trembled a bit. At the time, he wouldn''t have been able to deal with the hellfire if he hadn''t had a lot of demonic energy, which he had gathered using the Authority of Predation.


    "Huu."


    Was the power of the Authority of Hellfire too strong? The hellfire that Kang-Woo had produced was only the size of the palm of his hand, but even that had consumed quite a lot of demonic energy.


    ''If I hadn''t awakened, I would''ve struggled to use it.''


    He wouldn''t have been able to hunt the Lizardmen so easily if the seal of the Ten Thousand Demon Core hadn''t been weakened before the hunt.


    "Hmm? Now that I think about it¡­"


    Kang-Woo suddenly remembered something.


    ''Isn''t the guild that Tae-Hyun''s a member of called Andras?''


    Among mid-sized guilds, the Andras Guild was on the higher end in terms of size and power. The name of the guild, which was surrounded by bad rumors, had the same name as the owner of the Authority that Kang-Woo was currently using.


    ''Well, the seventy-two demons of Solomon are famous even on Earth, after all.''


    Kang-Woo didn''t know why, but most demons who lived in the Nine Hells were quite well-known on Earth. For example, the seven princes of Hell were mentioned in the Holy Bible as the Seven Deadly Sins. The Nine Hells were where demons who were mentioned in all sorts of religions and myths lived.


    He was intrigued by why the Andras Guild had picked the name of a demon that wasn''t that well known, but he didn''t think it was necessary to find the connection.


    "First, I should absorb some demonic energy."


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Predation on the Lizardmen.


    Crunch! Crunch!


    ''As expected, it wasn''t just Goblins who had demonic energy.''


    As he began devouring the bodies of the Lizardmen with the Authority of Predation, a small amount of demonic energy flowed into his body.


    His theory that monsters would possess more demonic power as their rank increased turned out to be correct. The Lizardmen truly had more demonic energy than the Goblins.


    ''Although it can''t bepared to the amount that demons have.''


    Unlike demons, who relied on demonic energy to maintain and move their bodies, monsters moved purely with their bodies and mana. The demonic energy that they possessed was merely something that existed in their souls; it wasn''t the source of their power. So, it was inevitable that demons would have far more demonic energy.


    Riiing.


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 1.]


    "Well, it''s still better than nothing at all."


    Although gathering demonic energy from monsters was much slower than from demons, at least he still had a way of umting demonic energy.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Silence again and went to hunt down more Lizardmen.


    Fwoosh!


    "Kiieekk!"


    Kang-Woo''s hunting strategy was simple. He sneaked up on them with the Authority of Silence and then ambushed them with the Authority of Hellfire. He killed them so easily that he wasn''t sure if he could call it a fight, but his strategy was very effective.


    Kang-Woo only looked for groups of three or four Lizardmen since he could only use one hellfire attack to kill them.


    ''Why work hard when I can hardly work?''


    There was a way to hunt easily, and he had the ability to take advantage of it. So, there was no need to engage in battle just for the sake of the thrill.


    ''Simple and easy is the best.''


    He used their weakness, their bad eyesight, to his advantage and approached them silently. Then he shot hellfire at them from a distance and dodged their attacks until their lives ended.


    From the point of view of the Lizardmen, Kang-Woo probably seemed like he was cheating.


    Fwoosh.


    "Kiieekk!!"


    Even while being burned by the hellfire, the Lizardmen attacked him desperately with their spears. However, they couldn''t even get near him because he ran away as soon as he shot the hellfire at them. In the end, they just screamed and copsed to the ground. Despite that, even their screams of despair couldn''t reach the other Lizardmen due to Kang-Woo''s Authority of Silence.


    It was a way of fighting that couldn''t possibly be called fair, and that was how Kang-Woo hunted.


    ''There''s no such thing as fairness in hunting.''


    Hunting consisted of taking the life of the prey and plundering the spoils. Such an act was far from what was considered fairness. Only people who had shit for brains pursued such ideals. Kang-Woo had learned in Hell that hunting desperately and thoroughly was the only way to survive.


    After that, Kang-Woo kept hunting the Lizardmen with the same strategy.


    Riiing.


    [Your level has risen by 1.]


    It made the hunt boring but effective. In just a few hours, he was able to level up three times.


    ''The leveling-up process has definitely slowed down.''


    Compared to the beginning, when he leveled up two to three times by killing five Goblins, he was now barely able to level up once after killing twenty to thirty Lizardmen. It wasn''t just his level; the speed at which his demonic energy stat was increasing had slowed down as well.


    ''Well, I already expected that to happen.''


    After going through the information about yers on his smartphone, Kang-Woo had found out that a yer''s level and stats were harder to raise the higher they became. Rather, his current speed of leveling up was actually abnormally fastpared to that of other yers.


    Even with a carrying service, it was almost impossible for a Second Awakening yer to level up three times in just a few hours. If that fact were to be known, there would be a huge uproar within the world of yers.


    Kang-Woo opened his status window while picking up the mana stones on the ground.


    [Status Window]


    [yer Name: Oh Kang-Woo


    Level: 14 (First Awakening)


    First Awakening Trait: Authority of Predation (Rank: ???) *The majority of the Trait''s power is currently sealed.


    Second Awakening Trait: Insatiable Hunger (Rank: C)


    Strength: 11


    Dexterity: 13


    Health: 11


    Mana: 0


    Demonic Energy (Unique Stat): 25


    Intelligence: 9


    Wisdom: 8]


    His demonic energy stat was 25, which was way too high of a number for a Level 14 yer to have for any of their stats. Moreover, the stat did not include the demonic energy he was able to ess through the weakened seal of his Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    If he were to add the amount of demonic energy he could use from the Ten Thousand Demon Core, the Demonic Energy stat would probably be close to 40. Kang-Woo had reached a number on his Second Awakening that couldn''t be easily achieved even by a yer who was about to achieve their Fourth Awakening.


    ''It still isn''t enough.''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t satisfied with what he saw in his status window. Even though he was now overwhelmingly stronger than other yers of simr levels, his current level of power was still insignificantpared to when he was a demon king.


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo fell deep into his thoughts while crossing his arms. It was nice to level up safely, but he wanted to umte demonic energy and EXP even faster.


    "Maybe I should horde-hunt."


    Although it was a bit dangerous, it was the most effective way to speed things up. The reason why he''d managed to level up so quickly in the E-rank Gate was that he had horde-hunted at the Goblins'' hideout.


    While considering trying horde-hunting, Kang-Woo heard an arrogant voicee from behind him, "Hey, how''s the hunting going?"


    Kang-Woo turned his head and saw the young man with e and his four party members.


    ''Isn''t that¡­''


    Kang-Woo scowled a little.

 Chapter 15 - Are You Sure You’re Fine with Just That? (2)

    Chapter 15 - Are You Sure You¡¯re Fine with Just That? (2)


    Earlier¡­


    "Arrogant prick!" the young man covered in e, Jeong Ho-Jun, said while frowning.


    "Ho-Jun oppa, just ignore him. You know there are many arrogant people among the newbie yers."


    "Sigh. That fucking newbie..." Ho-Jun cursed after listening to Seo Ye-Ri, who was trying to calm him down.


    Ho-Jun had managed to achieve his Third Awakening after going through numerous near-death situations. However, after achieving it, he realized that he was a talentless yer.


    The Trait he had unlocked with his Third Awakening was C-rank. His previous Trait ranks were E and D. Since his Traits were of a low rank, he couldn''t join parties to enter higher-ranking Gates, and that''s why he¡¯d ended up staying at a D-rank Gate.


    Ho-Jun had reached a point where he couldn''t get any more experience points from monsters of D-rank Gates. So, he gave up on his dream of going to higher-ranking Gates and set up a carrying service instead. The yers that engaged his services were people with low or average-ranking Traits who couldn''t move on to higher-ranking Gates.


    ''I''m not sure how good you are, but...''


    Ho-Jun clenched his fists while biting his lip in anger.


    When a newbie yer with no armor or weapons was that arrogant, it could only mean one thing. He had been lucky and unlocked a high-ranking Trait.


    ''I''ll take this opportunity to teach him a lesson.''


    Ho-Jun¡¯s eyes burned with envy as he looked at the Gate entrance.


    Although Trait rank was important, one couldn''t ignore the difference in level. A yer who had just achieved his Second Awakening should only have a B-rank Trait at most, even if he''d been really lucky. In that case, a difference of one Trait rank wasn''t enough topensate for the gap between their levels.


    "Ye-Ri, it''s the first time you''ve seen that guy. Right?"


    "Yes. We''ve been here all the timetely, but I''ve never seen his face."


    "Then he''s definitely someone who just achieved his Second Awakening."


    There was no reason for a high-level yer toe to a low-ranking Gate. Because of the difference in level, one wouldn''t be able to gain experience points. Furthermore, there was a huge difference in the mana stone prices.


    Some high-level yers went to low-ranking Gates from time to time to help a newbie member from the same guild level up. However, that guy had been alone, so that probably wasn''t the case.


    "Among the people who havepleted basic training, there wasn''t anyone who had obtained an A-rank Trait or higher, right?"


    "Yeah. There was none, at least during the past month."


    "Good."


    Now that Ho-Jun knew that the opponent was someone who had average talent and was an arrogant newbie, there was nothing for him to be afraid of.


    "The carrying service is closed for today."


    "Oppa, you¡¯re not thinking of..."


    "Let''s teach that snot-nosed brat a lesson."


    The rest of the party members smiled at Ho-Jun''s words.


    Ye-Riughed with her hands covering her mouth and then nodded.


    ¡°Sounds good. Finally, some fun."


    "Come to think of it. It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve had fun."


    "I¡¯m in too, hyung-nim."


    The rest of the party members were in a simr situation to Ho-Jun. Because of their low-ranking Traits, they couldn''t enter a higher-ranking Gate. Their envy of lucky yers was just as bad or worse than Ho-Jun''s. They also had past experiences of teaching arrogant newbie yers a lesson.


    "Okay, shall we?" Ho-Jun entered the Gate while smiling.


    * * *


    "What do you want?" Oh Kang-Woo asked Ho-Jun, who had called out to him.


    It wasn''t the first time he''d seen Ho-Jun¡¯s face.


    ''It''s the guy from before.''


    Ho-Jun was the guy who had offered to carry Kang-Woo at the Gate entrance. He was looking at Kang-Woo somewhat mockingly.


    "As someone more experienced than you, I was worried about whether your hunting was going well," Ho-Jun said with a shady smile.


    Kang-Woo smirked at Ho-Jun¡¯s attempt to mock him.


    ''Cute.''


    It wasn''t hard for Kang-Woo to understand the situation. He could tell just from looking at their expressions why they had decided to approach him.


    ''Are they trying to y a prank on me?''


    Trampling on the weak was a basic desire that all living things had, as it made them feel better about themselves.


    ''But¡­''


    This group was wrong about something.


    ''I''m not weak.''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t a weak person who couldn''t do anything by himself. He was the demon of demons, the predator of predators.


    His lips curled up, and he opened his mouth with deep, sunken eyes.


    He said, "As you can see, hunting is going well."


    "Hmm." Ho-Jun looked around the area. "But there isn''t even a single corpse."


    Kang-Woo had said that hunting was going well, but there weren''t any Lizardman corpses around him.


    Kang-Woo shrugged and replied calmly, "I was just taking a break."


    "Really? Hmm. But aren''t you being too rude toward your sunbae?"


    "That''s because your meddlesome attitude is annoying, sunbae."


    Ho-Jun frowned after seeing that Kang-Woo wasn''t discouraged by the harsh atmosphere.


    "Damn prick..."


    He wasn''t sure what rank Kang-Woo¡¯s Trait was, but Kang-Woo''s attitude ground his gears.


    ''I¡¯m sure his Trait is B-rank at most.''


    If a yer managed to get a B-rank Trait in their Second Awakening, they were considered a talented yer. If that happened, they would receive lots of calls from different guilds and parties. Of course, there was a chance that they wouldn''t be able to unlock a higher-ranking Trait in the future, but many people stayed arrogant until they found that out.


    "Are you here to pick a fight or what?" Kang-Woo asked Ho-Jun with his arms crossed.


    Even the other party members, who had been watching silently, picked up their weapons while frowning.


    "Hah."


    "For God¡¯s sake, this bastard..."


    However, Ho-Jun extended his hand to gesture to his party members. "Stop."


    "But Ho-Jun..."


    "Don''t worry. We¡¯re definitely going to teach this brat a lesson," Ho-Jun said with a smirk.


    There was no need for them to get their hands dirty.


    ''There''s a better way,'' Ho-Jun thought.


    After all, the scariest thing for newbie yers wasn''t other yers. It was monsters.


    "Hehe, I''ll make you regret being so arrogant," Ho-Jun stated.


    "You¡¯re getting my hopes up,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    "Hmph, let''s see how long you can keep that attitude up."


    Ho-Jun took out his shortsword. He smiled and extended his arms, which were covered with wrist guards.


    It seemed like Ho-Jun¡¯s party members knew what Ho-Jun nned to do, and they looked at him expectantly.


    "Did you know that Lizardmen are extremely sensitive to sound?" Ho-Jun asked.


    "¡­" Kang-Woo didn¡¯t reply.


    Nevertheless, that was information he already knew.


    ''I see what he¡¯s up to,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    When Kang-Woo realized what Ho-Jun was trying to do, he smirked.


    Considering how Ho-Jun had brought his shortsword close to his wrist guard and mentioned Lizardmen being sensitive to sound, there was only one possible course of action that Ho-Jun could possibly take.


    ng! ng! ng!


    Ho-Jun used his shortsword to hit his wrist guard, producing a metallic sound that echoed throughout the swamp.


    ''I knew it.'' Kang-Woo smiled at Ho-Jun''s petty and predictable behavior.


    Rush!


    "Kiieekk!!"


    Kang-Woo could hear the screams of the approaching Lizardmen.


    Ho-Jun said with a smirk, "The best way to teach a rude newbie a lesson is by using monsters."


    After leveling up and getting used to fighting against monsters, most yers became more afraid of other yers. That was because monsters only tried to kill them, but other yers often inflicted pain worse than death.


    However, newbie yers who weren''t used to fighting monsters were usually more afraid of monsters than yers. After all, monsters were obvious enemies, a threat to humanity. They were creatures that tore apart the skin of humans and drank their blood. So, it was normal that newbie yers who had never experienced a real battle in their lives were scared of them.


    "So, that¡¯s your y, huh?" Kang-Woo said.


    "Why? Are you scared now?" Ho-Jun asked whileughing. "At least ten Lizardmen are going to rush over here. I don¡¯t know how amazing your Trait is, but will you be able to face all ten of them at once?"


    "¡­"


    "Haha. You don''t need to worry. We¡¯ll help you if you''re about to die. Although¡­ you may get severely injured, and maybe you won''t be able to use some parts of your body again. But it''s a cheap price if you think of this as a life lesson."


    Upon seeing that Kang-Woo was silent, Ho-Jun hit his shortsword against his wrist guard with a wider swing.


    ng!


    A more distinct metallic sound spread throughout their surroundings.


    Yet, Kang-Woo remained silent while watching Ho-Jun''s actions. In Ho-Jun''s eyes, Kang-Woo looked afraid.


    "Why? Why aren¡¯t you acting as cheeky as you did before? Huh?" Ho-Jun mocked.


    "¡­"


    "Hahaha! You¡¯ve frozen now that monsters are actuallying!" Ho-Junughed excitedly.


    Kang-Woo smirked. "Are you sure?"


    "Huh?"


    "Are you sure you¡¯re fine with just that?"


    "What the hell are you talki¡ª"


    "If you''re gonna do that, you might as well go all the way."


    Kang-Woo extended his hands and pped with all of his strength while looking at the confused Ho-Jun.


    Boom!!!


    His hands produced an explosive sound.


    ¡®Authority of Sonority.¡¯


    It was an Authority that used demonic energy to make sounds loud enough to rupture eardrums.


    "Gasp!"


    "Wh-What have you done?!"


    The faces of Ho-Jun and his party members turned pale.


    Lizardmen were sensitive to sound. Making a loud sound like that in their territory was suicide.


    Rush!!


    "Kiieekk!!"


    The sounds of Lizardmen rang out all around as the Lizardmen approached the source of the loud noise.


    "Y-You crazy¡ª"


    Boom!


    Boooooooooom!


    Yet, Kang-Woo didn''t stop at just one p. He used the Authority of Sonority multiple times. Loud sounds simr to dozens of bombs exploding echoed throughout their surroundings.


    "Hahaha! Yeah! This is more like it!" Kang-Woo eximed excitedly.


    "Crazy son of a bitch!!" Ho-Jun''s scream rang out along with the explosions of sound.


    It was then that he realized that he had picked a fight with a lunatic.

 Chapter 16 - Are You Sure Youre Fine with Just That? (3)

    Chapter 16 - Are You Sure You''re Fine with Just That? (3)


    Jeong Ho-Jun''s screams rang throughout the swamp, along with the explosive sounds. He could hear the screeches of Lizardmen as they ran toward the source of the noise.


    ''Crazy fucker!''


    Although Ho-Jun had also lured in some Lizardmen with noise, it waspletely different from what Oh Kang-Woo had done. What Ho-Jun had done was like throwing firewood at a burning house, but what Kang-Woo had done was the equivalent of pouring a drum of oil onto it.


    "R-Run!" Ho-Jun shouted to his party members.


    The pale-faced party members began looking for an escape route.


    Kang-Woo looked at them very calmly and asked, "Do you seriously believe there''s anywhere to run to?"


    "Kuh¡­!"


    Just like Kang-Woo said, they were surrounded by Lizardmen. There was no escape route.


    Ho-Jun grabbed his shortsword and shouted angrily, "Do you think you''ll be safe after doing something like this?! Huh? Are you trying to die with us or what?!"


    "Die with you? What are you talking about? You''re the only ones who are going to die," Kang-Woo replied.


    "Ha! Do you seriously think you can handle that many monsters by yourself?" Ho-Jun shouted with a sneer.


    Close to a hundred Lizardmen wereing their way. Even Ho-Jun''s party, who got paid to carry newbie yers, considered this a life-threatening situation. There was no way that a yer who had just achieved his Second Awakening would be able to survive a monster wave like this.


    "You asked me if I knew that Lizardmen were sensitive to sound, right?" Kang-Woo asked Ho-Jun with a smirk.


    Ho-Jun flinched in terror after seeing Kang-Woo''s chilling smile.


    "I knew," Kang-Woo said.


    Then he used the Authority of Silence and kicked around in the swamp, making the water slosh around. However, the sloshing wasn''t making any noise.


    After watching that, Ho-Jun began trembling. "You¡­ Don''t tell me¡­"


    ''He has a Trait that lets him control sound.''


    Judging by the loud noise Kang-Woo had made before and the fact that he couldpletely mute the sound he made, it wasn''t hard for Ho-Jun to guess the nature of Kang-Woo''s Trait.


    "Kiieekk!!"


    "Damn it!" Ho-Jun looked anxiously at the group of Lizardmen that were getting closer.


    He shouted toward his party members, "Do any of you see an escape route?"


    "There''s none! We''repletely surrounded by Lizardmen!"


    Even their faintest shred of hope was gone. Ho-Jun''s expression became filled with despair.


    Meanwhile, Kang-Woo leaned his back against a tree and watched Ho-Jun with a rxed expression.


    ''Perfect timing.''


    The party approached Kang-Woo right when he was considering whether he should try horde-hunting.


    ''I felt a bit ufortable doing it by myself.''


    The smile on Kang-Woo''s face widened.


    Even for Kang-Woo, it would be hard to fight against a hundred Lizardmen simultaneously at his current level. He thought of using the Authority of Silence to sneak up on the Lizardmen, attack them, and then back off. However, there was one problem with that. The Lizardmen had bad eyesight, but they weren''t blind.


    Nevertheless, the appearance of such good bait, Ho-Jun''s party, changed things. They would clearly attract more attention than the silent Kang-Woo, so Kang-Woo just had to remain silent as he watched them fight against the Lizardmen.


    ''Since they carry people for money, I guess they''ll be able to resist at least a bit.''


    The best part was that they weren''t a party of low-level yers; they were a party that earned money by helping people level up. Kang-Woo wasn''t sure why they were doing such a thing, but he was sure that they would at least be able to resist a bit longer than a normal party.


    He had a smile on his face as he watched the party panic.


    ''Nothing better than pitting your enemies against each other.''


    Kang-Woo didn''t need to put his life at risk or fight with everything he had. He just had to keep silently reducing the number of Lizardmen while they were fighting. Then once the Lizardmen were tired from the prolonged battle, he could easily wipe them out.


    Furthermore, he could avoid meaningless conflict with Ho-Jun''s party, which was like killing two birds with one stone.


    "What''s wrong? If you don''t get into a defensive formation, you''ll die without even being able to put up a fight," Kang-Woo said teasingly.


    Ho-Jun''s party was so panicked that they couldn''t even get ready to fight.


    ''I can''t reap the benefits if you don''t put up a good enough fight.'' Kang-Woo''s thoughts would probably make Ho-Jun faint.


    Meanwhile, Kang-Woo hid himself as best he could among the vines to avoid being seen by the Lizardmen, who had bad eyesight.


    "D-Don''t tell me he¡ª!" Ho-Jun muttered. He noticed Kang-Woo had gone into hiding. From that, he guessed what Kang-Woo was trying to do and eximed in a fit of rage, "You demon!!!"


    ''I''m a demon, indeed.'' Kang-Woo smirked at Ho-Jun''s scream.


    Although Kang-Woo looked like a human, he was, in reality, closer to a demon. After all, there was no way a person could live for more than ten millennia without losing their sanity if they weren''t a demon.


    "If you have time to say stuff like that, use it to get into formation. Do you really want to die without even putting up a fight?" Kang-Woo said.


    "Arrrggghhh!" Ho-Jun raised his shortsword and ran toward Kang-Woo in rage.


    ''Even if I die, I''ll at least take you with me!'' Ho-Jun thought.


    Judging by what he''d seen until now, Kang-Woo''s Trait was something rted to sound. So, there was a chance he wasn''t good in practicalbat.


    Ho-Jun leaped toward Kang-Woo with rage infused in his shortsword.


    "Kiieekk!"


    "Ugh!"


    "H-Ho-Jun! Watch out!"


    Yet, what blocked his path wasn''t Kang-Woo but a group of Lizardmen. Because of his scream, they''d chosen him as their first target. Thanks to the group of Lizardmen leaping toward him from all sides, Ho-Jun couldn''t rush over to Kang-Woo anymore.


    "All right, struggle as best you can," Kang-Woo said with augh.


    Ho-Jun couldn''t hear what Kang-Woo said because he was using the Authority of Silence, but Ho-Jun could guess what Kang-Woo had said just by looking at his expression.


    "AARRGGHH!! YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!"''


    "Ho-Jun! D-Don''t scream!"


    The Lizardmen attacked Ho-Jun with their spears. Even though he was raging, he somehow managed to just barely block their attacks with his shortsword.


    "D-Defensive formation! We have to get into a defensive formation!" Seo Ye-Ri urgently shouted to the other party members.


    Since the party leader had lost his mind, someone else had to take charge.


    Still with pale expressions on their faces, the other party members listened to Ye-Ri''s orders and got into a defensive formation.


    Boom! Crack!


    "Kiieekk!!!"


    "Kurgh! Th-There are too many of them!"


    "Hold on as best you can!" the man wielding a shield shouted with a desperate expression.


    It was hard to keep himself together with so many spear attacksing from all directions. Although they had previously hunted groups of ten to twenty Lizardmen, facing a hundred of them was a new situation.


    Crack!


    "We won''t have to face a hundred of them all at once! They''lle in waves! Focus on protecting Ye-Ri!" Ho-Jun yelled.


    Ho-Jun had joined the formation after being brought back to his senses somewhat by the other party members'' screams.


    With the protection of her party members, Ye-Ri cast some magic, "Fire Shock!"


    She activated her fire-type Trait skill. Fire shot out of her staff and rained down on the Lizardmen.


    Fwoosh!


    "Kiieekk!"


    The Lizardmen, who were weak to fire, started to scream as they were burned.


    "Wow." Kang-Woo looked at the party members with interest.


    ''They''re better than expected.''


    There was a reason why they carried newbies. Even while being surrounded by a hundred Lizardmen, they were still able to put up quite a good resistance. Ye-Ri, especially, was doing a great job as she stood in the middle.


    Crack!


    "Hold on for as long as you can while breaking through the encirclement!"


    "Th-There are too many of them!"


    Despite doing a good job, the party members looked desperate. They knew that once their stamina was depleted, they wouldn''t be able to fight back anymore. Nevertheless, Ho-Jun''s party did its best to break through the Lizardmen''s encirclement.


    ''Nice.'' Kang-Woo watched their battle with a smile on his face.


    Thanks to the party being better than he''d thought, they would probably die along with the Lizardmen.


    ''I won''t even need to lift a finger.''


    Kang-Woo had been thinking about how he should deal with the Lizardmen in case Ho-Jun''s party died too quickly, but now he could watch the battle a little bit more rxedly.


    He had no intention of helping them. He wasn''t a benevolent person. No, he was a person who had grown up in an environment that hadn''t let him be benevolent.


    Evil had to be dealt with using an even greater evil, and bloodlust had to be dealt with using an even greater bloodlust. The moment Kang-Woo stopped following those rules, he would be the prey.


    Initially, Kang-Woo had been worried that if the party died, the corpses could generate problems for him. However, it seemed like he didn''t need to worry about that.


    ''The situation is different from the time I faced Han Tae-Hyun.''


    If he had killed Tae-Hyun in that fight, there was a high chance that he would have gotten into trouble. Whereas, in the current situation, Kang-Woo wasn''t killing Ho-Jun''s party himself. The ones who were about to kill their party were the Lizardmen, and yers died at the hands of monsters all the time.


    "Cough! Pant, pant." Ho-Jun, covered in Lizardman blood, was breathing heavily.


    There were too many Lizardmen, so it was impossible to break through their encirclement. However, the party had no way to deal with a hundred Lizardmen either.


    "S-Save us! P-Please! Save us!!" Ho-Jun shouted to Kang-Woo fearfully.


    Ho-Jun''s party was so desperate that they had to grab onto anything they could.


    While watching them fight desperately, Kang-Woo raised one hand. Then he showed Ho-Jun his middle finger.


    "Ah¡­" a whimper filled with despair emerged from Ho-Jun''s mouth.


    There was a horrifying smile on Kang-Woo''s face. Ho-Jun felt like he could see a certain form ovepping with the smiling Kang-Woo.


    "Demon¡­" Ho-Jun muttered.


    It was a demon with ck bat wings, two horns, and a long tail. Kang-Woo was definitely a human being, yet Ho-Jun saw the figure of a demon around him.


    Crush!


    Right when Ho-Jun was standing still out of shock, the spear of a Lizardman pierced his chest.

 Chapter 17 - Third Awakening (1)

    Chapter 17 - Third Awakening (1)


    Fwoosh!


    "Kiieekk¡­"


    The horde of Lizardmen covered in hellfire copsed to the ground. Already tired from fighting against Jeong Ho-Jun''s party, the Lizardmen died from Oh Kang-Woo''s attack without being able to put up a fight.


    "I guess that pretty much takes care of them," Kang-Woo murmured while looking at the swamp that had be a valley of death.


    The scene would make anyone vomit, but Kang-Woo calmly walked across the swamp.


    Back when he was in Hell, he had seen many grotesque scenes of corpses lying in pools of blood. The everyday scenes in Hell were more horrifying than this one of a swamp littered with corpses. This level of gore was too mild to shake Kang-Woo.


    "Now, let''s begin."


    Rather, to Kang-Woo, the hundred or so corpses of Lizardmen looked like a feast.


    ''Although I got almost no experience points¡­''


    Most of the Lizardmen had been killed by Ho-Jun''s party, so Kang-Woo had gotten almost no experience points. If he were an average yer, he would feel a bit disappointed, but Kang-Woo had another way to get stronger besides leveling up.


    Kang-Woo walked toward the corpses of the Lizardmen. ck smoke emerged from his body and covered the corpses.


    Crunch! Crunch!


    As the horrible sounds of flesh being munched rang out, the demonic energy inside the Lizardmen''s souls was absorbed by Kang-Woo.


    Ring!


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 1.]


    ''Good.''


    Many Lizardmen had died in this battle, so Kang-Woo managed to absorb a considerable amount of demonic energy.


    He continued using the Authority of Predation, and the approximately one hundred Lizardmen corpses quickly disappeared.


    Riiing.


    [Authority of Predation cannot be used on subjects under the Gaia System''s protection.]


    "Hmm?"


    A message window with a new message Kang-Woo had never seen before appeared in front of him.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head while looking at it.


    ''Gaia System?''


    He had heard these words when he first arrived on Earth, but he didn''t know what they meant.


    Kang-Woo frowned at the unexpected message.


    "Ah."


    It was at this moment that Kang-Woo remembered Ho-Jun''s party.


    "Now that I think about it, they''re here too."


    Among the mountain of Lizardman corpses, Kang-Woo found Ho-Jun, who had been killed by a spear piercing through his chest.


    It seemed like the Authority of Predation had tried to devour Ho-Jun and his party members by mistake.


    ''Subjects under the Gaia System''s protection¡­ Is it referring to yers?''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure what the Gaia System was. Nevertheless, considering that he had never seen this kind of message window while using the Authority of Predation on monsters, there was a high chance the subjects mentioned in the message were yers.


    ''Then this means that I can''t use Predation on yers'' corpses.''


    The first time Kang-Woo had heard about the Traits of yers, he''d naturally thought about whether he could absorb their Traits with his Authority of Predation. Since he could absorb the Authorities of demons, he''d thought that he should be able to obtain the Traits of other yers.


    ''Well, I guess it doesn''t matter.''


    Kang-Woo turned away from Ho-Jun''s corpse without a hint of disappointment.


    The Traits of other yers meant nothing to him. After all, he already had 666 Authorities that practically made him omnipotent.


    ''The important thing isn''t the Traits but the amount of demonic energy.''


    The most crucial thing to him was getting enough demonic energy so that he could freely use his 666 Authorities.


    Crunch!


    Kang-Woo finished absorbing all of the Lizardman corpses with his Predation.


    Riiing.


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 2.]


    [Demonic Energy has reached 30.]


    "Sigh."


    Kang-Woo let out a short sigh after feeling the demonic energy spread throughout his body.


    After absorbing the corpses of hundreds of Lizardmen during this hunt, he certainly felt that quite a considerable amount of demonic energy had umted in his body.


    ''The stat rose by five at once.''


    It wasn''t a bad result. The fact that he had been able to obtain so much demonic energy without doing much was an incredible achievement.


    ''I guess its quality also increases with the number.''


    After reaching a stat number of 30, his demonic energy became much denser.


    Kang-Woo used Andras''s Authority as a test.


    Fwoosh!


    ck mes the size of a person''s head zed in his hand. The energy flowing out of the hellfire now was more ferocious than before, when it had only been the size of his palm.


    ''Good.''


    He could feel a bigger difference with his demonic energy stat rising from 25 to 30 than when it went from 10 to 20.


    ''Now, I just need to level up.''


    Kang-Woo nodded to himself while collecting the mana stones on the ground.


    All he had to do now was level up and achieve his Third Awakening. Then, he would finally be able to confirm if the seal of the Ten Thousand Demon Core would weaken with each Awakening.


    ''I guess I''ll hunt a bit more.''


    He slowly walked away while leaving behind the cold corpses of Ho-Jun''s party.


    * * *


    Three days after the incident with Ho-Jun''s party, Kang-Woo continued to level up at an incredible pace while horde-hunting Lizardmen. It took most people about two months to achieve their Third Awakening, but Kang-Woo was already Level 19. If someone were to find out about the speed at which he was leveling up, they would be shocked beyond belief.


    "I''ll probably achieve my Third Awakening today," Kang-Woo mumbled to himself after having breakfast with Han Seol-Ah.


    ''Once I reach it, I''ll go to a higher-ranking Gate.''


    yers needed to be promoted to C-rank to be qualified to enter a C-rank Gate. To do that, not only did they require mana stone exchange statements, but they also needed a Level Certificate that proved that they had achieved their Third Awakening.


    It was a safety measure put in ce for C-rank Gates and above because the monsters inside them were iparable to those in D-rank Gates. The monsters in C-rank Gates were so strong that many yers stayed in D-rank Gates even after achieving their Third Awakening. Those people usually earned a living by operating a carry service. Ho-Jun''s party members had been like them.


    ''Additionally, the inspections are apparently far stricter for C-rank Gates and up¡­''


    The soldiers manning the D-rank and E-rank Gates barely looked at yer licenses; it was as if they were doing age checks in a bar. However, this was very different for C-rank and above Gates. The soldiers thoroughly inspected every single personal detail required to ensure the yer had permission to ess the Gate.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure if he would be able to enter by using just his Authority of Blindness.


    ''Since I already have enough mana stones to reach the quota, I just need to level up.''


    In just three days, Kang-Woo had earned ny-two million won. A D-rank mana stone from a Lizardman sold for two hundred and thirty thousand won, and he had hunted over four hundred Lizardmen. It had been a while back since he had already surpassed the number of mana stones necessary for the exchange to raise his yer rank.


    "Kang-Woo, will you be hunting at the Gate today as well?" Seol-Ah asked.


    "Yes, I''ll probably be back by dinner."


    "Aren''t you pushing yourself too hard? You haven''t taken a day off in the past few days¡­"


    "I''m fine," Kang-Woo said calmly.


    He really wasn''t tired at all.


    Hunting Lizardmen had be easier for him after his Demonic Energy stat surpassed 30. Kang-Woo was stronger than two to three carrying partiesbined, so there was no way he would be tired.


    "Mm, understood."


    "How much longer will your basic trainingst, Seol-Ah?"


    "Just a few more days. We''ll start Goblin hunting today to level up."


    "I see."


    "I''m not sure if I''ll get a good Trait, but¡­ I want to get my Second Awakening as soon as possible."


    "You''ll reach it soon."


    After having a short conversation with Seol-Ah, Kang-Woo went to the D-rank Gate.


    Just like always, many people were gathered in front of the Gate to find party members.


    ''I''ve gotten used to this scenery,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    It had been six days since he returned to Earth. Now he''d be used to seeing people wandering around instead of demons.


    ''I should take a break after getting my Third Awakening.''


    Bing stronger and earning money to enjoy life on Earth was fine, but he hadn''t been able to do any of the things he''d been craving.


    Kang-Woo walked toward the Gate while thinking that once he hadpleted his Third Awakening, he would go enjoy all kinds of entertainment with the money he''d earned by selling mana stones.


    "Hey, mister. Are you really struggling that much to find a party?"


    "Yes. No one wants a rogue¡­"


    "Haha! Then why don''t you join us?"


    "Whoa! R-Really?"


    While Kang-Woo was walking toward the Gate, he heard a familiar voice.


    "Hmm?" Kang-Woo turned toward the voice.


    ''He must''ve gotten his Second Awakening.''


    It was Kang Tae-Soo, the young man whom Kang-Woo had met while Goblin hunting. Tae-Soo''s party already had a few members, but he was still talking to a rogue with whom no one wanted to form a team.


    ''He''s the same as before.''


    Kang-Woo smirked at the sight before entering the Gate.


    ''I should say hi to himter.''


    It was said that even a slight brush of sleeves could draw a line of destiny between people. Since Kang-Woo didn''t hate people like Tae-Soo, he thought that they should at least exchange greetings.


    ''But leveling upes first.''


    While staring at his level, which had been stuck at 19 for a while, Kang-Woo quickly searched for a group of Lizardmen. He had something much more important to do than greeting Tae-Soo.


    ''Found them.''


    After finding a group of three Lizardmen, Kang-Woo threw a ball of hellfire the size of his head toward them.


    Fwoosh!


    "Kiieekk!!"


    The three Lizardmen screamed desperately before burning up and dying instantly.


    "Good. Next up¡­"


    Kang-Woo was about to search for his next targets when he heard a familiar sound.


    Riiing.


    [You have sessfully defeated the D-rank monster Lizardman.]


    [Your level has risen by 1.]


    "Huh?"


    Kang-Woo stared bewilderedly at the message window in front of him.

 Chapter 18 - Third Awakening (2)

    Chapter 18 - Third Awakening (2)


    [You have reached Level 20.]


    [You have reached Level 20 and have achieved your Third Awakening.]


    [Your Third Awakening Trait has been unlocked.]


    "I guess I was on the verge of leveling up."


    Oh Kang-Woo smirked upon seeing that he had leveled up after killing only three Lizardmen. If he had known that things would turn out like this, he would have just hunted a bit more the previous day.


    ''Too bad there''s no way to know how many experience points are required to level up.''


    In any case, it was good that he had achieved his goal sooner than expected.


    Before checking his new Trait, Kang-Woo closed his eyes and circted the demonic energy inside him. It was time to check whether his hypothesis was right or not.


    Whir!


    The demonic energy thatshed through his body waspletely different from before.


    Kang-Woo extended his hand and produced hellfire with Andras''s Authority.


    Fwoosh!


    A ck me the size of a human being appeared on top of his hand. The hellfire, which yearned hungrily for life force, twisted about greedily.


    Kang-Woo smiled while looking at the fire that was almost two meters tall.


    "I knew it."


    His hypothesis had been correct.


    After he achieved his Third Awakening, the seal of his Ten Thousand Demon Core was weakened, and demonic energy seeped out and flowed throughout his body.


    The sensation he felt now was iparable to what he''d felt when his demonic energy stat rose from 25 to 30.


    "Nice."


    For Kang-Woo, who possessed more Authorities than any other demon, this rise in demonic energy felt as if he was being freed from chains restricting him from using the Authorities.


    ''Although, it''s still nowhere near enough.''


    Even though he had achieved his Third Awakening, he still had far more Authorities that he couldn''t use than those that he could. However, he felt much more liberated nowpared to when he first arrived on Earth.


    ''If I keep leveling up at this pace, I''ll soon be able to break the seal on the Ten Thousand Demon Corepletely.''


    Of course, leveling up would get harder as time passed by. Nevertheless, he was satisfied with knowing that there was a way to recover his old level of power.


    "Urgh, I wouldn''t need to do things like this if Gates hadn''t appeared on Earth."


    If there weren''t things like Gates, monsters, and yers, then Kang-Woo wouldn''t have to recover his old level of power. After all, what he wanted wasn''t something like world domination; he just wanted to live afortable life on Earth while enjoying the things that he hadn''t been able to.


    Yet, after learning about Earth''s situation, his thoughts changed.


    ''I need more power.''


    Power was necessary for him to be able to enjoy everything he wanted without having to worry about anything. He had learned over thest ten millennia that the rights of the weak were always trampled on and that the only thing they were left with was pain.


    Kang-Woo probably wouldn''t need to aim to be an absolute being as he had been in Hell, but he needed power as a safeguard.


    "All right, I''ll check my new Trait next."


    He had already confirmed that the seal of the Ten Thousand Demon Core weakened each time he awakened. So, it was now time to see the new Trait he had acquired.


    Kang-Woo opened his status window to check.


    [Third Awakening Trait: Mana-Hungry Demon (Rank: A)]


    [Effect: The yer can convert the mana within mana stones into demonic energy and absorb it.]


    "Interesting."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up after reading about his new Trait.


    He had gained yet another way to umte demonic energy besides Predation and leveling up.


    ''Mana stones, huh?''


    Mana stones were like the cores of monsters. On Earth, those mana stones were used for energy by numerous industries, so yers were able to earn a lot of money by selling the mana stones that they obtained from monsters to the government.


    "Let''s test it out."


    Kang-Woo took the mana stones out of the Lizardmen that he had just killed and used the power of his new Trait. He could feel the mana inside the stone convert into demonic energy and then flow into his body.


    ''Not bad.''


    Converting the mana within a D-rank mana stone into demonic energy gave him as much demonic energy as what he''d received from using the Authority of Predation on one Lizardman. The addition of this new Trait meant Kang-Woo could get double the amount of demonic energy in total. The new Trait, Mana-Hungry Demon, had a far better effect than Insatiable Hunger, the Trait that he''d acquired with his Second Awakening.


    ''The only problem is that I won''t be able to earn money.''


    If he absorbed all the mana inside the mana stones, he wouldn''t be able to sell them.


    ''I guess it''ll be fine as long as I don''t absorb all of them.''


    Compared to a normal person, the amount of money that yers earned was a lot. Furthermore, mana stones sold for higher prices as they increased in rank, so Kang-Woo would probably be able to livefortably just by selling a few of them.


    ''After all, I earned ny million won in thest three days.''


    Even if this lowered his profits, it was worth it if he could get twice the amount of demonic energy.


    ''I guess I won''t be going to the Mana Stone Exchange Center today.''


    After absorbing the three Lizardman corpses and their mana stones, Kang-Woo moved in search of his next target. He had some extra time left because his hunt had ended far too early.


    Since he had obtained a new Trait, Kang-Woo began searching for a ce where he could horde-hunt Lizardmen for thest time.


    "Now that I think about it, I''ve never seen a Lizardman boss monster."


    He had gotten a C-rank mana stone from hunting a Hobgoblin in an E-rank Gate, so he was expecting to get a higher-ranking mana stone from hunting the boss monster of a D-rank Gate.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Sky to fly up into the sky.


    His demonic energy had increased after achieving his Third Awakening, so he was now able to use the Authority of the Sky to some extent.


    ''I can''t see very well from up top because of the vines.''


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue after he failed to find the boss monster from the sky.


    ''I might have been able to find it if I were able to use the Authority of the Beholder.''


    The Authority of the Beholder, which belonged to the demon Astaroth, was the best Authority that Kang-Woo had for conducting searches. However, he wouldn''t be able to search through such a big swamp with the amount of demonic energy that he had currently.


    Disappointed, Kang-Woo slowly descended toward the ground.


    sh! ng!


    "What''s the meaning of this, misters?!"


    Kang-Woo suddenly heard a familiar voice.


    "Tae-Soo?" he realized.


    It was the voice of Kang Tae-Soo, whom Kang-Woo hadst seen in front of the Gate trying to gather party members. There was a sense of urgency and anger in his voice.


    ''What''s going on?'' Kang-Woo wondered inwardly.


    He would''ve ignored it if it were the voice of a stranger, but since it was someone he knew, his curiosity surged.


    Kang-Woonded on the ground and went to where the screams wereing from.


    Bam!


    "Kurgh!!"


    "Sigh, this muscle pig is so damn solid."


    "Urgh, why¡­"


    Kang-Woo saw two people wielding a sword and an axe against Tae-Soo. Beside Tae-Soo was the young rogue that Kang-Woo had seen earlier at the Gate entrance with Tae-Soo. The rogue had fainted and was losing blood.


    "Why are you attacking your own party members?!" Tae-Soo yelled.


    "You''re so damn loud. What if you end up drawing the attention of Lizardmen?"


    "Just answer the question!" Tae-Soo shouted angrily while raising a shield that was the size of his whole body.


    ''Was he betrayed by his party members?'' Kang-Woo frowned.


    Just hearing the short conversation between the three people was enough for Kang-Woo to figure out what had happened. They were from the same party, but two members had suddenly turned against Tae-Soo and the rogue.


    ''Are they Chaos yers?''


    Chaos yers were malicious yers who killed fellow yers instead of monsters and took their belongings, taking advantage of the fact that it wasn''t unusual for people to die inside Gates. The government actively took action to stop Chaos yers due to their atrocious deeds.


    "Shut up and stay still."


    ng!


    "Kurgh!"


    After being hit by the axe wielder, Tae-Soo was pushed back. Even so, he didn''t let his shield go and red at them.


    "Sigh, you''re tenacious. I''ll give you that."


    "Is he seriously only at his Second Awakening? Why is he so sturdy?"


    The two men looked at Tae-Soo in disbelief.


    Tae-Soo gritted his teeth and strengthened his grip on his shield, which then glowed blue.


    "Just like you said, I won''t go down easily," Tae-Soo said.


    "Well¡­ it looks like you''ve unlocked a fairly high-ranking Trait."


    "Even so, someone who hasn''t even gone through their Third Awakening won''t be able to defeat us."


    The two men approached Tae-Soo with wicked smiles.


    Tae-Soo had put up amendable fight so far, but the two men were yers whose levels were in the thirties and had already achieved their Fourth Awakening. The great difference between their levels and Tae-Soo''s level could not be ovee by just having a higher-ranked Trait.


    "Let''s wrap this up."


    "You know that we need them alive, right?"


    "Of course."


    The two men smirked and raised their weapons.


    Kang-Woo, who was hidden behind some vines, frowned a bit after hearing what the two men said.


    ''They need them alive?''


    The two men''s conversation didn''t match what he''d read about Chaos yers.


    Kang-Woo looked at the shield-wielding Tae-Soo, who wore a nervous expression.


    ''Should I help him?''


    Kang-Woo would''ve ignored the situation if he had never exchanged any words with the man in the past. He really didn''t like getting involved in bothersome things. However, even though they''d only exchanged a few words, Tae-Soo had been kind to him. So, Kang-Woo felt bad ignoring him in such a situation.


    Whiiir.


    "Hold on to your shield tight, muscle pig. This is going to hurt a lot," the man wielding the axe said with a voice full of confidence.


    Then he began gathering strength, and ck energy covered his axe.


    "¡­!" Kang-Woo''s eyes widened.


    ''Demonic energy?''


    The energying out from the man was undoubtedly demonic energy, which was fundamentally different from mana. Furthermore, it was an energy that an ordinary human being shouldn''t have.


    Frowning, Kang-Woo walked out from behind the vines.


    It was no longer about whether he should help Tae-Soo.


    ''Who are these guys?''


    Kang-Woo had to know more about the humans who possessed demonic energy.

 Chapter 19 - Andras Guild (1)

    Chapter 19 - Andras Guild (1)


    Rustle.


    "Huh?" The axe wielder turned his head toward the rustling sound. "Who the hell are you?"


    "A passerby?" the other man uttered.


    Both men red at Oh Kang-Woo.


    The sword wielder clicked his tongue and continued, "You''re out of luck. Since you''ve seen us, don''t even think about getting back home safe."


    "What a bother," the axe wielder said.


    They pointed their weapons toward Kang-Woo while making shady smiles.


    The axe wielder then said at a low volume to the sword wielder, "But¡­ we don''t need to take this guy alive, right?"


    "Yeah, I guess not. We already have enough with these two."


    "Hehehe. I see."


    The axe wielder had a chilling grin as he approached Kang-Woo. The demonic energy around the edge of his axe quivered drearily.


    While taking a closer look at Kang-Woo, the axe wielder licked his lips and said, "His looks aren''t bad¡­ and he has a nice body. Kekekeke. It''ll be fun to chop him into pieces."


    The axe wielder stared at Kang-Woo intensely. It was clear from his heavy breaths that he held disgusting intentions toward Kang-Woo.


    "Haa, haa! Come on. Lemme see your back!" the axe wielder shouted in between heavy breaths.


    "¡­" Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''The fuck''s with him?''


    He wasn''t sure what the axe wielder meant by wanting to see his back, but it felt extremely unpleasant.


    "Kekeke! Scream! If you do, maybe I''ll forgive you!"


    Stomp!


    Whileughing unpleasantly, the axe wielder stomped on the ground and then rushed toward Kang-Woo, aiming for his neck.


    Kang-Woo took a step forward and simply raised his hand. He didn''t need to use an Authority or an intricate battle strategy against someone like this.


    p!


    "Kurgh!"


    The axe wielder was pped in the face and sent rolling to the ground. He staggered to his feet with a confused expression on his face.


    "Wh-What? What are you doing? Something isn''t right¡ª"


    Kang-Woo approached the man and pped him violently on the face again.


    p!


    "Kurgh!"


    After Kang-Woo achieved his Third Awakening, his physical abilities were drastically enhanced by the explosive rise in his demonic energy.


    Whack! m! Wham!


    "Cough! Agh! W-Wait!"


    Kang-Woo had once used just his ten millennia ofbat experience to overwhelm an opponent who had achieved his Third Awakening. So, it didn''t matter if his opponent had achieved his Fourth Awakening. His opponent was no match for Kang-Woo, especially since his demonic energy stat now far surpassed what other yers would have after their Fourth Awakening.


    "Son of a bitch!" the sword wielder cursed.


    Upon seeing his partner getting beaten up, he charged toward Kang-Woo. The man''s sword was enveloped in demonic energy as well.


    Kang-Woo lightly twirled his hand in the air while staring at the sword. He activated the Authority of Shattering Air, and a bullet made ofpressed air flew toward the sword wielder.


    After being hit with an air bullet that could even shatter boulders, the man tumbled to the floor with blood pouring out of his mouth.


    "Cough¡­ Wh-What the¡­" the sword wielder uttered in disbelief.


    "There''s something I want to ask you," Kang-Woo said.


    He slowly walked toward the axe wielder, whose face was now covered with blood.


    Kang-Woo crouched down in front of the fallen axe wielder and asked in a low voice, "Where did you get demonic energy?"


    It was unlikely that the two men had Traits that allowed them to convert mana into demonic energy¡ªlet alone the power of Predation, which allowed one to absorb demonic energy from the souls of monsters.


    "You¡­" the axe wielder began to say with a stiff expression. He asked dispiritedly, "How do you know about demonic ener¡ª"


    m!


    Kang-Woo pped the axe wielder, almost breaking his neck.


    "I''m the one asking the questions. You just need to answer them," Kang-Woo stated.


    "Ugh! Cough! Cough!"


    "I''ll ask you again. Where did you get demonic energy?"


    "Urgh¡­" The axe wielder trembled in fear upon feeling the bloodlust that Kang-Woo exuded.


    Kang-Woo stared at the axe wielder and used the Authority of Fear. He couldn''t make the axe wielder his puppet yet because he wasn''t scared enough. However, the Authority of Fear had other uses, like deepening the fear that the target felt toward the user of the Authority.


    "A-Ahhhh¡­" The axe wielder peed his pants.


    From his point of view, Kang-Woo looked like a horrible monster rather than a human being.


    The axe wielder slowly opened his mouth and said, "G-Guildmaster¡­"


    "Seo Tae-Ho! What the hell are you saying?! Are you insane?!" the sword wielder cried out and tried to get up.


    Kang-Woo turned toward him. "Don''t move."


    "Eek!" the sword wielder shrieked.


    Overwhelmed by the immense demonic energy emerging from Kang-Woo, the sword wielder fell to the ground in shock. He looked up at Kang-Woo as if he couldn''t believe his eyes.


    "H-How do you have demonic energy?!" he eximed.


    "I told you not to move," Kang-Woo said.


    Bash!


    Kang-Woo fired another air bullet at the sword wielder, sending him tumbling to the ground unconscious.


    Kang-Woo looked at Seo Tae-Ho. "Guildmaster?"


    "Y-Yes!" Tae-Ho replied.


    "What''s the name of your guild?"


    "A-Andras! We''re from the Andras Guild!"


    "¡­"


    The Andras Guild had formed by taking the name of one of the seventy-two demons of Solomon. This was the mid-sized guild that Han Tae-Hyun was a member of. Many shady rumors were circting about them.


    "Our guild master bestowed us this power through a ritual!"


    "Ritual?" Kang-Woo frowned after hearing that word. "What''s this ritual?"


    "Umm¡­" Tae-Ho''s eyes shook; he couldn''t hide his fear.


    Kang-Woo increased the effect of the Authority of Fear, and Tae-Ho began frothing at the mouth while his whole body trembled.


    "Tell me," Kang-Woo said.


    "The r-ritual. Ritual¡­ Ritu¡ª AARRGG!!"


    The veins all over Tae-Ho''s body suddenly became very distinct. He writhed in agony as if something had taken root within his body. Then he vomited ck blood and died without Kang-Woo being able to do anything about it.


    Kang-Woo looked at the corpse and frowned.


    ''They must have nted something inside him so that he wouldn''t spill anything about the ritual.'' This was the only exnation Kang-Woo could think of.


    Kang-Woo turned away from Tae-Ho''s body, stood up, and walked toward Kang Tae-Soo.


    "I-Is that you, K-Kang-Woo hyung?" Tae-Soo asked.


    "Yeah."


    "H-How did you¡­ all by yourself¡­"


    It had only been a few days before when he''d encountered Kang-Woo in an E-rank Gate, yet Kang-Woo had just defeated two yers who had already achieved their Fourth Awakening.


    Kang-Woo shrugged his shoulders and calmly replied, "I was in the E-rank Gate that day because I had something to take care of there."


    "Whoa! I see! So, you weren''t a newbie in the first ce?"


    "Right," Kang-Woo lied.


    He did so very naturally, even though he had just be a yer recently.


    "Ha. I understand now what you meant back then. Anyway, thank you so much. If it weren''t for you, I would''ve died at the hands of those two," Tae-Soo said.


    "Th-Thank you for saving us." The other young man, the rogue who was losing blood, bowed to Kang-Woo with gratitude. "My name''s Kim Tae-Hyun."


    "I''m Oh Kang-Woo."


    "Haha! I guess this is why they say that you should try to know as many people as possible! I would''ve never imagined that you were a high-level yer, Kang-Woo hyung-nim!" Tae-Soo burst intoughter while making a big fuss.


    Kang-Woo looked at Tae-Soo with a smile.


    "I''ll definitely pay you back for today, hyung-nim!" Tae-Soo dered.


    "Sure."


    "That aside, I knew that the Andras Guild had a bad reputation, but to think that they would do something like this¡­" Tae-Soo frowned while looking at the two men who had attacked him.


    Despite the Andras Guild''s bad reputation, Tae-Soo never expected that there would be Chaos yers among their members.


    Tae-Soo added, "I''ll report today''s incident to the Hwarang Corps[1]!"


    "Hwarang Corps?"


    "They''re a group of yers under the government''s direct control. If I put in a report that the Andras Guild is employing Chaos yers, the Hwarang Corps will begin investigating immediately."


    "Hmm¡­" Kang-Woo remained silent for a little while and thought about it. Then he said, "Don''t report today''s incident."


    "Hmm? What do you mean, Kang-Woo hyung-nim?"


    "I''m going to deal with the Andras Guild personally."


    Kang-Woo had to investigate the ritual that was being used to bestow demonic energy onto humans. If the government got involved, he probably wouldn''t be able to conduct a proper investigation of his own.


    "Hmm¡­ Understood." Tae-Soo nodded with a heavy expression.


    Kang-Woo was surprised by Tae-Soo''s response.


    ''He''s more quick-witted than I''d thought.''


    Tae-Soo had such rough features that one could be suspicious about whether he was a monster or a person, but it seemed like he''d quickly figured out Kang-Woo''s intentions.


    ''That''ll make things quick, then.''


    Kang-Woo thought that he would be able to investigate the Andras Guildfortably now.


    He said, "Okay. Then forget about what happened he¡ª"


    Stomp!


    "I, Kang Tae-Soo, wille with you to punish the Andras Guild bastards with my iron fist of justice!"


    "What?"


    "Aren''t you trying to take justice into your own hands? Just like in martial arts novels?!"


    ''Not really.''


    "I love martial arts novels!"


    ''Who asked?''


    "I, Kang Tae-Soo, am moved by your burning desire for justice! Since I owe you my life, I want to use it by helping your cause!" Tae-Soo knelt on one knee and looked up at Kang-Woo with sparkling eyes.


    Right then, Kang-Woo saw someone else''s figure ovep with Tae-Soo''s.


    Kang-Woo put his hand on his forehead as if he had a headache.


    ''Why does he resemble Balrog so much?''


    1. Hwarang, which means "Flowering Knights", were an elite group of male warriors in Si, an ancient kingdom of the Korean Penins thatsted until the 10th century. ?

 Chapter 20 - Andras Guild (2)

    Chapter 20 - Andras Guild (2)


    Balrog had been the first strong demon that Oh Kang-Woo had encountered back when he had moved from the Eighth Hell to the Ninth. Aside from the seven princes of Hell, there hadn''t been anyone stronger than Balrog. Yet, after fighting against Kang-Woo just once, Balrog had sworn his eternal loyalty to Kang-Woo.


    ''He was a persistent one.''


    Balrog was so simple and hot-tempered that Kang-Woo wondered if his brain was only full of muscle like his body. Nevertheless, Balrog was one of the subordinates that Kang-Woo cared about the most.


    "¡­First, let''s get out of here," Kang-Woo said.


    "Hahaha! Understood!" Kang Tae-Soo replied enthusiastically.


    Kang-Woo tried to grab the sword wielder, who had lost consciousness.


    "Allow me to carry him, hyung-nim," Tae-Soo intercepted.


    However, Tae-Soo picked up the sword wielder instead. He hung the sword wielder over his shoulder and walked toward the Gate. The sword wielder was quitergepared to most guys, yet he looked like a kid when Tae-Soo picked him up.


    ''How is he not a monster?''


    Kang-Woo smirked as he looked at Tae-Soo, who looked like a monster carrying its food around.


    * * *


    "Thank you very much!" Kim Tae-Hyun bowed to Kang-Woo as soon as they made it outside. "I''ll definitely grow out of being a first-aid administrator and repay you for today''s favor!"


    "First-aid administrator?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "That''s what they call rogues because that''s all they''re good for, Kang-Woo hyung-nim. No one wants to form a party with a rogue. They can''t properly tank or deal damage, so no one wants them in their parties," Tae-Soo exined.


    "Aha." Kang-Woo nodded.


    After bowing to Kang-Woo with a determined look, Tae-Hyun turned around and walked away.


    Kang-Woo smiled while watching Tae-Hyun leave.


    ''It''s a good thing when people owe you favors.''


    Making acquaintances like that was a lot better than mindlessly creating enemies. Moreover, perhaps Tae-Hyun might truly break past a rogue''s limits and be a high-level yer one day.


    ''Although the chances are low.''


    Regardless, Kang-Woo had nothing to lose.


    He shifted his gaze from Tae-Hyun to Tae-Soo, who was gazing at him with bright eyes. Kang-Woo felt as if he had a very well-trained bear next to him.


    ''The problem is what I should do with him.''


    Judging by what Tae-Soo had said, it seemed like Kang-Woo wouldn''t be able to shake him off easily.


    "What level are you?" Kang-woo asked.


    "I''m Level 12. I got my Second Awakening recently," Tae-Soo answered.


    "Hmm¡­ You didn''t get basic training?"


    "I got a C-rank Trait with my First Awakening, so I immediately hunted to level up."


    "Oh, I see."


    A C-rank Trait was considered incredibly high ranked for a First Awakening Trait.


    Kang-Woo looked at Tae-Soo with interest. "So, what rank is your Second Awakening Trait?"


    "Hehe, I got an A-rank Trait for my Second Awakening."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up while gazing at Tae-Soo, who answered with great confidence.


    ''He''s way more talented than I expected.''


    A yer was considered talented if they acquired a B-rank or higher Trait with their Second Awakening. Yet, Tae-Soo had gotten an A-rank Trait. It was a rank that exceeded expectations.


    ''No wonder those guys were struggling with him.''


    The two men from the Andras Guild had a hard time with Tae-Soo because the rank of his Trait was quite high, despite his level being very low inparison.


    "Why didn''t you join a guild? With that rank, I''m sure you''d be able to join any you wished for."


    "I''ve been looking for one, but I won''t be joining one anymore."


    "¡­?"


    Tae-Soo clenched his fists and looked at Kang-Woo with intense eyes.


    "Your sense of justice has moved me, hyung-nim! I, Kang Tae-Soo, want to follow you from now on!" Tae-Soo shouted while sting air from his nostrils.


    "Hmm¡­" Kang-Woo crossed his arms at this sight.


    ''Not bad.''


    At first, he''d thought that Tae-Soo was annoying, but he''d changed his opinion a little bit after hearing the rank of Tae-Soo''s Trait. Tae-Soo wouldn''t be of great help to Kang-Woo yet, but he was certainly worth investing in.


    ''The chances of someone who got a high-ranking Trait with their Second Awakening getting even better ones in their subsequent Awakenings are very high.''


    It was possible that Tae-Soo might get an S-rank Trait or better in the future.


    ''It wouldn''t be a bad idea to have him as a subordinate.''


    Kang-Woo was used to moving alone, so he didn''t need someone to fight alongside him. However, it was a different story if it was someone who swore absolute fealty to him. Two people could do more than one, after all. Having someone who could do the bothersome things was a good enough reason to have a subordinate.


    ''And also¡­''


    Kang-Woo could feel a strong sense of loyaltying from Tae-Soo.


    The most important thing that was needed in a subordinate wasn''t strength but unchanging loyalty¡ªthe certainty that the subordinate wouldn''t ever backstab their superior. In that sense, having a subordinate like Tae-Soo would probably be very helpful.


    ''Now that I think about it, Seol-Ah is going to get her Second Awakening soon too.''


    Kang-Woo thought that Han Seol-Ah, who was a healer, and Tae-Soo, who was a tanker, would form quite a good party.


    ''He''s worth the investment.''


    Considering Tae-Soo''s talent, he was certainly worth investing in.


    "Okay, I''ll lead you from now on."


    "Whoa! Thank you, Kang-Woo hyung-nim!" Tae-Soo shouted with an excited voice and sparkling eyes.


    "Will we be invading the Andras Guild base right now? Haha, I''ll protect you with my life, hyung-nim."


    "No, I''m going to the Andras Guild by myself."


    "Huh¡­? Wh-Why?"


    "Tae-Soo," Kang-Woo called Tae-Soo''s name in a low voice.


    Hearing that, Tae-Soo flinched, with his shoulders tensing unconsciously.


    Kang-Woo kept talking in that same low voice, "You almost died while fighting against two measly members of the Andras Guild, right?"


    "Y-Yes¡­"


    "Do you seriously believe you''ll be able to protect me?"


    "¡­"


    After hearing the facts, Tae-Soo couldn''t say anything, and his expression turned sullen. He also knew very well that he couldn''t be of help to Kang-Woo currently.


    Kang-Woo put his hands on the disheartened Tae-Soo''s shoulders. "It''s okay."


    "Hyung-nim?"


    "You''re just starting. If you''re weak, you just have to get stronger, right?"


    After hearing that, Tae-Soo''s face regained its vigor. "Yes! That''s right! My story hasn''t even begun yet!"


    "That''s right."


    "Haha. I''ll soon be strong enough to be your shield!"


    Kang-Woo smirked and nodded. "I trust you."


    "Please give me your number, hyung-nim. I''lle running if you ever need me."


    "Oh, yeah, I wanted to ask you a favor."


    "Oh, just say the word, hyung-nim," Tae-Soo answered excitedly after hearing the word ''favor.''


    "Someone I know willplete their basic training in a few days. I want you to form a party with that person and level up together."


    "Oh? Could you tell me what ss that person is?"


    "A healer."


    "If that''s the case, I should be the one asking you to let them join me. Getting a damage dealer is rtively easy, so I think I''ll be able to create a good party." Tae-Soo nodded while showing his signature goody-two-shoes smile.


    "Okay, then I''ll contact youter."


    "Are you going straight to the Andras Guild?"


    "I''m not sure¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked at the unconscious man who was on the ground.


    If he made use of this sword wielder, he would be able to find the Andras Guild''s base easily.


    ''Facing the Andras Guild isn''t going to be a problem.''


    Things might be different if the guild in question were one of the big guilds that controlled Korea. However, the Andras Guild was only a mid-sized guild, so Kang-Woo would probably be able to face them with his current level of power.


    The seal of his Ten Thousand Demon Core had be weaker after he achieved his Third Awakening. Due to that, he now had great power that was unimaginable from a Level 20 yer.


    Furthermore, Kang-Woo''s strength couldn''t be measured only by his level and stats. He had the fighting skills he''d polished for ten millennia, and he could use them to overwhelm even an opponent with higher stats.


    ''The problem is how I am going to get inside without being discovered.''


    It wasn''t that Kang-Woo didn''t have an Authority that allowed him to conceal his presence, but it wouldn''t be easy to stay concealed for a long time from yers, who had senses more developed than normal people.


    ''If they discover me, I might lose the opportunity to find out more about the ritual.''


    If that happened, his reason for investigating the Andras Guild would disappear.


    "Hmm¡­" Kang-Woo thought about all of this with his eyes closed.


    "Urgh, where am I¡­?" The man who had been unconscious trembled as he stood up at that moment.


    He had recovered consciousness at the perfect time, and Kang-Woo violently grabbed his neck.


    "Kurgh!"


    "There''s something I want to ask you. You can kindly answer me, right?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Kurgh! Hurgh!"


    "If you understood, nod."


    The man nodded as his face was turning blue. "Cough! Cough! Cough!"


    "What''s your name?"


    "K-Kang Cheol-Ho."


    "Okay. Cheol-Ho, you said before that you had to take the two yers that you had attacked alive. Right?"


    Kang Cheol-Ho kept his mouth shut and tried to avoid Kang-Woo''s gaze.


    Kang-Woo could see cold sweat dripping from Cheol-Ho''s forehead.


    "I-I don''t remember," Cheol-Ho finally said.


    "Really?" Kang-Woo asked.


    Then he kicked Cheol-Ho in the face as if his head were a football.


    m!


    "Cough!"


    "How about now? Did that jolt your memory?"


    "U-Urghhh¡­"


    "Do you need more?"


    "N-No!" Cheol-Ho paled and shook his head.


    Tae-Soo''s mouth was agape as he watched Kang-Woo question Cheol-Ho like a master interrogator.


    "W-We were trying to take them alive to use them as sacrifices," Cheol-Ho yielded.


    "Sacrifices?"


    "Yes."


    "For the so-called ritual?" Cheol-Ho nodded with a stiff expression.


    Kang-Woo chuckled. "You guys are crazier than I thought."


    He wasn''t sure about the details of the ritual, but considering that you had to use a living person as a sacrifice, it was probably an archaic type of ritual.


    "Hmm." Kang-Woo fell into deep thought.


    ''A sacrifice, huh¡­?''


    Suddenly, a thought crossed Kang-Woo''s mind, and a smile appeared on his face.


    Kang-Woo turned his head to Cheol-Ho and spoke in a low voice, "I need you to do me a favor."

 Chapter 21 - Andras Guild (3)

    Chapter 21 - Andras Guild (3)


    The Andras Guild was one of the biggest mid-sized guilds, and many shady rumors were circting about it. In particr, the guildmaster, Jo Deok-Hyun, was being closely watched by the Hwarang Corps.


    Due to the Andras Guild''s situation, their guild''s base was in a secret and secluded location.


    The man guarding the door at the end of a maze-like alleyway said in a deep voice, "Stop."


    He red at the figure that had suddenly appeared but soon lowered his guard upon recognizing the figure.


    "Kang Cheol-Ho?" the guard called out.


    "Y-Yeah," Kang Cheol-Ho answered.


    "Didn''t you go hunting for sacrifices with Seo Tae-Ho today? What took you so long?"


    "Th-Things happened," Cheol-Ho said, ncing down at therge suitcase he had with him.


    The guard tilted his head when he noticed that Cheol-Ho seemed a bit different from usual.


    He went on to ask, "Things? What things? More importantly, where''s Tae-Ho?"


    "¡­Tae-Ho''s dead," Cheol-Ho replied.


    "What? Dead?" The guard looked at Cheol-Ho in disbelief.


    "Didn''t you go to a D-rank Gate? You''re telling me that Seo Tae-Ho died at the hands of people who have only achieved their Second Awakening at most?"


    "There was a high-level yer mixed in with the group. I barely managed to kill him and was able to bring the remaining yer to use as a sacrifice."


    "Huuu¡­"


    "I''ll give a more detailed reportter. But first, take the sacrifice."


    Cheol-Ho pushed the suitcase to the guard, who looked suspiciously at him.


    "You''re acting strange today," the guard remarked.


    "¡­It''s because of Tae-Ho''s death."


    "Hmm. Well¡­ I guess it makes sense since you two were close. The ritual is about to start, so I''ll hear about what happenedter."


    "O-Okay. Then I''ll¡ª"


    Cheol-Ho turned around as if he didn''t want to be there, but the man guarding the door grabbed his shoulder.


    "Come in and join the ritual."


    "I¡­ It''s fine."


    "Huh? What are you talking about? You were the one who brought the sacrifice, so you should be the one to be baptized. Haha, I''m jealous. If you receive some more demonic energy today, you might even be able to use a bit of the Authority."


    "I-I don''t need it!"


    "¡­?"


    The guard frowned as if he couldn''t understand Cheol-Ho, who was just shaking his head.


    The ritual was the most important event for them. It allowed the members of the Andras Guild to receive something called demonic energy¡ªan energy far more powerful than mana.


    Having the power of demonic energy was simr to getting high on illicit drugs. Demonic energy gave a person the feeling that they were more powerful, and it strengthened their desire to live. These were feelings that couldn''t be reced with anything else.


    "Something else happened, right?" The guard looked at Cheol-Ho suspiciously.


    After all, Cheol-Ho should have no reason to refuse the ritual. The guard knew Cheol-Ho wasn''t a good enough person to refuse to acquire all that power just because his friend had died.


    Cheol-Ho dripped with cold sweat as he turned around and said, "N-Nothing happened, so do whatever you want with the sacrifice."


    "Hmm¡­"


    The guard watched Cheol-Ho quickly walk away. Then he opened the suitcase Cheol-Ho had left behind. Inside the suitcase, the guard found the body of a young man with sharp looks. The young man was covered in blood and unconscious.


    "The sacrifice looks fine," the guardmented.


    After checking that the young man was still breathing, the guard took the suitcase with him and entered the guild house. A scrawny man wearing a robe then walked toward him.


    The guard saluted him with a nervous expression. "Guildmaster! The sacrifice has arrived!"


    "It''s a littlete today."


    "They were interrupted in the middle by a high-level yer."


    "Hmm. So¡­?"


    "Seo Tae-Ho died while fighting him."


    "I see."


    Jo Deok-Hyun didn''t seem to care that a member of his guild had died. He just turned around with an apathetic expression.


    "Bring in the sacrifice. The ritual is about to begin," he said.


    "Yes, sir!" the guard replied with a loud shout.


    After that, he brought the suitcase to the room where the ritual was going to take ce. The door creaked open to reveal eight members of the Andras Guild. They were dressed in vestments, kneeling in the room. These eight were among the small number of guild members who knew about the true nature of the Andras Guild.


    "Ohhhh!"


    "Oh, almighty Andras!"


    Upon seeing Deok-Hyun enter the room, the members of the Andras guild bowed down toward him. Mad gazes shed across their eyes as they looked at Deok-Hyun. Rather than a guild of yers, they seemed more like a cult.


    Deok-Hyun smiled furtively while gazing at the members who had gathered in the room.


    ''Everything is progressing smoothly.''


    It had been one year since he''d been ''evangelized,'' and his followers were increasing slowly but steadily in number.


    "Hehehe," Deok-Hyunughed as his eyes gleamed with madness.


    It wasn''t hard to make yers fall for the power of demonic energy. Most yers wished to have more strength, and demonic energy had the power to fulfill those desires.


    ''With a little more effort, I''ll be able to turn everyone here into a Demonoid.''


    The more demonic energy a human took in, the closer that person would get to bing a demon. In Deok-Hyun''s case, twenty percent of his body had already been converted to that of a demon, so he had stepped into the realm of Demonoids. His goal was to create a powerful army of Demonoids.


    ''The power of my Authority is getting stronger.''


    Deok-Hyun grinned excitedly while thinking about the person who had told him about the ritual. That person hadn''t been wrong. Deok-Hyun had received more demonic energy as he conducted more rituals and offered up more sacrifices. Thus, he had be consistently stronger.


    The power that a demon''s Authority gave a person made a yer''s Trait look insignificant.


    ''I''ll be a full demon.''


    Demons had eternal youth and absolute power. Bing a demon was the only way to escape a mortal''s finite life.


    "Then, let''s begin the ritual," Deok-Hyun said and hit the ground with a dark brown cane.


    Boom.


    "Ohhhh."


    "Ahhh! Demon King!"


    After hearing themand to begin the ritual, the eight Andras Guild members screamed and hit the ground with their heads.


    "Prepare the mana stones," Deok-Hyun ordered.


    "Yes, sir!"


    The guard ced the young man who would be used as today''s sacrifice on the altar. Then he opened the safe, which was under the altar. There were thousands of mana stones inside the safe.


    They had purchased the mana stones using all of the Andras Guild''s avable funds and were going to use them to create a Rift.


    ''With these mana stones, we should be able to do at least thirty more rituals.''


    Deok-Hyun smiled while looking at all the mana stones he had under the altar.


    "Whose turn is it to be baptized?" he asked.


    "It should be Kang Cheol-Ho¡­ but he said that he wouldn''t participate in today''s ritual."


    "Is that so?" Deok-Hyun nodded with a frown. "Then no one will be baptized today."


    "Ah¡­"


    The guild members seemed disappointed by those words. Their gazes filled with desire, and their murmurs grew in volume.


    "Silence!" Deok-Hyunmanded.


    m!


    "¡­"


    "If you want to be baptized, bring me sacrifices and mana stones. Those who don''t act don''t deserve to be baptized."


    "Yes, sir!"


    Deok-Hyun smiled. ''I''ll be able to hoard the strength all to myself today.''


    He became excited at the thought of taking the demonic energy from one sacrifice all for himself.


    "Let''s begin."


    Whir.


    Deok-Hyun moved the mana inside the mana stones by following the magic circle, just like he''d learned on the day he''d received the ''revtion.'' A few of the thousands of mana stones lost their light. The magic circle under the altar began to shine, and a small distortion appeared in the air.


    Swoosh!!


    ck energy began to flow out from that small distortion.


    Demonic energy was more destructive than mana, and it was an energy that could turn humans into demons.


    ''Good.''


    Deok-Hyun smiled, feeling satisfied to see the demonic energy flow out.


    The ritual began by creating a Rift that led to Hell. Once demonic energy flowed out of the Rift, it needed to be directed toward the sacrifice. The reason for that was that if a person tried to absorb the demonic energy directly without using a sacrifice, it would contort their body and kill them.


    Once they directed the demonic energy to the sacrifice, the ritual would end. Then it would just be a matter of time before the sacrifice was killed by the demonic energy contorting their body. A person could then safely absorb demonic energy by drinking the blood of the sacrifice''s corpse, which would be filled with demonic energy.


    ''Today, I''ll be able to drink all the blood.''


    Deok-Hyun would be able to monopolize the demonic energy from today''s ritual since he didn''t need to share the sacrifice''s blood with his underling who had brought the sacrifice.


    ''Hehehe! Die already!''


    At the thought of absorbing the demonic energy all by himself, Deok-Hyun directed the demonic energy out of the Rift more aggressively, allowing it to be absorbed by the sacrifice at a faster speed.


    ''He''s holding on quite well.''


    Deok-Hyun was surprised by how the sacrifice had barely moved despite all the demonic energy entering him.


    The amount of demonic energy a person could absorb differed from case to case. Some people had only held out for merely a second.


    ''Does he have an A-rank Trait or something?''


    Usually, people with higher-ranking Traits could resist being eroded by demonic energy for longer.


    ''If he can resist for that long¡­''


    Naturally, the demonic energy inside the sacrifice''s blood would be thicker the longer the sacrifice was able to hold on. Deok-Hyun smiled excitedly as he watched the sacrifice continue to absorb demonic energy.


    The mana stones they were using to maintain the Rift quickly lost their light, but they could still go on for longer.


    ''Hehe. Luck is on my side!''


    Deok-Hyun had never seen a sacrificest this long against demonic energy.


    To think that on the very day when he could monopolize the blood, the offered sacrifice would be someone capable of absorbing lots of demonic energy¡­ It seemed like an opportunity that had been gifted to him by the heavens.


    ''I''ll be able to absorb ten times¡­ No! Fifteen times the normal amount of demonic energy at once!''


    Deok-Hyun was thrilled.


    "Hahaha! Come on, open your eyes and scream in pain!" he mistakenly spoke out loud what he was thinking.


    He wanted to drink the blood of the sacrifice right then.


    "Hahahaha!"


    The demonic energy emerging from the Rift kept flowing into the body of the sacrifice.


    "Good! Very good!"


    Deok-Hyunughed while waiting for the young man to scream in pain.


    "Huh¡­?"


    However, no matter how long he waited, the young man didn''t open his eyes.


    "What''s happening?"


    Yet, the demonic energy flowing from the Rift kept entering the young man''s body.


    "Why isn''t it stopping?"


    It kept doing so¡­


    "W-Wait."


    Endlessly¡­


    "S-Stop!"


    Without stopping¡­


    "I said stop!"


    The demonic energy flowed incessantly into the young man on the altar. All the mana stones Deok-Hyun had bought with the Andras Guild''s entire fortune had lost their light. Once all of the mana stones lost their light, the Rift vanished.


    "Huh¡­?" Deok-Hyun muttered in confusion as he watched the huge amount of magic stones, which was enough to perform over thirty rituals, disappear all at once.


    The young man on the altar got up slowly. He smiled brightly as he looked at his surroundings with great interest.


    "Woah. Thanks to this, my stat has gone up by 20," he said.


    The young man burst intoughter as if he''d just won the lottery.


    Deok-Hyun''s jaws were agape, shocked by how the young man was totally fine.


    "Can you do this ritual one more time?" the young man asked.


    "¡­"


    A heavy silence fell over the room.

 Chapter 22 - Demon Worshipers (1)

    Chapter 22 - Demon Worshipers (1)


    Rewinding a little¡­


    Oh Kang-Woo had disguised himself as a sacrifice and infiltrated the Andras Guild.


    ''What a group of freaks.''


    With narrowly opened eyes, Kang-Woo watched the Andras Guild members gathered around the altar. When Jo Deok-Hyun entered the room, the guild members started to praise him. There was no doubt that they seemed like a cult of religious fanatics.


    ''And¡­''


    Kang-Woo could sense the state of their bodies.


    A human body became more like that of a demon the more demonic energy one took in. Except for his mind, Kang-Woo''s body was already more like a demon''s than a human''s.


    ''Although there''s a difference in the percentage, it seems like they''re all in the process of bing Demonoids.''


    Kang-Woo finally understood why they were acting so crazy. The body of a demon was constantly craving to fulfill its desires, simr to an animal constantly in heat. It had been long since Kang-Woo had be part demon, so he could control his desires, but that wasn''t the case for these people. There probably wasn''t anyone among them who was sane.


    ''How did they manage to ept demonic energy?''


    Kang-Woo could safely absorb demonic energy thanks to his Authority of Predation. However, demonic energy was normally lethal for humans. If a human epted demonic energy recklessly, it could invade their soul and body and break them downpletely.


    ''I should wait for them to do the ritual first.''


    Kang-Woo pretended he had lost consciousness andy still on the altar as he watched the ritual take ce.


    "Prepare the mana stones."


    "Yes, sir!"


    At Deok-Hyun''smand, a man opened the safe under the altar. There were thousands of mana stones inside the safe.


    ''What are they trying to do?''


    Kang-Woo became more curious when the ritual started. Deok-Hyun hit the floor with a dark brown cane and began casting a spell. The mana inside the mana stones flew out, and a small Rift appeared in the air.


    "¡­!" Kang-Woo trembled upon seeing the Rift.


    Dense demonic energy started to flow out from it.


    ''What the hell?''


    He was very used to the demonic energy flowing out of the Rift.


    ''How are they calling demonic energy from the Nine Hells?''


    There was no way to know how they had opened a Rift with only the few clues he had.


    Deok-Hyun directed the demonic energying from the Rift into Kang-Woo''s body.


    ''Huh?''


    As the demonic energy entered Kang-Woo, he naturally used the Authority of Predation and absorbed all of the demonic energy flowing into him.


    Riiing.


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 1.]


    ''Well, well.''


    He hadn''t expected such a jackpot. Kang-Woo kept absorbing the demonic energying to him from the Rift.


    ''Sweet.''


    From the moment the Andras Guild members directed the demonic energy to flow into the sacrifice''s body, Kang-Woo understood what they were trying to do. They were using the sacrifice to take the damage¡ªthe breakdown of the human soul and body that urred when a human epted demonic energy in its pure form.


    ''I''m not sure how they n to absorb the demonic energy after that.''


    Anyway, that wasn''t important to him. Because to him, that demonic energy was like honey rather than poison.


    Riiing.


    Riiing.


    Riiing.


    As the ritual continued, Kang-Woo heard the clear sound of a bell repeatedly ringing in his ear.


    ''It just keeps rising!''


    The amount of demonic energy that entered his body surpassed what he had absorbed after using Predation on a hundred Lizardmen.


    With the demonic energy flowing into his body like an endless stream of water, the corners of Kang-Woo''s mouth curled up.


    "What''s happening?"


    Kang-Woo heard the confused voice of Deok-Hyun, who had finally realized that something was off.


    "Why isn''t it stopping?"


    ''Don''t you dare stop,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    "W-Wait."


    ''A little bit more.''


    "S-Stop!!"


    ''Don''t stop!''


    "I said stop!"


    ''Just one more stat point!''


    Deok-Hyun''s urgent scream and Kang-Woo''s internal scream intertwined.


    Nevertheless, all good thingse to an end. The mana stones maintaining the Rift lost all their mana, and the Rift naturally disappeared.


    Putting aside his disappointment, Kang-Woo slowly stood up. He more or less understood what the ritual was, and now it was time to hear the details from Deok-Hyun.


    "What? You can''t do it again?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "A-Aaahhh." Deok-Hyun trembled.


    He was confused about why that young man was perfectly fine after taking in so much demonic energy. The only thing that Deok-Hyun was sure of was that, because of that young man, all of the mana stones he''d bought with the Andras Guild''s entire fortune had gone down the drain. He hadn''t been able to get anything in return even after using up so many mana stones.


    "N-No," Deok-Hyun uttered.


    All those mana stones he''d gathered by using the full force of the Andras Guild had been valuable resources that were supposed to let him break free from the cycle of life and grant him eternal life.


    The Hwarang Corps had been on the lookout for the Andras Guildtely, so he wasn''t sure how many more years it would take him to gather that many mana stones again.


    "NOOOO!" Deok-Hyun''s scream spread through the room.


    He directed his angry gaze toward Kang-Woo. "YOOUU!!!"


    Deok-Hyun pointed his cane at Kang-Woo, and a bullet made of demonic energy shot out from it. However, Kang-Woo easily dodged the demonic energy bullet.


    Boom!


    The demonic energy bullet hit the wall and exploded with a loud noise.


    After seeing that, Kang-Woo looked at Deok-Hyun with great interest.


    ''Not bad.''


    Was it because of the demonic energy or because of Deok-Hyun''s power as a yer? Somehow, he kept shooting bullets made of demonic energy without rest.


    Then, the demonic energy bullets that were shot toward Kang-Woo''s front suddenly changed trajectory mid-flight and targeted his back instead.


    ''Authority of Invulnerability.''


    Demonic energy poured out of Kang-Woo''s body and enveloped him as if it were armor. With the demonic energy armor, Deok-Hyun''s bullets simply ricocheted off Kang-Woo.


    ''It''s definitely morefortable now that I have more demonic energy.''


    After getting his Third Awakening, he''d gained ess to a huge amount of demonic energy. It was a huge achievement considering that it hadn''t even been a week since he''d returned to Earth.


    Kang-Woo circted the demonic energy around his body in satisfaction.


    "Y-You can use demonic energy?" Deok-Hyun asked in shock.


    He was surprised to see the person that they''d brought in to use as a sacrifice control demonic energy so naturally.


    That couldn''t be happening. No, that definitely wasn''t supposed to happen.


    "Arghh!" Deok-Hyun uttered.


    He waved his cane nervously and fired arge amount of demonic energy toward Kang-Woo.


    Deok-Hyun turned and shouted to the other guild members, "What are you all doing?! Attack him!"


    After hearing Deok-Hyun''smand, each of the eight guild members took out their weapons and charged toward Kang-Woo.


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo smirked when he saw the Andras Guild members charging toward him.


    ''What can a bunch of guys who can''t even use demonic energy do?''


    There was no way they would be able to beat him.


    m! Stomp!


    "Argh!"


    "Kurgh!"


    Kang-Woo began to massacre the members of Andras Guild like a wolf who''d run into a flock of sheep. They tried to stab Kang-Woo with their weapons but failed because they couldn''t pierce his demonic energy armor.


    Kang-Woo''s defense was impregnable, so he just had to concentrate on offense. He used the Authority of Invulnerability and the Authority of des simultaneously.


    ''This is taking a lot of demonic energy to maintain.''


    Using two Authorities simultaneously was still a bit too much for him, even after the explosive rise in his demonic energy.


    ''I should try to end this as quickly as possible.''


    While thinking that, Kang-Woo began moving. He had no issue fighting against multiple opponents simultaneously.


    In the Nine Hells, he''d spent most of the time fighting alone before he met Balrog. So, he was more used to fighting against multiple opponents simultaneously than fighting one on one.


    Smash! sh!


    "Argh! M-My arm!!"


    "M-My leg!!"


    Killing the opponent wasn''t the most important thing when fighting against multiple opponents. It was better to deal enough damage to incapacitate thempletely.


    The agonized members of the Andras Guild lying on the floor would interfere with the movements of their allies, and that would give Kang-Woo the leeway to fight morefortably.


    Stab! Crush!


    "ARRRGH!"


    One of the members of the Andras Guild had targeted Kang-Woo''s back. Kang-Woo stabbed him in the shoulder and twisted the de. As he did that, the de shattered the man''s shoulder de, and a horrible scream came out of his mouth.


    ''Four.''


    Kang-Woo was able to beat half of the enemies before even three minutes had passed by. If things went on like that, all eight members of the Andras guild would soon be defeated.


    At that moment, Deok-Hyun raised his voice and said, "Move! Useless idiots!"


    The other four members moved back and looked at Deok-Hyun with hopeful eyes.


    "He''s finally going to use that."


    "If it''s the power of the guildmaster¡­"


    Deok-Hyun walked to the front. "Take a look! This is the me that burns life itself, the Authority of Hellfire!"


    Full of confidence, Deok-Hyun extended one arm, and a ck me that was the size of his palm appeared in his hand.


    "Hah¡­" Kang-Woo let out a smirk. "You call that the Authority of Hellfire?"


    ''Nonsense¡­''


    That wasn''t hellfire that was created with an Authority. Hellfire that was created with an Authority felt more like a starving demon than just a hot me. The hellfire that Deok-Hyun had produced looked simr to the real thing, but it was actually just a crude imitation.


    "Hahaha. I''m not sure how you can use demonic energy, but you won''t stand a chance against this Auth¡ª"


    Fwoosh!!


    Before Deok-Hyun could finish his sentence, ck mes appeared in Kang-Woo''s hand. The writhing hellfire, which was bigger than a person''s entire torso, emitted strong demonic energy. Comparatively, Deok-Hyun''s me, which was the size of his palm, looked pathetic.


    "¡­Huh?" Deok-Hyun looked dumbfounded upon seeing the hellfire burning from Kang-Woo''s hand.


    ''This can''t be happening,'' Deok-Hyun thought.


    It was then that he realized that something had gone wrong.

 Chapter 23 - Demon Worshipers (2)

    Chapter 23 - Demon Worshipers (2)


    "H-How? Wh-What¡­" Jo Deok-Hyun was lost for words.


    The young man that Deok-Hyun had thought was a sacrifice had produced in his hand hellfire that was just like Deok-Hyun''s.


    ''No.'' Deok-Hyun realized it wasn''t the same hellfire.


    Just a glimpse was enough to know that the young man''s hellfire was on a totally different levelpared to his.


    ''I can''t win.''


    Deok-Hyun''s eyes flitted around in despair. Hisst hope, the Authority that he possessed, had beenpletely crushed. He couldn''t think of a way to beat Oh Kang-Woo.


    "¡­"


    His face became pale, and he started to tremble. He stared at Kang-Woo with an agitated gaze.


    ''What should I do?''


    It was clear that Deok-Hyun wouldn''t be able to win. He could tell just by looking at the hellfire in his hand.


    Cold sweat dripped down Deok-Hyun''s forehead like rainfall. His internal conflict was disyed on his face.


    Kang-Woo looked at Deok-Hyun with great interest. ''I wonder what he''ll do?''


    He was curious as to how Deok-Hyun was going to respond, considering he had just shown Deok-Hyun that it was impossible for him to win.


    Kang-Woo''s question was soon answered.


    After thinking for a while, Deok-Hyun knelt and raised both arms. "Ohhhh!! Incarnation of the almighty Andras!!"


    "Huh?"


    "I''ve been yearning for your descent into this world for a long time!!"


    "¡­"


    Upon hearing Deok-Hyun''s passionate words, Kang-Woo let out a briefugh. Then, he sighed.


    "You are our king, our god, our messiah! The rightful tyrant to rule this world!"


    Deok-Hyun kept putting on his passionate performance even as Kang-Woo burst intoughter.


    ''This guy''s pretty quick-witted,'' Kang-Woo remarked inwardly.


    He couldn''t believe how quickly Deok-Hyun had changed his attitude as his situation worsened. Kang-Woo had expected Deok-Hyun to do something, but he never thought the guy would kneel and worship him.


    "Oh, almighty Andras! I knew it was you from the moment Iid eyes on you!"


    ''No, you didn''t,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    "You have no idea how long I''ve been waiting for this day toe!!"


    ''But you weren''t.''


    "Sniff! I, Jo Deok-Hyun, am so moved that my heart feels like it will burst at any moment!"


    ''Bullshit.''


    Kang-Woo was astonished by Deok-Hyun''s passionate performance.


    "What are you doing?! All of you, kneel! He is the one who will break the cycle of life and lead us to eternal life!"


    "Oh¡­ I see."


    "Now!"


    Deok-Hyun was shouting at the other guild members, who were just standing there motionlessly. The other guild members looked at each other with confused looks and then kneeled hesitantly.


    "¡­!" Kang-Woo was surprised to see Deok-Hyun kneel on the floor like that.


    ''Quite impressive.''


    It was hard for a human to abandon his pride and kneel in such a way. Kang-Woo felt a kind of respect toward Deok-Hyun after seeing how willing he was to lower himself into such a pathetic position.


    ''Not bad.'' Kang-Woo smiled while looking at Deok-Hyun.


    He didn''t hate pathetic people. The people he hated were the ones who even stayed pointlessly prideful even though it was obvious that they would lose. Kang-Woo preferred people who could adapt quickly based on the situation and were willing to throw away their pride for a chance of survival.


    ''Since he''s willing to ce himself in such a pathetic position, I should reply in kind.''


    While feeling a weird sense of rivalry, Kang-Woo took a step forward.


    Stomp!


    "Hahaha! You''ve recognized me atst! I am Andras! The king of ten thousand demons, the Lord of Inferno, and the master of hellfire!!" Kang-Woo eximed while emitting demonic energy from his body.


    Most of what he said was a lie. Andras wasn''t strong enough to call himself king of anything. Furthermore, it was Mammon, one of the seven princes of Hell, who had been known as the Lord of Inferno. Most of all, Kang-Woo wasn''t Andras. The only thing that was true among the things he''d said was that Andras was the master of hellfire.


    "Long live Andras! The king of ten thousand demons! The Lord of Inferno!!"


    However, there was no way Deok-Hyun knew about these things. He just bashed his head on the ground while praising Kang-Woo loudly. If someone else were to see this scene, they''d probably think that Deok-Hyun truly respected and admired Kang-Woo.


    ''But there''s no way that''s the case.''


    He believed Deok-Hyun was only acting like this because he knew he couldn''t win against Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo smirked and sat on the altar.


    ''That''s not important though.''


    The important thing was that Deok-Hyun had surrendered, and he had a lot of information Kang-Woo was interested in.


    "There are things I need to discuss with you, somand your subordinates to leave."


    "Yes, my lord!" Deok-Hyun replied.


    He kept his head pressed against the floor as he shot a nce at his subordinates. They then left the hall, dragging the injured out with them.


    Now left alone with Deok-Hyun, Kang-Woo said, "There are a few things I want to ask you."


    "Ask me anything, oh Almighty Andr¡ª"


    "Enough of that. You know that I''m not Andras."


    "¡­" Deok-Hyun shut his mouth and looked at Kang-Woo with a sharp gaze. Then, he asked, "Who¡­ are you?"


    "I''m the one asking the questions."


    "Ugh¡­"


    "First, tell me the details about the ritual. How are you doing it? Where did you learn to create a Rift by using the mana inside mana stones?"


    The thing Kang-Woo was most curious about was how Deok-Hyun had created a Rift. It was too strange to consider the creation of Rifts as the power of a Trait.


    Deok-Hyun looked around before answering cautiously, "I-I learned how to create a Rift when I experienced the e-evangelization."


    "Evangelization?"


    "Yes."


    "What the hell is that?"


    "One day, a man wearing a demon mask suddenly appeared before me and said that he''d grant us immortality if we converted to the Demon Cult."


    "And you epted that?" Kang-Woo looked at Deok-Hyun, astonished.


    Who in their right mind would ept such a suspicious offer?


    "U-Umm¡­ H-He was far too strong."


    "Too strong?"


    "Yes. He was able to overwhelm our entire guild almost instantly. Then he told us to choose to either do as he said or die. We had no other choice!"


    "So, where''s that demon-mask guy now?"


    "I-I don''t know. I haven''t seen him since that day."


    "Not even once?"


    "Y-Yes."


    "You don''t even know how to contact him?"


    "I don''t. Sometimes, he sends us orders via letter."


    "Hmm. Despite that, you followed his orders so enthusiastically?"


    "Ugh! W-Well¡­" Deok-Hyun trembled as he avoided Kang-Woo''s gaze.


    Kang-Woo red at him.


    ''At some point, he probably became more motivated to do the rituals without any external pressure,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    Deok-Hyun might have been forced to do it at first, but a man like him probably couldn''t resist the sweet temptation of the power that demonic energy gave him.


    ''Who could it be?''


    Demon Cult¡­ It was an extremely cringy name that only fanatics woulde up with, but the demon-mask guy''s influence and power didn''t seem to be a joke. There was no way that someone who knew how to create a Rift that led to Hell could be a weakling.


    Kang-Woo turned toward Deok-Hyun. "Where are those letters?"


    "Here it is."


    "¡­ What the hell? Just one?"


    "Y-Yes." Deok-Hyun nodded, trying to portray himself as a victim.


    "Hmm. I see." Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed as he stroked his chin. "Are you the only one who was evangelized by the Demon Cult?"


    Deok-Hyun shook his head while saying in a trembling voice, "I-I''m not sure. I''ve never met anyone else."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    ''There''s no way he''s the only one.''


    It seemed that Kang-Woo had no way of finding out who was behind the Demon Cult and why they had approached Deok-Hyun. However, unless they were an idiot, they would never execute their n just by trusting in Deok-Hyun alone.


    Deok-Hyun didn''t look like someone useless, but he also didn''t seem capable. There was no way that someone strong enough to disrupt dimensions would leave everything to someone like this.


    ''I''m sure there are others.''


    Kang-Woo was sure that other people the Demon Cult had influenced were hidden somewhere¡ªdemon worshipers that served an unknown evil god.


    "Tsk," Kang-Woo clicked his tongue while thinking about the situation. "So, what order did that evil god give you? To umte demonic energy inside yourself through the ritual and be stronger?"


    "N-No."


    "Then what?"


    "To increase the influence of the guild and turn as many people as possible into Demonoids. ording to him, once that happens, he''d be able to create Hell on Earth¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s gaze sharpened.


    ''Using demonic energy to turn yers into demons, huh?''


    He wasn''t sure what those people were ultimately trying to achieve or what was the point of turning yers into demons¡­ but there was something he was sure about¡­


    ''These fuckers dare¡­'' Kang-Woo thought with a frown, ''¡­create Hell on Earth?''


    He couldn''t let them do as they pleased.

 Chapter 24 - Demon Worshipers (3)

    Chapter 24 - Demon Worshipers (3)


    "Then, like I said, search for more info about the Demon Cult," Oh Kang-Woomanded.


    "U-Understood." Jo Deok-Hyun bowed with an expression filled with fear.


    However, it wasn''t simply fear; he hadpletely submitted to the man named Oh Kang-Woo. It was proof that he had been sessfully dominated by Kang-Woo''s Authority of Fear.


    "Don''t perform any more rituals. Understood?"


    "Yes, sir!" Deok-Hyun quickly nodded.


    Kang-Woo smiled, satisfied by Deok-Hyun''s answer.


    ''This much pressure should be enough.''


    He couldn''t let the Andras Guild kidnap any more yers to use as sacrifices. Of course, his moral obligation was the main reason, but there was another reason. The government''s elite force was keeping the Andras Guild under close watch. So, if the Andras Guild kept going around as they''d been doing, it wouldn''t be long before they were caught.


    ''They''d be on the verge of being caught even if they stayed hidden.''


    The Andras Guild had done so many bad deeds that there was no way that the government would let their actions slide. They would be punished for sure, especially considering the number of yers they had sacrificed.


    ''Once that happens, I can just abandon them.''


    In the meantime, the members of the Andras Guild would be useful in helping him find out more information about the Demon Cult. They knew and had demonic energy, so it would be easier for them to find the Demon Cult than regr yers, who didn''t even know about demonic energy. That''s why Kang-Woo was going to use them until they got caught by the government.


    ''I''ve also used the Authority of Fear on him, so he won''t leak information.''


    Kang-Woo had a tired expression as he turned and left. Was it because he''d used the Authority of Fear, which consumed a lot of demonic energy? His whole body felt like it was weighed down by fatigue.


    ''I want to rest.''


    After hunting and taking care of the Andras Guild issue, Kang-Woo felt a strong desire to rest.


    ''There''s nothing better for recovery than that.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up. There was one surefire way he knew would help him recover.


    The corners of Kang-Woo''s mouth curled up into a grin, and his steps became lighter. He hummed while heading toward Han Seol-Ah''s home.


    "Let''s go eat kimchi stew!!"


    The thought of eating a pot of piping hot kimchi stew with meat blew away his fatigue. Kang-Woo used his remaining demonic energy to activate the Authority of the Sky and flew across the sky.


    * * *


    Click.


    "K-Kang-Woo!"


    When Kang-Woo entered through the front door, an anxious Seol-Ah approached him.


    Kang-Woo looked at her while tilting his head. "Did something happen?"


    "That''s what I should be asking you! I didn''t get any word from you even though so much time has passed since you entered the Gate¡­ and you haven''t answered any of my calls."


    "Oh."


    After leaving the Gate, he''d gone directly to the Andras Guild, so it was true that he returned hometer than usual.


    "I apologize. Something came up," Kang-woo said.


    "Phew. I was worried something bad might have happened to you." Seol-Ah sighed in relief.


    Kang-Woo gazed at her with a smile. "Thank you for worrying about me. Next time, I''ll contact you in advance."


    "O-Okay." Seol-Ah avoided looking at Kang-Woo as a slight blush crept up her cheeks because of Kang-Woo''s honest reply. "Since you''re here, I''ll make you dinner. Is there anything you''d like to eat?"


    "Kimchi stew," Kang-Woo replied immediately.


    "Oh¡­ Well, I was expecting you to say that." Seol-Ahughed at that answer.


    "And with as much¡ª"


    "Yes, I bought some good meat."


    "Whoa!"


    "Fufu. This is all thanks to you, Kang-Woo."


    The money Kang-Woo had given Seol-Ah was like rain during a drought. Of course, it wasn''t like Kang-Woo had given her all the money he had earned. However, yers earned so much money that even giving her a considerable portion of it didn''t affect his daily life in the slightest.


    "Haha. You cook me delicious food every day, so that much is nothing. If you need more money, feel free to ask me."


    "N-No! I also got my Second Awakening, so it''s time for me to earn money and pay you back."


    "I see." Kang-Woo looked at her with great interest. "When did you get your Second Awakening?"


    "I leveled up today while hunting Goblins," Seol-Ah said.


    She even puffed out her chest slightly as she spoke, seemingly proud of having achieved her Second Awakening.


    When her voluptuous chest entered Kang-Woo''s sight¡­


    ''Mahayabanyabaramildabodhisattvabodhisattva.''


    Kang-Woo turned his gaze away from her to exorcize the worldly desire that had entered him through his eyes.


    After calming down, he turned back to Seol-Ah again.


    "What rank is your Second Awakening Trait?" he asked.


    "Fufufu. Listen carefully, Kang-Woo," Seol-Ah said with an excited voice, her eyes shining. "B-rank! After getting my Second Awakening, I got a B-rank Trait called Blessing of Light!"


    "Whoa!" Kang-Woo eximed.


    It was already considered rare that she was a healer-type yer, but on top of that, she''d gotten a high-ranking Trait.


    ''If she parties with Tae-Soo, it will be no joke.''


    A tank and healer with high-ranking Traits¡­ Theirbined strength would be on par with carry parties.


    After what had happened with the Andras Guild, Kang-Woo had been thinking of creating a team of his own, so this was good news.


    ''After all, I''m not sure how strong the members of the Demon Cult are.''


    It wasn''t a bad idea to build up a force of his own so that he could confront them morefortably.


    "Seol-Ah, did you receive any invitations from guilds?"


    "Far too many to count," Seol-ah said with a trembling voice, seemingly still in disbelief that she had unlocked a B-rank Trait.


    To be honest, it wasn''t very rare for a yer to acquire a B-rank Trait. However, Seol-Ah was a healer, so her value was far higher than other yers in the same range of levels.


    "Which guild are you thinking of entering?"


    "Umm¡­"


    At Kang-Woo''s question, Seol-Ah blushed and fidgeted hesitantly. "To be honest, I don''t want to enter a guild. I just want to be of help to you, Kang-Woo."


    "Mm¡­" Kang-Woo fell silent for a little while.


    After thinking about it, he said, "It''s true that you''ve gotten a high-ranking Trait, but I don''t think it''s a good idea for you to form a party with me yet."


    "Oh¡­" Seol-Ah let out a disappointed sigh at Kang-Woo''s firm words.


    "To put it bluntly, I don''t think you can be of help to me yet."


    "I see." Seol-Ah was disheartened and lowered her head.


    Her reaction almost made Kang-Woo change his mind, but he shook his head in the end.


    ''Not yet.''


    Seol-Ah couldn''t be of help to him yet. In fact, there was a higher chance of her hindering him. Nevertheless, it wasn''t because she was weak. After all, she was far more talented than most yers.


    ''The problem is that she''ll be around me.''


    Thanks to his Third Awakening and the ritual, Kang-Woo''s demonic energy had increased significantly. He had attained a level of power that no one would believe belonged to a Level 20 yer.


    He was overwhelmingly strong, so forming a party was unnecessary because it would only cut the number of experience points he gained.


    ''Maybeter on, things will be different.''


    From what he''d heard, the experience points lost from hunting elite monsters that appeared in B-rank Gates and above as a party was negligible. Once he could do that, he wouldn''t mind hunting with Seol-Ah, Kang Tae-Soo, and a couple more people. Nheless, it wasn''t the time yet. Tae-Soo and Seol-Ah didn''t have muchbat experience, so they had to gain more of it first.


    ''You cannot get that type of experience by being carried.''


    A yer didn''t need to put their life in danger to gain such experience, but they most certainly couldn''t get it by standing still and doing nothing.


    "There''s a tank I got to know recently who has an A-rank Trait. I think that you should form a party with him and gain somebat experience first."


    "¡­I see."


    "Once you level up enough and gain enoughbat experience, let''s form a party together and enter a high-ranking Gate."


    "Ah!" Seol-Ah uttered in surprise.


    She had been disappointed by the fact that she wouldn''t be able to form a party with him, but that wasn''t quite the case. Seol-Ah would be able to do it if she kept growing stronger. This was very exciting for Seol-Ah, who was not only grateful to him but also romantically interested in him.


    "I understand. I''ll form a party with that tank," Seol-Ah said.


    "Both of you have high-ranking Traits, so you''ll probably level up quickly."


    "Yes, I want to level up quickly and form a party with you."


    "It probably won''t take long since I''m going to give you all the support you need."


    After Tae-Soo and Seol-ah gained some battle experience, Kang-Woo was thinking of helping them level up. His level of strength was iparable to that of an average high-level yer, so he was sure that they''d be able to level up far faster than other yers with his help.


    ''This is all an investment.''


    Kang-Woo had realized something after taking in Balrog as his underling in the Ninth Hell. Tasks could always be aplished faster and more easily with two or three people, even for tasks that could be done alone. It was such an obvious thing that Kang-Woo was ashamed to say that he had made this realization. However, the realization had truly shocked him because he''d done everything by himself for such a long time.


    ''Up until then, I always thought that having an underling would only hinder me.''


    Before meeting Balrog, Kang-Woo hadn''t known that having a capable underling would be so helpful.


    "Fufu, thank you, Kang-Woo. Oh, time flew while we were talking. Wait for a little bit, please."


    "Okay."


    While waiting in the living room, Kang-Woo thought about when he should help Tae-Soo and Seol-Ah level up. He didn''t get to think about it for long though, as Seol-Ah soon walked toward him with a fragrant pot of kimchi stew.


    "Whoa," Kang-Woo uttered.


    Upon seeing the kimchi stew, Kang-Woo quickly approached her. His nostrils red up with excitement.


    Was it because Seol-Ah had used an expensive cut of pork? The kimchi stew looked as if it were emitting a brilliant light.


    "Thank you for the food!"


    "Oh, just a moment, Kang-Woo¡­"


    Seol-Ah stopped Kang-Woo, who was about to start eating as if he were a starved animal. Kang-Woo looked up at her anxiously in response.


    Finding his reaction cute, Seol-Ahughed before saying, "Try putting this in today."


    When Kang-Woo saw what she was giving him, he trembled.


    "Th-This is¡­" Kang-Woo mumbled, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing.


    Shock simr to a strike of lightning spread through his entire body.


    "Instant noodles!" he eximed.


    Kang-Woo looked at the kimchi stew with trembling excitement.


    ''I don''t know who you are, but¡­.''


    He thought about the Demon Cult that was nning something sinister.


    ''I''ll protect Earth!''


    Kang-Woo had made that resolution while slurping on the instant noodles that had yet to be fully cooked.

 Chapter 25 - Unexpected Encounter (1)

    Chapter 25 - Unexpected Encounter (1)


    "We will send the C-rank yer license to the address that you''ve written down tomorrow."


    "Hmm¡­ You can''t give it to me right now?"


    "Correct. For licenses ranked C and above, there is a special identification device created with mana stones embedded into it, so it''s impossible to issue it immediately."


    "Understood."


    The morning after the incident with the Andras Guild, Oh Kang-Woo went to the yer Management Office and requested a C-rank Gate ess permit. After all, he had long since surpassed the required amount of mana stones to exchange to be promoted.


    Kang-Woo went to the level assessment device, received confirmation that he had achieved his Third Awakening, and then walked over to the entrance to receive his license. However, the answer he received there differed from what he''d expected. They said that they would send it to him the next day.


    ''I wanted to go to the C-rank Gate immediately.''


    His original n had been to take a few days off after achieving his Third Awakening. Nheless, that n changed after meeting the demon worshipers, who had been evangelized by a member of an organization called the Demon Cult. Kang-Woo wanted to be as strong as possible before finding out in detail what that organization was, what they were aiming to do, and how strong their forces were.


    "Hmm." Kang-Woo wondered if he should use the Authority of Blindness to bypass the Gate security.


    His demonic energy had increased a lot recently, so he was sure that he would be able to pass through stricter security measures than what was used at the Gate at least once.


    ''I shouldn''t do that.''


    Kang-Woo ultimately shook his head after thinking about it for a while.


    It wasn''t like the Demon Cult was highly active at the moment, and finding information about them was going to take time anyway. He couldn''t just do nothing, but there was no need to move as if he were being chased.


    ''I guess I''ll just do what I nned on doing and take a break.''


    Kang-Woo had some unexpected free time, so he thought taking a day off and enjoying life on Earth wouldn''t be a bad idea.


    ''I haven''t taken a day off since returning to Earth.''


    There were many things he wanted to do, but he hadn''t taken a proper break ever since his return.


    Kang-Woo began feeling excited at the unexpected day off.


    "But¡­"


    Kang-Woo was standing alone in front of the yer Management Office, which was in the middle of a city where hundreds¡ªno, thousands¡ªof people walked hurriedly and with purpose.


    He stood still in silence.


    "What should I do?"


    Kang-Woo scratched his forehead in confusion, as he was unfamiliar with recreational activities. He''d lived in poverty in the past, so his only forms of entertainment had been eating out and reading manhwa or novels on his smartphone at night. Even then, he would read only the free chapters. Things became even worseter when he went to Hell.


    He had dreamed about returning to Earth, but he hadn''t thought about what he wanted to do in detail. After all, he couldn''t miss doing things he had never done.


    "Hmm¡­"


    Kang-Woo sat down on a nearby bench and immersed himself in his thoughts.


    ''Now that I think about it, I lived a boring life while on Earth.''


    He tried to think about what he used to like doing, but since he never really had any hobbies, nothing came to mind.


    "Hmm¡­ Should I just go get some fried chicken?"


    Kang-Woo thought about the fried chicken and beer he had eaten recently. He hadn''t been eating anything else because Han Seol-Ah''s food was too delicious.


    ''But it''s too early.''


    He''d gone to the yer Management Office early in the morning, so it wasn''t even lunchtime yet. It was unlikely that there was a ce selling chicken and beer so early in the day.


    "Oh!"


    Kang-Woo suddenly thought of somewhere he could go. He had never been to a ce like that before, but he''d really wanted to when he was a kid.


    "Yes, I should go there."


    Kang-Woo stood up excitedly and looked around. If he remembered correctly, he should be able to find what he was looking for easily.


    ''Found one.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up when he spotted a certain sign. He quickly walked toward it.


    [Yaience Inte Cafe ~Death is like the wind - always by my side~][1]


    "I''m finally getting to enter an inte cafe!" Kang-Woo said loudly while looking up at the sign.


    Back when he was a kid, he''d always felt envious of the kids who got to spend time in inte cafes. Then, when he became an adult, he never had enough time to go due to being too busy working.


    ''I should experience these things one by one.''


    During thest ten millennia, Kang-Woo endured a lot of pain and almost died more than a thousand times. Seeing as he had finally returned to Earth, he should reward himself for everything he had gone through. Kang-Woo was nning to experience and enjoy everything he hadn''t had the chance to.


    "Let''s go," Kang-Woo said in a voice resembling a warrior about to go to war.


    A bell chimed as he pushed the door open.


    "Let''s see¡­ Do I just register and add money into my ount like this?"


    Despite this being his first time in an Inte cafe, he finished the registration process smoothly. However, he couldn''t help but gasp in excitement while looking around, just like someone from the countryside visiting Seoul for the first time.


    Kang-Woo looked at the monitor and clicked on a button at the top that said ''Order Food.''


    "Whoa¡­ I can also order food?"


    The neatly-organized menu reminded him of a restaurant.


    He thought about it for a while and selected ''Set A.''


    ''I heard you had to try the instant noodles when in inte cafes.''


    Kang-Woo had often heard that the instant noodles served in inte cafes were delicious.


    "Then¡­"


    After that, he looked for a game to y. However, he''d never yed games before, so he didn''t know which game to choose.


    ''How can I choose if I don''t know anything?''


    Kang-Woo pondered for a while and ultimately just chose a game from the ''Popr Games'' folder. He clicked on a game with a logo consisting of the capital letter ''L'' and created a new ount.


    "Hmm?"


    After hepleted the registration, an advertisement window popped up.


    [Startup Package - 5 Rune Pages, 100K IP, rise to Level 30!]


    "Whoa."


    It advertised the benefits of the game''s startup package and how much money it cost.


    ''If I''m going to start ying, I guess it''s better to start at Level 30.''


    He didn''t understand what levels meant in this game, but he thought he had nothing to lose by starting at a higher one.


    Kang-Woo bought the startup package and began ying the game. He clicked on a button that said ''Ranked Solo.''


    "Support¡­ There are different kinds of sses?"


    While tilting his head, Kang-Woo chose a character¡ªa wind mage.


    ''Am I supposed to go there now?''


    Kang-Woo''s wind mage walked along the bottomne while following behind a hot blond male character.


    One minute and thirty seconds after the game began, monsters started to pour out from both camps, and a 2v2 match began.


    "Ah. So, if I kill these monsters, I''ll get money."


    Kang-Woo understood how to y the game after ying for a short while. Upon realizing that he would get money if he hit the monsters, Kang-Woo began moving the mouse and hunting the monsters down.


    Then he received a chat message from the user ying as the hot blond male character.


    [Izreal: y u killing em]


    Kang-Woo tilted his head and sent back a chat message.


    [Channa: u get money if u kill em]


    [Izreal: ur not supposed to kill the minions u dumb f***]


    [Channa: u hurry up n kill em too. free money]


    [Izreal: eat a f****** d*** u m***** f*****]


    He didn''t understand why, but the other person seemed angry.[2]


    "Here is your Set A. That''ll be 4,000 won."


    "Oh, thank you very much."


    When Kang-Woo was served the instant noodles meal set that he''d ordered, he paid the employee and then stared at his instant noodles with bright eyes.


    ''It smells amazing.''


    instant noodles had been the food that he''d eaten the most back when he was poor. He''d eaten so much of it that he had be sick of it, but smelling it in the inte cafe made him drool.


    Kang-Woo grabbed the chopsticks and began eating the instant noodles.


    "Slurp!"


    The sweet and spicy aroma and the unique vor of the instant noodles spread through his mouth.


    ''Delicious!''


    With the instant noodles before him, the game became his second priority. He just ced his character next to a turret and focused on eating.


    "I never would''ve imagined that pickled radish went so well with instant noodles!" Kang-Woo eximed in surprise after tasting the included side dish of pickled radish.


    It couldn''t bepared to kimchi, but pickled radish was also good in its own way. Following the pickled radish, Kang-Woo smiled and happily ate the kimbap that was included in the meal set.


    [Izreal: hey do something!! please!! this is my promotion matchhhhhh!!]


    His partner sent him a desperate message, but Kang-Woo didn''t notice it since he was too busy eating.


    "Inte cafes don''t really meet the hype."


    Was it because he had never yed video games? He didn''t understand what made inte cafes so popr.


    "Like I''d thought, eating is better."


    Rather than ying video games, he better enjoyed eating the instant noodles that the inte cafe served. He even thought that it would be worth going to an inte cafe again just for the food.


    After finishing the instant noodles, he emptied his canned beverage. The taste of the carbonated drink lingered in his mouth as the liquid slid down his throat.


    Then¡­


    m!


    "CHANNA, YOU FUCKING BITCH!!! AARRRGGGHHH!!"


    Kang-Woo heard someone shout angrily behind him.


    He turned around and saw a woman with short red hair, who was wearing a baseball cap, get up angrily. She had thick eyebrows, full lips, a sharp nose, and fair skin. The red-haired woman was wearing a tracksuit, but that wasn''t enough to hide her beauty.


    Her eyes met Kang-Woo''s, and she red at him.


    "What are you looking at? Got a problem? I''m not in the mood to deal with you right now, so¡ª" the red-haired woman said angrily until she noticed Kang-Woo''s game screen. "¡­Huh?"


    She looked back and forth between Kang-Woo''s screen and hers.


    Then the corners of her mouth curled up in a sneer. "Wow. Coincidences like this really do happen, huh?"


    Strong energy poured out from her body as she said, "You''d better step outside while I''m still asking nicely, you son of a bitch."


    1. Yaience (????) is a term coined by Korean League of Legends yers thatbine Yasuo and science. It basically means that people y Yasuo mainly because they want to be the main character, but get tilted when they aren''t the ones carrying the game and just let themselves be killed. He is a difficult character to y, so they would rather just lose the game than be carried. Hence, it has basically be a science that you are 100% going to lose the game if you have a Yasuo yer on your team. ?


    2. This is far tooplicated to exin to people who don''t y LoL through a reference note, so maybe someone in thements who''s knowledgeable in the game can exin for people that don''t understand. Plus, the summoner names are altered, but I''m sure ppl who y the game can figure it out. Long story short: Channa is a support hero and Izreal is the ADC. The support hero should let the ADC take thest hit to get more money. ?

 Chapter 26 - Unexpected Encounter (2)

    Chapter 26 - Unexpected Encounter (2)


    "You''d better step outside while I''m still asking nicely, you son of a bitch," the woman with red hair said menacingly.


    Her ferocious attitude resembled that of a wild animal.


    "Huh? What?" Oh Kang-Woo uttered while tilting his head in confusion.


    Seeing Kang-Woo''s attitude made the woman even angrier.


    "You know what, you fucking troll!" the woman shouted aggressively.


    She extended her hand toward Kang-Woo, wanting to smack him on the head.


    Kang-Woo dodged her attack with a frown. "Huh?"


    When the woman''s attack hit nothing but air, she let out a confused gasp and red at Kang-Woo.


    "You!" she eximed angrily.


    Whish! Whoosh!


    Kang-Woo dodged all of the iing attacks. He looked like an acrobat with the way he evaded the attacks just by moving the upper half of his body agilely.


    "What the¡­" the woman uttered.


    She couldn''t believe that Kang-Woo was dodging all of her attacks.


    Kang-Woo was also looking at her in surprise.


    ''She''s fast.''


    His expression stiffened as he watched her hand swing toward him.


    The woman was fast¡ªno, she was more than that. Her attacks curved swiftly in unpredictable ways like a snake. Just in terms of technique, she was on an impressive level.


    ''She''s strong.''


    Kang-Woo got out of the chair and looked at the woman calmly. She was the strongest person he had met since returning to Earth. Compared to her, yers like Jo Deok-Hyun seemed pathetic.


    ''She might be¡­''


    Kang-Woo thought that she might be even stronger than his current self. It wasn''t like they''d fought with all their might, but judging by how the mana that she emitted intimidated him, it was quite possible that she truly was stronger than him.


    "Who are you?" the red-haired woman asked.


    She was wary of Kang-Woo too.


    After seeing how casually Kang-Woo dodged her attacks by simply moving his upper body, the red-haired woman questioned in a low voice, "Which guild sent you? Are you from the Mir Guild?"


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    "How dare you bullshit me?" the woman said while ring at him. "There''s no way someone like you isn''t part of any guild."


    The red-haired woman recalled how he had dodged all of her attacks. She hadn''t attacked him with the intent of killing him since the reason behind the brawl was a video game. However, even if she hadn''t attacked seriously, her attacks weren''t at a level that some random guy who didn''t belong to any guild could have dodged.


    "Is there a rule that I have to join a guild?"


    "¡­"


    "Rather, I''m even more curious than you are. Who are you? Why did you pick a fight with me out of the blue?"


    "What? Are you kidding me right n¡ª"


    "From what I can gather, you''re the person who insulted me in the chat earlier."


    "Obviously! Who wouldn''t insult you in such a situation?" the woman shouted angrily.


    Even a saint that had managed to transcend the mundane world would be furious enough to throw their keyboard if they were in her shoes.


    Kang-Woo shrugged at her reaction.


    ''Is it because I stayed still in the middle of the battle?''


    Upon recalling that he had stopped ying to eat ramen, Kang-Woo nodded slightly and said, "I''m sorry that I stopped ying abruptly. It''s just that the noodles I''d ordered got served."


    "No! I''m talking about what happened before that!"


    "Huh? Did you perhaps not know that you get money if you kill those monsters?"


    "No! That''s not what I mean!" The woman red at him in frustration.


    Kang-Woo seemed confused as to why she was angry.


    After seeing his reaction, she spoke while frowning, "Don''t tell me¡­ Was that your first time ying the game?"


    "Yeah, that was my very first match."


    "Oh¡­ Sigh."


    The red-haired woman rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache. Kang-Woo didn''t seem to be lying.


    ''That goddamn startup package.''


    The woman had been negatively affected by the startup package, which was designed to attract new yers.


    "So¡­ you didn''t know how to y the game?"


    "Right."


    "Urgh¡­"


    It didn''t make sense for the woman to stay angry at Kang-Woo since he didn''t know how to y the game.


    The red-haired woman asked, "But seriously, who are you? I''ve never received any reports about a yer ranked A or above who looks like you."


    "Well, that''s because I''m not an A-rank yer."


    "You aren''t A-rank?"


    The red-haired woman looked at Kang-Woo in disbelief.


    ''That''s impossible.''


    She hadn''t fought at full power, but Kang-Woo''s movements made it hard for her to believe that he wasn''t at least an A-rank.


    The woman said, "Don''t lie to me. There''s no way you aren''t A-rank¡ª"


    "Here." Kang-Woo showed her his yer license.


    He hadn''t received his C-rank license yet, so it stated that he was still a D-rank yer.


    "D-rank¡­?"


    The red-haired woman checked Kang-Woo''s yer license and frowned as if she''d heard a bad joke.


    "How can a D-rank possibly move like that?" she questioned while looking at him puzzledly.


    The only thing she had seen from him was his movements, so her assessment that Kang-Woo was an A-rank yer was just based on his technique.


    ''If he''s a D-rank, that means he''s a newbie yer.''


    She was having a hard time epting the situation because this person who moved like a veteran warrior was just a D-rank yer.


    "Okay. We''re done, right?" Kang-Woo said.


    "Ah¡­"


    Kang-Woo turned his back on the woman.


    It was the first day off that he had gotten ever since returning to Earth, and he had no intention of wasting it on a meaningless brawl.


    "Wait a sec¡ª" the red-haired woman, who was still in shock, called out and extended her hand toward Kang-Woo.


    However, Kang-Woo ignored her and walked out of the Inte cafe.


    "¡­" The red-haired woman stared nkly at the door of the Inte cafe.


    She recalled seeing the name ''Oh Kang-Woo'' on the yer license of the yer who had disyed movements that couldn''t have possibly belonged to a D-rank yer.


    ''Is he hiding his strength?''


    There was a chance that Kang-Woo had wiped his identity clean due to havingmitted some heinous crime.


    ''But that''s weird too.''


    There was no chance that a criminal who had changed his identity would be in an inte cafe near the yer Management Office in broad daylight.


    "If that''s not the case, then¡­"


    She looked at the spot that Kang-Woo had stood on. It was clean with no traces of a fight, so much so that it was hard to believe that he had dodged all of her attacks from there. That meant that he had truly only used the upper half of his body to dodge all of her attacks.


    ''Maybe he''s a genius with incredible talent.''


    Fighting instinct varied from person to person. A true genius could develop excellent movements from just a few battles. The red-haired woman was one of those cases. She had been able to join the ranks of the powerful almost instantly thanks to her incredible talent.


    ''Who is he?''


    Her desire to learn more about the person named Oh Kang-Woo skyrocketed. She wanted to check if he was indeed a yer gifted enough to be worthy of being called a genius.


    ''If that''s the case¡­''


    Her gaze turned sharp.


    Maybe Kang-Woo could be a trump card that could help resolve the painful situation that she was in currently.


    ''I''ll have to check.''


    She took out her smartphone and called someone.


    Click.


    [This is Park Hyun-Woo, the Red Rose Guild''s chief of human resources management.]


    "Hyun-Woo. It''s me, Yeon-Joo."


    [Oh, what can I help you with, Guildmaster?]


    "There''s a yer I want you to investigate."


    [Hmm¡­ Are they one of the demon worshipers you told me about before?]


    "No, it''s not about that."


    [I''ll start investigating as soon as you tell me their name.]


    "I''ll head to the guild office right now."


    After ending the call, she turned around while still thinking about Oh Kang-Woo. Then she saw the word ''Defeat'' on her game screen.


    "Ah¡­"


    Her anger came flowing back. She frowned and pressed the ''Confirm'' button.


    Riiing.


    [You have failed to be promoted to Silver.]


    "AAARRGGGHHH! I''ll beat the crap out of him next time!"


    The red-haired girl, Cha Yeon-Joo, screamed in agony as she stared at her Bronze rank in the game.


    * * *


    "Fuuu," Kang-Woo sighed in relief after leaving the Inte cafe.


    He recalled the red-haired woman he had just met.


    ''She was strong.''


    All he''d done was dodge a few of her attacks, but that was enough for him to have an idea of how strong she was.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure if he would be able to defeat her if he fought with all of the power that he had at present.


    ''I would probably lose.''


    His expression stiffened when he remembered the dense mana that the woman had emitted. After getting his Third Awakening and an unexpected bonus at the Andras Guild, he had been so sure that he wouldn''t lose against any run-of-the-mill yers, and yet¡­


    ''There''s still a long way to go.''


    Excessive confidence could make a person lower their guard, and that could be the knife that stabs them in the back.


    "I''ll have to do my best again from tomorrow onward."


    With that in mind, Kang-Woo walked toward the subway station. He had been nning to take a break and experience numerous things, but his encounter with the red-haired woman changed his mind.


    ''It''s better this way.''


    He took the subway and returned home thinking that he was d he had met the red-haired woman before bing overly confident.


    * * *


    The next day¡­


    After receiving his C-rank yer license, Kang-Woo went to find the C-rank Gate in Mok-dong. He saw an empty lot that was in the middle of an apartmentplex.


    "Let''s see¡­ The Mok-dong C-rank Gate."


    Kang-Woo took his phone out and checked what monsters appeared in the Mok-dong Gate.


    "A mix of Orcs and Trolls, huh?"


    Orcs were D-rank monsters just like Lizardmen, but it seemed they appeared in some higher-ranking Gates as well.


    After reading the information about the monsters, Kang-Woo walked toward the entrance.


    A soldier stopped him at the entrance and said, "I can''t allow you to enter this Gate today unless you''re in a party consisting of five C-rank yers."


    "¡­May I ask why?"


    "A Troll Chief has appeared. Solo hunting is prohibited while a boss monster is active."


    "¡­"


    Troll Chiefs were boss monsters that periodically appeared in C-rank Gates. They were stronger than even elite monsters that appeared in B-rank Gates.


    "Hmm." Kang-Woo looked at the Gate while stroking his chin.


    ''I guess it''s time to push myself.''


    The rewards he could get from killing a boss monster were iparable to what he could get from killing a normal C-rank monster.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t miss that opportunity.

 Chapter 27 - Im Way Stronger Than I Thought (1)

    Chapter 27 - I''m Way Stronger Than I Thought (1)


    "Ugh! Today''s the day when the boss monster spawns?"


    "What should we do? Should we try to hunt it?"


    "Are you crazy? How could we possibly kill the Troll Chief?"


    The yers in front of the Gate muttered among themselves when the soldiers stopped them and told them a boss monster had appeared. They were discussing whether they should still enter the Gate.


    ''The standard of yers is totally different at the C-rank Gate.''


    Oh Kang-Woo nodded while looking around at the people gathered at the Gate.


    At first nce, the biggest difference between the yers here and the ones at the D-rank and E-rank Gates was their equipment.


    ''Should I also get some equipment?''


    Kang-Woo hadn''t faced a monster strong enough to warrant it, but it was inefficient to hunt solo without any gear.


    "Hmm¡­ I''ll have to think about it."


    Kang-Woo looked around and thought that if he were to buy some equipment, he should also buy some for Kang Tae-Soo and Han Seol-Ah too.


    "Let''s go!!"


    "Let''s hunt the Troll Chief!!"


    "Let''s get some extra rewards!"


    One party entered the Gate while shouting excitedly.


    Kang-Woo looked at the party entering the gate.


    ''The security here is definitely tighter.''


    It seemed that it wasn''t a lie that inspection was done more thoroughly at C-rank Gates and above. Each soldier was checking each yer''s licenses closely and even checked for the mana stone in the license card with a strange machine.


    ''It shot up from ID checks at a bar to a full-on examination at airport security.''


    Kang-Woo now understood why the Andras Guild members searched for yers in D-rank Gates to use as sacrifices for their ritual. Security was tighter at C-rank Gates and above, so the Andras Guild couldn''t hunt for preyfortably in those Gates.


    "Let''s see¡­"


    Kang-Woo pulled away from the crowd in front of the Gate and looked at the soldiers inspecting the yer licenses.


    Was it because a boss monster had appeared? They were checking every yer''s license thoroughly.


    ''This is a good opportunity.''


    Kang-Woo looked at the parties of yers that were gathered around the entrance. His attention centered on a yer who was shouting about the extra reward that could be acquired from hunting the boss.


    ''I believe he said that the mana stone of the boss monster could be sold for 100 million won.''


    Moreover, many other by-products could be sold for a very high price. A few hundred million won could be gained just by killing one Troll Chief.


    "Ah¡­ Should we give it a shot?"


    "But I''m honestly not confident¡­"


    The other yers looked at each other in doubt.


    Hunting a Troll Chief was harder than hunting a Hobgoblin, which was the boss monster of the E-rank Gate and a C-rank boss monster. The difference in strength between the C and B ranks was greater than the difference between the E and C ranks.


    ''Good.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up upon seeing that doubt was spreading among the yers.


    He walked up to them and yelled, "Let''s take this chance to hunt the boss monster together! It won''t be a match for ourbined strength!"


    Hearing that, the yer who had insisted on hunting the boss monster from the beginning got excited and shouted, "Yeah! If we''re just gonna stay trembling in fear outside the Gate like this, let''s all just join forces instead!"


    His shout stirred up the greed of the yers, but there was one decisive problem.


    "Urgh, but wouldn''t the shared reward be too little?"


    "True."


    The more yers there were, the fewer rewards each one would get. Even though a few hundred million won could be acquired from hunting the boss monster, each person would get only a tiny amount of money if they divided it among that many party members.


    Kang-Woo shouted again, "Even so, think about the EXP that killing a boss monster would give us! Even if we hunt as a big party, there isn''t a big difference in the EXP gained!"


    The eyes of the yers lit up after hearing Kang-Woo''s words.


    Money wasn''t the only thing they could obtain by killing the boss monster¡­ They could also gain a massive amount of EXP. This was a very tempting proposal for yers who were desperate to level up.


    ''Everyone probably knows that even if you kill a boss monster as a group, the EXP you gain isn''t that different from doing it alone.''


    It was the same for elite monsters. Of course, when there were more members in a party, each member would get fewer experience points, but the loss in experience points was negligible because the number of experience points gained from hunting a boss monster was iparable to that of a normal monster.


    "All right!"


    "Let''s use this opportunity to take a look at the boss monster!"


    Once the fire was lit, there was no way to stop it. The crowd bonded with each other and burned their desire even further.


    ''Now I only have to wait.''


    Kang-Woo, who had ignited the fire, pulled away from the crowd and looked at the yers from a distance. He had no intentions of hunting the boss with them as a party.


    ''It''ll reduce the rewards that I''ll receive.''


    Leaving the experience points aside, the main issue was the distribution of the corpse and mana stone. Corpses and mana stones were important elements for his growth since he could use his Authority of Predation. So, he had no intention of sharing his resources for growth with the other yers.


    ''The rewards are all mine.''


    Moreover, they weren''t yers whom Kang-Woo was nning to help grow like Tae-Soo or Seol-Ah. He had no reason at all to share the rewards with them.


    "If we also kill the chief''s guards that are always beside him, we''ll be able to sell a pair of them for about ten million won!" the yer that proposed fighting the boss monster together added.


    That yer gathered some yers, and they ended up with a party of twenty. There were so many people that it looked as if a guild hade to the Gate to hunt together.


    "Let''s go!"


    "Let''s level up to get our Fourth Awakening!"


    A huge party was formed to hunt the boss monster.


    After confirming each of their positions, therge party of yers approached the Gate inspection zone.


    ''Now.''


    Kang-Woo slowly made his move as the party reached the Gate''s entrance. Each yer had to be inspected individually, so all the soldiers guarding the entrance came to help check the yer licenses of the party''s members.


    "Everyone, please get in a line!"


    "Just a moment, please!"


    While the soldiers tried to keep the yers in check by making them line up in a single file, Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Sky and crossed the fence surrounding the gate.


    ''Authority of Blindness.''


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Blindness on the few soldiers who hadn''t gotten swept into the chaos and then quickly moved to the entrance of the C-rank Gate.


    Whoom.


    "Alright."


    After entering the Gate, Kang-Woo smiled with satisfaction and looked around.


    ''It looks simr to the Gate with the Goblins.''


    This Gate reminded him of the dense forest that he''d seen when he first returned to Earth.


    Kang-Woo pushed through the thickets and walked deep into the forest.


    ''Now, where would the boss be?''


    The forest was too dense to search through from the sky. Then Kang-Woo remembered there was a certain Authority that he could use.


    ''Wouldn''t I be able to use it now?''


    It was the Authority of the demon Astaroth, the Authority of the Beholder. He couldn''t use it before because it consumed a lot of demonic energy, but he thought that he could give it a shot now.


    "Let''s see¡­"


    Kang-Woo checked his Demonic Energy stat. Thanks to Jo Deok-Hyun''s ritual, Kang-Woo''s Demonic Energy stat had surpassed 50.


    ''Although, in reality, it''s higher than 50.''


    The demonic energy that flowed out from the weakening seal of the Ten Thousand Demon Core wasn''t added to the Demonic Energy stat, so his actual Demonic Energy stat was probably a lot higher than 50.


    "I think that I can pull it off."


    Kang-Woo nodded and walked deeper into the forest. He ced his hand on the ground and used the Authority of the Beholder.


    Fwoom!


    Demonic energy came out of his hand and spread out through the ground like spider webs.


    "Kurgh."


    Kang-Woo grimaced because of the wave of information he was receiving.


    The Authority of the Beholder had one w¡­


    ''It''s way too high-performance.''


    It was that it absorbed all the information from its surroundings and consequently sent too much information for Kang-Woo''s brain to process. In Hell, he''d used an Authority that elerated his mental processing speed, but he still didn''t have enough demonic energy to use two Authorities simultaneously.


    "Argh, urgh."


    He had a headache. Every single piece of information entering his head stabbed his brain.


    Kang-Woo felt nauseous and started to think he wouldn''t be able to keep using the Authority of the Beholder. However, the information of a very strong entity suddenly entered his mind.


    ''I''ve found you.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up.


    The energy of the strong entity waspletely different from that of the other monsters surrounding it.


    ''Is it because it''s the chief? Why are there so many monsters?''


    There were dozens of Trolls and Orcs surrounding the Troll Chief, and unlike the Hobgoblin, the Troll Chief didn''t seem to have the intention of going somewhere by itself.


    "Hmm." Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes while thinking about this.


    Then he heard the murmur of yers from afar. It was the big party that had formed because of him.


    ''I should use those guys.''


    Thinking that those yers should be able to deal with the small fry, Kang-Woo approached the Troll Chief.


    ''First, I should troll the chief to get his attention.''


    He would then hide, and the party would naturally end up fighting the other monsters. He just had to slip out when they were fighting and go eliminate the boss monster by himself.


    "Then, should I try to grab his attention?"


    Kang-Woo raised his hand as he stared at the Troll Chief, who was holding a massive cane and being protected by the Trolls.


    ''Authority of Dark Spears.''


    It was the Authority of the demon Raum.


    A spear of demonic energy that was around two meters long manifested in Kang-Woo''s hand. With one hand, he threw the spear at the Troll Chief.


    Stab!


    "GRAAAAHHHH!!"


    The demonic energy spear pierced the Troll Chief''s chest.


    ''Good. Now, I''ll drag the attention of the Orcs and Trolls toward the other yers¡­''


    Kang-Woo turned toward where the other yers were.


    Riiing.


    [You have sessfully defeated the B-rank boss monster Troll Chief!]


    [Additional EXP has been awarded due to the boss monster''s defeat.]


    [You have ced first in the level of contribution to defeat the boss monster. Additional EXP has risen threefold.]


    [Your Level has risen by 4.]


    "Eh?" Kang-Woo turned confusedly to where the Troll Chief was.


    The Troll Chief was convulsing on the ground with the demonic energy spear pierced into his chest.


    "The hell? It died in just one blow?"

 Chapter 28 - Im Way Stronger Than I Thought (2)

    Chapter 28 - I''m Way Stronger Than I Thought (2)


    "The hell? It died in just one blow?" Oh Kang-Wooughed.


    He had no intention of killing the Troll Chief with that attack. Instead, he''d been trying to catch its attention and then lure the monsters to the other yers.


    Kang-Woo had thought that he still wasn''t strong enough to deal with the Troll Chief and the dozens of Trolls and Orcs simultaneously. Yet, he ended up killing the Troll Chief with the demonic energy spear he''d used for the purpose of grabbing its attention.


    ''Was that really the boss monster?''


    Kang-Woo still couldn''t believe that he had killed the boss monster, so he checked the message windows again.


    ''Are B-rank monsters weaker than I thought?''


    Kang-Woo tilted his head and thought about the energy he had felt from the Troll Chief and the monsters around it.


    ''No.''


    The Troll Chief had emitted power that was iparable to the Trolls around it.


    That meant there was only one possible exnation.


    ''I''ve be stronger than I thought.''


    Ever since his encounter with the red-haired woman, Kang-Woo had believed that he wasn''t that strong. That was natural since he had encountered a yer who was stronger than him in an inte cafe instead of a high-ranking Gate, where strong yers were expected.


    ''But that wasn''t the case.''


    Kang-Woo had without a doubt gained immense power after achieving his Third Awakening and going through the Andras Guild''s ritual. It was just that it had not been enough to reach the level of the red-haired woman whom he had met by coincidence.


    ''Just who was she?''


    While thinking about the red-haired woman, Kang-Woo walked out of his hiding ce.


    "GRRRR!"


    "GRAAAHH!''


    After losing their chief, the monsters angrily roared at Kang-Woo.


    He used the Authority of des and approached them slowly.


    "Change of n."


    Killing the boss monster in one hit helped Kang-Woo realize how strong he had be. A tiger did not need to shrink back when facing cats. So, he scrapped his n to attract the monsters'' attention and make them fight the other yers.


    "I''ll wipe you all out," Kang-Woo stated.


    It wasn''t his style to fight recklessly against multiple opponents. Others might find his style of fighting cowardly, but he prioritized his safety above all else when he was in battle. However, that was unnecessary when there was such an enormous gap in power between him and his opponents.


    "KAAAARRRGGHH!"


    Kang-Woo stabbed the Troll that swung its club at him in the stomach with a de made of demonic energy. Then, he filled the Troll with the demonic energy in the de.


    sh! Crack!


    The demonic energy turned into des that sprouted from inside the Troll''s body like thorns, tearing it apart from the inside.


    This was one of the ways the Authority of des could be used. Now that Kang-Woo had umted a lot of demonic energy, he could use this method without much issue.


    ''Nice.''


    Kang-Woo smiled after feeling how light his movements had bepared to when he had faced the Lizardmen.


    He felt good to know that he was recovering his old level of power. It felt like he was removing the heavy burdens that had been weighing down his body one by one.


    Kang-Woo jumped right into the fray of enraged monsters and began to run wild.


    "Kiieekk!"


    "Krrr!"


    The screams of monsters spread throughout the forest. They were predators that devoured humans, yet they were now in a state of panic because of the appearance of a new predator.


    After almost half of them had been massacred, the Trolls and Orcs began to run away from Kang-Woo.


    ''I see they have enough intelligence to know when to run away.''


    Perhaps, it didn''t have to do with their intelligence but rather their survival instinct. The monsters had probably concluded that they wouldn''t be able to defeat Kang-Woo and decided to flee in fear.


    Kang-Woo extended his hands toward the monsters trying to escape.


    ''This is a good chance.''


    It was the perfect chance to see what he could do now and to what extent.


    Kang-Woo focused on his demonic energy and gathered the maximum amount that he could use. Then he cut the palm of his hand, and a drop of blood fell to the ground.


    "Field of des."


    sh! sh! sh!


    ck des rose from the ground starting from the point where his bloodnded. A wave of ck des engulfed the monsters, who looked too pathetic and miserable to be called monsters. The few that barely managed to escape the des just kept running without looking back.


    Ting.


    [You have sessfully defeated a group of C-rank monster Trolls.]


    [You have sessfully defeated a group of D-rank monster Orcs.]


    [Your level has risen by 2.]


    "Pant, pant."


    After using Field of des, Kang-Woo was panting, and his entire body was covered in sweat.


    "I actually managed to use Field of des"


    He looked around while wiping the sweat off his forehead. The ground, which was covered in ck des, was painted with thick monster blood.


    Field of des was a technique that Kang-Woo had developed using Sabnak''s Authority.


    ''Demonsck imagination.''


    They used the Authority that they possessed in one-dimensional ways. Of course, there were a few exceptions, but Sabnak wasn''t one of them.


    Riiing.


    [You have learned the skill Field of des (Rank: A).]


    [Techniques registered as skills can be used more easily and precisely.]


    ''Huh?''


    Kang-Woo tilted his head at the message window that popped up.


    ''Oh, so these are what they call skills.''


    yers obtained skills by creating techniques to utilize their Traits.


    Usually, yers had to try numerous times before they could register a technique as a skill, but since Kang-Woo was already proficient in the technique, he could register it immediately.


    "Hmm¡­ So, Authorities and Traits have many things inmon after all."


    Authorities and Traits were simr in that there was a wide range of Authorities and Traits and that they could be applied in many different ways. Kang-Woo thought that it would be worth investigating this idea a bit more.


    While thinking that, he walked toward the corpse of the Troll Chief.


    "Now, it''s time to enjoy the rewards."


    Kang-Woo smiled and used the Authority of Predation. The Authority of Predation spread out and devoured all the corpses of the monsters around him.


    Crunch! Crack!


    Was it because his demonic energy had increased? The Authority of Predation devoured the monster faster than before.


    As the amount of demonic energy inside him rose, Kang-Woo got immersed in his thoughts.


    ''Should I also consume all the mana stones?''


    Ever since achieving his Third Awakening and acquiring the Trait ''Mana-Hungry Demon,'' he could convert the mana inside mana stones into demonic energy. This left Kang-Woo wondering whether he should choose power or money.


    ''Poweres first.''


    After thinking about it for a while, Kang-Woo decided to leave ten C-rank mana stones and devour the rest. He wasn''t desperate for money at the moment, and he would be able to earn a lot more once he became stronger.


    ''Devour everything,'' Kang-Woo inwardlymanded the ck smoke that had emerged from his hands.


    Horrifying sounds rang out as the Authority of Predation devoured every monster Kang-Woo had just massacred.


    Riiing.


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 2.]


    "Only two?"


    Kang-Woo frowned after reading the message window.


    He had devoured the boss monster and all the trolls around him, but his Demonic Energy stat had only increased by two. Was it because his Demonic Energy stat had already reached 50?


    "So, this is what they meant when they said that the higher your stats be, the harder it is to raise them."


    Kang-Woo turned around while clicking his tongue. He had just gained another reason for why he should go to a higher-ranking Gate.


    ''But the leveling up speed is still okay.''


    He had simply be too strong for his level, so the speed at which he leveled up was extremely fast. His Level had risen by four just by him killing a boss monster, and after he cleared up the rest of the monsters, it had risen by two more levels. Kang-Woo only had four levels left until his Fourth Awakening.


    "Should I hunt a bit more before going back?"


    He had to wait for the big party to exit the Gate so that he could use the disorder to leave without anyone noticing.


    While continuing to hunt alone, Kang-Woo checked the party''s location with his Authority. They were searching for the boss monster everywhere in the Gate.


    "Where the hell is the boss monster?!"


    "Did the government get the date wrong?"


    "Damn it!"


    The yers shouted angrily after wandering around for a few hours without being able to find anything.


    Ranger-type yers had spread out to search so that they could find the boss and hunt it as quickly as possible, but they couldn''t find the boss monster anywhere.


    "We only saw Trolls scatter and run away for some weird reason¡­"


    "You didn''t see the Troll Chief''s body, did you?"


    "No. There were traces of a battle, but there was no body."


    One could see the disappointment in their expressions.


    "Sigh, let''s just go back."


    "Ah! L-Let''s stay just a little bit longer¡­"


    "Let''s go. Damn, we just wasted an entire day."


    The excitement cooled down as quickly as it had heated up. When a few party members mentioned that they should leave the Gate, everyone began walking toward the exit.


    Kang-Woo followed them stealthily.


    ''I''ll just use themotion that they''ll cause to leave unnoticed.''


    Kang-Woo, who had obtained good rewards from hunting, smiled with satisfaction and stealthily followed the party out of the Gate.


    "There wasn''t any boss monster!"


    "Do you have any idea how much time we just wasted?!"


    The yers who exited the Gate before himined to the soldiers and caused amotion.


    ''Nice.''


    Kang-Woo seized the opportunity to go unnoticed and once again flew over the fence. Hended on the ground and was about to head home when¡­


    "Silence!"


    A group of people in uniforms colored in a mix of red and ck approached the Gate entrance.


    "The H-Hwarang Corps?"


    "Hey, isn''t that Baek Hwa-Yeon, the captain of the Hwarang Corps'' 3rd Squadron?"


    "Woah, you''re right."


    The person at the forefront was Baek Hwa-Yeon, a beautiful woman with a very dignified appearance and silver hair tied in a ponytail.


    While overwhelming everyone with her charismatic eyes, Hwa-Yeon said, "We''ve recently received reports of Chaos yers appearing in D-rank Gates, so we''re carrying out a surprise inspection of yers who have achieved their Third Awakening and above. We appreciate your cooperation."


    After she finished talking, the yers who had just left the Gate were surrounded by a squadron of uniformed yers.


    Kang-Woo''s expression stiffened.


    ''Don''t tell me¡­''


    He bit his lips a little bit and looked around.


    ''Have I been found out?''

 Chapter 29 - You Even Added Instant Noodles (1)

    Chapter 29 - You Even Added Instant Noodles (1)


    Oh Kang-Woo stared warily at the uniformed yers encircling him and the party.


    It was obvious, even at first nce, that Baek Hwa-Yeon wasn''t a normal yer. Perhaps, she''d even seen Kang-Woo cross the fence while using the Authority of Blindness.


    "It is just a simple inspection, so there is no need to fret. We will leave as soon as we''re done checking if any of the yers here are on the wanted list," Hwa-Yeon said.


    Then, she nced at the members of her squadron. They nodded in understanding and approached the yers.


    ''Thankfully, it seems like she didn''t see me.'' Kang-Woo sighed in relief.


    It appeared that Hwa-Yeon hadn''t seen him cross the fence.


    ''But Chaos yers, huh¡­?''


    Kang-Woo thought of the incident with the Andras Guild and its members, the crazy demon worshipers who had used yers as sacrifices.


    ''Are they making their move?''


    He wasn''t sure yet, but the demon worshipers would have no choice but to expose their presence if they continued to perform rituals.


    "Please show us your yer licenses."


    Hwa-Yeon and her subordinates began inspecting the yer licenses.


    When Hwa-Yeon got to Kang-Woo, she extended her hand with a handsome smile.


    ''She''s pretty masculine.''


    After giving her his yer license, Kang-Woo asked, "Do you handle inspections personally?"


    "You cannot be a captain if you leave everything to your squadron members," Hwa-Yeon replied.


    "That''s a great mindset to have."


    After that light exchange of words, Kang-Woo smoothly kept the conversation going.


    "Have there been a lot of Chaos yerstely?" he queried.


    "Yes. That is why we carry out surprise inspections like this."


    "Hmm. yers earn more than enough money to live off by just hunting monsters, but they''re stooping to murder to earn more¡­? How scary."


    "¡­It is," Hwa-Yeon said, flinching slightly.


    Kang-Woo did not miss that flinch.


    ''She''s lying.''


    Hwa-Yeon''s flinch hadn''t been in response to Kang-Woo mentioning that the number of Chaos yers had increased; it had been in response to what he''d said about Chaos yers killing people for money.


    ''She knows that their goal isn''t money.''


    Kang-Woo thought that the Hwarang Corps might be aware of the rituals that the demon worshipers were conducting.


    "Could you tell me which Chaos yer you''re looking for? As a yer, I want to do my part. If I ever see him, I''ll report him."


    "Thank you for your offer, but it is unfortunately ssified. I ask for your cooperation once it bes public."


    "Oh, I see."


    "Righteous young men like you are rare these days. I like that." Hwa-Yeon looked at Kang-Woo''s yer license with a smile on her face. "It seems like you''ve just be a C-rank yer. I understand your desire to hunt at C-rank Gates, but I suggest you stay at a D-rank Gate for a bit longer. It will be safer for you toe here after leveling up a bit more. There will be an EXP penalty, but you can still level up to 25 in a D-rank Gate."


    "Thank you very much."


    "Oh Kang-Woo¡­ I hope there are more yers like you."


    Hwa-Yeon returned Kang-Woo his yer license and gave him a light pat of encouragement on the shoulder.


    Kang-Woo smiled at her words. ''It''d be a problem if there were more people like me.''


    From a moral standpoint, Kang-Woo was closer to being evil than a saint.


    After his conversation with Hwa-Yeon was over, Kang-Woo nced at Hwa-Yeon, who had gone to inspect other yers.


    ''ssified, huh¡­?''


    He wanted to know if their target was Jo Deok-Hyun or some other demon worshiper.


    Kang-Woo could tell with just a nce that Hwa-Yeon was a very strong yer, so there was no way he would be able to use a mind-control type of Authority like the Authority of Fear on her.


    ''I guess I''ll have to be satisfied for the moment just by knowing that the government has begun investigating the demon worshipers.''


    Moreover, Deok-Hyun was currently mobilizing his guild members to gather information on the other demon worshipers day in and day out. It seemed wiser for Kang-Woo to take a step back instead of rushing things.


    "I should head back."


    Kang-Woo walked away from the Hwarang Corps and went home.


    ***


    A few days had passed by since he had hunted the boss monster. Kang-Woo continued hunting in the C-rank Gate and increasing his strength. When he heard that Han Seol-Ah hadpleted basic training and was ready to start hunting, he called Kang Tae-Soo.


    As soon as Tae-Soo received Kang-Woo''s call, he rushed to the cafe near Seol-Ah''s house. He extended his hands toward Seol-Ah with his characteristically affable attitude.


    "Oh, man~ It''s nice to meet you. So, you''re the healer that hyung-nim had mentioned!" Tae-Soo greeted.


    "Oh, yes. Nice to meet you too," Seol-Ah replied.


    "Wow~ You''re so beautiful. My eyes almost popped out of their sockets when I saw you from a distance!"


    "Th-Thank you very much."


    Seol-Ah felt ufortable that a giant nearly two meters tall had approached her with sparkling eyes. She smiled awkwardly and turned toward Kang-Woo.


    Tae-Soo looked at both of them and smiled.


    "Hehehe. The air around you two is abnormal¡­ What is your rtionship with hyung-nim?" he asked Seol-Ah.


    "Ah, u-um¡­"


    "Don''t say stupid things," Kang-Woo said calmly after taking a sip of the coffee he had ordered. "First, Tae-Soo, I want you to take Seol-Ah to hunt in a D-rank Gate."


    Tae-Soo replied, "Of course. I should be the one making the request since she''s a healer with a B-rank Trait. Sister-inw, is your Trait only centered around healing?"


    "S-Sister-inw¡­?" Seol-Ah blushed.


    Tae-Sooughed loudly upon seeing her reaction. "Hahaha. It''s already written on your face, so why are you getting so embarrassed? But more importantly, could you tell me more about your Trait?"


    "Ngh¡­ It''s a Trait called ''Blessing of Light.'' It can heal, but it can also be used to buff either strength, health, or dexterity."


    "Whoa! So you can buff and heal simultaneously?"


    "Yes, and I can use a few attack skills, too."


    "That''s amazing!" Tae-Soo eximed in surprise.


    It was very impressive for a yer to be able to heal and buff at the same time. Most parties would consider whether they should incorporate a buffing ss into their party, but that wouldn''t be necessary if Seol-Ah were in their party because she could do both roles alone.


    "If you can also buff, there''s nothing more to say. A guild like Hanul Guild would wee you with open arms almost immediately," Tae-Soo said.


    "Haha, thank you, but I have no intentions of entering a guild for the moment."


    "Haha. I''m the same. I''m thinking of making history in the world of yers along with hyung-nim!" Tae-Soo smiled naively and guzzled down the hot coffee. "Kaaah!! For coffee, you can''t go wrong with an americano! Right, hyung-nim?"


    ''That''s not beer.'' Kang-Wooughed upon seeing Tae-Soo overreact.


    "So, is there anyone you have in mind regarding damage dealing?" Kang-Woo asked.


    A party could not be formed with just a healer and a tank. So, a few days ago, Kang-Woo had asked Tae-Soo to find a good damage dealer.


    "Of course! I found two incredible people!" Tae-Soo answered.


    "Really?"


    "Hehehe. I''m confident in my eye for people! They''re so talented to the point that it''s weird they haven''t joined any guild yet."


    "¡­How did you get to know them?" Kang-Woo asked warily.


    The most important thing was if they were trustworthy; their capability came after. There were demon worshipers targeting low-level yers, so anything could happen.


    Tae-Soo seemed to notice Kang-Woo''s worry and said confidently, "I met them back when I was still hunting Goblins. Both of them have just gotten their Second Awakening. They''re both trustworthy."


    "Hmm¡­" Kang-Woo looked at him inplete distrust.


    ''I can''t trust his judgment.''


    After all, Tae-Soo had previously epted two members of the Andras Guild as party members.


    ''I''ll have to see them for myself.''


    Kang-Woo cared for Tae-Soo, but Seol-Ah was especially important to him. He couldn''t let her get involved in unnecessary trouble.


    "Can I meet the two of them?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Of course. I''ll introduce them to you tomorrow before we go hunting."


    "Okay." Kang-Woo nodded and turned his head around to Seol-Ah. "Are you okay with that, Seol-Ah?"


    "Of course. I trust him since you introduced him to me. Fufu. I''ll try my best to level up as fast as possible so that I can party with you," Seol-Ah replied.


    "You can take your time. The most important thing is your safety."


    Kang-Woo''s and Seol-Ah''s eyes met, and an affectionate atmosphere bloomed between them.


    "Hehehehehe." Tae-Soo giggled after looking at both of them. "Hyaaa, I can see the love in the air, hyung-nim."


    "Urgh¡­" Seol-Ah''s face reddened at Tae-Soo''s words.


    Tae-Soo found Seol-Ah''s reaction funny and said with a smile, "But seriously, what is the nature of your rtionship? Are you two dating?"


    "N-No!" Seol-Ah denied it firmly.


    The attention of the people inside the cafe centered on her because she had spoken so loudly. Noticing that everyone was looking at her, Seol-Ah blushed even harder.


    Then she mumbled very quietly, "W-We aren''t dating."


    After that, Seol-Ah gazed at Kang-Woo, who was beside her.


    "What¡­ did you say?" Kang-Woo asked in shock.


    He had an expression that looked as if he''d been hit with a hammer.


    Kang-Woo trembled as he turned to face her. "Weren''t we dating?"


    "¡­Pardon?" Seol-Ah looked at him confusedly, wondering what he was talking about.


    They certainly weren''t dating, and the talk of dating had never even been brought up.


    "You told me you would make delicious kimchi stew for me every day!" Kang-Woo eximed in frustration.


    "No, I never said that."


    "How could you do this to me after you even added instant noodles into it?!"


    "I don''t understand what you''re saying at all, Kang-Woo," Seol-Ah replied unexpectedly calmly.


    Kang-Woo''s expression resembled that of a tragic female protagonist that had been betrayed by the man that she loved.


    "Ah¡­ Hm, so¡­" Tae-Soo bore witness to their skit with a puzzled expression. "So¡­ are you two dating?"

 Chapter 30 - Demonic Beast of the First Hell (1)

    Chapter 30 - Demonic Beast of the First Hell (1)


    ''So, it was just me who thought we were dating.''


    Oh Kang-Woo staggered slightly with a shocked expression upon exiting the cafe. He had thought they were in a rtionship because Han Seol-Ah had let him live in her house and cooked delicious kimchi stew for him every day.


    ''Did I get ahead of myself?'' Kang-Woo shrugged sadly.


    Seol-Ah approached him cautiously. "Uhmm, Kang-Woo."


    "Yes¡­?"


    "Did you¡­ really think we were dating?"


    "I''m ashamed of that, but I did."


    "I-I see," Seol-Ah said and took a few steps back.


    Her face was red, but she seemed strangely happy. She just stood there, fidgeting and staring off into space.


    "What''s wrong?" Kang-Woo asked her.


    "N-Nothing!" Seol-Ah, who was surprised by his question, shouted in surprise.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head, confused by Seol-Ah''s suspicious behavior.


    Meanwhile, Seol-Ah turned around and once again stared nkly into space.


    "Hehehe," she giggled while imagining something.


    She even clenched her fists and whispered to herself, "All right!"


    Seeing that Seol-Ah''s weird behavior continued, Kang-Woo was about to approach her. Nevertheless, before he could, Seol-Ah turned back to face him with a determined look.


    "K-Kang-Woo!" she called out.


    "Uh¡­ Yes?"


    "Wh-Why don''t w-we ju¡­" Seol-Ah stuttered as she tried to propose something.


    However, the more she talked, the more embarrassed she felt. She blushed even harder, and her voice became quieter.


    "Seol-Ah?"


    "U-Urghhh."


    Seol-Ah was trembling while biting her lower lip. She suddenly opened her mouth as if to resume speaking, but she continued to fidget without being able to finish her sentence.


    Then she took a deep breath and finally managed to talk.


    "S-Spea¡­"


    "I''m sorry?"


    "Y-You can speak to me casually. Yes. L-Let''s start with that."[1]


    Kang-Woo smiled at Seol-Ah''s words. "Sure. I''ll do that."


    "Th-Thank you very much, Kang-Woo."


    "You can speak to me casually too."


    "N-No! This is morefortable for me!" Seol-Ah eximed while shaking her head.


    Kang-Woo shrugged at her firm answer and replied, "Okay."


    "Hehehe, I''m loving this, hyung-nim," Kang Tae-Soo said as he watched them with a smile. He patted Kang-Woo on the shoulders with his giant hands and continued, "I''ll see you at Incheon tomorrow then, hyung-nim. I''ll send you the exact locationter."


    "Huh? Why Incheon instead of the D-rank Gate that''s closer?"


    "Well, we had an incident at that Gate, didn''t we? That''s why I decided to change our target from Lizardmen to Orcs."


    "Oh."


    "They''re stronger than Lizardmen, but we won''t be in a swamp and won''t need to be silent. So, it''s a morefortable ce to hunt."


    "Good idea." Kang-Woo looked at Tae-Soo in surprise.


    ''He clearly isn''t dumb.''


    Tae-Soo was thoughtful and knew how to take action. On top of that, he was loyal to Kang-Woo.


    ''As an underling, he''s perfect.''


    Kang-Woo gazed at Tae-Soo with satisfaction. He thought he had made the right call in saving Tae-Soo from the Andras Guild members.


    "Okay, then. I''ll meet you there tomorrow," Kang-Woo said.


    "Understood, hyung-nim. Do you have any ns tonight? Why don''t we go out and have a drink?" Tae-Soo asked while making the motion of drinking a ss of soju.


    "No. I have stuff to do today."


    "Aw, man. What stuff?"


    "I need to level up," Kang-Woo said while thinking about his level.


    He was currently Level 29 and about to get his Fourth Awakening.


    ''I should level up as much as possible while I still can.''


    He wanted to be as strong as possible before focusing more of his attention on gathering information on the demon worshipers. For him, achieving more Awakenings was the equivalent of weakening the seal on his Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    Unlike normal yers, who had to worry about whether they would get a high-ranking Trait, Kang-Woo was guaranteed to be stronger with each Awakening.


    ''I also want to know what I''ll get as my fourth Trait.''


    Traits were a new power that he didn''t have back when he used to rule over Hell. He couldn''t help but wonder what kind of new Traits he would unlock down the road.


    ''They say that the higher your level bes, the higher your chances of unlocking a higher-ranking Trait will be¡­''


    Kang-Woo thought that he might be able to get an even better one this time.


    He then said to Tae-Soo and Seol-Ah, "I''ll get going, then."


    "Hunt safe, hyung-nim!"


    "Okay. I''ll see you tonight, Kang-Woo."


    After saying goodbye to both of them, Kang-Woo walked to the C-rank Gate.


    * * *


    "Now, then¡­"


    After the inspection waspleted, Kang-Woo entered the Gate and took a deep breath.


    ''Let''s begin.''


    Kang-Woo didn''t need to formte a strategy to fight against mere Trolls or Orcs. He only needed to think about how he should move to kill more of them faster.


    ''I guess leveling up really does get progressively harder.''


    Even though he''d killed so many monsters, he still hadn''t leveled up. He wanted to advance to a B-rank Gate, but that wasn''t an option yet. The promotion requirements for bing a B-rank yer were simr to the C-rank promotion requirements. He needed to provide mana stone exchange receipts and a certificate that stated he had reached Level 30.


    ''So, this is why personal connections are important.''


    yers who belonged to big guilds could enter high-ranking Gates freely and bypass the rank restriction. However, Kang-Woo could not hope to reap such privileges, as the only guild that he knew was the Andras Guild, whose members were on the watchlist of the Hwarang Corps.


    "I should try to make some connections."


    He had no intentions of entering a big guild, but maybe making connections with one wouldn''t be a bad idea.


    ''And I don''t think it will be that hard.''


    Kang-Woo possessed great power that far surpassed what other yers of his level possessed. He hadn''t closelypared himself with other yers, but he was sure that no one could dismiss him casually.


    After the major struggle against the monsters that urred in the past, power and talent had be valuablemodities in the world of yers. So, it was likely that someone like Kang-Woo was a gem that everyone would desire.


    With those thoughts in mind, Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Beholder. ck demonic energy spread out from his body, shoving every single piece of information about his surroundings into his brain.


    ''First up, there are eight over there.''


    After finding a group of Trolls, Kang-Woo sprinted toward the group. He ran incredibly fast through the forest thanks to his Authority of Haste.


    sh!


    "Kiieekk?"


    Kang-Woo charged into the group of Trolls without hesitation and used the de made from his Authority of des to split the head of one of the Trolls in two. The troll screamed in confusion and died before even realizing it had been ambushed.


    "GRRRR!!"


    It was only then that the other Trolls realized that they were being ambushed, and they charged toward Kang-Woo. For anyone else, seeing Trolls that were almost three meters tall charging toward them was the definition of fear, but Kang-Woo didn''t feel anything. Compared to what he had experienced in Hell, the Trolls'' charge was nothing more than a cutesy prance.


    sh! Crack!


    "Kiieekk."


    All eight Trolls were massacred in less than a minute. If someone else were to have seen that fight, they would probably have felt bad for the Trolls.


    After catching his breath, Kang-Woo quickly searched for his next target.


    ''I can devour their corpsester.''


    At that moment, reaching Level 30 and getting his Fourth Awakening was more important to him than taking the spoils of battle using the Authority of Predation. Kang-Woo left the corpses of the monsters behind and began moving at a frightening speed in search of his next target.


    "Huh?"


    Kang-Woo caught a faint scent of blood right then. It was obvious that he would smell blood since he was running around killing monsters, but this blood that he was smelling was different from monster blood.


    ''It''s the scent of human blood.''


    Furthermore, the strong scent of blood didn''t seem to being from light wounds but from rather critical ones.


    Kang-Woo''s gaze sank. He slowly moved toward the source of the scent of blood.


    ''Did they die while hunting?''


    That was the most likely answer. It was quitemon for yers to die while hunting.


    ''Authority of Silence.''


    However, there was also a chance that they had been attacked by a Chaos yer or a demon worshiper. So, Kang-Woo stealthily walked toward the source with his Authority of Silence activated.


    It did not take him long to find the source of the scent. He brushed through the thickets to see the corpses of five yers on the ground.


    "This is¡­" Kang-Woo mumbled.


    He looked at the corpses of the yers. They were so badly torn apart that it was even hard to tell their genders.


    "¡­A monster''s doing," Kang-Woo concluded while looking at the marks on the corpses.


    "Hmm¡­"


    While checking out the corpses, Kang-Woo noticed something strange and frowned.


    ''There''s no monster blood.''


    Other monsters could have dragged away the corpses of any monsters that died during the battle, but it was weird that there wasn''t even a single drop of monster blood on the ground. There was no way that a party of five yers who could enter a C-rank Gate had died at the hands of Trolls without injuring them at all.


    ''That''s impossible.''


    There was simply no way that could happen unless they had been fighting a boss monster. No, it would be impossible even for a boss monster to decimate a party of five without shedding a drop of blood.


    ''Just what exactly happened here?''


    Kang-Woo continued to search the mangled corpses with a frown.


    Suddenly¡­


    Rustle.


    "Grrrrr," a low cry rang out.


    It was a cry that seemed to seep into the soul of those who heard it.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened. "No way¡­"


    The thing that emerged from the bushes was a giant beast covered in ck and red fur. It was almost five meters tall, and¡­ it was a monster that Kang-Woo knew a lot about.


    "Why is a Hellhound here?"


    The monster that had emerged from the bushes was a demonic beast that inhabited the First Hell.


    1. Casual and formal Korean speech doesn''t really trante well to English¡­ Just know that they have both been speaking very formally to each other. ?

 Chapter 31 - Demonic Beast of the First Hell (2)

    Chapter 31 - Demonic Beast of the First Hell (2)


    A Hellhound was a demonic beast that resembled a dog and was almost five meters tall. It was a powerful predator with explosive agility, which came from its massive build, and its skin was harder than steel. Hellhounds were one of the strongest predators even in the First Hell, where Oh Kang-Woo had fallen when he had first entered Hell.


    ''What is a demonic beast doing here?''


    Monsters and demonic beasts looked simr, but there was a decisive difference between them. Both possessed demonic energy, but a monster''s main energy source was the mana inside their mana stone. Demonic beasts on the other hand were a demon subspecies, and they moved solely with the power of demonic energy.


    "Grrrrrr," the Hellhound growled and red at Kang-Woo.


    Every time the Hellhound exhaled, ck mes spewed out of its mouth.


    "What the hell is going on?" Kang-Woo muttered.


    ''How did an entity that belonged to the First Hell get to Earth?''


    Even Kang-Woo, the former lord of the Nine Hells, had barely been able to cross dimensions through painstaking efforts. So, there was no way that a demonic beast from the First Hell could have crossed the dimensional barrier on its own.


    ''Is this the Demon Cult''s doing?''


    He didn''t have enough clues to specte.


    "Damn it."


    Kang-Woo extended his right hand to the side and used the Authority of Dark Spears. A giant demonic energy spear two meters in length appeared in his hand.


    ''I don''t have good memories with that damn fire mutt.''


    Back when Kang-Woo was still in the First Hell, he''d been at the bottom of the food chain. Hellhounds had been apex predators that killed anything that moved, so Kang-Woo had almost died several times while hiding from them.


    "But well, not anymore."


    He had been at the bottom of the food chain in the past, but it was theplete opposite now. Kang-Woo had risen to the top of the food chain where he hunted the apex predators. Most of his strength was sealed, but there was no way he would lose against a demonic beast that belonged to the First Hell.


    "Graaaaahhh!!"


    Fwoosh!!


    The Hellhound roared andunched ck mes toward Kang-Woo.


    Of course, the Hellhound''s mes weren''t the same as Andras''s hellfire, which burned one''s life force. However, since demonic energy was optimized for destruction, the power of the fire created with it was stronger than that of regr fire.


    Boom!


    Kang-Woo violently stomped on the ground to dodge the Hellhound''s attack. Then he threw the demonic energy spear. It flew like an arrow and pierced the Hellhound''s thick skin.


    Crack!


    "Graaaahhhh!!"


    The attack that had killed the Troll Chief in one blow didn''t weaken the Hellhound''s movements but rather amplified its ferocity. The Hellhound shot toward Kang-Woo like a bullet. The ground that the Hellhound had leaped off of exploded as the Hellhound approached Kang-Woo at a frightening speed. It targeted Kang-Woo with its mouth opened wide¡ªso wide that it could easily devour a person.


    "Hmph!" Kang-Woo scoffed.


    He kicked off from the ground and thrust his foot urately at one of the Hellhound''s canine teeth. Kang-Woo''s kick, amplified with demonic energy, crushed the Hellhound''s canine teeth, and Kang-Woo used the recoil to move backward. He twirled in the air andnded on the ground into which he then shoved his right arm.


    ''Authority of Pitfalls.''


    Kang-Woo''s demonic energy traveled down from his hand into the ground. The ground started to tremor as if an earthquake was urring, and a giant hole suddenly appeared on the ground right under the Hellhound.


    "Whine!" the Hellhound cried like a dog as it fell into the hole.


    Then, Kang-Woo charged toward it.


    ''Authority of Dark Spears.''


    He jumped into the hole and created a demonic energy spear in midair. Gripping the spear with both hands, he stabbed it into the Hellhound''s head.


    Crush!


    "Woof, woof, woof!"


    "As tenacious as always."


    Even with its head pierced, the Hellhound stood up and jumped into the air. Once it was out of the hole, the Hellhound staggered away from Kang-Woo.


    It wasn''t trying to escape though. Hellhounds were the apex predator of the First Hell. The Hellhound''s pride wouldn''t let it escape.


    "Grrrrrr."


    The Hellhound lowered its body. The muscles of its hind legs swelled as if they were about to explode, and thick sinews protruded all over its body while its demonic energy grew even stronger. The mes that it exhaled covered its entire body.


    m!


    There was a loud boom as the me-covered Hellhound charged toward Kang-Woo. The surrounding trees were crushed as if they''d been swept away by a tornado.


    "¡­But also as stupid as always."


    Kang-Woo smirked when he saw the Hellhounding at him with its remaining life force despite having suffered a fatal injury. He clenched his right fist and pulled it back as if he was pulling a bowstring.


    ''Authority of Titanic Might.''


    Kang-Woo surged with explosive strength. He was using the demon Baphomet''s Authority, which was the best in terms of purely amplifying raw strength.


    Then, he stepped forward with his left foot and used the force generated by twisting his waist to punch the Hellhound''s chin.


    Crack!


    "Whine!"


    Despite weighing well over a hundred times more than Kang-Woo, the Hellhound was sent flying away miserably like an empty can that got kicked. The Hellhound''s jaw was destroyed, and ck blood leaked from its mouth. It wriggled for a bit and then finally lost consciousness.


    "Phew. The Authority of Titanic Might sure consumes a lot of demonic energy," Kang-Woo said.


    He had used it only for a brief period, but it had consumed half of his demonic energy. Kang-Woo panted as he approached the Hellhound''s corpse. He felt refreshed after overwhelming the demonic beast that had put him through the wringer when he had fallen to the First Hell.


    ''In terms of the trouble I''d gone through, I struggled as much as when I''d killed those goddamn princes of Hell.''


    In terms of strength, the beings in the Second and Third Hells were much stronger. However, the Hellhounds had been a living nightmare for Kang-Woo, who had not even been able to use the Authority of Predation properly at the time.


    Ring.


    [You have sessfully defeated a C-rank Rift Fragment.]


    ''Rift Fragment?''


    Kang-Woo frowned when a message window popped up that was different from the ones he''d gotten when he defeated regr monsters.


    ''Come to think of it, it said something about a Rift Core when I crossed the dimensional barrier.''


    He surmised that ''Rifts'' likely referred to beings of Hell.


    ''How the hell did this thing cross over the barrier?''


    Kang-Woo was met with more and more questions, but in the end, he couldn''te up with an answer. In the first ce, he wasn''t even sure if these ''Rifts'' referred to beings of Hell, so there was no way for his questions to be resolved.


    More message windows popped up and interrupted his thoughts.


    [Increasing EXP.]


    [Your level has risen by 5.]


    ''Five levels.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened after reading the message.


    The number of experience points that he had acquired from killing the Hellhound couldn''t bepared to what he''d gained after killing the Troll Chief. The experience points required to level up increased exponentially from Level 30 onwards, so this meant that he had earned an astronomical number of experience points at once.


    ''I became Level 34 in one go.''


    It was four levels higher than his original goal.


    Kang-Woo waited for the next set of message windows with great interest.


    [You have reached Level 30 and have achieved your Fourth Awakening.]


    [Your Fourth Awakening Trait has been unlocked.]


    ''All right.''


    Kang-Woo''s goal today had been to get his Fourth Awakening. He had massacred many Trolls with no signs of a level-up. Nevertheless, after killing a Hellhound, he gained way more experience points than he had intended.


    Before checking his Trait, Kang-Woo pulled out the demonic energy within his body.


    "The seal breaks more with each Awakening."


    It turned out that arger portion of the Ten Thousand Demon Core''s seal broke with each Awakening.


    Kang-Woo smirked upon discovering that the amount of demonic energy he had ess to had doubled.


    ''I won''t have trouble using two Authorities simultaneously now.''


    He smiled, satisfied to see that the results were better than he had hoped.


    Kang-Woo pulled the demonic energy back into his body. At that moment, he felt something that he hadn''t before.


    ''What''s this?''


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion and pulled out his demonic energy again. The demonic energy flowed out of the Ten Thousand Demon Core and spread through his body far faster than before.


    ''The demonic energy is flowing faster than before.''


    Furthermore, he was able to use the demonic energy more naturally.


    "Don''t tell me¡­"


    Kang-Woo opened the status window and checked his new Trait.


    [Fourth Awakening Trait: Ruler of Demonic Energy (Rank: A)]


    [Effect: The yer can use demonic energy faster and more naturally, and can alsopletely conceal it from others.]


    "So, it was because of the Trait."


    As expected, the reason why he could use his demonic energy more effectively was the new Trait.


    ''A-rank, huh?''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up.


    His new Trait was different from the ones he had obtained before. If the Traits he had obtained before helped him gain more demonic energy, then the new one let him use it more effectively.


    Now that he had learned that the government was starting to investigate demon worshipers, being able topletely hide his demonic energy was going to be incredibly helpful.


    ''I''ll be able to avoid meaningless conflicts.''


    Getting mistaken as a demon worshiper and being chased by the entire country would be troublesome, even for him. In consideration of that, the effect of the new Trait was better than the huge increase in his demonic energy reserves.


    "I knew I made the right choice to level up."


    The power of Traits was beyond what he had imagined. Kang-Woo initially thought that he could already use demonic energy better than any demon, but with the Trait''s help, he could now surpass his previous capabilities. It was a power that he didn''t have when he used to rule over the Nine Hells.


    ''Once the Ten Thousand Demon Core is fully unsealed, I''ll probably be stronger than I had been in Hell!''


    If the princes of Hell that he had devoured were to hear that, they would''ve panicked.


    "And like I''d thought, it doesn''t have a mana stone."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue after using the Authority of Predation on the Hellhound''s corpse. It did not move with the power of mana like monsters did, so it was natural that it wouldn''t have a mana stone.


    "I guess I''ll go home."


    After having gained far more than the goal that he had set, Kang-Woo headed to the Gate exit. He went through the Gate and was about to head home with lighter steps when¡­


    "Long time no see," a voice said to him.


    Kang-Woo turned to the source of the voice. There, he saw the red-haired girl he had met at the inte cafe. She was standing with her back against the wall.

 Chapter 32 - Cha Yeon-Joos Proposal (1)

    Chapter 32 - Cha Yeon-Joo''s Proposal (1)


    "Well¡­ we don''t have a rtionship in which we would say that to each other, do we?" Oh Kang-Woo replied apathetically.


    Just like he''d said, they weren''t even close enough to be acquaintances.


    Kang-Woo looked at the girl with short red hair and continued, "So, what do you need from me? Uhhh¡­"


    "Cha Yeon-Joo¡­" the girl with short red hair said as she turned to Kang-Woo and walked toward him. "My name is Cha Yeon-Joo."


    "Cha Yeon-Joo?"


    Kang-Woo thought that he had heard that name before and tried to remember where he''d heard it.


    ''Ah, she''s one of the yers the people in the waiting room were talking about.''


    He remembered hearing about yers who had gotten an S-rank Trait on their First Awakening.


    ''I believe she was the guild master of one of the five great guilds.''


    The ''five great guilds'' referred to the five biggest guilds of Korea¡ªthe Hanul, Red Rose, Onnuri[1], Mir, and Angel Wings Guilds. Kang-Woo remembered having read her name among the list of the guild masters of those five guilds.


    "Red Rose¡­?"


    "Yeah. I''m the guild master of the Red Rose Guild."


    "¡­"


    If Cha Yeon-Joo was the guild master of one of the five great guilds¡­ that meant she was one of the top ten yers in Korea. The yer that Kang-Woo had met by chance in an inte cafe was far more of a bigshot than he had expected.


    ''No wonder she was so strong.''


    Yeon-Joo was so strong that Kang-Woo''s encounter with her had made him doubt his strength back then. It was natural that he doubted himself because he had been weaker than a woman he''d met randomly, despite having just gotten his Third Awakening and having reached a level of power two stages above his expectations through the Andras Guild''s ritual.


    ''Is this how I''d feel if the fat old man from next door was, in reality, the CEO of a huge corporation?''


    He wasn''t sure if theparison was appropriate, but it felt simr.


    Kang-Woo looked at Yeon-Joo with slightly wary eyes. She was not dressed in the sloppy getup that she had been in that day. Instead, she was wearing a short pair of shorts and a tight T-shirt¡ªclothes that werefortable to move around in.


    Even without dressing up, Yeon-Joo was very beautiful, so she looked even more attractive now that she was wearing clothes that revealed her figure.


    ''She dolled up.''


    Yeon-Joo wasn''t wearing fancy clothes. However, she had put on some makeup, so she had indeed dolled up somewhat. It suggested that she wasn''t approaching him with ill intentions.


    ''She wouldn''t have taken the time to put on makeup if she''de here to pick a fight.''


    After he finished analyzing Yeon-Joo''s appearance, Kang-Woo asked calmly, "So, what does the guild master of the Red Rose Guild want with me?"


    "To be honest, I''ve investigated you," Yeon-Joo said. Then she took out a piece of paper. "Your name is Oh Kang-Woo. Born in 1995, 28 years old. You grew up in Cheongseong Orphanage, but since no one adopted you, you were forced to leave and live alone. Correct?"


    "I don''t know why you investigated me, but yeah."


    "You registered as a yer on May 23rd. That means¡­ it''s been two weeks."


    "¡­" Kang-Woo waited for Yeon-Joo''s next words with his mouth closed.


    "ording to the test results from the yer Management Office, you got an F-rank Trait with your First Awakening. Well, this is surely an incorrect assessment. If you truly had awakened an F-rank Trait, you wouldn''t be hunting in a C-rank Gate after only two weeks."


    "Hmm." Kang-Woo nodded as if asking her to continue.


    "To be honest, at first I thought you were a criminal who had bought the identity of Oh Kang-Woo from a broker," Yeon-Joo said calmly. "But your face, fingerprints, and everything else match your previous records."


    "How did you get my fingerprints?"


    "You got your fingerprints scanned when you first registered for your license, didn''t you?"


    "¡­I guess big guilds have more power than I thought."


    Private information that was protected by the government had entered the hands of the Red Rose Guild all too easily.


    "Well, it did cost us a lot of money. Those boomer congresspersons were awfully condescending," Yeon-Joo exined while shrugging. Then she continued, "First, I''ve affirmed that you haven''t taken another person''s identity. Which means¡­"


    She looked at Kang-Woo intensely and stated, "You''re a yer with incredible talent. Maybe even more than Baek Kang-Hyun or me."


    "I''m ttered," Kang-Woo replied with a smirk. Then he asked nonchntly, "So, what are you trying to say?"


    ''Well, I have a rough idea¡­''


    There was no need for Kang-Woo to think too deeply about the reason why someone as important as Yeon-Joo hade to see him personally. He knew what his value was. Strength and talent were incredibly valuable on Earth at present, so his value was overwhelmingly high. Kang-Woo had no intention of hiding his value or avoiding using it to his advantage.


    ''I was just thinking about trying to make a connection with arge guild, so this is perfect.''


    He had no intentions of joining a guild, but he wanted to have an amicable rtionship with one.


    "As the guild master of the Red Rose Guild, I want to sponsor you."


    "¡­What?" Kang-Woo hugged his body and looked at her warily. "Were you after my body this whole time?"


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence between the two. Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo like she was looking at a piece of garbage.


    ''You shouldn''t look at people with that kind of gaze.'' Kang-Woo couldn''t believe he was receiving such a scornful gaze for making a joke.


    "That''s unexpected," he expressed.


    "What did you think I was going to say?"


    "I thought you were going to ask me to join the Red Rose Guild."


    "Hmph," Yeon-Joo snorted at Kang-Woo''s answer. "There''s no way someone hiding his Trait rank would want to join a guild. If you were thinking of joining one, you wouldn''t have hidden your strength from the beginning."


    "Hmm¡­" Kang-Woo uttered awkwardly.


    ''It''s not like I hid it on purpose.''


    He had gotten an F-rank Trait assessment because the testing device had been unable to assess the power of his Authority of Predation correctly.


    ''Well, it''s better for me if that''s how she interprets it.''


    Kang-Woo did not intend to join a guild, so he did not need to rify the misunderstanding.


    "So, how are you going to sponsor me?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "To put it simply, we''ll support you so that you can grow faster than you''re growing now."


    "What are you going to ask in return? Maybe to help you with that video game from before?"


    "You son of a b¡ª! Ah. Fuuu, fuuu." Yeon-Joo put her hand on her chest and took deep breaths to try and quell her rage.


    "Hahaha, I''m just kidding. I had never yed games before, so I didn''t really know what to do."


    "Sigh. I failed to get promoted to silver because of you. Just thinking about it makes me¡­"


    "Hmm? Does that mean you''re bronze? Hmm. That sounds like the lowest tier for some rea¡ª"


    "N-No! My skills are beyond bronze! It''s just that I have bad team-matching luck!"


    Kang-Wooughed at Yeon-Joo''s reaction.


    She was one of the top ten yers in Korea and the guild master of one of thergest guilds in the country. However, seeing her get angry because of a game made her seem a bit more approachable.


    "Well, jokes aside¡­ Why do you want to support me?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Because you''re going to be stronger."


    "You probably know this since you''ve investigated me, but I''m just a newbie who became a yer just two weeks ago."


    "And in those two weeks, you became strong enough to solo hunt in a C-rank Gate. You''re going to be stronger, much stronger than you are now. I''m sure of it."


    "¡­" Kang-Woo looked at Yeon-Joo with great interest.


    ''She isn''t the master of a major guild for nothing.''


    He didn''t think lowly of himself.


    But she probably didn''t know that he was the demon king who had returned to Earth after ten millennia, or that he had an abnormal power called Authority of Predation.


    For her to say that without not knowing these details probably meant she was sure about his talent.


    "How will you be supporting me exactly?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "First, you''ll be able to ess any Gate up to A-rank freely, regardless of your level. If you need a party, we''ll provide you yers with sses of your liking from our guild. Also, if you sell mana stones through us, we can reduce the tax deducted from the money you receive."


    "Oh?"


    "We''ll even let you rent equipment. Although you''ll need to pay a security deposit for equipment of grades Unique and above, you can freely rent anything lower than that. If you need it, we''ll also buy you a house and a car."


    ''Why are they treating me so well?''


    The conditions were so good that one would think he was officially joining the Red Rose Guild. No, it was unlikely these kinds of conditions were avable even for guild members.


    "¡­What''s the meaning of this?"


    "It''s an investment for the future."


    "Even if it is, I think this is a bit excessive."


    It wasn''t as if Kang-Woo was joining the Red Rose Guild. The guild wouldn''t be able to do or say anything if Kang-Woo were to just pretend that the deal had never taken ce once he had gotten everything he could out of it.


    ''Not just that¡­''


    From the point of view of the guild, it was probably humiliating for their guild master to approach him and make this proposal herself. It wasn''t just a matter of pride; this could harm the guild''s reputation.


    ''She must have a reason for it.''


    Kang-Woo thought the conditions that Yeon-Joo offered were excessive, regardless of how talented he was. Of course, it would be understandable if she knew his true strength. Then she''d probably do everything possible to maintain a good rtionship with him, but right now, that wasn''t the case.


    "The guild is¡­ going to give you a request in the future. We would appreciate it if you could ept it when the timees," Yeon-Joo said.


    It seemed like the royal treatment was for this request.


    "What request?" Kang-Woo asked.


    Yeon-Joo smiled bitterly at Kang-Woo''s question.


    It was such a sad smile that it was hard to believe she was the same person who had just gotten angry just because of a game.


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He felt like he was seeing Yeon-Joo''s true self for the first time.


    Yeon-Joo erased that sad expression from her face and replied, "I can''t tell you right now."


    "Hmm." Kang-Woo nodded slowly.


    He still hadn''t epted her offer. Nevertheless, if that request was so important to her, it was understandable that she couldn''t tell him about it yet.


    ''If it''s something absurd, I can always refuse itter.''


    It wasn''t like Kang-Woo would be signing a contract in which he would promise to fulfill that request. In the future, he would listen to the details of the request and fulfill it if it was within his power to do so. If it wasn''t, he would just sever his ties with the Red Rose Guild.


    Kang-Woo didn''t need to consider the proposal for long. It was the perfect opportunity to establish a connection with arge guild and receive a wide range of support.


    He wasn''t stupid enough to let such an opportunity go.


    "I ept."


    1. Onnuri (???) is a pure Korean word (one that is not derived from Chinese characters) that literally means ''world within one''s arms'', but it is defined as the metaphysical view of the world as a society. ?

 Chapter 33 - I Told You, Im Stronger Than You Think (1)

    Chapter 33 - I Told You, I''m Stronger Than You Think (1)


    "I ept," Oh Kang-Woo said.


    Cha Yeon-Joo''s face brightened after she heard his answer. She crossed her arms and snorted. It was as if she wanted to say "I knew it."


    "Good choice," Yeon-Joo replied.


    "So, when are you going to tell me about that request?" Kang-Woo asked with a smirk after seeing Yeon-Joo''scent expression.


    "When the timees. It''s not like you''ll be of any use with your current level of strength anyway."


    "Hmm." Kang-Woo looked at her silently.


    ''What could it be?''


    He was sure that Yeon-Joo''s request wasn''t impossible for him to fulfill in his current state. She didn''t know everything about him and thus was unaware of his current level of power. All Yeon-Joo knew was that Kang-Woo was a talented yer who had achieved his Third Awakening in just two weeks.


    "You''re probably way off," Kang-Woo said.


    "Huh?"


    "I''m saying that I''m probably stronger than you think."


    Yeon-Joo silently looked at him as if he was being ridiculous.


    A newbie who had only been a yer for two weeks had said something like that very confidently, so it was expected that Yeon-Joo wouldugh at his words.


    "Yeah, okay. Sure. But I still can''t tell you the details. It isn''t only because you''re weak," Yeon-Joo replied.


    "Then, why?"


    "We don''t have enough evidence. It isn''t something I can say until we''ve gathered surefire evidence."


    "¡­?"


    Kang-Woo was having a hard time understanding why Yeon-Joo was avoiding answering him directly. Then he just shrugged.


    ''I don''t feel the need to keep insisting.''


    She probably had a reason to avoid answering. Either way, if it ended up being something absurd, he could always refuse it. Kang-Woo didn''t have to worry about the request yet.


    "Here''s my number, so save it," Yeon-Joo said.


    "The number of a beautifuldy is always wee."


    "Isn''t it a bit toote for ttery?" Yeon-Joo frowned at Kang-Woo''s yful answer.


    She thought Kang-Woo had said that to make fun of her.


    ''I''m just stating the truth,'' Kang-Woo thought as he saved her number on his phone with a smirk.


    He felt good getting the number of a beautiful woman like Yeon-Joo, though it didn''t feel as good as when he''d gotten Han Seol-Ah''s number. Yeon-Joo was a bit whiny at times, but that didn''t matter.


    ''The most important thing is that she doesn''t have tentacles.''


    All women on Earth looked like angelspared to Lilith, who''d tried to sneak into his bed every night.


    "More importantly, when can I get the equipment?"


    What interested Kang-Woo the most was the part about being able to rent equipment of grades Epic and below for free.


    ''I was wondering how helpful having equipment was.''


    Kang-Woo had 666 different Authorities, so he could attack, defend, dodge, and search for enemies, all with demonic energy. He had no need at all for equipment with special effects. Furthermore, most equipment with a grade lower than Epic wouldn''t be as good as an Authority, so it was fairly pointless for him to use such equipment.


    ''But I still want equipment since they can help me save demonic energy.''


    If he could use a piece of equipment instead of demonic energy for defense, he would be able to save more demonic energy. Kang-Woo didn''t have ess to unlimited demonic energy like when he was in Hell, so he needed to save up as much as possible.


    ''Using an Authority consumes a lot of demonic energy.''


    His demonic energy had increased after reaching Level 30 and getting his Fourth Awakening, but he still couldn''t use it recklessly because utilizing his Authorities required a lot of it.


    "If you want, we can go right now," Yeon-Joo said.


    "Sounds great."


    "Then follow me. Let''s go to our guild''s base first."


    "Where is your guild''s base?"


    "Seoul Station."


    It was where the yer Management Office was.


    Kang-Woo nodded and followed Yeon-Joo.


    Soon after, he saw a foreign vehicle parked on the side of the road that waspletely different from the rest.


    "Whoa, look at that."


    "Isn''t that a Porsche 918 Spyder?"


    "Holy shit¡­"


    Even the people who were passing by looked at it with surprise.


    Yeon-Joo walked toward it and took out a car key from her pocket.


    Click.


    "Get in," she said.


    "Wow!" Kang-Woo eximed in surprise as Yeon-Joo casually opened the door of the Porsche.


    ''Is this really the person who was gaming in a tracksuit and a baseball cap?''


    Yeon-Joo looked so cool right now that he was wondering if she was truly the same person as the one he''d met that day at the Inte cafe.


    ''So, this is why everyone is obsessed with foreign cars.''


    Yeon-Joo seemed like a different person now, even though all she''d done was open the car door and get into the car.


    In the past, Kang-Woo struggled even to pay for public transport, so seeing that Yeon-Joo owned such an expensive car shook him more than realizing that she was one of the top ten yers in Korea.


    "What are you doing? Hurry up and get in." Yeon-Joo turned and looked at Kang-Woo, who was standing still.


    Kang-Woo nodded and got into the passenger seat.


    ''Nice.''


    The seat was sofortable that he felt like he was about to melt.


    "How much did you pay for this?" he asked.


    "I''m not sure. I didn''t look at the price when I bought it. It probably cost me around a billion won."


    Kang-Woo was speechless. A billion won was a huge sum of money, which meant the car was more expensive than the average apartment.


    Yeon-Joo stepped on the elerator, and the Porsche moved like it was gliding across the road.


    "That''s an expensive car for you. It moves so smoothly," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "Why? Want me to get you one too?" Yeon-Joo asked as if she were offering to get him a cup of coffee.


    It was obvious that Kang-Woo''s eyes would light up at such words.


    "Are you for real?"


    "It was in the conditions, wasn''t it? That I would buy you a car if you needed one."


    "Noona¡­"


    "What?"


    "I''m going to call you Yeon-Joo noona from now on."


    In the real world, a person who earned more money was treated as either a hyung or a noona.


    After hearing the word ''noona,'' Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo as if she''d eaten a bug by mistake.


    ''You shouldn''t look at people like that.''


    While thinking the same thing as he had previously, he said, "A car like this is obviously weed."


    Kang-Woo still didn''t have a driving license, but he had no reason to refuse an expensive foreign car like this.


    "But if you refuse the request, I''ll immediately take it from you."


    "You''re so stingy for a Ranker."


    "Well, the livelihoods of many people depend on me."


    Kang-Woo smiled at Yeon-Joo''s cheeky answer.


    Brake.


    "This is our guild base," Yeon-Joo announced.


    "¡­Impressive."


    The ce they''d arrived at was an enormous and seemingly brand-new building over twenty stories high, with the logo of the Red Rose Guild featured on its exterior.


    ''So, this is the power of arge guild.''


    It seemed simr to a building of a conglomeratepany. As Kang-Woo followed Yeon-Joo into the building, he thought that he''d made a good choice to build a rtionship with arge guild.


    When the pair entered the building, a gentle-looking young man wearing round sses and a man with a scar that looked like a sh on his left eye approached them.


    The man in sses looked at Kang-Woo and extended his hand. "You must be the one that our guild master mentioned before. Nice to meet you. I''m Park Hyun-Woo, the chief of the Red Rose Guild''s Human Resources Management division. And this is the battle operationsmander of the Red Rose Guild, Mun Yeong-Ho."


    "I''m Oh Kang-Woo."


    Unlike the affable Park Hyun-Woo, Mun Yeong-Ho scanned Kang-Woo up and down while ring at him.


    "Since you''re here, it must mean your conversation with our guild master went well," Hyun-Woo said.


    "With such good conditions, I would have epted even if you guys were nning on poisoning me," Kang-Woo replied.


    "Hahaha, we''re not that kind of guild." Hyun-Wooughed and then turned to face Yeon-Joo. "Should I take him to the equipment vault?"


    "I''ll take him. You still have a lot of work to do, don''t you?" Yeon-Joo said.


    "Yes. Thank you very much."


    "In that case, I wille with you," Yeong-Ho chimed in with a deep tone while ring at Kang-Woo.


    "Yeong-Ho? You want toe¡­? Why?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "¡­I''d like to see what sort of person he is with my own eyes."


    "Hmm¡­ Okay, sure. You''ll be seeing each other often, so it wouldn''t hurt for you to get to know him. Come with us then, Yeong-Ho."


    Then Yeon-Joo walked over to the elevator and called out to Kang-Woo, "Over here."


    Kang-Woo nodded and followed her.


    The elevator brought Yeon-Joo, Kang-Woo, and Yeong-Ho up to the fifteenth floor.


    [Commencing mana recognition. Please infuse a small amount of mana.]


    ck.


    "This is our guild''s equipment vault," Yeon-Joo stated.


    There were many pieces of equipment stored inside ss cases.


    "Wow," Kang-Woo uttered in awe.


    "I can let you rent equipment up to those of the Epic grade. You can rent the Unique-grade ones over there if you put in a security deposit," Yeon-Joo said while pointing at an area with approximately ten pieces of equipment.


    Just at first nce, it was obvious that the Unique-grade equipment was on another levelpared to the Epic-grade ones.


    ''If I remember correctly, equipment grades were categorized into Normal, Rare, Epic, Unique, Legendary, and Mythic.''


    Kang-Woo asked while looking around, "Are there no Legendary or Mythic equipment in the vault?"


    "If we had equipment like that, we would be using them instead of having them rot away inside the vault."


    "I guess that''s true. Then, do you use equipment of the Legendary grade or above?"


    "I have one that''s Legendary."


    "Hmm." Kang-Woo looked at the Unique-grade equipment. "How much of a security deposit do I need to put in?"


    "Five billion won. And that''s with a considerable discount."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo had heard that yer equipment was expensive, but the prices exceeded his imagination.


    ''That''s impossible with my current funds.''


    He was converting most of the mana stones that he earned from hunts into demonic energy and absorbing it, so he didn''t have that kind of money.


    ''It would be hard toe up with that much even if I had sold all of them.''


    The price of Unique-grade equipment was abhorrent.


    ''What a shame.''


    Even at a nce, the difference in quality between Epic and Unique was massive. Kang-Woopletely gave up on the Unique-grade equipment and turned away from them.


    "Then I guess I''ll check out the Epic-grade equipment firs¡ª"


    m!


    A loud m resounded through the vault.


    Kang-Woo turned to find Yeong-Ho ring at him with a frown.


    "Don''t talk to her so casually," Yeong-Ho said.


    "Huh?" Kang-Woo uttered.


    "Don''t talk to the guild master so disrespectfully," Yeong-Ho said again while releasing powerful bloodlust.


    Kang-Woo smirked at him. "And if I do...?"

 Chapter 34 - I Told You, Im Stronger Than You Think (2)

    Chapter 34 - I Told You, I''m Stronger Than You Think (2)


    "And if I do...?" Oh Kang-Woo said mockingly.


    Mun Yeong-Ho reached for the sword on his waist in anger.


    "Yeong-Ho!" Cha Yeon-Joo shouted to Yeong-Ho upon seeing him grab his sword. She red at him intensely and questioned, "What do you think you''re doing?"


    Yeong-Ho stayed silent.


    "Answer me."


    "This newbie dared to be disrespectful to you, Guildmas¡ª"


    "So what? Why are you making a big deal out of something that I don''t care about?"


    "¡­"


    "How he talks to me is my business, so stay out of it, Yeong-Ho."


    Yeong-Ho bowed his head while trembling slightly in frustration.


    Yeon-Joo sighed and turned to Kang-Woo. "Kang-Woo, don''t you provoke Yeong-Ho either. You could be crippled if you face him right now."


    "I''ll take your word for it." Kang-Woo nodded and looked at Yeong-Ho, who was trembling in rage.


    It was understandable why a member of the Red Rose Guild would be angry with Kang-Woo. Just the fact that Yeon-Joo had personally gone and brought Kang-Woo here was probably infuriating enough for Yeong-Ho, but to make matters worse, Kang-Woo talked to Yeon-Joo as if she were his friend.


    ''Things like this are difficult to make a rational decision on.''


    It would be weirder for her guild members to react as calmly as Park Hyun-Woo had done.


    ''In any case, I guess this isn''t a poorly managed guild.''


    If they didn''t have loyalty toward their guild master, an incident like what had just urred would not have happened. Kang-Woo''s trust in the Red Rose Guild increased after he saw Yeong-Ho''s reaction.


    "Then let''s go take a look at the equipment."


    After ncing at Yeong-Ho and seeing that he had his fists clenched and was immersed in his thoughts, Kang-Woo checked out the Epic-grade equipment.


    [Equipment Information]


    [Equipment Name: Shadow Armor


    Grade: Epic


    Basic Effect: Physical Defense +40, Magical Defense -10, Movement Speed +10, Health -2.


    Special Effect: Allows the wearer to use ''Afterimage,'' which momentarily raises their movement speed by 50%. Can only be used once every 24 hours.]


    "Hmm."


    It was kind of ambiguous as to whether the effects of the armor were good. The increase in physical defense wasn''t bad, but therge number of penalties bothered him, especially the decrease in the health stat.


    ''The special effect is also useless.''


    Afterimage could momentarily increase the wearer''s speed, but since Kang-Woo had the Authority of Haste, it was kind of useless to him.


    ''I would prefer it not to have a special effect and for it to have better basic effects instead.''


    While looking through more equipment, Kang-woo turned to Yeon-Joo and asked, "Are there any that raises your stats?"


    "There isn''t any Unique-grade equipment that raises your stats. You can only find those among Legendary-grade equipment, and even then, they''re rare."


    "Are stat boosts really that good of an effect?" Kang-Woo asked while tilting his head.


    He couldn''t believe that equipment effects that increased a yer''s stats could only be found on equipment of Legendary grade and higher.


    ''How much does a piece of Legendary equipment cost?''


    If getting Unique-grade equipment for cheap would cost him five billion won, then he couldn''t even imagine how much it would cost him to get a Legendary-grade one.


    "Of course, they are. You already know that the higher your stats be, the harder it bes to raise them, don''t you? That''s why no equipment below the Legendary grade raises stats by an absolute value."


    "Oh, I guess that makes sense." Kang-Woo nodded.


    He too was currently struggling to raise his Demonic Energy stat after getting it to 50. It could also be because his stats were a lot higher than those of yers of a simr level. However, it was a fact that the higher a stat became, the harder it was to raise it.


    ''Which means this armor that reduces a stat number isplete garbage.''


    Kang-Woo took his eyes off the Shadow Armor.


    He asked, "Then what about one with good basic effects and no special effects?"


    "Just a sec. I remember seeing a few of those around here¡­" Yeon-Joo walked around the vault while rmending some equipment. Then she added, "Oh, right. You can only rent three, so choose wisely."


    "Okay."


    Kang-Woo chose a wrist guard, a ne, and a ck coat that Yeon-Joo had rmended to him. They were all pieces of equipment with good basic effects and no special effects.


    [Equipment Information]


    [Equipment Name: ckstone Wrist Guard


    Grade: Epic


    Basic Effect: Physical Defense +50, Magical Defense +30]


    [Equipment Information]


    [Equipment Name: Ne of Mana Protection


    Grade: Epic


    Basic Effect: Magical Defense +60]


    [Equipment Information]


    [Equipment Name: Ogre Leather Coat


    Grade: Epic


    Basic Effect: Physical Defense +80]


    After checking out the equipment, Kang-Woo equipped them for a quick test.


    ''I''m not feeling much of a difference.''


    His physical defense had gone up by 130, and his magical defense by 90, but he couldn''t feel a huge difference.


    ''I don''t know how much physical and magical defense I have in the first ce.''


    The two values weren''t disyed in his status window, so he couldn''t see how big of a difference the equipment had made.


    "How much is 130 physical defense?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Oh, it''s hard to know that in the beginning." Yeon-Joo nodded as if she had also gone through a simr experience. "130 is about the same as being covered by a 5mm steel te. If you stab your skin with a paring knife, the knife will crumple."


    "I see." Kang-Woo nodded with great interest. "Is the defense applied only where the equipment is worn?"


    Normally, it was obvious that the defense would be applied only to the body part that the equipment covered. After all, a person''s head wouldn''t be protected if they wore a bulletproof vest.


    "No, thanks to the mana within the equipment, the effect is applied to your entire body. But in exchange, the equipment effect is reduced by half for wherever the equipment doesn''t cover."


    "So, if my physical defense gets to 1,000, will a bullet get deflected if I get shot in the eye?"


    "I''ve never tried, but theoretically, yes."


    "¡­No wonder firearms are obsolete now."


    A missile would probably be needed to face a yer with purely physical defense equipment.


    ''The power of equipment is greater than I thought.''


    Kang-Woo looked down at his body with surprise after hearing Yeon-Joo''s exnation. With such defense, he could conserve more demonic energy than he initially thought.


    ''This makes me want Unique-grade equipment even more.''


    Kang-Woo looked greedily at where the Unique-grade equipment were disyed. Just having a few pieces of Epic-grade equipment gave him such great effects. Unique-grade equipment could only be even more effective for defense.


    "Yeon-Joo noona¡­"


    "¡­What is it now?"


    "I don''t need the foreign car that we talked about before, so how about you let me rent a piece of Unique-grade equipment instead?"


    "¡­"


    "If you trust me, I''ll make a return of 1.5 times its price," Kang-Woo said as if he were asking for a loan in a gambling house.


    Yeon-Joo sighed deeply like she had gotten a headache.


    "I can''t give you an answer right this second. I''ll have to discuss it with¡ª"


    m!!!


    The same loud m from before resounded throughout the room again.


    Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo turned their heads toward the source of the sound and found a pale-faced Yeong-Ho trembling in anger.


    "D-Did you just call¡­ noona?" Yeong-Ho questioned.


    "Yeong-Ho?" Yeon-Joo called out.


    "H-How¡­ How dare you!!!" Yeong-Ho raged.


    He angrily drew his sword and charged at Kang-Woo.


    Boom!!


    "Mun Yeong-Ho, what did I just tell you?" Yeon-Joo said to Yeong-Ho in a low voice as she blocked him with her bare hands.


    "¡­"


    She was exuding overpowering bloodlust and suffocatingly thick mana.


    "Sheathe your sword and fuck off. If you pull this shit one more time, you''ll be punished."


    "I-I''m sorry," Yeong-Ho apologized.


    With a stiff expression, he sheathed his sword and bit his lip in frustration.


    "Sigh¡­ I''m sorry for the trouble. I''ll give him a proper warningter," Yeon-Joo said to Kang-Woo.


    "No, it''s okay," Kang-Woo replied.


    "That aside, what kind of Unique-grade equipment do you need? I''ll bring it up during the next guild meeting."


    "Hmm¡­ Armor that''sfortable to move around in. One with good basic effects if possible."


    "Armor, huh?" Yeon-Joo pondered about it.


    Having heard their conversation, Yeong-Ho turned to face Kang-Woo and asked, "Did you say that you need armor?"


    "Yeah," Kang-Woo answered.


    "Then how about we do this? If you beat me in a duel, I''ll give you my armor. It''s a Unique-grade one with great basic effects."


    "Mun Yeong-Ho, I believe I told you to fuck off."


    Upon seeing that Yeong-Ho was still trying to pick a fight with Kang-Woo, Yeon-Joo stepped in between them. It seemed like she was really angry; her bloodlust was now much thicker than before.


    "No, wait," Kang-Woo interjected.


    "¡­What?" Yeon-Joo uttered.


    "I think it''s a decent offer."


    Yeon-Joo went silent.


    Kang-Woo looked at Yeong-Ho''s armor with great interest. He was willing to duel Yeong-Ho at any time if it meant that he could get a hold of his Unique-grade armor.


    "Are you insane?" Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo with a sharp gaze.


    She knew that Kang-Woo was extremely talented. Neither she nor Baek Kang-Hyun had been able to enter a C-rank Gate in just two weeks, yet Kang-Woo had been able to do it, and he was even solo-hunting there. This meant that not only had he awakened an S-rank Trait, but he had also been born with incrediblebat talent. Yeon-Joo had seen it for herself at the Inte cafe.


    ''He''ll be as strong as me¡­ No, stronger.''


    She was sure that Kang-Woo would be so strong that he could write a new chapter in the history of Korean yers. That''s why she wanted to build a good rtionship with him, even if it meant her guild suffering a loss financially.


    ''But it''s still too early.''


    Nevertheless, this wasn''t a matter of whether Kang-Woo had talent. Yeong-Ho was strong and was currently Level 67. He had been able to surpass Level 59, which was referred to as ''the Limit of Effort,'' and achieve his Seventh Awakening. Just like how a tiger cub couldn''t win against a fully mature hound, someone that had only been a yer for two weeks couldn''t possibly win against Yeong-Ho.


    ''This is crazy,'' Yeon-Joo thought.


    She had to stop Kang-Woo. He was someone who could be a great asset for her guild in the future. If their rtionship went awry due to this incident, her investment in him wouldpletely lose its meaning.


    "Don''t be stupid, and just go, Yeong-Ho. You too, Kang-Woo. Don''t¡ª"


    "It''s okay," Kang-Woo interrupted Yeon-Joo with a smirk.


    Yeon-Joo trembled unconsciously after seeing Kang-Woo''s chilling smile.


    "This is gonna be fun," Kang-Woo added.


    He looked at Yeong-Ho''s Unique-grade armor and smacked his lips in anticipation.


    ''If he''s giving it to me, I have no reason to refuse,'' Kang-Woo thought.

 Chapter 35 - I Told You, Im Stronger Than You Think (3)

    Chapter 35 - I Told You, I''m Stronger Than You Think (3)


    "Good choice." Mun Yeong-Ho smirked upon seeing that Oh Kang-Woo had epted his proposal.


    He was excited at the thought of teaching that cheeky newbie a lesson.


    ''I''ll make sure he can''t ever disrespect the guild master again,'' Yeong-Ho thought.


    He touched his left eye and could feel the sh-like scar throbbing.


    Yeong-Ho had been ambushed by a Chaos yer when he was just a newbie yer, and Cha Yeon-Joo had saved him. Yeon-Joo wasn''t simply Yeong-Ho''s guild master. She was his savior and his master, to whom he had sworn his loyalty. Additionally¡­ she was the woman he loved.


    ''How dare someone like you¡­'' Yeong-Ho red at Kang-Woo.


    The moment that he heard Kang-Woo call Yeon-Joo noona, Yeong-Ho felt sick. He felt as if Kang-Woo was making fun of the feelings of affection he had toward Yeon-Joo that he''d been lovingly umting over the years.


    ''I¡­'' Yeong-Ho gazed at Yeon-Joo.


    Yeon-Joo was currently ring at him, but she looked beautiful even though she was angry.


    The fact that Kang-Woo had gotten close with Yeon-Joo, an elusive beauty, so easily enraged Yeong-Ho even more.


    ''I''ll let you realize the huge gap between us.''


    He had to teach a lesson to the newbie, who acted all high and mighty just because he had talent. Yeong-Ho had concluded that if he didn''t take Kang-Woo down a few pegs now, there was a chance of him betraying them in the future.


    While justifying his actions to himself, Yeong-Ho took Kang-Woo to the sparring room on the fifth floor. Kang-Woo followed him into the room in a very rxed manner, but it just enraged Yeong-Ho even more to see Kang-Woo behaving so calmly as if he were on a field trip.


    Click.


    "This is the sparring room," Yeong-Ho said.


    "Whoa. Pretty sick facility!" Kang-Woo eximed in surprise while looking around the huge sparring room, which upied an entire floor.


    "Let''s see how long you can keep that rxed attitude up for."


    "Okay. Take a good look." Kang-Woo shrugged and went to stand on one side of the sparring room.


    Yeon-Joo approached him and said, "This is just insane. Stop it."


    "Hahaha. I told you, it''ll be fine," Kang-Woo replied casually.


    "You''ll regret it," Yeon-Joo warned seriously.


    Upon hearing that, Kang-Woo turned toward her and smiled.


    He understood why Yeon-Joo was so worried. Normally, it would be impossible for a newbie yer to defeat an executive of arge guild.


    ''But¡­''


    Yeon-Joo didn''t know much about Kang-Woo. She understood absolutely nothing about his true self.


    "Let''s begin," Yeong-Ho said. He stood still with his arms by his side without even unsheathing his sword. "I''ll give you three freebies. Attack me."


    "Wow, you''ve been reading too many martial arts novels," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "¡­"


    "Stop putting on airs and take out your sword, man," Kang-Woo advised.


    He didn''t want to hear Yeong-Ho say silly excuses like he would''ve won if he hadn''t given Kang-Woo those three free attacks.


    ''If we''re gonna do this, we should do it properly,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    If there was a need to hide his strength, he would without a shadow of a doubt. However, if he had to show it, he would give it everything he had. Right now, it was time to show it. That way, his value would rise, and he would be able to get even better rewards.


    "What are you doing? I told you to take out your sword," Kang-Woo said.


    "I don''t intend to go all out against a newbie," Yeong-Ho replied.


    "Oh, really?" A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    He found Yeong-Ho''s arrogant nature far too ridiculous and pathetic.


    "Well, suit yourself," Kang-Woo said in the end.


    He squatted down with his arms drooping straight down. His stance looked like a bowstring being drawn. Kang-Woo concentrated demonic energy on his feet and activated the Authority of Haste.


    Bang!!!


    His body shot forward.


    Yeong-Ho''s eyes widened in shock as he had been waiting motionlessly for Kang-Woo to attack.


    "Wh¡ª?!" Yeong-Ho uttered.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Sky to change his trajectory in the air. Ignoring thew of inertia, he changed directions at a speed that was physically impossible. Then Kang-Woo struck Yeong-Ho in the stomach as hard as he could with a roundhouse kick.


    Smack!


    "Kurgggghhhh!!"


    Yeong-Ho was pushed back as if he were a ball, and he bounced off the ground like a skipping stone thrown into ake. He went smashing into a wall, which caused smoke to pour out of it.


    "Bleeeggghhhh!!" Yeong-Ho dropped to his knees and vomited on the floor on his knees because of the pain ripping through his guts.


    The word unsightly was not enough to fully describe how pathetic he looked.


    "Cough! Cough! H-How¡­?" Yeong-Ho uttered.


    He staggered while getting up and looked at Kang-Woo in shock.


    "Wh-What the hell? What just happened?" Yeon-Joo was also stunned and lost for words after witnessing Kang-Woo''s demonstration.


    She looked back and forth between Kang-Woo and the vomiting Yeong-Ho.


    Someone who had been a yer for only two weeks had won against a yer who had achieved their Seventh Awakening. Furthermore, Yeong-Ho was strong enough to be the battle operationmander of the Red Rose Guild. So, seeing him get blown away with one strike made Yeon-Joo wonder if she was currently dreaming.


    "Two more, right?" Kang-Woo said.


    He extended his hands toward Yeong-Ho, who was barely able to stand. Then a ck spear manifested out of thin air and flew toward Yeong-Ho.


    "Hup!" Yeong-Ho dodged the spear with a shout and quickly took out his sword.


    His face was pale as he pointed his sword at Kang-Woo.


    "Hmm? I thought you were gonna give me three freebies," Kang-Woomented while walking toward Yeong-Ho.


    Yeong-Ho didn''t answer his question.


    No, he couldn''t do so. He focused on the fight and grabbed his sword tightly. Cold sweat flowed down his back.


    ''That was dangerous,'' Yeong-Ho thought.


    He probably would''ve lost consciousness from that one blow if it hadn''t been for the power of his Unique-grade equipment, Gargoyle Armor.


    Yeong-Ho looked at Kang-Woo with a wavering gaze. ''He''s only been a yer for two weeks?''


    It didn''t make sense.


    Not even Cha Yeon-Joo nor Baek Kang-Hyun had been that strong in just two weeks. This was a situation where it was as if a three-year-old baby had thrown a fully mature adult. Not even the word genius could exin what was going on.


    "What kind of trick did you pull?" Yeong-Ho questioned.


    "I didn''t pull any tricks. I''m just stronger than you," Kang-Woo answered.


    "Bullshit! How could a two-week-old yer possibly be¡ª"


    "Oh, so you''re aware that you had proposed something so absurd that it could be called bullshit, huh?"


    "¡­"


    "And now that things aren''t going as you''d nned, you''re crying andining."


    "Th-That''s not¡­"


    Upon seeing that Yeong-Ho was lost for words, Kang-Wooughed for a while.


    Then, he turned serious and spoke in a cold voice, "Stop fucking around, you pathetic piece of shit."


    "Urgh." Yeong-Ho frowned.


    He was trembling, and his face turned red.


    ''I guess I''ve hit a nerve.'' Kang-Woo smirked when he saw Yeong-Ho''s reaction.


    "Y-You bastard!!" Yeong-Ho yelled.


    The sneer on Kang-Woo''s face drove Yeong-Ho mad, and he clenched his sword angrily.


    ''I can''t let it end like this,'' Yeong-Ho thought.


    He and Kang-Woo weren''t the only ones here. Yeon-Joo, the woman he loved, was watching over their duel. He couldn''t let her see such a pathetic side of himself.


    Yeong-Ho raised his sword and shouted, "Divine Execution Sword!"


    A pale bluish aura shot upward from the sword. His sword grew in length, reaching over ten meters long. It was emitting a powerful energy.


    "Can you only use that technique by shouting such a cringey name?"


    "¡­"


    "No, right? You only did that to look cool, huh?"


    "Sh-Shut up!"


    "You just threw up while trying to put on airs. Isn''t it a little bitte to try to look cool?"


    "Y-You son of a¡ª!"


    "You should''ve just taken out your sword when I told you to. You trying to look cool after all that only makes you look more pathetic."


    "Aaaarrrgghhh!!!"


    The harsh criticism made Yeong-Ho even angrier than before. He charged at Kang-Woo in a blind rage.


    Kang-Woo, on the other hand, calmly analyzed Yeong-Ho''s movements. ''He''s strong, I''ll give him that.''


    The power of Yeong-Ho''s sword, which was emitting a blue aura, was formidable. It was an attack so strong that Kang-Woo would probably struggle to block it even with the Authority of Invulnerability.


    ''He would''ve been a hard opponent to fight under normal circumstances.''


    If Yeong-Ho had fought with everything he had from the beginning, it would''ve probably been a hard fight.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo looked at Yeong-Ho charging straight at him in a fit of rage. There was no way Kang-Woo would lose against someone who hadpletely lost his rationality, no matter how strong he was.


    ''Authority of Shadows.''


    Kang-Woo''s shadow lengthened as it traveled across the floor.


    "Die!!" Yeong-Ho yelled.


    Normally, Yeong-Ho would''ve been able to notice the shadow approaching him on the floor. However, because he had lost all sense of reason due to Kang-Woo''s provocation, Yeong-Ho was totally unaware of the shadow attaching to his own.


    ''Eclipse.''


    After checking that the shadows were connected, Kang-Woo smiled and activated the special power of the Authority of Shadows.


    Yeong-Ho shed his sword straight down at Kang-Woo''s head.


    "W-Wait, Yeong-Ho!" Yeon-Joo called out.


    She ran toward them after seeing that Yeong-Ho was clearly trying to kill Kang-Woo in the duel.


    Yeong-Ho was usually so calm to the point that he was emotionless. Even Yeon-Joo, who had known him for many years, had never seen him be so enraged that he had lost his rationality.


    However, before Yeon-Joo could block Yeong-Ho''s sword, Kang-Woo turned into a ck blob and melted into the ground.


    "Wh-What the¡ª?!" Yeong-Ho shouted in surprise.


    He looked around in search of Kang-Woo, who had suddenly disappeared.


    Tap.


    "All right, herees the third," Kang-Woo said.


    He suddenly appeared from Yeong-Ho''s shadow and ced his hand on Yeong-Ho''s back. The Authority of Waves spread throughout Yeong-Ho''s body.


    "Cough!" He vomited blood.


    Then, he lost consciousness and copsed onto the ground.


    Yeon-Joo, who had run in to stop the battle, looked at Kang-Woo with a nk expression.


    Kang-Woo calmly turned around to face her and said, "See? I told you, I''m stronger than you think."

 Chapter 36 - The Chosen One (1)

    Chapter 36 - The Chosen One (1)


    "I''m really sorry for what happened today. I''m going to kick Yeong-Ho from the guild, and I''ll make sure no one else does something like this," Cha Yeon-Joo said to Oh Kang-Woo with her head bowed.


    A member of her guild had been rude to a yer they''d promised to offer their full support, so even someone of her status had to lower her head in apology.


    "It''s fine since I''ve received this." Kang-Woo lightly pped the Gargoyle Armor he had received from Mun Yeong-Ho.


    He looked at the armor and opened its information window.


    [Equipment Information]


    [Equipment Name: Gargoyle Armor


    Grade: Unique


    Basic Effect: Physical Defense +200, Magical Defense +80


    Special Effect: Allows the wearer to use ''Petrification'', which doubles their physical defense. Can only be used once every 24 hours.]


    ''As expected from a piece of Unique-grade equipment.''


    With just one Unique-grade item, Kang-Woo''s physical defense had increased by a number that was even greater than the total additions to his physical defense that his three rented Epic-grade items had provided.


    ''The special effect is good too.''


    Moreover, the Gargoyle Armor''s special effect was far more useful than the one that the Shadow Armor had. While thinking this, Kang-Woo looked at the Gargoyle Armor in satisfaction.


    Then he turned toward Yeon-Joo and said, "However, if something like this happens again, I''ll have to rethink my rtionship with the Red Rose Guild."


    Kang-Woo had to draw a clear line even though he had received a piece of Unique equipment because of the incident. After all, the incident with Yeong-Ho had urred because Yeon-Joo had failed to control her subordinate. Kang-Woo had chosen to ept Yeong-Ho''s proposal, but the proposal should never have been made in the first ce.


    ''Although I can more or less understand the reason behind his actions.''


    Kang-Woo''s body was closer to that of a demon than a human, so he was highly sensitive to the desires of others. He instinctively knew what the others wanted and how much they craved it.


    ''I guess he was blinded by love.''


    That expression was an apt description of Yeong-Ho''s situation.


    "¡­I''m sorry. I have no excuse." Yeon-Joo sighed and asked for forgiveness once again.


    However, Yeong-Ho wasn''t the only reason why Yeon-Joo was acting in such a way. It was also because of the strength that Kang-Woo had shown. The fact that he''d only been a yer for two weeks and had been able to defeat someone who had achieved their Seventh Awakening was enough to change her attitude.


    Kang-Woo had gone from being a yer with whom it would be worth maintaining a good rtionship to someone she needed to have a good rtionship with no matter what. The power dynamic had changedpletely. Now, even Yeon-Joo, who possessed a fierce personality, couldn''t just walk all over Kang-Woo.


    "Then let''s stay in touch." Kang-Woo waved goodbye to Yeon-Joo and turned around.


    Yeon-Joo watched him walk away in silence.


    "Haaa," she sighed deeply.


    ''Is he truly human?'' Yeon-Joo wondered inwardly.


    It was no longer a matter of whether Kang-Woo was talented. He possessed great power that defiedmon sense.


    ''I think I could beat him at present, but¡­''


    With Kang-Woo''s growth speed, it wouldn''t surprise Yeon-Joo if he soon surpassed her. His growth speed was so scary that she thought it might be better to do something about him before he became too strong.


    "At this rate, a World Ranker may appear in Korea."


    The World Rankers were the eight strongest known yers in the entire world, and there wasn''t a Korean among them currently. Korea''s top Ranker, Baek Kang-Hyun, once had a chance of bing a World Ranker, but he had ultimately failed to do so.


    ''But maybe if it''s Kang-Woo¡­''


    Kang-Woo was a monster who was growing at an unprecedented speed, so Yeon-Joo thought that bing a World Ranker might not be hard for someone like him.


    While Yeon-Joo was immersed in her thoughts, Park Hyun-Woo walked toward her.


    "Guildmaster, did Kang-Woo go back?" he asked.


    "Oh, yeah. He just left," Yeon-Joo replied.


    "I heard that something happened between him and Yeong-Ho¡­"


    "Yes, I n to hold a disciplinary meeting and kick Yeong-Ho out of the Guild."


    "¡­"


    "Don''t make that face. This is all Yeong-Ho''s fault."


    "Understood," Hyun-Woo replied and nodded with a bitter smile. Then he said, "I have something I need to tell you."


    "What is it?"


    "The government has managed to imnt a spy in the Demon Cult."


    "¡­"


    "If we''re lucky, we''ll finally be able to get some evidence of their deeds."


    Yeon-Joo''s eyes lit up. "Give me the details."


    * * *


    "Let''s see¡­"


    On his way home, Kang-Woo opened his status window.


    [Status Window]


    [yer Name: Oh Kang-Woo


    Level: 34 (Fourth Awakening)


    First Awakening Trait: Authority of Predation (Rank: ???) *The majority of the Trait''s power is currently sealed.


    Second Awakening Trait: Insatiable Hunger (Rank: C)


    Third Awakening Trait: Mana-Hungry Demon (Rank: A)


    Fourth Awakening Trait: Ruler of Demonic Energy (Rank: A)


    Strength: 23


    Dexterity: 21


    Health: 20


    Mana: 0


    Demonic Energy (Unique Stat): 53


    Intelligence: 11


    Wisdom: 13


    *Current Equipment Effects


    Physical Defense: 330


    Magical Defense: 170]


    If someone else had seen Kang-Woo''s freakish status window, they probably wouldn''t have been able to hide their shock. Normally, Fourth Awakening yers could barely reach 30 for a stat even if they were lucky, but Kang-Woo''s Demonic Energy stat had already surpassed 50.


    ''The other stats are rising consistently too.''


    His most important stat was Demonic Energy, but it wasn''t like the Strength, Dexterity, and Health stats were useless. Kang-Woo could fortify his body with demonic energy, but it would reduce his reserves of demonic energy. So, if he could fortify his body with the other stats instead, he would avoid wasting demonic energy.


    ''But Intelligence and Wisdom are useless.''


    Kang-Woo didn''t have mana, so those two stats that raised the effectiveness and power of mana were useless to him.


    ''Too bad I can''t choose which stats to raise.''


    One stat was randomly selected to be raised with each level up, and the amount of increase was also random. Then, from the Second Awakening onwards, the stat rted to the Trait that a yer used the most was usually supposed to be the one that rose the most. However, in Kang-Woo''s case, all of his other stats had gone up instead of the Demonic Energy stat.


    ''Is it because my Demonic Energy stat is too high?''


    It was indeed possible that it was because the number for that stat was already too high and impossible for a Level 34 yer to have. Considering that a yer''s stat became harder to raise the higher it got, it made sense that Kang-Woo''s Demonic Energy stat wasn''t going up as he leveled.


    ''In other words, leveling up in the Level 30s won''t raise my Demonic Energy stat.''


    That probably exined why his other stats were going up instead.


    "That''s too bad."


    Kang-Woo wanted to put all the stats in Demonic Energy with each level up, but that was impossible.


    "But thanks to the Hellhound, I far surpassed my original goal."


    He had been nning on leveling up to Level 30, but his level had shot up to Level 34 after hunting a Hellhound.


    ''If I keep up this pace, I''ll get my Fifth Awakening soon.''


    Thanks to the Red Rose Guild, Kang-Woo could freely ess higher-ranking Gates. He could skip B-rank Gates and immediately go to A-rank ones, so leveling up was probably going to get much faster.


    "That aside, I finally have some leeway."


    Kang-Woo was now in apletely different positionpared to back when he could barely use an Authority with his meager amount of demonic energy. During his fight against Yeong-Ho earlier, Kang-Woo realized that he was in the upper ranks of yers. He had enough strength to defend himself against strong yers.


    "I should take this opportunity to help Seol-Ah and Tae-Soo grow."


    After seeing how much Yeon-Joo was willing to support him, he realized something.


    ''It''s better to invest early in yers with great potential.''


    Investing early in talented yers could generate a huge return. That was why Yeon-Joo, one of the top ten yers in Korea, was investing so heavily in Kang-Woo. The value of his talent and growth potential was higher than what she was investing.


    ''Tae-Soo and Seol-Ah are also worth investing in.''


    Tae-Soo and Seol-Ah weren''t that impressivepared to Kang-Woo, but that was only inparison to him. Compared to the average yer, a tank that had awakened an A-rank Trait with his Second Awakening and a healer with a B-rank Trait were very talented.


    ''And¡­''


    The most important thing was that they thought very highly of him, so the chance that they would betray him was low.


    ''I''ll look over their hunt and give them advice tomorrow.''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t nning on carrying them; that would only hinder their growth. Tae-Soo and Seol-Ah needed to gain morebat experience and receive proper guidance. They would probably be able to grow at an explosive rate once they were ced on the right path.


    "I guess I''ll go home."


    Kang-Woo headed home while feeling the pleasant weight of the pieces of equipment he''d gotten.

 Chapter 37 - The Chosen One (2)

    Chapter 37 - The Chosen One (2)


    The next day, Oh Kang-Woo went to where he had promised to meet up with Han Seol-Ah and Kang Tae-Soo.


    "Kang-Woo hyung-nim!! Over here!!" Tae-Soo, who had already arrived near Dongincheon Station, shouted and waved his hand upon spotting Kang-Woo.


    "Keep it down, man. You''re embarrassing me." Kang-Woo frowned when he saw that everyone around them was looking at Tae-Soo.


    "Hehehe. Did the thing you had to dost night go well, hyung-nim?"


    "Yeah, it did."


    "I''m d to hear that! Ah! Hyung-nim, these two are the yers that I said I''d introduce you to!" Tae-Soo pointed at a girl with brown hair and a young man who had a sword on his waist.


    ''Oh, my God.'' Kang-Woo''s eyes widened at the sight of the young man.


    The young man was so good-looking that the expression "as handsome as a Greek statue" seemed ridiculously fitting. He was so stunning that even his surroundings seemed to shine when Kang-Woo looked at his face.


    "This handsome gentleman is Kim Si-Hun, and this little kid is Choi Eun-Bi," Tae-Soo introduced the pair.


    "Who are you calling a kid?!" Choi Eun-Bi eximed.


    "Haha. If you aren''t a kid, then what are you?"


    "Hmph. Says the guy who looks like he''s forty¡­"


    "Wh-What?"


    Eun-Bi ignored Tae-Soo and turned around to face Kang-Woo. With bright eyes, she approached him and extended her hand for a handshake.


    She said, "You''re the oppa that Tae-Soo oppa has talked so much about, right? I''ve heard a lot about you! Oh, also, you can speak casually to me, Kang-Woo oppa!"


    ''Is she another Tae-Soo?'' Kang-Wooughed while gazing at Eun-Bi.


    It was impressive how friendly she was.


    Kang-Woo began, "All right. First, why don''t you guys tell me your Trait type and rank¡ª"


    Eun-Bi suddenly squealed excitedly, "Kyaa! Are you the healer unnie?! Woah, you''re so pretty!! And your breasts¡­ Damn, it''s like you have three heads. You''re like Cerberus!!!"


    "H-Huh? Th-Thank you¡­?"


    "Unnie, let''s take a selfie!! I''m gonna brag to my friends!"


    Kang-Woo, who hadn''t been able to finish his sentence, watched dumbfoundedly as Eun-Bi dragged Seol-Ah somewhere. Seol-Ah extended her hands toward Kang-Woo as if she were a deer being dragged away by a lion.


    At that moment, the man with the sword on his waist approached Kang-Woo and extended his hand.


    "Nice to meet you. I''ve heard a lot about you from Tae-Soo. I''m Kim Si-Hun."


    "Oh, yes, hello."


    "I''m currently Level 12, and I''ve unlocked an A-Rank Trait on my Second Awakening. As you can see, I''m a warrior."


    Kim Si-Hun spoke very respectfully. Furthermore, he just told Kang-Woo the information that he was most interested in.


    ''He''s like a manhwa protagonist,'' Kang-Woo remarked inwardly.


    Kang-Woo shook Si-Hun''s hand.


    He was certainly a little jealous that Si-Hun was so good-looking and well-mannered yet talented as well, but he thought Si-Hun would be very helpful as an ally.


    ''They''re thankfully nothing like those Andras Guild members.''


    Kang-Woo could sense the desires flowing out of Si-Hun and Eun-Bi. With his highly-sensitive demonic body, Kang-Woo was able to decipher what kind of desires people possessed, and he couldn''t sense any impure or unsettling desires in Si-Hun and Eun-Bi.


    He wasn''t sure why they hadn''t joined a big guild, but it seemed like Tae-Soo wasn''t lying when he said that they were trustworthy people.


    "And Eun-Bi is a mage with a B-Rank Trait," Si-Hun added.


    "Oh, thank you."


    "She''s a bit too energetic¡­ I apologize."


    "It''s okay."


    While Kang-woo was talking to Si-Hun, Tae-Soo approached them and proudly puffed out his chest.


    "What do you think, hyung-nim? They both seem trustworthy, right?" Tae-Soo asked.


    "Yeah," Kang-Woo replied.


    "Hehehe, see? I told you I have a good eye for people!"


    "Then how did you almost get killed by your party membersst time?"


    "Th-That''s¡­" Tae-Soo didn''t know what to say in response to that sharp remark and avoided Kang-Woo''s gaze. "That was a divine revtion from the heavens telling me to meet you, hyung-nim! Yep, that''s it!"


    "¡­" Kang-Woo looked at Tae-Soo bemusedly, thinking he was being absurd.


    Tae-Soo coughed and changed the subject, "Ahem. More importantly, what do you think about this party?"


    "Well, first, theposition is perfect."


    The party had one tank, two damage dealers, and a healer that could both heal and buff. Kang-Woo had nothing to say about it in terms of teamposition.


    ''Furthermore, they have both melee and ranged damage dealers.''


    It wasn''t just theposition that was good. Two of the party members each had an A-rank Trait, while the other two had each gotten a B-rank Trait with their Second Awakening. Their Traits were so highly ranked that they could even be considered a carrying party.


    ''Not bad.'' Kang-Woo looked at the four of them with bright eyes.


    Even at first nce, it was obvious that the party consisting of these four people had great potential. They were talented people that even Kang-Woo, who used to have strong demons like Balrog as subordinates, wished to have around.


    ''Although I still have to watch them a little bit more.''


    However, having a good teamposition and great talent did not necessarily mean they would make a good party. Many other things needed to be taken into consideration, like their basic battle sense and ability to make quick decisions.


    ''But they''re still worth raising.''


    If they could keep growing steadily, they would probably be of great help to Kang-Woo in the future.


    "I''ll be going with you on today''s hunt," Kang-Woo said.


    "Huh? You''reing too, hyung-nim?" Tae-Soo asked.


    "Yeah. I''ll watch and give you some feedback on anything that needs fixing."


    "Oh! Your feedback is more than wee!! Thank you so much, hyung-nim!!" Tae-Soo said excitedly.


    ''This is an investment,'' Kang-Woo thought passionately while looking at the four.


    He was sure that investing in the four of them would give him a huge return, so he was very motivated.


    "Then let''s head right into the Gate. Oh, I''ll only be stepping in if I judge that you guys are in real danger, so don''t let your guards down," Kang-Woo warned.


    "Hehe. Understood, hyung-nim!"


    Tae-Soo picked up his giant shield and energetically walked toward the Gate near Dongincheon Station. As the party of five headed over to the Gate, everyone''s attention centered on them.


    "Wow, look at him. He''s so handsome!"


    "Is he a celebrity?"


    "The woman next to him is no joke either!"


    Everyone''s attention was mostly focused on Si-Hun and Seol-Ah. However, there was someone else who was also drawing attention¡ªthe person in their party who had the most eye-catching appearance.


    "Waaaaahhh! M-Monster!" a little girl nearby cried when Tae-Soo, who was over two meters tall, walked past her.


    "E-Eh? I-I''m not a monster, l-little girl," Tae-Soo stuttered.


    "Waaaahhhh!! Mommyyyyyy!!!"


    Tae-Soo didn''t know what to do tofort the girl, so he approached her, but that only made her cry even louder. Stumped about what to do, Tae-Soo turned back to look at Kang-Woo.


    ''Why are you looking at me?'' Kang-Woo thought.


    He didn''t have an ability that could make a little girl stop crying. Nevertheless, there were too many people around looking at them, so he couldn''t just ignore her.


    Kang-Woo sighed and was about to walk toward the crying little girl¡­ but Si-Hun approached her first. He kneeled on one knee and patted her head gently.


    "It''s okay," Si-Hun said.


    "Sniff."


    "He may look like that, but he isn''t scary."


    "R-Really¡­?"


    "Yup, so don''t cry."


    "Hehehe. Okay, handsome oppa!" the little girl said with a smile on her face.


    Si-Hun left the kid to her mother, who hade running due to her cries, and stood up with a smile on his face. Even though this was an ordinary situation, it looked like a scene straight out of a film just because Si-Hun was the one in the middle of it. If it were Kang-Woo who had done that, it wouldn''t have looked as cool.


    ''This guy¡­'' Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun gloomily. ''He''s too much of a protagonist.''


    * * *


    "Chiik! Chiiiiik!"


    The Orcs, who had green skin, swung their clubs.


    The average size of an orc was one hundred and sixty centimeters. The orcs were smaller in stature than the average adult human male, but because they had muscr bodies, they couldn''t be taken lightly.


    Nevertheless¡­


    "Hmph!"


    m!


    "Chiiik!!!"


    Tae-Soo used his shield to push back the three orcs that were charging toward them simultaneously. Having been pushed by someone who had a height of two meters and a body that was more muscr than theirs, the orcs fell to the ground.


    "Hahaha! How about that?!" Tae-Soo burst intoughter after feeling a rush of adrenaline from having sessfully pushed away three orcs at once with a bull charge.


    The orcs got back on their feet but staggered as if they were people who had just been hit by a car.


    "Lightning Shock!"


    Bzzt!!


    At Eun-Bi''s shout, the mana stone at the end of her wand glowed. Blue lightning shot out from the mana stone and struck the orcs.


    "GRAAAARR!!"


    "Tae-Soo oppa! There are five more behind us!"


    "Roger!" Tae-Soo clenched his shield even more tightly and stomped. "Over here, you sons of bitches!"


    After Tae-Soo shouted, his shield radiated light. The orcs were attracted by the light and charged over to him.


    "Aura of Light!"


    "Oh! Thank you, sister-inw!"


    Seol-Ah shot a ball of light into Tae-Soo''s body, buffing him. After that, she shot arrows of light at the orcs.


    "Haaaaap!"


    "Graaaahh!"


    After receiving the buff, Tae-Soo became as strong as an average C-rank monster.


    Meanwhile, Si-Hun charged toward the orcs that had been pushed away.


    sh! Stab!


    Si-Hun''s sword drew a perfect line as he shed the orcs. Even without taking his handsome looks into ount, Si-Hun''s sword skills were so beautiful that this scene looked like something out of a painting.


    Si-Hun swiftly took the lives of the five orcs.


    "Woah! Kang-Woo hyung-nim is great, but you''re not so bad yourself, Si-Hun! Did you practice kendo before bing a yer?" Tae-Soo asked.


    "Oh, yes. A little bit as a hobby," Si-Hun answered.


    "That''s not on the level of a hobby," Tae-Soo remarked, impressed by Si-Hun''s picture-perfect sword technique. Then, he turned to Kang-Woo. "What did you think, Kang-Woo hyung-nim? Aren''t we all fantastic?"


    Kang-Woo nodded at Tae-Soo''s words.


    Just like Tae-Soo said, everyone was so good that it was hard to believe that they had only achieved their Second Awakening.


    "Hehehe. What did I tell you? I have an impable eye for¡ª"


    Kang-Woo cut short Tae-Soo''s words and spoke with a calm voice, "First, I''m going to give you some feedback."


    The party''s potential was quite high because they all had high-ranking Traits. However, that did not mean there was nothing they needed to fix.


    ''Rather, there are too many to count.''


    Kang-Woo''s gaze was sharp as he continued talking.

 Chapter 38 - The Chosen One (3)

    Chapter 38 - The Chosen One (3)


    "First, Tae-Soo, you''ve got keen eyesight, and you know how to draw the monsters'' attention. However, you rely too much on your strength. You charge at them to knock them down even when you don''t need to. It wastes your stamina and leaves you with far too many openings. Don''t think about knocking the monsters down. You''re doing more than enough just enduring and deflecting their attacks."


    "Ugh¡­ U-Understood." Kang Tae-Soo, who had been super excited after their first sessful hunt, flinched and lowered his head sadly after hearing Oh Kang-Woo''s critical feedback.


    Kang-Woo then turned to face Choi Eun-Bi. "Eun-Bi, you don''t need to use powerful magic to finish off monsters that have been knocked down. Don''t forget that Si-Hun is the main damage dealer. You are a sub damage dealer, so you should be supporting him. Yet, you were so focused on attacking the three monsters on the ground that you weren''t able to do anything against the five approaching from behind, right?"


    "Y-Yes. You''re right, oppa."


    "Even weak lightning attacks can paralyze enemies, so limit using up your reserves."


    "Yes, oppa!"


    "And Seol-Ah¡­"


    "Y-Yes, Kang-Woo!" Seol-Ah answered nervously after seeing the previous two receive criticism from Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo said calmly, "The timing of your buff was great, but attacking the monsters with light arrows was dangerous. Healers already draw too much attention. If you attack on top of that, Tae-Soo won''t be able to keep the attention of the enemies on him. You''re not hunting alone, so even if you want to help, you need to be more careful."


    "Oh¡­ I-I''m so sorry."


    "Don''t worry. You''ll improve with time. As for Si-Hun¡­"


    "Yes?" Kim Si-Hun, thest party member, calmly awaited Kang-Woo''s words.


    "There was nothing for me to criticize. You carried out your role perfectly," Kang-Woo stated.


    "Oh¡­ Thank you very much," Si-Hun said with a nod.


    He didn''t seem too surprised. It was as if he knew he hadn''t made any mistakes.


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun and thought, ''Amazing.''


    Even from the perspective of someone with ten millennia''s worth of battle experience, Si-Hun''s battle sense was impressive. His technique was a bit rough around the edges due to theck of experience, but it was impressive nheless.


    ''So, this is what a real genius looks like, huh?''


    Even though Si-Hun didn''t have much battle experience, he was getting used tobat at a frightening speed. Kang-Woo, on the other hand, had taken approximately ten years to learn how to use a weapon properly, so he felt dejected.


    ''I guess this is how Cha Yeon-Joo feels when she looks at me.''


    It was the same for most upations, but talent was especially important for yers. Cha Yeon-Joo didn''t know about Kang-Woo''s past, so she probably saw him as someone with impressive talent. Despite that, Kang-Woo wasn''t really that talented. It was only because of the experience he had gained through shedding blood, sweat, and tears for thest ten millennia that he had be so strong.


    However, Si-Hun was different.


    ''He''s the real deal.''


    Si-Hun possessed a frightening level of talent, so much so that his movements improved even while fighting the orcs. He was a diamond in the rough.


    "Let''s head a bit deeper inside," Kang-Woo said.


    He was now interested in how much Si-Hun could grow.


    "Okay."


    "Hehe! I''ll do better this time, hyung-nim!" Tae-Soo responded excitedly while lifting his shield.


    The party members hunted more orcs as they went deeper into the forest.


    Crack!


    "Haap!"


    Si-Hun was abnormally talented, but the rest of the party members were also quite talentedpared to the average yer. Furthermore, after taking Kang-Woo''s suggestions to heart, they were now improving very quickly.


    ''At this rate, they''ll be able to enter a C-rank Gate within a month.''


    It took the average yer over two months to enter a C-rank Gate, so it would be considerably fast if this party could do it within a month. Of course, it had only taken Kang-Woo five days, but it didn''t make sense topare them with him.


    "Huh? Hyung-nim, what''s that monster over there? It isn''t an orc," Tae-Soo pointed out.


    "Hm?" Kang-Woo, who was watching them hunt from a distance, stepped forward.


    "Grrrr!!"


    There was a ck wolf with two giant horns on its forehead, and it was ring at Tae-Soo with murderous intent in its eyes.


    ''A Demon Wolf.'' Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    A Demon Wolf wasn''t as strong as a Hellhound, but it was still a demonic beast from the First Hell.


    "GRRAAARRR!!!"


    "H-Huh?"


    Seeing the Demon Wolf leap toward him at a terrifying speed, Tae-Soo raised his shield, but it was obvious that he wouldn''t be able to block the attack. That was how overwhelmingly powerful the Demon Wolf''s charge was.


    "Tsk." Kang-Woo frowned and extended his hand toward the demonic beast.


    He hadn''t been nning on doing anything unless aplication arose, but this was far more serious than a simpleplication. Tae-Soo was a talented tank, but the opponent was on a whole other level. The party members were still too weak to fight a demonic beast from Hell.


    ''Why is there another demonic beast here?''


    Kang-Woo scowled at the Demon Wolf. After his previous encounter with a Hellhound, this Demon Wolf was the second demonic beast from Hell that he had encountered on Earth.


    Powerful demonic energy surged from his body as he prepared to fight.


    However, before Kang-Woo could do anything, Si-Hun charged toward the Demon Wolf.


    sh!!


    "GRRAARR!"


    "S-Si-Hun!" Tae-Soo eximed.


    "Please get back!" Si-Hun said.


    A blue aura rose from his sword. Si-Hun swung his sword at a speed that couldn''t bepared to before, shing open the demonic beast''s back with the blue aura.


    "GRRAARR!!" the injured Demon Wolf roared and lunged toward Si-Hun with its front legs.


    Si-Hun blocked the attack with his sword.


    Wham!


    "Kurgh!"


    Nevertheless, there was no way a yer who had only just achieved his Second Awakening would be able to block a Demon Wolf''s attack. The impact of the Demon Wolf''s attack sent Si-Hun flying backward and then rolling on the ground.


    "Kurgh, cough!"


    Despite having taken the Demon Wolf''s attack head-on, Si-Hun staggered to his feet, but the Demon Wolf charged toward him once again.


    Crack!!


    "Whiiiine."


    Kang-Woo climbed onto the Demon Wolf''s back. He amplified his strength with the Authority of Titanic Might and used his fist to smash the head of the Demon Wolf, destroying it with just one attack.


    Riiing.


    [You have sessfully defeated a D-rank Rift Fragment.]


    [Your level has risen by 1.]


    A blue message window appeared in front of Kang-Woo, but he ignored the message window and turned to look at Si-Hun.


    "Cough! Haaa, haaa. Th-Thank you very much, Kang-Woo." Si-Hun bowed his head toward Kang-Woo while panting heavily.


    Tae-Soo came to them and shouted, "Wow!! As expected of hyung-nim!! You defeated that monster with just one blow!! Damn!! You''re the best!!"


    "¡­"


    "Also, Si-Hun, that was sword energy, right? Right?!"


    "Ah¡­ Umm¡­"


    "Are you really only on your Second Awakening? Your sword was shing so brightly!"


    "I really am only on my Second Awakening," Si-Hun replied to Tae-Soo with a troubled expression.


    Kang-Woo gazed at Si-Hun intently while thinking deeply.


    ''He''s strong.''


    What Si-Hun had just shown defied logic. It couldn''t simply be because of his extraordinary battle sense. Even after taking into consideration that he had unlocked an A-rank Trait with his Second Awakening, he was still too strong for a yer of his level.


    ''I''m thinking the same thing as Mun Yeong-Ho.''


    Mun Yeong-Ho had probably felt the same way when he looked at Kang-Woo.


    ''Is he really only on his Second Awakening?''


    There was a reason why Kang-Woo was overwhelmingly stronger than other yers, but Si-Hun was different. He couldn''t have also spent ten millennia in Hell.


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun suspiciously and used the Authority of the Beholder on him. Demonic energy flowed out of Kang-Woo and went toward Si-Hun.


    Riiing.


    [Erasing traces of Demonic Energy with the effect of Ruler of Demonic Energy (Rank: A).]


    The distinct chime of a bell rang out, and the unpleasant and disgusting sensation of the demonic energy disappeared. With its traces now concealed, the demonic energy could approach Si-Hun without being noticed.


    [Status Window]


    [yer Name: Kim Si-Hun]


    "Hm?"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder after a blue status window suddenly appeared in front of him. The name on the status window clearly said ''Kim Si-Hun.''


    ''You can do things like this with the Authority of the Beholder¡­?''


    He had only intended to check whether Si-Hun was hiding some sort of power, but he realized an unexpected truth. It seemed that he could check the status windows of other yers.


    To confirm if that was truly the case, Kang-Woo used a little bit more demonic energy on Si-Hun.


    [Level: 14 (Second Awakening)]


    ''I can see his status window.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up at the unexpected turn of events.


    ''He truly is only on his Second Awakening.''


    From what Kang-Woo could see, Si-Hun was Level 14. Si-Hun had said before the hunt that he was Level 12, so he had leveled up twice today.


    ''In that case, how is he so strong?''


    This meant that Si-Hun had indeed only achieved his Second Awakening despite being that strong.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head and used a bit more of the Authority.


    [First Awakening Trait: Martial God''s Sessor (Rank: SSS) *The power of the Martial God has not yet been fully absorbed, so the Trait cannot disy its full potential.


    Second Awakening Trait: Sword Energy Manifestation (Rank: A)]


    "What?"


    Kang-Woo couldn''t hide his surprise after checking out Si-Hun''s Traits.


    [Unique ss: The Chosen One - The soul of the Martial God Tian Taihuang dwells within you. You are a hero destined to be the protector of this world.


    Strength: 15


    Dexterity: 16


    Health: 13


    Qi (Unique Stat): 25


    Intelligence: 8


    Wisdom: 9]


    ''What?'' Kang-Woo''s mouth fell open in shock. ''The hell''s with this guy?''


    Si-Hun had an SSS-rank Trait and was a human with the soul of the Martial God dwelling within him, a hero destined to be the protector of this world¡­


    ''Is he actually the protagonist?''


    Kang-Woo stared at Si-Hun bewilderedly.

 Chapter 39 - The Chosen One (4)

    Chapter 39 - The Chosen One (4)


    When Oh Kang-Woo fell into Hell, he had honestly been quite happy because that situation had made him feel like the protagonist of a novel. The thought that his life of poverty and misery could change into an awesome and one-of-a-kind life excited him.


    Of course, those thoughts eventually disappeared as he experienced many near-death situations. When he first fell into Hell, he wasn''t the protagonist; he was a being at the bottom of the food chain, even lower than nkton.


    ''But¡­'' Kang-Woo looked at Kim Si-Hun, dumbfounded.


    Si-Hun''s dazzlingly good looks, kind personality, and well-mannered attitude¡­


    ''He''s the definition of a protagonist.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but find Si-Hun''s status window absurd.


    "Hmm."


    He began thinking deeply about Si-Hun''s status window.


    ''Destined to be the protector of this world, huh?''


    Considering Si-Hun''s Trait, the description that stated he was to be the world''s protector did not seem overblown. Kang-Woo wasn''t sure who the Martial God Tian Taihuang was, but he was likely extremely strong considering the ''Martial God'' title. Moreover, Si-Hun had obtained an SSS-rank Trait just for being the Martial God''s sessor, so there was no doubt about the Martial God''s power.


    ''Is that why his swordy is so good?''


    Si-Hun''s movements were too good for it to be simply because he''s talented. He was strong and growing at a frightening speed.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked at him with a deep and subdued gaze as he became lost in his thoughts again, particrly about what he should do about Si-Hun.


    ''I could give him my full support and build an amicable rtionship with him.''


    That was what Cha Yeon-Joo had decided to do with Kang-Woo. A simple and effective way to produce a good investment return was to recognize someone''s talent, provide them support to grow even faster, and, while doing so, build an amicable rtionship with them.


    ''But that has a lot of ws.''


    The biggest w was that the sponsor could not make the person that they were supporting do their bidding if the only rtionship between them was an amicable one. In the worst-case scenario, the sponsor could be betrayed by the person to whom they had given their full support.


    ''Kim Si-Hun doesn''t look like someone who would do something like that.''


    Si-Hun was so kind to the point that he could be called a pushover, so the chances of that happening were low.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun, who was being healed by Han Seol-Ah.


    ''No one can know that for sure.''


    Si-Hun was a kind person. He might not betray Kang-Woo of his own volition, but there was no guarantee that he wouldn''t do that because of someone else''s influence.


    If Si-Hun thought of Kang-Woo in a very good light like Seol-Ah or Kang Tae-Soo did, then Kang-Woo wouldn''t think this way. However, that wasn''t the case.


    ''How about I eliminate him now and nip the bud?''


    Si-Hun wasn''t the same as Seol-Ah and Tae-Soo. Seol-Ah and Tae-Soo were talented yers, so they could aim to be Rankers in the future, but that was all. No matter how strong they became, there was an extremely low chance that they could be a threat to Kang-Woo.


    However, Si-Hun was different. If he were one day able to use his SSS-rank Trait to its fullest, or if he unlocked even stronger ones as he leveled up¡­ he could grow into a threat to Kang-Woo. It wasn''t a bad option to eliminate Si-Hun as a safeguard.


    ''¡­No.'' Kang-Woo shook his head. ''That would be too much of a waste.''


    Eliminating someone as talented as Si-Hun just because he could be a threat was stupid. He was like a lottery ticket that was guaranteed to win. If there was a way for Kang-Woo to make Si-Hun an ally, he could gain a subordinate that was even stronger than Balrog.


    ''I want to make him an ally, but I don''t feelfortable doing nothing as he keeps growing stronger.''


    Kang-Woo crossed his arms and stroked his chin with one hand.


    ''In that case¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up. He''d thought of a good idea that could help Si-Hun grow while making him a guaranteed ally.


    ''And it''s something I can only do now.''


    The corners of Kang-Woo''s mouth curved upward. He was extremely lucky to have discovered Si-Hun early.


    "Kang-Woo? Is something wrong?" Seol-Ah asked.


    She had finished healing Si-Hun and was now walking toward Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo wiped the smile from his face and calmly answered, "Oh, I was just thinking about something."


    "Sigh. What was that monster? I''ve never seen anything like it before¡­ We would''ve been in real trouble if you weren''t here."


    "I''m not sure either¡­ I also want to know why a monster like that appeared in a D-rank Gate," Kang-Woo said while analyzing the corpse of the Demon Wolf.


    He was still unsure about what Rift Fragments were and why demonic beasts were appearing in Gates.


    "That aside, how is Si-Hun doing?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Oh, he''s much better now. He can''t move excessively yet, but walking should be okay."


    "Hmm." Kang-Woo nodded and walked to Si-Hun. "Are you okay?"


    "Yes, I''m feeling a lot better thanks to Seol-Ah."


    "That''s good to hear."


    "I would''ve been hurt even worse if it weren''t for you, Kang-Woo. Thank you so much. You''re as strong as Tae-Soo said," Si-Hun said as he stood up and smiled affably.


    The surroundings seemed to brighten just from his smile.


    "Of course! I''ve never seen a yer as strong as Kang-Woo hyung-nim!" Tae-Soo bragged about Kang-Woo while pounding his chest. "He isn''t just strong! Kang-Woo hyung-nim is someone with a strong sense of justice. He once taught the members of the Andras Guild a lesson all by himself!"


    "Wow."


    "Hehehe! He is the man whom I have dedicated my undying loyalty to!"


    "You have a good hyung-nim." Si-Hun nodded and turned his head to look at Kang-Woo.


    It seemed like he was also starting to trust Kang-Woo.


    "Oh, but you were amazing too, Si-Hun. I''ve never seen someone like you among Second Awakening yers," Tae-Soo said.


    "I''m ttered."


    "Hehehe. But why didn''t you join arge guild? You could probably join any guild you want. The Mir Guild has been seeking out new members. Are you interested in joining them?"


    "I''m not nning to enter a guild, especially the Mir Guild." Si-Hun''s expression turned cold at the mention of the Mir Guild.


    Upon noticing that, Tae-Soo scratched his head and said, "Hmm. I see. Do you have some bad blood with the Mir guild?"


    "Nothing worth mentioning," Si-Hun replied in an uncharacteristically cold and firm tone.


    Tae-Soo surmised that he had mentioned something he shouldn''t have.


    So, he lowered his head apologetically as he spoke, "Well, it doesn''t seem to be anything good. I''m sorry for asking something I shouldn''t have."


    "No, don''t be. It''s just that it''s a bitplicated¡­ I should be the one to apologize for reacting in such a way."


    It seemed as if Si-Hun managed to control his emotions, and he once again looked at the party with a smile.


    Si-Hun said, "I feel better now, so let''s continue hunti¡ª"


    "Oh, I think it would be better if we stopped for the day. After all, you''re not in your best condition right now."


    "I''m fine."


    "You don''t need to push yourself so hard. There''s always tomorrow."


    "Hmm¡­ Understood," Si-Hun replied with a nod.


    Kang-Woo walked toward the Gate exit with the rest of the party.


    "Hyung-nim! Are you going toe tomorrow, too?"


    "No. Try hunting with just the four of you. And don''t forget what I taught you today."


    "Oh¡­"


    "I can''t be looking after you guys forever."


    "Ngh. Well, okay. I, Kang Tae-Soo, will level up more so that I can party with you, hyung-nim!"


    "Okay, I''ll be waiting." Kang-Wooughed and walked out of the Gate.


    "Then, I''ll be going this way," Si-Hun remarked.


    "Okay, I''ll see you tomorrow, everyone!" Choi Eun-Bi eximed.


    Everyone went on their way after the hunt was over, but Kang-Woo walked to the station with Seol-Ah since they lived together.


    "Seol-Ah."


    "Yes, Kang-Woo?"


    "There''s something I have to do, so go on ahead of me."


    "Oh¡­ Is it urgent?"


    "Yeah."


    "I understand. What about dinner?"


    "You can eat first. I might be a bitte."


    Seol-Ah looked at Kang-Woo sadly, disappointed that she wouldn''t be able to go home with him. Nevertheless, she turned around and walked into the station alone.


    "Right, then¡­" Kang-Woo uttered.


    After parting ways with Seol-Ah, Kang-Woo turned toward where Si-Hun had gone.


    "Let''s begin."


    He had a big smile on his face as he kicked off from the ground and soared into the air.


    * * *


    "Sigh¡­ the Mir Guild, huh?"


    Si-Hun thought of the name that had popped up during his conversation with Tae-Soo. His heart filled with dread the moment he recalled a certain man who was a member of that guild.


    He shook his head to clear his mind and kept walking.


    "Kang-Woo?" Si-Hun called out in surprise.


    Kang-Woo had suddenly appeared in front of Si-Hun while he was walking to the bus station to return home. Si-Hun tilted his head puzzledly and looked around to try and figure out what was going on.


    Kang-Woo slowly walked toward him and said, "There''s something I need to talk to you about."


    "Oh, I see. What is it?"


    "Hmm¡­ It''s something important, so let''s go somewhere private."


    "I understand." Si-Hun nodded.


    He walked into a secluded alleyway and then turned around to face Kang-Woo.


    "What did you want to ta¡ª"


    Smash!!


    "Kurgh!!"


    Kang-Woo punched Si-Hun right in the sr plexus. Caughtpletely off guard, Si-Hun fell to the ground with a hand on his stomach.


    "Cough! Cough! Wh-What are you¡ª"


    "Oh. This is just insurance," Kang-Woo stated.


    "Cough! I-Insurance?" Si-Hun asked.


    Kang-Woo got on top of Si-Hun, who was lying on the floor.


    Then he continued calmly, "You are going to be stronger, Si-Hun. Overwhelmingly stronger than other yers. So, I want to build a good rtionship with you."


    "G-Good rtionship¡­?"


    "To put it simply, I want us to be allies."


    "Kurgh! How can you say that after doing something like this?!"


    Si-Hun tried to shake Kang-Woo off of him, but Kang-Woo looked down at him with a smile.


    "And this is insurance for that."


    "What is that supposed to m¡ª Kargh!"


    Kang-Woo focused demonic energy on his hand and stabbed it into Si-Hun''s chest, reaching his heart. Then, Kang-Woo gathered as much demonic energy as possible and used an Authority.


    ''Authority of Subordination.''


    It was an Authority that forcibly made the target''s soul a subordinate of the Authority''s user. To put it simply, it made the target into a demon''s Familiar. The Authority of Subordination was a level higher than the Authority of Fear, so it had more to offer.


    "Kurgh! Cough! S-Stop!"


    "Don''t worry. You''ll forget everything that happened here," Kang-Woo said calmly while looking at Si-Hun. "When you open your eyes againter, you''ll continue living your life just as you''ve been doing until now. You just have to hunt and keep getting stronger like you did today. I''m sure you and the others will be able to be a party that''s stronger than any other, as long as you keep growing with Tae-Soo and Seol-Ah."


    "Kurgh! Cough!"


    "Oh, and if you be my Familiar, you''ll be able to use a portion of my power. I''m sure it will be very helpful for your growth."


    Kang-Woo used the power of the Authority of Subordination to check if Si-Hun''s soul was under his possession. Once he confirmed that it was, he took his hand off of Si-Hun''s heart.


    Surprisingly, there was no wound on Si-Hun''s chest. Even his clothes were perfectly fine.


    "A-Aaaahhh¡­" Si-Hun waved his hand in the air as if he were trying to grab something.


    "You don''t need to worry about anything," Kang-Woo said softly. He grabbed Si-Hun''s hand and continued, "We''ll be very good allies."

 Chapter 40 - The Chosen One (5)

    Chapter 40 - The Chosen One (5)


    "Hmm?"


    When Kim Si-Hun regained consciousness and opened his eyes, he felt the hard sensation of the stone floor beneath him.


    ''What happened?'' he wondered inwardly while looking around.


    After parting ways with the rest of the party, Si-Hun had been walking to the bus station to go back home.


    "Eh?"


    However, that was all he could remember. He didn''t remember anything that had happened after he left the Gate and headed for the bus station.


    Si-Hun took out his smartphone from his pocket and checked the time.


    "It''s been an hour."


    An hour had passed since thest time he''d checked the time.


    "Guh!"


    He tried to force himself to remember, but it gave him a headache. Si-Hun grabbed his forehead and stood up.


    "Did I pass out?"


    The unknown monster they''d met in the Gate¡­ Si-Hun had taken a direct blow from it during the fight.


    ''That was dangerous.''


    Thinking about that situation still gave him chills. That was how overwhelmingly powerful that monster had been.


    ''But I thought I was all better.''


    Si-Hun thought he had fully recovered after being healed by Han Seol-Ah, but it seemed that the injury was more severe than he''d thought.


    ''But to think that I would even pass out¡­''


    Si-Hun frowned while looking down at his body.


    ''I still have a long way to go.''


    The soul of the Martial God Tian Taihuang had entered his body when he awakened as a yer two weeks ago. However, he only knew about the Martial God''s existence through the status window and hadn''t been able to interact with the Martial God''s soul in any way.


    ''It''s because I''m still too weak.''


    Si-Hun bit his lip anxiously.


    Despite having obtained the great power that came with the soul of a Martial God, Si-Hun was still considerably weaker than he could be because he hadn''t been able to fully ept the power within the soul.


    ''I have to get stronger.''


    Si-Hun''s eyes shone determinedly as he clenched his fists.


    He had to get stronger because there was something he had to do, and it could only be done when he had enough power.


    ''Kim Yeong-Hun.''


    Si-Hun thought of the person that had put him into his current crisis. It was the vice guild master of the Mir Guild, one of the five great guilds of Korea.


    ''That human garbage.''


    Si-Hun couldn''t help boiling with rage when he thought of that person.


    "Huu." Si-Hun took some deep breaths to quell the rage boiling within him.


    ''I must wait.''


    He was still far too weak to face Kim Yeong-Hun.


    "I wonder if it would be possible if I were as strong as Kang-Woo?"


    With a bitter smile on his face, he remembered the yer that he had met today¡ªOh Kang-Woo. Si-Hun didn''t know what level Kang-Woo was, but it was probably very high, considering that Kang-Woo had used just one blow to defeat the monster that Si-Hun had struggled to fight against.


    ''He was strong.''


    Kang-Woo''s level wasn''t the only thing that seemed strong. Si-Hun thought that Kang-Woo likely had high-ranking Traits as well. Of course, Kang-Woo''s Traits probably couldn''t bepared to Si-Hun''s SSS-rank Trait. However, Si-Hun still did not have full control over his Trait''s power, so there was currently an overwhelming difference in power between him and Kang-Woo.


    "And it didn''t seem like he was just strong."


    Si-Hun understood why Tae-Soo had spoken so highly of Kang-Woo, who led others with his peculiar charisma. Judging by how he had gone to a low-ranking Gate to help out low-level yers like Si-Hun and the others, Kang-Woo also seemed to have a good personality.


    "He seems like a good person."


    Si-Hun smiled at the thought of Kang-Woo. They''d just met, but Kang-Woo had left a very good impression on Si-Hun.


    ''I can trust Kang-Woo.''


    While thinking that he would be able to build a good rtionship with Kang-Woo, Si-Hun continued walking toward the bus station.


    * * *


    "Yeah, I''m a good person." Kang-Woo smiled.


    He was watching Si-Hun while hiding in the alleyway.


    "I did it."


    He wasn''tpletely certain that the subordination process would be sessful due to the variable, the Martial God''s soul. Nheless, Kang-Woo ultimately managed to turn Si-Hun''s soul into his subordinate.


    ''If I had discovered Si-Hun a little bitter, there would have been a high chance of failing.''


    The Authority of Subordination allowed its user to exerciseplete control over another person''s soul, so it wasn''t an easy Authority to use. A lot of demonic energy was required to turn someone into a Familiar, and there were also many restrictions.


    Had he found out about Si-Hun even a weekter, Kang-Woo would''ve probably failed to make him into a subordinate.


    Riiing.


    [You have managed to subordinate a soul. Registering ''Kim Si-Hun'' as your Familiar.]


    [Would you like to give your Familiar an order?]


    "Not yet."


    [The order has been deferred. You may give your Familiar an order anytime and anywhere.]


    Kang-Woo grinned after reading the message window.


    ''Of course, it has to be possible anytime and anywhere.''


    If it wasn''t like that, it wouldn''t have been worth it to turn Si-Hun into his Familiar.


    "Now that I have my insurance¡­ I just have to wait for him to grow."


    Kang-Woo wasn''t nning on forcibly giving Si-Hun an order at present¡ªno, even in the future. He didn''t want to forcibly make Si-Hun do anything unless it was absolutely necessary.


    ''I turned him into a Familiar only as insurance.''


    Si-Hun hadn''t treated Kang-Woo in a hostile manner, nor did he even think badly of him. Rather, Kang-Woo had left a very good impression on Si-Hun. It was clear from how Si-Hun had mumbled to himself that Kang-Woo was a good person.


    ''A dog that doesn''t bite its owner doesn''t need a cor.''


    Nevertheless, in the worst-case scenario, Kang-Woo could still force Si-Hun to obey him.


    "I''ll be supporting you as best I can, so keep on growing, Si-Hun."


    Kang-Woo''s smile deepened as he watched Si-Hun walk further away.


    If Si-Hun grew the way that Kang-Woo hoped, he would probably be as strong as Balrog. There was a chance that Kang-Woo would have to fight the demon cult members before he could fully unseal his Ten Thousand Demon Core, so Si-Hun was very important to him. Kang-Woo also liked that Si-Hun would be hunting with Seol-Ah and Tae-Soo, helping them level up, and protecting them from unforeseen events.


    ''Additionally, Si-Hun will probably grow even faster thanks to what happened today.''


    A Familiar could use a portion of their master''s power. This meant that Si-Hun had both the Martial God''s soul and a portion of the demon king''s power inside him. Si-Hun was going to grow even faster from now on.


    "It sure is invaluable to haverades that help each other out."


    Kang-Woo nodded while smiling in satisfaction.


    He didn''t feel bad in the slightest for having forcibly turned Si-Hun into his Familiar. Kang-Woo had spent too much time in Hell to feel bad about something so insignificant.


    ''I''m going to make sure that only I can get my hands on this growing sprout.''


    Kang-Woo smacked his lips andughed softly.


    He would use everything that could benefit him and eliminate anything that could harm him. That was the way of survival he had learned in Hell.


    "I should head back."


    Feeling satisfied, Kang-Woo turned around and headed home. He felt a bit sluggish because the Authority of Subordination consumed a lot of demonic energy.


    ''I wonder if Seol-Ah has eaten yet.''


    Kang-Woo reached for his smartphone and considered buying something on the way home to celebrate having made Si-Hun his ally.


    Vrrrr.


    "Hm?"


    Just as he grabbed his phone, he received a call. Kang-Woo checked the caller ID. The name that appeared on the screen was Jo Deok-Hyun, the master of the Andras Guild. Kang-woo had ordered him to find clues regarding the Demon Cult.


    "What is it?"


    [I-I''ve called to give you some information.]


    "Information?"


    [Yes. Th-That''s right.]


    "Is it rted to the demon cult?"


    [I-I can''t say for sure.]


    "Tell me."


    Kang-Woo listened to Deok-Hyun''s words with bright eyes.


    [We''ve found traces of demonic energy.]


    "Traces of demonic energy?"


    [Yes, but¡­ it doesn''t seem to be man-made.]


    "It''s not man-made?"


    [Yes. Rather than man-made¡­ the traces seem to have been left by something like a monster.]


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo stroked his chin.


    Traces that had been left by a monster had bits of demonic energy¡­ It wasn''t hard for Kang-Woo to conclude what the monster was from that.


    ''A demonic beast.''


    The monster was a demonic beast, also referred to as a Rift Fragment. It seemed that another demonic beast like the Hellhound and Demon Wolf had appeared.


    "Where were the traces found?"


    [The B-rank Gate in Uijeongbu.]


    "A B-rank Gate, huh?"


    The corners of Kang-Woo''s mouth curved up.


    ''Then it''s highly likely that a demonic beast stronger than a Hellhound has appeared.''


    A C-rank Rift Fragment had appeared in a C-rank Gate, and a D-rank Rift Fragment had appeared in a D-rank Gate. Hence, there was a high chance that a stronger demonic beast had appeared in the B-rank Gate.


    ''If it''s stronger than a Hellhound¡­ it might be a demonic beast from the Second Hell.''


    Kang-Woo licked his lips like a hunter who had just found its prey.


    ''I leveled up five times from killing a Hellhound.''


    Killing the Rift Fragments had given him more experience points than killing a boss monster. He had gotten several times more experience points from killing the Hellhound than from killing the Troll Chief, a B-rank boss monster. So, killing a demonic beast from the Second Hell would probably get him way more experience points.


    "This is¡­"


    Kang-Woo opened his status window and checked his level.


    After killing the Demon Wolf, he had leveled up once and was now Level 35. An average yer would probably take between one to two months to level up five times to get to Level 40, but that would not be the same for Kang-Woo.


    "I guess I''ll be getting my Fifth Awakening sooner than I thought."


    A deep smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face as he thought of the massive amount of experience points that he would get from killing a demonic beast.

 Chapter 41 - That Just Leaves One (1)

    Chapter 41 - That Just Leaves One (1)


    The next day, Oh Kang-Woo put on the equipment he had received from the Red Rose Guild and went to Uijeongbu.


    Clunk clunk.


    ''This is too ufortable. I should get a car.''


    Kang-Woo frowned while taking the train to Uijeongbu.


    He didn''t need a billion-won car like Cha Yeon-Joo''s, but he definitely needed one.


    ''Once this is done, I''ll ask her to get me one.''


    Kang-Woo got off the train while thinking that he should ask Yeon-Joo for an expensive car since it was free.


    "Let''s see¡­"


    He looked up the list of monsters that appeared in Uijeongbu''s B-rank Gate.


    ''There are many different kinds of monsters that appear there.''


    A wide variety of monsters ranging from D-rank to B-rank elite monsters appeared in Uijeongbu''s Gate.


    ''The top B-rank monster is a Minotaur, huh?''


    A Minotaur wasn''t as powerful as an Ogre, an A-rank elite monster, but it didn''t fall behind in terms of physical strength. Minotaurs wereparable to boss monsters that appeared in C-rank Gates, so yers avoided hunting them without a party.


    ''Well, it''s not my target this time around.''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t after the Minotaurs but the demonic beast that would give him even better rewards.


    Mumble.


    "Huh?"


    As soon as he arrived at the B-rank Gate in Uijeongbu, Kang-Woo frowned. There was amotion that made the Gate area seem like a noisy market.


    "We''re a party of five. Why aren''t you letting us in?"


    "Do you have any idea how long it took us to get here?"


    The yers gathered in front of the Gate wereining to the soldiers.


    ''What''s going on?'' Kang-Woo wondered.


    In addition to the yers, there were people who looked like reporters holding cameras and mics in front of the Gate.


    Kang-Woo walked toward themotion.


    "ess to the Gate is restricted due to the appearance of a variant monster. We appreciate your cooperation."


    "So, this isn''t about a boss monster? What the hell is a variant monster?"


    "We have not been given details on the exact identity of the monster. However, ten yers have already lost their lives to this variant monster. For your own safety, please refrain from entering the Gate until we get the exact details."


    The yers flinched after hearing the soldier''s words.


    ''A variant monster, huh?''


    Kang-Woo gasped in surprise. It wasn''t hard for him to imagine what the variant monster was.


    ''It seems like the demonic beast is already running wild inside the Gate.''


    If that wasn''t the case, there wouldn''t be a reason for yer ess to be restricted.


    ''I wonder which one it is?''


    There were more demonic beasts than demons throughout the Nine Hells, and some were even a threat to the seven princes of Hell. However, Kang-Woo hadn''t fought against many demonic beasts since they didn''t attack unless it was someone who had trespassed on their territory.


    "T-Ten¡­?"


    "Th-That many yers died?"


    "Doesn''t that mean it''s a really dangerous monster?"


    Anothermotion arose among the yers after they heard that ten yers had died.


    It wasn''t umon for yers to die inside the Gates. However, yers who entered a B-rank Gate were above average, so it wasn''t normal for ten yers of that level to die because of a monster.


    "Please give us a bit more information about the variant monster!"


    "The people are starting to get worried!"


    The reporters rushed in with mics in hand as the yers withdrew in fear.


    "We have not received details about its exact identity. We have only heard that it looked simr to a lion with five legs¡­ It is a monster that has never been seen before," the soldier guarding the Gate entrance said.


    He seemed troubled by the sheer amount of reporters surrounding him.


    ''A lion with five legs¡­'' Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up.


    He knew of only one monster that matched that description¡­


    ''Buer.''


    Buers were one of the strongest predators of the Second Hell.


    ''As expected, demonic beasts from the Second Hell have started to appear.''


    With that, it was more or less confirmed that stronger demonic beasts appeared in higher-ranking Gates.


    ''A Buer, huh¡­?''


    Kang-Woo then recalled the number of yers who had been killed.


    ''If ten yers have been killed, that means the Buer probably appeared two days ago.''


    The Buer had a unique trait that made it different from other demonic beasts. It never hunted more than five prey per day. Regardless of whether the prey wasrge or small, it entered a state of Full Stomach after consuming five and didn''t attack unless it was attacked first.


    The fact that ten yers had died meant that the Buer had appeared in the Gate two days ago.


    ''If it''s a Buer, it''ll be easy.''


    Kang-Woo was confident that he could win against the Buer with his current strength. However, there was an easier way to hunt this demonic monster. He just had to capture five monsters alive and throw them to the Buer, leading it to enter the Full Stomach state. Then Kang-Woo could hunt it at ease.


    "Let''s get going."


    Kang-Woo slowly walked toward the soldier guarding the entrance. He wasn''t nning to use the Authority of Blindness like before.


    ''I don''t need to go through the trouble anymore.''


    With a smile on his face, Kang-Woo took out his smartphone. He pressed a name on his contact list.


    [What''s up?]


    Kang-Woo heard Yeon-Joo''s familiar voice in his ear.


    "I need you to do me a favor."


    [A favor?]


    "I want to enter a B-rank Gate, but the government is restricting entry."


    [¡­ Don''t tell me you''re in Uijeongbu?]


    "I am."


    [And you want me to pull strings so you can enter the Gate?]


    "You can do it, can''t you? After all, you have a good rtionship with high government officials."


    [Haaa.]


    He could hear Yeon-Joo sigh.


    [Do you have to go in there no matter what?]


    "It''s important."


    There was a brief silence.


    Then Yeon-Joo clicked her tongue. [This is gonna cost you a lot.]


    "Don''t worry. I always repay my debts."


    [Yeah, yeah, I''m sure you do. You aren''t going to die at the hands of that variant monster, are you?]


    "You wouldn''t be providing me with support like this if I was."


    [¡­]


    Kang-Woo felt like he could hear Yeon-Joo calling him a prick inside her mind.


    [Gimme a second. There''s a soldier guarding the entrance, right? Put him on.]


    "Okay."


    Kang-Woo approached the soldier and handed him the phone.


    "Like I said, entry is currently restricted to all yers¡ª"


    "Cha Yeon-Joo of the Red Rose Guild would like to speak with you."


    "¡­ Pardon?" The soldier guarding the entrance took the call with an anxious expression.


    The reporters looked at Kang-Woo with dumbfounded expressions.


    "Cha Yeon-Joo¡­? No way, that Cha Yeon-Joo?"


    "Who is he? Was there someone like him in the Red Rose Guild?"


    Amid the noisy atmosphere, the call was carried out between the soldier and Yeon-Joo. After that, the flustered soldier guarding the entrance made some more calls and ultimately sighed.


    "¡­You have been authorized to enter the Gate, Mr. Oh Kang-Woo. You will enter the Gate as a variant monster investigator and will be obligated to disclose information regarding the variant monster in the case of its subjugation. Do you agree to the terms?" the soldier asked.


    After seeing that he was given authorization after just a few minutes, Kang-Woo smiled with satisfaction.


    "I do. I will investigate the variant monster right away so that the people may rest easy." Kang-Woo spoke words he didn''t mean.


    "Wow!"


    "Hey! Q-Quickly. Take a picture!"


    The reporters who could smell the breaking news focused their cameras on Kang-Woo and took photographs.


    "Since the Red Rose Guild received authorization, the same would naturally apply to us, correct?"


    A group of six people suddenly appeared, splitting the sea of reporters. The party of five men and one woman walked toward the Gate while ring at Kang-Woo.


    "It''s Kang Seong-Soo of the Mir Guild!"


    "The rookie who has been given full support from the Mir Guild?"


    "I''ve heard that it''s only been three months since he became a yer. He''s already hunting in a B-rank Gate?"


    It seemed that one of the six members was famous, considering how much of a fuss the people around them were making.


    Kang Seong-Soo, a young man with a ponytail, approached Kang-Woo. "Are you the one who''s been getting support from the Red Rose Guildtely?"


    He scanned Kang-Woo up and down. Kang-Woo''s eyebrow twitched slightly when he saw Seong-Soo re at him arrogantly.


    "I guess it''s true, judging from your Unique-grade equipment," Seong-Soo said with a smirk. Then he looked around. "What the hell? You don''t even have a single party member? Is this all the support the Red Rose Guild can give you?"


    Kang-Woo''s mouth twisted slightly.


    With a forced smile, he replied, "Haha. I prefer to hunt alone, so I haven''t asked for party members."


    "Hmph. From what I heard, you''ve been hunting in a C-rank Gate until recently¡­ Aren''t you taking B-rank Gates too lightly?"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure where Seong-Soo had heard about him, but Seong-Soo seemed to know quite a lot about him. It seemed like the news that Yeon-Joo was supporting him had spread quite fast.


    At present, Seong-Soo was deliberately trying to pick a fight with Kang-Woo.


    "Guys like you tend to die the quickest," Seong-Soo said.


    Kang-Woo''s smile was slowly disappearing. His patience was running thin as Seong-Soo continued to provoke him.


    "It seems you''re trying to get famous by killing the variant monster. Since when were Fourth Awakening yers so arrogant?" Seong-Soo asked.


    ''Seong-Soo,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    "Huh? How about you say something?"


    ''Don''t do this, Seong-Soo.''


    "Hahaha! What, did you be deaf?"


    ''Any more of this, and you''ll die.''


    It seemed that Kang-Woo''s silence only made Seong-Soo more excited.


    He put his arm around Kang-Woo''s neck and continued, "How about you join our party and investigate together? Isn''t it better than suffering a horrible death?"


    There was a heavy silence.


    A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face, and he nodded.


    "I''m not sure what to say to such generosity." Kang-Woo extended his hand toward Seong-Soo and requested a handshake. "Let us investigate the Gate together. To be honest with you, I was also a bit scared at the thought of going in alone."


    He looked at Seong-Soo''s party members with a kind smile.


    Kang-woo needed five prey for Buer to enter the Full Stomach state.


    ''That just leaves one.''


    The corners of Kang-Woo''s mouth curved up.

 Chapter 42 - That Just Leaves One (2)

    Chapter 42 - That Just Leaves One (2)


    "¡­ Huh?"


    Oh Kang-Woo epted so easily that Kang Seong-Soo didn''t know what to do.


    ''This isn''t how it was supposed to go.'' Seong-Soo seemed troubled by Kang-Woo''s unexpected response.


    The reason why he''d decided to pick a fight with Kang-Woo wasn''t just because he didn''t like him¡­ It wasn''t like he had anger management issues. There was no way he''d pick a fight with someone he had never met.


    ''I need to make him apleteughingstock in front of the reporters,'' Seong-Soo thought.


    He recalled the orders he''d received from Kim Yeong-Hun, the one who was supporting him.


    Back when Yeong-Hun received a report that the yer receiving the support of Cha Yeon-Joo had appeared at the B-rank Gate, he called Seong-Soo and ordered him to embarrass him publicly. The Mir Guild and the Red Rose Guild were rivals, so Yeong-Hun wanted Seong-Soo to provoke Kang-Woo and then make the reporters think that Seong-Soo was better than Kang-Woo.


    It was not yet widely known that Kang-Woo was receiving the support of Yeon-Joo, but since she had personally recruited him, it wasn''t a bad idea to take action ahead of time.


    ''One''s image can''t be easily changed once it''s imprinted into the minds of the public.''


    If they embarrassed Kang-Woo before he could fully grow, the negative image of being publicly humiliated would follow him into the future. Even if Kang-Woo became strong and famouster, most people would still think he was weaker than Seong-Soo. That''s how things worked with public opinion.


    ''But if he acts like this, I''ll only look like an asshole.''


    Seong-Soo looked at the brightly-smiling Kang-Woo with a troubled expression on his face.


    Flinch.


    ''Huh?''


    Seeing Kang-Woo''s smile made Seong-Soo flinch, and he felt a chill.


    ''What''s happening?''


    Seong-Soo ignored the sudden sense of uneasiness he was feeling and thought about how to deal with the current situation.


    "Ngh¡­" he groaned.


    He couldn''t think of any good ideas.


    The opponent had answered too politely. If Seong-Soo kept trying to pick a fight with him, the Mir Guild''s public image would crumble.


    It was only possible to p when the palms of a pair of hands faced each other. If one of the two opposing parties made an effort to avoid conflict, there was no way to create a dispute.


    ''Damn bootlicker.'' Seong-Soo frowned ufortably while looking at Kang-Woo.


    There was no way Kang-Woo didn''t know that Seong-Soo was trying to pick up a fight with him. Judging by Kang-Woo''s reaction, he was probably scared.


    ''Well, if he''s backing down just from this, he''s no big deal at all,'' Seong-Soo thought.


    He wasn''t sure why the Red Rose Guild had decided to support Kang-Woo, but since Kang-Woo was a coward, he probably wouldn''t be a danger to the Mir Guild in the future.


    Seong-Soo turned away from Kang-Woo and spoke to his party members, "¡­Haaa. Let''s go."


    They all looked at Kang-Woo disappointedly and followed Seong-Soo inside the gate.


    "Wow! Red Rose and Mir have joined forces!"


    "Alright. ''Two of the great guilds join forces to defeat the variant monster.'' Let''s go with this title!"


    Regardless of what the real situation was, the mass media reporters considered it an entertaining scoop that Kang-Woo and Seong-Soo had formed a party and entered the gate together. They expectantly looked at the party entering the gate.


    * * *


    The B-rank Gate where Minotaurs mainly appeared looked like abyrinth, and the walls were made of rocks. Because the rock wall reached the ceiling, it felt more like a dungeon than a Gate.


    After entering the gate, Kang-Woo turned to Seong-Soo''s party and said in a bright tone, "Right, then. Should we join forces and hunt the variant monster together?"


    Seong-Soo scowled at the sight of Kang-Woo''s carefree attitude. He spat on the ground and said, "Do you have no pride?"


    "I beg your pardon?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Hmph, I''m not sure if you''re acting dumb or you just have shit for brains¡­"


    "Seong-Soo oppa, just ignore him. I was a bit scared since he was apparently scouted by Cha Yeon-Joo personally, but he''s just a moron." The woman wearing a blue robe sighed.


    "I guess Cha Yeon-Joo has lost her mind. I can''t believe she would promise someone like this her full support¡­ Vice Guildmaster Kim Yeong-Hun really is the best."


    "Yeah. Not only is he a second-generation chaebol, but he''s also handsome and extremely capable."


    "Like father, like son. Our guild master is also a Ranker."


    "Haha. After all, the Mir Guild is the only guild that was built by a father and son who awakened together."


    The party praised the Mir Guild whilepletely ignoring Kang-Woo.


    Before awakening as a yer, the Mir Guild''s guild master, Kim Jae-Hyun, had been the CEO of Mir Electronics¡ªone of Korea''s leading conglomerates. When Gates first appeared five years ago, he awakened as a yer with his son, Kim Yeong-Hun. They then used the massive amount of wealth that Jae-Hyun acquired through Mir Electronics and became strong very quickly. That was how the Mir Guild was born.


    ''A guild made by a conglomerate, huh?'' Kang-Woo''s eyes shone with great interest as he silently followed behind the party. ''They must have a disgusting amount of money.''


    Arge guild earned a lot of money. If the earnings obtained by a big electronicspany were to be added to that, the amount of money they had was likely astronomical.


    ''Should I lead the two guilds into an all-out war against each other?''


    Kang-Woo would be able to profit a little in the process.


    "Hmm¡­" Kang-Woo shook his head after thinking about it for a while.


    ''I''d feel bad doing that to Cha Yeon-Joo.''


    He had already received so much support from her, so it would breach his morals if he instigated an all-out war between the two guilds.


    ''I''m sure the Red Rose Guild will be of use to me in the future.''


    Nevertheless, this was the bigger reason than the breach of morals. Pushing the Red Rose Guild into a war against the Mir Guild for immediate profit would be like cutting open a goose thatid golden eggs.


    "That aside, where''s the variant monster?" Seong-Soo questioned angrily.


    He was looking around at the surroundingbyrinthine passageways.


    "First, let''s just walk around," Kang-Woo said while walking carefreely from the back.


    "Hmph, isn''t that obvious? You''re dumber than I thought."


    "Hahaha, my apologies." Kang-Woo smiled like a moron and looked at Seong-Soo''s party from behind.


    ''Seong-Soo.''


    However, Kang-Woo''s inner thoughts werepletely different from his smiling face.


    ''Are you sure you can handle this, Seong-Soo?''


    He used the Authority of the Beholder to search for the Buer and felt its presence nearby.


    ''It''s not in its Full Stomach state.''


    The Buer was wandering around violently, searching for prey.


    ''Authority of Temptation.''


    Kang-Woo used an Authority to spread the scent of delicious prey.


    "Hmm? Do you guys smell something?"


    "Yes. A mouth-watering smell¡­"


    Seong-Soo and the rest of the party looked around for the source of the scent as it permeated the passageway.


    ''Here ites,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    He sensed the Buer was approaching. It was smashing the stone walls to get to them.


    Kang-Woo took a few steps away from the party and waited for the Buer to appear.


    Rumble!!!


    "Huh? Wh-What''s happening?"


    "Something''s approaching us!"


    "Prepare for battle!" Seong-Soo ordered the other party members after sensing the variant monster approach. Then he said to Kang-Woo, "You''d better stay the hell out of our way. Don''t even dare try to say that you helped us hunt itter."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Wooughed. Even in that situation, Seong-Soo didn''t forget to insult him.


    ''You''re the master of death gs, man.''


    Kang-Woo didn''t think that Seong-Soo''s party could win against the Buer. A starved Buer was so strong that the average demonic beast of the Third Hell would be no match against it. Even Mun Yeong-Ho, a Seventh Awakening yer, would probably struggle against it.


    As for Seong-Soo, it had only been three months since he became a yer. There was no way he would be able to win against it.


    Boom!!


    "ROOAARR!!"


    "Here ites!"


    Seong-Soo took his spear out and prepared for battle.


    ''A variant monster is nothing,'' he thought.


    On his First Awakening, Seong-Soo had gotten an A-rank attribute. Furthermore, he had managed to achieve his Fifth Awakening only three months after bing a yer. The only yers who had managed to grow faster than him were monsters like Baek Kang-Hyun and Cha Yeon-Joo. That''s how sure Seong-Soo was about his abilities.


    "Guys like you tend to die the quickest."


    Those were the words Seong-Soo had said to provoke Kang-Woo. The problem was that those words hadn''te out of Seong-Soo''s mouth this time.


    "What did you say?" Seong-Soo turned his head around to Kang-Woo in annoyance.


    It was clear those words had emerged from the mouth of Kang-Woo, who had remained silent like a coward until then.


    Kang-Woo had his arms crossed, and there was a deep smile on his face. It wasn''t the dumb smile he had disyed until recently but a very chilling one filled with bloodlust.


    "Are you fucking insa¡ª"


    "Seong-Soo," Kang-Woo interjected.


    "¡­ What?"


    "Stop with the death gs, man. Are you a g dealer? You keep adding new ones by the second. What are you gonna do next? Are you gonna take out a picture of your lover and say that you''re gonna propose to her when this is over?"


    "What the hell are you talking ab¡ª"


    Crush!


    "AARRGG!!"


    While Seong-Soo was distracted by Kang-Woo, the Buer destroyed the wall and attacked one of his party members. The tank yer''s shield was destroyed in one blow, and he was sent flying.


    "What the¡­?!" Seong-Soo became wide-eyed in shock after seeing the Buer''s strength, which was far beyond what he had imagined.


    The Buer moved its five legs toward the tank yer, who had been pushed back, and devoured him with its giant mouth.


    Crunch!


    Dark red blood gushed out of the tank''s body. He was devoured with his armor still on him.


    "Kuh!"


    Seong-Soo didn''t have time to care about Kang-Woo anymore. He grabbed his spear and leaped toward the Buer.


    "Haaaaap!"


    Mana gathered on the tip of his spear and shone with a blue light. Seong-Soo stepped forward and aggressively thrust his spear toward the Buer. There was a sh of light as the spear turned into a light ray shooting toward the Buer''s head. However, the Buer just waved its arm and brushed off Seong-Soo''s attack.


    Crack! Seong-Soo''s spear was broken into two all too easily.


    Pushed back by the Buer''s enormous power, Seong-Soo went tumbling to the ground.


    "Huh¡­?" Seong-Soo looked confusedly at the Buer after he was smacked aside with just one blow.


    The unsettling feeling that something was going horribly wrong surged within him.

 Chapter 43 - That Just Leaves One (3)

    Chapter 43 - That Just Leaves One (3)


    "Graaaahhhh!!" The Buer''s roar shook the entire passageway.


    The demonic beast with a lion''s head and five legs swallowed its saliva while looking hungrily at its prey. A delicious scent that it had never smelled before was wafting through the air from its prey.


    The Buer opened its mouth and leaped toward them.


    "Wh-What is this monster?!"


    "B-Block!"


    With fearful expressions, the party members took out their weapons. However, the Buer was so strong that it had taken out the party''s tank with just one attack. There was no way that the remaining party members could block the Buer''s attacks.


    Crunch!!


    "AARGG!! S-Save me!!"


    The Buer bit the sword-wielding yer''s lower body. The sword-wielder frantically stabbed the Buer with his sword to make it release him, but he couldn''t get away from the sheer power of the Buer''s jaws.


    The Buer''s bite split the sword-wielder into two, causing his organs to spill out.


    "A-Ahhhh¡­"


    Kang Seong-Soo''s party members looked at the Buer with desperate expressions. It was a monster¡­ a predator that devoured humans.


    Normally, when yers faced monsters for the first time, they instinctively saw the creatur as predators and were afraid of them. However, as yers hunted and leveled up, that fear became weaker.


    Seong-Soo''s party had grown fast without experiencing dangerous situations, so they''d quickly forgotten about that fear. For them, monsters had been nothing more than beings who gave them experience points and money.


    Yet, they were now filled with a fear they''d forgotten.


    "Wh-What are you doing?! Attack!" Seong-Soo, who had lost his weapon, shouted at his party members.


    Nevertheless, they struggled to take action. Their fear was devouring their rationality.


    When the Buer saw that its prey were scared, it roared, "Graaaahhhh!"


    Then the Buer aimed its foot, which had especially sharp ws, at the yer who was wielding a greatsword.


    "Urgh!"


    The yer raised his greatsword reflexively to defend himself, but the Buer''s ws cleaved the greatsword in half and impaled the yer''s skull.


    "AARRGGHH!!!"


    Crack. Crunch.


    Then the Buer pulled its ws downward, ripping all the way through the yer''s skull and into his ribs. A fountain of blood sprayed out as the yer''s ribs broke and cracked open with a horrifying sound.


    The Buer devoured the screaming yer whole.


    "S-Seok-Hyun!" a yer wielding a rapier shouted.


    He thrust the rapier at the Buer, but the rapier wasn''t properly imbued with mana, so it failed to pierce the Buer''s thick skin and broke. The Buer''s long tongue instantly enveloped the rapier-wielding yer like a snake, constricting him until he exploded.


    Upon seeing the horrible sight, the woman in the blue robe stopped casting magic.


    Instead, she let out a shriek, "E-Eek!"


    With a pale face, she turned around and began to run. "S-Save me!!"


    She ran past Seong-Soo, heading toward the passageway''s exit. The Buer turned its head and saw that its prey was running away.


    "GRRRR," the Buer growled.


    Its iparably sharp ws elongated swiftly, doing so until they pierced through the robed woman from the back.


    "Cough!"


    The woman looked down at the monster''s ws in disbelief, seemingly unable to believe that they had pierced through her. Red blood poured out of her mouth.


    Crunch, crunch.


    The fifth prey disappeared into the Buer''s mouth.


    "Wh-Wha¡­ What in the world¡­" Seong-Soo crumbled onto the ground after watching his party members get devoured.


    His pants became wet, and he looked at the Buer fearfully. Seong-Soo thought that he too would also be devoured soon.


    "Huh¡­?"


    Yet, unlike what he was expecting to happen, the Buer didn''t attack him.


    Instead of charging at him, the Buer yawned and curled up into a ball as if it had finished hunting for the day.


    "It''s full," Oh Kang-Woo stated.


    "What are you¡­" Seong-Soo looked confusedly at Kang-Woo, who was calmly walking toward the monster.


    Kang-Woo smirked and extended his right hand toward the Buer.


    He exined, "Once a Buer is full, it won''t attack you unless you attack it first."


    It was quite easy to deal with a Buer that was full. The Buer just needed to be killed with the very first attack that it permitted before it would attack again.


    Demonic energy began gathering in Kang-Woo''s hand.


    "Bident," he said.


    The technique Bident had been named after the two-pronged spear of a certain ruler of the underworld in Greek mythology. The Authority of Dark Spears and the Authority of Hellfire had to bebined to use Bident, so it was a technique that only Kang-Woo could use.


    An intense hellfire began burning at one end of the two-pronged spear. It was a technique that required quite a bit of time to prepare because he had tobine two different Authorities, but that didn''t matter in the current situation.


    Riiing.


    [You have learned the skill Bident (Rank: S).]


    [Techniques registered as skills can be used more easily and precisely.]


    When a message window popped up saying that he had learned a new skill, the demonic spear in his hand was enveloped in hellfire. A terrifying amount of demonic energy spewed out of it.


    Kang-Woo threw the spear at the Buer, who was still curled up.


    Rumble!


    The spear emitted such great power that it shook its surroundings, making it seem like there was an earthquake.


    "ROOAARR!!"


    Because the Buer was in the Full Stomach state, it had received the attack head-on without taking a defensive stance. The two-pronged spear pierced the Buer''s thick skin, and the hellfire within it exploded from the inside. Even the strongest monster of the Second Hell wouldn''t be able to handle such a powerful attack whilepletely defenseless.


    Riiing.


    [You have sessfully eliminated the B-rank Rift Fragment.]


    [Your level has risen by 6.]


    [You have reached Level 40 and have unlocked your Fifth Awakening Trait.]


    [The upper limit of bonus stat rewards for leveling up has risen. Demonic Energy has risen by 7.]


    [Demonic Energy stat has reached 60. One of the conditions required to achieve the Ultimate Demonic Body has been fulfilled (1/3).]


    As the Buer fell, Kang-Woo heard the chime of a bell, and blue message windows appeared in front of him.


    ''What the hell is this Ultimate Demonic Body?''


    Kang-Woo tilted his head at the unexpected message.


    ''Sounds like something out of a martial arts novel.''


    After reading that weird-sounding name, Kang-Woo opened his status window to check for more details about it.


    [Information]


    [Ultimate Demonic Body: The first step to bing a Demon God.


    *Condition 1: Demonic Energy stat reaches 60.


    *Condition 2: ???


    *Condition 3: ???]


    ''What''s up with this uninformative description?''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    The information window didn''t say anything about what the Ultimate Demonic Body was and what effects it had. Nor did it mention what the other two conditions were.


    ''It says that it''s the first step to bing a Demon God, so I don''t think it''s a bad thing.''


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo already had some idea about the massive amount of power that he would probably be able to obtain by achieving the Ultimate Demonic Body.


    ''I''ve never seen anything like this even in Hell.''


    He had never gotten anything like an Ultimate Demonic Body before, even when he became the lord of the Nine Hells.


    Kang-Woo looked at the information window with great interest.


    ''I guess this more or less confirms my previous hypothesis.''


    He was now sure that his suspicions were true; he could get even stronger than when he had been in Hell as long as he kept leveling up as a yer.


    ''I''ll be able to be a god.''


    He wasn''t sure what kind of power he would obtain as an existence that surpassed a demon king¡­ but the thought of it made his heart race excitedly.


    "I thought that I no longer had the desire to be stronger, but I guess I was wrong."


    Having the body of a demon strengthened one''s desire for power. Kang-Woo had already be as strong as he could be in Hell, so he''d thought that he no longer had such desires. Nheless, after getting a hint about how to reach new heights, he was once again filled with an intense desire to be more powerful.


    ''First, I should devour the Buer''s corpse.''


    Kang-Woo needed the demonic energy inside the Buer to cool down his desire for power a bit. He technically had to conserve the corpse since he had entered the Gate as a variant monster investigator, but he had no reason to give up an immediate profit for the government.


    ''Leaving the head should be enough.''


    Kang-Woo could just say that the rest of the body had been destroyed during the battle.


    He walked toward the Buer''s corpse and activated the Authority of Predation. ck smoke emerged from Kang-Woo and covered the corpse.


    Chomp. Crunch.


    As the flesh of the corpse was torn apart, the demonic energy of the Buer started to enter Kang-Woo''s body.


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 4.]


    ''As expected, demonic beasts give a lot more demonic energy.''


    The fact that Kang-Woo''s demonic energy stat had increased by four after reaching 60 meant that the Buer had possessed a massive amount of demonic energy.


    ''Oh. Come to think of it, I haven''t checked my new Trait yet.''


    He''d been so distracted with the Ultimate Demonic Body that he had forgotten to check the new Trait that he''d acquired with his Fifth Awakening.


    Just as Kang-Woo was about to open his status window and check the Trait, he heard Seong-Soo''s fearful voice.


    "Wh-What the hell are you?" Seong-Soo trembled as he looked at Kang-Woo as if he were a monster.


    Kang-Woo had eliminated the monster that had killed each of Seong-Soo''s party members with just one attack, so it was unsurprising that Seong-Soo would react like that.


    "Oh, right. There was still one left," Kang-Woo remarked.


    He walked toward Seong-Soo with a grin.


    "E-Eek! S-Stay away!"


    Seong-Soo pathetically crawled backward, but Kang-Woo continued to walk toward him slowly.


    "How unexpected. I was sure you would be the first one to die."


    "D-Don''te any closer!"


    "You''re hurting my feelings. Aren''t we party members?" Kang-Woo said.


    He crouched down next to Seong-Soo and ced his hand on Seong-Soo''s shoulder.


    "A-Are you going to kill me?" Seong-Soo asked with a voice filled with fear.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened in shock as if he wasn''t sure why Seong-Soo was asking something like that.


    "What are you talking about? There''s no way I would kill a party member," Kang-Woo replied.


    "¡­"


    "You seem to be misunderstanding something. I''m not that horrible of a person, Seong-Soo." Kang-Woo smiled and ced his hand on top of Seong-Soo''s head. "There''s still something you have to do, so you can''t die yet."

 Chapter 44 - Kang-Woos Tears (1)

    Chapter 44 - Kang-Woo''s Tears (1)


    "S-Something I have to do?" Kang Seong-Soo looked at Oh Kang-Woo fearfully.


    Kang-Woo lightly patted his back and let out augh. "Now, now, you don''t need to be so scared. First, there are some things I want to ask you."


    "U-Urghhh¡­"


    "Who ordered you to pick a fight with me?"


    Kang-Woo didn''t think that Seong-Soo had made those provocations of his own volition. Seong-Soo had no real reason to do that to Kang-Woo.


    Seong-Soo lowered his head with his mouth closed.


    Then, Kang-Woo kicked Seong-Soo''s head as if it were a football.


    Smash!


    "Kurgh!!" Seong-Soo groaned in pain.


    His front teeth broke from the impact of the blow, and blood dripped from his mouth. Then, Kang-Woo ced his hand on the shoulder of Seong-Soo, who had fallen and was now trembling on the ground.


    "Now, let¡¯s try this again. Who gave you the order?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "K-Kim Yeong-Hun¡­"


    "Kim Yeong-Hun?"


    That was the name of the Mir Guild''s vice guild master. Seong-Soo''s party had mentioned him before.


    ''The handsome and capable second-generation chaebol?''


    Kang-Woo didn''t understand why someone like that would try to pick a fight with him.


    "Y-Yeong-Hun was once coldly turned down by Cha Yeon-Joo. He has resented the Red Rose Guild ever since that day."


    ¡°So, he made you pick a fight with me because I¡¯ve been getting support from the Red Rose Guild?¡±


    "T-That''s not all. He said that¡­ we need to make sure people think that the Mir Guild is superior to the Red Rose Guild."


    "Hah, he''s more pathetic than I thought."


    Kang-Woo stood up whileughing.


    He had been wondering what kind of person Kim Yeong-Hun was since the woman in the blue robe had spoken so highly of him, but he turned out to be nothing impressive.


    "Do you have a picture of him?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "I-I do."


    Seong-Soo took out his smartphone and showed Kang-Woo a photo of a handsome young man.


    ''Huh?'' Kang-Woo tilted his head.


    Even though it was the first time seeing Yeong-Hun, he reminded Kang-Woo of someone.


    ''Kim Si-Hun?''


    The person in the photo reminded Kang-Woo of Kim Si-Hun.


    ''Is it because they''re both good-looking?''


    Based purely on looks, Si-Hun was the more attractive one.


    Kang-Woo didn''t think about it too deeply and returned the smartphone to Seong-Soo.


    "So, what you¡¯re saying is that I just happened to be dragged into the middle of this pathetic guy¡¯s revenge plot?" Kang-Woo questioned.


    Seong-Soo bowed down and said desperately, "I-I''m sorry! I-I had no choice either since I was ordered to!"


    Kang-Woo burst intoughter while looking at him. "Even if I take that into consideration, you seemed like you were really into it."


    "Th-That¡¯s¡­"


    "Oh, it¡¯s all good. Life is all about helping others, right? I don''t mind, as long as you do exactly as I ask you to."


    "I-I will do anything you ask!"


    "Hahaha. Don''t worry. It¡¯s not too difficult. Rather, it might actually be good for you."


    "¡­?" Seong-Soo gazed at Kang-Woo confusedly.


    Kang-Woo, on the other hand, had a big smile as he looked down at Seong-Soo.


    * * *


    Mumble.


    "Everyone, quiet! Quiet down, please!"


    Many reporters had caught the emergence of some breaking news and gathered in front of the Gate where the variant monster had appeared. The soldiers shouted at them and asked for silence several times, but themotion didn''t subside.


    There was a new existence, a variant monster that hadn''t been seen before¡­ and to catch it, the Red Rose and Mir guilds had joined forces!


    The reporters were thirsty for more details about this breaking news, so they were waiting and staring intensely at the Gate.


    "Huh?"


    "Th-They¡¯reing out!!"


    The reporters suddenly saw two people walk out of the Gate. To be precise, Kang-Woo walked while supporting and carrying Seong-Soo out.


    "That¡¯s¡­"


    "Kang Seong-Soo and the person named Oh Kang-Woo!"


    "What about the other party members?"


    "Did they defeat the variant monster?"


    A murmur arose among the crowd as they saw the pair exit the Gate.


    "Wh-What happened in there?" the reporters asked Kang-Woo, shoving mics into his face.


    Kang-Woo just ignored them and shouted hurriedly, "C-Call an ambnce, please!"


    He thenid Seong-Soo down.


    "Gasp!"


    Some people screamed in horror after seeing the horrible state that Seong-Soo was in. His face was covered in so much blood that it was hard to recognize him, and his body was full of wounds as if a group of people had beaten him up.


    "Ah, gah, h-help me¡­" Seong-Soo groaned in agony.


    He reached out with a trembling hand, asking for someone to save him.


    "H-How did this happen?" someone asked.


    The people who saw Seong-Soo were stunned by his terrible state. The only way to describe it was that it was horrifying.


    Everyone looked at Kang-Woo for answers.


    He clenched his fists in frustration and exined, "He was hurt while¡­ fighting the variant monster."


    "Th-Then, are the rest of the party members¡­"


    "That¡¯s right. Only Seong-Soo and I survived¡­ Everyone else¡­ is dead," Kang-Woo said while biting his lips with a stiff expression.


    The crowd talked among themselves after hearing that everyone except Kang-Woo and Seong-Soo had died.


    "D-Don''t tell me¡­ the subjugation failed even after the rookies of Red Rose and Mir joined forces?"


    "Just how strong is the variant monster?"


    "W-We have to quickly call the Hwarang Corps and have them dispatch their elite force!"


    Some people began panicking after finding out that two rookies who were being supported byrge guilds hadn''t been able to defeat the variant monster. It was obvious what sort of atrocity would ur if the variant monster were left alive and allowed to emerge from the Gate.


    Kang-Woo answered softly, "You don''t have to worry about that. We¡¯ve defeated the variant monster. It''s just that¡­ many people had to be sacrificed in the process."


    "Wow!"


    "Were you the one to defeat it?!"


    Everyone around Kang-Woo eximed excitedly upon hearing the news that the variant monster had been defeated.


    "No, I''m not the one who killed the variant monster," Kang-Woo stated, shaking his head.


    "Then¡­"


    "The hero who killed the variant monster and saved my life was Mr. Kang Seong-Soo."


    "Ah!" the crowd gasped.


    Kang-Woo ced his hands on top of Seong-Soo, who was breathing with great difficulty.


    "After watching his entire party get wiped out in the fight against the variant monster, he shouted at me to escape while he stayed behind to fight," Kang-Woo continued with a heavy voice. "I couldn''t bring myself to escape and witnessed his battle to the very end. He ultimately defeated the variant monster. It was truly a heroic and desperate battle."


    "¡­"


    "After killing the variant monster, Seong-Soo kept mumbling the names of his deceased party members until he lost consciousness."


    The crowd looked at Seong-Soo with tearful expressions while Kang-Woo told the story of the yer who had risked his life to fight off the variant monster. Hearing that Seong-Soo had mumbled the names of his party members before he lost consciousness was enough to move the crowd to tears.


    The reporters who loved heroic tales had bright eyes.


    "Could you give us a bit more detail?"


    They pushed their mics even closer to Kang-Woo. Their attention was no longer on Seong-Soo, who was panting painfully on the ground. For them, it didn''t matter if Seong-Soo was about to die. All that mattered to them was the news; they wanted a story that was capable of moving people.


    "Right from the moment we entered the Gate, we felt a suffocatingly powerful bloodlust."


    "Meaning¡­?"


    "Yes, the variant monster was roaming around near the entrance."


    The reporters gulped.


    "A chill ran down all of our spines the moment we saw that monster. It was so strong that it was hard to believe it had appeared in a B-rank Gate."


    "What did it look like?"


    "Just like the government described it. It was a monster with a lion''s head and five legs. One of Seong-Soo''s party members was killed with just one blow."


    "What¡­ O-One blow?"


    "How could that be?"


    The other party members might not have been as strong as Seong-Soo, but they had still been fairly strong yers. After all, they had been a party of talented people whom the Mir Guild had gathered and supported.


    "As soon as we realized that we were no match for it, we wanted to flee. But if we escaped through the Gate, there was a chance that the monster would follow us out and wreak havoc out here, hurting hundreds of innocent people."


    "¡­Gulp."


    Kang-Woo had spoken at a low volume, and the tense and desperate tone he''d used made the reporters so nervous that they gulped. They gripped their microphones tighter and listened to Kang-Woo''s story even more carefully.


    "Seong-Soo stepped up and shouted that innocent people could be hurt if we didn¡¯t stop the monster here."


    "Ah¡­"


    "Then Seong-Soo and I fought against the monster with everything we had, but¡­ the losses were too great. After that, everything went as I previously mentioned. In the end, Seong-Soo risked his life to deal the finishing blow to the variant monster."


    "Ohhh¡­"


    The reporters were in awe at the heroic attitude of Seong-Soo.


    However, one reporter asked Kang-Woo a question, "But Mr. Kang Seong-Soo was quite aggressive toward you in the beginning. What do you think about that?"


    That questionpletely killed the awe-inspiring mood.


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo easily answered, "Seong-Soo exined to me the reason for that after we entered the Gate. After hearing that it had not been long since I¡¯d begun receiving support from the Red Rose Guild, he was worried that I was entering a B-rank Gate too soon. What was even more worrying than that was that I had to fight against a variant monster. So, he had acted like that on purpose to discourage me from going."


    "Oh! I see."


    "I had no idea about the deep meaning behind his actions¡­" Tears dripped from Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes. "He is my savior, as well as the true hero of this era."


    * * *


    [A hero defeats the variant monster!]


    [A dramatic battle, and the reason why he fought until the end¡­]


    [Mir Guild''s rookie Kang Seong-Soo was immediately taken to the hospital but still has not regained consciousness. People have donated over 30 million won for¡­]


    [The hero fails to wake. In a vegetative state due to internal hemorrhaging¡­ The Mir Guild announces that they will pay for Kang Seong-Soo¡¯s medical bills.]


    [Yet another star loses its light.]

 Chapter 45 - Echidna (1)

    Chapter 45 - Echidna (1)


    "What a reaction¡­"


    Cha Yeon-Joo looked at all the headlines about Kang Seong-Soo.


    Oh Kang-Woo, who was sitting in front of her, shrugged as if it was no big deal.


    "It''s because I threw them good bait," he said.


    Since the beginning of human history, people have always liked heroic tales. The public was fascinated by them, and Seong-Soo''s story seemed just like one.


    "You¡­ faked those tears during the interview, didn''t you?"


    "Yup."


    "Why go that far?"


    "Because it''s more moving that way," Kang-Woo replied and took a sip of coffee. "Kang Seong-Soo had to get their attention so I could stay off the radar for a bit longer."


    If Kang-Woo got famous, things could get quite bothersome for him. He would have revealed to the public that he was the one who had killed the variant monster if there were something he could gain by bing famous. However, there was absolutely nothing in it for him to be famous at this time.


    ''It''ll do more harm than good.''


    If the public''s attention were centered on him, he would have to be careful with his actions. That was especially bothersome for someone like Kang-Woo, who didn''t care about doing anything illegal as long as it benefited him. Kang-Woo didn''t want to suffer because of unexpected circumstances.


    ''I''m sure I won''t be able to hide forever, though.''


    If he were to continue getting stronger, it was inevitable that others would notice him.


    ''I can think about thatter on.''


    If there were nothing he could do about it, he would probably try to find ways to profit from that newly obtained fame.


    Kang-Woo put down the cup of coffee and looked at Yeon-Joo.


    Yeon-Joo sighed and asked, "So, what actually happened inside the Gate?"


    Right from the start, she hadn''t thought that Kang-Woo would lose against the variant monster. After all, he was someone that had easily won a fight against a high-ranking yer of the Red Rose Guild. Even if the variant monster was strong, it probably wouldn''t be able to win against Kang-Woo.


    "Nothing much. Kang Seong-Soo''s party fought the monster first. Then I defeated it."


    "But was Kang Seong-Soo really beaten up by the variant monster?"


    "Yeah."


    "The marks on his face were clearly done by a person."


    "There''s no way that could have happened. I''m sure you''re mistaken," Kang-Woo answered calmly.


    Yeon-Joo looked at him with a troubled expression. She couldn''t help but feel anxious whenever she talked to him. He was someone who had talent far beyond her expectations. The problem was that he was capable of ignoring societal moral standards without hesitation for his own benefit.


    ''Am I raising a tiger cub?'' she thought worriedly.


    Yeon-Joo ultimately shook her head and continued the conversation. "Hmm. First, tell me more about that variant monster."


    This was why she had called Kang-Woo over. She wanted more information on the variant monster.


    Kang-Woo nodded and proceeded to tell her more about the Buer. Of course, he didn''t tell her about its Full Stomach characteristic.


    "For a monster like that to appear in a B-rank Gate¡­" Yeon-Joo held her head with aplicated expression.


    ording to Kang-Woo, the Buer was a strong monster¡ªso much so that it was hard to believe it had appeared in a B-rank Gate.


    ''It''s at least an A-rank monster,'' Yeon-Joo remarked inwardly.


    The Buer was likely to be an elite A-rank monster. There was a massive gap in strength between monsters of even a single rank difference, so the difference in power between the Buer and the monsters in the B-rank Gate couldn¡¯t be taken lightly.


    ''Too many weird things have been happeningtely.''


    The demon cult had suddenly be more active, and even a variant monster had appeared. The world had been slowly but surely achieving a state of normalization throughout the five years after the Day of Cmity, but now things were once again bing chaotic.


    ''Come to think of it, the timeframe in which weird things started to happen and the time when Kang-Woo awakened as a yer are simr.''


    It was hard to believe, but it had only been a month since Kang-Woo had awakened as a yer. It had been within this period that the demon cult suddenly became more active, and strong monsters that didn''t match the ranks of their Gates started to appear.


    ''I''m sure it''s just a coincidence.'' Yeon-Joo shook her head after looking at Kang-Woo for a little while.


    It was true that Kang-Woo was growing at an unprecedented pace, but that didn''t mean it had something to do with the demon cult or the sudden appearance of variant monsters. She couldn''t me him for something without evidence.


    ''Moreover¡­''


    Yeon-Joo watched Kang-Woo silently drink a cup of coffee.


    Even though she did not see Kang-Woo as a kind and generous person, she didn''t think he was a psychopath like the members of the Demon Cult, who used people as offerings.


    ''He isn''t that level of human garbage.''


    At least, that was what Yeon-Joo wanted to believe.


    ''Either way, we''re in the same boat now.''


    After the incident with Seong-Soo, it was publicly known that the Red Rose Guild was supporting the rookie Oh Kang-Woo. Of course, the news about that had been buried by the heroic tales of Seong-Soo, but anyone could probably find out about it easily if they wanted to. This meant that everyone knew that there was an alliance between them.


    Yeon-Joo didn''t want her guild''s rtionship with Kang-Woo to crumble just because she was suspicious of him.


    "What are you thinking about for so long?"


    "Oh¡­ Nothing much."


    "There''s something I wanted to ask you."


    "What is it about?" Yeon-Joo tilted her head and looked at Kang-Woo.


    "Have you heard of a Rift Fragment?" Kang-Woo asked.


    His question was about the words that had appeared in the message window that had appeared after he killed the demonic beast. He wanted to know if Yeon-Joo knew anything about it.


    "No. It''s my first time hearing about something like that."


    "Hmm¡­ I see."


    "What is it?"


    "After I killed the variant monster, I got a message saying that I had defeated a B-rank Rift Fragment."


    "Hmm." Yeon-Joo nodded with a bright and curious gaze. "Okay. I''ll try looking into those Rift Fragments."


    Kang-Woo nodded and continued, "One more thing."


    "Shoot."


    "When are you going to give me details about your request?"


    "Ugh¡­" Yeon-Joo''s expression darkened the moment Yeon-Joo heard the word request.


    Kang-Woo said calmly, "I''m sure you''re aware of it, but we''ve entered a definitive alliance. However, there''s an issue that hasn''t been resolved between us."


    "¡­"


    "Wouldn''t it be troublesome for you if I rejected the request after you''ve invested so heavily in me?"


    "Yeah¡­."


    "Don''t worry. I won''t reject it unless it''s somethingpletely outrageous. I want to maintain our current rtionship too," Kang-Woo said, leaning back in his chair. "So, isn''t it about time you tell me?"


    Yeon-Joo sighed.


    After thinking about it for a while, she yielded with an expression that seemed to say there was nothing she could do about it.


    She began, "There''s an organization called the Demon Cult."


    "¡­"


    "We are still unsure about this organization''s size and how long they''ve been operating, but they suddenly became more active recently."


    "And¡­?"


    "They''re lunatics who perform weird rituals with live humans as sacrifices. Our guild is coborating with the government to catch them."


    "So, that request..."


    "I was nning to ask you to help us eliminate the Demon Cult once we find their location. We don''t have solid evidence yet¡­ but they''re too powerful for us to brush them off as simply a cult made up of crazy people."


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence between them.


    Kang-Woo finally understood why Yeon-Joo was trying to gather as many strong people as possible, even if she had to make those proposals personally in spite of her high status as the guild master of a major guild.


    ''So, she''s nning to wage an all-out war against the Demon Cult,'' Kang-Woo realized.


    It was no surprise that the Red Rose Guild, one of thergest guilds in Korea, knew about the Demon Cult''s existence, considering that the government was already investigating the Demon Cult.


    ''Not bad.''


    No, this situation was much better than not bad. Kang-Woo was already trying to hunt down the Demon Cult, so being able to do it with the help of arge guild and the government was the ideal situation. Moreover, Kang-Woo would definitely need their help if the Demon Cult was strong enough for even Yeon-Joo to be wary of them.


    ''The only thing I don''t understand is...''


    Kang-Woo frowned slightly and asked, "But why are you trying to get rid of the Demon Cult? Is it just because of a moral sense of responsibility?"


    Yeon-Joo remained silent after hearing the sharp question.


    Kang-Woo could understand why the government was trying to hunt down the demon cult, seeing as it had the duty of protecting its country and its people.


    However, Yeon-Joo was different. She wasn¡¯t some hero of justice. She had no reason to put so much effort into getting rid of the Demon Cult.


    Of course, any ordinary person wouldn''t approve of the Demon Cult''s lunacy. Nevertheless, Yeon-Joo was in charge of a guild; she couldn''t just mobilize an entire guild because of her sense of justice.


    ''And it''s not like she can benefit from them the way I can.''


    In Kang-Woo''s case, he would be able to obtain lots of demonic energy through the Demon Cult''s ritual. However, that wasn''t the case for Yeon-Joo, so she had even less of a reason to face them.


    "It''s not like I''m doing it for charity. The government promised us a huge reward for eliminating the Demon Cult."


    "Ah, so that''s your objec¡ª"


    "And there''s one more reason," Yeon-Joo said quietly, interrupting Kang-Woo.


    She emitted a strong wave of bloodlust. It was suffocating and seemed to fill the room in the form of a thick invisible liquid.


    ''She''s stupidly strong.''


    Kang-Woo was impressed by Yeon-Joo''s strong bloodlust. It was the first time he''d felt her power from such a short distance.


    ''So, this is a Ranker.''


    Now that he had gotten even stronger after achieving his Fifth Awakening, Kang-Woo had a great desire to fight Yeon-Joo. It took him some effort, but he managed to suppress that desire.


    "One of the people they sacrificed was a member of our guild," Yeon-Joo said.


    "¡­"


    "I can''t forgive them, no matter what," she stated while still emitting her terrifying bloodlust.


    ''It must''ve been someone dear to her,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    It wasn''t hard to guess that based on her reaction.


    Kang-Woo nodded and spoke in a serious tone, "Okay, I''ll ept the request."


    "Thanks."


    "I told you. I always repay my debts."


    After saying that, Kang-Woo changed topics. "Putting that aside, what about the favor that I asked of youst time?"


    Yeon-Joo had called Kang-Woo here to get information about the variant monster, but he hade here because he needed to get something from her.


    "I got it," Yeon-Joo replied.


    She took out a card from the drawer and handed it to him. The card had his picture and the words S-rank Gate Temporary ess Permit printed on it.


    "I''m going to ask again, just in case. You''re not nning to hunt there, right? If you are, I can''t give you this," Yeon-Joo said.


    "I already told you many times that I don''t n to do so," Kang-Woo replied.


    "Then why in the world do you want to enter an S-rank Gate?"


    "There''s something I have to do there," Kang-Woo said with a smile.


    He grabbed the S-rank Gate ess permit, ced it in his pocket, and walked out of the Red Rose Guild building.


    While walking to the parking lot, he opened his status window.


    ''I can finally use this.''


    His status window showed him the new Trait that he had obtained with his Fifth Awakening.

 Chapter 46 - Echidna (2)

    Chapter 46 - Echidna (2)


    [Fifth Awakening Trait: Demonic Beast Summoning (Rank: S)]


    [Effect: The yer can summon demonic beasts from another dimension. The power of the summoned demonic beast will depend on the amount of demonic energy used for the summoning.


    *The summoned demonic beast will recognize you as its master.


    *You can summon one demonic beast every three months.]


    ''I can finally use this.''


    Oh Kang-Woo looked at the description of his newly obtained Trait with great anticipation. It was a Trait that allowed him to summon a demonic beast. However, the true value of the Trait depended on the summoned demonic beast.


    ''Summoning a Buer would be more than good enough¡­''


    A Buer was almost as strong as an average Seventh Awakening yer.


    ''But it would be a bitckluster.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes were full of desire. He could summon only one demonic beast every three months. Given the current situation, he needed to try summoning the strongest demonic beast that could be summoned.


    "That''s why I got this."


    Kang-Woo touched the S-rank Gate ess permit in his pocket.


    There was only one reason why he hadn''t immediately summoned a demonic beast and had instead waited for the S-rank Gate ess permit.


    ''The Rift Fragments appear inside Gates.''


    It wasn''t just the Rift Fragments; Kang-Woo had also returned to Earth indirectly through a Gate.


    ''Maybe Gates are some sort of bridge that connects Earth to other dimensions.''


    That was the only possible way to exin why demonic beasts appeared inside Gates and not on Earth itself.


    ''And the higher the Gate''s rank, the stronger the demonic beast.''


    That was something Kang-Woo had confirmed after killing the Buer. Of course, that didn''t exin why he, the strongest being in Hell, had appeared in an E-rank Gate.


    ''No, maybe it does make sense.''


    Kang-Woo remembered how his strength had been sealed when he crossed over to Earth. His Ten Thousand Demon Core''s seal had weakened because he had leveled up and absorbed demonic energy from monsters, but he''d been extremely weak when he first returned to Earth. So, considering his level of power back then, it made sense that he had appeared in an E-rank Gate.


    ''In any case, it''s a fact that stronger demonic beasts appear in higher-ranked Gates.''


    Hence, to summon a strong demonic beast, Kang-Woo had to enter a high-ranking Gate.


    "S-rank¡­"


    Kang-Woo remembered Cha Yeon-Joo''s worried face.


    The S-rank Gate was the highest-ranking Gate in Korea at the moment. There were only two in Korea¡ªone in Suwon and another one in Pohang.


    ''I heard there are SS-rank and above Gates in other countries.''


    He wanted to enter a Gate with a ranking that was higher than SS, but that was impossible. The SS-Rank and above Gates were in other countries, and the monsters that appeared in them were so strong that even approaching the area near the Gate was highly restricted.


    There was one in Hokkaido, Japan, and another one in Shanghai, China. Monsters hadpletely invaded those two areas, so public ess was not allowed anywhere near those areas, and the government of each country was busy preventing monsters from breaking through the perimeter of the affected area and into the rest of the city.


    ''Realistically, the highest-ranking Gate I can ess at the moment is an S-rank one in Korea.''


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo thought that he should also visit those areas in the future.


    He headed to the parking lot while thinking deeply about this.


    Click.


    "Having a car is definitely morefortable."


    After killing the Buer, Kang-Woo asked Yeon-Joo for a car. Of course, it wasn''t the super expensive foreign car that she used.


    ''But it''s still worth a few hundred million won.''


    He''d heard the exnation about which model of Mercedes Benz it was when he''d received it, but they all looked the same to him since he wasn''t interested in cars.


    Kang-Woo opened the car door and grabbed the steering wheel. He had learned how to drive and obtained a driver''s license while waiting for the S-rank Gate ess permit.


    Riiing.


    [Starting navigation to Suwon Hwaseo Station.]


    Kang-Woo turned on the GPS and drove to the location of the S-rank Gate.


    ''As expected from an S-rank Gate.''


    Unlike the C-rank and B-rank Gates, there weren''t any yers in the area where the S-rank Gate was located. Instead of yers, many soldiers were guarding the area around the Gate.


    ''It appears that the 1st Squadron of the Hwarang Corps is stationed here.''


    The Hwarang Corps was a group of yers owned by the government. Their 1st and 2nd Squadrons monitored the S-rank Gate, ensuring no monsters had escaped from it.


    Kang-Woo showed the ess permit to a member of the Hwarang Corps guarding the Gate.


    "ess confirmed," the Hwarang Corps member said.


    After entering the Gate, Kang-Woo eximed in surprise, "Wow!"


    Inside the Gate, there was a hugeke and a bunch of tall rocks surrounding it. The ce was so beautiful that it could be used as a vacation spot. However, that was only if S-rank monsters didn''t appear in it.


    "This ce is huge."


    The inside of the Gate was so vast that you couldn''t see where it ended. Kang-Woo couldn''t tell how big the area was, but it was way bigger than the spaces inside the other Gates he had been to.


    ''I believe she said it''s as big as Seoul.''


    Kang-Woo thought about the information he had heard from Yeon-Joo and used the Authority of the Beholder. He went to a ce that was hidden between stone walls to avoid being seen by monsters and prepared for the summoning.


    ''A demonic beast¡­''


    Kang-Woo thought of the Buer he had recently hunted.


    The physical characteristics of demonic beasts were often of a higher level than those of the demons that lived in the same level of Hell. Despite their strength, demonic beasts were still inferior to demons, as theycked the intellect that demons possessed. Simrly on Earth, humans were physically weaker than lions and tigers, but they were still the ruling species.


    ''In consideration of that, being able to control demonic beasts is a huge merit.''


    If a demonic beast obeyed Kang-Woo''s will, their fatal w of not having intellect would no longer be an issue.


    ''My goal is to get a Cerberus.''


    The Cerberus was the strongest demonic beast that lived in the Third Hell. Even demons of the Fourth or Fifth Hells didn''t dare to fight against it.


    "Let''s begin."


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and concentrated.


    Whirl!!!


    Powerful demonic energy began leaking out from his body. Kang-Woo pulled out all the demonic energy he could use at the moment.


    "Huu, huu."


    He breathed deeply as cold sweat dripped from his forehead. There was a strong wind current around him because of the demonic energy he was emitting.


    Crack!!


    Unable to handle the demonic energy, the ground began to crack like dry ground in a drought. A split ran right underneath Kang-Woo.


    ''Now!''


    The moment that his demonic energy peaked, Kang-Woo used all of it to activate his Trait.


    Riiing.


    [Activating the Fifth Awakening Trait: Demonic Beast Summoning (Rank: S).]


    [Creating a Rift for the summoning.]


    As the blue message windows appeared, a Rift formed in the air, fracturing the space like ss being broken. The Rift grew in size, and finally, a blue Gate that was about twenty meters tall appeared.


    "Blue¡­?" Kang-Woo was surprised.


    Gates were usually colored white, gray, or ck. He had never heard of nor seen a blue Gate before.


    ''Did it fail?''


    Kang-Woo looked at the Gate with a frown.


    However, the Gate was still absorbing his demonic energy, and he hadn''t gotten a message window saying that the summoning had failed.


    Riiing.


    [You have sessfully created a Rift necessary for summoning.]


    [A deeper Rift has been created due to the influence of the Demonic Energy within the Ten Thousand Demon Core (Rank: ???).]


    [A connection to another world could not be obstructed due to the impairment of the Gaia System''s functions.]


    [A dimensional Gate leading to the Continent of Aernor has been opened.]


    "What¡­?"


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''Where''s this Continent of Aernor?''


    His expression hardened after reading words he couldn''tprehend.


    [Summoning a demonic beast.]


    A blinding light shot out of the huge blue Gate, filling the entire area. The light gradually faded, and Kang-Woo saw the demonic beast that he''d summoned.


    "What the¡­?" he muttered.


    The demonic beast had ck scales, two wings on its back, and scarlet reptilian eyes.


    "A dragon?"


    It was a giant dragon that was over twenty meters tall.


    Riiing.


    [You have sessfully summoned a demonic beast!]


    [The daughter of Demonic Dragon Kargath, dragon hatchling Echidna (Rank: S) has been registered as your summoned beast.]


    [The summoned beast has recognized the yer Oh Kang-Woo as its master, but the summoned beast may retaliate against its master if its fidelity drops.]


    "¡­" Kang-Woo looked at the message window with his mouth closed.


    Then, he looked at the summoned beast, Echidna, and frowned. However, he wasn''t frowning because a dragon hatchling had be his summoned beast but because of the dragon hatchling''s current state.


    [Huff, huff¡­]


    It seemed like the hatchling was about to stop breathing at any moment. There were gaps across its scales as if they had been shed open by a sharp de, and in those gaps, Kang-Woo saw red flesh. Echidna, who had injuries all over its body, was bleeding profusely.


    ''What happened to it?''


    The demonic beast that Kang-Woo had summoned was about to die.


    He walked toward Echidna.


    Tap, tap, tap.


    At that moment, other people walked out of the Gate that Echidna had been summoned from.


    "Huh¡­?" Kang-Woo was confused to see people appear from the Gate that he''d made.


    There were five of them in total, and they were covered in dust as if they''d been fighting just moments before.


    "@#@%#@^%@#%!!" The blond man leading the group waved his hands at Kang-Woo.


    ''What is he saying?'' Kang-Woo frowned after hearing the people scream in anguage that he didn''t understand.


    He used the Authority of Language and now understood thenguage that had seemed alien to him at first.


    "It''s dangerous! Stay away from that evil demonic dragon!"


    After hearing the blond young man''s scream, Kang-Woo became even more confused.


    ''Who are these guys?''

 Chapter 47 - Echidna (3)

    Chapter 47 - Echidna (3)


    ''Who are these guys?''


    Oh Kang-Woo stared at the guy waving his hands at him.


    ''Are they foreign yers?''


    The guy waving at Kang-Woo had blond hair that reached his waist. He looked like a typical handsome Caucasian man with golden armor and a sword that was too luxurious to even look at. It was unlikely that these were ordinary people.


    ''No, wait.''


    Kang-Woo''s expression stiffened after looking at the other party members behind the blond man. They were each carrying a hammer, bow, shield, and staff. There wasn''t anything off about the man with a shield or the brown-haired woman with a staff, but there was a problem with the short person wielding a hammer and the blonde woman wielding a bow.


    ''A dwarf and an elf?''


    Even if it was possible for the dwarf to be a little person with a round body that made it look like he would roll over if he were hit, the blond woman with long pointed ears had an appearance that only an elf could have.


    ''They look like a party straight out of a fantasy novel.''


    Kang-Woo looked at them with a troubled expression.


    The young blond man in the lead walked toward Kang-Woo and shouted, "Kurgh! H-Hurry!"


    "Calm down, Reynald!" The elf archer stopped the young blond man.


    "Look at that demonic dragon. It''s already about to die."


    "Ah¡­"


    "It won''t be able to hurt anyone else."


    "Fuu, that''s a relief." The blond young man sighed in relief after regaining his rationality.


    "Who are you?" Kang-Woo asked them using the Authority of Language.


    "I am the third prince of the Arnan Empire, Reynald von Arnan," the young blond man answered kindly.


    "Arnan Empire?"


    "Yes. And you are¡­?"


    Kang-Woo looked at them in confusion, unable to understand what was happening.


    Thoughts of the message stating a Gate had connected with the Continent of Aernor and Reynald''s mention of the Arnan Empire swirled around in Kang-Woo''s mind.


    ''Are they really people from another world?''


    There weren''t many other possible conclusions he coulde to based on those two pieces of information. A Gate that led to the Continent of Aernor had opened, and his summoned beast had appeared from it along with a few other people. Furthermore, a dwarf and an elf were among them. Kang-Woo was starting to believe that they were indeed people from another world.


    [Hurgh. Urghhh.]


    While Kang-Woo was confused, Echidna was moaning in pain.


    Kang-Woo turned around and saw that Echidna, who was looking at him, was struggling to breathe.


    "Damn."


    Kang-Woo frowned after realizing that the demonic beast he had waited for a week to summon might die.


    ''I have to treat it.''


    If he lost his summoned beast, then he would have to wait another three months before he could summon another one.


    ''I can''t let that happen.''


    Three months wasn''t a long time, and Kang-Woo could do without a summoned beast. However, he refused to lose his summoned beast in such a stupid way.


    Kang-Woo walked toward Echidna and ced his hands on its giant body.


    "W-Wait!" Reynald shouted as he approached Kang-Woo. "What are you doing?!"


    Kang-Woo turned his head around to him and said, "This is my summoned beast. I''m not sure why you''re trying to kill it, but I can''t let it die."


    "Kuh! You bastard!"


    "So, you''re this demonic dragon''s master!"


    Reynald and his party members drew their weapons and aimed them at Kang-Woo.


    Nheless, Kang-Woo ignored them and ced his hand on one of Echidna''s wounds.


    ''It''s bleeding too much.''


    A lot of blood was flowing out of the parted scales.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of des and created a small de. Then he cut the palm of his hands.


    ''Authority of Regeneration.''


    Blood ran down the palm of his hand. The drops of blood that were imbued with the Authority of Regeneration seeped into Echidna''s wound.


    [Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Wh-Who are you?]


    Echidna''s wounds quickly started to close. The dragon that had copsed on the ground looked at Kang-Woo.


    She realized something and said in a relieved voice, [Ah¡­ You must be my master.]


    Tears dropped from the dragon hatchling''s eyes, which were asrge as an adult human.


    [I''m sorry¡­ for appearing in such a state.]


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo could hear Echidna''s voice inside his head, and he gazed at her with a stiff expression.


    ''I''m not sure what''s going on, but¡­''


    Just like what was mentioned in the message window, it seemed like Echidna thought of him as her master.


    ''And this current situation¡­''


    Kang-Woo looked at Reynald''s party, who were staring at him warily with their weapons brandished. It wasn''t hard to guess who had hurt Echidna.


    "Reveal your identity, you bastard!"


    "I''m gonna ask you something," Kang-Woo said.


    After discovering that Reynald''s party had almost killed his summoned beast, Kang-Woo stopped talking to them politely. He couldn''t waste three months waiting to summon another demonic beast, so he couldn''t let Echidna die.


    It was clear that the bloodlust that Reynald''s party emitted was directed at Echidna. This meant that Kang-Woo''s goal was opposite to theirs, and the two parties would end up fighting for sure. So, Kang-Woo had no reason to be polite to an enemy.


    "Why are you trying to kill Echidna?"


    "It''s an evil demonic dragon!"


    "What did she do exactly?"


    Kang-Woo tried to converse with Reynald''s party. To be precise, he was trying to buy much-needed time to heal Echidnapletely.


    ''I also want to understand the current situation better.''


    All he had wanted to do was summon a high-ranking demonic beast from Hell, but things had suddenly turnedplicated with the appearance of a demonic dragon and people from another world.


    "It caused a terrible drought and gue! Because of that demonic dragon''s magic, many innocent people have lost their lives! Was it perhaps you whomanded it to do that?" Reynald looked at Kang-Woo with eyes full of resentment.


    ''Drought and gue¡­?'' Kang-Woo pondered.


    It was a somewhat vague exnation.


    [I told you that¡­ it wasn''t me¡­]


    "Shut up! You evil demonic dragon! Who else could it be but you?!" Reynald shouted angrily after hearing Echidna''s words.


    Kang-Woo looked at Reynald in disbelief.


    ''It was probably just a natural disaster, you moron.''


    He thought of the witch hunts that had taken ce in the Middle Ages¡ªthat horrible period in history when innocent women had been thought to be the causes of gues and droughts and therefore put to death.


    ''Well, I don''t know who''s telling the truth.''


    It wasn''t impossible that someone might have caused gues and droughts on purpose, just as Reynald had said. The world that Reynald lived in was one where magic existed, so Kang-Woo couldn''t say for sure that those events were just natural disasters.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo looked at Echidna, who was breathing heavily.


    Regardless, he was sure that it wasn''t Echidna who had caused them. He didn''t think that because of his trust in Echidna, whom he had met only a few minutes ago.


    ''How could she have possibly caused a drought?''


    It may have been possible for her to cause a gue. However, for a being to cause drought, it needed to be powerful enough to bend the atmosphere to its will. If there were a being who could do that, that meant that they could interfere in the destiny of a world. In other words, it meant they would have the power to destroy an entire world. There was no way that Echidna could do something that only those who possessed power on par with the seven princes of Hell could pull off.


    "Did you try to kill Echidna because of such a simple thing?"


    "Simple?! Do you have any idea how many innocent people are suffering and have died because of the drought?!"


    "How would I know something like that?"


    "I must kill the demonic dragon to save them!" Reynald shouted with a voice filled with a sense of justice.


    Kang-Woo looked at Reynald with narrowed eyes.


    ''I don''t like this dumbass.''


    Reynald was the type of person that Kang-Woo hated the most. He was a stubborn piece of shit who charged forward blindly in the name of justice¡ªin other words, a dumbass who couldn''t be reasoned with.


    [Huff, huff.]


    Echidna''s breathing was starting to stabilize thanks to the Authority of Regeneration. The wound from where blood had been spewing out was closing swiftly.


    ''It seems like I''ve bought enough time,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    It would take some more time to fully heal since the wound was so deep, but it seemed like her life wasn''t in danger anymore.


    ''A summoned beast, huh?''


    Kang-Woo looked down at Echidna, whose body was over twenty meters long. He had begun the summoning hoping to get a Cerberus, but things had gone in an extremely weird direction. Still, the result wasn''t bad.


    ''She''s a dragon, after all.''


    Echidna was only a dragon hatchling, but it was still amazing that Kang-Woo would be able to use a dragon as a summoned beast. She might be a bit weaker than a Cerberus at present, but the growth potential of a dragon couldn''t bepared to that of a Cerberus.


    "I''m sorry, but I can''t let you kill Echidna. She''s my summoned beast," Kang-Woo stated.


    He took his hand off Echidna and turned toward Reynald.


    Of course, Kang-Woo wasn''tpletely certain as to whether Echidna had caused the gue and drought. Even if it was impossible for her to cause the drought, she might have caused the gue somehow. So, Reynald could actually be a hero, and Echidna could really be an evil being that had massacred innocent people.


    ''But that doesn''t matter.''


    What mattered to Kang-Woo was that Echidna was worth having as a summoned beast. He would use everyone that could benefit him and eliminate everything that could harm him. It didn''t matter to him whether Echidna was evil, as she was valuable to him. Kang-Woo wasn''t stupid enough to throw away a winning lottery ticket.


    Reynald pointed his sword toward Kang-Woo and yelled in a voice filled with a strong sense of justice, "Vile demon!"


    Kang-Woo smirked. "I actually am a demon, man."

 Chapter 48 - Echidna (4)

    Chapter 48 - Echidna (4)


    "I knew it! So, you really are a demon!" Reynald eximed. He red at Oh Kang-Woo and clenched his sword even tighter after hearing Kang-Woo refer to himself as a demon. "For the suffering citizens of the Arnan Empire! For the crying children! I, Reynald von Arnan, will punish you!"


    Golden mana spurted out of his body. His fluttering golden hair made it seem like a scene from a film.


    The middle-aged man with a shield and the dwarf with a hammer stepped forward.


    "Haha! All right, Reynald! What''s a demon when we''ve defeated a demonic dragon?"


    "Kekeke, you''ll have to treat me to barrels of ck beer after this, kid."


    The dwarf and the middle-aged man said their piece while looking at Reynald, who was burning with a desire for justice. Meanwhile, the brown-haired woman gazed at Reynald with blushed cheeks.


    The elf beside Reynald sighed and said, "Sigh, you seriously are a piece of work. We''re going against a demon. Are you sure you can do this, Reynald?"


    "It isn''t a matter of whether I can do it or not! I have to do it!" Reynald dered and raised his sword toward the sky.


    ''Damn, man. Nice fucking lines,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    He looked in disbelief at Reynald, who was burning with passion. Kang-Woo felt embarrassed just by looking at him.


    ''Why are they acting like this? Are they high on something?''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t understand the reason for their fervor.


    "Haap!" Reynald took a powerful step forward and swung his sword, aiming for Kang-Woo.


    A stream of golden sword energy shot toward Kang-Woo at an incredible speed, and Kang-Woo swung his ck de at it.


    Boom!!


    The golden sword energy was cut in half and exploded in mid-air, causing the ground around it to be upturned as if a bomb had gone off.


    ''This isn''t an attack that I can just block.''


    Kang-Woo frowned. He had gotten caught in the explosion. He hadn''t been expecting the sword energy to explode when he cut it in half.


    "Having equipment sure is nice."


    Normally, he would''ve been hurt a bit by such an explosion. Nevertheless, Kang-Woo didn''t receive any damage thanks to the Epic-grade equipment that he''d rented and the expensive Gargoyle Armor he had obtained from Mun Yeong-Ho. Kang-Woo thought with satisfaction that he had made the right decision to acquire the equipment.


    Then he turned his gaze toward Reynald''s party.


    Kang-Woo said, "Okay, since they attacked first..."


    It was his turn to strike back.


    Whiiir.


    ''Authority of Explosion.''


    ck smoke gathered in Kang-Woo''s hand, forming a sphere of demonic energy that caused explosions. Then he clenched it lightly.


    ''Scorching Rain.''


    This was a technique that he had invented by modifying the Authority of Explosion, which only made explosive spheres.


    The sphere, which was as big as a basketball, was split into smaller spheres the size of billiard balls. Kang-Woo lightly swung his hand and threw the small spheres at Reynald''s party.


    "I''ll block them!" the middle-aged man shouted. He ran to the front and raised his shield. "Iron Wall!"


    A blue barrier appeared in front of his shield.


    Despite that, Kang-Woo just smirked and said, "Fall."


    Boom!!


    "Kurgh!!"


    The dozens of balls flying toward the middle-aged man changed their trajectory and fell straight to the ground instead. The bombs exploded, and the shockwave sent the middle-aged man flying backward.


    "Hans!" Reynald shouted the name of the middle-aged man. Then he red at Kang-Woo. "How dare you!"


    ''You were the one who attacked me first, dumbass,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    If someone were to see this situation, they would probably think that Reynald''s party had been ambushed. Kang-Woo couldn''t believe how enraged Reynald was.


    "I won''t forgive you!" Reynald yelled.


    "I won''t forgive you either, man," Kang-woo replied.


    It seemed like Reynald had forgotten that he had attacked first, and Kang-Woo didn''t like Reynald''s attitude at all.


    Kang-Woo stomped the ground and dashed toward Reynald.


    "Arnan Imperial Sword Technique, First Movement! de Storm!" Reynald shouted.


    ''Why does everyone shout the names of their techniques?'' Kang-Woo remarked inwardly.


    Judging by the name of Reynald''s technique, it seemed like a wide-area attack.


    ''Then I''ll get through it with the minimum amount of defense.''


    With a sharp gaze, Kang-Woo used the Authority of Invulnerability.


    Crash!


    Just as its name indicated, Reynald''s technique was a wide-area attack that created a storm of des. Kang-Woo lowered his stance to charge through the attack and then used the momentum to kick Reynald''s stomach.


    Smash!!


    "Kurgh!!"


    "Reynald!"


    "You bastard!!"


    Upon seeing Reynald get pushed back by the kick, the dwarf and elf attacked Kang-Woo. Nheless, Kang-Woo casually leaned back and dodged the three arrows flying in his direction. Then he extended his hand toward the dwarf.


    ''Authority of Shattering Air.''


    Boom!


    "Kurggghhh!"


    The dwarf was hit with apressed demonic energy bullet, and the st flung him backward with blood spurting out from his mouth. Kang-Woo walked toward the dwarf to finish him off.


    "Fire st!"


    At that moment, mes were shot toward Kang-Woo. The brown-haired woman with a staff hadunched a magic attack at him. The attack was a bit too powerful for Kang-Woo to bear with just his equipment, so he gave up on attacking the dwarf and fell back.


    "Arrggghhh!!" Reynald, who had been flung backward after being kicked in the stomach, stood up and once again charged toward Kang-Woo.


    He exuded a surge of golden energy, and his surroundings shook like there was an earthquake.


    ''He''s strong. I''ll give him that,'' Kang-Woo thought while watching Reynald charge over.


    Reynald was stronger than Mun Yeong-Ho. He would probably be able to defeat a Buer all by himself.


    "Haap!"


    ng! ng!


    Kang-Woo and Reynald shed. Their ck and golden energies entangled with each other in midair and dealt a huge amount of destruction to their surroundings.


    "Haaaap!"


    Boom!


    The golden sword energy exploded once again, pushing Kang-Woo backward.


    "Fuuu! Did you see that, vile demon?!"


    "..." Kang-Woo scowled.


    It appeared that he didn''t like the fact that he had been pushed back.


    ''This would''ve been a bit dangerous if I hadn''t already achieved my Fifth Awakening.''


    Reynald was more skillful than Kang-Woo had initially thought. Just based on pure power, he might even be stronger than Kang-Woo currently.


    ''It''s no wonder he was able to defeat a dragon hatchling.''


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue while thinking of Echidna, whom Reynald had driven to the brink of death.


    ''But...''


    Kang-Woo had a sharp gaze.


    Reynald was certainly strong.


    ''But that''s all.''


    Kang-Woo charged toward Reynald and shouted, "de sh!"


    "Kuh!"


    After hearing Kang-Woo''s shout, Reynald raised his sword and took a defensive stance. However, unlike his shout, Kang-Woo lowered his body and dealt a low kick to Reynald''s thigh.


    Smash!


    "Gaaaaahhhh!!" Reynald screamed in pain while grabbing his right leg at the spot where he''d been kicked.


    "Y-You vile demon! Y-You clearly said ''de sh''..." Reynald looked at Kang-Woo in disbelief.


    ''No, you''re just stupid.''


    Only an idiot would tell an opponent what attack they were about to use. The only exception was if it were an attack that required an incantation to use. Otherwise, it was best to hide as much information from the opponent about the attack as possible.


    "R-Reynald!"


    "Ugh... A-All of you, run! He''s too strong!"


    "We can''t do that! How could we just leave you behind?!"


    "Just go!" Reynald shouted with tears flowing from his eyes.


    "Stop being so damn overdramatic," Kang-Woo said.


    After seeing Reynald''s party act as if they were in the middle of a movie, Kang-Wooughed and walked toward them.


    "You..." Reynald red at him intensely.


    Kang-Woo continued approaching Reynald while calmly taking in his anger.


    ''Well, the fight is already over.''


    For a warrior, their legs were their lifeline. It was still possible to fight even if they lost an arm or had fractured ribs, but an injured leg was a whole other story. A warrior who couldn''t move from his spot was nothing but an idiot carrying a weapon.


    "Kurgh. H-Hurry up and run!!" Reynald yelled again.


    He wasn''t stupid enough to be unaware of the issue with his current condition, so he kept begging his party members to run away. Reynald knew better than anyone else how powerless a warrior that couldn''t move from his spot was.


    ''Let''s finish this.''


    Kang-Woo raised his de, which was created with the Authority of des, and stared at Reynald with his eyes sunken.


    There wasn''t anypassion or anger in Kang-Woo''s eyes. To him, a battle had always been nothing more than a means to survive. Adding emotions to such an act was a luxury he could not afford.


    "P-Please wait!"


    "Reina...?"


    At that moment, the brown-haired woman came running and embraced Reynald.


    She shouted at Kang-Woo while crying, "I-I beg of you! Please let Reynald live! If he dies, the citizens of Arnan will lose all hope!"


    "..."


    "And... he''s the person that I love."


    "Reina..." Reynald murmured.


    Reina caressed Reynald''s cheek with tears in her eyes. "I''m sorry for confessing in such a way, Reynald. B-But... I thought I wouldn''t get another chance to say it."


    She turned her head toward Kang-Woo and said, "I''ll give you my life. I-I''ll do anything you ask! So, please! Let Reynald live!"


    Kang-Woo had kept his mouth shut while listening to Reina''s plea. Then he burst intoughter. "Enough of this shitshow.¡±


    Kang-Woo walked toward Reina and Reynald.


    "What? If he dies, the citizens of Arnan will lose all hope¡­? Do you expect me to give a shit? What does that have to do with me? First of all, you guys are the ones who attacked me first. Would you let me live if our roles were reversed? Huh?" Kang-Woo said calmly. "No, right? There''s no way you would. All of you brandished your weapons. If you were prepared to kill, you should have also been prepared to die."


    Kang-Woo extended his hands toward Reynold and Reina, who were in an embrace. Then he activated the Authority of Explosion. Strong demonic energy began gathering around the palm of his hand.


    While watching the pair tremble in fear, Kang-Woo said, "Save the pity show for TV, dickheads."

 Chapter 49 - Echidna (5)

    Chapter 49 - Echidna (5)


    "N-No..." Reina muttered.


    "You wicked filth!" Reynald eximed in frustration.


    ''But why?'' Oh Kang-Woo wondered.


    He had won fair and square. It was true that he¡¯d shouted a fake technique name to confuse the opponent, but that had only worked because Reynald was stupid.


    ''So, what''s wicked and filthy about me?''


    The five of them were the ones who were truly wicked considering they had ganged up on Kang-Woo.


    ''Is this how demon kings inics feel after losing to the hero''s party?''


    Kang-Woo now understood the frustration of a demon king losing to the hero''s party. He thought there wasn''t anything more to consider and was about to use the Authority of Explosions on Reynald''s party.


    Then he said, "Oh, right."


    ¡°What are you..."


    "C-Could it be...?"


    Kang-Woo was about to finish them off, but he suddenly stopped. The demonic energy sphere disappeared from his hand, instilling hope into Reina and Reynald.


    "It would be a shame if your equipment was damaged," Kang-Woo remarked.


    Even at a nce, it was obvious that Reynald''s equipment was worth quite a lot of money. Kang-Woo didn''t want to use any of the equipment because they were too extravagant, but he thought he''d be able to sell them to Cha Yeon-Joo for a considerable sum of money.


    ''Especially that golden sword.''


    There was a chance that Reynald''s sword, which was capable of shooting sword energy that exploded like a bomb, was Legendary-grade.


    ''How much money could I get for something like that?''


    Kang-Woo gulped while looking at Reynald''s items.


    "Kuh! Y-You evil¡ª!" Reynald trembled in anger upon finding out that Kang-Woo was willing to rip equipment off his corpse.


    Of course, Kang-Woo didn''t care about how Reynald felt about that, so he went ahead and created a long spear using the Authority of Dark Spears.


    ''It should be enough to use this to pierce his neck.''


    Kang-Woo was approaching Reynald while thinking that when suddenly¡­


    Riiing.


    [Other beings besides the summoned beast have crossed the Gate.]


    [Casting out the otherworldly beings through the Gaia System.]


    "Huh?!" Kang-Woo uttered in shock.


    Reynald and his party members turned opaque just as those messages appeared before Kang-Woo. He quickly tried to pierce Reynald with the spear, but it just passed through Reynald''s opaque head and pierced the ground.


    "Fuck!" Kang-Woo cursed.


    He frowned while looking at the blue message window.


    ''Why now?!''


    It had initially said that the connection to another world couldn''t be obstructed due to the impairment of the Gaia System. Yet, the system was suddenly casting Reynald''s party out now.


    Kang-Woo smashed the ground in anger, but in the end, he could only watch helplessly as Reynald¡¯s party disappeared.


    Riiing.


    [The Gaia System has sessfully cast out the otherworldly beings.]


    "Haaa..." Kang-Woo sighed.


    ''Wait.''


    Kang-Woo anxiously turned to where Echidna was. He realized that she might have been cast out as well because she was also an otherworldly entity.


    "Phew." Kang-Woo let out a sigh of relief after seeing that Echidna was still on the ground staring at him.


    Thankfully, Echidna hadn''t returned to her original world.


    ''Just what in the world is the Gaia System?''


    Kang-Woo thought of the words Gaia System, which he¡¯d first seen when he initially appeared on Earth.


    ''Is it some sort of protective barrier... that defends against otherworldly invasions?''


    Perhaps the Gaia System was something like the Earth''s atmosphere, which prevents asteroids from falling on Earth. That was his best conclusion with the information he had currently.


    ''It said that the Gaia System was impaired.''


    When the Gate that led to the continent of Aernor opened earlier, it said that a connection to another world had failed to be obstructed due to the impairment of the Gaia System¡¯s functions.


    ''Does it have something to do with why demonic beasts have been appearing?¡¯


    Demonic beasts¡ªor variant monsters, which was what the people of Earth called them¡ªhad begun to appear only recently. In terms of the time frame...


    "Hm?¡±


    At that moment, a thought crossed Kang-Woo''s mind.


    ''The time when the demonic beasts started to appear is simr to when I returned to Earth.''


    It was highly likely that the demonic beasts began appearing due to the impairment of the Gaia System.


    "That means¡­" Kang-Wooughed in disbelief. "Am I the one who damaged the Gaia System?"


    It made sense, considering the timeline of when the demonic beasts started to appear.


    "Hah..." Kang-Woo put his hand on his head with a conflicted expression.


    He felt troubled once he realized that he was the reason why demonic beasts of Hell had begun appearing on Earth.


    ''Is there a way to restore the Gaia System?''


    The best thing he could do in this situation was to restore the impaired Gaia System. However, he didn''t know exactly what and where the Gaia System was, much less how to find a way to restore it.


    ''The only thing I can do at this moment is hunt as many demonic beasts as possible.''


    It was like pouring water into a bottomless jar, but there was nothing else he could do about it at present. He concluded this train of thought thinking that he should ask Yeon-Joo about the Gaia System.


    Then he walked over to Echidna.


    "Stay down for a bit. I''ll finish treating you," Kang-Woo said.


    What he had done previously was just first aid. For Echidna to be able to move again freely, he needed to treat her for a bit longer.


    Kang-Woo cut the palm of his hand again and let his blood drip into Echidna''srgest wound.


    Echidna struggled to turn her head toward Kang-Woo.


    [I didn''t do anything,] she said. [I didn''t cause droughts or spread gues.]


    "I see."


    Tears flowed down Echidna''s gigantic eyes.


    [I told them it wasn¡¯t me. I told them I didn¡¯t do it, but... no one believed me.]


    "¡­"


    [Do you believe me?] Echidna''s voice trembled anxiously.


    She had the eyes of a child who had been abandoned by her parents and was just asking to be loved.


    Kang-Woo knew those eyes.


    ''I was also like that.''


    He had been abandoned by his parents when he was a kid. From the moment he was able to form thoughts, he¡¯d already been living in an orphanage, and that''s where he grew up.


    Kang-Woo had never thought that he would like to meet his birth parents or be embraced by them. However, he did want to receive someone''s love. He wanted to be protected and acknowledged for his existence.


    Seeing Echidna reminded him of his past self.


    ''"Save the pity show for TV, dickheads," my ass.''


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly with a tingling heart. The harsh words that he had said to Reynald had returned to stab him. He couldn¡¯t be more of a hypocrite.


    ''Well, my answer is already set in stone.''


    Echidna was Kang-Woo''s important summoned beast, and they would be together from now on. No, even if it wasn''t because of that, his answer had already been decided from the start.


    "I believe you."


    [...]


    "Even if the rest of the world condemns you, I will believe in you."


    Just like how one had to be resolved to die when entering a battle, being a master also had its corresponding responsibilities. Kang-Woo had no intention of dodging or ignoring those responsibilities. He wasn''t nning on using his summoned beast as a disposable tool.


    [You...] Echidna looked at Kang-Woo with a wavering gaze.


    A heavy silence fell between them.


    In the meantime, Kang-Woo kept treating Echidna. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.


    ''Maybe I overdid it a bit today.''


    He had summoned a demonic beast and been in a battle, and now he was even treating someone. Kang-Woo had obtained quite a lot of demonic energy after getting his Fifth Awakening, but he had performed several taxing tasks in session.


    ''I want to go home and rest.''


    It was the first time he¡¯d wanted to rest so badly.


    "That aside..."


    Kang-Woo looked at Echidna, who was over twenty meters long.


    ''How am I supposed to take her out of here?''


    If he took her out in this state, it would cause mass panic. In the worst-case scenario, the Hwarang Corps could attack her.


    ''It doesn''t seem like something that could be resolved with an exnation either.''


    If Echidna were only as big as a person, Kang-Woo would be able to walk out with her just by saying she was his summoned beast.


    ''I¡¯ve heard of yers that use summoned beasts.''


    Even still, Echidna was far too big. There was no way the Hwarang Corps would let her be unless they were insane.


    "Echidna, can you modify your body size?"


    [Modify?]


    "Yeah, as small as possible."


    Dragons in fantasy stories usually had a polymorph ability. Kang-Woo looked at her expectantly.


    [I can.]


    ''Nice!''


    Kang-Woo smiled, satisfied at her answer.


    "Then be as small as possible right now."


    [Okay.]


    Echidna was almost fully healed, so she nodded in agreement and chanted in anguage that Kang-Woo couldn''t understand.


    Whish!


    A bright light covered Echidna, and she shrank.


    "Whoa."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone while looking at Echidna, who was now only thirty centimeters long.


    ''Cute.''


    The dragon hatchling appeared cute now that its giant dragon body had shrunk to about 30 centimeters. Rather than a summoned beast, Echidna seemed like a pet.


    ''I wonder if she can transform into a human?''


    Kang-Woo, who had actually hoped for her to transform into a human, felt slightly disappointed. Nevertheless, he lifted her and held her in his arms.


    [It''s okay. I can fly.]


    "Stay still. Your wounds still haven''t fully healed."


    After saying that, Kang-Woo turned to the Gate''s exit while carrying Echidna.


    [...] Echidna stared at Kang-Woo silently for a moment. Then she said cautiously, [You.]


    "Hmm?"


    [Name. Tell me your name.]


    "Oh, right. I haven¡¯t told you my name yet."


    It was then that Kang-Woo realized that he hadn''t introduced himself yet.


    "Oh Kang-Woo. My name is Oh Kang-Woo."


    [Oh Kang-Woo...] Echidna, who was in Kang-Woo''s arms, kept mumbling his name. [I''ll remember it.]


    "Hmm?"


    [Your name. I swear I¡¯ll never forget it,] Echidna stated in a determined voice.


    Kang-Woo nodded with a smile.

 Chapter 50 - Your Honor, Im Innocent (1)

    Chapter 50 - Your Honor, I''m Innocent (1)


    Vroom.


    "So, what kind of world is the Continent of Aernor?" Oh Kang-Woo asked Echidna while driving back to his ce.


    Echidna was sitting on hisp. Kang-Woo had initially offered her the passenger''s seat, but she didn''t budge from hisp.


    ''Well, it''s not like she''s bothering me.''


    Because Echidna had be so small, she was more cute than a bother.


    [I''m not sure what you mean.] Echidna seemed troubled by Kang-Woo''s question.


    Her reaction was understandable. It was probably simr to asking someone from Earth what Earth was like.


    "Hmm... What kind of nations there are, what kind of people live there, how they live¡ªstuff like that."


    [Okay. First, thergest nation is the Arnan Empire. Then...]


    Echidna''s exnation continued for quite a while.


    The Continent of Aernor that she was describing was a ce simr to a world in medieval fantasy stories, where people used swords and magic. It was a world in which fairies, monsters, and dragons existed.


    ''In that case, do the monsters in Gatese from Aernor?''


    Monsters like Goblins and Trolls, which appeared in the Gates, did not exist in Hell. They were monsters that used the power of mana stones to move, rather than demonic energy.


    At first, Kang-Woo thought the monsters in the Gates were weakpared to demonic beasts like the Hellhound or Buer, but that wasn''t necessarily true.


    ''A demonic beast like the Buer shouldn''t be appearing in a B-rank Gate in the first ce.''


    If the Buer had appeared in an A-rank Gate, the situation wouldn''t have been as chaotic.


    ''Monsters aren''t weak. The monsters in S-rank Gates are proof of that.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t ignore them just because they weren''t demonic beasts.


    "Tell me about yourself too, Echidna," Kang-Woo requested while turning the steering wheel.


    [Me¡­?]


    "Yeah. Stuff like how your life was like, and how you got involved with Reynald."


    [I... used to live with my dad. But one day, he left me and disappeared.]


    "He disappeared?"


    [Yeah. After that, I spent all day reading in myir until someone suddenly entered it...]


    "And that was Reynald?"


    Echidna nodded.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and said, "You must have been lonely."


    [Yeah... I was so lonely,] Echidna replied in a depressed voice.


    Kang-Woo didn''t really understand how she felt because he didn''t know what loneliness felt like.


    ''There hasn''t been a time when I wasn''t lonely.''


    He had lived alone since he was born, so his sense of what loneliness meant to others had dulled considerably because being alone was normal for him.


    "Then, how did you get summoned here?"


    [While I was fighting Reynald, I felt like someone was calling me. Then a Gate suddenly appeared.]


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo still wasn''t sure what the mechanism for the summoning was, but it seemed like the reason wasn''t that she''d wished for it.


    "We''re here."


    They eventually reached the shabby apartmentplex where Kang-Woo lived with Han Seol-Ah.


    [So, this is Kang-Woo''s nest...]


    "No. The word nest is a bit... To be honest, the apartment isn''t even mine."


    Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly and parked the car.


    His car stood out quite a bit among the other more reasonably-priced domestic cars in the parking lot.


    ''Maybe I should just buy a ce.''


    He didn''t intend to live apart from Seol-Ah and her mother, Kim Mi-Jeong. However, it couldn''t be denied that their apartment was shabby and small. Seeing as Kang-Woo was now earning a lot, it seemed like a bad idea to move to a bigger ce.


    ''Hopefully somewhere near the Red Rose Guild.''


    Kang-Woo and Cha Yeon-Joo had be true allies. He was quite satisfied with their rtionship and wanted to maintain it, so he thought moving closer to the Red Rose Guild''s base would make it easier for him to do that.


    ''We could also go to the inte cafe together.''


    Kang-Wooughed as he recalled that time when Yeon-Joo flipped out.


    "Let''s go."


    [Okay.]


    Kang-Woo lifted Echidna and walked toward the apartment.


    * * *


    "Kyaaaa!!" a scream rang out in the living room.


    "So cuuute!!" Seol-Ah took Echidna from Kang-Woo and hugged her aggressively.


    Echidna pped her wings as she felt two big balls of flesh pressing against her.


    [S-Save me, Kang-Woo!] Echidna called for Kang-Woo desperately.


    Meanwhile, Kang-Woo gulped. ''I envy you.''


    In Kang-Woo''s eyes, Echidna was screaming out of pleasure.


    [K-Kang-Woo...]


    Of course, in reality, she was suffering.


    "You said her name''s Echidna, right? Haa... How can she be so cute~?" Seol-Ah shrieked tedly.


    "I didn''t think that you''d have zero aversions to it," Kang-Woo said.


    "Why would I be averse to such a cute summoned beast?" Seol-Ah looked at him confusedly.


    Kang-Wooughed. "She''s still a monster."


    "But she''s cute! Cute things are justice!" Seol-Ah hugged Echidna even tighter.


    Kang-Wooughed upon seeing a side of Seol-Ah that he hadn''t seen before.


    [S-Save me...]


    "Echidna is struggling, so why don''t you let her go first?" Kang-Woo said.


    "Oh, I''m sorry. I was too caught up in the moment," Seol-Ah replied.


    Seol-Ah finally let Echidna go. As soon as Echidna was free, she flew toward Kang-Woo, hid behind him, and red at Seol-Ah warily.


    ''I guess her strength also reduced along with her size,'' Kang-Woo realized.


    If Echidna had her original strength, there was no way Seol-Ah would''ve been able to keep hugging Echidna if she wanted to break free.


    [Kang-Woo, that person is scary.]


    "Well, she didn''t have ill intentions, so don''t be so wary of her."


    Echidna was hiding behind Kang-Woo like a scared child. He found that cute and patted her head softly. Echidna closed her eyes and rubbed her head against his hand.


    ''She''s cute.'' Kang-Woo smiled and kept patting her.


    He felt like his emotions, which had dried up after spending so many years in Hell, were finally returning to him.


    "How have you been doing, Seol-Ah? Are your hunts going well?"


    "Oh! Yes, of course. We''re leveling up super quickly, so we''ll be getting our Third Awakening soon. Then we''ll be able to move on to C-rank Gates."


    "That''s good to hear," Kang-Woo said while nodding.


    He wasn''t surprised by Seol-Ah''s abnormally fast leveling speed.


    ''After all, Kim Si-Hun is with her.''


    Kim Si-Hun, the yer who had the overpowered SSS-rank Trait, was leading the party, so it was only natural that the rest of the party would also level up fast.


    ''Moreover, Tae-Soo and Seol-Ah are talented.''


    Choi Eun-Bi, who was a ranged damage dealer, was also quite talentedpared to an average yer. So, it would be strange if they took a long time to level up despite their great talent and Si-Hun helping them.


    "To think that we''d level up so quickly... I was surprised. Fufu. This is all thanks to you, Kang-Woo."


    "I didn''t really do anything, though."


    "What do you mean? You have no idea how much your feedback during our first hunt has helped us. And... if it wasn''t for you, I wouldn''t have even dreamed of living like this." Seol-Ah smiled, blushing slightly.


    Seeing that smile made Kang-Woo happy.


    ''Wanting to be loved, huh...?''


    He thought of his very distant past, which he had recalled when he met Echidna. The memories were from back when he was a child who craved love and affection.


    ''It''s not a bad feeling.''


    It felt nice to have someone give him such a tant show of affection. Kang-Woo sat on the couch with an unfamiliar but warm feeling in his chest.


    "Ah! Let''s have a party to celebrate Echidna''s addition to our family. Fufu, it''s all on me today," Seol-Ah said.


    "Are you sure?"


    "I''ve been making lots of money in my hunts with Si-Hun, Tae-Soo, and Eun-Bi, so this much is nothing to me now," Seol-Ah replied while smiling brightly.


    It seemed like the poverty that had continuously harassed her had disappeared somewhat.


    ''It also has to do with the fact that she doesn''t have to associate with Han Tae-Hyun anymore, I guess.''


    In any case, it was an irrefutable fact that Seol-Ah was now able to smile in a way that she had never been able to before.


    After hearing that Seol-Ah was going to host a celebration party, Kang-Woo nodded and said, "Okay, then let''s get us some kimchi st¡ª"


    "No kimchi stew."


    "Wh-Why?" Kang-Woo looked at her with his feelings hurt.


    Seol-Ah sighed and answered, "You''ve been having kimchi stew every single daytely."


    "That''s true."


    "¡­ Don''t you get sick of it?"


    "How could I ever?"


    Would he ever get sick of kimchi stew? There''s no way something like that would happen.


    After seeing Kang-Woo''s determined gaze, Seol-Ah put her hand on her forehead as if she was having a headache.


    "Anyway, let''s eat something a bit more extravagant today," she said.


    "Extravagant?"


    "Fufu. Ta-dah! Please take a look at this, Kang-Woo!" Seol-Ah excitedly showed him a pack with a golden tag on top of it. "It''s Hanwoo[1] beef! It was on sale today, so I bought some!"


    "Hanwoo..."


    "Let''s have some delicious grilled beef sirloin today~."


    Seol-Ah took the pack of meat to the kitchen with a smile on her face.


    Kang-Woo said disappointedly, "How about we add that into kimchi st¡ª"


    "That would be an insult to the beef. Understood, Kang-Woo?"


    "¡­ Yes." Kang-Woo lowered his head in sorrow.


    * * *


    "I should go to bed soon."


    After enjoying the beef party, Kang-Wooy on his bed with a tired expression. Echidna flew over to the bed.


    "Was it delicious?"


    [¡­ It was pure bliss.]


    Echidna trembled tedly while thinking about the beef she had just eaten. Kang-Woo smiled, lifted her, and ced her on his chest.


    "It''s been a long day, so let''s sleep."


    [Okay.] Echidna nodded and curled up on Kang-Woo''s chest.


    She quickly fell asleep. It seemed like she was tired because she wasn''t fully recovered yet.


    ''Now that I think about it¡­ If Echidna had turned into a human, we wouldn''t have been able to sleep together like this.''


    Kang-Woo didn''t care about that now, since she was like arge lizard. Nevertheless, Echidna was female, so it would have been a huge problem if she had turned into a human.


    ''Well, I guess this isn''t so bad.''


    After patting the sleeping Echidna for a bit, Kang-Woo closed his eyes. His umted fatigue soon guided him into slumber.


    * * *


    The next day, Kang-Woo woke up and opened his eyes because of the bright rays of sunlight shining into his room through the window.


    "Hmm?"


    Just then, he realized there was something heavy pressing down on his body.


    ''Is it Echidna?''


    However, it was too heavy for it to be Echidna. After all, it felt like it weighed at least thirty kilograms.


    Kang-Woo looked down and found a naked little girl, who had long jet-ck hair, asleep with her head on his chest.


    "The hell?" Kang-Woo stared at the little girl bewilderedly.


    "Zzz¡­ Zzz¡­" The little girl was deep in dreand, but she was firmly gripping Kang-Woo''s clothes.


    ''What''s going on here?''


    Kang-Woo''s expression became stiff at the sight of the little girl, whom he''d never seen before, sleeping on his chest.


    ''Is this a dream?''


    1. Hanwoo is a breed of small cattle native to Korea. It''s regarded as a premium, top-quality beef. ?

 Chapter 51 - Your Honor, Im Innocent (2)

    Chapter 51 - Your Honor, I''m Innocent (2)


    "Hng... Kang-Woo?" the ck-haired little girl called out Oh Kang-Woo''s name as she woke up and rubbed her eyes.


    "Echidna?" Oh Kang-Woo looked at her, feeling perplexed.


    The naked little girl looked around.


    "Hmm?" She looked down at her own body while tilting her head in confusion.


    Echidna couldn''t understand why she had turned into a human.


    "Were you always able to take a human form?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "No¡­ It''s the first time this has happened," Echidna answered while moving her hands, seemingly interested in her now human arms.


    Kang-Woo didn''t know where to look at the girl who was sitting on his torso, so he averted his gaze entirely.


    Creak.


    Right then, the door opened, and Han Seol-Ah, who had on an apron, entered the room.


    She called out, "Kang-Woo~ Breakfast is r¡ª"


    "..."


    There was a heavy silence.


    Seol-Ah''s expression hardened upon seeing a naked little girl sitting on Kang-Woo.


    Seol-Ah said, "Kang-Woo..."


    "It''s a misunderstanding," Kang-Woo interjected.


    "H-How could you... t-to such... a little girl..."


    "I''m innocent," Kang-Woo said in frustration to Seol-Ah, who was trembling from the shock.


    He felt that it was truly unfair. How could he have known that Echidna would transform into a human during the night?


    ''Your honor, I''m innocent.''


    Kang-Woo had to spend quite some time exining to Seol-Ah, who was panicking, about what happened.


    * * *


    After the situation became less tense, Seol-Ah, Echidna, and Kang-Woo sat together in the living room. Echidna was wearing the clothes that Seol-Ah used to wear as a kid.


    "Do you remember anything about what happened?" Kang-Woo asked.


    Echidna ced both hands on her chest and tried to remember.


    "Last night..." she began.


    "Last night?"


    "While sleeping with Kang-Woo, I felt something hot flowing into my body."


    "..."


    "Wh-What?" Seol-Ah stuttered as her eyes darted to Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo''s expression stiffened.


    However, Echidna continued, "It was so hot... and strong."


    ''Echidna,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    "As it spread throughout my body... I felt like I became one with Kang-Woo."


    ''Why are you doing this to me?''


    "At first, it hurt a little bit... but soon after, it started to feel good."


    ''What did I do to deserve this? Huh?''


    The more Echnidna recounted what happened, the angrier Seol-Ah became as she stared at Kang-Woo. It was as if she was looking down at a mangled bug in disgust.


    She said, "Kang-Woo... you really¡ª"


    "I told you. Nothing happened," Kang-Woo interjected with a sigh. Then he asked Echidna, "You can still return to your dragon form, right?"


    Kang-Woo still wasn''t sure how strong Echidna was in her original form. Nevertheless, considering that her strength had gone down after bing smaller, it would be detrimental if she couldn''t return to her original form.


    "Yeah, I think I can."


    After saying that, Echidna transformed her left arm into a dragon''s. The sight of a dragon''s arm on a little girl''s body looked weird, but the important thing was that she could return to her original form.


    "That''s a relief," Kang-Woo said.


    It was great news that Echidna could transform at will. Even as a small dragon, she was still a dragon and bound to draw attention.


    ''But now that I think about it, isn''t this form even more eye-catching?''


    Kang-Woo looked at Echidna''s unrealistically beautiful appearance as a human. She looked like a living doll. He thought that Echidna''s human form was much more attention-grabbing than her dragon form.


    ''I''ll leave the decision to her.''


    Regardless, he was nning to respect Echidna''s decision as to which form she wanted to stay in.


    ¡°Hmm...¡± Kang-Woo pondered about why Echidna was suddenly able to turn into a human.


    The things that she had said crossed his mind.


    ''Is it because she became my summoned beast?''


    Just like how a Familiar made with the Authority of Subordination could use a portion of their master''s power, a portion of Kang-Woo''s power might have flowed into Echidna.


    ''Anyway, I guess it doesn''t matter as long as she can return to her dragon form.''


    Kang-Woo leaned back on the couch. Then Echidna, who was next to him, casually moved over and sat on hisp.


    "¡­ What are you doing?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "It''s the mostfortable here," Echidna replied.


    "..."


    The soft sensation of her body on hisp stimted Kang-Woo.


    ''Doing this with her human form is a bit of a problem.''


    He didn''t mind it when Echidna was in her dragon form, but when she was in her human form, he felt like he wasmitting a crime.


    Kang-Woo lifted Echidna off of hisp and ced her down beside him.


    Echidna looked at him with pleading eyes like those of an abandoned puppy.


    "Kang-Woo, you don''t like me in my human form?" she asked.


    "No, that''s not it."


    If Kang-Woo were asked which of Echidna''s forms he preferred, he would answer that he liked the human form more.


    "Then why won''t you let me sit on yourp?"


    "Urgh. Umm..." Kang-Woo looked at her with a troubled expression.


    He wasn''t sure how to exin to her what he was feeling.


    "L-Let''s have breakfast first!" Seol-Ah interrupted them.


    "That sounds great," Kang-Woo said in relief.


    Seol-Ah proposed just in time that they should have breakfast, allowing Kang-Woo to dodge Echidna''s question and head over to the dining table. Echidna pouted as she watched him walk away.


    "Hmm... We should buy some clothes today," Seol-Ah said.


    "Clothes?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Yes. The clothes I used to wear are all worn out, and they don''t really fit Echidna."


    "Oh, I see."


    Kang-Woo looked at the clothes Echidna was wearing, and it was true that Seol-Ah''s clothes didn''t fit her.


    ''Especially around the chest area.''


    Kang-Woo coughed and shifted his gaze to Seol-Ah. "Where are you gonna go?"


    "There''s arge department store not so far from here, so I was thinking of heading there. Would you like toe with us, Kang-Woo?"


    "No. There are some things I have to take care of, so today won''t work for me. I''ll leave Echidna to you, Seol-Ah."


    "You''re noting, Kang-Woo?" Echidna grabbed his clothes with a sad expression.


    Kang-Woo patted her head gently. "Stay with Seol-Ah today. I''ll be back by dinner."


    "Okay¡­" Echidna nodded while biting her lips a bit.


    ''She''ll need some ID to go around as a human,'' Kang-Woo thought as he looked down at Echidna.


    In the modern world, not having any form of identification was extremely bothersome. So, Kang-Woo was thinking of meeting with Cha Yeon-Joo and asking her to make a form of identification for Echidna.


    ''Great. I was already nning on going to see her anyway.''


    Kang-woo had another reason for meeting Yeon-Joo¡­


    ''I''m going to ask for a regr S-rank Gate ess permit.''


    He couldn''t use his temporary Gate ess permit anymore, so he was nning to ask Yeon-Joo for a permit that would let him enter whenever he wanted.


    ''An S-rank Gate...''


    Initially, Kang-Woo had no intentions of moving on to an S-rank Gate so soon. He had been nning to gain more experience points in B-rank and A-rank Gates and achieve his Sixth Awakening before challenging the S-rank Gate. However, his ns changed after getting Echidna as his summoned beast.


    Kang-Woo looked at Echidna, who was eating with a sad expression.


    ''If I''m with Echidna, I''m sure I''ll be able to hunt in an S-rank Gate.''


    Echidna was a hatchling, but she was still a dragon. She would probably be more than able to handle one or two S-rank monsters.


    Kang-Woo could hunt in an S-rank Gate alone, but the problem was what if something unexpected were to ur. He had no problems handling one or two S-rank monsters, but not even he would be able to handle more than that simultaneously. Echidna would be reliable support in unexpected situations like that.


    "I could give you a ride to the department store though," Kang-Woo expressed.


    "Thanks! That would be great, Kang-Woo," Seol-Ah replied.


    After breakfast, Kang-Woo sent a message to Yeon-Joo and told her that he would be visiting her. Then he gave Echidna and Seol-Ah a ride to the department store.


    "Muhhhh..." Echidna uttered.


    "Don''t make that face. We''ll see each other again tonight," Kang-Woo said.


    Echidna grabbed his clothes and trembled, not wanting to be separated from him.


    After calming Echidna down, Kang-Woo drove to the Red Rose Guild building.


    Beep. Kang-Woo entered the building with the pass that Yeon-Joo had given him and headed to her office.


    Knock, knock.


    "It''s me," Kang-Woo said.


    "Oh,e in," Yeon-Joo responded.


    After opening the door, he found himself standing before a spacious office.


    "So, what brings you here today?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "There are a few favors I want to ask of you," Kang-Woo answered.


    Then he told her what had happened in the S-rank Gate.


    "People from another world appeared...?"


    "Yes. They were apparently from the Continent of Aernor."


    "Sigh..." Yeon-Joo frowned.


    She couldn''t believe what she was hearing.


    Kang-Woo asked Yeon-Joo, who had been rendered speechless, "Do you know anything about the Gaia System?"


    "No. This is the first time I''ve heard of something like that."


    "Hmm... I see."


    "And this summoned beast of yours came from this Continent of Aernor?"


    "Yeah."


    "Can¡­ I see her?"


    "She didn''te with me today. I''ll introduce you to her next time, but you shouldn''t expect much information from her."


    After Echidna''s father disappeared, she''d spent all of her time alone in herir. She probably didn''t know much about Aernor''s state of affairs.


    "First, I''d like you to make an ID card for Echidna."


    "Huh? You want me to make an ID card for your summoned beast?"


    Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo like he was saying nonsense. Then Kang-Woo gave her more details about Echidna to exin why a form of identification was necessary.


    "Huu... Of course, you would summon a dragon... Just what the hell are you?" Yeon-Joo remarked.


    "Isn''t it a bitte to ask me that?"


    "Ngh." Yeon-Joo looked at him, feeling displeased.


    "You can make one for her, right?"


    "Sigh¡­ Fine, whatever. Send me her phototer."


    "Thanks. And one more thing."


    "What now?" Yeon-Joo looked at him exhaustedly because of how thoroughly Kang-Woo was using her.


    "I want a regr S-Rank ess p¡ª"


    Knock, knock.


    Kang-Woo was interrupted by someone knocking. He and Yeon-Joo shifted their gazes to the door.


    "I''vee to discuss something with you," said the person at the door.


    The door creaked open, and a tall woman with silver hair tied up into a ponytail entered Yeon-Joo''s office.


    "Baek Hwa-Yeon?" Kang-Woo mumbled the woman''s name, which was ingrained in his memories.

 Chapter 52 - S-rank Gate Hunt (1)

    Chapter 52 - S-rank Gate Hunt (1)


    The 3rd Squadron of Hwarang¡­


    Unlike the 1st and 2nd Squadrons, which were respectively guarding the S-Rank Gates in Suwon and Pohang, they were in charge of investigating crimesmitted by yers.


    ''I believe she was the captain of the 3rd Squadron.''


    Oh Kang-Woo stared at Baek Hwa-Yeon, who had bright silver hair.


    It was weird for an Asian to have silver hair, but because of her beauty, it didn''t feel weird.


    ''She''s probably strong.''


    He looked at her with his eyes narrowed.


    At first nce, she looked really frail, but there was no way that was actually the case.


    He could feel a sense of dignity from her expressions and how she acted.


    She looked like one of those people who wouldn''t break.


    He wasn''t sure exactly how strong she was, but he felt that she was probably among the strongest.


    "Hmm, I see you already have a guest. I apologize for the interruption. Is he the person you''re supporting?" Hwa-Yeon asked while looking at Kang-Woo.


    "He is," said Cha Yeon-Joo.


    "Is he part of the Red Rose Guild?"


    "No. He isn''t part of our guild. Hmm¡­ It''s more like an alliance."


    "Oh? To think you''d give such huge support to a yer who isn''t part of your guild. That''s surprising."


    "He''s worth it."


    Hwa-Yeon looked at Kang-Woo with interest and extended a hand toward him.


    "Nice to meet you. I''m the captain of Hwarang''s 3rd Squadron, Baek Hwa-Yeon."


    "I''m Oh Kang-Woo."


    "Oh Kang-Woo¡­?"


    After hearing his name, Hwa-Yeon narrowed her eyes and searched through her memory.


    "Oh! You''re the young man I met at the C-rank Gate that time!"


    It seemed she finally remembered having seen Kang-Woo previously. She grabbed his hands while her eyes shone.


    Yeon-Joo tilted her head.


    "Have you two met before?"


    "Yes. He was a very polite and just young man. Haha. Cha Yeon-Joo, you have a good eye for people."


    "¡­ What?"


    After hearing what Hwa-Yeon said, Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo unpleasantly.


    Kang-Woo, a polite and just young man? That was nonsense.


    There weren''t many people in the world whom those words couldn''t be further from than him.


    ''What the hell did he do?''


    Yeon-Joo looked at him with suspicious eyes.


    Kang-Woo scratched the back of his head while making a silly smile.


    "Haha. You tter me. You having such a positive view of me really¡ª"


    "Blegh," Yeon-Joo interrupted.


    "¡­ What?"


    "Nothing, I just felt a bit disgusted."


    Yeon-Joo shrugged and turned her head to Hwa-Yeon. "Well, I can''t agree with him being polite or just, but he''s definitely skilled."


    "Hmm, I see."


    Hwa-Yeon sat down while nodding.


    Yeon-Joo turned her head to Kang-Woo and asked, "So, where were we?"


    "Hmm¡­"


    Kang-Woo nced at Hwa-Yeon.


    Yeon-Joo noticed what he was worried about and said, "You don''t need to worry about Hwa-Yeon. She has a deep rtionship with us."


    "Hmm. Well, if you say so. I want a regr S-rank Gate ess permit this time."


    "¡­ What?"


    Yeon-Joo was surprised by the unexpected request. She looked at Kang-Woo with narrowed eyes.


    "Don''t tell me you''re actually nning to hunt in an S-rank Gate?"


    "Yeah. Didn''t I tell you that I got a summoned beast? It would be dangerous if I were alone, but I''m okay now that I have a summoned beast."


    "Wha¡­"


    Yeon-Joo looked at him in disbelief.


    He didn''t seem to be exaggerating. The Kang-Woo she knew wasn''t someone who would recklessly challenge the impossible.


    If he said he could hunt, it was because he could do it.


    "¡­ You know what monsters appear in Suwon''s S-rank Gate, right?"


    "Giant Ogres, Mountain Giants, Wyverns, and¡­"


    "El Cuero."


    Yeon-Joo mentioned the boss monster of the S-rank Gate.


    "Even if you hunt there, don''t go near theke. Understood?"


    "I know."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    The giantke that covered half of the S-rank Gate¡­ Surprisingly, there were barely any monsters living inside the giantke. The reason for that was the monster named El Cuero that Yeon-Joo had just mentioned.


    El Cuero was a monster that looked like a stingray, and its size reached thirty meters. Its wide fins were covered in thousands of poisonous needles, and its body radiated high-voltage currents.


    Because El Cuero had eaten most of the monsters within theke, those that couldn''t walk out of the water hadn''t survived. The only monsters left in theke were the small fish that El Cuero didn''t consider food.


    Theke of Suwon''s S-rank Gate looked beautiful from the outside, but in reality, it was a ce where one single predator had devoured most of the monsters that''d lived within it.


    "Huu. Okay, then I''ll ask them to convert your temporary ess permit into a regr one. You''ll be able to enter it as soon as tomorrow."


    "Thanks."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone when he heard that he''d be able to enter the Gate the next day.


    "W-Wait!" Hwa-Yeon, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, shouted in surprise. "S-rank Gate? What are you talking about? He was in a C-rank Gate up until a few weeks ago¡­"


    "Oh¡­ You see¡­"


    Yeon-Joo sighed.


    Just like Hwa-Yeon had said, until a few weeks before, Kang-Woo was a yer who''d hunted in a C-rank Gate.


    But now¡­


    ''He''s a monster who can even enter S-rank Gates.''


    Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo in disbelief.


    She knew he was talented, and she thought that maybe he would be able to surpass Baek Kang-Hyun, Korea''s strongest yer. However, he had more potential than she''d thought.


    His growth rate was unprecedented.


    ''The only one I can think of is First Lady¡­''


    First Lady, Grace McCubbin.


    She was the first person to awaken as a yer and was ranked first in the world.


    ''No, he''s growing even faster than Grace.''


    It had been only a month since Kang-Woo had awakened as a yer, yet he had already be as strong as a national ranker.


    Even though First Lady had grown fast, she hadn''t grown as fast as Kang-Woo.


    ''How much of a monster will he be in the future?''


    Yeon-Joo looked at him, half excited and half worried.


    "Well, things happened, but you can believe me when I say you can trust this guy''s skills."


    "Hmm. Even so, an S-rank Gate is¡­"


    Hwa-Yeon looked at Kang-Woo in disbelief.


    An S-rank Gate was a ce where even national rankers were wary about hunting in alone.


    Of course, El Cuero was the biggest reason why people avoided going to Suwan''s S-rank Gate, but the normal monsters that appeared in it were also quite strong.


    ''Did he awaken an S-rank Trait on his Third Awakening or something?''


    Hwa-Yeon stared at Kang-Woo with her head tilted in confusion.


    ''No, even if he has an S-rank Trait, it''s impossible to go from hunting in a C-rank Gate to an S-rank one in just a few weeks.''


    That meant that he may have awakened a Trait with a higher rank than that.


    "¡­ It seems you''ve found an amazing yer," said Hwa-Yeon.


    Yeon-Joo smiled bitterly and shrugged. She looked at Hwa-Yeon and said, "Well¡­ I''m not sure if I found him or he found me, but oh well."


    "Then I''ll be going," Kang-Woo said as he stood up, now that he had finished what he hade here to do.


    He had already talked to her about Echidna''s ID and an S-rank Gate ess permit.


    Since he had already solved both things, there was no reason for him to stay any longer.


    ''They seem to want that too.''


    Kang-Woo turned around while peeking a nce at Hwa-Yeon.


    "Be careful. S-rank Gates are very dangerous ces. I went a couple times and almost died once because I had pulled attention from too many monsters."


    "I''ll keep that in mind," said Kang-Woo. He then walked out of the office.


    ck.


    As Kang-Woo walked out of the office, a heavy silence fell.


    Yeon-Joo looked at Hwa-Yeon, who sat down where Kang-Woo had been.


    "So, why are you here?"


    "It''s about the Demon Cult."


    After hearing the words Demon Cult, Yeon-Joo frowned angrily. Unconceble bloodlust seeped out of her.


    "Have you found them?"


    "No, not yet."


    "¡­ Fuuu."


    Yeon-Joo sighed in disappointment after hearing Hwa-Yeon''s answer.


    Hwa-Yeon said, "But this time, we can have our hopes up."


    "We can?"


    "You''ve heard that one of our agents had sessfully infiltrated the Demon Cult, right?"


    "Oh, yeah. I''ve heard."


    "Last night, Agent Kang Dong-Hun secretly sent me a message saying that he had managed to secure key video footage, so he would set up a rendezvous point and hand me the footage."


    Yeon-Joo''s eyes shone when she heard Hwa-Yeon''s words.


    "Key video footage?"


    "Yes."


    "Then can''t he just send it as a data file? There''s no need to meet him and put both parties in danger, is there?"


    "Communication devices are highly restricted, so he can''t. You also can''t send or receive messages from inside the Demon Cult."


    "¡­ They''re terribly thorough."


    "They have to be, considering what they do."


    Hwa-Yeon frowned, as if just thinking about it angered her.


    The crazy people who kidnapped yers and used them as live sacrifices¡­ Even that was only one of the many things they did.


    Hwa-Yeon didn''t even know what other secrets they had in store.


    Yeon-Joo asked, "Did the agent infiltrate their headquarters?"


    "No, just a branch. We don''t know where their headquarters is. We aren''t even sure if it''s in Korea."


    "¡­ Are you saying the Demon Cult might be spread throughout the world?"


    "Judging by their size, there''s a good chance that''s the case."


    "Wha¡­"


    Yeon-Joo sighed.


    "Just what the hell is the Demon Cult¡­?"


    To think that a cult full of lunatics who used living yers as sacrifices was a global organization¡­ She couldn''t believe something like that was happening in the twenty-first century.


    Hwa-Yeon said, "Nothing is known for sure yet. This is just my guess, so don''t be too hasty."


    "So, where''s the rendezvous point?"


    "Suwon."


    "Suwon?"


    "I''m meeting up with him tomorrow near Hwaseo Station."


    There wasn''t anyone in Korea who didn''t know about Hwaseo Station in Suwon. After all, it was the location of one of Korea''s two S-rank Gates.


    Hwa-Yeon said, "I''d like to ask for your guild''s cooperation. I want to meet him as discreetly as possible, but¡­ just in case something goes wrong, I''d like your guild''s help."


    "Okay."


    Yeon-Joo nodded without hesitation. Things rted to the Demon Cult were her current priority.


    "I''ming too."


    "¡­ Is it because of that girl?"


    "¡­"


    Yeon-Joo frowned at Hwa-Yeon''s question.


    "Don''t talk about Ha-Eun."


    "¡­ My apologies. Understood. It will be very reassuring to have you with us."


    Hwa-Yeon softly patted Yeon-Joo''s shoulder while smiling bitterly.


    "That aside, Hwaseo Station, huh¡­?"


    Yeon-Joo thought of Kang-Woo, who had said he would go hunt in an S-rank Gate.


    ''I''m sure I won''t meet him there, right?''


    All they had to do was receive the video file from the agent.


    There was no way for him to somehow get involved.

 Chapter 53 - S-rank Gate Hunt (2)

    Chapter 53 - S-rank Gate Hunt (2)


    The next day¡­


    Oh Kang-Woo got up early, ate breakfast, and prepared to go out.


    Next to him was Echidna, who was wearing a white one-piece dress with frills.


    Kang-Woo asked, "Is this the dress you bought yesterday with Seol-Ah?"


    Echidna grabbed the dress''s hem and spun. It was a movement Kang-Woo would normally see in manhwa, and looking at Echidna, who resembled a doll, he felt as if he was inside one.


    "Does it look good on me, Kang-Woo?" Echidna looked up at him expectantly.


    Kang-Woo smiled and patted her head. "Yeah. You look amazing."


    "Hehe."


    It seemed Echidna was happy to hear Kang-Woo''s praise. She lightly clenched her fists and skipped.


    She pranced toward Han Seol-Ah and bowed her head.


    "Thanks. Kang-Woo liked it, just like you said."


    "Fufu. You would''ve looked amazing in anything since you''re so pretty, Echidna." Seol-Ah patted Echidna''s head while making a kind smile.


    Kang-Woo turned toward the entrance door. "Then I''ll go hunt with Echidna."


    "Okay, Kang-Woo."


    Seol-Ah seemed to be envious when she heard that he was going to hunt with Echidna, but she smiled bitterly and nodded.


    She knew that she was still far too weak to hunt with him.


    "Have a safe trip, Kang-Woo."


    "You''re going hunting today too, right, Seol-Ah?"


    "Yes. I''m going again with Si-Hun, Tae-Soo, and Eun-Bi."


    "If you see a monster you''ve never seen before, don''t fight it. Just run away."


    "I understand."


    "I''ll go with you to check up on you guys sometime soon."


    "You will?"


    "Yup."


    Seol-Ah seemed surprised.


    Kang-Woo slowly nodded.


    ''I think it''s about time I help them power level.''


    They had probably gained a lot of battle experience, so it was necessary to help them level up to speed up their growth.


    "Hehe. Then I''ll be waiting for that day," said Seol-Ah. She seemed happy just to hear that Kang-Woo would be joining them soon.


    Leaving behind the happy Seol-Ah, Kang-Woo drove to the S-rank Gate.


    * * *


    "Right, then, let''s begin," Kang-Woo said.


    After driving to the S-rank Gate, Kang-Woo easily entered the Gate by using the ess permit Cha Yeon-Joo had given him.


    ''Fewer Hwarang Corps members were at the Gate thanst time. I wonder if something happened?''


    Normally, the entrance would bepletely surrounded by members of the 1st Squadron, but there seemed to be fewer of them today.


    ''Well, I guess it doesn''t matter.''


    It wasn''t important whether or not something happened to the Hwarang Corps.


    Kang-Woo nced at the farawayke and said, "Don''t go near thatke. A very dangerous monster lives inside it."


    "Got it. I''ll stay with you, Kang-Woo," Echidna said.


    "Okay then, I''ll lure the monsters here and you support me with magic. Don''t transform into your original form."


    Echidna would obviously be far more powerful in her original form, but that form was just too big. There was a high chance that they would attract the attention of too many monsters.


    "Okay."


    Echidna nodded, her eyes full of enthusiasm.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Beholder to search for monsters around them.


    ''A Giant Ogre, huh?''


    He sensed a giant five meters tall roaming around.


    The Giant Ogre was the mostmon monster that appeared in the Suwon S-rank Gate. Because it gave a lot of experience, it was a popr monster to hunt.


    ''Let''s try hunting one at a time first.''


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Temptation to lure one Giant Ogre to them.


    Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!


    "Echidna, get ready."


    "Okay."


    The floor rumbled as if there was an earthquake.


    Kang-Woo lowered his body after seeing the Giant Ogre approach.


    "Graaaahhhhh!!" the Giant Ogre roared.


    Kang-Woo was momentarily overwhelmed when he saw a five-meter-tall giant roaring and running toward him.


    ''Authority of Titanic Might.''


    Kang-Woo concluded that, without using an Authority, he wouldn''t be able to beat a Giant Ogre, so he used the Authority of Titanic Might and shed against it.


    Boom!


    As Kang-Woo and the Giant Ogre collided, the surrounding terrain was upturned, and a loud sound rang out.


    "Urghhhh." A short exmation escaped Kang-Woo''s mouth.


    ''As expected from an S-rank monster.''


    Even with the Authority of Titanic Might, the monster''s strength was hard to bear.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    While maintaining the Authority of Titanic Might, Kang-Woo quickly ran up the Giant Ogre''s arm and reached its shoulder.


    ''¡­ It''s nothing I can''t defeat.''


    Crack!!


    "KRAARR!!"


    A spear made of demonic energy pierced the Giant Ogre''s neck.


    Kang-Woo actually wanted to use the Authority of des on top of the Authority of Dark Spears to tear apart the Giant Ogre from the inside out.


    ''But that''ll be a bit too difficult.''


    If he simultaneously used three different Authorities in his current condition, that would be pushing it.


    ''I can''t go against this thing''s raw strength without the Authority of Titanic Might.''


    Kang-Woo clenched his spear even harder to prevent the Giant Ogre from shaking him off.


    The Giant Ogre was so strong that blood came out of Kang-Woo''s hand from clenching the spear too hard.


    As Kang-Woo and the Giant Ogre shed with each other, Echidna aided Kang-Woo with her magic.


    "Dark Scythe."


    Twelve ck scythes appeared in the air and flew toward the Giant Ogre.


    sh! sh!


    "Gaaaaaahhh!!"


    The Giant Ogre, which had been trying to shake off Kang-Woo, was stabbed by the twelve scythes. Its eyes turned red, and it iled even more violently.


    "GRRRR!!"


    The Giant Ogre frantically charged toward Echidna, who was attacking it from afar.


    "I can''t let you do that," Kang-Woo said. He then dismissed the Authority of Dark Spears and concentrated the Authority of Titanic Might onto his right hand.


    Crack!


    His right hand, powered with the Authority of Titanic Might, prated the monster''s skull, and Kang-Woo felt something squishy.


    ''Authority of Electricity.''


    Bzzt!!


    "Guuuuurrr¡­"


    The Giant Ogre, with its mouth agape, staggered after having its brain directly fried with electricity.


    A ck scythe flew toward the sluggish Giant Ogre''s neck.


    Boom!


    The five-meter-tall Giant Ogre fell to the ground.


    Ring.


    [You have sessfully defeated the S-rankmon monster Giant Ogre.]


    [Increasing EXP.]


    [Your level has risen by 1.]


    ''I leveled up from just killing one monster.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone after he read the message window.


    Usually, it would require a party of yers at least Level 65 to hunt in an S-rank Gate. Therefore, because Kang-Woo was at Level 40, he''d gained a massive amount of EXP at once.


    ''Very nice.''


    He thought that choosing to go to an S-rank Gate was the correct decision. In an A-rank Gate, he wouldn''t have been able to level up after killing a single monster.


    "Kang-Woo, are you okay?"


    Echidna approached Kang-Woo, who was covered in the Giant Ogre''s blood. She looked at him with worried eyes.


    He gently patted her head and said, "I''m fine. It''s just a scratch."


    Kang-Woo had gripped the spear tight so as to not be thrown off the Giant Ogre, so his palm had been slightly cut. Since it was only a tiny scratch from the spear shaft, it wasn''t even worth using the Authority of Regeneration.


    "I''ll treat you." Echidna didn''t seem to like that he had been injured even a little, so she began licking the wound.


    "¡­"


    A ticklish sensation spread from his hand.


    While smiling awkwardly, Kang-Woo looked at Echidna, who was licking his hand.


    ''That hand has been inside the Giant Ogre''s brain.''


    Kang-Woo thought it would be better not to tell her that at this moment.


    "I''m fine now," Kang-Woo said, pulling his hand out of Echidna¡¯s grasp.


    Echidna looked at him, a bit disappointed. Looking at his hand, she carefully asked, "Kang-Woo, was I of help?"


    "Yeah, you were."


    He did not even have to hesitate. She really had been of great help in hunting the Giant Ogre.


    Echidna smiled brightly after hearing his answer.


    Kang-Woo fell into thought while looking at her.


    ''For her to be this strong without being in her original form¡­''


    He thought that if she fought using her original body, they would be able to horde-hunt even inside an S-rank Gate.


    "I feel like I''ve be way stronger after connecting with you, Kang-Woo."


    Echidna looked at her own body in surprise. She felt that, after spending a night with Kang-Woo, she had be stronger than before.


    "Hmm¡­" Kang-Woo, who still appeared troubled by Echidna''s choice of words, gulped. "Let''s hunt another one."


    "Okay."


    After devouring the Giant Ogre with the Authority of Predation, Kang-Woo moved on to find the next target.


    "Kiieekk!!"


    "That''s¡­"


    At that moment, he noticed a group of Wyverns flying toward them.


    Wyverns weren''t S-rank monsters, but it was known that one had to be even more careful with them than with Giant Ogres because Wyverns traveled in flights.


    ''There are more than thirty Wyverns.''


    Kang-Woo''s expression stiffened when he looked at the group of Wyverns flying toward them.


    A group of over thirty Wyverns was powerful enough to take down a Giant Ogre easily.


    "Kiieekk!!"


    The group of Wyverns descended toward Kang-Woo and Echidna at near-supersonic speed.


    Kang-Woo dodged the Wyverns'' attacks while hugging Echidna.


    Scratch.


    "Ah¡­" Echidna screamed.


    While they were dodging the attacks, the ws of a Wyvern had caught on Echidna''s dress and ripped it.


    Echidna''s face turned pale.


    "A-Aaahhh¡­"


    "Let''s run away," Kang-Woo said while looking at the group of Wyverns, but Echidna wasn''t in a state where she could hear his words.


    She said, "K-Kang-Woo¡­"


    "Hmm?"


    "Kang-Woo praised me for this dress¡­"


    Her body trembled while she gripped the torn dress. Then, a terrifying energy erupted from her body as if an explosion had happened.


    "Kang-Woo praised me for this dress!"


    A blue light covered Echidna, and then a giant dragon that made the Wyverns look like a flock of sparrows appeared.


    "Krrr?!"


    The Wyverns, which had flown toward them as if pursuing the scent of a delicious treat, stared in surprise at Echidna, who had transformed into a dragon.


    [GRRRAAAAAHHHH!!]


    Echidna''s roar rang out.


    After hearing the roar of a dragon, the Wyverns tried to turn around and escape.


    Crack! Crush!


    Echidna massacred the group of Wyverns trying to escape.


    The group of Wyverns, which could hunt a Giant Ogre as if the Giant Ogre were a child, died powerlessly under Echidna''s ws.


    "Wha¡­"


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief.


    ''Isn''t she stronger than me?''


    Echidna was stronger than he had initially thought.

 Chapter 54 - S-rank Gate Hunt (3)

    Chapter 54 - S-rank Gate Hunt (3)


    [Graaaahhhh!!!]


    Echidna''s angry roar spread throughout the S-rank Gate.


    Riiing.


    [Your summoned beast has defeated the A-rankmon monster Wyvern.]


    [Your level has risen.]


    "Kiieekk!!"


    The screams of Wyverns filled the air as the ck scythes, fire, and thorns that Echidna created rained down on them.


    Riiing.


    [Your summoned beast has defeated the A-rankmon monster Wyvern.]


    [Your level has risen.]


    ''Nice job!''


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists upon seeing Echidna''s great performance.


    More Wyvern reinforcements arrived after having sensed their kin in danger, but they were powerless against Echidna, who was currently enraged.


    ''Yes! Kill them all!''


    Kang-Woo smiled as he watched Echidna kill the Wyverns with a strength that exceeded his expectations. Every time she killed a Wyvern, a blue message appeared in front of him, notifying him that his level had risen. Kang-Woo was leveling up at an incredible speed.


    "Yeah! This is what a summoned beast is all about!"


    Kang-Woo felt like a trophy husband who lived without doing anything.


    What about the Buer and the Cerberus? They didn''t matter. Echidna was iparably stronger than those two demonic beasts that he had thought of summoning.


    ''Although, she does consume a lot of demonic energy.''


    Kang-Woo was a bit disappointed as he felt his demonic energy was depleting.


    At first, he was surprised to see Echidna annihte a group of Wyverns. She was so strong that Kang-Woo couldn''t believe she had lost against Reynald''s party. However, that doubt was quickly exined by the enormous amount of demonic energy that was sucked out of him every time Echidna moved.


    ''So, she became stronger after receiving my power.''


    Kang-Woo finally understood what Echidna had been referring to about having made a connection with him. Just like how a Familiar was connected to its master, his and Echidna''s souls were also connected.


    ''It''s a bit different from Kim Si-Hun''s case.''


    Kim Si-Hun''s main source of strength wasn''t demonic energy but his unique stat Qi, whereas Echidna''s main source of strength was demonic energy. Even though they were both connected to Kang-Woo''s soul, he could give more to Echidna than to Kim Si-Hun.


    [Grraaaahhhh!!!!]


    Crack! Crunch!


    ''Whatever the case, it isn''t a bad thing.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up when he saw that Echidna had eliminated most of the Wyverns.


    If he had summoned a Buer or a Cerberus, it was likely that neither of them would have be as strong as Echidna even if they had taken in his demonic energy.


    ''There''s a huge gap in their potential, after all.''


    It didn''t matter how strong an ant became; it was still an ant. Every species had a hard cap on how much strength they could obtain. Of course, it could be said that thatw didn''t apply in the world of yers, but there was no way it didn''t have any influence at all.


    ''In that sense, Echidna is amazing.''


    Echidna disyed so much power that Kang-Woo wondered if she was stronger than him. Based on what he had seen so far, she seemed to possess greater power than he had expected.


    ''And...''


    The fact that Echidna could use his power to be so strong meant that his growth affected Echidna.


    ''The stronger I get, the stronger Echidna will get too.''


    Kang-Woo was getting stronger at a very fast rate, so being able to affect Echidna''s growth was a huge plus. It was like wearing clothes that grew with you as you grew.


    Riiing.


    [Your summoned beast has defeated the A-rankmon monster Wyvern.]


    [Your level has risen.]


    Kang-Woo heard the clear chime of a bell. Then silence fell on his surroundings.


    [Huff, huff...]


    The destruction was finally over. After massacring the Wyverns, Echidna was panting. She returned to her small size after being covered with a blue light again.


    "Sniff..." Echidna teared up while looking at her dress, which had been ripped by a Wyvern''s ws.


    Kang-Woo patted her head. "It''s okay. We can always buy more clothes."


    "But..."


    "Don''t worry. I''m sure anything would look good on you."


    Echidna finally stopped crying after Kang-Woo consoled her.


    Kang-Woo then continued with a slightly reproachful tone, "But I''d appreciate it if you didn''t do something like this again."


    "Ngh..."


    "I don''t like people who can''t control their anger and just lose their minds."


    Despite what Kang-Woo said, it wasn''t simply a matter of whether he liked people who behaved irrationally. The issue was that bing irrational out of rage was a fatal error that could lead to death.


    "I-I''m sorry..." Echidna lowered her head with a sad expression.


    Kang-Woo felt bad about scolding her, but this was something that he couldn''t just gloss over withughter.


    ''If I don''t make it clear, she might do it again.''


    It was good news that Echidna was strong. Kang-Woo had cheered for her earlier when she returned to her original form and wiped out the group of Wyverns. However, it would be a problem if she thought that what she did was okay because of that. Just because the result was fine didn''t mean there wasn''t any issue with the process.


    "Just don''t do it again. Okay?" Kang-Woo said.


    "Okay. I won''t get angry again." Echidna anxiously nodded because she didn''t want Kang-Woo to hate her because of what had just happened.


    She desperatelycked affection from others, so Kang-Woo had be an irreceable person to her.


    Kang-Woo patted her head and replied, "Okay. I''ll trust you."


    "Yeah. I''ll work even harder and be more helpful to you, Kang-Woo."


    Echidna clenched her fists and began walking energetically in search of the next target.


    At that moment, she stumbled as she stepped forward. "Ah!"


    "Are you okay?" Kang-Woo asked hurriedly.


    Fortunately, he caught Echidna before she fell to the ground. He noticed that Echidna was breathing heavily, and beads of sweat were streaming down her forehead.


    ''She overdid herself.''


    Echidna was paying the price for using Kang-Woo''s power and exerting more power than she originally had.


    "I-I''m okay. I still can move a b¡ª"


    "That''s enough for today. Stay here and rest for a bit."


    "But..."


    "Stay here and rest," Kang-Woo said firmly.


    Echidna flinched a bit, but she then nodded in agreement.


    Kang-Wooid her down on top of a nearby rock and stood up.


    "Just lie here," he told Echidna.


    "What about you, Kang-Woo?"


    "I have to take care of a few things."


    After saying that, Kang-Woo walked toward the forest.


    "Fuu," Kang-Woo let out a sigh.


    He could hear loud stepsing from inside the forest.


    "There are around five, I assume," he remarked.


    There was no way that the other monsters in the Gate hadn''t noticed a twenty-meter-long dragon wreaking havoc.


    Kang-Woo began warming up after sensing five Giant Ogresing his way.


    ''It isn''t going to be easy.''


    Kang-Woo felt a bit burdened at the thought of fighting five Giant Ogres without Echidna''s help.


    "Well, I guess I could push myself a little once in a while."


    Leeching from the experience points that his summoned beast gained from hunting was good and all, but Kang-Woo also needed to do things himself from time to time. Just like how a knife needed to be sharpened for it to cut properly, a person needed to keep fighting to maintain their battle sense.


    Fwoosh!


    The Authority of Hellfire set aze both of Kang-Woo''s hands. A smile appeared on his face, and strong bloodlust flowed out of him. After beingpletely covered in demonic energy, Kang-Woo no longer seemed like a human.


    Rumble!!!


    The predator of predators bared his sharp teeth.


    * * *


    "I''ve leveled up quite a lot."


    Once he was done hunting, Kang-Woo opened his status window and checked his achievements for the day. His current level was 49. This meant he was about to reach Level 50 and achieve his Sixth Awakening.


    Thanks to hunting in an S-rank Gate, his level had risen from 41 to 49 in a single day. His leveling-up speed waspletely unprecedented. It was so fast that if he were to tell someone, that person would probably think that he had gone crazy.


    ''In the first ce, there probably isn''t any yer who can hunt in an S-rank Gate with a level that''s in the forties range.''


    It was all thanks to Kang-Woo''s absurd stats and abilities that didn''t match his level.


    ''My demonic energy also rose.''


    Kang-Woo smiled when he noticed that his demonic energy had increased significantlypared to before. The monsters in this Gate didn''t give as much demonic energy as demonic beasts, but Kang-Woo had still managed to umte quite a lot because of the monsters'' high rank.


    "I guess I can call it a day."


    Kang-Woo wanted to achieve his Sixth Awakening since it was just around the corner, but he was starting to feel the effects of having pushed himself a bit too hard.


    ''There''s always tomorrow.''


    After all, the speed at which he had leveled up today was inconceivable for other yers.


    "Echidna, are you feeling okay?"


    "I''m still a bit tired, but I''m fine after resting a bit."


    After taking a break on the rock, Echidna rejoined Kang-Woo and helped him to hunt, but she seemed far more exhausted than she had let on.


    Kang-Woo gently patted her head and said, "Let''s call it a day."


    "I''m still good to go."


    "I''m tired too, so let''s end it here."


    "Okay¡­ Then let''s go home."


    Echidna''s expression showed that she was relieved. She didn''t say it out loud, but it seemed like she had been overexerting herself.


    After stroking Echidna''s head a bit more, Kang-Woo turned toward the Gate''s exit.


    "Right. Let''s buy you some new clothes on the way home," he said.


    Echidna was currently wearing Kang-Woo''s outerwear instead of the ripped dress.


    She nodded with bright eyes. "I''m okay with anything that you choose for me, Kang-Woo."


    "Okay."


    Echidna walked beside Kang-Woo while gripping his clothes. As they exited the Gate, they were greeted by the chilly night air.


    Kang-Woo searched for clothing stores around the area. However, they were standing by a Gate, so there were no clothing stores nearby.


    Kang-Woo walked toward the closest clothing store by using the shortest path that was disyed on the map on his phone. The pair then found themselves in front of a deserted alleyway.


    ''If we go through here and walk about three hundred meters...''


    Kang-Woo looked down at the map while continuing to walk.


    "Kang-Woo."


    At that moment, Echidna, who was following behind Kang-Woo, pulled on his clothes. He tilted his head as he turned to face her.


    Echidna said with a stiff expression, "I smell blood."

 Chapter 55 - Confidential Video (1)

    Chapter 55 - Confidential Video (1)


    "Hurgh! Huff!"


    Kang Dong-Hun was breathing heavily. He felt his bloodstained T-shirt stick to his skin as he walked.


    ''I need to contact the captain...''


    Dong-Hun held the memory card tight with a desperate expression. He thought of his captain, who was probably looking for him.


    Dong-Hun was thinking of Baek Hwa-Yeon, the beautiful woman with shining silver hair¡­ and the person in charge of the 3rd Squadron of the Hwarang Corps.


    "Cough! Cough!" Red blood spewed from Dong-Hu''s mouth.


    Nevertheless, he wiped off the blood dripping from his mouth with his sleeve and kept moving.


    ''I need to lose those bastards somehow.''


    Dong-Hun bit his lip while fighting against the pain that was turning his mind into a haze. The thoughts about his pursuers made his body feel even heavier.


    "Damn it..."


    He was gradually losing consciousness and struggled to keep going.


    Dong-Hun didn''t mind dying, but he couldn''t die without giving the video he was holding to Hwa-Yeon. That''s how shocking the contents of the video were.


    "..."


    Dong-Hun stared at the micro SD memory card that was the size of a fingernail. Everything that he had experienced before acquiring this video shed before his eyes.


    ''Crazy sons of bitches.''


    Dong-Hun frowned as he recalled what he''d seen while infiltrating the Demon Cult. He''d witnessed the cult''s members use living people as sacrifices without batting an eye. However, the problem was that the cult didn''t consist of one or two lunatics like that. The Demon Cult, which had been believed to be simply a pseudo-religious cult, was far bigger than he had imagined.


    After infiltrating the Demon Cult, Dong-Hun acted as if he were crazy too to get more information. In doing so, he managed to record footage of shocking information.


    ''Everything had gone well until then.''


    The Demon Cult strictly restrictedmunication devices to prevent information from leaking out. Even if someone managed to sneak a device in, they wouldn''t be able to use it due to a jamming device installed inside the cult''s base. So, for the Hwarang Corps to get the footage that Dong-Hun had recorded, he had to bring the memory card to their headquarters in person.


    "Cough! Cough!" Dong-Hun coughed up more blood and fell to the ground.


    To get the video outside the cult''s base, he had put a fake video on top of the original video, which could only be viewed by using a decoding device that the Hwarang Corps possessed. The fake video was something that wasn''t unusual for an adult male to have, so he had managed to walk out of the base of the Demon Cult with ease and then headed toward the rendezvous point.


    ''Of all times for the camera to be found¡­''


    However, one of the Demon Cult members had found Dong-Hun''s camera, wasting his efforts to make a cover-up. The fake video was pointless since the Demon Cult ended up finding out that he''d made recordings of the events inside their base.


    After realizing his n had failed, Dong-Hun took the memory card and fled. Members of the Demon Cult pursued him, and an intense fight took ce. Dong-Hun eventually barely managed to escape and contacted headquarters for assistance, but he could barely run due to having received a fatal injury.


    "Haa, haa..."


    Presently, Dong-Hun felt his conscience was getting blurry because of his continuous loss of blood. He could instinctively tell that he was getting close to his limit. If he lost consciousness now, the evidence he possessed would be destroyed by his pursuers.


    "Captain..."


    With what was left of his strength, Dong-Hun crawled along a deserted alleyway.


    "I smell blood."


    At that moment, he heard the clear voice of a little girl. Dong-Hun''s eyes lit up, and he crawled in the direction that the voice came from.


    * * *


    "Huff! Huff!"


    Oh Kang-Woo heard the sound of someone pantinge from inside the alleyway. He frowned after realizing the scent of blood was wafting over from that direction.


    ''What the hell?''


    Kang-Woo was very far away from the Gate. There was no reason for there to be such an intense scent of blood around here.


    He walked closer to the source of the heavy breathing.


    "Ahh, urghh..."


    There, Kang-Woo saw a young man in his mid-twenties. He was covered in blood and trembling in pain.


    Upon seeing Kang-Woo, the young man crawled over to him.


    "Th-This... Please..."


    With trembling hands, the young man gave Kang-Woo a memory card. It was a micro SD card that was often used in smartphones.


    "Hwar¡ª"


    Thud.


    The man lost consciousness without being able to finish his sentence.


    Kang-Woo was confused by what happened.


    "What the hell is this?"


    The young man covered in blood had copsed before Kang-Woo could do anything.


    Kang-Woo looked around and walked toward the young man.


    ''He''s dead.''


    It seemed like the young man had already been fatally wounded before Kang-Woo got there. The young man ended up losing his life almost immediately after he saw Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo went through the young man''s clothes to try to find out his identity.


    "Hmm..."


    However, he couldn''t find anything on the young man¡ªnot a wallet or even a smartphone. There was nothing that he could use to check the young man''s identity.


    ''I wonder if I can check who he is with the Authority of the Beholder.''


    Kang-woo used the Authority of the Beholder on the young man. After all, Kang-Woo had been able to see Kim Si-Hun''s status window thanks to it, so he thought this should work.


    Demonic energy emerged from Kang-Woo and entered the corpse.


    [Status Window]


    [yer Name: Kang Dong-Hun


    Level: 52 (Sixth Awakening)]


    ''Sixth Awakening?''


    The young man, Kang Dong-Hun, was a considerably high-level yer. Furthermore, the highest-ranking Trait he had was ranked A, which wasn''t low at all.


    ''It''s clear he didn''te out of the Gate.''


    To ess an S-rank Gate, a yer had to be at least Level 60 and have achieved their Seventh Awakening.


    ''I didn''t see him inside the Gate either.''


    Kang-Woo looked down at the micro SD card that Dong-Hun had left behind.


    "I guess this is the only clue I have."


    Kang-Woo put the micro SD card inside his phone. There was only one video file stored in it. He pressed y and watched it.


    "Th-This is¡ª!¡±


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened upon seeing the contents of the video. There were sounds of wet pping and a woman moaning, along with scenes of exposed skin filling the screen...


    The micro SD card that Kang-Woo had received from the young man, who had been on the verge of dying, contained a video that was for adults only.


    ''This is porn...''


    Kang-Woo was dumbstruck by the situation that had far transcended his imagination. To think that the thing that the young man had given him in hisst breath was porn.


    ''What the hell is going on?''


    Kang-Woo grabbed his forehead in confusion. He couldn''t evenugh at how bizarre the situation was.


    ''Why would he give me something like this right before dying?''


    It was far too obscene to consider it a memento.


    ''Maybe I saw it wrong?''


    Kang-Woo once again watched the video from start to finish, but there was nothing in the five-minute video except for interacting bodies.


    "..."


    He looked down at his smartphone screen with his mouth closed. His eyes lit up as he decided he had to see into the truth of the video, and he watched it again from start to finish.


    "Hmm..."


    Again¡­


    "Hmm."


    And again¡­


    "Dayum..."


    Kang-Woo watched it non-stop.


    "This is¡­"


    The corners of his mouth curled up. He looked at the woman in the video with a smile.


    "...Nice."


    Ten millennia¡­ It had been ten millennia since Kang-Woo had watched porn.


    "Very nice."


    Nothing mattered to him at that very moment, not even his dignity. Kang-Woo was so engrossed with the video that he might be pulled into it.


    ''Amazing.''


    Kang-Woo had bright eyes as he watched the video. He could feel himself getting aroused just by watching it.


    Echidna tilted her head in wonder and asked while pulling on Kang-Woo''s clothes, "What''s that, Kang-Woo?"


    "A video containing something very important," Kang-Woo said in the most serious tone he had ever used.


    ¡°Something very important?¡±


    "Yeah. The mysteries of the human body... or the miracle of life..."


    Kang-Woo was describing porn in a glorifying way when suddenly¡­


    Step, step.


    "Hey."


    A group of ck-robed men with a crazed look in their eyes surrounded Kang-Woo and Echidna.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo put his smartphone into his pocket while staring at the ck-robed men. He could sense a thick bloodlusting from them.


    ''Who are these guys?''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    At that moment, one guy who had half of his face covered in burn scars approached Kang-Woo and Echidna. He looked back and forth between Dong-Hun, who was now a corpse, and Kang-Woo.


    The man then said in a low tone, "You''ve seen the video."


    "What?" Kang-Woo looked at him in confusion.


    The man in ck burst out intoughter. "It''s pointless to act dumb. I know you''ve seen it."


    "I mean, I did see it, but..."


    "As long as you''ve seen that video, we cannot let you live."


    "What are you talking about?" Kang-Woo looked at him in disbelief.


    The man with the burned face snorted. "Hmph. Are you trying to act dumb after seeing all that?"


    ''The hell?'' Kang-Woo thought.


    "You have a lot of nerve. Or maybe you''re just dumb," the man continued.


    ''What''s with them?''


    "In any case, as long as you''ve seen that video, we cannot let you live," the man said.


    ''Why are they so obsessed with porn?''


    Kang-Woo looked around puzzledly, unable to understand the current situation. The ck-robed men took out their weapons and released a chilling bloodlust.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t understand why these people were so obsessed with the video. Nevertheless, the one thing he knew for sure was that they were trying to take this video away from him.


    His gaze turned sharp, and he softly grabbed his phone, which he had put in his pocket.


    "I''m sorry, but I can''t let you have this," Kang-Woo said.


    "Hmph, you''ve finally revealed your true colors."


    The men brandished their weapons at Kang-Woo as if they had known this would happen.


    Kang-Woo red at them with a zing spirit. ''No matter what happens, I will protect this video. Even if it costs me my life!''

 Chapter 56 - Confidential Video (2)

    Chapter 56 - Confidential Video (2)


    "Kill him!"


    The men surrounding Oh Kang-Woo charged toward him simultaneously.


    Kang-Woo lowered his body, quickly checked his surroundings, and counted the number of opponents.


    ''Twelve.''


    The ck-robed man at the forefront swung down his sword while shouting, "Haap!"


    ng!


    "Huh?!" he uttered.


    He was pushed back the moment his sword collided with Kang-Woo''s de. The ck-robed man looked back and forth between his sword and Kang-Woo''s de in disbelief.


    However, he wasn''t the only one who got a surprise.


    "Haap!"


    Someone else swung an ax at Kang-Woo from behind, but he dodged it easily. He used the Authority of Haste and moved at an incredible speed.


    ''Authority of Invulnerability.''


    Kang-Woo dismissed the Authority of des and instead concentrated the Authority of Invulnerability on both of his hands. ck energy covered his fists in a form that resembled gauntlets.


    With thebination of the Authority of Haste and Invulnerability, Kang-Woo''s punches were faster than the speed of light and more powerful than a cannonball. Kang-Woo sent his opponents flying.


    Bash!


    "Kurgh!"


    One of the men who received a punch was flung backward like a pebble.


    Crack!


    "Argh!"


    It was useless if they tried to block the punches with their weapons. Thanks to the Authority of Haste, Kang-Woo could easily twist his body a bit and hit parts of his opponent that they couldn''t block.


    The ck-robed men tumbled to the ground, apanied by the sound of their bones breaking.


    "What the..."


    "Where did someone like hime from?"


    Three people fell instantly, and none of the ck-robed men could hide their surprise.


    They were by no means weak. All of them had achieved their Fifth Awakening, and their leader had achieved his Sixth Awakening. It was difficult for yers to raise their levels easily without a high-ranking Attribute, so this meant that these ck-robed men were all among the strong.


    Moreover, there were twelve of them. Even if their opponent had surpassed the wall of Level 59, which was considered a yer''s ¡®Limit of Effort'', there was no way that he should be able to overwhelm them like this.


    "D-Don''t tell me¡­ He''s on his Eighth Awakening?"


    "Th-There''s no way."


    The men couldn''t believe what had just happened, so they grabbed their weapons again and charged toward Kang-Woo. Nevertheless, the result was the same as before. No, it was worse.


    Crack! sh!


    "AARRGGHH!!"


    The men who lost their arms and legs screamed while spewing out blood. They looked as pathetic as moths flying into mes.


    Kang-Woo did not need to use refined techniques orplicated mind games against them. He beat them with just overwhelming speed and strength.


    The number of people with all of their limbs intact was reduced to half.


    "M-Monster..."


    Expressions of fear were present on the faces of the ck-robed men.


    Kang-Woo was overwhelmingly more powerful than them. The beatdown made them lose all morale.


    The ck-robed man who seemed like the group''s leader said with a frown, "All of you, unleash your power."


    "B-But sir..."


    "We''ll all die at this rate anyway!" the group''s leader bellowed.


    Hearing that, the expressions of the remaining men stiffened.


    ''What are they trying to do?'' Kang-Woo thought while frowning.


    His question was answered soon after.


    The men chanted in an unknownnguage, and demonic energy surged from them.


    ''Demonic energy.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed.


    The fact that the men were using demonic energy could only mean one thing.


    ''They''re members of the Demon Cult?''


    Now Kang-Woo was even more confused about why they were trying so frantically to get back the pornographic video.


    ''Was there something I missed?''


    Kang-Woo thought about it deeply, reying the five-minute video in his mind. However, no matter how much he thought about it, there hadn''t been anything in the video except for the miracle of life.


    "Guuuurrgghhh!"


    The faces of the men crumpled as they used demonic energy. Their blood vessels protruded excessively, appearing hideous. The eyes of the men turned red, and their skin ck. Their muscles bulged so much that it looked like they were going to burst.


    "Whoa," Kang-Woo uttered while looking at them with great interest.


    ''Their bodies are turning into that of demons.''


    Up until recently, they had been still been mostly human, so Kang-Woo hadn''t noticed anything off about them. However, they were now changing and bing more like demons.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed.


    ''It''s subpar at best.''


    There was no better word to describe the transformation than ''subpar.''


    The moment a human epted demonic energy, they were bound to change and be mostly a demon. Once that happened, there were two possible oues: the first was that the human would turn into a demon while maintaining their original appearance like in Kang-Woo''s case, and the other one was that they would turn into a grotesque demon.


    Demons constantly craved to fulfill their desires. It might not sound that bad, but it was by no means a simple feat for a human to suppress such desires. Once their desirespletely devoured their sense of reason and they got drunk on their overflowing power...


    ''They turn into a demonic beast rather than a demon.''


    Kang-Woo looked coldly at the men who could no longer be called humans. Their rationality had been lost to their desires; they had beenpletely devoured by demonic energy.


    In the context of a martial arts novel, the men would be practitioners who had let the demonic artspletely devour their sense of reason, while Kang-Woo was a master that had perfect control over the demonic arts.


    "Tsk. I won''t be able to ask them why they''re so obsessed with this video anymore," Kang-Woo said, clicking his tongue as he looked at the men.


    Even with the Authority of Fear, Kang-Woo wouldn''t be able to get any information out of the men because their human minds had beenpletely devoured.


    "GRRRR!"


    After the men transformed into giants with ck skin and red eyes, they threw their weapons aside and charged toward Kang-Woo.


    Echidna stood in their way and dered, "I won''t let youy a hand on Kang-Woo."


    Unlike before, she could feel dangerous energying from them. Echidna immediately stepped in front of Kang-Woo to protect him.


    The demonic beasts flinched a bit upon sensing the overwhelming force that Echidna was emitting.


    "Echidna."


    "Kang-Woo?"


    Echidna looked worryingly at Kang-Woo, who ced his hand on her shoulder and pushed her behind him.


    "Kang-Woo, it''s dangerous. You could get hurt. I''ll take¡ª"


    "There are a few things you still don''t know about me," Kang-Woo said. He raised one of the corners of his mouth while stepping forward. "There isn''t anyone who''s a better match against them than me."


    To be the lord of all demons, he had battled and devoured countless demons and demonic beasts throughout ten millennia. There probably wasn''t anyone in the world who knew how to fight against demonic beasts better than Kang-Woo.


    ck.


    Kang-Woo calmly observed their actions as he pulled out a de of demonic energy from the back of his hand.


    The men who had turned into demonic beasts charged toward Kang-Woo. Due to their increased physical strength, the hard concrete floor sank with every single step they took.


    "GRRRR!"


    Kang-Woo easily dodged their attacks and stabbed one of the demonic beasts. The thirty-centimeter-long demonic energy de prated the demonic beast''s chest. If the de had pierced the chest of a human, they would''ve died instantly.


    ''But not if they''re a demonic beast.''


    Demonic beasts had a regenerative ability that couldn''t bepared to that of humans.


    Kang-Woo infused more demonic energy into his de.


    Crack!!


    The de stuck in the demonic beast''s chest grew and tore the demonic beast apart from the inside out. Dark red blood spewed out like a fountain.


    ''You need to do at least this much to kill them.''


    Kang-Woo looked apathetically at the pieces of flesh on the ground and kept moving.


    sh! Crack!


    "GRAARR!!"


    Every time Kang-Woo moved, the demonic beasts screamed in agony.


    Earlier, they resolved to unleash their trump card, but even after doing so, the flow of the battle didn''t change in the slightest. Rather, Kang-Woo''s movements became even more aggressive after he concluded that he wouldn''t be able to get any information out of them.


    "Guh... Aghh..."


    The demonic beasts, who had lost all sense of reason, were stricken with fear. Their instincts as demonic beasts were screaming that their opponent was not prey. He wasn''t someone that insignificant beings like them could face; he was an absolute being that ruled over them from up high.


    "GRAARR!" the demonic beasts screamed as they fled.


    Kang-Woo smiled when he saw them scatter to try and escape.


    "It''s far toote for that," he said.


    Then Kang-Woo slowly extended his right hand. Powerful demonic energy surged from him. The demonic energy de that hade out of the back of his hand burrowed into the ground on its own as if it were a living being.


    ''Field of des.''


    Crumble!


    Thousands of des burst up from the ground, breaking through the concrete. They engulfed the fleeing demonic beasts like a massive wave. The demonic beasts were ripped apart, and pieces of their bodies sttered all over the ground.


    "Fuu."


    After wiping out all the demonic beasts, Kang-Woo caught his breath and took out his smartphone.


    "Why did they go so far for something like this?"


    He took out his smartphone and reyed the video yet again, but just like before, he could only hear the sound of pounding bodies and the moans of a woman.


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''No matter how you look at it, it''s just porn.''


    As he was staring at the screen in confusion...


    m!


    "Are you sure this is the ce?!"


    "Yes! The signal clearly came from here..."


    Kang-Woo saw Cha Yeon-Joo and Baek Hwa-Yeon approach him at a frightening speed.


    ''Cha Yeon-Joo?''


    Kang-Woo was surprised by Yeon-Joo''s sudden appearance.


    "Kang-Woo...?" Yeon-Joo said. Her eyes widened in disbelief when she noticed him. "Wh-Why are you here?"


    "That''s my line. What are you doing here?" Kang-Woo replied.


    "Ah!" Yeon-Joo uttered and quickly shook her head, seeming to have remembered why she hade there. She then asked, "Kang-Woo, have you seen a memory card with a video on it somewhere around here?"


    "Are you talking about this?"


    Kang-Woo showed her a memory card for a smartphone, and Cha Yeon-Joo''s eyes lit up.


    "Yes, that''s it!"


    "But why are you looking for something like this...?"


    "It has a very important video stored in it."


    "... What?" Kang-Woo said, looking at her with a stunned expression.


    Yeon-Joo answered him seriously, "It''s something I absolutely need."


    "This¡­?"


    Kang-Woo looked at her with a stiff expression, but Yeon-Joo just nodded without hesitation.


    "I need to use it right now, so give it here."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo trembled while looking down at the memory card. He recalled the video that was on it.


    ''You need to use it right now? To do what¡­ exactly?''

 Chapter 57 - Confidential Video (3)

    Chapter 57 - Confidential Video (3)


    "... Okay," Oh Kang-Woo said.


    He had a puzzled expression as he gave Cha Yeon-Joo the memory card.


    ''It seems like there''s definitely something hidden in the video.''


    No matter how much he thought about it, Yeon-Joo wouldn''t be saying all this over a porn video.


    After receiving the memory card, she seemed to think of something.


    She said slowly, "Now that it''se to this, we should watch it together. You''ll have to know about it sooner orter anyway."


    ''No, I already know about that kind of stuff,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    He became sure that there was something hidden in the video, but he couldn''t help but feel weird about it.


    "Hwa-Yeon, how is your agent?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "He''s dead,¡± Baek Hwa-Yeon answered with a grim expression after searching through the corpses.


    She approached Kang-Woo and spoke in a low voice, "Could I... ask you what happened here?"


    "I''m not sure what''s going on either," Kang-Woo said.


    He sighed and told her what had happened starting from the moment he met the young man who had given him the memory card.


    "They attacked you the moment you received the memory card?"


    "Yes."


    "... I guess you really were just caught up in it by coincidence."


    Hwa-Yeon swept her disheveled silver hair up as if she had a headache.


    "That aside, I''d also like to know. What is going on?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "I''ll exin everything after we watch the video," Hwa-Yeon remarked.


    "Oh, right. About that vi¡ª"


    Before Kang-Woo could finish the sentence, a moan rang throughout the alley. Yeon-Joo had ced the memory card in her phone and pressed y just a moment ago.


    "Wh-What the...?" Yeon-Joo said with her face looking as red as her hair.


    Hwa-Yeon approached her and carefully examined the video.


    "It''s a fake video. We cannot look at the real content in the video without the video decryption device that we have at headquarters," Hwa-Yeon said.


    "But why use a video like this as a fake?!" Yeon-Joo shouted.


    Hwa-Yeon calmly answered, "Isn''t it a good fake because it''s this kind of video? We rmend our agents use adult videos. Agent Kang Dong-Hun just did as he had learned."


    "N-No, wait. That means..." Yeon-Joo said, turning her head toward Kang-Woo. "Y-You saw this video earlier, didn''t you?"


    "Yeah," Kang-Woo replied.


    "Then why didn''t you tell me?!"


    "You said you needed to use it right now..."


    "Use for what?!" Yeon-Joo let out another shout while blushing even more.


    After realizing the truth about the video, Kang-Woo smirked and remarked, "I happened to be curious about that myself."


    "Y-You damn..."


    Yeon-Joo trembled in humiliation. However, she couldn''t say anything because she was the one who had taken the memory card from him as fast as she could.


    "So, what''s going on? What''s so important about that video?"


    "Sigh..."


    Yeon-Joo was about to say something else, but she sighed and exined the situation to Kang-Woo, clearing up his confusion.


    "So, you had arranged to meet up with an agent who had infiltrated the Demon Cult, but it went wrong?"


    "Yeah. After we received his SOS signal, we looked all over for him, but we couldn''t find him. This was the ce of thest signal."


    "Hmm. That means there''s information about the Demon Cult in that memory card."


    Kang-Woo finally understood why those men had suddenly tried to kill him and why Yeon-Joo had said that there was important information in that video.


    ''So, that''s why there weren''t many members of the Hwarang Corps guarding the Gate today.''


    The rendezvous point was near Hwaseo Station where the 1st Squadron had been stationed, there was a high chance that they had been dispatched as reinforcements.


    "Yeah. S-So, it wasn''t about porn! Understood?!" Yeon-Joo shouted while grabbing Kang-Woo''s cor.


    It seemed like she was still embarrassed.


    ¡°Okay, I get it. Calm down," Kang-Woo replied.


    Echidna approached Yeon-Joo and pulled her away from Kang-Woo.


    "Don''t treat Kang-Woo like that," Echidna said.


    She looked warily at Yeon-Joo while hugging Kang-Woo''s waist.


    Yeon-Joo asked, "This kid is¡­?"


    "She''s the summoned beast I told you about before," Kang-Woo answered.


    "Oh, she''s the dragon?"


    Yeon-Joo scanned Echidna with great interest. She only looked like a little girl who was as pretty as a doll rather than a dragon.


    "Are you sure she''s your summoned beast? You didn''t do anything weird to her, did you?" Yeon-Joo questioned.


    "What kind of human garbage do you think I am?"


    "Ah... Well, I guess you wouldn''t go that far," Yeon-Joomented with a nod. "You''re a different kind of human garbage, after all."


    "... Is that apliment or an insult?" Kang-Woo while looking at her in disbelief.


    Echidna red at Yeon-Joo and demanded, "Take that back."


    "Guh..."


    "Kang-Woo isn''t garbage. He''s very important to me."


    "U-Uhhh..."


    "If you don''t take that back, I won''t stand for it," Echidna said while letting out demonic energy.


    After hearing the words that the doll-like girl said, Yeon-Joo seemed troubled and scratched the back of her head.


    She yielded and replied, "Fine. I''ll take it back."


    "Good."


    Echidna stopped exuding demonic energy and buried her head into Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo patted Echidna, who was rubbing her cheeks against him.


    Yeon-Joo stared at the absurd scene and forced augh.


    "What sort of trick did you pull?" she asked.


    "Something called poprity and thoughtfulness," Kang-Woo answered.


    "Bullshit," Yeon-Joo said, feeling fed up.


    Then Hwa-Yeon, who had been cleaning up the surroundings, approached Yeon-Joo and Kang-Woo.


    She said, "Let''s go to the headquarters right away. It''s the only ce we can decrypt this video."


    "Okay. Kang-Woo, you''reing too, right?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Well, since things have turned out like this, it would be weird for me not to," Kang-Woo replied.


    He shrugged and followed Hwa-Yeon and Yeon-Joo.


    * * *


    The Hwarang Corps'' headquarters wasn''t that far from that alleyway where they had been just before. The building that Hwa-Yeon led Yeon-Joo and Kang-Woo to looked rather in, unlike the imposing yer Management Office.


    "Captain Baek Hwa-Yeon!"


    As Hwa-Yeon entered the building, members of the Hwarang Corps came running to greet her.


    She nodded with a grim expression on her face and said, "Agent Kang Dong-Hun is dead. I''ll contact his family, so prepare theirpensation."


    "Ah..."


    "He''s a national hero. Take care of his family with respect."


    "Yes, ma''am!"


    Hwa-Yeon looked around and asked, "Where is Captain Jang Hyun-Jae?"


    "He''s been dispatched to Japan for the SS-rank Gate investigation."


    "Hmm..."


    Jang Hyun-Jae was Hwa-Yeon''s superior, the captain of the 1st Squadron as well as the highest authority in the Hwarang Corps. There was no yer stronger than him in Korea aside from Baek Kang-Hyun.


    ''If only the captain were here...''


    Hwa-Yeon sighed. She thought that if Hyun-Jae had been here, Agent Kang Dong-Hun might not have died on duty.


    "I''m going to the investigation room. Bring in the video decryption device," she said.


    "Yes, ma''am!"


    Hwa-Yeon went to the investigation room with Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo.


    After they put the video on the memory card through the decryption device, they yed the original video. It disyed a room with a dark background. The first person they saw was an unidentifiable person wearing a red demon mask.


    ''A red demon mask.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up. He remembered what Jo Deok-Hyun had told him.


    ''He may be the one evangelizing people into the Demon Cult.''


    Kang-Woo kept watching the video attentively.


    [Your Eminence.]


    [Speak.]


    A man had entered the dark room and kneeled before the first man who, from the way he was addressed, seemed to be a cardinal.


    The kneeling man had a geometrical tattoo on his face. He respectfully bowed his head at the feet of the mask-wearing cardinal.


    Then he said with a trembling voice, [The preparations for the summoning are almost ready.]


    [How long will it take?]


    [Four weeks... Three if we''re lucky.]


    [Three weeks¡­] the red-masked man muttered and then nodded, seemingly with satisfaction. [Faster than I''d expected. Did you receive support?]


    [Yes. As expected from a major guild, the sacrifices that they offered us were yers with B-rank Traits or higher.]


    [Good.]


    [Hehehe. Soon, our dreams wille true.]


    [We have only taken the first step. We still have long before we achieve our true goal.]


    [But if we manage to seed, the cult may provide us with greater supp¡ª]


    [Enough,] the red-masked man said, interrupting the other man.


    A terrifying gaze peered through the red mask at the kneeling man.


    The red-masked man continued, [Spare your words until the summoning preparations areplete.]


    [Yes, your Eminence!] replied the man with his head on the floor.


    The video ended there.


    "..."


    There was a heavy silence in the room. Hwa-Yeon and Yeon-Joo stared stiffly at the projection screen where the video had been ying.


    "Hmm," Kang-Woo murmured with a frown.


    He organized the information he''d gathered from the video in his mind.


    ''Cardinal, summoning, and a major guild.''


    There were three key pieces of information in the video. The first was that since the man in the red mask was a cardinal, there had to be people ranked above him in the cult. The second was that they were making preparations to summon something to Earth. The third was that a major guild was supporting the cult.


    "The only move we can take at the moment is to investigate this major guild, I guess," Kang-Woo concluded.


    "Huh?" Hwa-Yeon uttered while looking at Kang-Woo in surprise. She asked, "What makes you say that?"


    "Now that they''ve learned of the existence of a spy in their cult, they''ll probably do their best to hide as much information about the summoning as possible. We currently have no way to find more information about the cult, so all we can do is to investigate which major guild is supporting them."


    "What!" Hwa-Yeon eximed in surprise. She was in disbelief that he had made this deduction in such a short time. "Did you work in a field rted to this in the past?"


    Besides people who worked as a strategist or an analyst, there weren''t many capable of making such an analysis so quickly.


    "No, he''s just... this kind of guy," Yeon-Joo remarked.


    She looked at him like she was sick of being shocked. After all, Kang-Woo was someone who had realized her intentions from the first moment she''d approached him.


    Acknowledging Kang-Woo''s capability, Yeon-Joo asked him, "So, what do you think we should do?"


    "Well, there''s only one thing we can do now," Kang-Woo said in a low voice. "The Hanul, Red Rose, Onnuri, Mir, and Angel Wings Guilds¡­ Except for your guild, Red Rose, one of the other four guilds is likely connected to the Demon Cult."


    "I know that too, but there''s no way we can find out which one it is."


    The five great guilds were so powerful that not even the government could recklesslyy a finger on them. Investigating them wouldn''t be easy.


    "There is one way."


    "What way¡­?¡±


    "We need to..."


    A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.

 Chapter 58 - They Took the Bait (1)

    Chapter 58 - They Took the Bait (1)


    "Use bait," Oh Kang-Woo said.


    "Bait?"


    Cha Yeon-Joo tilted her head.


    "What are you talking about?"


    "You know that the Demon Cult is looking for yers with high-ranking Traits to sacrifice, don''t you?"


    The man with the tattoo on his face had clearly said in the video: As expected from a major guild, the sacrifices they had offered us were yers with B-rank Traits or higher.


    That meant they were looking for yers with high-ranking Traits to sacrifice.


    If this weren''t the case, the man wouldn''t have praised the fact that the major guild had offered them yers with B-rank traits or higher.


    "Yeah, I do."


    Yeon-Joo nodded with a heavy expression.


    She knew better than anyone that they were looking for yers with high-ranking Traits.


    "They''re probably targeting low-level yers."


    "Low-level yers?"


    "To be more precise, low-level yers with high-ranking Traits."


    "Ah¡­!" Yeon-Joo eximed while nodding.


    yers normally had higher chances of unlocking a high-ranking Trait the higher their level was. However, high-level yers were often in a party or had connections to guilds.


    For the Demon Cultists who needed to be discreet, it was far too risky to aim to sacrifice high-level yers.


    "I agree. Recently, both the number of Chaos yers around low-ranking Gates and the number of kidnapping incidents have skyrocketed," Baek Hwa-Yeon said with a heavy expression while nodding.


    The first time she''d met Kang-Woo was when she was investigating such incidents in low-ranking Gates.


    "That''s why we''re going to spread a rumor that there is an incredibly talented yer hunting in low-ranking Gates," Kang-Woo calmly said. "If we say that their Trait is at least S-rank or higher¡­ the Demon Cult will probably take the bait."


    "Hmm¡­"


    Hwa-Yeon gulped after hearing Kang-Woo''s words. She said in a worried voice, "But wouldn''t the Demon Cultists give up on the yer if the rumor spreads too far and the yer garners too much attention?"


    "No. That won''t happen."


    "¡­ What makes you so sure?" Hwa-Yeon asked while making a confused expression.


    "Because the heat is on."


    "The heat is on?"


    "They''ve realized that there was a spy among them, meaning they think there''s a chance that information about the summoning has been leaked."


    "Then wouldn''t they be even more discreet?"


    Kang-Woo shook his head at her question.


    "They''ll probably go for a home run."


    "¡­ Go for a home run?"


    "Hwa-Yeon, what countermeasures would you ce to stop them from hunting for sacrifices?"


    "Hmm¡­ If it were me, I''d order all members of the corps to monitor yers with B-rank Traits or higher."


    "Yes, that would be the most logical way."


    Since they were targeting low-level yers with high-ranking Traits, that was the most logical way to respond to the situation.


    "Then, from their point of view, they would need to be very careful before hunting a yer with B-rank Traits or higher since they wouldn''t know who''s watching from where."


    "That''s true."


    "That''s why I''m sure they will aim for prey with an S-rank Trait rather than those with meager B-rank traits."


    "¡­"


    His exnation shut Hwa-Yeon''s mouth.


    Just like he said, if they knew that there was a chance that someone was monitoring the B-rank yers, rather than aiming for someone with a meager B-rank Trait, they would most definitely aim for a yer with an S-rank Trait to get a much bigger prize at once.


    But¡­


    "Isn''t there a chance that they''ll dy their n and safely hunt yers with low-ranking Traits?" Hwa-Yeon asked him with a serious expression.


    Kang-Woo smirked at her question.


    "No. Maybe they''ll hasten it even more, but they most definitely won''t dy it."


    "¡­ What makes you say that?"


    "Because they''re human."


    "¡­?"


    Hwa-Yeon looked at Kang-Woo while making a confused expression.


    Kang-Woo continued in a calm voice, "They said that they would receive more support from the Demon Cult if they seed in this summoning n. That''s why they won''t dy it."


    "Isn''t that a misjudgment? Would they take such a huge risk for a reward in front of them?"


    "Yes."


    "What makes you s¡ª"


    "Because that''s human nature."


    "¡­"


    His firm answer made Hwa-Yeon close her mouth.


    Kang-Woo smiled after seeing her reaction.


    "Have you heard of the marshmallow experiment?"


    "¡­ I have."


    Hwa-Yeon nodded while making a heavy expression.


    The marshmallow experiment taught the simple lesson that one could earn even bigger rewards through self discipline and resisting immediate gratification.


    "Do you know why the experiment is so famous?"


    "Isn''t it because it teaches the most basic principle for sess?"


    "No. It''s only famous because that''s not how most people are like."


    "¡­"


    Resisting the temptation for immediate gratification sounded simple.


    From a third-person point of view, those who failed because they couldn''t resist temptation looked stupid and pathetic. Most people, however, would also make that same stupid mistake if faced with such a situation by chance.


    They knew that the temptation in front of them was dangerous¡­ They also knew that, by resisting, an even bigger reward awaited them. But even so, humans couldn''t resist the sweet marshmallow in front of them.


    It wasn''t because they were irrational or stupid¡­ It was because the mechanism that controlled one''s desires was not designed to look at the bigger picture.


    ''Of course, it''s not like people who can control such desires don''t exist.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone sharply.


    Just like Kang-Woo had said, it wasn''t that there was no one who could resist such immediate gratification. However, the man in the red mask and the rest of the Demon Cultists at least couldn''t.


    ''Because they''ve taken in demonic energy.''


    A human who took in demonic energy would slowly gain the body of a demon, and those with a demon''s body would always crave to fulfill their desires.


    It was hard for even Kang-Woo, the lord of the Nine Hells, to control his desires sometimes even after having spent ten millennia as a demon, so he was positive that there was no way that the Demon Cultists could.


    "Then, who do you have in mind to use as bait?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Low-ranking yers with an S-rank Trait or higher are either already receiving tons of attention or have entered a major guild. Don''t tell me you''re trying to use yourself as bait?"


    "No. I''m already known as the rookie receiving the support of the Red Rose Guild, so that won''t work."


    "Then, are you nning on lying?"


    "That would pretty much scream that it''s bait, so that''d be impossible."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s answer shut Yeon-Joo''s mouth. Frowning, she finally opened her mouth.


    "Then who?"


    "I have someone in mind," Kang-Woo answered while smiling.


    A low-level yer whose Trait was higher than S rank¡­ Someone who wasn''t part of any major guild¡­ Not only that, but someone who wasn''t very well known at the moment.


    Kang-Woo knew someone like that.


    ''Kim Si-Hun.''


    Kim Si-Hun had such overwhelming talent that Kang-Woo had made him his Familiar as quickly as possible. Si-Hun was also so talented that he had unlocked not an S but an SSS-rank Trait on his First Awakening.


    ''They won''t be able to resist taking the bait.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone sharply as he thought about the man in the red mask.


    * * *


    A week after the spy incident¡­


    After epting Kang-Woo''s proposal, Yeon-Joo and Hwa-Yeon discreetly spread rumors about Si-Hun.


    They didn''t put him on the news or spread his name through the press; they simply made his name spread like gossip among low-level yers.


    ''Very impressive,'' Kang-Woo thought while checking social media with shining eyes.


    There was a post so inurate that it could pretty much be considered a myth¡ªit mentioned that there was an incredible yer who was hiding their Trait rank and hunting in low-ranking Gates.


    The post didn''t grab too much attention but was fun enough to have other peoplement on it.


    He wasn''t sure if it was Yeon-Joo''s or Hwa-Yeon''s doing, but the dissemination of the rumor was faster than Kang-Woo thought possible.


    ''Neither of them seemed talented for things like this.''


    Hwa-Yeon, who gave off the feel of a by-the-book general, and Yeon-Joo, who had a fiery personality, didn''t look talented in manipting information.


    ''The one that would be good at things like this is¡­''


    He thought of someone he''d frequently seen in the Red Rose Guild.


    A gentle-looking young man¡ªthe Red Rose Guild''s Chief of Human Resources Management, Park Hyun-Woo.


    ''Well, I guess it doesn''t matter who did it as long as the result is good.''


    Kang-Woo put his smartphone back in his pocket.


    He lightly stretched and then turned to the window of a semi-basement t across the road.


    Through the window, he saw Si-Hun, who was taking care of a middle-aged woman.


    "His household circumstances are worse than Seol-Ah''s," Kang-Woo mumbled in a low voice while looking at Si-Hun.


    It had been a week since the bait operation had begun.


    Kang-Woo had been watching Si-Hun all day every day without ever going back home because he had no idea when the Demon Cult would attack Si-Hun.


    ''I can''t afford to lose Kim Si-Hun.''


    He had decided to use him as bait, but he had no intentions of putting him in real danger.


    Si-Hun didn''t know it, but he was a Familiar whose soul had been bound to Kang-Woo''s soul.


    Kang-Woo had no intention of sacrificing someone as talented as Si-Hun as bait.


    ''Since I''ve turned him into my Familiar, I need to take responsibility for him.''


    If Si-Hun discovered the truth, he would most likely call Kang-Woo a hypocrite. In the first ce, Kang-Woo wasn''t thinking about taking responsibility out of guilt.


    ''You''re going to be great in the future.''


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun, who was taking care of a middle-aged woman with a sad expression on his face.


    Si-Hun was going to be stronger and greater in the future, and he would be Kang-Woo''s solid supporter. In that sense, spreading rumors about him was just elerating what would eventually happen down the line.


    Click.


    "I''m off, Mother."


    Si-Hun, who had been taking care of his mother, walked out the door to the semi-basement t.


    He had left to hunt with Seol-ah and Tae-Soo in a Gate as usual.


    "Haa."


    Si-Hun sighed while making a grim expression.


    He seemed lost in thought for a while. His eyes were red, but as if trying to improve his mood, he shouted to himself.


    "Stay strong! Just a bit more and the debt will be fully paid off!" Si-Hun said while touching the sword at his waist.


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief.


    ''He was even born in a poor household.''


    It was amon setup in fantasy novels¡ªone who was born into an extremely poor household and became a yer to support his family.


    ''Is he really the protagonist?'' Kang-Woo thought to himself while following Si-Hun from behind.

 Chapter 59 - They Took the Bait (2)

    Chapter 59 - They Took the Bait (2)


    After leaving his house, Kim Si-Hun took the subway to Mok-dong.


    Mok-dong was the location of the C-rank Gate that Kang-Woo had hunted inside in the past.


    ''Although it hasn''t been long enough to call it the past,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    It hadn''t been a month since Kang-Woo had leveled up while hunting Trolls.


    ''Come to think of it, I''ve grown at an explosive rate after encountering the hellhound that day.''


    The demonic beast he''d met at the C-rank Gate¡­ After eliminating it, he had begun to receive the support of the Red Rose Guild. Thanks to that, he had grown at an explosive rate.


    ''But the fact that they came to a C-rank Gate means¡­''


    With great interest, Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun, who was leaving the Mok-dong station.


    Coming to the C-rank Gate meant that Kang Tae-Soo, Han Seol-Ah, and everyone else in the party had reached Level 20 and gotten their Third Awakening.


    ''They''re pretty fast.''


    It couldn''t bepared to Kang-Woo''s speed, but Si-Hun''s party was leveling up at an incredible pace.


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction. After hiding his presence by using an Authority, he followed Si-Hun.


    "Good morning."


    "Hey, Si-Hun oppa~!"


    "Good to see ya, Si-Hun!"


    After leaving the station, Si-Hun was greeted by the other party members.


    Unlike the awkward greeting they had exchanged when they had first met each other, they seemed to have be closer.


    "¡­ What''s wrong with Seol-Ah?" Si-Hun asked Tae-Soo as he approached him. He gazed at Seol-Ah while tilting his head in confusion.


    Seol-Ah had her head down with a gloomy air about her, and she was scraping the floor with the ends of her shoe.


    Tae-Soo grabbed Si-Hun''s shoulder and pulled him away from Seol-Ah, whispering, "I heard that Kang-Woo hyung-nim hadn''te back home for the past week because he was busy."


    "Oh¡­"


    A short exmation came out of Si-Hun''s mouth. He nodded as if he''d understood what was going on.


    ''Seol-Ah likes Kang-Woo, after all.''


    It was obvious from her actions unless one was stupid beyond saving.


    While taking a break from hunting, she often talked about Kang-Woo and blushed, seemingly having fun talking about him.


    ''So Kang-Woo hasn''t been home for a week¡­''


    He was a high-level yer, so there were many reasons for him to not be at home for a week.


    "He hasn''t been contacting her?"


    "That''s not it. They text every day and call from time to time, but he''s apparently in a situation he can''t get away from."


    "Hmm¡­ Then I guess he isn''t in a Gate."


    It was obvious, but cell signals did not travel through Gates. For making calls through Gates, you needed a special magic tool that used mana stones.


    "Nghh¡­ He doesn''t tell her where he is even if she asks, apparently," Tae-Soo remarked.


    "Haha¡­ No wonder she''s so depressed."


    Si-Hun looked at Seol-Ah while making an awkward smile.


    "Seol-Ah unnie~ don''t be so sad. I''m sure Kang-Woo oppa has his reasons."


    "Haa. I''m sure he does¡­"


    Seol-Ah sighed with her head down. She mumbled while scraping the floor with the ends of her shoe.


    "Has he gotten sick of my food¡­? Or maybe he''s with another woman¡­"


    She wanted to think positively, but as time went on, she became more anxious.


    It hadn''t been long since she met him, but in that short period of time, her daily life had changed so much that she could no longer think of the time when Kang-Woo was not in her life.


    It wasn''t just her who was depressed.


    Echidna, who had been left alone at home, was in a worse state than her.


    "You and Kang-Woo oppa live together, right?" asked Choi Eun-Bi.


    "Y-Yeah."


    "Hehe. Then maybe he''s staying out because he can''t hold it back anymore?"


    "Hold what back?"


    "Kang-Woo oppa is a healthy young man, you know? Living under the same roof with a woman as pretty as you¡­ hehehe. Oppa''s Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstr[1]¡ª"


    "Enough."


    Si-Hun slightly hit Eun-Bi, who was having fun teasing Seol-Ah, on the head.


    While smiling brightly, he turned to Seol-Ah.


    "Don''t take Eun-Bi''s words to heart. Kang-Woo probably has his own reasons. Unlike us, he''s a high-level yer."


    "Ah, yes. I''m sure he does¡­"


    "The only way we can be together with Kang-Woo is to keep hunting and leveling up."


    "Ah¡­"


    Seol-Ah''s expression changed. One could see the determination in her eyes. She agreed with Si-Hun''s words while nodding.


    "Alright then, let''s head inside," said Si-Hun. He then entered the C-rank Gate, and Tae-Soo, Seol-Ah, and Eun-Bi followed him.


    "Nghh."


    Kang-Woo seemed troubled.


    ''I''m feeling guilty.''


    It was an inevitable situation, but seeing Seol-Ah like that made him feel guilty.


    ''Echidna is probably worse off.''


    Seol-Ah aside, Echidna was far too dependent on him.


    Because he knew that, he tried to contact her frequently, but the effects of it seemed to be getting weaker as time passed.


    ''I also want this to be over as soon as possible.''


    Kang-Woo sighed while trudging toward the Gate.


    It had been a week since he had been able to eat kimchi stew and sleep in afortable bed.


    Losing something that one used to have was more painful than not having it at all in the first ce.


    Suppressing his desire to return to the daily life that he had only just barely been able to experience after ten millennia of life in Hell was not easy.


    ''But I can''t just leave the fishing rod unattended afterying the bait.''


    Carelessness was a poison with no antidote.


    Losing Si-Hun because he had gone to rx would be the stupidest thing he could ever do.


    "¡­ Let''s go."


    Kang-Woo entered the Gate after passing the inspection.


    * * *


    Stomp!


    "GRRRR!!"


    "Kurgh! They''re stupidly strong!" Tae-Soo eximed after blocking a Troll''s club swing.


    "Haap!"


    Smash!


    As Tae-Soo smashed down his shield, which was the size of his torso, the ground around the Troll''s feet caved in.


    The Troll that had been fiercely attacking Tae-Soo lost its bnce and staggered.


    "Seol-Ah!"


    "Yes!"


    After making sure that the Troll had lost its bnce, Si-Hun leaped forward.


    At his signal, Seol-Ah used the magic she''d prepared.


    "Boost!"


    A white light came out of Seol-Ah and entered Si-Hun.


    His movements became significantly faster.


    Si-Hun crouched down and aggressively stepped forward. His footprint was engraved on the ground with a heavy sound.


    Schwing!


    ''Sleeping Dragon Sword Technique, Second Movement, Flying Dragon sh.''


    The force generated from his step spread from his feet to the rest of his body. Si-Hun used that force to twist his waist and pulled out the Qi from within his body.


    Flying Dragon sh.


    Like a dragon crouching inside ake suddenly soaring to the sky, he cut the Troll with an upward sh.


    The sword technique that Si-Hun had received from the soul of the Martial God Tian Taihuang had manifested in the current era.


    sh!


    "Gaaaaahhh!!"


    From the calf to the armpit¡­ The Troll, whose body had been cut almost in half, fell to the ground while making a grotesque scream. Because of its monstrous life force, even though it had been cut in half, it was floundering so violently that they couldn''t get close.


    "Lightning Spear!"


    No matter how much the Troll floundered, it couldn''t do anything against ranged attacks.


    Eun-Bi''s spear of lightning prated the Troll''s chest.


    "Guuurrrggghhh."


    The Troll finally lost consciousness, and ck smoke came out of its mouth.


    "Fuuu. As expected, C-rank monsters are strong."


    "We couldfortably hunt up to five Lizardmen, but I think that more than three Trolls will be dangerous," Tae-Soo said.


    His hand seemed to have be numb after blocking the Troll''s attacks¡ªhe repeatedly opened and closed his fists.


    "But it''s still amazing that we''ve leveled up enough to hunt a Troll in less than a month," Si-Hun expressed.


    "Hahaha! This is all thanks to you, Si-Hun. Wow¡­ I had a good feeling from the moment we created the party, but I had never thought we''d reach a C-rank Gate in less than a month," Tae-Soo shouted excitedly as if he couldn''t believe they had just defeated a Troll.


    "If it weren''t for everyone, I also wouldn''t have been able to reach a C-rank Gate so quickly," Si-Hun said with a smile as he nodded.


    "Let''s collect the mana stone and keep moving."


    "Ah, I heard that the stagnant blood near a Troll''s heart can be sold for a high price since it''s often used for potions, so let''s collect that as well."


    After taking the stagnant blood and the mana stone from the Troll''s corpse, they moved on in search of the next target.


    "Wow."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone after looking at them.


    ''They''ve definitely grown.''


    The party''s movements had significantly improved, and each member clearly knew and fulfilled their role correctly.


    ''It would''ve been a bit unbnced if Seol-Ah only knew how to heal, but that''s not the case.''


    If a party was too strong, the healer''s ce would be a bit ambiguous since the members wouldn''t receive many injuries due to their strength.


    However, Seol-Ah was an all-around support who could both heal and buff. Her ce in the party wasn''t ambiguous, even if she was in a party strong enough not to be injured.


    ''I don''t think there''s even a need for me to carry them.''


    Kang-Woo followed the party with a smile on his face.


    ''That aside¡­.''


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    "It should be about time for the Demon Cult to take the bait¡­"


    It had already been a week, and there wasn''t much time left until they performed the summoning they had nned. More than enough time had passed for them to no longer hold themselves back and pounce on their prey.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Beholder and searched the surroundings of Si-Hun''s party.


    ''Hm?''


    Kang-Woo felt the presence of two people approaching Si-Hun''s party.


    The Mok-dong C-rank Gate was a popr hunting ce, so it wouldn''t be weird for them to meet another party.


    But¡­


    ''The two people are approaching them after killing a Troll with just one blow.''


    The two people had each killed a Troll in one blow while approaching Si-Hun''s party without even collecting the mana stones.


    "Well¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    The reward he''d been waiting for over a week was finally getting closer.


    "They took the bait."


    While licking his lips, Kang-Woo ran to Si-Hun''s party, which had just confronted the two people who had been approaching them.


    1. Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon is a weapon that appears in Gintama. It has a striking resemnce to a certain male part. ?

 Chapter 60 - They Took the Bait (3)

    Chapter 60 - They Took the Bait (3)


    "Wow~ What a coincidence. I never thought I''d see you here, Si-Hun!"


    "Kim Yeong-Hun¡­?"


    Kim Si-Hun''s expression stiffened when he saw who had appeared in front of them.


    Kim Yeong-Hun¡­ He was the vice guildmaster of one of Korea''s five great guilds, the Mir Guild. Not only that, he was also the son of Kim Jae-Hyun, the CEO of Mir Electronics.


    In other words, Yeong-Hun was born wealthy.


    He had practically been fed with a golden spoon coated in diamonds as a baby. However, the heavens had not given him everything.


    Unlike Jae-Hyun, who was among Korea''s two most talented yers, Yeong-Hun was only slightly above average.


    That weakness, however, was covered by Jae-Hyun''s money and influence. The father-son pair had a massive amount of money that could ovee Yeong-Hun''sck of talent.


    "Do you know him?"


    "Isn''t that person the vice guildmaster of the Mir Guild?"


    Han Seol-Ah and Kang Tae-Soo each asked a question as they looked back and forth between Si-Hun and Yeong-Hun.


    Yeong-Hun bowed slightly and opened his mouth.


    "Nice to meet you. My name is Kim Yeong-Hun. Wow, you have such a beautifuldy in your party, Si-Hun."


    Yeong-Hun smiled after looking at Seol-Ah.


    "¡­ Why are you here?"


    Si-Hun red at Yeong-Hun. He was emitting bloodlust so powerful that one wouldn''t believe it wasing from someone as calm-hearted as him.


    "Huh? Why else would I be here other than to hunt?"


    "Then hunt somewhere else and get out of my sight."


    "Hahaha! You shouldn''t talk like this to your hyung."


    "How dare you?!"


    The moment Si-Hun heard Yeong-Hun call him hyung, he started to tremble. He red at Yeong-Hun and said, "How dare you call yourself my hyung?!"


    "Hahaha! True, I guess we aren''t normal brothers."


    Yeong-Hunughed as if he found the situation funny.


    "After all, unlike me, you have the blood of amoner running through your veins."


    "You son of a bitch!!"


    Si-Hun unsheathed his sword while frowning angrily.


    The blood of amoner¡­


    The words he had heard countless times sent a piercing pain through his heart.


    "Why? You''d dare rebel against me?"


    Yeong-Hun unsheathed a blue sword from his waist. Just a nce was enough to know that it was an excellent sword.


    Si-Hun trembled a bit after looking at him. Yeong-Hun was strong. No, to be more precise, all the expensive equipment Yeong-Hun was wearing had made him strong.


    "¡­"


    "Haha. Okay, okay. Hmph. There have been some rumors going around about you."


    "Rumors?"


    Si-Hun looked at him while scowling.


    "You''ve got an incredible Trait, haven''t you? I heard that it''s at least S-rank."


    "¡­!"


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened.


    "Man, I never thought that you''d awaken as a yer with such a high-ranking Trait at the perfect time."


    "¡­ What are you talking about?"


    "We just happened to be in need of a sacrifice like you," Kim Yeong-Hun said with a smile as he licked his lips.


    "Sacrifice¡­?"


    Si-Hun frowned after hearing that ominous word.


    Yeong-Hun looked with great interest at the other party members as well.


    "Mm, your other party members seem fairly talented, too. Damn, we''ve hit the jackpot!"


    "¡­"


    "Oh, I won''t be using that beautifuldy over there as a sacrifice, though. I can think of much better uses for her."


    Yeong-Hun looked at Seol-Ah with lustful eyes.


    Seol-Ah felt as if a snake was crawling up her body. She scowled in disgust.


    "¡­ What the hell are you nning?" Si-Hun asked.


    "Haha. If you follow me like a good little boy, you''ll find out even if you don''t want to."


    "Who would follow a guy like you¡­?!"


    "Well, if you don''t want to, feel free. I can always just force you."


    Yeong-Hun raised his sword and said to the man next to him, "You, stay put. Si-Hun is my prey."


    "Understood," the person standing like a statue next to Yeong-Hun replied shortly while bowing.


    "Kuh¡­"


    Si-Hun trembled with anger. He recalled the humiliation that he had suffered at Yeong-Hun''s hands.


    They were half-brothers, but the lives they''d lived werepletely different. Si-Hun was born as the result of an affair, so he''d been bullied by Yeong-Hun since they were little.


    One day, Jae-Hyun had be bored of Si-Hun''s mother, so he kicked both of them from the house even though his mother was sick at the time.


    No one had helped them.


    Si-Hun had struggled to survive until now while locking away the boiling rage deep inside him.


    ''If only I was stronger¡­''


    It was a thought he had harbored more than a thousand times.


    After wishing to be stronger for such a long time, he finally got a chance¡ªthe soul of the Martial God Tian Taihuang and an SSS-rank Trait.


    He could be stronger at a pace that couldn''t bepared to other yers.


    ''But¡­''


    There was despair in Si-Hun''s eyes.


    Just facing Yeong-Hun was enough to see the overwhelming difference between them. Yeong-Hun had achieved his Sixth Awakening, so there was too much of a difference between their levels. Even Si-Hun''s incredible Trait was not enough to ovee the massive difference.


    ''If only I had more time.''


    Maybe if he was at his Fifth Awakening, or even his Fourth at the very least, he would''ve had a chance.


    But it was pointless to think about that now¡­ He was currently just a low-level yer in his Third Awakening.


    "Right, then, I guess it''s time to teach my conceited little brother a lesson on proper manners!"


    Yeong-Hun raised his sword and leaped forward.


    He approached Si-Hun at incredible speed and swung his sword with great vigor.


    ng!


    "Kurgh!"


    It was Tae-Soo who blocked Yeong-Hun''s attack.


    Tae-Soo bit his lips as the shock traveled through the shield. He opened his mouth to say, "I''m not sure what rtionship you have with Si-Hun, but as long as I''m here, you won''t be able toy a hand on him!"


    "What''s up with this muscle pig?"


    Yeong-Hun seemed bothered by the fact that Tae-Soo had blocked his attack, so he red at him.


    "Haap!"


    After blocking Yeong-Hun''s attack, Tae-Soo used his shield to charge at him. Then, the two-meter-tall Tae-Soo mmed into Yeong-Hun.


    Ting!


    "Huh¡­?"


    Tae-Soo let out an exmation in disbelief. As soon as his shield had touched Yeong-Hun''s ck leather armor, his shield had been pushed away by a powerful repulsive force.


    "How dare you butt into our fight?"


    Yeong-Hun swung his sword at Tae-Soo, who had interrupted the fight.


    "Watch out, Tae-Soo!"


    m!


    "Kurgh!"


    With an explosive sound that was hard to believe came from the swing of a sword, Tae-Soo was blown backward.


    His shield had been smashed into smithereens and had fallen to the ground.


    "Fuck!"


    Si-Hun cursed and leaped toward Yeong-Hun.


    ''Sleeping Dragon Sword Style, Fifth Movement, Storm Dragon Emergence!''


    There were more than thirty levels between them, and Si-Hun didn''t stand a chance if he didn''t use his strongest attack from the beginning. When he was thinking this, Seol-Ah''s buff suddenly flowed into his body.


    "Boost!"


    His body surged with power momentarily.


    ''With this, I might¡­!''


    With a cold glint in his eyes, Si-Hun swung his sword enveloped in wind at Yeong-Hun.


    "Kuh!"


    ng!


    Yeong-Hun quickly blocked Si-Hun''s attack with his sword.


    Because there was too much of a difference between their stats, Yeong-Hun overpowered Si-Hun in every way. Despite that, he couldn''t block all Si-Hun''s attacks that were enveloped in wind.


    ng, ng, ng!!


    "Damn prick¡­"


    Yeong-Hun flushed red in anger while looking at Si-Hun''s sword, which bounced off his leather armor.


    The fact that he''d been hit despite the difference in their stats was humiliating for him.


    "Yeah, that''s how you''ve always been."


    Yeong-Hun red at Si-Hun in displeasure.


    Since they were little kids, Si-Hun had been better than him at everything. Whether it was studies or sports, Yeong-Hun had never been able to win against him.


    And now, even talent as a yer.


    ''But¡­!''


    The corners of Yeong-Hun''s mouth curled up.


    Talent didn''t matter. Thanks to his money and influence, he''d obtained the ability to ovee talent.


    Yeong-Hun pushed Si-Hun''s sword away and kicked him in the chest. His boots burst in a sh of light, flinging Si-Hun helplessly back.


    "Kurgh!"


    "Hahaha! Yes! This is your limit! This is the difference between you and me!"


    "Kuh¡­"


    "No matter how much you struggle or how hard you work, there is a wall that you can''t ovee."


    Yeong-Hun approached Si-Hun''s sprawled figure on the ground and kicked him in the face.


    Bash!


    "Kurgh!"


    Bash! Smash!


    "Hahaha! Well, do you feel likeing with me now?!"


    Si-Hun''s face was covered in blood.


    "Lightning Spear!"


    "Holy Strike!"


    Seol-Ah and Eun-Bi fired magic at Yeong-Hun to protect Si-Hun.


    "Raaaahhhh!!"


    Even Tae-Soo, who had lost his shield, charged at Yeong-Hun with bare hands.


    "Hah, they''ve all lost their minds¡­"


    Yeong-Hun slightly moved back in annoyance to dodge Seol-Ah and Eun-Bi''s magic.


    While Yeong-Hun dodged the attacks, Tae-Soo grabbed Si-Hun and fell back, creating some distance between them and Yeong-Hun.


    "Ugh¡­ Argh."


    "S-Si-Hun!"


    Si-Hun used his sword to prop himself back up.


    Seol-Ah ran toward him and treated him with healing magic.


    "All of you, run away," Si-Hun stated.


    "We can''t do that!"


    "I have to¡­ take care of this on my own."


    Si-Hun staggered toward Yeong-Hun.


    "Kurgh."


    He was enraged by the fact that he had to suffer so much because of Yeong-Hun. He couldn''t endure the reality that he didn''t have the power to defeat him, and he could no longer stand his own weakness.


    At that moment, he heard someone''s deep voice.


    - Do you need power?


    * * *


    ''So the Mir Guild was the one with connections with the Demon Cult.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone while he observed Yeong-Hun and Si-Hun''s battle.


    Yeong-Hun even mentioned a sacrifice, so it was practically guaranteed that the Mir Guild had connections with the Demon Cult.


    ''But to think Si-Hun was the bastard son of a chaebol household¡­''


    Kang-Woo had thought that the two had looked fairly simr when he had seen a photo of Yeong-Hun, but he had never expected them to be rted.


    "I guess I should step in soon."


    He had made the necessary calls to carry out his n.


    Kang-Woo slowly stood up and was about to step in when¡­


    "Huh?"


    A powerful energy began to rage from within the staggering Si-Hun.


    ''What''s happening?''


    Si-Hun, who was covered in powerful energy, raised his sword, which he had been using as a cane.


    ''Don''t tell me he powered up because he''s in danger.''


    Kang-Woo looked at him in disbelief.


    While surrounded by the powerful energy, Si-Hun pointed his sword at Yeong-Hun.


    "Yes! I need power!"


    ''What a time to power up.''


    "I need the power to kill my enemies and to protect those precious to me!"


    ''Wow, how can he say lines like that out loud without cringing?''


    The powerful energy surged from him like an explosion.


    A blue sword energy iparably more vivid than before gathered on his sword.


    Ring.


    [Familiar Kim Si-Hun has epted the power of the Martial God.]


    [Familiar Kim Si-Hun has learned new martial arts: Cloud Dragon Sword Technique and Cloud Dragon Steps.]


    ''Screw it. You just be the protagonist, man.''

 Chapter 61 - Do You Know Who I Am? (1)

    Chapter 61 - Do You Know Who I Am? (1)


    - Do you want power?


    When Kim Si-Hun heard a low-pitched voice inside his mind, he realized instinctively that it was the Martial God Tian Taihuang''s soul speaking to him.


    ''I want power!'' Si-Hun replied in his mind.


    There was no reason to hesitate. There was no time to think. Si-Hun decided to ept the Martial God''s strength, even if it could kill him.


    Riiing.


    [- epting the power of Martial God Tian Taihuang.


    - Because your body is not ready to be a vessel, you may only ept a portion of the power.]


    He heard the chime of a bell, and a blue message window appeared in front of him.


    However, before he even had a chance to check its contents, an enormous amount of power rose from within him. The power stormed inside him so violently that he thought he was about to explode.


    "Kurgh!" Si-Hun moaned in pain.


    Nevertheless, he bit his lips and endured it. This was an opportunity that he had waited for so desperately. He couldn¡¯t let it go up in mes just because he couldn¡¯t endure this level of pain.


    Tear! Pop!


    His veins burst, dying his body red. Si-Hun felt like he couldn''t even think because he was in so much pain.


    ''I have to endure it.''


    Si-Hun red at Kim Yeong-Hun.


    The countless times he''d been ridiculed and humiliated because of Yeong-Hun shed through his mind. Compared to the despair he had felt back then, the physical pain he felt now was nothing.


    [- You have learned the superior version of the martial art Sleeping Dragon Sword Technique.


    - You have learned the martial arts: Cloud Dragon Sword Technique and Cloud Dragon Steps.


    - You have obtained a clue for Metamorphosis.]


    Knowledge of martial arts flowed into Si-Hun''s brain, and he naturally understood how to control the Martial God''s overwhelming power.


    Si-Hun quelled the power storming within him and pointed his sword at Yeong-Hun.


    "Kim Yeong-Huuuuuun!!" Si-Hun shouted angrily.


    He leaped toward Yeong-Hun by using the Cloud Dragon Steps while grasping a hold on his overflowing power.


    "Wh-What the hell?!" Yeong-Hun uttered in surprise.


    He was shocked to see someone who was about to die run toward him while leaking such violent energy.


    Yeong-Hun raised his sword and tried to block Si-Hun''s attack.


    sh!


    "Argh!!"


    Si-Hun''s sword, which was wrapped in a cloud of whitish smoke, slithered down Yeong-Hun¡¯s sword as if it were a snake and shed his chest. The attack split Yeong-Hun''s Unique-grade armor, and dark red blood leaked out from his chest. He became dizzy from the pain that he felt because of the chest wound.


    "Y-You son of a bitch!!!" Yeong-Hun yelled.


    He swung his sword wildly at Si-Hun in anger.


    Despite his wild swings, Yeong-Hun had a high level and high-grade equipment, so his shes were by no means something to take lightly.


    ng!


    "Kurgh."


    Si-Hun, who had blocked Yeong-Hun''s attack, was pushed back.


    Even after epting the power of the Martial God, it was hard for Si-Hun to turn the situation around since there was still a thirty-level difference between him and Yeong-Hun.


    ''But...''


    Si-Hun''s eyes shone.


    Yeong-Hun was far stronger and faster than him, but he had something that Yeong-Hun didn''t¡ªmartial arts. Martial art techniques had been created through the experiences of countless warriors who had studied the most ideal way to use a weapon.


    ''Cloud Dragon Sword Technique, Third Movement, Cloud Dragon¡¯s Dance.''


    Si-Hun used the Martial God Tian Taihuang''s martial arts.


    White-gray clouds filled their surroundings and engulfed Yeong-Hun. A sword flew out from the clouds and barraged Yeong-Hun with attacks.


    "Why... Why am I being pushed back by a Level 20 yer?!" Yeong-Hun shouted angrily.


    He was having a hard time epting the situation. Something that wasn''t possible was happening right before him now. Yet, he didn''t have the experience or techniques to ovee the situation. After all, he was only stronger than Si-Hun because of his high level and good equipment effects.


    "Aaarrrggghhh!!"


    Yeong-Hun felt humiliated that he was being overpowered by a yer only in his Third Awakening. Additionally, Yeong-Hun felt anxious because of how much Si-Hun¡¯s seemingly incessant sword shes pressured him. These feelings of his had reached their limit.


    He recklessly attacked Si-Hun as if he were trying to take Si-Hun down with him. Nevertheless, there was no way those kinds of attacks would work on Si-Hun, someone who had learned the Martial God¡¯s martial arts.


    "Haap!"


    Si-Hun, who saw a chance, swung his sword powerfully toward Yeong-Hun¡¯s neck.


    ''I won!'' Si-Hun thought excitedly with bright eyes.


    However, the moment he was about to cut Yeong-Hun¡¯s neck, someone appeared in front of him and blocked the attack. It was the man who had been standing silently next to Yeong-Hun as if he were a stone statue.


    m!


    "Cough!"


    Si-Hun, who had barely managed to block the man''s double-headed axe, was sent flying backward. The shock from the impact spread from his sword to the rest of his body, and dark blood spurted out of Si-Hun''s mouth.


    "Haa, haa! What the hell took you so damn long?!" Yeong-Hun yelled at the man, forgetting that he had ordered the man not to interfere.


    It would be totally normal for the man to be frustrated in such a situation, yet he just bowed expressionlessly.


    "I apologize, Vice Guildmaster," the man said.


    "C-Cut off his limbs and then bring him to me!" Yeong-Hun shouted.


    "Yes, sir," the man replied and nodded without any hesitation.


    The man''s name was Cheon Myeong-Ho. He was one of the Mir Guild''s top yers and Yeong-Hun''s personal bodyguard. He was asrge in stature as Kang Tae-Soo and wielded a double-headed axe that matched his size.


    Myeong-Ho then turned to Si-Hun and warned, "If you follow us without resistance, I¡¯ll let you off with just cutting off one arm."


    "B-Bull¡­ shit!" Si-Hun spat.


    Even with blooding out of his mouth, Si-Hun stayed standing by using his sword as support. However, he could feel it. He might have had a chance against Yeong-Hun, but he wouldn''t be able to win against that statue-like man.


    [- You have suffered internal injuries from the enormous impact.


    - Your internal injuries will aggravate if you do not immediately circte your Qi.]


    As if confirming his thoughts, system windows with ¡®Warning¡¯ written on them popped up.


    Frustrated, Si-Hun dropped to the ground on one knee.


    ¡®I failed to ovee it.¡¯


    The wall that existed between him and Yeong-Hun was so massive that he had no way of oveing it.


    "ept it," Myeong-Ho said as he slowly walked toward Si-Hun. "You''ll never be able to surpass the vice guildmaster."


    The words that came out of Myeong-Ho''s mouth pierced Si-Hun''s heart. Myeong-Ho wasn''t wrong. It didn''t matter what Si-Hun did or how much he struggled; he couldn''t catch up to Yeong-Hun. Right from the start, the gap between them had been too wide to surpass due to their extremely different starting points.


    "Damn it..."


    Tears flowed down Si-Hun''s cheeks.


    The face of his mother, whom Kim Jae-Hyun had abandoned, came to his mind.


    "I''m sorry for giving birth to you."


    He remembered what his mother had said to him in tears when Jae-Hyun abandoned them. There were no phrases more hurtful than that.


    Yet, even until now, he couldn''t deny her words. He couldn''t find a reason to do so. His life had been a session of pain, and he had never felt happy even once.


    "I''m sorry... everyone," Si-Hun said.


    He was trembling as he turned his head toward Tae-Soo, Han Seol-Ah, and Choi Eun-Bi. It hadn''t been long since he first met them, but they were the firstrades he ever had. He felt regretful that he couldn''t protect them and that they had been put in danger because of him.


    "ept it. The only right that the weak have is to suffer," Myeong-Ho stated while raising his axe.


    Si-Hun turned his head to Myeong-Ho, who was slowly approaching him. Myeong-Ho swung his axe down, aiming for Si-Hun¡¯s legs.


    "Kuh!" Si-Hun uttered and closed his eyes tightly.


    His mind was dominated by the fear that he would soon lose his legs.


    ng!!


    "Kurgh!"


    "..."


    There was the distinct sound of metal colliding, followed by a groan from Myeong-Ho''s mouth.


    Si-Hun slowly opened his eyes and saw the back of a familiar young man in front of him.


    "Wow. Nice words, man," Oh Kang-Woomented.


    After easily blocking Myeong-Ho''s attack, Kang-Woo nodded with a smile as if savoring what Myeong-Ho had just said.


    "Kang-Woo...?" Si-Hun asked while looking confusedly at Kang-Woo, who had suddenly appeared.


    Kang-Woo turned his head around to Si-Hun and calmly said, "I''ll exinter. Get some rest, Si-Hun. Seol-Ah,e here and heal him."


    "Ah... Okay!" Seol-Ah replied.


    She nodded in agreement, but she was both confused and happy that she could see Kang-Woo again after so long.


    "Are you from the Hwarang Corps?" Myeong-Ho questioned, ring at Kang-Woo warily.


    He knew the government was investigating which guild was involved with the Demon Cult. Seeing how Kang-Woo had appeared as if he had been waiting for them, there was a high likelihood that he was a government agent.


    "Do you seriously think I¡¯d be alone if I was with the Hwarang Corps?" Kang-Woo responded.


    "Then..."


    "We¡¯re not close enough for you to keep asking me annoying questions, man. Hurry up and raise your weapon."


    Myeong-Ho picked up his axe with a stiff expression.


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo was right. They were not in a kind of rtionship where they could fully disclose their identities to one another, so talking was pointless.


    "Then I''ll make you talk by force," Myeong-Ho dered.


    "Hahaha. Good. Nice attitude."


    Kang-Woo smiled and waved his hand at Myeong-Ho, beckoning him over.


    "Bring it," Kang-Woo said.


    Myeong-Ho frowned upon seeing Kang-Woo''s arrogant attitude. He clenched his axe tight, and blue mana stormed around his axe.


    Unlike Myeong-Ho, who was prepared to fight with a determined attitude, Kang-Woo had his arms crossed and was waiting for Myeong-Ho to attack.


    ''Arrogant bastard,'' Myeong-Ho thought.


    He seemed upset by Kang-Woo''sck of preparation.


    ''You were lucky to block my attack earlier.''


    Myeong-Ho was sure that his next attack would be different.


    He grabbed the blue-mana-covered axe tightly and dashed toward Kang-Woo. Then he swung the axe at Kang-Woo''s neck. However, Kang-Woo leisurely extended his hand toward the axe.


    ''Crazy son of a bitch!'' Myeong-Ho thought.


    Kang-Woo was trying to use his hand to block an axe that could cut even a giant shield in half. There was a limit to how crazy someone could be.


    Nevertheless, Myeong-Ho continued swinging his axe, intending to cut Kang-Woo in half.


    Tap.


    "What?!" Myeong-Ho uttered.


    Kang-Woo had easily caught the axe that Myeong-Ho had swung using all of his might.


    Then Kang-Woo asked, "What was it that you said earlier? Oh, yeah."


    Crack. He crushed the axe he''d caught in his hand.


    Kang-Woo continued with a deep smile, "You said the only right that the weak have is to suffer, right?"


    He licked his lips while nodding and saying, "I think so as well."


    The axe''s de, which looked like it had been crushed by a hydraulic press, fell to the ground.

 Chapter 62 - Do You Know Who I Am? (2)

    Chapter 62 - Do You Know Who I Am? (2)


    "Wh-What the¡ª?"


    Cheon Myeong-Ho''s eyes widened as he looked down at his squashed axe on the ground in disbelief. He was trembling.


    This couldn''t be happening. This was something that simply couldn''t possibly happen. A person crushing an axe with his bare hands¡­? That was impossible unless he was a certain green monster from films.


    "Urgh!" Myeong-Ho uttered and let go of his axe handle.


    He lifted his right fist, and his arm muscles grew sorge that they seemed like they were about to burst. Myeong-Ho then targeted Oh Kang-Woo''s head with his right fist, which had be harder than steel.


    Tap.


    However, the same thing happened again. Kang-Woo leisurely caught Myeong-Ho''s punch with one hand. The difference in the sizes of their hands was likeparing an adult''s hands to a child''s, yet Kang-Woo had blocked Myeong-Ho''s punch easily.


    Crack.


    "Aaarrggghhh!!"


    The sound of Myeong-Ho''s bones breaking was apanied by his screams.


    Kang-Woo kicked Myeong-Ho''s chest. His feet pushed in deeply due to his amplified strength from using the Authority of Titanic Might, which made him stronger than a Giant Ogre.


    Bash!


    "Kurgh! Urgh! Cough! Cough!"


    Myeong-Ho, who had fallen to the ground, coughed up blood. The fear he felt was visible on his face.


    "What the hell are you doing?!" Kim Yeong-Hun shouted at him.


    Myeong-Ho stood up while trembling and replied, "I-I apologize, sir."


    "Damn it... Who the hell is that guy?" Yeong-Hun said, chewing his nails anxiously.


    He didn''t know who was the arrogant prick that had just appeared. The only thing Yeong-Hun knew was that he and Myeong-Ho wouldn''t be able to win against the prick.


    ''There''s no other choice.''


    Yeong-Hun''s eyes narrowed as he ordered, "Cheon Myeong-Ho, use demonic energy."


    "..."


    "What are you doing?! Hurry up and use demonic energy!" Yeong-Hun shouted angrily at Myeong-Ho.


    Myeong-Ho''s lips trembled as he stood up with a grim expression.


    "... Yes, sir," he replied.


    Myeong-Ho ced his hand on his chest where he could feel his heart beating. The dense and dark demonic energy hidden within it spread through and enveloped him.


    "A-Ahhh," Myeong-Ho uttered with his mouth wide open.


    His eyes dyed red, and his blood vessels protruded, appearing hideous. Myeong-Ho''s skin turned ck, goat horns sprouted on his forehead, and wings resembling that of bats burst out through his back.


    The energy of Hell that had been contained in his heart was changing him into a demonic beast. A strong desire for destruction rose from inside Myeong-Ho and devoured his sense of reason while erging his body.


    "GRRRR..." Myeong-Ho growled like a wild beast and pped his wings.


    "Wow!" Kang-Woo uttered with bright eyes upon seeing Myeong-Ho''s transformation.


    ''His transformation is the closest to a demon among all the other transformations that I''ve seen until now.''


    Kang-Woo had seen many people ept demonic energy, but none of them managed to get this close to transforming into a true demon.


    ''But...''


    Kang-Wooughed.


    Even if he had turned into a demon, nothing would change. Kang-Woo was close to achieving his Sixth Awakening, and he was almost at the same level of strength as Cha Yeon-Joo. Demonification wouldn''t help Myeong-Ho close the gap between him and Kang-Woo.


    "Kill him already!" Yeong-Hun yelled.


    The overflowing power that Yeong-Hun felt from Myeong-Ho consolidated his confidence.


    ''I''ll be the one toe out victorious in the end,'' Yeong-Ho thought.


    It had always been like that. To him, hardship and adversity were simply brief periods of entertainment that made life less boring. Yeong-Ho had been born a winner, and he had never lost even once.


    ''Bugs like you need to know your ce and crawl at the level of my feet.''


    Yeong-Hun smiled while looking at Kim Si-Hun and his partners.


    As if agreeing with Yeong-Ho''s thoughts, Myeong-Ho, who had been fully transformed into a demonic beast, let out a scream, "GRRAARR!"


    His chilling red eyes locked onto Kang-Woo.


    Myeong-Ho pped his wings and flew toward Kang-Woo at a frightening speed.


    Yeong-Houghed, "Hahahahaha! You''re dead n¡ª"


    Crack!!


    Myeong-Ho''s bones cracked as he was flung backward after colliding with Kang-Woo. It almost felt unrealistic to see Myeong-Ho get sent tumbling to the ground so easily even after turning into a demonic beast.


    "Huh?" Yeong-Hun uttered in disbelief.


    Boom! Crunch!


    "Gaaaaahhh!!"


    The horrifying violence ensued. Kang-Woo, the meddler whose identity was unknown to Yeong-Hun and Myeong-Ho, leaped ferociously toward Myeong-Ho. He punched Myeong-Ho, who had copsed onto the ground, with fists covered in ck energy. Every time he hit Myeong-Ho, there was a sound that resembled an explosion.


    It felt like the roles of demon and human had been reversed. One might even feel sorry for Myeong-Ho, who had turned into a demon for no reason.


    ''What the...?'' Yeong-Hun thought.


    He couldn''t believe that Myeong-Ho was being thrashed.


    "What the hell is he...?"


    Yeong-Hun trembled. Fear was engulfing his body. He realized that something had gone very wrong.


    ''Is he a Ranker or something?''


    Someone couldn''t have such an overwhelming win against Myeong-Ho, who was using demonic energy, unless they were as strong as Yeong-Hun''s father or Cha Yeon-Joo.


    Yeong-Hun turned around with a pale face.


    Ultimately, it didn''t matter if Kang-Woo was a Ranker. The important thing was that Yeong-Hun would be the next target after Myeong-Ho.


    Yeong-Hun ran away without looking back.


    "Huff! Huff!"


    His breathing got heavier the more he ran. The route to the Gate''s exit felt far too long.


    ''I-I have to... contact Father!''


    Yeong-Hun had always turned to his father for help whenever he was in a predicament. He was sure that his father, Kim Jae-Hyun, would be able to resolve the issue and bring him victory.


    With that in mind, Yeong-Hun took out an orb as big as his fist from his pocket. It was a magic tool that allowed a yer to make calls from inside Gates.


    Right when he was about to activate it¡­


    Smack!


    "Kurgh!"


    Yeong-Hun was hit and sent tumbling to the ground.


    "Y-You!" he uttered.


    Yeong-Hun paled as he looked at the person who had made him fall to the ground. Kang-Woo looked at him with a smile on his face.


    "Where are you running so eagerly?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Wh-Who the hell are you?!"


    "Why do you all say the same thing in situations like this?" Kang-Woo remarked. He squatted next to Yeong-Hun and looked at him disappointedly. Then Kang-Woo said, "Hand it over."


    "H-Hand what over...?"


    "You were about to contact Kim Jae-Hyun, weren''t you?" Kang-Woo asked while pointing at the crystal orb with his finger.


    With trembling hands, Yeong-Hun handed over the crystal orb, which Kang-Woo then activated immediately.


    After a few dial tones, Kang-Woo finally heard the voice he had been waiting for.


    [What is it?]


    It was a stiff and low-pitched voice.


    Kang-Woo''s smile deepened after hearing Jae-Hyun''s voicee through the crystal orb.


    "Are you Kim Jae-Hyun?"


    [... Who is this?]


    "Mmm... Maybe you''ll understand what''s going on if I say that I''m the person who has taken your son hostage."


    [...]


    There was a heavy silence.


    Kang-Woo realized that even though Jae-Hyun wasn''t saying anything, his breathing had gotten rougher.


    ''He seems quite surprised,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    It would be weirder if Jae-Hyun were calm in that situation. After all, it was unlikely that there was a father in this world who could remain calm after hearing that his son had been taken hostage.


    "F-Father! Th-This motherfucker dared to¡ª!"


    Bash!


    "Kurgh!"


    Kang-Woo kicked Yeong-Hun, who tried to grab the crystal orb, in the stomach. Yeong-Hun moaned in pain and curled up into a ball.


    "You stay put," Kang-Woo said.


    He used the Authority of Restraint and created chains made of demonic energy to restrain Yeong-Hun, wrapping around him like a chrysalis.


    Struggling to break free, Yeong-Hun eximed, "G-Get this damn thing off of me, you bastard!!"


    "Sigh, you don''t listen, do you? Are you in puberty or something?"


    Kang-Woo kicked Yeong-Hun in the head. There was a dull thud sound, and blood flew out of Yeong-Hun''s mouth.


    [Enough.]


    "Hmph. I guess even human garbage like you worries about his son, huh?" Kang-Woo remarked.


    [What do you want?] Jae-Hyun asked angrily.


    It seemed like he had understood the situation quickly.


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction upon seeing that he had the chance to have a proper conversation with Jae-Hyun.


    "If you want to save your son,e to the Mok-dong C-rank Gate right now."


    [Alone, I''m guessing?]


    "Hahahahaha!" Kang-Wooughed. "Would you actuallye alone if I told you to? No, right?"


    [...]


    "I know guys like you very well. Don''t make it soplicated for yourself. Prepare as much as you''d like."


    Kang-Woo was saying that Jae-Hyun could bring as much help as he wished.


    Jae-Hyun let out a forcedugh and asked, [Are you out of your mind?]


    "What, you don''t like my thoughtful gesture? Fine. Come alone, then."


    [... I''ll make you regret those words.]


    "Okay, okay. I''ll be looking forward to it," Kang-Woo said. He ced his foot on Yeong-Hun''s right ankle. Then Kang-Woo added, "If you don''te within twenty minutes, I''ll begin crushing your son''s limbs one by one, so take that into consideration."


    [Wha...] Jae-Hyun uttered, his rage seeping into his voice. [Does a military unit under the government seriously think they can handle the consequences of torture? Furthermore, torture done to my son?]


    "Huh? Government?"


    It seemed that, just like Myeong-Ho, Jae-Hyun thought that Kang-Woo was part of the Hwarang Corps.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    He said, "I''m not affiliated with the government, though¡­?"


    [Don''t tell me you''re by yourself right now?]


    "Yeah. I''m still single."


    [You''re insane.]


    Jae-Hyun could tell that although Kang-Woo was joking around, he was telling the truth. He thought that Kang-Woo had truly done something so insane by himself.


    [Did you do this while knowing who I am?] Jae-Hyun asked angrily.


    He was the CEO of Mir Electronics, a multinational business. On top of that, he was the leader of one of Korea''s five great guilds, the Mir Guild. He wasn''t just wealthy; he also had such great influence that not even government officials could recklesslyy a hand on him. On top of that, he was one of Korea''s most powerful yers, just like Baek Kang-Hyun and Cha Yeon-Joo.


    Money, authority, strength¡­ Jae-Hyun was on top in every aspect. Even a World Ranker wouldn''t dare to do something like what Kang-Woo was doing now.


    "Hahaha!" Kang-Wooughed and stepped even harder on Yeong-Hun''s right ankle.


    Yeong-Hun screamed in pain.


    "What about you? Do you know who I am?" Kang-Woo asked.


    [...]


    "You don''t. Do you?"


    Crack.


    Kang-Woo broke Yeong-Hun''s ankle, causing it to twist at a weird angle. Yeong-Hun squirmed in pain while crying.


    While looking down at him, Kang-Woo smiled. It was a creepy smile that resembled a demon''s.


    He continued, "If you don''t, then you''ll need a beating."

 Chapter 63 - Do You Know Who I Am? (3)

    Chapter 63 - Do You Know Who I Am? (3)


    "AAARRRGGG!! I-It hurts!! It huuuuuuurts!" Kim Yeong-Hun screamed desperately.


    [Enough!] Kim Jae-Hyun''s urgent voice rang out from the crystal orb.


    Kang-Woo lifted his foot from Yeong-Hun''s ankle.


    "Sniff¡­ Sniff." Yeong-Hun, who had likely never felt pain like that before, cried while hugging his ankle, which had been twisted in a weird direction.


    Oh Kang-Woo calmly spoke toward the crystal orb, "Twenty minutes. If I don¡¯t see you in twenty minutes, I''ll crush his other ankle."


    His voice contained no hint of mercy orpassion. Rather, Kang-Woo''s tone suggested that he was enjoying the situation, and that made Jae-Hyun even angrier.


    Jae-Hyun said murderously, [I don''t know who you are. I don''t know what you want. If you are trying to get a ransom from me, I can tell you it¡¯s toote for that. I will look for you, I will find you... and I will kill you.]


    Kang-Woo smirked at those words and replied, "Good luck."


    Crack.


    The crystal orb shattered, and its pieces fell onto the ground.


    "Right... Now, then," Kang-Woo said.


    He turned toward Yeong-Hun, who was trembling. Yeong-Hun looked up at Kang-Woo with a pale face. He was so terrified that he couldn¡¯t even feel the sharp pain in his ankle.


    "S-Spare me! P-Please! I-Is it money you want? If I could just talk to my father, I can get you as much as you¡ª!"


    "Money sounds good, but that''s not what I''m after."


    Kang-Woo crouched down next to Yeong-Hun. He was smiling so serenely that it was hard to believe he had just mercilessly crushed someone''s ankle. In such situations, it was even scarier to see someone with unwavering emotions.


    Yeong-Hun trembled.


    With a fearful voice, he asked, "Th-Then, wh-what do you want?"


    "Peace on Earth," Kang-Woo answered without hesitation.


    Yeong-Hun bit his lips doubtfully; he seemed to think Kang-Woo was lying.


    "D-Don¡¯t bullshit me and just tell me what you want!"


    "Wow, you don''t believe me?"


    Kang-Woo looked at Yeong-Hun disappointedly.


    Kang-Woo''s goal was the eradication of the Demon Cult. Leaving the process aside, he wasn''t lying about the end goal¡­ because the Demon Cult was trying to turn Earth into Hell.


    "All right, let¡¯s get ready," Kang-Woo said.


    "R-Ready for what...?"


    Kang-Woo extended his hands toward Yeong-Hun''s head.


    Yeong-Hun screamed hysterically, "P-Please!! S-Spare me! Please spare my life!"


    "Don''t turn me into a bad guy all on your own. I won''t kill you."


    "Th-Then¡­"


    "We need to get ready to meet your father."


    Upon hearing that, Yeong-Hun gulped. Hope seemed to return to his eyes.


    His father¡ªKim Jae-Hyun, who was perfect in every sense of the word¡ªwould probably be able to save him from this situation.


    Yeong-Hun thought, ''I don¡¯t know how you think you¡¯ll get away with this, but...''


    Yeong-Hun was sure that his father would destroy this man.


    "I''m d," Kang-Woo said.


    "... You¡¯re d?"


    "Yeah."


    A deep smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face. He ced his hands on top of Yeong-Hun''s head and activated one of his 666 Authorities. An explosive amount of demonic energy entered Yeong-Hun''s head.


    "Kurgh! Guh!" Yeong-Hun groaned.


    His eyes turned upside down, and he was foaming at the mouth.


    Kang-Woo gazed at Yeong-Hun, who was trembling, and said, "I''m d Kim Jae-Hyun loves you."


    A father''s love for his son¡­ Kang-Woo could sense it from Jae-Hyun¡¯s anger.


    "It''s easy to use someone who has people they love," Kang-Woo added with augh.


    * * *


    After using an Authority on Yeong-Hun, Kang-Woo took him and the party out of the Gate. Once outside, he saw members of the Red Rose Guild and Hwarang''s 3rd Squadron, whom he had contacted before attacking Yeong-Hun.


    "Who are those people?"


    "Huh? I-Isn''t that Cha Yeon-Joo from the Red Rose Guild and the captain of Hwarang¡¯s 3rd Squadron, Baek Hwa-Yeon?!"


    Han Seol-Ah and Kang Tae-Soo''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "I''ll exinter. First, take Si-Hun to a safe ce," Kang-Woo said.


    "B-But¡­"


    As they walked away from the Gate, Cha Yeon-Joo approached them.


    She called out, "Kang-Woo! I was wondering where you were. We couldn¡¯t find you anywhere after you called us here."


    Seol-Ah was surprised. She had only seen Yeon-Joo on the news, yet Yeon-Joo spoke like she knew Kang-Woo.


    "K-Kang-Woo, you know the Red Rose Guild''s guild master?" Seol-Ah asked.


    "Sadly, yes," Kang-Woo replied.


    "That''s my line," Yeon-Joo said, ring at Kang-Woo. She then turned her head to look at Seol-Ah. "Well... it seems like you know me. Who are you?"


    "M-My name is Han Seol-Ah."


    "Hmm," Yeon-Joo murmured as she gazed at Seol-Ah.


    She looked at Seol-Ah from top to bottom and paused at Seol-Ah''s breasts.


    "Keh!" Yeon-Joo uttered with veins protruding on her forehead.


    She took a deep breath and asked, "What''s your rtionship with Kang-Woo?"


    "I-I should be the one asking you that question. And why do you address him so c-casually?" Seol-Ah replied, ring at Yeon-Joo in the most intimidating way she could.


    ''She doesn''t look scary at all, though.''


    It was as if a cat had brandished its ws against a tiger.


    Kang-Woo ended their strange war of nerves, "Let''s leave introductions forter. There¡¯s something more important than that right now. Seol-Ah, take the rest of the party members away with you."


    "Ah¡­"


    "Once it''s over, I''ll tell you everything at home."


    "Okay, Kang-Woo."


    Seol-Ah seemed a bit sad, but she nodded and left the Gate area with the other members.


    Yeon-Joo turned her head to Kang-Woo, who was watching Seol-Ah walk away.


    "So, where''s the fish that took the bait?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Here," Kang-Woo replied.


    He threw Yeong-Hun, whom he had dragged along, to the floor.


    Yeon-Joo''s eyes shone brightly and said, "I had a feeling it was the Mir Guild."


    "Were you expecting it?"


    "It was just a feeling. After all, among the major guilds, they¡¯re the only ones crazy enough to do something so insane."


    Yeon-Joo''s guess had been influenced by her personal feelings.


    ''I remember something about them having bad blood,'' Kang-Woo thought as he recalled what he''d heard from Kang Seong-Soo.


    Yeon-Joo continued, "So, we just have to interrogate and get information out of him, right?"


    "No. Kim Yeong-Hun is just a pawn. He probably won''t know the exact details."


    "Then..."


    "I called Kim Jae-Hyun here. He''ll be here within twenty minutes."


    "...!"


    Baek Hwa-Yeon''s and Yeon-Joo''s expressions hardened upon hearing that name.


    "W-Wait! You called Kim Jae-Hyun here?" Yeon-Joo asked in surprise.


    She looked at Yeong-Hun, who was unconscious on the floor. Then one thought crossed her mind.


    Yeon-Joo said, "Don''t tell me¡­ you took Kim Yeong-Hun hostage?"


    "I could sense his great love for his son."


    "You crazy son of a..." Yeon-Joo uttered, looking at him in disbelief.


    Interrogating Yeong-Hun was one thing, but calling Jae-Hyun here¡­?


    "Kim Jae-Hyun won''t stand for this," she stated.


    "I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way," Kang-Woo replied calmly.


    "Haa... So, that''s why you said to bring as many of our forces as possible," Yeon-Joo said with a sigh.


    She didn''t think they would be having an all-out war against the Mir Guild so out of the blue.


    Yeon-Joo thought, ''It was bound to happen eventually, but...''


    They couldn''t just leave the Mir Guild alone now that it was certain that the guild was connected to the Demon Cult. A war against the Mir Guild was an inevitable part of the process to eradicate the Demon Cult.


    ''But I never thought that it would be now.''


    Yeon-Joo bit her lip lightly.


    She hadn¡¯t been able to bring all of their elite members because she''d left as quickly as possible to look for Kang-Woo. It had been the same for Hwa-Yeon. The government would normally join forces with a major guild to tilt the odds in their favor, but the odds were fairly even in the current situation.


    "Don''t worry. It isn''t going to be a difficult battle," Kang-Woo said calmly.


    Hwa-Yeon spoke while frowning, "I''m sorry, but neither Yeon-Joo¡¯s guild nor my 3rd Squadron are fully present. There''s no way that the battle against the Mir Gild won''t be a difficult one. Aren''t you being too hasty?"


    "Hwa-Yeon, what happens when themander of an opposing force charges at youpletely devoid of reason?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "... The fight would obviously end in our victory."


    "Yes. That''s what''s going to happen," Kang-Woo replied as if he had foreseen the future.


    Hwa-Yeon seemed confused and asked, "Are you saying that Kim Jae-Hyun will charge at us¡­pletely devoid of reason?"


    "A father''s love for his son is unconditional," Kang-Woo stated with a shrug.


    Yeon-Joo shook her head with a stiff expression andmented, "Even if Kim Yeong-Hun is a mindless idiot, Kim Jae-Hyun is different. He won¡¯t lose his mind just because you¡¯ve taken Kim Yeong-Hun hostage."


    After all, Jae-Hyun was so calctive and cold that he could be the CEO of a colossal corporation like Mir Electronics.


    Kang-Wooughed lightly at her words and said, "No. He¡¯ll charge at us."


    "... Are you nning on destroying his son¡¯s arms and legs in front of him or something?" Yeon-Joo questioned while looking at Yeong-Hun''s right ankle.


    Kang-Woo shook his head and smirked as he said, "Of course not. You seriously think Kim Jae-Hyun would lose his mind over something like that?"


    "... Seriously, what are you nning on doing?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    She got goosebumps while looking at Kang-Woo.


    Without answering, Kang-Woo directed his eyes toward the road and said, "Looks like he''s here."


    "Ngh...?!"


    Vroom!!


    Around twenty SUVs raced into the area, destroying the barricade around the Gate''s entrance.


    Click.


    The car door of one of the cars opened, and an expressionless middle-aged man got out of the car. The man, who had slicked-back hair, was emitting a suffocatingly powerful bloodlust.


    "... I should have known you people were behind this," Jae-Hyun said, directing his strong bloodlust at Yeon-Joo and Hwa-Yeon. Then his gaze darted around the area. He remarked, "How reckless. Do you think that it''s over just because you''ve taken my son hostage?"


    Jae-Hyun was quick to notice that the Red Rose Guild and the Hwarang Corps hadn''t brought all of their forces.


    Jae-Hyun''s gaze burned with an intense bloodlust as he asked, "Where is the man I spoke to?"


    "Over here," Kang-Woo answered, waving his hand as if he were greeting a friend.


    Jae-Hyun''s bloodlust grew stronger.


    "I thank you for not running away," he said.


    Click, click.


    The doors of the other SUVs opened, and over two hundred members of the Mir Guild got out from the cars.


    Jae-Hyun red at Kang-Woo and asked, "So, where is my son?"


    "Here, take him."


    After saying that, Kang-Woo picked up Yeong-Hun and threw him over.


    "Chairman!"


    "Watch out!"


    Two people immediately stepped in front of Jae-Hyun, thinking that a bomb might have been nted on Yeong-Hun.


    Thump.


    "¡­"


    "What the..."


    There was a heavy silence.


    Unlike their expectations, nothing happened. Before Yeong-Hunnded on the ground, there was even a cloud of ck smoke that appeared and cushioned hisnding.


    "... Step aside," Jae-Hyun ordered.


    "Chairman, please wait. It might still be a trap¡ª"


    "I said, step aside."


    Jae-Hyun pushed his subordinates aside and scooped Yeong-Hun up off the ground.


    After picking his son up, Jae-Hyun trembled as he said, "I''m not sure why you¡¯ve done this, but..."


    Enormous amounts of mana burst out from him and stormed his surroundings. Jae-Hyun red at Kang-Woo with eyes filled with bloodlust.


    "With this, you have no chance of victory. I will kill you in the worst way possible," Jae-Hyun dered while grinding his teeth.


    "U-Urgghh..." Yeong-Hun came back to his senses right then.


    "Yeong-Hun!"


    Jae-Hyun withdrew his bloodlust and hugged his son. He softly caressed the cheek of Yeong-Hun, who was slowly opening his eyes. It was a scene that would move anyone who wasn''t aware of what was going on.


    "A-Ahh..." Yeong-Hun uttered when he opened his eyespletely.


    He looked around and then fixed his gaze on Jae-Hyun, who was still hugging him. Yeong-Hun trembled in fear, but it wasn''t in fear of Kang-Woo and the acts of ruthless violence that Kang-Woo had done to him.


    His fear was¡­ directed toward Jae-Hyun.


    "Wh-Who are you... mister?"

 Chapter 64 - Do You Know Who I Am? (4)

    Chapter 64 - Do You Know Who I Am? (4)


    "Wh-Who are you... mister?" Kim Yeong-Hun asked.


    "What¡­?" Kim Jae-Hyun uttered. His eyes widened as he looked at his son in confusion. "Yeong-Hun, it''s me. Your father!"


    "Wh-What are you talking about, mister?"


    Yeong-Hun was ring at Jae-Hyun warily. It was as if all his memories of his father had been erased.


    "Y-Yeong-Hun," Jae-Hyun said with quivering eyes.


    Yeong-Hun couldn''t remember Jae-Hyun. He was looking at his father warily as if they were strangers. That shock made Jae-Hyun tremble.


    "A-Ahhhh..." Jae-Hyun uttered and then covered his mouth.


    He felt nauseous, and he thought that he was about to vomit at any moment. His mind went nk. It was so strange for Jae-Hyun to hear Yeong-Hun calling him ''mister.''


    "What... did you do?" Jae-Hyun asked.


    He was still shaking when he turned and found Oh Kang-Woo standing there with a smile. Just seeing him smile was enough to make Jae-Hyun lose control.


    "I said, what did you do?!" Jae-Hyun shouted.


    His eyes were opened wide, and his tone sharp. His image of a reserved gentleman changedpletely.


    However, that was understandable. On the contrary, it would have been strange if he had maintained hisposure. The memories of his beloved son had been erased. It was more shocking and terrifying to him than if his son''s limbs had been torn apart.


    Was this how he would feel if Yeong-Hun had died in front of him? Jae-Hyun wasn''t sure. He wouldn¡¯t have had to feel such an ambiguous and indescribable feeling if his son had died instead.


    "L-Let me go, mister! Forget that. Where am I?" Yeong-Hun said while trying to free himself from Jae-Hyun''s arms.


    Jae-Hyun gradually lost hold of his rationality every time his son called him ''mister.''


    "Y-You¡­" Jae-Hyun uttered, trembling as he looked at Kang-Woo.


    After letting Yeong-Hun go, Jae-Hyun slowly stood up. He felt as though his entire world was crumbling. No, it had already crumbled.


    Jae-Hyun exuded an intense bloodlust.


    "Ch-Chairman."


    "Please calm down!"


    The executives of the Mir Guild tried to talk Jae-Hyun down, but he could not hear them.


    Jae-Hyun stared at Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth, ingraining that smile into his mind. He could almost hear Kang-Woo''s mockingughter.


    "You bastaaaaaard!!" Jae-Hyun yelled.


    His mana exploded, splitting open thend around him.


    Jae-Hyun was one of the top ten yers in Korea. The minimum requirement to be a Ranker was to achieve the Eighth Awakening, but he had achieved his Ninth.


    This man who was rumored to possess four S-rank Traits was losing control of himself.


    Boom! Boom!


    He leaped forward. The ground around him shook like there was an earthquake, and the concrete covering the ground was destroyed by the exploding mana.


    Golden mana enveloped Jae-Hyun''s fists in a distinct shape. It was simr to condensed Qi, a higher form of Qi that often appeared in martial arts novels.


    While covered in materialized mana, Jae-Hyun leaped toward Kang-Woo.


    "Oh, no, you don¡¯t!" Cha Yeon-Joo yelled, blocking Jae-Hyun''s path.


    Red chains flew out of Yeon-Joo''s hands and surrounded Jae-Hyun. Jae-Hyun swung his fists against the red chains, which were also enveloped in materialized mana.


    Boom!!


    A huge explosion shook the surroundings the moment that Jae-Hyun¡¯s fist and Yeon-Joo¡¯s chains collided. Jae-Hyun and Yeon-Joo exhibited powers that transcended human capabilities.


    "Move!" Jae-Hyun, who hadpletely lost his mind, shouted at Yeon-Joo, who was blocking his way.


    Jae-Hyun leaped forward like a beast, and Yeon-Joo once again shot the red chains at him.


    Boom!


    "Kurgh!!"


    Jae-Hyun was one of Korea''s top ten yers, but Yeon-Joo was also in that group.


    Yeon-Joo''s red chains moved as if they were alive and wrapped around Jae-Hyun, climbing upward. The thorns on the chains embedded into Jae-Hyun¡¯s skin and ripped it.


    Jae-Hyun caught the chains and broke them with his bare hands. Then he threw the red chains to the side. Blood leaked out from his wounded skin, but Jae-Hyun paid his injuries no mind.


    He persisted in trying to push forward and ignoring Yeon-Joo, who was in his way.


    "Haap!" Baek Hwa-Yeon uttered.


    She stopped Jae-Hyun''s charge this time. She swung her white longsword at Jae-Hyun''s neck, but Jae-Hyun smacked away the white longsword with his mana-covered fists. Hwa-Yeon was pushed back by his absurd power.


    "Cough!"


    Hwa-Yeon was one Awakening stage lower than Yeon-Joo and Jae-Hyun, so it was hard for her to block Jae-Hyun''s charge.


    "Hwa-Yeon! Stay back for now!"


    "Understood!"


    Hwa-Yeon nodded and increased her distance from Jae-Hyun.


    Yeon-Joo filled the gap and spread her arms out. Then red chains exploded out from her red bracelets. These chains were the Legendary-grade weapon Bloodthirsty Chains. It was considered her trademark weapon.


    Thrash!


    She gathered the red chains together and formed a il, which sheunched toward Jae-Hyun. He could tell it was not a light attack, so he raised his right fist to block.


    The chains then spread out like a. If Jae-Hyun were to stay still, he would be caught by the. However, Jae-Hyun didn''t move backward even in that situation. Rather, he moved forward as if he couldn''t see the that was about to swallow him whole.


    Yeon-Joo''s chains enveloped Jae-Hyun.


    "Raaaahhhh!" Jae-Hyun screamed while thrashing about in the of thorny chains.


    Jae-Hyun paid a hefty price for that. Parts of his skin got caught on the thorns and were torn open, but he didn''t care about that.


    He grabbed the thorny chains with both of his hands. The muscles of his arms, which were covered with materialized mana, swelled as if they were about to burst.


    Crack!


    The chains were ripped apart as if they were just thin ropes.


    "I told you to move!!" Jae-Hyun''s crazed voice rang throughout the area.


    Blood seeped out from the horrible wounds all over his body. The wounds were so deep that it wouldn''t be weird if he died immediately. However, he had surpassed Level 80 and achieved his Ninth Awakening, so he wouldn''t copse from just that.


    "Fucking hell..." Yeon-Joo muttered.


    She was shocked by Jae-Hyun¡¯s lunacy.


    ¡®I can¡¯t believe he took that attack head-on,¡¯ she thought.


    Yeon-Joo''s Legendary-grade weapon, Bloodthirsty Chains, had a special effect called Energy Drain. It snatched a significant amount of health from a target whose flesh had been ripped by the thorns on the chains. Yet, the crazed Jae-Hyun was going as strong as ever.


    ''He isn¡¯t going to stop his charge, even if it kills him.''


    Yeon-Joo''s expression hardened.


    "AARRGGHH!" Jae-Hyun roared, resuming his charge.


    Back Hwa-Yeon leaped forward from the rear.


    "Yeon-Joo! I¡¯ll be counting on your support!"


    "Got it!"


    Yeon-Joo extended her hand toward Hwa-Yeon, and the red chains formed a shield in front of thetter.


    Boom!!


    Jae-Hyun stomped on the ground, destroying his surroundings that were within a ten-meter radius. He twisted his torso, raised his right fist, and used the generated momentum to smash his fist downward.


    The mana around his fist spread outward, engulfing Hwa-Yeon in an enormous shockwave. She hid behind the shield of chains that Yeon-Joo had made, but Jae-Hyun''s materialized mana destroyed the chains.


    Hwa-Yeon then shed upward, cleaving the mana that had gotten past the chains into two. A gap in Jae-Hyun¡¯s defenses had formed after the massive attack, and Hwa-Yeon''s gaze turned sharp when she spotted it.


    ''Whirlwind.''


    She activated her Trait skill.


    A strong gust surrounded the white longsword, and Hwa-Yeon swung it at a speed that forced even Jae-Hyun, who was in a crazed state, to leap backward. Hwa-Yeon''s de brushed past Jae-Hyun by a narrow margin.


    sh!


    Jae-Hyun managed to avoid the de, but he couldn''t dodge the whirlwind around it. The whirlwind shed him from his nk to his corbone, causing a fountain of blood to spray out.


    Hwa-Yeon flinched when she saw that she had dealt an almost fatal wound to Jae-Hyun. It would be troublesome if Jae-Hyun were to die; they wouldn¡¯t be able to get information about the Demon Cult from him.


    Hwa-Yeon''s hesitation created an opportunity for Jae-Hyun.


    "Abyss!"


    Crackle!!


    Jae-Hyun smashed the ground with both of his fists. Powerful energy exploded into the ground like a volcano, apanied by a thunderous sound.


    The storm of mana engulfed Hwa-Yeon. It sent her tumbling to the ground, and she coughed up dark red blood.


    "Kurgh!"


    Jae-Hyun''s attack was powerful.


    Hwa-Yeon staggered to her feet. She could be fatally wounded if she remained still and was injured by Jae-Hyun¡¯s subsequent attack.


    Nheless, she had been worried over nothing. Jae-Hyun wasn''t targeting her.


    "Raaaahhhh!" Jae-Hyun, who was covered in blood, shouted like a monster and ran toward Kang-Woo.


    There were only twenty meters between them. yers possessed superhuman strength, so they could close that distance with a single step.


    However, Yeon-Joo wasn''t stupid enough to let go of an opponent who was ignoring her and charging toward Kang-Woo.


    "Chain spear!"


    She threw five chains toward Jae-Hyun¡¯s back.


    Stab.


    There were fifteen meters left between Jae-Hyun and Kang-Woo. A chain embedded itself in Jae-Hyun''s right thigh.


    Stab Stab.


    There were ten meters left. A chain prated his left hand and elbow.


    Stab.


    There were five meters left. A chain pierced his right shoulder.


    "Haa, haa..."


    Jae-Hyun looked down at thest chain that had pierced through his stomach. He was breathing roughly, and blood was running down from his mouth.


    Then he shifted his gaze to the young man who was now standing right in front of him.


    Kang-Woo was smiling, seemingly to mock Jae-Hyun.


    "Urgh, a-argh," Jae-Hyun groaned.


    He squeezed out all of his remaining strength and swung his right fist. His fist did not contain any mana at all, let alone materialized mana.


    Tap.


    His right fist hit Kang-Woo''s chest weakly. Then Jae-Hyun, who had used up all of his strength, copsed.


    Kang-Woo bent down and made eye contact with Jae-Hyun. Jae-Hyun looked at him with a gaze that showed he was about to die out at any moment.


    Kang-Woo slowly extended his hand and grabbed the back of Jae-Hyun''s head. Their faces got so close to each other that their noses were about to touch.


    Kang-Woo said quietly, "Do you know who I am now?"

 Chapter 65 - Do You Know Who I Am? (5)

    Chapter 65 - Do You Know Who I Am? (5)


    "Kim Jae-Hyun has been taken to the hospital! He''s currently being treated by doctors and healer-ss yers. Fortunately, his life isn''t in danger, and he is recovering quickly."


    "Okay. How long will it take for him to be healed?"


    "He will be well enough to be able to move in a few hours."


    Even while saying that, the Hwarang Corps member seemed to have a hard time believing it.


    Chains had pierced Kim Jae-Hyun''s entire body, and he''d also been shed from his corbone to his pelvis. Despite that, the outlook was that he would be mostly recovered in just a few hours.


    It was true that having top-notch hospital staff and healers treat him aided in his swift recovery. However, the main reason was that Kim Jae-Hyun''s recovery speed was absurdly fast.


    "Put mana restraints on him as soon as they finish treating him and then bring him to the investigation room," Baek Hwa-Yeon ordered.


    "Yes, ma''am!"


    Unlike the surprised member of the Hwarang Corps, Hwa-Yeon was calm. She knew about the superhuman capabilities of a yer in their Ninth Awakening. As long as their vital organs weren''t hurt, it wouldn''t take them long to recover.


    ''However, we don''t want him to recover fully.''


    The real problem would ur if Jae-Hyun were to recover fully. It would be better if he recovered just enough that he could talk.


    "I''ll be leaving to take care of them," Hwa-Yeon told Cha Yeon-Joo and Oh Kang-Woo, gesturing to the members of the Mir Guild.


    Hwa-Yeon gazed at the Mir Guild members, who were like soldiers who had lost their general.


    After Jae-Hyun was neutralized, the Mir Guild members didn''t put up any resistance or try to escape. It was the expected reaction, considering they had watched their leader suddenly lose his mind and get defeated soon after. Moreover, the Mir Guild''s power was heavily centered around Jae-Hyun, so the situation was quickly resolved upon his defeat.


    After Hwa-Yeon left, Yeon-Joo turned her head to Kang-Woo.


    "What did you do?" Yeon-Joo asked, ring at Kang-Woo with a thorny gaze.


    Kang-Woo shrugged and calmly answered, "I just fiddled around with Kim Yeong-Hun''s memories a little."


    "... You can even alter memories?"


    "I can do a lot of things."


    Yeon-Joo remained silent.


    In her mind, she knew that his strategy had been brilliant. With it, they managed to defeat the Mir Guild without any casualties, which was an amazing achievement. They would''ve suffered great losses if Jae-Hyun hadn''t lost his mind.


    ''But...''


    Yeon-Joo recalled Jae-Hyun''s lunacy. She understood why he had gone mad. His son could not even remember his name¡­ It would''ve been stranger if Jae-Hyun didn''t feel an ounce of despair in that situation.


    She wasn''t sure what Kang-Woo had done to make Kim Yeong-Hun lose his memories, but just thinking about that made her sick. Yeon-Joo almost pitied Jae-Hyun and Yeong-Hun, the father and son whom she had bad blood with.


    ''Although they aren''t people whom I should ever feel pity for.''


    Thinking about all the pain that they had caused, maybe it was a fair punishment. No, it probably wasn''t enough. It was widely known that Yeong-Hun was an asshole. He had ruined the lives of countless people. Jae-Hyun was even worse. The mountain of corpses in his wake was as tall as the mountain of wealth and power that he had umted.


    ''I guess this is what you would call... poetic justice?''


    Yeon-Joo felt confused.


    In terms of punishing evil and rewarding good, Yeon-Joo did not believe that the one who had dealt the punishment, Kang-Woo, was good in the slightest. Rather, it was as if evil had been devoured by a greater evil.


    "... What are you, really?" Yeon-Joo asked, looking at Kang-Woo warily.


    She couldn''t make sense of the man named Oh Kang-Woo. She wasn''t even sure if he was the same person whom she''d investigated before recruiting.


    "I''m human, as you already know."


    "Enough of that bullshit. This goes beyond talent at this p¡ª"


    "Cha Yeon-Joo," Kang-Woo said, cutting her off.


    Their eyes met, and Yeon-Joo flinched, suddenly feeling chills run down her back. She felt that Kang-Woo''s eyes, which were as deep as an abyss, were about to devour her.


    "I can help you, and you''re of great help to me. Isn''t that good enough?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "¡­"


    "You don''t need to know much, nor are you obligated to understand everything. The world doesn''t vanish just because you close your eyes. The important thing isn''t who I am, but what you want to do. You said that you wanted to get revenge before, right?"


    "Yeah¡­"


    "I will help you get that revenge. I will help you wipe out the Demon Cult that killed the person who''s dear to you, so¡­" Kang-Woo''s deep voice flowed into Yeon-Joo''s ears. "Just close your eyes."


    Yeon-Joo thought his words were sweet beyond belief. They felt so pleasant that it was as if her mind was about to go numb. She believed that she''d be able to get what she wanted as long as she followed that sweetness.


    Yeon-Joo felt like she could finally understand the phrase ''sweet whispers of the devil.'' She had thought that it was cringy nonsense when she first heard it, but it matched the current situation perfectly.


    ''I guess I haven''t been raising a tiger cub.''


    Yeon-Joo bit her lip. She thought that she could see another figure oveying Kang-Woo¡ªa smiling demon with goat horns and bat wings.


    Then she wondered in regret if sponsoring Kang-Woo had been an irreversible mistake. He had grown strong enough to be on par with her in less than two months. She couldn''t even think of how strong he would be in the future.


    ''It''s toote now.''


    Yeon-Joo would not cry over spilled milk.


    ''In that case...''


    Her gaze quivered as the memory of a beautiful girl with shoulder-length ck hair resurfaced in her mind. Jeong Ha-Eun¡ªthat was the name of the Red Rose Guild member who used to follow Yeon-Joo around as if Yeon-Joo were her older sister.


    Veins protruded from the skin of Yeon-Joo''s hands as they clenched into fists, and an uncontroble rage surged inside her. She looked at Kang-Woo and remembered his sweet words about helping get her revenge.


    It didn''t matter if he was a tiger or a demon. Yeon-Joo had a goal that she had to achieve, even if she had to join forces with a demon to do it.


    Yeon-Joo closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened her eyes again.


    She said, "The process aside, thanks. We were able to capture Jae-Hyun without any casualties thanks to you."


    "You''re wee," Kang-Woo replied.


    Then he looked around and asked, "Are we going to go to the investigation room right away?"


    "Of course. Considering what we went through to get this opportunity, we have to dig up as much information as possible before the Demon Cult makes a move in response," Yeon-Joo answered while leaking out a strong bloodlust.


    It seemed that she had quite a deep hatred toward the Demon Cult.


    "You''reing too, right? Kang-Woo?"


    "Obviously."


    If Kang-Woo didn''t go, he would''ve captured Jae-Hyun for nothing.


    Yeon-Joo nodded and walked toward her car with Kang-Woo following behind her.


    * * *


    A few hourster¡­


    Kang-Woo, Yeon-Joo, and Hwa-Yeon were sitting in the investigation room, waiting for Jae-Hyun.


    Click.


    The door opened, and Jae-Hyun was dragged in. He had been bound with mana restraints all over his body. The restraints were simr to the straitjackets that were used in mental hospitals.


    Jae-Hyun red silently at Kang-Woo while leaking out an intense bloodlust. His hair, which had been neatly slicked back before, was in aplete mess. The dark circles under his eyes and his sullen cheeks showed that he was in terrible condition.


    "I have a few questions for you."


    It was Hwa-Yeon who spoke first.


    "Since when have you been involved with the Demon Cult?" she questioned with a hard voice.


    "¡­"


    "Is there anything you know about the ''summoning''?"


    "¡­"


    "Do you know anything about the man in the red demon mask?"


    "¡­"


    There was no response from Jae-Hyun. Only Hwa-Yeon''s voice could be heard in the investigation room.


    Hwa-Yeon pped Jae-Hyun violently.


    Crash!


    Jae-Hyun fell from his chair.


    Hwa-Yeon looked down at him furiously and said, "Answer the questions. At this moment, you are neither the CEO of Mir Electronics nor a guild master. You''re nothing but a criminal who joined forces with a fanatical cult."


    "¡­"


    "I told you to answer the questions."


    Hwa-Yeon grabbed Jae-Hyun''s disheveled hair.


    The corners of Jae-Hyun''s mouth curled up.


    "Do you seriously think I''ll talk?" Jae-Hyun said.


    "¡­"


    "No matter how much power the Hwarang Corps possesses, you''re nothing but a dog of the government¡ªa dog that does as it''s told. Baek Hwa-Yeon, have you forgotten who I am? How many congresspersons do you think I have under my beck and call?" Jae-Hyun continued with a malevolent smile. "Do you still not understand? You are the dogs, and I am the owner holding the leash. How dare a dog bare its teeth toward its owner?"


    "You goddamn psychotic motherfucker..." Yeon-Joo, who had been listening in silence, cursed.


    She stood up and grabbed Jae-Hyun''s cor. The bracelet on her slender wrist shone red, and red chains emerged from it and instantly enveloped Jae-Hyun. The thorns on the chains prated the mana restraints and dug into Jae-Hyun''s skin. The mana restraints quickly became wet with blood.


    "Kurgh," Jae-Hyun started to groan in pain.


    "Talk."


    "Kurghhh..."


    ¡°I said, talk.¡±


    "G-Gaahh."


    "TALK, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!" Yeon-Joo''s scream rang throughout the investigation room.


    Even while suffering immense pain, Jae-Hyunughed, "K-Kehehehe... In the end... you will all lose against him. You can''t even imagine... how massive they are... or what they are... nning."


    "You¡ª!"


    "Stop, Yeon-Joo. It would be bad if Kim Jae-Hyun dies," Hwa-Yeon said.


    After Hwa-Yeon talked Yeon-Joo down, Yeon-Joo took a deep breath and called the chains back into her bracelet.


    The two women looked at him in frustration. They weren''t sure how to get him to talk.


    At that moment, Kang-Woo, who had been silently watching, spoke up, "All right, I guess it''s my turn now."


    "You!" Jae-Hyun roared, frowning angrily upon seeing Kang-Woo.


    "Tell us everything you know about the Demon Cult," Kang-Woo said.


    "Hmph, are you deaf? Do you seriously think I''ll talk?"


    "Yes. I think you will," Kang-Woo replied with a softugh. He looked at Jae-Hyun and said, "I''ll return them."


    "What...?"


    "If you tell us everything you know, I''ll return Kim Yeong-Hun''s memories."


    "...!"


    Jae-Hyun''s eyes widened, and he started to tremble. He recalled Yeong-Hun, who had called him ''mister'' while looking right at him.


    This was an offer that Jae-Hyun couldn''t refuse. There was simply no way that he could turn down having his son recognize him again.


    Jae-Hyun clenched his hands into fists.


    "Y-You...!"


    He was blinded by irrational rage.


    Kang-Woo had made Jae-Hyun''s son forget about him and was even using that as leverage against him. Jae-Hyun could not resent Kang-Woo any more than this.


    "YOOOOUUUU!!" Jae-Hyun bellowed.


    In a frenzy of rage, he twisted and turned under the mana restraints, trying to break free. Yeon-Joo and Hwa-Yeon grabbed Jae-Hyun as he attempted to charge toward Kang-Woo.


    Jae-Hyun let out a scream filled with hatred and resentment, "YOU WILL GO TO HEEELL!!"


    His scream was closer to a wail.


    Kang-Woo smirked and said, "I''ve already been there, man."

 Chapter 66 - Summoning Ritual (1)

    Chapter 66 - Summoning Ritual (1)


    "I met him¡­ about eight months ago."


    Kim Jae-Hyun began talking.


    Oh Kang-Woo leaned on the chair and listened carefully.


    "Are you talking about the man in the red demon mask?"


    "Yes."


    "You don''t know who he is?"


    Jae-Hyun shook his head with a heavy expression on his face. He didn''t seem to be lying.


    ''I guess even Kim Jae-Hyun doesn''t know who he is.''


    The information Kang-Woo wanted to know the most had disappeared.


    "Keep talking."


    "When I first met him eight months ago, he gave me a proposal. He said that he would turn me into a demon if I provided him with the sacrifices he needed for the rituals."


    "¡­ And you epted that?"


    Cha Yeon-Joo looked at him in disbelief.


    Supplying the live sacrifices was so insane that it would destroy everything that Jae-Hyun had built up until now. Why would someone like Jae-Hyun take such a risk just to be a demon?


    "Hmph. You can only say that because you know nothing about demons."


    "¡­ What do you mean?"


    "Demons are immortal. As long as their heads aren''t severed or their hearts don''t burst, they will live forever without aging."


    Immortality. Eternal youth.


    There was no offer more enticing for a mortal being. Even the wealthiest of people ultimately died, so it was possibly understandable for someone like Jae-Hyun, who possessed great power and wealth, to struggle against the clutches of mortality.


    "Hah, immortality?"


    "Yes."


    "How do you know that?"


    "Because they''ve been alive for over a thousand years."


    "What¡­?"


    It wasn''t just Yeon-Joo who was surprised.


    Kang-Woo, who had been silently listening, opened his mouth and asked, "The Demon Cult has existed for over a thousand years?"


    yers had only begun to appear on Earth after the Day of Cmity five years ago, so Kang-Woo had obviously thought that the Demon Cult had appeared after that day.


    Jae-Hyun nodded with a heavy expression.


    "They have been here for a thousand¡ªno, even longer than that. They have been hiding all over the world and secretly growing. But of course, they only became active a few years ago."


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    If they''d been present for such a long time, it would probably be hard to wipe them all out.


    "¡­ Then you''ve been kidnapping yers and offering them to the Demon Cult in exchange for immortality?"


    "Yes."


    "Crazy son of a bitch." Yeon-Joo looked at him in disgust. "Do you want to be immortal so badly that you are even willing tomit such hideous acts? Do you think a human can stay sane while living for thousands of years?"


    There were many novels and manhwas about what would happen if one was immortal, but the result was always a catastrophe.


    She believed that a human would eventually lose their mind if they lived for such a long time.


    Jae-Hyunughed at her words.


    "You truly know nothing about demons. The body of a demon preserves the mind and amplifies one''s desires."


    "¡­ What is that supposed to mean?"


    "It means you cannot get bored of life. You can live for eternity in youth. Isn''t it the best?"


    "Don''t bullshit me. There''s no way that''s possib¡ª"


    "It is. Do you think I''d risk everything if it weren''t?"


    Yeon-Joo shut her mouth.


    She knew that Jae-Hyun wasn''t stupid.


    ''If he''s telling the truth¡­''


    It would make sense how the Demon Cult had amassed such arge number of followers so easily. The reward that they offered was hard for a human to resist.


    "What a load of bull," Kang-Woo mumbled in a low voice.


    "Kang-Woo¡­?"


    Yeon-Joo looked at him, surprised by his tone from which she could sense an intense bloodlust.


    "Do you seriously believe having insatiable desires is a good thing?"


    Kang-Woo looked at him with sharp eyes.


    Desires were limitless. Even humans always wanted more if they had one or two of something. Considering that, a demon''s desires weren''t even worth mentioning.


    Insatiable desires brought about thirst that couldn''t be understood by anyone who had never experienced it firsthand. It wasparable to eternally wandering around a desert in search of water and was like struggling to breathe in an atmosphere with no oxygen.


    This suffering was iparable to anything that could possibly be experienced.


    Kang-Woo had desperately learned a way to control his desires so that he would not lose his mind from the suffering, but it was impossible to perfectly control his desires even after having lived for ten millennia and having devoured the seven princes that used to rule over Hell.


    ''You''re the one who knows nothing about demons.''


    Kang-Woo stopped those words from leaving his mouth.


    It would be a problem if he acted as if he knew a lot about demons.


    He forcibly changed the topic because he felt he would throw up if he heard any more. "Well, we''ve heard enough about your motive. Talk about something else now."


    "Kuh¡­"


    Just looking at Kang-Woo made Jae-Hyun angry. He bit his lip to calm down.


    "I provided them with sacrifices as they had proposed, and I made a few members of my guild ept demonic energy through the ritual."


    "Demonic energy? Is it something like mana?" asked Yeon-Joo.


    "It is the power of Hell. It is simr to mana but fundamentally different."


    "Hmm¡­ So do you also have demonic energy?"


    "No. I haven''t epted it yet."


    "Why? Didn''t you join forces with the Demon Cult to get it?"


    "I did. But if you recklessly ept demonic energy, you be unable to control your desires and be something closer to a monster than a demon."


    "¡­ Just epting that thing called demonic energy can transform a human?"


    "Yes. The man said that they needed more time to prepare if I wanted to be a full-fledged demon with perfect hold over my intelligence."


    "¡­ Then why did you make your guild members ept it? You said that it would transform them into monsters."


    "But it grants great power in exchange. Guild members are nothing more than expendable soldiers. As long as they can fight, it doesn''t matter if they''re human or monster."


    "Crazy son of a bitch."


    Yeon-Joo frowned.


    Jae-Hyun made her sick.


    After hearing his exnation, she felt that Kang-Woo had been too soft with him.


    "Then what is the summoning about? What are they trying to summon?"


    "¡­ A demon."


    "A demon?"


    Kang-Woo looked at him with narrowed eyes.


    Jae-Hyun nodded and kept talking.


    "I don''t know the exact details, but what I know for sure is that they''re trying to summon a demon."


    "Is the Demon Cult''s ultimate goal to summon demons?"


    "I''m not sure about that either, but what I do know is that they''re highly obsessed with the act of summoning demons."


    "Hmm¡­"


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    Since they called themselves the Demon Cult, it would be weird if they weren''t obsessed with summoning demons.


    ''It''s not like I''ve devoured every single demon.''


    Kang-Woo had devoured tens of thousands of demons, but it wasn''t like he''d devoured every single one.


    The Nine Hells were gigantic.


    Even though Kang-Woo had lived in Hell for ten millennia, there were ces he''d never been to and demons he''d never met.


    Kang-Woo had only fought to survive, and he hadn''t gone out of his way to eat demons that hadn''t bared their fangs at him.


    ''I''m not sure what rank of demon they''re trying to summon, but¡­''


    If they managed to summon a demon that belonged to the Seventh Hell or higher, Kang-Woo would likely struggle against them with his current strength.


    "Have they sessfully summoned a demon before?"


    The organization had been present for more than a thousand years, so there was a chance they had sessfully managed to summon a demon before.


    "I don''t know, but they said that this was their first attempt in Korea, at the very least."


    "This is their first attempt?"


    "They said that the dimensional wall had recently be drastically weaker. It was about¡­ one month ago. They mentioned that they''d be able to summon a demon thanks to the weakened dimensional wall."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    He naturally recalled the Gaia System once he heard that the dimensional wall had weakened.


    The time that Jae-Hyun had mentioned when the dimensional wall had weakened matched the time when Kang-Woo had returned to Earth.


    ''So¡­''


    Because the Gaia System had gotten weaker, the Demon Cult had be more active.


    ''It''s all my fault, then.''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    Based on the information he had gathered, he had surmised that he was the reason why the dimensional wall had weakened.


    ''Can''t it repair itself?''


    "Is that thing you call the dimensional wall still in a weakened state?" Kang-Woo asked with a sliver of hope.


    "It''s apparently getting weaker by the day."


    "Fuck."


    Not only was it not repairing itself, but it was also bing worse.


    ''At this rate, are demons and demonic beasts gonna freely jump over to Earth?''


    It wasn''t just Hell. There was also the chance that beings from Aernor, like Reynald, would also travel to Earth.


    ''There might also be other dimensions besides Hell and Aernor.''


    It was clear that the situation was critical. The problem was that there was no way to solve the situation at this moment.


    ''Did I really fuck things up this badly?''


    It was as if Earth''s atmosphere had disappeared and asteroids were falling with zero resistance.


    It was only this bad because the Gaia System was still more or less intact. He couldn''t even imagine what would happen if it waspletely destroyed.


    "¡­ Fuu."


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath.


    He felt his head clear up a bit.


    ''Let''s focus on what I can do right now.''


    It wasn''t like he would get an answer just by thinking about the Gaia System. What he could do at this moment was thwart the Demon Cult''s scheme and figure out the identity of the man in the red demon mask.


    "Do you know where the man in the red demon mask is? I''m asking about the Demon Cult''s headquarters in Korea."


    "I do, but¡­ they would already be somewhere else by now."


    "Somewhere else?"


    Jae-Hyun nodded.


    "They''re preparing for the summoning ritual."


    "¡­ I thought they werecking sacrifices."


    "Who knows? I sure don''t."


    "Wait. That doesn''t add up. You guys were the ones providing them with sacrifices."


    If they had enough sacrifices, there would be no reason for Kim Yeong-Hun to target Kim Si-Hun. It was weird for the Mir Guild not to know whether they had gathered enough sacrifices.


    Jae-Hyun smirked.


    "That''s because we''re paid based on our performance."


    "¡­ Damn."


    Kang-Woo frowned. It was not hard for him to figure out what Jae-Hyun had meant.


    Yeon-Joo tilted her head in confusion.


    "What does he mean?"


    Kang-Woo clearly and concisely answered, "It means that Mir isn''t the only major guild that had cut a deal with the Demon Cult."

 Chapter 67 - Summoning Ritual (2)

    Chapter 67 - Summoning Ritual (2)


    With Jae-Hyun mentioning ''we'' and the knowledge that the Demon Cult was paid based on performance, Oh Kang-Woo easily figured out that more than one major guild was working with the cult.


    "Where will the summoning ritual take ce?" Kang-Woo asked in a low voice.


    Kim Jae-Hyun slowly opened his mouth.


    "Pohang."


    "The S-rank Gate."


    It was a possibility Kang-Woo had already thought of when he''d first heard that the Demon Cult would be performing the summoning ritual.


    If summoning meant that one would be calling an otherworldly being to Earth, then the higher the Gate''s rank where the summoning took ce, the more powerful the being one would be able to call.


    Kang-Woo had figured that out after summoning Echidna.


    "How did you¡­?"


    Jae-Hyun looked at Kang-Woo in surprise. He''d just mentioned Pohang and had never said anything about the Gate.


    "That''s none of your concern. Hwa-Yeon, Yeon-Joo, let''s go to Pohang immediately."


    "Right now?"


    "Yes. They''re probably aware that we''re right on their tail, so they''re probably going to try to perform the ritual right away, even if they have to take risks."


    They weren''t sure if the other major guild had managed to provide the Demon Cult with all the necessary sacrifices or not, but based on what Jae-Hyun had said, it was clear that Kang-Woo and the others couldn''t waste any more time.


    "Wait. Isn''t Hwarang''s 2nd Squadron stationed at the S-rank Gate in Pohang?"


    "I''ll check."


    Baek Hwa-Yeon took out her smartphone and called someone.


    The call was short.


    Hwa-Yeon''s expression hardened.


    "A few hours ago, arge party of about twenty people entered the S-rank Gate."


    "¡­ Like I''d thought, they immediately made their move."


    Kang-Woo frowned after hearing how fast they''d taken action.


    Cha Yeon-Joo got closer to Hwa-Yeon and opened her mouth.


    "What about the identities of the people who entered the Gate? If we investigate their ess permits, won''t it be easy to figure out which of them are members of the Demon Cult?"


    "It''ll probably be pointless."


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    "¡­ Why?"


    "Because their ess permits are likely all fake."


    Even Yeon-Joo had easily gotten Kang-Woo an S-rank Gate ess permit when he couldn''t get one through normal means. The Demon Cult was receiving the help of at least two major guilds, so there was no way they wouldn''t be able to obtain fake ess permits.


    "Ugh."


    Yeon-Joo let out a sigh as if she felt guilty.


    To be honest, getting an S-rank Gate ess permit wasn''t that hard because most people who were unqualified wouldn''t even try to get inside an S-rank Gate. If they forced their way inside, they would only be monster prey. So, who in their right mind would enter an S-rank Gate out of their own volition?


    "I told the 2nd Squadron about the situation. They said they would also enter the Gate and search for them, but¡­ not only is the Pohang S-rank Gate vast, but its terrain is alsoplex. I''m not sure they''ll be able to find them."


    "Let''s get going."


    "I''ll contact my guild members too," Yeon-Joo said, then turned to Hwa-Yeon. "The Hwarang Corps has a military helicopter, right? Let''s use that. It''ll take too long to get to Pohang by car."


    "Okay. I''ll contact headquarters imm¡ª"


    "There''s a better way than that," Kang-Woo interrupted Hwa-Yeon.


    "A better way¡­?"


    Yeon-Joo and Hwa-Yeon looked at Kang-Woo. He nodded.


    "A dragon is probably faster than a helicopter."


    * * *


    "Kang-Woo¡­!"


    As he opened the door, a little girl whose hair reached her waist ran toward Kang-Woo. Her red eyes showed how she''d spent thest few days.


    "I''m sorry."


    Kang-Woo lightly patted Echidna''s head as she hugged him.


    It was true that it couldn''t have been helped, but it was also true that he had neglected Echidna for over a week.


    To Echidna, who had only just barely been able to escape from loneliness, Kang-Woo was an irreceable being. It wasn''t hard to imagine the despair she had felt for thest week.


    "¡­ Where were you?" Echidna asked in a trembling voice while hugging Kang-Woo.


    "I had something I had to do."


    "¡­ I didn''t upset you in any way, did I? You''re not trying to abandon me, right?" Echidna asked while looking up at him anxiously.


    ''I believe she said that her father had suddenly disappeared one day.''


    While thinking that he should have paid more attention to her, he said, "Yeah. It''s nothing like that, so don''t worry."


    "¡­ Okay. I believe you."


    Echidna nodded while smiling.


    "This girl is¡­"


    "You met herst time, didn''t you?"


    Yeon-Joo and Hwa-Yeon nodded.


    "But is she actually a dragon?"


    "She just looks like a little girl¡­"


    Both looked at Echidna suspiciously.


    Echidna opened her mouth and grabbed Kang-Woo''s clothes.


    "I am a dragon."


    Echidna created two small wings on her back and pped them.


    Just the fact that two wings had appeared on the girl''s back proved that she wasn''t human.


    "A little girl with dragon wings¡­"


    "Thebination gives off an extremely dangerous feeling."


    Hwa-Yeon and Yeon-Joo gulped after looking at the breathtakingly cute girl. Even though they didn''t know her well, they wanted to hug her.


    "Echidna, I need you to do me a favor," said Kang-Woo.


    "Okay. I''ll do anything if it''s something I can do."


    Echidna nodded without hesitation at Kang-Woo''s words. You could see in her eyes that she really trusted him.


    "¡­ Do summoned beasts always trust their masters so much?" Yeon-Joo asked Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo shook his head while smiling bitterly.


    "No. Echidna''s a bit special."


    In reality, Echidna and Kang-Woo hadn''t known each other for very long. Even though she was a summoned beast, there was another reason why she trusted him so much.


    ''It''s because she doesn''t want to be alone anymore.''


    Kang-Woo gently patted her head and turned around.


    "There''s a ce we have to go right now. I need you to revert to your original form and fly us there."


    "Okay."


    Echidna nodded with her eyes shining.


    "I''ll transform right now."


    "Calm down. If you transform here, you''ll bring the house down. First, let''s go outside."


    Kang-Woo took Echidna outside.


    "Won''t it cause a panic if a dragon suddenly appears?" Yeon-Joo asked with worry.


    "I''ve already thought about that," Kang-Woo answered without hesitation.


    Yeon-Joo looked at Echidna questionably.


    Without giving a care about how Yeon-Joo looked at her, Echidna asked Kang-Woo, "Kang-Woo, should I transform now?"


    "Yeah."


    As Kang-Woo nodded, Echidna started to glow with a blue light. The blue light grew until it became a dragon that reached twenty meters in size.


    "Wha¡­"


    "I can''t believe it¡­"


    The two girls looked surprised at Echidna, who had be a ck dragon.


    There were some yers who could control monsters as summoned beasts, but there wasn''t anyone who could control a dragon.


    [Where should I go, Kang-Woo?]


    "Mmm. It''d be¡­ that way."


    Kang-Woo pointed in the approximate direction as he climbed up on Echidna''s back.


    Yeon-Joo and Hwa-Yeon followed him.


    [¡­ I don''t want anyone else but Kang-Woo on my back,] Echidna protested.


    Kang-Wooughed and gently patted her neck.


    "It''s urgent, so endure it this one time, okay?"


    [¡­ Will you reward me if I do?]


    "What reward do you want?"


    Echidna snorted in excitement at Kang-Woo''s question. The ck mes that spewed from her nostrils burned the apartment''s garden.


    She spoke in a trembling voice.


    [I want to go y with Kang-Woo somewhere.]


    "Hmm¡­"


    It was too small of a favor to ask in such a serious tone.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "Okay. Once this is over, let''s go y somewhere."


    [Really?]


    "Yup."


    [Yay!]


    Fwoosh!


    Echidna, who couldn''t control her excitement, snorted once more.


    The mes spewing from her nostrils exuded boiling heat.


    [I''ll do my best!]


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Echidna pped her wings and rose to the sky.


    Kang-Woo covered her with the Authority of Projection, and she turned translucent and melted into the background. If one didn''t look closely, one couldn''t distinguish her.


    "Whoa. You can even do things like this?"


    Because Yeon-Joo was on top of Echidna, she''d also be translucent. She looked at her body, which she could see through as if she were a ghost.


    "How do you have so many abilities?"


    Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo in disbelief.


    Not only was he very strong at fighting, but he could also manipte other people''s memories and even do things like make people translucent. He seemed to have dozens of different Traits that people usually obtained once every ten levels.


    "I''m just very capable."


    "¡­ Arrogant prick."


    Yeon-Joo lightly red at Kang-Woo.


    She didn''t like the fact that she couldn''t deny his arrogant words.


    [Okay. Here I go.]


    p! p!


    With an excited voice, Echidna began pping her wings.


    The translucent dragon began flying at an incredible speed.


    A strong wind hit Yeon-Joo, Hwa-Yeon, and Kang-Woo.


    "Huh¡­? Whoaaa?!"


    "Kurgh."


    The two women held on to Echidna''s sharply protruding scales to resist the strong wind, but it wasn''t just them who were struggling.


    ''It''s too fast.''


    Kang-Woo hugged Echidna''s neck while enduring the enormous drag.


    Echidna was flying too fast.


    He felt as if he would fly off if he didn''t use the Authority of Titanic Might, but the problem was that the Authority of Titanic Might and the Authority of Projection were both highly advanced.


    To use both Authorities simultaneously, he had to concentrate. However, it would be very difficult to use these two Authorities simultaneously when he was about to lose his grip.


    "Echidna, please slow down¡­"


    [Hmph! Hmph!]


    It seemed Echidna couldn''t hear his words anymore.


    Kang-Woo hugged Echidna''s neck even tighter.


    [¡­!]


    After Echidna felt Kang-Woo hug even tighter, her eyes shone.


    ''Why are you speeding up?''


    [Hmph! Hmph!]


    ''Stop.''


    [Kang-Woo, you can hold even tighter.]


    ''I''m already holding on for dear life.''


    [Are you maybe embarrassed?]


    Kang-Woo had disyed even more strength when he hadtched on to the Giant Ogre''s neck when they had hunted together for the first time.


    Echidna didn''t know that Kang-Woo had been using the Authority of Titanic Might during that fight, so she thought he wasn''t putting in more strength because he was embarrassed.


    [You don''t need to feel embarrassed, Kang-Woo.]


    ''Save me.''


    [I''ll always wee your embrace.]


    ''I don''t want to die.''


    [I want to feel Kang-Woo''s warmth¡­ with my body.]


    ''I''m falling.''


    AAAAHHHH.

 Chapter 68 - Summoning Ritual (3)

    Chapter 68 - Summoning Ritual (3)


    Bright light from the hanging stctites filled the giant cave.


    Even though a group of people was inside a cave, the cave didn''t feel dark at all. Rather, they felt it was dreamlike to be in a cave filled with mysterious light.


    About twenty people were walking around the cave, cing mana stones on top of a summoning circle drawn on the floor. Others were pouring some kind of dark red liquid.


    One man, who was looking at them from the side, took out a crystal orb from his pocket. A dry voice sounded from the crystal orb.


    [How are the preparations going?]


    The man, who had geometrical tattoos all over his face, answered respectfully, "We are almost done, but¡­ because we''ve rushed the preparations, I cannot guarantee its sess¡­"


    [Hmm.]


    You could feel that the person on the other side was annoyed.


    [Make it a sess. No matter the cost.]


    "Understood," the tattooed man answered in a low voice.


    [This summoning is only the first step of our great n. Failure is uneptable,] said the voice. Then, the crystal orb lost its light.


    The tattooed man put the crystal orb back into his pocket and then walked toward the magic circle.


    "Have you poured all the blood that came from the sacrifices?"


    "Yes! All preparations areplete, Father Yoo Tae-Shik!"


    The blood of the sacrifices who had absorbed demonic energy through the ritual was the most important catalyst for the demon summoning.


    The tattooed man kneeled and ced his hands on the summoning circle where the blood of the sacrifices had been poured.


    ''Like I''d thought, we don''t have enough sacrifices.''


    As soon as the Demon Cult had heard that the leader of the Mir Guild, Kim Jae-Hyun, had been captured, they''d started to immediately prepare for the summoning. That was because there was a chance that the summoning would be canceled if Jae-Hyun gave away their information.


    However, they hadn''t been able to gather enough sacrifices because they''d hurried things. If they hadn''t had the support of another major guild, they likely wouldn''t have even been able to attempt the summoning.


    ''Tsk, what a useless bunch.''


    Tae-Shik recalled the people of the Mir Guild confidently saying that they would provide them with a yer with an S-rank Trait as a sacrifice.


    The Mir Guild had been so obsessed with obtaining results that the government had trapped them and ruined the Demon Cult''s n.


    ''It can''t be helped.''


    Tae-Shik''s eyes shone wickedly.


    The summoning ritual was possible with the materials that they possessed at the moment, but the chances of sess weren''t high. For it to be a sess, they needed a few more sacrifices.


    Stab!


    "Kurgh!"


    "F-Father Yoo?"


    Tae-Shik stabbed one of his subordinates with a sharp dagger.


    The subordinate''s carotid artery was cut, and blood began spewing out of it like a fountain.


    "me your own ipetence for not being able to obtain more sacrifices in time."


    Tae-Shik looked at his subordinates with eyes full of madness.


    Their faces paled.


    "F-Father!"


    "Please, mercy¡­!"


    They began trembling in fear while kneeling.


    Tae-Shik smiled while looking down at them.


    "Don''t worry. Your blood will be the demon''s flesh, and you will enjoy eternal life through it."


    What he was saying was nonsense.


    They''d wanted to enjoy their current life for eternity, not enjoy eternal life by bing the sacrifice for a demon.


    They were taken over by their obsession and desire to live.


    "Eek!"


    The one who ran away first was a woman with freckles.


    As soon as she realized something was wrong, she turned around and tried to escape.


    Tae-Shik frowned while looking at her.


    "Disloyal scum. Have you all already forgotten the words of His Eminence?"


    "KYAAA!!"


    He pointed a dagger at the back of the woman trying to escape.


    ck energy elongated from the dagger''s de.


    The woman''s back was pierced, and she let out a scream.


    "Being willing to sacrifice yourselves for a demon is one of the tenmandments of our cult. Tsk, tsk. To think that people who aren''t willing to make such sacrifices dared to desire immortality¡­"


    The ughter began.


    Tae-Shik killed everyone. The ones who tried to escape, those who took out their weapons to try to fight back, even those who became crazy and willingly offered their lives¡­ everyone was killed.


    Dark-red blood was sttered around the summoning circle.


    "Hehehe, this much should be enough."


    Tae-Shik put his hands on the summoning circle with a smile on his face.


    A demon of the Ninth Hell.


    It was about time they summoned the immortals worthy of worship to the modern world.


    ''Although it took us a bit longerpared to other branches.''


    The Demon Cult was spread throughout the entire world. Compared to other branches, it took Korea''s branch a bit longer with their preparations.


    ''From what I heard, the Japanese have already seeded in summoning three demons.''


    Although the circumstances in Japan were a bit different from Korea''s, it still didn''t change the fact that Korea had fallen behind.


    ''At the very least, we can''t lose to them.''


    He frowned while remembering the face of the Japanese cultists he had met once before.


    Falling behind them was an insult to the cardinal whom he had pledged his loyalty to.


    Tae-Shik drew forth the demonic energy within him and activated the summoning circle.


    "Ered''achor! Havik! Gr!"


    Shine!


    The summoning circle that had absorbed blood began to shine ominously.


    * * *


    "Huff! Huff! Huff!"


    "I-I thought I was going to die."


    Cha Yeon-Joo breathed heavily after climbing down from Echidna. If she hadn''t tied herself to Echidna with her chains, she might have fallen from several kilometers up in the air.


    "Kang-Woo, how did I do?"


    Echidna looked at Kang-Woo with shining eyes. She was asking for head pats.


    Kang-Woo patted her head while smiling awkwardly.


    "Hehehe¡­ Next time¡­"


    "Hmm?"


    "You can fly a bit slower."


    Echidna''s cheeks became red.


    "I see, you wanted to fly with me for a bit longer."


    ''It''s because I want to live.''


    "Okay. I''ll fly a bit slower next time. I also want to be hugged for longer."


    "¡­ Okay."


    Kang-Woo nodded with a troubled expression on his face. She seemed to have misunderstood something, but as long as she flew slower, it didn''t matter.


    ''Even if she misunderstands, as long as she does what I say¡­''


    He turned to the S-rank Gate while nodding.


    Baek Hwa-Yeon walked toward the Hwarang Corps members guarding the S-rank Gate.


    "How is the investigation going?"


    "They haven''t found them yet."


    "Tsk¡­ Okay. What about Captain Goo Hyun-Mo?"


    "After hearing the news, he entered along with the squadron members."


    "I want to talk to him."


    "Yes, ma''am!"


    Hwa-Yeon received the magic tool that couldmunicate with those within the Gate.


    "Yes, yes¡­ Understood. I will head there immediately."


    After a short conversation, Hwa-Yeon walked toward Yeon-Joo and Kang-Woo.


    "How is the investigation going?"


    "They hadn''t made any progress, but they apparently heard a huge explosion from within the cave just now. He also mentioned that he felt an inexplicably unpleasant energy from inside."


    "An unpleasant energy?"


    "He most likely felt¡­ demonic energy."


    Yeon-Joo''s expression hardened.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to say, "It seems like the summoning has already begun."


    "I''ve been given the cave''s location. I warned the 2nd Squadron members not to approach until we get there, so we should also hurry."


    Kang-Woo nodded and followed Hwa-Yeon into the S-rank Gate.


    Inside the Gate was a massive hill riddled with numerous holes¡ªit resembled an ant hill.


    ''Are those all cave entrances?''


    Kang-Woo recalled that the 2nd Squadron had told Hwa-Yeon they weren''t sure whether they would be able to find the Demon Cult members. Finding them among all the countless caves was almost impossible.


    "Over there."


    Kang-Woo followed Hwa-Yeon to one of the cave entrances.


    There, he saw members of Hwarang''s 2nd Squadron with their weapons out. They were preparing for battle.


    "Oh! You''re here! Ah, I apologize for how long the investigation took, Hwa-Yeon. There are just too many caves here¡­"


    A blond man wearing sunsses approached. He was the captain of Hwarang''s 2nd Squadron, Goo Hyun-Mo.


    "It''s okay. That aside, is this the right ce?"


    "Yes! We clearly heard a loud boom from here! You all heard it, right?"


    "Yes, sir!" the squadron members answered the loud man.


    Kang-Woo looked at the cave entrance they were pointing to.


    ''Demonic energy.''


    He could feel demonic energy gushing out from inside the cave.


    "Let''s go," Kang-Woo said.


    "Understood. I will be counting on your support, Captain Goo."


    "Haha! Of course I will since it''s you who''s asking, Hwa-Yeon! Squadron! Formation A!"


    "Formation A!"


    The members of Hwarang''s 2nd Squadron assumed formation while making a loud shout. They moved fast as if they were just a single entity.


    Kang-Woo looked silently at the Hwarang Corps members'' cringeworthy poses, which made them look like a certain group of color-coded superheroes.


    ''Are these guys really going to be of any help?''


    Judging by their outer appearance, rather than government agents, they looked like a group of crazy people.


    "Let''s go!!" Hyun-Mo shouted, then nced at Hwa-Yeon. It seemed he thought that his Formation A looked extremely cool.


    After he shouted, the members of the Hwarang Corps entered the cave.


    Kang-Woo followed after them.


    The inside of the cave was surprisingly not dark, and the stctites were shining with green light.


    It was beautiful.


    "Kang-Woo, I smell blood."


    Kang-Woo nodded. There wasn''t even a need to use an Authority. Unlike their dreamlike surroundings, the entire cave reeked of blood. Kang-Woo followed the stench deeper into the cave. Deep inside, he saw a cavity more than a hundred meters deep. At the bottom of the cavity was aplex magic circle reeking of blood.


    ''Is that the demon summoning circle?''


    Kang-Woo turned toward a man who was extending his arms out toward the summoning circle. The man''s face was covered in tattoos that made it difficult to make out his facial features.


    The man smiled at the people who had just arrived.


    "Kekeke¡­ You''re toote."


    Crack.


    A ck rift formed in the air as if a sheet of ss was breaking.

 Chapter 69 - Summoning Ritual (4)

    Chapter 69 - Summoning Ritual (4)


    Crack.


    A ck rift formed in the air as if a sheet of ss was breaking.


    The rift, which started small, grewrger very quickly.


    Thick demonic energy leaked out of it.


    ''Demonic energy from Hell.''


    Oh Kang-Woo''s expression hardened. He was used to this kind of demonic energy.


    The light shining from the summoning circle darkened.


    "That''s¡­"


    "Wh-what''s happening?"


    The voices of the members of Hwarang''s 2nd Squadron began to tremble.


    A rift had appeared out of nowhere. It was as if a Gate had appeared inside another Gate.


    The squadron members couldn''t help but feel unbearably uneasy.


    "Hahahaha!!! Now, immortal beings,e forth! I beseech thee, use your power to destroy these petty mortals!" Yoo Tae-Shik shouted in a voice full of madness.


    He took his hands off the summoning circle and spread his arms wide open. Not even he knew which demon woulde out of the summoning circle. He just wanted the demon to be as violent and powerful as possible.


    [GRRRR.]


    A low-pitched cry¡­


    A giant hand emerged from the rift¡­


    A muscr arm with ck skin¡­


    Crack!!


    The demon''s arms pulled the rift wider as if tearing a piece of paper. The ck rift becamerger, revealing red shining eyes.


    [Who has called me, Oriax, a demon of the Seventh Hell?]


    "Ohhh¡­!"


    Tae-Shik fell to the ground after hearing the voiceing from the rift. He then bowed toward the demoning out of the rift.


    "Lord Oriax!! This humble mortal greets the immortal one!"


    [Are you the one who has summoned me?]


    "Yes, my lord," Tae-Shik answered the demon who had just appeared.


    Oriax looked down at Tae-Shik with his red shining eyes.


    "Th-That''s¡­"


    "A demon¡­?"


    The members of the Hwarang Corps became stiff after looking at the being that came out of the rift.


    Oriax was a giant almost seven meters tall and had a muscr physique and bat wings.


    They could see the madness in his eyes and the two horns on his forehead.


    Even if they didn''t know that the purpose of the summoning had been to summon a demon, they would immediately be able to tell that the entity before them was a demon.


    [Why have you summoned me?]


    Tae-Shik shouted in response to Oriax''s question, "I desire the flesh and blood of pathetic mortals! I beg you to guide your worshipers to eternal life with your almighty power! I willy down everything for you as long as I can escape the fate of mortality!"


    [So you want to be immortal.]


    Oriax looked down at Tae-Shik condescendingly.


    Since Oriax had lived as a demon from the day it had been born, he found the human bowing his head just to escape the chains of mortality all too pathetic.


    [Do you want eternal life?]


    "Yes!"


    [Do you want a life of infinite desires and endless pleasures?]


    "Yes!!" Tae-Shik shouted excitedly.


    Bang!


    Tae-Shik smashed his head down so hard on the ground that his forehead was split. Blood seeped from the wound.


    "I want to be immortal! I want to have great power and eternal life just like you, Lord Oriax!"


    He looked at Oriax with eyes full of madness.


    A demon from Hell¡­


    They were the ideal of the Demon Cult, their messiahs.


    ''Eternal life! Infinite desires! Endless pleasure!''


    The words Oriax said filled his head.


    Before he became part of the Demon Cult, Tae-Shik was one of the very few Muslims in Korea. He had desired to break free from his earthly body and live for eternity by his God''s side. But one day, a man in a red demon mask hadpletely turned his life upside down.


    The man''s teachings had changed his ways of thinking.


    - Is there a need to pursue eternal life with such ambiguous beliefs? We can give you eternal life here on Earth. The eternal life spoken of by your god is nothing but self-constion supported by your beliefs. What''s the point of eternal life if you have to die to obtain it?


    His words had shocked Tae-Shik.


    To think that one could aim for eternal life while staying alive!


    To think that one could live life without fearing death every single day!


    As long as you were born on Earth, there was nothing more certain than death.


    However, demons were beings that had broken free from that inevitable fate; there was absolutely no reason to follow and worship them.


    Boom!


    [Hahahaha! Good! I like your desires, human!]


    Oriax could feel the strong desiresing from Tae-Shik, and those passionately zing desires stimted Oriax.


    [Now, tell me, human. Where are the sacrifices that will bring me the pleasure of ughter?]


    "Over there."


    Tae-Shik pointed toward the Hwarang Corps. An intense bloodlust leaked from Oriax.


    [Kehehehe. Not bad as sacrifices for ughter.]


    The corners of Oriax''s mouth rose up. The power that he could feel from the beings pointing their weapons at him stimted him. He wasn''t sure how such petty mortals had managed to acquire such power, but they were good opponents for him to run wild with.


    "Kuh."


    "So that''s a demon¡­"


    Cha Yeon-Joo warily red at Oriax. She touched her bracelet.


    Oriax clearly felt different from the monsters that she usually fought¡ªhe felt more destructive and violent.


    "Squadron, prepare for battle! I''m not exactly sure what''s going on, but you''d better focus up and keep those buttcheeks clenched!"


    Goo Hyun-Mo swiped up his sunsses and took out his two short swords. Mana began gathering on their edges.


    "Fuu. What a stupidly scary-looking creature."


    Hyun-Mo gulped and looked at Oriax. He didn''t be nervous often, but even he couldn''t help but feel nervous in front of Oriax. That was how strong the energy leaking from Oriax was.


    "There will most definitely be a huge uproar if that monster gets out of the Gate. We have to stop it here, no matter what."


    Baek Hwa-Yeon also took out her white longsword and prepared to fight.


    Yeon-Joo clicked her tongue.


    "It would''ve been easier if I had brought my guild members¡­"


    "There''s nothing we can do about it. We have to be satisfied with the fact that we made it here before that demon rampaged outside the Gate."


    It would''ve been better if they''d been able to stop the summoning itself, but it was already toote for that. The only option they had was to kill the demon that the Demon Cult had summoned.


    Yeon-Joo and Hwa-Yeon gathered their mana and red at Oriax.


    "Oh, Immortal Oriax! Please show those petty mortals your greatness!"


    [Kekekeke. Very well. Battle and ughter are the forms of entertainment that I, Oriax, enjoy the most.]


    Oriax stood up, and his height reached almost seven meters. He unfurled his wings.


    Crack. Crack.


    His muscles swelled, and intense demonic energy enveloped his body. Oriax''s eyes met the members of the Hwarang squad. The thought of the battle he was about to have with them made him tremble in excitement.


    Oriax violently stomped on the ground and extended his hand. From the rift that remained, a giant scythe appeared.


    [Come, you filthy bugs!] Oriax shouted while wielding the giant scythe.


    The ones who moved first were Hyun-Mo and the members of Hwarang''s 2nd Squadron.


    While gripping his two short swords, Hyun-Mo shouted, "Formation C! Let''s show that muscle pig how strong we are!"


    "Yes, Captain!"


    The members of the Hwarang Corps began moving in perfect order¡ªtheir formation resembled a sharp spear.


    Hyun-Mo, who was at the forefront, smiled and shot forward.


    Boom! ng!


    "Kuuurgghh!"


    The scythe and the short swords shed against each other.


    A short grunt came out of Hyun-Mo''s mouth, and he was violently flung back. As expected from Oriax''s build, the demon possessed enormous power.


    "It''s so damn strong!" Hyun-Mo shouted while trying to calm down his trembling hands. If he were fighting the demon one-on-one, it wouldn''t have been weird if his body was split in two by the demon''s subsequent attack.


    But¡­


    "Haha! I can''t believe you were blown back after putting on all those airs!"


    "That''s our captain for you!"


    Hyun-Mo wasn''t alone. The squadron members who had followed him attacked the demon endlessly like a storm. Most of their attacks were blocked but not all of them.


    Oriax was being injured more and more.


    [Good!]


    As wounds began appearing on his body, Oriax shouted in excitement.


    The thrill of battle surged from within him.


    Fwoosh!


    He swung his giant scythe.


    Fan-shaped demonic energy residues were left in the scythe''s path and exploded.


    "Kurgh!"


    "Cough!"


    The Hwarang Corps members were swept away by the explosions as if they were leaves.


    "Hahahaha! Did you see that, you pathetic bastards? This is the power of a demon! One who has grasped the power of immortality!" Tae-Shik shouted in a voice full of madness. He became excited after seeing how powerful Oriax was.


    ''To think we''d summon one so strong on only our first summoning!''


    The dimensional wall was weakening each day. That meant that they would be able to summon even stronger demons from now on. Once that happened, it would be child''s y for the Demon Cult to have the entire world under their feet.


    Living in a world where he ruled without worrying about death¡­


    Just imagining it made him excited.


    [Hahaha! Is that all you have, humans?! Entertain me more! Excite me more!] Oriax shouted while relishing in his madness.


    He looked around to see if there were any stronger opponents. At that moment, he saw a human standing still and looking at him from a distance.


    [Hm?!]


    Oriax''s expression rapidly hardened after he saw Kang-Woo.


    [Wh-Wha¡­ H-How¡­?]


    Oriax looked at Kang-Woo in fear.


    He dropped the scythe in his hand and began trembling severely.


    [Wh-Why is he¡­ N-No. That''s impossible.]


    He mumbled as if he''d suddenly gone crazy. Trembling in fear, Oriax looked desperate.


    "Lord Oriax¡­?"


    Tae-Shik looked at Oriax in bewilderment. Oriax looked toward Tae-Shik.


    [C-Cancel it, human!!]


    "¡­ I''m sorry?"


    [I TOLD YOU TO CANCEL THE SUMMONING RIGHT NOW!!]


    "Wh-What do you¡­"


    [I-I am going back to Hell! Cancel the summoning and send me back this instant! Aaaahhh! That monster is getting closer! Send me back to Hell now!]


    Oriax''s desperate screams echoed throughout the cave.

 Chapter 70 - Summoning Ritual (5)

    Chapter 70 - Summoning Ritual (5)


    "¡­"


    Everyone became silent after hearing Oriax''s sudden screams of desperation.


    Not being able to follow what was going on, Yoo Tae-Shik looked at Oriax with a confused expression.


    "Wh-What is the matter, Oh Immortal One?"


    [Immortal One? Do not be ridiculous, human! We just do not have a fixed lifespan. We can still die!]


    "B-But you just said that battle and ughter were your favorite forms of entertainment¡­"


    [There is no way that I would have fun when I am on the losing side!]


    ''Why is he being so unsightly?''


    Tae-Shik stared at Oriax in disbelief.


    One obviously wouldn''t have fun if on the side of being ughtered, but it was surprising that a demon who''d sounded so confident would suddenly say it.


    ''What''s going on?''


    Oriax had been speaking confidently¡­


    Tae-Shik wasn''t sure why Oriax had suddenly changed his attitude.


    The demon was acting like one of those kids who talked all high and mighty in an inte cafe until their mother suddenly came in to find them ying video games.


    [What are you waiting for?! Cancel the summoning now! Send me back to Hell!!] Oriax screamed frantically.


    Tae-Shik bit his fingernails. His n was going awry.


    ''Of all demons, why did a coward like this have to get summoned¡­?''


    Tae-Shik thought that he was extremely unlucky.


    To think that a demon from the Seventh Hell would be such a pathetic coward¡­ Tae-Shik''s mind was in jumbles, and he wasn''t sure how to resolve the situation.


    "It''s impossible to go back. Please do not worry, Lord Oriax. They are nothing but mere mortals! You can easily eradicate such weaklings with your great power."


    [Mere mortal? Weakling?]


    Oriax red at Tae-Shik. His eyes were filled with fear, and his voice wasced with desperation.


    [You moronic human! What do you know to say such nonsense?! You know nothing about who that man is and what he has done!]


    Tae-Shik''s mind was filled with even more questions. He couldn''t tell who was instilling so much fear into a demon.


    "Who are you talking ab¡ª"


    Boom!


    A huge explosion shook the cave before Tae-Shik could finish his sentence.


    Oh Kang-Woo had used the Authority of Shattering Air. He looked at Oriax with a troubled expression.


    ''I can''t believe he recognized me.''


    Kang-Woo frowned at the unexpected development.


    It was true that Kang-Woo was infamous in the Nine Hells, but unlike Earth, there wasn''t any form of video or a way tomunicate with others in Hell. Rumors spread only by word of mouth.


    That was why most demons probably didn''t know what Kang-Woo looked like even though they might have heard rumors about him.


    To think that the summoned demon could recognize him¡­ One could say that Kang-Woo was unlucky.


    ''Actually, it might actually be the reverse.''


    Kang-Woo looked at Oriax, who was trembling in fear.


    Most of Kang-Woo''s power was currently sealed. Thanks to leveling up and his Authority of Predation, he had recovered part of his strength, but his current strength couldn''t bepared to his prime. Therefore, fighting against a demon from the Seventh Hell in such a situation was quite burdensome.


    ''If he''s bing scared all on his own, that makes things much easier.''


    The corners of Kang-Woo''s mouth rose up.


    [Oriax, was it?]


    [Gasp!]


    Kang-Woo''s voice spread through Oriax''s ears.


    Oriax trembled in fear. Just hearing Kang-Woo''s voice was enough to make his mind go nk. The fear was engraved into his soul, and this uncontroble fear of the demon king, an absolute being, devoured him.


    [Y-Yes,] Oriax answered in a trembling voice.


    [Speak so only I can hear you.]


    [Ah¡­ Yes! I understand!]


    Oriax quickly nodded. He had been talking to the humans by sending them his thoughts. It wasn''t hard to make it so that only one person could hear him.


    [Wh-Why are you here, my king¡­?]


    [Did I give you permission to question me?]


    [N-No! I apologize!]


    Oriax shook his head while trembling.


    Kang-Woo smiled, satisfied after seeing how Oriax overreacted to everything he said.


    ''This is gonna be easier than I thought.''


    Huge fear devoured one''s reason.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure where Oriax had seen him, but judging by the demon''s reaction, it seemed Oriax''s fear of him was really deep. It was as if Oriax was lying on the ground like a dog before even fighting.


    ''It''s fine as long as I don''t get caught.''


    As long as Oriax didn''t realize that Kang-Woo had be weaker, fooling the demon would be a cinch.


    ''Deceiving a fear-stricken dog is a piece of cake.''


    It wasn''t hard at all. Rather, it was so easy that it almost felt boring.


    [You''ve meddled in my n,] Kang-Woo said in a serious tone.


    Oriax''s eyes widened, and a one-sided conversation ensued.


    [P-n¡­?]


    [How dare you talk back to me?]


    [I-I apologize!]


    Oriax became desperate because his question was denied, and he was trembling because he feared the demon king.


    Kang-Woo thought, ''And the more desperate he bes¡­''


    The more thoughts Oriax would have.


    [U-Urghh¡­]


    Oriax was desperately thinking about what Kang-Woo''s n could possibly be.


    Kang-Woo looked at Oriax with a rxed expression on his face. It didn''t matter how much Oriax thought¡ªthere was no way he''d be able to figure it out.


    ''Because there is no n. I just used some random serious-sounding words.''


    To make Oriax not suspect that he had be weaker, Kang-Woo only had to make the demon not have time to think.


    Oriax''s face distorted even more. He couldn''t figure out Kang-Woo''s n no matter how hard he thought.


    Kang-Woo, who had been waiting for the right timing, spoke in a low voice.


    [I will give you a chance.]


    [A-A chance, you say?]


    [Yes. If you seed, I will ept you as my Familiar.]


    [F-Familiar?!]


    Oriax was shocked.


    A Familiar of the demon king¡­


    After all the seven princes of Hell had been killed under the hands of the demon king, the greatest honor among the demons was to be the demon king''s Familiar.


    If he became the demon king''s Familiar, he''d be able to receive a portion of his power. Receiving even a fragment of the demon king''s near-infinite demonic energy would make him absurdly powerful in an instant.


    Oriax would probably be so strong that no one in the Eighth Hell, or even the Ninth Hell, would be able to take him lightly.


    For demons, who worshiped strength, it was an offer they couldn''t refuse.


    [I will follow any order! I, Oriax, swear eternal loyalty to the demon king!] Oriax shouted excitedly at the sudden offer.


    [Defeat every single human here without using your weapon. I will test whether or not you are worthy.]


    [Yes, my king!]


    Oriax nodded without hesitation.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    ''You should learn to doubt at least a little.''


    Most living beings with intelligence would have doubts if someone asked them to fight without weapons against enemies to test their strength.


    ''Although he probably can''t think properly right now.''


    This wasn''t a matter of knowledge or intelligence. It was the effect of the absolute authority that the title of demon king possessed. Just like the Milgram experiment had shown, humans tended to obey authority figures all too easily.


    It was the same for demons.


    Oriax dropped his scythe and kicked it to the side, getting into position to fight against the Hwarang Corps bare-handed.


    "What''s that demon doing all of a sudden?"


    "I''m¡­ not sure," Baek Hwa-Yeon said while narrowing her eyes. "But I''m sure this is the perfect opportunity for us to attack."


    They weren''t sure why the summoned demon had suddenly started to act strangely¡­ but they were sure that because of it, they had been given the upper hand.


    ''Westerly Wind.''


    Hwa-Yeon extended her sword out to the side.


    Wind blew from her white sword. Hidden within the serene wind, which was created with mana, was a sharp materialized aura that could tear apart flesh.


    sh!!


    [Kuurrgghh!]


    Oriax moaned in pain. He''d defended against the wind with his bare hands, and his skin was split.


    [Damn insects!]


    Oriax swung his fist. Hwa-Yeon''s sword and Oriax''s fist shed against each other.


    ng!!


    "Kurgh!"


    A loud explosion rang through the cave. It was hard to believe that the sound hade from the shing of a sword and a fist.


    Hwa-Yeon was pushed back.


    Oriax was about to charge toward Hwa-Yeon when Yeon-Joo blocked his path.


    "Hmph, who the hell do you think you''re calling an insect?"


    Yeon-Joo angrily extended her hand as she closed her eyes to concentrate. The bracelets on both of her hands shone with a red light.


    ''Blood Chain.''


    Dozens of chains with sharp thorns shot out from her bracelets and, like snakes, slithered across the cave floor. They spread throughout the cave like a massive and engulfed Oriax.


    [Gaaaahhhh!!]


    The sharp thorns pierced Oriax''s skin. His skin was torn apart, and blood leaked from him. The chains greedily absorbed his blood.


    Oriax red at Yeon-Joo while frowning.


    ''She''s strong.''


    It was hard to believe that she was just a human.


    [Damn!]


    Yeon-Joo''s attack was so strong that he wasn''t sure if he could have blocked it with his weapon. He looked down at his bare hands in frustration.


    Maybe things would''ve been different if he was a demon that fought with bare hands, but he''d fought with a scythe for a very long time. All his movements had been optimized for fighting with a scythe. Therefore, he would obviously struggle if he suddenly began fighting with his bare hands.


    Oriax''s movements had be sluggish, and the power he could exert was beyond terrible.


    ''But this is all to pass the demon king''s trial!''


    He quelled his frustration and kept fighting against the humans.


    The longer he fought, the more wounds he received. His movements started to be slower, and his eyes started to lose light.


    [Guuuuuhh.]


    Oriax knelt on one knee.


    He wasn''t sure if he would be able to beat the humans at that point, even if he used a weapon.


    At that moment, he saw Kang-Woo approach him with the weapon he had kicked aside.


    ''He''s trying to return my weapon!''


    Oriax''s eyes recovered hope. Once he got his weapon back and received the demon king''s power, he''d be able topletely wipe out all the humans and, with overwhelming strength, crush all the insects that''d dared to threaten his life!


    ''I can already see it happening!''


    He had tried his best to ovee the trial. The demon king had probably been moved by his effort.


    [Ahhh¡­ my k¡ª]


    Stab!


    [Huh¡­?]


    The scythe that Oriax had thought the demon king would return had pierced his chest. Oriax looked down at his chest in confusion.


    [Wh-why¡­?]


    "Do not resent me, Oriax."


    Kang-Woo violently shed down with the scythe he had used to stab Oriax. The wound deepened, and blood poured from Oriax''s chest like a fountain.


    A deep smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    "It''s your fault for being fooled."


    Ring.


    [You have sessfully defeated Oriax, a demon of the Seventh Hell!]


    [Additional EXP has been awarded for dealing the finishing blow.]


    [Exponentially increasing EXP.]


    [Your level has risen by 5.]


    [You have reached Level 50 and have achieved your Sixth Awakening.]


    [Unlocking a new Trait.]

 Chapter 71 - Sixth Trait

    Chapter 71 - Sixth Trait


    ''Very good.''


    Oh Kang-Woo heard a session of distinct bell chimes, and the corners of his mouth curled up.


    He felt that the seal on his Ten Thousand Demon Core had gotten even weaker after he achieved his Sixth Awakening. An explosive amount of demonic energy was now raging inside his body.


    ''I think I could win against Cha Yeon-Joo now.''


    This thought was far too arrogant for a Level 54 yer who had only just gotten his Sixth Awakening to have. Cha Yeon-Joo had surpassed the wall of Level 59, which was considered the Limit of Effort, and had even managed to achieve her Ninth Awakening. She wasn''t someone that a Sixth Awakening yer could face, especially considering that a yer got more bonus points the higher they advanced in level.


    ''But...''


    Kang-Woo looked at Yeon-Joo.


    He had never gone all out in a fight against her. However, after watching her fight against Kim Jae-Hyun and Oriax, Kang-Woo became sure of one thing¡ªhe was already stronger than her.


    ''Although I still wouldn''t be able topletely destroy her.''


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo''s growth speed was amazingly fast, especially considering that it hadn''t been long since he had returned to Earth.


    ''The problem is going to be from now on.''


    Kang-Woo frowned while looking at his level.


    He had to pass the first gateway, which yers called the ''Limit of Effort,'' at Level 59. At that level, most yers could only keep umting experience points, as it wasn''t possible to level up simply by hunting monsters.


    ''I heard that the way to ovee it varies from person to person.''


    Some yers had suddenly achieved enlightenment and unlocked the next level, just like what happened to practitioners in martial arts novels. Others had unlocked it after defeating a very powerful monster, and some others had managed to do it when they had been on the verge of death. Some yers had even managed to unlock it while they had been asleep.


    ''I heard that talented yers ovee it faster...''


    If a yer had high-ranking Traits or was talented enough, it was easier for them to ovee the limitation. That was why people called it the ''Limit of Effort.''


    ''Well, I won''t know until I reach that point.''


    Talented yers had a high probability of oveing the limit, but it did not mean that the process of oveing it would be an easy one. Yeon-Joo was an example of that. Despite unlocking an S-rank Trait with her First Awakening, she had been stuck on Level 59 for quite a long time before finally oveing the Limit of Effort.


    ''I''ll think about itter.''


    Kang-Woo looked away.


    He wanted to check the new Trait that he had unlocked, but there was something else he needed to do first.


    ''Authority of Predation.''


    Kang-Woo moved back one of his hands. He made sure that no one could see it and then used the Authority of Predation. ck smoke emerged from his hand and covered Oriax''s body.


    "Huh?!"


    "Wh-What the¡­!"


    Goo Hyun-Mo and the other Hwarang Corps members eximed in surprise.


    Kang-Woo had modified the Authority of Predation so it wouldn''t make its signature devouring noise. Because of that, it looked as if the body of the demon was just disappearing into ck smoke.


    "Do the corpses of demons disappear after dying?" Hyun-Mo wondered while tilting his head.


    There were hardly any records about demons, so there was no way for them to confirm the information.


    Riiing.


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 3.]


    ''Only 3?''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    His stat had risen by far fewer points than he had hoped.


    ''Is it because my Demonic Energy stat is already way too high?''


    His current Demonic Energy stat was at 83. It was a stat high enough to beparable to the main stat of a yer who had reached Level 80 and achieved their Ninth Awakening.


    Considering that a yer''s stat became more difficult to increase the higher it got, maybe raising it by 3 points was already incredible.


    ''Still, as hard as it is to raise, the result is amazing.''


    In terms of the absolute amount, the demonic energy he had ess to had risen more with this stat increase than in the past when his Demonic Energy stat had risen by 20 points during the Andras Guild''s ritual.


    ''There''s nothing to be disappointed about.''


    The important thing wasn''t the number value by which the Demonic Energy stat had increased but the increase in the amount and quality of his avable demonic energy. The Demonic Energy stat had only increased by 3 points, but he could feel a clear difference in power.


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction and turned his head to Yoo Tae-Shik, who was restrained by Yeon-Joo''s chains.


    "Kurgh!" Tae-Shik uttered.


    "Hwa-Yeon, is this the man in the red demon mask?" Hyun-Mo asked while yfully poking Tae-Shik''s cheeks.


    "No, that''s his subordinate," Baek Hwa-Yeon answered.


    "Ngh. I guess he wouldn''t show himself that easily. I just wish we could get rid of crazy guys like this as fast as we can," Hyun-Mo expressed, pping Tae-Shik in disappointment.


    Hyun-Mo might look extremely carefree. However, he was still the captain of Hwarang''s 2nd Squadron, so he knew just how dangerous the Demon Cult was.


    "First, let''s take him to the investigation room and interrogate him. Oh! Our branch office outside of Seoul is less strict on procedures, so we''ll be able to interrogate him properly there," Hyun-Mo said with a smile. He looked down at Tae-Shik while wiggling his fingers. "Look forward to it, you piece of crap. I''ll show you the seventy-two interrogation techniques I''ve perfected through the¡ª"


    "Cough! Cough!"


    "Eh? What''s wrong with him? I haven''t even started yet."


    Tae-Shik suddenly started to vomit ck blood.


    Kang-Woo quickly approached Tae-Shik and suddenly sensed powerful demonic energy from him.


    ''This is...''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed. He had seen this phenomenon many times before. It was when demonic energy that had been sealed inside a person was released.


    Then just like he thought¡­


    ¡°Guuurrgghhh! Cough! Urgh!¡±


    Crack! Crack!


    "Wh-What''s happening?!"


    "Get away from him right now, Captain!"


    Hyun-Mo and Hwa-Yeon moved away.


    Crunch!


    Tae-Shik increased in size, two horns grew out of his forehead, and a set of wings sprouted from his back. However, it didn''t seem like he was turning into a demon.


    His skin melted down, and his face crumpled horrifyingly. The tattoos covering his face were nowhere to be seen. Each of his arms split in two, and now he had four arms in total. His teeth became sharp and extended all the way down to the base of his jaw.


    In the end, Tae-Shik failed to restrain his desires and turned into trash that couldn''t be a demon.


    "Damn," Kang-Woo uttered with a frown.


    Once a human changed into a demonic beast, there was no way to turn them back into a human.


    ''I guess we won''t be able to find out the masked man''s identity this time either.''


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue in annoyance.


    Considering the personality of the man in the red demon mask, the possibility of Tae-Shik knowing his identity was low. Nevertheless, Kang-Woo was annoyed that they had lost the chance to get other useful information out of Tae-Shik.


    "GRAARRGGHH!" Tae-Shik, who had turned into a demonic beast, growled and charged at them.


    For yers who could even defeat a demon that belonged to the Seventh Hell, beating up Tae-Shik, who had turned into a demonic beast, was a simple task.


    Yeon-Joo waved her hand aggressively, and chains enveloped Tae-Shik''s body.


    "Damn it! We won''t be able to interrogate him!" Yeon-Joo shouted angrily and then pinned Tae-Shik to the wall.


    Crack!


    "GRAAAARRGGGHHH!"


    "Calm down, Yeon-Joo. It isn''t like we don''t have any clues at all," Hwa-Yeon said.


    "...Haaa.¡± Yeon-Joo let out a sigh.


    As if she was venting her anger, she mmed him down onto the ground several times.


    Yeon-Joo put her hand on her forehead in frustration and concluded, "I guess all that''s left is to investigate which guild among the Hanul, Onnuri, and Angel Wings Guilds are with the Demon Cult."


    "We''ll have to make some preparations too. After what happened today, they won''t be able to make any reckless moves," Hwa-Yeon added.


    "That''s true."


    Disappointed, Yeon-Joo looked down at Tae-Shik''s corpse. She felt angry and frustrated that she hadn''t been able to wipe out the Demon Cult yet.


    Hwa-Yeon shifted her attention from Yeon-Joo to Kang-Woo and said, "Oh, right. Kang-Woo, the government will be rewarding you for your service."


    "Hmm?" Kang-Woo uttered with bright eyes.


    Hwa-Yeonughed and exined, "You caught the Mir Guild in the act, neutralized Kim Jae-Hyun with no casualties, and aided in the interrogation. You even helped us to get to Pohang as fast as possible. I would lose face if you weren''t rewarded for all of this."


    Kang-Woo had a huge role in this incident. If it hadn''t been for him, they probably wouldn''t have even known that a demon had been summoned.


    In any case, this was good news to Kang-Woo.


    "I hope it''s not some useless award certificate," he remarked.


    If it were something like that, he would refuse it.


    "Hahaha. I''m not that stupid. I will give you the details next time. Give me your number on our way back."


    "If possible, I''d like to be rewarded without anyone mentioning me publicly."


    "Hmm? Are you the kind of person to avoid fame?"


    "I don''t like drawing useless attention to myself."


    "Hmm. I can reward you unofficially, but you''ll have to make do with the inevitable spreading of rumors."


    In other words, those with knowledge of this incident would eventually find out Kang-Woo''s name. He was going to get more attention than before when he''d just been known as the rookie that the Red Rose Guild was supporting.


    "I''ll decide after hearing what the reward is," Kang-Woo replied.


    There was no need for him to agree immediately. He would ept the reward if he concluded that it was worth drawing attention to himself.


    ''There''s no need to refuse a reward just because I don''t want to draw attention to myself.''


    It was inevitable that more people would find out about him over time anyway. He was so out of the norm that he was bound to draw attention.


    "Haha, you can look forward to it," Hwa-Yeon said confidently.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. Hwa-Yeon wasn''t someone who would exaggerate. If she said something like that, it meant the reward was something that he could truly look forward to.


    "Yeon-Joo, your guild will also be rewarded. Thank you for your cooperation," Hwa-Yeon told Yeon-Joo.


    "Well... I had a good reason to do it," Yeon-Joo said with a heavy voice. "Let''s all go home now. I... want to rest."


    They had fought against Jae-Hyun and then a demon right after. It was natural that they were exhausted.


    Kang-Woo looked at Yeon-Joo, who had a bitter expression on her face.


    ''It doesn''t seem to be just exhaustion,'' he thought.


    Yeon-Joo was probably thinking about her guild members who had died at the hands of the Demon Cult.


    ''She''s probably ming herself.''


    They had ultimately failed to uncover the identity of the man in the red demon mask, who could be said to be the cause of everything that had happened. So, Yeon-Joo was probably feeling disappointed and regretful.


    As Kang-Woo turned toward the cave''s exit, he told her, "You''re doing great."


    "What..?"


    "I''m talking about your revenge."


    "..."


    "I won''t say that you''ve done enough, but you don''t need to me yourself. You don''t need to feel impatient. There will be more chances in the future. All we need to do is to wipe them out when that timees."


    "..."


    "Don''t worry. I''ll help you."


    "Hng. You arrogant prick. Who are you to say you''ll help me?" Yeon-Joo scoffed and turned away from Kang-Woo.


    Despite her rebuke, she seemed more rxed now. There was a slight smile on her face.


    ''It would be a problem if you made a mistake out of impatience,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    Impatience bred mistakes. It would be an issue for Kang-Woo if he were to lose Yeon-Joo because of some stupid error, and it wasn''t just because he''d lose the support of the Red Rose Guild.


    ''I''ve grown attached to her to an extent.''


    While thinking that, Kang-Woo opened his status window.


    ''Right then, let''s check my Sixth Awakening Trait.''


    He had been waiting for this. Most yers probably had the same feeling of anticipation when they unlocked a new Trait.


    Like a child opening a gift, Kang-Woo carefully checked his status window. He wondered what Trait he''d gotten and how much stronger he would be.


    ¡°... What the hell?"


    He frowned after checking out the details of his new Trait.


    [Sixth Awakening Trait: ??? (Rank: ???)]


    [The Trait will unlock fully after the Ultimate Demonic Body has been achieved.]


    ''More question marks?''


    Question marks had first appeared with the Authority of Predation and then the Ultimate Demonic Body. Now, it was happening again with his Sixth Awakening Trait. He was starting to get tired of it.


    ''For fuck''s sake. I don''t even know the conditions to achieve the Ultimate Demonic Body. Isn''t it unfair for the Trait to only be unlocked after I achieve it?''


    Shouldn''t they tell him the conditions so that he could actually put effort into fulfilling them?


    Kang-Woo was starting to think that someone had created the Traits like this on purpose just to annoy him. No, he was hoping for that to be the case.


    ''So I can twist their head into a question mark if I ever meet them in the future.''


    Kang-Woo frowned while staring at his status window, which was full of question marks.

 Chapter 72 - Short Break (1)

    Chapter 72 - Short Break (1)


    A man inside a dark room was looking at a crystal orb. In a low voice, he said, "So it died."


    The man, who was wearing a red demon mask, turned his head with an emotionless expression. He ced his eyes on a group of priests wearing ck robes.


    "Congrattions on the sessful summoning."


    "The Demon Cult has promised to provide us with additional support."


    "We will be able to begin preparations to execute our true n once we receive more support."


    The priests celebrated the sess of the demon summoning in unison.


    The man in the red demon mask nodded.


    "How are they nning to support us?"


    "With demonic crystals created from concentrated demonic energy. They will be of help to our n, and we were also given enough to increase your power, Your Eminence."


    "Good," the masked man replied, satisfied. From his voice, one could sense his desire for the power he would receive.


    Leaving the result aside, the summoning had been sessful. They had fulfilled the conditions given by the Demon Cult, so they would naturally be rewarded ordingly.


    ''Although I had never imagined for the demon to die just like that.''


    The masked man recalled the footage he''d seen through the orb.


    He frowned.


    From the beginning, what mattered to him was making the summoning a sess, but he''d never imagined that the demon would be defeated so easily.


    ''I was hoping he would at least deal considerable damage to the Hwarang Corps.''


    The Hwarang Corps and the major guilds that weren''t with the Demon Cult were beings that hindered their n of taking over Korea. He was hoping that they would suffer considerable losses through this summoning ritual.


    However, the result was the total opposite. The demon had suddenly acted strange and ended up dying.


    ''Why did the demon act that way?''


    The man couldn''t understand.


    The demon had acted all high and mighty in the beginning but had then suddenly be a pathetic coward. It waspletely different from the image of demons the man had in his head.


    ''Is it because of Cha Yeon-Joo?''


    Cha Yeon-Joo, the master of the Red Rose Guild, was clearly the strongest yer among those who''d arrived at the cave.


    The man shook his head while pondering the matter. He had met Yeon-Joo a couple times. She was indeed very strong, but she wasn''t strong enough to make a demon tremble in fear. No, even if she was, demons were very prideful beings. It made no sense for the demon to tremble in fear before even fighting.


    ''There''s something I''m missing.''


    He narrowed his eyes. There had to be a reason he wasn''t aware of. The problem was that it was impossible to guess the reason just by the footage he had seen through the orb.


    ''Is it because of the guy who had dealt the final blow with the scythe?''


    He recalled the young man who had a sharp look on his face. The masked man had also heard about the young man named Oh Kang-Woo. There had been rumors about Kang-Woo being a very talented rookie whom the Red Rose Guild was supporting.


    "Hmm¡­"


    A short exmation came out of the man''s mouth.


    Still, a rookie was a rookie. It had been only a month since the Red Rose Guild had begun supporting him, so there was a limit to how strong he could have be.


    ''I can''t tell.''


    He couldn''t understand why the demon had acted in such a strange way.


    ''I''ll have to check for myself.''


    The man''s eyes shone sharply.


    "There is one other piece of news, Your Eminence."


    "Speak."


    "The World Rankers have shown signs of taking action."


    The man strongly frowned after hearing World Rankers.


    He didn''t seem angry by the news that they''d started to act but by the words themselves.


    "Hmm."


    The anger, however, was momentaneous. He leaned back in the chair.


    With the dimensional wall having be drastically weaker in the past month, the Demon Cult had be far more active than ever before. It was only natural that the World Rankers would take action against them.


    "Has the Cult given any orders regarding them?"


    "Nothing in particr."


    "Nothing, huh¡­?"


    The man''s eyes shone with interest. The fact that the Demon Cult hadn''t given any orders in this situation meant one thing.


    "We will have to hurry. Stick to the original n. We will start with El Cuero," the man said, mentioning the name of the boss monster of Suwon''s S-rank Gate.


    "Yes, Your Eminence!" loudly answered the priests, whose heads were bowed.


    * * *


    After the demon-summoning incident was resolved, Kang-Woo climbed up on Echidna and flew home. Yeon-Joo and Baek Hwa-Yeon strongly refused to join them.


    When he returned home, he saw Han Seol-Ah, who had taken Kim Si-Hun to the hospital. She wasn''t alone¡ªChoi Eun-Bi and Kang Tae-Soo were also there. They were sitting down with looks that showed they had many things they wanted to ask.


    "I''ll tell you all tomorrow when we go visit Si-Hun."


    He couldn''t hide things from them anymore since they''d also be involved.


    The next day, he exined the whole situation in the hospital where Si-Hun was. He told them that he was a yer receiving support from the Red Rose Guild and that there was a mysterious group called the Demon Cult active in Korea. He also told them that Kim Jae-Hyun and Kim Yeong-Hun had been providing the cult with live sacrifices.


    "Then¡­ does that mean you''ve been staking out near me for a week straight after hearing the rumors?"


    "Yes. The moment I heard the rumors, I knew it was about you."


    "How did such a rumor¡­"


    "Well, the world of yers is small, after all, and your party has many people with attention-grabbing looks. It would be weirder if rumors hadn''t spread," Kang-Woo answered calmly.


    Obviously, he didn''t mention that he had used Si-Hun as bait by spreading those very rumors. He was just ad-libbing the exnation.


    ''I''m not saying anything wrong.''


    The only reason why the rumors had even managed to spread was because Si-Hun''s party had most definitely been different from the others. Every single party member was talented and eye-catching enough to warrant such rumors.


    "Couldn''t you have¡­ told us about it?"


    Seol-Ah looked at him with sad eyes. She knew that Kang-Woo was hiding many things about him from her.


    ''This probably isn''t the only thing he''s hiding.''


    Even now, she was sure that Kang-Woo was still hiding even greater secrets. Even though he was right next to her and they even lived together, she felt that Kang-Woo was so far away from her that she wouldn''t be able to reach him no matter how far she reached out her hands.


    Bitter emotions filled her heart.


    "I''m sorry for making you worry," said Kang-Woo.


    "Ah¡­"


    A short exmation came out of Seol-Ah''s mouth. After hearing him apologize without giving any excuses, she felt remorseful.


    "N-No. Who am I to say such things to you¡­? I''m sure you had your reasons."


    "But it doesn''t change the fact that I made my family worry. I can''t promise that things like this won''t happen again, but¡­ I''ll try my best."


    "T-Try?! Th-That''s¡­"


    Seol-Ah mumbled, and her face was red. Her heart beat faster, and she felt as though she would smile like an idiot if she didn''t force the tips of her mouth down.


    The word he''d said¡ªfamily¡ªfilled her head.


    "¡­ Thank you very much."


    There was a weirdly romantic atmosphere between the two.


    "Kang-Woo, peel this for me."


    Echidna jumped on top of hisp while pouting. She handed him an orange they''d bought before visiting Si-Hun.


    Kang-Woo smirked and grabbed the orange.


    "Hyung-nim. What happened to those Demon Cult members?"


    "I guess you could say that it''s settled for the time being. However, we haven''t captured their leader yet."


    "Wha¡­ Do they really kidnap yers and sacrifice them?"


    "You almost fell victim to them too, don''t you remember?"


    "Those abominable bastards!"


    Tae-Soo stomped angrily. Tae-Soo already looked scary enough, and his frowning made him look like a wraith that popped out of nightmares.


    ''There''s no way you''re human,'' Kang-Woo resisted saying aloud. "Anyway, take care while hunting from now on. You never know when they''ll attack again."


    "Understood."


    "Also, each of you take one of these."


    Kang-Woo gave each person an orb he''d received from Yeon-Joo.


    "What''s this, Kang-Woo oppa?"


    "It''s an orb that lets youmunicate with others outside the Gates from within. Call me if anything dangerous happens."


    "Thank you very much, Kang-Woo."


    It seemed that Kang-Woo''s thoughtful gesture had moved Si-Hun¡ªhe grabbed the orb tightly.


    "Kang-Woo, I have a question."


    "I will answer as long as it''s something I know."


    "What happened with Kim Yeong-Hun and Kim Jae-Hyun¡­?"


    "They''ll both spend the rest of their lives in prison."


    "¡­"


    "There is no need for you to worry. Even if the rich practically rule this country, they won''t be able to solve this one with money."


    They had kidnapped yers and sold them to a cult as sacrifices. Of course, they could try to destroy the evidence with money, but Kang-Woo wouldn''t let them get away with it unscathed.


    ''If there''s ack of evidence, I can always fabricate it.''


    Kang-Woo had the power to do it.


    "Also, I heard about your circumstances, albeit unintentionally."


    "Ah¡­"


    "Kim Jae-Hyun seems to have forced an enormous amount of debt onto your family. I will make sure that you receive enoughpensation. Also, since your mother seems to be unwell, I will take measures so that she can be treated in cutting-edge medical facilities."


    "Kang-Woo¡­"


    Si-Hun seemed to be lost for words. He began to tremble, and tears flowed down his cheeks.


    "Th-Thank you. Thank you very much. Really¡­ urgh, sniff. You are my benefactor, Kang-Woo."


    ''Don''t say things like that. I''m starting to feel guilty.''


    Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly while recalling that he had attacked Si-Hun and forcibly turned him into his Familiar.


    "You truly are¡­ a good person, Kang-Woo."


    ''Seriously, stop.''


    "I was lucky to have met you."


    ''I''m sorry, I was wrong. Now that I think about it, I think turning you into a Familiar was a bit much.''


    "Just like Tae-Soo, I would also like to serve you as my hyung-nim."


    ''Why are you doing this to me?''


    Kang-Woo felt as if he was about to be set aze because of the guilt. No matter how calctive and brutal he was, he was not devoid of emotions.


    ''You''re making me feel likeplete garbage.''

 Chapter 73 - Short Break (2)

    Chapter 73 - Short Break (2)


    While putting aside his remorse, Oh Kang-Woo nodded and smiled awkwardly.


    "In that case, I''ll start speaking to you casually."


    "Thank you very much, hyung-nim."


    Kim Si-Hun bowed while smiling.


    ''He''s way too handsome.''


    Even though they were both men, Si-Hun was handsome enough to make him tremble a bit.


    "¡­ Then, I''ll also disclose to you all something that I''d kept hidden until now."


    Si-Hun told them that he was the Martial God''s sessor and that he had an SSS-rank Trait.


    "A-An SSS-rank Trait?"


    "Th-there hasn''t been anyone who got a Trait like that in their first Awakening, has there?"


    "I knew Si-Hun was no joke either, but¡­"


    Kang-Woo already knew the details, but he acted as if he were surprised.


    "H-How did you awaken as the Martial God''s sessor?!" Tae-Soo asked.


    "I''m not sure about the details, but when I awakened as a yer, I got¡­ a different system message than other yers."


    "A different system message?"


    The other party members looked at Si-Hun. It was also Kang-Woo''s first time hearing about the system message, so he looked at him with great interest.


    "It said that I had been selected as a ''protector'' to supplement the impaired Gaia System."


    "Gaia System¡­?"


    "I don''t know what it is either, but when I first awakened as a yer, I definitely got a message like that."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    ''To think that I''d hear about the Gaia System here.''


    Even Cha Yeon-Joo hadn''t heard about it before, so he never expected to hear about it from Si-Hun.


    "Si-Hun, when is the exact date that you awakened as a yer?"


    "I believe it was¡­ May 22nd."


    "Oh, isn''t that the day we met, Kang-Woo?" Han Seol-Ah mentioned.


    "¡­"


    May 22nd. It was the day Kang-Woo had returned to Earth.


    ''The day I returned to Earth, Si-Hun awakened as a yer.''


    It wasn''t hard to guess why based on the message that Si-Hun had imed to have seen.


    ''Because of the impaired Gaia System.''


    The defense mechanism called the Gaia System had been impaired because he had returned to Earth.


    ''And to supplement that impairment, a protector was chosen.''


    It more or less made sense.


    Kang-Woo''s thoughts continued.


    ''Then, is Si-Hun the key to restoring the Gaia System?''


    It was impossible to know at the moment if the word supplement in the system message meant that Si-Hun would be able to restore the impairment or if he had been chosen to take over the role because the impairment was irreversible.


    ''Looking at only the contents of the message, it sounds like it''d be thetter.''


    Either way, what was sure was that Si-Hun could take over a portion of the system''s role.


    ''I knew I was lucky to have met Si-Hun.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. It seemed that Si-Hun was far more important of an entity than Kang-Woo had initially thought.


    ''Our rtionship is also good at this point.''


    Thanks to the incident with the Demon Cult, Si-Hun''s trust in him had increased. If he kept growing and was able to properly fulfill his role as protector, he would be a much stronger ally than Kang-Woo had initially thought.


    ''I feel a bit guilty though¡­''


    But after hearing that Si-Hun was the protector chosen by the Gaia System, Kang-Woo thought that he had made the correct decision in making Si-Hun his Familiar.


    Because the Gaia System kept weakening, one didn''t know what would happen in the future. To stop it from deteriorating, Kang-Woo needed to investigate and prepare thoroughly.


    "Th-Then are you some sort of hero that protects Earth?" Tae-Soo asked.


    "Haha. It sounds a bit cringey to have someone say it straight to my face. To be honest, I''m not sure either. I did get a better Trait than others in the beginning, but that''s also the same for yers like Cha Yeon-Joo or Baek Kang-Hyun."


    "But SSS-rank?! I heard that even the First Lady started out with an S-rank Trait, so isn''t that super amazing?"


    "But I can''t unleash the Trait''s full power because I haven''t been able to ept the entirety of the Martial God''s power. I think right now, I''m¡­ about the same as yers who have unlocked S-rank Traits on their First Awakening."


    "That doesn''t make it any less impressive!"


    Tae-Soo patted Si-Hun''s shoulders,ughing as if proud of him.


    Si-Hun shook his head with a soft smile.


    "Even with such talent, I almost lost to Kim Yeong-Hoon. The word impressive doesn''t suit me."


    "Hehe, true. You are indeed impressive, but Kang-Woo hyung-nim is even more so!" Tae-Soo shouted excitedly.


    Kang-Woo smirked and stood up.


    "I''ll leave the party in your good hands. Call me if there''s anything you need."


    "I''ll do my best to be useful to you, hyung-nim."


    One could feel a strong will in Si-Hun''s voice.


    Kang-Woo nodded with a satisfied expression. Now that everything that had held him down in life had vanished, having gained a new goal of improving himself was a good thing.


    "But take a break until your body fully recovers."


    "¡­ I understand."


    "Since I''ll feel bad for disturbing your rest, I''ll get going."


    Kang-Woo turned around, and Si-Hun looked a bit disappointed.


    "Are you¡­ leaving already?"


    "Huh? Yeah. I have things to do," Kang-Woo expressed in bewilderment.


    It was as if Si-Hun didn''t want him to leave.


    ''What''s up with him?''


    He felt that their rtionship had gone beyond the level of just good.


    ''Don''t tell me¡­''


    Kang-Woo shook his head. He didn''t even want to think about it.


    Familiars often gained affection for their masters because their souls were bound together¡ªthey were instinctively attracted to their masters.


    ''Please¡­''


    Despair could be seen in Kang-Woo''s eyes.


    He didn''t want to think that was the case with Si-Hun.


    Kang-Woo walked out of the room without looking back.


    * * *


    After paying a visit to the hospital, Kang-Woo became really busy.


    Not only did he have to n measures for the days ahead with Yeon-Joo and Baek Hwa-Yeon, but he also had to check if what he had promised Si-Hun was progressing well.


    He then went to see Kim Jae-Hyun in a prison specially made for yers and reconfirmed the information that Jae-Hyun had told them about the Demon Cult.


    Kang-Woo made sure Jae-Hyun knew that funny business would not be tolerated since they had Kim Yeong-Hun as a hostage.


    Kang-Woo also checked how much his demonic energy stores had increased after achieving his Sixth Awakening and how easily he could use the Authorities avable to him.


    ''This is exhausting.''


    Kang-Woo sighed after thinking of the past few days. He almost began hating that he had only one body.


    ''Too bad I can''t use the Authority of Cloning yet.''


    The Authority of Cloning was an Authority that let him create another version of himself that shared his consciousness. It required so much demonic energy that he couldn''t use it yet despite having achieved his Sixth Awakening.


    "I''ll still have a mountain of things to do even with another me."


    Kang-Woo sighed and opened his status window.


    He had to reach Level 59 to check if he would also have a leveling restriction like other yers, and he also had to find out what the other two conditions to achieving the Ultimate Demonic Body were.


    However, he couldn''t even attempt these tasks because his schedule was packed beyond belief.


    ''But it''s finally over.''


    Because he''d kept himself busy for the past few days, he''d been able to finish most of the urgent matters. Once he finished what he needed to do today, he''d have time to rx.


    "Kang-Woo, we''ve finished packing up for the move."


    "What about your mother?"


    "She said she still had some stuff to organize, so she told us to go ahead first. She''ll be taking a taxiter in the day."


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    He looked around the empty sixty-six-square-meter apartment. It was the house he''d lived in with Seol-Ah after returning to Earth.


    ''She probably needs some time to organize her thoughts.''


    He''d barely lived here for two months, but Seol-Ah''s mother, Kim Mi-Jeong, had lived there for almost twenty years. It likely wasn''t just items alone that she needed to organize


    "Then let''s go first," Kang-Woo said as he got in the car.


    Seol-Ah sat in the passenger seat, and Echidna sat on top of hisp.


    "¡­"


    "What''s wrong, Kang-Woo?"


    Kang-Woo lifted Echidna up without a word and put her in the back seat.


    "Kang-Woo has be colder with me."


    Echidna lowered her head in sorrow.


    Kang-Woo smirked and drove toward Seoul Station.


    "¡­ Is this really okay?"


    "What is?"


    "Y-You''re the one who purchased the house. Taking me and my mother to live there with you is¡­"


    "I told you not to worry about it. I don''t want to live alone in such a big house."


    "B-but still¡­"


    "And it''s not like I bought it with my own money. Red Rose prepared it for me."


    "Ms. Cha Yeon-Joo?"


    "Yup. It was included in my contract conditions."


    "Nghh¡­"


    Seol-Ah clenched her fists in frustration.


    The house was 165 square meters wide. Not just that, the prices ofnd near Seoul Station had skyrocketed ever since the yer Management Office and the guild houses of the five great guilds were built there. Hence, this house easily surpassed two billion won.


    She felt envious that Yeon-Joo could provide Kang-Woo with such an expensive house as if it were nothing.


    ''The two of them seem really close¡­''


    Seol-Ah bit her lips anxiously.


    ''And the house we''re moving to is also close to hers.''


    Thinking of Kang-Woo being with Yeon-Joo turned her head into jumbles.


    Seol-Ah let out a sigh.


    The huge gap between her and Yeon-Joo made her shoulders drop.


    A heavy silence befell the car.


    Echidna opened her mouth and broke the silence.


    "Kang-Woo, what are you doing tomorrow?"


    "Tomorrow? I''m not sure¡­"


    Unlike the past few days, he really didn''t have any ns for tomorrow.


    "¡­ Are you super busy tomorrow too?" Echidna asked cautiously.


    She seemed to want to y with Kang-Woo but didn''t want to burden him. She looked like a kid asking her father, who was swamped with work, if he had any days off.


    Kang-Woo smirked, finding Echidna''s cautious attitude awfully cute.


    ''I guess there''s no harm in taking a break for one day.''


    After he''d returned to Earth, the days he had taken a break were so few that it was embarrassing. Considering that he would probably get even busier soon, it was probably a good idea to take some time off.


    "I don''t have any work tomorrow."


    "Ah! Th-Then¡­"


    "You saidst time that you wanted to go somewhere together to y, right? Let''s go tomorrow."


    "Hm! Hm! I''m okay with anywhere as long as it''s with you, Kang-Woo!" Echidna said while snorting. Her eyes shone expectantly. The thought of going out with Kang-Woo made her excited.


    "Ah¡­"


    A short exmation came out of Seol-Ah''s mouth. Seol-Ah felt as if she was falling behind as a love rival against not only Yeon-Joo but also Echidna, who had joinedte in the game.


    ''I met him first.''


    Seol-Ah felt left behind, which made her anxious.


    "Th-then I''ming too!"


    "Hmm? Didn''t you say that you would spend the whole day unpacking?"


    "I can always unpackter! I-I would also like to go!" Seol-Ah quickly replied.


    "Okay, Seol-Ah. You cane too."


    Kang-Woo dly nodded.


    "Ngh¡­"


    Echidna red at the uninvited guest while pouting, disapproving of Seol-Ah''s wet-nket attitude.


    "H-Haha."


    Seol-Ahughed awkwardly after feeling Echidna ring at her. She understood Echidna''s feelings of wanting to be alone with Kang-Woo, but there was nothing Seol-Ah could do about it.


    ''A-All''s fair in love and war.''


    Seol-Ah was willing to be a wet nket if it meant that she could make Kang-Woo hers.

 Chapter 74 - Short Break (3)

    Chapter 74 - Short Break (3)


    "Kang-Woo, wake up."


    The next morning¡­


    Echidna shook Oh Kang-Woo awake. After having a simple breakfast, Kang-Woo went outside with Echidna and Han Seol-Ah. He took the two girls to a giant department store in Mok-dong, Yeongdeungpo.


    At first, the girls seemed to be wary of each other, but soon, with shining eyes, they began to choose clothes.


    ''They''re getting along better than I''d expected.''


    Kang-Woo had thought that Echidna would be wary of Seol-Ah since Echidna was very introverted. Even yesterday, she''d pouted and red at Seol-Ah while they were unpacking. Now, they were both looking around the department store while chatting as if they were sisters.


    ''This must be the power of women.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t understand what was so fun about picking clothes. To him, they all looked the same.


    "My, look at this. This would look great on you, Echidna."


    "¡­ Would Kang-Woo like it?"


    "Hehe. Of course he would."


    "Then, I''ll try it on."


    Seol-Ah wandered around picking out clothes for Echidna as if she were her little sister.


    It seemed Echidna had also taken an interest in clothes, so she followed Seol-Ah around with her eyes shining.


    ''I guess it''s fine as long as they''re both enjoying themselves.''


    It wasn''t a bad idea for Echidna to make other friends and not depend on him too much.


    Excessive dependence would only cloud her judgment.


    "Come here for a second, Kang-Woo."


    "Kang-Woo, does it suit me?"


    As he turned his head, he saw Echidna looking at him nervously. She was wearing a beige jacket and a checkered skirt that reached her knees¡ªshe looked astonishingly cute.


    ''It''s like she''s wearing a school uniform.''


    Leaving aside her real age, because she looked so young, it seemed like she was wearing a school uniform.


    "Yeah, it suits you."


    "Hm! Hm!" Echidna snorted while blushing.


    She looked up at Seol-Ah with sparkling eyes.


    "I want this."


    "Fufu. Okay. I''ll buy it for you."


    "Thanks. So you were a good person, Seol-Ah."


    Echidna had been won over all too easily with just a single outfit.


    She smiled radiantly while grabbing onto Seol-Ah''s clothes.


    "Haaaah! You''re too cute!"


    "¡­ Seol-Ah, I can''t breathe."


    Seol-Ah hugged Echidna and rubbed Echidna''s cheeks against her face.


    Kang-Woo smiled at the two of them, satisfied.


    ''I''m d I took a break.''


    Seeing both of them having fun made him smile.


    After paying for the clothes, the girls each clung to one of Kang-Woo''s arms and pulled him along.


    He truly had flowers in each hand.


    He could feel people ring at him with jealousy, and Kang-Woo followed the girls while smiling like a victor.


    ''This is the life.''


    He thought of the days he''d endured among demons who were nothing but muscle-headed battle junkies and the nights he''d spent in fear that tentacled monsters would appear in his dreams.


    Kang-Woo was so happy that he thought maybe all the suffering he had gone through had all been for this moment.


    An hour passed.


    "How about this one, Echidna?"


    "It suits you, Seol-Ah."


    ''Mhm. Very nice. They''ve gotten even closer.''


    Two hours passed.


    "Hoho. Please try this on, Kang-Woo!"


    "You look cool, Kang-Woo."


    ''Hmm.''


    Three hours passed.


    "Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo. Let''s go back down to the second floor. I think it was better there."


    "Oh, I''d also like to go back to where we were an hour ago."


    ''What''s this?''


    Four hours passed.


    "Ah, like I thought, we should go back to where we were in the beginning."


    "Yeah, yeah. I liked that ce better."


    ''Why isn''t it ending?''


    Even after four hours, they were still shopping.


    Kang-Woo looked at them with a dumbstruck expression.


    The problem wasn''t that they were going to every single store but that they went back to stores that they had already been to whenever they changed their minds.


    ''We''ve been to this store four times already.''


    Kang-Woo had a pale expression on his face.


    Unlike Kang-Woo, who was slowly bing lifeless, both girls looked at the clothes without taking a break. It was as if they were using the Authority of Invigoration.


    He felt like he''d been locked up in an endless m?bius strip.


    ''Is this life?''


    It wasn''t that he was physically tired after only a few hours of walking, but repeating an action that seemed meaningless made him mentally tired.


    ''Am I really on a break?''


    He''d gone to the department store to take a breather before things got busier, but rather than taking a breather, he felt as if he was bing even more tired shopping than when he was in battle.


    His mind was about to reach its limit when suddenly¡­


    "Now that we''ve looked around enough, should we take a break?"


    "You''ve¡­ looked around enough?"


    "Fufu. We''re going to take a look around for things besides clothes in the afternoon."


    He felt as if he had been struck by lightning under blue skies.


    Kang-Woo''s face turned even paler.


    "Kang-Woo, I''m hungry."


    "Oh my. It''s already past lunchtime. Should we just have a light meal at the food court?"


    "Food court?"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion, which rather shocked Seol-Ah.


    "Do you perhaps not know what a food court is?"


    "Yeah. I''ve never heard about it."


    When Kang-Woo had lived on Earth in the past, forget food courts, he had never even been to a department store.


    Seol-Ah seemed troubled.


    "Hmm¡­ It''s where multiple good vendors are located in one ce. There''s a wide variety of menus to choose from, and it''s all reasonably priced."


    "Whoa."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. Eating was one of the things he''d been enjoying the most since returning to Earth.


    "Let''s go."


    Kang-Woo''s exhausted expression recovered its vigor. He headed to the food court with eyes full of expectation.


    What he saw next shocked him.


    "W-We can order anything from here¡­?"


    "Yes. You say the number corresponding to what you want to eat, and then you get a meal ticket."


    "Whaa¡­"


    As he looked at the menu with more than a hundred different options, Kang-Woo couldn''t help but feel a thrill.


    ''Is this Heaven?''


    There were three different types of kimchi stew: one with tuna, one with ham, and finally, one with meat.


    If this wasn''t Heaven, Kang-Woo didn''t know what was.


    "I can''t believe a ce like this exists¡­."


    Kang-Woo regretted having missed out on ces like this while having been in a craze of hunting and leveling up.


    ''I''ve been forgetting about the most important thing.''


    Why had he returned to Earth in the first ce?


    Wasn''t it to eat and y as much as he wanted?


    He could feel his desire boiling. They weren''t normal desires but desires amplified due to having the body of a demon.


    He could feel his desires devouring his sense of reason.


    "Kang-Woo, what should we eat?"


    "Everything."


    "Everything?"


    Kang-Woo walked up to the counter and stated in all seriousness, "Please give me everything from number 1 to 168. Oh, and ten each of numbers 67, 68, and 69."


    The dishes that he had ordered ten each of were obviously kimchi stews.


    "K-Kang-Woo! Please calm down!"


    Seol-Ah came running to Kang-Woo, who had lost all sense of reason.


    "Why?"


    "There''s no way we can eat all that."


    "We can just take any leftovers home."


    "They''ll go bad before we manage to eat it all."


    "Don''t worry. I can make it so they don''t go bad."


    As long as Kang-Woo flipped the effect of the Authority of Decay, he could store all the food without having to worry about it going bad.


    The gears in Seol-Ah''s head started to turn quickly toe up with a way to calm Kang-Woo down.


    "The food court has a diverse menu, but the food isn''t that good. Instead, I''ll make whatever you''d like to eat on this menu at home. You should just eat until you''re full here."


    "Hmm. If it isn''t good, then¡­"


    After hearing the food wasn''t that good, his desire quickly died down.


    Disappointed, Kang-Woo just ordered the three types of kimchi stew, pizza, fried chicken, and tangsuyuk[1]. It was still quite a lot, but it was nothingpared to what he''d originally nned to order.


    "I want what Kang-Woo''s having."


    Echidna ordered the same dishes as Kang-Woo with shining eyes.


    Seol-Ah tried to stop her but gave up after seeing her sparkling eyes.


    "¡­ I''ll just have udon."


    The bell for their food rang not long after they had ordered their food with the meal ticket.


    Kang-Woo and Echidna had ordered so much food that even a table of four wasn''t enough to put everything on the table. They had to stick another table on the side.


    "Right then, let''s eat."


    Kang-Woo had a spoonful of the pork kimchi stew.


    "Hmm."


    Just like Seol-Ah said, it was a bitcklusterpared to the one she made.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. What itcked in taste, it made up for in variety.


    This was a very precious opportunity to make his dream ofbining a variety of foods, which he could have never imagined while in Hell, into a reality.


    Kang-Woo turned his head to the pizza and ced it above the kimchi stew.


    "¡­ Kang-Woo?"


    A dumbstruck voice came out of Seol-Ah''s mouth.


    Kang-Woo ate a slice of pizza with kimchi stew simultaneously.


    It wasn''t just the pizza; he also mixed the tangsuyuk and fried chicken with the kimchi stew.


    "Slurp! Whoa, this tastes better than I''d thought it would."


    "Are you supposed to mix it all in there like that?" Echidna asked Seol-Ah while tilting her head in wonder, staring at Kang-Woo eating kimchi stew with pizza, tangsuyuk, and fried chicken.


    "¡­ No."


    "But Kang-Woo is doing it."


    "That''s because Kang-Woo is¡­"


    ''¡­ A weirdo.''


    She barely managed to stop herself from saying that as she stared at Kang-Woo diligently eating his kimchi stew.


    It was at that moment¡­


    Slide!


    A man suddenly approached them and sat across from Kang-Woo without asking for permission. Snickering, the man said in a countryside dialect, "Wow! Ya rilly know yer stuff! Yeah! Stew is meant fer mixin'' all kinds uh stuff into it!"


    Kang-Woo stopped eating and red at the man in front of him.


    The man was wearing an out-of-fashion aloha shirt and a gold chain ne. He was covered in muscles and had bright tanned skin. Looking at him was like looking at a smaller version of Kang Tae-Soo.


    "¡­ Who are you?" Kang-Woo said in an annoyed tone.


    The man smiled.


    "Mah name is Baek Kang-Hyun from the Hanul Guild. Have ya heard uh me?"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    There probably wasn''t anyone in Korea who hadn''t heard the name Baek Kang-Hyun.


    "Yer the rookie of the Red Rose Guild, right?" Kang-Hyun snickered and kept talking. "A''hv an offer fer ya."


    "An offer?"


    "I''ll give ya fifty billion won and match ya with Unique-grade equipment. I''ll git ya uh car and house that can''t evenpare to whut ya have right now. Join our guild. I''ll save ya an executive position."


    Seol-Ah''s mouth fell open after she heard the ridiculous amount of money and conditions offered.


    Kang-Woo''s expression, however, didn''t change in the slightest. He smirked and leaned back in the chair.


    He opened his mouth in a rxed manner.


    "That''s it?"


    1. Tangsuyuk is a Chinese-style Korean meat dish with sweet & sour sauce. ?

 Chapter 75 - Legendary-grade Equipment (1)

    Chapter 75 - Legendary-grade Equipment (1)


    "Oh?" Baek Kang-Hyun uttered with bright eyes.


    He looked at Oh Kang-Woo, who had a rxed expression.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t bluffing. It seemed like he truly thought that the conditions weren''t good enough.


    As if he found that situation funny, Kang-Hyunughed, "Hehehe. Yer an interestin''d."


    "If you have nothing more to say, why don''t you leave?" Kang-Woo said arrogantly.


    This wasn''t an attitude a yer should have in front of Kang-Hyun, who was renowned as the strongest Ranker in Korea.


    "Hahahaha!" Kang-Hyunughed loudly.


    He wasn''t sure how long it had been since someone had spoken to him in such an arrogant way.


    "Ah''ve taken a likin'' to ya. In that case, whut''s yer definition of satisfactory conditions?" Kang-Hyun asked.


    "Hmm," Kang-Woo murmured while narrowing his eyes and gazing at Kang-Hyun.


    Although Kang-Woo seemed rxed, the gears in his head were turning incredibly fast.


    ''Baek Kang-Hyun, huh?''


    It was a name he had gotten tired of hearing about. Kang-Hyun hadn''t been able to be a world ranker, but he was known as an unmatched monster in Korea. He was even stronger than Cha Yeon-Joo.


    ''I wasn''t expecting him to be like this.''


    Kang-Woo had thought that Kang-Hyun would be like a solitary martial artist, but he ended up being theplete opposite. The image that Kang-Woo had of the number one yer waspletely destroyed.


    ''If he''s here now, does that mean he has heard the rumors?''


    The incident involving the Demon Cult¡­ Kang-Woo had contributed too much to it for him to go unnoticed. Just like Baek Hwa-Yeon had warned him, Kang-Woo would have to put up with the fact that rumors were inevitably going to spread.


    ''But I wasn''t expecting for him toe himself.''


    Kang-Woo was surprised.


    ''I guess both he and Yeon-Joo like to do things themselves.''


    He looked at Kang-Hyun and said, "Sorry, but it doesn''t matter what conditions you offer me. I have no interest in joining a guild."


    Kang-Woo didn''t even have to think about it. He was happy with his current alliance with the Red Rose Guild and the Hwarang Corps. What he liked the most was that he didn''t have to follow their orders; they were on equal standing. However, if he joined a guild, things would change. He would inevitably have someone above him.


    ''I can''t let that happen.''


    Even if they guaranteed his freedom, he didn''t like to be under someone else.


    ''And there''s no need for it either.''


    The situation had changed from when he had epted Yeon-Joo''s offer. Kang-Woo had be strong enough that he didn''t need someone else''s support.


    "Hmm. Ya sure there''s nuthin'' Ah can offer ya?"


    "I''m satisfied with the money, car, and house that I have now. I''m not after things like that."


    "Hehe. Then whut''s it that ya want?"


    "Not sure. Why don''t you figure that out yourself?"


    "Hahaha! Nice! It''s been a while since Ah''ve met sumone that treats me this way!" Kang-Hyunughed while nodding. "Then whut bout this? If ya join us, Ah''ll give ya one Legendary-grade equipment fer free."


    "..."


    Hesitation filled Kang-Woo''s eyes for a short moment. Kang-Hyun noticed that, and he smiled.


    "That seems to have gotten yer attention."


    "Hmm... I won''t deny that."


    Legendary-grade equipment were things that couldn''t be bought easily even with all the money in the world. First and foremost, there weren''t many of them. yer equipment were created by yers with crafting-rted Traits working in tandem with scientists who researched modern weaponry.


    The materials used for those equipment were, of course, monster corpses and mana stones. Making Legendary-grade equipment was almost impossible because it required materials that could only be collected from boss monsters of S-rank Gates.


    ''Moreover, those materials don''t always appear.''


    Most importantly, there was an imprinting issue. Equipment of the Legendary grade and above had an imprinting function, which meant the equipment imprinted itself on its very first wearer. In other words, no one else would be able to use it after that.


    Moreover, there were typically numerous conditions that needed to be met for the imprinting process. So, it wasmon for yers to be unable to use their equipment despite having worked painstakingly hard to obtain it.


    ''This one''s a bit attractive.''


    Unique items were already quite good, but Kang-Hyun was offering something even better¡­


    ''I believe Yeon-Joo''s chains were also Legendary-grade.''


    It was true that Yeon-Joo was strong, but she was even stronger with her chains. The chains were quite powerful, especially with their Energy Drain passive.


    The most important point, however, was that equipment of the Legendary grade and above usually raised a yer''s stats by an absolute value.


    ''Although I''m sure there won''t be any that raises demonic energy.''


    Kang-Woo was indeed interested.


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo shook his head after much thought.


    He said, ¡°I''ll pass.¡±


    It was a sweet proposal, but it didn''t matter how sweet it was. He wasn''t the type of person that was willing to be under someone else''smand.


    "Hehe. Ah knew ya would," Kang-Hyun replied with a smile and stood up. "This is mah number. Gimme a call if ya ever change yer mind."


    "Okay."


    "Sorry fer disruptin'' yer meal. Oh, and if yer gonna mix, ya gotta mix this too."


    Kang-Hyun grabbed the te of diced radish kimchi next to the udon and poured them into the kimchi stew.


    "Now this is true vor!" Kang-Hyun eximed.


    "...Putting kimchi in kimchi stew?"


    "C''mon, yer missin'' out. They''re different textures!"


    "Well, I''ll give it a try."


    Kang-Woo smirked and ate the kimchi stew with the diced radish kimchi.


    That abomination was no longer kimchi stew; it was closer to organic waste. Unable to even bear looking at the kimchi stew, Han Seol-Ah turned away.


    ¡°Is it good, Kang-Woo?" Echidna asked.


    "Of course."


    Slurp!


    After finishing the kimchi stew, Kang-Woo stood up.


    "Shall we get going?"


    "Was it really okay to refuse his offer, Kang-Woo?" Seol-Ah said.


    "Why? Do you think it''s a waste not to ept fifty billion won?"


    "N-No! Nothing like that. It isn''t my money in the first ce. He didn''t seem like the kind of person to retaliate, but I''m just worried that he might do it."


    "If he does..." Kang-Woo said while smiling, "I''ll just have to make him thoroughly regret it."


    * * *


    After walking around the department store one more time, Kang-Woo headed to the parking lot.


    "Haaaah~ I had so much fun today!"


    "Yes. I had fun buying tons of clothes that I tried on and gotpliments from Kang-Woo."


    The two girls smiled with satisfaction.


    "That''s a relief," Kang-Woo said with a slightly tired expression.


    He was extremely exhausted mentally from walking around the department store all day. Nevertheless, he wasn''t in a bad mood at all. He thought that it was good that Echidna and Seol-Ah had gotten closer.


    "I''ll drive the car over, so wait here," Kang-Woo told the two girls.


    "Okay, Kang-Woo."


    After grabbing the shopping bags from Echidna and Seol-Ah, Kang-Woo went to bring the car around. This time, Echidna sat in the passenger seat. Kang-Woo drove out of the department store with driving skills that had improved a lotpared to when he had first earned his license.


    "But still, it''s too bad," Seol-Ah mentioned.


    "Hmm? What is?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "The Legendary-grade equipment. You were interested in it, weren''t you?"


    "Oh, yeah. I guess it''s a bit of a shame."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. He couldn''t help thinking about the Legendary-grade equipment.


    "Fufu. But I''m d you refused the offer."


    "You''re d?"


    "Yes. I got this... unsettling feeling from him."


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo thought about Kang-Hyun, who had smiled a lot and spoken in a rural dialect. Kang-Hyun couldn''t be further from unsettling.


    ''I guess it''s what they call women''s intuition.''


    Kang-Woo thought that he should ask Yeon-Joo about Kang-Hyunter on.


    "I don''t like the idea of being under someone anyway," Kang-Woo replied.


    "Fufu. That''s true. I can''t imagine you following someone''s orders."


    "Don''t follow someone else''s orders, Kang-Woo," Echidna said, grabbing his clothes with an anxious expression.


    To her, Kang-Woo was a sacred being. She didn''t even want to imagine him following someone else''s orders.


    "Don''t worry. That won''t ever happen," Kang-Woo responded.


    As he turned the car''s steering wheel, a hush settled over the vehicle. It seemed like Echidna and Seol-Ah were tired because of how much they''d wandered around the department store.


    ¡®Legendary-grade equipment, huh...?''


    In the silence, Kang-Woo naturally thought of the Legendary-grade equipment again.


    ''I''m feeling even more regretful since it was practically right within my reach.''


    For a moment, he thought that he should maybe ask Yeon-Joo for a piece of Legendary-grade equipment, but he knew how valuable they were. Even Yeon-Joo wouldn''t be able to get him one that easily.


    Vrrr. Vrrr.


    "Hmm?"


    His smartphone was suddenly vibrating in his pocket. Kang-Woo ced his smartphone on the car mount and put on earphones.


    "Hello?"


    [It''s Baek Hwa-Yeon. Are you free to talk now?]


    "I''m driving, but... It''s fine. What is it?"


    [I was wondering if you coulde to the Hwarang Corps headquarters right now.]


    "Now?"


    The Hwarang Corps headquarters was in Suwon, where the S-rank Gate was. It wasn''t that far from Seoul Station, but it wasn''t that close to Kang-Woo''s current location.


    [Yes. I assure you it will be worth it.]


    Kang-Woo could hear a bit of excitement in Hwa-Yeon''s voice.


    He tilted his head and asked, "What has gotten you so excited?"


    [The government has decided on your reward. You cane get it in our headquarters, so I would like you to stop by.]


    "Whoa."


    Come to think of it, Hwa-Yeon had said that he would be rewarded by the government.


    "What is it?"


    [Fufu. I hope you realize how much effort I''ve put into giving you an appropriate reward that reflects your aplishments.]


    The way that Hwa-Yeon was speaking was unlike her usual self. Kang-Woo wondered what kind of reward could make her so excited.


    "I will decide if it''s appropriate or not after hearing what it is."


    [Hahaha! I''m positive you''ll be satisfied with it. You will be given the Legendary-grade equipment that has been in the Mir Guild''s hands.]


    "..."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    He had just been grieving about the Legendary-grade equipment. Yet, before he could get over it, he''d received unexpected good news. It was as if someone had scratched a part of his body that he couldn''t reach with his hands.


    The corners of his mouth curled up.


    ''This is why you have to live like a good samaritan.''


    Kang-Woo felt as if his good actions had been rewarded.

 Chapter 76 - Legendary-grade Equipment (2)

    Chapter 76 - Legendary-grade Equipment (2)


    "Have a safe trip, Kang-Woo," Han Seol-Ah said.


    "You''ll be back soon, right, Kang-Woo?" Echidna asked.


    "I''m just gonna be dropping by to grab something, so it won''t take long."


    Kang-Woo drove Seol-Ah and Echidna to the new apartment. He was nning to drive to Suwon Station immediately after dropping them off.


    Right then¡­


    "Oh, you''re finally back. I heard from Hwa-Yeon. You''re going to Hwarang Corps headquarters, right? I have business there too, so let''s go together," Cha Yeon-Joo, who had been sitting in front of the apartment entrance, said.


    She walked over and casually opened the passenger seat door of Kang-Woo''s car.


    "Y-You''re..." Seol-Ah stuttered in surprise.


    "Oh, you''re the girl we met the other day. If I remember correctly... you live with Kang-Woo, right?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Y-Yes. Kang-Woo and I live together."


    Yeon-Joo narrowed her eyes. She looked back and forth between Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah.


    Then Yeon-Joo said softly to Seol-Ah, "Isn''t it difficult living with a weirdo like this? If you want, I''ll buy you a house in the area, and I''ll make sure it''s in your name."


    "It''s okay. I like living with Kang-Woo."


    "... Is that so?"


    Yeon-Joo seemed a bit disappointed and turned away. She scoffed while getting into the passenger seat.


    "What does she see in a guy like you?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Then how about getting out of the car of a guy like me and leaving in your own car?" Kang-Woo replied.


    "Shut up. I don''t feel like driving today," Yeon-Joo said, cing one of her smooth legs over the other. "Drive."


    "Am I your chauffeur...?"


    "If you don''t like it, give the car back to me."


    "Wherever you''d like to go, ma''am."


    Kang-Woo surrendered to capitalism and waved goodbye to Seol-Ah and Echidna. The two girls sent Kang-Woo off while staring at Yeon-Joo anxiously.


    Then Kang-Woo slowly stepped on the elerator.


    "I actually had something I wanted to ask you, so perfect timing," he said.


    "You did?"


    "Yeah," Kang-Woo replied while thinking about the energetic man he''d met earlier. "I met Baek Kang-Hyun today."


    "Wh-What? Where?"


    "In Times Square mall[1]. It wasn''t a coincidence. He came looking for me."


    "... What did he say?" Yeon-Joo asked as her eyes became narrowed and her voice trembled slightly in anxiety.


    Kang-Woo nced at her and smirked.


    He asked, "What do you think he said?"


    "Stop joking around," she said, looking at Kang-Woo angrily.


    "He invited me to join the Hanul Guild," he replied with a shrug.


    "Wh-What conditions did he offer?"


    "Fifty billion won, an expensive house and car, an executive position in Hanul, and... a piece of Legendary-grade equipment."


    "... Fucking hell," Yeon-Joo cursed as her eyes widened in shock.


    The conditions were so great that it seemed like Baek Kang-Hyun was out of his mind. Yeon-Joo thought that she''d offered Kang-Woo astronomical conditions, but they were nothingpared to Hanul Guild''s offer.


    "Ngh..." Yeon-Joo uttered while biting her lips.


    She thought that there was no way Kang-Woo would''ve refused such an offer.


    "S-So, when are you joining Hanul Guild?" Yeon-Joo asked hesitantly.


    "Hmm? What do you mean?"


    "... Don''t tell me you refused?"


    "I have no reason to go out of my way to be under someone else."


    "Hah."


    Yeon-Joo was speechless.


    From the first time that she met Kang-Woo, she''d felt he was the type of person who wouldn''t take orders from anyone. Despite that, she never thought that he''d refuse such great conditions.


    "... You really are a weirdo," Yeon-Joo remarked.


    She turned her head away from him and looked out the window. There was a very faint smile on her face.


    "So, is there anything you know about Baek Kang-Hyun?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "I''ve met him a couple of times."


    "What kind of person is he?"


    "I probably felt the same thing as you. Hepletely shattered my image of him. I couldn''t believe that he was Korea''s number one yer."


    "Hmm. Yeah, you can tell that at first nce. But besides that, are there any rumors about him?"


    "Rumors...?" Yeon-Joo muttered as she sifted through her memories. "I heard that he got extremely angry one time."


    "He got angry?"


    "Yeah. It was probably when he failed the World Ranker evaluation. Back then, many people were talking about a World Ranker appearing in Korea for the very first time."


    "Hmm..."


    "Well, I don''t me him. He probably wasn''t expecting to fail in such a way."


    "How did he fail?"


    "Among the World Rankers, there''s a Japanese person named Fujimoto Ryoma. Kang-Hyun lost to him. Quite miserably, at that."


    Fujimoto Ryoma was a Japanese World Ranker who was also famous for having a Mythic-grade weapon.


    "Korea and Japan already have a bad rtionship. So, after losing in such a way... Kang-Hyun was berated by the public. People said things like he wasn''t worthy of being called a Ranker, that he lost on purpose to make Korea look bad, that he betrayed his country, and all kinds of other things."


    "I''m surprised he only got angry."


    It would''ve been stranger if he hadn''t gotten angry in that situation.


    "If it had been you..." Kang-Woo let his words trail off.


    "I would have found every single hatementer and broken their wrists," Yeon-Joo stated.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo believed that Yeon-Joo was perfectly capable of doing that.


    Then he asked, "So, there aren''t any ominous rumors about him?"


    "Why? What did he say?"


    "Nothing. I was just wondering if he would try to get revenge on me for refusing his offer."


    Yeon-Joo smirked and said, "He''s not that kind of person. He probably liked your attitude andughed about it."


    She was on point.


    Kang-Woo nodded and stepped on the elerator.


    * * *


    "You''re here. I''ve been waiting for you," Baek Hwa-Yeon said.


    She had been waiting for them in front of the Hwarang Corps headquarters.


    After greeting her, Kang-Woo approached her and replied, "You could have waited for us inside."


    "Fufu. I was feeling anxious waiting inside," Hwa-Yeon exined while turning toward the headquarters entrance. "Come in. I''ll show you your reward."


    "I heard that it''s Legendary-grade equipment," Yeon-Joo said.


    "Yes. There was a piece of Legendary-grade equipment that hadn''t been imprinted on a yer yet, so I immediately thought that this had to be Kang-Woo''s reward.¡±


    "You must''ve gone through hell to get approval."


    "Don''t get me started. They were so against it that I almost exploded from rage."


    Hwa-Yeon shook her head to forget the horrible memories.


    "Well, that''s how congresspersons are," Yeon-Joo remarked.


    ¡°Hmph. There really is no getting through to them," Hwa-Yeon said with a frown.


    She took them to the room where the piece of Legendary-grade equipment was being stored. Upon passing a thick door, they saw a long ck coat. Its design was so in that one would never guess that it was of the Legendary grade.


    "Is this the Legendary-grade equipment?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    She gazed at the long coat with bright eyes.


    Kang-Woo also got closer to the long coat to check its details.


    [Equipment Information]


    [Equipment Name: ck Pearl Coat


    Grade: Legendary [Unimprinted]


    Basic Effect: Physical Defense +660, Magical Defense +480, Unique Stat +5


    Special Effect: Allows the wearer to use ''Kraken''s Rage,'' which doubles the stat boost for one minute. Can only be used once every 24 hours.


    Equipment Description: A coat made from the coagted blood within the Kraken''s heart.]


    After reading the equipment information, Yeon-Joo clicked her tongue andmented, "Hmm... It isn''t that good a piece of Legendary-grade equipment."


    She could understand why the Mir Guild had kept it unimprinted.


    "Although the stat boost is absurdly high..." Yeon-Joo muttered.


    There weren''t many pieces of equipment that boosted a stat by an absolute value of five, even among Legendary-grade ones. Most of them boosted stats by one or two usually, up to three or four at most.


    As a yer''s stat number rose, their corresponding aspect improved. However, the stat became exponentially more difficult to raise the more it rose. For example, it was fairly simple to raise the Strength stat by one or two points through exercise. Nheless, once it rose above 40, it wouldn''t rise no matter how hard the yer worked out. In other words, after reaching a certain stat number, most yers had to be content with a rise of just one to three stat points when they leveled up.


    The problem was that there wasn''t a guarantee that one''s main stat would rise. That was why a stat boost of five was almost equivalent to leveling up four or five times. This was an incredible effect, considering it would keep getting harder to level up over time.


    "But yers with unique stats are extremely rare," Yeon-Joo stated.


    That was the issue. Not many yers had a unique stat in the first ce. So, if a yer didn''t have a unique stat, the ck Pearl Coat''s most incredible effect was practically useless.


    "But still, the basic physical and magical defense values are pretty high," Hwa-Yeon replied.


    "That''s true, but still... It''s too bad."


    Yeon-Joo turned around to say something to Kang-Woo, whom she thought would be disappointed.


    "Hmm...?" she murmured puzzledly.


    Rather than being disappointed, Kang-Woo was smiling. Yeon-Joo tilted her head.


    Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind.


    "Do you perhaps... have a unique stat, Kang-Woo?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Yup."


    Yeon-Joo couldn''t believe what she was hearing. It was unbelievable that Kang-Woo had a unique stat¡ªsomething that an extremely small number of yers possessed.


    ''Now that I think about it, it makes sense,'' she thought.


    Kang-Woo''s growth rate was unreasonably fast. Nevertheless, if he had a unique stat, then that exined his speed.


    "In that case, that changes things. This is... one of the best pieces of Legendary-grade equipment you could ever have."


    "Nice," Kang-Woo said with a nod while making a satisfied expression.


    His unique stat was Demonic Energy.


    ''To think that it would boost my Demonic Energy stat by five whole points¡­''


    Moreover, if he used the equipment''s skill, it would double the stat boost. In other words, his Demonic Energy stat would rise by ten whole points, although only briefly.


    ''Even devouring Oriax only gave me three points.''


    That was a higher amount than what he''d gotten by devouring a demon from the Seventh Hell.


    Kang-Woo turned around and extended his hand to Hwa-Yeon.


    He said, "Thank you for the great item. Since we have the same goal of wiping out the Demon Cult, I will cooperate the best I can."


    "Hahaha. I never imagined that you would have a unique stat. It seems like this equipment was destined to meet you. We will be counting on you in the future as well," Hwa-Yeon replied andughed while shaking his hand.


    m!


    An old man wearing a suit suddenly entered the special storage room with four bodyguards.


    He yelled, "Keep your hands off of that item!"


    "Congressman Hong...?" Hwa-Yeon uttered.


    "Hmph! A petition submitted by the congresspersons of my party has just been passed. That item will return to the national treasury," the old man wearing a suit, Hong Jun-Tae, stated with a smirk.


    1. Times Square is a department store in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul. ?

 Chapter 77 - Legendary-grade Equipment (3)

    Chapter 77 - Legendary-grade Equipment (3)


    Hong Jun-Tae was the leader of the We Are One Party and possessed great power in the country.


    Baek Hwa-Yeon frowned at his sudden appearance.


    "...A petition? What are you talking about?" she asked.


    "My party members submitted a petition, and it was just passed. We cannot let you have that Legendary-grade equipment," Jun-Tae answered.


    "This equipment was acquired by the Hwarang Corps during a mission. Captain Jang Hyun-Jae is the one who has the right of transfer, and he has recognized yer Oh Kang-Woo''s aplishments."


    "He awakened as a yer only a few months ago! What could he have possibly aplished to deserve Legendary-grade equipment? Baek Hwa-Yeon... I can only see this as you trying to take the Legendary-grade equipment for yourself!" Jun-Tae used while staring at Hwa-Yeon with suspicion.


    Hwa-Yeon''s expression hardened.


    "What are you talking about?!" she questioned.


    "Hmph. You greedy young''uns always shout like that. How dare you take us as fools just because you''re the captain of Hwarang''s 3rd Squadron? Do you have any idea how much that Legendary-grade equipment is worth?!"


    "How many times must I say that he has done enough to earn it?!"


    "You rude little brat! How dare you yell at your elders?!!" Jun-Tae shouted angrily. "In any case, the petition has been passed. The president has personally put me in charge of investigating potential corruption in the reward selection process."


    "Kuh."


    The Hwarang Corps was part of the government, but they were technically an independent organization. Even so, they couldn''t go against the president''s orders.


    Jun-Tae acted as if he were just looking around before finally shifting his gaze to the ck Pearl Coat. Legendary-grade equipment like the coat were priceless, and Jun-Tae''s eyes showed clearly that he was greedy for it.


    He eventually pulled his gaze away from the coat.


    As if wanting others to hear him, Jun-Tae rambled loudly, "Tsk. What a mindless bunch. They even dared to frame someone as great as Chairman Kim Jae-Hyun..."


    "... He is a criminal who offered living people as sacrifices to the Demon Cult," Hwa-Yeon stated.


    "Hmph! How can we be sure of that? Maybe you fabricated the evidence."


    "Congressman Hong!"


    Jun-Tae moved his hands, not wanting to listen to what Hwa-Yeon had to say.


    "Anyway, I have been put in charge of the investigation, so don''t even think about going anywhere," he said, seemingly sure that there had been the presence of corruption.


    Kang-Woo smirked as he listened to the conversation between the two people.


    ''I guess he used to be bribed by Kim Jae-Hyun,'' he thought.


    It was easy to see why Jun-Tae was acting in that way. He reeked of insatiable greed.


    Jun-Tae, who had been walking around the room, approached Kang-Woo.


    "So, you''re that rookie of the Red Rose Guild? Don''t hurt yourself by being greedy, and just stay out of the way like a good rookie. Understood?" Jun-Tae said, raising his hand and tapping Kang-Woo''s cheek.


    "...Hah.¡± Kang-Woo let out a forcedugh.


    Jun-Tae had crossed the line. Kang-Woo wasn''t the kind of person to take such treatment lying down.


    ''Answer to evil with even greater evil.''


    That was how he had survived for over ten millennia.


    Kang-Woo spoke in a low voice, "Stop your yapping, boy."


    "What...?"


    "How old are you? How dare a snot-nosed brat like you touch an adult''s cheek without permission?"


    "..."


    Jun-Tae was speechless.


    Kang-Woo was clearly in his twenties. So, why was he suddenly talking as if he were the older one?


    "Have you lost your mind, punk?" Jun-Tae said.


    "Punk? Did you just call me a punk? Hah, what a rude little brat you are. What are your parents doing? Why have they not taught you proper manners?"


    "Arrgghhh!"


    Kang-Woo pinched Jun-Tae''s cheek. He had tried to pinch lightly, but the definition of ''light'' was very different for superhuman yers.


    Kang-Woo let Jun-Tae go, and thetter fell to the ground.


    "Y-You crazy son of a bitch!" Jun-Tae yelled.


    His face had turned red in anger, and he grabbed the back of his neck as if it was in pain.


    Jun-Tae shouted to his bodyguards, "What are you doing?! Kill him!"


    Kang-Woo had inflicted violence on a congressperson. Even if the bodyguards killed him, they could just im that it had been to prevent an assassination.


    The four bodyguards behind Jun-Tae started to move.


    Schwing.


    They each took out their weapons.


    ''All four of them must be warriors,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    Kang-Woo could tell that they were considerably skilled, as expected from a congressperson''s security detail.


    ''They''re all at least on their Sixth Awakening.''


    Even so, the bodyguards weren''t a match for someone like Kang-Woo, who possessed power on par with or surpassing a Ranker.


    "Haap!"


    The bodyguard at the very front charged toward Kang-Woo. His weapon was a pair of gauntlets covered in spikes, and he swung one of them at Kang-Woo''s head.


    Tap.


    "Huh?" the bodyguard uttered confusedly.


    Kang-Woo had lightly caught the bodyguard''s fist as if he were catching a baseball.


    The bodyguard frowned and put more strength into his fist.


    "Wh-What the¡ª?"


    However, his fist wouldn''t move. It was as if it was stuck between two giant pieces of rebar. Kang-Woo pulled the bodyguard toward him and then drilled his knee into him.


    Bash!!


    "Kurrgghhh!!"


    The bodyguard bent over, and blood spurted out of his mouth. He lost consciousness and copsed.


    "Wh-What the...?" Jun-Tae stammered, his face turning pale.


    His bodyguards were high-level yers who had achieved their Seventh Awakening. There was no way someone who had be a yer only two months ago could win against them.


    "Want some help?" Cha Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Nah. I might as well warm up since it''s been a while since I''ve let loose," Kang-Woo replied.


    Unlike Jun-Tae, Yeon-Joo was calm. It was as if she knew that things would turn out like this.


    "Wh-What are you doing?! Isn''t he a member of the Red Rose Guild? Hurry up and stop him! If you don''t, I will make sure to report that Red Rose was also involved in the corruption!"


    Yeon-Joo raised her hands in a seemingly helpless manner.


    She smirked and said, "Oh, I''m sorry. Kang-Woo isn''t a member of my guild, so I can''t order him around."


    "Wh-What are you¡ª"


    Smash! m! Boom!


    "Kurghhh!"


    Before Jun-Tae coulde to his senses, the battle was almost over. Kang-Woo used the Authority of Titanic Might to throw the bodyguards across the room. They screamed in agony as they smashed against the reinforced wall of the special storage room. Then they passed out.


    "That was barely a warm-up," Kang-Woo said, clicking his tongue in disappointment.


    He then walked toward Jun-Tae in a rxed manner.


    "Eek! S-Stay away from me!"


    "Haha. This is exactly why young''uns shouldn''t be greedy," Kang-Woo stated. He crouched in front of Jun-Tae and looked him in the eyes. "When I was your age, working diligently was the only answer. Diligence was the only thing that you could count on!"


    Jun-Tae frowned in silence.


    "But when I see kids these days... God! My heart aches. It aches so much!"


    "Y-You bastard! Are you mocking me right now?!"


    "Mocking? Do you think I''m ying around? For God''s sake, kids these days... You''re not even listening when this adult is giving you precious life advice."


    "Y-You motherf¡ª!"


    Jun-Tae trembled with anger. Kang-Woo was treating him like a child, and it was driving him insane.


    "I turn sixty this year, you damn brat! Sixty!!" Jun-Tae said.


    "Sixty?" Kang-Woo replied with a smirk. "I thought you were a snot-nosed brat, but I guess you haven''t even left your mother''s belly yet."


    "Y-You...!!"


    Jun-Tae swung his fist toward Kang-Woo in a rage. Leaving age aside, he wasn''t even a yer, so there was no way he could deal any damage to Kang-Woo.


    Bash!!


    "Gaaaahhhh!"


    Jun-Tae was the one who punched Kang-Woo, but he was also the one screaming in pain. It seemed like the bones of his fingers had broken. He was crying while holding his hand.


    "Does it hurt?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Waaaahhhh."


    "You''re still young. That''s why it hurts. The pain you''re feeling now is a fertilizer that will make you grow."


    Jun-Tae, who didn''t know if he should get angry or scream in pain, turned away from Kang-Woo.


    "Sigh. So what are you gonna do about this?" Yeon-Joo asked as she walked toward Kang-Woo. "You know the weight of what you just did, don''t you?"


    Kang-Woo had attacked a congressperson, and to make matters worse, Jun-Tae was the leader of a party. In a sense, it could end up being more serious than having crossed Kim Jae-Hyun.


    "It''s okay. I have ways to solve it."


    "... Are you going to wipe his memories like you did with Kim Yeong-Hun?"


    "That''s an option, but that wouldn''t fix the core issue, which is the petition."


    "Then what do you have in mind?"


    Kang-Woo smiled widely and answered, ¡°I''ll do my utmost to make Korea a clean and dignified country.¡±


    ¡°What¡­ exactly are you gonna do?¡±


    "You''ll see."


    Kang-Woo ced his hand on top of Jun-Tae''s head. He pulled demonic energy from his Ten Thousand Demon Core and gathered it in his hand. His expression turned serious, showing that he was using a highly advanced Authority.


    Jun-Tae uttered in a panic, "Cough! Cough! Wh-What are you d¡ª"


    Soon after, Kang-Woo was done using the Authority. Jun-Tae looked around while grabbing his head.


    "Nothing changed," Yeon-Joo said while looking down at Jun-Tae with a confused expression.


    "How much money have you received from Kim Jae-Hyun in bribes until now?" Kang-Woo questioned Jun-Tae.


    "Starting from six years ago, I received two billion won in bribes annu¡ª Huh?! Wh-What am I saying?!"


    Jun-Tae''s eyes widened, and he quickly covered his mouth with his hand. However, that didn''t stop him from talking.


    "On top of that, I received 1.3 billion won a few days ago to help conglomerates evade taxes, and..."


    He kept going on and on. Just revealing one of those things to the media would be enough to destroy his life as a politician.


    "This is..." Yeon-Joo muttered.


    "I made it so that he will be able to live as an honest man from now on," Kang-Woo said.


    He looked down at Jun-Tae, who kept talking about his malpractices. His true self that was revealed after his mask of lies had vanished was truly pathetic.


    " N-No! This can''t be happening!" Jun-Tae cried out.


    He ran out of the storage room with a pale face.


    Yeon-Joo watched in disbelief as Jun-Tae fled.


    "... But wouldn''t he be fine if he just keeps his mouth shut?" she asked.


    "Of course not. Do you seriously think I didn''t take that into consideration? I made it so he can''t resist talking about himself," Kang-Woo replied.


    "Why go that far?"


    Yeon-Joo looked at him puzzledly. She knew that Kang-Woo probably had countless ways to get that petition removed without doing something like this.


    "What do you think would happen if a party leader became a whistleblower? All sorts of corruption cases involving conglomerates and major guilds woulde to light. That way, we can stop others from trying any funny business beforehand."


    It wouldn''t be merely a truth bomb; it would be more like a catastrophe befalling the political world.


    "..."


    "What?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "U-Uhm... K-Kang-Woo. You said that all sorts of corruption cases woulde to light, right?"


    "I''m sure they would," Kang-Woo replied with a nod.


    Yeon-Joo avoided his eyes anxiously as she said, "U-Um. To be honest... I''d also be in a l-lot of trouble if that were to happen."


    "What?"


    "You know... I did a background check on you... I issued an S-rank Gate ess permit to a yer who hadn''t even gotten their Seventh Awakening... and... your summoned beast¡ªI believe her name was Echidna? I even forged her ID..."


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He felt like he''d received a message in his mind that said, ''You have just killed your teammate.''


    Then Kang-Woo turned toward the door that Jun-Tae had run out of.


    What was that about making Korea clean and dignified¡­?


    Kang-Woo realized he had made a huge mistake.


    "Catch that son of a bitch!"


    A clean and dignified Korea didn''t suit him well.

 Chapter 78 - Legendary-grade Equipment (4)

    Chapter 78 - Legendary-grade Equipment (4)


    They caught Hong Jun-Tae and stopped him from being the whistleblower who would make Korea a clean country. Instead, Oh Kang-Woo turned him into a tool that could be used for any necessary malpractices and political schemes.


    Kang-Woo sighed in relief and returned to the special storage room.


    Cha Yeon-Joo approached him and asked, "How did it go?"


    "I told him to report that he hadn''t been able to discover any instances of corruption. And of course, I stopped him from bing a whistleblower," Kang-Woo answered.


    "Phew. That''s good to hear."


    "Yeah. All the corruption in Korea''s government almost came to light."


    The fact that Korea''s political scene was still corrupt made them sigh in relief.


    Baek Hwa-Yeon stared at them silently.


    "What?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "No... It''s nothing," Hwa-Yeon replied, grabbing her forehead in confusion.


    She didn''t know if she should be happy or not because of that situation.


    ''The world is aplex ce,'' Hwa-Yeon thought.


    She had difficulty getting used to things like this because she''d lived her whole life like a soldier.


    "Now that the bothersome problem has been resolved, let''s try it on," Kang-Woo said.


    He put on the ck Pearl Coat in anticipation.


    Riiing.


    [You have put on Legendary-grade equipment.]


    [Commencing imprinting of ck Pearl Coat.]


    A pleasant chime of a bell rang inside his mind.


    Fwoooom!


    After that, aplex blue magic circle appeared on the ck Pearl Coat and then flowed into Kang-Woo.


    Riiing.


    [Imprinting sessful.]


    [ck Pearl Coat has epted yer Oh Kang-Woo as its owner.]


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 5.]


    After a few blue message windows popped up, Kang-Woo felt changes ur within his body, as his Demonic Energy stat had suddenly risen from 83 to 88. Additional demonic energy flowed into Kang-Woo seemingly from thin air. This was due to the power of the system that Kang-Woo had yet to fully understand.


    ''Amazing,'' Kang-Woo thought, looking down at the coat in surprise.


    Ever since his Demonic Energy stat surpassed 80, just a single stat point increased his demonic energy stores drastically.


    ''If I use the skill on top of this massive effect...''


    His demonic energy stat could reach 93 immediately, although it would onlyst for one minute.


    Kang-Woo smiled, feeling satisfied.


    ''I honestly didn''t have much hope that it would raise my Demonic Energy stat just because it''s a piece of Legendary-grade equipment.''


    It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that it was fate.


    Kang-Woo checked his status window with his equipment on.


    [Status Window]


    [yer Name: Oh Kang-Woo


    Level: 54 (Sixth Awakening)


    First Awakening Trait: Authority of Predation (Rank: ???) *The majority of the Trait''s power is currently sealed.


    Second Awakening Trait: Insatiable Hunger (Rank: C)


    Third Awakening Trait: Mana-Hungry Demon (Rank: A)


    Fourth Awakening Trait: Ruler of Demonic Energy (Rank: A)


    Fifth Awakening Trait: Demonic Beast Summoning (Rank: S)


    Sixth Awakening Trait: ??? (Rank: ???) *The Trait will fully unlock after achieving the Ultimate Demonic Body.


    Strength: 38


    Dexterity: 35


    Health: 32


    Mana: 0


    Demonic Energy (Unique Stat): 88 (+5)


    Intelligence: 25


    Wisdom: 23


    *Current Equipment Effects


    Physical Defense: 990


    Magical Defense: 650]


    "Good."


    He had only put on one piece of Legendary-grade equipment, yet there were significant changes in his status window. The Demonic Energy stat wasn''t the only one that had increased; his Physical and Magical Defense stats had also increased by a lot too.


    ''Is it okay for equipment effects to be this good?''


    Kang-Woo thought he''d be on par with World Rankers if he just relied on the power of dozens of pieces of Legendary-grade equipment.


    ''Although that won''t happen.''


    Just one piece of Legendary-grade equipment had caused such a huge uproar. It wasn''t something anyone could buy just because they had lots of money. However, that didn''t mean it was impossible to possess Legendary-grade equipment. Legendary-grade equipment could be made as long as one had the right materials and people.


    Kang-Woo mentioned what he was thinking about to Yeon-Joo.


    She smirked and said, "That''s impossible. Leaving the equipment grades aside, you can only wear five pieces of equipment."


    "Only five?"


    "Yeah. Didn''t I tell you before that the mana flowing out of equipment envelopes your entire body? The effects cease to apply when more than five of those mana waves ovep."


    ''What an annoyingly convenient setting...''


    Kang-Woo nodded disappointedly.


    He had been thinking about getting as many pieces of Legendary-grade equipment as possible in the future. However, it seemed like he would need to give up on that.


    ''Well, at least I can wear up to five pieces.''


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo would get a great boost if he could get more Legendary-grade equipment that increased his unique stat.


    "Why? Do you like the Legendary gear''s specs that much?"


    "I like them immensely," Kang-Woo answered, nodding without hesitation. "To the point that I would like to check how much stronger I''ve gotten."


    "Hmm..." Yeon-Joo murmured. After thinking for a bit, she said, "Then how about a light spar with me?"


    "Spar?"


    "Yeah. There''s a sparring room in the Hwarang Corps headquarters. Oh, Hwa-Yeon, can we borrow the sparring room?"


    "Of course," Hwa-Yeon answered.


    "Okay, thanks," Yeon-Joo said. Then she turned to Kang-Woo. "So? Wanna have a go?"


    "I have no reason to refuse," Kang-Woo replied.


    Yeon-Joo was one of the top ten Rankers in Korea. She was a good opponent for Kang-Woo to check how strong he had be after achieving his Sixth Awakening and equipping a piece of Legendary-grade equipment.


    ''I also want to see how strong Yeon-Joo is.''


    They were allies, so it was important to know how strong she was and to what extent of the role that she could fulfill.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t the only one who was thinking that. Yeon-Joo was also scanning Kang-Woo with keen eyes.


    ''I wonder how strong Kang-Woo has be?'' she thought.


    Yeon-Joo had been sure from the first time she saw Kang-Woo that he''d be stronger than her one day. Nevertheless, she hadn''t expected him to be so strong in such an unreasonably short amount of time. His growth rate was so fast that it mocked every single record that yers had ced since the Day of Cmity.


    Even Grace McCubbin, whom people considered to be the world''s savior, hadn''t grown nearly as quickly as Kang-Woo had.


    ''It isn''t just a matter of speed.''


    Yeon-Joo had heard that Kang-Woo had passed Level 50 and achieved his Sixth Awakening after the Oriax incident. Achieving the Sixth Awakening in just two months was amazing on its own, but that wasn''t the issue.


    ''Kang-Woo defeated Mun Yeong-Ho when he was only at his Third Awakening.''


    Kang-Woo was impressive not just because his leveling-up speed was fast but because he was unbelievably strongpared to his level. During his fight with Mun Yeong-Ho, Kang-Woo had been at his Third Awakening, while Yeong-Ho had been at his Seventh. Just in terms of stats, there had been such a huge difference between them that it was likeparing an adult to a primary schooler. It was impossible to ovee a gap like that even if there was arge difference in the ranking of their Traits.


    ''But Kang-Woo overwhelmed Yeong-Ho.''


    It was true that Yeong-Ho had let his guard down, but an adult couldn''t lose in a physical fight against a primary schooler just because of that. Yeon-Joo was sure that Kang-Woo had some other power besides his level and stats.


    ''I''ll use this opportunity to find out what it is.''


    There were still too many things about Kang-Woo that Yeon-Joo didn''t know. Considering what they would be doing together in the future, she needed to understand his power.


    "Shall we begin?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Sure," Kang-Woo replied positively.


    Yeon-Joo tightened her fists slightly while walking toward the sparring room.


    ''I''m not nning on losing.''


    She knew that Kang-Woo was already as strong as a Ranker, but she didn''t think that she would lose to him in her current state. After all, she was one of the strongest rankers in Korea.


    However¡­ it wouldn''t be long before she realized she was wrong.


    * * *


    Slide!!


    Dozens of chains scratched the floor. The floor of the sparring room had been built with special alloys, but it was no match for chains infused with mana.


    The chains were scattered all over, slithering around like snakes. It was an unavoidable of death that had been spread across the room.


    Crack!


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo ran through the death. He used the Authority of Haste and moved at supersonic speed, causing a sonic boom.


    The chains quickly chased after him. Then he used the Authority of the Sky topletely ignore inertia and changed direction at a right angle. The chains on his trail lost him momentarily.


    Boom!


    Kang-Woo sent the chains scattering away with the Authority of Explosion and leaped through them without hesitation. The thorns on the chains dug into his skin, but he paid them no mind. He charged through the of chains at a frightening speed.


    "Kuh!" Yeon-Joo uttered.


    She crossed her arms in an X-shape, and the scattered chains instantly gathered in front of her.


    Kang-Woo opened his arms wide and pped, making a deafening sound with his hands.


    Boom!


    "Kyaa!"


    Fweee¡ª


    Yeon-Joo''s hearing was momentarily disabled. She grabbed her ears and crouched down. Her consciousness began to fade away, and her chain shield lost its form.


    ''Authority of Shattering Air, Authority of Titanic Might.''


    Kang-Woo raised his right fist, and ck energy gathered around it. The ck energy grew increasingly dense until it materialized. It seemed as if his fist had grown massively in size.


    He lowered his hips, moved his right arm and leg back, and then rotated his torso. Kang-Woo used the force generated from the rotation to throw a punch forward.


    "Skybreaker," he said.


    It was a skill that required verbal activation.


    A power that was abination of the Authority of Shattering Air and the Authority of Titanic Might pushed out from his right fist.


    BOOOOOOOM!!


    The materialized energy brushed past Yeon-Joo and smashed against the wall of the sparring room. The one-meter-thick wall was torn apart like a piece of paper, and the sparring room crumbled.


    "Ah... Ngh..." Yeon-Joo groaned.


    She lost strength in her legs and fell to the floor. Yeon-Joo looked up at Kang-Woo in fear.


    All those thoughts she had previously¡­ about how she wasn''t nning on losing and that she didn''t think she would lose to him in her current state¡­? They were all nonsense.


    "You monster..." Yeon-Joo mumbled quietly.

 Chapter 79 - El Cuero (1)

    Chapter 79 - El Cuero (1)


    Ring.


    ["Kraken''s Rage" has ended.]


    [You may use it again in 24 hours.]


    ''Amazing.''


    Oh Kang-Woo looked down at the ck Pearl Coat with his eyes shining.


    As expected, the coat''s special effect Kraken''s Rage was incredible. Although it onlysted one minute, it had pushed his Demonic Energy stat to 93, and thanks to that, he''d been able to overwhelm Cha Yeon-Joo.


    ''The higher the stat bes, the better its effect will be.''


    If his stats increased, the effect of increasing his stats by an absolute value would be even better.


    Now he understood why people went crazy for Legendary-grade equipment.


    Raising a stat by an absolute value was an irreceable buff for high-level yers.


    ''That aside, Yeon-Joo is pretty amazing.''


    If they had fought before he obtained the ck Pearl Coat, he wouldn''t have been able to overpower her this easily. After fighting against her, he more or less grasped how strong she was.


    ''She also seemed to be hiding something.''


    He wasn''t certain, but when he''d used Skybreaker, she had tried to do something but then decided not to. It was probably because she''d noticed that he''d used his technique in a way that would miss her.


    Kang-Woo extended his hand to the copsed Yeon-Joo.


    She grabbed his hand and stood up.


    "¡­ You monster," Yeon-Joo said. At this point, she was sick of being in disbelief.


    Kang-Woo shrugged.


    "It was thanks to the Legendary-grade equipment."


    "I also have Legendary-grade equipment." Yeon-Joo showed him her bracelet. "Are you¡­ seriously human?"


    "Why? Did you not imagine I''d overtake you in just two months?"


    "Isn''t that obvious? Sigh. My head hurts¡­" Yeon-Joo grabbed her forehead.


    "But it isn''t bad news, is it? I''m not your enemy, at the very least."


    "¡­ Nor can I call you a trustworthyrade."


    Yeon-Joo sighed and turned around.


    Kang-Woo also turned around.


    Their eyesnded on Baek Hwa-Yeon, whose face had paled. She was trembling, seemingly shocked by something else besides just their battle.


    Hwa-Yeon was looking at the giant hole in the wall of the sparring room.


    "D-Do¡­"


    "Hmm?"


    "Do you have any idea how expensive this sparring room is?! It cost us billions of won! How could you destroy it like this?!"


    Kang-Woo looked at the wall, which had taken a direct hit from his Skybreaker. It was destroyed to the point that it was embarrassing to even call it a wall anymore.


    He looked around the destroyed sparring room.


    "Uhh¡­ Mm. So¡­"


    Kang-Woo was lost for words. To be honest, he didn''t need to use Skybreaker against the wall.


    Because Yeon-Joo was a high-level yer, she probably could''ve guessed how powerful his fist had been. Therefore, the reason he''d used it anyway was out of his greed for wanting to see the power of his new Legendary gear.


    Because of thatpse in judgment, he''d destroyed a sparring room that cost billions of won. He naturally felt guilty about it.


    "I didn''t do anything." Yeon-Joo was the first to turn a blind eye. She insisted on her innocence in all seriousness.


    "What are you talking about? You damaged the sparring room too," said Kang-Woo.


    "¡­ Are you talking about the scratches on the floor that I made with my chains?"


    "That''s also technically damage."


    "Hmph, fine. I''ll also pitch in on the repair fees," Yeon-Joo said while nodding nonchntly.


    "We''re both responsible, so let''s each pay half," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "Do you even have a conscience, you son of a bitch?"


    It was harsh criticism.


    Kang-Woo flinched after hearing the heavy facts, but he wasn''t nning on backing off.


    "I only used such a powerful attack because you were so strong."


    "Okay, but still¡­"


    "If you were someone I could win against with a couple of light attacks, I wouldn''t have used an attack like that."


    Facy disguised as logic.


    "Are you trying to say that it''s my fault you destroyed the wall?"


    Kang-Woo nodded without hesitation.


    "Your attacks were so fierce that you forced me to use such a big attack."


    "Come on, let''s be honest. You didn''t need to use thatst att¡ª"


    Yeon-Joo was right. Kang-Woo had absolutely no need to use thatst attack.


    "Nonsense. You know better than anyone how much refined control is required to instantly put away the energy that you''d been gathering," Kang-Woo retorted in a firm voice.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked so confident that one wouldn''t think he was lying.


    "As you know, it''s been only two months since I became a yer. I gained great power through luck and talent, but I can''t fully control my strength yet."


    He was lying.


    He used to control the boundless energy of the Ten Thousand Demon Core, so there was no way he wouldn''t be able to control that meager amount of energy.


    "Urgh!"


    Yeon-Joo trembled. She suspected that Kang-Woo was lying, but she couldn''t refute his words at all. After all, it was obvious that a yer who had awakened two months ago wouldn''t be able to fully control their abilities.


    "Son of a bitch¡­!"


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    "Alright. Let''s do our best to pay the cost of repairs since we''re both responsible."


    "¡­ I''ve never seen a person as shameless as you."


    Yeon-Joo red at Kang-Woo and let out a sigh.


    The fees for repairing a sparring room made from a special alloy would easily surpass ten billion won. She could easily pay it if she used her guild''s funds, but there was no way she could do that.


    ''I can''t use my guild''s funds for something like this.''


    Even if she was the master of one of the five great guilds, she couldn''t take tens of billions of won from the guild for personal reasons.


    Kang-Woo opened his mouth and said, "I have a good idea."


    While sparring, he''d thought of something good. Of course, he hadn''t expected them to get into this mess when he had had this thought.


    "A good idea?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "How about we hunt it together?"


    "Hunt what?" Yeon-Joo tilted her head.


    Kang-Woo continued, "El Cuero."


    "¡­"


    El Cuero¡­


    It was the boss monster that appeared in Suwon''s S-rank Gate that looked like a giant stingray.


    El Cuero was infamous among yers.


    When Suwon''s S-rank Gate had opened for the first time, it''d annihted the investigation team. After that, an unspoken rule had formed that yers should never approach theke if they wanted to hunt in Suwon''s S-rank Gate.


    "¡­ Are you saying that while knowing what kind of monster El Cuero is?"


    El Cuero was strong¡ªbut that wasn''t the only reason why yers struggled with it.


    Firstly, El Cuero was a monster that lived inside the water. It came up to thend sometimes, but it mostly attacked from inside theke by shooting poisonous needles.


    Melee warrior yers couldn''t even get close enough to attack it.


    Just the fact that it was an aquatic monster made it hard to hunt, but it also had a very high magical resistance, so it could block most ranged attacks.


    It had been five years since Suwon''s S-rank Gate had opened, but no one had managed to defeat El Cuero since then.


    Of course, El Cuero wasn''t an undefeatable monster. If someone gathered a huge party of high-level yers, they''d probably be able to defeat it. But in the case of El Cuero, no one had ever assembled a subjugation party. To be more precise, there wasn''t a need to assemble one.


    Usually,rge subjugation parties were formed when monsters came out of Gates to attack civilians. Because El Cuero was an aquatic monster, there was no chance it would leave the Gate and attack civilians.


    These two facts¡ªthat it was hard to defeat and that there was no need to defeat it¡ªhad made El Cuero a monster that had not been killed for five whole years.


    "I know that it''s hard to kill."


    "It isn''t just hard¡­ If you''re after the money, is there a need to hunt El Cuero?"


    Although tens of billions of won was an astronomical amount of money, it wasn''t that absurdly high for yers like Yeon-Joo and Kang-Woo.


    They could earn that much simply by diligently hunting Giant Ogres and selling their mana stones.


    "It isn''t only because of money."


    "Then what?"


    "You said that an S-rank boss monster could drop the materials required for Legendary-grade equipment although the chances are low, right?"


    "That''s true, but they''re not easy to make even with the necessary materials¡­ Is this all just for Legendary gear?"


    "That''s one of the reasons, but I thought it could be the key to breaking the level cap."


    "Oh, right. You''re still at your Sixth Awakening."


    Yeon-Joo looked at him in disbelief. She hadpletely forgotten that Kang-Woo still had yet to reach the first wall for a yer, the Limit of Effort.


    He was too strongpared to his level, so she''d forgotten that his level was around the fifties.


    ''Then does that mean I lost against a yer around Level 50?''


    Thinking about it made her realize how terrible of a loss she had suffered. Yeon-Joo sighed while making a sad expression.


    "But the way to break that cap varies between yers, you know?"


    "I heard that killing a boss monster is the mostmon way to break the cap."


    "Oh, that''s true."


    The mostmon ways to ovee the Level-59 wall were to kill a boss monster, experience enlightenment, or encounter life-threatening danger. Of course, there were other ways to ovee it, but most people had ovee it through one of these three ways.


    The one with the highest chance of sess and the one that most people tried was, of course, killing a boss monster.


    Not many people were willing to put themselves in a near-death situation or train endlessly to reach an enlightenment that might nevere.


    "I can ovee the level cap, and we can cover the repair fees at the same time. What do you think?"


    "Wouldn''t you be the only one to profit from this?"


    "Of course not. Isn''t it all to make our alliance stronger?"


    "I guess I can''t argue with that."


    Yeon-Joo smirked.


    Killing El Cuero would also be good for her since she herself was facing the second wall that yers faced, the Limit of Talent.


    "Okay. Let''s hunt El Cuero."


    Yeon-Joo nodded while looking at Kang-Woo. Her eyes carried hints of fear and expectation.


    ''If Kang-Woo ovees the Limit of Effort and levels up even higher¡­''


    Her desire to see with her own eyes how much stronger this monster could be boiled within her.

 Chapter 80 - El Cuero (2)

    Chapter 80 - El Cuero (2)


    Baek Hwa-Yeon asked, "In that case, could I join the party as well?"


    "Huh? You too, Hwa-Yeon?" Cha Yeon-Joo asked.


    Hwa-Yeon nodded. "Well¡­ I was the one who let outsiders use the sparring room, so I also have a bit of responsibility. If possible, I want to shoulder the repair fees with you two."


    "Hwa-Yeon¡­" Moved, Yeon-Joo grabbed Hwa-Yeon''s hands. "I knew you were different from that scumbag!"


    "I can hear you, you know," Oh Kang-Woo remarked.


    "You''re kind, understanding, responsible¡­ Yeah, this is how a human should be."


    "Excuse me?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Thanks. I think we really have a shot now that we have you with us."


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He thought that the situation was unfair.


    ''I thought we had a mutual understanding.''


    If Yeon-Joo heard his thoughts, she would have a fit of rage.


    Kang-Woo turned and looked at Hwa-Yeon, who had a sword that was almost two meters long.


    ''A melee ss, huh¡­?''


    It was the yer ss known to be the most useless for hunting El Cuero. It was a natural assessment unless the yer had the ability to move freely underwater.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. To use the strategy he was thinking of, they needed a powerful melee ss yer.


    Hwa-Yeon would be of great help.


    ''I guess this is what people call a blessing in disguise.''


    He had unintentionally destroyed the sparring room that would cost billions to repair, but thanks to that, he convinced Yeon-Joo and Hwa-Yeon to apany him to hunt El Cuero.


    He didn''t care about money in the first ce. What he needed were things that money couldn''t buy.


    Even if one had billions to spend, one wouldn''t be able to buy Legendary-grade equipment or higher. None were for sale, so there was no way the equipment could be bought.


    The same went for the leveling cap.


    One couldn''t break the cap with money.


    ''You can''t buy power with money.''


    It wasn''t like a mobile game where one could pay to win¡ªthere was a limit in terms of what one could do with money.


    He needed other things besides money to recover his old strength and be even stronger than before.


    "Including Hwa-Yeon, that''s four," Kang-Woo said.


    "Four? Who''s the other one?"


    "Echidna. You''ve seen her before."


    "Oh, right. You have a summoned beast," Yeon-Joo said as if she was sick of being surprised.


    Kang-Woo nodded. He was sure that Echidna would be able to y a crucial role in the El Cuero hunt.


    Yeon-Joo asked, "Then is it just gonna be us four?"


    "Hmm¡­"


    Kang-Woo thought about it for a while.


    He wanted to let Kim Si-Hun''s party participate, but the risk was too big.


    ''It''s far too early for them.''


    It was true that they were talented yers¡­ especially Si-Hun. If Kang-Woo hadn''t existed, he likely would have be a heroic yer who broke all sorts of existing records. But for the moment, their party''s average level was too low.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t bring them to hunt an S-rank boss monster.


    ''If there are too many people, it could hinder us rather than help.''


    ording to the n he was thinking of, having too many people would only make things more difficult. While hunting a boss monster, it was important to keep its attention focused, and having many people only made things inefficient.


    "Two¡ªno, we could bring one more person."


    "What ss? A ranged damage dealer? Or a healer?"


    "A melee ss, if possible."


    "A melee ss? To hunt El Cuero? Why?"


    Yeon-Joo looked at him, confused.


    It wasmon knowledge that melee sses were the most useless yers against El Cuero.


    If they were forced to choose, a tank who could protect ranged damage dealers as they attacked was most useful.


    "I have a n. It''ll only work if we have multiple melee ss yers."


    Yeon-Joo fell into thought.


    The Red Rose Guild members were all exceptional, and among them, a few were close to bing Rankers. But the opponent wasn''t an average monster¡­


    It was El Cuero.


    Yeon-Joo couldn''t think of any guild member who would be of help in killing an S-rank boss monster.


    "How about Captain Goo Hyun-Mo?"


    "Oh, the captain of Hwarang''s 2nd Squadron?"


    Goo Hyun-Mo had short blond hair and always wore sunsses. Although he looked like a third-rate gangster, he definitely had the skill.


    "Mmm."


    Kang-Woo nodded at Hwa-Yeon''s suggestion.


    Considering Hyun-Mo''s performance in the battle against Oriax, he wouldn''t be bad at all.


    ''Although it''s too bad that his main stat isn''t strength.''


    Hyun-Mo was a dexterity-specialized warrior who dual-wielded short swords.


    He had different specs than what Kang-Woo wanted, but since he was a melee ss and was strong enough to be the captain of Hwarang''s 2nd Squadron, his strength stat would be nothing to scoff at either.


    "I am fairly acquainted with him, so I don''t think there will be issues in recruiting him," Hwa-Yeon stated.


    "It would be great if you could."


    "Okay. Just a second."


    Hwa-Yeon took out her smartphone and made a call.


    [Ahem. H-How can I help you, Hwa-Yeon?]


    One could hear Hyun-Mo''s flustered voice through the phone. It seemed he wasn''t expecting Hwa-Yeon to call him.


    "There is a favor that I would like to request of you."


    [Hahaha! As long as it''s a favor from you, I''ll do anything!!!]


    ''It doesn''t seem to be just that.''


    Hyun-Mo''s voice was trembling a bit in excitement. Kang-Woo smirked at his obvious reaction.


    [Captain! You did it!!]


    [Will you finally escape from being forever single?!]


    [Shut up!]


    The voices of Hyun-Mo and his squadron members could be heard over the phone. It was hard to believe that their conversation was transpiring between a captain and his squadron members.


    Hyun-Mo coughed and then continued to talk to Hwa-Yeon.


    [S-So, wh-what is the favor? If it''s for dinner, I know an incredible¡ª]


    "No, it''s not for dinner."


    [Oh¡­ Yes, of course it isn''t.]


    He sounded disappointed.


    Hwa-Yeon exined the situation and told him that she wanted his help in hunting El Cuero.


    [El Cuero, huh¡­?]


    "If you feel it''s too much, I can ask someone el¡ª"


    [N-No! Since it''s a favor for you, I''ll help you in any way I can. Hahaha! I''ve wanted to hunt El Cuero at least once!]


    "That''s good to hear."


    [I''ll take a helicopter and make my way there right now!]


    "No. There''s no need for¡ª"


    [Hahaha! Maybe we can have dinner while looking around Seoul if I arrive too early!]


    "I have to draw up a report regarding the destroyed sparring room, so I don''t think I will have the time."


    [Oh¡­ Yes. I see. O-Of course. You must be busy¡­]


    "I would appreciate it if you could give me a call when you set out. A member of the 3rd Squadron wille pick you up."


    [¡­Okay. I will make sure to call.]


    The call ended.


    "Hmm¡­ Captain Goo''s spirits suddenly dampened. I wonder what happened?"


    Hwa-Yeon tilted her head in confusion, unable to understand Hyun-Mo''s reaction.


    Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo looked at her silently. It was as if they were asking if she seriously didn''t know why.


    "Why are you looking at me like that?"


    "Uhmm¡­"


    "Hmm. That aside, I wasn''t expecting him to be so excited about hunting El Cuero. I''m d I didn''t cause trouble for him."


    "She''s for real."


    "Yeah, she really doesn''t know."


    "Hmm? What''s wrong?" Hwa-Yeon asked while looking at both of them, who were looking back at her in disbelief.


    Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo exchanged nces with each other.


    "Let''s just leave it be."


    "Yeah. I don''t want to go through the trouble."


    An alliance of silence was formed.


    "What are you two talking about?"


    "Nothing at all," Kang-Woo replied.


    "More importantly, when are we going?" Yeon-Joo changed the topic.


    "As soon as possible."


    "I need to let my guild members know, and I have some stuff to organize, so¡­ it will probably take about three days.


    Hwa-Yeon said, "It will also take me a few days to write and submit the report. Regarding the destruction of the sparring room, I wille up with a different reason that doesn''t negatively affect you two."


    "Then let''s go in three days. I will send you the details of the strategy after I conduct some more research."


    After nodding, Kang-Woo turned around. He had three days, and he also had something to do besides nning a strategy.


    ''First, I''ll reach Level 59.''


    He was currently at Level 54 and hadn''t reached the Limit of Effort. To know if hunting El Cuero would let him break through the limit or not, he had to reach Level 59 first.


    "In that case, let''s meet at 2 PM in three days in front of the gate," Hwa-Yeon said.


    Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo nodded at Hwa-Yeon''s words.


    * * *


    [You have sessfully killed the S-rankmon monster Giant Ogre.]


    [Your level has risen.]


    [You have reached Level 59. Your level has been restricted. All experience gained from now on will be umted and applied all at once after the restriction is lifted.]


    "Hmm. I guess the restriction also applies to me."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue while reading the blue message window.


    Talented yers had a higher chance of oveing the restriction. In that sense, Kang-Woo''s talent was beyond other people''s, so he thought that maybe his level wouldn''t be restricted.


    However, not everything went as one wanted in life.


    Kang-Woo closed the message window and turned around.


    "Kang-Woo, it''s time."


    "Perfect timing. Let''s go back out into the entrance."


    "Are we going to kill the monster you talked about today?"


    "Yeah."


    "I''ll do my best to be of help to you."


    Echidna, who had been helping him hunt for the past three days, clenched her fists.


    Kang-Woo smirked and patted her head.


    Echidna grabbed his hand and rubbed her cheek against it.


    "I trust you," Kang-Woo said.


    "Can you give me a reward this time too if I do well?"


    Echidna looked up at him expectantly.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "Of course."


    "Hm! Hm! I''ll do my best," Echidna said while snorting.


    Apanied by the energetic Echidna, Kang-Woo walked out of the Gate.


    Yeon-Joo, Hwa-Yeon, and Hyun-Mo were already waiting in front of the Gate.


    "Huh? You were already inside?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Yeah. I''ve been hunting a bit," Kang-Woo replied.


    "¡­ You didn''t needlessly waste energy before facing the boss monster, did you?"


    "Don''t worry. I hunted in moderation."


    After greeting Yeon-Joo, Kang-Woo greeted Hyun-Mo and Hwa-Yeon.


    He then said, "Alright, I will exin the strategy."


    While hunting for the past three days, Kang-Woo had refined his strategy for hunting El Cuero.


    "The core of this strategy is¡­"

 Chapter 81: El Cuero (3)

    <h4>Chapter 81: El Cuero (3)</h4>


    "Wooooohhh!!"


    Three Giant Ogres ran toward them while roaring ferociously. Just the bodies of these five-meter-tall giants were weapons in and of themselves.


    "They''re as noisy as always."


    However, not a single one of the people present was scared of Giant Ogres.


    Cha Yeon-Joo frowned and raised her hand. Chains with sharp thorns poured out from her wrist.


    <i>Crack!</i>


    "Gaaaaahhhh!"


    The chains engulfed the Giant Ogres.


    "You''re in the way."


    Echidna opened her mouth. She let go of Oh Kang-Woo''s clothes and drew out the demonic energy from within her. ck energy gathered and turned into a zing ball of fire.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    Three fireballs were shot, each of them flying toward a Giant Ogre.


    The chained Giant Ogres struggled.


    Then, Baek Hwa-Yeon, Goo Hyun-Mo, and Kang-Woo hopped on top of the Giant Ogres. Just like characters in a famous series about killing titans, they quickly moved behind the Giant Ogres'' necks and sliced them.


    <i>sh! Thud!</i>


    Dark red blood spouted, and the corpses of the Giant Ogres fell to the ground.


    Hyun-Mo lightlynded on the ground and whistled.


    "His name is Kang-Woo, right? I hear he''s a rookie from the Red Rose Guild, but he''s no joke. Wait, is he even a rookie?"


    Kang-Woo was so skilled that it was a bit embarrassing to call him a rookie.


    Hyun-Mo scanned Kang-Woo, his eyes shining. He thought that Kang-Woo was participating in the n simply because of his intelligence, but after seeing how Kang-Woo had hunted the Giant Ogre, he realized he was wrong.


    Hwa-Yeon said, "Mm¡­ I''ll exin about that yerter. You just need to know that he''s as strong as Yeon-Joo."


    "Eh? A-As strong as Ms. Cha Yeon-Joo?"


    "It''s a bit of a long story."


    Hyun-Mo looked at Yeon-Joo with a confused expression. Seeing how she didn''t deny it, Hyun-Mo surmised that Hwa-Yeon was telling the truth.


    "Wha¡ªHow¡­?"


    ording to the rumors, it hadn''t even been three months since he had be a yer. But how could a yer like that be as strong as one of Korea''s top Rankers, Cha Yeon-Joo?


    Hyun-Mo looked at Kang-Woo, wondering if he''d heard wrong, but he saw no reaction from him; it was as if Hwa-Yeon had said something obvious.


    "I can see theke," said Hwa-Yeon.


    "It''s quiet," Kang-Woo mentioned.


    "The area around theke is El Cuero''s territory."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    It was so silent that one wouldn''t believe one was in the heart of the Gate. However, even though the surroundings were silent, they could hear the low sounds of booming steps.


    Kang-Woo turned his head toward the ce where he could hear the sound. He had seen the ce while investigating the Gate in the past three days.


    "This way."


    "¡­ Is that really going to work?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Do you have a better idea?"


    "Mmm¡­ No."


    Yeon-Joo looked at the giant rock next to theke with an expression that made it seem her head was hurting.


    Golems covered in green moss were walking around very slowly near the giant rock. They were Mountain Giants, the third monster that appeared in Suwon''s S-rank Gate.


    Mountain Giants were rarer than the other monsters in the Gate, and they would never attack unless attacked first. They were closer to spirits than monsters, and their bodies were made of stone rather than flesh and bone.


    Perhaps because they were made of stone, El Cuero didn''t think of them as food, so they were the only monsters that could wander around theke.


    "Right then, let''s begin," Kang-Woo said.


    "Got it."


    "You know, right? The core of this strategy is you."


    Yeon-Joo nodded with a heavy expression on her face. Dozens of chains spewed out from her bracelets as they shone red. While Yeon-Joo was getting ready for her part of the strategy, the others also had things to do.


    "Let''s also get started."


    Kang-Woo lifted a portion of the chains that Yeon-Joo had created. Unlike the thorny ones she usually created, these chains had a smooth surface.


    "¡­"


    Yeon-Joo and Hyun-Mo nodded, their expressions nervous.


    "Fuu."


    They each took a deep breath.


    One could feel the anxiety in the air.


    Kang-Woo looked at theke.


    It was such a beautifulke that one wouldn''t think such a terrifying predator was hidden within it.


    "Okay, then¡­"


    He raised his foot and concentrated demonic energy onto it. Then, he stomped the ground with all his might.


    SLAM!!!


    He activated the Authority of Sonority.


    A sound loud enough to cause one to momentarily lose their sense of hearing spread throughout the surface and into theke.


    <i>Rumble!</i>


    "Here ites!"


    El Cuero''s reaction was fast. Theke''s surface rippled, and something giant came out of the water.


    A giant stingray about thirty metersrge sped across theke at a frightening speed.


    <i>Swoosh!</i>


    "Echidna!"


    "Okay!"


    As El Cuero twisted its giant body, hundreds of poisonous needles about the size of a palm were shot toward them.


    Echidna walked to the front and extended both arms, creating a ck barrier made of demonic energy.


    <i>Patter!!</i>


    The needles rammed the barrier while making sounds simr to a rainstorm hitting a window.


    Echidna frowned, and her thin hands trembled a bit.


    "Advance!" Kang-Woo stepped forward. After passing through the shield created by Echidna, he used the Authority of the Sky and levitated.


    "Haap!"


    "Aaaaahhhh! This is crazy!"


    Hwa-Yeon and Hyun-Mo grabbed the chains that Kang-Woo was holding. As Kang-Woo flew up, both of them also flew up with him.


    All three of them had risen dozens of meters up into the sky in an instant. Hyun-Mo screamed.


    "We''re going down!" Kang-Woo shouted.


    "I''m afraid of heeeeeeeights!"


    Even while screaming in fear, Hyun-Mo held on to the chains for dear life.


    Kang-Woo got on El Cuero''s back.


    "We have to drag it out before it goes back into the water!"


    "Got it!"


    They spoke without honorifics, but no one cared.


    El Cuero thrashed around violently, and Hyun-Mo lost his bnce and fell.


    "Its back is so damn slippery!"


    Hyun-Mo took out one of his short swords and stabbed El Cuero''s back.


    "Uoooooong!"


    "Huh? Why does a stingray cry like that?!"


    Even whileining, he properly performed his part of the strategy. He grabbed one of the chains Kang-Woo had brought and stuck it into El Cuero''s skin where he''d cut with his short sword.


    "Haap!"


    <i>sh!</i>


    It was the same for Hwa-Yeon.


    While showing an impressive sense of bnce, she swung her longsword covered in wind.


    El Cuero''s skin was cut.


    She inserted her hand into where she had cut with the chain in her hand.


    Blood spewed out of El Cuero''s wounds. Red chains had been embedded into its body.


    "Uooooooo!!!"


    El Cuero thrashed about.


    Hwa-Yeon and Hyun-Mo, who had been working hard to embed chains into El Cuero, slipped and were slightly pushed back.


    Kang-Woo levitated and avoided its thrashes altogether.


    El Cuero stopped thrashing about and hunched over.


    <i>''It''s trying to dive back into the water.''</i>


    The giantke was the natural fortress where El Cuero was absolutely safe.


    Kang-Woo dived into the water faster than El Cuero. His field of vision was distorted, and powerful water resistance engulfed him. Once inside the water, he moved toward El Cuero''s stomach, where its giant mouth and gills were.


    <i>KRRGG!</i>


    Kang-Woo twisted his body in the water, and powerful demonic energy started to gather around his fist.


    <i>''Skybreaker.''</i>


    A gurgling sound came out of his mouth as he chanted under the water.


    Kang-Woo extended his fist concentrated with demonic energy.


    <i>Boom!!</i>


    A huge fountain spewed out of the water as if a bomb had exploded. Within the fountain, El Cuero''s body rose to the sky.


    Considering that it had received a strong attack, it didn''t seem to have suffered much damage.


    Because the attack had been done under the water, Kang-Woo had not been able to step into the punch. He could not even use ten percent of his full power.


    <i>''Now!''</i>


    Kang-Woo red at El Cuero. He kicked under the water and shot up into the air along with a massive shockwave. Enormous water pressure weighed him down.


    "Uooooong!"


    El Cuero pped its fins while roaring gruesomely.


    An enormous number of sparks flew out of its fins.


    "Get off its back!" Kang-Woo eximed.


    Hwa-Yeon and Hyun-Mo hurriedly jumped into the air.


    An electric shock engulfed Kang-Woo.


    <i>Crackle!!</i>


    "Kuuuuurrrgghhh!!"


    The voltage was high enough to make one''s vision go white.


    Kang-Woo''s face contorted heavily.


    "Kang-Woo!"


    A barrier, which Echidna created from a distance, covered Kang-Woo, and the effect of the electricity weakened.


    <i>''Authority of Freezing.''</i>


    The surface of the water froze in an instant.


    El Cueronded on the surface of the ice, but the ice couldn''t withstand the weight of a monster over thirty metersrge and started to crack.


    Kang-Woo was waiting for that moment. He grabbed the chains even tighter and ran. Kang-Woo, who was charging toward El Cuero while running on the ice, threw himself toward the gills on its stomach.


    <i>Crush!</i>


    Dark red blood leaked from the gills that were forcibly spread open. The blood entered Kang-Woo''s mouth, but he didn''t care. He grabbed the chain and ripped apart the skin covering its body. Thanks to the Authority of Titanic Might, he forcibly tore apart El Cuero''s flesh with just raw strength.


    He dug deeper¡­


    Kang-Woo tore apart as much of El Cuero''s skin as possible and dug even deeper into El Cuero''s body.


    The monster thrashed about crazily.


    His vision was dyed ck due to all the blood. He couldn''t see a thing, but he ignored it.


    Even if he couldn''t see, he could still move.


    Kang-Woo moved forward by tearing through El Cuero''s flesh.


    <i>Crack!</i>


    Kang-Woo had prated its body ande out from its back.


    He wrapped the chain that he was holding around his hands and thenid down on El Cuero and grabbed on to it.


    "Pull!" Kang-Woo shouted.


    "Hold on tight!"


    He could hear Yeon-Joo''s shout from a distance.


    <i>Rumble!</i>


    While making a sound simr to that of an earthquake, El Cuero was dragged towardnd.


    Holding on to El Cuero''s back, Kang-Woo looked toward Yeon-Joo.


    Dozens of Mountain Giants wrapped in chains were chasing her.


    "Good."


    Kang-Woo smiled, covered in blood.

 Chapter 82: El Cuero (4)

    <h4>Chapter 82: El Cuero (4)</h4>


    <i>sh!!</i>


    The sound of slicing water could be heard.


    The sshing water washed away the blood on Oh Kang-Woo''s body.


    "Kuuuuurrgghhh."


    His hands holding on to El Cuero and the chains that he wrapped around himself were under immense pressure.


    The force would have probably torn him apart if he wasn''t using the Authority of Invulnerability and Titanic Might.


    <i>''Just a little more.''</i>


    He could see the Mountain Giants that were chasing Cha Yeon-Joo. They were pulling El Cuero to the surface.


    <i>Boom! Boom!</i>


    "UUOONNGG!!"


    As El Cuero twisted its body, one of the Mountain Giants covered in chains lost its bnce and fell.


    Although dozens of Mountain Giants were pulling, they were losing in terms of strength.


    <i>''El Cuero''s strong, I''ll give it that.''</i>


    Its strength matched¡ªno, it surpassed its size.


    It was resisting with all its might.


    The Mountain Giants chasing Yeon-Joo looked back at El Cuero.


    "Where do you think you''re looking, damn piles of rock?!"


    Yeon-Joo used a chain like a whip and hit the Mountain Giants'' heads.


    Echidna also attacked the Mountain Giants.


    The Mountain Giants looked away from El Cuero and at the two girls.


    "Brat! You, go over there!" Yeon-Joo eximed.


    "I''m not a brat."


    While pouting, Echidna moved to the side that Yeon-Joo had indicated.


    The group of Mountain Giants, which was split into two, began pulling El Cuero''s body to the surface again.


    <i>Rip.</i>


    The chains prating El Cuero were now being pulled in two directions.


    The blooding from the monster dyed theke red.


    El Cuero began pping its fin while screaming.


    Countless poisonous needles engulfed the Mountain Giants.


    <i>Crack! Crack!</i>


    They were not poisoned since they were made of stone, but the physical damage from the needles raining down on them could not be ignored.


    The bodies of the Mountain Giants were destroyed, and they copsed on the ground.


    "Damn."


    El Cuero''s resistance was far stronger than expected.


    Kang-Woo looked back. Baek Hwa-Yeon and Goo Hyun-Mo, who had both jumped away from El Cuero to dodge its electrical attack, had fallen into theke and were swimming toward him.


    <i>''I guess I can''t expect reinforcements.''</i>


    Since they couldn''t fly like him, they wouldn''t be able to catch up to him and El Cuero by swimming. Therefore, he''d have to solve the issue himself.


    Kang-Woo frowned under the immense pressure on his body.


    <i>''I''ll have to use three.''</i>


    He couldn''t dismiss either the Authority of Invulnerability or Titanic Might. He''d have to use three Authorities to stop El Cuero''s movements.


    There was a huge difference between using two and three different Authorities simultaneously.


    The amount of demonic energy required to use more than one Authority rose by a power of two¡ªusing two Authorities simultaneously required four times the demonic energy of using one, and eight times for using three simultaneously.


    "Kraken''s Rage."


    His coat began shining with a dark blue light. The equipment''s stat bonus doubled, and five extra Demonic Energy stat points were added.


    Kang-Woo concentrated and activated a third Authority.


    <i>''Authority of des.''</i>


    As he held on to El Cuero, a ck de shot from one of his hands. The ck de prated the boss monster and erged inside it.


    "UOOOO!!"


    El Cuero screamed in pain. Blood spewed from its wound and covered Kang-Woo along with the sshingke water.


    <i>''Not enough.''</i>


    It wasn''t enough with just that.


    El Cuero was thrashing as violently as ever. He needed another attack to make sure that it wouldn''t move.


    Kang-Woo shouted to Yeon-Joo, "Make thorns!"


    "What?"


    "Make thorns over the chains!"


    "A-Are you crazy?! If I do that, you''ll¡­!"


    "Hurry!"


    "¡­"


    Yeon-Joo''s expression hardened. She gulped and nodded.


    Thorns started appearing over the chains as her bracelet began to shine red.


    "Petrification."


    It was the special effect of the Gargoyle Armor that Kang-Woo had obtained from Mun Yeong-Ho. The effect doubled physical defense for ten seconds.


    Although defense had doubled, Yeon-Joo''s chains were Legendary grade, so the chains pierced the physical defense and prated Kang-Woo.


    He could feel a strong pain spreading through his body.


    Even under such pain, Kang-Woo simply frowned and maintained the three Authorities. He had be used to pain, so he wasn''t going to scream from just that.


    After being pierced by the thorns, El Cuero began to lose strength because of the Energy Drain effect on the chains.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    El Cuero''s massive body was dragged up to the surface. Kang-Woo quickly cut the chains and got away from El Cuero.


    "Kang-Woo, are you okay?" asked Echidna, who ran up to him while worried.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "We don''t need the giants anymore. Echidna, clear out the remaining ones."


    El Cuero had insane magical resistance.


    It wouldn''t be efficient for Echidna to fight it. Instead, it would be far more helpful for her to clear out the Mountain Giants.


    "Okay."


    Echidna shot magic at the Mountain Giants.


    The Mountain Giants were already exhausted from pulling El Cuero all the way to shore.


    They began to copse from her magic.


    "Yeon-Joo! Stop running away and join the fight!"


    "I''m not running away because I want to!"


    Yeon-Joo, who had been attracting the Mountain Giants'' attention, had returned. Kang-Woo turned his head to El Cuero.


    "I guess it won''t die just froming up tond."


    "Obviously. Although it looks like a giant stingray, it isn''t a real fish."


    El Cuero was a monster. On top of that, it was a boss monster that appeared in an S-rank Gate. It wasn''t going to die just because it wasn''t in the water.


    "Huff, huff! Swimming all the way here was no joke!"


    "The strategy actually worked."


    Hyun-Mo and Hwa-Yeon had also arrived.


    Kang-Woo raised his right arm from which a ck de shot out.


    "Then let''s end this."


    El Cuero was on the surface, so it was the perfect opportunity to hunt it.


    Wind gathered around Hwa-Yeon''s longsword.


    Hyun-Mo gripped his two short swords in a reverse grip.


    "I''ll go first."


    "It''ll be different from when you were in the water, you radioactive stingray."


    "UOONNGG!!"


    "I can''t concentrate because of its damn cry!"


    It seemed that Hyun-Mo had a lot of things to say about El Cuero''s cry, but he knew that it wasn''t time to joke around. He lowered his stance and ran toward El Cuero.


    <i>Whish!</i>


    "Gasp!"


    El Cuero swung its long tail like a whip. Although it moved like a whip, considering it was the tail of a thirty-meterrge monster, it was over two meters thick.


    Hyun-Mo hurriedly ducked.


    The tail brushed past his head.


    "Get back!"


    Hwa-Yeon raised her sword up high from a ce El Cuero''s tail couldn''t reach.


    Wind gathered around the white longsword''s edge. She swung the sword down, and the wind was shot following the trajectory of the sword.


    <i>sh!</i>


    "UOONNGG!!"


    The wind cut off the tip of its tail, blood spewing out of it and sshing around the surroundings.


    El Cuero''s attention focused entirely on Hwa-Yeon.


    Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo took that opportunity to charge in.


    <i>sh!!</i>


    "I''ll block its tail for you! You just charge forward!" Yeon-Joo eximed.


    "I''ll trust you."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    If he canceled the Authority of Invulnerability, he could dish out an even more powerful attack.


    Kang-Woo didn''t immediately charge in despite what he had said to Yeon-Joo. Instead, he scanned El Cuero with deeply sunken eyes.


    <i>''It''s gotten weaker.''</i>


    Unlike fish, it didn''t immediately suffocate aftering up to the surface, but because it was an aquatic monster, it was noticeably weaker on the surfacepared to in the water.


    Not only that, but it had also been severely wounded.


    It wouldn''t have been weird if El Cuero had died from its wounds while they were dragging it to the surface.


    <i>''In that case¡­''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    The only thing that was left was to finish it off.


    He lightly closed his eyes. He could sense the mass of demonic energy gathered within his heart.


    The Ten Thousand Demon Core¡­


    The mass of demonic energy he''d gathered for the past ten millennia¡­


    It was bigger and thicker than anything else.


    <i>''A sea¡­''</i>


    A sea made of demonic energy.


    It was both endless and bottomless.


    Not even Kang-Woo, who had created it, knew its exact limits.


    He hadn''t been able to determine what was inside the deep sea and what was going on inside, even when he had been able to use it to its full potential.


    He raised his head and looked around. He saw three doors embracing the sea.


    <i>''I don''t need that much.''</i>


    He turned his head from the doors.


    He extended his hands toward the sea, cupped his hands, and scooped up a handful of demonic energy. It was a negligible amountpared to the sea of demonic energy, but for the moment, it was more than enough.


    "Bident."


    He used the Authority of Dark Spears and the Authority of Hellfire.


    A spear covered in ck mes appeared. Kang-Woo grabbed the spear, lowered his body, and aimed the spear at the monster.


    He could feel powerful energy being transmitted to his hand, but he felt that it wasn''t enough. It looked too small and weakpared to the vast sea.


    He became greedy.


    Once the fire of greed was lit, it set aze at terrifying speed.


    <i>''One more.''</i>


    Authority of Spation. A destructive Authority that destroyed armor and tore apart skin was added to Bident.


    The two prongs of the spear twisted around like snakes.


    Heavy exhaustion and an enervation as though his soul had left his body flooded Kang-Woo. The price of simultaneously using three Authorities was by no means small. He felt as if he was about to pass out at any moment.


    The tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth went up.


    "G¨¢e Bulg."


    After his quiet chant, the dark red spear waspleted.


    Kang-Woo stomped on the ground while gripping the spear.


    <i>Ring.</i>


    [You have managed to perfectly merge three Authorities.]


    [The second condition of Ultimate Demonic Body has been fulfilled.]


    Message windows appeared, but Kang-Woo paid them no mind; he couldn''t afford to.


    He gripped the spear even tighter.


    El Cuero''s giant tail swung toward him, but it bounded off a shield made from red chains.


    The dark red spear pierced El Cuero.

 Chapter 83 - El Cuero (5)

    Chapter 83 - El Cuero (5)


    Crack!!


    The dark red spear pierced El Cuero.


    The mes within the spear exploded, and the hellfire spread within El Cuero, greedily devouring the monster''s life force.


    ''It''s dead now.''


    Oh Kang-Woo was sure of it. There was no way El Cuero would be able to survive that attack. He could feel the fingers of his hand that threw G¨¢e Bulg subtly trembling.


    It felt good.


    It was the first time he''d managed to create a technique from three different Authorities since returning to Earth. Although he used to do simr things in Hell as if they were nothing, being able to use it again felt good.


    It felt hot and exciting.


    His desire for power, which had been weathered over millennia, once again zed within him.


    ''So this was the second condition for the Ultimate Demonic Body.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    He wasn''t sure what the Ultimate Demonic Body was and what changes it would bring, but one thing he knew for sure was that it was apletely new power that he never had in Hell.


    It would be weird if he wasn''t anxious to know what it was.


    ''I wonder what thest condition is?''


    He couldn''t think of anything, but since it was called Ultimate Demonic Body, it probably had something to do with demonic energy.


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo fell into thought.


    "¡­ Huh?"


    While thinking, Kang-Woo felt a weird sense of danger.


    He frowned. Something that should have appeared wasn''t appearing.


    ''The message window didn''t appear.''


    The message window saying that they had defeated El Cuero had not appeared yet.


    Kang-Woo hurriedly turned his head toward El Cuero.


    "Grrrrrrrr¡­"


    "It''s¡­ not dead?"


    El Cuero''s eyes were still shining chaotically despite it having had half its body blown away. Even its unique cry had changed into that of a ferocious beast. In any case, the important thing was that El Cuero hadn''t died yet.


    ''That''s impossible.''


    Kang-Woo felt the sensation in the tips of his fingers. The battle experience he had umted for ten millennia was telling him that El Cuero was dead.


    G¨¢e Bulg was a technique powerful enough to kill a demon of the Seventh Hell. El Cuero had taken the attack straight on, so there was no way that it was still alive.


    Confused, Goo Hyun-Mo eximed, "Wh-What was that attack just now?! Kang-Woo, just what in the world are¡ªno, that''s not important right now. Wh-What the hell is going on?"


    "I-It''s still alive after that?" Cha Yeon-Joo eximed in confusion.


    The moment Hyun-Mo and Yeon-Joo saw the dark red spear pierce El Cuero, they''d felt goosebumps. Even though El Cuero was an S-rank boss monster, they had never imagined that it''d be able to survive such an attack.


    "Graaaahhhh!!"


    "I-It''s running away!"


    The remaining half of El Cuero''s body charged toward theke.


    "Dammit!"


    Fwoosh!


    Yeon-Joo extended her hand, covering El Cuero with red chains, but because her Strength stat wasn''t very high, she was dragged by El Cuero.


    Kang-Woo quickly moved. He grabbed the chain connecting Yeon-Joo and El Cuero.


    "Kurgh!"


    Kang-Woo''s face contorted. His palms were being torn up. He wanted to use an Authority, but he had no more demonic energy remaining after he had used G¨¢e Bulg.


    "Pull the chains!"


    If El Cuero managed to escape to theke, all their efforts would''ve been in vain.


    Baek Hwa-Yeon and Hyun-Mo ran to them and grabbed the chains.


    "Kurgh! Such power¡­!"


    "I-Is it seriously on the verge of death?! How the hell can it still be this spry?!"


    El Cuero quickly crawled toward theke while dragging the four of them. The monster seemed stronger than when they had first faced it, and the strength it was exerting was abnormal for an aquatic monster onnd.


    ''We''re going to lose it.''


    Kang-Woo felt anxious. The pain from his palms shot up his arms. Things could be different if he could use the Authority of Titanic Might, but he didn''t have any other way to stop its charge.


    "Hold on tight!" Yeon-Joo said.


    The mana within her surged, and the chains surrounding El Cuero started to shine with a red light.


    "Graaaahhhh!!"


    "Holy shit!"


    El Cuero twisted.


    Roars of madness echoed throughout the Gate. ck energy burst forth from within the remaining half of its body.


    ''Demonic energy.''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    The energy bursting from El Cuero was without a doubt demonic energy.


    ''What''s going on?''


    He couldn''t understand what was happening. He didn''t have enough time to understand.


    ''Are we going to lose it?''


    Kang-Woo bit his lips while looking at El Cuero, who had almost reached theke. There was no way to stop it.


    [Leave it to me, Kang-Woo.]


    He heard Echidna''s voice in his ears.


    As blue light enveloped her, she turned back into a giant dragon. She then swung her tail like a whip and hit El Cuero, pushing the monster back.


    [Stay still!]


    Even if she was a hatchling, Echidna was still a dragon. Returning back to her original form was more than enough for her to stop El Cuero''s escape.


    Boom!


    After being dragged back to the surface, El Cuero twisted violently. Massive amounts of blood poured out from its body, which had been torn in half.


    [Hm! Hm!]


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Echidna smashed her giant tail down on El Cuero, and its body shook after being hit by the tail.


    "Grrrrr."


    Its aggressive screams gradually faded.


    Its eyes, which had been filled with madness, turned blurry.


    Ring.


    [You have sessfully defeated the S-rank boss monster El Cuero.]


    [You have ced first in the level of contribution.]


    [Additional rewards have been awarded for dealing the finishing blow.]


    [Increasing EXP exponentially.]


    [Your level is capped. The rewarded EXP will be umted.]


    Blue message windows appeared in front of Kang-Woo; it was proof that El Cuero had truly died this time.


    ''I didn''t break through the limit.''


    While leaving disappointed feelings behind, Kang-Woo turned toward Yeon-Joo.


    There was something more important than the level cap at the moment.


    "What was that at the end?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "¡­ I''m not sure either."


    Yeon-Joo shook her head.


    They couldn''t understand El Cuero''s final desperate struggle.


    It was the first time she''d seen a monster that could move after having half of its body blown away.


    "Maybe it''s a characteristic unique to El Cuero?" Yeon-Joo said while tilting her head. Some monsters possessed Traits that were hard toprehend with logic. It was within the realm of possibility, considering no one had managed to kill El Cuero until now.


    "No. That''s probably not it." Kang-Woo shook his head without hesitation.


    "Why not?"


    "Because I received the additional reward for dealing the finishing blow."


    If El Cuero hadn''t died after being hit with G¨¢e Bulg, there was no way that he would have received the reward for the finishing blow. After all, El Cuero had died shortly after being smashed by Echidna''s tail.


    "In that case¡­"


    "We''ll have to check."


    Kang-Woo looked at El Cuero''s corpse.


    After walking to its corpse, he searched the area from where he''d sensed demonic energy¡­ It was where its brain was located.


    "This is¡­"


    He felt something with his hand. He grabbed it and pulled it out.


    It was a ck gem the size of two fingers. Inside it was demonic energy.


    ''What''s this?''


    He had never seen anything like it before. It was as if he was seeing the demonic energy equivalent of a mana stone. The main difference it had from a mana stone was that the gem looked somewhat artificially made.


    ''It''s too refined.''


    Unlike the rough surface of mana stones, the surface of the ck gem was too smooth. It didn''t seem like something made naturally.


    ''Could this be why El Cuero suddenly acted strangely?''


    He felt that was probably the reason.


    "What''s that?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "I''m not sure."


    Kang-Woo looked at the ck gem while frowning.


    He used the Authority of the Beholder on it but couldn''t find any information on it besides that it was made of extremely dense demonic energy.


    He looked at El Cuero''s corpse closely once again. After checking where he''d found the ck gem, Kang-Woo became sure of something.


    ''It wasn''t there from the beginning.''


    He saw traces of someone having nted it intentionally.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. The gears in his head turned quickly.


    He could guess who had nted the ck gem inside El Cuero''s head.


    "I get it now."


    "Get what?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "I''m not 100% sure, but it''s highly likely that the Demon Cult did this."


    "The Demon Cult?"


    Yeon-Joo''s eyes shone sharply. Suddenly, a ferocious bloodlust came from her body.


    "¡­ What does that mean?"


    "Someone nted this ck gem inside El Cuero''s head. It contains demonic energy. The only one among humans who can create something containing this much demonic energy is the Demon Cult."


    Unlike mana, one couldn''t naturally obtain demonic energy.


    There wasn''t anyone on Earth who could create something like this gem besides Kang-Woo and the Demon Cult.


    "Hmm¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked at the ck gem with great interest. He could feel the concentrated demonic energy through his fingertips. After staring at the gem for a long time, he used the Authority of Predation on it.


    Ring.


    [You have absorbed a demonic crystal.]


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 3.]


    He sensed that his demonic energy had grown as soon as he saw the message windows.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened.


    ''It rose by three?''


    His Demonic Energy stat without the stat bonus of the ck Pearl Coat was 83.


    He''d killed almost a hundred Giant Ogres over the past three days, yet it had not risen at all. That went to show how difficult it had be to raise his Demonic Energy stat, but it had just risen by three in an instant.


    ''This¡­''


    A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    The weathered desire for power that had once again bloomed within him after using G¨¢e Bulg¡­ it was as if his burning throat had been quenched with cold water.


    He didn''t know why the Demon Cult had ced such a thing inside El Cuero, nor did he know what result cing a demonic crystal inside a monster could possibly bring.


    However, there was one thing he was sure about¡­


    ''Sweet.''


    The demonic energy inside the demonic crystal that the Demon Cult had created was thick enough to raise his stagnated Demonic Energy stat.


    Since his level was capped at the moment, items that could increase his Demonic Energy stat were very valuable.


    ''I hope they don''t have only one of these.''


    Kang-Woo smacked his lips.


    He suddenly felt that the Demon Cult¡ªthat group of lunatics¡ªwas like a restaurant that only served delicious food.

 Chapter 84 - You Trust Me, Right? (1)

    Chapter 84 - You Trust Me, Right? (1)


    "Wh-What? Why did it suddenly disappear?!" Cha Yeon-Joo asked, confused.


    The ck gem that Oh Kang-Woo had found¡ªthe item that might be able to help them find out more about the Demon Cult¡ªhad suddenly disappeared.


    "... It melted down the moment I grabbed it," Kang-Woo said.


    He looked down at his hand while pretending to be shocked.


    In reality, the ck gem had disappeared because he''d used the Authority of Predation, but he couldn''t say that.


    He had to hide that he wasn''t a human but a demon¡ªthe pinnacle of all demons, the demon king.


    Yeon-Joo looked disappointed.


    "... Is this a characteristic of demonic energy?" she asked.


    "Now that I think about it, Oriax¡¯s corpse also turned to dust and disappeared," Goo Hyun-Momented.


    ¡®Good job,'' Kang-Woo thought with bright eyes after he received the perfect assistance from Hyun-Mo.


    Yeon-Joo nodded and muttered, "Hmm... I guess that''s it, then."


    "In any case, have your guild members investigate whether this itemes only from El Cuero or if other monsters have it too. And if they find a gem inside a monster¡¯s brain, have them bring it over right away," Kang-Woo said.


    If the Demon Cult were the ones that had imnted the gem inside El Cuero, there was no way that it would be the only one with it. Other monsters had also probably been imnted with that gem.


    ''If I get more demonic crystals...''


    Kang-Woo could get a massive profit and interfere with the Demon Cult¡¯s ns at the same time. It was truly killing two birds with one stone.


    "But the ck gem disappears once you touch it. Would we be able to bring them here even if we find them?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    It was a perceptive question, but Kang-Woo did not get flustered by it.


    He answered smoothly, "Since it only disappeared after I touched it, it¡¯ll probably be okay if they use something like a vacuum pack."


    "Hmm. Okay. I''ll have my guild members investigate it."


    "I will also have the Hwarang Corps members investigate it. Did you find it inside the monster''s head?" Hwa-Yeon asked.


    "Yes. They¡¯ll see traces of it having been shoved in there," Kang-Woo replied.


    "Understood."


    If his hypothesis was correct, then he would be able to collect arge number of demonic crystals by using the manpower of the Red Rose Guild and Hwarang Corps.


    Kang-Woo tried his best to refrain from smiling while he thought about that.


    Echidna, who had returned to her human form, tilted her head while looking at Kang-Woo.


    Shemented, "Kang-Woo, you look like you¡¯re having fun."


    "I¡¯m not. How could I be having fun in the middle of a crisis like this?"


    "...?"


    Echidna was confused. Their souls were connected, so she could more or less tell what he was feeling. She was sure that Kang-Woo was full of anticipation and joy.


    Seeing Echidna''s confused expression, Kang-Woo quickly said, "More importantly, you were of great help earlier."


    "Really? Was I of help to you, Kang-Woo?"


    "Yup. That¡¯s my Echidna. I''ll reward you as much as you want once we get back home."


    "Hm! Hm!" Echidna snorted triumphantly.


    Her mind was full of thoughts about what reward she should ask for from Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo smiled and patted Echidna''s head.


    ''I should look around too,'' he thought.


    Absorbing one demonic crystal was far more effective in raising his demonic energy than killing hundreds of Giant Ogres. His level was capped at the moment, so gaining experience points was meaningless. Instead of hunting, looking for demonic crystals was a far more effective use of his time.


    ''Thanks to them, I''ll be able to sleep soundly at night.''


    Kang-Woo''s leveling up had been capped, and he didn''t know what thest condition was for achieving the Ultimate Demonic Body. Additionally, his Demonic Energy stat was not going up even though he used the Authority of Predation. He had reached a teau in his growth.


    Then the Demon Cult appeared. The timing was so perfect that he almost felt grateful to them.


    Kang-Woo felt full just from thinking of all the demonic crystals he would take from the Demon Cult.


    "Buuuuurp."


    He let out a foul burp.


    * * *


    "El Cuero... has been killed."


    "What?"


    Inside a dark room, the man in the red demon mask asked quietly, "... What happened?"


    "W-We are not sure either. We went to check the demonic crystal¡¯s degree of erosion, but all we found were traces of battle and blood stains that we assume belong to El Cuero."


    m! Crack!


    The red-masked man mmed his fist onto the table. The solid wooden table was smashed to smithereens.


    "What about the other monsters?"


    "We are checking them right now, but... it seemed like the hunters had beenpletely unaware of our n when they hunted."


    "Shit."


    El Cuero was a monster that hadn''t been killed even once since the Gate appeared five years ago. Yet, right after they imnted a demonic crystal in it in ordance with their n, El Cuero was hunted and killed.


    The red-masked man was so furious that he had no energy to rage and just felt sad instead.


    "How''s the n progressing?" he asked.


    "It¡­ has been greatly dyed due to this setback."


    "..."


    The red-masked man''s eyes narrowed, taking on a chilling gaze.


    "What if we use the other method?" he questioned.


    "Y-Your Eminence, that¡¯s¡ª!"


    "I am not saying that we should use it immediately. I just want to check its viability."


    "If¡­ we use that method, we could execute our n immediately."


    "Hmm."


    "B-But Your Eminence, we won''t be able to handle the repercussions if we do that. Now that the World Rankers have started to take action, it is far too risky."


    "I know," the red-masked man answered. "What of the demonic crystals?"


    "We still have some left."


    "nt them in other monsters. Proceed with the n as quickly as possible. If it gets dyed any further..." the red-masked man said, looking angrily at the priest. "None of you will be safe either."


    The priests bowed their heads and replied fearfully, "Y-Yes, Your Eminence!"


    "That aside... who was it that killed El Cuero?"


    "We are not certain, but we believe it was the Red Rose Guild."


    "The Red Rose Guild?"


    "Yes. We discovered traces of the red chains that Cha Yeon-Joo uses at the scene."


    "So, she has interfered once again," the red-masked manmented.


    He exuded a ferocious bloodlust, causing the priests to tremble in fear and have goosebumps.


    "Prepare the shadows," the red-masked man ordered.


    "... Are you nning to eliminate Cha Yeon-Joo?"


    "Yes. She must pay for interfering with our ns."


    "Cha Yeon-Joo is strong."


    Cha Yeon-Joo was one of Korea''s top Rankers. Furthermore, she was the master of the powerful Red Rose Guild. It would be almost impossible to assassinate her.


    The man in the red mask smirked and said, "There''s a rookie whom Cha Yeon-Joo cares about. He is an impertinent man named Oh Kang-Woo. We will take him hostage."


    "I see..."


    "He is but a child who knows nothing of worldly affairs. It will not be difficult."


    "As youmand."


    "You must capture him alive no matter what. Oh, and there is a child who follows him around. Capture her alive as well."


    "A child... you say?"


    The masked man nodded and replied, "I sensed demonic energy from the child. I must examine her in greater detail."


    "Yes, Your Eminence!"


    The priests left the room.


    The masked man took in a deep breath and exhaled, "Fuu."


    Then he ced his hand on his face and took off the red demon mask.


    "They sure are getting on my nerves."


    The man in the red demon mask, Baek Kang-Hyun, put the mask on the table and frowned.


    * * *


    Hwa-Yeon called Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo over to the Hwarang Corps headquarters and handed each of them a passbook[1].


    "Here''s the money left after deducting the repair cost," Hwa-Yeon told them.


    "Ten billion was left after selling the mana stone and the corpse. They gave us a lot of money for them because it''s the first time that the El Cuero was sessfully hunted."


    "Hmm. So, you''re going to give us five billion each?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Yes."


    "What about you, Hwa-Yeon?"


    "I don''t need it. Also, you and Kang-Woo were the ones who did most of the work."


    "... You''re a born soldier," Yeon-Joo remarked with augh and epted the passbook.


    Hwa-Yeon said, "I have more good news."


    "Good news?"


    "Is it about the demonic crystal?" Kang-Woo asked.


    Hwa-Yeon shook her head and answered, "No. The Hwarang Corps members are investigating it, but they haven¡¯t been able to find any yet. It''s about something else."


    "What is it?"


    "Material suitable for Legendary-grade equipment was found in the El Cuero''s corpse. Apparently, it''s possible to forge a sword out of the needle in its tail."


    "Whoa."


    "Wow, we actually got Legendary-grade material?" Yeon-Joo remarked.


    The eyes of both Yeon-Joo and Kang-Woo lit up. Legendary-grade equipment was priceless for high-level yers.


    Kang-Woo, who had experienced the stat bonus effect of the ck Pearl Coat for himself, showed even greater interest than Yeon-Joo.


    ¡®I don''t use swords, though.''


    He didn''t use a particr weapon. He just created weapons with his Authorities depending on the situation. Nevertheless, he could receive the stat bonus benefits just by equipping the sword, so it didn''t matter.


    "Based on the rough estimate... it will probably be legendary-grade equipment that raises strength or dexterity," Hwa-Yeon informed them.


    "Oh..."


    "It¡¯ll be useless on me, then."


    Both Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo clicked their tongues in disappointment.


    Kang-Woo mainly used the Demonic Energy stat and Yeon-Joo''s main stat was the Mana stat, so neither of them needed Legendary-grade equipment that raised their strength or dexterity.


    "Can¡¯t you use it, Hwa-Yeon?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Haha. Unfortunately, the imprint condition is a bit particr. I can''t use it," Hwa-Yeon answered.


    There were some instances when certain conditions needed to be met for the imprinting. It was not decided through the production process but by the material itself, so the conditions could not be bent to the forger¡¯s will.


    "What is the condition?"


    "You apparently need a unique stat called Qi."


    "Qi? The thing that appears in martial arts novels?"


    "Yes. Those among the warrior sses rarely possess this stat, but the yers who do are mostly in China... There are extremely few yers in Korea who have it."


    "Hmm... Then it''s basically a fool''s gold. How about we sell it to China?"


    "I wanted to hear your opinions first. After all, you were the ones who made the greatest contributions in killing El Cuero."


    Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo nodded.


    The person who yed the biggest role was Kang-Woo, followed by Yeon-Joo. The others also contributed a lot, but it couldn''t bepared to those two.


    "There isn''t anyone who has the Qi stat in my guild. You can sell it as long as they pay a high price for it," Yeon-Joo said.


    "In that case, I''ll buy it," Kang-Woo dered.


    "... You?"


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    The unique stat Qi¡­ He knew one person who had that.


    ''Kim Si-Hun.''


    It was the kind-hearted young man who, along with Kang Tae-Soo, often followed Kang-Woo around. Kim Si-Hun was very handsome, but his talent was even more incredible than his looks.


    ''Although we aren''t blood-rted, you''re my little brother.''


    Kang-Woo''s and Si-Hun''s souls were bound together after all.


    ¡®As your hyung, I will get you this sword as a gift!''


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists.


    1. It¡¯s a booklet that contains the deposit and withdrawal records of a bank ount. Banks in some countries provide it to their ount holders. ?

 Chapter 85 - You Trust Me, Right? (2)

    Chapter 85 - You Trust Me, Right? (2)


    Two weeks after they hunted the El Cuero¡­


    Oh Kang-Woo received a call from Baek Hwa-Yeon in the morning and quickly went to Suwon.


    "It was just finished," Hwa-Yeon said.


    She ced a sword with an impressive blue edge down on the table.


    "Are Legendary-grade equipment always crafted so fast?" Kang-Woo asked while touching the sword.


    It had only been two weeks since they''d hunted the El Cuero down. The sword had been crafted so quickly that Kang-Woo was a bit worried about its quality.


    "What''s hard is getting the materials that only drop from S-rank boss monsters. Once you have the materials, crafting the equipment isn''t that hard."


    "Hmm... But I heard that it still costs a lot of money. Hwa-Yeon, you didn''t push yourself, did you?" Cha Yeon-Joo asked.


    "So what if I did? Both of you are doing more for our country''s safety than the Hwarang Corps. It would be embarrassing if we skimped out on thepensation," Hwa-Yeon said with a firm voice.


    The Demon Cult was, at that moment, more dangerous than monsters. For the moment, only yers were falling victim to their crimes, but it was impossible to know when civilians would start being affected as well.


    "... I''m not really doing it for public safety, though," Yeon-Joo muttered, avoiding Hwa-Yeon''s eyes.


    "I''m hunting down the Demon Cult for world peace," Kang-Woo stated.


    "... I never thought you''d say that for real. Don''t lie. I knew from the moment we met that you''re not that kind of person," Yeon-Joo replied.


    "Wow, you don''t believe me?"


    Kang-Woo shrugged.


    He''d said it half-jokingly, but he was telling the truth. For him, the Earth itself was something that had to be protected.


    ''Although I recently acquired other objectives too.''


    The Demon Cult used demonic energy differently from the beings in Hell. Kang-Woo had profited more than he''d initially expected while hunting them down. Rather than selflessly protecting the world, he was doing it purely for his own benefit.


    "Leaving your reasons aside, it''s an undeniable fact that both of you are helping us catch the Demon Cult. The end doesn''t always justify the means, but in this case, I think we can look at it positively," Hwa-Yeon said with a smile.


    Kang-Woo was impressed by her smooth words that flowed like water.


    ''No wonder Goo Hyun-Mo fell for her.''


    Leaving her position aside, Hwa-Yeon was quite a charming woman. She seemed a bit old-fashioned, but she waspromising and had a clear concept of reward and punishment. Hwa-Yeon was a superior Kang-Woo would like to have if he were to ever enlist in the army, although that''s something that would never happen.


    "... Don''t fall for her," Yeon-Joo warned.


    "What?" Kang-Woo uttered.


    "Don''t start harboring weird feelings for Hwa-Yeon! She would be wasted on an asshole like you!"


    "A-Ahem. What are you talking about all of a sudden, Yeon-Joo?" Hwa-Yeon asked.


    "I could see it in his eyes! Hwa-Yeon, be careful. Your life will be ruined if you get involved with an asshole like him!"


    "Calm down, Yeon-Joo. You''re too worked up."


    "Because it''s something to be worked up about!" Yeon-Joo shouted angrily.


    Kang-Woo looked at her in disbelief.


    "Neither of us even have a notion of doing anything like that, so why are you overreacting?" Kang-Woo said.


    "J-Just in case!" Yeon-Joo shouted with a red face.


    "It''s like you''re jealous," Hwa-Yeon said while smirking.


    "Whaaat?"


    "Hahaha. I was just joking."


    "Hmph! Why would I be jealous over someone like him?!"


    "Where did you learn such a generic quote..." Kang-Woo said while shaking his head.


    He turned away from Yeon-Joo and extended his hand toward the sword.


    [Equipment Information]


    [Equipment Name: El Cuero de


    Grade: Legendary (Unimprinted) *Imprinting Condition: Unique Stat (Qi) Holder.


    Basic Effect: Lightning-Attribute Attack +700, Strength +2, Dexterity +2


    Special Effect: Allows the wielder to walk freely on water.


    Equipment Description: A sword made with a needle from El Cuero''s tail. It is highly lethal and enables the wielder to use attacks imbued with the power of lightning.]


    ''There''s a total boost of four points.''


    The thing that Kang-Woo checked first was the stat bonus, the most important aspect of a piece of Legendary equipment. The de raised two stat numbers by two, making it a total boost of four stat points. That was on the higher end of stat bonuses for Legendary-grade equipment.


    "Do you like it?" Hwa-Yeon asked.


    "It''s so good that I would use it if I could," Kang-Woo answered.


    "Hahaha. I agree. To be honest, I also wanted it, but... this is better than letting a good item that I can''t even use rot away."


    "You''ve made a good investment. Kim Si-Hun will be a very powerful yer. I guarantee that he will soon be helping us in our fight against the Demon Cult."


    "Did you say he''s your brother?"


    "Yes, but we aren''t blood-rted."


    "Hahaha. Since you speak of him so highly, I will be looking forward to his aplishments."


    "He won''t disappoint you," Kang-Woo affirmed confidently.


    Discovering Kim Si-Hun had been akin to Kang-Woo having won the lottery.


    ''He''s the Martial God''s sessor after all.''


    If it weren''t for an unprecedented being like Kang-Woo, Si-Hun would have rewritten the history of yers. Kang-Woo was curious and expectant to see how Si-Hun would grow.


    "Oh, there is one more thing I wanted to say," Hwa-Yeon said.


    "Go ahead."


    "Isn''t it about time you speak to me casually?" Hwa-Yeon expressed while leaning on her chair. "I speak casually to people that aren''t my superiors, but... are we not allies on equal footing? I believe it''s unfair for only you to speak formally."


    "In that case... sure. I''ll speak casually."


    "Mm."


    Kang-Woo didn''t think that speaking formally was unfair. Nevertheless, considering his rtionship with Hwa-Yeon and Yeon-Joo, it would be morefortable to speak casually.


    "Have you guys found anything about demonic crystals yet?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "The corps members are diligently searching for them, but nothing yet," Hwa-Yeon answered.


    "It''s the same with my guild members. These past two weeks, we''ve killed almost five times the usual amount of monsters, yet we haven''t found a single demonic crystal," Yeon-Joo said.


    "Was my deduction wrong?" Kang-Woo wondered.


    He had also been searching multiple Gates for the past two weeks, but he hadn''t been able to find anything as well. It was as if he''d been wrong in his deduction that it was likely that the Demon Cult had imnted demonic crystals in other monsters aside from El Cuero.


    "We can''t be sure yet, so please keep investigating," Kang-Woo pleaded.


    "Got it."


    "Then I''ll be going," Kang-Woo said.


    He stood up, and Yeon-Joo followed him out.


    "... Do you have nothing to do? Why do youe along every time Ie to Suwon?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "You didn''t defeat El Cuero by yourself. I yielded on the Legendary-grade weapon, but I''m gonna make sure I get my share of the reward. I want to see how valuable the weapon was so I can ask for a fair price," Yeon-Joo replied.


    "Ngh."


    There was nothing Kang-Woo could say to that. He took a deep breath and nodded.


    Yeon-Joo followed behind him while humming in a good mood.


    * * *


    "Ah, hyung-nim!" Kim Si-Hun greeted.


    "Ohhhhh! Kang-Woo hyung-nim, long time no see!" Kang Tae-Soo eximed.


    Si-Hun''s party, which had juste out of a gate, greeted Kang-Woo.


    Aside from Han Seol-Ah, it had been a few days since Kang-Woo had seen the members of Si-Hun''s party. After chatting for a bit, he brought them to his home. It was so that he could give the Legendary-grade weapon to Si-Hun as discreetly as possible.


    Tae-Soo eximed in surprise, "Whoa! So, this is the new house you moved to, hyung-nim?"


    Echidna, who was at home, pranced out to greet Kang-Woo, "Wee back, Kang-Woo!"


    Eun-Bi''s eyes lit up.


    "Wh-Who''s this cute girl, oppa?" she asked.


    "I''m Kang-Woo''s summoned beast," Echidna answered.


    "Summoned beast...?"


    "Yup."


    Eun-Bi trembled in disbelief and questioned, "Kang-Woo oppa... don''t tell me you''ve been enjoying doing this kind of roley with a girl this young?"


    "What are you talking about?" Kang-Woo replied.


    "Aren''t you afraid of the police?! This is a crime!"


    "... Even though she looks like that, she''s probably ten times older than you."


    "Sh-She''s not even legal...!"


    Eun-Bi gazed at Echidna, who possessed too many virtuous factors, with a scared expression.


    Kang-Woo hit Eun-Bi''s head softly and then walked toward the living room.


    "I called you here because there''s something I wanted to give you," he said to Si-Hun.


    "To me?" Si-Hun responded.


    "Yeah."


    Kang-Woo handed him the El Cuero de that he''d received from Hwa-Yeon.


    "... What is this?"


    "Check, and you''ll find out."


    Si-Hun checked the weapon''s information, and his eyes widened in shock.


    "A L-Legendary weapon! I-Isn''t this a Legendary-grade weapon, hyung-nim?!"


    "Yup."


    "Y-You''re giving this to me?"


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    Si-Hun looked down at the El Cuero de with a dumbfounded expression.


    He stammered, "H-How could I ept something this valuable...?"


    "Because you''re worthy of it."


    "Hyung-nim," Si-Hun said as his eyes reddened. He touched the El Cuero de with trembling hands. "I''m... not worthy of this weapon."


    "That''s something for me to decide."


    "..."


    "What level are you right now?"


    "Level 38."


    Si-Hun was close to his Fifth Awakening. He was leveling up at a slower pace than Kang-Woo, but his speed was probably still head and shoulders above everyone else.


    "You know you''re getting stronger at a far faster pacepared to other yers, right?"


    "But that isn''t because I''m exceptional¡ª"


    "No, you are exceptional. Of course, Tae-Soo, Seol-Ah, and Eun-Bi were probably of great help, but the definitive reason is that you''re exceptional."


    "..."


    "You''re going to get stronger. It won''t be toote to prove your worthter down the road."


    "Hyung-nim..."


    "You trust me, right?"


    "Yes! I trust you! I will do my best to prove my worth!" Si-Hun said with eyes full of determination.


    Kang-Woo nodded while making a satisfied expression.


    The only thing left was for the weapon to be imprinted on Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun then extended his hand as if he were responding to Kang-Woo''s thoughts.


    "Hmm?"


    ¡­However, he didn''t his hand didn''t reach for the El Cuero de. His hand moved past the El Cuero de and grasped Kang-Woo''s hand.


    ''What''s up with him all of a sudden?'' Kang-Woo thought.


    "To be honest, the first time I met you... I felt a weird sensation of difort. It was as if my entire body was rejecting you," Si-Hun expressed.


    ''That''s because you''re a protector of this world, and I''m the reason why the Gaia System is broken.''


    Si-Hun continued, "But when I met you again, that feeling disappeared."


    ''That''s because I turned you into my Familiar.''


    "Now... Haha, this could sound a bit weird, but... it''s as if my soul is connected to yours."


    ''It actually is.''


    "Hyung-nim..."


    ''Don''t look at me like that, man.''


    Kang-Woo brushed away Si-Hun''s hands while smiling awkwardly at him. Si-Hun looked a bit disappointed.


    Kang-Woo felt chills and wondered, ''Did I overdo it?''


    He was gifting the sword to Si-Hun to build more trust between them and light a fire of motivation in him, but things had taken a bit of a weird turn. Kang-Woo felt that he had to draw a line before things got too out of hand.


    "Si-Hun, why don''t you¡ª"


    "Oh, hyung-nim. Come to think of it, there''s something I have to tell you."


    Si-Hun took something out of his pocket, and Kang-Woo''s eyes widened upon seeing what it was.


    "Recently, while hunting, I noticed some monsters were acting weird. So, I examined their corpses, and I found these," Si-Hun said.


    Si-Hun had taken out two small ck gems. Kang-Woo quickly raised them closer to his eyes.


    The gems were the demonic crystals he''d been searching for thest two weeks. To make things even better, there were two of them!


    Kang-Woo raised the corners of his mouth into a massive grin.


    ''Let''s be together forever, Si-Hun!''

 Chapter 86 - Be Careful (1)

    Chapter 86 - Be Careful (1)


    "How did you get this?"


    Oh Kang-Woo touched the two demonic crystals that Kim Si-Hun handed him.


    They were smallpared to the one inside El Cuero''s head, and there was also far less demonic energy inside them.


    However, that wasn''t important.


    Kang-Woo, the Red Rose Guild, and the Hwarang Corps had been searching for them for two weeks, and they hadn''t been able to find a single one, but Si-Hun had found not one but two!


    "I first got this yesterday. I was hunting with the party members when I felt a chill down my back. How could I describe this¡­ Oh, I told you that I felt a sense of difort when I first met you, right?"


    "You did."


    "It was simr to that."


    "Ohhh."


    "So I followed that sensation and then saw a weird monster."


    "A weird monster?"


    "Yes. We were mainly hunting Minotaurs, but its outer appearance was a bit weird. It was as if it had been dyed ck. It also seemed a bit crazed."


    "And you found this after you hunted it?"


    "Yes." Si-Hun nodded.


    "You found two inside the same monster?"


    "No. Today, while hunting, I felt the same sense of difort. I followed it and found another weird monster, and this one came from it."


    Si-Hun pointed to one of the two gems.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes sank, and the gears in his head quickly turned.


    ''He felt the same difort when he first saw me.''


    The first thing Kang-Woo thought Si-Hun had felt was demonic energy. There was a high chance that Si-Hun instinctively felt difort when he was around someone who had demonic energy.


    "Si-Hun, did you feel the same difort when you first met Echidna?"


    Kang-Woo pointed to Echidna, who was sitting and sticking right next to him.


    As the topic changed to her, she looked at Kang-Woo while tilting her head.


    "Am I diforting, Kang-Woo?"


    "No, of course not."


    "No. Although I met Ms. Echidna for the first time today¡­ I didn''t feel that kind of difort at all."


    "I see."


    It wasn''t demonic energy.


    Echidna was different from demons, but she still had demonic energy.


    ''Then¡­''


    Leaving demonic energy aside, what did he have inmon with monsters?


    Nothing immediately came to mind.


    He kept thinking.


    At that moment, he remembered that Si-Hun said the Minotaur had been "dyed ck."


    ''Was it being eroded by demonic energy and gradually turning into a demonic beast?''


    If demonic energy turned humans into demons, it wouldn''t be weird if it turned monsters into demonic beasts.


    He naturally recalled when he had killed the Hellhound and Buer as soon as he thought about demonic beasts.


    "Ah."


    He let out a short exmation. It was as if he''d managed toplete a puzzle.


    ''Rift Fragments.''


    When he had killed demonic beasts, he had received messages saying he''d defeated Rift Fragments. Additionally, when he''d crossed the dimensional barrier to Earth, he had heard a voice mention that a Rift Core had been detected.


    Rift Core and Fragment¡­


    There was no way these two words weren''t rted.


    ''Si-Hun subconsciously feels difort at the presence of beings known as Rifts.''


    It made sense.


    Si-Hun had been chosen by the Gaia System, a transcendental being that was able to seal Kang-Woo''s power.


    Si-Hun''s role was to be a protector, a being that could supplement the Gaia System, which had been impaired after the Rift Core had crossed the barrier into Earth.


    ''If the Gaia System was what had been blocking the Rift Fragments¡­''


    It wouldn''t be weird for Si-Hun to instinctively feel a sense of difort.


    ''Then does that mean the Demon Cult is intentionally creating Rift Fragments?''


    He was starting to understand why they were nting the demonic crystals inside monsters.


    A smile appeared on his face.


    ''Si-Hun can find them.''


    He wasn''t sure why the Demon Cult was trying to create Rift Fragments, but he was sure that Si-Hun could find them.


    Rather than blindly trying to find a needle in the middle of a desert, it was far more effective to use a metal detector.


    If it were Si-Hun, he would be able to find monsters with demonic crystals nted inside them from a distance.


    "Si-Hun."


    Kang-Woo grabbed Si-Hun''s hands. Kang-Woo had never felt as proud of Si-Hun as he did at this very moment. It was the first time Kang-Woo thought that it had been worth how much he''d invested in him.


    "Hyung-nim?"


    "You''re gonna have to help me for a bit."


    "I''ll help you with whatever as long as it''s within my capability, but¡­ what exactly do you want help with?"


    "You just need to follow me without doing a thing."


    "Pardon me?"


    "You''ll be more than enough help just staying by my side."


    Si-Hun was just like a human GPS. Just guiding Kang-Woo in the direction he felt difort would be enough. Of course, in the near future, he would be able to do more than serve as a GPS, but this was more than enough for now.


    "K-Kang-Woo?" Han Seol-Ah asked in shock.


    "Kyaaaaaa! I knew it! They have been acting weird ever since the hospital! Yessss!" Choi Eun-Bi eximed.


    "Huh?"


    The two girls reacted before Si-Hun could. Seol-Ah was trembling, her facepletely pale, and Eun-Bi was getting super worked up while bleeding from the nose.


    Kang-Woo reyed the words he''d used in his head.


    ''Damn.''


    Kang-Woo quickly let go of Si-Hun''s hands.


    "I-If you say so, hyung-nim¡­"


    ''Don''t blush.''


    "I''ll do my best. After all, I''ve already made my resolution to follow you."


    ''I told you not to blush, man.''


    Kang-Woo covered his face with his two hands and regretted what he had just said, but it was already toote.


    ''How am I supposed to exin this?''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t get Seol-Ah''s pale-stricken face out of his head.


    ***


    "In that case, I will see you tomorrow morning," Si-Hun remarked.


    "Okay, take care on your way back."


    "Hyung-nim! Are you sure I can''te with you too?!" Kang Tae-Soo asked.


    "I told you. We might be going into Gates A-rank and above. The more people I have to protect, the more dangerous it will be."


    "Urgh¡­"


    "Or are you confident that you won''t be a hindrance when we''re against monsters in A-rank Gates?"


    "N-No."


    "Then you know what you have to do, right?"


    "Ugh¡­ Okay, Kang-Woo hyung-nim. I, Kang Tae-Soo, will withdraw this time, but I will not give up!"


    "Sure. I''ll be waiting for you."


    Kang-Wooughed.


    After rifying the situation to resolve the misunderstanding, he saw Si-Hun, Tae-Soo, and Eun-Bi out.


    He honestly wanted to go search the Gates right this very second if he could, but there were things he had to do before that.


    ''I''ll have to n an efficient route.''


    Mindlessly searching only nearby Gates would be very inefficient.


    It would be better to exin things to Cha Yeon-Joo and Baek Hwa-Yeon and then determine the most efficient route.


    ''I''ll have to visit the Red Rose Guild.''


    It did not take long to reach the Red Rose guild house even on foot.


    Kang-Woo turned his head toward Seol-Ah and Echidna, who were next to him.


    "I''m gonna go visit Red Rose. I might be long."


    "Is there anything I can help with?" Seol-Ah asked.


    "Not at the moment."


    Too many cooks spoiled the broth; not many people were needed to set an efficient route.


    Seol-Ah and Echidna looked disappointed, but they nodded.


    "In that case, we''ll be heading back inside. Have a safe trip."


    "Thanks."


    After waving at them, Kang-Woo turned around.


    Echidna and Seol-Ah waited at the apartment entrance and stared at Kang-Woo walking away until he couldn''t be seen anymore.


    "Seol-Ah, you look sad."


    "Fufu. It''s nothing."


    Seol-ah patted Echidna''s head.


    Echidna grabbed Seol-Ah''s clothes.


    "It''s okay. Kang-Woo feels super thankful to you. I know it since I''m linked to Kang-Woo."


    "Ngh¡­ R-Really?"


    Seol-ah smiled while blushing.


    She grabbed Echidna''s hand.


    "Let''s head inside first. I''ll let you choose our menu for dinner tonight, Echidna."


    "Hm! Hm! I want beef!" Echidna said while snorting.


    "Fufu. Okay. Then let''s stop by the supermarke¡ª"


    Seol-ah suddenly stopped speaking. Her expression hardened.


    "Who are you?"


    Ten men wearing red masks and dark robes, which seemed to melt into the darkness, surrounded them.


    "Who are we?"


    "There is no need for you to know."


    They kept talking.


    "We only want one thing."


    "Your lives."


    "What you must do right now is¡­"


    "¡­ Call him."


    They each took turns speaking. It was as if all ten were connected as one.


    "To call¡­ who?" Seol-ah asked.


    "Oh Kang-Woo."


    "Call the man you follow."


    "And then your role will end."


    Seol-ah bit her lips. "I won''t call him. I don''t know who you people are, but I won''t just do as you s¡ª"


    "Do I just have to call Kang-Woo?" asked Echidna.


    "E-Echidna?!"


    "Just a second, I''ll call him right now."


    Echidna closed her eyes as if she couldn''t understand the situation they were in. She called Kang-Woo through the link that a summoned beast had with their master.


    "Kang-Woo will be here soon."


    "I''m d you''re quick on the uptake."


    The men wearing red masksughed.


    Kang-Woo, who had been on his way to the Red Rose Guild, soon appeared.


    "Who are you?" Kang-Woo asked in a low voice while looking at the men surrounding Seol-Ah and Echidna.


    "You don''t need to know who we are."


    "Just follow our orders."


    "If you want a painless death."


    Kang-Woo looked at the men wearing red masks with great interest.


    "Are you from the Demon Cult?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "We are not obligated to answer that," one of them answered


    "You are the one who must answer," another added.


    "What an idiotic way of speaking," Kang-Woo said as heughed in disbelief.


    Echidna and Seol-Ah were surrounded by the men, but he wasn''t worried at all.


    The red-masked men remained silent after seeing his rxed attitude.


    "You are impertinent, just like he said."


    "A child who knows nothing of worldly affairs."


    "You must think you have everything since you''re under Cha Yeon-Joo¡­"


    "But we will make you understand how big the world truly is."


    The men moved behind Echidna and Seol-ah and grabbed them from behind. They pointed kris des at their necks.


    "Be careful," Kang-Woo said.


    The menughed.


    "It''s already toote. Nothing will change even if they are careful."


    "No, not them¡­" A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face. "You guys."


    "¡­?"


    Crack!!


    Echidna, who transformed one of her arms into a dragon''s, violently struck the one that had grabbed her from behind.


    The man was blown backward, and the sound of his bones breaking sounded out.


    "Don''t touch me." Echidna red at them coldly. "Only Kang-Woo can touch my body."

 Chapter 87 - Be Careful (2)

    Chapter 87 - Be Careful (2)


    "Kurgh! Wh-What the¡ª?!"


    "What happened?"


    "Your little act is crumbling." Oh Kang-Wooughed as the menpletely lost their cool.


    Echidna transformed her giant hand into a human''s again and cast magic.


    A ck vortex swirled around her hand.


    "You''re bothering us," Echidna said in annoyance.


    The ck vortex gathered around her hand began expanding.


    "Get back!"


    The masked men scattered to avoid the vortex.


    "Kyaaa!" Han Seol-Ah screamed as the men violently pulled her.


    Tap!


    Kang-Woo stomped on the ground and leaped at the man holding Seol-Ah. He pulled back his arm and punched the man, blowing the man away with a gruesome sound.


    "Kuh! Surround him and attack!"


    The masked men took out their weapons. Their weapons were weird and consisted of iron hooks connected by chains.


    Nine iron hooks were swung at Kang-Woo.


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    The hooks were emitting enough energy for Kang-Woo to know that taking them head-on would be dangerous. He grabbed Seol-Ah and soared into the air using the Authority of the Sky.


    "Kyaaa! K-Kang-Woo?!"


    "Stay still," Kang-Woo said to Seol-Ah, who was struggling. Hended on the ground after moving a safe distance away from the masked men. "Wait for me here."


    "I-I can help too!"


    Seol-Ah extended both her hands, and white light started to gather around them.


    "Grace of Light!"


    After she made a short chant, the light flowed into Kang-Woo.


    Ring.


    [You have received the Grace of Light.]


    [Boosting Strength by 3, Dexterity by 3, and Demonic Energy by 2.]


    ''Wow.''


    Kang-Woo looked at the white light around his body with great interest. Leaving Strength and Dexterity aside, the effect of his Demonic Energy stat going up was considerable.


    The demonic energy within him expanded.


    ''Although it''s a bit weird that demonic energy rises after receiving the Grace of Light¡­''


    The important thing was that her buff skill was more useful than he''d initially thought.


    He was expectant of its effects after she leveled up some more.


    ''But before that¡­''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He could see the nine masked men looking at him nervously.


    ''I''ll have to take care of them first.''


    He raised his right arm, and a ck de shot out from the back of his hand. He lowered his body. After using the Authority of Haste, he shot forward as if he were an arrow.


    Rattle!


    The men shot the iron hooks at Kang-Woo.


    Although nine iron hooks were thrown simultaneously, none of them were tangled with the others, which went to show how well the men had been trained as assassins.


    Kang-Woo swung his de and struck aside two of the iron hooks. He lowered his head to dodge one that had aimed for his head.


    He stomped on the ground with both feet and shot upward. The two iron hooks that had been aimed at both of his legs intersected with each other.


    The men''s eyes shone sharply as if they had expected Kang-Woo to jump up into the air, and three of the iron hooks changed trajectories.


    Kang-Woo canceled the Authority of Haste and used the Authority of the Sky. He defied inertia and changed direction at a right angle.


    sh!


    The three iron hook chains brushed past the ck Pearl Coat, their sharp hooks lightly grazing the coat. Kang-Woo stomped his feet as if jumping in the air, and his floating body shot toward them at high speed.


    ''Authority of Dark Spears.''


    Numerous spear ends the size of his fingers poured down like rain. The men urgently dodged the spear ends.


    Stab, stab, stab!


    "Kurgh!"


    One of the men couldn''t dodge the spear ends in time and was prated by dozens of them. He copsed in a pool of his own blood.


    The men quickly prepared to counterattack.


    The chains that were scattered about pressed against Kang-Woo.


    ''Not a bad attack, but¡­''


    Kang-Woo smiled after looking at the chains pressing him from all sides. They reminded him of another attack.


    ''They''re nothingpared to Cha Yeon-Joo''s chains.''


    He raised his right foot and stomped with all his might. The Authority of Waves spread out with him as the epicenter, and all of the chains pressing into him powerlessly bounced off him.


    He could see that the strangers were perplexed.


    "R-Retreat."


    The information had been wrong.


    yer Oh Kang-Woo was not an insolent rookie who acted high and mighty just because he was under Cha Yeon-Joo.


    ''We must inform His Eminence.''


    Kang-Woo''s existence was an unexpected variable in their n. If they did not inform the cardinal, their n would most definitely fail.


    The men turned around.


    "Where do you think you''re running to?"


    Kang-Woo spread his arms out.


    A suffocating chill engulfed the men, and their movements noticeably slowed down.


    "Echidna."


    "Leave it to me, Kang-Woo."


    Echidna stretched her hand out.


    A ck barrier surrounded the area. It wasn''t a magic cast for defense, but one cast to stop prey from escaping.


    The masked men desperately swung their weapons at the barrier.


    "It''s toote."


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath.


    The powerful demonic energy throughout his body surged. He then ced both of his hands on the ground.


    ''Field of des.''


    The ground was split, and ck des shot up from the cracks. It wasn''t one or two. Hundreds of ck des swept the men.


    Stab, pierce!


    "Gaaahhhh!"


    "Fuck!"


    The des dug deep into their flesh.


    The masked men tried to escape, but there was nowhere to run. In front of them was the ck barrier, and behind them was a field of des. Four of the masked men lost their lives instantly, and the other four were heavily wounded.


    One could see the despair in their eyes.


    Boom!


    Kang-Woo leaped toward the surviving men.


    ''I can''t let them go again.''


    He had to restrain them before theymitted suicide or turned into demons.


    Kang-Woo grabbed the head of the one that had ordered the others to retreat. The Authority of Fear flowed down from his hand and onto the man''s head.


    "Kurgh! A-Arrgghh!"


    The man trembled, foaming at the mouth.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''I failed.''


    Kang-Woo felt a huge amount of demonic energy leave him, but he did not see the hazy eyes that would show that the Authority''s power had been sessfully applied.


    The effectiveness of control-type Authorities like the Authority of Fear was drastically reduced even if the target grew even a little stronger. Since the men who had attacked him weren''t weak, it was natural that it would fail.


    ''The Authority of Fear isn''t the only way.''


    Kang-Woo took off the man''s mask, revealing a man who seemed to be in his mid-thirties. Kang-Woo punched the man hard on his cheek.


    "Who gave you the order?"


    "Cough! Cough! Kill me."


    Crack!


    Kang-Woo twisted the man''s hand without hesitation.


    The man screamed gruesomely.


    "You won''t have many chances. Now, talk. Who gave you the order?"


    "Kill m¡ªAaarrrggghhh!!"


    Kang-Woo twisted his other hand, crushed his foot, and ripped his ear off.


    The man peed himself from the mind-numbing pain.


    "Who gave you the order?"


    Kang-Woo''s voice was as calm as it could be.


    The man''s eyes were full of fear.


    "I-I don''t kn¡ª"


    "There''s no way you don''t know. Just tell me, and you will be at peace."


    "¡­"


    "Dying is nothing. You know that very well, don''t you?" Kang-Woo said softly.


    The man gulped. He did indeed know that death was nothing. In the face of true suffering, death was a blessing.


    Fear powerful enough to devour his sense of reason dominated the man''s mind. He slowly opened his mouth.


    "B-Bae¡­"


    "Bae?"


    Just as the man was about to reveal the mastermind, one of the men who had copsed on the ground swung an iron hook. He did not aim for Kang-Woo but the man who was about to talk.


    The iron hook pierced the man''s neck.


    Stab!!


    "Glory to the Demon Cult!!!"


    The man''s body began to inte.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    "Petrification."


    He doubled his physical defense with the Gargoyle Armor''s special effect. He also used the Authority of Invulnerability on top of that to protect himself.


    Boom!!


    The body of the inted man exploded, killing all of the other men as well.


    Kang-Woo walked out of the explosionpletely fine and grabbed one of the red masks lying on the ground.


    It was a mask with the face of a demon.


    "What a waste of time."


    He had failed to find out the cardinal''s identity yet again.


    He surged with irritation.


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath and calmed himself down.


    ''So you won''te out, huh?''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    "Then I''ll drag you out."


    There was no need to hurry. He wasn''t the one who was running out of time.


    He crushed the mask in his hand into smithereens.


    * * *


    "W-We''ve failed."


    "What?"


    "We''ve just confirmed that all the shadows have died."


    "¡­ Was it Cha Yeon-Joo?"


    "We cannot be sure, but most likely."


    "It must be. There aren''t many yers besides Cha Yeon-Joo who could face ten shadows."


    Baek Kang-Hyun frowned. He hadn''t expected the shadows to be annihted so fruitlessly. Other Red Rose members seemed to have assisted Yeon-Joo.


    "What a waste."


    He''d only ended up losing precious forces while trying to eliminate Yeon-Joo.


    His irritation rose from the continuous failures.


    "How many Rift Fragments have we collected?"


    "About thirty percent."


    "Passable rate of collection."


    Kang-Hyun nodded and then took a deep breath and calmed down. There was no need to rush. He was not the one who needed to rush.


    ''They have no way of finding the demonic crystals.''


    Time was on his side.


    Unless the Red Rose Guild had a demonic crystal detector, they wouldn''t be able to find the crystals nted within the monsters.


    Kang-Hyun stroked his red demon mask with a smile on his face.

 Chapter 88 - A Cornered Rat

    Chapter 88 - A Cornered Rat


    m!!


    The wall was destroyed.


    Baek Kang-Hyun''s eyes were full of anger.


    "What¡­ the hell is going on?!"


    It had been ten days since the shadows had failed to kill Cha Yeon-Joo. Something that shouldn''t¡ªand couldn''t¡ªhappen was happening.


    The number of demonic crystals secretly imnted in monsters was decreasing at an rming rate.


    It was as if the Red Rose Guild had a demonic crystal detector.


    "Y-Your Eminence."


    Booooom!


    A wall copsed, and a loud sound as if a bomb had exploded went off.


    The priests in front of him trembled every time there was an explosion. They couldn''t hide their fear.


    "Haa, haa¡­ How many Fragments have we collected?"


    "W-We could only collect fifty percent. The demonic crystals that we nted are being discovered before the monsters are fully eroded by the demonic energy."


    "Damn it!!"


    Another loud sound rang throughout the room.


    The eyes of the man wearing the red demon mask shook.


    The n had gone awry.


    He couldn''tprehend it. Save for the members of the Demon Cult, there wasn''t anyone who could control demonic energy.


    But who was finding the demonic crystals so precisely?


    ''Is there a traitor?''


    He naturally began to doubt the members of the cult, but then he shook his head. He''d carefully selected the members that had participated in the n to avoid such a thing.


    The chances of a traitor being among them were low.


    "¡­ Call off the n."


    "Sir?"


    "We will use the other method."


    "Y-Your Eminence!"


    The faces of the priests paled.


    There was indeed one more method besides collecting the demonic crystals that they had imnted in the monsters¡­


    ''But that method is insane.''


    Kidnapping and sacrificing live yers paled inparison. This other method was literally like jumping to their own destruction. Even if it worked, it would turn the entire world against them.


    The Demon Cult''s forces in Korea weren''t that big and couldn''t bepared to the ones in Japan and China.


    This other method was like dering war on the entire world. They couldn''t do something so crazy.


    "I-It''s too dangerous. We should be asking for more support from the cult and making a new ¡ªKurgh!"


    Kang-Hyun clenched the priest''s neck.


    "A new n? Do you seriously expect that to solve anything? Huh?"


    "Kurgh! Kurghhh!"


    "Even now, the Japanese are bing stronger and more influential. And you want me to make a new n in this situation?"


    The moment he mentioned Japan, his eyes became full of anger and impatience. His pathetic defeat, the endless ridicule, and the looks of disdain filled his mind.


    Crack!


    The sound of the priest''s neck breaking rang throughout the room.


    With eyes full of madness, he looked at the remaining priests.


    "Make the preparations. I will not repeat myself."


    "Y-Yes, Your Eminence!"


    The priests started to move quickly.


    * * *


    "So far, so good."


    Oh Kang-Woo was satisfied.


    He looked down at the three demonic crystals in his hand. He had gotten three in just a day.


    The moment Kim Si-Hun participated in the search for demonic crystals, things hadpletely changed.


    Kang-Woo had just been charging inpletely blind in search of the demonic crystals, but things had be much more efficient thanks to Si-Hun.


    Thanks to his help, Kang-Woo had found fourteen demonic crystals in thest ten days. Considering that Kang-Woo hadn''t been able to find a single one for two weeks before, it was a considerable achievement.


    "Kang-Woo hyung-nim, is that all for today?"


    "Yeah. We''ve looked around all the Gates around here, so let''s look through the rest tomorrow."


    "But what are these demonic crystals? How can something like this influence monsters in such a way¡­?"


    "I don''t know either."


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure how demonic energy turned humans into demons or monsters into demonic beasts.


    ''That''s not important.''


    The important thing was that they were interfering with the Demon Cult''s ns involving the use of demonic crystals and that the demonic crystals were of great help to his growth.


    ''They''re probably shitting themselves.''


    Because they didn''t know about Si-Hun''s identity, the Demon Cult likely had no idea what to do as their demonic crystals were being found so easily.


    It was as if a treasure someone had thought that they''d hidden in a ce unknown to the rest of the world had been discovered.


    It would be weird if the Demon Cult wasn''t panicking.


    "Anyway, I''m d I can be of help to you, hyung-nim."


    Si-Hun smiled¡ªit was a smile so innocent that it was hard to look at.


    "Let''s go home."


    Kang-Woo averted his gaze and got into the driver''s seat. While driving home, he began thinking.


    ''It should be about time for them to react in some way.''


    He wasn''t sure about how many demonic crystals the Demon Cult had, but the demonic crystals had so much demonic energy that they could even increase Kang-Woo''s Demonic Energy stat, which was almost 90.


    He didn''t think they would have hundreds or even thousands of them.


    ''If that were the case, they would''ve nted even more.''


    With the help of Si-Hun, Kang-Woo had found fourteen demonic crystals. Since he had only found that many after searching through all the Gates scattered around Korea, they likely did not have that many demonic crystals.


    ''What will their next move be?''


    Kang-Woo didn''t think that they would just take this lying down. They would definitely do something, whether that be sending an enormous number of assassins or just forcing the n.


    ''If only I had more information.''


    He knew they were targeting Rift Fragments, but he wasn''t sure what they were trying to do by gathering them. Even if he wanted to guess, he couldn''t because of the severeck of information.


    ''The members of the Demon Cult know more about this than me.''


    At the very least, the Demon Cult knew more about Rifts than Kang-Woo did. It was obvious, considering how the Andras Guild had created a Rift by using mana stones and how the Cult had summoned a demon from the Seventh Hell.


    ''I guess I''ll find the answer eventually if I keep waiting.''


    Trying to guess at that point could be dangerous.


    "H-Hyung-nim."


    Just as they had passed Suwon and were heading to Seoul, Si-Hun spoke with a heavy expression.


    "What is it all of a sudden?"


    "¡­ A system window popped up."


    "Huh?"


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun in utter confusion.


    It wasn''t like they were hunting monsters, so there was no way he would''ve gotten a system message.


    "What does it say?"


    "U-Umm¡­"


    Before Si-Hun could continue, Kang-Woo''s smartphone rang¡ªit was Cha Yeon-Joo.


    "Just a second."


    Kang-Woo answered the call.


    [Wh-Where are you right now?]


    "Why? What''s up?"


    [Answer me! Where are you right now?!] An urgent shout. Kang-Woo''s expression hardened after hearing the tone of her voice. It was as if she had lost her mind.


    "I just passed Suwon and am heading to Seoul now. What''s going on?"


    [Go to Isu Station right now! Hurry]


    "Cha Yeon-Joo," Kang-Woo said in a low voice. "Calm down."


    [This isn''t the time!]


    "Calm down. Take a deep breath and concentrate. Control yourself. Nothing wille of rushing."


    [¡­]


    There was silence. He could hear her taking a deep breath.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "Now, exin the situation. What happened?"


    [¡­ A Gate appeared in the middle of Isu Station.]


    "A Gate?"


    [No. I''m honestly not sure if it''s a Gate or not. Rather than a Gate¡­ it''s closer to a Rift. It looks simr to the ck breach that Oriax hade out from.]


    "¡­"


    A Rift. Kang-Woo was starting to get a bad feeling.


    "Did a demon appear?"


    [No. That''s not it.]


    "Then what?"


    [¡­]


    There was a short silence. Yeon-Joo spoke with a trembling voice.


    [ck energy flowed out from it and¡­ engulfed people. Then¡­ and then¡­ the people¡­]


    Cha Yeon-Joo couldn''t bear to finish her sentence.


    He could guess why she was lost for words.


    ''Demonic energy came out of the Rift.''


    And that demonic energy had engulfed people.


    There weren''t many possible oues that could result from such a thing.


    [The people¡­ turned into monsters.]


    They weren''t exactly monsters. Because they were exposed to demonic energy whilepletely defenseless, they''d probably turned into demonic beasts rather than intelligent demons.


    Or¡­


    ''They died.''


    There weren''t many humans who could resist demonic energy when exposed to it. Even yers with superhuman physiques couldn''t resist more than a certain amount, so there was no way regr civilians could.


    It was as if someone had dropped a biological weapon in the middle of the city.


    No, it was worse than a biological weapon¡ªpeople who had turned into demonic beasts were most certainly attacking other people.


    [H-Hurry. Hwa-Yeon and I are already heading there as fast as we can.]


    "I''m on my way."


    He ended the call.


    Kang-Woo turned to Si-Hun in the passenger seat.


    "What did the system window say?"


    "That the Rift Fragment is getting bigger¡­ and that I have to stop it."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed. The gears in his head quickly turned.


    A Rift had suddenly appeared in the heart of a populous area. People had turned into demonic beasts after being exposed to demonic energy. The Rift Fragment was getting bigger.


    There were three pieces of the puzzle.


    "So they''re pushing ahead with quantity, huh?"


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    The Demon Cult had originally nned to secure Rift Fragments by turning monsters into demonic beasts, but that n had failed due to him and Si-Hun.


    After having been cornered, they had decided to go for quantity rather than quality. The problem was that the sacrifices they had used to make up the quantity had not been monsters but powerless civilians.


    "Those crazy sons of bitches¡­"


    Kang-Woo didn''t consider himself a good human being.


    He felt neither sorrow nor sympathy for someone else''s suffering. He always eliminated beings before they would get in his way, and thoroughly made use of anything that he could possibly use.


    He was cruel and cold.


    He''d lived for too long in a ce where he wouldn''t have been able to survive if he wasn''t like that, but even he had lines that he didn''t cross.


    Even if they could be of use to him, he would never step over the weak who couldn''t resist.


    That was the final fortress that protected what remained of his humanity, no matter how small.


    The Demon Cult, however, had crossed that line.


    Vroom!!


    He stepped on the gas pedal.


    The car elerated.


    The struggle of a cornered rat¡­


    That struggle hurt more than he''d initially thought.

 Chapter 89 - Ill Show You Who I Am Now (1)

    Chapter 89 - I''ll Show You Who I Am Now (1)


    "Kyaaaaa!"


    Screams rang throughout the area as buildings burned, and dense clouds of smoke hung in the air.


    "M-Mom..."


    "C-Come here!"


    A middle-aged woman ran while holding the hand of her young son, who was still in elementary school.


    "Huff! Huff! M-Mom. I''m... t-tired."


    Her son was out of breath.


    Upon hearing her son''sbored breathing, the woman stopped and turned to look at her son, tightening her grip on his hand.


    "Kiieekk!"


    Crack! Boom!


    "ARRGGHH!!"


    Demonic beasts with ck skin, sharp teeth, and long ws were charging at people. One of them pounced like a hungry wild animal onto a man who had fallen to the ground, biting off chunks of his neck. A fountain of blood sprayed out from the man''s wound as he screamed hisst.


    The middle-aged woman''s face turned deathly pale.


    ¡°D-Don''t look," she told her son.


    "Mom?"


    The woman turned her son''s head away from the gruesome scene. Then they were running again.


    A scorched smell wafted into her nose, and her heart beat so fast that she felt like it was about to explode. However, she couldn''t stop running. The moment she stopped, they would be food for the monsters.


    ''Why is something like this happening again¡­?''


    The memory of a dire moment from her past resurfaced¡ªa scene of people being killed by monsters. It wasn''t the first time she had experienced something like this. Five years ago on the Day of Cmity, a Gate suddenly appeared, and waves of monsters emerged from it.


    It had been just as hellish back then as it was now. No, it felt much more horrifying now.


    The woman muttered, "H-How could something like this..."


    ck energy had flown into the area, and those who came into contact with it suddenly contorted and turned into monsters. Even the monster that she had just watched kill a man, had been a young man shopping in a supermarket before all this.


    "Huff. Huff. M-Mom, I-I''m too tired. I can''t run anymore."


    The boy''s lips were starting to turn blue. The middle-aged woman bit her lip and carried her son in her arms.


    "I''m s-scared," the boy said.


    "Huff, huff. Just a bit further. It''s okay. Mom will protect you."


    The woman kept running for her life. Running by herself was hard enough, but it was impossible to flee from those monsters while carrying her son. It did not take long before a monster had moved right behind her.


    Tears dripped from the woman''s eyes as she said to her son, "Y-You can run now, right? Go on ahead."


    "Mom...?"


    "Hurry!"


    The middle-aged woman picked up a few rocks from the ground. She knew that she wouldn''t be able to fight against monsters with things like these, but if she did nothing, she wouldn''t be able to earn enough time for her son to escape.


    ''Dear God...''


    The woman prayed for someone to help her. She hoped for a savior who could rescue them from this hell. She didn''t need to be saved; it was enough if her son could be rescued.


    "Waaaahhh! Moooom!!"


    "Please, run!" the woman shouted.


    She threw the rocks at the monster.


    Bash!


    "Grrrrrk!"


    The monster''s movements became slowed slightly after being hit with a rock, but that onlysted for a few moments.


    Soon after, the monster screeched and leaped. Seeing the monstering toward her, the woman screamed while raising her arms to protect her body.


    sh!


    "Kiieekk!"


    Right then, the monster was cleaved in two. A handsome young man wielding a blue sword had killed it.


    The woman uttered, "Wh-Who..."


    "Evacuate from this ce quickly," the young man said softly.


    The woman gulped and grabbed her son.


    Kim Si-Hun¡ªthe young man who had saved the woman¡ªstared at the streets of Isu Station, which had be like hell. It was absolute chaos; people had turned into demonic beasts and were attacking those who were still human.


    Si-Hun''s hands trembled.


    Those demonic beasts had been humans until just a few moments ago. He wasn''t sure if he should be killing them.


    In his hesitation, Si-Hun recalled what Oh Kang-Woo had told him.


    "Listen carefully. People who have turned into demonic beasts can never go back to normal ever again. You can just think of it as they died the moment they were exposed to demonic energy, and that energy is controlling their corpses. They''re pretty much undead monsters like zombies and skeletons."


    Si-Hun clenched his fists. He bit his lips so hard that blood leaked out.


    "Don''t hesitate. The damage will spread further each time you hesitate. Use the time you have for hesitating to keep moving. Use the time you have for being sad to swing your sword. Don''t get needlessly emotional. Use that time to do as much as you possibly can."


    "Okay, hyung-nim," Si-Hun replied to his memory of Kang-Woo, who wasn''t with him, and continued making his way through the area.


    Riiing.


    [Commencing the protector''s unique quest.]


    [Quest Information: Kill the demonic beasts to eliminate the Rift Fragments (1 / 2789).


    Reward: Extreme boost in EXP. Will be distributed among party members in the case that the quest ismenced alongside them.


    P.S.: I beg of you, protector. Please put a stop to this so that an even bigger disaster does not ur.]


    ''This is...''


    Si-Hun frowned after reading the message window.


    The first thing that he noticed was the huge number of demonic beasts¡ª 2789. It meant that the number of civilians who had turned into demonic beasts had reached four digits.


    Given that Isu Station was situated in one of the most populous ces in the country, that count was rtively low. However, when considering the value of each civilian''s life, that was not a number that could not be taken lightly.


    ''P.S.?''


    Kim Si-Hun tilted his head when he read thest line in the message window. It seemed as if the system had a will of its own. He had never seen anything like this in a system window before, nor had he heard about it before from other yers.


    ''This isn''t time for that.''


    Regardless, he didn''t have time to think about this now. Si-Hun gripped his sword tightly. The damage was increasing while he wasted time.


    ''Cloud Dragon Steps.''


    He concentrated the Qi from his dantian at his feet. A faint haze flowed out of Si-Hun, and he shot forward, parting the haze.


    sh!


    "Kiieekk!"


    Si-Hun swung his sword and split a monster in two with a single sh.


    The demonic beasts weren''t strong. They were only as strong as D-rank Orcs. However, that was just from Si-Hun''s point of view. For ordinary people, every single demonic beast present was disaster incarnate.


    ''There are too many of them,'' Si-Hun thought. ''I have to be faster!''


    He raced through the streets and killed one demonic beast after another. Nevertheless, killing them with just one sh wasn''t swift enough for him.


    ''Faster!''


    Si-Hun''s body screamed in protest at his excessive strenuous movements, but he ignored the pain and continued spilling the blood of demonic beasts. He could feel that his meridians, which were being overloaded from his Qi circting at speeds far past the limit, were bing distorted. Nevertheless, Si-Hun paid no mind to it.


    sh! aaash!


    "Kiieekk!!"


    He just kept killing more and more. He couldn''t even hear what the people he''d saved said.


    Si-Hun only concentrated on killing as many demonic beasts as he could. It was as if his sword and his enemies were all that existed in this world.


    Riiing.


    [You have reached a trance.]


    [You have acquired the unique Trait ¡®One With the Sword''!]


    [You have fulfilled one of the conditions of Metamorphosis!]


    The chime of bells rang noisily in his ears.


    "Huff, huff," Si-Hun panted heavily.


    He finally stopped for a moment and turned to look around him.


    "Wh-Whoaaaa!"


    "A-A hero!!"


    "Thank you! Thank you very much!"


    Before Si-Hun even realized it, the people he had saved had gathered behind him. They knew instinctually that the safest ce was near Si-Hun.


    "... Damn it," Si-Hun cursed under his breath.


    It seemed like they had no intention of staying away from him even if he told them to.


    Si-Hun looked over at the burning buildings. He could still hear people screaming.


    ''I knew it. I can''t do this by myself...''


    He couldn''t face thousands of demonic beasts by himself.


    "Si-Hun oppa!"


    "Si-Hun! It''s you, right, Si-Hun?"


    "Tae-Soo...? Eun-Bi?"


    "I''m here too."


    "You too, Seol-Ah? How did you get here so fast...?" Si-Hun wondered.


    Then a little girl suddenly approached him.


    It was Echidna. At first nce, she looked like a cute little girl, but in reality, she was a dragon like those in myths and legends.


    Si-Hun quickly realized how Kang Tae-Soo, Han Seol-Ah, and Choi Eun-Bi had been able to get here so quickly. It wasn''t just the three of them though. Cha Yeon-Joo and Baek Hwa-Yeon appeared through the smoke.


    "Where''s Kang-Woo?" Yeon-Joo asked in a sharp voice.


    "Kang-Woo hyung-nim..." Si-Hun began.


    He looked at the giant Rift that had appeared in the air. The area around the Rift was covered in ck energy, so they couldn''t see a thing inside.


    Si-Hun concluded, "He headed toward the Rift."


    * * *


    Kang-Woo stomped on the ground and shot forward, destroying the concrete floor under him in the process. He quickly passed by scenes that were full of demonic energy. The area around the Rift was being eaten away by demonic energy. Seeing that made Kang-Woo feel like he was back in Hell, which he had spent ten painstaking millennia in.


    "Ehh? If it ain''t Kang-Woo? How didja get here?"


    Kang-Woo saw a familiar face right by the Rift.


    ''Baek Kang-Hyun.''


    It was Baek Kang-Hyun, Korea''s unprotested number-one ranker. Not even Yeon-Joo nor Jang Hyun-Jae, the captain of Hwarang''s first squadron, were a match for him.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he looked around at what seemed to be the corpses of yers.


    "Ya must''ve run all thuh way here after seein'' this weird-ass Rift too. It''s dangerous here, so git tuh safety. Ah''ll close this Rift.¡±


    Kang-Hyun approached the Rift whileughing in his usual good-natured way.


    Despite hearing what Kang-Hyun said, Kang-Woo raised his right arm without stopping his charge.


    ''Authority of Iron Axes.''


    Demonic energy gathered in his right hand and formed a ck axe. He merged the Authority of Iron Axes with the Authority of Freezing, and a suffocating chill emitted from the axe.


    "Leviathan," Kang-Woo said to activate a skill.


    Then he swung the axe toward Kang-Hyun.


    Boom!!


    There was a thunderous sound as the impact from Kang-Woo''s attack sent Kang-Hyun flying backward. Thetter''s good-natured smile could no longer be seen behind his two arms, which he had used to blow the attack.


    "... How did you know?" Kang-Hyun said ferociously.


    Kang-Woo raised his axe and replied, "Because there aren''t any corpses of demonic beasts in the area."


    "..."


    "There are corpses of yers, but not the corpses of those that killed them. There''s no way a single demonic beast killed this many yers, so it was probably you."


    "Wow," Kang-Hyun uttered, his eyes gleaming with great interest.


    Kang-Woo rested the axe on his shoulder and said, "Stop the bullshit and put on the mask, bitch."

 Chapter 90 - I’ll Show You Who I Am Now (2)

    Chapter 90 - I¡¯ll Show You Who I Am Now (2)


    "Ha... Hahahaha!" Baek Kang-Hyun burst outughing. He nodded and conceded, "All right. Since it looks like you know everything, I guess there¡¯s no need to hide it anymore."


    Kang-Hyun took out the red demon mask and put it on. There was a crazed look in his eyes as he clenched his hands into fists.


    Seeing that, Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and gripped his axe even tighter.


    "Let''s begin," Kang-Hyun said.


    "Now we¡¯re talking," Kang-Woo replied.


    There was no need to beat around the bush. Talking was pointless now that they''d confirmed that they were enemies.


    Kang-Woo pulled back his arm that was holding the axe. He then stomped onto the ground with one foot and swung his arm at lightning speed.


    Whish!


    He threw the axe, which was covered in frigid energy. It spun incredibly fast. The moisture in the air froze along the trajectory of the axe, leaving a trail of frost in its wake.


    Kang-Hyun lowered his body and tightened his fist. Demonic energy then gathered around his fist and formed a gauntlet.


    The gauntlet wasn''t simply demonic energy; it was materialized demonic energy. This proved that Kang-Hyun was not a madman whose mind had been eroded by demonic energy. Rather, he had perfect control over the power.


    m!


    Kang-Hyun struck the axe with an uppercut, smashing it away from him. However, doing that caused his gauntlet of demonic energy to be frozen by the frigid energy infused into the axe.


    "Hmm,¡± Kang-Hyun murmured.


    There had been more power behind Kang-Woo''s axe attack than Kang-Hyun had thought.


    Kang-Hyun red at the axe warily, but Kang-Woopletely disregarded Kang-Hyun''s wariness. He swung his left arm at Kang-Hyun without even giving the axe any attention. As the axe disappeared, a ck de appeared on Kang-Woo''s left arm, and he swung it like it was a whip.


    ng! ng! ng!


    Loud ngs rang throughout the area as Kang-Hyun''s gauntlet collided against Kang-Woo''s de constantly. Huge shockwaves swept through their surroundings whenever their weapons collided. The ground cracked as if it were ss, and cars bounced like stones skipping on water. It was no exaggeration to call this a battle between two massive monsters rather than humans.


    Boom!


    Kang-Hyun threw a nearby truck, which weighed several tonnes, toward Kang-Woo, but thetter swiftly lengthened his de and split the truck in two. Then Kang-Hyun used the small opening when Kang-Woo was distracted by the truck to close the distance between them. Kang-Hyun lowered his body, pulled his right fist back, and charged forward forcefully with enormous power gathered around his fist.


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo didn''t dodge.


    ''Skybreaker.''


    He merged the Authority of Titanic Might and the Authority of Shattering Air. Just like the skill''s name Skybreaker suggested, Kang-Woo was gathering power strong enough to break the sky in his fist.


    Kang-Hyun and Kang-Woo''s punches smashed against each other.


    Rumble¡ª!


    The ground underneath them crumbled, forming a giant pit; it was as if a sinkhole had urred.


    Despite that, Kang-Hyun and Kang-Woo simply jumped out of the pit and continued their battle, which consisted of movements so swift that they were difficult to follow with the naked eye.


    Slide!


    Then Kang-Hyun was pushed back, destroying the concrete in the path that his feet had skidded.


    "..."


    Kang-Hyun looked down at his trembling hands. He recalled the moment when his fist had collided with Kang-Woo''s. The impact of the collision had made him feel like his entire body was shattering.


    "I get it now," Kang-Hyun said, nodding in understanding. "It wasn''t Cha Yeon-Joo. It was you."


    "Me?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "The one who has been meddling in our ns¡­ It''s not Cha Yeon-Joo. It''s you."


    Cha Yeon-Joo was strong¡ªstrong enough to be one of the top yers in Korea.


    ''But that''s all,'' Kang-Hyun thought.


    He had never fought against Yeon-Joo, but he knew roughly how strong she was. Yeon-Joo alone wouldn''t have been able to disrupt their ns.


    "Who are you really?" Kang-Hyun questioned.


    He looked at Kang-Woo bewilderedly.


    Kang-Hyun''s first thought was that the rumor that Kang-Woo had only be a yer three months ago was a lie. It was impossible for a rookie who had only awakened three months ago to possess the power that Kang-Woo had shown him.


    Based on that, there weren''t many conclusions that Kang-Hyun could make. Kang-Woo had to be either a yer who had been hiding his identity for a very long time or a foreign yer who had illegally acquired a local identity as Oh Kang-Woo.


    Among his conjectures, Kang-Hyun thought that the one with the highest possibility of being true was of Kang-Woo being a foreign spy.


    ''He doesn''t seem to be a World Ranker.''


    The eight yers whom the world considered to be the strongest¡­ He didn''t think any of them would do something like this.


    Kang-Hyun narrowed his eyes.


    ''But World Rankers aren¡¯t the only powerful yers out there.''


    The World Rankers were just the most famous yers. There were others who were on the same level or even stronger than the World Rankers. For example, some of the cardinals in the Demon Cult were stronger than the World Rankers.


    "Who knows?" Kang-Woo replied.


    "Hmph. I wasn¡¯t really expecting an honest answer anyway."


    Kang-Hyun snorted and got back into a fighting stance. His muscles bulged like they were about to explode.


    "In that case, I will force it out of you," Kang-Hyun said.


    "Try it if you can," Kang-Woo responded calmly.


    Kang-Hyun frowned.


    Crash!!


    The two monsters shed once again, and a huge shockwave shook the surroundings like an earthquake.


    The duration of the battle was extended. The equally bnced battle of power gradually tilted in favor of one of them.


    Smash!


    "Kurgh!" Kang-Hyun groaned as he was pushed back.


    A crack appeared in his red demon mask, and he threw it aside.


    "You''re strong," he remarked.


    Kang-Hyun had no choice but to admit that the abnormal yer Oh Kang-Woo was stronger than him.


    Heughed while thinking, ''Not again.''


    Kang-Hyun recalled the memory of his loss against Fujimoto Ryoma, which had plummeted him into the depths of despair. He had once againe face-to-face with the massive wall of his limits that seemed impossible to ovee.


    "How fun," Kang-Hyun remarked with a wide smile.


    He then turned his eyes to the Rift. Kang-Hyun felt rather lucky to havee face-to-face with the same wall during such a crucial moment. After all, he''d sacrificed so many people for the sole purpose of surpassing that wall.


    "Hehehehehehe," Kang-Hyunughed creepily. He gazed at Kang-Woo with eyes full of madness and said, "You''ll be the perfect opponent for me to fight against and test out how much power I''m able to obtain."


    "...?"


    Kang-Woo appeared puzzled. He couldn''t understand what Kang-Hyun was saying.


    "Now,e! There are enough Rift Fragments!" Kang-Hyun eximed with his arms wide open.


    The demonic crystal that was maintaining the Rift shattered, releasing a colossal amount of demonic energy. Simultaneously, ck energy flowed out of the people who had turned into demonic beasts and then into the Rift. The amount of demonic energy in each person had been very small, but its cumtive amount was nothing to scoff at since there were thousands of demonic beasts.


    Kang-Woo¡¯s expression hardened.


    Kang-Hyunughed, "Hahahaha! Now,e to me!"


    The result of his n that had sacrificed thousands of lives was about to appear in front of him.


    Rumble¡ª!!


    Powerful demonic energy flowed out from the Rift and entered Kang-Hyun. His crazedughter grew louder.


    Crunch!!


    Kang-Hyun''s bones and muscles contorted noisily as giant bat wings broke through his skin and spread open from his back. His muscles expanded unnaturally, and his skin turned red. He grew sharp teeth and a long tail.


    Lastly¡­


    Crack!


    Two horns emerged from his forehead.


    "Grrrrrrr," Kang-Hyun growled.


    His now yellow eyes, which resembled a reptile¡¯s, were focused on Kang-Woo.


    [Excellent,] Kang-Hyun said.


    He trembled, thrilled by the feeling of his boundless power. It was a formidable power that went beyond the wall¡ªpower that he could never have even dared to imagine until now.


    [Kehe... Kahahahahahaha!]


    Kang-Hyunughed like a maniac once again.


    He did not feel an ounce of remorse even though he had sacrificed thousands of lives to fulfill his n. Rather, he thought that sacrificing those worthless lives had been more than worth it to obtain such limitless power.


    After all, life was a survival of the fittest; the strong preyed upon the weak. This was the providence of nature and the principle of the world.


    Thousands of lives were meaningless before Kang-Hyun''s obsession with power.


    - Where is... this ce? a quiet voice rang out in Kang-Hyun''s mind.


    [It seems you¡¯vee to.]


    - Who are you?


    [My name is Baek Kang-Hyun. I am your host and the one that will be you.]


    - What does that mean?


    A smile appeared on Kang-Hyun''s face.


    [You will find out in due time.]


    He turned to face Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo stared in disbelief at Kang-Hyun, who had turned into a demon.


    "How...? Is something like this even possible?" Kang-Woo questioned.


    He knew unconsciously what Kang-Hyun had done, but he never had imagined it to be possible. Kang-Woo felt as if he''d been bashed on the head multiple times.


    ''He summoned a demon into him,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    He wasn''t sure if Kang-Hyun had summoned a demon¡¯s soul or just its body. He also wasn''t sure if doing either one would have the same effect as fusing with a demon.


    The one thing that Kang-Woo was sure of was that Kang-Hyun had attempted something absolutely insane¡­ and it worked.


    [Now, why don¡¯t we continue where we left off?!]


    Kang-Hyun stomped on the ground and broke into a run. Powerful demonic energy surged from him. It was so dense that it made Kang-Woo tremble for a moment.


    It seemed like the demon Kang-Hyun had summoned into him was quite a powerful one.


    ''Or maybe fusing your body with a demon makes you stronger,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    This was Kang-Woo''s first time seeing something like that. He had never even imagined that something like that was possible, so he wasn''t sure what effect it had.


    ''That''s not important.''


    Nevertheless, it wasn''t important how that was possible or what effect it had¡­


    Kang-Woo red at Kang-Hyun, who roared while charging toward him. Then Kang-Woo stretched both of his arms out to his side and spread demonic energy throughout his body. He took a very deep breath and focused on spreading his demonic energy.


    [Die!]


    Kang-Hyun threw a punch at Kang-Woo. After having transformed into a demon that was almost three meters tall, Kang-Hyun''s fist alone was a powerful weapon.


    Kang-Woo rolled on the ground to dodge the punch and stood back up.


    "Kraken''s Rage."


    Smash!


    He punched Kang-Hyun''s head with a fist full of demonic energy.

 Chapter 91 - Ill Show You Who I Am Now (3)

    Chapter 91 - I''ll Show You Who I Am Now (3)


    m!


    Oh Kang-Woo punched Baek Kang-Hyun''s head with a fist full of demonic energy. The blow sent Kang-Hyun flying backward. He crashed into the concrete floor, destroying it as he slid across it.


    [Kuh... You sure are full of surprises.]


    Even after having acquired a powerful body through fusing with a demon, Kang-Hyun''s head still rang from the force of Kang-Woo''s punch. He couldn''t figure out where someone as powerful as Kang-Woo had appeared from.


    [I guess I''ll just figure out your surprises until you have none left.]


    Kang-Hyunughed as explosive power surged from within him.


    He didn''t look like a human anymore, but he didn''t care. Nor did he care that he had be immortal and no longer required the consumption of food and water. Kang-Hyun only cared about power¡ªthe boundless strength that having a demon''s body had brought him.


    "So damn sturdy," Kang-Woo remarked with a frown.


    His hand was radiating in pain from the punch. It had been a clean punch, but he hadn''t been able to deal much damage. That was how strong Kang-Hyun''s demon body was.


    ''I''ll have to finish this within a minute.''


    His coat''s special effect Kraken''s Rage, which raised his demonic energy stat, onlysted for a minute. It was a bit too short for him to be able to neutralize Kang-Hyun.


    "Hmmm," Kang-Woo groaned softly.


    He wasn''t cornered. He had a method of turning the situation to his overwhelming favor, but...


    ''Not yet.''


    That method was far too risky, so he couldn''t just use it willy-nilly.


    ''Anyway, I''ll try to finish this within a minute for now.''


    Kang-Woo lowered his posture.


    If he wanted to neutralize Kang-Hyun in a minute, there was only one thing that he could do.


    "Fuuu."


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath, gathered his focus, and drew out his demonic energy.


    "Bident."


    He merged the Authority of Dark Spears and the Authority of Hellfire and created a spear that burned in ck mes.


    Kang-Woo infused more demonic energy into it, and the two prongs of the spear twisted, creating a winding spear tip.


    ''G¨¢e Bulg,'' he called the name of the spear in his mind.


    He gripped the spear that he''d made with three different Authorities. The demonic energy inside him was depleting at an rmingly fast rate.


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo poised himself to attack.


    [You''re truly something else.]


    Kang-Hyun''s nervousness was visible in his eyes. He could instinctively tell that a fearsome amount of energy was infused within Kang-Woo''s spear.


    [Not bad.]


    Kang-Hyun smiled. Kang-Woo was indeed the perfect opponent for him to test out his overflowing power.


    [You''re just perfect!] Kang-Hyun screamed madly.


    He spread his arms out, and demonic energy gathered around his fists, creating gauntlets.


    Boom!


    The two monsters, Kang-Hyun and Kang-Woo, charged at each other once again.


    "Hup!"


    Kang-Woo lowered his body and swung the G¨¢e Bulg as if he were swiping the floor. Kang-Hyun stomped onto the ground and jumped, but Kang-Woo changed the direction of the G¨¢e Bulg and thrust it upward at Kang-Hyun in the air.


    [How persistent!]


    Kang-Hyun put his two fists together and mmed them down toward Kang-Woo. The edge of the G¨¢e Bulg and the gauntlets shed, producing an immense shockwave that pushed Kang-Woo backward.


    "Kurgh," Kang-Woo groaned.


    He convulsed, and his sight became blurry.


    "Ptooey," Kang-Woo spat out some blood.


    His sight quickly returned to normal.


    ''I''m no match for him in strength.''


    Kang-Woo wouldn''t be able to handle Kang-Hyun''s sheer strength without the Authority of Titanic Might. However, if he used it, he wouldn''t be able to maintain the G¨¢e Bulg. He would lose his only way of dealing a fatal blow to Kang-Hyun.


    Crash! Boom!


    The breathtaking exchange of blows continued. In every passing second, each of them dealt dozens of life-threatening blows that narrowly missed the other person.


    At a nce, they seemed evenly matched, but Kang-Woo would be the one at a disadvantage as more time passed.


    ''Five seconds left.''


    There wasn''t much time left. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. It was time to make a decision.


    He pulled the G¨¢e Bulg back, turned his body halfway, and lowered his stance. Kang-Woo took a powerful step forward and thrust the G¨¢e Bulg at Kang-Hyun.


    [No, you don''t!]


    Kang-Hyun reached for Kang-Woo, but thetter extended his non-dominant arm toward Kang-Hyun''s hand. Kang-Woo was hell-bent onnding this blow, even if he had to use his arm as a shield.


    Kang-Hyun smiled. He grabbed Kang-Woo''s arm with the demonic energy gauntlet and...


    "Guh?!" Kang-Woo grunted in confusion.


    His strength was leaving him at a drastic rate. The G¨¢e Bulg, which he had aimed at Kang-Hyun''s neck, turned into ck smoke and dissipated into thin air.


    [Hahaha! You fell for it! I knew you would do that since you were in such a rush to attack me!]


    "What... did you do?" Kang-Woo asked, frowning.


    The moment that Kang-Hyun''s gauntlet wrapped around Kang-Woo''s arm, Kang-Woo suddenly lost control over his demonic energy. It was as if a mana restraint had been put on him. He was confused by the unexpected turn of events.


    Kang-Hyunughed in a rxed manner.


    [This is what''s called a demon''s Authority.]


    "...Authority?"


    [Yes. The power of an Authority.]


    Kang-Hyun raised his gauntlet with a dazed look as if he were drunk.


    [Anyone who is touched by this gauntlet that''s infused with the Authority of Sealing cannot circte their power.]


    "That means..."


    [Yes. You are unable to use your powers as a yer.]


    Kang-Woo tried to move his demonic energy with a stiff expression, but it didn''t budge. In addition to the powers he''d gained as yer, he had the power that he''d umted in Hell, but it seemed like that was sealed as well.


    Kang-Woo was now no different from the ordinary human being he had been before falling into Hell.


    Bash!


    "Kurgh!"


    A light kick from Kang-Hyun sent Kang-Woo tumbling pathetically to the ground. Blood spewed out from his mouth, and his sight became blurry.


    [Hahahaha! Serves you right for being so arrogant as if the entire world was in your hands!]


    Kang-Hyunughed loudly and grinned as he looked down at Kang-Woo on the floor.


    [Yes. Kissing the ground like that is a good look for you.]


    Kang-Woo tried to force himself up, but the gauntlet wrapped around his left arm was extremely heavy. It felt as if a giant boulder was pressing down on his arm now that he couldn''t use demonic energy.


    ''This is the worst.''


    The situation was worse than when he''d first returned to Earth. At least he had been able to use demonic energy back then.


    Kang-Woo turned his gaze to the gauntlet on his arm. He needed to find a way to free himself from it. He tried to pull it off with his right hand, but the gauntlet imprisoning his left arm did not budge in the slightest. Kang-Woo even used his legs, but the result was the same.


    [Haha. Once on, there is no way to take it off.]


    Kang-Hyun kicked Kang-Woo again whileughing. Kang-Woo rolled on the ground and coughed out more blood.


    Then Kang-Hyun walked over to Kang-Woo and grabbed him by the cor and lifted him from the ground. Kang-Hyun was over three meters tall, so Kang-Woo''s body was raised high into the air.


    [I know arrogant pricks like you very well.]


    "¡­"


    [You morons believe the entire world is yours. You''re arrogant, rude, and vulgar.]


    Kang-Hyun''s gaze, which was filled with anger and resentment, wasn''t targeted at Kang-Woo.


    [It''s time for you to pay the price.]


    Kang-Hyun trembled with excitement.


    He recalled the name of the person who had made him experience the pathetic taste of defeat. Fujimoto Ryoma was the man who had thrown Kang-Hyun''s life, which had been on a fast track to sess until the World Ranker evaluation, straight into the gutter. The thought of stepping all over that man made Kang-Hyun want to dance in excitement.


    Fwoosh!


    Kang-Hyun threw Kang-Woo by the cor, sending him flying over to where the corpses of yers were sprawled.


    [Where has that arrogant attitude of yours gone? Huh?] Kang-Hyun mocked Kang-Woo.


    He felt refreshed seeing Kang-Woo roll on the ground pathetically.


    [Let''s end this. It was rather fun.]


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked up at Kang-Hyun in silence, which just made thetterugh.


    "Kang-Woo!" Echidna called out urgently as she emerged from the smoke at that moment.


    Upon seeing Kang-Woo on the floor and the demon who was looking down at him, Echidna quickly figured out what had happened.


    "Get away from Kang-Woo!"


    Echidna''s eyes widened in anger. She tried to draw out her powers, but...


    "Huh?"


    Just like Kang-Woo, the demonic energy inside her did not budge. After all, the source of Echidna''s power was Kang-Woo''s demonic energy, so her power had been sealed along with his.


    "K-Kang-Woo."


    Echidna''s face turned pale.


    [You''re the little girl who was sitting next to him.]


    Kang-Hyun focused his gaze on Echidna and approached her while snickering.


    "Kyaa!"


    Kang-Hyun grabbed Echidna with his giant hand. She punched his hand with her little fists to no avail.


    [What a cutie you are,] Kang-Hyun remarked.


    Heughed at her attacks, which weren''t strong enough to even tickle him. Then Kang-Hyun gradually tightened his grip around her.


    [You seem to be fairly close to this girl... I wonder how you''ll react from seeing her body explode in front of your very eyes.]


    "Let me go! Only Kang-Woo... can touch¡ª!"


    Echidna desperately struggled against Kang-Hyun''s grasp. Kang-Hyunughed out loud once again.


    Kang-Woo red silently at Baek Kang-Hyun.


    He grabbed a sword from one of the corpses sprawled on the ground.


    [Hahahaha! Do you seriously think you''ll be able to face me when you can''t even use your powers?!] Kang-Hyun mocked Kang-Woo''s struggle.


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo just ignored Kang-Hyun''s words and grabbed the sword in a reverse grip.


    "You asked me who I was earlier, didn''t you?¡± Kang-Woo said.


    He swung the sword, but he wasn''t trying to attack Kang-Hyun. Instead, Kang-Woo swung the sword down his left arm, which was locked by the gauntlet.


    However, Kang-Woo currently possessed the physical strength of an average male adult, so he wasn''t able to cut his arm clean off with just one swing. Nheless, he didn''t care.


    He swung down the now broken sword as if it were an axe and cut into his left arm. Blood spewed out. The skin on his left arm was sliced open, and his red flesh was exposed. His muscles were cut, and his bones were broken.


    Rather than cutting off his arm, Kang-Woo seemed to be hacking at it.


    [What are you...]


    Kang-Hyun''s eyes widened in shock.


    Kang-Woo didn''t stop there.


    Crack! Crack!


    Glistening bits of bloody bone and flesh sttered across the ground. A horrible pain spread up Kang-Woo''s arm, but he ignored it.


    After being mangled, his arm was now very loose. Kang-Woo pierced through it with the broken de and twisted his body as hard as he could. His muscles were ripped apart. Blood poured out from the mangled blood vessels, and the flesh that was still connected to the mangled region was forcibly ripped away.


    Then Kang-Woo''s left arm, still covered in the gauntlet, fell away from the rest of his body.


    "I''ll show you who I am now."


    Kang-Woo smiled, baring his white teeth.

 Chapter 92 - Ill Show You Who I Am Now (4)

    Chapter 92 - I''ll Show You Who I Am Now (4)


    [Ha... Hahaha! D-Do you think that changes anything?!] Baek Kang-Hyun shouted.


    He was trying to look calm, but he couldn''t hide his surprise behindughs.


    ''Crazy son of a bitch,'' Kang-Hyun thought.


    It wasn''t easy to cut off a person''s arm. Bones were so hard that they needed to be broken, by mming down on them with a hammer for example. Meanwhile, the muscles and the flesh needed to be crudely cut like a tough piece of meat.


    A person had to be out of their mind to cut off their arm in that way. Yet, this guy had done exactly that¡­ without even screaming.


    ''But still, nothing will change!''


    It was true that Kang-Hyun was momentarily overwhelmed by the sight of Oh Kang-Woo mangling his own arm. However, when Kang-Hyun thought rationally about it, he realized he had no reason to fear.


    The Authority of Sealing was no longer in effect now that the gauntlet was no longer on Kang-Woo, but he had lost an arm in exchange. Considering how fatal it was for a warrior to lose their limb in battle, Kang-Hyun still had an overwhelming advantage over Kang-Woo.


    "Well, I guess we''ll see soon enough," Kang-Woo said, clenching his severed left arm.


    He could use demonic energy again, but just like Kang-Hyun said, nothing had changed. No, Kang-Woo was now far worse offpared to before. He''d used up the special effect Kraken''s Rage, and he''d lost an arm. Moreover, he''d used three different Authorities simultaneously, so he didn''t have much demonic energy left.


    ¡®I guess I have no choice,'' Kang-Woo thought, letting out a deep sigh.


    He had nothing else to rely on anymore. He did not want to use that method since it was far too risky, but he no longer had any other way out.


    [Hmph, what can you do with a body like that?]


    Kang-Hyun violently threw Echidna away from him. Echidna had regained her power now that Kang-Woo had recovered his demonic energy, so shended on the ground lightly using magic.


    "I''ll protect you, Kang-Woo," Echidna said as she stood in front of Kang-Woo.


    However, Kang-Woo grabbed her slender shoulders and said, "I''ll do the rest from here."


    "Kang-Woo...?"


    "Stay still."


    Kang-Woo gave Echidna a forcedmand, rendering her unable to move. A summoned beast was unable to defy their master''smand.


    Echidna looked up at Kang-Woo while biting her lip, looking like she was about to cry. Kang-Woo ignored her and kept walking forward.


    "Well, I knew that I''d have to use it one day," he said.


    Kang-Woo ced his right hand over his chest.


    He often used Authorities like des, Haste, Dark Spears, and many others that were simple and effective, but those weren''t the Authorities that best suited him. There was one Authority that suited him more than any other.


    "Authority of Predation."


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and focused. The blurry image in his mind turned clear.


    ''Ten Thousand Demon Core.''


    A giant sea of demonic energy spread before his eyes. In that sea, there were three doors. Kang-Woo approached the smallest of the three. He grabbed the doorknob. His hands were shaking a bit.


    The giant sea behind him formed a massive wave that could devour him whole. He only hesitated for a moment. Then he gripped the doorknob even tighter.


    Kang-Woo opened the door, and a sea of demonic energy rushed out through it.


    Ten Thousand Demon Core¡­


    First Door, open.


    The blood pouring out of his severed arm turned ck. As the sticky ck blood dripped down to the ground, his skin melted. His whole body melted; his chest, neck, shoulders, arms, and legs, were all reced by ck liquid.


    [What the...]


    Kang-Hyun''s expression hardened as he watched the grotesque scene. He felt an ominous chill run down the back of his neck. Kang-Hyun couldn''t help but think that something had gone wrong.


    ''What is that?'' he thought.


    Kang-Woo had turned into a giant blob of ck mucus. He looked more horrifying than Kang-Hyun, who had turned into a demon.


    ''I don''t know what''s going on, but...''


    There was only one thing Kang-Hyun should be doing now. He clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and concentrated demonic energy on his fists. New gauntlets quickly formed around his fists.


    Now fully prepared to fight, he stomped on the ground. The giant three-meter-tall demon shot toward Kang-Woo at a frightening speed.


    [Haap!]


    Kang-Hyun punched Kang-Woo''s mucous body. The punch made a giant hole in Kang-Woo, and parts of his slimy body sttered all over.


    Kang-Hyunughed, [Hahahaha! I was wondering what you were doing, but you just turned into slime?! Your body exploded!]


    That one attack had blown away half of Kang-Woo''s body. Kang-Woo was now far easier to fight than when he had that dark-red spear with him.


    [Hey! Fight back, at the very least!] Kang-Hyun eximed as if washing away the uneasiness in his mind.


    Seeing half of Kang-Woo''s body explode, Echidna turned pale and tried to approach him.


    She called out, "K-Kang-Woo!"


    However, she couldn''t move because of his order.


    Echidna anxiously bit her lips, but her anxiety onlysted for a moment.


    [Huh¡­?]


    Grrrrrk.


    Something happened. Kang-Woo¡¯s body, which had been blown in half, gained back its form.


    Some of the sticky ck mucus crawled up Kang-Hyun''s fist, and something appeared from within it.


    [A mouth¡­?]


    It was a mouth baring sharp teeth. Furthermore, there was more than just one mouth. Hundreds of mouths appeared simultaneously from the mucus stuck on Kang-Hyun''s arm.


    [What the hell is th¡ª]


    Crunch!


    [AARRGGHH!!]


    A painful scream emerged from Kang-Hyun''s mouth.


    The mouths created from the mucus bit off his flesh, each one taking off about two fingers worth of flesh. Considering Kang-Hyun''s huge body, that amount was nothing, but it was apletely different story if there were hundreds of mouths doing the same thing.


    Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!


    Kang-Hyun''s skin was ripped apart, and mouthfuls of flesh fell from his body. The sharp teeth dug even deeper, piercing into his muscles. Kang-Hyun quickly used his other arm to shake off the mucus, but they did not budge.


    Then Kang-Hyun focused demonic energy into his other fist and struck Kang-Woo''s mucous body.


    St!


    The mucus burst from just one punch. However, a blob of the mucus sttered onto Kang-Hyun''s eye.


    [N-No w¡ª]


    Crunch!


    [Aaarrrggghhh!]


    A mouth had formed inside the blob of mucus and devoured his right eye. Mind-numbing pain spread throughout Kang-Hyun''s whole body.


    [Wh-What the hell are these?!]


    Kang-Hyun had never heard about something like this, nor had he ever imagined it. Was it a monster? A demon? He had no idea how to ssify it. The fear of the unknown dominated his mind.


    He stomped on the ground while struggling desperately.


    [I-I will not be defeated by a mere slime!]


    Kang-Hyun thrashed about violently and swung his fists, but it was useless. He tried to brush the mucus off, but it only made the mucus spread even more across his body. He ripped apart parts of his flesh that the mouths were devouring, but they instead stuck to the hand that he had used to rip off the flesh.


    Kang-Hyun focused his mind and gathered all of his demonic energy into one ce.


    [Haaaaap!]


    He clenched his hands into tight fists and let thepressed demonic energy burst.


    It was as if a huge explosion had urred; shards of rock scattered, and a nearby car bounced away as if it were a stone skipping on water.


    However...


    [A-Aaaahhhh...]


    Kang-Hyun still couldn''t free himself from the ck mucus. Rather, the ck mucus grew bigger from having greedily devoured the demonic energy that he had released.


    The ck mucus soon covered Kang-Hyun''s whole body. His face turned pale.


    [N-No, d¡ª]


    Crunch! Crunch!


    Thousands of mouths appeared from within the mucus and used their sharp teeth to devour him. There was nothing Kang-Hyun could do. He kept trying to rid himself of the mucus, but it was like trying to shake off water while fully submerged in it.


    He waspletely covered in the mucus and felt like he''d been thrown into ake full of piranhas.


    - What is happening? a low-pitched voice said inside Kang-Hyun''s head.


    It was the voice of the demon he''d summoned into his body.


    [H-Help me.]


    - Help you...? What is going o¡ª


    Kang-Hyun synchronized his consciousness with the demon''s. There was a risk that the demon could take over Kang-Hyun''s body if they synchronized consciousness too early, but Kang-Hyun had no other choice.


    Regardless, the result was the same.


    - Gaaaaahhhhh!!


    The painful screams of the demon who had synchronized his consciousness with Kang-Hyun echoed throughout his mind.


    After realizing what the situation was through Kang-Hyun''s eyes, the demon shouted in despair, - Wh-Why?! Why did you fight this monster?!!


    [Monster?]


    - Argh, you idiot! You fool! You''d have been better off fighting one of the princes! Bael, Satan, anyone!


    It was a desperate cry from the demon.


    Kang-Hyun was taken aback by the demon trembling in fear.


    [Wh-What are you talking about? Are you saying he''s as strong as the seven princes of Hell?]


    - The seven princes? The seven princes, you say?! Wake up, human! the demon''s desperate cry continued. - The seven princes are no more! They were all devoured by that monster!!


    [What are you talking ab¡ª]


    - That is the demon of demons, the predator of predators! Why don''t you know that, you stupid human?!


    Kang-Hyun felt the demon''s fear through the synchronized consciousness.


    - That monster is the demon king!


    It was a cry that came from the demon''s soul.


    [...]


    Kang-Hyun was confused by what the demon was saying. Why would the demon king, the most powerful demon who ruled the Nine Hells, be here?


    ''There''s no way,'' he thought.


    It was impossible. It simply couldn''t be true.


    Kang-Hyun''s sensations gradually disappeared from his body as it was getting devoured by the countless mouths. He could no longer feel pain. His fading consciousness and the little that remained of his body were all he had left.


    The ck mucus scattered away and then gathered in front of him again. Something appeared from within the mucus. It was a giant mouth big enough to devour the three-meter-tall Kang-Hyun whole.


    The mouth opened up wide, and its sharp teeth chewed up what was left of Kang-Hyun.


    Crunch.


    With a chilling sound, Kang-Hyun vanished into the giant mouth.

 Chapter 93 - The Way to Achieve the Ultimate Demonic Body (1)

    Chapter 93 - The Way to Achieve the Ultimate Demonic Body (1)


    Oh Kang-Woo opened his eyes.


    He couldn''t see anything. It was as if the entire world had been encroached upon by darkness.


    He moved his hand, twisted his body, and struggled.


    He felt something sticky pulling him as if he''d fallen into a swamp.


    ''Where¡­''


    His memories were blurry as if he were high on drugs. He turned his head and saw something being absorbed into the darkness.


    ''Baek Kang-Hyun.''


    A faint memory came to mind.


    He remembered seeing a giant mouth devour Kang-Hyun whole. Kang-Hyun had been eaten pathetically after struggling and resisting like a madman.


    While seeing Kang-Hyun sinking deep into the sea, Kang-Woo realized what he needed to do right now.


    ''I have to get out of here.''


    He raised his head. He still couldn''t see anything around him.


    He kicked his feet violently.


    Up, up.


    He felt his body going up little by little.


    Crunch!


    ''Kurgh.''


    Something bit his ankle.


    He looked down.


    A giant mouth bit his ankle and pulled him down. He sank back down.


    Kang-Woo twisted his body and pulled on his ankle with all his might. It was cut off by the giant mouth.


    ''Now.''


    He pped both arms, twisted his body, and kicked with his remaining foot to escape the darkness.


    Mouths¡ªthose of predators with sharp teeth¡ªappeared all around him.


    His entire body was bitten, his arms were cut, and half his face was bitten off.


    Kang-Woo, however, still didn''t stop.


    He knew better than anyone that if he stopped here, he would never be able to go back.


    He raised his head. There was a wide-open door within the nothingness.


    He turned toward the door.


    The giant mouth had devoured his lower body.


    He desperately struggled while screaming, but the mouths devouring him did not easily let him go. His consciousness started to fade, and his sight became blurry.


    ''Ah¡­''


    He couldn''t remember where he was or who he was. His name, age, and past were all a blur. He thought that it would befortable if he were to just sink deeper into the sea.


    "Kang¡­ Woo!"


    He heard a voice. It was the voice of a girl.


    His fading consciousness regained form.


    ''Focus.''


    He bit his lip. He had to remember his name. He had to think about who he was, why he was here, and how to get out.


    ''I am¡­''


    He extended his hand and grabbed the doorknob of the wide-open door. He pulled with all his might.


    The door closed.


    * * *


    "Huff! Huff! Huff!!"


    "K-Kang-Woo! Are you okay?"


    He regained consciousness. As he opened his eyes and panted heavily, he saw Echidna grabbing his face.


    "Where¡­"


    He looked around. It was the ce where he''d fought Kang-Hyun.


    "What happened to the Rift?"


    "¡­ It disappeared when the demon died."


    "Fuu. Then I guess we''ve put out the biggest fire."


    Kang-Woo felt relieved, and he copsed to the floor.


    Echidna looked down at him while trembling. Transparent tears dripped down her cheeks.


    "Kang-Woo¡­ you almost disappeared."


    "¡­"


    "I could tell since I''m your summoned beast. Kang-Woo, you almost died."


    "Risking your life in situations like this is the cool thing to do."


    "Don''t joke¡­!" Echidna angrily red at him. "You said that you wouldn''t let me be all alone anymore¡­!"


    He extended his hands and caressed her cheeks wet with tears.


    "I''m sorry."


    "Sniff. Waaaaahhhh!"


    Echidna hugged him.


    Kang-Woo gently patted her head and fell into thought.


    ''I knew opening the door now was too risky.''


    The act of opening the door was a way to force the Ten Thousand Demon Core, which could be considered a sea of demonic energy, out of control.


    Even while in Hell, he always saved it as the veryst resort.


    It wasn''t hard to see why.


    ''It could devour me.''


    The Ten Thousand Demon Core was colossal, and even Kang-Woo didn''t know everything about it. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to call it, with the demonic energies of hundreds of thousands of demons intermingling, another world.


    Forcing something so colossal to run out of control came with equally colossal risks.


    ''But I never had a problem with just the First Door.''


    After the Gaia System had sealed his power, the Ten Thousand Demon Core seemed to have be harder to control.


    ''I shouldn''t use it unless absolutely necessary.''


    The risk had been bigger than he had expected. If it hadn''t been for Echidna''s faint voice, it wouldn''t have been weird for him to have been devoured by the sea of demonic energy.


    He would have to refrain from using it until he recovered his original power and could better control the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    ''I can''t die after all I''ve gone through.''


    Kang-Woo looked down at Echidna, who was hugging him.


    Although it hadn''t been long since he had returned to Earth, many things had happened. He''d been able to experience the joys of eating and taking a break. He''d also gotten important people and those he had to protect.


    He had ended up getting reasons to not die.


    Ring.


    [You have sessfully defeated Amdusias, a demon of the Eighth Hell.]


    [Your level is capped. The rewarded EXP will be umted.]


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 5.]


    [You have acquired the Authority of Sealing.]


    "Wow."


    Five Demonic Energy stat points!


    It was a lot considering that his Demonic Energy stat was now simr to the main stat of a yer whose level was in the mid-nies. It was as if he could permanently use Kraken''s Rage, which he could only use for one minute.


    ''It finally surpassed 100.''


    Kang-Woo checked his Status Window.


    His Demonic Energy stat was at 103!


    He''d only been able to reach three digits after using Kraken''s Rage, but now it was his baseline stat value.


    ''I heard the minimum requirement to be a World Ranker was to have a three-digit stat.''


    The minimum requisite for taking the World Ranker evaluation was to reach Level 85 and have a three-digit stat.


    At just Level 59, Kang-Woo had achieved a three-digit stat, which was only barely possible even after reaching Level 89, the final point of one''s Ninth Awakening.


    In the end, what gave yers power wasn''t their level but their stats.


    Kang-Woo was currently as strong as a World Ranker. No, considering how many Authorities he could use, it wouldn''t be weird if he were stronger than them.


    And in only three months, no less.


    ''I also got an OP new Authority.''


    The Authority of Sealing. It had been powerful enough to seal Kang-Woo''s power. The only w was that the Authority had to be in contact with the target''s body, but its effect more than made up for its w.


    ''I''ll make very good use of this.''


    Kang-Woo smiled, satisfied.


    The things he''d obtained were so great that it almost made him forget that he didn''t manage to break through the level cap.


    "Kang-Woo!"


    "Kang-Woo hyung-nim!"


    "Hey! Are you okay?!"


    Han Seol-Ah, Kim Si-Hun, and Cha Yeon-Joo ran to him. Behind them, he could also see Kang Tae-Soo, Baek Hwa-Yeon, and Choi Eun-Bi.


    "Yeah." Kang-Woo nodded and tried to stand up. "Huh?"


    However, Kang-Woo staggered and fell to the ground.


    "Kang-Woo!!"


    Yeon-Joo extended her hands. The chains that emerged from her bracelet wrapped around his body.


    "Just stay down if you''re tired! Don''t make people worry!" she said while ring at him. "And who told you to go in there by yourself?! You were the one who told us to be careful of the Demon Cult! Why did you fight by yourself?"


    Kang-Woo smirked after hearing her angry voice. The sincere concern hidden behind anger made him feel good.


    "I mean, ''all''s well that ends well,'' right?"


    "That''s not the important thing here! Do you have any idea how¡ª"


    "Thank you for worrying about me."


    Kang-Woo ced his hand on top of Yeon-Joo''s head.


    She moved back in surprise.


    "I-I wasn''t worried!" Yeon-Joo shouted, her face as red as her hair.


    Kang-Woo didn''t answer, and hey down on the floor. He was swept with fatigue that weighed down on his body.


    Seol-Ah got close to Kang-Woo and ced her hand on top of his chest.


    "Healing Light."


    "Whoa¡­"


    Although the fatigue hadn''tpletely vanished, his body didn''t hurt as much as before.


    "The effect is incredible."


    "It''s because I got my Fifth Awakening."


    "What? You''ve already reached Level 40?"


    He had no right saying this, but their leveling speed was abnormally fast.


    "Si-Hun received a unique quest, and our levels shot up afterpleting it," Seol-Ah exined.


    "A unique quest?"


    "I will tell youter, hyung-nim. I think it would be better for you to get some rest for the time being."


    "Hmm¡­"


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    ''I feel like I''m about to pass out anyway.''


    Although he felt better after receiving the Healing Light, he still felt tired.


    "Are you still having trouble moving?"


    "A little."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    While smiling kindly, Seol-Ah picked him up. Although she looked like a frail girl, she was still a yer. Her basic stats were far beyond a normal human''s. Lifting an average man was nothing for her.


    "I will carry you home."


    ''This is a bit¡­''


    Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly.


    Leaving her strength aside, it felt extremely weird for an adult man to be carried by a delicate woman.


    ''I''ll ask her to put me down.''


    Although he had trouble moving, he could at least walk.


    "Thanks, but I think¡ª"


    Squish.


    At that moment, he felt something soft against his stomach¡ªa sensation that couldn''t be described with words.


    It was her chest, which Eun-Bi had nicknamed Cerberus.


    Kang-Woo widened his eyes.


    "Do you think you can walk?"


    "U-Uhhh¡­"


    His instincts were about to overtake his reason. It did not take long for him to think.


    While coughing, Kang-Woo answered while groaning, "I don''t think so. Man, it sure can''t be helped. It''s a bit of a weird sight to see, but since I can''t move an inch¡ª"


    "In that case, I will carry you, hyung-nim!" said Tae-Soo.


    "Huh?"


    It wasn''t supposed to be like this.


    "Hahaha! I''m sure you''ll be morefortable in my arms than my sister-inw''s!"


    ''Stay away from me.''


    "As the little brother, I can''t stay still when my sworn brother can barely walk!"


    ''No, please just stay still, man.''


    "Hyung-nim! Come jump into my arms!"


    ''Go away.''


    Tae-Soo picked up Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo was met with the thick stench of sweat and the sensation of muscles that were as hard as stone.


    "Hyung-nim! We should take you back home first and foremost! No need to worry! I will take full responsibility for taking you there!"


    "No¡­ Tae-Soo, your house is in theplete opposite direction, so¡­"


    "Hahahaha! That doesn''t matter to me as long as it is for you, hyung-nim!!"


    "Put me down for a second. Now that I think about it, I think I can walk."


    "You shouldn''t overwork yourself! Stay still!"


    Tae-Soo held Kang-Woo even tighter.


    Kang-Woo was soaked with Tae-Soo''s sweat.


    ''This ain¡¯t it.''


    Kang-Woo''s face turned pale. He reached out toward Seol-Ah, but she was too far away.


    ''This really ain¡¯t it¡­''

 Chapter 94 - The Way to Achieve the Ultimate Demonic Body (2)

    Chapter 94 - The Way to Achieve the Ultimate Demonic Body (2)


    It had been three days since the Rift had appeared in the middle of Seoul.


    It was obvious, but the country was turned upside down after the Isu Station incident. No, it wasn''t just within the country but the entire world.


    The Demon Cult¡­


    It was the incident that made their existence known.


    The world leaders weren''t that surprised. They had already known about their existence and how dangerous they could be.


    Most countries ordered the elimination of the Demon Cult, but it wasn''t that effective.


    The Demon Cult was strong and secretive.


    Now that massive armies had been switched to small forces of yers in war, it was difficult to hold arge-scale investigation.


    Rather than being more secretive, the Demon Cult no longer found the need to stay hidden and became even more active, causing chaos throughout the world.


    Compared to other countries, Korea, the starting point of this global chaos which was simr to the chaos during the Day of Cmity five years ago, was rather peaceful. This was because Oh Kang-Woo had pretty much severed the root of the Demon Cult in Korea.


    While the world''s attention was focused on Korea, big forces were starting to move.


    * * *


    "I can finally move aroundfortably."


    A house located in Seoul station¡­


    Kang-Woo, able to get out of bed after three days, stretched. He found it hard to recover from the side effects of using the Ten Thousand Demon Core, so he''d spent thest three days sleeping.


    Kang-Woo, however, had finally fully recovered.


    Click.


    "Kang-Woo, why are you up?" asked Echidna.


    "Because I''m feeling better. I think I can move around again."


    "Don''t push yourself too hard, Kang-Woo. It''s okay if you rest a bit more. I''ll take care of you."


    Echidna grabbed Kang-Woo and tried to make him go to bed again.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and shook his head.


    "No, I''m okay. I actually feel better than before after getting tons of rest."


    "¡­"


    Echidna looked a bit disappointed by how full of energy Kang-Woo was. She thought that the times of her being stuck next to him while taking care of him for the past three days had ended.


    "Kang-Woo, don''t push yourself anymore."


    "Okay."


    "That''s what you always say, but you do it anyway," Echidnained adorably and grabbed Kang-Woo''s clothes. "What are we doing today, Kang-Woo?"


    "Hmm. First, I want to get a grasp of the current situation."


    He had more or less heard things, but not much on the details.


    Kang-Woo opened the door and went to the living room.


    "Hm?"


    He saw Cha Yeon-Joo drinking tea with Han Seol-Ah.


    "Huh? Why are you up already?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Because I''m feeling better. More importantly, what are you doing here?"


    "Hmph. What''s wrong with taking a break in a house that I bought with my own money? Got a problem?"


    Seol-Ah lightly giggled at Yeon-Joo''s words.


    "Yeon-Joo stops by every day because she''s worried about you."


    "Th-that''s not true! Don''t say weird things!" Yeon-Joo shouted, flustered.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    "I was about to call you anyway. Perfect timing."


    "You were?"


    "Yeah. I wanted to know what''s going on around the world."


    "Hmph. Why don''t you go back to bed like a good patient?"


    "I told you that I''m all good now."


    Yeon-Joo sighed and took a sip of tea. "First, Hanul Guild has been officially disbanded."


    "And the remnants of the Demon Cult?"


    "We arrested them, but¡­ they all turned into monsters before we could interrogate them."


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo gulped. It seemed as if someone had made sure that information wouldn''t leak.


    "What about the cult itself?"


    "We''ve been getting reports from all around the world, but¡­ none of the cult''s branches in other countries have tantly shown themselves as they did in Korea. The chaos in Korea still hasn''t died down yet."


    Thousands of lives had been sacrificed. There was no way that the chaos would be resolved so quickly.


    Kang-Woo nodded and began reading the news on his smartphone.


    [Demon Cult, the global pseudo-religious organization, who are they and what is their goal¡­?]


    [A hero has appeared! Attention to the Sword Dragon, Kim Si-Hun!]


    [People continue to testify about the Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun¡­ A "supernova" has risen.]


    [Creation of the Kim Si-Hun fan club. Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun receives massive global attention.]


    "I only see news about Si-Hun."


    "Well, he was the first one to arrive and kill the demonic beasts to rescue civilians during the Isu Station incident."


    Si-Hun was more handsome than the average celebrity and had saved ordinary civilians from demonic beasts like a hero. He was also strong enough for it to be unbelievable for him to have not been known all this while.


    It would be weird if he didn''t get attention.


    "Why? Are you disappointed that he stole your thunder?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "No way."


    Kang-Woo shrugged. He hated receiving unnecessary attention, and he even pitied Si-Hun, who had be a celebrity after the incident.


    "Oh, and a force of one of the World Rankers hase to Korea."


    "A World Ranker?"


    "Yeah, and this World Ranker''s force is called the Heavenly Sword n¡­ a Chinese guild."


    "Are they here for Si-Hun?"


    "I''m not sure. They haven''t done anything in particr yet, so we aren''t sure about their intentions."


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo nodded. He thought it probably had nothing to do with him.


    "Anyway. The Demon Cult''s forces in Korea have been more or less wiped out¡­ or so I''d like to think," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "Yeah, although the ones in Korea were probably nothing but the tip of the iceberg."


    Yeon-Joo''s eyes shone sharply.


    Kang-Woo looked at her. "You aren''t nning to end your revenge here, right?"


    "Of course not. I''m not stopping until Ipletely wipe them off the map."


    "That''s a good mindset."


    After the Isu Station incident, it became obvious that the Demon Cult was too dangerous for Kang-Woo and the entire world.


    Because the Gaia System was weakening, he couldn''t even imagine what absurd methods they would use to increase their forces.


    ''I had never even imagined that it was possible to summon a demon within one''s own body.''


    He''d never thought humans could fuse with demons in such a way.


    "So no Demon Cult members have been exposed in other countries?"


    "Right. Although we''ve been receiving some reports, there hasn''t been any detailed information."


    "I see."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    It would be impossible for him to search for the Demon Cult branches hidden all around the world.


    ''That would be beyond stupid.''


    Finding the branch hidden in Korea was already hard enough, so searching for the branches that he had no idea where they could possibly be was far too inefficient.


    ''Right now, I have to get stronger.''


    If it wasn''t possible to attack, he just had to build a fortress to defend, a fortress they wouldn''t dare to attack.


    ''First, I''ll have to break through the level cap and figure out how to acquire the Ultimate Demonic Body.''


    Since his level was capped, he wouldn''t be able to grow stronger if he couldn''t figure out the final condition for obtaining the Ultimate Demonic Body.


    However, the problem was that he wasn''t sure how to solve these two problems. If he had some sort of clue, he would be able to make a guess, but that wasn''t the case.


    ''In that case¡­''


    He couldn''t waste any more time. He had to find something that he could do right away.


    ''Something that I can do right now and will be of help to me¡­''


    The first thing that came to mind was raising his Demonic Energy stat through hunting. However, this would be as much of a waste of time as thinking about the other two problems because his Demonic Energy stat had surpassed 100.


    Raising it through hunting wasn''t very effective.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and fell into thought.


    "Oh."


    At that moment, he thought of a possibility that he could do and that could be helpful to him.


    "I''ll have to call Si-Hun."


    Kang-Woo took out his smartphone while smiling.


    * * *


    "Hyung-nim! Are you feeling okay now?"


    After he called him, Kim Si-Hun appeared in less than 20 minutes.


    Kang-Woo nodded. "More importantly, how are you doing? I''ve been seeing nothing but you on the newstely."


    "Haha, please don''t even get me started. People swarm me as soon as I even leave my house, so I can''t even go hunting." Si-Hun took off his hat and mask in exasperation. "I''m considering buying a full face mask."


    "Well, I don''t really see the point of that after all this time, but¡­ in any case, you must have it hard."


    "I actually have a lot ofints."


    "Comints?"


    "Yes. Speaking frankly, I wasn''t the one who resolved the Isu Station incident. That was you, Kang-Woo hyung-nim. It''s you who should be praised as a hero," Si-Hun said in disappointment. He felt that he''d stolen Kang-Woo''s achievement.


    "I would hate that."


    "You don''t mind people not recognizing you for what you''ve done?"


    "Receiving attention when I have nothing to gain just makes things bothersome. You literally just talked about how exhausting it is."


    "That''s true, but¡­" Si-Hun felt a bit disappointed that people weren''t recognizing Kang-Woo for his achievement.


    "I hate bothersome things."


    "Hmm¡­ If you say so, I guess there''s nothing I can do. That aside, what did you call me for?"


    "I have a favor I want to ask you."


    "As long as it''s something I can do, I''ll do it," Si-Hun said with eyes burning with loyalty.


    Kang-Wooughed after watching him act as if he was willing to even give Kang-Woo his own liver.


    "I want to learn martial arts."


    "¡­ Martial arts?"


    Si-Hun tilted his head.


    "Yup. You told me that you reached a new height some time ago, didn''t you? What was it again¡­? One With the Sword, right?"


    "Yes, but¡­"


    "Not to that point, though. I just want to learn how to use weapons properly."


    "Mmm¡­"


    Si-Hun suppressed his groan. He wasn''t hesitant because he didn''t want to teach Kang-Woo martial arts but because of another reason.


    He replied cautiously, "I''m not good enough to teach you, hyung-nim."


    Kang-Woo was already far stronger than him.


    Si-Hun teaching Kang-Woo was like a student teaching a teacher how to study.


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    "No. I may be stronger than you in terms of power, but not if it''s purely in terms of weapon technique."


    Kang-Woo''s techniques had been polished through countless battles¡ªhe''d never properly learned martial arts.


    ''Although they say that true martial arts are formless¡­''


    But that could only be said by someone who had learned the forms.


    Kang-Woo''s techniques were purely practical techniques that had reached their ultimate form.


    ''I thought that was more than good enough, but¡­''


    It would be aplete waste to leave Si-Hun, the Martial God''s sessor, to rot in a corner.


    "Understood." Kim Si-Hun nodded. "I will teach you martial arts."

 Chapter 95 - The Way to Achieve the Ultimate Demonic Body (3)

    Chapter 95 - The Way to Achieve the Ultimate Demonic Body (3)


    The next day, Oh Kang-Woo went to a training room in the Red Rose guild house with Kim Si-Hun.


    "Kyaaaa!"


    "Isn''t that the Sword Dragon?!"


    "That''s the Sword Dragon, isn''t it?"


    Si-Hun''s poprity could also be felt in the Red Rose Guild.


    The people working at the counter rushed to them while screaming.


    "Wh-What brings you to the Red Rose Guild?!"


    "A-A-A-A-A-Are you perhaps joining the Red Rose Guild?"


    "Uhhh¡­" Si-Hun shook his head while smiling awkwardly. "No. It''s true that I am receiving a lot of help from Red Rose, but I have already pledged my loyalty to someone else."


    "L-Loyalty?"


    "Would you mind telling us who?"


    "I''m sorry, but that''s a bit¡­"


    The members of the Red Rose Guild looked a bit disappointed.


    "Th-Then could I at least have an autograph?"


    "Mmm, that''s¡­"


    Si-Hun scratched his cheek as he was having difficulty refusing.


    Kang-Woo opened his mouth and said, "Let''s stop wasting time and get going."


    "Ah, yes! Understood, hyung-nim!"


    "¡­"


    The guild members red at Kang-Woo.


    "What''s up with that squid?"


    ''Isn''t squid a bit too harsh?''


    Kang-Woo frowned after hearing what they were mumbling behind him.


    Objectively speaking, Kang-Woo also had fairly decent looks. No, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that he was good-looking, but next to Si-Hun, most average-looking people were like squids.


    Si-Hun said, "I''m going to give them a piece of my mind. How dare they call you a squid¡­?"


    "Don''t make this any more miserable for me than it has to be. Just follow me."


    Si-Hun stepping up to protect Kang-Woo''s honor in this situation would make Kang-Woo look even more pathetic.


    They took the elevator and went to the training room.


    "Ah, you''re here. The guildmaster has given me the details." Park Hyun-Woo weed them at the training room entrance. After opening the door, he carefully said, "Come to think of it, I''ve heard about your spar with our guildmaster in the training room at Hwarang Corps headquarters."


    "Oh¡­"


    "The repair fees were up in the billions, I''ve heard. Hahahaha"¡ªHyun-Woo grabbed Kang-Woo''s hand whileughing dryly¡ª"I would appreciate it if the same did not happen here."


    "¡­ Yes, of course."


    "Hahaha! I will hold you to that."


    Kang-Woo could feel the fatigue in Hyun-Woo''sugh.


    ''I believe he''s the one mainly in charge of managing the guild.''


    Hyun-Woo had likely been swamped with work due to the multitude of incidents as ofte.


    Kang-Woo looked in pity at Hyun-Woo''s thin shoulders as he walked away and then entered the training room.


    "Let us begin right away," Si-Hun remarked.


    "Sounds good."


    Si-Hun nced at the practice weapons that were inside the training room. "First off, which weapon do you mainly use, hyung-nim?"


    "Hmm¡­ I don''t have one in particr."


    He used different weapons based on the situation.


    Si-Hun nodded.


    "Even still, it would be best for you to choose a weapon that you will mainly use to learn martial arts. Hmm¡­ Let''s start with a sword first, since I specialize in sword martial arts."


    "A sword, huh?"


    To be honest, the weapon he was the most ustomed to was the spear.


    He also used the Authority of des quite often, but its shape slightly differed from a conventional sword. It emerged from the back of his hands for him to swing, so it was more akin to an assassin''s hidden de than a sword.


    ''I guess if I''m learning martial arts from the Sword Dragon, it''s better to use a sword.''


    He grabbed a practice sword.


    "First, I will teach you the basic movements of the Sleeping Dragon Sword Technique. I''m sure you''ll be able to learn them all in just a day."


    Si-Hun disyed all of the movements.


    The Sleeping Dragon Sword Technique had eight different movements.


    The sword moved as fluidly as water. After showing him the movements, Si-Hun turned around.


    "Now you try them."


    "¡­ What?"


    "Just do exactly what I showed you."


    "How could I possibly do that when I only saw it once?"


    "Pardon? But you''re just following my form."


    Si-Hun looked at Kang-Woo in confusion.


    Kang-Woo looked at him in disbelief and just swung the sword around at random.


    "Would you be able to follow this if I told you to?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Of course."


    Si-Hun perfectly copied what Kang-Woo had just done.


    ''The fuck?''


    Kang-Woo felt something was weirdly out of ce.


    "Don''t be like that and give it a try, hyung-nim."


    "I literally can''t, man."


    "Hmm¡­ Then I''ll guide you through each movement, one by one."


    Si-Hun tilted his head and performed the first movement of the Sleeping Dragon Sword Style.


    It involved swinging the sword down from up high to waist level and then back up as if bouncing off the air.


    Kang-Woo tried to copy Si-Hun''s movements.


    "No. That''s not how you do it, hyung-nim."


    "Huh? It was perfect, wasn''t it?"


    "You put too much strength into your downswing. If you do that, the rebound when you swing back up will be too strong."


    Si-Hun repeated the first movement, which Kang-Woo also tried again.


    "That''s not it, hyung-nim. You didn''t swing hard enough this time,"


    ''What do I have to do, then?''


    While thinking it was harder than he initially thought, Kang-Woo put a bit more strength into the downswing.


    Whoosh!


    "Oh, a little bit weaker there."


    Whoosh!


    "No. Your swing was too weak."


    Whoosh!


    "You have to swing a bit harder."


    Three hours passed.


    Kang-Woo''s expression carried a hint of irritation after performing the same movement for three hours straight.


    "Did you also struggle with controlling your strength at first, Si-Hun?"


    "Y-Yes," Si-Hun said while trying to avoid his gaze.


    Kang-Woo realized that he was lying.


    "You can be honest."


    "¡­ I was able to perfectly control my strength in about two to three tries," Si-Hun said carefully.


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief.


    ''He learned how to do this in just two to three tries?''


    Controlling the first movement''s strength was equivalent to filling a cup with water to its very top while blindfolded.


    It was a totally different kind of sense from the battle sense that Kang-Woo had polished through countless battles, so he couldn''t get a good grasp of it.


    "Fuu. Let''s leave strength control forter and just stick to learning the movements'' proper form."


    "Mmm¡­ Understood."


    Si-Hun looked at Kang-Woo as if he couldn''t understand what the problem was and then nodded.


    The Sleeping Dragon Sword Technique had eight movements in total.


    Kang-Woo followed Si-Hun along each movement and performed them so that they all linked with each other.


    ''The transitions between the forms feel a bit clunky.''


    It felt weird as he tried to link each movement. It was as if he was forcing a mismatched gear to turn.


    "I can''t seem to link the fourth and fifth movements smoothly. What should I do?"


    Kang-Woo turned to face Si-Hun. The sole purpose of a master was to give their disciples guidance.


    Si-Hun answered while making his characteristic smile, "You should just swing your sword naturally without being conscious of linking them."


    "What?"


    "It''s not working because you''re being too conscious of it. Just let your senses take over your body."


    "Mmm¡­"


    Kang-Woo swung the sword while tilting his head. Just like Si-Hun suggested, he let his senses swing the sword for him.


    It obviously didn''t work.


    ''What the hell?''


    Kang-Woo finally figured out why he was getting this out-of-ce feeling for a while.


    Si-Hun was a genius before he was an outstanding swordsman¡ªa genius with talent far above ordinary people, at that.


    ''That''s literally the same thing as saying to justst-hit the minions when they''re low.''[1]


    Something simr had urred during an interview with a certain genius pro gamer. He spoke as if things were natural, but as he was a genius, things that were natural to him were not natural to others. It seemed as if Si-Hun wasn''t aware of this.


    Because he could do it so naturally, he couldn''t understand what others were struggling with.


    "Hmm."


    Although only a single day had passed, Kang-Woo became sure of something.


    ''Si-Hun doesn''t have talent in being someone''s master.''


    Because he was too talented, he couldn''t exin how to do things to others. It was impossible to learn anything from Si-Hun unless one was as talented as him.


    "Tsk¡­ I''ll have to give up learning martial arts from you."


    "Wh-What do you mean, hyung-nim? I guess I really was too weak to help you¡­"


    "No, that''s not it. It''s actually theplete opposite."


    "The opposite?"


    "You''re too talented."


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained silent.


    Kang-Woo sighed and turned around.


    "Let''s stop here. I''m sure we''ll have other opportunities in the future."


    "Ah¡­"


    Si-Hun groaned lightly. He seemed disappointed because the opportunity for him to repay Kang-Woo even a little had gone down the drain.


    "H-Hyung-nim. How about you try learning a cultivation technique?"


    "Cultivation technique?"


    "Yes. The backbone of martial arts isn''t sword or foot techniques, but cultivation techniques. I''m sure I''ll be able to teach you that properly at the very least."


    "Hmm."


    While thinking about it for a little while, Kang-Woo nodded.


    It was worth a shot.


    "Okay. First of all, why don''t you check how I circte my energy within my body?"


    "Okay."


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Beholder and checked how the energy flowed inside Si-Hun''s body. He could see the movements of Qi with the dantian at its center.


    ''I think I could pull this off.''


    If it was just controlling the energy inside himself rather than controlling his body, he felt that he could do it.


    Kang-Woo sat and recalled how the Qi flowed inside Si-Hun''s body.


    Ring.


    [Activating the effect of the Trait "Ruler of Demonic Energy." Raising your control over demonic energy.]


    [You have learned the Qi cultivation technique "Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique."]


    ''Oh.''


    He had seeded in just one try.


    As he used the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique, his demonic energy circted throughout his entire body with the dantian at the focus.


    ''Huh?''


    As he used the cultivation technique, he could feel his demonic energy concentrating in the area under his belly button. This area was known as the dantian.


    However, the demonic energy didn''t just concentrate there. It also formed a round crystal.


    ''This is¡­''


    It was a familiar sensation.


    The image of a ck gem popped up in his mind.


    Ring.


    [You have sessfully formed a demonic crystal.]


    [You have obtained a clue for the final condition of Ultimate Demonic Body.]


    ''Si-Hun¡­''


    Excitement ran through his body.


    He had found a clue for the final condition of the Ultimate Demonic Body where he had least expected it.


    ''I love you, man!''


    1. Last-hitting minions is a learned skill in League of Legends. Although it''s easy to just say to "hit them when they are low," it''s difficult to time when to hit them without practice because they also hit each other. ?

 Chapter 96 - The Way to Achieve the Ultimate Demonic Body (4)

    Chapter 96 - The Way to Achieve the Ultimate Demonic Body (4)


    [Ultimate Demonic Body: The first step to bing a Demon God.


    *Condition 1: Demonic Energy stat reaches 60.


    *Condition 2: Perfectly merge three or more Authorities.


    *Condition 3: Form a demonic crystal above a certain size (unfulfilled).]


    ''To think that thest condition was to create a demonic crystal inside my body.''


    Oh Kang-Woo would''ve never figured it out if he hadn''t learned the cultivation technique from Kim Si-Hun. After all, he didn''t know that the demonic crystal used by the Demon Cult could be formed through cultivation.


    ''But is this the same demonic crystal used by the Demon Cult?''


    Kang-Woo concentrated on the demonic crystal that was within his dantian. Both were concentrated demonic energy. In that aspect, they were simr, but in terms of the density of demonic energy, they werepletely different.


    ''They may be the same kind of item, but the amount of energy concentrated inside them ispletely different.''


    It was likeparing an americano to an espresso.


    The Demon Cult''s demonic crystals felt as if the demonic energy had been watered down, while the demonic crystal in Kang-Woo''s dantian was thick with pure undiluted demonic energy.


    Because the concentration levels were different, the amount of power that he could extract from it was also on a whole other level.


    Kang-Woo concentrated the demonic energy of the demonic crystal within his dantian into his fist. Although he hadn''t used an Authority, a destructive amount of demonic energy gathered in his fist.


    To test its power, Kang-Woo lightly struck the steel doll in the training room.


    Wham!


    The steel turned to dust from a single blow.


    "A-Amazing, hyung-nim!" Si-Hun shouted in surprise. He could also cleanly cut steel, but Kang-Woo had turned it to dust. That was something he couldn''t even fathom doing.


    Si-Hun asked, "Did you have sess with the cultivation technique?"


    "Yeah, thanks to you. You were of great help."


    He had only used the cultivation technique once, so there wasn''t much demonic energy inside the demonic crystal yet. The demonic crystal was reduced to a third of its original size from just concentrating energy into his fist once.


    ''Well, I only just learned the cultivation technique.''


    There was no need to rush.


    Now that he''d learned the cultivation technique, he just had to use it and increase the size of his demonic crystal.


    Kang-Woo used to control the boundless energy contained within the Ten Thousand Demon Core, so using a cultivation technique that controlled the energy within him was a simple task.


    Kang-Woo once again sat down on the floor cross-legged and used the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique.


    He opened his eyes after focusing on the cultivation technique for a while.


    ''I don''t really feel the need to sit like this.''


    Kang-Woo uncrossed his legs and stood up.


    He felt like he would be able to keep cultivating during everyday life but not during pressing situations such as while in battle.


    "Th-That''s dangerous, hyung-nim!"


    "Hm? What is?"


    "If you stand up while using the cultivation technique¡ª"


    Si-Hun was about to warn Kang-Woo that he could suffer from Qi deviation but became wide-eyed from astonishment.


    Not only had Kang-Woo not suffered from Qi deviation, but he was perfectly fine.


    "Did you¡­ halt the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique?"


    "No, I''m still using it."


    "Y-you can use it while moving?"


    Si-Hun looked at him in disbelief.


    There were some cultivation techniques that you could use without sitting in a lotus position, but the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique wasn''t one of them.


    In exchange for the incredible amount of Qi one could umte and control with the technique, one could only fully take advantage of the effects through cultivating in the proper position.


    However, Kang-Woo hadpletely broken the cultivation technique''s characteristics.


    "How¡­"


    Kim Si-Hun looked at Kang-Woo, confused.


    Using the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique in daily life was something that not even the Martial God Tian Taihuang, who had transferred his knowledge of martial arts to Si-Hun, had been able to achieve.


    "It isn''t that hard. It circtes throughout your meridians, right? You just have to control it so that the flowing energy doesn''t sh."


    "¡­ But your meridians also move when you move."


    The reason why it was difficult to use cultivation techniques while moving was simple¡ªthe position of one''s meridians changes along with one''s movements.


    Just like how it was difficult to get through a tunnel shaking from side to side, it was difficult to circte one''s Qi while the meridians moved. No, it was next to impossible.


    "You just have to take your own movements into ount."


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained silent after hearing the words Kang-Woo had said so calmly. Although Kang-Woo had said it as if it was nothing, Si-Hun knew how incredible the feat was.


    It was like running full throttle along an extremely narrow road where one misstep could cause one to fall down a cliff.


    "Just as I thought¡­ I can''tpare to you, hyung-nim."


    Si-Hun shook his head.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    Controlling demonic energy along with his movements was easypared to controlling the boundless amount of demonic energy within the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    ''I guess you could consider this a talent, but¡­''


    Kang-Woo didn''t consider it a talent. It was a product of what he had learned desperately for ten millennia so that he wouldn''t be devoured by his own demonic energy.


    It couldn''t be exined with the word talent.


    "How about you try giving qinggong a shot this time?" Si-Hun suggested.


    "No. Let''s leave that for another day. This is enough for now."


    He''d obtained a new possibility for growth in the form of the demonic crystal, so he wanted to focus on researching the cultivation technique and making his demonic crystal bigger.


    ''And once I do¡­''


    Kang-Woo recalled the final condition of the Ultimate Demonic Body.


    He still didn''t know what exactly it was or its effects, but he was sure it wouldn''t be something that would harm his growth.


    ''Rather it''s highly likely that it''ll augment my growth.''


    Also, he could only use the Trait he had acquired on his Sixth Awakening after achieving the Ultimate Demonic Body.


    Now that he had a goal and knew what he had to do, he had no reason to focus on anything else.


    ''I''ll focus on the cultivation technique first.''


    Kang-Woo casually used the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique.


    Feeling the demonic energy spread throughout his body gathering around his new power, the demonic crystal within his dantian, made him feel good.


    ''Once the demonic crystal gets a bit bigger, I''ll have to put it to the test.''


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction and turned to Si-Hun.


    "Let''s go home."


    "Are you sure you''re fine with not learning any other techniques?"


    "Yup. Oh, this Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique of yours is the greatest one you have among the other cultivation techniques you know, right?"


    "Yes. If I ept more of the Martial God''s power, I will probably be able to learn a better one, but¡­ right now, the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique is the best one."


    "I see."


    That meant that if Si-Hun became stronger and learned better cultivation techniques, it would also help Kang-Woo.


    ''Keep on growing, Si-Hun!''


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun like a farmer praying for fruit to bear. Of course, he wasn''t thinking of leaving him to grow all on his own.


    "In that case, let''s go to an S-rank Gate next time, Si-Hun."


    "A-An S-rank Gate?"


    "Yeah."


    "I''m d that you trust me, but our party isn''t strong enough to hunt in an S-rank Gate yet."


    "Don''t worry. The one doing the carrying is none other than me."


    "¡­ Pardon?"


    "All you have to do is sit back and rx."


    Kang-Woo would be carrying Si-Hun for his explosive growth.


    "I''ll show you my incredible carrying skills."


    Kang-Woo smiled while patting Si-Hun''s shoulders.


    * * *


    "Are you done for today?" Park Hyun-Woo asked as they walked out of the training room.


    "Yes. Thank you for letting us borrow your training room."


    "You''re not stopping by to see the guildmaster before you go?"


    "I told her that I would be busy today, but I n on meeting her next time."


    "Haha. I''m sure she''s disappointed."


    Hyun-Woo nodded whileughing softly.


    "Please feel free toe visit the Red Rose Guild any time you''d like."


    "Thank you for always being so helpful."


    Kang-Woo and Si-Hun shook hands with Hyun-Woo.


    "Oh, right. Come to think of it, have you heard that people from the Heavenly Sword n havee to Korea?" Hyun-Woo said.


    "Yes, I have."


    The Heavenly Sword n was a Chinese guild led by Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen, one of the eight World Rankers. It was a guild made up of yers with the Qi unique stat like Si-Hun. It was more like a n in martial arts novels than a regr yer guild.


    "I''ve heard that the Heavenly Sword n have started to make their move," Hyun-Woo mentioned.


    "Hmm¡­ What is their goal?"


    "We still have yet to figure that out."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "I''ll keep that in mind."


    "Please be careful. You might fall into danger if you associate yourself with them."


    The Heavenly Sword n was far more powerful than any Korean guild.


    First, they had almost ten thousand yer members. The Red Rose Guild had a little over a thousand, so the Heavenly Sword n was pretty much ten times bigger.


    "Hahaha, you don''t have to worry about that," Kang-Woo expressed.


    "Well¡­ I''m sure you would keep your distance from them."


    "No. I won''t need to keep my distance from them."


    "¡­?"


    "After all, I won''t be the one in danger if they associate with me."


    Kang-Wooughed.


    There was a heavy silence.


    "Then we''ll get going," said Kang-Woo.


    Just because the Heavenly Sword n had made their move, there was no need for him to hide.


    He only had one simple rule of survival: answer to evil with greater evil, and return bloodlust with even greater bloodlust.


    The moment one yields one, one''s enemy will take away two. If one bows one''s head, it will get trampled on.


    Of course, if it were an enemy Kang-Woo was no match against, hiding would be the right decision.


    In that case, lowering one''s body, crawling on the floor, and waiting for one''s opportunity was the wisest decision.


    ''But not anymore.''


    Kang-Woo knew how strong he was. It wasn''t like he''d recovered all of his former power in Hell, but he wasn''t weak enough to go around Earth while avoiding people.


    "Let''s go, Si-Hun."


    "Yes, hyung-nim!"


    After seeing Kang-Woo walking away, Si-Hun quickly followed him.


    Kang-Woo got into his car after exiting the Red Rose Guild.


    "I''ll drive you home."


    "It''s okay, hyung-nim. It doesn''t take long on the subway."


    "I can''t let you do that when you''ve taken the time to teach me martial arts. Oh, and I''ll buy you a car soon."


    "N-No, that''s okay, hyung-nim. I''m already grateful to you for helping me find the right care for my mother, so a car would be¡­"


    "It''s because it''s inconvenient for me. I''ll get you one so that you cane to me as soon as possible whenever I call you."


    "Hyung-nim¡­"


    Si-Hun teared up a bit.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    ''I wonder what would''ve be of him if it weren''t for me.''


    Si-Hun had taught him martial arts. Taking that into consideration, buying him a car was nothing. But for Si-Hun to react like that¡­ he was so gullible that he would fall for scams all too easily.


    ''Although I''m here to make sure that doesn''t happen.''


    While thinking that, Kang-Woo took Kim Si-Hun to his house.


    "Hmm?"


    There, he saw a group of people wearing martial arts robes.


    Click.


    "Who are you?" Si-Hun asked them after getting out of the car.


    The men looked at Si-Hun.


    One man with a sh scar on one eye approached Si-Hun and spoke in awkward Korean.


    "I am the captain of the Heavenly Sword n''s 3rd Squadron, Nangong Chen. The Sword Emperor wants to meet Korea''s Sword Dragon. Follow."


    "I''m sorry? Sword Emperor¡­? A-Are you talking about the Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen?"


    Si-Hun flinched after hearing the name of one of the strongest people in the world.


    Nangong Chen''s eyes shone sharply.


    "Do not dare speak his great name. Follow obediently. ne is ready."


    "Uhmm¡­"


    Si-Hun hesitated.


    Kang-Woo grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.


    Nangong Chen''s eyes locked onto Kang-Woo.


    "You''ve learned Korean all wrong, you son of a bitch," Kang-Woo stated.


    "¡­ What?"


    "Why are you talking down to us, man?"

 Chapter 97 - Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen (1)

    Chapter 97 - Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen (1)


    "Who are you?" Nangong Chen questioned with a sharp gaze.


    "I''m Si-Hun''s hyung," Oh Kang-Woo answered calmly.


    "Kim Si-Hun''s older brother¡­? Are you Kim Yeong-Hun? But I heard that he is in prison."


    "In this world, there are bonds that are thicker than blood."


    "¡­?" Chen looked at Kang-Woo in confusion.


    "Have you heard of sworn brothers?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Oh, that was what you meant," Nangong Chen said, snorting while nodding. "We have no interest in you. The Sword Emperor only wants the Sword Dragon. Move."


    "I''m not interested in who he is either."


    "...Do not run your mouth," Nangong Chen chided. Then he turned to face Kim Si-Hun. "Follow obediently if you do not want to see this man get hurt, Sword Dragon."


    "I should be the one telling you not to run your mouth at hyung-nim," Si-Hun replied.


    Si-Hun, who had been intimidated by the mention of the Sword Emperor, stepped forward at this moment. He exuded a strong bloodlust as he ced his hand on his sword''s handle.


    Of course, he was still afraid of Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen. Wuchen was the strongest yer in China and the boss of China''srgest force. Even China''s president was careful not to cross him, so Si-Hun thought it was understandable for Nangong Chen, an executive of the Heavenly Sword n, to talk down to him.


    Nevertheless, Si-Hun wouldn''t let Nangong Chen disrespect Kang-Woo like that. After all, Kang-Woo had saved Si-Hun from his hellish life. Si-Hun wasn''t a coward who would remain silent while seeing his benefactor get insulted.


    "Oh? You dare unsheathe your sword?" Nangong Chen remarked with narrowed eyes. "You seem to be on a high horse after people praised you as the Sword Dragon.¡±


    Nangong Chen thought that he should use a more aggressive strategy.


    ''The Sword Emperor told me to bring him as politely as possible, but...''


    What was the point of being courteous to this brat? Rather, Nangong Chen thought it would be better to teach Si-Hun a lesson before he even had the chance to disrespect the Sword Emperor.


    Nangong Chen reached for the handle of the sword on his waist, but someone put his hand on it before him.


    "Don''t unsheathe it," Kang-Woo said.


    "Wh-What the..." Nangong Chen uttered in surprise.


    ¡°You die if you unsheathe that, man."


    Kang-Woo had ced his hand on Nangong Chen''s sword without him realizing it.


    Nangong Chen was horrified. He was a warrior-type yer with the Qi unique stat. This meant his senses were far sharper than other warrior yers. Yet, Nangong Chen had no idea that Kang-Woo had ced his hand on his sword until Kang-Woo spoke.


    "Kuh!" Nangong Chen groaned and stepped backward. He looked at Kang-Woo in bewilderment and caution. "How¡­?"


    The thought that he might have been careless crossed Nangong Chen''s mind.


    "Oh, just so you know, it wasn''t because you let your guard down or weren''t focused enough. It''s just because you''re weak," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "¡­"


    "So, don''t say anything stupid like you were careless."


    A thick vein protruded on Nangong Chen''s forehead. He unsheathed his sword without hesitation.


    "How dare an uncivilized Korean¡ª!"


    Crack!


    "AARRGGHH!" Nangong Chen screamed.


    Kang-Woo had approached Nangong Chen and twisted his hand before he could finish his sentence. The sword that Nangong Chen was holding dropped onto the ground.


    "Enough of that damn nationalism. Don''t you get sick of it?" Kang-Woo asked, looking at Nangong Chen pitifully. "Is the country you''re from so important? Then pay more taxes, dude. People like you who don''t have shit always be patriotic while in another country."


    "Y-You son of a¡ª"


    "And logically speaking, do you seriously think calling someone ''uncivilized'' in their own country helps your country''s image in any way? Huh? If you really love your country so much, you shouldn''t do that, man."


    "Raaaahhhh!"


    Nangong Chen charged at Kang-Woo. Nevertheless, Kang-Woo pivoted slightly and raised his knee, driving it into Nangong Chen''s stomach. Nangong Chen grabbed his stomach and fell to the ground in pain.


    He groaned, "Kurgh! Cough! How dare you!"


    Schwing!


    The men behind Nangong Chen unsheathed their swords.


    Kang-Woo said quietly, "I told you not to unsheath them."


    He burst out with a powerful bloodlust, and the men''s faces turned pale.


    "Urgh..." they uttered anxiously.


    Kang-Woo''s bloodlust was abnormal. The men felt like they would be devoured rather than killed. Specifically, they felt like frogs in front of a massive predator.


    "None of you are dumb, so you know that you''re no match for me, right?" Kang-Woo said.


    "Kuh..." the men groaned.


    They were well aware that they would be no match for Kang-Woo, who had defeated Nangong Chen, the captain of the third squadron without even giving him the chance to use his weapon.


    Nangong Chen, who was on the ground, coughed, still acting superior.


    "Cough! Cough! H-How dare a K-Korean¡ª"


    "Man, this moron still hasn''t learned his lesson," Kang-Woo remarked. He grabbed Nangong Chen by the back of his neck and lifted him up. "The standards of a nation are decided by its people. You''re the only one who loses out from getting so red-hot with anger."


    "¡­"


    "Oh, maybe that was too hard for you to understand. Well, whatever. I guess I''ll take this chance to show you what you should be doing for your country."


    "Wh-What are you trying to do?!"


    "Juste with me and you''ll see."


    Kang-Woo dragged Nangong Chen somewhere, and Si-Hun followed him.


    "Where are you going, hyung-nim?" Si-Hun asked.


    "Si-Hun, is there a restaurant around here that serves good kimchi stew?" Kang-Woo answered with a question.


    "...Pardon?"


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened in confusion. Why was Kang-Woo suddenly looking for a restaurant that served good kimchi stew?


    Regardless, Si-Hun replied, "There''s one around the corner of that alleyway..."


    "Good."


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction and dragged Nangong Chen there.


    He turned around and called out to the other men who were standing in ce dumbfoundedly, "Hey! You guyse too!"


    "¡­"


    The men looked at each other and then followed Kang-Woo.


    Upon entering the restaurant, Kang-Woo said, "Aunty, seven portions of kimchi stew with extra meat, please."


    "Sigh~ You got it, young man. But... is that gentleman hurt?" the middle-ageddy in the restaurant asked.


    "No, he''s just making a fuss over nothing. Right?"


    Kang-Woo patted Nangong Chen''s back. Nangong Chen flinched.


    "It''ll be ready soon~" the warm-hearteddy said.


    She went into the kitchen and came back out soon after with piping hot kimchi stew.


    "Wh-What is this?" Nangong Chen asked.


    "Kimchi stew. Try it. It''ll blow your mind," Kang-Woo replied.


    He patted Nangong Chen''s trembling back.


    Nangong Chen frowned and questioned, "Making us eat hodgepodge like this is what we should be doing for our country?"


    "Hodge¡­ podge...?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened in anger, and a strong bloodlust came out of him.


    Kang-Woo grabbed Nangong Chen''s shoulder and used the Authority of Fear. Nangong Chen felt like his shoulder was getting squashed by a hydraulic press.


    "G-Gaahh!"


    "It''s not hodgepodge; it''s kimchi stew. Now, the meat is ready. Try it."


    "Kurgh..."


    After ncing at Si-Hun, Nangong Chen began eating the kimchi stew.


    ''Hmm¡­?'' he murmured inwardly in surprise.


    Nangong Chen found the stew delicious. The kimchi he''d tried before had a strong, sour taste that made him frown, but now that he was eating it in a stew, that sourness had been reced by a sweet taste.


    He ripped apart the kimchi, ced it on top of a spoonful of rice and a slice of meat, and ate the spoonful of food. A sweet, spicy, and savory taste spread inside his mouth.


    ''To think that there was food like this in Korea¡­?''


    Nangong Chen was an executive of the Heavenly Sword n. Everything he ate was normally prepared by top-ss chefs. Compared to his usual meals, this kimchi stew tasted like cheap instant food.


    ''But my hands aren''t stopping.''


    He quickly devoured an entire bowl of rice.


    It wasn''t just him; his four subordinates were also eating the kimchi stew.


    "Aunty~ Three more portions, please! And a bowl of rice for each!" Kang-Woo called out.


    "You got it, young man~ Sigh, you''re all eating so well!"


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction and looked at Nangong Chen.


    He asked, "What do you think? It''s delicious, right?"


    "...Ahem," Nangong Chen uttered awkwardly.


    "Hehe. I guess it is. Feel free to eat as much as you want," Kang-Woo said. He also had a spoonful of kimchi stew while humming happily. "To be honest with you, I''m not a very patriotic guy. But you have to admit the kimchi stew is great, right?"


    "I-It isn''t that great."


    "What are you talking about? You already finished two bowls. Anyway, you understand now, right? What you should be doing for your country is teaching others about its fantastic cultures, not calling them uncivilized or inferior."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo then focused on eating his kimchi stew.


    After eating an amount that shocked the other customers, Kang-Woo stood up.


    "Let''s go, Si-Hun," he said.


    "O-Okay..." Si-Hun replied.


    "Pay for the meal and go back to China. Tell that Sword Emperor or whatever his name is toe himself if he wants to meet Si-Hun," Kang-Woo told Nangong Chen.


    After that, Kang-Woo and Si-Hun walked out of the restaurant, leaving Nangong Chen and his men behind.


    Nangong Chen was dumbfounded.


    ''You want me to pay for everything you ate?''


    He experienced the warmth of Koreans.


    * * *


    "So... you came back after happily eating that kimchi stew or whatever?"


    In a giant room, a scrawny man was sitting in a chair that felt more majestic than luxurious. He was so thin that it seemed like he would break if struck, but he exuded an energy so great that it overwhelmed those around him. This was the Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen, the yer who could be said to be the ruler of China.


    "I-I apologize, sir!" Nangong Chen replied.


    Kneeling before Wuchen, Nangong Chen trembled with an expression full of fear. A suffocating air of anxiety stormed inside the room.


    "Ha... haha." Laughter emerged from Wuchen''s mouth. "Hahahahahahaha!!"


    Rumble!


    Wuchen''sugh shook the entire room.


    "Good! Interesting! I like him!" Wuchen eximed whileughing. "But..."


    The atmosphere suddenly changed.


    Wuchen red at Nangong Chen with sharp eyes and said, "I believe I told you to be courteous and polite."


    "U-Uhmm..."


    "What? Did you want to go on that power trip of yours again? Were you trying to run the name of Heavenly Sword n through the mud?"


    "A-Absolutely not!"


    "Lies."


    Wuchen used his Qi to pull Nangong Chen over to him.


    He grabbed Nangong Chen''s neck aggressively and said quietly, "I sent you because you know a bit of Korean, but it seems you acted all high and mighty without realizing how big the world is."


    "Cough! I-I apolog¡ª"


    "You''re banished. Those who do not have the qualities of a martial artist are unneeded in the Heavenly Sword n."


    "N-No!"


    Wuchen lightly waved his hands, and Nangong Chen was sent flying toward a wall.


    "Hehehe. So, he wants me to go in person...?"


    Wuchen stood up.


    This was the first time something like that had happened since he became a World Ranker.


    "Since he wants me to go, I''ll have to go."


    "You''re going to Korea, Father?" a voice as beautiful as rolling jade beads rang out.


    Wuchen turned toward the source of the voice.


    A young woman whose hair was tied up in the Chinese hairstyle often called twin buns approached him. With a slender figure, thick eyebrows, a sharp nose, and red lips, she was a very attractive woman. She was Tian Suyan, Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen''s daughter and one of the strongest martial artists in the Heavenly Sword n.


    "Why? Do you want to see how handsome the Sword Dragon is?"


    "Hohoho. What are you talking about, Father?" Suyan asked. She sat down on the armrest of the chair and crossed her smooth legs. "I''m not interested in anyone who isn''t stronger than you."


    "Ngh," Wuchen groaned, seemingly troubled by that.

 Chapter 98 - Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen (2)

    Chapter 98 - Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen (2)


    A week had passed by since Oh Kang-Woo and Kim Si-Hun encountered Nangong Chen. During that time, Kang-Woo focused on increasing the size of the demonic crystal inside him. He used the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique even while eating, drinking, and sleeping.


    His ability to control the demonic energy inside him was already at a level that no one could ever hope to catch up to. The shocking result was a result of Kang-Woo spending every second of the day cultivating. The demonic crystal grew in size every day, and he got used to using the energy inside it.


    ''But when will I achieve the Ultimate Demonic Body?''


    The demonic crystal had be the size of his fist, but he still hadn''t fulfilled the final condition.


    ''Well, I guess I''ll fulfill it eventually.''


    Even if he became anxious, nothing would change. The only thing he could do was ce all his focus on it.


    Kang-Woo checked his status window while using the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique. His Demonic Energy stat was still at 103. He did not gain any demonic energy from cultivating.


    ''I guess it''s obvious since there isn''t any demonic energy.''


    Unlike mana, it was impossible to obtain demonic energy through natural sources. Maybe it would be different if he were in Hell, where demonic energy filled the air, but it was impossible on Earth.


    The demonic crystal was growing in size because Kang-Woo was pulling the demonic energy that was spread throughout his body into his dantian.


    ''There''s probably a limit to this too.''


    Once all the demonic energy that he possessed was added to the demonic crystal, he wouldn''t be able to make the crystal any bigger. The seal on the Ten Thousand Demon Core was still active, so he couldn¡¯t extract demonic energy from it for the demonic crystal.


    Furthermore, ever since his Demonic Energy stat surpassed 100, it had stopped increasing no matter how many monsters he devoured.


    ''I guess the only way to get more is to break through the level cap.''


    The higher his level became, the weaker the seal got, which in turn increased the amount of demonic energy he could use. He also was looking forward to the rising of his other stats through leveling up, although it would be at random.


    ''But I have no idea how to break it.''


    Kang-Woo had at least obtained a hint about how he could achieve the Ultimate Demonic Body, but he had absolutely nothing on how to break the cap on his level. He had tried all the different ways that had worked for other yers, but they hadn''t worked for him.


    Cha Yeon-Joo hadughed at Kang-Woo, wondering if he had been cursed by the system.


    ¡°A curse, huh...?¡± Kang-Woo muttered.


    Yeon-Joo had said it as a joke, but it was a real possibility. Si-Hun had said that the system window had spoken to him during the Isu Station incident as if it had its own will.


    ''If yers and the Gaia System are somehow connected...''


    Kang-Woo could understand why his level cap wasn¡¯t breaking if that were the case. It was because he was the culprit who had damaged the Gaia System.


    ''I guess I have no choice but to focus on increasing the size of the demonic crystal.''


    In any case, not all of the demonic energy inside his body had been concentrated into the demonic crystal yet. He just had to focus on what he could do since he didn''t have a way to resolve those worries at the moment.


    "Hyung-nim, break time is over," Si-Hun called out to Kang-Woo, who was immersed in his thoughts.


    Upon hearing Si-Hun''s call, Kang-Woo nodded and stood up.


    They were currently in the S-rank Gate in Suwon. Just like Kang-Woo had promised before, he had gone there to carry Si-Hun''s party.


    "Are you all ready?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Hehe! Of course!"


    "Yes, we¡¯ve rested enough."


    "Urgh~ I wanted to rest a bit more..."


    Kang Tae-Soo, Han Seol-Ah, and Choi Eun-Bi replied to him while getting up.


    Echidna, who had been sitting right next to Kang-Woo, tugged on his clothes and asked, "Kang-Woo, is something on your mind?"


    "No, it''s nothing," Kang-Woo answered.


    He did have things on his mind, but they couldn''t be resolved by talking about them to someone else. So, there was no need for him to talk about such worries.


    "Let me know anytime if it¡¯s something I can help with."


    Kang-Woo smirked and nodded.


    Then he said, "More importantly, let¡¯s get back to it."


    He warmed up and then looked around. They had to find a monster that had gotten distanced from the rest of its group.


    ''Over there.''


    Kang-Woo saw a lone Giant Ogre, the mostmon monster in the Suwon S-rank Gate. He approached it and used the Authority of Silence to cover a wide area around the lone Giant Ogre. Things could get bothersome if they caught the attention of other Giant Ogres.


    "Echidna," Kang-Woo said.


    "Got it."


    Echidna took a step forward and extended her hand toward the lone Giant Ogre. ck demonic energy rose from her hand, forming into eight scythes.


    Fwoosh! Fwoosh!


    "Grrr!"


    The scythes moved erratically as they attacked the Giant Ogre. It dodged the scythe attacks with agile movements that didn¡¯t fit its size.


    However, that onlysted for a moment. The scythes curved unpredictably in the air and gradually inflicted the Giant Ogre with more and more injuries. As blood poured out from its wounds, the Giant Ogre''s movements slowed.


    "Get ready, guys," Kang-Woo said.


    "Yes, hyung-nim."


    Si-Hun unsheathed the El Cuero de nervously. Even Tae-Soo, who was excessively spirited, and Eun-Bi, who wasining, turned serious at Kang-Woo''s words.


    "GRRAAAAHHH!" the Giant Ogre roared.


    ''A little bit more,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    He wanted to wait until the ogre lost a bit more of its health before letting the others attack. It was important to weaken the Giant Ogre enough so that Si-Hun''s party could win against it in a battle.


    ''It would be pointless for them to just gain experience by doing nothing.''


    The reason why he''d brought Si-Hun''s party to the S-rank Gate wasn''t only to help them grow quickly through the huge gains in experience points. It was also to polish their battle sense while fighting an S-rank monster, an opponent they wouldn''t normally be able to face.


    ''Now this is how you truly carry someone.''


    There was a limit on how strong a yer could get just by leveling up. Just like how there was a difference between two martial artists who wielded the same sword, there was also a difference between yers with simr stats.


    Real battles weren¡¯t decided purely by numbers. This was something that was well known among yers. Simply having a higher level and stats did not guarantee a yer''s victory in a battle. Stats were just like building muscles through physical training. Just like how a bodybuilder could not beat an MMA fighter, it was pointless to just focus on getting bigger.


    Kang-Woo focused only on increasing his stats because he already had so much practical experience that it was pointless to gain more. However, it was different for Si-Hun''s party. They needed to increase their levels and gain battle experience at the same time.


    "Grrr," the Giant Ogre groaned as it staggered.


    Kang-Woo said, "Begin."


    "Okay!"


    Si-Hun and Tae-Soo leaped forward. Seol-Ah buffed them while Eun-Bi cast magic.


    "Graaahhhh!"


    Boom!


    "Kurgh!"


    Despite the Giant Ogre being on the verge of death, it was still a fierce battle. In the first ce, the Giant Ogre wasn''t an enemy that Si-Hun''s party, whose levels averaged in the forties, could fight against. The fact that they could put up a fight against a Giant Ogre at all showed that everyone in the party was very talented.


    Boom!


    "Huff! Huff!"


    "Giant Ogres sure are strong."


    The battle was over.


    Tae-Soo was panting heavily, but Si-Hun didn¡¯t seem to be that tired.


    ''Si-Hun also has power iparable to his level,'' Kang-Woo remarked inwardly.


    If Si-Hun were to fight with everything he had, he would probably be able to win against a tired Giant Ogre by himself. However, because this was supposed to be training for real battles, Si-Hun had held back so that his other party members could participate.


    ''I''ll have to create a special course for Si-Hunter on.''


    It was evident that there was a clear difference between Si-Hun and the other party members. At this point in his development, Si-Hun needed something else to truly grow.


    "Regroup and prepare for the next hunt," Kang-Woo told the party.


    "Fuu! Understood!" Tae-Soo replied.


    "Pleasee this way, Tae-Soo," Seol-Ah said.


    She then cast healing magic on Tae-Soo.


    "Grrr!"


    At that moment, Kang-Woo saw a group of Giant Ogres approaching them.


    ''They must¡¯ve smelled the blood.''


    He''d blocked sound from getting out, but it seemed like it hadn¡¯t been enough.


    Kang-Woo drew out some of the energy from his demonic crystal when he saw that three Giant Ogres were approaching them. Si-Hun¡¯s party would not be able to handle them.


    "Wait here," Kang-Woo said to the others.


    Then he turned back toward the iing Giant Ogres, who were roaring ferociously. Kang-Woo activated the Authority of Dark Spears and created a ck spear. The energy from the demonic crystal flowed into the spear and enveloped it as if he were using sword energy.


    ng!


    "Grrrr?"


    "Huh?"


    There was a distinct nging of metal apanied by a sh of light. The Giant Ogres, who were approaching Kang-Woo, stopped in their tracks. A thin line appeared across their bodies, and blood spewed out like a fountain as the line widened. The three Giant Ogres lost their lives in a single attack.


    Kang-Woo turned to the side. He saw a scrawny man with two people following behind him. One was a morous woman, and the other person was a terrified young man.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes while thinking, ''Eliminating three Giant Ogres in a single strike...''


    Not even Yeon-Joo would be able to do such a thing. This meant the person who killed the Giant Ogres possessed power greater than that of a Ranker. There was only one person that powerful who woulde meet Kang-Woo''s group in person¡ªSword Emperor Tian Wuchen, China''s strongest yer and one of the eight World Rankers.


    "You actually came. I thought you would send a group of assassins to kill me for my arrogance," Kang-Woo said.


    "So, you''re the Sword Dragon¡¯s sworn brother. I sincerely apologize for what happened before. Oh... I guess you wouldn¡¯t understand Mandarin," Tian Wuchen replied.


    Wuchen nced at the young man beside him.


    The young man nervously tranted, "M-Master Tian Wuchen apologizes for what happened bef¡ª"


    "Mandarin is fine," Kang-Woo interrupted.


    "Hmm? You can speak Mandarin?" Wuchen asked after Kang-Woo spoke using the Authority of Language.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    Wuchen seemed relieved and continued, "That makes things much simpler. I apologize for what happened before. I heard that my subordinate was disrespectful to you."


    "Apologies are meaningless if it¡¯s just lip service."


    "Hahaha! You have a point."


    Wuchen bowed to Kang-Woo, shocking the people around them.


    "¡­"


    Even Kang-Woo hadn''t been expecting Wuchen to ask for forgiveness in such a polite manner.


    Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen¡­ the most powerful person in China had just bowed to a person. Bowing to someone was not a simple matter for him. Considering his status as a person of great power and influence, it wasn¡¯t something that he should even be doing.


    "I banished the member who had been disrespectful toward you from the n. It was my mistake for mishandling my subordinate," Wuchen apologized.


    "Well... if you¡¯re going this far, then I ept your apology."


    After all, Kang-Woo hadn''t been harmed by Nangong Chen. Since the instigator had been properly punished, there was no need to make the conflict any bigger.


    "So, what brings you here?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "I am here to meet the Sword Dragon."


    "I know that, but why do you want to see Si-Hun so badly?"


    "Because I saw the video."


    "¡­?"


    "I saw the video of the Sword Dragon fighting in... I believe the ce was called Isu Station."


    "So?"


    "I want to confirm something," Wuchen said while smiling. "About how the Sword Dragon managed to learn the martial art techniques of the Martial God."

 Chapter 99: Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen (3)

    <h4>Chapter 99: Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen (3)</h4>


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Kim Si-Hun and the other party members couldn''t understand Mandarin, so they remained silent. Kang-Woo, who understood what the Sword Emperor had said, also remained silent, but it was to figure out the situation.


    Echidna tugged on Kang-Woo''s clothes and asked, "Kang-Woo, what''s a Martial God?"


    "Hmm? Echidna, you understand Mandarin?"


    Kang-Woo looked surprised, but he quickly realized that he had forgotten something very basic¡­


    <i>''Now that I think about it¡­ How is it that Echidna''s able to speak Korean?''</i>


    He had never thought about it. Echidna had spoken Korean so fluently when they first met that it never urred to him that it was strange. He thought she''d naturally learned to speak hisnguage after bing his summoned beast.


    "No, I don''t know Mandarin. I can use magic and make it so we can understand each other," Echidna exined.


    "Wow."


    It seemed like the magic that Echidna was using had a simr effect to Kang-Woo''s Authority of Language.


    "Can you cast that magic on other people too?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Yup."


    "Then cast that magic on Si-Hun and the others as well."


    "Okay."


    Echidna raised her hand and chanted a short spell. A wave of magic left her hand and enveloped Si-Hun and the others.


    "This is..." Si-Hun uttered.


    "Oh, the Sword Dragon speaks Mandarin as well?" Tian Wuchen asked.


    "N-No. What happ¡ª"


    "It''s magic," Echidna answered Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun looked at her in surprise. He had never heard about a yer being able to harness magic for fullnguage interpretation.


    "Hm! It''s not that difficult. This magic is verymon in the continent of Aernor," Echidna exined.


    She snorted triumphantly at the thought that she''d been helpful to Kang-Woo.


    "I guess there was no need to bring an interpreter," Wuchen said andughed.


    The young man next to him flinched.


    "Don''t worry. I will still pay you what I promised," Wuchen told the young man.


    "Th-Thank you very much!" the young man stammered in response.


    "More importantly, I''m happy since this will make things much quicker. Sword Dragon, where did you learn the martial arts of the Martial God?" Wuchen asked.


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened.


    He uttered, "H-How did you¡­"


    Kang-Woo said, "I''m curious about something too. How did you know Si-Hun was using the Martial God''s techniques?"


    "Hehe. That is because our n descended from the Martial God himself."


    "Oh?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up.


    If what Wuchen said was true, then that meant Martial God Tian Taihuang had existed on Earth a long time ago, and Wuchen was his descendant.


    "Then does that mean you practiced martial arts before you awakened as a yer?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "That''s right. Although... I will admit that I was nowhere near the stage I am in now before I awakened."


    Kang-Woo nodded as if he understood what Wuchen meant.


    <i>''Well, the Demon Cult also existed long before yers came to be.''</i>


    It had be clear to Kang-Woo that there had been people on Earth who could use martial arts, magic, and other fantastical abilities long before people had even started transitioning into yers on Earth.


    Si-Hun said, "I learned the Martial God''s martial arts when I awak¡ª"


    "Stop," Kang-Woo interjected. He grabbed Si-Hun''s shoulder and stopped him from talking. "What are you going to do once you find out where he learned it? Are you going to kill him to protect your arcane arts?"


    "Hahaha! It seems you''ve read too many martial arts novels."


    <i>''I don''t want to hear that from someone who would appear in a martial arts novel,''?</i>Kang-Woo thought.


    After Wuchen was doneughing, he expressed, "I want to make a deal."


    "A deal?"


    "Yes. Our n''s arcane martial art techniques have lost their true forms after being passed down from generation to generation. However, the Sword Dragon''s Cloud Dragon Sword Technique that I saw in the video was exactly the same as what''s in our n''s records of the Martial God''s martial arts."


    "So, you want help in restoring your n''s arcane martial arts?"


    "Correct."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    Now that he knew the other party''s intention, the discussion would progress faster.


    A wide smile appeared on his face as he said, "We should obviously expect something in return since it''s a deal. Right?"


    "Before that, I would like an answer to my earlier question. Where did he learn the martial arts of the martial god?"


    "Well, you should hear it from the man himself."


    Kang-Woo patted Si-Hun''s back as if saying he could talk now.


    With a confused expression, Si-Hun exined why he used the martial arts of Martial God Tian Taihuang.


    The longer the exnation went on, the wider Wuchen''s mouth fell open.


    "What... The Martial God''s soul dwells within you...?" Wuchen asked.


    "I can''t converse with him or anything like that. The knowledge of his martial arts just flows into my head."


    "I see. So, you managed to unfold the Cloud Dragon Sword Technique to such perfection without anyone teaching you?"


    "Oh, umm..."


    "That''s just because Si-Hun''s talent is monstrous," Kang-Woo stated.


    "How interesting," Wuchen remarked.


    He scanned Si-Hun''s body with great interest. As he took a closer look, he became awestruck.


    <i>''He has the Heavenly Martial Physique,''?</i>Wuchen realized.


    The Heavenly Martial Physique was a physique that was granted by the heavens. Those with this physique were able to realize the mysteries of a martial art just by seeing it once as well as master the essence of any cultivation technique. Wuchen had never thought that he would see someone with this physique in person.


    Heughed, "Hahaha!! The word ''monstrous'' truly doesn''t even begin to exin it."


    "Anyway, now that we''ve answered your question, let''s get back to the deal," Kang-Woo said calmly.


    He was acting so dignified that no one would think he was talking to someone as powerful as the Sword Emperor.


    Wuchen then looked at Kang-Woo. Although the Sword Dragon''s talent was impressive, Wuchen was also deeply impressed by the yer Oh Kang-Woo.


    <i>''Has anyone ever been this prideful before me?''</i> Wuchen thought.


    He had never experienced something like this ever since bing a World Ranker¡ªno, even before that. Wuchen had been born as the sessor of an enormous force known as the Heavenly Sword n. Everyone had bowed to him ever since he had been a child.


    "Hahaha. I have heard a few things about you, but... I''m surprised. Are you being so prideful while knowing who I am?" Wuchen asked.


    "Why? Should I be kneeling and licking your feet instead?"


    "Hahahaha! No, not at all. As for the deal... Oh, how about this? If the Sword Dragon helps us restore our arcane martial arts, I will personally teach him martial arts."


    "You''ll teach him martial arts¡­?"


    "The Sword Dragon seems to have learned the Sleeping Dragon Sword Technique and Cloud Dragon Sword Technique. The Heavenly Sword n possesses the superior versions of those martial arts, the Azure Dragon Sword Technique and Heavenly Dragon Sword Technique."


    "Didn''t you say that they''ve lost their true forms?"


    "Even so, they still possess power that''s the Cloud Dragon Sword Technique can''tpare to."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo got immersed in his thoughts.


    If one of the World Rankers, Sword Emperor, were to teach Si-Hun martial arts personally¡­


    <i>''It would be of great help to Si-Hun.''</i>


    Si-Hun might be able to master the Azure Dragon Sword Technique with Wuchen''s help. It wasn''t a bad deal at all in many ways. No, it was too good of a deal.


    <i>''But¡­''</i>


    Kang-Woo turned to look at Si-Hun.


    The deal wasn''t Kang-Woo''s to ept. The one who would be restoring the n''s martial arts and receiving the Sword Emperor''s teachings was Si-Hun.


    "Hyung-nim¡­"


    "It''s your choice. What do you want to do?"


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun considered the question. It did not take him long to give his answer.


    "I would like to learn," he said.


    After all, the one offering to teach Si-Hun was the Sword Emperor. It would be more difficult to find a martial artist who wouldn''t ept the deal.


    <i>''But most importantly¡­''?</i>Si-Hun thought while looking at Kang-Woo.


    Si-Hun wasn''t intimidated at all by the Sword Emperor. He wanted to be like Kang-Woo. Si-Hun didn''t want to keep receiving help from him one-sidedly.


    He ced his hand on the handle of his sword and thought resolutely, <i>''I want to be stronger.''</i>


    Si-Hun reyed the Isu Station incident in his mind. People had been crying everywhere, and smoke and wreckages had filled the streets. If he had been stronger, he would''ve been able to save more people.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "Then I guess we have a deal. Oh, I have one condition," he mentioned.


    "Condition?" Wuchen asked.


    "Restoration of the martial arts and your teachings¡ªall of it will have to be done in Korea."


    Kang-Woo couldn''t send Si-Hun somewhere far away. If they were far apart, Kang-Woo wouldn''t be able to look after Si-Hun if worst-case scenarios were to ur.


    <i>''I can''t fully trust Tian Wuchen.''</i>


    Wuchen seemed trustworthy, but Kang-Woo couldn''tpletely trust someone just based on his gut feeling.


    "Hmm. Korea, huh...? What do you think, Suyan?" Wuchen asked his daughter.


    "I''m fine with it. I''ve always wanted to visit Korea," Tian Suyan answered with a bright smile.


    Her smile brought about an odd mood. She turned to Kang-Woo and stared at him with sparkling eyes.


    "In that case, we will spend about a month here for now," Wuchen stated.


    "Sounds good," Kang-Woo replied, nodding in satisfaction.


    He had been thinking of creating a special training regimen just for Si-Hun, but the need for it had just vanished.


    "First, let''s get out of this Gate. Oh, I heard you live near Seoul station. Is that correct?" Wuchen asked.


    "Yeah."


    "Then I guess I will have to buy a building near the area."


    "Buy... a building?"


    "We will need a training room to teach the Sword Dragon in and somewhere to stay for a month."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo couldn''t believe Wuchen had said he would buy a building as if it were nothing.


    Wuchen approached Si-Hun and said, "Let us talk for a bit as we head out. There are many things I would like to ask you."


    "Ah, yes, sir! I-It''s an honor!" Si-Hun replied.


    Wuchen and Si-Hun took the lead, with Kang-Woo following from behind.


    At that moment, the seductive woman who had been beside Wuchen approached him.


    "Hello," she greeted.


    "You''re..."


    "My name is Tian Suyan," Suyan continued with a smile on her face. "Kang-Woo, right? Fufu. I''ve never seen someone being so prideful in front of my father."


    She looked at Kang-Woo with great interest.


    Suyan had watched Wuchen ever since she was a little kid, but she''d never seen a man behave so pridefully in front of him.


    <i>''What kind of person is he?''?</i>she wondered.


    Her interest in Kang-Woo surged. Suyan couldn''t imagine just how strong and self-confident he was, considering he had been so bold in front of the Sword Emperor.


    <i>''I heard that he neutralized the captain of the 3rd Squadron in just a single movement.''</i>


    Suyan''s expectations soared. Her ideal man wasn''t just a strong man but a man stronger than her father, Tian Wuchen!


    She was instinctively attracted to strong men, but she had never met any man stronger than Wuchen. Hence, her interest was piqued by Kang-Woo, who had not been intimidated by her father in the slightest.


    "I have no reason to be intimidated," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "Hmm. Does that mean you''re confident about beating the Sword Emperor?"


    "Not sure," Kang-Woo said with augh.


    Suyan felt the strong confidence hidden behind his shortugh. Her eyes shone like those of a wild beast stalking its prey.


    <i>''I don''t think he fully understands how powerful Father is, but...''</i>


    She couldn''t deny that those words piqued her interest even further.


    Suyan licked her red lips while staring at Kang-Woo. She scanned him from head to toe excitedly.


    <i>''Hm?''</i>


    At that moment, Suyan felt something pulling on her clothes. She turned around and found a little girl, who was as pretty as a doll, looking up at her.


    "Kang-Woo is mine. Back off," the little girl whispered so that only Suyan could hear her.

 Chapter 100: Ive Gotten Greedy

    <h4>Chapter 100: I''ve Gotten Greedy</h4>


    After they left the Gate, Oh Kang-Woo walked toward the parking slot with Han Seol-Ah and Echidna following behind him.


    "I will contact you myself tomorrow, Sword Dragon. Hehehe. You will be having a hard time starting tomorrow," Tian Wuchen said.


    "I wouldn''t have it any other way," Kim Si-Hun replied.


    "I can''t believe I am teaching martial arts to someone with the Heavenly Martial Physique."


    Wuchen looked expectantly at Si-Hun.


    Having the Heavenly Martial Physique meant Si-Hun had the ideal aptitude for being a martial artist. This was an opportunity for Wuchen to train a genius of this caliber with his own hands!


    <i>''If I train him right, I may be able to get Suyan a good spouse,''</i> Wuchen thought.


    Tian Suyan had always said she wasn''t interested in anyone weaker than her father. To prove that she had not been joking, she had never dated anyone. In fact, Wuchen had never even seen her having a conversation with a man before.


    Suyan had also rejected every single man who had tried to woo her. Among them, there had been one man with a very bright future, but all his efforts had been for naught.


    <i>''I want to see her get married before I die.''</i>


    Wuchen had initially thought highly of her upon seeing her reject men who looked like bums. However, he was now feeling anxious as Suyan had recently turned 27 years old. It truly seemed like she wasn''t interested in anyone weaker than her father.


    <i>''If there isn''t anyone who can fit that criteria, I''ll have to raise someone to fit it.''</i>


    Wuchen clenched his hands into fists, and his eyes lit up with determination. He was sure that the Sword Dragon, who had the Heavenly Martial Physique and even the soul of the Martial God, would be able to surpass him one day.


    "Then, I''ll be going on ahead. Oh, I''ll being to watch you teach Si-Hun tomorrow, so let me know where you''ll be doing that,¡± Kang-Woo told Wuchen.


    "Sure," Wuchen replied and watched Kang-Woo leave.


    <i>''That aside, just what in the world is this guy?''</i>


    After hearing about how Kang-Woo had instantly neutralized Nangong Chen and his men, Wuchen investigated Kang-Woo beforeing to Korea. The only information he had been able to find was that Kang-Woo was a rookie that the Red Rose Guild was sponsoring and that he had only been a yer for three months.


    <i>''There is no way that''s true.''</i>


    There was no need for Wuchen to think too deeply about the information he''d found. It simply made no sense that a yer who had awakened three months ago could have been able to defeat Nangong Chen. It would have been impossible for them to instantly neutralize Nangong Chen unless they were at least a Ranker.


    "Interesting," Wuchen remarked with a deep smile.


    Kang-Woo was a yer with mysteries that not even the Heavenly Sword n''s informationwork could uncover. Furthermore, he was so confident in his abilities that he wasn''t even intimidated by Wuchen...


    Wuchen''s desire to have a battle with Kang-Woo surged. Of course, he didn''t think that Kang-Woo truly was at his level. After all, he was Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen, one of the eight World Rankers. He was one of the strongest yers in the world; he wasn''t so weak as to lose against a yer from some unknown ce.


    At that moment, Suyan walked up right next to Wuchen and said softly, "Father, what do you think about that guy, Oh Kang-Woo?"


    She looked very excited.


    "I''m not sure, although he seems like an interesting fellow," Wuchenmented.


    "Fufu. Right? I''ve never seen someone act that way in front of you, Father."


    Wuchenughed, "Hahaha. It must be because he doesn''t know much about me."


    He believed that Kang-Woo didn''t know who he was and what he was capable of. There was no way Kang-Woo would have behaved the way he had if he had known.


    "Hmm. I don''t know about that," Suyan replied while alluringly licking her red lips.


    Wuchen''s eyebrows twitched slightly.


    "What do you mean?" he asked.


    "We had a short conversation, and... he said he was confident he could beat you."


    "Oh?"


    Wuchen''s eyes lit up with interest.


    "How about it? Wouldn''t you like to know where all of his confidence ising from?" Suyan asked him while cutely grabbing his arm.


    "Hmm¡­ It seems like you''re interested in that young man."


    Wuchen had never seen his daughter interested in a man before.


    <i>''This will mess with my n...''</i>


    He felt that his n of training the Sword Dragon to make him Suyan''s spouse was slightly going awry.


    After thinking for a while, Wuchen shook his head.


    <i>''I guess it doesn''t matter.''</i>


    He knew Suyan''s personality very well. She was interested in Kang-Woo now, but she would lose interest as soon as Kang-Woo lost against him.


    <i>¡®I''m sorry, bold young man. But the Sword Dragon is a better partner for Suyan.</i>


    Wuchen had astronomically different opinions of Si-Hun and Kang-Woo. Si-Hun possessed the Heavenly Martial Physique, the ideal aptitude for being a martial artist, and even the soul of the Martial God. Kang-Woo might be stronger than Si-Hun at the moment, but the Sword Dragon would most definitely overtake him in the near future. Between the two, Si-Hun was a far better choice for the role of the Heavenly Sword n''s future heir.


    <i>''He''s also very handsome.''</i>


    The Sword Dragon''s insanely good looks, which made him look like a Greek sculpture, also yed a part in Wuchen''s decision. It didn''t matter how many times he thought about it. He was certain that the Sword Dragon was a better match for Suyan.


    "Fufu. I can''t deny that I''m a little interested. After all, there aren''t many people who can behave that way to you," Suyan said.


    "Well, that''s true."


    "What do you think, Father? Wouldn''t you like to test him?"


    "Hmm¡­" Wuchen groaned.


    It seemed like he would have to loosen his self-restraint to make Suyan lose interest in Kang-Woo.


    <i>''I''ve taken quite a liking to him, though.''</i>


    Wuchen believed that Kang-Woo wouldn''t be able to keep up his current attitude once he found out how powerful Wuchen truly was. It was truly a shame, but for the sake of the Heavenly Sword n''s future, it couldn''t be helped.


    "Okay, let''s do that," Wuchen said.


    "Fufu. I love you, Father."


    Suyan hugged Wuchen''s muscr arm. Her eyes shone with anticipation.


    <i>''Father is sure to win, but...''</i>


    She was hoping for Kang-Woo to be strong enough to be able to satisfy her expectations even a little bit. Then she thought about the little girl who had pulled on her clothes. It was clear to whom the girl''s feelings were directed.


    The smile on Suyan''s face widened.


    <i>''This is gonna be fun.''</i>


    She licked and smacked her lips.


    There was nothing more tempting than something that belonged to someone else.


    * * *


    After returning home, Kang-Woo had dinner and then went to his room.


    "Sword Emperor, huh...?"


    The face of the scrawny man crossed his mind.


    Wuchen had an appearance that didn''t suit the title of Sword Emperor. Nevertheless, the enormous amount of energy that he had emitted proved that he was one of the eight World Rankers.


    <i>''I wonder if I''d be a match for him?''</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn''t tell for sure from just a nce. He was confident that he wouldn''t lose, but his victory wasn''t guaranteed.


    <i>''I''m curious.''</i>


    Kang-Woo raised his hand, and the demonic energy concentrated within the demonic crystal enveloped it.


    He had yet to find a chance to properly test his new power, the demonic crystal. Even before he formed the demonic crystal, no one in Korea had been a match for him. He had tested its power by himself, but it still couldn''tpare to testing it in a fight.


    <i>''I wish I could put it to the test at least once.''</i>


    It was as if he had painstakingly created new gear in a game but had done absolutely nothing to test it out. Kang-Woo hadn''t had anything like the demonic crystal when he had ruled over the Nine Hells. Just like the Traits that he''d unlocked by leveling up, the demonic crystal was apletely new power for him, so it was natural that he was curious about the demonic crystal''s power.


    Kang-Woo focused on the energy of the demonic crystal enveloping his hand. He did this for a while, and at some point, he felt something flow out.


    "Hmm?"


    A ck gem the size of a nail appeared on the palm of his hand.


    <i>''I guess I can extract something like this too.''</i>


    Kang-Woo devoured the gem with the Authority of Predation. He was severelycking in information regarding demonic crystals.


    "...I''ll think about it tomorrow."


    It was alreadyte at night. Kang-Wooy down on his bed.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    At that moment, Echidna opened the door and entered Kang-Woo''s room. She was hugging a pillow.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "I want to sleep with Kang-Woo tonight."


    "Mmm..."


    It was a troublesome proposal.


    Nevertheless, before he could say anything, Echidna entered his bed in a sh. Kang-Woo was confused by the sight of her suddenly behaving like a spoiled child.


    "Did something happen?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "...Nothing."


    Echidna used Kang-Woo''s arm like a pillow and curled herself like a shrimp. Just like always, she held onto Kang-Woo''s clothes, but something seemed off this time.


    "It''s okay. You can tell me."


    "You won''t get angry?"


    "Of course not."


    "At first, I was more than happy just being by Kang-Woo''s side," Echidna said carefully.


    "¡­"


    "I was no longer alone in a big nest. I was happy enough not being lonely anymore," Echidna continued, tightening her grip on his clothes. "A weird woman took interest in you today."


    "...Are you talking about Tian Suyan?"


    "Yeah. That person smacked her lips while staring at you."


    "¡­"


    .


    Kang-Woo hadn''t been paying attention to Suyan, so he had not noticed how she behaved.


    "When I saw that, I felt something pressing on my chest. I''ve been happy with just staying by your side, but... it''s not enough anymore," Echidna stated, getting closer to Kang-Woo. "I''ve gotten greedy."


    Her small hands pulled on Kang-Woo''s clothes some more. Echidna''s breathing got heavier. She leaned her head forward while licking her lips, inching them closer to Kang-Woo''s.


    <i>Knock knock.</i>


    "Kang-Woo, have you seen Echidna?"


    After knocking, Seol-Ah opened the door and saw Kang-Woo and Echidna in a suggestive position.


    "Huh?!" Seol-Ah uttered.


    She was stunned speechless.


    Echidna, who had been stuck to Kang-Woo, got up. She looked at Seol-Ah and got immersed in her thoughts.


    For a moment, there was a heavy silence. Only the sound of breathing could be heard.


    Then Echidna raised her head. She walked toward Seol-Ah and grabbed her clothes.


    "I''m okay with Seol-Ah," Echidna said.


    "Pardon? Wh-What is okay?" Seol-Ah asked.


    "You can join us, Seol-Ah."


    "J-J-J-J-Join you in what, exactly?"


    Seol-Ah couldn''t properly talk; it was as if she were a broken machine.


    Echidna tilted her head and answered, "Well, mati¡ª"


    "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"


    Seol-Ah''s scream rang throughout the house as she quickly covered Echidna''s mouth. She red at Kang-Woo while blushing and breathing heavily.


    "E-Echidna! Come here for a moment!"


    "Mmmpp."


    Seol-Ah dragged Echidna out of the room and closed the door behind them.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo felt as if a storm had swept through the room.


    He remembered the first time he''d met Echidna. The dragon hatchling had been trembling pitifully like an abandoned kitten. She had been a young girl seeking to fill her emotional void, which had been caused by her father, with warmth and affection.


    Since then, Kang-Woo had been a fatherly figure to Echidna. However, that had changed. To be more precise, Echidna had changed.


    <i>''Our baby girl has changed.''</i>


    Kang-Woo, who had been left alone in the room, was so shocked that he couldn''t even close his mouth.

 Chapter 101: A Talent Ascended From the Ground

    <h4>Chapter 101: A Talent Ascended From the Ground</h4>


    "A spar?"


    The next day, Oh Kang-Woo was given an unexpected offer when he arrived at the training room with Kim Si-Hun.


    Kang-Woo looked at Tian Wuchen, surprised.


    "Why so out of the blue?"


    "I wanted to see for myself how you can be so confident in front of me," Wuchen said with shining eyes.


    Kang-Woo stroked his chin.


    <i>''It''s a good opportunity.''</i>


    He had been wanting to test the power of his demonic crystal. If his opponent was the Sword Emperor, he would be able to test it without restraint. Even leaving that aside, he still wanted to see how powerful a World Ranker was.


    "Oh, Father. Don''t be so childish. What if Kang-Woo gets hurt while sparring with the Sword Emperor?" Tian Suyan asked with a worried expression.


    Kang-Woo turned to her.


    "Please forget what my father just said. I don''t want you to get hurt in a pointless spar," Suyan said while carefully touching his arms.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo kept his mouth closed; then he smirked and said, "I don''t like it."


    "Pardon?"


    "Your trivial acting. I don''t like it."


    "What do you¡­"


    On the surface, it looked as if she were trying to stop them from fighting, but her real intentions were clear.


    <i>'' "What if Kang-Woo gets hurt¡­"</i> <i>"A pointless spar¡­" ''</i>


    They were clearly phrases to hurt a man''s pride.


    <i>''How cute.''</i>


    She knew she was an attractive woman, and she was using it as a weapon to get what she wanted.


    He had noints about someone knowing, understanding, and using their strengths. However, he found her somewhat clumsy and inexperienced behavior rather cute.


    "You got some points deducted for being too explicit. You have to hide your intentions a little bit more."


    "¡­"


    "The timing in which you appeared is also bad. If you want to do it properly, you should''ve mentioned it like a throwaway line before Tian Wuchen offered to spar with me."


    "F-Fufu. What an interesting interpretation."


    "Points deducted for that as well. If you want to appear rxed, practice not bing flustered first."


    "¡­"


    Suyan remained silent.


    Kang-Woo kept talking.


    "And finally, the acting was unnecessary. I wasn''t nning on refusing anyway."


    Kang-Woo drew out energy from the demonic crystal. A powerful force emitted from him.


    Suyan bit her lips.


    Seeing her frustration was quite cute.


    "Hahahahahaha!" Wuchenughed out loud while holding his stomach and tearing up. "It''s my first time seeing someone get Suyan this good."


    "B-Be quiet, Father!" Suyan shouted while blushing.


    Wuchen couldn''t stopughing for a while.


    "That aside¡­ how unexpected. I thought you would refuse."


    "I have no reason to."


    "Hahaha! I hope that mindset of yours doesn''t change after our spar."


    Wuchen raised one hand.


    At that moment, a sword that was on one side of the training room flew toward him. It had been a long time since his heart had beaten so fast. Thest time was when he faced Grace McCubbin during the World Ranker evaluation.


    <i>''I pray that he isn''t all talk.''</i>


    He thought the disappointment would be bigger if the sparring match ended too quickly. Wuchen was hoping for Kang-Woo to be someone strong enough to let him have some fun.


    "Then let''s begin."


    Wuchen drew out the Qi from within him.


    "I''ll be rooting for you, hyung-nim!" Si-Hun shouted.


    The Sword Emperor, who would be teaching him martial arts, and Kang-Woo, whom he had pledged his loyalty to¡­


    He thought for a bit about who to root for, but as expected, he wished for Kang-Woo to win.


    <i>''I''m sure it''ll be difficult, though¡­''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s opponent was the Sword Emperor.


    Si-Hun knew Kang-Woo was strong, but he didn''t think Kang-Woo could win against the Sword Emperor, one of the stronger World Rankers.


    "That''s disappointing. You won''t root for me?" Wuchen asked.


    "U-Uhmm¡­"


    "Hahaha! It''s okay. I don''t know what happened between you two, but having a bond thicker than blood is something to celebrate. I will also give it my all," Wuchen said in a rxed manner.


    He didn''t think he was going to lose in the first ce. He had be far too strong to experience defeat.


    <i>''Alright, then.''</i>


    He drew out his Qi and looked at Kang-Woo after enhancing his eyesight. Although Kang-Woo wasn''t a martial artist, Wuchen could sense a strong energy within Kang-Woo''s dantian.


    <i>''No wonder he''s so confident.''</i>


    It was a highly concentrated energy. It felt different from Qi, but it felt powerful nheless.


    <i>''Hm?''</i>


    .


    At that moment, he sensed something strange.


    Wuchen looked a little higher, at Kang-Woo''s heart.


    <i>''Huh¡­?''</i>


    It was dark. He couldn''t see anything. He enhanced his eyesight even more with Qi, but he still couldn''t see anything.


    <i>''What is that?''</i>


    He had a bad feeling about it.


    Wuchen felt a chill. Something was definitely wrong. It was an abyss, and he could not fathom its depth and width.


    <i>''A sea¡­''</i>


    It was like looking at the sea; the abyss was so massive that one couldn''t even begin to calcte its size.


    "Huh?"


    The energy disappeared.


    Wuchen focused his attention on Kang-Woo''s heart again, but the colossal energy he''d just felt wasn''t there anymore. All he could see was the energy spreading throughout Kang-Woo from the dantian.


    <i>''Was I seeing things?''</i>


    It seemed he''d be too excited at the thought of fighting after quite some time. Wuchen shook his head to get a hold of himself.


    <i>''There is no way one man could hold that much energy.''</i>


    He had most likely seen wrong. No other reason could exin it.


    "¡­ Can I start?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Oh, my apologies. My eyes haven''t been as good as they used to be due to my age."


    Wuchen raised the practice sword. It wasn''t the time to be distracted by illusions.


    <i>Stomp!</i>


    As Kang-Woo and Wuchen both stomped the floor, their spar began.


    The one who attacked first was Kang-Woo.


    <i>''Leviathan.''</i>


    He merged the Authority of Iron Axes and the Authority of Freezing.


    An axe surrounded with cold energy was created. He grabbed the axe''s handle, and the energy from his demonic crystal enveloped the axe.


    <i>''Very nice.''</i>


    Infusing the highly concentrated demonic energy from the demonic crystal into a weapon made with an Authority instead of infusing regr demonic energy made the weapon far more destructive.


    However, the true advantages of the demonic crystaly elsewhere.


    Kang-Woo focused the demonic energy from the demonic crystal on his legs. Although he hadn''t used the Authority of Haste, he had be much faster.


    <i>''Adaptability.''</i>


    The first advantage of the demonic crystal was that it could substitute body-fortification Authorities. Of course, its effect was lowerpared to a real Authority''s, but the important point was that it could substitute an Authority to a certain extent.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    "Kurgh!"


    The axe and the sword shed against each other.


    Wuchen''s eyes widened.


    His hand wielding the sword trembled. The practice sword couldn''t handle the impact and was destroyed.


    "Hup!"


    Wuchen quickly extended his hand.


    Another practice sword flew toward him, and he grabbed the sword and used the Azure Dragon Sword Technique. He swung his sword up from the ground as if a dragon was soaring up into the sky. He aimed for Kang-Woo''s neck.


    Kang-Woo leaned back to dodge the attack.


    The tip of the sword changed direction and struck the edge of Leviathan in Kang-Woo''s hand.


    The axe flew away, but a spear had appeared in Kang-Woo''s hand before the axe had evennded on the ground. It was Bident, the two-pronged spear created by merging the Authority of Dark Spears and the Authority of Hellfire.


    <i>Whoosh!</i>


    "Whoa!"


    Wuchen retreated after seeing the spear that had formed in a sh in Kang-Woo''s hand.


    Kang-Woo grabbed Bident even tighter, his eyes shining.


    <i>''Speed.''</i>


    The second advantage of the demonic crystal was the speed at which he could manifest Authorities. The speed at which he created Bident had be iparably faster than before.


    <i>Stomp!</i>


    He stepped forward, leaned back, and then pushed forward as if rebounding.


    Kang-Woo threw the spear in his right hand.


    "Azure Dragon sh!"


    A blinding light shone. It was the same light that had shed the three Giant Ogres simultaneously.


    Bident was shattered by the light.


    The energy of the demonic crystal infused in the spear turned into hellfire and exploded, and Wuchen was pushed back.


    <i>''Destructive power.''</i>


    The third and biggest advantage of the demonic crystal was its destructive power. A highly concentrated demonic energy was a lethal weapon on its own.


    "Very nice."


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    The power of the demonic crystal was greater than he had expected. The demonic crystal wasn''t as boundless as the Ten Thousand Demon Core, but its ability topress demonic energy was highly advantageous. Because he couldn''t fully use the Ten Thousand Demon Core yet, it was an adequate substitute.


    He extended his right hand and merged the Authority of des and the Authority of Explosion. He felt that something wascking.


    <i>''Authority of shing.''</i>


    He merged three Authorities into one, creating a two-meter-long greatsword. He clenched the sword handle.


    "Gram."


    He spoke the name of the sword. It was the name of a sword in myths.


    Kang-Woo stomped the ground and swung Gram, emitting razor-sharp energy horizontally.


    "Haap!" Wuchen eximed. He dropped the practice sword and put his hand on his waist. His belt became a sword.


    Powerful and razor-sharp energy could be felt from the sword, and a materialized form of Qi enveloped its de. The materialized energy was condensed Qi, which could be considered the essence of a martial artist.


    The two swords shed.


    <i>Rumble!!</i>


    The training room that was created to resist aggressive training shook.


    The floor cracked, and the walls burst.


    Kang-Woo widened the distance. His hands were numb.


    <i>''I''d expect nothing less from a World Ranker.''</i>


    Wuchen, who had unleashed his full power, was strong.


    Kang-Woo would''ve lost if he didn''t have the demonic crystal.


    Kang-Woo looked around.


    <i>''If we keep fighting, the building will crumble.''</i>


    He''d tested the power of the demonic crystal enough.


    He was satisfied with the result. He wanted to see what more Wuchen had, but going any further would be excessively greedy. For the moment, he was satisfied knowing he could fight one-on-one with a World Ranker.


    "I think that''s enough."


    Kang-Woo gave up.


    There was a short silence. Si-Hun''s and Suyan''s mouths were wide open as the two stared at Kang-Woo. However, it wasn''t just the two of them whose mouths were stuck open in surprise.


    "What¡­ are you?"


    Wuchen red while grabbing his trembling hand.


    "For God''s sake, stop asking me that. I''m getting sick of it. Are you going to believe me if I say that I really am a yer who awakened three months ago, as you''ve already investigated?"


    "There''s no way that''s true. How could someone in just three months¡ª"


    "See? Why do you keep asking me if you won''t even believe me?" Kang-Woo answered tiredly. "I really am the person you''ve investigated. <i>Sigh</i>, I''m too tired to even exin at this point. Yeah, I have something simr to that Heavenly whatsit thing. You said that it''s a talent descended from the heavens, right?"


    Kang-Woo pointed to the ground.


    "Then I guess I''m a talent that ascended from the ground."

 Chapter 102: To Japan (1)

    <h4>Chapter 102: To Japan (1)</h4>


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Tian Wuchen, who was looking at Oh Kang-Woo with sharp eyes, sighed.


    "Well, if you say so, I''ll just ept it as it is."


    He still couldn''t believe it.


    Wuchen wasn''t acting like this because he was arrogant or upromising.


    If a global boxing champion was forced to a standstill against a rookie boxer who had only picked up the sport three months ago, what would the boxing champion think? Of course, there would be many possible exnations, but the boxing champion most certainly wouldn''t think it was simple talent.


    This was not possible with just talent.


    <i>''And?it''s?true,''?</i>Kang-Woo thought.


    He didn''t be strong enough to fight toe-to-toe with one of the strongest people in the world through talent. After all, he had spent many years in Hell.


    However, he couldn''t say he was the demon king who''de back to Earth after living in Hell for ten millennia.


    No, even if he said the truth, they would probably think he was crazy.


    <i>''Rather than that, it''s better to im it''s talent.''</i>


    If they weren''t going to believe either exnation, there was no reason to go with the option that made him look like a lunatic.


    "H-Hyung-nim¡­?"


    Kim Si-Hun seemed lost for words. He couldn''t believe that Kang-Woo had been a formidable match for Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen, one of the top ten strongest people in the world.


    <i>''I knew hyung-nim was strong, but¡­''</i>


    He had never imagined Kang-Woo was this strong.


    Si-Hun looked at Kang-Woo with eyes full of respect. His heart beat faster. He felt better after realizing that Kang-Woo, whom he had chosen to trust and follow, was strong enough to fight against the Sword Emperor.


    "Then I''ll get going. Do your best to learn," Kang-Woo said.


    "Yes, hyung-nim!" Si-Hun answered in a loud voice.


    Kang-Woo smirked and turned around. He noticed that Tian Suyan was looking at him.


    <i>''What''s up with her?''</i>


    It wasn''t just an expression of shock. Her body was trembling, and she was smiling. She was even stamping her feet repeatedly and clenching her fists. It was as if she couldn''t control her excitement.


    She looked as if she''d won the lottery.


    "F-Fufufu. Well, well. I truly¡­ did not expect this at all."


    Suyan licked her red lips while blushing. She looked like a predator who had found prey.


    Wuchen grabbed his head and sighed.


    Suyan pranced toward Kang-Woo and spoke in an excited voice.


    "You''ve shocked me. I guess there really was a reason why you were so confident in front of my father."


    "I''m not stupid enough not to be able to differentiate between courage and arrogance."


    "Fufu. It''s just as you say. Oh, do you happen to have some time after this? It''s my first time in Korea, so I would love for you to take me around."


    "I''m sorry, but I already have ns."


    Today was one of the regr days that Kang-Woo met up with Cha Yeon-Joo to hear about the Demon Cult''s movements.


    Suyan seemed happier after her offer was rejected.


    "Perhaps another time, then. Oh, this is my number. If there''s anything you need, feel free to give me a call."


    She took out a card from her wallet and put it in Kang-Woo''s chest pocket.


    <i>''Why is she so proactive?''</i>


    Anyone would notice her intentions when she was showing this much interest in him. The problem was the reason for her interest when they had only be acquainted with each other not long ago.


    <i>''She has some weird tastes.''</i>


    He couldn''t understand why she was giving affection to him instead of Si-Hun.


    Kang-Woo took the card out of his chest pocket and put it inside his wallet. Whatever the case, she was the daughter of the Sword Emperor. It wasn''t a bad idea to build good rtions with her.


    "Fufu, I''ll be waiting for your call."


    After giving him a seductive smile, Suyan turned around.


    As she turned, Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    <i>''I''m sure her affections will die down soon enough.''</i>


    He couldn''t understand why she was showering him with such affection out of the blue. Strongly zing emotions, however, were just as quick to fizzle out, and Kang-Woo thought that her interest in him would also die down soon.


    Kang-Woo left the training room after saying goodbye to the nkly standing Wuchen.


    "¡­ Father."


    There was an awkward silence after Kang-Woo left the training room. Suyan''s voice echoed through the silent room, and she turned toward Wuchen while smiling.


    "I think I''ve found him."


    "¡­"


    Wuchen remained silent.


    There was no need to even ask what she was talking about.


    <i>''I screwed up.''</i>


    Not only was his n screwed, it was progressing in the opposite direction.


    He wanted Si-Hun and Suyan to be a couple. The biggest reason was Si-Hun''s talent, the Heavenly Martial Physique.


    Talent in martial arts was transmitted through genes. This meant that if Suyan and Si-Hun had a baby, there was a chance that a child with an incredible unique talent would be born.


    But in Kang-Woo''s case, it was different.


    From what Wuchen had seen, Kang-Woo had no talent in martial arts. His great power had likely been umted through endless effort and experience rather than talent.


    If Suyan and Kang-Woo had a baby, there was a chance that their descendant wouldn''t have talent in martial arts.


    <i>''I have no other choice.''</i>


    He turned to Si-Hun, grabbed the practice sword, and opened his mouth to say, "Let us begin right away. Raise your sword, Sword Dragon."


    "Oh, yes. Understood."


    Wuchen''s eyes shone.


    <i>''I will make the Sword Dragon stronger.''</i>


    He''d do it even if he had to put everything on the line.


    * * *


    Kang-Woo received a call after leaving the building.


    The call was from Cha Yeon-Joo.


    [Come to the guild office right now. We have to go to Hwarang Corps headquarters.]


    "The Hwarang Corps? Why?"


    [Hwa-Yeon said that something urgent had happened.]


    "What happened?"


    [I haven''t received the details either. Oh, but I had heard that Captain Jang Hyun-Jae had returned from Japan. It probably has something to do with that.]


    "Hmm¡­"


    Jang Hyun-Jae was the leader of Hwarang''s 1st Squadron as well as the currentmander of the Hwarang Corps.


    As he had been a former member of the special forces, he had created a civil militia to stop crimesmitted by yers. The civil militia was officially approved by the nation, giving birth to the Hwarang Corps.


    He was even famous outside Korea, as he was one of the few yers in Korea who could face the former number one of the country, Baek Kang-Hyun.


    "I''ll be right there," Kang-Woo answered shortly and hung up the phone.


    After he met up with Yeon-Joo, they immediately drove to Suwon.


    When they arrived at the Hwarang Corps headquarters, they saw Baek Hwa-Yeon waiting for them outside. They followed her inside.


    Goo Hyun-Mo, leader of the 2nd Squadron, and a man Kang-Woo had never seen before were in the captain''s office.


    The man approached him and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you. I''ve heard a lot about you from Hwa-Yeon."


    "Hello. My name is Oh Kang-Woo."


    "I am Jang Hyun-Jae, the captain of the 1st Squadron."


    He was a man devoid of facial expressions. He seemed to be in histe thirties. Although he wasn''t very tall, he had a muscr body. He looked like he wouldn''t even bleed if you poked him with a needle, but unlike his stiff face, he had a very gentle voice.


    "Long time no see, old man Hyun-Jae~" Yeon-Joo expressed.


    "Long time no see. There seemed to be a huge incident in Korea¡­ I''m sorry for not being here to help."


    "Not at all. It was more or less resolved thanks to this guy here¡­ although we weren''t able to prevent civilian casualties."


    Yeon-Joo seemed sad after thinking of the civilians who had lost their lives during the Isu Station incident.


    Hyun-Jae sighed with a heavy expression.


    "It isn''t your fault. No one could have possibly expected the Demon Cult to be so active all of a sudden."


    He sounded sad.


    Yeon-Joo shook her head numerous times and asked, "So, what happened?"


    "I have some news rted to the Demon Cult," Hyun-Jae replied.


    Yeon-Joo''s eyes shone after hearing the words <i>Demon Cult</i>.


    Hyun-Jae looked around and then said in a low voice, "Signs of Japan''s Demon Cult forces preparing a demon summoning ritual have been discovered."


    "A demon summoning? Like Oriax?"


    "Yes, but on a much bigger scale."


    "¡­ Is Japan''s Demon Cult really that big?"


    Hyun-Jae nodded. "The Demon Cult''s forces in Japan are bigger and stronger than the one previously in Korea."


    "Wha¡­"


    Yeon-Joo sighed.


    There had been numerous casualties in Korea alone. She couldn''t even imagine how many more casualties there would be if a force bigger than the one that had been in Korea took action.


    "Was it Japan''s government that requested assistance?" Hwa-Yeon asked.


    "Yes. Although it hasn''t been released by the press, they are in a serious predicament," Hyun-Jae replied.


    "But Japan has Fujimoto Ryoma. Do they even need our help?"


    Fujimoto Ryoma. Although he had been evaluated lower than Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen, he was still one of the eight World Rankers, and his Mythic-grade equipment, Eye of Susanoo, was famous worldwide.


    "If we leave Fujimoto Ryoma aside, the overall level of Japanese yers isn''t that high. This is a pretty serious case, so it needs as many Rankers to participate as possible."


    "Hmm."


    "The fact that the Demon Cult incident in Korea had been resolved also likely influenced the decision."


    The terror incident Kang-Hyun had caused in Isu Station had be the starting signal for the other branches of the Demon Cult to take action.


    Trust in Korea''s capability had gone up because Korea hadpletely dealt with the situation.


    "But to think that Japan would ask Korea for help¡­ that''s unexpected," Yeon-Joo mumbled.


    Although the world had changed after the Day of Cmity, negative historical sentiments between the two countries hadn''t disappeared.[1]


    The rtionship between Japanese and Korean yers wasn''t the best.


    "That just goes to show how serious the situation is," Hyun-Jae said.


    "I guess that''s true." Yeon-Joo nodded with a heavy expression. She let out a sigh. "Which demon are they trying to summon this time¡­?"


    They had been able to defeat Oriax easily because he had suddenly acted strange, but it wouldn''t have been an easy fight if they''d fought against him in normal conditions.


    But a demon stronger than him¡­?


    Yeon-Joo was already feeling anxious before the battle had even begun.


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo fell into thought.


    <i>''A demon, huh?''</i>


    Kang-Woo wondered if he should wait until the Demon Cult summoned the demon or not. From Kang-Woo''s point of view, it would be better if they sessfully managed to summon a demon.


    Demons were an important source of demonic energy to him.


    <i>''My Demonic Energy stat hasn''t been going up at alltely.''</i>


    He thought that if he devoured a demon, maybe his Demonic Energy stat would increase.


    <i>''Letting them summon a demon and then devouring it with Predation would be best.''</i>


    There was no better way for him to grow at the moment than to devour a demon.


    While he was smacking his lips, Hyun-Jae and Yeon-Joo''s conversation continued.


    "I already know which demon they''re trying to summon," Hyun-Jae said.


    "Oh, which demon?"


    "I heard they''re trying to summon the subus queen."


    "A subus?" Yeon-Joo tilted her head in wonder. "Don''t tell me¡­ the demon that sucks the life force out of men?"


    "Yes. Her name is¡­ Lilith. I heard they were trying to summon a demon named Lilith."


    "Hah, as expected of the Japanese. Of all the demons, why would they summon such a perverted¡ª"


    <i>m!</i>


    A chair was turned upside down¡ªthe one Kang-Woo had been sitting on.


    "Wh-What? What''s wrong?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s face turned pale. He recalled the tentacles that were forever embedded in his memory.


    "¡ª¡ªop it," he said with a trembling voice.


    "What?"


    "We have to stop it."


    Wait for the demon to be summoned and then devour it?


    Aim to raise his stagnated Demonic Energy stat?


    Screw it all.


    None of that mattered.


    "We have to stop the summoning!" Kang-Woo eximed desperately.


    1. If you don''t know what negative historical sentiments the two countries have, look up "Japanese upation of Korea" to learn more. ??

 Chapter 103 - To Japan (2)

    Chapter 103 - To Japan (2)


    Lilith¡­


    She was one of Oh Kang-Woo''s most loyal subordinates along with Balrog when Kang-Woo was in Hell.


    If Balrog was said to be as strong as the seven princes, then Lilith was said to be capable of annihting their armies with all sorts of illusions and restricting abilities.


    Illusion and mind-control magic¡­


    Lilith was stronger than Kang-Woo, who possessed Authorities, in those two fields. Since she was also very intelligent, she was the one in charge of managing the demon king''s army.


    And¡­


    Officially, she was Kang-Woo''s wife.


    ''Fuck.''


    When Kang-Woo appeared in the Ninth Hell and was growing his forces alongside Balrog, he was once ambushed by Prince Satan, and half of his forces ended up dead.


    The princes were so powerful to the point that they weren''t able to kill each other, and Kang-Woo had been driven to the brink of defeat after losing half of his forces.


    The one who had saved him was Lilith, who had the title of being the most beautiful woman in Hell.


    ''Most beautiful woman, my ass.''


    Thinking about those tentacles made him curse.


    Lilith, who was struggling because of Prince Asmodeus''s tiresome proposals, had joined forces with Kang-Woo, who had, at the time, dered war on all seven princes.


    From Kang-Woo''s point of view, Lilith''s beauty was iprehensible, but she could seduce any demon.


    Thanks to the demons following her, Kang-Woo''s forces became even bigger than before Satan''s assault. Thanks to her, he overcame the crisis and kept battling against the princes.


    After that, she started to have strong feelings for him while fighting alongside Kang-Woo when facing the princes.


    The demons that followed her wanted her love to bear fruit, and because of that, Kang-Woo was forced to marry her as a formality.


    Since most of Kang-Woo''s forces followed Lilith as much as they did him, he couldn''t ignore their wishes.


    ''Damn.''


    Thinking about his life after marriage gave him chills.


    Lilith had tried to sneak into his chambers every single night, and he had to desperately escape from her tentacles. Those horrible days hade to an end when he was able to put an end to the war and return to Earth.


    ''I refuse to go back to those days.''


    He clenched his fists.


    No, Lilith being summoned now could bring a worse result than those days.


    Kang-Woo was not strong enough to escape from Lilith at the moment. Although he''d grown at a faster pace than anyone else, he still wasn''t as strong as demons like Balrog or Lilith.


    If Lilith was summoned to Earth, he could be devoured by her.


    ''How could they possibly be able to summon Lilith?''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t understand it.


    It wasn''t as simple as moving on to summoning a demon from the Ninth Hell since they had managed to summon Oriax from the Seventh Hell and Amdusias from the Eighth Hell.


    Lilith was one of the most powerful demons in the Ninth Hell. She couldn''t bepared to beings like Oriax or Amdusias.


    ''Has the Gaia System weakened that much?''


    It was a desperate situation, and it was worse than he had initially thought. If archdemons like Lilith appeared on Earth in bulk, the current state of humanity wouldn''t be able to handle them.


    "You have a strong sense of justice, just like Hwa-Yeon mentioned."


    Jang Hyun-Jae smiled with satisfaction. It seemed like he''d misunderstood Kang-Woo''s shout.


    Cha Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo suspiciously as if asking him why he was so desperate.


    Kang-Woo didn''t answer. There were more pressing matters at hand than being misunderstood.


    "¡­ Please tell us more about Japan''s current situation," Kang-Woo asked in a low voice.


    Hyun-Jae had mentioned that Japan was in such a bad state that they had even asked for Korea''s help.


    Kang-Woo thought that he might be able to gain a hint about the situation from his exnation.


    "Fuuu. Please keep this strictly confidential."


    Hyun-Jae sighed. He individually looked at Yeon-Joo, Baek Hwa-Yeon, Goo Hyun-Mo, and Kang-Woo. The four of them nodded.


    "The Demon Cult has kidnapped Kurosaki Yurie."


    "Kurosaki Yurie?"


    It was the first time Kang-Woo had heard that name. Except for him, the faces of the other three people turned pale after they heard the name.


    "K-Kurosaki Yurie?!"


    "Are you serious, old man?"


    "¡­ Please exin."


    Kang-Woo lightly poked Yeon-Joo''s side.


    Yeon-Joo looked at him as if she was baffled that he really didn''t know. She bit her lips.


    "The Miko of the Heavens. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that she''s currently the mental pir of the Japanese."


    "Oh, interesting. But why is she the mental pir instead of Fujimoto Ryoma?"


    "There are many reasons, but¡­ first off, her social status is no joke."


    "Her social status?"


    Yeon-Joo nodded.


    "She''s the emperor''s granddaughter."


    "¡­"


    The emperor was more like a position of symbolic value in Japan and had almost no real influence.


    No, in the modern era, one could say that even its symbolic value was disappearing. But for the past five years, after Japan''s situation quickly changed, the position of that very symbol massively rose in importance.


    Japan had suffered far more damage than Korea had during the Day of Cmity five years ago.


    There was one reason for that¡­ the SS-rank gate that opened in Hokkaido.


    The strong monsters that had appeared from that Gate had almost destroyed the entire country. The situation improved after yers appeared, but despite that, Hokkaido was still a deserted prefecture.


    In such a crisis, the hopes of the Japanese turned to the emperor, who had been nothing but a symbol. The people hoped for the imperial family to turn the situation around somehow.


    And then, Kurosaki Yurie, the emperor''s granddaughter, stepped up.


    She was able to prevent the worst situation. She had not only asked for help from foreign yers but had also not held back on the support given to Japanese yers.


    It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that Japan would not exist today if it hadn''t been for Kurosaki Yurie.


    The people of the country worshiped her to the point that some even protested for the old emperor to step down and for Kurosaki Yurie to take his ce.


    Yeon-Joo''s "mental pir" was the correct way to describe her.


    "Hmm¡­ Is that why she came to be known as the Miko of the Heavens?" asked Kang-Woo.


    "Oh, that''s because of her ability. Although she isn''t a World Ranker like Fujimoto Ryoma, she''s still quite strong."


    "What''s her ability?"


    "She¡­ can summon the souls of the gods in Japanese mythology into her body."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed.


    Summoning gods into one''s body was an ability so incredible that it wouldn''t be weird if it were stronger than the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    Yeon-Joo continued to exin, "I don''t know the details either, but I think she can only bring out a portion of the gods'' powers."


    That was obvious.


    If she could bring out their full powers, she would''ve be the world''s strongest instead of a World Ranker.


    "I''ve also heard that Fujimoto Ryoma''s Eye of Susanoo was made with Kurosaki Yurie''s ability to summon the gods."


    "Hmm¡­" Kang-Woo groaned. He turned to Hyun-Jae. "Have they found out why the Miko of the Heavens was kidnapped?"


    "No, they haven''t. Why would they take such a huge risk to kidnap her¡­? I can only guess that it has something to do with the demon summoning."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He closed his eyes and thought about it.


    There were many possibilities. What he had to do now was to deduce the Demon Cult''s actions from the information that he had been given.


    ''There must have been a reason.''


    They wouldn''t have kidnapped her for no reason; her position was far too high to take that risk.


    ''Maybe to simply use her as a sacrifice?''


    Kang-Woo shook his head. If they were just going to use her as a sacrifice for the summoning, they wouldn''t have gone out of their way to kidnap her.


    ''The ability to possess the power of the Gods.''


    Kang-Woo focused on her abilities.


    If the Demon Cult had a reason to kidnap Kurosaki Yurie, it most definitely had to do with that ability.


    "The gods of mythology¡­" Kang-Woo mumbled in a low voice.


    He felt as if he was about to grasp something. Just then, the names of the seven princes of Hell, such as Satan and Lucifer, came to mind.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    "I see."


    He finally understood.


    He thought of a question that he had had ever since he had been in Hell.


    When he had first heard about the seven princes, he was surprised because their names were almost identical to the names of the demons associated with the seven deadly sins.


    Lucifer, Satan, Bael, Leviathan, Belphegor, Mammon, Asmodeus.


    Those were all names he already knew.


    As he thought about it calmly, it made no sense.


    If the Nine Hells were in apletely different dimension than Earth, such a thing would be impossible.


    ''If such names were transmitted to other worlds as myths¡­''


    It could be hypothesized that beings in mythology were beings of worlds other than Earth. If the gods in Japanese mythology were also beings of another dimension, the ability of Kurosaki Yurie could be defined as:


    ''The ability to summon the powers of extra-dimensional beings.''


    The pieces of the puzzle were finallying together.


    If that was the case, he could somewhat understand what he couldn''t initially grasp about how the Demon Cult could possibly summon Lilith.


    ''The Gaia System hasn''t been weakened to that extent.''


    It wasn''t like the Gaia System had be so weak that the Demon Cult could summon Lilith, an archdemon from the Ninth hell.


    The Demon Cult had realized the truth of Kurosaki Yurie''s abilities and were trying to use them to summon Lilith.


    "Let''s go to Japan right away."


    Kang-Woo stood up.


    Since Kurosaki Yurie had already been kidnapped, it was now a race against time. They had to save her as soon as possible and stop the summoning.


    "¡­ You''re awfully enthusiastic today. Okay, I''ll gather my guild members," Yeon-Joo remarked.


    "No, you''ll have to go alone." Kang-Woo turned to Hyun-Jae for confirmation. "Am I right?"


    "Hah¡­ You''re more impressive than what I''ve heard."


    "¡­ What are you guys talking about?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "The Japanese government is desperately trying to hide that the Miko of the Heavens has been kidnapped. At the very least, they''ll announce it after she is rescued."


    Considering Japan''s current state, people would panic if they heard that the Miko of the Heavens had been kidnapped.


    "We can''t ask forrge-scale support. If Japan could do that, they wouldn''t have tried to gather people in such a secretive way."


    The more people there were, the faster the rumor would spread.


    "How many people can we bring at most?" Kang-Woo asked Hyun-Jae.


    "Seven."


    "Then I guess we can take two more including the people in this room."


    If that was the case, he had a good candidate.


    "Let''s set out in 30 minutes. Is there a ne ready?"


    "It''s on standby at the airport."


    "The airport is too far. Let''s ask Echidna."


    "Echidna¡­?"


    Yeon-Joo''s and Hwa-Yeon''s faces turned pale after hearing Echidna''s name. Hwa-Yeon gave a quick exnation to the confused Hyun-Jae.


    "¡­ Your summoned beast is a dragon?"


    He couldn''t believe what he was hearing.


    Kang-Woo ignored his question and took out his smartphone. They didn''t have much time.


    "I''ll call her immediately, so wait for me in front of the base in about 30 minutes."


    "W-Wait. Are you saying that while even knowing where we have to go?"


    "I would guess Hokkaido. Sapporo, to be exact, since that''s where I heard the SS-rank Gate is," Kang-Woo concisely answered Hyun-Jae, who was bewildered. It wasn''t hard to guess where the Demon Cult was nning to summon an archdemon of the Ninth Hell.


    "¡­ Hah," Hyun-Jaeughed lifelessly.


    Kang-Woo was right.

 Chapter 104 - To Japan (3)

    Chapter 104 - To Japan (3)


    Fwoosh!


    A dragon, a being that could not exist on Earth, was soaring through the skies with its giant wings. It was Echidna, who immediately came flying after receiving Oh Kang-Woo''s call.


    "¡­ When did you prepare something like this?" Cha Yeon-Joo asked. She was sitting on a chair installed on Echidna''s back.


    "I didn''t want to suffer likest time," Kang-Woo answered.


    He thought about when they had ridden Echidna to Pohang. He had held on to one of her scales for dear life. He didn''t want to experience that ever again.


    "Are you the one keeping up this barrier as well?" Yeon-Joo said while touching the ck barrier surrounding the chairs.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "I''ve be better than how I was then."


    To be more exact, he now had more demonic energy.


    After his Demonic Energy stat surpassed three digits, he had absolutely no problem maintaining the Authority of Projection to cover Echidna''s body and block the wind with a barrier at the same time.


    ''The demonic crystal ys a big part too.''


    After he''d made the demonic crystal, he''d be capable of using demonic energy more effectively.


    He could now morefortably use Authorities that had required more focus in the past. Thanks to that, although Echidna was flying at full speed, Kang-Woo''s group was able to fly to Japanfortably.


    However, they couldn''t do anything about the massive shaking.


    "Urp! Urpp!!"


    Goo Hyun-Mo was about to vomit, and a single tear trickled down his cheek.


    "P-Please, a bit slower¡­"


    "Just endure it since we''re in a hurry."


    "Guuuuuhhhh."


    He agonized at Jang Hyun-Jae''s sharp answer. It was the worst possible condition for someone who suffered from motion sickness.


    [Kang-Woo, are you going to fight again?] Echidna said in a worried voice tone. [Don''t do what you didst time.]


    "Okay."


    Kang-Woo nodded while smiling bitterly.


    Unleashing the Ten Thousand Demon Core¡­


    He didn''t want to do something as reckless as that again.


    ''Although, I''ll have to do it if absolutely necessary.''


    He had also acquired a new power, the demonic crystal.


    If things went well, he would be able to solve the incident without using the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    "Uhmm¡­ Kang-Woo."


    He heard a despondent voice. Kang-Woo turned around. Han Seol-Ah was sitting among Ranker-level yers.


    "I-Is it really okay for me toe with you all?"


    She felt like a cat among a group of lions. She looked at Kang-Woo with worry.


    "It''s okay. All you have to do is to keep us buffed from the rear."


    "W-Wouldn''t taking Si-Hun or Tae-Soo have been better? I''m not sure if I''ll be of use to y¡ª"


    "I guarantee that you''ll be of more help to us than them this time around."


    Kang-Woo had chosen Seol-Ah as thest member.


    Just like she''d said, Kim Si-Hun would''ve been of bigger help if what they needed was more power. However, he had chosen Seol-Ah for one simple reason.


    ''The buff I''d received before¡­''


    Her buff Grace of Light could boost unique stats.


    Because her level had gone up quite a lot, the effect would probably be biggerpared to before. Also, since his Demonic Energy stat was now in the triple digits, the buff effect would be enormous.


    It wasn''t a buff that she could only apply it to him, so he was expecting it to increase other people''s strengths too.


    ''Now that I think about it, buff abilities are practically overpowered.''


    A buff skill that increased your stat by an absolute number?


    Considering how hard it was to increase one''s stat the higher one''s level became, its effect was no joke.


    The reason why yers tried so hard to get Legendary-grade equipment was mostly because of the stat boost.


    [Kang-Woo, we''re here.]


    Kang-Woo raised his head. He could see a giant ind¡ªno,nd.


    Hokkaido was so big that it was weird to call it an ind.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent after looking down at the ind from above.


    Tragic was the first word that came to mind.


    Sapporo, which was where the SS-rank gate had appeared, waspletely destroyed. It was like the city ruins in a post-apocalyptic film.


    ''I guess this is how a city that isn''t able to handle the wave of monsters ends up.''


    He heard there were also some cities like that in Korea, but none had been destroyed over such a wide area as Hokkaido.


    Grrrrrr!!


    A monster came into view as it flew out from between destroyed buildings. It was a giant dragon over ten meters long. Its skin was covered in hard rock, and its ws were so sharp that they could tear through steel.


    It was a Drake, the SS-rankmon monster that was the main culprit behind Hokkaido''s destruction.


    [Kang-Woo.]


    "Go around it. We don''t have the time to face that monster right now."


    [Okay.]


    Echidna flew around the Drake.


    "Over there."


    Hyun-Jae pointed. Near the ocean was a bunker that resembled a bunker from a certain popr game.[1]


    It was the Sapporo Base, which had been made to retake Hokkaido, which had be heaven for the monsters of Japan. Although Japan had built a base, they hadn''t seen any significant results yet.


    Echidna quickly returned to her human form afternding on the ground.


    As Kang-Woo released the Authority of Projection, they appeared as if they''d suddenly descended from the sky.


    "Who goes there?!"


    "Wh-Where did they¡­"


    The Japanese yers guarding the base took out their weapons.


    Hyun-Jae approached and talked to the yers in fluent Japanese.


    Kang-Woo said, "Echidna, remember the interpretation magic you used before? Cast it on me."


    "Okay."


    After the magic was cast on him, he could understand the conversation between Hyun-Jae and the Japanese yers.


    "I would like a report on the current situation."


    "Prime Minister Yamada and Sir Fujimoto Ryoma are in the middle of a meeting. I will contact them immediately, so please wait for a moment."


    Hyun-Jae nodded.


    After a short moment, a very wrinkled old man and an attractive young man walked out of the bunker.


    "Ohh, I didn''t expect reinforcements to arrive so quickly¡­ Thank you very much, Captain Jang Hyun-Jae."


    "Not at all. Our neighboring country is in a crisis, so it is only natural that we ovee it together."


    "The people behind you are¡­?"


    Prime Minister Yamada quickly scanned the people. There were three familiar faces. He knew the Red Rose guildmaster, Cha Yeon-Joo; and the two captains of the Hwarang Corps, Baek Hwa-Yeon and Goo Hyun-Mo.


    But he knew nothing about the other three.


    "They are yers who have volunteered for the Demon Cult subjugation and the hostage rescue operation. I will vouch for their skills," Hyun-Jae said.


    To be honest, he didn''t know how strong Kang-Woo, Echidna, and Seol-Ah were, but he couldn''t say anything that would lower the prime minister''s trust.


    "Hmm. I understand. I trust you, Captain Jang."


    This wasn''t the time to be picky.


    As Prime Minister Yamada finished talking, Fujimoto Ryoma stepped forward and formally bowed toward Kang-Woo''s group.


    "Nice to meet you. My name is Fujimoto Ryoma."


    He was tall and handsome. Although he wasn''t as abnormally handsome as Si-Hun, he was still quite a good-looking young man.


    His eyes were especially eye-catching. His left eye was blue, unlike his ck right eye, which gave off a mysterious feeling. He was odd-eyed, as they said.


    "First off, thank you very much for volunteering to help in this incident. You could have ignored it since it was not your country''s business, but I am relieved to see how passionate you are to help as if it were your home cou¡ª"


    "That''s enough formalities," Kang-Woo interjected.


    Ryoma''s face crumpled momentarily.


    Kang-Woo said, "More importantly, we would like to hear about the Demon Cult''s current location and the progression rate of the summoning ritual."


    "Hmm¡­" Ryoma nodded while smiling again. "In that case, I will give you an outline of the current situation."


    He guided Kang-Woo and the rest into the bunker.


    There was a map of Sapporo in the bunker''s meeting room.


    "We believe that the summoning ritual is being prepared here." He pointed to the map with a long baton. "Sapporo Station, the ce where the SS-rank Gate first opened. We believe they''re making the preparations on the station''s third floor. However, there are many variant monsters that we believe the Demon Cult has set free in the area. There are also a few Demon Cult members guarding this area."


    The exnation continued.


    "We cannot get through with our current forces, which is why we''ve asked for your help."


    "What is the n?" Hyun-Jae asked.


    Ryoma pointed to two ces on the map.


    "We''re nning on using a feint tactic. First, we will grab the Demon Cult''s attention with a fake attack and then ambush them from behind. I would like to leave the ambushing to the Korean yers. I am sure they won''t have information about you all, so it will have a high chance of sess."


    "Hmm," Hyun-Jae said.


    A feint to grab attention from one side and ambush from behind¡­


    It was a good tactic and had even been proven to be sessful throughout history.


    ''That''s the problem.''


    The problem was that the n was too good. The enemy could easily think of it and make countermeasures for it.


    It wasn''t like the Demon Cult was guarding a massive area like a castle.


    They only had to guard the ce of the summoning ritual and Kurosaki Yurie.


    "I know what you''re thinking," Ryoma said while smiling.


    He pointed to another part of the map.


    "To be frank, there is another part of the n. Taking advantage of the confusion, someone will infiltrate the station through here and save the Miko of the Heavens."


    The third card of the feint.


    It wasn''t a bad tactic if it worked. No, the feint itself was already good.


    The Demon Cult didn''t know that Korean yers were taking part yet, so it could perfectly catch them by surprise.


    "I will be taking on this role. I believe I am most suited for it since it requires an individual to act alone."


    He had the vigor befitting a World Ranker.


    ''No, it''s not really vigor.''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He could smell the desire from Ryoma.


    ''I guess he wants to be a hero.''


    A World Ranker, only eight in the entire world, rescues the emperor''s kidnapped granddaughter!


    Kang-Woo could already picture the headline. The press could even make a drama out of it. Ryoma probably knew that better than anyone.


    ''Well, it doesn''t really matter.''


    Kang-Woo didn''t care if Ryoma wanted to be a hero or not. The only thing that mattered was that the tactic Ryoma had proposed wasn''t bad, and if it was sessful, Kang-Woo would be able to stop Lilith''s summoning.


    "In that case, let''s get started."


    Kang-Woo stood up.


    1. This is referring to the bunker in Starcraft. ?

 Chapter 105 - Feint Tactic

    Chapter 105 - Feint Tactic


    At the north exit of Sapporo Station, Oh Kang-Woo''s group was hidden among the rubble. They were so silent that not even their breathing could be heard while they looked around with sharp eyes.


    "Grrr¡­"


    It turned out that Fujimoto Ryoma hadn''t lied. The area surrounding Sapporo Station was full of demonic beasts.


    Kang-Woo''s group still hadn''t seen anyone who belonged to the Demon Cult. However, the demonic beasts weren''t fighting with each other despite not having intelligence, so they were probably being controlled by someone.


    "What are you going to do?" Cha Yeon-Joo whispered in Kang-Woo''s ear.


    It tickled.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Silence.


    "Sound won''t leak anymore, so you don''t need to talk like that," he replied.


    "Ngh...! Wh-What? Are you saying that it''s unpleasant?! I find it unpleasant too!" Yeon-Joo shouted while blushing.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    Then he turned his head toward Jang Hyun-Jae and said, "Once we receive the signal, we will do a frontal assault. Are you okay with that?"


    "Hmm. The goal is to cause confusion, so that seems to be the best way," Hyun-Jae answered with a nod after thinking about it for a while.


    It was risky, but he couldn''t deny that it was the most effective way.


    "Seol-Ah, when the signales, buff everyone and follow us from behind. You don''t need to overwork yourself with healing; just focus on buffing us."


    "Okay, Kang-Woo."


    "Yeon-Joo and Echidna, you guys are in charge of ranged support while protecting Seol-Ah. The rest of us will charge at the enemies. Oh, Captain Jang, what weapon do you use?"


    "I use a hwando[1]."


    "Then you must be a melee warrior ss. You can charge along with us."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo briefed them on the n in an instant.


    Hyun-Jae, who had his role as the leader taken away, looked at Kang-Woo weirdly while thinking, ''I heard he was exceptional, but...''


    The most impressive thing he had heard about yer Oh Kang-Woo was that he''d defeated Yeon-Joo in a sparring match. He''d also heard that Kang-Woo was the one behind the El Cuero hunt and the person who had resolved the Isu Station incident.


    When Hyun-Jae first heard about Kang-Woo, he simply thought that he was a yer gifted in fighting.


    ''I guess that wasn''t everything.''


    Not even a day had passed since Hyun-Jae met Kang-Woo for the first time, but he quickly realized that Kang-Woo wasn''t simply a strong yer. Kang-Woo was level-headed and extremely quick-witted. He had excellent judgment and was good at taking action. Additionally, he had a charisma that made others follow him.


    ''He''ll make it big.''


    The fact that Hyun-Jae was following Kang-Woo''s orders even though he had led the Hwarang Corps for many years was proof of that. Hyun-Jae was d that someone like Kang-Woo had appeared right when the world was struggling with monsters and the Demon Cult.


    Vrrrr!


    That sense of relief onlysted for a short while though. It ended when Hyun-Jae''s receiver began vibrating.


    A weird sound rang out in the distance, and the demonic beasts turned in that direction.


    "...I knew it," Kang-Woo mumbled after seeing the demonic beasts'' movements.


    The Demon Cult was not stupid. Only a few demonic beasts moved toward the source of the sound, the north exit. It seemed like they were already prepared for a feint tactic.


    However¡­


    ''They probably have no idea that the ones ambushing them from behind would be us,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    Leaving Ryoma aside, the average level of the rest of the Japanese yers wasn''t high. They had Ranker-level yers like Kurosaki Yurie, but they didn''t have as many yers like that as Korea.


    So, even if the Demon Cult was prepared for a feint tactic, it was unlikely they''d imagined the possibility that Korean yers would take part in it. No, even if they''d imagined it, it made no difference.


    ''Because I''m here.''


    Kang-Woo raised his right hand. He merged the Authority of Freezing and the Authority of Iron Axes.


    ''Leviathan.''


    An axe that emitted chilling energy appeared in his hand.


    The Demon Cult could have expected reinforcements, but they probably would never have imagined that there would be someone as strong as a World Ranker among the reinforcements.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t very well known for how powerful he was, but that was because he''d tried his best to remain anonymous. An invisible threat was far more terrifying than a visible one.


    "Get ready," Kang-Woo said quietly.


    The rest nodded and took their weapons out. Han Seol-Ah proceeded to cast buff magic, while Echidna let out a snort and prepared a wide-area magic.


    "Curtain of Light," Seol-Ah said.


    Riiing.


    [Boosting Physical Defense and Magical Defense by 300.]


    [Applying an intermediate health recovery buff.]


    Considering Seol-Ah''s level, the effects of the wide-area buff weren''t bad at all. After all, receiving a boost of 300 in Physical and Magical Defense was equivalent to having equipped Unique-grade gear.


    Nevertheless, that wasn''t the buff that Kang-Woo wanted.


    "Please use the Grace of Light that you cast on mest time," Kang-Woo requested.


    "Oh, okay, Kang-Woo! But Grace of Light is a single-target buff and doesn''tst very long..." Seol-Ah replied.


    "It''s okay."


    Kang-Woo had assumed that a buff that boosted a stat by an absolute value wouldn''tst very long.


    Seol-Ah cast a new spell, and her hands were wrapped in light.


    "Grace of Light!"


    Riiing.


    [You have received the Grace of Light.]


    [Boosting Physical Defense and Magic Defense by 300, and Demonic Energy by 3.]


    ''I knew it. The buff effect is better than before,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    His Demonic Energy stat had been boosted to 106. Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction upon feeling the explosive amount of demonic energy inside him.


    If his stats were low, he wouldn''t have seen such great results with an increase of only three points in the stat. However, his stat value was at the level of World Ranker''s, so he profited a lot from increasing his stat by an absolute value.


    "Begin," Kang-Woo said.


    "Dark Swarm!" Echidna''s clear voice rang out.


    ck smoke spread throughout the area. The skin of the demonic beasts melted upon being touched by the smoke, and a horrible stench filled the air.


    tter!


    Then Yeon-Joo''s red chains enveloped a wide area, mercilessly shing the demonic beasts.


    Kang-Woo stood up. With a stomp, he charged toward the demonic beasts. He jumped into the air and swung Leviathan downward, unleashing a terrifyingly frigid energy. After being frozen by the energy, the demonic beasts in the area shattered.


    "Haap!"


    ¡°Here we go!¡±


    Baek Hwa-Yeon, Hyun-Jae, and Goo Hyun-Mo took their weapons out and ran toward the north exit.


    The demonic beasts were stronger than the ones that had appeared during the Isu Station incident, but it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that the yers facing them now were among Korea''s strongest.


    m! Crack!!


    "Kiieekk!!" a demonic beast that was almost three meters tall screamed in pain.


    It was a Demon Golem, a demonic beast that inhabited the Second Hell along with Buers.


    Various other demonic beasts that inhabited the Hells ranging from the First to the Third were guarding the exit.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t understand how the Demon Cult had managed to summon and control them. He''d known since seeing Baek Kang-Hyun fuse with a demon that the Demon Cult was far more knowledgeable than him about summoning and controlling beings of Hell, but this scene further confirmed it.


    ''But that isn''t important.''


    Nevertheless, it didn''t matter if the demonic beasts in front of them had been summoned from Hell, created by nting a demonic crystal inside a monster, or even if they had been created by exposing a person to demonic energy. There was only one thing Kang-Woo had to do, and he didn''t have the capacity to care about anything else.


    "Kiieekk!"


    A scrawny demonic beast that looked like a zombie or a mummy came running toward him. Kang-Woo threw Leviathan. The rotating axe, which was emitting freezing energy, smashed through the head of the scrawny demonic beast.


    Then Kang-Woo raised his hands and used the Authority of Hellfire. As he lowered his hands, the Hellfire spread in the shape of a fan. He turned 180 degrees, pulled his right fist back, and lowered his posture. Kang-Woo focused the Authority of Spation on his fist, and the demonic energy on his fist took on the shape of a wedge.


    A Demon Golem ran toward Kang-Woo, and he punched it. His fist smashed a massive hole into the Demon Golem''s chest, causing it to copse.


    re!


    "Graaaahhhh!!"


    "Waaahhhh! Wh-What the hell?!" Hyun-Mo shouted.


    Hot air brushed past his cheeks. He turned his head around and saw a dog with three heads ring at him.


    It was a Cerberus, a demonic beast that inhabited the Third Hell. However, it was as strong as a demonic beast inhabiting the Fifth Hell, if not stronger.


    ''They even have a Cerberus under their control¡­?'' Kang-Woo thought.


    It was the demonic beast he''d wanted to summon at first. Of course, since he had summoned Echidna, a Cerberus looked like a mere mutt with three heads at this point.


    "Haap!"


    Hyun-Jae fended off the Cerberus. There wasn''t even a need for Hwa-Yeon or Hyun-Mo to join in.


    A Cerberus was a powerful demonic beast, but it wasn''t as strong as Hyun-Jae, who was one of the strongest Rankers.


    Fwoosh!


    "Grrr!"


    The problem was that there wasn''t one but three Cerberuses. Hwa-Yeon and Yeon-Joo each had to fight one, which slowed their momentum a bit.


    "Keep the formation here!" Kang-Woo shouted.


    "K-Kang-Woo!" Seol-Ah eximed.


    After leaving amand, Kang-Woo charged into the exit by himself.


    It would be far safer to charge into the exit after gradually clearing out the demonic beasts, but the situation was urgent.


    ''What''s taking that Fujimoto guy so long?'' Kang-Woo wondered.


    He looked around. His group had caused more than enough chaos and confusion. They had killed most of the demonic beasts defending the north exit, and the forces that had been involved in the diversion were retreating to regroup.


    Boom!


    At that moment, a strong wind blew past him. It was so strong that it seemed like a typhoon.


    ''Fujimoto.''


    Kang-Woo had heard that Ryoma mainly used wind magic while wielding the Eye of Susanoo. Ryoma had most likely caused the sudden typhoon.


    Assuming that was the case, Kang-Woo moved to join Ryoma, but an annoying amount of demonic beasts charged toward him. After wiping them out, he saw stairs that led upstairs.


    ''They should be on the top floor.''


    He wasn''t in a tall building. The top floor was probably the third or fourth floor. If it was only that tall, he could get to it just by jumping; he didn''t need to use the Authority of the Sky.


    Kang-Woo proceeded to load power into his legs.


    ¡°...Huh?"


    At that moment, he sensed something was off. He had an unpleasant feeling as if he''d seen a misaligned cog in a machine.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and looked around, and he soon realized the source of the unpleasant feeling.


    ''I don''t see any Demon Cultists.''


    He had not seen a single Demon Cultist on the way here or when he went up the stairs. From what he could see from the bottom floor, there were none on the top floor either.


    That was strange. If the summoning ritual was so important, there should''ve been many people guarding it. It wasn''t enough with just demonic beasts. Even if they hadn''t been expecting intruders, there was no way that they would not appear now, considering he had caused an ungodly amount of noise.


    Then he saw Ryoma heading up to the top floor while fighting against demonic beasts.


    ''What if the ritual isn''t taking ce on the top floor?''


    There was a chance that could be the case. Of course, Kang-Woo''s guess could be wrong. Maybe they weren''t showing themselves because they needed as many people as possible for the summoning ritual.


    ''Fujimoto is going to the top floor anyway.''


    Nevertheless, since he had Ryoma as insurance to deal with the Demon Cultists if they were on the top floor, Kang-Woo looked around the area once more. Judging by the sheer number of demonic beasts around here, this truly seemed like the ce where the summoning would take ce. Moreover, there was demonic energy spread throughout the entire station.


    "In that case..."


    His thoughts were brief, and his actions swift. Kang-Woo clenched his hand into a fist and merged the Authority of Titanic Might and the Authority of Waves.


    ''Skybreaker.''


    Great power gathered around his fist.


    It was a simple process of elimination.


    ''If they''re not above...''


    The only other possibility was underground.


    Kang-Woo raised his fist and smashed it down with all his might.


    Boom!! Rumble!!!


    The floor was destroyed, and he fell underground,nding in a dark subway tunnel.


    "Kurgh! Wh-Who are you?!" a Demon Cultist in a red demon mask said to Kang-Woo.


    ''Bingo.''


    Kang-Woo stomped on the floor.


    1. A hwando is a traditional Korean single-edged sword. ?

 Chapter 106 - There Are No Hopes and Dreams in Hell (1)

    Chapter 106 - There Are No Hopes and Dreams in Hell (1)


    "How did you get here already?!" the Demon Cultist eximed in a flustered tone.


    Kang-Woo didn''t answer. He just used the Authority of des, lowered his posture, and swung his de upward.


    "Kuh!"


    The Demon Cultist raised his hand, and a barrier made of demonic energy blocked the de.


    ng.


    "Whoa," Kang-Woo muttered with bright eyes.


    The impact that he felt from the block was quite powerful. The Demon Cultist was stronger than he''d expected.


    "You''re not Fujimoto... Who are you?" the masked Demon Cultist asked, looking at Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo extended his hands. He merged two Authorities and created a long spear.


    After grabbing the Bident, he said at a low volume, "Move."


    "Well... I didn''t expect you to answer me."


    The Demon Cultist clenched his hands into fists, and a strong demonic energy flowed from them.


    ''I guess the Demon Cult in Japan truly is far stronger than the one in Korea,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    The Demon Cultist currently facing Kang-Woo didn''t seem to be a cardinal like Baek Kang-Hyun, considering he wasn''t participating in the summoning ritual. It meant this was the power of a regr priest, and it waspletely different from that of the Demon Cult''s priests in Korea.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo gripped the spear tighter.


    This Demon Cult priest might be stronger than the ones in Korea, but he was still just a priest. There was no way Kang-Woo was going to lose.


    Whir!


    The Demon Cultist raised his hands, and a strong barrier made of demonic energy blocked the tunnel.


    ¡°You shall not pass!"


    Judging from his scream, it seemed like he was quite confident in his skills. However, Kang-Woo smirked, finding it funny that the man was screaming so confidently just because he had been able to block Kang-Woo''s attack once.


    Kang-Woo focused on his dantian. Energy flowed out of his demonic crystal and gathered around the Bident''s edge. He then lowered his posture and pulled the spear back. Stepping forward, he threw the Bident at the barrier. The impact of his attack shook the entire tunnel.


    "H-Huh?"


    Crack!


    The Demon Cultist''s eyes quivered. The Bident smashed through the demonic energy barrier and flew toward him. He quickly rolled to the side. It was humiliating for him to do that, but it was the correct decision.


    The Bident flew past him and made a huge explosion.


    "E-Eeeek!"


    The Demon Cultist stepped back while making a pale expression.


    Kang-Woo walked toward him and pulled off the Demon Cultist''s mask, revealing the face of a fat young man in histe twenties.


    "Where is the ritual taking ce?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "C-Cough! H-How did you¡ª!"


    Crack!


    "Arrgghh!"


    "I won''t ask you again," Kang-Woo stated.


    The young man had a fearful gaze. He bit his lips while holding his finger that had been bent at a weird angle.


    "I-I''ll... never tell you!"


    This was a burning conviction. He showed the resolution of a knight who was willing toy down his life for his liege.


    ''What the hell?'' Kang-Woo thought.


    He was surprised. He''d never seen a Demon Cultist with such great loyalty to their cult. The fundamental structure of the Demon Cult should have made that impossible. The Demon Cult promised two things while gathering new devotees: immortality and power gained through demonic energy.


    In the case of Baek Kang-Hyun, he cared more about having power, but most people cared more about immortality. After all, it didn''t matter how much money a person had, they still couldn''t bribe death to keep it away. Even if a person had billions, they''d die once they were old.


    The whole reason why the Demon Cult had managed to be a global force was that they promised escape from the cycle of life. Regardless of country, race, and values, most people would crave immortality.


    Ideals? Beliefs? Nothing of that sort mattered. All of those things were meaningless before what the Demon Cult could provide¡ªimmortality.


    Of course, there were ws in the Demon Cult''s scheme. The cultists would not be satisfied with ''going to heaven after death,'' the lure that other pseudo-religious cults used to get members. So, the level of loyalty that Demon Cultists had to their cult was extremely low inparison.


    ''Or that''s how it should be...''


    "I choose death!" the Demon Cultist dered.


    He bit his tongue and severed the artery within it, causing blood to pour out.


    It was surprising that hemitted suicide by biting his tongue. This wasn''t something that a person could do with only an average level of conviction.


    "What''s up with this crazy level of loyalty¡­?"


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief. He wondered if this guy was truly part of the same Demon Cult.


    "Damn."


    Kang-Woo threw the corpse aside and used the Authority of the Beholder to search for where the ceremony was taking ce. However, the tunnel was so full of demonic energy that the location wasn''t easy to find. It was like searching for a tree in the middle of a forest.


    Seeing as he had no choice other than to run around to find it, that''s exactly what he did.


    "Who goes there?!"


    "Stop him!!"


    Kang-Woo kept running into Demon Cultists, and fierce battles broke out. They weren''t strong enough to be a threat to him, but they were still able to slow him down. He was starting to get irritated by the pointless battles.


    "Waaaaargh!"


    "Huh?" Kang-Woo uttered.


    He''d heard some shouts while running through the underground tunnels.


    Kang-Woo then moved toward the source of the sound.


    ''Found them.''


    He saw a small altar. A beautiful woman with long ck hair was lying on the altar. There was a stream of blue light flowing out of her and into the Rift. That woman was the Miko of the Heavens, Kurosaki Yurie.


    Kang-Woo created the Leviathan once again and approached the altar, where he saw a group of Demon Cultists and the person leading the summoning ritual. He had seen summoning rituals like this numerous times before.


    "What the..." Kang-Woo uttered, his mouth hanging wide open.


    This was a summoning ritual, but something was different. They weren''t like the other Demon Cultists whom he''d seen before.


    "Let''s go, guys!! Just a bit more! It''ll be summoned soon!"


    "Yeeaaahhh!! As expected of the cardinal we trust and follow!!"


    "Stay strong, Cardinal Akiyama!!"


    "We will also help however we can!!"


    They were hyped up like crazy. It was hard to think of them as evil beings who had epted demonic energy and worshiped demons. Rather than a demon-summoning ritual, it was more like a sports club''s dinner party.


    The man referred to as Cardinal Akiyama tightened his fists. Demonic energy flowed out from him and made the Rift bigger.


    "Let''s go! Our goal is Lilith, the Subus Queen!"


    At Akiyama''s shout, the Demon Cultists shouted in excitement as well.


    "Aaah, finally! Our long-cherished wish!"


    "I would have no regrets even if I died now, Your Eminence!"


    ''Chaotic'' was the perfect word to describe this situation. Kang-Woo looked at them with a confused gaze.


    ''What''s wrong with these guys?''


    It was as if he''d returned to Hell. He couldn''t understand what was going on.


    Kang-Woo was flustered by the unexpected development.


    ''No, it would be strange to have expected something like this.''


    It was so unexpected that he was disappointed by what he had expected.


    The Rift wriggled and grew in size. The blue light that was flowing out from Kurosaki Yurie''s body merged with the Rift.


    Akiyama raised his hand and eximed, "The time has finallye to wee our true god!"


    "OOOH!!"


    "We have no more need for Hitomi[1]! We no longer need to covet life beyond the monitor! Right here and now, our faith will surpass dimensional boundaries!"


    "Urghh! Your Eminence!"


    "We will follow you to the very end!!"


    An enthusiastic speech ensued.


    It was at this moment that¡­


    "H-Huh?! Y-Your Eminence! There''s an intruder!"


    They had finally noticed Kang-Woo''s presence.


    The Demon Cultists stood up and took their weapons out. Kang-Woo raised one hand and stopped them.


    "No. Finish what you were doing. Just... give me some time to think,¡± Kang-Woo said desperately.


    He needed time to organize his thoughts. He wondered if he was dreaming.


    Kang-Woo rubbed his eyes, but the scene before him did not change.


    ''These guys are Demon Cultists¡­?''


    These men were different from the wicked, covetous, and crazed Demon Cultists that he''d encountered previously.


    ''Well, I guess you could say they''re also wicked, covetous, and crazed in a way.''


    However, it was different¡­ There was one crucial difference.


    "Hmm. I was expecting the intruder to be Fujimoto. How unexpected," Cardinal Akiyama remarked. He took a step forward and raised his red leather whip. "Tsk, I prepared this for her, but... I guess I have no choice."


    "...What do you mean you prepared it for her?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Hahaha! Obviously¡ª."


    "Wait, no, I don''t want to hear it," Kang-Woo interjected, shaking his head.


    Cardinal Akiyama''s expression hardened.


    "Hmph, you were the one who asked. What do you mean you don''t want to hear it?"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He didn''t know how to exin theplex emotions he was feeling.


    "Leave this to us, Your Eminence!"


    "Please continue the summoning ritual!"


    "You guys¡­" Cardinal Akiyama muttered, fighting back his tears. He shook his head and took a step forward. "No! I cannot stand still in this situation! Love always flourishes amid oppression and crisis! This will make it burn even stronger?!"


    "Aaahh..."


    "Your Eminence..."


    There was a weird sense ofradery among the men.


    Kang-Woo grabbed his forehead. He thought he was about to go crazy.


    "You guys... Don''t tell me... The reason you''re trying to summon the Subus Queen is... Don''t tell me... Seriously, don''t fucking tell me¡­"


    He couldn''t say it properly. He wanted so bad to not believe that his conjecture was true that he repeated ''Don''t tell me'' three times.


    "The reason we''re trying to summon her? Isn''t that obvious?!" Cardinal Akiyama shouted from the depths of his soul. "Why do you think I... no, we joined the Demon Cult?!"


    "I don''t know. I... I really don''t. What the actual fuck is up with you guys?"


    "Obviously to summon the queen that we should be presenting to the modern world!"


    "What''s obvious about that, you dumbass?!"


    "Tsk, tsk. This is why it''s impossible to get through to someone who doesn''t understand what it''s like to have hopes and dreams."


    Akiyama swung the whip.


    Crack!


    The whip pped the floor.


    He continued with intense eyes, "Every man dreams about subi! Isn''t that the ideal all men crave?!"


    "¡­"


    Words that Kang-Woo didn''t want to believe were true had emerged from Akiyama''s mouth. He couldn''t believe that there were so many Demon Cultists in Japan because¡­ they were trying to summon Lilith. Out of all the countless demons in Hell¡­ she was the one they wanted.


    Kang-Woo would''ve preferred to hear that they were after immortality or power. If that had been the case, he wouldn''t be feeling all of this turmoil.


    "Every man dreams about subi...?" Kang-Woo said while trembling.


    He was shocked, angry, and annoyed.


    Subi¡ªKang-Woo had had high hopes for them in the past too. He had gotten so tired of living surrounded by horrible demons in Hell that he had often thought he''d like to meet a subus.


    "Hahaha! That''s right! That is our faith!"


    "Do you bastards only think with the thing between your legs?" Kang-Woo questioned with a shaking voice.


    Memories of the past and all the trauma were returning to Kang-Woo. He''d despaired the first time he saw Lilith. She had been far too different from what he''d imagined. Even Balrog looked more beautiful than her.


    The tentacles¡­ Kang-Woo recalled the horrible, wiggling tentacles, as well as the eighteen eyes looking at him.


    "Don''t underestimate Hell," Kang-Woo said.


    The Bident''s prongs began to twist and transform into the G¨¢e Bulg, the result of merging three different Authorities. It emitted an ominous aura.


    Kang-Woo stated, "There are no hopes and dreams there."


    1. Hitomi is a site for ¡®cultured¡¯ material used mainly in Asian countries. Not quite sure about western countries. ?

 Chapter 107 - There Are No Hopes and Dreams in Hell (2)

    Chapter 107 - There Are No Hopes and Dreams in Hell (2)


    "Tsk, I knew there was no getting through to you," Cardinal Akiyama stated.


    "I don''t want to hear that from you of all people," Oh Kang-Woo replied.


    He spread the energy of the demonic crystal through his body, and Demonic energy gathered at the head of the G¨¢e Bulg.


    ''Kraken''s Rage.''


    Kang-Woo activated the effect of the ck Pearl Coat, which boosted his Demonic Energy stat by 5. Thanks to that and Han Seol-Ah''s buff, his stat reached 111.


    Whoooosh!


    ''Whoa.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up.


    Compared to when his Demonic Energy stat had been in the range of 100¨C109, there was a massive difference in the amount of demonic energy that he could use now that the stat had surpassed 110. Just like the milestones for leveling up, every increase of 10 stat points was a milestone that brought about a huge improvement in the stat''s effect.


    The demonic energy filled his entire body. Kang-Woo gripped the G¨¢e Bulg even tighter.


    He felt like he¡¯d be able to overpower Tian Wuchen at this moment with the massive wave of power circting throughout his body. He couldn''t help but get drunk on the power, even though it was a temporary result of thebined effects of Seol-Ah''s buff and the ck Pearl Coat¡¯s special effect.


    Boom!


    Kang-Woo stomped on the ground and thrust the G¨¢e Bulg forward. Akiyama''s whip wrapped around the G¨¢e Bulg as if it were alive. Nevertheless, Kang-Woo didn''t care. He just pulled his spear back as hard as he could.


    "H-Huh?" Akiyama uttered.


    Kang-Woo''s sudden pull caused Akiyama to stumble to the ground pathetically. Then Kang-Woo thrust his spear at Akiyama.


    "Your Eminence!"


    A Demon Cultist stepped in between Akiyama and the spearhead, but Kang-Woo did not pull back. The spear went right through the Demon Cultist, tearing his skin apart and piercing his bones.


    That gave Akiyama a bit of time to escape the fatal blow. He rolled to the side, and the spearhead brushed past his clothes.


    "YOOUU!!!" Akiyama raged.


    He aggressively swung the whip, which was surrounded by demonic energy. It wrapped around Kang-Woo at a frightening speed, squeezing with great power that could tear even apart steel.


    Kang-Woo quickly decided on a n of action.


    ''Authority of Invulnerability.''


    He dropped the Gae Bolg, which dispersed into the air after the Authorities were canceled. Kang-Woo then invested all of his demonic energy within the demonic crystal into the Authority of Invulnerability. Darkness epassed himpletely like a demonic energy barrier.


    "Urrrggghhh!" Akiyama groaned, his face turning red.


    He was squeezing with all his might, but he couldn''t break through the barrier of darkness. Then Akiyama changed his strategy. He loosened the whip¡¯s hold on Kang-Woo and concentrated demonic energy into the cracker of the whip.


    Crack!


    ''It worked!'' Akiyama eximed inwardly.


    The demonic energy that he''d gathered at one point managed to break through Kang-Woo''s demonic energy barrier and inflict some damage on him. It took off some flesh from Kang-Woo¡¯s right shoulder. Yet, Kang-Woo remained expressionless. No, he was smiling.


    After being freed from the whip¡¯s grip, Kang-Woo moved again. He didn''t have time to use the Authority of Regeneration. Instead, he used the Authority of Haste and dealt a clean roundhouse kick to Akiyama.


    Bash!


    "Kurgh!"


    Kang-Woo hadn''t used a weapon in that attack, but he''d used the Authority of Haste to kick, making his leg the weapon.


    Akiyama''s body flew back with an explosive bang like that of a cannon. The wall was destroyed, and hazy smoke filled the tunnel.


    At this point, Kang-Woo did not deal additional blows to Akiyama. Instead, he ran toward the widening Rift.


    "Stop him!"


    "Protect the Rift!"


    The Demon Cultists who were surrounding the Rift ran toward Kang-Woo, and his battle against the Demon Cultists continued. They weren''t strong, but it was a time-consuming battle because there were many of them. It was difficult even for Kang-Woo to face ten people at once.


    ''Damn.''


    With a fist covered in the Authority of Waves, Kang-Woo punched a Demon Cultist who was approaching him. However, his attacks didn''t stop there, as more Demon Cultists jumped at him without fear of death like moths rushing rushing into mes.


    Consequently, Kang-Woo was dyed even further. The duration of Kraken''s Rage was now almost over.


    Akiyama was in a bad state.


    "A-Aaahhh..." he groaned in despair.


    He felt like his heart was being torn apart as he watched his subordinates, who shared his convictions, get killed.


    ''If only I were stronger¡­'' Akiyama thought.


    He clenched his hands into fists. If he were as powerful as the three cardinals who had been granted the title of Apostle of Evil, he would''ve been able to save his subordinates from the hands of that intruder.


    Akiyama''s rage and regret from being unable to save his subordinates weighed down on him.


    "Run away," Akiyama said, grabbing his whip more tightly.


    The other Demon Cultists turned to him.


    "I will deal with him! All of you, run!"


    "Y-Your Eminence...!"


    "W-We can''t do that!"


    They cried out desperately.


    Akiyama shouted with a trembling voice, "Don''t worry! Even if my body dies here, our beliefs, our wishes, willst forever!"


    "Aaahhh!"


    "When do you think someone dies?! Is it when their heart gets pierced by a spear? No! Is it when they be a monster from losing control of their demonic energy? No! It is when we lose sight of our beliefs! That is when we die!"


    Tears flowed from the eyes of the Demon Cultists, and Akiyama cried along with them.


    At the sight of the incredibly moving scene, Kang-Woo said, "Cry me a river."


    Upon hearing the harsh criticism, Akiyama frowned and replied, "Do not mock our beliefs!"


    "Don''t say those lines from anime so seriously. You''re making me cringe."


    "Ngh...!"


    Akiyama flinched as if it were true that he''d taken the lines straight from an anime.


    "If you''re gonna be the viin, then just get defeated afterughing maniacally for a bit," Kang-Woomented.


    He extended his hand and merged three different Authorities to create a greatsword over two meters long.


    These people were hot and passionate individuals who didn''t seem like typical members of the Demon Cult. Nevertheless, Kang-Woo had no intentions of going easy on them.


    After all, they were still Demon Cultists. It wasn''t hard to imagine what they had done to grow their forces to the point where they could manage to summon a demon. They looked dumb, but Kang-Woo was certain that they had to have done things to instill fear and despair into others.


    Kang-Woo didn''t care what their beliefs were. It didn''t matter at all. He had things he had to do, and time was running out.


    "If your beliefs are so important, die for them," he said, raising his greatsword.


    The Rift had grown so much that it almost reached the ceiling¡­


    Kang-Woo threw the greatsword at it.


    "Nooo!!" Akiyama screamed and threw himself at the greatsword.


    The Gram, the greatsword, pierced him, causing his blood to spray out.


    "Cough! Kurgh!"


    "Your Eminence!!"


    The remaining Demon Cultists screamed desperately. Nevertheless, Kang-Woo ignored them; he didn''t have time to bother with them.


    Then Kang-Woo approached the Rift.


    "Kuh!"


    The remaining Demon Cultists red at him, but they didn''t charge toward him. They just took Akiyama, who was dying, and ran away.


    Kang-Woo red as he watched them flee.


    It wouldn''t be hard to chase and kill them. In fact, that would be the best option to eliminate future issues.


    "Fuck," he cursed.


    However, the Rift had be too big for Kang-Woo to leave now. Stopping Lilith''s summoning was more urgent.


    He stepped closer to the Rift.


    Kang-Woo didn''t have Seol-Ah''s buff or his coat''s special effect, Kraken''s Rage, anymore. He concentrated the demonic energy inside the demonic crystal in his hands and touched the Rift.


    "Kuh..." he groaned.


    The power of the Rift weighed down on his hands with immense pressure.


    If he knew more about the demon summoning process, he would be able to close the Rift more efficiently. Nheless, he had no other choice but to forcefully close it at present.


    It was a brainless method, but it was effective. The Rift started to shrink in size.


    ''Good.''


    He started to have hope that he''d be able to close it.


    Right then¡­


    Squelch, squelch.


    Tentacles wriggled out from the Rift. These were the tentacles that Kang-Woo was familiar with.


    His face turned pale.


    ''No.''


    The tentaclestched onto Kang-Woo. Its suction cups sucked on his skin as if savoring it.


    Brrr.


    The tentacles trembled in delight.


    Considering the way they trembled after tasting his skin, there was no need at all for Kang-Woo to consider who they might belong to.


    - I¡¯ming, my king...


    "No! Stay away!" he screamed in despair.


    The being that he didn¡¯t want to and shouldn¡¯t meet was trying toe to Earth.


    Kang-Woo explosively raised the energy output of the demonic crystal. He was even debating whether he should unleash the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    ''The Ten Thousand Demon Core...''


    Then he recalled Echidna''s plea and decided that he didn''t need to think too deeply.


    ''There''s no need to stop the summoning at the risk of his life.''


    It was true that Kang-Woo didn''t want to see Lilith again, but it wasn''t to the extent that he would put his life at risk to avoid her.


    ''I''ll just do everything that I can right now.''


    It would be stupid to risk his life for something like this.


    While suppressing the Rift with the energy inside the demonic crystal, he used the Authority of Predation to devour the demonic energy maintaining the Rift.


    The demonic energy of the Rift flowed into him and mixed with the demonic crystal.


    ''Just a bit more¡­''


    The Rift grew smaller, reaching a size where it was barely big enough for an adult human to go through.


    - Aaahhh...!


    Kang-Woo heard Lilith screaming in agony. Her tentacles retreated into the Rift and disappeared.


    Upon seeing that, Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up. He squeezed out his remaining energy and focused on suppressing the Rift once again. Simultaneously, the amount of demonic energy that he was absorbing from the Rift grew.


    ''There''s almost nothing left of the demonic crystal.''


    Was it because he''d used too much power? The demonic crystal in his dantian was almost all gone. He needed more of it; it was difficult to suppress the Rift with mere demonic energy.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and concentrated. He recalled the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique that he had learned from Kim Si-Hun. If there was almost nothing left of the demonic crystal, he just needed to make it bigger.


    He used the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique to its absolute limit and grew the demonic crystal with the demonic energy that he was absorbing from the Rift. Kang-Woo could feel his dantian tingle as the demonic crystal expanded.


    ''Almost done.''


    He bit his lip tensely.


    Kang-Woo was a master at controlling demonic energy, but using the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique to such an extreme extent was difficult even for him. He felt like his meridians were about to burst from overuse.


    ''Just a bit more¡­!''


    Tap.


    The palms of his hands touched, and the Rift closed. Blue light spewed out from the Rift and flowed into Kurosaki Yurie, whoy unconscious on the altar. Her ability to summon extra-dimensional beings seemed to be returning to her.


    "Huff, huff."


    Kang-Woo panted and slumped to the ground, covered in sweat. The high he felt from stopping Lilith¡¯s summoning was mixed in with the fatigue he felt from circting demonic energy to the absolute limit.


    "Fuu..."


    He caught his breath.


    The process had been difficult, but he had managed to stop the summoning. Kang-Woo flopped onto the ground with his arms and legs spread wide open.


    Riiing.


    "Hmm?"


    At that moment, he heard a familiar bell chime. He slowly opened his eyes as message windows popped up in front of him.


    [The demonic crystal has reached the size necessary to achieve the Ultimate Demonic Body.]


    [You have fulfilled all three conditions required to achieve the Ultimate Demonic Body.]


    [Commencing body transformation.]

 Chapter 108 - Ultimate Demonic Body

    Chapter 108 - Ultimate Demonic Body


    Crack!


    Kang-Woo could hear his skeleton contort. His muscles were torn apart and made anew. Unimaginable pain spread throughout his body. It was as if his body had been torn to shreds and forcibly sewn back together again.


    "¡­"


    He remained silent and focused on the changes that were happening inside him. He had to know what the Ultimate Demonic Body was exactly.


    The pain hindered him from concentrating, but it wasn''t like he couldn''t endure it. Kang-Woo was used to enduring pain.


    ''So, this is the Ultimate Demonic Body.''


    He wasn''t quite sure what it was yet, but he could tell the changes were purely internal. Nothing about him had changed externally.


    His muscles toughened, and his bones hardened. Those were positive changes indeed, but he wasn''t sure what made them so great to deserve a grandiose name like ''Ultimate Demonic Body.''


    ''Hm?''


    While Kang-Woo was wondering that, a new change urred. The energy inside his dantian started to melt into his blood. His muscles and bones had changed just a moment ago, and now even his blood was changing. Blood full of demonic energy circted through every nook and cranny of his entire body.


    ''Whoa.''


    The pain stopped, reced by an indescribable sense of fullness.


    Kang-Woo moved his finger. His body, which had had no sensation since the transformation began, moved ording to his will.


    He slowly got up, and message windows appeared.


    Riiing.


    [The transformation into the Ultimate Demonic Body has beenpleted.]


    [All stats have risen by 5.]


    [Commencing the second step to bing a Demon God.]


    "Wow."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up.


    ''All stats rose by five...''


    It was a satisfying number.


    He really liked that his Demonic Energy, which had shown no signs of rising, had just risen by five at once to 108. Without buffs like Kraken''s Rage, the stat would remain under 110, but a rise of five was a huge change. The amount of demonic energy inside him had increased as well, simr to whenever the seal of the Ten Thousand Demon Core weakened.


    ''But the biggest change is¡­''


    Kang-Woo looked down at his right arm.


    The blood flowing out of his shoulder, which Akiyama had injured, was ck.


    ''The demonic energy melted into my blood.''


    Kang-Woo''s muscles had be thicker and his bones harder, both of which were positive changes¡­ But the biggest change was that his demonic energy hadpletely melted into his blood.


    Moreover, it wasn''t normal demonic energy; it was highly concentrated, simr to the energy inside of the demonic crystal. In other words, the energy of the demonic crystal that had only been in his dantian had spread through his entire body. It was as if his body had be one big dantian.


    "Very nice."


    Kang-Woo was satisfied.


    This was a level of power he hadn''t achieved during his rule over the Nine Hells. The sensation of getting stronger made him excited.


    ''I wonder what the second step to bing a Demon God is.''


    After achieving the Ultimate Demonic Body, Kang-Woo''s body changed more than he''d imagined. He''d even gotten a power that was beyond his imagination. It was no surprise that he''d be interested in what was next.


    Kang-Woo opened his status window and checked the information for the second step.


    [Information]


    [Demonic Soul: The second step to bing a Demon God.


    *Condition 1: ???


    *Condition 2: ???]


    There wasn''t any information except for the name ''Demonic Soul'' and that he needed to fulfill two conditions.


    ''First was the body, and now it''s the soul.''


    Just like before, there wasn''t any information about the power that the Demonic Soul would bring him.


    Kang-Woo looked away from his status window. Since he didn''t have any information about how to fulfill those conditions, there was no point in thinking about it any longer.


    He then checked the Sixth Awakening Trait that he''d acquired previously. It had fully unlocked after he achieved the Ultimate Demonic Body.


    [Sixth Awakening Trait: Demonic Art of Creation (Rank: SS)]


    [Effect: The yer can create equipment infused with the power of Authorities. The more Authorities that are used simultaneously during the crafting process, the greater the power that the crafted equipment will possess.


    However, to create equipment of the Mythic grade and above, a material of the same grade is required.


    *The number of equipment that can be crafted with Demonic Art of Creation is one. The previously crafted equipment will be destroyed if any more is crafted.]


    "Wow!"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes gleamed.


    ''Not bad at all.''


    Being able to craft equipment infused with the power of Authorities was a huge advantage. Valuable materials of the same grade were necessary for crafting equipment of the Mythic grade or higher, but that wasn''t the case for equipment of the Legendary grade or below. This was an incredibly good Trait, especially considering how much of a difference the ck Pearl Coat had made to hisbat prowess.


    ''I''m not sure what this Trait has to do with the Ultimate Demonic Body though.''


    This Trait had been unlocked after he achieved the Ultimate Demonic Body, but the two things seemed to have no rtion to each other.


    ''Is there a different reason?''


    There was no way for Kang-Woo to know for sure at this point. In any case, there was no point jumping to conclusions when he didn''t even know if the Demonic Art of Creation was rted to the Ultimate Demonic Body.


    ''Besides, it''s not that important.''


    The important thing was that he''d achieved the Ultimate Demonic Body and that he had risen to a higher stage thanks to it. Additionally, the Sixth Awakening Trait that he''d fully unlocked was quite useful.


    Kang-Woo left his questions aside and ced his hand on his right shoulder. He used the Authority of Regeneration, and his wound healed quickly.


    "I should get out of here," Kang-Woo said, turning around.


    He had stopped Lilith''s summoning and achieved the Ultimate Demonic Body. It seemed like his level was still capped, but two of his other problems had been solved at once. He was enjoying the current situation so much that he wanted to dance.


    Kang-Woo hummed as he approached the altar.


    ''So, this girl is the Miko of the Heavens.''


    From her appearance, the Miko of the Heavens just looked like an ordinary but elegant and beautiful girl.


    Kang-Woo lifted her in his arms.


    Boom!


    Right when he was about to use the Authority of the Sky to return to the surface, the ceiling of the tunnel was destroyed.


    "Huff, huff."


    A good-looking young man was panting heavily. His blue and ck odd eyes gazed at Kang-Woo.


    "Wha¡ª"


    "You were a step toote," Kang-Woo stated.


    "Are you saying the summoning ritual took ce down here and not on the top floor?" Fujimoto Ryoma asked with sharp eyes.


    Kang-Woo gestured to the altar with his chin.


    "As you can see."


    "...How did you know that it was taking ce here?"


    "Because I noticed that there were no Demon Cultists on the way up."


    "Hah, you broke away from your designated area of operations without permission just because of that?¡±


    Ryoma seemed annoyed.


    Kang-Woo smirked and said, "Our role from the beginning was to cause chaos, was it not? Just because I didn''t head up to the top floor doesn''t mean that I broke away from the designated area of operations."


    "Then you should have told m¡ª"


    "It was nothing but a guess on my end as well. Why would I call you about unverified information?"


    "¡­"


    Trembling in frustration, Ryoma could only close his mouth upon hearing Kang-Woo''s smooth answers.


    ''I''m sure he wanted to monopolize the achievement,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    He''d known that from the first moment they met.


    Regardless, Kang-Woo walked past Ryoma, who was ring at him. He didn''t have a reason to care about Ryoma''s intentions.


    "Kuh," Ryoma uttered with a frown.


    He bit his lips and continued to re at Kang-Woo, who had taken the lead.


    Ryoma felt conflicted. He pped his lips, seemingly anxious. He looked around and then lifted his walkie-talkie after havinge to a decision.


    [Emergency! Requesting assistance from all units! Converge on the underground tunnel!]


    Kang-Woo scoffed, "Hah, how over the top."


    [There was a Demon Cultist spy among the Korean yers! Requesting immediate assistance!]


    Kang-Woo turned around and looked at Ryoma in disbelief, although it wasn''t hard for him to imagine why Ryoma was saying something like that all of a sudden.


    ''This guy''s insane.''


    His delightful mood was instantly ruined.


    Kang-Woo frowned and said, "I know what you''re trying to do, but you''d better stop."


    "Nonsense, you filthy Demon Cultist! Let the Miko of the Heavens go!"


    "Nonsense? That''s rich,ing from you. If you want to monopolize the achievement, go for it. I can''t even bring myself to deal with you."


    Kang-Woo tried to hand Kurosaki Yurie to him, but Ryoma stepped back and raised powerful wind currents from his hands.


    "Hmph! Enough with your pathetic excuses!" Ryoma rebuked angrily.


    Despite the anger in his voice, Ryoma was smiling.


    "Haaa..." Kang-Woo sighed.


    He could hear people running down the tunnel. It was the group of Japanese yers that had taken the role of bait in their tactic.


    Strangely, Prime Minister Yamada was with them.


    He asked hurriedly, "Wh-What in the world is going on?!"


    "It''s as you can see. As soon as I defeated the Demon Cult, that man appeared and tried to kidnap the Miko of the Heavens again!"


    "¡­"


    Fujimoto Ryoma had shouted before Kang-Woo could say anything.


    Prime Minister Yamada looked at Kang-Woo and murmured, "Hmm¡­"


    Many things that Fujimoto had said made no sense. Firstly, Fujimoto appeared too unscathed for someone who imed to have fought against the Demon Cult, and the situation didn''t seem to be very urgent despite him having called it an emergency.


    The second thing was rted to Kurosaki Yurie, who was in the arms of the Korean yer. Her hair wasn''t disheveled, and her clothes were in a neat state; it didn''t seem at all like she was being kidnapped.


    "What are you doing, Prime Minister?!" Ryoma questioned.


    "Oh, m-my apologies," Prime Minister Yamada replied, flinching in surprise. He then shouted at the squadron of yers, "Surround the Demon Cultist!"


    Kang-Woo was quickly surrounded by the Japanese yers.


    He smirked at Prime Minister Yamada and remarked, "I see you''re in cahoots with him."


    Prime Minister Yamada had felt that something was off. That much was obvious from his expression. Yet, his attitude changed the moment Fujimoto yelled at him.


    ''They must''ve been prepared for something like this from the beginning.''


    Kang-Woo guessed that they had nned to frame a Korean yer as a Demon Cultist on the off chance that a Korean yer rescued the hostage before Ryoma could. Otherwise, there was no reason for the prime minister to be here instead of in the bunker.


    ''What a bright idea.''


    There were no cameras installed in the tunnel, and they hadn''t recorded the tactic being carried out. In a situation like this, the only way to prove the used''s innocence was through testimonies. However, if everyone present was part of the same team, then they couldbel anyone passing by as a member of the Demon Cult. It was a typical witch hunt.


    Kang-Woo burst outughing. He found the trap so cute that his irritation disappeared.


    ''Come to think of it, that eye of his is Mythic-grade equipment, isn''t it?'' Kang-Woo thought.


    The Eye of Susanoo was Fujimoto Ryoma''s globally famous trademark equipment.


    ''Since it''s a Mythic-grade piece of equipment, I''m sure the material for it is also Mythic-grade.''


    A wide smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    "I surrender."


    He ced Kurosaki Yurie down and raised his hands.

 Chapter 109 - Five Mistakes (1)

    Chapter 109 - Five Mistakes (1)


    "What is the meaning of this?!" Jang Hyun-Jae shouted when he saw Japanese yers dragging Oh Kang-Woo in handcuffs.


    Fujimoto Ryoma stepped up to the front.


    "That is what we want to ask you. This man is a spy from the Demon Cult, and he had dared to kidnap the Miko of the Heavens."


    "¡­ What?"


    "Hmm¡­ Judging from your expression, it seems you have also been fooled."


    Ryoma looked at Hyun-Jae, Baek Hwa-Yeon, and Goo Hyun-Mo. In reality, since he''d used Kang-Woo of being a spy from the Demon Cult, the correct thing would be to say that every Korean yer who hade to Japan was also a member of the Demon Cult.


    ''But that would cause too much of an uproar.''


    It would be far too overboard.


    There was a difference between using an unknown yer of being a Demon Cultist and using members of a military unit working for the government.


    ''They won''t be able to defend his case, anyway.''


    He smiled wickedly.


    If Korea recklessly defended Kang-Woo, this issue might escte into a national conflict, and it would make them look as if they were trying to defend a Demon Cultist who had tried to kidnap the Miko of the Heavens. More importantly, there was no way to prove his innocence, and the Koreans knew they had no chance of winning the case.


    ''They''ll back off if they''re smart.''


    It was a simple problem. Would Korea, out of sentiment, make a risky gamble that could escte to a national conflict, or would they resolve the issue with the sacrifice of one person?


    There was no need to even think about it.


    Korea would escape like a lizard dropping its tail.


    "¡­ Do you have proof?" Hyun-Jae asked.


    "Both Prime Minister Yamada and I saw it with our own eyes. Is that not enough proof?"


    "There is no proof that you two are lying either."


    "Are you suspecting us?"


    "That''s¡­"


    Hyun-Jae''s expression hardened.


    Since he was themander of the Hwarang Corps, he couldn''t make any incriminating statements. He knew what kind of trouble it could bring.


    "Hah, these sons of bitches¡­"


    Cha Yeon-Joo stepped forward as if taking the silent Hyun-Jae''s ce.


    Hwa-Yeon grabbed her shoulder.


    "Let go," said Yeon-Joo.


    "Yeon-Joo, calm down and let''s talk it ou¡ª"


    "I told you to let go."


    Yeon-Joo fired sharp bloodlust at Hwa-Yeon.


    She brushed off Hwa-Yeon''s hands and walked toward Ryoma.


    "You must''ve been hit and are seeing things, seeing from the blue eye of yours. Should I make your other eye blue as well?"


    "Haha. You seem to be in shock. I also couldn''t believe it when this man tried to kidnap the Miko of the Heavens. We never thought that the forces of the Japanese Demon Cult had stretched to other countries as well."


    "How dare you bastard keep spouting nonsense¡­?"


    Red chains spread out from her wrist.


    Kang-Woo opened his mouth while looking at her.


    "Stop, Yeon-Joo."


    "You want me to stop in this situation?" she said aggressively.


    Kang-Woo smirked and replied, "It''s okay."


    "What''s okay?! These damn monkeys are¡­!"


    "Calm down. Has anything ever gone wrong after I said that it''s okay?"


    "Ngh¡­!"


    Yeon-Joo grunted.


    "K-Kang-Woo¡­" Han Seol-Ah stared at him as if she was about to start crying.


    "I''lle back soon. Stay with Echidna."


    "Y-You really wille back, right?"


    "Yeah."


    "Kang-Woo, where are you going?" Echidna asked.


    "There''s been a misunderstanding. I''ll be back in a sh to resolve it, so you can wait for me, right?"


    "Yeah, I can wait."


    Echidna nodded.


    Unlike other people, she wasn''t worried about Kang-Woo. Their souls were linked, so she could instinctively tell that he really thought that the situation was nothing.


    "Have you finished saying your farewells? Seeing that so many people are worried for you, you seem to have hidden the fact that you''re a filthy Demon Cultist very thoroughly."


    "¡­"


    "Your crimes will be thoroughly exposed in a court ofw."


    Ryoma dragged him away.


    Kang-Woo followed him carefreely.


    They were heading to a boat that would take them to the maind.


    Kang-Woo boarded the boat and then closed his eyes after sitting down.


    Ryoma said, "You seem rather calm. Do you seriously think you have a chance of escaping aftering this far?"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    Ryoma smirked.


    "I''m sure you know that you''ll be abandoned at the very end."


    The effort needed to prove his innocence was so astronomical that abandoning him was the far better option.


    Ryoma said, "The truth isn''t important. You may find the situation unfair, but just ept it. I will pull some strings so that you are not executed."


    The truth wasn''t important. An irrefutable lie was no different from the truth.


    * * *


    Kang-Woo was transported to a prison in Tokyo designed for yers.


    Ryoma, who was worried he would escape, put mana restraints all over his body, which made it difficult for Kang-Woo to even move a finger.


    After being put in mana restraints, Kang-Woo sat with the wall against his back. The solitary cell was so small that he couldn''t even lie down.


    Ryoma smiled while looking down at him through the steel-barred window.


    "The trial will be soon, so I will see you there."


    It was a formal trial. Since there was no evidence, the trial would bepletely reliant on witness ounts, and all of the witnesses, including Prime Minister Yamada, were his pawns. Ryoma would also personally choose the judge.


    The only person Ryoma was worried about was Kurosaki Yurie, but she had no idea what had happened since she had been unconscious at the time.


    ''If everything goes well¡­''


    Ryoma clenched his fist. There was a reason why he''d tried so hard to monopolize the achievement.


    ''¡­ I can finally have the Miko of the Heavens.''


    He had been nning to marry Yurie for a long time. Their marriage had not been established up until now because she''d refused many times, but it would be hard to go against public opinion this time.


    People were sensitive to sensational topics, and his rescuing of her by himself was sensational enough.


    ''Heh, I can already see the headlines.''


    The kidnapped princess gets married to her hero.


    One could already picture it from just that phrase.


    She was someone who couldn''t go against what the citizens expected of her, so she wouldn''t be able to refuse his marriage proposal any longer.


    Of course, the reason wasn''t that he was in love with her. She was clearly beautiful, but he wasn''t interested in someone as boring as her.


    ''As soon as the marriage is established¡­''


    The entirety of Japan would be in the palm of his hand.


    He was the person who represented the power of Japan, and she was the person who received the love of the people of the country. If they joined forces, he would be able to rece the old emperor.


    ''The Japanese empire will once again be known throughout the world.''


    Japan had suffered massively as a country ever since the Day of Cmity. Their reputation as an economic giant had plummeted to the point that they were below Korea.


    Upon bing a World Ranker, Ryoma had decided to make Japan the strongest country in East Asia. The first step toward that goal was to be the emperor.


    "You can hire anywyer you want, although I don''t think there''s anyone who''d be willing to defend you."


    Ryoma turned around while smiling wickedly.


    As Ryoma turned his back to leave, Kang-Woo opened his mouth.


    "You¡­" Kang-Woo continued in a cold voice, "You think you''re clever, huh?"


    "¡­ What?"


    "Do you think everything''s going ording to your ns?"


    "Hah." Ryomaughed at the absurdity. "Of course. Isn''t that obvious from the prison cell you''re in?"


    Kang-Woo''s inability to move even a finger due to the mana restraint made him look like a bug.


    Kang-Woo softlyughed.


    "Five."


    "¡­ Five what?"


    "The number of mistakes you''ve made. You''ve already made five."


    "¡­ Hah. Hahaha! That''s funny!"


    Ryoma also knew that his n wasn''t perfect. It was highly improvised and full of holes, but still, he hadn''t made five mistakes.


    "You''re saying a lot of shit for a rat in a cage."


    "You sure about that¡­?" Kang-Woo closed his eyes while leaning against the wall. "You''ll soon find out, even if you don''t want to."


    "Hah¡­ What a joke." Ryoma clicked his tongue and shook his head. "We''ll see if you can remain that carefree during the trial."


    Ryoma walked out of the prison after saying thosest words.


    Click.


    There was a heavy silence after the door was locked.


    A CCTV was monitoring Kang-Woo''s cell twenty-four seven, and the bars were made of a material that not even a Ranker could break easily.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and leaned his back against the wall. Considering that he was locked in an infamous prison, he seemed too rxed.


    As time passed, the sun set, and night fell.


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his eyes.


    "Let''s get started," Kang-Woo mumbled as he used an Authority.


    The energy of the demonic crystal that had melted into his blood rose. He was using his power so naturally that one wouldn''t believe that his entire body was covered in mana restraints.


    That was Ryoma''s first mistake.


    ''Mana restraints don''t work on me.''


    Although mana and demonic energy were simr, they were fundamentally different powers. Mana restraints did not affect him.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Projection and the Authority of Dolls. Afterward, he slipped out of the restraints as if his soul had escaped his body. He looked down and saw the fake body he had created using the Authority of Dolls.


    He had escaped from the cell while leaving a fake body behind.


    Although this prison was famous for having zero sessful escapes due to its air-tight security, Kang-Woo had no problem escaping because he could fully use his Authorities.


    "Fuuu."


    The cool night air brushed his cheeks. Although he''d only been locked up for half a day, he felt free.


    As he used the Authority of the Sky, the bustling city of Tokyo spread beneath his feet.


    "Now then, let''s prepare for the trial."


    Of course, he could escape to Korea and assume apletely new identity if he wanted to, but he was not one to y along with someone else''s intentions.


    ''Answer evil with greater evil¡­ and return bloodlust with even greater bloodlust.''


    That was something he''d learned to survive.


    Kang-Woo stretched.


    They had said that the trial would take ce as soon as possible, so it was probably going to take ce in a few days.


    "I''ll have to move quickly."


    Kang-Woo crossed the night sky.

 Chapter 110 - Five Mistakes (2)

    Chapter 110 - Five Mistakes (2)


    The entirety of Japan was shocked the moment it was announced that Kurosaki Yurie had been kidnapped by the Demon Cult, but the people''s shock onlysted for a little while.


    When the news spread that Fujimoto Ryoma had rescued her, the mood took a drastic turn for the better.


    The yer that could be said to represent all Japanese yers had saved the Miko of the Heavens!


    All news was full of praise for Ryoma, and Yurie''s rescue was even covered in foreign countries.


    Comparatively, there was almost no news that talked about Kang-Woo. No, he had barely been mentioned.


    Ryoma had warned the news outlets ahead of time to stop the incident from getting bigger until the trial hade to a ruling.


    Three days passed.


    Ryoma, who had be a national hero, was walking to court.


    It was the day when the trial of Korean yer Oh Kang-Woo would take ce.


    "You made sure that the judge in charge of this trial is Judge Wakabe, right?"


    "Yes, sir!"


    "Good."


    Ryoma smiled.


    Wakabe Nobuhito was a judge who had helped Ryoma get out of legal trouble a couple of times before. He was moderately greedy and very quick-witted.


    The trial would go smoothly as always.


    "Prime Minister Yamada will be the witness."


    "Hahaha! Good."


    A testimony from the prime minister? Even if Judge Wakabe wasn''t in his pockets, the case would be a m dunk.


    Ryoma felt that all of the rtionships he''d built throughout the years had formed one big castle.


    ''And I''ll soon be the king of that castle.''


    He was a bit bothered by Kang-Woo''s rxed attitude, but there wasn''t a way for Kang-Woo to turn this case around anymore.


    The reason why so many people had been victims of witch hunts was that there wasn''t a way for them to prove they weren''t witches in the first ce.


    It would be the same this time as well.


    There was no way Kang-Woo would be able to prove that he wasn''t a Demon Cultist.


    ''It would have been great if I had acquired a few demonic crystals.''


    Demonic crystals were the ck gems made of concentrated demonic energy that the Demon Cult used. If he''d been able to acquire one, he would''ve had an easier time framing Kang-Woo as a Demon Cultist. Sadly, however, he had not been able to get one.


    ''It would be troublesome if I am used of being a Demon Cultist while trying to get one.''


    Since Prime Minister Yamada was going to be a witness, there was no way Kang-Woo would be able to win, anyway.


    Ryoma entered the courtroom with light steps. He saw Cha Yeon-Joo and the other Korean yers ring at him.


    ''They look rather furious.''


    It was understandable. After all, theirrade had been framed as a Demon Cultist, so it wasn''t weird for them to react like this.


    ''But considering they haven''t done anything for thest three days, I guess they''ve given up as well.''


    It really didn''t matter if they got angry. Rage wouldn''t change anything in this world.


    The reporters who had been waiting outside swarmed toward him.


    "Mr. Fujimoto! There hasn''t been any information released regarding this trial. Could you tell us what is going on?"


    "Why is a trial suddenly being held for a Korean yer?"


    Ryoma had restricted the news outlets for thest three days, but there was no more need for that. Today was the day when the truth about the Demon Cult spy named Oh Kang-Woo would be revealed.


    Ryoma replied with a smile, "I cannot give any details until after the trial."


    "Could you at least tell us what the trial is about¡­?"


    "The trial is rted to the forces that kidnapped the Miko of the Heavens. As for the details, it would be better for you to see for yourselves."


    "If it''s the forces that kidnapped the Miko of the Heavens¡­"


    "The Demon Cult? Is the Demon Cult somehow rted to a Korean yer?"


    The reporters were in an uproar. They hadn''t been told any information beforehand, so they were making many assumptions.


    Ryoma smiled in satisfaction and took his seat.


    Step, step.


    As he waited carefreely, he saw Kang-Woo enter the courtroom. Although Kang-Woo was no longer covered in mana restraints, his hands were still restrained.


    Already beginning to act, Ryoma red at Kang-Woo as Kang-Woo entered.


    Judge Wakabe entered the room soon after and took his seat. He didn''t look good. His face was pale, and he was trembling. It was as if he was terrified.


    Bam, bam.


    "L-Let the trial begin." Judge Wakabe turned to Ryoma. "Prosecution, begin your testimony against defendant Oh Kang-Woo."


    "Yes, Your Honor."


    The prosecutor stood up.


    "Defendant Oh Kang-Woo is a yer who had participated in the operation to rescue Princess Kurosaki Yurie. He suddenly broke off from his formation when the operation to break through the north exit took ce, and he participated in the Demon Cult''s summoning ritual. As Mr. Fujimoto Ryoma defeated the Demon Cultists and stopped the summoning ritual, Defendant Oh Kang-Woo grabbed Princess Kurosaki Yurie, who was unconscious on the altar, and tried to run away."


    "What kind of bullshit are you bastards spouting?"


    m!


    Yeon-Joo angrily stood up, fed up with the prosecution''s lies. Jang Hyun-Jae and Baek Hwa-Yeon tried to stop her. Frowning, Yeon-Joo was forced to sit down.


    Judge Wakabe looked at Kang-Woo after the short incident. Judge Wakabe then spoke to the defendant Kang-Woo, who was sitting in the defendant''s seat in a rxed manner.


    "Th-The defendant¡­"


    ck!


    Judge Wakabe dropped his gavel.


    He eximed with a pale face, "I-I''m sorry!"


    He apologized to someone, then quickly picked up the gavel and took a deep breath. He spoke in a trembling voice without being able to look properly at Kang-Woo. "Ahem. Let us resume the trial. D-Does the defense have an attorn¡ª"


    "I do not," Kang-Woo stated.


    "In that case, do you have anything to say in your defense?"


    "I am not a Demon Cultist."


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    "I-Is that it?"


    "Yes."


    Kang-Woo nodded with a smile on his face.


    "Pfft!"


    Ryoma covered his mouth and tried to hold in hisughter.


    ''Is that what he calls a defense?''


    The only possible exnation at that point was that Oh Kang-Woo was stupid.


    The uneasiness Ryoma felt hadpletely disappeared.


    He would win the trial¡ªthere was no way he''d lose. The winner had already been decided from the beginning, and the trial was just a formality.


    "Your Honor, the prosecution calls to the stand Prime Minister Yamada."


    "Will the witness please take the stand?"


    Prime Minister Yamada walked toward the witness stand.


    "Hmm?"


    Ryoma tilted his head in confusion.


    Prime Minister Yamada was acting weird¡ªhis face was pale, and he was trembling.


    ''Did something happen yesterday to Judge Wakabe?''


    Both Prime Minister Yamada and the judge looked to be in somewhat simr states.


    ''Well, it must be a sign of their age.''


    It wasn''t weird for their health to deteriorate since neither one of them was a yer.


    Ryoma waited calmly for the prime minister''s testimony. The reporters also looked at Prime Minister Yamada with shining eyes.


    "I," Prime Minister Yamada said with a trembling voice, "I would like to use this stand to reveal a secret that I have been hiding."


    "¡­ Huh?"


    Ryoma frowned at the unexpected development.


    "I am¡­ being threatened by Fujimoto Ryoma."


    "What?!"


    "Wh-What the hell?"


    "What is he talking about?"


    There was a hugemotion in the courtroom.


    Prime Minister Yamada peeked at Kang-Woo and then continued, "Fujimoto Ryoma is framing the Korean yer as a Demon Cultist to hide his true identity. yer Oh Kang-Woo is also nothing but a victim in his heinous scheme."


    "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"


    m!


    Ryoma sprang up from his seat.


    Everyone''s attention focused on him. After noticing that the reporters were looking at him, he took a deep breath.


    "Fuuu¡­ Prime Minister, what are you talking about all of a sudden? Hiding my true identity? What identity is that?"


    "Fujimoto Ryoma is"¡ªPrime Minister Yamada gulped, and his nervous voice spread through the courtroom¡ª"a Demon Cultist. It was also actually Fujimoto who had kidnapped Princess Kurosaki Yurie in this incident."


    "Wh-What did you say? What the hell are you talking about, you son of a¡ª"


    The reporters stood up.


    "P-Prime Minister! What do you mean?!"


    "Please give us more details!"


    Fujimoto Ryoma was the one who kidnapped Kurosaki Yurie?


    This was far from a truth bomb but more like a natural disaster.


    "I have actually known this for a very long time, but he¡­ Fujimoto Ryoma said that if I revealed the truth, he would offer all my family members as demon sacrifices."


    "Hah, have you gone mad, old man¡­?"


    Ryomaughed in disbelief.


    It was true that Prime Minister Yamada was his subordinate, but he had never taken his family hostage, nor was he the one who had kidnapped Yurie.


    The sole culprit of Yurie''s kidnapping was the Demon Cult.


    ''What the hell is going on?''


    He couldn''t understand it. Why was Prime Minister Yamada trying to frame him as a Demon Cultist? He couldn''t think of a single reason. His mind became messy at the unexpected development.


    "Prime Minister! Is what you''ve just said true?"


    "Then, how does that exin Mr. Fujimoto rescuing the hostage?"


    "I also have something to say in regards to that. The one who saved the Miko of the Heavens was not Fujimoto but the Korean yer sitting there, Mr. Oh Kang-Woo. Rather, Fujimoto was the spy who had spread false information that the summoning ritual was taking ce on the top floor to hinder the operation."


    There was a huge uproar again. A few reporters even dropped their audio recorders.


    "That''s bullshit! Everyone! I am being framed! Prime Minister Yamada is not in his right mind!"


    The uproar became bigger.


    Kang-Woo looked as if he found the uproar fun. He tried his best to hold in hisughter.


    ''This was your second mistake.''


    He had an Authority that allowed him to make people his pawns.


    Ryoma''s n was doomed as long as Kang-Woo possessed a mind-controlling Authority.


    ''You shouldn''t have used Prime Minister Yamada as a witness.''


    Prime Minister Yamada was not a yer; he was just a regr person. He did not have the power to resist mind-control Authorities.


    If Ryoma needed a witness, it would''ve been better to use one of the yers who hade to the underground tunnel with Prime Minister Yamada.


    "You crazy old man¡­! Do you have proof?! Huh? Show me the proof!" Ryoma screamed like a madman.


    Prime Minister Yamada nodded. "I do have proof. Please take a look at this, everyone. This was found in Fujimoto''s residence."


    "What¡­?"


    Ryoma looked dumbfounded.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t hold it back anymore and let out a softugh.


    The demonic crystal was something that only the Demon Cult used and could create.


    But¡­


    ''I can make them too.''


    That was Ryoma''s third mistake. He didn''t know that Kang-Woo could also create demonic crystals.

 Chapter 111 - Five Mistakes (3)

    Chapter 111 - Five Mistakes (3)


    "H-Hahahaha!! What a funny joke."


    Fujimoto Ryomaughed out loud while ring at Prime Minister Yamada. Although his mouth wasughing, a chilling bloodlust leaked from his eyes.


    "U-Urgh¡­"


    Prime Minister Yamada trembled. He looked at Oh Kang-Woo and gulped. Ryoma''s bloodlust was scary¡­ but it was nothingpared to the fear he felt for Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo had him fully under his control with the Authority of Fear, so he was unable to defy him.


    Prime Minister Yamada calmed down his trembling and waited for Ryoma''s reply.


    "Leaving aside the fact that you searched my house without a warrant¡­ how can you prove the demonic crystal came from there?"


    He wasn''t sure from where the prime minister had gotten a demonic crystal¡­ but it was meaningless to bring out a demonic crystal and im that it was found in his home. It was simr to someone who was not a police officer searching one''s home and iming that they had found drugs.


    Of course, it was true that Prime Minister Yamada''s authority was higher than a police officer''s, but Ryoma was considered a national hero, so he also had quite the authority.


    "I requested a trustworthy guild to handle the search. They will be the ones to testify."


    "A trustworthy guild¡­?"


    Ryoma frowned. There wasn''t a guild in Japan influential enough to be considered trustworthy because the average level of yers was too low for that.


    But for Prime Minister Yamada to suddenly say that he''d asked a trustworthy guild to perform the search¡­


    "What are you talking ab¡ª"


    "These are the people who were in charge of searching Fujimoto''s residence."


    Click.


    The courtroom''s door swung open.


    Everyone focused on the people who had opened the door and entered the room.


    There was a huge uproar in the courtroom.


    "H-Heavenly Sword n!"


    "Why is Tian Suyan here¡­?!"


    The person who had entered the room was a woman with twin buns. Seductive energy flowed from her, even when she just stood still.


    Tian Suyan was the daughter of Tian Wuchen, the master of China''s biggest guild, the Heavenly Sword n.


    She stood on the witness stand without the judge''s permission. Smiling, she opened her mouth to speak. She spoke in fluent Japanese with no need for an interpreter.


    "Nice to meet you. I am Tian Suyan, the person in charge of investigating Fujimoto Ryoma''s alleged involvement with the Demon Cult. I heard the details of this case from Prime Minister Yamada three days ago, right when Kurosaki Yurie''s kidnapping incident ended."


    "M-May I ask why China suddenly got inv¡ª"


    "Stop. Could I receive questions once I am done talking?"


    "Ah, yes¡­ My apologies."


    A heavy silence nketed the courtroom, which had been noisy until a few moments ago.


    As expected of the daughter of Tian Wuchen, Suyan had impressive charisma.


    She nced at Kang-Woo and slightly licked her lips.


    "Prime Minister Yamada said that he felt guilty about Fujimoto Ryoma being considered a hero after supposedly saving the Miko of the Heavens. Hence, he asked for assistance from the Heavenly Sword n to expose his true colors."


    "THAT''S BULLSHIT!"


    Ryoma''s angry voice sounded through the room.


    Suyan ignored him.


    "We, the Heavenly Sword n, know very well about the dangers of the Demon Cult. So after hearing that the real identity of someone praised as a World Ranker was, in reality, a member of the Demon Cult, we couldn''t remain still. That is why, after Prime Minister Yamada asked for our assistance, we secretly searched Fujimoto''s residence."


    "W-Wait. What in the world are you talking about?"


    "As a result¡­"


    Suyan''s expression darkened. With just a simple change of expression, the atmosphere of the courtroom became tense. The technique she used to y with people''s feelings was being used in another way to influence the people in the courtroom.


    She said, "Fujimoto Ryoma is indeed a member of the Demon Cult. We found many items containing demonic energy in his residence."


    "YOU CRAZY BITCH!!"


    Ryoma screamed like a madman. He felt his mind go nk. The situation was developing in a totally unexpected way.


    ''Wh-What is going on?''


    The situation waspletely different from when Prime Minister Yamada had said that a demonic crystal had been found in Ryoma''s residence.


    Suyan was a member of the Heavenly Sword n¡ªChina''s biggest, no, East Asia''s biggest and strongest guild! Their level of credibility was leagues above the words of Prime Minister Yamada.


    ''Why did the Heavenly Sword n get involved?''


    No matter how much Ryoma thought about it, he couldn''t understand what was happening. Why had a massive guild like the Heavenly Sword n gotten involved in such a case?


    ''At this rate¡­''


    His face turned pale, and he started breathing heavily. At this rate, he would be framed as a Demon Cultist without being able to do anything about it. He was aware of this, but he still couldn''t do anything.


    There was no way for him to do anything. Witch hunts were established exactly for the reason that the used were unable to prove that they weren''t a witch.


    It was the same with the Demon Cult.


    People had no way to prove that they weren''t part of the Demon Cult.


    Don''t have demonic energy? High-ranking Demon Cultists such as high priests were able topletely conceal their demonic energy deep within their hearts. The only way to tell if someone was a Demon Cultist was to take out their heart.


    "Damn!" Ryoma couldn''t help but curse. The whole situation was unfair. He wasn''t a Demon Cultist, nor had he ever tried to be one.


    He had kidnapped the Miko of the Heavens and leaked false information to hinder the rescue operation?


    It was all a lie, but he couldn''t find a way to prove his innocence.


    As if giving the final blow, Suyan said, "I swear in the name of the Heavenly Sword n that everything I have said about this case is the truth. Fujimoto Ryoma, that evil man''s true identity is that of a Demon Cultist."


    The people focused on Ryoma.


    "N-No," he said in a weak voice. Even if he denied it, he knew he wouldn''t be able to turn the situation back in his favor. "I''m not!"


    Suyan turned her head to Judge Wakabe.


    "We, the Heavenly Sword n, will thoroughly investigate this matter. May I ask that you order the arrest of Fujimoto Ryoma first, Your Honor?"


    Judge Wakabe hurriedly nodded.


    "U-Understood. I approve the arrest and search of Fujimoto Ryoma!"


    Bam, bam!


    The judge''s gavel made a loud noise.


    It was a weird conclusion that had nothing to do with what the trial was really about, but the situation was so convoluted that no one said anything about it.


    "Sons of bitches¡­"


    Ryoma bit his lips while frowning. His anger-filled eyes naturally turned to Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo was staring at him like he was having the time of his life. If someone gave him popcorn, he would devour it.


    ''It¡¯s almost over.''


    Kang-Woo leaned back in his chair.


    Ryoma''s fourth mistake was that he thought Kang-Woo was an insignificant yer without connections.


    ''I ended up owing a debt, though.''


    He recalled Suyan licking her lips while ncing at him.


    He had not asked her to y in the y he had orchestrated; she truly believed that Ryoma was a Demon Cultist.


    Kang-Woo had called her through Prime Minister Yamada and then hid the demonic crystal inside Ryoma''s residence.


    She''d epted Prime Minister Yamada''s request and defended Kang-Woo while putting the name of the Heavenly Sword n on the line because Kang-Woo was being framed for something he hadn''t done.


    ''Well, she was of great help, anyway.''


    Her words were the nail in the coffin, and Ryoma no longer had anywhere to run.


    "Everyone! I am innocent! The Heavenly Sword n is using shady tactics to devour Japan! Please don''t be fooled! They are Chinese! I''m sure you all know what kind of people they are!"


    ''How pathetic of you.''


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue while looking at Ryoma, who was turning to national sentiment now that he was cornered.


    The Heavenly Sword n had the evidence and the credibility to back up their ims; therefore, Ryoma wouldn''t be able to turn the situation around just because they were Chinese.


    Creak.


    At that moment, the door opened, and a woman entered the courtroom.


    "Huh¡­?"


    "P-Princess Kurosaki Yurie?!"


    Kurosaki Yurie.


    She suddenly appeared in the courtroom despite being bedridden in a hospital for the past three days.


    Kang-Woo frowned a bit.


    ''Why is she here all of a sudden?''


    This wasn''t part of his n. He felt uneasy at the appearance of an unexpected character.


    Yurie bowed.


    "First off, I would like to apologize to the people for all the worries I''ve caused." She had an elegant appearance and a clear voice, and she moved gracefully and exuded dignity. She was the definition of purity. "As the root of this incident, I havee here to say something."


    She looked at Kang-Woo. He couldn''t understand why, but he suddenly felt chills.


    She said, "The person who had rescued me was the Korean yer over there."


    "B-But ording to the witness, you were unconscious at the time¡­"


    "I was conscious, albeit very slightly. I don''t remember the details very well, but¡­ there is one thing that I am sure about. Mr. Fujimoto was not the one who had rescued me."


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    If the Heavenly Sword n had been building the coffin, then she had ced Ryoma inside and hammered the final nail.


    "A-Aaahhh¡­"


    Fujimoto flopped down into his seat as if he''d lost all hope.


    Kang-Woo looked at Yurie in disbelief.


    ''Weird.''


    Yurie had beenpletely unconscious at the time of the incident.


    She had a bit of consciousness?


    If that were the case, there was no way he wouldn''t have noticed.


    His senses weren''t dull enough to not realize if someone he''d picked up was conscious or not.


    ''Why is she lying?''


    He couldn''t understand her actions.


    Kang-Woo hadn''t used a mind-control Authority on her. No, to be more precise, he couldn''t. Yurie was a Ranker-level yer who had achieved her Ninth Awakening, so mind-control Authorities had no effect on her. Hence, she was doing this of her own volition.


    ''I heard she was fully devoted to her citizens.''


    However he was like, Ryoma was a hero to the Japanese people. She would most definitely know how desperate the Japanese people were for a hero in these times.


    If she really cared about her citizens, the most reasonable thing would''ve been to defend Ryoma or keep silent at the very least, even if she had truly been conscious at the time.


    ''To rify the truth?''


    There was no way. This wasn''t a shonen manga.


    The truth wasn''t important. What was important were points that seemed true, and those points were always made with self-interest through the calctions of profits and losses.


    Yurie had nothing to gain by doing this.


    ''What''s with her?''


    His thoughts did notst very long. A strong wind shook the courtroom with a loud sound, creating a violent storm inside.


    "ARRGGHH!"


    Ryoma destroyed the walls of the courtroom while screaming out in desperation. He flew into the skies and disappeared instantly.


    "H-H-Hey!"


    "After him!"


    The warriors that Suyan had brought followed her.


    Kang-Woo stood up.


    Crack.


    He easily destroyed the mana restraints on his wrists.


    "K-Kang-Woo!"


    "Wh-What the hell is going on?!"


    Han Seol-Ah and Cha Yeon-Joo ran toward him.


    "I''ll tell youter. There''s still something I have to do."


    "¡­ Something you have to do?"


    Kang-Woo nodded and walked in the direction Ryoma had escaped.


    "Go back to the hotel first. I''ll be back by dinner, so let''s go get something to eat once I''m back. Oh, I wanna try sushi, so please look into some nice restaurants."


    "What the hell are you talking about in this situa¡ª"


    Before Yeon-Joo could finish her sentence, Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Sky and flew away. He quickly disappeared from sight.


    "¡­"


    The remaining people continued staring at the wall through which Ryoma had escaped.


    * * *


    Tap.


    Kang-Woonded on a building''s rooftop. The building was a high-rise building that was hard to see in Japan. After he stood still and waited on the rooftop, something approached him quickly from the sky.


    Boom!


    A thick smoke rose, and Ryoma appeared from within. His expression was distorted with anger, frustration, and resentment.


    "You motherfucker, how dare you¡­"


    "This is the fifth."


    "¡­ What?"


    Kang-Wooughed lightly.


    "This is your fifth mistake."

 Chapter 112 - Five Mistakes (4)

    Chapter 112 - Five Mistakes (4)


    "¡­"


    "If you wanted to kill the dog after the hunt was over, you should''ve known how to differentiate a dog from a lion," Oh Kang-Woo said mockingly.


    Fujimoto Ryoma''s face turned red in anger. He breathed heavily and raised his hands. In the blink of an eye, a spear wind was created and shot toward Kang-Woo.


    Wham!


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Invulnerability, and the ck barrier that was created around him destroyed the wind spear.


    Ryoma said, "I''ll kill you. I''ll tear you apart. I''ll give you a death more painful than any!"


    "Haaa¡­ I''m honestly a bit disappointed."


    "Disappointed¡­ you say?"


    "To be honest, I had my hopes up a bit. I thought the character you were ying wasn''t all that bad."


    "What are you talking about?" Ryoma asked in a low voice.


    Kang-Woo leisurely began warming up.


    "The kind of viin that acts kind and courteous but actually controls everything from behind the scenes. I really like people like you, but"¡ªhe clicked his tongue¡ª"I''m disappointed. Your mask fell off too easily. Baek Kang-Hyun did a far better job than you."


    "¡­"


    "The idea was okay. The intentions weren''t bad, either, but you''re far toocking in brains. Blockheads aren''t cut out for this sort of thing."


    "You motherf¡ª"


    "You always curse when you have nothing to say. That''s also disappointing. I''m getting sick and tired of your in reactions. Honestly¡­ Sigh. Yeah, I''d rather have that Akiyama guy over you."


    Kang-Woo was really truly disappointed. It was as if he were asking Ryoma if this was the best he could do.


    "You''re disappointed¡­?"


    Ryoma trembled, and he felt his mouth be dry. It was as if his insides were about to turn upside down. He felt miserable and wretched.


    His n to use Kang-Woo had been trampled to the point that its former semnce couldn''t even be seen, to the point that the person whom he had tried to use was asking him why he couldn''t do better.


    Uncontroble anger spread through his body.


    "Ugh, agh."


    Fujimoto couldn''t even speak properly. All that came out of his mouth were fragments of words. Everything in front of him turned nk.


    The Eye of Susanoo, his left blue eye, shed.


    Rumble!


    A storm raged. Heavy and powerful energy spread out from his eye.


    A piece of Mythic-grade equipment revealed its true power.


    "Raaaahhhh!"


    Ryoma roared. Dozens of wind spears targeting Kang-Woo were created.


    Kang-Woo smiled. "Yeah, this is better. Don''t try to act as if everything is okay and end up looking more pathetic."


    Kang-Woo waved his hand, and a ck curtain made of demonic energy appeared and deflected the wind spears.


    "I have to go eat dinner, so let''s wrap this up quickly. Oh, right. Do you know any good sushi restaurants? I came all the way to Japan, so I wanted to eat some at least once."


    "How much more will you make a mockery of me?!"


    "No, I''m asking in all seriousness because I really wanna know. You''re extremely popr here in Japan, so you must know tons of good restaurants, right? The price doesn''t matter. I''m rich."


    "I''ll kill you! I''ll kill you so painfully that you''ll regret being alive!"


    "Dude. Man, this guy''s super pissed. Alright, fine. I''m sorry. Your n was scarily perfect. I only barely managed to win. I admit it. You were more perfect than any other opponent I''ve faced until now. Right then, about that sushi ¡ª"


    "Raaahhh!"


    Ryoma charged toward Kang-Woo. Highly concentrated wind gathered around his fist. He twisted his body and threw a punch. A cannonball of condensed wind flew toward Kang-Woo.


    It was an attack that not even Kang-Woo could take lightly.


    ''If I hadn''t achieved the Ultimate Demonic Body, that is.''


    Kang-Woo leaned back as if he were falling, and concentrated the Authority of Titanic Might on his right leg. He kicked the wind cannonball up as if he were doing a bicycle kick, deflecting the wind cannonball with a boom.


    He then twisted his body and regained his bnce before he fell onto the ground. Kang-Woo raised his hand, concentrated the Authority of Waves into it, and shot the wave forward. The attack tore through the air.


    Boom!


    An explosive sound akin to a sonic boom rang out as their powers shed with each other.


    "Kurgh¡­!"


    Ryoma was pushed back, and he flew into the air. With the Trait that allowed him to control wind and his overpowered item, Eye of Susanoo, he was effectively able to attack in midair where his opponents could not reach him.


    But for Kang-Woo, this didn''t make any difference.


    "I never thought I would have a midair battle on Earth."


    He used the Authority of the Sky and took flight. He was used to fighting in the air since there were many demons who could fly.


    "Urgh!"


    Ryoma started to be desperate.


    He threw many wind spears toward Kang-Woo, but not even one could hit him.


    "Fuck!"


    Ryoma''s eyes widened. He was so shocked that his mouth fell open. He had not missed because he was firing randomly but because Kang-Woo''s movements were too erratic. It was as if inertia didn''t exist for Kang-Woo¡ªhe easily changed directions at right angles.


    "You don''t have a chance against me in midair," Kang-Woo said as he closed in on him. Kang-Woo could ignore inertia in midair, so there was no way Ryoma would be able to fight against him.


    Kang-Woo kicked the air and flew toward Ryoma. He sped his fingers together and swung his fists down with the Authority of Titanic Might.


    "Kurgh!"


    Ryoma''s left eye shone.


    At that moment¡­


    A giant hand appeared in the air and smacked Kang-Woo.


    Bash!


    Kang-Woo was flung backward, and the impact shook his body. He used the Authority of the Sky again to stop himself from falling and then looked up.


    A wind giant had appeared behind Ryoma.


    "Well, well."


    He looked at it with great interest. The upper half of the wind giant easily exceeded twenty meters, and powerful mana emanated from its body.


    ''No, it isn''t just made of mana¡­''


    It felt a bit different from the mana he''d felt up to then.


    An energy slightly different from mana was mixed within it.


    ''Is this the power of the gods of mythology?''


    It was a type of power he''d never felt before. Unlike the destructive demonic energy or the embracing mana, it felt mysterious and overwhelming.


    "Interesting."


    A thick smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    If one was forced to give it a name, something like Divine Power seemed appropriate.


    Kang-Woo boiled in excitement and clenched his fists. The demonic energy in his blood rose intensely.


    A different world from Hell.


    A power that came from a world where the gods of mythology resided.


    He wanted to see how far he could go against a power like that.


    "Huff! Huff!"


    Ryoma panted heavily and felt a searing pain in his left eye.


    "Kurgh¡­!"


    Deific Manifestation¡ªa technique that allowed him to summon Susanoo to the modern world through the Eye of Susanoo.


    Summoning a God through Deific Manifestation had power befitting its name, but maintaining it consumed an astronomical amount of mana.


    ''I have to end this quickly¡­!''


    He wanted to kill Kang-Woo slowly, but he no longer had the time to do it. He could only maintain Susanoo for a minute with the mana he had left. If he couldn''t kill Kang-Woo in that time frame, his life force would be drained instead and he would die.


    "KILL THAT BASTARD!!" he ordered Susanoo.


    Susanoo, who was summoned to the modern world, looked at his opponent.


    [You¡­]


    His voice trembled. Susanoo realized that Kang-Woo wasn''t a simple human being but an extra-dimensional being who had escaped from the wheel of mortality.


    Susanoo focused his gaze on Kang-Woo''s chest.


    [A-Ahhh¡­]


    A thrill¡­


    A wave-like thrill made Susanoo tremble. He''d seen the deep energy within Kang-Woo''s chest.


    [I see. You are the one that Lord ¡ª¡ª has spoken about.]


    Susanoo raised his hand, and a giant spear made of wind appeared in it. He kept talking with a voice full of thrill.


    [I will put to the test the power possessed by the master of the Demonic Sea right here and now.]


    A strong fighting spirit leaked from Susanoo.


    Ryoma, who was desperately maintaining Susanoo''s form, vomited blood.


    "What is he talking about?" Kang-Woo frowned. It seemed the giant made of wind was saying something, but he was speaking in anguage he couldn''t understand. Kang-Woo thought about using the Authority of Language, but he shook his head.


    ''This isn''t time to be chitchatting.''


    Judging by how Susanoo was exuding fighting spirit, it seemed peace wasn''t an option¡ªand that was also what Kang-Woo wanted.


    "I never thought the day woulde when I''d have to fight a god."


    His expectations surged.


    Of course, Ryoma probably hadn''t summoned the god''s true form. He was only able to summon the upper half, and most of it was made of mana. But even so, the thought of fighting a god made Kang-Woo''s heart beat faster.


    Susanoo raised his spear. As if he didn''t want a long-winded battle either, he used an enormous amount of mana to pull all the wind in his surroundings to his spear.


    "A spear, huh?"


    Kang-Woo smiled. A spear was one of his main weapons. He extended his right hand, and the Authority of Hellfire and the Authority of Dark Spears merged.


    ''Bident.''


    A two-pronged spear was created.


    It wasn''t enough.


    ''G¨¢e Bulg.''


    The Authority of Spation merged into it. After the three Authorities merged, a dark red spear showed itself.


    ''Still not enough.''


    He was thirsty for more. He felt his mouth go dry.


    The demonic energy within his blood began running wild. Kang-Woo added a fourth Authority to G¨¢e Bulg.


    ''Authority of Storms.''


    It was an idea he''de up with after looking at Susanoo.


    A powerful spinning wind appeared on G¨¢e Bulg''s spearhead.


    A spear that was made by merging four different Authorities¡­ It was abination that he hadn''t tried before.


    ''What should I call it?''


    He gripped the spear tighter and began to think of the names of various mythological weapons. He then thought of a good one.


    "Gungnir."


    Rumble!!


    Riiing.


    [You have learned the skill ''Gungnir.'']


    [Techniques registered as skills can be used more easily and precisely.]


    The spear, which now had a name, started to tremble. Although it looked different from the real Gungnir in mythology, that didn''t matter. After all, naming it was just a way to make the image clearer while creating it.


    [Come!] Susanoo shouted.


    Although he couldn''t understand him, Kang-Woo felt he knew what Susanoo wanted.


    "Sure."


    Kang-Woo had no intention of dodging. He gripped Gungnir tighter and stepped forward aggressively.


    Susanoo''s spear and Gungnir shed.


    As two terrifying powers shed, a sound loud enough to make one''s eardrums explode rang out.


    And¡­


    Boom!!!


    Gungnir pierced the heart of the giant that appeared in mythology.

 Chapter 113 - The Circumstances of Kurosaki Yurie

    Chapter 113 - The Circumstances of Kurosaki Yurie


    "Kurgh! Urgh!"


    Fujimoto Ryoma extended his hand before him. He was trembling. Starting from the fingertips of his extended hand, his entire body was drying up. This was due to Mana Exhaustion; he had used up all of his mana while summoning and maintaining Susanoo.


    He fell toward the ground, but Oh Kang-Woo caught him.


    "Hmm¡­" Kang-Woo murmured as he set Ryoma down on the roof.


    Ryoma was approaching death without Kang-Woo even having done anything.


    "Cough! A-Aaah! H-Help... Help me..." Ryoma begged desperately with tears flowing down his shriveled cheeks.


    He was paying the price of Susanoo dying. Ryoma convulsed like he was having a seizure. His skin began to sag and dry out. He was dying miserably like a vampire without blood. This wasn''t something that normal Mana Exhaustion would cause.


    "The price of summoning a god must be high," Kang-Woo remarked.


    He looked down at Ryoma apathetically.


    Then he thought about Susanoo, a deity that existed in another dimension besides Earth or Hell.


    ''He was strong.''


    The battle itself had been short, and Susanoo hadn''t shown a level of power that Kang-Woo wasn''t capable of dealing with at the moment. However, considering that Susanoo had not been at his full power, he definitely possessed power befitting a god. Kang-Woo wasn''t sure if he would''ve been able to win if Susanoo had been able to go all out.


    "Will guys like that appear on Earth as well if the Gaia System keeps getting weaker?"


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    The natural disasters that ensued would be unimaginable if gods appeared on Earth with their powers fully intact.


    "Maybe¡­ the Demon Cult isn''t the only problem."


    There was a chance that beings more troublesome than the Demon Cult would appear on Earth. The best solution was to repair the Gaia System that he''d damaged¡­ but he still hadn''t found any clues on how to do that.


    ''The only thing I can do now is...''


    Kang-Woo opened his status window.


    "Demon God, huh?"


    He read the phrase, ''The second step to bing a Demon God''.


    He wasn''t sure how many steps he had toplete, but it appeared that he would be a being simr to a god once he fulfilled all of them.


    ''The system hasn''t lied until now.''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure how it worked nor how it was possible, but he was sure he could trust the yer system.


    ''It''s a bit cringy that I need to be a god to stop gods though.''


    Anyway, he couldn''t deny that he needed to gain a corresponding amount of power to that of the gods if he wanted to face the unknown beings.


    "Tsk," Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    Nevertheless, the problem was that just like how he didn''t know how to restore the Gaia System, he wasn''t sure how to attain a Demonic Soul, the second step in bing a Demonic God.


    ''As for what I can do right now...''


    Kang-Woo walked toward Ryoma''s dehydrated corpse. Although Ryoma had be all dried up like a mummy, his left eye was in a perfect state.


    Kang-Woo grabbed the left eye. Eye of Susanoo was the name of this Mythic-grade equipment.


    "But how did this guy equip this? Did he take out his eye and put it in himself?"


    If that was the case, he had to acknowledge Ryoma''s willpower. It wasn''t easy for a person to do something like take out their eye.


    Fshhh.


    The eye turned to dust and scattered away as if it were answering his question, leaving behind a blue sphere the size of a ping-pong ball.


    "Oh, I should''ve known."


    It seemed like Ryoma hadn''t taken out his eye.


    Kang-Woo took the blue sphere and put it near his eye.


    Riiing.


    [This equipment has already been imprinted.]


    "I guess I can''t use it."


    He had expected that to happen.


    Kang-Woo put the Eye of Susanoo away.


    In any case, what he needed was the Mythic-grade material within the Eye of Susanoo. He could use that to create new equipment using his ''Demonic Art of Creation'' Trait.


    ''But I''ll save that forter.''


    Kang-Woo turned around. He jumped lightly and flew into the sky.


    ''Let''s go back for now.''


    He hadn''t seen Echidna and Han Seol-Ah for the past three days because he''d been preparing to screw over Ryoma. It was quite lonely to be apart from the two people whom he had gotten used to seeing daily. It reminded him of the lonely days he''d spent in Hell.


    * * *


    The group was staying in a three-star business hotel in Tokyo. Considering the wealth that Cha Yeon-Joo, Jang Hyun-Jae, and Baek Hwa-Yeon possessed, it was far toockluster for them. They''d probably picked a cheap hotel thinking that it would be wrong for them to stay in a luxury hotel while Kang-Woo was in jail.


    ''I''m not that self-centered though.''


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and walked into the hotel. His group members, who had been waiting in the lobby, went running toward him.


    "Hey! Where have you been?!" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "I went to bring things to a close," Kang-Woo answered.


    "A close...?"


    "Yup. I had to give as much as I got."


    Kang-Woo sat down in the lobby and gave a simple exnation, but he wasn''tpletely honest with them. Just like he''d done with Tian Suyan thought, he exined things on the pretext that Fujimoto Ryoma had been a Demon Cultist.


    "So, you knew that Fujimoto Ryoma was a Demon Cultist from the very beginning?"


    "No, I only realized it when I went underground. I just took some revenge after seeing how he and Prime Minister Yamada were trying to frame me as a Demon Cultist."


    "...Why didn''t you tell us?"


    "Because there wasn''t enough time."


    "But still!"


    Bam!


    Yeon-Joo mmed the table angrily.


    Kang-Woo smiled and said, "Calm down."


    "How can I calm down?! You could''ve been framed as a Demon Cultist!"


    "But everything worked out in the end, didn''t it?"


    "That''s not the point¡­"


    Seol-Ah ced her hand on Yeon-Joo''s shoulder and urged, "Please calm down, Yeon-Joo. Just like Kang-Woo said, everything worked out in the end."


    "But still..."


    "Kang-Woo must have followed them willingly because he had a n."


    Yeon-Joo rxed after hearing Seol-Ah''s calm exnation. Then she aggressively put her feet on the table with one leg over the other.


    ¡°Kang-Woo," Seol-Ah said. She sat next to him and ced her hand on his thigh while making a sad expression. "I''m sorry that... I wasn''t able to be of help to you again."


    "I didn''t need help," Kang-Woo replied.


    "Still¡­" Seol-Ah smiled bitterly. "Will I... be of help to you someday?"


    "¡­"


    Judging by Seol-Ah''s faint voice, she seemed heartbroken. She might break if Kang-Woo handled her the wrong way.


    Kang-Woo looked into Seol-Ah''s eyes.


    ''Wasn''t of help, huh...?''


    He couldn''t deny that.


    Seol-Ah certainly wasn''t as helpful as Kim Si-Hun, Yeon-Joo, Suyan, or Echidna in terms of power, but¡­


    "Is being helpful absolutely necessary?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "...What?"


    "I, at the very least, don''t weigh the pros and cons of living with you."


    Kang-Woo was, by nature, a calctive person. He wouldn''t do something he couldn''t benefit from. However, he was different when it came to Seol-Ah. He didn''t think of her as a cook who prepared delicious meals for him, nor did he think of her as a tool to satisfy his desires. If he had thought of her like that, he wouldn''t have asked her to move in with him when he got the apartment near Seoul Station.


    Seol-Ah was like family to him. He didn''t spend time with her to gain something; the time that he spent with her was already precious enough.


    ''I can''t say that to her though.''


    It was the first time in his life that he had someone whom he wanted to call ''family''. That was something he hadn''t felt for thest ten millennia. No, he''d never experienced something like that even before falling to Hell. It was an awkward and odd situation for him, so he had trouble expressing himself.


    ''People would explode from frustration if they knew this.''


    Nevertheless, there was nothing Kang-Woo could do about it. He wasn''t a god. He wasn''t perfect, and he wasn''t good at everything.


    "M-Me neither!" Seol-Ah shouted in quite a loud voice.


    She blushed and lowered her head, hiding the rising corners of her lips.


    "Can you leave the romance drama scene for when you two are alone?" Yeon-Joo voiced in a sharp voice.


    She shook her legs in annoyance as if she didn''t like what she was seeing.


    "Hey, you said you wanted to go get sushi earlier, right?" Yeon-Joo said.


    "I did," Kang-Woo answered.


    "Follow me. I know somewhere good."


    Yeon-Joo stood up and looked at everyone just staring at her nkly.


    "What are you all waiting for?" she asked.


    "Hahaha. It''s my first time seeing you act like this, Yeon-Joo," Hwa-Yeon replied.


    "Shut up!" Yeon-Joo shouted at her before turning around and walking away.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and stood up.


    "Oh, right. What happened to Kurosaki Yurie after that?" he asked.


    "She went home after talking with the reporters for a while, but I''m d she was there. If Kurosaki didn''t have memories about what happened at that time, this incident wouldn''t have been resolved so easily."


    "Oh... Yeah, you''re right."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He still didn''t understand why Kurosaki Yurie had helped him.


    ''Does she have a personal grudge against Fujimoto?''


    There was no way for Kang-Woo to know that though.


    He followed Yeon-Joo out of the hotel.


    * * *


    Inside a traditional Japanese house, a woman was sitting in a simple room where there weren''t many things except for some fundamental pieces of furniture. She was Kurosaki Yurie, the emperor''s granddaughter and a woman with the title of Miko of the Heavens.


    Yurie was looking at the mirror ced on top of her floor table.


    "Haaa," she sighed deeply.


    At that moment, her reflection opened her mouth.


    - Are you satisfied now?


    "No, of course not."


    Yurie was talking to her reflection in the mirror. If someone saw her right now, they''d think she''d gone crazy.


    "Aahh, to think I can only gaze at him from afar even while having met him atst. It breaks my heart."


    Yurie stroked her cheek whilementing her situation.


    - What are you going to do from now on?


    "Fufu. Of course, I''ll make preparations so that I can be of use to that person."


    She giggled while looking in the mirror.


    At that moment, incredibly sexual energy poured out from the usually pure-looking Yurie. It was leagues above that of Tian Suyan. Any man who got a taste of that energy would instantly be Yurie''s ve.


    Yurie''s ck hair defied gravity and rose, twisting and moving as if they were tentacles.


    - If you''re so loyal to him, why aren''t you going to him? the Yurie inside the mirror asked.


    "My, my."


    Yurie frowned as if asking what her reflection was talking about.


    She ced her hands on her cheeks and shook her head, not even wanting to imagine doing what her reflection suggested.


    "How could I go to that person with such an ugly face?"


    - ¡­


    The Yurie inside the mirror remained silent.

 Chapter 114 - A Break? (1)

    Chapter 114 - A Break? (1)


    "Munch, munch."


    Oh Kang-Woo''s hands moved fast. The sushi in front of him disappeared quickly.


    Cha Yeon-Joo looked at him in disbelief and asked, "Is it that good?"


    "Yup," Kang-Woo replied with a nod.


    Yeon-Joo smiled andmented, "People would think it''s your first time eating sushi if they saw you."


    "It is my first time."


    "Huh? Oh¡­"


    ''Oh, yeah, he was from an orphanage,'' Yeon-Joo thought


    She''d forgotten about it because he was so different from his profile that had been created from the results of her investigation. However, the one thing that was the same in the results was that Kang-Woo had grown up in an orphanage, so he''d probably never eaten expensive food.


    "But you''ve earned tons of moneytely, haven''t you? You could''ve had sushi any time if you wanted to," Yeon-Joo pointed out.


    "The food I eat at home is so delicious that I haven''t thought much about it."


    "Zat so?"


    Yeon-Joo turned her head away coldly. She narrowed her eyes and red at Han Seol-Ah.


    It seemed like Seol-Ah was thinking about the conversation that she''d had with Kang-Woo earlier in the hotel lobby. She was smiling while making a dumbfounded face.


    Yeon-Joo didn''t like that.


    "Kang-Woo, can I eat a bit more?" Echidna requested.


    "It''s good, right?"


    Echidna snorted happily and replied with a nod, "Hm! Yeah!"


    Kang-Woo raised his hand and ordered a bit more for Echidna. Of course, he ordered more for himself as well.


    * * *


    After dinner was over, Kang-Woo and the rest of the group returned to the hotel.


    Kang-Woo got a room key from the hotel lobby and asked Yeon-Joo, "We''re going to return to Korea tomorrow, right?"


    "No. We have a lot to discuss with the Japanese government regarding this matter, so I don''t think we''ll be able to go back for a while."


    "Hmm¡­"


    "I''ll be your representative, so you just stay put in the hotel or do some sightseeing. This is your first time in Japan. right?" Yeon-Joo said bluntly.


    Although she had said that nonchntly, it was not an easy task to be the representative for someone who had been the main focus of the incident. Regardless of whether Fujimoto Ryoma truly was a Demon Cultist, the Japanese people would resent Kang-Woo for causing them to lose their national hero. As Kang-Woo''s representative, it would be difficult for Yeon-Joo to avoid that resentment.


    ''I guess this is her form of consideration,'' Kang-Woo thought, smiling bitterly.


    He felt good about that though.


    "Thanks."


    "Hmph. If you''re grateful, then treat me better from now on," Yeon-Joo replied, turning away with a smile on her face.


    Kang-Woo checked his room number. He was in Room 803. Seol-Ah and Echidna were staying in the room next door, 802.


    "I-I''ll¡­ see you tomorrow," Seol-Ah said while blushing.


    It seemed like she was still shocked by the conversation they had before.


    After Seol-Ah entered the room, Echidna pulled on Kang-Woo''s sleeves.


    "Kang-Woo, Seol-Ah is acting weird."


    "Well¡­ I''m sure she has a lot on her mind."


    However, Kang-Woo felt like his face was getting hot too. He felt embarrassed. If he could turn back in time, then he would tear his past self''s mouth open so that he couldn''t speak.


    ''I think I''ll be kicking the nket a few timester.''


    Kang-Woo grabbed his head as if he had a headache.


    "Kang-Woo, Seol-Ah and I are going around to y tomorrow. Do you wannae with us?" Echidna asked.


    "Where?"


    "I''m not sure. Seol-Ah said there was a ce she has always wanted to go in Japan."


    "Hmm. Well, let''s go together if I have time."


    Lots of things had happened consecutively, so he had forgotten that it was his first time visiting another country. He wanted to do some sightseeing too.


    "Hm! Hm! Okay. I''m gonna go take care of Seol-Ah so that she doesn''t get sick."


    Echidna rushed into her room so excitedly that Kang-Woo didn''t have time to tell her Seol-Ah wasn''t acting like that because she was sick.


    Kang-Woo sighed and opened the door of his hotel room.


    "My, my. You''rete."


    "...Why are you here?" Kang-Woo asked.


    Tian Suyan was sitting on the bed. Sheughed softly while covering her mouth.


    "You flew away before I could say anything, so I''ve been waiting for you," Suyan exined.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo didn''t ask her how she knew he would be staying in this room or how she''d entered without a key.


    He just sat in a chair and said, "Anyway, thanks for helping me."


    "Fufu, it was nothing. I was the one who told you to call me whenever you needed help."


    Suyan got up from the bed and sat on the armrest of Kang-Woo''s chair. Her sweet scent tickled Kang-Woo''s nose.


    "I would like to ask you something," Suyan said.


    "Go ahead."


    "Was Fujimoto Ryoma actually a Demon Cultist?"


    "¡­"


    There was a brief silence.


    Kang-Woo answered with a slight smile, "Yeah. Who could''ve possibly thought that a World Ranker was a Demon Cultist?"


    "Hmm. Well, I don''t really care whichever," Suyan replied, cing her hand on Kang-Woo''s shoulder. "I''m not like my father. I don''t adhere to justice, nor am I tied down by morals."


    "Then I guess we won''t get along. I''m an extremely moral man."


    "Fufu, that''s funny."


    Suyan shook her head as if stating there was no way that could be true.


    ''That hurts a bit,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    He hadn''t expected Suyan to shake her head so firmly.


    She tilted her head toward Kang-Woo, raised her hand, and softly caressed his chin.


    "I know what kind of person you are. You''re cold, strong, and ruthless. I''m certain you''ll soon be an overlord," Suyan remarked, licking her lips with gleaming eyes. "It''s my first time¡­ I''ve seen countless men throughout my life, but it''s my first time seeing someone like you. My father probably can''tpare to you either. I can tell. This entire world will be under your feet soon."


    Her breathing got heavy, and her cheeks flushed in arousal.


    "I''m a greedy woman. I want a man that''s stronger than anyone else. Someone who has absolute power. I want to be by your side when the whole world is bowing down to you," Suyan stated, gazing intensely at Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo smirked and said, "You know what kind of person I am, you say?"


    It was a ridiculous remark. Suyan knew nothing about him. There was no way that she could.


    Kang-Woo wouldn''t be an overlord soon; he was already an overlord. He was an absolute predator who ruled over all from up high.


    Flick!


    "Kyaa!"


    He lightly flicked Suyan''s forehead.


    Suyan stood up while grabbing her forehead.


    Kang-Woo chided her, "Don''t talk as if you know me, you spoiled child. I''m not interested in bing something like an overlord. Who''d want to do something that old-fashioned in this day and age?"


    "O-Old-fashioned?"


    "Yeah, old-fashioned. Trivial and childish."


    "Then¡­ what is it you want to do?"


    Kang-Woo leaned back on the chair and replied, "I want to eat good food, y on my phone at home, and go on trips from time to time."


    "...Is that all?"


    "Yeah."


    "But you''d be wasting your great power only doing things like th¡ª"


    "Hahahahaha!"


    Kang-Woo cut her off. Heughed out loud as if he couldn''t hold it in anymore.


    "Only, you say?" he said, with his gaze on her.


    Suyan flinched after looking into Kang-Woo''s eyes, which contained deep emotions that she couldn''t fathom. Those eyes carried a weight and sense of time that extended far beyond what she had ever experienced.


    Suyan felt so small before Kang-Woo. She had never felt pressure like this, not even from Tian Wuchen.


    "Only isn''t as simple as it seems," Kang-Woo said with a bitter smile.


    Suyan remained silent.


    She was trembling. She felt as if she was looking up at a mountain with no peak.


    ''I knew it...''


    Suyan liked what she heard. The fact that Kang-Woo wasn''t interested in bing something like an overlord made her even more excited, and finding out that he was in a ce she''d never be able to reach made her heart beat faster.


    She licked her lips, moistening her dry lips with her tongue. Suyan was having a hard time suppressing her urges.


    ''Not yet,'' she told herself, calming her storming emotions.


    It wasn''t the right time yet. She had to approach him a bit more gradually in a more rxed manner.


    "Oh, right. You said that I was of help to you, didn''t you?" Suyan asked.


    "I did," Kang-Woo replied with a nod.


    If Suyan hadn''t been there, things would''ve gotten troublesome. He would have still been able to resolve the situation, but it would have taken him a lot of time.


    Suyan smiled after hearing him answer that without hesitation.


    "You weren''t nning on expressing your gratitude only with words, were you?"


    "Hmm¡­ What do you want?"


    Kang-Woo was indebted to her. He had no intention of denying that. As long as it was something he could do, the proper thing to do was listen to her request.


    "Fufu. Why don''t we go somewhere tomorrow, just the two of us?"


    "Hmm," Kang-Woo murmured. He recalled Echidna''s words and suggested, "How about the day after tomorrow?"


    "I only have time tomorrow since I have a lot to discuss with the Japanese government due to this incident."


    "Ngh."


    Kang-Woo nodded while sighing after thinking about it for a while.


    ''I guess I''ll go around with Seol-Ah and Echidna the day after tomorrow,'' he thought.


    Thanks to Yeon-Joo, Kang-Woo had more than enough spare time. It wouldn''t matter if his n with Seol-Ah and Echidna were dyed by a day.


    ''I''ll have to tell them I can''t join them because something urgent came up.''


    He felt a bit ufortable because he would have to lie like a cheating husband, but there was nothing he could do about it. There was no way the two girls would ept him going somewhere alone with Suyan.


    "Okay, where do you want to go?" Kang-Woo asked.


    Suyan had helped him by using the Heavenly Sword n''s name, so a date was a cheap price to pay.


    Upon hearing Kang-Woo''s answer, Suyan''s expression brightened. She tried to hide her excitement as much as she could, but her squirming fingers and her restless body gave it away.


    Kang-Woo thought that reaction made her look cute.


    "F-Fufu. Is this your first time visiting Japan, Kang-Woo?"


    "Yeah, it''s my first time."


    "Then¡­ There''s a good date spot for couples."


    "Well¡­ Leaving the couples part aside, where?"


    "A ce where a mouse, who takes copyrightws very seriously, lives. From a Chinese person''s point of view, that ce is kind of like our natural enemy."


    "¡­?"


    Kang-Woo couldn''t understand what Suyan was saying.


    Suyan smiled and said, "Disnend."


    "Oh."


    Kang-Wooughed.


    ''An amusement park, huh?''


    He never imagined Suyan would ask him to go to an amusement park.


    ''As expected of a spoiled child.''


    Heughed some more, amused that Suyan wanted to go to an amusement park. Moreover, it was one that was meant for children.


    ''Now that I think about it, they used to show us films from thatpany from time to time.''


    Kang-Woo still remembered something that had happened so many years ago, but it wasn''t because he had an impable memory. Rather, remembering the past had been a part of his struggle to survive. Hell was a dark and terrible ce¡­ so, he used to think about Earth all the time when he was there. If he hadn''t thought of Earth and how much he wanted to return to it, he would''ve gone insane.


    "Sure," Kang-Woo agreed while nodding.


    After all, he''d never been to an amusement park before. It was always great to experience something new.


    "But, hmm, an amusement park¡­ Your interests are cuter than I initially thought," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "Ngh... D-Do you have a problem with that?"


    Suyan blushed, and Kang-Wooughed softly.

 Chapter 115 - A Break? (2)

    Chapter 115 - A Break? (2)


    "WHOOAA!!" a young man eximed excitedly.


    He was in an amusement park that looked like a reproduction of a fairytale world. There was a big castle and cute characters¡­ The amusement park was so fascinating that it made the man wonder if he had crossed through a Gate portal into another world.


    The young man was more excited than the kids in the amusement park, so much so that they even looked at him as if he were pathetic. This man was Oh Kang-Woo, the demon king and the lord of the Nine Hells.


    "¡­"


    Tian Suyan remained silent.


    Kang-Woo had made fun of her, saying she had a cuter taste than he had initially thought. Yet, Kang-Woo was now looking around the amusement park like a person who had just moved from the countryside to the big city.


    "Wow, I''ve seen this one before!" Kang-Woo said.


    He patted the head of a performer dressed in a costume of a mouse character that he had seen at his orphanage. The part-timer in the costume waved their short hands at Kang-Woo, greeting him like a true professional.


    "Mmm¡­" Suyan murmured.


    She watched silently as Kang-Woo took a photo with the character performer.


    Frankly, it was a bit of a turn-off for her.


    ''I never thought Kang-Woo would have a side like this¡­''


    It was as if this was Kang-Woo''s first time in an amusement park. No, it was like it was his first time visiting a ce designed purely for entertainment. He looked so different from his usual self that Suyan couldn''t help but smile awkwardly.


    "Fufu. You made so much fun of me yesterday, yet you''re the one who''s enjoying it more," Suyanmented.


    "I didn''t know it was such a fun ce," Kang-Woo replied, smiling in satisfaction.


    Suyan trembled a bit upon seeing Kang-Woo make such an innocent child-like smile. Her heart was beating faster.


    ''This side of Kang-Woo isn''t bad either.''


    She would''ve frowned if it were any other man, but she found it rather charming that someone who had treated her like a spoiled child was acting like a child too. Suyan was blinded by love.


    "All right. Let''s go on some rides as well," she said.


    Suyan casually walked toward Kang-Woo and embraced his arm.


    Despite feeling something soft on his arm, he merely said, "Sure."


    Kang-Woo didn''t care. No, to be more precise, he wasn''t in the mood to care about that sensation at the moment.


    ''Amazing,'' he remarked inwardly.


    He never knew there was a ce like Disnend on Earth. Of course, he''d seen it a couple of times in photos, but seeing it in real life feltpletely different. It waspletely different from Hell, which consisted mostly of deste deserts.


    ''I shoulde again tomorrow with Echidna and Seol-Ah.''


    Kang-Woo had told the two of them this morning that he wouldn''t be able to join them due to urgent business. In response, Echidna nodded in sadness.


    He felt guilty, but their n was being dyed by just one day. He just needed to let Echidna have two days'' worth of fun tomorrow, so he thought that it was fine.


    ''I''m here for research purposes today.''


    Kang-Woo resumed walking. His steps were light. Although he was thinking that he was there to do research, he looked as ready as he could be to enjoy the amusement park.


    "Oh, this is what they call a rollercoaster?" Kang-Woo asked, pointing at a ride that looked like a train.


    He''d seen pictures of people riding it and screaming.


    "Let''s ride it," he said.


    "Hmm¡­ You probably won''t enjoy it that much."


    "Why not?"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head.


    Suyan didn''t answer and just smiled.


    After all, he would find out why as soon as he got on the rollercoaster.


    ''It''s slow,'' Kang-Woo thought disappointedly while on the ride.


    The reason for this wasn''t that Disnend had been created with children in mind. It was because superhumans like Kang-Woo could easily move five times faster than the maximum speed of the rollercoaster. He could even fly using the Authority of the Sky. It was stimting enough for a normal person, but superhumans like Kang-Woo didn''t find it enjoyable.


    "You should''ve told me," Kang-Woo said.


    "I didn''t think words would be enough to convince you. Also, this is all part of the experience."


    "Well, that''s true."


    Kang-Woo nodded and went around the amusement park.


    As they got things to eat and took breaks on benches, it had be evening without him realizing it.


    ''It was better than I thought it would be.''


    Kang-Woo thought of the day he''d spent with Suyan.


    He had been a bit worried because of her personality, but he''d been able to spend a day with her without any issues. If he were honest, he had enjoyed hanging out with her.


    "Fufu. It''s already evening," Yeon-Joomented.


    "It sure is."


    "I''m d I was able to see a different side of you today, Kang-Woo."


    Suyan giggled while covering her mouth. She recalled him walking around the amusement park with bright eyes.


    Kang-Woo groaned, btedly getting embarrassed.


    "Let''s go back," he said.


    "Okay," Suyan replied and hugged his arm.


    The two people then left the amusement park. Kang-Woo got in the car that Suyan had prepared and returned to the hotel.


    He had a fun and satisfying time.


    Click.


    Upon reaching the hotel, Kang-Woo got out of the car.


    "Right then, I''ll see you back in Korea," he said.


    "Fufu, I had fun today," Suyan responded with a bright smile.


    She lightly grabbed his arm as if she didn''t want their date to end this way.


    Just then, something entered her field of vision.


    ''Oh?''


    Suyan smiled widely as she thought of a fun prank idea.


    She stood on her tiptoes and raised her head. Her lips moved close to Kang-Woo''s, but there was no way that Kang-Woo wouldn''t be able to react to a sudden action like this. He grabbed Suyan''s chin lightly.


    Kang-Woo frowned and then asked, "What are you doing?"


    "Hmph. How unromantic of you. Shouldn''t couples have at least a goodbye kiss?"


    "I don''t recall ever bing a couple with you."


    "Fufu. Well, I guess that''s enough for today."


    Suyan was smiling although she''d failed to kiss him.


    "Then I''ll see you back in Korea, Kang-Woo~"


    She quickly got back into the car and left the hotel.


    "...What the hell?" Kang-Woo uttered.


    There was something unnatural about the way Suyan left right after the failed kiss like she was fleeing.


    ''Was she embarrassed?'' Kang-Woo wondered.


    He turned around while tilting his head in confusion.


    However, the moment he turned around, his expression froze. The answer to his question hadn''t been far away. He now understood why Suya had escaped so fast.


    "Kang-Woo?"


    "Kang¡­ Woo?"


    ''Fuck,'' Kang-Woo cursed inwardly.


    Echidna and Seol-Ah were staring at him in shock while standing in front of the hotel entrance.


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence. Kang-Woo couldn''t bring himself to open his mouth.


    The one who broke the silence was Echidna. She trotted toward Kang-Woo and grabbed his sleeve.


    "Kang-Woo, was this why you were busy?"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo was overwhelmed with guilt. He felt like a man who''d been caught red-handed cheating on his partner.


    He lowered his head silently.


    ''Dammit.''


    Then he remembered Suyan''s smiling face, and he clenched his hand into a fist.


    "Kang-Woo," Seol-Ah called out as she approached him. She grabbed his hand with a smile on her face. "You have an exnation for this, right?"


    "...Of course."


    For the first time, Seol-Ah''s smile scared Kang-Woo.


    Seol-Ah dragged him into the hotel.


    * * *


    Five days passed by. Cha Yeon-Joo, who had been called all over the ce as Kang-Woo''s representative, returned to the hotel after everything was finally settled.


    "Let''s¡­ go back home now," said Yeon-Joo, who looked haggard.


    Kang-Woo nodded with a forced smile and replied, "Good job."


    "I''m¡­ going to make sure you pay me back for this."


    From the sound of her lifeless voice, it seemed that Yeon-Joo had had quite a hard time.


    The group returned to Korea by using the Hwarang Corps'' private ne. They could''ve ridden Echidna, but since they weren''t in a hurry, they didn''t need her to make the effort.


    After arriving in Korea, they took a taxi from the airport and quickly arrived at Seoul Station.


    "It feels like it''s been so long."


    "It sure does."


    Kang-Woo had only been in Japan for a week, but he had missed Seoul''s cityscape.


    "Haaa... I''m going back home to rest, so take care of the rest yourselves," Yeon-Joo announced with a tired voice.


    She staggered to her apartment.


    "Let''s go back home as well, Kang-Woo," Seol-Ah said as she pressed the elevator button.


    "You go on in," Kang-Woo replied.


    "What about you?"


    "I have something to do first. I''ll be back in a bit."


    Kang-Woo looked up at the sky. The sun was up. It was only 2 a.m.¡ªtoo early to stay at home doing nothing for the rest of the day.


    ''Unlike Cha Yeon-Joo, I''m not that tired.''


    He had been able to take a long break thanks to her. Now that he was back in Korea, his break was over. It was about time he went back into action.


    "Does this ''something'' perhaps have to do with..." Seol-Ah questioned, narrowing her eyes intensely like a detective interrogating an ex-convict.


    Kang-Wooughed and shook his head.


    "It''s nothing like that, so don''t worry," he replied.


    "Hmm. You''ll be back by dinner, right?"


    "Probably. It won''t take long."


    "Okay, then I''ll prepare dinner and wait for you," she said with a smile.


    Her smile was so beautiful that it made Kang-Woo''s heart skip a beat.


    "Kang-Woo, are you going off to cheat again?" Echidna asked.


    "I already said no."


    "...Can I go with you?"


    Echidna grabbed Kang-Woo''s sleeve. She had been considerably shocked by thest incident.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and nodded.


    "You cane with me."


    Echidna wouldn''t bother him anyway.


    Her expression brightened the moment she heard Kang-Woo''s words.


    She ran toward Seol-Ah and while clenching her small hands, she said, "Hm! I''ll watch over Kang-Woo."


    "Hohoho, please do," Seol-Ah responded.


    "Leave it to me."


    Kang-Woo sighed.


    "Kang-Woo, where are we going?" Echidna asked.


    "Somece quiet."


    Kang-Woo jumped lightly and used the Authority of the Sky.


    Echidna spread her wings and said, "Should I give you a ride?"


    "No, we''re not going very far anyway."


    Anywhere was fine as long as it was a ce without people.


    Echidna tilted her head and asked, "Why are we going to somece quiet?"


    "To craft equipment," Kang-Woo answered.


    He grabbed the Eye of Susanoo that was in his pocket.

 Chapter 116 - Demonic Art of Creation (1)

    Chapter 116 - Demonic Art of Creation (1)


    "Around here should be good."


    Tap.


    Oh Kang-Woo, who was flying using the Authority of Sky,nded at the foot of a deserted mountain. He sat on top of a t rock and took out the Eye of Susanoo.


    It was a bluish translucent sphere that looked like an egg.


    ''A Mythic-grade equipment.''


    Although it looked like nothing more than a blue crystal ball from the outside, it was one of the few pieces of Mythic-grade equipment that existed in the world.


    ''Its power is limited, but if it''s powerful enough to summon a god, it''s worthy of being Mythic-grade.''


    He was reminded of Susanoo, the giant whose body was made of wind.


    Fujimoto Ryoma had be a World Ranker thanks to the equipment, but his base stats had been much lower than those of the average World Ranker. Yet, he had still been able to summon a being capable of threatening Kang-Woo, who had achieved the Ultimate Demonic Body.


    There was no denying that this piece of Mythic-grade equipment was good. This meant it had most likely been made with material that matched its grade.


    ''The more Authorities I infuse into it, the stronger the equipment bes.''


    Kang-Woo read through the effects of his Sixth Awakening Trait, Demonic Art of Creation. He thought of the Gungnir, which he''d used in the fight against Susanoo.


    ''I can barely use four Authorities simultaneously at the moment.''


    The amount of demonic energy required to use more than one Authority rose by a power of two[1]. Using four Authorities simultaneously required 16 times the demonic energy of using just one.


    ''But...''


    Kang-Woo''s gaze sharpened.


    He wasn¡¯t inbat right now. There was no need for him to maintain the Authorities while reading his opponent¡¯s movements and counterattacking. He was able to focus purely on using his Authorities.


    ''I think I could push it up to five.''


    Kang-Woo was a bit nervous. The dangers of demonic energy exhaustion were far worse than that of mana exhaustion. Demonic energy was what maintained a demon''s body, so he could dry up and die like Ryoma if the demonic energy waspletely depleted.


    ''I should practice first.''


    Kang-Woo only had one piece of Mythic-grade material. It didn''t say that the material would get destroyed if he failed, but he couldn¡¯t be too careful.


    "Kang-Woo, is there anything I can help with?"


    "Make sure no one approaches me. I want to focus."


    "Hm! Okay."


    Echidna nodded and flew up to the sky, nning on erecting a barrier around the area.


    "Let''s begin," Kang-Woo said and extended his hand.


    He would first start with the ones that he was used to.


    Riiing.


    [Activating ''Demonic Art of Creation.'']


    Aplex magic circle appeared on the ground. The streams of demonic energy around him intertwined and created letters of anguage that he had never seen before. Moving as though they were alive, the wriggling letters clustered in the air and formed a ck sphere that was about the size of a basketball.


    [The transmutation matrix has been formed.]


    [If you would like to craft equipment of the Mythic grade or higher, please insert a suitable material!]


    Kang-Woo ced his hands on top of the ck sphere and roused the demonic energy within his body.


    [No materials have been added. The maximum grade of the equipment crafted will be set to Legendary. The equipment will be destroyed if the Authorities used cannot be handled by the Legendary grade.]


    "G¨¢e Bulg," Kang-Woo mumbled.


    He closed his eyes, made a mental image, and merged three Authorities.


    Now that he had the Ultimate Demonic Body, using three Authorities simultaneously was a piece of cake. Powerful demonic energy flowed out from him.


    The transmutation matrix wriggled, and thick ck smoke came out of it. The ck sphere made of unknown letters cracked.


    The crack grew increasingly bigger like that of a hatching egg. Then finally¡­


    Crack.


    The transmutation matrix cracked open, revealing a dark red spear.


    Riiing.


    [You have sessfully crafted G¨¢e Bulg (Unique).]


    "Wow."


    Kang-Woo grabbed the dark red spear. Within it, he could feel the Authorities that he had just used.


    ''But like I thought, it¡¯s not as great as the one created with the actual Authorities.''


    It was only natural that there would be a difference between the G¨¢e Bulg that he''d created using demonic energy and one that he could use without demonic energy.


    "But it isn''t bad."


    Kang-Woo grabbed the crafted G¨¢e Bulg and swung it around, unleashing zing mes.


    ¡°Haap!¡± he shouted and thrust the spear at a nearby rock.


    Boom!


    The rock was destroyed, and ck mes spewed in all directions.


    "It has about 20% of its original power."


    However, considering that he could use it with other Authorities, using it wouldn''t be a bad choice. This version only had about 20% of the original''s power. However, if it was used with the Authority of Titanic Might and the Authority of Haste, it could disy more than 100% of the original version''s power.


    ''It''s too bad that it''s Unique-grade, though.''


    Kang-Woo looked at the crafted G¨¢e Bulg¡¯s information window. The spear was only of the Unique grade, so it didn''t raise his stat by an absolute value.


    "Hmm¡­"


    The equipment grade conditions for Demonic Art of Creation were harsher than he¡¯d initially thought. Using three different Authorities simultaneously wasn''t easy. It wasn''t just an issue of the amount of demonic energy. Merging different Authorities was, in reality, near impossible.


    Drawing a circle with one hand and a triangle with the other at the same time was already hard, but using different Authorities simultaneously was like drawing with one hand and writing with the other. It was only possible with Kang-Woo¡¯s transcendent level of demonic energy control.


    ''But still, the reward is really good.''


    The reward was so good that it was worth pushing himself for.


    So, Kang-Woo decided to try to use five Authorities simultaneously.


    "I''ll have to practice a bit more first."


    He had no intentions of trying to craft a piece of Mythic-grade equipment after only one attempt at creation.


    Kang-Woo put the crafted G¨¢e Bulg down.


    Echidna walked toward him and asked, "Kang-Woo, what kind of equipment are you thinking of making?"


    "I''m not sure¡­"


    Kang-Woo thought deeply about it.


    ''It would be best if it''s a weapon.''


    Defensive equipment like the ck Pearl Coat were good and all, but the first thing that most people thought of when thinking about equipment was a weapon.


    ''The problem is...''


    Kang-Woo didn''t use just one type of weapon. He used different weapons based on the situation. The weapon he was most used to was a spear, but he mostly just threw it.


    ''Should I take this opportunity to choose a main weapon?''


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    The reason why he had no main weapon wasn''t that he hadn¡¯t been able to find a good one. Instead, it was because it would limit his diverse battle tactics.


    Kang-Woo was not like Kim Si-Hun or Tian Wuchen, who had mastered the use of one weapon. He liked to adapt his attacks based on the situations using the battle sense he had polished through countless battles.


    "What¡¯s on your mind, Kang-Woo?"


    "I''m wondering about what weapon I should make."


    Echidna tilted her head.


    "Can''t you make a weapon that can change form?" she asked while transforming her hand into a dragon''s.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    "Hmm."


    It was a simple and lucid solution. If the weapon could change forms, then he wouldn''t need to worry about what weapon to create.


    Kang-Woo patted Echidna¡¯s head and praised, "Good idea."


    "Hm! Hm!" Echidna snorted.


    After gently stroking Echidna''s hair for a while, Kang-Woo used the Demonic Art of Creation again. The crafted G¨¢e Bulg, which he''d ced on the ground, turned into dust and scattered away.


    ''A weapon that changes form...''


    He would need much practice to have a clear image of it.


    ''I''m going to use the Eye of Susanoo only after I''m sure of what I''m doing.''


    He didn''t need to hurry. Practicing hard would never betray him.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and reformed the transmutation matrix.


    * * *


    Three dayster, Kang-Woo once again went to the mountain, this time with both Han Seol-Ah and Echidna.


    "Here I go," Kang-Woo said.


    "Okay!" Seol-Ah replied with a nod.


    Before they arrived, she had heard about what Kang-Woo was nning to do, so she knew what she had to do to help him.


    "Grace of Light!" she cast a buff.


    Light flew out of her and entered Kang-Woo, boosting his unique stat.


    "Kraken''s Rage," Kang-Woo said.


    The ck Pearl Coat shone, and an explosive amount of demonic energy surged from him. His Demonic Energy stat reached 116.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes.


    ''Demonic Art of Creation.''


    A magic circle appeared on the ground, giving form to the transmutation matrix that was the size of a basketball. Kang-Woo grabbed the Eye of Susanoo without hesitation.


    After practicing endlessly for the past three days, he was sure that he could make the weapon he wanted. He had prepared everything he could.


    Kang-Woo pushed his hand into the transmutation matrix.


    Riiing.


    [Extracting the material from the Mythic-grade equipment. The condition has been fulfilled. You can craft a piece of Mythic-grade equipment or higher once. However, equipment of the Legendary grade or lower may be crafted if the crafting is attempted with an insufficient number of Authorities.]


    "Fuuu."


    Kang-Woo deeply exhaled and emptied his mind.


    "Transformation, Spation, shing, Hellfire, Storms."


    He activated five Authorities.


    Demonic energy flowed out of him like a falling tide. He was using 32 times more demonic energy than when he used only one Authority. His Demonic Energy stat had reached 116, but he was still having trouble maintaining five Authorities simultaneously.


    "Kurgh..." Kang-Woo grunted.


    His head felt like it was splitting open. Not only was he consuming a lot of demonic energy, but it was also exhausting his mental capacity to control those five Authorities.


    ''Focus.''


    Kang-Woo ignored the pain. Just like he had practiced, he closed his eyes and focused on the image of the weapon that he wanted to make. It was a weapon that could freely change forms.


    ''Just hold on for a bit longer.''


    He didn''t need a lot of time to craft the weapon. He could feel the transmutation matrix wriggling around his hand.


    Ten more seconds, and he''d be able to create the weapon he desired.


    [Five Authorities have been confirmed. All of the conditions have been fulfilled. Crafting a piece of Mythic-grade equipment.]


    There weren''t many pieces of Mythic-grade equipment in the world¡­ yet Kang-Woo was about to create a Mythic-grade weapon with his own hands.


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence as the seconds passed by.


    Nine seconds¡­


    He suddenly considered something.


    Eight seconds¡­


    If the weapons of the seven princes were categorized into equipment grades, Kang-Woo wondered what grade they would be given.


    Seven seconds¡­


    The princes were strong. They had been so strong that it made sense how none of them had been able to kill one another.


    Six seconds¡­


    Their innate strength certainly contributed to their overall power, but their Hell Armaments had arger effect on it.


    Five seconds¡­


    The Hell Armaments had been said to have been created through the gathering of demonic energy for a very long time.


    Four seconds¡­


    No matter how much he thought about it, there was no way those weapons would only be of the Mythic grade.


    Three seconds¡­


    Kang-Woo had never used a Hell Armament before. The Hell Armaments were imbued with the princes¡¯ souls, so they did not ept Kang-Woo as their master.


    Two seconds¡­


    He had been able to use the Hell Armaments to create a Gate to return to Earth. However, that had been because he had only used the power contained within them instead of using them as weapons.


    One second¡­


    ''It''s not enough.''


    Kang-Woo suddenly became greedy.


    He opened his eyes with an unquenchable thirst and an uncontroble desire storming within him.


    It wasn''t enough. This wasn''t enough to satisfy him.


    He felt like his head was about to explode, and his demonic energy was depleting at a terrifying rate, but...


    ''It''s not enough.''


    He still wasn''t satisfied.


    Kang-Woo used a sixth Authority. He didn''t even spend time thinking about which one to use.


    Riiing.


    [Authority of Predation has been added. Updating the conditions.]


    [Crafting Transcendent-grade equipment.]


    1. The power rule only applies to when using more than one authority. Just ignore the two to the power of one. ?

 Chapter 117 - Demonic Art of Creation (2)

    Chapter 117 - Demonic Art of Creation (2)


    Rumble!!!


    The mountain shook like an earthquake had struck, and a huge force rocked their surroundings.


    "K-Kang-Woo?!¡±


    "Kang-Woo!"


    The two girls screamed.


    However, their cries didn''t reach Oh Kang-Woo''s ears. A tornado of demonic energy had enveloped his body.


    ''Ah.''


    His mind was foggy, and he felt like he was floating on top of a vast sea.


    Using six Authorities simultaneously had been hard for him even in Hell. At this point, it was no longer a matter of how much demonic energy he needed to use. His brain¡¯s processing capacity to control demonic energy had reached its limit.


    ''Did I overdo it?''


    That was a pointless question. Using five Authorities was already pushing him to the limit; he waspletely overreaching by using six. Moreover, he had used his strongest Authority, the Authority of Predation, as the sixth Authority. It wasn''t something a rational person could do.


    ''This is quite dangerous.''


    It was as if he''d put more air into a balloon that was about to burst. He wouldn''t have tried something so crazy even back when he was at his prime in Hell. It wouldn''t have been weird if he exploded, dying right then and there.


    ''But¡­.''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure why, but he didn''t regret his decision. No, he wasn''t even worried. There had been a voice in his head saying that he should stop right there, but an unfounded confidence was telling him that it was okay and that he should keep going.


    sh.


    His hand, which he''d ced in the transmutation matrix, was suddenly cut. ck blood poured out from his hand and into the transmutation matrix. The energy within the transmutation matrix mixed with his.


    Kang-Woo''s senses became increasingly hazy, and he was losing consciousness. He couldn''t control the six Authorities anymore. Kang-Woo gave up on the transmutation.


    However, something surprising happened at that moment.


    ''So, this was the reason.''


    His body was now controlling the six Authorities in his ce.


    Kang-Woo finally understood why the Demonic Art of Creation had unlocked fully only after achieving the Ultimate Demonic Body.


    Authority control¡ªbeing able to control the Authorities through instinct rather than his brain¡ªwas the true effect of the Ultimate Demonic Body. No, it wouldn''t be an overstatement to say that this was the sole reason why he''d achieved the Ultimate Demonic Body.


    The energy from the transmutation matrix reached Kang-Woo''s heart through his blood. He felt something link to him.


    Riiing.


    [You have sessfully crafted the Key of the Demonic Sea (Transcendent).]


    A system window popped up.


    At that moment, the transmutation matrix began topress into a single point.


    [You have perfected the Demonic Art of Creation!]


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 2.]


    [You can no longer use the Trait ''Demonic Art of Creation.'']


    "Whoa."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    The Demonic Energy stat had finally surpassed 110 without buffs.


    ''It seems like the sole purpose of the Demonic Art of Creation was to create this.''


    He grabbed the ck bead that had been created bypressing the transmutation matrix. It looked simr to Fujimoto Ryoma¡¯s Eye of Susanoo and was about the size of a ping-pong ball.


    Kang-Woo checked the information on the Key of the Demonic Sea.


    [Equipment Information]


    [Equipment Name: Key of the Demonic Sea


    Grade: Transcendent (Imprinted)


    Type: Growth *The equipment will grow stronger whenever certain conditions are fulfilled.


    Basic Effect: Unique Stat +3, Indomitability, Transformation, ??? *It has not been unlocked.


    Special Effect: ???, ??? *It has not been unlocked.]


    [Effect Description]


    [Indomitability: The equipment cannot be destroyed by any physical, magical, or spiritual attacks.


    Transformation: The equipment can transform into any weapon registered as a skill. It will exert 34% of the capacity of weapons made using Authorities.]


    "Hmm..."


    Kang-Woo groaned as he checked the equipment information. It was full of question marks this time as well.


    ''A growth-type, huh?¡¯


    The Key of the Demonic Sea had some good points. Its grade was Transcendent, so it was likely that it could grow stronger indefinitely. Nevertheless, its effects weren''t as impressive as he wanted.


    "No, wait."


    Kang-Woo read through the information window again. He focused on the basic effects, especially the description of Transformation.


    ''A weapon registered as a skill...''


    All of the weapons that he had created at least once with Authorities had been registered as skills. Bident, G¨¢e Bulg, and even the most recent one, Gungnir, had been registered as skills.


    ''34% of the capacity of weapons made using Authorities.''


    The version of G¨¢e Bulg that he had created using the Demonic Art of Creation had only been able to exert 20% of the G¨¢e Bulg that he made using Authorities. This meant that the Key of the Demonic Sea was almost 1.5 times as strong as the crafted version of G¨¢e Bulg.


    ''This is pretty amazing.''


    Just the effect of Transformation alone would be good enough to be qualified as a piece of Transcendent-grade equipment. No, it was too good. In other words, he could create tons of weapons beforehand to register them as skills and then recreate them using the Key of the Demonic Sea without any Authorities whenever he needed to.


    ''G¨¢e Bulg.''


    He used a skill to test the new equipment out.


    The ck bead that was as big as a ping-pong ball transformed into a dark red spear, G¨¢e Bulg. As Kang-Woo grabbed it, he could tell that it was stronger than the one that he had made with the Demonic Art of Creation as practice.


    ''This is seriously overpowered.''


    "Wow."


    In that case, Kang-Woo would be better off using skills that had better baseline specs since 34% of Gungnir was better than 34% of G¨¢e Bulg.


    ''Gungnir.''


    He used a skill that had been created by merging four Authorities.


    Riiing.


    [It is currently impossible for the equipment to transform into a weapon created with four Authorities.]


    "Ah, that''s too bad."


    He¡¯d thought that the effect was unbelievably good, but as expected, he couldn''t transform it into a weapon that had been created with four Authorities yet. Nevertheless, there was no reason for him to be disappointed.


    ''I haven¡¯t unlocked its full potential yet.''


    The Key of the Demonic Sea was a growth-type equipment. He wasn''t sure what the conditions for its growth were, but he knew that it could get stronger, and that''s what mattered. It was already overpowered as it was, so he couldn''t even imagine how much more overpowered it could get.


    ''That''s Transcendent-grade equipment for you.''


    Feeling satisfied, Kang-Woo smiled.


    Then he checked the Key of the Demonic Sea¡¯s specs again and realized a few things.


    ''It can transform into any weapon... not just the ones registered as skills.''


    Of course, changing its form into a weapon that he hadn''t registered as a skill meant that it wouldn¡¯t contain the power of any Authorities in particr.


    ''And it can only transform into weapon-type skills.''


    Kang-Woo had two types of skills. G¨¢e Bulg, Gram, Bident, and the like were weapon-type skills that created weapons for him to use, while one-off skills like Skybreaker and Field of des were magic-type skills.


    The Key of the Demonic Sea could only transform into weapon-type skills.


    ''But that''s good enough.''


    Kang-Woo transformed the Key of the Demonic Sea into a ring and put it on the middle finger of his right hand.


    ''My Demonic Energy stat is now 113.''


    If he added Kraken''s Rage and Han Seol-Ah''s buff to that, it could reach 120.


    "Nice."


    Bing stronger meant that the number of things he could do would increase, so he felt good about that. He could even face a demon from the Ninth Hell at this moment.


    "K-Kang-Woo, are you okay?" Seol-Ah asked carefully.


    "Yeah, I¡¯m fine."


    "Phew. I was worried that something had gone wrong."


    "It was nothing. Let''s go back home."


    "Did you manage to craft that weapon?"


    Kang-Woo raised his right hand. The ring on his middle finger turned into a dagger.


    "As you can see."


    "Ah..."


    Seol-Ah flinched after seeing the ring on his finger.


    She coughed and said, "What a relief."


    "Since I''ve made the weapon, let¡¯s go back."


    ¡°Okay. Oh, right. Yeon-Joo called while you were making the weapon."


    "Cha Yeon-Joo?"


    "Yes. She said she had some stuff to give you, so she asked you toe to the guild."


    "Hmm... Okay."


    Kang-Woo nodded and lightly embraced Seol-Ah, who blushed. Then he used the Authority of the Sky and flew into the sky with Seol-Ah in his arms.


    "Let''s stop by the Red Rose Guild first."


    * * *


    Click.


    "Ah, you¡¯re here."


    Cha Yeon-Joo raised her head as Kang-Woo opened the door to her office.


    Kang-Woo sat in a chair and asked, "What do you have to give me?"


    "Kurosaki Yurie sent a few items."


    "Kurosaki Yurie?"


    "Yeah. She said that the gifts are a token of apology for the hero who rescued her and almost got framed as a criminal because of that."


    "Why is she sorry when she wasn¡¯t the one who did it?"


    Kang-Woo let out augh in disbelief. The one who¡¯d tried to frame him as a Demon Cultist had been Fujimoto Ryoma, not her.


    "I don¡¯t know either. Why don''t you see what it is first?"


    "Hmm... Sure, I guess."


    Kang-Woo opened the box that Yeon-Joo handed to him.


    The first things he saw were a card and a letter written to him.


    [I truly apologize for this disgraceful incident. The card contains thirty billion won so that you can freely use it in Korea, and under it is my contact information. Please feel free to call me if you need help with anything, and I will help you as best I can.]


    "What the..." Kang-Woo uttered.


    Thirty billion won? That wasn''t an amount of money that Kurosaki Yurie could freely use even though she was the emperor''s granddaughter.


    On top of that, she said she would help him with anything he needed¡­? That wasn¡¯t something a woman, who was currently the de facto empress in ce of the sickly emperor, should be saying.


    ''Why is she going that far?''


    It was true that Kang-Woo had saved her life¡­ But people didn''t usually do that much to pay back their savior. It was as if a person who had been saved from drawing handed their property deed to their savior to show their gratitude.


    The current oue was better than a negative oue, but still, he couldn''t understand it.


    "It seems like she likes you quite a bit. Hmph, you must be happy to be receiving so much love from a princess," Yeon-Joo told him off, not liking what she saw.


    Kang-Woo gulped and looked at what else was inside the box.


    "What''s this?"


    There was something frozen in the box. He opened it to see what it was.


    "...An octopus?" he uttered.


    There was an octopus that was the size of a person''s head in the box. Due to some kind of magical contraption, the octopus¡¯s tentacles were still squirming around despite being frozen.


    "Why did she send an octopus?" Kang-Woo wondered, looking at the box confusedly.

 Chapter 118 - Sword of Justice (1)

    Chapter 118 - Sword of Justice (1)


    Time passed.


    To optimize the Key of the Demonic Sea as much as possible, Oh Kang-Woo registered more weapon-type skills made with thebination of three different Authorities or below.


    Since his Demonic Energy stat was at 113 and he had attained the Ultimate Demonic Body, merging three different Authorities had be a piece of cake. The number of skills increased consistently.


    After registering new skills, Kang-Woo focused on trying to break the level cap.


    He didn''t have any idea what the condition for the Demonic Soul was, and he couldn''t raise his Demonic Energy stat anymore from devouring monsters, so, for the time, he decided that he would focus on breaking the level cap.


    "Fuuu. It''s not breaking at all."


    Kang-Woo let out a sigh and sat on the couch in the living room. He''d been trying all kinds of things for a week to break it. What Cha Yeon-Joo had jokingly said about the system having cursed him didn''t sound like a joke anymore.


    The reality was that most people couldn''t go beyond the Sixth Awakening, the Limit of Effort. However, that only applied to average yers. Most talented yers were able to break the level cap without much difficulty.


    In terms of pure talent, the only one who could bepared to him was Kim Si-Hun, so it was weird that he wasn''t able to break the cap.


    ''I thought it would break after I achieved the Ultimate Demonic Body.''


    At that point, Kang-Woo thought that it would be better to give up on leveling and try to find other ways to get stronger. After all, unlike other yers, he didn''t need to rely purely on leveling to grow.


    "Tsk¡­"


    He frowned while clicking his tongue.


    If leveling up only increased his stats, he would''ve given up a long time ago. The problem was that leveling up gave him new Traits like the Demonic Art of Creation. Not only that, it weakened the seal of the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    Weakening the seal of the Ten Thousand Demon Core was fundamental if he wanted to recover his old strength.


    ''I have no idea.''


    If his level cap was not breaking after everything he had done, then it meant that there was a different reason, but he had no way of knowing what that was.


    "Should I just hunt down the Demon Cult?"


    He didn''t know if it was coincidence or fate, but he had lucked out considerably every time he had confronted the Demon Cult. However, trying to find them by himself wasn''t very effective.


    Yeon-Joo had told him that traces of the Demon Cult had been found in Russia.


    ''Even if they found traces, how am I supposed to find them in that massive country?''


    It would be different if they operated openly, like in Korea or Japan, but finding them while they were hiding was hard.


    "Nghhh."


    There was literally nothing he could do. Kang-Wooy down on the sofa.


    At that moment, Echidna trotted out of her room and sat on his stomach.


    "Kang-Woo, I wanna watch TV."


    "¡­ Get down from there first."


    "No. I like it here."


    Echidna smiled mischievously and snorted. She''d changed a lotpared to her wary, abandoned-cat-like self when Kang-Woo had first met her.


    Kang-Woo got up and put her on his knees. He turned on the TV with the remote.


    "What do you want to watch?"


    "Love Live!"


    It was the name of a popr Japanese anime.


    "What''s so fun about that¡­?"


    "The characters are cute!"


    Kang-Woo smirked and changed the channel. While changing channels, he passed through the news channel. The words Breaking News entered his vision. He stopped at the channel.


    [Breaking News. World Ranker Alec Osborne has visited Korea. Alec Osborne, famous for the title Sword of Justice, has said that he hase to Korea to meet yer Kim Si-Hun, who had amassed worldwide fame after resolving the Isu Station incident. Variousmunity boards have been showing passionate responses pertaining to the meeting of two heroes, and¡­]


    "Sword of Justice¡­?"


    What kind of ridiculous title was that?


    Kang-Wooughed and searched up the name Alec Osborne on his smartphone.


    Commenter (Hearthstone Trashy Game): Holy fk LOLOLOLOL!!


    ? whoa I guess Sword Dragon really is famous if Alec himself ising to see him


    Commenter (Tresha): But Sword Dragon isn''t world-ss yet right?


    ? he''s honestly nowhere near Alec.


    ? OO: nah bruh Sword Dragon is world-ss


    ? Sagyesu: he''s probably thinking about his long-term growth possibility. It hasn''t been long since Sword Dragon awakened as a yer.


    Commenter (JerryM): Let''s go Korea!!


    ? My cancer caused by Baek Kang-Hyun was cured.


    Commenter (Lemme out of bronze): Sword Dragon is nothing tsk tsk u guys are so ignorant.


    ? frfr


    ? Hoot Hoot: okay next bronze yer plz


    ? BestTaeSoo: Hahaha! This fellow knows their stuff! Si-Hun is great and all but my hyung-nim is far better!


    ? Butterfly Valley: fr how do ppl not know there''s someone greater


    ? Sosori: attention whores everywhere;;;


    ? Gabinji: What''s wrong with these guys?


    ''What an uproar.''


    As soon as Kang-Woo searched the name, numerous threads frommunity boards appeared, but what he wanted to know wasn''tmunity reactions.


    Alec Osborne (Sword of Justice) - Wiki


    There was a site with lots of information about Alec.


    Kang-Woo entered it and read some basic information about him.


    ''He''s handsome.''


    On the site was a photo of a handsome man with his long blond hair tied back.


    There was lots of summarized information about him beneath the photo.


    [Alec Osborne: British, 29 years old, World Ranker.]


    [Reason why he is called "Sword of Justice": Alec Osborne is famous for wielding his sword not only for the British people but also for the weak all around the world. Two months ago, after the Isu Station incident, he made it public that he had also been fighting against the Demon Cult for quite some time. One month ago, he had attacked a Demon Cult branch in Europe and stopped their attack ahead of time.]


    "Hmm¡­"


    He could only find positive things about the guy on the inte. He was a good person and was hard-working and kind to everyone.


    ''He''s kinda like Si-Hun.''


    They were very simr purely in terms of personality.


    ''He said he came to Korea to meet Si-Hun.''


    Kang-Woo put Echidna down and stood up. He couldn''t stay still in such a situation. He had to know why Alec hade to meet Si-Hun.


    ''Our Si-Hun sure is popr.''


    First, it was Tian Wuchen, and now, Alec Osborne.


    As expected from the protagonist, he was receiving the attention of important people worldwide.


    "Kang-Woo, where are you going?"


    "To meet up with Si-Hun."


    He didn''t have training with Wuchen today. Kang-Woo had heard that Wuchen was going to be hunting with Han Seol-Ah, Kang Tae-Soo, and Choi Eun-Bi.


    "I wanna go too."


    "Weren''t you gonna watch TV?"


    "I like being with you more."


    Echidna grabbed his sleeves. Kang-Woo smirked and nodded.


    "Let''s go."


    ''I believe they''re hunting at the A-rank Gate in Incheon.''


    He''d asked Seol-Ah this morning where they were going to hunt.


    Kang-Woo drove toward Incheon.


    * * *


    "Kang-Woo hyung-nim!! Over here!!"


    Inside a cafe near the A-rank Gate, Kang-Woo saw a group of four people waiting for him. He pulled a chair over and sat down.


    He said, "You could''ve just stayed inside the Gate. I would''ve juste to you."


    "Hahaha! We can''t do that when you''reing, hyung-nim. Leaving that aside, we were nning to stop hunting for the day," Tae-Soo said.


    "Because of Alec Osborne?"


    "Oh, you must''ve seen the news too."


    "I came because of that. But more importantly, how did you guys hear the news? You were inside the gate."


    "The yers who entered the gate after us recognized Si-Hun and told us."


    Kang-Woo nodded and turned his head toward Si-Hun.


    ''What''s up with him?''


    Si-Hun was shaking as if he were holding in his pee. He was also smiling weirdly.


    "Is something wrong?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "N-Not at all!!" Si-Hun shook his head. "I-It''s just¡­ I can''t believe it. To think that the Sword of Justice woulde all the way to Korea to see me¡­"


    "¡­ Are you that happy?"


    "O-of course! It''s the Sword of Justice! The sword for the weak! How cool is that?!"


    ''I''m not sure what''s cool about it.''


    Kang-Woo would be embarrassed to death if he had a title like that.


    ''Well, it''s Si-Hun, after all.''


    He couldn''t deny that Alec seemed the type of person Si-Hun would like.


    "Hmm¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent. Something was bothering him, but he couldn''t tell what it was either.


    "Are you leveling up okay?"


    "Ah, yes! I''ve finally passed Level 60 recently!"


    "¡­ What?"


    Kang-Woo couldn''t hide his surprise after hearing that Si-Hun had surpassed him in terms of level.


    "What about the level cap?"


    "Oh¡­ You see¡­"


    Si-Hun scratched his head while smiling awkwardly.


    Seol-Ah answered for him, "Si-Hun said there was no cap in particr for him."


    "¡­"


    Considering that he was having such a hard time with his own level cap, Kang-Woo found the situation unfair.


    ''Damn cheater.''


    Even if Si-Hun had the protagonist buff, it didn''t make sense that he didn''t have a level cap.


    "What about the other people¡­?"


    "Tae-Soo and I have only just reached the level cap. Eun-Bi''s level is still around the mid-fifties."


    "Urgh¡­ This is all because Si-Hun oppa swept them all away before I could cast magic! Not just that, he''s the only one without a level cap! This is unfair!"


    Eun-Bi shouted in frustration.


    ''I also think it''s unfair.''


    Kang-Woo grabbed his head.


    ''You damn talented fucker.''


    Kang-Woo had no right to say that, but even so, having no level cap was too much. He sighed.


    Si-Hun said, "B-But what should I do? Should I go to the airport to meet him in pers¡ª"


    "No, you won''t need to do that."


    Kang-Woo picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip.


    Si-Hun looked at him with a confused expression.


    "I''m sure he''lle to see you himself."


    Alec was a World Ranker, so there was no way he didn''t have a basic informationwork.


    Click.


    "Huh?"


    As soon as Kang-Woo finished, the door of the cafe swung open.


    A handsome young man with a low ponytail entered the coffee shop.


    "A-Alec Osborne."


    Si-Hun''s voice trembled.


    Alec smiled after finding Si-Hun. He took out a round device from his pocket and put it on his neck.


    "Nice to meet you. Are you Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun?" he asked in Korean.


    Si-Hun nodded with a dumbfounded expression.


    "Y-Yes! I''m Kim Si-Hun."


    "Haha, it''s good to see you. My name is Alec Osborne."


    "Oh¡­ Yes."


    "It''s an honor to meet with the hero of Korea."


    Alec extended his hand. Si-Hun grabbed it and replied in a surprised voice, "A-An honor?! No, the honor is all mine!"


    Si-Hun''s eyes were full of excitement, and he was blushing. He looked like a little girl who had met an idol.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He couldn''t understand why, but he felt a bit annoyed.


    ''You''ve never made that kind of expression to me.''


    He didn''t like it.

 Chapter 119 - Sword of Justice (2)

    Chapter 119 - Sword of Justice (2)


    "What brings you here?" Oh Kang-Woo asked in a sharp voice. He narrowed his eyes and looked over Alec Osborne from top to bottom.


    ''He seems worthy of his fame.''


    Even though he was just standing still, he was exuding dignity and his mana was perfectly controlled. Of course, Kang-Woo didn''t know if that was everything or if Alec was hiding a greater strength.


    However, there was something Kang-Woo was sure about¡­


    ''He''s stronger than Fujimoto.''


    Alec was on another levelpared to Fujimoto Ryoma, who had be a World Ranker by relying purely on the overpowered Eye of Susanoo.


    Just at first nce, the sword he had at his waist didn''t seem that good, so there was no doubt he had be a World Ranker thanks to his own strength.


    Alec looked at Kang-Woo.


    "You are¡­?"


    It was Kim Si-Hun who answered, "He''s someone I consider my brother."


    "Oh, is it like a brotherhood between knights?"


    "Hmm. It might be a bit different, but he''s someone I respect and follow."


    "Haha. I never thought the Sword Dragon would have such a senior. Nice to meet you, I''m Alec."


    "I''m Oh Kang-Woo." Kang-Woo grabbed Alec''s hand.


    Alec''s expression hardened after he grabbed Kang-Woo''s hand, but that onlysted for a few seconds. He quickly smiled and nodded.


    "I can understand why the Sword Dragon follows you."


    "I''m doing my best not to be a hyung that shames his little brother."


    "Hahaha! I like those words." Alec looked around. "They seem to be your party members. If I may ask, could you introduce them to me?"


    Si-Hun nodded.


    "Ah, yes, of c¡ª"


    Kang-Woo raised his hand and stopped Si-Hun when Si-Hun was about to introduce everyone.


    "Let''s first hear about why you''vee all this way to meet Si-Hun."


    He didn''t want to drag things out with chitchat. He also wasn''t nning to try to be friends with him.


    Kang-Woo sat down and looked at Alec.


    While smiling awkwardly, Alec sat down in a chair.


    "What a shame. I wanted to get to know the Sword Dragon''s allies better, but you have a point. It''s understandable for you to be cautious when you don''t know my objective," he said with a calm voice. "A month ago, I had battled the forces of the Demon Cult that had been making a move in Europe."


    It was content Kang-Woo had seen on the inte.


    "They were strong. I was almost ashamed of being called a World Ranker. While we were fighting, they realized they wouldn''t be able to win against me and escaped."


    Kang-Woo said, "On the inte, it was said that you had stopped their attack ahead of time."


    "It''s true that I managed to stop their evil ns, but all I did was dy them. I wasn''t able to solve the fundamental issue." Alec smiled bitterly. "Rather, assassins from the Demon Cult are targeting me now."


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo fell into thought. He understood the situation, but that wasn''t a good enough reason for Alec toe and look for the Sword Dragon.


    "Don''t tell me you came here to ask Si-Hun to protect you?"


    Realistically speaking, Si-Hun was still weak. He was receiving attention from people around the world because of how heroic he looked while fighting during the Isu Station incident; it was not because of his power.


    Cha Yeon-Joo could easily beat Si-Hun.


    "Haha, of course not. I''m still not done with my story." Alec continued from where he had left off, "While the assassins were targeting me, I received help from a group called Guardians."


    "Guardians¡­?"


    Kang-Woo had never heard that name.


    "They''re not famous yet, but I do know one thing for sure. Guardians is the hope of humanity," he said with intense eyes.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed.


    Guardians¡­


    That name swirled within his mind.


    Alec looked at Si-Hun.


    "There is something that I would like to ask you, Si-Hun."


    "Oh, sure¡­"


    "Have you heard of the beings known as Protectors?"


    "¡­?!"


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened, and one could tell he was bing restless.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    A Protector was someone who had been chosen by the system to save the world.


    "D-Don''t tell me, are you also¡­?" Si-Hun asked.


    Alec nodded.


    "Yes. I am also one of the Protectors."


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Kang-Woo put his hand on top of his head to organize the situation.


    ''So there is more than one Protector.''


    It wasn''t that he hadn''t thought of that possibility. Based on the information he had, the Gaia System was simr to the Earth''s atmosphere, which stopped extraterrestrial objects such as meteors from entering the Earth.


    After it had been impaired because of him, it''d created vines to stop otherworldly interferences in its ce.


    ''If Protectors really are simr to a vine¡­''


    It was understandable that there was more than one. It didn''t make sense for the Gaia System to leave the safety of Earth only to Si-Hun.


    "When did you be a Protector, Alec?" Si-Hun asked.


    "Hmm. It''s been about a year, right after I became a World Ranker."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo fell into thought.


    If it was a year ago, it was before he''d returned to Earth.


    ''Meaning there were already Protectors before I returned to Earth.''


    Then he had to modify a few of his hypotheses.


    ''Could the system have already known that it would be damaged, or could it have just been a precautionary measure?''


    He still didn''t know.


    Kang-Woo took a sip of coffee; a sweet taste spread through his mouth.


    "How did you know that Si-Hun was a Protector?"


    "Haha. I had nothing to do with that. One of the Guardians has the ability to find Protectors. It was that person who had found me as well."


    "¡­ I see."


    Alec''s objective had been made clear.


    Guardians¡­ Kang-Woo was sure Alec hadn''t mentioned that by pure coincidence.


    "I would like you to join Guardians, Si-Hun."


    ''I knew it.''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes, numerous thoughts crossing his mind.


    "You want me to join Guardians¡­?"


    "Yes. I saw the video of the Isu Station incident. You have the talent to be a Protector," Alec said in a heated voice. "If you be a member of Guardians, we will teach you how to strengthen your power as a Guardian. Once you do¡­ you won''t ever have to feel the despair that you had felt in the past again."


    "Despair?"


    "Yes."


    Alec nodded. His eyes seemed to be saying that he knew everything.


    "I saw your expression in the video while you were fighting against the demonic beasts. It exuded pain and sorrow. I understand. After all, those demonic beasts were once innocent civilians."


    "Ah¡­"


    A short exmation left Kim Si-Hun''s mouth. His expression darkened, and he recalled what had happened¡ªhow he had to swing his sword despite knowing what the demonic beasts used to be.


    Alec grabbed Si-Hun''s hand.


    "If you be stronger, you will be able to save everyone."


    "Save everyone? How¡­?"


    "We can suppress them. We still don''t know how to return them to normal, but we will find a way one day. We will be able to save everyone. We need your help, Si-Hun."


    Alec''s eyes were zing with justice. His words that they could save everyone touched Si-Hun''s heart.


    "We need a Protector who can protect everyone who has fallen into despair."


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained silent¡ªhesitation could be seen in his eyes. His chest felt hot. He had thought that saving everyone wasplete nonsense, but in front of him, Alec, the Sword of Justice, was trying to make that nonsense a reality.


    Si-Hun clenched his fists.


    Alec''s words that burned with justice touched his heart.


    ''This is¡­''


    It was an opportunity to stand alongside the Sword of Justice he admired.


    It was a chance to learn from his conviction for justice¡ªto gain the power to protect the weak!


    ''I feel bad for the Sword Emperor, but¡­''


    Si-Hun was in the middle of being trained by Tian Wuchen. His Heavenly Martial Physique talent had shone brightly during his training with the Sword Emperor.


    He was taking in martial arts knowledge like a sponge absorbing water. Not just that, he was improving them.


    ''But¡­''


    Si-Hun looked at Alec. He could feel his heart beating faster. His eyes trembled at the thrill he felt.


    He could learn martial arts through Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen, but he couldn''t learn ideals and convictions from him.


    "I¡­"


    There was no reason to hesitate. For a moment, Si-Hun wondered if it was okay if he didn''t listen to Kang-Woo''s opinion, thinking he was making the right choice.


    "¡­ Will joi¡ª"


    At that moment, his words cut off.


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened, and he trembled.


    An irresistible energy was restraining him.


    ''What''s happening?''


    He couldn''t think anymore. His conscience became blurry, and he could hear someone''s voice. He wasn''t sure whose voice it was, but there was something he was sure about¡­


    He couldn''t go against that voice.


    "I''m sorry, but I can''t join Guardians."


    "Oh¡­" Alec seemed disappointed. "May I ask why?"


    "¡­ I''m sorry."


    Si-Hun couldn''t answer. No, to be more precise, he didn''t have an answer. He also wasn''t sure why he''d refused Alec''s offer. He just had a strong feeling that he had to refuse it.


    Alec sighed.


    "That''s too bad, but I didn''t think you would ept the offer right away. I''m going to be staying in Korea for a while, so if you change your mind, feel free to contact me."


    He gave Si-Hun his business card and stood up.


    Si-Hun looked nkly at him walking away.


    "¡­"


    Tap.


    Kang-Woo put down the cup of coffee on the table. System messages only he could see appeared in front of him.


    [Authority of Subordination has been activated.]


    [You have sessfully controlled your Familiar''s actions.]


    ''Thank God.''


    The insurance he''d taken a long time ago had finally paid off.


    Kang-Woo looked at Alec''s back with deep, sunken eyes. He''d realized what had been bothering him the moment he listened in on their conversation.


    ''Sword of Justice.''


    Alec was an honest and upright person. He wasn''t sure who had given him that title, but it suited him very well.


    Knowing Si-Hun''s personality, it was understandable for him to admire him.


    ''I can''t let that happen.''


    What had been bothering Kang-Woo was Si-Hun''s current state.


    There was nothing wrong with admiring and respecting Alec, but it would be a problem if Si-Hun wanted to be exactly like him.


    ''Alec is too honest.''


    He was like a pure-white sword; one that was reluctant to get dirty and wanted to save everyone. He couldn''t let Si-Hun''s sword be that white.


    ''Si-Hun.''


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun.


    ''Your swords need to be a bit dirtier.''


    If it didn''t, he wouldn''t be able to survive.


    ''Don''t worry.''


    Kang-Woo stood up. He patted Si-Hun''s shoulder and followed Alec, who was getting far away.


    A sword that didn''t get a single drop of blood on it was nothing more than a hunk of metal.


    ''I''ll make sure it gets dirty.''

 Chapter 120 - Sword of Justice (3)

    Chapter 120 - Sword of Justice (3)


    Oh Kang-Woo couldn''t let Kim Si-Hun and Alec Osborne meet anymore. That was the conclusion Kang-Woo had reached after hearing their conversation.


    Alex was excessively honest and upright.


    ''How could a person be like that?''


    He had honestly been shocked by Alec''s monologue.


    Alec had spoken nonsense like some protagonist of a shonen manga.


    "Even shonen mangas aren''t that cringe these days."


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief. It wasn''t that he thought that saving people and protecting the weak was funny¡ªhe thought it was worthy of praise.


    Even if Kang-Woo wasn''t that kind of person himself, he wouldn''t make fun of someone who was.


    ''But saving everyone is pushing it.''


    The problem was that Alec wanted to save everyone. The moment that word was mentioned, his speech had turned into nothing more than the words of a madman drunk on hollow ideals.


    It wasn''t a matter of conviction; it was physically impossible.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but cringe after hearing someone say something like that in such a serious tone¡­ especially the part about suppressing people who''d turned into demonic beasts and waiting for a cure to be invented. This part sounded like the words of a true madman.


    It was no different from someone saying they would capture and lock away zombies indefinitely until they could find a cure.


    ''Extreme altruism fosters insanity.''


    He still wasn''t sure what kind of person Alec was, but he definitely felt ufortable about him.


    "In such cases, it''s best to check for oneself."


    There would be nothing he could do if he had no way of knowing, but that wasn''t the case. He couldn''t be carefree enough to neglect the unknown.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Stealth and followed Alec.


    "Haaa." Alec sighed. "I didn''t think he''d refuse¡­"


    Kang-Woo could hear him mumbling. It seemed Alec was quite shocked that his invitation to join Guardians was rejected.


    "But I''ll convince him, no matter what!"


    He clenched both fists and shouted.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''How persistent of him.''


    He didn''t like Alec. Si-Hun was his Familiar, so it was easy to make Si-Hun refuse the offer, but he couldn''t stop him from being influenced by Alec.


    The influence Alec had on Si-Hun wasn''t helpful at all. No, there was a high chance that it could harm Si-Hun.


    ''I''ll have to make him give up on Si-Hun.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone sharply.


    If Alec didn''t want to give up, there was no other way but force.


    "Who''s there?!"


    While Kang-Woo was thinking, Alec suddenly shouted.


    ''Did he sense me?''


    Kang-Woo raised his head.


    Alec wasn''t looking at him but at a secluded alleyway.


    "I''m surprised you noticed me."


    "You''re¡­"


    A man walked out from the secluded alleyway. He was wearing a dark robe and a red demon mask. Demonic energy was fiercely emanating from him.


    Alec''s expression hardened.


    "You followed me all the way here?"


    "You have to pay the price for meddling in our n."


    Alec unsheathed his sword.


    The masked man spread out his hands, and sharp ws simr to those of beasts grew from his ten fingers.


    ''Is that the assassin Alec mentioned before?''


    Kang-Woo went up to the terrace and looked down at their confrontation.


    Alec had mentioned that assassins from the Demon Cult had beening after him because of the previous incident that he had been involved in. Judging by that and the fact that he had asked the assassin if he had followed him all the way here, it really seemed to be an assassin.


    ''What great timing.''


    Kang-Wooughed. It was a great opportunity to get information about Alec. It also wouldn''t be bad if Alec died fighting the Demon Cultist. After all, Kang-Woo''s goal was to ensure that Si-Hun wouldn''t get involved with Alec.


    ''This should be interesting.''


    Kang-Woo looked at both of them with great interest while listening to their conversation.


    "You should really give it a rest now," Alec remarked.


    "I swear I''ll put you in your ce this time!" the assassin eximed in anger.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''This time?''


    Why would an assassin say something like that?


    There was no next time for an assassination; it was kill or be killed.


    But by their conversation, it seemed as if they had fought numerous times.


    ''What''s going on?''


    Kang-Woo decided to watch their confrontation.


    The two of them soon began fighting.


    ng! ng!


    The assassin''s sharp ws targeted Alec.


    Alec raised his sword and blocked the attack. A white light came out of his sword and exuded pressure on their surroundings.


    The battle continued for a while.


    The assassin was extremely skilled. He was exuding enough demonic energy for it to make sense that he hade alone to assassinate a World Ranker.


    His mind was not being eroded by the demonic energy. His movements were clean, and his attacks were powerful. His control over demonic energy was better than Baek Kang-Hyun and Akiyama, the Demon Cultist whom Kang-Woo had fought in Japan.


    ''But¡­''


    Alec''s sword emitted light. He restricted the assassin''s movements while thrusting with his sword.


    His swordsmanship was very disciplined. It was so perfect that Kang-Woo wondered if this was what the swordsmanship of a martial artist who had mastered the sword to its utmost limit would look like.


    ''Maybe it''s because he''s a Protector.''


    Just like Si-Hun, Alec''s talent was also impressive.


    ''Alec''s won this.''


    It wasn''t that the fight had ended, but the cards were overwhelmingly in his favor.


    Kang-Woo seemed disappointed because he was hoping for Alec to lose.


    "Kurgh!"


    The Demon Cult assassin fell to the ground.


    Alec approached him while holding his sword.


    The assassin noticed he''d already lost, so he said in a low voice, "Kill me."


    ''It''s over.''


    The only thing left was for Alec to behead the assassin with his sword.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. The battle had ended more easily than he''d hoped for.


    "I cannot do that."


    ''What?''


    Just then, unexpected words came out of Alec''s mouth.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened; he couldn''t believe what he was hearing.


    "Every life is precious, and yours is no different."


    ''What the hell is this dude talking about?''


    "Leave the Demon Cult. Repent for your sins and live a new life."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s mouth fell open. He was at a loss for words and couldn''t believe what Alec was saying.


    ''Is he insane?''


    Telling the person who''d tried to kill him to repent for his sins and live a new life?


    That wasn''t something a sane person could say.


    Was he the incarnation of Jesus? How could he say something like this so naturally?


    "Not this bullshit again," the assassin replied.


    "I will make sure to persuade you this time. Now, grab my hand. I will help you start your life anew."


    Alec extended his hand, but the Demon Cult assassin obviously didn''t grab it.


    Kang-Woo looked at Alec''s pointless actions in shock.


    ''What''s wrong with this guy?''


    It wasn''t a matter of justice anymore.


    How could a person in his right mind act this way?


    Was it because Alec was too kind?


    ''Bullshit.''


    Letting a Demon Cultist who had tried to kill him live because "every life was precious" was not kindness.


    ''That''s just being moronic.''


    Alec couldn''t possibly be doing this unless he was thoughtless, or he was brainless. It was no different from letting a heinous serial killer off with just a light warning after telling them to repent for their sins and start their life anew.


    Kang-Woo''s head became messy.


    "Hup!"


    Boom!


    "Guh?!"


    The assassin, who had been on the floor, threw something from his pocket. A loud explosion rang out, smoke covering the entire alleyway.


    The assassin got up and ran away. Alec pursued him.


    "Stop right there!"


    "I will pay you back for this humiliation next time!"


    The assassin ran out of the alleyway.


    Just then, a woman walking into the alleyway collided with him.


    Crack!


    She couldn''t even scream. She had collided with a Ranker-level yer running at full speed. The impact, which was greater than being hit by a truck, sent her flying.


    "A-Aaah¡­"


    Alec, who had been chasing after the assassin, stopped. His mouth widened.


    The woman who had collided with the assassin was flung into the wall, dying instantly.


    "N-Noooo!!" Alec screamed in despair as he held the woman''s corpse. "Sniff! H-How, wh-why¡­?!"


    Alec cried for a while, holding the woman''s corpse.


    Kang-Woo looked at him in disbelief.


    ''You''re seriously asking why this happened?''


    Did he really not know why?


    ''I can''t take it anymore.''


    He thought he would die from cancer at this rate.


    While holding himself back from cursing, Kang-Woo jumped down from the building.


    Alec, who had just been crying while holding the woman''s corpse, stood up and walked out of the alleyway.


    "What the hell do you think you''re doing?"


    "¡­ Kang-Woo?"


    Alec was surprised by Kang-Woo''s sudden appearance.


    "Why didn''t you kill the assassin?"


    "Were you watching?"


    "Just answer the question."


    cing his hand on his sword''s handle, Alec answered, "All lives are precious, and the same goes for Demon Cultists. I can''t take someone''s life so easily."


    "Hah." Kang-Wooughed in disbelief. "Even when an innocent person died because of it?"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo spat it all out, "If you''d killed that person, that woman wouldn''t have died. This is your fault. You''re the reason why she died."


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence, and Alec slowly opened his mouth.


    "What¡­ do you mean? An innocent person died?"


    "What?"


    "I did let the assassin slip through my fingers, but there were no victims."


    "What the hell are you talking about? There''s the victim right there."


    Kang-Woo pointed at the woman''s corpse in the alleyway.


    Alec''s eyes turned toward the corpse.


    "Where?"


    "¡­ What?"


    Alec tilted his head in confusion. "There''s nothing there."

 Chapter 121 - Sword of Justice (4)

    Chapter 121 - Sword of Justice (4)


    Oh Kang-Woo remained silent. Alec Osborne wasn''t just ying dumb.


    ''He really doesn''t know.''


    He lightlyughed. He felt like all the questions filling his head had disappeared. There was no way someone sane would let an assassin who had tried to kill him live.


    ''So that means...''


    Alec had been insane from the start.


    Kang-Woo could finally be satisfied with Alec''s absurd actions.


    "Fuuu. I can¡¯t believe I let a Demon Cultist escape yet again... I¡¯m truly ashamed."


    "Let me ask you something."


    "Yes?"


    Kang-Woo looked at Alec with sunken eyes.


    "You have no intention of giving up on Si-Hun, right?"


    "Of course not. There aren''t many Protectors. Si-Hun has the ideal personality and talent for a Protector," Alec answered without hesitation.


    He continued, ¡°He seems to be on the fence because it was such a sudden offer, but I am nning on continuing to persuade him. And... most importantly, Si-Hun himself seems to be interested in the idea.¡±


    "¡­"


    "I know you think of Si-Hun as your little brother, so I understand you''re worried, but this is for the greater good of humanity."


    "Hah..."


    Kang-Wooughed.


    The woman¡¯s corpse was still in the alleyway. A woman had died because Alec hadn''t killed the assassin, but he was still as honest and upright as always.


    Alec couldn''t see anything beyond justice.


    "I¡¯ll be on my way, then. Please try to convince Si-Hun for me as well, Kang-Woo."


    Alec smiled and turned around.


    Kang-Woo watched as Alec walked away.


    There was no way to know how many deaths Alec had turned away from until now, but Kang-Woo was sure that this was probably not the first time.


    There was no way it was the first time. People didn''t go that insane so quickly and easily.


    Alec had probably been broken for a very long time to the point of no return.


    "For the greater good of humanity, huh...?" Kang-Woo mumbled.


    It wasn''t hard to see why Alec had broken. He had most likely tried to save every life in the past as well, regardless of whether they were good or evil, just like now.


    ''And he probably failed.''


    It had nothing to do with his abilities or talent. Such an absurd ideal was bound to fail.


    When faced with failure, people chose one of two options: either they epted the result or turned away from it.


    Alec had chosen thetter.


    "Pathetic."


    Kang-Woo spat on the floor.


    It was hard to ept failure, and it wasn''t easy to ept that what one had been doing was wrong. On the other hand, turning away from one''s own failures was easy.


    It was simple andfortable.


    Alec Osborne wasn¡¯t a strong-willed man who stayed true to his ideals. He was just a coward and loser who didn''t know how to ept the results of his actions.


    ''He said he had no intention of giving up on Si-Hun.''


    It didn''t matter if he was a coward or a lunatic who couldn''t ept reality. If it had been anyone but Alec, Kang-Woo wouldn¡¯t have even given them the time of day.


    But this was different.


    Alec was trying to make Si-Hun join him. He was trying to make Si-Hun exactly like him.


    ''I can''t let that happen.''


    If Alex wouldn¡¯t give up, Kang-Woo had no choice but to use force.


    "Actually this might be a good opportunity."


    He recalled Si-Hun looking at Alec in admiration.


    Alec was an important individual to him, and Si-Hun trusted Alec so much that Kang-Woo had been forced to use the Authority of Subordination to make him refuse the offer.


    Just like how children were greatly influenced by the heroes in films, Alec also seemed to have heavily influenced Si-Hun.


    There was a huge chance that Si-Hun''s heroic actions had also been influenced by Alec.


    ''I don''t like that.''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He had high hopes for Si-Hun and couldn''t let him destroy himself like Alec due to unrealistic ideals.


    "It''s about time for me to give him a huge shock."


    He had no intention of coddling Si-Hun like a baby forever.


    Si-Hun had to learn how to make decisions and take action by himself. For that to happen, he had to make Si-Hun wake up from the fantasy of being a hero.


    "Hmm."


    He closed his eyes and began thinking at high speed. He thought of a good n, then slowly opened his eyes. Since he had decided on a n, he no longer had any reason to hesitate.


    Kang-Woo turned his head.


    ''But before that¡­''


    There was something he had to do before putting his n into action.


    Tap.


    He lightly jumped and rose into the sky. He used the Authority of the Beholder over a wide area.


    ''So that¡¯s where he ran off to.''


    Kang-Woo turned his head toward the area where he could feel demonic energy.


    Unlike in Japan where it was like finding a tree in the middle of a forest due to the overabundance of demonic energy, searching for a Demon Cultist in Korea was more like finding a tree in the middle of a desert.


    Kang-Woo flew toward where the Demon Cult assassin had escaped.


    The assassin had headed toward an abandoned factory near Port of Incheon. The factory had been abandoned ever since it had been destroyed by the monster invasion on the Day of Cmity.


    ''He got pretty far.''


    Considering he should''ve been tired after fighting Alec, he had been incredibly fast.


    The traces of demonic energy stopped at the abandoned factory.


    Kang-Woonded on top of the factory and looked around.


    ''He doesn¡¯t seem to have any reinforcements.''


    He couldn''t sense any other sources of demonic energy near the factory.


    High priests of the Demon Cult were able to conceal their demonic energy within their hearts, but he didn''t even consider this possibility.


    The assassin wouldn''t have fought Alec alone if he had such powerful allies with him.


    "Huff, huff!"


    Kang-Woo heard heavy breathing.


    The assassin seemed very exhausted from running at full speed right after his battle with Alec.


    Kang-Woo clenched his fist and smashed it down on the abandoned factory¡¯s roof.


    Boom!


    "Kurgh!"


    Dust scattered. The assassin took out his ws and red at him.


    "... Who are you?"


    The man in the red demon mask wasn''t able to hide the bewilderment in his eyes. He would naturally be surprised if a stranger suddenly appeared when he had thought Alec had caught up with him.


    Kang-Wooughed at the assassin¡¯s question.


    "Who¡¯s asking?"


    "¡­"


    "You''re not gonna tell me, right? Me neither."


    The assassin lowered his body, and a sharp bloodlust leaked from him.


    "You must be a member of Guardians."


    It seemed he thought Kang-Woo was Alec''srade.


    Kang-Woo shrugged.


    "Hmph. There¡¯s no point in acting dumb. I know you¡¯re a part of Guardians."


    The assassin opened his hands. His ws, which had lengthened to over thirty meters, shone sharply. Demonic energy was concentrated at the ends of the ws.


    "Sure, whatever you wanna think," Kang-Woo replied.


    There was no need to tell him the truth. People saw and heard only what they wanted, after all.


    "I have a lot of questions for you," said Kang-Woo.


    "And you think I''ll talk?"


    "No, of course not."


    Kang-Woo shook his head and raised his right hand. The Key of the Demonic Sea, which had been a ring, changed form.


    "So¡­"


    The ring wriggled and transformed into a gauntlet. It was infused with the Authority of Sealing, the Authority of the demon Amdusias.


    "I''ll have to make you want to talk."


    Boom!


    Kang-Woo leaped forward. He used the Authority of Haste and reduced the distance between him and the assassin in an instant. He could see the surprise behind the mask.


    Bash!


    "Kurgh!"


    Kang-Woo struck the man in the sr plexus with the gauntlet.


    The assassin¡¯s body folded and was blown back. Kang-Woo caught up to the assassin as he was flying back and kicked him.


    Boom!


    The wall of the abandoned factory was destroyed. Abandoned bars of steel poured on top of the assassin.


    "Gurgh!"


    The assassin swung his hands. The steel bars were shed like ribbons, the metal nging. The assassin lowered his body and leaped toward Kang-Woo.


    His sharp ws swung up toward him from the bottom.


    Tap.


    "Gasp!"


    Kang-Woo grabbed the assassin¡¯s ws and used the Authority of Titanic Might to rip the ws off of the man¡¯s hands.


    Crack.


    The ws fell to the ground along with drops of blood.


    The assassin¡¯s movements became significantly slower due to the excruciating pain.


    Kang-Woo grabbed the assassin¡¯s shoulder with the gauntlet infused with the Authority of Sealing. The gauntlet embedded itself into the assassin¡¯s shoulder as it destroyed his bones.


    "AARRGGHH!"


    The assassin screamed horrifyingly.


    "H-Huh? Why is my strength..."


    Once the Authority of Sealing had spread through the assassin''s body, he fell to the ground.


    Kang-Woo stuck his fingers into the assassin''s mouth to stop him frommitting suicide and then used the Authority of Subordination on him.


    A huge amount of demonic energy entered the assassin¡¯s body.


    Riiing.


    [The soul of the target has resisted the Authority of Subordination.]


    "Tsk."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue in disapproval.


    He thought that the Authority of Subordination might work if he sealed his power first with the Authority of Sealing, but it had failed.


    ''Well, that¡¯s too bad.''


    He had no intention of giving up just because a mind control-type Authority had failed.


    Kang-Woo thrust his finger into the shoulder the gauntlet was embedded into.


    "Urrrhhh!!"


    The assassin suppressed his scream.


    Kang-Woo had no intention of stopping there.


    ''Authority of Hellfire.''


    A life-burning fire began burning the assassin¡¯s body from the inside.


    Being burned alive was one of the greatest pains that a human could feel. If such a burn happened from the inside, the oue was obvious.


    "Gaaaaaahhhhhh!!!"


    A horrible scream echoed throughout the abandoned factory.


    Kang-Woo withdrew the Authority.


    ¡°Do you feel like talking now?"


    "Huff! Huff!"


    "How about we go for another round?"


    "S-Stop! P-Please stop!"


    The assassin desperately shouted as if he didn''t want to suffer such pain again.


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction and nodded.


    ''What should I ask first?''


    There were many things he wanted to ask, but he couldn''t just voice his questions carelessly.


    ''Either by exploding or twisting, he¡¯ll die one way or another.''


    From what he''d seen of the Demon Cult until now, a device was installed in every single member to ensure that ssified information wouldn''t be leaked.


    The same was probably true for the assassin in front of him.


    ''I can''t make the same mistake.''


    He wasn''t an idiot who didn''t learn from his mistakes.


    Kang-Woo first asked about information unrted to the Demon Cult.


    "Tell me what you know about Guardians."


    "... Why? You¡¯d know more about them than me if you''re also a mem¡ªAARRGGHH!"


    "Don¡¯t ask. Just answer my question."


    "Huff! Huff!"


    Tears dripped from the assassin¡¯s eyes due to the excruciating pain.


    "They are a group made up of people known as Protectors from all over the world. I don¡¯t know their exact number either. All I know is that there are fewer than ten and that their leader¡¯s name is Gaia."


    "The leader''s name is Gaia?"


    "Y-Yes."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed.


    ''Gaia.''


    He naturally thought of the Gaia System. He didn''t think it was a coincidence.

 Chapter 122 - Red Mask (1)

    Chapter 122 - Red Mask (1)


    "And where is this Gaia?" Oh Kang-Woo asked.


    "I-I don''t know," the assassin replied.


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    It would be weird if a Demon Cultist knew where the leader of Guardians was.


    ''I''ll need to check it out.''


    He had to get in contact with the Guardians and find out more about Gaia''s identity.


    "Is there anything else you know about Gaia?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "I-I only know that it''s a woman and that she has the ability to find other Protectors."


    "I see."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    ''Then she must''ve been the one who found out about Si-Hun.''


    That made this situation easier to deal with. Considering that there were so few Protectors, Gaia would most likely try to get in contact with Kim Si-Hun again, even if Alec Osborne were to disappear.


    ''She''lle to me as long as I keep waiting.''


    There was no need for Kang-Woo to try to find her. As long as Si-Hun was around, an encounter with Gaia was inevitable.


    "That was good info," Kang-Woo said, smiling in satisfaction.


    He would''ve preferred it if the assassin had been given more specific information, but he was happy with what he had gotten at the moment.


    "Then let me g¡ª"


    "All right,st question. I''ll let you go if you answer it," Kang-Woo continued in a calm voice. "Tell me everything you know about the Demon Cult¡ªtheir forces, locations, taboos, objectives, and anything else.¡±


    "¡­"


    The assassin''s expression hardened. There was a heavy silence, and his breathing became rougher.


    Kang-Woo smiled. It was as he''d expected.


    "I''m guessing you''ll die if you talk."


    In that case, there was no point in listening to the assassin anymore.


    "Kurgh. I-I''ll give you any other information you want! So¡­"


    The assassin became anxious. He was desperately trying to hold onto his life. Kang-Woo ced his hand on the man''s back as if he were trying to calm him down.


    "A deal is only established when both sides have what the other wants. I can give you your life. What can you give me?"


    The assassin talked desperately about the situation in Europe, how big the Guardians was getting, and all the information that he could think of. However, there wasn''t any information about the Demon Cult that Kang-Woo wanted to hear.


    "Thanks for the information," Kang-Woo said.


    "W-Wait!"


    Kang-Woo concentrated the Authority of Waves in his hand that was on the assassin''s back. He turned the assassin¡¯s insides into porridge.


    The assassin coughed out some blood and copsed onto the ground.


    "Now then..."


    Kang-Woo extended his hand, took off the red mask that was covering the assassin''s face, and ced it on his own. The mask stuck onto his face even though it had no securing mechanism.


    "Let''s begin."


    The eyes peering through the red demon mask were smiling.


    Kang-Woo walked out of the abandoned factory while wearing the mask. It was time to enact his n.


    * * *


    "Urgh, I''m exhausted."


    Alec, who had returned to his hotel room, flopped onto the bed.


    He''d met Si-Hun right after a 10-hour flight andter even fought a Demon Cultist, so he had umted a lot of fatigue.


    "I''ll go see Si-Hun again tomorrow."


    Protectors were very precious beings. He had no intention of giving up just because Si-Hun had refused once.


    Alec recalled Si-Hun''s eyes. They had looked at him intensely, full of envy and passion.


    ''I can convince him.''


    Alec clenched his hands with an extremely confident expression. He was sure that Si-Hun would sympathize with his conviction.


    "That aside..."


    He thought of Oh Kang-Woo, the man who''d revealed himself as Si-Hun''s sworn brother.


    "What was that feeling?"


    Alec''s expression had hardened unconsciously when he''d first grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s hand. An odd heaviness had weighed down on him.


    "Hmm."


    He kept thinking about it for a moment but ultimately shook his head.


    "I''m sure it was nothing."


    That odd feeling had only been a slight difort. It was wrong to judge someone based on something so trivial.


    "Why didn''t you kill the assassin?"


    The question that Kang-Woo had asked him after his battle with the assassin popped up in his head.


    "Haha. I guess it would be hard for him to understand," Alec remarked.


    His ideal of saving all lives¡­ Someone who wasn''t a Protector wouldn''t be able to understand such ideals that had awoken within him ever since he became one.


    ''But I''m sure Kang-Woo will also understand in the end.''


    He was certain Kang-Woo would eventually understand how noble his conviction was and how many lives it could save.


    "A-Aaah!! H-How, wh-why...?!" Alec¡¯s voice resounded in his mind as if from a memory.


    "Urgh."


    Alec had a headache. In his mind, he saw himself crying in despair over the corpse of a woman in an alleyway.


    "Not this again."


    Alec sighed andy on the bed.


    It had started a year ago. He sometimes suffered from an intense headache and saw images that seemed toe from nightmares.


    "Erina..." Alec called out a certain woman''s name in a voice filled with sorrow.


    It was the name of the woman he''d promised to spend eternity with. She fully supported his beliefs that other people had a hard time understanding.


    "I miss you."


    Alec closed his eyes.


    He thought of the lovely Erina. It had been a year since she''d suddenly disappeared. He had tried desperately to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen.


    ''I''ll find you, no matter what.''


    Alec believed she was alive somewhere. Finding her was one of his biggest goals.


    "To do that, I''ll have to drag Si-Hun into Guardians as soon as possible."


    Alec had just begun to investigate the Demon Cult a year ago. He believed that her disappearance had a very high chance of being rted to them. However, to investigate them thoroughly, the Guardians needed to expand their forces.


    ''But I''ll rest for today.''


    The headache wasn''t going away, and Kang-Woo''s disgusted gaze had been embedded into Alec¡¯s memories. Alec ultimately decided it would be better to sleep first and thinkter.


    "Kyaaaa!"


    However, he suddenly heard a woman scream. It wasn''t just a scream of surprise but the scream of a woman who feared for her life.


    Alec quickly got up. He grabbed his sword and ran toward where the scream hade from.


    ''Up.''


    It was the hotel¡¯s rooftop. The rooftop was quite far away, but Alec had been able to tell exactly where the scream hade from with his superhuman hearing.


    ''Hopefully, nothing has happened!''


    Alec ran up to the rooftop frantically. He wasn''t sure what had happened, but he couldn''t hesitate if he wanted to save a life. His conviction was shining as brightly as ever.


    * * *


    "You..."


    Alec''s expression hardened after reaching the rooftop.


    A man in a red demon mask was sitting on a guardrail of the rooftop.


    "You''re finally here," the masked man said and waved his hand.


    Alec sighed, "Haaa. You don''t get sick of this, do you?"


    He recognized the clothes that the man in the red mask was wearing. It was the assassin who had attacked him this morning.


    "Where is the girl?" Alec asked with his eyes narrowed.


    The masked man smirked as he replied, "Here."


    He flicked his finger, and the scream of a woman sounded out of thin air.


    Alec frowned.


    "You tricked me."


    "They say that the one who gets fooled is the true fool."


    "¡­"


    Alec looked at him cautiously. Unlike before, the masked man seemed very rxed. There was no way he''d be so rxed after suffering such a defeat if he didn''t have a n.


    ''I don''t think there are any other Demon Cultists in the area,'' Alec thought.


    He expanded his senses to search his surroundings but couldn''t feel anything.


    "Didn''t you learn your lesson after suffering such a defeat this morning? You are no match for me," Alec said.


    "I don''t know about that. We''ll have to see."


    The man in the red mask hopped down from the guardrail. His eyes peered through the mask and looked at Alec.


    ''Huh?'' Alec thought confusedly.


    His eyes widened, and he got goosebumps. Looking into the masked man¡¯s eyes made Alec feel like he was in a daze as if he was looking into an abyss.


    "Kurgh," Alec grunted and shook his head.


    His breaths became rough.


    ''What is this?''


    This masked man was wearing the same clothes as the man who had chased him earlier that day. Alec could even see the section of clothes that he¡¯d sliced away with his sword. The demonic energy that the man was emitting was also about the same amount.


    Despite that¡­ something was off.


    ''It''s different.''


    Alec gripped his sword, took a deep breath, and got into a fighting stance.


    The masked man said, "There''s something I want to ask you."


    "...What is it?"


    "I killed a woman while I was running away. The scream you just heard was from that woman."


    "Wh-What?!"


    Alec''s mind went nk. He felt as if his head had been smacked with a sledgehammer from behind.


    "You still won''t kill me despite that?"


    "¡­"


    Alec¡¯s mind was now a mess. He bit his lips and raised his sword. A pure-white light simr to his pure convictions enveloped his sword.


    Alec¡¯s eyes showed no doubts as he replied, "Yes. In exchange, I will make you atone for the life that you¡¯ve taken for the rest of your days."


    The masked manughed, "Hahaha. Is not killing anyone really that important?"


    "Saving everyone is my conviction.¡±


    "Conviction, my ass."


    The masked man raised his hand, and a dark-red spear Alec hadn''t seen before appeared in the man''s hand.


    The man said, "Stop talking crap and bring it on."

 Chapter 123 - Red Mask (2)

    Chapter 123 - Red Mask (2)


    [Transforming the Key of the Demonic Sea into ''G¨¢e Bulg''.]


    [Exercising 34% of the skill''s capacity.]


    A blue message window popped up in front of Oh Kang-Woo.


    He grabbed the G¨¢e Bulg, enveloped it with demonic energy, and activated the Authority of Titanic Might.


    ''Like I thought, this thing is overpowered.''


    Although it only possessed 34% of the original version''s power, it was more than adequate for him. He was able to maintain the G¨¢e Bulg without demonic energy and use other Authorities on top of that.


    He checked the time while holding his weapon. The time on his smartphone showed 8:43 p.m.


    ''He should be here by 9 p.m.''


    Kang-Woo smiled and lowered his stance.


    There were 15 minutes left. It would be challenging to defeat a World Ranker in such a short time, but Kang-Woo was not worried.


    ''After all, I''m up against this guy,'' Kang-Woo thought while looking at Alec Osborne.


    Alec sighed and gripped his sword.


    "You give me no choice," he said.


    White light burst out of him as he stomped the ground. He shot forward, leaving behind a white afterimage. Alec swung his sword, which was infused with intense mana, toward Kang-Woo, aiming for his right shoulder.


    Alec''s swordsmanship was very orthodox. However, he had refined it to the highest limit, so his attack was simple yet very sharp.


    "So what?" Kang-Woo sneered coldly.


    He stuck his shoulder out and twisted his body¡ªnot to dodge the attack but to make sure it would be fatal.


    "Ngh?!"


    Alec realized that he was about to sh Kang-Woo''s neck instead of his right shoulder. Surprised, he stopped his sword mid-swing.


    Nevertheless, it wasn''t easy to stop in the middle of an attack. Immense pressure weighed down on his hands. His entire body screamed in pain from the massive inertia generated, like a truck whose driver had suddenly mmed on the brake.


    "See? I knew you''d do that," Kang-Woomented.


    He looked at Alec like he was pathetic and swung the G¨¢e Bulg. The dark-red spear shaft smashed into Alec''s stomach. He was forced into a forward bend and sent flying.


    Tap.


    Kang-Woo swiftly caught up to Alec, who was still in midair. Then Kang-Woo shed upward with his spear. Alec quickly twisted his body to block the attack, but he couldn''t fully nullify the impact in midair with such an awkward movement.


    Fwoosh!


    "Kurgh!"


    ck mes spewed from the G¨¢e Bulg''s spearhead. Alec was singed by the fire and hurriedly rolled on the ground to put it out.


    At that moment, Kang-Woo charged toward him. Alec then jumped back up and swung his sword. However, Kang-Woo didn''t dodge; he pushed his head toward the sword''s trajectory. Alec immediately changed the trajectory of his sword, letting it brush past Kang-Woo''s cheeks instead.


    The red mask was slightly cut, and ck blood leaked out through it. Kang-Woo ignored it and clenched his hand into a fist. He took a step forward and smashed his foot onto the ground. Using the torque generated from that movement, he punched Alec.


    Bash!


    "Kargh!"


    Blood spurted out of Alec''s mouth, and he fell to the ground after receiving a direct hit from Kang-Woo, who had used Skybreaker.


    "Kuh... H-How?" Alec uttered with quivering eyes.


    The assassin''s power was on apletely different levelpared to that morning.


    "Tsk," Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    ''I have to acknowledge his will at the very least.''


    Seeing how Alec had avoided killing him even in the middle of such a situation, Kang-Woo had to acknowledge Alec''s strong will to not kill anyone. No, at this point, it was closer to hypnosis or brainwashing.


    ''I had more fun against that assassin.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t feel the thrill and tension that came with battle.


    Alec''s strategy was useful only when he was overwhelmingly more powerful than the opponent. For someone like Kang-Woo, whose strength went beyond that of World Rankers, fighting against Alec was boring and bothersome.


    ''Well, he''s not the important one anyway.''


    The fight with Alec was unimportant to Kang-Woo''s n.


    Kang-Woo checked the time again.


    "Haap!"


    While Kang-Woo was distracted, Alec charged over and swung his sword. Once again, Kang-Woo pushed his vital point toward the sword''s trajectory, causing the attack to stop.


    Bash!


    "Urgh!"


    "Forget it. Let''s just stop. This is so boring that I can''t even be bothered to face you."


    Kang-Woo, who''d spent so many years in Hell fighting battles that endangered his life, found this fight annoying.


    ''I wasn''t hoping for a fight like this.''


    He didn''t like it at all.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. There was, however, one way to relieve his irritation.


    "Who... are you?" Alec spoke in a low voice.


    ''He isn''t the person I saw earlier today,'' Alec realized.


    Leaving the mask aside, the clothes and voice seemed the same as those of the assassin whom Alec had met earlier that day. Despite that, he thought they were different people. The skills of the assassin before him now were on a whole other levelpared to those of the assassin from earlier that day.


    "You call yourself a Protector, yet you can''t even figure it out?" Kang-Woo mocked Alec. "There''s only one reason why a Demon Cultist would be so strong so suddenly, isn''t there?"


    "Don''t tell me..."


    Alec''s eyes widened. He bit his lips.


    Just like the man had said, there was only one way a Demon Cultist could''ve gotten so strong so quickly.


    "You''re a demon!" Alec eximed angrily.


    He used his sword as a cane and got up. He exuded an intense bloodlust that Kang-Woo hadn''t witnessed from him before.


    Kang-Woo nodded and smiled, satisfied.


    "Yes, that''s better."


    He thought that he''d finally be able to experience a proper fight.


    Alec raised his sword. The two superhumans once again shed against each other on the hotel rooftop.


    Boom!


    The entire hotel shook as if there were an earthquake. They exchanged numerous attacks in a short frame of time, but Kang-Woo was not having fun.


    ''This guy''s still like this.''


    Even though Kang-Woo had said that he was a demon, Alec still wasn''t attacking to kill. He was only trying to restrain Kang-Woo. Nevertheless, at least Alec wasn''t saying bullshit like he would protect even a demon''s life.


    ''Maybe it''s because of how I look.''


    Kang-Woo still had the appearance of a human. That was the most likely reason why Alec was hesitant to kill him.


    He understood the reason behind Alec''s actions. After all, between a human that looked like a monster and a monster that looked like a human, it was very simple which one would be easier to kill.


    ''You don''t have the right to be a Protector.''


    Kang-Woo lowered his gaze.


    He wasn''t sure what exactly the purpose of a Protector was, but one thing for sure was that they had the duty of protecting Earth from outside invaders. That included the continent of Aernor where Reynald was from and the world of the gods where Susanoo resided. If Alec couldn''t kill something just because it looked like a human, that meant he was useless as a Protector.


    Crack!


    "Kargh!"


    Kang-Woo grabbed Alec''s neck and lifted him off the ground. Alec struggled to free himself.


    "Cough! Cough! L-Let me go!" Alec squeezed out.


    "Seriously, what a fucking joke."


    Kang-Woo gripped Alec''s neck even more tightly.


    He couldn''t help but sigh and wonder, ''Are World Rankers ranked by how moronic they are?''


    This experience with Alec made him realize just how nice of a person Tian Wuchen was.


    Kang-Woo checked the time. The battle had ended faster than he''d thought. It was no surprise since he''d fought an idiot who couldn''t kill people.


    ''There''s still some time left.''


    Thinking of venting his frustration with the remaining time, Kang-Woo said, "Of course, you probably have your reasons."


    Humans didn''t break so easily. Alec had probably been broken beyond repair due to sorrow that was far too great for a person to handle.


    Kang-Woo continued, "I''m sure you have a story that would be a tearjerker if made into a film."


    That was the only possible reason he could think of.


    "But so what? Does the world disappear because you close your eyes? Do things that have already happened vanish because you avert your gaze from it?" he questioned.


    "Kuh!"


    "Be honest." Kang-Woo twisted his mouth. "You know, don''t you?"


    "What do you m¡ª"


    "The woman who died in the alleyway today. You saw her, didn''t you?"


    "..."


    Alec remained silent. He couldn''t understand what Kang-Woo was talking about.


    Bzzt.


    Alec''s vision became blurry.


    "A-Aaah!"


    He saw himself agonizing over a woman''s death. It was a scene he had never seen, a scene he didn''t remember.


    Nevertheless, his mouth opened without conscious thought and uttered, "Shut... the fuck up!"


    "Haha, you finally feel like a human now that you''re cursing." Kang-Wooughed out loud. "Wake up, man. What you''re doing is just masturbation, okay? You''re just shaking your hand so that you can feel good."


    As the mockery dug into Alec''s ears, memories he had forgotten came back to him.


    His eyes widened in shock.


    ''Erina.''


    Alec saw the woman he''d promised to spend the rest of his life with. He saw himself crying in despair as someone killed her.


    Alec screamed like a madman, "You know nothing about me!"


    "What? Do you want others to understand your tragic past? Do you want them to grab your hand and sympathize with you?" Kang-Woo spat on the floor. "Whether you bawl your eyes out or be autistic with screws loose in your head, no one will give a flying fuck, so enough with the pity show."


    Many people who fell into despair thought the world was depressing. Since they were sad, they believed that everyone else should be just as sad as them. But reality wasn''t like that. It had never been like that.


    "A-Aarrgghh!! K-Kurgh!" Alec screamed and squirmed.


    Kang-Woo tightened his grip around Alec''s neck, causing a desperate scream to emerge from Alec''s mouth.


    Then Kang-Woo smiled and said, "Shit, man. I feel so refreshed now."


    He felt as refreshed as if he''d gulped down some cold cider to quench his thirst.


    The reason why Kang-Woo had said all those things had nothing to do with wanting Alec to get better. He just wanted to give Alec a reality check since all of Alec''s pretty little words had annoyed him to no end.


    "That aside, what''s taking him so long?" Kang-Woo muttered with a frown.


    He''d talked for a long time, but the protagonist had yet to appear.


    Right then¡­


    m!


    ''Speak of the Devil.''


    The door to the rooftop flew open and an unrealistically handsome young man appeared.


    While panting heavily, he cried out, "Alec!!"


    Kim Si-Hun''s scream reverberated through the area.


    Kang-Woo enveloped himself with demonic energy, shrouding himself in darkness.


    ''Oh, I should alter my voice.''


    Acting all serious, he said, [It seems we have ourselves a small fry.]


    Kim Si-Hun unsheathed his sword and shouted, "Who are you?!"


    When he saw his role model, Alec, being grabbed by the neck, Si-Hun trembled, and his breath became heavier. He didn''t want to believe what he was seeing. An intense rage surged within him.


    [Who am I?]


    Kang-Woo, who was covered by darkness, turned to face Si-Hun.


    [I am death. I am the end. I am the father of all wrath, and I am wrath itself.]


    Only the red mask could be seen in the pitch-ck darkness.


    [I am Satan.]

 Chapter 124 - Red Mask (3)

    Chapter 124 - Red Mask (3)


    "Sa¡­ Satan?" Kim Si-Hun uttered as his expression hardened.


    Everyone in the world knew about the demon Satan. He had appeared in many different works of media as some sort of final boss. He was Wrath from the seven deadly sins.


    "You''re Satan?" Si-Hun questioned.


    He red at the red-masked man in disbelief. The man didn''t look like how Si-Hun thought a demon would look. This supposed demon was shrouded in darkness, but his silhouette clearly belonged to a human.


    [That is correct.]


    "Kurgh!!"


    The masked man who called himself Satan gripped Alec Osborne''s neck even tighter. Alec swung his two legs desperately while making an expression filled with despair.


    "Stop!" Si-Hun shouted.


    He felt anxious. Alec looked like he was going to stop breathing at any moment.


    [You look anxious,] the demon said.


    "..."


    [Is this man important to you?]


    Si-Hun remained silent. He asked himself in his mind if Alec was important to him.


    Ultimately, he replied, "I have no reason to tell you that."


    Si-Hun raised his sword, the El Cuero de. It was the Legendary-grade weapon that Kang-Woo had given him.


    ''Kang-Woo hyung-nim.''


    Si-Hun had called Kang-Woo after Alec contacted Si-Hun to say that a Demon Cultist had appeared, but Kang-Woo had not picked up. That meant Si-Hun couldn''t expect to get anyone else''s help.


    ''I have to defeat that demon.''


    Si-Hun knew it was impossible. He knew it made no sense. There was no way that he had a chance against someone who had defeated the Sword of Justice, Alec Osborne.


    Even so¡­


    ''Azure Dragon Rush.''


    Si-Hun used the Azure Dragon Sword Technique he''d learned from Tian Wuchen. He lunged toward Satan with the swift and powerful sword attack.


    Pound!


    "Kurgh!"


    [Weak,] Satan mumbled in disappointment.


    He didn''t even need to move. He flung Si-Hun backward with a simple flick of his hand.


    Si-Hun, who had fallen to the floor, staggered to his feet with an intense determination in his gaze.


    "I know I''m weak."


    He activated his sword energy, and blue mana wrapped around his sword. Si-Hun stepped forward, raised his sword, and then swung it down. The blue sword energy flew from the sword and headed toward the demon.


    Si-Hun had aimed the sword energy infused with his intense bloodlust at Satan''s head. However, Satan flicked a finger and created a ck wave that struck Si-Hun.


    "Kuh!" Si-Hun groaned.


    As he was pushed backward, he coughed up dark red blood. A simple flick of Satan''s finger made Si-Hun feel like he''d been bashed by a sledgehammer.


    [You seem desperate.]


    "Cough! Cough!"


    [Why are you so desperate? I don''t believe you''re rted to Alec Osborne in any way whatsoever.]


    "..."


    Kim Si-Hun''s eyes trembled as the demon''s words echoed in his mind.


    Satan was right. Strictly speaking, Si-Hun barely knew Alec. They weren''t friends orrades. Alec was just a hero whom he admired. Risking his life to save someone he''d only seen on television was dumb.


    "Cough!" Si-Hun coughed up more blood.


    ''I know that.''


    He knew he was doing something stupid, and other people would have a hard time understanding why he would choose to do it. If Kang-Woo were to see him like this, Kang-Woo would probably scold him.


    ''But¡­''


    Si-Hun got up and firmly rooted his feet on the ground.


    He turned to look at Alec again. Alec had turned pale. He was coughing up so much blood that it seemed like he was about to die.


    ''Hyung-nim probably wouldn''t be able to understand,'' Si-Hun thought,ughing at himself.


    It was unlikely that Kang-Woo would understand what the Sword of Justice meant to him. After all, he had never told anyone.


    Alec wasn''t just someone he admired. He wasn''t a boy who was blinded by a hero on a screen or a girl who had lost her mind over an idol. He wouldn''t risk his life for something like that.


    Si-Hun raised his sword and took a deep breath. In any case, he had no intention of exining everything to that demon.


    "Is it that weird to save someone who has nothing to do with you?"


    [It''s more idiotic than weird.]


    "Idiotic, huh?" Si-Hunughed. "You''re right."


    He didn''t deny it. He wasn''t expecting anyone to understand him. There was no way a demon would be able to understand something that even normal people couldn''t.


    "I''m sorry, Kang-Woo hyung," Si-Hun muttered under his breath.


    He still hadn''t been able to repay his debt to Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo had saved his life and given him even more help after that. Not being able to make up for all of that was Si-Hun''s only regret.


    "Fuuu."


    He took in a deep breath and exhaled. The Qi inside his dantian spread throughout his body. The sword in his hand didn''t feel like a weapon but an extension of his body.


    Si-Hun was one with the sword. He let that sensation take over his body.


    Boom!


    He stomped on the ground and leaped forward.


    The man in the red mask raised his hand, and a sword emitting demonic energy appeared in it. Si-Hun raised the El Cuero de, which was enveloped in sword energy, and swung it down.


    The swords emitting blue and ck light collided. They exchanged an enormous number of blows in just one second.


    However, the difference in strength was clear. The recoil of sword energy transmitted through the sword ripped open Si-Hun''s palms.


    Whoosh!


    Nevertheless, he ignored it. He stepped back and lowered his stance.


    Si-Hun wouldn''t be able to win in a direct confrontation. He dodged the iing attack and once again swung forth with the El Cuero de. It moved fluidly like a dragon and stabbed the darkness shrouding the demon.


    "Kargh!"


    Si-Hun was flung back by a massive rebounding force and once again coughed up dark red blood. His expression hardened.


    This was not a matter of martial arts; the difference in their raw strength was colossal. No matter how much Si-Hun charged at the demon, it was like trying to destroy a rock with an egg.


    ''But¡­''


    Si-Hun wasn''t going to give up. He couldn''t give up.


    He got up with his trembling legs and gripped his sword tighter, leaping toward the insurmountable wall before him without hesitation.


    * * *


    They exchanged blows. Si-Hun was flung back once again.


    ''Well, isn''t he amazing?''


    Kang-Woo didn''t mean it mockingly; he was purely impressed.


    Now that he had achieved the Ultimate Demonic Body, there was an enormous difference in physical specs between him and Si-Hun. It wasn''t at a level that could be ovee with just martial arts. No matter how outstanding the techniques of a three-year-old child were, they wouldn''t be able to win against a pro wrestler. This was a gap that was impossible to ovee.


    ''Like I thought, Si-Hun is far better than Alec.''


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction.


    Alec''s swordsmanship was orthodox to a fault, but he''d refined it to its utmost limit. This meant that it was powerful but very easy to anticipate because it was so straight and simple.


    However, Si-Hun''s swordsmanship was different.


    ''I can''t see it.''


    It would be more precise to say that Kang-Woo couldn''t anticipate it. Even Kang-Woo, who had experienced hundreds of thousands of battles in his life, was unable to figure out Si-Hun''s swordsmanship.


    His heart beat in ecstasy from seeing Si-Hun''s unlimited potential.


    Thwack!


    "Kuh!" Si-Hun groaned, once again tumbling to the ground.


    Of course, Si-Hun still wasn''t as strong as a World Ranker at the moment. He would lose even if he was fighting against Alec.


    ''But that''s purely due to the difference in their physical specs.''


    Si-Hun was still growing. He hadn''t even reached the level cap yet. In the first ce, it was impossible for a yer who had only just broken through Level 60 tond an attack on Kang-Woo.


    Yet, Si-Hun had managed to do it.


    ''Based purely on level, he''s above me.''


    Nevertheless, a yer''s level wasn''t that important. What truly mattered was the thing that gave a yer power¡ªtheir stats. In that sense, Kang-Woo had statsparable to a Level 100 yer.


    ''I''ll have to modify my n a little.''


    Kang-Woo licked his lips as he saw Si-Hun charge toward him with everything he had.


    Originally, he''d nned to overwhelm Si-Hun with absolute power to stimte his growth. However, Kang-Woo had changed his mind. Si-Hun was more desperate than Kang-Woo had anticipated.


    ''I don''t think he''s going this far because of in admiration.''


    If it were that, Si-Hn wouldn''t be trying so hard. Kang-Woo thought about the reason for a little while but ultimately shook his head. Just because Si-Hun was his Familiar didn''t mean that he would know everything about Si-Hun.


    ''Whatever the case, this is better.''


    The more important Alec was to Si-Hun, the stronger the stimtion would be.


    Kang-Woo faced Si-Hun with one hand while grabbing Alec''s neck with the other. Si-Hun thrust his sword sharply. It suddenly changed trajectory right when it was about to collide with Kang-Woo''s sword. His swordsmanship was truly unpredictable like a slithering snake.


    ng!


    ''Yes, good.''


    Si-Hun''s sword was deflected by the shroud of darkness. Then he used the recoil to spin in the opposite direction from his initial trajectory, swinging his sword toward Kang-Woo''s head. It was a phenomenal acrobatic movement.


    ''Yeah, that''s it,'' Kang-Woo remarked inwardly and used less power on purpose.


    Si-Hun''s sword pushed him more aggressively. Si-Hun destroyed a little bit of the mask that wasn''t protected by the darkness.


    ''You''re doing so well, Si-Hun!!''


    Si-Hun''s swordsmanship wasn''t like Alec''s, which was purely for suppressing the opponent. All of Si-Hun''s attacks targeted the vitals, and each attack was filled with a powerful bloodlust. It was the perfect lethal swordsmanship that had no other intention but to kill the opponent.


    ''This is what I call a battle!''


    If Si-Hun''s stats were higher, it would''ve been a more thrilling battle.


    Kang-Woo felt a bit disappointed but shook his head.


    ''Si-Hun will get stronger.''


    Si-Hun already had the Heavenly Martial Physique, which was an aptitude bestowed onto him by the heavens, the soul of the Martial God, and a great master known as Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen.


    ''And now I''m filling in the missing pieces.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone sharply. It was about time that he overpowered Si-Hun.


    He drew out more of his power.


    Right then¡­


    Fwoom!!


    "Huff! Huff!"


    Si-Hun was surrounded by an explosive blue light.


    Riiing.


    [Familiar Kim Si-Hun has epted the power of the Martial God.]


    [Familiar Kim Si-Hun has learned the essence of the Azure Dragon Sword Technique.]


    ''The hell?'' Kang-Woo thought when a blue system window appeared in front of him. ''He powered up again?''


    Heughed in disbelief. This had not been in his calctions.


    ''He''s powering up like it''s nobody''s business... Are you Naruto or something?''

 Chapter 125 - Red Mask (4)

    Chapter 125 - Red Mask (4)


    Fwoom!


    Kim Si-Hun shone with a vivid blue light, which spread over his surroundings. The strength of his Qi now couldn''t bepared to before.


    ''Talk about a power-up machine,'' Kang-Woo remarked inwardly.


    Normal people struggled to experience a power-up even once, but Si-Hun had already done it twice. At that point, it wasn''t enough to call him talented.


    ''But still¡­''


    Oh Kang-Wooughed.


    It was widely known that one could not surpass talent purely with effort. In a sense, it was true. The wall of talent was too high and thick for it to be ovee with effort.


    ''For a human, that is.''


    People had a short life span. It didn''t matter how much effort they put in, there was a limit to the time that they could invest in that effort. However, Kang-Woo was different. He was a demon, an immortal. He''d struggled to survive for ten millennia.


    Even if Si-Hun had epted the soul of the Martial God and had been granted great talent by the heavens, it was still not enough to surpass the results of the effort that Kang-Woo had umted in that ungodly amount of time.


    ''Should I even be calling it ¡°effort¡±?''


    Kang-Woo had been far too desperate for it to be encapsted by such a simple word. It had been a yearning for life¡ªthe natural desire of not wanting to die¡ªthat had made him what he was. That desire wasn''t weak enough to lose against something like talent granted by the heavens.


    "Haap!"


    Si-Hun, who was covered by blue light, charged toward Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo let his sword go. He lightly flicked his finger that he''d concentrated the Authority of Waves on.


    Whaaaaam!


    Waves of ck light spread in all directions with Kang-Woo as the epicenter. There was nowhere for Si-Hun to escape. He had no other choice but to block it.


    Si-Hun quickly raised his sword as a ck wave engulfed his body.


    "Kurgh!"


    He was forced to bend at the knee. His strength left him as if his power-up had never urred in the first ce.


    ''This is the power of Satan,'' Si-Hun thought with a pale face.


    It was like looking at a mountain with no peak. He felt like he was looking down at a bottomless abyss. Si-Hun knew he wouldn''t be able to win.


    He became even more sure of something he had already known from the beginning. He wouldn''t be able to surpass that demon with his current level of power.


    [Not a bad struggle.]


    "Kurgh."


    [But a small fry will be just that, no matter how hard it tries.]


    "Damn¡­"


    tter. The El Cuero de fell to the ground as Si-Hun lost strength in his hand.


    Satan approached him and asked, [Are you frustrated?]


    "¡­"


    [Do you feel like you¡¯re about to lose all reason from wrath? Do you feel like your mind is about to turn nk?]


    "Shut up," Si-Hun barked at Satan, who was mocking him.


    Satan snickered. [Good. I like your eyes. They''re full of wrath and resentment. That desire is what leads life itself.]


    "Enough bullshit and put an end to this alr¡ª"


    [I won''t.]


    "...What?"


    [Why would I end something so fun?] Satan said cheerfully.


    "What do you..."


    [I''ve taken a liking to you. Your wrath and resentment made me tremble. It excited and thrilled me.]


    Satan moved his hand that still held Alec''s neck, who continued to flinch in pain.


    If Alec were a normal person, he would''ve died already. Nevertheless, Alec was a superhuman with superb physical capabilities, so he would be able to survive even if he were to stop breathing for an hour.


    "What are you trying to do?" Si-Hun asked anxiously.


    Satan grabbed Alec''s face and brought it closer to his own.


    [Do you want to save this man?]


    "...Yes," Si-Hun replied with a nod.


    Madness filled Satan''s gaze.


    [You were quite desperate. Your determination and fighting spirit have impressed me.]


    "¡­"


    [Hence...]


    Crack.


    A horrifying sound rang out as Satan crushed Alec''s head. His skull burst, and his brain was turned to mush. Dark red blood and white brain matter dripped down.


    "H-Huh¡­?"


    Si-Hun''s mouth fell open, and his eyes widened. He couldn''t understand what he''d just seen.


    Alec had died. The Sword of Justice, the person he''d admired and meant so much to him, had died in front of him just like that.


    "A-Aaaah."


    Si-Hun couldn''t say anything; he struggled to form words. He trembled, and his mind went nk. The wrath that Satan had mentioned dominated Si-Hun''s body.


    "YOU SON OF A BIIIIIITCH!!"


    Si-Hun picked up his sword and stabbed Satan with all his might.


    Nheless, he no longer had any strength left in him. He was struggling even to hold his sword.


    Ting. His sword fell away, deflected by Satan¡¯s darkness.


    Si-Hun tumbled to the ground yet again. He tried to get up, but he was too weak. He fell to the ground trembling. Yet, he still tried to crawl over to Satan.


    [Yes, those are the eyes,] Satan said with satisfaction and nodded.


    Heughed at how desperate Si-Hun looked. Satan approached Si-Hun rxedly and lifted him off the ground.


    While looking into Si-Hun¡¯s resentful eyes, Satan slowly said, [The wrath and resentment you feel right now will nourish your growth.]


    "¡­"


    [Struggle desperately. Struggle while thinking of me.]


    Satan''s face closed in on Si-Hun¡¯s.


    [I am death, I am the end. I am wrath and resentment.]


    The red mask tilted.


    [I am Satan.]


    "¡­"


    Unable to speak, Si-Hun shut his mouth while the red mask was ingrained deep into his memories.


    [Be stronger, human. Use the wrath and resentment as nourishment for your growth. And...]


    The demonughed next to his ear.


    [Kill me.]


    Thwack.


    Satan struck Si-Hun''s stomach with his fist. Si-Hun had been barely holding on, and with this, he finally lost consciousness.


    After Si-Hun lost consciousness, Kang-Woo took off the red mask.


    "Fuuu. What a shitty manner of speech.¡±


    He couldn''t help but cringe at what he had said to Si-Hun.


    "How did that son of a bitch Satan talk like this?"


    Kang-Woo imitated Satan¡¯s usual manner of speech to speak to Si-Hun.


    ''Well, it wasn¡¯t just the manner of speech that was the same.''


    The situation was simr as well. When Kang-Woo first fought Satan, he suffered an overwhelming defeat.


    After that, Satan said something simr, "Be stronger, human. Use the wrath and resentment as nourishment for your growth. And... kill me."


    ''And then I actually killed him.''


    Satan''s end was rather funny. Satan, who had been expressing all sorts of vanity, had not expected that Kang-Woo would grow strong enough to kill him. Once death was right around the corner, Satan became a pathetic being.


    He''d said, "H-How could a human... have gotten their hands on the Demonic Sea?!"


    "That''s why you should always kill people when you have the chance instead of trying to act all cool," Kang-Woo stated.


    He tapped his chest, where the Ten Thousand Demon Core resided.


    Satan had been devoured by the endless sea of demonic energy in the core. Kang-Woo had not been able to devour the prince''s soul, the most important part, because it had escaped into the Hell Armament. Nevertheless, he had managed to devour Satan¡¯s Authority and his immense amount of demonic energy.


    ''I can''t use it though.''


    Kang-Woo hadn''t been able to use the princes'' Authorities even before his Ten Thousand Demon Core got sealed. Using a prince''s Authority was impossible even for Kang-Woo, who had reached an incredible height in terms of controlling demonic energy.


    "That aside..."


    Kang-Woo nced at Si-Hun, who had lost consciousness. He wondered if he''d overdone it but shook his head in the end.


    ''Si-Hun needed some stimtion.''


    Si-Hun had everything¡ªtalent bestowed by the heavens, a marvelous master known as the Sword Emperor, and even benefits from the system. However, there was one thing he wascking.


    ''Desperation.''


    Kim Yeong-Hun and Kim Jae-Hyun were in prison. All the weight that Si-Hun had been shouldering had disappeared. His only motivation now was his admiration for Kang-Woo and the desire to be as strong as him.


    ''That''s not enough.''


    This was not child''s y. To get stronger, a person needed to be desperate. That was the only way they could ovee the indolence that could strike at any time and grow instead.


    ''Please understand, Si-Hun.''


    Kang-Woo had no choice but to use a radical method. Even if he had ordered Si-Hun to ¡°be desperate¡±, it waspletely different from actually being in desperation.


    ''Your sword needs to get dirtier.''


    Si-Hun needed to turn his sword into one that reeked of blood, a sword that wouldn''t hesitate to cut an enemy down in crucial moments. If he couldn''t do that, he''d die.


    ''Just like Alec.''


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and approached Alec''s corpse. He extended his hand, and ck mes burned Alec''s corpse.


    "I guess that puts an end to this."


    He''d eliminated Alec and given Si-Hun strong stimtion. Si-Hun¡¯s power-up had been a bonus. Now Kang-Woo just had to wait for Gaia to approach Si-Hun.


    "I''ll have to break my level cap somehow while I wait."


    Leaving the Traits aside, weakening the seal of the Ten Thousand Demon Core was important too. Thinking about the level cap made him sigh.


    ''At least give me some sort of hin¡ª''


    His thoughts were suddenly cut short. He heard the distinct chime of a bell, and blue message windows appeared before him.


    Riiing.


    [You have defeated a Protector.]


    [The energy of the system blocking your level has weakened.]


    [Your level cap has risen to 69.]


    [Applying umted EXP.]


    [Your level has risen by 10.]


    [You have achieved your Seventh Awakening!]


    [Your stats have risen: Strength +11, Dexterity +9, Health +8, Wisdom +4]


    ''Huh?''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened. His level cap had lifted. What he''d craved so much had happened when he least expected it to.


    ''Killing a Protector was the way to break my level cap?''


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief.


    He would''ve continued on cluelessly if he hadn¡¯t killed Alec.


    Then Kang-Woo carefully looked at the system messages.


    ''I thought the next cap after Level 59 was at Level 89.''


    After the first cap, there were no other ones besides Level 89, the end of the Ninth Awakening¡ªalso known as the Limit of Talent.


    ''But I''m capped at Level 69.''


    There was no need to think about it anymore. The system had been suppressing his growth on purpose.


    ''And the way to lift that cap is to kill a Protector, huh?''


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun, who was unconscious.


    For a short moment... For a really short moment, Kang-Woo drooled a bit, tempted to turn Si-Hun into his prey.


    "No."


    Kang-Woo shook his head and pushed aside his desire.


    "Even if I can, I won''t."


    Si-Hun was his subordinate who had pledged his loyalty to him, as well as arade whose soul was bonded to him.


    "Si-Hun..."


    ''You trust me, right?''

 Chapter 126 - That Took a While

    Chapter 126 - That Took a While


    "Ahem."


    Kang-Woo coughed lightly. He shook his head at the sudden thought that had crossed his mind. Although it had been for a short while, it had been a disgusting thought, even for him.


    ''There''s no way I''m that kind of trash.''


    He was fighting against the Demon Cult for world peace. He had done nothing to be ashamed of; there was no way he''d even think of something like that.


    "That aside¡­"


    He naturally sank back into thought.


    Even though he had discovered the condition for breaking his level cap, he couldn''t be satisfied.


    ''I have to kill a Protector.''


    He knew what to do, but he couldn''t just hunt down the members of Guardians and kill them just because of that.


    ''That would be the stupidest choice I could make.''


    First, the Protectors were allies who protected Earth from otherworldly invaders, such as demons.


    In the case of Alec, he''d killed him because his ideals could have negatively influenced Kim Si-Hun, but there was no guarantee that the other Protectors were like him.


    ''To be honest, if it weren''t for Si-Hun, I would''ve left him alone.''


    The flood of otherworldly beings could put the world into a state of crisis.


    Bing stronger while killing the Protectors of this world would not be wise.


    ''I can''t kill my teammates who help to defend kimchi stew.''


    Growing strong enough to be able to fend off any otherworldly being by killing the Protectors was also an option, but still, it wasn''t a good idea.


    ''In the end, I''d be alone.''


    There was a limit to how many things he could do by himself. It didn''t matter how strong he became; he couldn''t face a worldwide crisis alone.


    Saving only Korea would also be stupid of him.


    The modern world was connected. There was a reason why Korean stocks would plummet if US interest rates rose¡ªKorea was not a self-sustainable country. If the rest of the world was ruined, Korea would ultimately end up following suit.


    ''I can''t let that happen.''


    Even if he wasn''t patriotic, he didn''t want to see the country of his birth destroyed. No, leaving everything else aside, Korea had kimchi stew.


    Korea mustn''t be destroyed.


    ''I''ll protect it no matter what.''


    He became motivated and clenched his fists.


    "And most importantly¡­"


    There was no way the system would be able to block his growth.


    There wasn''t only one way to get stronger.


    "First off¡­"


    Kang-Woo lightly jumped and flew up using the Authority of the Sky. After leaving the hotel rooftop, Kang-Woo reached a nearby hill.


    "Let''s check it out."


    His eyes were full of expectation. It had been unexpected, but his level cap had been lifted, and his level had gone up.


    He was finally free from the Sixth Awakening and had achieved the Seventh Awakening. That being the case, there was something he had to check first.


    ''I wonder what I got for my Seventh Awakening Trait?''


    He opened his status window as if he were ripping open a gift.


    [Seventh Awakening Trait: Reaper of Souls (Rank: SS)]


    [Effect: This is a Trait linked to ''Authority of Predation.'' The yer can fully absorb the souls of demons and raise the ''quality'' of their soul. The stronger the demon whose soul you absorb, therger the effect.]


    "This is¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. First, it was an SS-rank Trait. It was the same rank as the Trait that had allowed him to create the Key of the Demonic Sea.


    ''Although I''m not sure what raising the quality of my soul means.''


    He wasn''t yet sure what raising the quality of his soul would do. It probably wouldn''t have a negative effect, but he didn''t exactly know what positive effect it would have.


    He thought about it but soon decided to stop.


    He wouldn''t know what it did until he tested it out.


    ''Linked to the Authority of Predation, huh?''


    He had an idea of what it meant.


    The Authority of Predation devoured everything from the target, their life, demonic energy, and even their Authority. Their soul was no exception.


    ''Although the way to eat a soul is a bit gruesome.''


    The Authority of Predationpletely ripped the soul apart.


    In the first ce, the Authority did not absorb the soul but tore it apart. The devoured soul disappeared forever. Fully absorbing the target''s soul was a new addition to the Authority of Predation.


    "Also¡­"


    There was something more important about the Reaper of Souls Trait.


    Kang-Woo looked at his status window again.


    ''Demonic Soul.''


    It was the second step to bing a Demon God. He didn''t know what its two conditions were, but he was sure that the Reaper of Souls Trait was rted to the conditions for the Demonic Soul.


    ''Come to think of it, my Sixth Awakening Trait was rted to the Ultimate Demonic Body.''


    The first time he''d seen the Demonic Art of Creation, he wasn''t sure what rtion it had with the Ultimate Demonic Body. However, he had found out after creating the Key of the Demonic Sea.


    ''The Awakening Traits and the steps to bing a Demon God are rted.''


    He wasn''t 100% sure, but it was a hypothesis worth considering.


    "Anyway, I''ll have to hunt demons to figure this Trait out."


    There was no need to hurry. As long as the Demon Cult existed, a demon was bound to appear. They would most definitely cross over from Hell in whatever shape or form.


    ''And as for those that do cross over¡­''


    He would devour them as he''d done for thest ten millennia.


    "I''ll have to make Cha Yeon-Joo work harder."


    His current main source of information was the Red Rose Guild. Since it had ended up this way, it would be better to receive news of demon sightings as quickly as possible and take action first.


    "Now that I''ve checked the Trait¡­"


    Kang-Woo sat down. He closed his eyes and concentrated.


    ''Ten Thousand Demon Core.''


    He could feel that its seal had be weaker after achieving his Seventh Awakening. He could see a bigger sea of demonic energy.


    ''I''ll refine the demonic energy in the Ten Thousand Demon Core into a stat.''


    The demonic energy of the Ten Thousand Demon Core existed separately from his Demonic Energy stat, but he couldn''t use it in its current state.


    ''It''s too low-quality.''


    The demonic energy of the Ten Thousand Demon Core was like a sea; it was boundless and endless.


    He couldn''t use demonic energy from the deeper part of the sea because the seal hadn''t been fully lifted. The demonic energy that had flowed out as the seal weakened was only from the sea''s surface.


    ''I would''ve just used it withoutints in the past, but¡­''


    Now that he had mastered the demonic crystal, which couldpress demonic energy to high concentrations, he no longer needed to put up with it.


    "Huuup."


    He took a deep breath, then used the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique he''d learned from Si-Hun.


    The demonic energy that came out of the Ten Thousand Demon Core melted into his blood. He didn''t bother focusing it into his dantian since his whole body had be like a dantian after achieving the Ultimate Demonic Body.


    ''But if I keep doing this¡­''


    He felt that the Ten Thousand Demon Core residing in his heart would spread to the rest of his body.


    ''No, rather than spreading¡­''


    His whole body would be the Ten Thousand Demon Core itself.


    "¡­"


    His heart started to beat faster. If his body turned into the Ten Thousand Demon Core, he felt that he would be able to use the demonic energy from the deepest part of the sea, the abyss.


    His desire soared. He wanted to grasp the limit of the Ten Thousand Demon Core. He felt that if he forced the demonic energy from the Ten Thousand Demon Core to run free, he would be able to drag out more demonic energy.


    ''But not yet.''


    He cut off that desire. An incredible thirst and severe pain spread through his body.


    The thirst was like an iron hook scratching his throat.


    ''Endure it.''


    He cut off the desire once more. It was different from when he''d crafted the Key of the Demonic Sea. His instincts were saying that it was dangerous.


    "Fuuu."


    He took a deep breath.


    A demon''s body naturally craved to fulfill desires. Enduring it wasparable to not drinking water in the middle of a desert. Even so, Kang-Woo endured it and ignored the severe pain and the thirst drying up his soul.


    ''I''m used to it.''


    He was used to enduring his desires. He''d done so for thest ten millennia, and he simply had to endure one more time.


    Riiing!


    [Converting the demonic energy from the Ten Thousand Demon Core into a stat.]


    [Demonic Energy (Unique Stat) has risen by 8.]


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened after reading the message window.


    ''It rose by eight?''


    It was a ridiculous boost. He could feel that the demonic energy within his blood had risen explosively.


    It went to show how massive the amount of demonic energy that had been freed after his Seventh Awakening was.


    "Okay, now¡­"


    Kang-Woo checked his status window. He saw that his Demonic Energy stat had reached 120.


    "What?"


    His Demonic Energy stat had been 113. Since it had risen by eight, it should''ve be 121.


    "So why is it only at 120?"


    He tilted his head in confusion. Message windows popped up as if to answer his question.


    [A stat has reached 120. Explosively raising the ''quality'' and ''effect'' of the stat.]


    [The stat has failed to be raised due to the low-quality stat boost of equipment Legendary-grade and below.]


    "What''s this?"


    He more or less understood what it was saying.


    He had be so powerful as his main stat rose that the equipment effect that raised a stat by an absolute value had been blocked. In other words, the ck Pearl Coat''s stat boost effect wouldn''t have any meaning beyond a Demonic Energy stat of 120.


    "Kraken''s Rage."


    He quickly used the buff.


    [The stat has failed to be raised due to the low-quality stat boost of the equipment.]


    As expected, the effect was not applied.


    "¡­"


    His expression was distorted.


    With that, the ck Pearl Coat had be a trash Legendary that didn''t raise his stats.


    "Tsk. But my demonic energy has gone up a lot, so I guess I should be satisfied with that."


    The huge amount of demonic energy within his body made him understand why the absolute value boost didn''t apply to him anymore.


    He wasn''t at the level of Balrog or Lilith yet, but he could easily defeat an average demon of the Ninth Hell.


    ''But why is such important information not widely known?''


    To think that the stat boost effect of a piece of Legendary-grade equipment would no longer be applied after the stat reached 120¡­


    He hadn''t heard of anything like that happening before.


    "¡­"


    It didn''t take long for him toe to a realization.


    "I see how it is."


    Kang-Woo burst intoughter.


    The reason for it not being known was simple.


    ''There¡¯s nobody else.''


    Nobody had reached 120 in a stat yet, which was why it wasn''t widely known.


    "I guess I''ll go home."


    Kang-Woo stood up.


    The effect of his Seventh Awakening had been above his expectations, and the explosive amount of demonic energy stacked inside his body made him feel thrilled.


    ''It''s been about half a year.''


    It had already been half a year since he''d returned to Earth. That was the time it took Kang-Woo to reach a height no other yer had been able to reach within the past five years.


    "It took longer than I thought."


    Tsk.

 Chapter 127 - Just As Planned

    Chapter 127 - Just As nned


    The meeting between Sword Dragon and Sword of Justice, which had been heavily anticipated by the public, had fallen through due to Alec Osborne''s disappearance.


    Alec hadst been seen hurriedly running away from the hotel.


    There were many hypotheses regarding his disappearance, but the most convincing theory was that the person behind his disappearance was an assassin sent by the Demon Cult.


    After what happened a month prior, it had been made quite public that assassins from the Demon Cult were after Alec.


    People were horrified.


    Shortly after World Ranker Fujimoto Ryoma was revealed to be an evil demon worshiper, Alec Osborne had died. That meant the Demon Cult was strong enough to kill or corrupt World Rankers.


    There was also panic in Korea, which had been at peace after having managed to wipe out the Demon Cult from within its borders.


    People began buying emergency food as if war were happening.


    It wasn''t that the chaos had paralyzed the economy but that the number of people walking on the streets had decreased significantly.


    The fear of the Demon Cult had returned to Korea.


    Commenter (Carrot Carrot): What should I do? I''m too scared to go to work.


    ? Commenter (Shake): 3 ppl in mypany called in sick;; we''re fked


    ? Commenter (Lemme Out): I''ve read Russian Demon Cultists have been killing people. Is that gonna happen in our country too?


    ? Commenter (I Wanna Go Home): What about Sword Dragon? What is he doing?


    ? Commenter (??): Dunno, he hasn''t been seen either. Also, what good is Sword Dragon when even Alec was killed?


    People''s attention naturally focused on Korea''s supernova, Sword Dragon, but most people thought that there was nothing he could do when even a World Ranker had been no match for the enemy.


    The fear of the Demon Cult was gradually growing in Korea.


    * * *


    Whish! Whish!


    A sword covered in blue light was swung, making a chilling sound.


    With a hardened expression, Tian Wuchen blocked Kim Si-Hun''s ferocious sword swings.


    Boom!


    A loud sound exploded out, and the extremely expensive training room shook.


    The spar continued.


    "Huff, huff!"


    Si-Hun breathed heavily.


    Wuchen lowered his sword.


    "Let''s stop here for today."


    "I can¡­ keep going."


    "¡­ In that state?"


    Wuchenughed in disbelief.


    Si-Hun''s body was covered in sweat, and he was trembling as if he was about to copse.


    ''But¡­'' Wuchen thought.


    Si-Hun''s eyes were full of motivation, and the blood of a martial artist was boiling inside him.


    ''What happened?''


    Si-Hun''s attitude had changed after Alec Osborne''s disappearance. He had be desperate and begun to train three times more than before.


    ''And his martial arts are improving at frightening speed because of it.''


    With effort on top of his Heavenly Martial Physique, Si-Hun was growing at shocking speed.


    ''I''m worried.''


    What had made Si-Hun so desperate?


    Wuchen had asked him many times, but Si-Hun never answered.


    Wuchen gulped and raised a hand.


    "Then let''s start again after a ten-minute break."


    "Haaa, haaa. Understood."


    Si-Huny down on the ground as if copsing.


    Wuchen walked out of the room after looking down at him. He saw a familiar young man¡ªOh Kang-Woo.


    "How is Si-Hun doing?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "He''s spending the whole day training. Although¡­ I don''t know if I should call this passion or madness."


    "It isn''t madness. Si-Hun isn''t that weak."


    "Hmm. Well, I have to agree with that, but I can''t help but worry. Do you know why Sword Dragon suddenly started acting this way?"


    "No, he''s not telling me either."


    "Hmm. I feel like it''s rted to Alec Osborne, but since he''s not talking, there''s no way to be sure," Wuchen said, worried.


    Kang-Woo made a light smile. "Well, coveting power is human nature."


    "Oh. Speaking of that, I have a proposition to make."


    "A proposition?" Kang-Woo tilted his head.


    With a heavy expression on his face, Wuchen said, "I''m thinking about going monster hunting with Sword Dragon."


    "Oh?"


    "Simple training is now pointless for Sword Dragon. It''ll be better for him to umte levels and battle experience while fighting monsters."


    It was a valid opinion.


    "Then, are you nning to go to Suwon''s S-rank Gate?"


    Wuchen shook his head.


    "I''m thinking of Shanghai."


    "By Shanghai, do you mean¡­"


    There was an SS-rank Gate there just like in Hokkaido.


    "Isn''t it too early?"


    "Don''t worry. I''ll be right by his side," Wuchen said in a confident voice.


    Kang-Woo fell into thought.


    ''Sending Si-Hun to China, huh¡­?''


    It was something that went against the conditions they''d first agreed upon with Wuchen, but Kang-Woo hade to know him quite a bit and umted a certain level of trust, so he thought that there shouldn''t be any problems.


    "I understand. If that''s what''s best for Si-Hun, let''s do it."


    "Hehe. Sword Dragon will be immensely powerful."


    "I know."


    Kang-Woo smirked. If that weren''t the case, there was no point in all the effort he''d made.


    Wuchen said, "Oh, and I won''t be taking amunication device."


    "Are you nning on training in seclusion?"


    Wuchen nodded. "Well, something like that."


    Kang-Woo fell into thought.


    ''There shouldn''t be a problem.''


    There wasn''t anything that Kang-Woo needed Si-Hun for at the moment, and that would be the case even if a demon were to suddenly appear.


    What mattered the most was for Si-Hun to get stronger, and Wuchen''s proposal was the most effective method.


    ''It isn''t like that way of training is famous for nothing.''


    Gate hunting and secluded training were different, but at the core, they were simr.


    Growing was like a flow.


    Just like how even the sound of breathing bothered one while studying in a public library, even a slight disturbance could make one''s concentration difficult and break the flow of growth.


    ''I can always call him with the Authority of Subordination if I really need him.''


    There probably wouldn''t be many problems.


    "I understand," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "Haha. We''ll be heading out as soon as tomorrow, just to let you know. Once the secluded training is over, maybe Sword Dragon will follow me more than you."


    "Hahaha." Kang-Wooughed and walked past Wuchen toward Si-Hun. "That will never happen."


    Even if Wuchen had pretty much be Si-Hun''s master, there was no way Si-Hun would follow Wuchen more than him.


    ''Because I made sure that would never happen.''


    Kang-Woo smirked and sat next to the lying Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun sprang up.


    "Ah, Kang-Woo hyung-nim!"


    "You can stay lying down."


    "It''s fine, break time is almost over anyway."


    Si-Hun stood up but then staggered.


    "Urgh¡­"


    "Si-Hun."


    "Ah, I''m okay, hyung-nim."


    Si-Hun quickly waved his hand. Kang-Woo also stood up and opened his mouth.


    "I don''t know what happened to you that day."


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained silent.


    "Nor do I know why you suddenly started to train so desperately."


    "That''s¡­"


    Si-Hun bit his lip and ced his hand on top of the handle of his sword. His expression darkened.


    Kang-Woo shook his head and continued, "I''m worried, but I won''t stop you. I won''t ask you about it again either, but in exchange¡­"


    He ced his hand on Si-Hun''s shoulder. Si-Hun''s eyes widened as Si-Hun and Kang-Woo exchanged warmth through the touch.


    "Get stronger, Si-Hun."


    "Hyung-nim¡­"


    There were some tears in his eyes.


    It seemed like Kang-Woo''s words moved Si-Hun. Si-Hun trembled a bit, and the veins in his hands could be seen as he gripped his sword''s handle.


    "I understand, hyung-nim."


    He looked at Kang-Woo with eyes full of motivation.


    Kang-Woo turned around. The tips of his mouth went up.


    ''Just as nned.''


    He tried his best to hold hisughter.


    * * *


    Si-Hun and Wuchen left for Shanghai.


    After solving the issue with Si-Hun, Kang-Woo began focusing on the movements of the Demon Cult. He''d heard that they had be more active in Russia recently.


    "I should try going there myself."


    There were many incidents in Russia recently, so he had to take a closer look.


    Kang-Woo gathered information about the regions where incidents rted to the Demon Cult had urred in Russia.


    "Haaa¡­"


    He couldn''t help but sigh.


    Kang-Woo was looking at a map of Russia given to him by Cha Yeon-Joo.


    "How stupidly big."


    Russia was iparablyrger than Korea. Although he was looking at a map of Russia, he felt he was looking at a world map.


    The thought of finding the Demon Cult in such a big country was honestly disheartening.


    ''Will I even be able to find them?''


    He wasn''t confident, and he honestly wanted to just let them tantly run wild.


    ''But I still have to go.''


    He sighed again.


    Ring.


    Someone called him.


    It was Yeon-Joo.


    "What''s up?"


    - Where are you right now, Kang-Woo?


    "Home."


    - Turn on the TV.


    Yeon-Joo said in a serious voice. Her tone of voice somewhat resembled the time when the Isu Station incident had happened. Kang-Woo turned on the TV as Yeon-Joo had told him.


    "This is¡­"


    It showed a destroyed city, simr to what one would expect from a post-apocalyptic story.


    There was a huge ck Rift amidst the ruined buildings.


    [Breaking News! An enormous number of monsters have appeared in divostok!]


    divostok¡­


    It was one of the SS-rank Gate sites, and just like Sapporo and Shanghai, it was an area that had be a ruin after the Day of Cmity.


    [Th-Their numbers are so enormous that we still cannot provide an estimate. The monsters that havee out of the Gate are annihting the SS-rank monsters that used to inhabit the ruined city, and they are now marching toward Manchuria! Fortunately, there have been barely any civilian casualties, but swift measures must be taken due to the short distance from Korea¡ª]


    He could hear the panicked voice of the anchor. The camera recorded a group of monsters walking out of the city ruins. They looked so ugly that just seeing their appearance made one want to vomit.


    "Ha, haha."


    He beganughing.


    The anchor had said that a huge group of monsters had appeared, but Kang-Woo could tell what they really were.


    ''It''s the Demon Cult.''


    The monsters walking out of the city were demonic beasts. He could also see a few demons among them.


    The tips of his mouth went up, and he clenched his fists.


    ''Yolo!''

 Chapter 128 - What Are You Doing?

    Chapter 128 - What Are You Doing?


    After hearing the news, Oh Kang-Woo went to the Red Rose Guild with Echidna and Han Seol-Ah.


    "Come on, hurry the hell up!"


    "Call China and check the location of the Demon Cult!"


    "Where is the meeting taking ce? ne¡ªget a ne first!"


    The Red Rose Guild was upside down. People were running in the lobby and offices, trying to figure out the current situation.


    As Kang-Woo opened the office door, he saw Cha Yeon-Joo buried under a pile of documents.


    "Hey." Yeon-Joo lifted her head. Unlike her usual self, she had a stiff expression.


    Kang-Woo got close to her and asked, "I saw the news, but what''s the exact situation?"


    "A massive summoning took ce in divostok."


    "A massive summoning? Then¡­"


    She nodded with a heavy expression on her face. "We aren''t sure about the exact number. But it seems like they''ve summoned three digits'' worth of demons. A huge number of demonic beasts were also summoned."


    "Three digits¡­."


    The tip of his mouth was about to go up when he heard that number. But he managed to control himself.


    ''Well done!''


    He was wondering how he was going to investigate a big country like Russia. But in that desperate situation, they''d solved the issue for him. He wanted to hug them for having pulled off therge-scale summoning.


    Satisfied, Kang-Woo sat in the chair.


    "Any casualties?"


    "Not much. Not many people live around divostok in the first ce. But the problem is¡­"


    "The demonic beasts are moving."


    Yeon-Joo nodded, her expression serious. "At a quick pace too. They''re also so strong that they swept away all of the SS-rank monsters around the Gate."


    The second point was what worried Kang-Woo the most.


    An SS-rank Gate.


    Even though five years had passed since the Day of Cmity, the areas around the Gate had yet to recover because monsters who couldn''tpare to those from other Gates had made it their territory.


    Thankfully, they hadn''t expanded to other areas. However, the area around the Gate was restricted to the public.


    However, the demonic beasts had wiped out these SS-rank monsters. It was easy to see how strong the demons and demonic beasts that the Demon Cult had summoned were.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo gulped and licked his lips. He felt hungry. To him, the army of demons just looked like a nutritious lunch box.


    ''I don''t really need the demonic beasts, though.''


    The effect of Reaper of Souls only applied to the souls of demons.


    Demonic beasts, having lost their ego after being unable to control their desires, weren''t worth absorbing.


    ''Maybe if it''s a demonic beast like Halcyon.''


    Halcyon¡ªone of the few demonic beasts possessing intelligence.


    Demonic beasts with intelligence were so strong that they could defeat the average demon. Some even possessed Authorities. These were worth devouring using the Authority of Predation.


    But that was only if there were demonic beasts like Halcyon.


    ''Most of the demonic beasts shown in the video belong to the First to Third Hells.''


    Among them, there probably weren''t any variants with intelligence.


    Variant demonic beasts mostly lived in the Eighth and Ninth Hells.


    ''Then I should prioritize targeting the demons.''


    He didn''t intend to let a single one live.


    To check the effect of his new Trait, Reaper of Souls, he had to devour as many demons as possible.


    "Where are the demonic beasts headed?"


    "Toward the Manchurian in. They might stay on course to China, but they could also change their direction to Korea."


    divostok was close to North Korea and China.


    Five years ago, during the Day of Cmity, North Korea had fallen. That''s why arge-scale war would ur if they changed their direction to Korea.


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    Arge-scale war could happen either in China or Korea, depending on the direction the demonic beasts moved.


    In this situation, there was only one reasonable solution.


    "How did China respond?"


    "They requested an alliance with Korea. They''re thinking of solving this issue in the Manchurian in before the number of civilian casualties increases."


    "As expected."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    Between China and Korea, they didn''t know which direction the demons would move. If one side was attacked, there was a chance they could face damage that could be hard to handle. Therefore, joining forces and erasing the demons at once was the best possible decision.


    ''Although it will be unbnced.''


    China was the strongest country in East Asia. Since they had arge poption, the number of yers was also high. There were also many yers who had the unique stat Qi, possibly due to the country''s characteristics. So, their forces were quite strong.


    Even if Korea and Japan joined forces, they wouldn''t be able to face China.


    ''Well, it should be different if I''m there.''


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    It was ridiculous to think that a single person could make a difference in the strength of a country. But he wasn''t being delusional. With Kang-Woo''s presence, Korea would be able topete with the USA in terms of strength.


    "So, what''s gonna happen?"


    "A strategy meeting is going to take ce in Harbin, and they asked us to participate. We''re going to get a ne and head to Harbin with the Hwarang Corps and another major guild."


    "I see."


    "You''reing too, right, Kang-Woo?"


    There was no need to ask. Kang-Woo nodded without hesitating.


    "Of course."


    A deep smile appeared on his face.


    Feast time was drawing near.


    * * *


    Soon, Tian Suyan joined them. Kang-Woo and the rest boarded a ne that the Red Rose Guild had prepared and took off to Harbin.


    "I could''ve given you a ride," said Echidna, sitting next to Kang-Woo while pulling on his clothes.


    Kang-Woo patted her.


    "It isn''t a situation where we can do anything by arriving first, anyway."


    The other major guild had also sent reinforcements to Harbin, and the strategy meeting would probably take ce after all the forces had arrived.


    "Haaa. To think something like this would happen when Father wasn''t here¡­" Suyan sighed. One could see the worry in her expression.


    "Why? Is there a problem?"


    "Since Father isn''t here, my uncle will probably lead the meeting¡­ but he doesn''t like Korea very much."


    "Uncle?"


    "Yes. Have you heard of Sword Wraith Tian Wuxian?"


    "Nope."


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    "He hasn''t be that famous because of my father. But still, he''s one of China''s strongest martial artists. He''s also the vice leader of the Heavenly Sword n."


    "Hmm. Then is his influence in the Heavenly Sword n bigger than yours?"


    "I''m ashamed¡­ But yes."


    Suyan bit her lips. The absence of Tian Wuchen felt too big.


    "I''m sure it''ll work out one way or another."


    Kang-Woo leaned back on the chair. He wasn''t worried. If things didn''t work out, he would just make them work. It was as simple as that.


    * * *


    The flight to Harbin didn''t take long.


    After disembarking the ne, Kang-Woo and the rest got in the car provided by the Chinese and went toward the Chinese yer Management Office.


    ''This ce is enormous too.''


    Kang-Woo eximed in surprise.


    As expected from East Asia''s strongest country. The yer Management Office was quite massive. It reminded him of the Forbidden City located in Beijing. Furthermore, the office was so massive it made one wonder if one were in the middle of a Chinese martial arts novel.


    Kang-Woo walked inside the yer Management Office while looking around.


    "Hmm?"


    "What''s everyone doing over there?"


    They were walking toward the meeting room when they saw a group of people gathered in front of a giant door.


    Yeon-Joo quickly looked at their faces.


    "They''re from the Onnuri Guild and Angel Wings Guild."


    After the disbandment of Hanul and Mir, Red Rose and the other two guilds had be Korea''s three great guilds.


    Yeon-Joo approached a middle-aged woman angrily pacing in front of the entrance.


    "What''s going on, Hyun-Joo ajumma[1]?"


    "Who the hell are you calling ajum¡ªOh, it''s you, Yeon-Joo."


    Jeong Hyun-Joo was the guildmaster of Angel Wings, a guild made of high-quality healers.


    The generous-looking woman said while frowning, "These guys are out of their minds. What the hell are they thinking after calling us all the way out here?"


    "What is it?"


    "They aren''t letting us join the meeting after we came all the way here and are telling us to do as they sayter."


    "What?"


    Yeon-Jooughed in disbelief.


    Not allowed to participate in the meeting and just to do as they were ordered?


    To put it bluntly, they were saying that even if Koreans were ced on the front line, they should follow their orders.


    "They''re goddamn insane."


    The Chinese weren''t their superiors. Yet, they were saying they should follow their orders. What kind of nonsense was this?


    Yeon-Joo walked toward the meeting room while emitting strong bloodlust.


    Two Chinese yers blocked Yeon-Joo.


    "Move."


    "Master Tian Wuxian is in the middle of a meeting. You cannot enter. You will be informed of the meeting resultster," the Chinese yer said in awkward Korean.


    "Did you not hear me telling you to move?"


    "Master Tian Wuxian had mentioned that he would need to reconsider the alliance between China and Korea if the Koreans do not follow the instructions."


    "Sons of bitches¡­"


    Intense mana flew out of Yeon-Joo''s body. An immense tension weighed down on their surroundings.


    "¡­ Dammit."


    Yeon-Joo cursed. In the end, she withdrew her power.


    China was not the strongest country in East Asia for nothing. They were not ones to be crossed recklessly.


    Instead of Yeon-Joo, Suyan walked to the front.


    "What is the meaning of this? These people came all the way here to help us stop the Demon Cult''s invasion. Step aside now."


    "I apologize. Master Tian Wuxian had specifically mentioned that, no matter what, they were not to be let in until the meeting was over."


    "Hah, you must be joking. If my father hears about this¡ª"


    "Master Tian Wuxian''s orders take priority when Master Tian Wuchen is absent."


    "¡­"


    Suyan remained silent. What she had been worried about had be reality. She turned around and said to Kang-Woo, "I''m sorry. I will use the emergencymunicationwork to call my father imm¡ª"


    "Oh, there''s no need."


    Kang-Woo leisurely stopped her.


    Yeon-Joo and Suyan looked at him in surprise.


    "Are you nning on just staying out here, then?"


    "No way."


    "What? Then how are you going to¡­"


    He smirked and walked forward.


    There was only one thing he could do in a situation of nopromise.


    As Kang-Woo neared the door, the Chinese yers blocking the entrance took out their weapons.


    "If youe any clos¡ª"


    Kang-Woo moved his hands. After grabbing their heads, he threw the two toward the meeting room door.


    Crash!


    The door was destroyed, and the meeting room became visible.


    There were many major Chinese guilds gathered around the Heavenly Sword n representative.


    "What the¡­"


    The people inside the meeting room frowned.


    Near the entrance, a muscr giant of a man stood up.


    "Who dares to interrupt this sacred meeting?!"


    While letting out a strong bloodlust, he walked toward Kang-Woo. The man swung a fist, which was about the size of a normal person''s head, at Kang-Woo.


    The fist was covered in materialized mana, the sign of a Ranker.


    Tap.


    Kang-Woo lightly grabbed his fist.


    "Huh?"


    A confused voice escaped the giant''s mouth.


    Kang-Woo pulled back the fist he was holding, causing the giant to lean forward as if falling. Kang-Woo tried to grab the man''s head, but his hands slipped because the man was bald.


    ''Bald people sure have high survivability.''


    They gained power in exchange for their hair.


    Kang-Woo grabbed his neck instead.


    m!


    He mmed the man''s head into the table.


    With a loud explosion sound, the table made of hardwood was destroyed.


    Kang-Woo sat in the ce where the man had just stood up from.


    "¡­"


    A heavy silence fell in the meeting room.


    They looked at Kang-Woo with their mouths wide open.


    "What are you doing?"


    Kang-Woo put one leg over the other while sitting in the chair.


    "Continue the meeting."


    1. ''Ajumma'' is a way that young people address middle-aged women. ?

 Chapter 129 - Im Full Just From Looking

    Chapter 129 - I''m Full Just From Looking


    "Who are you?" asked the person sitting in the meeting room''s high seat. The man had a sh scar over one eye.


    He was Sword Wraith Tian Wuxian¡ªthe Heavenly Sword n''s second-inmand and Tian Wuchen''s younger brother.


    Kang-Woo leaned back in his chair.


    "That''s what I want to ask. You were the ones who asked for reinforcements, so what do you think you''re doing?"


    "Too many cooks spoil the broth."


    "Don''t try to sound wise with stupid idioms like that. I''m sure your heads aren''t full of shit, so you should all know what''s going on."


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Their heads weren''t just for decoration, after all.


    They were the ones who''d asked for cooperation, so they knew how rude it was for them not to let the guests participate in the meeting while asking them to just follow their orders.


    But¡­


    Everyone in the room looked at Wuxian.


    "What a rude man you are." Wuxian let out bloodlust and grabbed the handle of his sword.


    "Ahhh¡­" Kang-Woo sighed and ced his hand on his forehead. "I''m seriously sick and tired of people like you."


    "¡­"


    "Alright, I will exin to you what kind of person Tian Wuxian is," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "¡­ What are you talking about?"


    Wuxian''s eyes shone sharply.


    What was Kang-Woo trying to exin about him to Wuxian himself?


    Kang-Woo exined, "Once upon a time, there was an incredibly talented big brother and a decently talented little brother."


    "¡­"


    "The little brother lived all his life in the shadow of his big brother. He was always jealous of him but couldn''t do anything because he couldn''t surpass his big brother."


    Wuxian''s expression hardened.


    "But a perfect opportunity came. The big brother wasn''t avable, and an army of monsters was invading."


    Kang-Woo continued in a low voice, "He wanted to make a huge achievement. He probably wanted to show everyone he could do it too, which was why he ced the reinforcements at the back to ensure that they wouldn''t be able to make any achievements whatsoever in the battle."


    There was a whiteboard in the meeting room with the formation for the battle drawn on it. Everyone looked toward it.


    The Korean yers were ced near the rear end, around the supply unit.


    Inparison, the Heavenly Sword n was in the vanguard; not at the very front where they would be human shields, but right where they would be able to y an active role.


    "An idiot struggling within the shadow of his big brother. That is who Tian Wuxian is."


    "¡­"


    Wuxian remained silent.


    Someone he''d seen for the first time¡ªto make it worse, someone whom he''d known for barely five minutes¡ªwas talking about him as if he knew everything about his life.


    The problem was¡­ most of what he said was true.


    "You know nothing." Wuxian''s expression distorted.


    "I think I''ve pretty much figured out everything about you as a person just from your first line, man. Seriously¡­" Kang-Woo clicked his tongue as if bored. "You have no individuality, you''re boring, and you don''t even leave an impression. You''remon to the very core, and exhaustingly in."


    "¡­"


    "You''re like a character that an author took three seconds to think up because their deadline was approaching. I''m seriously so sick and tired of meeting guys like you."


    "Kurgh."


    Wuxian bit his lips. Kang-Woo''s words were more unpleasant than any of the humiliatingments that he had ever suffered.


    He trembled in anger. Veins popped up from the hand gripping his sword handle. The Qi inside his dantian spread through his body.


    "Haaa."


    Kang-Woo sighed. He could already see where this was heading.


    "Alright, I guess it''s time for you to charge at me in an uncontroble rage."


    There was no need to even think about it.


    Expressionless, Kang-Woo raised his hands and made a beckoning gesture.


    "Bring it already. Don''t waste precious story content."


    * * *


    "H-How could this be?!"


    "How could he defeat the Sword Wraith so easily¡­"


    Everyone in the meeting room was shocked.


    Five seconds¡­


    That was all it took for the unknown Korean yer to overwhelm Sword Wraith Tian Wuxian.


    After losing his temper, Wuxian had unsheathed his sword, charged toward Kang-Woo, and lost.


    The martial artists looked at Wuxian, who had been smashed into the wall unconscious, in disbelief. Even Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen wouldn''t have been able to overwhelm Wuxian so easily.


    "Alright, let''s do it like this," Kang-Woo said to the rest, who were looking at him in disbelief for having overwhelmed Wuxian instantly.


    "There''s no way we''d be able to cooperate like this. We can fight together, but let''s just act separately."


    He was talking about dividingmand. In reality, doing something like that in war was dangerous, but there was nothing they could do about it in their situation.


    ''This will be better than fighting because we couldn''t get along.''


    It would be a frontal assault in a nonplicated terrain, anyway. There wasn''t much strategy needed in the first ce. In that case, it would be better if each side fought on their own.


    "Then, let''s all go our separate ways, okay?"


    Kang-Woo stood up and turned around.


    Cha Yeon-Joo called out to him dumbfoundedly, "K-Kang-Woo, you¡ª¡±


    Kang-Woo ced his hand on her shoulder. "In that sense, do your best."


    "¡­ On what?"


    What did he mean?


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    "Yeon-Joo, I want you to be in charge ofmanding the Korean forces."


    "Wha¡ªWhy me¡­?"


    "Or ask Mr. Jang Hyun-Jae. I can''t do it."


    "But you''re the one who caused this mess."


    "There''s always someone who creates work and another one who cleans up after them."


    "¡­"


    Yeon-Joo felt as if someone had hit her from behind.


    Commanding an army¡­ It was something not even she, whomanded a major guild, had experienced before. Leaving experience aside, it didn''t match her personality.


    "Y-You piece of shit."


    Yeon-Joo sighed and grabbed her forehead. She had felt refreshed after seeing him teach the Chinese a lesson, but in exchange, he''d put a huge burden on her.


    She asked, "Why can''t you do it? I''m sure you''d be a greatmander."


    Commanding in war was a difficult task and wasn''t as simple as shouting something like ''Kill them all!'' She had to know the characteristics of each squadron and mobilize the right one at the right time.


    ''But if it''s Kang-Woo¡­''


    From what he''d shown until now, he couldmand the forces easily.


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    "I have other things to do."


    "¡­ What else is there to do in war except for fighting?"


    "Haha, that''s a secret."


    He avoided answering.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly.


    ''I can''t tell her I''m going to eat demons.''


    The Demon Cult army consisted of thousands of demonic beasts and hundreds of demons. What Kang-Woo needed the most were demons.


    ''I''m going to take advantage of the chaos and hunt only the demons.''


    He had to go deep into enemy lines, but that would be no problem at all with his current strength.


    Kang-Woo turned his head and looked at the frantic Chinese yers.


    ''They just have to make enough chaos so that the Demon Cult bes restless.''


    He hade here for that reason.


    Even for him, going through tens of thousands of demonic beasts and then facing hundreds of demons was too much.


    It was necessary to drag the demonic beasts away and disperse the demons'' forces.


    ''I''m sure they''d be able to do that much.''


    Although their strongest yer had just lost terribly to him, Chinese yers couldn''t be underestimated. If he got rid of the demons, they should be able to deal with the demonic beasts by themselves. And if Yeon-Joo and the Korean yers were added on top of that, there was absolutely no question about them dealing with the demonic beasts.


    ''Hurry on over.''


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists expectantly. Although he was unable to feel hunger due to his body being that of a demon, he couldn''t help but feel a tickling sensation in his stomach.


    * * *


    Three days passed.


    The preparations for war were done very quickly.


    Yeon-Joo had spent day and night studying formations and strategies to fulfill the role ofmander.


    And finally¡­


    "Th-The''ve appeared!" shouted a yer specialized in reconnaissance.


    There was a heavy nervousness going around. Everyone looked in the direction the yer pointed.


    A cloud of dust was rising over the horizon.


    "Urgh."


    "H-how many are there?"


    "It feels like we''ve gone back in time to five years ago¡­"


    The yers trembled in fear. It was their first time seeing such a huge invasion since the Day of Cmity.


    "Everyone, calm down and make sure you''ve prepared everything for battle! We still have some time!" shouted Yeon-Joo, who was holding a megaphone. Her voice rang out through the area.


    Just as she''d said, there was some time before the demonic beasts reached them.


    It wasn''t as if demonic beasts moved at supersonic speed, so they wouldn''t be able to arrive in a sh just because they could be seen on the horizon.


    "They''re here."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone, and he stood up. Unlike others, he was excited.


    ''They''re finally here!''


    He used the Authority of the Beholder and looked beyond the dust above the horizon. He saw the demonic beasts he''d seen in the news.


    ''But I don''t see any demons yet.''


    Kang-Woo clenched his fist while licking his lips. Delicious meals were walking toward him on their own. He wanted to thank the Demon Cult.


    "Good."


    He nodded and smiled in satisfaction. The demonic beasts might look like horrifying monsters to others, but to him, they just looked like nutritious lunch boxes that were fervently running toward him.


    "Kang-Woo," Han Seol-Ah said as she walked toward Kang-Woo. She had a rice ball in her hand. "I made you something to eat."


    It was an attractive proposal. Thebat rations that the Chinese provided were so horrible that he wanted to eat it even more.


    But Kang-Woo shook his head.


    "No, I''m okay. Give it to Echidna."


    "Have you eaten already?"


    "Nope." Kang-Woo smiled and looked at the demonic beasts. "I''m full just from looking."


    He stroked his stomach.


    ''Hurry up, guys.''


    Thinking about the feast he was about to have made him full already.


    Kang-Woo let out the gas that was bubbling up from his stomach.


    Burp.

 Chapter 130 - Apostle of Evil (1)

    Chapter 130 - Apostle of Evil (1)


    Therge army started to move. It was different from a normal army. Its members weren''t soldiers carrying guns but demonic beasts summoned from Hell. Walking rxedly in the center of this army of demonic beasts was a wrinkly old man.


    Surrounded by demonic beasts, the old man seemed out of ce. However, that wouldn''t be the case at all if he were observed based purely on the energy that he exuded. Much like the demonic beasts around him, he was filled with demonic energy.


    If anything was out of ce, it was that the demonic energy flowing out of the old man''s body was overwhelmingly thicker than the demonic energy around him.


    "Good."


    Anton Sidorovich, the white-haired old man, smiled, deepening the wrinkles on his face. He nodded while looking at the demonic beasts crowding the Manchurian in.


    ''With this, we''ve proven it.''


    This was the Demon Cult''s firstrge-scale summoning. Before this, they''d gained experience by doing small-scale summonings, but they were finally putting their n into action now.


    Therge-scale summoning was the first step of that n. They wanted to test a hypothesis before they set their n into motion.


    Antonughed. The test was a huge sess.


    ''The Gaia System is getting weaker.''


    The Gaia System was the Earth''s defense mechanism that the Demon Cult had been trying to destroy for a long time. It had been stopping the Demon Cult''s long-cherished goal, but it was gradually weakening. The entity that had been blocking their n¡¯s progression was finally starting to disappear.


    ''With this, they will also be stronger.''


    Anton''s heart beat faster.


    The Aspects of Evil who stood at the pinnacle of the Demon Cult would be able to make their move soon enough.


    [Human.]


    "Hmm?"


    A being walking beside Anton spoke to him. It was an ugly creature with bat wings, goat horns, and red skin. Unlike the demonic beasts that were closer to animals, this being had an intelligence simr to a human¡¯s. It was one of the beings of Hell who always sought to fulfill their desires.


    "Kekeke. What is it?" Anton replied.


    [Are we headed toward the human army right now?]


    "Yes, that''s correct."


    [Hehehe. I see.]


    Uttar, the demon from the Fifth hell, let out dark demonic energy.


    To him, humans were lowly, insignificant, and weak creatures. They were mortals suitable as livestock who should only crawl on the floor. Yet, Hell¡¯s opinion of humans had been greatly overturned due to one man, and Uttar didn''t like that.


    [I, Uttar, will prove that humans are, in the end, just that¡­ Humans!] Uttar said in a spirited voice.


    "Ah, I think you''ll have to leave that forter."


    [What?]


    "We have something else to do first."


    Anton took something out of his pocket. It was a photo of a young man with a sharp look¡ªthe person who had meddled with their n in Sapporo.


    ''I heard that he''s participating in this war.''


    Anton heard that this person had also gotten into a conflict with the Chinese.


    "Hmm."


    He looked at the photo with great interest.


    ''I''ll have to talk to him.''


    Anton had to know how someone who could easily overwhelm a cardinal wasn''t that well-known and why he had gotten in the way of thest summoning.


    ''He isn''t like Alec Osborne.''


    After seeing the man through Akiyama, Anton was sure of it. He hadn¡¯t felt a zing sense of justice or hostility toward the Demon Cult from the man.


    ''Those eyes¡­''


    He was used to seeing eyes like the man''s. They were mad eyes full of desire for power, shining with madness and bloodlust. Anton knew a lot about humans like that.


    ''He''s like me.''


    Considering that, it wasn''t hard to imagine what the man desired.


    ''I''m going to drag him into the cult.''


    Anton didn''t think it would be hard to get the man to join them. After all, the Demon Cult could offer what no one else could¡ªimmortality and power. For a normal human, it was very hard to resist either of them.


    If someone capable of easily overwhelming Akiyama joined them, he would be helpful to their future ns.


    If he refused¡­


    ''I''ll make him pay for having meddled in our n.''


    Anton disyed a chilling smile.


    If the man could be a bother to their n, then taking him out in advance was the correct decision.


    [And what do we have to do?]


    "We have to go meet someone. I would like you to be there for support just in case."


    Seeing how that young man Oh Kang-Woo had been able to overwhelm Akiyama so easily, his strength had to be at least at the level of a World Ranker. It was better to have as much backup as possible while facing a powerful person whom they didn''t have much information about.


    [Hah!] Uttar let out augh. He red at Anton with a burning gaze. [I listened to what you had to say as thanks for having summoned me, but you are crossing the line. I am a demon, human. Do not order me around.]


    "Hmm."


    [I want to eat humans. I will pretend I did not hear your request for my support.]


    Uttar turned away.


    While making a troubled expression, Anton called out to him, "Lord Uttar, I apologize, but I hope you will refrain from acting rashly."


    [Hmph. Is waging war against humans acting rashly? Who do you think I am? I am Uttar of the Fifth H¡ª]


    "No, that is not what I am talking about. I am just saying that you should refrain from doing things that are against the will of the Demon Cult," Anton said in a warning tone.


    [What?]


    Uttarughed in disbelief.


    He stared at Anton, who was asking him to be obedient. He thought his insides would turn upside down while looking at Anton''s arrogant look.


    [You must be out of your mind¡ª!]


    Uttar raised his giant hand.


    However, before he could swing a ridiculously big fist, Anton took out a book made out of ck parchment.


    At that moment¡­


    Crack¡ª!


    [Kurgh! Wh-What the¡ª?!]


    Dozens of ck hands emerged from the floor and grabbed Uttar. An enormous force weighed him down.


    [Kargh!]


    His skin was torn apart, his bones were crushed, and he was forced to kneel. Uttar''s eyes were full of astonishment.


    "I trust that you will listen to me."


    Antonughed. Powerful demonic energy swirled around him.


    After all, he was Anton Sidorovich, an Apostle of Evil. He was recognized by the Aspects of the Cult and was even stronger than an average demon from Hell.


    [D-Damn human!] Uttar roared.


    "What a shame."


    Tap. Anton closed the book.


    The countless hands that had emerged from the floor tore Uttar apart.


    A heavy silence fell over them.


    * * *


    "All forces, prepare for battle!" Cha Yeon-Joo''s shout spread through the in.


    The nervousness of the yers in formation was openly disyed on their faces. From their point of view, all they saw were horrible creatures running toward them.


    "D-Damn," one of the Red Rose Guild members uttered while clenched his trembling hands.


    Everyone else was in a simr state. The demonic energy flowing out of the approaching army of demonic beasts pressured the yers greatly.


    "Stay sharp! This is different from the Day of Cmity! We now have the power to fight against monsters!" Yeon-Joo yelled.


    Hearing that, everyone gulped.


    They recalled the Day of Cmity¡ªa day when countless people had died and many countries had copsed.


    "Y-Yeah!"


    "We can do this!"


    The Korean yers cheered each other up so they wouldn''t feel so anxious.


    Yeon-Joo turned her head and saw the Chinese yers in a formation of their own.


    ''There are so goddamn many of them.''


    China had so many yers that one couldn''t help but be impressed.


    ''I guess they''re also in a simr situation.''


    She couldn''t understand what they were saying since they were speaking in Mandarin, but it seemed like they were cheering each other up too.


    ''I get it.''


    There weren''t just ten to twenty thousand demonic beasts; there were at least fifty thousand of them. It would be weird if the yers weren''t scared.


    ''But still¡­''


    Yeon-Joo clenched her hands and recalled the Day of Cmity. The sight of people being ughtered by an endless swarm of monsters resurfaced in her mind.


    The current situation was different from back then. She and the rest of the people here had enough strength to fight against the monsters.


    "GRRAARR!!"


    "KIIEEKK!"


    The roars of the monsters got closer. The yers readied their weapons.


    Yeon-Joo hurriedly took out a piece of paper from her pocket. Written on it was the strategy she''d spent the past three days thinking up.


    "Mage sses, prepare to cast!"


    The basics for most battles was to start with ranged attacks.


    "And then, uhh... So, tanks should block the charge of the demonic beasts and then back off! Then make a V-shaped formation and lure the demonic beasts into the formation! And¡­" Yeon-Joo kept reading from the paper.


    "Yeon-Joo, if you keep talking like that, no one will understand you."


    "Ngh¡­"


    Themander of the Hwarang Corps, Jang Hyun-Jae, walked toward her while sighing.


    Many Korean yers from different guilds had gathered here as one. They didn''t have much time to train together, so there was no way they''d be able to pull off such aplex formation.


    "Uhhh... S-So..." Yeon-Joo uttered.


    She''d crammed the art of war over the past three days. However, once it was time to put it into practice, she couldn''t remember whatmands to give.


    Yeon-Joo frowned and thought, ''This isn''t for me.''


    Commanding didn''t suit her. She was more suited to fighting.


    "Hyun-Jae ahjussi[1], I think you should do it," Yeon-Joo voiced.


    She gave the megaphone to Hyun-Jae, who was next to her, and smiled. Red chains emerged from her wrists while emitting a red light.


    "Oh, yeah. I forgot to say something," Yeon-Joo said. She took the megaphone back from Hyun-Jae and shouted through the megaphone, "Don''t make this moreplicated than it needs to be! Think of it as a massive EXP event! Let''s take this opportunity to get tons of EXP!"


    Some peopleughed, and the tense mood became more rxed. There were also some yers whose eyes lit up after hearing the mention of experience points.


    "Hah," Hyun-Jaeughed in disbelief.


    He never imagined that Yeon-Joo would motivate the yers in such a way.


    "Let¡¯s go, guys!! Oh, right. Some of you aren''t part of my guild. Well, anyway! Do your best, everyone! Don''t die and don''t get hurt!"


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s ridiculousmands didn''t include a strategy or formation, but they had an extraordinary effect. The yersughed, and no one seemed scared anymore. Rather, they were getting excited.


    Boom. Yeon-Joo stomped on the ground, and a heavy vibration radiated outward.


    "DEMACIA!!!"[2] she shouted, her voice spreading through the battlefield.


    The battle began.


    1. Ahjussi is a form of address that young people use for middle-aged men. ?


    2. Demacia is the name of a kingdom in League of Legends, and it is used as a battle cry by characters from the kingdom. ?

 Chapter 131 - Apostle of Evil (2)

    Chapter 131 - Apostle of Evil (2)


    "RAAAHHH!"


    Cha Yeon-Joo stomped on the ground.


    Dozens of red chains whipped the ground and lifted her off the ground. Then she swung the chains down, smashing them into the head of the demonic beast leading the charge.


    "KIIEEKK!"


    After being hit with the chains, the demonic beast looked as if it had melted. It exploded soon after.


    The mage-ss yers then rained down their spells on the demonic beast army.


    BOOM!!


    The demonic beasts screamed, and the smell of their burnt flesh wafted over the battlefield.


    A burst of hot air blew over the yers. They stepped on the corpses of the demonic beasts and leaped forward, with the Tank-ss yers moving to the front.


    The Chinese yers had moved into action too. They didn''t have many mage-ss yers, but they had many martial artist yers with Qi.


    They swung their weapons with superhuman strength, swiftly increasing the number of demonic beast corpses.


    "Raahh!! Come at me, you bastards!"


    Kang Tae-Soo, who was wielding a giant shield, smashed some demonic beasts with its pointy edge. Due to his monstrous appearance and size, it looked as if a demonic beast were hunting other demonic beasts.


    "We''ll be joining the battle too, captain."


    "Man~ I can¡¯t see an end to them! Hwa-Yeon, when this war is over, how about we go get some dinner togeth¡ª"


    "Captain Goo, I will leave the right side to you!"


    "Ah¡­"


    Baek Hwa-Yeon ran while covering herself with wind. Goo Hyun-Mo followed after her in disappointment.


    "Graaaahhhh!"


    The battle against the demonic beasts continued. The yers had the advantage because most of the demonic beasts hade from the First Hell. Of course, there were some strong demonic beasts among them like the Cerberus, but the same went for yers.


    "Bring it on, you sons of bitches!"


    Yeon-Joo extended her hands, and her red chains swept over the demonic beasts.


    Hwa-Yeon ran toward her.


    "Yeon-Joo! I''vee to help you!"


    "I''m okay! Besides that, how are the Chinese doing?"


    "They''re pushing through the demonic beasts with the Heavenly Sword n as their core."


    "Ah, they''re going too far up ahead," Yeon-Joo mumbled anxiously.


    China had many melee-ss yers, so Korea couldn''t catch up with their charging speed.


    "Hwa-Yeon! Tell that fox woman to slow down their charge!"


    At this rate, the Korean and Chinese yers would be isted from each other. If that were to happen, then there would be no point in fighting together in the first ce.


    Hwa-Yeon nodded and took out a crystal orb.


    Nevertheless, she wasn''t contacting Tian Suyan. Hwa-Yeon had no way of contacting her, and she probably wouldn''t listen to her anyway.


    "Kang-Woo, I have a request," Hwa-Yeon said.


    [Go ahead.]


    "Tell Tian Suyan to make the Chinese forces slow down their march. They''re going too fast, and we can''t catch up."


    [Got it.]


    The call ended.


    Hwa-Yeon swung her sword with a hardened expression, splitting a demonic beast in two.


    At the moment, the yers had the momentum. If things were to continue like this, then they would be able to win easily.


    ''The problem is the demons.''


    It wasn''t just demonic beasts that had appeared from the Rift. She''d seen demons in the video. To make things worse, there were about a hundred of them.


    As more information about the Demon Cult became public, she came to understand the difference between demonic beasts and demons. In terms of pure physical prowess, demonic beasts were stronger. However, demons possessed intelligence; it was hard to predict how they would act.


    ''But he should be able to deal with it.''


    Hwa-Yeon looked in the direction that Oh Kang-Woo had gone.


    Kang-Woo hadn''t entered the battlefield yet. He was in charge of getting rid of the demons that could be a wild card.


    ''I''ll trust you.''


    Hwa-Yeon stepped forward and swung her sword. Wind formed at the sword''s edge and sliced through another demonic beast.


    * * *


    "Yeah. Slow down your charge."


    [Okay, Kang-Woo.]


    After receiving the call from Hwa-Yeon, Kang-Woo called Tian Suyan and told her to have the Chinese army slow down their charge like Hwa-Yeon had requested. Suyan epted without hesitation.


    Kang-Woo then turned around and looked at the Chinese yers. He saw them slowing down their march at Suyan''smand.


    ''Tian Wuxian apparently couldn''t participate because of shock.''


    Kang-Wooughed after recalling how Suyan had be themander of the Heavenly Sword n.


    Tian Wuxian had be ill from shock after being overwhelmed by an unknown Korean yer. He wasn¡¯t physically ill though; it was the effect of receiving a psychological shock.


    ''He''s truly just an extra.''


    Kang-Woo had a feeling that he wouldn''t hear about Wuxian ever again.


    Then Kang-Woo stood up and nced at Han Seol-Ah, who was taking care of the wounded yers.


    "Echidna," he called out.


    "Yeah?"


    "Stay here and protect Seol-Ah."


    "What about you, Kang-Woo?"


    Kang-Woo turned and looked at the yers who were fighting against demonic beasts. He got warmed up.


    "I''m gonna join the battle."


    "Didn''t you say you were gonna wait until the demons appeared?"


    "Well, they''re not appearing at all."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    There were many demonic beasts around, but there wasn''t a demon in sight. He had used the Authority of the Sky and searched the battlefield from midair, but he hadn''t seen a single one.


    ''The n has gone awry.''


    He hadn''t expected that he wouldn''t be able to see a single demon.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue in disappointment.


    ''I miscalcted.''


    He could surmise many things just from the fact that there wasn¡¯t a demon in sight.


    ''Their goal isn''t war.''


    If the Demon Cult''s goal involved winning the war, then there was no reason that they wouldn''t take part in the battle. No, if that had been their goal from the beginning, they wouldn''t have used such a brute-force strategy.


    ''These demonic beasts are probably just fodder to them.''


    It was as if they were just throwing the demonic beasts away. They wouldn''t have wasted the demonic beasts like this if they thought that the demonic beasts were an important part of their forces.


    ''The purpose of the summoning was something else.''


    They weren''t trying to do something by summoning demonic beasts and demons. He couldn''t help but think that the summoning itself was their goal from the beginning.


    ''And they''re throwing the useless demonic beasts away.''


    It was like they''d made miners charge into enemy territory after making them finish mining all the minerals. For the Demon Cult, those demonic beasts were just dregs they didn''t want to deal with.


    "Tsk."


    Kang-Woo didn''t like this. The yers were just disposing of the Demon Cult''s leftovers.


    It annoyed him to have to move as the Demon Cult wanted.


    ''The demons must be somewhere else entirely, then.''


    Kang-Woo wasn¡¯t sure, but he couldn''t see any demons among the demonic beasts. His appetite, which had grown because of how long he''d been waiting, lingered in his mouth in vain.


    "Okay. I''ll make sure no one hurts Seol-Ah. Hmph!" Echidna snorted.


    Kang-Woo patted her head gently, and the snort became louder.


    "Then I''ll leave it to you."


    "Okay."


    He left Echidna behind and moved toward where the fight was happening.


    The demonic beasts and yers were fighting intensely. Yet, Kang-Woo walked rxedly toward the horrible battlefield as if he were on a walk.


    "KIIEEKK!"


    ''Where could they be?''


    The demonic beasts charged toward him. He lightly swung his hand, and the demonic beasts that were charging toward him exploded.


    Kang-Woo kept walking. His steps were rxed, but his speed was incredibly fast. He entered the enemy lines almost instantly. All of the demonic beasts that were waiting their turn to fight charged toward him.


    "KRRRR."


    "Graaaahhhh!"


    ''They probably aren''t far away.''


    He flicked his finger, and the ring changed forms. The Key of the Demonic Sea transformed into a giant shield, which the demonic beasts ran into.


    Crack!


    "KIIKK!"


    The demonic beasts'' teeth were destroyed as they tried to bite the shield. Then when they scratched the shield, their ws were ripped out of their hands, and blood poured out.


    Kang-Woo took a step forward.


    ''Even though the demonic beasts rushed in recklessly, they were still lumped together.''


    "Graaahhh!"


    ''Seeing how they aren''t eating each other, someone must be controlling them.''


    "KIIEEKK!"


    ''Where could they be hiding?''


    "KWEEKK!"


    The demonic beasts charged toward the prey that had prated deep into enemy lines. Long thorns appeared on the shield, and the Key of the Demonic Sea rotated fiercely.


    Whirrr!


    The demonic beasts were sliced apart as if they''d been put inside a blender. Flesh sttered in all directions.


    The Cerberus, who was mixed among the demonic beasts, breathed mes at Kang-Woo. Nevertheless, he just raised his right hand and smacked the mes, causing them to burn the demonic beasts instead.


    "GRRRR!"


    The Cerberus opened its enormous mouth, which was big enough to easily devour a person whole, and targeted Kang-Woo.


    Tap.


    "Whine?!"


    Kang-Woo grabbed one of the Cerebus¡¯ teeth, which was the size of a person''s head, and pulled it out. The Cerberus cried in pain.


    The Kang-Woo continued cutting and shing through the crowd of demonic beasts. Nheless, it didn''t matter how far into the horde he went. He still didn¡¯t see any demons.


    Kang-Woo was starting to get annoyed. That wasn''t what he''d hoped for.


    ''I guess I''ll settle for eating these guys for now.''


    He used the Authority of Predation. ck smoke spread out and covered the Cerberus.


    Crunch!


    Its bones were crushed, and its skin was torn apart. Its whole body was absorbed by the ck smoke.


    "I knew it wouldn¡¯t work on these guys."


    The effect of the Trait ''Reaper of Souls'' had not activated, and his demonic energy stat hadn''t increased. These demonic beasts were far too low quality. It was like how a high-level yer couldn''t gain experience points even if they massacred monsters in a low-ranking Gate.


    ''I need demons.''


    Kang-Woo was getting thirsty. His lips were getting dry.


    There was no way he would be satisfied with creatures like these. A hunger that he couldn''t feel with his demonic body stimted his desire to consume. He hade here expecting delicious food, so it angered him to find there was nothing delicious.


    "GRRR."


    The demonic beasts moved back. Kang-Woo could see the fear in their eyes.


    He resumed walking, and the demonic beasts backed off even more.


    Right then¡­


    Swoop!


    A ck hand appeared out of nowhere and tried to attack him.


    Kang-Woo frowned as he grabbed the ck hand. None of the demonic beasts around him were capable of such an attack.


    "Hmm?"


    Kang-Woo realized the hand that had targeted him was holding a piece of paper.


    He picked up the paper, which had a note written in Korean with terrible handwriting.


    [I want to talk.]


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed.


    "What the hell is this?"


    Was it a meal ticket?

 Chapter 132 - Dont Act as if You Know Me (1)

    Chapter 132 - Don''t Act as if You Know Me (1)


    "Hah."


    Oh Kang-Woo couldn''t help but smile.


    It wasn''t hard to imagine who had sent the message.


    ''The Demon Cult.''


    He wondered why they were trying to contact him.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and thought deeply about it.


    "I see."


    He recalled what had happened in Japan. The sight of the Demon Cultists escaping with a heavily injured Akiyama resurfaced in his mind. Kang-Woo couldn''t help but think that they had leaked information about him.


    ''I''m not sure why they''re trying to contact me though.''


    Kang-Woo had stopped their summoning. It would make more sense if they were to send a kill squad after him. There was no reason for them to contact him by using a method that was akin to the ancient way of sending a message with an arrow.


    "I guess I''ll know once I go."


    It wasn''t hard to imagine why¡­ but to be sure, it would be better to go as they requested. Still, this was an extremely dangerous act like willingly walking into a tant trap.


    ''Not bad.''


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    It didn''t matter what kind of trap or how many they''d prepared. The important thing was that the demons were likely all there.


    ''There''s also a chance they aren''t fully prepared yet.''


    The Demon Cultists probably wouldn¡¯t expect him to ept such a suspicious proposal.


    ''If they did, they would''ve at least mentioned where I should go.''


    The purpose of the note they''d sent was to convey the minimum intention of wanting to meet him. The details about the time and location would probably be sent after the war was over.


    ''I have no reason to wait until then.''


    Kang-Wooughed.


    He turned his face toward where the ck hand had reached out from. Traces of demonic energy still lingered.


    Kang-Woo ran, following the trail of demonic energy. The Authority of Haste surrounded his body, and he shot forward at an incredibly fast speed.


    A cloud of dust appeared in Manchuria.


    * * *


    Earlier¡­


    "He''s quite strong."


    Anton Sidorovich let out an exmation in surprise upon seeing Kang-Woo through the eyes of the demonic beasts.


    He wasn''t sure why Kang-Woo had gone into the middle of the demonic beast army by himself, but he was practically massacring them.


    A smile appeared on Anton''s face.


    "Right, then."


    Anton took out a book made of ck parchment¡ªa strong weapon known as the Book of Nightmares. It had been given to him by the Aspects when they bestowed him the title of Apostle of Evil.


    "Zazas, zazas, nasatanada zazas,"[1] Anton chanted.


    The demonic energy of the Book of Nightmares resonated with his demonic energy. He sent a hand made of demonic energy through the insides of the Cerberus that he was using to see what was happening.


    Anton watched Kang-Woo easily neutralize the attack and read the message.


    "Done," Anton said, smiling with satisfaction.


    One of the demons near him posed a question,


    [So, what is it that we have to do? Who do we need to kill?]


    "Kekeke. Don''t be so hasty. We will meet him once the war is over."


    Anton had a rxed grin.


    The demon frowned.


    [Are you telling us to wait even longer? We are demons. We live for blood and ughter! We cannot postpone battle for any lo¡ª]


    "Did you not understand me when I said we shouldn''t be hasty?"


    Anton narrowed his eyes. He exuded a wave of strong demonic energy that overwhelmed the demons.


    [Kurgh...]


    The demons paled, and their expressions hardened.


    Anton''s demonic energy wasparable to a demon of the Ninth Hell. Most of the demons here were of the Fifth and Sixth Hells, so it was too powerful for them to withstand.


    The demons remained silent.


    "Good."


    Anton nodded while smiling. Now he just had to think of a way to make Kang-Wooe to them on his own.


    ''I wonder how I should do it?''


    The easiest way was to take a hostage.


    ''It appears that he lives with a woman.''


    His face took on a greedy and sly smirk. The woman he''d seen in the photos was quite beautiful. If they took her hostage, it shouldn''t be hard to convince Kang-Woo to meet them.


    "Oh, my. I shouldn''t be thinking of doing things like that."


    Antonughed while drawing a cross on his chest with his fingers.


    The goal was to recruit Kang-Woo to the Demon Cult. A rash provocation like that could stop them from achieving their goal.


    ''But¡­''


    Anton''s eyes shone. If Kang-Woo were to refuse his proposal, Anton would be free to deal with the hostage as he wanted.


    Slurp.


    He licked his lips. His ugly nature, distorted by greed hidden under a benevolent appearance, had shown itself.


    "All right. That''s enough for t¡ª"


    Just as Anton was about to call it a day, he felt something was off.


    "Hmm?"


    Anton turned his head to look. He sensed someone was getting closer to him at an incredible speed.


    "Don''t tell me... He''sing this way?"


    Anton''s face was filled with surprise.


    It was true that Anton had called Kang-Woo over, but he never imagined that Kang-Woo woulde after receiving just a piece of paper.


    ''No, more importantly, how did he locate me?''


    Anton couldn''t figure it out.


    He used the Book of Nightmares and ordered the demons around him to leave.


    "Keke. Well, I guess it doesn''t matter."


    Anton would try and recruit Kang-Woo. If Kang-Woo refused, then Anton would just kill him. Since the two options were already decided, there was no need to hesitate.


    Anton walked toward the approaching energy.


    * * *


    Boom!


    A heavy impact shook the ground. Kang-Woo dismissed the Authority of Haste and looked at the old man in front of him.


    The old man had wrinkles on his face and wore clerical clothing. He wasn¡¯t hiding his demonic energy.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Language and said, "You wanted to talk?"


    Anton''s eyes lit up as he replied, "You can speak Russian?"


    "Let''s just say that I can. First off..."


    Kang-Woo looked around.


    Although they were a fair distance away, he noticed that he was surrounded by the demons that he''d been trying to find.


    The tips of his mouth curved upward.


    ''They''re kinda low-ranking though,'' hemented inwardly.


    Most of the demons belonged to the Fifth Hell or lower, the Sixth Hell at most.


    Upon seeing Kang-Woo, the demons showed no reaction. Rather, they were emitting strong bloodlust at him.


    ''None of them seem to know me.''


    That was understandable. Kang-Woo had only started to gain notoriety when he''d reached the Ninth Hell. The demons might have heard rumors about him, but they probably didn''t know what he looked like. In particr, this would be the case for those that were in the middle levels like the Fifth and Sixth Hells.


    ''It''s better this way.''


    Kang-Woo looked at Anton with a rxed demeanor and asked, "So, what did you want to talk about?"


    "Keke. I''m d we''re on the same wavelength. I wanted to make you a proposition."


    "Proposition?"


    "Yes," Anton replied with a smile. "Have you ever heard about demons?"


    "Is there anyone who hasn''t after all the mess you guys have made?" Kang-Woo remarked, feigningughter.


    Anton shook his head and said, "No. What I''m asking is if you are aware of the privileges possessed by demons."


    "Privileges?"


    "Yes. The privileges of demons that only the Demon Cult can offer you!" Anton eximed loudly. "Humans eventually die. It doesn''t matter how wealthy you are or how many women you sleep with. Even if you have so much influence that no one would dare cross you, we all eventually die." Anton looked at Kang-Woo with intense eyes. "However, demons do not die. Their lifespan is not finite, and they do not require sustenance."


    Anton was talking calmly, but his voice was strong, and his gaze intense.


    ''This guy would be a great spokesperson for a pyramid scheme,'' Kang-Woo thought with a smirk.


    "So?"


    "We have the power to turn humans into demons. We can give you, a mere mortal, immortality."


    "..."


    "Think about it. Does it make any sense that someone like you, who was blessed with such strength, should rot among humans? That sort of life does not suit you. You are more fit to be a king who rules over the mortals."


    Anton didn''t get overly excited. He continued talking to Kang-Woo very calmly but powerfully. He praised Kang-Woo moderately and tried to persuade him by telling him that such a life did not suit him.


    "How about it? Join us. We can promise you supremacy, power, and immortality," Anton offered with a smile. "I know you very well. I can see the desire for power in your eyes. You are the same as me. Where you are right now does not suit you."


    "Here," Anton said, bowing slightly and extending his hand toward Kang-Woo. "Why don''t you join us? You can also be a demon¡ªan immortal being who has escaped from the cycle of life."


    Anton knew very well how to awaken the desire in people. He spoke so smoothly that it was obvious he had made this speech more than just a few times. He talked calmly and appealed to Kang-Woo''s desire. People like Fujimoto Ryoma or Baek Kang-Hyun would have epted it without hesitation.


    However¡­ the man standing in front of Anton was none other than Kang-Woo.


    "You''ll make me a demon?" Kang-Woo asked. "Ha¡­ HAHAHAHAHA!!"


    Heughed so loudly that his stomach hurt. He found the situation extremely funny.


    "You¡­" Kang-Woo uttered while trying to control hisughter. "You said you know me, right?"


    "That is correct. Although this is the first time we¡¯ve met, seeing your eyes, which are filled with desire, is enough for m¡ª"


    "HAHAHA! You''re one funny guy." Kang-Woo ended up roaring withughter again. "Do you have a scouter[2] on your eye or something? What could you possibly know just from my eyes? Not even your mom would know what the hell you are just from looking at you, man."


    "...."


    There was a heavy silence.


    Kang-Woo continued, "Don''t act as if you know me."


    He raised his hand, and an intense torrent of demonic energy concentrated in it.


    Crack.


    Unable to withstand the force of the demonic energy, the ground split. The atmosphere went rampant as if a storm were raging.


    Then he turned his hand¡­ and the world turned upside down.


    "You don''t know who I am."


    1. It¡¯s pretty much a chant to open the gates of Hell. It became popr in Korea because it was used in a certain animation (if you know, you know). ?


    2. A scouter is a wearable all-purposeputer in Dragon Ball that measures power levels. ?

 Chapter 133 - Dont Act as if You Know Me (2)

    Chapter 133 - Don''t Act as if You Know Me (2)


    Rumble!!


    The ground shook like there was an earthquake, and a huge crack ran through the terrain.


    Crack.


    A chilling sound echoed from the warped terrain. The split ground rose to about thirty meters.


    Hundreds of pirs appeared. They were so immensely tall that one had to look straight up to see where they ended.


    "What the¡­"


    Anton Sidorovich looked around while making a confused expression.


    This ce had undoubtedly been a in¡ªone so t that the horizon was visible from it. Yet, that in had suddenly turned into a mountainous terrain with unique rock formations.


    ''He changed the terrain?''


    It was utterly absurd. People often said that the terrain would change in a battle between those of World Ranker-level powers. However, that was a figure of speech. In reality, no one could change a in into a mountainous terrain¡­ no one except for the monster in front of him.


    ''Just what kind of Trait does he have¡­?''


    Antoon looked at Oh Kang-Woo cautiously.


    Seeing how the terrain itself had suddenly changed, there was a high chance that Kang-Woo''s Trait was rted to controlling the forces of nature.


    ''And among them, earth.¡¯


    As Anton opened his book, he looked at the demons with sharp eyes.


    "What are you doing? It''s time for the battle that you''ve been desiring so much. Kill that man!" Anton screamed like a madman.


    The demons, who had also been distracted by how the terrain had suddenly changed, raised their weapons.


    Anton cast magic and red at Kang-Woo.


    ''The only thing that has changed is the terrain.''


    There was no big difference. It was incredible that Kang-Woo could warp the terrain, but it wouldn''t do much to change the oue.


    ''It does nothing but make for a decent little show.''


    There was no need to feel overwhelmed or intimidated. Kang-Woo couldn''t win the battle just by changing the terrain. The only difference was that the stage where Kang-Woo would die had changed.


    "Zazas, zazas, nasatanada zazas."


    Anton focused on his chant as if to erase his heavy feelings of uneasiness.


    * * *


    [Hahahah! It''s finally time for ughter!]


    [Die, human!]


    As the demons charged toward him, Kang-Woo slowly raised his head. They stepped on the unique rock formations all over the terrain, using the steep mountainous terrain to their advantage.


    "Haha," Kang-Woo let out a shortugh. Then he raised his hand and uttered, "Well, well."


    Hundreds of demons were charging toward him, and Anton was casting a spell. Based on Anton¡¯smand, Kang-Woo could guess what Anton was thinking. Anton probably thought that Kang-Woo had done nothing but change the terrain, which was just a meaningless demonstration of his powers that wouldn''t affect the battle in any way.


    "However, there''s no way that''s all it is," Kang-Woo said.


    The tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth curved up.


    It was impossible that his actions could be meaningless. After all, he wouldn''t have changed the terrain if it was pointless. Moreover, changing the terrain hadn¡¯t been his main intention.


    "Ignite."


    Fwoosh!


    A pir of ck mes burst out from the cracks on the ground. It devoured the two demons that were charging toward Kang-Woo.


    Then he raised his right hand and swung it from right to left.


    Rumble!


    A tall rock split and then crumbled, releasing mes as viscous asva.


    [Gaaaaahhhhh!!!] a half-disintegrated demon screamed as he squirmed in pain.


    [Move, weaklings!] a demon with four arms yelled.


    He pushed aside the squirming demon and jumped. His one eye, which was the size of a basketball, focused on Kang-Woo.


    [Hahaha! I, Rakum of the Sixth Hell, can use four weapons masterfully with my four arms¡ª]


    sh.


    There was a sh of ck light as Kang-Woo wielded the Key of the Demonic Sea in sword form.


    Another two demons walked past the one that had just been split in two.


    [I am the almighty¡ª]


    [I am Scarta, the overlord of the Sixth He¡ª]


    Crack!


    Kang-Woo flicked his finger. The Authority of Waves spread out and shattered the two demons'' bodies into smithereens.


    "KIIEEKK!"


    "KRRRR!"


    Even demonic beasts had emerged out of nowhere to assist in the battle. They weren''t low-ranking demonic beasts from the First Hell; these were the ones that resided in the Third Hell and above.


    It seemed Anton had previously set aside these demonic beasts that were too valuable to expend through war.


    "Fuuu." Kang-Woo took a deep breath.


    He held the hilt of the Key of the Demonic Sea, currently in sword form, in reverse and drew out all of the demonic energy flowing in his blood.


    Kang-Woo took another deep breath and merged four Authorities.


    The core Authority was the Authority of des. It was the Authority of the demon Sabnak and was considered the most useless of the Authorities. Nevertheless, even that useless Authority could be more powerful than any other Authority when Kang-Woo used it.


    Crack!


    He stabbed the ground with the sword, forming a Rift on the copsed ground. Kang-Woo poured his explosive demonic energy into the Rift.


    Crack¡ª!


    [Gaaahhh!]


    [Wh-What the¡ª?!!]


    A shadow spread out from the Rift. It looked as if the night sky was being reflected on the ground. Sharp des rose from within the shadow and ripped the demons apart. Hundreds of thousands of des adorned the shadow like stars in the night sky.


    As the ground became covered in des, many demons flew up to avoid them. Upon seeing that, Kang-Woo pulled his sword out from the ground. The Rift disappeared, and the sharp des turned into ck smoke and dissipated.


    He turned around.


    ''There are about half of them left.''


    About half of the demons had not been able to fly and were skewered by the des. The other half had dodged the attacks and were flying away.


    Kang-Woo pointed the sword upward at those demons. Demonic energy flowed out of his body like a falling tide, and he felt dizzy for a moment.


    ''It''s okay.''


    He was not experiencing demonic energy exhaustion, nor had the Ten Thousand Demon Core gone out of control. His brain had simply been overloaded for a moment due to it having exceeded its processing capacity. Kang-Woo was used to this. He had experienced it so many times that it bored him.


    [Run!]


    [Wh-What the¡ª What the hell is that monsteeeer?!]


    [W-Wait...]


    A demon that was trying to escape suddenly turned pale. He turned around while making an expression that showed he''d realized something.


    [N-No way¡­]


    The demon had heard of the battles between a human and the seven princes of Hell. In particr, he recalled the tale of the demon king who had annihted Prince Belphegor¡¯s forces in an instant. A tall mountain, a shadow that covered the earth, and thousands of des¡ªeverything here matched the tale that he had heard of through rumors.


    [Th-That''s impossible.]


    The demon tried to deny it. It was something that couldn''t possibly be happening. There was no way that the demon king, the almighty symbol of Hell, would be here.


    Kang-Woo slowly swung the sword, which he''d pointed at the sky, downward.


    Simultaneously, rocks that were over thirty meters tall shook, and an overwhelming wave of demonic energy filled the entire area.


    "Sunset," Kang-Woo muttered, his voice reverberating like thunder.


    The rocks exploded, and ckva erupted from them, shooting into the sky.


    [A-Aaahhh!] the demon gasped.


    He looked around, but he couldn''t see the sun anymore.


    The world had been devoured by darkness.


    * * *


    Bubble.


    Thend was covered in boiling hot ckva. The vegetation that grew on the in had all burnt into ashes. The ground was further distorted by the scorchingva.


    The Ninth Hell was the deepest hell where the strongest demons gathered, and now, the Manchurian in looked just like it.


    "H-Huff, huff!"


    An old man, Anton, ran through that distortedndscape.


    He couldn''t understand what was going on. It seemed like he was having a terrible nightmare.


    Anton tossed the Book of Nightmares, half of which had been turned to ashes. Half of his right arm had also been burned off, and there was a gash in his side. Even so, he ran to get away from the predator walking toward him.


    Thump.


    Anton did not get far until he slumped to the ground. Dark red blood flowed out from his wounds. He turned his head with trembling eyes and saw a demon standing beside him.


    "A-Aaahhh..." Anton shrieked.


    "I told you not to act as if you know me," the demon said.


    He reached out to Anton and grabbed the back of his head.


    Then the demon looked at Anton with eyes full of madness and asked, "So, do you still think you know who I am?"


    "Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Who are..."


    Anton couldn''t speak properly. Immense pressure weighed down on him like he''de face to face with an absolute being. It felt as if a deep, bottomless Abyss was surrounding him.


    He had felt this sense of awe before when he met the Aspects in person.


    ''No.''


    Anton shook his head. He recalled that time andpared the energy that he felt from the demon in front of him to what he''d felt that day.


    His face turned pale. He had not experienced fear like this, which was as vast as an endless sea, even when he met the Aspects.


    "Who¡­ are you?" Anton asked.


    "What''s it to you?"


    ck smoke flowed out from the demon''s hand that was holding the back of Anton''s head and shrouded him. However, it didn''t stop there; the smoke spread throughout the scorched and distortedndscape as well.


    "Will knowing who I am change anything? Do you think you can die without regrets if I tell you? This isn''t the time to be saying stuff like that, buddy."


    "¡­"


    Anton remained silent. He couldn''t deny those words.


    There was only one thing he should be saying¡­


    "S-Spare... me," Anton pleaded while trembling.


    He was filled with a desire to live and the desperation to survive. He had painstakingly obtained immortality after sacrificing countless people. Anton didn''t want to die in vain in a deste in.


    "Yes, that''s it. That''s what you should be saying." The demon nodded in satisfaction. "But haven''t you also heard those very words quite a lot? You''ve probably killed a ton of people to get so much demonic energy."


    "¡­"


    Anton couldn''t say anything. He recalled the memories of people begging him for mercy¡­ He had indeed often heard such desperate words. Anton even had quite a lot of fun hearing the screams of the sacrifices begging for mercy before he killed them.


    The demonughed while looking down at him.


    On the demon''s face was a smile simr to Anton''s those times when he had gazed cruelly at the sacrifices.


    "What did you do back then? Oh, I''m just asking this as a courtesy. I already know what you did," the demon said.


    Anton looked at him with a pale expression.


    "Have you spared anyone even once?" the demon asked.


    "¡­"


    No, there was no way that had been the case. To Anton, the sacrifices had merely been food that he''d used to gain more demonic energy. It was much like how a lion wouldn''t hesitate to kill a crying deer.


    "A-Aaahhh..." Anton cried, pleading and reaching out his hands in desperation for mercy.


    The demon smiled and grabbed Anton''s hand.


    "Haha. I can''t believe I''d resonate with you over something like this. Right, you said earlier that you and I are the same, right? I''ll have to somewhat agree with you on that."


    Anton heard a bit of shyness in the demon''s voice.


    The demon scratched his head sheepishly and stated, "Because I''ve never spared anyone either."


    Crunch!


    The ck smoke crushed and swallowed Anton.

 Chapter 134 - Thank You for the Meal

    Chapter 134 - Thank You for the Meal


    Crunch. Crunch.


    The chilling sound of skin being torn apart and bones being crunched spread through the devastated in.


    The demons'' bodies, souls, and demonic energy flowed into Oh Kang-Woo through the ck smoke hanging over the field.


    Riiing.


    [Activating the Trait ''Reaper of Souls''!]


    [Absorbing demon souls in their entirety.]


    An astral energy that could not be seen flowed into him.


    He had never been able to feel such a thing while using the Authority of Predation before because it had always mangled and ripped apart the souls that it had devoured.


    ''Ah.''


    It was a mysterious feeling.


    The demons he''d devoured only lived in the middle levels of Hell, so the energy wasn''t that big. But even the light from a firefly could shine brightly if hundreds gathered. Even though they were small portions of energy, he felt a fullness spread through his body because he had absorbed hundreds of portions.


    ''It kind of feels weird.''


    It was a sensation simr to lying in a hot tub with hundreds of small bubbles enveloping one''s body. It felt indistinct yet heavy. It felt as if bubbles were tickling his body.


    After a while, the bubbles tickling him seeped into his body, and a familiar message window appeared in front of him.


    [The Trait ''Reaper of Souls'' has been sessfully activated.]


    [You have absorbed souls and raised the quality of your own soul.]


    [You have obtained a clue for the first condition of Demonic Soul.]


    ''Nice.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone as he read the message windows that had appeared in front of him. The tips of his mouth went up. He opened his status window and checked the contents of ''Demonic Soul.''


    [Information]


    [Demonic Soul: The second step to bing a ''Demon God.''


    *Condition 1: Raise the quality of your soul (Unfulfilled)


    *Condition 2: ???]


    ''I knew it was connected to my Seventh Awakening Trait.''


    He had expected it.


    He was now certain that the steps to bing a Demon God and the Awakening Traits were connected.


    Kang-Woo nodded in satisfaction.


    ''It''s a condition I can fulfill.''


    Kang-Woo decided not to think about the second condition hidden behind question marks. He decided to focus on the first condition, which he could actually fulfill.


    He wasn''t sure how many demon souls he had to absorb, but the way to fulfill the condition was very straightforward.


    Riiing.


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 4.]


    "Woah, it even raised my stat."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    Raising his stat wasn''t an effect of Reaper of Souls but the effect of having absorbed the demonic energies of hundreds of demons.


    Four points. A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face. He opened his status window and checked the stat.


    "¡­ Goddammit."


    The stat was still at 120.


    Kang-Woo recalled something he''d forgotten.


    "This has beplete trash."


    Kang-Woo looked at the ck Pearl Coat he was wearing.


    The ck Pearl Coat boosted his demonic energy stat by five. However, its effect had be obsolete after the stat had surpassed 120. Hence, even if he took off the ck Pearl Coat, his demonic energy stat would stay at 120.


    The stat boost effect of the ck Pearl Coat hadpletely disappeared.


    "Tsk."


    He wasn''t sure if he should be happy by the fact that further increases in his Demonic Energy stat would be the base value or if he should be annoyed by the fact that the ck Pearl Coat had be useless.


    ''Well, let''s think about it optimistically.''


    It was something he''d expected after discovering that the stat boost from Legendary-grade and lower-grade equipment wouldn''t apply after 120 stat points.


    It had been bound to happen, so he just considered the issue as resolved.


    Kang-Woo left the bittersweet feeling behind and stood up.


    "That aside¡­"


    He thought about the message that said the quality of his soul had risen. He still wasn''t sure what effect it had.


    ''I should check.''


    He closed his eyes and meditated, checking the changes in his body.


    ''Nothing has changed physically.''


    There had been no physical changes like what he had experienced with the Ultimate Demonic Body, nor had anything new formed within his body such as with the demonic crystal.


    ''There has to be a change.''


    He wasn''t sure what kind of effect fulfilling the conditions for the Demonic Soul would give, but considering what had happened with the Ultimate Demonic Body, he was sure that it would give him great power.


    Although he was still in the middle of fulfilling the conditions, it was weird that he hadn''t felt a single change.


    ''Hmm?''


    He felt something different about his body, something he hadn''t felt before using Reaper of Souls.


    It didn''t take him long to realize what it was.


    ''The seal on the Ten Thousand Demon Core has weakened.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    The seal hadn''t weakened as much as when he awakened every ten levels, but it had definitely be weaker.


    "This¡­"


    A deep smile appeared on his face.


    "The effect is greater than I imagined!"


    The Ten Thousand Demon Core was the foundation of his power.


    It''d been half a year since he''d returned to Earth. Although he''d obtained new powers he didn''t have while in Hell, they still couldn''t bepared to his original power.


    The Ten Thousand Demon Core was a sea of demonic energy that not even he knew the full extent of; it was aplete enigma to him.


    "Yeah, this is what I''m talking about, especially when I''m being blocked from leveling up."


    A deep smile was drawn on his face. He almost wanted to start dancing out of happiness.


    To him, there were two huge benefits to leveling up. The first was the Awakening Trait, and the second was the weakening of the seal on the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    He had been unable to weaken the seal any other way, so this was absolutely huge.


    "Very nice."


    He sat down while smiling in satisfaction.


    If the seal on the Ten Thousand Demon Core had weakened, there was something he had to do immediately.


    ''I have to convert the released demonic energy into a stat.''


    He had also done so when he''d achieved his Seventh Awakening.


    ''I can''t depend on the ck Pearl Coat''s stat boost anymore.''


    From now on, any rise in his Demonic Energy stat would directly trante to his own power.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and used the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique.


    He felt the demonic energy that had flowed out from the weakened seal on the Ten Thousand Demon Core. It wasn''t an explosive amountpared to when he awakened, but it was still the demonic energy from the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    He was enveloped in an abundant amount of demonic energy.


    The demonic energy of the Ten Thousand Demon Core started to melt into his blood.


    Riiing.


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 1.]


    The ringing sound made him feel good.


    "Wow."


    He let out an exmation. Although it had gone up by just one point, the change was impressive.


    The demonic energy raged within him.


    ''The higher the stat bes, the harder it is to raise, but the effect bes even greater.''


    He smiled while thinking about the most basic information about stats.


    He''d used quite a lot of demonic energy during the battle because he''d used two big techniques consecutively, but it felt as if his demonic energy stores had already been replenished.


    "I should head back."


    The war against the demonic beasts should be over by now.


    Kang-Woo stood up and looked at the destroyed in that had be simr to Hell.


    ''It wasn''t a bad harvest.''


    The harvest was as he had expected, no, even better.


    Kang-Woo lightly clenched his fist.


    Getting stronger while stopping the Demon Cult''s n¡­ it was like killing two birds with one stone.


    He turned around, put his hands together, and bowed.


    "Thank you for the meal."


    Burp.


    * * *


    He returned to where the Korean and Chinese yers had been warring with the demonic monsters.


    ''It seems like it''s over.''


    As he had expected, the war had already ended. People were transporting the injured.


    It was obvious the fight ended with an overwhelming victory for China and Korea.


    Humans weren''t weak enough to lose against a group of demonic beasts from the First Hell.


    ''There doesn''t seem to be many casualties either.''


    Most of the people walking around had bright expressions on their faces, meaning there hadn''t been many casualties.


    ''I wonder what would happen if a war between the forces of the Ninth Hell and Earth''s yers broke out.''


    He didn''t need to think too much.


    No matter how powerful the yers were, they were no match against the forces of the Ninth Hell. It would be a one-sided massacre simr to what had happened five years ago on the Day of Cmity.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo looked at the yers busily moving about. They didn''t seem happy just because they''d won the war.


    "Finally! I got my Seventh Awakening!"


    "Alright! Me too!! I''m finally free from this damn level cap!"


    "Holy crap, my level went up by eight!"


    Kang-Woo could hear their happy shouts.


    The yers had leveled up a lot from the battle; it had ended up being a huge EXP event, just like Cha Yeon-Joo had said.


    ''yers can grow.''


    It wasn''t just those who had participated in the war. yers all around the world were gradually bing stronger.


    Although they still had a long way to go before they could face beings from the Ninth Hell, Kang-Woo brought to focus the fact that they were getting stronger.


    ''And among them, there are special individuals like Si-Hun.''


    For yers, talent was very important. No matter how much time they invested, talentless yers couldn''t get stronger. Inversely, if one just had talent, one could get a lot stronger in a short period of time.


    "Kang-Woo!" Yeon-Joo ran toward him. "Where were you? What about the demons?"


    "I eliminated them."


    "¡­ By yourself?"


    He nodded.


    Yeon-Jooughed in disbelief. "It''s not like there were just a couple of them. There should''ve been at least a hundr¡ª"


    "To be exact, 237."


    "How did you¡­ Fuuu. Forget it. I don''t want to ask." Yeon-Joo shook her head. She cleared her throat and looked at Kang-Woo. "That aside, you''re not hurt, are you?"


    "Of course not."


    "I guess you really are okay, considering you''re as arrogant as ever. Hmph, people like you need to break some bones to be brought down a peg or two."


    She turned her head away while snorting. Unlike her cold words, the tips of her mouth were curled up.


    Kang-Woo smirked and walked past her. After Yeon-Joo, Echidna came running toward him.


    "Kang-Woo, I protected Seol-Ah just like you told me to."


    Hm!


    She snorted.


    "Good job. Not much happened, right?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Yeah. Some flying demonic beasts attacked, but I got rid of them all."


    She looked at him with shining eyes, just like a child waiting to be praised.


    Kang-Woo gently patted her head.


    "Echidna, you go help the injured too."


    "Okay!"


    The treatment of the injured and the restoration of damages took priority for now.


    ''And then¡­''


    He fell into thought. He''d solved the Russia incident and stopped the invasion of demonic beasts and demons.


    ''I have nothing to do.''


    Unless the Demon Cult ran wild again or exposed their tracks, Kang-Woo couldn''t think of anything to do.


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo looked at Echidna, who was running to where the injured people were. Suddenly, a certain thought crossed his mind.


    "Aha."


    He took out his smartphone and checked the date.


    ''I think it''s been about three months.''

 Chapter 135 - Second Summoning (1)

    Chapter 135 - Second Summoning (1)


    The war in Manchuria ended with the overwhelming victory of the yers. It was the firstrge-scale war since the Day of Cmity, so it was understandable that it received attention worldwide.


    Thanks to this incident, China''s and Korea''s national status improved around the world.


    The Demon Cult had been making the world tremble in fear. So now that their firstrge-scale attack was stopped, it wasn''t weird that everyone was so excited about the overwhelming victory.


    ''Although that''s actually not the case.''


    Oh Kang-Woo lightly clicked his tongue.


    Unlike what people thought, they weren''t able to perfectly block the Demon Cult''s attack. All they had done was win the fight against the demonic beasts, which were practically leftovers from the Demon Cult''s n.


    ''They''ll take action again soon.''


    ¡­ And the scale was probably going to be much bigger.


    Eyes deep and sunken, Kang-Woo reached over the table. On it was a Chinese crayfish dish called m longxia. It was obviously his first time eating it.


    He put on stic gloves and grabbed a crayfish.


    ''It''s better for me if they take action first.''


    He chewed the crayfish, which was covered in a red sauce.


    Crunch.


    Its shell cracked, and he could taste the soft meat. He smiled as the sweet and sour vors filled his taste buds.


    ''I''ll keep the gold teeth and chew up everything else.''[1]


    The bigger the move the Demon Cult made, the more he''d be able to gain from them. Considering that he was protecting the world, the situation was kind of ironic.


    ''My top priority is to get stronger.''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure what would happen if the Gaia System kept weakening.


    To stop unexpected variables, he needed to possess enough power to crush those very variables.


    "How is the food?" Tian Suyan asked as she entered the room.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "It''s delicious."


    "¡­ You think it''s delicious when you''re eating it with the shell?" Cha Yeon-Joo looked at him in disbelief.


    Kang Tae-Soo, who was also eating the crayfish without peeling off the shell, tilted his head. "Huh? Shouldn''t you obviously be eating this shell and all?"


    Crunch.


    Tae-Soo grabbed a fistful of crayfish and chewed on them whole.


    "What''s up with this monster?" Yeon-Joo remarked.


    "Fufu. His name is Tae-Soo, and he''s one of my party members," Han Seol-Ah answered with a smile.


    Yeon-Joo shook her head while looking at Tae-Soo, who looked like a monster. She turned her eyes toward Kang-Woo.


    "Anyway, the post-war process is almost over, so we should be getting ready to go back."


    "Oh, yeah. About that¡­" Kang-Woo put down the crayfish. "I have a ce I have to visit first, so go ahead without me."


    "You do? Where?"


    "divostok."


    There was a bit ofmotion.


    divostok¡­


    It was where the SS-rank Gate was located and where the conflict with the Demon Cult had started.


    Yeon-Joo narrowed her eyes. If Kang-Woo was nning to visit divostok in this situation, there was only one possible reason¡­


    "Are you nning to investigate the traces of the Demon Cult? If so, I''ll go with you."


    "No. That''s one of the reasons, but there''s something else too. It''s not a huge deal, so just Echidna and I will be fine."


    Yeon-Joo tilted her head.


    "What do you have to do?"


    "I''m nning to get another summoned beast."


    "A summoned beast¡­?"


    Everyone ced their attention on Echidna.


    Echidna, who was eating the crayfish, stood up in shock.


    "K-Kang-Woo. You don''t need me anymore?"


    She anxiously pulled at Kang-Woo''s sleeves. She seemed to be worried that her ce as his summoned beast would disappear.


    Kang-Woo smirked and patted her head.


    "It''s nothing like that, so don''t worry."


    "Urgh¡­"


    Echidna anxiously bit her lip.


    Seol-Ah softly hugged her from behind.


    "Don''t worry. You know very well what kind of person Kang-Woo is."


    "Yeah, okay."


    Echidna reluctantly nodded as Seol-Ah came in for assistance.


    Kang-Woo said, "Then let''s go right now. Yeon-Joo, once you get back to Korea, check if the Demon Cult has taken action in other countries besides Russia."


    "Would they take action again so soon?"


    "Hmm." Kang-Woo shook his head after thinking about it. "I''m not sure, but there''s nothing wrong with being careful."


    After all, he had to kill demons before anyone else could. He stopped himself from blurting that out and turned around.


    "Let''s go, Echidna."


    "Okay."


    Echidna nodded and followed him.


    * * *


    Kang-Woo headed to divostok on Echidna aftering out of the barracks. He had been able to tell from the demonic beasts'' marching speed that the Manchurian in and divostok were not that far apart.


    Tap.


    "This ce is an absolute mess too."


    The ruined city looked straight out of a post-apocalyptic film. He couldn''t feel any human presence, and after the summoning incident, all of the monsters that had been residing in the city had been killed.


    The only thing left in divostok was silence.


    "Is this the ce, Kang-Woo?" Echidna asked.


    "Yeah."


    He turned his head and saw the SS-rank Gate in the heart of the city.


    Echidna pointed to it.


    "Should I go through there?"


    "Wait. We should look around before that."


    The ce where the demon summoning had happened¡­ Maybe he''d be able to obtain some information.


    Kang-Woo began following the traces of demonic energy. It wasn''t hard to find where therge-scale summoning had taken ce.


    "I don''t see anything like an altar."


    Aplex magic circle was drawn on the floor, but he couldn''t see anything else. He knelt down to observe the magic circle.


    ''Authority of Insight.''


    Kang-Woo observed the magic circle and analyzed how the Demon Cult was able to summon beings from Hell.


    "¡­ Hah."


    Heughed in disbelief, and his expression distorted slightly.


    ''I have no idea.''


    He couldn''t tell. Even though he''d obtained the Ultimate Demonic Body and his control over the Ten Thousand Demon Core had increased, he couldn''t decipher the magic circle drawn on the floor.


    ''How did they develop a technique like this?''


    ording to what he''d heard, the Demon Cult had been present almost a thousand years before the Day of Cmity. They had likely developed their summoning technique over that long period of time, so it was only natural that it would be at such a high level.


    ''But even considering that¡­''


    Was it possible for a human to create a technique that was at a level he couldn''t decipher?


    He couldn''t help but have doubts.


    "Tsk."


    He couldn''t understand it, but he had to acknowledge it.


    ''The Demon Cult far surpasses me in terms of summoning knowledge.''


    Their knowledge was in unknown territory for him.


    Kang-Woo stood up. There were no clues to be found. The only information he could gather was that there wasn''t a way to decipher the Demon Cult''s summoning and seal itpletely.


    "Well, I guess it''s better this way."


    The tips of his mouth went up. He wasn''t nning to stop them from summoning demons in the first ce.


    ''If the only other world besides Earth was Hell, I would''ve used any means necessary to seal it, but¡­.''


    Since he knew there were other worlds besides the Nine Hells, blocking the demon summoning was like halting, of his own ord, his path to grow.


    ''I can''t have that.''


    The Demon Cult was, to him, a jar full of honey. He was going to eat from it for as long as he could.


    "Let''s enter the Gate."


    "Did you find any clues?"


    "No, but it wasn''tpletely fruitless."


    He entered the SS-rank Gate with Echidna.


    A monster charged toward them as soon as they entered, but Echidna got rid of it without Kang-Woo lifting a finger.


    "Don''t touch Kang-Woo."


    Echidna trampled on the corpse of a giant, eight-meter-tall spider.


    Kang-Woo smirked while looking at her.


    ''Echidna''s also be quite strong.''


    He was the source of her power. The more he grew, the stronger she also became.


    ''With this, I guess it won''t matter whichever demonic beast gets summoned.''


    Even if he was unlucky and summoned a weak demonic beast, it would be very powerful as long as it linked with him.


    ''I just hope it''s obedient.''


    He didn''t hope for it to be as loyal as Echidna¡­ He would be satisfied just from it being a dog that didn''t bite its owner.


    ''But still, I''d prefer for it to be strong. Halcyon, please let it be Halcyon!''


    Halcyon was one of the demonic beasts of the Ninth Hell possessing intelligence.


    They rarely left their habitat so Kang-Woo had never seen them, but he had heard many rumors about them.


    ''They are one of the top five demonic beasts.''


    Summoning Halcyon would be like winning the lottery.


    "Right then, let''s go for it."


    He focused his demonic energy and activated the Demonic Beast Summoning Trait.


    Riiing.


    [You have sessfully created a Rift necessary for summoning.]


    [A deeper Rift has been created due to the influence of the Demonic Energy within the Ten Thousand Demon Core (Rank: ???).]


    [A connection to another world could not be obstructed due to the impairment in the Gaia System''s functions.]


    [A dimensional gate leading to the continent of Aernor has been opened.]


    ''What the fuck?''


    He was sure that this time he would finally seed in summoning a demonic beast from the Ninth Hell, but things flowed in a weird direction again.


    ''Where the hell is my Halcyon?''


    He was frustrated. He had been expecting an outrageously powerful demonic beast to appear.


    A blue gate appeared just as it had during his first summoning. A being crossed through it.


    "You''re¡­"


    It was a skeleton wearing a ck robe. Kang-Woo could feel strong demonic energy flowing from its body.


    Light came out from the skull''s eye sockets, and it looked at Kang-Woo.


    [Where am I?]


    "Hmm. It''s a bit hard to exin. First, introduce yourself."


    [I am the one who brings nightmares to Aernor. I am the king of the dead and the overlord of magic.]


    ''This dude''s way of speaking kinda resembles Satan.''


    Enormous demonic energy burst forth. The skull lightly struck his staff downward on the ground.


    [I am the Demon King Vaal Zahak.]


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t close his mouth.


    "¡­ You''re a demon king?"


    Strange.


    ''So am I.''


    1. This is a famous line from the 2010 Korean film The Man from Nowhere. ?

 Chapter 136 - Second Summoning (2)

    Chapter 136 - Second Summoning (2)


    "V-Vaal Zahak," Echidna said in a trembling voice.


    Oh Kang-Woo turned his head toward her.


    "You know him?"


    "Yeah. He''s a powerful Lich living in the Land of Death, the northern end of the continent of Aernor. The people of the continent call him¡­ the demon king."


    Echidna looked at Vaal Zahak warily.


    "Hmm."


    His eyes shone. He turned his head to the skeleton wearing a ck robe.


    ''Demon king, huh?''


    To be honest, it wasn''t important whether Vaal Zahak was a demon king or not. The important thing was if he would be helpful as a summoned beast.


    ''But is he really a demon king?''


    Kang-Woo could feel powerful demonic energy from him. He was definitely stronger than Echidna. But if one asked him if the demonic energy was strong enough for Vaal Zahak to be called a demon king, he couldn''t help but tilt his head.


    ''He doesn''t seem that much stronger than that Anton guy.''


    He wasn''t sure exactly how strong he was, but he seemed simr to or a bit stronger than Anton Sidorovich.


    [I will ask you again. Where am I?] Vaal Zahak said in a dreadful voice, demonic energy swirling around his body.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    "I summoned you."


    [You summoned me?]


    "Yeah, because I needed more summoned beasts."


    [¡­]


    There was silence.


    Yellow light flickered from Vaal Zahak''s eye sockets.


    [A summoned beast¡­? Do you mean to use me, Demon King Vaal Zahak, as your Familiar?]


    "Yeah, more or less."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    [Hah.]


    Vaal Zahakughed in disbelief.


    [HAHAHAHAHAHA! Interesting! How very interesting!]


    ck. ck.


    The cking of bones as the skeleton''s jaw moved could be heard. A strong bloodlust came out from Vaal Zahak, and his eye sockets shone with a ferocious yellow light while looking at Kang-Woo.


    [A mere human dares to use me as a Familiar?]


    "Well, I''m not technically human¡­ Man, this is kinda hard to exin." Kang-Woo scratched the back of his head. "Anyway, it''s true that I''m trying to use you as my Familiar. In exchange, I can promise you that as long as you pledge loyalty to me, I swear I will live up to it."


    It was a principle he had kept ever since he was in Hell. He''d sometimes felt annoyed by Balrog''s extreme loyalty, and he''d also screamed quite a few times after seeing Lilith infiltrating his chambers. But still, he answered their loyalty with appropriate rewards and trust.


    ''That''s the role of a lord.''


    A lord who didn''t care for his subordinates was just an insane tyrant. The way to rule over a group was to repay loyalty with trust and rebellion with severe punishment.


    [HAHAHA! You''re quite fearless for a human!]


    Vaal Zahakughed and slowly raised his hand.


    [Humanscking fear just need to be beaten to be cured.]


    He moved his finger. It seemed like he was casting a spell.


    Kang-Woo sighed after feeling the thick bloodlust Vaal Zahak was exuding.


    ''I guess it won''t be as easy as it was with Echidna.''


    Riiing.


    [The summoned beast is expressing hostility toward its master! The effect of the contract is weakening!]


    [You are unable to give forcedmands due to your weak bond with the summoned beast!]


    Blue message windows appeared as if they were answering his question.


    The demonic energying out of Vaal Zahak''s hands seeped into the ground around him.


    ck. ck.


    Hundreds of skeletons dug themselves out of the ground. They weren''t regr skeletons¡ªthey were wearing armor that resembled what knights used to wear in the Middle Ages.


    Vaal Zahak spread his arms out and shouted, [Look! Feel! Tremble in fear! They are the pawns of the mighty Demon King Vaal Zaha¡ª]


    Tap.


    Kang-Woo lightly flicked his finger.


    Crack.


    The Authority of Waves expanded and swept away the skeletons. The armor they were wearing was distorted, and the skeletons shattered and dispersed.


    [Huh?]


    A confused voice came out of Vaal Zahak. He looked around at his annihted skeletons in disbelief.


    [You''re quite strong for a human!]


    He began shouting as his eyes shone. He put both hands in front of his chest, and a ball of demonic energy formed between his palms.


    [But will you be able to win against Death Knights?]


    The ball between his hands started to grow, bing three meters wide. Just like how demons emerged from the Rifts, skeleton knights appeared from the sphere.


    "Wow."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. Certainly, he could feel a pressure he wasn''t able to feel from the skeletons.


    ''There are about twelve of them.''


    Vaal Zahakmanded the Death Knights, [Go, Knights of the Round Table! Kill the human who has dared to mock me, Vaal Zahak!]


    The Phantom Horses that the Death Knights were riding snorted.


    "Kang-Woo!"


    Echidna stood between the Death Knights and Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo, who was about to create a weapon with the Key of the Demonic Sea, stopped.


    "Hmm¡­"


    He stroked his chin and thought for a moment.


    "Well, this is a good opportunity, so maybe I should leave things to Echidna."


    He thought it would be good to leave things to her once in a while.


    ''Getting real battle experience will be good for her.''


    Kang-Woo crossed his arms and took a step back.


    "Echidna, you try taking them on."


    "Okay! I''ll take them on!"


    Echidna clenched both fists. It was her time to shine.


    ''I''m gonna be praised by Kang-Woo!''


    Intense conviction burned in her eyes. Her body was surrounded by blue light.


    Graaaaahhhhh!


    Echidna instantly turned into a giant dragon over twenty meters tall.


    Vaal Zahak''s eye sockets shone yellow after seeing her.


    [A demonic dragon, huh? I guess he wasn''t just an idiot who didn''t know his ce.]


    A human who controlled a demonic dragon? He''d never heard about such a being, even in the continent of Aernor.


    [How interesting.]


    Vaal Zahak let out a creepyugh and turned his head toward Kang-Woo.


    [He might be better than Reynald.]


    Reynald was the prince of the Arnan Empire, the hero who had awakened as a Protector after being chosen by the gods.


    Vaal Zahak had targeted Reynald and tried to turn him into the strongest Death Knight quite a few times. He had failed every single time due to interruptions from various gods, but he couldn''t feel the energy of the gods from the human in front of him.


    He would be a good alternative to use instead of Reynald.


    Vaal Zahak realized that Echidna was just a hatchling after seeing her full size, so he shouted, [It''s nothing but a hatchling! Kill it!]


    The twelve Death Knights raised their weapons and charged toward Echidna.


    [Now, then¡­]


    Vaal Zahak turned around. There was one thing he had to do while the Death Knights fought the demonic dragon.


    [Huhuhu. How pitiable, human. To make me, Vaal Zahak, take action¡­ Despair from your own weakn¡ª]


    "Right. Let''s fix that manner of speech first."


    Kang-Woo pped his hands together, thinking of the first thing he had to do.


    [¡­ What are you talking about?]


    "Saying your own name is just so goddamn stupid."


    He shook his head while making a tired expression.


    "Satan really annoyed me because of that. I can''t let my summoned beast be like that."


    [Who are you calling your summoned beast?!] Vaal Zahak angrily shouted.


    Strong demonic energy gathered in his hands.


    [It seems I won''t be getting through to you with words.]


    "I agree."


    Kang-Woo created G¨¢e Bulg with the Key of the Demonic Sea.


    If they couldn''t solve the situation by talking, then there was no other way than to overwhelm the other with strength.


    ''But the demon king of Aernor, huh?''


    Kang-Woo remembered that Vaal Zahak had called himself the demon king. To be honest, he knew almost nothing about the continent of Aernor. He had heard some information from Echidna, but he only considered it a ce resembling a fantasy novel.


    ''But if this guy is the strongest being in Aernor¡­''


    If Vaal Zahak was indeed the ''Demon King'' as he had imed¡­


    ''¡­ Then I won''t have to worry about Aernor.''


    m!


    He stomped on the ground. He used the Authority of Haste, and his body shot forward like light. He thrust G¨¢e Bulg at Vaal Zahak.


    [Huup!]


    A barrier of demonic energy was created.


    Kang-Woo didn''t stop and thrust the spear, destroying the barrier.


    Vaal Zahak quickly twisted his body and waved his hand, creating a ck de that targeted Kang-Woo.


    ng!


    Kang-Woo deflected the de with G¨¢e Bulg.


    [Kuh!]


    Vaal Zahak was a mage who fought at a distance while having summoned beasts protect him. He was a textbook necromancermonly seen in video games.


    Whish! Whoosh!


    Kang-Woo thrust G¨¢e Bulg at an incredible speed and didn''t give Vaal Zahak time to cast a spell. It was an attacking style specialized in countering.


    The yellow light in Vaal Zahak''s eye sockets trembled.


    [H-how could a human be so¡­]


    He couldn''t understand Kang-Woo''s strength. Even if a caster was weak in close-rangebat, it was the first time he''d been pushed so much.


    [I guess I have no other choice.]


    At this rate, he would surely lose.


    Vaal Zahak ripped off the bracelet he had on his arm, and the bracelet''s ck gem fell to the ground.


    Since things had turned out like this, he had no choice but to use his trump card.


    ''I never imagined I''d have to use this here.''


    The Blood of the Evil God.


    It had the ability to temporarily summon a being from the demon realm that appeared in ancient mythology.


    It was an item he had kept in case he encountered a situation he couldn''t handle.


    Rumble!


    The surface shook, and a huge storm of demonic energy raged.


    Demonic energy more powerful than Vaal Zahak''s dyed the surroundings.


    ''Hmm?''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    It was the first technique of Vaal Zahak''s that he found menacing.


    He could feel a thrill in his skin. His body trembled in excitement at the thought of battle. No, it was energy so strong that it even made him feel slight fear.


    ''It''s dangerous.''


    He became nervous. The energy was on another levelpared to Vaal Zahak.


    [Come forth! Oh, one that lives in the deepest part of the Abyss, longing for eternity!]


    Crack!


    A giant Rift appeared.


    The air cracked as if a window were shattering, and¡­


    [Who dares to call me?]


    It had goat horns, purple skin, and a giant body over five meters tall.


    The demon that appeared from the Rift stomped on the ground.


    [I am Doomguard, a demon of the Ninth Hell and the protector of destruction.]


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s mouth fell open. It wasn''t because Vaal Zahak had summoned a demon from the Ninth Hell.


    [Aahh, great being from Hell. Please listen to the request of the lowly mortal that has summoned you.]


    [You may speak,] Doomguard replied in a low tone.


    Vaal Zahak pointed at Kang-Woo.


    [Please bring death to my enemy!]


    [Hmm. A battle, is it?]


    Doomguard turned his head. His eyes meet Kang-Woo''s.


    [Huh?]


    Doomguard''s eyes widened.


    [Why, if it isn''t my lord Demon King?!!] He shouted flippantly while waving his giant arms. The overwhelming presence he''d just disyed crumbled almost instantly.


    "¡­ Long time no see."


    Kang-Woo sighed as if he couldn''t believe what was happening.


    Doomguard, the protector of destruction¡­


    That was the name of the demon in charge of the 3rd Battalion of Kang-Woo''s demon army.


    [¡­ Eh?]


    Vaal Zahak was surprised at the meeting of the two demons.


    [What''s going on?]


    Demon King Vaal Zahak, the one who had terrorized the continent of Aernor, looked around in confusion.

 Chapter 137 - Second Summoning (3)

    Chapter 137 - Second Summoning (3)


    [Man~ It''s been so long, my king!]


    Doomguard walked toward Oh Kang-Woo with a cheerful smile on his face.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''Move your face away, man.''


    Doomguard was muscr and over five meters tall. On top of that, he had a face that really fit the name demon. Seeing Doomguard smile like that was like looking at a scene from a horror film.


    "Yeah¡­ How has it been for you guys?"


    [Haha! Hell''s always the same. Hmm, if I had to say, I''d say that the demonic beasts have been wandering around a bit more than before.]


    "Demonic beasts?"


    [Yes. Ancient demonic beasts like Halcyon are expanding their territories.]


    Ancient demonic beasts referred to demonic beasts that had gained intelligence, such as Halcyon, Bul-Kathos, and Ouroboros.


    They had demarcated their own territories in the Ninth Hell and almost never left them.


    "The ancient demonic beasts have started to take action?"


    [Yes. Lord Balrog is investigating the exact cause.]


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo nodded as if he wasn''t that interested.


    ''Are they after my vacancy?''


    He thought about it for a while but soon shook his head. Either way, it was a matter of the Nine Hells. He was already busy enough thinking about matters on Earth.


    Vaal Zahak stepped forward and shouted, [Wh-What are you doing, Lord Doomguard?! Please bring death to that weak and lowly hum¡ª]


    Doomguard''s expression crumpled.


    Fwoosh!


    Crack!


    [Kurgh?!]


    Vaal Zahak fell to the ground after being punched.


    [Weak and lowly human? Watch your mouth, bones. This person is my master and the Lord of Hell.]


    [L-Lord of Hell?]


    Vaal Zahak looked at Kang-Woo, his mouth wide open. His teeth cked together as if he couldn''t believe it.


    [Hmm?]


    At that moment, Doomguard''s expression hardened. His body started to be hazy.


    "What''s wrong?"


    [It seems the summoning duration is up.]


    Doomguard turned around while making a disappointed expression.


    [I will be off then, my king! I will let Lord Balrog know that you''re doing well~!]


    Doomguard waved his hand whileughing.


    Although Doomguard was a charismatic leader in front of his subordinates, he was known for acting cute like a well-behaved dog in front of Kang-Woo, his master. He was so flippant and did not have an ounce of dignity that Balrog had criticized him a few times.


    "Tell him never toe find me," Kang-Woo said in a serious tone.


    Doomguard bowed and disappeared through the Rift from which he had appeared.


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Vaal Zahak moved his yellow lights for eyes in all directions while trying to understand what was going on. He frantically thought about the rtionship between the human in front of him and the being from Hell he''d summoned through the Blood of the Evil God.


    No, there was no need to think about it too deeply. After all, that being from Hell had called the human the demon king.


    Then he had only one choice left¡­


    Vaal Zahak slowly walked toward Kang-Woo. Considering how the situation was ying out, he wasn''t stupid enough to not know what he had to do.


    [Ooohhh!! Almighty Demon King!]


    ''What the hell''s up with him?''


    Vaal Zahak''s attitude had visibly changed.


    Vaal Zahak knelt down and pounded his head against the ground.


    [I knew from the moment Iid eyes upon you that you were the master of the demon realm!]


    ''But you didn''t.''


    [How could I, such a lowly creature, not recognize the energy of the absolute being that rules over all demons?]


    ''But you didn''t.''


    [How could I dare to brandish a weapon against the master of the demon realm? Please look. I am so bare-handed that my hands don''t even have skin.]


    ''You don''t even use a weapon in the first ce. You think you can pull the wool over my eyes?''


    Vaal Zahak''s attitude reminded him of what had happened with Jo Deok-Hyun back in the Andras Guild.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help butugh after seeing how Vaal Zahak''s attitude had changed after realizing he was the Lord of the Nine Hells.


    [To think you''d ept me as your Familiar!! I, Vaal Zahak, am so moved that I am about to shed tears!]


    ''Stop shitting yourself.''


    He obviously couldn''t shed tears because he was a skeleton.


    Riiing.


    [The fidelity of your summoned beast has increased.]


    [You can now use forcedmands. However, extrememands such as suicide are impossible.]


    Message windows popped up.


    Leaving the process aside, it seemed that Vaal Zahak hadpletely submitted to him.


    "Well¡­ Sure, I guess."


    Kang-Woo held his forehead.


    "Huff. Huff. What happened, Kang-Woo?"


    Echidna, who had been fighting the Death Knights, turned her head in confusion.


    The twelve Death Knights Vaal Zahak had summoned were kneeling on one knee toward Kang-Woo.


    "¡­ I took care of the problem," he said while making an ufortable expression.


    Just taking into consideration that Vaal Zahak hadpletely submitted to him, the problem had indeed been resolved.


    ''But more importantly¡­''


    There was something more important than Vaal Zahak at the moment.


    "How did you summon a being from the Nine Hells?"


    "Nine Hells? Oh¡­ Are you talking about the demon realm?"


    It seemed that, on the continent of Aernor, they referred to the Nine Hells as the demon realm.


    ''So that means¡­''


    Kang-Woo stroked his chin.


    It didn''t matter what name they used.


    ''The Nine Hells is not only connected to Earth but also to the continent of Aernor.''


    There was a chance it was also connected to numerous other worlds.


    In the first ce, if every world waspletely segregated from one another, there wouldn''t be an entity like the Gaia System that prevented otherworldly invasions.


    Kang-Woo nodded and said, "So, you can summon beings from the demon realm?"


    If that was the case, he didn''t need to wait for the Demon Cult to summon demons. The problem would be solved just by having Vaal Zahak summon them.


    [Oh¡­ No, I cannot.]


    Vaal Zahak shook his head.


    [The reason I was able to summon the being from the demon realm was thanks to the artifact known as the Blood of the Evil God. I cannot dare to summon a being from the demon realm without the artifact''s help.]


    "Tsk."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue in disappointment.


    He thought that, instead of roaming around searching for prey to hunt, he''d be able to live a stable andfortable life farming demons, but things in life never went as he wished.


    "Who''s this Evil God?"


    [Evil God Lucifer. He is the root of all evil in the continent of Aernor.]


    "¡­ Lucifer?"


    Lucifer of Pride.


    It was the name of one of the seven princes of Hell, who had lost against Kang-Woo.


    ''Could it be a coincidence?''


    A short thought crossed his mind. He shook his head. There was no way it was a coincidence.


    ''How was he revived?''


    Numerous possibilities crossed his mind.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    ''It''s not like it''s impossible.''


    Kang-Woo had notpletely killed the princes. Their souls had fled into the Hell Armaments. If their souls were intact and the Hell Armaments still existed, it wouldn''t be impossible for them to be revived.


    Kang-Woo had used the seven Hell Armaments to return to Earth.


    If one of the Hell Armaments had found its way into the continent of Aernor in the same way he''d returned to Earth¡­


    ''There''s a chance that Lucifer was revived in Aernor and came to be known as the Evil God.''


    Just like Earth, Aernor''s forces were weakpared to the Nine Hells.


    Kang-Woo could tell just from the fact that Vaal Zahak was called a demon king and how much he worshiped the demon realm.


    If Lucifer had been revived in a world like that, Kang-Woo had no doubt he would be considered a godlike being.


    ''But¡­''


    There was still an unanswered question.


    "You said that Lucifer was the root of all evil, right?"


    [That is correct.]


    "Since when has he been in the continent of Aernor?"


    [I do not know either, except that it was a very long time ago¡­]


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''The timeline is weird.''


    It had been only half a year since Kang-Woo had returned to Earth.


    Even if a Hell Armament had found its way into Aernor, the timeline didn''t match.


    "¡­"


    He kept thinking, although not for too long. The result was already there. He was, at the moment, just trying to understand the process that led to this result.


    ''The timeline got tangled.''


    He wasn''t sure if it was an issue on Aernor''s end or if the Hell Armament itself had gone back in time much further than the point Kang-Woo had traveled to.


    The only thing he was sure of was that the timelines between the dimensions were not synchronized.


    ''The Nine Hells is also connected to the current world, a world ten millennia behind the Nine Hells'' point in time.''


    The demons from the Ninth Hell knew of Kang-Woo''s existence, meaning that Earth had been connected to the Nine Hells ten millennia in the future when Kang-Woo was active.


    From that alone, it was obvious that the timeline had gotten entangled.


    "Damn."


    His mind was in jumbles. Kang-Woo leaned his back against a tree and organized the information inside his head.


    ''The timeline entanglement isn''t important right now.''


    The important thing was that Lucifer had been revived, and he also needed to consider the possibility that the other princes had also been revived.


    "¡­ Wait."


    Kang-Woo was thinking about it with a troubled expression when his eyes suddenly shone.


    ''Wouldn''t I be able to absorb the souls of the princes now?''


    With his new Trait Reaper of Souls, he could possibly get his hands on the souls of the seven princes of Hell, which he had been unable to devour with the Authority of Predation.


    ''I''ll have to gather more information first.''


    He still didn''t know if all the princes had been revived or if it was just Lucifer. Besides, Lucifer did not exist on Earth.


    He couldn''t stay indolent, but it wasn''t like he had no time to waste.


    "Then, where in Aernor is Lucifer right now?" he asked the bowing Vaal Zahak.


    Vaal Zahak raised his head. [I do not know either.]


    "I see."


    Kang-Woo nodded. Even if Vaal Zahak knew where Lucifer was, since Kang-Woo had no way to cross into Aernor, there was nothing he could do.


    ''Also, if Lucifer has recovered his old strength¡­''


    With Kang-Woo''s current strength, he would be no match for Lucifer.


    ''I''ll have to take the worst possible oue into ount.''


    He had to consider the possibility of battling the princes.


    ''My agenda remains unchanged.''


    He just had to keep doing what he''d been doing until now. He had to keep devouring and getting stronger. He had to recover his old strength from when he used to rule over the Nine Hells.


    ''No.''


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists.


    After awakening as a yer, a new desire ignited in him.


    A domain he hadn''t been able to reach even in the past¡­


    The desire to reach that domain burned his throat.


    ''Slow down.''


    He quelled his burning desire. He had to refrain from rushing. Rushing only bred mistakes.


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his mouth. He had another question before going back.


    "But why was Lucifer unable to rule over Aernor?"


    The princes of Hell were strong. Taking into consideration the average strength of the people that lived there, there probably wasn''t anyone capable of stopping him.


    He should have ruled or perished, one or the other.


    "Kang-Woo, that''s because of the archangels from the celestial realm," Echidna said. Because Kang-Woo kept only asking Vaal Zahak questions, Echidna sulked and pulled on Kang-Woo''s clothes.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head.


    "Archangels?"


    "Yeah. This is from ancient mythology, but I read that archangels descended from the celestial realm to prevent the rise of the Evil God."


    "The celestial realm, huh¡­?"


    Since the Nine Hells existed, it was understandable that a world opposite to it existed.


    "Do angels still exist in the continent of Aernor?"


    Echidna shook her head.


    "No. After the war against the Evil God, they all disappeared. After that, the Evil God also vanished into thin air."


    "I see."


    It seemed that Kang-Woo wouldn''t need to take angels into ount. Since Lucifer was in hiding, Kang-Woo had some time.


    ''I more or less understand.''


    It would be better if he heard the rest of the information while going back to Korea.


    "Let''s go back. Oh, Vaal Zahak, do you have any magic that lets you conceal yourself?"


    Vaal Zahak looked like a white skeleton.


    [Of course! I, Vaal Zahak, can melt down into the shadows and rule over the darkne¡ª]


    Crack.


    [Gyaaaa!! M-My skull!!!]


    Vaal Zahak screamed. It seemed he could still feel pain.


    "Vaal Zahak, I told you not to talk like that earlier."


    [I-I understand.]


    Kang-Woo turned around. Suddenly, he pped his hands together as if he''d remembered something. After discovering that Vaal Zahak could feel pain, he had begun to wonder about something.


    "Oh, right. Can you eat?"


    [Eat¡­ you say?]


    "Yeah. It doesn''t look like you can, though."


    [Oh. I don''t need sustenance, but I can eat. If food enters this area here, I can break it down from within.]


    Vaal Zahak pointed to a ck space in his throat.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    "Oh, then do you also have a sense of taste?"


    [My sense of taste is poorer than that of a human, but¡­ I can still taste. Why are you suddenly asking me this?]


    Vaal Zahak tilted his head in confusion.


    Kang-Woo smirked and put his arm on his shoulder.


    "Let''s go."


    [Go where¡­?]


    "To get some kimchi stew."


    [What is kimchi stew?] Vaal Zahak asked, his eye sockets shining with a yellow light.


    Kang-Woo patted his shoulder.


    "You''ll find out soon enough, man."

 Chapter 138 - Kim Si-Huns Return (1)

    Chapter 138 - Kim Si-Hun''s Return (1)


    Winter arrived, snow piled up, and icy winds blew. Three months had passed since the war at the Manchurian in.


    The Demon Cult had ceased all activities and hid themselves as if they¡¯de to some sort of agreement among themselves. Rumors spread that the Demon Cult had run away with their tail between their legs.


    The world leaders and the top Rankers knew that was nothing but wishful thinking, even though China and Korea had beaten the Demon Cult. They all thought that there was no way that was the extent of the Demon Cult''s forces.


    Time flew by like the calm before the storm.


    * * *


    "Yawn."


    As rays of sunshine shone into the room through the window, Oh Kang-Woo stretched out and got up from bed. He''d slept for only an hour, but that much sleep was enough to reinvigorate him. That was possible because a demon''s body didn''t need sleep in the first ce.


    "Hmm."


    He leaned his back on the pillow and picked up his smartphone. He''d received a few texts from Cha Yeon-Joo and Tian Suyan.


    Kang-Woo thought of what he''d done for the past three months.


    He''d focused on two things since returning to Korea¡ªDemon Cult activities all over the world and Mythic-grade equipment. Kang-Woo had been searching for signs of the Demon Cult''s activities so that he could devour demons, and he looked for Mythic-grade equipment so he could rece the now-useless ck Pearl Coat.


    ''I haven''t made much progress with either, though.''


    Tsk. He clicked his tongue.


    Demons had been summoned, but those who summoned them had been insignificant members of side branches that had formed as a result of the Demon Cult rapidly expanding their forces. Those members hadn¡¯t even been true members of the Demon Cult.


    As for the summoned demons, they had been low-ranking demons that resided in the upper Hells¡ªthe First, Second, and Third Hells. They weren''t even worth devouring.


    ''But at least I''d made some progress on that.''


    On the other hand, Kang-Woo''s search for Mythic-grade equipment had been hopeless. He''d thought at first that he could just acquire materials for Mythic-grade equipment by killing boss monsters in SS-rank Gates, but he changed his mind after entering the Gates in Sapporo and divostok.


    The problem wasn''t how strong the boss monsters were. It was that it was really difficult to find the boss monsters inside the Gates, and even when he managed to find and kill them, they didn''t always drop Mythic-grade materials. Additionally, unlike video games, they did not respawn in fixed time frames, so it was impossible to hunt them frequently.


    "Ngh."


    Consequently, Kang-Woo had spent thest three months without any significant progress. Of course, he''d gotten better at using the Key of the Demonic Sea and created newbinations of Authorities and made them into skills¡­ However, he had not been able to raise his stats or level up.


    ''Others have improved much more than I have.''


    Yeon-Joo, Kang Tae-Soo, Han Seol-Ah, and the others had gotten stronger after traveling the world with Kang-Woo.


    Yeon-Joo had managed to break through the Limit of Talent¡ªthe end of the Ninth Awakening¡ªand achieved her Tenth Awakening. She was now strong enough to be on par with a World Ranker.


    Baek Hwa-Yeon and Goo Hyun-Mo had also achieved their Ninth Awakening.


    There was no need to even mention Tae-Soo and Seol-Ah, who had been very talented right from the beginning. They had both broken past the Limit of Effort and achieved their Seventh Awakening. A few days ago, they even managed to reach their Eighth Awakening.


    Choi Eun-Bi, who was a mage-ss yer, fell slightly behind in terms of growth, but she''d also managed to break past the Limit of Effort without difficulty.


    ''They''ve all grown so much.''


    It was as if an author who had failed to bnce the characters had forcibly made them stronger. They were getting stronger at a pace that couldn''t bepared to that of normal yers¡­ Such miraculous growth had only been possible thanks to Kang-Woo carrying them.


    "Well, it needed to be done sooner orter."


    There was a limit on how many things he could do alone. If his allies didn''t be strong enough to defend themselves, things could be quite bothersome.


    ''I wonder how things are going with Si-Hun.''


    It had been three months since Kim Si-Hun left for Shanghai with Tian Wuchen. Kang-Woo was linked to Si-Hun through the Authority of Subordination, so he knew Si-Hun was alive. Nevertheless, he wasn''t sure how strong he''d be.


    ''I''m looking forward to it.''


    Kang-Woo had high hopes since it was Si-Hun, who had always been exceptional.


    Knock, knock.


    "Are you awake, Kang-Woo?" Seol-Ah asked after knocking on the door.


    Kang-Woo stopped thinking and got up.


    "Yeah, just a second."


    He got up and opened the door. Seol-Ah was standing in front of his room with a worried expression.


    "What''s wrong?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Uhmm¡­" Seol-Ah dragged out the end of the sentence. She looked around to make sure that there wasn''t anyone around. Then she said cautiously, "I got my Eighth Awakening a few days ago, right?"


    "You did."


    "A-After that, something strange appeared."


    "Something strange appeared?"


    Kang-Woo looked at her while tilting his head.


    Seol-Ah swallowed nervously.


    "A weird symbol appeared¡­ on my back."


    She turned her back toward him and carefully pulled down the hem of her shirt, showing him her fair skin.


    ''Hallelujah,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    There was no symbol in his field of vision; he only stared at her bare back with intense eyes.


    "...Kang-Woo?"


    "Oh, sorry. My sight''s still a bit blurry."


    He had only slept for an hour, so his vision would naturally be blurry.


    ''Yeah, there''s nothing I can do about it.''


    He was a human being. How could he possibly be okay after sleeping only for an hour?


    Kang-Woo gulped. He pretended to rub his eyes and narrowly opened his eyes.


    He once again took a look at Seol-Ah''s back and saw that there was a symbol that resembled angel wings on it.


    "This is¡­"


    "It appeared a few days ago," Seol-Ah said.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    "What Trait did you get with your Eighth Awakening?"


    "It''s called Wings of Light."


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo gulped. He wasn''t sure if the symbol had appeared because of the Trait¡¯s influence or if there was another reason.


    "Have there been any other changes besides the symbol?"


    "No, nothing yet."


    Kang-Woo took a closer look at the symbol.


    He was having a hard time brushing the symbol off as just being because of Seol-Ah''s Trait. Perhaps it was because Echidna had told him about the beings of the celestial realm.


    ''But still, it¡¯s not like there''s anything I can do about it.''


    It was a frustrating situation.


    Seol-Ah, who realized Kang-Woo was worrying about it, said with a smile, "It''s just a symbol. Nothing else happened, so you don''t have to be so worried."


    "I can''t do that."


    After all, Seol-Ah was very special to him.


    Kang-Woo extended his hand and touched the symbol.


    "Eek!" Seol-Ah shrieked.


    She flinched, and her face became as red as a tomato.


    Kang-Woo ignored her reaction and used an Authority.


    ''Authority of Protection.''


    The Authority of Protection checked the changes in the target''s body in real-time and created a powerful barrier depending on the situation. It continuously consumed demonic energy, so he avoided using it if he could. However, he had to use it now.


    While looking at her back with a serious expression, Kang-Woo told Seol-Ah, "Make sure to let me know if you notice any other changes. Even small things like a nightmare or feeling a little sick. Okay?"


    "O¡­ O-Okay, Kang-Woo."


    Seol-Ah was surprised because Kang-Woo reacted more seriously than she''d expected.


    She bowed her head to hide a smile that she couldn''t hold back.


    ''I''m happy.''


    Seol-Ah wriggled around due to the feelings rising within her. An inexplicable feeling swept through her from seeing that Kang-Woo cared so much about her.


    "Kang-Woo¡­" she murmured with a wet voice.


    Seol-Ah was having a hard time controlling her feelings.


    She was about to turn toward Kang-Woo and say something when¡­


    "Kang-Woo, Seol-Ah, what are you doing here?" Echidna called out.


    This scene of Seol-Ah with the back of her shirt pulled down and Kang-Woo staring fixedly at her exposed back was a breeding ground for misunderstandings.


    "N-Nothing!" Seol-Ah quickly shouted.


    Echidna tilted her head and then tugged on Seol-Ah''s clothes.


    "Seol-Ah, I''m hungry."


    Growl. A cute sound rang out.


    Seol-Ah smiled awkwardly and pulled her shirt back.


    "Just a second. I¡¯ll get breakfast ready in a sh."


    She quickly ran toward the kitchen.


    A few momentster, a delicious smell spread through the house. It was the fragrance of kimchi stew. Kang-Woo had insisted on it, so kimchi stew was always served for breakfast.


    [Oh, is it time to eat?]


    Vaal Zahak opened the door of his room.


    When they were outside, he always hid in Kang-Woo''s shadow, but otherwise, he just roamed around in his normal form.


    "Good morning, Vaal Zahak," Seol-Ah, who was cooking, greeted him.


    At first, she and her mother Kim Mi-Jeong were scared by the sight of the skeleton walking around. Nheless, after some time passed, they both got used to him. They had now reached a point where they were no longer shocked to see Vaal Zahak even in the middle of the night.


    Tap.


    "Breakfast is ready."


    Everyone quickly gathered around the dining table. Breakfast began with a rowdy atmosphere.


    Vaal Zahak grabbed a piece of meat with the chopsticks, which he''d gotten used to using.


    Munch, munch.


    [Hehe. A satisfying feast of blood as always,] Vaal Zahak eximed while taking a sip of kimchi stew.


    The sight of a skeleton eating kimchi stew was extremely bizarre, but the others did not seem to mind.


    [Haha! I can feel the taste deep inside my bones!]


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo let out augh.


    After seeing a skeleton say something like that, he couldn''t help butugh.


    ''What terrific reactions.''


    None of the characters that had been created to react to the food in cooking manhwas would be able to fulfill the role as perfectly as Vaal Zahak was doing right now.


    [Huhu. It was a delicious feast, human girl,] Vaal Zahak said pridefully.


    Kang-Woo''s hands shot at the speed of light.


    Bash!


    [Gyaaaaa! M-My skull!] Vaal Zahak screamed.


    "I told you not to talk to Seol-Ah like that."


    [Kurgh. I-I''m sorry, Master,] Vaal Zahak replied while grabbing the back of his skull.


    "Then I''ll leave the dishwashing to you."


    Kang-Woo patted Vaal Zahak''s shoulder and stood up.


    The yellow lights in Vaal Zahak''s eye sockets shook.


    [Kuh. Why must I, Vaal Zahak, have to¡­]


    Washing dishes¡­ Doing such a thing was unimaginable for him during his days on the continent of Aernor. However, he couldn''t go against his master''smands.


    Vaal Zahak quickly collected the tableware and put on rubber gloves. He grabbed a sponge and put dish soap on it.


    ck, ck.


    He''d be ustomed to washing dishes in the past three months. Vaal Zahak washed the dishes perfectly to the point that they shone.


    He had to finish cleaning up the dishes quickly.


    ''I have to fold theundry too.''


    If he didn''t do that, he wouldn''t have enough time to clean the house in the morning.


    After being forced to do the housework for the past three months, Vaal Zahak had a schedule of what to do in his head.


    ''Why do I, a demon king, have to¡­''


    Demon King Vaal Zahak¡ªthe ruler of death, who had made Aernor tremble in fear¡ªhad been reduced to a ve.


    Once he was done with the dishes, he moved on to folding theundry.


    He trembled while doing that.


    ''I can''t keep living like this.''


    Vaal Zahak''s eyes shone.


    He put theundry down and stood up angrily.


    [Master!]


    "Yeah?"


    [I have tried to endure it all this time, but I cannot take it anymore!]


    It was a voice with deep anger.


    [I must tell you off today!]


    "What? You don''t want to work?"


    [No! That''s not the problem!]


    Boom. Vaal Zahak stomped on the ground.


    [Master!]


    He exuded intense demonic energy as he extended his hand and showed Kang-Woo what was in his hands.


    [How many times must I tell you not to put your socks in the washing machine inside out?!]


    "Oh."


    [You probably have no idea how important this is when foldingundry, Master!]


    "Uhh, yeah. Sorry."


    [Hmph. Please be more careful next time.]


    Vaal Zahak turned around and walked toward the drying rack where he had hung theundry. He collected theundry that had dried in the sunlight. The smell of the fabric softener tickled his nose.


    [Good.]


    Vaal Zahak let out a smile.


    [They¡¯ve dried nicely.]

 Chapter 139 - Kim Si-Huns Return (2)

    Chapter 139 - Kim Si-Hun''s Return (2)


    ''Come to think of it, my Demonic Beast Summoning Trait is no longer on cooldown.''


    Oh Kang-Woo smirked while watching Vaal Zahak fold theundry.


    He''d already performed the demonic beast summoning it twice, but he couldn''t help but think about doing a third one.


    ''Why do they keeping from the continent of Aernor?''


    At first, he wanted a Cerberus and then a Halcyon. However, the result was that he kept summoning beings from Aernor, which was located in another world. It wasn''t at all what he''d expected.


    ''Since my second summoned beast also came from Aernor, the probability of the third oneing from there too is high.''


    In that case, he had to think carefully before summoning another demonic beast. Leaving everything aside, if he ended up summoning Lucifer, everything would be over.


    ''I can''t beat that guy at the moment.''


    The princes of Hell were strong¡ªso strong that he couldn''t think of any other word to describe them. That was clear from how Lucifer was considered a godly being in the continent of Aernor.


    ''The probability should be astronomically low though.''


    Lucifer wasn''t a demonic beast but a demon, so the probability of summoning a demon was likely extremely low.


    ''But it''s also weird to refer to Echidna and Vaal Zahak as demonic beasts.''


    Even if the probability was close to zero, he couldn''t risk it as long as there was a chance that Lucifer could be summoned. Everything he''d worked so hard for could crumble instantly with one mistake.


    ''I can''t let that happen.''


    Kang-Woo shook his head. Even if he needed to do so because of a desperate situation, summoning a demonic beast now would be too risky.


    ''In that case, I''ll just have to wait for the Demon Cult to¡ª''


    Ding, dong.


    His doorbell''s chime rang through his home, cutting his thoughts short.


    "I''ll go," Han Seol-Ah said.


    "No, it''s okay."


    Kang-Woo stood up to answer the door, as he was closer to it.


    ''Is it Cha Yeon-Joo?''


    The only person who would visit him at such an hour was probably Cha Yeon-Joo since she lived close by.


    Kang-Woo opened the front door, and his eyes widened in surprise.


    "Huh?"


    An extremely handsome young man was standing in front of him.


    Among the people Kang-Woo knew, only one person had such an appearance.


    "You''re back," Kang-Woo uttered.


    "Long time no see, hyung-nim."


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    For the past three months, he''d strangely felt lonely, but Kim Si-Hun, his soul-boundrade, had returned.


    ''It''s nice to see him after such a long time.''


    "I''ve missed you," Si-Hun expressed as he hugged Kang-Woo.


    ''Well, I didn''t miss you this much,'' Kang-Woo thought, his expression hardening.


    He smiled awkwardly and gently pushed Si-Hun.


    "Hahaha. Why don''t you calm down first, Si-Hun?"


    "I heard there was a war while I was absent."


    ''Get off me,'' Kang-Woo protested inwardly.


    "I''m¡­ so d you''re safe, hyung-nim."


    ''Seriously, dude. Get off.''


    Kang-Woo used considerably more strength to push Si-Hun off him, but Si-Hun wasn''t budging in the slightest.


    ''Did he eat a bull or something?''


    Si-Hun had be incredibly strong. Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun in surprise.


    Right then¡­


    "Huh?" Si-Hun uttered in shock as his eyes darted toward the living room.


    Upon noticing something, his eyes widened, and an intense Qi burst forth from within him. Si-Hun unsheathed his sword at lightning speed and shot forward.


    "Watch out!"


    [Huh?]


    Si-Hun reacted to the presence of the skeleton, Vaal Zahak, peacefully folding theundry in the living room.


    [How dare a human interrupt the mighty Vaal Zahak foldingundry?!]


    Vaal Zahak was also very powerful. He focused demonic energy on his hands and prepared to fight.


    "Stop!" Kang-Woo shouted.


    He extended his hand toward Si-Hun, who was running forward, and Vaal Zahak, who was facing him.


    ''Fuck, my apartment!''


    The firstfortable home he''d obtained after ten millennia¡­ was about to be destroyed.


    * * *


    "Fuuu," Kang-Woo sighed in relief.


    Before the two shed¡­ Si-Hun had managed to stop at the veryst minute, and Vaal Zahak had automatically stopped because of the forcedmand given to him as a summoned beast.


    "I-I''m sorry, hyung-nim. I didn''t imagine he would be your summoned beast¡­" Si-Hun apologized.


    "No, I get it," Kang-Woo replied.


    Considering that Vaal Zahak looked like an undead monster, it would have been weirder if Si-Hun hadn''t misunderstood.


    "That aside, are you done with your training?" Kang-Woo asked while looking at Si-Hun.


    He couldn''t tell exactly how much Si-Hun had changed, but there was one thing he was sure about¡­


    ''He''s gotten stronger,'' Kang-Woo thought with a smile.


    The Qi circting within Si-Hun couldn''t bepared to before. He had already been incredible; he had always been extremely gifted in terms of his techniques and the knowledge he possessed. What he had beencking was the physique to back up his techniques.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure how much Si-Hun had leveled up over the past three months, but his physical specs improved vastly.


    ''Nice.''


    Kang-Woo nodded while making a satisfied expression.


    Si-Hun''s growth had a greater significance than that of others. No matter how much other people grew, Kang-Woo only saw them as strong enough to take care of themselves. However, Kang-Woo believed there was a chance Si-Hun could be stronger than Echidna or Vaal Zahak, who were truly powerful beings. Now, after seeing how much stronger Si-Hun had be in just three months, Kang-Woo knew that possibility was real.


    "No. I wasn''t able to reach the stage I had been aiming for," Si-Hun answered.


    ''Greedy son of a bitch,'' Kang-Woo remarked inwardly.


    He''d been the one who had made Si-Hun like that. Nevertheless, he felt proud of Si-Hun.


    Kang-Woo drank the coffee that Echidna had brought him and said, "Then why did youe back?"


    It probably wasn''t because he missed Kang-Woo.


    "¡­"


    There was a short silence.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion as he stared at Si-Hun''s stiff expression.


    ¡°Someone came to see me while I was in the middle of my training," Si-Hun finally replied.


    "To see you?"


    "Yes. It was a person wearing a white mask."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. There was one possibility he could think of.


    "Were they a member of Guardians?"


    "Haha." Si-Hun nodded whileughing. "As expected of you, hyung-nim.¡±


    "I can''t think of anyone else who woulde to see you."


    Si-Hun was a Protector, and there were fewer than ten others like him around the world. There was no way they would leave someone as important as him on his own.


    "Yes, a member of Guardians came to see me."


    "Hmm."


    "I''m sure you know them as well, hyung-nim."


    "Hmm? Didn''t you say they were wearing a mask?"


    "After I said I had no intentions of talking to someone who doesn''t show their face, they took off their mask," Si-Hun exined and smiled bitterly.


    Kang-Woo nodded while his eyes lit up with pride. That was a surprising response considering how much of a pushover Si-Hun was.


    "Good. So, who was it?"


    "Grace McCubbin. You''ve heard of her, right, hyung-nim?"


    "Oh."


    There was no way that Kang-Woo hadn''t heard about her¡ªFirst Lady, Grace McCubbin. There probably wasn''t a single yer who didn''t know of her.


    Grace McCubbin was the first ever yer to emerge as well as the strongest. She had made the United States the most powerful country in the world. Listing all of her achievements would probably require quite a few sheets of A4-sized paper.


    ''So, she''s a Protector.''


    Grace had grown at an incredible speed thatpletely outpaced everyone else except Kang-Woo and Si-Hun. It made sense if the reason behind that insane growth rate was her aptitude as a Protector.


    ''She might be even stronger than the rumors say.''


    There was quite a lot of detailed information regarding Grace''s powers because there were many records of her fighting against monsters. Despite that, there had never been any mention of her being a Protector. That meant that she''d hidden information about Guardians and her role as a Protector on purpose. So, there was a chance that she was even more powerful than rumored.


    ''How interesting.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone with interest.


    After he had surpassed 120 in his Demonic Energy stat, he thought he had surpassed every single yer in the world. However, he thought otherwise after finding out that Grace McCubbin was a Protector.


    ''That''s good news.''


    The Protectors and Kang-Woo had the same main goal. As long as Guardians weren''t lunatics like Alec, Kang-Woo could continue being allies with them. It was good news that his allies were stronger than he had expected.


    "So, what happened after you met Grace McCubbin?"


    "I received an offer to join Guardians again."


    Kang-Woo had expected it.


    "I said I''d think about it since I wanted to hear your opinion, hyung-nim."


    "Well done."


    Kang-Woo smiled. Si-Hun had dealt with the matter as Kang-Woo had hoped he would.


    "Then, is Grace McCubbin in Korea at the moment?"


    "I''m not sure about that. But I told her about you, and she asked you toe with me since she wanted to meet you as well."


    "Okay. Did you get her number?"


    "Instead of a number, she told me about how I could meet up with her."


    "What?¡± Kang-Woo uttered, tilting his head.


    Si-Hun stood up and told him, "Follow me. I''ll guide you there."


    * * *


    Kang-Woo told Seol-Ah, Echidna, and Vaal Zahak to stay at home. Then he followed Si-Hun to the rooftop of the apartment building where Kang-Woo lived.


    Si-Hun nced around and then said, "This ce should be good."


    "What are you nning to do?"


    "Just a second, please."


    Si-Hun took out a device that was the size of a fist. It was a mechanical device that shone blue.


    He threw the device on the floor.


    Clink. Whirr.


    "Woah."


    The device opened, and a white Gate that a person could cross through appeared.


    ''It feels like I''m in a science fiction film,'' Kang-Woo thought, smirking.


    He walked through the white Gate with Si-Hun.


    "This is¡­" Kang-Woo uttered.


    He had entered a white space. The ceiling, walls, and even the floor¡ªthey were all shining white with no blemishes.


    The pair walked along a passageway until they reached the door at the end.


    Click.


    Si-Hun opened the door to reveal a white room with a giant circr table in it, where two people were seated.


    ''One is Grace McCubbin,'' Kang-Woo thought, shifting his gaze to the two people.


    Grace was a blonde woman who seemed to be in her mid-forties. She looked the same in person as in the photos that he had seen of her.


    ''The other person is¡­''


    The other person present was a woman sitting in a wheelchair, and she had light-brown hair that reached her waist. She was so thin that she might break if someone were not careful around her. Her skin was sickly pale, and the white dress she was wearing made her appear even more poorly.


    The woman, who seemed to be in her early twenties, had her eyes closed.


    "Nice to meet you," she greeted without opening her eyes. "My name is Gaia."

 Chapter 140 - Gaia

    Chapter 140 - Gaia


    "My name is Gaia."


    Oh Kang-Woo''s eyes widened in surprise.


    The woman in the wheelchair was Gaia¡­ the leader of Guardians and the being whom Kang-Woo thought was rted to the system that was sealing his Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    ''I can''t believe I''ve met her at a time like this.''


    He''d guessed that he would meet her eventually if he stayed with Kim Si-Hun¡­ but he hadn''t expected that it would be this soon.


    ''I never imagined she would make a move herself.''


    Gaia was the leader of Guardians, so he thought he would only meet her after he got a bit closer to the Protectors.


    ''Is Si-Hun that important?''


    In Kang-Woo''s opinion, Si-Hun''s talent was far superior to that of Alec Osborne. This meant that Si-Hun could be special even among Guardians.


    ''Or¡­''


    Kang-Woo lowered his gaze.


    ''They''re that desperate.''


    The Gaia System was getting weaker, and the Demon Cult was like a ticking time bomb. Guardians weren''t in a situation where they could stay still.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo looked at Gaia.


    Despite Gaia''s position as the leader of Guardians, Kang-Woo couldn''t feel any sort of power from her.


    ''Maybe she isn''t rted to the system?''


    Their names could just happen to be the same. That was the worst possible oue from all of the options he could think of.


    ''The name Gaia is quite rare.''


    Kang-Woo had to hear her exnation first before jumping to conclusions.


    He focused on Gaia''s words as Gaia continued speaking.


    "So, you''re the person that Protector Kim Si-Hun spoke of," Gaia said, turning her head to Kang-Woo.


    Her eyes were still closed. However, Gaia''s expression hardened for a moment. Then it rxed.


    "Nice to meet you. I''ve heard about you from Grace. You''re Protector Kim Si-Hun''s sworn brother, right?" Gaia asked.


    ''I guess she can''t recognize it,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    There was no need for him to think deeply about why her expression had hardened for a moment. The answer was that Protectors subconsciously felt a bit of repulsion toward beings from the Rift.


    ''But that feeling isn''t that strong.''


    Si-Hun and Alec had also felt a sense of repulsion toward Kang-Woo, but they hadn''t acted upon it. That meant that the feeling of repulsion was very vague.


    Kang-Woo had been worried that Gaia would be able to figure out his identity immediately, but that didn''t seem to be the case.


    ''What a relief.''


    If Gaia had discovered that he was the Rift Core, things would''ve be problematic.


    Kang-Woo nodded and replied, "Yes. I''m Si-Hun''s sworn brother."


    "Hoho. A sworn brother in this day and age¡­ That''s a kind of rtionship you don''t see often."


    "Hyung-nim is someone more important than family to me. I respect and admire him more than my biological brother," Si-Hun expressed in a firm voice.


    Respect shouldn''t even be mentioned. Si-Hun despised his biological brother, so he wasn''t exaggerating.


    ''You''re embarrassing me, man,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    Why was Si-Hun saying that so passionately? It almost sounded like a love confession.


    Gaia turned her head to Si-Hun.


    "Fufu. You''re a very passionate person, Protector Kim Si-Hun."


    "Pardon? No, I wouldn''t go that far¡­"


    Si-Hun shook his head while flustered.


    Gaia smiled and said, "I can tell how clean and beautiful your soul is¡­ and what it is that you''re trying to obtain to the point of setting that soul aze."


    "¡­"


    Upon hearing those words, Si-Hun remained silent.


    Gaia slowly reached out toward him, but she couldn''t find the right direction, and her hands wandered around.


    Grace McCubbin, who had been standing behind her, took a step forward.


    "This way, Gaia."


    "Ah. Thank you, Grace."


    Gaia followed Grace''s guidance and extended her hand toward Si-Hun.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    ''She really must be blind.''


    Well, there was no point in having her eyes closed all the time if she wasn¡¯t blind.


    Gaia touched Si-Hun and expressed, "I know what conflict you''re going through¡­ your hardships and anguish, but I''m on your side. I want to be by your side and support your wishes."


    "Gaia¡­"


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened. He trembled as if he''d been struck by lightning.


    Gaiaughed and said, "Even though my body is as hideous and ruined as this, I want to help you. Would that be too much?"


    "H-Hideous? That''s not true!" Si-Hun quickly shouted.


    Kang-Wooughed while looking at them.


    ''My, aren¡¯t you two having fun?''


    Anyway, he''d obtained some information.


    ''A ruined body.''


    Kang-Woo looked at Gaia, who was sitting in a wheelchair. He could somewhat understand what she meant.


    ''She''s injured.''


    After taking a closer look, he could tell that Gaia¡¯s ruined body wasn¡¯t due to a physical defect she''d been born with. She''d probably suffered a huge injury and could not move about unless she was in a wheelchair. It was likely due to a simr reason that she was unable to see.


    ''I guess it isn''t just the name that''s the same.''


    After finding out that Gaia was injured, Kang-Woo thought of the Gaia System¡ªthe world''s defense system, which was getting weaker. It made sense that she was severely injured if she was somehow rted to the system.


    "More importantly, let''s get to the main issue at hand," Kang-Woo interrupted, lightly pulling Si-Hun back.


    There was something that Kang-Woo had to check.


    "If you want to have Si-Hun join Guardians, please give us the exact details about the goal and situation of Guardians," he said dryly.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t let Si-Hun join a group whose goal he didn''t even know about. To build a good rtionship with them, he first needed to know what their ultimate goal was.


    "I understand. I will exin to you step by step. Please take a seat," Gaia replied.


    After Kang-Woo and Si-Hun sat down, Gaia continued speaking.


    "Have you heard of the Gaia System?"


    "¡­"


    There was silence.


    Kang-Woo''s gaze wavered as he thought, ''She''s getting straight to the point.''


    The worst-case scenario he''d imagined about only Gaia merely having the same name as the Gaia System did not actualize.


    ''I''m not sure what kind of rtionship they have, but¡­''


    There was a clear connection between Gaia and the Gaia System.


    "Ah," Si-Hun uttered and nodded. "Yes. I''ve heard of it. When I awakened as a Protector, I got a message saying that I was chosen to supplement the Gaia System."


    "Yes. Every person who awakened as a Protector received that message."


    "Could it be¡­ Did you send that message, Gaia?" Si-Hun asked while gulping.


    The names Gaia and Gaia System¡­ Si-Hun also thought the two were rted.


    ''Well done, Si-Hun!''


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists. Si-Hun had asked what Kang-Woo wanted to know the most.


    "No." Gaia shook her head. "I wasn''t the one who sent it."


    "Then¡­"


    "First, I think I should give more details about what the Gaia System is," Gaia said with a smile. "Si-Hun, Kang-Woo, do you two believe in otherworldly beings?"


    "By otherworldly¡­ do you mean like other worlds that appear in manhwa and anime?"


    "Yes, the beings of Hell that the Demon Cult is summoning are beings that have crossed over from a different dimension."


    "Ah."


    "It isn''t just Hell. Numerous dimensions are interconnected. The Gates you are used to are passageways that connect those dimensions."


    "I¡­ see."


    Si-Hun nodded in confusion after hearing a story of such an absurd scale that it was hard to understand.


    Gaia calmly continued, "You can think of the Gaia System as a barrier that protects Earth from otherworldly invasions."


    "In that case, Gaia, you are¡­"


    "I am the Gaia System''s¡­ Fufu, what would be a good word? Incarnation? Agent? Fragment?"


    It seemed like Gaia herself couldn''t exactly define what she was either.


    "Ah, I''ve heard that there is a profession called ¡®miko'' in Japan, referring to women who serve gods. Tranted, I guess it would be a female shaman. It''s not a perfect term for what I am, but it''s close enough."


    "You¡¯re an incarnation¡­?"


    "It¡¯s not as grand as it sounds. I can influence the system a tiny bit, but it consumes an astronomical amount of my power, and there are many restrictions on what I can do."


    "¡­"


    "Hmm. It might be a bit hard to understand. Ah, when the Demon Cult incident happened in Korea, I interfered with the system and sent a message to you, Si-Hun."


    "Oh, back then¡­"


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened. He recalled the sudden quest window that had seemed to be written by someone, unlike the regr system windows sent by the Gaia System.


    Gaia made a self-deprecating smile and stated, "That''s the extent of the things I can do."


    ''I see,'' Kang-Woo thought with a bright gaze.


    He now knew what kind of rtionship Gaia had with the Gaia System.


    ''The incarnation of the Gaia System.''


    However, her role and authority were incredibly limited. From his point of view, it was a bit disappointing.


    ''If she had more authority, she might be able to lift the seal.''


    The most disappointing thing was the seal of his Ten Thousand Demon Core. Just unsealing it would have changed everything.


    ''I guess it won''t be that easy.''


    Kang-Woo frowned. He didn''t like the situation, but there was nothing he could do about it.


    ''It''s okay.''


    It wasn''t like relying on the Gaia System was the only way to weaken the Ten Thousand Demon Core''s seal.


    Leaving the disappointment behind, Kang-Woo focused his gaze on Gaia.


    "Then, is the goal of Guardians to take over the Gaia System''s role and defeat those otherworldly beings?" Si-Hun asked.


    "Yes."


    ''As expected.''


    Kang-Woo nodded. It matched perfectly with what he had expected their goal to be.


    "But Guardians has another goal."


    ''Huh?''


    "What is it?"


    "Fuuu."


    Gaia took a deep breath before saying, "The ultimate goal of Guardians is¡­ to kill the Demon of Prophecy."


    ''What the hell is that?''


    "The Demon of Prophecy?"


    "Yes. Five years ago¡­ on the Day of Cmity, I received a revtion." Gaia clenched her hands into fists and recited the revtion that the Gaia System had sent her that day. "The advent of the Demon of Prophecy will gue thend in the near future."


    ''The Demon of Prophecy, huh?''


    "For that demon will be the lord of Hell."


    ''Huh? Wait.''


    ¡°The lord of Hell will destroy this world and drown it in darkness."


    ''Don''t tell me¡­''


    "Gather the Protectors and kill the Demon of Prophecy to protect this world."


    ''Is the Demon of Prophecy me?''


    Gaia trembled as she said thest part of the revtion, "The Demon of Prophecy is the master of the Demonic Sea with 666 different Authorities. Face him with the full force of the Protectors¡­ That was the revtion I had received."


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Kang-Woo covered his face with his hands.


    ''It really is me. Fuck me.''

 Chapter 141 - Demon of Prophecy (1)

    Chapter 141 - Demon of Prophecy (1)


    "That''s¡­"


    "Fufu¡­ It must be too hard for you to believe at the moment."


    "N-no," Kim Si-Hun said with a trembling voice.


    Gaia turned to Grace McCubbin.


    "Grace, please bring me that."


    "Just a second."


    Grace raised her hand, and blue energy gathered around it.


    Click.


    A wall shining with white light opened, and inside was a translucent blue sphere. The blue sphere, which could be seen through like a hologram, floated over to the table.


    "What is this?" Si-Hun asked while looking at the blue sphere.


    "It is the current state of Earth."


    Gaia extended her hand and touched the blue sphere. As she did that, a white light surrounding the blue sphere rose up as if simting the Earth''s atmosphere.


    Holes were in the protective barrier as if it were mold.


    "Could this barrier of light be¡­"


    "Yes, that''s right. What you are looking at right now is the current state of the Gaia System."


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence. Oh Kang-Woo raised his head and looked at the blue sphere in detail.


    ''Damn it.''


    It didn''t look good. No, it was quite serious.


    He wasn''t sure how much it used to shine, but there were many holes in the barrier of light, and the light itself was also very dim in some areas.


    "Is there a way to restore the Gaia System?"


    To Kang-Woo, restoring the Gaia System, which he had broken, to its original state was as important as getting stronger.


    Gaia made a weak smile.


    "There isn''t a way to restore the Gaia System at the moment."


    Gaia had said it firmly, but Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    "You said ''at the moment.'' Does that mean there might be a way to restore itter?"


    "That''s¡­" Gaia slurred her sentence. She sighed and said, "The Gaia System has a recovery function, but that function isn''t taking effect at the moment. I hope it will recover someday."


    "But you don''t know when that''s going to be?"


    "¡­ Yes." She slightly bit her lips. "To be honest with you¡­ I''m not even sure if the recovery function is still intact. In the worst-case scenario, the Gaia System itself could disappear."


    It was a hopeless situation.


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say there was no realistic way to restore it.


    A heavy atmosphere filled the room.


    "But there is still hope," Gaia quickly added.


    "Hope?"


    She clenched her fists and continued, "The Demon of Prophecy. I believe that if we eliminate that demon, the Gaia System will recover."


    ''That''s not an option, youngdy.''


    Kang-Woo put his hand on his forehead as if his head hurt.


    ''I''m that fucking Demon of Prophecy.''


    He couldn''tmit suicide for world peace.


    That wasn''t an option for him since he wanted to protect the world for his own well-being and peace.


    ''I can''t bite off more than I can chew.''


    World peace was a secondary goal.


    His primary goal was to live in peace with a beautiful girl like Han Seol-Ah as his bride.


    Si-Hun, who had been silently listening, opened his mouth. "I''d like to ask you something."


    "Go ahead," Gaia replied.


    "Is the reason why you are injured¡­ rted to the Gaia System being damaged?"


    "Ah¡­"


    Gaia let out a short exmation. She hesitated to answer for a bit.


    So, instead of her, Grace answered.


    "Yeah. Gaia became like this because the Gaia System''s damage is worsening."


    "G-Grace!"


    "There''s no need to hide it, is there?"


    "But¡­" Gaia slurred her words.


    Grace patted her shoulder and said, "It doesn''t matter what the duty of Guardians is. I''m fighting to heal you."


    A kind smile was drawn on Grace''s face. There was worry and love mixed in her eyes.


    Si-Hun remained silent. He lightly caressed the handle of the sword at his waist.


    "Is there a way to heal Gaia right now?" he asked.


    "There is."


    "Grace. You don''t need to give him unnecessary informa¡ª"


    "The reason doesn''t matter, does it? Our ultimate goal is the same."


    "Well¡­"


    It was a vague conversation. Si-Hun stared at Grace.


    "Will Gaia be healed if we kill the Demon of Prophecy?"


    "Not exactly. There''s no guarantee that the Gaia System will recover if we kill the Demon of Prophecy, but¡­ it''s the best shot we have."


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun clenched his fists. His eyes were trembling while looking at Gaia.


    ''Don''t, Si-Hun.''


    Kang-Woo grabbed his head while looking at Si-Hun, who was burning with a strong sense of justice.


    ''You can''t kill the Demon of Prophecy.''


    Just imagining Si-Hun, whom he had taken care of so much, pointing his sword at him made his head hurt.


    ''Fuck.''


    Kang-Woo frowned. The situation was gettingplex.


    ''It''s not something that can be resolved by just keeping my mouth shut.''


    There had been a revtion. Members of Guardians would be desperately searching for the Demon of Prophecy.


    He still wasn''t sure if they had a way to identify the Demon of Prophecy, but he couldn''t remain on the sidelines doing nothing.


    ''What should I do?''


    For a moment, he felt his head had be nk.


    "Could you give me more details about the Demon of Prophecy?" Si-Hun asked while his eyes shone.


    Gaia carefully opened her mouth.


    "I do not have any exact information, but¡­ I have a few guesses."


    "Please tell me."


    ''Why are you doing this, Si-Hun?''


    "I want to know more about the Demon of Prophecy."


    ''It''s me, bro.''


    Kang-Woo''s inner ramblings didn''t reach Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun was so serious that the others wondered why he was so passionate about it.


    Gaia was also bewildered by his attitude. She slightly flinched and continued.


    "The Demon of Prophecy¡­ is already on Earth."


    "They''re already on Earth?"


    "Yes." Gaia nodded. "It was nine months ago. The exact date should be¡­ May 22nd."


    ''Oh, fuck.''


    "The Gaia System was overloaded and started breaking down on that day."


    ''She''s even sure about the exact date?''


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    If she knew the exact date, his chances of being discovered increased.


    "Has the Demon of Prophecy made any moves ever since that day?"


    "Yes. ording to our guess, there''s a chance that their original strength has been sealed due to the influence of the Gaia System."


    "If their strength has been sealed¡­"


    "We have every single member of Guardians investigating the changes that happened from that day onward. Information about anyone bing illogically powerful, or matters involving the Demon Cult¡­ They might even be among us, disguised as a human being."


    ''I''m fucked.''


    If they investigated Kang-Woo, it wouldn''t be hard to discover he''d Awakened as a yer around that date.


    Taking into consideration how powerful Kang-Woo was while not being a Protector, he would have a hard time avoiding being suspected. After all, Kang-Woo''s extremely fast growth rate couldn''t be exined with a simple excuse such as talent.


    ''At this point, it''s a miracle that I haven''t been found out.''


    He had to find a way to escape suspicion.


    His head became messy.


    ''What should I¡ª''


    m!


    ''Huh?''


    He heard a dull sound.


    Si-Hun had mmed the table with his fists and stood up.


    "I see. I get it now¡­" Si-Hun mumbled with a trembling voice. He was biting his lip so hard that it was bleeding.


    ''What''s up with him?''


    "What''s wrong, Protector Kim Si-Hun?" Gaia asked.


    "I''ve figured it out."


    "Pardon me?"


    Si-Hun''s eyes shone intensely. He spat out, "I think I know who the Demon of Prophecy is."


    ''Huh?''


    "Wh-What do you¡­"


    Everyone was shocked. Si-Hun''s low voice spread through the room.


    "Satan. That man is the Demon of Prophecy."


    ''Oh, wait.''


    "Satan, you say?"


    "Yes. I''ve kept this a secret from everyone, but I had met him three months ago."


    ''Is this how it''s gonna y out?''


    Kang-Woo''s mouth fell open. To be honest, he had never expected it to y out like this.


    "Si-Hun, th¡ª"


    "I''m sorry for not telling you before, hyung-nim. I was worried you''d be killed if you got involved."


    "Protector Kim Si-Hun, please give us more details."


    "That day, I went to the hotel rooftop after being contacted by Mr. Osborne¡­"


    Si-Hun''s exnation continued. The more the story went on, the more Gaia''s and Grace''s expressions hardened.


    "Th-Then¡­ Protector Alec went missing because¡­"


    "He wasn''t killed by a Demon Cult assassin but by the Demon of Prophecy?"


    The two women were astonished.


    Si-Hun nodded.


    "Yes."


    ''Si-Hun.''


    "All this while, I had no idea why Satan had attacked Alec, but¡­ I think I get it now."


    ''I love you, Si-Hun.''


    "Satan was trying to get rid of a Guardians member because he was a threat to him."


    ''Yes! Fantastic work, my boy!''


    "Satan is the Demon of the Prophecy."


    "A-Aaahhh¡­"


    A short exmation came out of Gaia''s mouth.


    m!


    "Hyung-nim?"


    "Kang-Woo?"


    After Si-Hun, Kang-Woo angrily stood up. He grabbed Si-Hun''s shoulders while looking at him intensely as if actually furious.


    "So what you''re saying is that son of a bitch Satan tried to hurt you, right?"


    "Oh, u-uhmm¡­"


    "Tell me the truth. Did he try to kill you?"


    "¡­ Yes."


    Si-Hun nodded with difficulty, as if he had found the incident of that day insulting.


    Kang-Woo turned his head toward Gaia.


    "Can Guardians only be joined if one is a Protector?"


    "Pardon? Y-Yes, ording to the rules¡­"


    "This is no time to quibble over rules."


    Kang-Woo let his energy burst out. Intense and suffocating energy pressured the surroundings.


    "I will also join Guardians."


    He had no other choice.


    ''Now that it''se to this, I''ll go against Satan!''

 Chapter 142 - Demon of Prophecy (2)

    Chapter 142 - Demon of Prophecy (2)


    "P-Please wait."


    Gaia seemed confused by everything that was said.


    "Protector Kim Si-Hun, can you swear that what you''ve just said is true?"


    "Yes."


    Kim Si-Hun nodded without hesitation. Gaia took a deep breath at his answer.


    "You said that Satan looked like a human, correct?"


    "To be more precise, it was just the outline of his body. He was shrouded in darkness, so I couldn''t see his exact features."


    "I see."


    Gaia nodded.


    "First, I understand what you are saying. Taking into consideration that Protector Alec was being targeted by the Demon Cult, there is a high chance that Satan is a member of the Demon Cult."


    "I guess our ultimate enemy is the Demon Cult, then," Oh Kang-Woo said.


    The Demon Cult¡­ They''d existed for more than a thousand years. They were evil beings who worshiped demons and epted their power.


    ''They''d be more than capable of being involved with the Demon of Prophecy.''


    He nodded. If one thought about it, it would be natural that Satan, the Demon of Prophecy and one who was trying to bring destruction to the world, would join forces with them.


    Gaia''s expression darkened.


    "I guess so. Haaa. If he has already entered the Demon Cult, the situation has worsened."


    "Even three months ago, Satan was able to overpower Alec easily. If that was his weakened state¡­ I don''t even want to imagine how strong he would be if he recovered his previous strength."


    There was a grim atmosphere in the room.


    Kang-Woo turned his head toward Gaia.


    "Now, are you still going to stand your ground on the rule that only Protectors can join Guardians?"


    "¡­"


    Gaia remained silent. It didn''t take long for her to make a decision. She turned her head toward Grace McCubbin.


    "Grace, please bring that to me."


    "Okay."


    Grace brought out two rectangr boxes. As she opened the boxes, in each was a white mask and a crystal orb the size of a ping-pong ball.


    Gaia fumbled around the table and raised up a mask in one of the boxes.


    There was a blue shield engraved on the mask.


    "There are many cases in which members of Guardians have to act secretly, so they must wear a mask while on missions. Hmm, to put it bluntly, you could say that this mask is the symbol of Guardians."


    "Ah¡­"


    "First, Protector Kim Si-Hun, may we ask for your help in protecting the world and eliminating the Demon of Prophecy?"


    "Of course."


    Si-Hun nodded as his eyes zed with passion.


    Gaia smiled. She gave the mask in her hands to Si-Hun.


    "Wee to Guardians."


    "¡­ Thank you very much."


    Si-Hun epted the mask while making aplex expression. He took the mask and ced it over his face. It seemed there was a special effect on the mask, causing a short exmation to escape Si-Hun''s mouth.


    "Ah."


    "Fufu. Did you think it was just a in mask?"


    After giving him the mask, she gave him the transparent crystal orb the size of a ping-pong ball.


    "This is amunication device that''s given to Guardians members. You canmunicate with us even if you''re inside a gate or on the other side of the world, and if you put it on the floor, you can open a gate that leads to here, the Hall of Protection."


    "But what if it gets stolen from me¡­?"


    One could open a gate that led to the base from anywhere¡­


    It was an item that could cause a catastrophe if an enemy got their hands on it.


    Gaia lightlyughed at Si-Hun upon hearing his worried voice.


    "It is bound to its owner. Just a piece of Legendary-grade equipment, so there is no need to worry about that."


    "Ah, I see."


    Si-Hun nodded. On the other hand, Kang-Woo had aplex expression.


    ''They aren''t even considering the possibility of betrayal?''


    Even if the item was bound to its owner, the group would be stabbed in the back instantly if the person were to betray them.


    From Kang-Woo''s point of view, it was far toocent of an item.


    ''Well, it doesn''t really matter to me.''


    They probably weren''t giving out such an important item because they were dumb.


    The mask and crystal orb were symbols of trust¡ªthat''s how much Gaia trusted each Guardians member.


    Considering that there were two boxes, Kang-Woo was certain that she was willing to ept him as a member of Guardians.


    As her trust in him grew, Kang-Woo would be able to hide the fact that he was, in reality, the Demon of Prophecy even better.


    "Next¡­"


    She turned to face Kang-Woo, holding a second mask in her hands.


    "Kang-Woo."


    "Yes."


    She extended the mask to him.


    "You''re right. In times like this, we cannot afford to insist on the rule that only Protectors can join Guardians. However, I am epting you as a member of Guardians not just because we do not have any leeway."


    Her voice was passionate. Kang-Woo remained silent.


    She said, "Your affection for Protector Kim Si-Hun and how angry you became when you realized that Satan had targeted him were the two decisive reasons."


    "Si-Hun is a precious little brother to me. The Demon of Prophecy, or whatever his name is, cannot be forgiven for trying to kill Si-Hun."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes were burning with passion, and his voice was powerful.


    It felt like a bit much considering they were only sworn brothers, but its effect was impressive.


    "H-Hyung-nim."


    "Fufu. You have a fantastic sworn brother. To be honest, when I first heard about you through Protector Kim Si-Hun, I was worried that his trust in you was excessive, but I guess I was worried for nothing."


    Si-Hun was so moved that he was trembling. Gaia smiled in satisfaction.


    Kang-Woo felt inwardly ted.


    ''Thanks, Satan!''


    If Satan heard this, he would have shaken his head in dissatisfaction.


    But from Kang-Woo''s point of view, everything was flowing in a great direction.


    "Kang-Woo, although you are not a Protector, I believe you are worthy of being called one based on your strong sense of justice."


    ''Yeah, of course I am.''


    "Then, Kang-Woo, may we ask for your help in protecting the world and eliminating the Demon of Prophecy?"


    "Of course."


    He nodded without hesitation. He was overflowing with a strong sense of justice from being able to join Guardians.


    ''Yeah, there''s no one more righteous and pure-hearted than me.''


    Gaia nodded at Kang-Woo''s choice.


    "Wee to Guardians."


    He received the mask with a blue shield engraved on it.


    He put it on.


    Riiing.


    [You have be a member of Guardians.]


    [Activating the effect of ''Blessing of Gaia.'' This blessing has a greater effect on yers chosen to be ''Protectors.'']


    [You are not a ''Protector.'' Reducing the effect of the blessing.]


    [Raising all stats by 1.]


    Rumble!


    "Huh?!"


    "This is¡­"


    The Hall of Protection shook.


    The Blessing of Gaia was a strong buff for Protectors, but Kang-Woo had only managed to receive a fraction of its full effect because he was not a Protector.


    But¡­


    ''It raised all my stats by one.''''


    A smile appeared on his face.


    For other yers, a single point to all stats was probably nothing¡­


    But from Kang-Woo''s point of view, it wasn''t just a single point to every stat.


    His Demonic Energy stat was so high that it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that it had surpassed the limit of what a yer could achieve.


    So for him, the difference of a single stat point was huge.


    ''Hell yeah, I''m surging with demonic energy!''


    As his stat increased, an explosive amount of demonic energy was created anew.


    He would''ve probably been found out if he wasn''t able to conceal his demonic energy with his Ruler of Demonic Energy Trait.


    He would be able to fully use the energy once he melted the newly created demonic energy into his bloodter through the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique.


    ''I think I could be a match for Doomguard now.''


    Doomguard, the protector of destruction. He was themander of the 3rd Battalion of Kang-Woo''s demon army and was also an archdemon among the demons of the Ninth Hell.


    He wasn''t as strong as Balrog or Lilith, who were both as powerful as the seven princes of Hell, but he was strong enough to massacre hundreds of demons of the Ninth Hell in seconds.


    ''This was an unexpected profit.''


    He almost felt proud of bing a member of Guardians.


    "I hope we get along from now on."


    After receiving themunication crystal, Kang-Woo shook Gaia''s hand.


    "Ah, yes. I hope so too."


    Gaia was surprised by the explosive burst of energy, but only for a short while. She soon put on a bright smile.


    "Please let me know as soon as you get information regarding the Demon Cult."


    "Okay. As for missions, I will contact you through themunication orb at ater date. Oh, and feel free to visit the Hall of Protection any time you want. It gets lonely being here by myself."


    Gaia waved her hand. Her arms were so thin that it seemed like they would break if one wasn''t careful.


    Si-Hun''s eyes sank as he saw those arms.


    "Okay. I will be waiting for your call."


    He turned around and opened the door. After they left the gate, they were greeted by familiar scenery.


    It was the rooftop of the apartment where Kang-Woo lived.


    "¡­ Thank you, hyung-nim."


    "It was nothing."


    ''I should be the one thanking you.''


    Kang-Woo smiled and patted Si-Hun''s shoulder. Si-Hun''s eyes teared up as if he were moved.


    "Hyung-nim."


    "Hmm?"


    Si-Hun raised his head and looked up at the sky.


    ''This son of a bitch is too handsome.''


    Just him looking up at the sky made it look like he was in the middle of a photoshoot.


    "I kind of feel like¡­ I''ve gained a new goal today."


    "A new goal?"


    "Yes."


    Si-Hun nodded while making a serious expression.


    "I''ve fallen in love with someone."


    ''What kind of bullshit is this now?''


    Kang-Woo looked confused. Why was he suddenly talking about love?


    "Don''t tell me¡­"


    "I became sure of it the moment I saw her. It is my destiny to protect her."


    Kang-Woo went silent.


    Si-Hun turned and leaned against the rooftop railing.


    "I can''t forget her frail body, which could break at the slightest touch."


    Si-Hun clenched his fist.


    "And¡­"


    A strong energy and deep bloodlust rose from inside him.


    "I will kill Satan, who made her that way, with my own hands."


    "¡­"


    "You''ve seen her too, hyung-nim. She couldn''t even walk or see."


    ''Si-Hun.''


    "It''s all because Satan came to Earth. He ruined the Gaia System and killed a Protector."


    ''Wait a second, Si-Hun.''


    "I''m so frustrated and angry. I think it''s the first time I''ve felt this way in my entire life."


    ''What''s wrong, man?''


    "I want to protect her."


    Kang-Woo could see Si-Hun''s eyes burning with motivation. On the other hand, Kang-Woo was feeling more and more guilty.


    "I want to protect her and make her smile."


    ''I get it, so stop, dude.''


    "Hyung-nim."


    ''I didn''t know things would turn out like this either.''


    "Thank you for helping me."


    ''I couldn''t just rot in Hell forever, you know? I stayed there for ten millennia. Isn''t that long enough? How much longer was I supposed to stay there for?''


    "I wouldn''t be feeling so reassured if it hadn''t been for you, hyung-nim."


    ''Do you know Lilith? Huh? Do you know her? A thousand years with her, and you wouldn''t give a flying fuck ifing back to Earth would paralyze someone''s legs and make them blind!''


    Smiling awkwardly, Si-Hun scratched his head.


    "Haha. It''s kind of embarrassing to say something like that with my own mouth, but I became sure of it thanks to you staying by my side."


    Kang-Woo lowered his head.


    ''I''m sorry, Si-Hun.''


    Kang-Woo''s hands and feet trembled from guilt.


    Si-Hun extended his hand.


    "Hyung-nim, let''s kill the Demon of Prophecy and protect this world together."


    There was silence. Kang-Woo''s expression seemed troubled, but that was only for a brief moment.


    Kang-Woo grabbed Si-Hun''s hand.


    "Let''s do it."


    ''I don''t give a fuck anymore.''


    He gripped Si-Hun''s hand tighter.


    "Let''s protect this world from Satan."


    The Demon of Prophecy, Satan.


    That filthy and wicked demon had not been satisfied with ruling the Nine Hells and hade to Earth. He had damaged the Gaia System that was protecting Earth and was trying to take it over.


    ''Unforgivable.''


    Kang-Woo surged with anger. Satan had dared to reduce Si-Hun''s first love to such a state.


    To him, Si-Hun was someone with whom he shared a bond thicker than blood, and even their souls were linked. As his sworn brother, Kang-Woo couldn''t stand for it.


    ''In the name of justice, I''ll punish you.''[1]

 Chapter 143 - First Mission

    Chapter 143 - First Mission


    After that day, Kim Si-Hun went to train with Tian Wuchen again.


    In the first ce, he had only returned from Shanghai because of Grace McCubbin''s sudden visit.


    Si-Hun, who had be stronger after receiving the Blessing of Gaia, returned immediately to Shanghai.


    "I wille back stronger than Master," Si-Hun had said confidently.


    Wuchen, who had been right next to him, frowned. His reaction was natural since a newbie was trying to surpass him after just a few months of training. However, he couldn''t deny that Si-Hun was growing that fast.


    "Damn, why did I pick up such a monster of a disciple in my retirement years¡­" Wuchen had said in disbelief at Si-Hun''s incredible growth rate.


    Even if Si-Hun possessed the Heavenly Martial Physique, he never imagined he''d grow so fast.


    If Si-Hun were the protagonist of a martial arts novel, he still wouldn''t have been able to grow so quickly. But Si-Hun was a yer. Stats rose as they leveled up. And stats provided power as if creating power out of nothing.


    It had been one week since Si-Hun and Wuchen had left for Shanghai.


    Oh Kang-Woo gathered information about the Demon Cult through regr meetings with Gaia and Grace.


    And¡­


    "I will give you your very first mission, Kang-Woo."


    ''Finally!''


    Kang-Woo eximed in delight at Gaia''s words.


    He''d been desperately waiting for information on the Demon Cult, and something had finally been caught in Guardians'' informationwork.


    "What sort of mission?" Kang-Woo asked while making a serious expression.


    One''s expression and eyes were the most important things.


    He couldn''t look too happy to hear that the Demon Cult had made their move. He had to make an expression that showed a mixture of worry and anger.


    ''This kind of thing is my forte.''


    He was very confident in controlling his emotions, which was far easier than controlling the impulsive desires that came with a demon''s body.


    "The Gaia System has been weakeningtely," Gaia said.


    "¡­ Wasn''t that already happening?" Kang-Woo asked.


    Gaia shook her head.


    "Yes, but not at this fast of a pace. We believe there is a different cause."


    "Hmm. Have you been able to find out where it has been happening?"


    "I am not sure, but we received information that traces of the Demon Cult have been found in Korea."


    "Korea?"


    That was unexpected. The Demon Cult in Korea had copsed after Baek Kang-Hyun''s death.


    ''Did an entirely new branch take their ce?''


    He had no idea. He also wasn''t sure why foreign Demon Cultists woulde all the way to Korea to execute their n.


    "Yes. Traces have apparently been found in a Gate near a city called Daegu."


    "Daegu is¡­"


    Just like in Sapporo, Japan, there were cities in Korea that had also fallen into ruin after the Day of Cmity. Daegu was one of the cities that had it the worst.


    ''The situation''s a little different from Sapporo, though.''


    In Sapporo''s case, the city''s restoration was dyed because the monsters inhabiting the ruined city were too strong, but in Daegu''s case, there was another reason.


    ''They can''t afford to reim it.''


    It had been five years since the Day of Cmity. No, it was about to be six.


    Running a country after the Day of Cmity was already a miracle, so neglecting the restoration of a city due to ack of money could not even be considered a controversy.


    "I understand," Kang-Woo replied.


    "We will be leaving it in your good hands. If it''s too much for you to do alone, you could ask Protector Kim Si-Hun to¡ª"


    "No, Si-Hun is focusing on his training right now. I can''t get in his way."


    "Then how about other Protectors? Grace is in the United States right now, but Protectors Zhuge Xian and Ito Shinji can provide you with assistance."


    Zhuge Xian and Ito Shinji.


    They were the names of the Chinese and Japanese Protectors he''d heard of after joining Guardians.


    They weren''t yers who were publicly known like Alec Osborne and Grace McCubbin. Forget World Rankers; they weren''t even registered as Rankers.


    ''ording to what I''ve heard, they seem like good people.''


    But he wasn''t sure if, by good people, they would be someone like Alec or Si-Hun.


    It was obvious that Gaia didn''t have an eye for people, taking into consideration how Alec Osborne was.


    ''Well, I guess that''s notpletely true.''


    In the cases of Si-Hun and Grace, they both had great talent and qualities as Protectors.


    ''Considering she epted me as a member of Guardians while breaking the established rule, you can''t say she doesn''t have an eye for people at all.''


    There probably weren''t many people who could contribute to world peace with such pure intentions.


    "I will give the investigation a shot on my own first," said Kang-Woo."


    He thought of dragging Zhuge Xian and Ito Shinji to investigate the Demon Cultists near Daegu as well but decided not to. Since they were both members of Guardians, they were likely both very busy.


    The Demon Cult wasn''t active only in Korea, so it would be more effective if each member investigated their own regions.


    ''They could also get in my way during interrogations.''


    Kang-Woo was nning on doing as many interrogations as possible to find a lead on the seemingly inactive Demon Cult.


    If they were people like Alec, there was a chance they wouldn''t be able to tolerate Kang-Woo''s own way of justice and might do something unexpected.


    "Understood. If you say so, then I will trust you."


    "I will begin right away."


    Now that he had a clue, there was no need to dilly-dally.


    Kang-Woo put on the mask given to him by Guardians and walked out of the Hall of Protection. He exited the gate at the same ce he had entered it¡ªthe rooftop of the building where he lived.


    "Echidna, Vaal Zahak," he called the two summoned beasts that had sworn allegiance to him.


    He could exact justice in his own way in front of his summoned beasts, so he didn''t need to think too deeply before doing anything.


    "What is it, Kang-Woo?"


    Echidna reached the rooftop first. She was holding a rice cake skewer covered with red sauce.


    "¡­ What''s that?"


    "Vaal Zahak made it for me."


    She opened her mouth to eat the rice cake skewer, her mouth was so wide that one wouldn''t believe her mouth belonged to a little girl. She ate the entire rice cake skewer at once.


    Nom, nom.


    "It''s good."


    Silence fell. The silence was finally broken by Kang-Woo''s shaking shadow.


    A white skeleton appeared from the shadow, which wriggled as if it were alive.


    [I have answered your summons, Master.]


    Vaal Zahak, a powerful Lich who was once known as the demon king, was wearing a pink apron with a cute bunny on it instead of wearing his somber robe.


    "Vaal Zahak, you¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s mouth gaped open in shock at Vaal Zahak''s appearance.


    Vaal Zahak raised his head and looked up at the radiantly shining sun.


    [Wow. What great weather we''re having. Hehehe¡­] Thick demonic energy rose from him. The ruler of death said in a low tone, [Weather like this is perfect for washing the nkets. If you would bestow me with some time¡­]


    "No, we can leave that forter. We have more important things to take care of."


    Kang-Woo red at Vaal Zahak while making a serious expression. It wasn''t the time to care about trivial things like washing nkets.


    "Don''t tell me there isn''t a rice cake skewer for me?" he asked in a serious voice.


    [Hahaha! Master! What do you take the mighty Vaal Zahak for?]


    Vaal Zahak snapped his finger. The shadow shook again, and a perfectly fried rice cake skewer appeared.


    [Huhu. I''ve been learning cooking from Madam Seol-Ahtely, and I''vee to realize how profound the world of cooking truly is.]


    "Let''s give it a try."


    He took a bite of the rice cake skewer. A spicy but sweet taste spread through his mouth.


    "It''s very well-made."


    [I will keep doing my best. More importantly, for what reason have you called us?]


    "Oh, right."


    Kang-Woo turned his head to Echidna, who was licking the sauce off of her hands.


    "A mission. It''s about time we let loose after a while."


    Echidna''s and Vaal Zahak''s eyes shone.


    * * *


    Kang-Woo flew to Daegu on Echidna.


    Daegu was ruined just like divostok. He didn''t see traces of anyone in the vicinity.


    ''Authority of the Beholder.''


    He expanded his demonic energy. Investigating an area where demonic energy was clearly visible was easier.


    ''There''s nothing around here.''


    He couldn''t find traces of demonic energy in the area.


    ''Was the information wrong?'' he thought briefly, but then he shook his head. He couldn''t be so sure yet.


    "Let''s enter the Gate."


    There were three A-rank Gates in Daegu. yers could perfectly deal with them nowadays, but that hadn''t been the case during the Day of Cmity.


    Kang-Woo entered one of the three Gates.


    ''Bingo.''


    As soon as he entered, he felt demonic energy. He walked toward the source.


    "This is¡­"


    Once he reached the ce where the demonic energy was concentrated, he saw a ck stake in the shape of an inverted cross about a meter tall stuck in the ground.


    There was a Rift around the stake as if space itself had been broken, and the size of the Rift was getting bigger.


    ''What the hell is this?''


    He had never seen such an object while fighting the Demon Cult until now.


    He was about to approach the ck stake when¡­


    Grrrr.


    There was a low cry, and he turned his head toward the source of the sound.


    "Of course they wouldn''t have just left it unattended."


    He saw an Ogre and some Elite Trolls that often appeared inside A-rank Gates.


    ''No.''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He used the Authority of the Beholder and looked at the monsters.


    Monsters moved by using the energy within mana stones, but instead of mana, he could feel demonic energy from them.


    ''Are they being contaminated?''


    Just like when he''d found a demonic crystal inside El Cuero''s head, the monsters were slowly turning into demonic beasts.


    "Prepare for battle."


    "Okay!"


    [As youmand.]


    The two summoned beasts drew out their energies when¡­


    "Who the hell are you guys?"


    A scrawny young man almost two meters tall appeared while making a cheeky smile.


    "Hmm. You don''t look like you''re from the Hwarang Corps¡­"


    He didn''t seem surprised by how Vaal Zahak looked.


    "Well, whatever. I can just kill trespassers."


    His smile widened, and he snapped his fingers.


    Kiieekk!


    Thend that the man was standing on was upturned, and a monster with a long tail appeared.


    The monster wasn''t that big. It was only three meters tall, but its body was covered with ck scales as if it wore armor. There was a green acidic solutioning out of its body.


    The monster looked like a certain alien from a science fiction film.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone after looking at the monster.


    ''A Chrysalis?''


    A Chrysalis did not look that powerful from a nce, but it was a demonic beast that resided in the Eighth Hell. It was strong enough to instantly massacre a huge group of Cerberuses.


    ''They can even control a demonic beast of the Eighth Hell now?''


    He couldn''t help but exim in admiration at the Demon Cult''s knowledge.


    A Chrysalis was a very violent demonic beast that not even demons of the Eighth Hell picked a fight with. It wasn''t as intelligent as an ancient demonic beast like Halcyon, but still, it was quite cleverpared to other demonic beasts.


    If the Demon Cult could control such a demonic beast, that meant their knowledge was on another level.


    "The Eighth Hell, huh?"


    The demonic energy from the demonic beasts of the Third Hell he''d devoured before wasn''t much help, but it was apletely different story if it was from the Eighth Hell.


    Kang-Woo smacked his lips.


    "I''ll face that thing."


    For the first time in a while, food worthy of eating had appeared. It didn''t look tasty, but that didn''t matter.


    ''I''ve been with Lilith for a millennium.''


    He almost found an alien cute.


    Kang-Woo made a bright smile and took a step forward.

 Chapter 144 - Whoops!

    Chapter 144 - Whoops!


    "Hahaha! You guys are out of your minds."


    The young man, seemingly a Demon Cultist,ughed while releasing demonic energy.


    Oh Kang-Woo frowned after sensing the demonic energy flowing out of him.


    ''He''s pretty weak.''


    It was hard to believe he was controlling a demonic beast of the Eighth Hell like a Chrysalis.


    It was as if a fox were using a tiger as a servant.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Beholder and looked at the young man. The man was so weak that he couldn''t resist the Authority''s power.


    [yer Name: Park Yong-Chan]


    [Level: 63]


    He was a Seventh Awakening yer. Taking into consideration that he had demonic energy, he was probably a bit stronger than that.


    ''But it''s still underwhelming.''


    Even though he''d broken past the Limit of Effort, any yer with even a minimal amount of talent could do that.


    He was still too weak to be able to control a Chrysalis.


    ''It''s actually better this way.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    To be honest, a Demon Cultist as strong as Anton Sidorovich being able to control demonic beasts and demons wasn''t that surprising. Hell took survival of the fittest to its utmost limit; strength was everything to them.


    Kang-Woo was actually more curious about this aspect of the Demon Cult.


    ''How could someone this weak control a demonic beast as if it were his servant?''


    Demonic beasts weren''t like wild animals that could be domesticated if they were raised from when they were still infants. They would kill their owner if they thought that their owner was weaker than them.


    ''Especially if it''s a Chrysalis.''


    Even among demonic beasts, a Chrysalis was famous for its violence and intelligence. It was a being that couldn''t be tamed through regr means.


    "Alright, tear them apart!" Park Yong-Chan shouted.


    The Chrysalis lowered its body and raised its head.


    "Kiieekk!!"


    A horrible scream rang out through the area. Acid seeped out of the monster and melted the ground.


    At its shout, the monsters surrounding them started to move.


    ''He''s controlling the monsters in the area through the Chrysalis.''


    That was something Kang-Woo could understand. The Chrysalis was an intelligent demonic beast, so it often created packs by controlling demonic beasts weaker than it.


    "Gwoooo!"


    "Grrrrr!"


    A group of Ogres that had almostpletely turned into demonic beasts charged at Kang-Woo and his summoned beasts, shaking the ground with each step.


    Their ferocity was unlike that of regr A-rank monsters, most likely due to having epted demonic energy.


    "Kang-Woo."


    [Master, I am yours tomand.]


    The two summoned beasts took a step forward. He nodded as he smirked.


    "Kill them. Oh, except that one that looks like a cockroach."


    [As youmand.]


    "Hm! Leave it to me!"


    Echidna opened both arms. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.


    [FUS RO DAH!]


    Dragon tongue magic. It was the dragon race''s unique magic, and it was among the most powerful magics.


    Usually, a hatchling wouldn''t be able to use it. It was so difficult that not even adult dragons could use it without being careful.


    However, thanks to Kang-Woo bing stronger, Echidna could obtain power far beyond a hatchling''s capabilities, so she was able to use dragon tongue magic.


    Crackle!


    A wave of demonic energy rushed out, with Echidna at its epicenter.


    A ck wave that resembled a Breath, the most powerful attack that a dragon could use, shot forth as it tore the ground apart.


    The Ogres were swept away by the wave and were scattered in all directions.


    [No, no, no. That won''t do.]


    Vaal Zahak shook his head while his eye sockets shone yellow. He looked at the Ogre corpses that appeared to have been torn apart by a blender.


    [You should treat precious corpses with more care.]


    Tap. He snapped his finger, and his ck robe fluttered.


    "What the hell?"


    Yong-Chan''s mouth fell open.


    It was weird enough that the skeleton in a ck robe was wearing a cute apron that didn''t suit him at all, but that wasn''t what surprised him.


    "GRRR."


    The Ogre corpses that had been torn apart got back up.


    Despite that their blood had sttered all over the ce and that their internal organs were spewing out of their bodies, the Ogres were still moving.


    No, they weren''t just moving¡­


    The Ogres were forcibly connecting and restoring each other''s dismembered bodies.


    After some time, Flesh Golems that had an appearance more horrifying than any other demonic beast were created.


    [Go forth, my children.]


    Vaal Zahak extended his hand, and the Flesh Golems slowly began to move. A thickugh left his mouth, and an explosive burst of demonic energy surrounded him.


    [Kill those lowly beasts yearning for life.]


    Once again, his pink apron fluttered. Demonic energy flowed out of his hand and entered the Flesh Golems.


    "GRRAARR!!"


    They went berserk.


    The Flesh Golems ran toward the other Ogres, their movements so violent that one wouldn''t believe that the monsters created by haphazardly sticking corpse pieces together could move in such a way.


    "Wh-What the¡­"


    Yong-Chan''s expression became pale.


    Kang-Woo leisurely checked out his expression.


    Yong-Chan was biting his lip violently. He put his left palm on top of the back of his right hand.


    "Chrysalis!! What are you doing?! Kill those sons of bitches!"


    ''Oh?''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. Aplex magic circle was drawn on the back of Yong-Chan''s right hand. He was screaming like a madman.


    ''Is that how he''s controlling it?''


    He still wasn''t sure. Kang-Woo slowly analyzed the situation.


    "Kiieekk!"


    ''It''s charging at me.''


    The Chrysalis stomped on the ground, lowered its body, and rushed at an impressive speed.


    He could easily tell what the Chrysalis was trying to do.


    ''I knew it.''


    Kang-Woo smirked. The Chrysalis had a uniquely small bodypared to other demonic beasts.


    ''Kiieekk!"


    He pulled his right foot back and kicked as if kicking a football. The Chrysalis dodged the attack with its incredible reflexes.


    He used his left foot as an axis to pivot, swinging his right leg down toward the Chrysalis''s shelled back.


    "Kishaaaaahh!!"


    This time, the Chrysalis didn''t dodge the attack because it trusted the immensely hard shell on its back.


    Kang-Woo lightlyughed while looking down at it.


    "Damn insect."


    Crack!


    "Kiieekk!"


    His right foot smashed the Chrysalis''s back. Although a Chrysalis''s shell was hard enough to crush the teeth of gigantic demonic beasts, it was nothing in front of Kang-Woo.


    As he swung down his right foot, which was infused with the Authority of Pulverization, the Chrysalis''s back was destroyed. Acid spewed everywhere.


    The Chrysalis stopped attacking and quickly backed off.


    "Kiieekk."


    Kang-Woo could feel that it was extremely cautious of him.


    "What are you doing?! Attack!!" Yong-Chan shouted. His right hand shone with a dark light. The same light came out of the Chrysalis''s forehead.


    "KIIEEKK!!"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone sharply.


    ''He''s definitely controlling it through that magic circle.''


    He still needed to investigate how it worked exactly, but his immediate doubt was answered.


    ''Now¡­''


    He had to check the limits of the magic circle.


    ''I''m sure it isn''t absolute.''


    He knew that just by seeing how the Chrysalis twisted its body after receiving Yong-Chan''s orders.


    Kang-Woo charged toward the Chrysalis while keeping track of the time as he had been doing from the moment the battle had begun.


    Bash! Crack!


    "Kishaaaahhhh!"


    The battle continued.


    Although the Chrysalis was a predator that operated in the Eighth Hell, Kang-Woo was already as strong as an archdemon of the Ninth Hell.


    The demonic beast was no match for him.


    It was a one-sided battle.


    "F-Fuck."


    Yong-Chan''s expression became pale. He anxiously looked at the back of his right hand. The light flowing out of the magic circle was dimming.


    "N-No."


    Yong-Chan turned around and started to frantically run away.


    He heard Kang-Woo''s low voice.


    "Five minutes." Kang-Woo smiled. "It seems you can forciblymand it for five minutes at most."


    "Kuh!"


    Yong-Chan frowned. His reaction made it clear that Kang-Woo was right.


    The light of the magic circle on the back of Yong-Chan''s right hand disappeared.


    "Kishaaahhh!!"


    The Chrysalis, which had be a mess, turned toward Yong-Chan.


    It would have been dead from its severe injuries if it had been a regr life form, but a Chrysalis far surpassed the limits of a regr life form.


    "Shaaahhh!"


    It lowered its severely broken body and roared aggressively.


    A stronger bloodlust than when it had faced Kang-Woo flowed from the Chrysalis.


    ''I guess it''s understandable.''


    It had been forced to fight an opponent it didn''t want to fight in the first ce and had almost died because of it. If the Chrysalis had free will, it most definitely would''ve escaped after the first sh. However, it was forced to bare its teeth against a predator it couldn''t win against, so it was understandable how angry it was.


    ''I got some good information.''


    Kang-Woo nodded while looking at the Chrysalis emitting powerful bloodlust toward Yong-Chan.


    ''Once time runs out, it might attack the master.''


    It was useful information. It meant that if the situation was too much to handle, he could just stall for time.


    ''I''ll watch and see how it goes for now.''


    Kang-Woo crossed his arms and began walking leisurely.


    "G-Goddammit! L-Listen to me, Chrysalis!!" Yong-Chan desperately shouted.


    "Oh, right. Do you know what the special characteristic of a Chrysalis is?" Kang-Woo asked him.


    "Wh-What? What the fuck are you talking about?!"


    "I guess you don''t."


    Kang-Woo snickered. Chrysalises were small, so they had a particr hunting characteristic that they used to incapacitate their prey.


    "Shaaahhh!"


    "Eek! G-Go away!!"


    Yong-Chan swung both of his arms. He used a skill to create a fireball the size of a person''s head and shot it toward the Chrysalis.


    But there was no way such a desperate attack would work against it.


    The Chrysalis ran toward Park Yong-Chan at a dazzling speed. Its sharp teeth targeted the space between his legs.


    "G-Go awa¡ª"


    Crunch!


    "AAAGGGHHH!"


    "Oh, fuck."


    Kang-Woo closed his legs subconsciously. It was hard to watch.


    ''Chrysalis, you cruel bastard.''


    The hunting characteristic of the Chrysalis was that¡­ they attacked their prey''s reproductive organs first.


    "Aaarrrggghhh! Gaaaahhhh!!"


    Yong-Chan screamed in pain while trying to cover the blood fountain. His scream was so horrible it reached his soul.


    "KIIIIK!"


    "Alright, that''s enough."


    The Chrysalis jumped toward Yong-Chan to kill him, but Kang-Woo violently smacked the back of the Chrysalis''s head. Crack. Its head exploded with a chilling sound.


    "Let''s see. Park Yong-Chan, was it?"


    "Kurrgghh! Aaarrgghh!!"


    "Oh."


    Kang-Woo pped his hands together as if he''d just realized something.


    "Sorry, my mistake."


    Kang-Woo squatted in front of Park Yong-Chan and snickered.


    "I guess I should be calling you No Dick-Chan."

 Chapter 145 - I Wont Ever Forget Your Name

    Chapter 145 - I Won''t Ever Forget Your Name


    "Urghh. Hurgh!"


    Tears flowed down from No Dick-Chan''s eyes. An unbearable pain spread through him. He couldn''t return to his senses. Foam frothed at his mouth, and he couldn''t stop trembling.


    "Hey, get yourself together, man," Oh Kang-Woo said and pped No Dick-Chan''s cheeks a couple of times.


    However, no matter how much time passed by, it didn''t seem like No Dick-Chan was going to return to his senses.


    ''This isn''t good.''


    Kang-Woo put his hands on top of No Dick-Chan''s head. ck demonic energy flickered in his hand.


    He used Authority of Focus. It reduced pain and raised one''s focus, kind of like a stimnt. Unlike the Authority of Rage, it was a buff-type Authority that only benefited the target, but in this situation, there was nothing else he could do about it.


    After all, Kang-Woo couldn''t interrogate No Dick-Chan if he was in that painful state.


    "Huff, huff!"


    No Dick-Chan came back to his senses thanks to the Authority of Focus.


    He looked at Kang-Woo with fearful eyes and asked, "Wh-Who are you?! How did you defeat the Chrysalis¡­?"


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    ''I guess he has no idea who I am.''


    The Demon Cultist couldn''t tell who Kang-Woo was or even that he was a member of Guardians, despite his iconic Guardians'' white mask.


    ''The Demon Cultists know about Guardians.''


    Nheless, it was significant that the Demon Cultist couldn''t identify Kang-Woo as a member of Guardians.


    ''He''s not that high in rank.''


    In other words, the Demon Cult did not treat this Demon Cultist as that important.


    "Since when did the Demon Cult be active again in Korea?"


    "Th-That''s..." No Dick-Chan mumbled with quivering eyes.


    "Ah, wait. Don''t say it," Kang-Woo interjected.


    Judging by No Dick-Chan¡¯s reaction, it seemed like he would be killed if he tried to say important information about the Demon Cult.


    ''In that case¡­''


    Kang-Woo ced his hand on No Dick-Chan''s forehead.


    ''Authority of Subordination.''


    The Authority of Subordination had failed against strong individuals like Anton Sidorovich and Baek Kang-Hyun, but there was a chance it would seed with No Dick-Chan.


    Riiing.


    [You have sessfully made yer No Dick-Chan your Familiar.]


    Kang-Woo looked at the system message with tired eyes.


    "I shouldn''t use this rashly," he remarked.


    Even if No Dick-Chan was weak, he was still a yer who had broken past the Limit of Effort. Consequently, it hadn''t been an easy task for Kang-Woo to make No Dick-Chan his Familiar.


    Kang-Woo stretched as fatigue weighed down on his shoulders. It was all because the Authority of Subordination had many restrictions.


    ''But still¡­''


    He could feel his soul being linked to No Dick-Chan''s.


    Then Kang-Woo concentrated and analyzed No Dick-Chan''s body. He could sense some sort of foreign murky energy within No Dick-Chan''s body¡­ to be more precise, in his soul.


    ''Is this the restriction?''


    Kang-Woo used his energy to wipe away the murky energy in No Dick-Chan''s soul.


    "Cough! Huff! Huff!"


    No Dick-Chan suddenly became teary-eyed. He was trembling so hard that his tendons were visible.


    After a while, he gradually became calmer, and his breath normalized.


    ''Does this have an effect simr to the Authority of Subordination?''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he looked down at No Dick-Chan. He thought about it for a while but ultimately shook his head.


    ''It isn''t as powerful as the Authority of Subordination.''


    It seemed like the source of the murky energy couldn''t control everything that the target did like the Authority of Subordination could. Nevertheless, just seeing that the Demon Cult could cast a restriction that influenced the soul was proof of how advanced their knowledge was.


    ''They''re impressive.''


    Kang-Woo still couldn''t understand how they had managed to possess knowledge that even he didn''t have despite having ruled over the Nine Hells.


    "Now, tell me everything you know," Kang-Woo said.


    "Ah, urgh."


    After squirming for a while, No Dick-Chan unloaded all of the information he possessed.


    "After Cardinal Baek Kang-Hyun died, the Demon Cult branch in Korea became vacant. The Demon Cult is paying great attention to Korea, so they have sent an Apostle of Evil to create the branch anew."


    "They''re paying great interest to Korea?"


    That was unexpected. There wasn''t an SS-rank Gate in Korea. Moreover, the country hadn''t been ruined on the Day of Cmity, so the S-rank Gates were being properly maintained.


    A country like Russia should be more worthy of the Demon Cult''s attention. The country was practically paralyzed, and there was an SS-rank Gate located there, so it would be a far better ce to be active in.


    ''Or maybe the Middle East or South America.''


    The Middle East and South America also fit the bill. There were SS-rank Gates located in those regions, and the countries there had more or less been wiped out. There was no reason for the Demon Cult to go out of their way to act in Korea.


    "I''m also not sure of the reason, but the Cult thinks of Korea as a very important country," No Dick-Chan said.


    "I see. Then is that rted to sticking this ck stake inside a Gate?"


    "No. Sowing ''Rift Seeds'' has nothing to do with Korea."


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    ''Nothing to do with it, huh?''


    The gears in his head turned quickly.


    The Demon Cult thought of Korea as an important ce, but that wasn''t the reason why they were sowing these Rift Seeds inside the Gates. Additionally, the Gaia System had been weakening drastically recently.


    ''I see.''


    There was only one conclusion he could reach from those two things¡ªthe Demon Cult''s n wasn''t specific to Korea.


    If that was the case, Kang-Woo could understand why someone as weak as No Dick-Chan had been put on his task by himself.


    ''There''s a chance this is happening worldwide.''


    The Demon Cult was sowing Rift Seeds throughout all of the gates. It didn''t matter if they failed; they would just have to sow even more. As long as they made their weakest members sow the Rift Seeds with demonic beasts as protection, the depletion in their forces would be insignificant even if those members failed.


    ''This is the worst.''


    This kind of situation was what Kang-Woo had been worried about. It wasn''t an issue that Kang-Woo could resolve by himself. After all, even if a person could block the rain with their umbre, they wouldn''t be able to stop the ground from getting wet.


    "Well, this is aplication."


    Tsk. Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    ''I need the help of yers.''


    He needed the entire world to move.


    Kang-Woo could tell the difference between what he could and couldn''t do alone¡­ and he knew he didn''t have enough power to move the entire world.


    "At least, I don''t."


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    He grabbed hismunication orb.


    ''But what about Guardians?''


    Guardians was a secretive organization that didn''t make itself public, but it had immense power and influence. Leaving everything else aside, Guardians had First Lady Grace McCubbin, the first and strongest yer. She was someone who could make the United States, the strongest country in the world, take action.


    If the USA took action, other countries would naturally follow suit. Even after the Day of Cmity, that hadn''t changed. The USA was the world''s hub of finance andmerce as well as the pinnacle of power.


    ''Also, Guardians isn''t my only resource.''


    Kang-Woo knew many people who could move entire countries, like Tian Wuchen, Jang Hyun-Jae, and Kurosaki Yurie.


    "Where are the Rift Seeds being sown exactly?"


    "I-I don''t know."


    "Who is the one behind the n?"


    "I don''t know¡­"


    No Dick-Chan shook his head.


    Kang-Woo nodded. There was no way someone at the bottom of thedder would know a piece of information like that.


    "Then do you know who made the Rift Seeds?"


    "I-I''m sorry."


    "Tsk."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and picked up the ck stake.


    Since he couldn''t get information from him, he had no choice but to investigate.


    ''Authority of Insight.''


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and focused his mind. He''d failed to decipher the summoning magic circlest time, but there was no guarantee it would fail this time as well.


    Riiing.


    [Authority of Insight has partially seeded. You have learned how to use the Rift Seed.]


    "This is..."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened as information about the Rift Seed entered his mind.


    He didn''t know what the theory behind it was or how it had been made, but he had managed to learn how to use the Rift Seed.


    ''This seems useless.''


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue again. He had to get rid of the Rift Seeds, so learning how to use them was useless to him.


    "Huh? Wait."


    At that moment, he thought of an idea. Kang-Woo applied the Rift Seed''s effect of weakening the system on his body.


    The stake that looked like an inverse cross turned into ck smoke and disappeared. It was a very slight feeling, but he could sense that the Ten Thousand Demon Core''s seal was weakening, and there was demonic energy flowing out of it.


    "Yes!!"


    Kang-Woo clenched his hands into fists. The Rift Seed''s effect was weak, but the seal had certainly gotten weaker, just like when he had activated his Trait ''Reaper of Souls.''


    ''Demon Cult, my bro¡­''


    Kang-Woo had not expected that the Demon Cult''s vast knowledge of controlling Rifts would be so useful to him.


    ''Thank you for giving me this day my daily bread.''


    He couldn''t even fathom how much he had benefited while hunting down the Demon Cult. At this point, he couldn''t help but think that they were purposefullyying the groundwork for his growth.


    ''Long live the Demon Cult!''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but feel in awe of them.


    He patted No Dick-Chan''s shoulder.


    "Okay. Thanks for the information."


    "Th-Then will you be letting me l-live?"


    "Of course, man."


    Kang-Woo wasn''t shameless enough to ignore someone''s kindness. He couldn''t kill someone who''d been so helpful to him.


    "All right, see ya," Kang-Woo said.


    "H-Haha. Oka¡ª AAAGGGHHH!!!"


    The moment Kang-Woo dismissed the Authority of Focus, a horrifying scream emerged from No Dick-Chan''s mouth. He once again grabbed the area between his legs, and foam frothed at his mouth.


    "Oh, my..."


    Kang-Woo looked down at No Dick-Chan in worry. Thetter''s scream sounded desperate. Kang-Woo appeared sad while looking down at No Dick-Chan squirming and screaming in pain.


    "There''s nothing I can do about this."


    He couldn''t let his benefactor who''d given him important information suffer from such pain.


    Kang-Woo bit his lip and created G¨¢e Bulg.


    "Kurgh, cough!"


    He slowly thrust G¨¢e Bulg, piercing No Dick-Chan''s heart. No Dick-Chan died immediately.


    "May you rest in peace..." Kang-Woo mumbled in a pained voice. "I won''t ever forget your name, No Dick-Chan."


    His eyes were tearing up.

 Chapter 146 - Gathering Rift Seeds

    Chapter 146 - Gathering Rift Seeds


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 0.12]


    "What''s this now?" Oh Kang-Woo said in bewilderment after reading the system window.


    He got that system message as he absorbed the Chrysalis and the demonic energy that flowed out of the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    ''A decimal point?''


    It was a stat increment that he''d never seen before.


    ''Is it because the demonic energy from the Chrysalis is kind of ambiguous?''


    He hadn''t been expecting his stat to go up by one from hunting a Chrysalis anyway. His Demonic Energy stat had risen to 122 thanks to the Blessing of Gaia, so he knew it wouldn''t go up from absorbing the Chrysalis.


    ''Well, I guess it''s better than not rising at all.''


    A decimal point was better than nothing.


    Since he''d found a new jackpot called a Rift Seed, he didn''t feel the need to rush.


    ''As for the Trait, Reaper of Souls¡­¡¯


    Riiing.


    [The target is not a demon.]


    "Like I thought, it won''t activate."


    A Chrysalis wasn''t a demon but a demonic beast, so it made sense that a Trait that let him absorb souls of demons wouldn¡¯t activate.


    "I guess I have no choice but to keep hunting demons."


    He had to keep absorbing demon souls to fulfill one of the conditions for Demonic Soul.


    "First¡ª"


    Kang-Woo cut that thought. His growth was not a priority at the moment.


    He took out a transparent orb from his pocket.


    "Ah, aah, can you hear me?"


    [Yes, go ahead,] Gaia''s voice rang out from the orb. [Were you able toplete the mission?]


    "Yes. I''ve resolved matters in Daegu."


    [Were you hurt in any way during the mission? If you were, you cane to the Hall of Protection to be trea¡ª]


    "No."


    Gaia seemed worried about Kang-Woo, but he cut Gaia''s words short. He hadn''t gotten hurt, and he certainly didn''t have time to rx while being treated.


    "I have acquired important information."


    [What kind¡­?]


    Kang-Woo told her about the Rift Seed and how the Demon Cult was sowing Rift Seeds all around the world. Guardians had to mobilize all of their forces to bring the Demon Cult''s n to a halt.


    [¡­] Gaia was silent for a moment.


    Then she said solemnly, [I understand. I will contact every single member of Guardians and have them focus on destroying the Rift Seeds.]


    "No. We shouldn''t destroy them."


    That would be a huge loss for Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo exined in a serious tone, "We should collect them and put them in one ce."


    [Collect?]


    "Yes."


    [But if we do that, the Rift Seeds would remain¡ª]


    "You don''t need to worry about that. The Rift Seeds don''t activate as long as they''re pulled out of the ground."


    [Oh, I see.]


    Gaia seemed like she still couldn''t fully understand what Kang-Woo was saying.


    [But is there a reason we should be collecting them instead of destroying them? Wouldn''t it be better to destroy them just in case?]


    "That would be true if we just wanted to stop their n."


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo didn''t falter. Making situations flow in the direction he wanted was his forte.


    [Then why¡­?]


    "You need to think more long term. We won''t be able to solve the lingering issue by only acting after the Demon Cult makes their moves.


    [Ah.]


    "Have you ever tried to research the Demon Cult''s knowledge?"


    [Of course, but it''s such esoteric knowledge that we weren''t able to get results.]


    "In such cases, the better it is to have more research materials. The Demon Cult can cause incidents like that so unterally because of all of the knowledge they''ve obtained through the years. Without researching that, we''ll always be a step behind them."


    [Ahhh.]


    She voiced apologetically, [I had no idea you had thought that far¡­ I apologize. I didn''t know you thought so seriously about the Demon Cult.]


    "Haha. I''m just being selfish. As a resident of Earth, I''m just doing my best to save myself."


    [No, that can''t be called being selfish,] Gaia stated firmly. [If you just wanted to save yourself, you could''ve stayed down and remained hidden. But you stepped up to protect those precious to you. You''re fighting while putting your life at risk. You couldn''t call such determination selfish.]


    Kang-Wooughed lightly, "Haha. That''s embarrassing. You don''t need to praise me so much."


    [Hoho, you don''t need to be so humble. As you''ve suggested, we will try to collect as many Rift Seeds as possible without destroying them.]


    "Thank you."


    [No, I should be the one thanking you. I will take measures so that we can collect as many of them as possible.]


    "I will also collect as many as I can."


    The call was cut. A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    "Of course, we should collect them instead of destroying them."


    Collecting the Rift Seeds for research to put a stop to the n permanently¡­? That was nonsense. Even with the Authority of Insight, Kang-Woo couldn''tpletely decipher the Demon Cult''s knowledge.


    If it was knowledge not even the demon king who used to rule over the Nine Hells could understand, there was no way Guardians would be able to figure something out through research.


    "And putting a permanent stop to it is out of the question."


    He couldn''t let the Demon Cult roam around freely, but that didn''t mean he wanted to stop their n. To Kang-Woo, the Demon Cult were chefs who prepared delicious food for him.


    ''I''ll squeeze as much as I can out of them before throwing them away.''


    He walked out of the Gate with a thought that would make the Demon Cult members go insane if they were to hear it.


    Echidna and Vaal Zahak followed him out after clearing out all the demonic beasts around them.


    "Echidna, Vaal Zahak. There are two more gates near this area. See if there''s the stake that we saw earlier in either of them. If there is, don''t destroy it and bring it to me."


    "Okay, Kang-Woo."


    [As youmand.]


    The two summoned beasts moved ording to hismand.


    Kang-Woo took out his smartphone after exiting the gate.


    ''I already contacted Gaia.''


    It was time to make the other people that he knew take action. Kang-Woo contacted Tian Suyan, Cha Yeon-Joo, and Jang Hyun-Jae.


    After exining the situation to the three people, he asked them to collect the Rift Seeds.


    "This should be enough for China and Korea."


    There was only Japan left.


    Kang-Woo took out the card with the contact information he''d received before. It was Kurosaki Yurie''s number.


    ''I''m not sure why she cares so much for me, but¡­''


    She was too good a contact to not use in this situation.


    Brrr¡ª


    [Kurosaki Yurie speaking, Master Kang-Woo.]


    ''She picked up so damn quickly.''


    Yurie had answered before the call even finished ringing once.


    "Hello, Ms. Kurosaki. I believe this is the first time we''re speaking over the phone."


    [Yes, I believe so.]


    Yurie sounded a bit cold, seemingly displeased that Kang-Woo had not called her even once.


    "I apologize for not contacting you earlier. I''ve been very busytely."


    [Not at all. I''m sure you had your reasons.]


    It seemed like her mood improved.


    "The reason why I''ve contacted you is¡­"


    He began exining the Rift Seeds.


    [I see¡­I understand. We will also conduct thorough investigations.]


    "Thank you."


    [Oh, may I ask you something?]


    "Of course."


    [This group that¡¯s known as the Demon Cult¡­ do you happen to know which demon they serve? I''ve tried conducting my own investigations, but I haven''t been able to find anything.]


    "Mmm."


    It was a sudden question, but there was no reason for Kang-Woo to hesitate with a reply.


    "They serve the demon Satan."


    It wouldn''t be good if only Guardians knew about the existence of the Demon of Prophecy, Satan.


    ''It''d be better if as many people as possible know about it.''


    Kang-Woo had already told the people closest to him, like Suyan and Yeon-Joo, about Satan. The more people knew about Satan''s existence, the fewer people would suspect Kang-Woo.


    [Hmm. Satan, you say?]


    Yurie seemed dissatisfied with the answer.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head puzzledly at her reaction.


    Nevertheless, he answered confidently, "Yes, the demon they serve is Satan."


    [I see. I understand.]


    "Then I will be looking forward to your call once you''ve collected the Rift Seeds."


    [Very well. I will do as you ask, Master Kang-Woo.]


    "Thank you very much."


    Kang-Woo was about to cut the call when¡­


    [Oh, right. There was something else I wanted to ask you. Is that okay?]


    "Yes, of course."


    [It''s a personal questionpletely unrted to this incident, but¡­ do you happen to know the myth of Cthulhu?]


    "Myth of Cthulhu?"


    The question was so out of left field that it caught Kang-Woo off guard.


    ''I believe it''s a myth containing tons of tentacles.''


    Kang-Woo had heard about it because it had been overused in many forms of media.


    "Yes, I do, but why¡­"


    [I have the power to call upon the power of gods, so I have been investigating many different myths. I wanted to ask your opinion on a few that caught my attention.]


    "Oh, I see."


    Kang-Woo recalled her ability¡ªthe power to borrow the power of gods in Japanese mythology.


    ''To be more precise, it''s the ability to summon the power of otherworldly beings.''


    It was an ability he thought would be worth researching in detail one day.


    ''I¡¯m certain there''s a dimension where gods of mythology reside.''


    There was a chance that Gaia''s true body existed in that dimension.


    ''The myth of Cthulhu, huh?''


    If it hadn''te out of someone''s imagination and was about an existing world¡­


    ''It should be good to investigate their powers beforehand.''


    After sorting out his thoughts, Kang-Woo said, "It does seem interesting. Are you able to draw out the powers of beings from outside of Japanese mythology?"


    [No, that''s not the case. I can only borrow the power of gods in Japanese mythology.]


    "Hmm. I see."


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure if he was happy or disappointed.


    ''I guess it''s a good thing.''


    He didn''t want to see a god covered in tentacles.


    [Fufu. I see, you''re interested. Thank you very much. I will call you again next time,] Yurie murmured while giggling unnervingly and ended the call.


    "Ah, understood."


    Kang-Woo looked at his smartphone with confused eyes.


    ''What an enigmatic woman.''


    Yurie had sent an octopus as a gift. Then she''d asked somethingpletely unexpected out of the blue. Kang-Woo couldn''t help but think that she was a bit crazy.


    "Well. I guess it doesn''t matter."


    As long as Yurie didn''t get in his way, it didn''t matter if she was a bit nuts.


    For the moment, Kang-Woo''s focus wasn''t on Yurie but on the Rift Seeds that were being sown throughout the world.


    ''The has been cast.''


    A broad grin appeared on his face.


    It was time for him to patiently wait for the harvest.


    ''Now I just have to wait.''

 Chapter 147 - I Am Satan (1)

    Chapter 147 - I Am Satan (1)


    The entire world took action. It might sound a bit exaggerated, but there wasn''t a better way to describe it.


    The first country that took action was the USA, followed by China, and then Korea. Each country focused on collecting the Rift Seeds to the point that they offered expensive rewards for them.


    It was inevitable because without providing proper incentives to the yers, the country could be destroyed if the Demon Cult were left to act freely. Even if they didn''t want to offer rewards, the people protested that the governments should.


    That''s why even countries that weren''t in the best financial situation were forced to offer rewards. After all, money moved people. Since mary rewards were being offered, even normal yers moved in search of Rift Seeds.


    Commenter (Nature will rise against you!): damn they really gonna suck the Demon Cult dry this time LMAO


    ? yers are finally doing their jobs!


    Commenter (The light shall burn you!): But why are these guys nting thingies that look like wards[1] inside Gates?


    ? Prob to get more vision[2]


    ? Bat Editor: are they trying to summon something else?


    ? Butterfly Valley: Ah, I hope I could tell you what I know ;;;


    ? JerryM: I got to Level 100 on LoL today!!


    Commenter (Astounding!): But I''m so d we aren''t just letting them do as they want


    ? I heard they already found a hundred of those ward thingies all over the world?? LMAO serves those Demon Cult SOBs right!


    There were huge reactions on the inte. People were celebrating that the Demon Cult''s n was being ruined. That showed how much people feared the Demon Cult.


    "Very nice."


    Oh Kang-Woo smiled while he was reading the inte news.


    It had been ten days since the world had started collecting Rift Seeds. yers who were blind for money searched day and night for them.


    "Money surees in handy."


    There was nothing like money to make people move.


    Due to the massive number of yers participating and how fast Guardians dealt with the situation, they had already collected many Rift Seeds.


    ''Although I''m sure it''s not 100%.''


    Even if they were blind for money, yers didn''t go to areaspletely taken over by monsters like the Middle East or South America. There was a chance that the Rift Seeds nted in those areas hadn''t been found.


    ''This is good enough.''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure what the Demon Cult was nning. However, he would wee it if the Demon Cult were still able to partially seed in whatever they were nning even after the whole world had interfered with their n. He would like it even more if they could summon a massive number of demons like before.


    "I should get going."


    Kang-Woo walked out of the apartment and went up to the rooftop. He ced the crystal orb that he''d received from Guardians on the floor.


    A little bitter, a small gate appeared. It led to the Hall of Protection.


    ''Its real location is somewhere in the USA, apparently.''


    It was a device, which was beyond the reach of science, that allowed one to cross the Pacific Ocean in an instant. The power of magic allowed such miracles to be reality.


    Kang-Woo took a step forward. His field of vision became distorted, and a weird sensation shook his body.


    Nevertheless, it onlysted for a short while. The white passageway he was now familiar with appeared in front of him.


    "Oh, good to see you, hyung-nim!"


    As Kang-Woo entered the passageway, he was greeted by Kim Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun was in charge of collecting the Rift Seeds in the Middle East, an area that the average yer couldn''t even think of stepping foot into.


    "Sorry for calling you during your training."


    "Not at all. I can''t keep training during a crisis like this. Also, the mission area was quite helpful in terms of training."


    "How is the Middle East?"


    "...Quite serious. It makes Shanghai seem like paradise," Si-Hun said with a hardened expression.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    Areas like Shanghai and Sapporo were being somewhat maintained because China and Japan hadn''t copsed. However, regions like the Middle East and South America had fallen into ruin on the Day of Cmity andpletely be monster habitats. It was obvious that the situation would be much worse in those areas.


    "Good work," Kang-Woo said.


    "It was nothing. Oh, I heard it was you who realized this situation first and came up with the necessary countermeasures."


    Si-Hun looked at Kang-Woo with eyes full of admiration.


    Kang-Woo smirked and replied, "I just did what I had to do. After all, I''m also a member of Guardians now."


    "Haha. I''m sure you would''ve done the same thing even if you weren''t part of Guardians, hyung-nim."


    "ttery won''t get you anything, man. Let''s go."


    "Yes, hyung-nim."


    Si-Hunughed and followed behind Kang-Woo.


    As they opened the door and entered, they were greeted by Gaia and Grace McCubbin.


    "Hello, Kang-Woo," Gaia greeted.


    "Hello. How is the situation?"


    Gaia smiled softly. She moved her thin arms toward the table.


    "It''s as you can see," she said.


    The translucent globe that they had seen before appeared. The barrier of light surrounding the Earth had gotten noticeably weaker than before.


    Gaia continued, "The situation has worsenedpared to before the seeds were nted, but if we hadn''t done anything, the situation would be much worse."


    "Is it still worsening?" Kang-Woo asked.


    Gaia shook her head. "No. The damage to the system has been stable since three days ago."


    "That''s good to hear."


    That was likely due to more than just the removal of the Rift Seeds. After all, it was unlikely all of the seeds that had been sown worldwide had been collected.


    ''The Demon Cult must have more or less achieved what they had been aiming for.''


    The Demon Cult hadn''t made any other moves, so there was a high chance they had managed to fulfill their n.


    Whatever the reason was, the situation with the Rift Seeds had been resolved.


    "We can''t let our guards down just yet¡­ but we were able to minimize the damage thanks to your quick judgment. Thank you very much, Kang-Woo," Gaia expressed and bowed.


    "Not at all. More importantly, where are the Rift Seeds being stored?"


    That was Kang-Woo''s primary reason foring here. He wanted to check where the Rift Seeds were being stored.


    "This way."


    Grace pushed Gaia''s wheelchair, and they moved to another gate. As they walked through the gate, they were greeted by intense sunlight.


    Kang-Woo saw a vastnd that had cracks running through it, as if God had used a mace to split it.


    "This is¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    He had never traveled here before, but he was familiar with it since he had seen photos.


    "It''s the Grand Canyon," Grace remarked.


    "...It''s enormous."


    It seemed like it was also Si-Hun''s first time seeing the Grand Canyon. He looked around with his mouth agape.


    The might of nature that could be felt from the Grand Canyon was truly imposing.


    "Guardians has a secret vault at the foot of the canyon. We have stored the Rift Seeds there."


    "Isn''t it too famous a ce to call it a secret vault?"


    The Grand Canyon was a very famous tourist destination. Even though tourism had plummeted after the Day of Cmity, it was a ce that didn''t go well with the word ''secret.''


    Gaia softly giggled and exined, "The Grand Canyon is extremely vast. The area tourists can visit is just a very tiny part. This is a ce that tourists can''t reach."


    "Aha.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded and followed her.


    They walked between the giant canyons until Gaia stopped in front of a solid rock wall.


    "Protector Zhuge Xian. It''s Gaia."


    [You''re back,] a voice rang out from behind the rock wall.


    "What the¡­?" Si-Hun uttered.


    He looked around confusedly for the source of the voice. Then something unbelievable happened.


    Whoosh.


    A gust of wind blew, and the giant rock wall disappeared. A silver door appeared in ce of the rock wall.


    ''This is¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened in shock, as even he hadn''t been able to sense it.


    Grace said, "This is Zhuge Xian''s illusion. There''s nobody as good as him when ites to this."


    "So, this is an illusion¡­"


    "Impressive, right?"


    Grace smirked and opened the door. Then a long-haired man in a suit walked out.


    "So, you''re the two new members, Mr. Oh Kang-Woo and Mr. Kim Si-Hun. Nice to meet you. I''m Zhuge Xian."


    Kang-Woo and Si-Hun shook hands with Zhuge Xian.


    As they entered the vault, Zhuge Xian exined, "This vault is being protected with various illusions that I''ve cast. You may be attacked if you wander around, so please be careful."


    "Zhuge Xian is in charge of researching the Rift Seeds."


    "Haha. I don''t really have much to show for it, though," Zhuge Xian voiced, smiling bitterly.


    He opened the door of a vault with ''04'' written on it.


    "This is where we''re storing the Rift Seeds that we''ve collected."


    "Wow," Kang-Woo uttered with bright eyes.


    There were over a hundred stakes neatly gathered in the vault. He salivated uncontrobly at the sight. He wanted to use the Rift Seeds right then and there to weaken the seal of his Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    ''I must resist.''


    Now wasn''t the time.


    Kang-Woo drooped his right arm down while casually looking around the vault. The ck ring on his right middle finger liquefied and seeped into the floor of the vault. Kang-Woo''s figure very briefly became blurred.


    "Is there a chance that the Demon Cult could attack this ce?" Si-Hun asked while looking around.


    Zhuge Xian answered whileughing, "Of course, there is. They might be able to trace the Rift Seeds."


    "Then wouldn''t it be dangerous¡­?"


    "It''s okay," Zhuge Xian affirmed in a confident voice. "My sorcery isn''t so weak. This ce will be safe unless the Demon of Prophecy invades it. No, not even the Demon of Prophecy would be able to invade this ce."


    It seemed like he was quite confident in his sorcery.


    Grace continued the exnation, "It might sound pretentious, but you can believe him. Although Zhuge Xian''sbat capabilities leave much to be desired, his sorcery is incredible."


    "Haha. That''s from your standards Grace. My sorcery isn''t bad inbat either."


    With some light chit-chat, they finished exploring the vault.


    "Let''s go back."


    "Yes. I feel reassured after seeing that the Rift Seeds are being well kept."


    Kang-Wooughed lightly and returned to the Hall of Protection.


    "Oh, right. How about we all have dinner together at my ce?" he proposed.


    "Pardon?"


    "A-At your house, hyung-nim?"


    Gaia and Si-Hun were surprised by the sudden proposition.


    Kang-Woo smirked. "Ah. This isn''t something for me to brag about, but the food at my house is to die for."


    "But¡­"


    "I understand your circumstances, Gaia. But aren''t things like this good from time to time? It''s just dinner, after all."


    "¡­"


    Gaia''s expression exposed her hesitance. She was the leader of a secret organization, so she couldn''t freely move. It was hard for her to participate in dinner.


    "Haha. That sounds like a great proposal," Si-Hun voiced to support Kang-Woo.


    He too wanted to stay with Gaia for a bit longer.


    "Wh-What should we do, Grace?" Gaia asked in an anxious voice.


    Graceughed lightly and patted her shoulder.


    "These kinds of things are fine from time to time, aren''t they?"


    "Ngh¡­ but¡­"


    "It''s not like we''re having dinner at a stranger''s ce. It''s a fellow member of Guardians, so what does it matter? As the leader, isn''t it important for you to know in what conditions the members live in?"


    "That''s unfair of you."


    Gaia pouted. Grace''sugh became louder.


    "Then it''s decided," Kang-Woo said.


    He smiled and turned around.


    ''I believe Seol-Ah is in charge of dinner tonight.''


    Kang-Woo gulped eagerly and made his way home with Gaia, Grace, and Si-Hun following him.


    * * *


    "Urgh. I have no idea."


    Zhuge Xian sighed.


    The long-haired young man was a yer who specialized in sorcery and a Protector who had been chosen by the Gaia System.


    He looked down at the ck stake on the table in irritation.


    "Just how in the world did they make something like this?"


    Zhuge Xian was in awe of the Demon Cult''s knowledge.


    "I''ll take a short break."


    He grabbed a cup of tea and leaned back on his chair.


    "Kim Si-Hun, huh?"


    Zhuge Xian recalled the face of the Protector whom he had met earlier. They were both men, but he couldn''t help but admire how handsome Si-Hun was.


    "He was impressive."


    He could sense Si-Hun''s immense talent just by looking at him.


    ''The one next to him was Oh Kang-Woo, I believe?''


    Kang-Woo had be a member of Guardians despite not having been chosen as a Protector.


    "Hmm¡­"


    Zhuge Xian frowned in dissatisfaction. He didn''t like that someone who wasn''t a Protector had joined Guardians.


    "Having mad connections is a scary thing."


    If Si-Hun wasn''t sworn brothers with Kang-Woo, it was unlikely that Kang-Woo would have been able to enter Guardians.


    "Let''s get back to it."


    Zhuge Xian put down the cup of tea.


    He had tons of research samples, so he could conduct as many experiments as he liked.


    "Well, seeing that he proposed something like this, he doesn''t seem to be an idiot."


    He''d heard that Kang-Woo was the one who had suggested collecting the Rift Seeds instead of destroying them.


    Zhuge Xian pulled up his chair and ced his hand on top of the ck stake.


    Right then¡­


    Boom!!!


    A huge impact shook the vault.


    "Wh-What the¡ª?!"


    Zhuge Xian got up. He raised his hand, and aplex magic circle appeared on top of it. The outside came into view.


    "Th-This is¡­"


    He saw a person who was shrouded in darkness and wearing a red demon mask. The mask tilted, and the man''s eyes stopped right where the spell was located.


    Zhuge Xian''s eyes met the man''s gaze through the video. A shudder ran down his skin.


    "D-Don''t tell me¡­"


    He trembled. Zhuge Xian remembered hearing it from Gaia¡ªno, even if he hadn''t heard of it from anyone¡­ After feeling the immense energy from the man, there was only one being that Zhuge Xian could think of.


    "S-Satan."


    The one attacking the vault was the strongest and most evil demon king¡ªthe Demon of Prophecy, Satan.


    1. Wards are totem-like items that have various functions depending on what game it is in (League of Legends, World of Warcraft, etc.). ?


    2. Wards in League of Legends give you vision in an area. ?

 Chapter 148 - I Am Satan (2)

    Chapter 148 - I Am Satan (2)


    Boom!


    "Kurgh!"


    A huge impact shook the vault once again.


    Zhuge Xian tried to maintain his bnce in the middle of the shaking vault. Then he bit his lip and went to the room where he controlled his sorcery.


    ''Damn.''


    He frowned.


    Had he jinxed it? He''d never imagined that the Demon of Prophecy would actually invade the vault.


    ''Don''t tell me¡­''


    Zhuge Xian frowned.


    The faces of the two new members whom he''d seen earlier today crossed his mind. The timing was too perfect to call it a simple coincidence.


    "This isn''t the time for that."


    Zhuge Xian shook his head. He had other things to focus on.


    "Fuuu."


    He took a deep breath and quickly regainedposure after trembling for only a short while.


    Zhuge Xian entered the control room where he controlled every single spell cast within the vault. He sat down in arge chair and reached for the control device.


    "The Demon of Prophecy, huh?"


    Zhuge Xian gulped and moved his fingers in excitement.


    ''Even if you''re a monster¡­''


    He wasn''t nning to let the Demon of Prophecy do as he wished.


    Grace hadn''t been exaggerating when she''d said that even the Demon of Prophecy wouldn''t dare to do as he liked in the vault. The entire vault was under the control of Zhuge Xian''s sorcery. He''d cast dozens of different spells to protect it. In the context of war, it was as if the enemy forces were rushing toward a fortress that had a massive wall riddled with cannons.


    ording to Zhuge Xian''s calctions, not even the Demon of Prophecy would be able to do as he wished here.


    "First off¡­"


    Before starting, there was something he had to do. Zhuge Xian grabbed a transparent orb while putting on his mask.


    [Requesting immediate backup.]


    Leaving his confidence behind, the most important thing was telling Gaia about the situation. He could stall for time with his sorcery while waiting for support.


    ''No¡­''


    A smile appeared on his face.


    ''If everything goes well, I could even defeat the Demon of Prophecy. ''


    Zhuge Xian searched the surrounding area with sorcery, but it didn''t seem like the Demon of Prophecy had brought any reinforcements with him. This meant that Satan had decided to attack the vault alone.


    Seeing as the Demon of Prophecy had jumped into the enemy''s territory alone, it might just be a golden opportunity for Zhuge Xian.


    Riiing.


    [An unknown energy is surrounding the vault. The backup request has been hindered.]


    "Damn."


    All of Zhuge Xian''s excitement disappeared, and he anxiously bit his lip. He slowly reread the message window that had appeared in front of his eyes.


    ''The message isn''t being blocked.''


    It was being hindered.


    That meant that if he made the Demon of Prophecy exhaust his power, he might be able to weaken the energy surrounding the vault.


    ''I guess I have no choice but to fight.''


    Zhuge Xian put on the headgear that he used to control his sorcery from the control room. The situation outside entered his field of vision; it was as if he were ying a VR game.


    Thebination of sorcery and headgear didn''t seem like it would work well together, but the synergy between them was better than imagined.


    ''Those narrow-minded geezers would never understand.''


    Sorcery had been passed down in the Zhuge Family before the Day of Cmity. As the heir, Zhuge Xian had learned sorcery ever since he was a child. He possessed a talent for sorcery like no other, so he did not stop at simply learning the sorcery passed down between generations and instead triedbining sorcery and modern science. The sorcerers in his family criticized his decision tobine sorcery and modern science, but that didn''t stop him.


    "Let''s begin."


    Zhuge Xian ced his hands on the keyboard while wearing the headgear.


    He had created this sorcery device using modern science after much research. The power of the device far surpassed that of regr sorcery.


    [System Activated. Defense level set to 2.]


    "Not enough. Raise it to four."


    [Correction. Adjusting defense level to 4.]


    Zhuge Xian quickly moved his hands in tandem with the robotic voice. Typing sounds filled the control room.


    ''Here hees.''


    The demon in the red mask began to move.


    Tap. Tap. The demon moved slowly and rxed as if he were taking a stroll in a park.


    Zhuge Xian frowned.


    "So, you''re going to act all rxed, huh?"


    He didn''t like it. His hands moved swiftly.


    "Let''s see how long you can maintain that attitude."


    [Commencing intruder banishment.]


    Two magic circles appeared around the demon. They rose upward and poured down a stream of fire on him. However, the mes bounced away from the shroud of darkness and spewed all over the floor.


    The demon continued advancing.


    Then an ice spear emerged from a third magic circle and flew toward the demon.


    Smash!


    The demon lightly waved his hand and shattered the ice spear.


    The floor split, and rocks were flung up from the ground. The demon stomped on the ground, destroying the floor along with the soaring rocks.


    The demon didn''t stop there.


    Then thirty-seven magic circles lit up. Rays of light poured down on the demon like a rainstorm. The demon lightly flicked his finger, and all of the rays of light were vaporized.


    Sixty-four magic circles appeared and caused a huge explosion. An ear-splitting noise and pieces of debris spread out in all directions. However, the demon walked out of the cloud of dust, unfazed, and the darkness surrounding him remained undisturbed.


    The demon just kept going.


    "Adjust defense level to five."


    Beads of cold sweat dripped from Zhuge Xian''s forehead. His typing speed increased.


    [Adjusting defense level to 5.]


    Rumble!


    A partition wall next to the vault opened. Golems emitting a blue light flooded out and charged toward the demon.


    The demon lowered his posture, drooping down his arms to his sides. He then stretched them outward like unfurling wings.


    Crack!


    ck des rose from the ground and pierced the golems. All of the golems were destroyed in a single attack.


    "Adjust defense level to six."


    [Adjusting defense level to 6.]


    172 magic circles appeared and surrounded the demon, shining at him simultaneously. A ck wave surged out from the demon, and the wedges of light exploded.


    "Fuuu, fuuu."


    Zhuge Xian''s breath became heavier. He was typing as if he was about to destroy the keyboard.


    The wedges of light that poured in all directions hit each other and merged, creating a glorious sight. They formed a spear of light over thirty meters long.


    ''And then¡­''


    He added illusions on top of that. Dozens more light spears appeared. Only one was real, but those who weren''t specialized in sorcery wouldn''t be able to tell which one it was.


    Spears of light flew at the demon.


    ''You won''t be able to block these.''


    Zhuge Xian was sure of it.


    BOOM!!


    A huge explosion shook the Grand Canyon. The rock wall crumbled, forming a dust cloud.


    "What the¡­"


    Zhuge Xian saw the demon grabbing the real light spear. The demon had been able to pick out the real one from among the dozens of illusions.


    Snap!


    The giant light spear cracked, shattering into pieces.


    Zhuge Xian couldn''t see the demon''s expression due to the mask, but he was sure that the demon was smiling.


    "Huff! Huff!"


    He breathed heavily from his overuse of sorcery. Warm blood dripped out of his nose, ran down his lips, and into his mouth.


    "A-Adjust defense level to seven."


    [Adjusting defense level to maximum. Activating ''Sword of Protec¡ª'']


    Crush!


    Before the system message could finish, the partition wall of the control room was torn down. The demon in the red mask emerged through the broken wall.


    Zhuge Xian shuddered, uttering, "M-Monster."


    He trembled. ¡®Monster'' was the only word he could think of.


    [How dare youpare me to a mere monster?] the demon in the red mask said quietly. [Did you really believe you could stop me with that toy?]


    The demon extended his hand. A huge pulling force dragged Zhuge Xian toward him.


    "Kurgh!"


    [Remember this, human.]


    The demon fixed his aggressive gaze on Zhuge Xian.


    [I am death, I am the end. I am the father of all wrath, and I am wrath itself.]


    The mask twisted.


    [I am Satan.]


    After the demon finished saying that, Zhuge Xian lost consciousness.


    * * *


    "...What?" Gaia uttered with a trembling voice.


    The tableware she held in her hand fell to the ground, and her other hand, which was holding themunication orb, shook.


    "What''s wrong?" Kim Si-Hun asked while making a worried expression.


    Gaia had been having a good time eating dinner in Kang-Woo''s home. However, her expression darkened after she answered a call through the orb.


    Oh Kang-Woo''s, Grace McCubbin''s, and Han Seol-Ah''s expressions hardened upon seeing Gaia''s sudden change in demeanor.


    "Th-The vault¡­ was attacked."


    "Attacked? Was it the Demon Cult?" Kang-Woo asked in a hurried voice.


    Gaia answered with a pale face, "The one who attacked the vault was¡­ Satan."


    "...What?"


    Everyone was astonished.


    Kang-Woo''s, Si-Hun''s, and Grace''s mouths fell open at the unexpected development of events. It was shocking that Satan had attacked the vault. Despite how ridiculous it might sound, they had never imagined that Satan would actually take action himself.


    "S-Satan?!" Si-Hun eximed in shock and grabbed Gaia''s shoulders.


    Gaia bit her lip and nodded. "...Yes. He invaded the vault an hour ago and took all of the seeds that we had collected."


    "Kuh!" Si-Hun hurriedly got up. Then he turned to Kang-Woo. "Hyung-nim!"


    "Let''s go," Kang-Woo said with a nod, getting up as well.


    Si-Hun opened a gate that led toward the Hall of Protection, with Grace and Gaia following him.


    Kang-Woo walked behind them.


    ''Good.''


    The Authority of Cloning had done its job well.


    Of course, the Satan that had invaded the vault wasn''t his clone. There was no way that a clone he''d created with an Authority would be powerful enough to destroy Guardians'' vault. A clone could only do simple tasks like eating and talking.


    "Haha," Kang-Wooughed lightly.


    Yes¡­ his clone could only do simple tasks like eating or talking.


    ''With this¡­''


    He''d obtained the Rift Seeds that had been collected from all over the world and gained the perfect alibi proving that he wasn''t Satan.


    Kang-Woo''s clone followed Si-Hun, Gaia, and Grace through the Gate and disappeared.

 Chapter 149 - Demonic Energy From the Deep End

    Chapter 149 - Demonic Energy From the Deep End


    "What the¡­"


    Kim Si-Hun''s body trembled. A terrible sight was in front of him.


    A copsed rock wall, a massive pile of rubble, and a torn partition wall.


    The amazing work of nature that he had seen this morning had be a horrible sight of destruction. It was as if a natural disaster had happened.


    Si-Hun and the other Guardian members had their mouths agape in shock.


    "G-Grace, what exactly happened?" Gaia, who was blind, pulled Grace McCubbin''s sleeve.


    Grace couldn''t bring herself to answer; she had her mouth closed.


    "Huff! Hurgh! Cough!"


    Zhuge Xian walked out of the debris. He had fallen into mana exhaustion, but at a nce, it seemed he hadn''t suffered any major injuries.


    "Protector Zhuge Xian!" Gaia shouted in an anxious voice.


    Xian bowed while making a hard expression.


    "¡­ I''m sorry, Madam Gaia."


    "A-Are you okay?"


    "Yes. I wasn''t injured, but¡­"


    Zhuge Xian turned his head. The canyon had copsed as if an earthquake had urred.


    He bit his lip.


    "I wasn''t able to protect¡­ the Rift Seeds."


    "Haaa, but I''m d to hear that you''re not hurt."


    Gaia sighed in relief. Si-Hun walked toward Zhuge Xian.


    "What in the world happened?


    "¡­"


    Zhuge Xian didn''t answer. He red at Si-Hun and Oh Kang-Woo.


    "Where have you two been?"


    "Us?"


    "If you''re suspecting these two, there''s no need," Grace said while sighing. "I understand what you''re thinking, considering the timing, but they''ve been with us the whole time."


    "Ah¡­"


    Zhuge Xian let out a short exmation. He lowered his head while making a dark expression.


    "I''m sorry. It''s just that the timing in which Satan invaded the vault coincided with when you two visited the vault, so I couldn''t help but be suspicious of you."


    Si-Hun and Kang-Woo nodded.


    Just like he said, it was understandable that he''d be suspicious, considering the timing of the attack.


    "They wouldn''t do something like that," Gaia said in a firm voice.


    Once again, Zhuge Xian lowered his head.


    "I understand, Madam Gaia. I will keep that in mind. I apologize to the two of you."


    "No, your suspicion is valid," Kang-Woo replied. "Haaa. If we knew Satan was going to invade, we would''ve stayed in the vault a bit longer."


    "It isn''t your fault, Kang-Woo. No one could have expected anything like this to happen," Gaia replied to Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo sighed as if he regretted not having been able to do anything.


    He had a heavy expression.


    ''Yolo!''


    But unlike his expression, he was celebrating on the inside.


    ''It went more smoothly than I''d expected.''


    To be honest, he was worried that he''d taken action too fast, but Gaia and Grace dealt with the situation better than he had expected. Rather, he felt like their trust in him had gone up dramatically after the incident.


    ''No, it definitely did.''


    After this incident, the possibility of Kang-Woo being Satan had likelypletely disappeared from Gaia''s mind. She had probably never thought that in the first ce, but now, it was a bit different. From now on, even if he did something suspicious, she would never imagine Kang-Woo and Satan to be one and the same.


    That meant he could act a bit more freely from now on.


    ''Although I''m most certainly not Satan.''


    Kang-Woo nodded repeatedly. He was definitely unrted to Satan, a wicked being who onlymitted evil.


    If Satan was evil, then Kang-Woo was the justice that judged evil.


    It was only natural that they wouldn''t be able to find a connection between him and someone like the Demon of Prophecy, who wanted to destroy the world.


    ''What a piece of trash.''


    The entire world had taken action to collect the Rift Seeds.


    There had been many yers who''d died during the process, and there were also many yers who''d died while fighting Demon Cultists.


    To think that Satan would take away all the Rift Seeds that had been collected through all that sacrifice¡­ Satan''s evil deeds made Kang-Woo grind his teeth in anger.


    "We shouldn''t forget."


    "Kang-Woo¡­?"


    "We should never forget¡­ that carelessness is a greater weapon than any other and that Satan will use that weapon against us at the slightest of opportunities."


    After hearing what he said, every Guardians member remained silent. Everyone clenched their fists in frustration.


    Carelessness.


    He wasn''t wrong. They had already known there was a chance that the Demon Cult would track the Rift Seeds and attack, but they hadn''t put any other security measures in ce besides Zhuge Xian''s sorcery.


    Gaia said, "I''m sorry. This is all because of myck of¡ª"


    "It isn''t only your responsibility, Gaia. We have all made mistakes."


    "Ah."


    "Everyone can make mistakes. What matters is that we learn from it. It''s a verymon phrase, but it''s hard to put into practice." Kang-Woo turned around. He patted the pile of debris. "Satan is strong. We can''t rx just because he became weaker after crossing dimensions."


    "¡­ You''re right."


    Gaia nodded.


    Kang-Woo turned around. There was one thing members of Guardians had to do in this situation.


    "We have to get stronger."


    Everyone nodded at Kang-Woo''s words. Their determination and will to fight could be felt.


    ''Yup, we sure gotta get stronger.''


    They''d definitely realized how powerful Satan was after this incident.


    They couldn''t remain still.


    ''We sure gotta.''


    Whatever it took.


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    * * *


    A few days after the Satan incident, Zhuge Xian and Grace focused on restoring the destroyed vault.


    Since Satan had discovered its location, they couldn''t keep the vault at the Grand Canyon, but they were restoring it anyway to retrieve the Sword of Protection, the vault''s defense mechanism.


    It had been damaged after Satan''s attack, but it wasn''t damaged to the point that they couldn''t repair it. They couldn''t afford to leave behind one of their most valuable defense mechanisms.


    Kang-Woo and Si-Hun didn''t take part in the retrieval for training reasons.


    Si-Hun went to the Middle East again with Tian Wuchen.


    As for Kang-Woo¡­


    "Let''s begin."


    There were more than a hundred ck stakes in front of him. He smiled in satisfaction while looking down at the Rift Seeds in front of him.


    He had not been able to gain much after just using one, but he had over a hundred of them at the moment. It was normal for him to be excited.


    "I''m not expecting that much. Let''s just get to 123."


    One stat point.


    His Demonic Energy stat had surpassed 120, so even one stat point made a huge difference.


    "Alright."


    The preparations were done. It was about time to begin.


    Kang-Woo extended his hand toward the Rift Seeds. He absorbed the seeds into his body just as he''d learned using the Authority of Insight.


    Whir!


    ck energy flew out of the Rift Seeds. Although the amount was small individually, the energy became significantly thicker after over a hundred of them were gathered together.


    ''Just one stat point!''


    Kang-Woo shouted from within and guided the energy toward his heart. He could feel the ck energy attacking the system sealing the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    Rumble!


    The ground shook.


    An explosive amount of ck demonic energy soared toward the sky.


    Crack. The ground he was standing on couldn''t resist the massive energy, and split.


    An ecstatic power spread throughout his body.


    Riiing.


    [The seal of the Ten Thousand Demon Core has weakened.]


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 3.]


    "Three¡­?"


    His mouth fell open. He would''ve been happy with an increase of one, but to think that it would rise by three¡­ Although he was happy, he couldn''t understand it either.


    "What happened?"


    Kang-Woo lightly closed his eyes. He analyzed the demonic energy inside his body and very quickly found the reason.


    ''Demonic energy from the deep end had been released.''


    The demonic energy of the Ten Thousand Demon Core was separated into threeyers. The shallow end, the deep end, and¡­


    ''The Abyss.''


    The deepest area of the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    He hadn''t been able to control the demonic energy from the Abyss, even when he''d been in Hell.


    "Demonic energy from the deep end is finally also being released."


    Until recently, only demonic energy from the shallow end had flowed out, but a tiny bit of demonic energy from the deep end had been released as well.


    Of course, it wasn''t purely from the deep end; it only made up a portion of the demonic energy released.


    ''But¡­''


    The fact that it had been released was what mattered.


    "Just a little more, and I should be able to face Balrog."


    He smiled in satisfaction. He had made enough progress, and it would have taken months if only demonic energy from the shallow end had been released.


    Forget archdemons; he felt like he would soon be on the same level as Balrog and Lilith.


    "It''s still not enough."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. If it were when he first arrived on Earth, he would''ve thought that this much strength was more than enough.


    To be honest, barely anyone on Earth would be a match for him as long as he was as powerful as an archdemon.


    But the situation had changed.


    ''The princes of Hell.''


    There was a chance he would have to fight them. If even one of the princes of Hell appeared, Earth would be no match for them with their current level of strength.


    Numbers were meaningless before a prince of Hell. The only one who could face a prince was another prince.


    Although yers overall were getting stronger, if someone asked him if he thought that they would grow enough to be able to face a prince of Hell, he would naturally shake his head.


    ''Maybe Si-Hun could.''


    Among the yers Kang-Woo had met, there wasn''t any yer besides Si-Hun who had the potential to face a prince of Hell one day.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    "It''s too unbnced."


    The gap in the average power level of Earth and Hell was far too big.


    Anyway, what Kang-Woo had to do was already decided.


    ''I have to get strong enough to be able to face a prince of Hell.''


    Although he also had to take into ount the divine realm where gods like Susanoo and Gaia resided and the celestial realm that he had only heard about, the battle against the princes of Hell was top priority.


    "After all, Satan has already been revived."


    The Demon of Prophecy, Satan.


    In that situation, he was the opponent he had to be the wariest about.


    Just taking into consideration that he''d invaded the vault of Guardians, it was obvious that he was already a member of the Demon Cult.


    No, rather than just being a member, there was a chance he was the one controlling it from the shadows.


    "Satan."


    He recalled the powerful demon he''d faced in the Ninth Hell in the past.


    He naturally clenched his fists.


    "I''ll protect this world."


    He overflowed with a sense of justice.

 Chapter 150 - A Hero from Another World

    Chapter 150 - A Hero from Another World


    A week had passed since Satan''s attack.


    While the members of Guardians were focusing on personal training, Oh Kang-Woo focused on the Demon Cult''s movements.


    "They haven''t taken any action whatsoever?"


    "No. I''ve investigated thoroughly, but they haven''t moved in the slightest."


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo gulped. He''d asked Cha Yeon-Joo to investigate Asia and Gaia to investigate Europe and the USA. But after such a massive operation as sowing Rift Seeds worldwide, the Demon Cult hadn''t made a move again.


    ''What''s going on?''


    Their n to sow Rift Seeds all around the world hadn''t failed. Although the damage was minimized, it was true that the Gaia System had weakened. If their goal was to weaken the Gaia System, they should''ve taken action afterward.


    ''I thought they''d do another mass summoning.''


    He had nned to devour all of the demons brought to Earth by the summoning, but the Demon Cult hadn''t made any moves.


    "That''s concerning."


    "¡­ Right?"


    Yeon-Joo nodded.


    The normal thing would be for them to make a move, but seeing that they were hiding at such a time made them feel anxious.


    "Well, I''ll keep investigating for the time being," said Yeon-Joo.


    "Please do."


    "Oh, right. There was something I wanted to ask you."


    Yeon-Joo sat next to him. Kang-Woo tilted his head, and she pointed to the living room.


    "Your summoned beast over there¡­ Can you really treat it like that?"


    She was pointing at Vaal Zahak, who was focused on cleaning the living room.


    The sight of a skeleton wearing a pink apron and a mask wasedy itself.


    "It''s okay."


    [Hahaha! Weaklings! You''ve all perished without leaving even a speck of dust behind!]


    Vaal Zahak even looked happy while cleaning.


    Yeon-Joo shook her head in disbelief.


    "Of all the summoned beasts, why would you¡­ It''s extremely rare even among undead monsters."


    "I didn''t choose it because I wanted to."


    To be honest, he wanted an ancient demonic beast like Halcyon.


    Yeon-Joo sighed and said, "Well, leaving that aside, about the Demon of Prophecy that you mentioned¡­"


    "Satan?"


    "Yeah, Satan. There was something about him I wanted to ask."


    "Go ahead." Kang-Woo nodded.


    "That Satan guy¡­ you said he took human form, right?"


    "There''s a high chance he did."


    "Is there anyone you can think of? Since the Demon Cult has been quiet recently, I was thinking that maybe I could investigate who he has transformed into."


    It was like a bolt from the blue. Kang-Woo remained silent.


    He opened his mouth and confidently said, "I don''t think it would matter. Whoever he has turned into, he would be hiding within the Demon Cult as long as he has sided himself with them."


    "Hmm, I see."


    "So, please investigate the Demon Cult first. Once we get them, we''ll be able to get Satan."


    "Got it."


    Yeon-Joo sighed and nodded.


    She yfully poked at his side.


    "Maybe you''re the Demon of Prophecy? To be honest, it''s a bit suspicious how you''ve be strong so quickly."


    ''Fuck, how did you know?''


    He felt like he''d been hit on the head by a stone someone had thrown as a joke.


    However, he wasn''t stupid enough to overreact in this situation.


    "Why? What would you do if I were the Demon of Prophecy?" he asked back yfully.


    Yeon-Joo snickered.


    "I''d send you back to Hell as soon as possible."


    ''Please don''t say something as horrifying as that.''


    "I''d rather not go somewhere like that."


    "Tsk. Well, that''s enough joking around. I''m going to work, so see youter."


    Yeon-Joo got up and walked out of the house.


    m. The door closed. Kang-Woo ced his hand on top of his forehead.


    "Fuuu."


    ''That was close.''


    He acted calmly, but it was true that he''d flinched at her sharp remark.


    When he was calming himself back down¡­


    Vrrr.


    "Hmm?"


    Something in his pocket began vibrating when he got up. It was the crystal orb used formunication given to Guardians members.


    "Hello?"


    [We have a mission for you. Abnormalities in the Gaia System have been detected in Suwon''s S-rank Gate. Grace, Si-Hun, and I are heading there as we speak, so pleasee as soon as possible, Kang-Woo.]


    "Understood."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    Seeing how they hadn''t entrusted the mission to just him, it seemed they had tightened their guard in regards to Satan after thest incident.


    ''Did I make them too cautious?''


    It was true that, in terms of the Demon Cult, he was morefortable moving on his own.


    He regretted making them excessively wary of Satan.


    ''No.''


    After recalling what Yeon-Joo had just said as a joke, what happened the other day was necessary.


    ''Thanks to that, I''mpletely free from suspicion.''


    While Satan was invading the vault, he was eating dinner with them.


    There wasn''t a better alibi than that.


    The fact that they were too cautious made him feel a bit stifled, but he thought it was also necessary.


    ''It''s better than staying still and being overwhelmedter.''


    Taking into consideration numerous factors, it was better this way.


    "Let''s go."


    Kang-Woo put on his white mask and turned to Echidna and Vaal Zahak.


    ''I guess there''s no need for all of us to go.''


    If he were alone, it would''ve been another story, but Grace McCubbin, Gaia, and Kim Si-Hun would be there.


    There was no need for him to take both of his summoned beasts.


    Tap.


    Kang-Woo opened the balcony window. As he used the Authority of the Sky, his body soared up into the sky.


    * * *


    "Hello, hyung-nim."


    The Suwon S-rank Gate at Hwaseok Station. As Kang-Woo entered the Gate he''d visited the most, he was greeted by Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun, Grace, and even Gaia in a wheelchair were all wearing white masks.


    "Where did the abnormality appear?"


    "I''ll guide you."


    Gaia pointed to theke in the middle of the Gate with her finger. It was where Kang-Woo had hunted El Cuero months ago.


    "That''s¡­"


    "What¡­ is that?"


    They saw a blue Gate two fingers wide as they approached where she had pointed.


    "Could demons be trying to cross into this world?"


    "No, I don''t think that''s the case." Si-Hun shook his head. "The Rift from which demons appear is ck, but this¡ª"


    "Is blue." Grace also looked at the Gate with great interest as if she had also never seen a Gate of this color before.


    Everyone was showing great interest, but of course, not Kang-Woo.


    ''Wait, this¡­''


    His expression hardened. A blue Gate.


    It was definitely the one he''d seen while summoning Echidna and Vaal Zahak.


    ''Could this Gate be connected to the continent of Aernor?''


    He couldn''t make such a conclusion since he''d only experienced it two times, but it was true that there was a chance that it was the case.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but feel anxious.


    ''Fuck, don''t tell me¡­''


    Fwoom!!


    Before he could finish his thoughts, a blue light spewed out from the Gate.


    The Gate, which had only been two fingers wide, widened enough for a person to pass through.


    Schwing!


    "Watch out!"


    The one who reacted first was Si-Hun. Si-Hun unsheathed the El Cuero de and shouted.


    Grace also took out her rapier.


    There was a tense atmosphere.


    Step, step.


    "#@$%@#¡­"


    A young, blond, handsome man walked out of the blue Gate.


    He was wearing shining silver armor and had a golden sword at his waist. The young man opened his mouth.


    An unknownnguage came out of his mouth.


    "What the¡­"


    Si-Hun made a confused expression while grabbing his sword.


    The blond young man expressed slight surprise, then waved his hands a few times in the air.


    "Ah, ahh. Can you understand me now?"


    "Who are you?" Si-Hun asked in a sharp voice.


    The blond young man stared at Si-Hun for a while but soon bowed.


    "My name is Reynald, the emperor of Arnan."


    "¡­ What?"


    It was obvious that they would be surprised by what Reynald said.


    The atmosphere became cold.


    ''Oh, fuck.''


    The only one who understood what was going on was Kang-Woo.


    ''Why is this son of a bitch here?''


    His head hurt.


    Reynald, the hero from another world who had crawled out of the Gate when Kang-Woo had summoned Echidna. It was the person who''d yed out a whole soap opera scene in front of him.


    "Arnan? Where''s that?"


    "It is an empire in the continent of Aernor."


    "And where is this continent of Aernor¡­?"


    Gaia slurred in confusion.


    Reynald looked at Gaia in the white mask. After staring at her for a while, he trembled.


    "Ahhh, it must be you! Yes, I''m sure of it. You must be the incarnation of the otherworldly goddess Gaia that Lord Tirion spoke of."


    ''What''s up with this dude now?''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure who this Tirion person was, but it seemed that the man knew about Gaia.


    Since Gaia was wearing a mask, it seemed he''d sensed some sort of energy within her.


    "¡­ I don''t quite understand. Who are you? And where is this continent of Aernor?" Gaia asked in a confused voice.


    Reynald opened his mouth.


    "The continent of Aernor is¡­"


    The longer his exnation went on for, the more surprised people became.


    Another world besides Hell, where demons resided.


    Gaia, Si-Hun, and Grace listened carefully to the tales that sounded like something out of a fantasy film.


    ''I''m fucked.''


    In this situation, the only one who wasn''t listening to what Reynald was saying was Kang-Woo.


    A drop of cold sweat dripped down his forehead.


    Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed they weren''t going to fight. Rather, it seemed that the heroes of different worlds would get along very well with one another, to the point that Gaia, Grace, and Si-Hun took off their masks midway. However, Kang-Woo didn''t dare to take it off.


    ''He probably remembers my face.''


    It wasn''t hard to imagine how Reynald would react if he took off his mask.


    ''Why did hee back here?''


    He wasn''t sure why he''d crossed dimensions ande to Earth.


    The friendlier the Guardians members and Reynald became, the more anxious Kang-Woo became.


    "But why did you cross dimensions to Earth, Reynald?" Gaia asked what Kang-Woo was wondering about the most.


    "The reason why I came here is"¡ªReynald gripped the handle of his sword while making a heavy expression¡ª"to eliminate Demon King Vaal Zahak, who had escaped to another world."


    There was a heavy silence.


    Kang-Woo grabbed his head with both hands.


    The situation had worsened.


    ''Motherfucking hell.''


    Things never worked out as intended.

 Chapter 151 - Determination for Kim Si-Hun (1)

    Chapter 151 - Determination for Kim Si-Hun (1)


    "Demon King Vaal Zahak?" Gaia asked in a trembling voice.


    They already had their hands full with the Demon of Prophecy, so it was understandable that her head hurt when hearing about another demon king.


    She trembled while making an anxious expression.


    Reynald nodded.


    "Yes. Demon King Vaal Zahak. He is a powerful Lich who gued Aernor with disease and created an army of undead."


    "And you''re saying that this demon king came to Earth?" Kim Si-Hun asked while making an anxious expression.


    Reynald nodded.


    "Correct. ording to Lord Tirion, Demon King Vaal Zahak sold his soul to a demon of another world to cross between the two dimensions."


    ''Fucking hell.''


    Oh Kang-Woo''s expression became pale.


    ''I''m fucked.''


    He hadn''t kept Vaal Zahak''s existence hidden from those close to him.


    Han Seol-Ah had be quite a good friend with him, and even Cha Yeon-Joo and Si-Hun had also seen him before.


    Not only that, even Seol-Ah''s mother, Kim Mi-Jeong, had gotten used to Vaal Zahak, and they often chatted together.


    ''But Si-Hun and Yeon-Joo don''t know his name.''


    They just thought of Vaal Zahak as some low-ranking monster like a Skeleton.


    It was understandable. The Vaal Zahak they''d seen was just a bag of bones wearing a pink apron who concentrated on doing housework.


    It was impossible to associate him with a term like demon king.


    ''But¡­''


    The situation wasn''t good.


    Things would be different if he''d kept Vaal Zahak hidden from the beginning, but that hadn''t been the case.


    ''How could I have possibly known something like this would happen?''


    It was unfair.


    Who would''ve thought that Reynald would follow Vaal Zahak to another world?


    No, in the first ce, Kang-Woo had almost forgotten Reynald even existed.


    ''What''s wrong with just having a nice life in your own world with that girl Reina, or whatever the fuck her name was? Why the fuck did you have toe all the way here to mess shit up?''


    He red at Reynald with resentment. Reynald was an absolute nuisance.


    If peace hade to Aernor after Demon King Vaal Zahak disappeared, he should''ve just shut up and enjoyed the peace.


    ''You even received a love confession, man.''


    Reynald had left his lover behind ande all the way to Earth by himself after ying out an entire soap opera in front of Kang-Woo before.


    Kang-Woo wanted to tear his head apart and examine his brain.


    While Kang-Woo was ring at Reynald with resentment, the conversation continued.


    "A demon of another world¡­"


    "I was told that he is a supreme demon standing above all demons and that he is the holder of the Demonic Sea," Reynald answered.


    There was a heavy atmosphere.


    ''Oh, fuck.''


    His head began spinning. It seemed Reynald also knew a bit about him.


    Of course, even if Reynald used Kang-Woo of being a demon king, he wouldn''t immediately bebeled as one. It was obvious that people would trust Kang-Woo more than someone who''de from another world. Reynald, instead, would be the one put in a predicament.


    ''But¡­''


    There was a huge difference between no one suspecting anything and a trigger that could nt doubt in people.


    There was an insurmountable wall between nothing and something; Kang-Woo''s efforts to obtain a perfect alibi through the Authority of Cloning would be for nothing.


    "It must be Satan."


    Kang-Woo quickly opened his mouth. He didn''t have time to think of any other way.


    ''I''ll go all in on Satan!''


    Gaia and Si-Hun nodded.


    "Yes. I believe so as well."


    "There''s no one besides him who could do something like that."


    Their support was quite helpful.


    "Is Satan the name of the demon that holds the Demonic Sea?" Reynald asked with shining eyes.


    ''Sure is.''


    "Yes," Si-Hun said. "I''m not sure what this Demonic Sea is, but I''m sure Satan is the demon standing above all demons."


    ''That''s it, Si-Hun!''


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists after seeing how Si-Hun was backing him up. He was driving Satan to be the culprit with just the slightest nudge from Kang-Woo, so Si-Hun was practically doing all the work for him.


    ''Well done, my boy!''


    It was normal that he''d cheer for Si-Hun.


    "I see." Reynald nodded. After thinking for a while, he turned to Gaia. "In that case, it must not be simply a coincidence that I''ve met you here, Lady Gaia."


    ''What the hell are you talking about now?''


    Kang-Woo''s expression naturally distorted.


    Reynald said in a serious tone, "I''ve been guided here to meet you through Lord Tirion''s guidance and revtion."


    ''Bullshit.''


    "You could say that it''s destiny," Reynald said.


    Gaia looked perplexed at his words.


    It would''ve been weird if she was calm after hearing someone from another world talk about stuff like destiny.


    He continued, "I cannot defeat the demon king alone."


    ''Then why the fuck did youe here, dumbass?''


    "But if you and I join forces, we can defeat him. As an apostle of Tirion, the God of Heroes, I would like to help you, Lady Gaia."


    Gaia remained silent after hearing Reynald. She was wondering if she could trust him or not.


    Kang-Woo wanted to shout that they should behead that damn swindler, but it wasn''t a situation where he could say something like that.


    ''Please refuse.''


    At that point, he could only hope for Gaia herself to refuse Reynald''s proposal.


    Fwoom!!


    "Ah¡­!"


    At that moment, a golden light came out of Reynald. The golden light flowed into Gaia, and a short exmation came out of her mouth.


    "Ahh. I see," Gaia said.


    ''What the hell happened now?''


    Gaia began nodding as if she''d realized something.


    Si-Hun frowned at her sudden change in attitude.


    "What happened?"


    "I guess I should call it¡­ a revtion. I received the will of Lord Tirion, whom Reynald had mentioned," Gaia said in a confused tone. It seemed this was her first time experiencing such a thing.


    Kang-Woo looked at the golden light surrounding her in frustration.


    ''What a fucking convenient course of development.''


    It was as if the author of the story was saying that anything was possible if light came out of someone.


    Reynald''s eyes shone.


    "You received Lord Tirion''s will?"


    "Yes. He asked me to defeat the demons alongside you, Reynald."


    "Wow, just as I''d thought."


    "¡­ I''m not sure if it''s destiny, but it seems like we were lucky to have met you, Reynald."


    Gaia nodded while making a faint smile.


    A bright smile appeared on Reynald''s face.


    "No. This isn''t luck but destiny."


    "Hoho."


    The two apostlesughed.


    Si-Hun''s expression stiffened slightly while looking at them.


    Reynald didn''t notice Si-Hun''s mood change and looked toward Kang-Woo.


    "That gentleman is¡­"


    "Oh, he joined Guardians just recently. He isn''t a protector chosen by God, but he is more righteous than anyone else."


    "I see. It''s nice to meet you. My name is Reynald."


    Reynald extended his hand toward Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo''s expression distorted.


    ''Damn.''


    It would surely raise suspicion if he didn''t take his mask off.


    Kang-Woo concentrated the demonic energy in his body while biting his lip.


    ''If it''s just for a moment, I''ll be able to do it.''


    The Authority of Blindness, which showed an illusion to a target.


    Its effect was so overpowered that it made the Authority very easy for a powerful opponent to resist.


    However, they weren''t in the middle of a battle; Reynald most likely had his guard down. Taking that into ount, Kang-Woo felt that it would be worth trying out the Authority of Blindness for a very short moment.


    ''I have to seed.''


    The risk of what would happen if he failed was too big.


    He used the Authority of Blindness as he took off his mask.


    "Nice to meet you. I am Oh Kang-Woo."


    "Haha. I was worried about what I should do when I first decided to chase after the Demon King Vaal Zahak, but seeing heroes like you all gives me peace of mind."


    Reynald smiled.


    After shaking hands, Kang-Woo put his mask back on. It seemed the Authority of Blindness had worked.


    "Fuuu."


    He had managed to ovee the crisis smoothly. He sighed in relief.


    He had used almost half his demonic energy stores in that short instant due to having used the Authority of Blindness on someone who had received a blessing from a god.


    Kang-Woo looked at Reynald in worry.


    ''What should I do with this guy?''


    First, he was sure Reynald was an apostle chosen by a god.


    Strictly speaking, he''d be an ally, so was it correct to get rid of him? He couldn''t help but wonder about that.


    ''He''s not insane like Alec.''


    He couldn''t deny that Reynald was a hero who fought against evil. Reynald had a good personality, and Kang-Woo was sure he''d saved numerous lives.


    It was as if he were looking at the Si-Hun of another world.


    The thought of getting rid of him made Kang-Woo feel as if he were trash who killed his allies for his own profit.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and fell into thought.


    At that moment, Reynald approached Si-Hun and extended his hand.


    "Nice to meet you, Si-Hun."


    "Ah, yes."


    Si-Hun nodded while smiling awkwardly.


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun.


    ''Huh?''


    Si-Hun was acting a little weird.


    "And Lady Gaia. I believe I''ve received yet another revtion from Lord Tirion."


    "Pardon?"


    After exchanging handshakes with the other Guardians members, he once again approached Gaia. He kneeled on one knee in front of Gaia, looking like a knight pledging loyalty to his king.


    "Lord Tirion has told me to protect you."


    Smiling, Reynald grabbed her hand.


    Si-Hun''s expression stiffened even more.


    "R-Reynald?" Gaia stammered.


    "I knew it from the moment I first saw you. My reason foring here was to protect you."


    Reynald kissed the back of Gaia''s hand.


    Her face reddened.


    ''Would you look at this son of a bitch?''


    Kang-Woo frowned as he watched Reynald court Gaia. He was pulling such shit with Gaia, whom he had met for the very first time a few moments ago, while having the female mage named Reina at home.


    "Kuh¡­"


    Si-Hun frowned.


    Kang-Woo looked at Reynald, Gaia, and Si-Hun. It wasn''t hard to see that there was a weird atmosphere around the three.


    ''How dare he try to pick up Si-Hun''s girl?''


    In reality, it was hard to call Gaia Si-Hun''s woman. After all, Gaia was just Si-Hun''s crush at the moment. Anyway, Kang-Woo couldn''t deny that Reynald was trying to interfere with his little brother''s first love.


    ''This won''t do.''


    If Kang-Woo remained still in this situation, he wouldn''t have the right to call himself Si-Hun''s hyung.


    ''This is most definitely not because there''s a chance Reynald could discover my identity.''


    It also wasn''t because there was a chance that Guardians would target his summoned beast Vaal Zahak.


    It was all for Si-Hun.


    Yes.


    ''I have no choice but to do this for Si-Hun.''


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    ''For Si-Hun''s first love!''


    He had no other option but to kill and get rid of the hero from another world. He had no other option but to do the trashy thing and stab his ally right in the back.


    ''Si-Hun! Leave it to me! If it''s for you, I don''t mind my hands getting dirty!''

 Chapter 152 - Demon King Vaal Zahak (1)

    Chapter 152 - Demon King Vaal Zahak (1)


    "Since we have lots of empty rooms in the Hall of Protection, why don''t you stay there, Reynald?" Gaia offered.


    "Understood," Reynald replied. "There are many things I don''t know about this world, so I should learn the basics at the very least."


    "Hohoho. I will help you with that, so there is no need for you to worry."


    "I am so d to have you with me, Gaia."


    The two apostles were talking as if they''d already be great friends. They seemed to be attracted to each other since they had both been chosen as apostles by the gods.


    ''There''s a good chance of that being the case.''


    It had been only a few hours since they''d met. In that short period of time, they had already be used to each other. That probably had something to do with Tirion''s light entering Gaia''s body.


    It was obvious that Kim Si-Hun felt anxious looking at them. He looked as if he knew that he needed to do something, but was too anxious to do anything.


    No, it seemed Si-Hun couldn''t even understand what he was feeling at the moment.


    ''Don''t worry, Si-Hun.''


    He put his arm on Si-Hun''s shoulder without a word.


    Kang-Woo felt bad for the kind soul Kim Si-Hun, who had no idea what to do.


    ''Just leave it all to me, man.''


    "Hyung-nim?"


    "Oh, you just seemed a bit down."


    "N-Not at all, hyung-nim. Hahaha. My thoughts are a bit of a mess at the moment," Si-Hun said while scratching his head.


    "Is it because of Reynald?"


    "N-No! It''s nothing like that."


    ''Stop talking out of your ass, man. It''s written all over your face.''


    Kang-Woo smirked and patted his shoulder.


    "Don''t worry. I''m pretty sure Gaia is interested in you."


    "I-It''s nothing like that!"


    "Hahaha! A grown man shouldn''t be embarrassed over something like this."


    "Hyung-nim!"


    Kang-Woo felt that the way Si-Hun red at him while blushing was cute. He thought that maybe having a real little brother would feel like this.


    Kang-Wooughed and followed Gaia and Reynald.


    "Oh. Come to think of it, where do you live, Gaia?" Reynald asked.


    "I usually stay in the Hall of Protection. I have difficulty with daily life if Grace isn''t there to help me, so¡­"


    "Huh? Does that mean I will be living with the two of you?"


    "Hoho. It''s okay. The Hall of Protection is very big. It also has all the facilities required for daily life."


    "Mmm. Even so, living with the two of you in the same space is¡­"


    "You don''t have to worry about it."


    Si-Hun bit his lip while listening to the conversation between Gaia and Reynald. It was obvious that he would react in such a way. After all, Gaia and Reynald had not only suddenly be close, but they were also going to live together.


    ''I''ll have to deal with this quickly.''


    Seeing Si-Hun like this made Kang-Woo''s heart ache.


    ''I''ll also look suspicious if I keep the mask on around him.''


    He wasn''t doing this for his own benefit, but it was true that leaving Reynald like this was dangerous. If he was going to deal with him, it was better to do it as soon as possible.


    ''Let''s see¡­''


    Kang-Woo began thinking while narrowing his eyes. He had to think of a way to deal with Reynald while avoiding suspicion.


    ''There''s actually a very good way.''


    The problem was that he couldn''t think of a good way to build up to using that method.


    "Hmm."


    He fell into thought.


    ''I should¡­''


    He narrowed his eyes. It was at that moment¡­


    "In that case, let us begin the search for Vaal Zahak tomorrow. If Vaal Zahak had be Satan''s underling, we may be able to find Satan through him."


    Gaia seemed troubled by Reynald''s proposal.


    "I''m sorry. I understand your passion, but forget Vaal Zahak, we don''t even have a way to track the Demon Cult that he and Satan are associated with."


    They couldn''t deny that reality.


    At the moment, Guardians didn''t have a way to track the Demon Cult.


    Reynald smiled at her words.


    "You don''t have to worry about that. I can''t track the Demon Cult, but thanks to Lord Tirion''s blessing, I can find Vaal Zahak''s general location."


    "I-Is that true?!"


    The Guardians members were all astonished by what Reynald said.


    Kang-Woo was no exception.


    ''The fuck?''


    Yet another unexpected development.


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    ''I seriously don''t have time to be fooling around.''


    It was apletely different story if Reynald could track Vaal Zahak''s location.


    Reynald looked at the astonished people and said, "Yes. Once a day, when the sky is dyed in gold, I can receive a revtion on where Vaal Zahak is and what he is doing."


    "Wha¡­"


    "What an ability¡­"


    Everyone eximed in surprise.


    Although it was only limited to Vaal Zahak, they could even figure out the locations of Satan and the Demon Cult''s core members.


    The eyes of the Guardians members began burning with passion.


    It was a golden opportunity to find a lead on the Demon Cult, which was an expert in covering its tracks.


    ''Motherfucking scammer.''


    Of course, Kang-Woo was frowning.


    He wasn''t sure what kind of god Tirion was, butpared to Gaia, there were too many things he could do. Being able to exercise that sort of ability while on Earth and not on the continent of Aernor was an absolute scam.


    "We could definitely use this," Gaia remarked.


    Si-Hun also nodded with shining eyes. "Yes. This is our chance to figure out the full extent of the Demon Cult''s forces."


    It seemed as if he thought that this wasn''t the time to be jealous of Reynald. The other Guardians members became passionate.


    "In that case, let''s take some time to figure out Vaal Zahak''s location and state."


    "Yes. The time when the sky is dyed in gold must be referring to sunset."


    "Right, there isn''t much time left, so I will wait here."


    ''Shit.''


    Only Kang-Woo ced his hand on top of his forehead as if he was having a headache.


    ''I need to make a move as soon as today.''


    Once Reynald received the revtion even once, it would be over.


    Evacuating Vaal Zahak to somewhere distant wouldn''t solve anything.


    He didn''t know exactly how much information the daily revtions gave, so he couldn''t create any unnecessary variables.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and fell into thought.


    ''I can''t take action myself like I did before.''


    Creating a dummy with the Authority of Cloning and taking action himself was too risky.


    ''I don''t know what effects Tirion''s blessing has.''


    That was the biggest problem.


    He wasn''t sure how much influence the god Tirion could exercise, so taking action himself could be too risky.


    ''In that case¡­''


    He just needed to have someone else take action instead.


    The gears in Kang-Woo''s head went into overdrive. He was thinking about what he should do in this situation.


    ''Wait.''


    His eyes shone. He turned and looked at Reynald, who was making ns for the days ahead.


    A handsome young man whose appearance wasparable to Si-Hun''s¡­


    Their personalities were also quite simr.


    ''To be more precise, it''s closer to Alec''s personality than Si-Hun''s.''


    Thanks to Kang-Woo''s influence, Si-Hun hadn''t be like Alec Osborne.


    But Reynald was different.


    Although his nature was simr to Si-Hun''s, Kang-Woo hadn''t been around to influence him, so he was more like Alec with Si-Hun''s looks.


    "If that''s the case¡­" he mumbled in a low voice and licked his lip.


    ''I can use him.''


    Kang-Woo thought of a way to use Reynald''s divine revtion against him.


    Kang-Woo separated from the rest of the Guardians members who were in the middle of a meeting and took out amunication orb.


    It wasn''t the one given to Guardians members but one he''d made tomunicate with his summoned beasts.


    ''Being righteous is exhausting.''


    Kang-Wooughed.


    * * *


    "Gaia, there''s something I''d like to talk to you about," Kang-Woo said.


    "To me?"


    "Yes. Youe too, Si-Hun."


    "But hyung-nim, it''ll be sunset soon¡­"


    "It''s not like we''re going to make our move as soon as we receive the revtion. Aren''t we going to analyze the Demon Cult based on the information obtained through the revtions over the next few days?"


    "I guess that''s true."


    Si-Hun and Gaia seemed surprised by Kang-Woo''s sudden proposal, but they followed him anyway.


    They went to the Hall of Protection''s training room.


    Kang-Woo turned around after reaching the huge white room.


    "What are we doing here, hyung-nim?"


    "I''ve watched the footage of when Satan invaded. Since there''s a chance we might find Satan through Reynald, we might have to fight him."


    "Ah, I see."


    "So I wanted to test it," Kang-Woo said while caressing the ring on his right middle finger.


    "Test what?" Si-Hun asked.


    "If we''re a match for Satan at the moment."


    "¡­"


    "I''vee to realize after seeing Reynald how important it is to be chosen by a god."


    "¡­ Hyung-nim."


    "Si-Hun, you don''t need to feel intimidated. You have the soul of the Martial God inside you. If Reynald can do it, so can you."


    Kang-Woo picked up his weapon.


    "Come to think of it, this is the first time we''ve sparred," he remarked.


    "Hahaha, you''re right."


    After realizing Kang-Woo''s intentions, Si-Hun unsheathed the El Cuero de.


    Kang-Woo turned to Gaia.


    "Gaia, I would like for you to check if you can feel from Si-Hun something simr to what you received from Lord Tirion."


    "So that''s why you called me. I understand."


    Gaia nodded and focused her attention on Si-Hun''s energy.


    Kang-Woo and Si-Hun''s spar was about to begin.


    ''Although this isn''t really why I called you.''


    Kang-Woo made a faint smile.


    The reason why he''d called both people was to separate them from Reynald.


    He focused on his left eye. He linked his vision with that of his summoned beasts.


    - Are you ready, Vaal Zahak?


    - Of course, Master.


    - Move ording to n.


    - Yes, Master.


    - Hm! Kang-Woo! I''ll do my best too!


    - Okay.


    They exchanged a short conversation.


    "Haap!"


    Si-Hun charged toward Kang-Woo with the El Cuero de.


    * * *


    "Ah."


    Reynald, who was sitting in his room in the Hall of Protection, let out a short exmation. Energy was filling his body. The revtion was beginning.


    - Kyaaaaah!


    - Hahaha! What a fantastic sacrifice!


    "Th-This is¡­"


    A little girl''s screams reached his ears.


    He saw Vaal Zahak.


    He saw a massive canyon and piles of rocks.


    It was the ce that had apparently been attacked by Satan a few days before Reynald hade to Earth.


    He saw Vaal Zahak holding a frail little girl. Vaal Zahak opened his mouth, his eye sockets shining with a yellow light.


    - Reynald. You thought that I, Demon King Vaal Zahak, wouldn''t know you''vee to this world?


    "N-No way."


    - Hehehe. You probably realized where I am right now through the revtion.


    Vaal Zahak''s creepy voice spread through his ear.


    - KYAAH! S-Save me!! Please, help me!


    - Reynald, if you want to save this girl,e here alone.


    After saying that, Vaal Zahak violently grabbed the girl''s neck.


    - Cough! S-Save m¡­!


    The girl wriggled her legs in pain.


    "You bastard!! How dare you¡­!"


    Reynald''s eyes widened, and the anger blew his reason away.


    "Vaal Zahak!" the hero roared.


    Vaal Zahak''s evilugh spread through his ear.


    - Hahaha!! Did you really believe you''d be able to face me if you had Tirion''s blessing? Did you believe something would change if you met Gaia''sckeys?


    Intense yellow light came out of the skeleton''s empty eye sockets.


    - Have you forgotten who I am, Reynald?


    Vaal Zahak raised his arms, and a huge amount of demonic energy surged out of him.


    The ck robe fluttered.


    - I am Demon King Vaal Zahak.


    Flutter.


    There was a pink apron visible under the hem of his robe.

 Chapter 153 - Demon King Vaal Zahak (2)

    Chapter 153 - Demon King Vaal Zahak (2)


    ''The hell is that?''


    Oh Kang-Woo''s face froze when he saw a pink apron beneath Vaal Zahak''s ck robe.


    The image of an evil demon taking a frail girl hostage was destroyed by that pink apron.


    ''Why is he wearing that?''


    His head hurt.


    It was as if karma for having used Vaal Zahak as a housekeeper wasing back at him.


    A great mood had been set up, but it had been shattered by just one apron.


    He was worried about how Reynald would react.


    ''Authority of the Watcher.''


    A translucent sphere appeared. Kang-Woo used the sphere, which could go through walls, to scout the room Reynald was in.


    Reynald was frowning and trembling in anger. He didn''t seem to care about the pink apron.


    ''Phew.''


    Judging by Reynald''s reaction, it seemed the situation he had feared didn''t happen.


    Reynald was pacing in the room while contemting whether or not he should tell Gaia about the situation.


    It wasn''t hard to imagine what decision he''d make.


    ''If it''s Reynald¡­''


    He would face Vaal Zahak alone and would dly jump into a trap if it were to save a little girl''s life.


    ¡ªBecause he was a righteous man.


    He was a hero who had to protect the weak and save the world.


    ¡ªBecause he was Reynald.


    ''Like I''d thought¡­''


    Being righteous was exhausting.


    Kang-Woo smiled. He raised his head, and Si-Hun''s sword was being swung at him.


    ng!


    He parried it with his own sword.


    A heavy shock spread through his hand.


    Si-Hun''s physical specs had improved a lot from all of the training he''d done in the past few months.


    The sword danced. As if a dragon was twisting its body, a barrage of enormous sword energies continuously struck Kang-Woo''s sword.


    ng, ng, ng!!


    ''At this point, I think he''s already stronger than Tian Wuchen.''


    The disciple had surpassed the master.


    Kang-Woo smiled while looking at Si-Hun swinging his sword. He had not been wrong about his certainty that Si-Hun would be the only person besides himself who would be strong enough to face the princes of Hell.


    Si-Hun had be scarily strong and was still bing stronger.


    ''Good.''


    He changed his weapon to a spear.


    He had started the spar to separate Gaia and Si-Hun from Reynald, but now he couldn''t help but wonder about Si-Hun''s limits.


    ''You''re gonna have to try a bit harder, Si-Hun.''


    The sword and spear shed. The training room shook while a loud sound echoed out.


    Materialized Qi wrapped around Si-Hun''s sword. It was a technique called ''condensed Qi'' in martial arts novels.


    An intense heat storm swept away the surroundings.


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction and drew out more demonic energy.


    ''Because you''ll have to do Reynald''s share of the work as well.''


    There was a lot of weight on Si-Hun''s shoulders.


    * * *


    Boom!!


    The surface exploded.


    A golden light rushed along the giant canyon, which looked as if a god had split with a hammer.


    Reynald¡­


    The hero from another world was running with all his might to save the life of a little girl.


    Rumble!


    A thick smoke rose.


    He was running at supersonic speed, creating a sonic boom. The surface split, and his breath became heavier.


    But he couldn''t stop.


    The poor little girl who had been captured by the demon king¡­


    He was so desperate to save the life of a little girl whose name he didn''t even know.


    ''I hope I''m not toote!''


    He couldn''t help but be bothered by the fact he wasn''t able to tell the Guardians members about what happened, but there was nothing he could do about it.


    Demon King Vaal Zahak was an evil demon who didn''t have tears or blood.


    If Reynald had told the Guardians members, Vaal Zahak would most definitely have killed the little girl instantly.


    He couldn''t let that happen.


    "Lord Tirion¡­"


    ''Please grant me the strength and wisdom to get through this trial.


    ''Please save the life of the innocent girl.''


    After a short prayer, he reached the ce where he had seen Vaal Zahak.


    "Vaal Zahak!"


    Rumble!!


    He stopped and roared ferociously.


    A hazy billow of smoke soared into the sky.


    He could see that Vaal Zahak was looking at him while grabbing the girl''s neck.


    [So you''vee.]


    Vaal Zahakughed mockingly.


    Reynald unsheathed his sword without hesitation. His magnificent golden sword, Del Lain, showed itself.


    Golden light burst out from the sword that had received Tirion''s grace.


    But¡­


    [Why are you standing still? Didn''t you draw your sword to kill me?]


    "Kuh."


    Reynald couldn''t swing his sword. He red at Vaal Zahak while biting his lip, looking at the girl in Vaal Zahak''s hand.


    The little girl was as beautiful as a doll. She had white skin and ck hair, and her eyes shone as if they were gems. She looked so frail that it seemed she would break if one wasn''t careful enough.


    Looking at the girl that Vaal Zahak was holding hostage made him grip his sword even tighter.


    "Vaal Zahak, do I cry now?" the girl whispered.


    [Yes.]


    The little girl and Vaal Zahak were talking, but Reynald was too far away to hear them.


    "KYAAHH!!"


    The girl, trapped by the evil demon king Vaal Zahak, screamed.


    "P-Please save me, Mr. Hero!" the girl shouted to Reynald, tears dripping from her eyes.


    After hearing the girl''s shout, Reynald shouted in an urgent voice, "Get away from her, Vaal Zahak!"


    Vaal Zahakughed at him.


    [Do you want to save this girl?]


    "I told you to get away from her!"


    [KAHAHAHAHA!! Pathetic! Why are you bing so enraged over the life of a mere little girl?]


    "YOU BASTAAAARD!!!"


    Reynald''s expression distorted. Golden energy burst out of him, shaking his surroundings.


    While he was bursting with rage, the girl and Vaal Zahak continued to secretly talk to each other.


    "¡­ What do we do now?"


    [Huhu. Now my pawns will kill him.]


    As long as he had a little girl as a hostage, Reynald couldn''t recklessly take action. Vaal Zahak just had to make Reynald realize how strong a mage with their safety guaranteed could be.


    Vaal Zahak snapped his fingers.


    [Arise, army of the dead.]


    Demonic energy spread from his fingertips and seeped into the ground.


    Space distorted, and a ck Rift appeared.


    What emerged from within were twelve Death Knights. The Death Knights were riding skeleton horses covered with blue mes. They drew their swords.


    [Knights of death, tear his skin apart and drink his blood. Cut the body of this lowly mortal with your swords.]


    His eye sockets shone with a yellow light.


    [Kill my enemy.]


    Rumble!


    The Death Knights raised their swords and rushed along the canyon on their skeleton horses.


    "HWOOOO!!"


    It was the cry of the dead.


    The ghastly howls that subconsciously instilled fear into the living spread through the canyon.


    "You bastards¡­"


    Even after hearing their howls, Reynald didn''t tremble. The golden light protected his body and mind. He raised his sword.


    "Unforgivable."


    A cowardly demon king hiding behind a frail little girl held hostage¡­ Reynald could neither forgive norpromise with him.


    Reynald swung the sword covered with golden light toward the Death Knights charging in his direction.


    m! Boom!


    Although it was a sh between swords, the sound that resulted from it did not sound right.


    The Death Knights, d with demonic energy, shed with Reynald.


    While Reynald was fighting fiercely, Vaal Zahak cast magic.


    [Kekeke. I never thought that my ill fate with that eyesore would continue in another world.]


    "I hate him too."


    The girl Reynald was risking his life to protect was frowning, and she was about to cast magic¡­


    But Vaal Zahak stopped her.


    [Don''t rush. If he feels demonic energy from you, it would ruin our n.]


    "¡­ Can you beat him by yourself, Vaal Zahak?"


    [Hehehe. Who do you think I am? I dyed the continent of Aernor in fear, the strongest and most evil¡ª]


    "So, can you beat him or not?"


    [¡­]


    Vaal Zahak''s yellow eyes flickered.


    [Ngh. It wouldn''t be easy with a frontal assault. That man is a hero who has received the blessing of Tirion.]


    But¡­


    A creepyugh leaked out.


    [I have also received power from Master. And right now, I can one-sidedly attack him, so there''s no need for you to act,] he said confidently while pouring the magic he''d cast at Reynald.


    Bone spears drilled out from the ground and targeted Reynald.


    "Kurgh!!"


    Reynald swung Del Lain and blocked Vaal Zahak''s attacks, but he couldn''t fight back.


    One small mistake, and the little girl''s life could be in danger.


    "Dammit¡­"


    The hero''s expression darkened.


    Vaal Zahak kept one-sidedly attacking him.


    * * *


    ''Good.''


    A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face, who was watching the battle with his left eye.


    Vaal Zahak''s attacks were one-sidedly hitting Reynald.


    As time went on, Reynald became noticeably more fatigued.


    ''Tsk, pathetic.''


    Kang-Woo was expecting it, but he couldn''t help but feel that Reynald was too pathetic. He was taking every single attack without fighting back at all due to Echidna, who was pretending to be a hostage.


    How could he not call that pathetic?


    ''Although it''s true that hostages are used for this very purpose.''


    Armed police officers also couldn''t easily neutralize kidnappers for that same reason. But even considering that, Kang-Woo couldn''t help but sigh at how Reynald was dealing with the situation.


    ''Does he seriously think anything is going to change if he keeps taking the attacks?''


    Kang-Woo was so frustrated that he wanted to step into his shoes, but that was not an option. Whether Reynald was righteous or stupid, what mattered was that everything was going as Kang-Woo had envisioned.


    ''Good. Just keep being attacked and die.''


    Kang-Woo was cheering for Vaal Zahak. He was doing better than Kang-Woo had expected. Echidna''s performance of asking Reynald to save her from time to time was also great.


    Reynald vomited blood and copsed onto the ground.


    ''It''s almost over.''


    Judging by Reynald''s state, Kang-Woo was starting to see an end to this stupid y.


    Kang-Woo looked in pity at Reynald, who was spewing blood while desperately trying to get up.


    ''Nothing''s gonna change even if you do that.''


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    The hero who had raised his sword to protect a little girl¡­ A powerful opponent¡­ A hero who had been brought to the brink of death due to a cowardly tactic.


    It was the perfect situation for a cliche powerup, but the world was not so generous.


    ''Life isn''t easy, man.''


    Injuries led to weakness, and rage led to simple-mindedness. Blood loss led to slowness, and desperation blunted movement.


    Powering up in the worst possible scenario was something that only happened in manhwa and novels.


    Reynald copsed to the ground.


    A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    ''It''s over.''


    He thought they''d cleanly gotten rid of Reynald.


    It was at that moment¡­


    Fwoosh!!


    An enormous blinding ray of light burst out of Reynald''s body.


    "Huh?"


    What the hell was this?


    Kang-Woo looked at Reynald in confusion.


    Reynald, who had copsed on the ground, slowly got back up. An explosive amount of golden energy surrounded him like armor.


    His body, which had been covered in wounds, instantly healed. All the Death Knights attacking him were swept away with just one attack.


    ''Wait just a fucking second.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t understand what was going on, and he became uneasy.


    ''Did he seriously power up?''


    It seemed that the cliche he''d brushed off andughed at for being too unrealistic had happened.


    Kang-Woo covered his face with both hands as if his head hurt.


    It was as if the n he had carefully constructed had been ripped to shreds.


    "For fuck''s sake¡­"


    ''What afortable life you have.''

 Chapter 154 - Hero Reynald (1)

    Chapter 154 - Hero Reynald (1)


    Fwoosh!!


    There was an explosion of golden energy, and a brilliant light illuminated the entire area as if the sun had descended on the surface.


    "A-Aaahhh."


    With the golden energy covering his entire body, Reynald slowly tried to get up.


    - Get up, Reynald.


    "Lord Tirion¡­"


    It wasn''t hard to imagine what that energy was.


    Reynald''s expression darkened. The fact that he had been rendered helpless against an enemy''s cowardly tactic weighed down on his shoulders.


    - Raise your head, my child.


    He could hear Tirion''s magnificent and firm voice in his mind.


    Reynald trembled while saying, "I''m sorry. I made a mistake¡­"


    - You raised your sword to save a little girl. How could you call that righteous will a mistake?


    "Aahhh." Reynald clenched Del Lain tighter. "Thank you, Lord Tirion."


    - Huhu. I am proud of you, my child.


    "I''m also honored to be able to serve you, Lord Tirion."


    Strength returned to Reynald''s weak legs. He staggered for a few steps, but he was ultimately able to stand back up. An explosive amount of strength spread through his body.


    "It seems Vaal Zahak has acquired even greater power by bing Satan''s subordinate."


    - Satan. Are they a being that''s simr to the Evil God Lucifer?


    Reynald nodded. "I have my suspicions of who Satan is."


    - Who?


    "There was a demon who was trying to make a demonic dragon his retainer when I first came to this world."


    He retraced his memories. Vaal Zahak¡¯s cowardly tactic reminded him of how that demon had fought.


    It wasn''t just that¡­


    The energy that Reynald felt from Vaal Zahak¡¯s attacks was simr to that demon''s.


    ''I''m certain of it.''


    He recalled the demon''s face. The demon was a young man with sharp eyes. Although he looked like a human, his true identity was that of an evil demon.


    - We cannot let him be, then.


    "Yes. To protect this world, we have to eliminate Satan no matter what."


    - Huhu. To do that, you cannot afford to fall here.


    "Of course."


    - I will lend you my power. Although the price I must pay is high¡­ I am willing to pay it for you, my child.


    "Thank you very much."


    Reynald nodded and smiled.


    Then he raised Del Lain. He could see that Vaal Zahak was still holding that little girl.


    "Put your faith in the light!" Reynald shouted.


    A golden light poured out of Del Lain.


    Due to Vaal Zahak¡¯s cowardly tactic of holding a hostage, Reynald had let the fight be a one-sided beat down. However, the situation had changed now that he''d received Tirion''s power.


    The light that poured out of Del Lain protected the little girl.


    Vaal Zahak''s gaze wavered.


    Boom!


    Reynald stomped on the ground, producing an enormous impact that destroyed the rocks around the area. An insane amount of power filled his body, and he shot forward so fast that it looked like he had been stretched. Reynald reached Vaal Zahak in an instant and swung Del Lain at his head.


    [Kuh!]


    Vaal Zahak quickly used magic, and a barrier made of ck demonic energy appeared in front of him.


    Baaaam!


    [Kurgh!]


    Del Lain struck the barrier, destroying it with just one attack. Vaal Zahak was violently flung backward.


    "Are you okay?"


    Reynald held the girl that Vaal Zahak had taken hostage.


    The girl''s expression became distorted.


    Reynald put his hand on her cheek while making a worried expression.


    "Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked.


    "N-No¡­"


    The girl avoided looking at him. There was a sense of hesitation in her eyes.


    - Do not take any action without Master''s order.


    - I know.


    She heard Vaal Zahak tell her telepathically. Echidna nodded with a frown.


    "I''m d¡­ Truly."


    Reynald looked like he was about to cry from his aplishment of having saved the little girl.


    A handsome blonde young man covered with golden light was holding a beautiful little girl in his arms. Death Knights were scattered about on the ground, and a Lich had copsed on the ground. It looked like a scene out of a film at a nce, but of course, the reality of it was different.


    ''Where do you think you''re touching?'' Echidna chided inwardly.


    She twisted her body and freed herself from his embrace.


    Echidna felt revolted that Reynald had touched her.


    ''Kang-Woo¡­''


    What she wanted wasn''t some moron with superficial beauty. She couldn''t stand the touch of anyone besides the man who had saved her from the unbearable mire that was solitude.


    Nevertheless, she hadn''t forgotten her role.


    "Thank you¡­ for saving me," Echidna said and bowed with blushed cheeks.


    Reynald stood up while making a proud expression.


    He replied, "Please wait here. It¡¯ll all be over soon."


    The power that Tirion had lent him onlysted for a short while. Once that time was up, both he and Tirion would have to pay the price.


    ''I have to eliminate Vaal Zahak before that.''


    Reynald grabbed his sword. He stomped on the ground without hesitation and leaped toward Vaal Zahak.


    Meanwhile, Echidna took the chance to contact Kang-Woo.


    Her expression was stiff as she called out to him. "Kang-Woo, can you hear me?"


    - Yeah.


    "What should I do? Should I help Vaal Zahak?"


    - No, stay as you are for now. Also, get away from there as far as possible and hide when I give you a signal.


    "Okay."


    Echidna did not object.


    There was no need for her to doubt Kang-Woo''smands. She just had to follow them. That was her role.


    Echidna cut the call with eyes full of trust.


    * * *


    "Goddammit," Kang-Woo cursed. Then he paused the spar with Kim Si-Hun. "Let''s take a break."


    "Huff! Huff! Understood, hyung-nim." Si-Hun nodded while panting heavily.


    Although Si-Hun seemed tired, Kang-Woo hadn''t even broken a sweat.


    "I guess I''m still no match for you, hyung-nim."


    Si-Hun averted his gaze while smiling bitterly in self-deprecation.


    Kang-Woo lightly patted Si-Hun''s shoulder and said, "Come on. What kind of hyung would I be if I let you catch up to me so quickly?"


    "Hahaha. Just you wait. I''ll catch up to you eventually."


    "I''ll be waiting," Kang-Woo replied with a smirk.


    However, once he turned around, his expression darkened. He was still smiling on the outside, but that wasn''t reflected at all on the inside.


    ''Fucking hell.''


    Kang-Woo could see Vaal Zahak through his left eye.


    The hostage n had failed after Reynald powered up, and the situation hadpletely changed. The fight was still one-sided, but it was now Reynald who was overpowering Vaal Zahak. Vaal Zahak was holding on thanks to his magic, but it was clear that he would lose to Reynald soon.


    ''At this rate, I''ll lose Vaal Zahak.''


    Kang-Woo frowned. He couldn''t let Reynald kill Vaal Zahak.


    ''I have no choice.''


    As Kang-Woo raised his head, the gears of his mind turned quickly. His first n had failed, but he had a backup n.


    ''Although it''s a bit dangerous.''


    Considering the situation, he had no other choice.


    Kang-Woo turned to Gaia and said, "Come to think of it, Reynald should''ve received his revtion by now."


    "Ah, yes. Time flew by so quickly¡­"


    "Let''s have a listen to that revtion of his."


    Kang-Woo went to Reynald''s room with Gaia and Si-Hun, but of course, it was empty.


    "Where did Reynald go?" Kang-Woo voiced while looking around.


    "Have you heard anything from him?" Si-Hun asked Gaia after doing a quick search as well.


    "No, I haven''t," Gaia replied.


    "Wait, hyung-nim."


    Si-Hun pointed somewhere. The white floor had been hollowed. It wasn¡¯t hard to deduce what had made that dent in the ground.


    "There are traces of him going somewhere in a hurry," Si-Hun inferred.


    "Wait, if that¡¯s the case¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked at the traces with a hardened expression and ran out while following the trail. The traces led them toward the room which contained the Gate that was connected with the Grand Canyon.


    "Hyung-nim, this is¡­"


    "Fuck!" Kang-Woo cursed.


    "Wh-What happened?" Gaia asked with a trembling voice.


    "The traces show that he went somewhere in a hurry after receiving the revtion."


    "Then that means¡­"


    Kang-Woo nodded. "Yes. Vaal Zahak¡­ or maybe the Demon Cult, must have used some sort of trick to lure Reynald out."


    "O-Oh, no¡­" Gaia uttered, trembling and turning pale.


    Seeing that Reynald had run off by himself, the situation had to have been quite urgent. The thought that their new ally could disappear made Gaia anxious.


    No, Reynald¡¯s value did not stop at that of simply an ally. As an apostle of a god, he possessed great power and even the blessing of the god he served. Most importantly, thanks to his revtions, he would have been able to provide them with information about the Demon Cult. That was why the thought of losing him was horrifying to Gaia.


    "I''ll go ahead first," Kang-Woo said.


    There was no time to hesitate.


    Kang-Woo turned and stomped on the ground.


    "Hyung-nim!"


    "Take Gaia and follow me!"


    After saying that, Kang-Woo crossed the Gate. He ran along the canyon at breakneck speed with all his might and the Authority of Haste. While running on the steep surface as effortlessly as if it were t ground, Kang-Woo put on his Guardians mask.


    As he could see Reynald with his left eye, Kang-Woo ran straight to the ce where there was an explosion of golden energy.


    "Reynald!!" Kang-Woo called out to Reynald urgently.


    "Kang-Woo?"


    Reynald was surprised by Kang-Woo''s sudden appearance.


    "Why did youe here by yourself without a word?!"


    "I''m sorry. I had my reasons for not telling you all."


    "Just what¡ª"


    "Vaal Zahak took someone hostage and lured me here." Reynald angrily pointed toward Vaal Zahak, who was on the floor. "An innocent girl was put in danger because of this cowardly demon, but¡­ she''s okay now. Thanks to Lord Tirion''s blessing, I was able to keep her safe."


    Reynald smiled and was about to turn around.


    "Ngh."


    However, he suddenly staggered instead.


    The golden blessing that had been wrapped around him disappeared. This meant that the power he had borrowed from Tirion had been used up. Reynald couldn''t hear Tirion''s voice anymore.


    ''It''s okay,'' Reynald thought.


    The situation was over. Demon King Vaal Zahak had copsed, and reinforcements had arrived. He''d even rescued the beautiful little girl who had been held hostage.


    "Huh?"


    The little girl he''d saved was nowhere to be seen.


    Reynald urgently looked around for the little girl.


    "Th-The girl that Vaal Zahak held hostage earlier was definitely here! K-Kang-Woo! Have you seen a little girl around h¡ª"


    Stab!


    A dark-red spear pierced Reynald.


    "You¡¯re a fucking pest to the very end," Kang-Woo sneered.


    He twisted the spear, and blood poured out of Reynald like a waterfall.


    "Go y hero in a different novel," Kang-Woo said, snickering. "Ah, but I don''t think anyone would read a novel with you as the protagonist."


    Reynald''s novel: Dropped

 Chapter 155 - The Light is Fading (1)

    Chapter 155 - The Light is Fading (1)


    "Cough!" Reynald von Arnan coughed up some blood.


    "K-Kang-Woo¡­?" he uttered, looking at Oh Kang-Woo in disbelief.


    Reynald was overwhelmed with shock at the unexpected development of events. He dropped to one knee as he continued to bleed.


    "Just¡­ why?" he questioned.


    Reynald couldn''t understand why Kang-Woo had done this.


    Kang-Woo was a member of Guardians and one of the individuals that Gaia trusted most. He wasn''t a Protector who had been chosen by a god, but Reynald had not doubted that he was a righteous hero because of the unwavering trust that Gaia had in him. However, the price of such a belief had been high.


    Reynald hadn''t even had the time to defend himself. The dark-red spear had pierced his sr plexus in the blink of an eye. He received such severe damage that it wouldn''t be strange if he had died immediately. It was a miracle that he was still conscious.


    "A-Aaahhh."


    His mouth fell open as the pain spread from his sr plexus to the rest of his body. He was losing consciousness.


    Knowing he couldn¡¯t afford to die here, Reynald did his best to stay conscious.


    "You¡ª"


    Reynald began to say something, but he stopped when he heard the little girl''s voice.


    "Kang-Woo, can Ie out now?"


    Reynald turned to the source of the voice, and his eyes widened in astonishment.


    "What¡­ the¡­?"


    He saw the little girl he''d tried to protect while risking his life. The frail-looking, beautiful little girl who had thanked him with tears in her eyes was looking down at him with cold eyes devoid of emotion. He could even see a hint of disgust in them.


    "Si-Hun will arrive soon with Gaia, so you have to leave before that. You too, Vaal Zahak," Kang-Woo told his summoned beasts.


    [Yes, Master.]


    "Okay. I¡¯ll do as you say, Kang-Woo."


    Echidna and Vaal Zahak nodded.


    Kang-Woo looked at Vaal Zahak and asked, "Are you hurt badly?"


    [Hahaha. The injuries aren¡¯t light, but I have no problem moving.]


    Vaal Zahakughed as if he was trying to prove he was okay.


    However, unlike what he said, his body seemed to be in really bad shape. There were cracks all over his bones, and his ck robe was tattered. He had a few shattered ribs, and his skull had been crushed.


    If he hadn¡¯t been a Lich, he definitely would''ve died. Nevertheless, such damage was huge even for a Lich. He was having a hard time keeping his bnce.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. "Stop acting strong and get some rest. Echidna, take Vaal Zahak back."


    [Master¡­]


    Vaal Zahak trembled as if those words had moved him.


    Echidna nodded and ran toward Kang-Woo, who patted her head.


    "That guy touched me. It felt disgusting."


    She red at Reynald while tugging on Kang-Woo''s clothes.


    Reynald felt faint, as the little girl whom he had risked his life to save was ring at him resentfully.


    "What in the world¡­ I-Is this a nightmare? Maybe I''m hallucinating¡­" Reynald muttered.


    He rejected the unbelievable reality. To Reynald, the scene was more shocking than the dark-red spear that had pierced his body.


    Still refusing to believe what was happening, Reynald extended his hand toward the girl.


    He said, "I-It''s dangerous. You''re being deceived by an evil dem¡ª"


    Echidna snorted while kicking his hand away.


    "Hmph. Don''t insult Kang-Woo. He''s a way better person than you," she replied.


    ''Sheesh, you''re making me blush,'' Kang-Woo thought with a smirk. ''I sure am a good person.''


    He couldn''t deny Echidna''s words. No one had more pure intentions for protecting the world than Kang-Woo did. No one could dare to call him evil. After all, he was trying to protect Earth from the Demon of Prophecy, Satan.


    "Wha¡­" Reynald slurred his speech in confusion.


    Then his eyes suddenly widened; he finally understood what was going on.


    "D-Don''t tell me, you were all in on this together?!" he questioned.


    "Took you long enough." Kang-Woo snickered.


    Reynald should''ve realized that as soon as Kang-Woo stabbed him.


    ''He probably never imagined that a frail little girl would deceive someone,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    This was likely due to the "underdogma"¡ªa belief that the underdog was always more morally correct than the more powerful. Reynald had not imagined that Echidna, who looked like a little girl, would stab him in the back. It was proof of how outdated Reynald''s way of thinking was.


    "D-Don''t tell me¡­ you¡­" Reynald uttered while trembling.


    His fading consciousness cleared up as if he had gotten struck by lightning.


    The only being who could control Vaal Zahak and make him use such a filthy tactic¡­ There was only one being that Reynald knew who could do something like that.


    "Sa¡­tan¡­!"


    "The hell are you talking about?" Kang-Woo frowned in disgust.


    ''Me? Satan?''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t believe Reynald wasparing him to the evil and wicked Demon of Prophecy who was trying to destroy Earth. He wondered if there was an insult more unpleasant than that.


    "How dare youpare me to Satan?" Kang-Woo said in anger.


    He was okay with everything else, but he wasn''t okay with someone calling him Satan.


    "Don''t try to act as if you aren''t Satan, you evil demon!"


    "You''re quite spry despite having a hole in your stomach."


    Kang-Woo clenched Gungnir''s shaft and twisted it violently.


    "Kurgh!"


    The wound widened, and a huge amount of blood poured out. It was unlikely that Reynald could recover from such a critical injury, even with Tirion''s power.


    "L-Lord¡­ Tirion¡­" Reynald reached out in desperation.


    He prayed to Tirion once again, but a miracle couldn''t happen twice. Tirion had run out of power. He had nothing left to send to Reynald after already sending him power once.


    "Cough!" Reynald coughed up more blood.


    In the end, he didn''t receive an answer from Tirion.


    "I guess miracles only happen once," Kang-Woo said, lightly patting Reynald''s shoulder. "You¡¯re being punished because you''re trying to live life on easy mode, man."


    If Reynald hadn''t been chosen by a god, he would never even havee all the way to another world.


    Kang-Woo bent down and took off his mask for Reynald to see his face.


    "Y-You¡¯re¡­" Reynald''s eyes widened. "A-Aaahhh."


    He remembered Kang-Woo''s face. He couldn''t ever forget it.


    Tears flowed down Reynald''s cheeks. He understood everything now. From the moment he came to Earth, he''d been dancing in the palm of Kang-Woo''s hand.


    Reynald fell into despair. The tears didn''t stop.


    "Well. Let me be frank. I''m sorry," Kang-Woo apologized and clicked his tongue.


    If Reynald hadn''t known anything about Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo wouldn''t need to kill him. Reynald was old-fashioned and stupid, but he was a good person who fought for the weak without hesitation.


    "But I had no other choice," Kang-Woo stated.


    There was nothing Kang-Woo could''ve done about it. He didn''t have any ill feelings toward Reynald, but theplex turn of events had forced him to make this choice.


    Kang-Woo continued, "Of course, there might have been a better way. You might have understood my circumstances if I had taken a long time to persuade you."


    It wasn''t like Kang-Woo hadn''t thought about that¡­ but he couldn''t take the risk of letting all the trust he''d built so far crumble.


    "Y-You s-son of a¡­" Reynald stammered as he looked up at Kang-Woo in fury.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected Reynald to be satisfied with his excuse anyway.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and ced his hand on Reynald''s chest, concentrating the Authority of Waves in his hand.


    "I''m sorry, Reynald."


    CRACK!


    The Authority of Wavesunched from point-nk range destroyed Reynald''s ribcage and exploded his heart. Reynald died instantly.


    "I''ll remember you," Kang-Woo said.


    With that, Reynald stopped breathing.


    There was a heavy silence.


    Kang-Woo ordered Echidna and Vaal Zahak to leave. He''d sessfully eliminated Reynald, but the situation wasn''t over yet.


    "Hyung-nim!!" Kim Si-Hun called out.


    He was running toward Kang-Woo with Gaia in his arms.


    Kang-Woo saw Grace McCubbin and a few other members of Guardians whom he''d never seen before following behind Si-Hun.


    "This is¡­"


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened upon seeing Kang-Woo kneeling beside Reynald''s corpse.


    Kang-Woo lowered his head.


    "I''m¡­ sorry," he said quietly.


    He clenched his hand into a fist and punched the ground.


    Crack. The hard rock cracked, and an imprint of Kang-Woo''s fist was left in the rock.


    "Hyung-nim¡­"


    "I was a step toote." Kang-Woo''s anguished tone conveyed how regretful he was.


    "Wh-What happened, Kang-Woo?" Gaia asked in a shaky voice.


    Unable to find the words to exin, Kang-Woo kept his head lowered.


    "Aaahhh¡­" Gaia gasped.


    Even without Kang-Woo saying anything, the tense mood told Gaia what had happened¡ªthat Reynald had already lost his life.


    Gaia trembled in shock. "How could¡­ something like this have¡­"


    She had been able to feel some hope after meeting the hero who had been chosen by another god. Gaia had thought that Reynald would be the hero they needed to resolve the dismal situation they were in. Yet, that hope didn''tst even a single day and ended up crumbling in the hands of an evil and wicked demon.


    "I''m sorry. If only I hadn''t suggested the spar¡­"


    "No. Not at all. It isn¡¯t your fault, Kang-Woo," Gaia said, shaking her head.


    It wasn''t Kang-Woo''s fault. He wasn''t the one who had tricked Reynald and killed him, so no one could say it was his fault.


    ''Of course, it isn''t!'' Kang-Woo eximed delightedly in his mind.


    He could tell that Gaia didn''t suspect him in the slightest.


    ''YOLO!''


    Kang-Woo wanted to dance because of how well he''d dealt with the situation. It was as if all the worries that he''d felt because of Reynald''s appearance on Earth had vanished.


    For a moment, Kang-Woo felt guilty about having killed Reynald. Nheless, the guilt melted away instantly after reaffirming to himself that he had had no other choice.


    ''All right. Now, it''s time for the finishing touches.''


    The finishing touches were the most important part of anything.


    "We''ve lost another hero," Gaia stated sorrowfully.


    "Yes," Kang-Woo said. He raised his head and saw that darkness was being cast over the golden sky. "The light¡­ is fading."


    A single tear ran down his cheek.

 Chapter 156 - God of Heroes Blessing (1)

    Chapter 156 - God of Heroes'' Blessing (1)


    "Hyung-nim¡­"


    Kim Si-Hun had aplicated expression as he gazed at Oh Kang-Woo, who was tearing up.


    While staring at Reynald''s lifeless body, Kang-Woo grabbed at his chest. His head hung low with a solemn look in his eyes.


    "Don''t be sad, Kang-Woo," Gaia said, taking a step forward. She ced her hand on top of the shoulder of Kang-Woo, who was silently crying. "The light hasn''t faded yet."


    Gaia tilted her head upward, and so did Kang-Woo.


    The sky had been engulfed in darkness.


    No, it wasn''t just the sky. After the Gaia System broke, Gaia lost her sight. Because of that, the world had always looked dark to her.


    However¡­


    "Look, Kang-Woo."


    Gaia extended her hand toward the sky. She couldn''t see, but she could tell that there were countless stars in the night sky.


    "It isn''t over yet, Kang-Woo. As long as the members of Guardians, the Protectors of the world, remain, the light will never fade."


    "Gaia¡­"


    ''Damn, what a line,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    He found it a bit cringy, but it wasn''t appropriate to make a face at that moment.


    Kang-Woo stood up while nodding.


    "Yes. You''re right, Gaia."


    He looked at the countless stars in the sky. His eyes were filled with mncholy, and the mood was calm.


    ''Now''s the time. I should do that¡­''


    "Ahem." Kang-Woo quietly cleared his throat.


    He needed to convey to them that he was truly sad about Reynald''s death, but he was trying to move forward.


    "The light¡­ hasn''t faded yet. No, I won''t let it fade!" Kang-Woo said with a heartfelt voice.


    ''Yes! This is it!''


    It was the look of a hero standing up after oveing pain, the epitome of a cliche.


    Kang-Woo, who stood up under the starlight, looked as much like a hero as Reynald.


    "Yes. I believe in you, Kang-Woo."


    "Sniff. Hyung-nim¡­"


    Gaia smiled, and Si-Hun teared up.


    It seemed like the other members of Guardians were moved as well.


    ''Awright. This makes it worth all the effort.''


    Kang-Woo''s little act had been cringey, but it was worth it. He could feel that Gaia trusted him fully... No, it was more than that. Like Si-Hun, Gaia admired Kang-Woo.


    A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    The process hadn''t been simple, but it had been a huge sess. He was able to ovee a crisis in which his identity could have been revealed, and he instead managed to earn more of his allies'' trust.


    ''This is all thanks to the good deeds I''ve done in my daily life!''


    Kang-Woo didn''t hesitate to get his hands dirty for his little brother''s first love. It seemed obvious to him that such good actions would allow him to earn more trust from those around him.


    Kang-Woo knelt on one leg and ced his hand on Reynald''s corpse, whose eyes were still wide open.


    "I hope you can rest in peace," Kang-Woo said. He gently shut Reynald''s eyelids and wished for him to rest in peace. "I won''t ever forget you, Reynald."


    ''Let''s never see each other again, man.''


    Kang-Woo was already having a headache dealing with the Demon Cult and Satan on Earth. If the continent of Aernor were to be added on top of that, the situation would be too troublesome.


    "Let''s go¡ª"


    Fwoooosh!!


    Just as Kang-Woo was about to suggest that they leave, golden light poured out from Del Lain, Reynald''s sword.


    "What is it now?" Kang-Woo muttered with a crumpled expression.


    He''d thought the situation had been resolved with Reynald''s death, but things started to go awry once more.


    [Tirion, God of Heroes, is enraged!]


    - Who dares to kill my child?!!


    A stormy voice resounded in their minds.


    "Kuh!"


    "Kyaa!"


    Their eyes quivered at the presence of such colossal energy.


    - I asked who killed my child?!!


    It was a voice filled with rage. A huge amount of golden energy stormed around Del Lain.


    ''Tirion, God of Heroes.''


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened. He now understood why Tirion had the title of a god. Tirion''s strength was overwhelming even though he was pouring out his strength through a sword rather than in person.


    "Please calm down, Lord Tirion."


    - Daughter of Gaia, do you know who killed my child?


    Fwoom.


    The golden light around Del Lain flickered.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed while listening to Tirion''s words.


    ''Wait¡­''


    Tirion was desperately asking who killed Reynald.


    ''Does he not know the details of what happened?''


    There was a high chance that was the case. If Tirion had seen everything that happened with Reynald, he should''ve known that Kang-Woo had used his spear to stab Reynald.


    ''All right, I managed to dodge the worst possible oue.''


    The worst possible oue was, of course, Tirion pointing him out as the culprit. If that were to happen, even Kang-Woo would be in deep trouble.


    ''If he doesn''t know what happened here¡­''


    So, Kang-Woo couldn''t simply do nothing.


    "The one who killed Reynald was Demon King Vaal Zahak," he said.


    - No, it was not him. If it were Vaal Zahak, I would have been able to feel it.


    Tirion rejected Kang-Woo''s exnation.


    ''I guess Vaal Zahak isn''t an option.''


    Still, there was no need to fret. After all, there was a true demon on Earth that was using Vaal Zahak as his subordinate¡ªthe Demon of Prophecy, Satan.


    "Then I''m sure it was Satan."


    Kang-Woo didn''t even need to say it himself; Gaia had said it instead.


    - Satan.


    Whirrr. Del Lain was vibrating.


    - I see. So, it was Satan. That evil demon took away my child''s life!


    "Kurgh!"


    There was an explosion of golden light, and the members of Guardians grunted due to Tirion''s overwhelming power.


    [Tirion''s rage is directed toward Satan!]


    ''Nice!''


    Kang-Woo clenched his hands into fists in celebration.


    ''You''re the best, Satan!''


    By this point, Satan was pretty much an all-purpose cheat code. Satan, the Demon of Prophecy, had even enraged a god from another world.


    - Subjects of Gaia, are you also fighting against that evil demon?


    "Of course. Killing Satan, the Demon of Prophecy, is our duty," Kang-Woo replied.


    There was determination in his eyes and no hesitation in his voice.


    The sword resonated with Kang-Woo''s burst of justice-filled words.


    - I will lend you all of my power! Even if it means I''ll vanish from existence!


    [Warning. Excessive interference of Tirion, God of Heroes, has been detected. Further interference deemed impossible.]


    A message window appeared in front of them.


    - Kuuurrgghh!


    They could feel the pain in Tirion''s voice.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone sharply.


    The System had turned normal people into yers, and thanks to the ability known as stats, it could give them power, seemingly out of thin air.


    ''Now that I think about it, Gaia said that she could interfere with the system, although at a limited capacity.''


    If those who received a god''s power could interfere with the system, it wasn''t weird that the god who gave them that power in the first ce could as well.


    ''It seems not even gods can interfere with the system without consequences.''


    He was able to roughly figure that out from hearing Tirion''s pained voice.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure what the system was or how it worked¡­ He wasn''t even sure if the Gaia System that had created the yers was the same one as the one that had been damaged because of Satan, the Demon of Prophecy.


    Nevertheless, it wasn''t hard for Kang-Woo to understand the current situation. Tirion wanted to give a portion of his power to the members of Guardians¡­ even if it could lead to his annihtion.


    "Lord Tirion! A hero like you mustn''t disappear!" Kang-Woo shouted hurriedly.


    Of course, his inner thoughts were different.


    ''Just cough up your power and disappear.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t care less if Tirion were annihted. Rather, it would be better if Tirion disappeared as soon as possible since he was the one who had thrown Reynald to Kang-Woo.


    "A god mustn''t sacrifice himself for mere mortals like us."


    - No! My will is firm!


    "Lord Tirion!"


    ''Yeah. I knew you were more likely to do it if I said you shouldn''t.''


    The more a person tried to stop a hero, the more passionate they became about doing something.


    The corners of Kang-Woo''s lips lifted subtly.


    Then he stood up while wiping his tears.


    "If that is the will of a god, then we will follow it," Kang-Woo said with a firm voice and intense eyes. "I swear it in the name of Gaia. We will make sure Reynald''s sacrifice wasn''t in vain. We will kill Satan, the Demon of Prophecy, and his subordinate Vaal Zahak and save the world!"


    Tirion reacted to Kang-Woo''s intense voice.


    - What is your name?


    The golden light that flowed out from Del Lain wrapped around Kang-Woo''s body.


    Kang-Woo knelt on one knee as if he were a knight pledging allegiance to a king.


    "My name is Oh Kang-Woo."


    - Hmm. I can feel an inexplicable power from you.


    Kang-Woo flinched.


    ''Don''t tell me he feels the Ten Thousand Demon Core.''


    If Tirion could sense Kang-Woo''s Ten Thousand Demon Core, then Kang-Woo would have to scrap arge part of his n.


    "Kang-Woo hyung-nim wasn''t chosen as a Protector, but he became powerful through his own painstaking efforts. I''m sure that what you''re feeling is his indestructible will," Si-Hun stated.


    Gaia agreed, "He''s right. Kang-Woo is more righteous and heroic than anyone I''ve ever met. He was the first to take action after Reynald disappeared and the one who was the saddest about his death."


    A Protector and Gaia''s apostle spoke up in Kang-Woo''s favor.


    ''I love you guys!'' Kang-Woo thought.


    It was the support of the couple that he''d helped unite by working as cupid.


    Kang-Woo unconsciously tightened his fists.


    - I see. So, you were the first to take action in response to my child''s sorrow and the one who was saddened the most by his death.


    They were able to convince Tirion¡ªwho was prepared to die to avenge the death of his child, Reynald. The decisive factor was Gaia''s words since she was also an apostle of a god just like Reynald.


    After Tirion heard Gaia''s words, Del Lain''s golden light fluttered intensely.


    Just as Gaia trusted Reynald because they were both the apostles of a god, Tirion seemed to trust Gaia quite a lot too.


    - Very well. I choose you to inherit the hero''s dying wishes.


    ''YOLO!''


    The tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth went up.


    Golden light poured out of Del Lain.


    - Please, use my power for justice.


    Tirion, who was prepared to be annihted, requested earnestly.


    "I will put my faith in the light!" Kang-Woo shouted in a firm voice.


    An intense light poured into Kang-Woo.


    Riiing.


    [You have received the God of Heroes'' Blessing.]


    [Divinity of Tirion, God of Heroes, will be annihted due to his excessive interference in the System.]


    The intensely bright light made it hard for Kang-Woo and the others to keep their eyes open.


    An explosive amount of energy entered Kang-Woo, and he immediately became connected with Tirion.


    - W-Wait¡­


    Before being annihted, what was left of Tirion''s consciousness expressed his shock. However, since he was connected with Kang-Woo, the only one who could hear him was Kang-Woo.


    - Th-This is¡­! The D-Demonic Sea! You are the master of the Demonic Sea!! Tirion''s voice rang out in Kang-Woo''s mind.


    He''d finally realized Kang-Woo''s true identity.


    ''It''s toote,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    Tirion''s voice was getting weaker. That meant he was about to be annihted.


    - You bastard!! Y-You¡­!! It was you who killed my child!! Aah, wh-what have I done?!


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    ''Don''t be so sad. Just like you''ve asked, I''ll kill Satan with my own hands.''


    - Nonsense! If you are not Satan, then who is?!


    ''It''s a long story, man. Anyway, you can leave the rest to me and disappear. I''ll keep this world safe.''


    - YOOOOUUUUUU!!


    Tirion''s desperate scream filled Kang-Woo''s mind.


    ''What? I didn''t ask you to choose me.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t hold back hisughter anymore.


    ''You''re the idiot for being deceived. Kahahaha.''

 Chapter 157 - God of Heroes Blessing (2)

    Chapter 157 - God of Heroes'' Blessing (2)


    - YOU BASTAAARRD!! Tirion''s shout reverberated through Oh Kang-Woo''s mind.


    His voice was filled with rage, but his volume was quite low because he had weakened and was about to be annihted.


    ''Time for you to rest.''


    Kang-Woo smiled wickedly.


    - Kurgh! I-I must inform Lord Michael!


    ''Who the hell is Michael?''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    He''d heard that name before since it was quite famous in mythology. Michael was the name of one of the four great archangels, alongside Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel.


    ''Is Tirion rted to the celestial realm somehow?''


    On top of that, he had addressed Michael as if the archangel were ranked above him.


    ''An archangel is above a god?''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t understand what was going on, seeing asmon sense said that angels were the henchmen of gods. He frowned at the unexpected development of events.


    ''I can''t let him contact anyone,'' Kang-Woo thought to himself.


    He had known from the start that Tirion would figure out his identity once he epted Tirion''s blessing. Nevertheless, he had epted it anyway because Tirion had resolved himself to be annihted.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t let Tirion tell others about his identity.


    Whirrr!


    He used the Authority of Predation on the power he''d obtained from Tirion. The darkness started devouring the golden energy.


    - A-Aaahhh.


    Kang-Woo''s use of the Authority of Predation elerated Tirion''s annihtion.


    ''Stop being a nuisance and just disappear.''


    He was getting annoyed at Tirion.


    Kang-Woo had thought that Tirion would be annihted as soon as he epted Tirion''s power, but he was wrong.


    - Kuh! N-No! I will not give my power to an evil demon! Tirion shouted, making a final effort to put up a fight.


    The golden energy within Kang-Woo started to run wild.


    "Kurgh!"


    Kang-Woo¡¯s face crumpled in agony as the pain spread throughout his body.


    ''Motherfucker!''


    He bit his lip. He did his best to not lose his mind to the pain.


    - Th-This must be as far as I go.


    Tirion''s voice was so soft that it was hard for Kang-Woo to hear him.


    Then Kang-Woo''s connection with Tirion was cut. It seemed like he''d been fully annihted.


    However¡­


    "Kuurrgghh!"


    Fwoooom!


    Golden energy pierced through Kang-Woo''s skin and burst out.


    It was Tirion''s final retaliation. His efforts to make his power run rampant and destroy Kang-Woo were much harder to deal with than Kang-Woo had initially expected.


    ''Damn.''


    It was a mind-boggling pain.


    Tirion''s energy ran wild in Kang-Woo''s body. He felt as if he was being torn apart from the inside¡ªlike he''d drunk a cup of water full of razor des.


    ''Fuck, I shouldn''t have scammed him.''


    If Kang-Woo had known that he would feel such pain, he would''ve let Kim Si-Hun have the power instead. Kang-Woo was now paying the price for having scammed the God of Heroes.


    ''You said he would be annihted, dammit.''


    He felt resentment toward the system''s message window.


    "Wow!"


    "Hyung-nim..."


    Si-Hun and the other members of Guardians eximed in surprise and admiration.


    From the outside, it looked like Kang-Woo was powering up after receiving the power of a god.


    "As expected of Kang-Woo hyung-nim. To think you''d be able to ept the power of the God of Heroes so easily¡­"


    ''No, Si-Hun.''


    "I admire you, hyung-nim."


    ''I¡¯m about to die from pain.''


    "Compared to you, I''m¡­ far toocking."


    ''Help me.''


    Kang-Woo asked Si-Hun for help in his mind, but Si-Hun couldn''t hear him.


    In this situation where he couldn''t eitherugh or cry, Kang-Woo was about to pass out.


    ''It hurts so fucking much.''


    He was used to enduring pain; he could even stay smiling while one of his limbs was amputated. Despite that, he was having a hard time withstanding the pain he was suffering right now. A normal person would''ve already died from shock after feeling such terrible pain, which was as if their entire body was being ripped into pieces.


    ''Dammit.''


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo couldn''t just wallow in regret. He closed his eyes and tried to control Tirion¡¯s power¡­ but that didn''tst long.


    ''I can''t control it.''


    Tirion''s energy was too different from what Kang-Woo had been using up to this point. It was as if he''d poured electricity into a car that ran on gasoline. The golden energy was fundamentally too different from demonic energy, so controlling it was impossible.


    ''In that case¡­''


    Kang-Woo bit his lip and clenched his hands into fists. If he couldn''t control it, he had no choice but to devour it all. The demonic energy within his blood boiled.


    Kang-Woo strenuously raised his head.


    Even though Tirion had been annihted, Del Lain was still wrapped in a golden light.


    ''Authority of Predation.''


    ck energy surrounded Del Lain. The golden light strongly resisted the Authority of Predation. Nheless, Kang-Woo ignored those efforts. Like a predator overwhelming and devouring its struggling prey, he engulfed the energy with the Authority of Predation.


    Riiing.


    [Applying the Trait ''Mana-Hungry Demon.'']


    [Warning. There is a different form of energy mixed with the corresponding mana. Full conversion to demonic energy deemed impossible.]


    [Would you still like to proceed?]


    ''That''s not important right now.''


    Kang-Woo didn''t care about whether he could fully absorb the power. His body was about to explode any second. He did not have the leeway to worry about such trivial things right now.


    Kang-Woo focused on using the Authority of Predation to its utmost limit.


    Fwoooom!


    "Kurgh."


    Tirion''s energy continued to run rampant in resistance, tearing apart Kang-Woo''s skin. ck blood leaked from his wounds.


    Upon seeing that, one of the Guardians members shouted, "Th-This is a Metamorphosis!!"


    ''It''s not, bro,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    "Wow!"


    ''I said it''s not, you sons of bitches. I''m seriously about to die over here, so don''t just stand there, ande cast some healing magic on me.''


    "Seeing that ck blood ising out, it looks like the body is expelling its internal waste."


    ''My blood is ck.''


    Si-Hun nodded. "It''s definitely a Metamorphosis. Everyone, please watch over the surroundings. Hyung-nim could suffer irreversible damage if he were to receive even the smallest impact."


    ''Si-Hun, please help me.''


    "Sh-Shouldn''t we do something?"


    ''Healing magic...''


    "No. Those are wounds formed through the reconstruction of his body. There is no need to use healing magic."


    ''Just let me have some healing magic, you son of a bitch.''


    As his injuries increased, Kang-Woo wanted to be healed, but he knew he couldn''t expect any help due to Si-Hun''s firm beliefs.


    At that moment, he resented Si-Hun.


    ''AARRGGHH.''


    Since Kang-Woo wouldn''t be receiving the aid of healing magic, he would have to absorb Tirion''s energy as quickly as possible.


    Riiing.


    [You have sessfully absorbed a portion of the energy of Tirion, God of Heroes.]


    [Expelling the energy that failed to be converted.]


    Rumble!!


    The ground shook, and a blinding light swept over Kang-Woo''s surroundings.


    "Woah!" the Guardians members eximed in surprise after feeling the divine energy.


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 4.]


    [A portion of the passage leading to the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core has been activated as the quality of the stat has risen.]


    [All conditions of Demonic Soul must be fulfilled forplete activation.]


    [You have reached the maximum stat number that can be currently reached. The stat will rise once the first condition of Demonic Soul is fulfilled or the level cap is broken.]


    Kang-Woo had absorbed only a portion of the energy, but it had been the energy of a god, so even just a portion of it was incredibly powerful. His Demonic Energy stat had reached 129, and he felt immense power flowing through his body.


    Tirion''s sword, Del Lain, turned into dust and scattered away. The golden dust that covered their surroundings made for a spectacr view.


    A brilliant light soared into the sky, dispelling the darkness.


    "Huff, huff!" Kang-Woo panted heavily while bending over.


    "Hyung-nim!"


    "Kang-Woo!"


    Gaia, Si-Hun, and the other members of Guardians went running toward him.


    ''Fuck.''


    The pain had finally stopped. In addition to that, Kang-Woo had obtained massive rewards for having absorbed the power of a god.


    ''I thought I was gonna die.''


    He was used to pain, but he''d struggled so much that he''d almost passed out. The shock of having experienced such pain would not dissipate so easily.


    On top of that¡­


    ''You''ve hurt my feelings, Si-Hun.''


    Kang-Woo knew why Si-Hun had said they shouldn''t use healing magic on him. If Kang-Woo had been in someone else''s shoes, he would''ve also thought that he had been going through a Metamorphosis.


    He knew that, but he couldn''t help but feel disappointed anyway. Human emotions were quiteplex, after all.


    "I''m so d you''re okay, hyung-nim."


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    "Hyung-nim? Is something the matter?" Si-Hun asked, worried after seeing Kang-Woo''s stiff expression.


    Kang-Woo turned away and answered, "Nothing at all, man."


    ''How could you do this to me?'' he thought.


    "Wh-What''s wrong, hyung-nim?"


    "Nothing."


    ''After all I''ve done for you¡­ you still don''t understand how I feel?''


    "Your expression says otherwise¡­"


    Kang-Woo walked past Si-Hun without replying.


    "H-Hyung-nim!"


    Si-Hun hurriedly followed him.


    Kang-Woo snorted. ''I''m upset with you.''


    * * *


    After the members of Guardians left, a small Rift formed in the Grand Canyon and exuded a gloomy aura.


    Crack.


    A ck arm emerged from the Rift, which was ck and blue.


    CRACK¡ª!!


    The Rift widened, and a ck figure pushed himself out.


    He had two horns, bat wings, a long tail, a muscr body, and eyes that had yellow irises with vertical pupils. The figure was exuding a suffocatingly thick demonic energy.


    "This must be the ce called Earth that Lord Lucifer mentioned."


    "Malphas, can you see anything around the area?"


    "No, I don¡¯t see anything around here."


    "Hmm. Father said that there are many humans in this world."


    Three identical demons appeared from the Rift and looked around the canyon.


    "Well. I¡¯m sure we will find some if we look around some more."


    "Lord Lucifer would not lie."


    The names of the three demons were Phenex, Malphas, and Halphas.


    They turned around and bowed toward the Rift.


    "Glory to Lucifer."


    The three demons were bowing to their master, the Evil God Lucifer.


    Then Halphas took a step forward and grabbed some sand with his hands.


    "I can feel Tirion''s energy," he said.


    "So, it''s true that Tirion was annihted."


    "Tsk. Who cares about a lower god''s annihtion?"


    "Yes. What matters is the being that annihted him."


    Halphas raised his head.


    He recalled themand that their master Lucifer had given them, "Find him."


    "Let''s move," Halphas told the other two demons.


    "Where should we start?"


    "I heard that the retainers of Gaia reside in this world. They should have some information."


    "Can we kill them?"


    "She''s a god of that faction. I''m sure it won''t matter if we kill them."


    "Isn''t Gaia an upper god?"


    "Hmph. Are you scared of killing the retainers of a half-dead god?"


    "Of course not."


    The three demons exchanged nces with one another.


    "Then let''s go."


    They spread their wings simultaneously and soared into the darkness.


    They had traveled to this faraway world on Lucifer''smand for one reason¡­


    "Tirion was a lower god... but it''s still surprising that he managed to annihte him. Impressive."


    "There would be no reason for us to find him if he wasn¡¯t impressive."


    "That''s true."


    "I am sure he will be of great help to Lord Lucifer''s n."


    The three demons let out grimughs.


    "Satan."


    "Let us find him."


    They hade to Earth to find the Demon of Prophecy, Satan.

 Chapter 158 - Hero Kim Si-Hun (1)

    Chapter 158 - Hero Kim Si-Hun (1)


    A week passed after Reynald died at the hands of Satan, the Demon of Prophecy.


    The Guardians members left the sadness behind, and everyone returned to their routines of investigating the Demon Cult andpleting all sorts of missions.


    Guardians mainly handled missions rted to investigating the Demon Cult and eliminating the monsters that walked out of the gates, and they did all sorts of rescue missions around the world.


    Oh Kang-Woo asked, "You want me to go to South America?"


    "Yes," Gaia said.


    Kang-Woo fell into thought.


    She exined, "A group of indigenous people who have remained in thosends has been attacked recently by monsters. They asked for help from the USA, but there are many refugees, and they''re spread out, so they''recking personnel. I want you and Si-Hun to guide the indigenous people to the US soldiers."


    Although most countries in South America and the Middle East had copsed and be deserted, it wasn''t that no one lived there anymore.


    Countries like Argentina and Brazil had pretty much been reduced to countries in name only, but many people were still living in these countries and trying to rebuild their nations.


    Many people had refused to leave when a nuclear power nt had exploded in Japan due to a huge earthquake, so it wasn''t weird that some people still lived in a territory that had be infested by monsters.


    ''I don''t really want to.''


    He couldn''t care less about the people; they had been the ones who had decided to live in a dangerous region.


    No, even if they had no other choice, Kang-Woo had no reason to save them.


    ''I don''t want to y hero.''


    He just wanted to protect Earth from demons and beings of other dimensions he didn''t know about.


    Kang-Woo was doing it because of his own personal desires.


    If the problem wasn''t as serious as an entire civilization being on the verge of copse, he didn''t feel the need to go around the world ying hero.


    ''On top of that, they''re citizens of a country that has already copsed.''


    Even if they died, the situation in the world wouldn''t change.


    Although incidents around the world had increased, people had epted it as something inevitable.


    It was a cruel thought in a humanitarian sense, but Kang-Woo couldn''t give less of a shit about being a humanitarian.


    ''Well, maybe it would be different if they were dying right in front of me.''


    How humanitarian someone could be was often influenced by whether they could see it or not.


    Watching someone die of hunger was more shocking than hearing on the news that hundreds of thousands of people on the other side of the world had died from starvation.


    He would save them if he could, but he didn''t feel the need to make an effort to save people.


    ¡ªThat was how much morality Kang-Woo had left.


    ''It''s not like I have something to gain, either.''


    He''d been able to grow exponentially after absorbing Tirion''s power, and the biggest change was that he could use a bit of the demonic energy in the deep end of the Demonic Sea.


    ''The best part is that the number of Authorities I can use has increased.''


    There were many Authorities he couldn''t use unless he used demonic energy from the deep end. No, in reality, most of the Authorities that belonged to archdemons could only be used with demonic energy from the deep end.


    Kang-Woo, however, couldn''t be content with just that. He still had a long way to go before he could face the princes of Hell, so he needed to focus just as much on getting stronger.


    ''This Michael, or whatever, is also a bit of a problem.''


    In other words, he didn''t have time to go around saving people.


    "Of course, I know this is a dangerous task," Gaia said, seemingly noticing that Kang-Woo didn''t like the idea too much. "But Si-Hun will be with you, and if you need it, we will provide you with more sup¡ª"


    "Oh, it isn''t because of the danger," he answered firmly.


    He wasn''t lying.


    Saving people who lived in areas infested by monsters¡­


    Leaving the tasks rted to the Demon Cult aside, it was one of the most dangerous missions. No, the average task rted to the Demon Cult wasn''t as dangerous.


    Still, he wasn''t too worried.


    After his Demonic Energy stat reached 129, Kang-Woo had acquired power surpassing an archdemon, so to him, it wasn''t a hard task.


    "Hmm."


    He crossed his arms and fell into thought. It was true that he didn''t want to do it, but it wasn''t like he had anything else to do.


    ''The Demon Cult still hasn''t taken action.''


    Since his stat growth had been blocked, absorbing the souls of demons and fulfilling the first condition of ''Demonic Soul'' was his priority. But the problem was that there weren''t any demons.


    Unlike other yers, he didn''t need to train, so he had even fewer things to do.


    ''I guess I could y hero for a bit.''


    Gaia, Kim Si-Hun, and the other Guardians thought of Kang-Woo as Hero Reynald''s sessor after he inherited the power of the God of Heroes. It didn''t matter if it was true or not. Kang-Woo had to show himself doing some heroic things from time to time.


    ''There''s also a chance the recent increase in attacks is because of the Demon Cult.''


    He thought it wasn''t a bad idea to investigate their movements while drilling into people''s minds that he was the God of Heroes'' sessor by rescuing civilians.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "Okay, I will take the mission."


    "Ah! Thank you very much, Kang-Woo."


    Gaia smiled brightly. Although she looked very frail, her bright smile had something that could stimte the hearts of all men.


    ''Si-Hun, you should be thankful to me.''


    He felt guilty for having gotten rid of the innocent Reynald for the sake of Si-Hun''s love, but after seeing things develop like this, he was kind of proud.


    ''Come to think of it, where has that guy beentely?''


    He had heard that Si-Hun had gone somewhere else in order to train, but he hadn''t heard where. They''d met in the Hall of Protection a few times, but they''d only exchanged simple greetings.


    He felt as if Si-Hun was avoiding him.


    ''Don''t tell me it''s because of that?''


    When Tirion''s power was tearing his body apart, Kang-Woo had treated him coldly because Si-Hun hadn''t realized the pain he was going through.


    "In that case, I will have a flight to South America ready for you two. Can I ask you to ry the mission details to Protector Kim Si-Hun?"


    "Ah. Yes, of course."


    "Protector Kim Si-Hun has been looking downtely¡­ Please also ask him what''s wrong," Gaia said in a worried voice.


    Kang-Woo nodded. He was nning to do that anyway.


    ''Si-Hun, it isn''t actually because of that, right?''


    He began walking faster in search of Si-Hun.


    * * *


    Si-Hun was in a training room inside the Hall of Protection.


    As Kang-Woo walked toward it, he heard an explosion.


    Click.


    Boom! m! Crash!


    "Huff! Huff! Huff!"


    Si-Hun was swinging his sword at a practice scarecrow.


    The scarecrow, which had been made using a special magic device, was tattered like a mop.


    "Si-Hun."


    "H-Hyung-nim?"


    As Kang-Woo entered the room, Si-Hun''s expression hardened. Si-Hun averted his gaze and asked, "What are you doing here?"


    "I have something to tell you."


    Si-Hun remained silent.


    Kang-Woo looked at him quietly and then opened his mouth.


    "Let''s go somewhere morefortable."


    "Hyung-nim?"


    He dragged Si-Hun to the rooftop of his apartment. The view from the rooftop was beautiful, as expected from an expensive apartment.


    Kang-Woo leaned on the railing and asked, "Has something been on your mindtely?"


    "¡­"


    "If it''s because of how I acted before, I''m s¡ª"


    "No, it wasn''t because of you." Si-Hun stood next to Kang-Woo while smiling bitterly. His voice had a sense of loneliness. "This is my own problem."


    "What kind of problem?"


    There was a short silence.


    After thinking about it for a while, Si-Hun opened his mouth.


    "Do you remember when Reynald died?"


    "Yes."


    "Back then¡­"


    He bit his lip and clenched his fists, gripping the railing. His grip indented the metal railing. Si-Hun said in a trembling voice, "To be honest, I was a bit relieved."


    ''Oh, so that''s what this is about.''


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    Si-Hun had felt disgusted at himself after feeling relieved that his rival had disappeared.


    It was a Si-Hun-like worry.


    Kang-Woo said, "Don''t worry. It''s normal for humans to feel like that."


    "¡­ But you were different, hyung-nim."


    "Not really. If I were in your shoes, I would''ve danced with joy right then and there."


    "Hahaha."


    Si-Hunughed. He probably thought Kang-Woo was joking.


    ''No joke.''


    If it were Kang-Woo, he actually would''ve danced with joy.


    He looked at Si-Hun and said, "Let me ask you something."


    "What is it¡­?"


    "Why are you so strict with yourself?"


    Kang-Woo had been wondering about this for quite some time. To be more precise, he''d been wondering ever since he saw Si-Hun stand up for Alec and put his life on the line.


    ''It''s too unnatural to call it a personality trait.''


    During the Isu Station incident, although Kang-Woo had told him to do so, Si-Hun had been able to cut down ordinary people who had been turned into demonic beasts without hesitation.


    Alec and Reynald wouldn''t have been able to do such a thing.


    Si-Hun wasn''t like them; he was merely trying to be like them.


    There was a heavy silence.


    Si-Hun narrowed his eyes and fell into thought for longer than before under the silence.


    "Haha. I guess I can''t hide anything from you, hyung-nim."


    Si-Hunughed lightly.


    "When I was a kid¡­ my mother told me something."


    Si-Hun looked up at the sky with sad eyes.


    "She told me, ''I''m sorry for giving birth to you.'' "


    Si-Hun clenched his fists, his veins popped out.


    "I despised those words. I hated them so much that I couldn''t stand hearing them.


    "But¡­


    "Yes. I''m sure she doesn''t think that anymore. No, she probably doesn''t even remember saying that to me."


    He continued, saying in a pent-up voice, "But that wasn''t something I had achieved myself with my own hands. I was simply saved by you, hyung-nim."


    His voice became more and more intense.


    "I wanted to be like you, hyung-nim. I wanted to be a savior to those who had suffered just like my past self so that I could¡­ proudly say that what my mother had told me when I was a child was wrong."


    "¡­"


    "That''s why I can''t stand my narrow-minded and selfish self."


    Si-Hun finished talking.


    Kang-Woo sighed.


    ''A savior, huh?''


    Kang-Woo felt as if he finally had an idea of what kind of person the man named Kim Si-Hun was.


    Si-Hun didn''t want to be a hero. He didn''t want to receive people''s admiration or cry out about justice. He just wanted to extend a hand to those in need¡­ so that he could be proud of himself.


    ''Dumbass.''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    In a sense, Si-Hun was dumber than Alec.


    It was a frustrating, annoying, and childish thought.


    Trying to help others to ovee a childhood trauma was something only morons with chuunibyou[1] would think of.


    It was a way of thinking Kang-Woo could neither understand nor sympathize with.


    But¡­


    Tap.


    He ced his hand on Si-Hun''s head.


    "Hyung-nim?"


    Then, Kang-Woo ruffled his hair.


    "Argh! Wh-What are you doing, hyung-nim?!"


    "Haaa."


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but sigh. He smirked as Si-Hun looked up at him in confusion.


    "Fuck. I''ve grown so soft."


    Although for a short moment, he had cheered Si-Hun on.


    Kang-Woo did not understand him or calcte what he could get out of it by doing so; he had cheered Si-Hun on in the purest sense.


    It didn''t suit Kang-Woo at all.


    ''I feel like I''m gonna hurl.''


    He was cringing so hard, but it wasn''t an unbearably bad feeling.


    "Hyung-nim¡­?"


    "Let''s go."


    "Wh-Where?"


    Smiling, he lightly patted Si-Hun''s head.


    "To save people."


    1. A Japanese term referring to people with grandiose delusions who desperately want to stand out and have convinced themselves that they have hidden knowledge or secret powers. ?

 Chapter 159 - Hero Kim Si-Hun (2)

    Chapter 159 - Hero Kim Si-Hun (2)


    "We''re going to separate into three groups."


    Oh Kang-Woo, Kim Si-Hun, Han Seol-Ah, Echidna, Cha Yeon-Joo, Kang Tae-Soo, Baek Hwa-Yeon, Goo Hyun-Mo, Tian Suyan, and Tian Wuchen.


    Kang-Woo thought he might as well go all the way with ying hero, and he called as many people as he could.


    Theynded in the country at the top of the continent, Venezu.


    Most of the South American countries had copsed after the Day of Cmity, but Venezu had been the exception. It wasn''t because Venezu was a strong country or had outstanding yers¡­


    It was thanks to the USA.


    The USA was using Venezu as a base to eliminate the monsters in South America, since it was the closest to them; and they were also nning to recover the rest of the Earth.


    ''Of course, they aren''t doing it out of good intentions.''


    It was obvious, but the reason why the USA was working so hard to take back the countries that monsters had invaded wasn''t because they were selfless.


    On the outside, they said it was for world peace and the advancement of humanity, but everyone knew that, in reality, it was to publicize that they were the strongest country in the world.


    ''Well, whatever their reason is, it''s true that they''re helping out.''


    It was a fact that the world restoration project would not have even taken off if it hadn''t been for the USA.


    It had be a good influence for East Asian countries, such as China and Korea, to begin restoring the Middle East.


    "We only have ten people. Isn''t it a bit too little to divide into three groups?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    "The main force is the US military, and the indigenous people are too widely scattered, so moving together would be too inefficient."


    Most of the indigenous people remaining in South American countries lived like nomads; they built viges to live in, abandoned them when monsters attacked, and then built new viges after relocating.


    Hence, none of them stayed in one ce as arge group, so rescuing them wasn''t easy.


    "Then how are you going to divide the groups?" Wuchen asked.


    "Judging from the situation, we should divide into groups focused on hunting monsters and groups focused on guiding the refugees to the US military," answered Suyan, who was reading through the documents.


    Wuchen and Suyan had been coborating with Korea and Japan to recover the Middle East, but they were participating in this operation at Kang-Woo''s request since it would act as a good reference for the Middle East restoration project.


    Kang-Woo nodded. "Then, with Mr. Tian Wuchen as the focus, Suyan, Mr. Goo Hyun-Mo, Hwa-Yeon, and Yeon-Joo will be in the monster subjugation group. Si-Hun, you take Seol-Ah and Tae-Soo to rescue the indigenous people and guide them to the US troops."


    "What about you, hyung-nim?"


    "Echidna and I will be going around with the monster subjugation group to eliminate monsters, but we''ll also focus on finding traces of the Demon Cult."


    "Oh."


    "Do you think this incident has something to do with the Demon Cult?" Seol-Ah asked.


    Kang-Woo shrugged.


    "I''m not sure, but since there have been multiple simultaneous monster attacks, it''s worth investigating."


    "W-Wouldn''t it be dangerous?"


    Seol-Ah grabbed his arm while making a worried expression.


    Kang-Woo was about to beam with joy, but he coughed to stop himself.


    "Ahem. Well, I''m sure nothing dangerous will happen, so don''t worry."


    Judging from the number of people in the group, Kang-Woo and Echidna might look like they were the ones most exposed to danger, but that wasn''t necessarily the case.


    It had been quite some time since Kang-Woo''s strength had reached a point that couldn''t bepared to the strength of other humans on Earth.


    The only way he''d be in trouble was if a prince of Hell appeared on Earth.


    "I''d say Mr. Tian Wuchen''s group would be exposed to the most danger. Make sure to contact me if anything happens. Oh, right. Everyone has the nes Echidna gave you, right? They have interpretation and tracking magic cast on them, so make sure you don''t lose them."


    "We''ll be just fine without you worrying about us," Yeon-Joo snorted and turned around.


    Hwa-Yeon smiled bitterly and whispered, "I hope you understand she''s just acting like that because she wasn''t put in the same group as y¡ª"


    "Hwa-Yeon!!"


    "Oops. Hahaha. Then we''ll get going."


    Wuchen''s group was the first to take off.


    Kang-Woo approached Seol-Ah and said, "They were attacked by monsters, so there are probably many injured."


    "I think so too."


    "Don''t try to heal every single injured person. Focus only on those in critical condition and lead them to where the US troops are. Take a break when you use half your mana and then focus on replenishing it."


    "Fufu. You''re telling me to save up mana just in case, right? You don''t need to tell me such things anymore."


    Seol-Ah nodded while smiling brightly.


    Kang-Woo said, "Si-Hun and Tae-Soo, if there''s conflict among the people or a monster attack, stop them as soon as possible. I''m counting on you guys to keep Seol-Ah safe."


    "Hehe! You can trust me, hyung-nim! I''ll make sure no oneys a hand on my sister-inw!"


    "We''ll save as many people as quickly as possible."


    "Okay," Kang-Woo said. He turned around and rose to the sky with Echidna.


    Si-Hun looked at Kang-Woo''s back.


    "Let''s go."


    "Okay, Si-Hun."


    "It''s been a while since we''ve all teamed up like this, Si-Hun!"


    "Haha, I guess you''re right. Although, Eun-Bi isn''t here."


    "Tsk. We can''t bring a kid who isn''t even twenty years old to such a dangerous ce."


    "That''s true."


    Si-Hun softlyughed while looking at his party members. He hadn''t seen them for a while.


    * * *


    "Thank you! Thank you very much!"


    "Mommy!"


    A child who looked about five years old hugged his mother. He was still limping since he hadn''t been fully healed yet, but it was still much better than before, considering he''d been on the verge of death.


    Seol-Ah waved at the child while smiling brightly.


    The child''s mother bowed several times.


    It was at that moment¡­


    Waaaahhhh!


    Seol-Ah heard the cheers outside the barracks. Tae-Soo, who was guarding Seol-Ah,ughed out loud.


    "Si-Hun seems to have arrived!"


    "Yes, that seems to be the case.


    When they went outside, they saw Si-Hun and the men of the vige.


    The men all shouted.


    "Everyone! The US troops will be arriving today!"


    "This gentleman defeated all the monsters in the area!"


    Everyone looked at Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun scratched his head, smiling awkwardly.


    The leader of the vige approached him and grabbed his hand. Tears could be seen in his wrinkled eyes.


    "Thank you. Thank you¡­ so very much. If it weren''t for you, we would''ve all died."


    "N-Not at all."


    Si-Hun didn''t know what to say in response to the man''s sudden words.


    "You are our hero."


    After seeing his bright smile, a weird sensation spread through Si-Hun''s body.


    "I''m sorry for¡­"


    He could hear a voice filled with sorrow.


    Si-Hun shook his head.


    "N-No. I''m¡­"


    ''¡­ Not a hero.''


    He suppressed thosest words and smiled awkwardly. It was hard for him to express his emotions.


    Si-Hun turned around and walked toward Seol-Ah and Tae-Soo.


    "Hehe, if it isn''t our hero Si-Hun?"


    "Ngh. I told you not to call me that."


    "Hoho. You''ve saved hundreds of lives these past few days. Who else could we call a hero?"


    "¡­ I didn''t do it by myself," Si-Hun said while looking at them with a bitter smile.


    Seol-Ah and Tae-Soo had also been busying about for the indigenous people who had been attacked by monsters.


    "Were you able to make contact with Kang-Woo hyung-nim and Mas¡ª"


    BOOOOM!


    "KYAAHH!!"


    A deafening sound cut Si-Hun''s words short and rang through the area.


    A huge impact shook the barracks, and the building crumbled.


    "S-Si-Hun!"


    "What''s going on?!"


    Seol-Ah and Tae-Soo stood up, but before they could even stand uppletely, Si-Hun had already run in the direction of the explosion.


    "What the¡­"


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened.


    In the vige outskirts, there were holes in the ground as if someone had poked through a piece of paper.


    The vigers screamed from all over the vige.


    "S-Si-Hun!! Save u¡ªKurgh!"


    "Ah."


    A round hole appeared in the stomach of the vige leader, who had just called him a hero. The hole had been cut out so cleanly that it was as if someone had used a precise machine.


    Blood poured out; the vige leader copsed.


    Si-Hun wasn''t looking at the vige leader who had copsed¡ªhe was looking at the vige entrance.


    "Demons¡­"


    He saw two horns, ck wings, ck skin, and yellow eyes that resembled a reptile''s.


    Three demons so identical that they looked like clones were standing at the vige entrance.


    [Is it that human?]


    [It seems so. I can feel the energy of a god.]


    [A retainer of Gaia.]


    The three demons talked to each other.


    Si-Hun''s body trembled.


    ''They''re strong.''


    He could tell just by looking at them. He felt a chill run through his body.


    [Let''s take him alive and ask him where Gaia''s incarnation is.]


    [Will you do it, Halphas?]


    [Yes. I want to know how strong a retainer of Gaia is.]


    The demon in the middle took a step forward.


    "Si-Hun!"


    "Si-Hun!"


    Seol-Ah and Tae-Soo arrived.


    "They''re¡­"


    "Demons," Si-Hun said, biting his lip anxiously. His head became nk; he wasn''t sure what to do.


    [Right, let''s begin.]


    The demon didn''t give him time to think. Halphas extended his hand, and a sphere of ck demonic energy flew toward Si-Hun.


    "Si-Hun!"


    m!!


    "Kurgh!!"


    Tae-Soo blocked the sphere with his shield. It was just one attack, but after being hit with the ck sphere, Tae-Soo was flung back as if he were a piece of paper.


    "Tae-Soo!" Seol-Ah quickly shouted his name and used healing magic on him.


    White light covered Tae-Soo.


    [Huh?]


    Halphas''s eyes shone. With great interest, he looked at the light covering Tae-Soo.


    [That''s¡­]


    "Haap!!"


    Si-Hun stomped on the ground and leaped forward.


    Blue sword energy extended from the El Cuero de.


    [Hmm.]


    Halphas twisted his body and waved his hand. He created several ck spheres in an instant andunched them toward Si-Hun.


    "Shit!"


    Boom, boom, boom!!


    Si-Hun quickly rolled on the ground. The ck spheres hit the ce where he''d been standing, and exploded.


    Si-Hun dodged Halphas''s attack and swung his sword.


    The battle continued.


    BOOOOM!


    "Kurgh!"


    Si-Hun was being overwhelmed. He couldn''tnd even a single blow and had to keep dodging Halphas''s attacks.


    Malphas and Phenex clicked their tongues in disappointment, their conversation reaching Si-Hun''s ears.


    [Is this the extent of a retainer of Gaia?]


    [How disappointing.]


    ''Dammit.''


    Si-Hun frowned and clenched his fists harder.


    During that short time, attacks poured down on him once again. A ck sphere brushed past his leg. His clothes ripped, and the wound widened.


    "Si-Hun!"


    Seol-Ah urgently used healing magic and buffs on him.


    The wound closed, and he recovered his vitality, but he knew better than anyone that he was still no match against the demons.


    "¡­ Run away with Tae-Soo."


    "What?"


    "Take the vigers and get out of here now!"


    "B-But¡­"


    "Hurry!"


    Si-Hun didn''t hesitate. Nothing would change even if he fought alongside his two party members. He wasn''t even sure if he''d be able to beat the demon named Halphas, so winning against three demons simultaneously was impossible.


    Si-Hun took out a piece of paper from his pocket.


    "This is the ce where the US troops said they''d be. Get there as fast as you can. I will buy you as much time as possible."


    Seol-Ah looked at Si-Hun with hesitation.


    Si-Hun shouted aggressively, "Hurry! Even if the three of us fight together, it''d just be two more dead bodies!"


    Closing her eyes, Seol-Ah took the paper. Tae-Soo was about to say something, but she pulled his hand and said, "I will call Kang-Woo right away."


    Seol-Ah dragged Tae-Soo by force and started to run away.


    Si-Hun watched them get further away and sighed in relief.


    [I will go.]


    Malphas turned toward the escaping Seol-Ah and Tae-Soo.


    "Where do you think you''re going?!" Si-Hun stomped on the ground.


    Azure Dragon Foot Technique.


    Slithering snake marks were left on the ground as Si-Hun shot forward. Qi burst forth from his dantian, traveled down his arms, and enveloped the El Cuero de. The condensed sword energy surged and targeted Malphas¡¯s head.


    [Ngh.]


    It seemed as if Malphas wouldn''t be able to take the condensed sword energy head on. The demon moved back while frowning.


    The El Cuero de brushed past his shoulder and chest, a wound appeared on his body, and ck blood poured out.


    Malphas extended his hand, instantly creating a ck sphere andunching it toward Si-Hun.


    aaam!!


    "Kurgh!"


    Si-Hun rolled on the ground along with an explosion.


    "Cough!"


    He vomited blood. He had only been hit by one of the ck spheres, but a mind-numbing shock and intense pain were spreading through his body.


    He clenched his teeth, used the sword as a cane, and stood up.


    [Oh? I guess he isn''t a retainer of Gaia for nothing.]


    [Back off, Malphas.]


    [What about the ones that escaped?]


    [They aren''t important. The only one that matters is the retainer of Gaia.]


    Halphas stepped forward once again.


    Si-Hun looked at the three demons in silence.


    ''I can''t win.''


    He couldn''t even properly face one of them. If they attacked him simultaneously, his chance of winning was close to zero.


    "Haaa. Haaa."


    His body trembled in fear; his two legs shook. The only thing on his mind was his desire to follow after Seol-Ah and Tae-Soo in escaping.


    [He''s shaking.]


    Halphasughed at him mockingly. He could see Si-Hun''s legs trembling in fear.


    Si-Hun took a step backward.


    Tap. Something hit his foot. He looked down.


    It was the corpse of the vige leader who had called him a hero.


    ''Yet again¡­''


    He wasn''t able to save someone.


    "I''m sorry for giving birth to you."


    He heard that voice once again¡ªit was something he was used to. He had never been able to get away from that voice.


    "A hero? Bullshit."


    He gripped the sword tighter. He added more strength to his trembling legs.


    He raised his head and red at Halphas.


    ''I¡­''


    He wasn''t thinking of bing a hero, nor did he want to be one.


    ''I¡­''


    This excruciating voice had been engraved into his brain.


    ''I¡­''


    He wanted to be freed from the voice. If someone were to say the same thing to him in the future, he wanted to be able to proudly raise his head and tell them that they were wrong.


    ''I¡­''


    It was childish and stupid.


    A child who admired a hero he saw through the TV screen was probably better than him.


    He was just a pathetic loser suffering from trauma. He was an idiot who couldn''t act his age. He was a moron unable to walk away from his unfortunate past.


    ''I¡­''


    He knew that.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t know.


    He knew how stupid his thoughts were.


    But¡­


    Despite that¡­


    [Oh?]


    He raised his sword and took a step forward with trembling legs.


    ''I won''t run.''


    Si-Hun stomped on the ground.

 Chapter 160 - Hero Kim Si-Hun (3)

    Chapter 160 - Hero Kim Si-Hun (3)


    Kim Si-Hun stomped on the ground and focused on his sword. He felt as if he had be one with his sword. His Qi reached his sword, and a mysterious high spread through him.


    "Fuuu."


    He took a deep breath. The Qi within his dantian moved in synchronization with his breaths, to his arms, legs, and sword.


    Crack.


    Footsteps were engraved on the ground, and he shot forward while using the foot technique as if he were sliding.


    [Interesting.]


    Halphas smiled. ck spheres shot in all directions.


    Si-Hun''s eyes shone sharply. There were dozens of ck spheres beingunched toward him.


    Being hit with even one would be fatal.


    ''I can''t block them.''


    He might be able to deflect a few, but there were dozens. Blocking all of them was impossible.


    ''Should I jump into the air?''


    He shook his head. Some attacks had beenunched up in the air, as if Halphas had read his possible dodge trajectories. Unless he could fly, jumping into the air to dodge the ck spheres would be impossible.


    ''In that case¡­''


    He lowered his body to the point that his chest almost touched the ground. Heunched himself forward.


    Boom!


    He flew with his body low. Gravity caused him to slump to the ground while drawing a parab.


    It was at that moment¡­


    ''Azure Dragon Ascension.''


    He twisted his body and swung his sword at the ground. He instantly shot up perpendicrly from the ground into the air as if inertia had disappeared.


    He looked down and saw Halphas clearly astonished.


    ''Azure Dragon sh.''


    He swung the sword. Blue condensed sword energy surged from the de and targeted Halphas''s head.


    [Good!]


    The tips of Halphas''s mouth went up. The fight he thought was boring had suddenly turned interesting.


    He extended his left hand and created a barrier of demonic energy.


    Baaaam!


    A loud sound spread through the ce. The shockwave raised a cloud of dust.


    Halphas was pushed back a bit. He spread out both of his arms.


    [Struggle some more, retainer of Gaia!]


    A ck sphere the size of a fist formed between his extended arms.


    [Hahahaha!]


    Halphasughed out loud. An explosive amount of demonic energy burst out of his body.


    The ck sphere got even bigger.


    From thirty centimeters to fifty, and then to a meter.


    [Alright, try to block this as well!]


    [Calm down, Halphas.]


    [What are you going to do if the retainer dies?]


    The other two demons tried to stop him, but Halphas didn''t hear them.


    The spark had already been lit.


    The battle-crazed body of a demon had made him lose his mind.


    The ck sphere grew to over two meters in size.


    Si-Hun felt chills. He could feel impressive destructive energy from the ck sphere.


    Crackle!


    The ck sphere shot forward, devouring everything in its path.


    "Kurgh!"


    Its pulling force was enormous.


    A powerful gust, resembling a typhoon, pushed him from behind.


    He would be absorbed by the ck sphere the moment he eased up.


    Si-Hun''s face turned pale. He couldn''t stand still and endure it either. The ck sphere was approaching him quickly.


    "Shit!"


    He bit his lip. He subconsciously knew he wouldn''t be able to dodge it.


    Si-Hun clenched his sword tighter; the blue condensed sword energy surged more intensely.


    "Fuuu. Fuuu."


    He felt cold sweat drip down his back. He gulped. Once again, fear of death dominated his body.


    ''Focus.''


    He infused his trembling legs with Qi and clenched his fists.


    ''If I can''t dodge¡­''


    Smash!


    He swung his Qi-infused fists down on his knees as if he were striking nails with a hammer. His two legs were nted into the ground down to his knees.


    He gripped his sword with both hands.


    ''I''ll block it.''


    He raised the sword above his head. Shimmering darkness opened its mouth toward him.


    He exploded the Qi within his body. Condensed sword energy shot up.


    "Fuuu."


    He took a deep breath and then held it.


    He rxed his body and stared at the sphere.


    He''d only have one chance; he wasn''t sure if it was even possible to do it.


    ''That doesn''t matter.''


    A smile appeared on his face. Instead of feeling pressured, he felt as if the weight on his shoulders had been lifted now that he had been put in such desperate danger.


    He could see someone''s back.


    The person who had appeared when he was about to die at Kim Yeong-Hun''s hands¡­


    ''Kang-Woo hyung.''


    They were not rted by blood.


    He didn''t know who Kang-Woo was or what kind of person he used to be in the past¡­


    But there was something he was sure about¡­


    At that moment, Kang-Woo had saved him.


    Kang-Woo had saved him from the muddy life he''d thought he''d be stuck with forever.


    Crackle!!


    The ck sphere closed in. Si-Hun swung the sword down from above his head. It was not a fast swing; it was slow and leisurely.


    Riiing.


    [You have learned the Unique Skill ''Heavenly Dragon sh.'']


    A message window appeared in front of Si-Hun, but he paid it no mind. The sword swung down on the ck sphere.


    [Huh?]


    Halphas''s face crumpled.


    He had created that ck sphere using the power bestowed on them by their master, Evil God Lucifer.


    Even if Si-Hun was a retainer of Gaia, Halphas''s technique wasn''t something a human should''ve been able to counter.


    But¡­


    [Halphas!!]


    [Dodge!]


    He heard the other two demons scream at him.


    The ck sphere was split in two, and the blue energy that had split the sphere shot toward him.


    Halphas instinctively twisted his body.


    sh!


    [Kurgh!]


    The blue energy severed his left arm. Pain spread from his arm to the rest of his body. Halphas''s expression stiffened.


    ''That was dangerous.''


    If he hadn''t twisted his body at that moment, he might have been split in half. No, if he hadn''t dodged, he would have died.


    [A mere human!!]


    He was set aze with fury, and his face turned red from humiliation.


    To think he''d suffer such humiliation in front of his brothers!


    Bam!


    Si-Hun, who had split the ck sphere, pulled his legs out of the ground. He leaped toward Halphas without hesitation.


    Halphas frowned and raised his right arm. He''d received an attack because he''d let his guard down for a moment, but he wouldn''t let such a thing happen twice.


    sh!


    [Kurgh!]


    Si-Hun''s sword turned into a ray of light and shot out. The sword brushed along Halphas''s right arm and cut his shoulder.


    Halphas anxiously swung his right arm.


    ''I''m faster.''


    Halphas was not only faster but also overwhelmingly stronger than Si-Hun. He could clearly see the trajectory of the human''s slow sword; it was also so weak he could easily deflect it.


    But¡­


    sh!


    [How?!]


    He wasn''t able to block Si-Hun''s attacks.


    Even if he summoned and shot ck spheres, created demonic energy barriers to block his attack, and even tried to counter, he couldn''t fully dodge the human''s attacks.


    Halphas was gradually covered with wounds.


    And¡­


    Whoosh!


    [Kuh!]


    The de wrapped in blue light targeted his neck. Halphas quickly moved back, but it was useless. The sword drew a trajectory that he couldn''t understand, sticking to him.


    The fear of death spread through him.


    ''Am I going to die at the hands of a mere human?''


    That was impossible. It should be impossible. He was a demon who served Evil God Lucifer. Losing against a human was not an option.


    [You dumbass!] Phenex stepped up and kicked Si-Hun, who was targeting Halphas.


    Bash!


    "Kurgh!"


    After being kicked by Phenex, Si-Hun was blown back, and he rolled on the ground.


    [What do you think you''re doing against a mere human, Halphas?!]


    [¡­]


    Halphas lowered his head. He remained silent while covering the severed area of his left arm with his right hand.


    Phenex walked toward Si-Hun while clicking his tongue.


    [I guess he is still the retainer of an upper god, albeit a half-dead one.]


    Phenex stomped Si-Hun''s arm.


    Crunch!


    "AAARRGGHH!"


    Si-Hun screamed in pain.


    Phenex snapped his finger. ck spheres about the size of a fingernail poured down on Si-Hun.


    Stab! Stab! Stab!


    His skin was pierced. Holes about the size of a fingernail appeared on his shoulders, chest, stomach, and thighs. Blood poured out of him.


    "Cough! Cough!"


    Si-Hun vomited blood, and a portion of his intestines spilled out from his torn-open stomach.


    A horrible pain engulfed him.


    [Tsk. He''ll die if I go any further. Halphas, take responsibility and figure out where Gaia''s incarnation is.]


    [Kuh. Okay.]


    Halphas nodded while biting his lip.


    "Haaa. Haaa."


    Si-Hun''s consciousness was blurring. A tear dropped from his eyes.


    He was scared. He tried to ovee it by force, but since things had taken a turn for the worst, his body started to shake.


    He could feel his consciousness blurring. He remembered the faces of his mother and party members¡ªeven Kim Yeong-Hun and Kim Jae-Hyun.


    "Hyu¡­ng."


    He desperately hoped to be saved.


    He had resolved not to run away, but it had ended up like this. Now that he was on the brink of death, the growing fear was making his head go nk.


    Augh came out of Si-Hun''s mouth. He looked so pathetic that even his tears stopped.


    ''I¡­''


    Yet again.


    Yet again.


    Yet again.


    ''I wasn''t able to do anyth¡ª''


    BOOOOM!!!


    A loud sound cut his thoughts short.


    Si-Hun looked in the direction of the sound.


    "Ah¡­"


    A young man in a white mask walked out of the dust cloud.


    * * *


    Oh Kang-Woo looked around.


    The first thing he saw was Si-Hun, who had copsed onto the ground. Si-Hun''s right arm was bent in an unnatural direction, and blood was pouring out from all over him.


    The wound on his stomach was so bad that his intestines could be seen.


    The fact that he was a Protector aside, Si-Hun was still a human; his wounds were so bad that it was impressive he was still alive.


    Step, step.


    He walked toward Si-Hun and grabbed him by his cor.


    "Kim Si-Hun."


    He wasn''t sad or furious. He couldn''t feel anything while looking at Si-Hun, whose wounds were so bad it was almost weird he hadn''t died yet.


    "Who told you that you could fight, dammit?"


    That was the extent of Si-Hun''s worth to Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo had turned him into his Familiar so he could make use of him with ease. He was pretty much nothing more than a chess piece to Kang-Woo. He wasn''t worth more than that.


    "You told them to run away while you bought them time on your own?"


    Kang-Woo wasn''t soft enough to get angry just from losing a single chess piece. He rated Si-Hun''s potential very highly, but Si-Hun wasn''t so important that his death would critically impact his n.


    "Did you want to look cool? Huh?"


    The tendons in the hand grabbing Si-Hun''s cor became visible.


    Demonic energy uncontrobly surged out of him.


    "What? Did you get a big head after everyone around you praised you as a hero?"


    Of course, Kang-Woo wasn''t angry. There was no way he''d get angry because of something like this.


    "Hyung¡­ nim¡­"


    "If you judged that you couldn''t win, then you should''ve just run away, you fucking idiot!!!" he screamed.


    Kang-Woo''s breath became heavier, and his eyes turned bloodshot, his body trembling slightly.


    He lifted his mask and put his thumb in his mouth. Crunch. He bit off the tip of his thumb along with the fingernail, the wound bleeding profusely. He stuffed his bleeding thumb into Si-Hun''s mouth and activated the Authority of Regeneration at full throttle.


    The wounds closed at a fast pace.


    "You said you wanted to save people, didn''t you? Huh? You told me you were going to ovee your childhood trauma. Is this how you were nning to do it? Huh? Who''s gonna know whether you did or not if you just end up dy¡ª"


    [Human.] Phenex frowned and walked toward Kang-Woo. [Do not interf¡ª]


    Tap.


    [Huh?]


    Kang-Woo''s hand, which had just been grabbing Si-Hun''s cor, grabbed the back of Phenex''s head. He smashed Phenex''s head into the ground before Phenex could even react.


    Split!


    [Kurgh!]


    Phenex''s head got stuck in the ground. Kang-Woo raised his foot and trampled his head.


    CRACK!


    Phenex''s head exploded.


    "Can''t you see that I''m talking?"


    Kang-Woo turned his head. The whites of his eyes ckened, and his irises started to turn yellow.


    His ck eyes were sparkling with madness.


    "Shut up and stay still, you motherfuckers."

 Chapter 161 - Whats 1000 Minus 7?

    Chapter 161 - What''s 1000 Minus 7?


    [Phenex!]


    [What the¡­]


    Malphas and Halphas were lost for words as they watched Phenex''s body twitch after his head exploded. They couldn''t believe what they''d just seen.


    [Phenex, are you messing with me right now because I almost lost to a human?!] Halphas asked in anger.


    It had been because he''d let his guard down, but the fact he had almost lost against the retainer of Gaia didn''t change. There was no worse humiliation for a loyal servant of their great master, Evil God Lucifer.


    Saying that Halphas had almost lost because the enemy was one of Gaia''s retainers had merely been an excuse. After all, the three demons were also retainers of the Evil God Lucifer in a sense.


    Furthermore, Gaia was practically half-dead because she had not been able to properly manage the system that she was in charge of. It made no sense that they would lose against a retainer of a half-dead god.


    [Phenex! Stop fucking around and get up! This isn''t the time!] Malphas yelled.


    He thought the same thing as Halphas.


    Demons were far superior to humans from birth, so to them, this was as if a tiger had been killed by a single punch from a cat. There was no way they would be able to ept the reality of the situation.


    [Phenex?]


    However, there was no answer. Phenex wasn''t moving at all after getting hit by the human who had appeared out of nowhere.


    [Phenex! I told you to stop fucking around!] Malphas frowned and approached Phenex.


    "Hey," the human, who had stepped on Phenex, said upon shifting his gaze to Malphas, "I told you to shut up."


    Then Kang-Woo checked the state that Kim Si-Hun was in. Si-Hun hadn''t healedpletely, but he was no longer in critical condition. Considering Si-Hun''s regenerative capabilities, he would probably fully recover on his own without further treatment.


    "Hyung-nim..."


    "Go to sleep. We''ll talkter."


    Kang-Wooid Si-Hun down on the ground and exercised his right to forciblymand his Familiar. Si-Hun closed his eyes and fell asleep immediately.


    When Kang-Woo heard Si-Hun breathing normally, he sighed in relief, "Haaa."


    He felt much better now that Si-Hun was no longer in a critical state.


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath.


    Even though he was feeling relieved, he couldn''t fully control his demonic energy, which was running wild. A potent impulse boiled from within him.


    ''Calm down,'' he told himself.


    He covered his face with his hands to block his vision. Then he slowly opened his eyes and once again saw the demons who had put Si-Hun in that critical state.


    Kang-Woo''s mind was aze with a cold fire. A cold fire was a paradox, but there was no other way to exin how he was feeling right now.


    "Shit! Fuck!"


    He couldn''t help but curse.


    Countless thoughts ran through his mind, and at the center of it all was Si-Hun.


    "Motherfucker!!" Kang-Woo cursed again.


    He gritted his teeth. It was the first time he had felt like this ever since he returned to Earth.


    Kang-Woo hadn''t felt so irritated since his battle with Prince Mammon in Hell¡ªwhen over half of Balrog''s body turned into ash and disappeared.


    ''Yeah.''


    He wasn¡¯t angry; he was just irritated by what was going on. He was so irritated that he couldn''t take it anymore.


    ''In that case¡­''


    Kang-Woo looked at the demons that were approaching him. There was only one way to get rid of this irritation.


    [Hm?]


    Malphas, who was approaching Kang-Woo, frowned as he looked into Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes.


    He couldn''t see Kang-Woo''s face because he was wearing a mask, but his eyes were visible.


    ''A demon...?'' Malphas thought.


    ck sclerae[1] with yellow irises¡ªthis was a characteristic that most demons had. There were some rare cases when a demon''s white sclerae would turn ck upon feeling extreme excitement or rage.


    ''Lord Lucifer said that was how Satan was.''


    Malphas had heard from Lucifer that Satan, the Prince of Wrath, had white eyes that turned ck in battle. He had also told them to run away without turning back if Satan''s eyes were ck when they managed to encounter him.


    ''Could this man be Satan?''


    Malphas shook his head. There was no way that was true.


    There were other demons besides Satan with that special characteristic. It was just that there were extremely few of them.


    [Hm.]


    In any case, it was hard to think of the person before him as a human. Leaving the yellow irises aside, Malphas had never seen a human with ck sclerae.


    [Are you really a human?] Malphas asked.


    There was no answer.


    Malphas clicked his tongue. Since the man refused to answer, Malphas would just force it out of him.


    Malphas extended his right arm, and dozens of ck spheres appeared.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo silently gazed at Malphas and slowly walked toward him.


    Malphas shot dozens of ck spheres at Kang-Woo.


    Tap.


    However, Kang-Woo merely flicked his finger, and a wave of demonic energy deflected the ck spheres, driving them away from him. Malphas was astonished by that sight.


    Kang-Woo took a step forward, and demonic energy surged within him. As demonic energy gathered around his heart, he formed a passage that led into the depths of the Ten Thousand Demon Core, the infinite sea of demonic energy.


    He shivered as an enormous amount of demonic energy flowed out from the core and into his body.


    [Wh-What the¡­]


    Kang-Woo took a step forward. He suddenly disappeared as if he had disintegrated and then reappeared right in front of Malphas. Malphas quickly raised his arms, but Kang-Woo grabbed them and ripped them off.


    Crunch!


    [AARRGGHH!!]


    Horrible pain spread throughout Malphas'' body, and ck blood sprayed out from the stumps of his severed arms.


    Malphas clenched his teeth and stood up. A ck sphere about the size of a fist appeared in front of his chest. He used the power that their master, Evil God Lucifer had bestowed on them, and the ck sphere grew in size.


    The word ¡®destruction¡¯ was perfect to describe the ck sphere, which sucked in everything around it. The enormous pulling force of the ck sphere tried to drag Kang-Woo into the sphere.


    Kang-Woo did not resist its pulling force. Instead, he reached out and touched the ck sphere.


    Seeing that, Malphas smiled.


    Tap.


    [Huh?]


    Nevertheless, nothing happened.


    Kang-Woo was touching the ck sphere, but his hand was not getting mangled, nor was he getting sucked into it.


    CRACK!


    [H-Huh? Wh-Wha¡ª]


    Rather, the ck sphere was being devoured by the ck smoke emerging from Kang-Woo''s hand.


    Malphas''s face turned pale. The power that Lucifer had granted to him was quickly disappearing.


    [What did you do?!] he shouted anxiously.


    Malphas couldn''t help but think that something was wrong. A subconscious fear¡ªthe fear that prey felt toward a predator¡ªtook hold of him.


    [Th-This can''t be happening!!] he shouted like a madman.


    Malphas turned and retreated.


    ''I must gain some distance first.''


    He, Halphas, and Phenex specialized in ranged attacks. Distancing themselves and using powerful demonic energy bullets was how they fought. Maintaining a distance was vital in giving them the advantage.


    However¡­


    [Huh?]


    Malphas'' eyes quivered and widened as if he''d seen something unbelievable.


    He''d done his best to create distance and backed off hundreds of meters in just a second, but¡­


    "I told you to stand still, didn''t I?" the man said.


    He was still right in front of Malphas. It was like Malphas was having a nightmare.


    The man was so close that Malphas could even hear his breath.


    [E-Eek!]


    Malphas pivoted to try and get away, but Kang-Woo reached out and grabbed both of Malphas'' legs.


    Crunch!


    [AARRGGHH!!!]


    Kang-Woo crushed Malphas'' legs with the weight and pressure of a gigantic press. Then he twisted his hands as if squeezing a mop head dry.


    Malphas''s skin tore and burst open, spraying ck blood into the air. ck smoke leaked from Kang-Woo''s hands, which were still holding onto Malphas''s legs, and entered Malphas'' wounds.


    CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!


    [Wh-What are you d¡ªArgh! ARRGGHH!! S-Stop!!]


    A tremendous amount of pain shot through Malphas'' body. He fell to the ground and trembled. His eyes rolled back, and bubbles frothed from his mouth.


    He''d lived many years as an immortal being but had never felt pain like this before. It was as if hundreds of thousands of insects were devouring his flesh from the inside out. He never thought he''d ever experience being devoured in such a vivid way.


    [Bastard!!] Halphas yelled as he quickly ran over.


    He grabbed what remained of his arm that Si-Hun had severed andunched a ck sphere.


    "Wait your turn," Kang-Woo said.


    He flicked the ck sphere back to Halphas with his finger.


    [Arrgghh!]


    Halphas was unable to dodge his own attack due to the wound he''d received while fighting Si-Hun. He copsed right after being hit with the ck sphere.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes then focused back on Malphas.


    [S-Stop!! P-Please!!]


    The ck smoke that was devouring Malphas spread throughout his body through his blood vessels. He spasmed all over like he was being electrocuted. No, he wouldn''t have felt this much pain if it were just from electrocution.


    The immense pain made Malphas lose hisposure. Even his loyalty toward Lucifer had no meaning at that moment.


    [I-I''m sorry!! AARRGGHH!! S-STOP!!]


    Tears dripped from his eyes. He didn''t have the capacity to keep his pride anymore.


    Then, the excruciating pain suddenly stopped. It was as if Malphas'' desperate screams had reached the man.


    "What''s one thousand minus seven[2]?"


    [What? Wh-What does that m¡ªAARRGGHH!!]


    "I won''t ask you this many times." Kang-Woo looked at Malphas with deep, sunken eyes. "What''s one thousand minus seven?"


    [993!! It''s 993!]


    "Well done."


    The tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth went up. He cracked his index finger, and the Authority of Predation within Malphas took a bite of his flesh.


    [Gaaaahhhh!!]


    A horrible scream spread through the area.


    It had only bitten off a fingernail''s worth of flesh, but the Authority of Predation amplified the pain that Malphas felt. His body started to spasm again.


    "Next."


    [ARRGGHH! S-Stop!! Please!!]


    "Keep going."


    [986! Arrgghh!!]


    "Next."


    [979!]


    The number gradually decreased. Every time Malphas said a number, the Authority of Predation took a bite of his flesh.


    It was a method of torture Kang-Woo had seen in a manga before he¡¯d fallen into Hell. The manga had imed that making a person continuously subtract down from arge number would keep their brain running, amplifying their fear and pain.


    "Next."


    [419!]


    This method turned out to be very effective.


    Demons did not have processing capabilities that were particrly superior than that of humans. They were just overwhelmingly more powerful than humans.


    [6...]


    The counting finally ended. Saliva was leaking out of Malphas'' mouth, and he was about to lose consciousness.


    Kang-Woo grabbed Malphas'' head and brought it close to his own.


    "You''ve had enough practice, right?"


    [What¡­?]


    "Now this is where the fun begins."


    A madness that Malphas had never seen or felt before weighed down on him.


    Kang-Woo said slowly, "Function P(x)=0 has seven distinct roots, and function Q(x)=0 has nine distinct roots. Set A = {(x,y) | P(x)Q(y)=0; Q(x)P(y)=0; x,y¡Ê?} is an infinite set, and B is a subset of A defined as B = {(x,y) | (x,y)¡ÊA; x=y}. If n(B) is the number of elements in set B, n(B) varies depending on P(x) and Q(x). Find the maximum value of n(B).¡±[3]


    [What?]


    "Solve it."


    [No, wait. What does that even¡ªAARRGGHH!!] Malphas screamed in agony.


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    "Do you get it, Malphas?"


    ''This is just a brief taste of Korea''s level of mathematics.''


    1. The white part of an eye. ?


    2. This is a reference to a manga/anime called Tokyo Ghoul. A ghoul named Jason asks his victims to keep subtracting seven from one thousand while he tortures them to keep their minds running so that they don¡¯t go insane. ?


    3. Solve this and you won¡¯t be tortured :D ?

 Chapter 162 - Declare War

    Chapter 162 - Dere War


    [Kurgh... Urghh,] Malphas cried out desperately.


    His eyes had rolled back, and he had slumped to the ground trembling. Saliva dripped from his mouth, and ck blood poured out of his body.


    "Phew." Oh Kang-Woo stretched out his arms, seemingly refreshed. "I feel a bit better now."


    The irritation upying his mind had somewhat disappeared.


    [Th-The maximum value of n(B)...]


    "What, you still haven''t solved it?" Kang-Woo sneered.


    He wasn''t expecting to get an answer anyway.


    The demons had lived a long time, but that didn''t mean they were more knowledgeable than humans. Demons weren''t interested in anything besides fighting after all. There were a few exceptions, but demons on average were very dumb.


    ''Well, actually¡­¡¯


    Kang-Woo also didn''t know the answer to that question either. He''d searched for a math problem on his smartphone and had said it without thinking too much about it. He was an orphan, so academia was something he never really had the time for.


    "Ah, that was very productive."


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction.


    Things could have gotten very dangerous due to the irritation in his mind.


    ''That was dangerous.''


    The irritation that Kang-Woo had felt couldn''t bepared to human levels of irritation as he was a demon. A demon''s body amplified the demon''s desires and emotions. Demons could get into a fight to the death just because their shoulders happened to bump while they were walking past each other.


    ''It was really bad during my battle with Mammon.''


    Back when Balrog had been driven to the brink of death, the intensity of Kang-Woo''s feelings of irritation had been really high.


    ''Back then...''


    He recalled a scene from the past. The ground had been destroyed, and the sky itself had been burning ck. There¡­


    "Tsk."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    That scene wasn''t something he wanted to remember.


    "Let''s see¡­"


    Kang-Woo took out his smartphone, changed to selfie mode, and looked at his eyes. Behind his mask, his eyes had returned to his usual white sclerae and dark brown irises.


    ''They went back to normal.''


    The color of his eyes changed whenever he got overly excited or enraged, so he had to be careful. Otherwise, something simr to what happened back then during the battle with Mammon could happen once more.


    ''Now that I think about it, that son of a bitch Satan was the same as me.''


    Kang-Woo realized that, unexpectedly, he and Satan had many things inmon.


    He frowned and muttered, "To think that I have simrities with the Demon of Prophecy."


    It wasn''t wee news. Someone could think that he was the Demon of Prophecy instead of Satan. That was something he couldn''t ept.


    ''That aside¡­''


    Kang-Woo turned and looked at Malphas, who was endlessly mumbling something while trembling. It was as if he''dpletely lost his mind.


    "I think he''s too far gone to interrogate," Kang-Woo said, btedly regretting having gone too far.


    He then turned from Malphas to Halphas. Halphas was lying on the floor, unconscious.


    Kang-Woo walked toward him.


    "Sir, you can¡¯t sleep here."


    He nudged Halphas with the tip of his shoes, and Halphas slowly opened his eyes.


    [Kuh! Urghh!]


    Upon waking up, Halphas groaned in pain and grabbed his wound. He raised his head. His eyes were full of fear while looking at Kang-Woo.


    [Y-You...]


    Bash!


    Kang-Woo stomped on Halphas'' face, embedding his head in the ground.


    Kang-Woo spoke quietly, "I''m sure you know you''re in no position to ask questions, don''t you?"


    There was silence. Fortunately for Halphas, he wasn''t dumb enough not to realize the situation he was in.


    Kang-Woo looked down at Halphas.


    "Who are you three?"


    He had never seen them before. Their strength wasparable to the higher-ranked demons of the Ninth Hell. Yet, he''d never seen them during all the years that he''d waged wars in the Ninth Hell.


    ''Well, I guess it''s possible that I just overlooked them.''


    Just because he was the Lord of the Nine Hells didn''t mean he knew every single demon there. The Nine Hells were massive, and an enormous number of demons lived there.


    However, there was another problem¡­


    ''They used Lucifer''s power.''


    The ck sphere with powerful absorptive capabilities was a technique that Lucifer had used in the past when he fought against Kang-Woo. The characteristics of the technique were too simr to call it a coincidence.


    "Are you Lucifer''s retainers?"


    [Kuh.] Halphas frowned.


    That short reaction was enough of an answer.


    ''I don''t recall seeing these guys among Lucifer''s retainers.''


    Kang-Woo thought of Halphas'', Malphas'', and Phenex''s faces. They looked identical.


    They had such a unique appearance as a trio of identical demons, so there was no way Kang-Woo wouldn''t be able to remember them if he''d seen them before. After all, the war against Lucifer hadsted for a very long time.


    ''Are they new retainers?''


    There was a high chance that was the case. Kang-Woo stroked his chin and fell into thought. If they were newly made retainers, things would get troublesome.


    ''Has Lucifer recovered his old level of strength already?''


    These three demons were not weak in the slightest. Kang-Woo had only been able to overwhelm them because he''d recently absorbed Tirion''s power and obtained massive growth. If he wasn''t able to use demonic energy from the deep end of the Demonic Sea, he wouldn''t have been able to overwhelm them so easily.


    ''He probably didn''t raise these retainers in the Ninth Hell.''


    The ce that Lucifer had fallen into was the continent of Aernor. Kang-Woo wasn''t sure what kind of ce Aernor was, but it probably wasn''t brimming with demonic energy like the Nine Hells. So, if Lucifer had been able to create demons that were this strong despite that, it just showed how powerful he was.


    ''This isn''t good.''


    There was no way Lucifer would have only made three retainers. Kang-Woo wasn''t sure how many more retainers Lucifer had made and how much stronger they would bepared to these three.


    ''I heard he battled angels.''


    Then there was a chance Lucifer had made more retainers so that he could fight angels.


    "Damn."


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    So many beings had crossed from the continent of Aernor to Earth. It showed that the dimensional wall separating the two worlds had be very weak.


    He was already getting irritated while dealing with the Demon Cult. If Lucifer''s forces started to cross to Earth more frequently, then it would be an absolute hassle.


    ''Just leave me the fuck alone, you sons of bitches.''


    Kang-Woo just wanted to enjoy life after the ten millennia of suffering he''d gone through, so why was everyone trying to bother him?


    ''Fuck. What did I do to deserve this?''


    He could confidently say that he''d lived an honest and good life. It just wasn''t fair.


    Kang-Woo sighed and asked, "So, why did you guyse here?"


    [I-I cannot s¡ª]


    "Do you want to be like him too?"


    Halphas looked at Malphas, who had gone insane from the extreme amount of pain he''d experienced.


    The fact they were demons didn''t mean they didn''t feel anything after seeing something like that. No, demons would probably be even more fearful since they were obsessed with the desire to live as long as possible.


    [W-We havee here to find Satan.]


    "What?"


    Kang-Woo looked at him in surprise.


    ''Satan is truly here?''


    He felt as if he''d been hit in the back of the head.


    "You came here to find Satan?"


    [Yes. Recently, Tirion, the God of Heroes, was annihted at the hands of Satan in this world. Lord Lucifer hadmanded us to find him and request his cooperation.]


    "Ohhh."


    Kang-Woo nodded. He now understood what was going on.


    ''So, they were talking about me.''


    For a moment, he thought that the real Satan had appeared on Earth.


    ''Wait, no.''


    He shook his head.


    ''Satan is on Earth.''


    It had been proven many times that Satan, the Demon of Prophecy, hade to Earth and was currently leading the Demon Cult. Kang-Woo had known for a while that Satan was indeed on Earth.


    ''Yes, of course. Satan is the one who killed Protector Alec and Tirion''s apostle, Reynald.''


    He''d almost forgotten about something very important.


    ''That aside¡­''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. ''Satan,'' ''Lucifer,'' and ''alliance''¡ªthose three words started to swirl around inside his mind.


    "How much do you know about Satan?"


    [Not much in detail. We just know he''s been amassing power by creating retainers in this world and that he''s currently battling the retainers of Gaia.]


    ''Oh?''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes brightened, and the tips of his mouth curved up.


    ''This¡­''


    He could use this. The gears in his mind turned quickly.


    Kang-Woo grabbed his stomach and roared withughter, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"


    [Kuh!! Wh-What the¡ª!]


    Kang-Woo sent his demonic energy bursting forward. He deliberately didn''t use his Trait, the Ruler of Demonic Energy.


    Halphas'' face became pale after feeling the colossal amount of demonic energy from Kang-Woo.


    "''Not much in detail,'' you say? You know nothing at all!"


    [...What are you talking about?]


    Kang-Woo snickered and continued, "You say you came here to find Satan when he''s in front of your very eyes. How funny is that?"


    [Wh-What?!]


    Halphas'' eyes widened as he thought, ''This man is Satan?''


    There was no way. The man standing before Halphas was wearing a mask, but he was clearly a human. Leaving his appearance aside, why would Satan be protecting a retainer of Gaia and attacking them?


    "Seeing your reaction, it seems like your eyes are for decoration. I will take this opportunity to get rid of those useless eyes of yours."


    [Wha¡ªAARRGGHH!!]


    Kang-Woo pierced one of Halphas'' eyes with his finger, and a blood-curdling scream emerged from Halphas'' mouth.


    Halphas looked up at Kang-Woo while blood poured out of his eye. At that moment, he felt that the human in front of him was more like a demon than any other demon he''d seen before.


    [A-Are you¡­ t-truly Satan?]


    "Can you still not see? Well... it seems like your other eye is useless, too."


    [N-No!] Halphas quickly answered.


    He bit his lip and nodded.


    ''This man is Satan.''


    The man''s chilling amount of demonic energy, his crazed actions, and...


    ''His eyes.''


    The way his sclerae had turned ck when he was enraged¡ªit was a characteristic only very few demons had. If that couldn''t prove he was Satan, nothing else could.


    ''What have I done?!''


    They had been unable to recognize a prince of Hell and had antagonized him!


    Halphas was so baffled that he couldn''t evenugh.


    [L-Lord Satan.]


    "We finally seem to be on the same page. So, Lucifer requested my cooperation?"


    [Th-That is correct.]


    ¡°Cooperation for what?"


    [He said that you would understand if we told you that we should get hold of the Demonic Sea.]


    "..."


    It wasn''t hard for Kang-Woo to deduce what Lucifer meant by getting hold of the Demonic Sea.


    ''Son of a bitch¡­ He''s after me?'' Kang-Woo realized.


    To be more precise, they were after the boundless sea of demonic energy, the Ten Thousand Demon Core, that he possessed.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help butugh. The dogs that had already lost once hadn''t learned their lesson yet.


    Heughed loudly again, "HAHAHAHAHAHA! How interesting!"


    ''You haven''t gotten enough of a beating, Lucifer?''


    The situation was different from the incidents involving Kim Jae-Hyun and Baek Kang-Hyun. Lucifer knew very well what kind of being Kang-Woo was. Yet, he was still nning to face Kang-Woo. That in itself wasedy.


    ''You already know who I am.''


    Back when Kang-Woo had dered war on the seven princes of Hell, he had still been weak. He had faced dozens of losses, but he had ended uping out victorious in the very end.


    It hadn''t simply been because he had be strong enough to defeat the princes of Hell. If all he had been was strong, then defeating them would have remained an unachievable feat.


    "Tell Lucifer this," Kang-Woo said while grabbing Halphas¡¯s neck. "I have already acquired the Demonic Sea."


    [Wh-What does that¡­?]


    "Hahahaha! Lucifer, you idiot! You truly know nothing!!" Kang-Woo grinned. "Why do you think I created the Demon Cult? The Demonic Sea is already in my hands! It''s only a matter of time before I absorb its power!"


    [...]


    He looked at Halphas with eyes full of madness.


    "Lucifer is in Aernor¡­ correct?"


    [Y-Yes.]


    "Good. I was starting to get bored of this world."


    Kang-Woo threw Halphas to the ground.


    "Tell Lucifer this too." Kang-Woo''s lips twisted into a smirk. "I will go there myself with my retainers, the Demon Cult."


    [L-Lord Satan! D-Don''t tell me¡­!]


    "Hahahaha! Listen carefully, retainer of Lucifer."


    Speaking in a voice filled with madness, he spread demonic energy to his surroundings.


    "I, Satan, dere war on Lucifer."


    Kang-Woo burst intoughter.


    ''Fight among yourseeeeeelves!''

 Chapter 163 - In The Name of Light!

    Chapter 163 - In The Name of Light!


    [...You will regret it.]


    "You will be the ones to regret it."


    Upon hearing that, Halphas bit his lip.


    Oh Kang-Woo could see aplex mix of emotions in Halphas'' expression¡ªa sense of relief for having survived, despair for having failed in the n, and fear of having to ry this truth to Lucifer.


    [Lord Satan!]


    "My will is firm. I will take my retainers, the Demon Cult, and annihte Lucifer''s forces."


    [Wh-Why?! Why are you doing this all of a sudden?!] Halphas shouted in confusion.


    It was an obvious reaction.


    Halphas could understand Satan refusing to join forces, but why would he dere war out of the blue? It was as if Lucifer had sent an envoy to form an alliance with Satan, but Satan had suddenly decided to send an army to invade Lucifer''s territory instead.


    "Kehehe. You truly know nothing."


    Kang-Woo hadn''t dered war without thinking about it first. If Satan had obtained the Demonic Sea, that alone was reason enough to attack Lucifer.


    "Tell Lucifer this. I will take your soul and Hell Armament this time for sure."


    In the first ce, the seven princes of Hell had never been allies. While Kang-Woo had been fighting against the princes, they had also fought against each other. In the end, they joined forces with each other to fight Kang-Woo. However, that alliance hadn''t been built on trust; it had been built on desperation.


    If one of the princes had obtained Kang-Woo''s power, they would have had no reason to avoid waging war against the other princes. After all, they also desired to devour the other princes and acquire even greater power.


    ''This guy doesn''t seem to know what the Ten Thousand Demon Core is, though.''


    If Halphas knew about it, he wouldn''t have needed to ask Kang-Woo why he was waging war on Lucifer. Nevertheless, even if Halphas didn''t know, his master Lucifer definitely knew.


    ''He will most certainly attack Satan.''


    Kang-Woo made all of the necessary preparations. If Halphas were to ry to Lucifer everything that had happened here, Lucifer would have no choice but to attack Satan.


    ¡°The Demonic Sea is already in my hands! It''s only a matter of time before I absorb its power!¡±


    Kang-Woo had said that without much detail, but the meaning behind those words was clear. He conveyed that Satan had obtained the Demonic Sea, but he hadn''t been able to fully absorb it. Lucifer would easily realize the meaning behind those words and attack Satan.


    Kang-Woo had tantly thrown bait that was too hard to resist.


    ''He has no choice but to take the bait.''


    He wasn''t exactly sure about Lucifer''s circumstances, nor the extent of the forces that Lucifer could send to this world.


    ''But it doesn''t matter.''


    If Lucifer wasn''t able to send many forces due to the intact Gaia System, then that was fine in its own right. If he could send enough for it to be an actual threat, then that force would target the Demon Cult. Kang-Woo had to eliminate both the Demon Cult and Lucifer eventually, so there would be no better news than them wiping each other out.


    ''The Demon Cult and Lucifer.''


    The best possible oue was to let them fight each other while Kang-Woo watched from the sidelines and profited from it. It didn''t matter which side won. Either way, Kang-Woo would benefit from it. This was the essence of divide and conquer.


    "What are you waiting for? Must I rip off your other arm for you to go back?"


    [Kuh.]


    Halphas gulped at the chilling words. He red at Kang-Woo before quickly throwing his body into a blue Rift.


    [Satan and the Demon Cult¡­ You will soon realize the gravity of the mistake you have made.]


    ''Not soon enoooough!'' Kang-Woo thought.


    He sent Halphas off into the blue Rift whileughing gleefully in his mind.


    Halphas, who had no idea what Kang-Woo was thinking, red at him while disappearing into the blue Rift.


    Kang-Woo then took off his mask and tucked it into his clothes.


    "Right, then."


    Since he''d sent a message to Lucifer through Halphas, it was time to enjoy the newly obtained rewards. Kang-Woo turned to the corpses of Malphas and Phenex.


    ''It''s too bad that I let one go.''


    There was nothing he could do about it. After all, he couldn''t go to Lucifer personally to send him a message.


    ''This is all an investment for the future.''


    It would be better if he thought about it like that.


    ''Authority of Predation.''


    ck smoke spread from his hand and shrouded Phenex and Malphas. They were devoured by the Authority of Predation. Not even Halphas'' arm was left behind.


    Riiing.


    [Activating the Trait ¡®Reaper of Souls¡¯.]


    "I wonder how much more I have left to go?" Kang-Woo mumbled while looking at the message window in front of him.


    Fwoom!


    Just then, ck demonic energy burst out from him.


    ''Huh?''


    His eyes widened as a blue message window appeared in front of him.


    [The first condition of Demonic Soul has been fulfilled.]


    [The Demonic Energy stat cap has risen to 130.]


    [The power of the system restricting your level is weakening due to the fulfillment of a condition of Demonic Soul.]


    [Your level cap has risen to 79.]


    [You have achieved your Eighth Awakening.]


    "All right!!"


    Kang-Woo clenched his hands into fists.


    It seemed he''d managed to fulfill the first condition because he''d absorbed the souls of demons that were as powerful as an upper demon, even within the Ninth Hell.


    The message windows that followed also made him happy.


    [The passage leading to the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core has expanded.]


    [Additional souls of demons absorbed with the ''Reaper of Souls'' Trait will expand the passage even more.]


    "Very nice," he said with augh.


    The passage that led to the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core had expanded, so the number of Authorities he could use had also increased.


    There were a few Authorities that, unlike the Authority of des and the Authority of Haste, needed some preparations before he could use them. They were a sort of technique that could only be used with demonic energy from the deep end. If he could use those techniques, he would be on par with¡ªno, he could surpass Balrog.


    "Let''s see¡­ I wonder what I got for my Eighth Awakening Trait?"


    He was overflowing with anticipation.


    Kang-Woo opened his status window and checked the Trait.


    [Eighth Awakening Trait: ??? (Rank: ???)]


    [The Eighth Awakening Trait will fully unlock after reaching 130 Demonic Energy stat.]


    "Oh."


    Kang-Woo sighed disappointedly.


    ''They did the same thing with the Sixth Awakening Trait.''


    He frowned at the question marks that appeared every time he was on the verge of forgetting about them. It was as if an author, who had obtained unexpected sess with their novel, was doing their best to keep the readers interested.


    ''But unlike before, I know exactly what I have to do.''


    His goal, reaching 130 stat points for the Demonic Energy stat, and the means to achieve it were clear. The method that was most likely to seed was to continue expanding the passage to the deep end by absorbing the souls of demons using Reaper of Souls.


    "And thank god the level cap was lifted."


    It was already fantastic that he could break the level cap by fulfilling the conditions of Demonic Soul instead of having to kill Gaia''s Protectors.


    ''Then I guess there are two ways.''


    He could either kill Protectors to weaken the system that had sealed his power, or he could be strong enough for the system to be unable to seal his power.


    "All right."


    There was no need to even think about which of the two was the better option. He had no reason to do something as stupid as killing his allies to be stronger.


    "First, getting 130 in my Demonic Energy stat takes priority."


    Considering that the Awakening Trait was rted to the condition to be a Demon God, he needed to unlock it as quickly as possible.


    "It shouldn''t be a problem."


    The tips of his mouth curved up.


    He just had to wait for Lucifer to take the bait that Halphas was bringing to him. Kang-Woo likely wouldn''t need to wait very long.


    ''He''s probably scared shitless.''


    Satan had acquired the Demonic Sea that Lucifer desperately wanted. Demons always craved more power, so there was no way he''d be able to stand still and watch the situation unfold. Lucifer would surely make his move before Satan was able to fully absorb the Demonic Sea.


    ''If Lucifer takes action¡­''


    There was no way the Demon Cult wouldn''t take action either if that were the case. So, Kang-Woo would just wait to profit from it in the name of Guardians.


    ''But there''s just one problem.''


    He narrowed his eyes as he thought of the worst-case scenario.


    ''If Lucifer learns the truth¡­''


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo wasn''t greatly worried about that possibilitying true.


    ''He thinks Tirion was annihted because of Satan.''


    Tirion had let others know of Satan''s existence as a final form of struggle. At that moment, Tirion had thought that Satan was the holder of the Demonic Sea. There was absolutely no way Lucifer would be able to know that the Lord of the Nine Hells had annihted Tirion while pretending to be Satan.


    ''Glory to fucking Tirion!''


    As a loyal apostle of Tirion, the God of Heroes, Kang-Woo couldn''t help but praise him. Thanks to Tirion''s desperate dying words, Kang-Woo had gained the ultimate alibi that freed him from all doubts.


    ''As expected of Lord Tirion!''


    Tirion had given Kang-Woo his power without hesitation while preparing himself for annihtion, all for Reynald to be avenged. He was a hero who had made known the existence of Satan, the Demon of Prophecy, even while he was being annihted from excessive interference with the system!


    "I will never forget¡­ your sacrifice."


    Thinking of Tirion''s sacrifice made Kang-Woo tear up a bit. No one would dare call Tirion anything other than a hero. He had sacrificed his life to warn others of the existence of the Demon of Prophecy right until his dying breath.


    ''You are the real hero, Lord Tirion.''


    Tirion had a heart that was as steadfast as a giant pir and an indomitable will that never bent under any circumstances. He was a hero who truly mourned for his apostle Reynald and sacrificed everything for him.


    "Aahh," Kang-Woo sighed.


    ''I realized your greatness far toote.''


    He never imagined that the void Tirion left in his death would be so massive. Kang-Woo felt like his heart was being poked with a needle.


    ''I''m not feeling guilty.''


    He had inherited Tirion''s will and was trying to eliminate Satan, the Demon of Prophecy, so he had nothing to feel guilty about.


    Kang-Woo stood up.


    Since he had be Tirion''s apostle, he couldn''t just stand by as this world wasid to waste by the fierce battle between Lucifer and Satan.


    ''I will punish them both myself.''


    He would do so in the name of light!

 Chapter 164 - The Light Has Betrayed Me

    Chapter 164 - The Light Has Betrayed Me


    "Kuh¡­" Kim Si-Hun groaned.


    "You''re awake," Oh Kang-Woo said as he sat beside Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun slowly opened his eyes and looked at Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Hyung¡­ nim?¡±


    He looked up at Kang-Woo as if he''d seen a ghost.


    Tsk. Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    "Yeah. It''s me, man."


    "H-Hyung-nim! Kurgh!"


    Si-Hun quickly stood up, but he copsed again while grabbing his stomach. Kang-Woo grabbed Si-Hun and lowered him to the floor. Then Kang-Woo lightly hit Si-Hun''s head with his hand.


    "Stay still. Your wounds aren''t fully healed yet."


    Kang-Woo''s Authority of Regeneration couldn''t heal someonepletely. It could heal superficial wounds, but it couldn''t heal deep wounds and fatigue.


    Si-Hun had received such severe damage that it wouldn''t have been strange if he had died. There was no way he was going to be able to move right away.


    "Why did you keep fighting like a dumbass? You should''ve run away when you had the chance and stalled for time. Seol-Ah said she would contact me, didn''t she?"


    "...I''m sorry."


    "Haaa," Kang-Woo sighed.


    ''Well, I''m sure it would''ve been almost impossible to escape.''


    After all, there were three enemies. There was a high chance that Si-Hun hadn''t spotted an opportunity to run away. Despite knowing that, Kang-Woo couldn''t help but get angry.


    "M-More importantly, what about the demons?" Si-Hun asked.


    "Two died, and one managed to escape."


    Well, Kang-Woo had let him escape.


    "Ah." Si-Hun''s expression darkened, and he lowered his head. "Yet again, I¡ª"


    "I think I know what you''re trying to say. It''s cringy, so shut up."


    "¡­"


    "Don''t put on a pity show by ming yourself. It''s pathetic."


    "A-Ahem."


    "You''re so goddamn dramatic all by yourself. I would think you''re the most miserable person in the world if I didn''t know any better."


    "H-Hyung-nim!"


    Si-Hun''s face flushed with embarrassment.


    Kang-Wooughed out loud.


    "So, stop with the solo drama and keep lying down."


    "Y-You kind of seem different from usual, hyung-nim," Si-Hun groaned at Kang-Woo''s hard-hitting remarks.


    Kang-Woo smirked. "Do I?"


    It was true that he''d been harsher with Si-Hun than usual¡­ but this was closer to his normal manner of speech.


    "Kang-Woo!"


    "Kang-Woo hyung-nim! Are you okay?!"


    Han Seol-Ah, Kang Tae-Soo, and Echidna ran toward him.


    "Hm?" Kang-Woo murmured.


    He tilted his head in confusion when he saw a middle-aged blonde woman running alongside them while holding Gaia in her arms. She was Grace McCubbin.


    "How did you¡­" Kang-Woo uttered in surprise.


    "I called her," someone answered.


    Kang-Woo turned his head toward the direction of the voice.


    The one who had spoken was Tian Wuchen. He was with Cha Yeon-Joo, Baek Hwa-Yeon, and Tian Suyan¡ªthe monster subjugation group.


    "Are you hurt?" Wuchen asked as he walked toward Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun tried to stand up, but he fell back down again while groaning in pain.


    Wuchen ced his hand on top of Si-Hun''s body and remarked, "You have severe internal damage."


    He closed his eyes and infused Qi into Si-Hun''s body. Si-Hun''s expression, which was distorted in pain, became more rxed.


    Kang-Woo turned his head from Wuchen, who was healing Si-Hun, to Yeon-Joo.


    "You guys called Gaia and Grace?" he asked.


    "Yeah. To be exact, Wuchen ahjussi[1] called them."


    "Hm." Kang-Woo nodded.


    Guardians was an organization that kept itself hidden, but most of the World Rankers and the chief executives of each country knew about their existence. Wuchen was a chief executive in China as well as a World Ranker, so it made sense that he had a way to contact Gaia.


    "K-Kang-Woo, I heard that demons attacked Si-Hun. Is he okay?" Gaia asked in a worried voice.


    She was blind, so she had no way of knowing what state Si-Hun was in.


    Kang-Woo nodded and replied, "Fortunately, he''s gotten a lot better now. I defeated the demons."


    "Hmm, but where are the demon corpses?" Grace questioned.


    "They turned to dust and scattered away after I killed them."


    "Ah. Come to think of it, that happened with Oriax before," Yeon-Joo said, recalling what had happened in the past.


    Grace tilted her head. "Really? That didn''t happen when I killed a demon."


    There was no doubt it hadn''t. A demon didn''t turn to dust and disappear after they died. Oriax had disappeared only because Kang-Woo had used the Authority of Predation.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo calmly said, "It probably varies from demon to demon. After all, we still don''t know much about them."


    "That''s true."


    It had only been a few years since they began fighting demons and didn''t know much about them. So, the others did not question it even when Kang-Woo made up an excuse.


    ''It''s so easy to set things up.''


    No matter what happened, he could just say whatever he wanted about demons, and it would be taken as fact.


    "More importantly, Mr. Tian Wuchen, seeing how demons have attacked this vige¡­" Gaia said.


    "Yes. It seems like the traces we found today were of the Demon Cult," Wuchen answered while nodding.


    Gaia sighed.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up. "You found traces?"


    "We did. Before I heard the news that Sword Dragon was attacked, I found traces that seemed to belong to the Demon Cult.¡±


    Gaia added, "I''m actually here because I heard from Mr. Tian Wuchen that he had found traces of the Demon Cult, and while we were on our way here¡­"


    "We heard that Sword Dragon had been attacked."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    ''Then they didn''te here for Si-Hun.''


    He had found it weird that they''d arrived so quickly, but it made sense if they had already been on their way before they heard the news.


    ''That aside¡­''


    "What traces did you find?" Kang-Woo asked Wuchen.


    "I found the summoning magic circle that the Demon Cult uses."


    "There were those weird monsters that we had fought back in Manchuria too," Yeon-Joo said as she approached Kang-Woo. She handed him the item in her hand. "We found this in the center of the magic circle."


    "This is¡­"


    It was a ck stake in the shape of an inverted cross.


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    ''A Rift Seed.''


    The stake was a Rift Seed, the item that the Demon Cult had used to weaken the Gaia System.


    ''Judging from its condition, it hasn''t been long since it had been sown.''


    It was unnaturally clean. There was no way that Yeon-Joo would have gone out of her way to clean the stake, which meant that there were Demon Cultists around the area that had sown it not long before Yeon-Joo found it.


    "This must be the reason for the rise in monster attackstely," Yeon-Joo spected.


    "The monsters around here were far more aggressive than usual," Hwa-Yeon added while nodding.


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    Si-Hun propped himself up and surmised, "In that case, the Demon Cult must have been behind the vige attack as well."


    "I think so too, Protector Kim Si-Hun," Gaia said.


    ''No.''


    Kang-Woo shook his head. He thought of the three demons he''d just faced¡ªMalphas, Phenex, and Halphas.


    ''They have nothing to do with the Demon Cult.''


    They were Lucifer''s pawns, who had ventured to Earth from the continent of Aernor. They had no rtion whatsoever to the Demon Cult on Earth.


    ''But¡­''


    The Rift Seeds, demonic beasts, and magic summoning circles¡ªit was unlikely that Lucifer''s pawns had been involved with those things.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    ''If that''s the case¡­''


    On the pretext that these two incidents werepletely unrted, there was only one possible exnation.


    ''The Demon Cult has taken action.''


    Lucifer''s pawns had been nothing but uninvited guests whose arrival had coincided with the Demon Cult''s activities. It was probably the Demon Cult that had turned monsters into demonic beasts and made them attack the indigenous people.


    The tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth curved up slightly.


    ''Holy shit! They''ve gone and done it!''


    Kang-Woo had been waiting for Lucifer to take the bait. Meanwhile, the Demon Cult had gotten onto the fishing boat on their own and put things into motion, as if to make sure he didn''t get bored while waiting.


    "Seeing that there wasn''t only one summoning magic circle¡­ we should consider the possibility of another mass summoning."


    ''All hail the Demon Cuuuuult!''


    Kang-Woo clenched his hands into fists and grinned.


    He had been wondering how he could reach 130 points in his Demonic Energy stat, but the Demon Cult had given him the perfect solution. He felt like worshiping the Demon Cult.


    ''Where have you been all this time, good sirs?!''


    It had been about time they made their move anyway, as they hadn''t taken any action after sowing the Rift Seeds.


    Thanks to their immacte timing, Kang-Woo was so happy that he was desperately resisting the urge to dance on the spot. He was just one step away from opening his Eighth Awakening Trait, so he couldn''t be happier upon learning that the Demon Cult was preparing for another mass summoning.


    ''I''ve been waiting for you.''


    He''d been worried that maybe the Demon Cult had gone under after failing in their Rift Seed n, but it turned out that they hadn''t given up.


    Kang-Woo knew that they wouldn''t give up. He believed that they would rise once again after oveing all kinds of hardships and make sure this world was engulfed in darkness.


    ''I knew you could do it, my good sirs of the Demon Cult!!''


    He didn''t know which or how many demons they would summon. Nevertheless, aside from the princes of Hell, there was no demon who could be a match for Kang-Woo now.


    ''And the chance of it being a prince is almost nonexistent.''


    The magic circle that Yeon-Joo and the others had found was simr to the one the Demon Cult had used to summon Oriax. The seven princes of Hell were no longer in the Nine Hells, so there was no way they would be able to call upon a prince through a summoning.


    There was a chance that Lucifer, who had fallen into the continent of Aernor, or princes in other dimensions could be summoned. However, every demon and demonic beast that the Demon Cult had summoned so far had been from the Nine Hells, so that was highly unlikely.


    That meant the only thing he had to do was freely enjoy the meal that the Demon Cult chefs had prepared for him.


    ''I won''t ever forget the taste of this delicious lunch box that the Demon Cult has prepared for me¡­''


    The grace of the Demon Cult hadpletely melted away any sense of reverence he had felt for Tirion a few moments ago.


    ''Fucking cheapskate.''


    The excruciating amount of pain he had felt when he absorbed Tirion''s power stood out even among the ten millennia''s worth of painful experiences.


    After all that bullcrap Tirion had said about devoting oneself to the light, he hadn''t even been able to recognize a true hero that was doing his absolute best to save the world. Why couldn''t the light give him as many things as the Demon Cult did?


    Kang-Woo felt like crying. He thought that his past self was pathetic for havingmented over Tirion''s death.


    ''The one I should be worshiping isn''t the light.''


    It was not the time to be praising trash like Reynald.


    Kang-Woo tightened his fists and stretched his hands up to the sky. Darkness was slowly filling the sky as the sun set.


    ''From now on, I will be worshiping the Demon Cult!''


    The light has betrayed me!


    1. Ahjussi is how a young individual addresses a middle-aged man. ?

 Chapter 165 - The Road to Becoming a Hero (1)

    Chapter 165 - The Road to Bing a Hero (1)


    "The Demon Cult¡­"


    Gaia mumbled that name with a worried expression. She began to tremble slightly.


    "What do you want to do? Should we head straight to where the magic summoning circle was found?" Grace McCubbin asked Gaia.


    "B-But Protector Kim Si-Hun is¡­"


    "I''m fine."


    Kim Si-Hun stood up. One couldn''t say he was fully healed, but he couldn''t stay lying down in such a dire situation. He grabbed his sword while putting more strength into his staggering legs.


    "¡­"


    Gaia remained silent and grabbed her dress''s skirt.


    "It''s¡­ too dangerous."


    She hesitated as Si-Hun disyed his fighting spirit.


    From her perspective, it was normal to hesitate.


    The Demon of Prophecy, Satan, had attacked their secret vault and taken the Rift Seeds they''d collected with much effort. Protector Alec Osborne and Reynald, a god''s apostle, had died. Not only that, if it hadn''t been for Kang-Woo, Si-Hun would''ve died.


    It would be weird if she didn''t hesitate in such a situation.


    She cautiously said, "It would be better if we took more time to analyze the size of their forces and subjugate them after receiving help from each country¡­"


    It made sense.


    South America had turned into monster territory, so even if a mass summoning were to ur, there wouldn''t be many civilian casualties. Just like the war in Manchuria, it would be better if they took time to organize an army and then face the enemies.


    "Gaia."


    Kang-Woo took a step forward. He understood why she was hesitant, but they couldn''t continue to mope around.


    ''They might take the demons out of their forces likest time.''


    In Manchuria, Kang-Woo had only been able to track them down because Anton Sidorovich had sent him a meal ticket out of the blue. But there was no guarantee they would do that again.


    No, considering the losses that they had suffered before, there was no way they''d try to use the same strategy.


    If he missed the exact time when the Demon Cult began the summoning ritual, there was a chance that the demons would be moved somewhere else.


    ''I can''t let that happen.''


    "If we give them time, we don''t know how much more damage they could cause. We have to attack as quickly as possible."


    "I know that, but¡­"


    "I know what you''re worried about. You''re afraid we will die at the hands of demons, like Reynald and Alec."


    Gaia remained silent. Kang-Woo guessed correctly.


    Kang-Woo drew out his demonic energy from within his body but added a bit of Tirion''s energy that he had devoured before, which now resided in the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    Slightly dark golden energy, unlike his usual ck energy, flowed out of him.


    The only thing that changed was the color; it was still demonic energy, but it worked wonders visually.


    "Ah¡­"


    Those around them let out short exmations.


    The sight of Kang-Woo covered in a faint golden light was just like that of a hero of light. It was a scene that was very cliche. It appeared in numerous manhwas and novels, but there was a reason for it being that way¡­


    ''Great reactions.''


    He suppressed hisugh and opened his mouth.


    "We won''t be able to protect anyone if we''re afraid of death."


    "¡­"


    "Of course, I''m not being stupidly prideful, nor am I trying to leap to my death, blinded by justice. It''s a conclusion I reached after facing those demons not long ago."


    He transformed the Key of the Demonic Sea into Reynald''s golden sword, Del Lain. He gripped the sword and stuck it into the ground.


    "Demons are most certainly powerful enemies, but we are a match for them."


    ''Shieet, what a scene!''


    Gaia said, "But still, it would be better if we took some time to¡ª"


    "The more time passes, the bigger the damage. People live here as well, albeit few." His eyes were burning intensely, and an unbreakable will poured out of him. "Although there aren''t many, we must protect them."


    ''Fuck, man. I''m getting goosebumps even though I''m the one saying it!''


    "Numbers¡­ aren''t important when talking about people''s lives."


    ''Oh, shit! What if Gaia falls in love with me?! Aren''t I being way too cool right now?''


    He felt proud about the dialogue he''d just improvised.


    Gaia opened her mouth slowly as if she''d been hit in the back of the head.


    ''Please¡­''


    Kang-Woo stared at her in earnest.


    ''Please don''t call me cringe.''


    He would probably die of shame if sheughed at him for his ridiculous lines. He was not joking. He''d done his best to look as good as possible, but if sheughed at him, he would be beyond repair.


    She said, "I see. I guess I was¡­ nothing but a coward."


    ''Fuck, I dodged a huge bullet there.''


    She continued, "You''re right, Kang-Woo. We are Guardians, those who protect this world. We won''t be able to protect anyone if we''re afraid of death."


    ''Thank you very much for notughing at me, Madam Gaia!''


    Kang-Woo was moved by the fact that she had been persuaded without much difficulty. His jittery heart calmed down.


    "Let''s go to where the magic summoning circle was found. Mr. Tian Wuchen, please lead the way."


    "Got it."


    Tian Wuchen turned around and started to run. The Guardians members and the others followed after him.


    "¡­ Hey." Cha Yeon-Joo ced her hand on Kang-Woo''s shoulder. She frowned as if she couldn''t resist anymore. "I''m gonna hurl."


    "¡­"


    "Tsk."


    The hard-hitting fact smashed into his sr plexus.


    After saying that, Yeon-Joo left Kang-Woo alone and followed Wuchen.


    There was a heavy silence.


    Kang-Woo covered his face with his hands. The shame btedly swept over him.


    ''I''m gonna hurl too¡­''


    The road to bing a hero was long and hard.


    * * *


    They followed Wuchen to where the magic summoning circle had been found. It was within the Amazon, the ce that could be considered Earth''s lungs.


    They raced across the vast jungle, which ordinary people would have trouble walking in.


    It was much harder to move around here than in a rocky region like the Grand Canyon, but still, everyone present was a monster at the Ranker level at the least.


    Moving around in unfavorable conditions merely at this level was an easy task for them.


    "Kiieekk!"


    sh!


    Wuchen split a demonic beast charging toward them in half.


    Instead of participating in the battle, Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Beholder to search their surroundings.


    ''It really is the Demon Cult.''


    He''d be familiar with the traces of the Demon Cult. He followed their traces.


    ''They aren''t far.''


    The more the group followed the traces, the more frequently the demonic beasts appeared and the stronger they were.


    Thick demonic energy surrounded the area in a wide range, as if confirming that the Demon Cult was once again preparing a mass summoning like back in divostok.


    ''But¡­''


    Since Kang-Woo could now use demonic energy from the deep end of the Demonic Sea, it wasn''t difficult for him to find the source of the demonic energy that was spread out over this wide area.


    Kang-Woo pointed somewhere.


    "This way."


    "Did you find another trace?"


    "No."


    He''d already prepared an excuse for how he was able to find their location.


    "Lord Tirion''s power is pointing me there."


    It was the second cheat code he''d obtained after Satan.


    As long as he used the name of Tirion, God of Heroes, he could bypass any possible conflict.


    "Let us hurry."


    "We don''t know what could happen the more we dy."


    Si-Hun and Gaia agreed with his words.


    Grace, who was holding Gaia, nodded and rushed in the direction Kang-Woo had pointed.


    "Who''s there?!"


    "Kuh! How did they find¡ª"


    ''Bingo!''


    As they went through the thick vines, they arrived at an open space created by cutting down the trees. There, they saw Demon Cultists wearing ck robes.


    ''Long time no see, guys!''


    Kang-Woo''s cheeks naturally rose as soon as he discovered the Demon Cultists. He quickly looked around. He wasn''t really after the Demon Cultists or the monsters corrupted by demonic energy.


    [Who are they?]


    [They must be the members of Guardians that we were told about.]


    Demons appeared from behind the Demon Cultists.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    ''Fuck yeah!''


    These demons were on another levelpared to the demons that had been summoned in divostok. The majority of them were from the Seventh Hell, and even a few were from the Eighth Hell.


    ''There aren''t that many, though.''


    He licked his lips. He checked how many Demon Cultists there were and where the summoning ritual was taking ce.


    ''This probably isn''t the only ce where the summoning ritual is taking ce.''


    Considering how widespread the demonic energy was, there were probably many summoning rituals happening simultaneously. In other words, there was a chance that more demons were summoned besides the ones in front of him.


    ''You''ve done it, guys!''


    He couldn''t help but exim in surprise at the Demon Cult''s efforts.


    ''You lovely bastards!''


    Although the Gaia System had been weakened through the Rift Seeds, it wasn''t hard to imagine how much effort they had put in to pull off a mass summoning of demons from the Seventh Hell and lower.


    [Hah! They are still humans! What could a bunch of struggling bugs possibly achieve.]


    A demon with four horns and six eyes took a step forward whileughing loudly.


    [Lord Jaraxxus, we will dispose of these hum¡ª]


    [No, it has been a while since I have tasted blood! I will face them myself.]


    Jaraxxus, a demon of the Eighth Hell¡­


    He walked forward while igniting hellfire in both of his hands.


    The demons that seemed to be his subordinates expressed hesitation.


    Jaraxxus''s adjutant, Ebony Mow, spoke to the other demons while shaking his head.


    [Let him have his fun.]


    [Ah¡­ As youmand!]


    The demons bowed.


    Jaraxxus stomped on the ground.


    [I, Jaraxxus, the Eighth Hell''s Ruler of Hellfire ze, will face you!]


    He opened both arms, and hot air blew around him.


    After the Guardians members saw the surrounding vegetation dry up instantly, their faces stiffened.


    Jaraxxus''s mouth went up after seeing that.


    [Come! You pathetic mortals!]


    Kang-Woo took a step forward. A golden sword appeared in his hand.


    A Demon Cultist started tough after seeing Kang-Woo step up by himself.


    "Hahaha! I''m not sure how you found out about this ce, but it''s toote now!" The Demon Cultist looked at Jaraxxus''s dashing back in awe. "It''ll be different from Manchuria! Now, we have the Ruler of Hellfire ze, Lord Jaraxxus, with us!!"


    CRACK!


    [Kurgh! Urgh! H-How¡­]


    The sword, covered with golden light, cut Jaraxxus from his shoulder to his groin. Without being able to block a single attack, he was split in two.


    "Eh?"


    The Demon Cultist''s eyes widened.


    Jaraxxus was split in two, and his corpse became ck smoke and dissipated.


    "Wh-What? The Ruler of Hellfire ze, Lord Jaraxxus, was¡­ Wh-What the hell happened?!"


    He was here, and now he wasn''t.

 Chapter 166 - The Road to Becoming a Hero (2)

    Chapter 166 - The Road to Bing a Hero (2)


    [Lord Jaraxxus?]


    [What just¡­?]


    It wasn''t just the Demon Cultists; there was a hugemotion among the demons as well.


    Rather than being horrified, they were confused.


    If he''d lost after fighting intensely, they could have made a reaction such as ''How could Lord Jaraxxus have lost against a mere human!'' but that wasn''t the case.


    To think that he would die by being split in two without being able to defend against a single attack. Not even a piece of flesh was left of Jaraxxus, the self-proimed Ruler of Hellfire ze.


    [Was this what Lord Jaraxxus intended?]


    [But why would he¡­?]


    They were thinking that Jaraxxus was maybe ying a trick on them.


    That''s how shocking it was that Jaraxxus had died from a human''s single blow.


    "K-Kang-Woo¡­?"


    "Hah, are you really human?"


    Han Seol-Ah and the others opened their mouths in surprise.


    Tian Wuchen couldn''t believe how supernaturally powerful Kang-Woo had bepared to when they''d sparred.


    The only ones who weren''t that surprised were Gaia and Kim Si-Hun, who already knew the extent of Kang-Woo''s strength.


    ''''Hyung-nim has recently received the blessing of Lord Tirion, the God of Heroes, and be his apostle."


    "¡­ Then is that the power of a god?"


    "Yes."


    Everyone nodded at Si-Hun''s words.


    Tirion, God of Heroes¡­ They didn''t know who he was, but they thought such power was as expected from a ''god.''


    Cha Yeon-Jooughed and shook her head in disbelief.


    The red bracelets on both her wrists started to shine.


    "I''ll get the detailster. This isn''t the time to be wondering about how that guy became so strong."


    "You''re right."


    Wuchen raised his sword.


    The demons soon realized their situation. They finally epted Jaraxxus''s death and started to panic.


    It was obvious that it was a great opportunity to attack.


    Sighing, Yeon-Joo charged toward the demons.


    "Damn. Now I''m not even surprised when gods or demons appear."


    She could feel how much the world had changed in just a few years.


    "Haaa."


    Sighing once again, she clenched her fists and looked sharply at the Demon Cultists.


    ''Whether it be demons, angels, or gods¡­''


    She only had one goal¡­


    She saw the Demon Cultists, hiding behind the demons, shout something. Because the situation had turned awry, they were using amunication orb to shout something and were trying to escape.


    "Where do you think you''re running off to?"


    She clenched her fists, and the red chains rose to the sky and surrounded her.


    Wuchen, Baek Hwa-Yeon, Tian Suyan, and Goo Hyun-Mo also took out their weapons. Kang Tae-Soo lifted his shield, and Seol-Ah applied her strong buffs to the yers.


    Human vs. demons¡­


    The battle between the two forces began.


    * * *


    Kang-Woo thrust his sword emitting golden light.


    It looked like Del Lain, the sword of Tirion, God of Heroes. But in reality, it was a replica created with the Key of the Demonic Sea. Although it was a replica, its base was the Key of the Demonic Sea¡ªa Transcendent-grade weapon.


    The energy emitted from the sword was more intense than Reynald''s Del Lain.


    Crack!


    [Kurgh!]


    The sword pierced a demon through the demonic energy barrier they had created.


    Kang-Woo didn''t even need to use an Authority. There was an overwhelming difference in their physical specs. Even when he was running wild with pure physical strength, the demons couldn''t do anything.


    ''I sure have gotten stronger.''


    He could feel how much stronger he''d be in the past few months, and his strength couldn''t bepared to when Oriax was first summoned.


    ''But¡­''


    He used the Authority of Predation.


    Before their corpses could fall to the ground, the demons were devoured by the smoke that had stealthilye out of Kang-Woo.


    From what others could see, it looked as if the demon corpses were turning into ck smoke and dissipating.


    Riiing.


    [Activating the Trait ''Reaper of Souls.'']


    The demons'' demonic energy and souls flowed into his body.


    He felt the passage to the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core expand as the Reaper of Souls Trait activated.


    ''It isn''t enough yet.''


    A thirst was burning his throat. He could feel that he still needed a lot more for his Demonic Energy stat to reach the 130 points he was trying to achieve.


    He stomped on the ground and swung the sword.


    More. More.


    He desperately desired and thirsted for more power. It was a primal desire that couldn''t be reced with anything else.


    [S-Stay away!]


    [ARRGGHH!]


    Crunch! Crunch!


    He tore their flesh apart, and their gore sprayed over the area. A fishy smell stimted his nose. He couldn''t get enough of it.


    "Haaa."


    He breathed in. ck blood sshed on his white mask.


    Rather than the appearance of an apostle of the God of Heroes, the sight of him drunk on their blood was more akin to the image of a demon.


    He was annihting the demons with overwhelming power to the point that they couldn''t even think of resisting.


    It didn''t take him long to fully devour all twelve summoned demons.


    "Kuh!"


    "B-Backup! Request backup!" the Demon Cultists anxiously shouted. They picked up the crystal orb and contacted someone.


    Yeon-Joo was about to rush toward them and attack.


    "Wait." Kang-Woo stopped Yeon-Joo in her tracks.


    "¡­ Why?"


    "Wait a little bit."


    Yeon-Joo narrowed her eyes and looked at the Demon Cultists making calls. "Are you going to use them as bait?"


    "Yeah." He nodded. If they were going to call for backup, Kang-Woo and the others had no need to go out of their way to search for the other Demon Cultists.


    ''Delivery, please~!''


    He almost considered the Demon Cult members asking for backup lovely.


    Kang-Woo panted heavily as if he were exhausted and bent over while grabbing his chest.


    The Demon Cultists'' eyes shone at Kang-Woo''s methodical acting.


    "Th-The enemy is tired! Send backup now!"


    ''Awright!''


    A smile appeared on his face behind the mask.


    He could sense that a group possessing demonic energy was heading his way from nearby after having received the request for backup.


    A smile appeared on his face, and he shrugged.


    ''Yes, call them all here.''


    He had already predicted that multiple summoning rituals were happening in this area. He wasn''t sure how many demons would being, but he was sure that the number wouldn''t be small.


    ''The demonic energy was spread pretty far.''


    He had found traces of demonic energy in most of the areas he''d observed with the Authority of the Beholder, meaning many powerful demons had been summoned.


    ''Very good.''


    He liked how the situation was ying out.


    Although it was very little at a time, the passage to the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core was expanding, and his allies were thinking of him as the apostle of Tirion, God of Heroes.


    ''It isn''t that hard being a hero as long as you endure the cringe.''


    He just had to emit a bit of light and say some cringey stuff. On top of that, he was the apostle of Tirion, so it would be weird if they didn''t consider him a hero.


    Even Yeon-Joo, who said she was going to hurl after hearing his lines, was looking at him in a different light, so there was no doubt it had been very effective.


    ''Now, as long as I wipe out these Demon Cultists¡­''


    It would help him be stronger and consolidate his position as a hero.


    The trust that Gaia and the other Guardians members had in him would rise, and he would probably gain as much influence as Gaia. No, his goal was to surpass her in influence.


    ''I''ll take over Guardians.''


    The tips of his mouth went up.


    The true hero, Tirion, had already ced the tracks. He just had to follow them.


    ''Satan! Tirion! Thank you both so much!''


    Bing the apostle of Tirion and being free from the usation of being the Demon of the Prophecy¡­


    He wouldn''t have been able to be in such a sweet position if it weren''t for the sacrifice of Satan and Tirion.


    It was obvious he would be thankful to them.


    It was at that moment¡­


    "I would like to ask you all something." Gaia took a step forward with Grace''s help. She clenched her fists and opened her mouth. "Why are you all following themands of an evil demon like Satan?"


    The Demon Cultists who were requesting backup through the crystal orb looked at her.


    Gaia trembled.


    "Why¡­ Just why are you¡­ trying to destroy this beautiful world?" She bit her lip and shouted as if she were letting out all of her anguish. "You killed Reynald and Alec¡­ What are you all trying to achieve by sacrificing the lives of countless people?!"


    Tears dripped from her eyes.


    The people she trusted had died.


    The partners who promised her they''d save the world together had been murdered.


    Although she was a god''s apostle, she was just a frail girl at the core. She''d tried her best to stay strong after such unfortunate incidents, but it was hard to make the sadness and anger go away.


    Her anger had exploded after seeing the Demon Cult.


    "Gaia, calm down."


    Grace grabbed Gaia, looking at her sadly.


    Gaia''s thin shoulders shook, and the tears didn''t seem to stop.


    "Gaia¡­" Si-Hun clenched his chest as he witnessed Gaia''s sorrow.


    "¡­ What?" The Demon Cultists tilted their heads while looking at each other. "Follow themands of Satan? What is she talking about?"


    They looked at Gaia as if she were talking nonsense. It was true that the Demon Cult served demons¡­ but Satan wasn''t the one giving themmands.


    Since Satan could be considered a symbol of demons, they could understand if the name was used in a figurative sense, but what she had said after was even harder to understand.


    "Reynald? Alec? Who is she talking about?"


    They looked at each other in confusion as if asking one another if they knew.


    "¡­?"


    The atmosphere was bing weird.


    ''Oh, shit.''


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    Gaia and Si-Hun were also frowning and were trying to figure out what was going on after seeing the Demon Cultists'' genuine confusion.


    ''No!''


    The atmosphere suddenly became tense.


    ''In that case¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. There was only one way to solve the problem.


    He grabbed the Key of the Demonic Sea, which was still in its Del Lain form, and held it high. Golden light burst out of it.


    "How dare you try to deceive me!"


    "What?"


    "Did you think I wouldn''t know you killed my child Reynald?!"


    "No, seriously, who is this Reyn¡ª"


    "Shut up!!" Kang-Woo stomped on the ground. A huge amount of energy exploded outward, and the surface shook. "How could you?! How could you be so shameless while still wearing the skin of humans?!"


    The golden light intensified.


    The apostle of Tirion clenched the sword shining gold with both hands.


    "Ah¡­"


    "That''s¡­!"


    An exmation left Gaia''s and Si-Hun''s mouths.


    The golden light couldn''t bepared to the ones before.


    ¡­ And Kang-Woo was talking in a way different from how he usually spoke.


    "Deific Manifestation."


    They couldn''t help but think that Tirion had borrowed Kang-Woo''s body to manifest due to the Demon Cult''s shameless attitude.


    Gaia gulped after seeing the enraged god.


    A Demon Cultist said, "But for real, who the hell are those peop¡ª"


    "Scumbags like you are not even worth talking to!"


    Tirion, God of Heroes, who had descended by borrowing Kang-Woo''s body, charged toward the Demon Cultists and swung his sword.


    "Take the judgment of light!"


    The Demon Cultists'' heads were blown away with the t of Del Lain''s de.

 Chapter 167 - Its Not Murder If There Are No Witnesses

    Chapter 167 - It''s Not Murder If There Are No Witnesses


    Bash!


    Del Lain shone. The t of its de blew away the Demon Cultists'' heads.


    It was a horrifying scene. An enraged god was standing there, covered in blood.


    "How dare you¡­ How dare¡­"


    It was a voice filled with sadness.


    The radiant light that had burst out gradually died down.


    Tirion, God of Heroes, had manifested by borrowing Oh Kang-Woo''s body.


    He was breathing heavily and feeling an uncontroble rage.


    "Lord Tirion¡­"


    "Daughter of Gaia," Tirion mumbled. He continued in sorrow, "Do not give them any attention. Do not try to get an answer from these evil demons."


    "I-I''m sorry."


    "Demons are dishonest in nature. They will always try to deceive you with sweet words and treacherous lies."


    "I will keep that in mind."


    Gaia bowed after hearing Tirion''s sincere advice, but there was still an unanswered question, which Kim Si-Hun asked instead of Gaia.


    "Hadn''t you been annihted after the previous incident, Lord Tirion?"


    The blue message that had appeared in front of them back then¡­ No, even if it weren''t because of the message window, Tirion had specifically said that he would pass his power onto them while resolving himself to be annihted.


    The god they thought had died after giving his power to Kang-Woo was talking through him as if nothing had happened, so it was understandable that he would have doubts.


    "¡­"


    Flinch. Tirion, who had manifested by borrowing Kang-Woo''s body, was trembling so subtly that it was impossible to see with the naked eye.


    But he hesitated only for a short while. As if he''d expected the question, he exined, "You are right. To be more precise, it was my Divinity that had been annihted. Right now, I am just a shell of my former self."


    "Ah¡­"


    "I probably will not be able to manifest in this body many more times, but I wanted to tell you this before things got out of hand."


    He spoke with an intense look in his eyes.


    "Do not be fooled by demons, dear heroes. Evil will corrupt your minds the moment you listen to a demon''s whispers."


    It was a desperate voice. The golden light around them was starting to get weaker.


    "When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at y¡ª"


    The light extinguished.


    "Huff! Huff!"


    Kang-Woo panted heavily while grasping his chest. He turned his head and looked at his surroundings.


    "What just¡­"


    "Lord Tirion manifested through your body, hyung-nim."


    "What?"


    Kang-Woo''s face was dyed with bewilderment. He looked at his hands as if he couldn''t believe what Si-Hun was saying.


    "You don''t remember?"


    "¡­ No. But wasn''t Lord Tirion annihted back then?"


    "He said that his Divinity had been annihted, but he was still alive within you."


    "Oh¡­"


    A short exmation left Kang-Woo''s mouth. He looked at his body as if moved.


    "I see. He is still within me¡­"


    "We realized how much Lord Tirion cares for us." Gaia continued in sorrow, "Without knowing how he felt, I¡­"


    "No. I understand why you said something like that."


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    "To be honest, I am also curious about why they are trying to drive this world to ruin."


    "Lord Tirion said that we shouldn''t listen to them."


    "¡­ I see."


    He nodded.


    Since Tirion had manifested personally to tell them that, it needed to not be taken lightly.


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened as if he''d understood the meaning behind Tirion''s words.


    ''Fuck, shit almost went south.''


    His heart beat faster.


    ''I didn''t expect her to question the Demon Cultists then and there.''


    He could understand Gaia''s actions.


    They had lost so much to Satan''s hands, so it would be weird if she didn''t feel frustrated at all.


    It was amazing she had been able to keep her emotions bottled up for such a long time.


    ''But Lord Tirion managed to patch things up.''


    The Demon Cultists'' wicked whispers had almost ruined everything.


    ''Nasty sons of bitches.''


    He recalled them acting confused as if they didn''t serve Satan or hadn''t killed Reynald or Alec Osborne.


    Instead of denying the ims, they had made a detailed performance by tilting their heads in confusion as if they had no clue what Gaia was talking about.


    Their acting was so shameless that they even almost deceived Kang-Woo.


    ''I''d really think the Demon Cult had nothing to do with it if I didn''t know any better.''


    Even he, the loyal apostle of Tirion, the sessor of the hero Reynald and savior of this world, had almost been fooled, so it wasn''t hard to estimate how good their acting skills were.


    Shaking his head, Kang-Woo opened his mouth to say, "This isn''t the time to think about why theymitted such evil."


    He turned around.


    He could sense that demons were racing through the massive jungle and approaching them.


    Tirion was right. This was not the time to be wondering why the Demon Cultists were doing this and why they had killed the innocent Reynald and Alec.


    Boom! Boom!


    "Here theye."


    After saying those short words, Kang-Woo and the other Guardians members raised their weapons.


    [Hahaha! Jaraxxus, you idiot! You asked for help because you couldn''t get rid of a puny human?!]


    [Let us engrave the fear of demons into the minds of these weak humans!]


    Ding, dong. Kang-Woo heard the sound of a doorbell in his head.


    ''It''s here.''


    The food delivery he''d been waiting so long for had finally arrived. He gulped and raised Del Lain.


    ''It''s here!!!''


    He stomped on the ground and quickly rushed toward the demons emanating demonic energy.


    Crack!


    [Kurgh!]


    A demon''s head was smashed by Del Lain; ck blood poured in all directions.


    The tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth went up.


    ''I''ll pay with credit!!''


    The massacre had begun.


    * * *


    [Kurgh! Wh-What the¡ª?!]


    [What the fuck?!]


    Desperate screams were heard.


    It was overwhelming, and there was no other way to exin it. Someone the demons wouldn''t believe was a human was wiping them out all too easily.


    "Haap!"


    [Kuh!]


    The problem wasn''t just the one person at the forefront¡­ Those behind him weren''t at all the weak and worthless humans they were ustomed to.


    All of them were as powerful as the demons of the Seventh Hell. No, among them, a few were even stronger than that.


    [R-Request more backup, human!]


    "Y-Yes, my lord!"


    The Demon Cultists who had arrived with them raised their crystal orbs.


    ''Four who are World Ranker-level?''


    The old man with a sword, the red-haired girl with chains, the blonde woman with a rapier, and the young man wielding a sword emitting a blue light¡­


    They seemed to be World Ranker-level yers at just a nce.


    ''And¡­''


    Crack!


    [Gaaaahhhh!]


    [Stop that monster!!]


    The human wearing a white mask and wielding a sword that emitted golden light¡­


    ''What in the¡­''


    He had an overwhelming strength that couldn''t bepared to that of a World Ranker.


    The Demon Cultists were so surprised that they couldn''t close their mouths after seeing the man one-sidedly massacre the demons of Hell. It was so one-sided that they felt bad for the demons.


    ''This is bad.''


    If things continued, the summoning ritual at the core of their n could be interrupted.


    ''I cannot let that happen!''


    The amount of money the Demon Cult had invested in this summoning ritual was huge. The Apostles of Evil¡­ no, even the ''Aspects'' had high expectations for this n.


    Failure wasn''t an option.


    "Please hold on for just a little longer!!" the Demon Cultist desperately shouted. Just a little longer, and the core summoning ritual would beplete.


    If that demon was sessfully summoned, they would be able to easily eliminate that monstrous human.


    Boom!


    "Just a little longer, you say?"


    "Gasp!"


    The monster who had been massacring the demons approached him in an instant.


    Kang-Woo grabbed the Demon Cultist by the cor and said quietly, "You must have a card up your sleeve that you can use if you wait just a bit more."


    "E-Eek!"


    A terrifying energy burst forth.


    A fear that the Demon Cultist had never felt while encountering numerous demons up until this point invaded his mind.


    "A-Aaahhh."


    His mouth fell open as the fear, which he couldn''t refuse, invaded his consciousness.


    The eyes he could see behind the mask¡­ They were too thick with madness to say the man was a hero fighting demons.


    The Demon Cultist''s mind went nk after he saw Kang-Woo''s eyes.


    "Alright, tell me what you''re waiting for," Kang-Woo asked.


    "I-I can''t¡­"


    "You joined the Demon Cult to attain eternal life, didn''t you? You wanted to be immortal, so what''s the point of that if you die here?"


    "¡­"


    "Loyalty to demons? Admiration? What''s the point of all that?" His words were like sweet whispers. "Don''t you want to live?"


    A temptation the Demon Cultist couldn''t refuse was dangled in front of him. His powerful desire to live stimted him.


    Kang-Woo said, "You can be honest. No one will criticize you. After all, there''s nothing else you could possibly do in this situation."


    "Nothing else I could do¡­"


    "Yeah. Anyone else would do the same," Kang-Woo said in a low whisper.


    The Demon Cultist was nodding before he had realized it.


    ''Yes¡­ there is nothing else I could do.''


    This man was a monster who''d massacred those powerful demons.


    How could he resist such a monster?


    ''There is¡­ nothing else I could do.''


    The Demon Cultist nodded.


    He looked at the demons and hisrades who had been killed. He was scared. He did not want to die. He felt as if he should listen to this monster if he wanted to escape from the fear that was about to drive him insane.


    Kang-Woo said, "I promise you. If you tell me the truth, I will guarantee your life. I swear in the name of Tirion, God of Heroes."


    "Tirion¡­?"


    It was the first time he''d heard such a name.


    "It''s the name of the god I serve."


    "¡­"


    The Demon Cultist remained silent. His thoughts started to race.


    ''I guess he''s a hero.''


    The cliche of a hero who had been chosen by a god¡­


    But thanks to that, he was able to calm down a bit.


    ''Come to think of it, Guardians is made up of the retainers of a god, isn''t it?''


    The retainers of gods interfering with their ns¡­


    It seemed as if the monster in front of him was one of those retainers.


    ''In that case¡­''


    The fear inside him disappeared. A smile appeared on his face.


    ''I can live.''


    A servant of a god had made a promise in the name of the god he served. The Demon Cultist didn''t think that someone who called himself a hero wouldn''t fulfill a promise made in the name of their god.


    ''As long as I survive¡­''


    As long as he survived, he could grasp the opportunity to make aeback. He would be able to obtain the eternal life he so desperately wanted.


    The hesitationsted only for a short moment. He opened his mouth and spoke with a trembling voice.


    "The summoning ritual¡­"


    * * *


    "Summoning a demon from the Ninth Hell, you say?"


    A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face after he heard the exnation from the Demon Cultist.


    The Ninth Hell¡­


    It was the deepestyer of Hell¡ªa ce where only the strongest demons gathered.


    ''Yeah, I had a feeling they could be summoned.''


    Devouring demons from the Seventh and Eighth Hells was great and all, but a demon from the Ninth Hell was on another level.


    That could be seen just by the fact that he hadn''t been able to fulfill the condition for the Demonic Soul even after absorbing over a hundred demon souls, but the condition had been fulfilled after he absorbed the souls of Malphas and Phenex.


    ''I''m almost there.''


    He''d killed dozens of demons, but his Demonic Energy stat hadn''t reached 130 yet. However, he could instinctively tell there wasn''t much left before he reached it.


    If he killed a demon from the Ninth Hell and absorbed their soul, the stat would easily reach 130.


    ''Alright.''


    His throat burned with thirst.


    Kang-Wooughed. He would soon be able to get rid of this thirst.


    "Thanks for the information."


    He raised his sword and thrust it into the trembling Demon Cultist without hesitation.


    Stab.


    "Kurgh?!"


    The Demon Cult member looked up at him in confusion.


    "Wh-why?"


    The promise that Kang-Woo had made in the name of a god that he would let him live if he told the truth had been broken all too easily.


    "Y-You told me you would¡­ let me live."


    The Demon Cultist extended his hand, drenched with blood, toward him. He widened his eyes and shouted, "You swore in the name of the god that you serve!!"


    Cough. He vomited blood.


    He couldn''t understand it.


    The heroes that he knew¡ªthe retainers of gods¡ªweren''t like this.


    At least they were beings who would fulfill a promise made in the name of the god they served.


    ''But what''s with him?''


    The man hadn''t even hesitated. It was as if a promise made to a god had absolutely no meaning to him.


    Kang-Woo opened his mouth after seeing his confused look.


    "Man, I was really going to, okay? But I thought about it carefully, you see?" He sounded serious. "No one will know if you die, right?"


    "Wh-What do you¡­"


    "If you die, no one will know I didn''t fulfill a promise made in the name of a god."


    "¡­ W-Wait."


    "Shieeet, why hadn''t I thought of such a good way until now?"


    "What nonsense are you¡­"


    Kang-Wooughed at him. He twisted the sword stabbed into the Demon Cultist.


    "It''s not murder if there are no witnesses!"[1]


    It was as if he had been enlightened.


    Kang-Woo trembled in excitement after realizing a new truth.


    ''EUUUUUUREKA!!''


    1. This is a meme in the Korean Assassin''s Creedmunity. The literal trantion is "It''s an assassination if there are no witnesses," but I tweaked it a little. ?

 Chapter 168 - I Dont Know What Hes Talking About

    Chapter 168 - I Don''t Know What He''s Talking About


    The battle was over.


    All the demons'' corpses turned into ck smoke and dissipated. Not only that, but the Demon Cultists had also paid the price for their crimes.


    There was a short silence.


    Oh Kang-Woo''spanions were breathing heavily after fighting against the demons.


    "Wave of Light."


    Han Seol-Ah opened both arms and cast magic. The symbol of angel wings on her back started to emit light, and it spread to other people.


    The panting people looked at her in surprise.


    "This is¡­"


    "Amazing."


    It wasn''t magic that just healed wounds. They felt that the fatigue and mental stress they''d umted while fighting was being healed.


    "Since when could you use magic like this?" Kim Si-Hun asked in surprise.


    There were many healers who could heal wounds, but the number of healers who could heal umted fatigue was extremely low. Add mental stress to that equation, and it was no longer in the realm of healing.


    "It''s thanks to the Trait I obtained on my Eighth Awakening."


    "That''s incredible."


    It was honestly a surprise. That''s how special Seol-Ah''s healing magic was.


    ''Come to think of it, the buff effect was incredible as well,'' Si-Hun thought.


    The reason why Si-Hun had been able to face Halphas, one of the three demons he had faced before, was thanks to the buff she''d applied to him. He had never heard about a buff that boosted one''s stats by an absolute value.


    "N-Not at all."


    Seol-Ah blushed in shyness because of the attention. But there was a smile on her face. Not many people disliked being recognized and praised, after all.


    Seol-Ah looked at Kang-Woo. She clenched her fists in excitement.


    "Kang-Woo, you must be more tired than the rest, so I''ll cast my magic on you one more time."


    Seol-Ah trotted toward him, grabbed his hand, and used magic again.


    To be honest, two out of the three demons had been defeated by Kang-Woo, so, in reality, she hadn''t said anything wrong.


    "Thanks," Kang-Woo said while smiling.


    A smile appeared on Seol-Ah''s mouth.


    Kang-Woo looked down at the light flowing out of her and entering him.


    ''The effect is certainly incredible.''


    It was as if the fatigue that had umted after fighting the demons disappeared.


    After Kang-Woo had surpassed 120 in the Demonic Energy stat, Seol-Ah''s buffs had stopped boosting his stats, just like how the ck Pearl Coat''s stat boost effect no longer applied to him.


    That was why he thought it would be hard for him to get help from Seol-Ah while fighting, but it seemed he''d underestimated her.


    ''Mm.''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    It wasn''t like she''d received the soul of the Martial God like Si-Hun; she also hadn''t been chosen by the Gaia System like the other Guardians members. But still, he could feel an unknown energying from her.


    ''What could it be?''


    He couldn''t tell.


    Kang-Woo shook his head while thinking about it. There was nothing more stupid than trying to get an answer to a question he couldn''t even begin to solve.


    ''I''ll just have to keep my eye on her.''


    That was all he could do for the moment. Rather than getting an answer, solving the situation at present was more important.


    "That aside, is it over now?" Cha Yeon-Joo asked.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "I can''t feel anything around here. It seems like it''s more or less over," he calmly answered.


    Actually, the Demon Cult''s n wasn''t over yet. The Demon Cult was probably working fervently to summon a being from the Ninth Hell at this very second.


    ''I shouldn''t throw a wrench in their admirable works.''


    It would be ideal to attack them right after they summoned the demon of the Ninth Hell.


    ''I guess we could stay here for a bit and then give some sort of excuse to take action.''


    He''d already been told where the summoning ritual was taking ce. He thought it would be okay if they moved out once he felt a huge amount of demonic energy.


    ''Very good.''


    Kang-Woo smiled, as everything was going ording to his ns.


    It was at that moment¡­


    "Ah¡­"


    A short exmation left Gaia''s mouth. She fumbled her hands in the air.


    "What''s wrong?" Si-Hun said with a worried expression.


    Expression stiff, Gaia opened her mouth and said, "Lady Gaia herself has¡­ given me a quest."


    "What?"


    "Just a second, please. I will share it with you all."


    She waved her hand in the air, and a blue message window appeared in front of them.


    Riiing.


    [Commencing the S-rank unique quest.]


    [Quest Details: Stop the summoning of a demon of the Ninth Hell.


    Reward: None.


    P.S: I''m so¡­rry¡­ my chil¡­dren. This is the only¡­ thing I can do¡­ right¡­ now.]


    ''What the hell is this?''


    Kang-Woo frowned after reading the quest window that appeared in front of him. But he soon realized what Gaia had done.


    ''That fucking troll!''


    He frowned.


    She''d let them know through a quest that the Demon Cult''s summoning n was not over yet and that they were trying to summon a demon of the Ninth Hell.


    ''Motherfucker¡­!''


    He could understand why she''d done that.


    She probably couldn''t stay idle while looking at her children rxing while thinking they had defeated their enemies. The intentions were good. If he hadn''t known they were trying to summon a demon of the Ninth Hell, it would have been of great help.


    ''But why now of all times?''


    Even if her intentions had been good, if the result was an absolute cesspool, it meant nothing.


    Gaia''s quest was about to ruin his perfectly crafted n.


    ''At least give us a reward.''


    Seeing that there was no reward, it seemed as if her power to interfere with the system was also diminishing. It hurt his head watching a god waste her power over things like this.


    ''Think.''


    The gears in his head went into overdrive.


    Now that the rest had discovered that the demon summoning ritual hadn''t ended, he had no choice but to find another way.


    "This is¡­"


    "It seems the summoning ritual isn''t over yet." Gaia kept talking as her expression hardened. "We must stop a demon from the Ninth Hell from being summoned."


    Yeon-Joo approached and asked, "I mean, do we even need to stop them, considering how strong Kang-Woo is now?"


    She''d seen how he had overwhelmingly massacred dozens of demons. She''d almost felt sorry for the demons, so it was true that she didn''t feel the need to stop them.


    "Yes, we do," Gaia expressed.


    Although they had been able to defeat the demons easily thanks to Kang-Woo''s help, the situation would change if the key demon of this summoning ritual were to be summoned.


    Although Kang-Woo was a hero who had earned the power of a god, they weren''t sure if he''d be able to fight a demon from the deepestyer of Hell.


    "Gaia is right. We must stop them as soon as possible." Kang-Woo took a step forward. He continued in a loud voice, "It''s not like I''mcking the confidence to face a demon of the Ninth Hell, but it''s much more simple and surefire to prevent them from being summoned altogether."


    "Kang-Woo is right," Gaia agreed with him. "In that case, we should first figure out where the summoning ritual is taking ce¡­"


    "I might have an idea of where that could be."


    "You do?"


    "Yes." Kang-Woo nodded. "Right after receiving the quest, I''ve been feeling an unpleasant energy through Lord Tirion''s power."


    He once again used Tirion as an excuse. It was a cheat code on the same level as Satan.


    People reacted after he said he''d felt something unpleasant.


    "Where?"


    "Follow me."


    Kang-Woo turned and began running. He took them in the opposite direction of where the summoning was taking ce.


    ''I need to stall for time!''


    That was the best option he had at the moment. He had to stall until the Demon Cult could sessfully finish the summoning ritual.


    ''Dammit, you Demon Cultists! You''d better not fail after I''m going this far for you!''


    It was a desperate mental shout.


    Kang-Woo took them in apletely different direction.


    ''Come on!''


    Ten minutes passed¡­


    "How much further, hyung-nim?"


    "We''re almost there."


    Twenty minutes¡­


    "Hyung-nim, At this rate, the summoning ritual will¡ª"


    "This way! Just five more minutes!"


    Thirty minutes¡­


    "Kang-Woo, are you sure we''re going the right w¡ª"


    "We''re really almost there! It''s literally right in front of us!"


    ''FUUUUUUUUUCK!''


    He couldn''t help but curse.


    ''What''s taking them so fucking long?''


    It was understandable that he''d be annoyed. The more they went in the direction he was guiding them, the weaker the demonic energy became, and the demonic beasts were nowhere in sight. Their trust in him was naturally plummeting.


    ''Please, just get it done already!''


    He couldn''t misguide them forever.


    He was about to burst into a fit of rage from how goddamn slow the Demon Cult was.


    ''Please.''


    BOOM!!


    As if his desperate prayers had reached the heavens, a giant pir of demonic energy soared into the sky with an explosive boom.


    ''Finally!''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    ''They finally did it!!''


    "O-over there!"


    "Everyone, quick!"


    They ran toward the massive ck pir. Kang-Woo gulped while looking at it.


    ''It''s at least an archdemon.''


    Archdemons were among the strongest in the Ninth Hell. He felt a weight lift off his shoulders and his steps became lighter; he was almost proud for being able to deceive his allies for 30 minutes.


    Kang-Woo arrived at the summoning ritual with shining eyes.


    "I-Intruders!"


    "Kuh! So you''vee this far!"


    As expected from a ritual to summon an archdemon from the Ninth Hell. Unlike the other summoning ritual areas where there were five to six people at most, there were at least fifty people here.


    ''Nice!''


    He raised his weapon while smiling.


    "Your evil scheme ends here!" he shouted.


    ''You did it, you sons of bitches!''


    Although they had been slow as hell, they''d managed to do it.


    Kang-Woo''s smile was hidden behind his mask.


    ''Now, let''s see who you summoned, shall w¡ª''


    He looked at the ck Rift.


    And¡­


    "Hahaha! You''re toote, damn retainers of gods!!"


    "Now that he hase, you will not be able to escape death!"


    Step, step.


    A giant, five-meter-tall demon emerged from the ck Rift.


    He had a muscr body with red skin, goat horns on his forehead, bat wings, and a long tail.


    Just feeling his destructive energy was enough to suffocate them.


    The Demon Cultists knelt.


    "Bow! Bow in worship! Behold an archdemon of the Ninth Hell!"


    "The Lord of Destruction, Balrog!!!"


    "¡­"


    There was silence.


    The demon that had walked out of the Rift opened his mouth.


    [So this is Earth?]


    "It is, my lord!!"


    [Who are you all?]


    "We are loyal servants of demons! Mortals that yearn for immortality!"


    [Hmm.]


    The giant demon turned his head as if he wasn''t interested.


    Just then, the eyes of Kang-Woo and the demon met.


    [Huh?]


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo was wearing a mask. In other words, his disguise was only a thin piece of material covering his face. But Balrog had spent thousands of years with him, so the fact that he was wearing a mask meant nothing.


    [M-My lord Demon King!]


    Balrog knelt.


    [Finally, I''ve gotten to meet you again atst! You have no idea how much I have longed to see you again after hearing the news from Doomguard!!]


    Boom!


    He mmed his forehead into the floor.


    [My king!! I, Balrog, havee to you once again to pledge my loyalty to you!!]


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    No one said anything.


    There was no way they could say anything.


    Sensing everyone''s eyes on him, Kang-Woo turned his head and slowly opened his mouth.


    "I don''t know what he''s talking about."


    [Aahh! My lord Demon King!]


    "I really have no idea."


    [Sniff! I have missed you so much!]


    "I don''t know who that demon is."


    [My kiiiiiiiiiing!!!]


    "¡­"


    Silence fell once again.


    He felt that everyone was staring at him. A curse left his mouth.


    "Fuck."


    He was fucked.

 Chapter 169 - Oh Kang-Woo: Warrior of Light (1)

    Chapter 169 - Oh Kang-Woo: Warrior of Light (1)


    Oh Kang-Woo was fucked.


    There was no better way to describe the situation. Balrog had mmed his head onto the ground and cried out that he had missed the demon king so much.


    The Demon Cultists had invested a lot into summoning Balrog. Meanwhile, the members of the Guardians had received a quest from Gaia and then made their way here to stop the Demon Cultists.


    As for Kang-Woo¡­


    ''Oh, fuck.''


    All sorts of insults were lingering around his mouth. He could feel everyone''s gazes boring into him. They were looking at him with a mixture of confusion, denial, trust, and doubt.


    Of course, most of them were trying to deny the reality of the situation. They thought that the demon from the Ninth Hell was pulling a nasty scheme.


    However¡­


    [My kiiiiiiiing!!]


    "¡­"


    Balrog was calling out to Kang-Woo even more desperately now.


    From his cry, they could tell that he was genuinely ted to see Kang-Woo. It sounded so desperate that it was hard to think of it as a scheme. Balrog cried so earnestly that even Kim Si-Hun and Han Seol-Ah, who trusted Kang-Woo very deeply, were tilting their heads in confusion.


    ''Why now, of all times?'' Kang-Woo thought.


    He wouldn''t have been in such trouble if he were alone like when Doomguard had been summoned.


    The problem was that the people he could call hisrades were all present. The members of the Guardians, his roommate, his sworn brother, the guild master sponsoring him, captains of the Korean government''s special forces, and even someone who could influence the Chinese government¡ªall of the people who were important to him were gathered there.


    ''Why now, of all times?!!''


    Kang-Woo grabbed his head. His mind nked out at the unexpected development of events.


    The trust he''d built through all of his acts and his title of hero¡­ he was in a situation where he could lose everything.


    ''It''s my mistake.''


    Kang-Woo had to admit it. He should have guessed that something like this could happen when he had heard that they were going to summon a demon from the Ninth Hell. He should''ve expected and prepared for it, but greed had blinded him. Instead, he''d pushed a bit too far because of his desire to reach 130 in a stat.


    This was something he could''ve avoided or prepared for. It was the fault of no other but him.


    ''No, but still¡­''


    He still thought it was unfair.


    There were many demons in the Ninth Hell. The number of demons had decreased after the seven princes'' forces crumbled, but it was still over a hundred thousand. So, why, out of all those demons, was it Balrog who had been summoned?


    ''Fuck my life.''


    Kang-Woo raised his head and looked around at the reactions of his allies. He had to do something before the situation worsened.


    ''First off¡­''


    He thought about a way to ovee his current situation.


    ''The best way¡­''


    Ultimately, the best method was for Kang-Woo to tell Balrog about the situation he was in.


    ''The fastest way is obviously to let him know myself.''


    Moreover, Kang-Woo had to do it without letting anyone know.


    It shouldn''t be difficult to do considering what he had done when he dealt with Oriax. He could just send a message to his brain that only Balrog could hear.


    ''The problem is¡­''


    Kang-Woo bit his lip.


    He imbued his will into demonic energy and shot it at Balrog.


    Swoop.


    The demonic energy that reached the area around Balrog''s head disappeared without leaving a trace.


    It was just as Kang-Woo had expected.


    ''AARRGGHH.''


    He ruffled his hair in desperation.


    ''That goddamn muscle pig.''


    The way Kang-Woo sent his will through demonic energy was simr to how voice transmission worked in martial arts novels.


    However, there was a problem due to Balrog''s characteristics. There was a powerful demonic energy barrier on top of his skin at all times. Other demons had it too, but in Balrog''s case, it was a little special. His barrier was akin to the Defensive Vajra Qi[1] in martial arts novels.


    This was practically a passive ability for him; he was always surrounded by an extremely thick barrier of demonic energy. It was so thick that most demons had a hard time making one like that even if they used their full power.


    In other words, Balrog was instinctively blocking out everyone else''s demonic energy. It wasn''t impossible to bypass his defensive barrier to send him a transmission, but Kang-Woo currently did not have enough demonic energy to do that.


    ''Of all the demons, why is it yooouuu?!''


    Balrog''s ever-present demonic energy barrier, which he didn''t even need to consciously maintain, was a powerful characteristic that was known among demons as Demonic Armor. This was because it seemed like Balrog was wearing armor made of demonic energy at all times. Aside from Balrog, Kang-Woo had never seen any demon who had that characteristic.


    If the summoned demon had been Doomguard, the situation wouldn''t have be thisplicated. Kang-Woo could''ve sessfully sent his will through demonic energy to Doomguard and asked him to cooperate, but he couldn''t do that with Balrog.


    ''Should I approach him and whisper?''


    Kang-Woo shook his head, rejecting his sudden thought.


    Everyone present had a physical capability that surpassed that of a normal human¡ªeven Seol-Ah, who was a healer. So, there was no way Kang-Woo would be able to send Balrog a message without powerful martial artists like Si-Hun and Tian Wuchen figuring it out.


    ''Should I let him know by mouthing it?''


    However, Kang-Woo wasn''t confident that he could exin his circumstances just by mouthing it. Besides, he was wearing a mask, so that made it impossible.


    ''I mustn''t take off the mask.''


    He wanted to leave his options open, such as making excuses like there was no way that demon would be able to recognize him since he was wearing a mask. Hence, he couldn''t afford to take off this mask.


    Kang-Woo bit his lip uneasily.


    ''Should I send him a written message?''


    He didn''t have time to do that. Moreover, Balrog didn''t know how to read Korean.


    ''Damn.''


    Kang-Woo was feeling anxious. He knew that the more Balrog talked about him, the more the others would doubt him.


    ''Now that it''se this far¡­''


    He had to feign ignorance for now.


    "Everyone, this is all part of that treacherous demon''s scheme. Leaving aside the question about whether I''m the demon king, I''m wearing a mask. So, how could that demon have recognized me?"


    "Oh, now that you mention it¡­"


    "Yes, you''re wearing a mask," Si-Hun said while nodding. "I knew something was off the moment that demon called you the demon king and praised you. It must be a wicked scheme."


    "Yeah. I''m just as bewildered as you all are."


    Kang-Woo was indeed bewildered.


    "Well, I guess it''s obvious you''d be bewildered if a demon you''ve never met before suddenly knelt and called you the demon king."


    "I don''t know what that demon, the Lord of Destruction, is trying to do, but I''m innocent."


    "Hahaha. Of course, hyung-nim. That demon probably doesn''t even know your name. If we ask, he''ll most definitely get flustered and¡ª"


    "N-No, ahem. Just a second. Let''s watch and see why he''s putting on a show like that first."


    "Ah, understood."


    Kang-Woo''s heart dropped when he heard Si-Hun suggest asking Balrog if he knew what Kang-Woo''s name was.


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo had managed to extinguish the doubts the others were having by using the mask as an excuse.


    ''Now I just have to let Balrog know of my circumstances.''


    That was the biggest issue. The problem had gone full circle.


    Kang-Woo started to think desperately.


    Right then¡­


    "L-Lord Balrog! Why are you calling that retainer of a god the demon king?"


    "You are mistaken! They are members of Guardians, Gaia''s retainers!"


    The Demon Cultists who had summoned Balrog surrounded him.


    They felt confused after seeing the demon they''d summoned call a human the Demon King. Moreover, that human was a member of the Guardians, their enemy. The situation was so strange that it wasn''t even funny to them; it was just tragic.


    ''Whoa, good going, guys!''


    Upon receiving the Demon Cult''s assistance, Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up, and he clenched his hands into fists triumphantly. Thanks to the Demon Cultists shouting that Balrog was mistaken, Kang-Woo was able to free himself from suspicion somewhat.


    "Lord Balrog! Lord of Destruction! Please, raise your head!"


    "That individual isn''t the Demon King! They are the greatest hindrance to our ultimate goal!"


    "Please, defeat bring judgment to those hypocritical retainers of god!"


    ''Nice!''


    Kang-Woo cheered the Demon Cultists on.


    ''Please, take a hint.''


    He desperately wished for Balrog to notice his situation and cooperate with him.


    ''You''ve known me for a long time.''


    Kang-Woo had spent more than a thousand years with Balrog. They could figure out everything about each other with just their eyes¡­ Well, not exactly.


    ''Actually, I know that you''re dim-witted as all hell, but please, just this one time!!''


    It didn''t matter how positively he thought of Balrog. He was too optimistic in thinking they knew what each other wanted without even talking.


    If they truly knew each other that well, there was no way that Balrog would''ve offered Kang-Woo the head of a Focalor when he''d said that there was nothing to eat in Hell.


    ''Please, Balrog!!'' Kang-Woo screamed desperately in his mind.


    However, Balrog stood up and stepped on Kang-Woo''s hopes. He waved his muscr red arms.


    Bash!


    Balrog''s light swing mmed into the head of a Demon Cultist, causing it to explode.


    Balrog red down at the Demon Cultists surrounding him and roared, [How dare you make a fool out of me?!]


    ''Hey, Balrog,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    [A mistake, you say? That man is not the demon king but a retainer of a god, you say?]


    ''Stop.''


    [Hah! I had high hopes for you humans since you worship demons, but to think you''d be this dumb!]


    ''Please just say you were mistaken.''


    Rumble!!!


    Balrog violently stomped on the ground. A huge vortex of demonic energy stormed around him. Seeing that, the Demon Cultists gasped, and their faces turned pale.


    Then Balrog raised his hands, and a whip surrounded by ck mes appeared. He ferociously swung the whip.


    FWOOSH!!


    "ARRGGHH!!"


    That one simple attack turned half of the Demon Cultists into ash.


    Everyone present was astonished by the power of the Lord of Destruction, Balrog. The Demon Cultists looked at him with eyes full of fear.


    [Listen carefully, humans!]


    ''Hey¡­''


    [The one before your eyes is the Lord of the Nine Hells! The true emperor!]


    ''Stop, dude.''


    [The demon who emerged victorious against the seven princes of Hell and rose to be the pinnacle of all demons!]


    ''Please stop.''


    Rumble¡ª!!!


    The earth shook.


    Balrog''s violent scream reached everyone''s ears.


    [He is Demon King Oh Kang-Woo!!]


    ''YOU CRAZY MOTHERFUCKERRR!!!!''


    1. It is a technique that makes your body impervious to des, arrows, and pretty much anything. ?

 Chapter 170 - Oh Kang-Woo: Warrior of Light (2)

    Chapter 170 - Oh Kang-Woo: Warrior of Light (2)


    ''YOU CRAZY MOTHERFUCKERRR!!!!''


    Oh Kang-Woo gasped.


    Demon King Oh Kang-Woo¡­


    The moment Balrog said Kang-Woo''s name, Kang-Woo''s stopgap was thrown out the window. His mind nked out like he''d been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.


    There was an astronomical difference between calling him the Demon King and associating his exact name with the title.


    "How does that demon know hyung-nim''s name...?"


    "K-Kang-Woo? What is going on?"


    Kim Si-Hun and Gaia were the first to question him.


    ''Damn it all,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    The hero Oh Kang-Woo¡ªwho had been chosen by Tirion, God of Heroes¡ªand the archdemon of the Ninth Hell Balrog were meeting for the very first time.


    It didn''t matter what the truth was. As far as the others knew, this was the first time Kang-Woo was meeting Balrog. Yet, Balrog knew Kang-Woo''s name and was even professing his loyalty to Kang-Woo.


    It shouldn''t have been possible for Balrog to know Kang-Woo''s name. This huge contradiction was hard to cover with trust.


    "What is the meaning of this?"


    Tian Wuchen, Tian Suyan, and Cha Yeon-Joo looked back and forth between Balrog and Kang-Woo in confusion.


    At first, they''d thought it was a cheap trick that the Demon Cult was ying. However, judging from the way the Demon Cultists had reacted and how Balrog had killed them in the blink of an eye, that didn''t seem to be the case.


    "...Kang-Woo?


    Even Han Seol-Ah looked at him with quivering eyes.


    This situation made Kang-Woo''s head hurt. He turned his head and saw Balrog looking at him with glimmering eyes. Kang-Woo fell deeper into turmoil.


    Right then¡­


    "Kuh! Since things have be like this!"


    The Demon Cultists who had survived Balrog''s attack decided to take action.


    They chanted, "Oh, Aspects of Evil! Grant us the power to control all that is demonic!"


    [Hmm?] Balrog murmured with a frown.


    Before he could make a move, ck light poured out of the magic circle that he was standing on.


    [Kuh! Wh-What do you think you''re doing?!]


    The ck light restrained Balrog, and a geometric pattern formed on his body. It was as if he was being branded with a branding iron.


    ''That''s¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened. He recognized the magic circle that had formed on Balrog. This one had a different form and size, but Kang-Woo had previously seen a magic circle with the same pattern.


    ''I thought that it could only control demonic beasts.''


    The ck magic circle that had controlled the Chrysalis covered more of Balrog and emitted an ominous light.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''Are they gonna try to control Balrog?''


    That had apletely different meaning from being able to control a Chrysalis. Balrog was a demon that no one could forcibly control, not even Kang-Woo when he had been at his peak in Hell.


    ''Just how¡­?''


    Moreover, Kang-Woo had no idea who or what the Aspects of Evil that led the Demon Cult were.


    [Do you seriously believe¡­ you will be able to control me?!]


    "ARRGGHH!"


    "S-Save me!"


    "Damn! H-Hurry! Keep chanting!"


    Balrog struggled against the control of the magic circle. His thrashing limbs smashed the Demon Cultists around him to bits. Even so, those who survived continued to desperately try to gain control over Balrog.


    The magic circle that glowed with a ck light epassed Balrogpletely.


    [Graaaahhhh!!!] Balrog roared.


    He furiously swung the whip, which was covered with ck mes. All of the remaining Demon Cultists were reduced to ashes and dispersed into the air.


    [Fuuu, fuuu.]


    However, Kang-Woo had a grim expression as he cursed inwardly, ''Shit.''


    Balrog, who had gotten rid of the rest of the Demon Cultists, was ring at Kang-Woo with animosity. It seemed like Balrog couldn''tpletely free himself from the control of the magic circle.


    [M-My king, p-please¡­ forgive...]


    An irresistible impulse engulfed his mind, and he aggressively swung his whip at Kang-Woo.


    "Hyung-nim!"


    "Stay back!!"


    Kang-Woo took a step forward despite hearing words of caution from the others. They might have a chance against other demons, but he was the only one who could face Balrog at that moment.


    He stomped on the ground violently, raised Del Lain, and blocked Balrog''s me whip.


    ng¡ª!


    "Kuh!"


    The impact of the collision was colossal, and it traveled up Kang-Woo''s arms. Then Balrog, who had closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, mmed into Kang-Woo with his shoulder.


    "Kurgh!"


    Kang-Woo bent over at the waist, unable to withstand the force of Balrog''s m. Like a pebble caught up in the force of an explosion, the m sent him flying and then rolling on the ground.


    ''Fucking crazy pig!''


    The Lord of Destruction, Balrog¡ªhis power was indeed worthy of that title.


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    [Graaahhh! Who¡­ Who dares to control me?!] Balrog cried desperately.


    He squirmed, struggling to free himself from the influence of the magic circle that had covered his body. His red skin split open in the process, and ck blood flowed out from Balrog''s eyes, nose, and ears.


    "Goddammit," Kang-Woo cursed.


    At this rate, Balrog would die while trying to resist the power of the magic circle.


    ''Just stay still, you dumbass!!''


    Kang-Woo ran anxiously toward Balrog. He concentrated the Authority of Titanic Might on his fist and threw a punch, but Balrog raised his knee and countered the fist.


    Rumble!!


    The ground shook. Two huge powers shed, and the trees around them were blown away.


    "Cough!"


    The massive shock caused blood to spurt out from Kang-Woo''s mouth. ck blood sttered onto the floor.


    [A-Aaaahhh. Wh-What have I done to my king¡­?!]


    Balrog paled. He was trembling, seemingly unable to ept that he''d attacked Kang-Woo. The amount of blood pouring out of his eyes, nose, and ears increased.


    [Kuh! If I am forced to hurt my king, I would rather¡­!]


    Balrog raised his hand, which was shaking intensely as he resisted the influence of the magic circle.


    ''That son of a bitch¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s gaze darkened. He could easily guess what Balrog was trying to do.


    Balrog put his hand near his head.


    ''Stop, you crazy bastard.''


    Balrog was thinking that he would rather die than be forced by an unknown power to attack his king. For a person with just an average level of loyalty toward their king, it was an unthinkable task. However, this was Balrog, and he would most definitely do it without hesitation.


    ''Fuck!''


    Kang-Woo turned his head and nced at the others. They were watching him with confused gazes; they didn''t understand what was happening.


    Balrog was trying tomit suicide. The situation was worsening. Nevertheless, there was one way for Kang-Woo to resolve everything.


    ''...I could give up on Balrog.''


    If Balrog were tomit suicide, Kang-Woo would be able to make excuses that it had all been the Demon Cult''s filthy scheme all along.


    However¡­


    "Shit, shit! Fuck!"


    Kang-Woo cursed.


    Balrog¡­ had been the first demon that Kang-Woo had fought, and he had been Kang-Woo''s loyal aide for over a millennia. They''d fought many wars and experienced countless victories together.


    "You fucking idiot! You''re absolutely no help at all!" Kang-Woo chided him.


    Balrog was an idiot who had stayed by Kang-Woo''s side even after he''d dered war on the seven princes of Hell and be themon enemy of the entire Ninth Hell. As long as it was for Kang-Woo''s sake, this stupid demon would fight against any opponent without taking into consideration how strong they were. He was a duncehead who would obey any order Kang-Woo gave him; he would fight if he were told to, and he would die if he were told to.


    "ARRGGHH!!"


    Kang-Woo''s irritation surged. Even at that moment, Balrog was moving his hand toward his head with the intention to explode it.


    There would be no way for Kang-Woo to sort out this mess if he were to save Balrog. Kang-Woo would be tantly confirming that he truly was connected to Balrog in some way and that this wasn''t just some scheme the Demon Cult had plotted.


    ''Yeah, just die.''


    It was no surprise that Kang-Woo would have such thoughts.


    ''As long as Balrog dies¡­''


    If the source of this entire conflict were to die, Kang-Woo would be able to sort this huge mess out.


    ''But¡­ But¡­ But¡­''


    "Shit! Shit! Shit!"


    He stomped on the ground.


    "BALROOOOOG!!!" Kang-Woo shouted.


    He leaped at Balrog and kicked away his hand, which was about to make his head explode.


    "You dumbass!! How many times do I have to say that you have to stop trying tomit suicide every time something bad happens?! Huh?"


    [Kuh. M-My king.]


    "That''s going to disappear in just a few minutes, so enough of your shit, and just stay still!"


    [But...]


    Kang-Woo scowled and said sharply, "Since when did you start questioning my orders?"


    [My apologies!] Balrog quickly answered.


    The close battle continued.


    Balrog was a powerful demon, but it wasn''t to the extent that Kang-Woo couldn''t hold out against him for a few minutes. Furthermore, if Kang-Woo used a technique that utilized demonic energy from the deep end, he would be able to defeat Balrog. Regardless, there was no need to do that.


    [Kurgh!]


    "Argh!"


    Balrog wasn''t giving the battle his all. He was fighting Kang-Woo while resisting the magic circle as much as he could.


    It was the same for Kang-Woo. The fight would be over once the magic circle''s power ran out, so there was no need for him to go all out.


    Fwoosh.


    Five minutes passed by, and the magic circle that was covering Balrog''s body turned into ck smoke and disappeared. The battle came to an end.


    Bam!


    [My king!]


    Balrog knelt and mmed his forehead onto the ground, forming a dip in the earth.


    [I beg of you, behead this traitor who dared to attack you!] Balrog shouted while shedding tears.


    "Haaa," Kang-Woo sighed.


    "H-Hyung-nim."


    "Kang-Woo, what is¡­"


    Si-Hun and Gaia were looking at him in confusion.


    The others were doing the same.


    ''Fuck.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t make any excuses anymore. The situation had gotten far too messy.


    ''Think.''


    The gears in his mind turned quickly, trying to figure out a way to ovee this situation.


    ''There is one way.''


    However, it wasn''t perfect, nor had it been thoroughly nned out. It was closer to a gamble. It was an extremelyckadaisical n that relied solely on the trust that he had built up so far with everyone present.


    ''But¡­''


    There was no other way. The situation had gotten tooplex for Kang-Woo to pretend that it had all been part of a demon''s scheme.


    ''Shit.''


    He wasn''t fond of strategies like this. If someone else were to hear what he was thinking of saying, they would yell at him that it was so absurd, and he wouldn''t be able to refute them in any way.


    ''I believe in you guys.''


    Kang-Woo turned and looked at each of hisrades.


    Still, even if they had great trust in him, there was a high probability that his n would fail.


    ''But if it works¡­''


    Then he would be able to act much more freely in the future.


    ''All right. Let''s roll the dice.''


    Nothing would be resolved if he remained silent. Since he''d decided on a n, the only thing left was to put it into action.


    "...I guess I can''t hide it any longer," Kang-Woo told hisrades while slowly taking off his mask. He looked at them with sad eyes and confessed, "I am the demon king of the Nine Hells."


    He gulped, took a deep breath, and kept talking.


    "Or at least I used to be," Kang-Woo said with a bitter smile. "That is, until the rebellion that Satan led."


    * * *


    There was a saying that a true lie contained 99% truth with just 1% lie woven in between. It meant that a lie that cleverly distorted the truth was far more effective than a 100% lie.


    Kang-Woo knew this very well, but he had not cleverly distorted the truth in any way during his time on Earth.


    ''To be more precise, there had been no need to.''


    Gaia, the Guardians, and all the other people he''d built a rtionship with¡­ they didn''t know much about Hell. Since they didn''t know anything, there hadn''t been a need for him to distort the truth. That was also why Kang-Woo had told 100% lies until this moment.


    ''But¡­''


    However, the situation had changed due to Balrog. It had be difficult for Kang-Woo to keep up the lie that he had been telling the others.


    ''Just thinking about it makes me angry.''


    Kang-Woo looked at Balrog, who was keeping his head on the ground, and sighed.


    ''You moron.''


    Of course, Kang-Woo wasn''t actually angry at Balrog. He knew that Balrog had reacted in such a way because he was really happy to see his lord, whom he hadn''t seen in such a long time. There was no way Balrog would''ve known that his actions would harm Kang-Woo''s position.


    Kang-Woo wished for Balrog to pick up on the truth behind the current situation, but Balrog was too dim-witted for Kang-Woo to expect him to be able to do that. Balrog was simply a subordinate who was loyal to the point of stupidity.


    ''There weren''t that many hints for him to take either.''


    There was no way Balrog would''ve known that after returning to Earth, Kang-Woo had hidden his identity and pretended to be a hero.


    ''But I really have to fix his habit of trying to take his own life whenever things go awry.''


    Kang-Woo was angry with Balrog because he was too loyal to him. If Balrog made even the slightest mistake, he always said things like he''d made a fatal mistake and would pay for it with his life. His excessive loyalty gave Kang-Woo a lot of stress.


    If anyone else had said that, Kang-Woo would have been able to ignore it, but in Balrog''s case, he couldn''t do that.


    "K-Kang-Woo? What do you mean?"


    "Y-You were the demon king, hyung-nim?"


    Gaia and Si-Hun couldn''t recover from the shock at the bomb-like revtion.


    ''I get it.''


    They hadn''t known each other for a long time, but they had bothe to trust him a lot thanks to all of the efforts he''d made. Hence, it made sense that they would react like that after Kang-Woo suddenly confessed that he was the demon king.


    "Yes. I used to be the demon king who ruled the Nine Hells."


    Kang-Woo raised his hand. He drew out pure demonic energy onto his hand without using the Ruler of Demonic Energy.


    Gaia gasped. She trembled in shock and took a step backward.


    "Y-You''ve been deceiving us all this time?" Grace McCubbin questioned.


    She took out her weapon and red at Kang-Woo with a sharp gaze.


    Si-Hun and Seol-Ah were fidgeting indecisively with faces full of disbelief.


    ''I expected these reactions.''


    Kang-Woo had known they would react that way. Actually, he''d thought their reactions would be much worse.


    ''Not bad.''


    He saw a possibility of his n seeding.


    ''Commencing Project Oh Kang-Woo: Warrior of Light!''


    He clenched his hands into fists.

 Chapter 171 - Oh Kang-Woo: Warrior of Light (3)

    Chapter 171 - Oh Kang-Woo: Warrior of Light (3)


    "I''m sorry. I was going to tell you all eventually, but¡­ I guess this is how ites out," Oh Kang-Woo expressed.


    "I-I don''t understand," Gaia voiced while making a shocked expression. "How could you, a human, be the demon king of Hell¡­ and what do you mean when you say Satan raised a rebellion¡­?"


    "I will exin from the beginning," Kang-Woo said. "Five years ago, on the Day of Cmity, I was absorbed by a ck gate and fell into Hell."


    "What¡­?"


    "What do you mean¡­"


    "I don''t know why I fell into Hell either. I''m not sure if it was a simple coincidence or if someone caused it to happen deliberately, but I can tell you that I fell into Hell on that day."


    There was a heavy silence.


    Kang-Woo continued exining, "I wasn''t even a yer. I was only a weak human, so I did everything I could to survive. While doing that, some of the demonic energy of Hell entered my body, and¡ª"


    "You became a demon," Gaia realized with a trembling voice.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    Someone who had epted demonic energy into their body couldn''t stay human. They either died because they couldn''t resist the power of demonic energy, or they became a demonic beast devoid of reason due to being unable to resist their desires¡­ Or they turned into a demon.


    "That''s right. After bing a demon, I fought to survive for a very, very long time."


    "What do you mean? It''s only been five years since the Day of Cmity,¡± Cha Yeon-Joo said with a hardened expression.


    Kang-Woo made a bitter smile. "It''s been five years on Earth, but an iparably greater amount of time has passed in Hell."


    "Just how many years did you spend there for you to be saying¡ª"


    "Ten millennia."


    "What?"


    "I was stuck in Hell for ten millennia."


    A heavy silence fell over them once more.


    Ten millennia¡­ was such a long time that they couldn''t even imagine what it was like. It was too hard to get a grasp on how long that was, so no one was able to say anything in response.


    [It is the truth. For the past ten millennia, the demon king went from the First to the Ninth H¡ª]


    "Balrog, be quiet."


    [As youmand.]


    What Balrog said this time was of help to Kang-Woo.


    A murmur spread among the others upon hearing Balrog testify that Kang-Woo had indeed spent ten millennia in Hell.


    Yeon-Joo was so surprised that she couldn''t keep her mouth closed.


    "R-Really? You spent ten millennia in Hell?" she asked with a trembling voice.


    "Yeah."


    "And¡­ you became the lord of Hell?"


    "I did, for a time."


    "Does that mean you aren''t anymore?"


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    Everyone''s attention focused on him.


    ''This is where it begins.''


    From here on was the important part.


    Everything he''d said until this point was the truth¡ªabout how five years ago, he''d fallen into Hell on the Day of Cmity and eventually be the lord of the Nine Hells during the ten millennia he spent in Hell.


    ''But a true lie¡­''


    A true lie contained 99% truth with just 1% lie woven in between.


    Kang-Woo told them the story he''d put together in his mind.


    "There are very powerful demons referred to as ''princes'' in Hell. I''ve been containing them in Hell by battling them."


    "Containing them?"


    "Yeah," Kang-Woo replied with a nod. "Because they had their sights on Earth."


    "¡­"


    "Among them, Satan was especially very interested in Earth."


    "Th-Then did you be the demon king to stop the princes of Hell from invading Earth?" Gaia asked.


    "No, that''s not it."


    He smiled bitterly and shook his head.


    ''I shouldn''t overexaggerate.''


    He couldn''t make himself seem excessively righteous or altruistic. A setting that went against what would be expected from a normal human would ruin the story''s usibility.


    "I''m not that righteous of a person. I just ended up bing the demon king while fighting for my life so that I wouldn''t be killed by demons," Kang-Woo continued with a calm voice. "But¡­ I couldn''t stand still when I saw that they were trying to invade the world I was born in. A long time had passed by, but I still had fond memories of Earth."


    "But if Satan ended uping to Earth, that means¡­"


    "Yes. It''s as you''re thinking."


    Kang-Woo clenched his hands into fists and bit his lip.


    ''Let''s get into the right mood.''


    The most important thing was his timing and performance.


    He trembled as he said quietly, "I lost to Satan. No matter how much I struggled, I was no match for him after he awakened the Demonic Sea and his 666 Authorities."


    "Ah¡­"


    "Satan took my power and usurped my position as the demon king. He consolidated his forces, created a massive Rift, and crossed to Earth with the other princes of Hell."


    "¡­"


    "I followed Satan to Earth¡­" Kang-Woo stated with sunken eyes and a strong voice, "...to stop him."


    Gaia remained silent.


    Kang-Woo could see that she was in turmoil.


    ''I get it.''


    It was unlikely that Gaia had thought of the possibility that the demon Satan and Kang-Woo were the same individual. Kang-Woo had created many alibis, so there was no way the others would think that.


    Regardless, they would still have a hard time believing in Kang-Woo''s words now that they knew he was a demon.


    ''From here on¡­''


    There was a saying that trust was contagious. This was something that people experienced in their daily life. Humans were simple creatures. If a person were unsure as to whether they should buy something, they were more likely to purchase it if someone nearby said it was a great item. After all, there was a reason why the term ''wingman'' was a thing.


    ''I will create the wave.''


    Kang-Woo turned his head toward Si-Hun. Si-Hun''s eyes turned hazy as he looked at Kang-Woo.


    [Authority of Subordination has been activated.]


    [You have sessfully controlled your Familiar''s actions.]


    "I believe you, hyung-nim."


    "P-Protector Kim Si-Hun?" Gaia asked in a flustered voice.


    Si-Hun nodded without hesitation. "Gaia, think of everything hyung-nim has done until now."


    "¡­"


    "If he were on the demons'' side, why would he fight so hard against them?"


    "B-But¡­" Gaia uttered hesitantly.


    She understood what Si-Hun was saying¡­ but how could they trust the words of a demon without any doubt whatsoever?


    "I trust Kang-Woo too," Han Seol-Ah chimed in.


    She was the next to step up.


    "At first, after seeing how much Kang-Woo liked kimchi stew, I honestly thought he was a bit of a weirdo," Seol-Ah said, gazing at Kang-Woo sadly. She extended her hand and carefully caressed his cheek. "But now¡­ I understand. It must be because you endured that immeasurably long time in Hell all by yourself."


    Tears dripped from Seol-Ah''s eyes.


    She didn''t know what kind of ce Hell was, but she could imagine based on Kang-Woo''s reactions the first time they''d met.


    ''He must have been so lonely,'' she thought while biting her lip.


    Among all the people here, she was the one who''d known Kang-Woo the longest. She recalled all the time she''d spent with him.


    ''That must have been why he had such lonely eyes.''


    Seol-Ah had asionally seen deep sorrow in Kang-Woo''s eyes, and she was now finally able to understand the reason behind it.


    "It''s okay. After meeting you, I''ve never been lonely, Seol-Ah," Kang-Woo expressed and held Seol-Ah''s hand, which was caressing his cheek.


    ''I didn''t expect this.''


    He hadn''t thought that Seol-Ah would step up to defend him. Nevertheless, thanks to her support, the small wave he''d made through Si-Hun had gotten bigger.


    ''I''ll twist things even more.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t just ride the wave that he had made. Just like how a healthy amount of push and pull was important in a rtionship, it was also important when lying.


    He held out the Guardians'' white mask in his possession toward Gaia.


    "Regardless, it doesn''t change the fact that I''ve been deceiving everyone," Kang-Woo said. He ced the mask in Gaia''s hand. "Effective immediately, I will leave the Guardians. I will forever disappear from your lives."


    "Ah¡­"


    "H-Hyung-nim!"


    "Wh-What are you talking about, Kang-Woo?!"


    Everyone was shocked by his bombshell of a deration.


    Kang-Woo hadn''t controlled Si-Hun with the Authority of Subordination this time, but Si-Hun still quickly ran toward him. Meanwhile, Seol-Ah shouted, seemingly about to cry.


    There was no need to mention how Tian Suyan, who had tantly announced that she had feelings for him, reacted. Kang Tae-Soo shook his head in shock.


    "Th-That''s a load of shit, you son of a bitch! Do you have any idea how much I''ve invested in you?!" Yeon-Joo shouted with her face turning red.


    After everyone''s heated reactions, all of their attention was ced on Gaia.


    "Kang-Woo¡­"


    She touched the mask he had returned to her while making a sad expression and biting her lip.


    ''Can I trust Kang-Woo?''


    Gaia thought of all the time she''d spent with him.


    She hadn''t known him for a long time. It had only been a couple of months¡­ but she''d learned a lot about him during that time.


    ''Kang-Woo is¡­''


    Kang-Woo was the one who had gotten the angriest after discovering that Satan had killed Alec Osborne and targeted Si-Hun''s life. He was also the one who had learned about the Demon Cult''s ns and tried harder than anyone else to stop them.


    After Satan plundered the Guardians'' vault, it was Kang-Woo once again who had woken them up from theircency. He was also the first one who had noticed Reynald had been in danger and shed genuine tears after he died.


    Moreover, Kang-Woo had always given her advice whenever she had been about to fall into despair.


    ''Kang-Woo¡­''


    How could she suspect him?


    Gaia tightly gripped the mask he''d given her. Her thin hands were trembling.


    "I trust you," Gaia stated.


    "...Gaia."


    "It doesn''t matter if you''re a demon or a demon king," Gaia continued quietly. "No darkness can cover the light that is within you."


    After all, Tirion, the God of Heroes, had chosen Kang-Woo.


    ''There must be a reason Lord Tirion chose Kang-Woo.''


    She had felt Tirion''s energy through Reynald, and she could tell how much he despised the demonic. Despite that, Tirion had chosen Kang-Woo.


    ''There is no way he wouldn''t have known.''


    There was no way Tirion hadn''t known about Kang-Woo''s true identity after connecting with him. Despite that, Tirion remained inside Kang-Woo. That could only mean one thing.


    ''He saw the light within Kang-Woo.''


    Gaia couldn''t help but think that.


    "Kang-Woo. Please remain in Guardians. We¡­ need you," Gaia voiced and returned the mask to Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo looked surprised, but he epted the mask.


    "Thank you for believing in me," he said.


    Right then¡­


    Fwoosh¡ª!!!


    The ck demonic energy flowing out of his body started to be dyed with brilliant golden light.


    "Aahh."


    The others gasped upon seeing a bright light shine from Kang-Woo.


    "I swear that I will save the world along with the Guardians, no matter what," Kang-Woo dered.


    They could sense his strong determination in his voice.


    Kang-Woo, who was still surrounded by golden light, put the white mask back on.


    He was a man who had been born in darkness, but he had now be light. Despite possessing the body of a demon, he was a hero more devoted than anyone else to justice and to protecting the world. This was the birth of Oh Kang-Woo, Warrior of Light.


    ''What an incredible production~!!''

 Chapter 172 - What?

    Chapter 172 - What?


    After the appearance of Lucifer''s retainers and the incident with the Demon Cult and Balrog, the Korean group''s time in South America came to an end.


    Once the Demon Cultists confirmed that Balrog had lost, they quickly escaped, and the monsters returned to normal soon after. The US soldiers helped the indigenous people emigrate and then began building a restoration base in Venezu, the only area in South America they could manage.


    Oh Kang-Woo''s group left the remaining tasks to the US soldiers and Grace McCubbin and returned to Korea. On the way back, there were hardly any conversations between Kang-Woo and the rest.


    One of the reasons was that there was a demon, who was over five meters tall, standing by his side constantly. However, the biggest reason was that Kang-Woo had revealed his hellish past.


    Even though they''d said that they trusted Kang-Woo, it was hard for them to treat him the same as before.


    ''I guess it''s simr to hearing that your friend used to be a violent criminal in the past.''


    It might be different with Kang-Woo though since he''d be a demon to survive after falling into Hell alone.


    ''To them, I''m probably like someone who ate human flesh to survive on a deserted ind.''


    That was probably the bestparison. They could understand Kang-Woo''s circumstances, but they had a hard time truly epting it because of their preconceived notions.


    ''Well, I''m sure it''ll be resolved over time.''


    Time didn''t solve everything, but Kang-Woo thought that, in his case, it would make things better. What they needed wasn''t time to trust Kang-Woo again but time to sort out their thoughts and ept a demon as arade.


    ''In any case, the situation itself has improved.''


    The saying ''A blessing in disguise'' was the best way to describe the situation.


    When his identity, which he''d done his best to conceal, had been exposed because of Balrog, Kang-Woo had racked his brain to figure out how to ovee the situation. Nevertheless, everything ended up working out well. He would be able to move more freely from now onward.


    ''The biggest advantage is that I''ll be able to use Balrog without restraint.''


    If Kang-Woo had to keep hiding the fact he was a demon, he''d have trouble using Balrog as an ally. Moreover, even if Kang-Woo were to use Balrog, he would have had to put on all kinds of ridiculous facades just like he''d done with Vaal Zahak.


    Being able to use Balrog freely as an ally had made the gamble much more worthwhile.


    ''Although it might look like a small matter, it isn''t.''


    Balrog''s power wasparable to that of the Guardians as an entire group. Kim Si-Hun might have the potential to surpass Balrog, but that wasn''t the case yet.


    Leaving everything aside, Balrog''s value could be summarized in Kang-Woo''s next thought.


    ''Balrog can face the princes of Hell.''


    It was unlikely that Balrog would be able to defeat a prince of Hell though. Everyone praised Balrog for being as powerful as a prince of Hell, but it was an undeniable fact that he was inferior to them in actualbat. However, if Kang-Woo were added to the equation, the pair would be a match for the princes.


    So, it was a huge gain for Kang-Woo that he could use Balrog without worrying about what the others would think.


    ''The same can''t be said for Vaal Zahak though.''


    Vaal Zahak had pretty much beenbeled as Satan''s subordinate. If Kang-Woo were to use him openly, there was a chance that he''d be used of being the actual person who had killed Reynald.


    ''That can''t happen.''


    Kang-Woo had only been epted as a warrior of light thanks to the existence of Satan. If it were revealed that he and Satan were the same being, everything would be over for real. All of humanity would take out their weapons and fight against him.


    For Kang-Woo, who dreamed of afortable life, that was something he had to avoid no matter what.


    [I''m sorry, my king. I had no idea of your circumstances¡­]


    "Well, you had no way of knowing, so it''s okay."


    They were in a building that was near the apartment building where Kang-Woo lived.


    Balrog was easily five meters tall, so Kang-Woo couldn''t let him into his home. That''s why Kang-Woo had bought a building and remodeled it so that Balrog could stay there.


    Kang-Woo was currently sitting in that very building. It had a ceiling that was three stories tall.


    Balrog lowered his head as he knelt before Kang-Woo.


    [I never expected the demon king would be deceiving the humans.]


    "Deceive? What are you talking about?"


    [Hm? Are you not assuming yourself as a warrior of light to stab the humans in the back when the timees?]


    "That''s nonsense, man."


    Kang-Woo sighed and shook his head.


    What kind of nonsense was Balrog saying? Kang-Woo was trying really hard to protect Earth.


    He proceeded to exin his objective to Balrog.


    After listening to Kang-Woo''s exnation, Balrog said, [The princes of Hell have revived¡­? N-No, more importantly, my king! Why would someone as grand as you protect weaklings like humans?! You must conquer this world and make it bow down to you!]


    "I''m not interested," Kang-Woo replied with a bored voice. "I''ve fought for more than long enough. I want to rest now."


    [Ngh¡­]


    "Well, you''re a demon, so you probably won''t understand."


    Demons didn''t understand the concept of peace and security. They were immortal, so such a thought process had been made impossible for them.


    ''If they could think that way, they would grow infinitely in number.''


    Like humans, demons reproduced and left descendants. Among them, there were even some who were capable of asexual reproduction. If they were a race that wanted peace and security, there would probably be almost a hundred billion demons in Hell.


    ''I''m not sure how angels do it, but demons maintain a poption bnce by killing each other.''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure who had made demons, but he couldn''t help but think they''d done a meticulous job. Of course, even among demons, there were a few who wanted to live a peaceful life, but they were the minority. The majority loved to battle and trample on their opponents, and Balrog was among the majority.


    "You''re not thinking of going against my will, are you?"


    [Of course not.]


    Balrog bowed his head.


    He instinctively yearned for destruction and conquest, but there was something that took priority over such instincts¡ªthemands of his master, Kang-Woo. Balrog wouldn''t hesitate to risk his life if it were for Kang-Woo.


    [If the demon king wishes for peace, then I will kill all of your enemies so that they cannot interrupt your rest.]


    "Uhh¡­ Well, sure. Anyway, since I finished exining my situation, let me ask you a few things."


    [Please ask me anything.]


    "Have there been any changes in Hell while I was gone?"


    Kang-Woo wasn''t worrying about his army that he''d left behind.


    ''The ancient demonic beasts.''


    It was the abnormality that he had heard about from Doomguard that had his concern. Apparently, the ancient demonic beasts, creatures that never left their territory, had been expanding their territory.


    Since the Demon Cult had begun summoning demons from the Ninth hell, Kang-Woo thought that it would be better if he heard more about that.


    [I actually had something to report to you in regards to that.] Balrog''s expression crumpled. [I believe Amon is nning something.]


    "Amon?" Kang-Woo uttered with a frown.


    Amon had been in Satan''s faction. However, he''d ultimately deserted it and joined Kang-Woo instead. Amon had low physicalbat capabilities, but he possessed exceptional knowledge in regards to magic. He was also the one who had helped Kang-Woo use the Hell Armaments to create a dimensional rift that led to Earth.


    "What do you mean by that exactly?"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he exuded a thick bloodlust.


    Balrog trembled a bit. He raised his head and looked into Kang-Woo''s eyes. They were still white with ck irises.


    [I am not exactly sure either. I do not have any evidence, but¡­ he has been fully immersed in his research ever since you left for Earth and hasn''te out since.]


    "But he''s always been like that."


    [But this time is quite serious. I haven''t seen his face at all since you left for Earth. I even tried to force myself in, but he''d blocked the door with a powerful barrier.]


    "He even blocked the door?"


    Kang-Woo furrowed his brows. Amon''s behavior was indeed odd.


    ''Well, I never really trusted him from the start.''


    After all, the reason why he''d epted Amon as a subordinate was that he had been the only one who knew how to use the Hell Armaments to create a Rift.


    "...Has he betrayed us?"


    [I am not entirely sure, but it is a fact that, the ancient demonic beasts started moving after he locked himself up. We even detected Behemoth making a move.]


    ¡°Behemoth made a move?¡±


    Behemoth was the strongest of the ancient demonic beasts and was also the father of Leviathan, one of the seven princes of Hell.


    ''Leviathan was a crossbreed of an ancient demonic beast and a demon, if I remember correctly.''


    There was not much known about Behemoth besides the fact that he was Leviathan''s father. He had never made a move during the ten millennia that Kang-Woo had been in Hell.


    "Damn."


    Kang-Woo felt uneasy.


    However, what was even more unpleasant than the uneasy feeling was that he couldn''t do anything about it.


    ''It''s not like I can go back to Hell.''


    He couldn''t summon them to Earth to get rid of them, but it was also impossible for him to return to Hell.


    ''I don''t even want to fucking go back.''


    Kang-Woo had gone through all sorts of hardships to return to Earth. He had no intention of going back to Hell.


    "What about the others? I heard from Doomguard that he was investigating it."


    [Doomguard and Argus are investigating but haven''t been able to find the exact reason.]


    "Damn."


    Kang-Woo never thought he would have to worry about the Nine Hells after returning to Earth.


    ''If I knew things would turn out like this, I would''ve killed Amon beforeing here.''


    Despite thinking that, he knew it didn''t make sense.


    He''d thought that once he was back on Earth, he would have nothing to do with Hell from that point onward. He''d never thought of the possibility of there being Gates or a Demon Cult.


    ''The only thing I can do at the moment is to grow stronger.''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    There was nothing else he could do to deal with the situation.


    ''I wasn''t able to reach 130 in Demonic Energy either.''


    Additionally, the Demon Cult was probably going to back off for a while after failing with Balrog''s summon.


    ''Do I have to wait until Lucifer''s forces attack the Demon Cult?''


    The only thing he could think of doing was to wait until Lucifer''s forces crossed to Earth from the continent of Aernor. Then he would attack them.


    "Haaa," Kang-Woo sighed deeply.


    His head was hurting.


    ''I can only hope nothing moreplicated happens.''


    His brain capacity was already reaching its limit.


    [More importantly, my king.]


    "Yeah?"


    Balrog looked around before asking, [Where is Lilith?]


    "What do you mean? Lilith is in Hell."


    Kang-Woo shook his head as if he didn''t even want to hear anything about Lilith.


    [Pardon?] Balrog tilted his head in confusion. [But Lilith came to Earth before me¡­]


    "What?" Kang-Woo''s eyes widened. "What the fuck?"


    Lilith was already on Earth?

 Chapter 173 - The Letter She Left

    Chapter 173 - The Letter She Left


    "W-wait. What are you talking about?"


    Oh Kang-Woo''s vision blurred, his ears heated up, and his head started swimming. He had never expected nor imagined to hear something like that.


    "Lilith is already on Earth?"


    Balrog nodded.


    [Yes. She went around proudly boasting that the demon king had finally called her before going¡­]


    Balrog frowned aggressively. Balrog already looked scary, so his scowl made him look like a character from a horror movie. He anxiously bit his lip and said with sincere concern, [Kuh. That damn girl is so arrogant just because she''s beautiful¡­ My king, you mustn''t fall for her temptations.]


    Kang-Woo coldly replied, "Shut up."


    [Pardon?]


    "Shut the hell up for a second."


    Kang-Woo trembled while grabbing his hair.


    ''No.''


    Squelch.


    The sound of dozens of green tentacles wriggling¡­ Sticky mucus flowed down from the tentacles, and thousands of suckers licked his skin. Eighteen eyes and a long tongue simr to a snake''s brushed past his lips.


    ''Oh God, fuck.''


    They were memories of the past¡­


    They were his trauma¡ªa stigma that was imprinted in his mind. They were memories, emotions, and feelings he could never free himself from.


    ''Si-Hun, I''m sorry for calling you stupid.''


    He''d thought Kim Si-Hun was stupid for being unable to ovee his past trauma.


    But what about him?


    ''Save me.''


    In the dark nights of Hell, every time that Kang-Woo tried to fall asleep in his bed, which he had painstakingly made in Hell where fluffy things were nonexistent¡­ tentacles would enter his nket. When he hurriedly lifted it, he saw eighteen red eyes looking up at him.


    Damp hands lifted his clothes, and mucus dripped over him and trickled down his body while wetting his clothes. As he opened his mouth to scream, a long tongue swiftly shot out and entered his mouth.


    "I love you, my king."


    ''AAAAAAAHHHHH!''


    Just like a student who had met his bully¡­ like prey that hade across a predator¡­ he felt chills, and his body started to tremble.


    "L-Lilith is¡­ on¡­ E-Earth?"


    Fear took control of his body, and memories of those dark nights haunted him.


    One could say that if he hated her so much, he could have just prevented her from entering his chambers, but it wasn''t that simple.


    Sleeping together with Lilith was pretty much impossible to refuse because not only were they in an alliance, but she was also his ''bride,'' although in name only.


    Take, for instance, a country where the king did not sleep with his queen at all and the people of that country cared deeply for, loved, and worshiped her.


    Kang-Woo could not afford for his army to be split when he was already struggling to face the forces of the seven princes of Hell, so he had no other choice but to sleep with her.


    "Urp."


    He wanted to throw up. He covered his mouth with his hands.


    Maybe it was hard to believe from how he had reacted, but it wasn''t that he hated Lilith. There was no way that he would hate her when she was so devoted to him while expressing her loyalty and love for him.


    ''That was the problem.''


    If she were an enemy, he would''ve been able to just kill her. But she was an ally. Not just that, she was one of the five most important figures within his demon army. Not only that, she loved him so much that she''d probably even rip out her own heart to give to him if he wanted it.


    Politically and sentimentally, it was hard for him to reject herpletely.


    ''Yeah, for fuck''s sake, it''s my fault for being a sucker.''


    He thought about Balrog and Lilith. If he were asked to choose whether they were important to him or not, he would most definitely choose that they were. After all, they''d spent over a thousand years together and had gone through all sorts of hardships.


    Even someone who had just the tiniest bit of humanity left would grow to be attached to someone after going through thick and thin with them.


    [Is something the matter?]


    "Haaa. No, forget it."


    He sighed and shook his head. He''d spent a lot of time with Lilith for numerous reasons, and that had given him trauma that he could never escape from.


    "That aside¡­"


    He narrowed his eyes.


    ''If she came here, it was probably back then.''


    He recalled what had happened in Japan¡ªwhen he''d barely been able to stop Lilith from being summoned.


    The battle with Akiyama, the lunatic Demon Cultist, and the events after that¡­ Lilith''s body hadn''t appeared from the Rift, so there was a chance her soul had entered Kurosaki Yurie''s body.


    "Ah."


    A short exmation left his mouth.


    Kurosaki Yurie¡­ He was finally starting to understand her weird actions.


    Kang-Woo''s expression paled.


    ''Yeah. That''s why she did it.''


    The reason why the granddaughter of the emperor had stood by his side instead of Fujimoto Ryoma''s¡­


    How easily she had listened to his requests to the point it was suspicious¡­


    Everything could be exined if Lilith was inside Kurosaki Yurie.


    "Huh? Wait."


    An exmation mark appeared above his head, and his eyes widened.


    ''Isn''t this a good thing?''


    The only reason he shunned Lilith was because of her appearance. People might criticize him for shunning someone for their looks, but in Lilith''s case, her looks were too much.


    ''Spend a thousand years stuck with her, and let''s see if you can still say the same shit.''


    It was as if a giant squid stuck itself onto someone twenty-four seven and said it loved them.


    Kang-Woo stood up and clenched his fists.


    ''If Lilith is inside Kurosaki Yurie¡­!''


    The core problem would be solved.


    Kurosaki Yurie''s beauty was on par with Han Seol-Ah''s.


    ''Well, it''s not like I want to do that kind of thing with Lilith after all this time.''


    Seol-Ah''s face popped up in his head. Kang-Woo nodded while licking his lips.


    ''Anyway, this is good news.''


    He wasn''t sure how strong Lilith was after having entered a human''s body, but the source of a demon''s power was their soul. Even Lucifer had recovered his power thanks to his soul and his Hell Armament, so there was a chance she''d have recovered her old strength.


    Balrog and Lilith¡­


    ''I hope I''m not creating the demon king army on Earth.''


    He felt a bit uneasy, but the situation was overall encouraging. He took out his smartphone, searched for Kurosaki Yurie''s number, and called her.


    Brrrrr.


    "Mm."


    No matter how long he waited, she did not answer. He called a few more times.


    "She isn''t answering."


    He frowned.


    ''It can''t be helped.''


    Kang-Woo turned his body.


    [My king?]


    "I have to go somewhere, so stay here."


    [If you have business to take care of, I will join you,] Balrog said, motivated.


    "No, it''s fine. It doesn''t require many hands. Also, if you go out in your current body, it would just cause chaos."


    [Ngh.]


    "I''ll call you if something happens, so keep this in your ear."


    Kang-Woo handed him amunication device that fit Balrog''s ear, and Balrog politely epted it.


    [I will wait for your call.]


    Kang-Woo did not respond. He walked out of the building, used the Authority of the Sky, and rose into the air.


    ''Kurosaki Yurie is in Tokyo, I believe.''


    He had heard that she lived in the emperor''s castle.


    He stomped in the air, and his body shot forward at incredible speed.


    * * *


    Kang-Woo reached Tokyo in less than an hour and was standing atop the luxurious castle. He found the door and entered.


    "Wh-Who goes there?!"


    The bodyguards guarding the castle''s interior quickly surrounded him.


    Kang-Woo took out a white mask.


    "I am a member of Guardians. I am here because there is something I need to tell Princess Kurosaki Yurie."


    "Guardians¡­?"


    "Ah, wait."


    Guardians was a secret organization that wasn''t publicly known, but the chief executives of each country knew about them and worked together with them. It was only natural that the guards protecting Kurosaki Yurie knew about Guardians.


    "Please, step aside."


    At that moment, a young man appeared from behind the guards.


    "C-Captain Ito."


    "I know him. He is indeed a member of Guardians, so you may go back to your positions."


    "Yes, sir!"


    He was a young man who looked calm and had narrow eyes.


    Kang-Woo remembered seeing him in photos.


    "Are you Ito Shinji?"


    Ito Shinji was a member of Guardians and one of the protectors chosen by Gaia.


    "I am. This is our first time meeting in person, Kang-Woo. I''ve heard a lot about you from Gaia."


    "There''s something I must tell Princess Kurosaki Yurie."


    He didn''t have time to make formal introductions, so Kang-Woo told him his reason foring.


    Ito Shinji''s expression darkened.


    "Could you follow me for a second?"


    Kang-Woo followed Ito Shinji into a in-looking room. There were no traces of someone being inside.


    "This is¡­"


    "Princess Kurosaki Yurie''s room."


    "Is she out at the moment?"


    "No."


    Ito Shinji shook his head with a grim expression.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''Wait, is she¡­''


    "Princess Kurosaki Yurie has been missing for the past month."


    ''Fucking hell.''


    His uneasy feeling was right.


    ''Where the hell did she go?''


    If it was about a month ago, it was while the world was working together to collect the Rift Seeds.


    "Do you know where she went?"


    "No. We''ve searched throughout the entire country, but¡­" Ito Shinji sighed. He went to Kurosaki Yurie''s drawer and took out a white envelope. "This is a letter that Princess Kurosaki Yurie told me to give to Mr. Oh Kang-Woo if you ever came to visit her."


    "¡­ What does it say?"


    There was no way they hadn''t read it. Someone who was like the leader of the country had suddenly disappeared, so Kang-Woo was sure they had already checked the letter.


    Ito Shinji shook his head while smiling bitterly.


    "It''s written in unknown letters. She had probably set it up so that only you could understand it."


    "Why didn''t you contact me first?"


    "She said that if we contacted you first, the letter would burn and disappear. I am not sure how that is possible, but we couldn''t take any chances."


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo grabbed the letter.


    ''What is she nning to do?''


    He ripped the envelope open and took out the letter. As soon as he touched the paper, the ck letters started to move. The letter was written in Korean.


    ''When did she learn Korean?''


    Leaving his question aside, he started to read the letter.


    [To my dear demon king,


    If you are reading this letter, you must have figured out my identity. If you hadn''t, you would have no reason toe visit ''Kurosaki Yurie.'']


    ''How perceptive.''


    She waspletely different from Balrog in that sense.


    Kang-Woo nodded and started to read the following paragraph.


    [First, I would like to apologize for having hidden my identity despite havinge to Earth by borrowing the body of this human.]


    ''Oh yeah. Now that I think about it, why was she hiding her identity?''


    [I didn''t have the courage to stand before you¡­ with this filthy appearance, my king.]


    "What?"


    He couldn''t help but curse.


    "What the hell is she talking about?"


    Filthy?


    Kurosaki Yurie was a beautiful girl by all standards.


    [I have been searching for ways to get out of this filthy appearance to return to the one you used to love.]


    "No."


    [And while I have been, I finally found a way.]


    "Fuck no."


    He couldn''t say anything but ''no.''


    [Fufufu. Are you not already excited? My dear demon king, my heart is already about to burst from the thought of reuniting with you.]


    "No, but why¡­? Why the fuck¡­"


    [There are quite a few humans familiar with controlling demonic energy. They are going to help me recover my original appearance.]


    "F-Fucking what?"


    [Come to think of it, you said that the Demon Cult dared to serve the likes of Satan as the demon king, did you not? Fufu. I will take this opportunity and make sure they learn who the true demon king is.]


    "A-Aaaahhh."


    His agape mouth could not close.


    [I will join the Demon Cult and spread the identity of the true demon king. And once I recover my original appearance, I wille back to you.]


    His hands trembled. He felt like he was about to cry.


    [My dear king, please wait a bit longer.]


    [Sincerely, your Lilith. Chu ?]


    When he saw thest heart, he couldn''t resist anymore.


    Rip! Rip!


    "ARRRGGGHHH!"


    He ripped the letter apart and roared.


    "WHY?! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!!!"


    "Wh-What is the matter?!"


    He extended his hand and grabbed Shinji''s cor.


    "What the fuck? What the fuck did I do wrong?!!"


    "I-I beg your pardon?"


    "Why me?! Why fucking me?!! What did I do wrong?!!"


    ''Why am I the only one who can''t be happyyyyyyyyy?!!''

 Chapter 174 - In Search of Her

    Chapter 174 - In Search of Her


    "Kang-Woo?" Ito Shinji asked.


    "Haaa. Haaa."


    Oh Kang-Woo panted heavily. He looked at Ito Shinji with bloodshot eyes.


    Shinji was frightened by Kang-Woo''s sudden change in attitude.


    "Wh-What is the matter? Just what was written in that lett¡ª"


    "CCTV."


    "I''m sorry?"


    "Please show me all of the CCTV footage around the area when Princess Kurosaki Yurie disappeared."


    "But we''ve already investigated¡ª"


    "Please show me."


    Rumble.


    The entire building shook. A strong bloodlust poured out of Kang-Woo.


    "Kuh!"


    Shinji''s expression hardened after he felt a huge pressure weighing down on his entire body. It was a huge energy that he wouldn''t even fathom the idea of resisting.


    "U-Urghh."


    His hands trembled. He couldn''t breathe properly. Shinji looked up at Kang-Woo in disbelief.


    ''This is¡­''


    The power of a hero who''d received the power of Tirion, God of Heroes.


    He''d heard the rumors, but actually seeing the power of a god with his own eyes made him tremble.


    "J-Just a moment, please."


    Shinji moved quickly, and Kang-Woo followed him. Shinji guided him into a room with dozens of monitors. It was probably the room from where they watched over the emperor and Kurosaki Yurie.


    Shinji pointed to one side.


    "The videos over there are the ones that were recorded when Princess Kurosaki Yurie disappeared."


    "Thank you."


    Kang-Woo sat down. The Kurosaki Yurie of one month before could be seen on the screen.


    ''She''s fortunately still in her human appearance at the time of the video.''


    Going back to her original form couldn''t be that easy, so he still had some hope.


    ''I have to find clues.''


    It was something he had to do, even at the expense of his life.


    Kang-Woo looked through the footage and found a video of Kurosaki Yurie sneaking somewhere in the middle of the night. He watched her easily jump over the castle''s walls and meet up with a man.


    "Pause it."


    Kang-Woo looked at the man she''d met.


    ''I can''t see his face.''


    He wasn''t sure what magic had been used, but only his face was blurry. It didn''t matter how much they zoomed in; they couldn''t see the man''s face.


    "We''ve tried to search for the man''s identity, but as you can see, his face ispletely covered."


    "Is it the same for the footage after this?"


    "Well¡­" Shinji slurred the end of his sentence. Then, he sighed and resumed the footage. "You should watch to the very end."


    The man grabbed Kurosaki Yurie''s hand, and then¡­


    "Ah."


    She and the man disappeared as if they''d teleported.


    Shinji said, "After this, we weren''t able to find traces of Princess Kurosaki Yurie."


    "Shit."


    Kang-Woo let out a short curse, pulled at his hair, and sighed.


    ''I have to find her.''


    It wasn''t just to stop Lilith from returning to her original horrifying appearance.


    ''I mean, I want to stop that from happening too.''


    His mind was in jumbles. A portion of the letter popped up in his head. She had written that she would spread his name throughout the Demon Cult.


    ''Fuuuuuuuck.''


    That was the biggest problem. She wanted to spread his identity throughout the Demon Cult.


    ''That could seriously mess things up.''


    He had somehow managed to resolve the situation back when Balrog had worshiped him in front of hisrades, but what if the Demon Cult began worshiping him as the demon king on top of that?


    ''If that happens, it will really be the end.''


    He would no longer be able to use Satan''s name as the one leading the Demon Cult.


    Kang-Woo anxiously bit his lip.


    ''But chances of that happening should be low.''


    He wasn''t sure who the Aspects of Evil leading the Demon Cult were, but they''d probably nurtured the forces of the Demon Cult for more than a thousand years.


    There was no way they would offer Kang-Woo their forces just because of Lilith''s words, whichcked credibility.


    ''The problem is¡­''


    Lilith was far more capable than anyone could imagine.


    He couldn''t rx. After all, it was Lilith who had created a solid force for him when he had be the public enemy of the seven princes of Hell. She had outstanding skills when it came to controlling people.


    Kang-Woo looked at the footage of Lilith and the unknown man disappearing a couple times.


    "Is there nothing you''ve discovered about this man?"


    "He''s around 170¨C175 cm tall and probably weighs around 60kg. As you can see, he doesn''t have any wrinkles on his hand, so he can''t be more than forty years old."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. What Shinji said were things one could guess by looking at the footage, so it was as if they hadn''t learned anything at all.


    ''Shit.''


    Around 170¨C175 cm tall, weighing about 60kg, and in his twenties to thirties¡­ These were the physical characteristics of most young Japanese men.


    ''I can''t make any conclusions based on this.''


    Even though the Japanese poption had decreased after the Day of Cmity, they couldn''t point out who the man Kurosaki Yurie had met up with was just based on these specifications.


    ''First, based on the letter¡­''


    The man was likely the Demon Cultist whom Lilith had made contact with.


    Shinji continued, "There is one clue we managed to acquire from the footage that could identify the man."


    "What is it?"


    "Pay attention to this part here."


    Ito Shinji reyed the video in slow motion, focusing on when the man, who had been waiting for Kurosaki Yurie atop a building, jumped down from the rooftop.


    Considering a yer''s superhuman physical capabilities, it wasn''t impressive.


    "Here."


    Shinji pointed to the falling man''s stomach. Although it was just for a short moment, the man''s stomach was visible through his fluttering clothes.


    On the stomach was¡­


    "A scar."


    "Yes. It seems like his stomach was pierced with a sword."


    "¡­"


    "Therefore, we''ve searched through hospital records, but¡­ we haven''t been able to figure out that man''s identity yet."


    Shinji''s exnation ended.


    Kang-Woo fell into thought while looking at the man''s scar.


    ''Wait¡­''


    A Demon Cultist, a scar on his stomach, and someone Kurosaki Yurie would contact¡­


    Those three facts were entwined in Kang-Woo''s head. His eyes shone.


    ''Akiyama.''


    The man who''d summoned Lilith in the past.


    He''d summoned her for an absurd reason, and the other Demon Cultists worshiped her to the point that they actually seemed crazy.


    And¡­


    ''He''s a fucking pervert.''


    He''d summoned Lilith because she was supposedly the dream of all men.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''The Demon Cultist Lilith contacted was Akiyama.''


    He couldn''t think of anyone else who fulfilled these three conditions.


    "... Mr. Ito."


    "Yes?"


    "If you knew this man''s face, could you find his location?"


    "Huh? Y-Yes, but how will you¡ª"


    "This is him."


    Kang-Woo infused his energy into the Key of the Demonic Sea, which was on his right middle finger. The Key of the Demonic Sea could be turned into things other than weapons, and he could transform it into anything he imagined. That''s how useful this Transcendent-grade weapon, the Key of the Demonic Sea, was.


    Gurgle.


    The Key of the Demonic Sea turned into a ck liquid and transformed in the air, creating Akiyama''s face based on Kang-Woo''s memory.


    "This is¡­"


    "There are a few things that make me suspect this man is the culprit. Please start investigating by using this man''s face."


    "J-Just a moment, please."


    Shinji took a picture of the face created with the Key of the Demonic Sea and ran off somewhere.


    "Fuuu," Kang-Woo sighed and clenched his fist.


    ''I managed to find a clue.''


    He had managed to find something through the fact that Lilith had made contact with Akiyama. He just had to wait for Shinji to find out more about him.


    ''Please.''


    His legs trembled anxiously, and he looked at the ceiling with a desperate expression.


    ''I hope I''m not toote.''


    * * *


    The remains of destroyed buildings filled a dark, empty tunnel. It was the ce where the Demon Cult had tried to summon Lilith in the past. It was under Sapporo Station, which had been destroyed after Kang-Woo and Fujimoto Ryoma had be involved in the ritual.


    A woman was walking down the tunnel filled with heaps of rubble.


    "It seems the preparations are finallyplete."


    A man with freckles quickly nodded. "Yes, they are!"


    "Fufu. Well done, Cardinal Akiyama."


    "N-Not at all! I am willing to do anything as long as it will help you recover your true form!" Akiyama said, smiling widely as he looked at her.


    "How is it going to work exactly?"


    "We are going to create a massive Rift that connects to the Nine Hells. We will then drag demonic energy out of it to recreate your body based on the information engraved in your soul."


    "Hmmm. Is something like that possible?"


    "Huhu. This is all thanks to the knowledge given to us by the Aspects," Akiyama proudly said. "Now that the Gaia System has weakened considerably, we can do much more than before."


    "Is Satan among the Aspects you speak of?"


    "Mm. I''m sorry. That''s something not even I know. Information about the Aspects is highly ssified even within the Demon Cult¡­"


    "I see."


    "B-But once you regain your true form, I am sure you will be able to meet with them, Lady Lilith!" Akiyama said in a fuss.


    Lilith nodded while smiling. A colossal amount of sexiness emitted from her.


    Akiyama was beaming with his mouth wide open.


    Lilith said, "I''m d. I''ve wanted to meet with them. Oh, and have you finished what I asked you to?"


    "Oh, we are still in the middle of it."


    Akiyama nodded.


    What Lilith asked of him was¡­ to spread the existence of the true demon king.


    Akiyama secretly distributed the Book of Hell, which Lilith had written herself, throughout the Demon Cult.


    "But does the demon king really exist? From what I''ve learned from the Demon Cult, the seven princes of Hell maintain the bnce of the Nine Hells."


    "Fufu. You will learn soon enough." A wide smile appeared on her face. "If the preparations areplete, let us begin right away."


    "H-Hehe. You will regain your true form atst, Lady Lilith."


    "Hoho. You can look forward to¡­ the reward that I will be giving you," Lilith sexily said while stroking Akiyama''s chin.


    But that was only for a short while. After turning away from Akiyama, she took out her handkerchief and scrubbed her hand clean as if she''d touched something filthy.


    "H-Hehe."


    Having not seen Lilith wipe her hand, Akiyama smiled like an idiot while staring at her back.


    ''Finally!''


    He clenched his fists. Soon, he''d be able to meet the Subus Queen.


    ''She''s already this beautiful, so¡­''


    He couldn''t even imagine how beautiful she''d be once she recovered her true form.


    Akiyama excitedly put his hands on top of the magic circle. The dozens of Demon Cultists who were there to help him began chanting.


    "Guys! This is the moment when our long-cherished dream bes reality!"


    A single tear dripped down Akiyama''s cheek.


    "Pull up Hitomi, guys!!"


    A ck Rift started to form.

 Chapter 175 - Advent of Lilith (1)

    Chapter 175 - Advent of Lilith (1)


    "Okay, we will start the ritual now."


    The magic circle shone. A ck Rift appeared, and demonic energy sloshed out of it.


    For humans, demonic energy changed their body into that of a demon. For demons, it gave them even greater power.


    Of course, the presence of demonic energy in the air didn''t mean that all demons possessed the ability to harness that power. If that were the case, all the demons in Hell would be able to grow infinitely stronger. A highly advanced technique was needed to use the demonic energy in the air.


    The Demon Cultists began chanting, "Zazas, zazas, nasatanada zazas."


    As the chant continued, the ck light flowing out from the magic circle intensified.


    ''As expected of the knowledge given to us by the Aspects.''


    Akiyama''s eyes shone.


    The Aspects of Evil were the almighty beings who led the Demon Cult. It was said that they''d been alive for thousands of years. The word ''knowledgeable'' wasn''t even adequate to describe them.


    ''I wonder if the demon king that Lady Lilith talks about is more powerful than them.''


    Akiyama was a loyal Demon Cultist, so he couldn''t help but have some doubts about it. The knowledge that the Aspects of Evil had given them was too glorious for them to simply believe what Lilith said.


    How to summon a demon, how to fuse with a demon''s soul by summoning it inside your body, and even how to nullify the Gaia System that had been created with the power of a god¡­ The information on all of those things was from a ne of knowledge unreachable to humans.


    ''I''m sure Lady Lilith is mistaken.''


    Akiyama hadn''t read the Book of Hell. He''d been busy working on the ritual to return Lilith to her original form, so he''d just assisted in its distribution with the help of the Demon Cult branch in the Middle East.


    ''I''ll read itter.''


    He was curious about the contents of the book, which led Lilith to confidently im that they would soon know who the true demon king was.


    ''No, that isn''t what''s important right now.''


    Akiyama turned his head and gazed at Kurosaki Yurie¡ªno, Lilith lying on the altar.


    "Ehehehehe."


    It was obvious he''dugh like an idiot after seeing such a beauty.


    ''I wonder what reward she''ll give me.''


    He stroked his weapon, the red whip. His heart seemed to have been set alight with passion, and an exciting sensation spread to the lower part of his body. He imagined Lilith looking down at him in disgust and stepping on him with her high heels.


    "That is a reward in this industry."


    Akiyama licked his lips, drooling as he recalled the scenes that he had dreamed of.


    Immersed in his delusion, he put more effort into casting the spell. ck demonic energy moved toward Lilith, enveloping her.


    "Whoa."


    Little by little, new skin was being created by the demonic energy that epassed her. The human body of Kurosaki Yurie was slowly turning into that of a demon.


    Rumble!


    "Huh?!"


    "C-Cardinal Akiyama! The Rift is acting strangely!"


    "W-We cannot control it very well!"


    Akiyama''s subordinates shouted in desperation.


    With a hardened expression, Akiyama yelled, "Do not falter! Get a hold of yourselves, guys!"


    "Kurgh! Cough!!"


    One of his subordinates who was also casting the spell suddenly coughed up blood and copsed.


    CRACK!


    The size of the Rift became bigger, and even more demonic energy flowed out from it.


    "Kuh!"


    It was an unexpected situation.


    Akiyama bit his lip.


    "Y-Your Eminence! The Rift is going out of control!"


    "W-We have to stop it!"


    His subordinates hurriedly shouted.


    The dimensional wall worked as a sort of dam¡ªa very solid one that blocked dimensions. What Rifts did was pierce that dam for a short while.


    If this Rift that they were dealing with were to run wild, a huge amount of energy from Hell mighte out at once and bring about great danger to those around the Rift.


    "Kuh!! Sh-Shit!"


    Normally, Akiyama would stop the ritual and close the Rift.


    "No! We cannot give up!" Akiyama shouted.


    However, they''d been waiting for this for a very long time and had experienced the bitter taste of failure before. They couldn''t just give up here.


    "Guys! We will keep pushing forward!"


    ''Toward our dream!''


    * * *


    "We''ve found it."


    Oh Kang-Woo, who had been staying in the castle and helping Ito Shinji, quickly stood up and walked over.


    "Where?" he asked.


    "Take a look at this footage," Shinji said and pressed a remote control.


    CCTV footage appeared on the monitor, showing Akiyama getting on a boat on the coast.


    "His name is Akiyama Ichiro. He officially went missing a few years ago. After conducting an open investigation, we managed to find a witness who testified that they sold him a boat."


    "Sold him a boat?"


    "Yes. Apparently, he bought a giant cruiser that cost billions of yen and had set sail somewhere with dozens of people."


    "Did you find out where he went?"


    "If we were to make a prediction based on their route, it''s most likely Sapporo."


    Sapporo¡­ was a ce where restoration measures had yet to begin after an SS-rank Gate appeared there.


    ''They must be going to where they performed the ritual the first time,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    There was a high chance that was the case.


    In the first ce, the demon they''d tried to summon there was Lilith. So, Sapporo was the ideal location for the ritual, and it likely still had all of the basic infrastructure required from thest attempt.


    ''I should have killed him back then.''


    Kang-Woo regretted not having killed Akiyama when he had the chance.


    He said, "I will go to Sapporo."


    "I will have a private jet ready for¡ª"


    "No need."


    Kang-Woo jumped up and levitated.


    ''It would be best if I could request assistance, but¡­''


    He didn''t even have time to do that. Actually, it would be better for him to go alone to stop Lilith from bbering things about Kang-Woo being the true demon king, simr to what Balrog had done.


    Before leaving, Kang-Woo made sure to reassure Shinji by saying something warrior of light-esque.


    "I will rescue the princess no matter what."


    "...We will trust you and wait here, Kang-Woo."


    Then Kang-Woo opened a window and flew toward Sapporo with a zing will.


    ''I will stop the advent of Lilith.''


    BOOM!


    He shot forward, breaking the sound barrier. The wind raged around him as a powerful shockwave spread out.


    ''Faster.''


    Tokyo and Sapporo weren''t that far away. Kang-Woo flew to Sapporo with all his might.


    ''I see it.''


    He saw an ind across the sea. It was Hokkaido.


    Kang-Woo frowned deeply while looking at it.


    "Shit!"


    He could feel an enormous amount of demonic energy, even greater than when Balrog had been summoned, shake all of Sapporo.


    ''Something''s off.''


    The demonic energy was running wild.


    He''d seen the Demon Cult''s rituals numerous times, but this was his first time seeing one like that.


    ''It''s not because of Lilith.''


    He had no idea what would happen if the demonic energy kept running amok like that.


    Kang-Woo quickly went toward where the demonic energy was leaking out from.


    Rumble¡ª!!


    At the location of the ritual, a demonic energy vortex was shaking its surroundings.


    "Zazas, zazas, nasatanada zazas!!!"


    There, Kang-Woo saw Akiyama chanting desperately. There were other Demon Cultists as well, but they''d all died.


    Kang-Woo summoned Gungnir.


    ''Wait.''


    His hands stopped moving in midair. He realized that the one barely keeping the wild demonic energy under control was Akiyama.


    ''Shit.''


    Closing the Rift was the priority. If it got any bigger, there was no guessing what could happen.


    Kang-Woo turned to the Rift and saw a woman lying on the altar.


    Squelch, squelch.


    He gasped at the sight. The woman had tentacles, which wriggled around while making disgusting noises. Lilith''s body was getting closer to its original form.


    "A-Aaahhh!"


    The nightmarish memories returned to Kang-Woo. His mouth fell open, and he trembled anxiously.


    ''I have to stop it.''


    He had to close the Rift no matter what.


    Kang-Woo approached the Rift and summoned up all of his demonic energy.


    Crunch¡ª!!


    There was immense pressure on his hands.


    This Rift was iparable to the one that Lilith had been summoned through the first time. The vortex of demonic energy that was running amok was as powerful as a waterfall pouring out from a copsed dam.


    "Kurgh!"


    Kang-Woo felt like he would be crushed by the flood of demonic energy. He now possessed powerparable to that of the seven princes of Hell, but blocking this colossal flood of demonic energy with just his body was too much.


    "Raaaahhhh!"


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Predation, but it didn''t have much effect. It was like trying to scoop water from a waterfall with a basket. The only solution was to close the entrance with immense power.


    "Y-You! You''re from back then!" Akiyama shouted.


    ¡°Kuurrggh!¡± Kang-Woo frowned and turned his head to face Akiyama. "Come help me, you crazy fucker!"


    Kang-Woo was sure that Akiyama knew what would happen if the Rift ranpletely out of control.


    "No! I cannot do that until the ritual is over!"


    "You dumb fuck!! Forget the fucking ritual. We''re all gonna die at this rate!!"


    "I don''t care! If it''s for her, I would dly give up my life!"


    "ARRGGHH!! YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!"


    The ritual continued. Kang-Woo saw Lilith returning to her original form as he tried to close the Rift.


    Kang-Woo shouted to Akiyama with a pale expression, "You horny ass dipshit!! Stop!! Stop it!! What does the subus queen matter if you''re dead?!"


    "When do you think that a man dies?"


    "What?"


    Akiyama continued with a passionate gaze and a firm voice, "When he loses everything but his two balls?"


    "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!!"


    "No! That is not when a man dies!!"


    "STOP FUCKING AROUND AND STOP THE RITUAL!!!"


    Akiyama continued with the ritual even while coughing up blood.


    "A man dies when¡­ he has everything but his two balls!!!"


    BOOM. Akiyama stomped on the ground.


    As he persisted with the ritual, blood spurted from his eyes, nose, and mouth.


    "A horny ass dipshit, you say? A delusional perverted otaku, you say? A pathetic virgin who has never held a girl''s hand, you say?!"


    "I didn''t go that far, dude!!" Kang-Woo interjected.


    "I¡­ will never give up!! Even if this is a delusion or a useless dream¡­!! I will not give up on my ideals!!!"


    Akiyama raised his hands, and the demonic energy from the Rift concentrated on Lilith. That explosive amount of energy allowed dozens of tentacles to emerge from her body.


    "S-STOP!! STOP IT!! L-LILITH IS¡ª!" Kang-Woo yelled as his face turned even paler.


    "Today¡­! My ideals¡­! Will surpass dimensions!!"


    "STOP, YOU MOTHERFUCKERRR!!!"

 Chapter 176 - Advent of Lilith (2)

    Chapter 176 - Advent of Lilith (2)


    "AAAAAHHHHHH!!" Oh Kang-Woo released a scream mixed with curses.


    The Rift was going out of control, and Lilith was getting closer to how she looked in Hell. Meanwhile, Akiyama continued to spout unintelligible bullshit.


    Kang-Woo was irritated by all of those things.


    ''Shit! Shit! Shit!!''


    He''d felt relieved when he learned that Lilith had entered Kurosaki Yurie''s body.


    Kang-Woo had felt bad; he''d rejected Lilith''s advances numerous times simply because of her appearance. She had been so devoted to him that he had even considered enduring it all and suggesting that they sleep together.


    Despite that, he hadn''t been able to take the initiative to approach her. Kang-Woo had be a demon, but his fundamental human senses and standards of beauty had not changed.


    ''But¡­!''


    He felt like everything was about to turn into dust. The paradise he had pursued¡­ His paradise garden was about to be covered in sticky tentacles.


    ''No way!''


    Kang-Woo bit his lip and gazed at the rampaging Rift.


    The Rift was over thirty meters tall. It wouldn''t be weird if a dragon emerged from it, let alone Lilith.


    ''I''ll close this Rift no matter what.''


    The only way to stop both the rampaging Rift and Lilith''s transformation was to close the Rift.


    "Fuuu."


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath. He concentrated his power in his hands, and the enormous demonic energy within his blood surged.


    CRACK!!


    The sound of boulders splitting open rang out.


    Kang-Woo''s hands were on the verge of being flung away from the Rift.


    ''Authority of Titanic Might.''


    He applied more pressure on the Rift and activated the passage that led to the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core. Dense demonic energy that was of apletely different quality from the demonic energy of the shallow end spread through his hands.


    ''I will stop it.''


    Rumble!!


    The earth shook, and a powerful repelling force shook Kang-Woo. The rampaging Rift was slowly but surely getting smaller as Kang-Woo''s demonic energy suppressed it. This feat was as impressive as if someone were blocking a broken dam with the palms of their hands.


    "Kuh," Kang-Woo groaned.


    ck blood spurted out of his nose and flowed down to his mouth.


    "What?!" Akiyama eximed in disbelief as he stared at Kang-Woo.


    ''What the hell is he?'' Akiyama wondered.


    Kang-Woo was closing the rampaging Rift purely with physical strength and absolutely no magic involved. It was unbelievable. Akiyama couldn''t understand how Kang-Woo was doing that.


    No, it was impossible. Not even a prince of Hell could close a rampaging Rift with just brute strength.


    ''Is he really human?'' Akiyama thought.


    He was starting to wonder if Kang-Woo was even a human. It didn''t matter how strong a human was; they would never be able to stop a natural disaster¡ªeven more so if it was a dimensional disaster.


    Akiyama gulped while looking at Kang-Woo, who had surpassed the limits of a human.


    ''I cannot give up.''


    Nevertheless, he had toplete the ritual before the Rift was closed.


    Akiyama chanted desperately. He nced at Lilith, who was surrounded by ck demonic energy, and saw something squirming inside the ck demonic energy. However, he thought it was just part of the process of turning into a demon.


    "Raaaahhhh!!!" he yelled.


    Akiyama did his best to control the demonic energy. The ritual was almost over.


    * * *


    "ARRGGHH!!" Kang-Woo roared.


    His blood vessels bulged all over his body. He was using his demonic energy to its utmost limit, so he felt like he was about to explode from the inside out. If the Ten Thousand Demon Core were a water tank, it would be simr to the tank being on the verge of bursting from being overfilled with water.


    ''But¡­''


    Nheless, he couldn''t give up after making it this far.


    Kang-Woo looked down at the Rift that he had squashed down. It had shrunk to about three meters in height. The Rift had been reduced to a mere 10% of its original size.


    Riiing.


    [You have absorbed demonic energy from the Rift.]


    [Warning. The quality of the demonic energy is too poor. Commencing demonic energy refinement.]


    A message window appeared in front of Kang-Woo, but he didn''t have the mental capacity to pay it any mind. Kang-Woo clenched his teeth and applied more pressure on the Rift.


    Then¡­


    Fwoosh.


    The Rift finally closed.


    "Huff! Huff!"


    Kang-Woo was panting as he turned to look around him.


    "Hehehe. You''re toote," Akiyama said with a triumphant smile. He turned toward the altar and knelt. "Aahhh! Lady Lilith! Please, show me your true form!"


    Akiyama''s gaze was burning with lust.


    Squelch.


    Mucus dripped to the floor as Lilith stood up.


    "Huh?" Akiyama uttered, his eyes widening in shock.


    The demon before him had dozens of wiggling tentacles and eighteen red eyes that gazed at him as her tongue, which was as long as a snake''s, licked her lips. She was a horrifying monster that wouldn''t even appear in his worst nightmares.


    Akiyama''s mouth gaped open with surprise. The true form of the subus queen was much too different from what he''d imagined.


    "Th-The hell?"


    "Fufufu. Thank you, worthless human. Thanks to you, I was able to recover my true form," Lilith said.


    "Th-That''s¡­ the subus queen''s true form?"


    While Akiyama trembled in distress, a wide smile appeared on Lilith''s face.


    "Hohoho. You seem to be lost for words by my inexplicable beauty."


    "N-No¡­"


    "Well, it''s only natural since you''veid eyes upon me after only looking at filthy human women."


    "What the¡­"


    Akiyama slumped to the floor. He then turned his head to look at Kang-Woo.


    "Huff, huff." Kang-Woo was looking at Lilith in despair while panting heavily. "I¡­ told you to stop, you¡­ son of a bitch."


    "A-Aahhh¡­" Akiyama let out an utter that was full of despair as he looked up at Lilith with a pale expression.


    Lilith''s tentacle hands touched Akiyama''s forehead.


    "Well done, human. I would like to give you a reward, but¡­"


    Her eyes focused on Kang-Woo, and the tips of her mouth rose all the way up to her ears.


    "Gasp."


    It wasn''t merely a figure of speech. Lilith''s lips tore and stretched up to her ears.


    "¡­I cannot when my king is looking," she said.


    Lilith oozed a suffocating aura of sexiness. Despite her horrifying appearance, she was unexpectedly alluring.


    Akiyama''s eyes dimmed as if he''d been possessed by a ghost.


    CRACK!


    Sharp tentacles pierced Akiyama''s head. He died with his eyes open.


    After getting rid of Akiyama, Lilith quickly walked toward Kang-Woo.


    "D-Don''te any closer," Kang-Woo stammered.


    "My, what are you talking about, my dear king?"


    Lilith instantly approached and embraced him. Kang-Woo had used too much of his power to close the Rift, so he couldn''t escape from her grasp. The dozens of tentacles that had emerged all over her body wrapped around him.


    Squelch.


    Transparent and sticky mucus dripped onto him and flowed downward.


    "Haaa, Haaa. My¡­ My lovely king."


    "Fuck."


    Kang-Woo could feel Lilith''s excited breaths on him as she gazed fixedly at him with her eighteen eyes.


    ''Someone save me,'' he thought.


    He''d never felt such fear ever since returning to Earth.


    Kang-Woo opened his mouth and spoke with a trembling voice, "It''s¡­ been a while."


    "I''m sorry, my king. I knew you were desperately hoping to be reunited with me, but I wasn''t able toe see you right away."


    ''I never hoped for such a thing.''


    "But you can be at ease now, my king. I have been able to free myself from that disgusting appearance and return to my true form."


    ''Please go back to your human form.''


    Kang-Woo felt a burning sensation on his lips.


    "Are you no longer able to¡­ return to human form?" he asked.


    "I can."


    Lilith snapped her fingers. The dozens of tentacles that had emerged all over her body retracted into her skin, and she returned to looking like Kurosaki Yurie.


    ''Oh!''


    Kang-Woo''s gaze brightened.


    Lilith took a deep breath and put her hands on her cheeks.


    "I''m embarrassed to show you such a filthy sight, but¡­ I made it so that I am able to return to human form because it would be difficult to live in the world of humans in my original form."


    "Yeah. Living here while looking like a demon would severely restrict your daily life," Kang-Woo replied, nodding in agreement.


    Lilith, who''d taken the appearance of Kurosaki Yurie, smiled.


    "Hoho. That''s right. My true form is too beautiful for humans to handle, after all."


    ''The fuck is she talking about?''


    "Haaa. It''s hard being so beautiful."


    ''No.''


    Kang-Woo''s head hurt.


    ''Wait.''


    His eyes lit up.


    Regardless of the reason, Lilith was thinking of staying in human form to be able to live among humans.


    ''In other words¡­''


    Most of the time, she would look like Kurosaki Yurie.


    ''Fuck yeah!!''


    Kang-Woo clenched his hands into fists.


    Lilith was able to have a human form. This was an unexpected profit that he could never have even imagined back in Hell.


    Kang-Woo nodded and said, "Yeah, you''re right. Humans would not be able to handle your beauty."


    "You''re making me blush, my king."


    Lilith''s cheeks turned red.


    "I don''t want useless flies roaming around you."


    "Hoho. Are you getting jealous, my king? You''re so cute."


    Kang-Woo grabbed her waist and pulled her in aggressively.


    "Kyaa!"


    "Lilith, I don''t want you to show your true form to other people."


    "Aahhh, my king¡­"


    "That''s why you should always stay in your human form, at all times."


    "B-But this form is far too ugly."


    Lilith turned her head away while making a sad expression.


    "No, Lilith, your appearance doesn''t matter," Kang-Woo stated. He shook his head with a firm expression, raised his hand, and softly brushed her cheek. "What''s important is that you''re Lilith, not how you look."


    "Aahhh¡­"


    Tears dripped from Lilith''s cheeks.


    ''I did it.''


    The tips of Kang-Woo''s lips curved upward.


    "I understand. It looks ugly¡­ but if it is what you wish, I will use this human appearance for my daily life," Lilith replied.


    ''Hell fucking yeah!!''


    Kang-Woo wanted to raise both hands and shout in excitement.


    ''I¡­ I finally did it!!''


    He''d finally freed himself from Lilith''s horrifying tentacles. That was the moment when his long-standing desire became a reality.


    Lilithughed lightly while looking at Kang-Woo, who felt moved.


    "Fufu. Do not worry, my king."


    "Hm? Worry about wh¡ª"


    "I will use my true form when I enter your chambers."


    "What?"


    "Oh, you. Why are you acting innocent? You know what I''m talking about."


    "No, wait."


    "Fufufu. I will always be in my true form when we''re alone together, so please do not worry too much."


    Lilith fidgeted restlessly while smiling brightly.


    "I was honestly worried that the concept of beauty between humans and demons was too far apart because of the humans that kept calling me beautiful even when I was in my human form, but you seem to like my true form better. Fufufu, I knew you would, my king."


    Kang-Woo felt as if he''d been struck in the back of his head. His mind was nking out.


    He quickly opened his mouth to speak. He didn''t even have time to think; he blurted out his honest thoughts.


    "Y-Your current form is more beautiful."


    "Pardon?" Lilith uttered, looking at him in confusion.


    "You''re right. At least in my eyes, you look far more beautiful as a human."


    "Oh, you sure love to joke, my king."


    "Believe me."


    "I had no idea you were such a jealous type.¡±


    "Please¡­"


    Lilith lightly poked Kang-Woo''s nose with a broad smile and said, "You have no need to worry. I will only use my true form when we''re alone together."


    "Don''t."


    "Fufufu. Come to think of it, we''re alone at the moment, so I should return to my true form."


    "No, please don''t fucking do that," he pleaded anxiously.


    Despite his struggles, Kurosaki Yurie''s skin started to split, and horrifying tentacles sprouted out of the gaps.


    "Lilith, please. Listen to me. You''re more beautiful as a hu¡ª"


    "Aahhh, I truly feel much better in my true form."


    "You''re more beautiful as a human!!"


    In despair, Kang-Woo quickly let go of Lilith as her face split open and her eighteen eyes appeared.


    "You''re so shy, my king."


    "Lilith! I''m gonna bepletely honest with you! I can only see you as a disgusting monster right now!!"


    "Oh, how cute you are~"


    "Please, just listen to meeeeee!!" Kang-Woo roared.


    His eyes teared up. He was starting to regret lying to her. He should''ve just told her the truth from the beginning. However, one always felt regretful only when the situation was toote to salvage.


    "I love you, my king," Lilith expressed. Her face inched closer to Kang-Woo''s. "Let''s be together for eternity."


    As if she were a shy girl, Lilith kissed Kang-Woo''s cheek instead of his lips.


    "Smooch~ ??"


    The tentacles, which were constantly leaking mucus, wrapped around Kang-Woo.


    Right then¡­


    Crackle¡ª!!


    A torrent of demonic energy engulfed their surroundings. Demonic energy flooded out from Kang-Woo; it was as if a massive explosion had urred inside of him.


    "KYAA!"


    Lilith was flung backward.


    Riiing.


    [The refinement of the demonic energy from the Rift has beenpleted.]


    [Demonic Energy has reached 130.]


    [Unlocking your Eighth Awakening Trait.]


    Heroes always awakened amidst crisis.


    Kang-Woo was dyed in darkness.

 Chapter 177 - Eighth Awakening Trait

    Chapter 177 - Eighth Awakening Trait


    ''Ah.''


    Oh Kang-Woo felt as if a single ray of light had beamed down and cleared his hazy consciousness. His demonic energy stores, which had been depleted after forcibly closing the gate, had beenpletely refilled. He was surging with vitality.


    ''Nice.''


    Kang-Woo looked down at his hands.


    His Demonic Energy stat had finally reached 130 points. The stats'' effects rose greatly every ten points, so the effect of the Demonic Energy stat was different from before.


    The passage that led to the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core had not expanded since he hadn''t absorbed the souls of demons. However, the absolute amount of demonic energy had increased so much that it couldn''t bepared to before.


    "M-My king?"


    Kang-woo could feel Lilith staring at him in confusion.


    He nced at her and sighed.


    "First, return to your human form."


    "But¡ª"


    "Lilith," Kang-Woo said quietly but firmly.


    He narrowed his eyes. This was as far as he was willing to take thisedy skit with her.


    "Do not make me repeat myself."


    "As youmand," Lilith replied with a bow.


    Kang-Woo gazed at her with a bitter smile. He''d managed to put out the biggest fire.


    ''The fundamental problem hasn''t been solved, though.''


    Lilith was following hismand now, but she would keep reverting to her demon form as long as she believed that her true form was more beautiful than her human form. She was capable of doing anything if it was to seduce Kang-Woo.


    He felt like he was cking out just from the thought of getting surrounded by those horrible tentacles again. Nevertheless, he didn''t have the mental capacity to think about how to resolve that at the moment.


    Squelch, squelch.


    ''Urp.''


    The sight of Lilith''s tentacles retracting back into her skin was horrifying.


    ''Let''s take this time to look at something else.''


    While Lilith was returning to her human form, Kang-Woo took his eyes off her and checked his status window.


    ''Eighth Awakening Trait.''


    After absorbing demonic energy from the Rift, he''d reached 130 in the Demonic Energy stat. Thanks to that, he''d fully unlocked his Eighth Awakening Trait. He couldn''t help but be excited about it.


    [Eighth Awakening Trait: Prince yer (Rank: SS)]


    [Effect: The yer can use the Authorities of the seven princes of Hell through their souls.]


    "This is¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened.


    The description was short, but the content was shocking.


    ¡®The Authorities of the seven princes of Hell¡­¡¯


    The powers of Satan and the other princes of Hell were buried deep in the Ten Thousand Demon Core, in the Abyss. Even when Kang-Woo used to rule over the Nine Hells, he hadn''t been able to draw demonic energy from the Abyss.


    ''I can use the princes'' Authorities now.''


    This meant that what had been impossible for him back in Hell had been made possible on Earth.


    Naturally, he couldn''t hold back a grin.


    ''Based on the description, it seems I can use Reaper of Souls on the princes.''


    Being able to absorb the souls of the princes of Hell had been nothing but a possibility before. However, after reading the description of his new Trait, he was certain that he could absorb their souls with Reaper of Souls.


    ''There''s a high chance that the souls of the princes of Hell are rted to the second condition of Demonic Soul.''


    Based on the pattern so far, the Awakening Traits and the conditions for bing a Demon God were rted. In that case, his Eighth Awakening Trait was definitely rted to the second condition of Demonic Soul.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    His Eighth Awakening Trait was mind-blowingly powerful. He''d also obtained a clue for the Demonic Soul''s second condition.


    ''The problem is¡­ the condition itself.''


    Even Kang-Woo couldn''t help but be a bit overwhelmed at the thought of absorbing the soul of a prince of Hell.


    ''In the first ce, I don''t even know if all the princes have revived.''


    The only one whom he knew had revived was Lucifer, but Lucifer was in another dimension that he couldn''t interfere with.


    "Hmm¡­"


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath.


    ''It''s not like there''s no way whatsoever.''


    He just needed to make Lucifer, the only prince whom Kang-Woo knew had revived for certain, cross over to Earth. Kang-Woo had already thrown the bait. He had instigated conflict between the Demon Cult that Satan led and Lucifer''s forces.


    ''The problem is whether Lucifer woulde to this world in person just because of that.''


    If Lucifer were able to cross over to Earth, then the chances of him invading it wouldn''t be low. There wasn''t anything more tempting to a demon than the Demonic Sea that Satan had managed to take from the demon king.


    "The princes of Hell, huh?"


    Nevertheless, that wasn''t the only problem¡­ Even if Lucifer were able to get to Earth, would Kang-Woo be able to beat him?


    ''I can''t be sure.''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t inferior to Lucifer, but it wasn''t guaranteed that he would win.


    Alongside Satan and Bael, Lucifer was one of the strongest among the seven princes. He was ranked third. Bael was the strongest prince, and Satan and Lucifer were ranked beneath him.


    Kang-Woo was still not quite strong enough to face Lucifer in a one-on-one battle at the moment.


    ''But¡­''


    With Balrog''s and Lilith''s help, there was a chance Kang-Woo could win.


    "Hmm¡­"


    He groaned.


    ''There are too many variables.''


    Kang-Woo didn''t like that.


    Firstly, the chances that Lucifer would arrive on Earth alone without his forces were very low. Secondly, Kang-Woo wasn''t sure he''d be able to face Lucifer in a three-against-one formation with Balrog and Lilith.


    ''In that case¡­''


    The gears in his mind turned quickly.


    Then Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up.


    ''I''ll use the Demon Cult.''


    He was aiming to y both ends against the middle. While the Demon Cult and Lucifer''s forces fought, Kang-Woo would attack Lucifer and slice his head cleanly off his body.


    ''It''s worth trying.''


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    When he learned through Vaal Zahak that Lucifer had been revived, Kang-Woo had instinctively felt that he would have to face the princes of Hell soon.


    ''Tsk. This reminds me of when I was in Hell.''


    The battle against the seven princes that had gone on for a thousand years¡­ The memories of that long war passed through his mind.


    He heard a beautiful voice say, "The transformation isplete, my king."


    Kang-Woo turned his head to see Lilith, who had returned to looking like Kurosaki Yurie.


    ''Ah, I''m happy.''


    Kang-Woo felt like a heavy burden had been lifted from him when he saw that Lilith could change back to a human appearance. Of course, the ideal scenario would have been if she were unable to revert to her demonic form, but this was more than adequate.


    Kang-Woo sat on a nearby piece of wreckage and said, "Tell me what happened after you infiltrated the Demon Cult."


    The most important thing right now was figuring out how much of his identity she''d spread among the Demon Cult.


    Lilith replied, "I have not been able to do much because I''ve been more focused on trying to recover my original body that you love so much. So, I have not had the time to engrave your name throughout the Demon Cult."


    That was good news.


    Lilith bowed and continued, "I apologize for not being able to deal with things faster. I will spread your name across the entirety of the Demon Cult as soon as p¡ª"


    "Ah, about that. There are a few things I need to tell you."


    Kang-Woo exined to her his rtionship with the Demon Cult as well as his current situation. The more he exined, the paler Lilith''s face became.


    "I-I''m sorry, my king!"


    Lilith bowed down, mming her forehead onto the ground.


    She said tearily, "W-Without being aware of your true intentions, I¡­ ended up doing something as stupid as giving the enemy information¡­"


    "Of course, I have no intention of letting this go unpunished."


    Even though she hadn''t known about his circumstances, Lilith had made a grievous mistake. It was different from what had happened with Balrog. Lilith had spent quite some time on Earth and knew about Kang-Woo''s existence and identity. Despite that, she''d done things as she wished without considering his situation, so this wasn''t something he would overlook.


    "...I will ept any form of punishment," she stated quietly with tears in her eyes.


    Kang-Woo sighed. "Let''s talk about thister."


    "I will¡­ pay for my sins with my body!"


    "No."


    "I will return to my original form this instant and satisfy you with the utmost devotion!"


    "Don''t."


    "I will put my name as the Subus Queen on the line and send you to paradise!"


    "Please, don''t."


    Kang-Woo quickly stopped her from returning to her demon form.


    Then he asked with a weary expression, "So, the Demon Cult doesn''t know anything about my identity?"


    "¡­"


    There was silence, and Lilith fidgeted anxiously.


    Ultimately, she gave a careful reply. "I wouldn''t say that. I''ve been spreading the Book of Hell within the Demon Cult¡­"


    "Book of Hell? What''s that?"


    "It''s a book I wrote about your thousand-year-long war in the Ninth Hell. After all, the Demon Cultists still believe the seven princes rule over Hell."


    "A book, huh?"


    The best way to engrave the existence of the demon king into the Demon Cult was indeed to spread information about the long war between the seven princes and the demon king in the Ninth Hell. After all, the one who hade out victorious after defeating the seven princes was the demon king.


    "I''m guessing you couldn''t distribute it publicly," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "Yes. After all, they treat the seven princes as gods."


    Then Kang-Woo still had a chance.


    His gaze sharpened.


    "Where is the book being distributed?"


    "I have heard that it is the Demon Cult branch in the Middle East."


    "I see."


    Lilith even gave him information about a Demon Cult branch.


    ''This isn''t bad at all.''


    Kang-Woo had thought Lilith''s actions were just simple trolling that did nothing but harm him.


    However, the Guardians¡ªeven with all of their forces involved in the search¡ªhadn''t been able to find traces of the Demon Cult. So, obtaining information about a Demon Cult branch was a huge harvest.


    ''Maybe I should''ve had her infiltrate for a bit longer.''


    He thought that using Lilith as a spy wasn''t a bad idea. However, he shook his head soon after.


    ''That''d be difficult since Akiyama is dead.''


    It had been all thanks to Akiyama, Lilith''s ardent follower, that Lilith had been able to be so active in the Demon Cult so quickly. Without him, she wouldn''t be able to move about so freely in the Demon Cult.


    ''First, I''ll have to go to the Demon Cult branch in the Middle East.''


    It was worth visiting that ce just to check how far the Book of Hell had been distributed.


    "Come to think of it, what happened to Kurosaki Yurie?"


    "I haveplete control over the consciousness at the moment, so she is asleep at the moment."


    "Can you wake her up?"


    "Yes, if my kingmands it," Lilith replied with a nod.


    It was good news that Lilith had control over the body. Kang-Woo felt bad about Kurosaki Yurie, who had lost control over her body out of the blue, but he didn''t have the mental capacity to care about the life of someone he didn''t know.


    ''It''s hard enough living my own life.''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t Alec Osborne, so he didn''t feel the need to live while caring about the lives of every single person.


    "What about Kurosaki Yurie''s ability?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Her ability?"


    "Yeah. She has the ability to borrow power from other worlds."


    "Mm¡­ I am not sure about that. At least, I cannot use that ability."


    "So, that''s the ability of Kurosaki Yurie herself, huh?"


    Lilith nodded in response.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    ''This might be worth paying attention to.''


    There mighte a time when he would need Yurie''s ability.


    Before the Gaia System had weakened due to the Rift Seeds, the Demon Cult had tried to summon Lilith through her.


    It meant that if Kang-Woo were able to use Yurie''s ability effectively now that the Gaia System had gotten even weaker, there was a good chance that he would be able to summon the seven princes of Hell or beings of even greater power.


    ''Poor girl.''


    Thinking about the innocent Yurie, who had unfairly lost her body to a demon, made Kang-Woo tear up. He thought that he should help her regain consciousness and take back more control of her own body.


    "People should always help one another in life," Kang-Woomented.


    He stood up and nodded.


    He wanted to help the innocent girl escape from the clutches of a demon right away, but he couldn''t do that at the moment.


    ''Let''s go.''


    Currently, Kang-Woo''s most urgent task was to go to the Demon Cult branch in the Middle East.

 Chapter 178 - Demon Delegates

    Chapter 178 - Demon Delegates


    ''This should be the ce.''


    There was a small city on a sandy in in the middle of a deste desert. Despite being referred to as a city, this ce was now a dreary ruin where no one lived. Only monsters could be seen roaming around.


    An intense sun shone over this area of the Middle East as Oh Kang-Woo walked to the location Lilith had told him about.


    He clicked his tongue.


    "Tsk. So, they were hidden in a ce like this. No wonder it was so hard to find them."


    The Demon Cult branch was in an area that was considered extremely remote even in the Middle East.


    After the Day of Cmity, only half of Earth''s countries remained, with the rest having been reduced to ruins. So, if the Demon Cult hid in a ce like that, there was no way they would be found.


    ''Authority of Stealth.''


    Kang-Woo hid his presence and put on a mask. His goal was to infiltrate this branch of the Demon Cult.


    ''I''ll destroy itter.''


    It was the only base where Lilith had secretly distributed the Book of Hell. There was a chance they had a connection with the other Demon Cult branches.


    ''I also need to check how far the Book of Hell has been spread.''


    Perhaps they could even have information he could''ve never imagined. In any case, it would be too much of a loss to immediately eliminate the Demon Cult base that he''d finally found after so much searching.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Beholder and easily found traces of the Demon Cult. An image of a base hidden under the ruined city appeared in his mind.


    "Found¡ª"


    He cut himself off mid-speech, and his face suddenly crumpled with seriousness. Kang-Woo then rechecked the traces of demonic energy he''d just felt.


    ''I knew it.''


    He narrowed his eyes as he became sure of what he was feeling.


    ''There''s a demon.''


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure who it was, but he knew the demon was from the Ninth Hell. However, it wasn''t as powerful as an archdemon; it was a demon of a level somewhere between the intermediate and lower levels at best.


    Despite being from the Ninth Hell, the demon was no match for Kang-Woo. It wouldn''t even be a good warmup for his battle against the princes of Hell.


    "Hm," Kang-Woo murmured.


    It wasn''t a problem that there was a demon inside the Demon Cult. After all, he couldn''t stop them from summoning demons all over the world.


    ''But¡­''


    He searched the underground base again with the Authority of the Beholder. An image of demons and Demon Cultists appeared in his mind.


    ''Something''s off.''


    There were five demons, and they were all sitting inside a room. Sitting across from them were three Demon Cultists, and they were talking about something.


    ''Are they in a meeting?''


    From the outside, it could almost pass off as a fairly normal scene of business partners negotiating a deal, rather than demons and Demon Cultists.


    ''Well, it isn''t like demons spend the entire day fighting.''


    Still, the scene of five demons sitting and talking with Demon Cultists made for a strange sight.


    ''I''ll have to check it out.''


    Kang-Woo looked around.


    The base was located underground, but there was probably an air vent since people were living inside it. He used the Authority of the Beholder to analyze the structure of the base and easily found a vent leading outside.


    "Is this some ''80s spy film? To think I''d have to infiltrate through an air vent," Kang-Wooined.


    Nevertheless, there was no better way in. He was using the Authority of Stealth, but that didn''t mean he could roam freely throughout their base.


    The air vent, which barely fit one person, was protected by some sort of magic contraption.


    "Tsk."


    That wasn''t a problem for Kang-Woo though.


    With a snap of his fingers, his demonic energy spread and crushed the magic circle. He made his way through the air vent, using a route based on what he''d seen of the base''s structure with the Authority of the Beholder.


    At some point, he heard the voices of demons.


    [I never imagined that there would be humans on Earth capable of using demonic energy.]


    [Their level of demonic energy control is miles above the ck mages of Aernor.]


    [An average demon from Hell would be no match for them.]


    ''What?''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    Upon hearing the demons mention Aernor, he had a strong feeling that something wasn''t right.


    ''What''s going on?''


    Kang-Woo continued to eavesdrop on their conversation.


    "Not at all. We are nothing but a bunch of fliespared to the demons of the Ninth Hell."


    [We are not of the Ninth Hell.]


    "Oh, right. I believe you said you were the retainers of Prince Lucifer."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened.


    ''Lucifer''s retainers?''


    He was having a hard time understanding what was going on.


    ''Why the fuck are Lucifer''s retainers here?''


    Then he was reminded of Halphas, Malphas, and Phenex. He''d used them to throw bait to catch the massive fish that was Lucifer.


    However, if these demons Kang-Woo was eavesdropping on were truly Lucifer''s retainers, then why were they talking so rxedly with the Demon Cultists? It didn''t make sense, especially since Lucifer''s retainers Malphas and Phenex had died at the hands of Satan, the leader of the Demon Cult.


    ''What the hell is going on?''


    Kang-Woo''s thoughts were in a jumble. He frowned and focused on the conversation.


    [He is not a prince.]


    [Lord Lucifer has gone beyond the realm of a mere prince of Hell and has obtained Divinity.]


    [Call him Evil God Lucifer.]


    "Aahh, my apologies."


    The Demon Cultists bowed their heads.


    It seemed like they didn''t think it was a lie.


    "But why would the retainers of Lord Lucifer, who resides in another world,e here¡­?"


    [We are here to hold you all ountable for the sin that your leader hasmitted.]


    "I beg your pardon?"


    The Demon Cultists tilted their heads in confusion.


    [We have heard everything through Lord Halphas.]


    [Are you nning to act dumb?]


    "I apologize, but we¡ª"


    SLAM!!


    The demon mmed his fist down on the table.


    [How dare you try to make excuses?! Did you think we would not know that your leader, Satan, killed Lord Phenex and Lord Malphas?!] he angrily shouted.


    "...I''m sorry?"


    "Satan?"


    The Demon Cultists looked at the retainers of Lucifer in confusion.


    ''Oh, fuck.''


    Kang-Woo was barely able to suppress a curse from escaping his mouth.


    He figured out what was going on. Just like how countries sent delegates to other countries, Lucifer had sent his retainers to Earth as delegates.


    ''Delegates?''


    Kang-Wooughed silently in disbelief.


    Lucifer''s retainers said that they were going to hold the Demon Cult ountable for the crimes of Satan. However, the fact that Lucifer had sent delegates meant something else¡­


    ''He wants to avoid war against Satan.''


    Lucifer was trying to resolve the situation by talking it out.


    ''Lucifer, you bastard¡­''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    It was a short conversation, but he''d been able to get valuable information.


    ''He must be in quite a predicament.''


    Demons didn''t have the concept of talking things over instead of fighting. Their conversations always involved blood and flesh.


    ''Yet, he sent delegates in this situation?''


    Moreover, Satan had attacked Lucifer first, so the fact that Lucifer had sent delegates to talk things out showed his desperation.


    ''There are two possibilities why he did that.''


    The first one was that he judged that he would not be able to win against Satan, who possessed the Demonic Sea. Demons didn''t have shit for brains after all. In fact, they often surrendered if they were at a disadvantage.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo thought that the probability of that being the case was low. The Lucifer he knew wasn''t a demon who''d give up his desire to obtain the Demonic Sea.


    ''In that case¡­''


    He narrowed his eyes and thought of the other possibility.


    ''Maybe he''s in such a predicament that he can''t afford to worry about Satan.''


    Kang-Woo didn''t know what situation Lucifer was in exactly. Perhaps he was desperate because of the archangels that he had fought in the past, or maybe it was because of a god. Either way, It didn''t matter to Kang-Woo.


    ''What''s important is that he''s desperate enough to try and talk things over with Satan despite having been attacked first.''


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    "W-We are not sure what you all are talking about."


    "The being we serve is not Satan."


    [What?]


    The demons'' faces crumpled with shock.


    Right then¡­


    BOOOOM¡ª!!


    The ceiling exploded.


    [Wh-What just happened?!]


    "Kuh! Wh-What in the¡­¡±


    The five demons inside the room and the three Demon Cultists were thrown into chaos.


    Tap.


    As the ceiling crumbled, something dropped down from it.


    "Huh¡­?"


    The eyes of the Demon Cultists widened when they saw a being enter the room from the ceiling.


    The being, who was shrouded in pitch-ck darkness, was wearing the red demon mask that symbolized the Demon Cult. It was as if the mask was floating in the darkness.


    ''Who is that?'' the Demon Cultists wondered.


    They had never seen or heard about a being like the one standing before them.


    ''Perhaps¡­ another Demon Cultist?''


    The Demon Cult branches operated separately, so it wasn''t weird for them to not know the other Demon Cultists despite being in the same organization.


    [You are¡­]


    [N-No way.]


    The demons trembled in fear. The powerful demonic energy pouring out from being in the red mask made them afraid.


    [I am Satan,] the red-masked demon said without hesitation.


    [S-Satan!!]


    [Kuh! G-Get back, all of you!] the demon standing in the middle of the group of five demons told the others. Then he took a step forward and knelt on one knee in front of Satan. [Th-This lowly being greets the prince of Hell. I am Darkin, one of Lucifer''s retainers.]


    [Why are you on Earth? I believe I made myself perfectly clear through Halphas.]


    [That is¡­] the demon, Darkin, began cautiously. He took out a crystal orb the size of a person''s head. [Lord Lucifer would like to talk with you, Lord Satan.]


    [Talk?]


    [That is correct.]


    [¡­]


    There was silence.


    Then Satan slowly extended his hand toward the crystal orb that Darkin handed to him.


    [Ke¡­ Kekeke.] A chillingugh leaked out from behind the mask. [KAHAHAHAHAHA!!!]


    [L-Lord Satan! What is¡ª!!]


    CRACK!


    Satan destroyed the crystal orb.


    [Talk? Talk, you say? KAHAHAHAHAHA!!! How funny! How very funny!]


    He roared withughter and casually extended his hand.


    Wrath, the Hell Armament that was akin to the symbol of Satan, showed itself. It was a sword that had a pitch-ck de¡ªa sword of darkness.


    Satan swung the sword.


    Bash!!


    Darkin''s head exploded and shattered into pieces as soon as Wrath''s edge touched it.


    [Demons do not talk!]


    It was time for war!

 Chapter 179 - No Such Thing as Compromise for Demons

    Chapter 179 - No Such Thing as Compromise for Demons


    [Kurgh!!]


    ck blood sprayed in all directions. Four of the five demons instantly died from Satan''s attack.


    [Wh-Why are you doing this?!] the one surviving demon quickly shouted.


    The red mask tilted.


    [Why, you ask?] Satan snickered. [Do demons need a reason to go to war?]


    [Kuh¡­]


    [Talk? How absolutely ridiculous. I would expect nothing less from Lucifer, that pathetic mongrel.]


    [Do not insult Lord Lucifer, Satan!!] the demon shouted while ring at him.


    Satan turned toward the demon and challenged, [Then prove to me that he is not pathetic.]


    He extended his hand and grabbed the neck of the three-meter-tall demon.


    Satan continued, [We were born to kill and crave blood. Tell Lucifer this: if you are not confident enough to cross over to this world yourself, stay the fuck out of my sight.]


    [You¡­ have no idea what situation my lord is in.]


    [Hahaha! You are right. I do not know or care about his situation,] Satan said. The yellow irises behind the red mask stared at the demon. [But what I do know is that he seems to be in quite a predicament, which means this is the perfect opportunity for me to take his soul.]


    [This is not the time to be fighting among ourselves! Are you unaware of the forces of the celestial realm moving to eradicate the demons?!]


    ''I knew it had something to do with the celestial realm,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    [Earth will be next after the continent of Aernor! Do you want the demons to be eradicated by the forces of the celestial realm while we engage in battle?!] the demon desperately shouted.


    Satanughed. [The celestial realm? Has he been struggling against those insignificant beings all this time?]


    [Insignificant, you say?!] the demon continued shouting like a madman. [They are not insignificant! You must know how weak the Nine Hells have be at the hands of Demon King Oh Kang-Woo! He''s driven Hell to the brink of extinction! The celestial realm has been umting power during all those years of war! If we do not work together, we will not be able to stop them!]


    The demon rambled on about the desperate reality that the demons had been ced in, but Satan paid no heed to it.


    [I killed the demon king with my own hands and acquired the Demonic Sea. The forces of the celestial realm are no match for me,] Kang-Woo replied rxedly. [Tell Lucifer this: stop cowering from the angels ande to find me. Fight me, and take the Demonic Sea, if you can.]


    [Must you truly choose the path of self-destruction?!]


    [Self-destruction? What a ridiculous word.] The red mask tilted. [Since when have demons battled while caring about when they would meet their demise?]


    [¡­]


    [Not only is he weak and cowardly, but he is also disgraceful.]


    Satan waved his hand, producing a strong force that pushed the demon back and embedded him in the wall.


    [Listen well, retainer of Lucifer,] Satan said with augh. [There is no such thing aspromise for demons.]


    * * *


    "Well, that takes care of that," Kang-Woo mumbled while looking down at the unconscious demon.


    He had controlled his strength, so the demon would soon open his eyes. Then he would return to Lucifer and report to him what had happened here.


    ''No matter how much of a predicament Lucifer is in, he won''t be able to let it slide this time.''


    Lucifer was not patient enough that he would try and talk things out again since Kang-Woo had firmly expressed his will as Satan.


    ''He wille here.''


    As a prince of Hell, Lucifer had been humiliated in an unforgivable way. He would take action to kill Satan.


    ''And he will fight the forces of Satan, the Demon Cult.''


    Kang-Woo grinned.


    He had the feeling that the image drawn in his head would soon be a reality.


    ''That aside¡­''


    Kang-Woo thought about what he''d heard from Lucifer''s retainer.


    ''So, demons are on the brink of being exterminated.''


    He narrowed his eyes.


    It wasn''t something he could be happy about though. Demons were necessary for him to regain his strength and be even stronger. They were like nutrition to him, so losing them wasn''t good news for him.


    ''If the celestial realm were to exterminate the demons, I may be able to live in peace, but¡­''


    The chances of that happening were low. If the angels were trying to exterminate the demons, then Kang-Woo would be a target too.


    ''I guess it means I''ll have to fight that Michael guy or whatever his name was.''


    He couldn''t help but curse.


    ''But it''s not an imminent thing.''


    Lucifer''s retainer had mentioned that Earth would be the angels'' next target after the continent of Aernor. In other words, as long as Lucifer''s forces remained, the angels wouldn''t attack Earth.


    ''And after what happened today, they''ll think that Satan killed Demon King Oh Kang-Woo.''


    Kang-Woo knew he wouldn''t be able to deceive them forever, but his act as Satan would be enough to buy him some time to prepare countermeasures.


    ''I''m going to raise the conflict between Lucifer''s forces and the Demon Cult to its utmost limit.''


    He was after Lucifer''s soul. It wasn''t going to be easy to get it, but it wasn''t impossible.


    ''And for that n¡­''


    Kang-Woo turned his head and looked at the three Demon Cultists who were stricken with fear.


    "Eek!"


    He walked toward them.


    "A-Are you¡­"


    "T-Truly Satan?"


    They stammered at the sudden appearance of Satan.


    Kangoo smiled and tapped his mask. The red demon mask turned into a white one with a shield engraved on it.


    "Huh?! Th-That mask!"


    "The Guardians?!"


    They shook their heads as if they couldn''t understand what was going on.


    "There are a few things I wanted to ask you," Kang-Woo said.


    His original reason for venturing to this base was to check how far the Book of Hell had spread. Meeting Lucifer''s retainers had been nothing but a coincidence. Now, it was time to achieve his original goal.


    "Hah! Like we would answer questions from a retainer of Ga¡ª"


    Whack!


    The head of the Demon Cultist who was yelling exploded.


    A wide grin appeared on Kang-Woo''s face, and he walked toward the other two Demon Cultists.


    "It''s not up to you to choose whether you answer or not," he stated.


    "E-Eek!"


    The two Demon Cultists looked at each other.


    "Mm. Come to think of it¡­" Kang-Woo began as he narrowed his eyes.


    "I don''t think that I''ll need two mouths¡­" he said in a yful tone of voice. "Who wants to speak first?"


    * * *


    "So¡­ you don''t know how far the Book of Hell has been spread?"


    The two Demon Cultists nodded.


    "Y-Yes. Its contents seemed unsubstantiated, so¡­ a few branches just took a few copies out of curiosity."


    "And where are those branches?"


    "W-We don''t know. We weren''t informed of the exact locations of the other branches. We simply gave them the copies while exchanging information and materials required for summoning rituals."


    "But you must have a meeting ce for those exchanges."


    "We do, but¡­"


    The eyes of the two Demon Cult members quivered.


    That answer was the extent of what they could say.


    "I guess you''ll die if you say it."


    "¡­"


    There was silence.


    The two Demon Cultists looked at each other.


    "W-We can tell you the country where the meeting takes ce!"


    "Where?"


    "Ch-China."


    The scope was far too wide. This information wasn''t very useful.


    ''But at least I managed to find out that the secret Demon Cult meetings take ce in China.''


    Kang-Woo would need to ask Tian Wuchen to investigate China.


    ''First off¡­''


    He got his thoughts in order.


    ''I obtained three pieces of information.''


    The first piece was that Lucifer was being attacked by the forces of the celestial realm. The second was that the Book of Hell hadn''t been properly distributed. Moreover, most of the Demon Cultists thought of it as a novel, so he didn''t need to worry too much about it.


    The third was that there was a secret meeting ce for Demon Cultists in China, and that might be where the Chinese Demon Cult branch was.


    ''Not bad.''


    Kang-Woo thought that he''d obtained enough useful information here.


    "How many Demon Cultists are in this branch?" he asked.


    The two Demon Cultists quickly proceeded to shout in response.


    "Th-This is only a small branch of about fifty members!"


    "And we have never taken part in demon-summoning rituals!"


    They then knelt in front of Kang-Woo and raised their two arms.


    "W-We will turn ourselves in."


    "We will subject ourselves towful judgment."


    Guardians was an international organization that fought for the good of the world. Just like howw enforcement authorities couldn''t just kill a serial killer if they turned themselves in, the Guardians'' rules dictated that they had to be humane toward Demon Cultists who had surrendered. The Demon Cultists had sacrificed numerous innocent people to obtain power, but they still had human rights.


    "Hm," Kang-Woo murmured.


    He couldn''t simply ignore them as he had done before.


    ''Because I''m also a member of the Guardians.''


    Kang-Woo had the title Warrior of Light now, so he couldn''t infringe on human rights.


    He sighed and shook his head. It seemed he had no choice but to treat them as humanely as he possibly could.


    "Haaa. I guess I have no choice."


    "Ah¡­"


    "I''ll let one of you live.


    "Huh?"


    The Demon Cultists'' eyes widened.


    "There''s one more thing you have to do for me, but I don''t need two people for that. So, I''m going to let one of you two live."


    "W-Wait!"


    "We''ve surrendered to the Guardians, have we not?!"


    "You have."


    Kang-Woo used the Key of the Demonic Sea to create two daggers without a word and threw them at the protesting Demon Cultists.


    "What are¡ª"


    "Kill each other."


    "I''m sorry?"


    "The one that wins will live."


    Gasp¡­


    The Demon Cultists'' eyes widened after hearing Kang-Woo''s horrifying condition.


    "This goes against human rights¡­"


    "How could someone called the Warrior of Light do something like this!"


    "Guys," Kang-Woo said and snapped his finger.


    An enormous energy spread and weighed down on the Demon Cultists.


    Kang-Woo told them quietly, ¡°What I gave you two is a choice, not the right to choose."


    "¡­"


    Silence fell, and the two Demon Cultists trembled while looking at each other. They were moving slowly, but it was obvious that they would soon grab the daggers.


    Kang-Woo sat on a chair and crossed his legs.


    "Urgh!"


    "D-Die!!"


    They grabbed the daggers and charged toward each other. Dark red blood sttered all over as a battle to live took ce.


    Stab!


    "Kurgh!"


    ''You shouldn''t move like that,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    "ARRGGHH!!"


    ''Ugh, they''re so bad at fighting.''


    "Kuh!"


    ''Oh, nice!''


    Kang-Woo watched the battle between them with great interest. The fight was fierce and bloody.


    "Y-You scum!!"


    "How could you do something so horrifying in the name of light?!"


    The two Demon Cultists shouted and cried amid the fight.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head.


    ''Guys, I gave you both an equal chance to live based on your skill levels.''


    He could''ve killed both, but he''d given one of them a chance to survive through their own strength and will.


    ''Is this not the epitome of humane?''


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    After listening to their criticism, he thought about how he could have done things more humanely, but he couldn''t think of a better way than this.


    "That''s not very fair of you," Kang-Woo replied.


    They were criticizing him as if he were a piece of trash.


    Kang-Woo frowned at the injustice and said, "People would think I''m scum if they didn''t know any better."

 Chapter 180 - Summit (1)

    Chapter 180 - Summit (1)


    There was a small city in a deste desert in the Middle East. Under it was a Demon Cult branch that had been secretly constructed.


    At present, multiple explosions were going off in session inside that very branch.


    BOOM!


    Rumble!


    "ARRGGHH!!"


    "Wh-What''s going on?!"


    The cultists in the branch''s office were surprised by the explosions. They took out their weapons and began casting spells.


    "D-Don''t tell me¡­"


    "C-Could those demons earlier have done it?"


    It was something that they''d been afraid would happen.


    A few hours before, some demons had arrived at their branch. These demons hadn''t been summoned by the Demon Cult; they had appeared on Earth through a different method.


    The Demon Cultists could think of no better reason than those demons for the cause of the explosions.


    BOOM!


    "R-Run!"


    "S-Sir?!"


    The office door opened, and the branch manager ran in with blood all over him. There was a fearful expression on his face.


    "I-It''s an attack!! Lucifer''s retainers have attacked us!!" he yelled.


    "Lucifer''s retainers?"


    "Why would they¡­"


    The Demon Cultists tilted their heads in confusion upon suddenly hearing their branch manager mention the name of a prince of Hell.


    As if squeezing the remaining energy out of his body, the branch manager said desperately, "They won''t stop with this one attack! Run! Run away and let the rest of the cult know! The demons from the continent of Aernor will being to Earth!!"


    Cough. He coughed up some blood.


    Blood was leaking from all over the branch manager''s body. It was as if he had been stabbed many times with a sharp dagger.


    "It''s a war! Lucifer''s retainers have dered war on the Demon Cult!!" he screamed to his subordinates before falling unconscious.


    "¡­"


    There was a short silence. The Demon Cultists looked at each other briefly, but they quickly turned and fled.


    More explosions went off, and the Demon Cult''s underground base crumbled. As desert sand poured into it, the entire base shook.


    "W-War!"


    "It''s war!!!"


    The cultists thought of the branch manager''sst words and swiftly escaped from the underground base.


    "Huff, huff."


    The branch manager had been left alone.


    A young man wearing a white mask walked out from behind him.


    "Well done," the young man said.


    "Y-Your promise¡­"


    "I will keep it, of course," Oh Kang-Woo affirmed with a nod.


    The bloodied branch manager''s expression lightened.


    "Th-Then please take me out of here," he pleaded desperately while watching the wreckage pour into the crumbling base.


    Kang-Woo crouched down next to him.


    "Why should I?"


    "Wh-What? Y-You promised that you would spare me¡­"


    "Sparing you and taking you out of here are twopletely different things."


    "U-Urgh!!"


    The branch manager''s expression crumpled in despair.


    Kang-Woo waved his hand and walked out of the office, leaving the branch manager there by himself.


    The branch manager bit his lip tensely. He''d expected that things would end up like this.


    ''I can''t die here,'' he thought.


    He took out a ck gem the size of a thumb. It was a demonic crystal, which had been created with concentrated demonic energy.


    With this gem, he could obtain an explosive amount of demonic energy. Of course, if he weren''t careful, the rampaging demonic energy could turn him into a demonic beast. Nevertheless, he didn''t have time to worry about that.


    "Oh, I haven''t seen one of those in a while."


    Gasp!


    The branch manager was surprised by Kang-Woo''s sudden reappearance.


    "Wh-Why are you¡ª"


    "I didn''t think you would just roll over and die, so I waited to see what you had up your sleeve. And like I thought, you had something pretty nice," Kang-Woo said, forcibly taking the demonic crystal away from the branch manager.


    "N-No!"


    "Well, I''m pretty sure it won''t be of much use to me anymore, but I guess it''s better than nothing. I''ll make good use of it. Thanks, dude."


    Kang-Woo patted the branch manager''s shoulder.


    The branch manager, who was now lying in a pool of his own blood on the floor, screamed out, "ARRGGHH! YOU MOTHERFUCKERRRRRRR!!"


    Rumble.


    The underground base crumbled.


    * * *


    Crunch.


    "I knew it wouldn''t be of much help."


    Kang-Woo chewed on the demonic crystal out of boredom.


    A demonic crystal would have been of great help in the past, but he had grown so much that it didn''t have much of an effect now.


    ''Like I thought, I have to kill a prince.''


    There was no other way for him to grow drastically stronger. Of course, there was still the alternative of killing other demons and building his strength little by little instead.


    ''Lucifer''s retainers weren''t bad.''


    He''d used the Authority of Predation and devoured the corpses of the four demons he''d killed earlier. Doing so hadn''t caused his Demonic Energy stat to rise, but it had allowed the passage that led to the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core to expand. He needed to expand the passage even more to use the power of a prince of Hell in the future.


    ''If something goes wrong, it might burst.''


    Even if Kang-Woo could absorb the soul of a prince right at that moment, he wouldn''t be able to use its power immediately. The passage that led to the deep end wouldn''t be able to handle the massive pressure generated by the flow of demonic energy. It would burst like a ripped hose.


    If that happened even once, it would be the end for Kang-Woo. Just like how the Rift ran wild when Lilith was summoned, the demonic energy within him would run amok, and he would explode.


    "I guess I have no other choice but tob through China."


    Kang-Woo couldn''t just stand still and wait for Lucifer to invade Earth. He had to keep hunting demons andpletely expand the passage that led to the deep end.


    ording to the information he had been given, there was a secret Demon Cult meeting ce in China. In that case, there was a high chance that the Demon Cult had a branch there as well.


    ''But it''s too big.''


    China was a huge country. Its size was way beyond that of Korea. After all, China was one of the biggest countries in the world.


    Trying to find the Demon Cult''s secret meeting ce, which didn''t even operate at all times, was close to impossible. Moreover, he couldn''t bank on getting help from normal civilians as if he were searching for a wanted criminal. If he wanted help, it would need to be from an army of yers.


    ''It''s not something Tian Wuchen could arrange.''


    If Kang-Woo truly wanted to do it, yers from all over the world would have to join the search.


    ''Does Guardians have such authority?''


    Guardians as an organization was well-connected with the chief executives of each country¡­ but that didn''t mean Guardians could use them however they wanted.


    Guardians could make the US take action, but that was only because of Grace McCubbin''s influence. They couldn''t even make a single country take action as they wished, let alone the entire world.


    ''I''ll have to take some measures of my own.''


    A massive threat like the Demon Cult couldn''t be stopped by an organization that didn''t even have thirty members. The members of Guardians were too restricted in their actions unless they were able to borrow power from other countries.


    ''Even if Guardians'' members move as fast as possible, they won''t be able to match the reach of an army.''


    It wasn''t a matter of their capabilities; it was a matter of numbers. Moreover, there weren''t any information-gathering groups that they could use, like the ones in martial arts novels¡ªsuch as the Beggar''s Gang or Hao Society, which were made up of lower-ss people.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t ignore the strength of numbers.


    "Okay."


    He was done making his n, so there was no reason for him to hesitate.


    Kang-Woo created a gate that led to the Hall of Protection.


    As he crossed over to the other side, he saw Kim Si-Hun walk out of the training room. Si-Hun was covered in sweat as if he had just finished training.


    "Ah, hyung-nim! I heard the news from Mr. Ito! You found Princess Kurosaki Yurie?" Si-Hun asked.


    "Oh, yeah, I guess."


    "I would''vee right away if you''d contacted me¡­"


    "It wasn''t that hard," Kang-Woo said while making a forced smile.


    In reality, he''d desperately needed help from Si-Hun or the other members of Guardians. However, he couldn''t let them meet Lilith.


    "Anyway, are you pretty much living here now?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Yes, Master said that he doesn''t have anything more to teach me, so he said that I should focus on training alone for the moment."


    ''It hasn''t even been a year since he began teaching him, yet he ran out of things to teach?''


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief.


    "What about your mother?"


    "Her illness has been fully treated. She said she wants to live in peace and quiet, so I bought her a house in Chuncheon."


    "Don''t forget to visit her often."


    Si-Hun''s mother was the person who''d given Si-Hun his trauma, so interacting with her more often would help him ovee his trauma.


    "Okay, hyung-nim. More importantly, what brings you here today?"


    "I came here to see Gaia," Kang-Woo answered and walked over to Gaia''s room.


    He opened her door and told her the n he''d thought of.


    "A summit?" Gaia asked, tilting her head in surprise.


    "Yes, I''d like to suggest gathering the chief executives of each country to matters regarding the Demon Cult."


    "Mm¡­" Gaia murmured as if she was in a dilemma. She sighed and replied, "That''ll be difficult. No matter how desperate the situation is, each country has its own problems. Even if a summit actually takes ce, you shouldn''t expect any major change to happen."


    It wasn''t easy to make the countries cooperate. The government of each country was already struggling to keep their country safe, so they did not have the leeway to worry about the circumstances of other countries. No, even if they did, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that no country was willing to make sacrifices for world peace.


    "But we have to try at the very least. I would appreciate it if you could schedule a world summit held in the US," Kang-Woo persisted.


    "It won''t be easy."


    It was beyond the capabilities of Guardians¡­ but Gaia couldn''t reject a proposal from the Warrior of Light.


    She nodded and said, "I understand. I will give it a shot."


    "Thank you." Kang-Woo nodded in gratitude.


    * * *


    A ck sphere was squirming in a deep, dark cave made of ice. It was a giant sphere over thirty meters in diameter.


    A woman wearing a ck robe and a red demon mask walked toward it.


    "Apostle of Evil Julia greets the Aspect," she said.


    [What¡­ is it?] a quiet voice flowed out of the ck sphere.


    It was a goosebumps-inducing voice, full of horrifying malice.


    "I havee to report the many incidents, big and small, that have been urring in the Demon Culttely."


    [Speak.]


    The voice took on a solemn tone.


    Julia knelt before the dignified being.


    "First of all, the Aspect of Fire will awaken shortly."


    [I see.]


    "Should I give the order to move ording to the n?"


    The ck sphere squirmed. It was a silent approval.


    Julia continued, "Next¡­ the Balrog summoning failed. To be more precise, we failed to control Balrog after he was summoned."


    [It matters not. No one on Earth can possibly control him now that the demon king is no more. Having him run wild is more than enough.]


    "It seems¡­ he was killed by the retainers of Gaia, so I do not believe we can expect that."


    [Balrog was killed by the retainers of Gaia, you say?]


    The ck sphere felt shaken for the first time.


    It was well aware of the demon Balrog. No human could be a match for him even if they had been chosen by a god.


    [Hm. Something will have to be done about this.]


    "We will gain a good opportunity soon. I will take care of it myself."


    [I will leave it in your hands. Is that everything?]


    Julia shook her head and said, "The Middle Eastern branch was attacked."


    [Is that worth reporting?]


    "It was apparently attacked by the retainers of Lucifer."


    [What?]


    The ck sphere squirmed again. It sounded as if it couldn''t believe what it was hearing.


    [There must have been a misunderstanding. I don''t believe Lucifer would move so carelessly. If he sends a delegate, try to convince them and send them back.]


    "Understood," Julia replied with a bow.


    [The most important thing is waking Mammon up and proceeding with the n.]


    "Understood. I will inform the Chinese branch to awaken the Aspect of Fire as soon as possible."


    Julia stood up.


    After bowing once more, she said to the ck sphere, "May your will be done, Lord Satan."


    A breathtaking wave of demonic energy flowed out of the ck sphere.

 Chapter 181 - Summit (2)

    Chapter 181 - Summit (2)


    Arge-scale world summit had been organized to discuss how to eradicate the Demon Cult¡ªthe group led by the ruler of all evil, Satan. It was the first time such arge-scale conference had been held since the Day of Cmity.


    A world summit for every functioning country that was still able to call itself a ''country'' was being prepared in the US. Among those countries were Eastern Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan as well as European countries, Russia, and, of course, the US.


    People thought that the conference was being led by the US, but in reality, that wasn''t the case. It was actually being led by Guardians, the international organization of Protectors chosen by Gaia.


    The members of Guardians were as strong as World Rankers or, in some cases, even stronger. Their power was equal to that of several countriesbined. They were an organization that could be called thest hope of humanity.


    The world was gathering around them.


    * * *


    "Ah, Kang-Woo. Your tie is crooked," Han Seol-Ah said.


    She reached toward Oh Kang-Woo''s necktie. Kang-Woo, who had never worn a tie, let her fix it for him.


    "Thanks," he replied.


    "Fufu. You look much cooler dressed like this."


    "Tsk. I probably look like a squidpared to Si-Hun."


    "What are you saying? That''s not true," Seol-Ah disagreed as she gazed at Kang-Woo, who was all suited up.


    Kang-Woo certainly wasn''t as handsome as Kim Si-Hun, but he was fairly good-looking as well. Moreover, he pretty much had the muscr body of a swimmer, so the suit fit him incredibly well. The addition of his piercing eyes to thatbination made him look like the heir of a big conglomerate that appeared in dramas.


    "Kang-Woo, these clothes are ufortable," Echidna said while frowning and pulling on her clothes.


    Both Echidna and Seol-Ah were wearing party dresses. The dresses looked excessively fancy, but the two of them were so pretty that the dresses didn''t seem like overkill at all.


    m.


    Cha Yeon-Joo swung open the door and entered.


    "Hey! Are you ready yet?" she asked.


    "Yeah."


    Yeon-Joo was wearing a red dress that matched the color of her hair.


    "For God''s sake, what a bother. Why are they hosting a banquet?" Yeon-Joo whined with a scowl.


    Like Echidna, Yeon-Joo seemed to find the party dress that she wore ufortable.


    A banquet had been scheduled for the night before the summit so that chief executives of each country could strengthen their bonds. Yeon-Joo could be considered one of Korea''s chief executives, so she had to participate as well.


    "Well, to be honest, this could be more important than the summit itself," Kang-Woo remarked.


    Unlike what they expected, the chief executives had epted invitations to the summit with surprisingly little persuasion. Not even Gaia and Kang-Woo had expected things to go that easily. Still, it would be hard to expect their unconditional cooperation in stopping the Demon Cult.


    ''I should make as many connections as possible,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    It was very important for them to build good rtionships with the chief executives of each country. After all, it was hard to expect unconditional cooperation from someone just by being acquaintances. Nevertheless, it was good to make at least some sort of connection.


    "Oh, right. Kang-Woo, you''re probably going to be swamped at the banquet," Yeon-Joomented.


    "Me? Why?"


    "It seems that quite a few people are waiting for you," Yeon-Joo exined with a smirk.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''Why?''


    The fact that he used to be the Demon King, how he''d been born in the darkness but had epted the light and was reborn as Tirion''s apostle, and how he was the most powerful member of Guardians¡­ Kang-Woo had made sure no one except the members of Guardians knew about all those things.


    Moreover, he''d made Si-Hun take the credit for his achievements by spreading false information that Si-Hun was the one who had done all of those things. That''s why only members of Guardians or those who knew him personally knew about the Warrior of Light, Oh Kang-Woo.


    As a result, most of the chief executives around the world who had superficial knowledge of Guardians were more interested in Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun.


    ''I specifically set things up that way.''


    The hero who had saved Korea, the new sword supernova, the disciple of Sword Emperor Tian Wuchen¡­ Kang-Woo had ced many titles on Si-Hun to boost his poprity.


    So, Kang-Woo couldn''t understand why people were waiting for him.


    "More precisely, they''re waiting for you because you''re Si-Hun''s hyung."


    "Ah."


    "I guess you weren''t able to hide the rtionship between the two of you," Yeon-Joo pointed out with a lightugh.


    Kang-Woo nodded, finally understanding the reason why.


    "I see, so it was because of that."


    "Well, it''s not a bad thing, is it?"


    "I guess not."


    To build a rtionship with the chief executives, Kang-Woo needed to have a corresponding level of reputation and authority. Rather than just being Member B of Guardians, it was better to be the sworn brother of Kim Si-Hun, the hero who was receiving the world''s attention.


    ''This is better.''


    Kim Si-Hun didn''t seem talented in terms of building good rtionships with politicians, so Kang-Woo could do it in his ce.


    Step, step.


    Kang-Woo''s group headed out and met Si-Hun, Gaia, and Grace McCubbin on the way to the banquet hall. They entered it together.


    "Wow!"


    "So, they are the rumored¡­"


    As the members of Guardians showed themselves, the banquet hall filled with chatter.


    The members who got the most attention were Gaia and Si-Hun. Famous politicians and yers from all around the world walked toward them to strike up conversations. Gaia and Si-Hun seemed surprised.


    People also walked toward Ito Shinji, Zhuge Xian, Grace, and other Guardians members.


    ''I guess Guardians really is famous.''


    Kang-Woo looked at that scene from a distance.


    Guardians, the most powerful group of humanity, only had ten or so people. In the past, before yers appeared, no one would have cared so much about a small organization.


    ''But¡­''


    Times had changed. Guardians was so powerful that they could erase a country without leaving any trace behind if they wanted.


    World Rankers received VIP treatment in the countries that they were based in, and in the case of Wuchen, he pretty much had the Chinese government wrapped around his fingers. It was not a strange sight at all.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    ''Something a bit weird.''


    He hadn''t expected all the countries to cooperate in hunting down the Demon Cult. He had even prepared a trump card for if he couldn''t get through to them with words.


    Nevertheless¡­


    ''They seem too carefree.''


    The politicians and yers acted as if they weren''t aware of the reason behind the summit. No matter how optimistic and peace-loving they were, their behavior was far too strange considering the Demon Cult was still a real threat.


    "Ah, nice to meet you. I am the ambassador of France, Emmanuel Amon."


    "You are the sworn brother of Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun, correct? I''ve heard a lot about you."


    Before Kang-Woo could resolve his doubts, the politicians roaming around started to approach him as well.


    Kang-Woo smiled and bowed in greeting. "Thank you very much foring all this way for world peace."


    His smile was perfectly professional.


    "Hahaha! Not at all. This is all to support Guardians, after all."


    "It is a given for any country to support Guardians as much as possible."


    ''What''s with them?''


    Kang-Woo furrowed his brows ever so slightly.


    Politicians from France, Ennd, Italy, the US, and even Korea gathered and spoke to Kang-Woo.


    ''Why are they so assertive?''


    Unlike Gaia''s expectations, the politicians were acting as if they were willing to give them literally everything they needed. It was the night before the summit, but this was too much.


    Politicians would usually try to profit as much as possible while offering as little support as possible, but that could not be seen at all. Each offered the best conditions they could possibly offer as if they hade to an auction to buy a product.


    "We were thinking of supporting Guardians by offering the services of the France Special Forces."


    "We can promise you a budget of a hundred million dors each year."


    "Haha, I feel reassured hearing such things from all of you," Kang-Woo said.


    He kept up his professional smile while speaking to several people at once.


    ''Oh, fuck.''


    As the conversations continued, he eventually understood what was going on.


    "I heard that the Demon Cultists had suffered great losses in South America."


    "Haha! It seems like they can''t do much else than hide well."


    ''These motherfuckers.''


    There was no hint of anxiety or fear in the politicians'' words. It didn''t take Kang-woo long to understand why they could talk like that.


    ''After all the work we did to stop them, you think hiding is all they''re good at?''


    The incidents in Korea, China, and then South America¡­ All those incidents that the Demon Cult had caused had been solved more easily than the politicians had expected.


    Civilian losses had only happened in Korea. Then in China, they had achieved a massive victory against weak demonic beasts. Lastly, the South America incident had been resolved by the members of Guardians and World Rankers before the Demon Cult even had a chance to do anything.


    So, from the politicians'' point of view, the Demon Cult just looked like a group of lunatics. The Demon Cult was not even a national threat in their eyes, let alone an international one.


    ''Shit.''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    He had dealt with the Demon Cult''s ns so perfectly that it had ended up working against him.


    ''This isn''t good.''


    He couldn''t see any anxiety at all in the politicians'' expressions as theyughed.


    At this rate, even if they provided support to Guardians, Kang-Woo was sure that they would take their sweet time to do so.


    ''This¡­''


    A conflict had arisen. He narrowed his eyes as his mind whirled.


    "Ah! Madam Julia!"


    "You''re here! We''ve been waiting for you! This is Mr. Oh Kang-Woo, the person that we mentioned before!"


    Everyone around Kang-Woo turned their heads to look in a certain direction. Kang-Woo followed suit.


    "Nice to meet you. My name is Julia Vilkova, the ambassador of Russia," a shockingly beautiful woman greeted Kang-Woo.


    She had long, braided brown hair, red lips, and a perfect figure that was wrapped in a dress with a deep V-neck. A pleasant fragrance wafted over from her, entuating her extremely sensual aura.


    ''I''d say she''s between Tian Suyan and Lilith.''


    Tian Suyan was like a little brat who''d just learned what being sexy meant, whereas Lilith was the epitome of sexiness. Julia Vilkova seemed to be right between them.


    "It''s nice to meet you too," Kang-Woo greeted in return.


    He looked around with a sharp gaze.


    ''These guys¡­''


    All the politicians and yers who had approached Kang-Woo were now gathered around Julia. Judging by how they were ncing at her, it seemed like they''d approached Kang-Woo because she had told them to.


    ''This must have been a systematic approach.''


    Kang-Woo shook the hand that Julia had extended toward him and smiled.


    While smiling seductively at Kang-Woo, Julia continued, "Oh, right. I saw a VIP room in the banquet hall. There''s something I would like to speak with you about¡­ Could you give me some time?"


    She tilted her head and reached toward Kang-Woo as she moved closer to him. The strange scent that he smelled from her was amplified.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s smile disappeared for a second. He narrowed his eyes at the strange scent.


    Then Kang-Woo, who seemed to be immersed in his thoughts, smirked. He flexed his fingers into a loose fist as a tingling sensation ran through them.


    "Of course," Kang-Woo eventually replied.


    He grabbed the hand that Julia had extended toward him.


    "In that case, let us all head to the room," Julia told the politicians.


    She led Kang-Woo and the politicians to the VIP room.


    Click.


    "Hah."


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief upon entering the VIP room.


    ''Come on, aren''t you going a bit too far here?''


    There were all sorts of delicacies in the VIP room and around thirty beautiful women with faces and figures that did not fall behind Julia in the slightest.


    The stunning women approached Kang-Woo as he sat down.


    "This is a shark fin dish of the highest quality. Give it a try."


    "And this is foie gras and caviar. Give this a try as well."


    The thirty beautiful women didn''t seem to care at all about the other people who had entered the room with Julia. They surrounded Kang-Woo, cutely offering him the delicacies.


    ''Damn, you really put out all the stops, huh?''


    It was obvious to anyone that they were trying to convince Kang-Woo to join their side.


    "I selected these girls myself. I was hoping they would be able to help you get some rest after all the fatigue you''ve umted from the difficult missions you undertook with Guardians," Julia exined, still smiling as she sat down in a chair.


    Kang-Woo looked at the girls, delicacies, and politicians surrounding him.


    ''They don''t seem to know me very well.''


    Tsk. He clicked his tongue.


    A hundred million dors, which was a sum of money that was hard to even imagine, delicacies he''d never even heard of or seen, and eye-blindingly beautiful women¡­


    "Hahaha."


    He couldn''t help butugh in disbelief.


    Kang-Woo leaned his back against the couch made of the highest-quality leather and grinned smugly.


    ''You won''t be able to seduce me with trash like this.''


    He understood Julia''s intentions but found them ridiculous. He wasn''t so pathetic that he would lose his way because of things like this.


    ''You should have prepared kimchi stew at least.''


    The tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth curled up into a sneer as he mocked their idiocy in his mind.


    ''I''m not that easy.''

 Chapter 182 - Summit (3)

    Chapter 182 - Summit (3)


    ''This''ll be easy,'' Julia Vilkova thought.


    She sneered coldly while looking at Oh Kang-Woo, whose smile deepened when he was surrounded by pretty women.


    ''And the scent seems to be effective.''


    Julia had spread a scent, which had an aphrodisiac mixed in, throughout the room. She''d developed the scent using ck magic, and it allowed humans to feel the desire that a demon''s body felt. It had such a strong effect that it could make even a devoted religious person or an ascetic monk lose their mind from desire.


    The politicians and beautiful girls whom Julia had nned this with had taken a medicine that increased their resistance to the scent. However, Kang-Woo hadn''t taken anything like that, so he was fully exposed to the scent''s effects.


    ''I''ll start light.''


    If Julia were to release the scent all at once, there was a chance that Kang-Woo would feel something was wrong and run out of the room.


    "How is the food?" Julie asked.


    "Ah, it''s very delicious."


    "Fufu."


    The way Kang-Woo nodded truly made him look stupid.


    ''Tsk, he doesn''t live up to his rumors,'' Julia thought, looking at Kang-Woo like he was pathetic.


    Kang-Woo was Kim Si-Hun''s sworn brother¡ªa man whose talent, abilities, and sense of justice had been acknowledged by Guardians. He''d been allowed to join them despite not having been chosen by Gaia as a Protector.


    ''I heard he has Gaia''s trust.''


    Until recently, the person whom Gaia trusted the most was, without a doubt, Grace McCubbin. She was the strongest World Ranker and Gaia''s caretaker.


    That seemed to have changed ofte. Most people knew that Gaia had begun to put more of her trust in Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun and his sworn brother Oh Kang-Woo.


    ''She doesn''t have an eye for people. Maybe it''s because she''s blind.''


    The scene of Kang-Woo gazing lustfully at the women around him was truly a spectacle. Julia even thought that perhaps she didn''t need to use the scent.


    ''Maybe I could''ve tried to make a move on Sword Dragon directly.''


    Her opinion of Si-Hun dropped after seeing his sworn brother acting like this. She regretted having pointlessly taken the long road.


    ''No, no.''


    People thought of Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun as the ace of Guardians as well as the most powerful Protector. There was a rumor that he''d practically resolved the South America incident by himself, so he possessed a very important role in Guardians.


    Leaving everything aside, Si-Hun had defeated Balrog, so being cautious was the correct decision for Julia.


    ''Furthermore, it will be a while before I can ask for Lord Satan''s guidance again.''


    Satan, the master whom she served and the pinnacle of the Aspects of Evil who led the Demon Cult, had not yet fully revived. Rather, he was preparing for something beyond just a simple revival. So, it was hard for her to have the opportunity to talk with him.


    ''I must deal with this as thoroughly as possible in the time that I cannot ask for Lord Satan''s guidance.''


    As an Apostle of Evil, she had to be the one to fill the vacancy left by the Aspects. She couldn''t ease up on her n to break down Guardians from the inside and weaken them.


    Julia stared at Kang-Woo. He was grinning like a moron in a drunken stupor, with women in his arms as if he hade to a brothel.


    ''First, I will make this pathetic man into my puppet.''


    There was no need to even think about what Julia would do after that. She would stir up trouble within Guardians by using Si-Hun''s trust in Kang-Woo against him.


    ''I wonder what expression that bitch Gaia will make once that happens.''


    Julia smiled wickedly.


    She felt a thrill just from imagining the despair that would appear on Gaia''s face when the organization known as humanity''sst hope, which Gaia''s incarnation had painstakingly created, crumbled from the inside¡­


    "Fufu, do you like the girls, Kang-Woo?"


    "Ah. Wh-What was I¡­ I apologize."


    Upon hearing Julia''s words, Kang-Woo returned to his senses and pushed the women away while shaking his head. It seemed like he still had some sanity left.


    ''But it''s only a matter of time,'' Julia thought.


    She spread more of the scent inside the room. As the scent thickened, Kang-Woo''s vision became more blurry.


    "Ah¡­"


    "There is no need to apologize. You''ve been hunting down the Demon Cult without resttely, haven''t you?" Julia asked.


    "Th-That''s true, but¡­"


    "This is a break worthy of a hero."


    "But still¡­"


    ''Ugh, you''re so damn frustrating. Are you impotent or what?'' Julia frowned at Kang-Woo''s moronic appearance. ''This is why I hate retainers of gods.''


    On the outside, the retainers of gods always acted like good people with a strong sense of justice. Yet, they were so weak in the face of their own desires.


    Retainers of gods were truly pathetic to Julia, who had epted demonic energy, recognized her desires, and pursued them to even greater heights.


    ''I wonder if you could still act like that after realizing the pleasures that the body of a demon brings?''


    The sensation induced by the scent was only an indirect experience, but it wasn''t much different from what was felt with a demon''s body.


    Julia was having fun imagining how this guy, who looked like he had been a virgin for ten millennia, would turn out after feeling such pleasures.


    "Should I ask them to leave if you''re feeling ufortable?" she suggested.


    "Ah~ Oppa, don''t you like us?"


    "But we''re so much better than Korean girls~"


    The women approached him even more seductively immediately after Julia''s.


    Kang-Woo''s cheeks moved upward in a perverted grin as he replied to Julia, "N-No, it''s okay."


    His pathetess peaked. Even the politicians around him started tough mockingly at him.


    "But¡­ didn''t you say that you wanted to tell me something?" Kang-Woo asked.


    ''Oh, I guess he hasn''t forgotten about that.''


    Julia calmly said, "It wasn''t anything important, really. I wanted to talk with you at least once because I admire you."


    "Haha, you tter me."


    "Although you weren''t chosen as a Protector, you were able to join Guardians because of how much you cared for your sworn brother. That in itself is worthy of admiration."


    "You''re exaggerating."


    "What do you all think?" Julia asked the politicians.


    "O-Of course, we were incredibly moved by your story!"


    "The older brother who fights on the front lines for the sake of his younger brother! I heard that you aren''t even rted by blood. Is that true?"


    "Ah, yes. It''s true."


    "I think that you''ve made an incredible decision."


    The politicians around Kang-Woo spoke as if they had been waiting for their turn to chime in. Theypeted on what their respective countries would do to support him.


    ''They''re all doing quite well.''


    Julia smirked upon seeing the politicians jump at Kang-Woo as if they were hungry hyenas attacking their prey.


    These politicians weren''t directly rted to the Demon Cult. They were just people she''d dragged in under the guise of a Russian ambassador.


    ''Well, I would expect them to be a little useful from time to time.''


    Julia wouldn''t have put in the effort to drag them in if they weren''t of any use. The politicians were there to make Kang-Woo their puppet and use Guardians as part of their respective countries'' forces.


    She was trying to disband Guardians, so her intentions differed from that of the politicians. Nevertheless, such details didn''t matter. They had themon goal of turning him into a puppet.


    Kang-Woo, whose eyes were gleaming while listening to the absurd words of the politicians, said, "Oh, right. You''ve treated me so well. I feel bad about doing nothing in return."


    He took out a bottle of wine from his pocket.


    It was quite bigpared to his small pocket, so it seemed like he had a magical device of sorts.


    "This is¡­"


    "Haha. It''s a valuable wine I prepared to drink with my fellow Guardians members after the banquet. But since all of you are so devoted to world peace, I would like to share it with you," Kang-Woo exined.


    "Wow."


    "You shouldn''t have."


    "Hahaha! How did you know that I go crazy for wine?"


    The politicians praised Kang-Woo.


    It wasn''t that they were interested in the wine that Kang-Woo had prepared¡­ What they cared about was that he was going to open a bottle of wine that he had prepared to drink with his fellow Guardians members.


    ''It''s working out so easily that it''s a bit disheartening,'' Julia thought.


    She yawned andid back against the sofa.


    Julia had prepared a few more things to use depending on Kang-Woo''s reaction, but it seemed like she wouldn''t need to use any of them.


    ''I guess Guardians isn''t that big of a deal in the end.''


    She couldn''t see anyone capable of being a threat to the Demon Cult''s takeover. Julia would have to meet Sword Dragon to bepletely sure. However, seeing that he trusted someone like Oh Kang-Woo, her expectations had plummeted.


    ''My lord seems to have overestimated the demon Balrog.''


    Satan didn''t talk much about what happened in Hell. He''d mentioned nothing at all about the demon king who had fought against the seven princes of Hell for a thousand years or about the demon king''s close aides Balrog and Lilith.


    It was as if Satan had been traumatized by it all.


    ''I don''t me him.''


    Satan hadn''t admitted it, but Julia had heard that Satan and the other princes had lost the war against the demon king.


    As for what happened to that demon king¡­


    ''He disintegrated while trying to cross the dimensional wall.''


    The end of the demon king who had killed the seven princes of Hell had been anticlimactic.


    The demon king, who had taken control of the Nine Hells, had tried to get his hands on another dimension, but the result had been devastating. He had charged straight into the system''s constraints and gotten annihted, leaving behind just the source of his power, the Demonic Sea.


    ''There''s no need to worry about someone who has been annihted.''


    Julia needed to focus on the n.


    "All right, let''s all have a ss!" Kang-Woo said.


    He poured wine for all the politicians who were inside the room.


    Julia raised her ss while making a seductive smile.


    "To the eradication of the Demon Cult and achieving world peace!"


    "Cheers!"


    Clink.


    They bumped their wine sses. Then Kang-Woo and the politicians took a sip of the wine.


    Julia also took a sip of the wine, which shimmered with a beautiful red light.


    ''It''s good.''


    The taste and scent of the wine were so sweet that she would believe it if she were told this was a rare wine.


    "Hahaha! It really is a good day," Kang-Woo said excitedly.


    His eyes had a hazy look to them as if he was drunk on the scent that filled the room. Even his movements had be sluggish.


    "Oh, considering I have you all here, there''s something that I would like to tell all of you," Kang-Woo announced.


    "Oh, what is it?"


    "I''m getting oddly expectant since you''re saying it like that."


    It seemed like Kang-Woo was about to leak important information about Guardians while in high spirits.


    A wide smile appeared on Julia''s face.


    "You see¡­" Kang-Woo slurred his words, looking around hesitantly.


    He seemed to be conscious of the women who were stuck to him.


    Julia waved her hand and ordered, "You girls wait outside. Come back in when I call you backter."


    "Yes, ma''am."


    The thirty beautiful women walked out of the room


    Julia''s eyes shone brightly.


    ''The information seems to be rather important.''


    Seeing how Kang-Woo still looked around even though his mind was in tatters, the information he was about to share had to be pretty significant.


    "Ahem." Kang-Woo cleared his throat and grabbed everyone''s attention. "What I''m about to say cannot leave this room.¡±


    "Haha. Of course."


    "There isn''t anyone more tight-lipped than us."


    The politicians quickly agreed to Kang-Woo''s condition.


    "The truth is¡­" Kang-Woo began.


    Gulp.


    The politicians swallowed with anticipation. There was a weird sense of anxiety in the room.


    Kang-Woo continued quietly, "There is poison in the wine you all just drank."


    "...What?"


    "Oh, it''s technically not poison, but it''s simr. Anyway, if you don''t receive an antidote from me in fixed intervals, you will suffer immense pain and die."


    "Wh-What do you¡­"


    Chaos ensued.


    Shatter.


    Julia dropped her wine ss. The blood-red wine wet the carpet.


    "What¡­?" she questioned in a trembling voice. "Wh-What did you just say?"


    "I said, you will die under immense pain if you don''t get an antidote from me. Is that so hard to understand?"


    Kang-Wooid back against the couch. His eyes still had a hazy look, and he was still moving sluggishly. He looked like he was high, but he spoke with rity. That didn''t make it any easier for them to understand the meaning behind his words though.


    Julia red at Kang-Woo, seemingly questioning the nonsense he was talking about.


    "H-Hahaha!"


    "You have an amazing sense of humor, Kang-Woo!"


    The politicians who had drunk the wineughed awkwardly while trying to figure out what was happening.


    Kang-Woo, who was rxing on the couch, raised one hand and snapped his fingers.


    Snap.


    "ARRGGHH!!!"


    The French ambassador, Emmanuel Amon, fell to the floor and rolled about in pain. His veins turned ck and bulged out, and his skin became pale as a corpse''s.


    He squirmed in agony and even scratched the floor, ripping his nails out in the process. Foam frothed at his mouth, and he soiled his pants.


    "Bleeeeh!!" Emanuel vomited.


    His eyes were bloodshot. He scratched his face, splitting his skin open. Dark red blood spewed out of it.


    Snap.


    Kang-Woo snapped his fingers again.


    Emanuel, who had been struggling in pain, trembled while panting heavily.


    He uttered, "Wh-What just¡ª"


    "I activated the poison inside of you. If you don''t take the medicine I give you once a week, you will struggle immensely just as everyone has seen. Then you will die."


    "¡­"


    A heavy silence fell over the room. The politicians looked around with confused expressions, unable to understand what was going on. The silence was so palpable that even the movements of their eyes could almost be heard.


    Finally, a politician got up and stomped on the ground.


    "D-Do you have any idea what you''ve just done?!" he eximed.


    "Of course, I do. Did you really think I didn''t?" Kang-Woo replied.


    "This is a crime! An international crime! Is Guardians nning to dere war against the world?!"


    "War? Of course not. I just want to resolve this as peacefully as possible," Kang-Woo expressed calmly.


    After seeing his rxed attitude, the politicians stood up in session.


    They screamed with faces red in fury.


    "Are you doing this with Gaia''s approval?!"


    "I am canceling all the support I have promised to Guardians. No! I will make sure you pay for this crime!"


    "I cannot believe a member of Guardians would do something like this, considering you call yourselves thest hope of humanity!! Are you insane?!"


    "Demon Cult! This man must be a Demon Cultist!!"


    The room erupted into chaos.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head back while leaning against the couch.


    "Haaa," he let out a sigh.


    Rumble.


    "Huh?"


    "Wh-What the¡­"


    The entire room shook.


    Kang-Woo pulled his head back down. A powerful bloodlust poured out of him and pressed down on everyone in the room.


    "Stop fucking yammering," hemanded.


    He frowned and raised his legs, resting them on the table with one ced over the other.


    "Just do as I say," Kang-Woo said. He spat on the floor. "If you don''t want to, then feel free to die."

 Chapter 183 - Summit (4)

    Chapter 183 - Summit (4)


    "¡­"


    Julia Vilkova bit her lip and red at Oh Kang-Woo.


    "It seems I was wrong about you, Kang-Woo. I thought you were a person with a strong sense of justice who worked harder than anyone else for world peace."


    "Don''t bullshit me." Kang-Wooughed in disbelief. "If you were trying to seduce me, you should have hidden your intentions a little bit. You tantly tried to use me, so there''s no way I wouldn''t notice."


    "¡­"


    "You should''ve done it in moderation. That was just too much."


    "It''s too bad you misinterpreted my goodwill."


    "The only thing bad here is your mind," Kang-Woo mocked.


    Julia frowned at the cheap taunt.


    ''Just how?'' she wondered.


    Julia knew that she''d left her intentions unconcealed. She could have taken it slow enough for it to be noticed, but she hadn''t thought that there was a reason why she needed to do so.


    ''Why didn''t the scent work?''


    She bit her lip anxiously.


    The scent she''d developed allowed a person to feel the desires of a demon. There was no way a human who did not have the resistance against or any experience with the urges of such desires that demons possessed would be able to resist it. That''s why she''d used such a simple strategy.


    ''If that''s the case, then¡­''


    That meant Kang-Woo had endured those desires with sheer mental fortitude.


    ''That''s impossible.''


    Julia looked at him in disbelief. She knew best how strong a demon''s desires were.


    ''And he resisted that?''


    It was like shaking a drug in front of an addict or putting water in front of a person who had copsed in the desert and telling them not to drink it. A demon''s desires couldn''t be resisted so easily.


    ''Damn.''


    Julia''s expression crumpled in frustration. She felt that her n to disband Guardians had been destroyed.


    ''A guy like this is a member of Guardians?''


    It was truly ironic that a person like this was a member of an organization that fought for world peace in the name of justice.


    Julia clenched her hands into fists.


    She considered using demonic energy to eliminate him, but she was right in the middle of enemy territory. The moment she used demonic energy, she would be surrounded by the members of Guardians and ultimately die in vain.


    ''What should I do?''


    Her thoughts became cloudy.


    Wham!


    At that moment, one of the politicians kicked the table aggressively. It seemed like he had been a yer before bing a politician. The table was split with just that one kick.


    He red at Kang-Woo and cursed, "Son of a bitch!"


    The politician threw a punch filled with blue mana at Kang-Woo.


    Grab.


    "Huh?" the politician uttered puzzledly.


    Kang-Woo easily caught the politician''s fist and smirked.


    He questioned, "For God''s sake, were you all made in a factory or something? How are you all saying the same shit despite being from different countries and ethnicities?"


    "L-Let go of me!!"


    "Man, I wasn''t nning on going this far, you know? It was fine with me as long as we got the support that we needed. But¡­"


    Crack.


    Kang-Woo strengthened his grip and broke the politician''s bones with a loud crack.


    "A-Arrgghh!!"


    "Think about it," Kang-Woo said in a serious tone.


    His scheme, which involved trying to control the politicians by making them drink poisoned wine, was a dangerous y that could''ve turned the world upside down. Nevertheless, there was a very good reason why he''d done such a thing.


    Kang-Woo continued, "If I let you do as you wish even just one time, I''ll have to keep lowering myself down to your level every single time afterward. You''ll pull all sorts of shit whenever we try to do something. Well, I''m fine with that. After all, I''ll be able to y with beautiful women and eat delicious food. But¡­"


    Crack.


    "AAGGHH!!!"


    "That''d just be a waste of pages. Nameless extras like you would progressively get more lines."


    "Wh-What the hell are you talking about?! L-Let go of me, you crazy son of a bitch!! You''re supposed to be a member of Guardians?! A protector of world peace?! Don''t screw with me! Do you have any idea who you''re dealing with?! I''m¡ª"


    "See? Who gave a nameless extra like you the right to talk so much?"


    Crack!


    "GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"


    "This is how it ends up." Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. "If your line came up in a novel, that''d be over two hundred characters of text. Fifty more lines like that shit, and we''d get an entire chapter."


    The politician''s hand was badly crushed as if it had been crushed by a press. Kang-Woo let it go, and the politician slumped to the floor while clutching his crushed hand to his chest.


    "That''s enough of an exnation, right?" Kang-Woo said.


    Everyone in the room looked at him in fear.


    "...What is it that you want?" Julia asked in a trembling voice.


    Kang-Woo grinned.


    What he wanted was simple. From the moment they lured him into this room and tried to make him their puppet, they only had two choices¡­


    "You either obey¡­" he sneered, "...or you die."


    * * *


    "Umm¡­" Emannuel Amon murmured hesitantly. He gulped and read out the contents of the paper, "Then¡­ all forty-seven countries participating in the summit have agreed to give their full support to Guardians."


    "¡­"


    "The specifics are as follows: France will send thirty yers, who are members of the special forces Cheval de Napol¨¦on, Italy will offer ten million euros and send seventeen members of their special forces Kaiser, the UK will send five of the Knights of the Round Table and famous chef Gordon Ramsay as the restaurant administrator¡­"


    While wiping the sweat dripping from his forehead, Emmanuel continued, "China will send Mr. Tian Wuchen, Ms. Tian Suyan, and 217 martial artists of the Heavenly Sword n. Japan will send Princess Kurosaki Yurie, as well as her security team.


    "Korea will send Ms. Cha Yeon-Joo and thirteen members of the Red Rose Guild, the entirety of the Hwarang Corps'' Second Squadron, and web novelists Wooden Spoon[1] and JerryM[2] as analysts and strategists."


    Emmanuel''s speech was a summary of the aid that had been offered. However, there were a total of forty-seven countries involved, so Emannuel had been talking for five minutes.


    There were some differences between each country, but it didn''t change the fact that the scale of their support had been far more than what Guardians had expected.


    "¡­"


    "H-How did this¡­"


    The mouths of Gaia, Grace McCubbin, and Kim Si-Hun gaped open in surprise.


    They hadn''t expected to receive such immense support. In the first ce, it wasn''t easy for a country to offer that much support to an external organization.


    The three of them couldn''t believe what was going on.


    "Everyone¡­" Gaia teared up, as she felt that a miracle had urred. "Thank you¡­ very much."


    She bit her lip in an attempt to hold back her tears.


    All the remaining countries on Earth had joined together, leaving behind things like ideology, ethnicity, and religion. If this wasn''t a miracle, what else could it be called?


    Gaia''s heart trembled, and tears full of emotion flowed down her cheeks.


    "Thank you all so very much."


    She had even thrown away her original name after bing Gaia''s incarnation. She''d done her best to protect the world from being destroyed by the Demon of Prophecy.


    Numerous people had joined her, but even more had turned their backs on her. Those important to her had vanished in session, but new people entered her life.


    She''d lost her eyesight, and the world had be dark. Even her legs had stopped working. She''d felt that the world was far too big.


    It was as if she''d been left alone in the middle of the sea. The burden she carried was much too heavy for a single person to shoulder.


    Her shoulders trembled, and her tears continued to stream down her face.


    "Gaia," Si-Hun called out.


    He grabbed Gaia''s hands, which looked as if they would break from the slightest touch.


    Si-Hun felt that he had to say something to her at this very moment, so he did.


    "You are not alone."


    "Ah¡­" Gaia uttered, feeling Si-Hun''s warmth through her hands.


    To her, his energy was hotter and more reliable than anything else¡­


    Her cheeks felt hot. The words Si-Hun had said kept echoing in her mind.


    Particles of light began gathering in the darkness. Some were small, and others were big, but they seemed to be illuminating the darkness in her vision.


    "Protector Kim Si-Hun¡­"


    "Haha. This is no time to be crying."


    "Ah, y-you''re right." Gaia blushed while coughing and raised her head. "Once again, I thank you all for having made such a difficult decision. I will not arrogantly make a promise like guaranteeing the safety of the forces that you have decided to send, but we will make sure that none of their sacrifices will be in vain."


    "¡­"


    "The world is still in crisis, monsters still appear inside gates, and the Demon Cult and Satan are trying to destroy the world. But¡­"


    Gaia straightened her back. A dignified yet intimidating energy emanated from the frail and slender girl.


    She continued, "Not a single drop of blood that we spill will be in vain."


    ''Damn, what a great line,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    "Our drops of blood will be the light that illuminates the darkness."


    ''Yes! Well said, sister-inw!!''


    "The number of troops or how strong they are do not matter."


    ''Because you can''t quantify the value of human lifeeeeeeeee!!''


    "Just as little fireflies gather to illuminate the darkness, we will swim through this pitch-ck darkness together."


    ''My god, I might end up falling for her at this rate as well, Si-Hun!!''


    p, p, p!!


    Thunderous apuse rang throughout the room.


    Kang-Woo smiled when he saw the Gaia and Si-Hun couple holding hands.


    ''Jeez. Well done, my children.''


    Then he turned and looked at the reactions of the other people at the summit. Some were crying and trembling. It wasn''t hard to see why they were reacting like that.


    ''I guess these sons of bitches were moved.''


    Weirdly, the ones who were crying the most were the politicians he had poisoned. That was probably just a coincidence though.


    ''To think they''d offer so much support for world peace¡­''


    They had offered so much support that it might even be a detriment to their respective countries. Kang-Woo couldn''t help but be moved by their sacrifice.


    "Huuuuuurgh," Emmanuel, the French ambassador, cried, unable to restrain himself anymore. He muttered, "Motherfucker¡­ Absolute scum¡­"


    "Ah," Kang-Woo uttered.


    ''So, he despises the Demon Cult that much¡­''


    Upon hearing Emmanuel¡¯s muttering increase in volume, Kang-Woo stood up and walked toward him.


    "Gasp!"


    "I didn''t know¡­ that you harbored such deep resentment," Kang-Woo said.


    "N-No, I¡ª"


    "There is no need to worry. The world has gathered as one. If we stick together, we will surely be able to defeat the Demon Cult!"


    "Y-Yes! Of course!" Emannuel quickly nodded.


    Kang-Woo gripped Emmanuel''s hand tightly.


    "Kurgh!" Emmanuel groaned.


    "Let us fight as one."


    "A-Arrgghh."


    "Let the light be with you."


    "I-It hurts."


    "I am also hurting. However, you must endure the pain. You must not let resentment devour you.¡±


    "Kuh¡­"


    More tears flowed down Emmanuel''s cheeks.


    ''Shieet, my words must have moved him,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    Emmanuel was crying, so it seemed like Kang-Woo had managed to get through to him.


    The French ambassador couldn''t stop sobbing. He was groaning and squirming in pain. Nevertheless, Kang-Woo believed he had certainly touched Emmanuel''s heart.


    ''After all, I have a talent for touching people''s hearts.''


    There was no doubt that Emmanuel felt moved.


    ''Trust me, bro.''

 Chapter 184 - Lightning Strikes Twice

    Chapter 184 - Lightning Strikes Twice


    "Shit, shit!!" a woman cursed aggressively.


    The woman, whose skin was as white as snow, was Julia Vilkova¡ªan apostle who served the Masters of Evil and an executive member of the Demon Cult.


    Her beautiful face crumpled into a scowl as she bit her lip.


    ''He got me.''


    She''d prepared a group of politicians to disband Guardians. Yet, those rtionships that she''d spent years building had been taken from her in an instant. It was so pathetic that it was not even funny.


    "Shit!"


    Julia had fallen for a trivial and pathetic scheme. It had been totally unexpected; that man actually gave them a poisoned bottle of wine and manipted them with an antidote¡­ It was a strategy that a viin in a martial arts novel would use.


    ''The problem is¡­''


    She clenched her hand into a fist.


    It didn''t matter if it was an old-fashioned or cliche strategy.


    ''It''s effective.''


    That man had threatened them with death¡­ He gave them the fear that they might die after suffering immense pain if they didn''t take an antidote within a week.


    She didn''t think the corrupt politicians she''d chosen would have the mental fortitude to ovee such fear. They would do anything as long as it meant that they could get the antidote.


    "Fuuu."


    Julia sighed deeply and narrowed her eyes.


    ''I''ll have to create an antidote first.''


    For her to be able to continue using the corrupt politicians who had be ves of Guardians, she would have to create an antidote first.


    "And¡­"


    She touched her stomach.


    As for the most important reason why she had to create an antidote¡­


    ''I drank it as well.''


    Julia wasn''t sure if the poison the man had used would affect her too. Since epting demonic energy, her body had be closer to that of a demon rather than a human.


    ''But still, I can''t just do nothing.''


    Even if she had the body of a demon, that didn''t mean she had be immune to poison.


    ''I have to go to Tibet.''


    The Tibet branch was one of the top five branches of the Demon Cult.


    ''I''ll have to develop an antidote there.''


    At the same time, she had to get rid of the poison that was left in her body.


    "Fuuu."


    She took a deep breath. Her boiling emotions calmed down, and her gaze sank.


    "Oh Kang-Woo, huh?"


    Oh Kang-Woo was a twisted man who wasn''t a good fit for Guardians at all. Julia remembered the way he had looked at her. It gave her the chills.


    ''He''s definitely hiding something.''


    With an anxious expression, she walked out of the White House and went to the airport where the private jet that she''d used to get there had already been prepared for her next flight.


    ''I have to go there for matters regarding the Master of Fire anyway.''


    Julia boarded the jet, and it took off toward Tibet. She clenched her hands, which were trembling from an unfamiliar sense of anxiety.


    * * *


    A little earlier in the White House, where the summit was taking ce¡­


    Kang-Woo went out to the balcony for some fresh air, and a woman approached him from behind.


    "Is it okay that we let her go?" she asked.


    The woman had a pure and elegant appearance, but her sensual expressions and movements could not be concealed.


    Kang-Woo stretched as he answered Kurosaki Yurie¡ªno, Lilith, "It''s okay. I let her go on purpose."


    He watched Julia''s limousine disappear into the horizon.


    Then he turned and entered a room. It was the private room that the American government had prepared for him. The luxurious pieces of furniture made it resemble a pce.


    Kang-Woo sat down in a chair made of high-quality leather. Lilith approached and sat down on the armrest, cing her hand on his shoulder.


    "How long have you known that she was a Demon Cultist?" she asked.


    "From the moment I met her."


    "Hmm. But you didn''t feel demonic energy from her, did you? I wasn''t able to feel it when I checked every single human that attended the banquet."


    Lilith extended her left arm. which transformed into a sticky tentacle. The tentacle extended, grabbed a cup of coffee that was out of her hand''s reach, and gave it to Kang-Woo.


    "The Demon Cultists are capable of hiding their demonic energy inside their heart. Even I can''t tell them apart just by looking at them."


    "Then, my king, how did you¡ª"


    "I told you not to call me that."


    "Ah, hohoho. My apologies. How did you find out, Master Kang-Woo?"


    Kang-Woo took a sip of coffee and answered, "By scent."


    "Scent?"


    "She used a scent that forcibly incites your desires."


    It was simr to the sensation a human felt when they first epted demonic energy in their body and transformed into a demon. Although it had been a long time since that had happened to Kang-Woo, he couldn''t forget it.


    As for why he could remember it so vividly¡­


    ''I''m still holding it back.''


    The desire for blood and destruction, the nightmarish thirst of the constant need to fulfill one''s desires¡ªhe was still restraining all of the impulses that he''d gotten with his demon body. He had never stopped holding them back for even a single moment.


    "The only ones on Earth who can create the desires of a demon so perfectly are the Demon Cult."


    Considering that the Demon Cult had spread worldwide, Kang-Woo had thought of the possibility that they might have already spread their influence internationally to politicians. That was why he wasn''t at all bewildered about the Demon Cult taking part in the summit.


    ''It''s actually a good opportunity.''


    It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that meeting a Demon Cultist at the summit was like winning the lottery.


    Kang-Woo looked at the hand he''d used to exchange a handshake with Julia. A drop of ck blood dripped from his right index finger.


    He was about to take a tissue and clean it when¡­


    "Ah, let me clean that for you."


    Lilith grabbed Kang-Woo''s hand, licking her lips as if she were a predator aiming for its prey. She licked the blood, and the ck drops of blood mixed with Lilith''s saliva and disappeared into her mouth.


    A tickling sensation stimted Kang-Woo''s finger.


    "...Aren''t you going to ask me why I''m bleeding?"


    "Fufu. I can more or less guess why."


    Kang-Woo smirked at Lilith''s calm answer. It was nice that Lilith caught on to things like this very quickly.


    ''If it were Balrog, he would''ve made a fuss out of it.''


    He thought of Balrog, whom he didn''t dare bring with him to the USA.


    "Right. How should I manage the humans that have ingested the poison?" Lilith asked.


    "Oh, you don''t need to do that."


    "You don''t need to look over them?" Lilith tilted her head. Then she uttered in understanding, "Ah. I see. Fufufu. Yes, I guess not."


    A wide smile appeared on Lilith''s face. She extended her hand and stroked Kang-Woo''s cheek.


    "That human Julia is quite stupid. There is no way something like a beauty trap would work on you, my lord De¡ª I mean, Master Kang-Woo."


    "Hmm?"


    That wasn''t true. After all, when the beautiful women that Julia had prepared tried to seduce him, he had barely been able to hold on to his reason.


    Eighteen eyes suddenly appeared on Lilith''s face, and the hand that was touching his cheek turned into horrendous green tentacles.


    "After all, your body can no longer be satisfied by anyone else but me."


    ''No.''


    "You act as if you don''t like it, but your body is honest."


    ''I fucking said no.''


    Kang-Woo pushed Lilith away softly. Disappointed, Lilith stepped back.


    "Now that we have gained the cooperation of each country, we should make our preparations," Kang-Woo said as he stood up from the chair.


    "Of course." Lilith lifted the hem of the dress and elegantly bent her waist. "May your will be done, my king."


    * * *


    In the mountains of Tibet, there was a giant Demon Cult branch that the Demon Cult had built inside an entire mountain. It was a branch that thousands of Demon Cultists lived in. The interior was made of such modern facilities that it was hard to believe that a practically pseudo-religious cult resided in it.


    Among the countless rooms that were spread out like an ant nest, there was a room that this Demon Cult branch treated as an emergency treatment room. Inside it was an old priest in a ck robe standing next to an operating table, on which a womany.


    The priest slowly opened his mouth and stated, "...There is nothing."


    "What?" Julia, the woman lying on the operating table, asked in disbelief while frowning.


    The old priest exined, "There are no signs of poison. We''ve analyzed your body with ck magic, regr magic, and even with cutting-edge medical technology, but there are no abnormalities whatsoever with your body, Madam Julia."


    "...What?" Julia felt as if she''d been hit in the back of the head. "There''s no poison?"


    "I also considered the possibility of it being a parasite, so I checked for that as well, but¡­ that was not it either."


    "¡­"


    Silence fell over the room. Her mind became foggy, and an inexplicable sense of uneasiness spread through her body.


    "W-Wait," she said with a shaking voice.


    Memories of the alcohol that Kang-Woo had given her and everything that had happened afterward passed through her mind.


    "No way," she muttered.


    Kang-Woo had said that he had put poison in the wine and that everyone would die in one week if they didn''t receive the antidote.


    Moreover, as proof¡­


    "Proof¡­"


    Emmanuel Amon¡ªhe''d screamed while struggling in pain. However, he had been the only one.


    Furthermore, Emmanuel wasn''t even a yer; he was a normal human being. Ordinary humans were so weak that a high-level yer could cause them to have a seizure just by applying pressure on them with mana.


    Aside from that demonstration with Emmanuel, there was no proof that Kang-Woo had put poison in the wine.


    "But¡­ why?" Julia murmured uneasily.


    She became even more confused.


    Moreover, the lie about the poison wasn''t the only thing she couldn''t understand. Julia had believed Kang-Woo far too easily. Why had she trusted his words without any suspicion?


    She reyed the events of that night in her mind.


    ''I don''t know.''


    However, she still couldn''t figure out why.


    Had it been because of his overly confident attitude or his eyes, which were full of certainty? Perhaps it was the clich¨¦ of putting poison in wine?


    She thought of many possibilities but couldn''t find an answer.


    Julia frowned and raised her right hand to ce on her forehead.


    "...Huh?"


    At that moment, she noticed something on her hand.


    It was a ck liquid.


    "What''s this?"


    She frowned and took a closer look at the ck liquid.


    Sniff.


    She sniffed it. It smelled a bit metallic.


    "Blood¡­?"


    Julia tilted her head confusedly.


    * * *


    "Prepare¡­ for war?" Gaia asked with a bewildered expression after hearing Kang-Woo''s words.


    Kang-Woo nodded. "Yes. Now that we''ve been promised support from all countries, it''s about time we prepare to engage in war against the Demon Cult."


    "B-But¡­!" Gaia made a flustered expression. "We¡­ still don''t know where they are."


    "I''ve found one," Kang-Woo said with a smile. "The Chinese branch is located in the mountainous area of Tibet."

 Chapter 185 - Crocodile Tears

    Chapter 185 - Crocodile Tears


    [A summit between 47 countries took ce, the biggest one since the Day of Cmity.]


    [The Earth has united under one banner.]


    [Unexpected results... Rather than choosing to benefit their own countries, politicians have chosen world peace.]


    [Countries have formed an alliance under the US¡­ The name of the world alliance has been announced to be Guardians.]


    The news shook the world. An alliance of such a magnitude hadn''t even been formed on the Day of Cmity, when half of the world had been massacred at the ws of monsters. Guardians, the alliance that had been made through the active support of each country, hadpleted its grandunch.


    Although it was called a world alliance, it was not made up of every army and yer in the world. They did not share an economic, political, or religious system either. If aparison were to be made, it was as if an international super-guild had been born.


    Ever since the Day of Cmity, the norm for armies all over the world had changed from being a massive force of regr soldiers to small elite forces of powerful yers. So, the birth of this unusual super-guild had been referred to with the overblown term of ''world alliance.''


    The officially announced leader of Guardians was Grace McCubbin. Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun had been announced as her right hand.


    There was quite amotion about the announcement regarding Sword Dragon. He was a rising star, but his abilities had not been evaluated like the established World Rankers¡ªTian Wuchen, Mahabach, Jason, Emilia, and so on.


    One of the US rankers, Jason, had been dissatisfied with the announcement and challenged Kim Si-Hun to a duel.


    However¡­


    Poster (Tresha): Did you guys hear the news??? Sword Dragon apparently beat the shit out of Jason!!


    ? I honestly didn''t even watch the stream since I thought Sword Dragon would lose, but fr?? How did he win?


    ? The Pacer: I saw it. Jason got absolutely floored.


    ? Butterfly Valley: ording to the rumors, not even Tian Wuchen is a match for him.


    ? Wooden Spoon: bruh LMAO not even a year has passed since Tian Wuchen epted Sword Dragon as his disciple, right? What an absolute unit LOL


    The battle between Si-Hun and Jason had been streamed worldwide. Si-Hun had absolutely destroyed Jason by an overwhelming margin.


    Themunities were in an obvious uproar at the unexpected development of events. Si-Hun''s name became almost as famous as Grace''s and spread worldwide.


    Everything went smoothly after that. yers from all over the world were gathered under the name Guardians. They were designated into squadrons depending on their Traits and specialties before starting group training.


    Guardians, the organization that had been hiding behind masks and protecting the world in secret, had formally presented themselves to the world.


    * * *


    "A-Amazing. The news channels are full of news reports about Guardians and Si-Hun," Han Seol-Ah said in surprise while changing channels.


    She''d been in a party with Si-Hun since his early days as a yer, so seeing him be famous worldwide felt unreal.


    "It feels like Si-Hun has gotten far away," she remarked.


    "Seol-Ah, you''re a part of Guardians now too," Oh Kang-Woo pointed out.


    "Ah, y-you''re right."


    Guardians had moved away from being a secret organization formed only of Protectors after going public. They were now rapidly growing in size. A secret organization that protected the world sounded cool, but having more members expanded the limits of what they could aplish.


    ''It''s pretty much pointless for Guardians to remain a secret organization at this point.''


    If a secret organization were to be sessful, then its target¡ªwhich, in Guardians'' case, was the Demon Cult¡ªhad to be unaware of its existence. That way, they would be able to ambush the target in secret or take other action in stealth.


    ''But we can''t do that anymore.''


    The Demon Cult already knew about Guardians. Even a small branch of fifty people had recognized Guardians, so there was no question about other branches.


    In such a scenario, keeping Guardians as a secret organization was dumb. The correct thing was to announce their name publicly and move forward.


    "They always talk about the same thing. I wish they would stop airing this," Echidna, who was sitting on Kang-Woo''sp, said while pouting.


    Kang-Woo smiled and patted her head.


    "Why?" he asked.


    "The Re:Zero rerun was canceled because of that. It was thest episode¡­" Echidnained, kicking her feet.


    ''Is that an anime she likes?'' Kang-Woo wondered.


    In between her dragon-tongue magic training sessions, Echidna often spent her spare time watching television, and what she liked the most was anime.


    Seeing her stare at the television with bright eyes was one of the small things Kang-Woo liked to do.


    ''I should get rid of them as soon as possible.''


    Kang-Woo''s goal was to spend the days rxing and watching television. Yet, as time went on, those days seemed to be getting farther and farther away from him.


    ''Ancient demonic beasts, the princes of Hell, the celestial realm¡­''


    Even the divine realm where Gaia and Tirion resided was getting involved.


    ''At this rate, maybe we''ll get a martial arts world too.''


    The entire world was bing a shitshow now that Gaia''s protection, which had been keeping the dimensional wall intact, was almost gone.


    Kang-Woo felt like he wouldn''t even be surprised anymore if he were to find out there were even more worlds. The peaceful life that he desired so much was getting further away the more dimensions got added into the mix.


    "Urgh."


    He shook his head.


    It was pointless to think about things he couldn''t resolve. His priority was to deal with what was in front of him first.


    "Gaia, you don''t look too good... Is something bothering you?" Seol-Ah concernedly asked Gaia, who was sitting on the couch too.


    "I-It''s nothing," Gaia answered, shaking her head flusteredly.


    Kang-Woo nced at Gaia, who couldn''t seem to calm down.


    ''It must be awkward for her.''


    Gaia had begun living in Kang-Woo''s house after Guardians'' inauguration ceremony. Grace, the one who used to take care of her, had be busier, so Gaia needed someone else to take care of her.


    They''d decided to use Grace as Guardians'' representative because Gaia was too important. However, she had to be taken care of by someone they could trust, and that''s why she was living with Kang-Woo.


    "Grace and Si-Hun are beyond busy, so I''m not sure if it''s okay for me to stay here doing nothing," Gaia expressed.


    "It''s okay. It''s not like they''re working for ourfort," Kang-Woo replied.


    After Guardians went public, they''d deliberately hidden Kang-Woo''s and Gaia''s existences. Kang-Woo was Guardians'' strongest member, so they wanted this trump card hidden from their enemies. Gaia, on the other hand, was their fatal weakness, so they needed to hide her to protect her.


    They were in hiding for different reasons, but it didn''t change the fact that they both didn''t have much to do at the momentpared to the other members of Guardians.


    "Kang-Woo, have you investigated the Demon Cult branch in Tibet?"


    "Yes. I went there a few days ago. As expected, it was massive."


    There was a risk of being discovered if Kang-Woo were to search in greater detail, so Kang-Woo had only gotten a general outline of the branch''s structure with the Authority of the Beholder. Nevertheless, he managed to discover that the branch was on a whole other levelpared to the branch in the Middle East.


    Over five thousand Demon Cultists lived within the repurposed mountain interior. There were also numerous demons residing there, which meant the number of inhabitants was evenrger than that. It was the biggest base they''d ever found.


    "...It really might be a war," Gaia remarked.


    "Yes," Kang-Woo agreed with a nod.


    Wars involving millions of soldiers like in the past no longer existed. They were centered instead around a small number of superhumans known as yers, so five thousand Demon Cultists wasn''t a number that could be taken lightly.


    "Kang-Woo... you won''t participate this time, right?"


    "I will be participating, but I won''t be in the forefront," he said in a firm voice.


    Gaia''s expression darkened.


    Kang-Woo asserted, "It''s a necessary thing."


    He wasn''t going topromise on that.


    If Kang-Woo, Balrog, and Lilith were to fight in the war, winning it would be far easier. In fact, unless there was a prince of Hell, just the three of them would be able to wipe out the Demon Cult branch.


    Nevertheless¡­


    ''I can''t fight alone forever.''


    Of course, Kang-Woo would have to step up if a prince of Hell, a being that couldn''t be defeated with numbers, were to personally participate in the war. Even so, Kang-Woo couldn''t be in every single fight. It would be egocentric to think that he could do everything alone.


    ''And¡­''


    He recalled what the politicians had said at the banquet hall. They had not felt a shred of fear or anxiety regarding the Demon Cult.


    That was also the case for the yers who had just joined Guardians. They didn''t put much effort into training, and all sorts of incidents kept happening. It was as if they were making it clear that they''d been forced to be there.


    They weren''t scared of the Demon Cult, so they were just trying to use the name and prestige of Guardians as much as possible. That was the current mindset of the yers. Several yers had even been caught misusing that prestige by epting bribes.


    ''We''ve won too easily so far.''


    Kang-Woo was too strong, so they''d been able to ovee dangerous situations too easily. The other yers had not even had the opportunity to experience bloodshed and to feel the need to be vignt toward the Demon Cult. This issue wasn''t something that could be resolved by simply telling them that the Demon Cult was dangerous.


    ''They need to know.''


    At this rate, it was obvious that, with suchcency, the yers would be digging their own graves. They needed to know how powerful and terrifying the Demon Cult and demons were¡ªeven if much blood needed to be shed in the process.


    "Didn''t you feel it too when you were talking to the politicians, Gaia?"


    "..."


    "Do you really believe it''s okay for things to go on like this?"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Gaia bit her lip and slowly shook her head. "No. I think that it''s dangerous."


    ''What a relief.''


    It seemed like she wasn''t dumb enough to be unreasonable in a situation like this. Gaia too knew how serious the situation was.


    "I didn''t make this choice just to raise their vignce," Kang-Woo continued.


    If the goal were only to raise their vignce, then there would be other options. However, he''d decided to leave this war to the yers for a different reason.


    ''We need to make our forces stronger.''


    The phrase ''What doesn''t kill you only makes you stronger'' was nonsense in most cases, but that wasn''t the case for yers. yers became stronger through battle, especially when their lives were on the line.


    It was not simply about them gaining battle experience.


    ''The level cap and EXP.''


    Most yers usually broke past their level cap by hunting strong boss monsters to gain experience points or when they were on the brink of death. The uing battle against the demons could satisfy both requirements. Demons gave more experience points and were stronger than boss monsters, so the yers'' lives would be at risk.


    Basically, yers would be able to obtain huge growth thanks to the war.


    ''There has to be at least thirty yers who are of the level of World Rankers.''


    Kang-Woo thought that was the bare minimum they needed for the future battle against Lucifer. Only World Ranker-level yers would be able to deal significant damage to a prince of Hell.


    "You said before that the drops of our blood will be the light that illuminates the darkness, didn''t you?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "I did," Gaia answered in a heavy voice.


    Kang-Woo put his hand on her shoulder, which was trembling slightly.


    "This war is a chance to prove that statement."


    * * *


    "All troops, get ready!!"


    It had been two months since Guardians was made known to the world. Their troops, who hadpleted basic training, arrived in Tibet. Ten thousand yers had gathered from all around the world. They were the finest of the elites who hadpleted their Seventh Awakening.


    "Advance!" Grace, who was at the forefront, shouted.


    The yers weren''t riding on horses like cavalry forces in the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, the scene of so many yers charging forward was quite impressive. The warrior-ss yers at the vanguard were running at a speed that made cars look pathetic.


    "Hey! Demon Cultist heads are apparently five hundred thousand dors each!"


    "Holy shit. They''re paying that much for a bunch of lunatic cultists?!"


    There wasn''t a hint of anxiety on the faces of the advancing yers. They charged recklessly, without even maintaining formation, at the mountain where a branch of the Demon Cult was hiding.


    Rumble!!!


    There was an explosive bang, and a cloud of white smoke rose. Demonic beasts, demons, and Demon Cultists emerged from the mountain while exuding ck demonic energy.


    "Shit! H-How did they find this ce¡­?!"


    "Stop them!"


    [Kahahaha! I was getting bored being stuck inside a mountain all day! Perfect timing!]


    [I, Malfurion, demon of the Seventh Hell, will face you!]


    The battle between demons and yers began. Screams and sounds of explosions as well as waves of heat and frost spread in all directions.


    "It''s begun," Gaia, who had been waiting at the rear for the battle to begin, stated.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "Yes, it has," he replied solemnly.


    The members of Guardians were fighting desperately with all their might. Seeing them shed their blood made his heart hurt.


    ''I can''t just watch.''


    Kang-Woo didn''t intend to simply watch as the others fought hard and spilled their blood on the battlefield.


    ck smoke emerged from his hands and enveloped the corpses of the demons that had been killed.


    Riiing.


    [Activating the Trait ''Reaper of Souls.'']


    [Slightly expanding the passage leading to the deep end.]


    "Everyone is fighting," Kang-Woo said in a voice full of sadness while hearing the system''s notification. "The blood they shed won''t be in vain."


    Riiing.


    [Activating the Trait ''Reaper of Souls.'']


    [Slightly expanding the passage leading to the deep end.]


    "Guardians will be stronger with that blood."


    Riiing.


    [Activating the Trait ''Reaper of Souls.'']


    [Slightly expanding the passage leading to the deep end.]


    The tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth curved upward.


    "Humanity will move a step forward in protecting the world''s peace and making a better future."


    ''Oh, fuck.''


    Riiing.


    [Activating the Trait ''Reaper of Souls.'']


    [Slightly expanding the passage leading to the deep end.]


    He kept hearing the chime of the system notifications.


    ''I shouldn''t be smiling.''


    His heart ached as he watched Guardians'' members fight desperately against the demons.


    Riiing.


    [Activating the Trait ''Reaper of Souls.'']


    [Slightly expanding the passage leading to the deep end.]


    ''Man, I really shouldn''t be smiling.''


    The bloodshed was necessary, but he tensely clenched his hands into fists while watching it happen. It seemed like tears would drop from the eyes of the Warrior of Light, Oh Kang-Woo.


    Riiing.


    [Activating the Trait ''Reaper of Souls.'']


    [Slightly expanding the passage leading to the deep end.]


    ''That''s weird. I''m super sad right now.''


    The tips of his mouth kept going up uncontrobly, with silentughs leaking out of it. There was truly nothing more delicious than free food after all.


    ''Ah, I''m so sad. I can''t stop crying.''


    Kang-Woo lowered his head while shedding tears as if he couldn''t bring himself to watch the battlefield. However, the real reason was to hide his extremely wide smile.


    Huehuehuehuehue.''

 Chapter 186 - Aspect of Fire (1)

    Chapter 186 - Aspect of Fire (1)


    Crack!


    Boom!


    "Arrgghh!"


    "Wh-What the¡ª?!"


    The yers'' eyes widened.


    A giant demon with a massive body that was over five meters tall rushed toward the yers, who were panicking.


    "S-Sto¡ª"


    Bash!


    Before the yer at the front could even finish his words, the giant demon kneed him in the chest. The upper body of the warrior-ss yer was blown away with just one attack.


    [What do you think you are doing on the sacred battlefield?] the demon questioned, frowning in displeasure.


    He could tell that these humans were underestimating them, the demons.


    The giant demonughed in disbelief.


    ''These mere humans¡­ To think that they let down their guard against us demons.''


    The humans had behaved like a deer yawning in front of a tiger.


    The demon felt insulted. These puny humans were acting like sheep with no shepherd although they wouldn''t be able to defeat him even if they charged at him all at once.


    [You have offended me.]


    That was enough reason to kill them.


    The demon took action. Explosions and screams rang out all over the battlefield.


    "Wh-What''s going on?!"


    "W-Were d-demons meant to be this strong?"


    This was when fear finally appeared in the yers'' eyes.


    These demons werepletely different from what they''d heard in the news about the Demon Cult in Korea, China, and South America. The weak demons who had been massacred without being able to do anything were nowhere to be seen.


    Boom!


    A young man covered in blue energy stomped on the ground. He rushed through the battlefield and appeared in front of the demon in the blink of an eye.


    The man lowered his posture and slid his left leg back. He then soared into the air while jumping with his right leg.


    sh!


    [Kurgh!]


    The demon who had been wiping the yers out was split in half.


    "S-Sword Dragon."


    "Sword Dragon! Sword Dragon is here!"


    "W-We''re saved!"


    The surviving yers cheered.


    "All of you," Kim Si-Hun said, turning to face them.


    One of the yers said with a grin, "Haha! Man, I guess you didn''t win against Jason by sheer lu¡ªkurgh! Kuh!"


    Si-Hun extended his hand and grabbed the yer by the cor.


    He questioned the yer, "What do you think you''re doing?"


    "Eh¡­"


    Boom!


    "What¡­ do you think¡­ you''re doing?"


    "Kurgh! P-Please let me g-go¡­"


    Si-Hun emitted a strong bloodlust as he red at the yers with a fiery gaze.


    "Get the fuck out of here," he told them.


    "What?"


    "We don''t need dumbasses who don''t know how to respect a formation. Get the fuck out of here right now."


    "¡­"


    Silence fell over the yers after they heard Si-Hun''s aggressive words. They gulped and looked at each other nervously.


    Unlike the rumors, the demons were extremely strong. These yers were currently in the middle of a battlefield, so there was no way they''d be able to get out in one piece.


    "P-Please give us a chance!"


    "We didn''t think the demons would be this strong!"


    "¡­"


    They begged desperately, as if pleading for their lives.


    Si-Hun frowned in displeasure.


    "Haaa," he sighed.


    If it were up to him, he would have left them alone in the middle of the battlefield, but he couldn''t do that.


    ''It''s not the time.''


    He bit his lip anxiously.


    Si-Hun looked around the battlefield. The situation was bad. Most of the yers were in a panic since they hadn''t expected the demons and Demon Cultists to be this strong.


    "Shit."


    He remembered Oh Kang-Woo''s words.


    ''Hyung-nim was right.''


    Everything had been solved too smoothly because of Kang-Woo''s incredible strength. The humans who had been protected like nts in a greenhouse looked pathetic.


    It reminded Si-Hun of¡­ himself.


    He remained silent.


    He could see himself in the yers who were bewildered by the power of demons.


    ''Me too.''


    Si-Hun looked down at the sword he was holding. His hand was trembling. The fear that he felt was so immense it could swallow him whole.


    He recalled the suffocating sensation he''d felt just from looking at the demon in the red demon mask¡ªthat scene of the mask floating in the darkness as if the demon had been born as darkness itself.


    [Struggle desperately. Struggle while thinking of me.]


    That quiet voice of the demon¡­ Just remembering it was enough to throw Si-Hun''s mind into chaos.


    "At this rate¡­"


    Si-Hun was no different from these yers. Heughed in disbelief at how pathetic he was.


    He clenched his hand into a fist, with a thick vein bulging out.


    ''How long are you going to keep staying on the sidelines like a baby?'' he asked himself.


    Rumble!!


    Si-Hun aggressively stomped on the ground, and blue energy raged, gushing out from his dantian.


    "Fight as one!" he yelled, using Qi to amplify his voice.


    That yell, which was loud enough to cover the entire battlefield, made all of the yers, demons, and Demon Cultists focus on Si-Hun.


    He charged forward and swung his sword down on a giant and hideous demon who seemed like an impossible opponent for the humans.


    sh!


    ck blood sprayed out like a fountain. Si-Hun had sessfully cut down the demon with one strike.


    The yers, who had been in chaos due to the unexpected strength of demons, gazed intensely at Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun raised his sword, and blinding blue light shone from him.


    He shouted aggressively from the bottom of his soul, "For Guardians!!!"


    "Yeaaaaahhhh!!!"


    The yers'' screams reverberated throughout the battlefield.


    * * *


    The battle intensified. Demons and yers continued fighting against each other.


    Kang-Woo, who was looking at the situation from the rear, turned away while tearing up.


    "I was prepared for it, but it certainly is hard to stand by and watch."


    "Kang-Woo¡­" Gaia called out to him worriedly.


    Kang-Woo shook his head and turned around.


    "I''m going to get some air for a bit," he said.


    "Okay."


    Kang-Woo walked out of themander''s tent, which was located at the rear of the battlefield.


    "Fuck." Kang-Woo shook his head while pping himself. "I almostughed."


    He knew he had to keep acting serious, but he couldn''t help but grin at the constant pinging of the message windows.


    Kang-Woo also felt refreshed after seeing all the new Guardians members, who hadn''t taken the issue more seriously, take a beating.


    ''I hope they''re weeded out through this incident.''


    He wasn''t sure if making aparison like this was correct, but the war was, in a sense, doing the job of refining their troops. It was helping them select the yers who, despite feeling fearful of the powerful demons, were able to ovee their fear and fight until the end.


    Tap.


    Kang-Woo lightly jumped and rose into the air. He flew to the peak of the mountain from where he could get a clearer view of the battlefield.


    The four beings whom he could call his direct subordinates were waiting for him there. It was only in front of them that he did not need to act as the Warrior of Light, as they knew the true nature of the demon Oh Kang-Woo.


    He walked toward them¡ªEchidna, Vaal Zahak, Balrog, and Lilith.


    The one who ran to him first was Echidna.


    She grabbed his sleeve and asked, "Where''s Seol-Ah?"


    "She''s in the healer squadron in the rear," Kang-Woo answered.


    "Kekeke. My Death Knight is secretly protecting her, so you don''t need to worry about her," Vaal Zahak said, stamping the ground with his staff. Heughed creepily. "It is my greatest Death Knight, made with Reynald''s corpse. No ordinary demons will be a match for it, even those of the Ninth Hell."


    "Good," Kang-Woo replied with a nod.


    He then sat down on a rock that gave him a full view of the battlefield.


    Echidna''s eyes lit up, and she tried to sit on hisp.


    "Ngh."


    "Fufu. Stay back for a moment, child."


    However, Echidna was held back by some tentacles. She struggled to get free, but her opponent was Lilith, an archdemon capable of facing a prince of Hell.


    "Let me go," Echidna demanded.


    She red at Lilith, but Lilith merely shrugged and ignored her.


    Lilith approached Kang-Woo and asked in a seductive voice, "Master Kang-Woo, would you like me to brew you a cup of coffee?"


    "Yes, please."


    Soon after, he looked down at the battlefield while holding the cup of coffee that Lilith had given him.


    ''They''re fighting better than I had expected.''


    To begin with, the yers weren''t weak¡­ and as a collective force, they had quite an immense amount of raw power.


    Kang-Woo had been worried after seeing them panic initially. However, the panic had quickly died down thanks to Si-Hun''s shy performance.


    ''Well done, my boy!''


    Kang-Woo wanted to p because of how proud he was of Si-Hun.


    He''d been prepared to see some blood, but he didn''t want the humans to be massacred by the demons. It was with Si-Hun''s quick thinking that they were able to avoid the worst-case scenario.


    "Right, then."


    His n to instill vignce into the minds of yers had seeded. He even noticed that a few yers had awakened with a burst of mana during the battle.


    It was time for Kang-Woo to make his move.


    "Get ready," he said quietly.


    Balrog, Lilith, and Vaal Zahak knelt before their king. Echidna nced at them and quickly followed suit.


    "While they are distracted with the battle, ambush the interior of the Demon Cult branch," Kang-Woo ordered.


    "What should we do with the humans still inside the base?" Balrog asked.


    "Do you even need to ask?"


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    It was something that wasn''t even worth asking. During the ten millennia that he''d spent in Hell, he''d moved ording to one simplew¡­


    "Answer to evil with greater evil," he said calmly.


    Balrog grinned and finished Kang-Woo''s sentence, "Return bloodlust with even greater bloodlust."


    Kang-Woo stood up and looked down at the huge Demon Cult branch inside the mountain.


    "Wipe them all out."


    * * *


    m!!


    Boom!


    "ARRGGHH!!"


    Screams filled the tunnel. An intense smell of blood and horrifyingly loud noises overwhelmed the senses of those present.


    There was a woman running through a tunnel, which was shaking violently as if an earthquake were in motion.


    "Huff! Huff!"


    She was Julia Vilkova¡ªa very important executive of the Demon Cult who had the position of Apostle of Evil.


    Julia managed to escape the crumbling tunnel.


    "Shit, shit!!"


    Her beautiful face crumpled in exasperation.


    The Tibet Temple was one of the five most important branches of the Demon Cult, and it was now on the verge of copse.


    ''Since it hase this far¡­''


    She bit her lip anxiously.


    The preparations for the next part of the Demon Cult''s n were still iplete. The consequences would be irreversible if she messed something up bymencing it hastily.


    However¡­


    ''I have no other choice.''


    At this rate, the Tibet branch would be destroyed. There was nothing else she could do.


    Slide.


    As Julia opened the door leading to the heart of the giant mountain, she was engulfed in an intense wave of heat.


    "I must¡­ wake him up."


    The Aspect of Fire¡­ the Lord of Inferno¡­


    Julia had to awaken Mammon, the Prince of Greed.

 Chapter 187 - Aspect of Fire (2)

    Chapter 187 - Aspect of Fire (2)


    A little earlier¡­


    "Intruders?" Julia Vilkova questioned in surprise.


    "Y-Yes!" the priest responded urgently.


    Julia wore a fierce frown as she raised her hand and cast magic. The branch interior immediately became visible to her like a live stream of CCTV footage.


    "Gasp."


    Julia''s mouth gaped open. She couldn''t believe what she was seeing.


    ''Why is Balrog here?''


    She couldn''t understand what was going on. It might be possible for humans to ambush them, but why was Balrog there?


    ''Didn''t he get killed by some members of Guardians?''


    Julia had thought that Balrog had died at the hands of Guardians'' members, yet she was now watching him run wild inside the branch.


    Moreover, he wasn''t the only one attacking the branch.


    ''I''m not sure who that kid and the bag of bones are, but¡­''


    The other invaders had a level of power that couldn''t bepared to that of an average demon. However, they didn''t seem to be part of the group of Guardians members who were attacking the entrance of the branch.


    ''They''re using demonic energy.''


    Demons were Guardians'' mortal enemies, so there was no way that Guardians would recruit members who could use demonic energy.


    More importantly, Balrog and an Undead were among the invaders. So, there was no way the invaders were part of Guardians.


    In other words, the three individuals who had infiltrated the branch and the members of Guardians who were currently attacking the entrance of the branch were two different forces.


    "Shit! What in the world¡­"


    Julia burst into a rage at the unexpected development of events. She mmed her fist onto the giant table, splitting it in two.


    "Call back the forces that were sent outside!" she ordered.


    "B-But if we do that, Guardians will¡ª"


    "The humans aren''t the issue right now! The branch is being attacked on the inside!"


    "Y-Yes, ma''am," the priest replied, quickly lowering his head.


    A portion of the Demon Cult''s forces that were fighting against the Guardians members headed inside instead.


    The ck-haired child and the skeleton were a problem, but the biggest issue was Balrog.


    ''It''s nowhere near enough,'' Julia thought.


    They didn''t have enough demons to stop that monster Balrog, who was famous even in Hell. Even with the full force of the branch, they would barely be able to stop Balrog. Having to fight off Guardians at the same time was simply absurd.


    ''I have to request for reinforcements.''


    Julia grabbed a crystal orb and contacted the branch nearest to Tibet with the biggest forces.


    BOOM!


    Crack!


    - ARRGGHH! S-Stop him!!


    "What the hell¡­?"


    Julia heard explosions and screams through the crystal orb.


    "This is the Apostle of Evil Julia Vilkova. The Tibet base has been attacked. Requesting immediate backup."


    - B-Backup?! Nonsense! We''re also being attacked! a voice screamed desperately.


    The Cardinal had responded to Julia disrespectfully despite being of lower rank, which showed just how bad the situation was. Julia had guessed it after hearing the explosions, but it seemed like something serious had happened there too.


    "Who are the attackers? Guardians?"


    - L-Lucifer! Lucifer''s retainers are attacking us!


    "What?"


    ''Guardians, Balrog, and Lucifer¡­''


    Julia looked confused.


    ''What the hell is¡­''


    Satan had said that Lucifer would send delegates to talk things out first, yet they had suddenly attacked the Demon Cult out of nowhere.


    "Did you attack Lucifer''s delegates?!"


    - Shit, no! We didn''t do anything!! They just attacked us out of nowhere!


    The Cardinal sounded too desperate for him to be lying.


    Julia grabbed her head as if it hurt.


    ''Has he gone mad?''


    She''d heard that Lucifer was being attacked by the celestial realm and couldn''t recklessly take action at the moment. If he hade all the way here to attack them, it pretty much meant that he was trying to drag them down and perish with him.


    "D-Don''t tell me¡­"


    Julia thought of Balrog, a third party in all of this, and Lucifer''s retainers, who were currently attacking the other branch. There weren''t many conclusions she could reach based on those two facts.


    "Balrog must have sided with Lucifer!!"


    This conjecture appeared in her mind like a strike of lightning. She couldn''t think of any other exnation for the current situation.


    ''As for why Lucifer is attacking the Demon Cult¡­''


    Lucifer had likely allied himself with Balrog after concluding that he would be able to wipe out the Demon Cult easily with Balrog''s cooperation.


    "H-Hahahahaha!" Juliaughed.


    She then frowned and stomped on the ground.


    Boom.


    The entire room shook, and a dense wave of demonic energy surged upward.


    "How dare they¡­"


    There was only one possible reason why Lucifer would be attacking the Demon Cult despite being under attack from the celestial realm. He was surely aiming for the Demonic Origin that the Demon Cult possessed.


    "He dares to attack us?!"


    Julia was ovee with rage. Since it hade to this, they could no longer hope forpromise with Lucifer.


    ''Now, it''s war.''


    It was time to instill fear into all those who were going against the Demon Cult.


    "Fuuu."


    Julia got up.


    BOOM!


    The loud explosions that were shaking the branch were getting closer to her location. The mountain shook so much that it seemed like it would crumble.


    "Guh."


    Julia had talked as if all of their enemies would regret attacking them, but the situation was not looking good for the Tibet branch. The Demon Cult might have had a chance if this had happened at the headquarters, but the Tibet branch had no way of fending off these enemies.


    ''No.''


    There was a way.


    ''But¡­''


    She hesitated.


    The preparations for the next part of the Demon Cult''s n were still iplete. The consequences would be irreversible if she messed something up bymencing it hastily.


    ''I have no other choice.''


    Julia quickly made up her mind. She quickly headed somewhere.


    Tssss!


    "U-Urgh."


    Every time she took a step, smoke rose from her skin as if it were burning. She wrapped her skin with all of her demonic energy. It was being consumed at high speed, but it was due to thatyer of demonic energy covering her skin that she could resist the heat.


    "Oh, Aspect of Fire¡­"


    Julia walked through a tunnel filled with redva. At the end of it, there was a glowing yellow sphere.


    The Prince of Greed, Mammon, was asleep inside that sphere.


    "Fuuu."


    Julia took a shaky breath and ced her hands on the floor. Demonic energy flowed out of her hands and spread all over the floor, lighting up a magic circle made up ofplex geometrical patterns with a ck glow.


    She chanted, "Zazas, zazas¡­"


    The sweat dripping from her forehead evaporated before it could touch the ground. The horrifyingly intense heat gradually got even hotter.


    Rumble¡ª!


    "Kuh!"


    A red Rift had formed in the air. However, the demonic energy emerging from it rampaged, likely due to the iplete preparations.


    The mountain¡ªno, the entire Tibet branch shook.


    ''Please.''


    It didn''t matter to Julia if thend around them was split or if a massive volcano erupted and itsva engulfed the entirety of China. All that mattered to her was whether Mammon would open his eyes.


    As long as he awoke, this gamble would be a sess.


    Crack.


    The yellow sphere split open, revealing a three-meter-tall figure. It was a demon so fat that it looked like it would have trouble breathing.


    "Aahhh."


    The enormous being that should be called a ball of fat rather than a demon waddled out of the sphere.


    The demon''s appearance was hideous and unsightly, but Julia knew very well who he was.


    "Oh, Aspect of Fire," Julia greeted.


    [Puhihihi. The hell? Did you forcibly awaken me?]


    The lump of fatughed, but the thick bloodlust he exuded did not match his smile.


    "M-My apologies. I know the preparations are iplete, but we were attacked¡­"


    [That doesn''t change the fact that you forcibly awakened me, does it?]


    "My apol¡ªkurgh!"


    A glowing yellow arm sprang out of the ball of fat in the blink of an eye and grabbed Julia''s neck.


    Sizzle¡ª!


    "KYAAHH!"


    [Puhihihi! You damn bitch, I wasn''t able to pull enough power from the Root because of you. What are you going to do about this? Hmm? All that time I spent has gone up in mes because of you!!!]


    mes covered Julia''s entire body. Her skin was disfigured, and her beautiful face became so unsightly that it was hard to look at.


    A horrible pain washed over her. She was about to lose consciousness because of the whirlpool of pain.


    Thud.


    "Huff! Huff! Huff!"


    [Puhi. I won''t kill you. After all, Satan seems to have taken a liking to you.]


    Mammon twisted his mouth and threw Julia aside.


    Julia, who had suffered massive burns, was rolled on the ground.


    [So, who did you say ambushed us?]


    "U-Urhhh."


    [It seems you can''t talk anymore.] Mammon snickered and waddled forward. [Well, all right. I guess I''ll find out once I go myself. Fucking hell, my precious time. Once I finish this, I''ll have to stay asleep for a hundred years to just barely recover my power.]


    The power of the Root that he had been absorbing all this time had gone up in smoke because he had been awakened too soon.


    [Fuck, fuck, fuck. Should I just kill her?]


    Mammon nced at Julia. Then he clicked his tongue and turned around. He didn''t want to cause problems with Satan just by killing such a worthless human being.


    [Well, what''s a hundred more years?]


    For Immortals like them, a hundred years was nothing.


    [It''s been a while since I''ve been up and about, so I might as well let loose.]


    Puhihihihi.


    Mammon waddled up the stairs to where he could hear explosions.


    * * *


    Crack!


    Crash!


    "ARRGGHH!"


    [Wh-What the fuck!! Why is Balrog here?!] a demon eximed while stomping on the ground.


    A whip covered with dark red mes swooshed through the air.


    Boom!


    There was an explosion of air as the whip struck the demons, causing their bodies to burst.


    One demon had a fearful expression as he tried to escape.


    [You cannot escape,] Balrog said in a low voice.


    He wrapped his whip around the fleeing demon and pulled.


    [L-Let go of me!! Sh-Shit! I never heard that Balrog would be h¡ª]


    [You''re so noisy.] Balrog frowned. [Die.]


    Crack. The demon''s head exploded.


    Balrog looked around and asked, [Have any escaped?]


    [Hehehe. My subordinates are holding them down,] Vaal Zahak answered.


    "Haaa. Haaa. I didn''t let a single one go," Echidna said.


    [¡­] Balrog walked toward Echidna, who was breathing heavily. [You do not need to push yourself, young dragon.]


    "...I''m not pushing myself."


    [No, I can feel your impatience. If you are doing this to be of help to the king, it is unneeded,] Balrog told her quietly. [The king does not need help. He is a perfect being.]


    "But Kang-Woo has been weakened because his power¡¯s sealed by the system. He''s different from how he used to be in Hell."


    [Hm?] Balrog tilted his head. [KAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Yes, I do recall him saying that his power had been sealed by something called the Gaia System.]


    "Are you not worried at all, Balrog? I don''t know how Kang-Woo used to be in the past, but he''s far weaker than b¡ª"


    [Do not worry, young dragon.] Balrogughed. [You still have no idea who he is and what he is capable of.]


    Step, step. They walked down the tunnel.


    [You will soon see over time, young dragon.]


    "¡­"


    [Come to think of it, I believe you mentioned that you are the daughter of a demonic dragon named Kargath, correct?]


    Echidna nodded.


    [Then do you perhaps¡ª]


    BOOOOM¡ª!!


    FWOOSH¡ª!!


    Just as Balrog was about to say something, there was an explosion of giant mes.


    Balrog''s expression hardened.


    [This is¡­]


    It was a familiar energy.


    Balrog clenched his giant hands into fists.


    [Puhi! Puhihi! I was wondering who it could be, but¡­ Balrog, huh?]


    A grotesque ball of fat crawled up from below the tunnel.


    [Mammon.]


    Balrog''s expression crumpled into anger.


    The Lord of Inferno, the Demon of Greed¡­ he had numerous titles, but there was one that was above them all¡ªa prince of Hell.


    [Puhihihihi! This is gonna be a lot more fun than I expected it to be! I can''t believe I''vee across a dog, who has lost its owner, in this world.]


    Mammon was one of the seven demons who had been able to reach the position of a prince among the countless demons that lived in Hell. He was weaker than Satan and Lucifer, but he was still a prince regardless.


    [Skeleton, young dragon. Run,] Balrog said, raising his whip.


    Vaal Zahak and Echidna were fairly strong despite being new additions to the demon king''s army, but they were no match for a prince of Hell.


    [Go and bring the king,] Balrog added.


    "That''s not necessary," someone''s calm voice rang out from behind.


    Balrog turned to look and saw Kang-Woo walking leisurely along the gaps of the crumbled passageway.


    "Mammon, huh?" Kang-Woo smiled. "Not bad."

 Chapter 188 - Aspect of Fire (3)

    Chapter 188 - Aspect of Fire (3)


    ''Fuck,'' Oh Kang-Woo cursed in his mind while looking at Mammon.


    He was smiling on the outside, but his insides were burning with frustration.


    ''Why the fuck is Mammon here?''


    The Tibet base had thousands of Demon Cultists, so Kang-Woo had expected them to have some sort of trump card. However¡­


    ''I never expected that it would be a fucking prince of Hell.''


    After learning that Lucifer had been revived, Kang-Woo expected the possibility of the other princes to be revived as well since their souls had remained intact within their Hell Armaments. Nheless, he had not thought of the possibility that their location of revival would be Earth.


    ''Just how?''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t understand how Mammon was here. There was no demonic energy on Earth, which meant there wasn''t enough power to revive the soul of a prince of Hell. It was as if a giant tree had grown in the middle of a deste desert.


    [Y-You''re¡­!]


    It wasn''t just Kang-Woo who was surprised though.


    Unlike Kang-Woo who looked calm on the outside, there was a demon who was trembling in fear with a pale face.


    [Wh-Why are you¡ªH-How? What in the¡­]


    It was Mammon; he was trembling due to the immense fear he felt.


    [Y-You were definitely annihted!!]


    "What?" Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''Why is he iming I died?''


    Kang-Woo? Annihted? What nonsense was Mammon talking about?


    Mammon shouted like a madman, [Y-You were annihted after shing with the system!! I-I saw it with my own eyes!! Wh-Why are you still alive, you monsteeeeerrrrr!!!]


    He''d shouted in a desperate voice, spitting saliva everywhere.


    Kang-Woo remained silent. His gaze sharpened as he thought about Mammon''s words.


    "Oh," he uttered.


    ''I see what happened.''


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief.


    He realized there was a very simple exnation.


    ''These sons of bitches thought I had died.''


    It wasn''t out of the realm of possibility.


    Kang-Woo had shed with the Gaia System while returning to Earth. That system, which was protecting Earth, had used all of its power to seal his Ten Thousand Demon Core. The seal was so powerful that he was still unable to remove itpletely.


    The senses of the princes of Hell had been severely weakened as their souls had been within the Hell Armaments. So, it made sense that after sensing Kang-Woo''s power suddenly diminish, they thought he had been annihted.


    ''Wait, but Lucifer thinks I''m still alive.''


    Lucifer had definitely gone to Earth to find the Demonic Sea.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo kept thinking.


    It didn''t take him long to find an answer. There was one difference between the two princes.


    ''Lucifer is on the continent of Aernor, and Mammon is on Earth.''


    This meant that Lucifer had been blown into a different dimension before Kang-Woo had shed with the system. In that case, the situation made sense.


    ''This¡­''


    The tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth went up.


    ''I can use this.''


    He slowly approached Mammon.


    "You thought I died? Really?"


    [E-Eek! D-Don''te any closer!!]


    "Answer me, Mammon," Kang-Woo said in a cold, emotionless voice.


    ''Look straight.''


    Asserting one''s spirit was part of the basics of deception. One shouldn''t be intimidated or hesitant.


    [U-Umm¡­]


    Kang-Woo stood upright with his back straight and spoke as firmly as possible.


    "I will not beat around the bush, Mammon. Serve me."


    It was far too risky to battle a prince of Hell in this situation. However, if he could make use of Mammon, all the better.


    ''Though I have absolutely no intention of actually taking him in as a subordinate.''


    Mammon was different from Balrog and Lilith. He was a prince, and a prince couldn''t serve anyone.


    If Mammon were to discover that Kang-Woo''s power had been sealed, his attitude would changepletely. It wasparable to hugging a bomb that could explode at any moment.


    ''But I can stall for time.''


    If Mammon agreed to serve him, he could buy some time as Mammon racked his brain to figure out what to do while serving him. As long as Kang-Woo used Mammon effectively, he could even ambush Mammon in the future and deal great harm to him.


    [Serve¡­ you?]


    "Are you not sick and tired of the Nine Hells? The red sky, the barrennds, the terrible air¡­ It''s an absolutendfill."


    [¡­]


    "Compared to that, this star is beautiful. Do you not want it? Do you not want to hold it, bend it to your will, and dirty it?" Kang-Woo said in an appealing voice.


    He could see Mammon''s eyes, barely visible between his ps of fat, filled with thick greed.


    "Mammon." Kang-Woo extended his hand. "Do you want to rule this world with me?"


    [I¡­]


    Mammon''s voice trailed off. His eyes were trembling.


    ''He fell for it.''


    Kang-Woo was sure of it. He smiled widely.


    ''I guess I''ve taken care of the most urgent p¡ª''


    Rumble¡ª!!!


    At that moment¡­ the tunnel shook and cracked. Magma poured out from the gaps in the cracks.


    BOOOOM!!


    The ceiling of the tunnel copsed.


    "Kuh!"


    Kang-Woo raised his hand and used the Authority of Waves to turn the rubble into dust, disappearing with a loud boom.


    ''Shit!!''


    Kang-Woo quickly turned his head.


    He could see Mammon staring at him with those eyes that were buried under the fat.


    [Oh¡­?]


    The tips of Mammon''s mouth curved upward.


    He felt Kang-Woo''s power when he turned the falling ceiling to dust.


    [Puhihi. You''ve gotten weaker.]


    ''For fuck''s sake.''


    Kang-Woo clenched his hands into fists.


    Negotiations had broken down, and on top of that, the amount of magma pouring into the tunnel was increasing.


    ''Shit.''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    He used the Authority of the Beholder and sensed demonic energy running wild within the heart of the mountain.


    ''If I don''t stop it, the volcano will erupt.''


    Guardians members and the Demon Cult were fighting outside. It was easy to see what would happen if a volcano erupted in that situation.


    ''Everyone will die.''


    They were superhumans, but they were mere mortals before natural disasters. Although he had orchestrated the bloodshed of Guardians through this war, causing that many casualties akin to causingplete destruction was apletely different story.


    ''It''d be more like blowing their brains out instead of making them bleed a little.''


    Kang-Woo turned to Balrog.


    "Balrog. Take Lilith, Echidna, and Vaal Zahak and stop the demonic energy running wild underneath."


    [But¡­]


    "I''ll take care of things here."


    [Understood.]


    Balrog hesitated for a moment after hearing Kang-Woo would face a prince of Hell by himself, but he nodded in the end.


    [May your will be done, my king.]


    Balrog took Echidna and Vaal Zahak and went downstairs.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure where Lilith was, but he trusted Balrog to find her and take her underneath too.


    "Fuck," Kang-Woo cursed aggressively.


    He turned back toward Mammon.


    Mammonughed, [Puhihihihihihi!!!! To think the demon king has be this weak!!! Yes, what I saw that day was true!!!]


    His body shook as if he couldn''t hold back his joy. He grinned, with saliva dripping out of the side of his lips.


    [In that case¡­ this is the perfect opportunity for me to obtain the Demonic Sea.]


    Mammon didn''t need to wait a hundred years. He would obtain power iparable to what Satan would obtain, as he was absorbing the Root.


    [Puhihihihihihihi!!!]


    Mammon grabbed his stomach and roared withughter. Gobs of his saliva spurted out of his mouth in all directions.


    Kang-Woo remained silent while watching Mammonugh.


    "Hah,¡± he feignedughter.


    He red at Mammon with deep, sunken eyes.


    "Stop giggling, damn pig."


    Kang-Woo lowered his hands. The Key of the Demonic Sea turned into a dark red spear.


    "Have you still not had enough of a beating?"


    Kang-Woo had already beaten this damn pig once before. This loser had even bowed down to him while begging pathetically for his life.


    He found it hrious how Mammon wasughing so confidently now.


    BOOM!


    Kang-Woo stomped on the ground and shot forward, gripping his spear as he thrust it at the lump of fat.


    FWOOSH!


    [Puhihihihi!]


    Red mes poured out.


    Sizzle.


    Kang-Woo''s skin was getting burned by the mes, but he ignored it. He stabbed Mammon with the spear and used the Authority of Explosion, causing lumps of Mammon''s flesh to fall off.


    BOOM!


    A zing hand emerged from under Mammon''s wounded flesh. It shot toward Kang-Woo at blinding speed and with great power.


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo twisted to the side and dodged it. The zing hand struck the tunnel wall instead, vaporizing about thirty meters of the wall.


    Kang-Woo tightened his right fist and used the Authority of Titanic Might merged with the Authority of Waves.


    Crack!


    He punched Mammon, and Mammon''s flesh exploded again, sshing sticky pus onto Kang-Woo''s face.


    Tsss.


    The pus burned through his skin like acid, melting away his cheeks and revealing his teeth. His fist that he had stuck into Mammon''s flesh had melted down to the bone.


    Still, Kang-Woo ignored all of it.


    He gripped G¨¢e Bulg. Massive amounts of demonic energy swirled around him, and he created Gungnir.


    ''It''s not enough.''


    Kang-Woo needed to add more Authorities.


    He added the Authority of Copse and the Authority of Freezing. Six different Authorities had been merged. His brain''s processing capacity reached its limit, and he experienced a horrible headache.


    He gave up on the calctions. His Ultimate Demonic Body reflexively made the calctions for him.


    "Longinus."


    A javelin that was as white as snow and not even a meter long was formed.


    He pulled his arm back, twisted his body, and threw Longinus with all of his might.


    Rumble¡ª!!


    The mountain copsed, and thousands of tonnes of soil flowed down. That onlysted a moment before immensely cold energy spread and froze the soil.


    There was a twist in the climate, and snow started to pour down from a clear sky.


    [Pu¡­ hi.]


    Mammon trembled. Over half of his body was frozen.


    After throwing Longinus, Kang-Woo fell to the ground. He turned his head away.


    "...Fuck."


    [Puhihihihihihi!!!]


    Mammon''s frozen skin sloughed off, and the horrible ball of fat multiplied in size. Heughed creepily as he poured his burning flesh onto Kang-Woo.


    [Puhihihihi!! Hihihihihi!!]


    Mammon''s crazyughter was filled with greed.


    Kang-Woo was devoured by a yellow zing sphere named Greed. It was Mammon''s Hell Armament, which devoured and burned everything.


    [AAHH! AAAAHHHH! The Demonic Sea¡­ The Demonic Sea is mine now!!!]


    Mammon raised his arms.


    BOOM!


    Just then, someone rose from the ground with an explosion. Strong blue energy radiated from his body. The man was so handsome that it was as if a god had carved him.


    "Hyung¡­ nim¡­?"


    The young man who''de running through the copsing mountain was trembling in disbelief.


    [Puhihihi. Get out of here, human. I''m very busy right now.]


    Mammon extended his hand toward the yellow sphere that Kang-Woo was trapped in. He had no time to bother with a lowly human when the Demonic Sea was right before his very eyes.


    sh!


    His hand was suddenly cut with condensed sword energy and fell off.


    "How dare you¡­"


    Kim Si-Hun stood between the sphere and Mammon.


    "Don''t you dare touch my brother with those filthy hands, cholesterol."


    Blue energy burst out from him.

 Chapter 189 - Why Did You Do It?

    Chapter 189 - Why Did You Do It?


    [Brother, you say?]


    Mammon frowned.


    He never heard about the demon king having a brother. No, he wasn''t even sure if the concept of rtives applied to Kang-Woo.


    [Puhihihi. You sure experience all kinds of things after living for so long.]


    It was unexpected that there was someone who imed to be the demon king''s brother.


    ''Not just that¡­''


    The supposed brother was a mere human.


    [Hihihi. Human, I''m honestly not in the mood for fighting. Why don''t you step aside?] Mammon snickered.


    He wasughing as if he were having fun, but in reality, he was extremely irritated.


    ''Annoying.''


    Mammon still felt intense pain from his fight with the demon king.


    The demon king''s power had been sealed, but he was ultimately still a demon king, which was proven by hisst attack. A step toote, and the attack would have frozen Mammonpletely. He would have died.


    Mammon had done his best to dodge the attack. However, half of his body had been frozen and torn apart, so there was no way he could just shrug it off.


    ''Annoying, annoying.''


    He bit his lip anxiously.


    Mammon hadn''t fully recovered yet. Rather, the injury couldn''t be healed naturally. Even if he did recover somehow, his power would be permanently reduced. That was how severe the demon king''sst attack was.


    [Puhi! Annoying¡­ So annoying¡­]


    Mammon narrowed his eyes.


    He had to steal the Demonic Sea from the demon king as soon as possible to treat himself, but a lowly human was getting in his way.


    [Hihi. Move, human.]


    FWOOSH!


    Viscousva-like mes poured out over the ground, which had been frozen by the demon king''s attack, and targeted Si-Hun.


    "Fuuu."


    Si-Hun raised his sword.


    The heat was burning his skin, but he didn''t have the time to protect his body by enveloping his body with Qi.


    ''Shit.''


    The demon in front of him waspletely different from the ones he''d faced until that point.


    FWOOSH!


    "Kuh!!"


    The mes struck Si-Hun. He was pushed back and sent rolling on the ground.


    "Kurgh! Cough! Cough!"


    ck smoke emerged from his mouth as he coughed, and horrifying burns contorted his skin.


    The demon''s power was overwhelming. He was so strong that Si-Hun wondered if one being could hold this much power. Half of the El Cuero de had melted down from just one attack.


    ''What¡­ is this?''


    This demon was different.


    The demons that Si-Hun had faced thus far had been nothing like this. No matter how strong they were, they weren''t nearly as strong as Mammon. Their powers were beyondparison.


    ''Shit.''


    Si-Hun trembled, and fear started to overwhelm him. His face turned pale, and he was having trouble breathing.


    Then, a familiar voice flowed into his mind.


    "I''m sorry for¡­"


    That voice had been etched into his brain.


    It seemed to be saying that this was his limit; it was as far as he could go. That voice was the chains holding Si-Hun back.


    "Shut¡­ up," he said to the voice echoing in his mind.


    Si-Hun gritted his teeth and stood up. It wasn''t the time to be swayed by the voice.


    He grabbed the half-melted sword.


    [Hm?]


    Mammon frowned.


    It''d been a long time since he''d seen a human be able to remain standing even after receiving such severe burns.


    [Ihihihi.]


    Notes of irritation mixed in with Mammon''sughter.


    Then Mammon snapped his finger. Streams of yellow mes spread from his body and engulfed Si-Hun like a.


    "Kuh!" Si-Hun grunted.


    Gripping his sword with both hands, he raised it above his forehead.


    Si-Hun recalled the senses that he had felt when he had received enlightenment regarding the Heavenly Dragon sh that he had used against Halphas.


    Upon seeing a faint ray of blue light in the air that should not be there, he swung his sword along it.


    SLASH!!


    He used the same attack that had cut Halphas''s attack in half to cut the. This created an opening, and Si-Hun leaped through it.


    Mammon looked at him with great interest.


    [Wow.]


    He was surprised that a human could counter his attack.


    "Haap!" Si-Hun yelled while charging toward Mammon.


    Giant streams of mes surged toward him from both sides, but Si-Hun quickly moved to dodge them.


    Tsss.


    Nevertheless, his still got burned, and smoke rose from his sizzling skin.


    "Shit!" he cursed.


    The speed of the mes was an issue, but the biggest issue was their power.


    ''It''s insane.''


    Si-Hun couldn''t find any other word to describe it. He felt as if the entire world had fallen into a zing hell.


    He moved frantically, evading the streams of mes.


    [Puhihihi.]


    Mammonughed and raised his hands.


    Crack.


    The ground split open, and magma burning yellow surged up from the crack and poured down on Si-Hun like a tsunami.


    "Gasp!"


    Si-Hun drew out his Qi and created a wall of Qi as hard as steel. However, it was useless; steel was nothing before Mammon''s mes.


    "Kuuuurrgghh!!"


    TSSS!!


    Si-Hun''s hand that was holding the El Cuero de was burned. The mes destroyed the skin and flesh, burning right down to his bones.


    "A-Arrgghh."


    tter.


    The sword fell to the ground, and Si-Hun curled up into the fetal position while holding his burned hand. An immense pain that he''d never felt before spread from his hand to the rest of his body.


    [Hihihi. That''s why I told you to step aside.]


    Mammonughed and waddled toward Kang-Woo, who had been locked away by Greed. He slowly reached toward his delicious meal.


    Tap.


    [Huh¡­?]


    Something pulled on his leg.


    Mammon looked down.


    "I told you¡­ not to touch¡­ him."


    Si-Hun grabbed the half-melted El Cuero de with his other hand, which hadn''t been burned down to the bone, and gathered blue condensed sword energy around it. He then brought the sword down onto Mammon''s foot, stabbing it without hesitation.


    Stab!


    [H-Hihihihi!!] Mammon let out a burst of craze-filledughter.


    Si-Hun''s attack hadn''t done much damage, but it had been enough to irritate Mammon.


    Mammon raised his injured foot.


    Bash!!


    "Kurgh!"


    [You''re a much more annoying human than I''d thought you were.]


    Mammon kicked Si-Hun away and walked toward him as he rolled onto the ground.


    Si-Hun''s desperation had been enough to stir Mammon into taking further action.


    Tap.


    Mammon stepped on Si-Hun''s still-functioning hand and slowly pressed his weight onto it.


    Crack!


    "Arrgghh!!!" Si-Hun let out a desperate cry.


    Mammon''s immense weight crushed Si-Hun''s arm. The intense heat from Mammon burned and marred Si-Hun''s skin, causing pus to leak out from it. The muscles in Si-Hun''s arm turned into ash, and his blood evaporated from the heat. A horrible pain swept through him.


    [Hihihi. Now you won''t be able to use your sword.]


    All of the nerve tissue in Si-Hun''s hands had been burned away, and one of his hands waspletely missing. There was no way for him to recover from his wounds unless it was with the Authority of Regeneration. No, even with the Authority of Regeneration, it would take quite a while before he could hold a sword again.


    [You should have just fucked off when I gave you the chance. Puhihi.]


    Mammon turned around as he mocked Si-Hun.


    With this, it was finally all over. Mammon could now taste the Demonic Sea without any interference.


    Just then¡­


    Chomp.


    [¡­]


    Even with his mangled arms, Si-Hun crawled up to Mammon and bit him. Mammon looked down in disbelief at Si-Hun, who was ring back with his jaw shut around Mammon''s foot.


    It wasn''t that Si-Hun wasn''t afraid; his eyes were full of fear, and he was trembling. However¡­


    "You¡­ shall not¡­ pass."


    He did not run. He did not give up.


    When his right hand had been burned off, he used his left arm. When both of his arms had be unusable, he used his teeth.


    It didn¡¯t matter even if he seemed miserable, unsightly, pathetic, and idiotic¡­


    "You won''t¡­y a hand¡­ on my brother¡­ you fucker."


    [H-Hihi¡­]


    Mammon''s smile widened, and his eyes started to shine with madness as he looked down at Si-Hun.


    [Puhihihihihihihi!!!]


    Yellow mes burst out of Mammon. He raised his hand with a distorted expression on his face.


    [Hihihihi!! I guess you just wanted to die! Why didn''t you just say so?!]


    Mammon had never seen such a persistent human. He couldn''t ignore Si-Hun anymore.


    Mammon''s arm burst into mes, and he swung it down at Si-Hun.


    Crack.


    Bash¡ª!


    Right then, he heard something crack.


    The surface of the yellow sphere was destroyed. An arm stretched out from it and grabbed Mammon''s head.


    [...Huh?] Mammon mumbled confusedly.


    The arm pulled Mammon backward.


    [Wh-What the¡ª?!]


    Mammon''s eyes were full of astonishment. An incredible strength was dragging his giant body backward.


    Mammon hurriedly turned his head and looked at the arm that had emerged from Greed.


    His mouth fell open in shock.


    [Th-The Hell Armament was destroyed?!]


    That was impossible. The Hell Armaments had been materialized from millions of years¡¯ worth of condensed demonic energy of the Ninth Hell. They symbolized the power of the princes of Hell. These transcendental weapons were powerful enough to tear apart space and time itself.


    Yet, Mammon''s armament, which he''d thought couldn''t be destroyed, had been shattered.


    Split.


    The crack in Greed widened. Kang-Woo''s upper body emerged from it, starting with his arm, shoulder, and then his head.


    "Mammon," Kang-Woo said quietly, pulling Mammon''s head closer to him. "Why did you do it?"


    Kang-Woo dragged Mammon over to him until they were staring at each other face to face.


    "Hm? I''m asking you why."


    [Y-You damn monster¡­!]


    "I get it for the other people. Baek Kang-Hyun, Kim Jae-Hyun, Julia¡­ They knew nothing, so I didn''t mind it."


    [L-Let go of me!!]


    mes surged out from Mammon. Kang-Woo''s arm took the full brunt of the mes, but Kang-Woo''s grip on Mammon''s head did not loosen.


    "But not you."


    Kang-Woo spoke as if he couldn''t understand why Mammon had made such a stupid decision.


    "You know who I am."


    The whites of his eyes turned ck.


    "You know what I''m capable of."


    His irises turned yellow.


    "So¡­"


    His ck pupils stretched horizontally across the yellow irises.


    "Why did you do it?"


    While he was still holding Mammon''s head, Kang-Woo ced his other hand over his chest where the Ten Thousand Demon Core was.


    Rumble¡ª!!


    The entire mountain shook. The ground became warped, and a thunderous sound reverberated through the space.


    "Why did you do it?"


    There was no answer from Mammon. He just stared at Kang-Woo with a pale expression. He was trembling like a mischievous child who had been caught red-handed by their parents or like prey staring at a predator.


    "Huh? Speak up."


    Kang-Woo smiled deeply. He rotated the hand that he''d ced over the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    Ten Thousand Demon Core¡­


    Second Door, open.


    "Why did you fight me?"

 Chapter 190 - In That Moment, the Demons Remembered

    Chapter 190 - In That Moment, the Demons Remembered


    [A-Aaaaahhhhh!!] Mammon screamed.


    He summoned as much demonic energy as he could to attack Oh Kang-Woo.


    Mammon formed a giant tsunami of fire. The ground split further, and red magma poured out from the cracks. A vortex of heat covered the surroundings.


    Yet¡­


    Gurgle, gurgle.


    Kang-Woo''s burning body melted into ck mucus, and countless mouths appeared within it.


    [E-Eek!]


    Mammon trembled in terror.


    Trauma that had been deeply engraved in his mind resurfaced. The fear that hadn''t disappeared even after a thousand years swept over him.


    The countless mouths were grinding their teeth eagerly.


    Kang-Woo didn''t look like a human anymore. No, he didn''t even look like a living organism.


    [S-Stay away!!]


    Mammon took a step back. He knew what the appearance of those mouths meant.


    [W-Wait! I-I was wrong!]


    He shook his head. Mammon knew better than anyone else that it was already toote. The nightmare had returned. His flesh was being chewed away. The mes that epassed him and the barrier of demonic energy were both meaningless.


    Mammon looked at his arm, which was being covered by the ck mucus. The small mouths in the mucus were devouring his flesh. They were nightmarish mouths that consumed everything without leaving a trace.


    Considering the time and effort he had spent on Earth to restore his body, it was obvious that Mammon would be afraid. There was only one way to separate the mouths that had alreadytched on to his body.


    He frowned and burned off his own arm.


    FWOOSH.


    [Shit! Shit! Shit!] Mammon cursed aggressively.


    His characteristicugh could no longer be heard.


    The ck mucus that had spread all over the floor started to move toward him again.


    Mammon fell backward and rolled away. His body, which was closer to being a ball of fat, rolled just like a ball.


    It was a foolish spectacle though. He wasn''t even rolling particrly fast.


    He was the strongest among the princes of Hell in terms of firepower, but his agility fell behind even that of a regr demon due to his obesity.


    The ck mucus caught up to him instantly.


    [G-Get away!]


    Mammon, who was still rolling backward, grabbed an object that had fallen to the ground.


    It was a yellow sphere that was about 1.5 meters in diameter¡ªMammon''s Hell Armament, Greed. Kang-Woo had destroyed one side of the armament when he broke out of it, but its overwhelming power hadn''t disappeared.


    Mammon grabbed Greed and created a wall of mes.


    TSSS!


    [H-Hihihihi!]


    It blocked the approaching ck mucus.


    Mammon snickered.


    ''I stopped it.''


    His Hell Armament, a weapon that could be called the essence of the Nine Hells, was still as powerful as ever.


    [H-Hihihi!]


    Crazedughter emerged from his mouth.


    ''He''s definitely be weaker,'' Mammon thought.


    In the past, after the battle with Balrog, Mammon had once faced the demon king when he was in the form of the ck mucus.


    Back then, the ck mucus had been voluminous enough to cover the entire sky. However, Mammon could certainly put up a fight against it at its current size.


    Hope appeared in his eyes.


    Tss! Tss!


    [Hihihi! It''s useless!]


    Heughed loudly like a viin who was protected behind bulletproof ss.


    Then, the ck mucus stopped pouring toward the wall.


    ''D-Did it work?''


    Mammon peeked out of the wall to take a glimpse at Kang-Woo.


    [...Huh?]


    Gurgle, gurgle.


    The ck mucus was gathering in one ce.


    Ten meters¡­


    Five meters¡­


    Three meters¡­


    One meter¡­


    The ck mucus was shrinking.


    A chilling fear ran down Mammon''s back. He couldn''t help but feel that something was wrong.


    [Wh-What''s going on?]


    He hadn''t seen anything like this back when he fought against the demon king in Hell.


    The ck mucus was beingpressed to a single point. Compared to its size, the demonic energy it possessed was getting absurdly powerful.


    An enormous amount of demonic energy was running wild like how demonic energy burst out of Rifts.


    [E-Eek!]


    Mammon swung Greed, and the fire spread as if he''d swung a fan. The mes covered the ck mucus, which disappeared without leaving a trace.


    [Huh?]


    He looked around in confusion.


    [Wh-What? Did it disappear?]


    Mammon walked forward while flinching.


    He couldn''t see the ck mucus. It was as if it had been burned away by the mes of Greed.


    [H-Hihihi?]


    Mammon looked around in confusion.


    Right then¡­


    [Lord Mammon!]


    [O-Oohhh Prince Mammon!]


    [You have finally awoken!]


    A group of around thirty demons approached him.


    [Hihi. Who are you guys?] Mammon asked while frowning.


    [We are demons of the Eighth Hell. After being summoned here, we have been waiting for you to be revived!]


    [¡­]


    [R-Right now, we are at a disadvantage in the battle against the humans, so¡­ we havee to ask for your assistance.]


    [Puhihi.] Mammon turned his head and waved his hands to show that he wasn''t interested. [Screw off. That is not important right now.]


    He bent down and searched the ground thoroughly.


    ''I-Is he really dead?''


    It wasn''t impossible. Kang-Woo had taken a direct blow from the mes of the Hell Armament.


    The Hell Armaments had been created by gathering the essence of the Nine Hells. A direct blow from such a weapon was able to annihte even the soul of a prince of Hell if it were to receive the attack without any defense to reduce the damage. So, it was usible that a weakened demon king might have been annihted by the attack.


    [H-Hihihihi!]


    The tips of Mammon''s mouth went up.


    [Puhihihihihihihihihihi!!]


    Laughter filled with madness flowed out of his mouth.


    Mammon lowered his body while grabbing his huge belly and shrugged excitedly.


    [Hihihihihihihi! That''s what you get for putting on all those airs! Hihi! Why did I fight you, you ask? Because you''ve gotten weak as fuck!]


    Mammon waddled whileughing excessively as if to wash away the fear that he had felt toward the demon king. The joy of oveing the risk of death was iparable with anything else.


    ''Should I ughter some humans to celebrate?''


    He''d ignored them because it was a hassle, but he was willing to endure it now.


    [L-Lord Mammon?]


    The mouths of the demons looking at him widened in shock.


    Mammon tilted his head and said, [Puhi. What?]


    [U-Umm¡­]


    [Your face¡­]


    [Hm?]


    Mammon touched his face in confusion. ck blood was pouring out from his fat nose. It wasing out from his ears, eyes, and mouth too.


    [Wh-What the hell is this?]


    Mammon anxiously touched all over his body.


    Crack! Crunch!


    [Aaarrrggghhh!!]


    Immense pain swept through him as ck blood spewed out from his fatty flesh. His shoulders, chest, arms, waist, groin, thighs, legs, and feet¡­ ck blood poured out of them like a waterfall.


    [E-Eek!]


    Mammon looked down at the ck blood spilling out of him. He was trembling from the pain.


    [N-No,] he mumbled frantically.


    What was on the floor wasn''t his blood. No, it wasn''t blood in the first ce.


    It was¡­


    [ARRGGHH!]


    The pain was enough to make him go crazy.


    The ck mucus that poured out from Mammon spread out across the floor. It covered a radius of not just ten to twenty meters but five hundred meters.


    [Wh-What the hell is this?!]


    [Argh! M-My legs!!]


    [R-Run¡­]


    Chaos ensued.


    It looked as if the night sky had covered the ground. Mouths appeared from the darkness and began to devour every demon nearby.


    Horrible screams rang out with the sounds of flesh being chewed and bones being broken.


    [A-Aaarrghh!] Mammon screamed. [Wh-Why don''t you die?! Why, why!!]


    He recalled the face of the monsterughing at him.


    Mammon raised Greed in a frenzy. A wall of yellow mes protected him.


    [H-Hihihi! This is a Hell Armament, you motherfucker!!]


    The only thing he could rely on right now was the transcendental weapon known as the Hell Armament.


    Gurgle.


    The darkness covering the floor moved and stretched out from the ground like tentacles.


    The darkness infused with the Authority of Titanic Might whipped the mes, and the darkness infused with the Authority of Waves struck the mes. Then the darkness infused with the Authority of shing prated the mes.


    des, Haste, the Sky, Blindness, Fear, the Beholder, Rage, Waves, Invulnerability, Dark Spears, Pitfall, Iron Axes, shing, Copse, Cloning, Freezing, Hellfire, Sealing, Insight, Protection, the Watcher, Language, Subordination, Shadows, Temptation, Regeneration, Explosion, Dolls, Electricity, Invigoration, Decay, Spation¡­


    Authorities that a single being could not and should not possess stormed the surroundings while being used simultaneously and at random.


    Rumble¡ª!


    The earth shook, and the entire mountain started to sink. It was a natural disaster, a cataclysm¡ªsomething that went beyond the bounds of a living being¡­


    Hundreds of Authorities activated simultaneously within five hundred meters of where the darkness was spreading from.


    The ground disintegrated, and lightning struck. Invisible waves blew away a demon''s two arms, and ck des sliced off their legs.


    A nightmare that made the Nine Hells look like peaceful heaven ensued.


    [A-Aaahhhh.]


    Mammon opened his mouth, but he couldn''t even form a sentence.


    The me wall that he''d created with Greed had already been torn away. He just stood still without being able to do anything. The other demons were in the same state.


    [A-Aahhh.]


    In that moment, the demons remembered the fear they had felt under the rule of the demon king and how humiliated they had felt while being forced to hide on the outskirts of Hell.


    [H-Hihihihi.] Mammonughed as if he''d lost his mind. [Hihihihihihihihihihihi!!]


    "Why did you do it?"


    He remembered what the demon king had asked him.


    "Why did you fight me?"


    Mammon couldn''t truly answer that question. There was no way he could.


    [Satan.]


    The enormous demon trembled pitifully and thought of Satan, who was far north, under thend of ice.


    [We were wrong.]


    The thousands of years they''d spent on Earth¡­ After all that time they had spent without the demon king, they''d forgotten one thing. No, they had always known it, but they had tried to ignore it.


    [That monster¡­]


    The demon of demons, the Hell of Hells, the predator of predators¡­


    [We can''t defeat it.]


    Crush!


    The darkness, which spanned over five hundred meters wide,pressed instantly and devoured Mammon''s gigantic body.


    This was Mammon''s second defeat. As for the next round¡­ it didn''t exist.

 Chapter 191 - Within the Abyss (1)

    Chapter 191 - Within the Abyss (1)


    Oh Kang-Woo was sinking into an endless darkness. He was being sucked in deeper and deeper into a swamp that was the size of the sea.


    ''This is¡­''


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his eyes. However, he couldn''t see anything. He just felt something thick and sticky pulling him down.


    He couldn''t think clearly. A force he couldn''t resist was continuously dragging him downward.


    Lassitude, lethargy, and drowsiness¡­ Extreme fatigue was pressing down on him.


    ''I''m sinking.''


    The sensation of sinking was the only thing that he could feel.


    ''I have to get out of here.''


    Through his faint consciousness, his inherent instincts were telling him that he shouldn''t sink any deeper.


    He kicked his feet and waved his hands.


    Crunch!


    Kang-Woo heard the sounds of flesh being chewed and bones being crushed.


    Mouths appeared in the darkness and bit his legs.


    ''Ah.''


    He couldn''t feel any pain or sensations. All he felt was his ascending body being pulled back down a bit.


    ''I''m in danger.''


    Kang-Woo''s instincts were warning him that something wasn''t right.


    Having sensations of pain would have given the impression that he was in less danger. Yet, he felt absolutely nothing while his flesh was being devoured, which meant this was a dangerous situation.


    His sensations were fading away. It began with his sight, followed by his hearing, and then his sense of smell. His five senses were slowly but surely being erased.


    Crunch.


    His flesh was still being devoured, and he was being pulled down quickly.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t feel pain, only terriblessitude. He even thought that maybe letting himself sink might not be so bad.


    ''No.''


    He shook his head, rejecting the thought that had crossed his mind.


    ''I am¡­''


    Kang-Woo needed to remember; he needed to recall who he was, his past, and his experiences.


    A person''s ego was a culmination of their countless memories and experiences. If he were to lose all of his memories, his consciousness would melt into the endless sea of darkness and vanish.


    Crunch.


    The countless mouths continued to consume his body.


    He kicked his feet and swam up, but it was nowhere near enough. He was still being dragged back down, deeper into the sea of darkness.


    Kang-Woo reached out with his hands, but he couldn''t touch anything. He kicked his feet, but he was not advancing.


    He just kept getting pulled deeper and deeper into the endless darkness.


    "Sh¡­ it," Kang-Woo uttered.


    He could feel it.


    ''I''m in the deep end.''


    Kang-Woo was in the area that was beyond the shallow end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core. He was still unable to use the demonic energy here in its entirety.


    This was the first time he had been dragged this far down since opening its doors. His instincts were warning him constantly.


    ''I''m in danger.''


    His body had long since been eaten away by the countless mouths. The only thing left was the consciousness of the human Oh Kang-Woo.


    ''It''s toote.''


    He couldn''t go back. He''d fallen too deep to be able to go back. In time, he would melt away into the boundless Demonic Sea.


    ''Maybe I should''ve used another way.''


    Regret swept over him btedly.


    Even during the ten millennia that he had spent in Hell, the only time he''d opened the Second Door of the Ten Thousand Demon Core had been when he fought against Bael. He''d had a hard time returning to the outside world then as well, but it hadn''t been as difficult as what he was going through now.


    ''Going up on my own is impossible.''


    No matter how much he struggled, it was impossible to reach the surface of the Demonic Sea in his current state.


    Kang-Woo turned around. He couldn''t see anything. There was only darkness.


    ''At this rate¡­''


    Everything would be over for him.


    He thought about how he had lived an unhappy life when he had suddenly been dragged into Hell. He had spent ten millennia there, and after immense suffering, he had finally grasped on to a sliver of happiness. However, now that he had it, he was going to die in vain.


    "Screw that."


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    He had held on for ten millennia. He''d survived through tens of thousands of battles. Yet, he was supposed to die here like this¡­? There was absolutely no way.


    "Let''s do this."


    Kang-Woo turned around. He was gradually disintegrating. His body had already been absorbed by the demonic energy of the deep end.


    ''I don''t need it.''


    Even after their bodies had disappeared, the princes of Hell survived because their souls and consciousness had been intact.


    This meant that the important thing wasn''t the Ten Thousand Demon Core, Kang-Woo''s 666 Authorities, or his unlimited demonic energy. They were all only a fragment of his entire being.


    "If I can''t go up¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked down at the deepest area of the Ten Thousand Demon Core, the unknown region that not even his past self had been able to reach¡ªthe Abyss.


    "...I''ll just go down."


    He gave up on trying to swim up.


    His consciousness was suddenly pulled downward with an enormous force like an arrow being released from a bowstring after being pulled to its utmost limit.


    Gurgle¡ª!


    The forces dragging him down were bewildered by his sudden change in action. They were now trying to pull him up.


    Kang-Wooughed.


    "It''s toote, man."


    He ignored the force pushing him up and headed even deeper.


    Deeper¡­


    Deeper¡­


    Deeper¡­


    And¡­


    Gurgle!


    He passed through an invisible wall. An immense power shook his body.


    This area was the same as before in the sense that it was just as dark, but he could tell instinctively there was a difference.


    ''So, this is the Abyss.''


    This was the bottom that he''d never been able to reach¡ªthe root of the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    Crack.


    A giant Rift that was over a kilometer long appeared. It was bigger than any Rift he''d seen before.


    The giant Rift widened, and a yellow light poured out from it.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened.


    ''It''s not a Rift.''


    He trembled. He got chills the moment that he figured out what that giant Rift-like thing actually was.


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief.


    ''This is¡­''


    It was an eye.


    The eye was so massive that there was no point trying to describe its size. It had a yellow iris, and its pupil stretched horizontally.


    That eye, which was the size of a World Cup stadium, looked at Kang-Woo.


    [Why¡­ have youe here already?]


    A question rang out in Kang-Woo''s mind.


    "...What?"


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''What the hell is this?''


    There was a being that he''d never seen or felt before at the bottom of the Ten Thousand Demon Core, and they were looking at him.


    Kang-Woo got goosebumps. He felt like he''d encountered an undefiable being. If he were to make aparison¡­


    ''A god.''


    The being was iparable to Tirion. Their massive presence made even breathing difficult.


    ''Fuck.''


    Kang-Woo bit his lip.


    Even if he were in his optimum state before being sealed by the Gaia System, he would be no match against the being before his eyes.


    ''Why is such a thing inside me?''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t understand what was going on. His mind was in jumbles.


    Why was there a being with an ego, aside from Kang-Woo, inside the Abyss of the Ten Thousand Demon Core?


    [It should not yet be the time of prophecy.]


    "What is that supposed to mean?"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    "Who are you? Why are you inside me?"


    The being was unlikely to be something ridiculous like a second ego.


    ''There''s no way I have a split personality.''


    There was no way a reasonable man with unshakeable beliefs like himself would have a split personality.


    In the first ce, this being of the Abyss felt far too foreign to be his split personality.


    [I am the origin and the root of all that is demonic. I am the father of all demons and the creator of the Nine Hells.]


    "¡­"


    [To put it simply, you may call me the Demon God.]


    ''Demon God¡­''


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief and put his hand on his forehead as if it hurt.


    "Wait. Putting all that stuff about the origin and root aside, why are you inside me?"


    It was true that Kang-Woo was taking the steps to be a Demon God. Nevertheless, he was only on the second step, and he had only fulfilled half of its conditions. So, he couldn''t understand why the Demon God was inside him.


    [Do you not know?]


    "How could I? I''ve devoured countless demons, but I don''t remember ever eating a god."


    [Hahahaha! Of course, you would not remember.]


    The giant eye moved.


    [After all, I have been inside you from the very beginning, even before you fell into Hell.]


    "What the hell are you talking about? Before I fell into Hell, I was¡ª"


    [Normal? Nothing?]


    Keke. Kang-Woo could hearughter.


    [How could a normal human possess the Authority of Predation? Could a human that is nothing remain sane after absorbing such an enormous amount of demonic energy? Do you believe you would have been able to rule the Nine Hells in just ten millennia if you were human?]


    "¡­"


    [The answer is simple. There has only ever been one answer.]


    The horizontally stretched pupil spun.


    [You have never been normal.]


    "¡­"


    There was silence.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He didn''t like that answer.


    The self-proimed Demon God kept talking.


    [Human, do you remember the face of your mother?]


    "What?"


    [Do you remember the being who birthed you?]


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    He had been abandoned by his parents right after his birth. He''d never seen the face of his mother, nor had he tried to look at her.


    The Demon Godughed.


    [I will change the question. Do you truly believe you have a being known as a mother?]


    "¡­"


    [I am sure you understand how abnormal of a being you are now.]


    There was no way Kang-Woo wouldn''t have understood when it was being told to him so bluntly.


    Kang-Woo trembled. He covered his face with his hand, and¡­


    Heughed.


    "Hahahaha! Fuck, man. That''s some bullshit."


    [Hm¡­?]


    "How dare you insult my parents, you piece of shit?"


    [What?]


    "Why do you care if I have a mother or not?"


    [That is not what I meant¡­]


    "Aaahh. Well, I''m just kidding. I more or less get it."


    Kang-Woo waved his hand as if he couldn''t be bothered with any of this.


    "Isn''t this that thing?"


    [What do you¡ª]


    "The mastermind foreshadowing¡ªit''s way too obvious, dude. You''re trying to say shit like everything has been ording to your n and now trying to take over my body, right?"


    [¡­]


    "Right? I guess I was spot on since you''re staying silent. I caught on from the moment you were telling me shit about the secrets of my birth."


    [You¡­]


    "What? Did you expect me to be shocked and bawl my eyes out at the fact that I didn''t have parents? Should I do a retake and say something like ''I-I was a puppet all along?!'' while tearing up?"


    Kang-Woo snickered, "Kekeke."


    He continued, "You''re one twisted son of a bitch, you know that? Like fuck, man, why didn''t you just do it yourself if you didn''t like it? You''re acting awfully high and mighty after staying put in your little hole all this time."


    Kang-Woo sneered and raised his head, gazing at the god who was so massive that they didn''t fully enter his field of vision.


    He said to the Demon God, "Go fuck yourself."


    The virginity he''d protected for ten thousand years¡­ His body that had yet to be touched by human hands¡­


    "How dare you covet my body?"


    ''I''ll never give this undefiled body to you, dammit!!''

 Chapter 192 - Within the Abyss (2)

    Chapter 192 - Within the Abyss (2)


    [You insolent¡­!]


    There was a warp in the Abyss as the one-kilometer-long giant eye blinked.


    ''Woah.''


    Oh Kang-Woo couldn''t help but be surprised. He couldn''t even imagine how massive the god was, considering the eye alone was a kilometer long.


    ''The eye doesn''t seem to be their real body.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t see the god''s true form because the darkness of the Abyss was covering it. However, it was likely that the god was colossal¡ªso much so that a giant mountain would just look like a toy inparison. The size of the Demon God reminded Kang-Woo of Titans, the giant entities of mythology.


    ''It doesn''t matter.''


    Kang-Wooughed.


    It didn''t matter to him how big or strong the opponent was because that wasn''t important.


    [You do not seem to know your ce, human.]


    "And are you saying that while knowing your ce, Demon God?"


    [What?]


    Kang-Woo continued with a rxed voice, "I don''t really know your circumstances. I don''t know what you''re nning or how it''s going, but¡­"


    He approached the eye.


    "What I do know is that your n won''t mean shit without me."


    [...]


    The god remained silent, but the eye trembled slightly.


    [You know nothing¡­]


    "I literally just said that I don''t know about your circumstances. But¡­ there is one thing I do know."


    An enormous amount of energy was pressing down on Kang-Woo. Nevertheless, he wasn''t fearful; there was no way he''d be afraid.


    "You need me, don''t you?"


    [...]


    "You said that you''ve been with me from the beginning, right? In that case, the reason why I fell into Hell and why I acquired the Authority of Predation must have something to do with you. There''s no way you would have done things like that for no reason, right?"


    Kang-Wooughed.


    "It isn''t all that hard to figure out what your goal is either."


    The reason why a god would be lying dormant in this endless abyss was obvious. There was no need to think about it too deeply. It was like taking an exam after memorizing the answer sheet.


    "You want to get out of here, right? I''m not sure why you''re stuck here, but you probably need me to get out."


    [...]


    There was a heavy silence.


    The Demon God couldn''t answer Kang-Woo.


    The giant eye trembled aggressively as it exuded intense rage and colossal power that a mere mortal with no Divinity could hope to endure.


    The Abyss warped as spears of demonic energy infused with an ungodly amount of power were formed. There seemed to be millions of them¡ªa number that couldn''t be easily counted. The demonic-energy spears shot toward Kang-Woo.


    SLASH¡ª!


    His shoulders, arms, legs, waist¡ªhe was pierced all over.


    Kang-Woo still felt immense pain even though this wasn''t his real body but a fake one created by his mind. It hurt enough to make him think he''d die if a spear pierced one of his vital points.


    Nevertheless¡­


    "What? That''s it?"


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    He stood still and looked beyond the Abyss. The spears had impaled him all over, but he paid it no mind.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue while looking at the countless spears filling the Abyss.


    "What a load of shit. Do you think anything will change with this many spears?"


    He smiled mockingly.


    It didn''t matter how powerful the Demon God was or if hundreds, thousands, or even millions of spears had formed in the Abyss. What mattered were their positions¡ªwho was more anxious and desperate.


    "Right. I guess that makes it clear."


    Kang-Wooughed.


    He looked across at the being that he could never hope to defeat.


    He was not afraid. Rather, he was more at ease than when he had faced Mammon.


    "You can''t kill me."


    [You...]


    A voice filled with rage flowed from the direction of the giant eye.


    The Demon God''s ck eye dted with fury.


    [Why do you not fear?] they asked, unable to understand.


    Up until then, every single human who had stood before them had trembled in fear. No, it wasn''t just humans. There wasn''t any being who hadn''t trembled before the Demon God. Even the gods of the divine realm held their breaths before the Demon God.


    [Do you have any idea who I¡ª]


    "How many times do I have to tell you that I don''t, you numbskull?" Kang-Woo said with a frown. "I don''t know who you are, nor do I care, so stop acting all important. I have absolutely no interest in the likes of you."


    [...]


    "Stop beating around the bush and choose."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    "You either send me back¡­" he continued without hesitation, "...Or we die here together."


    [...]


    There was silence. The giant eye trembled.


    Kang-Wooughed.


    It was easy to tell what choice the Demon God would make.


    ''You shouldn''t have tried to use me,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    Countless demons had tried to use him before, but no one had seeded. It wasn''t because he was strong; he would have died before even reaching the Ninth Hell if all he had been was strong.


    ''Everyone that has tried to use me has died¡­''


    Kang-Woo turned his head. He could see the Demon God was hesitating.


    He licked his lips.


    Kang-Woo didn''t like being unsure of things, but this time, he was absolutely certain of this.


    ''...And so will you.''


    Heughed at the anonymous god.


    * * *


    Kang-Woo opened his eyes.


    "...I don''t remember a ceiling like this."


    A ceiling he''d never seen before was in front of his eyes.


    He tried to get up.


    "Kuh!!"


    Immense pain swept through Kang-Woo. He copsed without being able to raise himself from the bed.


    "You''ve finally woken up, my lord demon king."


    "...I told you not to call me that."


    "Hoho, my apologies," Lilith said, smiling brightly.


    Kang-Woo looked around and asked, "Where are we?"


    "The Guardians'' Chinese branch. The human Tian Wuchen prepared a private room for you."


    "How many days has it been?"


    "Mm... It has been a week since the war ended."


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    One week¡­ He''d been asleep for quite some time.


    "And the extent of the losses?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "769 members of Guardians have died."


    "Lower than I had expected."


    Kang-Woo had thought that at least a thousand people would die.


    "It was mainly because the Demon Cult had directed their forces to the branch interior midway."


    "What about the oue of the battle?"


    "Very good. The¡­ I believe it was called¡­ level? The average level of the yers has dramatically increased. Another two World Ranker-level yers have emerged."


    Kang-Woo nodded in understanding.


    Demons provided massive amounts of experience points after all.


    ''I need them to grow even more.''


    A satisfactory smile appeared on his face.


    "What about you guys?"


    "Balrog is severely injured. He suppressed the rampaging demonic energy with his bare body."


    "Ngh. Well, it''s Balrog, so he should be fine."


    Balrog''s innate regenerative capabilities were almost as impressive as the Authority of Regeneration. There was no need to worry as long as he wasn''t dead.


    "The human Kim Si-Hun still hasn''t regained consciousness. Among your acquaintances, his injuries are the most severe."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo frowned. He forcibly tried to get up, but immense pain pushed him back down again.


    ''This is why I didn''t want to open a Door.''


    Forcing the Ten Thousand Demon Core to run wild greatly boosted his power, but the recoil was far too great.


    ''I saw a weird son of a bitch this time too.''


    The anonymous god who was within the Abyss¡­ If negotiations with them hadn''t gone well, Kang-Woo might have never been able to wake up.


    ''Well, anyway¡­''


    Hey down on the bed.


    Then he slowly raised his hand. The fact that he had managed toe back was finally starting to feel real.


    He had a lot to think about and a pile of things that he needed to do, but the important thing was that he had managed to return.


    Additionally¡­


    ''I devoured Mammon.''


    Kang-Woo was suffering from the recoil of opening a Door, so he couldn''t check how much power he''d obtained after devouring Mammon.


    ''I should at least check my status window.''


    He''d devoured a prince of Hell, so there was no way his Demonic Energy stat hadn''t risen. It was only natural that he would have high hopes for arge boost since the stat had been stagnant at 130 for a very long time.


    Kang-Woo was also highly interested in Mammon''s Authority, which he hadn''t been able to use until now.


    "I have something to report, Master Kang-Woo," Lilith said.


    "Hm."


    Kang-Woo''s hands stopped right before he could open his status window. He considered telling her to wait for a bit, but he didn''t think that for long.


    Ultimately, he refrained from opening his status window and turned his head to face Lilith.


    ''There''s no point even if I check it now.''


    Kang-Woo was struggling even to lift a finger because of the recoil from opening a Door. Trying to check how strong he''d be in such a state wasedy itself.


    "Go ahead."


    "Lucifer''s forces have attacked the Demon Cult."


    "Oh?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up.


    ''So, he finally took the bait.''


    He had been yearning to hear this news for a while.


    "How did you find out?"


    "When Balrog attacked the Tibet branch, that bitch Julia had contacted another Demon Cult branch. I traced back thatmunication record."


    "...Then Lucifer''s forces attacked a different branch at the same time that we attacked the Tibet branch?"


    "That is correct."


    "Hah," Kang-Woo forced augh.


    ''Should I say we were lucky?''


    It had not been intended, but the timing ended up being incredible.


    "You traced back themunication, right?"


    "Yes."


    "Did you only find out the contents of the call?"


    "Fufu, no."


    A wide smile appeared on Lilith''s face. She walked toward Kang-Woo''s bed and sat down on it.


    "I investigated themand center and found the location of five branches. One of them seems to be a huge branch with thousands of members, just like the Tibet branch," Lilith said.


    "I see."


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    ''She sure is capable.''


    Lilith had concluded that assisting Balrog in attacking the interior of the Demon Cult branch would be inefficient and then immediately went to find clues about other Demon Cult branches. She had done her job perfectly.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but feel proud of her.


    "Well done," he praised, reaching out and caressing Lilith''s cheek.


    Lilith let out a soft moan and clung to him.


    "What should we do? Should we use the Guardians forces and attack the other branches?"


    "No," Kang-Woo answered, shaking his head.


    Lucifer''s forces had gotten involved, so there was no need to make Guardians take action. Rather, it was the opposite.


    "Make contact with Lucifer''s forces," Kang-Woo ordered.


    "Ah..."


    "Tell them the locations of the Demon Cult branches you''ve discovered."


    "Fufufu. Understood," Lilith replied with a broad smile. Then she ced her cheek on Kang-Woo''s chest. "I was worried because you weren''t waking up, my king."


    "...It didn''t really look like it."


    "I was so very worried. I made the soldiers protecting you unconscious just so I could infiltrate your room and be by your side to protect you."


    "Why the hell would you do that?"


    "My king¡­"


    Lilith put her hands on his chest.


    Green tentacles started to emerge from her body.


    "W-Wai¡ªurpp!"


    One of the tentacles entered Kang-Woo''s mouth.


    He couldn''t even lift a finger at the moment, so there was no way he''d be able to break free from Lilith''s advances.


    "This loneliness, this sorrow, this heartbreak¡­"


    "Mmmph! Mmph!!"


    Eighteen eyes appeared on Lilith''s face.


    "I would like them to be healed as I share this bed with you."


    "Mmmmmmmph!!!"


    Squelch, squelch.


    Tentacles wrapped around Kang-Woo. He struggled desperately.


    Night fell.


    A flower petal descended to the ground.


    "Mmmph!! Mm¡ªhngh!"


    ''Th-The tentaclessss!''

 Chapter 193 - The Cliche Of Getting Stronger By Losing

    Chapter 193 - The Cliche Of Getting Stronger By Losing


    "Urgh."


    The next morning, Oh Kang-Woo slowly got up after being freed from the nightmarish tentacles. He wasn''tpletely recovered, but he could at least move his body a little bit.


    ''Status window.''


    Riiing.


    [You have unread message windows.]


    [Would you like to read them?]


    A blue message window appeared in front of him.


    He nodded without hesitation.


    [You have consumed the Prince of Greed, Mammon.]


    [Activating the Trait ''Reaper of Souls''.]


    [Activating the Trait ''Prince yer''.]


    [You can now use the Authority of ze possessed by Prince Mammon.]


    A broad smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face while he looked at the message windows.


    ''A prince''s Authority.''


    Authority of ze was the most powerful and destructive Authority that not even Kang-Woo had been able to use back when he used to rule the Nine Hells. The ridiculous firepower Mammon had shown in the battle made it clear that the Authority of ze was worth the trouble Kang-Woo had gone through to get it.


    Kang-Woo turned his head.


    ''There''s still some left.''


    The system notifications hadn''t ended. He checked the rest of the message windows.


    [The second condition of Demonic Soul has been partially fulfilled.]


    [All the conditions of Demonic Soul will be fulfilled through the absorption of another prince''s soul.]


    [The upper limit of the Demonic Energy stat has risen due to the partial fulfillment of Demonic Soul''s condition.]


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 5.]


    [Demonic Energy has reached 135.]


    [The passage connected to the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core is 82.3%plete.]


    ''This is¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened.


    His Demonic Energy stat had reached 135. The passage to the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core would soon beplete.


    The tips of his mouth went up.


    ''I think I''ve almost fully restored it.''


    The power that the Gaia System had sealed¡­ He felt like he would soon be able to regain his full power.


    Kang-Woo had been able to use a hundred percent of the demonic energy from the deep end when he had been in Hell. He had managed to be the Demon King with just that.


    ''But now I''m different from back then.''


    Before awakening as a yer, he hadn''t had the Ultimate Demonic Body, nor had he been able to use the Authority of a prince of Hell. Kang-Woo didn''t know what effect Demonic Soul had, but that was also a power he hadn''t had while in Hell.


    If he could use demonic energy from the deep end, he could probably reach a ne higher than what he''d reached before.


    ''Very nice.''


    Kang-Woo felt that he could face an average prince of Hell alone.


    ''I''m not sure about Bael, but I could definitely face Lucifer or Satan.''


    That was assuming they were still only as powerful as before. In any case, he thought he wouldn''t need to rely on opening a Door to defeat them.


    ''My body''s itching for a fight.''


    He couldn''t help but feel it''d be great if Mammon appeared in front of him again so that he could test how much stronger he''d be, but Mammon had already died. As for Lucifer, it would be hard to make contact with him for the moment.


    There was still the option of Balrog, but he was wounded at the moment.


    "Tsk."


    It was too bad, but there was nothing Kang-Woo could do about it.


    Hey back on the bed again since he still couldn''t move properly.


    "Oh, right."


    He remembered something.


    Kang-Woo got up and grabbed his smartphone. He called Kurosaki Yurie¡ªto be more precise, Lilith, who was inside her body.


    - Did you sleep well, Master Kang-Woo?


    "...No."


    Remembering the previous night gave Kang-Woo chills. He shook them off.


    "Lilith, where did you store Greed?"


    Greed was Mammon''s Hell Armament, and just like his Key of the Demonic Sea, it was a Transcendent-grade armament.


    - Pardon? By Greed... Do you mean Mammon''s Hell Armament?


    "Yeah."


    - Mm. I''m sorry, but I didn''t find the Hell Armament at the ce where you fought Mammon.


    "What?"


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''Greed vanished?''


    He tried to remember what had happened.


    ''Did I consume it along with Mammon?''


    The first thing he thought of was when he had forced the Ten Thousand Demon Core to run wild by opening a Door. The vast darkness had devoured Mammon and the other demons whole.


    ''That can''t be the case.''


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    Even if his Authority of Predation was powerful, it couldn''t consume a Hell Armament. Even if it could, he should have gained power corresponding to that.


    No matter how much he searched through his status window or checked the system messages, he couldn''t see any traces of him having consumed the Hell Armament.


    ''Was it destroyed?''


    He rejected the idea, shaking his head again.


    That was even more impossible. He had cracked the Hell Armament to break out of it, but that waspletely different from destroying it entirely. Only a god would be able to destroy a Hell Armament.


    ''No.''


    If it were a god at the level of Tirion, they would be devoured by the Hell Armament instead.


    "Where the hell did it go?"


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    He''d devoured the soul of a prince of Hell, so the Hell Armament was an important resource he could now use, and he definitely wanted to use it. After all, that transcendental weapon contained so much power that it could not even be fathomed by Kang-Woo.


    Whooom.


    "Hm?"


    At that moment, the ring on his right middle finger shook. His Transcendent-grade weapon, the Key of the Demonic Sea, shook as if it were alive.


    ''Wait.''


    He checked the information window of the Key of the Demonic Sea with bright eyes.


    [Equipment Information]


    [Equipment Name: Key of the Demonic Sea


    Grade: Transcendent (Imprinted)


    Type: Growth *The equipment will grow stronger whenever certain conditions are fulfilled.


    Basic Effect: Unique Stat +3, Indomitability, Transformation, ??? *It has not been unlocked.


    Special Effect: ???, ??? *It has not been unlocked.]


    [Effect Description]


    [Indomitability: The equipment cannot be destroyed by any physical, magical, or spiritual attacks.


    Transformation: The equipment can transform into any weapon registered as a skill. It will exert 34% capacity of weapons made using Authorities.]


    [Equipment Status]


    [*Digestion Stand-by: Currently preparing to digest the Hell Armament ''Greed''.


    *Inadequate Demonic Energy: The wielder''s demonic energy quality is inadequate. Digestion willmence once Demonic Soul is achieved.]


    "...The hell is this?"


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief.


    ''Now that I think about it, this is a growth-type weapon.''


    The basic capabilities of the Key of the Demonic Sea were so great, but he had forgotten about them.


    ''I can''t believe it devoured a Hell Armament.''


    It was as if the weapon was taking after its wielder. He never thought that it would have an ability like this.


    "Well, I''m d I won''t have to worry about where it is.¡±


    He was disappointed he couldn''t immediately use the power of the Hell Armament. Nheless, it hadn''t disappeared, so he felt relieved.


    Kang-Woo looked down at the wriggling Key of the Demonic Sea in ring form.


    ''A Transcendent-grade weapon that has absorbed a Hell Armament, huh?''


    Kang-Woo would be lying if he said he didn''t have his expectations up now. His heart beat faster at the expectation that an unprecedented armament would be born.


    "If it devoured Greed..."


    That meant it could also devour the other Hell Armaments.


    ''I can''t wait.''


    His heart raced excitedly just like that of a child who had received his Christmas gift.


    - Master Kang-Woo? What''s wrong? Should I check again if the Hell Armament was there?


    "No, it''s fine. There''s no need."


    Kang-Woo stood up.


    "Besides that. Where are Si-Hun and Balrog?"


    He had finished checking the rewards that he had gotten from consuming Mammon. It was time to check on his subordinates.


    Kang-Woo got the locations of Kim Si-Hun and Balrog from Lilith. Then he stood up.


    "First..."


    Kang-Woo hesitated between the Balrog and Si-Hun but ended up choosing Si-Hun.


    ''Balrog is tough.''


    It wasn''t a matter of who was more important. In the case of Balrog, his regenerative capabilities were so high that he would regeneratepletely as long as he was still alive.


    ''He pretty much regenerated in a sh even when half of his body had turned to ash.''


    However, that was not the case for Si-Hun. He didn''t have abnormal regenerative capabilities like Balrog.


    ''Well, I''m sure he''ll be fine.''


    After all, Si-Hun was a hero who had been chosen by a god. He was the person closest to being a protagonist than anyone else Kang-Woo had seen until this point. Si-Hun had risen above every single moment of crisis, so Kang-Woo was not worried at all.


    Kang-Woo opened the door with light steps.


    "K-Kang-Woo!" Han Seol-Ah walked toward him with an anxious expression. "Y-You''re finally up! Are you hurting anywh¡ªn-no, more importantly, you shouldn''t be moving around as soon as you wake up!!"


    It seemed like she''d been very worried while Kang-Woo had been unconscious. She was on the verge of tears.


    From the dark circles under her eyes, it looked as if she hadn''t slept for a few days. It seemed like Lilith hadn''t told Seol-Ah that Kang-Woo had woken upst night.


    Kang-Woo sniffled. He felt moved, especially upon recalling the nightmarish experience fromst night.


    ''I''ll offer you my life, my dear!'' he thought.


    Kang-Woo''s heart beat rapidly as Seol-Ah held him cautiously, worried that he might lose consciousness again.


    "Kang-Woo, are you okay...?" Echidna, who hade along with Seol-Ah, pulled on Kang-Woo''s clothes with an anxious expression.


    Kang-Woo nodded with a smile.


    "How''s Si-Hun doing?" he asked.


    "He still hasn''t woken up."


    "Hm."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    The injuries that Mammon had inflicted on Si-Hun were probably quite severe.


    "I''m gonna go see Si-Hun," Kang-Woo said.


    He left Seol-Ah and Echidna outside and entered the room that Si-Hun was in.


    Kang-Woo found Si-Hun asleep on the bed.


    "..."


    He bit his thumb, and ck blood flowed from it. Then he opened Si-Hun''s mouth and dripped the blood inside.


    ''Authority of Regeneration.''


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Regeneration with his Demonic Energy stat, which was currently at 135 points. That was enough to regenerate Si-Hun''s burned arms. His pale face regained its color as well.


    Si-Hun''s body was being restored. It was as if time was rewinding or a miracle was urring.


    "Urmmm¡­¡± Si-Hun murmured as he opened his eyes.


    He looked around and made a bewildered expression upon seeing Kang-Woo.


    "H-Hyung-nim? A-Are you okay?!" Si-Hun asked.


    "That''s my line. Are you okay?" Kang-Woo replied.


    "Ah..." Si-Hun sighed in relief when he saw that Kang-Woo seemed well.


    "I''m fine. I¡­ don''t feel any pain," Si-Hun said with a faint smile. Then he suddenly raised his voice in a panic, "But more importantly, wh-what happened with Mammon?"


    It seemed like his memories of the battle were in fragments.


    "Mammon is dead."


    "Ah."


    "It''s all thanks to you, Si-Hun."


    Kang-Woo patted his shoulder.


    Those were not empty words. If Si-Hun hadn''t bought Kang-Woo enough time, Kang-Woo would not have been able to avoid the worst-case scenario.


    ''I''m proud of you.''


    He felt satisfied with the result of his investment in Si-Hun.


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun with a proud and satisfied smile.


    ''Now, it would be great if he became a bit stronger...''


    Si-Hun had far too great a potential for him to be used just for buying time. He had the potential to be strong enough to face a prince of Hell. No, maybe even more than that.


    ''It won''t be easy though.''


    Si-Hun''s life had been at risk numerous times in this war, yet he hadn''t been able to experience a power-up.


    ''I guess not even Si-Hun would be able to power up that easil¡ª''


    "Huh...?"


    Kang-Woo''s thoughts were cut short by Si-Hun''s trembling voice.


    "H-Hyung-nim." Si-Hun turned his head urgently and looked down at his two hands in despair. "I-I can''t¡­ f-feel my hands."


    "...What?"


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun in disbelief.


    ''Is this a power-up g?''


    The hero who had lost his power¡­


    The cliche of a hero losing his power and then bing stronger after sessfully oveing the trial was a story development Kang-Woo had seen many times before.


    "Hah¡­"


    Kang-Woo grabbed his forehead while making a confused expression, unsure if he should be happy or sad.


    ''I bet my entire worth and my left hand that Si-Hun is powering up.''


    You won''t do it, no balls.

 Chapter 194 - A God From Another World

    Chapter 194 - A God From Another World


    "Kuh."


    tter.


    Kim Si-Hun''s trembling hand dropped the sword. His body was soaked with cold sweat, and he was breathing heavily.


    "Shit."


    Si-Hun reached down to grab the practice sword he''d dropped. Just doing that was so exhausting that cold sweat drenched his body like rain.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa.¡±


    It felt like he was trying to force his way through a blocked passage.


    Si-Hun bit his lip tensely and raised the sword.


    tter.


    The sword fell from his hand again, and the clear sound of steel hitting the floor echoed through the room.


    "Shit, shit¡­!"


    He slumped onto the floor. He felt like he was going to cry.


    Si-Hun looked at his trembling hands. They were his hands, but they did not feel like it at all.


    "I''m sorry for giving¡­" a voice rang out in his mind.


    It was something his mother had said, but it didn''t sound like her voice anymore. Rather¡­


    "Be stronger, and¡­"


    Si-Hun recalled the red demon mask and that mocking voice full of contempt and ridicule. The voice that rang in his mind was closer to that of Satan than his mother.


    "Shut¡­ up."


    Si-Hun frowned and stood up. He reached down for the sword again. He clenched his teeth so hard that blood poured out of his mouth.


    Then he raised his sword.


    tter.


    The sword fell to the ground again.


    * * *


    "Protector Kim Si-Hun¡­"


    Gaia anxiously watched over Si-Hun in the Hall of Protection''s training room as he trained to hold a sword. She couldn''t see him, but she could sense how desperate he was.


    "I-Is it really okay for us to do nothing?" Gaia asked Kang-Woo with a trembling voice.


    "We have to wait," Kang-Woo replied.


    "But¡­"


    "If we don''t trust Si-Hun, who will?"


    "We could at least console¡ª"


    "No." Kang-Woo shook his head. "Meaningless sympathy will only make Si-Hun suffer."


    "¡­"


    "We have to trust Si-Hun and wait."


    "...Okay," Gaia said in a weak voice.


    Si-Hun had lost both arms after being injured by Mammon, a prince of Hell.


    "Protector Kim Si-Hun¡­" Gaia murmured while biting her lip.


    In reality, losing both arms wasn''t a problem. Through the birth of yers, injuries that were untreatable through current medical technology had be treatable.


    Si-Hun had regained his two arms thanks to Kang-Woo, but the problem was that his brain still thought that he had lost his arms. His brain still remembered the pain from when Mammon''s mes had burned off both of his arms.


    He''d lost so much sensation in his hands that he even struggled to hold a spoon.


    "Urgh, sniff."


    Gaia burst into tears as she was unable to handle the overwhelming sorrow she felt regarding Si-Hun''s situation.


    Si-Hun had stuck himself in the training room for days without sleep. Even though he had a superhuman body, it wasn''t hard to imagine how hard it was to train continuously without any breaks.


    "It''s okay." Kang-Woo held Gaia''s shoulder while she cried. "Si-Hun will definitely get through this."


    Kang-Woo turned his head and looked at the training room. Si-Hun was drenched in sweat as he desperately tried to pick up the sword.


    A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    ''Of course, he''ll get through it. Who do you think Si-Hun is?''


    It wasn''t just because Si-Hun looked like a protagonist or a hero, or because he had been chosen by a god.


    ''That guy doesn''t know when to give up.''


    Kang-Woo remembered Si-Hun''s battles against Halphas and Mammon. They had been enemies that Si-Hun had had no chance of winning against. His life had been at risk, but he hadn''t run away.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t know fear.


    ''It''s because his willpower far surpasses his fear.''


    Kang-Woo could instinctively tell that Si-Hun was going to ovee this adversity.


    ''And¡­''


    He would be stronger as a result.


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun with an expectant gaze.


    The beginning of their rtionship hadn''t been good. At first, heined about the guy looking like a protagonist and obtaining strength without making much effort. However, after spending time with Si-Hun, Kang-Woo''s opinion of Si-Hun changed.


    ''To think that I would think of him as a little brother¡­''


    Kang-Woo had ended up getting attached to the person he had only thought of as a tool; it was like he was in some 80''s spy film.


    He smiled bitterly.


    "Ah," Gaia uttered right then.


    Kang-Woo turned toward her and asked, "What''s wrong?"


    "A-A revtion¡­ No, I''m not sure if I should call this a revtion, but¡­ I heard the voice of¡­ a god who is not Lady Gaia."


    "Another god?"


    "I''m not sure who it is either, but they seem to be¡­ very close to Lady Gaia."


    "What did they say?"


    Gaia said carefully, "A god from another world¡­ ising here."


    * * *


    There was a slender woman with long, brown hair lying on arge altar in a temple, which was atop the clouds and covered in an intense light.


    A man with rough hair like a lion''s mane approached the woman, who was breathing faintly.


    "How is Lady Gaia?" he asked.


    "Oh, Lord Uranus."


    Standing near the altar was a woman wearing white clerical clothing. She bowed in greeting while making a dark expression.


    The white-robed woman smiled bitterly and softly caressed the unconscious woman''s cheek. The unconscious woman on the altar was Gaia.


    "She still hasn''t regained consciousness. She opens her eyes from time to time but ends up falling asleep soon after¡­"


    "Hm," Uranus expressed. He mumbled in a bittersweet tone, "I see she has still not regained consciousness even after a prince of Hell who had rooted himself on Earth has died.¡±


    Guardians, the heroes whom Gaia had chosen, had managed to kill a prince of Hell on Earth, but Gaia was still in the same condition as before.


    "Herplexion has gotten a tiny bit better, but¡­"


    "The situation will likely not be resolved unless the fundamental cause is eliminated."


    Gaia had used all of her power to seal the Demon of Prophecy. Due to her excessive interference with the system, her Divinity was at risk of being annihted.


    "Haaa." Uranus couldn''t help but sigh.


    The world Gaia was protecting¡­ was a beautiful blue star.


    The woman who was taking care of Gaia grabbed Gaia''s hand.


    "Lord Uranus, if only you could directly intervene¡ª"


    "Not possible," Uranus said, shaking his head.


    The woman couldn''t understand why that was the case.


    "I don''t understand. Why is the system blocking interventions from the divine realm even in such a situation?!¡± the woman shouted angrily.


    Uranus shook his head. "I do not know. We have no choice but to follow the providence of the universe."


    "But¡­"


    "But we still have some cards we can y," Uranus said quietly. "I have asked for the help of a god from another world this time."


    "But if they''re a god, they shouldn''t be able to interfere in the human realm¡­"


    "Not entirely. Gods from other worlds can bypass the restrictions to an extent."


    Tirion, God of Heroes, was a lower god, but the fact that he had been able to lend his power to a human was proof of what Uranus said.


    However, the system restrictions were so tight that a god would be annihted just for trying tomunicate with a person in the human realm, let alone lending power to them. Only upper gods like Gaia were able to interfere with the system.


    Tirion had been annihted. Nevertheless, he had managed to give great power to a human, who was neither an incarnation nor a sessor. It was proof that gods from other worlds weren''t held to the same harsh restrictions.


    The woman''s eyes shone after hearing Uranus''s words.


    "Then, which god from the continent of Aernor have you¡ª"


    "No, I have asked for the help of a god from an even further dimension. She was acquainted with Lady Gaia before Lady Gaia became like this."


    "Who is¡ª"


    "She will be here soon."


    Uranus turned around.


    A white Rift opened, and a woman walked out. Blinding light radiated from the goddess with glorious blonde hair.


    "So, this is the world Gaia''s in charge of," she said.


    The blonde woman looked around, and Uranus walked toward her.


    "Thank you foring," he expressed.


    "You must be Uranus. I heard about you from Gaia long ago." The blonde goddess sighed deeply after looking at Gaia. "How did she end up like this?"


    "She sacrificed herself to seal the power of the Demon of Prophecy."


    "Demon of Prophecy¡­?" The goddess tilted her head.


    "We do not know their exact identity because the information that we can acquire is very limited, but¡­" Uranus exined with a heavy voice. He clenched his hand into a fist. "A demon named Satan is the most likely the Demon of Prophecy."


    "Satan? There''s a Satan in this world too?"


    "He is likely different from the Satan in your world."


    "Mm¡­" The goddess fell into deep thought. "Gaia might die at this rate. Then this world will¡­"


    "I will not let that happen, even if I were to be annihted in exchange,¡± Uranus dered with an intense gaze.


    The goddess nodded with a heavy expression.


    She asked, "So, what are you requesting me to do? By the way, I can''t interfere too much either."


    "I am aware. This is what I request of you."


    Uranus snapped his finger.


    An image of a human with a sharp gaze appeared.


    "His name is Oh Kang-Woo. He is the human that the incarnation of Lady Gaia trusts the most. I wish for you to give him as much of your power as possible."


    "Mm¡­ What kind of human is he?"


    "To be honest with you, I do not know either."


    "You don''t?"


    Uranus nodded. "After Lady Gaia copsed, it became more difficult for the gods of this world to interfere with the system. We have only managed to find out about the human Oh Kang-Woo through Lady Gaia''s incarnation, but¡­ I can guarantee that he is an extremely exceptional human."


    A human had killed a prince of Hell.


    Uranus did not know how the battle had yed out, but he''d heard from Gaia''s incarnation that the one who had killed the prince of Hell was a human named Oh Kang-Woo.


    "I would like to raise this man as the hope of our world," Uranus stated firmly.


    The blonde goddess narrowed her eyes.


    "Hmm¡­" she said, "I want to see that human with my own eyes first to see if he''s worthy of bing the hope of this world."


    "...You are quite cautious."


    The goddess shook her head while making an expression that suggested she''d remembered something unpleasant.


    "I''ve gone through a horrible experience because of a certain human garbage," she exined.


    "Hm. What kind of human was he?"


    "A peerless piece of trash named Lee Ki-Young[1]¡ªfuuu, you don''t need to pay him any mind. He has nothing to do with this world."


    The woman shook her head again as if she was erasing a nightmare from her mind.


    She continued, "Anyway, I will go see that human Oh Kang-Woo and see if he''s trustworthy. I''m indebted to Gaia, so I also want to help as much as I can."


    "I will entrust this matter to you, Goddess Benigoa."


    Uranus bowed to Benigoa, who hade from a world far away.


    1. A Regressor Instruction Manual reference. Do check it out to know the background story! ?

 Chapter 195 - I Think I Can Trust You

    Chapter 195 - I Think I Can Trust You


    "A god from another world¡­?"


    Oh Kang-Woo frowned.


    He had experienced receiving the will from above through Gaia and had also received assistance in the form of quests. However, this was the first time he couldn''t understand their intentions.


    ''Why a god from another world out of the blue?''


    He narrowed his eyes.


    While trying to listen to the words that resounded in her head, Gaia continued, "I''m not sure either, but they''re saying this is the best that they can do¡­"


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath.


    ''Why?''


    Questions filled his mind. From the information he had, he couldn''t think of a reason for them to drag a god over from another world.


    Whooom.


    Before his questions were answered, a white gate appeared inside the Hall of Protection.


    A blonde woman walked out of the gate, glowing with a blinding light.


    "You must be Gaia''s incarnation, and¡­ you must be Oh Kang-Woo," she said.


    The woman was merely standing there talking, but her immense power was raising the hairs on their skin.


    ''She''s in apletely different league from Tirion.''


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    Boom!


    "Hyung-nim! What was that light¡­?"


    "What''s going on, Kang-Woo?!"


    "Is something wrong, Kang-Woo?"


    "Wh-What was that?! What happened?"


    "Hyung-nim!! What happened?!"


    Kim Si-Hun, who had been in the training room, swiftly emerged. Han Seol-Ah, Echidna, Cha Yeon-Joo, and Kang Tae-Soo, who had also been training in different training rooms, all rushed out too. Their attention was ced on the woman who was radiating blinding light.


    "I''m Benigoa. I''vee to help you at the request of Uranus."


    There was a heavy silence.


    A god from another world had suddenly appeared. No one knew how to react.


    Kang-Woo took a step forward, staring at her warily.


    "If you''re a god from another world¡­ Are you from the continent of Aernor?" he asked.


    The most likely answer was Aernor since he hade across many beings from that world.


    Benigoa shook her head and answered, "No."


    ''No?''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He was even more confused now.


    "What brings you here? What do you mean exactly¡­ when you said that you''vee to help us?" he questioned.


    "You don''t need to be so wary of me. I haven''te to harm any of you."


    Benigoa sighed softly and exined what was going on. The more she exined, the stiffer Kang-Woo''s expression became.


    ''Gods from other worlds receive fewer restrictions¡­?''


    That wasn''t good news at all. No, it was the worst possible news.


    Uranus had asked for help from a god of another world to protect the world that Gaia was in charge of. That wasn''t something that could be done lightly. It was simr to when a country went bankrupt and asked for help from the IMF.


    This meant that Gaia and her aides had been driven so far into a corner that they could no longer provide proper assistance to Kang-Woo and Guardians.


    ''Oh, fuck.''


    If, like Benigoa, gods from other worlds were toe to Earth for the sole purpose of helping out, then that was great news.


    ''But there''s absolutely no way that''s the case.''


    However, there was no way that every single outer god¡ªgods from other dimensions who received fewer restrictions from the system¡ªwoulde to Earth purely to help this world. This wasn''t some children''s book where everyone held hands and got along.


    ''Oh, fuck. Then that means if a god from another world were to invade Earth right now, we would only be able to watch while sucking our thumbs.''


    Of course, they wouldn''t be invading anytime soon. Gaia was still alive, and the Gaia System protecting Earth had yet to disappearpletely. Unless they hade to Earth with Gaia''s permission like Benigoa had, an outer god would not be able to invade Earth so easily.


    ''But if the Gaia Systempletely copses¡­''


    Then, there was no way to know who would invade Earth.


    ''Useless pieces of shit.''


    Kang-Woo''s head hurt. He couldn''t help but feel angry at Gaia and the other gods protecting Earth.


    If he had to make aparison¡­


    ''It''s like when a nation''s economypletely copses, and they can only watch as foreign enterprises take over¡­''


    No matter what the foreign powers did, the nation would bepletely powerless to stop them. In the end, it would be the people who would suffer the consequences.


    ''Fucking hell. What the hell were they doing that it got this bad?''


    He couldn''t help but curse at the thought of the idiotic Gaia and her close aides.


    Of course, Kang-Woo was the main culprit, but it wasn''t the time to argue over such trivial details.


    ''The Gaia System needs to be restored as soon as possible.''


    Kang-Woo bit his lip in impatience.


    While his mind was swirling with all kinds of thoughts, he sighed and turned to Benigoa. She hade here to offer power to the Warrior of Light, the one who could be considered the ace of Guardians.


    ''Well, she''s offering, so I might as well ept it.''


    Kang-Woo still felt angry when he thought about the worthless gods who had let this world get to the verge of copse, but that wasn''t a reason to refuse their gift. It was pretty much ast resort, but he needed to get whatever he could.


    ¡°Mm. So, you''re the Warrior of Light, huh?" Benigoa said.


    She looked at Kang-Woo with a sharp gaze, evaluating him. She seemed to be wondering if she should trust him.


    "...His face kind of reminds me of Lee Ki-Young," Benigoa remarked.


    She felt an uncanny sense of displeasure when she looked at Kang-Woo. He seemed simr to the man who had traumatized her.


    ''The hell? She''s not gonna give me her power aftering this far¡­?''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    He didn''t know who Lee Ki-Young was, but he could tell that Benigoa didn''t trust him.


    Kang-Woo felt extremely disappointed now, especially after having wondered expectantly about what sort of power she would be giving him.


    "Goddess Benigoa," Si-Hun said, taking a step forward. "Please help hyung-nim protect this world."


    He knelt on one knee without hesitation.


    Si-Hun spoke passionately about how Kang-Woo had saved him from his wretched past and the swamp he had thought he would never be able to swim out of.


    "Hyung-nim is¡­ the person I respect and trust the most," Si-Hun dered.


    ''Well done, my boy!! You know that I love you, right?!'' Kang-Woo thought.


    "Hmm," Benigoa murmured, her eyes lighting up at Si-Hun''s sincere words.


    She looked back and forth between Si-Hun''s and Kang-Woo''s faces.


    "I-I feel the same way!" Seol-Ah stepped up next. "If¡­ Kang-Woo hadn''t been there for me, I would never have been able to attain such happiness."


    She softly embraced Kang-Woo''s arm while blushing. "Kang-Woo is¡­ v-very precious to me."


    ''Shieet, darliiiiing!!!''


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists while making an expression as if he were about to cry.


    "Si-Hun and Sister-in-Law are right! I, Kang Tae-Soo, know Kang-Woo hyung-nim better than anyone else!"


    ''Tae-Soo¡­ I had honestly forgotten about you after your importance in the story fell, but you sure are helpful in times like this.''


    Support from Tae-Soo, whom Kang-Woo thought had vanished into thin air, had arrived.


    Benigoaughed upon hearing Tae-Soo''s strong voice.


    "Is that you, Deok-Gu?" she asked.


    "Hm? What do you mean?"


    "Oh, sorry. There happens to be someone just like you in the world I''m in charge of."


    Benigoa turned away.


    After Si-Hun, Seol-Ah, and Tae-Soo, Echidna stepped up this time.


    "Kang-Woo is a very good person," she stated.


    Echidna grabbed Benigoa''s sleeve and looked up at her with innocent eyes.


    "Gasp." Benigoa took a deep breath.


    She was a goddess, but her sense of beauty was simr to a human''s. The way Echidna was looking up at her cautiously was so cute that Benigoa wanted to hug her right that second.


    ''Echidna, where did you learn such cunning techniques?''


    It was obvious to Kang-Woo that Echidna was trying to look cute on purpose. He trembled upon seeing how much she''d grown.


    As even Echidna had stepped up, everyone''s attention shifted to Yeon-Joo.


    "...What? I have to say something too?"


    Yeon-Joo felt everyone''s gaze on her as she stood there with her arms crossed. Based on the flow of things, it seemed like she had to say something as well.


    She looked at Kang-Woo with annoyed eyes.


    "To be honest, he''s not that great. I have no idea why you all love such a self-centered guy who always acts on his own and doesn''t seem to care about how others feel," Yeon-Jooshed out.


    "But, well¡­" She snorted. "He''s still trustworthy."


    Yeon-Joo turned her head away.


    Kang-Woo could see that her cheeks were turning red.


    ''Which anime are you from?''


    He couldn''t help but chuckle at Yeon-Joo''s line that seemed as if it had been ripped straight from an anime.


    "Hahahahaha!" Benigoaughed while holding her stomach.


    Herughter was so hearty that one wouldn''t expect it to havee out from a goddess''s mouth.


    She nodded and said, "If the people around you trust you this much, I guess I can trust you."


    Benigoa walked toward Kang-Woo and dered, "I will give you my power."


    ''Fuck yeaaaaaaahhhhhh!!''


    Kang-Woo clenched his hands into fists.


    He had not intended it, but she had been easily convinced thanks to the people around him.


    ''This is all thanks to my good karma! Yup! Karma! Of course!!!''


    Kang-Woo was so happy that he could dance right here, but he suppressed his rising cheeks as much as possible.


    ''I should put on the face of a hero desperately struggling to protect the world.''


    He shouldn''t act happy at the thought of receiving a gift from a god. He had to control his emotions and show the goddess his will to protect this world with the power that she was about to give him.


    ¡°Oh, but it''s not like I''mpletely free from the system''s restrictions. I say it''s the power of a god, but it''s probably not as grand as what you''re thinking of," Benigoa added.


    ''I won''t look a gift horse in the mouth!''


    No matter how little the amount of power might be, Kang-Woo would still be getting something. It was as if the real Santa us had appeared on Christmas and had given him a gift, so there was no reason to refuse.


    "It does not matter what power you give me," Kang-Woo said.


    He took a step forward, grabbed Benigoa''s hand, and pulled her toward him slightly.


    "Ah¡­"


    "What matters is the fact that you are looking out and caring for us, Lady Benigoa," he expressed with a serious gaze and an honest voice. "As you know, our world is not at all in a good situation. To be honest, it''s a wonder why it hasn''t fallen to ruin yet."


    The goddess in charge of this world had almost died while trying to stop the invasion of Satan, the Demon of Prophecy. To make matters worse, Gaia''s close aides were not able to help the human realm.


    Kang-Woo continued, "I am sure you are also in charge of a world, Lady Benigoa. There must be things that you have to protect as well. You said it in passing, but you mentioned that you''ve suffered because you were deceived by a human in the past. So, I understand how hard it must be for you to lend your power to another world."


    "Well¡­"


    "I will never forget it."


    Kang-Woo gripped Benigoa''s hand firmly. The warmth of their hands met.


    He bit his lips and put himself on the verge of tears. His voice cracked slightly, but he looked into her eyes with an unwavering gaze.


    "We will never forget your kindness," he stated.


    A strong sense of justice was exploding from the Warrior of Light, Oh Kang-Woo.


    Benigoa trembled a little.


    "...Like I thought," she voiced with a smile, "You''re different."


    She lightly ced her hand on Kang-Woo''s shoulder.


    Riiing.


    [You have received Benigoa''s Blessing.]


    [Raising all stats excluding Demonic Energy by 10.]


    [The absolute rise in Demonic Energy has been reduced due to its quality being too high.]


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 3.]


    ''YOLO!!''


    Energy invigorated his body.


    "Thank you¡­ very much," Kang-Woo said emotionally while bowing.


    Benigoa smiled as she looked down at him.


    The human''s honest eyes, cracked voice, and tears dripping from his eyes were proof that his soul was more pure and beautiful than anyone else''s.


    "I think I can trust you," Benigoa concluded.


    Blinding light spread far and wide.


    ''Of course, there isn''t anyone as trustworthy as me! Huehuehuehue.''

 Chapter 196 - A Hero Is Born From Despair (1)

    Chapter 196 - A Hero Is Born From Despair (1)


    "I''ll get going then. I don''t think¡­ I''ll be able to stay in this world much longer," Benigoa said with a faint smile on her face. Her body was starting to be transparent, signifying that her time was almost up.


    Shortly before she vanished, she looked at Oh Kang-Woo and said, "Be careful."


    Before Kang-Woo could ask what she was telling him to be careful of, she said, "If Gaia''s condition continues to worsen, outer gods will descend on this world."


    "¡­"


    "I helped you because I owed a debt to Gaia, but you''d better not expect that from them."


    Kang-Woo already suspected as much.


    He nodded. "I will keep that in mind."


    Honestly, nothing would change even if he knew that outer gods would descend if Gaia worsened. After all, there was no way to resolve the issue at its core. No, there was a way to solve it all, but he couldn''t do it because he was the Demon of Prophecy, the origin of the problem.


    ''I can''t offer my life to save the world.''


    There were all sorts of people in the world, and some heroes would probably be willing to risk their lives to save everyone.


    ''But¡­''


    At the very least, he was not one of them.


    Even when he had fallen into Hell, he had fought relentlessly, desperately, and miserably, all for the sake of survival. Was he supposed to sacrifice himself to save the world after everything he''d gone through?


    ''Not a chance.''


    He was going to try to survive, no matter what.


    It was a simple issue. If the problem was that beings from other worlds were crossing dimensions because of him, he would just need to kill them all.


    "In that case¡­ I''ll leave this world in your hands. I''m not sure if we will ever meet again, but I will pray for you."


    Benigoa turned fully transparent and disappeared.


    Kang-Woo smirked. It seemed a little ironic for a god to pray.


    ''I guess real gods are different from the concept that we have of gods.''


    One true almighty god had not established the providence of the universe. Rather, there were numerous gods categorized by rank, and conflicts existed between them. Each god had their own individual characteristics.


    ''They aren''t perfect.''


    In that case, they can be fought and killed.


    No¡­


    ''They can be eaten.''


    Kang-Woo smiled and looked down at his hands. He closed his eyes and felt the power the goddess from another world had given him.


    ''Not bad.''


    To be honest, it did not meet his expectations of what he thought a god''s gift would be. His Demonic Energy stat hadn''t gone up much either because it was so high, but a gift was a gift.


    It hadn''t required effort on his part, so he couldn''tin.


    ''I mean, it''s actually a pretty sick gift.''


    After hunting Mammon, his Demonic Energy stat had only increased by five points.


    Considering that the higher one''s stat became, the harder it was to raise it, he wasn''t sure if his Demonic Energy would rise by five if he ate another prince of Hell.


    ''It''s not like the other stats are useless either.''


    An absolute rise of ten points was no different than equipping a bunch of Legendary-grade equipment.


    Kang-Woo turned around with a smile. He could feel everyone staring at him as he was bathed in light.


    "Thanks, guys."


    He had received Benigoa''s gift thanks to Kim Si-Hun and his otherrades.


    ''It sure is important to be on the straight and narrow.''


    No one had lied to Benigoa. It did not seem that every god could detect lies, but Benigoa most surely would have noticed if anyone had told her a poor lie. She hadn''t suspected him because she had felt how much everyone present trusted Kang-Woo.


    ''To be honest, I''m a bit moved.''


    It wasn''t enough to make him shed tears, but he felt a warmth in his heart.


    It had only been a little over a year since he had returned to Earth, but the rtionships he''d built in that short period of time couldn''tpare to the ones he''d made in Hell.


    In Hell, he had many subordinates with unconditional trust in him, but there was a limit to their emotional bonding.


    Each of hisrades said something.


    "No. Even if we hadn''t done anything, I''m sure she would have figured out your true nature, hyung-nim."


    ''She shouldn''t.''


    "The goddess surely realized how much of a warm person you are, Kang-Woo."


    ''I don''t think she did.''


    "It would have been great if she could have helped us defeat the Demon of Prophecy¡­"


    ''Darling, if she''d done that, I would''ve been done for.''


    "Haha! This is all thanks to your good deeds, hyung-nim!"


    ''Of course, I worked my fucking ass off.''


    The scene was so moving it could have been straight out of a movie, but Kang-Woo couldn''t help but feel a bit guilty.


    ''Shouldn''t the ending credits appear at this point?''


    If so, things would''ve been just right. He sighed and turned around.


    "I''ll be back in a bit."


    "Where are you going, Kang-Woo?" Echidna asked.


    "I want to test out the power that I just received."


    "I wanna go too," Echidna said while grabbing his sleeve.


    Kang-Woo nodded and held her hand.


    "¡­"


    He could feel Si-Hun staring at his back.


    Si-Hun looked down at his hands with a dark expression.


    ''Oh boy, Si-Hun.''


    It was easy to guess why he was making such an expression.


    ''You must be going through a severe inner struggle.''


    A swordsman who couldn''t hold a sword¡­


    It was hard to imagine the disabling feeling Si-Hun was experiencing. And while he was struggling, the hyung-nim he respected so much had received the power of a god.


    ''He''s probably thinking that I''m getting further and further from him.''


    It was an undeniable truth. Kang-Woo was bing stronger at a faster pace than he had expected, and he would soon be able to surpass his old self.


    No matter how talented Si-Hun was, it was ultimately in a rtive sense. His sense of deprivation had likely reached a severe level.


    ''I need to do something about it.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t stay still and do nothing. He didn''t think it would make Si-Hun crumble, but he still had to give him a slight push forward.


    "Let''s go."


    He turned with Echidna. He couldn''t push Si-Hun immediately.


    ''Once a bit more time passes¡­''


    Once Si-Hun became more desperate and got to the point ofplete despair¡­


    ''I''ll take advantage of that moment.''


    * * *


    [Huff, huff.]


    Clenching his chest, Balrog breathed heavily. The ground around him and Kang-Woo had melted down, and an intense wave of heat had wiped out everything around them along with the smoke. Balrog copsed to the ground, trembling in excitement.


    [H-Hehehe.]


    He could see yellow mes surrounding Kang-Woo.


    [As expected of the Demon King.]


    "Mm¡­"


    Despite Balrog''s praise, Kang-Woo expressed dissatisfaction. He looked at the yellow mes burning in the palms of his hands.


    ''It''s a bit of a letdown.''


    He was not thinking that the Authority of ze was a letdown; he was disappointed in himself.


    ''To think it would be so hard to control.''


    He had never used a prince''s Authority before, and he wasn''t a genius¡ªhe didn''t have the capability to memorize things just by looking at them once like Si-Hun. Although Kang-Woo could theoretically use 666 Authorities, there was a reason why he only used the ones he was familiar with.


    [Hmm? Is there something bothering you?]


    "I didn''t like it. I never thought Mammon''s Authority would be so difficult to control."


    [But from our battle just now¡ª]


    "You didn''t go all out, did you?"


    [¡­]


    He hit the nail in the coffin.


    Balrog sighed and nodded.


    "Be honest. How was it?"


    [I felt that you were weaker than your usual self. Of course, the demonic energy itself was as thick as what you had back in Hell, but¡­]


    "It was clumsy, is what you''re trying to say?"


    [Yes.] Balrog continued, [My wounds have not been fully healed, so I cannot give you an exact answer, but I can say that it was weaker than Mammon.]


    "I see."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    There was no reason to be disappointed. Mammon had used the Authority of ze for tens of thousands of years, so there was no way Kang-Woo would be able to use the Authority better than him.


    "I''m gonna have you practice with me for a while."


    Until now, there was no point in Kang-Woo training since he had far surpassed the realm of getting better through practice. However, the situation had changed.


    He might never get to Mammon''s level, but he needed to be able to control the Authority of ze well enough to use it inbat.


    [As youmand, my king.] Balrog smiled.


    "That aside, how are your injuries?"


    [They have gotten much better. I will be fully healed in a few days.]


    Kang-Woo bit his thumb. His flesh split, and ck blood dripped.


    "Drink."


    [¡­ There is no need for you to use the Authority of Regeneration. I will heal naturally over ti¡ª]


    "Bullshit. It was obvious you were hurting when you were making intense movements."


    [¡­]


    Balrog remained silent. He sniffled and then, looking as if he was about to cry, hugged Kang-Woo tightly.


    [MY KIINNGG!!!]


    "Kurgh! G-Get off me, man!!"


    A five-meter-tall giant was hugging him tightly. Kang-Woo could handle Balrog''s strength since he was just as strong, but he couldn''t stop the smell from prating his nose. It was a horrible smell that poured out of Balrog''s muscles, covering him.


    [Hahahahaha!! It is truly my life''s honor to be serving you, my king!]


    "No fair, Balrog. Me too." Echidna, who had been silently watching, also hugged Kang-Woo.


    ''So this must be Heaven and Hell.''


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes while feeling the difference in texture on both sides.


    Time passed.


    * * *


    tter!


    "Pant! Pant!"


    Si-Hun''s sword fell out of his hand. He copsed. Tears dripped down from his eyes.


    "I''m sorry for¡­"


    The voice. He could hear that sickening voice. He sped his mouth as nausea surged. The red demon mask wasughing at him mockingly.


    "U-Urgghh," he groaned.


    It had been three months since he had been absorbed in his training to wield a sword again. He had barely slept. Nothing had changed, and he hadn''t improved at all. He still couldn''t properly hold a sword.


    "Aaarrrggghhh!!!!"


    He cried in despair. He mmed his head down on the floor along with his fists.


    Kang-Woo''s back, which he could vaguely see, was getting even farther. He could no longer see his back; all he saw was darkness.


    "Aaaaaahhhhh!!!"


    BOOM. BOOM.


    He shouted while clenching his head. He grabbed his sword as he bit his lip so hard that it bled.


    tter.


    The sword dropped onto the floor again.


    * * *


    "It''s about time."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone as he looked through the training room wall and watched Si-Hun cry.


    ''It''s time to power up.''


    If a hero was born from despair¡­


    "I''ll just have to make that despair."


    Kang-Woo smiled.

 Chapter 197 - A Hero Is Born from Despair (2)

    Chapter 197 - A Hero Is Born from Despair (2)


    ''How should I go about it?''


    Oh Kang-Woo was leisurely sitting on a chair while watching Kim Si-Hun cry through the training room walls.


    It had been three months. Nearly a hundred days had passed.


    ''It hasn''t been that long.''


    It couldn''t be said to have been short, but it wasn''t that long either.


    Lucifer''s forces and the Demon Cult had been fighting for the past three months, but there hadn''t been much progress. Although they''d been fighting, it seemed they were feeling each other out; neither side had truly gone on the offensive.


    ''But¡­''


    For Si-Hun, the past hundred days had likely felt like forever.


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun with sunken eyes. Si-Hun was crying while desperately trying to hold his sword. It had gone past being sad, and it now looked wretched.


    ''I''m sure he has never experienced such a serious block before.''


    It was the first time Si-Hun had fallen this far since bing a yer. Thanks to his talent and knowledge, Si-Hun had grown at a faster pace than anyone else. He also had the Heavenly Martial Physique.


    Kang-Woo didn''t know much about martial arts, but ording to Tian Wuchen, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that Si-Hun''s talent had been bestowed by the heavens.


    Si-Hun had truly grown at an unbelievable pace, by human standards. He also did not have to go through the Limit of Effort like all other yers.


    He thought he was nothing special because he wasparing himself to none other than Kang-Woo, but he had never experienced a block in his growth.


    No, the problem wasn''t that his growth was blocked.


    ''He hit rock bottom.''


    A swordsman who can''t hold a sword¡­ The foundation of Si-Hun''s identity was crumbling. To make aparison, he was currently no better than trash.


    "FUUUUCK!!" Si-Hun cursed.


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened. He was expecting this to happen, but it was hard to see Si-Hun at rock bottom.


    Kang-Woo stood up and turned around.


    ''I should get things ready.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t do it alone. No, to be more precise, he wouldn''t be involved in the n. He first went to see Balrog. There was also Vaal Zahak, who was doing theundry, as well as Lilith.


    [Kekeke, what can I, the ruler of death, Vaal Zahak, do for you?]


    "¡­ I told you to take off that damn apron." Kang-Woo sighed while looking at the pink apron beneath Vaal Zahak''s robe. "I called you all here because¡­"


    Kang-Woo exined his n to his three subordinates. The more he went on, the more intensely the yellow eyes in Vaal Zahak''s eye sockets shone. Lilith smiled in excitement.


    Balrog, however, frowned in displeasure.


    [Is that human worth going so far for?]


    He couldn''t understand it.


    Kang-Woo nodded without hesitation.


    "He''s more than worth it."


    Si-Hun could grow to be stronger than Balrog. This wasn''t a groundless assumption¡ªjust looking at Si-Hun''s status window made it clear.


    ''An SSS-rank Trait.''


    The rank of the first Trait Si-Hun had awakened¡­


    Kang-Woo hadn''t managed to acquire a Trait of that rank during his eight Awakenings.


    ''Even Prince yer is only an SS-rank Trait.''


    Even an overpowered Trait that allowed him to use the powers of the princes of Hell was SS rank.


    If Si-Hun could use the full power of his SSS-rank Trait, there was a chance he might surpass Balrog and be as strong as a prince of Hell.


    ''No, maybe even stronger.''


    Si-Hun was practically blessed by everything that could possibly bless him in this world.


    Kang-Woo had a feeling that he could reach some ce even higher.


    [¡­ If you say so, my king, I will do as you say.]


    Balrog bowed his head while making an unpleasant expression.


    Kang-Woo smiled and patted his shoulder.


    "You''lle to find out for yourself if you spend some more time with Si-Hun."


    [Ngh. I still do not like the fact that I have to take action for the benefit of someone other than you, my king.]


    "It is for me," he firmly said.


    It wasn''t because he sympathized with Si-Hun or because of the bond they had built after all this time.


    ''I need him.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t do everything by himself. He wasn''t a god¡ªhe wasn''t almighty. No, not even the gods were almighty. He''d learned that through Gaia.


    If Balrog, Lilith, and Echidna hadn''t been with him during the war in Tibet, he would not have been able to stop the volcano from erupting.


    It wasn''t hard to imagine what would''ve happened if the volcano erupted. Guardians would''ve been massacred, and the world that had been painstakingly gathered as one would''ve been torn apart once again.


    "Even if I didn''t consider Si-Hun my brother, I would''ve still done this the same way."


    It was better to have as many powerful cards to y as possible, and Si-Hun was one of the most powerful ones.


    "You can do it, right?" he asked them.


    Balrog, Lilith, and Vaal Zahak knelt before him and bowed their heads.


    [May your will be done, my king.]


    Kang-Woo nodded and turned around. Getting these three to participate in the n had not been hard in the slightest. Since Lilith would be in charge of coordinating the n, there was no need to worry about its quality.


    ''The problem is¡­''


    He narrowed his eyes. It wasn''t enough with just these three. He had the protagonist and the antagonist, but there wasn''t a heroine. Hecked the decisive spice that would set Si-Hun''s heart aze and push him even further down the depths of wretched despair.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t do it because he was too strong to need help, so using himself wouldn''t stimte Si-Hun.


    ''In that case¡­''


    There was only one possible person.


    Kang-Woo threw the transparent crystal orb, and the gate that led to the Hall of Protection opened.


    * * *


    "I''m sorry¡­?"


    The woman¡ªwith light brown hair, pale skin, and a body so frail that it stirred the desire to protect her in everyone around her and looked as if it would break from the slightest touch¡ªtrembled.


    "What do you mean?"


    "It''s for Si-Hun."


    "B-But still!"


    Gaia sprang up from the wheelchair. She lost her bnce and copsed.


    Kang-Woo caught her before she could fall down and carefully sat her back in the wheelchair.


    "How could I do that to Protector Kim Si-Hun¡­?" Gaia lowered her head.


    "I''m sure you know the state Si-Hun is in right now," he said in a low voice.


    "¡­"


    "Are you nning on just watching as Si-Hun crumbles under the weight of his own despair?"


    "N-No! There''s no way I''d do that!" she quickly shouted. She continued as if she couldn''t understand, "But even still, doing something like that is¡­"


    "Si-Hun''s current problem isn''t physical. The nerves in his hands had healed long ago."


    "¡­"


    "You know as well, don''t you? The reason he can''t hold a sword is purely a psychological problem."


    Gaia nodded with difficulty, knowing it as well. Kang-Woo had a healing ability that could be considered almost miraculous, yet Si-Hun still couldn''t hold a sword.


    "Si-Hun has to ovee it on his own. We''re just creating a situation that can help him with that."


    "But what if Protector Kim Si-Hun breaks downpletely because of¡ª"


    "He won''t," he said firmly.


    If this were a novel, Si-Hun would be the protagonist. He never gave up or backed down. Oveing one''s fear of death with sheer willpower was easier said than done; not many people were able to do such a thing.


    "He won''t break down over something like this."


    "¡­"


    Gaia fell silent.


    "Will I really be able to do this?" she asked in a trembling voice.


    "You''ll be fine. You just need to scream a few times."


    To be honest, Kang-Woo did not have high hopes for her acting. He''d dragged Gaia into his n because she was the woman that the hero Kim Si-Hun had fallen in love with at first sight and had sworn to protect.


    Gaia was obviously a bad liar, so he did not expect her to make a theatrical performance.


    "I¡­ understand." Gaia nodded with a heavy expression. "I will do the best I can."


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    ''And with this¡­''


    The actors were cast. Next was to set the scene.


    ''This is pretty fun.''


    It felt as if he were looking at things from an omniscient viewpoint. A weird sensation of excitement ran through him.


    ''I should do this a few more times in the future.''


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    * * *


    "Why did you suggest a walk out of the blue¡­? Is something on your mind?"


    A man and a woman were walking beside a stream in a quiet and peaceful forest harboring chirping birds. It was Si-Hun and Gaia.


    "N-No. It''s just that you seem to be having a tough timetely, Protector Kim Si-Hun."


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained silent. He looked down at his hands as he pushed Gaia''s wheelchair. The tips of his fingers were trembling, and he wasn''t holding the wheelchair''s handles. He just had his hands above them and was pushing.


    To be more precise, that was the only thing he could do with these hands.


    He felt a burning pain in his chest.


    "I''m¡­ fine," he said in a weak voice.


    "¡­"


    Anyone would be able to tell that he wasn''t fine.


    Gaia extended her hand and grabbed Si-Hun''s hand.


    "I¡­ also broke down when I lost my eyesight and my legs stopped working."


    "¡­"


    "It felt as if I had be worthless trash."


    "That''s¡ª"


    "That''s why I understand the despair that you''re going through. But¡­" Gaia smiled and stroked his hands softly. "Please, don''t resent yourself."


    "Gaia¡­"


    "Fufu. It''s funny for me to say this when I''m the one always relying on others, but¡­ I wish for you to not suffer anymore."


    There was a heavy silence. A dreamy atmosphere was blossoming between Si-Hun and Gaia.


    "Gaia, are you¡ª"


    As Si-Hun was about to say something¡ªBOOM!!!¡ªthere was a huge explosion.


    "Wh-What the¡ª?!"


    ck demonic energy stormed all around them, and a giant being walked out through the thickets.


    [Kekekeke! I have finally found you!]


    The being was easily over five meters tall and was covered in horrifying green tentacles. The enormous amount of demonic energy the demon was emitting was suffocating.


    "Kieeeeek!"


    "Grrk, grrk."


    Undead monsters poured out from behind the tentacle monster.


    "Y-You''re¡­" Si-Hun stared at the monster as his voice trembled.


    The massive demon covered in tentacles shouted, [I am the loyal subordinate of Lord Satan, Yogg-Saron!!!]


    BOOM!


    The demon stomped on the ground, tentacles spreading in all directions.


    [Bow down before the God of Death, human!!!]


    * * *


    ''Dayum.''


    Kang-Woo was using the Authority of the Beholder from atop a tree about a hundred meters from Si-Hun and Gaia. He smiled.


    ''Nice production.''


    The appearance Lilith herself had made for Balrog was so hideous that it made him want to vomit. Additionally, the Undead that Vaal Zahak had made were a nice addition.


    ''Shieet! This is great!''


    Kang-Woo looked at them with shining eyes as if he were a film director.


    "Kyaaaaah!!"


    Balrog reached out and grabbed Gaia.


    ''Alright!''


    The weak heroine being snatched away by a demon¡­


    It was just like what he had imagined.


    ''Now if we just shut Gaia''s mouth¡­''


    They would be able to prevent Si-Hun from figuring out their n from her bad acting.


    But just then¡­


    "S-Si-Hun!!! S-Save me!! Si-Huuuuuun!!"


    ''Eh?''


    "L-Let me go, you filthy demon!!"


    ''The hell?''


    She let out a desperate scream with all her heart. It was so desperate that just hearing it was enough to break one''s heart.


    ''What''s with her?''


    Gaia''s desperate cry continued, "Wh-What are you nning to do with me?!! Y-You horrible demons!!"


    ''What''s happening?''


    "Th-Those eyes filled with filthy lust¡­! Don''t tell me you''re nning to¡­"


    ''Why is she so good at acting?''


    "You depraved servant of evil! Y-You intend to vite me with those tentacles, aren''t you? Just like in an ero-manga!!"


    ''Excuse me, ma''am.''


    "Just like in an ero-manga!!!"


    ''Don''t say it twice.''


    He covered his face with his hands as if he couldn''t watch any more. He felt as if he had been hit in the back of the head with Mjolnir after witnessing apletely unexpected side of Gaia.


    ''Sister-inw, why are you doing this to me¡­?''


    This novel is supposed to be for all ages.

 Chapter 198 - A Hero Is Born from Despair (3)

    Chapter 198 - A Hero Is Born from Despair (3)


    "G-Gaia!!!" Kim Si-Hun yelled.


    A demon had ambushed them out of nowhere, and his horrifying tentacles were holding Gaia. She was letting out a desperate cry.


    Si-Hun quickly reached for the sword at his waist. The sword was a Unique-grade weapon he''d received from Guardians after the El Cuero de had melted.


    The sword slipped from his hand.


    tter.


    "Ah," he eximed with a frown. Even now, at such an important moment¡­ his hand couldn''t hold a sword.


    [A-Ahem!] Yogg-Saron, the demon covered in hideous green tentacles, coughed. He looked at Gaia in confusion as if he hadn''t expected Si-Hun to drop his weapon.


    Squelch.


    "Aaaaaahhhhh!! S-Si-Hun!"


    "J-Just a second, Gaia!!!"


    Si-Hun heard Gaia''s screams. Those fear-filled screams were super effective. Si-Hun grabbed his sword so tightly that blood trickled from his hand.


    It was just a little bit, but he managed to raise the sword.


    [Kekekeke! What a pointless struggle!]


    Yogg-Saron let out ferocious bloodlust, and the breathtakingly intense demonic energy weighed down on Si-Hun.


    [Kill that foolish human!]


    "Kiieekk!"


    "Grrrrrk!"


    The demon extended his hand. At hismand, a group of Undead charged toward Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun swung his sword.


    Tap.


    "Kuh!"


    As soon as it touched the Undead, the sword fell to the ground. He was barely able to hold the sword, so there was no way he''d be able to swing it. Using foot techniques, Si-Hun moved as if he were sliding on the ground, leaving behind afterimages.


    "KIIEEKK!"


    Si-Hun kicked. His body slightly rose, and the spinning kick struck the Undead''s head.


    Bash.


    The Undead''s head exploded from the Qi-infused kick.


    Si-Hun couldn''t use his hands to hold a sword, but he could still use his legs. After all, he possessed exceptional foot techniques to augment the martial God''s sword techniques, and that was more than enough to easily wipe out the Undead. However¡­


    [Hm? Why aren''t you using your sword? Is it only for decoration?]


    "Kuh."


    Si-Hun was ultimately a swordsman. Maybe things could have been different if he had used weapons other than a sword, but he could not even exhibit a quarter of his power when his hands were unusable.


    ''Shit.''


    He quickly rolled and reached for the sword on the ground, but it didn''t matter how much he concentrated. There was no way he could hold a sword during battle when he couldn''t even properly grab it when focusing his entire being on it.


    The Undead next to him pushed him back with a kick.


    "Kurgh!"


    He rolled on the ground. He extended his hands outward to regain his bnce; they just flung around in vain since he wasn''t able to add any strength to them.


    [You are different from what I had expected.]


    The demon''s voice echoed in his ears.


    [Are you hiding your strength, human?]


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained silent. His body trembled, and his head got hot.


    Hiding his strength?


    There was no way that was true. He turned his head and saw Gaia, who seemed tired after screaming so much. Her body was weak, and she was so thin that she seemed as if she would break if squeezed too hard.


    She was right in front of him, but there was nothing he could do.


    [You are different from what Lord Satan had told me. He had mentioned that you would one day be on par with the princes of Hell¡­]


    "Satan¡­ sent you?"


    [That is right.]


    "Why¡­ now?" Si-Hun asked while looking down at his trembling hands. Why did he have to appear now, of all times?


    [He had mentioned that youcked despair.]


    "¡­"


    [Lord Satan has high expectations for you.]


    "Wh-Why me? Why the hell would he have expectations for me?"


    [That is what I want to know,] Yogg-Saron said mockingly as if finding Si-Hun pathetic.


    [Why in the world would Lord Satan put so much interest in you?]


    "¡­"


    [Gab your sword, human. Prove yourself to me.]


    "Shut¡­ up."


    [Kekeke.]


    The green tentacles wriggled.


    [If you cannot prove yourself, die. There is no reason for my lord to have expectations for a cripple who cannot even hold a sword.]


    Swoosh!


    The tentacles shot forward at supersonic speed.


    Si-Hun stomped on the ground and frantically dodged the tentacles. The tentacles brushed past his body. His flesh was cut, and blood poured in all directions. The tentacles bent and targeted his shoulders.


    He reflexively raised his sword, but all he had in his hands was air.


    Bash.


    "Kurghh!!"


    His shoulder was pierced. Intense pain spread through his body. He rolled on the ground miserably and pathetically. He rolled to avoid the attacks, and his sword happened to be where he had ended up.


    ¡ªThe sword he couldn''t even hold.


    [Grab your sword, human,] the demon said.


    Si-Hun felt like crying. He wanted to grab his weapon more desperately than anyone else. He reached for it.


    tter.


    The sword fell from his hands.


    [Tsk, you truly are trash.]


    "S-Si-Hun¡­"


    Gaia called out to him in a sad voice, but there was nothing he could do.


    Squelch.


    "Urgh!"


    [Will you be able to raise your sword if your woman dies before your eyes?]


    The tentacles wrapped around Gaia''s neck. Gaia frantically struggled as if her breath was about to be cut short at any moment.


    "You motherfucker!!"


    He stomped on the ground and desperately leaped forward. He didn''t even have time to use a foot technique. He charged toward Yogg-Saron while drawing out all the Qi he had as if he were wringing his soul dry.


    Yogg-Saron swung his hand in annoyance.


    Smack!


    "Kurgh!"


    Si-Hun''s body bent as he flew away. The rough ground grated his skin and tore his clothes apart.


    The demon was right; a swordsman who couldn''t hold a sword was just a piece of trash.


    "Urgh¡­! S-Si-Hun!!"


    Gaia, who was being strangled, desperately shouted, "R-Run away, Si-Hun!!"


    "Gaia¡­"


    She was speaking very clearly despite the demon strangling her, but Si-Hun didn''t have time to think about that. He looked at Yogg-Saron with shaking eyes. A rage intense enough to make his head go nk surged through him. He reached for the sword on the ground yet again.


    ''Please.''


    Just this once¡­


    Just this moment¡­


    That was all he wanted.


    He was okay with never being able to use a sword again after this.


    ''So please.''


    He needed the power to protect her right now.


    "A-Arrgghh."


    He grabbed the sword and put his focus on each trembling finger. He was sweating as if it were raining outside. His body, as if whispering that he no longer had the power to hold a sword, refused to grasp it.


    He ignored the whisper.


    "Please¡­"


    His nose bled. The blood passed his lips and gathered on his chin. He tried to do what his head forcibly rejected. He raised his sword, held it tight, and¡­


    tter.


    The sword fell to the ground.


    "A-Aaahhhh."


    "Si-Hun¡­"


    He heard Gaia''s voice and raised his head.


    She was looking at him with a faint smile.


    "I''m okay. Si-Hun. Don''t worry about m¡ªUgh!"


    [This girl talks too much.]


    Yogg-Saron frowned. The tentacles tightened around Gaia''s neck, causing her to pass out.


    [Wha¡ª] Yogg-Saron eximed in surprise. He wasn''t expecting her to actually pass out, but he quickly regained hisposure. He slowly raised his head and looked at Si-Hun with scornful eyes.


    [So, you weren''t able to raise your sword.]


    "¡­"


    [There is no need to despair, human.]


    He kept talking as if it didn''t matter.


    [It only means that is all you amount to as a human.]


    "¡­"


    In the end this is all you amount to.


    You cannot do anything.


    You cannot achieve anything.


    That is simply your limit as a human.


    "Shut¡­ up."


    Si-Hun trembled. He heard a voice.


    "I''m sorry for giving birth to you."


    A nightmarish voice¡­ the voice that devoured his life. The trauma¡­ the stigma engraved in his mind¡­ the voice that told him that this was all he amounted to.


    He had lived denying those words, but¡­


    "Shut up, you motherfuckeeeeeeerrrrrrr!!"


    He screamed. He roared. He raised his sword by holding it between his two wrists.


    He stomped on the floor and charged toward the demon. However, there was no way that a sword swung with his wrists would have any power behind it.


    The sword bounced away, and Si-Hun copsed. He saw Gaia, the woman he''d sworn to protect and make her smile, being held hostage by the demon.


    "Move¡­"


    He said words that wouldn''t work.


    "Please, move¡­"


    The sensations in his hands were faint. No matter how much strength he put into them, his hands just trembled.


    He couldn''t hold the sword.


    A swordsman who couldn''t hold a sword¡­ couldn''t do anything.


    "A-Aaahhh¡­"


    A desperate cry left his mouth, and tears dripped from his eyes. He felt a thirst as desire spread through his body.


    ''I don''t need anything else.''


    He was okay with anyone, or anything.


    He was even willing to sell his soul to a demon.


    He needed power.


    Power to protect her.


    "A-Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!"


    A fire ignited in his mind. His vision flickered. Something within him, a giant ball of power, spread to every corner of his body.


    * * *


    "¡­"


    Oh Kang-Woo frowned as he listened to Si-Hun cry desperately. Si-Hun had truly hit rock bottom.


    "It''s hard to watch."


    Kang-Woo had nned to give Si-Hun a push and had put his thoughts into action, but even so, seeing Si-Hun struggling at rock bottom was difficult.


    ''Maybe I should''ve just waited.''


    He shook his head at the sudden thought that crossed his mind. He couldn''t have waited¡ªSi-Hun needed a push. He needed a desperate situation that would let him ovee the despair and grow.


    Humans were cunning creatures. It didn''t matter if they tried their best or how desperate they were. They wouldn''t sincerely be moved unless they had to face the situation upfront.


    It was like an enlistee whose enlistment in the army didn''t feel real until they entered the training center.


    Something like despair was hard to understand until faced with it.


    ''... Even if that despair is fabricated.''


    Someone needed to put a gun to Si-Hun''s head. It had been absolutely necessary.


    "A-Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!"


    He heard Si-Hun''s cry. It was the desperate cry of someone who had hit rock bottom. The tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth went up.


    "It''s done."


    He heard the desperation erupt like a volcano. If it were the Si-Hun he knew, there was no way he wouldn''t power up in such a situation.


    ''Stand up, Si-Hun!''


    He looked at him with expectant eyes.


    Rumble!!


    As if Si-Hun were answering Kang-Woo''s expectations, an enormous lump of power spewed out of him.


    ''Good, now ept the power of the Martial G¡ª''


    "I don''t need anything else!!" Si-Hun cried.


    A huge amount of demonic energy poured out of him.


    "Eh?" Kang-Woo uttered.


    "It doesn''t matter what it is! I don''t care if this is the end!!"


    ''Hey, hey, wait. The hell? Why are you exuding demonic energy?''


    "I need power!!"


    ''Oh, fuck. Hey, Si-Hun, what are you doing?''


    The soul of the Martial God dwelled within Si-Hun''s body, but also¡­ his soul was connected to Kang-Woo''s.


    "If I can save her, I''m willing to do anything!!"


    Horns appeared from Si-Hun''s forehead.


    "No," Kang-Woo eximed.


    Bat wings appeared from Si-Hun''s back.


    "Fucking wait."


    Si-Hun''s eyes turned ck. His irises turned yellow, and his pupils stretched horizontally.


    "Si-Hun¡­"


    Kang-Woo clutched his head.


    The more Si-Hun''s body changed, the more demonic energy flowed out of him.


    "Why did you fall, you dumbass¡­?"

 Chapter 199 - A Hero Is Born from Despair (4)

    Chapter 199 - A Hero Is Born from Despair (4)


    "A-Aaaaaahhhhh!!"


    Kim Si-Hun grabbed his head and twisted his body as he slowly turned into a demon. He was brimming with powerful urges, and an intense thirst governed his mind.


    A yearning for power¡­ the burning desire devoured his body.


    ''What''s going on?''


    Si-Hun couldn''t understand it. A power he had never felt before enveloped him¡ªa destructive and ferocious energy.


    He instinctively knew it was different from Qi.


    "Haaa."


    He took a deep breath, and his head cleared. An intense amount of energy invigorated his body as if he had taken a stimnt. He looked down at his hands and saw that they were no longer trembling.


    He couldn''t understand why he had changed into this form or what had caused the change.


    But¡­


    ck.


    He grabbed his sword. A thrilling sensation spread from his hand. He knew that his current state was weird and that he had diverted from the correct path.


    "It doesn''t matter."


    All that mattered was that he could grab his sword and save the woman he loved from the hands of the demon. He even thought that it would be fine if he could no longer hold a sword after saving her. He could evenugh off turning into a demon.


    He grabbed his sword and prepared to fight.


    [Huh?]


    A flustered voice left Yogg-Saron''s mouth. He dumbfoundedly stared at Si-Hun, who was slowly turning into a demon.


    Boom!


    Si-Hun stomped on the ground. He shot forward with an intense aura of demonic energy around him. ck condensed sword energy flowed from the sword in his hands. He twisted his body and swung down his sword.


    m!


    [Kuh!]


    Yogg-Saron was pushed back. He was surprised. After hesitating for a bit, he put Gaia down carefully.


    [I am not sure what is going on, but¡­]


    It would be dangerous at this rate. The human in front of him was emitting enough threatening energy that Yogg-Saron considered him dangerous.


    He clenched his fists, nted his feet, and extended his hands. The green tentacles spread out.


    sh!


    Five tentacles were cut with a single sh.


    Si-Hun twisted his body and dodged the remaining tentacles, which mmed into the ground. He jumped onto the tentacles and ran along them.


    A ck light cut Yogg-Saron.


    [Kuh!]


    Yogg-Saron quickly leaned back. His corbone was shed, ck blood pouring out of it.


    Yogg-Saron frowned. An intense fighting spirit red up within him. He ripped off the tentacles stuck to his body as if they were a nuisance, and his eyes shone like a veteran martial artist''s.


    m! Boom! Crash!


    The sword and the fist shed.


    A huge impact that resembled an exploding bomb shook their surroundings.


    Trees snapped, the ground exploded, and dirt scattered.


    The tips of Yogg-Saron''s mouth went up. He was getting fired up.


    ''Not bad.''


    For him, fighting was his entire life and his reason for existence. The sword being swung at him fired him up. He covered both fists with demonic energy as if he were wearing gauntlets. He pulled his foot back, lowered his body, and swung his fists upward.


    Si-Hun''s sword blocked the attack, but the overwhelming difference in strength pushed back Si-Hun. Si-Hun twisted his body and spread out his wings. Extending his legs as if stepping on air, he shot toward Yogg-Saron.


    Si-Hun acrobatically spun around and focused his entire weight on his sword, swinging it down with the goal of splitting the demon''s head in two.


    Crack!


    The demon raised his arm and blocked the attack. The sword crushed his demonic energy gauntlet, and ck blood poured out of his half-split wrist.


    Yogg-Saron jumped back, and his wrist regenerated almost instantly.


    [Hah.]


    Heughed.


    He could feel a thrill traveling down his spine and spreading throughout his body. His beastly senses stimted him, as he hade across a powerful opponent. Ferocious fighting spirit enveloped his entire body.


    A wave of demonic energy pervaded their surroundings.


    He extended his hands and tried to tear off the tentacles.


    - Stop.


    He heard a voice in his ear. His hands halted, and his boiling fighting spirit died down.


    - Don''t act on your own, Balrog.


    He heard his king''s voice through themunication device in his ear.


    * * *


    "Shit."


    Oh Kang-Woo bit his fingernails in panic.


    Si-Hun had taken the form of a demon.


    His head hurt from the unexpected development.


    ''Why did it end up like this?''


    It actually wasn''t hard to figure out why, but he just wanted to deny reality.


    ''Did I push him too hard?''


    Based on Si-Hun''s power-up patterns, he had thought that Si-Hun would power up again when put in an extreme situation, but maybe he''d gone too far. Instead of the Martial God''s power, Si-Hun had epted his demonic energy.


    ''This is the worst possible oue.''


    It was an unexpected development of events.


    He knew there was a chance that Si-Hun could be influenced by his demonic energy since their souls were linked through the Authority of Subordination, but Si-Hun was different from Echidna and Vaal Zahak.


    The main source of Si-Hun''s power wasn''t demonic energy but a power called Qi.


    The power Kang-Woo used waspletely different. Being able to draw it out should have been impossible.


    ''Dammit. Now that it''se to this¡­.''


    Si-Hun didn''t know that he''d been made a Familiar through the Authority of Subordination, nor was it something that should ever be revealed. However, at this rate, he would begin to have suspicions since he''d learned that there was demonic energy inside his body, something he would no way have.


    ''¡­ I will trample on his seed of doubt first.''


    Everything would be over if the fact that Kang-Woo had used the Authority of Subordination on Si-Hun was exposed, and the rtionship with Si-Hun he''d painstakingly built would bepletely ruined.


    Kang-Woo picked up themunication device.


    "Balrog, repeat exactly what I say. Don''t sound stiff. Sound as naturally wicked as possible."


    He saw Balrog lightly nod after having received hismand through themunication device.


    ''The best way to eliminate the seed of doubt is¡­''


    He''d just thought of a n on the spot, but it wasn''t bad at all.


    "Kekekeke, just as nned."


    Kang-Woo recited a line for Balrog to say. The battle hade to a lull after Si-Hun had taken Gaia to a safe ce.


    Balrogughed out loud and said the line.


    ''Good.''


    Kang-Woo could see Si-Hun looking at Balrog. He already knew what should be said next.


    ''Time to use the cheat code again.''


    Kang-Woo gulped and continued, "The seed sown by Lord Satan seems to have sprouted."


    ''Take the wheel, Lord Sataaaaaaaaan!! Please resolve this fucked-up situation!!!''


    * * *


    [The seed sown by Lord Satan seems to have sprouted,] Yogg-Saron said while making a malicious smile.


    "¡­ What?"


    His words had been enough to shock the enraged Si-Hun.


    "Seed, you say?"


    Si-Hun, who hade back to his senses a little, looked down at his own body. His skin was dyed ck, and he had wings on his back, a long tail like that of a reptile, and goat horns that had sprouted on his forehead.


    He clearly looked like a demon.


    "Don''t tell me, was all of this¡­"


    [Correct. It had all been part of his n.]


    Yogg-Saron smiled widely.


    [Why do you think Lord Satan was interested in a mere human? It was all because he was aware of the soul of the Martial God lying dormant within you.]


    "¡­"


    [My lord sowed the Seed of Corruption within you, so that you would be able to abandon the body of a human and be a demon.]


    "But¡­ why?"


    Si-Hun couldn''t understand it.


    The Demon of Prophecy, Satan¡­


    Why was he trying to corrupt him and turn him into a demon?


    "Ah."


    A short exmation left his mouth as if he''dpleted a puzzle.


    Si-Hun trembled. He recalled what had happened a few months prior in South America, about how Kang-Woo''s subordinate, Balrog, had been controlled by an unknown magic circle of the Demon Cult.


    ''The Demon Cult¡­ has a way to control demons.''


    Then, there was only one reason why they would want to turn him into a demon.


    "He was¡­ nning on controlling me?"


    [Kahahaha! Thankfully, you are not dumb enough to be unable to get through.]


    Yogg-Saronughed out loud while holding his belly. His green tentacles wriggled.


    [Correct. This has all been to turn you into a puppet and force you to pledge your allegiance to Lord Satan.]


    "¡­"


    [A human with the soul of the Martial God¡­ Kekeke. You could not be any weaker at the moment, but it is certainly interesting.]


    Yogg-Saron''s eyes shone.


    [I wonder how much Gaia will despair once she sees that you have been corrupted into a demon? Hm?]


    Tap.


    Si-Hun took a step backward and grabbed his head as if he didn''t want to believe what was happening.


    "No."


    That wasn''t what he had wanted. He had not intended to be a demon, nor had he intended to be Satan''s puppet. He looked down at Gaia with shaking eyes. He had simply wanted to protect this frail woman who could break from the slightest touch.


    [Kahahahaha!! Good! Once you be my lord''s puppet, I will make you kill that woman with your own hands!!!]


    "A-Aaahhh."


    Just thinking about it horrified Si-Hun. Fear spread through his body, and he imagined himself killing Gaia. Just the thought made him want to vomit.


    ''I-I have to go back to normal.''


    It wasn''t toote yet. He could still push the demonic energy out of his body. He did not hesitate; he focused on pushing out the darkness that had corrupted him.


    ''Wait.''


    Just then, he looked at his hands, which were still gripping his sword.


    ''If I give up this power now¡­''


    He might return to not being able to hold a sword again.


    Hesitation and yearning intermingled in his mind.


    ''No.''


    He did not think for very long.


    He couldn''t be Satan''s puppet. Even if it were for those important to him, he had to give up this power.


    "Kurgh! Kuh!"


    A horrible thirst shook his body. His demon body amplified his desires. His longing for power dominated his mind.


    "N-No¡­"


    He felt his consciousness start to fade. It felt as if he would be devoured by his own desires and lose his sense of reason.


    "A-Aaahhh."


    Tears dripped from his eyes. He couldn''t resist the desires of a demon''s body. His vision blurred, and the thought that bing a demon wouldn''t be so bad filled his mind.


    "Si¡­ Hun?"


    At that moment, he heard a familiar voice. It was as if lightning had struck him. Si-Hun turned around as he trembled.


    "Kang-Woo hyung¡­?"


    The person he trusted the most in the world was behind him.

 Chapter 200 - A Hero Is Born from Despair (5)

    Chapter 200 - A Hero Is Born from Despair (5)


    "Si-Hun? A-Are you really Si-Hun?"


    Oh Kang-Woo''s eyes shook, and it looked as if he were having a bad nightmare.


    "N-No. There''s no way that''s Si-Hun¡­"


    His body trembled, and he grabbed his hair and shook his head. He tried to deny reality. There was no way the demon in front of him was Kim Si-Hun.


    "H-Hyung-nim."


    "Shut up! How dare you try to impersonate Si-Hun in front of me!" he shouted aggressively. He extended his right hand and brought out Del Lain, the sword that emitted a golden light. Powerful bloodlust rose from him.


    He red at Si-Hun and Yogg-Saron with resentment.


    "Where is he?"


    Boom!


    He stomped on the ground, and the golden light spread in all directions.


    ''''Where is Si-Hun, you motherfuckers?!!" he desperately shouted as if he wanted to erase the worst possible scenario in front of him and deny the reality before him.


    [Kahahahahahahaha!!!]


    Yogg-Saron grabbed his stomach and beganughing out loud. The tips of his mouth went up as if he couldn''t find the situation any more entertaining. He opened his mouth while looking at Kang-Woo.


    [You cannot recognize your brother despite him being right in front of you?]


    "What¡­ did you say?"


    [Your brother is right there, human.]


    Yogg-Saron raised his hand and pointed to Si-Hun.


    "That demon is Si-Hun? Bullshit!" Kang-Woo shouted. However, he already knew by intuition that it was Si-Hun. He knew from the air that the demon was giving off and the way that the demon was looking at him.


    "Hyung¡­ nim."


    "¡­ No."


    Kang-Woo denied it and shook his head, his expression pale. He didn''t want to believe the nightmare.


    "Wh-Why¡­ How¡­"


    "I''m¡­ sorry."


    Si-Hun lowered his head. He had been reduced to a demon. He had fallen to rock bottom after falling for Satan''s scheme. He felt as if his heart were burning, showing Kang-Woo this form.


    Si-Hun looked down at his own body.


    ''Even now¡­''


    It still wasn''t toote. He could go back. He could still make it right. Even Kang-Woo had the body of a demon before bing the apostle of Tirion, God of Heroes.


    Just like Kang-Woo, Si-Hun just had to give up the demonic energy corrupting him.


    "A-Arrgghh."


    A burning thirst spread through him. He felt as if his throat was being scratched with sharp metal, and his body trembled as if it were drying up.


    ''I have to¡­ give it up.''


    He had to let it go. He had to drive away the darkness filling him.


    It wasn''t difficult.


    All he had to do was to give it up like letting go of a rope.


    It was simple and easy, but¡­


    "A-Aaaaaahhhhh!"


    He struggled in pain. The intense urge to fulfill desires and the horrible thirst that a demon body caused, which he''d never felt before, took control of him.


    His struggle to give up the demonic energy was like a drug addict''s attempt to spit out a drug already on the tongue. The pain it brought was simr to watching a ss of water being poured out while one was about to die of dehydration under the sweltering sun.


    No, it was worse than that.


    There was a reason why most people who epted demonic energy inside their bodies lost their minds and were reduced to demonic beasts.


    Furthermore, the demonic energy Si-Hun had epted belonged to the demon king. The desire caused by having a demon body was eating away at him like a curse.


    "S-Si-Hun!"


    Kang-Woo anxiously reached out to him.


    Si-Hun started to convulse.


    "A-Aaahhh!"


    He scratched his cheeks with his ws, tearing out flesh. ck blood poured down his cheeks. His body twisted, and he grabbed his hair.


    Crack.


    His fingers pierced his head. His scalp was torn away, and he screamed.


    Crunch!


    He raised his sword and smashed it down on his arm, desperately swinging his sword to free himself from his desires. Blood sshed everywhere, and his bones became visible. But that onlysted for a moment.


    As if time were being rewound, the injury regenerated in almost an instant.


    Only pain remained.


    "Get out of me!!!"


    It didn''t stop.


    Tears dripped from his eyes.


    At this rate, he would be Satan''s puppet. He would end up killing the woman he loved and twisting the neck of the hyung he admired.


    No, Kang-Woo was overwhelmingly stronger than him, so it would be the opposite. Either way, it didn''t matter. Whether Kang-Woo killed him or he killed Kang-Woo, both results would be catastrophic. There would be nothing but despair.


    ''I have to free myself.''


    He had to be free from Satan''s scheme and his own horrifying desire.


    He put more strength in his downswings, hoping that the pain would wash away this mind-blowing thirst.


    "Si-Hun!" Kang-Woo went to him. He grabbed the sword and shouted, "Stop it, you crazy son of a bitch!!!"


    "Hyung-nim, I¡­"


    "You can tell me what happenedter. First, you have to calm d¡ª"


    "I¡­ can''t."


    Si-Hun shook his head. He could feel that the demonic energy was changing his body even more. It would be the end if he gave up and failed to drive out the power. He would fully be a demon and turn into Satan''s puppet.


    "I have¡­ to do it¡­ right now."


    "D-Do what right now?!"


    "I can¡­ still go back. It¡­ still isn''t toote," he said in a desperate voice.


    It wasn''t toote. Not yet.


    He grabbed the sword and mindlessly swung down at his arm again. The sharp de cut his muscles and bones.


    A horrible pain spread through his body, and it chased the thirst away.


    He began to push out the demonic energy.


    Crack, crunch.


    The goat horns on his forehead were sucked back into his body, and the bat wings were getting smaller.


    "Kuh¡­ Argh¡­"


    The more he pushed the demonic energy out, the more intense the thirst became.


    His consciousness was fading. It felt as if the demonic energy that had devoured his body was talking to him.


    - Are you really going to give me up?


    The demon''s sweet whisper¡­


    He could see a red demon mask staring at him andughing.


    "Shut¡­ up."


    He knew it was an illusion. The Satan he could see and hear was fake. It was just a nightmare created by that crazy thirst, but even if he knew it was fake, it was hard to resist the temptation.


    Crack.


    The horns on his forehead slowly returned. His vision was distorted and covered by darkness.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked down at Si-Hun. It wasn''t hard to guess what Si-Hun was experiencing.


    ''Not good.''


    He knew how strong the desires of a demon were. When he had fallen into the Nine Hells, he had struggled a lot while trying to resist those urges.


    ''I guess it wasn''t enough for me to appear.''


    He was hoping Si-Hun could push those temptations away from the shock of seeing Kang-Woo, but it seemed the stimtion hadn''t been big enough.


    ''If Si-Hun keeps living as a demon¡­''


    He already used the Satan cheat code, so he had washed away the suspicions about the Authority of Subordination.


    Si-Hun staying as a demon might actually be more helpful in terms of power.


    Kang-Woo hesitated for a bit and then shook his head.


    ''No.''


    Si-Hun''s source of power wasn''t demonic energy.


    That was like putting gasoline in a diesel car. There was no telling the side effects that could arise from such a thing.


    ''In the worst-case scenario¡­''


    Si-Hun would die.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He couldn''t let that happen.


    ''In that case¡­''


    It was time to use his trump card.


    The tips of his mouth went up.


    ''This is gonna work.''


    He was sure of it.


    He looked at Si-Hun, who was trembling in desperation.


    "Ahem."


    ''Gotta clear my throat.''


    He closed his eyes for a moment to get into the mood.


    His little brother had turned into a demon¡­ His ally had been corrupted after being deceived by a demon¡­ The friendship and love that blossomed in the middle of a desperate situation¡­


    The setup was very important.


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his mouth, extended his hands, and grabbed Si-Hun''s shoulders.


    "Si-Hun! Get it together, Si-Hun!!" he said in a desperate voice that surprised even him.


    ''The mood is on point.''


    Riiing.


    [Activating the Authority of Subordination.]


    He heard the notification message at the same time he had spoken.


    ck energy flowed from Kang-Woo''s hands into Si-Hun''s body.


    "Hyung¡­ nim."


    "Get it together, dammit!!"


    "I''m¡­ sorry¡­ hyung-nim. I¡­"


    Si-Hun''s body trembled.


    "Ah."


    At that moment, Si-Hun''s eyes widened, and he felt an unknown urge rising inside him. He quickly turned his head.


    [Hehehe. Can you feel it? That is the power of the seed Lord Satan had sown within you,] Yogg-Saron opened his mouth to say as he watched everything unfold with arms crossed.


    Si-Hun''s expression darkened in despair.


    "N-No."


    The desire to destroy, the resentment, the lunacy.


    Si-Hun''s hands were moving on their own.


    "N-No!!"


    He held back his arm with all his might, but it wasn''t enough. The seed that Satan had sown sprouted inside him. A horrifying urge to kill was aimed toward Kang-Woo.


    "What''s wrong?!"


    "H-Hyung-nim! W-Watch ou¡ª"


    Stab.


    "Ah."


    The sword in his hands pierced Kang-Woo''s stomach.


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. He could feel that his hands were stained with blood¡ªit was the chilling sensation of killing in cold blood.


    Cough.


    Blood spurted from Kang-Woo''s mouth. Kang-Woo looked down at the sword piercing his stomach in disbelief.


    "H-Hyung-nim. I''m sorry¡­ I''m¡­ sorry."


    Tears dripped from Si-Hun''s eyes. He was hoping that everything that was unfolding in front of him was just a nightmare, but the hot blood flowing over his hands was telling him it was real.


    "Wh-what have I¡­"


    He felt that he was about to go crazy. No, he might have already gone mad.


    Kang-Woo fiercely embraced him when he was about to lose his mind.


    "Hyung¡­ nim¡­?"


    "Haaa. Cough! Get it together, you idiot." His voice was so weak that it sounded like he would die at any moment. "I don''t know what happened for you to have be like this."


    "H-Hyung-nim. D-Don''t talk anymore. Th-The blood¡­!" Si-Hun shouted while crying.


    "But¡­" Kang-Woo ignored him and didn''t let him go. "You can do it."


    "¡­"


    "You can ovee it."


    Kang-Woo smiled at him.


    "Si-Hun¡­" He ced his hands on his cheek. "Thanks for staying as my little brother."


    "Ah."


    Si-Hun''s body trembled.


    Trauma. The trauma that had been carved into his soul¡­


    "I''m sorry for giving birth to you."


    The words that had been weighing him down his whole life. He wanted to deny them, these words which were a nightmare and a curse. He had lived only to deny them.


    Tears dripped from his eyes.


    All this time, he had desperately wanted to hear words of acknowledgement and gratitude that he was there for someone.


    "A-Aaaahhh."


    He could do it. The seed that Satan had sown within him and the demonic energy filling his body¡­ he could throw it all away.


    Thirst engulfed him, but he ignored it.


    A longing for power invaded his mind, but he ignored it.


    ''I am¡­''


    His sight became pitch-ck. He tore down the darkness through which he couldn''t see anything.


    The darkness disappeared and became filled with a blue light.


    Si-Hun''s body was surrounded by intense blue light.


    Riiing.


    [Assimtion with Martial God Tian Taihuang has reached 51.2%.]


    [All conditions for Metamorphosis have been fulfilled.]


    [Commencing body reconstruction.]


    [You have learned the unique skill ''Sword Control.'']


    Rumble!!!


    The ground shook.


    As the blue light surrounded Si-Hun, Kang-Woo fell to the ground.


    Kang-Woo opened his eyes slightly and looked at Si-Hun, the tips of his mouth curving up a bit.


    ''Shiiiet! Fuck yeah! This is it!''


    He recalled hisst phrase.


    "Thanks for staying as my little brother."


    ''Dayum.''


    Kang-Woo trembled in excitement at that line. He felt chills just thinking about it.


    ''I''m so fucking cool.''


    That was why everyone loved him.

 Chapter 201 - Survivor of the Magic Tower (1)

    Chapter 201 - Survivor of the Magic Tower (1)


    Crack, split!


    There were sounds of bones dislocating and breaking. Kim Si-Hun''s muscles twitched as if they were dancing, and a ck liquid filled with bodily waste flushed out of his sweat pores.


    ''Ah!'' Si-Hun let out a gasp of relief in his mind.


    He felt a weird sensation; it was as if he were being reborn.


    Si-Hun did not feel any horrible pain like he''d often heard about regarding the process of Metamorphosis. Rather, it felt refreshing. It was as if someone was scratching itchy parts of his body.


    After a while, he slowly opened his eyes and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the air of the forest. His mind felt inexplicably clear, and his body felt as light as a feather.


    Si-Hun extended his hand toward the sword prating Kang-Woo''s stomach. Blue light enveloped the sword, and it came out smoothly on its own as if it were alive.


    Kang-Woo copsed.


    "Hyung-nim," Si-Hun said.


    He lightly extended his hands, and Kang-Woo was surrounded by blue energy as if an esper were using telekinesis on him. Then Si-Hun slowlyid Kang-Woo on the floor.


    The blue energy covered Kang-Woo''s wound. Surprisingly, not a single drop of blood wasing out from where the sword hade out.


    ''I have to end this as soon as possible,'' Si-Hun thought.


    He used the principles of Sword Control to stitch the wound together, but it was just a temporary measure. To fully heal Kang-Woo''s wound, Si-Hun had to take him to the Hall of Protection, return to Korea, and then call for Han Seol-Ah.


    [Wh-What in the¡ª?!]


    Upon seeing Yogg-Saron''s surprised expression, Si-Hun turned and gripped his sword. His hands were no longer trembling.


    "Yogg¡­ Saron," he said the name with resentment.


    The demon before him was the subordinate of Satan, the demon whom he despised the most and refused to be in the same world with. Yogg-Saron was a being who had put Gaia in danger and made him stab Kang-Woo.


    ''I''ll kill him,'' Si-Hun resolved.


    There was no reason to keep Yogg-Saron alive.


    Si-Hun surged with an intense bloodlust.


    [Shit! H-How did you free yourself from the influence of the seed?!] Yogg-Saron looked confused. [A human should not be able to resist the desires of a demon!]


    "Enough nonsense, demon."


    Si-Hun charged without hesitation while holding the sword.


    Certainly, just like Yogg-Saron said, a demon''s desires were strong. There probably wasn''t a single drug that could bepared to it.


    ''But¡­''


    It was possible to ovee it. Si-Hun was evidence of that. He''d hit rock bottom and barely managed to crawl back up, but it hadn''t been impossible.


    "I won''t let you all do as you please."


    Si-Hun took a step forward and thrust his sword. The sword left his hand and freely moved in the air as if it were alive.


    ''Heavenly Dragon sh.''


    There was a burst of light, and blue energy shed through space and cut Yogg-Saron.


    [How dare a mere human do this!!!]


    The fierce battle continued. It waspletely different from when Si-Hun had been overpowered pathetically.


    Si-Hun moved incredibly fast while leaving afterimages.


    Crash! Boom!


    He felt free. He was able to do things that he hadn''t been able to do before. The fact that he could use sword techniques without physically holding the sword made it possible for him to make incredible movements.


    [Kuh!! Sh-Shit!]


    As the fight continued, Yogg-Saron''s wounds increased in number. His skin was torn, and the green tentacles were cut.


    Yogg-Saron looked around anxiously. He grabbed a ck sphere from his pocket.


    [Bastard¡­ This will not be thest time you see me.]


    He red at Si-Hun with intense bloodlust.


    Crack.


    Yogg-Saron shattered the ck sphere in his hand. A ck Rift appeared and devoured him.


    "You''re not going anywhere!!"


    Si-Hun charged forward.


    Yogg-Saron waved his hands, and a huge army of Undead charged toward Si-Hun.


    "Kuh!"


    Si-Hun could kill each Undead with one attack, but there were hundreds of them. He''d just powered up, but he couldn''t eliminate such a huge amount of monsters in the blink of an eye.


    ''I''ll ignore them¡­''


    Just as he was about to chase after Yogg-Saron, who was disappearing into the Rift, the Undead ran toward Gaia and Kang-Woo, who were both unconscious.


    "...Shit."


    Si-Hun couldn''t afford to chase the demon while sacrificing those two.


    He bit his lip and red at Yogg-Saron.


    [Do not forget, human.]


    Yogg-Saron and Si-Hun looked at each other.


    [We will ultimately be the victors!] Yogg-Saron spread both hands out as he spoke in a maniacal tone. [Glory to Lord Satan!]


    Then he disappeared into the Rift.


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained silent while ring at the rift with a sharp gaze, but he ended up turning his head away soon after. He had no time to think about the demon who had escaped.


    "Kuh."


    "Hyung-nim! Kang-Woo hyung-nim!!"


    "Si-Hun¡­?"


    When Kang-Woo regained consciousness, Si-Hun cried while quickly running over to him.


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun with a faint smile and said, "I knew you''d be able to do it."


    "D-Don''t get up yet, hyung-nim! Your wound¡­"


    "You''re worried about me? I regenerated your arms with my blood, man. I''ll be fine as long as I don''t die instantly."


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and healed his wound.


    The wound was gone, but it seemed the physical damage was still left. He staggered when he tried to get up.


    "Hyung-nim!"


    "I''m fine. But more importantly, what happened? Why did you turn into a demon?"


    "Well¡­" Si-Hun hesitated.


    After thinking for a while, he told Kang-Woo what Yogg-Saron had said.


    "A seed? Hmm," Kang-Woo muttered.


    "...I''m sorry. Because of me¡­"


    "It''s okay." Kang-Woo shook his head. "But I think we should keep this a secret between us."


    "...Okay."


    "Don''t be so worried."


    Kang-Woo lightly patted his shoulder and held Si-Hun''s hand, which was holding his sword.


    "Whatever the case, you managed to ovee it with your willpower."


    "¡­"


    "If you''ve done it once, I''m sure you''ll be able to do it again."


    "It isn''t that simple of an issue¡­"


    "I believe in you, Si-Hun."


    "Hyung¡­"


    Tears appeared in Si-Hun''s eyes.


    He''d feared that he might kill someone important to him with his own hands. In the middle of such fear, Kang-Woo''s words were like a wee rain during a drought.


    "Hyung!!!"


    ''Don''t hug me.''


    Kang-Woo pushed away Si-Hun, who had been moved to tears.


    Si-Hun''s expression resembled an abandoned dog''s after being rejected.


    ''Don''t look so hurt, dude.''


    Why did Si-Hun keep aiming for the role of the female lead?


    "I don''t think I''m the one you should be hugging right now."


    "Ah¡­"


    "Mmm? S-Si-Hun?" Gaia, who had been unconscious, called out as she sat up carefully.


    She looked around in confusion; she didn''t seem to be acting.


    "Gaia."


    "Protector Kim Si-Hun! Uhmm¡­ I mean¡­ Wh-What happened to the demon?"


    ''Nice, sister-inw!''


    Thankfully, she spoke in a trembling voice as if she had recalled her role.


    Si-Hun helped Gaia stand up.


    Kang-Woo smiled while looking at them.


    ''With this¡­''


    The hero had blossomed in the midst of despair. The evil demon had escaped, but the weak heroine had been rescued.


    ''This is what I call a novel! Huehuehuehuehue.''


    * * *


    A week had passed since that incident.


    Kang-Woo was having a training session with Balrog to practice using the Authority of ze.


    After it ended for the day, Balrog remarked, [I must say, that human certainly was impressive.]


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    It wasn''t hard for him to guess who Balrog was talking about.


    "I wouldn''t have gone through all that if he wasn''t impressive."


    [I can only be amazed by your eye for people, my king. To be honest, I did not expect that human to be that much stronger in the middle of our n.]


    Balrog recalled his fierce battle with Si-Hun. He felt a thrill spread through his body.


    Kang-Woo smirked. "You think he''ll catch up to you?"


    [Hehe. Even if the soul of a god dwells within him, I, Balrog, am not so weak that I would lose against a human brat,] Balrog answered without hesitation.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    Balrog had not been at his best back then. He had fought without his whip, his main weapon, and had even had bothersome tentacles attached to him.


    ''But Si-Hun has honestly be strong enough to easily overpower most archdemons.''


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    Si-Hun should now be able to easily deal with small fry like Halphas, Malphas, and Phenex simultaneously.


    ''I''m proud of you, my boy.''


    Kang-Woo''s smile turned into a proud grin.


    Si-Hun had powered up to the extent that he was strong enough to be among the top five in the army Kang-Woo had previouslymanded as the demon king.


    ''Hard work never betrays you.''


    Kang-Woo''s painstaking, heartfelt performance had been worth it.


    ¡®But there''s still a long way to go.''


    He didn''t have aint regarding Si-Hun''s growth speed. However, he did have an issue with the average level of Earth''s yers in general.


    ''I don''t expect them to be as strong as Si-Hun, but it would be great if some stronger yers appear.''


    The difference in power between demons and humans was so massive that it wasn''t even funny. To say it bluntly, if Kang-Woo and other elite members of Guardians hadn''t been here, a single prince of Hell would have easily been able to destroy Earth.


    "Ngh."


    Still, it was true that he was wishing for too much.


    ''It has only been six years since yers appeared.''


    The fact that humanity had be strong enough to be able to defeat monsters in six years was already a miracle.


    "...I guess I''ll just have to gamble on the future."


    He just had to hope yers would grow more through future battles.


    "Balrog, break time is over."


    For now, Kang-Woo needed to get used to using Mammon''s Authority, and¡­


    ''I have to try merging it with other Authorities.''


    Kang-Woo had never tried mixing a transcendental power like a prince''s Authority with something else before. There was no precedent for it, nor would it ever happen with anyone else. Only an irregr being like Kang-Woo could even attempt it.


    ''It''s not possible yet.''


    He still couldn''t control the Authority of ze properly, so merging it with another Authority was out of the question. Merging one Authority with another exponentially raised its difficulty level to control. It was something no one had managed to do before, so he had to be very careful about it.


    ¡®But one day¡­''


    Kang-Woo raised his hand, and a small me danced on top of his palm.


    He still hadn''t caught up to Mammon''s ability to control fire. Nevertheless, he was certain he would be able to over time¡­ just like he''d always done before.


    [You were also like this back in Hell, but¡­ you do not rest at all, my king.]


    "There''s no one who doesn''t take a break."


    There were simply people who couldn''t afford to take breaks, and that was also the case for Kang-Woo. He actually really wanted to go on dates with Seol-Ah, watch TV with Echidna, and go to an Inte cafe with Cha Yeon-Joo again.


    "Ah, I wanna take a break¡­"


    Thinking about it made him crave it even more.


    After learning Mammon''s Authority, he''d been spending twenty hours a day trying to control it.


    ''No, even more than that.''


    Kang-Woo had used the Authority of Focus, which reduced the perceived flow of time. So, ording to his senses, he''d spent much more time than that on Mammon''s Authority.


    His goal in life was to be a wealthy bum, so it was hard to resist taking a break.


    ''Gimme a fucking break, for fuck''s sake.''


    Before returning to Earth, he thought he would enjoy a life of leisure once he got back. However, he ended up needing to fight for the sake of the world.


    Kang-Woo was starting to get irritated.


    ''I really should dedicate a single day to re¡ª''


    "My, did you need a break, my king?"


    He heard a voice behind him.


    Kang-Woo turned and found Lilith looking at him with a smile.


    "Nope," he answered without hesitation. He continued quietly, "We don''t have time to rest."


    "My, my. There you go again."


    Kang-Woo''s deflection was not very effective. Lilith slowly embraced him.


    "Come to think of it, we haven''t gotten to spend much time together since I arrived in this world," she expressed.


    ''I''m okay with that.''


    "Hohoho. I understand your fatigue. You must have been missing our nights together that much."


    ''I''m sorry. I won''t think about taking a break ever again. I''ll work like a dog without taking a single day off.''


    Kang-Woo looked at Lilith in despair.


    Perhaps the desperation in his gaze might have gotten through to her¡­


    Lilith sighed and said, "I would love nothing more than to spend an intense night with my king¡­ but it seems that would be hard today."


    ''Oh, what?''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone at the unexpected answer.


    "Did something happen?"


    "There is something I must report to you."


    Lilith continued calmly, "A survivor from the region where Lucifer''s forces battled the Demon Cult has sought asylum in Guardians."


    "A Demon Cultist¡­?"


    "No. He mentioned that he was extorted by the Demon Cultists like a ve."


    "Then what is he?" Kang-Woo asked curiously.


    "He said that he''s a mage¡­ from the Magic Tower."

 Chapter 202 - Survivor of the Magic Tower (2)

    Chapter 202 - Survivor of the Magic Tower (2)


    "Magic Tower?"


    The Magic Tower¡­


    Oh Kang-Woo had never heard of such an organization, yet it felt familiar for some reason. It seemed as if the organization had been shoehorned in for no reason because the author had thought that not having a Magic Tower in a fantasy was a waste.


    "It''s apparently known as the ''Tower of Truth,'' to be more precise," said Lillith.


    "Tower of Truth¡­" He scratched his chin, thinking that its name didn''t matter. "Where is this guild from?"


    "It is a fairlyrge-scale guild located in Europe. In particr¡­ it seems they have quite a long history."


    "A long history?" Kang-Woo asked while tilting his head.


    It had only been six years since yers appeared on Earth. How long of a history could they have?


    ''Wait.''


    He narrowed his eyes, recalling Tian Wuchen and Zhuge Xian.


    ''They''ve apparently been using martial arts before yers appeared.''


    In the case of Wuchen, although most of the knowledge had been lost over time, he even knew the martial arts of the Martial God Tian Taihuang.


    ''In that case¡­''


    That meant the Tower of Truth had existed before the Day of Cmity.


    Just like Wuchen had used martial arts before that day, there was a chance that the people from the Tower of Truth had also possessed supernatural powers that couldn''t be exined with science.


    ''It''s not impossible.''


    The Demon Cult was an organization with thousands of years of history, after all.


    Magic, sorcery, martial arts¡­


    The powers that had be widespread after the appearance of yers had existed since before the Day of Cmity.


    "So, where is he right now?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "We imprisoned him in the Hall of Protection with Gaia''s permission. Si-Hun is monitoring him."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    It didn''t matter what organization he was from¡ªthey couldn''t immediately believe his words that he wasn''t a Demon Cultist. After all, a Demon Cultist wouldn''t tantly reveal the fact that he was one when seeking asylum in Guardians.


    He stood up.


    Lillith asked, "Will you be going right away?"


    "There''s no better way than talking to him myself."


    "Fufu, I will lead the way."


    "It''s fine. I''ve been to the Hall of Protection too many times to count."


    Kang-Woo smirked and opened the gate that led there.


    ''Come to think of it, this is so convenient.''


    He could go to the Hall of Protection from anywhere and at any time he liked. Not only that, but he could also go to any Guardians branch worldwide through the Hall of Protection, so in terms of convenience, it was top-notch.


    As he walked through the gate, he saw a familiar, white passageway.


    "Hyung-nim."


    Kim Si-Hun, who was guarding the entrance, greeted him.


    Kang-Woo nodded and entered the room. Inside, he saw an old man bound by mana restraints. He had messy white hair and a gray beard. He looked like a generic old mage that would appear in a certain film about a ring.


    Kang-Woo brought a chair over and sat in front of him.


    "Nice to meet you."


    "You are¡­"


    "I am Oh Kang-Woo, a member of Guardians. I havee here to ask you a few questions."


    "Ngh."


    The old man twisted around as if the mana restraints were ufortable.


    Smiling, Kang-Woo opened his mouth to say, "I hope you can understand, even if the restraints are a bit ufortable."


    "¡­ Ah, yes! O-of course." The old man flinched in surprise and bowed his head. He carefully opened his mouth. "My name is Khadgar. I am a mage of the Tower of Truth."


    "I have never heard of it."


    "The existence of the Magic Tower is not publicly known," he said with pride.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and said, "I heard you had been enved by the Demon Cult¡­ Could you tell me the specifics?"


    "It is exactly as it sounds. Those filthy demons treated us like ves¡­! Sniff."


    It seemed he was overflowing with emotions as he spoke. The old man frowned and bit his lip.


    Kang-Woo could feel the old man''s desperate emotions. His eyes shone.


    ''He doesn''t seem to be lying.''


    Neither the voice full of sincerity nor the tears of a victim could be considered proof, but it did not seem to be an act, at the very least.


    "Fuuu, fuuu." Khadgar calmed down and said, "We mages of the Magic Tower have been researching magic for a very long time in pursuit of the truth."


    "I heard you have been using magic since before yers appeared¡­"


    "Yes, that is correct," he said confidently. "I guess you could say that it is a small reward for pursuing the truth of the world. We are able to perform miracles, to an extent."


    "I see."


    "While we were researching, we were ambushed by the Demon Cult. They enved us and extorted our magic."


    "When exactly did this happen?"


    "It was¡­ about a year ago."


    Khadgar''s eyes became teary as if he was remembering a terrible nightmare.


    ''A year ago, huh?''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes after hearing that.


    "Do you mages of the Magic Tower not have any magic to use forbat?"


    "No, we do. We possess powerful magic that has been passed down for generations. However¡­" Khadgar lowered his eyes. "We were no match for the demons."


    ''Well, I guess that makes sense.''


    Demons and humans¡­ There was a clear difference in strength between the two races.


    Of course, there were exceptions who were able to y most demons before they could muster any form of resistance, such as Si-Hun, but demons were fundamentally far more powerful than humans.


    "You mentioned that they extorted your magic¡­ What did they do exactly?"


    "We were forced to create the magic items they required. They were ck gems the size of fingernails¡­ We were also forced to create very weird-looking stakes."


    "Oh?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    Demonic crystals and Rift Seeds.


    He had figured out how they were able to mass-produce such things.


    "We were also forced to enchant numerous armaments and pieces of equipment. We were no more than ves in a sweatshop."


    The old man clenched his fists in anger.


    "Those damn demons! Magic is not meant to be used like some insignificant tool!!"


    "Please calm down¡­ How did you manage to get free?"


    "Some unknown demons attacked the factory we were in. They might have had some sort of internal conflict¡­ I took that opportunity and barely managed to escape."


    He''d taken advantage of the chaos that had formed due to the battle between the Demon Cult and Lucifer''s retainers and had luckily managed to escape.


    Khadgar bowed deeply to Kang-Woo.


    "I beg of you! Many of myrades are still being held by the Demon Cult! Even now, they are being extorted by those evil demons. Please¡­ please, save them!"


    "Of course we will," Kang-Woo answered without hesitation and smiled.


    ''The Magic Tower, huh?''


    The Magic Tower, an organization of mages who had been in pursuit of the truth of the world for a very long time.


    ''Well, they don''t seem to be quite worthy of pity.''


    He had almost felt pity after hearing the circumstances they were forced into, but when he thought about it, there didn''t seem to be a need.


    ''If they were attacked a year ago¡­''


    That meant that, before that, the Magic Tower had remained peaceful.


    ''And the fact that no one knew about their existence means¡­ pretty much that.''


    They had done nothing when humanity had been on the brink of ruin on the Day of Cmity. They had the power to fight monsters since before yers had appeared, yet they had simply watched. They hadn''t protected or saved anyone.


    The only thing that mattered to them was ''pursuing the truth.''


    ''I mean, it''s not like you''re obligated to save people just because you have power.''


    But it at least wasn''t what Khadgar was making it out to be: as if good Samaritans who had done absolutely nothing wrong were being wrongfully exploited.


    Those who had done absolutely nothing while other people in need of help were pretty much begging for help all this while. It was trulyughable to see people, who had no desire to help others, begging for help themselves.


    ''Well, it doesn''t really matter to me.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t care less whether they were good Samaritans or not. What mattered was their value¡ªwhether they were useful or not.


    ''They can also enchant equipment, huh?''


    Not only could they strengthen all sorts of equipment, they would also be able to create all sorts of magic weapons and scrolls if milked thoroughly.


    ''Not bad at all.''


    He had been feeling disappointed by the average level of yerstely. If they could raise the strength of yers by boosting equipment specs, it would be worth the effort.


    ''I can make use of them.''


    A smile appeared on his face.


    * * *


    ''Alright!''


    Khadgar eximed in excitement in his head. He felt as if he had finally grasped a sliver of hope within despair.


    ''I knew I made the right choiceing here.''


    Guardians, an organization made up of pushovers who dedicated themselves for humanity. He''d heard about them through rumors, but he''d never imagined it to go this well so easily.


    ''I can''t believe there are actually people like this on Earth.''


    He did his best to suppress hisugh of disbelief. He couldn''t care less about trivial matters of the human realm, such as monsters attacking through Gates, the war against the Demon Cult, and things that had absolutely nothing to do with the pursuit of truth, so he couldn''t understand it at all.


    ''Tsk tsk, pathetic idiots.''


    They had no idea what was truly important; they could not understand the true meaning behind the Day of Cmity¡­


    The human race currently living on the star known as Earth was incapable of reaching the core of the truth, nor was it even trying to reach it. These humans weren''t trying to understand the meaning behind the appearance of Gates and yers.


    ''I''m sure they''ll nevere to understand why Earth is so special.''


    Earth was different from other stars.


    This world¡­


    "Do you know where yourrades are being held?"


    "¡­ Ah! O-Of course!" Khadgar quickly answered.


    He knew where hisrades were being held. No, to be more precise, he knew where the Tower of Truth''s research materials were stored.


    ''Comrades, huh?''


    Such a word waspletely foreign to a mage. Khadgar suppressed hisughter. He couldn''t care less about hisrades. They could stay enved by the Demon Cult or die for all he cared.


    ''The Tower''s research materials.''


    That was all he needed.


    ''This had to happen when I was about to attain the knowledge of Lady Hecate¡­''


    Hecate was the goddess of magic as well as one of the Titans that appeared in ancient mythology.


    Just as he had grasped onto the hopes that he would be able to attain even a portion of that knowledge, the Demon Cult had invaded the Tower of Truth.


    ''Fuuu. Just thinking about what I went through because of them makes me¡­''


    He remembered the days he''d spent as a ve.


    ''Magic is not supposed to be used for something so trivial!''


    Magic was a sacred knowledge that should only be used in search of the truth. It wasn''t supposed to be used for trivial enchantments or for making magic tools.


    ''But that alles to an end now.''


    Khadgar''s eyes shone.


    He''d heard rumors about Guardians. The organization was strong enough to havee out victorious against a massive Demon Cult branch in Tibet. They could be considered thest bastion of humanity.


    ''I will finally¡­ be free from the demons!!''


    He clenched both fists.

 Chapter 203 - Welcome to the Palace of Joseon, Strangers (1)

    Chapter 203 - Wee to the Pce of Joseon, Strangers (1)


    "Is that the ce?" Oh Kang-Woo asked.


    "Yes," Khadgar said.


    They were at an S-rank Gate located in Western Europe. Unlike the Gates in Korea, this Gate wasn''t being managed, so there were monsters all around it.


    "The factory is inside that Gate."


    "Inside the Gate?"


    Khadgar nodded.


    Kang-Woo looked at the S-rank Gate with great interest. It was the first time he''d seen a Demon Cult branch located inside a Gate.


    "Si-Hun, let''s kill the monsters around here before entering the Gate."


    "Yes, hyung-nim."


    The Sirius Corps, a corps under Si-Hun''s directmand, had been added to the operation. It contained about three hundred members and was made up of powerful yers from Guardians. Han Seol-Ah, Kang Tae-Soo, Cha Yeon-Joo, Baek Hwa-Yeon, and most of the people Kang-Woo knew were in this corps.


    The Sirius Corps was also the only special force that had acted like a proper corps within the disordered Guardians during its establishment.


    ''I don''t get why it''s called the Sirius Corps, though.''


    It was as if an author had been toozy toe up with a decent name and just pped on a random word that they had just thought of. Si-Hun had been the one to choose this name, which did not seem to have any meaning behind it.


    "D-Doesn''t it sound cool?"


    Kang-Woo recalled seeing Si-Hun with a proud expression while wearing the epaulet with the corps emblem.


    ''He has a childlike side to him.''


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    Si-Hun''s personality was like a shonen manga protagonist''s, and he also seemed to like childish names. Although he was in his mid-twenties, he sometimes acted like a teenager who had just entered puberty.


    ''Although I don''t hate it.''


    If Reynald or Alec Osborne had acted in such a way, Kang-Woo would''ve felt disgusted, but since it was Si-Hun, it was kind of cute. This could be considered a double standard. Kang-Woo himself was aware of his own duality, but he paid it no mind.


    ''There''s no one who isn''t like that.''


    Barely anyone in the world followed a single conviction or had unchanging beliefs. They would be considered to have no soul¡ªor be considered inflexible.


    ''I guess a child always looks cute in the eyes of a parent.''


    He watched Si-Hunmand the Sirius Corps with a bit of awkwardness in his voice.


    Khadgar walked toward Kang-Woo, who was smiling like a proud father.


    "Excuse me¡­"


    "Ah, yes?"


    "Like I had mentioned before, please collect the research materials stored in the branch as well."


    He looked at Kang-Woo with an uneasy expression on his face, seeming really worried about those research materials.


    No, Kang-Woo could tell that he ced more importance on those research materials than on rescuing hisrades.


    Kang-Woo made a good-natured smile.


    "Of course, I will let the corps know to secure them."


    "H-Haha. Thank you very much." Khadgar bowed.


    "What are those research materials about for you to care so much about them?"


    "Pardon? Ah. Haha, i-it''s nothing special! You could say that they''re materials to help us on our quest for the truth."


    "Oh?"


    "W-We still haven''t made much progress. After all, the truth is moreplex and abstract than anything."


    He smiled awkwardly while avoiding Kang-Woo''s gaze.


    Kang-Woo looked at Khadgar whileughing in disbelief.


    ''He''s a terrible actor.''


    Possibly because Khadgar had spent all his life locked away researching magic, forget acting, Khadgar couldn''t even hold a proper conversation. He was so bad that Kang-Woo wondered if it would be more dangerous if he pretended to have been deceived.


    ''Materials for their quest for the truth, huh?''


    He certainly was curious, but nothing more.


    ''It''s not like I''ll be able to understand it.''


    It would beparable to someone who was bad at math reading a book full ofplex mathematical forms.


    Kang-Woo had little magic knowledge, so there was no way he would be able to understand the research materials by just looking at them.


    ''I wonder if Amon would be able to?''


    There was no one who could match Amon''s knowledge of magic in the Demon King army.


    He thought about it for a while but shook his head.


    ''I don''t need it.''


    Kang-Woo already knew the truth, and Khadgar was wrong. The truth was neverplex or abstract. The simplest exnation was usually the correct one.


    [Master Kang-Woo, shall we proceed with the n?]


    He heard Lilith''s voice. He didn''t answer but nodded, which was more than enough of a response.


    [May your will be done, my king.]


    He heard a mischievous giggle. He ignored it and turned his head to face Khadgar.


    "We will infiltrate the branch as soon as we finish cleaning out the area of monsters. We will be counting on you to stick with the main force and guide them to where the mages are being held, Khadgar."


    "Oh, g-guide them? The path is not thatplic¡ª"


    "We require your cooperation for a swift execution of the operation."


    "¡­"


    Khadgar bit his lip and nodded. It was obvious he didn''t want to do it, but it didn''t matter.


    ''He has no justification for a refusal.''


    While making a deal, the most important thing was who was more desperate. Kang-Woo was the one who held all the power, so there was no need to be forceful. Just a simple nudge was enough for Khadgar to be unable to refuse.


    "Let us begin."


    Kang-Woo sent a short signal, and the operationmenced.


    The three hundred Sirius Corps members cleared out the monsters around the Gate. Then, with Si-Hun leading the way, they followed Khadgar and entered the Gate.


    Kang-Woo heard screams and the sound of swords shing against each other. He also felt demonic energy and smelled a faint trace of blood. He used the Authority of the Beholder to look inside. He didn''t take action because he didn''t need to.


    ''I nurtured forces for a reason.''


    It was so that he wouldn''t need to go out of his way to take action in every single trivial battle.


    ''Rather, I''d just be a nuisance if I joined the fight.''


    EXP was a very important growth factor for yers. Therefore, if he joined them, the amount of EXP they would gain would be reduced. No, they wouldn''t be able to gain any.


    "Right then¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked around. He didn''t intend to stay still just because he wouldn''t join the battle. He had other things to do.


    Kang-Woo slowly walked elsewhere.


    * * *


    The short battle between the Sirius Corps and the Demon Cult ended, and the Sirius Corps won by andslide.


    There had been a considerable amount of resistance, possibly because this factory was a very important facility for the Demon Cult. However, the Demon Cult had not been a match for the Sirius Corps¡ªa unit made up of only the elites of Guardians.


    The performance of Si-Hun, themander of the Sirius Corps, stood out especially. He easily wiped out the demons that had been guarding the branch. Although the members of the Sirius Corps knew about Si-Hun''s abilities, they couldn''t help but open their mouths in surprise.


    The demons of the Seventh and Eighth Hells had been killed so easily that one couldn''t help but feel bad for them.


    It wasn''t just Si-Hun. Yeon-Joo, who was in charge of the center, took advantage of their solid vanguard and poured an outrageous amount of attacks on the enemies, and Seol-Ah at the rear supported the vanguard with powerful healing magic and buffs.


    Thanks to their support, Si-Hun had been able to be more active on the battlefield and had grasped victory in a sh.


    "Khadgar!!"


    "You were safe?!"


    The mages of the Magic Tower had been forced to make magic tools as if they were machines. The faces of about thirty of them brightened after they saw Khadgar. Their malnourished bodies were haggard, and their legs were chained by extremelyrge chains.


    "Sniff! I-I knew this day woulde!"


    "We''re finally free from those damn demons¡­!"


    The mages, who had been saved with the help of the Sirius Corps, hugged each other and cried. That onlysted for a short while. Everyone''s attention soon focused on Khadgar.


    "We''re d you rescued us, but¡­"


    "You haven''t forgotten about that, right?"


    "Hahaha," Khadgarughed.


    They were mages through and through; it was obvious what they were referring to.


    He said, "Of course."


    To mages, research materials were more important than their own lives.


    A clue to the truth that they had discovered after searching for almost a thousand years¡­ those research materials stolen by the Demon Cult contained that very clue.


    "All of you, follow me," said Khadgar.


    As the Sirius Corps freed the mages, they followed Khadgar.


    Khadgar activated the tracking magic he had cast on the research materials.


    "Huh¡­?"


    The tracking magic was not activating. Khadgar looked around, flustered.


    Kang-Woo walked toward him.


    "Is something wrong, Khadgar?"


    "Ah! K-Kang-Woo! Do you happen to know where the research materials that I had mentioned are¡­?"


    "Ah¡­"


    Kang-Woo sighed and took them somewhere. He led them to a room whose contents had been turned into a pile of ashes.


    "Th-This is¡­!"


    "Everything had already been burned by the time I got here."


    "The research materials¡­ were burned¡­?"


    That was impossible. The Book of Hecate, a book withpiled knowledge regarding the truth, was protected by powerful magic. Forget fire, the book could even survive being submerged inva. Burning the Book of Hecate was impossible unless they had the Authority of a demon.


    Khadgar ran toward the pile of ashes and rummaged through it. There, he found the Book of Hecate, with more than half of it turned into ash.


    "A-Aaahh."


    He cried in despair. He flipped through the Book of Hecate with fumbling hands.


    It was definitely the original. If it were a replica, he would''ve noticed. No, the Book of Hecate was not simply a record of words. It had been made with ever-changing cryptic codes and patterns to make it impossible to replicate. If it had been stolen, they could have found where it was through tracking magic, but that was now meaningless.


    The Book of Hecate had been burned to ashes.


    "Shit! Shit! What the fuck were you doing until this happened?!!" Khadgar angrily grabbed Kang-Woo''s cor and shouted, his saliva spurting in all directions. "You useless sons of bitches! Do you have any idea how important the truth contained in this book was?!"


    "Please calm down, Khadgar."


    Kang-Woo grabbed Khadgar, who was deranged, by the shoulders. He bowed his head and said in a regretful voice, "I apologize for being unable to protect your important materials."


    "Urgh¡­"


    "I am ashamed to offer this as an alternative, but¡­ how about I promise that Korea will support your research so that you can restore the materials?"


    "Support our research?"


    "Yes. Even if it is research material, isn''t the most important thing the knowledge within your head? With enough support, replicating the book should be possible."


    "... I guess that''s true."


    Khadgar''s eyes shone.


    As if he hadn''t been cursing Kang-Woo just a moment ago, he started to use formal speech again. "But the research costs an enormous amount of money¡­"


    "You don''t have to worry about that." Kang-Woo smiled. "As long as you provide us with some of your help, we will offer you all more than enough support."


    "What kind of help?"


    "Please supply us with magic items like the ones you had been making."


    "Mmm."


    "There is no need to worry. It will bepletely different from what you went through here. The working hours will be on par with any corporation in Korea."


    He could see the doubt on the mages'' faces, but they did not need to think for long. The Magic Tower had been destroyed because of the Demon Cult, and the Book of Hecate had been burned to a crisp.


    To be honest, Khadgar couldn''t even demandpensation for damages since Guardians had rescued them, and in their current situation, it was hard for the mages to refuse their support.


    "... I understand."


    The thirty mages nodded.


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    "Then, let us go to Korea right away. Oh¡­ but I guess the initial funding would be a problem."


    "What do you mean¡­?"


    "It would be hard for me to fund your research out of my own pocket. I will have to write up an official proposal once I check the value of the magic items that you make."


    "Ahem! We don''t only do enchantment magic. We can also produce useful magic scrolls and¡ª"


    "I am aware, but it will still take a long time for the head office to approve the funding. It would take half a year at the earliest and a year at thetest¡­."


    "Th-That is toote!"


    They had gone through painstaking effort to reach Hecate''s knowledge; they couldn''t waste any more time after they had finally been freed from the clutches of the demons.


    "Mmm¡­" Kang-Woo expressed difficulty. "Oh! There is one way to get the initial funding."


    "Ohhh?"


    "What¡­?"


    "A credit loan," Kang-Woo said with a smile.

 Chapter 204 - Welcome to the Palace of Joseon, Strangers (2)

    Chapter 204 - Wee to the Pce of Joseon, Strangers (2)


    "A credit loan?"


    Khadgar tilted his head and looked at the other mages. It seemed no one knew what that meant.


    Most of the mages'' knowledge was passed down from one generation to the next, so most of them had lived locked in the tower since they were kids and had spent their time studying and dedicating their lives to research.


    Hence, there was no way they would know about things like credit loans.


    The mages looked at each other, confused.


    "What''s that?"


    "It''s my first time hearing of it. What about you?"


    "It''s also my first time¡­"


    There were thirty mages, but no one knew what a loan was.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone, and he smiled.


    "A credit loan is lending you money based on your credibility."


    "Credibility?"


    "Lending money?"


    "Yes," Kang-Woo said. "The details are quiteplex¡­ but that''s the easiest possible exnation. They lend you money, and in exchange, they receive interest."


    "Oh! Like a bank."


    "Exactly." Kang-Woo nodded while smiling.


    A mage said in a worried voice, "But would we be able to borrow money? Our credibility is¡­"


    He trailed off at thest part of the sentence.


    It was obvious that they didn''t have a single penny to their name, nor did they have a house to return to or a job. There was no way someone in a situation simr to that of a homeless person would have the credibility to borrow money.


    "Kuh."


    "Damn Demon Cultists¡­!"


    The mages clenched their fists in frustration. The Magic Tower had been selling magic items to members of high society since before the Day of Cmity.


    After yers had appeared, magic had be quitemon, but that hadn''t always been the case. They had used to earn quite a lot of money just by selling simple artifacts with protection magic against bullets.


    Thanks to that, they had earned quite a lot of money throughout the years and had be free from financial struggle. However, the Demon Cult had destroyed the Magic Tower, and all of the money they had amassed had been taken away.


    "There is no need to worry."


    Kang-Woo handed them documents as if he had been prepared for such a situation. It had even been tranted into theirnguage so that they could read it.


    Third-party Finance, Garrosh & Cash was written at the top.


    "Garrosh & Cash?"


    "What does third-party finance mean?"


    The mages tilted their heads in confusion.


    Kang-Woo exined to them in a very kindly manner, "Third-party financing is simr to a circle in terms of magic. You can borrow more money with third-party financingpared to first-party and second-party."


    "Ohhh."


    "A third circle isn''t that high¡­"


    "Ah, I''m not saying it''spletely the same as magic. In financing, the third party is the highest stage," Kang-Woo said.


    "Oh, I see."


    The mages nodded and then looked at each other. Although Guardians had freed them from very, they realized that they hadn''t even properly thanked them. They bowed their heads in embarrassment.


    Khadgar stepped forward.


    "Thank you for¡­ introducing us to a third-party financing group," Khadgar said as if he had been truly moved.


    He had initially thought only of using Guardians to gain freedom and to continue to focus on studying the truth through the Book of Hecate. Not only that, but when he had discovered that the Book of Hecate had been burned, he had acted very rudely. Even if he was a mage who wasn''t used to society, he knew that grabbing the person who had saved him by the cor was rude.


    ''And even after all that¡­''


    He started to tear up.


    It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that they were bankrupt, yet seeing Kang-Woo do his best to help them had moved him. Kang-Woo was helping them so they could resume their research and had helped them acquire the necessary funds to do it.


    Khadgar was ashamed of having thought of Guardians as a group of pushovers.


    "Thank you¡­ so very much," Khadgar said while extending his hand.


    "Not at all."


    Kang-Woo shook Khadgar''s hand with a smile.


    It was a warm exchange between people.


    A smile appeared on Khadgar''s face.


    Kang-Woo sighed and said, "I should be the one to apologize. If I had more authority, I would have been able to get you the money that you needed right away¡­"


    "No, it''s okay. I''m just d that we can borrow the money."


    "Do you know how interest works?"


    "Mmm¡­ We have to give back more money than the amount we borrowed, right?"


    "That is correct. It''s easiest to think of it as the payment for having borrowed money." Kang-Woo sighed. "Third-party Finance Garrosh & Cash allows you to borrow more moneypared to the credibility you possess, but there is a problem."


    "Problem?"


    "Yes. The interest rate is high."


    "Ah¡­"


    There was a short silence.


    Khadgar looked at the other mages and then opened his mouth.


    "But we will get the research funds from Guardianster on, will we not?"


    "Yes, as soon as the funding is approved."


    "Then there shouldn''t be a problem."


    "But if you do not pay the interest back quickly, issues regarding your credibility will arise¡­ Oh, how about we do this?" Kang-Woo smiled. "You just have to increase your magic item production hours a little. In Korea, we call this overtime."


    "Mmm."


    "I will take measures so that you will be able to make money from the magic items that you produce and sell before your research funding is approved."


    "Wow."


    "You would go so far for us¡­" they eximed in surprise.


    The mages nodded in session.


    The magic items they made were expensive. Of course, the money they would make couldn''t bepared to the money they had earned before yers appeared, but magic items were still valuable.


    The mages were also confident in terms of their quality.


    Some yers could create magic items, but they couldn''t bepared to the ones made by the Magic Tower''s mages, who have been studying magic since the day they were born.


    "How much is that interest rate?"


    "The monthly interest rate is 24%. Each month that passes, the interest ispounded."


    "Compounded? What does that mean?" they asked in confusion.


    Kang-Wooughed and said, "It''s not that important. You can just think of it as a type of interest."


    "Hmm."


    There was a short silence.


    "Can you give us some time to think?"


    "Of course."


    Khadgar turned around. The thirty mages gathered for a group meeting.


    "Over twenty percent each month¡­ Isn''t that too expensive?"


    "But it''s the best option we have, considering our current situation."


    "Won''t we be able to pay it back easily once we begin selling magic items?"


    "I guess¡­"


    They nodded.


    Khadgar opened his mouth.


    "How about we do this, then? We''ll do that overtime thing to create magic items until the funding is approved."


    "Ohh. I see¡­"


    "But if we do that, we wouldn''t have much time to recreate the Book of Hecate, would we?"


    "That''s true."


    "Recreating the Book of Hecate takes priority above all else¡­"


    The mages fell into thought.


    One of them pped.


    "Oh! Come to think of it, that Oh Kang-Woo man said he would respect the normal working hours of Korean corporations, didn''t he?"


    "He did."


    "But we don''t know how long that is¡­"


    "Huhuhu. I have heard about the working hours of corporations before."


    "You have?"


    They looked at the mage, surprised.


    The mage who mentioned it crossed his arms and nodded.


    "Although it was Germany and not Korea¡­ they usually work six hours per day. If you add overtime, it will probably be about eight hours in total."


    "Mmm¡­ It''s not quite enough time for our research."


    "But we will have weekends."


    "Ah, you''re right. I hadn''t thought of that."


    The mages nodded.


    It was worth doing it if they were given a work shift between six and eight hours per day and if their weekends were guaranteed.


    "It''ll at least be better than what we went through here."


    "Haha, there''s no way it will beparable to being enved by demons."


    The mages reached an agreement.


    Khadgar stepped forward as their representative.


    "We ept the proposal."


    "You have made the right decision," Kang-Woo said. "Please sign these documents. I will borrow three hundred billion won in your name for the initial research funds as soon as we get to Korea."


    "¡­"


    Before signing, Khadgar extended his hand out toward Kang-Woo.


    "Thank you. I will never forget about you."


    "Hahaha." Kang-Wooughed. "Let us do our best for world peace."


    Kang-Woo shook his hand once again.


    * * *


    Time passed.


    A factory in Korea dedicated to making magic items was set up, and the magic items made by the mages of the Magic Tower were swiftly supplied to Guardians.


    The mages made everything from defensive artifacts to tons of armaments that had all sorts of enchantments. The yers had even been supplied with scrolls and potions to use for emergencies.


    The high-quality magic items the mages created raised the overall strength of Guardians.


    Thunk.


    Khadgar copsed in the middle of making a magic item.


    "K-Khadgar!!"


    "Are you okay?!"


    The other mages quickly went to him. They were more haggard than when they were enved by demons.


    Khadgar, who had copsed from overwork, extended his trembling hand.


    "I-I must make more¡­ I-If not, the interest¡­"


    "Khadgar!!!"


    "Get a hold of yourself!!"


    Cries were heard.


    Click.


    The door opened.


    Kang-Woo walked in while illuminating the dark factory.


    "How is everyone doing?"


    "Y-You¡­!"


    "You scumbag!!!"


    They looked at Kang-Woo with anger and resentment.


    Kang-Woo smiled brightly.


    "What''s wrong? You''re the ones who signed the documents. I never forced you to do it."


    "This is fraud!!"


    "It''s not fraud. I exined everything to you beforehand." Heughed out loud.


    "Y-YOU BASTAAAAAARD!!!!"


    Stomp. Khadgar, who was on the ground, sprang up and ran toward Kang-Woo like a madman.


    Tap.


    "Kurgh!"


    He''d rushed forward without using magic, so the result was obvious. His neck was grabbed in a sh, causing him to groan in pain.


    "Please rx, Khadgar. Have you still not had enough since yourst attempt?"


    "U-Urghh."


    Fear appeared on Khadgar''s face.


    "The restoration of the Book of Hecate¡­ the truth¡­" he mumbled in a weak voice. He felt like the truth was slipping away.


    "You don''t need to struggle so much to find the truth, Khadgar. The truth is always simpler than you think."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo turned to the mages inside the factory.


    The inside of the factory resembled a dumping ground, and there was a pungent smell of rotten food.


    "Everyone, a person must eat. Unless you''re a demon, you need sustenance."


    Kang-Woo grabbed a pack of instant ramen on the floor.


    "To buy food, you need money."


    The tips of his mouth went up.


    "To earn money, you must work."


    He patted Khadgar''s shoulder.


    "Hahaha. What do you think, Khadgar? The truth is always simpler than you think, don''t you agree?"


    "Y-You son of a¡­"


    "If you want to eat at least one meal a day, please work." Kang-Woo kept talking as if he were having fun. "There is no food for those who don''t work."


    "You scammer¡­!"


    "How could you force us to work for the entire day, do overtime, and even work on weekends?!"


    "You said our working hours would be the same as any corporation!!"


    Kang-Woo heard people cursing him.


    "I didn''t lie." He extended his arms. "Did I not promise you working hours on par with any corporation in Korea?"


    "Yes! You definitely¡ª"


    "This is how much they work. Ah, of course, you have been working a little more than them since you have so much debt to pay, but it can''t be helped, can it? After all, this is the path you have chosen."


    There was silence.


    "Oh, right. I forgot to tell you all something. Haha, it''s funny that I''m saying this now after you''ve been in Korea for months now, but¡­"


    He bowed and smiled.


    "Wee to Korea."


    ''Strangers, I wee you to the pce of Korea.''


    Wee¨J to the¨K Pce of¡ú Joseon(Hell)¨J, Strangers¨K.[1]


    1. This is a reference to King Sejong in the game Civilization V. The Korean dub of his introduction is so bad that it has basically be a meme in Korea. ?

 Chapter 205 - Lucifers Child (1)

    Chapter 205 - Lucifer''s Child (1)


    Oh Kang-Woo took a deep breath. His lungs filled with air, and demonic energy spread through his body. He slowly closed his eyes and concentrated.


    ''Authority of ze.''


    He activated the Authority and awakened Mammon''s soul, which he had eaten deep within the Ten Thousand Demon Core. A zing energy began to spread through the demonic energy that had been melted into his blood.


    "¡­"


    He felt pain as ifva, not blood, was circting through him. Powerful mes wrapped around him, and a yellow light surrounded him. He slowly raised his right hand.


    He focused his mind on the Key of the Demonic Sea, the ring on his right middle finger. The ck ring burned yellow.


    Sizzle!


    The scent of burning skin, along with faint smoke, tickled his nose.


    He ignored it.


    ck blood poured from where his skin was melting.


    He ignored it.


    ''Focus.''


    He closed his eyes and gathered his mind.


    The Authority of ze was running amok in his body. Kang-Woo tried to suppress, trample, and control the uncontroble mes. Mammon''s soul thrashed around as if it were screaming, seemingly feeling pain.


    Kang-Woo paid the soul no mind; he had no leeway to heed it.


    He ignored the vengeful soul''s screams, and another stream of demonic energy flowed out of the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    ''Authority of des.''


    TSSSSS!!


    Rumble!!


    The ground he was standing on melted. It turned swamp-like, and he slowly sank into the earth.


    Sweat dripped down his forehead. An immeasurable pain spread through his body. He wanted to throw up, and his consciousness was starting to blur. He wanted to let it go. He felt a chill from the fear that his body could melt down entirely, but¡­


    Tap.


    He took a step forward and stretched out his right hand in front of him. The yellow mes surrounding him began to pour down his arm and gather in his palms. He stuffed the heat into his ring.


    "Kurgh."


    He grunted in pain. He couldn''t feel his arm. No, the only thing he could feel was pain.


    The drops of sweat evaporated.


    Haaa, haaa.


    He panted heavily and knelt down on one knee. His heart was searing hot. He couldn''t think of anything; his consciousness was hazy.


    He moved his right hand, which he had extended forward. From the index finger to the middle finger and to the ring finger, little by little, he focused on moving them. Even just a millimeter was fine.


    He clenched the me that had gathered in his hand.


    TSSS!!!


    The floor split, andva rose. A valley of death that made Hell seem cute spread from under his feet.


    He merged the me made with a prince''s Authority with the Authority of des. Combining a prince''s Authority with a different regr Authority¡­ it had not been done by any demon, prince of Hell, or even god.


    A miracle took shape.


    He held a sword burning with yellow mes.


    There was onest thing to do¡­


    He had to give a name to the materialized miracle.


    He opened his mouth, having already thought of a name.


    "Inferno."


    Riiing.


    [You have learned the skill ''Inferno.'']


    [Techniques registered as skills can be used more easily and precisely.]


    [You have made a great achievement that no one has ever achieved!]


    [You have obtained a clue regarding the advanced quest of ''Road to Bing a Demon God,'' ???.]


    ''The hell is this?''


    A message window appeared in front of him. He frowned while reading it.


    ''Road to Bing a Demon God¡­ has an advanced quest¡­?''


    Road to Bing a Demon God was likely referring to the stages like the Ultimate Demonic Body and the Demonic Soul.


    ''I haven''t evenpleted them yet.''


    He still hadn''t achieved the Demonic Soul.


    No, he wasn''t even sure if ''Demonic Soul'' was the final step to bing a Demon God, but he had gotten an advanced quest for it out of nowhere.


    ''Is this Bleach?''


    Why was there so much foreshadowing?


    "Haaa."


    He sighed.


    He tried to click on the advanced quest that had ''???'' written.


    "If it''s as I expect¡­"


    Riiing.


    [You are not authorized to view the quest ''???''.]


    "I fucking knew it."


    He couldn''t help but frown as he recalled a vow he''d made long before.


    "I''m gonna twist the head of whoever made this damn thing into a question mark."


    Even a crossword puzzle gave hints, but this had no hints at all.


    ''Maybe the son of a bitch who made this doesn''t know yet either.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but think that the message window had just been thrown at him without much thought from whoever was managing it.


    "Tsk."


    He clicked his tongue and turned away from the massively unfriendly message window. The advanced quest full of question marks, which looked like some failed puzzle book, was not important right now.


    "Let''s see¡­"


    He raised Inferno. Although he''d moved it a little, Inferno''s de was not able to maintain proper form. It was mushy, and portions of it were evaporating.


    ''It''s not perfect yet.''


    Although it had been registered as a skill, he''d fused a skill he couldn''t control well yet, so the level of perfection was disastrous.


    "But still."


    He jumped while clenching Inferno. He swung the sword toward the sky.


    * * *


    [This is the 8 o''clock news. Outbursts ofva simr to a volcanic eruption have been detected along with a sudden earthquake in the Grand Canyon of Arizona, USA. Scientists say that this is by no means a natural phenomenon, and they im that it had to have been influenced by magic. Guardians members have been sent to investigate the incident, and an evacuation order has fallen on the entire state of Arizona. We will now get in touch with the reporter Lee Han-Seok present on the scene. Reporter Lee Han-Seok?]


    [Yes! I am currently in the Grand Canyon, the scene of the incident. There isva flowing through the canyon, and the entire area is filled with immense heat!]


    [What is the scope of the abnormality?]


    [Theva has currently spread out over a three hundred-meter perimeter! The heat is immense! I will check for myself how severe the heat is!]


    The reporter on the screen began walking toward theva flowing through the canyon.


    [AAARRRGGGHHH!]


    A heartrending scream was heard.


    Beep.


    The TV was turned off.


    There was silence.


    "Hm. The situation has blown up quite a lot, Master Kang-Woo."


    "¡­"


    Lilith walked toward Kang-Woo, who was lying on the bed with his limbs sprawled out.


    "Are you able to move?"


    "... No."


    He shook his head.


    After using Inferno, Kang-Woo had entered a state of exhaustion simr to when he''d opened a Door of the Ten Thousand Demon Core, and he had not been able to get out of bed.


    Lilith sat on the bed.


    "I guess you shouldn''t be using that Authority recklessly."


    "Ngh. I honestly didn''t expect this much."


    He didn''t think its destructive power would be that huge and that he''d suffer such massive aftereffects. He felt like a huge piece of iron was weighing him down.


    "Is everything okay in Guardians?"


    "Yes. Magic items are being consistently provided, and the average level of yers has been increasing, too."


    He nodded.


    The magic items were being made by the mages of the Magic Tower after he''d made a fair contract with them. To get used to the powers that came with the new items, the Guardians members had been retaking South America from monsters while leveling up.


    Thanks to the equipment provided and practical experience gained through monster hunting, Guardians was getting stronger each day.


    "I guess I won''t need to worry about that aspect, then."


    Kang-Wooy back down as if relieved.


    "How''s the battle between Lucifer''s forces and the Demon Cult going?"


    The conflict between them was more important than the growth of Guardians. He needed them to damage each other as much as possible so he could y both ends against the middle.


    "They have not engaged in an all-out war yet."


    "Hm."


    He nodded.


    ''I wonder which side has the advantage.''


    The Demon Cult and Lucifer''s forces¡­


    Honestly, he had no idea who would have the advantage.


    ''Lucifer''s forces should have the overwhelming advantage at the moment.''


    Leaving everything aside, Lucifer''s forces had Lucifer, the third-strongest prince of Hell. Just his presence should be enough to tip the scales in his favor.


    ''But I can''t be sure since there really isn''t much I know about the Demon Cult.''


    He didn''t think that Mammon was their leader. There was, for sure, someone stronger than him leading the Demon Cult.


    ''I wonder who it is.''


    There was no way for him to know. Kang-Woo shook his head after some time because recklessly guessing things that he knew nothing about would only bring about danger.


    He interrupted his imagination and restricted his thoughts. The moment that he thought in favor of something, all other possibilities would be eliminated from his thoughts.


    A guess turned into a prediction, and a prediction soon became a certainty.


    "Has Lucifere to Earth?" Kang-Woo asked.


    That was the most important thing. He had to devour another prince of Hell to fulfill the remaining condition for the Demonic Soul. The conflict between Lucifer''s forces and the Demon Cult was good and all, but it had absolutely no meaning if Lucifer himself didn''t appear.


    ''There''s not much point in devouring anything else now.''


    He had grown to the point where he could no longer gain EXP from mobs. Anything other than a prince of Hell was meaningless.


    "No," Lilith replied. "We have not found any trace of him, so he likely has note yet."


    "Ngh."


    He frowned.


    ''He still hasn''t shown himself even after all this?''


    Kang-Woo wondered if he had not managed to goad Lucifer enough. Lucifer''s forces had only made small moves for the past few months, so it was clear that they hadn''t disyed all of their strength.


    ''He''s not one to stand for such humiliation, though.''


    Lucifer, Satan, and Bael¡­ he''d fought against them for the longest.


    Lucifer was most definitely not one to stand still in such situations.


    ''In that case¡­''


    It probably meant that he had no leeway to take action himself.


    ''How troublesome.''


    He needed to goad Lucifer more and make him so mad that he charged at Satan like a madman without caring about the forces of the celestial realm.


    ''The problem is how.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''te up with any ideas.


    "Shit."


    It had been half a year since both sides had started feeling each other out. He felt frustrated as he watched them skirt around each other.


    "Oh right, Master Kang-Woo."


    "Hm?"


    "Lucifer hasn''te, but a demon iming to be Lucifer''s son has."


    "Son¡­ you say?"


    "Yes. I had checked the footage of the Demon Cult branch that had crumbled, and there was a demon iming to be Lucifer''s son fighting against them."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    ''Lucifer''s son?''


    It was something he couldn''t have imagined.


    ''A prince of Hell made a child?''


    It waspletely unprecedented. Although the princes of Hell had existed in the Nine Hells for hundreds of thousands of years, something like that had never happened before.


    ''I mean, Leviathan had parents.''


    Leviathan was the son of the king of demonic beasts, Behemoth.


    Still, Kang-Woo had never heard of a prince of Hell having a child.


    "¡­"


    There was a short silence. The tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth started to go up.


    "... Master Kang-Woo?"


    "Lilith." He turned his head. "Would demons also care for their children?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes started to shine with madness. He licked his lips as if he''d thought of something fun. There was strong bloodlust emanating from him, and viscous demonic energy was spreading slowly across the floor like tar.


    Madness, bloodlust, and malice intermingled.


    "... I''m sorry?" Lilith slightly flinched. She looked at Kang-Woo and trembled as she slightly opened her mouth and said, "Y-you want to have a child with me?"


    "What?"


    "H-Hohoho. I-I''m a bit flustered. To think you would be so assertive¡­"


    "No, what the hell are you talking about?"


    "I-I have also been thinking about it, but¡­ i-it''s a bit sudden, so I''m a bit embarrassed."


    "Uhm, excuse me?"


    Lilith shook her head, her palms covering her cheeks. Her face had be red, and her ck hair was turning into green tentacles.


    p, p.


    The tentacles shyly hit Kang-Woo.


    ''No.''


    He lowered his head while looking at Lilith, who had be immersed in her fantasies. He covered his face with both hands.


    ''I was trying to say something cool while setting a nice mood¡­''


    What he had said was a sick-ass line with a hint of sinister energy, a chilling line an anti-hero would say¡­


    ''Why are you doing this to me? Please, just let me be a protagonist.''

 Chapter 206 - Lucifers Child (2)

    Chapter 206 - Lucifer''s Child (2)


    "Haaa."


    Oh Kang-Woo sighed.


    "That''s not what I''m talking about, so calm down."


    "Ah¡­"


    Lilith expressed disappointment. She lowered her head while sulking.


    Kang-Woo groaned and gave her a light hug.


    "You know this isn''t the time to think about things like that," he said in a gentle voice.


    It wasn''t because he was trying to console her.


    ''Not having Lilith would be troubling.''


    Back in the demon king army and now in Guardians, she was a very important member.


    Her talent in information gathering and forging was so high that Kang-Woo honestly wondered if she had been blessed by a godly being in that aspect. The fact that she had been able to distribute the Book of Hell in just a month of being in the Demon Cult was proof of her abilities.


    ''If I didn''t have Lilith¡­''


    He wouldn''t have known how the battle between the Demon Cult and Lucifer''s forces was going or the fact that Lucifer''s son hade to Earth. Without her, it would be as if he''d lost his eyes and ears.


    ''I cannot let her be depressed.''


    Whatever happened, Lilith would move for his sake. He wasn''t worried about her betraying him, but it was a matter of efficiency. The difference in one''s efficiency between when there was and wasn''t a reward was massive.


    Seeing howzy reserve soldiers pretty much turned into special forces when early discharge was on the line was proof that rewards worked to improve motivation.


    "My king¡­"


    "Let''s take time to think about it seriously once this is all over."


    "Aahh, my king¡­"


    Lilith''s body trembled as her eyes teared up. Tears flowed down her cheeks.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but feel guilty after seeing her tremble.


    ''I didn''t expect her to cry.''


    As the one who''d thrown the bait, he couldn''t help but feel guilty because she reacted so strongly.


    Lilith wiped her tears and smiled brightly. She clenched her fists.


    "Fufu. Okay. If that is what you wish, then I will do my best to resist, Master Kang-Woo."


    He heard her excited voice, and his guilt grew even more.


    Avoiding her gaze, Kang-Woo asked, "So, what do you think?"


    "About whether demons also care for their children?"


    "Yeah."


    Did demons also have maternal and paternal instincts?


    It was a hard topic.


    ''After all, demons don''t need to reproduce.''


    They could do it, but they didn''t need to. The cases of demons giving birth to children through sexual intercourse were extremely rare. Demons weren''t in the category of ordinary biological creatures.


    They were born in the darkness of the Nine Hells, from a Rift that no one knew the nature of. Demons were just born randomly out of thin air along with a ck wave in space.


    No one knew what the nature of the darkness was. It could be demonic energy, a manifestation of a deity, or just something created by the Nine Hells itself. Not even the princes of Hell had any idea.


    There were only three known facts about the Rift: One, the demons born from the Rift were born as adults. Two, a great minority of the demons born from it possessed a special power called an Authority, but that didn''t mean that all demons with an Authority were strong.


    ''Just take Sabnak for example.''


    Although Sabnak had the Authority of des, he was mere small fry in the First Hell.


    ''And third¡­''


    The strength of the demons born from the Rift was decided from the moment they were born. There were some exceptions, but the strength and limits of most demons were decided from the moment they were born. That meant that there were almost no cases of a demon from the First Hell bing strong enough to enter the Ninth Hell.


    It was simr to children being born wealthy.


    Even the princes of Hell had been born to be ''princes of Hell.'' Among the seven princes of Hell, there was only one who hadn''t been one since the beginning.


    ''Bael.''


    Kang-Woo and Bael had many things inmon.


    Through numerous years, Bael had reached the Ninth Hell from the First Hell and had managed to kill Beelzebub, one of the original princes of Hell, and had taken his ce.


    Except for him, all the other princes of Hell had been born with the destiny of bing one.


    ''Leviathan makes it a bit iffy.''


    Leviathan hadn''t been born from a Rift. Considering that his father was Behemoth, the king of demonic beasts, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that he was also born with that destiny.


    ''Alright, enough with the boring exposition.''


    Back to the main topic.


    "Hmm, I am not too sure about that either, but I do know for a fact that if we were to have a child, I would love them with my entire being." Lilith gave a warm smile while touching her stomach.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed.


    ''I guess they at least have a concept of love for one''s flesh and blood.''


    The question was whether Lucifer was also the same.


    Maternal or paternal instincts weren''t absolute, even for humans. There were parents willing to risk their lives for their children, but on the other hand, there were some who killed their children with their own hands.


    Love for one''s own flesh and blood was rtive.


    ''It''s worth testing out.''


    The tips of his mouth went up.


    "Lilith, investigate the location of the demon iming to be Lucifer''s son."


    "My king, are you¡­"


    "You said you would love our child with your entire being, right?"


    Heughed out loud. He was ecstatic, like some child who couldn''t sleep because he was too excited for their trip the following day.


    "Let''s see if that''s also the case for Lucifer."


    "¡­"


    * * *


    Boom!


    Crack!


    "Aaarrrggghhh!"


    "S-Stop him!"


    Screams rang out.


    The passageway became full of explosions and the smell of blood.


    A demon was walking through the passage.


    "... How boring."


    He narrowed his eyes while looking around as if he didn''t like what he saw. He covered his mouth and yawned.


    The name of the demon who''d destroyed everything around him was Lucis. He had six ck wings, dark skin, and silver hair that reached his waist. Based on his face alone, he did not look that different from a human. Unlike other demons, he wasn''t that big. His skin wasn''t grotesque, nor was his body covered in muscles. He didn''t even have tentacles.


    One would think at first nce that he was someone in a very high-quality cosy costume.


    "Aaaahhh!"


    "R-Run!"


    The Demon Cultists turned pale as if they''d seen a monster. They were more fearful of Lucis than the other monster-like demons, and it wasn''t hard to see why.


    "Hmph, small fry."


    Lucis raised his hand, and darkness gathered around it. It was the power of his father, Lucifer, the Prince of Pride. Lucis had inherited a portion of his father''s power.


    Crack!!


    He spread his hands, shooting a ck sphere forward. Like a ck hole, the sphere absorbed everything in its surroundings, and the darkness sucked in the cultists trying to escape.


    Tsk.


    He clicked his tongue as he watched them die without offering much resistance.


    "Rakkisgard, have you found Satan''s location?" he asked while turning his head.


    The giant demon kneeling in front of him shook his head and hurriedly answered, [My apologies. I captured and interrogated the human who was the branch manager, but¡­ I had not been able to get Satan''s location.]


    "Again?"


    Frowning aggressively, Lucis stepped on Rakkisgard''s head, which was against the floor.


    BOOM!


    "Useless piece of shit. How many more chances must I give you?"


    Lucis struck Rakkisgard aggressively in session. Although Rakkisgard was bleeding, he didn''t dodge Lucis''s attacks.


    "Shit."


    Lucis cursed in displeasure after his kicking spree.


    Rakkisgard slowly opened his mouth.


    [We are taking too much time, Lord Lucis.]


    "¡­"


    [If Lord Lucifer were to find out that you are here¡­]


    "Shut up." Lucis red sharply. "I''m not going back until I have Satan''s head."


    Lucis clenched his fists, recalling his father, Lucifer.


    ''If I take Satan''s head¡­''


    He would be able to get his father''s acknowledgement.


    "How is the current situation in Aernor?"


    [... Not good. Raphael''s forces are continuing to apply pressure to Lord Lucifer.]


    "¡­"


    There was silence.


    Lucis turned around.


    "Onto the next location."


    [Lord Lucis¡­]


    "Rakkisgard." Lucis turned his head, his waist-long silver hair shining mysteriously. "Do not make me repeat myself."


    [... Yes, my lord.]


    Rakkisgard got up.


    As he stood up, his five-meter-tall body made the ceiling crumble.


    "Satan¡­"


    A strong bloodlust appeared in Lucis''s eyes.


    ''Arrogant prick.''


    From what he had heard, Satan used to rank higher than Lucifer as a prince of Hell in the demon realm. Satan''s crazed actions were likely due to that past memory.


    ''To think he''d dare to dere war on us.''


    Lucis couldn''t remain still at such provocation. Lucifer had also been furious after hearing the news. The only reason why he hadn''t taken action despite that was because of Raphael''s forces.


    ''If Father can''t make a move¡­''


    Lucis would protect his father''s honor for him. He had heard that Satan had gotten hold of a power known as the Demonic Sea, but he wasn''t worried.


    ''I''m the son of Evil God Lucifer.''


    They were not in the demon realm like in the past.


    Lucis walked with unwavering eyes.


    Crack!


    "Gaaaahhhhh!"


    "Arrgghh! S-Spare m¡ª!"


    As they walked down the passageway, he watched his subordinates exterminate the cultists.


    "Hmph," he snorted.


    Lucis could tell from the sorry state of the Demon Cultists that he didn''t need to worry about Satan.


    ''With his subordinates being so weak, there''s no need to even think about the power of their leader.''


    He didn''t know about what had happened in the demon realm.


    He''d been born after Lucifer had gone to the continent of Aernor. He was born when Lucifer, one of the princes of the Nine Hells, had made love to a human woman.


    Hence, he had no idea who Satan was or how strong he was. He thought he didn''t need to know.


    ''No matter how strong he is¡­''


    He wouldn''t be able to defeat his father.


    Lucis looked at his hands, which were closer to a human''s than a demon''s.


    ''I have to prove it.''


    He had to prove his strength and his value. If not, he wouldn''t be acknowledged as a demon.


    Lucis began walking again.


    Just then¡­


    [I had high hopes after hearing that you were Lucifer''s son, but all I see is a snot-nosed brat.]


    "Kuh!"


    Lucis quickly turned around. Darkness had appeared where there definitely hadn''t been anything before. He saw a red demon mask floating in a shroud of darkness.


    "Who are y¡ª"


    [I heard you have been looking for me.]


    Snicker.


    A chillingugh leaked out from behind the mask.


    "Y-You''re¡­"


    [Correct.]


    The shroud of darkness expanded.


    [I am Satan.]


    In other words, a cheat code.

 Chapter 207 - Kang-Woo, Whose Body Was Honest Despite Saying No

    Chapter 207 - Kang-Woo, Whose Body Was Honest Despite Saying No


    "Sa¡­ tan¡­?"


    Lucis''s eyes widened in shock.


    He had been searching for Satan ever since he came to Earth in secret, and that very prince of the demonic realm was now right in front of him.


    "H-Haha."


    The tips of Lucis''s mouth went up.


    Satan had finallye out of his cave after having beenpletely missing since his deration of war.


    Lucis couldn''t help butugh in disbelief while exuding an intense bloodlust. He raised his hand, and a pitch-ck darkness gathered around it.


    "So, you finally crawled out of wherever you were hiding."


    [Oh?]


    The eyes peering from behind the red mask gleamed. The mask tilted as if to show Satan was entertained.


    [You don''t seem to be afraid.]


    "Is there a reason to be?"


    [What a funny question.]


    Satan''s chillingughter flowed out from behind the mask.


    A reason to be afraid¡­? Satan was a prince of Hell, one of the strongest in the vast Nine Hells. There wasn''t a reason not to fear him.


    The value of his title as a prince of Hell was no longer as prestigious as before the princes had been defeated by the demon king, but the princes of Hell still couldn''t bepared to the average demon.


    [Do you not know who I am, brat?]


    "I do. I know that you used to be a prince of the demon realm and that you now lead the group known as the Demon Cult in this world."


    [So, you don''t.]


    "What?"


    [If you truly knew about the princes of Hell, you would not be acting this way before me. Has Lucifer not educated you?]


    "Hah, how dare a coward who hid like a little rat after dering war mention my father''s name?!"


    [A little rat¡­ Does that not also apply to Lucifer?]


    The eyes behind the mask narrowed. An intense bloodlust surged from Satan.


    [Why has a brat like youe instead of him?]


    "My father isn''t needed to kill the likes of you."


    [What a bold brat you are.]


    The mask tilted.


    [No, maybe you are just stupid.]


    "...Let''s see how long you can keep that leisurely attitude for."


    Lucis lowered his body. The darkness wrapping his hand warped, and powerful demonic energy poured out of it.


    He looked at Satan calmly.


    ''He''s no big deal,'' Lucis thought.


    He could only feel a shallow presence and pressure from Satan. It waspletely different from when he was with his father. Lucis felt like his guess of Satan being all talk and no bite had been right.


    ''I can do this.''


    Such a thought crossed his mind.


    Lucis gulped. Then he lowered his posture and raised his hand. He tensed his muscles, focusing on his legs in preparation to shoot forward.


    At that moment¡­


    [Now that I look at you, you do not look like a demon.]


    "¡­"


    Flinch. Lucis trembled.


    Comments about how he didn''t seem like a demon, that he was different from a demon, and that they couldn''t believe he was Lucifer''s son¡­ Lucis had heard them so many times that he was utterly sick of hearing them.


    "Shut up," Lucis growled while ring at Satan.


    Lucis looked more like a human than a demon. It was the result of being half human and half demon.


    "That''s not a demon."


    "He''s nothing but a half-blood."


    "Why did Lord Lucifer even have a child with a human?"


    "Just look at him. Why does he look so ugly and weak?"


    He was half demon and half human, but he''d been raised along with demons since the day he was born. He''d learned their values, beliefs, thoughts¡­ and what he looked like to them. By human standards, it was as if a human had a baby with an insect; it was absolutely disgusting.


    Lucis cursed himself, his mother, and everyone who disrespected and scorned him. He needed to prove to them that he was the son of the Evil God¡ªthat he had Lucifer''s blood running through his veins.


    He''de here to prove that.


    ''I will kill Satan.''


    Lucis would kill the prince of Hell, who was the object of fear for all demons, with his own hands. There was no better way to prove himself than that.


    [...I see. A half-breed of demon and human,] Satan remarked in genuine surprise.


    Lucis frowned aggressively. "You say that, but you lost against a human, did you not?"


    [¡­]


    "I heard it from Father. The demon king, who defeated all seven princes of the demon realm, used to be a human."


    Satan remained silent.


    Lucis continued coldly, "In the end, all the princes are nothing but losers who lost to a mere human. Are they not?"


    [You sure love talking shit about your dad. Lucifer would cry blood if he heard that, bro.]


    "What?"


    [Ah, ahem,] Satan coughed awkwardly. Then he returned to his normal manner of speech and continued quietly, [Your father lost against the demon king too.]


    "That''s all in the past. He won''t lose now," Lucis stated confidently.


    [What a fucking hypocrite. You shameless piece of¡ªah. Fuuu. Fuuu.]


    "¡­" Lucis frowned. "You''re insane."


    [No prince is sane,] Satan said whileughing confidently.


    Lucis''s gaze sharpened. There was no point in talking anymore.


    "Enough talk. You talk too much for a prince."


    [Oh?]


    "If you''re really a prince¡­"


    Rumble.


    A huge amount of demonic energy gathered around Lucis''s hand. Dozens of ck spheres rose around him.


    "Prove it with your strength."


    [Ha¡­ Hahahahahahahaha!!!] Satanughed loudly. [Very well. If you desire it so badly, then I will show you¡­]


    Demonic energy spread out like a ck curtain, and the red demon mask tilted.


    [...Who I am.]


    BOOM!


    The ground shook.


    Satan opened his arms wide.


    [Come. Prove your worth. Prove that you deserve to exist.]


    Lucis frowned. "I''m not the one that has to prove anything."


    [You talk too much. Bring it.]


    "You will be the one who needs to prove yourself, Satan."


    [I get it, so bring it.]


    Lucis raised his arms, and the ck spheres began rotating.


    "Rakkisgard! Open your eyes and take a good look!"


    [Dude, stop talking and¡ª]


    "Right here and now, I, Lucis, will show you!!"


    [Hello?]


    "I will show you whether the one you serve is nothing but a worthless half-blood or the demon who will seed Evil God Lucifer!"


    [Can you hear me?]


    "See it! Feel it! Realize it!"


    [Stop. I can''t keep this act up much longer.]


    BOOM!


    Lucis stomped on the ground.


    Crack. The ground was split.


    His waist-long silver hair fluttered as intense energy poured out of him.


    Lucis said coldly, "Through this battle, I will prove¡ª"


    [Fuck, man. Juste at me already. You''re making me fucking cringe. It''s hard for me to set the mood, you know? Why are you making me work so hard, dipshit?]


    "¡­"


    [Do you have any idea how much I cringe every time I do this? Do you? Huh? I''m so ashamed that I kick the bed whenever I think of it while sleeping.]


    "What do you¡ª"


    [This is that thing, isn''t it? You were discriminated against because you were born a half-blood, right? Are you in fucking puberty? What the fuck do you keep trying to prove? Why are you doing this to me? You gotta tone it down so that I have something to work with to set the mood, man.]


    Satan was twisting his body as if he were in pain.


    Lucis frowned after seeing Satan with a totally different attitude. It was like he had a split personality.


    "I guess I won''t be getting through to you with words."


    [Yeah, so let''s just please fight¡­]


    "No need to worry."


    Lucis exuded bloodlust.


    "Even if you beg for your life, nothing will change."


    He stomped on the ground and extended his hand. The ck spheres spun fiercely while flying toward Satan.


    Satan''s eyes lit up.


    [Fucking finally,] he said in a moved voice.


    Satan spread the shroud of darkness covering his body and blocked the ck spheres.


    "Haap!"


    Lucis spread out both arms, and six ck wings fluttered. Hundreds of feathers shot out, and the demonic energy feathers poured down like rain.


    Crack.


    "Wha¡ª?!"


    Satan vanished as if he had gone up in smoke. Then, he reappeared right in front of Lucis in the blink of an eye. He grabbed Lucis''s face and threw him like a baseball.


    Tumble¡ª!!


    Dust rose from the ground as Lucis was sent flying.


    "Cough!"


    He quickly got back up.


    "Huh?"


    Lucis''s eyes filled with confusion, as when he got up, Satan was already in front of him.


    Bash!


    Satan dropkicked Lucis''s face, and ck blood spurted from his nose.


    "W-Wait," Lucis said, raising his hand to pause the fight.


    He didn''t understand what was going on.


    He was fighting against a prince of Hell, but he was still Lucifer''s son. Despite that, why was there such an overwhelming difference in power between him and Satan?


    [Fucking hell, that hits the spot,] Satan said, feeling refreshed.


    "God¡­ dammit!!"


    Lucis''s expression crumpled in anger. His silver hair fluttered, and he squeezed out all the demonic energy he could muster.


    "Raaaahhhhh!!" Lucis roared.


    Giant spheres that were around ten meters in diameter appeared on his hands. The giant balls of demonic energy sucked in everything around them.


    "Die!!" he shouted andunched his attack at Satan.


    However¡­


    sh.


    A ck light cut the spheres, splitting them in two all too easily.


    The red mask appeared from behind the dispersing demonic energy. Satan pressed Lucis''s head down.


    "Kurgh!"


    Lucis copsed with his head stuck to the ground. Satan then stepped on his neck.


    [Lord Lucis!!]


    The demon Rakkisgard came running.


    Nevertheless, before he could charge toward Satan, a giant demon appeared next to him and pushed him down.


    [Kurgh!]


    [How dare you interfere in a sacred battle?] Balrog, the demon who had pushed Rakkisgard down, questioned with a frown.


    A ck-haired beauty walked out from behind him and rummaged through Rakkisgard''s pockets.


    "Ah, Master Ka¡ªLord Satan, here is what you''ve been looking for," she said.


    She handed Satan a ck crystal orb.


    Kang-Woo¡ªno, Satan frowned aggressively while looking at the crystal orb.


    [Fuck''s sake¡­]


    He sighed and raised the crystal orb the ck-haired beauty had given him.


    [Fuuu,] he took a deep breath to pull himself together.


    [I don''t want to do this anymore¡­] he mumbled in a tearful voice but ultimately shook his head.


    He had no other choice.


    ''Haaa, fuck.''


    His head hurt.


    His 20/20 hindsight was burning his eyes. It was as if a hairy old man sumbed to money and advertised a game while putting a -nyan at the end of each sentence.


    The shame was destroying him.


    ''Life is so damn hard.''


    How long did he need to live like that?


    Whoom.


    Light flowed out of the ck crystal orb. He saw the face of a demon through the round mirror-like orb.


    The eyes of the demon looking at him through the crystal orb widened.


    [You¡­]


    "Ahem," he cleared his throat.


    ''First, get into character.''


    Satan spoke in a chilling voice.


    [I am death. I am the end. I am the father of all wrath, and I am wrath itself.]


    ''Alright. Not bad at all.''


    Only the red mask was visible amid the shroud of darkness.


    [I am Satan.]


    ''Shiiiiiieet! This is it! This is a prince of Hell! This is Satan!''


    His mouth moved naturally despite the shame he was feeling.

 Chapter 208 - The Reason Satan Does Not Stop

    Chapter 208 - The Reason Satan Does Not Stop


    - What in the¡­


    Lucifer appeared visibly bewildered in the crystal orb. He could see Satan, who wore a red demon mask, stepping on Lucis.


    - What did you do, Satan? Why is Lucis there?


    Lucifer spoke in a voice filled with bloodlust while narrowing his eyes.


    Satan stepped on Lucis even harder.


    "Kurgh!" Lucis grunted pitifully.


    He pped like a fish out of water.


    [Who knows? How about you ask your son yourself?] Satan said calmly.


    Lucifer''s expression hardened.


    He knew Satan had not crossed over to the continent of Aernor and kidnapped Lucis. If something like that had happened, there was no way Lucifer wouldn''t have noticed it.


    In that case, there was only one other possibility.


    - Rakkisgard.


    [I-I apologize, Lord Lucifer!] Rakkisgard, who had been subdued by Balrog, answered apologetically and lowered his head.


    It was easy for Lucifer to guess what had happened just from his short reaction.


    Lucis had gone to Earth on his own, fought Satan, and lost. His defeat had already been decided the moment that he confronted Satan.


    Lucis did not know, but Lucifer knew the league that the princes of Hell were in. He knew that there was no way his son would be a match for them.


    Lucifer frowned.


    - Pathetic boy.


    "F-Father¡­"


    Lucis trembled in shock and bit his lip.


    He felt aplex mixture of fear, regret, and rage.


    [Right, then,] Satan continued talking in a leisurely manner. His eyes behind the mask were shining with a mad look. [I am sure you are aware of why I left this brat alive, are you not?]


    He had captured the enemymander''s son. There probably wasn''t anyone dumb enough to not understand why.


    - Kill him, Lucifer replied in a cold voice.


    [Oh¡­?]


    - I have no intention of taking care of a son who acted without knowing his ce. Kill him.


    There wasn''t a hint ofpassion in Lucifer''s dry voice.


    His cold eyes focused on Lucis.


    - This must be the limit of a half-blood.


    "Kuh¡­"


    Lucis bit his lip, and tears flowed down his eyes. He trembled. He couldn''t breathe properly.


    The term ''half-blood'' stimted him like a curse eating away at his life.


    Throughout his life, countless demons had called him that behind his back and even right to his face. The word had been stuck to him his entire life, but this was the first time his own father had called him that.


    ''It hurts,'' Lucis thought.


    His chest was hurting as if his heart was being cut out. His vision was bing hazy.


    Right then, he heard a spookyugh.


    [Lucifer.]


    - ¡­


    [Is he not your son regardless?]


    - That means nothing.


    Lucifer''s eyes were cold as he continued dryly, - Since when has flesh and blood been important to demons?


    [Hm.]


    - Enough of this silly farce, Satan. Do you truly expect affection for flesh and blood from demons who have no need for reproduction?


    It was an obvious question. Demons didn''t need to reproduce, so it would be ironic if they felt affection toward their flesh and blood.


    [Then¡­] Satan looked at Lucifer. [Why did you have a child?]


    - ¡­


    Lucifer remained silent.


    His words were contradictory. If his son wasn''t important to him and was truly meaningless, he wouldn''t have had Lucis.


    If it had simply been an ident, he would have been more than capable of erasing the child several times over during the pregnancy. It would be too hopeful to think that a prince of Hell would feel remorseful about killing a fetus.


    - ¡­It was an ident.


    [An ident, was it?]


    Satanughed.


    [Lucifer.]


    Lucifer didn''t answer.


    Whileughing, Satan raised his hand and swung down a ck de at Lucis''s head. He stared at Lucifer''s face through the orb as he did it.


    - Sto¡ª!


    Lucifer frowned, unable to maintain hisposure. He urgently called for Satan to stop, but he cut himself off midway and bit his lip when he realized what he''d done.


    Satan held his stomach and burst intoughter.


    [Hahahahahaha!!!]


    Did demons feel affection toward their flesh and blood? The result of his low-probability gamble had already been decided the moment the call with Lucifer had been connected.


    If Lucifer truly thought of Lucis as worthless, he would''ve cut the call. No, he wouldn''t have epted the call in the first ce, since he''d had no need to do so.


    From the moment Lucifer epted the call and started to give excuses, the result had already been decided.


    [You have be rather cute. This must be what they call paternal affection.]


    - ¡­


    "F-Father¡­" Lucis said in a tearful voice and lowered his head. "I''m¡­ sorry."


    - Be quiet, Lucifer replied coldly.


    He looked at Lucis with a troubled expression. He was likely feeling the same way a father would feel after his son had caused trouble and had be a death row prisoner.


    - What do you want?


    In the end, they were back to square one. Lucifer acknowledged the fact that Satan had the advantage.


    Satan continued leisurely, [You already know what I want, do you not?]


    - ¡­War.


    [Yes, Lucifer. Let us have a war full of blood, flesh, destruction, and madness¡ªa war that can fill our stomachs with the flesh of our enemies.]


    - You must have be even crazier after going to Earth, Lucifermented exasperatedly.


    The Satan in Lucifer''s memories was not this crazy. He could at least be reasoned with and was capable of making reasonable judgments.


    - Do you know what situation we demons are currently in? Lucifer questioned angrily. - Aernor, Huan, and even the world you are living on, Earth¡­


    Satan hadn''t heard of one of the three worlds that were mentioned.


    - The forces of the celestial realm are trying to eradicate demons from every single world connected to the Nine Hells, Lucifer continued. - The Nine Hells will bepletely isted from all other worlds. I am sure you understand what that means, do you not?


    He looked at Satan with sharp eyes.


    - We will never be able to return to the Nine Hells.


    [¡­]


    Satan remained silent at Lucifer''s words.


    He trembled as if he couldn''t hold back theughter. He grabbed his stomach and let theughter out.


    [What does that matter?]


    - What?


    [What does it matter if we cannot return to the Nine Hells?]


    - Are you out of your mind?


    [That is what I want to ask you.] The red demon mask tilted. [When have we ever not been out of our minds?]


    - ¡­


    Crack.


    "Arrgghh!!"


    Satan trampled on Lucis''s arm. The arm twisted at a weird angle, and ck blood poured out.


    Lucifer''s expression hardened when he heard the screams. He was trying to act as if it didn''t affect him, but his expression gave him away.


    - Satan, Lucifer said with zing eyes and a voice filled with thick bloodlust, - Stop.


    [You know what you must do for me to stop, do you not?]


    Satan opened both arms.


    The darkness devoured the light around him. It was as if it had suddenly be night.


    [Come here and kill me. If you do not¡­]


    Crunch.


    Satan rotated his foot, further deforming Lucis''s twisted arm.


    Lucis''s blood-curdling scream rang out once again.


    - I told you to stop, Lucifer growled.


    Satan could sense the chilling rage from the other side of the crystal orb.


    Nevertheless, he burst intoughter and continued leisurely, [Your son¡­ will die here.]


    - ¡­


    Lucifer remained silent and gave Satan a disgusted look.


    - You make me sick.


    [Hm?]


    - Are you not ashamed of using a cheap tactic like taking a hostage?


    It was a childish provocation.


    [Since when have we cared about such things?] Satan asked with deep, sunken eyes full of madness. [Were you expectingpassion in a battle between demons? Were you expecting morality? A fair and beautiful fight? Were you expecting a fair fight with rules in ce so that neither party couldin?]


    That was nonsense.


    [Wake up, Lucifer. We were never like that. We have never fought like that. Do you remember our battle against the demon king? What did we do back then? Did we simply have a contest of strength to have a fair battle?]


    They had not.


    Kidnapping had pretty much been an elementary tactic for them. They had used nasty plots, pitted allies against each other, and created all sorts of misunderstandings and misinterpretations.


    They''d subdued a subordinate of the demon king and forced them to hug a bomb and charge toward the demon king army. They''d spread gues and curses to kill the demons that served the demon king.


    That wasn''t all. They had even cut apart subordinates that the demon king favored and sent them to him piece by piece.


    [Are you trying to be a good samaritan after all we have done? Are you begging for mercy andpromise? You are the one who makes me sick. What has made you so pathetic?]


    - ¡­


    [Do you want to condemn me? Do you want to curse me for using a vulgar tactic like threatening you with your son as my hostage?]


    Satan lowered his head toward the crystal orb. The eyes behind the mask were shining with a yellow light.


    [In that case,e here, Lucifer. Go mad with anger, be blind with resentment. Fight me, and¡­] Satan let out a chillingugh. [Kill me.]


    m¡ª!!!


    Lucifer destroyed the giant throne he was sitting in.


    - I will¡­ make you this proposal for thest time, Satan, Lucifer said in a restrained voice.


    Satan could tell that Lucifer was trying his best to suppress his rage.


    - If I give up on everything and go there, you will be the next target of the angels, Lucifer continued quietly. - Do not expect the angels to target Huan before you. You will be their next target, Satan. I will make it so.


    He was threatening Satan.


    The crystal orb couldn''t withstand Lucifer''s demonic energy and started to crack. It was clear how much rage he was feeling at the moment.


    - There is no winner in this battle. Regardless of who wins, we will both lose everything. Will you still fight me despite that?


    [¡­]


    Satan didn''t answer. He slowly raised his foot and stepped on Lucis''s other arm.


    Crunch!


    Lucis''s pained scream was enough of an answer.


    [Who do you think I am? I am death, the end, and wrath itself. I am Satan. Whether it be angels or gods, it matters not. Tell them all toe here. Tell them toe here and fight me. Whatever you say to me, I will not stop.]


    ''Why, you ask? Because it''s not my probleeeeeeeemmmmm!!''


    RIP Satan!!

 Chapter 209 - Beauty Trap

    Chapter 209 - Beauty Trap


    [This is the eight o''clock news. A massive gate has been sighted in Africa. Unlike a normal Gate with colors that range from the lowest-ranked white to the highest-ranked ck, this Gate was a dark blue. The Gate disappeared soon after it appeared, and all of the monsters, animals, and vegetation around that area have died.]


    [Guardians is currently investigating a possible connection between this and the Grand Canyon volcanic eruption incident, but they have not been able to find any such connections.]


    [Since the appearance of the blue Gate, sounds and sightings of explosions have been detected all over the world. Although there have not been civilian casualties since most of the incidents have been urring in areas inhabited by monsters, it seems necessary to ce particr attention on this matter.]


    "I guess things are going smoothly."


    The tips of Oh Kang-Woo''s mouth went up while he watched the television.


    Using Lucis as a provocation had been a sess. Lucifer had crossed over to Earth and was engaging in an all-out war with the Demon Cult while exuding hostility toward Satan. The battle was an overwhelming victory for Lucifer''s forces.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure how Lucifer''s forces were finding the Demon Cult''s branches, but they were very good at it.


    The entire world had a hard time finding the locations of the Demon Cult branches, yet Lucifer''s forces were finding them easily and even smashing them with overwhelming power. It was as if the lukewarm actions of Lucifer''s forces until this point had been to build the foundations for this.


    From what he was hearing from Lilith, the Demon Cult was being pummeled so one-sidedly that Kang-Woo honestly felt sorry for them.


    ''I was hoping for the Demon Cult to put up a bit more resistance.''


    He did not think that this was all the Demon Cult had.


    They might not be able to reverse the situation, but he wished they would reduce at least Lucifer''s forces at least a little.


    ''I guess not everything goes as intended.''


    Unlike Kang-Woo''s expectations, the Demon Cult was being ughtered. Nevertheless, he did not feel as anxious as he had been in the past.


    Kang-Woo looked down at his hands.


    He''d already grown strong enough to fight against the princes of Hell. He no longer needed to try to exhaust Lucifer like he had originally nned.


    ''I''m also preparing a trump card.''


    Kang-Woo leisurelyid back on the couch.


    Whatever the case, the only thing he had to do was watch the fight between Lucifer and the Demon Cult from a distance.


    "Kang-Woo, I wanna watch anime. Konosuba airs today," Echidna said as she walked toward him.


    She sat on her exclusive seat, Kang-Woo''s thighs, and spread open her small hands.


    Kang-Woo smiled and gave her the remote.


    "Hm! Hm!"


    Echidna changed the channels while snorting, but her expression soon filled with disappointment.


    "It was canceled again¡­" she muttered, lowering her head with a pout.


    Most shows had been canceled because of the Gate that Lucifer had used to cross to Earth.


    "It''ll calm down soon."


    "Okay."


    Echidna turned and pulled on Kang-Woo''s clothes.


    "Kang-Woo, I learned another dragon tongue magic today. I can use three of them now."


    "Woah, you learned another one?"


    Kang-Woo patted Echidna''s head to show that he was proud of her.


    Hatchlings couldn''t use dragon tongue magic, the exclusive magic of dragons. Only adult dragons could.


    Echidna was connected with Kang-Woo through the soul and could receive his power, but making the innately impossible possible required an astronomical amount of effort.


    "Maybe you''ll be able to use Breath soon, huh?" Kang-Woo asked yfully.


    "Hm! Hm! I''ll do my best!" Echidna answered while snorting.


    "Well¡­ I don''t think it''s something you can do with just effort, though."


    Kang-Wooughed softly.


    Based on what he had heard from her, only a select few dragons, even among ancient dragons, were able to use Breath. Maybe Echidna would be able to do it in the future, but she was just a hatchling at the moment. Furthermore, it was an extremely difficult technique to use.


    "Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo. Are you still busy these days?" Echidna asked carefully.


    Kang-Woo had been very busy trying to master Mammon''s Authority over the past few months, so it wasn''t an unexpected question.


    Kang-Woo patted her head while making a bitter smile. "Yeah, but I think things will calm down soon."


    Once he devoured Lucifer, he would be able to fulfill his immediate objective.


    Of course, he would have to train to master both the Authorities of Lucifer and Mammon, but he wouldn''t need to hurry like he was doing right now.


    ¡°...I see."


    Echidna lowered her head while making a sad expression.


    Kang-Woo patted her head and asked, "How about we go on a pic once this is over?"


    "A pic?"


    "Yeah, with Seol-Ah."


    "Hm! Hm! Yeah! Okay!"


    Echidna nodded in excitement.


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    ''This is what I call healing.''


    He thought that if he ended up having a child with Han Seol-Ah one day like he hoped, this was what it would probably feel like.


    Kang-Woo smiled while imagining it.


    "Let''s take Lilith and Balrog along," Echidna suggested.


    "...Why them?"


    "They aren''t that close to Seol-Ah. Lilith and Balrog are super nice. I want everyone to get along."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo thought about it.


    Thepanions he''d made on Earth did not really interact with hispanions from Hell, Balrog and Lilith. It was mainly because Balrog and Lilith knew him too well. They knew what kind of person he was and what he had done in Hell.


    ''That''s a bit¡­''


    He''d warned them about what not to say, but he still found it troublesome.


    Still, it wouldn''t be good if Lilith, Balrog, Kim Si-Hun, Seol-Ah, and the others weren''t well-acquainted with each other.


    ''I''ll have to think about itter.''


    It was important for his allies to have a good rtionship with each other if he wanted a cohesive force.


    There might be a day when Balrog and Si-Hun had to fight alongside one another or when Seol-Ah had to heal Lilith.


    "Well, I have things to do, so I''ll get going. Where''s Seol-Ah?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "She went out with the redhead."


    "With Cha Yeon-Joo?"


    "Yeah. They''ve been hanging out a lottely."


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo nodded and got up.


    Cha Yeon-Joo and Seol-Ah¡­ At first nce, they were like oil and water.


    ''Well, maybe that''s why they became friends.''


    He walked off while thinking that.


    * * *


    Tap.


    A man walked through a dark, humid cave and sloshed through the water pooled on the floor.


    The metallic scent of blood filled the tunnel.


    "Cough¡­ Cough."


    He heard someone coughing weakly.


    Kang-Woo took out his red demon mask and put it on.


    "You are a tough one," he remarked.


    "¡­"


    Lucis had been tied up and neutralized by the Authority of Sealing. There were wounds all around his body. He was in a dreadful state.


    He red at Kang-Woo and said, "Kill me."


    "I will not."


    "KILL ME!!"


    "Hahaha. There is no way I would kill you."


    Kang-Woo smirked, reached out, and grabbed a handful of Lucis''s silver hair.


    "Do not plead for death. It is my choice whether you live or die," Kang-Woo stated.


    "¡­"


    Lucis frowned.


    Kang-Woo turned his head and saw Vaal Zahak, who had on a ck robe with blood sttered all over it. He wasn''t wearing the cute apron that he liked to wear.


    "Are you having trouble making him submit?"


    [I apologize, Lord Satan.] Vaal Zahak bowed. [I have tried all the ck magic that I know, but¡­ he refuses to break.]


    "Hm."


    Kang-Woo thought, ''How unexpected.''


    He wasn''t expecting Lucis to be this tenacious.


    ''That''s not good.''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    If Lucis didn''t submit, it would throw a wrench in the works of his n.


    "Kek." Lucis cackled like a madman. "Kill me. I will never submit to you."


    "Mmm¡­"


    Kang-Woo had initially thought that Lucis was just a character with a severe case of chuunibyou, but this had honestly been unexpected. His unbending will truly surprised Kang-Woo.


    ''What else could I do?''


    Even though he had weakened Lucis''s power with the Authority of Sealing, none of the mind-control Authorities like Subordination or Fear worked on him. Lucis seemed to be proving that he really had the blood of a prince of Hell.


    ''What should I do?'' Kang-Woo sighed. ''Maybe a change of n is in order.''


    He could make apromise, but he didn''t like the idea of it. It felt as if he had lost to a character who was all bark and no bite. It was a highly unpleasant feeling.


    Ssh.


    "I knew you would be here, Lord Satan," Lilith said as she entered the cave. She nced at Lucis and frowned. "Has that brat still not submitted?"


    "Yeah."


    "Hmph. He dares to inconvenience Lord Satan¡­"


    Lilith frowned in displeasure.


    She walked toward Kang-Woo and touched sensually.


    "You''re quite tired because of that brat, are you not?" she asked.


    "Not really¡­"


    "I should beforting you at times like this, my k¡ªLord Satan." A wide smile appeared on Lilith''s face. "Come to think of it, it has been a while since I have spent the night with you. How about you forget all of your worries and let mefort you tonight?¡±


    "Save me."


    Lilith''s sudden proposal¡­ was probably because she had been suppressing all her desires while gathering information from all over the world regarding the battles between Lucifer and the Demon Cult. Now, her pent-up desires had reached their limit.


    "Fufufu."


    Squelch, squelch.


    Lilith''s beautiful, brown hair started to turn into green tentacles. Her face split, and eighteen eyes appeared.


    Kang-Woo subconsciously took a step back.


    Then¡­


    "G-Gasp!!"


    ''Hm?'' Kang-Woo wondered.


    He noticed Lucis, who had kept his cool for the entire time of his capture, gasp and widen his eyes.


    ''What''s with him?''


    Lucis looked as if he''d just seen a ghost. He was even trembling.


    There was no way a demon would be scared after seeing a ghost, so Kang-Woo wasn''t sure why Lucis was reacting like that.


    ''Is he also shocked by Lilith''s appearance?''


    Kang-Woo was starting to feel a bit empathetic toward Lucis when¡­


    "By the gods¡­ such a beauty¡­" Lucis voiced.


    "What?"


    "Wh-Why is¡­ such a beautiful woman following a scumbag like him?"


    "The fuck d''you say?"


    Kang-Woo felt as if he had been struck on the back of the head.


    Lilith snorted while looking at Lucis. "Hmph, I guess even a brat like you knows beauty when you see it."


    ''No.''


    "Go drink more of your mother''s milk."


    ''The hell is happening?''


    Kang-Woo was confused. What he saw didn''t match what Lucis was saying.


    Lucis bit his lip and shouted, "You are being deceived!"


    "What do you mean?"


    "A woman as beautiful as you¡­ is not meant for trash like him!"


    "...I will tear that mouth off if you dare to call my king trash again."


    "Kuh!"


    Tears dripped from Lucis''s eyes.


    "Please,e to your senses. I-I have fallen in love with you at first sight. I would like to protect you," he said in a trembling voice.


    ''What? Fallen in¡­ What?''


    "Hohohoho! How cute."


    ''Holy fuck¡­ This is how it ends up?''


    Kang-Woo was so surprised that he found it difficult to close his mouth. He grabbed his head in confusion.


    At that moment, Lilith put her lips over Kang-Woo''s ears.


    "My king, you mentioned that you''ve been having trouble making that brat submit, right?"


    "Y-Yeah."


    "Fufu. I guess I have no choice. I, Lilith, will take care of this."


    Lilith walked toward Lucis elegantly and said, "You fell in love with me at first sight, you say?"


    "Y-Yes," Lucis answered.


    "Fufufu. Now that I take a closer look, you are rather cute. Why don''t you¡­ show me how you feel?"


    Squelch, squelch.


    Tentacles spread from Lilith''s body and surrounded Lucis.


    "A-Aahh! H-How beautiful¡­ Y-You¡­"


    "Call me Lilith."


    "L-Lady Lilith¡­ A-Aaahhh!"


    "Hohoho!!!"


    "Nnn¡­ Nngh!"


    "¡­"


    Thud.


    Kang-Woo fell to the floor.


    Something he couldn''t believe¡ªsomething he didn''t want to believe¡ªwas happening in front of him.


    A man in a demon cosy was moaning while being vited by tentacles.


    "Urpp." Kang-Woo covered his mouth and lowered his head. "Bleeeeegggghhh."

 Chapter 210 - What the Hell Does That Mean?

    Chapter 210 - What the Hell Does That Mean?


    Oh Kang-Woo left the cave and tried to calm down so that he could hold on to his sanity.


    While he was doing that, Lilith emerged from the cave and sighed.


    "Fuuu. It sure is tiring, dealing with a brat," she said.


    Kang-Woo turned his head toward her with exhausted eyes.


    "...Did it work?" he asked.


    "Of course." Lilith smiled. "It is a bit too soon right now, but¡­ as time goes on, he will be a puppet that follows my every order."


    "Well done."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    Turning Lucis into a puppet was an important part of his n.


    Kang-Woo had half given up on the n since neither his mind-control Authority nor Vaal Zahak''s magic was effective. However, Lilith was able to keep the n alive, so that was fantastic.


    ''Although the process was a bit¡­''


    Lilith''s method had been horrifying to witness.


    ''Well, at least it was effective.''


    Kang-Woo kept his mouth closed while making a resentful expression.


    Lilith walked toward him and said sadly, "Please do not get the wrong idea, my king."


    "...About what?"


    "I cut off all the tentacles I used, and I didn''t use my main body, s-so¡­" she mumbled with a worried expression. "I-It wasn''t an affair!"


    "¡­"


    That thought had never crossed Kang-Woo''s mind. Rather, he was surprised that Lilith could even think such a thing.


    "Urgh¡­ I did not want to do something like that to a man who isn''t you, but¡­"


    "Oh, yeah. Thanks."


    Kang-Woo nodded while making an awkward expression.


    From Lilith''s point of view, it was as if she had seduced a random brat in front of the man she loved, so it made sense she would think that way.


    "It''s okay. I trust you."


    That was not a lie. Kang-Woo had spent a very long time with Balrog and Lilith. So, of course, he trusted and valued them.


    He was cruel to his enemies, but he couldn''t do the same to his allies. That would be in contradiction to his position as king. It was something that only a lunatic would do.


    "Aah," Lilith uttered, hugging Kang-Woo with bright eyes.


    He did not feel repulsed in any way since she was in her human form, so he let her do it.


    "Right, this is not the time for this." Lilith backed off while shaking her head. "I have something to report."


    There was a reason why she had looked for Kang-Woo.


    "There has been aplication," Lilith said.


    "What happened?"


    "There was arge Demon Cult branch that I''ve been keeping an eye on¡­ It''s the one I mentioned previously¡ªthe branch with thousands of members like the one in Tibet."


    "What about it?"


    "I have been leaking information to guide Lucifer''s forces there to incite a full assault, but¡­ the n went awry."


    "...Keep going."


    Kang-Woo''s gaze sharpened.


    "The Demon Cult branch is trying to avoid an all-out assault."


    "Hmm."


    "I was hoping for them to bring out some sort of trump card like what had happened with Mammon in Tibet, but¡­ At this rate, the Demon Cult may abandon the branch entirely and run away."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He narrowed his eyes and thought about what he''d just heard.


    ''I don''t like this.''


    He had nned to make bad blood between Lucifer and the Demon Cult to wear their forces down and reap the profits. However, it seemed that the n was going awry.


    ''What''s going on?''


    Kang-Woo even thought that he might have overestimated the Demon Cult.


    ''No.''


    He shook his head.


    After returning to Earth, he''d continuously observed and fought against the Demon Cult. His intuition was so good that his conjectures were close to being facts.


    ''They''re hiding something.''


    Rather, they likely had multiple cards up their sleeve. He didn''t even need more evidence to confirm that.


    The Demon Cult had awakened Mammon, but it didn''t seem like he was their leader. Kang-Woo had eaten him, but the Demon Cult continued running as usual. This wouldn''t be the case if Mammon were their leader. In other words, there was someone else.


    ''What if it''s the real Satan who''s leading the Demon Cult?''


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo thought that was too much of a stretch and erased the possibility from his mind.


    "In any case¡­ I guess I have no other choice."


    He couldn''t stand still. He stood up.


    "What will you do?" Lilith asked.


    "They serve a being called the Aspect of Evil, but most of the cultists don''t know who it is."


    One of the freakish things about the Demon Cult was that they served the Aspect of Evil, but no one knew exactly who it was. They didn''t even know if it was a demon or a human.


    The Aspect of Evil had likely made it that way so they could stay under the radar. However, that was truly freakish even for a group that was closer to a fanatical cult than a religious organization.


    ''It''s like they''re serving a king they can''t see.''


    Kang-Woo had no idea why that being had concealed their identity to such an extent, but he could make use of it.


    "That is true," Lilith remarked.


    "In that case¡­" Kang-Woo raised the red demon mask, which he''d gotten more used to using than the Guardians'' white mask. "I''ll just have to be their king."


    His wide smile was covered by the mask.


    * * *


    "W-We can''t win."


    "Why is a prince of Hell¡­ A-Are there no instructions from above?"


    In a certain region in Africa, there were dozens of people gathered in a giant base built under the desert. They were all wearing ck robes despite the desert''s sweltering heat.


    The members present had the rank of cardinal and above. They were essentially the executive members of the Demon Cult.


    m!


    "H-How could there be no instructions even at a time like this?! What the hell do they expect us to do?!"


    "Wh-What about Madam Julia?"


    "We can''t get in touch with Madam Julia either."


    There was a heavy silence, with their sighs being the only exception.


    "What is the Aspect of Evil doing during a crisis like this¡­?" someone mumbled.


    Everyone flinched.


    The Aspect of Evil¡­ the being they served and worshiped¡ªthe king they served was hidden under a veil. The king hadn''t appeared in front of his soldiers even in such a crisis, so it was obvious that their morale had plummeted.


    "We have no choice but to retreat."


    "Yes. I think that would be b¡ª"


    Crack!


    At that moment, a ck Rift suddenly appeared in the air.


    "Wh-What the¡ª?!"


    "What in the¡­"


    The cultists looked at the Rift that had suddenly appeared.


    Step, step.


    A being who wore a red demon mask and was shrouded in darkness slowly walked toward them while applying immense pressure to the air.


    "E-eek!"


    "L-Lucifer?!"


    They were feeling a huge amount of demonic energy that they''d never felt before, so they naturally thought of Lucifer.


    The Demon Cultists trembled in fear.


    The red demon mask turned toward them.


    The being behind it questioned, [Are you not even able to recognize your own master?]


    "...Pardon?"


    [Tsk, pathetic.]


    The unidentified being standing in front of the table lightly waved his hand.


    BOOM!


    "Kurgh!"


    The cardinal sitting at the head of the table was blown backward.


    Then, an overwhelming amount of demonic energy pressed them down.


    The being pulled out a chair back and sat down.


    "You are¡­"


    "N-No way¡­"


    [You asked what the Aspect of Evil is doing, did you not?] the being said quietly, as if to clear the doubts of the Demon Cultists. [He is right before you.]


    "A-Aahh!"


    The red demon mask tilted.


    [I am your father, the creator of the dark, the ruler of darkness.]


    A viscous demonic energy surrounded the Demon Cultists.


    [I am Satan,] he stated in a sharp tone.


    "A-Aaaaahhhh!!"


    "Oh, Aspect of Evil!!¡±


    "Oh, Lord Satan!!"


    The Demon Cultists dropped to their knees. They were thrilled.


    Satan¡­ Everyone on Earth had heard of that name.


    The Demon Cultists trembled after discovering the identity of the Aspect of Evil whom they''d been serving.


    [You are trying to run away?]


    "U-Uhmm¡­"


    The faces of the Demon Cultists turned pale.


    Satan spread open his hand, and the head of a Demon Cultist was pulled toward it.


    Crunch.


    He lightly squeezed, and the Demon Cultist''s head exploded. An intense scent of blood filled the entire room.


    [Demons do not retreat.]


    "U-Urghh."


    "W-We apologize!"


    The Demon Cultists lowered their heads.


    [Why do you worship demons?]


    Satan got up.


    [There is only one reason why humans serve, worship, and admire demons. It has been decided since the beginning of time,] he said in a voice full of desire, yearning, and madness. [Eternal life? What is the point of living an eternal life as a ve? Desire? A desire that cannot be fulfilled is nothing more than a curse. You do not serve demons for a reason like that.]


    Stomp.


    [Power! The power to step over others and rise to the top! Was that not what all of you have been after?!] Satan shouted.


    The Demon Cultists trembled, feeling chills run down their back.


    [You want to run? You want topromise? There are no such things for a demon! Crave! Fight! Take! Kill the enemy, and eat their flesh! Drink their blood! That is what we live for!!]


    "A-Aahh."


    It hadn''t been a minute since Satan had appeared, yet he was able to overwhelm the crowd with his charisma. The Demon Cultists left their mouths agape at Satan''s overwhelming presence.


    Then, Satan reached into his shroud of darkness and threw some things out onto the table.


    Clink.


    Dozens of ck gems scattered across the table.


    "Th-These are¡­"


    "Demonic crystals¡­?"


    [Eat,] Satan said. [I will give you my power. Fight. Kill the false prince of Hell who dares to condemn the Demon Cult.]


    The eyes behind the red mask burned with a fiery gaze.


    [Die for me.]


    "Aaaaahhhh!!"


    "Oh, Lord Satan!!"


    "Oh, Aspect of Evil!!!!"


    The Demon Cultists went nuts.


    Behind the mask, Satan grinned.


    * * *


    Step, step!


    A figure ran through a giant ice cave with hurried steps. The robe she wore left her face uncovered¡ªa face horrifyingly disfigured by severe burns.


    She ran while panting heavily.


    Before long, a ck sphere appeared in front of her. It was pulsating as if it were a giant''s heart.


    The woman, Julia Vilkova, shouted, "L-Lord Satan!!!"


    Rumble!!


    A loud sound shook the surroundings. Frost fell to the ground, and the ck sphere wriggled.


    [What is it?] Satan asked.


    "Umm, y-you see¡­" Julia stammered.


    Satan writhed within the darkness.


    [Speak. If you have awoken me for an inappropriate reason, I will¡ª]


    "Lord Satan." Julia gulped. "Satan has appeared."


    [¡­]


    There was a heavy silence.


    [...What?]


    ''What the hell does that mean?''

 Chapter 211 - Son

    Chapter 211 - Son


    [What in the world¡­ are you talking about?] Satan asked in confusion.


    The darkness surrounding him writhed.


    "...S-Someone is impersonating you, Lord Satan," Julia Vilkova answered.


    [Impersonating¡­ me?]


    "Y-Yes!" Julia nodded with a pale face.


    A breathtakingly strong pressure fell over the area.


    [Who dares to impersonate me, Satan?] a voice filled with confusion and rage rang out.


    He couldn''t figure out what was going on.


    "I-I do not know."


    [What have you been doing for the cult to be in this state, Julia?]


    "M-My apologies! Due to the battle against Lucifer''s forces¡­"


    [Lucifer''s forces?]


    What nonsense was that?


    "Lucifer has appeared and is attacking the Demon Cult."


    [What?]


    "A-And this is just my guess, but¡­ I believe the person impersonating you has orchestrated this battle."


    [¡­]


    Satan remained silent, and he felt his mind going nk. He wanted tough in disbelief but couldn''t do so because he was still absorbing the Demonic Origin.


    [Who could have¡­]


    Impersonating a prince of Hell¡­? That wasn''t possible unless the impersonator had powerparable to one.


    The Demon Cultists were not dumb. If someone had tried to impersonate him with average demonic energy, they would''ve figured it out for sure.


    [Could it be¡­]


    A certain possibility crossed his mind.


    The darkness covering Satan fluctuated.


    [The demon king¡­?] he said in a fearful voice.


    It was a possibility he didn''t want to think of.


    [No, he is dead.]


    He would''ve shaken his head if he had one.


    When Satan crossed over to Earth, he''d felt the presence of the demon king disappear because of the dimensional wall.


    In reality, he hadn''t felt the presence of the demon king for thousands of years. There was no way he could have been revived out of the blue.


    [That is impossible.]


    It seemed that Satan was trying to convince himself.


    "Lord Satan¡­?"


    Julia was bewildered.


    She had served Satan for hundreds of years, but it was her first time seeing him so rmed. No, it was the first time she''d seen Satan feel fear.


    [What are the other Aspects doing?]


    "Lord Belphegor and Lord Crimson Fiend are still absorbing the Demonic Origin, and as for Lord Kalgia¡­"


    [Is he still investigating the Demon of Prophecy?]


    "Yes."


    The darkness flickered.


    There wasn''t anyone who could take action at the moment.


    [Hmm.]


    Whoever was impersonating Satan wasn''t important at the moment. Rather than finding the culprit, dissuading Lucifer from attacking was a greater priority.


    [...I have no choice.]


    The darkness surrounding Satan writhed.


    He had no other choice.


    Part of the darkness surrounding Satan fell off as if he were cutting off his flesh.


    * * *


    "Master Kang-Woo."


    "Hm?"


    Lilith entered Oh Kang-Woo''s room.


    Kang-Woo, who was inspecting the Key of the Demonic Sea while sitting on the bed, nodded in greeting.


    "The battle with the Demon Cult branch in Africa has begun."


    "What''s the status?"


    Lilith smiled and said, "Lucifer''s forces are overpowering them, but¡­ they have also suffered great losses."


    It was too bad that someone as powerful as Mammon hadn''t appeared. Nevertheless, it seemed that the strength of a Demon Cult branch with thousands of members was pretty good. They would be able to damage Lucifer''s forces to the extent that Kang-Woo was hoping.


    "And Lucifer?" Kang-Woo asked with expectant eyes.


    The most important thing was how much Lucifer had been weakened through this battle.


    Lilith answered without hesitation, "He clearly seemed fatigued."


    "Good."


    Kang-Woo smiled while nodding.


    Not even the princes of Hell had infinite stamina. The more they fought, the more their stamina decreased and psychological fatigue umted.


    It would be a different story if Lucifer replenished his stamina by using a hit-and-run tactic. However, he was battling in a frenzied state; it was a given that he would be tired.


    ''That must be how precious his son is to him.''


    It was hard to believe Lucifer was the same person whom Kang-Woo knew from before. Lucifer had changed after going to the continent of Aernor.


    ''I guess it doesn''t matter.''


    It didn''t matter if he''d changed or not. Kang-Woo needed a prince''s soul, and Lucifer had been ripened just right. That was the important thing.


    "How''s Lucis doing?" Kang-Woo asked Lilith while licking his lips.


    Lilith answered with a mischievous smile, "He has already lost his mind. He will easily give up on his own life if I tell him to."


    "That''s not enough." Kang-Wooughed. "He should be able to give up on something more important than his life."


    "...Oh, my." Lilith''s eyes shone. She caressed Kang-Woo''s cheek while looking as if she were high on drugs. "He will most certainly be able to do what you are thinking of, my king."


    "That''s good."


    Lilith never exaggerated. If she said so, it was fair to judge that Lucis hadpletely be her ve.


    "What about the others?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Balrog and Vaal Zahak are in the middle of preparations. As for Echidna¡­ I think you should leave her out of this operation."


    "Why?"


    As Kang-Woo asked her that, Lilith started to squirm. Her hair turned into tentacles and wriggled about.


    "How could we make such a cute little girl fight?! I wish I could just use my tentacles to¡ª"


    "Please don''t do anything to my Echidna."


    "Fufufu. Haaa, I wonder if this is how it would feel if I bore your child in the future¡­"


    Fortunately, it seemed like Echidna was popr with both Han Seol-Ah and Lilith.


    ''That''s good.''


    Echidna would likely be the bridge between hispanions on Earth, Seol-Ah and Kim Si-Hun, and hispanions from Hell, Balrog and Lilith. It might not be necessary for now, but it would be in the long term.


    ''All for the sake of living as a wealthy bum!''


    He had to eliminate as many factors as possible that could cause conflict.


    "In that case, don''t tell Echidna for now."


    Kang-Woo stood up.


    In reality, he didn''t want to show Echidna this ''n.''


    ''The same goes for the others.''


    That was why he hadn''t made Seol-Ah, Si-Hun, Cha Yeon-Joo, and others participate in the n. They still didn''t know much about him, and they were likely unprepared to ept it.


    "Let''s go."


    "Yes, Master Kang-Woo."


    Click.


    Kang-Woo opened the door.


    "Ah."


    He found Seol-Ah standing in front of the door while holding a tray with a cup of coffee on it.


    She flinched in surprise.


    "A-Are you heading out already?" Seol-Ah asked while taking a glimpse at Lilith.


    He''d already told her about Lilith, but it seemed like Seol-Ah still felt awkward around her.


    "Fufu. Yes. I happen to have some secret ns with Master Kang-W¡ª"


    "Don''t be silly," Kang-Woo chided.


    He softly hit Lilith''s head, reached to grab the cup of coffee Seol-Ah had prepared, and drank it in one go. Hot coffee poured down his throat.


    "I''ll be back in a bit," he said.


    "Ah¡­ Okay," Seol-Ah replied while making a lonely expression.


    Kang-Woo hummed for a moment and recalled what Echidna had said to him.


    "How about we go on a pic with Echidna and the others once this is over?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Ah, s-sure! I''d love to!" Seol-Ah agreed, nodding furiously.


    Her reaction was simr to Echidna''s.


    Kang-Woo softlyughed and nodded.


    "Hmm," Lilith murmured, looking at Seol-Ah with great interest.


    [That human girl seems to have fallen for your charms as well, my king,] Lilith said for only Kang-Woo to hear.


    [Be quiet,] he replied coldly so that Lilith wouldn''t think of doing anything weird.


    "Have a safe trip."


    "Thanks."


    "Umm¡­ You take care as well, Ms. Kurosaki¡ªI mean, Ms. Lilith.¡±


    "Hoho. Let us talk againter, Seol-Ah."


    Kang-Woo and Lilith walked out of the apartment.


    Lilith stared vacantly at the closed door for a moment before saying, "You mentioned that a symbol of wings appeared on Seol-Ah''s back, right?"


    "Oh, yeah. There was just one pair in the beginning, but now there are two."


    The angel wing symbols that were on Seol-Ah''s back were bing more and more vivid as time passed.


    "Hm. I feel like I have heard something about this from Amon before¡­"


    "From Amon?"


    "Yes. He said something about it while talking about angels, but¡­ I wasn''t interested at all at the time, so I cannot quite remember."


    Lilith wasn''t interested in what people aside from Kang-Woo said.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo had been interested in talking about it since it was rted to Seol-Ah, but he quickly started walking again.


    This was not the time to think about Seol-Ah.


    "Well, then¡­" Kang-Woo jumped into the air and flew. "Let''s begin."


    * * *


    m¡ª!!


    The earth was torn apart, and a horrible scream rang out.


    "S-Stop him!!"


    "Arrgghh!!"


    "M-Monster."


    A vast grasnd in Africa had been ripped apart in such a horrifying way that calling it Hell would be embarrassingly inadequate.


    A demon with ten ck wings on his back, goat horns on his forehead, and ck skin was walking on top of the torn and distortednd.


    He wasn''t very tall, but he did not resemble a human at all. His face was contorted like a monster''s.


    The demon, whose horrid face resembled a goblin''s, was walking along the ruined surface.


    Then he raised his hand.


    CRAAAAACK¡ª!!


    "AAAAHHHH!!"


    With one swing of his hand, a ck sphere appeared out of thin air.


    Dozens of Demon Cultists were dragged in by its huge gravitational force, and the chilling sound of bones being crushed rang out.


    "Fuuu."


    A sigh emerged from the mouth of Lucifer, the demon who was massacring the Demon Cult.


    [L-Lord Lucifer.]


    [You should rest a little¡­]


    The demons following him spoke up out of worry.


    Lucifer shook his head and replied, "I will not rest."


    His son, Lucis, had been kidnapped by Satan, so there was no way he could rest.


    Lucifer looked down at his hands.


    ''It must be because I am on Earth.''


    He was far weaker than back in Aernor, where he''d be the Evil God and surpassed his old self in the Nine Hells.


    Ever since crossing over to Earth, he had been slowly regaining his power over time as if he was getting used to the Earth, but he did not have the time to wait lying around.


    ''I have no choice.''


    Despite bing weaker, he could still exercise as much power as when he had been in the Nine Hells. He wasn''t sure how strong Satan had be after absorbing the Demonic Sea from the demon king, but he should at least be a match for Satan.


    "Let us move on."


    Lucifer was about to turn around when¡­


    [L-Lord Lucifer!!]


    A subordinate came running toward him.


    Lucifer turned toward the subordinate and frowned.


    [L-Lord Lucis was lying copsed on the ground over there!]


    "...What?" Lucifer uttered with wide eyes.


    He quickly walked toward the subordinate and saw that he was definitely carrying Lucis on his back.


    "Move!"


    Lucifer had fought endlessly after hearing that his son had been kidnapped, so Lucifer''s patience had reached its limit. His judgment was getting cloudy, and his sense of reason was fading.


    With his son in front of him now, Lucifer couldn''t think of anything else.


    He hugged Lucis.


    "Lucis! Wake up!"


    "Fa¡­ther?"


    Lucis''s eyes widened.


    Lucifer sighed in relief when he realized his son was unscathed.


    "You stupid boy."


    "I-I''m sorry, Father."


    "Where''s Sata¡ª"


    Stab.


    Lucifer felt something sharp pierce his heart.


    "Cough." He coughed up ck blood.


    Lucifer looked at Lucis in disbelief.


    "Son, what¡­ are you¡ª"


    The tips of Lucis''s mouth went up.


    He said with a voice full of madness, "I am taking over your throne, Father."


    "Kurgh."


    Lucifer copsed with his eyes wide open and saw a ck Rift in the distance. A red demon mask appeared from within the ck Rift.


    "Sa¡­ tan," Lucifer murmured.


    Then he heard a demonughing in the distance, "Kekeke."

 Chapter 212 - I Am the Real Satan (1)

    Chapter 212 - I Am the Real Satan (1)


    "Sa¡­ tan," Lucifer murmured.


    Then he heard a demonughing in the distance, "Kekeke."


    "You¡­"


    Uncontroble rage surged inside Lucifer. His head felt hot.


    Rather than the pain from the de prating his heart, it was the fact that his son Lucis had stabbed him that hurt even more.


    Lucifer''s vision blurred, and he felt his consciousness and rationality fading away. He was filled with madness.


    "Sa¡­ taaaaaaan!!!"


    BOOM!!


    Lucifer pushed Lucis aside and stomped on the ground. His ten wings spread open, and his voice was filled with madness.


    He shot out at supersonic speed before his voice even reached Satan. Lucifer raised his hand, summoning a ck sphere into it that he then crushed.


    [Very good,] Satan¡ªno, Kang-Woo, who was hiding behind a mask, said.


    ''It worked,'' he thought.


    Lilith had brainwashed Lucis and used him to inflict a psychological attack on Lucifer. Lucifer was already tired after fighting against the Demon Cult, so the psychological attack damaged him greatly. Even at first nce, it was clear that he was weaker than when Kang-Woo had fought against him in the Nine Hells.


    Kang-Woo smiled. He pulled his arm back and stared at Lucifer''s fist.


    ''Skybreaker.''


    Two Authorities merged. He took a step forward and punched.


    Rumble¡ª!!


    The earth shook. The ground that they were standing on sank, apanied by a rumbling akin to that of an earthquake.


    Kang-Woo jumped into the air and lightly waved his hand, shooting ck des from the darkness that shrouded his body.


    "YOUUU!!!" Lucifer roared.


    His demonic energy flickered and spread out, deflecting Kang-Woo''s ck des to the floor.


    ''I guess he''s still a prince of Hell despite being half-dead.''


    Among the seven princes of Hell, Lucifer was ranked third. He was strong even despite being fatigued and injured.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo smiled. Lucifer wasn''t so strong that Kang-Woo wasn''t a match for him.


    "You¡­ scumbag!!! Lunatic!! How could you do something so horrid?!" Lucifer raged.


    Considering the situation, such a reaction was expected. Kang-Woo had brainwashed Lucifer''s son to stab his father''s chest. There was nothing more depraved, evil, and crappy than that.


    Yet, Kang-Woo couldn''t help butugh at Lucifer''s words.


    [¡­]


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He was angry.


    "Lord¡­ Kang-Woo."


    "My¡­ apologies."


    Memories of the past shed through his mind. He recalled what his subordinates had said to him with their dying breaths back.


    These memories were from before he had taken over as the demon king¡ªwhen he had been at war against the seven princes of Hell. Lucifer''s forces had been overwhelmingly stronger than Kang-Woo''s.


    He recalled how Lucifer''s forces had captured his subordinates and forced them to suicide bomb their allies.


    The memories Kang-Woo had tried to forget came flooding back to him.


    [Bull,] he said in a low voice while looking at Lucifer tremble in anger.


    Kang-Woo didn''t believe in the phrase, ''You reap what you sow.'' In most cases, the person who reaped and the one who sowed were two different people.


    Still, hearing the demon, who had used Kang-Woo''s subordinates to execute all sorts of deranged tactics, say something like that made him frown.


    [Did I not tell you before?]


    No demon cared about morals in battle. They did not yield norpromise. Those who yielded would die, and those whopromised would lose. To survive, one needed to be willing to do whatever it took.


    Answer to evil with greater evil, and return bloodlust with even greater bloodlust¡ªthe moment Kang-Woo forgot that, he would be the one to get devoured.


    [What did you expect in a battle between demons?]


    "I will tear you apart, Satan."


    It seemed like Lucifer couldn''t hear Kang-Woo''s voice anymore.


    Lucifer glowered at Kang-Woo as he emitted a strong bloodlust.


    ''Yeah, this is more like it,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    Heughed while looking at Lucifer, who was filled with rage.


    Making Lucifer lose his mind and run wild had given Kang-Woo a far greater advantage than the physical injury he''d used Lucis to inflict on Lucifer. After all, the angrier someone became, the simpler their actions and the cloudier their judgment would be.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and analyzed Lucifer''s movements.


    ''Here hees.''


    BOOM!


    Lucifer kicked the ground, and his ten wings spread out. Thousands of feathers poured down like raindrops.


    ''Authority of Insight.''


    The eyes behind the red demon mask lit up as the trajectories of the thousands of feathers entered his mind.


    Kang-Woo then lowered himself and kicked off the ground. He ran as if he were avoiding shell fragments, dodging the feathers infused with demonic energy.


    He extended his right hand behind him. The Key of the Demonic Sea took the form of a dark-red spear, and he grabbed and threw it.


    "You should not haveid a hand on my son," Lucifer said while looking at Kang-Woo intensely.


    Lucifer pped, and a ck sphere appeared, deflecting the Key of the Demonic Sea. He put his hand inside the ck sphere and pulled out a weapon¡ªa spear.


    ''Pride.''


    It was Lucifer''s Hell Armament, a powerful weapon that symbolized his power and defined his existence.


    Lucifer rushed at Kang-Woo while gripping Pride in his hands.


    sh!!


    At that moment, a fire whip struck Lucifer.


    He turned his head and frowned, uttering, "You''re¡­"


    [I am Yogg-Saron, Lord Satan''s loyal subordinate,] a demon covered with green tentacles replied with a lightugh.


    ''Yogg-Saron¡­''


    It was a name Lucifer had never heard before.


    Nevertheless, Lucifer shook his head after thinking about it for a while. It wasn''t the time to think of things like that.


    "Army of Pride," Lucifermanded his subordinates. "Punish the demon who dared to point a sword at me, Evil God Lucifer."


    [Yes, sir!!]


    [Kill him!!]


    Lucifer''s subordinates shouted while rushing forward.


    However, there weren''t that many of Lucifer''s subordinates left. Due to the continuous battle against the Demon Cult, their numbers had been reduced drastically.


    [Vaal Zahak.]


    [Command me as you like, Lord Satan.]


    A skeleton wearing a ck robe appeared from the ck Rift where Satan had appeared. He caressed a ck crystal orb whileughing in a chilling way.


    Vaal Zahak had told Kang-Woo tomand him as he liked, but hismand had already been decided.


    [Kill them all.]


    [May your will be done, Lord Satan.]


    Demonic energy exploded from the crystal orb. The bodies of the demons that had died during the war started to arise like an army of the dead.


    "GRRRR!!"


    Tap. Tap.


    A ck knight appeared from the Rift and went to the front, taking position as leader of the undead army.


    [Kekeke,] Vaal Zahakughed evilly.


    His empty eye sockets shone with a yellow light.


    [Go, Reynald,] he called out the name of his Death Knight.


    The Death Knight sitting atop a skeleton horse unsheathed his sword.


    "Hwooooooo!!" the skeletons roared.


    The undead army and Lucifer''s forces shed.


    "Satan¡­" Lucifer narrowed his eyes. "I see you''re nning on seeing this to the very end."


    [I would never have even started it if I did not intend to,] Kang-Woo said leisurely.


    Everything was going as nned.


    ''The problem is the angels who will arrive after I kill Lucifer.''


    Still, Kang-Woo wasn''t that worried about that either.


    ''Angels aren''t gonna be able to tell that I''m a demon.''


    He was sure of it.


    Ruler of Demonic Energy, the Trait that he''d earned after awakening as a yer, had given Kang-Woo the ability to hide the traces of his demonic energypletely. Neither Tirion, God of Heroes, nor Benigoa, a goddess from another world, had been able to tell that he was a demon.


    Tirion had found out that Kang-Woo was a demon only after they established a link, but Kang-Woo would have no reason to do such an exchange of souls with an angel.


    ''In the end, the angels will target¡­''


    The angels would most definitely target the Aspects of Evil, the ones who still hadn''t appeared.


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    Just like how he had instigated bad blood between Lucifer and the Demon Cult, all Kang-Woo needed to do was pit the angels against the Aspects of Evil. Then, he would just reap the profits when he got the chance.


    ''I''ll have to hide Balrog and Vaal Zahak, though.''


    Kang-Woo''s subordinates were linked to him through the soul, so they could also enjoy the effect of the Ruler of Demonic Energy. With it, deceiving angels would be a piece of cake.


    Nevertheless, even if Balrog and Vaal Zahak could hide their demonic energy, their outer appearance was still a problem. Balrog looked like a typical demon that appeared in media, and Vaal Zahak was a skeleton. There was no way that the angels wouldn''t be wary of them just because there was no demonic energying from them.


    Echidna and Lilith were safe since they had a human form, but he would have to hide Vaal Zahak and Balrog very well.


    ''But it''s still a huge plus.''


    There was nothing better for him than angels actively moving to hunt down the Aspects of Evil instead of him. Kang-Woo would have to thank Lucifer for bringing the angels to Earth.


    ''Very nice.''


    He couldn''t help but smile after seeing everything turn out as he''d intended.


    [Now, let us bring this to an end.]


    Kang-Woo spread his hands, and a huge amount of demonic energy gathered before him.


    "¡­"


    Lucifer silently red at Kang-Woo while holding the spear shaft of Pride.


    The fight was about to enter its climax.


    Just then¡­


    BOOM!!


    ''The hell was that?'' Kang-Woo thought.


    Something flew from the sky andnded on the ground.


    Kang-Woo and Lucifer looked at the unknown being that hade flying in out of the blue.


    [I am death.]


    ''Huh?''


    A red demon mask¡­ body covered in a shroud of darkness¡­


    [I am the end.]


    ''Fucking wait.''


    Kang-Woo''s mouth fell open in surprise.


    The being behind the red mask covered with darkness continued, [I am the father of all wrath, and I am wrath itself.]


    ''The fuck?''


    [I am¡­]


    ''What the hell is happening?''


    Yellow eyes shone from behind the red mask.


    [...Satan.]


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    Then there was silence.


    The being wearing a red mask turned his head and said, [Lucifer, I havee to talk. I am not sure what has happened, but there has been a misunderstanding. I have no intention of fighting against y¡ª]


    Satan flinched when he found himself locking eyes with Kang-Woo.


    [What in the world¡­? Who are you¡­?] Satan asked confusedly. Then he remembered what he''d heard from Julia Vilkova. [I see! You must be the one who dared to impers¡ª]


    BOOM!!


    Kang-Woo aggressively stomped on the ground and pointed at Satan.


    [Ha! How dare you use the name Satan, you impersonator?! Are you devoid of the fear of death?!]


    [What? Impersonator? What are you t¡ª]


    [Silence!]


    [No, you''re the impers¡ª]


    [How dare you speak my name?!]


    Kang-Woo extended his arm and used the Authority of ze in Satan''s direction.


    [I am the real Satan!!!!] Kang-Woo shouted in an enraged voice.

 Chapter 213 - I Am the Real Satan (2)

    Chapter 213 - I Am the Real Satan (2)


    ''Aaaahhhh, what the fuck is happening?!!''


    Oh Kang-Woo fell into a state of confusion.


    He said whatever popped into his head after seeing Satan suddenly appear, but he was still bewildered. Kang-Woo didn''t understand how things were ying out like this.


    ''Is he actually Satan?''


    It was an unreal coincidence. Moreover, this demon was also wearing a red demon mask and shrouded in darkness.


    Kang-Woo didn''t want to believe the demon was Satan. In fact, he hoped it was just a prank from Lilith.


    ''There''s no way.''


    He shook his head.


    Lilith seemed to have a carefree attitude from a nce, but she knew she had to draw a line between private and public matters. She would never do something so meaningless that would obstruct the n.


    ''In that case¡­''


    The demon in front of him was actually Satan.


    ''He said he hade here to talk to Lucifer and that there had been a misunderstanding.''


    Based on that, there was one thing Kang-Woo could conclude¡­


    Who wanted to avoid confronting Lucifer''s forces?


    ''The Aspects of Evil.''


    The ones leading the Demon Cult¡­ the ones who made the Demon Cult¡­ the ones who were creating an endless conflict and could be called the seed of all danger and evil...


    Kang-Woo had no choice but to believe Satan was one of those Aspects of Evil.


    "Hah," heughed in disbelief.


    He''d used the name of Satan as a cheat code to ovee hard situations, but he hadn''t imagined that Satan truly was one of the beings who led the Demon Cult.


    ''Oh, fuck.''


    Kang-Woo felt like he''d found a bug while spamming the cheat code. He didn''t know how to react. He''d used it so many times that he didn''t know how to patch it.


    ''I can''t let him do as he wishes.''


    If there was one thing he was sure about, it was that he couldn''t stand still and watch the real Satan do as he wished.


    Leaving everything aside, Kang-Woo couldn''t let people find out about two things: the fact that he was the Demon of Prophecy and that he''d killed Alec Osborne and Reynald.


    Revealing those secrets would be on a whole other levelpared to when it was revealed he was the demon king. He''d managed to talk things out regarding the fact that he was the demon king, but he wouldn''t be able to do the same for the other two secrets.


    If it were revealed that Satan really existed and people learned that Kang-Woo had been acting as him¡­


    ''It''ll be the end.''


    There was no need to think hard about it. All the trust and rtionships he had worked so hard to build on Earth would crumble.


    Kang-Woo had to do everything he could to stop the real Satan from making his presence known to the world. No, at the very least, he had to stop himself from being revealed as the ''fake''.


    ''But wait.''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    He looked at the Aspect of Evil with the red demon mask and shroud of darkness, whom he thought was the real Satan, and sensed the demonic energying out from Satan.


    ''Isn''t it a bit weak?''


    Satan was not even on Mammon''s level, let alone Lucifer''s. It was a bit of a stretch to even call Satan a prince of Hell now.


    If they had been in a different situation, he would''ve considered him an apostle, not an Aspect of Evil.


    ''Well¡­''


    The gears in Kang-Woo''s mind turned.


    ''There are two possibilities.''


    Either Satan hadn''t recovered his full strength yet, or the one in front of Kang-Woo wasn''t the real body.


    ''Either way¡­''


    There was one conclusion. At that moment, Satan was weak.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. He clenched his fist and licked his lips.


    ''I can do it.''


    No, he had to. It would all be over if he couldn''t.


    ''Damn, how did things turn out like this¡­?''


    That wasn''t the only problem.


    Kang-Woo lifted his head to see that both Lucifer and the real Satan were also confused.


    "What in the world¡­"


    [Y-You are the true Satan, you say? What nonsense¡­]


    From Lucifer''s point of view, there were suddenly two versions of the demon who had killed his subordinates, kidnapped his son, and provoked him in all sorts of ways. He could not understand what was happening at all.


    Meanwhile, it was obvious what Satan was thinking. As soon as he arrived to clear up the misunderstanding with Lucifer, he saw someone impersonating him. The worst thing was that the impersonator was saying that he was the fake one.


    Upon realizing everything that had happened so far had all been because of the impersonator, Satan couldn''t help but think the situation was unfair.


    The three demons fell into a state of confusion.


    The one who acted first was, as expected, Kang-Woo.


    [Hah! I am exasperated! Throughout my whole life, I''ve never expected to see someone dare to impersonate me!]


    [What in the hell are you talki¡ª]


    [Enough of your poor excuses!] Kang-Woo shouted.


    Satan became confused after seeing the impersonator trying to make him out to be the fake. He frowned aggressively.


    ''Shit,'' Satan thought.


    Things were getting troublesome for him.


    The best way to prove he was the real Satan was to show Wrath, his Hell Armament. However, this was not his main body; it was just a fragment that he had created while giving up on a portion of the Demonic Origin. Consequently, he couldn''t use his Hell Armament.


    At that moment¡­


    [Take a good look at this! This is Wrath! This is proof that I am the true Satan!]


    [What¡­?] Satan uttered, his eyes widening in shock.


    There was a pitch-ck sword of darkness in the hands of the demon impersonating him.


    [How did you¡ªn-no! That is a fake!!] Satan quickly shouted.


    He was surprised for a brief moment, but he was sure that it was a fake.


    After all, the real Wrath was in his main body.


    Yet¡­


    "...What a boring show," Lucifer remarked, narrowing his eyes.


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief and said, [I am just as baffled as you. How dare trash like this interfere in our battle?]


    He shook his head in disbelief.


    From Lucifer''s gaze and tone of voice, it was clear who he trusted more.


    ''Me, obviously,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    There was no need to think about it.


    Between Satan who did not even have demonic energyparable to that of a prince of Hell and was trying to talk things out instead of fighting¡­ and Satan who exuded breathtaking demonic energy, possessed Wrath, and was trying to have a deathmatch like real demons should¡­ it was obvious who Lucifer would believe more.


    "Fuck off, distraction. I am not sure why you are trying to impersonate Satan, but that in itself is more than enough reason for me to kill you here and now."


    [No, I am telling you that I am the real Satan¡ª]


    "I believe I told you to fuck off."


    Lucifer emitted a strong bloodlust.


    Satan grabbed his head and said, [I am¡­ I am Satan¡­ Why do you not believe me?]


    He had never felt so frustrated and miserable ever since he had opened his eyes in the darkness of the Nine Hells. He had not felt like this even when he lost against the demon king.


    Satan would not be feeling like this if he had lost in battle from weakness or died a glorious death instead.


    He red at his impersonator.


    ''Who is he?'' Satan wondered.


    Someone who had such an intense amount of demonic energy and was strong enough to pretend to be him¡­


    ''¡­''


    There was only one person he could think of.


    ''No.''


    Satan trembled.


    He recalled a giant mouth with countless sharp teeth¡­ and the face of the horrifying predator who devoured demons and even the princes of Hell.


    That predator was neither a human, a demon, nor a god. He was just¡­ a monster.


    He was twisted and full of evil. He was someone who went against allprehension and understanding.


    ''The demon king is dead,'' Satan thought.


    The demon king had shed head-on with the distortions of time and space that existed between the dimensions of Earth, Aernor, Huan, and the Nine Hells.


    ''I had nned it that way.''


    After considering the worst-case scenario, Satan had given Amon amand before nting him in the demon king''s army. If Satan were to lose against the demon king and the demon king tried to return to Earth like he always mentioned¡­ Amon was to make sure the demon king would be torn apart by the dimensional wall.


    ''Did he¡­ betray me?''


    Satan remembered that hunchbacked, wrinkled demon¡ªAmon. There was no one as capable as him when it came to ck magic, not even a god. Amon''s ck magic could interfere with the providence of the universe that was otherwise known as the system.


    ''No.''


    Satan knew Amon wasn''t a trustworthy subordinate. Nevertheless, Satan had felt the energy of the Demon King being torn apart by the system.


    ''But¡­''


    He turned his head and looked with trembling eyes. There, he saw a demon wearing a red demon mask just like him, with eyes full of madness and evil.


    ''He didn''t¡­ die?''


    Tap.


    [There is no point in talking any longer,] Kang-Woo voiced quietly. He turned his head and spoke to Lucifer, [We cannot let someone interfere in our sacred battle, can we?]


    "...Nonsense."


    It wasn''t a sacred battle in the first ce.


    Lucifer narrowed his eyes.


    "However, I also do not like the fact that it has been interrupted."


    Satan insisted, [Like I said, I am the real S¡ª]


    [Then let us deal with the interference first,] Kang-Woo said, cutting Satan off.


    Kang-Woo and Lucifer turned simultaneously and rushed toward Satan. Kang-Woo''s Wrath and Lucifer''s Pride struck Satan simultaneously.


    Bash!!


    [Kurgh!!]


    The body that Satan was currently using was just a fragment of his main body, and it was not even as strong as Mammon. There was no way that he would be able to take a coborative attack of two beings at the level of a prince of Hell when he could not even use his Hell Armament.


    [AAAHHH!!!]


    They kept exchanging blows, and the wounds in Satan''s body deepened.


    [Damn it! Listen to me, Lucifer!!!]


    sh! Boom!


    [Gaaaahhhh!!]


    The fragment of Satan slowly crumbled at Kang-Woo and Lucifer''s coborative attack.


    Satan''s energy weakened noticeably.


    [I am¡­!! Satan!!!] he cried desperately.


    Satan felt like he was about to go crazy due to the situation.


    "I do not know who you are, but thank you," Lucifer said coldly. His gaze sharpened as he turned and nced at Lucis. "Thanks to you, I was able to recover my reason."


    Lucifer had been so baffled by the appearance of the impersonator that his crazed mind had calmed down. He now knew what he had to do.


    [Aaaahhhh!!] Satan screamed.


    Stab! sh!


    The two Hell Armaments overwhelmed him.


    Satan felt like he was about to go insane, as a replica of Wrath, the Hell Armament that had been with him his entire life, was overpowering him.


    He was enraged and frustrated.


    [I am Satan!! I am the real Sataaaaaaaaan!!!]


    Crack!


    The ck sword stabbed him while he was screaming.

 Chapter 214 - I Cant Believe That Worked

    Chapter 214 - I Can''t Believe That Worked


    ''Done.''


    Oh Kang-Woo was sure it was a done deed; he felt it with his hands. He hadpletely pierced Satan¡ªor to be precise, the being who was assumed to be his fragment or clone.


    Of course, Kang-Woo smiled.


    ''That was dangerous.''


    He had almost fumbled because he had been so flustered by the situation. He''d been just as surprised when Balrog had appeared and called him the demon king.


    Kang-Woo looked down at Satan, who was melting and turning into some ck viscous liquid that resembled tar.


    It seemed that Kang-Woo had guessed correctly that the Satan before him was just a fragment of Satan''s original body. If it were Satan''s main body, he wouldn''t have melted.


    ''I managed to put out the biggest fire.''


    Nevertheless, the fundamental problem would not be resolved until Kang-Woo killed the real Satan. Satan would keep iming that he was the real Satan, and Kang-Woo would continue having headaches because of that.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo smiled with bright eyes.


    It turned out that Satan was actually on Earth. On top of that, he happened to be the one leading the Demon Cult from the shadows.


    ''If I y my cards right¡­''


    Kang-Woo thought that he could use that to his advantage.


    Just like how pus from a wound slowly umted, he could resolve all the crimes he hadmitted by ming them on Satan as long as his main body didn''t die.


    Kang-Woo could make use of Satan.


    ''Now''s not the time though.''


    Kang-Woo turned while looking down at Satan''s melted fragment.


    The situation wasn''t over just because he''d gotten rid of Satan''s fragment. The main eventy elsewhere.


    ''Why is Lucifer so quiet all of a¡ª''


    Kang-Woo looked for Lucifer, who had suddenly disappeared during their coboration.


    "Huh?" he uttered in a confused voice.


    Lucifer was nowhere to be seen.


    [Lucifer!] Kang-Woo called out in Satan''s voice.


    He turned around to find Lucifer ring at him with cold sunken eyes while holding Lucis.


    "Let me go! I! I have given my soul to Lady Lilith!"


    "Stay still."


    Lucis was struggling to get free, but Lucifer knocked him out. Then Lucifer sighed and waved his hand in the air.


    A blue Gate appeared.


    [Shit!!]


    Kang-Woo stomped on the ground and shot forward at supersonic speed, creating a sonic boom and a strong gust of wind.


    ''Shit!''


    He bit his lip anxiously. Lucifer''s escape had not been within his expectations.


    Lucifer and Lucis were gradually disappearing through the gate. Kang-Woo reached out and grabbed Lucifer''s arm.


    [Are you running away?] Kang-Woo asked.


    "I¡­ havee back to my senses," Lucifer answered in a cold voice.


    He indeed appeared different from his enraged look before.


    [You are delusional if you think I will let you run away.]


    Kang-Woo pulled on Lucifer''s arm aggressively, pulling him out of the Gate slightly.


    "Satan," Lucifer said as he red at Kang-Woo. In a voice filled with powerful bloodlust, he dered, "I will be back."


    [¡­]


    "I will be back one day to destroy everything you have. I will make sure you regret what you have done today for the rest of eternity."


    Rather than a threat, it was closer to a curse.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Titanic Might and pulled Lucifer''s arm. However, Lucifer pulled back, resulting in the severing of his arm.


    Rip¡ª!!


    [Lucifer¡­]


    Lucifer''s arm was ripped off like a severed lizard''s tail, and ck blood poured out.


    "Remember this, Satan," Lucifer said quietly, "I will be back."


    With that, hepletely vanished through the blue Gate.


    "¡­"


    Silence fell over the battlefield.


    [U-Urghh!!]


    One of the demons Lucifer had left behind charged toward Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo slowly raised his hand, grabbed the demon''s horn, and crushed it.


    Crack!


    The demon fell to the ground and screamed. Then Kang-Woo raised his foot and stomped on the demon''s head.


    Crunch.


    The demon''s brain exploded over the ground.


    "Shit, shit. Fuck!!"


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but curse. He grabbed and pulled on his hair.


    ''I shouldn''t have let him go.''


    He had fumbled out of panic and had forgotten about his important objective.


    ''I made a mistake.''


    If he had returned to his senses faster and dealt with things faster, he could''ve killed Lucifer right here.


    It was just an excuse that he''d been confused by Satan''s sudden appearance. He could have dealt with the variable and killed Lucifer at the same time.


    "Damn."


    However, Kang-Woo hadn''t done that. Instead, he had made a mistake because he had panicked out of confusion.


    Kang-Woo frowned aggressively.


    ''I haven''t failed yet.''


    As long as Lucifer was not an idiot, he would take his time to make even more thorough preparations. However, Kang-Woo did not think that his n had been aplete failure since Lucifer wasn''t aware of a critical fact.


    ''His rage is directed toward Satan.''


    The fundamental misunderstanding hadn''t been cleared up. Rather, it had deepened.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    Satan was on Earth, and Lucifer had escaped to Aernor.


    ''How should I manipte them?''


    Kang-Woo was sure he''d be able to use them, but the details were noting to him at the moment. It would be impossible to n anything if Lucifer didn''t take any action.


    ''He''ll be back.''


    Kang-Woo was sure of it. There was no way Lucifer was just going to run with his tail between his legs. He would be back after making ample preparations.


    "And¡­"


    His rage would be directed at Satan.


    "...Not bad at all."


    It would take more time and effort, but considering that was the consequence of Kang-Woo''s mistake, it was a cheap price to pay.


    "Lilith."


    "Yes, Master Kang-Woo."


    Once Kang-Woo called her name, Lilith appeared.


    He slowly turned around and asked her, "You saw everything, right?"


    "Yes," Lilith replied with a nod. "I will torture all of the cultists and find Satan''s location.¡±


    "No, you won''t be able to."


    The cultists had not even known that Satan was one of the Aspects of Evil, so there was no way they would know where he was.


    "Then¡­"


    "What I killed was just a fragment of Satan. His main body should be alive somewhere."


    Lilith''s eyes lit up. She giggled, making a wicked smile.


    "He will likely make his move first, then," she remarked.


    "Someone is going around impersonating him, so there''s no way he would do nothing about it."


    After all, Satan had been thoroughly humiliated. Kang-Woo wasn''t sure why Satan couldn''t move his main body, but he was sure that Satan would make some sort of move in retaliation.


    "What if he does not make a move?" Lilith asked.


    In that case, it was simple.


    "Then we''ll force him to."


    It didn''t matter what method they used.


    Kang-Woo slowly took off the red demon mask that was covering his face. A chilling wind tickled his skin.


    "How many survived?" he asked.


    "About 739 Demon Cultists survived. They are all running away."


    "Capture those of the cardinal rank and above and brainwash them. Be it with ck magic, beauty trap, torture¡ªit doesn''t matter. Make them submit and spread them throughout the Demon Cult."


    Kang-Woo needed agents inside the Demon Cult to figure out Satan''s movements.


    ¡°May your will be done, my king.¡±


    A chilling smile appeared on Lilith''s face.


    Kang-Woo began to walk slowly.


    Boom.


    Balrog approached him, knelt on one knee, and reported, [All of Lucifer''s subordinates have been subdued.]


    Kang-Woo looked at the demons who were behind Balrog. They had been subdued by Vaal Zahak''s Undead army.


    Now, they were looking up at Kang-Woo in fear.


    [W-We surrender!]


    [W-We swear our a-allegiance to Lord Satan!]


    They desperately begged while bowing.


    Kang-Woo turned and looked down at them, but he turned away soon after.


    Balrog said, [As for the number of survivors¡ª]


    "No need to tell me."


    Kang-Woo walked past Balrog as if he weren''t interested.


    It was a different story if they were Demon Cultists, but there was no need for Kang-Woo to know how many of Lucifer''s subordinates had survived.


    He put away the red mask in his hand andmanded, "Kill them."


    [Yes, my king,] Balrog replied with a nod.


    If there were a way for Kang-Woo to go to Aernor from Earth, there might be a use for them. However, he couldn''t, so they were of no use to him. It was better to kill them and then turn them into Undead if he wanted to use them as soldiers.


    ''Those that betray once are bound to betray again.''


    Crush!!


    [Arrgghh!!]


    [P-Please spare¡ª!]


    Lucifer''s subordinates screamed.


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo ignored them.


    With Lucifer''s torn arm in hand, he walked over to Satan''s dead fragment. There was a gloopy ck liquid on the floor.


    Kang-Woo sighed.


    ''This won''t nearly be enough.''


    He thought of the remaining condition for the Demonic Soul. To fulfill the condition, he needed to absorb the body of a prince of Hell with the Authority of Predation.


    Kang-Woo had thought that he''d be able to fulfill that condition after eating Lucifer.


    ''This is the biggest disappointment.''


    Painful regret swept over him once again.


    His n could be executed again as long as Lucifer still mistook him for Satan, but that was a different issue. Kang-Woo hadn''t been able to fulfill the remaining condition for the Demonic Soul, which was the biggest disappointment.


    "I guess the price is cheap, considering the mistake."


    The mistake could have led to irreversible consequences.


    Making a mistake in a battle between demons meant death, so failing to fulfill the condition for the Demonic Soul was the cheapest price he could have paid.


    "Tsk," Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    There was no point in making a fuss over spilled milk.


    ''I should eat these at least.''


    He sighed and used the Authority of Predation.


    The Authority of Predation covered Satan''s fragment and Lucifer''s arm.


    ''Fucking hell, I doubt I''ll even get a single stat point from this.''


    No matter how much Kang-Woo tried to forget about his mistake, he couldn''t help but feel disappointed.


    Crunch.


    The Authority of Predation consumed Satan''s fragment and Lucifer''s torn arm.


    Riiing.


    [Activating the Trait ''Prince yer''.]


    [Absorbing the soul fragments within the consumed parts of Satan''s and Lucifer''s bodies.]


    [A weak Divinity has been detected in the two soul fragments.]


    [Raising the quality of the soul fragmentspared to when they were still part of the souls of the princes of Hell.]


    [Attempting Predation on the soul fragments deemed SSS-rank.]


    [Sessful!]


    ''Hm?''


    [The passage connected to the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core has been 100%pleted.]


    [All conditions for Demonic Soul have been fulfilled!]


    ''Wha¡ª?''


    Whoooom!!!


    Dense demonic energy exploded out of him.


    The demonic energy from his heart enveloped his entire body.


    [Commencing the Demonic Soul awakening.]


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s mouth fell open.


    ''I can''t believe that worked.''

 Chapter 215 - Demonic Soul

    Chapter 215 - Demonic Soul


    Darkness fell. Dense demonic energy leaked out of his skin and covered the surroundings.


    The scarily dense demonic energy within his Ten Thousand Demon Core, which was located in his heart, writhed. He could feel it instinctively.


    ''Demonic energy from the deep end.''


    If the Ten Thousand Demon Core could be separated by floors, it would belong to the middle floor. The demonic energy from the middle floor spread through his body.


    He moved his finger, but there was no reaction.


    ''What is a Demonic Soul?''


    It was more ambiguous than the Ultimate Demonic Body.


    While thinking about that, Kang-Woo monitored the changes within his body. Experiencing it for himself was far more effective than imagining it.


    The demonic energy moved on its own, spreading throughout his body. The changes had begun.


    ''Ah.''


    It was hard to exin how it felt. A chill ran down his spine, and the hairs on his neck stood on end.


    He felt as though he was extending or going up¡ªlike he had climbed up to the peak of an endless mountain and was looking down. The things that he had thought were a given all this time no longer felt like it.


    ''What''s happening?''


    It felt different from when he''d achieved the Ultimate Demonic Body. He did not feel an explosive rise in power or changes in his physical body like back then.


    ''Maybe it has nothing to do with getting stronger.''


    This was different from a rise inbat ability. It had nothing to do with gaining the power to subdue and trample his enemies.


    ''This is¡­''


    It did not take him very long to find the correct word.


    A certain word passed through Kang-Woo''s mind as he was curled up in the darkness among the dense demonic energy.


    ''A vessel.''


    This unknown power known as the Demonic Soul had turned him into a vessel¡ªan object used to contain something.


    Riiing.


    He heard the familiar chime and raised his head.


    A blue message window appeared from within the darkness.


    [You have sessfully awakened the Demonic Soul!]


    [A vessel capable of holding Divinity has been formed!]


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 2.]


    [Demonic Energy stat has reached 140!]


    ''A vessel capable of holding Divinity¡­''


    Kang-Woo had an idea of what the role of the Demonic Soul was and the effects that it had.


    ''I guess this is why it''s the road to bing a Demon God.''


    First, it had been his body that had changed. Then, it had been his soul.


    In both changes, there had been one goal¡­ Divinity¡ªthe power of gods and the power that allowed them to exist. It was something that went beyond thews of physics and made it possible to manifest miracles.


    ''And¡­''


    It was the power to interfere with the system.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his eyes to see the world around him. It was the same world, but it felt different. That was a confusing way to say it, but it was hard to find a better way to say it.


    He moved his finger, drew out demonic energy, and used an Authority.


    The passage to the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core had been fully formed. It was as if a colossal water pipe had been connected to an endless sea.


    He could circte demonic energy as naturally as when he had been in the Nine Hells.


    sh!!


    ck des flew out from his fingers.


    He turned his hand, and droplets of darkness dripped from his fingertips like blood.


    Then, one of the droplets fell onto the ground.


    CRACK¡ª!!


    ck des rose from the ground in a twenty-meter radius from where the droplet fell.


    This was Field of des. It was a skill he had already learned, but it producedpletely different results when he used demonic energy from the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    "It''s been a while."


    The tips of his mouth went up.


    The sensations and feelings he''d had from the days when he ruled over all demons came back to him.


    [A-Aaahhh!] Balrog gasped.


    He was thrilled.


    As a Familiar of the demon king, Balrog''s soul was connected to Kang-Woo''s, so he could feel Kang-Woo''s power. He realized that his master had fully returned to his state from when he used to rule over the Nine Hells.


    Balrog violently kneeled and mmed his head onto the ground.


    [You have returned, my king.]


    "What are you talking about?"


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    It was funny.


    "I''ve been here all this time."


    [¡­]


    Balrog remained silent.


    He felt ashamed for using such an expression. It was stupid. After all, Balrog knew who Kang-Woo was and what he was capable of.


    Kang-Woo had not reached the pinnacle of the Nine Hells and all demons simply because he was strong. During the Final War, Bael had been stronger than the demon king. Despite that, the one toe out victorious had been Balrog''s master, the demon king.


    He had suffered numerous losses throughout the battle spanning a thousand years, and many of his subordinates andrades had died.


    ''But¡­''


    The demon king had won in the end.


    He had not backed down. He had not submitted. He had notpromised, and he had not yielded. He had dly epted a challenge that he had no chance of winning at the time.


    [A-Aaahhh.]


    Balrog trembled, and tears dripped from his eyes.


    He shuddered, overwhelmed by the boundless faith, trust, and obsessive reverence that he had in and for his king.


    The demon king was right¡ªhe hadn''t returned; he had always been here.


    [My kiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!!]


    Balrog rushed toward Kang-Woo and hugged him with both his arms.


    [Sniff!! I, Balrog, am honored to have been given the chance to serve you!!]


    Due to their overwhelming difference in height, Kang-Woo''s head got stuck in Balrog''s armpit.


    "Fucking hell! Get off me, dammit!!"


    Kang-Woo struggled to get free from the horrible scent.


    He nced at Balrog with a tired expression. Balrog''s eyes were sparkling in a way that did not match his five-meter figure.


    ''Stupid muscle pig.''


    That was the best way to describe him.


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo did not hate him. They''d spent too much time together for that to be the case.


    [You should have absolutely no problem facing Satan and Lucifer now.]


    "No, I don''t think so." Kang-Woo shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "Those guys have Divinity."


    [...Divinity?]


    "Yeah."


    A being with Divinity wasn''t necessarily powerful in terms ofbat prowess. Having more Divinity meant that they had higher chances of having highbat prowess, but unlike stats, it didn''t always trante into strength.


    An example of that was Tirion, God of Heroes. Kang-Woo was sure he''d be able to beat him if he were forced to face him in his current state.


    ''But¡­''


    That didn''t mean that he could take the fact that Satan and Lucifer now possessed Divinity lightly.


    They had not possessed Divinity in the Nine Hells. If they had, there was no way that he wouldn''t have noticed it when he devoured them with the Authority of Predation back then.


    ''They acquired it here.''


    Judging by the situation, both demons had gone back to a distant past by at least a thousand yearspared to the point in time that Kang-Woo had returned to. During that time, not only had they recovered their bodies, but they''d also reached a higher point than back in the Nine Hells.


    ''What could have happened?''


    He couldn''t figure it out. A thousand years was short from a demon''s perspective.


    For tens of thousands of years, the princes of Hell had not been able to surpass the limits of being princes. The only one that had been able to go beyond his limits was Bael.


    However, it was different now; both Satan and Lucifer had acquired Divinity. They had been able to go beyond the wall that had stopped them from growing for hundreds of thousands of years.


    ''How?''


    He couldn''t imagine how they had managed it.


    Kang-Woo''s thoughts were in a jumble. He clicked his tongue and shook his head.


    ''The important thing is that I shouldn''t take it lightly.''


    He raised his hand.


    FWOOSH!!!


    Yellow mes rose.


    He still felt awkward using Mammon''s Authority.


    The Demonic Soul was a vessel.


    ''An empty vessel that hasn''t been filled.''


    Unlike what he''d hoped, hisbat prowess had not risen.


    ''More¡­''


    He had to grow even stronger.


    Desire and thirst burned his throat.


    Riiing.


    [''Final step to bing a Demon God'' quest has been generated.]


    [Information]


    [*Condition 1: Demonic Energy stat reaches 150.


    *Condition 2: ???


    *Condition 3: ???]


    "Why so fucking many?"


    There had been two conditions before, but there were three this time. On the bright side, one of the conditions had been revealed, and it was the final step to bing a Demon God.


    "Final, huh?"


    For some reason, he didn''t get the feeling that it was the final step.


    Kang-Woo recalled when he''d created Inferno. There had been an advanced Demon God quest marked with question marks.


    "...Well, I guess it''s better to have it than not."


    It was true that he was strangely expectant.


    After all, it was an incredible feeling to be stronger and capable of doing things that hadn''t been possible before. All demons longed for it, even at the cost of their eternal life.


    "Oh, right."


    Kang-Woo looked at his right middle finger.


    The ring was wriggling as if it were alive.


    ''I remember it saying that digestion wouldmence once I achieve the Demonic Soul.''


    He still had many questions regarding the Key of the Demonic Sea.


    ''It ate a Hell Armament.''


    Something he hadn''t been able to consume with the Authority of Predation had been eaten by his equipment. It''d be stranger if he weren''t curious about it.


    He opened up the information window for the Key of the Demonic Sea.


    [Equipment Information]


    [Equipment Name: Key of the Demonic Sea


    Rank: Transcendent (Imprinted)


    Type: Growth *The equipment will grow stronger whenever certain conditions are fulfilled.]


    [Equipment Status]


    [*Digestion in Progress: Currently in the process of digesting Greed. Suspending all abilities other than basic effects.]


    ''Hm?''


    Kang-Woo frowned and poured demonic energy into the Key of the Demonic Sea.


    ''It''s not transforming.''


    He frowned.


    Without help from the Key of the Demonic Sea, he couldn''t use his trump card, Inferno.


    "Ngh."


    He could still fight against a prince of Hell without Inferno. However, he was quite displeased to see that the trump card he''d practiced for so long was sealed.


    ''I guess I''ll have to stay low-key for a while.''


    Kang-Woo thought of the things he had to do.


    ''Reach 150 in my Demonic Energy stat.''


    His Demonic Energy stat had already be so high that it wouldn''t rise unless he fought against the princes of Hell and consumed them.


    ''Or consume a ridiculously high number of demons.''


    Whatever the case, he had no way of raising it at the moment.


    "Tsk," Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    He had obtained many things despite having let go of Lucifer, but his head hurt from thinking about everything that he would need to do from now on.


    "Let''s go back."


    He looked up at the blue sky and the warm sun as he walked.


    It had been two years since his return to Earth and seven years since the Day of Cmity. He had finally recovered the power that he had amassed during the ten millennia he had spent in Hell.

 Chapter 216 - Oh Kang-Woo Instruction Manual (1)

    Chapter 216 - Oh Kang-Woo Instruction Manual (1)


    Click.


    The door to Oh Kang-Woo''s room opened. Kang-Woo, who was reading a Guardians mission report that he received from Gaia in his room, turned his head.


    An innocent-looking woman was smiling and looking at him. Her pure image turned immediately to one of a lustful enchantress just from a simple smile.


    "What''s up?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "I have something to report," she said.


    Kang-Woo turned his chair and faced Lilith.


    She continued, "I finished brainwashing three cardinals, so I sent the first batch back to the Demon Cult."


    "Already?"


    Kang-Woo looked at her in surprise. It had been only a week since that disastrous fight against Satan and Lucifer had ended. The three were cardinals of the Demon Cult, so he hadn''t thought that they would fall under submission so easily.


    A deep smile appeared on Lilith''s face.


    "Fufu. Master Kang-Woo, you know how good my honey-trapping techniques are."


    "¡­ You even used the honey trap?"


    He couldn''t understand it. In Lucis''s case, Lucis had the same sense of beauty as a demon, but that wasn''t the case for the cardinals. Even though they had epted demonic energy into their bodies, they were still normal human beings.


    No, even if they had be more demonlike after epting the demonic energy, their values and tastes shouldn''t have be that different from a human''s.


    ''At least that was the case for me.''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    "Yes. Fufu. My looks seem to be very effective even on humans."


    "¡­?"


    Kang-Woo thought, ''What kind of nonsense is that?''


    "I created a clone of myself and locked the cardinals away in tentacles for three days straight."


    "¡­"


    "Aah, to think they would fall so easily with just a clone¡­ Humans are so simple." Lilith stuck out her long snake-like tongue and licked Kang-Woo''s cheek. "But still, my real body and feelings are only directed toward you, Master Kang-Woo."


    "¡­ Urpp."


    Kang-Woo quickly covered his mouth.


    Most of the captured cardinals were old men full of wrinkles. Imagining what they had to go through made him want to puke.


    ''I''m d I left things entirely to Lilith.''


    He might have seen something horrifying if he had wanted to check things out and see how they were doing.


    "So, did you get anything out of them?"


    "I still have not gained any information regarding Satan''s exact movements, but"¡ªLilith stroked her chin¡ª"every cardinal that was brainwashed was sent to the same branch."


    "Which branch?"


    "A branch in Russia. It is the biggest branch that we have seen. There are at least ten thousand cultists in it."


    "Ten thousand, huh?"


    It was certainly the biggest branch of the Demon Cult they''d found.


    "If it''s that big, perhaps it''s their headquarters and not a branch?"


    "No. Based on the information I received from the cardinals, it does not seem to be their headquarters either."


    "I see."


    He nodded.


    ''Does that mean Satan is in their headquarters?''


    He still didn''t know for sure.


    He said, "For now, keep track of Satan''s movements while focusing on that branch."


    There was no way Satan would remain still¡ªhe was definitely going to make a move.


    ''I must wait.''


    If Kang-Woo rushed things, there was the possibility of Satan running away like Lucifer did. He couldn''t let that happen. He would kill Satan once Satan fully came out of hiding.


    "Is that all for the report?"


    "Yes. I will let you know immediately once I learn anything new."


    "Good work."


    "Fufu, anything for you, my king."


    Lilithughed.


    Kang-Woo groaned. This was why he couldn''te to hate Lilith despite everything that she had done to him.


    ''She''s not only extremely capable but also loyal.''


    It would be weirder if he hated her.


    Kang-Wooughed bitterly and turned around.


    He asked, "Oh, you didn''t forget about tomorrow, did you?"


    "No, of course not. I also contacted Balrog earlier."


    Kang-Woo had decided that he could connect the people he had met on Earth with hisrades from Hell.


    In other words, a get-together.


    They would just be spending time together while eating and drinking.


    "I''ll see you tomorrow, then."


    "Hmm?" Lilith tilted her head, and the tips of her mouth went up. Her hair started to turn into tentacles.


    "W-Wait."


    "My, my. It would truly be a shame to go back so soon."


    "Save me."


    "You know that rewarding your subordinates for their aplishments is the duty of a king¡­ do you not?"


    "Gasp."


    Click.


    A long tentacle stretched out and locked the door.


    * * *


    Chop, chop, chop.


    The sound of ingredients being chopped on a cutting board was heard. The ingredients were cut uniformly as if a machine had cut them.


    "Ngh¡­"


    Han Seol-Ah looked at the closed door.


    ''I wonder what they''re talking about.''


    Lilith had entered the room, and she wanted to know what she was talking about with Kang-Woo.


    "Haaa."


    She sighed. She sadly lowered her head and kicked the ground while wearing slippers.


    ''I''ve barely been able to talk to Kang-Wootely.''


    After the appearance of a prince of Hell named Mammon, Kang-Woo had be even busier than before. Due to his Guardians work, training, and many other things that he needed to take care of, their chances to talk had plummeted.


    ''It''s a bit¡­''


    Lonely. Or at least, that''s what she felt. Although they lived under the same roof, she felt like they were drifting apart.


    "¡­"


    Seol-Ah put the ingredients she''d just cut into a pot. The kimchi stew, which she could now prepare with her eyes closed, was boiling and emitting a delicious aroma.


    She sat down in a chair and fell into thought, thinking about Kang-Woo.


    ''I wonder what Kang-Woo thinks of me.''


    They''d been living together for two years. It was enough time to make even enemies fond of each other.


    Not only that, but she had been interested in him from the beginning. It would be weird if she wasn''t¡ªhe''d saved her from a life that would have been hell. Despite that, he had never asked anything of her and had just wanted her to stay by his side.


    On one hand, she thought that falling in love with someone just because they had saved her life was like some cheesy 80''s TV drama, but he''d done so much for her that it would''ve been weirder if she hadn''t fallen for him.


    ''No.''


    She shook her head.


    She didn''t have feelings for Kang-Woo just because he had saved her and pulled her from a life of hell. She pictured him; his eyes were sharp enough to look slightly fierce. He did whatever needed to be done without hesitation. He gave off the feeling that one could trust him and that everything would be okay as long as one stayed by his side and followed him.


    ''But¡­''


    At the same time, his eyes sometimes looked too dark. He sometimes looked so miserable that he was on the verge of breaking down.


    They were twopletely different appearances.


    It was as if he were forcing himself to move forward with rusted joints that barely moved.


    On one hand, she trusted him, but she also wanted to protect him.


    She had been sure of such feelings for some time. She wasn''t sure if Kang-Woo had felt it, but she had sent him signs so that her feelings would be obvious to him.


    Thanks to that, they were as close as family.


    "But¡­"


    She wasn''t able to close the gap between them any more than that. It felt as if one more step would seal the deal, but that step couldn''t be taken.


    Seol-Ah pouted and angrily kicked the cushion at her feet.


    "H-He even asked me to marry him."


    Her face turned red. She recalled the first thing that he had said to her while grabbing her hand on the day they had met.


    At first, she thought he was quite a peculiar person, but after hearing about his past, she understood everything. He''d met a person for the first time after spending ten millennia in Hell.


    ''I-I guess it''s kind of like¡­ destiny?''


    He''d been locked away in Hell for ten millennia, and the first person he had met after crossing dimensions to Earth to protect it from the Demon of Prophecy, Satan, was her.


    If that wasn''t destiny, then what was?


    Bubble! Tsss!


    "Kyaa!"


    She unwittingly screamed after hearing the pot bubble over. Seol-Ah ran toward the stove and turned off the fire.


    "Haaa, haaa. C-Calm down."


    She put her hand on her chest, bit her lip, and tried to get herself together. She controlled her breathing and turned around to look at the door again.


    It was still closed.


    Although it had been an hour since Lilith had entered, they still hadn''te out.


    Seol-Ah suddenly began feeling anxious. She recalled what Cha Yeon-Joo had said to her a few days ago, "That idiot will never realize your feelings if you don''t be more assertive."


    ''Assertive¡­''


    Seol-Ah clenched her fist.


    She''d never dated a man, so she wasn''t sure about what to do. But, she wanted to at least take the challenge.


    Click.


    "Fufufu. I will see you tomorrow then, Master Kang-Woo~!"


    At that moment, Lilith walked out.


    "Oh?"


    Her eyes met with Seol-Ah''s, and a deep smile appeared on Lilith''s face.


    Seol-Ah''s body stiffened.


    Lilith was staring at her as if she knew everything. She walked toward Seol-Ah, grabbed her shoulder, and whispered in her ear.


    "Winning the demon king''s heart will not be easy," she said in a bittersweet tone. "I have tried for a very long time, but¡­ I failed."


    "Ah¡­"


    Lilith wiped her wet eyes and gave a bright smile. "Please tell me your secret if you manage to do it."


    "U-Umm¡­"


    Seol-Ah hesitated because she did not know how to answer. Her rtionship with Lilith was still awkward. No, even if they were close, it would be hard to answer. It was obvious that they were rivals aiming for the same man.


    ''Ms. Lilith spent a thousand years with Kang-Woo.''


    Jealousy boiled within Seol-Ah.


    She took a nce at Lilith''s appearance. Lilith looked both pure and lustful at the same time. Although they were both women, Seol-Ah couldn''t help but be impressed by Lilith''s beauty.


    She had seen Kurosaki Yurie in the news in the past, but she looked more beautiful than back then.


    ''I remember her saying that her real form is even more beautiful.''


    It was hard to imagine a more beautiful appearance than that.


    ''She failed to win Kang-Woo''s heart even when she''s this beautiful¡­''


    Seol-Ah''s self-confidence vanished.


    "Then, I will be rooting for you." Lilith waved and turned away. Although she had said that, she seemed sure that Seol-Ah would fail.


    As Lilith walked out of the house, Seol-Ah anxiously bit her lip.


    ck.


    "K-Kang-Woo?"


    "¡­"


    When she opened the door, she saw Kang-Woo sitting on the bed.


    His eyes looked nk, and his cheeks were hollow. He looked like a soldier who hade back from war. He was even moving weirdly, like a broken watch or a broken wooden doll.


    ''He must be tired.''


    It was natural, considering how busy he had beentely.


    Seol-Ah''s face was dyed with disappointment. It did not seem to be the right time to have a talk with him.


    ''I wonder how I can¡­ win Kang-Woo''s heart?''


    She sighed and quietly closed the door.

 Chapter 217 - Oh Kang-Woo Instruction Manual (2)

    Chapter 217 - Oh Kang-Woo Instruction Manual (2)


    A vast and beautiful field of vegetation was surrounding a bigke.


    People were sitting around a mat covered with all sorts of luxurious foods and drinks. They were ncing nervously at Balrog and Lilith. No, to be more precise, they were warily staring at Balrog, a five-meter-tall giant.


    "Fufu, I believe this is my first time officially greeting all of you together. It is very nice to meet you. My name is Lilith. I have supported Master Kang-Woo for a very long time in Hell," Lilith said with a smile on her face and a ss in her hand.


    Kim Si-Hun, Cha Yeon-Joo, and Tian Wuchen looked at her in confusion.


    "So¡­ you''re a demon within the body of Kurosaki Yurie?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Yes, that is correct."


    "Then what happened to Kurosaki Yurie herself?"


    "She is¡­ asleep for the moment." Lilith ced her hand on her chest. "She has yet toe back to her senses after having fused with a demon, but we will naturally be able to share a consciousness over time."


    "Hmm¡­"


    "A demon and a human sharing a consciousness¡­" Wuchen mumbled, looking troubled.


    He couldn''t help but feel sorry for Kurosaki Yurie, whose body had been taken over by a demon, but ming Lilith didn''t seem right.


    Not only had she not taken Kurosaki Yurie''s body because she wanted to, but they also had nothing to do with each other in the first ce. Kurosaki Yurie also hadn''t lost her consciousnesspletely, so although it didn''t feel right, he couldn''t say anything in protest.


    "Then, have you all, just like Kang-Woo¡­" Gaia asked nervously while turning to Kang-Woo. She was the incarnation of Gaia, so from her perspective, it wasn''t easy to ept demons.


    Kang-Woo said in a serious voice, "They haven''t freed themselves from demonic energy like me, but they will be of help in defeating the Demon of Prophecy."


    "I¡­ see."


    Gaia nodded in confusion. Kang-Woo, who had abandoned the body of a demon and epted the energy of the God of Heroes, aside, she wondered if she could really trust pure demons like Balrog and Lilith.


    ''Maybe Kang-Woo is also being deceived?''


    She couldn''t help but have such a thought.


    [There is no need to worry.]


    Gaia heard Balrog''s voice.


    [I have offered my soul to my king. I am willing to do anything for him.]


    He sounded confident.


    Gaia could feel his unwavering will. She clenched her skirt and opened her mouth to say, "Do you still swear allegiance to Kang-Woo¡­ even though he''s no longer the demon king?"


    [Hahaha!]


    Balrogughed.


    [He certainly has lost his seat as demon king after losing against Satan, but at least for me, he will always be my king.]


    "¡­"


    Gaia remained silent.


    Balrog''s loyal tone did not seem to be a lie.


    Gaia smiled faintly.


    "Okay. I will trust you, Balrog."


    [Kekeke. You seem rather calm, unlike before when¡ª]


    "Kyaa! Sh-Shh! Please be quiet!"


    Gaia''s face reddened.


    Kang-Wooughed as she became embarrassed. He said to everyone who had gathered around the mat, "I''ve gathered you all here today to introduce everyone to my two subordinates who had been with me in Hell, as well as to relieve all the fatigue that has umted all these months. We haven''t been able to have a gathering like this since the establishment of Guardians,e to think of it. Please just think of this as an outing and enjoy yourselves."


    "Thank you for arranging a meeting like this, hyung-nim." Si-Hun smiled.


    He seemed to be happy about being here with Gaia and Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo smirked and grabbed his chopsticks.


    "Seol-Ah did her best to cook all these, so say thanks to her."


    "Wow! As expected from you, sister-inw! How did you prepare so much food?! It''s also to die for¡­!" Kang Tae-Soo eximed.


    "Ah, I-I just made them because I wanted to!"


    Seol-Ah''s face reddened, and a smile blossomed on her face.


    Echidna grabbed a kimbap with her chopsticks while sitting on Kang-Woo''sp, which had pretty much be her exclusive seat at this point.


    "Kang-Woo, aah."


    "Hm?"


    The kimbap approached his mouth.


    Kang-Woo smirked and opened his mouth. The cheesy taste of the cheese kimbap suited his pte very nicely.


    "Is it good?" Echidna asked.


    "Yup."


    "Hm! Hm!" Echidna snorted as if she were waiting for something.


    Kang-Woo grabbed a kimbap and fed her just as she had to him.


    "Munch, munch. It''s so good. You''re the best, Seol-Ah."


    "Fufu. You helped out this morning too, Echidna."


    "The ones I made exploded," Echidna said while pouting.


    Seol-Ah couldn''t handle how cute she looked, and took her from Kang-Woo and hugged her.


    "KYAA! How can you be so cute?!"


    "Seol-Ah, I can''t breathe."


    Echidna struggled as if she were being suffocated by something big.


    They were like sisters, or maybe a mother and a daughter.


    "Fufufu, the mood is better than what I had expected."


    Lilith approached Kang-Woo with a smile.


    Flinch. Kang-Woo trembled a bit. He recalled the trauma from the previous day. Cold sweat dripped down, and his face paled.


    "Here you go, Master Kang-Woo. Say aah~"


    "A-Aah."


    He wasn''t sure if he was groaning in fear or epting the food, but a kimbap entered his mouth. He chewed like a robot.


    "Kuh¡­"


    Si-Hun gulped while looking at him in envy.


    ''Huh, why?''


    Did he have feelings for Lilith?


    "H-Hyung-nim"


    ''What?''


    "Ahem. I-I''m just doing this to go along with the flow."


    ''What flow?''


    "Say aah."


    ''The fuck did you say?''


    Si-Hun approached him while blushing. He turned his head as if embarrassed and grabbed a kimbap with his chopsticks.


    ''Don''t be getting red on me, dude.''


    Kang-Woo''s expression paled even more.


    "Uhh, I''m getting tired of kimb¡ª"


    [Huhu. You seem to have no idea of the king''s preferences, human.]


    ''Stop making shit any moreplicated and screw off.''


    He felt as if he was about to get gastric reflux as Si-Hun and Balrog joined in after Lilith. He reached out to Seol-Ah, who was hugging Echidna, but it seemed she couldn''t see him anymore.


    ''Darling¡­''


    The distance between Heaven and Hell was but a meter, but Si-Hun and Balrog were grabbing hold of his hands so that he could not get away.


    "¡­What do you mean?" Si-Hun asked.


    [I mean exactly what I said. I had heard that you had also sworn allegiance to my king, but¡­ you are stillcking.]


    "Nonsense."


    "Why are you acting like that, guys? We came here to get along, didn''t w¡ª"


    [Well, I guess it is a given, considering the difference in time that each of us has served the king. Hahaha! You have not had the time to find out everything there is to know about the king.]


    "Hah, you talk as if you know everything about Kang-Woo hyung."


    "Excuse me? Can you hear me?"


    The atmosphere intensified.


    Si-Hun and Balrog were ring at each other.


    Rumble.


    Their shing energies shook the ground, emitting enough power to easily ughter an average archdemon of the Ninth Hell.


    [I will give you a lesson on what kind of food the king likes!]


    ''But you don''t know.''


    Balrog used his giant hands to stab something with a chopstick¡ªit was the sashimi set that Yeon-Joo had brought. More specifically, he stabbed the head of a fish that came with the set used to cook spicy fish stew.


    [The king enjoys the heads of beings like this!]


    ''I really don''t.''


    [See? Look how happy he looks!]


    ''I''m really not.''


    [Hehehe. Please, have a taste, my king.]


    ''This isn''t how this thing is supposed to be eaten, dammit.''


    He pushed away the fish head.


    A fishy smell spread through their surroundings.


    "H-Hyung-nim! Please try this instead!"


    [My king!]


    "Ah¡­"


    He wished both of them would just fuck off. Kang-Woo covered his face with his hands and buried his head between his knees.


    * * *


    "K-Kang-Woo¡­"


    Seol-Ah expressed disappointment as she looked at Kang-Woo running from Balrog and Si-Hun.


    ''I wanted to do it too¡­''


    She twirled the kimbap around with her chopsticks.


    Lilith approached her and asked, "Hoho. How did things go yesterday?"


    "U-Umm, I haven''t¡­"


    "Hmm. Youck courage. I honestly wished for you to seed."


    "¡­"


    Han Seol-Ah remained silent and carefully opened her mouth.


    "Uhm¡­ Are you fine with that, Ms. Lilith?"


    "I''m sorry? With what?"


    "If¡­ umm¡­ things w-work out between me and Kang-Woo, you would be¡­"


    She couldn''t easily express herself.


    Lilith giggled.


    "I do not mind."


    "Pardon?"


    "A king is supposed to have multiple lovers."


    "¡­"


    It was a way of thinking that she couldn''t easily ept as someone born and raised in Korea.


    "Fufu, I was just joking."


    "Oh¡­ R-Right?"


    "Yes. I will be honest with you." Lilith smiled bitterly while looking up at the blue sky. "I think it would be great if anyone couldfort the king."


    "¡­"


    "Have you heard anything about what Master Kang-Woo experienced in Hell, Seol-Ah?"


    "N-No."


    She shook her head.


    With deep, sunken eyes, Lilith said, "He acts as if it does not bother him anymore, but¡­ he has been hurt beyond your wildest beliefs."


    "¡­"


    "Fufu. Despite his cold manner of speaking, he is a very affectionate person. Do you know why the king had dered war on the princes of Hell?"


    "No¡­"


    "It was because of that massive ball of muscles over there."


    "Mr. Balrog?"


    Lilith nodded while making a bittersweet smile. "He made every single prince of Hell his enemy¡ªall to save that ball of muscle. That is how warmhearted he is. So¡­ he has likely been hurt a lot."


    Lilith''sst sentence carried an inexplicable amount of emotion.


    Seol-Ah remained silent. She felt envious and was frustrated by the fact that Lilith knew a Kang-Woo she didn''t know.


    "Fufu. In that case, I hope you manage to seed at least today." Lilith got up and waved.


    Seol-Ah stood up while looking at her walk away.


    ''I don''t¡­ want to hesitate anymore.''


    She realized she''d begun the race wayter than Lilith.


    Seol-Ah took a breath before turning around.


    ''I''ll probably fail.''


    After talking with Lilith, she realized how difficult it would be to capture Kang-Woo''s heart.


    ''She''s so beautiful and thinks about Kang-Woo so much, yet¡­''


    If Lilith hadn''t been able to capture Kang-Woo''s heart, Seol-Ah didn''t think she even had a chance.


    But¡­


    "I at least¡­ want him to know my feelings."


    Seol-Ah walked toward where Kang-Woo had escaped, her eyes shining. As she walked into the forest, she saw Kang-Woo taking a break and leaning against a tree.


    "Kang-Woo."


    "Yeah? What''s up?"


    "Th-there''s something I want to tell you."


    Seol-Ah closed her eyes and felt her head spinning.


    ''H-how should I tell him?''


    She''d received love confessions numerous times, but it was her first time making one.


    ''First¡­''


    She reached out and gently grabbed Kang-Woo''s hand.


    "Hm?"


    "I¡­ I-I-I-I-I¡­"


    Her eyes were spinning, and her head was jumbled.


    ''How should I use what Kang-Woo likes¡­?''


    She just let her lips move by themselves.


    "I-I want to make kimchi stew for you for the rest of my life."


    ''You idiooooot!!!''


    She had proposed to him out of the blue.


    No, it wasn''t even a proposal¡ªit was closer to a joke.


    Seol-Ah wanted to scream in embarrassment.


    ''He''ll think I''m a weird woman, right? He''ll wonder what in the world I''m talking about, won''t he?''


    All sorts of negative thoughts swirled in her mind. Just as she was about to turn around and run away at full speed out of embarrassment¡­


    "Sniff."


    ''Hm?''


    "Waaaaahh. I''m¡­ so fucking d I was born. Waaaaah!" Kang-Woo was moved to tears and copsed on the ground. "I''ll make you happy for the rest of my life, darling."


    "¡­"


    Holding her hand, he looked up at her with sparkling eyes.


    What Lilith had said to her the day before crossed Seol-Ah''s mind.


    "Winning the demon king''s heart will not be easy. I have tried for a very long time, but¡­ I failed."


    ''Huh?''


    It had been a piece of cake.

 Chapter 218 - Watchers of Light

    Chapter 218 - Watchers of Light


    "They still haven''t made any movements at all?" Oh Kang-Woo frowned while looking at Lilith''s report.


    "Yes," Lilith replied.


    "Hm¡­"


    ''It should be about time they made a move.''


    Lucifer or Satan. Kang-Woo had been sure that one of them would make a move soon, but unlike what he had expected, neither had.


    ''I need to raise my Demonic Energy stat.''


    He had to reach 150 in Demonic Energy to surpass the strength he had in the Nine Hells and be a Demon God.


    His growth had already reached a limit. From now on, if he wanted to raise his stat, he needed someone at the level of a prince of Hell to make their move. His irritation was soaring from the fact that things were not going ording to his expectations.


    ''Should I attack that giant branch?''


    That was an option, but after thinking about it for a while, Kang-Woo shook his head.


    ''Let''s wait a bit more.''


    Just because it was a branch with more than ten thousand members didn''t mean there was necessarily someone at the level of a prince of Hell. For example, there were many cardinals in the African branch, but there wasn''t anyone close to the level of a prince of Hell.


    ''I don''t know how many of those Aspects of Evil there are in the first ce.''


    Mammon and Satan¡­


    Those two were likely Aspects of Evil, but he wasn''t sure if they were the only ones.


    ''I hope there are more.''


    For Kang-Woo to get a more constant influx of demonic energy, it would be better if there were many beings at that level. Even if they weren''t revived princes of Hell, as long as they were at that level, he would be able to get some Demonic Energy stat points from them.


    ''I''m not sure if anyone but a prince of Hell can be an Aspect of Evil, though.''


    Besides gods, he had never met anyone at the level of a prince of Hell other than beings from the Nine Hells.


    Kang-Woo leaned back on his chair and fell into thought.


    Whoom.


    The crystal orb given to elite members of Guardians lit up on his desk.


    He reached out and grabbed it.


    [Ah, hyung-nim!]


    He heard Kim Si-Hun''s voice.


    "What''s up?"


    [I heard that Gaia just received a revtion.]


    "A revtion?"


    [Yes. I think that you shoulde.]


    "I''ll be right there."


    Kang-Woo stood up, his eyes shining sharply.


    ''A revtion, huh?''


    Thest time Gaia had received a revtion, a goddess from another world, Benigoa, hade to their world.


    ''I wonder if it''ll be another god?''


    For the moment, Earth was like a country that had dered bankruptcy.


    The gods of Earth had no way to protect Earth, so they were asking for help from wherever they could.


    ''Thanks to that, my stat rose by three.''


    A god from a faraway world, or a god from a world closely rted to Earth like Aernor or Huan¡­ it did not matter. He would use and take whatever he could since the gods of Earth were powerless to defend the world they were in charge of.


    "Tsk, useless bastards."


    Although their job was to defend Earth from otherworldly forces, they were begging for help from other worlds.


    He had never seen or heard of such pathetic gods.


    "Will you be heading straight to the Hall of Protection?" Lilith asked.


    "Yeah."


    "I will apany you."


    "No, stay here."


    He shook his head.


    ''Just in case.''


    Although he was able to hide traces of Lilith''s demonic energy thanks to the effects of Ruler of Demonic Energy, there was no need to push it.


    "In that case, I will be standing by to move at a moment''s notice."


    "Let Balrog know, too."


    "Yes, my king."


    He put the crystal orb on the floor, and a white gate appeared.


    Fwoosh.


    He walked in while feeling the sensation he had long be ustomed to.


    He saw Si-Hun.


    "Where''s Gaia?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Over here."


    Si-Hun guided him while making a worried expression.


    Kang-Woo followed Si-Hun, and when Kang-Woo spotted Gaia, she was looking upward and trembling in her wheelchair. She looked like a possessed shaman.


    He could understand why Si-Hun had been worried.


    "Aah¡­ ahh." Gaia, who had been trembling for a while, panted heavily. "Haaa, haaa. Th-Thank you foring."


    "Of course. Did you receive a revtion from Gaia?"


    "No." Gaia shook her head. "It wasn''t from Lady Gaia this time either."


    "Was it about a god from another worlding again?"


    She shook her head once again. "No. The revtion said they would send support for the events toe, but¡­ they are not a god, unlike before."


    "Then what are they?"


    "They apparently asked for support from the¡­ Watchers of Light from the continent of Aernor."


    "Watchers of Light?"


    "I''m not sure who they are, either."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''If you''re gonna give a revtion, at least make it more detailed.''


    It seemed like they were asking for help from basically everywhere they possibly could to see what stuck. It was an irresponsible course of action that could end up causing more damage than help.


    ''We have to be the ones to clean up their shit.''


    He once again sighed at how ipetent the gods were.


    ''You call this a world?''


    He wasn''t sure who the origin of all this chaos was, but the gods were borrowing power from other worlds seemingly at random.


    He couldn''t help but sigh.


    "Are theying to the Hall of Protection?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "No. The, uhh¡­ Watchers of Light have something they need to investigate on Earth, so they will be going to Africa first."


    "Africa¡­?"


    "Yes. You remember the ce where we found traces of arge-scale battle, don''t you?"


    "Oh."


    Of course he knew¡ªit was the ce where Lucifer and Satan had shed.


    "Let''s go right away."


    Kang-Woo turned his body without hesitation.


    * * *


    The grasnd had been destroyed by an intense battle.


    A group of five people wearing white clerical clothing with angel wings drawn on the back walked out of a blue Gate.


    The blond man at the front looked around.


    "This ce must be¡­"


    "Earth, I believe it was called."


    "The distribution of mana is significantly lower than in Aernor."


    The group wearing white clerical clothing continued their investigation with sharp eyes.


    "Apostle Ludwig, have you contacted the apostles of¡ª"


    "Lord Raphael has already contacted the apostles of Earth."


    "Is there a need to help them? The retainers of a broken goddess will be of no help to our quest of eradicating evil."


    "Do not be like that. They also serve the light. The thicker the darkness, the more the light must illuminate one another," Ludwig said in a firm voice.


    "I-I apologize."


    The apostles quickly lowered their heads.


    Then¡­


    "Nice to meet you."


    Three people¡ªKang-Woo, Si-Hun, and Gaia¡ªappeared from a white gate.


    Ludwig bowed and smiled. He behaved courteously and spoke politely. "Nice to meet you, apostles of Gaia. I am Ludwig, a Watcher of Light."


    Gaia bowed and replied, "My name is Gaia."


    "Oh¡­ Have you taken the name of the goddess you serve?"


    "I have abandoned my real name."


    "¡­ I am impressed." Ludwig nodded. "I have heard from Lord Raphael that Lady Gaia is currently¡­"


    "She is currently unconscious," Gaia remarked.


    "I see." Ludwig made a somber expression and sighed. He teared up. "To think that such a generous goddess would be put in such a state¡­ As one who serves light, it is truly heartbreaking."


    "Thank you for your concern, but we have many heroes who have gathered with the goal of protecting this star."


    "Hahaha, how dependable."


    Ludwig smiled brightly¡ªit was as if his smile were illuminating the surroundings. The warm atmosphere he emitted melted away all forms of caution.


    ''Watchers of Light, huh?''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and scanned them.


    Angel wing patterns were on the backs of their clerical clothing.


    ''They don''t seem to be angels.''


    In that case, they likely served the angels.


    Kang-Woo took a step forward and asked, "What is a Watcher of Light?"


    "Ah, my apologies. It seems we were short on exnations. We are devotees serving Lord Raphael."


    ''I knew it.''


    They had something to do with the angels.


    Kang-Woo nodded and slowly scanned Ludwig.


    ''¡­ I can''t really tell.''


    It was his first time seeing beings with the power of angels. He couldn''t feel how strong Ludwig and the other Watchers of Light were.


    ''Well, I''m sure I''ll find out sooner orter.''


    First, he needed to be sure that they couldn''t see through Ruler of Demonic Energy and feel the concealed demonic energy. If they couldn''t, then it would be better to form an amicable rtionship with them than to antagonize them.


    Kang-Woo said, "I heard that you havee here to investigate something¡­"


    "Ah, yes. We have been searching for traces of Lucifer."


    "Lucifer?"


    "Yes." Ludwig nodded. "That is the name of the evil demon currently at war with Lord Raphael. He suddenly disappeared not long ago."


    "Are you saying this Lucifer is currently on Earth?"


    "We are not sure, but I can definitely feel his presence here."


    Gaia''s and Si-Hun''s expressions hardened after hearing that Lucifer, a prince of Hell, hade to Earth.


    Kang-Woo was the only one who frowned in confusion.


    ''That son of a bitch didn''t go back to Aernor?''


    He narrowed his eyes and recalled that Lucifer had disappeared through a blue Gate while tearing off his own arm.


    ''No. I''m sure he went back.''


    After that, he had likely concealed himself in a ce where angels could not find him.


    ''Well, I guess it isn''t bad news.''


    He didn''t mind if the angels found Lucifer. He could always make Raphael and Lucifer fight and then just take advantage of the result of that fight.


    "As beings that serve the light, let us do our best to eradicate evil."


    Ludwig extended his hand and smiled.


    Gaia nodded and grabbed his hand.


    "Thank you for caring about otherworldly matters."


    "Not at all. Even if this is another world, evil must be eradicated."


    "Ah¡­ O-Of course."


    For a moment, Gaia turned to Kang-Woo but then naturally nodded. She probably concluded that it would be wise not to let them find out that Kang-Woo used to be the demon king of the Nine Hells.


    "We will also help the best we can," Kang-Woo said while also shaking Ludwig''s hand.


    ''This isn''t bad at all.''


    As long as they weren''t able to tell that he was a demon, he couldn''t care less if they felt animosity toward demons.


    ''He also seems like a good person.''


    Ludwig seemed gentlemanly. Since he was an apostle of an archangel, Kang-Woo could understand his excessive hostility toward demons.


    ''He could be a reliablerade.''


    "Oh, we are also investigating something else besides Lucifer''s whereabouts. A being known as the Demon of Prophecy¡­ Lord Raphael has bestowed us with a method to find the demon after coborating with the gods of Earth."


    ''Nope, I guess we''ll never berades.''


    Kang-Woo had felt an unknown sense of displeasure from the moment Ludwig spoke. His smile was obviously a mask to hide his filthy and disgusting intentions. Kang-Woo couldn''t even imagine how many atrocities he had likelymitted in the name of eradicating demons.


    ''Damn follower of a fallen angel.''


    Intense anger spread through his body. He clenched his fists, and his body trembled.


    It was hard to contain his disgust.


    ''As long as I still have eyes to see with, I won''t let you do as you wish!''

 Chapter 219 - Pure White Executioner, Ludwig

    Chapter 219 - Pure White Executioner, Ludwig


    "The Demon of Prophecy¡­?"


    "¡­"


    Gaia''s and Kim Si-Hun''s expressions understandably darkened.


    The Demon of Prophecy¡­ the master of the Demonic Sea, who possessed 666 Authorities. It was the being who had destroyed the Gaia System and allowed otherworldly beings to invade Earth. He''d killed a protector and had mercilessly murdered the outstanding hero Reynald.


    He was the master as well as the origin of all evil¡­ Satan.


    Since they were hearing about him from someone of another world, they couldn''t help but be surprised.


    "I-Is there anything you know about the Demon of Prophecy?!"


    Si-Hun grabbed Ludwig''s shoulders while making an excited expression.


    Expression heavy, Ludwig shook his head.


    "Lord Raphael had mentioned that he hadn''t known about the Demon of Prophecy before conversing with the gods of Earth. After hearing what that evil being has done¡­ it was truly horrifying."


    He was shaking his head as if he didn''t even want to think about it.


    He continued, "I heard he also killed the apostle of Lord Tirion, God of Heroes."


    "Ah¡­"


    Reynald¡­


    The group let out an exmation after hearing that name.


    Kang-Woo, who had cried when Reynald died, frowned.


    Si-Hun, who had a deep trauma regarding that demon, asked in an excited voice, "Are you saying that you will be able to help us find Satan?"


    Ludwig nodded. "Yes. Ah, before that¡­ Lord Raphael had mentioned that there is a chance Satan is not the Demon of Prophecy."


    "What?"


    "Wh-what do you mean?!"


    Gaia''s, Si-Hun''s, and Oh Kang-Woo''s expressions hardened after hearing those shocking words. Among their expressions, Kang-Woo''s paled especially.


    Ludwig said, "Lord Raphael had said that the Satan he knew did not possess the Demonic Sea. In the worst-case scenario, Satan may not be the Demon of Prophecy, but his retainer¡ª"


    "That is impossible," Kang-Woo said firmly.


    "Why do you think so?" Ludwig asked.


    "I had shed with Satan in the past. Back then, he had said himself that he had acquired the Demonic Sea. There is no doubt Satan is the Demon of Prophecy."


    "Oh¡­" Ludwig nodded. "I see. If Satan himself said he has the Demonic Sea¡­ then he must be the Demon of Prophecy."


    "¡­"


    There was a short silence.


    Kang-Woo said quietly, "But how are you nning to find the Demon of Prophecy?"


    "With this."


    Ludwig extended his arm. Brilliant light gathered in his hand, and a pure-white sword appeared.


    "This is the holy sword Ludwig."


    "Ludwig¡­?"


    "Yes." Ludwig nodded. He turned his head and smiled toward Gaia. "Just like her, I have abandoned my real name. This sword is my life and reason for existing."


    Ludwig caressed the pure white sword.


    "This sword can only be used by a pure soul untainted by evil. It has an outstanding ability to find all that is demonic. We will be able to know the exact location of the Demonic Sea as long as we use this sword."


    He touched the sword very proudly.


    Si-Hun took a step forward. "Then let us use it right n¡ª"


    "No. I unfortunately cannot use it immediately." Ludwig shook his head while making a bitter expression. "It seems the sword still has not be ustomed to this world. It is not maintaining its light."


    "When will you be able to use it?"


    "In about a week, I would guess," Ludwig said with a smile on his face. "In the meantime, could you all tell me more about Earth? I''m ashamed to say this, but¡­ I am honestly very interested in the existence of another world."


    Ludwig''s eyes shone.


    A smile appeared on Gaia''s and Si-Hun''s faces after seeing how innocent he looked.


    "Hahaha. I will be your guide," Si-Hun said.


    The two walked toward the gate that led to the Hall of Protection, and the four Watchers of Light followed them.


    * * *


    "I had a great time sightseeing. Earth''s civilization is¡­ haha. It''s hard to even find the right words. It is impressive."


    Ludwig smiled.


    Tall buildings that reached the sky and a city covered in gray¡­ It was a civilization so advanced that the capital of the Arnan Empire seemed almost barbaric inparison.


    "I will introduce you to some of the foods on Earth as well next time," said Gaia.


    "I will be looking forward to it. In that case, we will be going back to the grasnd."


    "Are you talking about Africa?"


    "Yes. We have to find traces of Lucifer there."


    Ludwig nodded without hesitation.


    Gaia opened her mouth and said, "It''s already veryte. How about you spend the night in the Hall of Protection and continue tomorrow?"


    "No. We cannot rest while carrying out the important mission of eradicating evil."


    "Will we be able to help you in any way?"


    "That is alright," he said firmly. His sharp voicepletely shut Gaia down, causing her expression to harden. But soon, Gaia regained her smile.


    She said, "I understand. If you''re being so adamant, then I guess it can''t be helped. We will give you amunication crystal, so please contact us if you need anything."


    "Thank you very much."


    Just as they were about to go their separate ways, Si-Hun suddenly stepped forward and handed Ludwig a small pendant¡ªit was of a cross embraced by the wings of an angel.


    "This is¡­"


    "You were looking at it closely earlier, so I bought it in secret. It''s a gift tomemorate your visit to Earth."


    "Wow," Ludwig eximed with shining eyes. "Thank you very much! I thought it was a beautiful pendant, but you shouldn''t have¡­"


    "It was nothing at all."


    "No. It truly means a lot, at least for me. Thank you so very much, Si-Hun."


    The two men shook hands.


    Gaia smiled at how well Ludwig and Si-Hun were hitting it off. It seemed as if she was thinking that Si-Hun, who did not have many people whom he could call friends, had finally made a good friend.


    "I will contact you once we find traces of Lucifer."


    Ludwig bowed respectfully.


    A white gate opened, and Ludwig passed through it along with the other four Watchers of Light.


    They saw the grasnd they had first arrived at on Earth.


    Ludwig said while looking over the grasnd, "They were very nice people."


    "Yes. It is truly a relief that the apostles of Gaia are cooperative."


    "Hahaha. They also seemed quite skilled."


    Ludwig smiled. "We will certainly be able to make use of them in our battle against the demons."


    "Ah¡­ I-I see." The apostles replied in bewilderment.


    Ludwig nodded energetically. "Yes! I was quite worried at first whether they would even qualify as bait to lure out the demons, but they have exceeded my expectations."


    "Mmm."


    "L-Lord Ludwig."


    "Yes?"


    One of the apostles cautiously said, "Wouldn''t it be a problem if we, umm¡­ used the retainers of Gaia in such a manner? Gaia is an upper god¡­"


    "Oh, you''re right. I must have misspoke." Ludwig smiled and gently touched the pendant he''d received from Si-Hun. "Sacrifice¡­ yes, that''s the word. Sacrifices are necessary to eradicate all demons in this world."


    "¡­"


    "I am sure the members of Guardians would also be honored to lose their lives in battle against the demons. Yes, I am sure of it."


    "I-I see."


    "Do not forget, everyone," Ludwig said in a firm voice to the other priests. "We must use any means necessary in order to eradicate the demons. Even if countless lives must be sacrificed¡­ Yes, even if the Earth were to be destroyed, we must eliminate the Demon of Prophecy, Satan. You all know this, do you not?"


    "O-Of course!"


    Satan, the Demon of Prophecy that a god had foretold, was not a threat to just Earth. Raphael had said that there was a high chance that he would aim for the angels of the continent of Aernor after destroying Earth.


    ''I cannot let that happen.''


    To lessen Raphael''s worries, they had to kill the Demon of Prophecy at all costs¡ªeven if they had to drive every single one of Gaia''s retainers to their deaths.


    "Hahaha! What a relief. There is no need to worry. It is a noble act to sacrifice oneself for the eradication of demons. Their souls will receive true salvation once they cross through the gates of Heaven."


    A smile appeared on Ludwig''s face. His beautiful blue eyes¡ªwhich resembled the sea¡ªsparkled with pure-white madness.


    The apostles trembled while looking at Ludwig, and they remembered his other name.


    Pure White Executioner.


    * * *


    ''FUUCCKK!!''


    Silent curses bounced around in Kang-Woo''s head. It felt as if his mind was burning to a crisp. He was grabbing his head while sitting in a dark room.


    ''Dammit.''


    He anxiously bit his lip.


    ''I can''t believe they have a way to locate the Demonic Sea.''


    He still wasn''t sure if the holy sword would be able to nullify the effect of Ruler of Demonic Energy. There was a chance that the holy sword was just very good at detecting demonic energy and would not be able to find the Demonic Sea, which waspletely concealed through Ruler of Demonic Energy.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone sharply. He couldn''t take that chance.


    ''I have to do something.''


    He had a week before the holy sword Ludwig was used, and he had to take measures before that.


    "¡­"


    The gears in his head turned in silence.


    ''Should I transform into Satan and attack them?''


    It was a decent idea, but he had done the exact same thing when he had attacked Guardians'' secret vault and in the incident with Reynald.


    ''I can''t do the same thing over and over.''


    One was bound to be caught if they left too many traces.


    Someone was bound to think something was off if he kept using the same pattern. In other words, they would be suspicious from the fact that Satan seemed to appear at the most perfect times.


    ''Not good.''


    Doing the same thing would only raise suspicions, especially when Ludwig had posed the possibility that Satan may not be the Demon of Prophecy.


    "In that case¡­"


    As he was thinking, he remembered something that Ludwig had mentioned.


    "This sword can only be used by a pure soul untainted by evil."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    ''Yes, that''s it!''


    The tips of his mouth went up.


    If only a pure soul could use that sword¡­


    ''I just have to corrupt him!''


    Pure-white things were meant to be dirtied.

 Chapter 220 - How To Corrupt A Saint (1)

    Chapter 220 - How To Corrupt A Saint (1)


    "Yeah, I have that option."


    Oh Kang-Woo nodded.


    Of course, Raphael''s apostle Ludwig, who had suddenly appeared in their lives, was already a corrupt individual. Kang-Woo did not even have to do anything for that to be the case.


    "Yup. He''s already corrupt. I''m sure of it. Mhm."


    He''d had a bad feeling about Ludwig ever since he heard Ludwigugh. It sounded like theugh of a viin masking his viiny.


    It was also extremely suspicious how he quickly got along with everyone despite having appeared out of nowhere.


    ''How dare he get all friendly with Si-Hun?''


    Ludwig was definitely trying to take advantage of Si-Hun, who was kind-hearted.


    "Like I''d let you."


    Kang-Woo clenched his hands into fists, and his lips trembled.


    He wasn''t trying to corrupt Ludwig; he was just trying to expose what was hiding beneath Ludwig''s mask. His goal was to make sure everyone saw Ludwig''s true face.


    "Yep. Mhm."


    Kang-Woo looked up at the sky through his window.


    ''I''m not the bad guy.''


    He could swear by the heavens that he wasn''t ashamed of his actions a single bit. After all, he was sure that Ludwig''s true face was that of a fallen saint.


    "Right, I should get ready."


    The weight on Kang-Woo''s shoulders felt lighter already.


    Kang-Woo stood up while smiling and ced his hand over his ear as he called someone.


    - Yes, my king? Lilith answered.


    "I have a favor to ask you."


    - Fufu, there is no need for favors. Just say the word, and I will do it.


    Kang-Woo smirked and opened his mouth.


    "First, can youe here right now?"


    - Of course.


    The call was cut. Just thirty secondster, the door of his room opened, and Lilith appeared.


    ''How did she get here so fast?''


    It was so fast that Kang-Woo wondered if she lived next door.


    ''Come to think of it, I haven''t seen the gentleman who lives next door in a while.''


    He narrowed his eyes and looked at Lilith suspiciously.


    Meanwhile, Lilith knelt on one knee and lowered her head in greeting.


    "I have done as you havemanded, my king. Fufu. What is it that you wanted to tell me? If it is for nightly service, then let us¡ª"


    "No. It''s nothing like that," Kang-Woo quickly answered.


    He tried to calm down while he organized his thoughts.


    ''How to corrupt a saint¡­''


    He thought of a way to reveal Ludwig''s true identity.


    "We''re gonna create a dungeon," Kang-Woo said.


    "A¡­ dungeon?"


    "We have a week, and it needs to be as horrifying andrge as possible."


    "But¡­"


    A week wasn''t nearly enough time. They did not have arge army at their disposal like back in the Nine Hells. They could use Vaal Zahak''s undead army for simplebor, but creating arge-scale dungeon in such a short time was almost impossible.


    "I''ll be joining in the construction."


    "Ah, hohoho. That would change things, then."


    Lilith smiled brightly.


    If the Demon King helped, it waspletely doable. He had fully recovered the power he used to have back in the Nine Hells, so it would be apletely different story if he took part in the dungeon construction.


    "I will begin making the blueprint. What theme would you like it to be?" Lilith asked.


    "Hmm."


    Numerous thoughts crossed Kang-Woo''s mind.


    ''This is more fun than I expected.''


    He had simply wanted to set the stage to expose Ludwig''s true self, but getting involved with the production process itself was quite entertaining. He felt like a kid building a castle with Legos.


    ''Is this why demon kings never leave their castles?''


    Kang-Woo felt like he understood why demon kings never got off of their asses.


    Heughed a bit and kept thinking.


    A theme that just screamed ''demon king''...


    ''As horrifying as possible.''


    A ce capable of making one fall into despair and break their mind¡­


    A dungeon that recreated the worst possible nightmare¡­


    A ce that not even the most respected saint could resist being corrupted in¡­


    "Fufufu, take your time."


    Lilith smiled mischievously and sat next to Kang-Woo. She reached for his hand and slowly caressed it.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up.


    ''That''s it.''


    There was no need to take his time to think about it. The most terrifying and horrifying thing he could think of¡­ a manifestation of a nightmare¡­


    Kang-Woo began, "The theme of the dungeon will be¡­"


    There was nothing better than this.


    "Tentacles," he concluded in a firm voice.


    Lilith''s eyes widened.


    "Oh, my king!"


    She shyly shook her head with her hands on her cheeks.


    * * *


    "I had fun today as well. The food on Earth is quite impressive. We can use ice magic to create ice cream, but we do not have a great variety of vors like on Earth. Was it¡­ mint chocte? It was very delicious," Ludwig said while smiling brightly.


    "That''s a vor people on Earth can''t agree on¡­" Kim Si-Hun remarked while giving an awkward smile.


    "What? Is that so? But it was so delicious¡­"


    Ludwig tilted his head as if he couldn''t understand it.


    Si-Hun smiled bitterly upon seeing Ludwig''s innocent appearance.


    "About your world, Mr. Ludwig¡ª"


    "Please, call me Ludwig."


    "Huh?"


    "Hahaha. Has it not been a week since you introduced me to Earth''s civilization? Once we can figure out the location of the Demon of Prophecy through the holy sword, support will arrive from the celestial realm¡­ and the time I can spend with all of you from Guardians will be reduced," Ludwig exined. He extended his hands and expressed, "So, I would like to make friends from Earth before then."


    "Ah¡­"


    After hesitating for a moment, Si-Hun smiled and grabbed Ludwig''s hands.


    "Okay. I guess this is fate, so let''s get along, Ludwig."


    "Yeah, let''s."


    Both people exchanged a firm handshake, and there was an awkward atmosphere.


    Si-Hun blushed and scratched his cheeks while avoiding Ludwig''s gaze.


    ''A friend, huh?''


    It was an awkward word for Si-Hun. He had never had a friend before because his brother, Kim Yeong-Hun, had made it so. Si-Hun had always lived a lonely life.


    ''I wonder if hyung-nim would disapprove.''


    There was a chance Kang-Woo wouldn''t approve of Si-Hun hanging out with a friend like an idle middle school student when he should be using every single moment of his time to train.


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun thought about it for a while and shook his head. In the end, he didn''t think Kang-Woo would get mad over something like that.


    "Let''s get ready to go back. Today''s the day, right?" Si-Hun asked.


    He didn''t specify what he was talking about, but the meaning was clear.


    Ludwig nodded and replied, "Yup, today. A little more time and the holy sword willpletely adapt to this world.¡±


    "Then I should gather the Guardians members and¡ª"


    "No, don''t," Ludwig interjected, shaking his head. "Using the holy sword requires a lot of concentration. The fewer people there are around, the better."


    "Mm¡­"


    "And I''d rather not have this be the case, but there''s a chance that there might be someone in Guardians with demonic energy. I''m nning on using the holy sword with just the Watchers of Light around me, just in case."


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained silent and thought of Kang-Woo, someone who had been born a human but ended up having the body of a demon for reasons that were outside of his control.


    ''It''ll be okay.''


    Kang-Woo had abandoned his power as a demon. The energy filling him now was the sacred power of Tirion, God of Heroes.


    ''It''ll¡­ be okay.''


    Si-Hun suddenly felt uneasy.


    He looked at Ludwig and asked hesitantly, "Hypothetically speaking¡­ what will you do if there really is a demon in Guardians?"


    "I''ll kill them."


    "Umm¡­ What if they''re not a regr demon and became one due to circumstances out of their contr¡ª"


    "Si-Hun," Ludwig said with a smile, "It doesn''t matter how they became a demon. Whatever situation they''re in or whatever circumstances they have, it doesn''t matter. Demons need to die. They need to be torn apart and burned to death¡ªevery single one of them."


    "...Even if they were forced to be a demon? You know that humans can turn into demons against their will, just from being exposed to demonic energy."


    "Yeah, they could''ve been," Ludwig acknowledged with a nod. Then he continued without hesitation while maintaining his bright smile, "But that has nothing to do with us. Regardless of why they became a demon, they must die."


    ''Every single one¡­''


    "¡­"


    Ludwig was firm and unwavering.


    Si-Hun looked at him in bewilderment.


    ''It''s weird.''


    There was something twisted about Ludwig''s reasoning.


    Si-Hun began, "You¡ª"


    "Oh, isn''t that Kang-Woo over there?" Ludwig said and pointed toward Baskin Robbins, the ice cream shop they''d just visited.


    He saw Kang-Woo entering the shop with Han Seol-Ah by his side. They were carefully holding hands.


    "Oh, you''re right."


    "Who''s the person next to him?"


    "That''s Ms. Han Seol-Ah. She''s hyung-nim''s girlfriend."


    Si-Hun looked at both of them while narrowing his eyes. He felt a bit envious.


    "Huh¡­?" Ludwig uttered, his eyes suddenly widening. "C-Could it be? No, that''s impossible. H-How could someone from Earth¡­"


    "...What''s wrong?"


    "H-Hahaha!! By the gods, I can''t believe it!!" Ludwig eximed excitedly. He quickly turned around. "I''ll get going."


    "Huh?"


    Before Si-Hun could say anything, Ludwig opened a Gate leading to the Hall of Protection and quickly woke up one of his subordinates standing by there.


    "I have to contact Lord Raphael right now," Ludwig said.


    He stood in front of the Gate leading to Africa with a very wide smile and then took a step forward without hesitation.


    However¡­


    "...Huh?"


    Once again, a confused murmur left his mouth.


    For the past week, they had been constantly using this Gate, which was connected to the battlefield that had Lucifer''s traces on it, but¡­


    "Where¡­ are we?"


    "L-Lord Ludwig! Wh-Where are we?!" the priests shouted anxiously.


    Ludwig looked up. They were in a giant cave. Endless darkness enveloped them like the abyss.


    "Eek!"


    One of Ludwig''s subordinates raised his hand, pouring white light into the cave.


    Squelch.


    "Huh?" Ludwig uttered with a hardened expression.


    Once the cave was illuminated, they could see hundreds of thousands of tentacles.


    Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!


    The thousands of tentacles wiggled around, leaking yellow pus and transparent fluid. A horrifying scent flooded the noses of those present.


    "A-Aah," they gasped in horror.


    One of the priests copsed, and¡­


    "H-Huh?"


    He realized the very floor they were on was made of tentacles.


    "R-Run aw¡ªkurgh!! Ugh!!"


    Crack!


    A tentacle shot out and entered the priest''s mouth. It traveled down his esophagus and wriggled around his stomach.


    Bash!


    "Mmmph! Mmph!!"


    The tentacle burst out of his stomach.


    "Aaaaahhh!!"


    "R-Run!"


    Blood-curdling screams filled the cave.


    Ludwig looked grimly into the darkness and muttered, "Just what is¡­ this ce?"


    Riiing!


    [You have entered the SS+ rank dungeon ''Lilith ? Demon King Love Houswhythefuckdidyounameitlikethisfuckitsalreadyset.'']


    A blue message window popped up.

 Chapter 221 - How To Corrupt A Saint (2)

    Chapter 221 - How To Corrupt A Saint (2)


    "Wh-What the hell is this?"


    A strange message appeared in front of Ludwig.


    Before he could finish reading the message, the darkness covering the entire cave wriggled. A tentacle rose from the side and targeted his head.


    Ludwig quickly ducked, so the tentacle merely grazed his hair.


    Bash!


    "Kurgh!"


    Instead of Ludwig, the tentacle caught a Watcher of Light standing next to him.


    Squelch.


    Liquid flowed down the tentacle. The tip of the tentacle split, and a sharp prominence appeared.


    "E-Eek! H-Help me!! Help meeeeeeeee!!!" the priest screamed desperately.


    He squirmed and cried as an intense fear that went beyond death engulfed him. The priest struggled and reached out in hopes of getting help, but¡­


    Squelch!


    "A-Arrgghh!!! L-Lord Ludwig!!! Lord Ludwig!!! H-Help me!! Lord Ludwiiiggg!!!"


    "¡­"


    The tentacle stuck to the priest''s face. The dozens of sharp prominences at the opening of the tentacle wiggled as if they were savoring the priest''s skin.


    Then the tentacle''s hundreds of prominences, which were as sharp as des, pierced into the priest''s flesh and sucked the blood that poured out of the wounds. After that¡­


    Gurgle, gurgle.


    Yellow pus poured out of the prominences and into those wounds.


    Immense pain numbed the priest''s mind as a horrible stench wafted from the tentacle.


    "Aaaaahh! Aaaaahh!!"


    "Father Xerath!!" Ludwig called out.


    He quickly spread his hand, and white light gathered around it. He summoned the holy sword Ludwig, which was overflowing with sacred power. The sword was his name, life, and goal.


    Ludwig grabbed the sword and swung it.


    Crack!


    The holy sword severed the tentacle, which was as thick as the thigh of an adult male human.


    The sword had received the blessing of the high elves, who didn''t appear unless Aernor was on the brink of copse.


    A sacred power that destroyed demonic entities flooded the area like a fast-spreading poison.


    The severed tentacle fell away from the priest''s head.


    A sound resembling a groan emerged from Ludwig''s mouth, "Ah,"


    St.


    The priest''s skull had split open, and yellow pus poured out from it. His skin was rotting, and his eyeballs were dangling. The priest was already dead.


    Ludwig''s expression crumpled, and he took out amunication crystal orb. It was the crystal orb that he''d received from Gaia, who told him to use it if they needed help.


    ''Damn.''


    Zzzzt. Zzzzt.


    All that could be heard from the crystal orb was static. Amid the static was a man''s voice.


    - Hel¡­ Wha¡­ th?


    "This is Ludwig. It seems like someone has meddled with the gate. I believe it is a demon''s trap."


    - What¡­ status?


    "I am fine, but one of my subordinates has already been done in. We will be in danger at this rate. I would like to request backup from every Guardians member. We will try to stall for time as we escape."


    - Can¡­e ou¡­ ide?


    "We will not be able to leave. It seems a demon hasplete control over this space."


    - Where¡­ are¡­


    "I am not sure. We seem to be inside a dungeon."


    - We¡­ on our¡ªZZZT!!


    The static worsened to the point that it was hard on the ears. Ludwig frowned and threw the crystal orb on the ground.


    He looked at the profound abyss, turned around, and shouted, "We will advance!!!"


    If they stayed here, they would surely die. They had to move to a ce free from the tentacles.


    "What? A-Advance?"


    "We should be going back to¡ª"


    Two priests, who were blocking the tentacles'' attacks, shouted anxiously.


    Ludwig bit his lip and said, "There is nowhere to run."


    "A-Aaahh."


    After hearing those words, the priests turned their heads and saw that the Gate they''d crossed through had been devoured by the darkness. The priests fell into despair.


    Ludwig gripped the holy sword and took a step forward. He drew out the sacred power that was inside his body and emitted an aura of white light.


    It was the power of an angel. If demons had demonic energy, then angels exercised miracles through sacred power.


    He concentrated that power on the holy sword. Then he raised his sword above his head and swung downward.


    FWOOSH!!


    The brilliant light from the holy sword cut straight through the tentacles. A pathway appeared within the dark cave filled with tentacles as if he were Moses splitting the Red Sea.


    "Now!"


    "Aaaaaaahh!!!"


    The Watchers of Light charged forward. They threw their cumbersome robes away and concentrated the sacred power on their hands.


    A white light burnt and spread in all directions like fire.


    Sizzle¡ª!!


    The tentacles were burnt away by the white light, emitting smoke and letting off a terrible smell.


    "Kuh!"


    "Don''t stop!!"


    Ludwig grabbed a priest who had stopped due to the smell by the neck and pulled him away. A tentacle brushed past where he had just been standing,


    Ludwig lowered his posture and concentrated sacred power on his back.


    p!


    White wings pierced out of his back. He used all his strength to p his wings, quickly flying through the tentacle-filled cave and into the darkness.


    [Kahahahahaha!!]


    Augh imbued with faint demonic energy reached Ludwig, and he frowned.


    "I knew it was a demon''s doing."


    He wasn''t sure how the demon had discovered his existence or how they''d managed to manipte a Gate inside the Hall of Protection so that it would lead here. Nevertheless, he didn''t think about it for long.


    ''First, I will kill the demon.''


    There were no doubts in his ideals. If a demon had dragged him into a trap, the only thing he had to do was to kill them.


    [Nice to meet you, human.]


    "¡­"


    Ludwig didn''t answer. The opponent was a demon¡ªa filthy heretic not worth even speaking to.


    He raised his holy sword and got into a fighting stance.


    [Kehehehe. Should we not at least exchange names?]


    The demon, who had a body covered in green tentacles,ughed. Horrid demonic energy weighed Ludwig down.


    "I have no name to reveal to a demon," Ludwig said firmly.


    [Kahahahaha! I like your attitude!]


    The five-meter giant demonughed. Every time heughed, the darkness fluctuated.


    The demon raised his two fists, which weren''t covered by tentacles.


    [Still, you should at least know the name of the being who will kill you.] The demon grinned. [I am Yogg-Saron.]


    "¡­"


    It was a demon Ludwig had never heard of.


    He frowned.


    Still, it didn''t matter who the opponent was; what mattered was that the opponent in front of him was a demon.


    ''All demons¡­ must die.''


    Whoom!


    The holy sword emitted light, and he rushed forward with the sword.


    Despite how big he was, the demon easily dodged his attack.


    Yogg-Saron turned 180 degrees with his left leg as the pivot point, lowered his posture, and shot forward.


    [Hehehehe.]


    "E-Eek!"


    After dodging Ludwig''s attack, Yogg-Saron grabbed the neck of one of the priests, cing the priest between him and Ludwig like a shield.


    "L-Lord Ludwig!"


    Stab!!


    "Kurgh!!"


    Ludwig cut the priest apart without hesitation.


    It didn''t matter if he was his subordinate or arade who served the light.


    ''To kill a demon¡­.''


    Ludwig had no time to consider such meaningless things.


    The sword cut through the priest''s body and stabbed Yogg-Saron''s shoulder.


    The green tentacle was severed, and his muscr red skin became visible. His hands were torn as if his sword had shed with invulnerable armor.


    [Kahaha!! You are merciless! Don''t you have even a single bit of hesitation since they''re your subordinates?]


    "Silence, demon," Ludwig said in a low voice.


    He''d killed a subordinate who had served him for a long time, but there was no regret on his face. He felt neither sorrow nor remorse. There was no way he''d feel such emotions.


    After all, it was only natural for a being who served light to eradicate demons. It didn''t matter how much he had to sacrifice if it was to kill a demon.


    Schwing.


    Ludwig raised his sword, and rays of light cut through the darkness. He radiated with sacred power, and when he pped the wings on his back, it made him look angelic.


    [Interesting.] Yogg-Saronughed. [The demon king will take great interest in you.]


    "...Demon king?" Ludwig frowned after hearing the ominous title. "Are you talking about Satan?"


    [Hm? K-Kahahahahahaha!!!!] Yogg-Saronughed while holding his stomach. [Satan?? Sataaaan? Do you truly believe I, Yogg-Saron, would serve such a weakling?]


    "¡­"


    Ludwig''s eyes shook, and his thoughts ran wild.


    If the demon king wasn''t Satan¡­


    ''Who?''


    Who was the being who had the ominous title of the demon king?


    [Come, servant of light. I will let you realize the power of true darkness.]


    Before Ludwig could continue his line of thought, Yogg-Saron cut through the light and leaped forward.


    * * *


    ''Good.''


    Outside of the dungeon, Kang-Woo smiled went up when he looked inside the dungeon through the magic device that Lilith had installed.


    It had been thirty minutes since Balrog and Ludwig had begun fighting, and Ludwig was slowly getting pushed back.


    ''But still, he''s quite strong.''


    Kang-Woo had recovered his former strength after fulfilling the conditions for the Demonic Soul. Balrog was connected to him through his soul, so he was now truly on par with a prince of Hell.


    Despite that, Ludwig had battled Balrog for thirty minutes. Moreover, he had even been able to wound him. Even for an apostle of an archangel, it was impressive that Ludwig had such strength.


    ''I''m sure the sword is ying a part in that as well.''


    Kang-Woo looked at the sword that was emitting brilliant light¡ªthe holy sword Ludwig.


    The apostle Ludwig was certainly stronger than he had expected.


    ''But¡­''


    That was all there was to it.


    tter!


    "Kurgh! Huff! Huff!"


    Ludwig knelt, holding his chest and panting heavily.


    Kang-Woo smiled as he looked at him.


    ''I should get started.''


    He put away themunication crystal he had been holding and took out a ck sphere. Then, a tentacle stealthily stuck to the back of Ludwig''s head.


    After confirming the connection, Kang-Woo nodded in satisfaction. Now, his voice would enter Ludwig''s mind directly.


    ''The effect is important.''


    Doing that would produce a different effect from having Ludwig hear Kang-Woo''s words with his ears. It was important that Kang-Woo''s voice reverberated from Ludwig''s mind to the rest of his body.


    ¡®Right, then¡­''


    It was time for Kang-Woo to recite the lines that he''d prepared. He surged with excitement.


    ¡®Man, I''ve always wanted to say this at least once.''


    He even felt that it was unfair he''d never had the opportunity to say it after bing a Demon King.


    "A-Ahem."


    Kang-Woo stretched his neck muscles.


    ''Let¡¯s get into the mood¡­''


    He closed his eyes and pulled demonic energy from his body.


    The phrase that he''d prepared was a symbol of corruption; it was what everyone thought of when they imagined corruption.


    "Do you want power?" a grotesque and eerie voice flowed into Ludwig''s mind through the ck sphere.


    It was a dark and wet voice that sounded as if it wereing from the abyss.


    "...What?"


    Ludwig looked around after hearing a voice flowing right into his mind.


    Kang-Woo clenched his hands into fists.


    ''Shiiiiiieeeet!!! Fuck yeah! This is the shit! You can''t go without this line if you wanna corrupt someone!''


    Excitement surged within him.


    ''Holy fuck.''


    "Do you want power?" Kang-Woo heard his line echoing in his ears.


    ''So fucking cool.''


    Kang-Woo wished his darling could see this.

 Chapter 222 - How To Corrupt A Saint (3)

    Chapter 222 - How To Corrupt A Saint (3)


    A bit earlier¡­


    ng!


    White mes poured in all directions. The sword and fist collided.


    Massive pressure tore Ludwig''s hands apart, but that onlysted for a short while. His radiant sacred energy healed the wounds on his hands.


    "Kuh," he grunted.


    Ludwig took a few steps back, lowered his posture, and raised his sword again.


    They shed once more.


    sh!


    Ludwig shed the demon''s wrist. Blood poured out of the deep wound, but¡­


    Bash!


    "Kurgh!"


    The demon ignored the wound and countered.


    The massive shock shook Ludwig as if he had been hit by a battering ram. His vision swirled. He was shaken by the sensation of flying through the air and gravity smashing him down onto the ground.


    Ludwig felt like the entire world was spinning. He coughed up crimson blood.


    "Haaa, haaa¡­"


    His breath became heavier, and he raised his head to look at the demon who called himself Yogg-Saron.


    They had been fighting for thirty minutes. Ludwig''s stamina was about to bottom out, the strength in his hands was gone, and his legs were shaking.


    The brilliant light enveloping him was also dimming. He could feel that he''d lost.


    "Kuh."


    Ludwig frowned. He couldn''t ept it.


    The demon in front of him was still in perfect condition.


    ''Demons¡­ must be killed.''


    Whatever it took¡­ Whatever needed to be sacrificed¡­ demons had to be eradicated. That''s what he''d known since birth.


    His memories of the despair he''d felt in the past returned to him.


    Demons¡­ Whenever he thought about those disgusting beings, he felt nauseous.


    "I will¡­ kill you," Ludwig said in a low voice.


    His eyes were full of madness. He was trying to hypnotize himself.


    He put more strength in his trembling legs and stood up, gripping the holy sword with both hands and preparing to fight again.


    [Amazing,] Yogg-Saron said in surprise.


    He felt Ludwig''s indomitable will. It was an obsession close to madness.


    Yogg-Saron smirked and clenched his hands into fists.


    The heat of the battle made his blood boil.


    m¡ª!!


    They shed, exchanging rapid blows over the course of a second in midair. The battle couldn''t be observed with even a sixth sense.


    Ludwig swung the holy sword downward on Yogg-Saron''s shoulder.


    Yogg-Saron blocked it with the back of his hand, spewing ck blood. His Demonic Armor deflected the holy sword away, and he used the recoil force to twist his body midair. He pped his wings to correct his unstable posture.


    Ludwig once again swung down the holy sword, aiming for Yogg-Saron''s head this time.


    [However¡­]


    Yogg-Saron stomped on the ground. He lowered his body as the ground caved in. His thigh muscles inted, and the tentacles were torn away.


    He swung his fist like an uppercut, colliding with the holy sword that was being swung down.


    Boooooom¡ª!!!


    A huge explosion shook the dark cave, and a blinding light swept away the darkness. Ludwig was pushed back by the impact, and he rolled on the ground.


    [This is your limit.]


    Yogg-Saron looked down at Ludwig with deep, sunken eyes.


    "Cough! Cough!"


    Ludwig coughed blood while digging his fingers into the ground. He tried to get up, but he couldn''t put any strength into his arms. He copsed, falling face-first into the dirt.


    "A-Aargh."


    Ludwig struggled and squirmed like he was trying to deny reality, but he simply did not have the strength to stand back up. He raised his trembling head to see the demon looking down at him.


    He could instinctively feel that his death was near.


    ''At this rate¡­''


    It would be the end.


    He would die in a faraway world without having done or achieved anything.


    ''No.''


    Ludwig''s eyes filled with desperation.


    He wasn''t afraid of dying. It was an honorable thing to die in a battle against demons. This was the most secure way to reach Heaven, which was what every Watcher of Light wanted.


    Yet¡­


    ''At least¡­''


    He couldn''t die at this moment. He had found a reason to survive.


    ¡®I have to tell Lord Raphael.''


    Ludwig thought of the ''seed'' he''d found by coincidence beforeing here. When he thought of the esteemed one who was trapped in the body of a lowly human and living the life of one, he couldn''t help but tremble.


    He clenched his hands into fists, ground his teeth, and tried to stand again. He shook from the strain and gave out again before he could fully raise himself.


    "A-Aaaahh,¡± he cried in despair while Yogg-Saron walked toward him.


    The light around him faded, and darkness fell.


    Then¡­


    - Do you want power?


    "...What?"


    Ludwig had heard a quiet voice in his mind. He looked around, but he couldn''t see anything.


    - There is no need for you to speak out loud.


    ''Who¡­ are you?'' he asked the voice in his mind.


    - I am death. I am the end. I am the father of all wrath, and I am wrath itself, the voice continued rhythmically like a singer or a poet reading a poem.


    - I am Satan.


    ''Sa¡­ tan¡­?''


    Ludwig frowned aggressively after hearing that name.


    Rage toward Satan boiled up from within him.


    - I havee to make you a deal.


    ''Get out of my head. I will not listen to the whispers of a demon.''


    Ludwig firmly shook his head.


    There was no need to listen to what a demon had to say, especially Satan.


    ''He is the Demon of Prophecy.''


    He was the Demon of Prophecy who would bring destruction to this world. But it wasn''t just Earth. A god had foretold that the Demon of Prophecy would destroy Aernor, Huan, and all other worlds connected to the Nine Hells.


    So, there was no need to listen to such a being.


    - Hahahahaha!!


    An evilugh echoed through his mind.


    - As expected from a Watcher of Light.


    ''Silence. I will listen to you no longer.''


    - Hehehehe. Can you truly afford to do that in the situation you are in?


    ''¡­''


    Ludwig remained silent and raised his head. He saw Yogg-Saron walking toward him.


    Yogg-Saron was walking very slowly. Perhaps it was because Yogg-Saron thought he''d already won or because he wanted Ludwig to be fearful of his approaching death.


    Regardless, there was one thing Ludwig was sure of. When the demon reached him¡­ he would die.


    ''It matters not.''


    - I cannot see that being the case, Satan remarked mockingly.


    Ludwig bit his lips.


    ''I would rather die than make a deal with a demon.''


    - Hahahahaha! Good! That is a good mindset to have! But¡­ I wonder if you would still make the same choice after knowing the truth¡­?


    ''What?''


    - Even if I tell you that Raphael could die¡­ if you do not let this truth be known?


    ''What are you talking about?''


    Ludwig''s eyes wavered.


    What sort of truth could it possibly be for him to dare to mention Raphael dying?


    - Have you still not realized it even after listening to Yogg-Saron? Can you truly not imagine why I am trying to make you a deal?


    ''...What in the world are you t¡ª''


    - I am not the Demon of Prophecy.


    ''¡­!''


    Ludwig''s eyes widened, and he trembled.


    Raphael had already posed the possibility that Satan might not be the Demon of Prophecy, but hearing it from Satan himself sent chills through his entire body.


    ''In that case¡­''


    The retainers of Gaia were being deceived by the true Demon of Prophecy.


    "Kuh." Ludwig anxiously bit his lip.


    ''If you are not the Demon of Prophecy¡­ Is the Demon of Prophecy the demon king whom this demon in front of me mentioned?''


    - You are fortunately not a moron.


    Satanughed softly.


    - Correct. I was captured by the demon king and was reduced to being his mere subordinate.


    ''¡­''


    There was a short silence.


    A demon strong enough to make a prince of Hell his subordinate¡­ Ludwig couldn''t even imagine who such a demon could be.


    ''Is the demon king¡­ Bael?''


    - No. It is not Bael.


    ''Wha¡­''


    Ludwig''s thoughts became even more of a jumble.


    Even the demon that the angels were most wary of wasn''t the demon king¡­?


    ''How am I supposed to trust you?''


    - Use the sword.


    Ludwig lowered his head to see a sword emanating a white light.


    Holy Sword Ludwig¡­ It was a sword with sacred energy, and it was capable of locating the Demonic Sea.


    "Kuh¡­"


    [What? Are you thinking of putting up some sort ofst stand?]


    Yogg-Saron chuckled as he approached Ludwig. He then stopped and crossed his arms.


    [Then give it a shot. I will wait.]


    "¡­"


    Ludwig bit his lip and raised the holy sword.


    The sess rate was higher only if he focused entirely on it in a quiet ce, but he did not have the leeway to choose at the moment.


    Ludwig closed his eyes and focused. He soon found the Demonic Sea.


    "Ah¡­" Ludwig gasped.


    He trembled after realizing the truth.


    "The Demonic Sea is¡­"


    - You seem to have found it.


    Satanughed.


    "...Inside Guardians?"


    Ludwig didn''t know who had the Demonic Sea, but it was currently in the Hall of Protection, Guardians'' headquarters.


    If that was the case¡­ that meant¡­


    "Hypothetically speaking¡­ what will you do if there really is a demon in Guardians?" Ludwig recalled Kim Si-Hun''s words.


    ''The retainers of Gaia¡­''


    They were beingpletely deceived by the Demon of Prophecy. They''d been deceived so perfectly that they''d even epted him as a member of Guardians.


    No, there was a chance that they hadn''t been deceived.


    ''Guardians could be¡­''


    They could be in leagues with the Demon of Prophecy.


    "N-No."


    Raphael had epted the request from the gods of Earth and was working with the retainers of Gaia. Yet, the Demon of Prophecy was inside Guardians¡­.


    ''I have to let them know.''


    Ludwig had to tell Guardians, who were being deceived by the Demon of Prophecy. He had to tell Raphael, who was trying to help without knowing that Guardians was being deceived by the Demon of Prophecy.


    Ludwig couldn''t even imagine how many lives would be lost if he didn''t reveal the truth. In the worst-case scenario that he didn''t even want to think about¡­


    ''Lord Raphael could die.''


    There was no guarantee that the darkness that had devoured Guardians wouldn''t spread to Raphael.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Crack.


    Ludwig clenched his hands into fists.


    He widened his eyes. He swung his hands as if he were trying to grab the air and then desperately stood up with every bit of strength he had.


    [Hah, you call that yourst stand?] Yogg-Saron said disappointedly.


    Ludwig''s eyes filled with despair.


    At that moment, he heard Satan''s voice.


    - Now, I will ask you again. Would you like to make a deal with me?


    "¡­"


    There was silence.


    Ludwig did not take long to think.


    "I¡­" Ludwig said in a firm voice with an unwavering gaze, "...refuse."


    Riiing.


    [The Authority of Subordination has failed due to the subject''s resistance.]


    Ludwig gripped his holy sword tighter. White light poured out of the sword and covered his body.


    "Do not delude yourself, Satan," Ludwig continued with zing eyes.


    Even if he lost everything¡­


    Even if everything was destroyed¡­


    "I do notpromise with demons."

 Chapter 223 - How To Corrupt A Saint (4)

    Chapter 223 - How To Corrupt A Saint (4)


    "Oh?" Oh Kang-Woo uttered after reading the message window that appeared in front of him. "Impressive."


    He''d pushed Ludwig into a corner and also eliminated all other choices for him. Kang-Woo had even revealed the truth to Ludwig to an extent and dragged him down into the pit of despair.


    ''Even after that¡­''


    Ludwig was in the worst possible situation he could be ced in, yet he still rejected Kang-Woo''s deal and resisted the Authority of Subordination.


    ''I''m surprised.''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but be impressed by Ludwig''s pure and firm ideals. He''d thought that the chances of Ludwig refusing the deal in that situation would be extremely low.


    "But¡­"


    Kang-Woo shrugged while smirking at the absurdity.


    He''d certainly thought that the chances would be low, but that also meant he had thought of the possibility of Ludwig refusing. In other words, Kang-Woo had already made the necessary preparations for such a situation.


    "...That''s all there is to it."


    The demonughed.


    * * *


    "I do notpromise with demons," he said in contempt as if he found even the thought of it disgusting.


    Ludwig used his holy sword to prop him up as he staggered to his feet.


    He knew it wasn''t the best decision to make in his situation. He wasn''t stupid enough that he couldn''t recognize that bending his ideals for the future, Raphael, and Aernor would be the right decision.


    ''But¡­''


    Ludwig''s eyes gaze sharpened.


    He knew demons very well. He knew just how evil, wicked, and clever they were.


    ''A deal?''


    Ludwigughed in disbelief. It was absurd.


    Satan hadn''t mentioned the price Ludwig would need to pay because there was no need to.


    ''Because¡­''


    He was nning to take everything from Ludwig.


    If the price Ludwig had to pay was everything he had, then his decision didn''t matter; it would lead to a doomed end regardless. He wasn''t stupid enough to not realize that.


    Even if he managed to walk out of here alive, it wouldn''t be over; he would spend the rest of his life as Satan''s puppet before he could convey the truth to Raphael, killing hisrades of the light with his own hands.


    ''I cannot let that happen.''


    Ludwig''s eyes shone sharply.


    It was true that he had to tell Raphael what he''d just learned, but borrowing the power of a demon to do that would be counterproductive. It would only be a shortcut to even greater destruction.


    ''In that case¡­''


    Ludwig gulped and closed his eyes. He focused his attention on the holy sword Ludwig¡ªthe sword he''d even thrown away his name for.


    "I offer my life," he said to the sword.


    Whoom.


    The holy sword vibrated and emitted a white light.


    Ludwig caught his breath and raised his head. He shone brilliantly and spoke the name of the technique that he needed to sacrifice his life to use.


    "Radiance."


    Whoooom¡ª!!!


    The vibration became more intense, and the sword emitted an explosive amount of light that covered Ludwig.


    Rip.


    The skin on Ludwig''s back tore, and four wings emerged from it. They weren''t fake wings made of light like the ones he had before; these were real angel wings.


    A brilliant light filled their surroundings.


    "K-Kurgh!"


    He twisted and squirmed as an enormous amount of sacred power from the holy sword flowed into him. It had already gone beyond the amount of sacred power a human body could ept.


    "A-Aaaaaaaaahh!!"


    Ludwig swung the holy sword while enveloped by the brilliant light.


    Crackle!!


    The darkness was split.


    * * *


    [My king,] Balrog''s voice rang out through the ck sphere. His tone was stiff. [It seems the n has gone awry.]


    "I can see that," Kang-Woo replied.


    His initial n had been to corrupt Ludwig and control him through the Authority of Subordination. In other words, Kang-Woo wanted to use an apostle of an angel as his puppet.


    "It''s a bit unfortunate."


    Kang-Woo leaned back in his chair.


    He had materialized the n that he had improvised while making the dungeon with Lilith. Furthermore, he had done his best to amplify the anticipated gains.


    ''I guess it failed.''


    If Kang-Woo just wanted to make Ludwig unable to use the holy sword, all he had to do was kill Ludwig. A dead man wouldn''t be able to use the holy sword.


    However, Kang-Woo wanted more than that. He had judged that he would be able to obtain an even greater return if he put in more effort to corrupt Ludwig, allowing the apostle to free himself from the repetitive pattern he was stuck in.


    ''That''s why I was nning to use the Authority of Subordination.''


    If Kang-Woo were able to obtain Ludwig, Ludwig would have been useful in all sorts of ways. Nevertheless, it would be difficult to do that now.


    [Will you kill him?] Balrog asked with intense bloodlust.


    "Mmm¡­" Kang-Woo murmured, thinking deeply about what to do.


    He leaned back while rocking the chair and recalled his conversation with Vaal Zahak.


    - Hmm. About that man named Ludwig¡­ What a shame.


    ''A shame?''


    - Yes. I have never seen a human with such a powerful and impressive body other than your brother. I would guess¡­ that he is even better than Reynald.


    ''So?''


    - Hehehe. If I could turn him into a Death Knight¡­ an incredible piece of art would be born. A Death Knight of the highest¡­ No, maybe something beyond a simple Death Knight. I may be able to turn him into an Abyss Knight.


    ''That name sounds strong as fuck.''


    - They are a superior form of Death Knight. It can only be created with a vengeful soul that has suffered an unjust death. The power of such a being would be¡­ Hehehe. Even Lord Balrog would have a hard time against it.


    ''Mmm¡­ It''s rejected for now. We can turn him into one anytime after using the Authority of Subordination on him.''


    The short conversation yed in his mind.


    After thinking about it for a while, Kang-Woo slowly said, "No, don''t kill him."


    [But at this rate, he will escape the dun¡ª]


    "It''s fine."


    [He knows too much,] Balrog replied worriedly.


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    "Balrog."


    [Yes, my king.]


    "What do you think is the best way to corrupt a saint?"


    [There are many ways to¡ª]


    "Under the assumption that they will not be corrupted no matter what we do for whatever reason."


    [¡­]


    Balrog remained silent.


    Corrupting an incorruptible saint¡­ The question itself was contradictory. There was no answer to such a question.


    "Take a good look." Kang-Woo smiled. "I''ll teach you how."


    * * *


    Crackle!!


    The darkness was split. The cave was torn apart, and light flowed through the cracks.


    ''This is¡­''


    Ludwig saw the familiar ruined grasnd.


    ''This is where we first arrived.''


    Ludwig''s eyes shone.


    Then he turned and looked at Yogg-Saron. For some reason, the demon wasn''t moving at all.


    ''This is my chance.''


    Ludwig wasn''t sure why the demon wasn''t moving, but that didn''t change the fact that it was the perfect opportunity for him to escape.


    Ludwig crouched down, jumped into the air, and pped his four wings. He shot forward at incredible speed.


    ''I have to let them know.''


    He had to tell Raphael everything he''d heard in the dungeon.


    Ludwig escaped the dungeon through the cracks in the darkness. Tentacles chased after him, but he was faster.


    Crackle¡ª!!


    Upon breaking free from the dungeon, Ludwig crashed to the ground and rolled over the dirt.


    "Huff, huff," he panted heavily.


    The side effects from pushing the holy sword to its limit were already taking their toll on his body. Ludwig could tell that he did not have much time left.


    ''Quickly¡­''


    He had to return to Aernor.


    Just then¡­


    "Ludwig!!"


    "Are you okay?!!"


    Kim Si-Hun, Kang-Woo, Gaia, Cha Yeon-Joo, Grace McCubbin, and other elite Guardians members were running toward him. It seemed like the backup Ludwig had asked for had arrived.


    "Kuh¡­" Ludwig groaned as he looked at them warily.


    Guardians was being deceived by the Demon of Prophecy. He first had to tell them the truth.


    "You are all being decei¡ª"


    "Wait," Kang-Woo, the young man with sharp eyes at the front, interjected and raised his hand. With a stiff expression, he urged, "Everyone, stop."


    "Wh-What''s wrong, hyung-nim?!" Si-Hun asked anxiously.


    "¡­" Kang-Woo frowned. "It''s¡­ toote."


    "Huh? What do you¡ª"


    "Ludwig is already being controlled by a demon."


    "...What?"


    "I-Is that true, Kang-Woo?!" Gaia hurriedly asked.


    "Yes. It''s already¡­ toote," Kang-Woo answered, nodding with a heavy expression. He clenched his hands into fists aggressively and stomped on the ground. "Shit! Shit! If only we''d arrived faster!"


    Ludwig looked at Kang-Woo nkly.


    ''What is he talking about?''


    Ludwig wasn''t being controlled by a demon. He''d refused Satan''s deal. He had escaped the dungeon purely with his power.


    So, why was Kang-Woo saying that it was toote?


    "H-Hyung-nim! What do you mean?! Ludwig is perfectly fi¡ª"


    "No," Kang-Woo said, firmly shaking his head. He took out amunication crystal orb from his pocket. "To be honest, from the moment I heard this message¡­ I knew that it was toote."


    A voice rang out from the crystal orb.


    [This¡­ Lud¡­ g. It seems some¡­ meddled with the Gate¡­ demon''s trap¡­ I am¡­ already¡­ done in¡­ danger¡­ every¡­ escape¡­ demon hasplete control over¡­]


    It was Ludwig''s voice, mixed with a lot of static interference. In the message, he seemed aware of his imminent death and spoke as if those were hisst words. It was not hard to tell from this message that it had already been toote for Ludwig.


    Kang-Woo grabbed Si-Hun''s shoulders.


    "I''m sorry, Si-Hun. I couldn''t bear to let you listen to this message earlier."


    "A-Aaaahh¡­"


    "Ludwig¡­ has already been corrupted by a demon."


    Kang-Woo lowered his head as if he couldn''t bear to look at Ludwig.


    Ludwig looked at him with his mouth wide open.


    ''What the¡­''


    His thoughts tumbled around in his mind. What he heard through the crystal orb was definitely his voice, but¡­ he''d never said anything like that.


    ''What''s going on?''


    Ludwig turned pale.


    He recalled the conversation he''d had with a Guardians member as soon as he entered the dungeon.


    - Hel¡­ Wha¡­ th?


    "This is Ludwig. It seems like someone has meddled with the Gate. I believe it is a demon''s trap."


    - What¡­ status?


    "I am fine, but one of my subordinates has already been done in. We will be in danger at this rate. I would like to request backup from every Guardians member. We will try to stall for time as we escape."


    - Can¡­e ou¡­ ide?


    "We will not be able to leave. It seems a demon hasplete control over this space."


    - Where¡­ are¡­


    "I am not sure. We seem to be inside a dungeon."


    - We¡­ on our¡ª ZZZT!!


    That had been what he had said.


    ''How did that¡­''


    [This¡­ Lud¡­ g. It seems some¡­ meddled with the Gate¡­ demon''s trap¡­ I am¡­ already¡­ done in¡­ danger¡­ every¡­ escape¡­ demon hasplete control over¡­]


    ''...Turn into this?''


    "A-Aaaahh," Ludwig uttered while trembling.


    He looked at Kang-Woo with a pale face.


    "Ludwig has already been corrupted," Kang-Woo said firmly as he teared up. "We must¡­ kill him with our own hands."


    Corrupting an incorruptible saint was much simpler than it seemed.


    ''The truth doesn''t matter,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    All that mattered was what seemed like the truth.

 Chapter 224 - Holy Sword Ludwig

    Chapter 224 - Holy Sword Ludwig


    "You son of a¡ª"


    Ludwig trembled, his mouth gaping open in surprise. His head was burning from the rage boiling up within him.


    "A-Arghh."


    He put his hands on his cheeks. He couldn''t even form proper words, and his head felt fuzzy.


    ''It''s over.''


    Ludwig could tell from the grim expressions of the Guardians members and from Kim Si-Hun''s anguished expression that he was screwed. He couldn''t understand how a demon had edited his words in such a way, but the result was impressive even to him.


    ''No matter who hears it¡­''


    The recorded message sounded like Ludwig''sst words, spoken after falling for the schemes of a demon and bing corrupted. His message said that it was already toote for him and that they shouldn''t go find him.


    After receiving such a message, who in the world would think that he hadn''t been corrupted?


    "Y-You''re wrong!" Ludwig shook his head and pointed at Kang-Woo. "This is all part of that scumbag''s pl¡ª"


    Gurgle, gurgle.


    At that moment, a green tentacle stuck to the back of his head wriggled. It was the tentacle that Kang-Woo had ced on Ludwig to speak into his mind.


    The tentacle branched out into dozens of tendrils and traveled down Ludwig''s body. They were not attacking him; they were moving across his body and sticking to his skin to make it look like his blood vessels were protruding from his skin in a horrifying manner.


    Then¡­


    "As expected, he''s being eroded by the demonic energy," Kang-Woo remarked while lowering his head.


    Horrifying green blood vessels had be visible all over Ludwig''s body. Objectively speaking, Ludwig appeared to be in an abnormal state. There was no better word to describe it than ''erosion.''


    "No, this isn''t¡ª"


    "Shut up, you evil demon!!" Kang-Woo screamed at Ludwig in disgust, and his lips trembled. "I already know that Ludwig isn''t there anymore. Hepletely disappeared after you took over his body!"


    "Everyone¡­"


    "Sniff. Ludwig¡­ How could this have¡­"


    "Please, listen to m¡ª"


    "We will¡­ never forget you, Ludwig¡­"


    "For fuck''s sake."


    Ludwig grabbed his head as if he was about to go insane. His mind was in jumbles. He looked up to see everyone else staring at him with eyes full of pity and sadness.


    "Ludwig¡­" Si-Hun uttered.


    He closed his eyes and squirmed, unable to get over the shock.


    Everyone''s reaction was different, but they all had something inmon¡­ They believed Kang-Woo rather than Ludwig.


    "H-Haha," Ludwigughed in disbelief.


    He couldn''t even think of anything to refute the situation. It was far more difficult to prove a person''s innocence than to prove that they were guilty. His back had been put up against the wall of the situation.


    ''It can''t be reversed.''


    Such a thought crossed his mind, and anger surged within him.


    Ludwig paled as he looked at Kang-Woo. He saw the tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth curl up into a smile.


    ''Oh Kang-Woo.''


    Thoughts shed through his mind. All of the puzzle pieces in his mind hade together.


    The one who had tampered with the Gate leading from the Hall of Protection to Africa, the one who had received his transmission from the Gate, and the Demon of Prophecy, the master of the Demonic Sea, who had infiltrated Guardians¡­


    "It¡­ was you," Ludwig stated.


    He trembled, and his eyes widened. Mad with anger, rage took control over him. He lost his reason as his emotions burst forth.


    "It was you," Ludwig repeated.


    That was the only possible exnation.


    It didn''t matter whether he had truly been corrupted. It had be the truth the moment that everyone deemed that he had been corrupted.


    All his efforts to cast aside Satan''s temptations and to keep his beliefs from wavering had been for naught.


    "Oh Kang-Woooooooooooooooo!!!"


    He let madness take control of his body and stomped on the ground. Ludwig gripped his holy sword, and blinding light followed his movements.


    He''d used most of his power to escape the dungeon, but he couldn''t afford to fall yet.


    "Raaaaaaaaaaaahh!!"


    Ludwig had to tell Raphael the truth about the demon king and the woman named Han Seol-Ah.


    However, none of those things mattered at the moment. Kang-Woo was right in front of him.


    The demon who had infiltrated Guardians, the group of people protecting Earth, was mocking him despicably. Kang-Woo was a monster wearing human skin.


    His sneer was engraved in Ludwig''s mind.


    "DIIIIE!!" Ludwig roared.


    He swung down the holy sword.


    aang!!


    However, Si-Hun blocked the sword, which was covered in brilliant light.


    He wore an anxious expression as he said, "Lud¡­ wig¡­"


    "Moooove!! You are all being deceived!! You are all being yed by that demon!!" Ludwig screamed.


    "Kuh."


    "Damn idiots!! And you call yourselves the protectors of Earth?!!"


    "Ludwig!" Si-Hun eximed desperately while looking at Ludwig, who had been taken over by madness.


    It hadn''t been long since they had met¡ªonly about a week. Si-Hun had only shown Ludwig the many different cultures on Earth that he had been curious about, so their rtionship was a bit ambiguous for him to call Ludwig his friend. Nevertheless¡­


    "Shit, shit, shit!!" Si-Hun cursed.


    Ludwig was covered in pure-white light, but he couldn''t look any more horrid. His eyes were filled with madness, and he was panting heavily. Most of all, green blood vessels were protruding from his skin, which proved that he had been taken over by a demon.


    They all meant one thing¡­ Ludwig had passed the point of no return.


    ''Hyung-nim.''


    As if asking for an answer, Si-Hun turned to look at Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and shook his head, implying that it was toote for Ludwig.


    Si-Hun silently gripped his sword tighter.


    Kang-Woo grabbed his shoulder and said, "Si-Hun, let me¡ª"


    "No," Si-Hun replied in a low voice, suppressing his sorrow. "I''ll do it. This is¡­ something I have to do."


    He stared at the corrupted saint.


    Si-Hun had never seen this side of Ludwig before¡ªthe side that had lost his mind to rage. He saw the pendant he''d given to Ludwig hanging on his neck.


    Si-Hun felt like he was tearing up and closed his eyes.


    ''I have to do it.''


    Even if it was painful, no¡­ he had to be the one to do it because it was this painful. He couldn''t let anyone else do it.


    ''Ludwig.''


    He didn''t know which demon had corrupted Ludwig, but it wasn''t hard to guess who it was. From what he knew, there weren''t many demons capable of corrupting a saint with such firm beliefs like Ludwig.


    ''Focus.''


    Si-Hun eliminated all useless thoughts and cast aside his emotions, focusing only on what he had to do,


    His eyes sank deep into their sockets, momentarily bing simr to Kang-Woo''s.


    "Fuuu."


    Si-Hun took a deep breath, gripped his sword with both hands, and lowered his posture. He stomped on the ground and rushed forward.


    "Aaaaaahh!!" Ludwig screamed.


    He was thrashing about while being tainted by madness.


    "Don''t worry, Ludwig," Si-Hun said shortly.


    "You motherfuckerssssssss!!!"


    "I''ll end your pain with my own hands."


    "Fucking listen to meeeeeeeeeee!!!" Ludwig shouted like a madman.


    For a moment, a hopeful thought that maybe Ludwig would be able to escape from the demon''s influence crossed Si-Hun''s mind.


    ''Don''t think about nonsense,'' Si-Hun told himself.


    He remembered Kang-Woo''s words that it was already toote for Ludwig. There was likely a reason why Kang-Woo had said such a thing.


    Kang-Woo''s abilities were far more extraordinary than what Si-Hun could imagine. So, if Kang-Woo was certain of it, then it was bound to be true.


    "I''m sorry," Si-Hun apologized.


    After that, he stretched his hands forward, and his sword flew through the air as if it were alive. He closed his eyes and focused.


    ''Heavenly Dragon sh.''


    There was a sh of light as the sword pierced Ludwig. Red blood sttered on the ground, and the smell of iron wafted from his wound.


    "Cough!"


    "Ludwig¡­" Si-Hun cried.


    He caught the falling Ludwig with one arm and embraced him.


    "I''ll remember you," Si-Hun said.


    "U-Urghh¡­"


    Ludwig teared up.


    tter.


    The holy sword fell to the ground.


    Si-Hun and Ludwig¡­ The protector and the corrupted saint painted a moving scene.


    Kang-Woo lowered his head and pretended like he was crying, but he was actually ncing at the holy sword that had fallen to the ground.


    Gulp.


    ''I''m sure it''s at least Mythic-grade.''


    He couldn''t help but feel excited.


    ''It could even have a unique stat boost effect!''


    If Holy Sword Ludwig had such an effect, it could even have the goofy effect of a holy sword boosting his Demonic Energy stat. It seemed possible since Seol-Ah''s Grace of Light had boosted his Demonic Energy stat before.


    Kang-Woo carefully walked toward the two of them and picked up the holy sword.


    Ring!


    [Holy Sword Ludwig is rejecting the filthy soul!!]


    Whoom.


    White light burst out from the holy sword.


    ''A filthy soul, you say?''


    Kang-Woo frowned. He couldn''t understand the message window at all; there was no soul more pure than his.


    ''The system is so unreliable.''


    Ring!


    [Holy Sword Ludwig is being tainted by darkness due to the overwhelmingly filthy soul!]


    ''Bro.''


    [Holy Sword Ludwig is vomiting in disgust!]


    ''Swords don''t fucking vomit.''


    [The sacred power of Holy Sword Ludwig is starting to be annihted!]


    ''What the f¡ª''


    [The holy sword is being dposed! The blessing of the high elves, Demon-Detecting Light, has been damaged!]


    ''Fine. I won''t use you, so stop, dammit.''


    Kang-Woo frowned while holding the sword. Sacred power was gushing out from the tip of the holy sword as if it were actually vomiting.


    He didn''t care that its ability to detect demonic energy was damaged, but the Mythic-grade weapon could disappear at this rate.


    "Si-Hun."


    "Hyung-nim¡­"


    Kang-Woo put his hand on Si-Hun''s shoulder and handed Holy Sword Ludwig to him.


    The sword stopped vomiting sacred power.


    "Ah¡­"


    "From what I know, the name of this sword is also Ludwig," Kang-Woo said.


    "...Yes," Si-Hun replied with a nod.


    The first day that they met Ludwig, Ludwig had mentioned the sword''s name.


    Kang-Woo gripped Si-Hun''s shoulder and spoke in a firm voice, "Take this sword. Only you have the right to wield it."


    "Hyung-nim¡­ I¡­ wasn''t able to save him."


    "Yes, you weren''t. Since you weren''t able to save him, take this sword and save even more people with it."


    "Kang-Woo hyung-nim¡­"


    "Never forget."


    Kang-Woo and Si-Hun, who was crying, looked down at Ludwig''s corpse.


    Ludwig, the saint who had been corrupted by an evil demon¡­ His eyes were wide open, seemingly bitter about his death.


    Kang-Woo closed Ludwig''s eyes for him.


    "Ludwig will always be with you," Kang-Woo told Si-Hun.


    "...Sniff."


    Si-Hun lowered his head, and tears flowed down his cheeks. He took off the pendant on Ludwig''s neck while holding the holy sword.


    "Okay," Si-Hun said. He put the pendant around his neck. "I will never forget."


    When he stood back up, there was an intense light burning in his eyes.


    Ludwig, a Watcher of Light¡­ He''d been corrupted by a demon, but his strong will and beliefs managed to be passed down to Si-Hun.

 Chapter 225 - Abyss Knight

    Chapter 225 - Abyss Knight


    ''But will he be able to use that?''


    Oh Kang-Woo took a nce at Kim Si-Hun, who held the holy sword with a sad expression on his face.


    One couldn''t say that Si-Hun''s soul waspletely pure.


    Just taking into consideration what kind of person he was, one could say that he had a pure soul, but he was Kang-Woo''s Familiar and was connected to him through the Authority of Subordination.


    Their souls were deeply connected.


    ''But it''s at least not vomiting anymore.''


    Unlike how it was vomiting sacred power as if it were having a seizure, it now looked quitefortable. Rather than epting Si-Hun as its owner, it was as if it were saying that Si-Hun''s soul was bearable.


    ''Shit.''


    He thought he''d be able to get a Mythic-grade weapon, but he had been unable to get it because the sword itself possessed an ego.


    ''Well, I guess it''s not terrible.''


    Kang-Woo nced down at Si-Hun, who was holding the holy sword and looking down at Ludwig''s corpse with eyes full of determination. Ever since his El Cuero de had been destroyed during his battle against Mammon, Si-Hun had been using a Unique-grade sword.


    ''It''s too low-grade for Si-Hun.''


    Phrases like "the quality of swords being pointless to a true swordsman" wereplete shit. As one was able to control more power, a weapon durable enough to handle that power was crucial.


    ''Tsk. It''s too bad, but I guess it can''t be helped.''


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and turned his head. After all, he already had the Key of the Demonic Sea¡ªa Transcendent-grade weapon. He had no reason to be so hung up over the holy sword.


    ''Come to think of it, when is this thing gonna finish digesting?''


    Kang-Woo took a nce at his ck ring, which wasn''t reacting at all. It wasn''t like he desperately needed a weapon at the moment, but not being able to use something he normally could was disappointing.


    "Let''s go back, Si-Hun."


    "¡­ Yes, hyung-nim."


    Si-Hun nodded with a heavy expression on his face.


    Kang-Woo turned around.


    ''Angels, huh¡­?''


    He narrowed his eyes. He actually had no intention of going against the angels. Even in the case of Ludwig, if he had not had the power to locate the Demonic Sea, he wouldn''t have done anything to him.


    ''There''s no reason to fight them.''


    As long as they didn''t notice him, he had no reason to antagonize the angels¡­ or that was what he had thought.


    "Ngh."


    His mind became a mess.


    ''They''re probably gonna keeping.''


    Ludwig had died. Although Kang-Woo had no idea who had corrupted him or which demon hadid their hands on the Watchers of Light, one thing was for sure:


    ''They won''t stop here.''


    The goal of the angels was to eradicate demons from all dimensions linked to the Nine Hells. There was no way they would sit idly by after the death of a Watcher of Light, even if it had urred in another world.


    ''And there''s no way that Raphael thinks lowly of Ludwig.''


    Although it was for an otherworldly matter, he had sent Ludwig to answer the request from the gods of Earth. No one sent the dregs of their organization or dispatched employees as diplomats. In other words, Ludwig was a very important individual to the celestial realm.


    ''If that''s the case¡­''


    Kang-Woo kept thinking. The more important Ludwig was to Raphael, the easier things became.


    ''Of course, that''s as long as the celestial realm doesn''t have another item with the same capability as the holy sword Ludwig¡­''


    He''d learned that there were items that could locate the Demonic Sea, which was a huge problem for Kang-Woo.


    ''The chances aren''t high.''


    No, he was sure it was close to zero.


    He recalled Ludwig''sst moments and how desperate he was to tell Raphael the truth.


    ''If there were other items besides the holy sword Ludwig with such an ability¡­''


    Ludwig wouldn''t have been so desperate.


    If Raphael himself had the ability to locate the Demonic Sea, the truth would have been exposed even without Ludwig struggling so desperately with his life on the line.


    Kang-Woo had to be careful about unexpected variables, but at this moment in time, it would be okay to think there was no other item capable of locating the Demonic Sea.


    ''This is¡­''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    A storyline started to be drawn in his head.


    The forces of the celestial realm that would involve themselves with Earth in earnest and the Demon of Prophecy, Satan¡­


    If he could direct both factions the way he wanted to, it wasn''t aplicated n to pull off.


    ''Good.''


    A smile appeared on his face. Having a reliable ally was always wee.


    "Si-Hun¡­" Gaia was in deep sorrow after hearing Si-Hun''s weeping. She turned her wheelchair and rolled to the source of the sound, probably to console Si-Hun.


    "Gaia." Kang-Woo held Gaia''s shoulder. "It would be best if we let Si-Hun be alone for the moment."


    "Ah¡­ B-But¡­"


    "It''s okay. He isn''t one to despair because of something like this."


    "¡­"


    She lightly trembled. She seemed to be shocked that the forces of the celestial realm, which she had relied on, had been destroyed so thoroughly by a demon.


    "Who could have done something so¡­"


    "You know there is only one."


    "¡­"


    Gaia closed her mouth. She pictured a red demon mask appearing from an endless darkness.


    "How many more atrocities must bemitted¡­ for him to be satisfied?" she said in a sad voice.


    Kang-Woo put a bit more strength into his hand, which was over her shoulder. He lowered his head and spoke in a trembling voice that made it sound like he was suppressing his rage. "I will never forget what happened today."


    "Kang-Woo¡­"


    "I will make him pay, no matter what it takes."


    The Demon of Prophecy, Satan¡­


    There was no need to think deeply about the culprit behind Ludwig''s corruption. The culprit of everything was the demon among demons¡ªthe absolute evil driving the world to its ruin. Satan had spread so much despair that the extent of this despair had be unfathomable.


    "¡­ You will be able to do it." Gaia nodded while holding back her tears.


    Kang-Woo made a faint smile and took his hand off her shoulder.


    * * *


    [Hehehe. As expected of you, Master¡­ You have brought me such wonderful material.]


    It had been a week since Ludwig had been corrupted after falling for Satan''s wicked scheme. Vaal Zahak smiled while looking at Ludwig''s corpse, which Kang-Woo had brought him.


    Kang-Woo sat on a chair inside theboratory while making a tired expression. He had built aboratory for Vaal Zahak inside Balrog''s residence. It resembled ab belonging to either a ck mage or a mad scientist.


    "It was extremely hard getting that, you know."


    Kang-Woo sighed while leaning back in the chair. Switching Ludwig''s corpse for a fake had been harder than initially thought.


    Just as Kang-Woo had expected, the forces of the celestial realm hade to Earth soon after Ludwig''s death. Angels like Raphael had yet toe, but arge number of Watchers of Light were busily investigating the truth behind Ludwig''s death. Unlike Ludwig, they did not cooperate with Guardians and carried out their own investigations.


    ''I get it.''


    From their point of view, Guardians members were also suspects. Even if Guardians was excluded from the list of suspects, they still couldn''t trust Guardians.


    After all, Guardians had not been able to do anything while Ludwig had been dying within a demon''s trap.


    And most of all, Si-Hun had been the one to kill Ludwig.


    Even when there was footage of Ludwig''s corruption, there was no way that they would trust the people of the world that they had sent their diplomat to.


    ''This needs to be resolved, too.''


    It wasn''t good for Guardians and the celestial realm to suspect each other. They were not enemies butrades and allies who needed to band together against the powerful foe that was Satan.


    In any case, swapping the corpse with a fake one had been extremely tiresome for Kang-Woo.


    "So, how is it?" Kang-Woo asked while leaning back in the chair.


    He''d gone through all that trouble to get Ludwig''s corpse because of the Abyss Knight, a superior form of the Death Knight that Vaal Zahak had mentioned.


    [Wow. Ahh, good. Truly¡­ phenomenal,] Vaal Zahak said as if he were high. He softly caressed Ludwig''s corpse with his hands, which were nothing but bones.


    "Is it that impressive?" Kang-Woo asked.


    [Yes. I believe¡­ we will manage to get something even more impressive than expected.]


    "Oh?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. Just from Ludwig''s battle against Balrog, Kang-Woo could tell that he was amazing. Even if Ludwig was the apostle of an archangel, being able to face Balrog was something worthy of respect.


    ''But is it actually that impressive?''


    He was honestly a bit suspicious. From Kang-Woo''s subjective point of view, the extraordinary thing had not been Ludwig himself but his holy sword. In other words, Kang-Woo thought that Ludwig''s power, which had put him on par with Balrog, had been thanks to his equipment, not his own power.


    [No, his physical body is not what is phenomenal about him.]


    "Hm? Then what?"


    [His vengeful soul. I can feel an enormous amount of resentment within it. I cannot even imagine how mortified he must have felt at the moment of his death.]


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo went silent after hearing Vaal Zahak''s words. He nodded, making a heavy expression.


    ''I get it.''


    Ludwig''s piety had been the real deal. He was so upright that he had even told the members of Guardians to run away while he was on the verge of death and his mind was being dominated by a demon. Satan had corrupted a saint of such character. It was hard to imagine what Ludwig had to suffer through when he was being corrupted.


    ''I can''t just sit here and do nothing about it.''


    He couldn''t keep taking Satan''s evil acts lying down.


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists.


    ''It''s time to turn the tables.''


    A firm determination was imprinted in his mind.


    * * *


    At the end of a massive ice tunnel was a wriggling ck sphere thirty meters in diameter. A portion of the ck sphere had been severed as if a de had cut through it. A woman with bandages all over her body approached the giant ck sphere and knelt on one knee.


    "Lord Satan."


    [¡­ What is it?]


    The ck sphere fluctuated.


    Satan groaned as if enduring pain. ck blood poured from the ce that seemed to have been cut with a de.


    "The apostles of Raphael are crossing over to Earth."


    [Raphael¡­?] Satan asked in disbelief. [Are they chasing after Lucifer?]


    "No. I am not sure of the exact circumstances, but¡­ a demon has apparently brutally murdered one of Raphael''s apostles."


    [Hah.] Satanughed in a mocking voice.


    Raphael was one of the four archangels of the celestial realm. Satan knew the archangels very well.


    [Which moronic demon decided to cross Raphael?]


    Satanughed in disbelief.

 Chapter 226 - Everyone Does That, Dont They?

    Chapter 226 - Everyone Does That, Don''t They?


    "So, can you create that Abyss Knight right away?" Oh Kang-Woo asked.


    [Mm¡­ There is a bit of a problem.]


    Vaal Zahak opened his mouth after looking at Ludwig''s corpse.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    "What problem?"


    [There is still far too much sacred power left within this man named Ludwig. We will have to wait until all the sacred power dissipates from his body. I cannot proceed like this.]


    Vaal Zahak made a troubled expression.


    "Hm."


    Kang-Woo fell into thought and walked toward Ludwig''s body.


    ''Sacred power, huh?''


    Mana was the energy of nature that humans, monsters, and even gods with Divinity like Tirion used.


    Demonic energy was a destructive energy derived from the Nine Hells.


    And then sacred power was an energy of thepletely opposite nature from demonic energy.


    Of course, the three energies were the same in the sense that they could be channeled into power to break and destroy things¡ªit wasn''t like one would heal someone if one swung a weapon with sacred power.


    Although their properties were different, they were all, fundamentally, energies.


    ''I wonder what would happen?''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone with great interest.


    In the case of mana, he had the Trait Mana-Craving Demon, which transformed mana into demonic energy, but he''d never absorbed sacred power before, nor had he acquired it through other means.


    ''I wonder if I can transform sacred power into demonic energy like I can with mana.''


    If he could, it would be wonderful news to know that he could absorb sacred power from individuals as powerful as Ludwig.


    [We should first wait until the sacred power naturally dissipates from his b¡ª]


    "No."


    Kang-Woo spread his hands over Ludwig''s corpse. ck smoke poured from his hands and covered the corpse.


    ''Authority of Predation.''


    Sharp teeth sprouted from the ck smoke. Rather than a beast''s teeth, they were more like countless small teeth resembling suckers.


    Kang-Woo had modified them so they would only absorb Ludwig''s sacred power without leaving a scratch on his body.


    Slurp.


    The teeth, so small that they were invisible to the naked eye, bit into Ludwig and absorbed the sacred power within him.


    Whoom.


    White light poured out of Ludwig''s corpse and entered Kang-Woo.


    Crack!


    "Kuh."


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    He felt his skin distort where the sacred power flowed into him, and he felt as if he were burning from within.


    ''My demonic energy must be resisting it.''


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. If the two energies repelled each other, he couldn''t forcefully absorb the sacred power. Just as he was about to stop absorbing it¡­


    Riiing.


    [Sacred Power has risen by 1.]


    "What?"


    He was bewildered by the unexpected message.


    ''A stat rose?''


    Heughed in disbelief.


    ''I mean, I guess it makes sense that the Sacred Power stat would rise when I absorb sacred power.''


    Still, he was the demon king, so it was weird for him to have sacred power.


    ''Am I being corrupted? What should I call this?''


    An angel with demonic energy was known as a fallen angel, but what would they call the opposite situation?


    ''Well, whatever the case¡­''


    The name did not matter.


    Kang-Woo fell into thought while looking at the stat that had been added to his status window.


    ''Should I absorb more or not?''


    He had no idea whether it would be a plus or a minus for him.


    Although it was true that they were opposite energies, they were not excessively denying each other to the point that Kang-Woo couldn''t absorb the sacred power. As long as he absorbed the sacred power while controlling his demonic energy, the absorption process would not be hard at all.


    ''I''ll just absorb it and see what happens.''


    He needed to check how the sacred power and demonic energy would react in his normal state¡ªor in other words, after he had absorbed the sacred energy and converted it into a stat.


    If it hindered him from circting the demonic energy within his body, there was no need to have it.


    Riiing


    [Sacred Power has risen by 1.]


    [Sacred Power has risen by 1.]


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­


    He kept absorbing Ludwig''s sacred power.


    The stat was so low that it was rising at a very quick pace.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and controlled his demonic energy. He felt a single ray of light flowing into the endless darkness. It was as if he had found a bioluminescent organism within the pitch-ck abyss.


    He thought it was fascinating and beautiful.


    ''This must be sacred power.''


    He raised his hand, and a small white light gathered.


    He felt as if he were gently floating in the air.


    Although it sounded unclear, the power truly felt holy and sacred.


    ''I think I''d look super important if I wrapped myself in this.''


    If he covered his body with demonic energy, he would give the impression of being destructive and aggressive, so sacred power would have the opposite effect¡ªhe would exude a warm and trustworthy aura.


    ''This should be useful.''


    It was only on the level of an optical illusion. It had nothing to do with a person''s real characteristics or qualities, and it was more akin to clothes. But even so, one could not deny that attire was extremely important in human rtionships and, if taken a step further, in otherworldly rtionships.


    Swindlers always looked neat for a reason, after all.


    Who would invest in the new coin you were promoting if you were wearing rags?


    ''I''m not a swindler, though.''


    There was no one further from instigation, fabrication, and swindling than Kang-Woo. Leaving that aside, this sacred power would undeniably be of help to him. Thinking about how he had to build a positive rtionship with the angels from now on, sacred power was absolutely necessary.


    ''I can''t rely only on the Ruler of Demonic Energy Trait.''


    Ruler of Demonic Energy made his demonic energy feel like mana. In other words, he couldn''t cause an effect simr to sacred power with it.


    Also, since he had confirmed that demonic energy could be detected with the power of the holy sword Ludwig, having sacred power would have many uses.


    ''There''s a chance I could interfere with demonic energy detection with sacred power.''


    The chances were not high; there was no way he''d be able to conceal the infinite amount of demonic energy within the Ten Thousand Demon Core with just Ludwig''s sacred power. An ocean did not be freshwater just from pouring a bucket of freshwater into it, but he should be able to benefit to an extent by using sacred power in tandem with the Ruler of Demonic Energy Trait.


    ''It''s not hindering my demonic energy cirction either.''


    That was the most important thing.


    If he consciously regted his demonic energy, he could avoid it shing with sacred power. It was the same as using the Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique while walking.


    [D-Did you just absorb sacred power?] Vaal Zahak asked in confusion as if he''d just witnessed something unbelievable.


    "Oh, yeah.."


    Kang-Woo nodded. He couldn''t understand why Vaal Zahak was so surprised.


    ''If you can control demonic energy, it isn''t hard to have both energies simultaneously.''


    He thought that even Vaal Zahak should be able to do it.


    [What in the¡­ That should not be possible¡­]


    Vaal Zahak put his hands on top of his skull in confusion.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder and ced his hands on top of Ludwig''s corpse again.


    "I''ll suck all the sacred power out of him."


    [Wai¡ª]


    Before Vaal Zahak could finish talking, the Authority of Predation surrounded Ludwig''s body.


    Thin and long teeth pierced the corpse.


    "Haaa."


    Kang-Woo was beginning to pant a little.


    Controlling demonic energy while epting sacred power was just enough of a challenge to stimte his brain cells.


    ''This is pretty fun.''


    It felt like ying a well-bnced puzzle game.


    Kang-Woo epted sacred power while smiling.


    Riiing.


    [Sacred Power has risen by 1.]


    [Sacred Power stat has reached 73!]


    ''73, huh?''


    Although it looked like a lot at first nce, that wasn''t really the case.


    ''Most of it was annihted during the absorption process.''


    In terms of stat points, Ludwig''s Sacred Energy stat likely surpassed a hundred points easily.


    Considering that each point made a bigger difference the higher the stat was, 73 was not high in the slightest.


    ''Well, there''s nothing I can do about it.''


    The Authority of Predation couldn''t even absorb demonic energy with 100% efficiency, so there was no chance it would be able to perfectly absorb sacred power, which was something it hadn''t done before.


    ''I wanna test it out a bit.''


    He wondered how it would feel to use sacred power and demonic energy at the same time.


    Kang-Woo raised his left arm. He drew out demonic energy and then used sacred power.


    Rumble!!!


    Theb shook.


    An enormous amount of energy burst out as if the two energies underwent a chemical reaction, and they ran wild around his arm.


    "Kuh," he grunted.


    The skin of his left arm split, and ck blood poured out.


    Then, for a moment¡­


    ''Gray?''


    He saw a gray energy he''d never seen before gather around his left arm. Before he could even think about that gray mana, he felt an intense pain spread through his left arm.


    "Fucking hell."


    It hurt like hell. The pain was hard even for Kang-Woo, who was used to pain, to resist.


    He controlled his demonic energy and stopped it from shing with the sacred power.


    ''I guess it''s a bit of a stretch to mix the energies.''


    He was curious about the gray energy he''d just seen, but he couldn''t carelessly try to mix them.


    ''It hurts way too much.''


    The pain was almost unbearable.


    Vaal Zahak opened his mouth and asked in disbelief, [Wha¡­ What was¡­ D-Did you really absorb all of Ludwig''s sacred power?]


    "I mean, it wasn''t that hard."


    [What are you talking about? Sacred power and demonic energy are shing energies. Unless you have full control of the demonic energy in your body, there is no way you could stop them from¡­]


    Vaal Zahak''s words were cut short. He began to tremble.


    [Master, could it be¡­ do you always finely control your demonic energy?]


    "Huh? Isn''t that obvious? Everyone does it, don''t they?" he asked in confusion.


    Demonic energy was destructive in nature.


    He couldn''t fully control the energy within the Ten Thousand Demon Core because it was so boundless, but he always kept the demonic energy avable to him under control at all times.


    If he didn''t, his entire being would end up being consumed by the Ten Thousand Demon Core, and he would die.


    [¡­]


    Vaal Zahak remained silent.


    Finely controlling one''s demonic energy? What kind of nonsense was that?


    ''Such a thing is¡­''


    It was equivalent to controlling every single blood cell in one''s body.


    ''What in the¡­''


    Vaal Zahak shuddered. He looked at his master, Kang-Woo, who was looking at him and tilting his head in confusion.


    ''What is this monster?''


    His master was an iprehensible existence.


    Like a stigma, a deep fear was imprinted into Vaal Zahak''s bones.

 Chapter 227 - Love Advice

    Chapter 227 - Love Advice


    "Let''s see¡­"


    Kang-Woo picked up the documents he''d received from Kim Si-Hun.


    The documents mentioned the recent movements of Guardians and countries worldwide; they also included the restoration work done to restore territories upied by monsters in detail.


    "China and Japan have almost been fully restored."


    There were deserted territories that no one lived in due to the SS-rank Gates in Shanghai, China and Sapporo, Japan.


    As the size of Guardians increased, the restoration process became faster.


    After the Day of Cmity, half of the poption of Earth had disappeared, so in reality, there was no need to explore and reim those territories.


    ''But they need to level up.''


    Guardians had be massive after a huge number of people joined them, so it was necessary to push them into dangerous areas for them to grow.


    If humanity couldn''t handle fighting monsters, they would be absolutely useless in battles against demons.


    "Next."


    He turned the pages to the next document and read the information he was actually most interested in at the moment: the information on the movements of Raphael''s apostles, the Watchers of Light.


    "¡­ Nothing yet, huh?"


    They were moving on their own without coborating with Guardians. The Watchers of Light were still trying to find the culprit behind Ludwig''s death, but they hadn''t shown any movements yet.


    ''I was hoping they''d move more actively.''


    He needed the help of the Watchers of Light to keep Satan''s forces in check, but they weren''t moving at all. He wasn''t sure if they were waiting for something or were investigating through other routes.


    ''Are they waiting for an angel?''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed.


    There was a high chance that they were not strong enough to face Satan, the culprit behind the corruption of Ludwig, the wielder of the holy sword.


    ''If they are the surveying party¡­''


    It meant that a main force consisting of angels would arrive soon. There was also a chance that Raphael, one of the archangels, woulde to Earth as well.


    "Well¡­ I guess I''ll wait until an angel arrives."


    The angels were important allies that would be of help in their battle against Satan, the Demon of Prophecy.


    Fighting against Satan when angels weren''t here yet would be idiotic.


    ''¡­ Even if we can beat him without them.''


    It was a matter of cost and benefit.


    Kang-Woo didn''t have a reason to face Satan alone.


    ''Not just that¡­''


    Satan possessed Divinity.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure where he''d obtained it, but he needed to be prepared for unexpected variables.


    Knock, knock.


    He heard someone knock on the door while he was reading through the documents. A smile appeared on his face.


    ''Darliiiiiiing!!''


    Kang-Woo coughed and then opened the door.


    He saw Han Seol-Ah holding a steaming cup of coffee.


    "Are you busy, Kang-Woo?"


    "Nope. I''m done with the urgent matters."


    Except for reading through documents, he didn''t have anything to do until the angels arrived on Earth.


    A smile appeared on Seol-Ah''s face after hearing that.


    "I-In that case¡­"


    "Why don''t we go get some air?"


    "Ah¡­ O-Okay!"


    Seol-Ah quickly nodded.


    It was an awkward but rosy atmosphere. It was the first time Kang-Woo felt such emotions since he was born.


    ''I''m so d I came back to Earth.''


    If he were still in Hell, he would have gone his entire life without feeling such things.


    He asked, "Where do you want to go? We can pretty much go anywhere in the world through the Hall of Protec¡ª"


    "No. I''d like to go for a walk in the nearby park."


    "The park? But we could go anywhere¡­"


    Physical distance and money didn''t pose any problems. Kang-Woo was now among the wealthiest people in the world. It didn''t matter if it were a luxury hotel or a Michelin 3-star restaurant¡ªthey could go anywhere.


    "Fufu, it''s okay. Let''s leave that for next time." Seol-Ah grabbed Kang-Woo''s hands while smiling brightly, pulling him gently.


    They opened the door and walked out, and cool air brushed past their cheeks.


    They walked through the park while chatting about all sorts of things. They didn''t talk about anything important¡ªthey just talked about Echidna, a TV program they''d enjoyed recently, and where they wanted to visit.


    Kang-Woo found it refreshing to talk about things that had absolutely no weight to them, unlike the things he usually talked about with Balrog and Lilith.


    A smile appeared on his face.


    ''This must be why¡­''


    He began thinking that he had perhaps been able to endure so many years in Hell for this moment.


    "Should we take a seat somewhere?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Ah, okay."


    Kang-Woo looked around for a bench to sit on, but in the evening, the park was crowded with families, couples, and students.


    ''Authority of Fear.''


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Fear for a very brief moment at a very low intensity.


    The people around the park paled and left the park as if running away.


    A satisfied smile appeared on his face.


    "¡­ Everyone suddenly went away," Seol-Ah remarked.


    "They sure did," Kang-Woo said slyly while shrugging.


    Seol-Ah sighed as if she had more or less realized who the culprit was.


    They sat together on the bench in a moment of silence.


    "Come to think of it, is there any ce you want to visit, Kang-Woo?"


    "Hmm, I''m not sure since I don''t know much¡­"


    One needed to have done things before knowing what one wanted to choose as entertainment.


    Before returning to Earth, the only forms of entertainment he could think of were reading free webnovels and webtoons and eating. He couldn''t think of any ce that he wanted to visit.


    "I guess we''re the same in that aspect." Seol-Ah lightlyughed. She also had a harsh childhood, so she wasn''t used to doing things for entertainment''s sake. "I really wanted to go to Disnend with you back then."


    "¡­"


    She narrowed her eyes and pinched Kang-Woo''s side.


    Kang-Woo remained silent after remembering what had happened in Japan. He couldn''t find any excuse.


    "You will go with me next time, won''t you?" she asked.


    "¡­ Of course."


    "Hehe."


    Seol-Ah smiled and slowly hugged Kang-Woo''s arm.


    He felt a soft sensation spreading through his arm.


    ''Oh my fucking God.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened, and his pupils shook.


    Seol-Ah ced her head on his shoulder.


    "Let''s stay like this for a bit."


    ''We could stay like this forever.''


    Kang-Woo gulped. He was extremely unfamiliar with such situations, and it was very awkward.


    ''Fuck, I don''t know how to deal with situations like this.''


    All he''d done for the past ten millennia was fight. Even after returning to Earth, that lifestyle continued. He''d never experienced something like this.


    ''What should I do?''


    His mind was in jumbles.


    ''Do I set the wedding date now?''


    He couldn''t think of any other option than a wedding.


    ''Shit. I haven''t bought a ring yet.''


    He couldn''t help but me hisck of preparation. He felt anxious.


    ''Where should we go for our honeymoon? Hawaii? What about educating our children? Should we send them to private school?''


    "Kang-Woo?"


    "No. Private isn''t good. Public is best for primary school."


    "¡­ Pardon?"


    "Yeah¡­ Social media, was it? I heard that you get bullied if you don''t do that these days. What age should I get them a smartphone?"


    "What are you talking about?"


    "I guess I should buy annuities in real estate starting now."


    "Excuse me? Kang-Woo?"


    Seol-Ah waved her hand at Kang-Woo, who''d fallen into thought, but her words didn''t reach him.


    * * *


    ''Why is he like this all of a sudden¡­?''


    Seol-Ah looked at Kang-Woo in confusion.


    He kept mumbling things about retirement and raising children with a scary look on his face.


    "Mmm."


    Seol-Ah looked at him with a troubled expression and then held him a little tighter. His warmth spread from her chest throughout her body.


    "Hehehe."


    She giggled. After her self-destruction-like confession seededst time, every single day felt like a dream to her.


    ''Though it''s a shame we don''t get to spend a lot of time together¡­''


    Still, being connected with the person one liked was a joyous thing.


    She looked down at her own hands.


    ''I need to work harder.''


    She didn''t want to stay by his side while being one-sidedly protected. After all, the world''s destiny rested on Kang-Woo''s shoulders.


    ''At least a bit¡­''


    She wanted to lighten his heavy burden.


    Afterying her head on Kang-Woo''s shoulder for a bit, Seol-Ah let his arm go. She really wanted to stay like that for a bit longer, but it was time to go back home. After all, she had a skill that she was training.


    "Kang-Woo."


    Kang-Woo was still mumbling about things in a state of confusion.


    Seol-Ah pouted and clenched her fists.


    ''I-In times like this¡­''


    She had recently learned that she needed to be more assertive.


    Seol-Ah looked around to see if anyone was looking. Then, she took a deep breath. She raised her head and kissed him on the cheek.


    "H-Have youe back to your senses?"


    "¡­"


    Seol-Ah blushed while avoiding his gaze.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "It''s time to go back," Seol-Ah remarked.


    The two walked across the park and reached the entrance to their apartment.


    "You can go up first," Seol-Ah said.


    "Why? Do you need to stop by somewhere?"


    "No, I just want a bit more fresh air," Seol-Ah said while fanning her reddened face.


    Kang-Woo thought about it for a bit but ended up entering the apartment first.


    "Phew."


    Seol-Ah sighed and put her hands on her bright red cheeks. The sensation remaining on her lips was sending tingles down her entire body.


    Step, step.


    She heard footsteps and turned her head toward the source of the sound.


    "¡­ I''m d," the woman said, a smile on her face.


    It was Kurosaki Yurie¡ªno, Lilith, who was inside her body.


    "Ah¡­"


    Seol-Ah let out an exmation.


    Lilith¡­


    She knew about her long rtionship with Kang-Woo. Her feelings became heavy.


    Lilith said, "Congrattions. It seems you''ve won¡­ the demon king''s heart."


    "¡­"


    "Fufu. I''d love to know your secret."


    She felt the emotions hidden beneath Lilith''s smile.


    Seol-Ah hesitated. She honestly had nothing to say to Lilith. It was a simple matter¡ªshe''d seeded, and Lilith had failed.


    That was it.


    ''But¡­''


    Seol-Ah''s thoughts were in a mess. Lilith had spent a millennium next to Kang-Woo, so she couldn''t ignore her feelings.


    After thinking about it for a while, Seol-Ah opened her mouth.


    "I-I think you should be a bit more assertive."


    "I''m sorry?"


    "That''s what I did."


    Seol-Ah had taken the first step¡­


    Just with that, she was able to confirm Kang-Woo''s feelings.


    ''Ms. Lilith was probably too passive.''


    ¡ªJust like how she used to be.


    If not, there was no way Kang-Woo would have ignored the feelings of such a beautiful woman.


    "More assertive, you say?"


    "Yes. I think that you should show him your sincere and honest feelings."


    "Ohh."


    Lilith''s eyes shone.


    Seol-Ah grabbed her hand¡ªthey were truly beautiful hands.


    "To be honest, I''m still not sure if I''m doing the right thing, but¡­ do you remember what you told me before? You said that you wanted to heal Kang-Woo''s wounds. Um¡­ I¡­ don''t think I can do that alone. Because¡­ I don''t know Kang-Woo''s past."


    Seol-Ah struggled to say thatst sentence. She''d asked Kang-Woo numerous times, but he''d always avoided talking about it on purpose.


    "Seol-Ah¡­"


    "I wish for you¡­ to convey your feelings to him as well, Ms. Lilith." Seol-Ah smiled brightly. "I''m sure that Kang-Woo will understand your feelings if you are even more assertive and honest in conveying them. Oh, that''s right. You said you could return to your true form, didn''t you? You''re stunning even now, but¡­ I''m sure he would like your true form even more."


    "Ah¡­"


    "I''ll be rooting for you."


    Lilith trembled a bit, and she hugged Seol-Ah. "Thank you. A bit more assertive¡­ I see. You''re right. I''ve been doing nothing but waiting all this time."


    A smile appeared on Lilith''s face, and her long ck hair rose into the sky.


    "I''ll muster up the courage to take a step forward just like you, Seol-Ah."


    Her floating hair slowly transformed into green tentacles.

 Chapter 228 - Halting Operations

    Chapter 228 - Halting Operations


    "Haaa, haaa, haaa."


    A man''s heavy breathing was heard, and his clothes were soaked in cold sweat.


    A silhouette shot forward from the darkness at an incredible speed.


    m!


    He aggressively opened the door of a building with an abnormally tall ceiling.


    [My king?]


    Balrog, who was training alone in the big space, tilted his head.


    "Hide me for a bit."


    [What is wrong?]


    "Something¡­ something''s wrong."


    Kang-Woo kept talking with a hardened expression on his face.


    After he returned home from hanging out with Han Seol-Ah, he looked over the documents he''d received from Kim Si-Hun once more. Then, right when he was getting ready to sleep¡­


    He heard the sound of a flowing viscous liquid. He had shot straight up from his bed the moment he heard the sound of something wriggling his way along the wall.


    ''I know this sound.''


    He felt a familiar uneasiness. A premonition-like sense was telling him to escape. Kang-Woo had left his house without hesitation and had run full speed to Balrog''s home.


    [Hahaha! You used to do this a few times in Hell. Oh, my king¡­]


    Balrog walked toward him, smiling.


    ''Don''t smile, you look scary,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    Balrog ced his giant hand on Kang-Woo''s back.


    [If you wanted to see me, you could have just said so¡­ As long as you summon me, I wille to you from anywhere.]


    ''The hell are you talking about?''


    Kang-Woo''s mouth fell open in disbelief.


    Balrog wiped off his sweat with a towel the size of a nket as if he were satisfied just by the fact that Kang-Woo hade to see him.


    "Haaa."


    Kang-Woo wanted to say something, but he just sighed as if he were too tired to say anything. He looked around.


    ''It feels like I''m in Gulliver''s Travels.''


    All of the furniture inside was specifically built for Balrog, who was five meters tall. Since all of the furniture in the room was meant for Balrog''s size, he felt like a dwarf in a country of giants.


    He lightly jumped andnded on top of a giant couch.


    "Is there anything you find ufortable?" he asked Balrog in passing.


    Balrog smiled.


    [Nothing at all.]


    "... But I''m sure it''s ufortable living by yourself."


    Balrog had countless subordinates beneath him in Hell, but this was Earth¡ªhe had no subordinates or arade to chat with.


    Demons were not emotionless, so they also felt lonely.


    [Hup.].


    Balrog sat on the couch.


    Kang-Woo bounced in the air as the couch shook.


    Balrog opened his mouth and said, [I am fine. After all, you are here, my king.]


    "¡­"


    [I was actually more lonely in Hell after you left.]


    "... Why?"


    Kang-Woo couldn''t understand it. If Kang-Woo had disappeared, Balrog would have been the one in charge of the demon king army since he had been the second-inmand.


    ''Balrog probably took over the role of demon king.''


    Since all seven princes of Hell had died, no one but Balrog would be fit for the role if the ancient demonic beasts were excluded.


    Balrog had acquired the authority to rule over the Nine Hells, so Kang-Woo couldn''t understand why he''d felt lonely in Hell.


    [Because you were not there, my king.]


    ''You''re giving me goosebumps, man.''


    He felt chills at Balrog''s calm reply.


    Kang-Woo shifted away from him a little while feeling uneasy.


    Balrog pped as if he''d remembered something.


    [Oh, right. Would you like to try this, my king?]


    He walked toward the giant refrigerator and took out a giant silver container.


    "...Draft beer?"


    It was a giant draft beer container they often had in restaurants and bars.


    Balrog nodded and brought out two of the giant containers.


    [Do you remember when we had a feast of blood with the humans where we roasted and devoured the corpse of an animal?]


    "Are you¡­ talking about the barbecue we had at the pic?"


    [Ohhh, so you call that ruthless act a barbecue. Roasting the flesh of prey whileughing¡­ Humans are not to be trifled with.]


    "No, I mean¡­ if you put it like that, you''re right, but¡­"


    [Anyway, I had this thing known as beer while I was there. The fizzy sensation that it gives¡­ I have never tasted anything like it in Hell.]


    "You have a sense of taste?" Kang-Woo asked back in surprise.


    A demon''s taste buds were almost non-existent because, after all, they didn''t need to eat or drink, so there was no reason for them to have a sense of taste.


    To them, eating the corpse of another demon was like a victory ceremony.


    [Kekeke. I got more and more used to the taste after I kept drinking it, but I still can''t understand the vor of the kimchi stew that you enjoy so much.]


    "You dare insult kimchi stew?"


    [Hahaha! My apologies.]


    Balrog smiled brightly.


    Kang-Woo smiled as he recalled memories of the past when they were still in the Ninth Hell. He remembered that the conversations he had had with Balrog between the wars against the princes of Hell had been quite entertaining.


    Crack! Pshh!!!


    ''Oh, fuck.''


    Balrog tore the top off the draft beer container, and the beer overflowed from it. He picked up the other huge draft beer container and gave it to Kang-Woo.


    [From what I have seen, humans do it like this. Ahem, chee¡ª]


    "Leaving the cheers aside, what are you going to do about the floor?"


    [Oh, that is no problem. Vaal Zahak cleans it up on his own if I just leave it.]


    "No, how can you treat our Vaal Zahak like¡ª"


    [Hehe. I am above him in rank, am I not? Also, I am not sure who he learned from, but he seems quite used to doing housework.]


    "It''s probably innate talent."


    Balrog burst intoughter and brought the beer container toward Kang-Woo once again.


    Kang-Woo sighed and snapped his finger.


    He activated the Authority of Freezing, and created a cup of ice that he poured some of the alcohol into. He then raised the ss.


    Clink.


    It was an unexpected toast.


    Although it had nothing to do with theing battles, he didn''t feel like he was doing a useless thing.


    Kang-Woo recalled when he had first met Balrog. It had been a while since the memory had been jogged.


    "Kaaaah! That''s refreshing. Do you have any snacks to go with it?"


    [If you would like, I will invade a Demon Cult branch right now and collect the heads of demons¡ª]


    "Never mind. Jeez, there''s no getting through to you."


    Kang-Woo shook his head and took a sip of beer, and the fizz traveled down his throat.


    There was a refreshing sensation, and his unease was swept away.


    [This reminds me of the past.]


    "The past?"


    [Yes, the memory of when I first met you, my king.]


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent after he heard what Balrog said. They happened to be thinking the same thing.


    "My name is Balrog."


    Kang-Woo remembered their very first conversation.


    "I see the rumors that a human had been able to climb up to the Ninth Hell were true."


    He raised his head and saw Balrog chugging down the beer container.


    "I havee to ask you for a favor."


    His body had been covered in wounds, and his eyes were dark, like the eyes of a dead fish rather than the eyes of a demon.


    "Please¡­ kill me."


    "¡­"


    The memory was cut short.


    Kang-Woo downed the beer in silence, and a bitter taste spread through his mouth.


    [I still remember what you said to me back then, my king.]


    "Really? It''s been so long that I can''t remember."


    [You said, ''Stop shitting around being a fucking drama queen and screw off,'' I believe it was.]


    "Come on. There''s no way I was that harsh to you."


    [You actually said more curse words that I could not understand. I did not know Korean back then, so I could only understand the demonnguage mixed in between.]


    "¡­"


    There was silence.


    Kang-Woo coughed and avoided his gaze.


    ''How weird. There''s no way I said something like that.''


    Past memories were easily fabricated, or so they said.


    Kang-Woo shook his head and poured another cup of beer.


    Clink.


    He once again clinked sses with Balrog.


    ''This isn''t bad.''


    Drinking while talking about the past¡­


    He never imagined he''d do it with Balrog, but it didn''t feel bad.


    ''One day, when everything''s over¡­''


    He downed the ss while wondering if days like this would continue in the future.


    * * *


    [Myyyyyyy kiiiiiiing~~]


    "Urgh."


    [Sniff. Do you have any idea how lonely I have been without you, my king?]


    "How the fuck does a demon get drunk?"


    [Drunk? Kahahaha! There is no way I, Balrog, would be drunk from mere alcohol!]


    "You''re drunk right now, dammit!!"


    [Nonsense. Okay, take a look at this. See? I can walk perfectly straight!]


    Crack!


    Balrog stepped on a table and crushed it to smithereens. Then, he hugged Kang-Woo with his muscr arms. Perhaps it was because he had been training before Kang-Woo hade, but an immense stench of sweat attacked Kang-Woo''s sense of smell.


    "Urghh."


    Kang-Woo couldn''t breathe.


    Click.


    The door opened.


    "Balrog, have you seen Kang-Woo hyung-nim? I asked Seol-Ah, but she said he suddenly went out¡ª"


    Si-Hun entered. His expression hardened when he saw Balrog hugging Kang-Woo.


    "Si-Hun, help m¡ª"


    Kang-Woo extended his hands, and Si-Hun trembled.


    "Balrog¡­ you¡­"


    Chilling bloodlust rose up.


    ''Help me, Si-Hun.''


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun with hopeful eyes while he was being restrained by Balrog.


    "How could you do something so envi¡ªI mean, disrespectful?"


    ''Si-Hun?''


    "Arm yourself, Balrog."


    ''What the hell are you talking about?''


    "I challenge you to a duel."


    ''Excuse me?''


    [Kahahaha! Sounds good to me!]


    ''What''s good?''


    BOOM.


    Balrog got up.


    [Let us see who is more fit to be the king''s subordinate, human.]


    "I wouldn''t have it any other way."


    ''Stop, you crazy sons of bitches.''


    Kang-Woo grabbed his head at the unexpected development of events.


    Then¡­


    Squelch.


    He heard the sound of mucus dripping.


    Kang-Woo''s face turned pale.


    "Hohohoho. I was wondering where you were. I finally found you."


    "Ah¡­"


    "I was given a very good piece of advice from Seol-Ah today. Yes¡­ I have been far too passive until now."


    "What? Passive? You?"


    "Yes. I have realized I must be more assertive inmunicating my feelings for you, my king."


    "No, that''s not the problem."


    "Now,e here, my love."


    Lilith embraced Kang-Woo.


    Balrog and Si-Hun were fighting with weapons in their hands.


    There was a huge vibration, and the building shook.


    ''Will days like this continue once everything''s over?''


    He felt that he was in the middle of an inescapable nightmare. He freed himself from the tentacles wrapping his body and ran away. He put his hand on the hand scanner to Vaal Zahak''s secretboratory in Balrog''s house.


    - Whirr. Scanning fingerprints.


    - Error. Error.


    - Halting operations.


    - Operations halted.


    "Wh-what? Why isn''t it opening?"


    The door was not opening due to the unknown mucus on the fingerprint scanning device.


    "I can''t open the door!"


    Squelch.


    "N-no!"


    A tentacle wrapped around his body as if to stop him from escaping.


    "This is crazy. I have to get out of here. Why can''t I get out?"


    AAAAAAAAAHHH!

 Chapter 229 - The Truth Will Never Die (1)

    Chapter 229 - The Truth Will Never Die (1)


    "Angels have arrived?"


    "Yes, I just received a revtion," Gaia said with a nod.


    She had summoned the core members of Guardians to the Hall of Protection, which included Kim Si-Hun, Grace McCubbin, Cha Yeon-Joo, and Tian Wuchen. They had gathered in the meeting room.


    Si-Hun looked over the documents, which detailed the movements of the Watchers of Light on a map.


    He remarked, "The Watchers of Light we''ve been watching have also made their move."


    "It seems they decided to make a base in Africa," Yeon-Joo said after taking a glimpse at the documents.


    Si-Hun nodded. "Yes. They''re currently building a base where the confrontation between Lucifer and Satan took ce. It seems like they''re considering a long-term battle against Satan."


    "From the pictures, it looks more like a fortress than some outpost."


    Yeon-Jooughed in disbelief.


    As angels began to cross over to Earth, the Watchers of Light also made their move.


    "How are they building this? I don''t think there were more than a hundred Watchers of Light."


    "The angels are also helping build the fortress, but what helps with the construction the most is¡­ Do you see this in the photo?"


    "What''s this rock?"


    "I believe it''s a golem that moves with some sort of magical contraption. They''re using this golem to build the fortress."


    Yeon-Joo tilted her head in confusion.


    The scale of their forces was far too big for their purpose to be simply investigating traces of Lucifer.


    "It''s likely their goal has changed," Kang-Woo answered. "They must have concluded that taking care of the Demon of Prophecy is more urgent than Lucifer."


    "Makes sense¡­" Yeon-Joo nodded.


    The scale of their forces indicated that they were more concerned about the Demon of Prophecy.


    "But considering they''re building their base there of all ces, they don''t seem to have given up on tracking down Lucifer yet."


    "I think it is safe to assume¡­ that the goal of the angels is to eradicate all demons."


    "Isn''t that better for us?"


    As the meeting continued, most of the topics covered were things that Kang-Woo was already aware of, so he wasn''t able to get new information.


    "There is a problem," Gaia said. "ording to the revtion¡­ Lord Raphael has put off his cooperation with the gods of Earth."


    "¡­"


    "We seem to have lost his trust," Gaia exined in a heavy voice.


    The expressions of the other Guardians members darkened. It was obvious why they had lost Raphael''s trust.


    "...Ludwig."


    The other Guardians members remained silent as that name left Si-Hun''s mouth.


    The saint who had been corrupted by Satan, the Demon of Prophecy¡­ It seemed that Ludwig was an apostle whom Raphael cared for deeply. The angels were shocked and extremely enraged by Ludwig''s death. Naturally, Raphael was angry at Guardians, who had failed to protect Ludwig.


    It was as if a country had epted another country''s request for support and dispatched a soldier to help that country, but that soldier ended up getting kidnapped and brutally murdered by foreign terrorists. Even if the fault was on the terrorists, the country that had sent the soldier would be angry at the country they had tried to help.


    "This is no time to be frustrated," Gaia said in response to the grim atmosphere. "Lady Gaia''s agent, Lord Uranus, is currently trying to convince Lord Raphael. Thankfully, he hasn''tpletely refused to cooperate. Most importantly¡­"


    Gaia hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Lord Raphael said he wants to meet Protector Kim Si-Hun."


    "Me¡­?"


    "Yes."


    Si-Hun was surprised at the sudden mention of his name.


    Gaia exined, "It seems like Lord Ludwig had given Lord Raphael a report regarding you. Moreover, you''re the next person to be chosen by the holy sword after Ludwig, so Lord Raphael said he would like to meet you himself."


    Si-Hun remained silent and lowered his head while making a grim expression.


    He seemed to be wondering if he had the right to meet Raphael considering he hadn''t been able to do a thing when Satan corrupted Ludwig.


    Si-Hun hesitated for a bit and then raised his head.


    "I will go," he said in a firm voice.


    If he avoided it, it would be like turning away from Ludwig''s wretched death.


    If he were truly saddened by Ludwig''s death and felt guilty¡­ If he truly wanted to inherit Ludwig''s sword and his beliefs¡­ Si-Hun couldn''t ignore Raphael''s proposal.


    "I will try to convince Lord Raphael."


    "Protector Kim Si-Hun¡­"


    Gaia extended her hand while making a worried expression. Si-Hun grabbed her hand.


    They were not allies yet, so sending Si-Hun into Raphael''s territory would be dangerous. In the worst-case scenario, Raphael might take the holy sword and make Si-Hun pay the price of not being able to protect Ludwig.


    If things were to go wrong, there was a chance they might end up bing enemies.


    "It''s okay, Gaia."


    Si-Hun grabbed her hand tighter, causing Gaia to blush.


    "I will convince Lord Raphael and have him cooperate with Guardians," Si-Hun stated.


    "But¡­"


    "I know very well what you''re worried about, but if I don''t go¡­ our rtionship with them will never recover."


    "¡­"


    Gaia remained silent.


    Si-Hun''s role was undeniably important in Guardians.


    Satan was strong. As the Demon of Prophecy, he possessed tremendous power known as the Demonic Sea, and he could freely use hundreds of different Authorities. He had been so powerful that not even Gaia, Goddess of the Earth, had been able to fully stop him even while consuming all of her Divinity.


    ''Although Lady Gaia has sealed most of his power¡­''


    It had been two years since Gaia had used her Divinity to seal the Demonic Sea. Even if Satan was the Demon of Prophecy, there was no way he''d be able to unseal it in just two years, but still¡­


    ''The Demonic Sea is¡­''


    It was an undeniably incredible power, and they couldn''t rx just because it was sealed.


    ''We need the help of angels.''


    After Gaia exhausted most of her Divinity, the gods of Earth lost most of their power to interfere with what was happening on Earth. Consequently, help from the celestial realm was necessary in such a situation.


    "...I will trust you, Protector Kim Si-Hun," Gaia expressed, nodding with a smile.


    After talking to Gaia, Si-Hun stood up and walked over to Kang-Woo.


    "I''ll get going then, hyung-nim," he said.


    Kang-Woo lightly patted Si-Hun''s shoulder and replied, "I have no doubt you''ll be able to do it."


    If possible, Kang-Woo would have wanted to go and see Raphael with Si-Hun, but what Raphael wished for was to talk with Si-Hun alone. If a third party went along with him, there was a chance that it could cause Raphael to turn hostile.


    ''But of course, I''m not just gonna sit around and do nothing.''


    * * *


    After the meeting, Kang-Woo secretly followed Si-Hun to Africa and saw the angels who were in the process of building their gigantic base.


    ''They really are building it like a fortress.''


    He could feel their determination to find and kill Satan.


    Whoom.


    Amunication crystal orb rang. It wasn''t the one used by Guardians; it was the one he used to contact Lilith.


    "What is it?" Kang-Woo asked.


    [I have information that I must convey to you.]


    "What sort of information?"


    [The Demon Cult is making their move.]


    "...Now?"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    The timing was too good.


    [How should we proceed?]


    "Stand by for now."


    He didn''t have the leeway to deal with the Demon Cult at the moment. He had to focus on getting the cooperation of the celestial realm through the meeting between Raphael and Si-Hun.


    [Understood.]


    The call was cut.


    "Now then¡­"


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and used an Authority.


    Riiing.


    [Activating the Authority of Subordination.]


    [Sharing senses with your Familiar.]


    He saw the angels through Si-Hun''s eyes. They wore silver armor and emitted a soft radiance.


    Among them¡­


    ''That must be Raphael.''


    Kang-Woo saw an angel with eight wings, enveloped in brilliant light. The angel was around five meters tall, and his build was simr to Balrog''s.


    ''But he looks more like a human.''


    His stature couldn''t be considered to be that of a human, but in terms of his looks, he certainly appeared very much like one. Furthermore, he was very good-looking. His blond hair resembled a lion''s mane, and there was his angr face gave off a sense of wildness.


    ''That''s not fucking fair.''


    Kang-Woo thought it would''ve been nice if demons looked like humans too. He recalled Lilith and quickly shook his head.


    Si-Hun knelt on one knee in front of Raphael, who was sitting on a giant chair.


    - So, you are the human who has inherited Ludwig''s sword.


    - That is correct.


    Kang-Woo heard Raphael and Si-Hun''s conversation. He couldn''t hear any animosity in Raphael''s voice. It seemed to be a fairly decent start.


    ''For him to gain a bit more trust¡­''


    [Sending sacred power to Familiar Kim Si-Hun.]


    Kang-Woo sent the sacred power that he had to Si-Hun.


    - You have even epted sacred power.


    "All right," Kang-Woo muttered.


    Raphael''s tone had brightened a little. He seemed to find humans with sacred power more trustworthy than others.


    - I havee here today to offer my apologies¡­ for my friend Ludwig''s death.


    "Nice line."


    Kang-Woo nodded after hearing Si-Hun''s sincere words.


    Asking for the angels'' cooperation right off the bat was not a good idea. Untangling the negative emotions that had arisen from Ludwig''s death was more important.


    "Well done, my boy!" Kang-Woo cheered for Si-Hun.


    That was all he could do. From here on, it all depended on Si-Hun.


    ''Authority of Coloring.''


    Kang-Woo used an Authority that changed the colors of objects to create two sticks with fluorescent colors on them.


    "Good luck, Si-Hun!"


    He waved the light sticks.


    - I see. Such a thing¡­


    - Yes. When I arrived, he had already been¡­


    The conversation went smoothly.


    Just as Kang-Woo was thinking that they would easily be able to acquire Raphael''s cooperation¡­


    - L-Lord Raphael!!


    - What is it?


    - An apostle of a demon has appeared!


    "What?"


    Kang-Woo frowned at the unexpected development of events. He checked what was happening through Si-Hun''s eyes.


    He saw a woman covered in bandages.


    - Oh, apostles of light¡­ My name is Julia, a being of darkness who serves Satan.


    - ¡­You daree here so brazenly?


    - I havee to tell you the truth, Lord Raphael.


    - The truth?


    Julia Vilkova, who was kneeling in front of Raphael, continued, - We were not the ones who had corrupted the Watcher of Light. The true culprits behind his corruption are¡­


    She turned her head and looked at Si-Hun with eyes full of resentment.


    - Guardians.


    There was a heavy silence.


    "Hah." Kang-Woo''s expression crumpled in anger. "How dare they¡­"


    He clenched his hands into fists.


    "How dare they try to fabricate a lie?!"


    Rage boiled within him after hearing the Demon Cult''s tant lie.

 Chapter 230 - The Truth Will Never Die (2)

    Chapter 230 - The Truth Will Never Die (2)


    "Damn scumbags¡­"


    Oh Kang-Woo''s hands trembled as anger rose within him. He grimaced.


    ''Guardians corrupted Ludwig?''


    That wasplete nonsense. The Demon Cult had no idea about what had happened inside that dungeon, the content of the call, nor how Ludwig had died.


    There was absolutely no proof to back up their usation. What they were doing was purely agitation and fabrication; they were just throwing out a random fantasy they had thought up.


    ''They''re trying to make the celestial realm distrust us.''


    Thanks to what happened with Ludwig, the angels had started to distrust Guardians, and the Demon Cult was trying to take advantage of that. Instead of persuasion through evidence and logic, they were agitating the angels through lies.


    "Hah," Kang-Woo forced augh in disbelief.


    It was so absurd that it wasn''t even funny. It was a foolish attempt.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed.


    ''It''s not good.''


    He wasn''t sure what kind of fake scenario they wouldy out to enforce their lies, but the most important thing was what would happen if Raphael believed them.


    It was possible that might be the case. There were many things about Ludwig''s corruption and death that weren''t clear, so Guardians didn''t have a way to counter the Demon Cult''s lies.


    ''And most importantly¡­''


    Si-Hun had ultimately been the one to kill Ludwig. Even if Ludwig had already been corrupted at that point, it didn''t change the fact that Si-Hun had killed him.


    "I wonder how they''re gonna go about this¡­"


    Kang-Woo pondered while looking at Julia Vilkova through Si-Hun''s eyes.


    ''I''m sure she won''t just implore Raphael to believe her.''


    It didn''t matter if it was true that Guardians had corrupted Ludwig. Satan and the Demon Cult were both forces of darkness, so they would never be able toe to apromise with Raphael. There was no way that they would use a strategy that relied on who Raphael trusted more.


    "I would guess¡­"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    ''Authority of Insight.''


    He expanded his vision through Si-Hun''s eyes.


    ''I knew it.''


    Kang-Woo saw the item that he had been thinking about. He smirked.


    ''So, that''s your y.''


    Kang-Woo got up. He put his finger on his ear and called his subordinate.


    "Vaal Zahak."


    - I am here, Master.


    "Are the preparationsplete?"


    - Of course.


    There was no need to ask what preparations he was referring to.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "Send it over right now."


    He cut the call.


    ''Two can y that game.''


    Kang-Woo wouldn''t stand for their poor scheme of pulling the angels and Guardians apart through agitation and fabrication.


    ''Actually¡­''


    It could be a great opportunity.


    Kang-Woo raised amunication crystal orb as he walked.


    "Lilith."


    [Yes, Master Kang-Woo.]


    A reply came immediately.


    "Have you heard any information about the situation?"


    [I have only just heard that one of Satan''s apostles entered the angels'' base. My apologies. I should have been quicker¡­]


    "No, it''s fine. More importantly¡­" Kang-Woo said quietly, "I need your help with something."


    Lilithughed lightly at Kang-Woo''s words.


    [Anything, my king.]


    * * *


    "What¡­?"


    A suffocating amount of pressure emanated from the angel, with his five-meter stature, wide shoulders, bulging muscles, gold armor, and his eight brilliant wings¡­


    Archangel Raphael grimaced upon hearing the words of the Apostle of Evil who hade out of nowhere.


    "Nonsense!" Si-Hun eximed as he stood up and stomped on the ground.


    He extended his hand, and a white light gathered, taking the form of a greatsword.


    It was the holy sword Ludwig¡­ The Mythic-grade weapon imbued with the power of Archangel Raphael and the blessing of a high elf exuded light.


    "Stop," Raphael said, raising his hand. He looked down at Julia with deep, sunken eyes. "What do you mean?"


    Julia lowered her head and answered, "It means exactly what I have said. Lord Satan and the Demon Cult have nothing to do with this incident. It was a plot self-fabricated by Guardians."


    "Hah." Raphael feignedughter and looked at Julia in absurdity. "Do you expect me to believe that?"


    Julia''s words made no sense, and there was no way Raphael would believe something like that anyway. What she said would be hard to believe even if the words hade from one of his apostles, let alone a servant of evil.


    There was no need for him to think about it.


    "Fufu." Julia smiled and slowly stood up.


    "¡­"


    Julia seemed confident.


    Raphael grimaced when he saw her unashamed, confident demeanor. She was acting far too confidently despite being a servant of evil in a fortress of angels.


    "In that case, are you absolutely sure that Guardians had nothing to do with this incident, Lord Raphael?"


    "Well¡­"


    "I am sure that is not the case. It is only natural since the one who had ultimately killed Ludwig was¡­" Julia slowly raised her finger and pointed at Si-Hun. "...That human over there."


    "Shut up!!" Si-Hun shouted angrily while ring at her. He expressed with difficulty, "Ludwig¡­ was already at a point¡­ of no return."


    He remembered Ludwig''s grotesque veins and pained appearance. He thought of Ludwig''s final message, desperately telling them not to go to him and to escape instead.


    "There was nothing else¡­ I could have done," Si-Hun said, lowering his head.


    Julia smiled brightly and replied, "There was nothing you could have done, you say? Do you have any proof of that? Was anyone else but members of Guardians present on the scene?"


    "¡­"


    "Tell me. Who else was there aside from Guardians members? There was nobody else¡­ was there? Then¡ª"


    "Enough." Raphael raised his hand and red at Julia. "How dare you try to trick me, servant of evil?"


    "I apologize if that is how you interpreted it, Lord Raphael," Julia said, turning her head toward him. "But do you not find it weird? They said that Ludwig suddenly fell into a demon''s trap, but¡­ how exactly did he end up falling for it?"


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    "Since we''re being falsely used, we secretly took a look at the report made by the Watchers of Light," Julia exined with bright eyes.


    "ording to the report, Ludwig used the Gate in the Hall of Protection, the base of Guardians, that led here. Fufu. Isn''t that too much of a coincidence? To think he would get dragged somewhere else while using a Gate within the base of Guardians¡­"


    "You sons of bitches!!" Si-Hun yelled.


    He couldn''t hold back the anger anymore and stood up. The holy sword in his hand shone intensely.


    Right when Si-Hun was about to leap forward¡­


    Raphaelmanded, "Wait."


    BOOM!


    "Kurgh!"


    A huge amount of pressure weighed down on Si-Hun''s shoulders, and he fell to his knees.


    Raphael silently closed his eyes and began to organize his thoughts.


    Five minutes¡­ Ten minutes¡­ Raphael kept thinking in silence.


    Then he slowly opened his eyes and said, "Even if that is the case, it is not enough for me to trust¡ª"


    "I had a feeling you would say that," Julia interjected, cutting Raphael''s words short.


    She took out something from her pockets that she had prepared in advance. It was a ck crystal orb.


    "What is¡­"


    "A mere servant no longer has the right to intervene." Julia smiled brightly. "I believe it would be better for the misunderstanding to be cleared through direct conversation."


    Whoom.


    A ck light flowed out from the ck crystal orb. The light then spread out radially like a hologram and showed a pitch-ck darkness. A red mask appeared amid that darkness.


    "You are¡­" Raphael said.


    [I had never thought a day woulde when I would be speaking to you in this way.]


    "Could you be¡­ Satan?"


    [My appearance has changed quite a lot, but yes.]


    Yellow eyes became visible from behind the mask.


    [I am Satan.]


    Raphael closed his mouth.


    "Sa¡­ tan," Si-Hun uttered.


    His expression distorted into a scowl, and intense rage rose within him.


    The culprit who had dared to corrupt Ludwig was trying to frame Guardians for the act.


    Crack, crack!


    "A-Argh."


    Si-Hun pushed against Raphael''s sacred power, which was weighing him down. He straightened his knees and stood up.


    "What¡­?" Raphael uttered, his eyes widening in surprise.


    He hadn''t expected a human to be able to withstand his energy and stand up.


    Bam!!


    Si-Hun stomped on the ground.


    "SATAAAANN!!!" he roared and charged forward.


    Just then¡­


    Crash!!


    "Si-Hun!!!"


    Someone grabbed Si-Hun''s arm and pulled him back.


    "H-Hyung-nim?"


    "Calm down. If you act recklessly, you''ll only be doing what he wants."


    Kang-Woo had crashed through the ceiling of the fortress and stopped Si-Hun before hepletely lost his sense of reason in a rampage.


    "...You must be the older brother of that human known as Kim Si-Hun," Raphael remarked.


    He was not bewildered. It seemed that he had already heard about Kang-Woo.


    "I apologize for eavesdropping on your conversation," Kang-Woo said while bowing.


    Raphael answered with deep, sunken eyes, "No, it is alright. From the beginning, I had not expected Guardians to send this human alone."


    He was aware of the unstable rtionship between angels and Guardians.


    [What an interesting flow of events,] Satan, who was watching the scene unfold,mented whileughing.


    Kang-Woo red at Satan and said, "Bastard¡­"


    Satan spoke in a rxed voice, [Let us get back to the subject at hand, Raphael.]


    "...Speak," Raphael replied.


    [I did noty a hand on the man known as Ludwig. If you suspect me so¡­]


    Satan spread his hand.


    A dense darkness contorted and took shape as a ck sphere.


    [This is my demonic energy. Track it down. If traces of my demonic energy are within the Hall of Protection, then that would be proof that I was involved in this incident. But if there are no traces of it¡­] Satan snickered. [It will prove that it was an act that Guardians fabricated.]


    "¡­"


    Silence fell once again.


    Raphael''s gaze wavered. He could not take this simply as a plot from Satan.


    An angel''s ability to track demonic energy was exceptional, and there was no way Satan didn''t know that.


    ''If he is willing to go so far¡­''


    He couldn''t help but have some qualms.


    No, he already had many suspicions regarding Ludwig''s death. It was true that Ludwig had fallen into a demon''s trap after using a Gate located in the Hall of Protection, and it was also a fact that the only ones who had testified to Ludwig''s corruption were Guardians members.


    A sense of doubt appeared in Raphael''s eyes.


    "You¡­" Kang-Woo uttered, grimacing.


    He looked as if he''d been hit unexpectedly on the back of his head and that he had not expected Satan to do this.


    [So, what do you think?] Satanughed. [Is it not suspicious?]


    * * *


    A giant ck sphere hovered in the darkness of a giant cave made of transparent ice.


    Satan''s fragment, which had been severed from the ck sphere, was touching the mask on his face while shrouded in darkness.


    [Hmm¡­]


    There was a ck crystal orb in front of him.


    [What is going on?] Satan mumbled ufortably. [Hurry up and connect the call, Julia.]


    The expected time had already passed, but still, there was no reactioning from the crystal orb.


    [Why is it taking so long?]


    Satan tilted his head in confusion.

 Chapter 231 - The Truth Will Never Die (3)

    Chapter 231 - The Truth Will Never Die (3)


    Hurried steps echoed through a giant dark and icy cave.


    "L-Lord Satan!!!" a man dressed in a ck robe called out as he ran further into the cave.


    Inside, a huge ck sphere, which was about thirty meters in diameter, shook. The darkness that protruded from the sphere moved, and a red demon mask appeared at the end of it.


    [What is it?]


    "Y-You see¡­" the priest mumbled, his gaze wavering.


    He took a deep breath before speaking again.


    "Our signal¡­ was hijacked."


    [What?]


    The darkness shook. It seemed that Satan couldn''t understand what the priest was saying.


    ''The signal was hijacked? What does that mean?''


    "The Mirror of Darkness that Apostle Julia is using is currently connected with someone else."


    [Wait, then why has Julia not immediately contacted me?]


    Satan still couldn''t understand what was going on.


    If the signal had been hijacked and the Mirror of Darkness had connected with someone else, there was no way Julia wouldn''t have noticed. She would''ve tried to contact him another way or destroyed the Mirror of Darkness.


    "Well¡­"


    The priest wasn''t sure how he was supposed to exin it. Ultimately, he gave up and simply informed Satan of what had happened.


    "Someone iming to be Satan¡­ has appeared and is speaking as you."


    [That¡­ That bastard again??] Satan asked, about to go crazy from rage.


    Satan had an impersonator. He couldn''t understand what kind of resentment his impersonator had toward him, but his impersonator always imed to be Satan while causing all sorts of trouble.


    Satan felt like he would lose his mind from the rage if he thought about all the ns that his impersonator had screwed up.


    [Even Julia was deceived by him?]


    "Yes. The impersonator is saying something very simr to what we had nned, so not even Sister Julia seems to know what is going on."


    [He''s saying something simr to what was nned¡­?]


    "Yes, the n to frame Guardians as the culprits of Ludwig''s corruption. He is carrying out that n very simrly¡­ No, to be honest, he is carrying it out much better than what we had nned to do."


    [¡­]


    There was a short silence, and Satan''s eyes quivered.


    ''That is impossible.''


    He had a rough idea of who his impersonator was.


    Satan didn''t want to admit it, but he could only think of one being who could do something like this. And there was absolutely no way that man would help him.


    ''He is a monster.''


    That man was the nightmare of Hell¡ªa tyrant who had appeared in Hell out of the blue after the forces of each of the seven princes of Hell had been established and unchanged for a very long time. No other demon had as much desire as him.


    Satan trembled when he recalled the man''s desires and obsessions, which bordered on madness, as well as the thousand-year war.


    [Get the signal back,] Satan quickly said.


    "Th-That is impossible. Lord Kalgia''s priests are already doing their best to get it back, but the magic pattern is far tooplicated for us to decipher it and get the signal back." The priest gulped. "The only thing we can do at the moment is to get back a portion of the signal and watch the call live¡­"


    [Guh. Do at least that, then.]


    "Yes, my lord!"


    The priest manipted the crystal in front of Satan.


    They saw Raphael, Julia Vilkova, the angels, and¡­


    [What¡­?]


    Satan''s eyes widened in shock when his gazended on a certain human in the video. He was horrified to see the young man, who had a piercing gaze.


    [Why is the demon king¡­ Wait, then who is¡­]


    Satan fell into chaos as he recalled the countless Authorities of the demon king.


    [I-It must be¡­!]


    He started to tremble.


    Satan assumed his worst possible theory had to be right.


    [Authority of Cloning¡­]


    Satan''s gaze sank. The gears in his mind turned extremely quickly.


    [Find him.]


    "Pardon¡­?"


    [The Authority of Cloning cannot be maintained over long distances. He is surely staging this story with his clone somewhere near the angels'' fortress.]


    Satan had suffered from that tactic a few times. He shook with rage.


    [I will not be fooled again.]


    He thought it was a good opportunity. He wasn''t sure why the demon king was impersonating him, but¡­


    ''It ends now.''


    Satan would expose the demon king''s scheme for all to see. If he were lucky, he might be able to turn Raphael''s attention away from him and toward the demon king instead.


    ''I will take off his mask of mischief with my own hands.''


    Satan would then destroy everything that the demon king had cultivated here on Earth. He would serve vengeance on the demon king, living up to his nickname, Prince of Revenge.


    [Mobilize as many forces as possible!! Find where the signal is being hijacked from! Kill his clone!]


    Clones created with the Authority of Cloning weren''t very strong. As long as this clone was found, it could be killed very easily.


    ''It is your turn to suffer this time.''


    Satan''s yellow eyes shone while ring at the demon king in the video.


    * * *


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Raphael slowly asked, "Why should I believe you?"


    [¡­]


    Satan didn''t answer.


    After maintaining the silence for a while, he said, [You are free to do as you like, Raphael. As long as I have the Demonic Sea, you and I are destined to kill each other. However¡­]


    He let out a chillingugh, turned his head, and looked to where Kang-Woo was standing.


    [I do not take kindly to the fact that small fry like them dare to use my name under their mask of hypocrisy.]


    "Satan¡­" Kang-Woo uttered while glowering at Satan. Then he turned to Raphael. "Lord Raphael, please do not believe what this wicked demon is say¡ª"


    "Quiet, human."


    "So, you do doubt us." Kang-Woo sighed after seeing Raphael''s reaction. "Very well. Like Satan said, you can investigate the Hall of Protection while using his demonic energy as reference."


    "Are you confident?"


    "We know why you suspect us as well as how much you cared for Ludwig. However, we are innocent. Ludwig was corrupted due to Satan''s scheme."


    "¡­"


    Raphael fell silent again, his feelings of doubt evident on his face. He was stuck between the words of Satan and Guardians. Frankly, he couldn''t believe either of them.


    "Ludwig¡­"


    He called the name of his apostle¡ªa human who had put more faith in the light than anyone else. Ludwig had possessed incredible talent, an indomitable will, and strong beliefs. He had been a very important apostle to Raphael.


    There weren''t many humans capable of abandoning their family and friends for the sake of the light. Losing such a loyal apostle was painful, even for Raphael.


    ''At the very least, I shall avenge you with my own hands,'' Raphael vowed.


    He looked at Kang-Woo, Kim Si-Hun, and Satan with sharp eyes.


    ''Who¡­?''


    Who was lying? Raphael''s mind was in jumbles.


    ''There is only one way to find out.''


    Raphael got up.


    "I will investigate the truth by finding traces of your demonic energy."


    [Good choice.]


    Raphael walked away slowly.


    Julia raised both hands while smiling slyly. A demonic crystal that Satan had prepared appeared in her hands.


    Si-Hun''s expression hardened when he saw it.


    "Hyung-nim¡­ Will this really be okay? If Satan did something in the Hall of Protection, we''re¡­" Si-Hun said worriedly.


    He was sure that Guardians hadn''t corrupted Ludwig because every single core member had been present when they received Ludwig''s call. However, seeing that Satan was so confident in trying to mess with them, Si-Hun couldn''t help but think that he had some sort of n.


    "This is all because I wasn''t able to save¡­" Si-Hun mumbled, ming himself for this crisis.


    If he had subdued the corrupted Ludwig instead of killing him, they wouldn''t have been subject to such unfair suspicions.


    ''If we end up falling for another one of Satan''s schemes¡­'' Si-Hun thought.


    He felt like he would never be able to stop ming himself.


    "Don''t worry, Si-Hun," Kang-Woo replied firmly. He bit his lip as he grabbed Si-Hun''s shoulder. "No matter how hard they try to conceal the truth with lies¡­"


    How much of the sun could a person cover with the palm of their hands? Wasn''t the burning light visible precisely because it was dark?


    "The truth will never die," Kang-Woo concluded.


    It would keep burning bright.


    * * *


    [...What in the world?] Satan mumbled in confusion while watching the call. [Just why?]


    He''d never corrupted Ludwig. Moreover, no Demon Cultist had evenid a hand on Ludwig, so the culprit was most definitely the demon king.


    Then¡­


    ''Why¡­?''


    How could the demon king be so confident?


    If the angels were to use the demonic crystal that contained Satan''s demonic energy, they should be able to figure out that there weren''t traces of his demonic energy inside the Hall of Protection. In that case, Guardians would be framed as the culprits and executed by Raphael''s own hands like Satan wanted.


    ''There is no way he does not know that.''


    Satan''s mind was in jumbles. He couldn''t help but feel uneasy.


    [Hurry up and find his clone!!] he quickly eximed.


    They had to stop the demon king before he did something.


    "Um, L-Lord Satan¡­"


    [Now!!]


    "You see¡­"


    The priest was trembling.


    [...What is it?]


    "W-We''ve just received a report. They''ve figured out where the magic was being manipted from."


    [Then subdue the clone and take back the signal. Quick.]


    "Well¡­"


    The priest''s face was pale, and he was shaking even harder now. He couldn''t wrap his mind around what was going on.


    "Th-They weren''t able to find a clone."


    [Then he must be calling from somewhere else.] Satan''s expression crumpled in frustration. [It matters not.]


    It was too bad that they hadn''t been able to locate the clone, but this was good enough for the moment. The demon king was using some sort of medium to intercept the transmission magic and was using it himself.


    [Destroy that area and cut the connection to the Mirror of Darkness.]


    They could solve the problem by physically destroying the physical medium. In other words, since they couldn''t stop the hacking through the software, they just had to destroy the hardware that was doing it.


    It didn''t matter what advanced magic device was being used. If they destroyed it, it wouldn''t be able to function anymore.


    "W-Well¡­" the priest continued confusedly, "Th-There is no connected signal at all."


    [...What? What does that mean?]


    "That footageing out of the Mirror of Darkness is¡­"


    Gulp.


    "Pre-recorded."

 Chapter 232 - The Truth Will Never Die (4)

    Chapter 232 - The Truth Will Never Die (4)


    [What¡­ did you say?] Satan mumbled in confusion.


    How could the footage that was ying right now be pre-recorded? That made no sense at all.


    [They are talking right now! How could that possibly be pre-recorded?!]


    Satan turned his head toward the footage that was being reyed in the crystal.


    Raphael certainly appeared to be talking with the fake Satan in the red demon mask, but¡­ the priest said that everything that the fake Satan was saying was pre-recorded¡­?


    "W-We have no idea what is going on either."


    The priest wearing a ck robe shook his head, just as confused as Satan. There was one way that it could be possible, but¡­


    ''There is no way that anyone could possibly¡­''


    The priest''s eyes trembled.


    There was only one way to make pre-recorded footage like that work in a conversation¡­


    "I-If he calcted the entire conversation beforehand¡­ and recorded based on that¡­ I-It is possible."


    [...What?] Satan uttered in surprise.


    What kind of nonsense was that?


    [He calcted¡­ the entire conversation with Raphael?]


    ¡°Yes. If he calcted that and spoke based on how he predicted they would react¡­ I-It is not within the realm of impossibility.¡±


    The priest grabbed his forehead in confusion despite having said it himself.


    After all, how could someone actualize that even if it were possible in theory? How could they calcte what the other party would say and when?


    Moreover, it wasn''t even a simple conversation. Raphael and Fake Satan''s conversation had been going on for more than five minutes.


    How could he have predicted each line as well as calcted the precise time that Raphael would say it?


    ''Just how¡­?''


    It was an extremely dangerous bet. If the pre-recorded line was even a second early, the n would bepletely ruined.


    [U-Urghh¡­] Satan''s voice trembled.


    If it was pre-recorded footage, there was no way to stop it from the outside. However, he couldn''t send soldiers into the angels'' fortress either.


    If he were to do that, all of his efforts to dismantle the rtionship between the angels and Guardians would have been for naught. No, that might not even be the extent of it. There was even a chance that an all-out war between them and the angels might take ce.


    It was checkmate; Satan had lost.


    [Demon king¡­] Satan mumbled as he watched the footage.


    * * *


    "This is the demonic crystal containing Lord Satan''s demonic energy."


    Julia Vilkova continued to kneel while she raised her hand, offering up the ck crystal orb. Demonic energy flowed from it.


    As Raphael slowly walked toward her¡­


    BOOM!!


    The rumble of an explosion rang out. It was not from the fortress but the Mirror of Darkness.


    "Hm?"


    Raphael, Kim Si-Hun, Oh Kang-Woo, and Julia shifted their gazes to the ck crystal orb.


    In the footage, Satan turned away.


    [What happened?] he asked.


    [Kuh, L-Lord Satan!!] someone quickly shouted.


    Light entered the scene, which had been filled with darkness. A demon covered in green tentacles had opened the door to the room.


    The mor of things crashing rang out continuously.


    "What in the¡­"


    Raphael frowned at the unexpected development of events.


    He couldn''t understand what was happening over there.


    [H-He has escaped!] a demon who seemed like Satan''s subordinate quickly shouted.


    Satan''s eyes trembled behind the mask.


    Crash!


    The wall of the room was destroyed, and someone appeared from the destroyed wall.


    "A-Aaaaahh."


    [Kuh¡­ I¡­ will never¡­ submit to¡­]


    The man''s skin was pale as a corpse''s. He had deep, dark circles under his eyes and hollow cheeks.


    The footage was showing Ludwig, who was exuding thick demonic energy.


    [Hah¡­] Satan snickered at the absurdity of events. [I did not expect things to end up this way.]


    While watching the footage, Julia felt as if she had been smacked in the back of the head.


    "Lord Satan¡­?" she called out to Satan in panic. Then she eximed in confusion, "L-Lord Satan, what is happening?! Who is¡ª"


    Julia had never seen Ludwig, so she couldn''t tell that the man corrupted by demonic energy in the footage was Ludwig.


    "Lord Satan!!!"


    [To think that I would make such a nonsensical mistake¡­]


    Satan ignored Julia as if he couldn''t hear her. His voice expressed how much of a bind he was in.


    He shook his head and clicked his tongue.


    [Tsk. It seems the n has failed.]


    Ludwig had appeared while Satan had been carrying out his n to frame Guardians as the culprits for Ludwig''s corruption. Now, nothing he said could amend the situation.


    "Sa¡­ tan."


    Rumble¡ª!!


    Raphael red at Satan. He radiated brilliantly, and the power of that radiance shook the fortress.


    BOOM!


    He stomped on the ground.


    "What have you done¡­ to Ludwig?"


    Raphael''s gaze quivered. He had an idea of what Satan had done.


    There was a forbidden magic that could raise the dead as evil beings that went against the providence of the universe¡ªa magic that created Undead.


    Raphael was greatly shocked upon seeing that Ludwig, someone who loved and served the light more than anyone else, had been reduced to an Undead.


    "SAATAANN!!!"


    Raphael''s scream spread throughout the whole ce, his voice giving off rage that bordered on madness.


    Julia''s expression paled, and shouted anxiously, "Lord Satan! Wh-What are you talking about?! N-No, why is Ludwig th¡ª"


    She suddenly noticed something.


    Julia''s mouth fell open.


    "Wait¡­ Where is that¡­?"


    Satan was in a cave that was covered in transparent ice and about a hundred meters wide. There was no wall to be broken.


    "Wh-What in the world is¡­"


    Julia trembled. She realized something had gone wrong. That wasn''t where her master, Satan, was staying.


    "Who¡­ are you?" she asked in a shaky voice.


    That demon wearing a red mask wasn''t her master; it was someone else.


    "Hah," Kang-Wooughed in disbelief. He grimaced after seeing Julia''s shameless attitude. "How unsightly."


    It couldn''t get any more unsightly than this for Satan. His scheme had failed.


    From the moment Ludwig appeared as an Undead, Satan had run out of excuses he could use. His wicked machinations wouldn''t work anymore.


    "How¡­ How dare you!" Raphael roared angrily.


    He spread his hand, and an enormous amount of light gathered in it, forming a spear.


    Raphael grabbed the spear, which was radiating light, and shouted at Satan, "How far¡­ How far must you vite my apostles until you are satisfied?!!"


    Raphael''s shout shook the entire fortress.


    [Hm¡­]


    Satan pondered. He shook his head as if he were troubled by the situation. Then he reached out and grabbed Ludwig''s neck.


    [Kurgh!] Ludwig uttered. [L-Let me go!!]


    He was struggling desperately.


    Darkness flowed from Satan''s body and encroached Ludwig.


    [A-Aaaaahh.]


    Ludwig let out a groan that sounded like it would be cut short at any moment.


    He trembled so intensely that it was as if he were having a seizure. Then, he waspletely dyed ck by the darkness.


    [Now that it hase to this¡­ I have no choice,] Satan said, shaking his head.


    His eyes were full of madness as he looked at Raphael.


    Satan snickered.


    [Do you feel the madness?]


    "¡­"


    [Do you feel your reason flying away from the rage? Is your head getting hot? Is your vision blurring? Is your heart beating faster?]


    "You¡­"


    [Ha, HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!] Satan burst outughing. [Do not forget that feeling, Raphael.]


    Satan threw Ludwig, sending him rolling on the ground. It was as if Satan was throwing away a toy that he didn''t want to y with anymore.


    Raphael''s eyes turned white, and rage devoured his rationality.


    Satan smiled.


    [That is wrath.]


    "Did you¡­ do this on purpose?" Raphael''s voice trembled.


    There was one thing he could conclude from Satan''s actions.


    Sending a servant of evil to the angels'' fortress, offering a bold proposal, releasing Ludwig on purpose, and then acting as if the n had failed... Raphael was convinced that Satan had nned all of it from the very beginning.


    [HAHAHAHA!! It was only a coincidence. No, I guess ''mistake'' is a better word for it.]


    Satanughed while grabbing his stomach.


    Raphael''s suspicions were confirmed by Satan''s reaction.


    "Why¡­ Why did you do something so¡­"


    There was no need to even ask; Satan''s objective was obvious¡ªwrath. He was trying to wrap Raphael around his finger by making him lose his mind from wrath.


    Raphael''s expression crumpled in anger.


    "It was a nice try, Satan. However, you¡­ will regret it."


    He would make Satan regret having enraged him and turning a Watcher of Light into an Undead¡­


    Satan smirked.


    [Enough of this trivial y, Raphael.]


    "¡­"


    [Come. I will not run or hide.]


    Satan stood up.


    [I will dere here and now¡­]


    Immense darkness spread like a tent in the scene of the footage.


    [I will shroud all light in darkness!! I will destroy all of the worlds! Remember my name, puny beings!]


    "N-No!! This isn''t it!!!" Julia shouted anxiously.


    She quickly reached out toward the ck crystal orb, but Kang-Woo acted first and kicked her.


    Bash.


    "KYAA!!"


    Julia was pushed back.


    Kang-Woo red at her with a sharp gaze and rebuked, "How dare you try to make excuses?"


    "A-Aaaahh," Julia uttered with a pale face.


    Kang-Woo raised his hand.


    ''Authority of Coloring.''


    He created a sword that let off a brilliant golden light.


    Del Lain¡ªit was the Sword of the Sun that Tirion, God of Heroes, had left him.


    "Those tainted by darkness¡­"


    He raised the golden sword and¡­


    "Receive the judgment of light."


    He swung it down.


    sh!!


    Julia''s bandage-covered head was severed from her body, falling onto the floor and rolling away from her body.


    "Hyung-nim¡­ This is¡­."


    Si-Hun walked toward him.


    Kang-Woo turned around to face Si-Hun.


    "I told you," he said, grabbing Si-Hun''s shoulders. "The truth¡­ will never die."


    Intense, golden light enveloped Kang-Woo.


    * * *


    - Come. I will not run or hide.


    [No¡­ This isn''t it.]


    The footage was disyed in a dark cave.


    Satan trembled as he watched it.


    - I will dere here and now¡­


    [What in the world¡­]


    - I will shroud all light in darkness!! I will destroy all of the worlds! Remember my name, puny beings!


    [A-Aaaahh.]


    The voice that flowed out from the video belonged to a being that looked and sounded like him but wasn''t him.


    Satan groaned, [Stop. Stop¡­ please.]


    - I am death. I am the end. I am the father of all wrath, and I am wrath itself.


    [Please, stop¡­]


    - I am Satan.


    [A-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!] Satan let out a desperate scream. [Stop him!!!]


    BOOM!


    The giant thirty-meter-wide sphere warped, and the cave shook as if it were about to copse.


    [Stop that crazy son of a bitch right now!!!]

 Chapter 233 - The Truth Will Never Die (5)

    Chapter 233 - The Truth Will Never Die (5)


    BOOM!


    An explosion rang out right after Satan finished speaking.


    Raphael frowned and asked, "What happened?"


    "W-We are being attacked!"


    "Is it Satan''s retainers?"


    The Watcher of Light nodded.


    Some of Satan''s retainers, who had been surrounding the fortress, finally made their appearance.


    Rumble!


    "Ah! A-Already?!"


    Magic poured in from all over.


    The angels'' base was the size of a fortress, but the construction was still in progress. So, it did not have the defensive capabilities to block the barrage of magic attacks.


    BOOM!


    A huge crack appeared on the ceiling, and white stones fell.


    Raphael quickly raised his sacred spear, emitting light that deflected all of the rocks. However¡­


    "Ah¡­"


    One of the fragments, which was the size of an adult human, was deflected toward one of Raphael''s subordinates. The priestess trembled in fear as the fragment flew at her at blinding speed.


    Raphael reached for her.


    Crack!


    "Please be careful."


    However, before Raphael could do anything, a young man with a piercing gaze and a golden sword pulled the priestess backward into safety. It was Oh Kang-Woo.


    The stone fragment shattered over the floor.


    The priestess hesitated for a moment before bowing and saying, "Th-Thank you¡­ very much."


    Kang-Woo walked past her and looked at Kim Si-Hun.


    "Yes, hyung-nim," Si-Hun said.


    He immediately raised his holy sword as if he knew what Kang-Woo intended to say.


    Without a word more, the two of them quickly ran outside.


    "Kuh! When did they prepare such forces¡­?!"


    "Change the golem to battle mode!!"


    Outside the fortress, Kang-Woo and Si-Hun saw the Watchers of Light and angels busily preparing for battle.


    "This is an order from the Aspect of Evil!"


    "Wipe them out!"


    Demons and Demon Cultists had surrounded the angels'' base, which was being destroyed by a barrage of magic. These were the forces that Satan had dispatched to find the demon king''s clone.


    "They''ve finally shown their true colors," Kang-Woo remarked while raising Del Lain.


    "I will take the left side, hyung-nim," Si-Hun said.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    As if they''d decided on it beforehand, Si-Hun and Kang-Woo each went to opposite sides.


    ''Let''s see¡­''


    Kang-Woo stomped on the ground and scanned the demons surrounding the base.


    He clicked his tongue.


    ''Tsk, they''re not even worth devouring.''


    The team had obviously been formed at a moment''s notice since the strongest demons that he could see were from the Fifth and Sixth Hells.


    ''They must''ve been in a hurry.''


    There was no way that this was the Demon Cult''s elite force. Satan had likely thought that he needed to stop the fake Satan before he did anything crazier.


    ''I mean, that was all I prepared, though.''


    Kang-Woo turned his head.


    The footage in the Mirror of Darkness had ended once Julia Vilkova died. Everything had gone as Kang-Woo had expected¡ªno, it was better.


    ''I honestly didn''t think it''d go this well.''


    Kang-Woo wouldn''t have even bothered showing up if he knew it would go so well. He had only appeared so that he could take care of the situation if Raphael reacted unexpectedly.


    ''I guess it wasn''t necessary.''


    Pre-recording the video as if they were talking hadn''t been hard for him to do. After all, a conversation was all about flow.


    Take for example a scenario in which a third party was listening in on a conversation between two people. However, the third party could only hear one of the two people, like listening to a friend speaking to someone over the phone. Nevertheless, the third party was more or less able to guess the subject and flow of the entire conversation just from hearing one side of it.


    ''Assuming the conversation is purely an exchange, that is.''


    If that was the case, Kang-Woo just needed to use sentences that forced such an exchange. The problem had been with timing, but fortunately, it had not veered too far off from what Kang-Woo had expected from Raphael.


    ''The situation improved thanks to that.''


    He had made it clear to Raphael that Oh Kang-Woo and Satan were two separate beings through this incident. He''d created a perfect alibi, just like when he''d attacked Guardians'' secret vault.


    With this, Raphael wouldn''t even consider the possibility that Kang-Woo was Satan. The possibility itself had vanished from Raphael''s mind, which was the best possible way to get Raphael to trust him.


    "Nice."


    A wicked smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    He walked forward as demons surrounded him, and he lightly swung his sword.


    sh!


    "Kurgh!"


    He cut the demons, and ck blood spewed from their wounds.


    "Execute the intruders!"


    "Wipe out Satan''s subordinates!"


    Angels soon joined the battle.


    Raphael was leading the charge. He swept away the demons like a raging bull with his immense, glowing spear.


    Kang-Woo nced at Raphael while casually killing some demons.


    ''He''s strong.''


    Breathtaking sacred power was pouring from Raphael as he swung his sacred spear. Comparing Ludwig''s sacred power to Raphael''s was likeparing a firefly to the sun.


    ''I guess they really have been umting their strength during the thousand years of war in Hell.''


    Kang-Woo remembered what Lucifer''s retainer had told him before. During the thousand-year war that had made the Nine Hells into a vortex of chaos, the angels had been silently amassing their strength.


    ''If he''s that strong¡­''


    A faint smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    ''He should be more than capable of nullifying unexpected variables.''


    Kang-Woo would have been troubled if such a powerful being were his enemy. Nheless, at this moment in time, angels were not his enemies. They wererades as well as allies that would help him and Guardians fight and kill Satan, the Demon of Prophecy.


    ''It''s too bad I''ll have to give up on getting the sacred power, though.''


    If Kang-Woo started coborating with angels, he would have trouble umting sacred power.


    Of course, he was able to use the Authority of Predation so that no one could see him do it. He could just make it seem like they had turned into dust and disappeared.


    ''But it''s too dangerous.''


    In any case, Kang-Woo couldn''t do that in front of Raphael. He wasn''t sure how strong Raphael was at the moment, but he didn''t think such a trick would fool Raphael.


    ''I wonder who would win if we fought one-on-one.''


    Kang-Woo had no idea. After all, he wasn''t some martial arts master who could figure out the result of a battle without even fighting. All he knew was that it would not be an easy battle.


    Crack.


    "Kurgh! K-Kaarghh."


    While Kang-Woo was facing a demon charging toward him, he suddenly heard something break. Then he saw a demon with four eyes, each one the size of a basketball, squirming in pain.


    "Hm?" Kang-Woo murmured, tilting his head puzzledly.


    He hadn''t done anything to that demon yet.


    "GRRR!!"


    The demon let out a beast-like growl and exuded chilling demonic.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed. The demonic energy felt familiar.


    ''He must be Satan''s Familiar.''


    He smirked.


    [You¡­ bastaaaaaaaard!!]


    The demon''s voice changed as it let out a scream of rage.


    A mere demon from the Sixth Hell charged toward him at a surprisingly incredible speed.


    ''But¡­''


    In the end, the demon was nothing but a Familiar. Satan had great power, but he couldn''t be of any threat to Kang-Woo by controlling a Familiar from a long distance.


    Crack.


    Kang-Woo extended his hand and grabbed the demon''s neck. The demon''s four eyes had a mad look as they gazed at Kang-Woo.


    [How¡­ How dare you!]


    "Satan," Kang-Woo smiled brightly. "Do you feel the madness?"


    [¡­]


    "Do you feel your reason flying away from the rage? Is your head getting hot? Is your vision blurring? Is your heart beating faster?"


    [You son of a¡ª]


    "Ha, HAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Kang-Wooughed and twisted the neck of the demon that Satan was possessing.


    "Do not forget that feeling, Satan," he said to the Prince of Wrath. "That is wrath."


    [Raaaaaahhhhh!!] Satan let out an enraged scream. [I will kill you, demon king. I''ll rip you into little pieces, killing you as horribly as possible!!]


    "Give me your best shot."


    ''After all¡­''


    "You can''t beat me. You know¡­ don''t you?" Kang-Wooughed. "Who I am?"


    Crack.


    ck blood poured out as Kang-Woo wrung the demon''s neck like he would with a chicken''s neck.


    Then he turned his head and saw Si-Hun swinging the holy sword and Raphael massacring the demons. Watchers of Light and angels were supporting him.


    The battle did notst long. The Demon Cult''s forces had been nothing but an impromptu unit, so it had not even been a challenge to destroy them.


    ''Right, then.''


    Kang-Woo began walking slowly.


    After cleaning the blood off the holy sword, Si-Hun came running toward Kang-Woo and stuck right behind him.


    ''Are you a dog?''


    Si-Hun was looking at him with sparkling eyes. Kang-Woo couldn''t help butugh at how trusting Si-Hun''s eyes looked.


    Then Kang-Woo turned back toward the front and walked toward his destination.


    "¡­"


    He saw Raphael standing nkly while holding his glowing spear.


    "Ludwig was¡­ a good person," Kang-Woo expressed.


    "¡­"


    "We are sorry for not being able to protect him," Kang-Woo apologized with a bow.


    Raphael slowly turned his head toward Kang-Woo and said, "Ludwig is still in pain."


    "¡­"


    "Even after death, he wasn''t able to go to Heaven. Both his soul and body have been corrupted and have fallen into the pit of despair."


    Kang-Woo could see the sadness in Raphael''s eyes.


    "I will be honest." Raphael looked at Si-Hun and Kang-Woo. "I do not see Guardians in a good light. I regretted many times that I agreed to help Lord Uranus."


    There was no way Raphael would see them in a good light since they had failed to do anything to stop Ludwig from experiencing such great suffering.


    "But¡­"


    Raphael trembled. Immense energy poured from him and devoured his surroundings.


    "If it is for the sake of eradicating demons¡­"


    The Demon of Prophecy, Satan¡­


    If he could kill that cruel and evil demon¡­


    "I will do whatever it takes."


    He could endure the death of his beloved apostle.


    Raphael walked toward Kang-Woo and Si-Hun. He looked at Kang-Woo, who had stepped up to save one of his apostles during the sudden attack.


    Then he looked at Si-Hun, who had managed to inherit the holy sword, which had epted no one but Ludwig. Raphael could instinctively tell that Si-Hun had been truly enraged by Ludwig''s death.


    "Can I ask you¡­" Raphael extended his hands. "...To lend me your strengths?"


    There was a short silence.


    Kang-Woo took a step forward and grabbed Raphael''s hand.


    "Of course."


    Raphael and Kang-Woo¡­ Angels and Guardians¡­ Two lights joined as one.


    An intensely bright light shone like it was burning, and although it was night, a brilliant radiance illuminated the vast wilderness.

 Chapter 234 - All-Out War (1)

    Chapter 234 - All-Out War (1)


    "¡­So something like that happened." Gaia nodded with a heavy expression on her face. "To think that Ludwig¡­"


    She heard that Satan had taken Ludwig''s corpse from the angels and turned it into an Undead, and that his soul was still suffering within the Undead.


    Just imagining that made Gaia tremble in fear.


    ''If either Si-Hun or Kang-Woo fell into such a situation¡­''


    "¡­"


    She bit her lip.


    She didn''t even want to imagine it.


    "We will save him," Kim Si-Hun said in a firm voice.


    He clenched his fists.


    Giving Ludwig eternal rest¡­


    Although they''d known each other for a short time, he thought that was the least he could do for someone he called a ''friend.''


    Gaia gave a faint smile.


    "Okay. I will trust you, Protector Kim Si-Hun." She took a deep breath to calm her beating heart. She then said in a calm voice, "In any case, we were able to gain the cooperation of the angels thanks to Satan''s mistake."


    The matter with Ludwig was heart-wrenching, but looking at it objectively, they''d gained a lot thanks to it. They were able to make the angels stop suspecting Guardians and even coborate with them.


    Guardians had to face the Demon of Prophecy, Satan, no matter what, so that was certainly wee news.


    "Yes, but it isn''t a coboration in the truest sense. We suggested joint training, but Lord Raphael said that he and the angels would move on their own."


    "Mm¡­" Gaia nodded. "That could be good news for us."


    If they formed a full-fledged alliance, there could be disagreements over who would be inmand.


    Besides, Guardians also had separate groups for training. Grace McCubbin and Tian Wuchen led the main forces, and Si-Hun led the special forces, the Sirius Corps. Each of these forces trained separately.


    With the possibility of an all-out war against the Demon Cult upon them, there was a chance that changing strategies would reduce their overall strength.


    Fighting together but moving based on each side''s judgment¡­


    That was probably the best possible strategy at the moment.


    "I guess you''re right," Si-Hun replied.


    "Kang-Woo, umm¡­ Have you told Lord Raphael about you being¡­"


    "I didn''t tell him,¡± Oh Kang-Woo answered.


    "I guess you wouldn''t."


    Gaia nodded.


    On the Day of Cmity, Kang-Woo had fallen into Hell and spent ten whole millennia there, turning him into a demon in the process.


    Although there had been nothing that he could have done about it, there was no way that angels, who had strong hostility for demons, would understand his circumstances.


    "I can''t understand it," Si-Hun said while frowning.


    Kang-Woo hadn''t be a demon of his own volition. Not just that, he had cast aside his demonic energy and epted the power of light.


    ''There''s no one kinder and more righteous than hyung-nim.''


    He couldn''t help but feel frustration after seeing the hyung he loved and respected be chained to a past his hyung had no choice in.


    "Well, I''m sure that what all the angels see is a demon," said Kang-Woo.


    That was the case for Ludwig and Raphael¡ªtheir hostility toward demons was honestly impressive. It was clear that they would eradicate all demons, no matter the demon''s circumstances.


    "Then¡­"


    "Yes. I think you should be as careful as you can while mentioning anything about me, Balrog, and Lilith."


    "Understood." Gaia nodded. As if it were difficult to understand, she asked, "By the way, had Lord Raphael not mentioned assistance from the other archangels?"


    Angels were vignt about the Demon of Prophecy, the being who would bring ruin to the entire world, so it was hard to understand why only Raphael hade to Earth and not the other archangels.


    "I asked him that as well, but¡­ he avoided answering."


    Kang-Woo recalled his conversation with Raphael. He had said that it would be difficult for Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and the other archangels to join this war.


    ''I have no idea why, though.''


    He wasn''t sure what was more important than eliminating the Demon of Prophecy.


    ''Well, since we can''t forcibly call them over, I guess this much should be enough.''


    Rather, if more archangels participated, the n could go awry.


    Just Raphael was more than enough.


    Kang-Woo said, "Then, please call back the Guardians members taking part in the restoration operation of South America and the Middle East."


    "The war against the Demon Cult¡­"


    "Yes. It will happen soon." Kang-Woo nodded with certainty.


    ''They''ll make their move this time for sure.''


    Even if they had other reasons, they would not be able to sit idly by this time.


    He''d heard from Lilith that there had beenrge movements in the Demon Cult''s giant branch, so he was sure that an all-out war against them would take ce soon.


    "Okay. I will gather our forces in Africa where Lord Raphael''s forces are¡ª"


    "No." Kang-Woo shook his head. "The war probably won''t be taking ce there."


    Based on the Demon Cult''s movements, which he had heard from Lilith, and where they had surmised Satan was hiding, there was only one ce the war could take ce.


    "The war will likely take ce in Russia."


    Thend of cold¡ªa ce covered with snow and ice. The chances of the final battle against the Demon Cult taking ce there was the highest.


    "Then, I will gather our forces in Russia. We should also add a few more Gates," Gaia said.


    "In that case, I will train with the Sirius Corps to fight in the severe cold in advance," Si-Hun added.


    Even if yers could surpass what was humanly possible, they couldn''t go against the forces of nature. There were even cases of yers copsing because they couldn''t get used to the tropical climate of South America.


    "In that case, I will request instive gear from the Magic Tower."


    The Magic Tower in Korea was like a factory that pumped out enormous amounts of magic items.


    Basic instive gear restricted the yers'' movements too much. For example, imagine if a warrior specialized in agility fought while wearing arctic clothes. It would be a relief if they didn''t roll around.


    "Ah¡­ Come to think of it, Khadgar filed a petition demanding a vacation." Gaia gave Kang-Woo a few documents.


    He threw them in the trash without hesitation. "There is no such thing as vacations when fighting for world peace."


    "But still¡­"


    "Gaia." Kang-Woo gently grabbed her hand. "I''m sure Khadgar will understand. After all, we have no other choice."


    "¡­"


    Gaia nodded while making a troubled expression.


    "We will soon be able to free Earth from Satan''s clutches," Kang-Woo said and lightened up the mood with a bright smile.


    He didn''t know if it was really going to be the final battle. There were many secrets surrounding Satan, and he still didn''t know everything about the Demon Cult yet.


    Still, he was sure that this war would severely reduce the forces of the Demon Cult, which had been a nuisance to yers all around the world.


    "Fufu. This day would have nevere if it hadn''t been for the both of you."


    Gaiaughed lightly while covering her mouth.


    She wasn''t saying that to lift them up.


    Kang-Woo and Si-Hun¡­


    Those two, who had joined Guardians thetest, had be core members whom they couldn''t do without.


    "Thank you. Thank you both¡­ so much."


    Gaia bowed deeply.


    Si-Hun tried to stop her in a panic.


    "If you''re so thankful, then why don''t you show me you getting lovey-dovey with Si-Hun? You''ve already both realized your feelings for each other, haven''t you," Kang-Woo said with a smirk.


    "I¡­ I beg your pardon?" Gaia''s face reddened in bewilderment.


    "Hyung-nim!!"


    Si-Hun hurriedly ran toward him. Kang-Woo easily dodged Si-Hun''s hands and patted him on the shoulder.


    "I''ll be able to feel relieved only after I see things work well for my little brother."


    ''And most importantly¡­''


    He recalled when Si-Hun had challenged Balrog to a duel.


    ''Someone, please just take him.''


    For some reason, he kept aiming to take the seat of the main heroine. He wished for Si-Hun and Gaia''s love to blossom from the bottom of his heart.


    ''I''ll be rooting for you, Gaia! Love and peace, from the bottom of my heart!''


    He put his hands on Gaia''s and Si-Hun''s shoulders.


    "Well then, I will stop bothering you two. I''ll be counting on you two to finish up the strategy meeting and prepare for theing war."


    Love blossomed in the harshest of conditions.


    He wished for the all-out war against the Demon Cult to greatly advance their rtionship.


    ''Please.''


    After patting them on the shoulders desperately, Kang-Woo turned around.


    "Great job, Master Kang-Woo." Lilith, who had been standing by, followed him from behind.


    Kang-Woo walked past her and asked, "Have you found out anything?"


    He hadmanded Lilith to focus entirely on the Demon Cult''s movements rather than preparing for the uing war.


    "First of all, movements in the Russian Demon Cult branch, thergest one we have found yet, have been detected."


    "You already told me thatst time."


    The branch in Russia had more than ten thousand members.


    "ording to the cardinals we nted¡­ two Aspects of Evil have arrived at the branch in Russia."


    "Two? Satan and who?"


    "No." She shook her head. "Satan has yet to show himself."


    "Oh?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    ''That means¡­''


    Including Satan, at least three Aspects of Evil would be participating in this war.


    ''It must''ve been super effective.''


    The rats that had been living in their little holes all this time were making their move all at once for some reason. It likely meant that they would put everything they had into this war.


    ''No wonder.''


    Leaving aside whether he was the Demon of Prophecy or not, Satan had tantly dered war on Raphael. He''d confidently said he would destroy all worlds, so it would be weirder if they had stayed hidden.


    "What information do you have on the two?"


    "I will show you photos."


    Lilith snapped her finger, and a screen appeared.


    Kang-Woo saw a human covered in bloody bandages and holding a rusty saber.


    "Who is¡­"


    "He is known as Crimson Fiend. Based on rumors¡­ he seems to be from another world."


    "Another world? Are you talking about Aernor?"


    "No," Lilith answered while shaking her head. "I heard he is from the continent known as Huan."


    "Oh¡­ There."


    He''d heard about that world during his conversation with Lucifer.


    ''I wonder what kind of world it is.''


    Aernor gave the feeling of a fantasy world.


    For some reason, he had a hunch that Huan would be like the worlds often seen in martial arts novels.


    ''Is this a fucking trail mix or something?''


    It was as if the author thought that it would be nice if all kinds of different settings were added.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue at thecent setting of the universe.


    ''I wonder what it''s like there.''


    He couldn''t tell. Unlike Aernor, which intermingled with Earth so much at this point that it practically felt like the next town over, there had been no interaction between Earth and Huan.


    "And who''s the other one?"


    "Here it is."


    She passed the screen as if it were a PowerPoint slide.


    This time, someone Kang-Woo knew very well appeared.


    "Belphegor."


    The Prince of Sloth.


    A purple-skinned demon about three meters tall was sitting in a wheelchair, and a demon that seemed to be his subordinate was pushing it.


    ''That son of a bitch still never gets off his ass.''


    Belphegor was capable of moving. Not only were his two legs fully functional, he was actually extremely fast. Just like his title implied, he was just far toozy to move around by himself.


    ''Lucky bastard.''


    Kang-Woo''s dream was to be a wealthy bum, so he couldn''t help but feel envious of Belphegor''s worry-free life.


    "A prince of Hell¡­"


    Kang-Woo opened his status window.


    His Demonic Energy stat had been stuck at 140 for a while.


    "Very nice."


    He licked his lips.

 Chapter 235 - All-Out War (2)

    Chapter 235 - All-Out War (2)


    Darkness akin to ck clouds flowed down from a high mountain and slid over a snow-covered field. The darkness devoured the sunlight, making the immediate area around the mountain seem like night.


    The inside of the mountain, which should have been nothing but dirt and rocks, had been artificially hollowed out.


    [Yawn.]


    A demon, Belphegor, yawned while looking down at the people lined up.


    He was sitting on a chair that looked like a wheelchair and frowned as if he didn''t like what he was seeing.


    [Why was the n pushed up so much?]


    One could feel the annoyance in his voice. Heined while lying in his chair as if he were toozy to get up.


    "I heard that something unforeseen had happened."


    A low voice came from a man covered in bloody bandages¡ªit was a voice as unpleasant as grating metal.


    Belphegor looked at Crimson Fiend, the person standing next to him.


    [Like what?]


    "I heard that the demon king appeared."


    Bam!!


    Belphegor sprang up after hearing what he said.


    [Wh-What?]


    Crimson Fiend''s eyes shone when Belphegor got up.


    ''Belphegor stood up?''


    He''d never seen someone aszy as Belphegor on the continent of Huan and Earthbined.


    He always sat in a mobile chair because he was toozy to move around despite having a perfectly working body. He also never took the time to listen to the reports that the apostles regrly gave him.


    He had put off reconstructing his body back when only his soul was left within his Hell Armament, so it was not difficult to imagine howzy he was. Belphegor was sozy that he couldn''t even be bothered to properly absorb the Demonic Origin that allowed one to acquire Divinity. Despite this, Belphegor had gotten up.


    [That is¡­plete nonsense.]


    Belphegor''s face paled, and he trembled immensely. He looked so pathetic that one couldn''t see the dignity of a prince of Hell. Fear had even echoed in his voice.


    Crimson Fiend frowned.


    "Is the demon king that strong?"


    To be honest, he had almost heard nothing about the demon king after all the time he had been working with the Demon Cult. He had just heard that Satan, Belphegor, and Mammon had struggled against him in the past.


    [Is he that strong? That strong, you ask?]


    Belphegorughed at the absurdity of Crimson Fiend''s question.


    "Is he not but a mere human in the end?"


    Crimson Fiend had been a human before bing a demon after learning the demonic arts, so he knew better than anyone else that a human body was fundamentally different from a demon body. He had to put forth painstaking effort to gain the power the demons had since birth.


    ''It took a very long time.''


    He circted the demonic energy inside his body.


    To stand on the same ground as those who had been born with the destiny of being an absolute being called a ''prince of Hell,'' he had to spend a thousand years practicing the demonic arts while absorbing the blood of tens of thousands of humans.


    ''But even still¡­''


    He had not been able to surpass Satan¡ªhe hadn''t been able to go beyond the innate limit of a human.


    [A human¡­ you say?]


    Belphegor''s eyes trembled.


    He extended his hand and grabbed Crimson Fiend''s cor.


    [Listen well. He is a monster. A crazed monster!!]


    A human?


    Who would dare ignore the demon king just because he was a human?


    No, to be honest, Belphegor had also ignored him at first.


    Demon king¡­ To be more precise, before the demon king hade to be known as that and when he had dered war against all princes, Belphegor had ignored him because he couldn''t be bothered with it.


    But then, all seven princes of Hell had lost.


    They were all devoured by one monster.


    [Aaaahh, how could this have¡­ H-He died for sure! I felt it!!!]


    He''d felt the demon king''s energy vanish when he was torn apart by the dimensional wall.


    Although his soul had been pathetically stuck in his Hell Armament at the time, Belphegor had clearly felt it. He had even been thrilled by the fact that he had finally been freed from that lunatic, but¡­ he was alive?


    [A-Aaaahh.]


    Belphegor trembled in fear.


    Crimson Fiend clicked his tongue while looking at him.


    ''He reminds me of a martial artist who has met the Heavenly Demon.''


    Where he used to live in Huan, there was a being who ruled through immense fear.


    The Heavenly Demon¡­


    Those who met that being were devoured by fear and lost their minds, just like what was happening to Belphegor.


    ''The demon king is on par with the Heavenly Demon?''


    Nonsense.


    Crimson Fiend shook his head.


    He hade across many rulers of Hell such as Satan, Belphegor, and Mammon sinceing to Earth, but they were nothingpared to the Heavenly Demon.


    He had been at the pinnacle of all those who practiced the demonic arts, and was like a god to them.


    ''No matter how strong this demon king is¡­''


    There was no way he couldpare to the Heavenly Demon.


    Crimson Fiend had used a forbidden technique to travel to another dimension exactly because he was sure that he would never be able to be a ruler if he stayed in Huan.


    ''One day¡­''


    His eyes began shining with madness.


    He was following Satan''smands because he couldn''t go beyond his limitations as a human at the moment, but he dreamed of killing them all and standing at the very top. For that dream, they needed to win this war at all costs.


    [W-We have to run.]


    "What?"


    Crimson Fiendughed in exasperation.


    How strong was the demon king for Belphegor to react in such a way?


    [I am going b¡ª]


    Clutch!!


    Belphegor had turned around when, suddenly, a darkness spread and grabbed his shoulder.


    m!


    The darkness shoved Belphegor back into his chair.


    A being wearing a red demon mask walked out of the flickering darkness shrouding him.


    [Sit down, Belphegor.]


    [Sa¡­tan¡­!]


    Belphegor red at the being wearing a red demon mask.


    [What is going on?! The demon king is alive?! What nonsense is that?!] he screamed.


    Satan put more strength into the hand gripping Belphegor''s shoulder.


    Rumble!!


    The huge mountain shook.


    [Kuh!]


    Belphegor grunted in pain.


    Satan''s eyes gleamed withplexity, and he said, [I do not know either.]


    [What¡­?]


    [I do not know how the demon king is still alive,] he said in irritation.


    The revival of the demon king¡­


    They had not even calcted that variable into their n after they had arrived on Earth and discovered the Demonic Origin. It was only natural, since the demon king had been torn to shreds by the dimensional wall.


    One could safely pass the dimensional wall by creating a hole in the dimensional wall using the Hell Armaments, but Satan had ordered Amon to make it so that the demon king would collide head on with the ''providence of the universe'' which managed the border between dimensions.


    Even a god wouldn''t have been able to survive that, but the demon king had managed to survive.


    He hadn''t died.


    [¡­]


    Silence fell.


    [What are you nning to do now?] Belphegor asked in a low voice.


    [We will have to fight,] Satan answered without hesitation.


    BOOM.


    Belphegor sprang up from his chair once again.


    [Fight? Are you out of your mind, Satan?!]


    [Do you have any other way?]


    Satan red at Belphegor with cold eyes.


    There was nopromise with the demon king; they had learned that the hard way back in Hell during their thousand-year war.


    The man was crazy, in every sense of the word.


    [H-How about we let him in on our n and¡ª]


    [You know that he thinks of us as nothing more than food. I am sure you know what happened to all seven of us princes of Hell.]


    [But he never bares his teeth at his subordinates!]


    [Are you suggesting that we be his subordinates?]


    Satan narrowed his eyes. Bing the demon king''s subordinates was something that they couldn''t bring themselves to do.


    No matter how much they feared the demon king, they were still princes of Hell. The blood of a ruler had been flowing inside them since birth. They couldn''t even fathom the idea of serving someone.


    [Kuh¡­]


    [Enough nonsense. We must kill him before the demon king restores his full power.]


    [Full power?]


    [I have investigated him.] Satan continued in a low voice, [Unlike us, it seems he had arrived on Earth only two years ago.]


    [Two years¡­]


    Belphegor''s eyes shone sharply as if he knew what Satan was trying to say.


    [He seems to have been raising his strength while concealing his identity among the humans.]


    [Then that must mean¡­]


    [Correct.] Satan nodded. [He lost his power when he collided with the dimensional wall, just like we had.]


    [¡­]


    Belphegor remained silent.


    Crimson Fiend, who had been silently listening, joined the conversation.


    "But angels will also be joining this war, are they not?"


    [Raphael¡­]


    The darkness surrounding Satan fluctuated.


    Because of the demon king''s maniption, they could no longer avoid an all-out war against the angels. If things had gone ording to their original n, they would have faced the angels at least a few decadester.


    [I have an idea.]


    He thought of a way to face Raphael and kill the demon king at the same time. It would have been impossible before, but there was a possibility now.


    Satan looked at the Demon Cultists, and demons lined up.


    [That aside, where is Kalgia?]


    "I do not know. He cannot be reached after he had gone somewhere to investigate the Demon of Prophecy."


    [Again?] Satan shook his head. [Well¡­ This should be enough for now.]


    Kalgia wouldn''t be of much help in a war anyway. He specialized in summoning and ck magic; he was simr to Amon.


    [Satan, will you really be able to kill the demon king?]


    [Yes, if things go ording to n,] Satan said firmly. [And if we manage to kill him¡­]


    [¡­]


    Belphegor remained silent.


    He gulped.


    It wasn''t hard to imagine what Satan wanted to say.


    [We will be able to acquire¡­ the Demonic Sea.]


    [Exactly.]


    Belphegor''s eyes filled with greed.


    It was a reward so sweet that it could erase his indolence.


    [Alright, tell me the n.]


    Belphegor took a seat again. His greed-filled eyes gleamed.


    ''Two years¡­''


    It was a short amount of time, even for a mortal human.


    ''We can do it.''


    He thought that it was more than possible.


    ''It has only been two years.''


    A very short amount of time.


    ''Even if it is that monster¡­''


    There was no way he had fully restored his power in just two years.

 Chapter 236 - How To Tame Light (1)

    Chapter 236 - How To Tame Light (1)


    "That''s a lot of people."


    Oh Kang-Woo walked out of the barracks made for executives and looked at the allied forces made up of angels, Watchers of Light, and members of Guardians.


    An endless snowstorm was raging over the mountain where the allied forces were located, and the weather was so harsh that the cold would instantly freeze urine before one''s urine could even reach the ground.


    Even if yers had superhuman bodies, they would obviously struggle in such weather, but there were no signs of them struggling as they ate theirbat rations.


    "We''ll finally be able to finish off these Demon Cult bastards once and for all."


    "We''ll be able to return to our homes once this is over, right?"


    "I''ve decided to marry Anna if Ie back from this war alive."


    "Smith¡­"


    "Do your best. I''m sure you''ll be able to survive!"


    Not only were they not feeling cold, but they could even chitchat.


    The mages of the Tower of Truth had officially be a mage corps directly under Guardians. Thanks to the equipment they''d made by sacrificing their vacation, Guardians members were able to brave the weatherfortably.


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened when he heard their conversation.


    ''Smith¡­ are you gonna be okay?''


    No matter how anyone saw it, that was a death g. While leaving the poor guy behind as he bragged about Anna, Kang-Woo entered the barracks again.


    Gaia, Kim Si-Hun, Cha Yeon-Joo, Tian Wuchen, Han Seol-Ah, Echidna, and the other core members of Guardians were gathered.


    "Ah, Kang-Woo." Han Seol-Ah walked toward him with a smile on her face. "The food is ready. Take a seat."


    There was piping-hot kimchi stew in the middle of the meeting table.


    Usually, they would have to eatbat rations, but they had abused their power asmanding officers to have a proper meal.


    ''You need to have a full stomach to fight well.''


    Saliva started to gather in Kang-Woo''s mouth.


    "Thanks. I''m sure it was hard to make portions for all these people."


    "Not at all. Echidna and Si-Hun helped me, so I barely did anything. I just taste-tested it."


    "Hm! Kang-Woo, I learned how to make kimchi stew." Echidna snorted while smiling confidently.


    Kang-Woo smirked and patted her head. Echidna rubbed her cheeks against his hand as if she were a cat.


    He took a seat. In front of him was a bowl the size of a washbasin with kimchi stew in it.


    Yeon-Joo looked at him in surprise.


    "Do you like kimchi stew that much?"


    "Of course. There''s nothing in the world that canpare in taste."


    Kimchi stew was life¡ªit was perfect and worthy of worship.


    Kang-Woo devoutly raised his chopsticks.


    Yeon-Jooughed in disbelief.


    "I mean, it''s not like kimchi stew is bad or anything, but¡­"


    It honestly wasn''t delicious enough to say it was the best food in the world.


    From what she''d heard from Seol-Ah, Kang-Woo ate kimchi stew at least ten times a week and easily more than four to five portions. Even if one loved a certain food, it was fascinating that they would be able to eat so much of it.


    ''Well¡­''


    Yeon-Joo grabbed her spoon and narrowed her eyes. She looked at Kang-Woo eating the kimchi stew.


    ''I guess¡­ it''s understandable.''


    She thought of his past.


    Ten millennia¡­


    His desire had been built up for an unthinkable amount of time.


    Considering that he had only thought of survival without being able to eat, drink, or enjoy anything, it was understandable.


    ''Well, if he likes it so much¡­''


    Yeon-Joo coughed.


    ''Maybe I should make it for him too next time.''


    She didn''t have feelings for him, but considering how much help he''d given her, maybe it wasn''t a bad idea. She hid her reddened cheeks and looked at Seol-Ah. Her mind was in jumbles.


    ck.


    Kang-Woo paid no mind to Yeon-Joo''s gaze and raised his bowl of rice.


    First, he grabbed a long piece of kimchi and put it on his rice; then, he grabbed a piece of pork with a delicate bnce of meat and fat and wrapped it in kimchi. He scooped up arge spoon of rice and put it into his mouth. The sour taste of kimchi and the pork juice spread over his tongue.


    "Shieet¡­!"


    His body tingled.


    After repeating the process several times, he added some lukewarm water to the rice. He did not add a lot¡ªjust enough for the rice to be like porridge. He then ate the rice with the kimchi and meat.


    A joyful taste spread through his mouth along with the rice, which had been cooled down to just the right temperature. Having kimchi stew with rice that had been mixed with lukewarm water reduced the kimchi''s sour taste, allowing for apletely different wave of vor.


    "Phew. Thanks for the food."


    "I prepared a little more than usual since I thought you would be tired from preparing for the battle."


    "Thanks. Oh, I''ll put the dishes away."


    Kang-Woo got ready again after emptying his te and washing all the dishes. He had more things to do.


    "Oh, Seol-Ah, Could you make some more kimchi stew? A lot. Enough to feed about a hundred people."


    "¡­ For yourself?"


    "No, I''m gonna take it to some people."


    Seol-Ah tilted her head, but she soon got to preparing more kimchi stew with help from Kang-Woo, Echidna, and Si-Hun.


    Kang-Woo had stockpiled a lot of ingredients before they had begun their war preparations, so they had more than enough ingredients.


    He then poured thepleted kimchi stew into several pots and put them all in a box. He kept the contents of the box warm with instion magic and then got up.


    "I''ll be right back."


    He easily lifted the box containing a hundred portions of kimchi stew and headed to the base of the angels some distance from the Guardians base. The Watchers of Light guarding the base looked very haggard.


    They were not suffering from the cold; it seemed they''d also made preparations against the weather. There was only one reason why they looked so haggard.


    ''I knew it.''


    Kang-Woo looked around and saw that the Watchers of Light were eating some unknown soup. The Watchers of Light were the only ones eating; the angels were each doing maintenance on their weapons and talking about the war against the demons that would soon take ce.


    "What brings you here?"


    An angel with six wings walked toward Kang-Woo. The armor he wore was more luxurious than what the other angels had. Not only that, but he had more wings than the others as well. The light shining from him was also on another level.


    The angel with short silver hair introduced himself: "I am Lord Raphael''s loyal servant, Shalgiel."


    Shalgiel was not looking at Kang-Woo very kindly. It wasn''t just him; all the other Watchers of Light and angels were giving him a simr look. Although they''d decided to form an alliance at Raphael''smand, they still had animosity toward Guardians.


    ''This won''t do.''


    The battle against the Demon Cult was going to take ce soon, so the remaining conflict with Raphael''s forces would pose problems.


    Conflict gave rise to distrust, which amplified doubt. If that happened¡­


    ''I won''t be able to make use of them.''


    The role the angels had in the war was very important.


    The tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth went up.


    ''I''d guess he''s Raphael''s right-hand man.''


    That seemed to be the case based on how he was acting.


    Kang-Woo put down the giant box containing kimchi stew.


    Shalgiel began, "What is¡­"


    "It is kimchi stew."


    "Kimchi stew?" Shalgiel frowned in confusion.


    "I took some nces at the angels and Watchers of Light over the past few days¡­ and it seemed like they needed this."


    "We are fine. We do not need food."


    "That is only the case for angels," Kang-Woo said firmly. He then raised his hand and pointed to the Watchers of Light. "Can you not see them? Why do you think they look so haggard?"


    "Because they feel sorrow and rage due to Ludwig''s dea¡ª"


    "I am sure that is also the case, but this is the biggest reason."


    He lifted the lid of one of the pots containing kimchi stew.


    The eyes of the Watchers of Light shone as they smelled it.


    "Ah¡­" Shalgiel expressed, seeing the Watchers of Light.


    "Humans need to eat."


    "We know that. That is why we also prepared f¡ª"


    "That can barely be called food."


    Shalgiel closed his mouth at Kang-Woo''s words and made a troubled expression as if he couldn''t understand Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    ''I knew this would happen.''


    Just like demons, angels did not require sustenance.


    Thanks to that, they didn''t understand how important food was to humans.


    It was only natural. Just like how humans did not know the sensation of pping wings, angels did not know how hunger felt. They couldn''t understand how important taste was to humans. There was no way a human could be sated by cheap oatmeal. If that were enough, the concept of cooking would''ve never been born.


    Humans subconsciously yearned for delicious food.


    ''But¡­''


    The Watchers of Light in Raphael''s camp were devotees who served angels; the hierarchy was clearly defined. There was no way a private couldin to a sergeant about the army''s food. The Watchers of Light remained silent, and they had slowly be haggard until they ended up like this.


    ''I wonder how they usually spend their days.''


    When the Watchers of Light arrived on Earth, they looked normal. On Aernor, they likely went to have delicious and nutritious meals without needing to go out of their way to report to the angels about it. But now that they were in another world, there was no way that they could acquire food on their own.


    "¡­"


    Shalgiel remained silent. He seemed surprised and confused. He quickly turned his head to look at the priests.


    They hurriedly spoke.


    "N-No!''


    "Oatmeal is more than enough!"


    "How could we have a greed for food as beings who serve the light?"


    Although everyone denied it, it was clear to Shalgiel that they were just giving excuses.


    Shalgiel nodded. "I see. It seems that I have not amodated the Watchers of Light well enough."


    After hearing his answer, the Watchers of Light walked toward Kang-Woo angrily.


    "How dare you make such usations!"


    "We are beings that serve the light. We do not need food from a world like¡ª"


    ck.


    Kang-Woo opened the lid as soon as the Watchers of Light came to him toin. The delicious scent overwhelmed their sense of smell.


    "A-A world like¡­"


    Their expressions hardened.


    "Everyone." Kang-Woo smiled brightly. "You can have as much as you like. Even Lord Shalgiel has mentioned that he has not amodated you all well enough, hasn''t he?"


    "W-We cannot¡­"


    "A soup as red as blood¡­ W-We cannot eat something like this!" the apostles shouted.


    "Now, now. Don''t be like that and give it a try," Kang-Woo said cordially.


    "Guh¡­"


    "You can always choose not to after you try just a sip."


    His words were as sweet and tempting as a demon''s, but the apostles couldn''t reject them.


    After all, they hadn''t been able to eat a proper meal since their arrival on Earth almost a month ago.


    "¡­"


    The apostles looked at each other, and then one finally took a step forward.


    He grabbed a spoon and tried some rice and kimchi stew.


    "G-Gasp!!" His eyes widened. "Dear heavens¡­ I-It''s so¡­!!"


    The apostle trembled in excitement.


    Although it was true that Seol-Ah was a great cook, she wasn''t good enough for someone to react like this. Rather than the stew being that good, it was more that their situation was that dire.


    They hadn''t been able to eat proper food in over a month because of the angels, so anything would''ve tasted great to them.


    "It is an Earth dish known as kimchi stew."


    "Wow!!


    "Kimchi stew¡­!"


    The apostles quickly began devouring the kimchi stew.


    As their empty stomachs filled, the looks in their eyes started to change.


    "Ahem."


    "We apologize for acting that way earlier. We were disrespectful to an ally whom we would be fighting alongside¡­"


    Just from their stomachs being filled, their previous resentment toward Kang-Woo and Guardians had changed to gazes of trust.


    "Hmm."


    "What sort of dish could it be¡­?"


    Even angels began wondering about the kimchi stew and started trying it. The spicy vor stimted the weak taste buds of the angels, surprising them as they ate the kimchi stew.


    "We will share our rations with you until the war against the Demon Cult begins."


    "Ah¡­"


    Shalgiel''s face reddened, as he had also been eating the kimchi stew out of curiosity.


    "Thank you. It seems¡­ I was mistaken about Guardians."


    Their animosity started to melt down.


    Kang-Woo smiled while looking at the angels and priests.


    ''As I thought, there''s nothing like kimchi stew to gain someone''s trust.''


    Kang-Woo nodded while making a proud expression.

 Chapter 237 - Who Dares To Judge Me? (1)

    Chapter 237 - Who Dares To Judge Me? (1)


    About ten thousand people were walking down a snowfield toward a mountainous peak.


    They were Guardians¡ªthest hope of humanity.


    Elite yers from all around the world were starting to move toward what they believed to be the Demon Cult headquarters. The closer they got to the war starting, the darker their expressions became.


    They recalled theirst battle against the Demon Cult in Tibet.


    They''d underestimated the strength of demons, so they''d suffered great despair once faced with reality.


    It was true that they''d gotten stronger through the experience of recovering territories lost to monsters, but still, the war felt different.


    It was obvious. After all, they were moving to fight against the Demon of Prophecy¡ªsomeone who was trying to destroy the world.


    Thankfully, no one had deserted.


    Lots of conversations were exchanged, and everyone was feeling a huge mix of emotions, but time still went on.


    "This ce is¡­"


    "The Demon Cult headquarters."


    Guardians members nervously looked up at the tall mountain.


    To be precise, this was not the Demon Cult headquarters; it was only thergest branch that they had witnessed. Regardless, after Satan gathered his forces at this branch, it had practically be no different from their headquarters. There were estimated to be more than ten thousand cultists within, even more if the demons that they had summoned were included.


    "All forces, prepare for battle!" the young man standing in the front, Kim Si-Hun, shouted. His voice, which he had amplified through Qi, echoed throughout the mountain.


    The Guardians members nervously gripped their weapons.


    "D-Demons!" shouted one of the Guardians members who had a long-range vision ability.


    Everyone looked toward where the member had pointed.


    ''There''s so fucking many of them,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    There were huge artificial doors located all around the mountain. As those giant doors opened, an enormous number of cultists and demons appeared.


    ''I''d say there are about twenty thousand.''


    There were more demons than expected.


    Kang-Woo grimaced as he looked up at the Demon Cult forces, which had the high ground.


    "GRRRRRR."


    "KIIEEKK!!"


    The hideous demons interspersed among the cultists let out chilling battle cries.


    There was a demon with dozens of eyes, a demon with snakes for hair, and a demon whose internal organs were fully visible due to its body having been detached into two halves. It was as if they had chosen the most hideous-looking demons to stand at the forefront.


    "Gasp."


    "Wh-What the hell?"


    "They didn''t look that bad before¡­"


    The Demon Cult''s n worked; the Guardians members faltered when they saw the hideous demons.


    "Get a hold of yourselves! Do not be misled by their appearance!" Si-Hun said in a firm voice.


    That was easier said than done.


    Sight was the sense that humans relied on the most. It was hard to stay calm when faced with such horrifying demons. The demons'' appearance alone was nauseating.


    On top of that¡­


    "Wh-What is that smell?"


    "Eek!"


    "Urpp, bleeeegh!"


    The agitation spread across the forces like a gue. A horrible scent, carried by the wind, spread across the entire area. It was the stench of rotten pus. It was hard to withstand, even for those who were used to fighting monsters.


    "Haap!" Tian Wuchen shouted while stomping on the ground.


    BOOM.


    The yers in chaos slightly returned to their senses.


    "Focus! Do you want yourst moments to be filled with vomit?!"


    The yers gulped at Wuchen''s words.


    "KIIEEKK!!"


    "Wipe out the filthy servants of light!"


    The cultists finally made their move. A priest wearing a ck robe was directing the demons at the forefront.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and looked through their forces.


    ''The Aspects have yet to make their move.''


    He could not see a single demon the level of a prince of Hell among the massive wave of demons.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t at the front but at the rear.


    His job wasn''t tomand the forces but to face demons that reached the level of a prince of Hell¡ªdemons that couldn''t be beaten with just numbers.


    Kang-Woo looked across the battlefield.


    "Gwoooooo!!"


    BOOM!!


    Screaming, a giant demon that was dozens of meters tall swung down its club. A magic circle shone where it swung its club, and a huge explosion sted out.


    Crack!


    BOOM!


    Snow cascaded down in ever-increasing amounts along with a sound of something breaking.


    An avnche.


    Si-Hun raised his sword.


    "Tear the scrolls!!"


    While preparing for war in a snowy environment, they had already expected the possibility of an avnche being used against them. A me barrier was created to protect the entirety of Guardians, which was about ten thousand in number.


    "Arghh!"


    "Sh-Shit!"


    Of course, a few members who were just barely outside the barrier''s range were taken by the avnche.


    Si-Hun stomped, sparing a nce at the soldiers being swept away by the avnche.


    "Advance!"


    Si-Hun''s scream announced the start of the battle.


    The yers quickly ran up the snow-covered mountain.


    The Demon Cult forces took out their weapons and charged down the mountain in response.


    The war started in earnest.


    sh!


    "Blue Dragon Rampage!"


    Si-Hun swung his sword while shouting the technique''s name on purpose¡ªit was a tactic they had prepared beforehand.


    Dozens of sword energies spread from him and cut through the demons.


    The picturesque young man massacred the demons, raising the morale of Guardians.


    "Kill them!!"


    "Filthy bastards!"


    The sh between the yers and the Demon Cult truly began.


    "Servants of light."


    Raphael took a step forward while ring at the demons. He raised his hand, and light gathered around it, creating a long spear.


    "Those tainted by darkness¡­"


    BOOM.


    He aggressively stomped on the ground, and his eight wings extended outward.


    "Receive the judgment of light."


    "Judgment of light!!!!"


    The angels spread their wings and soared into the sky, rushing down toward the demons shing with Guardians'' forces.


    The sh between angels and demons, the servants of light and darkness; a giant and majestic battle straight out of legends was urring right before their very eyes.


    BOOM!


    Fwoosh!


    "Argh!!"


    "DIIEE!"


    Casualties piled up on both sides.


    Although the Demon Cult had the advantage in number, Guardians had individuals far stronger than the demons.


    Si-Hun and the Sirius Corps swept through the Demon Cult''s forces, destroying their formations.


    ''He''s doing a great job.''


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction as he looked at Si-Hun.


    The demons were being pushed back thanks to Si-Hun and the Sirius Corps.


    ''As long as we keep this up¡­''


    He licked his lips and sharpened his gaze.


    ''They''ll have no choice but toe out.''


    Numbers didn''t matter when facing a prince of Hell, but if two beings of prince level fought and one of them had an army to back them up, that changed things.


    The princes of Hell were not invincible; even if the attacks were weak and could barely scratch them, they wouldn''t be able to ignore it as the damage umted, and the side that possessed the weaker force would lose.


    The princes of Hell would definitely appear before their forces were wiped out.


    "Now, it''s time for you guys to get off of your fat a¡ª"


    Just then, he saw something strange.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    "¡­ What the hell''s up with them?"


    About five hundred cultists had thrown away the ck robes and were stark naked.


    They raised their hands into the sky as they knelt on the ground.


    "O darkness, grant us your blessing!!"


    "Bring ruin to the light!!"


    Their madness-filled voices spread through the battlefield, garnering the attention of Guardians'' forces, and¡­


    Crack!!


    Their flesh tore apart, and their intestines spewed out of their bodies and pooled on the ground along with their brains.


    It was a horrible and disgusting scene.


    Their corpses blended together, and ck demonic energy rose up to link the five hundred corpses, giving rise to a giant monster.


    "Graaaaaaahhh!!!!"


    It was a monster with red skin.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    "A Barbatos."


    It wasn''t an ancient demonic beast like the Halcyons that possessed intelligence, but it was still a demonic beast from the Ninth Hell.


    Usually, demonic beasts didn''t leave their habitat, but a Barbatos was an exception¡ªit was notorious for roaming around and attacking anything in sight, whether it be a demon or a demonic beast.


    "Fuck¡­"


    A curse left Kang-Woo''s mouth.


    The Barbatos had a certain characteristic.


    ''I''m seriously about to hurl.''


    Its body was made of corpses, and every time it moved, yellow pus poured down like a waterfall.


    A horrible odor filled the battlefield.


    "Blegh!!!"


    "Wh-What is that?"


    "Urp! Bleeeeegh!!"


    ''Man¡­''


    It was a bad matchup.


    The Guardians members were puking from the hideous appearance and the horrific stench of the demonic beast they had never seen before.


    On top of that, demonic beasts were far stronger than demons in terms of physical strength.


    Kang-Woo extended his hand and pulled a golden sword from nothingness.


    He couldn''t afford to stand around doing nothing as it rampaged.


    BOOM.


    "What a disgusting monster."


    Raphael stepped up with a radiant spear in his hand as if he had thought the exact same thing as Kang-Woo.


    An archangel emitting a brilliant light joined the battlefield along with the apostle of the God of Heroes.


    "Huh?"


    "Wow!"


    The Guardians members'' eyes widened at the sudden appearance of light.


    The expressions of the angels and Watchers of Light brightened.


    "Those tainted by darkness¡­"


    "Those tainted by darkness¡­"


    Kang-Woo and Raphael¡ªtwo heroes, one emitting a golden light and the other a pure-white light¡ªopened their mouths together.


    "Receive the judgment of light!"


    m!!


    Kang-Woo stomped on the ground.


    Raphael flew into the sky.


    Del Lain crushed the Barbatos''s head, and the spear of light pierced its body.


    The vigorous Barbatos died instantly.


    [You have finally appeared.]


    A ck Rift appeared from the Barbatos''s corpse, darkness flowing from it. A red demon mask appeared from the shroud of darkness.


    "Satan."


    Kang-Woo raised his sword.


    "I havee to judge you."


    [You son of a¡­! Fuuu, fuuu.]


    Satan''s voice trembled after he saw Kang-Woo.


    He tried his best to calm down, but it was difficult.


    [Raphael!] Satan shouted. [Do you know that the man standing next to you is the demon king wearing a mask of mischief?!]


    Before Raphael could say anything, Kang-Woo said in a tired voice, "There you go again with your lies."


    BOOM!!


    He aggressively stomped on the ground and red at Satan.


    "Satan!! Your evil acts have been exposed for the whole world to see!"


    [What? You son of a¡ª]


    "I have not forgotten! We have not forgotten! You killed Protector Alec and Reynald, the sessor of the God of Heroes!!"


    [Alec? Rey¡­ What? Who are they?]


    "You bared your teeth against other demons and used them to satiate your horrible desires to fill the Demonic Sea!!"


    [No, you''re the one with the Demonic S¡ª]


    "You corrupted Saint Ludwig and are trying tomit the brutality of breaking his cycle of life!!"


    [You crazy bastard!! I bet you were the one who corrupted Ludwig!!] Satan screamed. [I do not know who these Alec and Reynald people are!! I had not even been aware that the Watchers of Light had been on Earth!! Listen to me, Raphael!! This was all done by him. He nned all of¡ª]


    "Shut up, Satan!"


    Rumble!!!


    The mountain shook from Kang-Woo''s rage, and a brilliant golden light filled the area as if the sun itself had descended on Earth.


    The Watchers of Light couldn''t help but kneel at such a magnificent sight, tears flowing from their eyes.


    After interacting with Guardians, they learned about Kang-Woo''s true identity as an apostle of Tirion, God of Heroes¡ªa light that eradicated darkness.


    As if proving that, Kang-Woo was emanating light with sacred power mixed within it.


    Kang-Woo raised Del Lain.


    "How dare you insult me! How dare you doubt me?! How dare you judge me!!"


    ''I am justice!''

 Chapter 238 - Im Rooting for Both of You (1)

    Chapter 238 - I''m Rooting for Both of You (1)


    [You son of a¡­]


    Satan couldn''t properly form words due to his rage.


    The darkness flickered.


    He turned to check the expressions of Raphael and the Watchers of Light.


    ''Shit.''


    They didn''t look like they believed Satan at all. They were looking at Kang-Woo with eyes filled with deep trust.


    [Hah¡­] Satan feignedughter.


    Gaining the trust of angels was no easy task.


    Angels were so stubborn and inflexible that one would die of frustration trying to deal with them.


    ''How did he gain their trust?''


    Satan couldn''t understand it.


    Raphael and his angels had not seen Guardians in a positive light.


    Although their doubt toward Guardians had been eliminated due to the demon king''s y, it did not change the fact that they had been unable to keep Ludwig safe.


    ''Despite that¡­''


    The angels and the Watchers of Light were looking at Kang-Woo as if he were arade with whom they had gone through thick and thin.


    No, they also seemed to have some loyalty toward him, albeit a bit of a stretch.


    Anyway, it didn''t change the fact that it was abnormal.


    "Sataaaaaan!!"


    Raphael spread his eight wings.


    Satan grimaced.


    ''I have no choice.''


    No matter what he did, he wouldn''t be able to make Raphael doubt the demon king instead of him.


    Satan raised his hand, and the darkness fluctuated like a wave and took the form of a pitch-ck sword in his hand.


    It was Wrath, the Hell Armament that represented him.


    "Receive the judgment of light!"


    Raphael threw his spear made of bright, white light.


    Satan raised his pitch-ck sword and blocked the attack.


    Rumble!!!


    Light and dark shed, and a huge impact shook the surroundings.


    An intense battle was urring in the middle of a snowstorm that made it hard to see what was going on, and the ferocity of their battle split the earth.


    [You dumbass¡­!] Satan said in anger.


    The stupid angel was being yed by the demon king, and just watching it made Satan feel sick.


    Satan pulled his arm back, and darkness gathered around the pitch-ck sword. He swung the sword upward.


    Crack!!!


    The ground distorted, and darkness soared from the ground like a fountain.


    Raphael spun his spear like a windmill and blocked the darkness, and then they shed once again.


    An ear-splitting sound shook the battlefield.


    [Haaa.]


    Satan''s eyes were shining with madness. Now that it hade this far, he could not keep dodging. He could not keep taking it lying down. He had to brace his resolve and bloodlust.


    He looked at the demon king wearing the disgusting mask of mischief and bathing in golden light.


    "That is ''Wrath.''"


    Satan heard the demon king''s voice in his memories. His mocking gaze and cackle filled his head.


    ''How dare you¡­''


    The demon king had dared to say such a thing to the Prince of Wrath of all beings. Wrath encroached upon Satan. His head became hot, and the zing heat wrapped his entire body. Behind the red demon mask, Satan''s eyes turned ck. His irises turned yellow, and his pupils stretched horizontally.


    [Very well,] he said in a voice filled with madness.


    He gripped Wrath with both hands and swung it down on the ground.


    [Let us kill each other, demon king.]


    An explosion sounded. The crack in the ground that had formed during the shes with Raphael widened even more. Mounds of dirt scattered into the wind, and huge pirs of rock jutted from the crevice as if they were thorns. And¡­


    WHOOM.


    It sounded as if nature itself was screaming.


    A secondndslide urred, and it quickly grew in size. Satan raised his sword while looking down at the copsing mountain.


    Bat-like wings unfurled, and he flew into the sky.


    ''Demon king.''


    He red at the demon king with deep, sunken eyes, and then he looked down at the giant ck gem he was holding. The gem was a fragment of the Demonic Origin that he''d brought with him. He had not intended to face both the demon king and Raphael at the same time without a n.


    ''If I use this¡­''


    He had more than a chance to emerge victorious as long as he used the Divinity stored within the Demonic Origin.


    Satan''s eyes shone.


    [Come!] he shouted as he raised his pitch-ck sword.


    * * *


    "No, you fucker," Kang-Woo said as he smirked.


    ''He still hasn''t graduated from his chuunibyou.''


    He crossed his arms and watched from a distance as Raphael rushed toward Satan. Satan and Raphael shed with each other.


    ''Not yet.''


    There was no reason for Kang-Woo to make his move yet.


    Of course, coborating with Raphael and fighting against Satan could be good because it was obvious that two-on-one was better than one-on-one. However¡­


    "This is the better option to avoid getting hurt."


    Kang-Wooughed. He already knew who Satan would primarily target if he joined the battle. Satan''s rage would obviously be directed toward him, and Satan would prioritize attacking him instead of Raphael.


    If that happened¡­


    He and Satan would be the only ones getting hurt.


    ''That won''t do.''


    Everything had to be within the palm of his hand. He had to be able to control everything. He had to consider the worst-case scenario that Satan had be stronger than he had been in the Nine Hells and that there was a possibility of Satan severely wounding him if they fought.


    ''There''s also the possibility of Raphael betraying me.''


    The chances of that happening were low.


    Raphael hadn''t been able to sense the demonic energy that Kang-Woo had hidden using the Ruler of Demonic Energy Trait. It didn''t seem like Raphael fully trusted him, but Raphael at least did not think that he was a demon.


    ''But still, you never know.''


    What if Raphael realized his identity in the middle of the battle?


    What if he attacked his wounded self?


    As long as Kang-Woo was a demon and possessed the Demonic Sea, Kang-Woo wouldn''t be able to fully trust an archangel.


    ''On top of that¡­''


    He narrowed his eyes and recalled how Satan had shouted confidently at Raphael and him toe at him.


    ''He must have something up his sleeve.''


    Satan wouldn''t be so confident if he didn''t have a trump card, and Kang-Woo wouldn''t allow himself to be the victim of that card.


    If someone was to be the victim, it had to be Raphael.


    "Right, knock yourselves out."


    Kang-Woo smiled brightly.


    None of the countless Authorities he had allowed him to see the future, so he could only take every single variable into ount, always assume the worst, and imagine failure. And¡­


    ''To always y the winning card.''


    He didn''t care who won the fight.


    If Satan killed Raphael, the archangel that Kang-Woo couldn''t trust would be eliminated.


    If Raphael killed Satan, Kang-Woo could take measures to deal with the situation based on his reactions.


    He had done the same thing when Lucifer fought against the Demon Cult.


    He had no reason to take action himself.


    ''Solving everything with my own strength is stupid.''


    It was something only a dumb person would do.


    It would be a different story if there was no other way, but right now, an easy andfortable path existed for him to take. There was absolutely no reason for him to suffer for no reason when doing nothing would take him more than halfway to the finish line.


    ''I guess I''ll take this time toe up with a good excuse.''


    Raphael might ask Kang-Woo what the hell he had been doing while he himself had been battling Satan, so he just had to prepare a suitable answer. It was actually not a difficult question to answer.


    ''Belphegor and some guy called Crimson Fiend are here, too''


    Although they hadn''t appeared yet, he could make use of them.


    "Now, then."


    There was one thing he had to do.


    ''Authority of Coloring.''


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Coloring to create light sticks that he stuck between his fingers and swung vigorously.


    ''Hurray! Hurray!''[1]


    Raphael oppaaaaaaaa!


    Satan oppaaaaaaaaa!


    ''I''m rooting for both of you!''


    * * *


    A spear of light chased Satan. He swung his pitch-ck sword, letting out a wave of ck demonic energy along the sword''s trajectory.


    ''Why?''


    He panted heavily.


    Satan deflected Raphael''s attack while making a confused expression.


    Although he was fighting against Raphael, his mind was focused somewhere else.


    ''Why isn''t heing?''


    The demon king was not participating in the battle.


    He thought that the battle would take a two-on-one format, and he was expecting Raphael and the demon king to attack him simultaneously, so obviously, he''d prepared a strategy based on that.


    ''But why isn''t heing?''


    Wham!


    The pitch-ck sword collided with the spear.


    Satan pulled his hand back and swung his sword downward. A de of demonic energy gathered andpressed along the trajectory of Wrath''s de.


    ''Authority of Extinction.''


    Satan''s Authority tore anything it touched into shreds. He had imbued the de of demonic energy, which had just shot out, with this Authority.


    "It is no use!"


    Raphael pulled his spear back, throwing the spear while putting his foot forward as if stepping on air.


    Thousands of illusions appeared around the spear as it flew. No, they weren''t illusions. Thousands of spears made of light were gathering in a circle.


    BOOM!!


    The de and spears shed, and explosive sounds filled the sky as if thousands of bolts of lightning fell. The huge impact swept everything away, and the dark clouds that were spewing out a blizzard were blown away.


    The sunlight shone down on them.


    [Shit, shit!] Curses left Satan''s mouth. His n had been ruined.


    He felt the Demonic Origin he had carefully ced in his bosom.


    He needed to have both the demon king and Raphael within range. He still couldn''t fully control the power of the Demonic Origin, so he didn''t have many chances.


    A trump card was called a trump card for a reason. If he could freely use it, he would''ve done so from the beginning.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo wasn''ting.


    No matter how long he waited while battling Raphael, he was noting.


    [Come, demon king!!] he screamed. [Fight me!!]


    Why was the demon king not trying to finish him off after driving him into a corner?


    Satan thought he was about to go crazy.


    BOOM!!


    [Raphael! Where is the demon king?!]


    "You have lost your mind."


    Raphael clicked his tongue.


    Demon king?


    What nonsense was that?


    "You are the demon king."


    His eyes shone sharply.


    The Demon of Prophecy¡ªthe possessor of the Demonic Sea and master of 666 different Authorities.


    If such a demon wasn''t the demon king, then who could it possibly be?


    [Shit! Oh Kang-Woo! Where is that son of a bitch?!]


    "Did you think I would need a human to aid me in fighting you?"


    Raphaelughed in disbelief.


    He knew that the human Oh Kang-Woo had inherited the power of Tirion, God of Heroes, but that didn''t mean an archangel should expect a human''s help in fighting a demon.


    "I will avenge Ludwig''s death with my own hands!" Raphael shouted.


    [For fuck''s sake.]


    Satan thought he was about to go crazy. He didn''t even know what Ludwig looked like.


    ''Where are you, demon king?''


    Satan hurriedly looked around for the demon king.


    At that moment, he saw an eye-catching light. He saw the demon king looking up at them from within the debris of copsed rocks.


    [Th-Th-Th-Th-That son of a bitch¡­!]


    The demon king was waving neon light sticks and excitedly watching their battle. He was hiding in a safe ce after instigating the battle between him and Raphael.


    [Th-That scumbag¡­ How dare you¡ª!!]


    His rage had crossed the threshold.


    Satan grabbed the back of his neck.


    [Urgh.]


    For a moment, his sight became blurry, and he felt like everything was spinning. Satan copsed.


    1. This is a Japanese way of cheering (fure, fure), which pretty much means "You can do it!". ?

 Chapter 239 - Youre Not Ready Yet

    Chapter 239 - You''re Not Ready Yet


    "Argh!!"


    "Kurgh!"


    A giant wave of snow and dirt swept the yers away.


    Kim Si-Hun quickly raised his sword and shouted hurriedly, "Use the second scroll!"


    A translucent barrier surrounded the yers as they used their second scroll, but it wasn''t as effective as the me barrier that they had used first.


    The translucent barrier was destroyed, and some yers were swept away by the avnche.


    "Shit!"


    Si-Hun turned his head and saw that the second avnche had just hit them. They''d already used the me barrier, so many people were wounded by the avnche.


    "He doesn''t care about his subordinates in the slightest."


    Si-Hun bit his lips.


    Unlike with the first avnche, it wasn''t just the Guardians members who were affected by the second avnche. The Demon Cultists who had no scrolls to protect themselves with ended up suffering more than Guardians.


    Si-Hun watched the Demon Cultists get swept away by the falling dirt, rocks, and snow.


    "ARGH!"


    "H-Help me!!"


    Then Si-Hun''s eyes widened when he realized where the avnche was heading.


    "That''s¡­"


    It was the ce where the rearguard of Guardians was. They were in charge of healing the wounded as well asmanding the forces.


    Furthermore¡­


    "Gaia¡­!"


    That was where Gaia was.


    Si-Hun fell into chaos, and his mind went nk.


    - Get it together, man.


    He heard Oh Kang-Woo''s voice at that moment.


    It wasn''t his real voice; it was an illusion or Si-Hun trying to hypnotize himself.


    Si-Hun took a deep breath and analyzed the situation calmly.


    ''I have to stop it.''


    He had to stop the avnche before it reached the rearguard.


    ''But¡­''


    How could a human stand against a natural disaster?


    There was a huge difference between causing a natural disaster and stopping it. An avnche could be easily triggered with an explosion, but stopping one was almost impossible for a human¡ªeven if he had inherited the power of the Martial God.


    "Kuh."


    Si-Hun stomped on the ground.


    ''Still, I have to do it.''


    He had to move instead of wasting time thinking that he couldn''t do it.


    ''Heavenly Dragon Rush.''


    He put more strength in his legs, as if he were squeezing out all the power that his body could give him, and chased the avnche.


    ''It''s not moving very fast.''


    The farther down the mountain, the less steep it became. They''d used the second set of scrolls to create a barrier that reduced the force of the avnche considerably, so it was moving very slowly.


    ''I can catch up to it.''


    Thend fluctuated as if it were a wave.


    Si-Hun stomped on the ground and spread both hands.


    ''Sword Control.''


    The weapons of the yers who had died inbat floated in the air, serving as stepping stones for Si-Hun.


    "Kuh."


    He had never controlled so many swords at once before, and it felt like his brain was melting. The Qi within him started to run rampant.


    ''I have to do it.''


    Si-Hun''s eyes shone sharply.


    If he didn''t do it, the ce where Gaia was would be engulfed by the avnche.


    Tap, tap!


    He stepped on the swords and rushed through the air.


    His head ached even more, and his vision blurred.


    "A-Aaaaahh!!"


    Si-Hun thought about the cirction of his Qi, the principle of Sword Control, and the mysteries of foot techniques.


    - Calm down.


    Then he heard Kang-Woo''s voice again.


    Si-Hun nodded and bit his lip until it bled.


    Riiing.


    [Proficiency of Heavenly Dragon Movement Technique has risen!]


    A system message appeared, but he ignored it. He calmed his breathing as he rushed through the air.


    Rumble¡ª!


    ''I caught up.''


    Si-Hun saw the demon corpses get mangled and burst open after being engulfed by the wave of dirt and rocks.


    ''I need to get even more ahead.''


    He had to get in front of the avnche''s path.


    Si-Hun sped through the air even more swiftly.


    Suddenly, there was nothing he could step on to go further; he had run out of swords to step on.


    ''Then¡­.''


    He looked down at the wave of dirt and rocks and stepped on it. The huge pressure in the dirt sucked his leg in.


    "Huup."


    Si-Hun took a deep breath and focused his Qi on his legs.


    ''I have to read it.''


    He felt the flow of the dirt with his feet. Then he stepped on an area that was a bit more solid.


    Running on a wave of dirt was far more dangerous than running on water. Nevertheless, Si-Hun ran along the wave of dirt.


    Tap.


    "Haaa, haaa," Si-Hun panted heavily.


    He finally ran ahead of the avnche and reached a narrow passage. The Guardians rearguard was just past that.


    ''I will protect them, no matter the cost.''


    He raised his sword.


    Whoom!


    A pure-white sword appeared in his hands. Si-Hun held the sword in front of him as he prepared himself. He raised the sword over his head and focused his Qi.


    Then¡­


    [You must be Kim Si-Hun.]


    A demon sitting in a wheelchair appeared in front of him.


    Si-Hun''s expression crumpled in exasperation.


    ''Shit.''


    The situation wasn''t good. He did not have the capacity to focus on the demon that had suddenly appeared.


    [Tsk, tsk. You are so frantic. Do you not get tired?]


    Belphegor, the demon with purple skin who was sitting in a wheelchair, snickered. He yawned.


    [In any case, I heard the demon king cares for you deeply.]


    Belphegor spread his hand, casting out dense demonic energy in the form of a. It engulfed Si-Hun.


    "Kuh!"


    Si-Hun grunted.


    ''Shit!''


    Anxiety swept over him.


    If he didn''t stop the avnche, the rearguard would be destroyed. However, if he tried to stop it, he would get killed by that demon. It was the worst possible scenario.


    "Hyung!"


    Si-Hun closed his eyes, and Kang-Woo''s face came to his mind amid the disastrous situation.


    Wham!


    [Hm?]


    A giant hand grabbed the made of demonic energy.


    Rip. The was torn apart.


    "Balrog¡­?" Si-Hun uttered.


    [You seem to be in a predicament,] Balrog said with a smile.


    A thrilling sensation swept through Si-Hun. At that moment, even Balrog''s hideous appearance looked cool to him.


    "Who is¡ª"


    [Oh, that dickhead in the chair over there is Belphegor. He is a sorry excuse of a prince of Hell.]


    Belphegor grimaced and retorted, [What? Dickhead? You son of a¡ª]


    Balrog patted Si-Hun''s shoulder and said, [I will take him. You do what you have to do.]


    Si-Hun thought about it for a moment before nodding. "I''ll leave it to you, Balrog."


    His timing had been messed up by the demon prince''s interference. To stop the avnche, Si-Hun needed to go further down to where the rearguard had been ced.


    He turned and rushed down the mountain.


    [Now, then¡­]


    Balrog turned to face Belphegor.


    Crack, crack.


    He cracked his fingers as he clenched his hands into fists.


    Then Balrog curled up one of the corners of his mouth and said, [Let us begin.]


    * * *


    "You must be the demon king."


    "Hm?"


    Kang-Woo heard a voice from behind while he was waving the light sticks. He slowly turned around.


    He saw someone who was wrapped in blood-stained bandages and carrying a rusted saber, which had blood-colored demonic energy swirling around it.


    "Ah, you must be Crimson Fiend, right?" Kang-Woo asked with a smirk.


    Crimson Fiend, the monster wrapped in blood-stained bandages, nodded and answered, "Correct."


    "Dayum, you look absolutely savage. Is the rusted sword some sort of shtick?"


    "What?"


    "Shiiiet, that''s pretty cool. You''re giving off an ''I don''t rely on weapons'' vibe. I like it," Kang-Woo expressed while nodding.


    He liked the dreary atmosphere the rusted sword gave off that one couldn''t get from an extremely sharp sword.


    "Hah." Crimson Fiend feignedughter. "You are crazier than what I''ve heard."


    "That''s not a very nice thing to say to someone you''re meeting for the first time. Do you know me? Hm? What a rude piece of shit, calling someone crazy as soon as you meet them," Kang-Woo rebuked with a frown.


    Crimson Fiend''s eyes filled with anger. He gripped his rusty sword while feigningughter again.


    "It seems words will not get through to you."


    "Shouldn''t you at least say something resembling a proper conversation before you say that? You literally only said ''Correct.'' and ''What?'' after your first line. And then you say that words won''t get through to me? That''s just not fair, is it?" Kang-Woo remarked as if he was actually frustrated.


    Crimson Fiend gripped his sword tighter.


    ''This is the demon king?''


    He couldn''t believe it.


    A demon king should be more dignified and serious. After meeting the being that terrified both Satan and Belphegor for himself, Crimson Fiend''s disappointment was immeasurable, and his day was ruined.


    ''He is no different from the worthless scoundrels of the Hao Society.''


    The demon king spoke casually, and he also cursed a lot. Rather than a demon king, he seemed like a gangster.


    Crimson Fiend looked at Kang-Woo in disappointment and said, "I had high hopes for you after hearing that you had reached the pinnacle of demons with a human body¡­"


    "Oh, right. Speaking of a human body, I''m curious." Kang-Woo crossed his arms. "You''re human too, right?"


    He knew very little about Aernor, and much less about Huan. He didn''t even know if it was a ce where humans lived.


    ''He looks human, at least,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    Crimson Fiend was covered in bandages, so Kang-Woo couldn''t be sure.


    The tips of Crimson Fiend''s mouth went up as he replied, "Yes. To be precise, I was human."


    Bam. He drove his rusty saber into the ground.


    "But not anymore. I studied the demonic arts for a thousand years to go beyond the limits of a human." Crimson Fiend made a cunning smile. "I doubt you could even imagine the pain I had to go through to get this demonic body under my full control for a thousand years."


    From what he''d heard, the demon king had epted the power of demons without paying any price due to a power known as the Authority of Predation.


    To Crimson Fiend, who had trained for a thousand years to perfect his demonic art, he felt it was simply unfair.


    ''The same goes for the princes of Hell,'' he thought.


    They had been born with great power without having to pay any price for it; they had been born to be rulers. There was nothing more unfair than that.


    "There is a limit to power obtained with no effort. I will prove that to you right here and now," Crimson Fiend dered and drew out his demonic energy.


    The princes of Hell had warned him many times about the demon king, but he could not acknowledge their warning to be true.


    ''There is no way someone born human can use demonic energy better than me.''


    He''d invested a thousand years into learning how to control demonic energy. There was no way that he would lose if he were to fight against someone who had also been born a human¡ªat least, that was what he thought.


    "A thousand years?" Kang-Woo smirked. "That''s not even worth aparison."


    He got up and raised his hands, summoning a double-edged sword made of hellfire.


    "You''re not ready yet."

 Chapter 240 - Remnant (1)

    Chapter 240 - Remnant (1)


    [Hah.] Belphegor feignedughter and red at Balrog in absurdity. [Have you lost your mind, Balrog?]


    Belphegor frowned and rested his chin on his hand, leisurely leaning back on his chair. He narrowed his eyes.


    Balrog was the vicemander of the demon king''s army, as well as one of the demons who had received the demon king''s favor. He was far above the level of regr archdemons and was known to be on par with the princes of Hell.


    However¡­


    [You dare face me, Belphegor, by yourself?]


    Balrog was ultimately not a prince of Hell. There was an insurmountable gap between the princes and other demons, so even if he''d received the demon king''s power and was considered the strongest among the archdemons, that was all there was to it.


    Balrog couldn''t defeat a prince of Hell.


    The princes of Hell had been born to be absolute rules. There was no being in the far and wide Nine Hells, other than the ancient demonic beasts, who could fight a prince of Hell by themselves.


    [Why? Are you scared?] Balrog asked, a smirk on his face.


    [Hah.] Bephegor feignedughter once again. He lowered his head and tried to hold back hisughter. [You must have lost your mind after winning the thousand-year war.]


    Belphegor extended his hands toward Balrog and continued, [Remember this, Balrog: it was the demon king who won, not you.]


    [You could not be more right.]


    Balrog waved his hand, and a whip covered in dark-red mes appeared from a ck Rift. He grabbed the whip, and the tips of his mouth went up.


    [And you lost.]


    [¡­]


    Belphegor remained silent and red at Balrog. The memories of the bitter defeat in the thousand-year war returned to him.


    It was extremely unpleasant.


    [You must have forgotten how scary the world is from being under the demon king for so long.] Belphegor mockingly added, [A mere remnant who could not even protect his master.]


    [¡­]


    A remnant¡­ Balrog''s eyebrows twitched.


    [Have youpletely forgotten about Beelzebub? He used to be your master, had he not?] Belphegor snickered.


    Beelzebub, the Prince of Gluttony.


    Among the princes, he was the only one who had his seat stolen by another demon. Bael had killed Beelzebub and taken his ce.


    Thergest battle before the thousand-year war had been the war between Bael and Beelzebub. Beelzebub had lost, his position as prince of Hell had been stolen, and even his Hell Armament had acknowledged Bael as its new master.


    Bael had devoured Beelzebub''s retainers. All of them, save one, had died in immense pain. Only one demon managed to survive Bael. At the time, Beelzebub''s most loyal subordinate was Balrog.


    [Aah, I still remember how you looked when you lost your master. You made a fitting image of a loser who had lost his master and had been plundered of desire. Your dead eyes were truly a sight to behold.]


    [¡­]


    [Kekeke. And you went to the demon king to die in the most wretched way possible, did you not?]


    The first meeting between Balrog and the demon king was quite a famous tale even in the Nine Hells. At the time, Balrog considered the most wretched death for a demon was to die at the hands of a human, so he had gone to the demon king and begged for the demon king to kill him. He yearned to be freed from the guilt of having been unable to protect his master by his side.


    [¡­ I am sure no one had expected that human to be the demon king.]


    No one could have possibly imagined that the person Balrog had visited to die a most wretched death would be the demon king.


    Belphegor shook his head as if he didn''t even want to think about the demon king.


    [But I am curious about it, even now. I am sure the demon king at the time was still weaker than you, so why did you serve him? Hm? Were you that desperate for a new master? It is truly something toment. Have you imagined how much Beelzebub would grieve if he saw you right now?]


    [Belphegor.]


    [Pfft, hahahaha!! I cannot believe you forgot about the master that you had been so loyal to as soon as he died and switched to a new one.]


    Tsk tsk.


    Belphegor clicked his tongue.


    [This is why raising a mutt to be loyal is pointless.]


    m!


    The giant Balrog shot up into the air. He swung his whip, which was covered in dark-red mes, with blinding speed.


    [Hmph,] Belphegor snorted.


    His Authority activated from his outstretched hand.


    Authority of Stillness.


    This Authority, which could drastically slow down the time in a certain area, restrained the whip.


    The whip, which had been moving at supersonic speed, stopped in midair as if an invisible hand had grabbed it.


    Tap!


    Balrog let go of the whip without hesitation and shot down toward the ground while pping his wings. He sped his fingers together and swung his fists down on the ground.


    Rumble!!


    Rocks scattered in all directions like cannon fire, momentarily obstructing Belphegor''s vision.


    Belphegor''s expression crumpled.


    His Authority of Stillness had a condition¡ªit could only drastically slow time in areas within his field of vision.


    Since his vision was obstructed, the Authority of Stillness was dismissed.


    Balrog appeared from between the rocks, and a huge fist resembling a boulder smashed Belphegor''s head.


    BOOM!!


    The chair that Belphegor was in rolled backward quickly. Before the fist had touched him, Belphegor had narrowly managed to use the Authority of Stillness to protect his face.


    [Kuh!]


    Still, he wasn''t able to fully mitigate the blow. ck blood dripped from Belphegor''s mouth after he was hit by the demonic energy exuding from Balrog''s fist.


    With his back straight, Balrog said in a deep voice, [You talk too much. Is your mouth not aszy as your body?]


    [¡­]


    Belphegor grimaced. He was humiliated by the fact that the likes of Balrog, who wasn''t the demon king or a prince of Hell, had managed to deal the first blow.


    [Worthless remnant!]


    Belphegor extended both hands and, with the Authority of Stillness, created des of time that couldn''t be seen or heard. The formless des, which would twist time in a fixed space to sh a target, poured down on Balrog.


    sh!


    Balrog crouched down.


    As the formless sword made contact with his demonic energy, the flow of demonic energy in that area slowed down drastically.


    Balrog closed his eyes.


    Belphegor''s attacks couldn''t be seen, so using his eyes would only hinder him.


    He needed to dodge the formless attacks using only the demonic energy that he could sense from them. Using rapid movements that were hard to believe were performed by someone with his giant physique, Balrog dodged the des and approached Belphegor.


    He clenched his right hand into a fist, and his whip, which had been on the floor, flew toward him as if it were alive and wrapped around his fist. He twisted his body and pulled back his fist, which was zing with dark-red mes.


    [Do you seriously believe that will work on me?!]


    Belphegor mockinglyughed at him. He created a barrier that wrapped around his body with the Authority of Stillness. Everything that entered the area five centimeters from his skin was put at a standstill due to the drastically inhibited flow of time.


    It was an absolute barrier.


    [Sky¡­]


    Balrog stretched his left foot forward and stepped firmly on the ground, pulling his shoulder back and lowering himself. He concentrated all of his strength on a single point before unleashing his fist in a disy of explosive power.


    [¡­ Breaker.]


    BOOOOM!


    It was a technique of his master, Oh Kang-Woo.


    Although it was just a simple punch, the principle behind it was extremelyplex. One needed to have perfect control over the demonic energy that flowed from one''s hips to the shoulder and to the fist, and let it burst the moment one punched. But of course, even Balrog would be met with immense recoil if he used such a technique.


    However, Balrog had a characteristic no other demon had: Demonic Armor. Balrog possessed a barrier of demonic energy above his skin that he did not even need to consciously maintain.


    That unique characteristic protected his fist, and¡­


    [Kurgh!!!]


    Belphegor''s body bent over like a bow. He was blown away along with his chair and rolled over the ground violently. He coughed up a massive amount of ck blood.


    [H-How?]


    Belphegor looked at Balrog in confusion.


    Even if the strength in Balrog''s fist was powerful, it shouldn''t have been able to pass through his Authority, which controlled the flow of time. It wasn''t possible.


    [Shit, shit, shit!!]


    Belphegor cursed with his hands on the ground. Balrog slowly walked toward him.


    Remnant.


    That sad nickname echoed through his head.


    "Stop shitting around being a fucking drama queen and screw off."


    Memories of the past came back to him like a shback.


    "I was not able to protect my master."


    "Who asked?"


    "I came to you to pay for my sins."


    "The fuck are you on about?"


    Balrog exined to Kang-Woo, who did not seem to understand, the humiliation of dying by a human''s hand. Kang-Woo feignedughter after listening to the exnation.


    "Oh, so you came here to die?"


    "Yes."


    "Haaa. I should''ve known from your dead-ass eyes."


    Heughed from the absurdity and walked away, ignoring Balrog.


    "Save the pity show for TV, dickhead."


    "¡­"


    "Stop being a bother and fuck off. I''m busy."


    "You¡­ are not afraid."


    "What?"


    "This is the Ninth Hell. It is ruled by the princes of Hell. It ispletely different from the Hells that you have been in."


    "I''ve heard it all beforeing here, man."


    "No, you do not know. You¡­ have no idea how terrifying the princes are. If you did, there is no way that you would not be afraid."


    "Fucking hell, you''re so damn nosy."


    Kang-Woo lightly stomped on the ground and flew toward him; then he grabbed his cor.


    Balrog was finally able to see his eyes.


    His white eyes and ck irises stared at Balrog.


    "Ah¡­"


    Chills went down Balrog''s spine.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes were shining with a desire stronger than that of any demon. His desires were burning to the point of madness.


    Balrog already knew the name of the desire reflected in his eyes.


    "I don''t give a fuck about the princes or whatever else is here," Kang-woo said. "It doesn''t change what I have to do."


    Answer to evil with greater evil, and return bloodlust with even greater bloodlust. Keep moving forward while devouring everything in the world.


    "If you''re done talking, then fuck off. I have no time to waste on a fucking remnant like you. If you want a humiliating death, stick your head into a demonic beast''s ass or something."


    [HAHAHAHA!]


    Balrog, who had been walking toward Belphegor, suddenly burst intoughter after walking down memoryne.


    [Balrog¡­!]


    [Aah, my apologies. I just thought of something from the past.]


    Balrog smiled. He raised his fist, which was covered in dark-red mes, and beckoned Belphegor with the other hand to taunt him.


    [Stand up, Belphegor. The battle has only just begun.]


    [Kuh.]


    Belphegor red at Balrog intensely before cing his hands on the ground and pushing himself up. He ced his hand on the chair he had been sitting in.


    [Balrog.]


    Thick demonic energy swept away the surroundings.


    Crack, Crunch!


    The wheelchair changed form. The fragments of the broken chair gathered back together to create armor, which was white as if it had been made from bone.


    [I will make you regret making me stand.]


    Sloth, the Hell Armament in the form of armor emitting drearily evil energy, wrapped around Belphegor.

 Chapter 241 - Remnant (2)

    Chapter 241 - Remnant (2)


    Belphegor stood up with Sloth wrapped around him.


    A breathtaking amount of demonic energy that couldn''t bepared to before surged out of him.


    Balrog''s expression hardened.


    ''This is where it truly begins.''


    While clenching his fist, which was zing with dark-red mes, he got in position. He''d been able to face Belphegor until now because of luck. It was apletely different story if Belphegor went all out.


    [Now, let us see if you have be strong enough to dare say such things to me.]


    Belphegor slowly raised his hand and created formless des. The amount could not even bepared to before; there were more than a thousand of them. The des, which distorted the flow of time, poured down on Balrog like rainfall.


    Pour!!


    The des tore the ground apart as they made contact with it. Although it was weird to see the ground being torn apart just because the flow of time was twisted, it was not that weird if one thought about it.


    Earth rotated, moving endlessly. The Authority of Stillness drastically slowed down whatever it touched, so the distortion arose from the difference in the movement speed of the Earth and the affected area. In other words¡­


    ''If those des touch me¡­''


    Not even Balrog with the Demonic Armor would be able to avoid fatal injuries.


    Balrog spread his demonic energy and closed his eyes. He focused on the changing flow of demonic energy and dodged the des.


    Crunch!


    [Kuh.]


    Even if he could feel them all, it was almost impossible to dodge over a thousand attacks. His skin contorted where the formless de touched.


    [Die, Balrog.]


    Belphegor spread his arms wide.


    The power of the Authority that twisted time spread like a tent.


    Crack! Crush!


    Thend that had been swept away by thendslide was warped, creating a massive impact.


    Balrog bit his lip while dodging the des pouring down on him.


    ''I guess he''s not a prince of Hell for nothing.''


    Up until now, he''d faced countless demons with Authorities, but Belphegor was on apletely different level.


    Balrog stomped on the ground. If he stopped even for a second, he''d be devoured whole by the Authority of Stillness. If that happened, it would be the end of him. The distortions of time would contort his entire body, and he would explode.


    Balrog scanned Belphegor while continuing to move.


    ''There is a way.''


    The Authority of Stillness wasn''t absolute. Although it was extremely overpowered, it had many restrictions. For example, it could only be used on targets within Belphegor''s field of vision, and¡­


    ''It''s slow.''


    That was its biggest weakness. As long as the opponent was fast, dodging the Authority of Stillness wasn''t actually that hard. Belphegor had created thousands of formless des to conceal that weakness.


    Boom! Rumble!!


    The formless des destroyed the ground covering more than a few hundred meters. Balrog kept moving endlessly, and then¡­


    ''Now!''


    Belphegor revealed an opening. He was not able to move while using the Authority of Stillness. It was the perfect chance to counterattack.


    Bam!


    Balrog lowered his body andunched himself forward. The formless des grazed him. His skin was split open, and his muscles were torn apart, but he ignored the attacks and clenched his fist, gathering demonic energy around it. A demonic energy gauntlet was made.


    He had to attack Belphegor with perfect timing.


    Balrog shot forward at supersonic speed, and he swung his fist, which was covered by his Demonic Armor. He was aiming for Belphegor''s head.


    He felt his fist make contact with the Authority protecting Belphegor. His fist momentarily lost its momentum.


    ''And now¡­''


    Balrog''s eyes shone. The moment his fist made contact with the Authority of Stillness, he would make the Demonic Armor covering his fist explode. The ck demonic energy would spread radially and obstruct Belphegor''s vision.


    The Authority of Stillness could only influence the area Belphegor''s sight reached. If he made his demonic energy explode to obstruct Belphegor''s vision the moment his fist reached the Authority, he would be able tond the attack.


    Crack!


    ''It worked!''


    He felt a sensation in his fist. Balrog''s eyes shone. However¡­


    [Aha, that was a clever trick,] Belphegor ridiculed.


    The white armor covering his body spread out as if a spider had opened its legs wide or if a predator had opened its mouth.


    The armor spread and wrapped around Balrog''s arm, and¡­


    Crunch!!


    [Kurgh!!]


    Balrog''s arm was torn apart from the elbow, and ck blood poured out like a fountain.


    Belphegor clicked his tongue and leisurely crossed his arms.


    [Tear him apart.]


    Belphegor gave amand to someone, and Balrog soon realized who it had been directed to.


    Crack! Grind!


    The white armor enveloping Belphegor changed form, and eight arms resembling skeleton arms took shape. The hands gripped Balrog and pulled his body in different directions.


    [Gaaaaaaaaaaahh!!] A painful scream left Balrog''s mouth, and the Demonic Armor protecting him cracked.


    The functions of the transcendental Hell Armament Sloth were rather simple.


    It did not have overwhelmingly destructive power or special abilities. The power of Sloth was that it did things in the ce of its wielder within the confines of possibility. If the wielder did not want to use their two legs, it would be a wheelchair. If they wanted to protect themselves, it would turn into armor; and a weapon if they wanted to kill their enemies.


    While Sloth was moving, its wielder didn''t have to do anything.


    [Kurghhh!!]


    The eight arms pulled Balrog in all directions with immense grip strength.


    The Hell Armament was simple, but it certainly wasn''t weak.


    Sloth, possessing enough raw strength to overpower Balrog, was able to perfectly cover for the weakness of Belphegor''s Authority of Stillness, which made him unable to move while using it.


    Crack! Crack!


    Balrog''s bones broke, and ck blood poured from his split skin. His eyes were bloodshot, and his muscles inted as if they were about to explode. Still, he couldn''t free himself from the strength of Sloth.


    Belphegorughed mockingly at him.


    [Hmph. Is this all you can do after acting so high and mighty?]


    Tsk tsk.


    He clicked his tongue and shook his head.


    [Did you really believe you would be able to defeat a prince of Hell?]


    It was an unbelievable thought. Not only that, but thanks to having absorbed the Demonic Origin, Belphegor had be even stronger than his past self. A mere subordinate of the demon king was no match for him.


    Belphegor looked at Balrog in disappointment, but his eyes soon shone.


    [Oh,e to think of it, using you would be more effective than that human, Kim Si-Hun.]


    [More effective?]


    [For calling the demon king there.]


    Belphegor snickered.


    Balrog smirked. He wasn''t sure what Belphegor was nning, but it was pointless. [Do you¡­ seriously believe that taking a hostage¡­ would work on him?]


    [Of course it will. Have you forgotten why the demon king started the thousand-year war in the first ce, Balrog?]


    [¡­]


    [Kihihi. Despite being a lunatic, he greatly cares for his subordinates. Oh, maybe this is exactly because he is a lunatic. In any case, I am sure the demon king would hesitate if you were the hostage.]


    Belphegor smiled brightly.


    If they had Balrog as a hostage, the chances of their n''s sess would drastically rise. They would be able to kill that monster, the demon king.


    [Well, then¡­ how about I rip off your other limbs before I take you to the demon king?]


    Crack!!


    [Kuh!!! Kargh!!]


    [Hahahaha!! You will be able to see your master die before your eyes once again!]


    Balrog screamed.


    Sloth''s arms were pulling his arms and legs in all four directions.


    ''At this rate¡­''


    Balrog bit his lip even while being in immense pain.


    ''I will likely¡­''


    His eyes sank. He recalled his battle against Belphegor, and a chilling fear ran down his spine.


    ''¡­ Lose.''


    There was no doubt about it. The princes of Hell were fundamentally different from regr demons. No matter how hard one tried or how much they struggled, it was impossible for a regr demon to defeat a prince of Hell.


    ''It makes sense.''


    If it were simple, there would have been no way the position of a prince of Hell would have changed only once since the creation of the Nine Hells.


    The princes were born as princes from the beginning¡ªthey were absolute beings born to be rulers.


    Only two beings had been able to break that mold.


    ''Bael and the demon king.''


    During the long history of the Nine Hells, only those two had been able to break that mold.


    ''No¡­''


    Balrog smiled. He clenched his fist and summoned the demonic energy inside his body.


    Only?


    ''Two have already managed to break the mold.''


    The chances weren''t zero, and the princes of Hell weren''t invincible¡ªthey''d lost in the past. It didn''t matter how high and mighty they talked and acted.


    ''The demon king beat them.''


    Kang-Woo had beaten them.


    Of course, it wasn''t like he had suffered no losses in the process. No, he had actually suffered countless losses.


    Many of his subordinates had died, a few of whom the demon king had cherished.


    All¡­ had died.


    "Balrog¡­"


    A memory of the past came back to him from when he''d already spent a lot of time with Kang-Woo. Just like how Balrog''s eyes had looked when they had met for the first time, Kang-Woo''s eyes also looked dead.


    "I''m tired of it all."


    It was what Kang-Woo had said while sitting over countless corpses and weeping.


    Balrog remembered that time.


    They''d gone through a vast amount of despair, failure, and grief. However, even despite the overwhelming difference in the scale of their forces and the countless despairing situations they had been ced in, he had stood up. He had moved forward, and¡­


    He had won.


    ''In that case¡­''


    Balrog would be able to break the mold as well.


    No, as someone who served the demon king, he had to break it.


    He had to make the impossible possible. If he couldn''t, he didn''t have the right to serve him¡ªto walk next to him. He couldn''t lessen the burden on his shoulders.


    "Don''t get full of yourself. I don''t need your help."


    That was probably what Kang-Woo would say if he were looking at Balrog right now. He would ask Balrog why he hadn''t asked for help.


    Asking for his help actually wasn''t hard at all. Balrog had themunication device Kang-Woo had given him to use in emergencies.


    Kang-Woo would probably appear in the blink of an eye in any situation if Balrog called for him.


    And¡­


    ''He would try to shoulder everything on his own again.''


    He would walk alone while shouldering everything on his shoulders. He would rise to the top, just like he had countless times during thest thousand years.


    He would walk farther and farther.


    [I am sick of it,] Balrog said.


    [What?]


    [I am sick and tired of being unable to protect my master.]


    Balrog smiled.


    Crack!!


    The sound of something breaking and tearing apart echoed.


    What was torn apart wasn''t Balrog''s arms and legs¡­


    [What the¡­?]


    The eight arms of Sloth were cracking and falling apart.


    BOOM!


    Balrog''s giant body fell to the ground. ck demonic energy wrapped around him to form armor that resembled that of western knights.


    He pped the bat wings on his back.


    Balrog''s two eyes widened. His irises, which could be seen from behind the helm of the full-ted armor, were yellow. His ck pupils were torn horizontally, simr to the goat eyes of Kang-Woo, his master.


    [From now on¡­]


    He recalled the time he had drunk with Kang-Woo.


    At that time, Kang-Woo was smiling. He seemed truly happy.


    It was a smile Balrog had never seen him make back in Hell.


    ''I''ve already failed once.''


    He hadn''t been able to protect his master.


    It would not happen a second time.


    [I will protect him.]


    He would protect his king.

 Chapter 242 - Remnant (3)

    Chapter 242 - Remnant (3)


    [Shit! What the¡­?!]


    Belphegor''s expression hardened.


    He put his hand over Sloth, the destroyed Hell Armament. It changed form and was restored to its original appearance once he infused it with demonic energy.


    Unlike other Hell Armaments, Sloth was not indestructible. However, it could be restored immediately even when it was destroyed, and it could also change form to exterminate the enemy.


    ''Even so, there is no way Balrog should be able to destroy my Hell Armament.''


    If Balrog could destroy a Hell Armament, that meant he could rival a prince of Hell. Sloth wasn''t an Armament that an average demon could destroy, but Balrog had destroyed it with raw strength, which only meant one thing.


    ''He has truly gained power on par with a prince of Hell.''


    [You dare¡­]


    Belphegor''s eyes red in anger¡ªhis pride as a prince, which had been consolidated over hundreds of thousands of years, had been stepped on.


    Not even the demon king had made him feel that way.


    Although the demon king was human, he had the overpowered Authority of Predation, so one could say he was born to be a ruler just like a prince.


    But Balrog''s case was different. He was rumored to be unmatched among regr demons, but that was all there was to it.


    [How dare a remnant like you aim for the seat of a prince of Hell!!]


    Balrog did not possess an Authority. Although he had the Demonic Armor, that was more like a characteristic¡ªit wasn''t an Authority.


    Balrog had not been born a ruler; he was destined to forever be under the princes from birth.


    It was unforgivable to Belphegor for a lowly being to bare their teeth at a prince of Hell.


    [Die!!]


    The power of the Authority of Stillness spread like a tent and pressured Balrog from all sides.


    Sloth returned to its original state, and the eight arms rushed toward Balrog.


    [Fuuu.]


    Balrog took a deep breath. He could feel enormous power from the ck armor wrapped around him. He had never felt such a power before.


    ''It must be thanks to my king.''


    Balrog narrowed his eyes.


    His soul was linked to Oh Kang-Woo''s.


    After Kang-Woo had attained power greater than when he was in Hell, Balrog had also be stronger.


    ''I am sure it is more than that.''


    He smirked.


    The only thing that Kang-Woo could give him was demonic energy.


    Just because his demonic energy increased didn''t mean he would be able to use a brand new power out of the blue.


    One could say that the new power had been created by the addition of Balrog''s resolve for his king to his rise in demonic energy.


    ''Either way, it does not matter.''


    Balrog turned around.


    He clenched his fists and felt the ck armor''s power surround him. It didn''t matter why he''d awakened such power. What mattered was that it enabled him to fight on par with Belphegor.


    In addition¡­


    ''My king.''


    He saw an image of Kang-Woo walking alone far above him. He had far too many things on his shoulders.


    It was always like that.


    Kang-Woo always walked down a lonely road that no one else could follow while carrying everything on his own.


    ''From now on¡­''


    Balrog''s eyes shone sharply.


    Crunch!!


    The Demonic Armor covering his body moved.


    Tsssss!


    Demonic energy flowed out of the armor''s joints like steam.


    ''¡­ I will walk alongside you.''


    BOOM!!


    The ck steam fumed out explosively. Balrog, who was covered in ck armor, shot forward at an incredible speed.


    The Authority of Stillness spread like a tent and pressured him from all sides.


    ''I''ll go down.''


    There was only one way he''d be able to dodge.


    Balrog raised his right fist. Although his right arm had been torn apart by Sloth, the ck armor was moving in its ce.


    ''Fascinating.''


    Although it was armor made of demonic energy, it moved as naturally as if it were his own arm.


    Balrog smirked and smashed down with the fist he had raised.


    The ground was upturned as if an explosion had urred, and Balrog passed through the dirt and rubble, moving through the ground at an incredible speed. It was so fast that one wouldn''t think he was traveling underground.


    The earth rippled like waves.


    Bash!


    The soil scattered. As Balrog emerged, the eight arms of Sloth applied pressure on him. His eyes shone sharply.


    ''If I destroyed them once¡­''


    He could do it a second time. He ignored the arms and rushed forward.


    [U-Urgh!!]


    Belphegor''s face crumpled.


    Balrog was charging as if he were a train. Belphegor created a barrier with the Authority of Stillness.


    TSSSS!!!


    An explosive amount of ck steam fumed out of the armor, blocking Belphegor''s vision.


    The Authority of Stillness was dismissed.


    [N¡ª]


    [Serious¡­]


    Balrog twisted his body and pulled his arm back to the limit.


    ck.


    Balrog''s ck armor widened at the elbow, and ck steam fumed out of it as if to give his punch a boost. He stepped forward with his left foot and released the punch that had been pulled back to its limit.


    [Punch.]


    CRACK!!


    He punched Belphegor''s head with all his might.


    * * *


    Riiing.


    [Retainer ''Balrog'' has learned ''Overlord Armor.'']


    "Hm?"


    A blue message window appeared in front of Kang-Woo. He tilted his head.


    "The hell is this out of the blue?"


    Balrog had obtained a new technique. It was certainly good news, of course, but the timing was a bit weird.


    ''Son of a bitch, don''t tell me¡­''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He''dmanded Balrog to figure out Belphegor''s location and report to him.


    ''Did he fight Belphegor?''


    If he hadn''t, receiving such a message made no sense.


    "Damn, muscle pig."


    He frowned and felt anxious.


    Balrog was strong.


    ''But¡­''


    That was all. If he faced Belphegor one-on-one, he would most definitely lose.


    "Damn," Kang-Woo cursed and anxiously bit his lips.


    Balrog was his retainer; he was not Kang-Woo''s Familiar bound to him by the Authority of Subordination, so he could not share vision with him.


    ''Authority of the Beholder.''


    The spectrum of what he could see expanded¡ªit was as if he had a bird''s eye view.


    He looked at where Balrog and Belphegor were fighting.


    "Fuuu."


    He was finally able to sigh in relief.


    ''You idiot.''


    He had clearly told Balrog to report to him as soon as he discovered Belphegor. Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and turned his head.


    "U-Urghh. Arghh."


    The man covered in bloodstained bandages was staggering while holding a rusted saber that had broken in half.


    "Just¡­ how?"


    Crimson Fiend looked at Kang-Woo in confusion. He''d heard a lot about the demon king, and he knew how much of an incredibly strong and abnormal being he was. However¡­


    "Cough! Cough!"


    Crimson Fiend vomited blood.


    ''To think that he''d be¡­ this overwhelming.''


    He had not even been able to put up a decent fight. His demonic art, which he''d trained for a thousand years, had not been able to reach the demon king.


    Step, step.


    The demon king walked toward Crimson Fiend, who raised his head to look up at him. Other than the sharpness in Kang-Woo''s eyes, he didn''t have any other particrly unique features¡­ but right now, his face looked more terrifying than any other.


    "A-Aaaaaaaahh!!"


    Crimson Fiend screamed like a madman.


    He leaped forward, his rusty, broken saber gripped in his hands.


    The blood-red demonic energy that he had trained for a thousand years wrapped around the rusty saber.


    Blood Demon Art; it was a demonic art that allowed one to turn one''s grudge dyed within their blood into demonic energy.


    He''d gone through much suffering to be able to control that grudge, and he had resisted the voices of the dead and withstood horrible nightmares for a thousand years.


    Even Satan had acknowledged his power and given him the seat of ''Aspect.''


    ''But¡­''


    How could he have lost so powerlessly?


    "Dieeeeeee!!"


    He targeted Kang-Woo''s head with the rusty, broken saber, aiming to cut him in half.


    Kang-Woo smirked and raised his arm, grabbing the rusty saber with his bare hand.


    Tap.


    "Gasp!!"


    "Mm¡­"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes while touching the blood-red demonic energy.


    ''This must be how demonic energy is umted in Huan.''


    It piqued his curiosity, so he infused his own demonic energy into Crimson Fiend to analyze the blood-red demonic energy''s structure.


    Kang-Woo nodded his head in amazement.


    "Turning negative emotions into demonic energy, huh? I didn''t know there was a method like this."


    The ability to turn one''s grudge into demonic energy by dying it with blood was certainly interesting.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue as he checked the demonic energy''s structure.


    "It''s so goddamn inefficient."


    The process itself of extracting one''s grudge from the blood and then turning it into demonic energy was very shabby. There was no way that converting an intangible emotion like a grudge into physical power would be easy.


    It was trifling and crude.


    ''The Heavenly Dragon Cultivation Technique is way better.''


    The cultivation technique allowed one to gather the energy spread out in the atmosphere extremely efficiently and umte it into one''s dantian.


    Compared to that, the Blood Demon Art was severely limited and inefficient.


    "What¡­ did you say?" Crimson Fiend asked.


    "I said, your martial art is trash, dude."


    "W-Wait. How did you know that I convert grudges into demonic energy¡­?"


    Crimson Fiend''s eyes trembled.


    Converting grudges into demonic energy was an arcanum exclusive to the Blood Demon Art, but the demon king had somehow found out about it.


    "W-Were you able to figure that out just from touching my demonic energy?" Crimson Fiend asked in confusion.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    "It isn''t as hard as you think. It''s of a different kind, but they''re both demonic energy."


    "¡­"


    "You can easily figure it out once you check the arrangement of demonic energy."


    "What¡­?"


    What was he talking about?


    "I''m saying that I can figure out the structure and principle of your demonic energy just by checking how your demonic energy moves within your body."


    "Wh-What are you talking about? There is no way that is possible¡­"


    The Blood Demon Art used blood as a medium to circte demonic energy. To actualize what Kang-Woo had mentioned, one would need to figure out the flow of demonic energy moving through hundreds of thousands of blood vessels.


    The entire human circtory system would be 120,000 km long ifid out in a single line. That was more than enough to go around Earth twice.


    How had he been able to analyze the demonic energy moving over such a distance in an instant?


    "It''s possible if you try hard enough, man."


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    "Nonsense!! There is no way something like that is possible just by working on it!!" Crimson Fiend shouted like a madman.


    "I''m telling you, it is. People who have never made the effort always say shit like that."


    Tsk tsk.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    ''Sheesh, kids these days don''t know what effort is.''


    He shook his head.


    Crimson Fiend said, "How dare you lie to m¡ª"


    "Have you ever contained a sea within your body?"


    "What?"


    "You know, a sea that you will never know when it will overflow."


    An endless sea of demonic energy.


    "The sea only has three embankments too. Not just that, they don''t even work properly, so there is risk of flooding at any time. If you don''t pour your entire being into keeping it under control, you get flooded by the sea and die instantly."


    "¡­"


    "So, every single moment of your life, when you eat, take a shit, sleep,ugh in joy, cry in sadness, rampage in anger¡­"


    Even while breathing¡­


    He had to keep the rampaging demonic energy under control at all times if he wanted to survive. Once one got used to doing such a thing¡­


    "Something of that level bes a piece of cake."


    "¡­"


    Crimson Fiend couldn''t understand what he was talking about. It was far too out there for him to understand. However, if hisparison was true¡­ If he truly had a sea within him that would run rampant at a moment''s notice if he let up¡­


    "Just¡­ why?"


    Why hadn''t he given up?


    Why do something so insane for all of eternity?


    It was a crazy thing to do; it wasn''t something that someone right in his mind would do. It was like suffering from Qi deviation every single second. There was no way for a human to endure such pain.


    "Why ask the obvious?"


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief. There was no need to answer something so obvious.


    "Because I don''t wanna die."


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Crimson Fiend trembled.


    He looked into the demon king''s eyes and saw the powerful desires within.


    ''This is¡­''


    He was aware of this desire. No, there was no living organism that wouldn''t recognize this desire.


    The desire to live. The desire to not die. The desire to survive even while painstakingly enduring every single breath.


    Crimson Fiend read the desire in Kang-Woo''s eyes.


    "¡­"


    Crimson Fiend remained silent.


    It was not a matter of a millennium versus ten millennia; they were just inpletely different leagues.


    The voices of the dead were nothingpared to the demon king, who cheated death at every single moment of his living days.


    "You are¡­"


    He remembered Belphegor''s words.


    Crimson Fiend trembled.


    "¡­ Crazy."


    "I told you." Kang-Wooughed. "You''re not ready yet."


    Crack.


    Crimson Fiend''s head exploded.


    Kang-Woo looked up into the sky.


    The battle between Satan and Raphael was still going on.


    "Satan, that son of a bitch, copsed out of the blue earlier, but he''s fighting just fine."


    Satan had copsed on the ground as if he had suffered from severe hypertension. Raphael had been destroying him initially due to that, but Satan seemed to havee back to his senses and was battling on par with Raphael again.


    He''d definitely be stronger than how he used to be back in Hell.


    "Well, then."


    The tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth went up, and he looked up at the battle between the two.


    "I wonder who''s gonna win."


    The result would soon make itself known.

 Chapter 243 - The Truth Comes To Light

    Chapter 243 - The Truth Comes To Light


    Wham!


    A pitch-ck sword and a spear of light shed, shaking the sky.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    "Lord Raphael¡­!"


    The angels and the Watchers of Light clenched their fists as they watched Raphael sh with Satan.


    "Lord Shalgiel¡­"


    "I-Is standing around like this all we can do?"


    Shalgiel remained silent. He looked up at the sky. They could not interfere in the battle because the two beings were on a whole other level.


    ''Titans¡­''


    He recalled the story of the giants that used to rule the world in the most distant past, the era of myths.


    Satan and Raphael were fighting so intensely that it looked like a fight between those giants of myth. They were leaving destruction in their wake.


    "There is nothing we can do at the moment."


    Shalgiel shook his head and anxiously bit his lip.


    ''Lord Raphael.''


    He prayed for the light to win.


    "Leave the Demon of Prophecy to Lord Raphael. We will eradicate the other demons."


    Shalgiel turned around.


    There was still arge portion of the Demon Cult''s forces still standing.


    ''Damn demons¡­''


    He red with resentment at the Demon Cult andmanded the angels and Watchers of Light.


    "Kill them all. As long as they side with darkness, it does not matter if they are children or the elderly. Let those tainted by darkness receive the judgment of light!"


    "Judgment of light!"


    "Judgment of light!"


    The angels grabbed their weapons and flew toward the cultists.


    Shalgiel panted. Fatigue had umted after facing thousands of demons at the forefront.


    ''If only Lady Seraph were here¡­''


    Shalgiel recalled the Celestial Goddess, who had sacrificed her body to seal away great darkness during the era of myths.


    He shook his head.


    ''This is not the time to think about that kind of thing.''


    Even at this moment, the forces tainted by darkness were devouring the light. He gripped his silver-shining sword.


    "Judgment of light."


    He stomped on the ground without hesitation.


    * * *


    Meanwhile, Satan and Raphael were fighting to the death higher up the mountain.


    [Raaaaaaaaahhh!]


    Satan roared angrily. He swung Wrath, his eyes gleaming like those of a madman.


    Raphael blocked his attack with difficulty. The Authority of Extinction, a destructive Authority that split everything that it touched into pieces, could threaten Raphael''s life.


    [Kuh.]


    Satan''s power was incredible.


    Raphael gulped.


    ''This is the power of the Demon of Prophecy.''


    Raphael kept the battle going while swinging the spear of light. He calmly blocked all of Satan''s attacks. Each time he blocked an attack, a huge impact shook his body.


    ''Where in the world did he gain such power?''


    The thousand-year war that had urred within the deepestyer of the Nine Hells¡­ it had not been recorded who had started the war or who had won, but the angels knew that it had brought the demon realm to the brink of extinction. In the wake of this war, the angels had taken the chance to diligently grow their forces under Michael''smand.


    ''But¡­''


    Lucifer and even Satan had be even stronger than in the records.


    Raphael looked at Satan with a troubled expression, thinking that Satan wasn''t something he couldn''t handle. No, even if Satan possessed power that he couldn''t handle, he could not back down.


    "Ludwig," Raphael mumbled. ring, he pointed his spear at Satan. "Satan! Free Ludwig!"


    Ludwig had been reduced to an Undead. An honest apostle of light could not meet such a tragic end.


    [I told you! I have no idea who or where that son of a bitch is!!]


    "How dare you tell such a tant lie!" Raphael bellowed. He couldn''t believe that Satan was making excuses after telling him toe to him and that he, Satan, wouldn''t run or hide.


    "What sly trick are you trying to pull this time?!"


    [No! I am not! I am saying that I''m not the one who corrupted Ludwig!!]


    "Bull! I saw you corrupting Ludwig with my own eyes!!"


    [And I am telling you that was not me!!]


    Satan was making absurd excuses.


    Raphael''s expression crumpled.


    "How shameless can you demons be?!"


    [It was not meeeeeeeeeeeee!!!]


    Satan twisted his body as if he were about to go crazy. He screamed in agony as he shot out pitch-ck sword energies at random.


    [Come out, demon king! Hurry up, you deplorable scumbag!! I will expose the entire truth here today!! I will tear apart your disgusting facade!!]


    Satan fired sword energies at random to find the demon king, who was nowhere to be seen.


    Rumble!!


    Thend was upturned, split, and distorted as if a natural disaster were urring. The Demon Cult''s and Guardians'' forces were both swept into the destruction.


    "Stop!"


    Raphael spread his wings as he clenched the spear of light. His eight wings poured light, and he shot toward Satan at incredible speed.


    ''Why is he going this far?''


    Raphael couldn''t understand it. The Satan he''d seen in the video was far too different from the one in front of him right now.


    ''Perhaps¡­''


    The Satan in the video might not have actually been the true Satan.


    "Kuh," Raphael grunted, his mind in jumbles.


    ''Do not listen.''


    Michael had told him not to be enticed by the whispers of demons. Their tongues were like a flower with deadly poison. If one was deceived by the sweet scent and approached the flower, the poison would spread through their body and kill them.


    [Urgh,] Satan screamed intensely. He trembled as he grabbed the back of his neck again.


    Raphael stared at him in confusion.


    "¡­"


    He remained silent as his head became even more jumbled.


    ''They are different.''


    The difference between the Satan he''d seen in the video and the one in front of him now was too big. The eyes of the Satan in the video had been full of boundless evil, but the Satan in front of him was acting so unsightly that it was hard to watch.


    Satan''s desperate cries made Raphael even more confused.


    ''If¡­'' The seed of doubt sprouted within him. ''If the demon I saw back then was not Satan¡­''


    If he was being deceived by the demon king that Satan was crying out to¡­


    Just what in the world was the truth?


    ''Is Oh Kang-Woo the demon king?''


    Raphael shook his head.


    It was not like Kang-Woo had his unwavering trust, but Kang-Woo had been with him when they were watching the video of Satan. Not just that, if he really were the demon king, there was no way he wouldn''t be able to feel his demonic energy.


    There was absolutely no evidence pointing to Kang-Woo being the demon king.


    [Aaarrrggghhh!! Oh Kang-Woo, you fucking scumbag!! Get out here!!!] Satan screamed like a madman.


    "¡­"


    Raphael could feel the rage and frustration in his voice. His eyes wavered.


    ''What if it had all been an act?''


    What if he had nned for all of this to happen?


    Raphael closed his eyes. He could feel that Satan''s attacks were gradually weakening.


    ''O Light¡­''


    Raphael red at Satan with a troubled expression.


    ''Grant me an answer.''


    The darkness concealing the truth was too dark to see through.


    Raphael couldn''t see a thing.


    * * *


    "The angels are doing a great job."


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction.


    The angels, not afraid of death, were fighting the demons more intensely than anyone else.


    Since he couldn''t fully trust the angels, being able to conserve the forces of Guardians was great news.


    ''They''re also leveling up like crazy.''


    EXP, which could be considered a yer''s special privilege, was drastically leveling the yers participating in the war.


    "Hm?"


    At that moment, Kang-Woo saw Raphael.


    Raphael''s movements had be noticeably slower.


    ''He doesn''t seem tired.''


    The light exuding from Raphael''s wings was still as intense as ever.


    "Tsk." Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. "He must''ve been enticed by the whispers of a demon."


    Satan was an evil being¡ªhe would endlessly lie to conceal the truth.


    "Pathetic bastard."


    How could the words of a demon so easily shake up an archangel?


    ''I guess I have no choice.''


    As an apostle of the God of Heroes, he couldn''t stand still and watch light being corrupted.


    ''I will bring the truth to light.''


    Kang-Woo grabbed hismunication crystal orb.


    * * *


    "Satan," Raphael said in a low voice while clenching his spear. "Do you have proof that Oh Kang-Woo is the demon king?"


    [Haaa, haaa. Proof? Proof, you say?]


    Satan''s eyes trembled. The proof that Oh Kang-Woo was the demon king was obviously the Demonic Sea that he possessed.


    ''But¡­''


    The Demonic Sea had not been discovered despite the demon king having been right beside Raphael. Meaning, Kang-Woo had a way topletely conceal the Demonic Sea. If that were the case, there was a chance that the Demonic Sea would not be able to serve as proof.


    ''Shit.''


    To perfect his n, he needed to drag the demon king here.


    He clenched the fragment of the Root in his bosom.


    ''Oh.''


    At that moment, a certain thought crossed his mind. He recalled how the demon king was waving light sticks while watching their battle, mocking him.


    [Look at what he is doing right now! He is watching our battle while mocking¡ª]


    Satan raised his hand and pointed at where the demon king had been. Behind his mask, his eyes trembled.


    [Huh?]


    Kang-Woo was gone; all that was left were bloodstains that Satan had no idea whom they belonged to.


    BOOM!


    Just then, an explosion sounded.


    Step, step.


    A being tainted by darkness walked out from the rubble.


    Raphael''s eyes shook after seeing who it was.


    "Lud¡­wig."


    He saw Ludwig covered in horrifying green tentacles, and angel corpses were being held in his hands.


    "Aaaahh!"


    Ludwig kneeled, spread out his arms, and looked at Satan.


    "O great Satan!!"


    [Huh?]


    "My master, my king!"


    [Wait.]


    "Just like you havemanded, I have stained the ground with angel blood!"


    [You son of a¡­]


    Ludwig ripped apart the corpse of one of the dead angels he was holding. The wings were torn apart, the feathers scattering. White blood wet the floor.


    "Sa¡­tan."


    Raphael trembled.


    The corrupted Ludwig had be even more hideous than before. Not a single ounce of sacred power could be felt from him.


    A single tear dripped down Raphael''s cheek.


    He had been wavering due to the whispers of a demon while his apostle, the child who had been so loyal to him, had been reduced to something like that.


    ''You were right, Lord Michael.''


    Demons were not worth listening to.


    Raphael clenched his spear tighter and reinforced his resolve to never be swayed again.


    [H-Haha.]


    Satan feignedughter.


    [Fucking hell¡­ Seriously¡­ Haha.]


    He clenched his head with both hands and then grabbed his sword, letting out an emptyugh.


    [Yes! I corrupted Ludwig!]


    His yellow eyes behind the red mask teared up.


    [HAHAHA!!! Fine! Yes! I fucking did it all!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!]


    A single tear dripped down from behind the mask.


    Finally¡­


    The truth hade to light.

 Chapter 244 - You Still Dont Know Who I Am After All Youve Been Through? (1)

    Chapter 244 - You Still Don''t Know Who I Am After All You''ve Been Through? (1)


    [Hahaha! Yes! I did it all!!] Satan screamed out in agony.


    Oh Kang-Woo, who was looking up at him, nodded.


    ''He finally admitted it.''


    Satan seemed to have finally reached a point where he couldn''t lie anymore. He had finally shown his true colors after ying dumb all this time.


    ''I knew it.''


    The truth never died. Even if Satan tried to cover the truth with lies, it was as futile as trying to block the sun with the palms of one''s hands.


    His shoddy lies had been exposed to the world.


    "SATAAAAAANN!!"


    Anger brimming from his very core, Raphael charged toward Satan.


    Kang-Woo sat on the debris with his legs crossed and watched the battle while using the Authority of Stealth.


    ''It would be perfect if I had some popcorn.''


    There was nothing more entertaining than watching fire and fights. Although Kang-Woo had never watched a film in a cinema before, he was sure that it wouldn''t be more entertaining than what was going on in front of him.


    ''Hm?''


    Kang-Woo turned his head.


    "Lud¡­wig¡­"


    He saw Kim Si-Hun, who had rejoined the battle after stopping thendslide from pouring toward the Guardians'' rearguard.


    Si-Hun stood in front of Ludwig while clenching his holy sword, which was shining with a white light.


    Ludwig looked at Si-Hun with nk eyes.


    "Mm¡­" Kang-Woo fell into thought.


    ''Should I make Ludwig retreat?''


    Ludwig''s role in his strategy was already over. If he wanted to use Ludwig in the future, having him retreat would be the correct choice.


    "Shit, shit, shiiiiiit!!" Si-Hun screamed. Seeing the first friend he had made as an Undead was making him suffer.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    ''Making Ludwig retreat could be worse.''


    An Abyss Knight was quite useful in terms ofbat prowess. After a simple test, Kang-Woo concluded that it was as powerful as Si-Hun, who had awakened Sword Control.


    ''But¡­''


    That was Ludwig''s limit. Unlike Si-Hun who had a bright future, Ludwig couldn''t advance any further now that he was an Undead.


    ''Pushing Si-Hun to the edge all the time wouldn''t be good.''


    Si-Hun had continuously been on the losing end of Satan''s evil ns and had not been able to ovee a single one of them.


    ''At this rate¡­''


    Even if it were Si-Hun, he would end up breaking, and he would fall into an inescapable pit of shame for not being able to do anything.


    ''That won''t do.''


    The carrot and the stick needed to be bnced.


    Granting his friend, who had been turned into an undead at Satan''s hand, eternal rest would be a great opportunity for Si-Hun to shed the massive baggage weighing down his heart.


    ''So this is it for Ludwig.''


    - Master.


    Kang-Woo suddenly received a call from Vaal Zahak.


    - Should Imand Ludwig to escape?


    "No, let him fight."


    - Hmm.


    Vaal Zahak didn''t seem to understand why.


    - Understood. In that case, I willmand him to fight while holding back so that he does not injure the human.


    "No need for that. Make him fight with everything he has."


    - ¡­ Are you sure? Vaal Zahak asked in a worried voice.


    Kang-Woo nodded without hesitation.


    Based on the situation, the one who was at a disadvantage was Si-Hun. Although they were simr in terms of strength, Si-Hun had juste back after stopping andslide with his sword. It was incredible he''d made it here without exhausting himself.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    ''Si-Hun will win.''


    He didn''t have a reason for thinking that¡ªit was just a guess based on his intuition.


    One could call it trust.


    ''That''s just the way he is.''


    It wasn''t just because his talent was incredible. Si-Hun also had an unshakable will.


    ''He''s reckless enough to use my power, after all.''


    Si-Hun would win at all costs.


    "You don''t need to worry about Si-Hun."


    - Understood. As for me¡­


    "Don''t show yourself on the front lines. Just use the Undead to gather the angel corpses."


    Numerous angels were taking part in the war, so it would be better if Vaal Zahak didn''t appear.


    - May your will be done, my king.


    Themunication ended.


    Kang-Woo raised his head.


    Explosive sounds were echoing throughout the battlefield from Satan and Raphael''s shes.


    "How long are they gonna keep fighting?"


    Kang-Woo was getting sick of waiting.


    ''Should I join in?''


    The moment he began wondering if he should back up Raphael¡­


    Roaaaaaar!!!


    "Hm?"


    He heard a sound simr to violent rapids. Frowning, he turned toward the sound.


    ''That''s¡­''


    Satan was holding something ck that was the size of his fist. A massive torrent of demonic energy was raging around the ck item.


    ''What the hell is that?''


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    It wasn''t a demonic crystal¡ªit felt far too different in nature for that to be the case.


    ''What could it be?''


    He narrowed his eyes.


    Ba-dump. Ba-dump.


    His heart beat fast. He felt his lips go dry and sensed a powerful thirst desiring to be quenched.


    ''Why does it feel so familiar?''


    Darkness was raging.


    He was certain that he had never seen such a thing before, not in the Nine Hells or on Earth.


    But¡­


    For some reason¡­


    ''I know what it is.''


    His head hurt.


    The demonic energy within the Ten Thousand Demon Core rampaged.


    Just like he always did, he kept it in check.


    ''Calm down.''


    He had to maintain his rationality. The moment he let it go, he would be devoured by his own rampant demonic energy and die.


    He took a deep breath while clenching his chest. He stared at the raging darkness.


    "Kuh! What the¡ª?!"


    Raphael was also bewildered. He felt a spine-chilling fear when heid eyes on the darkness Satan had taken out.


    ''That is¡­''


    His two eyes widened.


    ''Why is that here¡­?''


    Raphael trembled.


    It was the Primordial Darkness, which had been split into three and sealed by Celestial Goddess Seraph, Gaia, and Heavenly Dragon Tai Wuji in the world of gods and giants during the era of myths.


    Primordial Darkness, the root of all evil. A fragment of it was wriggling in Satan''s hand.


    "Sa¡­tan¡­ You bastard¡­"


    Raphael''s expression paled.


    Satan vomited ck blood as he held the darkness.


    [Kuh, kargh, urgh.]


    Satan was not able to endure the enormous power of the rampaging demonic energy.


    [Shit! Shit!] Satan cursed aggressively.


    He hadn''t nned to use it like this, but since he couldn''t see the demon king anywhere, he had to at least get rid of Raphael.


    ''I have no time.''


    He could only control the power within the Demonic Origin[1] for a few seconds, so he had to finish things before time ran out.


    ''First, I will eliminate Raphael.''


    After that¡­


    ck blood spurted out of Satan''s mouth, dying his red mask ck.


    To stick to his original n, he would have needed to face the demon king and Raphael at the same time. His n, however, had gone awry because the demon king hadn''t appeared and was mocking him from a distance.


    His n had already failed.


    ''It is not over yet.''


    Satan''s eyes shone.


    He knew very well how crazy the demon king was. Satan had already presumed the worst possible scenario of the demon king not dying even after he used the Demonic Origin.


    ''If I can drag the demon king to that ce¡­''


    He would win.


    Satan epted the rampaging demonic energy into his body and raised Wrath. Demonic energy traveled up the pitch-ck sword, creating an enormous vortex.


    [Die, Raphael.]


    "Where did you awaken that terrible evil?!" Raphael bellowed.


    His eight wings shone with brilliant light. He pointed his holy spear of light at Satan.


    BOOM!


    A loud nightmarish sound boomed through the sky.


    Kang-Woo returned to his senses after hearing it.


    "This must be Satan''s trump card."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes at Satan, who was wrapped in darkness of unknown origin. He had thought that Satan would have something up his sleeve as long as Satan wasn''t stupid.


    ''Which was why I sent Raphael first.''


    Kang-Woo scanned Satan with sharp eyes. As he had expected, Satan had revealed the trump card he had been hiding.


    ''That must be¡­ how the princes of Hell were able to regain their power on Earth despite there being no demonic energy.''


    To be honest, Kang-Woo was considerably surprised.


    He had expected the princes of Hell to have a trump card.


    Just like a sprout didn''t grow in a drynd, there was no way the Demon Cult could have grown so much in a ce with no demonic energy like Earth, but¡­


    ''I didn''t expect anything like this.''


    Satan was able to overwhelm Raphael as the raging darkness surrounded him.


    If Kang-Woo had faced him upfront, he would have been no match for Satan without unleashing the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    "Well, he doesn''t seem to be in good condition either."


    Satan was vomiting blood as he fought Raphael.


    Kang-Woo was sure that within that darkness was a power that not even a prince of Hell could control.


    ''Wow.''


    His thirst desired to be quenched. His mouth filled with saliva. His heart began beating faster, and his body felt hot.


    ''I wonder what would happen if I ate that?''


    "Fuuu."


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath and quelled his boiling desires.


    Crack!


    "Kurgh! Urgh!"


    He heard something being crushed. He raised his head while wetting his dry lips.


    ''Is it over?''


    Raphael was shouting in pain after being pierced by the pitch-ck sword.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    ''Is he dead?''


    He saw that Raphael was losing a lot of white blood.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    ''He''s alive.''


    Although very slight, Raphael was still pping his wings. He''d been critically wounded, but he hadn''t died.


    Kang-Woo turned his head toward Satan.


    [Huff! Huff! Cough!]


    Satan kept vomiting ck blood. Although he had targeted Raphael''s vital point, he had failed to hit it and had pierced another part of his body.


    Satan grimaced.


    ''I cannot go any further than this.''


    It was too bad he couldn''t finish off Raphael, but using more of the Demonic Origin''s power was too dangerous.


    [Kuh.]


    Satan looked around and spotted the demon king sitting on top of some debris. Although the demon king was concealing himself with an Authority, Satan could currently see through it perfectly.


    ''Demon king.''


    Satan red at him. He had no choice but to use thest resort that he had prepared for the absolute worst-case scenario.


    Crack!


    He used the raging darkness to create a ck Rift.


    "Argh!"


    "R-Run!!"


    Demons and yers screamed as they were sucked into the darkness. It was as if a mini ck hole had appeared.


    Satan threw himself into the ck Rift.


    "¡­ Hah."


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief as he looked up at the ck Rift.


    "So that''s your n, huh?"


    It was as if Satan was telling him toe into the Rift if he wanted to kill him.


    Kang-Woo slowly got up and stared at the ck Rift.


    "It''s obviously a trap."


    The way Satan had nced in his direction had made it obvious.


    ''How cute.''


    Satan was a terrible actor.


    "Well, then."


    Kang-Woo turned away without a second thought.


    ''I have no reason to fall for an obvious trap on purpose.''


    No one in their right mind would go in there.


    ''I''ll keep making good use of Sata¡ª''


    His thoughts were cut short. Kang-Woo bent over like a bow, clenching his chest.


    "A-Arrgghh."


    His eyes widened. A powerful desire that he had never felt before was spreading through his body.


    "What¡­ the¡­ fuck?"


    He trembled. A horrifying thirst stimted his throat.


    - Eat it.


    He heard someone''s voice.


    - Devour it.


    Kang-Woo could not defy the voice. His consciousness blurred.


    "Fucking¡­ hell."


    Kang-Woo crouched and plunged his hands into the ground, clenching the earth underneath.


    "Fuck¡­ This isn''t some¡­ Dragon of the Darkness me shit¡­[2]"


    He was feeling a nightmarish, uncontroble urge. It was as if a sealed Dragon of the Darkness me was about to be let loose within him. Kang-Woo desperately tried to rein in the demonic energy running amok inside him.


    ''Shit.''


    His legs moved on their own as if he''d turned into a puppet.


    Kang-Woo''s expression crumpled.


    ''I can''t go against it.''


    He could instinctively feel that he didn''t have the power to control his urges.


    "Fuck," Kang-Woo cursed.


    He stopped defying his urges.


    ''If I can''t go against it¡­''


    He would at least enter of his own ord.


    Ignoring the urges pushing him to enter, he jumped into the Rift.


    Riiing.


    [Entering the nightmare of the ''Primordial Darkness.'']


    A blue message window appeared.


    [''Divinity'' is forcibly interfering with the system.]


    [Adjusting level to 1.]


    [Adjusting all stats to 1.]


    1. Primordial Darkness seems to be what the Demonic Origin was referred to when it was whole. ?


    2. This is a reference to Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho, who used to keep his right arm covered in bandages to keep the dragon from escaping. This pretty much turned into a chuunibyou thing, with the main one being Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! ?

 Chapter 245 - You Still Dont Know Who I Am After All Youve Been Through? (2)

    Chapter 245 - You Still Don''t Know Who I Am After All You''ve Been Through? (2)


    Oh Kang-Woo was in a giant cave made of transparent ice.


    ''Where is¡­''


    He raised his head and looked around.


    Although the cave was pitch ck, the eyes of a demon were able to see in the darkness to some extent.


    Kang-Woo began walking while looking around.


    "Kuh!"


    A weird sensation twisted his legs. His senses were disjointed the moment he strode as usual.


    ''The hell?''


    He finally saw the blue message windows that had appeared. He grimaced aggressively.


    Divinity had forcibly interfered with the system, and¡­


    "Level 1¡­"


    It wasn''t just his level that had gone down.


    Kang-Woo opened his status window with a hardened expression.


    [Status Window]


    yer Name: Oh Kang-Woo


    Level: 1 [First Awakening]


    First Awakening Trait: Authority of Predation (Rank: ???)


    Strength: 1 Dexterity: 1


    Health: 1 Mana: 1


    Sacred Power: 1 Demonic Energy: 1


    Intelligence: 1 Wisdom: 1


    "Fuck," he naturally cursed.


    ''What the fuck is this?''


    All his stats had forcibly been reduced to 1.


    He felt powerless.


    Despite all of his stats being one, his basic physical capabilities were still far above those of a human since he had a demon body, but that was all there was to it. His body had be so weak that he was just a little stronger than the average human.


    ''This is¡­ the power of Divinity?''


    He knew that Divinity was able to interfere with the system, the providence of the universe, but this was excessive.


    ''It wasn''t this bad even when I had arrived on Earth.''


    Even then, all of his stats had not been as low as 1.


    "¡­ What the hell is going on?"


    Not even the Gaia System, which protected the world, had been able to fully seal his power, despite using so much Divinity it was overloaded. However, all of his power had just been sealed.


    ''It makes no sense.''


    Leaving the Primordial Darkness or whatever aside, this should not be possible.


    His head was in a jumble. It was as if he were trying to put together puzzle pieces that didn''t match.


    St, st.


    Kang-Woo heard footsteps behind him. It sounded as if something had just walked out of the water.


    Kang-Woo lowered his body and turned around. He saw something walking out of the darkness.


    "¡­"


    He shut his mouth. The being''s head was split in half, its brain was spewing out, and ck blood was flowing down its body. It was a hideous Undead that looked as if it had been made by Vaal Zahak.


    "A-Arrgghh."


    A hand dripping rotten pus reached out toward Kang-Woo.


    It was as if¡­ it were trying to embrace him.


    "Hah," Kang-Woo feignedughter.


    It wasn''t an Undead. There was no way it was an Undead. After all, the demon walking toward him had disappeared without a trace long ago.


    "M-My¡­ king," the Undead desperately called out to Kang-Woo.


    "¡­"


    The demon whose head had been split in half walked toward Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo knew the name of the demon.


    "Paimon."


    He used to be Kang-Woo''s subordinate. Kang-Woo remembered him being very timid, unlike a demon. Paimon had been scolded by Balrog many times. Kang-Woo used to pat him on the shoulder a few times when he was dejected after Balrog''s scolding, which cheered him back up.


    ''Though a smiling demon doesn''t look cute at all.''


    He recalled his memories about Paimon.


    ''Fucking idiot.''


    When they had been on the verge of being surrounded by Satan''s army, he had charged into enemy lines with a bomb to buy time. Then, he had died.


    That demon, who used to be so timid, who always used to be scolded by Balrog¡­.


    "Please run away!"


    "Hah¡­"


    "Hehe. Please make sure you win the war."


    "Fuck."


    St, st.


    Kang-Woo raised his head¡ªthere was more than one set of footsteps walking toward him. He heard footsteps all around him.


    "Agares."


    He was a boring fellow who remained stoic no matter what. Mammon had burned him to death.


    "Verdin, Kelzas."


    They were boisterous as hell. They had been captured and brainwashed by Asmodeus. Kang-Woo remembered killing them with his own hands.


    "My¡­ king."


    "A-Aaaahh."


    The voices sounded like they were in agony. They were walking toward him, their mangled bodies dripping blood.


    It was a scene that could havee straight out of a cheap B-list zombie movie.


    "¡­ I see what happened."


    He sighed.


    He figured out why his level and stats had been set to 1 and how Satan had been able to do something that not even the system that protected this world had been able to do when depleting the majority of its Divinity. It had only seemed like his power had been sealed.


    ''This ce isn''t reality.''


    It was somewhere between an illusion and reality¡ªa ce worthy of being called a nightmare.


    ''So that''s why the message said I had entered a nightmare.''


    He felt that he had finally put the puzzle together.


    Kang-Woo raised his hand and tried to use the Authority of des.


    "Tsk."


    The Authority was not manifesting, and the Ten Thousand Demon Core within his heart was silent.


    ''No.''


    He shook his head. He couldn''t feel the Ten Thousand Demon Core at all. It was as if the soul of the human Oh Kang-Woo had left his body and been trapped in a nightmare.


    The only things he had were his Authority of Predation and his Demonic Energy stat, which was set to 1.


    Kang-Woo sighed and bit his finger.


    Crunch.


    He felt pain.


    ''The sensation of pain is fully intact.''


    If that was the case¡­


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    ''I guess that if I die in this nightmare, I will die for real.''


    It was an extreme hassle.


    "Haaa." Kang-Woo sighed.


    Even now, demons that used to be his subordinates were slowly walking toward him.


    He looked at each of their faces and recalled the memories that they had shared together during the thousand-year war.


    "Balrog¡­"


    He saw himself sitting atop a mountain of corpses and weeping.


    "I''m tired of it all."


    "Fuck."


    His face reddened. He shook his head at the memory.


    ''I was crazy.''


    It was a humiliating memory, a dark past that would make him rip his nket apart if he ever remembered it while sleeping.


    "Man, I''m so fucking embarrassed."


    The one who always told people to stop with the pity show had acted out the biggest pity show of them all. There was no darker past than that.


    ''What did Balrog say back then again?''


    He couldn''t quite think of it off the top of his head, but he was sure that it had been just as cringey as his line.


    Step, step.


    While he was trying to remember the past, he heard footsteps. Kang-Woo turned around and looked into the darkness to see a demon shrouded in darkness. The demon was wearing a red demon mask.


    [How does it feel to reunite with your dead subordinates?]


    Augh came from behind the red demon mask.


    Kang-Woo calmly said the demon''s name, "Satan."


    [It has been a while since west spoke in private like this, demon king.]


    Satan red at Kang-Woo.


    [I appreciate all the crazy deeds youmitted. Thanks to you, my entire n has crumbled.]


    Satan''s voice was filled with zing rage.


    [I do not know how you survived when you shed against the dimensional wall, but¡­ it all ends today.]


    Satan raised his hand, and a pitch-ck sword appeared.


    "Where are we?" Kang-Woo calmly asked.


    [The space that the Primordial Darkness upies.]


    "How am I supposed to understand that, dumbass?"


    [¡­]


    Satan''s body trembled.


    He took a deep breath to quell his rage.


    [It is where the Demonic Origin¡­ the corpse of Demon God Bauli rests.]


    Demon God Bauli¡­


    Kang-Woo naturally recalled the giant eye that had reached a kilometer in length.


    ''Is it the same guy?''


    The unknown being that was in the Abyss of the Ten Thousand Demon Core¡­


    He still didn''t know if that was Bauli or not. He decided to stop thinking about it since it wasplicating his thoughts.


    ''I''ll leave it forter.''


    It wasn''t time to think about that.


    First, he needed to solve the situation that was right in front of him.


    Kang-Woo looked down at the dead, which were crawling toward him.


    "You say that, but this ce doesn''t seem like it exists in reality."


    [It is a ce mixed with reality and illusions.]


    Satanughed.


    [Although it is notpletely real, your soul will be annihted if you die here.]


    Kang-Woo had more or less expected that. He nodded.


    Satan frowned.


    [You seem awfully calm.]


    He couldn''t understand it.


    [You have absolutely nothing at your disposal right now. You do not have the infinite demonic energy of the Ten Thousand Demon Core, your hundreds of Authorities, or the system blessing known as yer.]


    Only the soul of the human Oh Kang-Woo had been trapped here. All he had left were the Authority of Predation and the single point in his Demonic Energy stat.


    [Have you epted your defeat?]


    The winner had already been decided.


    The moment one stepped into this ce, physical prowess meant nothing.


    After the demon king had devoured his body, Satan had learned how to use his power even when he was nothing but a soul. He''d been absorbing the Demonic Origin for thousands of years while learning how to use his power within this space, which was mixed between reality and illusion.


    However, this was not the case for the demon king¡ªthe source of the demon king''s power was the Ten Thousand Demon Core''s infinite demonic energy and the hundreds of different Authorities he possessed.


    Since only his soul was left, he was more powerless than a normal human.


    "¡­" Kang-Woo didn''t answer.


    Satan smirked.


    [Well, fine.]


    He walked slowly. He didn''t intend to kill Kang-Woo quickly.


    [I have suffered much because of you.]


    Satan had many nightmarish memories; Kang-Woo had dirtied the title of prince of Hell, killed him gruesomely, and devoured his body. Satan had barely managed to escape with his soul.


    [Even on Earth¡­]


    Satan grabbed the back of his neck as rage overcame him. The countless agitations and fabrications had put him through hell. It was finally time to get his sweet revenge. There was only one thing he could think of as a suitable act of vengeance¡­


    [Be devoured by your own subordinates.]


    Satan snapped his fingers while smiling wide.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Paimon approached Kang-Woo.


    Agares, Verdin, and Kelzas also grabbed his clothes.


    Paimon embraced him with arms dripping pus as tears dripped from his one remaining eye.


    "A-Arrgghh. It¡­ hurts, my¡­ king."


    "¡­"


    "It hurts¡­ so¡­ much.."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    This was not the real Paimon¡ªit was just a doll the nightmare had created to act like Paimon. It was nothing but a cheap performance to squeeze out his sorrow.


    "Please¡­ save¡­ me."


    He knew it was fake, so it could never stir his emotions.


    "A-Aaaahh. My¡­ king."


    It was already in the past. His dark past was already behind him. He wouldn''t feel anything from such an illusion.


    "It hurts, it hurts."


    "My body¡­ is burning."


    "Hot, so hot."


    The hands of the dead grabbed him. The horrible stench wafting from the rotten pus stimted his nose.


    "¡­"


    He wasn''t angry or sad.


    It wouldn''t have been any different even if these were the real corpses of his subordinates.


    He''d caused a war. Whatever the reason, he''d dered war on every single prince of Hell. It would have been weirder if no one had died. No matter how miserably, wretchedly, or gruesomely they died, soldiers died in war. Even Kang-Woo himself had killed countless demons. Demons were not emotionless beings; they had likely been precious to others.


    "My¡­ king. I-It¡­ hurts."


    So, it did not matter.


    "I''m tired of it all."


    Once again, he recalled the past when he had broken down and wept like a crybaby.


    A dark past¡­ a cheap pity show¡­ amon cliche¡­ a cringey, childish story.


    But¡­


    But¡­


    But¡­


    "A-Aaaahh."


    The dead were grabbing him, their eyes exuding strong bloodlust.


    "You, you, you¡­"


    "Killed¡­ us."


    "If it were not for you¡­"


    Their eyes were full of resentment. Their voices were full of malice.


    Crack.


    Paimon grabbed his shoulder, his sharp ws piercing Kang-Woo''s skin.


    "Die, die!"


    Agares clenched Kang-Woo''s leg tighter, ripping off the flesh from his thigh.


    "It is¡­ all because of you!"


    "If only¡­ you had not¡­ caused the war!"


    The voices of the dead grew more intense.


    Verdin and Kelzas each pulled one of his arms.


    Crack.


    His arms twisted in an unnatural direction.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo expressionlessly stared at his subordinates tearing him apart.


    He opened his mouth.


    "I remember now."


    He finally remembered what Balrog had said to him back then.


    "Do you remember what you told me when we first met? You said that whatever there is in the Ninth Hell, it does not change what you have to do."


    Answer evil with greater evil.


    Return bloodlust with even greater bloodlust.


    Keep moving forward while devouring everything in the world.


    "Fuck, it''s more cringe than I remember."


    Kang-Woo would smack Balrog in the head once this was over.


    Crack.


    He opened his mouth and bit down on Paimon''s neck with all his might.


    Crunch.


    He devoured Paimon''s skin from where the rotten pus was flowing out. He used his meager one stat point of Demonic Energy to activate his Authority.


    ''Authority of Predation.''


    Crunch.


    He converted Paimon''s flesh that he devoured¡ªor the illusion created by the Demonic Origin to be more exact¡ªinto demonic energy.


    Riiing.


    [Demonic Energy has risen to 27.]


    [You have devoured the ''Demonic Origin.'']


    [The second condition of the final step to bing a Demon God has been fulfilled.]


    Message windows rang noisily.


    His demonic energy grew explosively.


    [Hm?]


    Satan frowned.


    Kang-Woo was devouring the dead instead of the other way around.


    [What are you¡­]


    Crunch, crunch.


    "M-My¡­ king."


    "H-Help m¡­"


    The bodies of the dead were being quickly devoured.


    [Demonic Energy has risen to 48.]


    ck liquid flowed from Kang-Woo.


    [Demonic Energy has risen to 87.]


    It was the ck mucus that possessed countless teeth.


    [Demonic Energy has risen to 129.]


    The sharp teeth were devouring Paimon, Agares, Verdin, and Kelzas.


    [What the¡­]


    Satan''s eyes widened.


    The demon king was eating the illusions made by the Demonic Origin.


    [Just¡­ how?]


    The demon king had absolutely nothing at the moment. The only thing he had left was a single Demonic Energy stat point. Although he had the Authority of Predation, it was impossible to eat the Demonic Origin with a single Demonic Energy stat point.


    The corrtion between demonic energy and the Authority of Predation was, to put it simply, the size of the mouths. The more demonic energy one had, the more and the harder the food they could eat.


    However, the demon king''s Demonic Energy stat was only at 1.


    ''But¡­''


    It made no sense that he could eat the Demonic Origin of all things. It was like eating a bar of gold with a toothless mouth.


    "You never fucking learn."


    Tsk, tsk.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. His mangled body quickly regenerated.


    [I-It cannot be, you¡­!]


    "Or are princes of Hell just experts in making people power up? For fuck''s sake, literally anyone you pathetic bastards fight will power up even if they''re on the verge of death."


    They always watched from the sidelines while doing nothing and went "How?" or "It cannot be!" when their opponent powered up.


    At this point, he would feel bad for not powering up in such a situation.


    ''I mean, I wouldn''t really call it a power-up.''


    He wasn''t Kim Si-Hun, so it wasn''t like he powered up whenever there was a dangerous situation. This had simply been a mistake on Satan''s part.


    "You still don''t know who I am after all you''ve been through?"


    He stepped on the corpses of his subordinates and stood up. The whites of his eyes turned ck, his irises turned yellow like a reptile''s, and his pupils tore horizontally.


    "If you wanted to kill me"¡ªthe tips of his mouth went up¡ª"you should have made it 0."


    [Demonic Energy has reached 150.]

 Chapter 246 - You Were Unlucky

    Chapter 246 - You Were Unlucky


    [Kuh¡­!]


    Satan grimaced and stomped on the ground, still gripping his pitch-ck sword.


    The darkness shook wildly and spread out radially.


    He raised his sword high and targeted the demon king''s head.


    ''I have to kill him quickly.''


    He was swept with anxiety¡ªsomething had gone wrong. He didn''t have time to think about sweet revenge or whatever.


    ''Just why?''


    He couldn''t help but question what had happened. Stuff about not knowing who the demon king was after all Satan had been through and that Satan should have made the Demonic Energy stat zero¡­


    ''Bull.''


    Satan had not been careless; he had lost miserably to the demon king exactly because he had been careless back in Hell. He had been watching with his arms crossed, not because he was being careless but because he had truly won.


    [Shit! Shit! Shit!]


    He''d made sure the demon king couldn''t use the Ten Thousand Demon Core, and he''d also blocked his hundreds of Authorities. He had not been able topletely eliminate the demon king''s demonic energy due to the very thin connection between his soul and body, but the remaining demonic energy had been a negligible amount.


    ''There was nothing else I could have possibly done.''


    The demon king had been nothing more than a beast with its limbs and teeth ripped off. Satan had thought that he could take some time to enjoy his sweet revenge after all the thorough preparations he had made.


    Considering all the suffering he''d gone through at Oh Kang-Woo''s hands, wasn''t it okay to take some time to vent?


    ''Can I not even do that?''


    Satan swung his sword while clenching his teeth.


    Crack!


    The demon king''s body was split in half¡­


    But only for a short while.


    Gurgle.


    The ck mucus leaking from the demon king began devouring the surrounding darkness, and his body was instantly restored.


    Satan kept cutting away.


    Arms, legs, head, legs again¡­


    He cut through the demon king''s body again and again, but it kept restoring itself.


    [Extinction.]


    The Authority of Extinction could make everything it touched disintegrate. In terms of lethality, it was one of the strongest Authorities. This Authority, which could even kill a prince of Hell, spread through Wrath, Satan''s Hell Armament. Sword energies poured down like rainfall.


    Crackle!!


    The demon king was cut to pieces. His body turned into mush aftering into contact with Satan''s Authority, and then it scattered. The ck blood sttered in all directions, Kang-Woo''s internal organs and muscles littering the ground.


    ''He is dead.''


    It was an amount of damage that not even the demon king should be able to survive. The sword energies infused with the Authority of Extinctionpletely disintegrated the demon king.


    [¡­]


    Satan remained silent¡ªhe''d won.


    The demon king had been hit with the Authority of Extinction, an attack he wouldn''t have been able to survive even at his peak with no defense. He didn''t even have the Ten Thousand Demon Core at the moment, so there was no need to think twice.


    ''But¡­''


    Satan trembled. He felt a foreboding, a strange incongruity, as if he were looking at a y that had gone wrong.


    "Did all of your suffering give you PTSD?"


    [¡­!!]


    The voice came from right next to him. Satan''s eyes widened, and he swung his sword again.


    Crackle!!


    The demon king''s body disintegrated to the cellr level again while it was in the middle of regenerating itself.


    [Huff, huff¡­]


    Satan''s breathing became heavier. His ominous sensation was spot-on¡ªthe demon king hadn''t died yet.


    ''How?''


    He was confused. He couldn''t understand how the demon king was able to devour the Demonic Origin without the Ten Thousand Demon Core. He couldn''t understand how the demon king had survived the Authority of Extinction despite disintegrating.


    ''It makes no sense.''


    Satan felt like he was about to lose his mind. Even if the demon king was a monster-like being, it made no sense¡ªit went beyond logic. Satan gulped and gripped his sword.


    [How in the¡ª]


    "You see¡­"


    He heard that voice again and reflexively swung Wrath. The demon king''s head was cut in half, his brain sttering everywhere.


    "You shouldn''t have chosen this ce."


    Only the demon king''s mouth moved on his split head.


    Satan''s expression paled. Someone being able to talk when their head was split in half instilled a fear that was hard for even a prince of Hell to handle.


    [Mon¡­ster,] Satan cried out when he saw the demon king gradually regenerate.


    The demon king''s regeneration continued despite his head being split open and his body being torn to pieces.


    If that didn''t make him a monster, then what else could he be called?


    "If you wanted to kill me, you should''ve trapped me in a ce without any demonic energy."


    Kang-Woo smiled while extending his hand. Mucus filled with sharp teeth flowed out of his hand and devoured the darkness surrounding them. His torn-apart body quickly regenerated.


    Satan had made a fatal error. Leading the demon king to the Demonic Origin, to the corpse of the Demon God, had been a terrible decision. It had made adjusting Kang-Woo''s stats and sealing the Ten Thousand Demon Core pointless.


    ''This ce is¡­''


    Kang-Woo licked his lip. His heart was beating fast, and an intense thirst dominated his body. He licked his lips.


    ''¡­ Overflowing with food.''


    The space was full of demonic energy¡ªno, the space itself was made of demonic energy. It was so perfect that it was almost as if Satan had prepared a banquet for him.


    ''Shiiiet, it''s a goddamn buffet.''


    On top of helping him grow through the Demon Cult, Satan was also serving him such an amazing banquet. Kang-Woo honestly wondered if Satan had actually been an ally all along.


    "You''re the only one I can count on, my bro!"


    Kang-Woo lightly leaped, instantly approaching Satan, and patted his shoulder.


    Satan quickly swung his sword, and Kang-Woo''s body scattered again.


    [Y-you¡­ son of a¡­]


    Satan trembled as he red at Kang-Woo. The trap he''d set up for the demon king had ended up helping the demon king.


    ''Impossible.''


    The Demonic Origin wasn''t made of normal demonic energy. It was the fragmented corpse of the Demon God, and its demonic energy contained Divinity. It had taken Satan a thousand years to absorb that special demonic energy.


    Even if the demon king had the Authority of Predation¡­


    ''There is no way he could have eaten it so easily.''


    [Just how¡­?]


    No, the demon king shouldn''t have been able to eat it.


    [How are you able to eat the Demonic Origin?!] Satan angrily shouted.


    Satan swung Wrath at random. Like a storm, the ck sword energies wiped out everything around him. The darkness fluctuated.


    Kang-Woo''s regenerating body disintegrated yet again.


    [Huff, huff, huff.]


    Satan swung his sword like a madman. He didn''t want to ept reality and wanted to think it was just a nightmare.


    "I just could."


    The pieces of the demon king''s flesh gathered together.


    Satan could see the demon king snickering.


    [You just¡­ could?]


    It was nonsense.


    Kang-Woo shrugged.


    "No, for real. I was just able to eat it."


    His exceptional skill in controlling demonic energy was likely part of it, as well as his overpowered Authority of Predation, but besides that¡­


    "Honestly, I don''t know either."


    Although it had a grandiose name like Demonic Origin, he was able to eat it all too easily.


    It was as if¡­ it had been his from the beginning.


    [¡­]


    "Your preparations were better than I''d expected. I mean, I knew it was a trap, but¡­ you exceeded my expectations."


    Kang-Woo had never expected Satan to extract the soul out of his body and trap him in a space of reality mixed with illusions¡ªwith the majority of his power sealed, on top of that. He had honestly panicked a little when he saw that all his stats had been reduced to 1 and he couldn''t use his Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    "But¡­"


    Kang-Wooughed and raised his hand.


    Crunch, crunch.


    The ck mucus that had scattered grew bigger. As space itself was devoured by the Authority of Predation, colossal amounts of demonic energy flowed into him.


    This demonic energy was different from regr demonic energy. It wasn''t like the demonic energy in the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core either.


    ''This is¡­''


    The deepestyer of the Ten Thousand Demon Core, where Kang-Woo had not been able to pull demonic energy out of yet¡­


    ''The Abyss.''


    It was simr to the demonic energy of the ce where that giant eye was asleep. The power contained within the demonic energy itself was in a league of its own.


    "You were just unlucky."


    Unlucky¡­


    Was there a better way to describe the situation?


    It wasn''t perfect, but Satan had put off a lot of effort into this trap.


    If it had worked, Kang-Woo''s dead subordinates would have devoured him. But¡­


    Rumble!!


    The space made of demonic energy was distorted.


    Riiing.


    [The nightmare of the ''Primordial Darkness'' is crumbling!]


    A message appeared.


    To be precise, it wasn''t crumbling. It was being thoroughly eaten.


    [A-Aaaahh.]


    A desperate exmation left Satan''s mouth. He could feel the breakdown of the nightmare space as everything was returning to normal. The space of reality mixed with illusions was turning back into reality, and Satan wasn''t dumb enough to not realize what that meant.


    [The ''Divinity'' interfering with the system has disappeared.]


    [Restoring level and all stats to their former values.]


    "I guess we''re back."


    Kang-Woo got up and smirked. He saw a ck sphere about thirty meters in diameter in the middle of a giant cave surrounded by ice.


    "This is your main body, huh?"


    Kang-Woo ced his hand on the ck sphere, sent his demonic energy into it, and checked what it was.


    ''Satan fused himself with the Demon God''s corpse.''


    He saw Satan inside the Demonic Origin and could finally understand why Satan was so confident within the nightmare. Unlike other princes of Hell, Satan had given up on restoring his body. Instead, he''d fused his soul with the Demonic Origin.


    Meaning¡­


    ''That was his home ground.''


    Satan was stronger than any other demon within that nightmare because he''d mixed his soul into it.


    [A-Arrgghh.]


    The huge ck sphere grunted.


    [Why, why, whyyyyyy!!!]


    A desperate and agonizing scream spread through the cave.


    It was only natural. He''d fused his soul with the Demonic Origin more than a thousand years ago to ept its power, fusing so much that he had given up his physical form for it. However, everything he''d built up until now had crumbled all too easily in the demon king''s hands.


    [I was¡­ unlucky? Unlucky, you say?!]


    He had put a lot of thought into the n, but to think that the reason why it failed was that he was ''unlucky''¡­


    [Urgh¡­ Sniff.]


    His sorrow overflowed.


    After losing to the demon king and falling to Earth, he''d dreamt of his revival for over a thousand years. But then, the demon king had suddenly appeared and, while iming to be him, had framed him for crimes he hadn''tmitted.


    He had held back his rage and thought he''d finally been able to seed in his revenge, but instead of revenge, he had ended up offering him a feast.


    [Why¡­ why are you doing this to me¡­?]


    If there was a God, he wanted to ask him that.


    [Waaaah. What¡­ what did I do so wrong¡­?]


    If, at least, he''d suffered a loss worthy of a prince of Hell¡­ he wouldn''t have been too sad.


    [I am¡­ fucking Satan¡­ not some¡­ worthless demon¡­ I am Satan¡­]


    He was the Prince of Wrath¡ªthe strongest prince of Hell after Bael.


    [Waaaaaaaaah.]


    His tears of sorrow did not stop.


    Step, step.


    Kang-Woo slowly walked toward him and looked up at the ck sphere.


    "So¡­ if I eat this, I can devour the Demonic Origin and Satan''s soul at the same time," he mumbled.


    He made a satisfied smile and nodded as he spread his hand toward the ck sphere. The Ten Thousand Demon Core had returned, so a huge amount of demonic energy surged from his body. As that ck mucus gathered together, a mouth big enough to devour the thirty-meter ck sphere appeared.


    [N-No¡­! S-Stop!! Please stop!!]


    "Thank you, Lord Satan, for giving me my daily bread."


    Crunch!


    The giant mouth devoured the ck sphere whole.


    ''I guess this is what they call a "buy one, get one free." ''

 Chapter 247 - Stay The Fuck Down

    Chapter 247 - Stay The Fuck Down


    [A-Aaaaaaahh!!]


    Oh Kang-Woo heard Satan''s agonized scream. Ignoring it, he kept using the Authority of Predation.


    Crunch. Crunch.


    A giant mouth with thousands of white teeth chewed on the ck sphere. ck blood poured out from its widening cracks.


    The scene was grotesque enough to have been pulled straight from a horror film.


    Kang-Woo, who had the role of said film''s main monster, added more demonic energy to the Authority of Predation.


    Crack!


    The shell protecting the ck sphere waspletely destroyed, and a thick smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    He''d broken the egg''s shell.


    ''All that''s left is to devour the demonic energy the hard shell had protected.''


    "Haaa, haaa." His breathing became heavier, and he felt thirst burning his throat. He was drooling.


    Kang-Woo briefly froze before devouring the Demonic Origin. He narrowed his eyes.


    ''It''s weird.''


    There was something he couldn''t understand.


    ''Why is it so easy for me to eat?''


    Satan had likely wondered the same thing.


    Kang-Woo remained silent and fell into thought.


    ''The corpse of the Demon God, was it?''


    He recalled the thoughts that he did not have the time to finish while stuck in the nightmare.


    ''The Demon God is probably that eye monster in the Abyss.''


    Kang-Woo remembered the eye confidently revealing himself as the Demon God. Even at this very moment, Kang-Woo could feel the being inside him amplifying his desires.


    - Eat it.


    A voice spread through his ear. His lips dried, and horrible thirst stimted his neck.


    - Eat everyst bit of it!


    "For fuck''s sake." He frowned and clicked his tongue in disapproval. "You''re so fucking noisy."


    The term corpse meant that the Demon God had most likely been killed and ripped apart at someone''s hands.


    Kang-Woo still couldn''t understand why that Demon God was inside him, and he didn''t know what his goal was or what exactly he was, but¡­


    "Don''t push me. I was gonna eat it anyway."


    He smirked.


    It didn''t matter if he had the Demon God inside him or not. He could more or less guess what the god''s goal was. After all, the Demon God had probably been the one to force him into the ck Rift.


    ''I don''t like it.''


    The sense of losing control of his body was extremely unpleasant.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes.


    - Eat it right now!


    The voice echoed in his head, and his powerful thirst was drying up all the water in his body.


    ''Slowly¡­''


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and controlled the intense desire burning inside him. The burning thirst slowly quelled.


    ''Good.''


    The gears in his head turned quicker.


    The Demon God''s amplification of Kang-Woo''s desire and Kang-Woo''s control were weighed against each other. Although he wasn''t used to it at the beginning, as time went on, he was slowly but surely regaining control. He was confident in his ability to control his desire and the rampaging demonic energy.


    "Now, then¡­"


    He raised his head. He ignored the loud voice echoing within his mind and disregarded the burning thirst and everything else. He took a deep breath and used the Authority of Predation, which devoured the interior of the ck sphere after its shell had been shatteredpletely.


    Crunch! Crunch!


    There was a chilling sound, and demonic energy flowed into his body.


    Riiing.


    [Warning, warning.]


    [This demonic energy contains ''Divinity.'' You are currently unable to use it in its entirety.]


    A message appeared in front of him.


    He ignored it. No, to be more precise, he had no leeway to pay it any mind.


    "Kuh."


    He grunted and bent forward. As if water was being poured on aridnd, a colossal amount of demonic energy flowed into the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    [Demonic Energy has risen to 153.]


    [Demonic Energy has risen to 165.]


    [Demonic Energy has risen to 172.]


    Messages kept appearing, and his Demonic Energy stat was going up at an incredible pace.


    ''It''s dangerous.''


    Kang-Woo bit his lip. He couldn''t be purely happy with the speed at which his stat was rising. The demonic energy locked within the Abyss, the deepestyer of the Ten Thousand Demon Core, was rampaging like crazy, and was about to flood.


    ''The Doors are about to shatter.''


    He could feel that the three Doors protecting the entrance to the Ten Thousand Demon Core were cracking.


    Kang-Woo''s expression paled.


    ''At this rate, I''ll be devoured.''


    There was no need to even think about it. The moment the Doors were forcibly destroyed, he would be devoured by the demonic energy and¡­


    ''Everyone will die.''


    If the Ten Thousand Demon Core was fully unleashed while his reason was not intact, there was no need to guess what would happen. His body, which would have nothing left but the desire to eat, would not stop until he devoured every single living being on this star. No, he wasn''t sure if he would be able to stop even after that.


    - Ha¡­ Hahahahahaha!! Yes!! The time has finallye!!


    He heard the maniacalugh of the Demon God in his ear.


    - It is still only one of the three, but¡­ well, it is enough to let the beginning of the prophecy be known.


    The Demon God kept snickering and mumbling things that Kang-Woo could not understand.


    - The time of prophecy is upon us! Tremble in fear, mortals!


    Kang-Woo felt something trying to rise from the Abyss with the voice.


    The hand of the giant, whose body was so massive that it could not even be fathomed, stretched out from the Abyss.


    - I am death. I am the end. I am¡­


    "Fucking hell, here''s another Satan."


    Kang-Woo smiled widely while panting heavily.


    - Oh? You are still conscious? asked the Demon God in surprise, letting out a lowugh.


    - Now, your role ends here. From now on, I will take control of your b¡ª


    "Cut the bullshit."


    Kang-Woo snickered.


    He had expected the Demon God''s goal to be something like this. It was an obvious development, and he had already thought of such a result. It had been so predictable without any twists that it couldn''t get any more boring


    "I told you¡­"


    He recalled what he had said to the Demon God back in the Abyss.


    "Go fuck yourself."


    - ¡­


    "The time you''ve been waiting for will nevere. Whatever that time of prophecy bullshit is, you''re never getting out of there."


    - Do you have any idea who I a¡ª


    "And do you know me, dipshit?"


    There was no way he would know.


    Considering that the Demon God was talking about Kang-Woo being a puppet and that his role was over, he likely had a n. However, he had no idea who the man he had made into his puppet was.


    The Demon God wasn''t aware of what kind of person Kang-Woo was, what he had been through, or what he was capable of.


    "Huh? Do you?"


    The Demon God didn''t.


    "If you don''t, then shut up and stay the fuck down."


    Demonic energy was surging out of Kang-Woo. He could feel himself losing hold of his consciousness.


    ''If I can''t ept it¡­''


    He would abandon it.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t keep the rampaging demonic energy in check, but he could guide it somewhere. He put his hand over his heart and directed the flooding demonic energy of the Ten Thousand Demon Core elsewhere.


    ''I can''t send it out.''


    He wasn''t sure where this ce was, but if he just let it burst out, he was sure that an unimaginable disaster would ur.


    ''In that case¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. If he couldn''t let it out, there was only one ce he could send it¡­


    ''I''ll stuff it into the deepestyer¡ª the ce where the Demon God was resting, the deepest andrgest region of the Ten Thousand Demon Core.''


    [Demonic Energy has lowered to 168.]


    [Demonic Energy has lowered to 159.]


    [Demonic Energy has lowered to 153.]


    He stuffed the rampaging demonic energy in the deepest region of the Ten Thousand Demon Core. It was as if he were stepping on garbage in a trash can topress it. It was too bad that he couldn''t use that power, but he had no choice.


    ''It''s better than dying.''


    Besides, he was not throwing it away. He would be able to use it in the future once he gained ess to the Abyss.


    - What the¡­?!


    The Demon God, who had been excitedly crawling up, was being sucked back into the Abyss.


    - How could something like this be pos¡­


    The Demon God''s voice grew weaker.


    Kang-Woo trampled on him yet again without hesitation.


    - N-No!!


    And again¡­


    - Just what are y¡ª


    And for thest time, with all his might¡­


    - ¡­


    All the demonic energy he''d absorbed with the Authority of Predation was shoved down, and the Door that led to the Abysspletely closed.


    [Demonic Energy has lowered to 150.]


    ''This is enough.''


    One of the conditions to be a Demon God was to reach 150 in the Demonic Energy stat.


    There was likely a reason why it was 150.


    ''It must be the maximum limit that I can control at the moment.''


    He likely wouldn''t be able to ''perfectly'' control any more than that.


    Demonic energy became harmful to the wielder the moment that it couldn''t be controlled.


    "In any case¡­"


    Kang-Woo stood up.


    Even if it was at 150, his Demonic Energy stat used to be at 140, so it had increased by 10 points at once.


    ''I''ve also fulfilled two conditions.''


    There was only one condition left to be a Demon God. He wasn''t sure what it was yet, but having fulfilled two out of three was incredible.


    ck.


    He picked up the pitch-ck sword left in the ce where the ck sphere had been.


    Wrath, Satan''s Hell Armament.


    Kang-Woo looked at the ring on his right middle finger.


    "It hasn''t fully digested Greed yet."


    The Key of the Demonic Sea did not respond even when he infused demonic energy into it.


    ''Would it be okay to put more stuff into it?''


    There was no way to know without trying. Just to test, he put the Key of the Demonic Sea close to Wrath.


    Crunch!


    The Key of the Demonic Sea suddenly reacted and devoured Wrath.


    Riiing.


    [''Wrath'' has been absorbed.]


    [The time necessary for digestion has been extended.]


    "I guess I should''ve known it would take longer."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. But since there were no other particr penalties other than the fact that the digestion would take longer, it didn''t matter much.


    ''It''s not like I''m in desperate need of a weapon.''


    He could always create weapons by merging Authorities.


    "Right, then."


    Kang-Woo turned his head.


    Just then¡­


    - You¡­


    Someone''s voice spread through his head, full of despair and resentment.


    It was not the Demon God.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    "Satan?"


    - A-Aaaah.


    His voice was so low that it sounded as if it would fade at any moment.


    Kang-Woo shrugged.


    ''I guess he hasn''t been fully digested.''


    It made sense; since he had fused with the corpse of the Demon God, it would be weirder if he had been digested that easily.


    ''Well, regardless¡­''


    It was a matter of time. Satan''s soul would be dispersed soon enough and melt into the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    - Do you¡­ seriously believe¡­ you will¡­ get away¡­ with this?


    "Hm?"


    - For how long¡­ do you think¡­ your lies will¡­


    "What are you talking about?" Kang-Woo asked, a frown on his face.


    - Everything¡­ you have¡­ framed me for¡­ will be¡­


    "What have I framed you with?"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion.


    - ¡­ What?


    "You were the one who did it all. You killed Alec, Reynald, and even corrupted Ludwig."


    - What¡­ are you¡­ talking¡­ about?


    "Hah," heughed in disbelief.


    ''How shameless can he be?''


    The truth about who was behind all those crimes had been revealed; Satan had also admitted to it.


    "Don''t try to me an innocent person."


    - You¡­ son of¡­ a¡­


    "Fuuu. Seriously¡­ You''re unsightly to the very end, Satan. Isn''t it time you admitted it?"


    - You¡­ mother¡­ fucker¡­


    "I guess there''s no getting through to you."


    Talking to someone who refused to admit his crimes would only stress him out.


    "Well, then¡­"


    Satan had died, but that didn''t mean everything was over.


    No. Things would only get more serious from now on.


    "I might as well get out of here."


    Kang-Woo turned his body and walked out of the icy cave.


    - A-Aaaahh.


    He could still hear Satan''s voice lingering around his ear like an echo.


    Satan already knew the demon king was this kind of man.


    - But still, this is too¡­


    Satan wailed while confined within an endless stretch of the sea made of demonic energy.

 Chapter 248 - Unending Threat

    Chapter 248 - Unending Threat


    ng!!


    The clear sound of metal echoed through the surroundings. A powerful shock was sent through Kim Si-Hun''s hand from the holy sword.


    "Kuh!"


    Si-Hun was pushed back, his feet embedded deep into the ground.


    "Haaa, haaa."


    His hands trembled while gripping the sword.


    "Ludwig¡­"


    He raised his head and looked at Ludwig.


    Ludwig''s skin was as pale as a corpse''s, and he was covered in green tentacles and demonic energy. He was too different from the Ludwig he remembered.


    "Shit."


    Si-Hun bit his lip. His hands trembled, and he was so tired that he felt he was about to faint at any moment. He''d used too much Qi to stop the secondndslide caused by Satan''s attack.


    ''No.''


    Si-Hun held on to his fading consciousness.


    ''I can''t copse yet.''


    He couldn''t feel any human emotion in Ludwig''s eyes anymore. Leaving his former friend in such a state would be wrong.


    ''I have to end it with my own hands.''


    He had to finish what he had not been able to do. It had no meaning if he wasn''t able to end it himself.


    "Fuuu."


    He took a deep breath and squeezed out more Qi from his dantian.


    "G-Grarrgghh."


    "¡­"


    Ludwig was grunting like a monster. Si-Hun''s friend resembled a zombie pulled straight from a B-list horror film.


    ''I always thought such scenes were toomon.''


    There was a reason why some things were cliche.


    The corrupted Ludwig was imprinted in Si-Hun''s mind.


    "Graaaahhhh!!"


    Ludwig charged forward.


    Si-Hun pressed his lips together and raised his sword. A white light shone from Holy Sword Ludwig, the sword named after his dear friend.


    ''Azure Dragon Dance.''


    White sword energy shot out from the holy sword and swept the area like a storm.


    Ludwig held a greatsword he had gotten from somewhere and charged toward the storm of sword energy.


    aaaaang!!!


    Sparks poured in all directions. The sound of a hammer hitting steel resounded many times a second.


    "Grrr!"


    Ludwig stomped on the ground violently and swung his greatsword horizontally. He didn''t use any special techniques orplex principles¡ªit was just an attack that used overwhelming power.


    "Kuh!"


    Si-Hun lowered his head, and Ludwig''s sword grazed his hair. Just the wind pressure generated from the swing of Ludwig''s sword was enough to split his skin and make him bleed.


    ''I can''t win in a head-on battle.''


    Ludwig was far faster and stronger than him. On top of that, demonic energy continuously poured out of him, increasing his destructive power even more.


    A head-on battle in such a situation was suicidal.


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained silent and took a deep breath. If a head-on battle was impossible, then he had only one choice¡­


    ''Sword Control.''


    He raised his hand, and the weapons scattered over the battlefield rose into the sky. His already-low Qi stores rapidly decreased.


    "G-Gaah."


    Si-Hun started to tremble. His head hurt, and he felt like vomiting.


    Riiing.


    [Warning.]


    [Insufficient Qi. Further usage of Qi will result in ''Qi deviation.'']


    "Kuh¡­"


    His vision blurred, and his fingers trembled as powerlessness weighed him down.


    ''I don''t¡­ give a shit.''


    He raised his head while clenching his fists. He didn''t have time to worry about having a Qi deviation.


    ng! ng! ng!


    He shot the floating weapons at Ludwig as if they were bullets.


    "Graaaaaaaaahh!!"


    Ludwig brutishly swung his greatsword, relying only on instincts.


    ng.


    The greatsword shattered a spear, an iron mace, a scythe, and an axe. Weapons were split, warped, and sliced.


    "Cough."


    Si-Hun vomited blood. He was experiencing a Qi deviation due to squeezing out too much Qi. He felt his insides churning, and his blood was burning likeva as it circted through his body.


    "A-Arrgghh."


    He spread his hands and tried to pick up his holy sword from the ground.


    tter.


    He dropped it. He couldn''t put strength into his hands anymore.


    "¡­"


    The memory of when he had be unable to hold a sword after Mammon had destroyed his two arms came back to him naturally.


    Fear rushed in.


    "H-Hyung¡­" Si-Hun called out to Oh Kang-Woo.


    He desperately looked around for him.


    ''At times like this, I always¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s face had always popped up ever since Kang-Woo had be more precious than his own flesh and blood.


    Kang-Woo would always appear and help Si-Hun in such situations: when he was being corrupted by the seed Satan had sown within him, when he''d copsed after losing both arms to Mammon, when Lucifer''s subordinates brought him to the verge of death, and¡­


    ''When Kim Yeong-Hun almost killed me.''


    Kang-Woo always helped him in his times of greatest need.


    "Ha¡­ haha," Si-Hunughed. He lowered his head. "I''m such¡­ a dumbass."


    He was a pathetic piece of trash, a cowardly idiot. He knew it from the beginning¡ªhe had just ignored it. He''d just turned his eyes from what he didn''t want to see.


    ''I¡­''


    Not even once had he ever stood up on his own. He''d always received help. His talent, effort, beliefs, and will¡­ he knew they would have meant nothing if it hadn''t been for Kang-Woo.


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun reached out to grab the holy sword again.


    ''Get up.''


    He stuck his sword into the ground and used it as a cane as he stood up with trembling legs.


    ''If not now¡­''


    When would he ever be able to stand on his own?


    Riiing.


    [Warning, warning.]


    [Entering a state of Qi deviation.]


    "Shut up."


    He cast aside the message windows and pointed his sword at Ludwig.


    ''Kang-Woo hyung.''


    He saw Kang-Woo''s lonely back as Kang-Woo walked ahead down a solitary road while carrying an immeasurable burden on his shoulders.


    "From now on¡­"


    For how long was he going to simply follow and watch Kang-Woo''s back?


    Si-Hun stood up while exerting more strength with his legs.


    There would be no help from Kang-Woo or the Martial God.


    For the first time¡­


    Amidst the failure that he was sick and tired of¡­


    He stood up on his own.


    "¡­ I will walk alongside you."


    He took the first heavy step and ran toward Kang-Woo, who was walking far ahead of him.


    * * *


    "Cough! Cough!"


    Red blood poured out in all directions. Si-Hun''s legs trembled, and he felt like his eyes were about to close.


    "A-Arrgghh."


    "¡­"


    He held onto his consciousness and raised his head. Ludwig had copsed and was clenching his chest. The pure-white sword that had pierced his chest happened to have the same name as him.


    "Kim¡­ Si-Hun¡­?"


    It seemed that his consciousness had returned for a brief moment. Ludwig raised his trembling hand toward Si-Hun.


    "Be¡­ careful of¡­ he has¡­ nned everything¡­"


    Ludwig was trying to say something.


    Si-Hun silentlyid Ludwig down on the ground. It wasn''t hard to predict what he wanted to say.


    "I know, Ludwig."


    "¡­"


    "I will kill Satan with my own hands."


    "No¡­ that¡­ is not¡­"


    "Rest in peace."


    He didn''t want Ludwig to suffer any longer¡ªSi-Hun twisted the holy sword that had pierced his heart.


    Ludwig turned into ck dust and scattered in the air.


    "Kuh¡­"


    He exerted more strength with his legs and stood up as he looked around the battlefield.


    ''Is it almost over?''


    The war had entered its final stage. Thebined forces of angels, Watchers of Light, and Guardians had managed to drive the forces of the Demon Cult into a corner. Even the demons who had resisted until the end were starting to copse one by one, spewing ck blood.


    "¡­"


    The long fight against the Demon Cult was reaching an end.


    Si-Hun let go of the holy sword, which scattered into particles of light and entered his body. He climbed up the mountain with trembling legs. He saw Shalgiel, the angel with short, silver hair, running somewhere.


    "Lord Raphael! Please wake up, Lord Raphael!!" Shalgiel shouted while holding Raphael, copsed on the ground.


    Si-Hun walked toward him.


    "Did Satan do this?"


    "¡­ Yes."


    Shalgiel nodded while biting his lips.


    Si-Hun clenched his fists.


    "What happened to Satan?"


    "He created a ck Rift and escaped. Also¡­ the apostle of the God of Heroes Tirion chased after him."


    "Wh-what?"


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened. The news struck him like lightning.


    "H-Hyung-nim chased after Satan by himself?!"


    "Yes."


    Si-Hun felt as if the world was copsing. He trembled. Even if Kang-Woo were strong, chasing after Satan alone was suicidal.


    "Shit, shit!!"


    He quickly looked around, but he couldn''t see the ck Rift.


    "Where did that ck Rift appear?!"


    "It is already g¡ª"


    "Where?!" Si-Hun eximed while grabbing Shalgiel''s cor.


    Although his condition was worse than that of a rag after his battle with Ludwig, he couldn''t stand still and do nothing.


    ''I have to save him.''


    Exhaustion? Qi deviation? It didn''t matter. If it were for Kang-Woo, he wouldn''t mind if his body shattered.


    "It appeared over th¡ª"


    Just as Shalgiel pointed somewhere while looking at Si-Hun''s desperate expression¡­


    Crack!


    A ck Rift appeared in thin air as if a ss pane were breaking.


    Si-Hun, Shalgiel, and the nearby angels and Guardians members all looked toward the Rift.


    "Kuh!"


    "I-It''s still not over yet?"


    Everyone''s expressions fell into despair.


    "Hyung-nim!!"


    Si-Hun rushed toward the Rift and gathered white light to form a sword. He looked at the ck Rift anxiously.


    Crack!


    The Rift became bigger.


    From inside it¡­


    "Cough! Cough!"


    "H-Hyung-nim?!"


    Kang-Woo appeared, covered in wounds.


    Si-Hun hurriedly supported Kang-Woo, who looked as if he were about to copse at any moment.


    Shalgiel also quickly walked toward Kang-Woo.


    "Are you okay, hyung-nim?!"


    "Kurgh¡­ Yeah, I''m fine."


    Kang-Woo''s expression crumpled. Although he said he was okay, he didn''t look to be. His clothes had be rags, and ''red'' blood was pouring from all over his body.


    "Did you¡­ kill Satan?" Shalgiel asked while making a hard expression.


    Angels and yers alike flinched.


    The war''s primary goal¡­


    The Demon of Prophecy, Satan.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s mouth remained closed. There was a heavy silence on the battlefield that had been noisy until then.


    "Satan has"¡ªKang-Woo clenched his fists and bit his lip¡ª"escaped."


    He lowered his head as if he could not bear to have said the words.


    "A-Aaaah."


    Everyone around them let out exmations of surprise.


    After so much bloodshed and so many sacrifices¡­


    Satan hadn''t died.


    The Demon of Prophecy was still alive. The threat had not ended yet.

 Chapter 249 - After The War (1)

    Chapter 249 - After The War (1)


    [Guardians emerge victorious against Demon Cult headquarters! Will peace finally dawn on humanity¡­?]


    [Satan, the leader of the Demon Cult, escapes. Threat still looms over humanity¡­]


    [All about the heroes of the victory: Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun, First Lady Grace McCubbin, and the angels.]


    [Who is the golden hero that suddenly appeared on the battlefield?]


    [The identity of the golden hero¡­ revealed to be the sworn brother of Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun, Oh Kang-Woo.]


    After the war against the Demon Cult ended, the world was up in a stir.


    People showered Guardians with praise and awe, and they went wild for news rted to the heroes who had been the protagonists of the war.


    The Demon Cult was considered the biggest threat after the Day of Cmity, so it would be an obvious result.


    The support each country offered to Guardians rose dramatically, and the number of yers who wanted to join also exploded. It felt as if they had finally earned the status of ''protectors of the world.''


    After the Demon Cult was defeated, the average level of yers increased and the territories that monsters had conquered were recovered. People eximed in happiness, saying that the era of peace had finallye.


    Of course, some people emphasized the fact that they couldn''t rx yet because Satan, the leader of the Demon Cult, had escaped, but that didn''t appeal to the masses.


    People only saw what they wanted.


    After all, it was better news that the cult that kidnapped people to use as sacrifices had been eradicated instead of the fact that they were still out there.


    Regardless of the truth, countries worldwide were met with a time of peace they hadn''t been able to enjoy since the Day of Cmity.


    Commenter (Tresha writing a new novel): bros I heard the Demon Cult headquarters got fking bodied LMAO


    ? Concluded JerryM: LOL justice finally served


    ? Newbie Sagyesu: the national pride is unreal. I heard Sword Dragon did most of the work again


    ? Butterfly Valley''s failed diet: didn''t the angels do all the heavy lifting?? I bet they would''ve been floored without them


    ? Soon to be finished Wooden Spoon: there''s that Oh Kang-Woo guy too. I heard he chased after Satan to the very end to fight him


    ? Reborn Woojin: it''s an established fact that Oh Kang-Woo is the secret powerhouse of Guardians


    "Mm¡­"


    Kang-Woo scrolled down thements on the news article on his smartphone.


    Most of the messages were congratting the victory, but some people were discussing the golden hero that had suddenly appeared on the battlefield. Even the press was posting his photos and making spections about him.


    "Well, I guess it''s about time."


    He didn''t expect to be able to remain hidden until the end. Although not being known wasfortable, there was a limit. The only good thing was that he was receiving far less attention than Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun and the angels.


    ''I didn''t show myself on the battlefield for long.''


    Other than when he killed the Barbatos and during thest moments of the war, he hadn''t appeared on the battlefield. He probably wouldn''t receive more fame than necessary.


    "Nice."


    Kang-Wooy on the bed; the ends of his mouth went up.


    The Demon Cult had lost.


    He''d told Guardians that Satan had escaped and that the threat wasn''t over yet, but he knew the truth.


    "Burp."


    He''d killed Satan and devoured him without leaving anything behind. On top of that, Satan''s wails, which he could hear due to the iplete digestion, had mostly faded.


    ''I can finally rest a little.''


    He felt as if he had finally been able to put down one of the weights that had been eating away at him.


    ''I feel a bit sorry for Si-Hun, but¡­''


    Ever since Kang-Woo had told Si-Hun that Satan had escaped, he''d been undergoing harsh training. In his mind, he never knew when he would be able to get his revenge.


    ''It couldn''t be helped.''


    Kang-Woo slightly opened his eyes. He had a reason for telling everyone that Satan had survived despite having killed him.


    ''He has to remain as the Demon of Prophecy.''


    If a god gave a revtion saying that the Demon of Prophecy was alive while people knew that Satan had died, the only one to suffer from the trolling would be Kang-Woo.


    The Demon of Prophecy had to be Satan, and he must not be killed.


    ''That way¡­'' Kang-Woo smiled. ''I can keep using him.''


    The Satan cheat code had be a very important resource for him.


    Kang-Woo hummed while thinking about when and how he should use Satan again.


    - Waaaaaaaah.


    He heard faint wailing from somewhere far away. He ignored it.


    "The only unfortunate thing is¡­"


    He narrowed his eyes.


    The n had gone better than he''d expected. If there was one unfortunate thing, it was¡­


    ''Raphael survived.''


    Not only that, but he had even sworn to bring more reinforcements to search for Satan. That meant that there was a chance of another archangel arriving on Earth.


    "Ngh."


    He didn''t like it. It was true that he had a good rtionship with angels for the moment, but he never knew when it would turn sour.


    ''I guess I have no choice but to y innocent.''


    Oh Kang-Woo was the apostle of Tirion, God of Heroes. The best possible decision at the moment would be to use that fact to maintain coborative rtions.


    ''I still haven''t taken care of all the princes of Hell. If angels get involved, things will be unnecessarilyplicated.''


    Things finally turned out for the better after he killed Satan, so he didn''t want to create any moreplications.


    Kang-Woo sped his hands together and used them as a pillow.


    ''Four left.''


    The remaining princes of Hell were Leviathan, Asmodeus, Lucifer, and¡­


    ''Bael.''


    Kang-Woo''s expression slightly crumpled.


    "Haaa¡­ Fuck."


    He couldn''t help but curse.


    ''It wouldn''t have been a problem if they were only as strong as before, but¡­''


    He narrowed his eyes.


    The princes of Hell had be stronger than they had been during the thousand-year war. Leaving Mammon and Belphegor aside, Satan had be significantly stronger.


    ''There are apparently two more of those Demonic Origins that I ate.''


    Since the Demon God had said himself that he had acquired one of the three, it was most likely true.


    ''Princes of Hell and the angels¡­ I can''t rx yet.''


    Kang-Woo had be stronger. Although he couldn''t use the power known as Divinity yet, he''d be far stronger than he had been in Hell.


    ''The problem is¡­''


    His enemies could have be just as strong as him.


    ''Also, opening the Doors has be far too risky,''


    The Doors were his trump card to forcibly make the Ten Thousand Demon Core run rampant on purpose. It had always been risky, but that level of risk has risen far too much.


    ''I have too much demonic energy.''


    Because he''d devoured Satan and the Demonic Origin simultaneously, he had reached the limit of the demonic energy that he could keep under control. It was to the point that it was honestly a miracle that he was able to keep the Ten Thousand Demon Core in check.


    ''If I open any of the Doors now¡­''


    There was arge chance he''d be devoured by the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    "Tsk."


    It was good news that he''d be stronger, but having such an overpowered ability like opening the Doors of the Ten Thousand Demon Core unavable to him was unpleasant news.


    ''First, I have to improve my control over demonic energy.''


    Kang-Woo took out a ck gem the size of his fist from his pocket.


    "So I can eat this."


    The ck gem was the condensed corpse of Belphegor.


    His limit of demonic energy control had be so close to the limit that he couldn''t devour the gem that contained the Authority and soul of a prince of Hell despite it being right in front of him.


    ''I''ll think about itter.''


    Kang-Woo unsped his fingers and stood up from the bed.


    There had only ever been one way to improve his demonic energy control; he was doing it even while he was lying down.


    ''I just have to keep working at it.''


    Even in his peaceful days of eating andughing, one part of Kang-Woo''s mind was always frantically keeping the rampaging demonic energy in check.


    ''I''m sure I''ll be able to go even higher soon enough.''


    He raised his head. An intense thirst burned his throat. He''d surpassed his previous self, but it wasn''t enough¡ªthere was no way he''d be satisfied with that.


    He wanted to reach even higher.


    He wanted to walk even further.


    He had never stopped even once.


    "Right then, I''m gonna have a date with my darling toda¡ª"


    Click.


    "Master Kang-Woo."


    "Gasp."


    Kang-Woo became short of breath, his body trembled, and cold sweat dripped down his back. His expression hardened when he saw Lilith enter his room.


    Lilith walked toward him while tilting her head in confusion.


    "You seem unwell¡­ Has something happened?"


    "N-No, it''s nothing. That aside, what brings you here?"


    "Oh, I havee to give my report on what you hadmanded me to investigate since I was more or less done."


    "You''re already done?"


    She shone in fields other than battle, so Kang-Woo hadn''t ordered her to participate in the battle.


    "Yes. I have confirmed the general location of the remnants of the Demon Cult."


    He''d asked her to infiltrate the Demon Cult branch and locate the remaining forces of the Demon Cult while the war was going on.


    The Demon Cult was spread out all across the globe, so they wouldn''t be dismantled just because their main force had been destroyed. Topletely trample on their chances of aeback, he had to eliminate the remaining forces as well.


    Lilith said, "I have found the locations of neen small and medium-sized branches."


    "Good work," Kang-Woo said as he looked at her.


    He hadn''t said that just out of courtesy. It had only been a week since the war had ended¡ªthe only one capable of gathering so much information in such a short period of time was probably Lilith. She''d likely done an unreal amount of work.


    "Fufu. This does not evene to the level of an errand as long as it is for you, my king."


    Kang-Woo started to feel guilty that he had be frightened when he had seen her enter the room.


    ''I''m sorry¡­ I''m¡­ so sorry¡­''


    He felt like he''d done something he shouldn''t have to someone as loyal as her. He lowered his head in guilt.


    "Will you be taking action yourself, Master Kang-Woo?"


    "Nope. They''re only remnant forces, after all. Mobilize the Guardians yers so that they can level up. Actually, no. Give me the information you''ve gathered. I''ll give it to Grace and have her take care of the mobilization."


    It was Kang-Woo''s way of showing his appreciation for her work, since she had not been able to take a break since the war.


    Understanding his intentions, Lilith smiled and embraced his arm. A soft sensation spread through his arm.


    "Thank you very much, my king."


    "Now go get some rest."


    "Ah, there is one more thing I have to report."


    Kang-Woo looked at her while tilting his head.


    She lowered her head as if she were sorry. "I have not been able to find thest remaining Aspect of Evil."


    "Hmm¡­ Do you know who it is?"


    "It is a ck mage known as Kalgia."


    "A ck mage¡­ He''s the one who used to be Satan''s subordinate, right?"


    "Yes."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    ''An Aspect of Evil, huh?''


    Since he used to be Satan''s subordinate, he was probably only as strong as Crimson Fiend and Belphegor.


    ''I won''t be able to get much out of it.''


    He remembered Si-Hun''s face.


    ''He could be a valuable experience for Si-Hun.''


    Unlike Kang-Woo, who had almost reached the limit of his growth, Si-Hun could still grow a lot more.


    After facing Ludwig, Si-Hun had apparently been able to reach a greater height.


    "Let me know as soon as you find him."


    "Yes, Master Kang-Woo."


    "And don''t forget to take a break."


    Kang-Woo gently patted Lilith''s head.


    Lilith twisted her body and blushed.


    "Fu¡­ fufufufufufu."


    ''Oh, fuck.''


    Her hair had begun moving on its own, and it wrapped around his finger.


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened. He couldn''t help but think he''d stepped on andmine.


    "No, I shouldn''t. Fuuu, fuuu." Lilith took deep breaths to calm herself.


    "¡­ Huh?"


    Kang-Woo was surprised at her reaction, and he looked at her with his eyes widened.


    Lilith turned away.


    "In that case, I will excuse myself."


    "Uhh¡­ S-Sure."


    Close.


    Lilith quickly walked out of the room.


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Kang-Woo looked at the door while making a confused expression.


    "Could it be¡­"


    A thrill spread through his body.


    "H-Has Lilith finally realized it?!"


    Has she realized that he despised her tentacle mode?


    Finally¡­ Finally¡­ Finally!!!!


    "I finally have hope!!!!!"


    Kang-Woo clenched his fist and raised it. Tears dripped down his cheeks.


    He could see the end of the nightmare.


    * * *


    "My, I almost got aroused again."


    Lilith raised her head after striding out of the apartment. She quickly began walking somewhere.


    "Fu¡­ Fufufufu."


    She giggled uncontrobly.


    "Please look forward to it, my king, my love."


    Boosh.


    A tentacle that appeared from her chest in her excitement burst, yellow pus trickling down from it.


    "I will make you a memory you will never forget."


    A wide smile appeared on Lilith''s face.

 Chapter 250 - After The War (2)

    Chapter 250 - After The War (2)


    mor.


    "Hey, hey, hey!! Thresh just used sh!"


    "Jungleeerrr!!!!"


    "Mid M.I.A.! Mid M.I.A.!"


    "The enemy top is just living on our side up here, what the fuck is this jungler doing?!!¡±


    Screaming and loud keyboard clicks resounded through the room, and the pungent odor of cigarettes intertwined with the aroma of all sorts of food.


    A red-haired girl wearing a white baseball cap and a young man with sharp eyes were sitting in the corner seats partitioned off from the rest of the cafe.


    "Hey, blue is mine," said Cha Yeon-Joo, the red-haired girl, while frowning. She was ying a phoenix made of ice.


    Oh Kang-Woo, sitting next to her, didn''t seem like he could hear her. He attacked the blue golem with a character that shot small venomous darts.


    A vein bulged from Yeon-Joo''s forehead.


    "Son of a bitch! I told you not to take the blue!!!"


    "But my mana regen increases if I take this."


    "Who the fuck doesn¡¯t know that?! I¡¯m asking why the fuck you¡¯re taking it!!"


    "I have to spread more shrooms."


    Yeon-Joo clenched the back of her neck as Kang-Woo talked carefreely.


    "Urgh, I think I''m gonna die. My blood pressure¡­"


    She held back her tears and pressed the ''tab'' key to check Kang-Woo''s items.


    "Wait, you¡¯re going AD¡­?"


    "Yup."


    "Son of a bitch! Why the fuck are you out here trolling when you''re the one who called me out to an inte cafe?!"


    Yeon-Joo grabbed Kang-Woo''s cor and shook him. While she had her hands off the keyboard, an enemy champion killed her character.


    "Arrgghh!" she screamed.


    Yeon-Joo looked at the screen, which had turned gray, while holding back her tears.


    "You¡­ scumbag¡­"


    "Man, this character sucks. Why is the mushroom damage so low?"


    "It''s your fucking head that sucks!"


    The enemies soon reached their base and destroyed their nexus.


    Defeat appeared on the screen in red letters.


    "¡­"


    Yeon-Joo trembled.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    "We lost again. Ah, I might as well order another portion of instant ramen. Plus a coke, dumplings, and a fish cake bar. You want some too, Yeon-Joo?"


    "What did you evene here for?!"


    "What do you mean?"


    The answer couldn''t be any more obvious.


    He said, "To eat instant ramen."


    "Ah¡­"


    Yeon-Joo copsed on the chair while grabbing the back of her neck. Intense rage stimted her.


    "Y-You son of a bitch¡­ I ditched a meeting for this¡­"


    It had been ten days since the war ended.


    Although the world was going through an unprecedented time of peace since the Day of Cmity, that was not the case for major guilds like Red Rose. They had to deal with the aftermath of the war, the payments for the families of the deceased, and the welfare for the wounded.


    Although most of it was handled with the money that was sent to Guardians from all around the world, she was still the master of a guild. She had been busy beyond imagination to make sure that her guild members who participated in the war received the best possible welfare and rewards.


    ''But¡­''


    She was being treated like this after barely managing to free up some time from her absurdly packed schedule. She couldn''t help but tremble from frustration and rage.


    Kang-Woo smirked. "I''ve actually wanted toe here for a while."


    "¡­ What, an inte cafe?"


    "This is where we first met. Now that I think about it, it was a rough start, but¡­ well, I received a lot of help from you thanks to it, so I wanted toe here with you when I had the chance."


    He''d received a lot of help from Yeon-Joo.


    In the first few months when he''d be far weaker due to the seal on the Ten Thousand Demon Core, he had been able to be stronger extremely easily and quickly thanks to her during his most vulnerable period.


    ''Although we both had something to gain out of it, it doesn''t change the fact that she was of great help.''


    The S-rank Gate entry permit, the Unique-grade equipment, and many other things¡­


    Although Lilith had been his informant as ofte, Yeon-Joo had taken on that role before Lilith hade to Earth.


    "Ah¡­ U-Uhhh¡­"


    Yeon-Joo was trembling, her mouth hanging open as if he''d said something she had never expected. Her cheeks turned as red as her hair.


    "I-I was only trying to make use of you!"


    "I knew it."


    It was a textbook answer¡ªtruly Yeon-Joo-like.


    Kang-Woo smirked and turned his gaze back to theputer.


    "¡­"


    Yeon-Joo red at Kang-Woo in displeasure. For some reason, Han Seol-Ah''s face popped up in her head.


    "Haaa, what am I gonna do with you?"


    She sighed deeply. But, surprisingly, she wasn''t feeling annoyed. Rather, her heart was beating faster, and the ends of her mouth were trying to curl up.


    ''I must have lost my mind.''


    Yeon-Joo frantically shook her head. She couldn''t ept that her heart was beating faster from the words of a forever-virgin like him.


    ''But¡­''


    A noisy inte cafe¡­ it was a ce she often went to enjoy ying games before she had Awakened as a yer. Coming to such a familiar ce with Kang-Woo wasn''t that unpleasant.


    ''We¡­ haven''t talked muchtely either.''


    He''d also be too distant; he had risen up to a height that she couldn''t even see. When she first met him, she knew that such a day mighte someday.


    She had expected him to go so far away that she couldn''t ever hope to catch up, but she was feeling bittersweet because that day hade sooner than expected¡ªin just a few years. She couldn''t even call him whenever she was bored now.


    Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo, who was excitedly eating his instant ramen.


    ''He shoulders¡­ too big of a burden.''


    He had to stop the world from being destroyed by the Demon of Prophecy. The scale of the burden was so big that she couldn''t help butugh in disbelief. Her burden was quite heavy in its own right because she was the master of a major guild, but her burden couldn''t bepared to Kang-Woo''s.


    "¡­ I want some instant ramen too."


    "Fuuu. Fuuu. Slurp! Right? Instant ramen is a must in an inte cafe!"


    "People don''t usuallye to an inte cafe to eat instant ramen, though."


    Yeon-Joo turned to her monitor while making a bittersweet smile. The time she was spending with him cheered her up. She looked at the monitor while trying to hide her blushing cheeks.


    On the screen¡­.


    [You have been demoted to Bronze II.]


    "You motherfucker!!!!" Her voice rang out in the inte cafe. "You fucking asshooooooole!!"


    * * *


    ck.


    "I''m home."


    Kang-Woo opened the front door and entered his apartment.


    Seol-Ah, who was sitting in the living room, tilted her head.


    "You''re early. Didn''t you say you were going to hang out with Yeon-Joo?"


    "Ah¡­ Well, she suddenly got up and left," Kang-Woo said while scratching his head in confusion.


    ''She was looking at me as if I''d killed her parents.''


    He couldn''t understand what the point of rank in a game was. Wasn''t the purpose of a game to enjoy ying?


    Kang-Woo smirked as he recalled what happened in the inte cafe.


    ''Still, it was nice.''


    Especially the instant ramen¡ªit was delicious. The vor of the instant ramen eaten while ying couldn''t bepared to the vor of instant ramen eaten at home.


    ''I guess it''s simr to eating popcorn in cinemas.''


    He had never been to the cinema, but for some reason, he felt it would be simr.


    "¡­ What did you say to Yeon-Joo?"


    Seol-Ah looked at him suspiciously.


    "I seriously have no idea. She seemed angry just because we lost a game."


    "Mm."


    Seol-Ah scratched her cheeks as if she found it confusing. She had also never yed video games before, so she couldn''t understand Yeon-Joo''s attitude.


    "Kang-Woo, does that mean you''re free today?" Echidna asked.


    "Oh, yup. We were gonna have dinner together, but she just ditched me."


    Since his ns were canceled, he naturally gained some free time.


    Echidna snorted in excitement.


    "Hm! Hm! Then let''s watch anime together!"


    She pulled on Kang-Woo''s clothes with shining eyes.


    Smirking, Kang-Woo patted her head.


    "Hm?"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head while patting Echidna''s head.


    "Did you grow?"


    Echidna had grown significantly taller. She nodded furiously and said, "I feel like¡­ I''ve been overflowing with power ever since the war. Because of that, I grew taller, and this ce grew too," Echidna said while pointing to her chest.


    Was it because she was standing next to Seol-Ah?


    ''It''s just a wall.''


    To be honest, he couldn''t tell the difference. He wondered if he should use the Authority of Insight to check.


    "¡­ Do you like them younger, Kang-Woo?"


    "Absolutely not."


    He shook his head.


    Although he''d be a demon, that didn''t mean he''d lost the basic moral values of a human.


    ''Even for Echidna¡­''


    He couldn''t see her as a member of the opposite sex in the slightest.


    He knew that she was actually hundreds of years old, but due to her mannerisms and appearance, he couldn''t think of her as a member of the opposite sex, which was also why he purposefully did not react to her constant attempts to seduce him.


    "Hm! That''s a relief."


    Echidna snorted in relief and nodded.


    ''That aside¡­''


    Kang-Woo looked at her.


    ''It''s probably because of me, right?''


    Her growth was probably rted to him.


    "Mm¡­"


    He fell into thought.


    ording to Echidna''s exnation, it would take her a couple hundred more years to grow from a hatchling to a mature dragon.


    ''Was it elerated because of me?''


    He wasn''t sure whether that was good or bad news. After all, he had absolutely no information regarding dragons.


    ''I should ask Lilith to investigateter.''


    Kang-Woo sat down.


    As always, Echidna sat on hisp.


    He couldn''t see in front of him as well as before because she had be a bit taller.


    "I''m going to get as fat as Seol-Ah soon!" Echidna said while clenching her fists, causing Seol-Ah''s expression to pale.


    "F-Fat¡­"


    "Come on, Seol-Ah isn''t fat," Kang-Woo said. He smirked as if he thought it was nonsense.


    "I''m¡­ fat?" Seol-Ah mumbled in a soulless voice. It seemed she didn''t hear him. "C-Come to think of it, I haven''t been hunting in Gates muchtely¡­"


    "Hello? Seol-Ah?"


    "Kang-Woo eats a lot, so I''ve been eating a lot too¡­"


    "Can you hear me?


    "Th-This won''t do! Kang-Woo! It''s dieting time! There is no kimchi stew tonight! I''m going to have you skip dinners with me!"


    "Kurgh!"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened at her words as if he''d been struck by a bolt of lightning. Dripping in cold sweat, he did his best to change her mind.


    "¡­"


    After the storm-like incident passed, Kang-Woo sat quietly on the couch and silently looked around the living room. The life he''d always dreamed of was right in front of him.


    ''I hope days like this continue from now on.''


    Kang-Woo smiled and closed his eyes.


    * * *


    ck. ck.


    Small sounds echoed out.


    Slice.


    Lilith cut something with a kitchen knife, and a liquid as red as blood flowed out.


    "Fu¡­ Fufu."


    She smiled wide while looking at the red dripping liquid.

 Chapter 251 - After The War (3)

    Chapter 251 - After The War (3)


    Click.


    A giant, five-meter-tall door opened, and a muscr giant with red skin entered through it. No, he was far too massive to be called a giant; he was more like a monster.


    [Hm?]


    Balrog tilted his head. He had just returned from training in the training room specially built for him. There was an unexpected guest.


    [What brings you here, Lilith?]


    "I''m borrowing your kitchen. I live next door to the demon king, so there''s a chance I''d be found out," Lilith calmly replied.


    Balrog frowned at her words.


    [To think you''d modify someone else''s house as you please.]


    The house Kang-Woo had built for Balrog naturally did not have a kitchen. Not only was there no way Balrog would prepare his own food, but a demon didn''t need to eat in the first ce.


    Lilith had created a kitchen by modifying his house.


    "Hohoho. This is also for our king."


    [¡­ What do you mean?]


    Balrog''s eyes shone as she mentioned Kang-Woo.


    Lilith moved her knife while clicking her tongue.


    Slice, slice.


    A liquid as red as blood poured out.


    "Have you already forgotten what our king has been telling us all this time?"


    [Hmm?]


    Lilith made a seductive expression and said, "He always used to say that he wanted to eat kimchi stew."


    [K-Kimchi stew!]


    Balrog''s eyes widened.


    One had to tear away the skin of a dead beast and rip out its internal organs. After cruelly ughtering the animal with a knife, one only left behind the meat pieces that were the mostfortable to chew. Then, the meat was boiled in a liquid as red as blood. It was a dish truly worthy of a demon king.


    Balrog had eaten it a couple of times aftering to Earth, but he couldn''t understand its vor, possibly because he had not yet be as ruthless as his king.


    [Lilith, are you¡­]


    Balrog stared at her while trembling.


    Lilith licked the red liquid on the knife.


    "Fufu. This time, I will make that dish known as kimchi stew and offer it to our king."


    [¡­]


    Balrog shuddered.


    After swearing to protect his king, he had nned to monopolize the demon king''s love and affection now that he had awakened the Overlord Armor, but he had never expected Lilith to make such a y.


    [Kuh!]


    Balrog clenched his fists in frustration.


    [Was it not enough to seduce the king with your looks?!]


    It was unfair.


    Lilith was breathtakingly beautiful, worthy of being called the subus queen. Even in Hell, she used her appearance to receive his love and affection.


    ''All she has going for her is her face!''


    Even if he offered the head of a demon to receive the appreciation of the king, he couldn''tpare to Lilith. Whenever the demon king saw Lilith, he trembled in excitement.


    Lilith turned her head while making a bittersweet smile.


    "I don''t think¡­ our king cares much for looks."


    That was easy to see just by seeing how he''d epted the feelings of that human girl Han Seol-Ah.


    To the king, beauty had no meaning.


    The physical shell was not what swayed his heart. To win his heart, she had to go further.


    "I''m going to keep practicing cooking, so you just keep practicing that useless Overlord Armor technique or whatever it''s called."


    [Kuh¡­]


    Balrog clenched his fists while biting his lip. He felt frustration and jealousy.


    ''If only I was also beautiful enough to dazzle my king like Lilith does.''


    [Haaa.]


    He sighed. Balrog turned around.


    ''I will do what I can.''


    What the demon king wanted from him was probably different from Lilith. What he could do was grow strong enough to be the king''s sword and shield.


    [Next time¡­]


    Balrog turned his head.


    [Teach me how to make kimchi stew as well,] he said in a very low voice.


    Lilith covered her mouth and burst intoughter.


    "Fufu. Okay. Stop looking at me like an abandoned dog. But even if I do teach you¡­ would our king like it more than the one I make for him, I wonder?"


    [¡­]


    Balrog remained silent at her question.


    There was no need to think about it. If they both made the same kimchi stew, he would obviously prefer one that a beautiful woman like Lilith prepared.


    [¡­ Shit!]


    Balrog cursed and went back into the training room. He picked up themunication device that the demon king had given him and called someone.


    There was a limit to training by oneself.


    - Hello?


    He heard the voice of a human whom he had be rather familiar with through themunication device.


    [Human, I have a proposition. I need you to meet with me.]


    His red muscles, sensing an approaching battle, swelled as if they were about to burst.


    * * *


    "Let''s see¡­"


    Kang-Woo leaned on the couch while reading the report he''d received from Gaia.


    [Report of the Great Russian War.]


    [Deceased yers - 3812.]


    "¡­ Tsk."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue as he flipped through the document.


    About ten thousand top yers from all around the world had joined Guardians. After one battle, almost half of them had died.


    ''I mean, it makes sense, considering the scale of it.''


    He wasn''t omnipotent, and there was no way he could stop everyone from dying in arge-scale battle. He had expected there to be casualties the moment he began preparing for the war.


    ''But still¡­''


    It was sad to see that almost half of them had died.


    It was true that the number of people wanting to join Guardians increased after the war, but selecting standouts from among them and making them grow would take time.


    ''But at the very least¡­''


    There hadn''t been major losses among the elite force of Guardians, the Sirius Corps, as well as the 1st Corps led by Grace McCubbin.


    Most of the casualties came from the yers that had been swept away by the secondndslide.


    [Names and levels of Deceased yers.]


    *yer Name: Kwon Oh-Jin (Level: 78)


    *yer Name: Hikigaya Hachiman (Lv: 82)


    *yer Name: William Smith (Leve: 76)


    ¡­


    ''Smith?''


    A certain name in the list of deceased caught his attention.


    "Smith, you son of a bitch."


    He had passed away without being able to propose to Anna¡­


    Kang-Woo sighed and prayed for Smith.


    ''You shouldn''t have raised that death g¡­''


    One could say that it was karma.


    Kang-Woo picked up his smartphone while making a bittersweet smile.


    - Hello? How can I help you, Kang-Woo?


    It was Park Hyun-Woo. He used to be the chief of Human Resource Management in the Red Rose guild, but he had been scouted by Guardians after its establishment when his capabilities had been acknowledged.


    He had been ced in charge of sending reparations to the families of the deceased yers as well as managing the money that each country sent them.


    "I''m calling about a yer named William Smith among the list of deceased yers."


    - Just a moment, please. Ah, here he is. He is a British yer. Were you acquainted with him?


    Hyun-Woo carefully asked.


    "No, but I wanted to ask if you could send the reparations to his family sooner."


    He''d died and left behind a woman with whom he''d pledged to get married to. Kang-Woo wouldn''t have cared if he didn''t know who Smith was, but he wanted to do as much as possible since he''d noticed him.


    ''Well, I''m not usually one to care about things like this.''


    But people often did things they didn''t frequently do when they were in a good mood. That was how he was feeling right now. The problems regarding Lilith and Satan had been resolved, so he wanted to do things he didn''t usually do.


    - Just a moment. Mm¡­ The reparations have already been taken care of.


    "Have they?"


    - Yes. Oh, I thought I had heard the name somewhere. A woman named Anna came to the Guardians headquarters and received the money. Smith had written in his will that he would leave everything to her.


    "I¡­ see."


    For some reason, he felt that something was wrong.


    - Yes. To be more precise, she and her husband received the money.


    "Pardon?"


    Husband?


    - It said that Anna and Smith were childhood friends¡­ There wasn''t anything else in particr written in the will. Is there a problem?


    "No. Well¡­ No, it''s nothing."


    Kang-Woo ended the call. He remembered Smith''s face and how he told his subordinates he would propose to Anna once the war ended.


    ''Smiiiiiiiiiith!!!''


    It was the cruel taste of reality. No matter how Kang-Woo thought about it, he couldn''t help but think that Smith had been deceived by Anna.


    ''I guess reality is cruel.''


    Kang-Woo was even d Smith had died without knowing the truth.


    Kang-Woo put away the list of the deceased for a moment and prayed for him.


    "Well¡­"


    To be honest, he didn''t care that much. The chaos in Smith''s life meant absolutely nothing to him.


    ''All that matters is me.''


    Kang-Woo has been looking back at his life a lottely.


    He wanted an ideal life where there was nothing for him to worry about¡ªthe life of a wealthy bum who could stay at home and do nothing, without anyone saying otherwise.


    Working was fulfilling?


    One was the happiest while working?


    ''Bullshit.''


    The people who said that were probably the ones who, if they won the lottery, would yeet their resignation letters at their bosses at a moment''s notice.


    "Yawn."


    Kang-Wooy on the couch and stretched.


    ''Of course¡­''


    It was not over yet.


    The Demon Cultists had yet to be wiped out, and he needed to investigate the remaining princes of Hell. His rtionship with the angels was also in a weird spot. Not only that, the Demon God lying within the Abyss was bothering him.


    ''There are also a ton of things I have to do right now.''


    He needed to practice controlling Satan''s Authority, the Authority of Extinction, as well as improve his demonic energy control.


    There were many things he had to do.


    "But¡­"


    He needed some time to enjoy leisure every now and then. Kang-Wooy on the couch and closed his eyes.


    Ding, dong.


    "¡­ Are they back already?"


    Echidna, Seol-Ah, and her mother had gone out to buy some clothes, so he had been left alone. He tilted his head and walked toward the front door. He then opened it.


    Click.


    "I missed you. My king, my lo¡ª"


    SLAM!!


    He mmed the door shut.


    "Huff, huff, huff."


    His hand trembled as it hovered over the doorknob.


    ''Wh-What''s up with her all of a sudden?''


    The Lilith in front of him wasn''t Kurosaki Yurie but the demon with green tentacles and eighteen red eyes.


    ''Why¡­ why the fuck is she in that form again?''


    Kang-Woo was sure Lilith had likely realized that he possessed a deep trauma of her true form. If she hadn''t, there was no way that she would have been so dociletely.


    ''Hope¡­''


    The end of the nightmare should havee.


    Squelch.


    "Hohoho. You are as shy as always, my king."


    A green tentacle entered through the crack in the door.


    Click.


    She unlocked the door and entered the apartment.


    "Wh-What brings you here?" Kang-Woo asked while taking a step backward.


    Lilith held out the pot in her hands.


    "Fufu. I made this myself."


    She blushed and smiled brightly. Her smile was so hideous that it wouldn''t even appear in one''s worst nightmares.


    "This is¡­"


    A familiar scent came from the pot.


    Kang-Woo took the pot from her with shining eyes.


    "Kimchi stew," Kang-Woo said.


    "Hohoho. You always used to say that you wanted to eat it while in Hell, did you not?"


    "That''s true, but¡­"


    After returning to Earth, he''d been eating it at least once a day.


    While twisting her body, Lilith shyly said, "I heard that Seol-Ah cooks well, but¡­ I wanted to make it for you at least once, so I have been practicing."


    "Ohh¡­"


    A short exmation came out of his mouth. He understood why she hadn''t been contacting him recently. Kang-Woo saw some bandages on her green tentacle fingers.


    ''What''s with that trope setup?''


    He smirked. He didn''t know where she''d picked up such a trope, but Kang-Woo knew there was no way kitchen knives could wound her.


    "Thanks."


    Kang-Woo smiled while taking the pot to the dining table.


    Lilith trotted after him.


    Seeing her looking at him with shining eyes made him feel bad.


    ''I''m feeling sorry again.''


    He regretted mming the door in her face as soon as he saw her.


    "Alright, thanks for the food."


    "Please feel free to let me know if you want more. I have more at home."


    "Haha, okay."


    ck.


    Kang-Woo brought a bowl of white rice from the kitchen and began eating the kimchi stew.


    ''Oh?''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone after having a taste of the kimchi stew.


    ''It''s good.''


    It was on par with the kimchi stew Seol-Ah made.


    Kang-Woo looked at Lilith in surprise. For a demon who had almost no sense of taste, she had probably gone through a lot of trouble to make something so delicious.


    ''I''m proud of her.''


    He couldn''t help but smile.


    Mush.


    "Hm?"


    At that moment, he felt something weird in his mouth. It was as if he were chewing seafood, such as an octopus, instead of meat.


    "What did you put in the kimchi stew?"


    "Oh, you see¡­"


    Lilith smiled widely.


    ''Oh, wait a fucking minute¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened. For some reason, he felt uneasy.


    An ominous chill crept down his back.


    "It is my secret recipe."


    Wink.


    Nine of her eighteen eyes winked.


    The ominous chill worsened.


    ''No.''


    Kang-Woo''s hands trembled.


    ''There''s¡­ no way.''


    He looked back at the bandages on Lilith''s green tentacles.


    There was no way a demon could get wounded by a kitchen knife, but¡­ what if she cut them on purpose?


    "N-NO!!"


    SLAM!


    Kang-Woo sprang up and mmed his hands on the table.


    No, that was impossible. Even for Lilith, there was no way.


    Kang-Woo looked down into the pot.


    Inside it, there were¡­


    "Urpp."


    He covered his mouth.


    He naturally remembered a certain phrase.


    ''Reality¡­ is a bitch.''


    "Bleeeeeeeeeeegh."

 Chapter 252 - Ancient Demonic Beast (1)

    Chapter 252 - Ancient Demonic Beast (1)


    "Fuuu¡­"


    Oh Kang-Woo closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and concentrated.


    ''Authority of ze.''


    FWOOSH!


    A bright yellow karmic fire burned. He''d gotten used to Mammon''s Authority. The mes burning from the tips of his fingers devoured the surroundings. The earth and the rocks melted, and a river of magma instantly formed.


    ''Authority of des.''


    An Authority was added on top of the Authority of a prince of Hell.


    He could normally merge up to six Authorities, up to seven if he pushed himself, but he had already reached his limit after merging two.


    "Kuh."


    His vision blurred, and his head heated up. The problem with merging Authorities with a prince''s Authority wasn''t the amount of demonic energy required¡ªit was an issue of control.


    ''But¡­''


    It was at least better than when he had done it for the first time. The first time, he had struggled to maintain Inferno for even three seconds, but he could now maintain it for over thirty seconds.


    ''As long as possible¡­''


    He slowly opened his eyes and concentrated. He couldn''t breathe properly, his legs were trembling, and he felt an intense pain in his chest as if his demonic energy was about to run amok at any moment.


    ''A little bit more¡­''


    He was already used to controlling demonic energy that was about to run rampant.


    ''I can do more.''


    He was dripping in cold sweat. His skin swelled from the demonic energy running rampant under it, and an intense pain shot through his entire body.


    He felt as if he would faint the moment he even rxed a little bit, but despite that¡­


    ''More.''


    He didn''t stop.


    He had never stopped once in his life.


    He neverpromised. He never yielded. He never hesitated.


    He would climb much, much higher and keep pushing forward.


    FWOOSH!!!


    TSSS.


    A sword emitting yellow mes took perfect form. The unstable mes had formed a solid de.


    [Proficiency of the skill ''Inferno'' has risen!]


    [The power of the skill ''Inferno'' has increased. Reducing the necessary level of demonic energy control to maintain the skill.]


    "Fuuu."


    He rxed after reading the message window that had appeared in front of him. The ming sword melted and disappeared into the air.


    Riiing.


    [You have obtained a clue for the advanced quest of ''Road to Bing a Demon God,'' ???.]


    "Again?" Kang-Woo mumbled while making a bored expression.


    It''d been a month since he started training his demonic energy control after a short break. He was finally starting to attain some results, and he had been continuing to get these clues every now and then.


    ''At least remove a question mark each time I get the clue or something.''


    He cast the message window aside in irritation.


    "Alright, then¡­"


    Since training with Mammon''s Authority was over, it was time for Satan''s Authority.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Extinction.


    "Kuh¡­"


    His head began to hurt again. He''d only used one Authority, but his proficiency in Satan''s Authority was still very low. He needed much more time to get used to it.


    "A bit more¡­"


    "Master Kang-Woo."


    "Gasp!"


    Kang-Woo''s expression paled when he heard a voice behind him. He turned around, trembling. He saw a beautiful, elegant girl with ck hair standing behind him.


    "Wh-What''s up?" he asked while calming himself down.


    Lilith bowed and said, "I havee to give a report."


    "Is it about that Kalgia guy?"


    Thest remaining Aspect of Evil, Kalgia.


    Guardians and Lilith had been looking for him for the past month, yet they hadn''t been able to find him.


    Lilith shook her head.


    "No. I¡­ do not believe it is Kalgia."


    "Really?"


    Kang-Woo felt that the conversation would be long, so he stepped on the ground lightly. The earth split, and a rock rose from the ground. After he took a seat on the rock, Lilith offered him a beverage.


    The drink was the blue beverage they sold in the market.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and looked at Lilith.


    "You didn''t put anything weird in here, did you?"


    "Hohoho, no." Lilith shook her head while covering her mouth. "After all the scolding you gave me, I will never do that again."


    "¡­ Well, as long as you understand."


    Kang-Woo trembled as he recalled what happenedst time. Just thinking about it made his insides churn.


    "So, what is it?"


    "There have been phenomena of demonic beasts appearing within Gates, have there not?" Lilith mentioned.


    "¡­ Yeah."


    Kang-Woo nodded while making a heavy expression.


    The Demon of Prophecy, Satan¡­


    After he forcibly crossed dimensions to Earth, the Gaia System, the barrier that defended Earth, had been impaired and the dimensional wall had been severely weakened.


    Thanks to that, aside from those summoned by Demon Cultists, demonic beasts and demons have been appearing within Gates from time to time.


    ''That scumbag.''


    Just thinking about it made Kang-Woo clench his fists in anger. Satan''s twisted desire to take over Earth had caused countless people to shed blood and tears.


    Even now, when he''d gone into hiding, the Gaia System had not been restored. No, it was actually weakening even more. Just like how a knife wound did not disappear just because the knife broke, the broken Gaia System was also the same.


    Although the Demon Cult, the perpetrators behind the wound''s aggravation, had been dismantled, the wound was not healing.


    "Did a strong demonic beast appear this time?"


    If Lilith was reporting it to him, that was likely the case.


    "I do not have the exact details yet, but¡­ it seems an ancient demonic beast has appeared within the Gate located in the US state of Florida."


    "¡­ An ancient demonic beast?"


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    Although most demonic beasts didn''t have any intelligence, ancient demonic beasts were the extremely few that did. Although they possessed intelligence, that did not mean their demonic beast characteristics hadpletely disappeared. This was the reason why they formed their own territories and did not leave them.


    ''I''ve only heard about ancient demonic beasts.''


    He had never seen one.


    There were two main reasons: first, there was no need for him to go out of his way to fight them, and second, it was far too risky to fight them.


    The physical prowess of a demonic beast was higher than a demon''s. It was just like how a human''s physical capabilities were lower than both a lion''s and a tiger''s. Ancient demonic beasts were so strong that they could fight against a prince of Hell one on one.


    ''Come to think of it, I heard that the ancient demonic beasts were acting strangely.''


    He remembered what Doomguard and Balrog had told him, but still, he never imagined that an ancient demonic beast would appear in a Gate.


    He was again reminded of how weak the Gaia System had be.


    "Do you know which one?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "It seems to be¡­ Halcyon, most likely."


    "Halcyon, huh?"


    He had heard of it before; he had even tried to summon it with his Demonic Beast Summoning Trait.


    ''Oh, speaking of which¡­''


    He''dpletely forgotten about his Demonic Beast Summoning Trait.


    "Mm¡­"


    He fell into thought.


    ''I wonder what would appear if I tried to summon one now.''


    He currently had more demonic energy than when he used to rule over the Nine Hells.


    "¡­"


    He remained silent.


    He couldn''t even imagine what would be summoned. He recalled what Goddess Benigoa had told him.


    "Outer Gods receive fewer restrictions from the system."


    Outer Gods were beings that did not belong to worlds within their proximity, like Aernor and Huan, but ones far, far away.


    ''Fucking hell, what if I actually summon one?''


    He couldn''tpletely brush off the possibility.


    Not only had Goddess Benigoa warned them about it herself, but the Gaia System had also be so weak that even an ancient demonic beast could cross over to Earth.


    ''If I summon a god¡­''


    It was the end, without a doubt.


    It would bring about the same result even if he managed to defeat that god. The Gaia System, which was barely holding shape even now, would bepletely destroyed, exposing the world to irreversible cmities.


    ''I''ll put it off for now.''


    It would probably be fine if he held back on the amount of demonic energy used for the summoning, but there was no need to take that risk on purpose. Besides, he did not need someone or something summoned while holding back his power.


    "Any casualties?" he asked.


    "At the moment, none but the six-member party that discovered it. One party member had been severely wounded but had miraculously survived."


    "First, restrict ess to the Gate."


    "Fufu. It has already been done. I also restricted the press to minimize the spread of news."


    As expected of Lilith, she had dealt with things swiftly.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    ''An ancient demonic beast, huh?''


    To be honest, he had nothing to gain by hunting an ancient demonic beast at the moment. The amount of demonic energy he could control was nearing its peak, so he couldn''t afford to use the Authority of Predation.


    ''I''ll consider it an investment for the future, I guess.''


    He couldn''t devour the ancient demonic beast, but he couldpress it like Belphegor to devourter on.


    ''And¡­''


    Even if he had nothing to gain, he couldn''t let the ancient demonic beast run amok inside a Gate. If it managed to get out, it would obviously cause a massive catastrophe.


    "Let''s go as soon as tomorrow."


    "And the members of the subjugation party?"


    "Just Balrog and I are enough."


    If the ancient demonic beast was as strong as a prince of Hell, having many people would only be a hindrance.


    He''d considered Kim Si-Hun, but Balrog was more suited for it.


    ''Hiding how I turn the corpse into a gem would be a bother.''


    Si-Hun didn''t know that Kang-Woo could grow stronger by eating demons. Usually, Kang-Woo could use the Authority of Predation secretly to make the corpse scatter into dust, but he couldn''t do so at the moment.


    "Understood. I will prepare a Gate in the Hall of Protection that will lead straight to the location."


    "Oh, do you know anything about Halcyon?"


    It was the first time he would be fighting against an ancient demonic beast, so it would be better to get as much information as he could.


    "Mm."


    Lilith put her finger on her lips and fell into thought.


    "I have also never seen it in person, but¡­ I have heard that it is extremely hideous."


    "Hideous?"


    "Yes. I have heard that it is the most hideous being in Hell."


    "Hah."


    Heughed in disbelief.


    ''How fucking ugly could it possibly be?''


    How did a demon have to look to be called the most hideous in Hell?


    ''I can''t really put my finger on demon beauty standards.''


    For example, Lilith was considered the most beautiful in Hell.


    ''It would be a huge twist if Halcyon actually looked human.''


    "Lilith, do you find humans disgusting?" Kang-Woo asked Lilith, just in case.


    "I''m sorry? No, of course not." Lilith shook her head. "I cannot discern who is beautiful or ugly, but they do not look disgusting to me."


    "Mm."


    He nodded.


    ''It''s like the way a person looks at an animal.''


    One couldn''t tell which lion was beautiful or ugly, but lions did not look disgusting.


    "Well, it doesn''t really matter how it looks."


    He smirked.


    "Are you sure? I have heard stories of demons losing their minds the moment they see Halcyon¡­"


    "Don''t worry," Kang-Woo said while holding Lilith''s shoulders.


    It didn''t matter how repulsive and hideous Halcyon looked.


    "I''ve had pretty thorough training in that area," he said confidently.

 Chapter 253 - Ancient Demonic Beast (2)

    Chapter 253 - Ancient Demonic Beast (2)


    Oh Kang-Woo saw a pitch-ck darkness that didn''t reflect any light.


    ''I''m sinking.''


    He could suddenly feel himself sinking into the bottomless darkness.


    ''This is¡­''


    He narrowed his eyes.


    The first thought that crossed his mind was that he was in the deepestyer of the Ten Thousand Demon Core¡ªthe world that was full of demonic energy from the Abyss.


    "¡­"


    He remained silent and shook his head.


    ''No.''


    It wasn''t a grandiose world like that¡ªit was a simple dream, a fleeting illusion.


    ''Could it be¡­ a lucid dream?''


    He wasn''t sure. He often had short dreams when he slept, but for some reason, this dream felt quite real.


    ''Ah¡­''


    Something became visible amidst the darkness¡ªa memory of the past. The memories of what he''d gone through in Hell went past his eyes like a panorama.


    Squelch.


    He heard the wriggling of something dripping in mucus.


    ''What was that?''


    He turned his head. Something sloppy stretched out from the darkness and wrapped around his body.


    ''Kuh.''


    He twisted around and drew out his demonic energy to use an Authority, but¡­


    ''Kurgh!''


    It wasn''t the real world. It was simply a dream. He had no demonic energy or Authority, and the ce was really just a pure dream.


    Squish.


    Something viscous bound his body.


    ''This is¡­''


    It was a familiar texture¡ªthe source of his deep trauma.


    ''Why¡­ is this¡­''


    He couldn''t think straight. The tentacles slithered into every single one of his orifices as if they were trying to cut off his consciousness.


    It was a horrible nightmare¡ªa fragment of the past he didn''t want to remember.


    The darkness split, and eighteen red eyes appeared.


    A woman''sugh filled the entire space.


    ''A-Aaaahh.''


    He struggled and frantically swung his arms and legs. He screamed like a madman, but no sound left his mouth. The light was exterminated from the darkness.


    Crush.


    Something broke.


    Deeper and deeper he went.


    "Aaaaaaaaaahhh!!!"


    He threw aside the nket and stood up. His entire body was covered in cold sweat. His clothes were unpleasantly stuck to his skin.


    "Huff, huff."


    He panted heavily, raised his head, and looked around. He saw a familiar room.


    "Wh-What the hell?" Kang-Woo mumbled while wiping off the sweat trickling down to his chin.


    It was a crazily realistic dream.


    He had been forced to recall the memories of Hell that he had been forgetting after returning to his life on Earth.


    ''Shit.''


    He closed his eyes and tried to erase the unsettling memory from his head.


    "Haaa¡­"


    He couldn''t help but sigh. For some reason, he really wanted to see Han Seol-Ah.


    ''If only there had been a woman like Seol-Ah in Hell.''


    No, if Lilith had looked like how people imagined a subus¡­


    ''It would have been a bit better.''


    Appearance was important, and it wasn''t a matter of being beautiful or not. At least, one shouldn''t have eighteen eyes and a body covered by tentacles that oozed pus.


    Both humans and demons primarily relied on sight to sense the world around them.


    ''If there had been at least one beautiful woman, maybe life in Hell wouldn''t have been so bad.''


    Heughed in disbelief at the thought that crossed his mind.


    To be honest, it was an unsightly and vulgar thought, even for him.


    But what could he do?


    Although it was a vulgar thought, he had needed something that could act as a way to give him peace of mind.


    ''Only people who don''t watch porn can throw stones at me.''


    Desiring someone of the opposite sex was a natural human instinct. He wasn''t trying to deny that.


    "Well¡­ Hell is just that kind of ce."


    He had no reason to me Lilith. All demons in Hell looked like that, so there was nothing she could''ve done about it.


    ''Besides, it''s all in the past.''


    Still, remembering his life in Hell made him tremble as if he were about to have a seizure.


    Kang-Woo shook his head and raised his nket.


    "Fufufu."


    As soon as he raised his nket, there was¡­


    "You will be going to hunt Halcyon today, correct? I sneaked into your room at night to give you strength, my king."


    Hehe.


    Lilith cutely stuck out her tongue while smiling brightly. Nine of her eighteen eyes winked at him. The green tentacles that he had seen in his dream were wrapped around him.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Kang-Woo lowered his head while covering his face with his two hands.


    A desperate cry leaked from his mouth.


    The nightmare¡­ wasn''t over yet.


    * * *


    [You seem tired, my king.]


    "¡­ Be quiet," Kang-Woo replied to Balrog wearily.


    He did not have the mental capacity to give a proper answer due to the horrible act that he had suffered early in the morning.


    "That aside, are you ready?" Kang-Woo said while shaking his head as if trying to brush off the nightmare.


    Balrog smiled.


    [There is nothing to get ready for in particr.]


    Balrog flexed his arm as if he were bragging about his bulging muscles. Kang-Woo smirked.


    ''It''s being restricted.''


    Thanks to Lilith''s speedy measures, not a single person was in sight near the Gate located in Florida, USA.


    [Halcyon¡­]


    Balrog''s expression hardened while he thought about what was beyond the Gate. He was exuding a sense of anxiety.


    "What? Are you nervous about fighting an ancient demonic beast?"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head while looking at Balrog, who was not acting like himself. Although they''d never fought against an ancient demonic beast, seeing Balrog so nervous was rare.


    [Haaa.]


    Balrog sighed.


    [It is because of Halcyon''s hideous looks¡­ I am not afraid of fighting it, but I would rather not see that disgusting appearance again.]


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes at what Balrog had said.


    "You''ve seen Halcyon before?"


    If that weren''t the case, Balrog saying he would rather not see it again would make no sense.


    [¡­ Yes.]


    Balrog nodded while making a heavy expression.


    [It was¡­ about nine hundred years ago. We happened across Halcyon''s territory while I was surveying the area with my subordinates. I was able to see it back then.]


    "Wait, nine hundred years ago?"


    If it was nine hundred years ago, it was after Kang-Woo had met Balrog and begun working together. He flipped through his memories but didn''t recall Balrog ever reporting that he had encountered Halcyon.


    "Why didn''t you report it?"


    [Ah¡­] he mumbled in a low voice.


    Reporting to your superior was one of the musts of a subordinate; purposefully omitting something in a report on purpose was serious enough to call for execution.


    [M-My apologies, my king!]


    Balrog noticed he''d made a mistake. He quickly lowered his head.


    Kang-Woo scratched his head while looking at Balrog, who seemed like he was about to disembowel himself at any second.


    "No, I''m not trying to me you or anything. I was just curious."


    Although omitting to report was a grave crime, it was nine hundred years ago.


    There was no need to punish him at that point.


    ''But why did he do it?''


    There was no way Balrog would omit to report for no reason. Considering his personality, there was a chance it was for a very important reason.


    [Well¡­] Balrog sighed. [It was because of how hideous it was.]


    "¡­"


    [You had been swamped with work back then, so I did not want to bother you with such a hideous being¡­]


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    It was too weak of an excuse.


    ''Well, I guess it makes sense considering the situation back then.''


    If it urred nine hundred years ago, it was when the conflict with the princes of Hell was gradually rising. Ancient demonic beasts didn''t leave their territory, so Kang-Woo didn''t have the leeway to bother with them at the time.


    ''It''s making me even more curious now.''


    Just how hideous was Halcyon for Balrog to react this way?


    Kang-Woo looked at the gate with great interest.


    "Let''s go."


    [I-I will pay for this crime with my li¡ª]


    "Enough of that."


    He gave Balrog''s leg a light kick and began walking. As he crossed the Gate, an immense jungle appeared before him.


    "¡­"


    The thick scent of blood wafted into his nose.


    "It sure has been going on a rampage."


    He saw the mangled corpses of monsters throughout the dense forest.


    ''Looks about right.''


    It was an ancient demonic beast. Since a monster that could face a prince of Hell had appeared in a Gate, it would be nothing short of a disaster for the Gate''s monsters.


    One of the characteristics of a demonic beast was building a territory, so it had likely killed every single monster that it could see in the area.


    [My king.]


    "I know."


    Kang-Woo drew out his demonic energy, preparing himself so that he could use an Authority at any moment.


    Balrog also raised his fists and drew out his demonic energy.


    ck.


    ck armor formed around his fists. It looked as if a western knight was wearing gauntlets.


    This was the Overlord Armor that Balrog had newly acquired.


    "¡­ Come to think of it, are you not using your whip?"


    [It does not suit the Overlord Armor very well, so I have mostly been using my fists recently.]


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    It was true that Balrog''s main weapon was the whip, but that didn''t mean he wasn''t good at bare-handedbat.


    ''I''m sure he''ll take care of it on his own.''


    Just like he couldn''t give martial arts advice to Kim Si-Hun, the same applied to Balrog.


    Balrog was already a perfect warrior. If he had made a decision as important as abandoning his main weapon, it was likely the correct decision.


    Sniff¡­ Sniff.


    At that moment, Kang-Woo heard the sound of someone crying in the forest. He created a sword with the Authority of des.


    "Over there."


    He felt powerful demonic energy in the direction of the crying. He slowly walked toward the voice.


    ''Halcyon.''


    The demon that looked so hideous that it made even demons convulse in shock¡­


    Kang-Woo hacked away at the thickets while thinking about what it could look like.


    ''It doesn''t matter.''


    It didn''t matter how disgusting it looked. There were no hopes or dreams in Hell. He''d already seen the worst of the worst in Hell in terms of hideous beings.


    Even if it looked like it had been made by attaching many different corpses, he was sure he could eat it with the Authority of Predation while smiling.


    ''Now, then¡­ show yourself.''


    Kang-Woo extended the de and shed apart the vines obstructing his vision.


    There, he saw¡­


    "¡­"


    [Kuh! As hideous as always!]


    Balrog clenched his fists while grimacing. Kang-Woo stared at Halcyon with his mouth agape.


    "Sniff, sniff."


    A white-haired woman was crying. There were bat wings on her back, two horns on her forehead, and a long wiggling tailing out of the area near her buttocks.


    And she was blindingly¡­ chillingly¡­ beautiful.


    "Balrog¡­"


    Kang-Woo trembled.


    Halcyon was so beautiful that she sent chills through Kang-Woo''s body. Honestly, Han Seol-Ah and Echidna were no match for her.


    If he had to make aparison¡­ she looked exactly how people would often imagine a subus.


    "Motherfucker."


    All those years he''d spent in Hell passed through his mind like a panorama. Forget a woman, he couldn''t even see a real person. The wife he got was Lilith. He cried every night while tentacles harassed him. The ce was so barren and empty with absolutely no form of entertainment.


    He had endured through all that, but¡­ but¡­


    "A-Aaaahh."


    He grabbed his head.


    "You''ve seen Halcyon before?"


    "Yes."


    "A-Arrgghh."


    "Why didn''t you report it?"


    "You¡­"


    "It was because of how hideous it was."


    "Motherfuckeeeeeeeeeer!!!!!"


    Tears poured down Kang-Woo''s cheeks.


    "Why didn''t you report it, motherfuckeeeeeeeeeer?!!!!"

 Chapter 254 - Halcyon (1)

    Chapter 254 - Halcyon (1)


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!" Oh Kang-Woo screamed in despair.


    It was unfair. He couldn''t handle the emotions he was feeling at the moment.


    ''Why¡­''


    Why had Balrog, who thoroughly reported every little thing, not report to him that one time?


    "Why¡­ why¡­?"


    He felt a mix of resentment, rage, and confusion regarding Balrog.


    "You think that appearance is hideous?"


    [Of course. There is no demonic beast more hideous than that,] Balrog answered without hesitation.


    Kang-Woo fell into chaos.


    He activated the Authority of Resistance and Authority of Insight simultaneously in case he was under an illusion, but no matter how closely he looked at Halcyon, she was eye-poppingly beautiful.


    ''Fucking hell.''


    He remembered what Lilith had said. She''d said she couldn''t understand human beauty standards, but she didn''t find them disgusting.


    ''But¡­''


    He looked at Halcyon. She had the perfect bnce of human and demon. It was the seductive appearance of a subus that often appeared in anime.


    ''Though she''s as t as a wall.''


    That did not matter.


    Even Echidna was as t as a wastnd stretched out over the horizon.


    "Have you¡­ found humans disgusting all this time?"


    If Balrog found Halcyon disgusting, he would also find Kang-Woo and every other human disgusting as well.


    [No, not at all. I cannot differentiate beauty among humans, but I do not find them disgusting.]


    "That makes no sense." Kang-Woo became even more confused. "Then why do you think Halcyon is¡ª"


    [Because that hideous lifeform is ''mixed.'']


    "¡­"


    The lightbulb in Kang-Woo''s mind finally lit up.


    "Oh."


    He finally understood.


    ''If how a demon looks at human beings is like how we look at fish¡­''


    From a demon''s point of view, Halcyon was as if a demon had merged with a fish.


    Imagine if there was a creature with the head of a fish and the body of a human.


    It was obvious that from a human''s point of view, whatever part of the human''s body was reced with that of a fish, it wouldn''t be as hideous as a demon. However, demons were not human; their values and notions were different to the very core.


    ''No.''


    Kang-Woo more or less understood why.


    He could understand that from a demon''s point of view, that mixed lifeform might be more hideous than tentacles spewing yellow pus.


    But¡­ even still¡­ even if he understood¡­


    "For fuck''s sake¡­"


    His frustration did not vanish. It was like getting out of prison after serving a thirty-year sentence and then being told out of the blue that he had been innocent all along.


    The only difference was that, instead of thirty years, he''d spent ten millennia in prison.


    ''Fine. I can let go of my first nine thousand years.''


    If only Balrog had made the proper report, he could''ve spent at least 900 years with a knockout beauty like Halcyon.


    "Urgh, sniff."


    He couldn''t help but cry in sorrow. It was unfair. It was miserable.


    He recalled all the nightmarish nights he''d struggled with Lilith.


    ''If only I knew there were demonic beasts as beautiful as this¡­''


    Of course, he wouldn''t have forced himself on her. Ancient demonic beasts were far too strong for him to force himself onto in the first ce, and he wouldn''t do something as vulgar as use his powers to satiate his lust.


    But¡­ even still¡­


    ''I could''ve at least tried to make her an ally.''


    He honestly would''ve been perfectly fine with it at the time, even if she refused. Just seeing her from a distance would''ve been enough to make him shed tears of happiness.


    [You seem to also be having a difficult time enduring its hideous appearance as well, my king.]


    "No¡­"


    [I will¡­! Kuh! F-For the demon king¡­!]


    "I said no, you motherfucker¡­"


    [Urpp, bleeeeegh!!]


    Balrog puked while clenching the ground. Since he did not need sustenance, he puked a sticky fluid instead of stomach acid.


    "Ah¡­"


    Kang-Woo grabbed his hair.


    "Fuck my life."


    It was already in the past. Even if he found it unfair, he couldn''t turn back time or change the past.


    "Sniff¡­ Sniff."


    He turned to look at Halcyon, who was crouched down and crying.


    It wasn''t the time to think about whether Halcyon was beautiful or not.


    ''Why is she crying?''


    He couldn''t understand it.


    Kang-Woo slowly walked toward her. He heard her mumbling something.


    "Sniff¡­ Wh-Who¡­" She looked at Kang-Woo. "Wh-Who are you?"


    "¡­"


    She shrank in fear. There were tears in her eyes, and her body was trembling.


    ''The hell?''


    She waspletely different from his image of an ancient demonic beast.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He wasn''t sure of how to react.


    "Ah, I-I see. Y-You''re also h-here to h-harass me, a-aren''t you?" Halcyon stuttered. She slowly got up, exuding dark-red demonic energy.


    ''What''s up with her?''


    He frowned. He couldn''t understand why Halcyon was reacting this way.


    "Sniff, sniff. Wh-Why are you trying to h-harass me? Y-You''re scaring me."


    ''You''re the one scaring me, for fuck''s sake.''


    "I-I don''t know wh-where I am, and e-everyone is trying to h-harass me. Y-You''re all so mean."


    ''Does she really have intelligence?''


    He heard that ancient demonic beasts had intelligence, but it was hard to say that of Halcyon.


    ''I should at least see if I can talk to her.''


    Kang-Woo opened his mouth and said in a low voice, "Are you Halcyon?"


    "¡­ Huh? Y-You know me?"


    "I''ve heard a lot about you."


    It seemed he could talk with her.


    "Y-You''re here to harass me, j-just like them, aren''t you? E-Everyone hates me, s-so I''m sure of it. I-I''m sure you''re here to harass me."


    ''I can''t seem to get through to her.''


    Kang-Woo feignedughter and looked at Halcyon.


    She was acting as if she were a mental patient with a victim mentality. Her reaction made him think that the fact that ancient demonic beasts possessing intelligence was a lie.


    "Sniff. E-Everyone''s so mean to m-me. I-I''ve done nothing wrong." She shed tears. Crouching, she stuttered, "I-I didn''t w-want to l-look like this e-either."


    The whites of her eyes turned red, and her irises turned white. Hideous tendons sprouted out from the areas around her eyes.


    Her white hair messily soared in the air, and¡­


    m!!


    The ground was distorted just from a single stomp of her foot.


    Halcyon shot toward Kang-Woo in the blink of an eye.


    "Why does everyone¡­!!!"


    She raised her arm. Extremely sharp dark-red fingernails extended out, and she aimed for Kang-Woo''s neck.


    "Tsk."


    Bash!


    He raised his leg and kicked Halcyon in the stomach.


    Rumble!!


    She rolled a hundred meters and then stood back up. She swung her w upward, shooting a wave of dark-red demonic energy at Kang-Woo.


    ''Authority of Invulnerability.''


    He raised a wall of demonic energy to block the attack, but her dark-red demonic energy tore the wall down. He crouched and dodged the attack.


    "¡­ H-Hate me so much?!!"


    Smash!!


    Halcyon flew a hundred meters in less than a second and kicked Kang-Woo.


    He rolled on the ground while being blown away. He felt as if he''d been struck by a wrecking ball weighing dozens of tons.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as ck blood spurted from his mouth.


    ''I guess even if she looks like this¡­''


    She was still an ancient demonic beast, and even the physical capabilities of a prince of Hell couldn''tpare to her physical prowess.


    "Nice."


    The tips of his mouth went up. It would''ve been a killjoy if Halcyon had been a frail girl like her appearance implied.


    ''She finally feels like a monster.''


    Kang-Woo lowered his body.


    Halcyon charged toward him and swung her ws downward.


    "Skybreaker."


    Kang-Woo pulled his right arm back, took a step forward with his left leg, and swung his fist.


    Enormous amounts of demonic energy shed.


    A huge, 30-meter crater formed as dirt and stone went flying.


    It was as if the Titans of mythology were fighting; just the sh of their powers was enough to level the surroundings.


    Wham!


    The dense forest was nowhere to be seen anymore. All that was left was a distorted, destend, as if an earthquake had urred.


    "Haaa, haaa, haaa!"


    Halcyon flew up while panting heavily.


    Kang-Woo chased after her and reached out to grab her leg as she was trying to fly away. He smashed her into the ground.


    "Kurgh!" Halcyon eximed as the enormous thud rang out.


    Step, step.


    Kang-Woo walked toward her.


    "H-How?"


    Halcyon''s face was dyed with fear.


    Kang-Woo walked toward her expressionlessly.


    The physical capabilities of an ancient demonic beast were clearly superior to those of a prince of Hell, but¡­ it was apletely different story if she werepared to Kang-Woo.


    She was likely above him in terms of raw physical strength, but he had an incredible number of Authorities and overwhelmingly more demonic energy than her.


    "Well, you weren''t all that bad."


    Kang-Woo looked down at the wound he''d received from Halcyon. This wound from her ws was not regenerating.


    ''Is it poison?''


    There was no way to know.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue while looking at the wound bleeding out ck blood.


    ''What a pain.''


    Tear.


    He ripped out the portion of flesh wounded by Halcyon''s ws. ck blood poured out like a fountain, but only for a moment. As if rewinding a video, his injury regenerated.


    "Wh-Who are y-you?" Halcyon asked in a fearful voice. Tears were trickling down her cheeks.


    "Who knows?"


    He had no reason to tell her. Kang-Woo slowly raised his hand.


    ''Authority of ze.''


    Karmic fire, burning as if it would devour the entire world, enveloped his hand.


    "Eek! S-Sniff. I-I''m sorry. I-I''m so sorry. P-Please don''t hurt me. I''m sorry. I''m sorry¡­"


    "¡­"


    He had no intention of killing her¡ªthere were many things he wanted to ask her.


    ''Seeing her current state¡­''


    He wasn''t sure if it would be worth asking her anything.


    "Tsk, though you''ve got a pretty face¡­"


    Kang-Woo had never expected Halcyon to be this insane.


    ''But at least it''s better this way.''


    He was able to console himself, at least a little, that he had dodged a bullet from not meeting Halcyon in the past.


    "¡­ Pardon?" Halcyon raised her head. "D-Did you just say that I''m p-pretty?"


    Tears poured out of her eyes.


    "A-A-Aaaahh."


    Halcyon trembled while touching her face.


    "H-He said I''m pretty."


    She stared at Kang-Woo with eyes filled with madness.


    "I-I''ve finally heard that I''m prettyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!"


    Her white hair soared into the air.


    "Kyahahahahahahaha!!!"


    The tips of her mouth went up to their absolute limit, and a burst of madughter came out of her mouth.


    ''What the fuck?''


    Kang-Woo looked at her in absurdity.


    ''What''s up with this bitch?''


    An unsettling feeling crept down his spine.

 Chapter 255 - Halcyon (2)

    Chapter 255 - Halcyon (2)


    The first emotion Halcyon felt after being born was fear.


    "Eek!"


    "Wh-what the hell is that monster?"


    When she opened her eyes for the very first time, she saw demons looking down at her in disgust. They grimaced as they looked at her as if she were hideous.


    "Shit! Urpp!"


    "Bleeegh!"


    They vomited while looking at her.


    Unlike them, she didn''t have numerous eyes, skin covered in wriggling tentacles, or moldy skin covered in holes.


    "I-Is this a demonic beast?"


    They called her a demonic beast, not a demon. A beast with no intelligence or sense of reason. A being that moved and survived only through instinct.


    "I-I have never seen such a hideous demonic beast¡­"


    They were looking at her in disgust, and their voices were filled with enmity.


    ''I¡­''


    She crouched down and prayed.


    She frantically prayed, begging them not to harass her, not to hurt her.


    ''I''ve done nothing wrong.''


    "Kill it!"


    "Kill that disgusting thing! Hurry!"


    Attacks poured toward her from every direction.


    She couldn''t understand why they resented her and why they were disgusted with her so much, but there was one thing she was sure about: being hit by their attacks hurt a lot.


    She ran away. Because she was born a monster, she was very fast.


    She desperately ran away with all her might.


    "Follow it!"


    "We cannot let that thing grow!"


    They chased after her, trampled on her, and tore at her flesh.


    It hurt. It hurt so much that she could barely endure it.


    "Please¡­ don''t¡­ hurt¡­ me," she begged in desperation.


    "What''s wrong with this demonic beast?"


    ording to what she had heard from them, demonic beasts, just like their name suggested, were beasts with no intelligence. They didn''t feel despair or fear. They were monsters that wouldn''t hesitate to attack if they thought someone was their enemy.


    That was the demonic beast they referred to.


    "Sniff, sniff."


    So what?


    She wasn''t like that. She possessed neither the madness nor the brutal desire to tear apart her enemies. She was just terrified by their words and looks of disgust.


    No matter where she ran, they always chased after her. It was the same with those she met for the first time. All demons she met showered her with attacks as they vomited.


    Life was fear and pain. Everyone in the world cursed her. It was a never-ending nightmare. In the end¡­


    "Y-You''re also trying to harass me, aren''t you?"


    She lost her mind. There was no way she would be able to endure it while staying sane. Surrounded by fear and madness, she killed everyone who approached her.


    She realized that, if she didn''t kill, she was the one who would get killed.


    "Sniff, sniff."


    She made a territory. She then realized that if she stayed inside the robust borders she''d built, other demons wouldn''te after her.


    But¡­


    "Waaaaaahh!!"


    The wound didn''t close. The way they had pointed at her and their disgusted gazes did not disappear from her head.


    She wanted someone who wouldn''t look at her in fear or disgust, but however long she waited¡ªa century, a millennia, even ten millennia¡ªno such being appeared. She would always be a target of fear and disgust. It was an unending nightmare.


    "Sniff, sniff."


    She remained shrunk within the robust borders she had built while bawling her eyes out. Even if she cried, nothing would change. Just like that¡­ too many years passed.


    * * *


    "Kyahahahahahahaha!!!"


    Hystericalughter echoed throughout the surroundings.


    Halcyon crawled on the ground and grabbed Oh Kang-Woo''s pants.


    "R-Really? A-Am I really pretty?" she asked desperately. She was looking up at him with sincerity, like a devotee seeking salvation.


    "Uhh, I mean, yeah."


    Kang-Woo looked down at her with a confused expression. He answered reflexively. He had not expected such an assertive response; no, it was borderline lunacy.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Halcyon cried while touching her face. She looked like she was high on drugs. She once again burst out intoughter filled with pleasure, thrill, and madness.


    ''Don''t tell me¡­''


    Kang-Woo thought of a certain possibility. He looked at Balrog lying on the floor, still vomiting.


    A scenario of a possible exnation came to mind.


    ''This must be the first time she has ever heard that she''s pretty.''


    Taking into consideration that Halcyon looked more hideous than anything from a demon''s perspective, she had likely never heard that she was pretty in Hell.


    ''I''m sure it''s not just that.''


    She wouldn''t react like this just because she had simply never been called pretty.


    ''Trauma.''


    There was a chance that her appearance being so hideous to other demons had left a deep trauma on her. No, if that hadn''t traumatized her, there was no way she would be reacting like this.


    She had likely been ostracized and had be all demons'' target of resentment and disgust.


    "Well¡­"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. The ends of his mouth went up.


    ''I can use this.''


    It wasn''t hard to guess what Halcyon had gone through.


    ''It''s obvious.''


    He could guess and imagine it. In that case, using her experience to his advantage was not hard at all.


    ''The important thing is¡­''


    How valuable Halcyon would be to him. As for that, there was no need to even think about it.


    ''Even right now, it''ll be nothing but a plus for me.''


    There were many things he wanted to ask Halcyon: the reason why she, an ancient demonic beast, had arrived on Earth, and the information on the abnormal movements of the other ancient demonic beasts and Behemoth, the king of demonic beasts¡­


    ''Not just that.''


    After reaching 150 in his Demonic Energy stat, he temporarily couldn''t use the Authority of Predation to absorb demonic energy. Of course, he could alwayspress Halcyon''s corpse, just like he did with Belphegor.


    ''But¡­''


    It wasn''t like his control over demonic energy would skyrocket anytime soon. It needed to be slowly improved through repetitive training. Continuing to turn the corpses of demons and demonic beasts into gems was far too inefficient. He wasn''t even sure when he would be able to absorb Belphegor.


    ''I mean, it would be a different story if I managed to awaken some sort of power or something.''


    He wasn''t Kim Si-Hun, so relying on powering up was not good.


    "Sniff, sniff. I-I''m d. I''m so happy¡­"


    Halcyon was moved to tears.


    Kang-Woo looked at her expressionlessly.


    ''In other words¡­''


    It was far more beneficial to make her into an ally than to kill her and make her into a gem to absorb in the future. Although she didn''t possess an Authority, she would be able to overpower a prince of Hell in terms of physical ability.


    ''Alright.''


    Kang-Woo smirked. He''d decided on a goal and knew how to achieve it, so there was no reason to hesitate.


    "Y-You''re telling the truth, right? Y-You''re not lying, right?"


    Halcyon looked up at him anxiously while cing her hands together.


    Kang-Woo reached out toward her while making a kind smile. He put his hand on her cheek.


    "Mm¡­"


    Kang-Woo hesitated for a moment.


    Halcyon''s expression paled as she trembled.


    "Now that I take a closer look, maybe not that pretty."


    "Ah¡­"


    A short exmation came out of Halcyon''s mouth¡ªit was one mixed with disappointment and relief.


    Kang-Woo smirked. It had been just as he had expected.


    ''Calling her pretty here would be more of a detriment.''


    It was a simple issue.


    Imagine there was someone who had only heard they were ugly all their life. Would they be able to fully trust the words of someone who came up to them and praised them for being way too beautiful?


    ''Of course not.''


    Whether they were human, demon, or demonic beast, all lifeforms possessed self-preservation instincts. They would naturally be wary of people who told them ''absurd lies.''


    "I-I thought as much. Th-There would be no way that I''m¡­ pretty."


    Tears flowed down Halcyon''s cheeks.


    "I''m¡­ unsightly, disgusting, and¡­"


    Her voice became progressively weaker as if she were struggling to find the words.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    ''Now.''


    He grasped the chance once she was put to her lowest point.


    "No, I wouldn''t say that," he said firmly.


    "Pardon¡­?"


    "I''m saying that you''re not unsightly or disgusting. Well, I''m not sure what you''ve heard until now, but at least, for me, that''s not the case at all."


    "Ah¡­"


    "Even when looking at you again, you''re not bad at all. You''re not unsightly or disgusting."


    Kang-Woo smirked and wiped her tears.


    There was no need to exaggerate. No, exaggerating would only make things worse.


    What Halcyon really wanted wasn''t for someone to tell her she was beautiful.


    ''What she really wants is¡­''


    Someone who didn''t find her disgusting.


    "A-Aaaahh.."


    That was all. Just that one tiny little thing was nothing short of salvation for her.


    "Sniff, sniff."


    Tears flowed down her cheeks. She was trembling with excitement.


    "Thank¡­ you. Thank you so¡­ so much."


    She cried even more while clutching his clothes.


    Kang-Woo slowly looked elsewhere while looking down at her.


    ''It''s not enough yet.''


    The puzzle was 99%plete. The final piece needed to be added.


    He took out hismunication device and whispered.


    - Stand up, Balrog.


    Balrog, who had still been vomiting while copsed on the ground, staggered into a standing position.


    [Kuh! Watch out, my king!!]


    After seeing Halcyon stuck to Kang-Woo, he quickly stomped on the ground. The Overlord Armor made of ck demonic energy wrapped around his arms.


    "Urgh¡­!"


    Halcyon clenched her eyes shut, pitifully trembling. After having been put on the verge of exhaustion after battling with Kang-Woo, she would not be able to block Balrog''s fist covered in the Overlord Armor.


    Kang-Woo slowly raised his hand.


    Whaam!!


    Kang-Woo stopped Balrog''s fist right next to Halcyon''s head. If he had been even a millisecondte, her head would have been blown off.


    [M-My king?]


    "I''m not in any danger, so stay still."


    Halcyon looked up at Kang-Woo in surprise.


    "Ah¡­"


    Her clutch on his clothes became even stronger.


    [Are you¡­ not affected at all while seeing that monster, my king?] Balrog asked while having trouble keeping his eyes on Halcyon.


    ''That''s it.''


    It was the question he had been hoping for. The final piece of the puzzle had been formed, so he calmly said, "I guess not."


    "¡­"


    Halcyon looked up at him anxiously.


    "Unlike what I''ve heard from you, I don''t really find Halcyon unsightly." He ced down the final piece of the puzzle. "Are my eyes weird? I even find it a bit pretty."


    [Wha¡­]


    "I guess only I think that way."


    Kang-Woo shrugged and then looked at Halcyon. He could see a change in her eyes.


    ''That''s it.''


    The only one who didn''t find her disgusting¡­


    If that person''s eyes were a bit special, and only that person did not find her to be disgusting¡­


    "Tsk. That''s enough for the subjugation. Let''s go back, Balrog."


    "E-Excuse me!"


    Halcyon raised her head.


    He could sense desperation in her voice.


    If there was only one person in the world who could take her out of the endless nightmare¡­


    ''She would desperately cling to them, whatever it took.''


    Halcyon desperately eximed, "P-Please take me with you! I-I''ll do anything. I-I won''t cry, s-so¡­ p-please don''t abandon me. I''m sorry for a-attacking you earlier. I won''t ever do it again. I-I''ll do anything you ask, s-so please¡­"


    He could see a mad sense of desperation in her eyes.


    Kang-Woo slowly turned his head.


    ''That''s it.''


    A satisfied smile appeared on his face.


    Of course, what he did likely wasn''t morally correct. Leaving a demon''s point of view aside, she was actually beautiful, and him being the only one who wasn''t disgusted by her looks was a lie.


    ''But¡­''


    He had no intention of telling her the whole truth. He had not gone through this hassle to give her salvation, nor was it to take her out of her painful nightmare.


    ''What I need is someone who listens, follows, thinks of, serves, and dies for only me.''


    That was all he needed.


    "Well, okay." Kang-Woo smiled. "I''ll take you."


    "Ah¡­"


    Halcyon''s eyes filled with delight.

 Chapter 256 - There Really Are No Hopes and Dreams in Hell

    Chapter 256 - There Really Are No Hopes and Dreams in Hell


    "Oh¡­ Kang-Woo¡­"


    "Yeah, that''s my name."


    "C-Can I call you M-Master Kang-Woo from now on?"


    Halcyon looked up at him with shining eyes as if she were an abandoned dog that had just been adopted.


    Kang-Woo smirked and nodded.


    Halcyon''s expression brightened. She clenched her two fists and trembled, unable to hide her joy.


    ''Ah, I''m feeling guilty¡­''


    Kang-Woo was still a person, so he couldn''t help but feel guilty after seeing her so happy. The guilt was weighing down on his shoulders.


    ''That aside¡­''


    There was something he had to do.


    "In exchange, I have a condition."


    "A c-condition?"


    Her eyes trembled with uneasiness.


    Kang-Woo calmly said, "Be my retainer. A Familiar, to be more precise."


    No matter how much demonic energy he had, he would not be able to subordinate a demonic beast on the level of Halcyon with the Authority of Subordination.


    ''But¡­''


    It would be a different story if Halcyon herself submitted to him of her own ord. If that were the case, the chances of the Authority of Subordination seeding would increase greatly.


    ''This is why I took the time to do all of that.''


    If he took her out in her current state, she''d immediately realize that it wasn''t just Kang-Woo who didn''t find her disgusting.


    From her point of view, the number of saviors would greatly increase, and then her desperate feeling to stick to Kang-Woo would most definitely decrease.


    ''I need to tie the knot before that.''


    He needed to ce the leash that was the Authority of Subordination, which would make her unable to defy him.


    "A¡­ Familiar?"


    Halcyon''s eyes widened. She nodded without hesitation.


    "O-Okay! I-I''ll do it! I-I''ll be your Familiar!"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo wondered if she was saying that while knowing what being a Familiar entailed.


    In the cases of Balrog and Lilith, it was different¡ªthey weren''t chained by the Authority of Subordination. The only ones chained by his Authority of Subordination were Kim Si-Hun and Echidna.


    ''Those two can''t go against mymands.''


    He couldn''t give them anymands that went against their survival instincts likemitting suicide, but besides that, they couldn''t go against him.


    He had even controlled Si-Hun numerous times with it.


    ''Well, I guess it doesn''t matter.''


    It didn''t matter to him if she knew what a Familiar was or not.


    A swindler didn''t need to think about what would happen to the person signing the contract.


    ''¡­ Although I''m not a swindler.''


    Kang-Woo had not lied to Halcyon, at the very least.


    It was true that he found her beautiful, and he had not hidden the fact that he would take her with him on the condition that she became his Familiar. No one could dare call him a swindler after all that.


    "Good."


    Kang-Woo put his hand on Halcyon''s shoulder. Demonic energy rose from within him.


    ''Authority of Subordination.''


    Whoom!


    An immense amount of demonic energy flowed out of him. The demonic energy was so thick that it felt viscous. It flowed into Halcyon''s body.


    Halcyon closed her eyes and epted the demonic energy without offering any resistance.


    Powerful shackles restrained her soul.


    Riiing.


    [The subject is epting the ''Authority of Subordination'' without resistance.]


    [Drastically raising the Authority of Subordination''s chance of sess.]


    [The soul has been sessfully subordinated. Registering ''Halcyon'' as your Familiar.]


    ''Alright.''


    He could feel that his soul was linked to hers, and a smile appeared on his face. After Balrog and Si-Hun, he had obtained yet another powerful ally who could face the princes of Hell.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Halcyon let out an exmation while holding her chest.


    Kang-Woo silently looked down at her as she trembled.


    ''That aside, she''s actually extremely t.''


    Even Echidna''s chest was bigger than hers.


    He shrugged and turned around.


    ''That''s none of my concern.''


    He did not like them t. Like most men, he was an advocate of voluptuous women. However, the fact that Halcyon was t had absolutely nothing to do with him.


    ''I already have my darling.''


    He couldn''t help but smile when he thought of Han Seol-Ah. He already had a perfect woman like her, so he did not need anyone else.


    "Thank¡­ you. Th-Thank you so much. Sniff."


    Halcyon shed tears.


    Kang-Woo made aplex expression. It felt weird to be thanked for turning her into a ve who could not defy him.


    "Well¡­ let''s leave the detailed introductions for a bitter."


    There were other important matters to resolve first.


    Kang-Woo said, "I want to ask you something."


    "What¡­ is it?"


    Halcyon tilted her head.


    "How did you get here?"


    "Ah¡­" Halcyon looked around the area and cautiously said, "I-I''m not sure either. My memories prior toing here are¡­ fuzzy."


    "Your memories are fuzzy?"


    "Y-Yes!"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    She couldn''t lie because of the Authority of Subordination.


    "Since when have your memories been fuzzy?"


    "Umm¡­ I-It hasn''t been that long. A-Around a year? I-I''m not exactly sure. I-I''m sorry."


    She lowered her head as if she''dmitted a capital crime.


    ''A year, huh?''


    It wasn''t a short time, but that was not the case for immortal demons and demonic beasts.


    Kang-Woo tried his best to recall the past.


    If her fuzzy memory started a year ago, then it would be around the time the Demon Cult had summoned Balrog to Earth.


    ''If her memories had been fuzzy since then¡­''


    There was one thing that he could think of.


    "Is there nothing you can remember?"


    "N-No, I can still remember fragments."


    "Tell me everything you can remember."


    "Mm¡­ I don''t remember well, but¡­ I-I was heading somewhere."


    "You were heading somewhere?"


    "Yes. I just thought that I had to go there¡­ as if I had been hypnotized. I-I think that''s why I had headed there."


    "And then you were here when you came back to your senses?"


    "Y-yes! Th-that''s right! When I came back to my senses, I was already here!"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He turned his head toward Balrog, who was resisting the urge to vomit.


    "Balrog, when did the ancient demonic beasts start acting strangely?"


    [About¡­ a year ago. Since then, the ancient demonic beasts have been leaving their territories.]


    "Which ancient demonic beasts exactly?"


    [Bul-Kathos, Ouroboros, and Lacrasha. Oh, and Halcyon over there. Also¡­]


    Balrog hesitated for a moment.


    [We had confirmed that Behemoth had moved as well.]


    "¡­"


    Behemoth¡­


    The king of demonic beasts and the father of Leviathan, a prince of Hell.


    Not even Kang-Woo had heard much about him.


    ''It would be bad if Behemoth crossed over to Earth.''


    Leaving other ancient demonic beasts aside, not even Kang-Woo could take Behemoth lightly.


    ''Her consciousness became fuzzy, and she was heading somewhere¡­''


    And when she came back to her senses, she was already within this Gate.


    He began organizing the information he''d heard from Halcyon.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''I have no idea.''


    Hecked information.


    "Do you remember why your memories became fuzzy?"


    "I-I''m not sure. I-It just happened one day¡­"


    "What about any information on the other ancient demonic beasts, such as Behemoth?"


    "I-I don''t know. I''ve never met them. I-I''m sorry for being u-useless!"


    Halcyon was crying, and she begged Kang-Woo not to abandon her.


    Kang-Woo ced his hand on top of his forehead as if he was getting a headache.


    ''Something is happening.''


    He wasn''t sure whether it was intentional or just a natural phenomenon, but one thing for sure was that something was happening in Hell after the princes of Hell had disappeared and he had left.


    "Shit."


    A short curse left his mouth.


    He thought he would be able to rx a little after taking care of Satan, but he had received unsettling news.


    ''I mean, I''ve already known it since a while back.''


    He already knew that ancient demonic beasts and Behemoth had begun moving strangely, but he hadn''t thought that much about it because it was something that was happening in Hell.


    ''But¡­''


    The situation had changed.


    He wouldn''t care if it was something that was happening in Hell, but if it involved Earth, that was a whole other story.


    "¡­ What a bother."


    The biggest problem was that there wasn''t anything he could do. He had no way to go back to Hell, so there was no way to find the culprit or stop whatever was happening in advance.


    "Balrog, is there a way to contact Hell?"


    The demon king army was still in Hell. Kang-Woo wasn''t sure what had happened to the army now that both Balrog and Lilith were MIA, but it would not have been broken up so easily. However¡­


    [There isn''t one.]


    Balrog shook his head.


    Kang-Woo sighed deeply.


    ''I guess the only thing I can do is wait.''


    However, he didn''t feel like this issue was one that could be solved simply by waiting.


    "¡­ Let''s go back for now."


    Kang-Woo turned his body after thinking about it for a while. He couldn''t find a solution at the moment.


    ''The only solution at the moment is to keep finding the ancient demonic beasts in Gates and killing them.


    ''I''m sure it won''t be as easy as with Halcyon.''


    She had been an exception among exceptions. The other ancient demonic beasts would probably fight to their deaths.


    "Tsk."


    He clicked his tongue.


    ''It can''t be helped.''


    He could only find and kill them as they appeared on Earth.


    ''I gotta improve my control over demonic energy quicker.''


    Now that things hade to this, the best course of action was to grow stronger by devouring the ancient demonic beasts. To do that, he needed to raise his level of demonic energy control, currently capped at handling a Demonic Energy stat of 150.


    "A-Are you sure I can go with you?"


    "Yeah."


    As he nodded, Halcyon brightly smiled and trotted after him. She smiled happily while carefully grabbing the ends of his clothes.


    ''¡­ I''ll have to exin to Seol-Ah first thing when I get home.''


    Kang-Woo headed home while smiling bitterly.


    * * *


    "Your new Familiar¡­?" Seol-Ah asked.


    "Yeah."


    "Is it¡­ a simr case to Echidna?"


    "You could say that."


    Although it wasn''t exactly the same, it didn''t change the fact that they were both his Familiars. There was no big difference.


    Seol-Ah looked at Halcyon with great interest.


    "Eek!"


    Halcyon hid behind Kang-Woo in fear. It was simr to how Echidna had first reacted.


    "¡­"


    Echidna, who had followed behind Seol-Ah, red at Halcyon in disapproval. She pulled Kang-Woo''s arm while on full alert against Halcyon.


    "Kang-Woo is mine. Don''t try anything funny, newbie."


    ''Why are you acting like some territorial sunbae?''


    Kang-Woo patted Echidna''s head while feigningughter. He said, "Halcyon will be sleeping in my room tonight."


    "In your room, Kang-Woo?"


    "Yeah. I mean, just look¡­"


    Halcyon was trembling severely while grabbing Kang-Woo''s clothes, her face as white as a sheet.


    ''Her personality has a part in it, but¡­''


    It was also because of a particr characteristic of demonic beasts. Most demonic beasts, like feline creatures, had the characteristic of building their own territory and rarely leaving it. Since this was her first timeing here, it was also the period of time when her anxiety and wariness were at their peak.


    "Oh, I see," Echidna said. "What should we do for dinner, then?"


    "We don''t need food."


    "Mm¡­ Then I''ll bring out a nket and a pillow."


    "Thanks." Kang-Woo turned to Halcyon. "Let''s go."


    "Ah¡­ O-Okay!"


    As soon as he entered his room, Halcyon followed him. She rxed a little now that there were just the two of them.


    "I''m sure you''re exhausted. Let''s sleep," Kang-Woo said.


    After the battle with Halcyon and all the mind-boggling things they had talked about, he was tired. Kang-Wooid the nket on the floor so she could sleep.


    Halcyon nervously looked up at him.


    "C-Could we¡­ sleep together?"


    "Hm?"


    It was an unexpected proposal.


    Halcyon quickly lowered her head.


    "N-Nothing! H-How dare I s-say such a thing?! I-I''m so sorry!"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked silently at Halcyon, who was crying as if she''dmitted a heinous crime. He sighed.


    ''I honestly wouldn''t mind.''


    If he were asked whether he liked or disliked the idea, he, of course, liked it. Who would hate the idea of sharing the bed with a beauty like Halcyon?


    ''But I feel bad for Seol-Ah.''


    His mind was in a jumble since it felt as if he would be unintentionally having an affair. After thinking about it for a while, Kang-Woo said in a low voice, "¡­ Only for today."


    He''d made her his Familiar through the Authority of Subordination, so sleeping with her for just one night was nothing.


    ''We''ll only be sleeping, after all.''


    He wasn''t at risk of not being able to handle his desires. If he couldn''t resist such a temptation, he wouldn''t have been able to handle the desires that a demon''s body brought.


    "Th-thank you very much!"


    Halcyon clenched her fists while making a bright expression.


    He smirked at how innocent she looked.


    Click.


    He turned off the light andy on the bed with Halcyon.


    "Hehehe¡­"


    Halcyon smiled while lying next to him.


    While lying on the bed, Kang-Woo began thinking about everything that had happened today.


    ''It''s even more frustrating now that we''re like this.''


    If Balrog had reported to Kang-Woo nine hundred years ago and Kang-Woo had gone to see Halcyon, Kang-Woo could have at least had a better time in Hell.


    ''You were right, Akiyama.''


    He remembered the crazy Japanese Demon Cultist who had summoned Lilith.


    ''There were indeed hopes and dreams in Hell.''


    It was just that he hadn''t been able to find it.


    Even in Hell, there had been a hidden gem.


    "Hehe¡­ Master Kang-Woo." Halcyon stuck closer to Kang-Woo.


    "Hey, you''re sticking too cl¡ª"


    Just then¡­


    "Huh?"


    He felt a strange sensation against his thigh, touching something that shouldn''t be there.


    ''What the fuck?''


    Kang-Woo raised the nket. He looked down and saw the hard thing pressing against his thigh.


    "Wait a minute."


    His face paled.


    "You were¡­"


    "What''s wrong?" Halcyon asked.


    Mouth open in shock, Kang-Woo finished his sentence,"¡­ a man?"


    Dangle.

 Chapter 257 - Revelation (1)

    Chapter 257 - Revtion (1)


    "¡­ A-A man?" Oh Kang-Woo said, his mouth open in shock.


    Halcyon tilted his head. At that moment, as if he understood something, he quickly said, "Oh¡­! I-I''m, uhm, a-androgynous."


    "Androgynous?"


    What a load of bullshit.


    "Yes. I-I can choose which g-gender I want to be."


    ''What an awfully convenient setting.''


    Just like humans, demons and demonic beasts had genders. Although very rare, demons and demonic beasts also produced offspring. However, Kang-Woo had never heard of androgynous demons or demonic beasts before.


    ''In any case¡­''


    His shock died down a little after hearing that Halcyon could change genders.


    "W-Would you prefer me¡­ to be female, Master Kang-Woo?" he asked.


    "Of course."


    He didn''t hesitate to answer. He didn''t even want to imagine that someone so beautiful was a man.


    "I-In that case, please just wait a little bit. I-It won''t take very long!"


    "Okay, then get started right awa¡ª"


    "I-It''ll take about a hundred years."


    "I beg your pardon? A hundred years?"


    "Yes!"


    Halcyon smiled brightly.


    Certainly, for immortal beings, a hundred years was not a very long time. However, that meant¡­


    ''He''ll have a dick for a hundred years.''


    Kang-Woo''s expression paled.


    ''No.''


    Kang-Woo grabbed his head.


    Halcyon, who wasying on the bed, looked at his face. He carefully asked, "I-Is there a problem?"


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    A problem? There were nothing but problems.


    The sensation of that thing he had felt against his thigh was still very vivid.


    Kang-Woo did not even think to check that area while they were fighting, but now that he saw it, he could see it clearly under Halcyon''s clothes, which seemed to be made from beast skin.


    ''No, just¡­ why¡­?''


    He was beyond frustrated; he was just enraged now.


    ''Why does he have one with that appearance?''


    "You''ve gotta be fucking kidding me¡­"


    The difficulty of sleeping together with Halcyon had skyrocketed. Although he had never nned to do anything besides sleeping, that was not the problem.


    ''Shit.''


    Kang-Woo grabbed his head in confusion. He''d already been put into simr situations a few times. For example, Kim Si-Hun sometimes gave off a weird feeling.


    ''No.''


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    It was different. There was a clear difference between Si-Hun and Halcyon. He could always brush off Si-Hun''s actions as if it were a joke, but not Halcyon''s.


    ''At this rate¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s expression paled. Within the deepest parts of his consciousness, as deep as the Abyss, the thought that it might actually be okay popped up.


    "Absolutely not!!"


    "Kyaa!"


    Kang-Woo sprang up, sweating and panting heavily.


    "Ah¡­"


    Halcyon looked up at Kang-Woo panting heavily and eximed as if he had realized something.


    "I-I understand."


    ''Understand what?''


    Halcyon nodded while blushing.


    "I-I''m fine with it."


    ''I''m not.''


    "I-If Master Kang-Woo wants to do it that badly¡­"


    ''No, I don''t want to do it.''


    "I¡­"


    ''No.''


    Halcyon lowered his head while blushing.


    The sensation against Kang-Woo''s thigh grew stronger.


    "Ah."


    Kang-Woo covered his face with his hands.


    "Fuck my life¡­"


    Why was this happening to him?


    ''Just please let me be happy too.''


    He was crying before he realized it.


    * * *


    "¡­ Did something happen, Kang-Woo?" Han Seol-Ah asked while looking at him the next morning, worried because of the dark circles beneath his eyes.


    "¡­"


    With his mouth closed, Kang-Woo looked at Seol-Ah. He grabbed her hands.


    "K-Kang-Woo?"


    "Darling."


    "Y-Yes¡­?"


    "You know you''re the only one for me, don''t you?"


    "¡­"


    Seol-Ah tilted her head at his sudden change in attitude.


    Kang-Woo dragged her in and hugged her tightly.


    "K-kyaa!"


    Seol-Ah''s face reddened. She quickly looked around. Thankfully, there wasn''t anyone nearby.


    "Oh, you¡­"


    The ends of her mouth went up. She wasn''t sure why he was acting this way, but she didn''t hate it. She put her forehead on Kang-Woo''s shoulder.


    She felt as if he would be able to hear her heart beating faster.


    "Fuuu. I feel much better now," Kang-Woo said.


    "Ah¡­" As Kang-Woo let her go, Seol-Ah gave a short exmation as if disappointed. "What''s the matter?"


    "Nothing much."


    "Don''t say that. You look exhausted."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    It was tooplex to exin what had happenedst night.


    ''What should I say, exactly?''


    How could he tell the woman he was dating that he had despaired over the fact that Halcyon had something he shouldn''t have?


    Kang-Woo forced a smile and avoided answering.


    "Mm¡­ You don''t have to tell me if you don''t want to."


    Seol-Ah smiled after seeing him troubled.


    "Oh, more importantly, you had ns today, didn''t you? I got a call from Gaia earlier."


    "Oh, right."


    He''dpletely forgotten about it due to the Halcyon incident. It was the day he would go see Raphael with Gaia and Si-Hun.


    ''He hasn''t fully recovered yet, apparently.''


    Raphael was still recovering after being critically wounded in the fight against Satan. Seeing how he''d requested a meeting, it seemed he''d gotten better.


    ''I really don''t want to see him.''


    Kang-Woo wanted to avoid meeting angels as much as possible, but it couldn''t be helped. After all, they were allies in their hunt for Satan, the Demon of Prophecy.


    "You were going to meet that angel named¡­ Raphael, right? I''m a bit curious. What do angels look like?"


    "They don''t look that different from humans."


    Although their stature was iparable to that of a human.


    "I guess you could say they''re like¡­ giants with white wings?"


    That was probably the bestparison.


    "How fascinating," Seol-Ah remarked.


    "Mm¡­"


    Kang-Woo recalled that Seol-Ah had symbols of angel wings on her back.


    ''Should I ask an angel about it?''


    Although it didn''t seem like there was anything wrong with Seol-Ah''s body, he was still worried about it nheless. The symbols were simr to angel wings, so the angels might know something about it.


    ''¡­''


    He thought about it for a while, but he ended up shaking his head.


    ''I''ll keep it under wraps for now.''


    Angels were not yet trustworthy allies. It wouldn''t be toote to ask them after they built more trust. Besides, nothing had happened to Seol-Ah in the past year she had the symbols.


    ''Is it just an influence of her Trait?''


    He narrowed his eyes. yers sometimes experienced changes to their bodies after awakening a Trait.


    "Excuse me for a sec, Seol-Ah."


    "Pardon? Ah¡­ Kyaa!"


    Kang-Woo turned her around and lifted her shirt. He saw the angel wing symbols shining faintly. Her back would likely shine dimly in the dark.


    ''The light is getting brighter.''


    "K-Kang-Woo? I-I''m fine with it, but¡­ d-doing it so early in the morning is¡­" Seol-Ah lowered her head while blushing. "W-We should at least go to my r¡ª


    "Have you noticed any changes after these symbols appeared?"


    "¡­ Pardon me?"


    Seol-Ah turned her head, her eyes as wide as saucers. She finally understood why Kang-Woo was staring at her back. Her face became so red that one might think white steam would rise from her head.


    "N-Nothing in particr!"


    "Really?"


    In that case, it seemed fine to leave them alone for the time being.


    "I''ll be going to the Hall of Protection. Halcyon is still asleep, so try talking to him once he wakes up."


    Kang-Woo put her shirt back down.


    She couldn''t see any lustful intentions in his eyes.


    "¡­"


    Seol-Ah nced at Kang-Woo with narrow eyes.


    For some reason¡­ she was displeased.


    "¡­ No kimchi stew for you for the next week."


    "Huh? Wh-Why? Why would you do such a horrible¡ª"


    "I''ve already made my decision."


    Seol-Ah turned away coldly.


    "At least tell me why!!" Kang-Woo shouted as if the situation wasn''t fair.


    His voice echoed through the house in vain.


    * * *


    "Wee, Kang-Woo."


    "We''ve been waiting for you, hyung-nim."


    As he entered the Hall of Protection, he saw Gaia and Si-Hun.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "Is something the matter, hyung-nim?"


    "It''s nothing," Kang-Woo said lifelessly. He turned to Gaia. "That aside, where did we decide to meet Lord Raphael?"


    "In their fortress in Africa, likest time."


    "And how is he doing¡­?"


    "I''ve heard he''s gotten much better."


    Kang-Woo nodded while smiling. "What a relief."


    Kang-Woo honestly wished for Raphael to stay bedridden for a bit longer, but he couldn''t let his thoughts show.


    "Let''s get going."


    It was close to the time of the meeting.


    Kang-Woo turned to the gate that led to Africa.


    Si-Hun followed him while pushing Gaia''s wheelchair from behind.


    "Long time no see," Raphael said.


    Once they arrived at the fortress of the angels being built in the wilderness, the five-meter-tall giant waved at them while sitting in a chair as giant as himself.


    Kang-Woo asked, "How are you feeling now?"


    "Much better. What about you?"


    "I have pretty much fully healed," Kang-Woo said while lightly swinging his arm. "More importantly, what have you called us here for today?"


    "I was not the one who called you."


    "Pardon?"


    What was all that about?


    Raphael continued, "A god of Earth contacted me. They said there was something they needed to tell all of us."


    "¡­ A god of Earth?"


    "I am sure you all know better than me who it could be."


    Raphael''s eyes rested on Gaia.


    Kang-Woo''s and Si-Hun''s eyes widened.


    "No way¡­"


    Whoom!!!


    At that moment, intense light poured out of Gaia.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    She let out an exmation, her mouth wide open. Gaia trembled severely.


    "Gaia!" Si-Hun eximed.


    "This is¡­"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He''d seen it a few times.


    ''A revtion.''


    It was how the gods of Earth contacted the protectors through their incarnations.


    "My¡­ children¡­"


    A weak voice that sounded as if it would extinguish at any moment came out of Gaia''s mouth.


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    ''It''s different from before.''


    The god was talking to them directly.


    Considering whose incarnation Gaia was, it wasn''t hard to guess the voice''s owner.


    ''Gaia.''


    It was not the voice of Gaia the incarnation but of the true Gaia.


    "Haaa, haaa. There is¡­ something that¡­ I must¡­ tell all¡­ of¡­ you," the stammering voice said.


    Raphael, Kang-Woo, and Si-Hun looked at her.


    ''What''s she about to say?''


    Kang-Woo red at Gaia in disapproval. There was no way he''d have a positive opinion of Gaia.


    She had been the one who had caused him to go through all that suffering during his early days after he returned to Earth. She was also the goddess who had not been properly protecting Earth from the hands of Satan, the Demon of Prophecy.


    She was so useless that she had to beg for the help of angels and gods from other worlds.


    "Satan¡­ is not¡­ the Demon¡­ of Prophecy."


    "¡­ Wh-What?!"


    "What do you mean by that?!" Si-Hun and Raphael shouted simultaneously. Their expressions paled.


    ''Motherfucker.''


    Kang-Woo''s face also paled.


    ''What the actual fuck is this goddess going on about?''


    He had worked his ass off to buy the entirety of the Satan Coin.


    ''Is this coin gonna plummet now?''

 Chapter 258 - Revelation (2)

    Chapter 258 - Revtion (2)


    "That is impossible!"


    Raphael got up.


    ''Yeah! Well done, Raphael!''


    Oh Kang-Woo nodded.


    "Lord Raphael is right. Satan himself has admitted that he is the Demon of Prophecy."


    Kang-Woo recalled how Satan had admitted that he had indeed done everything that had happened. At the time, Satan had beenughing like a madman, his eyes gleaming with lunacy.


    Who would try to doubt that Satan was the Demon of Prophecy after seeing something like that?


    "N-N¡­ No. Satan¡­ is not¡­ the Demon of¡­ Prophecy," Gaia said with difficulty.


    Kim Si-Hun grabbed her shoulders and shouted, "Y-You must be mistaken! Th-There is no way that monster isn''t the Demon of Prophecy¡­!"


    In the great war that had urred in Russia, Raphael had suffered a critical wound, and even Kang-Woo had almost lost his life. Even after that, they hadn''t been able to kill Satan. They hadn''t been able to beat him.


    That demon, full of wrath and madness, was surely hiding somewhere even now as he nned the world''s destruction.


    ''But¡­''


    After all that, Satan wasn''t the Demon of Prophecy?


    "There is no way¡­"


    Si-Hun lowered his head. A huge sense of powerlessness weighed on him.


    Gaia arduously reached out to Si-Hun and embraced him.


    "I-I am sorry, my¡­ child. I have made you shoulder too big of a burden," Gaia said in a sorrowful voice. She then continued in fear, "B-But Satan is¡­ not the Demon¡­ of Prophecy. He was not the¡­ Demon of Prophecy that S-Seraph and¡­ I¡­ saw."


    Raphael calmed himself down and asked, "If Satan is not the Demon of Prophecy, then who is?!"


    "I-I do not¡­ know."


    Gaia shook her head.


    Raphael frowned, and so did Kang-Woo and Si-Hun.


    "Did you not just say that you once saw the Demon of Prophecy?" Si-Hun asked her as if he were trying to refute her.


    "I-It is hard¡­ to exin in detail. H-His darkness was too big¡­ f-for us to fully confirm his identity."


    "Then there is a chance Satan could be the Demon of¡ª"


    "N-No." Gaia firmly shook her head. She continued while panting heavily, "I did not¡­ see the darkness of the Abyss¡­ from¡­ h-him."


    "Are you saying that the ck gem that he had taken out at the end was not the darkness of the Abyss?"


    "Th-The power possessed by the Demon of Prophecy is much greater¡­ I-It cannot even begin topare to that."


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Their minds went nk from the unfathomable scale of events.


    Gaia trembled.


    "M-My children. B-Be careful of the Demon¡­ of Prophecy. The monster¡­ of the Abyss will¡­"


    The light surrounding Gaia started to fade. Then, Gaia, who was sitting in the wheelchair, copsed to the side.


    "Gaia!"


    Si-Hun quickly ran toward her and grabbed her before she could fall to the ground.


    "Si¡­ Hun¡­?" Gaia asked, her face paling. She was trembling as if she were about to pass out at any moment.


    "Wh-What happened¡­?"


    "Rest for now. I will exin it to youter," Si-Hun said in a low voice, holding her in his arms.


    Gaia closed her eyes.


    "¡­"


    Silence fell once again.


    Raphael grabbed his forehead as if his head hurt.


    "Just what in the world¡­"


    He seemed to have fallen into a state of chaos.


    "Lord Raphael, are there any other demons that you can think of who could be the Demon of Prophecy?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "¡­"


    Raphael remained silent and dodged Kang-Woo''s gaze. After Kang-Woo saw that Raphael was avoiding looking at him on purpose, Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    "You do have one in mind."


    "¡­ I cannot say," Raphael said in a firm voice. "It is something that Lord Michael presides over. Forget about it, human."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo was about to say something but didn''t. He narrowed his eyes.


    "Haaa¡­ What to do now?" Raphael mumbled and sighed.


    "What we have to do has not changed," Kang-Woo answered in a firm voice.


    It didn''t matter who the Demon of Prophecy was. In the end, there was only one thing they could and needed to do.


    "We must find Satan," Kang-Woo said with certainty.


    ''We won''t get anywhere if we don''t find Satan.''


    He recalled Satan, who had been wrapped in the horrifying demonic energy known as the Abyss.


    "Even if he is not the Demon of Prophecy, seeing how he can control demonic energy from the Abyss, I am sure he has some connection to the Demon of Prophecy."


    "¡­ You have a point."


    Raphael nodded.


    Although the number of mountains that they needed to climb over had increased, what they had to do was clear: they had to scale the mountains one by one and eliminate the evil in front of them.


    ''To do that¡­''


    Raphael narrowed his eyes. He looked at Si-Hun, Kang-Woo, and his subordinates working busily in the fortress.


    To eradicate evil¡­


    For light to win¡­


    ''It does not matter what we have to sacrifice.''


    "¡­ We will support you all as much as we can."


    "Thank you very much."


    Kang-Woo bowed. Receiving the angels'' assistance was crucial to opposing a powerful demon like Satan.


    He asked, "Have you found any clues regarding Satan?"


    "I have been recuperating due to my injuries while building our fortress, so we have not been able to find anything yet. We will have to start now."


    "Come to think of it, Ludwig had mentioned that he had been tracking Lucifer. What happened with that?"


    "Well¡­" Raphael sighed. "Lucifer has not been any different. He has abandoned his forces andpletely hidden himself."


    "Is there a chance"¡ªKang-Woo gulped¡ª"that Lucifer is the Demon of Prophecy?"


    "¡­"


    Raphael remained silent. He seemed troubled, but after a while, he ended up shaking his head.


    "Lucifer does indeed possess Divinity, but¡­ it is not him. I have fought against him before, so I can tell. He does not have the Demonic Sea."


    "¡­"


    He seemed certain of it. There was nothing to be said because, after all, Raphael was the one who''d fought the most against Lucifer.


    Kang-Woo said, "We will go back for now. We will contact you as soon as we get any information regarding Satan."


    "Please."


    Raphael nodded.


    Si-Hun held Gaia.


    "¡­ Let''s go." Kang-Woo turned away. His steps were heavy.


    * * *


    Wham!


    "Fuuuuuck!!!"


    Kang-Woo smashed the wall. Even though he hadn''t used demonic energy, a hole was formed in the sturdy wall.


    "Shit, shit, shit!!"


    Aggressive curses flowed from his mouth. He frowned.


    ''That fucking troll!!''


    Just thinking about Gaia put him in a fit of rage. She had thrown a wrench in his perfectly crafted work.


    "Haaa¡­" he sighed deeply. He recalled all the bullshit she had spouted while stammering.


    ''That useless bitch.''


    He had been wondering how she would resolve the crisis that she had put Earth in after being unable to protect Earth, but she had obstructed him in apletely unexpected way.


    ''After everything I''ve done.''


    He had put so much effort into exposing Satan''s identity and his unjust actions for the whole world to see.


    ''But¡­''


    It had all turned into smoke.


    Thanks to the revtion of god or whatever, the stable tower he''d built had copsed in the blink of an eye.


    "The Demon of Prophecy¡­"


    The demon destined to destroy the world¡­ the being that all gods say had to be stopped.


    Kang-Woo clenched his hair.


    ''If it''s not Satan, then who could it be?''


    One thing was for sure, it was not him. There was no way it could possibly be him. It was only logical¡ªhe was the Warrior of Light whom the God of Heroes had chosen. He wasn''t in some B-list novel that would aim for that kind of shitty cliche.


    ''Yeah, there''s no way.''


    It didn''t matter how much Kang-Woo thought about it¡ªhe wasn''t the Demon of Prophecy. It was not even a question, considering everything he''d done up until this point. He had always been at the forefront of killing demons.


    Why had he massacred them as if he were a starving beast?


    ''To protect the world, obviously.''


    It had been to exact the judgment of light on those tainted by evil.


    Who was the one who had exposed all of the evildoings of Satan and dismantled the Demon Cult?


    It was him, Kang-Woo. The possibility of him being the Demon of Prophecy was¡­


    ''Nonexistent.''


    There was surely someone else¡ªa demon who had been cleverly ridiculing the gods while having the entire world at the palm of his hand.


    "If it isn''t even Lucifer, then who¡­?"


    Who was the Demon of Prophecy?


    A sense of loss weighed down on him. He couldn''t help but sigh.


    Just then¡­


    ck.


    The door opened, and a woman with long ck hair entered.


    "Is something wrong, Master Kang-Woo?" Lilith asked in a worried voice.


    Kang-Woo shook his head and sat on a giant couch. After separating from Si-Hun and Gaia, he had gone to Balrog''s house. He''d bought and reformed an entire building to ensure Balrog could livefortably in it.


    "¡­ It''s nothing. More importantly, where''s Balrog?"


    "I asked him to investigate something in the Middle East for me."


    "The Middle East?" Kang-Woo asked while tilting his head.


    Lilith nodded.


    "Yes. It is for the investigation regarding Kalgia, which you had asked me to dost time."


    "Ah."


    He remembered.


    Kalgia¡­ the Demon Cult''sst remaining Aspect of Evil¡ªthe ck mage who hadn''t appeared in the war.


    "Have you found him?"


    "There is a ce that seems likely, so I asked Balrog to investigate. This is only my assumption, but¡­ I am almost sure Kalgia is there."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    There was no way to solve the bad news from Gaia, but this wasn''t bad news.


    ''I''ll feel more relieved if I wipe out the Demon Cult first.''


    He could think about the Demon of Prophecy and Satanter.


    "Should I tell Balrog to bring Kalgia''s head?" Lilith asked.


    "Mm¡­ wait." Kang-Woo fell into thought. "Have him pull out once he confirms the location."


    "Are you thinking of killing him yourself?"


    "No."


    He shook his head. There was something he''de up with regarding Kalgia.


    "Si-Hun will kill Kalgia."


    It was about time he gave something to do to the protagonist, who had barely appeared in the storytely.

 Chapter 259 - The Whole World Will Be Destroyed (1)

    Chapter 259 - The Whole World Will Be Destroyed (1)


    An old man so thin that he looked like a skeleton was walking through the endless stretch of sand in a deste desert, supporting himself with a cane. A violent sandstorm engulfed the old man.


    Tap.


    He swung his cane down at the ground. ck demonic energy flowed out of it and made contact with the sandstorm.


    Poof!


    The sandstorm exploded and scattered.


    The old man, who''d just stopped a natural disaster with one simple motion, turned away whilepletely expressionless.


    He started to walk again¡­ nonstop.


    Soon, a copsed ruin appeared in front of him.


    The old man looked around with sharp eyes, and¡­


    "Aah¡­"


    A short exmation came out of him. He trembled in excitement, crouched, and dug through the sand. A book with a ck cover appeared from beneath the sand.


    "Ke¡­ Keke¡­"


    He burst into chillingughter, his eyes filled with madness.


    "Finally, finally¡­!"


    He trembled while holding the book in his hands.


    "I''ve found the truth!"


    He smiled like Archimedes shouting ''Eureka!,'' and he cheered while shivering in excitement. Mad energy permeated from the old man.


    "Ke¡­ keke."


    He turned toward the desert.


    Earth¡­ a star where countless humans lived and a star filled with malice and madness. To him, this star¡ªand all the people that breathed and lived on it¡ªwere targets of resentment.


    "Now¡­"


    The ends of the old man''s mouth went up.


    "The end is near."


    * * *


    "Hmm. You care more about that human than I had expected," Lilith said in surprise.


    After all the time that they had spent together, she knew how much Oh Kang-Woo cared for his subordinates, yet she had never seen him give so much care to one particr subordinate.


    "I am getting a bit jealous," Lilith said yfully while hugging Kang-Woo''s arm.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    "I''d say it''s more of a matter of efficiency than care."


    Even if Kang-Woo killed Kalgia himself, there wasn''t much he could gain from it. Taking into consideration their current forces, there were only three who could fight against an Aspect of Evil on their own¡­


    ''Halcyon, Balrog, and Kim Si-Hun.''


    The strongest one at the moment was Halcyon, then Balrog. Si-Hun was at the bottom.


    ''The one who can get the most out of killing Kalgia is¡­''


    There was no need to think too deeply. There was one big difference between demons and demonic beasts, such as Balrog and Halcyon, and the human Kim Si-Hun.


    ''Si-Hun is a yer.''


    He was blessed by the system. In other words, he could gain EXP and level up by killing Kalgia, which wasn''t the case for Balrog and Halcyon because levels and EXP didn''t apply to them.


    It was inevitable that their growth expectancies would be different.


    ''Well, considering Balrog''s recent doings, maybe that''s not the case.''


    One of the most surprising pieces of news for Kang-Woo as ofte was when Balrog had awakened a new power known as the Overlord Armor, which should have been logically impossible.


    ''The limit of a demon is decided the moment they''re born.''


    A prince of Hell was born to be one. Demons of the Eighth or Ninth Hell were born in their respective Hellyer.


    Surpassing that wall with their own strength was almost impossible.


    ''But¡­''


    Somehow, Balrog had surpassed that wall and had ovee his limits and killed Belphegor. This wasn''t only because Balrog had be stronger thanks to Kang-Woo''s Demonic Energy stat rising. After all, one couldn''t kill a prince of Hell just because their avable demonic energy had increased.


    ''I''m sure he''ll grow even more from now on.''


    One who had surpassed their limits once could aim even higher. Just like Kang-Woo, Balrog would likely be able to reach even higher. That was why Balrog had been immersed in trainingtely.


    "Anyway, can you make the preparations?" asked Kang-Woo.


    "Yes. I will take measures so that we can go as soon as we confirm the location."


    "We can''t send Si-Hun by himself, so¡­ make it so that an army can go with him."


    There was no way Kalgia would be by himself. There was a high chance that the remaining forces of the Demon Cult were gathered around him.


    ''After all, he''s thest remaining Aspect of Evil.''


    From the Demon Cult''s point of view, he was theirst hope. In that case, sending an army was a must for Si-Hun to be able to face Kalgia one-on-one.


    "May your will be done, my king."


    Lilith slightly lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo silently stared at her. He recalled the recent incident with Halcyon.


    "There''s something I wanted to ask."


    "Anything you would like."


    "You said you can''t tell human beauty, right?"


    "Ah, yes."


    "You actually find them a bit disgusting, don''t you?"


    "¡­"


    Lilith remained silent.


    Even if they looked at humans as beings that were like fish, if demons had to choose whether humans were beautiful or not, they would most likely veer in the direction of humans not being beautiful.


    ''Some fish honestly look a bit hideous.''


    Although it depended on the species, the ones that lived in the abyssal zone looked no different from demons.


    "Mm. I do not find them beautiful or pretty, at the very least," Lilith answered while making a troubled expression.


    Considering how she was answering in such a roundabout way, it seemed she actually found humans disgusting.


    "Then does that mean I also look that way to you?"


    "Fufu," Lilith giggled softly.


    She extended her hand and touched Kang-Woo''s cheek.


    "That is not important. No matter what you look like, even if you look like the hideous Halcyon¡­ I would still love you."


    "¡­"


    "Do you remember when you saved me from the hands of Asmodeus? Countless demons sought my love. They used to tell me that they would offer their lives to me like it was nothing. But¡­"


    Lilith carefully caressed Kang-Woo''s cheek as if she were touching a precious treasure.


    "You were the only one who had stood between me and the prince of Hell."


    "That was¡­"


    "I know. You wanted the forces that followed me."


    Lilith smiled.


    "But still, I was happy. It made me think that, even if the whole world were to be destroyed, I would be happy if you were as well."


    "¡­"


    "Hohoho. I will get going, then. I wille again once the investigation isplete."


    Lilith turned away.


    "Thanks," Kang-Woo said quietly while looking at her walk away.


    Lilith turned and smiled softly; then she closed the door.


    Tap. Once the door closed, there was only silence left.


    "Fuck¡­"


    He clenched his hair. His mind had be unnecessarily jumbled.


    ''Well, first¡­''


    He took a deep breath and shook his head. He couldn''t focus on Lilith at the moment.


    "Let''s go raise my demonic energy control."


    Kang-Woo got up. He was not trying to let Si-Hun grow by giving him Kalgia for Si-Hun''s sake.


    ''I have to make my forces as strong as possible.''


    The future became uncertain after the Satan Coin crashed into oblivion.


    ''There''s only one thing I have to do.''


    Just like when he had fallen into Hell, when he entered the Ninth Hell, when he dered war on all seven princes of Hell, and at any other time¡­


    ''I have to go higher.''


    Keep moving forward while devouring everything in the world.


    * * *


    "Let us depart."


    Si-Hun, who was standing in the front, turned. The Sirius Corps, the force under his directmand, stood in front of the gate in the Hall of Protection that led to the Middle East.


    "Likest time, we will be acting on our own." A silver-haired angel approached Si-Hun. It was Shalgiel¡ªRaphael''s second-inmand and the angel sent to both help and keep an eye on Guardians.


    Behind Shalgiel were angels that one could say were the elites among Raphael''s forces and the Watchers of Light who were their servants.


    "Yes, I would appreciate it," Si-Hun said while making a relieved expression.


    Although he was inmand of this operation, he still felt awkward around the angels. Commanding in such a situation would be ufortable, so having them act on their own made it easier.


    "Understood." Shalgiel turned around.


    "Alright, then¡­"


    Si-Hun took a deep breath. A heavy sense of anxiety was weighing down on his shoulders, unlike usual.


    "Come to think of it, where''s Kang-Woo?" Cha Yeon-Joo asked while looking around. She was also a member of the Sirius Corps, but she seemed more like a party member than a corps member due to her personality.


    "Hyung-nim said he couldn''te because he''s busy with something."


    "Busy?" Yeon-Joo frowned. "What could that guy possibly be busy with?"


    She seemed highly dissatisfied that he was not taking part in this operation.


    Si-Hun shook his head while making a bitter smile.


    "I''m not sure, but¡­"


    He remembered how sorry Kang-Woo looked because he couldn''t join them¡ªhis expression had been dark and extremely serious.


    "I''m almost certain it is a serious matter."


    For someone who despised evil as much as Kang-Woo to not participate in the operation to defeat the final Aspect of Evil, he likely had something very important to do that Si-Hun was not aware of.


    ''Hyung-nim¡­''


    Si-Hun thought of Kang-Woo, who was likely working busily elsewhere. He always thought of others, made sacrifices, and was more righteous than anyone else.


    Si-Hun respected him more than he did anyone else in the world. If such a person was doing something without telling him, it was most certainly something too difficult to even express in words.


    Light particles gathered around his hand, forming a pure-white sword.


    ck.


    He grabbed Ludwig and swore an oath.


    "I will finish off the Demon Cult in your ce, hyung-nim."


    * * *


    Click.


    "Whoa, it worked."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone while looking at the item he''d cleverly created using the Authority of Projection and the Authority of Subordination. He had created it for this very moment.


    Si-Hun''s field of view was put up in front of him like a TV screen.


    "Ngh, I''m a little tired," Kang-Woo said with drowsy eyes.


    He had be dead-tired from all the extreme practicing to surpass the limit of his demonic energy control. For the past few days, he had practiced without any sleep.


    ''This isn''t something that can be recovered with the Authority of Regeneration.''


    Even a demon king would be mentally exhausted after staying between the border of life and death every second of the day.


    ''To be honest, I''m extremely sleepy, but¡­''


    He couldn''t afford to miss such an opportunity.


    Kang-Woo reached for the object he''d prepared for this moment. He cracked open a can of beer and munched on some of the popcorn he''d prepared beforehand.


    "Go, Si-Hun!"


    He waved his light sticks.


    "You got this, my little bro!!"

 Chapter 260 - The Whole World Will Be Destroyed (2)

    Chapter 260 - The Whole World Will Be Destroyed (2)


    "KIIEEKK!!"


    A horrible scream rang out.


    "Haa."


    Kim Si-Hun took a deep breath and held Ludwig tighter, leaping forward and swinging the sword upward. Pure-white sword energy shot along the trajectory of his attack.


    The demonic beasts rushing toward him were cut in half.


    sh!


    ck blood sttered in all directions.


    He lightly turned to dodge the blood stter and then ran forward.


    "Arrgghh!!"


    "Kill them!!"


    Screams were heard from all directions. Hundreds of demonic beasts were charging toward the copsed Sirius Corps members.


    Crackle!


    At that moment, red chains spread out and cut through the demonic beasts.


    A woman with short red hair kicked a demonic beast and rushed forward.


    "Where is that son of a bitch Kalgia?!" Cha Yeon-Joo yelled.


    Si-Hun raised his hand and pointed to the remnants of a building that had turned into a ruin. Yeon-Joo and Si-Hun could see a passage leading underground. Although it had been destroyed in the past due to a certain someone, a Demon Cult branch used to be there.


    "In there, apparently," Si-Hun said.


    "Ngh, it''s pretty far."


    It actually wasn''t that far in terms of distance.


    "Kiieekk!"


    "Sons of bitches!" Yeon-Joo crossed her hands. The chains spread out in a and wrapped around the demonic beasts.


    Tsss.


    With the smell of burning flesh, smoke rose.


    "Why are there so many demonic beasts¡­?" she mumbled in irritation.


    The thousands of demonic beasts pouring out from around the ruin made the way to the passage seem much longer than it actually was.


    "This must be the entirety of the Demon Cult''s remaining forces."


    "But there isn''t a single Demon Cultist in sight for that to be the case¡­"


    Yeon-Joo narrowed her eyes and looked around. Just like she said, there were only hideous demonic beasts around them. Neither the Demon Cultists who controlled the demonic beasts nor the Demon Cult''s cardinals could be seen anywhere.


    Si-Hun remained silent.


    ''It''s certainly weird.''


    It was weird that, despite there being so many demonic beasts, not one Demon Cultist was visible.


    There were two possibilities he could think of.


    ''They either used the demonic beasts as bait to escape¡­''


    Si-Hun stared at the passageway where Kalgia apparently was.


    ''¡­ Or they gathered the cultists to prepare for something.''


    He felt an ominous feeling traveling down his back. He had a feeling that Kalgia had not run away.


    ''They have something up their sleeve.''


    It was not a deduction based on logic, but an unreliable guess based on a hunch. However, the ominous energying from the underground passage strengthened his hunch.


    He gripped his holy sword tighter.


    "Yeon-Joo," Si-Hun called out.


    "Yeah?"


    "It will take too much time to advance after clearing out every single demonic beast. I will charge straight through them."


    "What?"


    Yeon-Joo looked at Si-Hun as if he were saying nonsense. They were about three hundred meters away from the entrance to the underground passage. There were easily over a thousand demonic beasts blocking their way.


    ''He''s gonna charge through all that?''


    It waspletely absurd.


    Whoom!


    "Hey, wait! You''re not actually¡ª"


    BOOM!


    Si-Hun stomped on the ground. Blinding light spread through the surroundings.


    "C-Crazy son of a bitch¡­!"


    One step¡­


    He swung his sword low. The leg of a demonic beast more than three meters tall was severed, and the demonic beast copsed.


    Two steps¡­


    He stepped on its head and rose into the sky, holding his sword in a reverse grip as he smashed it down. Pure-white sword energy burst out in the shape of a fan as if thepressed power was exploding. It ughtered the demonic beasts.


    Three steps¡­


    He squeezed through the gap that he had created and, in the blink of an eye, infiltrated the area where the demonic beasts were gathered.


    "Fuuu."


    He gripped the sword with both hands and raised it up high. White light rose like a pir.


    "Heavenly Dragon¡­"


    He opened his mouth and drew out Qi from inside his dantian. An explosive amount of light filled their field of vision.


    "¡­ sh."


    Rumble¡ª!!


    The sword energy that grew up to thirty meters in length wiped out the demonic beasts. About a hundred demonic beasts exposed to that powerful energy were vaporized.


    It was as if a giant from mythology had swung down their sword.


    "Wha¡­"


    "Wh-When did he gain such power¡­?"


    Tian Wuchenughed in disbelief.


    Yeon-Joo could only stare at Si-Hun with her mouth agape.


    Si-Hun had run into an area where thousands of demonic beasts had gathered, and created a path.


    It was a power that was hard to imagine came from a human. It was such an unbelievable sight that it was more urate to call him a monster.


    "There is no time to waste! Now is our chance!" he quickly shouted toward the corps members looking at him in disbelief.


    The Sirius Corps members, who had finally returned to their senses, rushed toward the path Si-Hun had opened up.


    "Yeaaaaaaah!"


    "Charge!!"


    They assumed a wedge formation with Si-Hun at the forefront, cutting through the sea of demonic beasts.


    "KIIEEKK!!"


    "Kuh!"


    Si-Hun grimaced.


    Countless demonic beasts appeared out of nowhere to block their path.


    ''Not enough.''


    He would be able to charge through if he were alone, but it would be difficult to take the entire Sirius Corps with him.


    "Yeon-Joo! Master! Gather around me with only the corps''s most elite members!"


    "Kuh! But if we do that¡­"


    Wuchen looked around while making a troubled expression.


    If only they charged past the demonic beasts, the other members that were left behind would get surrounded.


    "It''s okay," Si-Hun said while looking somewhere.


    There were angels with white wings attacking the demonic beasts where he was looking.


    "Those tainted by darkness!"


    "Receive the judgment of light!"


    The angels were sweeping away the demonic beasts. Among them, Shalgiel and a few angels flew toward Si-Hun.


    "Where is the enemymander?"


    "This way!"


    Si-Hun pointed to the underground passageway.


    Yeon-Joo, Wuchen, and Shalgiel turned toward the passageway, and the elites of the Sirius Corps and the high-ranking angels worked together to clear a path.


    Boom! Crash!


    The underground passageway crumbled, revealing arge cave behind its crumbled walls.


    "Zazas, zazas, nasatanada za¡ª"


    "I-Intruders!"


    Hundreds of priests in ck robes were performing some sort of ritual.


    Without hesitation, Si-Hun rushed forward.


    sh! sh!


    "Kurgh!"


    "Arrgghh!"


    The priests were cut down at an incredible speed.


    Si-Hun grew even more anxious.


    ''Something''s wrong.''


    He had no idea what ritual the hundreds of Demon Cultists were performing or what it would bring, but one thing was for certain:


    ''I can''t let them seed.''


    He was sure of it. His steps became quicker, and he cut through all the priests blocking his way.


    "Filthy demon worshipers!"


    It was the same for Shalgiel. After he sensed the chilling demonic energying from theplex magic circle, he spread his six wings and flew up.


    "Die!"


    Shalgiel flew toward the scrawny old man who seemed to be leading the ritual.


    Kalgia raised his head.


    "Kehehehe."


    A chillingugh came out. He mmed his cane down on the ground.


    BOOM!


    "Kurgh!"


    Demonic energy spread radially and blew Shalgiel away. Shalgiel smashed into a wall as if he''d been struck by a giant hammer.


    "Kekeke. Angels and the retainers of Gaia, huh¡­? What an interesting audience we have gathered here."


    Kalgia burst intoughter and turned around. The huge amount of demonic energying out of him weighed down on the entire cave.


    "Kuh! Wh-what''s up with that bastard¡­?"


    Yeon-Joo frowned at the huge pressure weighing her down. She was trying to control the red chains and attack Kalgia, but her body wasn''t listening to her.


    "Kuh!"


    "M-My body¡­"


    It was the same for the rest.


    yers and angels alike fell to the ground because they couldn''t withstand the immense pressure weighing down on the entire cave.


    sh!


    Among them, the only one that could still move was Si-Hun. He cut through hundreds of the Demon Cultists and advanced.


    "Stop him!"


    "Do not let him interfere with the ritual!"


    The Demon Cultists sted thousands of ck magic spells at Si-Hun.


    "sh."


    He shed the countless ck magic spells and advanced. Every time he took a step forward, dozens of Demon Cultists fell.


    Wham!


    "Haaa, haaa."


    But no matter how strong Si-Hun was, there was no way he''d be okay after being attacked by so much ck magic. He was bing more wounded, and blood poured out from everywhere.


    ''Shit.''


    He bit his lip and red at Kalgia, who wasughing in madness as if having the time of his life.


    Just then¡­


    BOOM!


    "P-Protector Kim Si-Hun!!"


    "Gaia¡­?"


    The wall copsed, and Gaia appeared along with the middle-aged blonde woman Grace McCubbin, who was carrying Gaia on her back.


    Si-Hun''s expression hardened at Gaia''s sudden appearance.


    "It''s dangerous h¡ª"


    "W-We must stop the ritual!!!" Gaia shouted while making a pale expression. "I-I received a revtion! Th-That man is trying to¡­!"


    "Kehe¡­ Kehehehe!!!" Kalgia burst intoughter. "It seems you''ve finally realized it, incarnation of Gaia!"


    He rummaged through his robe.


    "But you are already toote! You cannot stop the ritual!"


    He took out a ck book from his robe.


    "I have finally realized! We have been deceived all this time! We had been fooled all this time by Satan!"


    He opened the book, and he released an immense amount of demonic energy.


    "Wh-Whooooaaaaa!!"


    "The truth!!"


    "Atst, our true ruler¡­!"


    The priests kneeled while cheering as if they had lost their minds.


    "What in the world¡­"


    Si-Hun frowned at their sudden change in attitude.


    Kalgia kept shouting. "This book contains the entire truth! This book is a sacred text that hase directly from Hell! This book is truth itself!"


    On the cover of the book was written Book of Hell.


    Kalgia eximed in madness, "Satan was a false king! He was not the Demon of Prophecy that made even the gods tremble in fear! The true demon¡­ the lord of Hell has always been someone else!!"


    m!


    He smashed his cane down on the ground.


    "Now,e! Manifest yourself, O Great One!!"


    The air cracked, forming a ck Rift.


    "O Lord of Hell! O King of Demons Who Rules the Nine Hells!!!!"


    Crackle!


    The ck Rift grew bigger.


    "Kahahahaha!! You are all toote! The ritual cannot be reversed anymore!"


    Kalgia opened both arms and burst intoughter.


    "Look with your own eyes at the moment of the world''s destruction!"


    Crackle!!


    "O Demon of Prophecy! Please bring destruction upon this world as per the prophecy!!!"


    Boooom!!!


    The entire cave shook with a massive explosion. Smoke rose into the sky and sank. And in the middle of the magic circle¡­


    "¡­ Huh?"


    ¡­ Was Kang-Woo, spread out over a couch with a can of beer in one hand and popcorn in the other.


    He said with drowsy eyes as if he had just woken up, "The hell?"


    He looked around. His half-open eyes widened.


    "What the fuck is going on?"

 Chapter 261 - Demented Situation (1)

    Chapter 261 - Demented Situation (1)


    Oh Kang-Woo had fallen asleep; he had umted more fatigue than he had expected from training to improve his demonic energy control without any rest for several days.


    After seeing that Kim Si-Hun had created a pir of light and wiped out the demonic beasts, Kang-Woo had felt relieved, thinking that Si-Hun would be able to take care of whatever else that would happen.


    But¡­


    ''What''s going on?''


    He''d only closed his eyes for a short while before he suddenly felt he was being sucked somewhere, causing him to open his eyes. He was then met with a situation he couldn''t understand at all.


    "Hmm?"


    Kalgia looked at Kang-Woo in bewilderment. The man on the couch looked more like an unemployed bum than the Demon of Prophecy. He did not possess even an ounce of majesty.


    "Could the summoning have failed¡­?"


    Kalgia mumbled in confusion for a short while but shook his head.


    ''I did everything the Book of Hell stated.''


    Kalgia had never imagined that someone lying on a couch while holding a beer and popcorn would appear, but based on his outer appearance, everything was as the Book of Hell described: a human with sharp eyes.


    ''That man is surely¡­''


    The monster who had rewritten history in hell in just ten millennia and had risen to the pinnacle of demons.


    The demon of demons, the Hell of Hells, the predator of predators. The master of the Demonic Sea and hundreds of Authorities, the one who had made all seven princes of Hell kneel before him.


    ''The Demon of Prophecy.''


    Kalgia nodded.


    It didn''t matter how he looked¡­


    The research that he had done on the Demon of Prophecy matched perfectly with the demon king. He had also poured the entirety of the Demon Cult''s wealth and assets umted over several thousand years, just to track the Demonic Sea possessed by the demon king and summon him here.


    ''There is no way it failed.''


    The summoning had been meticulously calcted for even the tiniest variables.


    "Aaah!" Kalgia knelt. "O Demon of Prophecy¡­!!"


    "What?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes as Kalgia referred to him as the Demon of Prophecy.


    "What the hell are you t¡ª"


    "We have been waiting all this time for your advent!!"


    "The fuck d''you say?"


    "I have discovered the truth! The truth that Satan had been pettily hiding all this time! Here! Please take a look at this! This book contains your true identity!"


    "Wait just a fucking second."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes trembled.


    The book Kalgia held¡­


    It was the Book of Hell that Lilith had written and distributed to the Demon Cultists to enlighten them on the truth.


    ''What the actual fuck is happening?''


    The situation was soplicated that he couldn''t follow at all. The beer and popcorn fell from his hands.


    "I havee to a realization after reading this book! You are the Demon of Prophecy feared by all the gods!"


    ''No.''


    "The true evil that will bring about destruction to the whole world!"


    ''Fucking excuse me.''


    "The one we needed to serve had never been Satan!"


    ''Stop.''


    "O Demon of Prophecy!!"


    ''Stop, you motherfucker.''


    "Please punish those ignorant humans and bring this world to ruin!!!"


    ''Stop, you crazy bastaaaaaaaard!!!''


    Kang-Woo pulled on his hair. He finally understood what had happened.


    ''Lilith¡­ you¡­''


    Before he had met up with Lilith, she had distributed the Book of Hell within the Demon Cult. At that time, nothing much had happened. After all, from the Demon Cult''s point of view, the Book of Hell was nothing but a fictional novel.


    There was no way Satan, the being they served, was actually a loser, and a human hadpletely overthrown the power dynamic of Hell and rose to the pinnacle of all demons in just ten millennia.


    No one would possibly believe such a thing.


    ''Or that''s what I thought.''


    Kang-Woo red at Kalgia, the ck mage who seemed to have lost his mind.


    ''For fuck''s sake.''


    Someone who believed in such a groundless novel had appeared. And to make things worse, the one who''d believed in it was thest remaining Aspect of Evil.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo turned his head in silence.


    ''Oh, fuck.''


    He felt lots of stares directed at him¡ªfrom Gaia, Si-Hun, Cha Yeon-Joo, Tian Wuchen, and many otherrades with whom he had built up trust. There were also the gazes of the Sirius Corps members, who were acquainted with him, as well as the gazes of Shalgiel and the other angels.


    "H-Hyung-nim¡­?"


    Si-Hun''s face had turned pale, and his voice trembled. He was trembling as if he were looking at his worst possible nightmare.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    No, there was nothing he could do besides be silent. There was only one way to describe his current situation¡­


    ''I''m fucked.''


    There was no better way to describe it than that.


    Kang-Woo''s expression paled.


    This wasn''t something that could be resolved by pulling some Warrior of Light bullshit like he had done in the incident with Balrog. He was just fucked. The situation had be so messed up that there was nothing he could do about it.


    "Hm?"


    Kalgia looked around. It was only obvious he would react that way since one of the retainers of Gaia, who hade to stop the ritual, had referred to the Demon of Prophecy as ''hyung-nim.''


    "What is going o¡ª"


    Bash!


    Kang-Woo extended his hand.


    Kalgia''s head exploded, sttering brain matter everywhere.


    ''Shut up for a second.''


    Letting Kalgia talk would only make the situation worse.


    "H-Hyung-nim!! What in the world is¡­"


    "Hey!! S-Say something! Y-You''re not, right? There''s been some sort of mixup, right?!"


    Si-Hun and Yeon-Joo shouted in confusion.


    Of course, they already knew that Kang-Woo had been a demon in the past, but not the fact that he was the Demon of Prophecy, the incarnation of evil, who would bring ruin to the whole world.


    "Kuh¡­ That human¡­ has deceived us!" Shalgiel eximed.


    "No!" Si-Hun refuted. "There has to have been some sort of issue! There is no way hyung-nim is the Demon of Prophecy!!"


    "Shut your mouth! Is it not obvious enough after what you have just seen?!" Shalgiel pointed at Kang-Woo. "Everyone here must have felt how immense and evil the demonic energying from the ritual was!"


    It was true.


    When the ritual was at its peak, a huge ck Rift appeared in the air, and a breathtaking amount of demonic energy hade out of it.


    "And the one that appeared from that demonic energy was that human! Even the Aspect of Evil called him the Demon of Prophecy! What more evidence do you need?!"


    Shalgiel red at Kang-Woo.


    "Even Lady Gaia has said it herself!! Satan has never been the Demon of Prophecy! If that is the case, then that human must be the cause of everything! He had manipted Satan and orchestrated everyth¡ª"


    "What the fuck are you talking about, you piece of shit?!"


    Yeon-Joo stomped on the ground. Red mana burst from her body, and her chains rose into the air.


    "That guy might not be the good and honest hero you think he is! But still¡­! Even so¡­!!" She shouted out, "He isn''t capable ofmitting such atrocities!!"


    If Kang-Woo was the Demon of Prophecy, it would be correct to assume that everything that Satan had done until now was at Kang-Woo''s orders. Satan himself had admitted that he had rtions with the Demon of Prophecy.


    Then if Satan really was a subordinate of the Demon of Prophecy, it meant that Alec Osborne''s death, the brutal murder of the hero Reynald, and the corruption of Ludwig had all been orchestrated by Kang-Woo.


    "You have all been deceived by that demon all along!! How do you still not realize it after what you just s¡ª"


    "Shut up."


    "¡­ What?"


    "I said, shut up." Si-Hun pointed his holy sword at Shalgiel. "You know nothing."


    The tip of the sword trembled.


    "You know nothing about Kang-Woo hyung!!!" Si-Hun shouted. "You have no right to say such things when you know nothing about what he had gone through and the weight on his shoulders!"


    "And I am telling you all of that had been a lie¡ª"


    "Shut up!!" Si-Hun shouted.


    However, his grimace and his voice filled with confusion and rage were enough to know that not even he was sure what was true.


    "Hyung-nim! Please say something!"


    Si-Hun turned his head to Kang-Woo¡ªthe one whom he admired and loved the most.


    "¡­"


    "Please¡­ hyung-nim¡­" Si-Hun said drearily while on the verge of tears. He sounded like he was about to copse at any moment.


    Kang-Woo remained with his mouth shut while looking at Si-Hun. Unlike his nk expression, there was a huge storm within his mind.


    ''What the fuck am I supposed to say in this situation?!'' he inwardly shouted.


    He felt like his head was about to explode. He was surprised at how he could remain so calm on the outside.


    ''Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!!!''


    He was truly fucked.


    He was so fucked that there was absolutely nothing he could possibly do.


    ''What should I do?''


    He needed a way to free himself from this absolute shitstorm of a situation.


    ''Should I im the Demon Cult summoned me by mistake?''


    That was the first thought that crossed his mind.


    Kang-Woo bit his lip.


    ''No.''


    He shook his head.


    Things had gotten far too big for him to im that it was a mistake.


    People with whom he had built up a high level of trust, such as Si-Hun, Yeon-Joo and Gaia, were sure to believe him, but¡­


    Kang-Woo looked at Shalgiel. He and the other angels were looking at him with hostility.


    "Wh-What?"


    "What''s going on?"


    "Isn''t that person Captain Kim Si-Hun''s sworn brother?"


    "Ah! The one that had been surrounded by golden lightst time!"


    "Then why¡­"


    As for the other yers, they were looking around as if they couldn''t understand what was happening.


    ''There''s no way I''ll be able to deceive everyone.''


    Leaving yers aside, being doubted by the angels would be the worst possible oue. Raphael was not the only problem; behind him were the other archangels as well as the gods. It would be no different from bing the public enemy of every world.


    ''Shit.''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''Think.''


    He needed to find a way to resolve this demented situation¡ªa way to flip the worst possible situation on its head.


    ''I''m sure there''s a way.''


    There''s no way there wasn''t a way out.


    He was used to these kinds of situations, and he had always ovee them.


    ''A way¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened. Shivers ran across his entire body.


    ''Yes.''


    The ends of his mouth went up, and he clenched his fists. If he thought about it, the answer was quite simple; there had not even been a need to think so deeply about it.


    ''I see.''


    There was one way to resolve everything.


    "Hyung-nim!! Please say something!!"


    Kang-Woo raised his head and looked at Si-Hun, who was screaming at him.


    Tap.


    He leaped forward and raised his fist.


    Bash!!


    "Kurgh!!"


    He punched the desperately screaming Si-Hun in the face without hesitation.

 Chapter 262 - Demented Situation (2)

    Chapter 262 - Demented Situation (2)


    Bash!


    "Kurgh!"


    Kim Si-Hun went flying, rolled across the ground, and smashed into a wall.


    "P-Protector Kim Si-Hun!!" Gaia urgently shouted. Although she couldn''t see, she could more or less tell from the sound what was happening.


    "Wh-Wha¡­"


    People trembled in shock when Si-Hun had suddenly gone flying from Kang-Woo''s attack.


    "Hyung-nim¡­?"


    Even the people watching were shocked, so it was not hard to imagine how shocked the one who had been blown away was.


    Si-Hun was looking at Kang-Woo with trembling eyes and a pale expression. His cheek was numb from the pain. No, it wasn''t just numb. His cheekbone would''ve been crushed if he had not reflexively twisted his body.


    "Wh-Why are you doing this, hyung-nim?!" Si-Hun eximed.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo didn''t answer. He looked down at Si-Hun with a face that did not have even a single hint of emotion.


    "You have finally shown your true colors!" Shalgiel said in a confident voice, as if proud that his prediction had been correct. He gripped his sword even tighter. His six wings pped, and he flew toward Kang-Woo.


    "Stop, you son of a bitch!!"


    Yeon-Joo quickly spread her chains, but it was nowhere near enough to stop the second-inmand of Raphael''s army. She was the one to be pulled by the chains instead.


    "Kuh!!"


    "Please¡­ Please wait!!"


    "Even you¡­!"


    Si-Hun blocked Shalgiel''s path.


    Yeon-Joo could not stop Shalgiel on her own, but it was a different story when Si-Hun helped out.


    Shalgiel grimaced.


    "Have still note to your senses after being attacked by that demon?!"


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun kept his mouth shut. He couldn''t think of anything to say to refute Shalgiel or to justify his actions.


    ''No.''


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened. He recalled the name of the sword he was holding. To be more precise, he thought of his friend whose name was the same as the sword.


    "H-Hyung-nim must be being controlled!"


    "What?"


    Shalgiel frowned.


    "I am sure that he is being controlled by a demon, just like Ludwig!!"


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Shalgiel snorted.


    "Do you seriously believe anyone would be capable of controlling the Demon of Prophecy?"


    "Like I said before, hyung-nim is not the Demon of¡ª"


    "So what?!" Shalgiel shouted. He trembled while clenching his fists. "What did you do with Ludwig?! What did you do with the saint that had been corrupted by Satan?!"


    "¡­"


    "Did you not kill Ludwig with your own hands?!!"


    Si-Hun''s expression paled.


    It was true.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t be saved just by the fact that he was being controlled. The situation could not be reversed. If he was being controlled¡­ if he had been corrupted just like Ludwig, he ultimately needed to be killed.


    "¡­ Hyung-nim."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo once again didn''t answer.


    The situation could not be changed just from the fact that he was being controlled. Si-Hun needed to find another reason¡ªanother solution.


    "Please say something, hyung-nim!! Whatever happens, I''m on your side!"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo slowly raised his arm.


    Schwing.


    A ck de shot out from the back of his hand. It was a weapon that he often used.


    Despair dyed Si-Hun''s face.


    "Hyung¡­"


    ng!!


    Kang-Woo rushed forward, going for Si-Hun''s neck without hesitation.


    Si-Hun raised his holy sword.


    They exchanged countless blows in the span of a second.


    Si-Hun parried the ck de going for his neck and pulled back his arm to block the attack aiming for his left shoulder. He lowered himself and took one step back. Then, he swung his sword wide to gain some distance.


    However, that distance had onlysted a moment; Kang-Woo rose into the sky. No, to be more precise, he ran while ''stepping on the air.''


    Si-Hun lightly jumped. He used Sword Control to raise the weapons on the ground. He stepped on the weapons to rise into the air, turning it into an aerial battle.


    CLAAAANG!!!


    Boisterous sounds of steel rang out, and sparks poured in all directions like fireworks.


    One was one-sidedly attacking, while the other was one-sidedly defending.


    "Kuh!"


    The result of such an unfair battle was obvious. One would not be able to win just by defending.


    Si-Hun was pushed back.


    Sharp attacks aimed for his vital points. He was able to dodge them by a hair''s breadth, but he was still cut by the pressure, and blood spurted in all directions.


    "Stop, you crazy fucker!" Yeon-Joo entered the fight.


    Red chains spread and applied pressure on him like a. Kang-Woo turned 180 degrees and swung his arm around like a windmill. The chains were cut in the blink of an eye.


    "Why are you doing this?!" Tian Wuchen also charged in to stop the rampaging Kang-Woo.


    BOOM!


    Two World Ranker¨Clevel yers charged in at once, but they were nowhere near enough. They were able to stop him only for a brief moment.


    "Hyung, please stop¡­ Stop!!" Si-Hun shouted.


    Shalgiel gestured to his subordinates. "Kill that demon!"


    "Ah¡­!"


    Si-Hun quickly turned around. He had been blocking Kang-Woo''s attacks, so he had not been able to stop Shalgiel.


    "N-No!"


    He quickly extended his hand. He wasn''t worried about Shalgiel''s subordinates hurting Kang-Woo. Rather, he feared the opposite.


    "Die!!"


    "Kill the Demon of Prophecy!"


    "Those tainted by darkness, receive the judgment of light!"


    The angels rushed toward Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo turned to them, his eyes devoid of emotion. He raised his hand, and¡­


    sh!!


    "Kurgh!!!"


    "N-Noooo!!!"


    Si-Hun''s scream echoed.


    The angels rushing toward Kang-Woo were bisected in an instant, and white blood sttered in all directions. Their sliced internal organs wet the ground.


    "A-Aaaahh¡­"


    Si-Hun knelt, his face pale.


    It was toote. There was no going back now.


    Kang-Woo had killed angels with his own hands¡ªthe trust rtionship between humans and angels was broken. From this moment on, all angels had be their enemies.


    "You crazy son of a biiiiitch!!!"


    Yeon-Joo stomped on the ground, her red hair fluttering in the air. She pulled her left arm back.


    tter!


    The red chains gathered around, twisting and intertwining.


    "Kuh¡­!"


    Blood leaked out of her mouth from drawing out mana past her limit. Her body was under huge pressure. At that moment, sadness was visible in her eyes. She had never imagined that she would use the trump card she had been hiding on Kang-Woo, of all people, in a ce like this.


    "Red Lotus, First Form."


    tter!


    The red chains covered her left arm. She focused the power of the Trait that she had opened on her Tenth Awakening and rose to the ranks of World Rankers, the Trait Red Flower.


    "A-Arrgghh."


    She groaned from the huge pain spreading through her left arm.


    Yeon-Joo bit her lip.


    It had been over a year since she''d awakened the Red Flower Trait, but no one knew about its power yet. Not only was she unable to properly use it, but it was also far too burdensome on her body.


    ''One day¡­''


    Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo, who had gotten too far away for her to reach.


    ''I''ll master this and¡­''


    She had been practicing in secret so that she could hear Kang-Woo say that she was amazing and to have him rely on her like he had in the early days.


    Yeon-Joo clenched her eyes shut.


    "Come back to your senses, asshoooooole!!!!"


    She swung her left arm. The chains that had been crunched up shot out as if a flower was blooming. The chains with sharp thorns engulfed Kang-Woo, and¡­


    Bang.


    Crack!


    "Huh¡­?"


    With just a light flick of the wrist, the trump card that Yeon-Joo had been practicing in secret for a year had been torn apart all too easily.


    Yeon-Joo''s eyes widened.


    Kang-Woo extended his hand.


    "Kurgh!!"


    He grabbed Yeon-Joo''s neck.


    She twisted her body in pain and wriggled her legs.


    "Oh¡­ Kang-Woo¡­"


    Yeon-Joo looked at him with sad eyes, recalling the first time she''d seen him in that noisy inte cafe.


    She had been furious beyond belief at him at first, not understanding how a guy like him could possibly exist. Then, she had been given shivers from how he had grown so much in such a short time. She had thought to use that possibility for her own gains. And then¡­


    "You''re doing great."


    Back when a horrifying sense of shame had been weighing down on her, he had told her that she was doing great.


    "Don''t worry. I''ll help you."


    He had told her that he would help her.


    ''And¡­''


    He had actually kept his promise and fulfilled his promise of helping her take revenge on the Demon Cult.


    Who other than Kang-Woo would have been able to wipe out the worldwide Demon Cult?


    As Kang-Woo strangled her, Yeon-Joo desperately said, "Come¡­ back to your¡­ Cough!"


    Tears dripped from her eyes.


    Rather than feeling hurt that her attack, which she''d struggled so much to practice, was cast away so easily, the fact that Kang-Woo was the one strangling her hurt her heart far worse.


    Despite that¡­


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo didn''t answer. He turned his emotionless face toward Si-Hun.


    "Hyung¡­"


    The situation was too messed up.


    Tears dripped from Si-Hun''s eyes.


    "Hyung. Say something, please¡­"


    His head drooped.


    "Say something¡­ Anything¡­"


    Tears gathered at his chin. He could barely hold on to his sword.


    "Please¡­ Hyung," he desperately pleaded.


    Si-Hun extended his trembling hand toward him, and¡­


    Kang-Woo threw Yeon-Joo to the floor.


    "Cough! Cough! Cough!"


    Kang-Woo covered his mouth with the hand that he had used to strangle her.


    "Pfft."


    Laughter leaked out from between his fingers.


    "Pfft, pwahahahahahahahaha!!!!"


    Kang-Wooughed in madness.


    Si-Hun looked up at him with trembling eyes.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes, which had been emotionless earlier, were full of ''ecstasy.''


    "Hahahahahaha!! Man, I was really trying to hold it back, but you''re making it impossible!!"


    "Kang-Woo¡­ hyung¡­?"


    Si-Hun looked at him in confusion due to his sudden change of attitude.


    Kang-Woo slowly walked toward him.


    "Wonderful. Truly a masterpiece. I wonder how mere mortal insects can burn so beautifully. Oh, could it be because you''re mortals?"


    "H-Hyung¡­ what are you talking about¡­?"


    Kang-Woo covered his face with his hands.


    Kekeke.


    Suppressedughter came out.


    "Kang-Woo, huh¡­?"


    He burst intoughter again.


    "Do you¡­"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head and spoke as if he couldn''t understand.


    "¡­ Still see me as Oh Kang-Woo?"

 Chapter 263 - Demented Situation (3)

    Chapter 263 - Demented Situation (3)


    "What¡­ did you say?"


    Kim Si-Hun''s eyes widened. His hands, gripping his sword, trembled.


    - Do you still see me as Oh Kang-Woo?


    Oh Kang-Woo had said it mockingly.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Why hadn''t he thought of the possibility? Why hadn''t he even imagined it?


    "You¡­"


    There was no way Kang-Woo would attack him; there was no way he''d cut down angels or strangle Cha Yeon-Joo.


    He wasn''t that kind of person.


    He was kinder and more generous than anyone else. Si-Hun loved and respected him even more than his own blood-rted family.


    "Who¡­ are you?"


    And that Kang-Woo had suddenly changed drastically. The answer wasn''tplicated. It wasn''t even worth thinking about.


    It was a simple issue. It was so simple that he couldn''t help butugh in disbelief.


    The man smiling in front of him¡­ was not Oh Kang-Woo.


    "Who are you, you son of a bitch!!!"


    Si-Hun waved his hand. The weapons scattered on the ground rose into the air. There were dozens of weapons. His head became hot. He grunted in pain from reaching the limit of his brain''s processing capacity.


    "Raaaaahh!!!"


    Si-Hun ignored it. He did not have the leeway or reason to think about it. His overflowing rage made his body move.


    The dozens of weapons flew toward Kang-Woo¡ªno, the Demon of Prophecy who had taken the shape of Kang-Woo.


    CLAAAANG!!


    White sparks flew out in all directions. The weapons, which were blocked by a ck barrier, fell to the ground.


    "I don''t know, who do you think I am?"


    Kang-Woo snickered while scanning the crowd. Their eyes were filled with bewilderment, fear, and chaos. He clenched his fists in a way that no one could see.


    ''FUCK YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!''


    He would have raised his fists into the air and cheered if he could.


    ''Yes, it worked!''


    It was an impable performance, even for him.


    A perfect scenario¡ªsimple yet effective.


    If the problem was that Kang-Woo had appeared when the Demon of Prophecy had been summoned¡­ he just had to make people believe that the one summoned had never been Oh Kang-Woo in the first ce.


    ''I feel a bit bad, though.''


    He saw Yeon-Joo coughing on the floor and Si-Hun with clearly visible tear streaks on his face. Although there was nothing Kang-Woo could''ve done about it, he still felt guilty for having pushed them both into a corner.


    ''I''m sorry, Yeon-Joo.''


    He had neutralized a technique of hers that he had never seen before all too easily.


    ''It looked like she practiced it a lot.''


    It was a technique that shot out chains as if a red flower was blooming.


    Considering that he had never seen it despite meeting up with Yeon-Joo quite frequently, that meant she''d practiced it quite a lot in secret. Although the technique itself was powerful, it was too poorly structured.


    Kang-Woo was on a whole other level when it came to controlling energies, so from his perspective, the technique was riddled with problems.


    ''Ngh.''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    He remembered her face full of bewilderment and despair when he easily destroyed her technique. He had even clenched her neck and given her a very painful experience.


    ''I''ll make it up to you, I promise.''


    He wanted to beg for forgiveness right this second if he could.


    ''And¡­''


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun.


    "How¡­ how dare you¡­!"


    Si-Hun grimaced, his expression a mix of rage, relief, resentment, and despair. The target of his rage and resentment was obviously him, and he was likely relieved by the fact that Kang-Woo wasn''t the Demon of Prophecy.


    ''I''m so fucking sorry, Si-Hun!''


    The one he felt the most sorry for was, without any doubt, Si-Hun. Seeing his little bro hurt all over broke his heart.


    ''I had no choice.''


    It was a sorry excuse, but it wasn''t a lie. In order to turn the situation in his favor, he needed to show everyone that he was the Demon of Prophecy wearing the skin of Oh Kang-Woo.


    He had to push Si-Hun to the limit to make it feel real.


    ''It also breaks my heart.''


    Every time he attacked Si-Hun with the intent to kill, he was worried he might actually end up killing him.


    ''Thanks for holding on, man.''


    Si-Hun was just barely able to withstand his attacks, so he was able toplete the scenario.


    ''I never thought the day when I pretended to be me woulde.''


    There was nothing he could do about it. He had no other choice if he wanted to revert the situation.


    ''Now¡­''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. Leaving aside his guilt, he smiled due to how his n had worked out so well.


    "How dare you pretend to be hyung¡­!"


    The sight of Si-Hun trembling in anger was very protagonist-like. He was emitting powerful bloodlust toward the demon pretending to be the man he respected so much.


    Kang-Woo once again burst into crazedughter.


    "Pfft! Bwahahahaha! Good! That''s perfect! I can understand why Satan had taken a liking to you."


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun red at him in bloodlust and gripped his sword. Since he knew the being in front of him was a demon pretending to be Kang-Woo, he didn''t need to hesitate anymore.


    Swoosh!


    Si-Hun blurred as he began moving at supersonic speed, creating a huge sonic boom. He drew out his Qi to its absolute limit and swung at Kang-Woo''s head.


    "Come on, what''s with you?"


    ng!!


    Kang-Woo easily blocked the attack with the ck de extending from the back of his hand.


    "Aren''t I your highly respected hyung? You sure you wanna attack me so fiercely?"


    "Shut up!!"


    "Pfft, hahahaha!"


    He blocked Si-Hun''s attacks whileughing mockingly.


    ''Urgh.''


    Unlike how he was leisurely blocking the attacks, a bead of cold sweat dripped down Kang-Woo''s neck.


    ''When did he get so strong?''


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun with great interest. He wasn''t sure if Si-Hun was drawing out power past his limits or if he had grown stronger without Kang-Woo noticing, but it was not easy blocking his attacks.


    ''You''re growing very nicely, Si-Hun.''


    He smiled proudly. He would have liked to pat him on the back, but it was hard to do that with what was going on.


    Kang-Woo looked around.


    The first part of his n had seeded.


    ''But it''s not enough.''


    He couldn''t erase all doubts in the crowd with just this.


    ''It may be good enough for Si-Hun and Yeon-Joo, but I''m sure the angels won''t be so easily convinced.''


    Even if he imed that he was some unknown demon and not Oh Kang-Woo, there was no way they''d believe him.


    Humans of Earth did not share a very deep bond of trust with the angels.


    It was, after all, a rtionship built on understanding and self-interest for both parties. It was hard to expect them to trust him like Si-Hun and Yeon-Joo.


    ''I need stronger evidence.''


    He needed better evidence that showed that Oh Kang-Woo wasn''t the Demon of Prophecy.


    ''If things go as nned¡­''


    He''d soon be able to get that opportunity.


    Kang-Woo kept driving Si-Hun into a corner while waiting for that moment.


    "Kuh!"


    Si-Hun, who was barraging Kang-Woo with attacks, clenched his hand in pain. The skin on his hands was being torn apart from the recoil of going past his limit.


    "Haaa, haaa."


    He panted heavily.


    "Cough! Cough! Urgh¡­" At that moment, Yeon-Joo got up from the floor. She red at Kang-Woo while holding her bruised neck. "So¡­ that bastard isn''t Kang-Woo but someone else, right?"


    A strong bloodlust appeared in her eyes.


    Si-Hun silently nodded and quietly bit his lip.


    ''We''re nowhere near strong enough to defeat him.''


    He red at the demon smiling leisurely.


    The demon wearing Kang-Woo''s skin was stronger than he could have ever imagined. He could not be defeated by the angels and yers here right now.


    "Lord Shalgiel!" Si-Hun called out.


    "Another¡­ demon?"


    Shalgiel had fallen into chaos from the sheerplexity of the situation.


    "Shalgiel!!" Si-Hun shouted.


    It was then that Shalgiel looked at Si-Hun.


    "Call Lord Raphael right now!"


    "He is¡­"


    Shalgiel''s expression had hardened.


    Raphael still hadn''t fully recovered from his injuries in his battle against Satan. To be honest, he had only just recovered to the point that he could barely move.


    "Hurry!!"


    "Kuh¡­"


    Shalgiel bit his lip.


    Si-Hun was right. They would not be able to defeat that demon with only the people here.


    "Give me a second."


    Shalgiel closed his eyes and tried to contact Raphael. A golden halo appeared over his head.


    "Hmm. Calling for reinforcements, huh? Well, not a bad idea."


    The demon wearing Kang-Woo''s skin snickered while staring at Shalgiel and Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun took out amunication crystal orb from his pocket. It was the magic tool that members of Guardians used to get in touch with one another.


    ''If he isn''t Kang-Woo hyung¡­''


    He should be able to contact Kang-Woo.


    Si-Hun sent Qi into themunication crystal.


    Whoom.


    "Huh¡­?"


    The crystal orb shone, and he could also hear its unique ringing.


    - What''s up?


    He even heard Kang-Woo''s voice. Everything was perfect, but¡­


    "Wh-Why¡­?"


    Si-Hun''s eyes trembled, and his face paled.


    "Hm? What''s wrong? If you called someone, then you should talk."


    The voiceing from the crystal orb was alsoing from the demon wearing Kang-Woo''s skin.


    "Wh-Why do you have¡­ h-hyung''s crystal orb¡­?"


    "Pfft, bwahahahahaha!!"


    Kang-Woo burst into crazedughter while holding his stomach.


    ''It''s finally here!''


    It was the moment he had been waiting for. He had expected it to happen. If he wasn''t Kang-Woo, either Si-Hun or Yeon-Joo would obviously try to contact the real Oh Kang-Woo.


    ''Right, then¡­''


    It was about time to proceed with phase two of the n. He had already made the preparations while fighting Si-Hun.


    "Why indeed¡­ Why would I have this crystal orb? No, let me ask something even more simple."


    "Wh-What do you¡­"


    "Where do you think"¡ªKang-Woo slowly turned his head¡ª"your oh-so-precious hyung is right now?"


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun trembled. If someone who wasn''t Kang-Woo had his crystal orb¡­


    "Pfft, bwahahahahahahahahaha!!!!"


    Crazedughter echoed throughout the cave. The Demon of Prophecy wearing Kang-Woo''s skin lightly snapped his finger. A screen appeared in the air and disyed footage.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Si-Hun fell to his knees when he saw the video. The video was filling him with despair.


    - Si¡­ Hun¡­


    The video was filled with static, but he could still see Kang-Woo, who was tied up in steel chains, slowly raise his head. One of his eyes was missing as if it had been taken out on purpose.


    Kang-Woo mumbled in a weak voice.


    - R¡­ Run.


    "N-NOOOOOOO!!!!!"


    Si-Hun''s desperate scream rang out.

 Chapter 264 - Saving Oh Kang-Woo (1)

    Chapter 264 - Saving Oh Kang-Woo (1)


    The video was full of static.


    Oh Kang-Woo was chained to a cross-like pir. He was not chained in the typical way with his arms tied to the cross with metal chains. Instead, the ck chains, seemingly made of demonic energy, were prating both his shoulders, arms, calves, thighs, and corbones and were coiled around the entire giant pir. Blood and pus were leaking from his pierced skin, and Kang-Woo''s face, which was missing an eye, was distorted in pain and fear.


    - Si¡­ Hun.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Even in such a horrible situation¡­


    - R¡­ Run.


    ¡­ He kept telling Si-Hun to run away.


    "Hmm. He still doesn''t seem to know his ce."


    The Demon of Prophecy, who was wearing Kang-Woo''s skin, made a wicked smile and snapped his fingers.


    - Kurgh, Urgh!


    Thorns appeared from the chains prating Kang-Woo''s flesh, making it seem like they were looking at a cactus.


    The ten chains that had prated him moved. The sharp thornscerated his skin, removing the dry blood from his wounds and introducing fresh blood and pus.


    - Kargh! Argh!


    Kang-Woo seemed to be desperately enduring the pain.


    Si-Hun''s mind nked.


    "Stop, you motherfuckeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!!"


    He charged with all his might, even while using the power of his innate Qi. He roared like a beast.


    "Pfft, Pwahahahahaha!!"


    The Demon of Prophecy let out crazedughter as if the situation was unbelievably funny to him.


    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!"


    Si-Hun charged at him with the intent to kill, but he had already reached his limit. A light swing from the Demon of Prophecy was enough to send Si-Hun flying.


    "A-Argh," he groaned in pain. He crawled on the ground while forcibly moving his limbs. It was truly a wretched state.


    "Such heartwarming brotherly love. Haha. It''s truly¡­"


    The Demon of Prophecy sighed passionately.


    "¡­ Beautiful."


    Squelch, squelch.


    A viscous liquid could be heard dripping.


    Si-Hun raised his head to look at the Demon of Prophecy¡ªhis skin was falling apart from the head as if he no longer needed Kang-Woo''s skin. The wrinkly skin dropped to the ground as if an insect was shedding its exoskeleton.


    The body of the demon that had thrown away Kang-Woo''s skin was¡­


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened. He understood why Gaia had said that she didn''t know who the Demon of Prophecy was.


    The horrible demon was formed of a ck liquid simr to tar; it was as if the demon was a being made of the Abyss that devoured all light.


    "Wh-What the fuck is that¡­?" Yeon-Joo trembled.


    Could that even be called a demon? It had no eyes, nose, or mouth; it was only made of viscous darkness.


    "Y-You motherfucking slime¡­"


    Yeon-Joo tried to mock the demon by calling it just a weak slime, but her lips were pale. She instinctively knew that that monster was by no means just a slime.


    [Do you want to save this human?]


    "¡­"


    Snicker.


    He pointed toward the floating screen whileughing mockingly. There was no need to give an answer because the Demon of Prophecy seemed to already know how important Kang-Woo was to Si-Hun.


    Thud.


    The Demon of Prophecy threw out a ck gem that was about as big as two fingers. Laughing, he said, [If you want to save him, use that gem. It will guide you to where that human is.]


    "¡­"


    [I''m curious¡­]


    Squelch.


    The ck liquid moved.


    [¡­ Of how beautifully you''ll burn.]


    The Demon of Prophecy spoke cryptically.


    Just then, the wall of the cave copsed, and an angel with eight wings appeared. It was Raphael.


    "Kuh¡­"


    Raphael was grimacing in pain before the battle even began, likely due to his injuries not having fully healed. He was breathing heavily. Compared to when he had fought against Satan, the light from his wings was significantly weaker.


    [Whoops, I should be going.]


    The Demon of Prophecy turned around.


    "I will not let you escape!" Raphael shouted.


    m!


    Raphael rushed forward. The Demon of Prophecy swung his arm made of ck mucus.


    Crack.


    Arge portion of the skin on Raphael''s left shoulder was ripped out.


    "Kuh¡­!"


    "L-Lord Raphael!"


    Shalgiel quickly approached him.


    Raphael was no different from a sick person who had gotten up from the hospital bed¡ªit was impossible for him to fight against the Demon of Prophecy right now.


    [Is this the extent of an archangel''s strength?]


    Raphael''s eyes trembled. He looked at the demon whose body was made of ck mucus.


    "Who¡­ are you? Even in the record of myths, there is no mention of a being like¡ª"


    [Myths, huh?]


    The Demon of Prophecyughed.


    [History has forgotten too many things.]


    A ck Rift formed behind the Demon of Prophecy, and he slowly walked toward it.


    Right before hepletely disappeared into the Rift, the Demon of Prophecy whispered, [I will be looking forward to it, human.]


    The Demon of Prophecy disappeared into the darkness.


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun picked up the gem on the floor in silence. His field of vision turned as ck as the gem he had picked up.


    ng.


    The holy sword in his hands fell to the ground, became white dust, and scattered.


    * * *


    "Fuuu, fuuu. Holy fuck."


    Kang-Woo panted out heavily after escaping through a Gate he''d created with an Authority.


    "I almost got fucked."


    That was far too close. No, it wasn''t just close. It had almost been all over for him.


    He had barely managed to fix the situation thanks to the trust he had built with Si-Hun, Yeon-Joo, and Gaia.


    "¡­ This is where it truly begins."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. Since he had managed to perform first aid on the situation, it was now time to make a n to fully treat it.


    "Fuuu."


    Kang-Woo sighed deeply and sat on the floor since the couch had been summoned along with him. Not even he had expected this turn of events, so he needed time to organize his highly jumbled thoughts.


    ''I''m sure I have some time.''


    He''d given them a gem to use if they wanted to save him.


    That gem was something he''d created with Lilith in the past. It was what they''d used to create the gate that led to the dungeon where Ludwig had been corrupted.


    ''I''m sure they won''t use it immediately.''


    After all, it was obviously a trap. There was even a chance that they wouldn''t use it at all.


    "¡­"


    After thinking about it for a while, Kang-Woo shook his head.


    ''They''lle, at the very least.''


    He knew Si-Hun very well. Even if Si-Hun knew it was a trap, even if it were a burning pit of fire, he would for sure jump into it to save him.


    ''That''s just how he is.''


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    He once again started to feel guilty, but he shook his head and continued thinking.


    ''I''ll organize the situation first.''


    His eyes shone sharply.


    Leaving the process aside, the result wasn''t bad. Considering that he had simply dealt with a sudden situation, he''d acquired quite a lot of things.


    ''It''s also perfect timing, too.''


    It was just after Gaia had appeared and trolled, saying that Satan wasn''t the Demon of Prophecy.


    ''It needed to happen one way or another.''


    The value of the Satan Coin had plummeted due to Gaia''s revtion. He had already been thinking about finding someone to rece Satan and be the new ''Demon of Prophecy.''


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo put his hand on his forehead and thought of Gaia.


    ''It''s pointless to make someone else the Demon of Prophecy.''


    Let''s say he tried to frame Lucifer as the Demon of Prophecy. There was a chance Gaia would appear again and say he wasn''t the Demon of Prophecy.


    ''Useless bitch.''


    Thinking about Gaia made him furious, but he couldn''t do anything about it. No matter how much he hated her, she was the main god protecting Earth. If she ended up dying, it would most likely lead to the end of this world.


    ''If gods from other worlds invade en masse¡­''


    It was not hard to imagine what would happen. No matter how strong he was, Earth would be destroyed, and the home he had yearned for for ten millennia would vanish without a trace.


    "Fuuu."


    He sighed, shook his head, and refocused. It was time to focus on the Demon of Prophecy.


    ''The Demon of Prophecy¡­ needs to stay anonymous.''


    Just like a character that was simply a silhouette in mystery manhwa and anime, the true identity and form of the Demon of Prophecy must never be known.


    However¡­


    ''He shouldn''t be hidden too thoroughly.''


    He had to keep giving them clues that showed that the Demon of Prophecy truly existed. Comparing this n to the detective manhwa and anime mentioned before, he had to make sure the audience knew that a culprit actually existed.


    "¡­ It''s soplicated."


    Kang-Woo swept his hair up. He had to spread the evidence of the existence of the Demon of Prophecy while hiding his identity. It was a veryplicated task, but that was the best possible way to avoid being an object of suspicion by the gods.


    ''Hiding his existence¡­ while dropping hints about his existence¡­''


    He narrowed his eyes. The gears in his head turned.


    ''There is a way.''


    His eyes shone sharply.


    He had already thought of something¡ªthat was why he''d given Si-Hun the ck gem.


    "First¡­ I should contact Balrog and Lilith."


    After things had be soplicated, they were the first ones he''d thought of. Whether he liked them or not, they were the ones whom he''d been with the longest, so they coordinated well together.


    ''As for Echidna and Halcyon¡­''


    He fell into thought. He didn''t have much experience coordinating with them. He''d only coordinated a short while with Echidna when they''d killed Reynald, and he wasn''t sure if Halcyon was capable of acting.


    ''But I have no other choice.''


    He couldn''t do everything by himself. He needed more actors for his y.


    ''Alright, I''ll also contact Vaal Zahak, Halcyon, and Echidna.''


    He also thought about Han Seol-Ah but shook his head. Considering the situation, it would be better if as few people knew what was going on as possible. Unlike the others, Seol-Ah''s soul wasn''t linked to his, so hiding the truth from her was the correct answer.


    Kang-Woo got up.


    ''As for what I have to do¡­''


    If he wanted to enact a y, he needed the corresponding stage. He wasn''t sure when Si-Hun would use the ck gem, so creating the stage from scratch would be ineffective.


    Thankfully, he already had the perfect one that he''d used before.


    He moved to the dungeon he''d created.


    Riiing.


    [You have entered the SS+ rank dungeon ''Lilith ? Demon King Love Houwhythefuckdidyounameitlikethisfuckitsalreadyset''.]


    "¡­"


    There was silence.


    He grabbed his head.


    "For fuck''s sake¡­"


    He had to rebuild the stage from scratch.


    * * *


    m!!


    A huge sound akin to cannon fire echoed throughout a giant fortress.


    Crack.


    The table Si-Hun had smashed his fist down on was split into two.


    "¡­ What does that mean?" Si-Hun red at Shalgiel.


    Shalgiel sighed deeply.


    "The angels will not be taking part in this rescue operation."


    "¡­"


    Heavy silence fell.

 Chapter 265 - Saving Oh Kang-Woo (2)

    Chapter 265 - Saving Oh Kang-Woo (2)


    "Why¡­"


    Kim Si-Hun was about toin but ended up closing his mouth. He knew very well why Shalgiel had made such a decision.


    "Because it is far too obvious that it is a trap," Shalgiel said firmly.


    There was no need to even think about it. They were not trying to find where Oh Kang-Woo was being held and rescue him; the Demon of Prophecy had told them exactly where he was.


    It was an invitation from the enemy, so there was no need to exin how dangerous it would be. Going there was like jumping into a pit of fire.


    "¡­"


    Even so¡­


    Si-Hun closed his eyes.


    ''I have to go.''


    Kang-Woo''s life was at risk.


    Whether it led to a pit of fire or the valley of death, he had to go. There was no reason not to.


    ''¡­''


    The sight of Kang-Woo chained and muffling his screams came to his mind. If it were up to Si-Hun, Si-Hun would immediately use the gem to go save him.


    Crunch.


    He gritted his teeth. He had to resist. If he went alone, forget rescuing Kang-Woo, he himself would just die in vain.


    He asked, "Was your word that you would give us your full support just lip service?"


    "The situation is different. We cannot cooperate in a n to recklessly charge into an enemy''s trap."


    There was nothing Shalgiel could do. They were facing the worst possible situation.


    Shalgiel said, "We must at least wait until Lord Raphael recovers and the other archangels arrive."


    "That will be toote."


    "Even if it is toote, there is nothing we can do. Trying to save that man will just be suicide."


    "Hyung-nim had thrown himself into a Rift to chase after Satan before. Do the convictions of angels not evene close to that of a human?"


    "This and that are diff¡ª"


    "It is not different," Si-Hun cut Shalgiel off and showed him the ck gem in his hand. "I also know that this is an enemy trap, but it is also the only way to save hyung-nim at this time."


    "Give up. Just like Ludwig, he must have already been¡ª"


    "He has not been corrupted. You also saw the footage, did you not? He was just being tortured. There were no signs of him having turned into an Undead."


    "We cannot be sure just because we did not see the symptoms. We do not know what happened after that either."


    Suppressing his rage, Si-Hun said, "Hyung-nim is the Warrior of Light chosen by Tirion, God of Heroes. He is practically the co-leader of Guardians along with Gaia. Losing hyung-nim is like losing Guardians."


    No matter what, he had to convince the angels to cooperate.


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Shalgiel closed his eyes and fell into thought. To be more precise, he was just pretending to think; his answer was already decided.


    "We cannot."


    "¡­"


    "We angels cannot take part in this rescue operation."


    "I clearly said that losing him could break apart Guardians as a whole."


    "Even so, we cannot take part in such a reckless act."


    "Did you not say that we must kill the Demon of Prophecy?"


    "We must, but now is not the time."


    "What a lighthearted mindset," Si-Hun said as if mocking Shalgiel. Si-Hun looked at him with sharp eyes. "Does your conviction of eradicating demons change based on the situation?"


    "¡­ I am simply differentiating between courage and recklessness," Shalgiel replied in a low voice. He was actingpletely differently from his usual self of emphasizing battling with one''s life on the line.


    Si-Hun clenched his fists.


    "Please let me meet Lord Raphael."


    "You may not."


    "Fuck!!"


    m!!


    He stomped on the ground, cracking the marble floor. Si-Hun put his hand on his forehead and breathed heavily.


    ''Endure it.''


    Although he''d already exploded without being able to hold back his rage, he could not afford to get any angrier. He knew very well that his chance of rescuing Kang-Woo would get further away if he let his emotions take over him and he got into a conflict with the angels.


    ''For hyung¡­ I have to endure it.''


    Even if he wanted to smash that stubborn angel''s face in, he needed to suppress his rage. If he antagonized the angels here, forget rescuing Kang-Woo, all of humanity would be in danger.


    "¡­ I apologize," Si-Hun said while holding back his rage.


    Shalgiel lowered his head.


    "It is okay. I can understand how you feel, Protector Kim Si-Hun. We had also felt the same way when we lost Ludwig. But now is the time to suppress your feelings and prepare for theing¡ª"


    "If you have no intention to help, I will be excusing myself."


    Si-Hun cut Shalgiel off and turned away. Since he had be sure that the angels would not help them, he had no reason to continue to listen to Shalgiel''s nonsense.


    He walked out of the fortress; the vast wilderness of Africa appeared before him. Before he opened the gate that led to the Hall of Protection, his head went nk.


    "Shit."


    He clenched his fists.


    "Shit, shit, shit, fuck!!!! Those fucking pigeons!"


    He clenched his fists harder while cursing. He screamed like a beast while clenching his head.


    "Haaa, haaa, haaa."


    Si-Hun raised his head.


    "I have to¡­ save him."


    Step, step.


    He slowly walked. There was no time to waste. Even now, Kang-Woo was¡­


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained silent. He opened a gate leading to the Hall of Protection.


    * * *


    "I¡­ see."


    Gaia nodded with a heavy expression after hearing what had happened from Si-Hun. Considering she was neither surprised nor angry, it seemed she''d expected it.


    "But Si-Hun, will you still¡­"


    "I will go," he answered firmly without hesitation.


    As if she had expected his answer, she said in a sad voice, "You know that it is a trap, don''t y¡ª"


    "I do."


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    "You might not¡­ be able toe back."


    Si-Hun smiled. He grabbed Gaia''s hands and said, "Hyung¡­ is the one who saved me from hell. He''s the first person who acknowledged me."


    "¡­"


    "I''ll save him ande back, no matter what."


    "Sniff, sniff¡­"


    Tears dripped from her eyes.


    Si-Hun scratched his cheeks in embarrassment while looking at her.


    "Am I watching a drama or what?" someone said while feigningughter.


    "Yeon-Joo¡­?"


    "When are we going? We don''t have a lot of time, do we?"


    "It''s dangerous."


    "You''re talking as if I didn''t know that. Stop bullshitting and tell me when we''re going."


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained silent at her sharp words. He needed all the help he could get in a desperate situation like this.


    ''If only Balrog were here¡­''


    Si-Hun bit his lip. He had tried to contact Balrog aftering back from the Middle East, but he did not pick up.


    It wasn''t just Balrog; Echidna and the woman named Halcyon, whom he hadn''t met before, had also disappeared. ording to Lilith, the four of them had seemingly been attacked by the Demon of Prophecy while hunting down Satan.


    "Understood. We will be departing tonight. Please, gather as many people as you can until then."


    They would lose their chance if the operation kept getting dyed.


    "Tonight?" Yeon-Joo snorted. "Is there a need to wait that long?"


    "¡­ Pardon?"


    "I think we already have everyone we need."


    She looked toward the other passageway that Si-Hun hadn''t used.


    People were walking in from there.


    "Haha. You''re finally here. I was wondering what was taking so long. As for the angels¡­ well, I would guess they refused, considering they''re not here."


    Members of the Heavenly Sword n were following behind Tian Wuchen.


    "Wh-What in the world is going on?! You left me with all of your work, and now you tell me that Kang-Woo was kidnapped?!" Even Tian Suyan, whom he hadn''t seen in a while, was here.


    After Wuchen ditched his leadership position to join Guardians, Suyan had been extremely busy managing the martial artists of the Heavenly Sword n.


    "I am sorry for beingte." In the other passageway was Kurosaki Yurie¡ªor Lilith, to be more precise. She hade with Japanese yers. Although there weren''t many, considering there weren''t many high-level yers in Japan, they''d practically brought all of their forces.


    "I''m sorry for beingte. I had to deal with the government making a huge fuss." Even Jang Hyun-Jae of the Hwarang Corps appeared. Behind him were also Baek Hwa-Yeon, Goo Hyun-Mo, and other famous Korean yers.


    "S-Si-Hun! Tell me what''s going on! Was Kang-Woo hyung-nim really kidnapped¡­?" Even Park Deok¡ªno, Kang Tae-Soo hade.


    Not only that, but the American yers led by Grace McCubbin and the force under Si-Hun''s directmand, the Sirius Corps, had alsoe.


    The Sirius Corps members snickered while looking at Si-Hun.


    "Oh Kang-Woo is the one the captain talks about all the time during training, right?"


    "¡­ The hyung-nim who he talks about as if he''d fallen head over heels for?"


    "Ah¡­" Si-Hun''s eyes widened. "This is¡­"


    "Kang-Woo seems to have made ties with many people. Oh, you have a part in it too, Si-Hun." Gaia smiled.


    "Everyone¡­"


    Si-Hun started to tear up. His sense of betrayal after the angels had cold-heartedly refused to help was being washed away.


    Of course, it wasn''t that the angels had betrayed Guardians. Looking at it objectively, their proposition of waiting until Raphael recovered and waiting for angel reinforcements made more sense. Everyone present had just made the stupid decision to jump into a pit of fire that was obviously a trap, just to save one person.


    There was no need to curse the angels for deciding not to jump into the fire with them.


    "¡­"


    But even still¡­


    He was happy.


    To think that there were so many people who wanted to save Kang-Woo.


    "Hyung¡­"


    He raised his head and teared up even more. He couldn''t help but smile.


    ''See, I told you it couldn''t be hidden.''


    Back when Kang-Woo tried to push all of his achievements to Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun, Si-Hun remembered telling him that the world would find out sooner orter and that they would remember Kang-Woo more than him.


    Tap.


    Lastly, a woman with ck hair walked toward him with staggering steps.


    "Seol-Ah¡­?"


    Si-Hun was shocked after looking at her.


    She had dark circles under her eyes, and her skin was pale. She was trembling so much that she could barely walk. It showed how shocked she was after hearing that Kang-Woo was kidnapped.


    "I''m¡­ going too."


    Her reaction was understandable.


    The day Kang-Woo had disappeared, Echidna and Halcyon had also disappeared.


    ording to Lilith, they had been kidnapped by the Demon of Prophecy along with Balrog.


    Seol-Ah had been living together with three of the four kidnapped people, so the news had likely destroyed her whole world.


    "Seol-Ah¡­"


    Si-Hun slurred his words. He knew the state Kang-Woo was in from seeing the footage. One of his eyes had been carved out, and chains had pierced his body.


    He wasn''t sure if it was okay to show such a sight to Kang-Woo''s lover.


    "You should stay h¡ª"


    "¡­ up."


    "Pardon?"


    "I said, shut up."


    Seol-Ah raised her head, and he felt a sense of madness in her eyes.


    She grabbed Si-Hun by the cor.


    "Shut up and guide me to where Kang-Woo is."


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained silent. He had a feeling that he shouldn''t try to stop her anymore.


    "I understand."


    Si-Hun gripped the ck gem.


    All the connections Oh Kang-Woo had built through time had intertwined and gathered here.


    "Let''s go."


    Crack.


    A ck Rift appeared in the air.


    Si-Hun stepped in without hesitation.


    Riiing.


    [You have entered the SS+ rank dungeon ''Abyssal Depths shiiietyes!thisisit!adungeonsgottahaveabadassnamelikeohwaitfuck.'']

 Chapter 266 - Saving Oh Kang-Woo (3)

    Chapter 266 - Saving Oh Kang-Woo (3)


    [They have entered, my king.]


    "How many?"


    [At least¡­ three thousand people.]


    "What?"


    Oh Kang-Woo''s eyes widened.


    Balrog smirked.


    [It seems you have made far more connections than you had expected.]


    "Hah."


    Heughed in disbelief. He had never expected that thousands of people would ept a demon''s invitation to jump into an obvious trap.


    ''Come to think of it¡­''


    Since his name had been appearing in mainstream media, he was bing famous among the public and yers. Now, he couldn''t hide anymore, even if he tried. This showed how many things he''d done after returning to Earth.


    "Urgh¡­ But I hadn''t expected thousands toe."


    Kang-Woo leaned back against his chair. The chair was made of tentacles that oozed sap. It was so horrible that looking at it made one want to puke.


    ''Well, it''s a fake¡­''


    It was just a stage prop that would make things feel more real. This chair, which Lilith had made, looked so horrible that even Kang-Woo was reluctant to sit in it.


    ''As for what it was made with¡­''


    He decided not to think too deeply about it.


    The tentacles kept rising from the chair to poke and embrace the area near his groin. Kang-Woo moved his butt around in displeasure, which made the entire chair tremble for some reason.


    "Well, in any case¡­"


    Kang-Woo recalled the news that Barog had reported to him: more people had entered the dungeon than expected.


    ''It''s not a bad thing.''


    One could say that it was good. After all, it was obviously better to have a bigger audience.


    "Balrog, can you pull up the feed of the intruders?"


    [Of course. Just a moment please.]


    Balrog brought over a ck crystal orb, and Kang-Woo was able to view the dungeon''s interior with it.


    The dungeon was bustling with three thousand people in it.


    ''I''m a bit moved.''


    He felt moved after seeing how many people had gathered to save him.


    ''I guess I''m blessed with people.''


    Kang-Woo nodded in session while making a satisfied expression.


    It felt as if his efforts to save the world were being rewarded.


    Although the actual reason why so many people were gathered was likely because of the sheer authority of the people he was close to, such as Tian Wuchen, Gaia, and Cha Yeon-Joo, he decided not to bother with the details.


    "Hm¡­?"


    As Kang-Woo was looking over the yers swiftly dealing with the trap that had activated as soon as they had entered the dungeon, he happened to see a certain woman.


    "Ah."


    The woman was healing the yers injured by the trap. Her glossy ck hair had turned into a dry mess, and there were dark circles under her eyes as if she hadn''t been able to sleep for days.


    Kang-Woo was able to tell what she had gone through these past few days from her red eyes and haggard face.


    Her usual kind eyes were filled with madness.


    "Darling¡­"


    More sorrow dyed Kang-Woo''s expression than he had ever experienced before. He had honestly expected Han Seol-Ah to be like that from the moment he had thought of this n.


    "Haaa¡­"


    He sighed.


    There was nothing he could have done about it if he wanted to definitively separate ''Oh Kang-Woo'' and the ''Demon of Prophecy,'' but he couldn''t stop feeling sad.


    "Kang-Woo, Seol-Ah is¡­" Echidna, who was watching the video with him, mumbled sadly.


    "¡­"


    Echidna knew Kang-Woo''s situation, but there was no way that looking at Seol-Ah like that would be easy for her.


    Kang-Woo wasn''t often in the house because of the many things he had to do, so Echidna spent most of her time with Seol-Ah. She''d probably spent more time with her than with Kang-Woo.


    "Sh-She seems to be h-having a hard time."


    Halcyon hadn''t known Seol-Ah for long, so he said in aparatively calm voice, "I-I''ll cfort you."


    Halcyon carefully extended his hands toward Kang-Woo and embraced his head. His t chest touched Kang-Woo''s cheek. He¡ªor, to be more precise, he who was slowly bing a she¡ªsmiled.


    Although Seol-Ah had treated Halcyon kindly when he had been trembling from anxiety due to Kang-Woo being nowhere in sight when he had woken up, he honestly did not care much about whatever happened to anyone other than Kang-Woo.


    Only Kang-Woo existed in Halcyon''s world, and nothing else mattered.


    Kang-Woo said, "Haaa. Alright, everyone get ready. You all know what to do, right?"


    "Ah, y-yes! Of course! I-I''ll make sure to be of help to you, M-Master Kang-Woo!"


    Halcyon clenched his fists, his eyes filled with determination. His long silver hair danced.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and looked at Halcyon.


    ''You''re honestly the one I''m most worried about.''


    He was the strongest of his subordinates, but strength was not the key importance in this n.


    "Kang-Woo¡­ you have to treat Seol-Ah well after this, okay?"


    "Of course I will."


    Kang-Woo patted the sad Echidna''s head.


    Although there was nothing he could''ve done about it, he needed to make it up to Seol-Ah for putting her through such a hard time.


    ''Si-Hun and Yeon-Joo, too.''


    Besides them, there were many people he was sorry to, for example, Kang Tae-Soo and Gaia, among others.


    ''Well, I have to get this mess resolved first.''


    If he wanted to have the leisure to make it up to everyer, he first had to extinguish the fire burning his feet.


    "Balrog, show me the map of the dungeon again."


    [Yes, my king.]


    Balrog showed him the dungeon blueprint.


    Balrog and Lilith had helped a great deal with constructing this dungeon, which they only had a few days to build. Thanks to the experience of having built a dungeon previously, they''d created many parts in great detail.


    ''If I had to do this alone¡­ Sheesh.''


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    This dungeon was five times bigger than the one they''d created before to corrupt Ludwig. Kang-Woo''s demonic energy had skyrocketedpared to back then, so they were able to make it much bigger.


    He couldn''t even think about how much he would''ve struggled if he had to fill the interior all by himself.


    ''I mean¡­ there was a slight mishap in the naming process.''


    However, no one seemed to pay much attention to the dungeon''s name since a trap had activated as soon as they entered, just like what had happened with Ludwig.


    "Echidna, you go here. Halcyon, here. Balrog, stand by over there."


    The dungeon was structured like abyrinth resembling a. There was no way three thousand people could move all together, so they would naturally divide into groups.


    Kang-Woo wanted the leads of the stage, such as Si-Hun, Yeon-Joo and Gaia, to lead the groups to where Kang-Woo was.


    ''You gotta have traps and minibosses along the way to make it feel more real.''


    It couldn''t be too easy or too hard.


    Only after one desperately survived hardships would the hard-earned victory have meaning.


    Balrog, Echidna, and Halcyon would be in charge of the bnce.


    [Hm. I have a question, my king.]


    "What is it?"


    [Who are you going to reveal as the Demon of Prophecy?] Balrog asked while tilting his head.


    He''d heard everything from Kang-Woo.


    Since he''d failed to make Satan the Demon of Prophecy, he had to find another demon as an alternative, but he had not given them any instructions in regards to that.


    "I''m not gonna reveal it."


    [Pardon?]


    "The identity of the Demon of Prophecy will stay within thisbyrinth."


    [But¡­]


    Balrog seemed confused.


    Kang-Woo had prepared angel wings dyed ck and a red demon mask to hide his face. They were the props he had prepared.


    "Well¡­ you''ll see."


    Kang-Wooughed.


    There was a way to hide the identity of the Demon of Prophecy while clearly showing his existence.


    From the moment Si-Hun had entered the dungeon, 90% of the n had already seeded.


    "Oh, right. Suggest me an angel name."


    "An angel name?"


    "Yeah. Any name that ends with -el."


    Balrog fell into thought.


    "How about Michael or Gabriel¡ª"


    "Those already exist."


    "How about¡­ Rakiel?"


    "Oh, not bad. Where did you hear that?"


    "Mm¡­ I am not sure. It suddenly came to mind, but I do not really remember."


    "Well, I guess that''s fine."


    Kang-Woo shrugged.


    Rakiel¡­ It had a nice ring to it.


    "Make sure you all stay true to your roles and change into the disguises that Lilith prepared for you so that no one recognizes you. Everyone has their voice-changers, right?"


    "Yeah. Lilith prepared them for us," Echidna answered.


    "Try not to kill anyone even by mistake."


    It would honestly be better if they killed a few people to make the stage feel more real, but not even Kang-Woo had the slightest intention to kill the people who hade to save him.


    "Alright, begin," Kang-Woomanded after receiving the video crystals installed in various areas of the dungeon.


    Halcyon, Echidna, and Balrog each moved to their positions.


    Momentster¡­


    - Kuh! Wh-What the hell is that tentacle dragon?!


    - A-A subus¡­?


    - You idiot! There''s no way a subus would look that hideous!


    - Sh-Shit! Wh-what''s up with that muscle monster?!


    Screams spread out from all around the dungeon.


    He saw that the rescue party, which had divided into groups, was struggling because of the minibosses.


    ''Right, how''s Si-Hun doing?''


    Kang-Woo turned on the feed where Si-Hun was.


    - Advance.


    ''Man, he''s advancing like crazy.''


    - C-Captain! This is a trap area¡ª


    - Advance.


    ''Huh?''


    - Huff! Huff! H-How about we take a short brea¡ª


    - Advance.


    ''Hey, don''t overdo it, man. Someone''s gonna die at that rate.''


    - Undead!! Undead made with the corpses of angels¡­!


    - Advance.


    ''Crazy son of a bitch.''


    Si-Hun was advancing at insane speeds while wiping out all the traps and monsters in his path.


    ''Stop, you idiot!''


    He''d ced the traps in a way that minimized the risk of death, but recklessly advancing like this would cause deaths. People in Si-Hun''s rescue party group were being wounded one after another.


    - C-Captain¡­ th-the wounded are¡­


    - The injured can fall back. The rest of us will keep advancing without rest.


    ''Hey, Si-Hun¡­''


    The dungeon clearing, which Kang-Woo had expected to take about three days, was being cleared at an astronomical pace.


    ''Stop.''


    He had been nning on fine-tuning the situation leisurely, but he was forced to quickly get his costume ready. He honestly had not been able to get everything ready due to the time constraint.


    - Advance.


    ''Take a break, dammit. You''ll exhaust your Qi and die at this rate.''


    - Advance.


    "Don''t."


    BANG!!


    "For fuck''s sake."


    Eight hours after entering the dungeon, Si-Hun broke down the wall and reached thest room.


    * * *


    "Huff, huff."


    "Y-You crazy son of a bitch¡­"


    Pained groans sounded from all around.


    Yeon-Joo, covered in wounds, copsed in ce.


    The same went for Wuchen¡ªhe knelt on one knee and vomited blood.


    "Cough! Cough!"


    Si-Hun blocked his own mouth. Red blood flowed from his mouth due to him drawing out even his innate Qi.


    Despite that¡­


    "Kang-Woo¡­ hyung¡­"


    He kept going forward while staggering.


    At that moment¡­


    p, p, p.


    "I''m surprised you managed to get all the way here."


    An anonymous person appeared at the end of the tunnel. He was wearing a red demon mask and had ck angel wings.


    "Who¡­"


    He seemed different from the Demon of Prophecy, whose body had been made of ck mucus. Not only did they look different, but their atmosphere and voices were alsopletely different.


    Si-Hun''s eyes shook after he saw that someone that wasn''t the Demon of Prophecy had appeared.


    "I am Rakiel, the king of ''Corruption'' among the Four Heavenly Kings."


    "Rakiel¡­?"


    Si-Hun frowned at the mention of a name he hadn''t heard before. He looked around. Everyone else also seemed to have never heard of the name.


    Kang-Woo¡ªno, Rakiel¡ªwas smiling behind the mask.


    ''Of course you''ve never heard of it before.''


    He had only just heard it as well.


    Kang-Woo nodded in satisfaction with the name that Balrog had made for him.


    ''The name doesn''t matter anyways.''


    What mattered was that Rakiel was an imaginary being that Kang-Woo had created. Since he wasn''t real, the issue with the real one appearing like what had happened with Satan would not arise.


    ''Shiiiet, Four Heavenly Kings, huh? It''s cool as fuck!''


    He felt proud of what he''de up with.


    A way to prove the existence of the Demon of Prophecy while hiding his identity¡­


    The best way to do that was to create a subordinate that served him.


    ''And with this, there''s absolutely no chance of my true identity being found out anymore!''


    From now on, he could just use the imaginary card that was Rakiel in situations simr to past ones that had required him to use the Satan cheat code.


    Rakiel wasn''t the ''Demon of Prophecy,'' but his subordinate, so there was no danger of Gaia appearing out of nowhere and trolling.


    ''Now, I can just keep the identity of the Demon of Prophecy hidden within this dungeon forever and use Rakiel whenever I need to.''


    There wasn''t a risk of being discovered as the Demon of Prophecy anymore.


    ''Yes, this is it!''


    Kang-Woo shivered in excitement. He had been in need of a coin that could rece the Satan Coin that had crashed into oblivion.


    ''I just needed to make one.''


    As if creating something out of nothing, he just needed to create a coin he could buy.


    Kang-Woo nodded in satisfaction. The peak of the setup wasn''t simply creating the Rakiel Coin.


    "Four Heavenly Kings¡­?" Si-Hun mumbled with a hardened expression. Something shed past his mind. "C-Could Satan have also been¡­"


    "Keke, you are quick on the uptake."


    "So Satan was also one of the Four Heavenly Kings!"


    Satan had pretty much be irrelevant at this point, so it was time to let him go. Although it had not been intended, it had pretty much been revealed that Satan had been a pawn of the Demon of Prophecy all along, so there was no reason to doubt it.


    Kang-Woo threw a prop he''d prepared beforehand to Si-Hun.


    Thud, roll¡ª


    Si-Hun grabbed the item on the floor. His eyes widened.


    "Th-This is¡­!"


    "How dare youpare me to Satan?"


    The thing that the man with ck wings had thrown to the floor as if it were trash was¡­ Satan''s head.


    "He was but the weakest among the Four Heavenly Kings."


    Kang-Woo¡ªno, the king of Corruption among the Four Heavenly Kings, a former noble angel who had ended up serving the Demon of Prophecy, dying his wings ck¡­


    Rakiel burst intoughter.


    - Waaaah. Stop¡­ Please stop, you son of a bitch¡­


    He heard a faint voice from somewhere but ignored it.

 Chapter 267 - It Wasnt A Bad Life

    Chapter 267 - It Wasn''t A Bad Life


    "What¡­ did you say?"


    "S-Satan was the weakest?"


    Kim Si-Hun and Cha Yeon-Joo looked at Rakiel in disbelief.


    Guardians knew better than anyone how strong Satan was after everything they had suffered at his hands. Even heroes who could''ve dominated an era had died at the hands of Satan.


    Even leaving all his wrongdoings aside, Satan had fought against Raphael and won. Not only that, Raphael still hadn''t recovered from the wounds he had suffered in that battle.


    Satan had proven his power to the world to the point that it was meaningless to even think about how powerful of a demon he was, but¡­


    "W-Wait! Th-There has to be some sort of problem!!" Yeon-Joo shouted in disbelief.


    There was no way she would so easily believe that Satan had died so easily and that he had been the weakest of the four retainers serving the Demon of Prophecy.


    "We don''t even know what he looks like since he always wore a mask! Check again!" Yeon-Joo anxiously shouted at Si-Hun.


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained still with his mouth closed.


    Just as she had said, it was the first time they''d seen Satan''s face. His face was so ordinary that Si-Hun even wondered why Satan had worn a mask in the first ce. However¡­


    "It''s¡­ Satan."


    It wasn''t simple intuition. Satan had once sown a ''seed'' within Si-Hun to corrupt him into a demon, and the demonic energy he had felt back then and the demonic energy he was currently feeling from the head was an exact match.


    "¡­"


    There was silence.


    Rakiel crossed his arms and looked at them.


    "Do you believe me now?"


    "Where is¡­ hyung-nim?"


    Si-Hun threw Satan''s head like it was trash.


    What mattered at the moment wasn''t Satan or the Four Heavenly Kings. After all, they hade here while fully knowing the Demon of Prophecy would be here. Just because a powerful enemy had appeared didn''t mean they could forget their objective.


    "By hyung-nim, do you mean this man?"


    Rakiel smirked and snapped his finger.


    The darkness surrounding them like a tent was lifted, and Kang-Woo, who was chained to a cross, appeared.


    "U-Urgghh¡­"


    "H-Hyung-nim!!"


    "Gasp¡­"


    Kang-Woo was in an extremely wretched state; his body was aplete mess from likely having been tortured all this time.


    "K-Kang-Woo!!!"


    Seol-Ah lost her reason and ran toward Kang-Woo.


    Si-Hun grabbed her shoulder.


    "Let me go!"


    "Please¡­ calm down."


    "Let me go!! K-Kang-Woo¡­ Kang-Woo is¡­!" Seol-Ah shouted while crying.


    Si-Hun bit his lip and pulled her back. He also wanted nothing more than to rush toward Kang-Woo, but¡­


    ''Hold it in.''


    Chilling bloodlust appeared in Si-Hun''s eyes.


    It wasn''t hard to imagine what would happen if he rushed forward without being able to control himself¡­


    They would probably lose Kang-Woo forever.


    "Si¡­ Hun."


    "Hyung¡­"


    Si-Hun mped his eyes shut. He didn''t want to see his wounded hyung.


    ''But¡­''


    Si-Hun controlled his breathing and slowly opened his eyes. He wasn''t sure if he could say he was d for it, but he didn''t see any signs of corruption. Neither could he feel evil demonic energy from Kang-Woo''s body.


    ''We can still save him.''


    It wasn''t toote, unlike with Ludwig.


    Si-Hun gripped his holy sword tighter.


    Rakiel was leisurely looking at him. Si-Hun''s mind was in discord.


    ''Will I be able to win?''


    The demon had made fun of the powerful Satan, calling him weak. The chances of winning were close to zero.


    "Hmm? What a surprise. I had expected you to lose your mind and charge at me."


    "¡­"


    "Or I guess he was not that important to you after all."


    Rakiel burst intoughter and mocked Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun ignored his taunts and raised his sword, taking a deep breath.


    ''Even if the chances are close to zero¡­''


    He had no reason not to raise his sword. He recalled everything he''d gone through with Kang-Woo. He had only ever been saved by him. Now it was the time to repay that favor.


    ''If he saw me now¡­''


    He would probably grab him by the cor and curse at him again.


    Si-Hun smirked and opened his mouth.


    "We will do as nned."


    "¡­"


    "Gulp."


    The yers gripped their weapons nervously at Si-Hun''s words. The goal of the mission was solely to rescue Kang-Woo¡ªthere was no need to defeat Rakiel.


    "Okay, then¡­"


    Si-Hun lowered his body.


    BOOM!!


    Si-Hun shot toward Rakiel by using the tension created from bending his body like a bow.


    * * *


    ''Good.''


    Kang-Woo smiled while blocking Si-Hun''s attacks. He looked at the yers around him.


    ''I did it.''


    It seemed like the angels hadn''t taken part in the n, but it didn''t matter. If this many yers served as witnesses, they would have no choice but to trust it even if they were suspicious of Kang-Woo.


    ''And now¡­''


    The identity of the Demon of Prophecy had fallen into thebyrinth; he had created a card known as Rakiel that would allow him to take actionsfortably, and the Warrior of Light Oh Kang-Woo had been freed from any suspicion. It was such a huge sess that he wanted to cheer in delight.


    ''Lastly¡­


    All he had to do was wrap up this situation.


    ''For fuck''s sake, why did this have to happen so out of left field?''


    The tiny mistake of watching the battle between Si-Hun and Kalgia with beer and popcorn in hand had brought him all the way here.


    ''I mean, I guess it all worked out.''


    Although it had been extremely dangerous, having obtained a card that could rece Satan was satisfactory enough.


    ''Still¡­''


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief while blocking Si-Hun''s attacks as Si-Hun charged like a raging bull.


    ''What an absolute monster.''


    He couldn''t believe it while looking at the wounds that were appearing on his own body. Kang-Woo had set the dungeon''s difficulty while taking Si-Hun into consideration.


    Excluding himself, Si-Hun was overwhelmingly stronger than the rest, so it was obvious.


    He had thought that the dungeon clearing would take three days at the very least no matter how many people entered the dungeon, but it had been cut down to eight hours due to Si-Hun.


    ''What''s up with him?''


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun in disbelief.


    At this point, he couldn''t justugh and brush it off while saying Si-Hun was the protagonist.


    The current Si-Hun would likely be able to face a prince of Hell; no, he would even be able to beat a low-ranking prince like Mammon or Belphegor.


    ''How?''


    It''d only been three years since Si-Hun had Awakened as a yer, yet in just three years, he''d surpassed the princes of Hell. Inparison, Kang-Woo had spent nine millennia in Hell to be able to face the princes of Hell.


    Kang-Woo''s assistance as well as Si-Hun''s innate talent and the soul of Martial God Tian Taihuang likely yed arge part in Si-Hun''s growth, but this had gone beyond impressive and was now just freakishly bizarre.


    ng! ng!


    The sound of shing metal rang out.


    The white lighting out of the holy sword illuminated the surroundings.


    "Fuuu, fuuu!"


    Si-Hun breathed heavily. Every time he swung his sword, a recoil strong enough to shatter his entire body shook him.


    "Don''t hog him by yourself after all the shit we went through to get here, Si-Hun!" Yeon-Joo took part in the battle as well.


    Tian Wuchen, Jang Hyun-Jae, Baek Hwa-Yeon, Goo Hyun-Mo, and many other Ranker-level yers surrounded Rakiel to attack him from all directions.


    The entire dungeon shook from the sh of powerful energies.


    BOOM!!


    Sounds as loud as a storm echoed throughout the dungeon.


    Rakiel had only received scratches when directly hit by the attacks of yers Ranker level and up, but the umtion of such scratches would eventually turn into arge injury.


    "If we keep this up¡­!"


    After seeing that Rakiel was defending rather than attacking, hope began appearing in the yers'' eyes.


    "Hand over¡­ hyung¡­!"


    Si-Hun jumped in the air and raised both of his hands. A pir of light came out of the holy sword that he was holding. The light was so intense that it seemed like the light would cut the world into two pieces.


    "Hahahahaha!! Good, very good!!" Rakiel burst into crazedughter. "But¡­"


    The ends of his mouth went up. While snickering, he spread out both arms, his fallen angel wings spreading out with them.


    "It is not enough."


    He huddled up. Crackling sounds could be hearding from every single feather of his ten wings.


    A chillingly thick demonic energy rose from Rakiel''s body.


    "Watch ou¡ª"


    Si-Hun felt something had gone wrong and quickly shouted, but¡­


    "ck Lightning."


    Crackle!!


    "Kurgh!"


    "Kyaaa!"


    Screams rang out.


    As Rakiel spread his wings, ck lightning spread across the surroundings. Hundreds of little streaks of lightning traveled across the ground and electrocuted the yers.


    tter.


    The yers struck by the lightning dropped their weapons and trembled. Their eyes rolled back, and bubbles frothed out of their mouths. With just one attack, half of the yers lost their ability to fight and copsed.


    "Tsk tsk. I guess insects will be insects, no matter how hard they struggle."


    Rakiel clicked his tongue as if he found them pathetic.


    "Shut¡­ up¡­!"


    Si-Hun got up while trembling.


    Was it because he''d received an attack up front? His entire body was trembling.


    ''I should put an end to this.''


    Thinking that the time hade, Rakiel smiled wickedly and continued, "But I can see why that person has taken an interest in you."


    "He¡­?"


    "Kekek, did you not see them before?"


    Si-Hun''s expression hardened. He recalled the endless darkness made of ck mucus.


    Rakiel kicked the staggering Si-Hun.


    "Kurgh!"


    "But it is not yet the time of prophecy."


    "Time of prophecy?"


    "You wille to know over time."


    Rakiel smiled meaningfully.


    The faces of the yers around them hardened due to his mention of ''time of prophecy.''


    ''To be honest, I don''t know either.''


    Rakiel had just said whatever random thing hade to his mind.


    ''Well, I''m sure saying one or two things that sound super important before going back should be enough.''


    That was pretty much the essence of the Four Heavenly Kings.


    Rakiel spread his wings and raised both hands.


    "Keep struggling, humans! And fall into despair!"


    ''Fucking banger closing line.''


    "The end will be upon you soon enough!"


    ''Yes, this is it!''


    "The time of prophecy is nea¡ª"


    Fwoosh!!!


    Light suddenly burst out from somewhere as he was saying his closing lines.


    ''Eh?''


    Something was happening. Kang-Woo turned to Si-Hun, wondering if he had powered up again, but he was only coughing while copsed on the ground; no light whatsoever wasing out of him.


    "How dare you¡­ to Kang-Woo¡­!"


    ''Darling?''


    Seol-Ah was ring at him with bloodshot eyes. The blinding lighting out of her filled the entire dungeon.


    Twelve pure-white wings sprouted from her back.


    Tsssss!!


    ''What the f¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened.


    Although the wings were so faint that one could barely make out their shape, the power within them was suffocatingly colossal.


    The intense light was burning his skin, causing smoke to rise from it.


    Not just that¡­


    "This is¡­" Si-Hun got up.


    Like when he''d drunk Kang-Woo''s blood, all the wounds Rakiel had caused were healing.


    He looked at Seol-Ah with a surprised expression, but that onlysted for a short while. While biting his lip, he raised his holy sword.


    "Kuuuuuurghh!"


    Kang-Woo twisted due to the pain of his body burning.


    He couldn''t return to his senses at the unexpected development of events. Si-Hun ran behind him while stepping on the weapons he had raised into the air using Sword Control. He roundhouse kicked Rakiel.


    Bash!


    Si-Hun''s leg, infused with blue condensed Qi, smashed Rakiel''s head.


    "Argh, fuck!"


    Rakiel rolled to the ground. He grabbed the back of his head and turned.


    ''That fucking hurt, motherfucker!''


    He had identally cursed. His scream had not been an act.


    His skull wouldn''t have been caved in, but it would have at least cracked if he had not reflexively used the Authority of Invulnerability.


    "Now!"


    As Si-Hun shouted, Yeon-Joo nodded. She took out a white crystal. It wasn''t just her¡ªall of the other yers also took out white crystals. These were the crystals that Guardians had given that led to the Hall of Protection.


    Dozens of crystals started to shine, and the lights intertwined in the air like a.


    "Grab hyung-nim!"


    "Okay!"


    Yeon-Joo spread her red chains, freed Kang-Woo from the cross, and pulled him into her arms.


    "Retreat!" Si-Hun shouted.


    All the yers who had been healed thanks to Seol-Ah nodded.


    Without hesitation, they threw themselves into the Hall of Protection.


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun grabbed Seol-Ah, who''d lost consciousness after emitting intense light. He looked at Rakiel, who was struggling in pain.


    "I''m not sure what the time of prophecy is or why that slime is interested in me, but¡­"


    "¡­"


    "At the very least¡­" An intense killing intent could be seen in Si-Hun''s eyes. "I will rip out those chicken wings of yours one by one and shove them into your mouth."


    After saying that, Si-Hun also jumped into the gate.


    There was silence in the ce where the intense fight had just happened.


    "¡­ Son of a bitch has gotten better at cursing."


    Kang-Woo frowned while looking at the wounds caused by the light. They weren''t healing easily.


    ''What the hell is this?''


    What just happened felt like a dream.


    His mind was in a jumble.


    "Urgh. First off¡­"


    Kang-Woo got up.


    "Well, it didn''t go exactly as nned, but I guess this is good enough."


    At first, he was nning to say a few mysterious things and retreat, but it had gone slightly awry. However, his n had not been hindered.


    Thanks to the light that hade out of Seol-Ah, Guardians had managed to rescue Oh Kang-Woo.


    "Fuuu."


    Kang-Wooy in the dungeon, which had been pretty much destroyed.


    He focused his consciousness on the clone he''d created.


    ''Now¡­''


    It was time to give the finishing touches.


    * * *


    "A-Argghh¡­"


    "H-Hyung-nim!! Come back to your senses, hyung-nim!!"


    "Hey! A-Are you okay? Healer! Bring a fucking healer right now!!"


    Loud sounds could be heard all around the ce.


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his remaining eye and got up.


    "Kuh!"


    Intense pain shot through him.


    "Don''t try to move, and just stay still!"


    Yeon-Joo reached out and embraced him.


    Kang-Woo smiled faintly.


    "I guess¡­ I''m alive."


    "Yeah, you''re alive, you son of a bitch! So just keep your mouth shut!"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo slowly extended his arm. With a trembling hand, he grabbed Si-Hun''s hand.


    "H-Hyung¡­"


    Si-Hun shed tears while looking at Kang-Woo''s mangled body.


    "Thanks¡­ man."


    "H-Hyung! Save your words! Th-The blood¡­!"


    "Hey! Bring over a fucking healer!!"


    "Ha¡­ Haha."


    Kang-Woo looked up at the sky while making a bittersweet smile.


    "I guess¡­ it wasn''t a bad life."


    "H-Hey!! Don''t bullshit me! Hey!! Oh Kang-Woo! Keep it together, you fucking bastard!!!"


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes as he listened to Yeon-Joo''s screams.

 Chapter 268 - Visit

    Chapter 268 - Visit


    "Haaa¡­ That son of a bitch."


    A beautiful girl with short red hair stood in front of a high-rise apartment building and sighed. She was kicking pebbles around on the ground but couldn''t contain her frustration and swung her fist at a wall.


    Bash.


    Her fist left a noticeable imprint on the orderly brick wall.


    Tap.


    An astonishingly handsome young man approached her while pushing a wheelchair. A thin woman with light brown hair was sitting in the wheelchair.


    "Oh, you''re here early, Yeon-Joo."


    "Didn''t you know that I live here?"


    "Ah, that''s right."


    "I came out here because of you guys. I usually just have to take the elevator."


    Kim Si-Hun, the man who was pushing the wheelchair, made a lightugh.


    "More importantly, is Kang-Woo okay? It''s only been a week, so I''m worried if it''s really okay for us toe visit¡­" Gaia said in a worried voice.


    Cha Yeon-Joo snorted.


    "Don''t you know how fast his body regenerates? The bastard that was saying shit about how it wasn''t a bad life regenerates like some goddamn liquid monster! It was so impressive that even the healer taking care of him was surprised."


    "W-Well¡­ We''ve already seen tons of times how quickly hyung-nim regenerates, haven''t we?"


    "Yeah, so why was he being such a drama queen about it?! Argh! Just thinking about what happened back then makes me mad. That fucking¡­"


    "Y-Yeon-Joo."


    "What?! You got a problem?!"


    Si-Hun flinched at Yeon-Joo''s intense eyes. He recalled how she''d screamed in desperation while holding Oh Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo had acted as if he were about to die, but soon after a healer started treating him, his missing eye and all the holes in his body regenerated, so it was understandable that she would react like this.


    ''Hyung-nim has regenerative capabilities.''


    Si-Hun scratched his cheeks while remembering how he''d also screamed in desperation with Yeon-Joo.


    ording to Kang-Woo, his blood had ended up gaining powerful regenerative capabilities one day after going through all sorts of hardships in Hell.


    Although Si-Hun had already known this about Kang-Woo because he had drunk Kang-Woo''s blood when he had been on the verge of death, the heat of the momentpletely blew that memory from his mind.


    ''His internal injuries don''t seem to have been healed, though¡­''


    Kang-Woo stayed in aa for five days after his external injuries were healed. That meant that Kang-Woo''s regenerative ability wasn''t omnipotent.


    When Si-Hun had been driven to the verge of death by Halphas, his external injuries had been fully healed thanks to Kang-Woo''s blood, but he had not been able to move properly as if his body had be a lump of steel.


    ''In other words¡­''


    Si-Hun''s expression darkened.


    If Kang-Woo''s body became that ruined despite his impressive regenerative ability, it meant that he had been tortured continuously for days on end.


    His rage and resentment toward Rakiel only grew.


    ''At the very least¡­''


    Si-Hun would rip out his ten wings and shove them in his mouth.


    "Fuuu."


    Si-Hun took a deep breath.


    Gaia carefully said, "Uhm. Si-Hun."


    "Ah, yes?"


    "Uhm¡­ Are there any¡­ angels around us?"


    "No, there aren''t."


    Si-Hun expanded his Qi sense and searched their surroundings. Their rtionship with the angels had be awkward due to the past incident, so there was no way they''de to check up on Kang-Woo.


    Gaia nodded and opened her mouth.


    "Then have we received any news regarding Balrog or Echidna?"


    Balrog, Echidna, Halcyon, Lilith.


    Those four were Kang-Woo''s direct subordinates. In short, they were demonic beings.


    Gaia, Si-Hun, Han Seol-Ah, and Yeon-Joo hade to ept them since they had learned that Kang-Woo had been dragged to Hell suddenly in the past and was forced to be a demon, but that wasn''t the case for the angels.


    Angels would surely try to eradicate them, whatever their circumstances were.


    ''''Ah, I heard that Kang-Woo hyung-nim''s subordinates were found where the minibosses of the dungeon were. Lilith managed to rescue them, and they''re currently being treated at Balrog''s residence."


    "How bad were they wounded?"


    "I heard that they were in serious condition when they were first found, but it seems that their lives are no longer at risk."


    "What a relief."


    Gaia smiled.


    They had not epted the power of light after abandoning demonic energy like Kang-Woo had, but she knew they were more loyal to Kang-Woo than anyone else. Since Kang-Woo was walking the path of light, they would naturally follow him.


    "Haha, I''m a bit envious," Si-Hun said in a bitter voice.


    Gaia tilted her head.


    "Envious?"


    "Yes. Hyung-nim had gotten into this mess because he had been with just his subordinates, hadn''t he? I can understand how much he trusts them just by seeing that he hadn''t told us anything about it."


    "I-I''m sure that''s not the case! After all, you had the duty to eliminate thest remaining Aspect of Evil. That''s probably why he didn''t call you."


    "Haha. But still¡­ I feel like he is more open with his subordinates."


    Si-Hun personally also wanted to be his retainer. He scratched his head while smiling awkwardly.


    As Gaia was about to reply that wasn''t the case¡­


    "Yeah, yeah, we all know how thirsty you are for Kang-Woo''s ass, so enough of that," Yeon-Joo interrupted.


    "A-Ass?"


    "You look like a lovestruck teenage girl."


    Yeon-Joo rolled her eyes, and even spat on the floor.


    Si-Hun eximed in bewilderment, "I-It''s nothing like that! It''s just that I really admire hyung-nim! A-And I already have someone that I¡­"


    Si-Hun took a glimpse at Gaia.


    "Ah¡­"


    Having an idea of what Si-Hun was trying to say, Gaia ced her hands on her reddened cheeks.


    Yeon-Joo frowned.


    "¡­ Fuck."


    She shook her head as if she couldn''t stand looking at them. "More importantly, is anyone elseing? Is it just the three of us?"


    "Tae-Soo, Ms. Tian Suyan, and Master said they wanted toe, but¡­ we decided to pick different dates since having so many peoplee at one time would be a bother."


    Yeon-Joo turned and nodded. "Oh, really? I guess we thought the same thing. Hwa-Yeon and Hyun-Jae ahjussi wanted toe, but I told them toe next time."


    She grabbed a fruit basket that she had ced on the ground.


    "Then let''s get going. It''s weird to keep talking outside."


    "Okay."


    "I''ll have him tell us exactly what happened."


    "Haha. Hyung-nim just started recovering, so don''t be too harsh on him."


    "Bullshit, after what he did to me¡­"


    Yeon-Joo pounded her chest as if the memory from that time still angered her.


    Yeon-Joo, Si-Hun, and Gaia head toward Kang-Woo''s apartment suite. As they knocked on the front door, a kind-looking woman opened it.


    "Oh my."


    "We came to visit," Yeon-Joo said as she raised her fruit basket. "How are you doing? After¡­ that light came out of you."


    "I''m not sure. To be honest, I don''t remember much from that time¡­ but I''m doing okay," Seol-Ah replied with a smile on her face.


    "Really? That''s good to hear."


    Yeon-Joo visited the house often, so the two of them had been close for a while. After Kang-Woo had be busier, Seol-Ah had started to spend more time with Yeon-Joo than with Kang-Woo.


    "Just a second¡­"


    Seol-Ah carefully closed the door and came out.


    "Hmm?"


    "I''m¡­ sorry to say this after you came all the way here, but I don''t think Kang-Woo is well enough to meet with other people yet."


    "Why? Is he still not doing well? I was on the phone with him yesterday, and he said he''s gotten a lot better."


    "But he said he wanted some peace and quiet for a little longer¡­"


    "That bastard¡­" Yeon-Joo''s eyes narrowed.


    "I''m sorry after you came all this way."


    "No. If hyung-nim says he wants some rest, we should respect his decision. He had already told me that he was fine over the phone, so I''lle back when he wants us toe visit."


    "Okay, thank you."


    As Seol-Ah apologized and bowed, Yeon-Joo shook her hands to gesture that it was okay.


    "Well¡­ Since you''re here, why don''t you guyse over to my house? It''s just five stories up."


    "Oh, that sounds good."


    "Grace said she would take care of all the work for today, so I''m also fine with it."


    Si-Hun and Gaia nodded.


    Seol-Ah saw them off to the elevator and went back into the house.


    ck.


    As she opened the door to Kang-Woo''s room, he was lying on the bed.


    "Ah, don''t get up, Kang-Woo."


    As Kang-Woo tried to get up, Seol-Ah ran toward him.


    Kang-Woo nodded while smiling bitterly.


    "I still feel heavy."


    "You''ve suffered some major injuries, after all. It''s already a miracle that you were able to recover like this¡­" Seol-Ah answered sadly as if she''d remembered how Kang-Woo looked when Rakiel had been holding him captive.


    Kang-Woo quickly waved his hand.


    "I told you, there''s no need to be that worried."


    "No. You need to take better care of yourself, Kang-Woo," Seol-Ah firmly replied.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly andy on the bed.


    ''I''m honestlypletely fine.''


    The wounded Kang-Woo had been his fake body created using the Authority of Cloning. Not only was he okay, but he was also feeling jittery after staying in bed for a week straight.


    ''But still¡­''


    He had no choice.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    ''It would raise suspicion if I went around as if I waspletely fine after how much I had been injured.''


    As the very person who had orchestrated the Oh Kang-Woo rescue operation, he needed to pay attention to the details. Even for his external injuries, he had been nning on healing them slowly, but he had no choice but to treat his clone with the Authority of Regeneration because everyone had been crying so goddamn much.


    ''Besides, Si-Hun and the others already know about the Authority of Regeneration.''


    He''d even fully regenerated Si-Hun''s melted arms.


    And most importantly¡­


    "Kurgh, cough, cough!"


    "K-Kang-Woo!"


    Seol-Ah quickly approached him and supported him. After embracing him carefully as if he were a wounded baby, she carefully ced her hands on his chest. A white light came out of Seol-Ah''s hand and covered his entire body.


    Kang-Woo''s mouth rxed. He was delighted by the soft sensations that he felt against several areas of his body.


    ''I can even receive devoted care from my darling.''


    It was the epitome of killing two birds with one stone.


    He honestly wanted to stay as a patient for a month or two so that he could keep receiving care like this.


    ''Well, that''s not an option.''


    The Four Heavenly Kings and the fallen angel Rakiel¡­


    He couldn''t stay still after blowing things up to suchrge proportions.


    Not only that, but he hadn''t been able to absorb Belphegor''s demonic energy, and he hadn''t discovered what the final condition to bing a Demon God was yet.


    He had no way of knowing thest condition, so he could only work on improving his demonic energy control to absorb Belphegor''s demonic energy.


    ''There''s also a chance that they''re rted.''


    He had a lot of things to do, so he couldn''t stay still and do nothing.


    ''But still¡­''


    There was no reason for him not to enjoy this blissful situation.


    "A-Are you feeling better now?"


    "Yeah, much better."


    "Phew. I''m d to hear that."


    "That aside, how have you been feeling since that day, Seol-Ah?"


    "Oh, y-you heard about it?"


    "Yeah. Si-Hun told me."


    He''d also seen it with his own eyes. Not just that, he''d felt as if he were a vampire being burned by sunlight.


    ''What could that have possibly been?''


    He had no way of knowing, but he was sure that the power defied logic and that it had something to do with the angel wing symbols on Seol-Ah''s back.


    "To be honest, I''m not sure either. Back then¡­ I was only thinking about saving you, Kang-Woo."


    "So you can''t use it now?"


    "Yes."


    "Mm¡­"


    "B-But you don''t need to be worried! I haven''t had any problems since then!"


    Seol-Ah raised her slender arms and showed off her muscles.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    ''I''m d, but¡­''


    He couldn''t help but be worried. The power that she had shown was¡­


    ''Probably stronger than my maximum demonic energy output.''


    It could not be exined by logic.


    ''I should look into it.''


    The wings that had appeared on Seol-Ah''s back had been so faint that they had been see-through. Meaning, if the wings became more vivid, they would be able to exert even greater power.


    ''It makes no sense.''


    He was honestly very confused. It was even harder to understand, considering he had be even stronger than his past self in Hell.


    While he was thinking, something soft touched his cheek.


    Seol-Ah had put her hand on his cheek.


    "Don''t worry, Kang-Woo. I''m okay." She then got up and said, "Stay here for a bit."


    After walking out of the room, she came back with some steaming porridge.


    "I saw some good abalone at the market, so I made this."


    "I''m not hurt enough to eat porridge. I think kimchi stew would be¡ª"


    "Shh. I''m going to have to ask you to be quiet, Mr. Patient," Seol-Ah said in a strict voice.


    Kang-Woo nodded while making a sad expression.


    Seol-Ah took a spoonful of porridge and blew on it.


    "Say, ah~"


    "I''m not a baby. I can eat on my own."


    "¡­ Say, ah."


    "Yes, ma''am."


    Kang-Woo opened his mouth and was fed a spoonful of porridge.


    ''It''s delicious.''


    Kang-Woo made a happy smile. It was true that the porridge was delicious, but being in this situation also made him happy.


    ''Have I ever received care like this¡­?''


    Kang-Woo smirked after thinking of the past.


    ''No way.''


    Back when he grew up at the orphanage, when he left it and began working, and even during the ten millennia he''d spent in Hell¡­


    He couldn''t recall ever having been taken care of in such a manner.


    ''¡­ It''s nice.''


    An inexplicable sense of joy filled him.


    "Fufu. You ate it all."


    Seol-Ah cleaned his mouth with a handkerchief.


    Kang-Woo felt as if he''d be a kid. He opened his arms after being dragged into the strange mood that Seol-Ah was giving off.


    "Hug me."


    "Oh my." Seol-Ah giggled while covering her mouth. "I never thought you''d act this way, Kang-Woo."


    "¡­ It''s a bit disgusting, right?"


    "No, I didn''t mean it that way." Seol-Ah hugged Kang-Woo. "I like you like this just as much as how you usually are."


    "¡­"


    To be honest, acting this way gave him goosebumps. He even felt like puking a little.


    "Rather, this is more¡­"


    "Hmm?"


    "Fufufu. Yes¡­ I think it''d be nice in its own way to take care of you like this forever."


    "Darling?"


    Seol-Ah mumbled as if she were dreaming. Sheughed while giving off a weird aura and let go of Kang-Woo. She put away the pillow and sat on the bed.


    "Kang-Woo." She lightly pped her thighs.


    "¡­ No, that''s a bit¡­"


    "Now."


    Kang-Woo felt that he couldn''t say no, so he changed his position. A soft sensation spread through his body as he put his head on her thighs.


    "Ah¡­"


    For some reason¡­


    He felt like he was about to cry.


    "Alright, since you''ve had a meal, you should sleep."


    Seol-Ah softly caressed Kang-Woo''s cheek.


    Although his body didn''t require sleep, he started feeling sleepy.


    Then suddenly¡­


    "Come to think of it, have Si-Hun and Yeon-Jooe? I was talking to them over the phone yesterday, and they said that they woulde to visit today."


    "Oh," Seol-Ah let out a short exmation. "They contacted me and said something came up and couldn''te today."


    "Really?"


    "Yes, so don''t worry about a thing and go to sleep, Kang-Woo."


    Seol-Ah caressed Kang-Woo''s cheek as if she were touching an important treasure.


    A kind smile lit up her face.

 Chapter 269 - Who The Fuck is That?

    Chapter 269 - Who The Fuck is That?


    It was soft and warm. Oh Kang-Woo slightly twisted his body as he was enveloped byfort as if he had dipped into a warm bath. He burrowed his face into the soft sensation. A fragrant scent stimted his nose.


    Fluff. He unconsciously reached out to touch the softness.


    ''It''s big.''


    It was so big that it was hard to grab with one hand.


    "Mmph¡­!"


    As he touched the soft thing, he heard a moan. It flinched, but it did not back off or run away.


    ''Ah¡­''


    He rubbed his head on the soft object and relished it as much as he could. It was a sense of softness that he had never experienced before.


    His life had been full of agony. It had been an endless cycle of despair, desperate struggles, and wretched writhing.


    ''For what had I tried so hard?''


    He tried to remember. It was a memory of when he used to be in Hell. He had been at risk of death every moment of his life, to the point that it was honestly a mystery why he hadn''t died.


    The thought ofmitting suicide had crossed his mind thousands of times.


    ''So¡­ why did I endure it?''


    He couldn''t remember. It felt fuzzy, as if part of a drawing had been cut out. The sensation that touched his face was warm. He curled his body up as if he were a child, or a fetus in his mother''s belly.


    "Hngh¡ª"


    He heard the sound again, but the soft sensation still did not disappear.


    The softness enveloped his body.


    ''Ah.''


    He shed tears. It felt as if a castle that he had carefully constructed was crumbling down or an embankment was bursting. An uncontroble flood of emotions shook him.


    "K-Kang-Woo¡­?"


    Someone was calling him, but he ignored it because he wanted to experience this warmth for a little longer.


    How long had it been since he''d felt such peace?


    No, that wasn''t the correct expression. After all, he''d never felt it before.


    "Do you remember what you said to me back then, my king?"


    He heard a voice¡ªit was a familiar voice.


    "Climb much, much higher."


    Keep pushing forward.


    "A-Arrgghh."


    An unbearable pressure weighed down on him. He walked forward all by himself while shouldering everything. He looked around but couldn''t see anything.


    "I''m tired¡­ of it all."


    Too many had died. He was sick and tired of it. He did not want to shoulder the weight that was deforming him anymore. He couldn''t take it anymore.


    ''I''m¡­''


    He wasn''t perfect. He had never been perfect.


    He wasn''t a superhuman or a god.


    He just had struggled desperately and wretchedly.


    He wanted to stop and take a breath, but the countless eyes surrounding him and the weight on his shoulders did not allow it. However much he was carved up, exhausted, or dried up, he had to keep pushing forward.


    "¡­"


    A warm feeling embraced him.


    Tears dripped from his eyes. He began crying like a beast.


    He felt a warm hand caress his hair and saw a white lighte from that hand and seep into him.


    "It''s okay."


    An unbelievably gentle voice spoke to him.


    "It''s okay."


    The hands that were patting his head went down his back. The sweetness intoxicated him, making him feel fuzzy, and he let that fuzzy feeling take over his body.


    His consciousness died down.


    * * *


    "Urgh."


    Kang-Woo got up.


    It''d been ten days since the rescue operation.


    Doing nothing but receiving Seol-Ah''s care had to end here. He couldn''t sit around any longer.


    "I feel amazing."


    He didn''t understand why, but his body felt as light as a feather.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head. If he''d really been wounded, one would think that he''d fully recovered, but that had not been the case.


    ''I wasn''t injured in the first ce.''


    He''d spent ten days in bed only to make the rescue operation feel more real. Not only had he not been wounded, but he also didn''t even have a single scar.


    The only damage he''d received was from the light that hade out of Han Seol-Ah, but since it onlysted briefly, he had managed to heal quickly.


    ''What''s going on?''


    In his confusion, he drew out his demonic energy.


    His eyes widened.


    "What the hell?"


    He felt the demonic energy calmly flowing through his body, and heughed in disbelief at thepletely new sensation.


    ''Why is it so calm?''


    The word calm did not suit demonic energy; it was not like the Qi that appeared in martial arts novels.


    ''Calm, my ass.''


    Demonic energy was rampant in nature like a college freshman at his first frat party. The flow of demonic energy, which had been like rapids, had be as calm as a peaceful river, so it was obviously very suspicious.


    "The output¡­ hasn''t changed."


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief. There was only one conclusion that he could draw from the calm demonic energy despite the unchanged output.


    ''My demonic energy control has improved.''


    How could that have possibly happened?


    Kang-Woo scratched his head due to the unbelievable phenomenon.


    "Did I eat an elixir or something in my sleep?"


    He couldn''t help butugh at what he said, not because eating an elixir was unbelievable but because a mere elixir would not improve his control over demonic energy.


    "It''s a good thing, but¡­"


    He still wasn''t at a point where he could safely absorb Belphegor''s demonic energy, but considering how agonizing and dangerous improving one''s demonic energy control was, the fact that it had improved overnight was very wee news.


    ''I have no idea why.''


    He was tilting his head in confusion when the door opened.


    ck.


    "Oh, y-you''re up, Kang-Woo."


    "Oh, yeah. I just got up."


    Seol-Ah entered the room.


    ''¡­?''


    His eyes widened when he saw her.


    "Is something wrong? Your cheeks are super red."


    "Pardon? I-It''s nothing at all!!"


    Seol-Ah frantically shook her head. She took a deep breath and approached him with expectant eyes.


    "Th-That aside, you''re still unwell, right? I will take care of you ag¡ª"


    "No, I''m fine now."


    Seol-Ah''s expression turned grim in an instant.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    "Thanks for taking care of me. I''m all better now."


    "A-Are you sure?"


    "Yup." Kang-Woo nodded. "I can''t stay in bed forever. It''s about time I start to move around."


    "¡­"


    "What?"


    "N-Nothing."


    Seol-Ah lowered her head as if remembering something. Her cheeks were so red that it looked as if steam was about toe up from her head.


    "Uhm¡­ Kang-Woo."


    "Yeah?"


    "You¡­ said that you spent ten millennia in Hell¡­ right?"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He slowly nodded.


    "Could you tell me about what you went through th¡ª"


    "No," he said in a bit of a cold manner, causing Seol-Ah to flinch.


    Kang-Woo calmly kept talking. To be honest, talking about it wasn''t hard. He was sure that, if it were Seol-Ah, she''d understand what he''d gone through and ept him as he was. Even so¡ªno, because of that¡­


    "I¡­ can''t," Kang-Woo replied.


    "¡­ Why not? I-I also want to know more about you, Kang-Woo."


    "Because you''ll pity me."


    "¡­ What?"


    "If I tell you, you''ll pity me."


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly. He wasn''t trying to act cool. His past, the years he''d spent in Hell, was like a soap opera.


    ''It was an absolute shitshow.''


    It would not lose to any other story in the world in terms of gruesomeness and wretchedness. The memories were far too unsightly and filthy to say out loud.


    ''And considering the pity show I''d pull off while weeping¡­''


    There was a chance that he would bawl his eyes out while talking about it.


    ''That isn''t something I should do at my age.''


    Age and psychological maturity were not directly proportional to one another; it was easy to find people who didn''t act their age. That was especially the case for demons.


    The endless shing of desires that came with a demon''s body interfered with psychological growth. For example, Kang-Woo wasn''t as knowledgeable as an old man who had gone through many things in his life.


    "¡­"


    Seol-Ah made a sad expression.


    "Don''t make that face. It''s nothing you would find entertaining."


    "That''s not what I¡ª"


    "I know what you''re trying to say, but they''re just too embarrassing to say out loud, so¡­ I don''t want to say them for the moment."


    Seol-Ah sighed. "If you say so, then I guess it can''t be helped."


    "Thanks."


    "But that doesn''t mean I''ve given up. I won''t give up on learning absolutely everything about you, Kang-Woo," Seol-Ah said while looking at him, full of determination.


    Kang-Woo scratched his head at her sudden deration.


    "More importantly, how are Halcyon and Echidna?" he asked.


    "I heard they''re being taken care of by Lilith."


    He already knew that, but he asked anyway to make his performance more real.


    ''They must be a mess by now.''


    Both of them were highly dependent on Kang-Woo. Them being his retainers partly had to do with it, but the biggest reason was their personalities.


    He''dmanded them to stay at Balrog''s home, so they were likely bing extremely jittery.


    ''They''ll have toeter.''


    There were other things he had to do first. Kang-Woo began walking.


    "Where are you going?" asked Seol-Ah.


    "I think I should meet up with the angels."


    "¡­"


    Chilling rage appeared in Seol-Ah''s eyes, likely because the angels had decided not to take part in the rescue operation to save Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and said, "I also heard what happened, but we can''t deny that they''re our allies. Besides, thousands of people fearlessly charging into a trap to save just one person is nothing to be proud of."


    "Th-that''s¡­!"


    "But still¡­ thanks." Kang-Woo grabbed Seol-Ah''s hand. "Thanks to you, I''m alive."


    "I wasn''t alone. Also¡­ thinking about everything you''ve done for me, that was nothing."


    Seol-Ah looked at him with passionate eyes.


    Kang-Woo coughed and turned around.


    "I''ll be back before dinner."


    He quickened his steps as if to hide his embarrassment.


    Whoom.


    He opened a gate on the apartment rooftop and moved to the Hall of Protection. The Hall of Protection had many gates leading to different ces worldwide, so using it as a waypoint was quite convenient for transportation.


    As soon as he entered the Hall of Protection, he was greeted by Kim Si-Hun.


    "H-Hyung-nim?!"


    "Long time no see."


    "Are you feeling okay?!"


    Kang-Woo smirked after seeing his excitement.


    "I''m fine. I''m all better now."


    He couldn''t understand why, but he was feeling even better than before.


    "Fuuu. I was really worried. After I heard you were hurting so much that you couldn''t even ept visitors, I¡­"


    "¡­?"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head. He had never said something like that.


    "I''m d to see you''re fine now, but why are you here? You should rest some more."


    "I''m fully healed, so I thought I should talk about what happened. We also need to prepare for the future."


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained silent. He had absolutely no way to refute him.


    "Call Gaia, too. I''d rather exin things once."


    "I understand. Should I call Yeon-Joo as well?"


    "No. Raphael doesn''t know Yeon-Joo very well, so I think it''d be best if only the three of us went."


    "¡­ You''re nning on meeting the angels?" Si-Hun asked in displeasure.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly. Si-Hun had reacted the same way as Seol-Ah.


    "I know what you''re thinking, but the angels are still our allies, and they will always be."


    "¡­"


    "Si-Hun."


    "Yes¡­ I know."


    Si-Hun bit his lip and nodded. He knew it, but¡­


    "Fuuu."


    He took a deep breath.


    "Let''s go. I''ll bring Gaia."


    Si-Hun turned around.


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction while looking at Si-Hun''s back.


    ''Well, I guess this is just right.''


    This was just the right level of rtionship that they should have with the angels.


    As long as Kang-Woo was a demon, he could never trust them fully. They needed to work together to a certain extent. Both sides working together for a matching goal while being wary of each other to an extent was just the right level of rtionship Kang-Woo wanted with the angels.


    "Kang-Woo! A-Are you feeling okay n¡ª"


    "Let''s talk about that as we go."


    Kang-Woo smiled when he saw Gaia''s face full of worry.


    * * *


    "¡­ The Four Heavenly Kings, you say?"


    Raphael ced his hand on his forehead. What they''d told him was an unexpected development of events.


    "I did not realize that the Demon of Prophecy''s forces would be that powerful. And that has yet to be resolved¡­"


    Raphael bit his lip, his head hurting at the thought of the overwhelming forces of evil.


    "Could you tell me what had happened in detail?"


    "Of course."


    Kang-Woo calmly began talking. He exined how he went to investigate Satan, how he''d managed to find his traces, and how the Demon of Prophecy had attacked him as if he had been waiting.


    The more he talked, the darker Raphael''s expression became.


    ''Good.''


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    ''He believed it.''


    It seemed he wasn''t suspecting Kang-Woo to be the Demon of Prophecy.


    ''Fuck yeah! I''m finally safe from all suspicion!''


    Judging by Raphael''s expression, the n had been a sess.


    Kang-Woo would no longer be suspected as the Demon of Prophecy, and he''d also created a convenient card known as Fallen Angel Rakiel.


    ''Hell yeah! Rakiel Coin, let''s go!''


    Just thinking about how to use his new cheat code made him smile.


    ''Yeah, I should''ve done this from the start.''


    He had gone through so much because Satan had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Kang-Woo nodded in satisfaction.


    Raphael asked, "What was the name of the Heavenly King you came across?"


    "Fallen Angel Rakiel," Kang-Woo said without hesitation.


    "Rakiel¡­?"


    ''Yup, I''m sure it''s your first time hearing the name.''


    After all, he''d made it up.


    Kang-Woo snickered in his mind. Just then¡­


    m!


    Raphael sprang up with his eyes as wide as saucers.


    "R-Rakiel was there?!!"


    ''Huh?''


    "H-How?! How could that fallen Constetion be on Earth¡­?!"


    ''What the fuck?''


    "It cannot be¡­" Raphael''s expression paled. "H-Has the seal¡­ been undone?"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    ''For fuck''s sake.''


    He grabbed his head.


    ''Who the fuck is Rakiel¡­?''


    Something had gone wrong.

 Chapter 270 - Me Again?

    Chapter 270 - Me Again?


    "You¡­ know Rakiel?"


    Kim Si-Hun''s eyes widened in surprise.


    Meanwhile, Oh Kang-Woo''s mouth was agape, at a loss for words.


    ''Mother of fuck¡­''


    His head started to hurt.


    He''d created the character Fallen Angel Rakiel without thinking too much about it. He had just thought that there should be at least one fallen angel among the Four Heavenly Kings and had thought of the character in no more than five seconds.


    But Raphael knew him?


    ''That doesn''t make sense.''


    Kang-Woo''s expression paled.


    Raphael was just as troubled and expressed, "I cannot understand. How could Rakiel have¡­ If Lady Seraph''s seal was broken, then that could mean the other Constetions have also¡­"


    "Lord Raphael?"


    "Ah, my apologies."


    Raphael raised his head.


    "Who is Rakiel?" Si-Hun asked in frustration.


    "¡­"


    There was a short silence.


    Raphael closed his eyes and fell into thought. After thinking for a while, he sighed. "Talking about Rakiel is usually taboo, but since you have already met him, I guess I have no choice."


    With deep sunken eyes, Raphael said, "Rakiel is an angel who had fallen to the temptations of Demon God Bauli in the era of ancient myths. He is currently¡­ one of the Constetions of Evil."


    "¡­"


    The scale was so big that Kang-Woo wasn''t even sure where to start asking questions.


    ''Why the fuck does it have to be the fucking era of myths?''


    His mind turned nk.


    "¡­ Your expressions tell me that you need more details."


    "We know absolutely nothing about myths and the Demon God."


    "I see. The record of Titans must have vanished from Earth. Mm¡­ It seems this will be a long story." While making a troubled exnation, Raphael said, "In the beginning, there was chaos."


    ''Dayum, we''re starting off that big? Yeah, I would have guessed as much for there to have been chaos.''


    "And within that chaos¡­"


    ''You''re not gonna say some shit like light and darkness were born, are you?''


    "Light and darkness were born."


    ''Fuck. They really were born.''


    Kang-Woo looked at Raphael in disbelief, and so did Si-Hun. The scale had gotten as massive as the entire universe, so he seemed to be confused about how to react. If anyone other than Raphael had said such a thing, Kang-Woo would have smacked them to make them stop with the nonsense.


    Unaware of their reactions, Raphael continued, "Titans were born from that light and darkness."


    "Titans¡­"


    "Each Titan designed their own creations and a world for them to live in."


    "And are those creations angels and demons?"


    "Humans as well. No, it would be more apt to say that they had created all things. Lady Gaia and the other gods are also the Titans'' creations."


    "¡­"


    "One of those Titans is Demon God Bauli."


    Kang-Woo grabbed his head.


    ''What the hell is going on?''


    He couldn''t understand why the era of myths was being mentioned just because he had used the name Rakiel. Kang-Woo began organizing his thoughts as the scale of events got bigger and bigger.


    Titans¡­


    It was an unbelievable story.


    ''Come to think of it, back then¡­''


    He recalled a certain mage who was providing Guardians with all sorts of valuable magic items. The mage had yelled something back when Kang-Woo had gone to their workshop to console them as they were being enved by endlessbor.


    "Aaaaahh! At this rate, the ''Book of Hecate'' will never be¡­!"


    Kang-Woo remembered asking the mage who Hecate was.


    "She is the Great One who had stood at the pinnacle of magic, even among the Titans, in the era of myths! It is no exaggeration to say that all magic had been derived from her. We mages have a duty to pursue her knowledge and the truth of true magic¡ª"


    "No, your duty is to pay off your debt."


    "Y-You damn swindler!!"


    "It is your fault for signing the contract. Now, now, get up. It''s time to work."


    "Aarrgghh!! You damn demon!"


    "I am indeed a demon, kekeke."


    ''Mm.''


    Kang-Woo had thought the mage had been hallucinating after getting too tired from overwork, but he now thought otherwise.


    ''And besides¡­''


    There was a Titan whom he was even more aware of than Hecate.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed.


    He thought of the being in the Abyss, the deepestyer of the Ten Thousand Demon Core. The being had been an absolute monster so massive that his full size could not be fathomed.


    ''If he''s a Titan¡­''


    To be more precise, if he was Bauli, the story made sense.


    After confirming that Raphael wasn''t talking out of his ass, Kang-Woo focused on his words more.


    "Demon God Bauli possessed unending resentment for all creations made by Titans."


    "Was he on his period?" Kang-Woo spat out.


    "Period?"


    "It''s nothing. Please continue."


    "Mm. It had never been recorded why the Demon God came to have such resentment, but it had been told that the Demon God had gone to war against the most powerful gods among the Titans'' creations."


    "It feels like we''re getting more and more off-topic¡­ So who is Rakiel?"


    "Rakiel was one of the beings who had stood with the Demon God to destroy the universe."


    "In that case¡­ the beings who stood with the Demon God¡­"


    "We call them the Constetions of Evil."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent. At this point, it didn''t even surprise him anymore. The scale was so massive that he just wanted to gloss over it while swearing.


    "So¡­ who won the war? Oh, I guess there is no need to even ask."


    If Bauli had won, there would be no universe for them to be in.


    Raphael nodded.


    "Celestial Goddess Seraph, Lady Gaia, and the Heavenly Dragon joined forces and managed to kill the demon god. They then divided the demon god''s corpse into three pieces and ced each piece in a different world."


    ''And I ate one of those three pieces.''


    He could more or less understand, but he still had unanswered questions.


    "I have three questions."


    "Go ahead."


    Kang-Woo asked in a sunken voice, "You said the war was between Demon God Bauli and the creations¡­ What were the other Titans doing?"


    From the perspective of the other Titans, Bauli was an ouw who was trying to kill their creations. It made no sense for them to not do anything.


    Raphael said in a heavy voice, "There was an invasion from the outer world."


    "Outer world?"


    "There is not much known about them. All we know is that¡­ the Titans refer to them as beings of the Void."


    "Then the other Titans¡­"


    "They were battling the beings of the Void. Many Titans died in that battle, and Bauli took that opportunity to take action."


    ''What a scumbag¡­''


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief. It was as if he''d tried to rob a burning vige instead of helping to extinguish the fire.


    Kang-Woo frowned and said, "Then¡­ my second question."


    Kang-Woo swept his hair back and opened his mouth. Now that he had heard of the myths, there was something that he just couldn''t understand.


    "Why did you think that the Demon of Prophecy was Satan?"


    If the angels knew about this myth, the one they should have suspected first was Demon God Bauli. After all, there was no being more fitting for the title of Demon of Prophecy than the Demon God.


    ''Could they not have suspected him because he was dead?''


    Nonsense.


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    If they were talking about the dead, Satan had also been dead.


    Gods did not die in the truest sense unless their soul itself was annihted. Gaia, Seraph, and the Heavenly Dragon had failed to annihte Bauli''s soul.


    ''As proof of that¡­''


    Bauli was alive within the Abyss of the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t understand why he was there, but there was one thing he was sure about: the demon god wasn''t dead yet, and the gods should''ve been more aware of that fact than anyone else.


    ''Wait, then¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    ''The Demon of Prophecy wasn''t me but him?''


    There was a good chance that was the case. Every piece of information that was revealed was pointing at Demon God Bauli for being the Demon of Prophecy.


    ''What the hell? It''s not matching up.''


    Gaia had clearly said that she didn''t know who the Demon of Prophecy was, but she definitely knew that Bauli''s soul hadn''t been annihted, so there was no way she would''ve said something like that.


    ''Don''t tell me that she doesn''t know.''


    Kang-Woo shook his head. Even if she didn''t know, he was the first one she should''ve suspected. In that case, why had Gaia said she didn''t know who the Demon of Prophecy was?


    "Fuuu. That is the most confusing part of all this." Raphael took a deep breath. "The one who told us about the Demon of Prophecy was Uranus."


    Kang-Woo had heard that name before¡ªthe god in charge of protecting Earth in Gaia''s ce.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "We also suspected the Demon of Prophecy to be Bauli at first, but from what Uranus had heard from Gaia herself¡­ the Demon of Prophecy and Bauli are different beings."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s mouth remained closed, and he turned his head to stare at Gaia in the wheelchair. She was considerably calm, as if she had already known about this myth.


    "Is that true?" asked Kang-Woo.


    "¡­ Yes. I remember hearing that the first moment I received the revtion."


    If the incarnation of Gaia was corroborating it, then it meant that Raphael was not mistaken.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shook.


    ''It isn''t Bauli?''


    Then who¡­


    ''Oh.''


    Kang-Woo clenched his hair.


    Assuming Bauli wasn''t the Demon of Prophecy, then there was only one other person it could possibly be


    ''It fucking is me.''


    The Demonic Sea and 666 Authorities¡­


    The only ones who matched those conditions were Bauli and him.


    ''Wait, then this son of a bitch¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened. The scattered puzzle pieces had finally beenpleted.


    ''Fuck¡­ so that''s how it is.''


    Bauli knew about the prophecy and also knew that the gods would try to find him through the prophecy to kill him once and for all.


    ''And so¡­''


    He had hidden from the prophecy¡­ within the puppet known as Oh Kang-Woo.


    Gaia was likely confused out of her mind, since she was sure that Bauli was supposed to be the Demon of Prophecy, but the prophecy was pointing at someone else entirely.


    Even if both were using the same body, they were clearly different beings. It was only obvious that the prophecy would be interpreted incorrectly. It was like trying to find the way with a brokenpass.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo clenched his mouth shut. The fact that he was being used by another being was unpleasant beyond belief.


    ''It doesn''t seem like things are going ording to his n, at least.''


    He recalled how Bauli had excitedly tried to crawl out of the Abyss, saying that the time of prophecy hade. He had likely nned to take control of Kang-Woo''s body after Kang-Woo had absorbed a part of his corpse.


    ''But he failed.''


    The puppet Bauli had created to hide from the prophecy had stopped him from crawling out of the Abyss.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and organized his thoughts.


    It didn''t matter which of them was the Demon of Prophecy.


    ''What matters the most right now is Rakiel.''


    "Fuuu. I can understand your confusion," Raphael mumbled. "If it is not Bauli or Satan¡­ not even I am sure who it could be. However, the fact that Rakiel is serving the Demon of Prophecy points to Bauli being the Demon of Prophecy¡­ No, even if that is the case, there have been no signs that Bauli had been revived for that to be the case¡­"


    "I will ask my final question, then." Kang-Woo cut Raphael''s words off and remembered what Raphael had said when he mentioned Rakiel''s name. "What did you mean when you said that ''the seal has been broken''?"


    Raphael''s eyes shook. There was hesitation in his eyes, as if he were wondering if it was something he should be telling them.


    Kang-Woo opened his mouth.


    "We are all already in the same boat. I know that you do not fully trust us yet, but if you keep hiding information, we will not be able to battle a great evil."


    "Urgh."


    It was exactly as Kang-Woo had said.


    Raphael sighed.


    "After sessfully killing the Demon God, Lady Seraph sealed all of the Constetions of Evil by sacrificing her own Divinity."


    "Then if Rakiel appeared, that means¡­"


    "That the seal has been broken."


    "No way!"


    Kang-Woo pretended to be surprised. Although he was making a serious expression, he was cheering his heart out while clenching both fists in his mind.


    ''Sheesh, I was worried for nothing.''


    Raphael likely did not know this, but Rakiel''s seal hadn''t been broken yet. After all, the one who had appeared in thest incident was Kang-Woo, not the real Rakiel. Meaning, it was perfectly fine for him to use Rakiel''s name however he wanted, as long as he stayed sealed.


    ''I thought my coin plummeted as soon as I had made it.''


    It would be really bad for him if the real Rakiel appeared when Kang-Woo was impersonating him, just like what had happened with Satan.


    He nodded in relief.


    ''I guess we''re in the clear for n¡ª''


    "Kuh. It ended up turning out as Lord Michael had feared¡­"


    ''Hm?''


    "What¡­ do you mean? He had feared that this would happen?"


    "Haaa. Correct. There have been signs."


    "Signs?"


    Raphael nodded. "Lady Seraph''s power had been severely weakening since a few years ago. We had partially expected¡­ for the seal to be broken."


    "¡­ I see¡­"


    "But still, for it to have happened so soon¡­ How could Lady Seraph''s power have vanished so easily?"


    Kang-Woo nodded. He was acting calm with all his might on the outside, but his mind was in chaos.


    ''What the actual fuck?''


    It was absolutely unreal. He thought that he''d finally be able to rx, but¡­ Rakiel''s seal was on the verge of breaking? Kang-Woo was going out of his mind due to the borderline-forced plot progression.


    ''Could it just be a coincidence?''


    Kang-Woo shook his head. There was no way that it could possibly be.


    ''Wait.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened; something had crossed his mind.


    "When exactly¡­ did that seal begin significantly weakening?"


    "Three years ago."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo lowered his head.


    Three years ago was when the Demon Cult suddenly became more active, when demonic beasts began to appear within Gates, and when the Earth became vulnerable to otherworldly threats due to the Gaia System''s impairment.


    And¡­


    ''Again?''


    Kang-Woo grabbed his head.


    ''It''s me again?''


    ¡­ Three years ago was when a certain human had returned to Earth after ten millennia.

 Chapter 271 - The Road The King Has Walked (1)

    Chapter 271 - The Road The King Has Walked (1)


    "Since Rakiel''s existence has been confirmed, I will request reinforcements from the celestial realm. Uriel will be here soon."


    "Are you saying that another archangel will being?"


    "Yes." Raphael nodded. "Taking into consideration that Rakiel¡­ and the other Constetions have been freed from their seals, I will be unable to stop them on my own."


    "¡­"


    It made sense. No, it was weird that he had only requested backup from one archangel.


    ''But still¡­''


    Oh Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    ''I''d be able to buy some time.''


    Whether Uriel, Gabriel, Michael, or every single archangel came to Earth, it didn''t matter.


    ''The seal hasn''t been broken yet.''


    No matter how hard they tried, they wouldn''t be able to find Rakiel.


    ''And while they''re wasting time¡­''


    He would have plenty of time to prepare. Actually, he would also be able to turn the situation in his favor.


    ''It would be far too wasteful to abandon the Rakiel persona.''


    The gears in Kang-Woo''s head turned quickly. Being aware and unaware that one''s n could go awry was worlds different. Since he knew that Rakiel was real and that his seal hadn''t been broken yet, he would be able to use that.


    "I will give you a piece of advice, incarnation of Gaia."


    "Yes, Lord Raphael."


    "Be more wary of your allies than your enemies. Resolve yourself to doubt those you love."


    "¡­ Pardon?" Gaia''s expression hardened.


    "Rakiel is the Constetion of Corruption for a reason. His whispers are clever and sweet. Soon¡­ no, even now, yourrades may be falling for his unending temptations."


    "¡­"


    "Even during the war against the Demon God, the number of angels corrupted by his whispers was unfathomable."


    "I will keep that in mind, but¡­" Straightening her back, she said in a firm voice, "I believe in the protectors of Guardians. They¡­"


    She fumbled for Kang-Woo''s and Kim Si-Hun''s hands and grabbed them. She then smiled lightly in relief and finished her sentence, "¡­ Are not ones to fall for a demon''s whispers."


    "¡­"


    Raphael sighed.


    Hearing that, Gaia smiled. "I know what you are worried about. I will also be wary of the chance that it could happen. You do not need to worry."


    "I only hope for your trust to stay true."


    Gaia bowed, and Kang-Woo and Si-Hun followed suit.


    There was nothing else that needed to be discussed with Raphael.


    "In that case, we will excuse ourselves."


    Kang-Woo turned around.


    "¡­"


    After Guardians left, Raphael looked over the silent fortress and shut his eyes.


    "Haaa."


    He couldn''t help but sigh.


    ''Rakiel, of all people¡­''


    Raphael bit his lip.


    Although Gaia had told him not to worry, as someone who had witnessed firsthand the havoc the Constetion of Corruption had caused, he could not afford to.


    "Shalgiel."


    "Yes, my lord."


    "Thoroughly monitor Guardians. At least until Uriel arrives."


    "¡­ Rather than shouldering the risks, how about we take this chance to sever ties with Guardians entirely?" Shalgiel said as his eyes shone sharply.


    Rakiel was capable of corrupting even angels, so it was hard to believe that humans would be able to resist. Rather than keeping the risk factor exposed, it was also an option to sever ties with them before it happened.


    Raphael shook his head.


    "You are being too hasty. That is your biggest problem."


    "¡­ I apologize."


    "Just focus on monitoring them for now."


    "Yes, my lord."


    Shalgiel bowed.


    Raphael stared at Shalgiel with a slight uneasiness since he was well aware of his fiery personality. He shook his head and stood up.


    "I will investigate materials on Rakiel until Uriel arrives."


    "What materials in particr?" Shalgiel asked.


    "Have you ever heard why Rakiel fell?"


    Shalgiel shook his head. "¡­ No. I just heard that he had fallen for the Demon God''s temptations."


    "I am thinking of investigating how exactly he was tempted."


    To face the darkness, one had to understand it. Raphael sighed deeply.


    ''There are too many things I have to do.''


    He had to investigate Rakiel and return to the Embrace of Light to heal his wounds.


    Raphael once again sighed.


    * * *


    Everything had a cause and effect. Although it might seem like a coincidence, if one took a closer look, there was almost always a reason.


    After Kang-Woo separated from Gaia and Si-Hun, he ran at breakneck speed toward the cause of this effect¡­ the starting point¡­


    "Balrog, you motherfuckeeeeeeeeeer!!!"


    m!


    Kang-Woo kicked down a custom-made ten-meter-tall door. He jumped up into the air and turned midair, using the Authority of the Sky.


    Bash!!


    [Kurghhh!!]


    It was an impressive somersault kick.


    Balrog, who reflexively protected his neck with his Overlord Armor, was blown into the air. He then crashed down onto the ground.


    [M-My king?!]


    "You son of a¡­! I asked you¡­! To suggest a name¡­! So why the fuck would you¡­!"


    [Kurgh! Urgh! What is the matter, my king?!]


    Balrog''s shout echoed throughout the residence.


    Kang-Woo took very deep breaths to calm down his overwhelming frustration.


    "Haaa, haaa. Where did you¡­ hear the name Rakiel?"


    [¡­ I beg your pardon?]


    "I said, where did you hear the name Rakiel?''"


    [Mm. I cannot seem to remember¡­]


    "Remember it."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone sharply. Balrog flinched and frantically nodded.


    [I-I will remember it!]


    It was not nice to see a five-meter-tall muscle giant trembling in fear, but now was not the time to think about that.


    "Haaa."


    Kang-Woo sat on the couch as if his head hurt.


    ck.


    "Kang-Woo, what''s wrong?"


    "Master Kang-Woooooo! I missed you!"


    A door opened, and Halcyon and Echidna appeared. Halcyon ran toward Kang-Woo as soon as he saw him.


    "I was so lonely while you weren''t h¡ª"


    Halcyon, who had been talking while grinning, stopped. After noticing that Kang-Woo was not in a good mood, he carefully let go of his arm and took a few steps back.


    "U-Urghhh."


    "¡­ Is something wrong, Kang-Woo?" Echidna asked.


    Lilith also entered the kitchen soon after Echidna and Halcyon and asked, "Is something the matter?"


    "Ngh."


    Kang-Woo grabbed his forehead while thinking about how to exin thisplex situation.


    "You see¡­"


    He briefly exined to them his conversation with Raphael.


    "Hah," Lilith alsoughed in disbelief. She looked at Balrog with sharp eyes. "You don''t know Rakiel?"


    [Wh-What? You do?]


    "I didn''t know that he was a Constetion of Evil or whatever it was, but I''ve at least heard the name. Wait, didn''t you hear it with me?"


    [I-I don''t remember¡­]


    Balrog slurred while scratching his head.


    Lilith grabbed her forehead as if it hurt. "You muscle pig¡­"


    "Lilith, you know about Rakiel as well?"


    "Yes. I have heard of the name before."


    "From who?"


    "Amon."


    Amon¡­


    Kang-Woo frowned when the name was mentioned.


    Amon had formerly been Satan''s subordinate. No other demon was more knowledgeable about ck magic in Hell than he was. He was also the one who''d opened the Rift that led to Earth for Kang-Woo by using the Hell Armaments.


    "Amon knew Rakiel?"


    "Yes. I am certain that I have heard the name from Amon."


    "What did he say?"


    "It had not been anything in detail. He just¡­ mentioned it in passing. He had asked if we knew about Rakiel."


    "¡­"


    She narrowed her eyes.


    Kang-Woo felt something was off.


    "Lilith, Balrog. Then, have you guys heard anything about Bauli?"


    "Bauli?"


    Lilith and Balrog looked at each other. The two demons shook their heads.


    "No. I do not believe so."


    "Then¡­ what about Titans and beings of the Void?"


    "Not that either¡­" Lilith slurred while looking troubled.


    ''Lilith doesn''t know about myths either.''


    Kang-Woo knew better than anyone how impressive Lilith''s informationwork was, but even she didn''t know about myths.


    ''Meaning, myths hadn''t been passed down in Hell.''


    That made it even weirder.


    How could Amon know information not even Lilith was aware of?


    "Balrog. Had Amon been acting strangely before you came to Earth?"


    [I mean, I had not even been able to see him because he had shut himself in hisboratory ever since you had gone to Earth. If you would call that strange behavior, then¡­ yes,] Balrog said while stroking his chin.


    ''He had shut himself in hisboratory, huh?''


    Kang-Woocked information. There was no link between his seclusion and the Demon God.


    "¡­ Lilith."


    "Yes, my king."


    "Find a way to contact Hell. Doomguard, Marbas, anyone is fine. I need a way to contact someone at least at the level ofmander."


    "As youmand."


    Lilith bowed.


    Kang-Woo leaned back on the couch. He needed to organize the situation.


    ''There''s no need to bother with theplicated stuff for the moment.''


    The myths, Titans, beings of the Void¡­ Even if he thought about those things, he wouldn''t be able to find an answer. What he needed to do now was determine what he needed to be wary of and what he needed to do.


    ''First of all, it would be best to limit using the Rakiel persona as much as possible.''


    He would use it if he had no other choice, but he could not use it freely. Since he knew the seal was weakening, he had to consider the possibility that the real Rakiel would appear.


    ''And¡­''


    Uriel would being to Earth; it wouldn''t be weird if more archangels came after him. They would likely focus on finding Rakiel as soon as reinforcements arrived.


    ''But they won''t be able to find him.''


    They would most definitely investigate the people who had managed toe back from facing Rakiel, for example, the person who had miraculously been rescued after having been captured by Rakiel.


    If they didn''t get the result they wanted, they would obviously expand their search to the people around that person.


    ''Leaving Lilith, Echidna, and Halcyon aside¡­''


    Even if Vaal Zahak and Balrog could hide their demonic energy, they could do nothing about their appearance.


    "Vaal Zahak."


    ck.


    The door of theboratory opened, and a skeleton walked out.


    "¡­"


    He was wearing a pink hood while a pink apron covered his bare ribs. Even the duster was pink.


    "Dude¡­ you¡­"


    [Kehehe. What is it, my king?]


    "That''s what I want to know. What is up with you?"


    [There was too much dust in theboratory, so I had been in the middle of cleaning. Huhuhu. My king¡­ what will you have me do next? Shall I make the corpse of a saint into an Undead, or shall I turn those disgusting servants of light into puppets¡ª]


    "Don''t say things like that while wearing those clothes. I can''t focus."


    [Kahahaha! What do you mean? Are they not great ceremonial attire?]


    "No¡­ Ah¡­ Sorry. I''m¡­ My mistake."


    Kang-Woo turned away from him without being able to put words together.


    "Haaa. There''s something I need you to do."


    [What is it?]


    "You know how to use ck magic, right?"


    [Of course.]


    "Can you create a suit that looks exactly like a human? Whatever you need to use to make it."


    [Mm. Something like the tentacle decorations that Lady Lilith had madest time?]


    "No. It has to be more detailed than that. Enough for one to be able to act exactly like a human after wearing it."


    [¡­ It may take some time, but it is possible. How many should I make?]


    "Just for you and Balrog."


    [Lord Balrog? Mm. Taking Lord Balrog''s stature into ount, he would never be considered a human¡­]


    "I can shrink his body, so don''t worry about that. But try to make one as big as you can within the confines of human parameters so that it doesn''t look out of ce."


    [Understood.]


    Kang-Woo looked at Balrog, who seemed confused at his words.


    [M-My king. What do you mean by you will shrink me¡­?]


    "I''m going to transform your body with an Authority. You won''t be able to fight, but try to adapt to it to the extent that you can at least spend daily life in it."


    [¡­ Is there a need for me to act like a human to that extent?]


    "Just in case so that angels don''t catch on to you."


    [I can easily ughter those puny angels mys¡ª]


    "Balrog."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. Balrog flinched and mmed his forehead onto the ground.


    [My apologies.]


    "Good."


    Kang-Woo turned his eyes from Balrog and swept up his hair.


    ''The biggest problem is the demon god.''


    Kang-Woo recalled the myth that he had heard from Raphael. He knew the identity and objective of the Demon God lying within the Abyss of the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    Bauli was targeting his body.


    ''I can''t eliminate him.''


    Just keeping him froming out was already hard enough.


    "¡­"


    He thought about it for a while, but there was only one conclusion he could reach.


    ''I have to improve my demonic energy control.''


    To prevent the Demon God from crawling out, to absorb Belphegor''s demonic energy and raise his Demonic Energy stat, and to prepare against possible variables¡­


    ''And to make sure¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes deepened.


    He recalled an endless mountain of corpses.


    He recalled his despairing self.


    ''¡­ I don''t lose anyone else.''


    He needed to improve his demonic energy control as quickly as possible.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes. There was one way to dramatically improve it.


    ''But that way is¡­''


    He hesitated a bit, but that onlysted for a short while. He slowly opened his eyes.


    "Balrog."


    [Yes, my king.]


    "I''m gonna molt."


    Balrog''s eyes widened.

 Chapter 272 - The Road The King Has Walked (2)

    Chapter 272 - The Road The King Has Walked (2)


    BOOM!


    Balrog got up and red at Oh Kang-Woo.


    [No,] he said in a firm voice he hadn''t used until then.


    Balrog bit his lip.


    [Not¡­ molting.]


    "Balrog."


    [You promised!]


    BOOM!


    Balrog stomped on the ground.


    Crack.


    The floor couldn''t withstand the impact and cracked.


    [You promised me that you would never do it again!!]


    The atmosphere of the room suddenly became cold.


    Echidna and Halcyon flinched.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    "Are you refusing to obey my order?"


    [¡­]


    There was silence. Balrog clenched his fists and trembled.


    [There has to be another way.]


    "There isn''t. That''s why I''m doing it."


    [The situation is not that urgent.]


    "It''s not, but we don''t have all the time in the world either."


    [You have already be far stronger than when you were in Hell.]


    "And so have my enemies."


    [¡­]


    Balrog closed his eyes.


    [... It is dangerous.]


    "I know."


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    Balrog once again stomped on the ground.


    [Then why?! Why are you trying to molt?!]


    "Balrog."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes sank deep, and he opened his mouth. He spoke in a voice tinged with sadness. An emotion he''d been suppressing leaked out through his words.


    "We''ve lost far too much."


    [¡­]


    "I refuse to lose anything else," he calmly said.


    Balrog frowned and clenched his fists.


    Lilith walked toward Balrog.


    "Give up, Balrog. You know how stubborn our king is."


    [... Are you fine with this?]


    "Hohoho."


    Lilith smiled widely; a chilling bloodlust leaked out of her.


    "Of course¡­ not," she said reluctantly.


    [¡­]


    Lilith''s hands were trembling a bit, and it looked as if she were about to cry at any moment.


    Balrog sighed.


    [I understand. When are you nning to do it?]


    "Right now."


    Since he''d decided to use it, there was no reason to push it back any further.


    [Where¡­?]


    "Remember where we sparred before? Let''s do it there."


    [That ce is too dangerous. How about¡­ where that Guardians secret vault used to be?]


    "The Grand Canyon?"


    [Yes. Let us do it there.]


    "Ngh. It''s a bit of a hassle since we have to go through the Hall of Protection."


    [Even so, that is the safest ce.]


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "Okay."


    [In that case, I will make the preparations.]


    Balrog turned away. He took Lilith with her to go around the house and collect things.


    "Kang-Woo." Echidna trotted over to him and pulled on his clothes. "What''s molting?"


    "I-I would also like to kn-know." Halcyon furiously nodded next to her.


    Kang-Woo answered with a troubled expression, "It''s¡­ a form of training."


    "Training?"


    "Yup. It''s the fastest way to improve my demonic energy control."


    Echidna''s anxious eyes calmed down after hearing the word training.


    "Can Ie watch you train too, Kang-Woo?" she asked, her eyes shining.


    "No." Kang-Woo firmly shook his head.


    Echidna flinched.


    He patted her head and continued, "Seol-Ah is alone in the house. Echidna and Halcyon, go home today and stay with her."


    "... Okay." Echidna couldn''t insist any further, and she nodded.


    Just then¡­


    [How about you take them with you since it has be like this?]


    "... Balrog."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone sharply.


    Balrog continued calmly, [The little dragon and Halcyon are now your retainers. They have the right to know.]


    "The right to know, my ass? You think I don''t know what you''re trying to do?"


    [Of course, I still wish for you to change your mind, but you know it is not good to hide this from your retainers.]


    "What isn''t good? Having them join us ispletely meaningl¡ª"


    [It is not meaningless.] Balrog shook his head. [The little dragon is strong enough to use dragon tongue magic, and Halcyon is stronger than me.]


    "Hah, trying to use logic, are you?"


    [You know that it is the right decision to prepare for possible variables.]


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo was at a loss for words.


    "... Fuck."


    He didn''t want to admit it, but Balrog was right.


    Kang-Woo became significantly weaker right after molting. To cover all bases, taking Echidna and Halcyon with him was the correct choice.


    [Not just that, taking only me would bring about discord among the retainers.]


    That was also right.


    One of the most important things when managing subordinates was to never favor any in particr. If he only took Balrog, then Echidna and Halcyon would obviously feel a sense of alienation. Perhaps discord was a bit excessive, but it would at least sow the seeds for it.


    [Do you want to see the king train?]


    "Yeah, I wanna see!"


    "I-I would like to s-see it as well."


    [You heard them.]


    Echidna and Halcyon nodded.


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    "... Do as you please."


    He gave up and just turned around.


    Balrog smirked and spoke to them.


    [In that case, you guys help us prepare as well.]


    "What should we prepare?"


    [Changes of clothes, lots of water, and towels to dry off the body.]


    "¡­?"


    Echidna couldn''t understand why they needed things like that to train, but she nodded.


    As Halcyon, Echidna, and Balrog moved together, they quickly finished their preparations.


    "Then, let''s go."


    Kang-Woo activated the gate that led to the Hall of Protection, intending to use the gate within the Hall of Protection to travel to the Grand Canyon.


    "I feel like I''ve beening here pretty often," Kang-Woo mumbled while looking at the canyon.


    There weren''t many people in the area, so he often used it for training.


    As he slowly began to walk, Echidna followed him.


    "Kang-Woo, I''ve been training a lot. I can use five dragon tongue magics now. That''s more than what an adult dragon can do," she said, like a child who wanted to be praised.


    Kang-Woo smirked and patted her head.


    "Good job. Oh, it looks like you''ve gotten taller too."


    "Hm! I''m gonna be as fat as Seol-Ah soon too."


    "Uhh¡­ Mm."


    "I asked Seol-Ah how she managed to get so fat, but she got angry at me¡­"


    "Don''t say things like that from now on."


    His kimchi stew was on the line.


    After begging Echidna, Kang-Woo started to walk.


    Halcyon grabbed Kang-Woo''s other arm.


    ''What do you want?''


    "M-Master Kang-Woo. I-I''ve also been training!"


    ''Don''t lie.''


    Demonic beasts didn''t train. No, to be more precise, there was really no point in them training. Their physical specs were so incredible that they were already at their peak, so there was no point in them doing physical training.


    As Kang-Woo looked at him in disbelief, he began to p his wings.


    "B-bridal training! I''ve been doing bridal training!"


    ''You aren''t a bride.''


    "M-Marriage! That''s the only thing left!"


    ''There''s still that thing between your legs.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shook uneasily.


    [Enough chit-chat.]


    Balrog grabbed Halcyon and Echidna by their napes and dragged them back.


    "... Wh-what are you doing?"


    Halcyon''s eyes shone sharply. He exuded intense bloodlust.


    "I-I had just m-managed to talk to Master Kang-Woo a-after so long¡­"


    He ground his teeth and pped his wings in annoyance.


    "D-Don''t bother m-me, or I-I''ll blow your h-head off."


    It seemed as if Halcyon wasn''t joking. He had even taken out his ws.


    [You are a being a bother to the king,] Balrog calmly said.


    "¡­"


    As Kang-Woo was mentioned, Halcyon remained silent.


    "N-not fair¡­"


    He bit his lip in frustration.


    Kang-Woo looked around.


    "This ce should be okay."


    [... We should go a little deeper.]


    "What, you wanna burrow into the rock or something? This is enough."


    Nobody else was nearby, after all.


    They could not feel the presence of even the smallest organism around them within this narrow canyon. Kang-Woo went into a small cave within the rock and took a deep breath.


    "I''ll be counting on you."


    [Yes, my king.]


    Balrog stood in front of the cave and readied a bucket of water, clean clothes, and towels.


    "Wh-what are you doing?"


    [... You will see,] Balrog firmly said. [Our job is to make sure no one touches the king until the molting is over.]


    "Then are we gonna be protecting Kang-Woo?"


    Echidna''s eyes shone. He was always protecting her, so she seemed quite interested in protecting him.


    Balrog slowly nodded.


    [You can begin.]


    "... Okay."


    Kang-Woo was about to say something to Echidna and Halcyon, but he sighed and nodded.


    He suddenly recalled his conversation with Han Seol-Ah.


    "Why not? I-I also want to know more about you, Kang-Woo."


    "Because you''ll pity me."


    "What?"


    "If I tell you, you''ll pity me."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    "Fuck."


    He cursed and began taking off his clothes.


    "Hm! Hm!"


    "G-Gasp! P-Picture! I must take a picture!"


    The audience was noisy.


    Kang-Woo threw all of his clothes besides his boxers to the side.


    ''Is this some sort of humiliation y?''


    He saw the two girls looking at him with intense eyes and smirked.


    ''Right, then¡­''


    He closed his eyes and summoned forth his demonic energy¡­ and more¡­ and even more. Then¡­


    "Cough!"


    His body bent like a bow, his head hurt, and his sight became blurry. The demonic energy he had drawn out to his utmost limit began to run amok. A giant, endless ck sea appeared before him. Three doors were stopping that giant sea. It was the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    He walked toward one of the Doors and slightly opened it.


    Rumble!!


    "Kang-Woo¡­?"


    The canyon shook.


    Kang-Woo bit his lip so hard that his teeth tore his skin.


    The demonic energy that had been like a calm river stream had be like rapids and was tearing him apart. And¡­


    "BLEEEEEEEEGHH!!"


    He vomited ck blood as an unfathomable agony dominated his mind.


    Crack! Crunch!


    His bones twisted and broke, visibly piercing his skin. His blood vessels tangled as his muscles exploded.


    A huge amount of blood poured out of him.


    "A-Arrgghh."


    He trembled and extended his arm as if trying to grab the air. His fingers bent backwards. His skin was turned inside out as if he were molting.


    "A-Aaaaaaaaaaahh!!"


    An ungodly amount of pain spread through him, and he twisted and screamed.


    ''I have to¡­ control it.''


    The demonic energy was tearing apart his entire body.


    He''d slightly opened a Door of the Ten Thousand Demon Core intentionally to forcibly create a situation that made him break past his limits.


    If he couldn''t go beyond this limit¡­ if he couldn''t control this rampant demonic energy¡­


    He would die.


    "Kargh, argh, kurgh!"


    His body shook as if he were about to have a seizure, and his tongue hung from his mouth. He soiled himself in his pain and wet the ground. He vomited and spat out all his teeth.


    This was probably how a person would turn out if they were put in a microwave.


    Blood poured everywhere as his body was torn apart.


    "Fu¡­ck."


    It hurt.


    It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.


    He couldn''t think of anything else besides that it hurt. It was as if only pain existed in the world¡ªit was all he could feel. To free himself from that pain, he crawled on the floor disgustingly.


    "A-Argh."


    A tear dripped from his eyes. His consciousness was fading, his vision distorting.


    Balrog''s, Echidna''s, and Halcyon''s faces were swirling together as if various paint colors were getting mixed.


    Only pain existed in his world.


    "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!"


    He screamed and tensed his body.


    While his consciousness became governed by pain, a certain thought crossed his mind.


    To survive, he instinctively controlled his demonic energy.


    He entered a state of non-self. He suppressed his demonic energy little by little, as if disentangling a horribly tangled ball of yarn.


    As if smoothing a tangled thread, he slowly began to regain control of the demonic energy.


    One step at a time¡­


    Forward¡­


    And forward¡­


    * * *


    "K-Kang-Woo!!!"


    "Master Kang-Woo!!"


    The two tried to approach Kang-Woo, their faces pale.


    [Stop.]


    Balrog stood in their way.


    "Y-you¡­! H-How could you say that when he''s in that state?!"


    Halcyon bared his ws and teeth.


    Echidna copsed to the floor while trembling.


    [If you touch the king right now, he will die.]


    Halcyon stopped moving at Balrog''s words.


    "Wh-What''s h-happening?"


    It was nothing like training. Even self-harming didn''t look this horrid.


    "Th-This is¡­ molting?"


    Balrog calmly nodded.


    [Molting is the act of forcibly bringing about a state of non-self by intentionally making one''s demonic energy run rampant.]


    "Isn''t that dangerous¡­?"


    [It is like turning your body inside out, so of course it is. In the worst-case scenario, he could die. Even if he survives, he has to endure the worst amount of pain that an organism can possibly experience.]


    "Wh-Why would he go so far¡­?"


    [The king said it himself.]


    Balrog made a bitter smile.


    [To never lose anything ever again.]


    "¡­"


    Balrog turned and saw Kang-Woo crawling on the floor and screaming. Kang-Woo soon lost consciousness.


    [Come to think of it, the two of you do not know the road the king had walked in Hell, do you?]


    "¡­"


    [It was neither one of dominance nor one of glory.]


    Balrog approached the copsed Kang-Woo and picked him up. A long trace of ck blood and excrement had been made behind him.


    [That road¡­]


    Balrog grabbed a water bucket and poured it on Kang-Woo.


    The blood and excrement were washed from his body, flowing down the path Kang-Woo had crawled.


    [That foul and wretched road filled with filth is¡­]


    The ce the water flowed over looked like a road.


    [... The road the King has walked.]


    There was a breathtakingly heavy silence.


    "Bal¡­rog¡­"


    At that moment, Kang-Woo, who had been unconscious in Balrog''s arms, opened his eyes with difficulty.


    [Please rest, my king.]


    "A-Arrgghh."


    Kang-Woo grabbed Balrog''s shoulders with shaking hands. As if gathering thest remaining strength he had, he opened his mouth. He wanted to tell him this at the very least: "That''s¡­ cringe¡­ cough!"


    [M-my king! Are you saying that you are hurting so much to the point that you are cringing?!]


    "No, I''m saying you''re crin¡­"


    [I know what you are trying to say, my king. My heart is hurting¡­ just as much as you.]


    "Son of a¡­ that''s not¡­ saying¡­ Fuck¡­ cringe¡­ what the fuck¡­ is a road filled with filth¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s body trembled.


    "BLEEEEEEEEEEGHHH!!"


    [Urrrrggghhh.]


    He vomited in Balrog''s face and passed out.

 Chapter 273 - The Road The King Has Walked (3)

    Chapter 273 - The Road The King Has Walked (3)


    "Argh, fuck."


    Kaaagh, ptooey.


    Oh Kang-Woo spat out the vomit that had gathered in his mouth. Although he''d healed his wounds with the Authority of Regeneration, he could still feel the pain.


    "It hurts so fucking much."


    He was used to pain, but it was still hard to withstand. It was worse than being shredded by a giant blender.


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    ''This is exactly why I didn''t want to do this.''


    One of the reasons was that it was dangerous, but decisively, it hurt too much.


    He was still trembling in pain.


    [Good job.]


    Balrog walked toward him and gave him a bottle of water.


    Kang-Woo reached out to grab it, but his hands were trembling so much that he couldn''t.


    Balrog held the back of Kang-Woo''s head with his muscr hand. He smiled with his hideous face.


    [I will help you.]


    "Fuck off."


    [Hahaha. There is no need to be embarrassed.]


    "No, f¡ª"


    [Alright! Come into my arms and¡ª]


    "Arghh! S-Son of a bitch! You smell like¡­ Urpp."


    [Oh,e to think of it, your vomit did not seem to have fully washed off.]


    "What? You f¡­ W-Wash it off right now!"


    Kang-Woo struggled, and Balrog smiled at him.


    [I am fine.]


    "So what?"


    [It is a reward in our line of work.]


    "The fuck are you talking about?"


    He twisted his body and was barely able to free himself from Balrog. He couldn''t walk properly, so he rolled on the ground. His head ended up hitting something¡ªEchidna''s leg.


    "¡­"


    "Oh, Echidna? Please help me. Get me away from the muscle pig," Kang-Woo said while making a tired expression.


    Then¡­ something transparent fell on his cheeks. With his mouth closed, Kang-Woo looked up at Echidna.


    Transparent tears were flowing down her cheeks.


    "¡­"


    "Sniff, sniff¡­ sniff."


    Echidna''s shoulders were trembling.


    Kang-Woo sighed.


    ''I mean¡­''


    He had expected this to happen. He''d tried to remain as calm as possible and even joked a bit, but there was no way she wasn''t shocked after seeing the molting process.


    "Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo¡­"


    Echidna hugged Kang-Woo and rubbed her head against his chest.


    He smiled bitterly and patted Echidna''s head.


    "M-Master Kang-Woo. Wh-What was¡­"


    Even Halcyon was trembling.


    "Th-That was¡­ m-molting?"


    "Yeah."


    He nodded.


    Molting was a sub-technique of opening the Doors that involved intentionally letting the Ten Thousand Demon Core run wild and attain great power.


    ''I guess it''s a bit weird to call it a technique.''


    Molting was like a failed version of opening the Doors. There was absolutely no merit in molting, a technique close to self-harm.


    While trying to use it effectively, he discovered a new effect¡­


    While struggling on the borderline of life and death, he had awakened a state of non-self. In martial arts terms, it would be simr to intentionally creating the conditions for reaching enlightenment.


    ''The only problem is that there''s a chance I could die.''


    He didn''t know if he was just lucky or if he was just tenacious, but he had survived up to this point despite having used it multiple times.


    ''Although it hurts like hell.''


    No matter how much he used it, he couldn''t get used to the pain.


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    "This is¡­ training?" Echidna asked while bawling her eyes out.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly. It was definitely hard to see it as training.


    ''But still, there''s nothing I can do about it.''


    Normal training was meaningless for him.


    Of course, he could slowly improve his demonic energy control by using the Authorities of the princes of Hell or by merging it with other Authorities.


    ''But that would take too much time.''


    If he did that, it would take him several years until he was able to absorb Belphegor''s demonic energy.


    If the only price to pay for getting stronger was pain¡­ he was willing to withstand as much pain as he needed.


    "Well, it hurts a lot, but it gets easier to handle over t¡ª"


    "Don''t lie!" Echidna said, tears flowing down her cheeks.


    "¡­"


    She recalled how Kang-Woo had been twisting in pain as if having a seizure and how he was shedding tears while screaming.


    Just pain?


    Pain was everything.


    Humans cried even if a knife slightly cut their skin, so there was no imagining the level of determination one needed to have to use molting despite knowing all the pain he would have to endure.


    Echidna cried while hugging Kang-Woo.


    - Hm! I''ve been training a lot too.


    She felt ashamed of how confidently she''d said that.


    "Kang-Woo¡­"


    Echidna touched Kang-Woo''s cheeks. She couldn''t even imagine how much it must have hurt.


    She recalled Balrog''s words: "This is the road the King has walked."


    Echidna at least knew more about Kang-Woo''s past than Han Seol-Ah.


    She knew how he''d gone from the First to the Ninth Hell despite having been born with a human body and how he''d dered war against the seven princes of Hell, rewriting the history of the Nine Hells and turning it upside down.


    "I-I¡­ didn''t know."


    Tears dripped from Echidna''s eyes. She just knew the usual Kang-Woo and how strong, confident, and clever he was.


    That''s why, obviously¡­


    "I never imagined you¡­ to have lived¡­ like this¡­"


    She thought that Kang-Woo would have easily defeated any demon of the Ninth Hell or a prince of Hell with a smile on his face. She had thought that he had won without any sort of danger or pain, but¡­


    "Sniff, waaaaaaahh!"


    His road had been neither one of dominance nor of glory. He hadn''t fought enemies in a cool way like an anime protagonist. It was miserable and shameful.


    He had pitifully struggled to survive while trying his absolute best to survive and to protect whatever he had in his hands.


    That''s how he''d lived.


    "I''m sorry¡­ I''m¡­ sorry."


    She wasn''t sure what she was sorry for, but for some reason, guilt weighed down on her. She felt as if she''d acted childishly without knowing his hard past and how much he''d struggled in pain.


    "Haaa."


    Kang-Woo sighed and red at Balrog.


    ''This is why I didn''t want her toe.''


    It was true that he''d lived a wretched life, but he did not want to emphasize it or have people pity him for it.


    ''The road the king has walked? Bullshit.''


    He was annoyed at Balrog for inting his past for no reason. It just made Kang-Woo look like some boomer who was lecturing the young about everything he had gone through in life.


    "You should''ve just listened when I told you not toe¡­"


    Kang-Woo patted Echidna''s back and smiled. To be honest, it didn''t feel bad. There was no way that it would feel bad to have someone worry about you.


    "I can move a bit now."


    Kang-Woo got up and rotated his waist around.


    The lingering pain had disappeared.


    ''Right then¡­''


    He closed his eyes and checked his body. He lightly drew out his demonic energy. His expression brightened.


    ''Its effect is as great as always.''


    High risk, high return.


    Since he''d put his life as a guarantee, the reward wasn''t bad. He could feel that the demonic energy flowing through his body had be much more docile than before.


    ''But¡­''


    Tsk.


    He clicked his tongue.


    ''It''s not good enough.''


    He couldn''t absorb Belphegor''s demonic energy yet.


    ''A few more times and I should be good.''


    His demonic energy control had improved more than expected, likely because of how much it had already somehow improved from lying in bed for ten days straight at home.


    ''Man, I wish it could just get boosted from a good night''s sleep like back then.''


    If he did, he wouldn''t need to perform such a shitshow.


    "Balrog, let''s go again."


    [¡­ Are you still not satisfied?]


    "I have to do it a few more times."


    He needed to raise his control to the point that he could effortlessly open the Doors.


    ''There''s no better technique than that in worst-case scenarios.''


    Opening the Doors gave one an enormous amount of benefits in exchange for putting one''s life as coteral. He could wipe out most enemies easily just by opening the First Door.


    "N-No!" Halcyon quickly approached him and shook his head. "Y-You''re going to do that again?!"


    "Once isn''t enough."


    Kang-Woo probably had to do it two to five times.


    ''Urgh, just thinking about it makes me feel like shit.''


    He didn''t even want to imagine doing that shitshow of crying and pissing five whole times.


    No, honestly¡­


    ''I''m scared as fuck.''


    He trembled. He tried to act as if he was fine, but there was no way he was. Just thinking about enduring that insane agony and searing pain was enough for him to hurl.


    Not only that, molting was not a safe training method. Although he might be able to handle the pain, if he was unlucky, there was a chance he could die.


    "N-No! I-I''ll do better! S-So¡­"


    Halcyon bawled his eyes out, and so did Echidna. Kang-Woo put his hand on his forehead, seeing the sight that he had expected.


    Halcyon extended his nails.


    "I-If you''re really going to do it, th-then I will also feel your pain!"


    ''The hell are you talking about?''


    "U-Urghh!"


    "Holy fuck!"


    Kang-Woo quickly stopped Halcyon from harming himself. Halcyon had deeply stabbed his leg with his sharp nails.


    ''Jesus Christ.''


    There was no need to do something so insane.


    Kang-Woo looked at Halcyon in disbelief.


    "Urgh! P-Please¡­ don''t h-hurt yourself."


    "Haaa."


    Kang-Woo didn''t know what to do.


    As Kang-Woo sighed, Balrog walked toward him.


    [How about you do it a few dayster, my king?]


    "¡­ A few days?"


    [Yes. I will not try to stop you, but I believe there is no need to be in such a rush when we are not in any immediate danger.]


    "Hmm, but still¡­"


    [If you do it right away, you may lose focus.]


    Kang-Woo remained tight-lipped.


    It made sense.


    ''Well, rather than hurrying things and dying, I guess ying it safe is better.''


    Bauli was not showing signs of crawling out of the Abyss of the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    Since he''d decided to train while putting his life in danger, it would be better to ensure his body was in perfect condition, at the very least.


    "Okay. Then let''s do it once every three days."


    He could practice Satan''s Authority, which he hadn''t gotten to do yet, while he rested.


    [Fuuu.]


    Balrog sighed in relief and looked at Kang-Woo.


    "We''ve lost far too much." Kang-Woo''s words echoed in Balrog''s head, and a bitter taste went through his mouth.


    ''One day, once everything is over¡­ I hope you achieve happiness.''


    Balrog made a bitter smile as he felt tearsing to his eyes.


    * * *


    "Fuuu, fuuu."


    He hadpleted his fifth molting. Due to some dys, he had managed to molt five times in twenty days.


    "Done."


    Kang-Woo smiled. He could feel that his demonic energy had risen beyond recognition. He picked up the gem containing Belphegor''s demonic energy.


    Crunch.


    He ate it.


    Riiing.


    [You have eaten the Prince of Sloth, Belphegor.]


    [Activating the Trait ''Reaper of Souls.'']


    [Activating the Trait ''Prince yer.'']


    [You can now use Prince Belphegor''s ''Authority of Stillness.'']


    ''Nice.''


    A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    [Demonic Energy has risen to 154.]


    His Demonic Energy stat, which had been stagnant for a while, had also risen.


    ''It only went up by four even when I ate a prince of Hell.''


    Still, it had risen. And the biggest gain was¡­


    [Raising the rank of Trait ''Ruler of Demonic Energy'' to SSS in ordance with the improved demonic energy control.]


    [Demonic energy can now be converted to sacred power on top of mana.]


    [Demonic energy can now be used from a distance. However, its effectiveness decreases dramatically the further the distance.]


    ''Shiiiet.''


    He clenched his fists.


    It was an unexpected gain. He could now exude as much golden sacred power as he wanted, just like how an apostle of Tirion, God of Heroes, should.


    And he was able to use demonic energy from a distance.


    ''That''s the best thing.''


    To put it simply, he could now use Authorities that could only be used from the body, such as the Authority of des, from a distance.


    ''Meaning, I''ll also be able to use Inferno from a distance.''


    He could even use a powerful technique he''d made bybining the Authority of a prince of Hell and the Authority of des from a distance.


    ''And¡­''


    Kang-Woo extended his hand toward a lizard on a rock twenty meters away.


    As he emitted demonic energy and centered it around the lizard, a huge amount of demonic energy started toe out of the lizard. The lizard looked almost like a demonic dragon that had lived for thousands of years.


    Kang-Woo converted his own demonic energy into sacred power, and he started to exude golden light. From the outside, it looked as if a warrior of light was fighting an evil demonic dragon.


    "I can use this."


    Kang-Woo made a thick smile.


    There was no need to even think about where to use it.


    He wasn''t a swindler. As always, he was walking the path of justice and light. He could confidently look into the sky and say he wasn''t ashamed of anything he had done, but¡­


    "Man, I shouldn''t be acting like this."


    Laughs kept leaking out.


    "It''s so fucking nice."


    For some reason, his heart was beating faster.


    "Huehuehuehuehuehue."

 Chapter 274 - Overturned (1)

    Chapter 274 - Overturned (1)


    Oh Kang-Woo had finally returned to his normal daily routine. He had attained more than expected after five molting sessions, so he decided to give himself a gift.


    "Ah¡­"


    He rxed on the bed and sunk into the soft mattress. It was as if he''d be one with the bed, unmoving and unbreathing. He was so stuck to the bed that he might as well have used the Authority of Immobility.


    He pulled the nket right up to his neck, rxing in the warmth of the custom-made duck-feather nket he''d specially ordered for this very day.


    "Aaah," he let out a short exmation. "This must be what they call happiness."


    A slow smile crept onto his face while he mumbled nonsense. It wasn''t that he was falling asleep, but he felt happy beyond belief while lying in bed doing nothing.


    ''Yeah, this is the life of a wealthy bum.''


    The seat of a demon king who ruled over the Nine Hells and the seat of an overlord who ruled the entire world were both meaningless.


    While they got up early to have meetings and a bunch of other shit, he could stay in bed and roll around while scratching his balls. Being a king was nothingpared to being a bum.


    ''I''m so fucking happy. This is what you call the good life.''


    He squirmed around his sheets while shivering in excitement.


    m!


    "Kang-Woo."


    At that moment, someone interrupted his rest. It was a ck-haired little girl¡ªno, she was on the verge of bing a finedy. She trotted toward the bed and shook him.


    "You''re gonna have the whole day off, right?"


    "¡­"


    He didn''t answer.


    "You''ve been having it hard all this time, right, Kang-Woo? I''ll y with you for the whole day."


    Hm! Hm!


    She shook his body while snorting.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes as if he were deeply asleep. He''d just managed to get a free day, so he refused to get out of bed. He kept his eyes closed, just like a father trying to hide from his daughter who wanted to ask him to y with her on a Sunday.


    "Kang-Woo. I know you''re not sleeping."


    Echidna pulled his arm, raised the nket, and tickled his side. That was not working, so she even jumped on top of him and bit his earlobe.


    "Urrrrgggghhhh." He could not endure her biting his earlobe, so he rose from the bed while sounding like a zombie.


    "Hehe."


    Echidna made a victory smile.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened.


    "Why are you bothering me so much?! I''m not stepping one foot off this bed today!" he desperately cried.


    Echidna turned her head to the side and spoke in a sad voice.


    "But¡­" She trembled as if she were a heartbroken heroine. "If I don''t go this far¡­ you won''t ever be interested in me!"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo wondered what in the world Echidna was talking about. As he was looking up at her in disbelief, she smiled and made a V-sign with both her hands.


    "It''s from a popr meme[1]."


    "What''s a meme?"


    "A buzzword. You don''t know about memes when you''ve been on Earth for so long?"


    "There''s a bit of a generational gap."


    A gap of about ten millennia.


    Kang-Woo quickly reached out to Echidna, who was on his chest. He hugged her and tickled her sides.


    "Ahn! Wh-What are you doing, Kang-Woo?!"


    It was rare to see Echidna flustered. Kang-Woo smiled and tickled her armpits. "You dared to interrupt the king''s rest, so you must be prepared to face the consequences."


    Although it was so cringe that he would vomit despite having said it himself, the words casually left his mouth so that he could y along with the situation.


    Echidna narrowed her eyes.


    "Kang-Woo, that''s cringe."


    "¡­"


    "I didn''t know you were that kind of person."


    "Come on, shouldn''t you be ying along¡­?"


    "I''m disappointed."


    Echidna snorted.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes trembled as if he were a protagonist who had just been betrayed.


    Then¡­ both Echidna and Kang-Woo burst intoughter.


    "Urgh."


    Kang-Woo got up from bed.


    "Kang-Woo, are you¡­ feeling okay?" Echidna carefully asked while pulling on his clothes.


    She had been trying her best to be fine, but her expression was soon dyed with sorrow and worry. She probably wondered if he had died or something.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    "I''mpletely fine. I gained a lot too."


    "Kang-Woo, promise m¡ª"


    "Okay. I won''t use it again unless it''s absolutely necessary."


    Kang-Woo patted her head. Echidna nodded while crying a bit.


    Molting was definitely a high-risk, high-return gamble; it was as insane as going all in consecutively in a casino. He would definitely die if he kept spamming it.


    "Promise?"


    "Yeah, promise."


    Kang-Woo went out to the living room with Echidna.


    Halcyon came running when he saw Kang-Woo.


    "Master Kang-Woo! You''re up!"


    Halcyon embraced Kang-Woo, his eyes shining like a beast.


    "You''re already up?" Han Seol-Ah asked, worried. "You could have rested a bit longer¡­"


    "Because of this little troublemaker." Kang-Woo pinched Echidna''s cheek.


    Seol-Ah red at her.


    Echidna flinched and hid behind Kang-Woo.


    "Well, I can''t stay in bed all day." Kang-Woo smiled and sat on the couch. Even a bum had a daily schedule. Since the sun was up in the sky, he had to fill his stomach with warm stew. It was more than worth giving up on bing one with the bed.


    "Darling." Kang-Woo looked at Seol-Ah with shining eyes.


    Seol-Ahughed. She already knew what he wanted without him saying another word.


    "Just a few minutes. I''ll have it ready in a sh."


    "Oh, I''ll help."


    "It''s okay. You can stay resting." Seol-Ah shook her head. "I heard you underwent some harsh training for the past twenty days, so you can leave everything to me for today."


    She hadn''t heard the details of the training, but it had been so brutal that Echidna had bawled her eyes out in Seol-Ah''s arms. She wanted to let Kang-Woo get some good rest for today.


    "Well¡­ if you insist."


    Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly and nodded. Being taken care of by someone else still felt awkward.


    "Then Kang-Woo, let''s watch anime while we wait." Echidna pulled his arm.


    "N-No. Master Kang-Woo is g-going to stay with m-me."


    As if he didn''t intend to lose, Halcyon pulled the other arm.


    "¡­"


    Although he had flowers in both arms, one had yet to bloom, and the other had both a pistil and a stamen.


    ''What is this?''


    It didn''t feel right. He should be happy to be put in such a situation, but he was not for some reason.


    Kang-Woo''s arms were being pulled around.


    "Kang-Woo''s mine."


    "Y-Yours? Th-There you go again with your n-nonsense. D-Don''t lie. I-I don''t like liars."


    "¡­"


    Seol-Ah remained silent while looking at Halcyon and Echidna. She narrowed her eyes. Suddenly, her eyes gleamed.


    "Kang-Woo."


    "Yeah?"


    Seol-Ah spread out her arms. Although she was wearing a baggy sweater, a certain area was heavily emphasized.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened. It was not hard to imagine what she wanted from him.


    "W-We''re in front of the children¡­"


    Kang-Woo had remained a virgin, at least with humans, for ten millennia. He averted his eyes from her gaze, thinking that this was a bit too much.


    Seol-Ah''s eyes narrowed.


    "Kang-Woo?"


    "M-Mhmm."


    He looked around. Echidna and Halcyon had stopped pulling his arms and were tilting their heads.


    "You''re not¡­ going toe?" Seol-Ah asked in a low voice. For some reason, her voice was scary.


    He felt chills running through his skin. Kang-Woo couldn''t resist anymore and approached Seol-Ah. As he lowered his head and adjusted his height, Seol-Ah hugged his head.


    "Good boy."


    "¡­"


    It felt very weird for his head to be caressed. After she had nursed him in the past, her attitude had changed a bit. He could feel some sort of big sister energying from her. Such a feeling should be weird since he was almost four hundred times her age, but it did not feel that way for some reason.


    It was as if Seol-Ah was older than him.


    ''In terms of age, Echidna is way older than Seol-Ah.''


    Purely in terms of age, Halcyon was actually the oldest one here. Ancient demonic beasts have been alive for a very long time.


    "Mm."


    "Fufu. Do you feel good?"


    Seol-Ah patted his back.


    There was no need to even ask. Kang-Woo enjoyed the soft sensation spreading through his cheeks.


    Seol-Ah raised her head and looked at the other two girls, whose facial expressions had hardened.


    "Heh."


    "Urgh!"


    She was making a smug smile.


    Halcyon''s face went red. He pped his wings in a fit and bit his lip.


    "H-How dare y-you¡­ t-treat Master Kang-Woo like a child¡­"


    He cked his teeth while ring at Seol-Ah.


    "H-How e-envi¡ªI-I mean, the insolence¡­"


    He ground his teeth, and extended his nails to scratch the wall in a fit, cutting the walls as if it were tofu.


    "Urghh."


    Still, he couldn''t attack Seol-Ah because he knew that Seol-Ah was important to Kang-Woo. Halcyon stomped on the ground in frustration and groaned.


    Seol-Ah smiled and pped her hands together. "Oh, right. Why don''t we go to the supermarket together, Kang-Woo?"


    "The supermarket?"


    "We''re out of pork, so we need to go buy some."


    "Hmm? I checked yesterday, and there were still a ton lef¡ª"


    "We''re out."


    Seol-Ah smiled.


    Kang-Woo gulped and nodded.


    "Right. Let''s go, Kang-Woo. In the meantime, you two can look over the house," she said firmly to Echidna and Halcyon.


    Seol-Ah slightly pulled Kang-Woo''s clothes and walked toward the door, humming.


    "¡­"


    "Urghhh."


    The two left behind red at them as Seol-Ah and Kang-Woo left.


    * * *


    "¡­ Wouldn''t it have been better if we had brought them as well?"


    "It''s been a while since we''ve been alone together." Seol-Ah smiled while slightly sticking her tongue out.


    Kang-Woo smirked at her attitude, which wasn''t like her usual self.


    ''It''s probably because¡­''


    It seemed he''d made her worry.


    It was no wonder. Although she had not been told the details of the molting process, she likely had an idea of how serious it was from seeing Echidna and Halcyon.


    "Alright. Since we''re here, let''s take our time looking ar¡ª"


    As he grabbed Seol-Ah''s hand and was about to go, he stopped in his tracks. His eyes narrowed.


    "It has been a while." The silver-haired angel, Shalgiel, was blocking his path. He stared at Seol-Ah with an intense gaze and said, "There is something I must tell you."


    1. It''s from a gag post in 2018 about what seemed to be a guy venting about their little sister who hates him, but slowly turns into a weeb post about a tsundere little sister who had been acting that way to get his attention all this time. The phrase that Echidna used was widely spread across many forms of Korean media. ?

 Chapter 275 - Overturned (2)

    Chapter 275 - Overturned (2)


    Oh Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and asked, "What could it be about for you to bring this many soldiers?"


    There were ten angels in front of him, and easily dozens more were hiding along the alleyways. Practically the entirety of Raphael''s forces was here. The energying from the angels wasn''t normal, either, which meant that they''d brought only the elites among Raphael''s forces.


    Kang-Woo frowned due to the air they were giving off; it was as if the angels hade ready for war.


    "¡­"


    Shalgiel silently looked at Han Seol-Ah.


    Seol-Ah hid behind Kang-Woo, flinching. She''d only seen angels from a distance in the war against the Demon Cult back in Russia.


    "I knew it¡­ but why¡­?" Shalgiel opened his mouth in disbelief and grabbed his forehead while feigningughter.


    "Shalgiel."


    "Ah, my apologies." Shalgiel shook his head at Kang-Woo''s call.


    "What is it that you must tell me?"


    "¡­ Before that, may I first ask what the nature of your rtionship with this woman is?" he asked while pointing to Seol-Ah.


    "She''s my lover," Kang-Woo calmly said.


    "Hah." Shalgielughed in disbelief and red at Kang-Woo in obvious rage. "A human lover¡­ I can see that you know absolutely nothing, Kang-Woo."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo was bing irritated with Shalgiel for evading his question and having such an attitude.


    ''Calm down.''


    He quelled his irritation. It was very important to maintain a good rtionship with angels. He couldn''t let emotional outbursts influence his actions.


    ''Especially now.''


    Uriel would soon arrive on Earth.


    Kang-Woo forced a smile and calmly said, "Could you exin what it is that I don''t know?"


    "Have angel wing symbols appeared on this human''s¡ªI mean, thisdy''s back?"


    "¡­!"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened. It was the same for Seol-Ah, who had been listening next to him. She looked at Kang-Woo as if she were asking if he''d told anyone about it.


    "How did you know that?" Kang-Woo asked in a sharp voice.


    It was true that he''d considered asking the angels about it, but it had been nothing but a consideration; he had not told them yet.


    Shalgiel calmly exined, "While investigating Guardians, I coincidentally learned about her."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo didn''t intend to ask him why he''d been investigating them. It was understandable that they''d try to see if the organization they''d allied with was trustworthy.


    "So, what do the angel wings mean?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "¡­"


    Shalgiel closed his eyes. There was a bit of hesitation in his expression.


    He sighed.


    "It is¡­ a soul."


    "¡­ A soul?"


    "The soul of Lady Seraph lies within her."


    "The fuck you say?"


    Kang-Woo unconsciously ended up cursing from Shalgiel''s absurd words. He looked at Shalgiel with his mouth agape.


    ''Is he crazy?''


    There was a limit to how random someone could be.


    Kang-Woo red at Shalgiel as if Shalgiel were talking out of his ass, but he didn''t seem to be lying. There was no way someone would joke in a situation like this.


    ''By Seraph, he means¡­''


    He''d heard that name before.


    Celestial Goddess Seraph¡ªthe angel who had defeated Bauli alongside Gaia and the Heavenly Dragon. The Constetions of Evil were all sealed away because she had sacrificed her own Divinity.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo looked at Seol-Ah.


    She didn''t seem to know how to react to what Shalgiel had just said.


    ''Seraph''s soul is inside Seol-Ah?''


    There had actually been clues about what it could have been.


    ''Back then¡­''


    Kang-Woo recalled the brilliant light that hade out of her back in the dungeon¡ªthe light that had burned him. The power had been far stronger than the maximum power output that he, who had be stronger than his past self in Hell, could release.


    ''If Seraph''s soul is behind that power¡­


    It was enough of an answer to satisfy him, but that was all there was to it. He was not satisfied with the underlying cause.


    "Why is Seraph''s soul inside Seol-Ah?"


    "¡­ Do not speak her name disrespectfully. It is not one that you can use however you want."


    "Is that important right now?" Kang-Woo frowned.


    Shalgiel groaned. "As for why her soul is inside a human woman¡ªand in a human from another dimension, no less¡ªI do not know either. Oh¡­ But I have a theory as to why the soul is in a different dimension."


    "¡­ What is it?"


    "We have confirmed that Lady Gaia''s power had also weakened significantly when Lady Seraph''s seal had significantly weakened. It likely has to do with the Demon of Prophecy."


    "Then¡­"


    "Yes. I believe Lady Seraph''s soul had fallen through the giant hole made between the dimensions."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    It was simple. To make aparison, Huan, Aernor, and Earth were like threeyers of breakwater that protected against the forces of the outer world. If oneyer copsed, it would naturally affect the other twoyers as well.


    "So, what is it that you want to say?" Kang-Woo asked.


    It was honestly hard to believe, but there was no way an angel would say something so absurd as Seol-Ah possessing Seraph''s soul without any proof. They had likely brought it up after investigating very thoroughly.


    Now, it was time to hear why he was talking about this.


    Shalgiel said, "We need her help."


    "¡­ Help with what?"


    "Lady Seraph''s power is weakening each second. Before that powerpletely disappears¡­ we have to return the soul to its rightful ce."


    "That means¡­"


    "Yes. We need the soul that she possesses. If everything goes as nned¡­ there is a chance that Lady Seraph will be revived within her."


    "¡­"


    There was silence.


    Seol-Ah looked back and forth between Kang-Woo and Shalgiel, not having fully understood what had just been said.


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his mouth.


    "What will happen to Seol-Ah if Seraph is revived?"


    "Well¡­" Shalgiel slurred. After organizing his thoughts, he calmly spoke again. "She will share her consciousness with Lady Seraph. You could think of it as coexisting¡ª"


    "We refuse," he said firmly.


    Kang-Woo red at Shalgiel.


    ''Coexisting, my ass.''


    There was no way the soul of the Celestial Goddess could coexist with a mere human.


    Even thinking about Lilith, who had entered the body of Kurosaki Yurie, Kurosaki Yurie had fallen into an indefinite slumber after her soul had been pushed aside by Lilith''s.


    ''But coexist, you say? You think I''m sharing my consciousness with Bauli without a care in the world?''


    Bauli had not been able to take control of Kang-Woo''s body due to Kang-Woo''s exceptional demonic energy control. If he had been nothing but a puppet like Bauli had hoped, his soul would have been devoured already.


    "Uhm¡­ Kang-Woo. What is going on¡­?"


    "You don''t have to pay it any mind." Kang-Woo pulled Seol-Ah close to him. He said to Shalgiel, "If you have nothing else to say, we will be on our way."


    "¡­"


    Shalgiel stared at Kang-Woo.


    "As expected of a human," he mumbled and clicked his tongue. "Surround them."


    The angels hiding around them appeared and surrounded Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah.


    "¡­ What is the meaning of this?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed.


    Shalgiel spoke in a heavy voice. "It was my mistake for having the tiniest expectations for a human."


    "¡­"


    "We will be taking that woman," he said firmly as if he would notpromise for anything else.


    Kang-Woo grimaced.


    ''Endure it.''


    He clenched his fists. His hands were shaking. He took a deep breath and quelled his overflowing rage.


    ''If I let my emotions run wild, it''s over.''


    He had done his best to maintain a coborative rtionship with the angels, even going as far as to do that shitshow with Ludwig. It had all been to ensure Guardians and the angels would work together.


    ''We need the angels.''


    To be more precise, he couldn''t afford to antagonize them. They had been growing in power while the Ninth Hell had been at war for a thousand years. Raphael, Uriel, Gabriel, and their leader Michael possessed great power. Not only that, but their goal was the same as Kang-Woo''s¡ªto eliminate all demonic beings from the world and bring forth peace.


    ''I can''t do that alone.''


    He wasn''t a god¡ªhe couldn''t be everywhere all at once.


    Earth was in an extreme crisis; the Demon of Prophecy and the Four Heavenly Kings were not the biggest issue.


    ''Earth is being invaded by the Nine Hells itself.''


    It was clear to see with demonic beasts and even Halcyon, an ancient demonic beast, appearing within the Gates. Even if the Demon Cult and the summoning rituals did not exist, Earth was bing more and more exposed to the outer world.


    It wasn''t just the Nine Hells. Earth currently had no defenses to block invasions from any other world. If they antagonized the angels in such a situation¡­


    ''It would be the end.''


    Kang-Woo might be able to survive, but Earth wouldn''t be able to withstand a full-fledged war.


    ''And most importantly¡­''


    Angels were connected to gods¡ªthey''de to Earth after receiving a request from Uranus. Fighting them also meant that they would be crossing the gods backing the angels.


    "Fuuu." Kang-Woo took a deep breath and calmly said, "I want to talk to Lord Raphael."


    "Lord Raphael is currently recovering in the Embrace of Light. Besides, nothing would change even if you talk to him."


    "¡­ Are you forcing Seol-Ah to sacrifice herself?"


    "If it is necessary."


    Shalgiel raised his hand. A few angels approached and grabbed Seol-Ah.


    "Kyaaa!"


    Kang-Woo raised his brows. He pushed away the angels grabbing Seol-Ah. Although he''d pushed them slightly, the angels were blown away.


    "Are you going to resist to the very end?" Shalgiel said in irritation. "I am sure you are aware of your current situation."


    "¡­"


    "Or would you like to take this chance to check if Lord Uranus also feels the same way?"


    Shalgiel knew about the rtionship between Guardians and the angels very well¡ªthey weren''t on equal terms.


    The angels had simplye to help because they had been asked to. Although their objective to eradicate demons was the same, there was no need to even discuss the power dynamic between the two sides.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo stopped in his tracks.


    Shalgiel smirked.


    The angels walked toward Kang-Woo and grabbed his shoulders, pushing him down.


    Kang-Woo didn''t resist and kneeled.


    "K-Kang-Woo¡­"


    Seol-Ah''s voice trembled. She looked at the angels with uneasy eyes and gulped.


    "I still don''t understand entirely what is going on, but¡­ you''re saying that you need my help, right?"


    "Yes. If Lady Seraph is revived, humans will not have to fear demons any longer."


    "Ah¡­" Seol-Ah let out a short exmation, then she nodded and smiled. "If so, then I can do it¡­ as long as it ensures Kang-Woo''s safety."


    There was a short silence.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes.


    The situation was simple. Their rtionship with the angels couldn''t get ruined, and Seraph''s seal was getting weaker. If Seraph was revived and consolidated the seal, a deity would join them as their ally.


    Not just that, since Seraph was of the same rank as Gaia, she could possibly restore a portion of the protective barrier surrounding Earth. At the very least, she would be able to prevent beings of the outer world from invading Earth.


    If Seol-Ah, just one person, sacrificed herself, Kang-Woo could obtain the peaceful life he''d yearned for for ten millennia.


    So¡­ it was an easy choice to make.


    "Haaa." Kang-Woo sighed deeply. "You fucking pigeons have gone too far."


    "¡­ What did you say?" Shalgiel''s eyes shone sharply. He was not fully used to the humannguage, but he could easily tell that Kang-Woo had insulted them.


    "Don''t try to act like you didn''t hear me, dumbass. Are you the lead of a loveedy or something?"


    "You insolent¡­!"


    mes poured out of Shalgiel''s eyes. As he was about to unsheathe his sword, he bit his lip and opened his mouth instead.


    "¡­ I understand your anger. I am sure you are even more disconcerted since this human woman is your lover."


    He held in his rage.


    "This sacrifice is for the greater good. This world and all of its people could be protected from the hands of demons with the sacrifice of one mere human."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    He got up.


    "Huh? Huuuh?"


    A flustered murmur came out of the angel that was holding him down.


    Kang-Woo reached out and grabbed the angel''s head.


    "Hey, you."


    He stared right at Shalgiel.


    "I was solo for ten fucking millennia, okay? It''s been so excruciatingly painful having no one by my side to embrace me. There wasn''t even porn for me to watch, man. Do you know what I had at the very least? Huh? Do you?"


    He had pus-spewing green tentacles.


    "The world is in danger? The seal is about to break?"


    He didn''t give a fuck.


    Crush.


    The head of the angel he was holding exploded.


    White blood and brain matter wet his hand.


    "I can''t live without my darling, you bastards."


    The alliance with the angels that he''d built through so much effort¡­ was overturned.

 Chapter 276 - My Way (1)

    Chapter 276 - My Way (1)


    "Wh-What the¡ª!!"


    Shalgiel''s eyes widened as he saw his subordinate''s head explode.


    His vision slowed down, and everything unfolded in slow motion; he clearly saw the skull shatter, the brain burst, and the white blood pour. He quickly extended his hand, but it had been toote.


    He red at Oh Kang-Woo. Biting his lip, he shouted, "H-how dare you¡­!! Are you out of your mind, human?!"


    Kang-Woo had done more than just kill a single angel. He''d broken the rtionship between two organizations and had pushed a star to ruin.


    It was as if a diplomat from a superpower hade to a weak nation after receiving a request for assistance and died there. It could even lead to a war between the angels and humans.


    "What do you expect me to do?"


    Despite having done something absolutely insane, Kang-Woo was calm.


    No. It was as if he hadn''t even hesitated.


    Kang-Woo extended his hand, and the heads of the angels holding Seol-Ah also exploded.


    "K-Kang-Woo?!" Seol-Ah eximed.


    Kang-Woo pulled Seol-Ah toward him after she was freed from the angels, embracing her with one hand.


    "You son of a¡­" Shalgiel ground his teeth at the unexpected development of events. "I see, so this is your answer."


    There was no mistaking Kang-Woo''s intentions¡ªhe was going to choose war for the sake of a single human. He had been blinded by emotions and had sacrificed the greater good.


    It was a choice so stupid and ignorant that Shalgiel should have expected such from a human.


    "I feel ashamed for the bit of hope I held for humanity."


    Without hesitation, Shalgiel unsheathed his sword.


    Raphael had high hopes for humans, but that wasn''t the case for Shalgiel.


    He remembered his time in Aernor beforeing to Earth. Forget focusing on eradicating demons, they were too busy fighting for their own interests and ambitions, despite Evil God Lucifer being alive.


    Earth was no different. Even if the world and cultures were different, in the end, they were humans.


    "Hope, my ass," Kang-Woo said. "Big words from a guy who brought all these people."


    Just the fact that Shalgiel had brought nearly a hundred subordinates proved that he had never intended to solve this peacefully.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help butugh in disbelief at Shalgiel''s words. He provoked Shalgiel with a beckoning wave.


    "Try to take her if you can."


    A smile crept onto his face. Since he''d decided to flip the table, there was no need to put on a performance. He didn''t need anyplicated calctions or schemes¡ªhe could just run as wild as he wanted.


    Rumble!


    The buildings around them shook, and a breathtakingly dense demonic energy surged from Kang-Woo.


    "What¡­?"


    Shalgiel''s eyes widened. The human was enveloped in ck demonic energy.


    ''No.''


    His body trembled¡ªhe''d never felt demonic energy this thick before.


    Even Satan wasn''t at this level.


    "Wh-What in the world¡­?"


    Shalgiel grabbed his head in chaos.


    Kang-Woo was one of the core members of Guardians; he was the apostle who''d inherited the power of Tirion, God of Heroes. Despite that, he was able to emit such powerful demonic energy?


    "N-No way."


    He recalled that evil ritual and how it had summoned Kang-Woo.


    "Y-You are¡­"


    The thought that they had been deceived crossed his mind, and his mouth fell open in shock.


    "Youuuuu!!"


    Shalgiel gripped his sword tighter as an intense white light poured from his weapon.


    ''We had all been deceived.''


    He, Raphael, Guardians¡­ everyone had been dancing in that demon''s hands.


    ''Then¡­''


    Shalgiel looked at Seol-Ah. To be more precise, he was looking at Seraph''s slumbering soul within her.


    "Sh-Shit. So that was it!!" Shalgiel eximed.


    Kang-Woo must have already known everything. He had known that Seraph''s soul was inside the human woman, so he had seduced her.


    Just like¡­


    Rakiel.


    "Kill that demon!!" Shalgiel cried out.


    The delicate woman that the demon was holding¡­


    He felt like he could see Seraph crying in the Demon King''s grasp.


    "We must save Lady Seraph from that demon at all costs!!" he desperately shouted.


    Kang-Woo chuckled.


    "Man, now that I think about it, this paints a funny picture."


    He started tough out loud.


    From an outside point of view, it definitely looked like an angel was being held hostage by a demon.


    ''How fun.''


    He smiled and felt that he could use it.


    "Darling. I''m sure you''re confused, but just give me a few minutes."


    "H-Huh? K-Kang-Woo?"


    Seol-Ah was trembling as if she couldn''t understand what was happening. She knew that Kang-Woo was a demon, but she never thought that he''d kill an angel so easily. After all, he had always been the one to emphasize the importance of their alliance with the angels.


    ''A-All for me¡­''


    There was no need to think too deeply about why Kang-Woo was doing something so absurd.


    Seol-Ah bit her lip. She would be lying if she said that she wasn''t happy, but she was more worried about Kang-Woo.


    ''Kang-Woo.''


    She started to tear up.


    She couldn''t understand anything about Seraph or the seal, but she could understand that Kang-Woo was trying to protect her even if that meant he had to give up on many of the things he''d worked hard for.


    He didn''t mind causing a war if that meant he''d be able to save her.


    "Do you know why the king had dered war on the princes of Hell?


    "It was because of that massive ball of muscles over there."


    She finally understood what Lilith had said in the past.


    Ba-dump, ba-dump.


    Her heart started to beat faster, and she started to feel thirsty, her chest feeling hot. She momentarily thought that she shouldn''t be feeling this way, but¡­


    "Haaa."


    She let out a breath full of yearning and looked at Kang-Woo with hazy eyes. She couldn''t see it, but the wing symbols on her back flickered ck for a very short moment.


    Without noticing that change, Kang-Woo shouted toward the angels, "You can say goodbye to Seraph if you take one more step!"


    "Kuh!"


    The angels stopped moving.


    Kang-Woo burst intoughter.


    "Shiiiet, this actually works?"


    "You wicked demon¡­!"


    "Yes, I am a demon~"


    Kekeke.


    Kang-Woo burst intoughter.


    Crack!!


    He swung his hand horizontally. The Ruler of Demonic Energy Trait, which had risen to SSS rank, activated. A storm of ck des appeared in the air and engulfed the angels.


    "Kurgh!"


    "Gaaah!"


    Screams echoed, and Kang-Woo hummed.


    "L-Lord Shalgiel!"


    "Kuh! Sh-Shit!!"


    Shalgiel trembled in bewilderment. The human with Seraph''s soul was being held hostage, so there was nothing they could do.


    "Huehuehuehuehuehue!"


    The demon king continued tough and move his hands. ck des appeared wherever he gestured, and attacked the angels.


    Not only would they have lost when fighting the demon king head on, he even had a hostage, hindering their actions. There was no need to wonder who would win.


    "Shit! All forces, attack at once!!"


    Shalgiel stomped on the ground and leaped forward. They wouldn''t stand a chance just standing around as they were all killed. They had to end things quickly so that the demon king couldn''t think about using the hostage.


    "Haap!"


    He held up his sword, which was shining with brilliant sacred power, and rose up into the air by pping his six wings. He meant to split the demon''s head in two, but¡­


    "Are you sure you wanna do that?"


    Kang-Woo grabbed Seol-Ah''s neck. Of course, he had no intention of hurting her.


    ''But¡­''


    "Kuh!"


    Shalgiel''s sword stopped, and Kang-Woo burst intoughter.


    "Pfft! Kahahahah!"


    It was truly ironic; the one that Kang-Woo was protecting while bearing the risk of war was being used to make his enemies powerless.


    Shalgiel''s face turned red.


    "Y-you son of a bitch¡­!"


    "Yeah, yeah~ I''m a son of a bitch, I''m a scumbag, I''m a filthy demon, I disgust you, h h h. Say whatever you want~"


    Those were all things he''d heard during the thousand-year war.


    Kang-Woo slowly walked toward Shalgiel. Even while walking, he waved his hands and massacred the angels. Slowly approaching, he lightly pped Shalgiel''s cheek.


    "Are you angry? Huh?"


    "Y-you¡­!"


    "If you''re angry¡­ you know what to do, right?"


    Kakakaka.


    Once again, he burst intoughter.


    Any sign of logical thought disappeared from Shalgiel''s eyes. Without even infusing sacred power into his sword, Shalgiel charged at Kang-Woo.


    "Aaarrrggghhh!!!"


    "Shiiiet, it worked like a charm."


    Kang-Woo smirked and narrowed his eyes as he dodged.


    ''Authority of the Beholder.''


    His senses expanded, and he saw everything around him in a bird''s-eye view. He counted the remaining angels.


    ''Twenty-three.''


    He''d really killed a lot.


    Kang-Woo leisurely waved his hand again.


    It wasn''t enough.


    He kept killing the angels who were standing still and unsure of what to do.


    ''It''s so damn easy.''


    It was so easy to the point of being boring. No wonder hostage situations were so difficult to resolve, especially since there was no way they''d be able to give up on the hostage.


    "Kuh!"


    He even saw a couple of angels trying to escape¡ªthey pped their wings and rose into the air.


    Kang-Woo flicked his fingers toward them.


    A ck spear appeared in the air and pierced through them.


    Crack!


    "Kurgh!"


    ''I can''t let even a single one escape.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes sank.


    ''Now that I''ve made aplete mess¡­''


    He had to fix it however he could. His head was already hurting from how he could possibly fix this, so he couldn''t leave things like this.


    ''We have to avoid war at all costs.''


    He couldn''t let the already-small Guardians forces be reduced due to this.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone sharply as he looked at Shalgiel, who was charging at him in madness.


    ''If I want to find a way¡­''


    He needed more information.


    "Arrgghh!! Y-You son of a biiiiiitch!!"


    "Right, now that I''ve taken care of the rest¡­"


    Kang-Woo let go of Seol-Ah and jumped into the air. He grabbed Shalgiel''s head and rammed it into the ground.


    "Kurgh!"


    Shalgiel screamed.


    "Y-You¡­"


    Shalgiel looked up at Kang-Woo from the ground with eyes full of rage, resentment, and malice. His face was so distorted that it was hard to believe he was an angel.


    "Alright, there are a lot of things that I want to ask you," Kang-Woo said.


    "Kuh! Do you seriously believe I will answer a demon''s questions?"


    "I do."


    Kang-Woo nodded without hesitation. He lowered his head and whispered in Shalgiel''s ears, "Because, you see, if you don''t answer my questions¡­ Seraph''s soul will be annihted right here and now."


    The demon smiled brightly.

 Chapter 277 - My Way (2)

    Chapter 277 - My Way (2)


    "Y-You bastard¡­"


    Shalgiel''s eyes were trembling. He could see from Han Seol-Ah''s reaction that she was truly in love with him. Although he himself had pressured her, she had also been willing to sacrifice herself for the human Oh Kang-Woo.


    ''But¡­''


    To think that someone who imed to be her lover would take her hostage as soon as he showed his true colors. The bloodlusting out of Kang-Woo was telling Shalgiel that he was not lying.


    He was really trying to kill that woman.


    Shalgiel trembled.


    ''How evil¡­!''


    He cked his teeth. Although demons were known to be like that, he''d never seen trash like him before.


    ''Not even Demon God Lucifer had ever harmed the woman he loved!''


    There was no line that the demon Oh Kang-Woo wouldn''t cross. Kang-Woo was crazy and out of his mind. He was even more of a demon than a demon. He was a cold person who controlled the world as he pleased.


    "Kuh¡­"


    "What? Do you think I''m lying?" Kang-Woo smiled wickedly. He yanked Seol-Ah, who was standing in a daze, and embraced her.


    "y along for a bit," he whispered.


    "Wh-What are you trying to do to her?!" Shalgiel quickly shouted.


    Kang-Woo licked Seol-Ah''s cheek.


    "Now that I think about it, annihtion might not be enough. How about we try something different?"


    "Wh-What?"


    "Think about it. Aren''t you intrigued?" He roughly grabbed Seol-Ah''s well-endowed chest and smiled as filthily as he could. "What do you think would happen if Celestial Goddess Seraph conceived a demon''s child?"


    "Wh-Wha¡­!"


    Shalgiel''s eyes widened. Just thinking about it made him want to vomit.


    Although she had not awakened yet, Seraph''s soul was certainly lying dormant within that woman''s body. In other words, if that woman conceived a child¡­


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Shalgiel was in so much despair that he could not even form words.


    Kang-Woo smiled and took a nce at Seol-Ah.


    "Ah¡­"


    Seol-Ah''s cheeks reddened, and she shyly shook her head.


    "O-Oh, Kang-Woo¡­"


    ''Hm?''


    "Wh-What are you saying in a ce like this?"


    ''Uhm, excuse me? Darling?''


    She jumped in embarrassment with her hands on her cheeks.


    Kang-Woo felt anxious.


    ''What the fuck?''


    Seol-Ah wasn''t helping at all. Kang-Woo understood how confusing this had to all be for her, but she was not dense enough to not understand what was going on.


    But despite that¡­


    "¡­ I-I''m fine with it."


    ''You''re fine with what?''


    It seemed she wasn''t nning on ying along. He took his hand off her chest and covered her mouth. Her breaths, which were very heated for some reason, tickled his fingers.


    ''Fuck, I hope he hasn''t realized.''


    He shot Shalgiel an anxious look. Thankfully, Shalgiel still seemed to be in shock.


    Kang-Woo sighed in relief.


    "So¡­ what will you do?" Kang-Woo asked subtly.


    Shalgiel looked down.


    "Promise¡­ me," he said reluctantly, "that you will noty a finger on Lady Seraph."


    "Hmm~ I''m not sure if I can. She''s far too beautiful for me not to do anything, you see."


    "You bastard!!"


    "Hahahaha! Alright. Don''t get so angry. I promise. Oh, you might not be able to believe me, but I am a man of my word," he said in a halfughing tone.


    Shalgiel clenched his eyes shut and asked in a trembling voice, "What¡­ do you want to ask?"


    ''Great.''


    A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    Shalgiel had dered his loss. All that Kang-Woo needed now was to collect evidence needed for a twist.


    "First, how much does Raphael know about this incident?"


    "¡­ H-He already knows everything. He also has a notion of your true identity," Shalgiel answered while averting his gaze.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    Shalgiel''s voice was uneasy, his hands were trembling, and his teeth were cking.


    ''Come on.''


    He wouldn''t be able to fool anyone like that.


    Crack!!


    "Aaarrrggghhh!!"


    Kang-Woo grabbed one of Shalgiel''s wings. He rammed Shalgiel''s head into the ground with his foot and pulled on the wing, ripping it out with the sound of crushing bone. White feathers fell like snow.


    "Shalgiel."


    Kang-Woo grabbed his silver hair and brought his face closer to Shalgiel''s.


    "I said that I would keep my word, didn''t I? But you''re not keeping yours? Hm? What should I do with you?"


    "Kurgh, urgh."


    Shalgiel''s body trembled, and his lips paled from the pain surging through his body.


    He closed his eyes and opened his mouth.


    "Lord Raphael is¡­ currently recovering from his wounds within the Embrace of Light. Today''s events are purely of my own ord."


    "Good, that''s better. That aside, what is the Embrace of Light?"


    "It is a capsule filled with sacred power. Anyone who enters will be able to heal their wounds quickly, but¡­"


    "It must be isted from all contact with the outside world."


    "¡­ Correct."


    Shalgiel nodded.


    Kang-Woo licked his lips with great interest.


    "Then, are you saying that he has been treating his wounds since our meeting?"


    "¡­ Yes."


    "Shalgiel, what did I just say?"


    "Kuh¡­!"


    Shalgiel flinched.


    He bit his lip and said, "He has been¡­ researching."


    "Researching?"


    "He has been looking through materials on why Rakiel fell, how Demon God Bauli was able to tempt him¡­ and how Rakiel managed to make other angels fall, among other things."


    "Research, huh¡­?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. An outline of a n was taking form in his head.


    "When is Urieling to Earth?"


    "I-I do not know that either."


    Shalgiel shook his head. He didn''t seem to be lying.


    Kang-Woo asked him a few more questions about the angels, but not even Raphael''s right arm, Shalgiel, knew much about their internal affairs.


    "Well, I''ve heard more than enough."


    Kang-Woo smiled widely. He wasn''t exactly sure what he needed to do, and he didn''t have a fully thought-out n, but he had grasped on to a sliver of hope.


    Considering that he''d overturned everything while being prepared to really go to war, it was an incredible achievement.


    "¡­ And what about your promise?" Shalgiel looked at Seol-Ah with trembling eyes.


    Kang-Woo grabbed his shoulders. "Don''t worry, man. We''ll have three kids and live happily ever after."


    "Th-That is not what you promised!!"


    Shalgiel''s eyes widened. He twisted around as if he were having a seizure.


    "You bastard!! How dare you try to defile Lady Seraph with your filthy member?!"


    "You motherf¡­ It isn''t dirty. I clean it every single day, just in case."


    ''Though nothing has happened yet.''


    Kang-Woo frowned. He didn''t say thatst part.


    "Th-That''s right! It''s not dirty! I''ve seen it before!" Seol-Ah shouted.


    "Huh¡­?"


    Suddenly, the atmosphere became chilly.


    "A-Ah! U-Uhmm¡­ I-It''s not what you think. U-Uhh¡­!" Seol-Ah quickly began shaking her hand as if she''d only just realized what she had just said.


    "When did you¡­"


    "I-I misspoke. Please forget I said anything."


    "No, wait¡­"


    "I-It''s your fault for falling so deeply asleep, r-right? You think so too, right, Kang-Woo?"


    "I don''t."


    "Th-Things like this are bound to happen if we live together. Th-that''s right. It was an ident! An ident!"


    "Lifting my clothes while I was sleeping was an ident?"


    "Of c-c-c-c-c-course! It was beyond my control!"


    Seol-Ah furiously nodded.


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Shalgiel looked at both of them in confusion at what the hell was going on, his mouth agape.


    "Uhh¡­ Mm."


    Kang-Woo was also troubled¡ªhe felt that all his acting had been blown away at once.


    ''I won''t ask Seol-Ah to act ever again.''


    She was like a ticking time bomb.


    He missed the Oscar-winning Gaia.


    "Sorry, man," he said to Shalgiel apologetically. "I at least wanted to give you a cool send-off."


    Kang-Woo wanted him to die while saying something cool like "Mark my words, you will receive the judgment of light one day!" or something along those lines, but things had gone awry.


    Kang-Woo patted Shalgiel''s shoulder as if truly sorry.


    "Goodbye, man. I won''t forget you."


    "Wait¡­ What in the world is¡ª"


    Stab.


    He pierced Shalgiel''s chest with his hand, grabbed his heart, and squeezed it so hard that it exploded.


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath and activated hismunication crystal orb.


    - What can I do for you, Master?


    "Vaal Zahak. Bring over your Undead and collect all the angel corpses here."


    After giving a shortmand, he cut themunication.


    "¡­"


    His eyes met Seol-Ah''s.


    She looked around and bit her lip.


    "Kang-Woo¡­"


    It was as if she wasn''t sure what to do and was surprised that Kang-Woo had acted so differently from the Kang-Woo she knew.


    Kang-Woo grabbed her hands and calmly said, "Stay here for now and go back with Vaal Zahak once he arrives, okay?"


    "Wh-What about you?!"


    "I have something I have to do first, so I''ll be heading off to do that."


    "¡­"


    "I know you don''t understand what just happened. I''m sure you must be confused out of your mind."


    She''d seen Kang-Woo''s true face for the first time, so there was no way she wouldn''t be surprised.


    He said, "You said before that you wanted to know more about me, right?"


    "Ah, yes! I-I do."


    "Once this is over, I''ll tell you. So for now, stay here and go back with Vaal Zahak."


    "¡­"


    Seol-Ah nodded.


    Leaving her behind, Kang-Woo immediately opened a gate leading to the Hall of Protection.


    ''It''s a race against time.''


    He needed to move quicker than anyone else to clean up the mess he had made.


    * * *


    "I guess he really had brought as many forces as he possibly could."


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief as he looked over the empty angel fortress. There were neither gatekeepers guarding the entrance nor any patrol guards within the fortress.


    "Tsk."


    He clicked his tongue and used the Authority of Stealth. He jumped and infiltrated the fortress. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he looked around and activated the Authority of the Beholder.


    ''I want to find Raphael, who''s apparently in the Embrace of Light, but¡­''


    There was something that he had to find before that¡ªhe went to Raphael''s study. There were countless books piled up.


    "Are these all rted to Rakiel?"


    He had expected Raphael to not have been able to research much since not much time had passed, but there were far more materials than he had thought.


    He looked at Raphael''s notes lying on the table. The research progress of Rakiel''s fall was neatly recorded by date.


    "¡­"


    He narrowed his eyes.


    ''This is¡­''


    A slow smile crept onto his face, and he felt shivers of excitement.


    Just then¡­


    Whoom.


    The white crystal orb on the table shone.


    [Hey! Raphael!! It''s Uriel. What the hell''s taking you so long to answer?]


    Kang-Woo heard the clear and sonorous voice of a little boy.


    [Hihi, I heard you got floored by Satan, but you actually got hurt for real? I''m curious. Turn on the feed already!]


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo silently listened to Uriel moring all by himself.


    [Anyway, things here are pretty much over, so I''ll be heading to Earth once the portal to Earth forms in about a week. Everything''s okay over there, right?]


    Kang-Woo licked his lips when he heard the cheerful voice. His eyes shone.


    ''Come to think of it, I guess there was no need to even think about it.''


    Kekeke.


    A vulgarugh left Kang-Woo''s mouth.


    ''It would''ve been so simple if I''d done this from the start.''


    Kang-Woo slowly extended his hand. Just like he''d said, there was no need to think or hesitate. He just had to do things his way. He would do what he did best and had always done masterfully.


    ck.


    [Oh, you finally answered the call. Hey! Raphael!! What have you been doing?!]


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his mouth.


    "Lord¡­ Uriel¡­"


    [Huh? Shalgiel? Why are you picking up instead of Raphael?]


    Shalgiel''s voice wasing out of Kang-Woo''s mouth.


    "My apol¡­ It is¡­ already toote¡­ for Lord Raph¡­"


    [What? What do you mean?]


    "Rakiel¡­ has corrupted Lord Raph¡ªKurgh."


    [Hey! Wh-What? What are you talking about?!]


    "Sh-Shit! This ce is already¡­ Cough! Lord¡­ Uriel¡­ stay aw¡ª"


    Beep.


    Themunication was cut. The tips of Kang-Woo''s mouth curled up.


    "Now, let''s set the stage."

 Chapter 278 - Setting The Stage

    Chapter 278 - Setting The Stage


    In the northern reaches of Aernor, a giant ind over 20 km in diameter floated in the sky. Pure-white pces were built all over the ind, and hundreds of angels flew around in the sky.


    It was the ind of angels, Sant''Angelo. The ind was directly connected to the celestial realm and acted as the base of all angels.


    BOOM!


    A loud explosion was heard within a breathtakingly beautiful castle.


    "Shit! Form the goddamn Gate already!!"


    "L-Lord Uriel¡­"


    A boy with short blue hair was yelling at angels far taller than him. He was only as tall as an average human, his height unlike an angel''s average height of three meters. If one didn''t know any better, it would look like a little boy was scolding grown adults, but that was not the case.


    "W-We apologize."


    The angels lowered their heads without even daring to go against the boy.


    The blue-haired boy, Uriel, pped his eight wings.


    Crackle!


    Blue lightning spread in all directions with the sound of thunder.


    Biting his lip, Uriel said, "Is apologizing all you can do? Huh? We can''t even check Raphael''s condition. What have you upper angels been doing until things turned out like this?"


    He looked like a young boy throwing a tantrum, but the upper angels just lowered their heads and gulped. The six wings behind their backs were trembling.


    Upper angels possessed the highest authority after the archangels. Their role was to constantly keep tabs on the schedules and status of the archangels, who were scattered across the world to do their own missions. To make aparison, the upper angels were like the secretaries of CEOs. It was their duty to know what each archangel was doing at all times.


    "Sh-Shalgiel has not been reportingtely because he has been executing the mission given to him by Lord Raphael, so¡­"


    "So you''re ming Shalgiel?"


    Uriel red at him.


    The upper angels remained silent in frustration. It was true that Shalgiel had not contacted them after he had begun his investigation of Guardians. On top of that, Raphael had been too busy researching and recovering to contact them, so there was no way for them to know what was happening on Earth.


    "¡­ We apologize."


    The upper angels could not make any excuses due to Uriel''s turbulent mood. Uriel kicked the ground in irritation. The floor of Sant''Angelo, which was protected by all sorts of magic circles, caved in.


    "Open the Gate right now. I''m going to Earth."


    "About that¡­"


    The upper angels made troubled expressions.


    Forming a Gate leading to Earth had be fairly easy now that Gaia''s protection had been severely damaged, but they needed more time to create a Gate for an archangel like Uriel to pass through. This was due to the protection''s characteristic to reject otherworldly beings possessing great power. Even if they had the permission of the gods of Earth, they needed time if they wanted to get Uriel through safely.


    "We need more time."


    "¡­ How much more time?"


    "It will take a week at the very least."


    "You can''t do it any faster?"


    "If we rush, there is a high chance that your powers will be limited due to Lady Gaia''s protection."


    "Shit! I''m in a goddamn hurry!" Uriel anxiously shouted.


    Even so, crossing to Earth while risking having limiters ced on his powers was too dangerous.


    He thought about sending his subordinates, but he shook his head.


    ''They''ll just die in vain.''


    Rakiel wasn''t stupid¡ªhe would have most definitely made the necessary preparations for scouts. Not just that, forming a Gate for his subordinates to go through would only dy his chance to cross over to Earth.


    Even if the protection on Earth was currently a mess, creating a Gate to another world wasn''t that simple.


    ''Rakiel.''


    Uriel started to feel uneasy. Rakiel was the Constetion of Corruption and had corrupted countless angels and gods during the era of myths. Uriel wasn''t sure when exactly Rakiel had broken out of Seraph''s seal and crossed to Earth, but facing him while having limiters on his power waspletely illogical.


    "Has Lord Raphael¡­ been corrupted by Rakiel?" an upper angel carefully asked.


    Uriel grimaced.


    "Nonsense," he said firmly while shaking his head. "Even if he''s the Constetion of Corruption, he can''t make Raphael fall so quickly."


    It made no sense.


    Even if the legends about Rakiel in the era of myths were incredible, Raphael was one of the archangels, who were more powerful than the average god.


    ''For Raphael to have fallen despite not even a month having passed since hest contacted us¡­''


    Uriel snorted.


    The voice he had heard through themunication crystal had been no doubt Shalgiel''s, but there were countless magics that could imitate one''s voice.


    ''I smell a ploy¡­.''


    He narrowed his eyes, and a ferocious energy flowed out of him. It was only obvious what sort of trick the Constetion of Corruption was ying after having crossed to Earth.


    "Tsk."


    Uriel clicked his tongue. Whether it was a trick or not, he couldn''t help but worry. He couldn''t sit idly by after knowing that themunication crystal that Raphael should have had had fallen into Rakiel''s hands.


    "Raphael¡­"


    He anxiously bit his lip and shook his foot in irritation.


    ''Be safe.''


    Although Raphael was old-fashioned and sometimes drove Uriel mad, they wererades-in-arms who had fought together in battle.


    They often fought due to the differences in their personalities, but among the archangels, they were the closest friends. It was only obvious since Michael was practically unapproachable and, in the case of Gabriel, she was far too wacko for anyone to get along with.


    "Fuuu."


    In any case, Uriel did not believe that Raphael had fallen, but he was still worried for him. He wanted to go to Earth immediately to find out the truth, but he only became more frustrated because he couldn''t.


    "Five days," Uriel said.


    "Pardon¡­?"


    "Open the gates within five days, whatever you have to do," he said while baring his teeth.


    The expressions of the upper angels hardened.


    Creating a Gate that connected dimensions already required enormous amounts of effort. On top of that, if they wanted to let a being as powerful as Uriel pass through without any limiters on his power, they needed to spend day and night converting enormous amounts of sacred power intoplicated forms. The number of copsed angels from overwork could easily surpass a hundred.


    Faces pale, the angels quickly mentioned, "No matter how quickly we work¡ª"


    "If it''s not ready in five days¡­," Uriel firmly said as if he would not ept any objections, "I''ll rip off two wings from every single one of you myself."


    "¡­"


    Ripping off two of their six wings meant that they would be demoted from upper to intermediate angels. The angels nodded frantically as if there were a motor attached to their heads.


    Even if they were fighting to eradicate evil, they were living beings¡ªthey also had emotions and ambitions.


    "Y-Yes, my lord!"


    Uriel turned away after he heard their answer.


    "¡­"


    After he turned around, Uriel''s expression darkened.


    ''Something''s wrong¡­''


    He knew that there was no way that Raphael would''ve fallen. No matter how amazing Rakiel was, Raphael''s conviction and will were not so weak for him to be corrupted so easily.


    ''But¡­''


    Uriel bit his lip and clenched his fists. A faint sense of uneasiness spread throughout his body.


    * * *


    "First off¡­" Oh Kang-Woo looked around and organized the n in his head. "I should call Lilith and Vaal Zahak."


    His n would be hard for him to carry out alone. Among his retainers, Vaal Zahak and Lilith could be called pros in setting stages.


    ''They did a great job making the stage for the incident with the Four Heavenly Kingsst time.''


    However, they would go for a different theme this time; he couldn''t reuse the same stage.


    ''Uriel will apparentlye to Earth in a week, but¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed. Considering that he had blown the situation to a much greater degree, he had to consider the chance that Uriel would arrive sooner.


    ''At least he can''t cross over right away.''


    He''d asked Shalgiel how angels were able to cross from Aernor, the world they were based in, to Earth.


    Creating a Gate that connected dimensions required many hands, and for an archangel to cross it, hundreds of angels had to work on it.


    ''So that was why Lucifer was so weak despite having Divinity.''


    There was a way to cross quicker, which was to ept the limiter ced by Gaia''s protection.


    Lucifer had likely been weak because he had crossed dimensions as quickly as possible to save his son.


    ''But it''s still not enough time.''


    They had to finish all the preparations before Uriel arrived on Earth. The good thing was that they wouldn''t need to prepare arge-scale stage like the one they had used before.


    "Three days should be enough."


    If Uriel arrived on Earth quicker than that while epting the limiter, then the n would fail.


    ''Though the chances of that happening are low.''


    Kang-Woo hoped Uriel wasn''t that stupid.


    Click.


    Soon, Vaal Zahak and Lilith arrived.


    [I have answered your summons, Master.]


    "I escorted Seol-Ah to Balrog''s residence just now. What is going on, my king?"


    The fortress was empty, so Vaal Zahak and Lilith were able toe to Raphael''s research room faster than expected.


    "We don''t have a lot of time, so I''ll be quick."


    Kang-Woo exined everything to them as quickly as possible.


    [Wha¡­ T-To think she would possess Seraph''s soul¡­] Vaal Zahak eximed in surprise, his eye sockets shining.


    "It is¡­ hard to believe."


    Lilith touched her lips while narrowing her eyes. It felt very seductive. Kang-Woo shook his head to eliminate such useless thoughts.


    "We have toplete the stage before Uriel arrives."


    "Are you thinking of creating a dungeon likest time?"


    "Yeah."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "¡­"


    Lilith narrowed her eyes.


    "It may be safer to just go to war with the angels instead," she calmly said.


    It was the first time she had objected to Kang-Woo''s n, showing how reckless it was, as well as its high chance of failure.


    "You understand that this ispletely different from before, do you not, my king?"


    They were not the lead roles who would be on the stage. No matter how much they could try to convince Uriel that Raphael had fallen, everything would fall apart the moment Uriel decided to trust Raphael.


    "Uriel will believe Raphael," Lilith said.


    It was only obvious. They had traversed through many battlefields side by side for thousands of years. There was no way that Uriel would believe that Raphael had fallen so easily.


    "I know." Kang-Woo nodded. He also knew that making this n seed would be difficult. "In the worst-case scenario¡­ I''m considering war."


    "¡­ I see you have no intention of giving up Seol-Ah."


    "You know very well how I''ve lived until now."


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    Making a bittersweet smile, Lilith nodded and looked down at the floor.


    "My king," Lilith said carefully.


    "Hm?"


    "What would you do¡­ if I were put in the same situation?"


    "What are you talking about now?"


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. What he would do if Lilith was in the current situation instead of Seol-Ah was so obvious that it was a waste of time to even think about it.


    "If it were you¡­ using you as a hostage wouldn''t work, so that''s out of the question. Corrupting you also wouldn''t fit that well either¡­ Mmm. I would either try to make some sort of conflict among the angels or create a third member of the Four Heavenly Kings. If that all fails, I guess we''d have to go to war."


    "¡­"


    The possibility of giving up on her wasn''t even in his head.


    "Ah¡­"


    Lilith trembled. She clenched her fists and jumped in excitement.


    Yes. The demon king that she loved was this kind of person.


    "Fufu. I see. Fufufu."


    Lilith covered her mouth and twisted around as if it was difficult to hold back her giggles. Her long ck hair swayed as if it were dancing.


    "So, what is the n?" she asked.


    "Well¡­"


    Kang-Woo exined the stage he had in mind.


    The more he exined, the more Lilith''s and Vaal Zahak''s eyes shone.


    "Hah¡­" After listening to it all, Lilith eximed in surprise. "Mm. I guess it is very like you to think of a n like this, my king¡­ No, maybe it is a bit too cruel, even for you¡­"


    She couldn''t help but feel sorry for Raphael.


    Lilith smiled brightly.


    "But it is worth a try."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    If Lilith, who was basically the chief of staff, agreed to it, it meant that the n was more than possible enough to try.


    "In that case, let''s get ready. Vaal Zahak, you collected all the angels'' corpses, right?"


    [Of course.]


    Kang-Woo got up.


    It was about time to set the stage his way.


    * * *


    Three dayster, Kang-Woo sighed while putting down an old book on the table.


    "Fuuu."


    The stage had been fully set.


    "Now, then¡­"


    His eyes gleamed with anxiety. He looked at the stage he had created in the research room for this n.


    A blue message window appeared in front of him.


    Riiing.


    [The dungeon has been formed.]


    [Please set the name of the dungeon.]


    ''Finally.''


    The time hade.


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath and opened his mouth. He had never been more nervous for anything in his entire life.


    "Fallen Angel''s Nightmare."


    [Setting the dungeon name to ''Fallen Angel''s Nightmare.'']


    ''Alright!''


    Humans were learning creatures.


    Kang-Woo clenched his mouth shut; he did not even let out a single breath.


    Badump, badump.


    His heart was beating fast.


    Just then¡­


    Click.


    "My king~ have a cup of coffee."


    Riiing.


    [Changing the dungeon name to ''Fallen Angel''s Nightmare My King Have a Cup of Coffee.'']


    "Motherfucker!!"


    Riiing.


    [Changing the dungeon name to ''Fallen Angel''s Nightmare My King Have a Cup of Coffee Motherfucker.'']


    "This stupid ass system!! Why does the dungeon name have to be set verbally?!"


    Riiing.


    [Changing the dungeon name to ''Fallen Angel''s Nightmare My King Have a Cup of Coffee Motherfucker This Stupid Ass System Why Does the Dungeon Name Have To Be Set Verbally.'']


    "You fucking son of a bitch! Hey!"


    Riiing.


    [Changing the dungeon name to ''Fallen Angel''s Nightmare My King Have a Cup of Coffee Motherfucker This Stupid Ass System Why Does the Dungeon Name Have To Be Set Verbally You Fucking Son of a Bitch Hey.'']


    "Nooooooo!!!"


    Riiing.


    [Changing the dungeon name to ''Fallen Angel''s Nightmare My King Have a Cup of Coffee Motherfucker This Stupid Ass System Why Does the Dungeon Name Have To Be Set Verbally You Fucking Son of a Bitch Hey Nooooooo.'']


    "Aaah¡­ Fuck¡­ Stop¡­ Fucking stop¡­"


    Kang-Woo covered his face with his hands.


    Riiing.


    [Changing the dungeon name to ''Fallen Angel''s Nightmare My King Have a Cup of Coffee Motherfucker This Stupid Ass System Why Does the Dungeon Name Have To Be Set Verbally You Fucking Son of a Bitch Hey Nooooooo Aaah¡­ Fuck¡­ Stop¡­ Fucking Stop¡­.'']

 Chapter 279 - Fallen Angels Nightmare (1)

    Chapter 279 - Fallen Angel''s Nightmare (1)


    "There hasn''t been any news of Uriel''s arrival, right?" Oh Kang-Woo asked while holding themunication crystal orb.


    [Not yet, it seems,] Lilith''s voice came out of the orb.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "When he arrives, he''ll most likely appear in Africa."


    Both Ludwig and Raphael had first appeared there.


    He wasn''t sure if they could open a gate anywhere they wanted, but the chance that the Gate would open in the same ce was very high.


    ''Even if he doesn''t end up there¡­''


    If he wanted to figure out the truth about the call, he''d have toe to Raphael''s fortress in Africa.


    "Gather more forces and keep watch twenty-four seven. You can even use Guardians members. We have to find him as soon as he arrives."


    [Understood.]


    After saying that, Lilith cut the call.


    Kang-Woo sighed and got up. He''d also sent Halcyon and Echidna to help Lilith, so the house was awkwardly silent.


    Knock, knock.


    He heard a careful knock on the door. Since Halcyon and Echidna weren''t home, there was only one person it could be.


    "Come in."


    "¡­ Are you done with your call?"


    Han Seol-Ah opened the door and carefully peeked in.


    When Kang-Woo nodded, she walked over and sat on the bed.


    "¡­"


    There was an awkward silence.


    Kang-Woo stared vacantly at Seol-Ah while sitting on a chair.


    He had given her a general exnation of the situation after he had finished making the stage and was standing by at home. He had told her that the soul of Celestial Goddess Seraph was within her, that the angels were trying to use that to revive Seraph, and that her own soul may fall into a deep slumber like Kurosaki Yurie.


    "¡­ Kang-Woo."


    "If you''re gonna say what you saidst time, don''t even think about it."


    When Seol-Ah had first heard the exnation, she had asked Kang-Woo to let her be sacrificed and revive Seraph, since that was the best way for Kang-Woo to live in peace.


    "And besides, you''re basing your decision on the wrong premise. If Seraph is revived, forget my peace, they''ll try to kill me."


    After all, he was the Demon of Prophecy. No, even if he could hide that he was the Demon of Prophecy, it would be of no use since he was still a demon. He needed to prevent the oue of antagonizing a god¡ªa god powerful enough to govern an entire world, at that.


    ''Of course¡­''


    Reviving Seraph for the sake of the star known as Earth was the right choice. Her power would surely help protect Earth, but¡­


    ''Fuck that.''


    There was no point if the god who would protect Earth took action to eliminate him.


    ''What''s the point of a safe and peaceful world if I can''t live in it?''


    Kang-Woo had no intention of sacrificing himself for world peace. If he had ideals like that, he would''ve killed himself a very long time ago.


    ''After everything I went through to survive.''


    He had to stop this world from ending, but sacrificing himself to achieve that was out of the question. The same went for if he was lucky enough to be acknowledged by Seraph; the happiness he would attain would be half-baked without Seol-Ah.


    "Everything I''ve ever done has been for me to stay happy."


    He had struggled through ten whole millennia just to be happy¡ªall for a joyous, fun, and asionally sad and depressing life that was, ultimately, full ofughs.


    "If you die, I won''t be happy."


    "¡­"


    Seol-Ah kept her mouth shut in a daze, and then she giggled.


    "Okay. I won''t ever say it again."


    Seol-Ah nodded as if truly happy.


    Kang-Woo finally felt relieved.


    "Seraph, huh¡­? Oh, maybe that''s why."


    "Why what?"


    "Back when¡­ you were kidnapped. After we managed to get you back, I''ve been having these dreams."


    "Dreams?"


    "Yes. Dreams of¡­ being enveloped in cozy light. And¡­" Seol-Ah groaned. "I''m not sure if I should be saying this, but after I started having those dreams, I started to feel as if you were younger than me. N-No, not younger, but¡­ more like I want to look after you. I''ve only ever seen you as cool and amazing, but I''ve been seeing you as cutetely¡­ "


    "¡­"


    "A-Anyway, I''ve been feeling this way."


    Kang-Woo crossed his arms and nodded.


    ''That does seem like Seraph''s influence.''


    After she awakened Seraph''s power, the power seemed to have also somewhat influenced her personality. ording to Shalgiel, Seraph was the Goddess of Parental Love, so it was understandable why Seol-Ah hadtely begun to see Kang-Woo as younger than her.


    "Then how about I call you Seol-Ah noona from now on?"


    "Gasp."


    Seol-Ah''s eyes widened, and she started to tremble.


    "N-No!" She strongly refused. Blushing, she shouted, "I might die!"


    Kang-Wooughed out loud.


    "Oh¡­ Right! I almost forgot!" Seol-Ah pped her hands together and said with sparkling eyes, "C-Come to think of it, when I-I¡­ ahem, lifted your clothes to look at your¡­ I think that was Seraph''s influence as well."


    She looked at him with intense eyes and clenched her fists.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent, thinking back to that time.


    ''That''s low, Seol-Ah.''


    He averted his gaze from Seol-Ah while thinking that he would never make her put on a performance.


    "Y-you don''t believe me?" Having noticed that, Seol-Ah puffed her cheeks and softly hit him.


    Kang-Woo burst intoughter.


    Just then¡­


    Whoom.


    Themunication crystal orb rang.


    Kang-Woo got up and grabbed it.


    [My king.] It was Lilith. [Uriel has arrived.]


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone, and a smile crept up. The time had finallye.


    "Keep me updated on his live location."


    After saying that, he cut the call.


    Seol-Ah looked at him with a hardened expression.


    "¡­ Are you going?"


    "Yeah."


    He had caused this trouble, so it was also his responsibility to patch it up.


    "Let me also¡ª"


    "No." He firmly shook his head. "Seraph''s existence can''t be revealed to the angels."


    If that happened, even if the n seeded, what had happened with Shalgiel would happen again.


    "¡­"


    Seol-Ah nodded while making a bitter expression. She also knew why she couldn''t allow other angels to see her.


    "¡­ Please be careful."


    Seol-Ah grabbed Kang-Woo''s hands.


    Kang-Woo smiled and nodded. Then he turned around and opened a gate that led to the Hall of Protection. At the same time, he sent a message to Gaia, Kim Si-Hun, Cha Yeon-Joo, Grace McCubbin, and Tian Wuchen, among others.


    ''I have to bring the others as well.''


    He would not be the lead character on this stage. He would be but a spectator, and the more spectators there were to watch a show, the better.


    ''And¡­''


    His eyes narrowed, his expression hardening. There was something else that he needed to do no matter what besides being a spectator.


    * * *


    "¡­ Fuuu."


    The boy with short blue hair sighed and slowly opened his eyes. He saw a blue sky and an open expanse.


    ''So this is¡­''


    Earth.


    "It''s not much different from Aernor," he mumbled in a low voice.


    After looking up at the sky for a while, he shook his head. This was not the time. He took out a piece of paper on which the location of Raphael''s temporary base was written.


    ''Raphael¡­''


    Uriel anxiously spread his wings. He wanted to bring his army as well, but there had not been enough time.


    ''I''ming now.''


    Uriel quickly flew into the air in search of hisrade-in-arms, whom he wasn''t exactly sure what had happened to, but Uriel was sure that something had happened nheless.


    "Hm?"


    At that moment, he saw a group of humans wandering around the fortress. His eyes widened, and hended where they were like a bolt of lightning.


    Crackle!!


    Blue electricity swept their surroundings.


    "Who are you?" he said in a voice full of bloodlust. He quickly scanned the group.


    ''Humans.''


    There were six of them.


    The one at the front was a young man with sharp eyes. Behind him was an impressively handsome young man. In the middle, a brown-haired woman was seated in a wheelchair, and a middle-aged blonde woman was pushing it. Behind them was a woman with short red hair and an old man with a sword at his waist.


    The sharp-looking young man took a step forward.


    "We are Guardians."


    "Guardians?"


    Uriel had heard of them. They were the protectors of Earth who had allied with Raphael.


    Uriel first doubted whether their identity was true or not, but he nodded after taking a closer look at the woman in the wheelchair.


    "You have the incarnation of Gaia with you."


    "Greetings, O Great Angel."


    Gaia politely bowed her head.


    Uriel asked while keeping his guard up, "Why are you all here?"


    "Before that¡­ who are you? I don''t believe I have ever seen an angel like you among Lord Raphael''s subordinates."


    The sharp-looking man was also looking at Uriel warily.


    Uriel groaned and opened his mouth.


    "I''m Uriel."


    "Ah¡­!"


    The sharp-looking guy let out an exmation and lowered his head.


    "My apologies. I had known that you were an angel from your wings, but¡­ I was a little cautious due to recent strange events."


    "¡­ Strange events?"


    "We have not been able to contact Lord Raphael or Shalgiel. They had not even shown up to our usual meeting, so¡­ we came here because we were worried."


    "Oh."


    Uriel''s expression hardened. He understood why the Guardians members were roaming around the fortress and anxiously bit his lip.


    "Since when has contact with them been cut off?"


    "About five days ago."


    "¡­ Shit."


    Uriel frowned.


    The sharp-looking young man said in a worried tone, "Has something happened to Lord Raphael?"


    "¡­ No, nothing at all."


    "Your expression says otherwise."


    "I said it''s nothing!" Uriel shouted in irritation, but he soon grabbed his forehead.


    ''If it''s Guardians¡­''


    Their strength had been detailed in Raphael''s report. Most of them were only as strong as intermediate angels and below, but a few of them apparently surpassed upper angels.


    From what he had heard, one of them had inherited the Holy Sword Ludwig and another was the apostle of Tirion, God of Heroes.


    "Are the humans Oh Kang-Woo and Kim Si-Hun among you?"


    "¡­ I am Oh Kang-Woo."


    "I am Kim Si-Hun."


    "¡­ I see." Uriel nodded.


    The situation had changed. If they were stronger than an upper angel, it was a different story.


    "Can you help me?"


    Uriel had been in such a hurry that he hadn''t been able to bring along his subordinates. He was in desperate need of these humans'' help.


    "Is it about Lord Raphael?"


    "¡­ Yeah."


    "We nned to investigate regardless, so there is no problem at all," the human Oh Kang-Woo said in a calm voice.


    And so, Uriel and Guardians began moving to the angel fortress in Africa.


    "What in the¡­"


    "I-Is this really the same fortress?"


    The beautiful fortress that had exuded serene light was nowhere to be seen. Instead, dark energy enveloped it. The destroyed sections of the fortress and all the corpses scattered around made the atmosphere of the fortress even darker.


    "Kang-Woo hyung-nim."


    "¡­ It seems something really did happen."


    "Kang-Woo, this is¡­" Gaia slurred.


    "Gaia, have you received any revtions from the gods?"


    "No¡­ Nothing."


    Kang-Woo and the other Guardians members seemed shocked at the fortress''s changed atmosphere.


    Uriel bit his lip, his anxiety growing.


    "Let''s enter. Follow me."


    Uriel took a step forward, and the fortress gates slowly opened.


    Then¡­


    Riiing.


    [You have entered the SS+ rank dungeon ''Fallen Angel''s Nightmare My King¡ª]


    "Kurgh!! Kuh¡­ Gaaaaaahh!!!"


    As the blue message window appeared, the human who revealed himself to be Oh Kang-Woo screamed in pain as his body bent like a bow. His eyes rolled back as if he were having a seizure.


    "H-Hyung-nim!!"


    Si-Hun quickly ran toward Kang-Woo.


    Uriel also turned to look at the human who had suddenly copsed on the ground and was having a seizure.


    The blue message window in the air disappeared.

 Chapter 280 - Fallen Angels Nightmare (2)

    Chapter 280 - Fallen Angel''s Nightmare (2)


    "Kurgh, cough!!"


    Oh Kang-Woo bent like a bow and trembled.


    "¡­ What the hell? What''s wrong with him?"


    "H-Hyung-nim!!"


    Kim Si-Hun quickly ran over to Kang-Woo and shook him.


    Kang-Woo, who suddenly had a seizure, stood up while grimacing.


    "Haaa, haaa."


    "Wh-What was that, hyung-nim?"


    Si-Hun grabbed Kang-Woo''s arm and supported him with a worried expression on his face.


    "I-I''m not sure either, but the moment I entered this ce¡­ memories of that day came back to me and¡­" Kang-Woo answered while making a confused expression.


    "Memories of that day?"


    "When I was tortured by Rakiel," Kang-Woo answered in a dark tone.


    "Ah¡­"


    Si-Hun''s expression hardened.


    Kang-Woo had been tortured so horribly that it had been hard to even look at him, so it wouldn''t be weird for him to have developed PTSD.


    "This ce is¡­ full of Rakiel''s demonic energy," Kang-Woo mumbled while breathing heavily.


    "¡­ This is Rakiel''s demonic energy?" Uriel asked while biting his lip.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "Shit."


    Uriel made an anxious expression. There was a thick demonic energy emanating from the entire fortress. If it was Rakiel''s demonic energy, then that meant a disaster had urred.


    ''There''s no way.''


    Uriel shook his head.


    It had only been a month. There was no way that Raphael had fallen in such a short period of time.


    ''I have to check.''


    Uriel carefully strode forward.


    Kang-Woo hurriedly extended his hand. "Please wait! We should figure out what happened before¡ª"


    "There''s no time," Uriel immediately denied his suggestion.


    They didn''t know what had happened to Raphael, so they had no time to sit around while thinking of a n.


    ''Raphael.''


    Uriel quickened his pace.


    Then¡­


    "Grrk, grrk."


    They heard staggering footsteps and growling. Something was walking toward them from the fortress''s dark hallway.


    "That''s¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s and Si-Hun''s eyes widened.


    Cha Yeon-Joo squinted to take a better look. A trembling voice came out of her.


    "A Ghoul?"


    A monster with a horrible stench, rotten skin, and viscous pus flowing out of it was roaming and staggering through the hallway.


    "W-Wait, those clothes¡­ Isn''t that the uniform of the Watchers of Light?"


    Although the clothes had been discolored due to the rotten flesh, they were definitely the white ceremonial robes worn by Raphael''s apostles.


    Yeon-Joo extended the chains from her bracelet and whispered, "What the¡­ Why have Raphael''s apostles be Undead?"


    "I don''t know." Kang-Woo shook his head.


    Uriel''s expression hardened. He recalled what Shargiel had said.


    "My apol¡­ It is¡­ already toote¡­ for Lord Raph¡­"


    "Shit¡­ Shit¡­" Uriel''s wings shook anxiously. He walked toward the Ghouls. "Where''s Raphael?"


    Although there was no way that the dead could answer, he asked anyway. As he raised his right hand, the hand crackled with fearsome lightning.


    "Where the hell is Raphael?!"


    "KIIEEKK!!"


    Crackle!!


    The blue lightning burned the Ghouls wearing ceremonial robes to the ground in the blink of an eye, leaving only ck ash.


    "Wha¡­"


    The lightning''s power was frightening. Raphael was impressive, but Uriel seemed to be beyond him.


    ''I guess there are sses even among archangels.''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He had not seen Uriel''s full power yet, but he could feel far thicker and stronger energy from Uriel than Raphael.


    "Shit¡­" Uriel cursed while wiping out the Ghouls in the hallway.


    Forget Raphael, not even a single angel was in sight.


    ''Where the hell are they?''


    They looked all over the ce, but they only came across Undead.


    Kang-Woo, who was silently walking behind Uriel, opened his mouth.


    "Come to think of it, I heard that Lord Raphael had been doing research on Rakiel."


    "Research?"


    "Yes. He had said that only by learning how Rakiel fell and how he had been tempted by Demon God Bauli would we be able to face Rakiel."


    "¡­"


    Uriel silently nodded. Considering Raphael''s personality, it was perfectly possible he''d been investigating stuff like that.


    ''Oh, in that case¡­''


    Uriel''s eyes shone.


    "Let''s look for Raphael''s research room first."


    "Will we be able to find Lord Raphael there?"


    "I''m not sure about that either, but Raphael always writes down his research records."


    Uriel had seen it many times during their thousands of years together.


    Uriel had a fiery personality and hated frustrating things, so he couldn''t even think of writing down the plethora of research he had done on demons by hand, but Raphael always left records behind without question.


    "If we find those notes, we''ll be able to find out what happened in the past month."


    "Okay."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    Uriel and Kang-Woo looked all over the base to find Raphael''s research room.


    Uriel said, "If it were him¡­"


    Raphael would most definitely have made his research room close to his office.


    After reaching Raphael''s office, Uriel looked around.


    ''I knew it.''


    There was a door next to the office.


    "We''re going in."


    Creak.


    Uriel nervously opened the door.


    "¡­ This is a lot," Kang-Woo eximed in surprise.


    The room was so full of books that it looked like a library.


    "Is this all material regarding the era of myths?" Kang-Woo asked


    "Probably. Rakiel was active during the war against the demon god."


    "¡­ There are a lot more books than I had expected."


    "That''s how the war had been. But the records themselves aren''t exactly urate. Much of it is guesswork," Uriel said while clicking his tongue.


    Rather than records, they were closer to novels.


    Kang-Woo nodded. He felt as if he could understand why Raphael had gathered so many materials about the era of myths.


    "He must have been trying topare all the materials to find the true record."


    "Raphael is the best at that kind of stuff." After giving a short reply, Uriel started looking around the room.


    Not only were there far too many records, but the books were also scattered all over the ce as if a battle had taken ce. Therefore, it was hard to find Raphael''s notes.


    Then¡­


    "¡­ Huh?"


    Kang-Woo picked up a book lying in the corner of the room. White liquid had been sttered on its cover and had dried.


    "Lord Uriel, this¡­"


    "¡­"


    Uriel remained silent.


    The white liquid was¡­


    ''Angel blood.''


    He closed his eyes, then opened the book with trembling hands.


    As expected, it contained notes in Raphael''s handwriting.


    - Day 1 of researching Rakiel


    The Constetion of Corruption has been spotted on Earth. I have decided to investigate the reason behind why Rakiel fell before I face him. I did not gain much on this first day. I focused on requesting Sant''Angelo to send me materials regarding the era of myths.


    - Day 2 of researching Rakiel


    I have begun researching. The only one of us who has actually witnessed the war firsthand is Lord Michael. It was truly an unfathomablyrge war. How could Demon God Bauli have expanded his forces?


    - Day 5 of researching Rakiel


    I do not understand. The Demon God desired the end of every creation designed by the Titans. In other words, he had been trying to erase all life, so why would Rakiel possibly have betrayed the angels to join the Demon God?


    - Day 7 of researching Rakiel


    No matter how many records I go through, I cannot figure out the reason. The past Rakiel was one of Lady Seraph''s most trusted subordinates, along with Lord Michael. He was capable, powerful, and honorable. Lady Seraph herself had mentioned that Rakiel would take her ce if she were to die in the war.


    He had all the glory he could possibly want, so¡­ why did he betray us?


    The notes clearly showed Raphael''s confusion.


    Uriel frowned. He couldn''t get much information from the first week of notes.


    ''What the hell happened, Raphael?''


    He anxiously bit his lip and flipped the page. And then¡­ his eyes widened.


    - Day 10 of researching Rakiel


    I found a clue. Maybe¡­ Rakiel had betrayed us because¡­


    "The hell?"


    The page that should have contained information had been ripped out.


    Uriel frowned. He quickly turned to the next page and saw that the records continued.


    - Day 13 of researching Rakiel


    I have figured out the reason. Just¡­ how could this possibly¡­ I am so shocked that my head is in a daze. What of everything that I have learned my whole life? We¡­ we might have been believing in a false myth this whole time.


    "¡­ What?"


    Uriel''s hands were trembling, and his uneasy feelings were intensifying.


    - Day 17 of researching Rakiel


    Rakiel came to see me. I asked him if everything that I had found out was the truth. He had¡­ already known everything from the start, and¡­


    Once again, the page was torn.


    - Day 18 of researching Rakiel


    Something¡­ has to be wrong. There is no way¡­ This is impossible.


    Aaaahh. W-We have all been deceived.


    We were made for fools this entire time!!


    - Day 19 of researching Rakiel


    I''ve noticed today that my wings are turning ck.


    Am I losing my mind? Or am I falling like Rakiel? I do not know.


    But¡­ but¡­


    Aaaahh, where¡­ where did it all go wrong?


    The final page¡­


    - Day 20 of researching Rakiel


    Rakiel came to see me again. No, maybe it was not him who hade to see me. I do not remember. My wings have been dyedpletely ck. Have I fallen? I do not know. If this is what falling feels like, I would not mind falling more and more.


    My notes end here. I will now do what I have to do. What only I can do¡­


    "¡­"


    Uriel''s hands were trembling as he gripped the book. His lips paled.


    The event that he did not even want to imagine¡ªsomething that could not have possibly happened¡ªhad urred.


    "No."


    He quickly shook his head.


    "It can''t fucking be!!"


    He''d read all the notes, but he still had no idea why Raphael had fallen. The section of the notes that would have detailed why had been torn out, but there was something he was sure about¡­


    Raphael had lost his mind.


    "Lord Uriel? What was written in¡ª"


    "Don''t touch it!!"


    Uriel knocked the book out of Kang-Woo''s hands.


    The pages scattered as the book fell to the ground. Uriel noticed a phrase on the final page of the notes that seemed to have been written down in a hurry.


    Gaze not into the abyss, for if you do¡­


    The abyss also gazes into you.


    Kang-Woo said, "This is¡­"


    "Shit! Shit! Something must be wrong! It¡­ can''t be true¡­"


    Uriel grabbed his hair, closed his eyes, and thought of Raphael.


    He and Raphael had beenrades-in-arms for thousands of years. Raphael was old-fashioned, but he resented demons more than anyone else. There was no way someone like him would have fallen in such a nonsensical way.


    "We have to find Raphael¡­"


    "Uhm, Lord Uriel. There seems to be a gap here," said Si-Hun, who had been searching through the research room while Uriel had been reading the notes.


    As Uriel turned his head, he saw a small gap between two bookshelves.


    "Move."


    Uriel quickly walked toward it and pulled the bookshelves apart from each other.


    Creak.


    Just like a secret door that often appeared in films, the bookshelves swung backward and revealed a new space. And within it was¡­


    "A-Aaaahh."


    "Urpp!"


    "Wh-What the fuck is that?!"


    Uriel''s exmation and Yeon-Joo''s curse were heard.


    Si-Hun covered his mouth as if about to hurl.


    Kang-Woo looked at it with a hardened expression.


    Inside the secret space of the research room was¡­


    "NOOOOOOOO!!!!"


    Uriel''s desperate scream spread.


    There were cylinders full of an unknown liquid.


    Within those hundreds of cylinders¡­


    Raphael''s subordinates floated, fused with the bodies of demonic beasts. They had been turned into Chimeras.

 Chapter 281 - Fallen Angels Nightmare (3)

    Chapter 281 - Fallen Angel''s Nightmare (3)


    "NOOOOOOOO!!!!" Uriel cried.


    Oh Kang-Woo took a step back and smirked so that Uriel couldn''t see him.


    ''Did it work?''


    He turned to look at the stage he''d set.


    Shalgiel was inside a cylinder filled with an unknown liquid.


    Kang-Woo was honestly astonished.


    ''I said to make him hideous, but this is a bit¡­''


    Shalgiel''s organs were exposed and had been forcibly fused with the body of a demonic beast. It was hard to look at it.


    He understood why Lilith and Vaal Zahak had confidently said to leave it to them.


    ''Still, it makes me feel a bit bad.''


    Even if it was Kang-Woo, it was impossible for him to feelfortable looking at such a thing. It was as if he''d dug up a corpse and disrespected the dead, so he couldn''t help but feel a bit bad.


    ''But¡­''


    He narrowed his eyes while looking at the screaming Uriel.


    The first thought that came to Kang-Woo''s mind was that it couldn''t be helped, which was partially true. After all, for Uriel to believe the fact that Raphael had fallen, the trust that they had built over thousands of years needed to be broken, which required Uriel to behold a shocking sight.


    ''And most importantly¡­''


    He had to kill Raphael, no matter what, if he wanted to turn things in his favor. Of course, Raphael didn''t know that Seraph''s soul was within Han Seol-Ah. Raphael hadn''t given the order to forcefully bring her; that was something Shalgiel had done on his own.


    ''But¡­''


    Even so, Raphael had to be killed¡ªhe had to be a fallen angel and receive the judgment of light.


    ''Raphael ordered Shalgiel to investigate Guardians in the first ce.''


    If Shalgiel suddenly died in such a situation, there was no need to think about who Raphael would suspect first. Even if Kang-Woo tried to make Rakiel the culprit, there was no way Raphael would believe it.


    ''I have no ill feelings regarding Raphael.''


    It wasn''t personal, but it just ended up that he couldn''t let Raphael live.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes.


    The world was a cruel ce.


    Just as most murders were due to mary conflicts rather than emotional ones, people harmed each other based on cost and benefit. Of course, there werews, morals, ideals, conscience, and many otherplex mechanisms to stop those things, but¡ª


    ''Fuck them.''


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    ''If I can avoid a war with the angels just by feeling a bit bad¡­''


    He would dly plunge his hands into the filth however many times it took¡ªno, he would even roll around in it with a smile.


    That was how he had lived, as well as how he had kept winning. He was neither a hero in anime with a zing sense of justice nor a kind person like Kim Si-Hun.


    He had struggled to survive in a ce bustling with demonic beasts and demons for ten millennia; he would not be guilt-tripped over morals and personal conscience after what he had gone through.


    "No¡­ There''s no way," Uriel mumbled in confusion.


    Kang-Woo smiled while looking at the blue-haired boy.


    ''I guess I managed to get through the first hurdle.''


    If Uriel had thought that this was a demon''s trick and trusted Raphael to the very end, it would have been a problem, but he could not feel an ounce of trust for Raphael in Uriel, who was crying in front of the cylinder.


    ''Doubt is a poison.''


    Once it poisoned a person, even if they tried to convince themselves otherwise, it would continue to eat away at them. For example, let''s say that someone learned that their childhood friend is a serial killer¡­


    How would they react?


    ''They would probably try to deny it at first.''


    They would probably think there was no way that their friend would do something like that. But what if evidence of it came out one after another? No, what if they saw the scene of the crime with their own eyes?


    "Why¡­ why would Raphael¡­" Uriel knelt and mumbled in a sorrowful voice.


    He was now past the stage of denial and was now wondering why Raphael had done such a thing. Kang-Woo smiled while looking down at Uriel.


    ''It worked.''


    The firm trust that existed between Uriel and Raphael had been torn apart.


    Kang-Woo pulled down the corners of his mouth with all his might. He might have burst intoughter if he wasn''t in such a situation.


    ''Now, then.''


    The first act couldn''t have been any better. Now it was time to prepare the second act.


    "Lord Uriel, what in the world is¡­"


    "¡­"


    "C-Could¡­ Lord Raphael have¡ª"


    "Shut up!!" Uriel eximed. He sprang up and grabbed Kang-Woo''s cor. "What the fuck do you know about Raphael to say shit like that?!"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo hadn''t said anything, but Uriel had reacted so severely, which meant¡­


    ''You already know.''


    Uriel was frantically trying to deny it, but Kang-Woo wouldn''t let him off so easily.


    "¡­ You are right."


    "Right about what?"


    "I do not think that Lord Raphael had done this either."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo dangled a thread of hope in front of him.


    Hope appeared in Uriel''s eyes.


    Even though all the evidence was in front of them, there was a human who defended Raphael in such a situation.


    ''He''ll rely on that.''


    No, he would console himself, thinking that he was right all along: it had been the fabrications of a demon and Raphael had been nothing but a scapegoat.


    ''If he wants to hold on to even a bit of hope¡­ I''ll give it to him.'' Kang-Woo snickered in his mind.


    He said, "There is no evidence that Lord Raphaelmitted this atrocity."


    "Th-That''s right! That''s exactly my thought!" Uriel furiously nodded.


    "Lord Uriel, could you tell us what was written in Lord Raphael''s notes?"


    "Huh¡­? Well¡­"


    "It''s okay. I can more or less guess what they were about."


    "¡­"


    Uriel anxiously bit his lips and closed his eyes. He then repeated what was written in the notes.


    Cha Yeon-Joo, who was silently listening, screamed. "Fuck! Raphael didn''t do this, my ass!! The notes clearly show that he went bonkers!"


    "Watch it, Cha Yeon-Joo."


    "Screw that! Are you high, Oh Kang-Woo? Or does Raphael kiss your ass or something?! Just look at this! How can you still say that Raphael didn''t do this when he did this kind of shit to his subordinates?!" Yeon-Joo shouted in rage.


    Uriel''s expression crumpled aggressively.


    "How dare you, human woman!"


    "What do you want me to say? I''m sorry for interrupting your little angel circle-jerk session, but¡ª"


    "Cha Yeon-Joo!" Kang-Woo angrily shouted.


    Yeon-Joo flinched.


    He said, "I told you to watch it."


    "U-Uhh¡­"


    "The notes? Handwriting can be easily forged. The Chimeras? Has anyone here seen Lord Raphael make them with their own eyes?"


    "¡­"


    "Don''t believe only in what you see. Rakiel''s energy is all over the ce for a reason. There''s a chance that he might have orchestrated this whole situation."


    "N-Ngh. Y-You don''t have to get so angry¡­"


    Yeon-Joo pouted due to Kang-Woo''s attitude, which was different from usual. She found it a little unfair.


    "¡­"


    Uriel looked at Kang-Woo with a nk expression.


    A human he had met for the first time had said what he wanted to say, which he had doubted people would believe.


    He gulped.


    "Y-Yeah. That''s exactly what I wanted to say." Uriel furiously nodded again. "Since Rakiel is involved, there''s a chance this whole situation was fabricated."


    Kang-Woo said, "I agree, but¡­"


    "B-But wh-what?"


    Uriel looked at Kang-Woo with trembling eyes.


    His eyes were filled with trust for the human named Oh Kang-Woo. It was only obvious, since a sturdy rope had appeared that he could grab on to when he had been desperately looking for even a sliver of something.


    Uriel warily looked at Yeon-Joo but then took a step toward Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    ''He doesn''t seem to be as stiff as Raphael.''


    Uriel was close to an immature child.


    ''How weird.''


    Kang-Woo tilted his head. He would''ve understood if a demon had such a personality. After all, a demon''s body amplified one''s desires and thus forcibly halted mental maturity, which was necessary because demons didn''t have the concept of lifespan.


    If it weren''t like that, Hell would be a ce full of sages devoid of any desire who lived in peace. Or, Hell would be full of beings with no desire to live and who did nothing but lie still.


    ''Do angels also have some kind of restriction?''


    They also didn''t have a lifespan, so it would make sense.


    ''Well, regardless¡­''


    That wasn''t important at the moment. What mattered was that Uriel was an easier angel to trick than he''d thought.


    "First off, the only thing we are sure about is that Lord Raphael is in a predicament."


    "¡­"


    "Considering that all of his subordinates have been killed, the fortress has be a den of the dead, and Lord Raphael is nowhere in sight. In the worst-case scenario¡­ we will have to take into ount the possibility that he has already been killed by Rakiel."


    "That''s¡­ true."


    Uriel nodded while making a depressed expression. He seemed to be somewhat resigned to the idea.


    Kang-Woo nced at Uriel.


    "Let us look around the fortress a little more."


    Uriel nodded, and the initiative was naturally passed to Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo stepped out of Raphael''s research room.


    The location of the y''s second act was already decided.


    ''It''s going smoothly so far.''


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    In the end, what mattered were the emotions. Uriel had fallen into despair, but thanks to Kang-Woo, he''d started to regain hope. Based on his reaction, he seemed to be hoping that Raphael had died honorably in battle against Rakiel rather than for Raphael to have fallen.


    ''I guess that''s just how angels are.''


    That seemed to be the case for Raphael and Uriel.


    Kang-Woo couldn''t understand why they cared more about honor than their lives.


    ''Well, regardless¡­''


    It was clear that Uriel cared a lot for the honor of hisrade-in-arms.


    Kang-Woo licked his lips.


    ''Now that he''s climbed back up with the rope of hope I''ve given him¡­ it''s time to push him back down.''


    * * *


    Raphael slowly opened his eyes in a space filled with brilliant light.


    ''The treatment is more or lessplete.''


    He slowly raised his arms. In a ce known as the Embrace of Light created through thepression of sacred power, he had fully treated the wounds he had received from Satan. He had originally nned to slowly treat his wounds over a long period of time since the Embrace of Light was isted from all forms of contact, but the situation had changed.


    ''Rakiel.''


    Raphael had no more leeway now that he had discovered that the being who had corrupted countless angels and gods in the era of myths was on Earth.


    ''But I am d at least Uriel hase to help.''


    He was confident that, with Uriel, he''d be able to defeat Rakiel.


    ''I should get out of here.''


    He slowly raised his hands.


    The space, which was filled with light, cracked. Like a bird breaking through the shell of its egg, he broke through it and got up. He saw the outside world for the first time in ten days.


    "Hm?" A confused voice came out of Raphael''s mouth. "What in the world?"


    As soon as he emerged, he felt suffocatingly dense demonic energy. The problem was that he felt that the demonic energy wasing from him.


    "What the¡­"


    As he looked around his body, his eyes widened.


    "M-My wings¡­"


    His wings, which usually shone with pure-white light, had been dyed ck. No, to be more precise¡­


    ''Demonic energy was¡­ painted over them?''


    Thick demonic energy was covering his entire body as if he had been coated with it.


    Thud.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    "Uriel¡­?" He turned his head toward the sound.


    "H-how could this have¡­"


    "See?! What did I tell you?! I told you that he''d been tempted by that son of a bitch Rakiel!!"


    He saw the heroes who were protecting Earth and¡­


    "R-Raphael¡­"


    ¡­ Uriel in despair, as if all of his hopes had been shattered.


    "RAPHAEEEEEL!!!" Uriel screamed in agony.


    "¡­?"


    Raphael looked around while making a confused expression.


    ''Wha¡­''


    What in the world was going on?

 Chapter 282 - Those Tainted By Darkness, Receive the Judgment of Light (1)

    Chapter 282 - Those Tainted By Darkness, Receive the Judgment of Light (1)


    "This is¡­"


    "Wh-What is that?"


    Uriel, who had been wandering around the fortress with Kang-Woo in search of Raphael, found a grotesque object in a secret room. It was a sphere that looked like a cocoon a pupa would emerge from in its mature form.


    Seeing the sphere radiating with suffocating demonic energy, Uriel''s hope that he had been desperately holding on to was bing drastically weaker. He wondered at first if it could be the Embrace of Light based on how it looked, but the sphere enveloped in green tentacles did not look like the Embrace of Light in the slightest.


    Crack.


    The sphere was starting to break.


    "H-Huh?"


    "Get back!" Kang-Woo shouted as he unsheathed Del Lain.


    Kim Si-Hun also gripped his holy sword as he stepped back and lowered his stance.


    Breathtaking anxiety hung in the air.


    "Please, please¡­"


    Uriel bit his lip and clenched his fists. His face was full of desperation as he stared at the sphere.


    ''Please¡­ let Raphael not be in there.''


    The uneasiness that he had felt when he had firste to be aware of the incident ran down his spine. He extended his hand in desperation. His fingers trembled as he thought of the future he did not want to imagine.


    ''N-No.''


    Uriel held back his rising instinct.


    An angel''s instincts werepletely different in nature from those of normal living beings. They were immortal, so they, of course, had constraints that allowed them to retain their sanity.


    Just like how a demon''s body amplified desires, an angel''s body brought out obsessions. The obsessions were different between each angel; for example, Raphael was obsessed with eradicating demons. To be more precise, his entire army was. If it was for killing demons, they would sacrifice humanity and their own allies without a hint of remorse. They only thought about and acted on killing demons.


    "Kuh¡­" Uriel grunted.


    If Raphael was obsessed with eradicating demons, then Uriel was obsessed with affection.


    Uriel was obsessed over rtionships with others: between lovers, friends, subordinates, brothers, and others. His obsession with affection was why Uriel could live for eternity, and it was also the constraint that he could not escape from as an angel.


    ''It''s dangerous.''


    Not being able to control his instincts was extremely dangerous.


    Just as a demon became a demonic beast if they were unable to control their desires, an angel''s wings would turn ck and the angel would end up falling from grace if their obsession turned into madness.


    And once an angel fell from grace, it was irreversible.


    ''Raphael¡­''


    Uriel looked at the sphere in desperation. He feared that the rtionship he had built with Raphael asrades-in-arms would crumble.


    Uriel wouldn''t despair so much if Raphael had been killed in honorablebat, but this was different. He would have to kill his traitorousrade¡ªhis fallen friend¡ªwith his own hands. Itpletely went against his instincts. His fear and desperation went far beyond what a human could possibly imagine.


    ''Please.''


    Crack.


    As if crushing those hopes, what emerged from the ck sphere was¡­ a ck-winged Raphael.


    "RAPHAEEEEEL!!!"


    A desperate cry spread.


    "Uriel?" Raphael tilted his head. "What is going on? What in the world is¡­"


    "Th-That''s what I want to know, Raphael!! Just why¡­ why did you be like this?!"


    "Huh? What do you¡ª"


    "You said you despised all demons! You said that everyone who had been tainted by the demonic had to be killed! So why¡­ why have you of all people be a demooooooon?!"


    "What in the world have you been talking about?"


    Raphael looked down at himself.


    He was exuding a thick demonic energy. It was as if there was a filter made of demonic energy covering him. The energy within him was no doubt sacred power, but the moment he drew it out, it felt like demonic energy.


    ''No way¡­''


    Raphael''s eyes widened. The gears in his head started to turn once again after having been halted by the confusing situation.


    "N-No!!" Raphael quickly shook his hands. "There has been a misunderstanding!"


    Wham!!


    At that moment, the floor exploded.


    The golden hero Oh Kang-Woo, the apostle of Tirion, God of Heroes, red at him with a frown on his face.


    "I¡­ believed in you."


    "What?"


    "When we read the notes detailing your fall into madness, even when we saw your subordinates turned into Chimeras¡­ I still believed in you."


    "Notes? Chimeras? What are you talking about?"


    "I¡­! I believed that you wouldn''t have fallen!" Kang-Woo cried.


    "Just wait a damn second."


    Kang-Woo was the only one who defended Raphael when Cha Yeon-Joo was certain of his fall and when Uriel had no idea what to say, so everyone knew why he was acting this way.


    "Ra¡­ phael¡­"


    Transparent tears flowed down Uriel''s cheeks.


    He''d spent thousands of years with Raphael.


    Although they''d fought many times due to differences in their personalities, Uriel had always cherished his rtionship with Raphael. No, he couldn''t not care about it, considering his obsession was affection.


    "¡­"


    Uriel stood still while biting his lip. If Raphael had fallen, there was nothing he could do about it. It was his duty to send Raphael to eternal rest.


    "Thanks¡­ for everything," Uriel muttered.


    "W-Wait, Uriel! You are being deceived! I have not fallen from grace!"


    "¡­ Okay." Uriel smiled lifelessly. "Thanks for saying that, at the very least."


    Crackle!


    Blue lightning gathered between his eight wings, and he weakly spread out his arms. He lightly bent over and then quickly leaned back. His eight wings, infused with blue lightning, spread out.


    "Shit!!"


    Raphael quickly moved back in dismay; bolts of lightning struck where he had been standing.


    "Uriel!! You are being deceived!!"


    "¡­"


    Uriel clenched his eyes shut and slowly raised both of his lifelessly hanging hands.


    "Argo ? La ? Fulmine."


    A huge amount of sacred power rose from him. His specialty was divine magic based on sacred power.


    Blue lightning gathered in his hands andunched toward the sky.


    "F A L L !"


    He imbued power into his voice, just like dragons using dragon tongue magic.


    Once that happened¡­


    Crackle!!


    Raphael raised his hands and unleashed his sacred power to create a spear of light.


    ''What the f¡ª!''


    Raphael''s eyes widened. His spear, Luperien, which contained far thicker sacred power than Holy Sword Ludwig, had been dyed ck. It was also exuding suffocatingly thick demonic energy.


    ''What the hell is happening?!''


    He couldn''t understand why the energying out of him felt like demonic energy.


    ''There is no demonic energy within me.''


    He looked through the energy within him, but as expected, he could not feel even a drop of demonic energy. In other words, the demonic energy covering him was being exuded by someone else.


    ''How?''


    Before he could keep thinking, bolts of lightning poured down on him.


    "Kurgggghhhh!!"


    He spun his spear to block the bolts. The demonic energy pouring out of Luperien stormed to protect him like a shield.


    Tsssss.


    The searing heat from each bolt burned his hands.


    ''He is serious.''


    Raphael bit his lip. He could tell from that attack that Uriel was truly trying to kill him.


    ''Since it hase to this¡­''


    Raphael looked around. He saw that the protectors of Guardians were ring at him with weapons in their hands.


    ''I will subdue Uriel first.''


    He couldn''t understand why he''d be a fallen angel after ten days of treating his wounds, but if Uriel, of all people, was attacking him, that meant it was already toote to convince him with words.


    "Haap!"


    Gripping his spear, he rushed toward Uriel, who was in the midst of casting.


    Uriel used non-casting magic, causing lightning to spread out like a and block Raphael''s path, but Raphael swung Luperien and tore the apart.


    ng!


    Raphael struck the ground with the tip of his spear and used the force generated tounch himself into the air.


    "Argo ? La ? Fulmine."


    Uriel used that short time to finish his chant. He spread open his eight wings and crossed his arms to make an X.


    "S U R G E !"


    Crackle!


    Thousands of lightning bolts rose from the floor as if a dragon were ascending into the sky.


    As Raphael was about to raise his spear to block the attack¡­


    "Yeon-Joo!"


    "Got it!"


    Slide.


    Dozens of red chains surrounded Raphael and wrapped around him. He grimaced.


    "Mere chains will not¡ª"


    "Si-Hun!"


    "Okay, hyung-nim!"


    "Kuh?!"


    Following Yeon-Joo''s red chains, the two heroes rushed forward.


    Despite running on chains as thin as two fingers, neither Si-Hun nor Kang-Woo lost bnce. Raphael quickly broke the chains wrapped around him, but Kang-Woo jumped, aiming to kick Raphael''s head before he could fully free himself.


    Thunk!


    A barrier of demonic energy formed around Raphael, blocking Kang-Woo''s kick. Si-Hun caught up to Kang-Woo in the meantime and swung his holy sword.


    ng!


    "Kuh!"


    Si-Hun''s sword bounced off the thick demonic energy wrapped around Raphael.


    "Hyung-nim! The demonic energy barrier is too thick!"


    "Shit."


    Kang-Woo bit his lip in anxiety.


    Like Si-Hun had said, the demonic energy surrounding Raphael was too thick.


    "What the¡­"


    Raphael''s mouth fell open in surprise. Although he hadn''t done anything, the demonic energy around him had moved on its own to block their attacks. Raphael clenched his hair as if he were going insane.


    ''Now that it hase to this¡­''


    He could only take a gamble.


    "Uriel! You are being deceived by a demon! Think of all the battles we have fought together!" Raphael shouted.


    "Ngh¡­"


    "Do you really believe I have fallen from grace?! You know the power of obsession better than anyone!"


    "Sh-Shut up! Shut up!"


    "Get yourself together! I have no intention of attacking you!"


    "¡­"


    As if he were trying to prove that, Raphael raised both of his hands.


    tter.


    Luperien fell to the ground.


    "Ngh¡­"


    Uriel''s eyes shook.


    Hesitation, doubt, and hope intertwined.


    He closed his eyes.


    ''No.''


    It was a trick.


    He looked at the ck wings and the suffocatingly thick demonic energy emanating from Raphael. It was obvious that Raphael had fallen.


    ''No.''


    He bit his lip. His overwhelming obsession and yearning swayed him. He had spent thousands of years with Raphael. They had fought on many battlefields and tasted countless victories and defeats.


    Raphael was more hisrade-in-arms, whom he had gone through life and death with, than just another archangel.


    ''He isn''t the Raphael I know anymore.''


    The blue-haired young man shed tears, grabbed his hair, and shook his head.


    ''But¡­''


    Deep inside his consciousness, Uriel still¡­


    Pierce!!!


    "¡­ Huh?"


    Red blood spattered.


    Uriel slowly opened his eyes.


    "Cough! Cough!"


    A ck spear had suddenly shot out of Raphael and pierced a young man trying to protect Uriel.


    "Y-You¡­"


    "Lord¡­ Uriel¡­"


    Kang-Woo, who had protected Uriel from danger, copsed and leaned on Uriel, embracing him.


    "Be¡­ caref¡­"


    "H-Hey! G-Get a hold of yourself, human!!"


    Kang-Woo vomited red blood and lost consciousness.


    "O-Oh Kang-Woo!"


    "Hyung-nim!"


    Yeon-Joo and Si-Hun screamed.


    "Ra¡­ phael."


    Uriel turned his head in anger. He looked at Raphael, who had his mouth agape and his two eyes wide open.


    "N-No! Th-That was not me!!"


    Raphael quickly waved his hands and looked down at the ck spear that had suddenly appeared out of thin air. He cast aside the spear and quickly pped his wings, summoning the sacred power within him.


    Rumble!!!


    Pitch-ck darkness burst out of him.


    "No!"


    Dozens of spears materialized from the darkness and shot out at random like cannons.


    "I did not do this, goddammit!! I swear!!"


    "¡­"


    Uriel carefully ced Kang-Woo on the floor. His short blue hair spiked all over. Any sign of hesitation was gone from his beautiful face; all that was left was a deep resentment toward demons.


    "Those tainted by darkness¡­"


    Crackle!


    An enormous amount of lightning wrapped around Uriel.


    "Receive the judgment of light."

 Chapter 283 - Those Tainted By Darkness, Receive the Judgment of Light (2)

    Chapter 283 - Those Tainted By Darkness, Receive the Judgment of Light (2)


    ''Urgh, fuuuuuck.''


    Oh Kang-Woo grimaced as he copsed.


    ''That hurt like a bitch.''


    He''d pierced himself with a demonic energy spear, so there was no way it wouldn''t hurt. On top of that, he''d used the Authority of Coloring to change the color of his blood while controlling demonic energy from a distance, so his head was also hurting.


    ''It''s harder than I thought.''


    Using demonic energy from a distance wasn''t hard to do when he''d used it on that lizardst time, but since the target was an archangel, it was really hard.


    ''I have to use more demonic energy than the sacred power he''s emitting.''


    That was the main issue.


    Kang-Woo was currently coating Raphael''s sacred power with demonic energy.


    ''It would''ve been dangerous if I hadn''t molted.''


    Kang-Woo had overwhelmingly more demonic energypared to the amount of sacred power that Raphael possessed; it was only obvious considering he possessed the Demonic Sea, an infinite pool of demonic energy. However, simply having more demonic energy wasn''t enough to pull off something like this.


    One could have a water tank as massive as the sea, but if the hose was only two centimeters wide, the water could not extinguish a huge fire. If he had not raised his demonic energy control through molting, he would not have been able to fully conceal Raphael''s sacred power.


    ''But still¡­''


    A smile crept onto Kang-Woo''s face. He slightly opened one eye and looked around; Uriel and Raphael were fighting with everything they had.


    ''I did it.''


    He could no longer see the affection for arade-in-arms in Uriel''s eyes as Uriel showered Raphael with lightning bolts.


    ''In a one-on-one¡­ Raphael is a bit stronger.''


    That was not exactly true; it was just the fundamental difference between a mage and a warrior.


    A mage could exert massive firepower under the premise that they were given enough distance and time, but they could not use their power to its full potential if the warrior closed the distance.


    Whatever type of magic it was, higher-tier magic required casting, so it was unavoidable.


    ''That''s also why Amon was undervalued despite his power.''


    ck magic was the worst in one-on-one battles.


    Of course, if at war, Amon could exercise power beyond that of an entire army. Individual power mattered the most in Hell, so mages were not rated highly.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    He knew a mage''s advantage inrge-scale battles very well because he had faced Amon back when Amon was still under Satan. He had also fought alongside Amon when they were at war with Bael''s forces.


    ''If a mage wasplemented by a wonderful vanguard who could buy them time to cast¡­''


    They could exercise firepower unfathomable for a mere warrior.


    Kang-Woo looked at his lovely little brother, who would fulfill the role of vanguard.


    Si-Hun, who had been restlessly staring at Kang-Woo, clenched his sword and stepped forward.


    "Shit! Yeon-Joo! We have to prioritize taking down the fallen angel instead of treating hyung-nim!"


    "Wh-What?! Can''t you see how serious his wound is?! We have to at least perform first aid¡ª"


    "Hyung-nim has strong regenerative abilities. Right now, our priority is to take down Raphael."


    ''Good.''


    Kang-Woo nodded while making a satisfied expression.


    ''He''s grown a lot.''


    Si-Hun hade a long way from being nothing but a kind-hearted pushover.


    "Kuh¡­!"


    ''You should kill that temper of yours a little, Yeon-Joo. A girl shouldn''t have such a bullish personality¡­''


    "¡­ The hell? I suddenly feel unpleasant."


    ''You got this, Yeon-Joo noona!''


    Tilting her head while frowning, Yeon-Joo also joined the fight. Tian Wuchen and Grace McCubbin soon joined them.


    With Si-Hun and three World Rankers joining in, the flow of the battle changed little by little. Uriel gained more and more time to cast, and he poured powerful magic at Raphael.


    "Shit! Shit!! Who is it?! Who the hell has done something like¡­!" Raphael shouted like a madman.


    No one was listening to him anymore.


    ''It''s about to end soon.''


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    "URIEEEEL!!!" Raphael screamed. He continued to say that he was innocent and was being framed, but it was pointless because he was still exuding demonic energy from all over.


    Uriel furiously poured attacks on Raphael as if he had decided not to listen to him, and¡­


    "Cough, kurgh."


    The majority of Raphael''s body had turned into ck ash as he had been struck by around three thousand bolts of lightning.


    "Uri¡­el¡­"


    He lonesomely extended his hand out and stammered as if he were trying to say something.


    Kang-Woo stared at him.


    ''This should be enough.''


    He moved the demonic energy that was surrounding Raphael and covered his body. Before Raphael could say anyst words, Kang-Woo used the Authority of Predation.


    Crunch.


    ''It''s a bit scary to use in front of Uriel, but¡­''


    Now that even his Authority of Predation could be used from a distance after his molting, he was confident that he could fool even Uriel''s eyes.


    "Raphael¡­"


    Thankfully, due to Uriel''s shock at having killed his friend with his own hands, he didn''t seem to care about Raphael''s body disappearing as darkness devoured it. It looked from the outside that he was turning into dust and scattering as if a certain bald man had snapped his finger in a certain superhero film, so there was no way Uriel would think that Raphael was being eaten by someone.


    Riiing.


    [You have eaten Archangel Raphael.]


    [Explosively raising Sacred Power.]


    [Sacred Power has risen to 112.]


    ''Dayum, that''s an archangel for you.''


    His Sacred Power stat, which had been at 73, had risen to 112 in a sh.


    Considering how difficult it was to increase one''s stat after it surpassed 100, it truly was an explosive boost.


    [You have fulfilled the primary condition of ''Chaos,'' the advanced quest of ''Road to Bing a Demon God.'']


    [However, the power of ''Chaos'' can only be used in its entirety after fulfilling every condition of ''Road to Bing a Demon God.'' A fatal penalty will be ced on the body if used before that.]


    ''Eh?''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened.


    The advanced quest ''Road to Bing a Demon God,'' which had been just question marks until now, had finally been revealed.


    ''For God''s sake, I don''t even know the third condition of the final step.''


    It was as if he had cleared Stage 4 before Stage 3. Not just that, he couldn''t enjoy the rewards given by clearing Stage 4 because he hadn''t cleared the one before that yet.


    ''Dammit, I don''t need that shit, so just give me a hint for the third condition.''


    He cursed at the system, but there was no way he could expect an answer. He didn''t even know what the system was in the first ce.


    ''It doesn''t seem to be Gaia''s power.''


    There was no way Gaia was helping him grow stronger. It was possible that it was a being above her, a being without form that existed simply as a phenomenon of nature.


    ''I can''t really picture what that could be, though.''


    Regardless, no matter how many times he hadined to the system, he had never gotten an answer. Casting aside the blue message window in front of him, he focused back on his performance.


    "Cough! Cough!"


    "Hyung-nim!!"


    Kang-Woo vomited red blood, and Si-Hun quickly embraced him.


    ''Good, good.''


    He felt like this was the perfect time for the y''s finale.


    Kang-Woo turned to look at Uriel, who was staring nkly at the empty space where Raphael had turned to dust and vanished.


    ''Mm.''


    Kang-Woo felt both guilt for making Uriel kill hisrade-in-arms as well as joy that his n had been a great sess.


    ''In any case, I managed to avoid the worst-case scenario.''


    He''d managed to clean up the mess he''d made. He couldn''t stop the corners of his mouth from rising in relief. It was only natural since he had ovee the risk of going to war with the angels after only having recently wiped out the Demon Cult.


    He would have stood up and startedughing if he could.


    ''Calm down.''


    He couldn''t ruin this perfect scenario. Kang-Woo closed his eyes and acted as pained as possible.


    "H-Healer! Are there any healers here?!"


    "¡­ There aren''t. Let''s move hyung-nim to the Hall of Protection first."


    Si-Hun picked up Kang-Woo.


    ''Oh my.''


    Kang-Woo felt like he was about to puke, but he instead coughed while desperately maintaining his act.


    ''And now, I just have to go back, get treated, and receive ten days of care from Seol-Ah.''


    Everything was perfect. Kang-Woo smiled while crying tears of happiness.


    Then¡­


    "¡­ Wait, human."


    ''Hm?''


    Uriel walked toward him, and Kang-Woo flinched.


    ''Fuck, he didn''t catch on to anything, did he?''


    "Cough! Cough!"


    Kang-Woo vomited more blood on purpose.


    "¡­ Put that human down."


    ''Fucking why? You''re not trying to stab us in the back after all that, are you?''


    "Lord Uriel¡­?"


    "Healing magic isn''t my specialty¡­ but there''s something I can use."


    ''Oh.''


    Thankfully, it seemed like his worries were unfounded.


    Si-Hun nodded and put Kang-Woo down.


    "Um ? Babra ? Ariande."


    Uriel cast a spell.


    ''Well, I was fine after receiving Seol-Ah''s healing, so I''m sure it''ll be fine.''


    Thanks to Han Seol-Ah, Kang-Woo had found out that even healing spells using sacred power were able to heal demons.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes infort.


    ''Right, let''s see how an archangel''s healing magicpares¡ª''


    Tap.


    A strange sensation touched his lips.


    "Gasp."


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened, and a confused voice came out of Yeon-Joo, "Wh-What?"


    ''The hell?''


    Kang-Woo opened his eyes just to witness that Uriel was kissing him.


    Blue hair that resembled the sky, skin as white as a pearl, and long eyshes were in view.


    ''Huh?''


    What the fuck?


    "That should be enough for first aid. Now you won''t die as long as you get some good rest."


    Uriel stood up, his face reflecting his mixed feelings.


    "Wh-What did you j-j-j-j-just do?" Kang-Woo stammered.


    "I told you, first aid. But it only activates through mouth-to-mouth contact, so it can''t be helped."


    Uriel wiped his mouth while frowning.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent and clenched his fists so hard that blood flowed down them.


    Anyone else would''ve been able to brush it off whileughing. It was just first aid, no different from CPR. So, there was no need to pay it any mind.


    ''Fuck.''


    If it weren''t for the fact that it was his first kiss with someone other than Lilith¡­


    ''Fuuuuck.''


    If only he had actually been severely hurt and was actually in real danger¡­


    ''Why¡­ fucking why?''


    He hadn''t even kissed Seol-Ah yet, since he had wanted to do it in the right mood after umting virgin power for ten whole millennia.


    "Sniff¡­ Urgh¡­ Fuck¡­ Fuck my life¡­ Shit."


    The curtains closed.


    It had truly been a tragic y for the leads, supporting roles, and spectators alike.


    * * *


    After recovering from his wounds thanks to Uriel''s help, Kang-Woo refused Si-Hun''s proposition to take him home and returned to his house at full speed.


    "Darliiiiing!!"


    m!


    He opened the front door. Seol-Ah, who had been anxiously waiting on the living room couch because she hadn''t been able to participate in his n, sprang up.


    "Wh-What''s wrong, Kang-Woo?" she asked in bewilderment, seeing that Kang-Woo''s eyes were wet.


    "Hurgh¡­ I''m¡­ sorry¡­"


    "Huh? A-About what?"


    "My first¡­"


    "¡­?"


    His shoulders were shaking as he hugged her.


    Of course, he wasn''t still sulking because Uriel had kissed him to heal his wounds. No matter how much of a numbskull he was when it came to rtionships, he wouldn''t despair over Uriel having kissed him for first-aid purposes.


    Despite that, he was acting like this for two reasons.


    First was because he was still overjoyed that the Raphael incident, which he had honestly believed had a low chance of sess, had seeded. Second was that he was hoping to use this to advance his rtionship with Seol-Ah, which had been stagnant so far.


    To put it simply, he wanted to make her jealous.


    "What do you mean by¡­ first?"


    "My first kiss was¡­" Kang-Woo said while making a sad expression mixed slightly with a yful smile.


    "¡­ What did you say?"


    ''Hm?''


    But¡­


    "Which fucking bitch¡ªAh, I''m sorry. Who¡­ did something like that to you?"


    ''Huh?''


    Kang-Woo slightly looked up to see Seol-Ah''s eyes devoid of life and shining with a dreary light.


    ''Why''s she so scary?''

 Chapter 284 - Nice Boat (1)

    Chapter 284 - Nice Boat (1)


    "Uhh¡­ Mm. Well¡­"


    Oh Kang-Woo slightly moved away from Han Seol-Ah''s arms and made a troubled expression.


    It was true that he wanted to see her be jealous, but he wanted to see her be jealous cutely, not while emitting an aura that seemed to belong to a horror film.


    ''What''s going on?''


    He tilted his head in confusion at how different Seol-Ah was from usual.


    "Who¡­ did that to you?" Seol-Ah asked again while smiling. Although she was smiling, there was still a chilling bloodlust in her eyes.


    Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly and said it was a joke.


    "What?"


    "I was just in a good mood, so I just thought of ying a prank. The n went really well, you see."


    "Aaah, I-I see."


    Seol-Ah''s eyes returned to normal. She put her hands on her red cheeks while mumbling, "Oh, my."


    Kang-Woo sighed softly when he saw she''d returned to her usual self.


    "So, uhm¡­ What about the n?"


    "Hmm? It worked. We won''t have any trouble with the angels anymore."


    "No, not that." Seol-Ah shook her head and then said, "You told me that you would tell me more about yourself, Kang-Woo. I want to hear more in detail about the n that you talked about as well."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained tight-lipped. Come to think of it, he did indeed remember telling her that after showing her his true self.


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence, and hesitation appeared in Kang-Woo''s eyes.


    Only Lilith and Balrog knew the true self hidden behind his facade. Even for Kang-Woo, no, because he was Kang-Woo, it was difficult to reveal the truth. Although not as much as Kim Si-Hun, Seol-Ah also thought of Kang-Woo as a hero who did his best for the safety of this world.


    ''And¡­''


    There were also a few things that she couldn¡¯t know, such as the fact that he had turned Si-Hun into his Familiar, that he had killed Alec Osborne and Reynald, and that he was actually the Demon of Prophecy.


    ''But then there''s nothing for me to say.''


    He grabbed his hair. After going through all that he had done aftering to Earth, they were nothing but things that he couldn''t tell Seol-Ah.


    ''Oh, fuck.''


    Regret btedly swept over him for all the atrocities that he hadmitted.


    "Uhh¡­ you see¡­"


    Kang-Woo averted Seol-Ah''s gaze.


    Her eyes narrowed, and she extended her hands and grabbed Kang-Woo''s.


    "You said¡­ you would tell me everything."


    She was emitting a weird aura that made it difficult to deny her.


    "Ngh," Kang-Woo sighed.


    "¡­"


    To be honest, he was scared about how she would react when she came face to face with the true self behind his facade.


    "I don''t expect you to tell me everything at once, Kang-Woo. Even though I would like that¡­ I can tell from your face how hard that is for you."


    Smiling bitterly, Seol-Ah pulled Kang-Woo''s hands. Kang-Woo walked to the couch as she pulled and sat down with her.


    "So, exin to me this incident, at the very least. It''s rted to me, after all."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes.


    ''But this incident is no joke either.''


    Raphael''s screams still lingered in his ears. Leaving aside his excuse that there was nothing he could''ve done about it, what he had done this time had been cruel, even by his standards.


    "Is that¡­ also too hard?"


    Seol-Ah teared up.


    Kang-Woo felt that the light was starting to disappear from her face. He grabbed his forehead.


    ''Shit.''


    There was no other choice. It was obvious that such a thing would happen from the moment he killed Shalgiel in front of her.


    "No, it''s okay. I''ll exin it to you."


    "Ah¡­!"


    Seol-Ah''s expression brightened.


    "Okay¡­ I exined to you before that Seraph''s soul lies within you, right?"


    "Yes."


    "Because of that, I had no choice but to¡­"


    Kang-Woo slowly began exining that he had to kill Raphael by any means necessary and that the only way to kill him while avoiding a war with the angels was to make it seem like Raphael had fallen from grace. He couldn''t tell her every single detail, but he told her the purpose of the n, why it had been necessary, and as much of the process as he could possibly tell her.


    "¡­"


    Seol-Ah''s mouth fell open in surprise, unable to say a word. Kang-Woo anxiously bit his lip.


    ''I''m sure it''s hard to ept.''


    To be honest, what he''d done to Raphael couldn''t be excused.


    Not only had Kang-Woo killed all of his subordinates and turned them into Chimeras, he''d also made it so that Uriel, therade-in-arms whom Raphael had spent thousands of years with, would kill him.


    It waspletely different from the case with Satan, who had tried to act like the victim to fool others. Raphael had truly done nothing wrong, and he had died an unjust death full of tears of blood.


    ''Maybe I should''ve toned it down a bit.''


    He was swept with regret as soon as he told her the full story. He sighed after putting the facts out in the open for her to see.


    Kang-Woo looked at Seol-Ah, who''d fallen into thought.


    "I''m sure it''s hard for you to take in, but¡ª"


    "So that angel did kiss you?"


    ''Hm?''


    Seol-Ah''s eyes narrowed, and he saw her clench her fists and tremble.


    She said, "How dare that bitch¡­"


    ''He''s a guy.''


    Kang-Woo feignedughter. "Uhh, are you fine with everything else besides that? It''s a bit weird for me to say, but¡­ I did a lot of scummy things."


    "Ah¡­" Seol-Ah slurred.


    What Kang-Woo had done could not be defended, no matter what she said. She honestly couldn''t believe that such things had been done by the kind and gentle Kang-Woo that she knew.


    "I''m¡­ not sure." Seol-Ah opened her mouth after a while. "I don''t intend to condone what you did. Even now, I think you went way too far, but I understand why you did it. It was¡­ all to hide my existence, wasn''t it?"


    "Well¡­ yeah."


    "In that case, I can''t speak for other people, but it''s not my ce to say anything to you," Seol-Ah said in a calm voice.


    Kang-Woo looked at her in surprise.


    ''That''s a bit¡­ unexpected.''


    He didn''t think she was the type of person who would be okay with such a thing.


    ''Maybe¡­ I don''t know Seol-Ah that well.''


    To be honest, he wasn''t expecting her to react so calmly. He thought that she would be shocked and fall into dejection.


    ''I guess¡­ she isn''t just kind.''


    Kang-Woo remained tight-lipped. He felt a sense of difference¡­ that was hard to exin with words.


    "Still¡­ I''m really d that you decided to tell me, Kang-Woo." Seol-Ah giggled. "I''ve been feeling sad because you never tell me anything."


    "¡­ I can''t really share these kinds of things easily."


    "Well¡­ I understand."


    Seol-Ah tilted her body.


    "But¡­"


    While holding Kang-Woo''s hands, she gazed at him.


    "From now on, I hope you won''t hide anything from me and show me your true self."


    She let out a hot breath and slowly reached out to grab Kang-Woo''s arm. Then she touched his cheek.


    "I''m ready to ept everything about you, Kang-Woo. Whatever you''ve done, whatever you will do in the future¡­ I will always be on your side. Yes, always. Forever¡­ Whatever happens, forever and ever."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo trembled a bit. He wasn''t sure why, but for some reason, a chill ran down his back. He looked at Seol-Ah.


    She was blushing and giving him a bit of a lustful look.


    "Seol-Ah¡­? You''re acting a bit w¡ªMmph."


    Seol-Ah took him by surprise, pulling his neck in with both arms and kissing him. She ferociously slithered her tongue into his mouth and explored it. She moved without hesitation, like a starved predator that had found its prey. Not only that, but she put her hands into his clothes and touched his chest.


    "Haaa."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked at Seol-Ah in surprise, his mouth agape.


    She smiled at him.


    "Fufu. Like I had thought¡­ It feels good," she said, sounding high. She lustfully licked her lips.


    At that moment, at least, Kang-Woo felt that Seol-Ah was sexier than Lilith, the Subus Queen.


    "Uhh¡­ Mm."


    Kang-Woo stammered as if he had been smacked in the back of the head with a hammer.


    It was true that he mentioned the kiss with Uriel because he wanted his rtionship with Seol-Ah to advance, but he had awakened something demonic in Seol-Ah instead.


    "How was that, Kang-Woo?"


    "H-Hm?"


    "It was far better than¡­ that Uriel angel, right?"


    "It''s not even worth apari¡ª"


    "It was better¡­ right?"


    "Of course."


    He nodded.


    Seol-Ah smiled in satisfaction and rested his head on her two massive peaks.


    An inexplicably soft sensation wrapped around Kang-Woo.


    "You''re tired, aren''t you?" Seol-Ah asked.


    "H-Huh?"


    "Just a minute. I''ll make you some kimchi stew."


    Seol-Ah let him go and went to the kitchen.


    Kang-Woo looked at her with a nk expression.


    ''I mean¡­ I''m d that she epted me even after hearing that, but¡­''


    Forget epting, she was about to devour him.


    Kang-Woo watched Seol-Ah with a nk expression.


    ''Lilith¡­?''


    Yes, he felt as if he were looking at Lilith.


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    ''Nah, there''s no way.''


    He knew very well how kind and delicate a woman Seol-Ah was. She was also under the influence of the Goddess of Parental Love, Seraph, so there was no way that she would, like Lilith, show an obsession close to madness.


    ''She probably became confused after hearing something so shocking.''


    Kang-Woo nodded and got up. Forgetting everything else, his priority was kimchi stew. If he ate Seol-Ah''s kimchi stew, all of his confused emotions were bound to disappear.


    Tap.


    "I made a lot."


    "Thanks."


    Kang-Woo gulped while looking at the kimchi stew in a pot asrge as a wash basin.


    Slide.


    Instead of sitting across from him, Seol-Ah sat next to him.


    "Hm?"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head.


    "I just wanted to take a closer look. Seeing you eat makes me feel happy, Kang-Woo."


    "Really?"


    Kang-Woo paid it no mind and gulped down the kimchi stew.


    It might have been because he had not taken any rest after the incident with Shalgiel, but the kimchi stew that he was having after a long time was extremely delicious.


    "Good boy."


    Seol-Ah patted Kang-Woo while he was eating the entire pot of kimchi stew and gave him a beautiful smile.


    That night, with the excuse that she was worried about his chest wound, she asked to sleep next to him. She kindly patted his hair and back while holding his head.


    Although his body didn''t need to sleep, he started to feel sleepy for some reason.


    Swoosh.


    As he closed his eyes, he saw a beautiful sunset in the sky and heard waves in the distance. He saw Seol-Ah, who was lying in a white boat, hugging his head.


    [Finally¡­ it''s just the two of us, Kang-Woo.]


    Her voice echoed throughout his mind like an illusion.


    ''What in the world?''


    Kang-Woo tilted his head.


    It was surely a beautiful dream, and he should be smiling with joy, but¡­


    For some reason¡­


    He felt chills run down his spine.

 Chapter 285 - Nice Boat (2)

    Chapter 285 - Nice Boat (2)


    "Yawn."


    Oh Kang-Woo opened his eyes from the ray of sunlight seeping in through the window.


    "What was that?"


    He thought about the previous night''s dream.


    He had dreamed about being on a boat in the ocean over the sunset, and he was being embraced by none other than Han Seol-Ah. It was a very happy dream, but his clothes were drenched in sweat as if it had been a nightmare.


    ''Was I that nervous?''


    Although he wasn''t showing it, he honestly felt very bad about what he had done this time. If their rtionship with the angels copsed, it wouldn''t just be his problem; Guardians, yers, and the entirety of humanity would be dragged into the mess he made if it escted to war.


    "Ngh."


    Kang-Woo lifted his nket.


    "¡­?"


    His clothes were in disarray. His pants were halfway down, and his shirt was unbuttoned.


    ''What''s this?''


    He touched a red mark on his chest; there were several of them. They looked simr to when the suckers of Lilith''s tentacles attached to him.


    "¡­ Had Lilith stopped by?"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head and got up. He tidied up his clothes and was about to leave the room when¡­


    "Hmm, something like that happened¡­?"


    He heard Lilith''s voice from outside.


    Kang-Woo nodded. Like he had thought, Lilith had stopped by. He was just about to open the door when he stopped to eavesdrop on the conversation.


    "Yes. I heard¡­ he kissed Kang-Woo."


    "Hah. That fucking pigeon¡­ Oh my, hoho. My apologies. I got a little worked up."


    "No, I was thinking the same thing."


    "My, my. I guess we were thinking the same thing, Seol-Ah."


    "Yes. I would like to tear the wings off that damn angel Uriel, or whatever his name is, and shove them down his thr¡ªOh, I-I''m sorry. I ended up saying something weird."


    "No need to worry~ I did the same thing."


    They were speaking very calmly to one another, but it was unsettling for some reason.


    Kang-Woo''s mouth fell open.


    ''Seol-Ah and Lilith?''


    Based on the atmosphere of their conversation as well as its content, they seemed to have be very close to each other.


    "So¡­ what will you do, Seol-Ah?"


    "Hoho. It had been for no other purpose than first aid, so I won''t be doing anything."


    "Oh, but your eyes tell me otherwise."


    "Ah."


    What was she nning on doing exactly?


    "I guess you caught me," Seol-Ah remarked.


    "Fufu. Didn''t you know that I was the chief of staff in the demon king army? I have a good eye for that kind of thing."


    "Actually, I''ve been thinking of asking for your help regarding th¡ª"


    ck!


    Kang-Woo swung open the door.


    "Top of the mornin'' to ya!"


    "Oh, good morning, Kang-Woo."


    "Hohoho. You seem to be chipper first thing in the morning, my king."


    Lilith and Seol-Ah waved to Kang-Woo. Lilith got up and bowed her head.


    "Congrattions on the n''s sess. After you left, I checked on Uriel¡­ and it seems he has beenpletely deceived."


    "Uhh, mm."


    Kang-Woo nodded in puzzlement. As he turned his head, he saw Echidna and Halcyon on the living room couch, hugging each other while trembling in fear.


    ''Why the hell¡­''


    Echidna quickly walked toward Kang-Woo.


    "Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo. Seol-Ah is acting wei¡ª"


    "My, what are you talking about?" Seol-Ah asked.


    As Echidna was desperately trying to tell Kang-Woo something, Seol-Ah grabbed her hand. She then hugged Echidna and smiled.


    "S-Seol-Ah."


    "Come with me for a second."


    Seol-Ah dragged Echidna into her room.


    Echidna sent S.O.S. signals to Kang-Woo with her teared-up eyes.


    "K-Kang-Woo¡­"


    ck.


    The door closed. Nothing could be heard inside.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent as he stood in ce. His head was in a jumble. As he staggered toward the couch and sat down, Halcyon scooted over to him.


    Lilith, in the form of Kurosaki Yurie, approached Kang-Woo with elegant steps and stood across from him.


    "I havee in hopes of hearing about how we will be settling this affair."


    "Mm."


    Kang-Woo nodded and organized his jumbled thoughts. The n itself had been very important, but settling the chaos afterward was just as important.


    ''The angels will probably be in an uproar.''


    One of the four archangels had died. Not only did the angels not know who the Demon of Prophecy was, they were also beingpletely made for fools by one of the Four Heavenly Kings following the Demon of Prophecy.


    ''I have to make good use of this situation.''


    If he took this opportunity to consolidate their rtionship with the angels, he would be able to make his moves far more easily. In the first ce, if Raphael had fully trusted Guardians, he wouldn''t have ordered Shalgiel to investigate them, and then Shalgiel wouldn''t have learned of Seol-Ah''s existence.


    "What''s Uriel doing?"


    "He is currently gathering the corpses of Shalgiel and the other angels. He is also clearing out the rest of the Undead loose within the fortress by himself."


    "I see."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He tapped on his thigh with his finger. Halcyon stared at Kang-Woo''s finger with his mouth open.


    "What do you personally think about the state Uriel is in?"


    "Mm¡­"


    Lilith fell into silence as if she were organizing her thoughts.


    "I believe he is in severely critical condition."


    "Critical?"


    "Yes, he seems to have suffered considerable psychological shock. His face was as white as a sheet. Moreover, his process of clearing out the Undead is extremely temperamental."


    "Are angels usually that emotional? Raphael and Shalgiel only looked like demon-killing machines."


    "I am not sure either, but just as demons have desires, angels may also have some constraints that allow them to sustain their eternal life."


    "Could be. They''d all be devoid of emotions if that weren''t the case."


    Kang-Woo nodded. The bodies of demons amplified desire for a reason; like all living things, they had evolved to survive. To prevent their emotions from being worn down with the passage of time, they had no choice but to ce the constraint of amplifying their desire on their bodies.


    "Well¡­ I guess it isn''t bad news."


    Kang-Woo smiled. The bigger the shock, the thinner one''s psychological defenses became. For example, he had been able to easily make Halcyon their ally because he/she possessed deep trauma.


    ''If I make good use of it¡­''


    His rtionship with Uriel would surpass members of an alliance and be allies in the truest sense.


    ''It''s more likely than with Raphael.''


    Kang-Woo had kept his distance from Raphael because of Raphael''s obsession with eradicating demons, but Kang-Woo did not see that same obsession in Uriel.


    "I should make some time to go see him."


    "What will you have us do¡­?"


    "Making fake bodies for Vaal Zahak and Balrog takes immediate priority. Their movements will be highly restricted in their demon bodies."


    "I understand."


    "Also, try to figure out if there''s a way to hide Seol-Ah''s power."


    If angels could see Seraph in Seol-Ah just by looking at her, it would be a problem to recklessly ally with the angels. A person could only be hidden for so long.


    Lilith bowed.


    "Haaa."


    Kang-Woo leaned back on the couch. With the whole ordeal involving Shalgiel done and over with, he was finally able to take a breather, and there wasn''t anything he had to do in a hurry at the moment.


    ''If I manage to drag Uriel to my side¡­''


    Life on Earth would be very peaceful.


    "Right, I should go."


    "Are you going to Uriel?" Lilith asked.


    "Yup."


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    Emotions were bound to be eroded by the flow of time. Just as one forgot painful memories over time, it was best to approach Uriel while his despair was at its peak.


    "Keep up the good work." Kang-Woo looked at Lilith apologetically.


    She was without a doubt his busiest subordinate. She was investigating how to make contact with Hell, was tasked with setting his ''stages,'' had to figure out how to hide Seol-Ah from the angels, and had many other tasks.


    Not only that, but she was also in charge of gathering and distributing various pieces of information.


    She was doing practically everything. Although she was technically not doing everything on her own since she had her puppets that she had seduced with her charms¡­


    ''I''m sure she barely has time to rest.''


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and slowly extended his hand to stroke Lilith''s hair.


    "Thanks for everything."


    "Oh my."


    Lilith blushed as Kang-Woo acted differently from usual. She asked teasingly while smiling seductively, "Are you thinking of praising me with only words?"


    "¡­"


    Lilith giggled. She took a step closer to Kang-Woo and whispered, "I heard from Seol-Ah, that¡­ an insolent angel stole your lips."


    "That was purely for healing."


    "Then may I ask for healing of my mind, exhausted from overwork?"


    "¡­"


    It waspletely devoid of logic, but he didn''t know how to refuse. Lilith had indeed been working a lot.


    "¡­"


    She wrapped her arms around Kang-Woo while looking at him gently. She got on her tiptoes and puckered her lips. Her lips, shining faintly red, stimted him.


    Kang-Woo gulped. He wasn''t dumb enough to not realize what she wanted as a reward.


    "Oh, right. I should return to my original f¡ªMmph."


    Kang-Woo pulled Lilith in without hesitation. His eyes shone in desperation.


    ''Before she goes back to normal¡­!''


    He had to calm Lilith down.


    Kang-Woo hugged Lilith like a warrior whose life depended on it. Although he felt guilty about Seol-Ah, he had no other choice if he wanted to live.


    "Haaa. Haaa."


    He panted heavily and snuck a nce at Lilith.


    "Aah¡­"


    Her mouth was wide open in surprise. It seemed she hadn''t imagined that Kang-Woo would act first.


    She trembled in excitement.


    "Fu¡­ fufufufufu."


    ''Wh-Why are youughing like that?''


    "It seems Seol-Ah has¡­ melted down your heart enough. Hohoho. Good, very good."


    Lilith''s eyes were shining with lust. Her ck hair floated up in the air and twisted around. Sticky liquid flowed out of the ends of her hair.


    Kang-Woo flinched and turned around.


    "There''s no time to waste."


    "Yes, my king."


    Lilith smiled.


    Kang-Woo opened a gate to the Hall of Protection. Before stepping into it, he turned his head.


    "Oh,e to think of it¡­" He tilted his head and asked, "Why did you take off my clothes at night?"


    He recalled the events of this morning.


    "I beg your pardon?" Lilith''s eyes widened as if she had no idea what he was talking about.


    "I¡­ only talked with Seol-Ah as soon as I arrived."


    "¡­ What?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened, and he shifted his gaze to the door of the room Seol-Ah had dragged Echidna into.


    The door was still closed.


    * * *


    "¡­ What in the world?"


    Kang-Woo walked while scratching his head. His head was in a jumble.


    ''I should ask Seol-Ahter.''


    There was no time to focus on that. He passed through the gate leading to Africa in the Hall of Protection.


    "Right, then¡­"


    He had two objectives foring to the fortress.


    First, he needed to develop a closer rtionship with Uriel.


    ''Second¡­''

 Chapter 286 - Homo Shit What the Gay Is Happening?

    Chapter 286 - Homo Shit What the Gay Is Happening?


    The fortress that used to shine with pure white light had been engulfed in unknown darkness.


    "Grrk! Grrrrk!"


    Growls could be hearding from within the darkness.


    St, st.


    Dozens of Undead were limping, leaving behind bloody footprints. Their skin was rotten, their eyes dull, their lips pale.


    "¡­"


    A boy with hair as blue as the clear sky stood in the hallway in front of the Undead, his lips pursed.


    "Grrrk!!"


    Seeing a living being, the Undead growled and bared their teeth. Saliva ran down between their yellow teeth.


    Rush!


    As if they hadn''t just been limping, the horde sprinted across the hallway at immense speed. The boy grimaced and stepped forward. Although dozens of Undead were rushing toward him, there was no fear on his face.


    "Argo ? La ? Fulmine," he cast in a low voice.


    Crackle.


    Blue lightning gathered in the palm of his hand.


    "S W E E P !" he spit out.


    Crackle!!


    Blue lightning filled the hallway like a wave, the walls of the fortress burning ck.


    "Grrrk?!"


    In the blink of an eye, the blue electricity engulfed the Undead. Thousands of lightning bolts turned the Undead into ck ash, scattering them into dust.


    "¡­"


    The young man remained tight-lipped after defeating dozens of Undead with just one attack. Despite disying power fitting for a god, he still wore an expression that couldn''t be more sorrowful.


    "Raphael¡­" Uriel, the blue-haired boy, mumbled in a sad voice. He copsed in the darkness-filled hallway and looked down at his hands.


    ''I killed myrade with my own hands.''


    A friend with whom he had gone through countless battles¡­


    "Shit, shit¡­"


    Weeping echoed through the hallway. His obsession with affection and yearning for rtionships ate away at him.


    ''¡­''


    He did not even feel danger from his obsession; he simply wanted to let his instincts and yearning take him away.


    "Kuh."


    Uriel bit his lip and lowered his head.


    Would he have still been in this state if his loyal subordinates were present?


    There was no way to know.


    "¡­ It''s a pointless thought."


    Sant''Angelo had ended up using a lot of resources because he had rushed his crossing into Earth. Hundreds of upper angels had copsed because of how much sacred power they''d used to form the Gate to send just him, so it would probably take at least a month for his entire army to arrive.


    "You must be Uriel, the one who was newly given the seat of archangel."


    "Who the hell are you?"


    "Tsk, considering your stature resembles that of a human¡­ you must have some human blood mixed within you."


    "So what? Isn''t that the same for that crazy bitch Gabriel?"


    "There is no need to be so irritated. I did not say that to discriminate against you. No, there is no need for discrimination between those who eradicate evil together."


    "¡­"


    "My name is Raphael, child."


    "You son of a bitch!"


    It was hard to say their first meeting was a good one, but¡­


    "Fuuu. I am quite tired. Are you okay, child?"


    "Shut up."


    ¡­ After they had gone through countless battles and went against the rise of the Evil God they had be like brothers.


    "¡­"


    Uriel closed his eyes. An irresistible storm of emotions raged within him. He slowly raised his trembling hands¡­ the very hands that had killed his friend¡­


    Tap.


    "What are you doing here?"


    "¡­!"


    Uriel quickly got up.


    Crackle!


    Blue lightning rose, and he turned his head toward the voice.


    "Ah¡­"


    It was the young man with sharp eyes, the one who had thrown himself in harm''s way to save him after Uriel had almost been deceived by the fallen Raphael.


    "¡­ How is your injury?"


    "It has be much better thanks to you, Lord Uriel."


    Oh Kang-Woo smiled.


    Uriel felt relieved, but that was only for a short while.


    "Why are you here? I believe I clearly said that I would be the one to purify the fortress and collect the corpses of the angels," Uriel said in a sharp voice.


    "¡­"


    "If you came here to express your sympathy, then screw off. I might look like this, but I''ve lived more than a hundred times longer than you."


    "If I may, how old are you?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "In human years, I should be around three thousand years old. I''m not exactly sure since I''ve never kept track."


    Kang-Woo shrugged and smirked. He ignored Uriel''s words and slowly walked toward him and sat next to him.


    Uriel narrowed his eyes.


    "What are you doing?"


    "Is age that important?"


    "¡­ What?"


    "Did you know that most of a human''s mental development is done during their teenage years? Basically, if you''re a moron during those years, you''ll stay one for the rest of your life."


    "¡­ What are you trying to say?"


    "I am saying that age and mental maturity are not rted."


    "Hah, big words from a human that can barely live a hundred years. I''ve lived for three thou¡ª"


    "Even if"¡ªKang-Woo interjected, causing Uriel to flinch¡ª"you''ve lived for ten millennia, things that hurt still hurt. You still have a hard time, and you suffer. Even if you can put a plug in so that the flow doesn''t leak, you cannot stop the flow itself."


    "¡­"


    "Do you think it is cool to pretend everything is ok? Do you find it amazing when one is able to suppress their emotions even when their parents or friends have died?"


    "That''s¡­"


    "It''s okay to cry when you want to."


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    There wasn''t any conversation; time just flowed.


    An hour passed, and Uriel slowly opened his mouth.


    "To be honest, we didn''t really get along that well."


    Kang-Woo listened without a word.


    Uriel said, "The body of an angel subconsciously brings about obsessions. It forcibly makes angels obsess over something so that their minds don''t break down over the passage of time."


    "¡­"


    "Raphael''s obsession was to kill all those tainted by evil."


    "Interesting. I thought all angels were like that."


    "Only Raphael''s retainers are like that. Although demons are our mortal enemies, there aren''t many angels who are that desperate to kill all demons."


    Anyway, Uriel kept talking.


    "We fought practically every single day¡­ I even had to save him a few times because he jumped straight into enemy lines, unable to control his instincts¡­ He was a real son of a bitch."


    Uriel lowered his head, transparent tears gathered around his eyes, and his shoulders trembled. He clenched his fists and spoke in a shaky voice: "But still¡­ he shouldn''t have died like that. He didn''t fight for thousands of years to suffer such a death¡­"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo didn''t say anything and just kept listening to Uriel.


    ''Fuck.''


    He didn''t outwardly show it, but his thoughts were in quite a state of disarray at that moment.


    ''Maybe I shouldn''t havee.''


    To think he was there to console someone who''d killed hisrade because of a n he''d executed. Even if he didn''t mind feeling guilty, this was a bit too big of a hurdle to jump over.


    Being unable to bear seeing Uriel cry in silence, Kang-Woo stood up. "Wait here for a moment."


    "¡­ What?"


    Without replying, Kang-Woo turned away, went back to the Hall of Protection, and then to his house. He called over Han Seol-Ah, who had been chatting with Echidna, and¡­


    "¡­ What''s this?" Uriel asked.


    "It''s a food from Earth called kimchi stew."


    Urielughed in disbelief as he looked at the steaming pot. "Sorry, but angels don''t need to eat to¡ª"


    "I know."


    Kang-Woo put down the kimchi stew in front of Uriel and then took out a bowl of rice he''d brought along with it.


    "But you can still eat, right?"


    "¡­"


    "Eating always makes you feel better when you''re depressed."


    Uriel looked at Kang-Woo in disbelief and thenughed¡ªhe couldn''t help butugh at the nonsensical situation. He poorly grabbed the chopsticks Kang-Woo gave him and tried the kimchi stew.


    "¡­"


    He couldn''t taste much vor; all he could feel was that it was hot.


    Kang-Woo, who was eating next to him, said, "I know that angels don''t have very developed taste buds."


    "Then why did you prepare this?"


    "Isn''t it at least better than curling up and crying?"


    "¡­ You said it''s okay to cry when you want to."


    "That''s different. After all, you''re not suppressing it."


    Kang-Wooughed lightly and started to eat the kimchi stew.


    Uriel looked at him and smirked.


    "Yeah¡­"


    To be honest, it wasn''t a bad feeling.


    Angels didn''t have any opportunities to gather and eat.


    ''If I focus, I can taste it.''


    Their taste buds weren''t developed because they barely used them, but it wasn''t as if theycked the sense of taste.


    As he concentrated on the food inside his mouth, he could taste its sour and savory vor.


    ''It''s¡­ good.''


    Uriel''s eyes widened at the taste he''d never experienced before.


    "It''s better than I thou¡ªHm?"


    Munch, munch.


    While he was focusing on the taste, the kimchi stew was already almost gone.


    "What the f¡­"


    "What''s the matter?"


    "Why did you eat it all?!"


    "Firste, first serve."


    "I thought you wanted to eat together to cheer me up!"


    "I mean, you can barely even taste it, so what''s the point?"


    "You son of a bitch!!"


    Uriel got angry and quickly moved his hands to put what little remained of the kimchi stew on top of the rice.


    ''¡­''


    Before he noticed, a smile had been drawn on Uriel''s face. He looked at Kang-Woo, who was voraciously eating the kimchi stew.


    Uriel ate a spoonful of rice covered with kimchi stew, and a warm sensation that he had never experienced before spread through him.


    * * *


    "So this is where you gathered the bodies."


    Kang-Woo looked at the corpses neatly ced outside the fortress.


    Shalgiel and the angels who had been turned into Chimeras by the fallen Raphael had been saved thanks to Kang-Woo and Uriel.


    Kang-Woo turned to Uriel and asked, "What are you going to do with the bodies?"


    "After the fortress is purified, I''m going to cremate them."


    "Cremate?"


    "Yeah. We cremate angels when they die so that they can return to the light."


    Kang-Woo nodded. He felt like the right time hade.


    ''Right, then¡­''


    It was time for him to fulfill his second objective.


    "How about you leave that to me?"


    "To you?"


    "I learned how to honor the death of great heroes from Lord Tirion. It''s simr to the process of cremation. We use mana to burn the bodies."


    "¡­"


    Uriel remained silent and stared at Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo was the apostle of Tirion, God of Heroes, and one of Earth''s protectors. His consideration moved Uriel.


    "R-Really? Then I''ll leave it to you."


    If he had learned it from Tirion, then it was worth trusting. Although Tyrion was a lower god, his conviction and sense of justice were worthy of praise.


    "Thank you."


    Kang-Woo smiled.


    ''Yes!!''


    Although he didn''t show it, he wanted to dance from joy. There was only one reason why he wanted to send off Shalgiel and the other angels.


    ''I cannot let their sacred power go to waste.''


    He smiled and used the Authority of Predation. Of course, he had converted the demonic energy to ''mana.''


    Crunch, crunch.


    Golden energy poured from his hand and covered the angels'' corpses.


    Riiing.


    [Sacred Power has risen to 113.]


    The body turned to dust and scattered with the joyous message chimes.


    Of course, it only looked that way, and their bodies were actually being eaten.


    ''But what does the truth matter?''


    A smile crept onto his face.


    That was right, the truth had never been important.


    ''It''s fine as long as it looks like the truth.''


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Predation on over a hundred corpses.


    [Sacred Power has risen to 118.]


    ''Like I thought, it gets harder to raise the higher it gets.''


    Either way, it did go up.


    Kang-Woo nodded while making a satisfied expression.


    ''Right, then, I should bid the kid farewell.''


    He had now fulfilled both of his objectives, so it was time to go back.


    ''Darliiiiiiing! Here Ie!''


    Since that was over with, his life would be far more rxing.


    Kang-Woo turned to Uriel, a smile on his face.


    "And that''s that."


    "Th-Thanks."


    "Not at all. Although it was only for a short time, they were also myrades."


    "Ah¡­"


    At the wordrades, Uriel''s expression brightened.


    Kang-Woo continued while smiling, "In that case, I will be excusing mys¡ª"


    "Wh-What?"


    ''Hm?''


    Uriel became extremely bewildered as soon as Kang-Woo mentioned that he would be leaving.


    "Is something wrong?" Kang-Woo asked.


    ''What''s up with this kid? What''s the matter now?''


    "N-No, well¡­"


    Uriel shifted uneasily while averting Kang-Woo''s gaze. He pouted and said in a low voice, "Y-You''re going back already¡­?"


    "¡­"


    ''Wha?''


    "S-Stay a bit longer! Ah! That''s it! Help me purify the fortress!!"


    ''You said you were gonna do that by yourself.''


    Uriel trotted to Kang-Woo and pulled his arm.


    He could feel Uriel''s will to not let him go. No, rather than will¡­ it felt more like ''obsession.''


    ''What the fuck?''


    Kang-Woo''s mouth fell open.


    ''What the hell is happening?''


    Something had gone wrong.

 Chapter 287 - Festering Wound (1)

    Chapter 287 - Festering Wound (1)


    "In that case, I will help out for an hour or two. I also have some things I have to take care of today."


    Actually, Oh Kang-Woo had absolutely nothing to do today. He just wanted to go back home as soon as possible and get all lovey-dovey with Han Seol-Ah.


    "R-Really? That''s a relief. There are too many Undead for me to wipe out on my own," said Uriel.


    ''I''ve seen you wipe out dozens of them with just a wave of your hand.''


    "Ahem. It will probably take a couple of months for my army to arrive¡­ You can help me locate Rakiel in the meantime, right?"


    ''I''m gonna y with my darling, damn pigeon.''


    Kang-Woo tried his best to suppress the words froming out of his mouth. He had been nning on having tons of dates with Seol-Ah after this was over, so this felt like a hammer to the back of the head.


    Kang-Woo anxiously bit his lip and said, "Guardians can handle the Rakiel investiga¡ª"


    "You said we''re allies. I can''t just stand around doing nothing."


    He was right. Kang-Woo couldn''t think of any way to refute him.


    "In that case, I will have Kim Si-Hun pair up with y¡ª"


    "No, I''m gonna go around with you."


    ''But fucking why though?''


    Kang-Woo looked at Uriel in frustration. Why¡­ why did it have to be him?


    ''I mean, it''s not a bad thing.''


    He would be able to gain a lot from helping Uriel purify the base and investigate Rakiel''s traces.


    First, he could make the angels indebted to him, which would obviously be quite useful for their rtionship in the future. He''d be able to make the angels move as he wished at least once. However¡­


    ''Fuuuuuck.''


    Kang-Woo clenched his hair. He knew it would be useful and that it was necessary, but¡­


    ''I wanna aaaaaaay!''


    If everyone was able to do things because it was useful and necessary, no one would ever fail in dieting. There were countless things that people didn''t want to do despite knowing that they had to.


    It would be one thing if the real Rakiel had done it, but Kang-Woo did not want to waste time tracking down a Rakiel that didn''t actually exist.


    ''But it doesn''t feel right to just reject it.''


    Kang-Woo sighed and opened his mouth.


    "I also have a lot to do, so I would only be able to help out about two to three days a week¡­ Is that alright with you?"


    "Well, if you''re busy, then I guess it can''t be helped."


    Thankfully, Uriel seemed to havemon sense.


    "In that case, let''s just have a light purification session today. I wille tomorrow or the day after to help out with investigating Rakiel''s traces."


    "Okay!" Uriel energetically nodded, a smile on his face.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo covered his eyes.


    ''Fuck¡­'' he inwardly cursed.


    * * *


    A month passed, and the days had been busy for Kang-Woo. He went on dates with Seol-Ah and also stayed at home, ying with Echidna and Halcyon.


    Not only that, but he also went on a trip with Lilith, who had been swamped with work. Lilith had screamed in joy, and Kang-Woo had screamed for other reasons.


    Of course, he didn''t just y around.


    He asionally took some time to improve his demonic energy control and chased Rakiel''s traces with Uriel.


    ''Though it''spletely pointless¡­''


    There was no Rakiel in the first ce, so chasing after his traces was pointless. He''d suggested to Uriel that they give up since they hadn''t been able to find anything, but Uriel had tly refused for some reason.


    In any case, they began cultivating a friendship from all their time together, and Kang-Woo had more or less achieved his objective.


    "Hup."


    Kang-Woo got up from bed.


    "There''s that mark again."


    For some reason, whenever he slept with Seol-Ah, he woke up with red marks all over his body. There were also some wet areas.


    He had asked a few times, but she never gave him an answer. He also became extremely sleepy whenever he was in Seol-Ah''s embrace for some reason, so he couldn''t even stay up to check what was happening.


    ''That''s that, but¡­''


    Kang-Woo circted his demonic energy through his body.


    ''I knew it.''


    When he slept with Seol-Ah, there were times when his demonic energy control improved. He didn''t know the exact reason, but when he slept with her, his demonic energy control improved far more than when he trained.


    ''Could it be Seraph''s influence?''


    He wasn''t sure yet. Whatever the reason, after he had realized it would improve his control, Kang-Woo slept with Seol-Ah more often. As if his life were a fantasy webnovel, he got stronger just by sleeping, so there was no reason for him not to.


    ''But it kinda feels like my stamina gets reduced each time.''


    It hadn''t been like that at first, but he''d recently started to feel that his body was stiff when he woke up. It was as if someone had squeezed him dry.


    ''I wonder if it has something to do with my improved demonic energy control?''


    It was a possible exnation. It was nowhere near molting, but training to improve demonic energy control consumed massive amounts of his stamina. If he subconsciously trained while sleeping, it was obvious that his stamina would decrease.


    ''I''m not sure why it only happens when I sleep with Seol-Ah, though.''


    Kang-Woo had be used to it happening, so he soon paid it no mind and turned on his smartphone.


    ''I''ll just read some news.''


    He clicked on the news tab.


    [The arrival of an era of peace. South America restorationplete.]


    [Completion of the construction of the first South American city in Venezu since the Day of Cmity. Guardians promote living in the city by promising great benefits to its residents.]


    [International organization, Guardians. Despite having achieved greatness, concerns over their excessive authority rise¡­]


    [The world enters an economic boom after the copse of the Demon Cult. Economic growth dwarfs the Industrial Revolution and¡­]


    [The danger is yet to be over. Eras of peace are when one must be most vignt.]


    After the Demon Cult copsed, the world economy started to improve at an explosive rate with Guardians and the USA at the center.


    Of course, there were still dangers like Rakiel, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the Demon of Prophecy. Guardians purposefully did not hide their existence. No, they could not hide it because too many eyewitnesses had seen the Demon of Prophecy appear in the appearance of Oh Kang-Woo.


    The entire world had been up in a buzz after the appearance of a great evil that dwarfed the Demon Cult, but as time passed and civilian casualties became nonexistent, public interest slowly faded.


    A few people had even imed that Guardians had spread fake news so they could keep taking money from countries around the world.


    ''There''s nothing that can be done about this.''


    That was just how the masses were, after all.


    Even if news of a certain country developing nuclear weapons became public, if there was no immediate danger, people''s interest in those topics faded, and this was exactly what was happening now.


    There had been much fear in the air when the Demon Cult was active since there had been many civilian and yer casualties, but there was no longer any visible threat.


    "I might as well leave it like that for the moment."


    The enormous authority that Guardians possessed was not yet at risk of being stripped away. If the public wanted to forget, letting them forget was also an option.


    ck.


    Echidna opened the door and entered the room.


    "Kang-Woo, Seol-Ah says that food is ready."


    Kang-Woo nodded and stood up.


    "Kang-Woo¡­" Echidna pulled on his clothes and looked at him in worry. "Are you okay?"


    "Hm? About what?"


    "¡­ Nothing."


    Echidna shook her head and dragged Kang-Woo by his clothes to the living room.


    "Ah, good morning, Kang-Woo," said Seol-Ah.


    "Morning. But you always wake up earlier than me, Seol-Ah. I don''t sleep for very long¡­ Are you okay?"


    Kang-Woo usually slept four hours on average. It was quite a long time considering that he did not need sleep, but that was not the case for Seol-Ah. Although Seraph''s soul was inside her, she still had a human body, so she needed more sleep.


    "Fufu. I''m okay," Seol-Ah said while smiling. Her skin and hair did not look dry at all. Rather, they were shining as if she were taking some good tonic.


    ''Well, I''m sure it''s fine.''


    At least it didn''t seem like she was lying.


    He pulled a chair back and sat down.


    The breakfast menu was obviously kimchi stew.


    "Hm?"


    However, the contents were different.


    "Eel and garlic?"


    "It''s been nothing but pork, so I thought of changing things up a little since you might get sick of it."


    "Come on, there''s no way I''d get tired of kimchi stew."


    "Still, isn''t it nice to change things up from time to time?"


    "Well, I guess everything goes well with kimchi stew."


    Kang-Woo picked up his chopsticks.


    While they were in the middle of eating, the front door opened, and Halcyon entered.


    Kang-Woo had used an Authority to hide his horn and bat wings, so he looked like a knockout female beauty.


    ''Although that is still attached.''


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    "M-Master Kang-Woo."


    "Where have you been?"


    "L-Lilith told me to c-call you. Uhmm¡­ Th-The bodies areplete."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. He recalled the order he''d given to Vaal Zahak.


    "Okay, I''ll be right there."


    Kang-Woo quickly finished his kimchi stew and got up.


    "Seol-Ah, Echidna, do you wannae too?"


    He needed the opinions of many people to see if the disguise made for Vaal Zahak and Balrog could fool others.


    "Yes, of course."


    "I wanna go too. I''m curious."


    The two of them nodded.


    Kang-Woo got up from his chair.


    * * *


    The first thing he saw when he arrived at Balrog''s house was a ck-haired young man. The young man with thick, dark circles under his eyes looked a little sickly and temperamental.


    "¡­ Who are you?"


    "Huhuhu. What do you think, Master?"


    The ck-haired young man, Vaal Zahak, bowed as if he were a waiter in a luxurious restaurant. The chain attached to his monocle shook slightly.


    "Is it not perfect?" he asked.


    "It would be, if it weren''t for that goddamn pink apron."


    "Huhu. That is not possible."


    Vaal Zahak proudly pped his pink apron.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    "I-Is that really Vaal Zahak?" Seol-Ah asked in surprise.


    "Yeah. What do you think? It''s not weird, is it?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "¡­ I would''ve never guessed it was him based on his appearance."


    "Hm! He looks like a butler from an anime!" Echidna also looked at the changed Vaal Zahak with shining eyes.


    Vaal Zahak''s slick tuxedo under the pink apron and his expensive-looking monocle made him look like a butler from Japanese anime and manga.


    ''He stands out for a different reason now.''


    Kang-Woo feignedughter but nodded in satisfaction. If he used his Ruler of Demonic Energy on top of this topletely conceal his retainers'' demonic energy, no one would be able to tell that Vaal Zahak was a demon.


    "A-Are you really Vaal Zahak?" Seol-Ah asked.


    "Of course, madam."


    Vaal Zahak touched the pendant on his neck. A ck light momentarily covered his body, and he returned to his usual skeleton self.


    "Whoa, that''s pretty convenient!" Kang-Woo said.


    "It took us quite a while to develop this magic tool."


    Vaal Zahak puffed his chest out with great pride.


    Kang-Woo looked around.


    "Where''s Balrog?"


    ck.


    Speak of the devil, a door opened. There, Kang-Woo saw a brown-haired young man walking with Lilith''s help.


    "¡­"


    "B-Balrog¡­?" Seol-Ah stuttered.


    The man was over 190 cm tall, with toned muscles and a face bursting with masculine beauty. The muscle pig Balrog had turned into arge young man as if he had gone through a metamorphosis.


    "B-Balrog?" Kang-Woo looked at him in disbelief.


    To be honest, he thought that a human Balrog would look like a professional wrestler, but he had beenpletely off the mark. Balrog looked like a supermodel who could easily take the front cover of any fashion magazine.


    "My king!"


    After seeing Kang-Woo, Balrog walked toward him with a smile, but¡­


    Tumble!


    "Urgh!"


    He tripped. Unlike Vaal Zahak, Balrog was originally five meters tall, so he had a hard time getting used to his shortened legs.


    "Are you okay?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Kuh¡­ To think I would have to show such disgrace to my king¡­"


    "I mean, your limbs are shorter now, so of course that would happen."


    Kang-Woo helped Balrog up.


    Although Balrog had be smaller, he was still quite massive due to his height and wide shoulders.


    "My king¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked up at Balrog, who was blushing from being embarrassed that he had shown such a disgraceful side.


    Due to the size difference, it looked as if Balrog were on top of him.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo suddenly felt a chill, so he threw Balrog, whom he had been supporting.


    "Kurgh!" Balrog yelped.


    ''Fuck.''


    He even thought that Balrog''s usual muscle-pig self looked better.


    Kang-Woo organized his thoughts and opened his mouth.


    "There doesn''t seem to be anything awkward about your disguises. To be honest, you''ve exceeded my expectations. Good work, Vaal Zahak."


    "You tter me," Vaal Zahak said as he cked his teeth. "I was able to make it a much better quality thanks to Lady Lilith''s help."


    "Really?"


    Kang-Woo turned his head toward Lilith.


    Lilith waved her hands and smiled. She slowly walked toward him.


    "I was not able to fulfill your other orders yet, but¡­ I have made some progress on how we can conceal Seol-Ah''s energy."


    "If you''re tired, you can take a short break. I can keep Uriel in check. Seol-Ah won''t be in danger of being found out as long as we''re careful."


    "Fufu. I will do my absolute best in anything as long as youmand me to do it."


    Lilith made a bright smile.


    For some reason, Seol-Ah nodded and even took notes for some reason. It was as if she were a student at a lecture.


    Lilith said, "Oh, right. I visited the Hall of Protection for a short moment, and I have a message for you from Gaia."


    "A message?"


    "Yes." Lilith licked her lips. "She would like you to go to Venezu with Si-Hun."

 Chapter 288 - Festering Wound (2)

    Chapter 288 - Festering Wound (2)


    "Ah, hyung-nim!!"


    As soon as Oh Kang-Woo arrived at the Hall of Protection, Kim Si-Hun, who seemed to have just finished training, waved at him.


    ''Oh dayum.''


    Kang-Woo was surprised when he saw Si-Hun''s shirtless body.


    The male body couldn''t get any more perfect than that. Kang-Woo felt more like he was looking at a work of art that an artisan crafted with their heart and soul than at a human body.


    ''Why can''t I get like that?''


    Kang-Woo''s body was also perfect without any b, but he still couldn''tpare to Si-Hun.


    ''Is it because of that Heavenly Martial Physique or whatever it is?''


    Kang-Woo felt like it was unfair for some reason.


    "¡­ Is something wrong, hyung-nim?"


    "No, I''m just kind of annoyed for some reason," Kang-Woo replied, frowning.


    Si-Hun fretted while not knowing what to do.


    Kang-Woo asked, "More importantly, are you ready?"


    "Yes. I just have to take a shower and change clothes. Please wait a moment," Si-Hun said, a smile on his face.


    Just then¡­


    "Kuh¡­ T-To think you would m-make the king wait. Y-You''ve be arrogant, human." A brown-haired giant staggered toward them.


    "¡­?"


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened.


    "Who¡­ might you be?"


    "Balrog," Kang-Woo answered.


    "Pardon? That gentleman is Balrog?"


    "Yup."


    Kang-Woo nodded and gave Si-Hun a quick exnation.


    "It''s absolutely seamless. I would''ve never guessed him to be Balrog just by looking at him," Si-Hun eximed. "I mean, the person himself seems to be struggling a lot, though."


    It wasn''t easy to get used to a significantly different stride length.


    Balrog frowned and kept walking around.


    "I-I am fine. I will limate soon enough."


    "You could''ve just stayed home. There''s no need for you toe with us."


    "I cannot do that!" Balrog shouted and gave Si-Hun a sharp look. "I do not believe that this human will aid you properly."


    "What did you say?"


    Si-Hun''s eyebrow went up. Sparks flew in the air as the two of them red at each other. A thick bloodlust lingered in the air.


    ''What''s wrong with you guys?''


    Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun and Balrog in disbelief. He couldn''t help but sigh.


    "It''s nothing but a show. It honestly doesn''t matter whether youe with us or not," Kang-Woo said while clicking his tongue.


    A show. That was the best way to describe what they had to do in Venezu.


    ''We''re apparently recruiting immigrants.''


    Most of South America had been fully restored. Leaving aside massive jungles like the Amazon, Guardians had managed to eliminate most of the monsters that had been living in the old human cities. This was all thanks to the yers'' average level having increased after the yers had battled the Demon Cult.


    ''Demons give a lot of EXP.''


    Not just that, but with World Rankers like Si-Hun, Jason, Grace McCubbin, and others taking the lead in wiping out the monsters, the yers had managed to restore most of South America.


    ''The problem is¡­''


    No one wanted to live in South America. They''d managed to rescue the natives who had been silently living all over the South American regions, but that was nowhere near enough people.


    Although they''d managed to drive the monsters back into the Gates, danger still lingered. The n erected to counter such worries was to build a city with guaranteed safety. The first city of this kind had been built in Venezu, and Si-Hun and Kang-Woo had been invited as special guests to promote and affirm the safety of the city.


    "I understand Si-Hun, but why did they invite me?"


    "Because you became famous during thest battle."


    "But still, I didn''t participate in the restoration of South America."


    "Hahaha. I praised you a bunch during the operation, and they said that they wanted to meet you¡­"


    ''So it was because of you.''


    Kang-Woo frowned in irritation but soon shrugged it off while sighing.


    "Well, it''s important," he said.


    Although it was nothing but a show¡ªno, it was important exactly because it was a show. Keeping up appearances was important for an international organization that received money from all around the world like Guardians.


    "Then let''s get going."


    Kang-Woo began walking.


    If it was something that had to be done, the best course of action was to deal with it as quickly as possible.


    * * *


    "Whoa¡­ It''s better built than I''d expected!" A short exmation came out of Kang-Woo''s mouth.


    Although the Venezun city wasn''t that big, the European-style buildings and clean roads made it very beautiful.


    ''It also has a bit of a fantasy atmosphere.''


    Although it was a modern city, it was a city that looked like it belonged to a fantasy novel.


    "This is the first step¡­ of Guardians," Si-Hun said in a proud voice.


    Guardians'' ultimate goal was to protect Earth from the otherworldly beings that threatened humanity and to create spaces where humanity would be able to live in peace as they had before the Day of Cmity.


    The city that would be the first step toward that was Valencia, built in Venezu.


    "Haha. I wanted to show this city to you at least once, hyung-nim," Si-Hun said while bursting intoughter.


    This city was the result of the South America Restoration Operation he had been involved in, so it was understandable that he''d be proud.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head while looking around Valencia. "But did Guardians have enough money to build an entire city?"


    It was true that Guardians had grown into a massive organization after receiving funding from countries all over the world, but still, building a city like this was a whole other story.


    ''Guardians is closer to a fighting group.''


    It was only obvious since their main objective had been to eradicate the Demon Cult.


    Si-Hun nodded as if he understood what Kang-Woo wanted to say.


    "The USA apparently provided the money and infrastructure necessary to build the city."


    "Ah, as expected."


    If that were the case, he could understand it.


    The USA, with its colossal Department of Defense budget, had stayed the strongest country in the world even after the Day of Cmity. If the USA had been involved in the construction, building a city of this level would have been a piece of cake.


    Kang-Woo could easily guess why they would go so far as to build an entire city.


    ''They must be trying to use this opportunity to raise their influence in South America.''


    It was a possible exnation.


    Most South American countries had been ruined, which left vast amounts ofnd that did not belong to anyone. From the USA''s perspective, there was no way they would miss the chance to expand their territory.


    ''Well, leaving their intentions aside¡­''


    It was only obvious that a country would take action for its own benefit.


    Kang-Woo looked around. "I see a lot of people wearing the Guardians uniform."


    All over the ce were yers wearing ck uniforms with white shields drawn on them.


    "Guardians maintain this city''s security. The mayor of Valencia is also from Guardians."


    "Wha¡­"


    Kang-Wooughed in disbelief.


    It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that the city was owned by Guardians.


    ''Why?''


    Kang-Woo could not think of why Guardians had practically been given ownership of the city despite the USA having funded its development.


    "Oh, could it be that¡­"


    "Yes, that''s right. This city is being managed by the American yers of Guardians."


    "As I thought." Kang-Woo nodded.


    Guardians was an organizationposed of yers from all around the world. If the American yers belonging to Guardians managed the ce, both entities could benefit.


    ''Regardless, it means that this city is owned by Guardians in name.''


    Even if the city was a gathering of American yers, since the two of them also belonged to Guardians, they had a say in what happened in the city.


    "Shiiiet."


    The secret organization that used to only have a few members had grown to be a massive international organization that even owned a city.


    Although it was Kang-Woo who had set the foundation, the ones who managed it and made it grow so big were Gaia, Grace, and Si-Hun.


    ''No wonder the news was saying that some people are worried that we''re gaining too much power.''


    It certainly wasn''t an authority that a normal organization could gain.


    ''That aside¡­''


    Kang-Woo looked at the streets of Valencia. There were people who had immigrated from all around the world. Most were American, but there were also a few Asian people.


    ''Something''s¡­''


    He felt a strange sense of uneasiness.


    Just then¡­


    "Thank you foring such a long way." A middle-aged man with a fancy mustache walked toward them. The man, wearing a slick suit, bowed toward them. "I am Samuel Hayden, mayor of Valencia."


    He extended his hand and smiled at them. His hair was slicked back with gel, and his mustache was groomed beyond perfection.


    "Nice to meet you. I am Kim Si-Hun."


    "I am Oh Kang-Woo."


    "Haha. I''ve heard a lot about both of you. Although you aren''t rted by blood, you have a deepradery that goes beyond that¡­ Even among Guardians, you''re very well known."


    "Haha, I''m ttered¡­" Si-Hunughed awkwardly while scratching his head.


    "And who is this fine gentleman next to you?" the man asked while looking at Balrog.


    "He''s my secretary," Kang-Woo answered.


    "Ah, I see." Samuel turned away as if he wasn''t interested in Balrog. "Let us go to the city hall. We have a very busy schedule ahead of us."


    He guided them to a luxurious limousine.


    As Si-Hun and Kang-Woo headed to the limousine, people eximed in surprise after recognizing them.


    "Woooow!"


    "I-It''s Sword Dragon!"


    "A-And the Golden Hero¡­!"


    Si-Hun''s poprity in particr didn''t seem to have a limit.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained quiet. Once again, he felt an uneasiness and narrowed his eyes.


    ck.


    "Please, get in."


    Samuel opened the limo''s door, and they saw the inside was adorned with luxurious curtains and decorations. It was as if they''d entered a hotel room. There were so many things decorating the interior that it was hard to see out the window.


    "¡­"


    Once again, Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    "Let us depart." At Samuel''s words, the limousine started to move.


    * * *


    That afternoon passed by chaotically.


    The word show was the best way to describe their experience. Dozens of reporters took Kang-Woo''s and Si-Hun''s photos.


    Kang-Woo and Si-Hun were shown around Valencia and were told how safe and beautiful the city was. At the same time, the pair also appeared in a talk show where they talked about Guardians'' goals and future ns.


    ''It feels as if I''m an idol in a variety show.''


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue while looking at the girls screaming around the broadcasting station. Although some were interested in Kang-Woo, their main interest was Si-Hun.


    "KYAAAAAA!!"


    "I-It''s really him! It''s Sword Dragon!"


    "Please give me an autograph!"


    Si-Hun made a troubled expression because he was surrounded by women as soon as he left the building.


    "Mm."


    Kang-Woo groaned.


    He already knew it would happen. He had been the cause of Si-Hun''s massive poprity, but being shown the massive difference between them at point nk was¡­


    "It''s kind of¡­ Yeah, this is¡­"


    It took a while for him to find the right word.


    "Yeah, that''s it."


    A lightbulb turned on in his head, and he pped his hands together.


    "Like¡­ shit."


    Although he had a beautiful darling like Han Seol-Ah, there was no way he''d feel good when he saw women from all over the world rushing to someone other than himself.


    "Hey, Si-Hun, enough of that, ande h¡ª"


    He extended his hand to Si-Hun, who was making a troubled expression. As soon as he grabbed Si-Hun''s hand¡­


    Snap, snap, snap!!!


    "KYAAAAAAAA!!"


    "Yes! This is it!! This is the perfect angle!"


    "Who''s the top, and who''s the bottom?!"


    "Sword Dragon is obviously the bottom!"


    "No, the older one being the bottom is¡­"


    "Who''s that brown-haired man over there? A rival? A love triangle?"


    The women screamed like mad after seeing Kang-Woo and Si-Hun hold hands. It was as if the temperature in the area had gone up by ten degrees.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s mouth fell open; their dense desires overwhelmed him. Their desires were so strong that they could even make Mammon, the Prince of Greed, kneel.


    ''What the fuck?''


    Were they in Hell?


    "Si-Hun, let''s go somewhere quieter."


    He couldn''t think of anything other than that they needed to get away from this ce as soon as possible.


    "Ah, h-hyung-nim!"


    Kang-Woo pulled Si-Hun along and ran in the opposite direction as if they were eloping lovers.


    The screams intensified.


    "W-Wait!"


    Samuel and his bodyguards hurriedly ran after them, but they were chasing after Si-Hun and Kang-Woo¡ªone was humanity''s strongest yer and the other was the demon king who had dominated the Nine Hells.


    The two disappeared in the blink of an eye.


    "Sh-Shit!"


    Samuel cursed aggressively and quickly grabbed hismunication crystal orb to make a call.

 Chapter 289 - Festering Wound (3)

    Chapter 289 - Festering Wound (3)


    "Phew, this should be far enough."


    Oh Kang-Woo sighed and looked back. There wasn''t anyone following them, and they couldn''t hear the crazed screams anymore.


    "H-Hyung-nim."


    Kim Si-Hun, who had been dragged along by the hand, averted his gaze while blushing.


    ''What? Why the fuck are you blushing?''


    Si-Hun gripped Kang-Woo''s hand tighter while slurring, "This is a bit too sudden¡­"


    ''Don''t grab me harder, dude.''


    Kang-Woo frowned and pulled his hand away. He could see the disappointment on Si-Hun''s face.


    "Why did you do that?" Si-Hun asked.


    "I just didn''t want to be there," Kang-Woo said in a tired voice.


    "Hahaha, so did I, but¡­ we should still go back. We still have things on our agenda."


    "The only thing left is the party at the city hall."


    All the hard stuff was done; the only thing left was the social gathering where one drank alcohol while building political connections.


    ''And once we go there¡­''


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    What would happen in a social party was clear. Influential figures from all around the world would stick to Si-Hun like flies to get whatever they could out of him, and the majority of them would be women to take advantage of the male instinct.


    ''I refuse to witness something like that.''


    Kang-Woo did not even want to imagine the sight of Si-Hun being surrounded by dozens of knockout beauties because he was far too envious.


    ''Si-Hun is mine. Back the fuck off.''


    Kang-Woo ced his hands on Si-Hun''s shoulders and said, "Aren''t you sick of meeting people, too?"


    "I-I am, but¡­"


    "Right then. Ditch the evening schedule and hang out with me instead."


    "Ah¡­"


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened, hesitation evident in his eyes. His smartphone andmunication crystal orb were being bombarded by Samuel''s calls.


    "¡­"


    The hesitation was short-lived.


    Si-Hun slowly nodded. "O-Okay!"


    His eyes were shining as if he thought that opportunities like that weren''tmon.


    Kang-Woo smiled and called Balrog, who had fallen behind because he was still getting used to his human body. "Yeah, Balrog. We''re at¡­"


    Panting heavily, Balrog soon arrived at the alley. "Haaa, haaa. So this is where you were."


    "How was it over there?"


    "There was a huge uproar. Samuel, I believe his name was? He was yelling to gather forces to find you two immediately."


    "No wonder¡­"


    Si-Hun was a VVIP from Samuel''s point of view. It would be weird if he were okay after such a person disappeared on his own.


    "Well, let''s not mind the small stuff." Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Let''s have a drink, just the three of us."


    "W-Will that really be okay, hyung-nim?"


    "Why wouldn''t it be?"


    In terms of power dynamic, they were definitely on top; Samuel could not force them to do anything.


    "Let''s go." Kang-Woo turned around and narrowed his eyes while walking through the deserted alley.


    ''And¡­''


    To be honest, he hadn''t been nning on going this far. However¡­


    ''¡­ Something''s bothering me.''


    He wanted to figure out the cause of the uneasiness he had been feeling all this time.


    The three of them went deeper and deeper into Valencia while walking down the alleyways. After twenty minutes of walking¡­


    "¡­"


    "This is¡­"


    "A slum¡­?"


    A horrible stench attacked their noses. The eyes of the people walking through the streets were lifeless. It waspletely different from the Valencia they''d firstid eyes upon.


    ''They must''ve been trying to hide this.''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. Looking at it from Samuel''s position, it was certainly not something he would like to show.


    ''I mean¡­ it''s unavoidable.''


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. There was no city without a slum. The state of the slum in Valencia was a bit severe, but considering the city had only been made recently, it could not be helped.


    "Kuh¡­"


    Si-Hun''s expression crumpled, likely because he had recalled promoting Valencia as a safe and beautiful city.


    Kang-Woo patted his shoulder.


    "You didn''t know, so it couldn''t have been helped. Also, issues regarding slums can be resolved over time."


    Kang-Woo walked along while thinking that he should bring up this matter to Gaiater.


    "¡­ Master Kang-Woo."


    At that moment, Balrog called out to him in a low voice.


    "I know."


    Kang-Woo nodded. It wasn''t hard to guess what Balrog was about to say. He slowly looked around.


    ''Hostility.''


    The eyes of the lifeless slum inhabitants wearing rags for clothes were filled with hostility.


    "¡­ Let''s go somewhere else."


    Kang-Woo moved along, feeling that nothing good woulde out of staying in the slum. As they walked out, a few bars came into view.


    "Before we go in¡­"


    Kang-Woo snapped his finger, and darkness lightly covered Si-Hun''s and Kang-Woo''s faces.


    ''Authority of Blindness.''


    He and Si-Hun had be too widely known for them to enter a bar without caution. After hiding their faces with the Authority, Kang-Woo entered a bar with a huge beer drawing on the outside of it.


    "Wahahahaha!"


    "Fuck! So you see¡­!"


    As expected from a bar, it was extremely noisy inside.


    Taking a seat in a corner, they ordered three cups of draft beer. The beers came out in just a minute, and they chugged them down.


    "Kaaah!" The carbonation of the beer made Kang-Woo tremble. "That hits the spot."


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but feel happy drinking some beer after freeing himself from that stifling and boring schedule.


    Balrog also heartily drank the beer. "Kaaah, this is nice. Maybe it''s because this is a human body, but I feel like the alcohol is having a bigger effect."


    "¡­ Don''t drink too much," Kang-Woo warned as he narrowed his eyes, recalling what happened when Balrog got drunkst time.


    They burst intoughter.


    ''Yeah, this is far better.''


    Not going to the social party that they weren''t made for had been the right decision.


    "Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I''ve drunk alcohol with you, hyung-nim."


    Si-Hun also drank, having taken a liking to the atmosphere as well. His expression changed, and it seemed he''d decided not to care about Samuel anymore.


    "Right, let''s drink to our hearts'' content!" Kang-Woo burst intoughter and raised his beer mug.


    Drinking with Han Seol-Ah was nice, but drinking with the boys had its own charm.


    ''In a sausage party¡­''


    Romance talk could not be left out.


    "So, how is it going with Gaia?" Kang-Woo asked while smiling.


    "C-Cough! Wh-What are you talking about, hyung-nim?"


    Coughing, Si-Hun averted Kang-Woo''s gaze.


    "Come on. You''re the one who proudly said that it was love at first sight. So, how is it going?"


    "Ahem¡­"


    "Tsk, you''re devoid of guts. How will you ever win a woman''s heart like that?" Balrog added.


    "What? You son of a¡­"


    They chit-chatted loudly. Kang-Woo smiled faintly as he watched Balrog and Si-Hun argue with each other.


    ''Nice.''


    The atmosphere was so good that the uneasiness he had felt here in Valencia was fading. Kang-Woo raised the new beer mug that they had ordered.


    Just then¡­


    "Kyaaaaaa!"


    "Hahaha! Why are you ying so hard to get?"


    Shatter.


    A woman''s scream echoed throughout the bar as a beer mug shattered.


    Kang-Woo shifted his eyes to the source of the sound.


    A group of men sitting at a table were grabbing a female employee. She was a very beautiful Hispanic woman with bronze skin.


    "Hm? Stop ying hard to get with me and just sit the hell down!"


    "I-I don''t want t¡ª"


    "Fucking bitch!"


    p!


    The woman''s head turned violently along with the loud sound.


    A scream rang through the bar.


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened as Kang-Woo''s narrowed.


    "What the¡­"


    "¡­"


    The first thing Kang-Woo noticed wasn''t the man''s giant stature or the woman who had just been pped. It was the uniform the man was wearing. Kang-Woo could clearly see the ck uniform with the pure-white shield drawn on it.


    "If it weren''t for us, you''d still be running from the monsters, bitch. How dare you y games with me?"


    "Sniff, sniff¡­"


    "Am I right or wrong? Huh? We saved you, did we not?"


    "Y-You did¡­"


    "You''re goddamn right! So you''d better fucking do what we say!"


    p!


    The loud sound echoed once again.


    The sounds of weeping andughing were heard at once.


    Rattle.


    Si-Hun stood up from his chair. He muttered, "Those bastards¡­"


    "Sit down."


    "¡­ Pardon?"


    "I said, sit down," Kang-Woo said calmly.


    "Wh-What do you mean, hyung-nim?! Can''t you see that¡ª"


    "Balrog."


    "Yes, Master Kang-Woo."


    Balrog stood up and grabbed Si-Hun''s shoulders.


    Kang-Woo put one leg over the other and looked around.


    ''Ohhh.''


    After he took a look around, he understood everything.


    ''I see how it is.''


    He finally understood the source of his uneasiness after arriving in Valencia.


    Whistle~!


    "Hey! Baon! I fucking called dibs on that bitch!"


    "Today''s my turn, so fucking back off!"


    "Fuck! Why is that bitch the only decent one in this damn bar?!"


    "What about the men? There''s not a single hot one!"


    "Owner! Get out here! Why don''t you do a better job at hiring people?!"


    "Kahahaha!"


    The men let out crazedughter.


    Not only did it seem as if they were used to doing such a thing, but it seemed they were enjoying it. The bar was full of women, and the male yers were pping and talking dirty to them without any filter.


    "Hello?" Kang-Woo took out his smartphone and called someone while staring at the Guardians uniforms that the male yers were wearing. He waited for a reply.


    "Hey! Baon! My eyes are getting bored, so rip her clothes off or something!"


    "Kekeke. Just a second, dammit."


    Therge man known as Baon tore off the Hispanic woman''s clothes.


    Rip.


    The woman screamed as her bronze skin wasid bare. The men were leering at her bare cleavage.


    "Those bastards!" Si-Hun stood up, unable to suppress his rage any longer, but Balrog pressed down on his shoulders.


    "I told you to stay still, human."


    "How can you still say that when¡ª"


    "It is the king''s order," Balrog said in a calm voice.


    Si-Hun flinched. He anxiously bit his lip, looked at Kang-Woo, and opened his mouth.


    "Hyung-nim, what are you¡ª"


    "Stay still," Kang-Woo said as he continued to hold his smartphone.


    Si-Hun''s expression crumpled. "Hyung-nim!"


    "Kim Si-Hun." Kang-Woo red at Si-Hun with deep, sunken eyes. In a chillingly cold voice, he said, "I told you to stay still."


    Si-Hun flinched.


    "S-stop!"


    "What are you crying so goddamn much for, bitch?! Don''t you already know what you were in for the moment you decided to work here?"


    The men snickered. Their filthy desires and madness filled the bar.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo waited with his mouth shut and his smartphone in his hand.


    Time passed¡­ Five minutes¡­ Ten minutes¡­


    The woman stopped resisting and poured alcohol for the men with her clothes half-torn. Her face was bruised from being struck by the man known as Baon.


    "¡­ Haaa," Kang-Woo sighed.


    He put his smartphone back in his pocket.


    ''I had my doubts, but¡­''


    It had ended up being the worst-case scenario that he had imagined.


    Kang-Woo slowly stood up.


    "Kahaha! So I¡­!"


    He walked toward Baon, who had the woman in one arm and was roughly fondling her breasts.


    "Excuse me," Kang-Woo said in a careful voice, "I would like to ask you something."


    "And who are you?" Baon red at Kang-Woo while frowning.


    "What? You wanna join? She''s mine for the night, so go somewhere else. If you''re really desperate, go find a girl in the slum."


    He shooed Kang-Woo away as if he didn''t want to be bothered anymore.


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    "No, not about that¡­"


    Baon red at him in irritation.


    "Fucking hell, this city is busting with native women, so what''s your fucking deal? Oh¡­ Could it be¡­?"


    His lips curled upward.


    "Are you trying to y hero or something?"


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    "Pfft! Hey, this fucker is for real!"


    "Bwahahaha! Man, how long has it been?"


    "Hohoho! Wow, there are still people like this left in Valencia? Looking at you now, you''re quite a cutie. Why don''t you go for a round with this older sister here?"


    The men and women looking over in excitement burst intoughter.


    "Hey, mister."


    Rattle.


    Baon stood up from his chair.


    "You seem to be here as a tourist¡­ If you have no idea what''s going on here, then just kindly fuck off, why don''t you?"


    "What''s wrong with it here? Didn''t you see Sword Dragon taking that fuckingmercial today?"


    "Bwahahaha! That bullshit about this being a safe and beautiful city? I mean, I guess this ce is paradise for people in Guardians!"


    Crazedughter filled the bar.


    Kang-Woo looked around in silence.


    "Right, do you get what sort of ce this is now, Mr. Hero?" Baon raised his hand and lightly pped Kang-Woo''s cheek. "I don''t know where an otaku like you came from, but at least choose your battles wisely, okay?"


    "Haaa¡­" Kang-Woo sighed.


    It was just like the man said.


    ''I get what kind of ce this is now.''


    He also got that people like these could not be reasoned with.


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    Baon smiled wickedly. "What? Are you mad? This is the problem with fucking otak¡ª"


    Kang-Woo extended his hand, grabbed Baon by the head, and¡­


    m!!!


    He smashed Baon''s face into the table.


    "Kyaaaaaa!"


    "Wh-What the fuck?!"


    Baon''s nose was crushed, and his front teeth were ripped out.


    Once again, Kang-Woo asked carefully, "Excuse me."


    Boom.


    He smashed Baon''s face onto the table again.


    "I would like¡­"


    Boom.


    He then smashed Baon''s face into a beer mug. It shattered, the sharp fragments piercing Baon''s cheeks.


    "To ask you¡­"


    Boom.


    Blood spattered in all directions; Baon was not screaming anymore.


    "¡­ Something."


    Crack!


    The thick table made of hardwood split in half, and Kang-Woo threw Baon aside as if he were trash. He then took a seat in his ce.


    "Would you care to answer, motherfuckers?"

 Chapter 290 - Festering Wound (4)

    Chapter 290 - Festering Wound (4)


    "Wh-What?"


    The man who had been drinking with Baon stared at Oh Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly.


    "Crazy son of a bitch!"


    He grabbed a bottle of alcohol off the floor and raised his arm high. The bottle shone with faint blue light after being infused with mana. The man swung it down at Kang-Woo''s head.


    Tap.


    "Huh?"


    Kang-Woo easily caught the man''s hand and twisted his arm. The bottle fell to the ground. Then he pulled his arm back and threw the man across the bar.


    "Kurgh!!"


    Thud!


    The man was bashed into a wall.


    "Fuck!"


    "Who the fuck is this guy?!"


    Two men sitting at the adjacent table raised their weapons: a mace with sharp spikes and a metal ball linked with a chain. Before they could even swing their weapons in rage, Kang-Woo grabbed the bottles of alcohol rolling on the floor and threw one at each of them.


    Crack!


    "Arrgghh!!"


    The knee of the man wielding the mace was destroyed.


    "You son of a bitch!"


    A metal ball the size of a human head flew toward Kang-Woo''s head. Kang-Woo caught the chain and pulled.


    "Huh? Huuuh?"


    The extremely muscr giant of a man was pulled toward Kang-Woo with extreme force. Kang-Woo grabbed the back of the man''s head and smashed it into the ss shards strewn all over the floor.


    "Wh-What the fuck? H-Hey, th-that crazy fucker isn''t going to¡­!"


    Screams echoed out, ringing Kang-Woo''s ears.


    "¡­"


    A smile crept onto Kang-Woo''s face. It was a familiar sensation; it was weing. He hadn''t felt this much delight ever since he had left Hell. His heart was beating faster, and his blood was boiling.


    "A-Aaaaaaahh!" the man whose head had been smashed into the floor cried out in pain. He trembled in fear as he stared at the ss shards right in front of him.


    "I-I''ll talk!! I''ll tell you anything!!" he desperately screamed.


    "It''s okay." Kang-Woo snickered. "There are a bunch of others I can ask."


    "Ah¡­"


    Crush¡ª!


    "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!"


    He dragged the man''s head across the ss shards all over the floor. The shards pierced his cheeks, eyes, nose, and mouth.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Kang-Woo approached thest man who had been drinking alcohol with Baon. He was the one who, while snickering, had called this ce a paradise for people in Guardians.


    A strange stench tickled Kang-Woo''s nose. He looked down and noticed the man had wet himself.


    "K-Kyaaaa!"


    "Wh-What the fuck?!"


    The Guardians yers who had been ridiculing and jeering at Kang-Woo quickly shot up from their seats and tried to run out of the bar.


    "Balrog, Kim Si-Hun." Kang-Woo called out.


    Bam!


    Balrog aggressively shut the door to the bar and looked at the yers with apathetic eyes.


    "You cannot leave without the king''s permission."


    "What? Who the fuck do you think you¡ª"


    The woman who had ogled Kang-Woo earlier grimaced. She took a small knife from her belt and swung it, but before the knife could even reach Balrog¡­


    tter!


    "Kyaa!"


    A pained scream left the woman''s mouth. A hand had suddenly appeared from the side and twisted the arm she had been holding the knife with.


    "Who the fuck¡ª"


    She was cursing when her face suddenly stiffened, and it wasn''t because of how good-looking the young man twisting her arm was.


    "H-Huh?" A fearful exmation left her mouth. "S-Sword Dragon?"


    Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun.


    He was the second-inmand after Grace McCubbin, but he was by far the most famous yer in the world. He was ring at her while frowning aggressively.


    "Th-There seems to have been a misundersta¡ª"


    Bash.


    As the woman was talking with an awkward smile, Si-Hun punched her in the stomach hard. She blew back and vomited in midair.


    "Take a seat, please," Si-Hun coldly addressed everyone in the bar.


    The yers who had been trying to escape flinched.


    Every yer who had been present in the war against the Demon Cult, or had participated in the South America restoration operation, knew of Si-Hun''s immense power.


    The bar, which had been as chaotic as a warzone, had frozen in an instant due to Sword Dragon''s appearance.


    "Now, then."


    Kang-Woo walked toward the trembling man who had pissed himself. He had more or less understood the situation, and it was time to hear why it had happened in the first ce.


    ''I have more or less of an idea.''


    Regardless, it would be better to hear it directly from them.


    "I''d like to ask you a few questions¡­"


    "A-Anything!"


    The man who had been snickering and ridiculing Kang-Woo had made aplete 180.


    Kang-Woo shrugged and asked, "Are you all really part of Guardians?"


    "¡­"


    "If you don''t want to talk, I''m fine with¡ª"


    "Y-Yes! We''re all part of Guardians!" the man quickly replied.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    "How long have you been doing this?"


    "¡­ Pardon?"


    "How long have you been doing this kind of shit to the natives?"


    "W-Well¡­"


    The man averted his gaze. Seeing that he couldn''t even make an excuse, the answer was obvious.


    ''From the very beginning.''


    It had likely been like this ever since Valencia had been built during the operation to restore South America.


    ''So this is what happens when there isn''t an enemy like the Demon Cult to fear.''


    It had been many months since the war against the Demon Cult''s main force had ended.


    Humanity was enjoying a time of peace it hadn''t been able to experience since the Day of Cmity. There were no strong opponents, and the average level had explosively increased.


    Guardians had gained too much power.


    ''And¡­''


    Stagnant water is bound to go bad.[1] The people in this bar were not especially evil or atrocious. Great power usually led to a liberation of desires; it gave them the chance to do things that they thought about or had dreamed of.


    It was also the reason why politicians became corrupt so easily. iming that they had been scumbags from birth was ame excuse. They were neither evil nor had they been corrupted. They had simply be able to do what they had not been able to.


    "Tsk." Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    ''I should''ve expected it.''


    He had not believed for even a moment that every single member of Guardians had joined the organization purely for the sake of world peace and the safety of humanity. Human desires were not driven that way. Altruistic people were praised because most people were not like that.


    Hence, all yers in Guardians were given a hefty sry, authority, and various types of hazard pay for risking their lives.


    ''I should''ve done something about this earlier.''


    It was his mistake. He should''ve made stricter rules to stop them from abusing their authority, but he hadn''t. Not having the time was just an excuse. He had just been putting it off forter because it had been such a hassle.


    "I-I''m sorry!" The trembling man lowered his head. "Baon was my superior, so despite knowing it was wrong, I wasn''t able to do anyth¡ª"


    "No, I honestly don''t really care about what you guys did."


    "¡­ Pardon?"


    The man looked up at him in confusion.


    Kang-Woo kept talking, his eyes calm.


    "I said, I don''t really care about what you did."


    Kang-Woo wasn''t a hero or an apostle of justice. He had absolutely no desire to go around saying bullshit about saving all the weak.


    "Whether you harass, beat, or knock down a powerless woman¡­"


    He couldn''t care less. No matter how much someone whom he had no rtion to suffered, it was none of his business. He was not the least bit interested.


    "The problem is"¡ªKang-Woo''s eyes sank, and he slowly extended his hand and grabbed the man by the neck¡ª"that you''re all part of Guardians."


    Guardians was an organization Kang-Woo had cultivated in preparation for the imminent invasion of outer worlds. If he were to make aparison, they were like hounds that bit the legs of enemies, buying him enough time to shoot his bow.


    However, the hound had gotten sick. The festering wound was slowly eating away at the hound from the inside.


    Although it was his mistake for not holding the leash tighter¡­


    "I can''t just let it slide."


    He had to cut out the rotten pus before it was toote.


    The man stuttered, "Wh-What do you¡­"


    "Balrog."


    Kang-Woo stood up.


    Balrog, who was guarding the door, bowed.


    "I await yourmand."


    "Kill them all."


    "Yes, my king," Balrog answered without hesitation. He reached for his pendant, and ck light flickered. And then¡­


    "Wh-What the hell is that?!"


    "A d-demon?!"


    ¡­ A huge demon appeared.


    "Fuuu."


    The Lord of Destruction took a deep breath, and armor appeared on both of his arms.


    Kang-Woo snapped his finger and activated the Authority of Silence to ensure that no sound leaked from the bar.


    "Graaaaaaaaaahh!!!"


    Demon Roar. The savage bellow ruptured the yers'' eardrums.


    Balrog moved, and soon after¡­


    "Arrgghh!"


    "H-Help!"


    Hell descended onto Earth.


    Every time Balrog swung his fist, the head of a yer wearing a Guardians uniform exploded.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    The Hispanic woman trembled while holding up her torn clothes and watched with wide eyes.


    Kang-Woo approached her and put his jacket around her.


    "You''ll forget all of this when you wake up."


    He ced his hands on the woman''s forehead. Her eyes went blurry, and she fell into a deep slumber.


    "H-Hyung-nim."


    Si-Hun walked toward him, trembling as if he had never expected Kang-Woo to order their deaths.


    "I think this is a bit too¡ª"


    "Si-Hun," Kang-Woo calmly said. "A festering wound will only grow bigger if it isn''tpletely cut out."


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun remained silent and bit his lip as if there were many things that he wanted to say.


    Kang-Woo sighed softly. "You know, when we first arrived in Valencia¡­"


    "¡­ What about it?"


    "I felt something was off."


    "¡­ You did?"


    Kang-Woo nodded. "There were tons of people on the streets."


    There were many ck, white, and even Asian people.


    "But I couldn''t see a single South American native that you guys rescued."


    "¡­"


    "That''s not all." Kang-Woo took out his smartphone. "I called the branch of Guardians in charge of the security here to tell them there''s been a disturbance in this bar, and I asked them to mobilize the troops."


    "Then you stayed absolutely still back then because¡­"


    "No one called me back for ten whole minutes."


    "¡­"


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened.


    The Guardians members who should''ve been in charge of this region''s security hadn''t taken any action. Meaning¡­


    "Could every single Guardians member in Valencia be¡­"


    "Maybe it isn''t just Valencia."


    Kang-Woo slowly began walking.


    "W-Wait! Then does that mean Samuel, even despite knowing this, he¡­" Si-Hun''s expression paled, and the worst possible scenario passed through his mind.


    "I told you"¡ªKang-Woo made a bitter smile¡ª"a festering wound only gets bigger."


    "¡­"


    It hadn''t only gotten bigger; the rotten pus had spread all across Valencia.


    "Let''s go."


    Kang-Woo opened the door and walked out of the bar. The scent of blood mixed with the chilly night air and stimted his nose. He saw a soaring building across the shining red-light district.


    It was Valencia''s city hall, as well as where they would find Samuel Hayden.


    1. This is amon Korean proverb, stating figuratively that people and organizations will be stagnant or degraded if there is no stimtion or change. ?

 Chapter 291 - Press It

    Chapter 291 - Press It


    "Shit, shit¡­!" The man with hair slicked back with gel and a well-groomed mustache cursed in a way that didn''t match his appearance.


    Samuel Hayden disheveled his slicked-back hair and clenched hismunication crystal orb.


    "Why did this¡­"


    As soon as he had heard that Kim Si-Hun would being, he had dispatched his forces and kept away all the native people from the routes that Si-Hun would be traveling. He had decorated the limousine windows so that they wouldn''t be able to see outside and had nned routes as far away from the slum and entertainment district.


    The broadcasting station''s employees and the bodyguards had all been bought off by him, and everything seemed to be going ording to his n.


    However¡­


    "Those crazy bitches!"


    He''d never expected so many women to crowd together at the broadcasting station.


    He had permitted their entry because he had simply thought they were just fans who hade to see a celebrity, but they had knocked down the bodyguards like some crazy group of cultists and had caused Si-Hun to run away.


    It was still fine up until that point; he could brush it off as an unexpected variable. The problem began after Si-Hun and Oh Kang-Woo ran away.


    "Why, just why¡­?"


    Communication with them had been cut.


    Normal people would have contacted him first to find a ce to regroup. He''d already exined that the party would be held in the city hall, so they should''vee to the city hall, even if they couldn''t contact him.


    ¡­ But they hadn''t appeared at all, no matter how long Samuel waited for them around the city hall. It had been apletely unexpected variable.


    One could ask him why he prepared for a situation like this in advance, but if one thought about it logically¡­


    Who would imagine a VIP they''d invited to suddenly break from their schedule to run off somewhere else? It would be equivalent to a famous celebrity being invited to a foreign country, but they cancel all the ns scheduled andpletely ghost the team. This wasn''t some B-list romance film. Samuel had never expected Si-Hun, who was rumored to be kind and upright, to act this way.


    ''That crazy son of a bitch.''


    The unexpected variable had not been Si-Hun but the actions of Kang-Woo, the man who was apparently the apostle of Tirion, or Tyrande, or whoever the hell he was.


    Although Kang-Woo was apparently a god''s apostle, his achievements in the battlefield couldn''t bepared to Si-Hun''s.


    The man, whom Samuel had also invited because Si-Hun apparently treated him like his biological older brother, hadpletely ruined the n.


    ''Don''t tell me they went to the slum¡­''


    He anxiously twisted his mustache.


    Their going to the slum was the worst possible scenario. Not even he could control that ce¡ªno, he had given up on controlling it. If Si-Hun reached the ce that exposed the true face of Valencia¡­


    ''It''d be over.''


    Considering Si-Hun''s personality, he would not stand for such injustice. He would sh apart the ''paradise'' Samuel was trying to build in Valencia.


    "Kuh¡­"


    Samuel clenched his eyes shut. Just then, hismunication crystal orb rang. He quickly opened his eyes and clenched the orb with two hands to the point that the orb could break.


    [Yo~ What''s the status?] A rxed voice came from the crystal.


    "I-It is terrible. Kim Si-Hun is not picking up, and we have no idea where he even is. Worst-case scenario, he might have seen the slum¡­"


    [Hahaha. I guess it really did turn out like that.]


    "¡­ Pardon?"


    Samuel''s eyes widened as he heard theughter from the crystal. The person was talking as if he had expected this to happen.


    Boom.


    "Wh-What do you mean?!" Samuel shouted while mming his hands against the table.


    [Don''t get so angry. I just thought something like this might happen in the worst-case scenario~]


    The voice from the crystal had a humorous tone.


    [Yeah¡­ Now that it''se to this¡­ that should be good,] the person mumbled as if they had thought of something.


    Samuel bit his lip in anxiety.


    "Wh-What should we do now? At this rate, our n will¡ª"


    [Aah, don''t worry.]


    The voiceing out of the crystal was still calm, which made Samuel feel more at ease. If they were so calm, then they most definitely had a n in mind.


    [There''s a way to turn this around.]


    ''I knew it.''


    Samuel''s eyes shone.


    [So¡­]


    The person kept talking, and as they talked, Samuel''s expression became more and more distorted. He clenched his fists from how ridiculous it was.


    "Do you¡­ really think that will work?"


    [Heroes are simple people.]


    "No, but still, this is¡­!"


    [Isn''t it good?]


    The personughed.


    "Even if that works, the n will¡ª"


    [The n isn''t important right now. Would you scramble to grab your wallet when your house is burning down?]


    "¡­"


    [Be honest with yourself. It''s not the n you''re worried about, is it?]


    The person snickered. Samuel remained tight-lipped. It was just as they had said. It would be a shame for his paradise n to fail, but he would be able to try again anytime if they managed to get through this hurdle.


    The problem was¡­


    [It''s okay. Haven''t you heard of Korea''s stic surgery skills? Get through this mess, and you''ll be able to change your face and start anew.]


    "That''s¡­"


    [Hahaha. Trust me. I''ll make sure not even your parents will be able to recognize you.]


    "¡­"


    Samuel remained silent and grabbed a small remote control with a red button on it from a safe.


    "¡­ I will trust you."


    [Don''t worry. You know what Kim Si-Hun is like. This n is foolproof.]


    Samuel nodded at that calm voice. Putting his uneasiness aside, he gripped the remote control tighter.


    * * *


    "Where in the world have you been?!" Samuel shouted.


    The three young men who hadpletely ghosted him after running away from the broadcasting station were sitting in his office.


    "Haa, leaving the party aside, please think about my position when you suddenly disappear like that. You could have at least contacted me."


    "¡­"


    Samuel scolded Si-Hun while sighing.


    Si-Hun red at Samuel in silence and then let out what was on his mind while clenching his fists.


    "Samuel."


    "Ah¡­ yes? What is it?" Samuel asked while tilting his head.


    "I saw the slum of Valencia tonight."


    "¡­"


    Samuel flinched, and he cursed unconsciously. He fretted while not knowing what to do.


    He gulped and said, "Fuuu. I-I guess you ended up seeing it. I actually nned to discuss it with you."


    "You were?"


    "Yes, about the problem regarding the yers currently residing in Valencia. They have been causing many problems while lording over the natives because they had saved them through the South America restoration operation."


    "¡­"


    "I have been trying my best to control them, but¡­ it hasn''t been enough."


    Samuel lowered his head.


    "It had not been like this from the beginning. We are still not sure who has been inciting the yers to do such things, but¡­ things have been like this ever since a radical racist discrimination group had been stirring up the yerstely."


    "So what you''re saying is¡­ it was not like this in the beginning?"


    Si-Hun''s clenched fists were trembling. Not noticing that, Samuel nodded with his eyes shining.


    "Yes, of course."


    "And what have you done to deal with this situation, Samuel?" Si-Hun asked.


    "I have set up a force of Guardians yers that can maintain security. But¡­ there are not many instances of reports. They hide like rats whenever we go on patrol, so it is difficult to deal with them."


    "¡­"


    Filled with chilling bloodlust, Si-Hun shut his eyes tight before slowly opening them again. He bared his teeth like a ferocious beast.


    "That''s odd."


    "¡­ I beg your pardon?"


    "We didn''t get a single call from the security forces that you mentioned when we made the report."


    "¡­!"


    Samuel''s eyes widened.


    ''H-He made a report?''


    Samuel knew how strong Si-Hun was. He would be able to wipe out hundreds of yers from that area even if they attacked him all at once, so why would he bother making a report to the security forces?


    ''Sh-Shit.''


    Samuel felt cold sweat dripping down his back.


    "We even heard directly from them about when the atrocities against the natives had begun. Recently? Are you saying that what has been happening from the very beginning has only happened recently?"


    "¡­"


    Samuel shut his eyes tight. The worst-case scenario was happening right in front of his eyes.


    ''I have no other choice.''


    Samuel gripped the remote control in his pocket.


    "If you don''t have any more excuses¡­"


    White light gathered in the air.


    Si-Hun stood up and extended his hand, summoning Holy Sword Ludwig, the pure-white sword exuding brilliant light.


    "W-Wait!!" Samuel quickly held up his hand. "D-Don''t move!"


    "Hah. You finally show your true c¡ª"


    "I-I''ll press this if you take another step!!"


    "¡­?"


    Si-Hun looked at Samuel as if he were asking what nonsense he was talking about.


    Breathing heavily, Samuel shook the remote control in his hand.


    "You see this, don''t you? It''s the detonator for every control apparatus installed in all the Gates across South America."


    "Wh-What?"


    Si-Hun''s eyes widened.


    A Gate control apparatus, simply put, was a device that ced a magical barrier on the entrance of the Gate so that monsters would be unable toe out. Although blocking them entirely was impossible, it was enough to buy enough time to prepare countermeasures before monsters came out of the Gate.


    If such devices exploded simultaneously, all of the monsters they''d managed to push back into the Gates would juste back out.


    "Crazy son of a bitch!" Si-Hun shouted. "Don''t you know what will happen if you press that?!"


    It hadn''t been long since they had fully restored South America. Not only would their efforts to reim South America go down the drain, but the natives who had yet to fully move in would be ughtered by the massive wave of monsters. Thousands would be sacrificed at most, and hundreds at the very least. The billions of dors that had gone into the operation would go up in smoke.


    Considering how much effort it would take to reim South America after that, it would be like severely regressing the progress that Guardians had allowed humanity to take.


    "Hah."


    A smile crept onto Samuel''s face.


    Although Si-Hun was shouting at him, he wasn''t taking a single step.


    ''It worked!''


    He hadn''t been sure if a threat like this would work, but he had be sure of it when he saw Si-Hun''s reaction.


    "Ha¡­ Hahaha." Samuel unconsciouslyughed and bared his teeth as his eyes filled with madness.


    "Heroes are simple people."


    He remembered the voice he''d heard before. Just like they had said, Si-Hun had been a simple person.


    ''Despite the ones that would die only being worthless natives!''


    He was ovee with delight. He was filled with hope that he would be able to turn this worst-case scenario around.


    ''I''ll be an international criminal after this, but¡­''


    He would just need to get stic surgery like he had been promised and start anew.


    "Now, what''s your y, Mr. Sword Dragon? Hm? Will you cut me down and sacrifice the lives of those poor natives?"


    "Kuh!"


    Si-Hun bit his lip. The sword in his hands felt far heavier than usual. The moment he swung it, thousands of innocent people would die. His hands trembled from the lives of so many innocents weighing down on him.


    "Pfft, bwahahahaha! I can''t believe that fucking worked!! What an exhausting life you all live!!" Samuel''sughter spread through the room. "Huh? Why don''t you do something instead of just standing there?"


    Samuel slowly increased the distance between them to avoid identally dropping the remote control due to a surprise attack.


    "I''m going to list my demands now. First, lower your weapon. And then, get me a helicopter. Oh, plus thirty million dors in cash."


    Samuel was so sure of his victory that he even demanded money that had not been in his n.


    ''You''ll have to pay for having dared to meddle in my n.''


    He could live without doing anything for the rest of his life with thirty million dors.


    "Y-You scumbag¡­!"


    Si-Hun red at Samuel while trembling. He was overflowing with rage, but¡­


    "What are you doing? Huh? Drop your fucking weapon!!" Samuel said.


    "¡­ Shit."


    tter.


    Si-Hun closed his eyes and dropped Holy Sword Ludwig. Since thousands of lives were at stake, he had no other choice.


    "¡­ Hah." Kang-Woo feignedughter as he was sitting down, watching the exchange between Si-Hun and Samuel.


    ''That''s fun.''


    Kang-Woo smirked as if he found them cute, and he looked at Samuel. No, to be more precise, he looked at Samuel''s table.


    ''I knew it.''


    He found the item he had been thinking of andughed in disbelief.


    ''What a fucking shitshow.''


    He clicked his tongue and turned his head.


    - Balrog.


    - Yes, my king.


    He used an Authority to send a sound transmission directly into Balrog''s mind. It had not been possible in the past because of Balrog''s special characteristic, Demonic Armor, but his demonic energy control had gotten so much better than even his past self in Hell that he was able to get through Balrog''s Demonic Armor with ease.


    - Send a message to Lilith.


    - I am listening.


    - Tell her to¡­


    Kang-Woomanded, and Balrog subtly nodded.


    ''Right, then.''


    He slowly got up. It was about time to end this stupid y.


    "Hey, you! I told you not to m¡ª"


    "Press it."


    "¡­ What?"


    Step, step.


    Kang-Woo slowly approached him.


    "I said, press it."


    He raised one of the corners of his mouth.


    "D-Don''t you know what will happen if I press th¡ª"


    "All the Gates will explode and monsters will pour out, I bet. And the natives that are in relief from finally being free of the danger of monsters will be massacred."


    "Th-That''s right! If I press this, thousands of¡ª"


    "So what, man? What does that have to do with me?"


    "Wh-What?"


    Kang-Woo snickered. "Why should I care whether they die or not?"


    "H-How could a hero say something like that¡­?!"


    "Enough of this fucking bullshit."


    He didn''t care about meaningless humans with whom he had no rtionship.


    "Just kill them. I''m not the one killing them, am I? Why are you putting this crap on me when you''re the one with the detonator? People would think I''m the culprit if they didn''t know any better, don''t you think?"


    "¡­"


    "What are you doing?"


    Kang-Woo walked toward Samuel and grabbed his hand. He brought Samuel''s finger right on top of the button and smiled fiercely.


    "Press the fucking button."

 Chapter 292 - Trap Card (1)

    Chapter 292 - Trap Card (1)


    "C-Crazy son of a bitch!"


    Samuel Hayden''s expression paled.


    He could tell from the fierce smile of the man, who was pushing down on his finger to make him press the button, that it was for real. The man would not care one bit if thousands of people were to actually die.


    ''This is the man that Sword Dragon treats as his older brother?''


    Samuel couldn''t understand it.


    He had taken part in the South America restoration operation, so he knew very well that Kim Si-Hun was undoubtedly kind and just. He would never turn away from those in danger and would do everything he could to save them. He was the typical hero protagonist in literature and animation.


    ''So why does he hang around with this lunatic?''


    "Why aren''t you pressing it?" Oh Kang-Woo said in a low voice.


    "Ugh¡­"


    Samuel trembled. Kang-Woo''s eyes, as deep as the abyss, were staring right at him. Inexplicable fear encroached upon him.


    ''If I press this¡­''


    He would die in the most wretched and horrifying way possible, but that would also be the case if he didn''t. Even if he surrendered, he wouldn''t be able to avoid paying for the crimes he had alreadymitted.


    ''It''s over.''


    He''d been pushed right up to the edge of a cliff.


    The n had failed, and it was far toote to go back.


    He bit his lip.


    ''If I''m going to die either way¡­''


    Spite filled his eyes as he shut them tight.


    "N-No!!"


    Si-Hun quickly rushed forward and reached for Samuel''s remote control.


    ''Yeah.''


    Samuel smiled wickedly. He was at least happy that someone was moving ording to his wishes. Nothing was more miserable than no one caring about what he had sacrificed his life to do.


    ''Fuck everyone.''


    Samuel pressed the button without hesitation. As he thought about the imminent explosions and the disaster¡­


    "¡­ Hm?"


    Samuel''s eyes widened.


    "Wh-What the hell?"


    Nothing had happened.


    There were numerous Gates near Valencia that yers used to level up and collect mana stones. Although they weren''t high-ranking Gates, there should have at least been some shy explosions. However, absolutely nothing had happened.


    Crackle!!!


    "Gaaaaahh!"


    No, something did happen, but it wasn''t at all what Samuel had expected.


    An intense electric current spread through his body as soon as he pressed the red button, and smoke rose from him. His limbs shook like crazy, and he copsed on the spot.


    "¡­ Huh?"


    Si-Hun suddenly froze as he ran toward Samuel. He still had his arm outstretched, unable to understand what had just happened.


    "Wh-What just¡­"


    Si-Hun walked toward Samuel with a dumbfounded expression on his face and pressed his index and middle finger against Samuel''s neck.


    ''There''s¡­ no pulse.''


    The powerful electric current from Samuel''s remote control had killed him immediately.


    Regardless of what kind of person he was, Samuel Hayden was strong enough to be the mayor of a city like Valencia. If the current was capable of killing him, it meant that¡­


    ''The detonator had been made under the assumption that Samuel would press it.''


    Si-Hun''s head was in a jumble.


    ''What¡­?''


    He couldn''t understand what was going on.


    Si-Hun turned to Kang-Woo, who was smiling bitterly as he looked down at Samuel''s corpse.


    "¡­ So this is how they''re gonna y it."


    Dead men told no tales, so it was the ideal measure to take.


    "Tsk."


    Kang-Woo turned around and headed to the couch in Samuel''s office. Balrog was sitting on it while concentrating with his eyes closed, his lips moving slightly.


    "Haaah."


    Kang-Woo sat on the couch.


    Si-Hun walked toward him,pletely dumbfounded.


    "H-Hyung-nim, what just¡­"


    "Do you know who made the Gate control apparatus being used for all South American Gates?"


    "N-No." Si-Hun shook his head.


    "A mage named Khadgar, contracted with Guardians. What hecks in brains he makes up with skill."


    "Oh, yes. I''ve heard of him."


    "Do you think we would''ve made absolutely no countermeasures for a terror attack?"


    "Ah¡­" Si-Hun''s expression brightened. "I-I see! I would expect nothing less from you, hyung-nim!"


    Si-Hun nodded while making a bright smile.


    "I see you were so firm for a reason! Haha! Ipletely misunderstood you without even knowing that."


    Si-Hun nodded in session while smiling. He was tearing up a little from relief. The fact that they were able to stop Samuel''s terror attack likely had a part in his feeling of relief, but he likely felt even more relieved that Kang-Woo wasn''t cruel enough to sacrifice thousands of people without remorse.


    "I''m¡­ so d."


    Si-Hun continued to tear up.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue when he saw Si-Hun''s reaction.


    ''Actually¡­''


    He had made no such countermeasures. He had simply said whatever came out of his mouth. Not even he had expected the control apparatuses to not explode when Samuel pressed the button. Moreover, Samuel''s death had beenpletely outside his expectations. If he knew, Kang-Woo would''ve used the Authority of Regeneration and stopped him from dying instantly.


    ''I''m not sure whether it''s a good or bad thing.''


    It was good in the sense that Kang-Woo was able toe up with an excuse to satisfy Si-Hun, since he was not yet ready to ept Kang-Woo''s true self. But¡­


    ''I honestly hoped for the explosion.''


    He stared at Si-Hun crying in relief.


    Si-Hun was a good person; he was righteous and kind-hearted. Although Kang-Woo had molded him through countless battles into someone who would cut down his enemies without hesitation¡­


    ''He still exerts himself too much to protect as many powerless people as possible.''


    It was not a good thing by Kang-Woo''s standards. It was hard enough even for Kang-Woo to protect the things around him despite having be more powerful than himself back in the Ninth Hell, so there was nothing more demented than Si-Hun struggling to protect people that he had absolutely nothing to do with.


    Kang-Woo had honestly hoped for Si-Hun to be stimted by this incident to abandon the things that he did not need without hesitation.


    ''Well, even so¡­''


    This was just how Si-Hun was. It was his nature. Kang-Woo had no intention of denying that or forcing him to change.


    Si-Hun was good-natured. Taking into consideration his wretched life before Kang-Woo hade across him, the fact that he was still this good-natured was worthy of respect and admiration rather than ridicule.


    ''Stay that way.''


    Kang-Woo would take measures so that it would be okay for Si-Hun to be like that.


    "That aside, I can''t understand. What was he so confident in for him to¡­"


    "He probably thought it would work. I purposefully hid the fact that the control apparatuses have measures in ce against terror explosions."


    "Ah, if he had known that¡­"


    "He would have found a way to bypass it."


    It was a lie. There had never been any such measures from the very beginning.


    "I see," Si-Hun nodded as if he understood. "Then¡­ did Samuel die also because of¡­"


    "I killed him. Because I hated his guts."


    That was also a lie. What had killed Samuel was the trap hidden within the detonator.


    "Hahaha. You really have no mercy, hyung-nim."


    "I can''t let a scumbag who tried to kill thousands of people live."


    Yet another lie. As long as they were people he had absolutely no rtion with, Kang-Woo couldn''t care less about those thousands of lives.


    "Fuuu, but I''m d things were resolved smoothly," Si-Hun remarked.


    "Yeah."


    "I will go and report everything about Valencia to Grace. I will make it so that the bastards who had harassed the natives receive their due punishment," Si-Hun said in a chilling tone.


    Kang-Woo smirked after feeling the intense bloodlust in Si-Hun''s voice.


    "Okay. I''ll stay in Samuel''s office to investigate if there are any others involved in this incident, so you go ahead to the Hall of Protection first and report what happened."


    "Okay, hyung-nim."


    Si-Hun nodded. There was a firm determination in his eyes.


    ''I guess they''re gonna be going through hell.''


    Seeing Si-Hun''s expression, it seemed like the Guardians members in Valencia would soon be in trouble.


    Kang-Woo turned his head.


    "What about you, Balrog?"


    "I will regroup with Lilith. She is almost here."


    "Okay, then go."


    Balrog and Si-Hun left.


    Finally, only Samuel''s scorched body and Kang-Woo were left in the room.


    "Right, before I begin¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked at the shelf in Samuel''s office¡ªit was filled with luxurious liquor.


    ''Good, time to set a badass mood.''


    He had a cheap-ass pte from only drinking beer and soju, but hard liquor was best for moods like this.


    Kang-Woo picked one at random and poured a ss.


    Maybe it was because it was expensive liquor, but an intense aroma filled the air.


    "Nice."


    He sat down with one leg over the other and sipped the ss of alcohol while trying to look as cool as possible.


    "Fuck, that''s bitter!"


    Pfft.


    He spat out the hard liquor.


    * * *


    "Pfft, bwahahahaha!!"


    A man sitting on a luxurious chair in a dark room burst intoughter. He snickered while leaning back on the chair.


    "Man, I didn''t think it''d work so well."


    The man watched the footage that had been recorded by themunication crystal orb. This footage was the true objective of this n as well as the precious result.


    "Press the fucking button."


    "Holy crap! What a fucking line!"


    The manughed while pping. Everything had gone as he''d nned. No, even better.


    "I never expected him to react that way."


    The man had honestly fretted that the two men would stupidly let Samuel escape.


    ''Well, that would have also been usable in its own way.''


    After all, the main objective of this n had been to prove Guardians'' ipetence.


    ''This won''t necessarily prove that, but¡­''


    Considering he had clearly said that he did not care if thousands of people died, it was actually even more impactful than ipetence.


    ''If this footage spreads¡­''


    Guardians would bepletely tossed aside by the public. They wouldn''t be able to keep their disgusting title of being the protectors of humanity.


    "Bwahahahahaha!!"


    The man grabbed his stomach and burst intoughter. Thanks to Oh Kang-Woo''s idiotic intervention, things had turned out much better than nned.


    "All that''s left is to let the Americans know that I seeded."


    He continuedughing and transferred the video to a USB.


    Just then¡­


    - Fuck, that''s bitter!


    "Hm?"


    He saw Kang-Woo spitting out liquor.


    "Tsk tsk, he has no idea how expensive that is."


    The man clicked his tongue.


    "I mean, what would I expect from a man who grew up in an orphanage?"


    He shrugged as he recalled the records from when he had investigated Oh Kang-Woo.


    "Well, this should also be useful. I''m sure the people would absolutely love to see this son of a bitch drinking liquor from a dead terrorist."


    He focused on the footage again.


    - Fuuu.


    Kang-Woo in the footage sighed, and¡­


    - Fucking hell, what a fucking embarrassment after trying to act cool.


    ¡­ He turned his head to look right at the camera secretly installed in the table.


    "¡­ Huh?"


    - Can we cut that out? Lemme try again. I''ll make it look really good this time, I swear.


    "Wh-What?"


    There clearly wasn''t anyone else in the room.


    "Wh-Who is he talking to?"


    The man got goosebumps. Kang-Woo, who was looking his way, smiled. An inexplicably chilling sensation ran down the man''s spine and throughout his body.


    ''What the hell?''


    Something was going wrong.


    - Hey, are you listening? Maybe there''s amunication crystal somewhere here. Ah, here it is.


    Whoom.


    Themunication crystal orb on the man''s table vibrated.


    "H-Huh?"


    The man ced his hand on the crystal orb before he had even realized it.


    [What''s wrong? Did you think everything was going as you nned?]


    Kang-Woo''s voice came out of it, and the man''s expression hardened.


    [This kind of shit is my specialty, you dumb fuck. Did you seriously think I''d fall for it?]


    "Wh-What the fuck?"


    The man trembled.


    Then¡­


    Squelch.


    He heard a viscous liquid dripping from behind him.

 Chapter 293 - Trap Card (2)

    Chapter 293 - Trap Card (2)


    "Wh-What in the¡­"


    The man got goosebumps from hearing something mucus moving. He didn''t know what it was, but he knew that something was there.


    "Wh-Who''s there?!"


    He quickly searched for his weapon. He grabbed the cane atop the table. The cane shone with a blue light, and white frost gathered.


    "Hmm."


    The flirtatious voice of a woman flowed across the dark room. The man gulped as his groin reacted to the irresistible sexual urge.


    The woman''s voice sounded. "Jason Hemet. You''re that American World Ranker who challenged Si-Hun to a duel and lost miserably."


    "Kuh!"


    Jason Hemet''s expression crumpled. After he lost that duel against Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun, which had been streamed to the entire world, he had be aughingstock.


    Everyone knew how unbelievably strong Sword Dragon was now, but back then, not many people knew about him. And so, after experiencing inexplicable humiliation, he joined Guardians with the desire for revenge, and he finally got his chance, but¡­


    "H-How¡­"


    How had he realized his n? No, he hadn''t just realized it; Jason had dug the trap and had concealed his presence like a predator, waiting until his prey let their guard down and fell into his trap.


    [It''s simple.]


    Oh Kang-Woo''s voice came out of the crystal orb.


    [Valencia was made with the USA''s full support.]


    He kept talking with a calm voice.


    [So isn''t it weird that the city''s security has be this bad?]


    From the USA''s point of view, Valencia was an important territory that would act as a foothold for them to upy freend, such as Mexico, Columbia, and other countries that had been ruined since the Day of Cmity. There was no way that they would just leave the country to rot after building it.


    [It isn''t that security wasn''t good.]


    It had just been neglected so that it would get bad, for another purpose.


    [For example, it could''ve been done to keep in check Guardians, which had gotten too powerful. Well, I''m sure there are a lot of reasons. Even if Grace McCubbin is American, she couldn''t be controlled, so I''m sure people higher up wanted to prevent Guardians from getting too big.]


    They had been waiting after digging a trap. They had built a ce where people could set free their wildest desires and had let loose prey, the natives, into the city so that the yers could do whatever they wanted to the natives without fearing any consequences. They had likely even bribed some yers to get in on the act to instigate the other yers to do the same.


    "Th-That''splete nonsense¡­"


    [Things that are hard to understand usually get much simpler to understand once you think about who gets the most out of it.]


    The detonator Samuel Hayden had was fake, which meant that someone had deceived him. Why would that person have wanted Samuel to pressure Kang-Woo and Si-Hun with a fake detonator?


    ''If their goal had never been a terror attack¡­''


    Rather, if the goal had always been to fabricate proof that there had been a terror attack, it made sense.


    From there, he had to think about the organization that would benefit the most from such a thing. Considering who had invested the most in the city, the answer was simple.


    [Well, I''m not saying Guardians isn''t at fault.]


    They probably hadn''t forcibly corrupted the Guardians members, but humans were corrupted all too easily from just a simple incitement. A person could reach their lows far easier than one thought as long as they were given the chance to do things that they hadn''t been able to do, without any consequences.


    [It''s my mistake. I should''ve trained my hounds properly.]


    Tsk.


    Jason heard Kang-Woo click his tongue.


    "¡­"


    Jason remained silent and anxiously bit his lip.


    "I-I already have the footage I need. If I leak this¡­" he anxiously said with much difficulty.


    Squelch.


    But before he could finish talking, the sound he''d forgotten about grew louder. Jason''s expression paled, and he quickly turned around.


    "Frozen Nova!"


    An intense frost storm raged from Jason''s cane. A sharp ice crystal formed from the blue gem at the tip of the cane.


    "Hohoho."


    A woman''s seductive giggle echoed through the room.


    Squelch.


    The sound of the sticky mucus grew louder.


    "Wh-What the¡­"


    Jason paled. Based on the voice, he had expected a knockout beauty to appear, but what appeared from the other side of the dark room were horrifying green tentacles.


    "Urpp!"


    Jason covered his nose and mouth to block the horrible stench. He''d faced countless monsters before, but the green tentacles before his eyes felt more hideous than anything else he had seen before.


    The squirming tentacles gathered together.


    "Although I amcking inbat prowess¡­"


    Eighteen red eyes stared at Jason, and the creature licked her lips with a tongue as long as a snake''s.


    "Surely you don''t think I can''t face a single mere World Ranker?"


    The green tentacles extending from Lilith wriggled fiercely.


    "A mere World Ranker, you say?" Jason bit his lip. He recalled all of the criticisms he''d heard after he lost to Si-Hun. "Damn monster bitch¡­!"


    FWOOSH!


    A frigid frost storm raged, and an ice spear several meters long shot at Lilith.


    Crack!


    A green tentacle wrapped around the ice spear in midair.


    "Urgh!"


    Jason burst out with as much mana as he could. Ice spikes rose from the floor, the walls, and the ceiling and shot toward the tentacle monster.


    "Monster bitch? What a rude human."


    The eighteen eyes narrowed. For Lilith, who had always been praised as beautiful, being called a monster was a first.


    She raised her hand in intense rage. Her hair shot out and turned into green tentacles.


    Spurt!


    Yellow pus poured out of the tentacles and spread out like a tent.


    The ice spikes all over the room evaporated as soon as they were touched by the yellow pus.


    "Urpp!"


    Jason blocked his mouth as a horrible stench filled the room.


    "Bleeeeeeghh!!"


    He threw up, unable to take the stench any longer. Lilith''s eyes widened, and she tilted her head.


    "Oh, was my perfume too strong for you?"


    The aroma caused the lust of a demon to run out of control just by smelling it, but it seemed like it had a different effect on humans.


    "Regardless¡­"


    If the mage had given up on casting and was vomiting, there was no need to think about how things would end.


    With a thick smile on her face, Lilith walked toward Jason.


    "Kuh!"


    Jason took out anothermunication crystal from his pocket, quickly imbued mana into it, and shouted, "Ambush, ambush! Get the hell over to my study right now!!"


    The building that he was in had yers standing by twenty-four seven to be able to immediately respond to attacks. Jason wasn''t sure how she''d infiltrated his room without them noticing, but they would be able to buy him enough time to escape.


    Tzzzzz.


    As if betraying his expectations, the crystal only returned static that would y from a broken radio. He could hear terrified screams within the static.


    - Arrgghh!!


    - Wh-What the hell is that monster?!


    - H-Help m¡ª


    Crack.


    He heard bones being broken, and the chilling sound of flesh and muscle being torn apart reached him through the crystal.


    - Lilith.


    A low voice he hadn''t heard before came through themunication crystal. The voice contained a fierce, beast-like energy.


    - I''m done here.


    "Hoho, okay."


    The tentacled monster known as Lilith nodded, and a smile formed on her face. He couldn''t help but feel chills when he saw her smile stretch across her face, ear to ear.


    "I''m¡­ almost done here as well."


    An intense red light shone from Lilith''s eyes. She activated her specialty, mind-control magic.


    "U-Urrhh."


    Jason''s eyes widened as he was met with that red light head-on. He grabbed his neck as if he was having trouble breathing. An instinctive fear took over him.


    "A-Aaaaaaaahh!!"


    tter.


    He dropped his cane and wet his pants.


    "S-Stay away!!"


    "Hohoho."


    The tentacled monster slowly walked toward him.


    Squelch, squelch.


    Transparent mucus stained the ground.


    Lilith reached out, and her green tentacles began wrapping around Jason''s body.


    "E-Eek!"


    "Don''t worry. I won''t kill you." Lilith licked her lips with her long tongue. "After all, I have a lot of things I want to ask you."


    Jason''s limbs trembled as if he were having a seizure. His eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.


    "Haaa. Being so beautiful is a sin."


    Lilith sighed and shook her head.


    This was why she didn''t like reverting to her true form; people were so shocked by her beauty that they immediately lost consciousness, so she could not even interrogate them.


    [¡­]


    In the study''s video feed, she saw Kang-Woo looking this way with a worried expression. Lilith smiled, easily figuring out what he was concerned about.


    "There is no need to worry. No matter what happens, you will always be the only one in my heart, my king."


    [No¡­ That''s not what I¡­]


    "Fufu, so there is no need to be jealous."


    Lilith caressed the crystal orb in delight.


    [Fuck!]


    She saw Kang-Woo in agony as he clenched his hair.


    "I will interrogate this man to confirm the people who were involved in this incident."


    [¡­ Please.]


    The footage was cut.


    Lilith ced her hands on her cheeks while rolling her foot.


    "Haaa, he is as cute as always."


    She couldn''t resist how lovely the jealous Kang-Woo looked. She wanted to devour him, and she would if it were up to her.


    "I mean¡­ I had my fill on our tripst time, so¡­."


    She would be able to resist for the time being.


    "Well, then¡­"


    She made a bright smile and pped Jason, who was unconscious, to wake him up.


    "Now, now. Wake up, sleepyhead."


    She woke him with a voice as gentle as that of a mother waking up her child.


    "Urmm."


    Jason slowly opened his eyes, and¡­


    "Gyaaaaaaaaaaahh!!!"


    The nightmare began.


    * * *


    A blue Rift appeared on the roof of Seoul''s 63 Building, which used to be the tallest building but had long since lost that title.


    Crack!


    The Rift grew as if the air itself were splitting.


    "Haaa, haaa."


    The breath of the being that hade out of the Rift was filled with desire. They hurriedly looked around and smiled while ring their nostrils.


    "A-Aaaahh! Finally! Finally!"


    The being let out an exmation as they twisted their body. They shot up into the sky as they pped their wings. ck feathers fell from the ceiling of the 63 Building.

 Chapter 294 - Lost Octopus (1)

    Chapter 294 - Lost Octopus (1)


    Whoom.


    ck light flickered around Oh Kang-Woo''s middle finger. He looked down at his ck ring, which was vibrating subtly.


    ''It''s been like this for a while now.''


    After fulfilling one of the conditions for Chaos, the advanced quest of Road to Bing a Demon God, the Key of the Demonic Sea had begun to change.


    He didn''t know if the digestion of the Hell Armament was about to beplete or if there was another reason, but the Key of the Demonic Sea, which had remained dormant for a while, had started to show some changes.


    ''Well, I guess it''s a good thing.''


    Although he didn''t need a weapon, being unable to use Transcendent-grade equipment that could ease the burden of using numerous Authorities simultaneously was unfortunate.


    ''I''m also curious¡­ about what this thing is.''


    Kang-Woo looked down at the Key of the Demonic Sea. It was a convenient weapon that could change into any shape. Although it had some limits, it could replicate the power of weapons made through merging Authorities.


    Not only that¡­


    ''It''s a weapon¡­ that eats Hell Armaments.''


    Hell Armaments represented the power of the princes of Hell. If all seven of those transcendental weapons gathered, they could easily tear open a Rift between dimensions and bend space and time.


    "¡­ I wonder what it''ll be."


    The secret behind why the Key of the Demonic Sea could devour Hell Armaments could possibly be more important than the Road to Bing a Demon God quest. After all, the demonic energy within the Hell Armaments could not even be eaten by the Authority of Predation.


    "Well, whatever the case¡­"


    There was nothing he could do at the moment but wait for results.


    Kang-Woo stopped giving the Key of the Demonic Sea any more attention and grabbed a cup of coffee.


    Just then¡­


    Knock, knock.


    "Darling?"


    When he turned his head toward the opening door, he saw Lilith smiling in the doorway.


    She bowed and entered the room.


    "What''s up?"


    "I havee to report what I had learned by interrogating Jason."


    Lilith handed Kang-Woo several documents. It was a list of names of politicians and billionaires from all over the world who had been involved in the Valencia incident. Most were Americans, but there were also influential figures from other countries.


    "That''s a lot."


    "It seems there have been many people dissatisfied with Guardians'' quick rise in power."


    "I bet. It''s a bit too much power for one organization to have."


    It was only obvious, considering a group made up of yers possessed enough power surpassing some countries, to be able to influence the entire world.


    "But," Kang-Woo continued as he handed the documents back to her. "We need this much power, at the very least, to prepare for what''s ahead."


    No, they needed even more power to defend against the imminent invasion of the outer worlds.


    "Hoho." Lilith smiled. She bowed and said, "There is no need to worry. I will make it so that this world bows down to you, my king."


    "I don''t want or need anything like that."


    Kang-Woo shook his head in disapproval. He hated hassles; the one that the world should be bowing down to needed to be Guardians, or more specifically, Kim Si-Hun. Although Kang-Woo had appointed Si-Hun to be the figurehead, he couldn''t just y around behind the shadows either.


    ''I feel like I''m moving further away from my dream.''


    To illustrate that point, he was stuck looking over documents as soon as he had woken up. He sighed as he felt himself getting further away from his dream of bing a wealthy bum. If it were up to him, he''d just spend the entire day flirting with his darling.


    "What''s the status in Valencia?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Si-Hun is cleaning up the entire city with the Sirius Corps. He captured a bulk of Guardians yers that hadid their hands on the natives, and they will be undergoing trial in a month''s time."


    "It''d be difficult to secure evidence, though."


    There weren''t many crime prevention measures, such as CCTV cameras, in ce yet in Valencia. If the issue went to court, many yers would get away scot-free due tock of evidence. Whatever they were charged with, it was easy to im one''s innocence if there was no evidence for their crimes to be backed up with.


    "Hoho. The victims'' tears are evidence enough."


    Lilith smiled widely. Even if she had to fabricate evidence, she was nning on winning the case.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and nodded.


    "Then give this list to Si-Hun too."


    The public leaders of Guardians were Grace McCubbin and Si-Hun. There was a need for Si-Hun himself to punish the culprits for his influence and for public awareness of him to rise even higher.


    ''As well as molding the press so that the public would be fine with the culprits receiving harsher sentences.''


    He had to make them fear Si-Hun so they wouldn''t dare to do something like that again.


    ''I guess I''ll be busy for a while again.''


    Kang-Woo had to do some things of his own while Si-Hun cracked down on the influential figures that had been involved in the Valencia incident.


    ''I''ll have to make rules.''


    He had to do the things that he''d been putting off.


    If it were up to him, he''d make cruel and unbending rules like those he''d established in Hell, but he wasn''t in Hell anymore, so he couldn''t implement such rules.


    ''I should get other people to help me.''


    Gaia had said that she would make the rules herself, ming herself for her indolence after Si-Hun had told her about the incident. However, there was no way that a girl who could just barely lead a group of ten individuals would be proficient in making rules for such a massive organization.


    As for Kang-Woo, he had gotten used to the rules of Hell, so he was having a hard time drawing a line. He was in desperate need of help from others.


    ''I should ask Wuchen and Yeon-Joo.''


    Although the groups led by Tian Wuchen and Cha Yeon-Joo weren''t asrge as Guardians, they had the know-how after having ledrge groups for so long.


    "And¡­ there is one more thing I have to report."


    "Hm? Besides this?" Kang-Woo asked as he tilted his head.


    "Yes. I have found¡­ traces of demonic energy in the downtown area of Seoul."


    "¡­ What?"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    "Although the traces themselves are very faint¡­ judging by how widespread they are, it seems that whatever is leaving behind the demonic energy is going around the entire city."


    "Mm."


    Kang-Woo crossed his arms.


    Traces of demonic energy had been found in downtown Seoul. Now that the Demon Cult hadpletely broken apart, there weren''t many things that could leave such traces.


    "I guess a demonic beast must''ve escaped from a Gate."


    "Yes, I believe so as well."


    Beings of the Nine Hells have asionally crossed into the Gates ever since the Gaia System''s defensive mechanisms have been broken.


    Demonic beasts like the Hellhound had been categorized as variant monsters that didn''t have mana stones among yers. It was highly likely that one of such demonic beasts had managed toe out of a Gate.


    ''Demonic beastsing out of Gates have pretty much be amon urrence.''


    He''d received simr reports quite a few times. If it had just been about the traces of demonic energy, Lilith wouldn''t have bothered to report it to Kang-Woo.


    ''Meaning, the locations of said traces must be the problem.''


    If a demonic beast wandered around downtown Seoul, there would be a high risk of there being many civilian casualties.


    Seoul was where Si-Hun lived. The Hall of Protection was located in Washington DC, so Seoul was the city that Guardians paid most attention to after it. Kang-Woo honestly couldn''t care less if people he didn''t know died out, but amotion in Seoul at a time like this would be bad.


    "I guess we should deal with it," Kang-Woo mentioned.


    "Fufu. In that case, I will personally take care of it."


    "Please."


    Si-Hun was in Valencia, and Kang-Woo had to discuss appropriate rules to ce with Gaia, Yeon-Joo, and others. Having Lilith take care of it personally was the best course of action. She was exceptional in terms of searching, so she would be able to hunt down and kill the demonic beast in a sh.


    "Understood, please leave it to me," Lilith replied with a smile.


    She clenched her fists while snorting as if she were Echidna.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly.


    ''This is why I can''te to hate her.''


    To be honest, he still wanted to keep his distance from her because of her hideous appearance, which he would never be able to get used to, but he couldn''t do that because of things like this.


    "Fufu. Will you go on a trip with me again if I manage to resolve this issue without a hitch?"


    "¡­!"


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened. He recalled how he''d rewarded her thanks to all the work she''d been doing and what he had gone through in the famous Japanese onsen.


    "Urpp."


    He covered his mouth, and his face paled.


    "Are you okay, Master Kang-Woo?"


    Lilith stroked his back in worry. Although she looked like Kurosaki Yurie at the moment, her hand touching his back felt sticky for some reason.


    "I-I''m fine. Let''s set aside the travel ns for a bit. There are still a ton of things we have to do, and I also have ns with Seol-Ah."


    "¡­ I see."


    Lilith nodded while making a sad expression. Her expression had noticeably darkened when Han-Seol-Ah was mentioned.


    Creak.


    "Umm¡­"


    Seol-Ah opened the door and peeked into the room, holding a tray full of delicious fruits.


    "You were in the middle of a meeting, right? Have some fruit."


    "Thanks, darling."


    Kang-Woo grabbed the tray from Seol-Ah with a bright smile, as if he had found a ray of light within the endless darkness.


    "¡­"


    Lilith frowned when she saw this side of Kang-Woo. She ced her hand on her chest. It started to hurt.


    ''He has¡­''


    Tears slightly formed around her eyes.


    ''¡­ Never smiled like that to me.''


    A feeling that she had never felt before burned her heart.


    Lilith shook her head.


    ''What am I thinking?''


    In the end, she was the legal wife. The vows of love that they had pledged were still vivid in her memories.


    ''Maybe¡­''


    Worries that Kang-Woo might have forgotten about the vows they had made surged.


    ''There''s no way.''


    Her masterful tentacle techniques always caused him to scream in such a lovely way, even during theirst trip. There was no way the king didn''t love her.


    ''But still¡­''


    Lilith pouted. She would prefer if he gave her a bit more attention.


    "In that case, I will be excusing myself."


    "Why?" Kang-Woo asked. "Stay for a bit longer and have some fruit."


    "Hohoho. The faster I resolve this, the earlier I will be rewarded by you, Master Kang-Woo."


    Lilith lightly waved and walked out of the room.


    ck.


    The door closed.


    "Haaa."


    Lilith softly sighed. Her mind was in a mess.


    ''Now isn''t the time.''


    She hadn''t hurried just to receive Kang-Woo''s love.


    The traces of demonic energy around Seoul had spread at tremendous speed over just a few days. At this rate, a massive incident would break out at any second.


    ''It''s as if¡­ it''s searching for something.''


    Lilith narrowed her eyes and set off. And¡­


    * * *


    "¡­ What?" Kang-Woo asked while aggressively frowning.


    Balrog, who was on his knees in front of him, pped his lips in hesitation but then bit his lip and lowered his head.


    "Lilith has¡­ disappeared."

 Chapter 295 - Lost Octopus (2)

    Chapter 295 - Lost Octopus (2)


    "What the fuck are you talking about?" Oh Kang-Woo murmured in a low voice.


    He had been with Cha Yeon-Joo, Gaia, and Tian Wuchen for the past few days, making rules for Guardians, but he couldn''t help but curse when he heard out of nowhere that Lilith had disappeared after he came back home.


    Kneeling, Balrog lowered his head.


    "After she had gone to hunt down the traces of demonic energy after you hadmanded her to find the traces and eliminate the source¡­ contact with her had been severed."


    "¡­ Wait just a second."


    Kang-Woo called Lilith''smunication crystal orb.


    Just like Balrog said, Lilith was not picking up.


    He narrowed his eyes and focused his mind.


    Lilith was his retainer; although they were not linked through the Authority of Subordination like him and Kim Si-Hun, they were still connected by the soul.


    He closed his eyes in search of traces of her soul. He even used the Authority of the Beholder, but he wasn''t able to feel anything.


    "¡­"


    He anxiously bit his lip.


    ''Lilith lost to a demonic beast?''


    Based on the circumstances, there was a chance that the demonic beast had been an ancient demonic beast like Halcyon, and Lilith could have been defeated by them.


    "Is Lilith"¡ªBalrog slurred, his eyes trembling in chaos¡ª"dead?"


    "No." Kang-Woo firmly shook his head. "If she had died, a portion of my soul that had mixed with hers would have returned to me."


    He couldn''t tell where she was, but their soul link had not been severed.


    "She''s alive," Kang-Woo said while clenching his fist.


    Balrog sighed in relief.


    Lilith was alive, but Kang-Woo still couldn''t contact her or figure out where she was.


    ''In other words¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed. Now that it hade to this, there were only two possibilities.


    ''Either Lilith intentionally severedmunication on purpose¡­''


    He shook his head. The chances of her having done that were very low¡ªno, he was sure that it was nonexistent.


    ''Or¡­''


    He didn''t want to believe it, but considering the situation, it was the most likely exnation.


    Kang-Woo said in a low voice, "I think¡­ Lilith has been kidnapped."


    "¡­"


    Heavy silence fell, and Balrog''s expression aggressively crumpled.


    He knew Lilith very well.


    Although she wasn''t as strong as him, she was highly specialized in infiltration and escape through a diverse array of bewitching magic. She was careful enough to have been able to avoid the courtships of Asmodeus, the Prince of Lust, so it was hard to believe that she had been kidnapped without being able to send even a single S.O.S. signal.


    "How could this have¡­"


    Balrog grabbed his forehead while making a confused expression.


    Kang-Woo shut his eyes tight. His tightly clenched fists trembled. Veins popped out on his forehead and the back of his hands.


    Rumble.


    The entire building shook as if an earthquake were happening.


    Balrog, who had been in confusion, came back to his senses and ced his hand over Kang-Woo''s shoulders.


    "My king!"


    The shaking didn''t stop.


    Shatter!


    The cup of coffee on the table fell to the ground, and the coffee spilled over the floor with ss fragments.


    "Kang-Woo?"


    "What''s wrong, Kang-Woo?"


    Creak.


    After hearing the ss break, Han Seol-Ah and Echidna opened the door and entered. Halcyon also peeked over from behind them.


    "Gasp."


    "M-Master Kang-Woo?"


    Suffocatingly dense demonic energy surrounded him. Both Seol-Ah and Echidna paled from the colossal amount of power exerting pressure on their whole bodies.


    Halcyon stepped forward and extended his hands, his white hair fluttering from the pressure of the powerful wave of demonic energy. He frantically blocked the demonic energy exuding from Kang-Woo.


    Balrog ced his hands on Kang-Woo''s shoulders and shook him.


    "My king, please return to your senses!!"


    "Ah."


    Kang-Woo returned to his senses as Balrog desperately shouted at him. He looked around the room, which had be a mess, and said in a low voice, "If they were able to kidnap Lilith, they''d be at least prince-level."


    Under the assumption that Lilith hadn''t been kidnapped on purpose, it would be impossible to kidnap her unless they were at least as powerful as a prince of Hell.


    "The possibility of it being an ancient demonic beast is also low."


    If Lilith was not dead, there was only one reason why she couldn''t be tracked.


    ''Someone is disrupting the tracking with magic.''


    Ancient demonic beasts fought purely with overpowering physical prowess. Although they possessed intelligence, they were not intelligent enough to be able to use magic. Like Halcyon, most of them overpowered their enemies with their overwhelming raw strength.


    "In that case, a prince of Hell might have¡­"


    "Yeah. It''s possible."


    Not every prince of Hell had shown themselves; only four had appeared so far, and three of them had been killed. Including the ones that they had yet to see, four were still alive.


    "Leviathan can be excluded. He can''t use magic," Kang-Woo said.


    "What about the Constetions of Evil that Raphael had mentioned?"


    "Not likely. Even if their seal broke and they came to Earth, they have no reason to kidnap Lilith."


    "In that case, we would have to begin our investigations under the assumption that it was a prince of Hell," Balrog expressed while nodding.


    "Call Kim Si-Hun."


    "Kim Si-Hun is currently in the USA¡ª"


    "Call him," Kang-Woo said in a firm voice.


    Balrog groaned and nodded. He had seen this side of Kang-Woo several times back in Hell.


    ''Once he bes like this¡­''


    He couldn''t be reasoned with¡ªnothing could stop the king. He had also been like this when he had caused the thousand-year war, which he had almost no chance of winning at the time.


    "Right, then." Kang-Woo stood up. He mumbled, "Let''s move."


    He turned away. He could feel the gazes of Halcyon, Echidna, and Seol-Ah, but he paid them no mind. He couldn''t afford to.


    ''How dare they¡­''


    He was not mad. Even if Lilith was kidnapped or put in a situation where she could die at any second, he would not be furious. The emotion he was feeling was closer to irritation than rage.


    ''¡­ Take what''s mine?''


    Lilith was his¡ªshe was his loyal and capable subordinate. Not even he could match Lilith''s information-gathering capabilities. Purely in terms of capability, she surpassed Si-Hun.


    ''But¡­''


    His possession¡ªhis subordinate who should be dedicating her life to working for him had been taken from him. The problem wasn''t simply that she had been kidnapped. This was a provocation and a deration of war directed right at him.


    "Shit," Kang-Woo cursed aggressively.


    Once again, he did not mind that Lilith had been kidnapped. She was just another convenient pawn to use without any worry of betrayal, just like Si-Hun.


    "Fuck."


    He ground his teeth. For some reason, he could not erase the sight of Lilith''s smile from his head.


    "Fuck, fuck, fuck!!"


    The appearance that had caused him trauma, the stench from her oozing pus, and her face covered in hideous tentacles¡­ For some reason, he felt an unbearable desire to see her.


    "Kang-Woo, what''s wrong?"


    Echidna, who hadn''t heard what had happened, approached Kang-Woo. She was about to pull on his clothes when she flinched.


    "Kang-Woo¡­?"


    She stared into his eyes, which were staring into nothingness while he was in deep thought. The whites of his eyes were dyed ck, his irises yellow, his pupils torn horizontally. He was emitting such overpowering bloodlust that she wondered if he really was the Kang-Woo she knew.


    "U-Urghh¡­"


    Echidna trembled. Seol-Ah grabbed her by the shoulders and stepped back while lightly hugging her. She realized instinctively that Kang-Woo shouldn''t be touched for the time being.


    ck.


    Kang-Woo opened the room door and left, which lifted the air of the room.


    "Haaa." Halcyon finally let out his held breath.


    Seol-Ah approached Balrog. "Umm¡­ Balrog, what happened? I think I overheard that¡­ Lilith was kidnapped."


    "It''s just as you''ve heard. Communication with Lilith was severed while she was chasing after the traces of demonic energy in Seoul. We don''t yet know who kidnapped her or why."


    "O-Oh no¡­"


    Seol-Ah turned pale.


    If a beautiful woman like Lilith was kidnapped¡­ one couldn''t help but imagine things beyond her just being physically restrained.


    "I am also worried about that." As if he''d read her mind, Balrog said in a serious tone, "The king didn''t bother mentioning it, but¡­ Lilith is excessively beautiful. Honestly, we would have to take into ount what you are imagining."


    "¡­!"


    Seol-Ah shut her eyes tight to shoo away the horrifying thought.


    "I will also help look for Lilith!"


    She didn''t know how to find traces of demonic energy or where to even begin searching, but she wanted to be of at least a little help to Lilith.


    ''Lilith¡­''


    Seol-Ah had been able to be an item with Kang-Woo thanks to Lilith''s help. Lilith had given her the courage to confess to him. They''d also be quite close after chatting about things she didn''t know about Kang-Woo, such as what he liked and disliked, and many other things. She couldn''t let Lilith go through something so insufferable.


    "Thank you."


    Balrog nodded while making a bitter smile. He knew she wouldn''t be of much help, but they needed as much help as they could get.


    Just then¡­


    "Ah," Seol-Ah eximed as if she''d remembered something.


    "What is it?" Balrog asked.


    "C-Come to think of it. There was a box ced in front of our door without any address or sender written on it this morning."


    "What?"


    "I thought it had just been sent to us by ident, so I left it at the security office¡­ W-Wait just a moment!"


    Seol-Ah quickly walked out of the room. She ran into Kang-Woo and told him to stay right here before returning with a box in her hands not long afterward.


    "This is¡­"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he stared at the box.


    It was an unknown box that had arrived shortly aftermunication with Lilith had been severed. It was hard to see it as a simple coincidence.


    Rip!


    Kang-Woo quickly tore open the box. In it was a ck crystal orb.


    "Amunication crystal orb¡­"


    Crystal orbs made by processing mana stones did not require electricity, so they were used very often in daily life.


    Kang-Woo raised the crystal orb.


    "Fuuu," he nervously sighed. "All of you¡­ stay outside."


    He couldn''t predict what state she would be in. If she happened to be in the worst possible scenario in his imagination, then he should be the only one to see it.


    "¡­"


    Seol-Ah was about to say something but then nodded and dragged Echidna and Halcyon into the room. With a heavy expression, Balrog also nodded and followed behind them.


    ''Lilith.''


    Her appearance was not leaving Kang-Woo''s head.


    Kang-Woo activated the crystal orb, and a video appeared in midair as if it were a hologram. Within the video, he could see Lilith restrained within darkness.


    "Lilith¡­!" Kang-Woo called out. As he had expected, Lilith had been kidnapped by someone.


    - My¡­ king¡­


    He could hear Lilith''s heartrending voice. Hearing that, he felt like his heart was being ripped apart, but at the same time, he felt relieved when he saw that she wasn''t hurt.


    - Aaah! My king!!!


    It seemed this was a live feed; after seeing Kang-Woo''s face, Lilith urgently called out to him.


    - I apologize. I¡­ apologize, my king.


    She sobbed. She was so sad that yellow pus, instead of tears, was flowing out of her eyes.


    "¡­"


    - It is okay! I have not gone through anything that you are fearing!


    Wriggle, wriggle.


    Countless tentacles shot out of her body.


    ''No.''


    The atmosphere that had been so grim¡ªthe cliche scene of the protagonist raging after seeing the kidnapped heroine¡ªwas taking a weird turn.


    - Aaah, my king!


    Yellow pus poured down from her eighteen red eyes, which were locked on Kang-Woo.


    ''Fucking wait.''


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists. He bit his lip, trying his best to suppress a certain thought in his head while desperately trying to maintain the grim mood.


    - There is no need to worry.


    Lilith''s voice was filled with sadness.


    - No matter what happens to me¡­


    ''No.''


    The tentacles twisted hideously.


    - Even if my body¡­ is vited¡­!!


    ''Stop.''


    Like mold, red holes formed all over her purple skin.


    ''Please¡­''


    - I¡­! At least my heart¡­!


    Lilith screamed in a desperate voice.


    - Will never submit!!


    Poof!


    The ends of her tentacles exploded, and yellow pus poured out of them as if her tentacles were fountains. The yellow pus sshed onto the crystal orb, making the feed blurry.


    "Aah." Kang-Woo covered his face with his hands. "Please, please¡­ fucking stop¡­ Why are you doing this?"


    Kang-Woo clenched his hair and lowered his head.


    ''You''re making me not want to save you.''


    Tears flowed down his cheeks.

 Chapter 296 - Lost Octopus (3)

    Chapter 296 - Lost Octopus (3)


    "Fuuu."


    Oh Kang-Woo sighed and shook his head.


    Although his will to save Lilith had decreased by half, he couldn''t ignore a loyal subordinate who had apanied him for hundreds of years.


    ''Who could have¡­''


    He narrowed his eyes.


    The first question that had popped up in his mind when he had first heard of Lilith''s kidnapping was who the culprit could be.


    ''The likeliest culprit is¡­''


    The Prince of Lust, Asmodeus.


    He was the prince of Hell who had frantically tried to get his hands on Lilith ever since they were in Hell.


    If Asmodeus had also managed to go back into the past and be revived like the other princes of Hell, that was reason enough for him to kidnap Lilith.


    ''But¡­''


    There was something he couldn''t understand. The feed on the crystal orb was live. If Asmodeus really had kidnapped Lilith, there was no way he would send Kang-Woo a crystal like this. It made more sense to think that someone else had sent the crystal for some other purpose.


    "Lilith."


    - Sniff. M-My king.


    Lilith looked at Kang-Woo, pus leaking from her tentacles.


    Doing his best not to vomit, he asked in a low voice, "Who kidnapped y¡ª"


    Tap.


    Just then, someone walked out of the darkness that was holding Lilith captive.


    ''Rakiel¡­?''


    The first thing he saw were ck wings and a stature slightlyrger than a human''s. It was only obvious that Kang-Woo would first think of the Constetion of Corruption, Rakiel.


    ''Rakiel kidnapped Lilith?


    It was even more unbelievable than Asmodeus sending the crystal orb. Rakiel was currently sealed by Seraph''s power. No, even if the seal had broken and he had crossed into Earth, there was no reason for him to kidnap Lilith out of nowhere.


    ''What''s going on?''


    As Kang-Woo''s confusion was reaching its peak¡­


    - Are you watching?


    The ck-winged beingpletely revealed himself.


    "Ah¡­" A short exmation left Kang-Woo''s mouth.


    It was a face he''d seen before, and just the fact that he recognized the face meant that it obviously wasn''t Rakiel.


    "Fuck¡­ Come to think of it, you had ck wings too."


    Kang-Woo feignedughter and red at the half-human, half-demon.


    "Lucis."


    He was the son of Lucifer, the Prince of Pride, as well as the half-breed between Lucifer and a human woman.


    - I''m relieved you still remember me.


    Lucis smiled wickedly.


    There was no way Kang-Woo would have forgotten. He had said some bullshit about having fallen for Lilith''s true form at first sight, and he was a depraved boy who had stabbed his loving father in the stomach.


    ''There''s no way I''d forget a bastard like that.''


    Although he had been slightly instigated, Lucis had ultimately made the conscious decision to stab Lucifer. There was no way that Oh Kang-Woo, the icon of light and justice, would do something so depraved as making a son stab his father.


    "Son of a bitch. I''m surprised you had the gall toe back to Earth after doing something as depraved as stabbing your father."


    - What¡­?


    Lucis looked at Kang-Woo with a nk expression for a moment before his face crumpled.


    - What the hell are you talking about?! It''s all your fault that I stabbed my father, Satan!!


    "Hah," Kang-Wooughed in disbelief as he raised his hand to swipe up his hair. He stared Lucis down. "And now you''re even trying to pin me as Satan?"


    - Do you really think I wouldn''t recognize you after you hide in a human body?!


    Lucis screamed in anger.


    - After that incident, I talked a lot with my father and learned that Lady Lilith used to be a loyal subordinate of the demon king. But back then, she was clearly following Satan''s orders.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked back on the past.


    ''Oh, right¡­''


    This was still back when he was impersonating Satan while wearing the red demon mask. He''d made Lilith and Balrog call him Satan, so it was understandable that Lucis would make such a mistake.


    - And after making some deductions, I was finally able to realize the truth.


    Lucis red at Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo could more or less guess what Lucis had concluded.


    ''If Lilith, who used to serve the demon king, is suddenly serving Satan, and if Satan was in the form of a human instead of his former demon form¡­''


    The first thing that one would think would be that the demon king had made his subordinate pretend that he was Satan. At least, that was the most logical conclusion.


    ''But¡­''


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. There were still some variables. The first was that Lucifer fully believed that Kang-Woo was Satan.


    ''At the very least, there is no way Lucifer thinks that I impersonated Satan.''


    Every action had an impetus. Lucifer didn''t know Kang-Woo''s circumstances, so in his mind, there was no way the demon king would pretend to be Satan in the first ce.


    The demon king that Lucifer knew was the crazed predator who had driven the entire Ninth Hell into war. From Lucifer''s perspective, just like how there was no reason for a billionaire to shoplift from a small convenience store, there was no reason for the demon king to pretend to be Satan. There was no way for Lucifer to possibly imagine that the demon king was trying to save Earth for kimchi stew.


    ''I built things up immactely, too.''


    Not only had Kang-Woo told Lucifer''s subordinate, who hade in search of the demon king''s Demonic Sea, that Satan already possessed the Demonic Sea, he had also proven to Lucifer directly that he was Satan by showing him Satan''s Hell Armament.


    ''In other words, rather than thinking that the demon king is impersonating Satan¡­''


    It was more likely that he would think Satan had acquired the demon king''s body.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked elsewhere in silence.


    The second variable was how Lucis looked in the video feed. His eyes were zing with pure, innocent love for Lilith. He was truly in love with Lilith; the effects of the brainwashing still lingered, and his love had evolved into madness.


    If that was the case¡­ If Lucis''s love had evolved into madness¡­


    ''All humans¡ªno, all living beings¡ªsee what they want to see and believe what they want to believe.''


    That was the nature of all living beings. Add madness, and there was no more need to even question it.


    - Satan, I know that you''ve taken the body of the demon king and are controlling Lady Lilith.


    ''I knew it.'' Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    It was a simple line of thought.


    Everyone in Hell knew that Lilith was deeply in love with the demon king. If she was being controlled by Satan and the man that she loved was already dead, then it was only obvious that Lucis would also hope for his love to bear fruit.


    ''In other words, Lucifer and that brat still think I''m Satan.''


    It was alling together, and he was finally starting to understand why Lucis had kidnapped Lilith.


    "So what if I have?"


    - I will free Lady Lilith from your evil grasp!


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo grabbed his forehead as if it hurt from the obvious answer. The Lilith inside Lucis''s head was a poor and weak woman who had been brainwashed by Satan and was being forced to serve him.


    ''Fuck.''


    He had never expected that the seed he had sown would bite him in the ass like this.


    "Where''s Lucifer?"


    - Hmph. Father has nothing to do with this matter.


    "What?" Kang-Woo frowned.


    ''This wasn''t orchestrated by Lucifer?''


    If that wasn''t the case, then that meant Lucis had kidnapped Lilith on his own.


    ''How did that brat possibly manage to do that?''


    Lilith had even managed to escape from Asmodeus''s grasp. Although Lucis was Lucifer''s son, he was still farckingpared to a prince of Hell.


    ''Hm?''


    Just then, Kang-Woo noticed the ck wings on Lucis''s back.


    ''Eight¡­?''


    When hest saw Lucis, Lucis only had six wings¡ªexactly the same amount as Shalgiel.


    He wasn''t sure if, like angels, a demon''s power was indicated by the number of wings they had, but considering how Lucifer had ten wings on his back, it was likely.


    ''If Lucis has eight wings, he''s on the same level as Raphael and Uriel.''


    Considering the overwhelming difference in power between Shalgiel and Raphael, he couldn''t understand why Lucis had eight wings.


    - Huhu. Don''t think that I''m the same powerless self as before, Satan.


    Lucis smiled wickedly.


    - You have no idea how many trials I''ve ovee to gain her love.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo wasn''t sure what trials Lucis was talking about.


    ''But one thing''s for sure¡­''


    Lucis had be iparably stronger than before. In other words, just like what Lucifer had dered when Kang-Woo saw himst, he was making very ample preparations to take his revenge. He was not just bing stronger but also helping his son grow.


    ''Well, that answers all of my questions for now.''


    There was only one thing left to take care of.


    - If you don''t free her¡ª


    "You can shut up now. I have nothing else I need to hear from you," Kang-Woo interjected. "Let''s speak more in person."


    - What?


    Lucis frowned.


    Kang-Woo put his hand on themunication crystal orb, closed his eyes, and focused. The overwhelming level of demonic energy control that he had disyed when he forced the Demon God back into the Abyss was once again showing itself.


    ''Authority of the Beholder.''


    He reverse-tracked the very thin connection of demonic energy between the crystal orbs. He was able to clearly see where Lucis was holding Lilith.


    "Stay right there, you fucking brat."


    Kang-Woo waved his hand.


    Split!


    A crack formed in the air, creating a ck Rift. Without even thinking about calling Balrog, Kang-Woo threw himself into the ck Rift.


    Riiing.


    [You have entered the ''Dimensional Crack'' connected to the continent of Aernor.]


    A blue message appeared in front of him. He ignored it and moved forward.


    "Ah¡­!"


    He saw Lilith, still restrained by the darkness.


    "M-My king!!"


    "Kuh! How many times must I tell you?! You are being brainwashed by Satan! The demon king is already dead!!"


    He heard Lucis''s boisterous voice. As he was shouting at Lilith, his eyes widened once he saw Kang-Wooing out of the ck Rift.


    "H-How did you¡­"


    "Haaa, fucking hell." Kang-Woo sighed deeply.


    He couldn''t help but get angry after finding out that the matter that he had been so anxious over had been nothing more than a childish game.


    "Move."


    "Kuh!"


    Lucis bit his lip at the overwhelming amount of demonic energying out of Kang-Woo. He created a spear of darkness and pointed it at Kang-Woo.


    Crackle!


    ck lightning danced at the tip of the spear.


    "Aaah, my king!!"


    Lilith shed tears when she saw Kang-Woo. Yellow pus sttered everywhere, exuding a horrendous stench. Her tentacles wiggled and grew longer.


    "¡­"


    Flinch.


    Kang-Woo stopped in his tracks. He couldn''t help but grimace at the tremendous stench filling the entire space.


    "Ah¡­ I don''t wanna save her¡­" He unwittingly said his honest thoughts while clenching his hair and lowering his head.


    "You scumbag¡­" Lucis clenched his jaw and red at him.


    He couldn''t help but be heartbroken as he saw the yellow pus flowing from Lilith''s eyes. Not only had Satan brainwashed her, but he was also trying to abandon her.


    "Are you blind?! Can''t you see her tears¡ªher sorrowful tentacles?!"


    "I can. I can see them all too fucking well."


    "Then how¡­ how could you say something like that?!"


    "That''s what I want to ask. How the fuck can you say something like that?"


    "Satan¡­" Lucis bit his lip and surged with rage. "I know exactly why you took the demon king''s body and brainwashed this poor woman! I know it all, Satan!!"


    "I don''t think you do."


    "Didn''t you do it to obtain her love?!"


    "The fuck d''you say?"


    ck lightning crackled in all directions.


    "That''s how desperate you were for her love!! Because Lilith is¡­! She''s more beautiful than anything else in the world!"


    "Stop¡­"


    "But¡­!"


    "I said stop¡­"


    Boom!


    Lucis stomped on the ground.


    "Your love is twisted, Satan!! There is no point in false love!!"


    "Please¡­ don''t say cringe lines like that."


    "I will take this opportunity to reveal the whole truth to her!!"


    Lucis waved his hands, and the darkness that was restraining Lilith moved forward.


    He then said solemnly, "Satan, this is yourst chance. If you truly love her¡­"


    "¡­"


    "Reveal the whole truth here."


    Kang-Woo turned his head to look at Lilith, who was restrained by the darkness. Yellow pus was spewing out of her as if she were a fountain, and her green tentacles were wriggling grotesquely.


    "Lilith¡­" He anxiously called out her name. He kneeled and lowered his head. "I''m sorry. I''m actually Satan. The demon king was torn apart by the dimensional wall as he crossed over to Earth and died. I''ve been¡­ deceiving you all this time."


    Kang-Woo revealed the truth in a voice filled with sorrow. Lucis poked Lilith as if telling her that it was exactly like he had said.


    "Ah¡­" Lilith shortly eximed.


    She wiped the pusing out of her eyes with her tentacles and smiled.


    "It is okay. I¡­ believe in you, my king. I do not know why you are lying, but¡­ I¡­" Lilith said with a firm voice, "I love you."


    "¡­"


    There was a heavy silence.


    Kang-Woo''s shoulders trembled a bit.


    "Sniff¡­ Sniff, urghhh."


    Tears dripped down his cheeks.


    "I''m Satan¡­"


    "No, my king."


    "I''m telling you, I''m Satan¡­"


    "You are not Satan."


    "Urgh¡­ Waaaahh." He wept while grabbing his head. "I''m fucking Satan¡­"


    Please just believe me.

 Chapter 297 - Lost Octopus (4)

    Chapter 297 - Lost Octopus (4)


    "See, Lady Lilith?! He admitted himself that he''s Satan!" Lucis shouted energetically.


    The demon king had died, so in his perspective, it was as if the lover of his crush had died. Lucis would obviously think of it as a chance of his lifetime. Consoling Lilith, who was in a sense of loss due to the demon king''s death and Satan''s deception, would drastically raise his chances that love would bloom between them.


    "Shut up! The demon king is Satan? That isplete nonsense!!" Lilith screamed.


    She red at Lucis, and her green tentacles explosively expanded. She was instantly freed from the darkness restraining her, and the tears flowing down her cheeks had disappeared as if they had never been there in the first ce.


    Kang-Woo lowered his head and narrowed his eyes. The tears flowing down his cheeks had alsopletely disappeared.


    ''I knew it.''


    Kang-Woo sighed and got up. With that, everything had be clear.


    "Haaa," Kang-Woo sighed and slowly walked forward.


    "Kuh!"


    Lucis blocked his path.


    Crackle!


    ck lightning poured out from the end of his spear.


    "Stop right th¡ª"


    Kang-Woounched forward before Lucis could even finish his sentence. He was so fast that it looked as if his body had extended in a long line.


    Wham!!


    "Kurgghhh!!"


    Kang-Woo punched Lucis right in the face, sending him flying without even giving him a chance to use the spear covered in dancing ck lightning.


    "Cough! Cough!"


    Lucis helplessly rolled across the ground before quickly standing again.


    "Shit!"


    He extended both arms forward, and a ck sphere crackling with lightning gathered in both of his hands.


    "I will protect¡­"


    His eight wings spread wide open.


    Rumble.


    The entire space filled with darkness shook.


    "¡­ Lady Lilith!!" Lucis said in a tone filled with powerful will.


    From the way he was speaking, it almost seemed as if he were a protagonist trying to save the captured heroine.


    What should being out of Kang-Woo''s mouth wasing from Lucis instead.


    "Bullshit." Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and slowly raised his hand.


    He exerted perfect control over the Ten Thousand Demon Core''s demonic energy after molting five times while risking his life and sleeping with Han Seol-Ah.


    "Inferno," he said.


    The Authority of ze of the Prince of Greed, Mammon, merged with the Authority of des.


    FWOOSH!!


    A sword burning with yellow mes appeared in Kang-Woo''s hand.


    "Wh-What the¡ª" Lucis''s expression hardened.


    He could feel an immense heat emanating from the yellow sword. The heat was so intense that it seemed to be distorting the space around it.


    "That''s¡­"


    His eyes widened. Lucifer had told him about the different Authorities possessed by the princes of Hell to the point that Lucis was sick of it. Among them was the Prince of Greed, Mammon. Lucis had heard that, in terms of firepower, Mammon could overpower even the high-ranking princes of Hell.


    "Why¡­ why would you have Mammon''s¡­"


    He couldn''t understand it. A prince''s Authority was their own unique power, and not even the almighty demon king could control them, but¡­


    "Wh-What? How¡­"


    Lucis was looking at the yellow sword burning in Kang-Woo''s hand. He couldn''t breathe. Although he was dozens of meters away, his skin was burning.


    "Satan, h-how are you able to use the Authority of ze?!" Lucis cried out.


    Kang-Woo smirked and gripped Inferno tighter.


    "It isn''t just the Authority of ze."


    "¡­ What?" Lucis asked back while narrowing his eyes at the absurdity.


    "I wouldn''t be able to keep such a neat shape with just the Authority of ze. It''s absolute trash in terms of the amount of demonic energy it guzzles."


    Kang-Woo looked at Inferno in satisfaction.


    Thanks to his improved control over demonic energy, he was able to perfectly merge the Authorities of the princes with other regr Authorities.


    It was something he couldn''t have even imagined when he was still in the Nine Hells. He recalled molting several times to be able to use the Authorities of the princes of Hell.


    ''I guess I really have gotten stronger.''


    He had not felt it since it had been a while since he had fought at full power, but facing Lucis allowed him to feel the overwhelming difference between them.


    ''I''m not sure how he managed to get stronger, though.''


    Lucis''s eight wings were not for decoration. Kang-Woo wasn''t sure what sorts of trials he''d gone through, but he''d most certainly be stronger. But of course, Lucis was still several levels weaker than Raphael and Uriel. He was only about as strong as Belphegor, one of the weaker princes of Hell.


    Still, considering how long Belphegor had ruled in the Ninth Hell, Lucis''s growth was impressive.


    Kang-Woo slowly walked toward Lucis with Inferno in his hand.


    Lucis desperately shot ck spheres at Kang-Woo. If they were not in a dimensional crack right now, the barrage of attacks would have leveled the entire area in a radius several hundred meters wide.


    ''I can''t believe it feels so trivial.''


    Kang-Woo had still been able to face Belphegor on his own during his days in the Ninth Hell, but it had been nowhere near as simple.


    ''It feels like¡­ I''m fighting a little kid.''


    He had never imagined a day woulde when he would be able to overpower an absolute being like a prince of Hell.


    His heart beat faster, and his blood was boiling.


    The primal instinct of all animals to get stronger brought him intense pleasure. Kang-Woo smirked. The feeling of omnipotence¡­ the unending thrill of having the entire world under his foot fired him up.


    "Twilight."


    Just like Uriel, he spoke and materialized an image in his head. It was of a giant ze engulfing the world whole. In the past, it would''ve just been imagination, but he could tell that he had now earned the ''freedom'' to make that imagination a reality.


    Whoosh.


    He lightly swung Inferno. He had not used any martial art techniques like Kim Si-Hun. It had simply just been a haphazard sh.


    FWOOSH!!!


    Thepressed mes tore apart space itself along the trajectory of the swing. A yellow crack was formed in the air as if space itself had been injured, and an enormous amount of mes spewed out of it.


    The mes devoured the hundreds of ck spheres being shot at Kang-Woo, and they began to burn the dimensional crack itself.


    As if the sun were setting over the horizon, the world was dyed in twilight.


    "Gaaaaahh!!" Lucis screamed.


    The mes filled the space with an unbearable heat that made it feel as if the entire world were burning.


    Riiing.


    [You have learned ''Twilight,'' a derivative skill of ''Inferno.'']


    [Your proficiency in ''Inferno'' has reached its maximum limit.]


    [Raising the rank of ''Inferno'' from SS to SS+.]


    ''Oh, what''s this now?''


    It was an unexpected harvest. His irritation from having been trolled by a brat died down a little.


    "Kuh! Kurgh!"


    Lucis was rolling on the ground as his skin was burning.


    ''He''ll die at this rate.''


    Kang-Woo dismissed Inferno. It didn''t matter to him if Lucis died or not, but he still had things he wanted to ask him. He walked toward Lucis, who was huddled up on the ground. Almost half of him had turned into ash after being directly hit by Inferno.


    "Tsk."


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of des to cut his finger and make himself bleed. He then let the blood flow into Lucis''s mouth to treat Lucis''s destroyed body with the Authority of Regeneration.


    The singed areas bubbled up and his body was restored.


    "My king!"


    Lilith ran toward him while shedding tears. She wrapped Kang-Woo in her tentacles and smiled brightly.


    "I knew you woulde to save m¡ª"


    "Lilith," he said in a low voice.


    Lilith, sensing his rage, flinched.


    "Yes? Wh-What is the matter, my king?"


    He red at her, his mouth shut tight.


    Lilith gradually averted her eyes from his gaze.


    "Why did you do that?" he asked while biting his lip.


    "I am not quite sure what you m¡ª"


    "Why¡­ did you do that?" Kang-Woo reached out and grabbed her shoulders. His hands were trembling.


    "¡­"


    "That brat has certainly be iparably stronger than before. I''m sure you wouldn''t have stood a chance against him in a head-on battle since he''s be almost as strong as a prince of Hell."


    Lilith''sbat prowess was nothing special. Saying it bluntly, she was weak. If she were up against Shalgiel, she would just barelye out victorious after a fierce battle. It was impossible for her to beat Lucis, who had be as powerful as a prince of Hell.


    "But"¡ªKang-Woo red at her fiercely¡ª"you could''ve escaped."


    "¡­"


    She was capable of running from even Asmodeus, so there was no way she couldn''t have been able to run from an immature brat drunk on his own power.


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    There was a moment of heavy silence. Lilith, her head lowered, shed tears.


    "But¡­" She slowly raised her head as she wept. "You¡­ have never smiled like that at me."


    "¡­ What?"


    "For the hundreds of years that I''ve been devoted only to you¡­ after everything that I have done only while thinking of you¡­!" Lilith shouted. "Not once¡­ not even once¡­ have you smiled at me like the way you do at Seol-Ah."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo''s mouth fell open.


    ''What kind of shitty melodrama is this?''


    He felt as if he''d be the protagonist of a morning TV drama. He was surging with rage from the thought that she had willingly been captured by the enemy for a reason like that.


    Lilith was lucky that it had been Lucis. If it had been someone like Asmodeus, she would never have been able toe back to Kang-Woo. It had been far too reckless of her. No, leaving everything aside, her actions had crossed the line.


    "What the f¡ª"


    "Sniff¡­ Sniff."


    His aggressive curse was cut off. He could tell from Lilith''s trembling shoulders how afraid she was right now.


    "¡­"


    Lilith was not an idiot. She knew how dangerous her actions had been and that she had crossed the line, but the reason she had willingly surrendered to Lucis to get Kang-Woo''s love and attention had to have been because she had been that desperate.


    "You¡­ have never smiled like that to me," Lilith''s voice echoed in his mind.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes.


    It was fine even if it was a cheap melodrama or a morning TV drama. He still tried his best to understand Lilith''s childish and cringey line.


    The man whom she had loved for hundreds of years and pledged vows of love with, albeit for political reasons, had suddenly epted someone else as his lover. Despite that, she understood and loved him. She had even given the woman who had taken her ce as his lover advice on what would make him happy.


    She had also taken on an ungodly amount of work to be of help to him and taken on all the annoying and difficult work that he didn''t want to do. Despite all that, he still did not give her even an ounce of interest and only paid attention to his new lover. Not only had he been having an affair right in front of her, but he was even rubbing salt into her wounds.


    ''Oh, fuck.'' Kang-Woo''s eyes widened. ''I''m a fucking scumbag.''


    Forget the kidnapping scheme; he would have literally nothing to say even if she were to stab him in the stomach multiple times with a kitchen knife.


    Of course, Lilith was also to me for not believing him when he had clearly said hundreds of times that her human form was more beautiful, but it was understandable when he considered her position. No one would believe it when someone told them that they looked hideous and the form that they considered to be worse than a cockroach was way more beautiful.


    Even a person who had been told they were beautiful for merely decades would say that was nonsense, but Lilith had been around demons who told her that she was beautiful for hundreds of thousands of years. It would obviously be hard to believe even if the man she loved said it.


    "I didn''t hope for much." Lilith made a sad smile and grabbed Kang-Woo''s hands, which were ced on her shoulders.


    "¡­"


    "Just once¡­ even for a moment¡­" Her tears poured down her cheeks and dropped on the back of Kang-Woo''s hands. "I want you to smile at me like you do at Seol-Ah."


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo kept his mouth shut. He had wanted to question her about this incident, but he couldn''t bring himself to after thinking about her circumstances. Rather, he felt as if he was to me.


    ''But still¡­''


    He felt that he should say this, at the very least.


    "Just"¡ªhe embraced Lilith¡ª"don''t ever¡­"


    His hands were trembling. He recalled the unbearable feelings that he had felt when he first heard that she had disappeared.


    "Do anything like this again."


    "Ah¡­" A short exmation left Lilith''s mouth.


    She could feel from his trembling hands how much he had been worried about her.


    "I-I apologize. I just¡­" Lilith squirmed.


    Only now had it dawned on her what she had done. She had basically betrayed the king whom she loved more than anything.


    "I know," Kang-Woo said.


    He stroked Lilith''s head. His hands were covered in sticky mucus, but at this moment, he couldn''t care less about the hideous tentacles and the pus. Thinking about everything he had done to her so far, it was not even worth considering.


    Kang-Woo grabbed Lilith''s cheeks and lifted her head. He made a bright smile.


    "A-Aaaahh." Lilith trembled.


    The smile she had yearned for so much was being directed at her. Shivers spread through her entire body.


    "My king¡­ My king¡­ Sniff."


    Her surging passion caused her to put more strength into the tentacles embracing Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo watched her cry in silence.


    He was overwhelmed by the guilt of not giving her something so simple as a smile, which had driven her to such desperation. Her hideous appearance was nothing but an excuse. In terms of appearance, Kang-Woo looked like a fish to her, but she had loved him devotedly for hundreds of years despite it.


    ''I just¡­ never tried to understand her even once.''


    He had never cared about how she felt when she looked at him and how much she loved him. He had never once looked at the woman named Lilith beneath the hideous appearance.


    "Lilith."


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath. To be honest, he still found the stench disgusting, and the tentacles covering her body were as hideous as ever. But¡­ that was not all there was to her.


    "Ah¡­"


    He grabbed Lilith''s chin. Her eighteen eyes widened, and she trembled. Kang-Woo slowly tilted his head. For the first time in hundreds of years, without being forced in any way, he kissed her first.

 Chapter 298 - Kimi No Na Wa (Your Name)

    Chapter 298 - Kimi No Na Wa (Your Name)


    "Ah¡­"


    A short exmation left Lilith''s mouth. Her purple skin reddened.


    "Ah, ah, aah!"


    Lilith closed her eyes and jumped in ce as she clenched her fists and wiggled her tentacles. She didn''t know how to react.


    Pus poured out in all directions from the ends of her tentacles.


    ''¡­''


    Oh Kang-Woo closed his eyes. Even if he tried to ignore it and desperately endure it¡­


    ''Fuck¡­''


    He wasn''t sure if he''d made the right decision.


    ''Did I dig my own grave?''


    He was swept with regret, wondering that maybe he had made the wrong decision while he was drunk on his own emotions. No matter how precious her feelings were to him, he could not bring himself to ever get used to those tentacles.


    "Sniff. Sniff¡­ I love you¡­ I love you so much, my king." Lilith smiled brightly. "Hehe. This is the first time¡­ you kissed me first, my king."


    Kang-Woo remained silent with aplicated emotion as he stared at Lilith, who couldn''t be any happier.


    ''I''m thankful, but¡­''


    No matter how much he tried to ignore her outer appearance and look at the person within¡­


    ''It''s too much.''


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes to the stench stimting his nose.


    If she''d looked like Kurosaki Yurie, he couldn''t have been any happier, but what he was going through was so hard to withstand that his emotions cooled down pretty quickly.


    ''Wait.''


    A certain thought crossed his mind, and Kang-Woo''s eyes shone sharply.


    ''What if I¡­''


    Although he had treated her far too harshly until now, he had ample justification to do this at this moment in time.


    "But still, I can''t let this go unpunished."


    "Ah¡­"


    "Lilith, what you''ve done is akin to having betrayed me."


    "Th-That¡­" Lilith''s eyes trembled.


    Regardless of her reason, it did not change the fact that she had nned this to deceive him. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that she hadmitted treason. Even execution would be an appropriate punishment.


    "¡­ I apologize."


    Lilith lowered her head without even thinking about making excuses. Her shoulders trembled, and she anxiously shifted her feet.


    "I will ept any punishment," she said while gulping.


    Kang-Woo could feel she was even willing to take her own life ifmanded.


    ''Good.''


    Kang-Woo opened his mouth slowly while making a nervous expression.


    "From now on, I forbid you from being in your demon form in front of me."


    "¡­ Pardon?"


    "Stay in the form of Kurosaki Yurie whenever you are with me."


    "N-Not that!!" Lilith quickly shouted.


    The demon king had finally made a move on her, but staying in that ugly and unsightly form mightpletely extinguish any sparks of love that had been formed at this moment.


    "Please, my king! A-Anything but that¡­!"


    She was scared she might be abandoned if she stayed in her human form.


    ''It took me hundreds of years to win his heart despite looking this beautiful¡­!''


    It had taken hundreds of years to win the demon king''s heart in her demon form, which was praised by all demons and would even make lower demons go mad with lust when they saw her. If she returned to her human form, his feelings would surely die down over time.


    "You said you''d ept any punishment, did you not?" Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and red at her.


    Flinch.


    Lilith trembled.


    "I¡­ understand," she nodded while making a heavy expression. Her tentacles disappeared, and she returned to the form of Kurosaki Yurie.


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists while maintaining a solemn expression.


    ''YOLOOOOOOOO!!!'' he eximed in silence.


    He would have danced right here and now if he could.


    ''Fuck yes! It worked!!!''


    Tears dripped down his cheeks. To be honest, Kang-Woo wanted to tell Lilith the truth; he wanted to tell her that he hated tentacles and her pus even more.


    ''But she didn''t believe me the hundreds of times I said that her human form was far more beautiful.''


    He had told her to the point that he had be absolutely sick of it, but even after that, she simplyughed it off. She had even shaken her head and giggled when he had taken a day to tell her seriously.


    ''At this point, I honestly don''t think she''s acting like this because she doesn''t know.''


    Lilith wasn''t an idiot, so she probably knew that he wasn''t joking after having been told so many times. In other words, it was more urate to say that she was denying it despite knowing that Kang-Woo was telling the truth.


    ''Well¡­''


    It wasn''t like he couldn''t understand Lilith. One might think she was crazy by human standards, but that was not the case¡ªshe''d lived for more than ten millennia. He wasn''t sure how old she was exactly, but rumors of Lilith had already spread throughout the Nine Hells when Kang-Woo had first fallen into Hell.


    After only being told she was beautiful for all that time, her appearance had been denied by the one she loved most. It would be weirder if she had epted it easily.


    ''But it''s all over now.''


    A smile appeared on Kang-Woo''s face.


    "M-Must I really stay by your side in such an ugly appearance?" Lilith asked in a sad voice.


    "Yeah. You must always be in this form whenever you''re with me."


    "Even during¡­ n-nightly service?"


    "Absolutely. Always. No matter what," he emphasized three times.


    Tears flowed from Lilith''s eyes.


    "Wh-Why such a pointless punishment¡­?! How could you do this when you went absolutely crazy over my tentacle techniques?!!"


    Kang-Woo barely managed to stop himself from cursing.


    "Regardless, this is my punishment for you. Unless it isn''t for unleashing your power duringbat, you must always be in human form."


    "Urgh¡­"


    "You aren''t thinking of glossing over such a serious crime, are you?"


    Her lips moved slightly as if she were trying to say something, but she lowered her head.


    "I¡­ understand."


    Wham!


    Just then, a huge noise sounded out. Kang-Woo and Lilith looked toward the source of the sound.


    "Wh-What are you talking about?!" Lucis, who had been healed by the Authority of Regeneration, red at Kang-Woo with an expression full of despair. "How could you do something¡­ so horrible to Lady Lilith?!!"


    Lucis shook his head as if he couldn''t stand to look at her.


    "¡­"


    Kang-Woo looked at him in disbelief. He considered burning him into a crisp again with the Authority of ze, but then he smiled as if he''d thought of something better.


    "Do you hate Lilith''s human form that much?"


    "Obviously! This is an insult to Lady Lilith''s beautiful tentacles!"


    "Then I guess you ultimately only love Lilith for her looks."


    "Wh-What?"


    "Tsk, tsk, after all your talk about true love¡­ Pathetic."


    "Kuh!" Lucis''s face aggressively crumpled. "N-No!! I''m truly in love with¡ª"


    "Then why did you react so sensitively? The only thing different about her is merely her appearance."


    "Well¡­"


    "It just means that you care more about her outer appearance than what''s within."


    "Y-You''re wr¡ª"


    "Prove it if I''m wrong."


    Lucis remained silent, and his face paled.


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction and looked down at him.


    "You don''t have the right to love her, you brat."


    "U-Urgh." Lucis lowered his head, and tears dripped down his cheeks.


    Kang-Woo snickered as he looked at Lucis, who was crying in dejection like a loser.


    ''That''s enough joking around.''


    It was about time to get to the main point.


    "Right, brat. There are a few things that I want to ask you."


    "D-Do you seriously think I''ll¡ª"


    "Lilith," Kang-Woo quietly called out.


    The quick-witted Lilith nodded, converted a few of her hair strands into tentacles, and wrapped Lucis''s body.


    "Gasp!"


    Lucis''s eyes widened. His eyes turned hazy as he twisted to get free.


    Kang-Woo smiled wickedly.


    ''I''ve already confirmed that he''s still under the brainwashing effect.''


    If the effect had disappeared, there was no way he''d havee to Earth in secret to save Lilith without telling his father.


    "Argh, urghh." Lucis drooled.


    "First off, where''s Lucifer?"


    "Father is¡­ in the middle¡­ of a trial."


    "A trial?"


    Kang-Woo recalled Lucis saying through themunication orb that he had be stronger after oveing a trial.


    "And what is this trial?"


    "The trial¡­ is a space¡­ made by the¡­ Demon God''s heart. It involves¡­ growing one''s¡­ power there."


    The Demon God''s heart.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed.


    "What kind of space is it exactly?"


    "A ce¡­ where the flow of time¡­ is different. A space¡­ free from the¡­ws of physics."


    Lucis''s answers were choppy due to the brainwashing effect, but Kang-Woo could more or less understand what he was saying.


    ''Is it the same kind of space as that nightmare of the Primordial Darkness?''


    He recalled the ck space that he had followed Satan into. Lucis had said that the flow of time was different there, so it was understandable that Lucis had be so strong in such a short period of time.


    ''If Lucis became this strong¡­''


    He couldn''t even guess how much stronger Lucifer had be.


    ''The son of a bitch had Divinity when he first came to Earth¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s expression turned anxious.


    Although he himself had be overwhelmingly stronger than his past self, so had Lucifer. Kang-Woo couldn''t fathom how serious of a wild card Lucifer would be while Lucifer was preparing for his revenge in the trial, the space made from the Demon God''s heart.


    ''I''ll have to keep this guy for now, then.''


    Kang-Woo looked down at Lucis. As long as he had Lucis, Lucifer wouldn''t be able to act freely. For now, he had acquired some solid insurance.


    ''There''s no need to be in a rush.''


    He narrowed his eyes. It was dangerous to be indolent, but there was no need to be in a rush either.


    ''If I y my cards right, I could use Lucifer as well.''


    The gears in his head started to quickly turn.


    He did not have a detailed n yet, but he surmised that he would be able to use Lucifer in the future if he used Lucis correctly. Kang-Woo couldn''t help but smile.


    ''This is what you get for not raising your son right.''


    Lucis''s trolling was enough to make Kang-Woo shudder. He got goosebumps from imagining having a son like Lucis.


    "Lilith, brainwash him even more thoroughly than before. Ensure he''s willing to stab his father or cut open his throat if you order him to."


    "Yes, my king." Lilith bowed.


    The brainwashing she''d already applied to him was still in effect, so it wouldn''t be hard to intensify it.


    Kang-Woo turned away while making a satisfied expression.


    Just then¡­


    "Hm¡­?"


    Kang-Woo saw the eight wings on Lucis''s back and the ck lightning crackling between them. A thought crossed his mind like a bolt of lightning.


    ''Wait just a minute.'' Kang-Woo''s eyes widened.


    "Fuck yeah. I can use this."


    Heughed in disbelief from not having thought of it sooner.


    ''He can be used for more than just keeping Lucifer in check.''


    "Pfft, huehuehuehue."


    A vulgarugh unwittingly flowed out of his mouth.


    "My king¡­?"


    "Step aside for a second."


    Kang-Woo walked toward Lucis and tightly gripped his shoulders.


    "Listen carefully, Lucis."


    "U-Urrh¡­?"


    "Your name is no longer Lucis."


    "Na¡­me?"


    "From now on, your name is¡­"


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    "Rakiel."

 Chapter 299 - That Was Barely Anything

    Chapter 299 - That Was Barely Anything


    With the self-made kidnapping plot right after the Valencia incident wrapped up, Oh Kang-Woo was finally able to take a break.


    "Haaa," Kang-Woo sighed in exhaustion while sprawled out on the couch. He''d been so busy that he hadn''t had time to properly sleep in nearly a week.


    ''I''m missing out.''


    He frowned as he remembered how his demonic energy control improved just from sleeping with Han Seol-Ah.


    Although it did not rise unconditionally, it still rose far more than when he trained for a whole day to raise it, so it was beneficial for him to sleep with Seol-Ah every day.


    "I mean¡­"


    Kang-Woo smiled. Annoying things had happened one after another, but he had gained a lot out of them.


    ''First, I was able to filter out the stagnant water within Guardians.''


    To him, Guardians was like a hound. Although it might not be able to kill the enemy, it could at least bite their leg to buy enough time for him. Considering that the sess rate of hunting a boar lowered to below half if you hunted without a hound, managing Guardians well was important.


    ''And¡­''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. He thought about the demon with ck wings, Lucis.


    ''This is really big.''


    He still wasn''t sure why Lucis¡ªor, to be more precise, his father Lucifer¡ªhad ck wings. Lucifer had been ruling as a prince of Hell since before Kang-Woo had even arrived in Hell. Regardless, what mattered was that Lucis''s wings were exactly the same as the ones that fallen angels had. It was also a huge plus that Lucis, who was a half-breed between demon and human, was indistinguishable from angels.


    ''There might be angels who recognize his face, so I should modify it a little.''


    He''d heard from Raphael that only Michael had ever seen Rakiel''s face, meaning that even if he made Lucis act as Rakiel, no one would be able to tell.


    ''Rakiel Coin to the moon!''


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but smile.


    The bad thing about the Satan Coin was the fact that Kang-Woo and Satan existed simultaneously in the same ce, which made it very restricting.


    Although he could create a fake body with the Authority of Cloning, it could only do extremely simple tasks, to the point that one would immediately be able to tell that it was a fake once someone picked a fight with it.


    ''But if I brainwash Lucis into being Rakiel¡­''


    That meant both Kang-Woo and Rakiel could be in the same ce. Not only that, it would not affect Kang-Woo in the slightest even if Lucis was found out to not be Rakiel.


    ''It''s an immortal coin.''


    It was a perfect coin that couldn''t fail. Even if it did fail, it wouldn''t affect him at all, so there was no reason for him not to cheer.


    ''But of course, this brat is a bit too weak to y the role of Rakiel properly.''


    Kang-Woo could somewhatpensate for that by controlling demonic energy from a distance, just like he''d done during the incident with Raphael. Since Lucis was at least as strong as a low-ranking prince of Hell, Lucis would be able to fight far better than Kang-Woo''s clone.


    ''And most importantly¡­''


    Kang-Woo looked toward the kitchen.


    "I''m so d nothing bad happened, Lilith," Seol-Ah said.


    "Hoho. Thank you for worrying about me."


    "Not at all. I wanted to help save you as well, but Kang-Woo left without saying a word¡­"


    "I''m happy enough knowing that the king treasures me so deeply."


    "Oh,e to think of it, when you were kidnapped, Kang-Woo was¡­"


    He saw Lilith, in the form of Kurosaki Yurie, chatting with Seol-Ah. Although it was just a normal kitchen, the two women sitting and chatting radiated such a gorgeous aura that the scene felt as if it were straight from the front cover of a magazine.


    He couldn''t help but clench his fists in delight. He felt as if he were about to cry.


    ''Fuck yeah¡­ This is it. This is the life.''


    The best thing he had received from the past few incidents was undoubtedly that he''d been freed from the tentacles that had traumatized him for such a long time. Just that alone was incredible enough.


    "Kang-Woo, are you crying?" Echidna, who''d been watching TV while sitting on hisp, tilted her head.


    Kang-Woo silently patted Echidna''s head as he smiled. He was filled with an inexplicable sense of joy.


    "It''s gettingte, so I will get going. Oh, right. I ced the report regarding Lucis in your room earlier."


    "Okay, thanks." Kang-Woo smiled brightly and waved.


    Lilith smiled back at him and bowed.


    "Fufu. Your room was also a little messy, so I tidied it up."


    "Mm. Was it that messy?"


    "Just a little." Lilith turned to Seol-Ah and winked.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head but paid it no mind.


    ''They seem to be on the same wavelength about something.''


    They had been getting very close recently, so it wouldn''t be weird if they shared things he wasn''t aware of.


    "I will see you tomorrow." Lilith opened the front door and walked out.


    Kang-Woo checked the time¡ªit was 11:00 p.m. It was still too early to fall asleep, but he really wanted to relieve all the fatigue that he had umted in the past week.


    ''There''s also the demonic energy control issue.''


    He wasn''t sure how strong Lucifer would be through the trial, so he had to be as strong as possible. Besides molting, sleeping with Seol-Ah was the fastest way to improve his demonic energy control.


    "Seol-Ah."


    "Yes, Kang-Woo?" Seol-Ah walked toward him while making a kind smile as if she knew exactly what he wanted. "Shall we sleep together tonight?"


    "Yeah."


    "Fufu. Just a moment. I''ll go wash up." Seol-Ah went to take a shower while humming.


    Kang-Woo gulped and went into his room first.


    The report Lilith had mentioned was on his desk, and the room had been tidied up like a hotel room.


    "¡­ Right, then."


    Kang-Woo poured a little bit of demonic energy into a ck crystal orb at the corner of his desk¡ªit was themunication crystal orb that Lucis had sent him. It had originally been for two-waymunication, but he had modified it to be able to record videos.


    ''It''s been bothering me for a while.''


    Kang-Woo wanted to check what happened whenever he slept with Seol-Ah.


    Things that he couldn''t understand always happened. For example, his clothes were always partly taken off, and there were marks on his chest and thighs, among other weird things.


    ''It''s also weird that I don''t remember anything whenever I sleep with Seol-Ah.''


    He would usually be very sensitive to anything that happened even when he was asleep, but he had absolutely no memory of anything during the time that he was asleep with Seol-Ah for some reason.


    ''I also have to figure out why my demonic energy control improves.''


    As long as he figured that out, he''d be able to apply it to his usual training routine. Kang-Woo put the crystal orb on ''record'' mode and ced it on the table.


    ck.


    "I''m back, Kang-Woo."


    The door opened, and Seol-Ah entered in her pajamas. She''d just taken a shower, so her slightly wet hair and red cheeks gave off an alluring air.


    "Ahem," Kang-Woo coughed.


    "I heard that you''ve been very busy recently¡­ Are you feeling okay?" Seol-Ah asked in a worried voice while putting her hand on top of his.


    "Well, nothing''s wrong in particr. My body actually doesn''t require sleep."


    "But aren''t you still tired?"


    "That''s inevitable."


    Although he was physically fine, he couldn''t do anything about psychological fatigue. He was keeping the Ten Thousand Demon Core in check at all times, so psychological fatigue would only keep piling up.


    Although sleep wasn''t mandatory, he needed it to some extent.


    "¡­ I''m worried." Seol-Ahid her head on his shoulder and gripped his hand tighter.


    Kang-Woo felt a warm andfortable sensation spread from his hand to his entire body.


    ''Darliiiiiiiing!''


    Kang-Woo held back his desire to scream. He wanted to hug her and jump, but the air was too serious for him to do something like that.


    ''Still, darling is the best.''


    It was difficult to feel the samefort and warmth from anyone else but her. Kang-Woo frantically forced down the ascending corners of his mouth and embraced her with one hand.


    "Don''t worry. I''m not working hard enough to the point that I''d break down."


    "Still¡­" Seol-Ah pinched Kang-Woo''s thighs while slightly pouting. "You''ve barely been hometely. Do you have any idea how lonely Echidna has been?"


    "Only Echidna?"


    "Ngh¡­ W-Well¡­" Seol-Ah blushed.


    Kang-Wooughed and then gave her a light kiss on the lips. The air around them was so sweet that he felt as if he were receiving death threats from men all over the world.


    "Let''s go to bed."


    "Okay." Seol-Ah''s eyes shone. She snorted in excitement and then spread her arms out wide. "Alright,e here."


    "Ahem. It''s a bit embarrassing every time, so why don''t we just¡ª"


    "Now," she said in a firm voice as if she wouldn''t take no for an answer.


    Kang-Woo ended up lying in bed in her arms.


    ''Ah.''


    An inexplicably soft and warm sensation spread through his body. Though he couldn''t even remember his childhood, it was as if a deeply imprinted loneliness was being healed.


    ''I''m getting sleepy again.''


    Kang-Woo felt his eyelids be heavier as if he had taken sleeping pills. Before he fell asleep, he looked toward the crystal orb lying on the table.


    ''Tomorrow¡­''


    He woulde to know everything.


    * * *


    "Urghhh¡­"


    After he woke up the next morning, Kang-Woo checked his body first.


    ''Like I thought.''


    His clothes were loosened, and there were red marks around his chest.


    ''My demonic energy control has also gone up.''


    As he closed his eyes and focused, he could feel that his control had improved.


    "Good."


    Kang-Woo grabbed the crystal on the table and activated it by pouring a small amount of demonic energy into it.


    - Fufu. You''re already asleep.


    He could see himself sleeping in Seol-Ah''s arms.


    - How cute.


    Seol-Ah softly giggled as she patted his head.


    "Ahem."


    Kang-Woo focused on the video while blushing.


    ''Right then, let''s see what happens¡­''


    Right as he was getting nervous¡­


    - Yawn.


    ''Hm?''


    Seol-Ah yawned, and then she closed her eyes. All that could be heard were the sounds of breathing.


    ''What?''


    That was it?


    Kang-Woo watched the video with a strange sense of disappointment.


    Thirty minutester¡­


    Whoom.


    Twelve faint wings appeared on Seol-Ah''s back. At the same time, demonic energy leaked out of Kang-Woo''s body.


    The demonic energy and the light from her back intertwined in the air.


    ''I guess it really was because of Seraph''s energy.''


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone as he watched the demonic energy and the white light intertwine.


    "Hmm. Seraph''s energy is the more active one."


    The demonic energy did not move an inch as if it were asleep, whereas the white light moved busily as if it were coveting the ck demonic energy.


    Pop, pop.


    The ripples from the energy disheveled his clothes, and red marks appeared around his body.


    "So this is why the red marks appeared."


    His clothes seemed to loosen when his energy entangled with Seraph''s.


    The white light that had been swirling around the demonic energy focused on a specific part of it, as if it were attacking a weak point. The ck demonic energy started to get sucked into the white light. As if it were resisting the white light''s attack, the ck demonic energy huddled up and then drooped lifelessly. It then retreated back into Kang-Woo''s body.


    ''What the hell happened?''


    Regardless of how many times he watched it, he couldn''t understand why the two energies shed.


    ''At the very least, it''s clear that my demonic energy control rose due to my power intermingling with Seraph''s.''


    The power within Seol-Ah was that of the Celestial Goddess. He still wasn''t sure why Seraph''s soul had entered her, but Kang-Woo couldn''t deny that the god possessed power beyond his imagination. It was possible that his control had forcibly risen so that it wouldn''t be devoured by that power.


    ''It''s simr to how molting instinctively raises my demonic energy control to keep me alive.''


    It could be considered ''casual'' molting.


    "In any case, it''s a huge plus."


    There could possibly be side effects, but he had not felt any so far, and it did not risk his life like molting did.


    ''I don''t think I''d be able to use this for training, though.''


    But if his demonic energy control could improve just by sleeping with Seol-Ah, there was no reason not to do it. Demonic energy control was absolutely necessary for him since he possessed a ticking time bomb, the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    "Well, that was barely anything."


    To be honest¡­


    ''I was hoping that maybe something a bit dirty was going on¡­''


    He had been ignoring it since he wasn''t sure if the kind and gentle Seol-Ah would do such a thing, but since he was a man, he had been having dirty thoughts.


    "Tsk."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue in a strange sense of disappointment.


    * * *


    "Oh, Lilith?" While Kang-Woo was watching the recording in his bedroom, Seol-Ah called Lilith. "Yes, I did as you said. I wouldn''t have known if you hadn''t told me."


    - We aren''t strangers anymore, so we should help each other out. It caught my attention while I was cleaning the room.


    Lilith''s voice came out through the smartphone.


    Seol-Ah asked in worry, "But what if he finds ou¡ª"


    - No need to worry.


    Lilith giggled and continued.


    - Doctoring footage is my specialty.

 Chapter 300 - Key of the Demonic Sea

    Chapter 300 - Key of the Demonic Sea


    "Let''s leave it here for today," Oh Kang-Woo said as he slowly looked around the humid jungle with the stench of monster corpses lingering in the air.


    "A-Already?" Uriel, the blue-haired boy, turned his head in surprise.


    ''What do you mean, "already"?''


    They had scoured the Amazon jungle for traces of Rakiel for over eight hours today.


    ''What an absolute waste of time.''


    Rakiel wasn''t on Earth.


    Kang-Woo was the one who''d been using his name, so he knew it better than anyone else.


    They were going all around the world in search of nonexistent clues, so there was no better way to waste his time.


    "Ahem. L-Let''s search a bit more. Ah, how about we take a break before resuming our search? Oh, let''s eat that kimchi stew thing. You brought it with you, didn''t you?"


    "Ngh."


    Kang-Woo groaned while staring at Uriel, who was searching for a good ce to eat. Since he was stuttering, Uriel also seemed to know that searching for Rakiel here for any longer was pointless.


    ''Why''s he acting like this despite knowing it''s pointless?''


    Uriel had been contacting him more frequently as ofte.


    No, to be more precise, ever since Kang-Woo had bought him a smartphone after suggesting they take a day off while touring Seoul, Uriel had not stopped contacting him.


    ''Why is an angel so goddamn good at using a smartphone?''


    Kang-Woo took his smartphone out and looked over all of the messages Uriel had sent him through KakaoTalk this morning.


    Yuriel ?: [What are you doing today?]


    Yuriel ?: [You finished all the Guardians work a few days ago, right?]


    Yuriel ?: [Then search for traces of Rakiel with me today.]


    Yuriel ?: [Shouldn''t you be up by now? Why aren''t you reading my messages?]


    Yuriel ?: [That aside, this smartphone thing is fascinating.]


    Yuriel ?: [Things you want to say can be sent immediately like a letter. It''s way better than amunication orb!]


    Yuriel ?: [Things likenguage can be easily learned through magic.]


    Yuriel ?: [Maybe I should supply this to everyone in Sant''Angelo.]


    Yuriel ?: [But I guess it''d be difficult since there wouldn''t be any¡­ wifi, I think it was called? It''s better thanmunication orbs in every way except this.]


    Yuriel ?: [Why is wifi so slow in Africa? I''m trying to watch videos on this MyuTube thing, but it keeps buffering.]


    "¡­"


    There were over a hundred messages like this.


    ''He''s acting like some kid begging for attention.''


    He''d thought Uriel just looked like a kid, but he also seemed to be one mentally as well.


    ''The characteristic of angels is "obsession," or so I''ve been told.''


    Rather than obsession, it felt more like he was sending messages simply because he was so fascinated by a smartphone, but¡­


    ''It gets annoying when he sends them without rest.''


    Uriel kept sending messages as if he were desperate for attention.


    If Kang-Woo had known that something like this would happen, he wouldn''t have done something as insane as giving him a smartphone.


    "¡­ I never thought he''d be able to use it so well," Kang-Woo mumbled so that Uriel wouldn''t be able to hear him.


    He had never expected an angel who lived in a world without even any electronic devices, let alone a smartphone, would be able to adapt to a smartphone so quickly.


    ''What the hell is with that ID, though?''


    The addition of ''Y'' could be glossed over since he could have just made a typo when typing his name, but Kang-Woo could not understand why he had added a heart mark. He had asked Uriel, but apparently that was a typo as well. He''d even taken a profile picture. Though he wasn''t quite on Halcyon''s level, he looked like a girl due to his androgynous looks.


    ''I feel like I''m texting a girl working at a shady establishment or something.''


    An establishment where employees wearing angel costumes jailbaited people.


    ''I don''t even have a profile picture.''


    Heughed in disbelief. He didn''t find out untilter, but it seemed that the level of civilization in Aernor wasn''t as low as he had expected.


    Although they didn''t have something like a smartphone, they had magic tools that could rece most electronic devices used on Earth. Since angels were mainly active in Aernor, angels also frequently used such magic tools.


    ''I mean, at least I''m getting closer to him.''


    It was absolutely necessary to build good rtionships with the angels. Unlike the immovable Raphael, Uriel was much easier to control. As long as he kept growing their rtionship¡­


    ''He''ll definitely be more helpful than Guardians.''


    If Guardians was like a hound, Uriel and the other angels were like a trained tiger; taming it was extremely difficult, but once trained to the point that it could be controlled, the beast was strong enough to kill the prey all on its own.


    "Haaa."


    It was only obvious that training such a fierce beast would be tiresome.


    Compared to Raphael, who seemed impossible to tame, the situation with Uriel was far better.


    ''I can at least get through to him.''


    Raphael, from his manner of speech to his thought process, was way too much of a boomer, which had resulted in Kang-Woo not being able to get through to him.


    "Alright, all done!" Uriel eximed in a bright voice.


    He''d used magic to cut giant trees all around the jungle to make a table and chairs.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly.


    "You didn''t have to make something this extravagant."


    "Hehe. It''s better to eat infort if possible. Besides, it wasn''t that hard to make." Uriel grinned and took a seat.


    Kang-Woo sat across from him and opened his magic bag, taking out a container of kimchi stew Han Seol-Ah had made. He took out a pot and poured the contents of the container into it.


    "When will the other angels being?"


    "Mm. I pushed them a bit too hard to send me here, so it''ll probably take more time than I thought."


    Kang-Woo frowned a bit at Uriel''s answer.


    ''I guess I''ll be doing this for a while, then.''


    Uriel didn''t want to be with anyone other than Kang-Woo for some reason. Kang-Woo had sent Kim Si-Hun to him once because it was a waste of time, but after Uriel had harshly rejected Si-Hun, Kang-Woo had to step up again.


    ''He''s not some baby bird asking for his mommy.''


    Not only did he have wings on his back, but he also behaved like a pigeon.


    Kang-Woo put his hands on his forehead as if it hurt.


    Seeing that, Uriel''s eyes widened.


    "Wh-What''s wrong? Are you hurt?"


    "N-No. It''s nothing."


    "I noticed you''ve been doing that a lottely¡­ Are you sure you aren''t hurt?"


    "Haha. I assure you, I''m fine."


    Kang-Woo smiled and shook his head as he looked into Uriel''s worried eyes.


    ''It''s because of you, dammit.''


    There was no way Kang-Woo wouldn''t be stressed from going all around the world in search of nonexistent traces of Rakiel. If not for this, he would be currently tasting paradise in his darling''s arms.


    ''Ah, my blood pressure¡­''


    The back of his head hurt again. Knowing the fact that it was necessary only made him more angry, just like how a person did not want to wake up on a Monday morning despite knowing that they needed to go to work.


    "A-Are you sure you''re okay?" Uriel gave him a worried look.


    Kang-Woo had been frequently grabbing the back of his head while groaningtely, so Uriel wondered if something was wrong with him.


    "I told you, I''m fine." Making a forced smile, Kang-Woo finished emptying the container of kimchi stew into the pot.


    The container, infused with instion magic, had kept the kimchi stew steaming hot. Kang-Woo salivated as he looked at the steaming kimchi stew.


    "I''ve noticed a lot of this being in the stewtely. It didn''t used to be there," Uriel said as he grabbed something that looked like a chestnut from the kimchi stew with his chopsticks. "It''s called garlic, right? Is this a staple ingredient in kimchi stew?"


    "No, I wouldn''t say it''smon."


    Seol-Ah had recently started putting garlic in the kimchi stew.


    Kang-Woo put garlic and kimchi above a bed of rice.


    "But it''s okay, since it''s still delicious. Garlic is also good for restoring stamina."


    "Really? It must be for nutrition purposes, then. But someone of your level doesn''t really need their stamina replenished, do they?" Uriel asked while tilting his head.


    The Kang-Woo he knew was stronger than Shalgiel but weaker than Raphael¡ªabout as powerful as Belphegor. Even someone far below him, Tian Wuchen, rarely expended stamina during daily life. That was also why the stronger the individual, the less sleep they needed.


    "I''ve been experiencing a lot of energy expendituretely."


    "¡­ Doing what?"


    "Nothing worth mentioning."


    It was difficult for Kang-Woo to exin to Uriel that he was expending stamina because he was going through ''casual molting'' as the energy of the Demonic Sea intermingled with Seraph''s energy while he was asleep.


    ''Because I''m not sure why it''s happening either.''


    He didn''t know why it was happening, but he wasn''t stopping it since it was of great benefit to him. Also, sleeping in Seol-Ah''s embrace felt good.


    "¡­"


    Uriel bit his lip anxiously and fell into thought as he stared at Kang-Woo.


    Not noticing his expression, Kang-Woo ate the kimchi stew.


    "Slurp, munch."


    It was as delicious as always.


    * * *


    "I will get going, then."


    "Ah, okay."


    Uriel waved his hand, a lonely expression on his face. It seemed like he wanted to stay with Kang-Woo a bit longer, but he really had to let him go now.


    ''I hope his subordinates arrive soon,'' Kang-Woo thought.


    Only then would Uriel stop chasing him around like an abandoned dog.


    "Let''s try investigating from Russia again in three days'' time."


    "Ah¡­! O-Okay!" Uriel nodded while making a bright expression.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly from how tantly excited Uriel looked. Dealing with Uriel was certainly far easier than dealing with Raphael.


    ''Is this what they call a blessing in disguise?''


    He had gotten headaches in the past from the possibility of having to go to war against the angels, but now their rtionship had be even stronger than before. Although it wasn''t an alliance rtionship between two organizations like it had been before, making an ally out of Uriel, who was far stronger than an army, was extremely meaningful.


    "I''ll text you when I get home." Uriel waved his hand.


    Kang-Woo nodded and headed home to where his darling was waiting for him.


    * * *


    ck.


    "I''m back~"


    Kang-Woo opened the front door and saw the home he''d been so dearly missing. Seol-Ah was sitting on the living room couch all by herself, staring nkly at the air. Chills went down Kang-Woo''s spine due to her sittingpletely still in the living room without even having the TV on.


    "Ah."


    Life returned to Seol-Ah''s eyes when she noticed Kang-Woo. The chilling sensation quickly disappeared and was reced by warm,forting energy.


    She approached him with a bright smile on her face. She ced her forehead on his corbone and gently embraced him as if he were a precious treasure.


    "You''rete today. I was waiting for you."


    "Where are Halcyon and Echidna?"


    "They went to Balrog''s house to train."


    "They''ve been training hardtely."


    "Fufu. I think the shock from seeing your trainingst time sparked their desire to train." She was probably referring to the molting. "What kind of harsh training was it exactly for them to be acting like this?"


    "Oh¡­" Kang-Woo slurred.


    Molting was actually far too brutal to call training. Echidna and Halcyon had bawled their eyes out when they saw it, so it was only obvious how Seol-Ah would react.


    "It''s nothing worth mentioning."


    He averted his gaze while smiling awkwardly, just like he had done with Uriel.


    "¡­"


    Seol-Ah hugged him tighter in silence. Her eyes were shaking.


    "I''ll go take a shower."


    "¡­ Okay."


    Seol-Ah sounded gloomy, likely having been hurt by the fact that Kang-Woo was hiding things from her.


    ''I''m sorry, darling.''


    But even so, he could not tell her about molting. There was no way that he could package the process that involved his body turning inside out while pissing and shitting as harsh training.


    She would obviously cry as much as Echidna had, so he just couldn''t tell her.


    ''I might have to use it again, after all.''


    Staying silent was the correct decision.


    Kang-Woo entered the bathroom and turned on the hot water, filling the room with steam.


    Whoom!


    Just then, ck light poured out of the Key of the Demonic Sea on his right middle finger.


    Riiing.


    [The Key of the Demonic Sea has sessfully digested three Hell Armaments!]


    [You have sessfully acquired the first key, ''Predation''!]


    Creak, creak.


    The sound of gears turning was heard from the Key of the Demonic Sea. Five geometric symbols appeared on the ring''s surface, and one of them shone dimly with white light.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    ''Finally!''


    The Key of the Demonic Sea had returned.


    Before he even had a chance to check the new power that he had gained, another system window popped up.


    [You mustplete a prerequisite quest to acquire the second key of the Key of the Demonic Sea, ''Skyfall.'']


    ''A prerequisite quest?''


    [''Key of the Demonic Sea'' prerequisite quest - ''Beginning of Chaos.'']


    [Sow the ''Seed of Corruption'' within a being of at least an archangel or above.]


    "What the fuck is this?" Kang-Woo frowned as he looked at the message window.


    He had received an absurd quest out of nowhere.


    "How the fuck am I supposed to¡ª"


    Riiing.


    [The prerequisite quest has been sessfully achieved.]


    "What?"


    [You have acquired the second key of the Key of the Demonic Sea, ''Skyfall.'']


    "The fuck?"


    It was already achieved?

 Chapter 301 - I Havent Done Anything

    <h4>Chapter 301 - I Haven''t Done Anything</h4>


    "The hell is this?"


    Oh Kang-Woo looked in disbelief at the Key of the Demonic Sea on his right middle finger. As if proving that the message saying that it was sessful was not a lie, faint white light poured out from the second geometric symbol of the five.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [You have acquired the second key, ''Skyfall.'']


    [The status window information for ''Key of the Demonic Sea'' has been updated.]


    "Kuh."


    Kang-Woo frowned. Great power flowed up from the ck ring on his middle finger and prated his body.


    <i>''What''s happening?''</i>


    It felt as if he were being burned alive.


    <i>ck.</i>


    Clicks echoed within his head, as if cogs were turning or a key was turning a lock. There was no need to even think about what the Key of the Demonic Sea was connected to¡ªthe Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    The Key of the Demonic Sea connected with the three giant Doors holding the Demonic Sea.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened.


    <i>Whoom!</i>


    Demonic energy surged from his body along with the sensation of the Key of the Demonic Sea linking with the Ten Thousand Demon Core. The total amount of demonic energy had not increased, but he could feel that it had be far more dense, just like when he had achieved the Ultimate Demonic Body.


    "Kargh, kurgh."


    He curled up as the shower head showered him with a warm stream of water. It was difficult to withstand the extreme changes urring from the connection between the Key of the Demonic Sea and the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [The third condition of the final step of ''Road to Bing a Demon God'' has been partially fulfilled.]


    Yet another message appeared, and Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    <i>''So the Key of the Demonic Sea... was the clue for the third condition.''</i>


    He''d been trying very hard to find a clue about the third condition, but there had been a reason why he hadn''t made any progress.


    "Haaa, haaa," Kang-Woo panted heavily.


    The demonic energy within his body had be more concentrated. It hadn''t be as concentrated as the demonic energy within the Abyss, the deepestyer of the Ten Thousand Demon Core, but it was at least more concentrated than the demonic energy from the deep end.


    <i>''It''s about between the Abyss and the deep end.''</i>


    The more concentrated his demonic energy was, the more power he could exert with the same amount of demonic energy.


    "This is... huge."


    Being able to exercise more power with the same amount of demonic energy was invaluable.


    There was a huge difference in power between Inferno made with demonic energy from the shallow end and Inferno made with energy from the deep end.


    If demonic energy control allowed him to use more demonic energy at one time, the concentration influenced the quality of the demonic energy itself.


    "That''s a Transcendent-grade weapon for you."


    He unconsciously smiled. No, he wondered if the Key of the Demonic Sea should be considered just Transcendent grade. After all, it had eaten three Hell Armaments of the same grade as it.


    Kang-Woo mumbled while looking down at the ck ring on his middle finger, "Status window."


    [Equipment Information]


    Equipment Name: Key of the Demonic Sea


    Grade: Transcendent (Imprinted)


    Type: Growth *The equipment will grow stronger whenever certain conditions are fulfilled.


    First Key: Predation


    Second Key: Skyfall


    Basic Effect: Unique Stat +3, Indomitability, Transformation, Abyss, ??? *It has not been unlocked.


    Special Effect: Predation, ??? *It has not been unlocked.


    [Effect Description]


    Indomitability: The equipment cannot be destroyed by any physical, magical, or spiritual attacks. However, it will be destroyed by power free from the restrictions of the ''system.''


    Transformation: The equipment can transform into any weapon registered as a ''skill.'' It will exert 57% capacity of weapons made using Authorities.


    Predation: The equipment can absorb and digest armaments Transcendent grade and above. The capacity of ''Transformation'' will rise with each sessful digestion.


    Abyss: The equipment raises the concentration of demonic energy. Additionally, the effect rises with the acquisition of each ''key.''


    "Wow," he naturally eximed.


    The Key of the Demonic Sea had be far stronger than when he had first acquired it.


    <i>''Especially the Transformation capacity.''</i>


    It had only been 34% when he had first acquired it, but it had risen by a bit more than 1.5 times.


    Now, even if he created Inferno with the Key of Demonic Sea while using other Authorities, he would be able to use Inferno at nearly 60% capacity. Although it would be a sham, he would be able to use two prince Authorities at once.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    He heard the chime of a bell while he was still reading intensively through the equipment status window. He cast aside the Key of the Demonic Sea''s status window and saw a new message.


    [You mustplete a prerequisite quest to acquire the third key of the Key of the Demonic Sea, ''Abysm.'']


    <i>''Another quest?''</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    [''Key of the Demonic Sea'' prerequisite quest - ''Falling Wings.'']


    [Make a being of an archangel or above fall from grace. The fall will be acknowledged even if it is temporary.]


    "Another absurd quest."


    The quests seemed as if they were being squeezed out of an author struggling from exhaustion of material. They were so absurd that it pretty much threw probability out the window.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo waited a bit while standing still.


    He was lowkey hoping that the quest would be achieved without him doing anything like the previous one, but no additional message windows popped up.


    <i>''Meaning, I managed to sow the Seed of Corruption, but they haven''t fallen yet.''</i>


    Based on the system messages, that seemed to be the case.


    Kang-Woo crossed his arms and fell into thought.


    <i>''...''</i>


    He couldn''t help but ask the question beforemencing the quest.


    <i>''Why did the second quest seed?''</i>


    Sowing a Seed of Corruption in a being of at least an archangel or above? He didn''t even know what the Seed of Corruption was in the first ce.


    <i>''I mean, I can more or less guess what it is based on its name, but...''</i>


    The problem was that he had no idea who he had sown it into or when he had even done it.


    "Raphael...?"


    Kang-Woo shook his head at the sudden name that came to his mind. He recalled the angel attacking his friend while screaming madly.


    <i>''It''s not him.''</i>


    Kang-Woo dried his body with a towel and walked out of the bathroom. It was true that Raphael had fallen, but he was already dead. Also, the reason he had fallen was not Kang-Woo but his own crazed obsession with evil. Kang-Woo had nothing to do with it, so there was no way that it wouldplete the quest.


    "Ah."


    His eyes met Han Seol-Ah in her pajamas. Realizing he waspletely nude, he quickly tried to close the door.


    "You haven''t fully dried yourself yet."


    "Huh? Y-Yeah." He nodded like an idiot.


    Seol-Ah took the towel from him and wiped off the moisture still on him as if she were used to seeing his naked body. She softly giggled and turned around.


    "Put your clothes on ande to the living room. I''ll dry your hair for you."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo stared at her with mixed feelings as if not knowing what to say, and then he came out into the living room after putting clothes on.


    Holding the hair dryer with one hand, Seol-Ah lightly patted the couch, indicating Kang-Woo to sit down.


    <i>Whirrr.</i>


    "Your hair has gotten a bit long. I''ll cut it for you tomorrow. I give my mother a haircut all the time, so I''m confident I can give you a nice haircut," Seol-Ah said while touching Kang-Woo''s hair.


    "Mm..." Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed.


    He thought about the recording he''d seen a few days before¡ªhow his demonic energy became entangled with the pure-white energy from Seol-Ah.


    <i>''Could it be... Seol-Ah?''</i>


    A chilling thought passed through his mind.


    Kang-Woo bit his lip.


    <i>''It might''ve happened because she slept with me.''</i>


    From the recording, it only looked as if Seol-Ah''s energy was harassing his energy, but it did not change the fact that they had been aggressively intertwined.


    It wouldn''t be weird if she were influenced by his demonic energy.


    <i>''No... but still, Seol-Ah?''</i>


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion. He thought of Seol-Ah''s kind smile and warm energy. It was hard to believe that a woman who was the epitome of the word <i>angel</i> was on the verge of being corrupted.


    "Seol-Ah," Kang-Woo called.


    "Yes?"


    "Show me your back for a moment."


    "Ah... J-Just a moment, please."


    After realizing what he was trying to look at, she took off her pajamas.


    <i>''Hallelujah.''</i>


    Although her back was facing him, he couldn''t help but gulp from seeing the Cerberus heads that could be seen on each side.


    <i>''Fucking calm down.''</i>


    He shook his head to get a hold of himself. Now was not the time for that. Kang-Woo searched Seol-Ah''s back.


    <i>''... The outward appearance seems unchanged.''</i>


    Although the symbols on her back had be far more vivid than before, that was it; the faint pure-white light showed absolutely no signs of corruption.


    "I''m gonna touch it."


    Kang-Woo extended his hands and touched the wing symbols on her back.


    "Hngh."


    Seol-Ah moaned erotically while flinching. He did his best to ignore it.


    <i>''Authority of Insight.''</i>


    He slowly closed his eyes and read the flow of sacred powering out of her back. He hadn''t noticed it before, but he could feel how colossal the energy within her was.


    <i>''So this is Seraph''s power.''</i>


    He recalled the light that had burned him when he had been cosying as Rakiel. He could now understand why her wings back then had been so faint to the point they were transparent. Compared to the power within Seol-Ah, what she had shown then had been nothing but the tip of the iceberg.


    <i>''If I had taken it full force...''</i>


    He would most definitely have been vaporized. He got goosebumps, but he calmed his beating heart and refocused to search around Seol-Ah''s energy, which was brimming with sacred power.


    <i>''... There''s nothing there.''</i>


    He had not been able to find even the smallest trace of demonic energy, even with the same level of demonic energy control that had pushed Demon God Bauli back into the Abyss.


    <i>''Is the Seed of Corruption not the same as demonic energy?''</i>


    He wasn''t sure because he didn''t know what it was in the first ce, but one thing was for sure.


    <i>''At the very least, my demonic energy hasn''t influenced Seol-Ah while we were sleeping together.''</i>


    If that were the case, he would have found at least a tiny bit of demonic energy within her. It was his own demonic energy, so there was no way he wouldn''t be able to find traces of it.


    Kang-Woo opened his eyes narrowly.


    <i>''If my demonic energy hasn''t influenced her...''</i>


    The chances of the Seed of Corruption having been sown in her would be drastically lowered.


    "... It''s no wonder."


    There was no word more unfit for Seol-Ah, who was so kind that not even Kim Si-Hun could hold a candle to her, than corruption.


    <i>''Then who could it be?''</i>


    "..."


    Kang-Woo remained silent.,


    If it wasn''t Raphael or Seol-Ah, then there was only one person that it could be.


    <i>''... Uriel.''</i>


    If it wasn''t either of them, then the only other person he could think of was Uriel.


    <i>''It''s more than likely.''</i>


    Uriel''s mental state had gotten drastically more unstable after Raphael''s death.


    Uriel''s obsession was ''affection.'' Considering how Uriel had acted toward Kang-Woo recently, it was no exaggeration to say that his obsession was nearing dangerous levels.


    <i>''There''s no one else but Uriel.''</i>


    The only person who was as mentally unstable as Uriel right now was Halcyon, who was currently much more stable than she had been before.


    There was no more doubt in Kang-Woo''s mind.


    <i>''The Seed of Corruption was sown in Uriel.''</i>


    "C-Can I put my clothes back on now, Kang-Woo?"


    "Oh, yeah. It''s fine."


    Seol-Ah dressed back up.


    <i>Vrrrr.</i>


    Just then, Kang-Woo''s smartphone vibrated. Seol-Ah picked it up to pass it to him.


    "Kang-Woo, you have a te¡ª"


    Her hand stopped just as she was about to hand him his smartphone¡ªshe saw that he''d received over a hundred messages from someone with the ID ''Yuriel ?''.


    She opened the chat without realizing it.


    Yuriel ?: [Thanks for being with me today.]


    Yuriel ?: [You said you were free in three days, right?]


    Yuriel ?: [It''s boring being alone.]


    Yuriel ?: [What are you doing now?]


    Yuriel ?: [I want to eat that kimchi stew thing again.]


    Yuriel ?: [Oh, why don''t I take this chance to move to Seoul? The inte connection here is way too slow.]


    Yuriel ?: [Hey, answer me.]


    Yuriel ?: [I miss you.]


    Yuriel ?: [... It''s too quiet here.]


    Yuriel ?: [Yeah, I think it''d be best to live around your area. Wouldn''t that be better for you too?]


    "..."


    Seol-Ah froze with the smartphone in hand. The light in her eyes instantly disappeared. Not noticing this, Kang-Woo was off in his thoughts.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    "Hm?"


    He heard the chime of a bell.


    [The ''Seed of Corruption'' has begun to bloom.]


    [The prerequisite quest has sessfullymenced!]


    "Eh?"


    What was this?


    <i>''I haven''t done anything.''</i>

 Chapter 302 - The Seed Of Corruption Is Growing Rapidly

    <h4>Chapter 302 - The Seed Of Corruption Is Growing Rapidly</h4>


    "What...?"


    Oh Kang-Woo looked at the message window in confusion.


    The quest had not beenpleted, but it hadmenced without him even having done a thing.


    <i>''Did I do something?''</i>


    However much he thought about it, he had not done anything.


    "Hm?"


    Just then, he saw that Han Seol-Ah was holding his smartphone.


    "Oh, thanks."


    Kang-Woo grabbed his smartphone from her and checked his messages. He couldn''t help but frown.


    <i>''So this is what happened.''</i>


    Uriel had sent him an explosive amount of messages.


    After going through the messages, Kang-Woo was able to tell why the Seed of Corruption had bloomed out of nowhere.


    <i>''This must be why.''</i>


    Likely because he was sure that the Seed of Corruption had been sown in Uriel, the messages that were no different from what Uriel sent on the daily felt meaningful in some way.


    "... Kang-Woo."


    "Hm?"


    At that moment, he heard Seol-Ah''s voice calling him. He turned around and saw her smiling brightly at him. He could feel her characteristic warmth from her smile.


    "Who is... Yuriel?"


    "Did you see the messages?"


    Seol-Ah lowered her head while giggling.


    "I''m sorry. It popped up on the disy, so I ended up pressing it by mistake."


    "No, I mean... there''s no need to apologize." Kang-Woo smirked. "It''s Uriel."


    "Uriel... is the angel who has been spending time with youtely, right?"


    "Yeah. Oh, and apparently this heart mark at the end was a typo."


    "It''s fascinating how an angel can use a smartphone."


    "He''s better at it than you think. Take a look at this. He has a profile picture when I don''t even have one."


    Kang-Woo clicked and zoomed in on Uriel''s profile picture.


    As Seol-Ah was looking at the profile picture in fascination, she said with a slightly sunken voice, "Come to think of it... he''s the one you kissed before, right?"


    "Oh, yeah."


    Kang-Woo naturally grimaced as a memory that he wanted to forget popped up. Although it was an unpleasant memory, it hadn''t been that bad considering how it had turned out. After that incident, Seol-Ah had be more assertive in terms of skinship, and their rtionship had developed into one that casually exchanged kisses.


    <i>''We haven''t been able to get any further than that, though...''</i> Kang-Woo sighed.


    He was absolutely hopeless in terms of romance, so he had no idea what to do to make some more progress in their rtionship.


    "Hmm." Seol-Ah narrowed her eyes and looked down at the smartphone in Kang-Woo''s hand.


    She slowly put her hand on his thigh. Kang-Woo flinched.


    "You seem to be... very close with Uriel," she said in a chilling voice.


    Kang-Woo shook his head in denial. "No way. I''m basically being forced to hang with him. He''s a massive bother."


    "Ah, is that so?"


    "Yeah. He''s more enjoyable to talk to since he isn''t as uptight as Raphael, but our rtionship is purely business."


    "... Does Uriel feel the same way?"


    "Well..." he slurred and scratched his head. "Probably not. It''s a bit weird for me to say this myself, but... he''s really taken to me for some reason."


    Uriel was like a baby bird following its mother.


    "I... see." Seol-Ah nodded while making an awkward smile.


    Kang-Woo stood up. "In any case, you don''t have to worry about a thing."


    He was able to easily guess why Seol-Ah was asking about Uriel so much.


    "You''re worried about something like the incident with Shalgiel happening again, right?"


    "... Pardon?" Seol-Ah flinched. "Ah... Y-Yes."


    "I''ll make it so that something like that will never happen again, so you don''t have to worry."


    "... Okay," Seol-Ah replied in a low voice. She looked like she had many things to say, but she kept her mouth shut after her lips quivered a little.


    "You have what you got from Lilith, right?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Yes. She said it''s an item that can conceal the sacred power in my body..." Seol-Ah pulled forward the pendant on her neck.


    "Don''t forget to wear it at all times."


    They had yet to test whether or not it couldpletely conceal Seol-Ah''s sacred power, but it should theoretically be able to conceal Seraph''s soul as long as she was just seen with no physical contact. None other than Lilith had said it, so it was credible information.


    "Okay, I will."


    "Right then..." Kang-Woo said while standing up. He had been nning on sleeping with Seol-Ah, but the situation had changed. "Seol-Ah, I''m sorry, but let''s sleep separately for a few days."


    "Pardon? Sleep... s-separately?" Seol-Ah''s eyes widened, and she trembled.


    "There''s something I have to focus on," Kang-Woo replied as he nodded.


    <i>''If the Seed of Corruption is blooming in Uriel...''</i>


    He had to draw up a n immediately. No, he first had to decide where to take this.


    <i>''Should I... make Uriel fall from grace or should I stop it?''</i>


    "..."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes sank.


    Each choice had its pros and cons.


    <i>''Making him fall would be the correct decision if I want toplete the quest and fulfill the final condition of bing a Demon God.''</i>


    But if he did that, his n to earn the angels'' cooperation through Uriel would crumble. It was a simple yet difficult decision. Since he had high hopes for the angels, he could not make a rash decision.


    <i>''I''ll think some more in my room.''</i>


    Kang-Woo turned his head and saw Seol-Ah trembling as she looked at him.


    "K-Kang-Woo."


    "Hm?"


    "Umm... Y-You didn''te to dislike sleeping with me... right?"


    Seol-Ah grabbed his clothes with eyes filled with anxiety. Even her teeth were cking.


    Kang-Woo smirked and shook his head. "Of course not. I just got some things I have to do urgently."


    "R-Right? There''s no way you would dislike it, right?"


    "...?"


    Seol-Ah was being more sensitive than he expected.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head and answered, "Of course I want to sleep with you too, darling."


    "Then...! We could just sleep together... can''t we?"


    "Haha. I have a lot to think about. I probably won''t be sleeping at all tonight."


    "Then what about tomorrow...?"


    "Probably not tomorrow either."


    He needed to focus for the moment on whether to make Uriel fall from grace or to stop it. Sleeping with Seol-Ah was like killing two birds with one stone since he would improve his demonic energy control while also feeling good, but his body did not require sleep, so it was perfectly fine for him to skip a couple days of sleep.


    "..."


    Seol-Ah subtly trembled while squirming her feet. She had a very uneasy look on her face. Kang-Woo smiled and stroked her hair.


    "Just bear with it for a couple days, darling."


    "... Okay," Seol-Ah nodded while making a sad expression.


    Kang-Woo turned around and went into his room.


    <i>ck.</i>


    He closed the door.


    "..."


    Seol-Ah stared nkly at his closed door. She just stared...


    And stared...


    And stared...


    And stared...


    * * *


    "Right, then."


    After he entered his room, Kang-Woo sat in his chair and looked down at the Key of the Demonic Sea on his right middle finger.


    <i>''Clear the quest or maintain good rtions with the angels?''</i>


    He couldn''t decide rashly, but his mind was already more or less made up.


    "... It''s a huge waste to give up on the quest."


    He wouldn''t be hesitating so much if giving up on the quest only meant that the Key of the Demonic Sea wouldn''t grow any stronger. However, like the message window had indicated, strengthening the Key of the Demonic Sea was connected with the final condition of ''Road to Bing a Demon God.''


    <i>''Giving up on strengthening the Key of the Demonic Sea is also giving up on the third condition to bing a Demon God.''</i>


    No matter how long he thought about it, the pros and cons were not bnced. The angels'' cooperation was important but nowhere near as important as bing stronger.


    <i>''I can''t give up a gun for a hound.''</i>


    He counted on his own power the most.


    <i>''I''m not exactly sure what the road to bing a Demon God is, but...''</i>


    Considering the massive boost in power after achieving the Ultimate Demonic Body and Demonic Soul, it couldn''t hurt to get it. No, he had to get it at all costs.


    "Which means I have to make Uriel fall from grace..."


    Kang-Woo raised his smartphone and slowly read through Uriel''s messages again.


    Yuriel ?: [The hell? Why aren''t you answering when you read it?]


    Yuriel ?: [Is this the thing known as leaving someone on read?]


    Yuriel ?: [Why aren''t you sending anything?]


    Yuriel ?: [I''m starting to get annoyed.]


    Yuriel ?: [Hey, answer me.]


    Yuriel ?: [Sorry. I''m sending too many messages, aren''t I?]


    Yuriel ?: [...]


    <i>''Wouldn''t it be fine if I just leave him be?''</i>


    Reading through the messages was a spectacle¡ªit felt like Uriel would fall even if Kang-Woo left him be.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [The Seed of Corruption is growing rapidly!]


    A message popped up to confirm his thoughts. Kang-Woo shook his head andughed in disbelief.


    "I don''t even have to lift a finger."


    It felt like the quest wouldplete itself just by lying around in bed doing nothing.


    <i>''It''s a bit anticlimactic, though.''</i>


    It was a bit too good. Everything was going smoothly without him lifting a finger.


    "Darliiiiing!"


    Kang-Woo ran out of his room with a bright smile. If there was nothing for him to do and Uriel would fall from grace all on his own, there was no need to stay up all night thinking of a n.


    "K-Kang-Woo?"


    "Hmm? You weren''t asleep?"


    "Ah... no." Kang-Woo grabbed Seol-Ah''s hands as she was standing nkly in the living room. "Come. Let''s sleep together."


    "Didn''t you say that you had something to do?"


    "Yes, but after thinking about it some more, I don''t think I''ll have to step up."


    "R-Really?" Seol-Ah smiled brightly.


    His heart beat faster as he saw her smiling as if a flower had fully bloomed.


    "Okay, then let''s sleep together," Seol-Ah replied.


    She gripped his hands tighter and walked toward his room.


    * * *


    "Wha..."


    Kang-Woo grabbed his head after waking up the next morning. He read the blue message window in front of him.


    [The Seed of Corruption''s growth has halted.]


    "What the fuck is wrong now...?"


    The Seed of Corruption had suddenly stopped growing on its own.


    Kang-Woo grabbed his smartphone and sighed.


    "Haaa."


    He was back to square one. If he wanted to make Uriel fall...


    "I''ll have to tell my darling that I''ll be busy."


    He had no choice but to take action himself.

 Chapter 303 - The Secret That Oh Kang-Woo Had Been Hiding

    <h4>Chapter 303 - The Secret That Oh Kang-Woo Had Been Hiding</h4>


    "Why did you leave me on read yesterday?!" Uriel angrily shouted.


    Having gone to the angels'' fortress in Africa in search of Uriel, Oh Kang-Woo gave a bitter smile.


    "There was a bit of a situation."


    "What situation?"


    "Well..."


    Kang-Woo, who couldn''t say that he had been waiting for Uriel to fall from grace, slurred while smiling awkwardly.


    Uriel''s eyes sharpened.


    "Tell me what¡ª"


    "More importantly, Lord Uriel," Kang-Woo interjected. "There are a few things that I want to ask. Is that okay?"


    "... What is it?" Uriel pouted and nodded.


    It seemed like he hadints due to what happened the day before, but it didn''t seem like he would ignore Kang-Woo''s request.


    "Do you know of something called the ''Seed of Corruption''?"


    "..."


    There was a heavy silence.


    Uriel''s eyes widened.


    "Where... did you hear that?" he asked in a low voice.


    "I came across it while I had been investigating Rakiel on my own time," Kang-Woo answered while making a calm expression.


    Uriel groaned. "You know that all angels are instinctively obsessed with something, right?"


    "Yes."


    "If that obsession bes uncontroble, their wings start to turn ck, and if it worsens from there and enters the territory of madness..."


    "You fall from grace."


    "Yeah." Uriel nodded. "The Seed of Corruption refers to the stage right before the fall. In other words, the stage where the wings flicker ck sometimes."


    "Can the individual know if the Seed of Corruption has been sown in themselves?"


    "No, they can''t. I''m sure that others wouldn''t be able to tell either. The flickering happens in the blink of an eye, which is why one must be even more cautious. It only takes an instant for an obsession to be madness."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    <i>''So they themselves don''t know.''</i>


    Uriel didn''t seem to be lying.


    <i>''In that case, Uriel doesn''t know he''s falling either.''</i>


    Based on his reaction, that seemed to be the case.


    Considering Uriel''s personality, Uriel wouldn''t be so calm if he knew he was falling.


    "What kind of changes happen when an angel falls from grace?"


    With demons, if they couldn''t control their desires, they turned into mindless demonic beasts, but based on records regarding Rakiel and having witnessed Raphael''s fall, it didn''t seem like fallen angels lost their ability to reason.


    "The biggest difference is that the wings turn ck and their sacred power turns into demonic energy. Oh, and they be far stronger in exchange for being unable to use divine magic."


    In other words, they gained power in exchange for technique. It was simr to demons bing demonic beasts where they lost their intelligence in exchange for overwhelming physical prowess.


    "Is that all? You don''t lose your mind or anything?"


    "No, but... since their obsession borders on the line of madness, their actions turn very extreme. That''s why, even if they can still reason, we kill them."


    Uriel''s expression darkened as he said that¡ªhe was probably thinking about his friend he''d killed with his own hands.


    "Can an angel who fell from grace rise back up?" Kang-Woo asked, recalling from the system window that the fall would be acknowledged even if it was a temporary one.


    Uriel shook his head.


    "It''s usually impossible, but... they can be brought back to normal right at the moment of the fall. As for Raphael... it was toote for him." Uriel looked down in sorrow. As he wiped away his tears with the back of his hand, he said, "But why are you asking me about that all of a sudden?"


    "Oh, I was just curious about it since I came across it during my Rakiel investigations," he calmly answered.


    All hail the Rakiel cheat code.


    "Rakiel is a bit different in the sense that he fell from grace of his own ord."


    "What was Rakiel''s obsession?"


    "I don''t know. It''s never been recorded."


    Kang-Woo nodded. He had expected the answer.


    "Lord Uriel, you said that you were obsessed with affection, right?"


    "Y-Yeah."


    "Then you must be having a hard time since you''ve been alone all the timetely. And with... what happened to Lord Raphael."


    Uriel''s expression darkened. "I-I''m fine. I can easily control my instinctive urges."


    <i>''Bullshit.''</i>


    It was easy to see that his obsession was worsening. If not, the Seed of Corruption wouldn''t have been sown in him.


    "Is that why you''ve been sending me so many messages?"


    "N-Not at all!" he shouted.


    Kang-Wooughed.


    Uriel turned his head as if he were sulking.


    <i>''I''ve heard everything I need to.''</i>


    His curiosity regarding the fall from grace had been more or less resolved.


    <i>''In that case...''</i>


    Kang-Woo licked his lips.


    <i>''Like I thought, that should be the best way to go about it.''</i>


    Only now when he was sure that Uriel''s obsession was directed toward him would the n that he had in mind work.


    <i>''I can''t just lie around doing nothing.''</i>


    After the Seed of Corruption inside Uriel had stopped growing, he realized he couldn''t just wait around. It was an undeniable fact that Uriel''s obsession with affection was directed toward Kang-Woo after losing Raphael and being left all by himself.


    Kang-Woo needed to pull some strings if he wanted to turn that obsession into madness.


    "Shall we go search for traces of Rakiel?"


    "... I thought you said you were busy."


    "It''s okay. My investigations into Rakiel haven''t been going anywhere, so... I decided to put it on hold for the time being."


    "R-Really?" Uriel''s expression brightened.


    Kang-Woo nodded and stood up. "Let''s go to Russia today, where Lord Raphael fought against Satan."


    "Okay!" Uriel smiled and nodded.


    Kang-Woo smirked as he saw Uriel''s eight wings wagging as if they were tails.


    <i>''Corrupting a brat starved for attention is a piece of cake.''</i>


    * * *


    "This is... where Raphael and Satan fought?" Uriel asked.


    "Yes. To be more precise, it''s where we fought against the Demon Cult''s main force."


    Just from looking at the snowy mountain with traces of destruction everywhere, anyone was able to tell how fierce the battle had been.


    "... I certainly feel traces of demonic energy everywhere."


    Uriel ced his hand on the ground and closed his eyes. Although it had been months since the battle, there were still traces of demonic energy left.


    "But it''ll be hard to find traces of Rakiel like this."


    There were traces of demonic energy all over the ce, so it was impossible to tell whether they had been left by Rakiel or the battle.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    "That is why I suggested wee here. If Rakiel is hiding somewhere, there should be no better ce than here."


    "Oh, you have a point."


    There was no better ce to hide a tree than a forest¡ªit made sense.


    "Before we begin our investigations..." Kang-Woo smiled as he took out a container of kimchi stew. "We should fill our stomachs for the hard work ahead."


    "Pfft, isn''t it just because you want to eat?"


    Uriel, also happy about eating with Kang-Woo, put his hand over a rock while grinning.


    <i>Crackle!!</i>


    The rock was carved cleanly by blue lightning as if it were being sliced by a sharp sword.


    "Let''s eat."


    Uriel sat in front of the cut rock.


    There was no way an angel with underdeveloped taste buds would be so happy at the idea of eating food. Uriel simply enjoyed the sensation of eating with someone else. It was something he hadn''t been able to feel with his fellow angels.


    "Hihihi."


    As evidence of that, instead of eating, Uriel seemed more interested in looking at Kang-Woo eating.


    Just then...


    "Hm?"


    Kang-Woo''s hands suddenly stopped while he was eating the kimchi stew. He stared nkly into the air and then grabbed his head.


    "What''s wrong?"


    Uriel had seen Kang-Woo do that many times while they had been searching for traces of Rakiel.


    Kang-Woo shook his head and smiled awkwardly. "It''s nothing."


    "Nothing, my ass. You''ve been doing that all the time. Staring at nothing and grabbing the back of your head... Are you sure there''s no problem?"


    "Hahaha. I just have some things on my mind."


    Kang-Woo shook his head, put kimchi on a bed of rice, and had a spoonful.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo''s face darkened.


    "Hey, what''s wrong? Isn''t this like your favorite food?"


    "I don''t really have an appetite today." Kang-Woo scratched his head as if he were also confused.


    Uriel stared at Kang-Woo restlessly. An uneasy feeling crept down his spine.


    "Let''s eat." Kang-Woo smiled brightly and ate the kimchi stew.


    "... Okay." Uriel muttered. He then asked while eating the kimchi stew, "Come to think of it... why did you join Guardians?"


    "Me?"


    "Yeah. The incarnation of Gaia told me that you''re not a chosen protector."


    "Haha. That''s right."


    "Then why are you trying so hard to fight, and with nothing in return? I''ve been searching on the Inte, and most people have only been trying to fill their stomachs while believing it''s finally a time of peace."


    "I''m not sure." Kang-Woo ced his hand on his chin and pretended to be in thought.


    <i>''It''s finally here!''</i>


    Uriel had taken the bait without his having to do anything.


    <i>''I need to say it as calmly as possible while looking intive.''</i>


    He had built up enough affinity with Uriel, so deceiving him was a piece of cake.


    "I don''t have any grandiose goals like Si-Hun, nor do I have firm convictions like Lord Raphael."


    "Then... why?"


    Kang-Woo directed a faint smile that looked like it would break at any moment toward Uriel. Uriel flinched¡ªit was that sensation again. He could feel a sense of time that far exceeded anything that a human, who had not even lived a quarter of his own lifetime, could have experienced. His eyes were mixed with an unfathomable tangle of emotions.


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his mouth. "I had someone important to me. Yes, they were... very precious to me."


    "..."


    "I... wasn''t able to protect them." Kang-Woo clenched his fists and trembled a bit, his veins bulging under the skin of his fists.


    "Who... was it?"


    "He was a person who protected me when I entered a Gate while knowing absolutely nothing back when I had first awakened as a yer. His name was Lee Ki-Young."


    Kang-Woo said the first name that crossed his mind. It didn''t matter if that person existed or not. The truth wasn''t important; what mattered was that it sounded like the truth.


    "He helped me a lot. If it hadn''t been for him... I wouldn''t be here. But... Ki-Young hyung died... at the hands of a demon-worshiping guild known as Andras. No, to be more precise... I killed him after he had been encroached by demonic energy and became a demonic beast."


    <i>Boom.</i>


    Uriel''s heart beat strongly. He knew better than anyone else how painful it was to kill someone precious to oneself with one''s own hands. After all, he had been forced to kill Raphael, his old friend, with his own hands.


    "And now... I have people just as important to me."


    "That... Kim Si-Hun human?"


    "Him among many others." Kang-Woo smirked and looked up into the air as he spoke in a longing voice, "I don''t really care what happens to this world, but I don''t... want to lose any more people precious to me."


    Kang-Woo made a smile that looked as if it would break at any moment. Uriel could feel the fear in his voice. Uriel remained silent and saw himself after having lost Raphael, in Kang-Woo.


    <i>''That''s right.''</i>


    Kang-Woo inwardlyughed. He could see Uriel''s fluctuating emotions on his face, as well as the blossoming of trust and sympathy toward him.


    <i>''Of course he''d sympathize.''</i>


    Just like how people who had experienced harsh breakups sympathized with people who had also gone through the same thing, it was only instinct for a living being to sympathize and console someone else who had gone through simr misfortunes.


    <i>''Now, Uriel...''</i>


    Kang-Woo looked at Uriel, who''d fallen into thought.


    <i>''Cling to me more.''</i>


    The empty void that Raphael had left...


    <i>''Fill it with me.''</i>


    Only then would his n seed.


    Kang-Woo leisurely waited for Uriel''s answer.


    Uriel slowly opened his mouth as he looked at the smiling young man. "I don''t know much about you, but... I think I know why Lord Tirion chose you as his apostle."


    "Haha. You tter me. I was just lucky."


    "You think a god''s choice depends on luck?" Uriel looked at him with serious eyes.


    He''d heard about Kang-Woo in detail from Gaia and how hard he''d fought against the demons, as well as the aplishments he had made and the legend he had built.


    ording to Gaia, if it weren''t for Kang-Woo, Earth would''ve already be riddled with demons. Hearing his achievements, Uriel couldn''t help but agree. Although it was not widely spread among the public, Kang-Woo had been the decisive factor in taking down the Demon Cult.


    <i>''He doesn''t want to lose any more people precious to him.''</i>


    Uriel closed his eyes and remembered Raphael, his friend he''d spent thousands of years with, and how much he had despaired after killing him.


    <i>''He''s the same as me.''</i>


    They were not different in any way. Uriel''s heart resonated. The difference between the usual Kang-Woo and his smile that would shatter at any moment gave him mixed feelings. Uriel held Kang-Woo''s hand without holding back the wave of emotions he was feeling.


    "I''ll help you too."


    "..."


    "I''ll lend you my strength so you don''t have to lose anything else."


    "Haha..." Kang-Woo''s eyes teared up, and a dryugh left his mouth. "Thank you. Thank you... very much."


    "A-Ahem."


    "Haha. This is the first time I''ve told this to anyone."


    "You didn''t tell Kim Si-Hun?"


    "Yes. I didn''t want him to worry. I''ve never even mentioned it to my lover."


    "R-really? Then I''m the first?"


    "Yes."


    Uriel''s expression brightened.


    The fact that he was the first to hear the truth that Oh Kang-Woo had been hiding made him feel happy, and he felt his face reddening.


    "R-Right, then, let''s get on with the investigation!" Uriel quickly stood up.


    Kang-Woo smirked and nodded. "Yes, of course."


    Kang-Woo put the empty kimchi stew pot away and stood up. He followed after Uriel and investigated the traces of demonic energy all around them.


    Then...


    "Huh...?"


    Uriel''s eyes widened. He found traces that were more recent than the other traces around them. The demonic energy signature was capable of making him, an archangel, shudder.


    "Th-This isn''t simply recent..."


    It had literally been left moments ago.


    "Watch ou¡ª"


    <i>Crackle!</i>


    ck lightning poured down like rain the moment he stood up with a pale face. Uriel spread his wings and flew to the side while grabbing Kang-Woo.


    "Wh-What the¡ª?!"


    "Shit! So this is where Rakiel was hiding!!"


    It was good that they''d finally found Rakiel, but the problem was that it was Rakiel who found them first.


    <i>Step, step.</i>


    "Hmm, I was wondering what insects were scurrying around here."


    A being with silver hair that reached far down his shoulder, ten ck wings, and armor made of wriggling green tentacles slowly walked toward them. He smiled while looking at Kang-Woo.


    "Kekeke, I''m surprised you are still alive. I didn''t think you''dst this long."


    Uriel did not understand what he meant by that.


    "Rakiel..."


    Uriel''s fists trembled, and blue lightning danced off of him.


    "Kang-Woo! I''ll buy you time, so contact Guardians!" he said while standing between Kang-Woo and Rakiel.


    However, there was no reply.


    "... Kang-Woo?"


    Uriel turned his head.


    "A-Arghh."


    There, he saw Kang-Woo holding his head and groaning in pain.


    "Wh-What''s wrong?"


    Uriel''s expression paled. He had seen Kang-Woo like this before, when he saw Rakiel''s demonic energy in the angel fortress when they first met.


    "A-Aaaaahh!"


    Kang-Woo knelt and copsed while clenching his head. His mouth frothed, and his eyes rolled back.


    "Oh Kang-Woo!!"


    Uriel grabbed Kang-Woo, who was scrunched up on the ground, and...


    "Huh...?"


    He undoubtedly felt demonic energy from Kang-Woo''s body.

 Chapter 304 - Like A Zombie Movie Death Flag

    <h4>Chapter 304 - Like A Zombie Movie Death g</h4>


    "Why is... demonic energy..."


    Uriel''s eyes trembled, but the demonic energy could only be felt for a brief moment. Oh Kang-Woo''s golden energy set the demonic energy aze as they shed.


    "<i>Cough!</i>"


    Kang-Woo bent over like a bow and coughed blood. It was dark red, proving he had not been encroached upon by demonic energy and was purely human.


    "A-Arghh."


    Blood poured from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. So much blood to the point that it was a wonder if humans had this much blood poured on Uriel''s body.


    "Wh-What the..." Uriel''s voice trembled.


    His eyes wide open, he held the bleeding Kang-Woo.


    "Sh-Shit!"


    He chanted divine magic. It wasn''t time to think about why demonic energy was flowing out of Kang-Woo''s body. Uriel kissed Kang-Woo without hesitation even though blood was stilling out of his mouth.


    <i>Whoom!!</i>


    Radiant sacred power entered Kang-Woo''s body. It was the strongest healing divine magic Uriel could use. The magic that only activated through mouth-to-mouth healed Kang-Woo, but...


    "<i>Cough!</i>"


    Once again, dark red blood spurted out of Kang-Woo''s mouth.


    "Wha... Wh-Why?"


    Uriel''s face paled.


    Although it had a bothersome condition of requiring mouth-to-mouth contact, it was a highly advanced divine magic. It made no sense that it didn''t have any effect.


    "Kehehe, it''s pointless."


    A chillingugh reached his ears, and Uriel turned his head. He saw Rakiel making a sly smile as he looked at the copsed Kang-Woo.


    <i>Crackle!</i>


    Uriel''s sky-blue hair slowly rose up, and blue lightning danced around him.


    "What did you do... to Kang-Woo?"


    It was the second time that he had seen Kang-Woo like this. To make matters worse, demonic energy had even flowed out of him this time.


    <i>''There''s no way this is a coincidence.''</i>


    Rakiel had definitely done something.


    "Pfft, bwahahahaha!" Rakiel burst intoughter, and thick demonic energy burst out of him.


    Rakiel swept up his silver hair and said, "Fascinating. Since when have angels cared for humans this much?"


    "Rakiel..." Uriel said in rage. "I asked you what you did."


    Blue lightning swept through the surroundings like a storm.


    A barrier of demonic energy blocked the lightning storm.


    Rakiel leisurely answered, "I didn''t do anything."


    "You didn''t do anything...?"


    <i>Split.</i>


    Cracks formed on the ground Uriel stood on.


    "If you didn''t do anything, then why is this human emitting demonic energy?!" Uriel''s rage-filled shout echoed throughout the mountain.


    Rakiel made a sly smile. "Pfft, I guess you have a point."


    "Rakiel...!"


    "Jeez, don''t get so angry. You''re scaring me."


    Rakiel hugged himself and trembled.


    Uriel bit his lips. He felt that something was strange at that moment.


    <i>''What?''</i>


    Uriel bit his lip. Just then, a strange feeling passed through his mind.


    <i>''What?''</i>


    Uriel stared at Rakiel while narrowing his eyes. He was soon able to figure out what the source of his strange feeling was.


    <i>''His eyes...''</i>


    They were off. Although Rakiel was smiling, his eyes were empty. It was as if someone was controlling him.


    <i>''What in the¡ª''</i>


    "Do you want to know why that human is acting like that?"


    Uriel''s thoughts didn''tst long. He drew out his power again as Rakiel continued his mocking.


    <i>Rumble!!</i>


    A blue bolt of lightning shot toward Rakiel.


    "Whoa!"


    Rakiel pped his wings in an exaggerated motion and dodged the bolt.


    "Kehehehe." He snickered while grabbing his stomach. "I get how much you care for that human now, so stop bing so hot and bothered. What are you gonna do if that human dies because you''re so busy dealing with me?"


    "Kuh..." Uriel grimaced.


    Just like he said, Kang-Woo was in such a serious condition that he could die at any moment.


    "Have you heard that I had kidnapped that human before?"


    Uriel had heard that, while he was chasing after Satan, Kang-Woo had been ambushed by Rakiel.


    "Back then..." Rakiel said as he hummed, "I pulled a small prank."


    "A prank... you say?"


    "Yup." He snickered. "I poured a tiny amount of my demonic energy into him."


    "What...?" Uriel''s eyes widened.


    There was no way Uriel wouldn''t know what epting demonic energy meant for a human.


    <i>''He''ll either be a demon, or...''</i>


    It would be better if he just became a demon.


    <i>''He''ll be... a demonic beast.''</i>


    They were monsters with no sense of reason. Their bodies became distorted to the point that they wouldn''t have a proper form and would live only for flesh and blood.


    "Th-That''s nonsense!" Uriel shook his head. "There''s no way a god''s apostle would be a demonic beast just because he took in a bit of demonic energy!!"


    If people could be turned into demons or demonic beasts simply because demonic energy flowed into them, the world would already be in the hands of demons. The greater the power one possessed, the more exceptional their ability to resist demonic energy was.


    "You''re right." Rakiel nodded. "It certainly hadn''t been enough to just pour in some demonic energy. That annoying golden light kept burning it away."


    He pointed to Kang-Woo whileughing. Just like he said, the golden light from Kang-Woo''s body was burning away the demonic energy.


    "But..." a smile crept onto Rakiel''s face, "I am Rakiel."


    Just that alone could exin everything. Even if Kang-Woo was a god''s apostle, as long as he was fundamentally a human, there were limits to his power. Rakiel, the star of Corruption among the Constetions of Evil and one of the elite soldiers of the Demon God, would easily be able to turn a human into a demonic beast if he wanted to.


    "Hehe. No need to be so frustrated." Rakiel shrugged his shoulders. "I will admit. That human is formidable. I never expected him to resist the encroachment for months after the incident."


    "... What does that mean?"


    "It means exactly as it sounds.


    "I don''t know how he is managing to do it, but that human has been resisting the encroachment and staying as a human. Kehehe, I must apud his endurance."


    "Resisting... you say?"


    Uriel thought of the past few months he''d spent with Kang-Woo. His strange behaviors of sometimes staring into the air or suddenly grimacing while holding the back of his neck.


    <i>''Was all of that... him resisting the encroachment of demonic energy?''</i>


    "But it seems the transformation ismencing, albeit very slowly. Mm. Let''s see... I''d guess he has mostly lost his sense of taste by now."


    "... What?"


    "Mm? I''m sure you know demons also have underdeveloped taste buds like angels. I''m sure that human has also realized while eating every day that he is slowly bing a demonic beast."


    Uriel''s face paled. He recalled Kang-Woo saying earlier today that he did not have an appetite with a serious face.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    <i>Tap.</i>


    Uriel knelt. He wasn''t dumb enough to deny reality when all of the information was right in front of him.


    Uriel embraced the copsed Kang-Woo.


    "You''ve been... enduring it by yourself all this time."


    He had been suppressing the encroachment of demonic energy, likely while coughing up blood like this.


    Uriel bit his lip; his shoulders trembled. He would be lying if he hadn''t expected nothing was wrong. He had known that Kang-Woo was hiding something from his asional strange behavior and how he brushed it off as nothing while smiling awkwardly.


    "But I..."


    He''d only thought of himself. Despite having acted all high and mighty while bragging about having lived thousands of years, he had not once looked at Kang-Woo. He had only tried to fill the void in his heart that Raphael had left behind with Kang-Woo and be consoled for his sorrow, thinking it couldn''t be helped since obsession was an angel''s instinct.


    "I...!"


    Uriel hugged Kang-Woo tight.


    "Kehehe, what a tearjerker."


    "Rakiel..."


    Uriel put Kang-Woo down on the ground and slowly stood up. His blue hair floated up, and intense blue lightning poured from him.


    "No need to be so impatient. It is not yet time for us to fight."


    "That''s what you think," Uriel said as he put strength in his legs to shoot toward him.


    Rakiel smiled. "Are you sure you want to leave that human to his own devices?"


    "..."


    "Kehehe, it would be difficult for him to neutralize the encroachment on his own."


    "Kuh..." Uriel bit his lip and closed his eyes.


    He wanted to charge straight toward Rakiel, but he couldn''t ignore what he just said. If he left Kang-Woo alone, he would be a demonic beast.


    "Rakiel..."


    "Hehe. I will get going. Oh, and there is no need for you to look for me. I wille to you when the ''time of prophecy'' arrives. Well then, I will be looking forward to seeing if that human... is still human until then."


    "RAKIEEEEEEELL!!"


    <i>Crackle!!</i>


    Uriel raised his hand in rage and quickly shot out blue bolts of lightning, but Rakiel deflected the bolts with ease.


    Rakiel turned around and leisurely disappeared.


    "A-Arghh."


    Just when Uriel spread out his wings to chase after Rakiel, he froze after hearing Kang-Woo''s groans.


    "Shit, shit, shit!!!" Uriel cursed and approached Kang-Woo.


    Since he had found out that Kang-Woo''s symptoms were due to demonic energy encroachment, it was simple to treat.


    <i>Whoom!!</i>


    He ced his hands on Kang-Woo''s chest. Pure-white light flowed into Kang-Woo''s body. Uriel''s sacred power was neutralizing the demonic energy.


    "Ah..." Kang-Woo slowly opened his eyes.


    He looked around aftering back to his senses, and then discovered the pool of blood that he had made. Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    There was a heavy silence.


    Kang-Woo sighed. He averted his gaze from Uriel while making a bitter smile. "I guess it ended up like this."


    "You..." Uriel looked at Kang-Woo with sharp eyes. "Why didn''t you say anything?"


    "..."


    "Answer me." Uriel grabbed Kang-Woo''s cor and screamed, "Why didn''t you say anything?!!"


    Kang-Woo grabbed Uriel''s hands on his cor while making a fragile expression.


    "I told you. That I... didn''t want to lose anything else."


    Uriel let go of his cor. "Is that why... you''ve been enduring it by yourself like an idiot?"


    Uriel had never experienced demonic energy encroachment before, but after witnessing Kang-Woo in agony and spewing blood, it was not hard to tell how long Kang-Woo had suffered all by himself. Kang-Woo had gone through it all by himself, while Uriel had been forcing him to fill the void left by Raphael.


    "Don''t... screw with me," Uriel mumbled. Tears dripped down his cheeks.


    "Lord Uriel...?"


    "Don''t screw with me!!" Uriel grabbed Kang-Woo''s shoulders. "Who gave you the right to fuck around all by yourself?!"


    It was a scream directed at himself, not Kang-Woo.


    "Just you wait." Uriel bit his lip. "I won''t let you be a demonic beast."


    "..."


    "I''ll stop it! No matter what it takes!"


    He thought of Raphael, his old friend whom he had killed with his own hands.


    <i>Grit.</i>


    He refused to feel the despair and failure he had felt back then ever again.


    "Oh Kang-Woo," he said while looking at the young man he had known only for a few months but was already filling the space Raphael had left behind. "I''ll protect you."


    * * *


    <i>''Shiiiiiiiiiieet!! That was fucking awesome!!''</i>


    <i>- I''ll protect you.</i>


    <i>''Holy crap, you''re gonna make me fall for you.''</i>


    Kang-Woo cheered in his mind.


    <i>''It was perfect. Urielpletely fell for it.''</i>


    He needed to push Uriel''s obsession to borderline madness to resume the Seed of Corruption''s growth.


    <i>''A friend turning into a monster, and the protagonist trying to protect him...''</i>


    Just that phrase was enough to paint the whole picture in his head. It would also obviously be super effective on Uriel, who had killed Raphael with his own hands.


    <i>''Huehuehuehuehue.''</i>


    He suppressed hisughter as best he could. It was too early to celebrate.


    <i>''This is where it really begins.''</i>


    The foundation was perfect. He had built up an affinity with Uriel in the past few months, and their affinity had even skyrocketed with the serious conversation they had earlier. And now, he had managed to create a tear-jerking scene thanks to his newly acquired Rakiel Coin.


    <i>''Time to add even more spice.''</i>


    He''d already decided on what to say.


    "Lord Uriel."


    "...What is it?"


    "If I... on the very small chance..." He grabbed Uriel''s hand while crying. A single tear dripped down his face, and he made a frail smile. "I be a demonic beast..."


    "..."


    He tightened his grip and prepared the staple death g of all zombie movies.


    "Please kill me... with your own hands."


    <i>''Shiiiet! Hell yeah! This is it! You can''t go without this line!''</i>


    His shoulders unwittingly shook in excitement.

 Chapter 305 - I Should Make Kimchi Stew

    <h4>Chapter 305 - I Should Make Kimchi Stew</h4>


    Yuriel ?: [Did you get home safe?]


    Yuriel ?: [We don''t know when the encroachment will happen again, so stay safe.]


    Yuriel ?: [And I''m going to live in Seoul, so find me a house.]


    Me: [What about money?]


    Yuriel ?: [Come on, you''re rich! You can have a few of the magic tools here.]


    Me: [LMAO I was joking.]


    Yuriel ?: [How can you joke around in such a situation?]


    Yuriel ?: [Anyway, contact me right away if something happens. You know you can''t neutralize demonic energy with mana, right? Sacred power is better, so make sure you contact me!]


    Me: [Okay.]


    "Cute little son of a bitch."


    Oh Kang-Woo smirked while looking at his smartphone.


    After the demonic energy was neutralized with Uriel''s sacred power, they decided to stop investigating, and each returned to their home after Kang-Woo had barely managed to convince Uriel to not follow him.


    Kang-Wooy on the bed when he got home.


    <i>''The message that the Seed of Corruption is growing hasn''t appeared yet.''</i>


    Based on Uriel''s current condition, it was only a matter of time.


    <i>''I should keep working to make him more obsessed.''</i>


    The closer he got to Uriel, the more his obsession would grow.


    <i>''And once that obsession reaches madness...''</i>


    Uriel would fall from grace.


    "Mm..."


    Kang-Woo crossed his arms and fell into thought.


    <i>''He said the fall could be reversed at the moment of its urrence.''</i>


    If that was the case, then stopping it would be beneficial to him. After all, ording to the quest, a temporary fall was good enough.


    <i>''Still, I feel a bit sorry for the kid.''</i>


    Kang-Woo had also grown attached to Uriel after spending all those months together. Uriel followed him everywhere like an abandoned puppy, so there was no way he wouldn''t get attached. Although Kang-Woo had cringed when Uriel said that he would protect him, he would be lying if it didn''t move him.


    <i>''Just a bit longer, kid. I swear I''ll make it up to you once it''s all over.''</i>


    He needed to prevent Uriel from falling permanently if he wanted the angels'' cooperation in the future. Kang-Woo''s thoughts stopped at the sound of an iing message.


    Yuriel ?: [But do we really need to keep it a secret? Why don''t we just tell that Kim Si-Hun human and, umm... You said you had a lover, right? Han Seol-Ah, was it? Why don''t we just tell them everything that''s going on?]


    "Absolutely not."


    He couldn''t imagine the consequences he would face if he told them. Kang-Woo immediately replied that it needed to be kept secret no matter what. Uriel kept insisting that they should tell the others, to which Kang-Woo kept turning down t.


    Me: [If you tell anyone, I will stop hanging out with you, Lord Uriel.]


    Yuriel ?: [...]


    Uriel finally agreed after Kang-Woo put the foot down. Kang-Woo put down the smartphone and sighed.


    "I should get this done as quickly as possible."


    Based on Uriel''s reaction, he would most definitely end up telling other people. He had to finish everything before that happened.


    <i>''I don''t have a lot of time.''</i>


    The friend slowly turning into a demonic beast and the protagonist struggling to save him... He needed to make a perfect TV drama around these two characters.


    <i>''Although I might be able to improvise a few things, I need to n out the general script.''</i>


    Kang-Woo got out of his bed and sat at his desk.


    Just then...


    <i>Knock, knock.</i>


    "Umm... Kang-Woo?" Seol-Ah entered in her pajamas. "D-Did everything go well?"


    "Oh, yeah. It''s going well."


    Seol-Ah''s expression brightened, and she blushed and grabbed his hand.


    "Then can we..."


    "Sorry. Like I told you this morning, I won''t be able to sleep with you for the next few days."


    He wasn''t just nning on making Uriel fall. He also needed to drive him to the brink of falling from grace and then bring him back to normal. It was too bad he couldn''t sleep with Seol-Ah, but he needed to focus on the n first.


    "... I-I see."


    Seol-Ah lowered her head with a dark expression on her face. The two of them had begun sleeping together about a month and a few weeks ago, and Seol-Ah seemed to have be very into it.


    <i>''I want to sleep with you too, darling.''</i>


    Kang-Woo did his best to resist the temptation by shaking his head.


    "Yeah, I''m sorry. Oh... Why don''t you take this chance to stay with your mother for the time being?"


    Seol-Ah''s mother, Kim Mi-Jeong, was taking care of Seol-Ah''s older brother, Han Tae-Hyun, who had practically be mentally disabled. No matter how much of a scumbag he had been, she couldn''t just leave him be since he was her son. Kang-Woo had lifted the forcedmand he had nted in Tae-Hyun with the Authority of Fear, but thetter could no longer function like a regr person due to the deeply instilled trauma.


    "That''s..." Seol-Ah''s expression hardened as she slurred.


    It seemed like, unlike her mother, she still hadn''t been able to forgive her brother.


    <i>''Well, I don''t me her.''</i>


    Tae-Hyun had tried to offer her up to his guild, so it was only natural. Kang-Woo had even put some Guardians members around Seol-Ah''s mother for security, just in case.


    "I''m sorry. Forget I said that."


    "Not at all. It''s all thanks to you that I can even have trivial worries like this," Seol-Ah answered while making a bright smile. "I''ll get going, then. Please don''t overwork yourself."


    "Okay." Kang-Woo waved and closed the door. "Now then..."


    He sat on the chair and re-read the messages he''d exchanged with Uriel.


    <i>''Let''s begin.''</i>


    * * *


    The days after were very hectic. Kang-Woo spent all day with Uriel to get even closer to him.


    "Kuh...! <i>C-Cough!</i>"


    "K-Kang-Woo!"


    And of course, he sprinkled in some encroachment performances here and there while vomiting blood. Every time that happened, Uriel frantically poured his sacred power into Kang-Woo while bawling his eyes out.


    "Lord Uriel, if I be a demonic b¡ª"


    "Shut up!"


    "..."


    "I''ll protect you, so don''t you dare say shit like that. Got it?"


    Uriel did his best to fully chase out the demonic energy from Kang-Woo.


    Based on what he''d learned after contacting Sant''Angelo in Aernor, there were two ways to resolve it. One was to eliminate Rakiel, and the other was for Kang-Woo to grow strong enough to be able to burn off the demonic energy within him.


    "Shit, shit!" Uriel cursed after hearing the two options.


    It was only obvious, since he knew very well that either option was realistically impossible.


    Uriel rented a suite in the apartment where Kang-Woo and Cha Yeon-Joo lived with Kang-Woo''s help. At first, he had insisted on living in the same house as Kang-Woo, but they hadpromised on him living three floors down.


    Yuriel ?: [Hey, what are you doing?]


    Yuriel ?: [Come down.]


    The closer they became and the more often Kang-Woo experienced the demonic energy encroachment, the more severe Uriel''s obsession became, proving the n was going smoothly. But because of that, Kang-Woo had barely been home and was spending all his time with Uriel to get rid of the demonic energy within him.


    <i>''But I''m almost there.''</i>


    Kang-Woo opened the door to his room as he read Uriel''s message. He knew things would be over soon thanks to the system messages.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [The Seed of Corruption is growing.]


    [The prerequisite quest is close topletion!]


    <i>''Finally.''</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists. He had been faking the encroachment for two weeks straight, and it was time to end the boring drama.


    <i>ck.</i>


    As he came out of his room, he saw Seol-Ah sitting on the living room couch. She had be unrecognizably haggard in these past two weeks. Kang-Woo felt a pain in his heart.


    <i>''I''m sorry, darling.''</i>


    He recalled the conversations he had with Seol-Ah over the past two weeks.


    <i>"Umm... Kang-Woo, what would you like to have for dinner tonight?"</i>


    <i>"Oh, sorry. I''m having dinner with Uriel tonight."</i>


    <i>"Ah... okay."</i>


    <i>"Kang-Woo... umm, what time will you being h¡ª"</i>


    <i>"Sorry, darling. I''m gonna be sleeping over at Uriel''s tonight."</i>


    <i>"... Okay."</i>


    <i>"Will you be... staying out tonight as well?"</i>


    <i>"Yeah, I think so."</i>


    <i>"..."</i>


    "Haaa."


    He couldn''t help but sigh after thinking about their exchanges.


    <i>''I never thought she''d get this bad.''</i>


    Ever since they became lovers, he knew that Seol-Ah found the time they spent together to be very joyful. And so did he, but this was so important that he hadn''t been able to give her any attention.


    Kang-Woo walked toward her.


    "... Kang-Woo?"


    "I''m sorry for not being able to spend any time with youtely, darling." He hugged Seol-Ah, who had thick dark circles under her eyes.


    Her expression brightened. "Then what about tod¡ª"


    "Just give me a little more time. It''s almost over."


    "Ah..." Her bright expression darkened again.


    Kang-Woo gave her a light kiss and turned around. He wanted to spend some more time with Seol-Ah, but he could feel his phone vibrating from Uriel''s messages.


    "I''ll get going, then. Eat without me. I think I''ll be spending time with Uriel untilte today."


    "... Okay." Seol-Ah nodded while smiling awkwardly.


    Kang-Woo opened the front door with a bitter smile on his face.


    <i>''I''ll have to settle this by today.''</i>


    He himself would not be able to hold on for much longer either if he kept dragging this on. He had already thought of the finale. Since a message saying that the quest was almostplete had appeared, there was no reason for him to hesitate any longer.


    <i>''It''s for sure gonna work this time.''</i>


    The finale he''d prepared was like this: He''d go to a deserted mountain and contact Uriel, asking for his help in a faint voice that sounded like he was on the verge of death.


    <i>''Uriel will fly over immediately.''</i>


    Once Uriel arrived, he''d put the green tentacles he received from Lilith on his right arm and act as if he were turning into a demonic beast.


    <i>''And then for my final line...''</i>


    <i>- I''m begging you. Before I turn into a monster... kill me.</i>


    <i>''Shiiiet! That''s the one!''</i>


    It was a fantastic line, if he said so himself. It would surely work since Uriel''s obsession for Kang-Woo was growing with each day.


    <i>''As for the climax... let''s go with the power I inherited from Tirion growing stronger after all the sacred power I got from Uriel which then chases out the demonic energy.''</i>


    A hero powering up in a crisis... It was awfully cliche, but since he couldn''t be an actual demonic beast, it was the best he could do.


    <i>''Alright, I''ll go with this.''</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled and searched for where he should set the stage for the finale.


    * * *


    <i>ck.</i>


    "..."


    Seol-Ah stared at the front door, which had just closed. Her face had be so thin over the past two weeks that she was almost unrecognizable, and thick dark circles had formed under her eyes.


    "Oh... Right." Seol-Ah got up. "I should make kimchi stew for Kang-Woo."


    <i>Step, step.</i>


    She staggered to the kitchen, grabbed the pot, and took out kimchi and pork from the refrigerator.


    "I''m sure he''s tired from how busy he''s beentely, so I''m sure he''ll love it if I make a lot."


    Seol-Ahughed softly. She grabbed a kitchen knife and cut the kimchi.


    <i>Thump.</i>


    <i>Thump.</i>


    <i>Thump!</i>


    She swung down the kitchen knife as if she were chopping firewood. Deep knife marks formed on the cutting board, and red fluid from the kimchi sttered all over the ce. However, that was only for a moment.


    "..." Seol-Ah began to tear up. "<i>Sniff, sniff.</i>"


    Tears flowed down her cheeks.


    Just then...


    <i>Ding, dong.</i>


    "Huh...?"


    The bell rang.


    <i>Bang, bang, bang.</i>


    She heard someone banging on the door.


    "K-Kang-Woo?"


    She knew that there was no way Kang-Woo would ring the doorbell, but she was in no condition to have such thoughts.


    <i>ck!</i>


    She opened the door.


    "Ah..."


    "The hell? Where''s Kang-Woo?"


    When she opened the door, she saw a young blue-haired boy standing in a crooked posture.

 Chapter 306 - Eh?

    <h4>Chapter 306 - Eh?</h4>


    "Ah... Uhmm." Han Seol-Ah was left flustered by the unexpected guest.


    Uriel looked around and frowned. "Kang-Woo isn''t here, right?"


    "... Yes."


    "Ugh. He said he''s on his way, so where the hell is he?" Uriel turned around whileining.


    "P-Please wait!" Seol-Ah called out in a hurry.


    "... What?" Uriel looked at her with sharp eyes.


    He''d heard a lot about Seol-Ah through Kang-Woo. Of course, Kang-Woo had only said good things about her, but Uriel couldn''t help but have an unfavorable opinion of her.


    <i>''She doesn''t even know what Kang-Woo''s going through.''</i>


    He felt a strange sense of superiority and a negative sentiment toward her.


    "Kang-Woo... seems to be very tiredtely. Could you tell me what is going on?"


    Uriel clicked his tongue. "It''s none of your concern."


    "I''m Kang-Woo''s lov¡ª"


    "Yeah, I know that you two are dating."


    "..."


    "Hmph, what''s the point if you''re dating? You don''t even know a thing about him." Uriel snorted and turned his head.


    Seol-Ah''s eyebrows went up.


    "What... do you mean?" she said in a low voice.


    Uriel found it absurd andughed at the faint rage he felt in her voice. "What''s it to you? You think it''ll change anything?"


    "I asked you what you meant."


    "Don''t ask me, ask Kang-Woo. What? Did he not tell you?"


    Uriel had hit the mark. Just like he said, all Kang-Woo did when she asked him was smile awkwardly and say that everything was fine.


    "Hmph, I knew it."


    "... Please tell me. Why are the two of you together so oftentely?"


    "Kuh."


    Uriel red at Seol-Ah. He was offended by the fact that the woman who considered herself to be Kang-Woo''s lover was doing absolutely nothing while Kang-Woo was going through such pain. Of course, he knew that there was nothing she could do even if she did know.


    Kang-Woo had told him not to tell her anything so that she wouldn''t be worried, but...


    <i>''At least stay in your goddamnne if you can''t do anything.''</i>


    He was surging with irritation. He felt like he wouldn''t be able to calm his rage until he gave her a piece of his mind.


    "You want to know why?"


    "Yes, I do."


    "It''s simple." Uriel pointed to her. "You can''t protect Kang-Woo..." He then pointed to himself. "... And I can."


    "... Pardon?"


    Seol-Ah''s eyes trembled. She couldn''t understand what he meant, but what she knew for certain was that Kang-Woo was currently in a situation where he needed someone''s protection.


    "I-I can''t protect him? What does that..."


    "It means exactly how it sounds. You can''t do anything for Kang-Woo. You can''t protect him or even make him happy."


    "Th-That''s not true!" Seol-Ah shouted as chilling bloodlust pooled in her eyes. "What are you talking about when you don''t even know anything about us?!"


    Uriel had only known Kang-Woo for a couple of months. No, the time wasn''t important. She was Kang-Woo''s lover; they had shared both body and mind, but Uriel was telling her that she couldn''t protect Kang-Woo or make him happy.


    "Haaa, haaa," she panted heavily.


    What drove her crazy the most was that she knew it was true¡ªshe didn''t have the strength to protect him or make him happy.


    "Hmph, I might not have known Kang-Woo for as long as you have," Uriel blurted out. "But I know for a fact that you''re of absolutely no help to him."


    "..."


    <i>Split.</i>


    Something in her heart started to crack, and her face paled.


    "Ah..." Uriel realized he''d gone too far and said something he shouldn''t have.


    <i>''Dammit.''</i>


    He didn''t want to antagonize his friend''s lover, but he''d lost his rationality because he had spent so much time seeing his precious friend in immense pain.


    "Sorry. I didn''t mean to go that f¡ª"


    <i>Brrrr.</i>


    As Uriel was in the middle of apologizing, something rang from inside his pocket. Uriel quickly took out his smartphone. There was only one person who knew his number.


    "Where the hell are you?" Uriel asked in a whiny voice, but his eyes widened from hearing Kang-Woo''s voice.


    He sounded as if he would die at any moment.


    "Shit!"


    Uriel quickly turned and jumped through the window frame, spreading his eight wings and quickly flying away.


    Seol-Ah nkly stared into the air.


    "Ha... haha." A distortedugh left her mouth.


    * * *


    "I''m begging you. Before I turn into a monster... kill me."


    "Don''t fuck with meeeeeeee!!"


    The friend, Kang-Woo, was telling the protagonist, Uriel, to kill him while grabbing hold of his hideous tentacle arm. Uriel was crying as he looked at Kang-Woo. The drama that Kang-Woo had been filming with Uriel had entered its climax just like he had wanted, but...


    <i>''The hell?''</i>


    Even though Kang-Woo was spasming while vomiting blood...


    <i>''Why isn''t the quest beingpleted?''</i>


    Even though he was pouring out demonic energy while holding onto his tentacle arm...


    <i>''Why isn''t this son of a bitch falling?''</i>


    He had evenpleted the climax scene of his golden energy powering up and fully chasing out the tentacle arm.


    "<i>Sniff.</i> I''m d. I''m... so d."


    Even after that, Uriel did not fall from grace. He was bawling his eyes out while hugging Kang-Woo, his eight wings as pure-white as ever.


    Kang-Woo looked down at Uriel with a hardened expression.


    <i>''My n failed?''</i>


    He wasn''t entirely unfamiliar with failure; he wasn''t some sort of omnipotent god, so he couldn''t seed in everything.


    He knew. He understood it, but still...


    <i>''I never thought that this one would fail.''</i>


    To be honest, he was a bit bewildered.


    Ever since he hade to Earth, this was the first time that a n he had prepared so thoroughly had failed so miserably.


    <i>''What happened?''</i>


    He couldn''t understand it.


    <i>''Where did it go wrong?''</i>


    He was sure Uriel''s target of obsession was him. As evidence of that, Uriel was crying as he was hugging him right now.


    It wasn''t like the Seed of Corruption had stopped growing either; the message window had clearly said that the quest was close topletion.


    <i>''Then what the hell did I miss?''</i>


    He couldn''t help but feel irritated that thest two weeks had gone to waste.


    "Wh-What''s wrong? Is the demonic energy still..." Uriel said while looking up at him with worry.


    Kang-Woo shook his head. "No, I don''t feel any more demonic energy within my body for the time being."


    He put his n on hold for now. If he couldn''t make Uriel fall from grace despite pushing him this far, it simply meant that he had gone about it the wrong way from the start. There was no reason for him to fake the demonic energy encroachment anymore.


    "Really?"


    "Yes. As proof..." Kang-Woo took out a cookie from his pocket and ate it. He smiled brightly. "My sense of taste is back to normal."


    "Ah...!" Uriel smiled brightly.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Uriel.


    <i>''I haven''tpletely failed yet.''</i>


    There was nothing more horrible than being dragged down into the pits of despair after tasting hope. Since the Seed of Corruption hadn''tpletely disappeared, he would be able to try it as many times as he liked.


    <i>''But my pride is a bit hurt.''</i>


    Kang-Woo would be able to give Uriel a despairing experience far more shocking than encroachment if he really wanted to.


    <i>''I''m a bit worried for the kid, though.''</i>


    He wasn''t sure if Uriel''s mind would be able to handle it.


    <i>''You should''ve just fallen on this run.''</i>


    Irritation swept over him again. He even thought about just making him fall by forcing demonic energy into him.


    <i>''I would''ve done it already if I could.''</i>


    Unlike humans, angels didn''t fall just from demonic energy being forced into them. Only by pushing their obsession to the limit of madness would an angel fall from grace.


    "I''m d. I''m... so d." Uriel smiled brightly while crying.


    Kang-Woo was swept over with huge remorse and fatigue. He felt like an adult picking on a child like his life depended on it. A sense of dejection spread through him.


    <i>''Haaa, what the fuck am I doing?''</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head. He decided to think about it moreter. He just wanted to go home and rest.


    "Let''s go back home," he said.


    "Okay! You''reing to my ce, right?"


    "Haha, no. I''m too tired, so I want to rest at home for today."


    "Ah..." Uriel''s expression darkened, but he nodded. "Okay. I''m going to report this matter to the celestial realm. I also have to hear about what''s going on in Aernor through the regr meeting."


    "Your subordinates will also being to Earth soon, right?"


    "Yeah! They''re all good guys. I''ll introduce them to you when they get here."


    Uriel''s obsession had alleviated significantly due to the fact that Kang-Woo had been able to escape the demonic energy encroachment.


    "Haha, thank you very much."


    Kang-Woo and Uriel went their separate ways. Uriel headed not to the house that Kang-Woo had prepared for him but to the fortress in Africa.


    "Haaa."


    Kang-Woo hadn''t expected his n to fail, so his steps felt very heavy as he returned home.


    <i>''But since there was no message saying that the growth was halted, I still have a chance.''</i>


    He opened the front door, thinking that he should take a long break before preparing for his next n.


    <i>''It''s been a while, so I''ll sleep with my darling tonight.''</i>


    Just the thought was enough to make him smile and put him in a good mood. He had been waiting so long for this very moment!


    "Hm?"


    The house was dark.


    Echidna and Halcyon would usuallye running at this time, but they were nowhere to be seen. Kang-Woo racked his brain and nodded after figuring out why.


    <i>''Halcyon and Echidna went to the Grand Canyon with Balrog for special training.''</i>


    That meant Seol-Ah was all by herself.


    "Darling~?" he carefully called out to her, but there was no answer.


    <i>''Is she asleep?''</i>


    Kang-Woo looked at her closed bedroom door and tilted his head.


    <i>''Mm, I shouldn''t wake her up.''</i>


    It was too bad, but it seemed like he''d have to sleep alone for tonight.


    <i>''Well, I''m gonna be taking a long break anyway.''</i>


    He wanted to go on dates with Seol-Ah and rx as much as he could, just the two of them. Traveling was also a nice option.


    "I''ll just go to sleep tonight."


    Leaving his disappointment behind, Kang-Woo went into his room.


    He hadn''t been able to sleep for the past two weeks because of Uriel, so his eyelids felt heavy.


    <i>''Tomorrow, with Seol-Ah...''</i>


    Kang-Woo fell asleep as all sorts of thoughts went through his head.


    * * *


    At dawn the next day...


    "Urgh."


    Kang-Woo opened his eyes as he felt a ray of sunlight shine through his window. Although he''d been able to sleep only for four hours, that much was enough to wipe away his fatigue.


    "I wonder if darling is still sleepi¡ª"


    <i>nk.</i>


    "Huh?"


    He couldn''t move. He turned his head to see white chains wrapped around him.


    <i>''Eh?''</i>


    What the fuck are these?

 Chapter 307 - Lets Go!

    <h4>Chapter 307 - Let''s Go!</h4>


    "What the hell is this...?"


    Oh Kang-Woo looked around in confusion. He put more strength into his limbs to move.


    <i>nk, nk.</i>


    All he heard were the sounds of chains hitting each other.


    <i>''I... can''t muster up any strength.''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened. He couldn''t circte his demonic energy as he wanted. It was as if he were under the effects of his Authority of Sealing.


    "Shit... what the hell is happening?"


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    He couldn''t even cut his arm off to free himself like he had done back when he had been restrained by the Authority of Sealing, since the unknown white chains had bound his entire body.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. It wasn''t like he had absolutely no way to break out.


    <i>''If I open a Door...''</i>


    If he forcibly made the demonic energy of the Ten Thousand Demon Core run wild by opening a Door, he''d be able to break the chains in an instant.


    <i>''Calm down.''</i>


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath. Opening a Door was not some technique he could use willy-nilly. He at least needed to figure out what was going on before he used it.


    <i>nk, nk!</i>


    "Kuh. Shit... why the hell are they so thick?"


    He used the Authority of des using the very small amount of demonic energy that he could still move.


    The ck de made contact with the chains.


    [This is ''Demon-Binding Light'' made with the Divinity of the Celestial Goddess. It cannot be destroyed physically.]


    "... What?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened from seeing the message window pop up in front of him. He wasn''t surprised by the fact that it couldn''t be destroyed physically.


    <i>''Made with the Divinity of the Celestial Goddess?''</i>


    What nonsense was that?


    Before he could continue that line of thought, he felt a presence right outside his room.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    "Oh, Kang-Woo. You''re up."


    "... Seol-Ah?"


    Seol-Ah''s eyes were blurry as if out of focus. She staggered toward Kang-Woo and sat on the bed. She gently caressed his cheeks lovingly.


    "What''s g¡ª"


    Kang-Woo was about to say something when she pulled on his neck and kissed him; her tongue explored his mouth as if she were a starved beast devouring its food.


    <i>''Hallelujah.''</i>


    What the hell was happening? Was this a dream? Was he having that thing called a wet dream or whatever it was called? He couldn''t believe he was having a wet dream despite having lived for ten millennia.


    Kang-Woo had kissed Seol-Ah many times, but his kisses had never been this intense. Not even his kisses with Lilith had been this intense.


    "Haaa." Seol-Ah exhaled in a stupor.


    She smiled and slowly tilted her head.


    "Mwah."


    From the neck to the ear, Seol-Ah kissed him all over as if she were a bird pecking at him. Kang-Woo''s eyes widened as his mouth fell open.


    <i>''What the fuck is going on?''</i>


    This was fucking amazing.


    <i>''No, no. It''s not fucking amazing.''</i>


    He forcibly severed his train of thought. He was certainly loving what was going on, but not the situation as a whole.


    "... What are you doing, Seol-Ah?" he asked in a low voice.


    Seol-Ah was clearly acting very weirdly. She was not the gentle, kind, and shy woman that he was used to.


    <i>''It feels different from Lilith.''</i>


    Lilith knew exactly how to seduce a man (although the tentacles made it meaningless) and perfectly calcted her moves to take advantage of her knowledge. However, all that he felt from Seol-Ah was not seduction but madness and obsession to make every inch of Kang-Woo''s body hers.


    <i>''Wait.''</i>


    Madness and obsession?


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    "Kang-Woo..." Seol-Ah opened her mouth with a trembling voice. "You see, that rude angel kid said that I didn''t know anything about you. Isn''t that absurd?"


    Her hands covered Kang-Woo''s cheeks.


    "I would''ve understood it if it had been Lilith, but that wasn''t the case. How dare he, when he met you farter than I have... when he doesn''t even live with you or are lovers with you!"


    Seol-Ah''s voice was starting to carry a hint of madness. As she stared at Kang-Woo, her eyes started to shake violently.


    "But... for him to say that I don''t know anything about you... Fu... Fufu. That''s not the end of it. He said that I''m not able to protect you... so I can''t make you happy, you know?"


    Kang-Woo heard her grinding her teeth.


    <i>Rumble.</i>


    Colossal energy flowed out of her. The power contained within the wave of energy could not even be fathomed by even Kang-Woo.


    <i>''Holy fuck.''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s face paled.


    "You also think... that''s absurd, right, Kang-Woo?"


    "..."


    "I can''t make you happy...? That can''t be, right?"


    She smiled faintly and hugged Kang-Woo''s head. Two soft mounds of flesh touched his head.


    "Now..." she whispered seductively, "You can do as you wish, Kang-Woo."


    The temptation spread like poison.


    Seol-Ah giggled. "I''ll protect you from now on, Kang-Woo."


    She licked her lips and let out a heated breath. "You don''t need to do anything from now on. There''s no need for you to be weighed down by the obligation to save the world anymore."


    "Umm... Darling? There seems to have been a misunderstanding."


    "Just lie still."


    "I can''t get up anyway since I''m tied up."


    "Fufu. You can just stay like that from now on. I''ll... do everything for you."


    Her eyes were hazy as if she were high. Light poured out of the twelve white wings that had sprouted from her back. They flickered ck like a broken lightbulb. Kang-Woo''s face paled; the questions in his mind had finally been answered.


    <i>''Fuck...''</i>


    He fucked up.


    <i>''Uriel wasn''t the one with the Seed of Corruption.''</i>


    He had beenpletely mistaken. He had felt that something was wrong from the moment that the n he had prepared so thoroughly had failed.


    <i>''It was Seol-Ah.''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s mouth fell open in shock. It wasn''t that he hadn''t suspected her. He had checked if the shing of his energy with Seraph''s energy had caused any negative effects on Seol-Ah at the very beginning.


    <i>''That was where I fucked up.''</i>


    The entangling of energies itself had not influenced Seol-Ah in any way. However, the problem had been that due to the entanglement, the energy of Seraph within Seol-Ah had grown bigger. In other words, Kang-Woo had not realized that Seol-Ah''s body was transforming from that of a human to an angel.


    <i>''And because it''s an angel''s body...''</i>


    It had instinctive constraints that allowed one to keep their sanity in eternal life, just like demon bodies.


    <i>''Seol-Ah''s target of obsession is...''</i>


    There was no need to even think about what it was.


    "Fufu. Kang-Woo~" Seol-Ah hugged him tighter and kissed him.


    <i>''Fuuuuuuuck!''</i> Kang-Woo screamed in his head.


    His head had never been this jumbled before. The problem wasn''t just that Seol-Ah was falling. The biggest problem was...


    <i>''I don''t know if I should like it or not!''</i>


    To be honest, he liked it.


    He had practically lived like a virgin for ten millennia except for his time with Lilith, so there was no way that he would dislike such a fantasy-like situation.


    <i>''Is it okay if it isn''t suitable for all ages anymore? Should we go straight to the moon like this?''</i>


    All sorts of thoughts crossed through Kang-Woo''s mind. His instinctive desires and sense of reason were shing with each other. He could hear them debating against each other in his head.


    <i>- Let''s fucking go! We''ve waited ten goddamn millennia for this!!</i>


    <i>- Calm down. Take a deep breath, and take off your pants.</i>


    <i>''What the fuck?''</i>


    They were both on the same side.


    "What do you think...? You like it too, don''t you?"


    "Ah, yes. Of course." He nodded furiously.


    "In that case..."


    Seol-Ah kissed him once again.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [The prerequisite quest has beenpleted.]


    [You have acquired the third key of the Demonic Sea, ''Abysm.'']


    A blue message window appeared in front of him, and the third symbol of the ring on his right middle finger shone.


    "Ah..."


    Seol-Ah''s eyes shifted to the ring, and her expression crumpled.


    "What''s this ring?"


    "Huh?"


    "It''s not something that rude kid gave you, is it? Is it?" She bit her lip temperamentally. "Please give me an answer now."


    "It''s a weapon I made. It can change into all sorts of forms."


    Kang-Woo changed the form of the Key of the Demonic Sea for Seol-Ah to see.


    "Oh, I-I see. I''m sorry... Kang-Woo."


    Seol-Ah blushed and lowered her head.


    "Yes, there''s no way that you would be wearing a ring that someone else gave you. Yes, there''s... absolutely no way." She nodded and smiled.


    "..."


    "Oh, now that we''re on the topic, wh-why don''t we also get couple rings? No, let''s get them. I''ll go buy them in a bit." Seol-Ah kept talking without even giving Kang-Woo time to answer.


    Kang-Woo''s expression got harder over time.


    [The fall has begun! The fall will be permanent if it is not stopped right now!]


    A warning window appeared in front of him.


    Hesitation appeared in Kang-Woo''s eyes.


    It was time to choose between the current assertive and wild Seol-Ah and the kind Seol-Ah with a beautiful smile, the one he had first met when he first came to Earth.


    "... Hah." Kang-Woo feignedughter.


    It was not even worth thinking about. He also liked the current Seol-Ah to the point that he had almost cheered in delight.


    <i>''But...''</i>


    The one he had met after ten millennia in Hell and the one who was best with a gentle and soft smile was... the ''human'' Han Seol-Ah.


    <i>''I will stop the fall.''</i>


    He had made up his mind, but the problem was that he didn''t know how.


    Kang-Woo used what little demonic energy he could move to contact Lilith.


    <i>- Lilith!</i>


    <i>- My king? What is wrong?</i>


    Kang-Woo quickly exined the situation to her.


    <i>- Hah... Seol-Ah did?</i>


    <i>- Get over here and help me.</i>


    <i>- ...</i>


    There was silence.


    Lilith''s voice spread through his mind.


    <i>- I don''t think I will be of much help to you, my king. If she''s powerful enough to restrain you, then I wouldn''t even be able to withstand a simple wave of her hand.</i>


    <i>- Oh... Shit, then...</i>


    <i>- You can''t open a Door either.</i>


    <i>- What am I supposed to do, then?</i>


    <i>- Listen carefully, my king. You said that an angel falls from grace when their obsession reaches the border of madness, right?</i>


    <i>- Yeah.</i>


    <i>- In that case...</i>


    Lilith kept talking.


    <i>- You need to start with alleviating that obsession.</i>


    <i>- How am I supposed to do that?</i>


    <i>- It''s simple.</i>


    She said without hesitation.


    - Do it with Seol-Ah.


    - Yeah, that will definitely... What? Do what?


    <i>- Oh, you. You know exactly what I mean.</i>


    What was he supposed to know?


    <i>- If she thinks that the target of her obsession is fully hers, that obsession will naturally be alleviated.</i>


    So what was he supposed to do?


    <i>- Hurry! There is no time, my king!</i>


    Huh? Huuuh?


    <i>- Do it now!</i>


    "..."


    Kang-Woo''s mouth was agape with a dumbfounded expression. He saw Seol-Ah mumbling something as if she were a broken radio.


    <i>''Do it?''</i>


    For real? Was it really okay?


    "Fuuu." He took a deep breath in and mustered up the resolve.


    <i>''Yeah, let''s go.''</i>


    He was Oh Kang-Woo, a man roughly ten thousand years old.


    <i>''Let''s fucking go! Yeah!! I can fucking do it! I have all the knowledge I need!''</i>


    He had bought an external hard drive with 1TB of storage without Seol-Ah knowing for a reason.


    <i>''Let''s go, let''s go, let''s go!!''</i>


    To the moon!

 Chapter 308 - The Moon Goes Down

    <h4>Chapter 308 - The Moon Goes Down</h4>


    <i>''Calm down for now. Don''t get too excited.''</i>


    Oh Kang-Woo gripped his trembling chest and took deep breaths. It was a historical moment that took ten millennia to arrive. He had honestly hoped to enjoy the opportunity in a more romantic atmosphere, but such idiotic thoughts had long since gone out the window now that the opportunity was actually in front of him.


    An intense heat spread through him.


    <i>''Seol-Ah.''</i>


    He looked over at Han Seol-Ah, who was eyeing him with a mad gleam in her eyes. He felt like she would devour him if he did nothing, but he couldn''t let that happen.


    <i>''The goal above all else is to stop Seol-Ah''s fall.''</i>


    He had no dirty intention of taking advantage of the situation to go to the moon with her.


    <i>''Yeah, this is just CPR.''</i>


    It was nothing more than medical treatment to stop Seol-Ah''s fall from grace. He had no choice but to do it. He was nning on taking a very wholesome stance, just like a doctor saving their patient or a devotee praying to their god.


    "Did something good happen, Kang-Woo?" Seol-Ah asked.


    "Huh? Ah, mm."


    His mouth seemed to have curled up without him even realizing it. He coughed while averting his gaze from Seol-Ah. The gears in his head turned in overdrive.


    <i>''I can''t act rashly right away.''</i>


    Everything had a course that needed to be taken. He couldn''t just dive straight into it.


    <i>''First, I''ll satiate Seol-Ah''s desires with sweet words.''</i>


    Now that Kang-Woo knew that her body was closer to that of an angel and that the target of her obsession was him, it was not hard to guess what her desires were.


    <i>''Just like with Uriel...''</i>


    No, it was actually easier than with Uriel, since his obsession over affection had not developed enough to make him fall from grace.


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his mouth, "Seol-Ah."


    "Yes, Kang-Woo?"


    "You''ve been lonely since I haven''t been able to spend much time with youtely, right?" he said in a warm voice.


    Seol-Ah nodded and hugged his head.


    "Yes... I was so, so lonely. But there''s no need to worry anymore. After all, there is no way... that will ever happen again."


    Seol-Ah smiled widely and embraced Kang-Woo with her twelve wings flickering ck.


    "From now until the end of time... we''ll always be together," she whispered sweetly.


    Kang-Woo nodded calmly. "Yeah, let''s be together forever."


    "A-Aaaahh!" Seol-Ah trembled. She then eximed in ecstasy, "So you wanted that too!"


    Kang-Woo lifted his arms wrapped in chains and asked, "Sorry, but could you undo these?"


    "Th-That''s..."


    "I want to touch you, Seol-Ah."


    "I''ll undo them right away.''


    <i>Clunk.</i>


    His arms were freed from the chains. Kang-Woo caressed Seol-Ah''s back.


    "Hehehe," she smiled.


    Although it was only a little, he noticed that the flickering had slowed down.


    <i>''Okay.''</i>


    His actions were proven to be effective. If so... he pulled Seol-Ah toward him and kissed her. Although his kiss wasn''t as intense as hers, it was still intense enough for their emotions to be properly delivered to each other. Seol-Ah''s wings were pping in delight.


    "Seol-Ah."


    "Y-Yes, Kang-Woo?"


    "What did you hear from Uriel?"


    "..." Seol-Ah''s expression crumpled when she heard the name. She said in a voice filled with bloodlust, "He said that... I can''t make you happy... because I can''t protect you."


    She bit her lip. "Isn''t that ridiculous? He talked as if he were your lover when your lover is m-me. Don''t you agree, Kang-Woo?"


    Seol-Ah stared at him in madness.


    "Yeah. That brat was out of line. He knows nothing about our rtionship," Kang-Woo said without hesitation.


    He understood what Uriel had meant, but he couldn''t defend Uriel at the moment¡ªhe had to take Seol-Ah''s side no matter what.


    "Th-That''s right! A kid who doesn''t know anything about our rtionship said that!" Seol-Ah''s expression brightened, and she nodded furiously.


    <i>''Good.''</i>


    Things were off to a good start.


    <i>''Now...''</i>


    It was time to smooth things over.


    "I don''t really understand why you being unable to protect me leads to me being unhappy, though."


    "Because... that''s how much danger you''re in..."


    "No," Kang-Woo firmly shook his head.


    His saying that he actually wasn''t in any danger and that Uriel was wrong would bepletely pointless, since that was not the answer she truly wanted.


    "Me being in danger and you being unable to make me happy arepletely unrted," Kang-Woo stated.


    He''d dealt with all sorts of crazy beings while ruling over the Nine Hells as the demon king.


    "It''s true that I''m in danger and so is the fact that I might die at any second."


    "Th-Then..."


    "But... no matter how much danger I''m in, I''ve never once thought that I was unhappy."


    Dealing with such crazy beings was simple¡ªyou just had to give them what they wanted to see and hear.


    "Seol-Ah." He touched her cheeks and did his best to avoid cringing. "Just being with you makes me happy."


    "Ah..."


    "There''s no need for you to protect me. You just... have to stay by my side."


    "L-Liar!! You''ve wanted to be with that kid angel more than with me this whole time!" Seol-Ah eximed temperamentally. "I''ve waited for you every single day untilte at night... even until past midnight, but you never came back. I had waited for you without missing a single day, but not even once...! You must be lying when you say that you''re happy just from being with me!"


    <i>Rumble!</i>


    An explosive noise akin to thunder sounded. The apartment shook as if it were about to copse. No, Seoul itself was shaking due to her influence.


    Kang-Woo''s face paled.


    <i>''Just how fucking strong is she?''</i>


    He was truly shocked by Seraph''s power, which was strong enough to shake an entire city.


    Seol-Ah put her hand on Kang-Woo''s shoulder and continued, "You have to look only at me. Love only me, talk to only me, and touch only me. Understood?"


    "Seol-Ah."


    "You don''t have to worry." Her crazed eyes shifted to Kang-Woo. She pushed him back down on the bed and got on top of him.


    "I''ll do anything you want, Kang-Woo. You can just stay right here without doing a thing. If you do..." Seol-Ah slowly caressed Kang-Woo''s cheek.


    "I''ll make the kimchi stew you love every single day and feed it to you right here. I''ll change your clothes for you. You don''t even have to go to the bathroom. Oh, I''ll move the TV to your room so that you don''t get bored. I''ll buy you a bed table so you can use theputer here as well. And, and, and..." Seol-Ah leaned down and whispered in his ear, "I''ll even let you do the thing that lovers do... any time, as much as you like. Fufu. I may not look like it, but I practiced it a bunch without you knowing. I can show you an amazing time even while you''re lying still."


    Kang-Woo remained silent, and all sorts of thoughts crossed his mind.


    <i>''It''d be fine if I just let her fall, wouldn''t it? Hm? A Demon God and a fallen Celestial Goddess sounds like one hell of a couple, doesn''t it?''</i>


    Whether her wings were ck or white, wasn''t it fine as long as she was fundamentally Seol-Ah?


    Kang-Woo frantically kept his rampaging urges in check and looked at her back with deep, sunken eyes. Her wings were flickering just as fast as before.


    <i>''Calm down. Calm down.''</i>


    He realized that Seol-Ah was in a far worse state than he had thought.


    <i>''In that case...''</i>


    He just had to use something better.


    "I''m sorry, Seol-Ah. I didn''t know you were having such a hard time."


    "<i>Sniff, sniff...</i>"


    "I''ll admit it. It''s true that I''ve been... giving more attention to Uriel than you."


    "Urgh." Seol-Ah frowned aggressively.


    Kang-Woo forced himself back up and embraced her. "But you know why I had to do that, Seol-Ah."


    "B-Because you prefer being with that brat over me..."


    "Do you really think so?" he asked in a deep voice.


    He was sure that she knew that wasn''t the case¡ªshe''d just been ignoring it due to her obsession with keeping him tied up to monopolize him.


    "Do you really think I left you alone because I prefer to be with Uriel?"


    "If that''s not the case¡ª"


    "If you really think so..." Kang-Woo slurred. He needed to take a strong and firm stance. "I think I would be... very disappointed."


    "N-No! I didn''t think so at all!" Seol-Ah shook her head, her face pale.


    She had made aplete 180 in an instant, but it didn''t matter.


    Kang-Woo smiled and continued. "But I do feel it''s my responsibility that I drove you to the point that you had thought that way. I think I''ll have to... show you trust."


    "No, this is all that b-brat''s fault. You haven''t done anything wr¡ª"


    "No, it''s my mistake. I should''ve told you this earlier to make sure you can trust me fully."


    "Pardon? What... do you mean?" Seol-Ah asked.


    Kang-Woo put his hand into his pocket. A tiny bit of darkness separated from the Key of the Demonic Sea on his right middle finger. A white ring was made in the blink of an eye, with the name ''Han Seol-Ah'' engraved in ck writing on it.


    "I''ve actually prepared this a month ago... but I haven''t been able to find the right time to hand it to you."


    "... What?"


    He took out the white ring and extended it toward Seol-Ah.


    "Seol-Ah," He unveiled the trump card that would allow him to fully reverse the situation. "Let''s get married."


    "...!"


    <i>Rumble!</i>


    An ungodly wave of power shook everything around them. Seol-Ah stuttered, her face turning a concerning shade of red.


    "Wh-Wha¡ªHuh? M-Married? Huh?"


    Kang-Woo smiled, thinking that it had worked.


    <i>''But that''s not enough.''</i>


    Just words alone would not be able to stop her fall from grace.


    <i>''Now, rather than talking with words...!''</i>


    It was time to talk with their bodies. He had to melt away the distrust and madness dirtying her heart with his body heat.


    <i>"Let''s go, let''s go, let''s go!! I''m so ready to go this time!''</i>


    He had waited far too long and had desired this moment far too much.


    Finally... finally... after ten millennia... no, for the first time in his life...


    <i>''It''s different from what I did with Lilith!''</i>


    It was far too painful to consider being attacked by a tentacle monster spewing pus as experience.


    <i>''No tentacles! Two eyes! No pus! Phenomenal!''</i>


    Kang-Woo slowly reached out to her while suppressing his tears as much as he could. Just then...


    "<i>Sniff, sniff</i>..."


    Along with Seol-Ah''s tears...


    [The energy of Skyfall is weakening!]


    [The fall will soon be canceled!]


    <i>''Huh?''</i>


    What the fuck?


    "Kang-Woo...!"


    But they haven''t done it yet.


    "Y-Yes...! I-I''d love to!"


    Wait just a goddamn minute. This ain''t it, chief. Why are you doing this? We still haven''t talked with our bodies yet, Seol-Ah. This isn''t something that can just be resolved with words.


    <i>''N-No.''</i>


    Kang-Woo reached out in desperation. Something was going terribly wrong.


    <i>''It can''t seed already... we''ve only just talked!''</i>


    They still haven''t gone to the moon!


    <i>''Fall! Fall again! Not like thiiiiiis!''</i>


    [The Seed of Corruption is disappearing!]


    <i>''Fuuuuuuuuuuck!!! Nooooooooo!''</i>


    "Let''s"¡ªtears dripped down Seol-Ah''s cheeks¡ª"get married."


    "Ah..." Kang-Woo looked at her twelve wings as they reverted to their usual white color, and... cried.


    [You have sessfully prevented the fall!]


    <i>''No... Not this... I didn''t want this.''</i>


    Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah cried while hugging each other until the moon went down... and the sun came up.

 Chapter 309 - Was It Rakiels Doing?

    <h4>Chapter 309 - Was It Rakiel''s Doing?</h4>


    "Kargh... Hurgh!!"


    "Lady Gaia!!"


    A woman, lying down on an altar in the middle of a giant castle made in a space filled with white light, grimaced in pain. Her brown hair, wet with sweat, slid down from above the altar. The faint light flowing out of her shook greatly.


    "Gather the gods immediately! Divinity... we need Divinity!" anxiously shouted Uranus, the man with red hair akin to a lion''s mane.


    The nearby servants lowered their heads.


    "W-We apologize. All the gods from Olympus, Valha, Takamagahara... Their Divinities have all reached their limit. If we borrow any more Divinity from them, they will also..."


    "Shit! Are you suggesting we just stand by and watch as Lady Gaia is annihted?! This world is over as soon as she disappears!" Uranus angrily shouted.


    The Earth losing its head god would mean that there would be no one left who could manage the Gaia System, a portion of the providence granted to Earth. If that were to happen, otherworldly invasions would be permitted, and the restrictions binding the gods wouldpletely disappear. All that would await them after that was the end. Unless a being with at least the same level of Divinity as Gaia took control of the system, Earth''s destruction would be inevitable.


    "<i>Cough! Cough!</i> Do not... get agitated... my child."


    Just then, Gaia slowly got up from the altar.


    Uranus''s eyes widened. "L-Lady Gaia!"


    He knelt on one knee and lowered his head.


    Gaia clenched her chest in agony. She said with a heavy voice, "Contact... my incarnation. There is something... I must tell my children."


    * * *


    "Urgh."


    Oh Kang-Woo got up, feeling the rays of sunshine beaming on his face through the window.


    <i>''There''s more than usual.''</i>


    Kang-Woo tilted his head as he looked at the red marks that had appeared on his body.


    It had been three days since he stopped Han Seol-Ah''s fall from grace. He was still sticking to her all day to give her unstable mind proper care. Of course, they also slept together.


    He had first thought about avoiding sleeping with her since he didn''t know how his demonic energy would influence her, but he changed his mind as soon as he noticed her extreme sorrow when he brought it up to her. He couldn''t afford to take the immediate risk to avoid a risk that he wasn''t even sure would happen or not.


    "My demonic energy control shot up again," Kang-Woo said with a smile.


    Other than the fact that he got to sleep with Seol-Ah, there were too many other benefits to it for him to give it up.


    <i>''My stamina goes down, but...''</i>


    It was an extremely easy price to pay, considering how much his demonic energy control improved with each session.


    "Darling~"


    "Oh, good morning, Kang-Woo."


    As he came out of his room, Seol-Ah approached him with a smile. She was trotting toward him when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She lowered her head in sadness as if remembering something.


    "Uhmm... I-I''m so sorry about back then. I still have no idea why I acted that way."


    "Haha. How many times are you going to say that? I told you it''s okay."


    "But still..." Seol-Ah blushed.


    She still could not understand what hade over her to bind Kang-Woo in chains.


    <i>''No matter how much I wanted to be with Kang-Woo...''</i>


    She was swept with regret for having gone too far. Kang-Woo thankfully forgave her, but if he hade to avoid her due to what had happened, she would have regretted it for the rest of her life.


    <i>''But thanks to that...''</i>


    Seol-Ah touched the white ring on her left ring finger.


    "Hehehe."


    Although she''d touched, stroked, and licked it hundreds of times already, she couldn''t help but smile every time she looked at it.


    She recalled what Kang-Woo had said to her while holding her hands when they had first met.


    <i>"Three kids sounds good."</i>


    She said, "I''ll do my best, Kang-Woo."


    "Hm? On what?"


    "I''ve been practicing super hard!"


    "...?"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head. Seol-Ah lightly kissed him and hummed as she turned around.


    "Oh, right. Seol-Ah, how is it... handling that power? You haven''t felt Seraph''s consciousness or will or anything like that, have you?" Kang-Woo asked worryingly.


    "No, nothing like that," Seol-Ah said as she slightly raised her hand.


    <i>Whoom.</i>


    An immense wave of power spread out as twelve wings appeared on her back. Although it was weakerpared to when she''d fallen, she was still emitting enough power to easily wipe out a prince of Hell.


    "This is... Lady Seraph''s power, right?" Seol-Ah asked.


    "It is."


    "I still can''t believe that her soul is inside me..."


    "It isn''t something to be happy about. You don''t know when she''ll take control of your consciousness, so you need to avoid using her power as much as possible," Kang-Woo stated with worry, and Seol-Ah shook her head.


    "No, I want to use this power." Her voice carried determination. "I''ve always been protected by you. I... don''t want things to stay that way."


    She smiled. "I will protect you from now on, Kang-Woo."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo kept his mouth shut and groaned.


    The benefits of Seol-Ah being able to control Seraph''s power couldn''t be overstated.


    <i>''Since a god on the same level as Gaia would be added to the roster.''</i>


    Although it seemed she still had a long way to go to fully control that power, she was as strong as Balrog and Kim Si-Hun now.


    <i>''Not only that, but she''s a support.''</i>


    She wouldn''t be that strong if she tried to fight in the vanguard like Balrog and Si-Hun. Her power truly shone when she was giving support from the back: boosting recovery, reducing consumption of energies like mana and Qi, and giving buffs that boosted brain processing speed and hardened one''s mental state. Not just that, there were no stats that she couldn''t buff.


    <i>''Even Si-Hun was surprised.''</i>


    Kang-Woo had once made Si-Hun duel Balrog twice, before and after being buffed. Si-Hun had just barely lost to Balrog without being buffed but had managed to overpower Balrog in less than five minutes after being buffed.


    Considering how strong Si-Hun and Balrog were, a buff making such a difference was absolutely unreal.


    <i>''Even considering the dangers of using the power, giving it up would be a waste.''</i>


    If the one with this power had been anyone else but Seo-Ah, he would have done whatever it took to make that person his Familiar. That was how valuable she was at the moment.


    <i>''Plus, it''s only been three days since she managed to consciously use the power.''</i>


    There was a huge chance that her buffs would be even better. Plus...


    "I feel like I get better at using this power every time I sleep with you for some reason, Kang-Woo."


    Seol-Ah controlled the white light flowing out of her hand in fascination. Kang-Woo nodded. He also used to be curious about that.


    "Right? I wonder why that happens when all we do is sleep?"


    A weird sense of silence fell momentarily. Seol-Ah froze and smiled awkwardly.


    "Ho... hoho. Your guess is as good as mine. I wonder why, when all we really do is sleep."


    "... Darling?"


    "Right, hurry, Kang-Woo. Breakfast is ready."


    "Oh, okay."


    Seol-Ah pulled him into the kitchen by the arm.


    As he reached the dining table, he saw a steaming pot of kimchi stew and three sets of spoons and chopsticks.


    "Hm? Are Echidna and Halcyoning back today?"


    Even then, the number didn''t match.


    "No. Lilith is going to be joining us in a bit."


    <i>Ding dong.</i>


    Speak of the devil, the bell rang.


    "I''ll be right there~"


    As Seol-Ah opened the front door, Lilith entered the apartment. Just as Kang-Woo hadmanded, she was in the form of Kurosaki Yurie.


    <i>''Hell yeah!''</i> Kang-Woo clenched his fists.


    He would wee her with open arms as long as she was in that form.


    "Good morning. Did you sleep wellst night, Seol-Ah?"


    "Oh, yes. I was very happy."


    "Hohoho. You shouldn''t monopolize the king too much. From time to time, I will also..."


    "Of course. Oh, but in exchange, please teach me the technique you told me about..."


    "Oh my, already?"


    The two women had made some kind of deal without Kang-Woo knowing. He paid it no mind and asked, "Are you here to eat?"


    "Oh, right. I was nning to, but something came up."


    "What happened?"


    "I will exin on the way. We will have to go right now." Lilith opened a Gate that led to the Hall of Protection in the middle of the living room. "There is something off about Gaia."


    * * *


    A woman with brown hair was lying on a bed in a room with almost no other furniture. Anyone could tell from just looking at her that she was in terrible condition: her cheeks were hollow, her forehead was covered in cold sweat, and she was panting heavily.


    "Haaa, haaa, haaa."


    "Gaia..."


    Next to her bed, Si-Hun held Gaia''s trembling hands and lowered his head as if he were praying.


    It had been 30 minutes since Gaia''s condition had suddenly worsened. Si-Hun was bing more and more anxious with each second. He raised his head to look toward the middle-aged woman across from him, Grace McCubbin. She was publicly the leader of Guardians, but she had been Gaia''s caretaker since before Si-Hun had taken over that role for her.


    "Grace, what should we¡ª"


    "There is nothing we can do. This... is not the first time this has happened."


    "... It''s happened before?"


    "Yes." Grace gently swept back Gaia''s hair, which was drenched with sweat. "It''s exactly the same as back when... she received the revtion about the Demon of Prophecy."


    The Demon of Prophecy...


    Si-Hun frowned aggressively when he heard those words, and an immense bloodlust poured out of him.


    <i>m!</i>


    "Si-Hun!"


    "... Hyung-nim."


    Kang-Woo mmed the door open and entered the room.


    "Hey! What happened?!"


    "I came as soon as I was contacted. What''s wrong?"


    Cha Yeon-Joo and Tian Wuchen arrived shortly after. And...


    "I heard the news. The incarnation of Lady Gaia is in a weird condition?" Uriel also entered the room.


    All the super elites of Guardians and an archangel were gathered in one ce. A nervous atmosphere filled the room.


    "Haaa, haaa."


    "Are you okay, Gaia?" Kang-Woo asked as he walked toward her.


    Gaia nodded with great difficulty and tried to raise herself into a sitting position, but she copsed to the side.


    "Gaia!" Si-Hun helped support her.


    "... Thank you, Protector Kim Si-Hun."


    Gaia faintly smiled and sat back up.


    "I received... a new revtion."


    A heavy silence overtook the room.


    Kang-Woo listened to her words with caution.


    <i>''Just what is it about for her expression to be this dark?''</i>


    "I do not know the exact time frame, but..."


    Gaia shut her eyes tight and bit her lip. The nervousness in the room worsened.


    "Lady Seraph''s soul... has fallen into... the hands of darkness."


    <i>Wham!!</i>


    Kang-Woo mmed his fist down as soon as Gaia finished her sentence. He then spoke without hesitation...


    "Was it Rakiel''s doing?"

 Chapter 310 - Lets Do It

    <h4>Chapter 310 - Let''s Do It</h4>


    No matter how much anyone thought about it, there was only one being who could even be capable of corrupting Celestial Goddess Seraph.


    "I''m... not sure either," Gaia said as she shook her head. "However, I''m sure that it has something to do with the Demon of Prophecy."


    "In that case, there is no question about it," Oh Kang-Woo said, a serious expression on his face. "Rakiel must have been the one who corrupted Lady Seraph."


    It was obvious, since Rakiel was the Constetion of Corruption and a loyal subordinate of the Demon of Prophecy.


    "W-Wait. What are you talking about?" Uriel looked around in confusion.


    He already knew very well that the power of Seraph keeping the Constetions of Evil sealed was gradually weakening. Her soul, which had gone missing a few years ago, needed to be found to restore that power. The other angels were searching across the entire continent of Aernor as they spoke, but...


    <i>''Lady Seraph''s soul... has fallen into the Demon of Prophecy''s hands?''</i>


    Uriel''s face paled. If that was true, then it was a massive deal.


    "Shit, shit! That''s impossible... There''s no way that Lady Seraph''s soul has fallen into the Demon of Prophecy''s hands!" Uriel shouted aggressively.


    <i>Crackle!</i>


    Blue lightning sparked around him.


    "Calm down, Lord Uriel." Kang-Woo grabbed his shoulder.


    "Ah..." Uriel lowered his head as if he were embarrassed. He said in a low voice, "Sorry."


    "It''s okay. I''m just as confused as you are."


    Kang-Woo also swept up his hair as if he couldn''t understand what was going on.


    Gaia, who had been listening in silence, opened her mouth. "It seems I haven''t properly ryed Lady Gaia''s revtion. Lady Seraph''s soul has not been corrupted."


    "... What?" Uriel''s eyes widened. "Then are you saying that she sided with the Demon of Prophecy despite not having been corrupted?"


    "... Yes, ording to Lady Gaia."


    "Nonsense!"


    <i>m!</i>


    He stomped on the ground.


    "Lady Seraph had been willing to be annihted in exchange for sealing the Constetions of Evil! And you''re saying that, of her own free will, she sided with a demon out to destroy the world? How does that make any sense?!"


    He red at Gaia.


    Kim Si-Hun stood between them. "Please calm down, Lord Uriel. Gaia has only ryed the revtion that she received. Do you think arguing with her would change anything?"


    "Ugh..."


    "It''s okay, Si-Hun." Gaia sighed. "I didn''t hear the details either. There is a high chance that Lady Gaia does not know either."


    "..."


    "The important thing is that Lady Gaia hase to a decision due to this."


    "... A decision?" Kang-Woo asked while frowning.


    <i>''What decision could that useless god possibly make?''</i>


    He couldn''t help but feel uneasy.


    <i>''Just please stay useless.''</i>


    His head was already hurting because of Rakiel, so what was she trying to do now?


    "Yes, Lady Gaia has said that... we need to restore the impaired Gaia System."


    "..."


    <i>''What?''</i>


    "W-Wait." Kang-Woo raised his hand. "There was a way to restore it?"


    His mind was set aze with fury.


    <i>''What the actual fuck?''</i>


    If there had always been a way to restore the Gaia System, then there had been absolutely no point in Kang-Woo going through all that shitshow.


    <i>''You fucking bitch.''</i>


    The rising of the Demon Cult, the trespassing of the Nine Hells, the connection with Aernor, and even the interference from several other worlds... all had happened because there had been no way to restore the Gaia System, which had been broken by the Demon of Prophecy.


    <i>''But now she decides to mention that there''s a way to restore it? Fucking hell! That''s the first fucking thing you should''ve told us!''</i>


    Kang-Woo was so angry that it felt like his head was about to explode. He, of course, wasn''t the Demon of Prophecy, but if he were, the thought of wanting to destroy the world would cross his mind.


    "Yes, but it is not a permanent solution."


    "Ah..." A short exmation left Kang-Woo''s mouth.


    <i>''She still should''ve told us.''</i>


    They were in no situation to discuss whether it was a permanent fix or not, but if one''s house was burning, they should at least try to piss on it to put it out.


    "Why did she never tell us about it if she knew how to fix the Gaia System all this time?"


    <i>''Yeah, Yeon-Joo, well said.''</i>


    Cha Yeon-Joo also frowned in disbelief, and so did Si-Hun, Tian Wuchen, and Grace McCubbin. They didn''t say it outright, but they were just as bbergasted.


    Gaia sighed deeply.


    "I also asked Lady Gaia regarding that matter. After all, she had said that there was no way to restore the protection until now."


    "What did she say?"


    Gaia remained silent for a moment, clenching her fists before slowly opening her mouth. "After hearing her exnation... I understood why she had kept quiet about it all this time."


    "So, how do we do it?"


    Gaia exined, "When the Demon of Prophecy went through the Earth''s protection and came here, Lady Gaia said that a huge Rift appeared in the barrier. It''s... a wound of sorts. If we enter the Rift and destroy its core, we will apparently be able to close it, albeit temporarily."


    "... That still doesn''t exin why she had kept quiet about it all this time," Yeon-Joo stated while narrowing her eyes.


    Entering a Rift and destroying its core certainly sounded dangerous, but it still didn''t make sense why she would keep quiet about the Rift despite it having caused Earth''s protection to fall apart.


    "Is it because the one who destroys this Rift Core can nevere back or something?" Kang-Woo asked while narrowing his eyes.


    If that was why...


    <i>''I''ll have to split that bitch Gaia''s head open.''</i>


    The true threats alwaysy within rather than outside. If she really had been hiding the truth because she did not want to force someone to be a sacrifice, he would actually need to consider getting rid of Gaia.


    <i>''Surely she can''t be that useless.''</i>


    At that point, it was no longer a matter of her being useless or not. She would just be a straight-up nuisance.


    "No, nothing like that. We would apparently have more than enough time to escape before the Rift closes after we destroy its core. However... we would be stuck in the dimensional crack for all eternity if we don''t manage to escape."


    Kang-Woo sighed in relief.


    <i>''Thank God she''s not that dumb. In that case, why didn''t she tell us?''</i>


    He gave Gaia a questioning look.


    Gaia opened her mouth, a heavy expression on her face. "This Rift does not appear under normal circumstances. Earth''s protection is frantically sealing the Rifts, so it''s impossible to enter Rifts like we do Gates."


    "Then..."


    "Yes, to enter this Rift..." Gaia said with a trembling voice, "Earth''s protection must be temporarily lowered."


    There was a heavy silence.


    Kang-Woo put his hand on his forehead.


    "Fuck..."


    The only good thing about this was that Gaia had not been as useless as he had expected.


    <i>''This could seriously fuck us over.''</i>


    To put it simply, they had to go to surgery to save a patient, but they could proceed with the surgery only if they stopped the patient''s heart beforehand.


    <i>''Shit.''</i>


    If they failed, it was the end.


    Even if they seeded, if they didn''t manage to do it in time, all sorts of otherworldly beings would invade Earth.


    As soon as the Gaia System was suspended, they had to enter the Rift, destroy the core, ande back out as soon as possible to reactivate the Gaia System. And despite the massive risk they would have to shoulder, it would only be a temporary fix.


    "... I can understand why she kept quiet about it."


    It wasn''t something a sane person would consider. Leaving the danger aside, the risk was unfathomable.


    "Yes, but... with Lady Seraph having fallen into the hands of the Demon of Prophecy, Lady Gaia has said that this is the only way to restore the Gaia System."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. The choice was up to him.


    <i>''The situation''s actually nowhere near as perilous as Gaia thinks.''</i>


    He was the only one who knew why Seraph was siding with darkness despite not having been corrupted. There was nothing Gaia needed to be worried about.


    <i>''But...''</i>


    It was ultimately a matter of time. As long as the Gaia System continued to weaken, the end was inevitable. Kang-Woo''s original n had been to get stronger and raise Guardians to the point that they would be able to protect Earth from otherworldly interference.


    <i>''But if this n works...''</i>


    He would be able to dy that end. Kang-Woo closed his eyes and wondered what he should do. The scale in his head was not tilting in favor of either side.


    "Is halting Earth''s protection really that big of a deal? What''s so bad about turning it off for just a bit and then back on?" Yeon-Joo asked while tilting her head.


    She didn''t exactly know Earth''s circumstances and what the Gaia System was.


    Si-Hun said, "The Earth''s protection is¡ª"


    "Let me exin," Gaia cut him off. She then exined to Yeon-Joo the Earth''s current situation and the otherworldly beings that would invade as soon as its protection disappeared.


    "Wh-What?" The longer the exnation went on, the paler Yeon-Joo''s face became. "Wait. If that''s the case, then isn''t this n absolutely insane? If we''re not able to close the Rift quickly enough after we deactivate the protection..."


    "In the worst-case scenario, Earth could be invaded by an otherworldly army."


    Yeon-Joo remained silent. She had already experienced the hell of the entire Earth being invaded by an otherworldly army.


    "You''re saying that... something simr to what happened on the Day of Cmity might happen again, right?"


    "... Yes." Gaia nodded.


    Once again, there was a heavy silence.


    "But that actually isn''t the biggest problem," Gaia said.


    "... Then what is?"


    "Not even Lady Gaia knows where the Rift is."


    "Wh-What? Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!"


    If the same analogy of the surgery was used again, then forget stopping the heart; they couldn''t even perform the surgery since they had no idea where the injury was.


    "Lady Gaia said that... three days was the absolute limit. If we don''t find the Rift, destroy its core, and escape by then, a catastrophe of the same level as the Day of Cmity will happen again."


    "How the hell are we supposed to find it in three days?!"


    Finding a Rift that they had no idea where it could be in just three days was just absurd.


    "... Gaia. I agree with Yeon-Joo. This operation is far too reckless," Si-Hun said while also shaking his head.


    Gaia smiled bitterly while nodding. "Yes, I think so too. I''ll do my best to tell Lady Gaia. Please forget about this and¡ª"


    "Wait," Kang-Woo interrupted. "If we know where the Rift is... the sess rate would skyrocket, wouldn''t it?"


    "Oh, yes. Of course."


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists.


    The scale in his head tilted instantly.


    <i>''The Rift that had formed when the Demon of Prophecy hade to Earth...''</i>


    He knew exactly where it was.


    "Let''s do it."


    The restoration of the continuously weakening Gaia System was in his hands.

 Chapter 311 - Into the Rift

    <h4>Chapter 311 - Into the Rift</h4>


    ¡°What? You want to do this?¡± Cha Yeon-Joo asked in absurdity.


    There was a limit to being insane; even if Guardians possessed enough authority to exert control over countries all over the world, the chances of closing a Gate that they didn¡¯t even know where it could be was far too low. It was like finding a needle in a desert, so it was difficult to do even if they mobilized every single yer in the world to find it.


    ¡°If my thoughts are correct, I can pinpoint where the Rift is to an extent,¡± Oh Kang-Woo said calmly.


    He of course did not know to an extent; he knew exactly where it was.


    <i>¡®The E-rank Gate that I first met Seol-Ah in.¡¯</i>


    He was sure that the Rift was in the Gate inhabited by Goblins.


    <i>¡®But I can¡¯t just say that outright.¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t afford to answer that he knew because he was the Demon of Prophecy if they happened to ask how he knew.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t be the one to find the Rift.¡¯</i>


    It needed to be found by someone else. Only then would he be able to escape suspicion.


    ¡°How can you pinpoint where the Rift is, hyung-nim?¡± asked Kim Si-Hun while tilting his head.


    Kang-Woo slowly answered after taking some time to settle, ¡°You know that demonic beasts appear in Gates, don¡¯t you, Si-Hun?¡±


    ¡°Ah... Yes, of course.¡±


    Unlike monsters that had mana stones within them, demonic beasts moved with the power of demonic energy. These beasts were known as variant monsters within the Gates, and were considered a form of <i>disaster</i>.


    Demonic beasts appeared in all Gates, regardless of rank. In other words, demonic beasts of around the Fifth to Sixth Hell appeared within C-rank Gates. Not just that, since they did not drop the expensive energy sources that were mana stones, many yers naturally avoided them, to the point that they avoided hunting in that Gate even after the demonic beast had been subjugated.


    ¡°If we assume that demonic beasts started to appear in Gates because the Demon of Prophecy crossed into Earth, it¡¯s highly likely that it is due to the influence of those Rifts,¡± Kang-Woo surmised.


    ¡°Oh, if that¡¯s the case...¡± Si-Hun¡¯s eyes shone as if he had noticed what Kang-Woo was trying to get at. ¡°The Rift must be within one of the Gates that a demonic beast had been reported in.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Kang-Woo answered while nodding.


    Not even he knew exactly if there was a connection between the two, but the important thing was to package it as something that resembles the truth. However, it was not without its ws.


    ¡°But there are tons of Gates with unconfirmed demonic beast appearances. It¡¯s not like every single Gate on Earth has been checked.¡±


    Yeon-Joo pointed out the w in his deduction. Like she had said, the only Gates with confirmed demonic beast appearances were the ones with high yer traffic. Earth had not yet been able to reim all thend that had been taken by monsters, and there were hundreds of Gates that were restricted to yers. Since the operation was unbelievably risky, simply relying on probability was suicide.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I have a proposition,¡± Kang-Woo suggested.


    Since he had expected such a rebuttal, he continued without hesitation. He turned his gaze toward Gaia.


    ¡°Gaia, could you tell the gods to turn off Earth¡¯s protection for three hours instead of three days?¡±


    ¡°Ah... That should be possible,¡± Gaia answered.


    ¡°If we¡¯re unable to find the Rift within those three hours, let¡¯s give up on this operation.¡±


    Silence fell. Si-Hun, Yeon-Joo and Uriel fell into thought.


    ¡°Three hours should be enough to somewhat resist the otherworldly interference, right?¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    ¡°Since they had brought up three days in the beginning, if it¡¯s three hours... There may be some consequences, but I believe it¡¯s more than possible. But...¡± Gaia continued in worry. ¡°Would we really be able to... find it in just three hours?¡±


    ¡°We have to,¡± Kang-Woo replied withposure. ¡°We can¡¯t just stand around while the Demon of Prophecy and his subordinates slowly grow stronger.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...¡±


    ¡°I also agree with Kang-Woo,¡± the blue-haired boy interjected while raising his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t know why Lady Seraph decided to take the Demon of Prophecy¡¯s side, but... If that is what they had nned to happen, I can¡¯t just let it be.¡±


    Uriel still couldn¡¯t believe that Seraph had taken the side of demons, but he did not doubt the revtion of a goddess that possessed top-grade Divinity.


    <i>¡®I have to buy time.¡¯</i>


    He needed enough time to let Michael know of the situation and think up a countermeasure. Restoring Earth¡¯s protection and returning Gaia¡¯s power to an extent would buy more than enough of that time.


    Gaia clenched her small fists while shutting her lips tight.


    She said while softly nodding, ¡°... I understand. In exchange, I will tell Lady Gaia to reactivate Earth¡¯s protection after three hours pass, no matter what.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded. He slowly got up and slowly turned around.


    <i>¡®Now, then...¡¯</i>


    It was time to prepare for the operation.


    ***


    There was not much action that Kang-Woo himself needed to take for this operation. yers of Guardians had been dispatched in parties to every Gate that had been reported of demonic beast appearances. Of course, a party had also been dispatched to the E-rank Gate through which Kang-Woo had first arrived on Earth. Even though Kang-Woo had not done anything, Si-Hun had gone to that Gate himself because it had been deemed a dangerous Gate with more than five demonic beast appearances.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no way that Si-Hun wouldn¡¯t be able to find the Rift.¡¯</i>


    Although there was a chance that the Rift wouldn¡¯t be found since each Gate differed in interior size, there was absolutely no need to worry in Si-Hun¡¯s case; he could use Sword Control, albeit limited, to fly into the sky to look around.


    ¡°Right, then.¡±


    With themencement of the operation imminent, Kang-Woo raised his right hand to take a look at the ck ring on his middle finger. The three of the five geometric symbols were shining faintly.


    <i>¡®To acquire the fourth key...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled the message windows that had popped up back when Han Seol-Ah had fallen from grace. He had not been able to check them at the time, but message windows were able to be checkedter.


    [You mustplete a prerequisite quest to acquire the fourth key of the Demonic Sea, ¡®Greed¡¯.]


    [Prerequisite Quest: ¡®Light-Craving Demon¡¯]


    [Create one or more techniques thatbine sacred power and demonic energy.]


    ¡°Holy fuck, what a fucking name for a quest.¡±


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t help but cringe no matter how many times he looked at it. He sighed as he read the quest description.


    He had thought at first that it was actually simplerpared to what he had to do to acquire the second and third keys because he was sure that there was no one better than him when it came to controlling energies within himself, whether that be sacred power or demonic energy.


    It was not wrong; his control over demonic energy was so impressive that he had even forced the Demon God back into the Abyss of the Demonic Sea, and that control was improving even more through sleeping with Seol-Ah.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    That had not been the case after actually trying it out. Combining sacred power and demonic energy was impossible; it was like being told to make a cold fire.


    <i>¡®I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be this difficult.¡¯</i>


    It was possible to maneuver them so that they did not sh with each other, and to use each of them separately. However, creating a technique thatbined them was impossible. The power aside, it was not feasible since they violently rejected one another as soon as they came into contact.


    ¡°What an annoyance.¡±


    Kang-Woo wondered if it was possible to clear the quest in the first ce.


    <i>¡®There is... one way.¡¯</i>


    There was a way tobine the two energies. If he just made them sh by force instead of trying to mix them together, the power generated from such an attack would be unreal.


    <i>¡®But the problem is whether or not that would count as a technique.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was just adding two chemicals that reacted aggressively with one another and throwing it. And like he had expected, the system did not acknowledge such a thing to be a technique.


    ¡°... I¡¯ll have to leave it aside for now.¡±


    He honestly did not know how. There could be a way if he raised his demonic energy control some more, but if it could be raised so easily, he would never have had to go through that shitshow known as molting.


    ¡°Mm... Come to think of it, the symptoms are kind of simr to molting.¡±


    When he had tried to mix demonic energy and sacred power by force, pain akin to his skin being ripped off radiated through his entire body like what had happened with molting. It had been so bad to the point that he was worried that Seol-Ah would fall again if she ever saw him like that.


    <i>¡®The effects of mixing demonic energy and sacred power is... simr to molting.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo fell into thought with his arms crossed. It was very stifling to feel like something was about toe to mind, but wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°Tsk,¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and stood up.


    This was not the time to be thinking about this. He looked over the details of the operation onest time and waited for Gaia¡¯s call.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    ¡°Kang-Woo,¡± Seol-Ah called.


    ¡°Yeah, darling?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re all gathered in the living room.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Kang-Woo stood up and went out his room door. He was supposed to investigate whether a Rift had appeared in an SS-rank Gate in the Middle East, but he obviously did not go there.


    <i>¡®Since the Rift will be found in the E-rank Gate that Si-Hun is in.¡¯</i>


    ¡°My king. I, Balrog, havee in ordance to your summons to act as your swor¡ª¡±


    ¡°Kang-Woo!¡±


    ¡°Master Kang-Woooooo!¡±


    A little girl and a woman(?) ran toward Kang-Woo while cutting off Balrog, who had been speaking in seriousness while kneeling.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, guys. How did your training go?¡±


    ¡°Kang-Woo, I trained super hard,¡± Echidna said while looking up at him with sparkling eyes.


    Kang-Woo smirked and patted her head.


    ¡°Waaaaahh! I¡¯ve missed you, Master Kang-Woo!¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah.¡±


    Kang-Woo lightly pushed back Halcyon, who had run at him with terrifying speed. He gave it no concern and wrapped his arms around Kang-Woo¡¯s neck.


    Kang-Woo quickly turned his head.


    <i>¡®Fuck.¡¯</i>


    He could see the light disappearing from Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Urgh... Ngh. D-Did you m-miss me too, Master K-Kang-Woo?¡±


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    ¡°H-Hehehe. W-Would you like to sleep with m-me since it¡¯s been a while?¡±


    <i>¡®You¡¯ll die if you do.¡¯</i>


    Not by Kang-Woo, but by his darling, currently holding a kitchen knife.


    ¡°Ahem,¡± Kang-Woo coughed while pushing off the clinging Halcyon.


    The light in Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes gradually returned. She put down the kitchen knife.


    ¡°Now... The operation is about to begin. Gather around. I have something to exin to all of you.¡±


    Kang-Woo sat on the couch, and across him stood Seol-Ah, Balrog, Echidna and Halcyon. They were the ones who more or less knew about Kang-Woo¡¯s true self, unlike Si-Hun and the other Guardians members. They were the ones that would join him in closing the Rift.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Lilith and Vaal Zahak?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Lilith is regting information from the Hall of Protection, and Vaal Zahak is keeping an eye on Lucis.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    ¡°Balrog, have you seeded in what I told you to dost time?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I have almost perfectly adapted to this human body,¡± Balrog answered while manifesting the Overlord Armor on his right arm.


    Kang-Woo nodded again and continued, ¡°You guys will be...¡±


    He slowly exined the details of the n.


    <i>Whoom!</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯smunication crystal rang. It was from Si-Hun.


    <i>- Hyung-nim! A purple Rift that we¡¯ve never seen before has appeared!</i>


    ¡°Got it,¡± Kang-Woo answered concisely and turned to his four party members. ¡°Let¡¯s head out.¡±

 Chapter 312 - Satellite World (1)

    <h4>Chapter 312 - Satellite World (1)</h4>


    In the suburbs of Seoul was an E-rank Gate very popr among low-level yers, bustling with Goblins that even an adult man could hunt as long as they had a weapon. However, that was mostly in the past; the rank of the Gate had been adjusted to S after the appearance of demonic beasts known as variant monsters.


    The appearance of variant monsters was a problem in and of itself, but the bigger problem was that each of these demonic beasts were so strong that World Rankers needed to get involved. Even Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun, the strongest yer in humanity and assumed to be far above World Rankers, had to be mobilized once.


    ¡°Hyung-nim! Over here!¡± Si-Hun shouted to Oh Kang-Woo, who had brought his subordinates.


    Kang-Woo, after hearing him, followed Si-Hun¡¯s voice. No, he did not even have to follow his voice to know where to go.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s been three years.¡¯</i>


    Faint nostalgia hit him; the memories of feeling despair when he saw the message windows and Goblins in front of him, frantically running toward where he had heard Han Seol-Ah¡¯s scream, and shedding tears from the beauty of a woman he had met after ten millennia and asking her to marry him...


    All sorts of memories shed through his mind.


    ¡°Kang-Woo, this ce is...¡± Seol-Ah whispered, having remembered where this ce was.


    Kang-Woo softly nodded. ¡°Yeah. This is where we first met.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Seol-Ah¡¯s face reddened, and she smiled. ¡°Hehe. Back then, I¡¯d never thought we would end up together like this.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± he smirked. ¡°Come to think of it, what did you think of me on our first meeting? You know, your first impression of me.¡±


    ¡°Mm...¡±


    Seol-Ah fell into thought while lightly cing her right index finger on her lips. She was looking back on her first meeting with Kang-Woo.


    ¡°At first, I thought you were a weirdo.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°But back then... You tore off your clothes and treated my wound, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah. I did.¡±


    Kang-Woo recalled doing that when he had seen that Seol-Ah¡¯s leg was injured.


    ¡°It was from that moment,¡± Seol-Ah remarked.


    ¡°What?¡±


    A smile bloomed on Seol-Ah. ¡°From that moment... I fell in love with you.¡±


    ¡°Darling...!¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s cheekbones ascended. His face burned hot from thinking of himself back then.


    <i>¡®Screw three kids.¡¯</i>


    They needed at least five.


    <i>¡®After all, both Seol-Ah and I¡¯ll be living far too long.¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t stop smiling while thinking of his rosy future ahead.


    Cha Yeon-Joo, who had joined them after meeting at the Gate entrance, stared daggers at them. She frowned and spat on the ground.


    ¡°Fuck.¡±


    All couples should die by being skewered with bamboo spears and burned alive.


    ***


    <i>Crackle! Spark!</i>


    ¡°... It¡¯s certainly a color we¡¯ve never seen before,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve never seen a purple Rift before,¡± Si-Hun replied.


    A purple Rift was in the air where Kang-Woo had firste to Earth and met Goblins. He carefully approached the Rift, picked up a rock near it and threw it in. The rock disappeared into the Rift as if it had been sucked inside.


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    ¡°Nothing... happened,¡± Si-Hun mumbled while staring at the purple Rift. He then said while looking down at his watch, ¡°We don¡¯t have much time left, hyung-nim.¡±


    They had found the Rift right away, but they only had three hours for this operation. They had to close the Rift as soon as possible to minimize otherworldly influence on Earth.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go inside right n¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Kang-Woo grabbed Si-Hun¡¯s shoulder as he was approaching the Rift impatiently. He turned his head to say, ¡°All of you, stay back.¡±


    After getting everyone to step away from the purple Rift, he carefully approached it.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s no different from regr Rifts just from its outer appearance.¡¯</i>


    He needed to confirm whether it was just the color that was different, or if there was some other fundamental difference.


    <i>¡®What energy has it been made with?¡¯</i>


    For instance, ck Rifts were made with demonic energy. Kang-Woo slowly extended his hand and touched the purple Rift.


    <i>Whoom!</i>


    Just then, the purple Rift fluctuated. A powerful force pulled him in.


    ¡°Kuh!¡±


    Kang-Woo tried to pull out his arm while biting his lip, but it wouldn¡¯t budge. He created a ck de with the Authority of des and swung down on his arm without hesitation.


    <i>sh!</i>


    He cut off his arm, ck blood spewing everywhere. He turned to look behind him; thankfully, Uriel had not arrived yet. He slightly grimaced from the pain shooting up from his arm.


    ¡°Hyung-nim!¡± Si-Hun shouted.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m f¡ª¡±


    <i>Whoom¡ª!</i>


    Just as Kang-Woo was about to say that he was fine, the purple Rift expanded explosively and engulfed him.


    ¡°Shit, Kang-Woo hyung!¡±


    Si-Hun jumped into the Rift after Kang-Woo.


    ¡°My king!¡±


    ¡°Kang-Woo!¡±


    Balrog and Seol-Ah quickly approached the Rift.


    ¡°What... the hell?¡± Yeon-Joo mumbled.


    Before they even had time to be shocked, the purple Rift expanding at tremendous speed swallowed everything around it whole. The E-rank Gate that had once been like a sanctuary for low-level yers was swallowed by the purple Rift.


    ***


    ¡°Kuh.¡±


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his eyes. He narrowed his eyes from the pain shooting up from his arm. He raised himself up from the ground and looked around.


    ¡°Where...¡±


    He was in a deste area. The sky was ash-colored, and the ground was so dry that it was split everywhere. Giant rocks that seemed to be from wreckages were scattered all over the ce.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [You have entered ¡®Shade¡¯, a satellite world of the Triad!]


    ¡°What the fuck is this?¡± Kang-Woo cursed as he read the message window that had popped up in front of him. First and foremost...


    <i>¡®Authority of Regeneration.¡¯</i>


    He grabbed his arm on the ground and ced it on his severed arm stump. The wound regenerated instantly as it bubbled.


    ¡°Now, then...¡±


    Kang-Woo slowly read the message window in front of him again, and his eyes narrowed into slits.


    <i>¡®What is this supposed to mean?¡¯</i>


    He had no idea what the Triad or satellite world was. They were strange names that an author trying to act cool for no reason would havee up with.


    <i>¡®I seriously have no idea what Triad means. As for the satellite world... Is it like the satellites that orbits?¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t make anything out of these terms, but he could assume that there was a world known as the Triad, and he had entered one of the worlds that orbited it.


    ¡°Fucking hell, we¡¯re really raising the scales. Are we writing some kind of odyssey or something?¡±


    Kang-Woo chuckled. He recalled the novel that had published over a thousand chapters over the span of ten years back when he had still been on Earth.


    <i>¡®That aside...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and looked around. He could not see a single one of hisrades that he was sure had been engulfed with him.


    <i>¡®Authority of the Beholder.¡¯</i>


    He looked for traces of those that had been linked to him by the soul, such as Si-Hun, Balrog, Echidna and Halcyon.


    ¡°... Shit.¡±


    However, as if he was looking at a screen filled with static, he could not pinpoint their locations. The only thing he could feel was that they were still alive.


    <i>¡®Seol-Ah is fine too.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had crammed the Authority of Protection plus other Authorities into the ring that he had given Seol-Ah. He was easily able to check that her life was not in danger even from far away.


    ¡°... I guess I have to find them myself.¡±


    Aside from that, he needed to destroy the Rift Core, the key objective of this operation. Realizing that he did not have a lot of time, he soared into the air using the Authority of the Sky.


    ¡°Kang-Woo...?¡±


    Just then, Kang-Woo saw Seol-Ah among the rocks scattered about. She quickly approached him with a smile as soon as she saw him.


    ¡°So this is where you were!¡± she eximed.


    ¡°Darling?¡±


    ¡°Phew. I was so scared after being separated from you.¡±


    Seol-Ah approached Kang-Woo and embraced his arm. A soft sensation enveloped his arm.


    Kang-Woo¡¯s expression hardened for an instant, but he quickly regained hisposure.


    ¡°Have you found anyone else?¡± asked Seol-Ah.


    ¡°No, not yet.¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡± Seol-Ah sighed in disappointment.


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen anyone else either.¡±


    ¡°How long has it been since you woke up?¡±


    ¡°I just woke up as well. Behind that rock over there. I happened to see you as I was looking around in confusion,¡± she remarked as she pointed at a rock behind her.


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded. He raised his head and looked around the area in detail one more time. He checked the distance between the rock that Seol-Ah had pointed at and where they were right now.


    ¡°... I see,¡± he mumbled while nodding as if he was thinking about something very deeply.


    ¡°Um, Kang-Woo.¡±


    Seol-Ah embraced his arm even tighter and called him with a trembling voice. She twisted around as if she needed to pee and leaned on him while panting heatedly.


    ¡°I was... so scared because I was separated from you,¡± Seol-Ah said seductively. She reached into his clothes. ¡°How about we do it for a bit... before we go find the others?¡±


    ¡°N-Now? Right here?¡± Kang-Woo asked, his face dyed with bewilderment.


    Seol-Ah nodded. She then answered restlessly, ¡°Yes. I... can¡¯t hold it any longer.¡±


    Kang-Woo gulped. He looked around, and then grabbed her shoulders.


    ¡°In that case...¡±


    Their lips grew closer.


    ¡°Kang-Woo...¡±


    Seol-Ah closed her eyes. She pushed her breasts on Kang-Woo and wrapped her arms around his neck.


    <i>Slip.</i>


    Seol-Ah¡¯s shadow moved like a living organism along the ground. It traveled up Kang-Woo¡¯s body and slowly reached for his head. A sharp de came out of the shadow and aimed for the back of his head.


    ¡°But, you know...¡± Kang-Woo suddenly opened his mouth while tilting his head for a kiss.


    ¡°Yes? What is it, Kang-Woo?¡± asked Seol-Ah, flustered.


    The corners of his mouth curled up as he stared at her.


    ¡°You should¡¯ve done a better job.¡±


    ¡°I beg your pardon?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not that small.¡±


    ¡°What do you m¡ª¡±


    <i>Crack.</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s hands that had been on Seol-Ah ¡®s shoulders suddenly grabbed her neck.


    He pulled her away from him and continued, ¡°My darling¡¯s aren¡¯t that small, dammit.¡±

 Chapter 313 - Satellite World (2)

    <h4>Chapter 313 - Satellite World (2)</h4>


    ¡°Kurgh! Cough!¡±


    Han Seol-Ah struggled in pain from being strangled. No, to be more precise, something that had the form of Han Seol-Ah was struggling. Her skin melted down, leaving behind a quivering darkness. It was a unique and grotesque lifeform, as if it was made of shadows.


    Oh Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°Are you a Detective Conan criminal?¡±


    The lifeform looked exactly like that.


    ¡°????????!!¡± the lifeform eximed in an unknownnguage.


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Language to interpret the aliennguage.


    ¡°L-Let me go! Kuh...!¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess you have some form of intelligence.¡±


    That made things much easier. Kang-Woo pulled the ck shadow toward him and his eyes narrowed into slits.


    ¡°Who are you, and where are we?¡±


    ¡°Kuh...!¡±


    The ck shadow averted Kang-Woo¡¯s gaze. Kang-Woo ferociously bared his teeth. A savage bloodlust that a mortal being could not dare hope to endure flowed out from him.


    ¡°E-Eek!¡± the ck shadow eximed in fear.


    It trembled. ck shadows spurted out from its mouth as if it was frothing.


    <i>¡®I should tone it down a bit.¡¯</i>


    Aside from having almost perfectly turned into Seol-Ah, the ck shadow seemed to becking in purebat prowess. It seemed to be as strong as a demon from the Fifth or Sixth Hell at most. There was no way that it would be able to endure the energy exuding from Kang-Woo, who had reached a point that those without Divinity could not dare face, and even made the princes of Hell feel like ants.


    Kang-Woo lowered the energy he was exuding a little.


    ¡°Hurgh! Haaa! Haaa!¡±


    ¡°Now, tell me. Who are you?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    The ck shadow quivered. It said in a voice filled with rage, ¡°That¡¯s what I want to know. Are you the same as <i>them</i>?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re referring to, but I believe I¡¯m the one asking the questions.¡±


    Kang-Woo added more strength into his hands. The shadow groaned in pain.


    ¡°Urrhh...¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to waste, so tell me now.¡±


    The ck demonic energy flowing from Kang-Woo¡¯s body wrapped around the shadow. He forcibly made the shadow submit by using the Authority of Fear.


    The shadow spoke soon after, ¡°W-We are... the residents... of this world.¡±


    ¡°Residents?¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. This satellite world was known as shade, and the shadows were its residents.


    <i>¡®They live here?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked around. The sky was ash, and the ground was arid. It was as horrid as the Nine Hells. He could not believe that there were beings that actually lived here.


    ¡°You must have quite the vitality if you can live in a world like this,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    The ck shadow flinched, and thick bloodlust rose from it. ¡°You... You bastards were the ones who made our world like this! How dare you say such a thing after trampling on ournd? Y-You... scumbags...!¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡±


    Kang-Woo had not even been aware of a world like this, so he could not understand what the shadow was trying to say.


    ¡°Shit... Shit! I will not let you bastards have your way!¡± the ck shadowshed out. ¡°Death to all outer worlds!¡±


    The shadow¡¯s eyes widened, and its body shook madly as if it were having a seizure.


    ¡°What the f...!¡±


    The shadow hung down before Kang-Woo could do anything. Kang-Woo quickly bit his thumb to make blood and used the Authority of Regeneration, but the drooping shadow did not regenerate.


    <i>¡®Itmitted suicide somehow.¡¯</i>


    It had been his first time meeting such a being, so he had not been able to prepare in any way. Kang-Woo grimaced andid the drooping shadow on the ground.


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    Hecked information. All he knew was that this world was known as Shade, and these ck shadows were its residents.


    <i>¡®Based on what it said, this world seems to have been attacked by one of the otherworldly beings.¡¯</i>


    However, Kang-Woo had no idea who it was nor why. He looked up to look at the ash-colored, deste world. He did not know what Shade used to look like, but it was highly likely that it had at least been capable of sustaining life.


    <i>¡®Who was it?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had no idea who could have destroyed a world so horribly.


    ¡°Tsk,¡± he clicked his tongue.


    It would only be a waste of time for him to keep thinking about it.


    <i>¡®For now...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo extended his hand toward the shadow on the ground.


    <i>¡®Authority of Predation.¡¯</i>


    ck smoke came out of his hand and engulfed the shadow. <i>Crunch, crunch.</i> The Authority of Predation devoured the shadow without a trace.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [You have acquired the unique ability of the Shade species, ¡®Mimicry¡¯.]


    [You are able to change your appearance into that of a different being for a limited time.]


    <i>¡®This is...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened. He had gotten an unexpected profit.


    <i>¡®This should be extremely useful.¡¯</i>


    As long as he had this ability, there was no longer any need for costumes. None of his demonic energy, sacred power nor mana had risen, but this was a valuable ability in a different way. He tried changing into Kim Si-Hun by using Mimicry.


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    The transformation was so perfect that even he was impressed. It was so perfect that even Si-Hun himself would be confused. Kang-Woo canceled Mimicry.


    <i>¡®This isn¡¯t the time.¡¯</i>


    Finding his scatteredrades took priority.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯d be in any real danger...¡±


    The Mimicry of the Shades, which was what Kang-Woo had decided to call the shadows, would likely not be seen through by anyone, but even in the worst-case scenario, the Shades¡¯bat prowess was terribly low. It was the same as trying to assassinate someone with a de made of cotton. Considering thebat prowess of every member currently in the Rift, they would have absolutely no trouble against the Shades.


    <i>¡®Even so, I should find them as soon as I can.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo flew up using the Authority of the Sky. He saw someone not that far away. It was Han Seol-Ah.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m notpletely sure yet, though.¡¯</i>


    Considering the Shades¡¯ unique ability, it was too soon to make assumptions. Kang-Woo quickly flew toward Seol-Ah.


    ¡°... Kang-Woo?¡±


    In her hand was Kang-Woo¡¯s severed head. ck shadow flowed down from the severed area like blood.


    <i>¡®Holy fuck.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo flinched from seeing the head of a being that looked exactly like him. He felt like he could see behind her an ocean with a twilighting down on it for some reason. He instinctively checked to see whether or not his head was intact.


    ¡°Are you really Kang-Woo?¡± Seol-Ah asked in doubt.


    She seemed to have been attacked by a Shade that had turned into Kang-Woo. She cautiously approached him and pulled up his shirt.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Seol-Ah smiled brightly as soon as she saw the red marks on his chest.


    ¡°Kang-Woo!¡±


    She hugged him.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s the real darling.¡¯</i>


    The two of them, who had both affirmed each other¡¯s identities in their own way, silently embraced each other for a moment.


    Kang-Woo then asked, ¡°Have you seen anyone else?¡±


    ¡°No. I saw a weird monster that took the form of you as soon as I came to my senses, so...¡± Seol-Ah continued in embarrassment. ¡°I cut off its head in disgust.¡±


    ¡°... Oh, I see.¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at her with mixed feelings. He had managed to stop her fall from grace, but it seemed like its influence still remained somewhat.


    <i>¡®I can only hope she gets used to the body of an angel.¡¯</i>


    Now that Seol-Ah¡¯s body had be closer to that of an angel due to Seraph¡¯s influence, Kang-Woo could only hope for her to learn how to control her obsession. Not even he knew how to artificially control a racial characteristic.


    ¡°Let¡¯s search for the others for the time being,¡± Kang-Woo suggested.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    He took Seol-Ah with him to find the others. They were fortunately able to find the others as soon as they began their search; it seemed like Seol-Ah hadn¡¯t been the only one who had not been far away.


    ¡°Fucking hell, what are these things? They¡¯re giving me goosebumps,¡± Cha Yeon-Joo said while frowning in disgust.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t able to tell?¡± asked Kang-Woo.


    ¡°How can I when they look the exact same? I got chills the moment I felt bloodlust from it.¡±


    Yeon-Joo had also been attacked by a Shade mimicking Kang-Woo, but she had easily blocked its attack and tore the Shade apart.


    ¡°Hehe, but I feel super refreshed for some reason,¡± Yeon-Joo said while stretching, as if refreshed from tearing apart the Shade that had taken Kang-Woo¡¯s form.


    Kang-Woo frowned while staring at the multiple corpses in his form on the ground.


    <i>¡®But why are they all mimicking me?¡¯</i>


    The Shades that had attacked Balrog, Echidna, Halcyon and even Si-Hun had all taken his form.


    ¡°<i>Sniff</i>. Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo...¡±


    Echidna shed tears while grabbing Kang-Woo¡¯s clothes. She seemed to have been considerably shocked when the Shade mimicking him had attacked her.


    Kang-Woo patted her head. ¡°Were you surprised?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I thought you had abandoned me. I thought... I was going to be alone again.¡±


    ¡°Tsk,¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and flicked Echidna¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Ouch.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way that would happen,¡± he dered.


    Echidna smiled.


    ¡°But hyung-nim, aren¡¯t these... Shades acting strangely?¡± Si-Hun mentioned.


    ¡°I thought so too. They were as desperate as prey being chased by a predator,¡± Balrog agreed.


    The Shades¡¯ actions certainly left questions.


    Si-Hun said while nodding, ¡°Despite having such a perfect transformation ability... They attacked as soon as they approached us. Rather urgently, on top of that.¡±


    ¡°They would have had a much better chance if they actually took their time.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded at Si-Hun and Balrog''s opinions. ¡°It definitely seems like something is happening in this world.¡±


    ¡°Mm...¡±


    ¡°Whatever the case, we can¡¯t just stand around here.¡±


    They needed to find and destroy the Rift Core as soon as possible. Finding the core itself was not difficult.


    ¡°Did Gaia give you that?¡±


    ¡°Yes. She said that it would lead us to the core,¡± Si-Hun said while using the pure-white crystal orb that he had received from Gaia.


    A white light poured out from the crystal orb and pointed in a certain direction. Once they followed the light, they could see a ball of purple energy.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s the Rift Core.¡¯</i>


    It was about thirty meters in diameter. The massive sphere was distorting the space around it.


    ¡°So we just have to destroy that, huh?¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    It was a piece of cake. He used the Key of the Demonic Sea to create Inferno. He slowly raised the sword wrapped in mes.


    ¡°Twilight.¡±


    A terrifying heat that felt as if it would burn down the world itself poured out from the sword. Kang-Woo swung it down without hesitation.


    <i>Crack.</i>


    Just then, the purple sphere split. The hand of a giant demonic beast came out of it and flicked the mes away.

 Chapter 314 - King of Demonic Beasts

    <h4>Chapter 314 - King of Demonic Beasts</h4>


    It was a giant bull with arms like that of a human. Its ck mane like that of a lion fluttered. The monster, which made the 30-meter Rift Core look tiny, lightly flicked Inferno¡¯s mes and snorted.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    ck mes fumed from its nostrils.


    ¡°What the...¡±


    Oh Kang-Woo grimaced. Thick demonic energy that intimidated even him poured out from the monster.


    ¡°Th-That¡¯s...!¡± Balrog slurred with his eyes widened.


    Kang-Woo looked toward him and asked, ¡°What is that thing?¡±


    Balrog remained silent with his face pale. He finally muttered while looking up at the giant monster, ¡°That is... Behemoth.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Behemoth was the father of Leviathan, one of the seven princes of Hell, as well as the king of demonic beasts. He was so powerful that trespassing into his territory was suicide, even for the princes of Hell.


    ¡°Why is... Behemoth here?¡± Kang-Woo said with his eyes narrowed.


    The being that should be in the Nine Hells was here for some reason.


    <i>¡®Come to think of it...¡¯</i>


    He had heard before from Balrog that Behemoth had been moving beyond his territory.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    He had never even imagined meeting the king of demonic beasts in a ce like this.


    <i>¡®Should I fight him?¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo thought as he looked up at the gigantic demonic beast.


    If he had been the same as his past self in the Ninth Hell, he wouldn¡¯t even have dared to think about facing Behemoth; that was how synonymous the name "Behemoth"<i> </i>was to death. If Behemoth did not stay within his territory, all demons in Hell would have died by his hands.


    <i>¡®But now...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists. His blood boiled. His demonic instincts rampaged from the thought of battling Behemoth, who was considered a monster even within myths.


    He wiped the drool off his mouth. The instinct eating at him was not a desire for battle.


    <i>¡®Beef is an absolute delicacy.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes burned with desire. He was getting chills down his spine from the demonic energy pouring out from Behemoth, but that only stirred his desires even more.


    <i>¡®Hanwoo... No, not hanwoo, but still... Expensive and delicious beef...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t even imagine how delicious it would be if he ate that monster whole. Since he was considered the strongest in Hell, Kang-Woo was sure that he would be satisfied at the very least.


    <i>¡®Even the demonic energy pouring out from him...¡¯</i>


    Devouring Behemoth would obviously raise his Demonic Energy stat, which was stuck at 154, explosively. 160 would be a given, and he could even aim to get 170.


    ¡°M-Master Kang-Woo.¡±


    Just then, Halcyon approached Kang-Woo and grabbed his clothes.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Kang-Woo answered as he turned his head toward Halcyon.


    ¡°W-We have to run,¡± Halcyon expressed, his face pale.


    He desperately pulled on Kang-Woo¡¯s clothes as if he had seen a ghost.


    ¡°R-Right now! We have to run now!¡± Halcyon screamed.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed into slits, and looked toward Behemoth. Behemoth, who had fullye out of the Rift Core, raised his head. He inhaled deeply as he looked up at the ash-colored sky. And...


    ¡°©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥!!!¡±


    It was far too colossal to call sound. A roar so powerful that it could easily rupture one¡¯s eardrums shook the entire world.


    ¡°Kyaaaaaaa!¡± Cha Yeon-Joo screamed while blocking her ears.


    ¡°Arrgghh!!¡±


    The others did as well. Echidna copsed on the spot while trembling, and Kim Si-Hun and Balrog crouched while blocking their ears. The only people who were fine were Kang-Woo and Han Seol-Ah¡ª no, they were not fine either.


    ¡°Fucking... hell.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s expression hardened. The demonic energy within him boiled. It had only been for a moment, but the shock had been great enough for him to lose control over his demonic energy. Considering how powerful just his roar was, Kang-Woo could not even imagine how strong Behemoth would be inbat.


    <i>¡®What the fuck?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked up at Behemoth in shock. He had beenpletely mistaken; he had been arrogant because he had gotten stronger than his past self.


    <i>¡®Forget eating him.¡¯</i>


    He had taken the title of the king of demonic beasts far too lightly. He had forgotten one simple fact because he had be far more powerful than the princes of Hell; he was nowhere near a match for Behemoth.


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    <i>¡®A monster like this was in Hell?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had heard countless legends regarding Behemoth, but he had never expected him to be this powerful. He was doubtful that even a god possessing Divinity would be a match for him.


    The monster¡¯s gaze shifted to Kang-Woo.


    ¡°<i>Grrrrrrr</i>.¡±


    Behemoth¡¯s gaze was so powerful that Kang-Woo felt like he was being set aze just from being seen by him. The apex predator of Hell was staring Kang-Woo down.


    <i>¡®If I open the Doors...¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo thought.


    He would be no match for Behemoth while fighting under normal circumstances. However, if he opened the Doors of the Ten Thousand Demon Core and released the seals of the Demonic Sea...


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head. He recalled why he had entered this Rift in the first ce. It had not been to defeat Behemoth; it was purely to close the Rift and restore the broken Gaia System.


    ¡°Run!!¡±


    Kang-Woo made a swift decision. He grabbed the arms of Echidna and Yeon-Joo, who were both copsed on the ground, and turned around without hesitation.


    He was not above running away; he was very used to it. After all, the majority of his life in Hell had involved running away. He had been cowardly, unsightly, and desperate, which had ultimately led to his survival.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    In the end, he had won. He had trampled on and killed every single being that had made him run away.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed, and exchanged gazes with the king of demonic beasts. The king of demonic beasts and the king of demons each engraved the appearance of the other in their heads.


    <i>¡®Just you wait, beef. One day... I¡¯ll put you in my kimchi stew.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned his head. ¡°Run back to where we were!¡±


    He was sure that the entrance leading to Earth would be where they had first opened their eyes in Shade.


    ¡°But hyung-nim, the Rift Core is still¡ª¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to care about that anymore, so just run!¡±


    Si-Hun turned his head as if he couldn¡¯t understand what Kang-Woo was talking about.


    ¡°Ah,¡± he shouted.


    The 30-meter Rift Core had beenpletely destroyed after Behemoth had crawled out of it.


    <i>Boom! Rumble!</i>


    The ground was copsing.


    ¡°Graaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!¡±


    Behemoth charged toward Kang-Woo while roaring.


    ¡°Hurry!¡± Kang-Woo urged.


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    ¡°Wings of Brilliance!¡± Seol-Ah shouted while spreading out her arms.


    Blinding light poured out from her and flowed into her party members. Their movements became much quicker.


    ¡°Thanks, darling!¡±


    ¡°Look over there, Kang-Woo!¡±


    As they were running without even looking back, Seol-Ah pointed somewhere. Kang-Woo looked to where she pointed to see a group of demonic beasts reaching the thousands. The demonic beasts were running wild as they devoured the ck shadows.


    ¡°...¡±


    <i>- Are you the same as </i>them<i>?</i>


    <i>¡®So this is what the shadow meant.¡¯</i>


    It seemed like the Shades had been under attack by the demonic beasts before Kang-Woo and his party members hade to this world.


    <i>¡®This world must have entered the influence of the Nine Hells.¡¯</i>


    He could understand why Shade looked so simr to Hell.


    <i>¡®Shit, so this is why demonic beasts have been appearing in Gates.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo finally understood what the Triad and the satellite world was.


    <i>¡®If the Triad is referring to Earth, Aernor and Huan...¡¯</i>


    Satellite worlds were small worlds within its vicinity. And one of such worlds having been invaded by the Nine Hells meant... Earth would also soon be one with the Nine Hells.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s expression was filled with anxiety. His worst fears had be reality. His mind was turned into mush from seeing what he had only been thinking about actually happening before his very eyes.


    <i>¡®Thank God we came here.¡¯</i>


    If they had not entered the Rift because they judged that the risk of temporarily halting the Gaia System was too big, a catastrophe would have been upon them soon after.


    ¡°Grrrrrrr!¡±


    ¡°H-Hyung-nim!¡±


    ¡°Kuh! Please go on ahead without me! I will stop him here!¡± Balrog shouted as he turned around.


    Kang-Woo, who had been running while holding Yeon-Joo and Echidna, jumped into the air and kicked Balrog in the face.


    <i>Bash!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that shit and run, dammit! This isn¡¯t a goddamn TV show!¡± Kang-Woo yelled.


    Balrog stared at Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly while rubbing his cheek, and then nodded with a smirk.


    ¡°As you wish, my king.¡±


    He then also started to run from Behemoth.


    ¡°Hyung-nim, I see the Rift over there!¡± Si-Hun shouted.


    As they got closer to where they first opened their eyes, they could see the purple Rift. Possibly because the Rift Core was destroyed, the purple Rift that had been ten metersrge was growing smaller at a noticeable rate.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun¡¯s eyesight was just abnormally good; the Rift was still very far away. Kang-Woo looked behind him at Behemoth, who was charging toward him at tremendous speed. Every single step Behemoth shook the Earth as if the Big Bang was urring.


    <i>¡®Motherfucker.¡¯</i>


    Behemoth was far too fast. He was also far too big in the first ce. Just like how ants could never be as fast as humans no matter how quickly they moved their legs, Behemoth, who was over a hundred meters tall, got closer to them at an rming pace with each step.


    ¡°How the fuck did that son of a bitch even make Leviathan?!¡±


    Kang-Woo was curious who Behemoth¡¯s partner had been. He ran for his life while cursing.


    ¡°Skreee!¡±


    ¡°Grrrrr!¡±


    Just then, demonic beasts from the group stood in their way. Kang-Woo grimaced.


    <i>¡®We can¡¯t just run away.¡¯</i>


    Not only were they being chased by Behemoth, but they would have zero chance of escaping if demonic beasts were blocking their path as well.


    ¡°Si-Hun! Balrog!¡±


    ¡°Yes, hyung-nim!¡±


    ¡°Please leave this to us!¡±


    Si-Hun and Balrog charged toward the group of demonic beasts. The two warriors ran amok like starved beasts in a flock of sheep.


    ¡°Seol-Ah, focus your buffs on those two instead of me!¡±


    ¡°Okay, Kang-Woo!¡±


    ¡°Yeon-Joo, Halcyon, Echidna! You three secure a path to the Rift!¡±


    ¡°What about you?!¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    ¡°I will...¡±


    Kang-Woo turned around, facing the giant bull charging toward him while shaking the earth. His eyes sharpened.


    ¡°... Stop that bastard.¡±


    ¡°A-Are you insane?!¡±


    ¡°This is the best chance we have, so just shut up and clear a path!¡±


    There was still a long way to the Rift leading outside. If they did not stop Behemoth here, Behemoth¡¯s attacks would stop them from being able to reach the Rift on time.


    ¡°Grrrrrrrrr.¡±


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± Kang-Woo exhaled deeply.


    He rxed his body, tense from anxiety. Behemoth¡¯s ferocious roars were getting closer.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll stop him, whatever it takes.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo raised his right arm high. He created an axe fuming with chilling energy.


    <i>¡®Leviathan.¡¯</i>


    He grabbed the axe handle, put strength into his legs, and pulled his arm back.


    <i>¡®Authority of Extinction.¡¯</i>


    He used Satan¡¯s Authority. ck light formed on Leviathan¡¯s edge. He rotated his body and threw Leviathan.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    Space itself was torn along Leviathan¡¯s trajectory.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not enough.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo knew very well that this would be nowhere near enough. He barraged Behemoth with skills through the Key of the Demonic Sea. However...


    <i>ng, aang!</i>


    ¡°Graaaaaaahhh!¡±


    Nothing he could dish out was powerful enough to prate Behemoth¡¯s skin. Kang-Woo aggressively bit his lip.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t have enough firepower.¡¯</i>


    Behemoth¡¯s physical specs were absolutely insane. His skin had even been perfectly fine after flicking aside Inferno¡¯s mes. There was no way that Kang-Woo would be able to prate his defenses by just continuing to barrage him with attacks.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± Kang-Woo grimaced.


    His avable choices were slowly but surely being reduced to opening the Doors.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s the worst choice.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was not able to retain his reason once he opened the Doors, meaning there was a chance that he would continue fighting Behemoth without passing through the shrinking Rift.


    <i>¡®And I¡¯d be stuck in this world forever.¡¯</i>


    That would be the absolute worst oue. He shut his eyelids tight. There was no way to deal any proper damage to Behemoth using normal means.


    <i>¡®In the end...¡¯</i>


    He would have to open the Doors. Conflict boiled over within his head.


    <i>¡®Wait.¡¯</i>


    Just then, a thought popped up in his head.


    ¡°... Fuck.¡±


    Kang-Woo unconsciously chuckled. He did not like to make such gambles, but he could instinctively feel that there was no other way but this at the moment.


    <i>¡®Fucking hell, I don¡¯t really like doing shit like this.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath and spread out his arms wide.


    ¡°Fuuu.¡±


    And then, he breathed out.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    White light poured out from his left hand, and ck light from his right.


    ¡°Fuck it. Let¡¯s give it a shot.¡±


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes. There was no other time than now to test his uncertain hypothesis that relied purely on his senses.


    <i>¡®Molting.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo slightly opened the Door of his Ten Thousand Demon Core. At the same time...


    <i>Crash¡ª!</i>


    He sped his hands together.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [You havepleted the prerequisite quest of the Demonic Sea, ¡®Light-Craving Demon¡¯.]


    [You have acquired the fourth key of the Demonic Sea, ¡®Greed¡¯.]


    [You have learned ¡®Chaos - Burst¡¯, a Bottom-rank skill of ¡®Chaos¡¯.]


    A gray energy formed around his two sped hands.


    ¡°Come at me, you fucking bull.¡±


    <i>¡®Let¡¯s see the marbling on you.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 315 - I Am

    <h4>Chapter 315 - I Am</h4>


    Oh Kang-Woo sped his hands together. He forced together the two energies that were violently rejecting one another.


    <i>¡®Molting.¡¯</i>


    And then, he slightly opened one of the Doors of the Ten Thousand Demon Core. It did not take long for him to feel a response.


    <i>Crunch¡ª! Crunch!</i>


    ¡°Kargh, hurgh!¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s vision flickered along with unimaginable pain. His skin was tearing open along with the chilling sound of breaking bone.


    <i>¡®Fuuuuuuuuck.¡¯</i>


    He writhed in pain that he could never get used to, being put on the threshold of death.


    <i>¡®Please let me be right.¡¯</i>


    He had realized not long ago that the opposing force frombining demonic energy and sacred power felt simr to when he used molting.


    ¡°Kurgh, kargh!¡±


    He twisted around. Molting could not be considered a technique; to put it simply, it was a failure that had no positive effects, destructive capabilities, or degree of perfection. The only reason why he used it was because it improved his demonic energy control in exchange for being put on the verge of death. To give aparison, it was like ingesting a deadly poison to raise one¡¯s poison resistance.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Molting was indeed a failure. To be more precise, it was a technique that he had not been able to perfect.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa, haaa,¡± Kang-Woo panted heavily.


    The demonic energy of the Ten Thousand Demon Core surged. He added sacred power to the extremely rampant demonic energy. The amount of sacred power added to his near-infinite demonic energy was like pouring a bucket of water into a gigantic sea. However, its effect had been far above his imagination.


    [You have learned ¡®Chaos - Burst¡¯, a bottom-rank skill of ¡®Chaos¡¯.]


    A message window popped up. Kang-Woo smirked.


    ¡°Graaaaaahh!¡±


    <i>Boom! Boom! Boom!</i>


    A giant bull charged toward him while shaking the earth. Two horns the size of a building, wrapped in ck mes, pointed at Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Huuup,¡± Kang-Woo inhaled.


    He imbued the gray energy that he had created by sping his hands together, on his right fist. The energy that he had never felt before raged within him; it was violent, disordered, and wild, truly befitting the name <i>Chaos</i>.


    <i>¡®I never thought there¡¯d be energy more insane than demonic energy.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smirked. The energy formed bybining sacred power and demonic energy was running wild, trying to separate like water being poured into boiling oil.


    ¡®But still...¡¯


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes, gleaming with a strange sense of delight.


    <i>¡®This thing¡¯s really rousing my pride.¡¯</i>


    The corners of his mouth went up as he stared at the gray energy on his right hand. He was extremely used to keeping in check energy that would burst as soon as he let up for even a moment. He had done so for ten whole millennia without rest.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    ¡°H-Hyung-nim!¡±


    ¡°Kyaaaah! M-Master Kang-Woo!¡±


    ¡°My king!¡±


    Kang-Woo could hear Kim Si-Hun, Halcyon and Balrog¡¯s shouts.


    <i>¡®Focus.¡¯</i>


    He ignored them. He took a very deep breath and lowered his stance. He pulled back his right fist imbued with the gray energy. Twisting his body even slightly raised the burden on his body in folds.


    <i>¡®And here...¡¯</i>


    Boom!


    Kang-Woo aggressively stomped on the ground and used a technique that could be considered a martial art technique despite him having absolutely no knack for martial arts.


    <i>¡®Skybreaker.¡¯</i>


    He stepped forward with his left foot, twisted his waist, and swung his right fist with all his might.


    ¡°Graaaaaaahhh!¡±


    The hundred-meter king of demonic beasts and the king of demons that wasn¡¯t even two meters tall shed.


    ©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥!!


    Sound disappeared. The ground copsed hundreds of meters, and the atmosphere around them burned up so hot that it was bubbling. An overwhelming recoil shot Kang-Woo away like a cannon.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    He was shot back as he destroyed the ground that he skid over.


    ¡°Hyung-nim!¡±


    Si-Hun quickly ran to catch Kang-Woo as he was blown back.


    ¡°Kuh,¡± Kang-Woo grimaced while scrunched up and clenching his right arm.


    His right arm that had been imbued with the gray energy had beenpletely mangled. He instinctively used the Authority of Regeneration.


    ¡°Fu...ck.¡±


    The wound was not regenerating. Kang-Woo tried to get up while biting his lip, but lost his bnce.


    ¡°A-Are you okay, hyung-nim?!¡± Si-Hun shouted while tightening his hold on Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo was not only injured on his right arm; a fragment of Behemoth¡¯s horn was piercing his chest. Si-Hun quickly grabbed the fragment and pulled it out, Kang-Woo¡¯s blood pouring out like a fountain.


    <i>Rip!</i>


    Si-Hun tore his clothes without hesitation to apply pressure on Kang-Woo¡¯s wound.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa.¡±


    The Authority of Regeneration was activated as soon as the horn fragment had been taken out, but the deep wound that had been formed by it could not be healed.


    ¡°Cough, cough!¡±


    ¡°Hyung-nim!¡±


    Kang-Woo vomited ck blood. He stood up while being supported by Si-Hun. He was not the only one who was injured.


    ¡°Graaaaaaaaahhh!!¡±


    Behemoth thrashed about, his left hornpletely broken off. Kang-Woo looked down at his right fist, which had been fully healed with the Authority of Regeneration, in surprise.


    <i>¡®I never thought his horn would break.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had heard countless legends about Behemoth, especially about his horns, which had been known to be able to kill even gods. One of Behemoth¡¯s horns, which had not even suffered the tiniest scratch during his entire existence, had been destroyed.


    ¡°Grrrrk! Grrk!¡±


    Behemoth struggled in pain that he had never felt before and scratched the ground with his intact right horn like a giant excavator. Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone.


    <i>¡®This is my chance.¡¯</i>


    He felt like he would be able to kill Behemoth if he pushed himself a little more.


    ¡°My king! We have secured an escape route!¡±


    ¡°Kang-Woo! The Rift is getting smaller! Please hurry!¡±


    Just then, he heard Balrog and Han Seol-Ah¡¯s voices. Kang-Woo frowned.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    There was not much time. No, time was not the only issue.


    ¡°Seol-Ah! H-Hyung-nim¡¯s injury is...!¡±


    The deep wound from being pierced in the chest by Behemoth¡¯s horn fragment was not being healed by the Authority of Regeneration, causing him to bleed profusely.


    <i>¡®My injury is too serious.¡¯</i>


    Behemoth had not been the only one to have received a critical injury. Kang-Woo would need to use <i>Chaos - Burst</i> again to kill Behemoth, but there was a high chance that he would be unable to control the energy if he used such a technique at his current physical state.


    ¡°Let¡¯s... Run.¡±


    Kang-Woo trampled on his boiling desire to devour Behemoth right here and now. Running away was a wise decision.


    ¡°Cough! Kuh, argh.¡±


    Kang-Woo clenched his chest, and vomited ck blood again.


    <i>- A-Arrgghh.</i>


    Just then, he heard someone¡¯s faint groan, but he was in no position to pay it any mind.


    ¡°Si-Hun! Bring Kang-Woo here quickly!¡± Seol-Ah shouted, her face pale from having seen how badly Kang-Woo was injured.


    Si-Hun nodded. ¡°Hold on tight, hyung-nim.¡±


    He supported Kang-Woo¡¯s back with one arm and put his other arm under Kang-Woo¡¯s knees, a positionmonly known as the princess carry. Si-Hun used the Heavenly Dragon Movement Technique to its absolute limit. Just then...


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    ¡°Graaaaahhh!¡±


    The split ground crumbled, and the thrashing Behemoth shot ck mes toward them. An intense heat was chasing after them.


    <i>¡®We have to run.¡¯</i> Si-Hun thought.


    Kang-Woo would die for sure if he was struck by those mes.


    ¡°Aaaaaaahhh!¡±


    Si-Hun ran on the copsing ground. In front of him was the crumbling earth, and behind him were enormous mes being shot out by Behemoth.


    <i>¡®Shit!¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun bit his lip anxiously. He wanted to create a bridge using Sword Control, but there were no weapons that he could create a bridge with.


    <i>Crumble¡ª!</i>


    ¡°Kuh!¡±


    ¡°Kang-Woo!¡± Seol-Ah shouted.


    Si-Hun ran out of things to step on, and was pulled down by gravity.


    ¡°Shit, shit, shit!¡± he cursed.


    He refused to die so pathetically in a ce like this.


    ¡°Raaaaaaaahhh!¡± Si-Hun screamed like a madman.


    <i>¡®If there are no weapons...¡¯</i>


    He just needed to create them. He drew out his Qi to make objects in the form of swords. They had been made in a hurry, so they were poor in both form and power, but that did not matter since what he needed right now were not weapons but footholds for him to step on.


    <i>Boom! Boom! Boom!</i>


    Si-Hun soared in the air while stepping on the swords in the air made with Qi. He looked as if he was running in midair.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [Raising assimtion with Martial God Tian Taihuang from 51.2% to 60.8%!]


    [Raising proficiency of Heavenly Dragon Movement Technique!]


    [You have learned Void Steps!]


    [You have learned the basics of Formless Sword!]


    Message windows popped up in front of Si-Hun., but he did not have the leeway to care.


    ¡°Hurry!!¡±


    The purple Rift was shrinking more and more; it was now only three metersrge. The party members were in front of the Rift, anxiously looking at Si-Hun and Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Go on ahead of us!¡± Si-Hun shouted.


    It was stupid to huddle around the Rift when it was getting smaller by the second.


    ¡°... I leave the king to you, human,¡± Balrog remarked as he jumped out of the Rift with his eyes clenched shut.


    The others also looked back in anxiety as they went through the Rift.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa!¡± Si-Hun panted heavily.


    The Rift was now only two metersrge.


    <i>¡®I can do it.¡¯</i>


    1.8 meters...


    <i>¡®Just a little more.¡¯</i>


    1.5 meters...


    <i>¡®Just a little faster!!¡¯</i>


    1.11 meters...


    ¡°Kuh!¡±


    Si-Hun threw himself into the tiny Rift. <i>Thump. </i>The Rift closed the moment both he and Kang-Woo went through it.


    ***


    <i>Rumble!</i>


    The deste world with a gray sky and aridnd was crumbling.


    [The end of the satellite world Shade has begun.]


    ¡°Hmm,¡± a low voice echoed within the copsing world. ¡°To think he would destroy Behemoth¡¯s horn... Hah, he sure is unfathomable.¡±


    <i>Step, step.</i>


    A hunchback wearing a robe akin to a straw mat and holding a cane exuding ck light was walking through the copsing world. As he was leisurely walking on the violently shaking earth, he stopped in his tracks; it was the ce where Kang-Woo had coughed blood.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Eyes shone from within the old robe. ¡°Hahaha! Wow, the demon king is impressive, but... so are you, in your own right.¡±


    The being put his hand on the ck blood that Kang-Woo had coughed out, and grabbed a ck gem made of crystallized demonic energy that had melted down to the size of a fingernail.


    <i>- U-Urrgghh.</i>


    A groan came out from the back gem.


    <i>- I-I am...</i>


    ¡°I know very well who you are.¡± The being snickered in an extremely displeasing way. ¡°It is an honor to see you again, Lord Satan.¡±

 Chapter 316 - The Goddess Opens Her Eyes

    <h4>Chapter 316 - The Goddess Opens Her Eyes</h4>


    [The Rift has been sessfully closed.]


    [The Gaia System has been partially restored.]


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Kim Si-Hun panted heavily aftering out from the Rift.


    He had just barely managed to get out on time.


    ¡°Kang-Woo!¡± Han Seol-Ah shouted as she ran toward them with her face pale.


    She put her hands over Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s chest spewing ck blood.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    Blinding light poured out. The injury that couldn¡¯t be healed with the Authority of Regeneration was being quickly healed. Kang-Woo¡¯s grimace slowly rxed.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo exhaled.


    Seol-Ah grabbed his cheeks. ¡°Kang-Woo!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine now,¡± heughed softly while getting up.


    He was still hurting all over, but it was nothing that he couldn¡¯t endure. Kang-Woo held up Behemoth¡¯s horn fragment that had been stuck in his chest.


    <i>¡®A horn with god-killing powers...¡¯</i>


    He put it in his pockets, expecting to have a use for it in the future. He looked around.


    ¡°We¡¯re outside the Gate.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I think after the purple Rift swallowed the E-rank Gate whole... The Gate itself vanished,¡± Si-Hun expressed.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the first time that a Gate has vanished?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right,¡± SI-Hun replied as he nodded.


    Kang-Woo thought of the Gate that had disappeared without a trace for a moment, and then took a look at the message windows in front of him.


    <i>¡®I did it.¡¯</i>


    Although Behemoth¡¯s appearance had beenpletely outside of his calctions, he had sessfully destroyed the Rift Core. Kang-Woo¡¯s expression stiffened after reading the messages.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s only a partial restoration, huh?¡¯</i>


    ording to Gaia, it was only a temporary measure; it would notst forever.


    <i>¡®The Rift Core...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo remembered hearing that term when he first came to Earth.


    <i>¡®The Rift Core that we destroyed is probably nothing but an offshoot.¡¯</i>


    He had a feeling that it was just a byproduct that had fallen off from himself as he was being torn by the Gaia System. There was ultimately only one way for the Gaia System to be fully restored.


    <i>¡®I have to die.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo chuckled. He was the true Rift Core. His death would lead to theplete restoration of the Gaia System.


    <i>¡®No fucking way.¡¯</i>


    There was no need to even think about it. World peace? Saving Earth?


    <i>¡®Fuck all that.¡¯</i>


    He had held on for ten whole millennia for this opportunity, so he wouldn¡¯t stand for his own death, even if it led to world peace.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m gonna survive....¡¯</i>


    ... Just as he had always done.


    ¡°Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo...¡± Echidna hugged him while bawling her eyes out.


    Kang-Woo smirked and stroked her hair.


    ¡°Were you worried?¡±


    ¡°Yeah...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay now. I told you that I would never leave you behind, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    Echidna pouted. ¡°You¡¯re a liar, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Why?¡±


    ¡°You hit and yelled at Balrog for trying to stay behind, but you always try to stay behind yourself.¡±


    ¡°Uhh... Mm.¡±


    Come to think of it, Kang-Woo had indeed done so many times.


    ¡°The king has always been like that, so it is nothing new, young dragon,¡± Balrog said as he approached them. He then continued in slight anger while helping Kang-Woo up and supporting him, ¡°He always tells us not to do anything unnecessary but shoulders everything by himself.¡±


    Echidna pped her hands together. ¡°Oh, then are you like that, Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°The kind of person who lies with their mouth but is honest down there.¡±


    ¡°What? Where did you learn something like that?¡±


    ¡°I saw it in your external hard d¡ª¡±


    <i>Wham¡ª!</i>


    ck light shot out; Kang-Woo used the Authority of Haste and shot toward Echidna, hugging her and tumbling on the ground. He rolled for about twenty meters.


    ¡°Huff, huff,¡± Kang-Woo panted heavily.


    Cold sweat flowed down from the back of his neck and wet his back. Echidna, who was in his arms, looked up at him with innocent eyes.


    ¡°Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You...¡±


    She must have found his secret stash folder.


    ¡°Wh-When did you...¡±


    There were many days that she could have found it in, since he had left his room unattended many times. Kang-Woo looked down at Echidna with a face much paler than when he had been facing Behemoth.


    ¡°Hm?¡± Echidna looked up at Kang-Woo while tilting her head in confusion. ¡°Is it supposed to be a secret?¡±


    ¡°... No.¡±


    ¡°So it is.¡±


    <i>Hm!</i> Echidna snorted energetically. She pulled on Kang-Woo¡¯s clothes while smiling.


    ¡°Kang-Woo, I wanna go with you to that ce in Japan called Akihabara.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll... Come with me, won¡¯t you? Just the two of us, of course.¡±


    Kang-Woo bit his lip.


    <i>¡®When did such a pure and innocent child be so cunning?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s heart fell from witnessing the puberty of the five-hundred-year-old little girl.


    <i>¡®I have to be stern here.¡¯</i>


    He could not let her have her way. He needed to let her know who was on top in their rtionship, and what would happen if she tried to control her master.


    Kang-Woo grabbed Echidna¡¯s shoulders and said with sunken eyes, ¡°Echidna.¡±


    ¡°Or should I tell Seol-Ah and Lilith about it?¡±


    ¡°How does a morning flight sound?¡±


    With a passport, of course.


    ***


    ¡°Kang-Woo! Did you do it?¡±


    Uriel ran toward him as soon as they returned to the Hall of Protection. He looked at Kang-Woo in worry, and then lowered his head.


    ¡°Sorry. I headed out as soon as I was contacted, but... The Gate had already closed by the time I got there.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯re also at fault for entering without waiting for you.¡±


    Things would have gotten far more troublesome if Uriel had been with them.


    ¡°Was the operation a sess? What happened in there?¡± Uriel asked.


    ¡°I will exin everything inside.¡±


    Kang-Woo and his party members headed to the inner area of the Hall of Protection with Uriel. They were obviously headed to the room that Gaia was in. Gaia weed them as soon as they opened the door.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done it!¡± she eximed, but her face stiffened soon after. ¡°A-Are there any casualties...?¡±


    ¡°Kang-Woo hyung-nim had been critically injured, but he¡¯s no longer in any danger after Seol-Ah healed him. Everyone else is safe,¡± Si-Hun stated.


    ¡°Ah...¡± Transparent tears flowed down her cheeks. ¡°<i>Sniff...</i> I... trusted you all. I¡¯m so... so relieved.¡±


    Gaia also knew how dangerous this operation was, so she couldn¡¯t help but cry from hearing that everyone had returned safely.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t cry, Gaia,¡± Si-Hun said as he wiped her tears for her.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and sat next to her. ¡°How is the condition of Earth¡¯s protection?¡±


    There was no question more important than this at the moment.


    ¡°It¡¯s only temporary, but... It has been greatly restored. Lady Gaia¡¯s power will be returned to an extent for a while, and demonic beasts will no longer appear within Gates.¡±


    ¡°What a relief,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    It seriously was a relief. The fundamental issue had not been resolved, but they had sessfully dyed the encroachment of Earth by the Nine Hells like what had happened with Shade.


    ¡°In that case, I will report everything that has happened in the Rift,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    He exined everything without leaving anything out. Gaia was shocked from hearing about the appearance of Behemoth, but was brought to tears from hearing that Kang-Woo had stopped him by himself.


    ¡°All of you... Thank you all so much.¡±


    As Gaia was thanking them repeatedly, she suddenly cut off her words with a nk face. She seemed to be getting another revtion.


    ¡°Lady Gaia says that she would express her gratitude to all of you at ater time since she is currently in the middle of recovery.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see,¡± Kang-Woo replied, expressing disinclination.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t have any words to share with a useless troll.¡¯</i>


    However, she was still a goddess. Kang-Woo nodded while clicking his tongue. Just then...


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°G-Gaia!¡±


    White light poured out of Gaia¡¯s body. It was aforting light of a different kind from Seraph, akin to a vast expanse. And...


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    Gaia opened her eyes.


    ¡°Gaia...?¡± Si-Hun called.


    ¡°H-Huh?¡± Gaia touched her eyes in disbelief.


    She slowly stood up from the wheelchair while trembling. Her two legs stepped on the ground on their own.


    Silence fell. Gaia looked down at her normally-functioning legs, and then looked at Si-Hun with her brown eyes.


    ¡°Si... Hun?¡±


    ¡°Gaia.¡±


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    She caressed Si-Hun¡¯s cheeks with shaking hands. Tears flowed down her cheeks.


    ¡°<i>Sniff. Sniff.</i>¡± Gaia fell to her knees, unable to handle the surge of emotions. ¡°Waaaaaaaaaaahhh!¡±


    She bawled her eyes out. Gaia, who had been nothing but a normal girl before bing an incarnation, had epted the destiny of saving the world even while even abandoning her own name. And then, she lost her eyes and legs.


    It was difficult to imagine the insane burden and solitude she must have felt, as well as the despair of losing her eyes and legs.


    ¡°Si-Hun,¡± Kang-Woo said as he put his hand on the shoulder of Si-Hun, who had been nkly looking at the crying Gaia. ¡°We¡¯ll go now, so console her the best you can.¡±


    Si-Hun did not answer. Kang-Woo took everyone else out of the room.


    ¡°<i>Sniff... Sniff.</i>¡±


    ¡°Gaia.¡±


    Si-Hun got on one knee and embraced her slender body. There was no need for conversation. He grabbed her chin and slowly raised it up.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Si-Hun carefully matched lips with the flustered Gaia.


    ***


    Three days had passed since Gaia had opened her eyes. Si-Hun had brought many things into her room so that she could adapt to normal life again. Her room had been filled with all sorts of things that Si-Hun had bought for her, such as a desk and chair, various cosmetics and even her ownputer.


    ¡°Fuuu.¡±


    Si-Hun stood in front of Gaia¡¯s room door in the middle of the night with a small box in his hand.


    <i>¡®Would it be rude to enter thiste at night?¡¯</i>


    It was getting close to midnight, but he wanted to give her this gift that he had secretly prepared, no matter what. Si-Hun carefully opened the box; inside it was a white pair of heels that would look very good on Gaia.


    ¡°A-Ahem.¡±


    His face reddened as he looked down at the box. He once again took a deep breath.


    <i>¡®Since it¡¯s a surprise gift, the way I give it to her should also be a surprise.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun had gotten her many things, but they had been nothing but supplies necessary for daily life. These heels were the first gift that he would give Gaia¡ªthe exchange of gifts between lovers. His heart beat faster.


    <i>¡®I should surprise her.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun thought about knocking, but thought against it. He carefully opened Gaia¡¯s room door.


    ¡°Yahoo!¡±


    There, he saw Gaia raising her arms up while staring at herputer screen in her chair. On her screen was...


    ¡°All hail Hitomi! All hail ero manga!!¡±


    <i>Thump.</i>


    The box in Si-Hun¡¯s hand fell to the floor. Gaia quickly turned to where the sound came from.


    ¡°Huh?¡± her face paled. ¡°S-Si-Hun?¡±

 Chapter 317 - It’s a Beautiful Name

    <h4>Chapter 317 - It¡¯s a Beautiful Name</h4>


    Deathly silence continued. Gaia and Kim Si-Hun were seated together on the bed, and were staring into nothingness as if they would die instantly if they were to say anything. The one who broke the silence that felt like it wouldst forever was Gaia.


    <i>Step.</i>


    ¡°I have no choice...¡± She stood up and walked to her desk, and said while grabbing the dagger that Grace McCubbin had given her as a gift for self defense, ¡°... But to kill myself.¡±


    ¡°Gaia!!¡±


    Si-Hun moved at the speed of light and grabbed Gaia¡¯s hand holding the dagger from behind her.


    ¡°L-Let me go! I-I can¡¯t bear to live any longer after experiencing such humiliation!¡±


    ¡°Kuh!¡± Si-Hun grunted.


    He looked at her in shock while desperately stopping her frommitting suicide with all his might.


    <i>¡®How is she so strong?¡¯</i>


    Gaia, who was shining with dim light, was unnaturally strong, to the point that she was easily able to overpower Si-Hun, who had an assimtion rate of over sixty percent with Martial God Tian Taihuang. He bit his lip in anxiety.


    <i>¡®It must be because Lady Gaia¡¯s power has been restored.¡¯</i>


    That was the most likely, since the woman that he was holding from behind was Gaia¡¯s incarnation. She had regained her power as an incarnation after Gaia¡¯s power had been restored.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    There was no other way than to persuade her with words.


    ¡°I-I¡¯mpletely fine with it!¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t lie!!¡± Gaia shouted with her face as red as a tomato. ¡°<i>Sniff...</i> Wh-Why did this have to...¡±


    She red at Si-Hun with teary eyes. ¡°I-It¡¯s your fault foring in without knocking.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all my fault.¡±


    ¡°Urgh!¡±


    Gaia pounded Si-Hun¡¯s chest with her fist. Her hands were so slender that her veins were easily visible, but the power imbued within her fists was no joke.


    <i>¡®Kurgh!¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun crouched while clenching his chest. Gaia was beating the crap out of him while bawling her eyes out.


    <i>¡®At this rate...¡¯</i>


    He would actually die. Si-Hun grabbed her wrists and yanked her toward him.


    ¡°Please calm down, Gaia. I really am fine with it.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Rather... I¡¯m happy to have learned this side of you.¡±


    ¡°Y-You are?¡± Gaia said with her eyes widened.


    Si-Hun smirked and nodded. ¡°Yes. To be honest... I would have never expected you to have such interests.¡±


    ¡°U-Urgghh.¡± Gaia lowered her head in dejection. ¡°W-Were you disappointed?¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± Si-Hun softlyughed. ¡°I told you, didn¡¯t I? I¡¯m happy to have learned this side of you.¡±


    Gaia sat back on the bed while pouting. Perhaps because the lowest side of herself had been exposed, her expression had be much lighter than usual.


    ¡°I-I also had a normal life before bing Lady Gaia¡¯s incarnation.¡±


    <i>¡®That¡¯s normal...?¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun had many questions, but knew to keep them to himself. He brought the chair over and sat in front of Gaia.


    The blushing Gaia in the dimly-lit room looked highly alluring. Si-Hun fell into deep thought while staring at her.


    <i>¡®Come to think of it...¡¯</i>


    He did not know much about her; he didn¡¯t know about her life before she had be an incarnation, what she liked, her hobbies.... Absolutely nothing.


    <i>¡®Hah.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun chuckled in his mind. He swept his hair back with sunken eyes.


    <i>¡®After all that talk about falling in love with her at first sight...¡¯</i>


    He had never once thought about getting to know her.


    <i>¡®Hyung-nim would smack me if he found out.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun smirked while thinking of Oh Kang-Woo.


    ¡°I want to know more,¡± Si-Hun expressed.


    ¡°... Pardon?¡±


    ¡°I want to know more about you, Gaia.¡±


    Gaia averted her gaze with reddened cheeks. ¡°Y-You won¡¯t find it very interesting.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d still like to know.¡±


    Si-Hun stood up from the chair and sat next to her on the bed again. He slowly reached out to grab her slender hand.


    ¡°First, I¡¯d like to know your real name.¡±


    Gaia lowered her head in silence. Her name, which she had abandoned when she had decided to be Gaia¡¯s incarnation...


    ¡°My name is...¡±


    Her voice trembled. At this moment, she was not the incarnation of a goddess, but just a regr woman. She slowly spoke as if she was revealing a long-kept secret.


    ¡°... La.¡±


    Si-Hun smiled brightly and put her hand on Gaia¡ªno, La¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful name.¡±


    He leaned in while smiling, and they kissed.


    ***


    ¡°What a relief.¡±


    ¡°Hm? About what?¡±


    ¡°About Gaia,¡± Han Seol-Ah said while smiling and sping her hands together. ¡°I¡¯m sure she must have had a hard time... Back when she had first lost her sight and legs.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure she would have,¡± Kang-Woo replied while nodding.


    He was moved back when he saw Gaia bawling her eyes out, since he had gotten quite attached to her over the years; the incarnation, not the goddess.


    <i>¡®I want my sister-inw to be happy.¡¯</i>


    Only then would Si-Hun continue to stick to her without being led astray.


    ¡°Now that Earth¡¯s protection has been restored... We¡¯d be able to live in peace, won¡¯t we?¡± Seol-Ah mentioned.


    ¡°We do have some leeway now.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded. Although it was not permanent, they had managed to buy some time. Since he also knew the truth behind Gaia¡¯s worries of Seraph having turned to the dark side, he did not need to make any rash decisions.


    <i>¡®But that doesn¡¯t mean I can just roll around doing nothing.¡¯</i>


    The time he had bought was finite; if he kept doing absolutely nothing, the Gaia System would once again begin to copse.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes sank as he recalled the gigantic bull snorting ck mes.


    <i>¡®He¡¯lle back one day.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo needed to make ample preparations starting now.


    ¡°First off...¡±


    He opened the status window to check the Key of the Demonic Sea. After having acquired the fourth key <i>Greed</i>, he only had one key left to acquire.


    [You mustplete a prerequisite quest to acquire the fifth key of the Demonic Sea, ¡®Heresy¡¯.]


    Like he had thought, there was another quest.


    [Prerequisite Quest: ¡®Demon of the Heavens¡¯]


    [Learn a Chaos technique of at least low-rank.]


    ¡°...Ngh.¡± Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes in irritation.


    He had sessfully managed to win in his previous gamble and learned a bottom-rank Chaos technique, but it had been nothing but a coincidence among coincidences. His right hand had exploded like fireworks from being unable to control even <i>Chaos - Burst</i>, so it was far beyond him right now to learn a technique above that.


    <i>¡®But was that seriously only just a bottom-rank technique?¡¯</i>


    It was hard to believe, since such a technique had destroyed Behemoth¡¯s horn that contained god-killing powers.


    <i>¡®If I can use higher-ranking techniques...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t even imagine what he would be capable of.


    ¡°... I guess I have no other choice than to train diligently.¡±


    It was a huge risk to use the Chaos techniques since he also needed to slightly open the Doors of the Ten Thousand Demon Core to activate molting, but it was absurd to neglect it after having witnessed its astounding power. He needed to make the technique fully his, no matter the risk.


    <i>¡®Besides, I need to clear the quest too.¡¯</i>


    There were several reasons for him to learn Chaos techniques.


    <i>¡®Fortunately, it doesn¡¯t require much sacred power.¡¯</i>


    Compared to Kang-Woo¡¯s boundless demonic energy, the amount of sacred power he had was pathetically small. Forget bnce, one wouldn¡¯t even be able to tell that he had sacred power unless they took an extremely close look. However, since the Chaos technique was enhanced by sucking in the flowing demonic energy within him, the imbnce between sacred power and demonic energy was alleviated.


    ¡°That aside...¡± Kang-Woo sighed.


    Seol-Ah, who was lovingly staring at Kang-Woo next to him, asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°I just have something that¡¯s annoying me.¡±


    Not everything was going his way.


    <i>¡®The Authority of Extinction is malfunctioning.¡¯</i>


    After having been wounded deeply in his chest, the Authority of Extinction had be unstable. The Authority stopped from time to time as if a call was cutting out.


    <i>¡®Is it because of the wound I got from Behemoth?¡¯</i>


    That was most likely the case, since it had be like this after getting stabbed by his horn.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll keep the Authority of Extinction sealed for now.¡¯</i>


    It was a shame that an Authority of a prince of Hell had be unavable to him, but he could not afford to use an unstable Authority.


    <i>¡®How irritating.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t help but be pissed off after losing his use of not a regr Authority but that of a prince of Hell.


    ¡°Kang-Woo.¡± Seol-Ah approached him and hugged his head.


    An unbelievably soft sensation pressed on his cheeks.


    <i>¡®Oh sweet jesus.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s irritation melted away in a sh.


    Seol-Ah continued while giggling, ¡°Don¡¯t make such a scary face. The operation was a sess, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just forget about everything for today and enjoy ourselves,¡± Seol-Ah said while caressing Kang-Woo¡¯s head that she was embracing. ¡°Let¡¯s invite Balrog, Lilith and Yeon-Joo over and have a simple party. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s have beef on the menu,¡±Kang-Woo replied.


    He was craving some beef after thinking about Behemoth.


    ¡°Hohoho. Okay, I¡¯ll make whatever you want. Right, could you go buy some beer with Echidna? Balrog was saying that he really wanted some.¡±


    ¡°That guy really shouldn¡¯t be drinking,¡± he said while nodding with a smirk.


    As he went into his room to get ready to go out, he saw a ck object on his desk.


    ¡°Oh,e to think of it, I had this.¡±


    Kang-Woo looked down at Behemoth¡¯s horn fragment. Despite it only being a single fragment of the shattered horn, it was over a meter long.


    ¡°How should I use this?¡±


    It was far too much of a waste to leave a horn fragment containing god-killing powers unused.


    <i>¡®But using it to make a weapon for myself is a bit of a waste.¡¯</i>


    He possessed the Transcendent-grade weapon, Key of the Demonic Sea, which was far more valuable than Behemoth¡¯s horn fragment. Kang-Woo fell into thought while tapping the horn fragment.


    <i>¡®Who should I give it to?¡¯</i>


    He thought of possible candidates, but it didn''t take him too long for the perfect person toe to mind.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    There was only one person at the moment who was in need of such an item.

 Chapter 318 - Oppa~

    <h4>Chapter 318 - Oppa~</h4>


    ¡°You want to make me a weapon?¡± Cha Yeon-Joo asked with her eyes open wide.


    She was more confused than thankful for the unexpected offer.


    ¡°Why so out of the blue?¡±


    ¡°Well, I was thinking about it, and...¡± Oh Kang-Woo slurred.


    He had thought about many candidates such as Balrog, Halcyon, Echidna and Kim Si-Hun. However, Balrog already had his Overlord Armor, while Si-Hun had the holy sword Ludwig. Halcyon¡¯s style of fighting did not require weapons, and Echidna need not even be mentioned.


    <i>¡®The only ones left are Tian Wuchen and Cha Yeon-Joo.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo owed Yeon-Joo more, and was also closer to her than Wuchen. As the deciding factor, Yeon-Joo had participated in thest operation.


    ¡°... I just thought it¡¯s best that you have it,¡± Kang-Woo said as he raised Behemoth¡¯s horn fragment in his hand.


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s eyes widened, and she averted her gaze as her cheeks flushed red.


    ¡°R-Really?¡±


    She also knew how powerful the horn of the monster known as Behemoth was since she had witnessed the gigantic bull covered in ck mes charging while decimating everything in his path.


    ¡°Yeah. You should be the one to use it,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°Ahem. If you say so, I¡¯ll use it.¡±


    Yeon-Joo touched Behemoth¡¯s horn fragment while humming in a good mood. Just lightly touching was enough to send sparks up her hand; she could feel the immense power emanating from the horn.


    ¡°But are you sure you¡¯ll be able to process this thing? My weapon is a bit... special,¡± Yeon-Joo asked in worry.


    Kang-Woo nodded while smirking. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s more than possible.¡±


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s weapon was chains with sharp thorns on them.


    <i>¡®The fragment is a bit too small to make chains from scratch, but...¡¯</i>


    He could imbue his demonic energy in the fragment and coat the chains with it.


    ¡°First, take out all of your chains,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Yeon-Joo extended both of her hands out and slightly twisted her wrists.


    <i>tter</i>.


    Chains poured down from the bracelets on her wrists. Kang-Woo stared at her wrists in fascination.


    ¡°Is that also one of the bracelets¡¯ functions?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°No, this is one of my Traits. I can store chains in an equipment of my choosing and use them freely.¡±


    ¡°Aha,¡± Kang-Woo expressed, and lightly grabbed her wrists.


    ¡°Wh-What are you doing?¡± Yeon-Joo asked, her eyes sharp.


    ¡°Stay still.¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and read the flow of Yeon-Joo¡¯s mana.


    <i>¡®She has better control of it than I¡¯d thought.¡¯</i>


    He had imagined her mana flow to be rampant like her beast-like personality, but it was far more tranquil than he had expected.


    <i>¡®Using this mana flow as the base...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo mapped out a design of her weapon in his head. This was his first time creating a weapon for someone else, but the fundamental technique itself was simr.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll make it morefortable and stronger.¡¯</i>


    Weapons just needed to be easy to use and powerful; addingplex and difficult-to-use functions to them was pointless. Kang-Woo took Yeon-Joo¡¯s hands and slowly massaged them.


    ¡°Wh-What the hell are you doing, y-you son of a bitch?!¡± Yeon-Joo shouted with her cheeks as red as her hair.


    It was a natural response, since the one who had said that he would make her a weapon was suddenly taking her hands and massaging them.


    ¡°I told you to stay still,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°Y-You...!¡±


    Kang-Woo ignored Yeon-Joo¡¯s resistance and observed her hands.


    <i>¡®The weapon should be a bit lighter... Since she controls the chains using mana instead of strength, I should raise its mana sensitivity as high as possible.¡¯</i>


    He more or less hadpleted the design in his head. Kang-Woo extended his hand toward the pile of chains, and closed his eyes with Behemoth¡¯s horn fragment in his other hand.


    <i>Fwoooom!!</i>


    Great amounts of energy moved. The horn fragment that contained god-killing powers melted down by yellow mes.


    <i>¡®Authority of ze.¡¯</i>


    Mammon¡¯s Authority was useful in many ways. Behemoth¡¯s horn fragment glowed red and melted, covering Yeon-Joo¡¯s chains.


    Yeon-Joo nkly stared at Kang-Woo, who was making her weapon under immense concentration. She bit her lip as her expression showed a hint of anger, but it soon grew softer, and she went back to staring nkly at him.


    ¡°All done.¡±


    ¡°... Huh?¡±


    ¡°I said it¡¯s done.¡±


    ¡°O-Okay.¡± Yeon-Joo nodded while coughing.


    Momentster, her eyes widened due to the message window that had popped up in front of her.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°U-Uhmm...¡± Yeon-Joo stuttered. ¡°The equipment grade... rose from Legendary to Mythic.¡±


    ¡°Mythic?¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    <i>¡®I guess Transcendent was pushing it.¡¯</i>


    It would have been a different story if the chains had been made purely out of Behemoth¡¯s horn, but its quality fell since it had only been made from a fragment.


    ¡°That¡¯s a shame,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    ¡°A-A shame? Are you insane? This is of the highest grade even among Mythic-grade equipment! M-My god. Just from coating it with a horn fragment...¡±


    Yeon-Joo read through the message window that Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t see over and over again. Kang-Woo smirked.


    <i>¡®Just a fragment, huh?¡¯</i>


    Such an expression did not suit a being like Behemoth.


    <i>¡®I mean, I guess it is surprising, since all I did was coat the chains with the horn fragment.¡¯</i>


    Even if the material was not Transcendent-grade, the god-killing powers infused within the horn would not have disappeared.


    ¡°C-Can I try using it?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    ¡°Of course. We didn¡¯t meet all the way here for nothing.¡±


    They had met in the mountains in the vicinity of Seoul that Kang-Woo frequently used to train so that Yeon-Joo could test out the power of her newly-made weapon.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Yeon-Joo nodded in excitement.


    The mana flowing through the chains was on a whole other levelpared to before; it was as if invisible wings had been added to them.


    <i>¡®What the hell?¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s eyes widened. She used the Trait that she had unlocked on her Tenth Awakening.


    ¡°Red Lotus, First Form.¡±


    <i>Thrash¡ª!</i> The chains moved.


    ***


    ¡°W-Wow,¡± Yeon-Joo expressed.


    The scene before her eyes thrilled her. She hadpletely destroyed an entire mountain. She had reached a stage far higher than her previous self just from switching weapons.


    ¡°What the...¡±


    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t just like it! This is insanely amazing!¡±


    Yeon-Joo hugged Kang-Woo before she had realized it from the uncontroble burst of emotion within her. Kang-Woo hugged her back.


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t been able to use even the first form of Red Lotus properly, but I can perfectly use it up to the third form now! This is absolutely insane!¡±


    Yeon-Joo burst into brightughter. She was jumping up and down with Kang-Woo in her arms. And then...


    ¡°Kyaaaaaahh!¡±


    She btedly came back to her senses and pulled away from him while screaming. She wrapped her arms around herself and red at Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Wh-Where do you think you¡¯re touching?!¡±


    She was overreacting all by herself.


    ¡°Calm down, woman,¡± Kang-Woo said whileughing from the absurdity. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m relieved. You don¡¯t feel any side effects, do you?¡±


    ¡°... Yeah, I¡¯mpletely fine.¡±


    Yeon-Joo hugged the chains as if she was never willing to part with them. Kang-Woo nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the delighted Yeon-Joo.


    <i>¡®I guess I made the right call to give it to Yeon-Joo.¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t help but smile from seeing how happy she was.


    ¡°Hehehe,¡± Yeon-Joo giggled while hugging the chains.


    Kang-Woo closed his mouth.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s happening?¡¯</i>


    As he looked at how happy Yeon-Joo was, he felt an irresistible desire to tease her. He had never felt this way before, so even he was slightly surprised. However, his surging desire was pushing him to tease her. Kang-Woo did not resist the desire.


    ¡°I have a condition for making those chains for you,¡± Kang-Woo mentioned.


    ¡°What? What condition?¡± Yeon-Joo asked in surprise.


    ¡°From now on, you have to say <i>Oppa~</i> with a cute pose whenever you address me.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck did you say?¡± Yeon-Joo grimaced.


    Kang-Woo continued calmly, ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, give that back to me.¡±


    ¡°Y-You son of a bitch...!¡±


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s eyes set aze. She aggressively flung her chains at Kang-Woo.


    <i>Grab.</i>


    However, no matter how powerful her weapon had be, she was still no match for Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo easily grabbed the chains and smirked.


    ¡°What? You¡¯re not gonna do it?¡±


    ¡°O-Of course not, you fucker!¡±


    ¡°Then I guess I¡¯ll take these back.¡±


    Kang-Woo yanked on the chains.


    ¡°Kyaaah!¡± Yeon-Joo was dragged along with the chains while screaming. ¡°Y-You¡¯re just joking, right? You¡¯re actually not taking them away, are you?¡±


    ¡°No, I really am.¡±


    ¡°N-No!¡±


    Yeon-Joo frantically hugged the chains. It would have been a different story if she hadn¡¯t tasted the power of the chains, but since she had, she couldn¡¯t give them up. Kang-Woo smiled wickedly.


    ¡°Then you know what you have to do, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Y-You...!¡±


    Yeon-Joo shook in rage. She red at him in fury.


    ¡°So? What¡¯ll it be?¡± Kang-Woo asked while snickering.


    ¡°Y-You fucking demon!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a demon.¡±


    ¡°Scumbag! Dipshit! Baldy! Pervert!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a baldy,¡± Kang-Woo retorted. That was the only one he couldn¡¯t stand for. ¡°It¡¯s not hard, is it? Anyone else would¡¯ve happily done it if it meant they could get their hands on a Mythic-grade weapon.¡±


    Yeon-Joo kept her mouth shut. She trembled with her face pale and teary-eyed.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa...!¡±


    She bit her lip while clenching her fists to the point that veins were popping out. She took a step back, put her palms on her cheeks, making a V sign, and winked.


    ¡°Oppa~¡±


    Kang-Woo was shocked. Yeon-Joo¡¯s voice sounded so cute that he couldn¡¯t believe it hade from her.


    Deathly silence fell.


    ¡°Pfft!!¡± Kang-Woo covered his mouth with one hand and crouched. ¡°Kffp! Kahahaha!!¡±


    He burst intoughter. He trembled while grabbing his stomach.


    ¡°Kahahahahahahah!!!¡±


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists from the thrill. It had far surpassed his wildest expectations.


    <i>¡®This is so fucking fun! Why hadn¡¯t I done something so fun earlier?!¡¯</i>


    Heughed to the point of shedding tears.


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s eyes lost their light.


    <i>Bash!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh.¡±


    Kang-Woo flew into the air after being smashed on the sr plexus, and rolled across the ground.


    ¡°... Let¡¯s die.¡± Yeon-Joo staggered toward Kang-Woo. Her eyes that had lost all sense of life were terrifying. ¡°Now that it¡¯se to this, let¡¯s just die together.¡±


    A lioness engulfed in madness charged at him.

 Chapter 319 - Protector of Light

    <h4>Chapter 319 - Protector of Light</h4>


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo? Wh-What happened?¡±


    Han Seol-Ah quickly went up to Oh Kang-Woo as soon as he came back home. She searched his ragged face in worry. However, he was not injured anywhere; his hair was just a mess.


    Kang-Woo answered while smiling bitterly, ¡°I was attacked by a lion on my way home.¡±


    He recalled the lioness engulfed in madness, charging at him with her red mane fluttering. He was easily able to dodge such attacks, but...


    <i>¡®I felt like I shouldn¡¯t dodge them for some reason.¡¯</i>


    He could tell that he would suffer even more down the line if he didn¡¯t keep his mouth shut and take the beating.


    <i>¡®Regardless...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smirked after recalling the memory of Cha Yeon-Joo calling him <i>Oppa</i> while making a cute pose.


    ¡°Pfft! Kek!¡± He couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    Seol-Ah tilted her head in confusion. ¡°Did something interesting happen?¡±


    ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing. More importantly, did anything new happen?¡±


    ¡°Oh, we got a call from La.¡±


    ¡°La?¡± Kang-Woo tilted his head from the name he had never heard before.


    Seol-Ah grinned and answered, ¡°It¡¯s Gaia¡¯s real name. Si-Hun told me.¡±


    ¡°Mm. But didn¡¯t she abandon her real name after bing an incarnation?¡±


    ¡°That was to ept Lady Gaia¡¯s Divinity better, but since she has already epted most of the Divinity that she could receive as an incarnation, she can use her real name now.¡±


    ¡°Aha.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    Seol-Ah giggled and said excitedly, ¡°Listen to this, Kang-Woo. La was nning on continuing to use the name Gaia, but Si-Hun insisted she use her real name. Isn¡¯t it kind of romantic?¡±


    Kang-Woo smirked and asked, ¡°That aside, didn¡¯t you say that La contacted us?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Seol-Ah nodded with her cheeks red. ¡°Umm... The real Gaia apparently wants to meet you.¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. It was obvious who Seol-Ah was referring to.


    ¡°Just me?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No, she also called the other Protectors. And... Also that brat.¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes filled with chilling bloodlust. She still seemed to have some ill feelings toward Uriel.


    <i>¡®Man, I have a bad feeling about this.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo grimaced. He had never had any good experiences associating with Gaia until now.


    <i>¡®How is she gonna troll me this time?¡¯</i>


    He had suffered from her trolling multiple times; she was the one who had made his Satan Coin plummet, as well as ruined many other ns of his.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t wanna go.¡¯</i>


    However, there was no way he couldn¡¯t go. Kang-Woo sighed.


    ¡°Okay,¡± he nodded while shutting his lips tight anxiously.


    ***


    ¡°Wee, my children.¡±


    Aforting voice was heard as soon as Kang-Woo entered the Hall of Protection. Gaia¡¯s will had descended into Earth by borrowing La''s body through Deific Manifestation.


    <i>¡®Fuck.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo grimaced unconsciously. The enormous amounts of power flowing out from Gaia¡¯s body prickled his skin. She had descended using La¡¯s body before, but this could not even bepared to back then.


    <i>¡®This is the power of one of the highest gods.¡¯</i>


    Cold sweat trickled down the back of Kang-Woo¡¯s neck. He was smothered by the breathtaking energy as soon as he entered the room. The Divinity of Gaia, who had recovered her power, was powerful enough to make Kang-Woo anxious.


    ¡°Greetings, Lady Gaia,¡± Kim Si-Hun, who was standing at the front, said while kneeling on one knee.


    With him in the middle, the other Protectors such as Zhuge Xian, Ito Shinji, Grace McCubbin, and others that were lined up next to Si-Hun, also kneeled on one knee. Kang-Woo lined up at the far end, hoping to stay hidden. He could feel his heart beating like crazy.


    <i>¡®This is scary as hell.¡¯</i>


    It felt as if he was a murderer called to the scene of his own crime. Kang-Woo anxiously stared at Gaia.


    <i>¡®What should I do if she recognizes me?¡¯</i>


    The possibility of that was low since she herself had said that she did not know who the Demon of Prophecy was; she also had not recognized him back when she had descended before. However, now that her power had returned after Earth¡¯s Protection had been restored, it could be a different story.


    <i>¡®If I get exposed as the Demon of Prophecy here...¡¯</i>


    Everything would obviously be over. The sturdy tower of trust that he had built with difficulty would crumble.


    <i>¡®Fucking please...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists, desperately hoping that Gaia wouldn¡¯t say anything. However, contrary to Kang-Woo¡¯s hopes, Gaia slowly opened her mouth.


    ¡°First, I would like to thank all of you,¡± she said while smiling gently. ¡°If it were not for you all, this star would have been fully exposed to otherworldly interference and been destroyed.¡±


    ¡°It could not have happened without your guidance, Lady Gaia,¡± Si-Hun answered calmly.


    Gaia smiled. ¡°Protector Kim Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Come closer.¡±


    Si-Hun expressed slight bewilderment, but approached her.


    ¡°Sessor of the Heavenly Dragon. You have no idea how reassured I am to have you with me.¡±


    ¡°N-Not at all...¡±


    ¡°Fufu. There is no need to be so humble. I have been reported of all your aplishments through La.¡±


    Si-Hun lowered his head while blushing. Gaia gently caressed his cheeks.


    ¡°I am nothing but sorry for this child. Although it could not have been helped, I made her shoulder far too heavy of a burden.¡± She sighed in sorrow. ¡°But my heavy heart has be at least a little lighter, seeing how happy this child has be from having met you.¡±


    ¡°Lady Gaia...¡±


    ¡°Fufu. This child may have some quirks, but please give her as much love as you can.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Si-Hun nodded without hesitation.


    ¡°And...¡± Gaia then shifted her gaze toward Uriel. ¡°I thank you, wings of Seraph. Thanks to your assistance, we were able to chase out the darkness from this star.¡±


    ¡°I only did my duty.¡± Uriel bowed while maintaining his dignity as an archangel instead of his usual childlike self. He then added, ¡°From what I have heard, the restoration of your power is not permanent... Is that true?¡±


    Gaia nodded with a darkened expression. ¡°It is. As long as the Demon of Prophecy lives... Earth¡¯s protection will never be fully restored.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulders flinched from the sudden mention of the Demon of Prophecy.


    ¡°But do not fret. TIme has been bought thanks to your help,¡± Gaia expressed.


    ¡°But...¡±


    ¡°Trust me. I will personally stop the darkness fromying its hands on this star. Of course, it will notst forever, but... I havee up with a n in preparation for it.¡±


    Silence fell. There was nothing else to say when the goddess in charge of managing Earth was going so far.


    ¡°What is this n that you are referring to, Lady Gaia?¡± Si-Hun asked, breaking the silence.


    Everyone here was likely curious about it.


    Gaia nodded and replied, ¡°I have called you all here today to give you the details of that n. But before I get into it...¡± Gaia looked toward the Protectors with sunken eyes. ¡°I have something to announce to all of you.¡±


    She slowly turned her gaze toward Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡®Wh-What?¡¯</i>


    Why was she looking at him? Kang-Woo¡¯s expression stiffened, and he averted his gaze.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t think she knows I¡¯m the Demon of Prophecy.¡¯</i>


    So why was she looking at him so intently?


    ¡°Oh Kang-Woo, is it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Kang-Woo slowly nodded.


    He was acting like he was perfectly fine on the outside, but a storm was raging within his head.


    <i>¡®Don¡¯t call me. Don¡¯t even look at me. Please just pay me no mind. Screw off.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at Gaia in desperation.


    ¡°Come here,¡± Gaia said.


    ¡°... Yes, Lady Gaia.¡±


    Kang-Woo slowly got up and walked toward her. Just like she had done to Si-Hun, she gently touched his cheek. Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened, cold sweat flowing down his back.


    <i>¡®Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.¡¯</i>


    He was scared shitless. He was at risk of being found out as the Demon of Prophecy just from being in the same room as her, but she was now making direct contact with him. It would not be strange if she found out that he was the Demon of Prophecy here and now.


    <i>¡®She¡¯s seriously a goddamn nuisance.¡¯</i>


    The pains that he had gone through because of Gaia shed before his eyes like a panorama.


    <i>¡®If it weren¡¯t for you...¡¯</i>


    Everything would have been resolved with just his Satan persona without ever having needed to create the Rakiel persona. The Demon of Prophecy would have never needed to be revealed. No, Earth would have never needed to be in danger in the first ce.


    <i>¡®You useless, frustrating, dumb, dim-witted bitch.¡¯</i>


    She let the Gaia System be broken, unnecessarily wasted her Divinity and asked for help from other worlds at random, andpletely ruined his ns that were going well several times.


    <i>¡®Fucking troll.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists while suppressing his rage.


    ¡°Despite not being a chosen Protector, you worked harder than any other Protector to protect this star.¡±


    <i>¡®Yeah, I worked hard as fuck, all because of you.¡¯</i>


    Gaia grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulders, which irritated him even more.


    ¡°Thank you... very much.¡¯


    <i>¡®Oh yes, I¡¯m sure you would be thankful.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo slightly rolled his eyes. He understood why Gaia had asked to see him; it was for thepletely meaningless act of a chief gathering their subordinates and naming one of them employee of the month, telling the other employees that they could also be praised like this if they worked hard.


    <i>¡®Enough with the bullshit.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was not so easy to please. He lightly snorted and lowered his head. Just then...


    ¡°Henceforth, I have decided to select you as a Protector on the same level as Protector Kim Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    <i>¡®The fuck she say?¡¯</i>


    <i>Whooom!</i>


    Bright light poured out from Gaia¡¯s hands and flowed into Kang-Woo.


    <i>Riiing!</i>


    [You have received ¡®Gaia¡¯s Blessing¡¯.]


    [Raising all stats dramatically!]


    [Demonic Energy has surpassed 160. You can now partially use demonic energy from the Abyss.]


    [The title ¡®Protector of Light¡¯ has been generated.]


    [All beings of godhood will recognize you as a retainer of Gaia!]


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes filled with shock from the messages before his eyes.


    <i>¡®My Demonic Energy stat surpassed 160, and... I can use demonic energy from the Abyss?¡¯</i>


    Not just that, all beings of godhood would recognize him as the Protector of Light.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no way I¡¯d get exposed now.¡¯</i>


    Who in their right mind would suspect a retainer of Gaia to be the Demon of Prophecy?


    <i>¡®Yes, this is it! My life haspletely turned around now!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo unconsciously raised his two arms high up in the air.


    <i>¡®Lady Gaiaaaaaaaaa!! I believed in you!!¡¯</i>


    He could swear on his life that he had never doubted Gaia for even a millisecond.


    <i>¡®Shiiiet, Protector of Light, huh? Awesome! Lady Gaia sure has an eye for people!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had been right all along.


    <i>¡®You are... the hope of humanity.¡¯</i>


    He had not once thought of Gaia as useless despite everyone else having thought so. He always believed that Gaia was the true hope of humanity as well as its savior.


    <i>¡®Yes, I knew it all along.¡¯</i>


    He was simply being rewarded for his faith.


    ¡°I will... dedicate myself to the light.¡±


    Tears flowed down Kang-Woo¡¯s cheeks.

 Chapter 320 - Goddess’s Rage (1)

    <h4>Chapter 320 - Goddess¡¯s Rage (1)</h4>


    ¡°Thank you for bing my child.¡± Gaia smiled faintly. She then continued solemnly, ¡°From now on, I, Gaia, swear on my Divinity that I will spare no support and love for Protector Oh Kang-Woo.¡±


    The blinding light that entered Oh Kang-Woo burst out, and a golden light enveloped him.


    ¡°I will dedicate my life to you, Lady Gaia,¡± Kang-Woo answered.


    Gaia stroked Kang-Woo¡¯s hair with a smile filled with parental love.


    ¡°You do not have to speak so formally. You are now... nothing short of my child.¡±


    ¡°Lady Gaia...¡±


    For the first time since the primeval chaos, the Protector of Light was born in a way that would never have been imagined by any transcendental being.


    <i>¡®Huehuehuehuehue!!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo suppressed hisughter with all his might. He had be a hero that was vouched for by Gaia, a goddess of the top rank! He had never expected to gain such an insane asset.


    ¡°Congrattions, hyung-nim.¡± Kim Si-Hun grabbed his hand with a bright smile.


    Seeing that, Uriel grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s other hand and let out a snort.


    ¡°Rather, it¡¯s more of a surprise that you weren¡¯t a Protector until now. You should¡¯ve be a Protector way earlier than this,¡± he grumbled.


    Si-Hun¡¯s eyebrows twitched. ¡°It could not have been helped since Lady Gaia was unwell.¡±


    He then pulled on Kang-Woo¡¯s hand that he was holding. It was like having flowers (stamens) in each hand. Kang-Woo frowned.


    <i>¡®Stop it, you sons of bitches.¡¯</i>


    He aggressively shook them off.


    Gaia covered a hand over her mouth and let out a hushed giggle. ¡°Since the Protector selection isplete, I will get to the main topic at hand.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lady Gaia.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    He was highly interested in what Gaia had to say, and just as worried.


    ¡°Protector Kim Si-Hun and Oh Kang-Woo, my lovely children. I would like to entrust... a very special mission to you two.¡±


    ¡°Special...¡±


    ¡°Mission?¡±


    Kang-Woo and Si-Hun expressed confusion from the sudden proposition.


    Gaia nodded. ¡°My powers have been partially restored, but... As you all know, it is not permanent. In the end... At this rate, I will go back to being unable to move an inch like before.¡±


    ¡°... Yes, we know.¡±


    ¡°There is a way to dy that process. This does not resolve the fundamental issue either, but... It will buy much more time than the previous operation.¡±


    ¡°Will we be destroying a Rift likest time?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Gaia slowly shook her head. ¡°It is different. No... I guess it is notpletely different.¡± She then continued with a low tone, ¡°I want you two to go to the continent of Aernor to find and destroy the sealed corpse of the Demon God.¡±


    Heavy silence fell. Both Kang-Woo and Si-Hun naturally turned agape.


    <i>¡®What?¡¯</i>


    What Gaia had just said was absolutely insane.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not like we can just go to Aernor whenever we want.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had gotten so used to the word Aernor that it no longer sounded like the name of another world. Based on what he had heard from Echidna, it was a ssic fantasy world with dragons, fairies, knights and mages.


    <i>¡®The only different thing is...¡¯</i>


    The civilization of Aernor was highly advanced. They still had a monarchy, but general civilization was fairly advanced due to the advancements in magic tools.


    <i>¡®No, that¡¯s not what¡¯s important right now.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo quickly raised his head back up. The important point was that Aernor was not on Earth, but was another world entirely.


    ¡°What... Do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I knew you would be confused. It is only natural, since I told you to go to another world out of nowhere.¡± Gaia nodded with a bitter smile. She then pointed at Uriel and continued, ¡°However, I am not sending you to and that you can never return from. You could say that it is simr to how the Wings of Seraph over there is on Earth right now.¡±


    Kang-Woo and Si-Hun¡¯s faces rxed slightly.


    <i>¡®I guess it¡¯s something along the lines of going to a foreign country that you can¡¯t juste and go however you wish.¡¯</i>


    Although Aernor was another world, many beings from that world hade to Earth, such as Reynald, Lucis and Lucifer, and Uriel; they were all residents of Aernor.


    <i>¡®But even so, another world?¡¯</i>


    It was definitely not somece that one could go with light feelings.


    ¡°... Is there a reason why we absolutely have to go?¡±


    ¡°If there wasn¡¯t, I would not be sending my lovely children to another world.¡± Gaia nodded with a heavy expression. ¡°You all may not know this, but... Earth¡¯s protection is not confined just to the star known as Earth. It is deeply intertwined with the protection of the respective stars Aernor and Huan.¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. His hypothesis when he had first heard that Seraph¡¯s seal was weakening had been confirmed.


    ¡°The protection of Aernor and Huan have also be unstable due to the impaired protection of Earth,¡± Gaia mentioned.


    ¡°Is that connected to destroying the corpse of the Demon God?¡±


    Gaia nodded. ¡°Aernor¡¯s protection is not as specialized as Earth¡¯s protection in blocking otherworldly interference; it is more specialized toward stopping the Demon God¡¯s revival. If the Demon God¡¯s corpse ispletely destroyed... Aernor¡¯s protection can be used to block otherworldly interference.¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes again. He more or less understood what Gaia was trying to say.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    He had two questions.


    ¡°First, are the protections of each star not being managed by the respective ruling god of each world? Do you have the authority to modify Aernor¡¯s protection, Lady Gaia?¡±


    ¡°... Good question.¡± Gaia stared at Kang-Woo in slight surprise. She nodded soon after and answered, ¡°Long story short, I do. When Seraph sealed the darkness by sacrificing her Divinity, she passed her authority over to me.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I have one more question.¡± This one was what Kang-Woo actually did not understand. ¡°If there was a way to destroy the Demon God¡¯s corpse, why have you not done it until now?¡±


    Even if they were Protectors, they were still only human. Although that was no longer the case now that Kang-Woo had also be a Protector, Gaia did not know that. Asking Kang-Woo and Si-Hun to destroy the Demon God¡¯s corpse that even the gods had no choice but to seal was absurd.


    Gaia also answered this question without hesitation, ¡°After the Demon God¡¯s corpse on Earth disappeared, Bauli¡¯s Divinity has be unstable. Now... We should be able to annihte his corpse.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes sharpened.


    <i>¡®So that¡¯s why he tried to take over my body.¡¯</i>


    Bauli had tried to get his hands on Kang-Woo¡¯s body as soon as Kang-Woo absorbed the Demon God¡¯s corpse. If that had been to get his hands on the other portions of his corpse, it made sense for him to have acted so hastily.


    <i>¡®In that case...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    <i>¡®This could be a good opportunity.¡¯</i>


    Eliminating the Demon God¡¯s corpse was necessary in the sense that he would be eliminating future risk factors in advance.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s also the option for me to eat it instead of destroying it, but...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s far too dangerous.¡¯</i>


    It was not that he didn¡¯t want the enormous demonic energy contained within the Demon God¡¯s corpse, but it was way too risky.


    <i>¡®As long as Bauli is within me, I can¡¯t eat his corpse.¡¯</i>


    If he did, Bauli¡¯s influence would grow bigger and could give him the chance to take over Kang-Woo¡¯s body. He could obtain immense power by eating the corpse, but at the risk of his body being taken over; it was not even worth considering whether to take that chance or not.


    <i>¡®No matter how strong I be...¡¯</i>


    It was meaningless if he would lose control over his body.


    ¡°I understand. I will go to Aernor with Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°H-Hyung-nim.¡± Si-Hun looked at Kang-Woo in bewilderment.


    Kang-Woo calmly continued, ¡°However, it is far too dangerous for just us two to go by ourselves. We need more help.¡±


    ¡°I will leave it entirely to you two to choose who to take with you. My incarnation will also join you. It will be difficult for me to manifest through her like I am now, but... I will be able to assist you through revtions.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded. ¡°When will we be departing...?¡±


    ¡°For you to cross through Aernor¡¯s protection without receiving any form of restrictions, it will take about half a year. I would like you to train to grow stronger until then.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Half a year... It was a long yet short amount of time.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s a bitter than I¡¯d expected.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo wanted to eliminate the risk factor that was Bauli as soon as possible, but it could not be helped.


    ¡°Hyung-nim...¡± Si-Hun called out to him anxiously.


    ¡°Sorry for deciding without consulting you, Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°Not at all. I was nning on following whatever you decided on. But...¡± Si-Hun asked in worry, ¡°What will happen to Earth while we¡¯re gone?¡±


    ¡°I will take care of that,¡± Gaia dered strongly. ¡°Now that Earth¡¯s protection has been restored, I will not let otherworldly beings do as they wish on Earth.¡±


    <i>Fwoooom.</i>


    Great power flowed out from Gaia.


    ¡°Although my incarnation will be with you all... I am not as powerless as I have been before.¡±


    There was nothing more reassuring than the deration of a goddess with top-rank Divinity.


    ¡°Oh Kang-Woo... No, my lovely child. Thank you for epting my unreasonable request.¡± Gaia approached Kang-Woo while smiling gently. ¡°May your path be filled with the blessing of li¡ª¡±


    As she was expressing her best wishes to Kang-Woo while caressing his cheek, her expression slightly crumpled.


    She mumbled with a hint of hesitancy in her words, ¡°What...? Why?¡±


    Her voice was filled with confusion. Kang-Woo stared at her in wonder of what was going on, but flinched after hearing her mumbles.


    ¡°Why... are there traces of demonic energy...¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened.


    <i>¡®Fuck.¡¯</i>


    He was fucked. He clenched his chest without hesitation and copsed on the spot.


    ¡°Kurgh! Cough, cough!¡±


    ¡°H-Hyung-nim?!¡±


    Si-Hun quickly ran up to him.


    ¡°Kang-Woo, could you be...¡±


    Uriel¡¯s eyes shook. His expression stiffened after approaching to see Kang-Woo copsed on the ground. He was used to seeing such a scene.


    ¡°Shit, shit!! It still... hasn¡¯t disappeared yet?!¡± Uriel shed tears while shouting.


    He put his hands on Kang-Woo¡¯s chest and poured sacred power into him. Kang-Woo, who had been seizing up, gradually rxed.


    ¡°Wh-What is going on, Wings of Seraph?¡± Gaia asked with a trembling voice.


    Uriel answered sorrowfully with his head lowered, ¡°This is... Rakiel¡¯s doing.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Gaia¡¯s eyes widened.


    Kang-Woo hurriedly extended his arm as if to shut Uriel up.


    ¡°L-Lord Uriel... Don¡¯t...¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m sorry, Kang-Woo. I can¡¯t hide it any longer.¡±


    Uriel revealed the secret that only he and Kang-Woo knew, about what Rakiel had done to Kang-Woo¡¯s body in the two weeks that Kang-Woo had been captured by him.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh,¡± Gaia shook.


    <i>Crack</i>. The ground she was standing on split.


    ¡°How... How dare he...¡±


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    The entire Hall of Protection shook.


    <i>Crackle!</i>


    The power of the enraged goddess distorted space itself.


    ¡°How dare the mere Constetion of Corruptiony a hand on my child?!¡±


    The rage of Gaia, the goddess in charge of one of the worlds of the Triad, pointed toward the Constetion of Corruption.

 Chapter 321 - Goddess’s Rage (2)

    <h4>Chapter 321 - Goddess¡¯s Rage (2)</h4>


    <i>¡®Holy shit, what?¡¯</i>


    Oh Kang-Woo, who had been scrunched up while clenching his chest, flinched. He was honestly a little confused.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s with the overreaction?¡¯</i>


    He had only just been selected as a Protector; although Gaia had swore on her Divinity that she would spare no support and love for him, it was a little out of nowhere.


    <i>¡®Why does she love me so much...?¡¯</i>


    It was as if he had been adopted, and his adoptive mother was showing him a little too much love as soon as he entered the household. Although it was not a bad feeling, he was still confused nheless.


    ¡°Are you okay, my child?!¡± Gaia approached Kang-Woo, who had copsed on the floor in pain.


    She was looking down at him on the verge of tears; no, she was actually crying a little.


    <i>¡®What the actual fuck?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes were filled with confusion, but continued his performance.


    ¡°Cough! Cough! I-I¡¯m alright...¡±


    ¡°How can you say that when you¡¯re like this?!¡± Gaia embraced Kang-Woo while shouting, trembling while shedding tears. ¡°Please... Please do not die... I cannot lose another child after Alec.¡±


    It had been a while since Kang-Woo had heard that name. Everything made sense as soon as he heard it.


    <i>¡®I guess she¡¯s the type to love the humans that she has chosen as Protectors to death.¡¯</i>


    If that was not the case, there was no way that she would mention Alec Osborne, who had died by the hands of Satan years ago. The fear in her voice, her genuine concern for her incarnation, La, as well as her attitude toward Kim Si-Hun all showed that she treated the humans that she had selected as Protectors as her real children.


    <i>¡®So that¡¯s why she even went as far as to swear on her Divinity.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo did not quite know how deep of a meaning that held, but he felt like they had not been empty words. A portion of her Divinity would likely be annihted if she were to break the vow.


    <i>¡®She really decided to treat me like her own son. No wonder, considering everything I did for her.¡¯</i>


    In Gaia¡¯s perspective, Kang-Woo was nothing short of her savior. She likely had great interest in him even before she had selected him as a Protector.


    <i>¡®This is...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes, lowering the ascending corners of his mouth with all his might.


    <i>¡®... Amazing, isn¡¯t it?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had seen her in apletely different light, other than simply being a troll. He was more than satisfied with bing a retainer of a god, but she had even decided to treat him like her own child. It was honestly far better than what he had expected.


    <i>¡®Kuh, who the fuck dared to call Lady Gaia a loser?!¡¯</i>


    He wanted to beat the shit out of the people who had dared to call Gaia useless. She was more perfect than his wildest dreams.


    <i>¡®If that¡¯s the case...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo needed to stir Gaia up even more.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Kang-Woo panted heavily while clenching his chest. He took a deep breath in and slowly got up. ¡°... I¡¯m fine now.¡±


    Gaia stared at him with sunken eyes. ¡°Why did you not say anything?¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    ¡°Tell me, my child,¡± she said, as if scolding him.


    Kang-Woo smiled in a way that looked as if it would shatter into pieces at even the slightest touch.


    ¡°I was scared... of losing them.¡± Kang-Woo averted Gaia¡¯s gaze and stared at Si-Hun, who was staring at him in shock. ¡°I have gained too much.¡±


    Silence fell. With a grimace, Gaia shouted, ¡°You... Idiot!¡±


    <i>Smack!</i>


    Gaia strongly flicked Kang-Woo¡¯s forehead. She then continued with a hardened face, ¡°I will hold off on the mission of sending you to Aernor for now. I cannot leave such a dangerous mission in your hands in that state.¡±


    ¡°No, you must.¡± Kang-Woo shook his head. He grabbed Gaia¡¯s hands and stared at her with zing eyes, speaking with certainty, ¡°I have to go.¡±


    Gaia¡¯s eyes shook.


    ¡°It will take months just to open a Gate leading to Aernor. We cannot dy it,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°But you...¡±


    ¡°Lady Gaia.¡± Kang-Woo tightened his grip on her hands and said again, ¡°I have to go.¡±


    Gaia remained silent. She also knew very well that they had to go to Aernor to eliminate the Demon God¡¯s corpse and acquire Aernor¡¯s protection. If it had not been urgent, she would not have entrusted this mission to Si-Hun and Kang-Woo in the first ce.


    ¡°My child...¡±


    Gaia¡¯s eyes shook. She caressed Kang-Woo¡¯s cheek and lowered her head before she said, ¡°I am truly sorry... For having you shoulder such a heavy burden.¡±


    She wanted to chase away the demonic energy within Kang-Woo this instant, but the fact that there were still traces of demonic energy within him despite having been chosen as a Protector meant that it had already spread to the point of it being nearly irreversible. If she forcibly tried to eliminate the demonic energy by using her Divinity, Kang-Woo¡¯s life would be put at risk. There was only one way to eliminate the demonic energy within him, and that was to kill Rakiel, the root source.


    Gaia asked, her voice filled with bloodlust, ¡°The Constetion of Corruption is currently on Earth, correct?¡±


    Uriel answered, ¡°Yes. He is plotting some sort of scheme here on Earth.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Gaia¡¯s eyes narrowed. Breathtaking energy flowed out from her and weighed down everything around her. ¡°Wings of Seraph, can I entrust you with the mission of locating Rakiel while I prepare the Gate leading to Aernor?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Uriel nodded without hesitation.


    He had been searching for Rakiel¡¯s traces whenever he had time, despite it not being his duty. He kneeled on one knee while spreading open his eight wings.


    ¡°In exchange, I have a request,¡± Uriel mentioned.


    ¡°Speak,¡± Gaia replied.


    ¡°I would also like to go on the mission that you have entrusted to Kang-Woo,¡± he said while looking in Kang-Woo¡¯s direction.


    ¡°I will allow it,¡± Gaia answered without hesitation.


    There was no reason for her to refuse a powerful and reliable being like Uriel to join the mission.


    ¡°Constetion of Corruption...¡± Gaia mumbled while recalling Rakiel, who was hidden somewhere in this star.


    <i>Crackle¡ª!</i>


    ¡°I swear on my Divinity! I, Gaia, Goddess of the earth... will bestow upon you the most horrifying and agonizing death imaginable!¡±


    <i>Rumble.</i>


    Bloodlust blossomed from Gaia¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°The price you will pay forying a hand on my child... will not be cheap.¡±


    The rage of the goddess with top-rank Divinity shook the earth.


    ***


    ¡°Pfft, huehuehuehuehue!¡±


    Kang-Woo unleashed theughter that he had suppressed as soon as he came back home. He crouched while holding his stomach.


    <i>- The price you will pay forying a hand on my child... will not be cheap.</i>


    <i>¡®Shiiiet, I¡¯m falling in love.¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t help but smile as he kept recalling Gaia¡¯s words.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s perfect.¡¯</i>


    The picture he had been hoping for had been fully painted.


    <i>¡®The hero being corrupted by demonic energy, and the goddess trying to save him...¡¯</i>


    It was now no longer weird that demonic energy could be felt from him; in other words, the chances of his true identity being found out had been lowered even further. His performance had even deepened her affection toward him.


    <i>¡®That aside...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo sighed from the moment that had freaked him out.


    <i>¡®That was dangerous.¡¯</i>


    He regretted having trusted in his Ruler of Demonic Energy too much.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t believe she detected my demonic energy.¡¯</i>


    Despite having been extra careful in hiding it, he had still not been able to conceal it in its entirety.


    <i>¡®I guess that¡¯s a god of the top rank for you.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo entered his room while clicking his tongue. Han Seol-Ah, Echidna and Halcyon seemed to have gone out somewhere.


    <i>¡®Now, what to do?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. Although he had managed to me it on Rakiel, the problem was what he would do from now on.


    ¡°I spammed this son of a bitch too much.¡±


    He had used Rakiel¡¯s name a bit too many times, to the point that it was difficult to resolve everything that he had made up.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s about time I sell.¡±


    The Rakiel Coin¡¯s value had risen as high as it possibly could. He was no longer in any situation to go all in on the Rakiel Coin.


    <i>¡®But it¡¯s a bit dangerous to sell since the real Rakiel is still alive.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s head was in jumbles. Although wiping his hands clean off from the persona was not difficult, it was a difficult decision to make, in the case that the real Rakiel were to appear one day.


    ¡°For now... I¡¯ll see how things go.¡±


    He was not in a rush. Rather, he would be able to gain even more of Gaia¡¯s favor if he were to pretend to be even more dedicated to his duty without losing hope in such a situation.


    <i>¡®Man, this is why you need good connections.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t feel any more reassured, now that he had the head god of Earth supporting him. He would no doubt have a bright future ahead of him as long as he used Gaia properly.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll trust you, Lady Gaia!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists and raised them up high into the sky.


    ***


    <i>Whoosh.</i>


    Dust blew across a destend. Silence lingered between the distorted and split boulders. A being with ten ck wings slowly got up.


    ¡°... Rakiel,¡± someone said from behind the being.


    The being known as Rakiel slowly turned his head. There, a hideous monster whose face was covered in rotten mold was ring at him.


    ¡°Are you out of your mind?¡±


    Rakiel looked up at the sky dyed in darkness without a word. ¡°... No, I have been out of my mind until now.¡±


    ¡°Hah!¡± the monster chuckled, and then shouted, ¡°The Constetion of Corruption has gone mad after his seal hade undone! You bring shame to Lord Bauli!¡±


    Rakiel stared at the monster with sunken eyes. ¡°Constetion of Agony. No matter what you say, I will not change my mind.¡±


    He spread out his ten wings, and ck lightning sparked between them. The monster known as the Constetion of Agony gritted his teeth.


    ¡°You dare betray us?!¡± he eximed in fury, but smirked momentster. ¡°Kehehe. Rakiel, even if you do return to the light, do you seriously believe anyone will listen to what you say?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Who would possibly trust the words of a fallen angel? Hm?! Your sin of corrupting hundreds of thousands of beings just to get your hands on Seraph will never lighten!¡± the monster said mockingly.


    Rakiel flew up with a heavy expression. ¡°... I know.¡±


    He knew that he hadmitted an unforgivable sin.


    ¡°But...¡±


    Exactly because of that...


    ¡°I will... atone for my sins.¡±


    Rakiel, who had flown up into the sky, disappeared into a blue Rift.

 Chapter 322 - Turn Delicious, Moe Moe Kyun (1)

    <h4>Chapter 322 - Turn Delicious, Moe Moe Kyun (1)</h4>


    ¡°... You don¡¯t know where the Demon God¡¯s corpse is?¡±


    Oh Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes, tilting his head as he stared at the silver-haired young man tied to a chair.


    ¡°Ahh, urhh.¡±


    Lucis, who was wrapped in sticky green tentacles, nodded with his mouth open. Kang-Woo grimaced.


    ¡°You expect me to believe that? You said that you trained with Lucifer there. How does it make any sense that you don¡¯t know where it is?¡±


    ¡°Ahh... I-I don¡¯t... know,¡± Lucis answered faintly.


    Lilith, who had been standing behind Lucis, approached Kang-Woo.


    ¡°My king. It seems he really doesn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned as if his head hurt. He sat down on a chair while leaving the drooling Lucis be.


    <i>¡®This changes things.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had taken on the mission to go to Aernor so readily because he had expected Lucis to know where the Demon God¡¯s corpse was, but all that Lucis was saying was that he did not know. The difficulty of the mission that he had expected to be easy had skyrocketed.


    <i>¡®Gaia said that she doesn¡¯t know either...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo leaned back on the chair and fell into thought. If no one knew where the Demon God¡¯s corpse was, then the duration of their trip could be indefinite. In the worst case scenario, they would have to waste several years just to find the corpse.


    <i>¡®Would Bauli know?¡¯</i>


    The thought crossed Kang-Woo¡¯s mind, but he shook his head.


    <i>¡®That¡¯d be insane.¡¯</i>


    No matter how important it was to find the Demon God¡¯s corpse, letting out Bauli that he had imprisoned in the Abyss was crazy.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m sure he¡¯s waiting for the opportunity to take control of my body.¡¯</i>


    Not even Kang-Woo knew until when he would be able to suppress Bauli, so he could not afford to let him out of the Abyss.


    ¡°... Fuck.¡± Kang-Woo sighed and clicked his tongue.


    Since Lucis, whom Kang-Woo had believed to know where the corpse was, knew nothing, there was no way to know where it was.


    ¡°It seems we have no other choice but to look for it after we arrive in Aernor,¡± Lilith mentioned as she slowly walked toward the chair that Kang-Woo was sitting on.


    She seductively put one leg over the other and sat on the armrest.


    ¡°This trip might take longer than I¡¯d expected,¡± expressed Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Fufu, I do not mind wherever I go, as long as I am with you, my king.¡±


    ¡°But I mind.¡±


    Kang-Woo grabbed his head. The thought filling his head weighed him down. The most critical issue regarding his mission in Aernor was...


    <i>¡®Would Aernor have... kimchi stew?¡¯</i>


    There was no way that another world would have kimchi stew.


    <i>¡®This is a serious issue.¡¯</i>


    The issue was on par with¡ªno, far more important than restoring Earth¡¯s protection.


    <i>¡®... I should make ample preparations.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo nodded while making a serious face.


    ¡°Is something on your mind?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing,¡± Kang-Woo replied while shaking his head.


    ¡°Hmm... That aside, Master Kang-Woo. Did you make some sort of promise with Echidna?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion at the sudden question. Soon after, he recalled the events of what had happened right aftering out of the Rift.


    ¡°Echidna has been in a great mood since morning training.¡±


    ¡°Ngh.¡±


    ¡°Even when I asked her, she only smiled without answering... Has something happened?¡±


    ¡°I promised Echidna that I would go to Japan with her, just the two of us.¡±


    ¡°Oh my.¡± Lilith covered her mouth with her eyes wide open. ¡°My king... Were you into little children?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡±


    Kang-Woo firmly shook his head and frowned to hint at Lilith never to say something so unpleasant ever again. Although Echidna¡¯s age had far surpassed that of a child, Kang-Woo did not see her as a woman in the slightest due to her outward appearance.


    ¡°Hohoho. I know, since you love my...¡±


    <i>Squelch</i>. Lilith¡¯s hair curled together to form tentacles. Yellow pus dripped from the suckers.


    ¡°Ahh, it¡¯s a little embarrassing to say it myself.¡±


    ¡°Wha...¡±


    What the fuck was she even thinking about?


    ¡°Tags: Tentacle.¡±


    ¡°What the hell does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Fufu. I said it in a roundabout way because I was embarrassed.¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    ¡°Lilith, you haven¡¯t forgotten what we promised, have you?¡±


    ¡°... Ngh.¡±


    Lilith flinched; her tentacles turned back to hair. She pouted and poked Kang-Woo¡¯s chest with her finger.


    ¡°That aside, my king. Have you not been neglecting me too muchtely? Neglect y is fine every once in a while, but... it gets a little lonely,¡± she said as ifining.


    Kang-Woo smirked. It was true that he had not been giving Lilith any attention.


    <i>¡®I guess I should also give Lilith some of my timeter.¡¯</i>


    If he did not allow her to satiate her desire every now and then, an incident simr to what had happened with Lucis might ur again.


    <i>¡®But first...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo got up and headed to the demonic dragon that was likely waiting for him excitedly.


    ***


    ¡°Wow! Wooow!¡±


    Echidna, who had arrived at Akihabara, the sanctuary of otakus, jumped around like a little kid.


    ¡°Kang-Woo! Kang-Woo! Look at that! It¡¯s Love Live!¡±


    <i>Hm! Hm!</i> She pulled on Kang-Woo¡¯s sleeve while snorting. Kang-Woo smirked while looking at her.


    <i>¡®Well, considering all the anime she watched at home...¡¯</i>


    It seemed like she had beenpletely engrossed in otaku culture.


    <i>¡®I should¡¯ve taken her here sooner.¡¯</i>


    Seeing how excited she was, he regretted noting to y with her here sooner.


    Kang-Woo asked while patting Echidna¡¯s head, ¡°Do you like it?¡±


    ¡°Hm! Hm! Yeah! It¡¯s the best!¡± Echidna nodded in excitement. ¡°Over here, Kang-Woo!¡±


    Echidna took Kang-Woo¡¯s hand and dragged him deeper into the district.


    <i>¡®It sure is amazing.¡¯</i>


    It was different from other cities and towns just from the air it gave off, to the point that he felt like this would be how another world would be like. Giant anime posters were everywhere, and loud music filled the streets.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s still like this after the Day of Cmity.¡¯</i>


    Humanity itself had been swept into a giant war with monsters after the Day of Cmity, wiping out many businesses rted to art such as anime, manga and novels. After all, there was no one crazy enough to read fantasy novels when monsters were outside their homes. However, this district was one of the few that had managed to go back to its former state after the Demon Cult had beenpletely eradicated.


    ¡°Is there somewhere you want to go?¡± Kang-Woo asked as he matched his walking pace with Echidna, who was dragging him along.


    Echidna thought as she put her finger on her lips, looking around.


    ¡°I wanna do that... and I wanna try going there too.¡±


    ¡°Haha, we can do it all. We have plenty of time today.¡±


    ¡°Hm! Hm!¡± Echidna snorted while thoroughly taking a look around.


    And then, she suddenly pointed to a store.


    ¡°There!¡±


    In front of the store was a woman wearing an extremely frilly maid outfit that looked as if no one should be wearing.


    <i>¡°What the hell is that?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was bewildered. He knew very well what maid outfits were, and what they symbolized. Why was a woman wearing an outfit symbolizing very touting in the streets?


    ¡°Master~ Come visit our cafe~¡±


    <i>¡®M-Master?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened in shock. He trembled.


    <i>¡®N-No way...¡¯</i>


    An electric current traveled down his spine and along his limbs.


    <i>¡®I-It must be a ce where you do </i>those <i>kinds of things!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo felt as if he had been struck by lightning. There was no ce other than <i>that</i> kind of ce where someone would be touting for business while calling people Master, wearing clothes symbolizing very.


    <i>¡®She wants to go in there with me?¡¯</i>


    Had Echidna gone mad? Had her stormy adolescent brain finally overloaded and lost its function?


    ¡°W-Wait. You want to... go in there?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! I¡¯ve always wanted toe here!¡±


    ¡°You have?¡±


    ¡°There are ces where I can wear the maid outfit and roley!¡±


    ¡°Roley?!¡±


    <i>No!! Over my dead body!</i>


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember raising you that way, Echidna!!¡±


    ¡°... Huh?¡± Echidna tilted her head as if she couldn¡¯t understand, but pulled Kang-Woo along with her. ¡°You¡¯re acting weird, Kang-Woo. Just give it a try.¡±


    ¡°N-No...¡±


    Kang-Woo was dragged by Echidna while trembling.


    <i>¡®What the hell?¡¯</i>


    Was he just behind the times? Had he gotten way too old? Had human culture be so open toward such things?


    <i>¡®Then why have I...¡¯</i>


    For ten millennia...


    Kang-Woo unwittingly shed tears. An unbearable sense of shame filled him. He was dragged into the maid cafe by Echidna while being lost for words.


    ¡°N-No matter how I think about it, this is insane,¡± Kang-Woo muttered while trembling before opening the doors to the maid cafe.


    No matter how open things had be, this was not okay. Roleying as ve and master with a girl who was five hundred years old but looked like a high school girl?


    <i>¡®Th-This world hase to an end! It¡¯s gone to the dogs!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head with a pale face, but Echidna showed no signs of stopping.


    <i>¡®Now that it¡¯se to this...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists. He had no choice but to wipe out this immoral and vulgar establishment himself.


    <i>¡®No matter how chaotic the world has be, how dare they...!¡¯</i>


    <i>ck</i>. He swung open the door, and what he saw was...


    ¡°Wee, Master~¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    Despite being an atrociously vulgar business, the interior was decorated in quite an adorable way. It was so open to the point that there were not even dividers. Kang-Woo was shocked once again.


    <i>¡®E-Even public y?!¡¯</i>


    Humanity was truly heading toward its end. Kang-Woo was trembling in shock.


    ¡°Kang-Woo, over here.¡±


    ¡°Wee, Master~ mydy~ My, you¡¯re so cute!!¡±


    ¡°Hm! I wanna wear a maid outfit too.¡±


    ¡°Sure, just a second!¡±


    The maid approached Kang-Woo and Echidna with a smile and took Echidna somewhere. Soon after, Echidna came back while wearing a maid outfit, puffing out her nonexistent chest proudly.


    ¡°Hm! Kang-Woo, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Oh, uhm. Well...¡±


    ¡°Oh right. I shouldn¡¯t be calling you Kang-Woo here.¡± Echidna pulled on Kang-Woo¡¯s arm and said in embarrassment, ¡°Master... Does it suit me?¡±


    What? Has the y already begun, without leaving him any time to stop it?


    Kang-Woo stood still with his facepletely frozen. He had no idea what to do.


    ¡°Master, mydy~ Your drinks are here~!¡±


    Just then, a maid appeared to put their drinks on their table.


    She then said with a smile, ¡°Now, let¡¯s all do it together~¡±


    <i>¡®What?¡±</i>


    They were all gonna do it together?!


    ¡°Th-This abomination of¡ª!¡±


    Kang-Woo drew out his demonic energy, unable to endure it any longer.


    ¡°Let¡¯s chant the magic spell~!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    What spell?


    ¡°Repeat after me~¡±


    What the fuck was this maid talking about?


    ¡°Turn delicious~ Moe moe kyun!¡±


    The fuck you say?


    ¡°Turn delicious~ Moe moe kyun!¡± Echidna happily followed after the maid and chanted the spell while making a heart with her hands.


    Kang-Woo nkly stared at Echidna.


    ¡°You do it too, Kang-Woo!¡±


    ¡°... What?¡±


    She wanted him to do it too? Kang-Woo chanted the spell while making a heart with his hands like the maid instructed, with a facepletely frozen.


    ¡°Turn delicious. Moe moe kyun,¡± he chanted as if weeping like a spirit of the dead heading to the River Styx. ¡°Ahh...¡±


    He just... wanted to die. He stared at Echidna, who was taking a video of him with her smartphone while giggling.


    <i>¡®Where...¡¯</i>


    From where had it all gone wrong?

 Chapter 323 - Atonement (1)

    <h4>Chapter 323 - Atonement (1)</h4>


    ¡°That was so much fun, Kang-Woo,¡± Echidna said as she held Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s hand while smiling.


    Time flew by when having fun; It had be dark before they had realized it, and stores were closing one after another. Their time in Akihabara hade to an end.


    Kang-Woo smirked while nodding. Although he had been a little bewildered by the maid cafe they had visited in the beginning, he had a much better time afterward.


    ¡°Let¡¯se again next time,¡± he said as he gently stroked Echidna¡¯s hair.


    ¡°Okay!¡± Echidna answered brightly.


    Seeing her radiant smile eased Kang-Woo¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Shall we go home?¡± he expressed.


    Although he had mentioned passportsst time, they had not flown here; after all, they could literally go anywhere in the world through the Hall of Protection via Gates that had been installed all over the world. Kang-Woo went to an area with no people to open a Gate leading to the Hall of Protection. Just then, Echidna hugged his arm as if dangling on it.


    ¡°... Thank you,¡± she said softly while smiling, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you... I would¡¯ve never known happiness like this, Kang-Woo.¡±


    Kang-Woo turned his head to look down at her. Her smile momentarily felt extremely beautiful to him.


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo scratched his cheek. He was not used to feeling such emotions.


    ¡°... Let¡¯s go home.¡±


    ¡°Okay!"


    Echidna held his hand even tighter. Although Kang-Woo was not used to such a feeling, it did not feel bad at all.


    ***


    The day after his trip with Echidna, Kang-Woo arrived at the Hall of Protection after getting a call from Kim Si-Hun. Si-Hun, who had juste out of the training room, looked haggard.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with your face?¡± Kang-Woo asked while frowning.


    If a superhuman like Si-Hun was in such terrible condition, it meant that it was about something serious.


    ¡°... Hyung-nim,¡± Si-Hun called with a trembling voice. He bit his lip while on the verge of tears. ¡°I called you because... I would like to ask you something.¡±


    ¡°... What is it?¡±


    ¡°Lady Gaia probably doesn¡¯t know this, but... You used to be a demon, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I used to be.¡±


    Kang-Woo actually was still a demon, although Si-Hun thought that Kang-Woo had returned to being a human after bing the apostle of the God of Heroes.


    ¡°Is it dangerous even for a former demon... to be encroached by demonic energy?¡±


    Si-Hun stared at Kang-Woo with desperation, hoping for him to answer <i>no</i>.


    <i>¡®Aha.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo finally understood why Si-Hun was so haggard.


    <i>¡®Cute little bastard.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun had been worried about him. Kang-Woo fell into thought while suppressing the corners of his mouth from curling up.


    <i>¡®How should I handle this?¡¯</i>


    He thought whether or not he should specially tell Si-Hun, who had be aplete mess, but lightly shook his head.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun is too close to La.¡¯</i>


    After Grace McCubbin had be the public leader of Guardians, Si-Hun had been staying in the Hall of Protection and assisting La in her ce. Although La no longer needed protection now that Gaia had regained her power, Si-Hun still assisted her for various things in the Hall of Protection.


    <i>¡®I feel sorry for Si-Hun, but...¡¯</i>


    He could not afford to shoulder the risk of the truth being exposed in this situation.


    ¡°... Yeah. My body has practically be that of a human,¡± Kang-Woo answered.


    ¡°Th-Then, if the encroachment of demonic energy continues, will you be a demon... like before?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Kang-Woo shook his head in sorrow.


    Si-Hun¡¯s face paled. There were only two oues for a human that had been encroached by demonic energy. If they did not be a demon...


    ¡°A-Are you saying... You¡¯ll be a demonic beast?¡±


    Si-Hun now knew the difference between demons and demonic beasts very well. Demons possessed intelligence, but demonic beasts...


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure either, but considering the symptoms... It¡¯s likely,¡± Kang-Woo replied while smiling bitterly.


    ¡°Th-That can¡¯t be!¡±


    Si-Hun quickly approached Kang-Woo and grabbed his shoulders. His head was in jumbles.


    <i>¡®Wh-Why...?¡¯</i>


    Why did Kang-Woo of all people have to endure such suffering? Si-Hun knew how difficult to endure the encroachment of demonic energy was, since he also had the seed of Satan within him once.


    <i>¡®After all that hyung had sacrificed...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had sacrificed more than anyone else to protect Earth, so why...? Si-Hun grit his teeth. The shame of being powerless, sympathy toward Kang-Woo, and his rage toward Rakiel for causing all of this intermingled and heated his mind. Among the countless emotions swirling in his heart, there was just one emotion that stood out among the others.


    ¡®Why... didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± Si-Hun asked.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°That angel knew! He even said that you two searched for Rakiel together! So... So why...?¡±


    It could have been jealousy, or a sense of inferiority; the thought of him being worth less to Kang-Woo than an arrogant angel caused him to have strange thoughts.


    <i>¡®Did he... trust that angel more than me?¡¯</i>


    If that hadn¡¯t been the case, there was no way that only Uriel would have known about Kang-Woo¡¯s condition. Si-Hun bit his lip while trembling. He knew that the emotion he was feeling was childish, but...


    ¡°Why... Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    It was difficult to suppress his overflowing emotions.


    ¡°I...! I can also...!¡±


    Si-Hun could also protect Kang-Woo; he had worked extremely hard to grow stronger to be able to protect his hyung. No matter how difficult the training was or how life-threatening the danger he was in, he had endured it all with the pure thought of wanting to repay Kang-Woo.


    ¡°... Si-Hun.¡± Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun in sorrow. He carefully grabbed Si-Hun¡¯s hands that were on his shoulders. ¡°I want you to be happy. I want you to smile without a care in the world.¡±


    ¡°Hyung...¡±


    ¡°Although we¡¯re not rted by blood, I still consider you to be my little brother.¡± Kang-Woo smiled while patting Si-Hun¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Big brothers don¡¯t rely on their little brothers.¡±


    Kang-Woo turned away from Si-Hun, who was staring at him nkly.


    ¡°You don¡¯t look too well. Training is done best in moderation. Overtraining will only hurt you.¡±


    Kang-Woo walked away while waving. <i>ck</i>. He closed the door.


    ***


    ¡°Urpp!¡±


    Kang-Woo crouched while covering his mouth at home aftering out of the Hall of Protection.


    <i>¡®Aaarrrggghhh.¡¯</i>


    He was cringing so hard that he felt like he was about to be shriveled up into oblivion.


    ¡°Bleeeeegghh,¡± Kang-Woo retched while having his hand on a wall. ¡°Haaa, haaa.¡±


    Those lines had been disgusting, even for him.


    <i>¡®It wasn¡¯t like I could tell him that I¡¯d done it to corrupt Uriel.¡¯</i>


    He had absolutely no logical exnation for his actions, having left him no choice but to rely on emotions instead.


    ¡°But well...¡±


    Kang-Woo had taken a peek at Si-Hun¡¯s expression right when the door was about to fully close; it seemed like the emotional operation had been a sess.


    <i>¡®He looked like some maiden in love.¡¯</i>


    That was how moved Si-hun had been.


    ¡°Urgh, I won¡¯t be able to look Si-Hun in the eyes for a while.¡±


    Those cringey lines would pop up in Kang-Woo¡¯s head every time he saw Si-Hun, so there was no way that he would be able to endure the cringe.


    <i>Vrrrr.</i>


    Just then, Kang-Woo¡¯s smartphone vibrated. Speaking of the Devil, it was Si-Hun.


    ¡°What the hell is it now?¡±


    Si-Hun had not had enough of the cringe lines and called him again. Kang-Woo frowned.


    ¡°Fuck...¡±


    He shut his eyes tight. He wanted nothing more than to ghost on everyone and vanish along with Han Seol-Ah, but he couldn¡¯t afford to ignore the call.


    <i>¡®Why me...?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo answered the call with a trembling hand.


    ¡°Yeah, Si-Hun?¡±


    [H-Hyung-nim!]


    ¡°...?¡±


    Si-Hun was acting in a waypletely different from his expectations. Kang-Woo would have yeeted his smartphone if Si-Hun had called him to say something cheesy like he could rely on him, but that did not seem to be the case. He seemed to be shocked by something.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    [H-He appeared... in the H-Hall of Protection.]


    ¡°He?¡± Kang-Woo frowned.


    [R-Rakiel! Rakiel hase to the Hall of Protection all by himself!]


    ¡°...!¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened.


    <i>¡®What?¡¯</i>


    Why would Rakiel be there? Kang-Woo cut the call and quickly called Lilith.


    ¡°Lilith!¡±


    <i>- My, what¡¯s wrong, my king?</i>


    ¡°Where... Where¡¯s Lucis?!¡±


    <i>- He¡¯s right next to me.</i>


    ¡°... What?¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s voice trembled.


    <i>¡®What the hell?¡¯</i>


    If it was neither Lucis or Kang-Woo...


    ¡°Could it be... The real Rakiel?¡±


    Kang-Woo clenched his hair inplete chaos.


    <i>¡®Why would he just barge in out of nowhere?¡¯</i>


    There was only one reason why the Constetion of Corruption would appear in the Hall of Protection, where Gaia¡¯s incarnation was.


    <i>¡®Holy fuck.¡¯</i>


    Leaving aside how Rakiel had managed to find the Hall of Protection, he had just barged in through the front door without giving them any time to prepare. Kang-Woo had known that the seal on Rakiel was weakening and that he would being to Earth in the near future, but he had never expected him to act so rashly.


    <i>¡®I should...¡¯</i>


    As Kang-Woo was about to head to the Hall of Protection right away, he stopped in his tracks.


    ¡°Wait.¡±


    His eyes narrowed. The gears in his head turned rapidly.


    <i>¡®Something doesn¡¯t add up.¡¯</i>


    No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn''t make much sense of Rakiel¡¯s actions. If he had known toe to the Hall of Protection, he would have also known that it was Guardians headquarters. Despite that, he had walked in all by himself with no subordinates to assist him. Worst of all, Gaia¡¯s incarnation was in that Hall of Protection.


    <i>¡®Wait a fucking minute.¡¯</i>


    Unsettling thoughts swirled around his head. He bit his lip in anxiety.


    ¡°Kang-Woo? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Seol-Ah asked while opening his room door anding in.


    Kang-Woo grabbed Seol-Ah¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Darling, I don¡¯t have time to exin, but I need you to follow me for a second.¡±


    This was not the time to take one¡¯s time to exin matters. Seol-Ah expressed confusion, but nodded in silence. The two of them headed to the Hall of Protection.


    There was Gaia, who was exuding immense energy as if she had already manifested within La, Si-Hun, who was already assuming a fighting stance with Ludwig in hand, and...


    ¡°O Goddess of the earth.¡± There was a ck-winged angel kneeling in front of Gaia. ¡°I havee to atone for my sins.¡±


    Rakiel ced his head on the floor. Kang-Woo grabbed his head in panic. The worst-case scenario he had pictured in his mind was happening before his very eyes.


    <i>¡®Fucking son of a bitch.¡¯</i>


    This was not good at all.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo grimaced from the unexpected turn of events. He red at Rakiel with sunken eyes.


    <i>¡®You want to atone for your sins?¡¯</i>


    The corners of his mouth curled up, and he licked his lips.


    <i>¡®Over my dead body.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 324 - Atonement (2)

    <h4>Chapter 324 - Atonement (2)</h4>


    ¡°Let me ask you something,¡± the hideous monster with pus flowing from his face said while staring at Rakiel.


    It was the Constetion of Agony, arade who had stood with Demon God Bauli alongside Rakiel in the battle against the gods of the Triad.


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    Rakiel shook his head. The term <irade</i> was not appropriate among Constetions of Evil. They had absolutely no sense of camaraderie for one another; they had simply fought together because they had been on the same side.


    ¡°Why have you turned toward the light all of a sudden?¡± the Constetion of Agony asked.


    Rakiel remained silent. He then asked back with empty eyes, ¡°Why did you serve the Demon God?¡±


    ¡°... What?¡±


    ¡°I wanted Seraph. I wished to... have her in my hands.¡± Rakiel¡¯s eyes gleamed sharply. ¡°The Demon God used that obsession of mine. He turned my obsession into madness, and made me ept his demonic energy.¡±


    It was a past that he could never revert. He was an angel that had fallen for the temptations of a demon.


    ¡°I stained my hands with an immeasurable amount of the blood of myrades at hismand. My sins can never be washed away.¡±


    Rakiel bit his lip.


    ¡°Only after the Demon God had died and the woman that I had desired sacrificed herself to seal the darkness was I finally able to understand.¡±


    He had been controlled by the Demon God, and he hadmitted an irreversible sin after being tricked by the Demon God¡¯s whispers and drunk on the infinite power and desires that his demonic energy gave him.


    ¡°I will atone for my sins.¡±


    Rakiel clenched his fists.


    ***


    ¡°You want... to atone?¡± Gaia asked as she looked down at Rakiel, who was bowing while lowering his head.


    Her pupils were shaking as if she was suppressing her surging emotions with all her might.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Rakiel answered shortly.


    <i>Hah. </i>Gaiaughed in absurdity. It was a very cynical response for a goddess that was considered the goddess of parental love, just like Seraph. Rakiel flinched, but closed his eyes and lowered his head.


    <i>¡®... It is only natural.¡¯</i>


    He would have reacted the same way if he was in her shoes. After all, he was none other than the Constetion of Corruption.


    ¡°Do you have any idea what you are saying right now?¡± Gaia asked in exasperation.


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡±


    ¡°In that case, you must have gone mad. You would never have dared to even talk about atoning for your sins if you were in your right mind.¡±


    Rakiel could not refute her in any way; he could only lower his head in silence. Gaia narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°Tell me the truth. Why have you so confidently appeared before me? Have you taken the humans of this star hostage?¡±


    ¡°My desire to atone is not a lie. I swear it on my Divinity.¡±


    ¡°... What?¡±


    Gaia wavered for the first time. She knew very well how great of a meaning that a vow with one¡¯s Divinity on the line held. However...


    ¡°Even so, do you truly believe you will be forgiven for your countless sins?¡±


    <i>Grit</i>. Gaia red at Rakiel while exuding immense energy. Rakiel slowly raised his head.


    ¡°I do not,¡± he said calmly.


    Rakiel knew that he would never be forgiven for the sins that he hadmitted and that the blood on his hands would never be washed away.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    He clenched his fists. Although he knew better than anyone else that he would not be forgiven...


    <i>¡®At the very least...¡¯</i>


    He wanted to apologize from the bottom of his heart; he at least wanted to be understood why he hadmitted such grave sins.


    <i>¡®And if possible...¡¯</i>


    He wanted to atone for them, although it might be toote. He wanted to clean up even a little of the mess that he had made.


    ¡°Then why have youe to see me?¡± Gaia asked, her tone still as cold as before.


    ¡°At the time, I was... being controlled by the Demon God. He dominated my mind and made it so that I would corrupt my preciousrades.¡±


    ¡°Hah, so you are saying that you have done nothing wrong?¡±


    Rakiel shook his head. ¡°No. That is not what I am trying to say. Although my mind had been taken over by the Demon God, I still remember all the sins that I hadmitted. And I know that... such sins cannot be forgiven from just saying that I had been controlled.¡±


    He continued while biting his lip, ¡°But... I thought that I should at least apologize from the bottom of my heart for every sin, for the countlessrades that had died because of me.¡±


    Rakiel was speaking in a low voice, his eyes shaking intively. Gaia kept her silence from seeing Rakiel¡¯s appearance. She knew he was telling the truth.


    <i>Fwoom!</i>


    ¡°Enough of your lies!¡± Kim Si-Hun shouted while infusing his holy sword with Qi.


    His deeply instilled rage filled the room.


    <i>¡®That human...¡¯</i>


    Rakiel momentarily expressed surprise from seeing the human that he had never met before. He could feel the zing rage in the human¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°...¡±


    Rakiel¡¯s thoughts were jumbled.


    <i>¡®I see my sins have been thisrge.¡¯</i>


    An immeasurable amount of time had passed since the war between the Demon God and the gods of the Triad. Not even the father of that man''s father would have experienced the war, so Rakiel¡¯s heart grew even heavier from witnessing the intense rage from the human.


    ¡°Wait, my child,¡± Gaia interrupted while raising her hand to stop Si-Hun.


    As Si-Hun turned his head toward Gaia to say something, he was left speechless from seeing Gaia''s eyes, which were as chilling as frost.


    ¡°You just said that you remembered all of your sins, did you not?¡± she asked.


    Rakiel nodded. ¡°I did.¡±


    Although the memories were from when he had been controlled by the Demon God, he vividly remembered what he had done.


    ¡°Confess your sins to me,¡± the goddessmanded.


    Rakiel hesitated for a short moment. It was as if a murderer had been told to recite his exact crimes. He hesitated not because he did not remember, but rather because he remembered it all too well; he regretted the fact that he had said that he remembered his sins.


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    Rakiel shook his head. Although his self-remorse was eating him away, that was all the more reason to say it himself.


    ¡°I... was not able to ovee my obsession toward Lady Seraph. I lost to the Demon God¡¯s temptations and epted his demonic energy,¡± he confessed. ¡°I corrupted myrades at hismand, and burned countless angels to death. No... Not just angels.¡±


    Tears flowed down Rakiel¡¯s cheeks. The tears of a fallen angel was just as transparent as that of a human.


    ¡°I have corrupted humans... fairies... all with my own hands. I tempted them, and trampled over them.¡±


    Rakiel¡¯s shoulders trembled. His confession sounded more like he was weeping.


    ¡°I am truly... truly sorry for all the sins I havemitted.¡±


    Rakiel felt as if his heart was being put on fire. The memories from back then,ughing as he stared at the beings that had failed to ovee their desires and killing his own kind from being controlled by the Demon God, were vividly reying in his head. The fragments of such memories were slicing up his brain.


    ¡°If I had been able to escape from the Demon God¡¯s influence... I would have never had such thoughts.¡±


    Rakiel knew very well that making an excuse like he had been controlled was cowardly, but there was no other excuse to make; he had actually been controlled. If it had not been for the Demon God, he would have never fallen from grace in the first ce.


    <i>¡®Bauli...¡¯</i>


    He recalled the Titan enveloped in the chasms of darkness. His rage zed as greatly as the self-remorse weighing down on his shoulders.


    ¡°I am sorry.¡±


    <i>Boom.</i> Rakiel mmed his head on the floor.


    ¡°I am sorry.¡±


    <i>Boom. </i>The floor of the Hall of Protection cracked.


    ¡°I am sorry.¡±


    <i>Boom.</i> ck blood flowed down from Rakiel¡¯s forehead; he seemed to be purposefully suppressing the demonic energy that naturally flowed out from him.


    ¡°I will dly ept any punishment. If you will have my head, I will cut it off myself,¡± he said while crying, ovee by regret and rage.


    He saw a hazy illusion of a past memory. In the illusion, he saw Seraph and himself, who was kneeling on one knee,ughing together.


    ¡°I am truly...¡±


    Rakiel unconsciously stretched his hand forward, but the illusion dissipated as soon as he stretched his hand out. Tears flowed from his eyes.


    ¡°... Sorry,¡± he said faintly.


    ¡°... Is that all you have to say?¡± Gaia asked.


    Rakiel slowly raised his head. ¡°Yes, that is everything.¡±


    Deathly silence fell.


    ¡°Have you truly confessed every single one of your sins?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have,¡± Rakiel answered while nodding, his heart slightly lighter than before.


    ¡°You have, you say...?¡± The goddess surged with rage. ¡°How shameless can you be?!¡±


    <i>m!</i> She stomped on the floor while her eyes zed in fury. The ground shook.


    ¡°What about you having dared to kidnap my child and torture him?¡±


    ¡°... Pardon?¡±


    Rakiel¡¯s eyes widened in confusion.


    ¡°No, not only did you kidnap my retainer, you even tried to turn him into a demonic beast by sowing your demonic energy into him!¡±


    ¡°I am not sure I follow...¡±


    ¡°Hah! I never had any expectations from the beginning, but how can one be so shameless?!¡±


    The goddess¡¯s rage burst out.


    ¡°P-Please wait, Lady Gaia.¡± Rakiel stared at Gaia as if he had no idea what she was talking about. ¡°I have never kidnapped your retainer, nor have I tried to turn him into a demonic beast.¡±


    No matter how many times he searched through his memories, he had no memory of having done such a thing. Just like Seraph, Gaia was known for treasuring the retainers that she had chosen like they were her own children. Even if Rakiel had been controlled by the Demon God, he had never done something as insane as kidnapping a retainer of a top-ranking god and torturing them.


    ¡°Hah... Hahaha!¡± Gaiaughed in exasperation. ¡°You are truly something else! You dare lie to me so tantly when the one that you had kidnapped is right before your eyes?!¡±


    ¡°... What are you t¡ª¡±


    ¡°Kurgh! Cough! Cough!¡±


    Before Rakiel even had a chance to ask what Gaia was talking about, a young man with sharp eyes, who had been standing next to Gaia, copsed. Gaia approached the man in astonishment.


    ¡°M-My child!¡±


    ¡°Cough! Cough!¡¯


    Oh Kang-Woo vomited ck blood; hideous green tentacles grew from the ends of his fingers as if he was a character in a certain parasite manga.


    ¡°Lady Gaia...¡± Kang-Woo said faintly. ¡°Please... forgive Rakiel.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What?¡± Gaia¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Although he had made me this way... C-Cough! H-He had not been in control.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°A-And...¡± Kang-Woo grabbed Gaia¡¯s hand. ¡°He is... p-powerful. Even if you have r-regained¡ª <i>Cough</i>! Your power... I-It is dangerous... Kurgh! <i>Cough</i>!¡±


    ¡°My child...¡±


    Tears flowed down Gaia¡¯s cheeks. Even while he was being encroached by demonic energy and was turning into a demonic beast, he was worried for her.


    ¡°Do not worry, my child,¡± Gaia stated as she got up. ¡°I will save you... no matter what.¡±


    <i>Rumble.</i>


    Immense energy flowed out from her, aimed straight at Rakiel.


    ¡°... Huh?¡±


    Rakiel nkly stared at Gaia and the human man in her arms.


    <i>¡®What? What was going on?¡¯</i>

 Chapter 325 - Atonement (3)

    <h4>Chapter 325 - Atonement (3)</h4>


    <i>¡®What?¡¯</i>


    What in the world was happening? Rakiel¡¯s face was dyed with confusion. He could instinctively tell that something was going wrong. No, anyone would be able to tell just from seeing the enraged goddess before their eyes.


    <i>¡®I kidnapped that human and tortured him?¡¯</i>


    No matter how thoroughly he rummaged through his memories, he did not recall anything of the sort; it could not have even happened in the first ce. He had prepared to cross over to Earth as soon as his seal had been broken, and had been frantically searching for Gaia¡¯s location as soon as he had arrived on Earth. He could swear by the gods that he had neverid a hand on any human on Earth.


    <i>¡®What is happening?¡¯</i>


    Rakiel stared at Oh Kang-Woo. The sharp-eyed man was twisting in pain while clenching his chest, the symptomsmonly seen in a human that had been forcibly injected demonic energy.


    <i>¡®Who are you?¡¯</i>


    Who in the world could that human possibly be for him to lie about having been kidnapped by Rakiel? Rakiel¡¯s head was in a mess; waves of chaos crashed into his mind.


    ¡°P-Please wait a moment! I-I have never kidnapped that hum¡ª¡±


    <i>m!</i>


    A wall was smashed while Rakiel was frantically shaking his head, and a blue-haired boy with eight wings came through it.


    <i>¡®An angel?¡¯</i>


    Rakiel had never seen him before. Eight wings would mean that he was an archangel, so he could surmise that the angel was one that had risen to the rank of archangel after he had been sealed. The blue-haired boy stared daggers at Rakiel.


    ¡°Hah, you even changed your face a little,¡± the boy said while snorting.


    Rakiel could not understand what he was talking about.


    The boy said while instilling bloodlust into his voice, ¡°What? You want to atone after all that you¡¯ve done? You¡¯ve never kidnapped a human?¡± Uriel gritted his teeth. ¡°You can¡¯t even remember what you did just a few months ago?¡±


    ¡°What are you t¡ª¡±


    ¡°And right after Lady Gaia¡¯s power was restored, no less.¡±


    Uriel red at Rakiel with disgust. Although one could not be certain that the restoration of Gaia¡¯s power and Rakiel¡¯s sudden change in attitude were rted, the timing fit just right; it looked as if Rakiel had assumed a submissive attitude as soon as the power of the head god of Earth had been restored.


    ¡°You scumbag...!¡±


    Rakiel¡¯s cunning attitude made Uriel¡¯s teeth ck. Uriel was sure that Rakiel was trying to take advantage of Gaia¡¯s benevolent nature.


    ¡°You should¡¯ve behaved yourself if you were gonna pull something like this.¡±


    <i>Spark, crackle!</i>


    Blue lightning danced around Uriel¡¯s wings.


    ¡°Did you seriously expect to be forgiven... After you corrupted Raphael and tried to turn Kang-Woo into a demonic beast?!¡±


    ¡°Raphael? Who is th¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shut up!!¡± Uriel shouted, unable to endure Rakiel¡¯s shameless attitude any longer.


    Conversation no longer held any meaning. Since Uriel had witnessed Rakiel¡¯s evil deeds with his own eyes, he could not be given any chance for atonement.


    <i>¡®Raphael.¡¯</i>


    Uriel recalled his old friend, looking down at the hands that had killed him. The specter of Raphael asionally haunted him, asking why he had killed him, and if he thought nothing of their friendship. Uriel recalled the bloodied Raphael. His rage zed as strongly as the self-remorse weighing down on his shoulders.


    <i>¡®I will avenge you.¡¯</i>


    <i>Crackle¡ª!</i>


    Uriel raised his hand, blue lightning gathering around it. He imbued power into his words and materialized magic.


    ¡°P O U R !¡±


    A blue lightning cloud formed on the ceiling of the Hall of Protection. Lightning struck along with a blinding sh. At the same time, Kim Si-Hun charged forward.


    ¡°Heavenly Dragon sh!¡±


    Light poured from his sword along with his shout. His eyes boiled with rage.


    Si-Hun eximed in fury, ¡°I will not let you of all people off with a painless death!¡±


    His gentle face crumpled like that of a Yaksha. A goddess, archangel and hero poured the fallen angel with attacks to eradicate him.


    <i>¡®Wha...¡¯</i>


    Rakiel stared at the attacks with his mouth agape.


    ¡°What in the...¡±


    Things about corrupting Raphael, kidnapping and torturing Gaia¡¯s retainer...


    ¡°Why must I endure such...¡±


    Rakiel was frustrated. He would have understood if they were enraged by the sins he hadmitted; even if he had been controlled by the Demon God, it did not change the fact that he hadmitted sins that he could never be forgiven for. He would have epted their rage and let them take his life with the sce, albeit shallow, that he had apologized from the bottom of his heart.


    <i>¡®But this is...¡¯</i>


    He was being made to atone for sins that he had nevermitted. He could endure anything else, but not this.


    <i>¡®I have to resolve the misunderstanding.¡¯</i>


    Rakiel no longer had any attachments to life after he had been unsealed; he had no intentions to live on shamelessly aftermitting such heinous sins. However, he could not stand for this. He refused to die while being framed for something he did not do.


    ¡°Kuh!¡±


    Rakiel raised his two hands. ck lightning shot up to block the blue lightning struck down from the sky. He formed a long spear made from ck lightning and swung it up diagonally, shing with Si-Hun¡¯s sword.


    <i>Boom!</i> An explosive sound echoed.


    ¡°... Kurgh.¡± Si-Hun was blown ck while grimacing, his hands numb from the impact.


    ¡°Hah! You¡¯ve finally shown your true colors!¡± Uriel shouted as if he had known this would happen.


    Rakiel answered in frustration, ¡°Listen to me! I have not done anyth¡ª¡±


    ¡°I told you to shut up!¡±


    Blue lightning struck down again, which Rakiel reflexively deflected.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    This would not go anywhere at this rate.


    <i>¡®I have no choice.¡¯</i>


    If he did not subdue them, he would not even be able to hold a proper conversation with them.


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± Rakiel took a deep breath.


    ck lightning crackled between his ten wings, and his immense demonic energy stirred. The energy that had once been sacred power but changed after his obsession became madness surged. Divinity, the power that only those that had reached godhood could use, flowed from him.


    ¡°... I am sorry,¡± Rakiel said to Si-Hun, who was charging at him, while clenching his spear.


    He had no other choice if he wanted to resolve the misunderstanding. He twisted his body around and swung down his spear; the spear edge infused with Divinity shed with Si-Hun¡¯s sword, and...


    ¡°Wh-What?¡±


    Si-Hun jumped back in surprise. The condensed sword energy that had been wrapped around the holy sword was annihted. He aggressively frowned.


    ¡°That¡¯s...¡±


    It was the power of Divinity.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    His Qi scattered as soon as the Divinity touched it; it could not be any more overpowered. Si-Hun was bewildered after witnessing the power of Divinity for the very first time.


    ¡°But...¡±


    It was only for a moment. Si-Hun¡¯s eyes gleamed sharply.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s a way around it.¡¯</i>


    He would be fine as long as he avoided the spear edge infused with the mysterious power. Si-Hun lowered his stance.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t stand a chance head on.¡¯</i>


    If his Qi was scattered just from being touched, he had no way of facing Rakiel head on.


    <i>¡®Formless Sword.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun focused his mind and created invisible swords in the air, and increased his distance from Rakiel while moving the swords with Sword Control. Although there was no chance that such a strategy would work one-on-one...


    ¡°I G N I T E !¡±


    <i>Crackle¡ª!</i>


    Blue lightning struck Rakiel.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡± Rakiel grimaced.


    <i>¡®It will not be easy to subdue them.¡¯</i>


    He gripped his spear tighter. Although they were not a threat to him, he could not go easy on them either.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Rakiel was sure that he would have no problem subduing the two of them.


    ¡°You fool.¡±


    The goddess stepped up as if to trample on his certainty.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    Gaia, who hade around to Rakiel¡¯s back while he had been focused on Si-Hun and Uriel, extended her hand toward him. An immense but intangible power weighed him down.


    ¡°Did you seriously believe you had a chance against me when you only possess Lower Intermediate-rank Divinity?¡± Gaia said.


    ¡°...¡±


    Rakiel bit his lip in anxiety. Gaia was right. She was a goddess of the top rank; a being in charge of a star. Although she was nowhere near her true power at the moment, that did not change the rank of her Divinity. She was in a whole other league from a mere fallen angel.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Rakiel kept his mouth shut and clenched his fists. He had a way to turn the situation around.


    <i>¡®The power of the Demon God.¡¯</i>


    It was the power that Bauli had sown into him, as well as the power that had dominated his body. If he used the power of the Demon God, who possessed Divinity of transcendent rank surpassing the top rank, he would be able to break through this crisis, albeit only momentarily.


    ¡°... Shit.¡±


    However, Rakiel would have to give up on resolving the misunderstanding with Gaia if he did that. He shut his eyes tight.


    <i>Wham! Bash!</i>


    ¡°Kuh! Kurgh!¡±


    He was barraged with attacks from Gaia, Si-Hun and Uriel even while he was hesitating.


    ¡°Cough! Urgh...¡±


    He no longer had any more time to hesitate. He was on a forked road.


    <i>¡®N-No...¡¯</i>


    Rakiel could not afford to die while falsely used of a crime he did notmit.


    <i>¡®Shit, shit, shit!¡¯</i>


    Rakiel stepped back in anxiety.


    ¡®Ah.¡¯


    Just then, a human that was looking his way came into view. It was the human that had imed to have been kidnapped and tortured by him, as well as apparently turning into a demonic beast after having been injected with demonic energy.


    ¡°You...¡± Rakiel frowned.


    He had not been able to think properly at the time due to the sudden flow of events, but the man known as Oh Kang-Woo was highly suspicious.


    <i>¡®In that case...¡¯</i>


    Rakiel came to a decision. He ced his right hand on top of his heart.


    <i>Ba-dump.</i>


    His heart beat strongly. The demonic energy that the Demon God had sown within him spread across his body aggressively.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    Pitch-ck demonic energy swept the surroundings.


    ***


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    The eyes of Kang-Woo, who had copsed on the ground, twisting while grabbing his right arm as if suppressing the Dragon of the Darkness me, sparkled. A chilling sensation traveled down his spine. The space around them was distorting as soon as pitch-ck demonic energy had burst forth from Rakiel.


    <i>¡®The hell is this?¡¯</i>


    A powerful force pulled him in as space was being torn.


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo!¡±


    Han Seol-Ah quickly embraced him. The torn space was approaching them as if to swallow them whole with its giant entrance.


    <i>¡®Hmm.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. Rakiel was looking his way, and space had been torn apart as soon as he had unleashed his power.


    <i>¡®I see how it is.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled, having easily figured out Rakiel¡¯s intentions.


    <i>¡®He wants to take me.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo also wanted nothing more. He smiled and grabbed Seol-Ah¡¯s arm as she was embracing him.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, so don¡¯t worry and follow me, darling.¡±


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo...?¡±


    Kang-Woo jumped into the torn space while staring into Seol-Ah¡¯s wide eyes.


    ***


    The space waspletely ck and endless in a single direction, as if it was a giant tunnel. Kang-Woo was rather familiar with such a space.


    Riiing.


    [You have entered a ¡®Dimensional Crack¡¯ connected to the continent of Aernor.]


    It was the same ce where Lucis had held Lilith hostage.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Rakiel, who had dragged Kang-Woo into the dimensional crack, panted heavily.


    He red at Kang-Woo; the human that had been twisting on the floor while clenching his right arm earlier, was leisurely smiling.


    ¡°Who... are you?¡±


    Rakiel was able to figure out from the human¡¯splete change in attitude that all this had been orchestrated by him.


    ¡°Who are you, and why have you framed me for crimes I have nevermitted?!¡± Rakiel screamed like a madman.


    ¡°Me?¡± Kang-Woo pointed at himself while snickering.


    He had been asked who he was countless times to the point he was sick of it. He used to hesitate to answer, but he no longer had the need to.


    ¡°I am...¡±


    The demon of demons, the Hell of Hells, the predator of predators... or not.


    ¡°... The Protector of Light.¡±


    Immense demonic energy exuded from Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Oh, fuck. Hold on.¡±


    He made a mistake: he did a re-do.


    ¡°... The Protector of Light.¡±


    Brilliant golden energy exuded from Kang-Woo and illuminated the dark space.


    ¡°...¡±


    Rakiel¡¯s mouth fell open. Deathly silence fell.


    ¡°What?¡± Kang-Woo asked shamelessly.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°What? Got a problem?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Fucking bitch.

 Chapter 326 - Atonement (4)

    <h4>Chapter 326 - Atonement (4)</h4>


    ¡°Y-You...!¡±


    Rakiel trembled. The human was tantly making fun of him. There was no way that a self-proimed Protector of Light would exude demonic energy by mistake.


    ¡°Who the hell... are you?¡±


    Rakiel stared daggers at Oh Kang-Woo. He had felt a familiar feeling as well as chilling fear when Kang-Woo exuded demonic energy. That was how enormous the demonic energy that he had released had been, but...


    <i>¡®It¡¯s gone.¡¯</i>


    The demonic energy had vanished without a trace when Kang-Woo had exuded golden energy. No, it had beenpletely reced with sacred power, an energy of theplete opposite nature to demonic energy.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s impossible.¡¯</i>


    Rakiel ced his hand on his forehead. The being that had released enough demonic energy to give him chills had also instantly released sacred power of the same amount. Since it was impossible for the body to contain both sacred power and demonic energy, there was only one possibility.


    ¡°... I see. That ability must be how you managed to fool Lady Gaia.¡±


    Rakiel¡¯s eyes set aze. An ability to mask demonic energy as sacred power... If even Gaia had been unable to see through such an ability, it was not weird for her to have been deceived. However, that did not answer all of Rakiel¡¯s questions.


    ¡°Why... was it me?¡± Rakiel asked while biting his lip.


    Why had the human framed the crimes on him of all people?


    <i>¡®Is it rted... to my sins of the past?¡¯</i>


    Rakiel clenched his fists. The weight of his heinous crimes was crushing his shoulders. That was the most likely reason, since the human had likely not done such a thing for no reason. It was likely because the human held some sort of personal grudge against him. Rakiel stared at Kang-Woo while steeling his resolve.


    ¡°Oh, the thing is...¡± Kang-Woo grabbed his forehead as if his head hurt and sighed. ¡°It just happened to ovep.¡±


    ¡°... What?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I never intended to do this from the beginning, you know?¡± Kang-Woo was not that much of a scumbag. ¡°But...¡±


    Kang-Woo exined the entire circumstance to Rakiel; how he had needed a name for his fallen angel persona, and the name that his subordinate had rmended him happened to be Rakiel.


    ¡°Man, small world, huh? Who would¡¯ve thought that name was already taken?¡± Kang-Woo expressed frustration. ¡°So, if you want to me someone, me it on Balrog, not me. It¡¯s all his fault, okay?¡±


    ¡°Y-You...¡±


    Rakiel¡¯s face crumpled aggressively. He momentarily grabbed the back of his head from the overflowing rage, but focused his gaze back onto Kang-Woo.


    ¡°You bastaaaaaaaard!!¡±


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    The dimensional crack shook. ck lightning sparked between Rakiel¡¯s wings as he drew out all of his demonic energy.


    ¡°Come on, bro. A man can make mistakes. You¡¯re so heartless,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    One needed to just take it as a life lesson and move on. <i>Tsk, tsk.</i> Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and shook his head. Seeing that only amplified Rakiel¡¯s rage, and he screamed like a madman. ck lightning struck all around them.


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Support me from behind, darling.¡±


    Kang-Woo stepped in front of Han Seol-Ah, who was staring at Kang-Woo in worry. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Rakiel, who was enveloped in ck lightning.


    <i>¡®I guess he¡¯s not one of the Demon God¡¯s chief officers for nothing.¡¯</i>


    Rakiel was strong; no, to be more exact, he had gotten stronger. Kang-Woo had thought that he would be more than a match for Rakiel from back when he saw him facing Kim Si-Hun and Uriel. However, after he had ced his hand on his chest like when Kang-Woo opened the Doors of the Ten Thousand Demon Core, he had gotten far stronger than before.


    <i>¡®A head-on battle is out of the question.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo would be no match for Rakiel, who had unleashed the Demon God¡¯s powers, without opening the Doors. From what he could feel, Rakiel was on the same level as Behemoth.


    <i>¡®But I can¡¯t afford to open the Doors.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes gleamed sharply. Rationally speaking, opening the Doors was the right call. The only technique that would be effective against a being that had reached godhood was the Chaos techniques. Both choices required him to shoulder a massive risk.


    <i>¡®But of course...¡¯</i>


    That only applied when he was fighting one-on-one.


    <i>¡®I didn¡¯t bring darling along for no reason.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo nced back. Seol-Ah was concentrating while sping her hands together. Seol-Ah¡¯s buffs and healing-rted divine magic had be beyond impressive after awakening the soul of Seraph. Kang-Woo had already confirmed their effects through Si-Hun. Although he would be no match for Rakiel one-on-one, it was a different story if he was being supported by Seol-Ah. Furthermore...


    ¡°Kurgh, cough! Cough!¡±


    <i>¡®He doesn¡¯t seem to have long.¡¯</i>


    Rakiel looked to be in terrible condition.


    <i>¡®In that case...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned around, and... ran away without hesitation.


    ¡°Kuh!! You son of a biiiiiitch!!¡±


    ¡°Huehuehuehuehuehue!! Catch me if you can!¡± Kang-Wooughed vulgarly on purpose to taunt Rakiel.


    The more enraged Rakiel got, the better; there was nothing easier than facing a beast without reason.


    <i>Crackle! Spark! Crackle¡ª!</i>


    <i>¡®Holy fuck.¡¯</i>


    Bolts of ck lightning shot toward the running Kang-Woo. Chills ran down the back of his head from the blinding speed of Rakiel¡¯s attacks.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s way too fast.¡¯</i>


    Although Kang-Woo was running at supersonic speed, Rakiel was urately shooting lightning bolts at him. Kang-Woo just barely managed to dodge the bolts by tumbling on the ground.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    The ck lightning infused with Divinity struck the ground, making a hole that was hundreds of meters deep.


    ¡°Damn rat!¡± Rakiel eximed while gripping his spear.


    He twirled the spear like a windmill and thrusted it in the direction of the running Kang-Woo.


    ¡°ck Lightning - Thunderbolt.¡±


    <i>Split¡ª!</i>


    The ck lightning shot from the end of the spear toward Kang-Woo while tearing up the space in its path. Kang-Woo flinched.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    The attack was far too fast for him to avoid. He raised his hands in a hurry.


    <i>¡®Authority of Invulnerability.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo gathered demonic energy into the form of a shield that was more the size of a wall.


    ¡°Aegis.¡±


    He grabbed Aegis with two hands, lowered his stance, and poured the demonic energy of the Ten Thousand Demon Core into Aegis. However, it was nowhere near enough to block an attack infused with Divinity head on.


    ¡°Blessing of the Celestial Goddess!¡±


    Just then, Kang-Woo heard Seol-Ah¡¯s sonorous voice. The giant shield made of demonic energy was enveloped by brilliant light, and the ck lightning struck the shield momentster.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    ¡°Gurghh...!¡±


    The enormous impact shook Kang-Woo. Unable to handle the immense pressure, he was pushed back despite his legs digging into the ground. <i>Sizzle! </i>The ungodly heat of the ck lightning burned his hands as he was holding Aegis. His flesh melted in an instant, and he could see his bones.


    <i>¡®Fuck, I can¡¯t even use the Authority of Regeneration right now.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo grimaced. He did not have the leeway to treat his wounds. Attacks imbued with Divinity annihted all forms of energy. The only way for Kang-Woo, who was still not able to use Divinity, to block an attack imbued with Divinity was to pour even more demonic energy than what the Divinity was annihting.


    ¡°What in the...¡± Rakiel expressed shock.


    He could not believe that Kang-Woo was blocking an attack imbued with Divinity by pouring stupid amounts of demonic energy. It was theoretically impossible to block an attack imbued with Divinity without Divinity of one¡¯s own. It was as insane as deflecting a giant water cannon with the swing of a single de.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    Although Kang-Woo was blocking Rakiel''s attack in an unreal way, it was only a matter of time until Kang-Woo reached his limit. Rakiel drew out even more power while staring at Kang-Woo¡¯s melting flesh.


    ¡°Healing Ray!¡±


    As soon as Seol-Ah cast another skill, Kang-Woo¡¯s melting hands began to revert to normal as if time was being rewound. Kang-Woo smiled brightly.


    <i>¡®Darliiiiiiing!¡¯</i>


    He knew that it had been the right call to take Seol-Ah with him.


    ¡°... Huh?¡± Rakiel expressed confusion. He stared at Seol-Ah in disbelief. ¡°Why... How?¡±


    He trembled.


    ¡°Lady Seraph... No, it can¡¯t be.¡±


    Rakiel had gone pale. Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone.


    <i>¡®Oh,e to think of it...¡¯</i>


    Rakiel had mentioned that he had fallen for the Demon God¡¯s temptations to make Seraph his. Kang-Woo smiled wickedly.


    <i>¡®What an interesting turn of events.¡¯</i>


    It was an unexpected profit.


    Kang-Woo asked slyly, ¡°What? Is there a problem?¡±


    ¡°Wh-Why... Why is Lady Seraph here?!¡±


    ¡°Hm? We¡¯re together obviously because we¡¯re lovers.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Rakiel¡¯s eyes widened. He stared at Seol-Ah nkly, even ceasing his attack at Kang-Woo. ¡°Lovers... you say?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    Kang-Woo walked up to Seol-Ah and embraced her with one arm as if showing off. Seol-Ah was slightly bewildered, but epted his embrace with reddened cheeks.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    Rakiel trembled. The world reflected in his eyes was falling apart. He lost strength in his legs and fell to his knees.


    ¡°L-Lady Seraph... was a-alive?¡±


    ¡°Revived, to be more exact, by borrowing the body of a human.¡±


    Rakiel gritted his teeth, and chilling bloodlust filled his eyes.


    ¡°She is not someone... you may darey your hands upon.¡±


    That noble and beautiful angel...


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare...y your filthy hands on her!!¡± Rakiel bellowed while crying.


    The woman that he had wanted to the point that he was willing to let his wings darken and sacrifice countlessrades... The target of his obsession, who was more high, noble and beautiful than anyone else... He felt like he was going insane from the fact that she had fallen into the hands of an irrelevant and vulgar demon.


    ¡°... What did you say?¡±


    The one to reply to Rakiel had not been Kang-Woo. Seol-Ah¡¯s expression turned cold, ring at Rakiel while frowning aggressively.


    ¡°Ah...¡± Rakiel froze from seeing her bloodthirsty re.


    ¡°Why do you believe that Kang-Woo can¡¯ty a hand on me?¡± Seol-Ah brought Kang-Woo¡¯s hand to her chest as if telling Rakiel not to talk nonsense, and then raised her left hand for Rakiel to see. ¡°We are already engaged to each other. We''ve promised to never be apart from one another.¡±


    Seol-Ah then slightly turned and hugged Kang-Woo. ¡°So, don¡¯t you dare say such nonsense again.¡±


    She got on tiptoes and kissed Kang-Woo as if to show Rakiel. Rakiel turned pale.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    His heart felt as if it was burning to ashes. His vision was getting blurry, and his head was getting hot. The events ying out before his eyes felt so unrealistic that he felt like he was dreaming.


    ¡°No.¡±


    This couldn¡¯t be happening.


    ¡°No...¡±


    His world was shattering into pieces. The essence of his being that he had kept precious was being destroyed by something.


    ¡°N¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, my ass,¡± Kang-Woo said while snickering. ¡°Just acknowledge it already. Everything you¡¯ve done until now has all been for naught.¡±


    Rakiel froze.


    Kang-Woo continued his mockery, ¡°What was it you said? That I can¡¯ty my filthy hands on her? I would think that you had lived an incorruptibly pure life if I hadn¡¯t known any better.¡±


    ¡°Y-You...¡±


    ¡°You want to atone for your sins? You were being controlled by the Demon God? Enough of your bullshit.¡± Kang-Woo chuckled from the absurdity. ¡°Why did you fall for his temptations in the first ce? Wasn¡¯t it because you wanted to fuck Seraph? Huh? But after all this time, you say that you were being controlled? That it wasn¡¯t your will at all?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Enough with the pity show, dickhead. You seem to be trying to sugarcoat it as best you can, but you¡¯re just trying to kill yourself after lightening the load of your self-remorse since every single one of your advances on Seraph failed, aren¡¯t you? Aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and shook his head in disappointment. ¡°There¡¯s a limit to how unsightly you can be.¡±


    Rakiel trembled. Kang-Woo¡¯s razor-like words were slicing away at him. And then, something inside him... snapped.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh! Raaaaaaaaaaahh!!¡± Rakiel¡¯s sense of reason blew away, and madness took its ce. ¡°Y-You fucking bastaaaaaaaaard!!!¡±


    His fury surpassed its critical point. Rakiel charged at Kang-Woo while exuding bloodlust¡ª no, he tried to charge at him.


    <i>Crack!</i>


    ¡°My child!¡±


    ¡°Hyung-nim!¡±


    ¡°Kang-Woo!¡±


    The dimensional crack opened, and Gaia, Si-Hun and Uriel appeared. Rakiel paid them no mind; he was only looking at Kang-Woo.


    ¡°... Huh?¡± Rakiel expressed confusion once again.


    ¡°Cough! Kurgh!¡±


    The demon that had been mocking him to no end was on the floor while twisting around.


    ¡°N-No...¡± Kang-Woo muttered while shedding tears, and got on his knees toward Rakiel. ¡°P-Please, not Seol-Ah... Please...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Kurgh! Y-You can kill me! But... Please, not Seol-Ah...!¡±


    Rakiel, as if the fury that had been filling his mind had blown away, looked down at the begging Kang-Woo nkly.


    ¡°My child!¡± Gaia rushed toward Kang-Woo and hugged him while giving Rakiel a deathly re. ¡°You bastaaaaard!!¡±


    Rakiel remained silent while listening to the goddess¡¯s rage-filled shout. ¡°H-Haha.¡±


    <i>tter.</i> The spear in his hand dropped to the ground. Heughed crazily, like a person who had blown off all of his life savings on gambling. Transparent tears flowed down his cheeks.


    ¡°Hurgh, <i>sniff</i>, urghh.¡±


    The fallen angel¡¯s sobs echoed throughout the tunnel.

 Chapter 327 - Atonement (5)

    <h4>Chapter 327 - Atonement (5)</h4>


    ¡°Do not dream of a painless death, Constetion of Corruption,¡± Gaia said as she red at Rakiel in fury. White energy burst out from her, causing her light brown hair to surge into the air. ¡°I will have you pay the price... forying a hand on my child.¡±


    Gaia unleashed her Divine Essence. The power of the goddess of the earth descended onto the mundane realm through her incarnation. Gaia had not wanted to unleash her Divine Essence because it would ce a burden on La¡¯s body, but now was not the time when she was up against Rakiel.


    ¡°H-Haha.¡±


    All Rakiel could do as he stared at the goddess who had unleashed her power wasugh nkly. He cried from his eyes that had lost their light.


    ¡°It¡¯s... over,¡± he mumbled.


    Rakiel had lost everything; the woman that he had desired, the atonement that he had wished for, and even hisst remaining honor had all been defiled by the words of a demon.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    Rakiel lowered his head and groaned while grabbing his head. The demonic energy within him rampaged. He did not suppress it; no, he no longer had enough reason to suppress it.


    <i>Crack! Crunch!</i>


    Rakiel was bing closer to a demonic beast from being unable to control his demonic energy. His ten ck wings contorted, turning into arms. His skin distorted, and his blood vessels and muscles bulged out.


    ¡°Grrrrrrrr!!¡± Rakiel growled like a beast.


    He had fallen from an angel to a demon, and now he had even fallen as far down as a demonic beast. Gaia frowned from seeing Rakiel, who had fallen as far as he possibly could.


    ¡°... How unsightly you have be.¡±


    Rakiel was Corruption, one of the four Constetions of Evil, as well as the being who had massacred countless angels and humans in the war between the gods and the Demon God. The final form of the Constetion of Corruption that had spread enough despair to be recorded in myths could not be any more unsightly.


    ¡°Tch, he¡¯spletely be a monster.¡± Uriel grimaced.


    Kim Si-Hun said coldly while gripping the holy sword, ¡°Whether he be a fallen angel or a demonic beast, our duty does not change.¡±


    <i>¡®Hyung-nim...¡¯</i>


    He turned his head to look back at Kang-Woo, who was wincing in pain while in Han Seol-Ah¡¯s arms. The demonic energy¡¯s influence seemed to be growing stronger within him.


    <i>¡®To save hyung-nim...¡¯</i>


    They needed to kill Rakiel and eliminate the demonic energy that he had sown into Kang-Woo.


    ¡°... Hyung.¡± Si-Hun clenched the holy sword so hard that it could break, and steeled his resolve. ¡°I will save you.¡±


    Si-Hun charged forward.


    ¡°... What are you acting all cool by yourself for?¡± Uriel chased behind Si-Hun while pouting in dissatisfaction, sparks of blue lightning making the ends of his blue hair stand up.


    ¡°Kuh... It¡¯s dangerous...¡± Kang-Woo muttered as he reached out in desperation.


    Gaia approached him and grabbed his hand.


    ¡°My child.¡± She smiled warmly like a mother to her child. ¡°Worry not.¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    ¡°You have protected me all this time.¡± She stood up as she smiled, then continued, ¡°This time... I will protect you.¡±


    Her energy was as overwhelming as an insuperable mountain. Gaia followed behind Si-Hun and Uriel toward the fallen demonic beast.


    ***


    ¡°Kieek, grrk, grrrrk.¡±


    Rakiel, who had turned into a demonic beast, copsed. He was pitifully shaking on the ground while covered in gruesome wounds.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa. What a fucking persistent son of a bitch.¡±


    ¡°Fuuu. We finally defeated him.¡±


    Of course, neither Uriel nor Si-Hun felt any sense of sympathy for him. It was only obvious since Rakiel had not only corrupted Raphael, Uriel¡¯s friend, but had also kidnapped and tortured Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Hyung-nim...¡± Si-Hun quickly turned toward Kang-Woo after defeating Rakiel. ¡°Ah...¡±


    Kang-Woo, who had been in pain from the encroachment of demonic energy, was looking down at himself wide-eyed.


    ¡°H-Hyung-nim! Are you okay?!¡±


    ¡°... Yeah.¡± Kang-Woo nodded while smiling faintly. ¡°Thanks, Si-Hun. The demonic energy haspletely disappeared.¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡± Si-Hun trembled in delight, and hugged Kang-Woo as he sobbed. ¡°Hyung...! I¡¯m d. I¡¯m... so d.¡±


    Kang-Woo smirked and patted Si-Hun¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°My... child.¡±


    ¡°... Lady Gaia.¡±


    ¡°How are... you... feeling?¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s expression hardened. Gaia seemed to be in serious condition.


    ¡°A-Are you alright?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Kuh... Do not worry about me. I am simply paying... the price for using too much Divinity,¡± Gaia said while grimacing.


    It was a limiter applied to all gods; the more they interfered with the mundane world, the faster their Divinity would be consumed.


    ¡°But still... I am relieved.¡± Gaia, who had been wincing in agony, smiled while looking at Kang-Woo and caressed his cheek.


    ¡°Lady Gaia...¡±


    ¡°Fufu. As long as you are safe... I cannot ask for nothing more.¡± Gaia¡¯s breaths became even morebored. ¡°Haaa, haaa. It seems I will be unable to manifest through La for a while.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°While I recover my Divinity in the divine realm... Can I leave Earth in your hands?¡± she asked faintly as if she would disappear any second.


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± Kang-Woo nodded without hesitation and grabbed Gaia¡¯s hands. ¡°This time, I will protect you.¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡± Gaia¡¯s face brightened. She slowly closed her eyes while giggling. ¡°My child. I am truly d... to have met you.¡±


    With that, Gaia lost consciousness. Kang-Wo lifted up Gaia¡ª no, La. She was burning up while sweating profusely as if she had caught the flu, likely the side effects of Deific Manifestation.


    ¡°Si-Hun,¡± Kang-Woo said as he handed La to Si-Hun. ¡°I¡¯m sure La will be having a hard time with the side effects of the manifestation Look after her.¡±


    ¡°Okay, hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the rest. You can go on ahead.¡±


    ¡°But...¡±


    Si-Hun hesitated for a moment, but nodded soon after.


    Kang-Woo looked toward Uriel as well, calmly saying, ¡°You can leave as well, Lord Uriel.¡±


    ¡°No. You¡¯ve only just recovered, so I¡¯ll also¡ª Urgh.¡± Uriel winced.


    He was hurt all over from the desperate battle against Rakiel.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine now. There is no need for you to worry,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    ¡°... Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he answered with a smile.


    Uriel, who was staring at Kang-Woo in dissatisfaction, nodded and left through the Rift that he, Gaia and Si-Hun had created.


    ¡°Kang-Woo,¡± Seol-Ah called as she approached him.


    She lowered her head in mixed feelings while looking down at Rakiel, who had turned into a demonic beast.


    Kang-Woo carefully asked, ¡°... Were you disappointed?¡±


    This had been the first time that he had shown this side of himself to Seol-Ah. She thankfully said nothing when Gaia and Si-Hun had been here, but she had likely been shocked.


    ¡°... No,¡± Seol-Ah replied as she shook her head. She continued while grabbing his hands, ¡°I decided to be with you despite knowing this is your true self. Was I... of help to you this time?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I would have had a much harder time if it hadn¡¯t been for you, darling.¡±


    They were not empty words; Kang-Woo would not have been able to face Rakiel one-on-one if it hadn¡¯t been for Seol-Ah¡¯s buffs and healing magic.


    ¡°Fufu. That¡¯s more than enough for me.¡± Seol-Ah embraced Kang-Woo while smiling brightly.


    Kang-Woo said while patting her head gently, ¡°I still have some stuff to do, so you can go home first. I won¡¯t be long.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± Seol-Ah nodded, expressing slight disappointment.


    After she turned around and left through the Rift, only Kang-Woo and Rakiel remained in the silent darkness.


    ¡°Grrr, grrrr.¡±


    Rakiel looked up at Kang-Woo with eyes filled with spite. Kang-Woo slowly walked toward him and trampled on his head without hesitation.


    <i>Smash!</i>


    ¡°Gaaaaaahh!!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to turn into a demonic beast.¡±


    However, the situation had been resolved much more easily thanks to that.


    ¡°O-Ohhh... Kang... Woo.¡±


    ¡°Hm? You still retained your intelligence despite having be a demonic beast?¡± Kang-Woo looked down at Rakiel with great interest.


    ¡°I-I will... curse... you.¡±


    ¡°Countless sons of bitches already have.¡± Kang-Woo crouched down while snickering. He locked eyes with Rakiel and continued, ¡°Though they¡¯re all dead now.¡±


    Rakiel red at Kang-Woo in silence.


    ¡°Do you... feel... no shame?¡± Rakiel asked


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°Deceiving a goddess and your ownrades... living on through wretched lies... Do you truly... feel... no shame?¡±


    ¡°There you go again with your bullshit.¡±


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. It was an interesting question.


    <i>¡®He has a point.¡¯</i>


    Considering all that he had done to deceive Gaia, it was not strange at all for Rakiel to think this way. He had pretended to be encroached by demonic energy and rolled on the ground quite pathetically. However...


    ¡°Who cares?¡±


    ¡°... What?¡±


    ¡°Who cares if it¡¯s pathetic and shameful?¡±


    Kang-Woo didn¡¯t care even if he was unsightly and dishonorable.


    ¡°If I can get what I want just by doing that...¡±


    He would be pathetic and shameful as many times as he needed to. Kang-Woo had even once be Bael¡¯s subordinate to lower thetter''s guard. He had gotten on his knees and oinked like a pig to prove his loyalty. He had licked Bael¡¯s feet, and smashed his own head on the ground. He had survived and endured that way, and in the end... He had won.


    ¡°Does the concept of honor... not exist... for you?!¡± Rakiel eximed.


    Kang-Woo snickered. ¡°Fuck, man. I never thought I¡¯d hear that from a dude who fell from grace because he was too horny.¡±


    ¡°Nothing of... the sort! My love was... pure...!¡±


    ¡°Pure, huh? Is that why you fell for the Demon God¡¯s temptations?¡± Kang-Woo retorted while clicking his tongue. ¡°Don¡¯t try to force a tear jerking scene. This isn¡¯t some Korean film.¡±


    Kang-Woo grabbed Rakiel¡¯s head and brought it closer to his.


    ¡°You were nothing but a horndog.¡±


    ¡°G-Ghhh!!¡±


    Rakiel¡¯s eyes set aze. He could not refute Kang-Woo; there was no way that he could, since it was a fact that he had fallen for the Demon God¡¯s temptations.


    Rakielshed out in a fit of rage, ¡°Kuh! How long... do you think your lies... willst?!¡±


    All that he could do was criticize Kang-Woo. However, Kang-Woo only tilted his head in confusion.


    ¡°Satan said the same thing. Why do you think they¡¯re lies?¡±


    ¡°Wh...at?¡±


    ¡°You did it all, didn¡¯t you? You corrupted Raphael, kidnapped the Protector of Light and sowed demonic energy into him. It was you who did all that, so where are the lies that you¡¯re talking about?¡±


    Rakiel¡¯s face paled. ¡°You... crazy... bastard.¡±


    ¡°Think about it.¡± The corners of Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth curled up. ¡°Only you and I know the whole truth.¡±


    <i>Gurgle</i>.


    ck mucus flowed down Kang-Woo¡¯s hand and covered Rakiel.


    ¡°But if you die...¡±


    Countless mouths with sharp teeth formed within the ck mucus.


    ¡°... And I forget...¡±


    <i>Crunch</i>.


    Chilling sounds of crunching bones echoed. The mouths within the ck mucus devoured Rakiel like a pack of piranhas. Kang-Woo smiled crazily.


    ¡°... No one will know, will they?¡±


    The cackles of a demon filled the tunnel.

 Chapter 328 - Ninth Awakening (1)

    <h4>Chapter 328 - Ninth Awakening (1)</h4>


    <i>Crunch, crunch.</i>


    ck blood poured as bones were chewed and flesh was torn. The Authority of Predation devoured Rakiel without leaving a single mound of flesh.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [You have sessfully devoured the Constetion of Corruption!]


    [Devouring the Constetion of Corruption¡¯s Divine Essence.]


    [A fragment of Transcendent-rank Divine Essence has been detected. Would you like to devour it?]


    "Transcendent-rank Divine Essence?¡±


    Oh Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He recalled how Rakiel had suddenly gotten stronger during his battle against Gaia.


    <i>¡®So that was thanks to this.¡¯</i>


    It was not difficult to guess who the fragment of Transcendent-rank Divine Essence came from.


    <i>¡®Demon God Bauli.¡¯</i>


    The power was likely one that he had sown into Rakiel.


    ¡°Mm...¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes again. He could more or less understand the situation.


    <i>¡®Rakiel¡¯s Divine Essence is around Lower Intermediate-rank without the Demon God¡¯s help, and he possessed a portion of the Demon God¡¯s Divine Essence.¡¯</i>


    If that was the case, he needed to make a decision.


    <i>¡®Should I eat only Rakiel¡¯s Divine Essence, or eat the Demon God¡¯s Divine Essence along with it?¡¯</i>


    He did not have to think for very long, since he had thought something simr back when he had received the mission to go to Aernor from Gaia.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to go out of my way to risk danger.¡±


    The Divine Essence of the Demon God was more valuable than anything else in the world, even if it was merely a fragment.


    <i>¡®But I don¡¯t see a need to eat it while risking my body being taken over.¡¯</i>


    It was apletely different case from improving his demonic energy control through molting. Although molting was a high-risk high-return training method, he had already gone through it dozens of times in Hell, and even in the worst-case scenario, it would only end with him dying.


    <i>¡®But this doesn¡¯t end with just me dying.¡¯</i>


    Although Kang-Woo had no idea what Bauli had in store, it was an undeniable fact that everything around Kang-Woo would get caught up in it as soon as his body was taken over.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t need a ticking time bomb in my hands.¡¯</i>


    There was absolutely no merit to having power if it was uncontroble. Kang-Woo absorbed the Divine Essence of only Rakiel, excluding that of the Demon God.


    [You have devoured the Divine Essence of the Constetion of Corruption.]


    [The Divine Essence absorbed through the Authority of Predation is interfering with the limits of the system.]


    [Raising level cap from 79 to 86!]


    ¡°What?¡± Kang-Woo became wide-eyed from seeing the message that had popped up in front of him. ¡°Oh... Ipletely forgot that I was a yer.¡±


    It had been so long since he had been stuck on his level cap that he had even forgotten he was a yer. In novel terms, it had been roughly 165 chapters since his level cap has been broken.


    <i>¡®I had pretty much half given up since it didn¡¯t break even after bing a Protector.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had thought at first that the Gaia System was what had been preventing him from leveling; after all, his cap had broken after killing Alec Osborne. However, he had realized from the unchanged level cap even after bing a Protector that the Gaia System was not the only problem.


    <i>¡®The Gaia System is but a tiny portion of a colossal system.¡¯</i>


    It was highly likely that the power that the gods called <i>providence </i>was putting a cap on his level.


    <i>¡®Come to think of it, the other gods aside from Gaia also had limiters ced on them by the system.¡¯</i>


    Although they were not limited in the form of a level cap like Kang-Woo, they were also unable to use their powers recklessly in the mundane realm.


    <i>¡®Although it¡¯s different from god to god, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that they have limits ced on them.¡¯</i>


    The only beings that were free from the system¡¯s restrictions were the <i>outer gods</i> that the goddess Benigoa had mentioned.


    <i>¡®So why...¡¯</i>


    Why had his level cap been broken from absorbing Rakiel¡¯s Divine Essence? Kang-Woo fell into thought while narrowing his eyes.


    ¡°Oh, I get it,¡± he said as he snapped his finger.


    It had not been difficult to figure out the reason.


    <i>¡®Divinity has the power to interfere with the system.¡¯</i>


    If that was the case, it also made sense that Divine Essence also alleviated the restrictions of the system somewhat. Divine Essence could be considered a ssification of rank that only those that wielded Divinity could earn. In terms of magic, Divinity was like mana, and Divine Essence was like the mana circles.


    <i>¡®Lower Intermediate-rank is about 3rd-Circle.¡¯</i>


    He was not sure if it was urate, but it was likely something along those lines.


    <i>¡®If Lower Intermediate Divine Essence gives me this much...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s desires surged. He wondered how far his level cap would break if he absorbed Transcendent-rank Divine Essence. No, he might be able to gain far more than just that.


    ¡°Tsk,¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    He created a dagger with the Authority of des and stabbed it into his left corbone without hesitation. <i>Crack, crack.</i> He forcibly twisted the dagger; his flesh ripped apart, and ck blood poured out.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo sighed.


    The searing pain of his corbone suppressed his surging desire.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m still not used to it yet.¡¯</i>


    Controlling his desire was still hard to do despite ten millennia having passed. Kang-Woo did his best to think about other things. Thankfully, message windows popped up just in time.


    [Your level has risen to 86 due to the umted EXP.]


    [You have reached Level 80 and have achieved your Ninth Awakening.]


    [You have acquired a new Trait.]


    ¡°Whoa.¡±


    The news was so great that it quelled his surging desire almost instantly.


    <i>¡®Traits are absolutely amazing.¡¯</i>


    It was no exaggeration to say that he had surpassed his former self in Hell thanks to the power of Traits. Even his Key of the Demonic Sea had been crafted with the power of one of his Traits. The only SSS-rank Trait Kang-Woo had at the moment was ¡®Ruler of Demonic Energy¡¯. Considering how useful the Trait had been, he couldn¡¯t help but hope for another of the same rank.


    ¡°Right, let¡¯s get another SSS!¡± Kang-Woo eximed energetically while opening his status window to check his Ninth Awakening Trait.


    [Ninth Awakening Trait - ¡®Chaos Control (Rank: ???)¡¯]


    [This Trait raises the control and destructive power of the yer¡¯s Chaos techniques.]


    ¡°This is...¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened. Although its description and effect was simple, its contents were not simple in the slightest.


    <i>¡®... Jackpot.¡¯</i>


    He had wished for an SSS-rank, but had gotten something even better.


    <i>¡®I absolutely need this.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists. He needed to raise his proficiency in Chaos techniques to acquire the fifth key of the Demonic Sea. No, even if it wasn¡¯t a quest, he needed to learn the insanely powerful Chaos techniques.


    <i>¡®A Bottom-rank skill was able to destroy Behemoth¡¯s horn.¡¯</i>


    Although it came with its risks, it was not as risky as opening the Doors of the Ten Thousand Demon Core. It was more than good enough to have in hand as a trump card duringbat.


    <i>¡®This must be what it¡¯s like to have pigeon meat!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t help but smile after gaining profits that far exceeded his expectations, to the point that he was considering forgiving Rakiel for kidnapping and torturing him.


    ¡°Now, then...¡±


    It was time to test out what he had earned. Kang-Woo focused, drawing out both demonic energy and sacred power at the same time. His left hand was wrapped in white light, while ck light enveloped his right.


    <i>¡®Chaos - Burst.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo slowly sped his hands together. The two energies shed against each other along with enormous repulsive force.


    [Activating the effect of Trait ¡®Chaos Control¡¯.]


    The repulsion of the two energies lessened along with the activation of the Trait. Kang-Woo stretched out his arms forward with his hands sped together.


    ©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥!


    A giant explosion that engulfed even its own sound shook the dimensional crack, vaporizing the ground as if a nuclear bomb had blown up. Its destructive power was truly outstanding.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡± Kang-Woo grimaced.


    His two hands had disappeared without a trace down from the elbow.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s still like this even after using the Chaos Control Trait?¡¯</i>


    The effect of the Trait was certainly exceptional, but the side effects of Chaos Techniques were far too big.


    <i>¡®Even so...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo felt like he hade to an understanding of the basic principles of Chaos techniques. Kang-Woo healed his two arms with the Authority of Regeneration, which took much longer than usual, likely due to the Chaos technique¡¯s side effects.


    <i>¡®What if I lessen the power a little...?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo more or less understood its principles. This time, he infused sacred power and demonic energy respectively, on the index and middle finger of the right hand. He stretched his arm out and flicked his finger.


    [You have learned the Bottom-rank Chaos technique, ¡®Chaos - Bullet¡¯.]


    Although the degree of explosion had been nowhere near Chaos - Burst, it was much better in terms of practicality.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Kang-Woo smiled.


    His heart raced from the fact that a whole new realm was before his very eyes. He would train in seclusion if he could.


    ¡°Mm...¡±


    Kang-Woo thought about Han Seol-Ah.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just go home.¡±


    He had spent far more time than expected while practicing the Chaos techniques. If he stuck around here any longer, Kim Si-Hun and Uriel woulde running, wondering what had happened to him.


    <i>¡®Darling must be worried about me too.¡¯</i>


    There was still plenty of time until he set out for Aernor, so he also had plenty of time to train.


    ¡°Oh... Come to think of it...¡±


    Kang-Woo pped his hands together as if he had thought of something. He remembered what he had to do before going to Aernor.


    <i>¡®Shit, I almost forgot.¡¯</i>


    He had been so excited that he hadpletely forgotten.


    Kang-Woo turned around and walked out of the Rift, the light in his eyes slowly fading.


    ***


    ¡°E-Eek!¡±


    ¡°S-Stay away!¡±


    Screams echoed as soon as Kang-Woo entered through the door of the giant workshop and walked past the mages leisurely.


    ¡°Wh-What do you want?! Wh-Why are you here?!¡± Khadgar, the head of the mages affiliated with Guardians, eximed in desperation.


    His face was haggard as if he had stayed up several nights, and his eyes no longer held any light.


    ¡°We¡¯re... at our limit! W-We really will die if we work any more!¡±


    They were working like Egyptian ves to provide Guardians with high-quality magic items.


    Kang-Woo replied in all seriousness while staring at Khadgar, ¡°I have a final request.¡±


    ¡°Final... Request?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. If you do what I ask, I¡¯ll free you all.¡±


    Khadgar¡¯s eyes widened. He then asked while stuttering, ¡°Wh-What is the r-request?¡±


    Kang-Woo slowly answered, ¡°Well...¡±

 Chapter 329 - Preparations to Leave (1)

    <h4>Chapter 329 - Preparations to Leave (1)</h4>


    After Rakiel, the Constetion of Corruption, died, preparations to go to Aernor began at full throttle. La, after having recovered from the aftereffects of Deific Manifestation, worked to form a Gate that the team could pass through without any restrictions while keeping contact with Gaia. In the meantime, Oh Kang-Woo and Kim Si-Hun selected party members to go to Aernor with them.


    ¡°I¡¯ming with you, no matter what,¡± Han Seol-Ah remarked firmly while grabbing Kang-Woo¡¯s hand as if she would not ept no for an answer.


    She was exuding chilling energy as if chaos would ensue if Kang-Woo did not ask her toe with him.


    ¡°I was gonna take you with me anyway,¡± Kang-Woo replied while smirking.


    Going to Aernor while leaving Seol-Ah behind had not even been an option for him.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t leave behind someone with Top-rank Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    Although she was not able to fully wield Serah¡¯s power, Seol-Ah¡¯s abilities were still beyond impressive. She was not very useful in terms ofbat prowess, but she possessed buffs and healing magic so exceptional that it didn¡¯t matter in the slightest.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    Just sleeping with Seol-Ah improved his demonic energy control severalfoldpared to simple training. She was like an EXP potion that allowed one to level up automatically in terms of RPGs, so there was no way that Kang-Woo would leave her behind.


    <i>¡®I mean, I don¡¯t n to be apart from darling even if that wasn¡¯t the case.¡¯</i>


    Seol-Ah had already be the most important portion of his life; he would not be apart from her, even if the world would end due to it.


    ¡°Phew,¡± Seol-Ah sighed in relief.


    She had been slightly worried since Kang-Woo was one to frequently act on his own.


    ¡°What would you have done if I said no?¡± Kang-Woo asked teasingly.


    ¡°If you did...¡± The light in Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes disappeared momentarily, exuding thick, chilling bloodlust. ¡°I¡¯m... not sure.¡±


    ¡°Right? I¡¯m not sure how it would feel to be apart from you either,¡± Kang-Woo replied whileughing.


    ¡°No.¡± Seol-Ah shook her head. She continued in a low tone, ¡°I¡¯m not sure... What I would do.¡±


    <i>¡®Huh? What¡¯s happening? You¡¯re scaring me, darling.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Kang-Woo,¡± Seol-Ah called out.


    ¡°Uhh... Yeah?¡±


    Seol-Ah reached out to slowly caress Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulders, neck, and thigh in order.


    ¡°Do you think limbs are necessary?¡±


    <i>¡®I beg your pardon?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Just think about it. If you don¡¯t need to use them... There¡¯s no need to have them, is there?¡±


    <i>¡®What are you talking about?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Oh my, we¡¯ve gone off topic. If you said that you weren¡¯t going to take me with you... I would¡¯ve been sad. Yes, very sad.¡±


    ¡°I-I see.¡± Kang-Woo nodded in puzzlement.


    He wasn¡¯t sure what he was feeling, but one thing was for sure.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t leave darling behind.¡¯</i>


    He felt as if something irreversible would happen if he did. Kang-Woo nodded and slowly turned his gaze toward Echidna and Halcyon, who were staring at him with sparkling eyes, fists clenched and eager to say something.


    ¡°Of course, you guys will being too,¡± said Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Hehehe, I-I knew y-you would say that!¡±


    ¡°Hm! Hm! I¡¯ve been waiting for you to say that!¡±


    Halcyon and Echidna smiled brightly.


    ¡°Echidna, you said you didn¡¯t know much about Aernor, right?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯d been cooped up in myir, so I don¡¯t know that much.¡± Echidna lowered her head while flinching. ¡°... Sorry.¡±


    ¡°No, it''s okay.¡± Kang-Woo had several other people to ask about Aernor. ¡°But are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Hm? About what?¡± Echidna asked.


    ¡°If youe to Aernor with me, you won''t be able to watch any of the anime you love so much.¡±


    ¡°Hm! Being with you is way better!¡± Echidna answered without hesitation while snorting.


    Kang-Woo smiled at hermendable answer. As he was patting Echidna¡¯s head, Halcyon carefully approached him with a red face.


    <i>¡®Screw off. Come back in a hundred years.¡¯</i>


    ¡°M-Master Kang-Woo.¡±


    Halcyon hugged Kang-Woo¡¯s arm tightly with trembling hands. Somethingrge touched the back of Kang-Woo¡¯s hand.


    <i>¡®Jesus.¡¯</i>


    The sensation of Halcyon¡¯s Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon was shooting up his arm. Kang-Woo quickly pulled his arm away and coughed, then stared at Lilith, who was looking at him while giggling, and Balrog, who had his arms crossed with a stiff face.


    ¡°You¡¯re not thinking of leaving us behind, are you?¡± Lilith asked with her eyes narrowed.


    ¡°I will not let you go by yourself this time,¡± Balrog stated firmly.


    He was referring to when Kang-Woo had crossed from Hell to Earth by himself. Kang-Woo sighed while staring at his two subordinates.


    ¡°Of course not... Where would I go without you two?¡±


    He had already be practically inseparable with Lilith and Balrog. Even if he tried to rip himself away from them, they would find a way to follow him somehow, like they had done already.


    Kang-Woo remarked while clicking his tongue, ¡°Balrog. Train Halcyon and Echidna like you had donest time. Take Vaal Zahak with you too.¡±


    ¡°Will Vaal Zahak being as well?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s from Aernor, after all. He was also known as the demon king there, so I¡¯m sure he knows a lot about Aernor.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°And...¡± Kang-Woo turned to Lilith. ¡°Lilith, amplify the effects of Seol-Ah¡¯s pendant before we leave for Aernor.¡±


    Rakiel had mistaken Seol-Ah for Seraph as soon as Seol-Ah used her power. In other words, she was fine in daily life, but she would be found out as soon as she used buffs or healing magic. Considering what they would have to do in Aernor, Seol-Ah¡¯s identity had to be hidden even when she was using her power.


    <i>¡®Uriel will being with us, after all.¡¯</i>


    To be honest, Urieling with them to Aernor was not wee news. Si-Hun and La knew that Kang-Woo had been a demon in the past, and that he had demon subordinates like Balrog and Lilith. However, Uriel considered Kang-Woo to be purely human, so he couldn¡¯t make any rash decisions with him there.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s a hassle in many ways.¡¯</i>


    Even so, it was difficult to do something to Uriel when he had an army of angels behind him.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no need to cause unnecessary battles.¡¯</i>


    It could not be helped if there was no other way, but waging an all-out war against angels just because of a hassle was idiotic.


    ¡°Mm... In that case, you will have to help me out a little, my king. I made the item by applying how you hide your demonic energy, but to amplify its effects, I need to have a good grasp of the extent of both you and Seol-Ah¡¯s powers.¡±


    ¡°How can I help?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing special,¡± Lilith said while smiling with her mouth covered. ¡°You said that the demonic energy and sacred power from you two intermingle as you sleep, did you not? I will just be taking part in that process.¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡± Seol-Ah reddened, her toes squirming with her head lowered. She stammered, ¡°U-Umm... Th-That¡¯s...¡±


    Kang-Woo asked while tilting his head, ¡°Are you saying you¡¯ll watch as Seol-Ah and I sleep?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded as if he understood why Seol-Ah was embarrassed.


    <i>¡®I mean, we don¡¯t do anything in particr other than sleeping, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯s embarrassed to show others of us sleeping together.¡¯</i>


    However, he felt that she was being excessively embarrassed when all they did was sleep while holding hands.


    <i>¡®But considering Seol-Ah¡¯s personality...¡¯</i>


    It was not weird for her to be that embarrassed.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, but... don¡¯t change into your demon form, okay?¡±


    ¡°Ngh.¡± Lilith flinched. She sighed in disappointment and nodded. ¡°Yes, I understand.¡±


    Seol-Ah remained silent.


    ¡°Fufu. There¡¯s no need to worry, Seol-Ah,¡± Lilith said as she approached Seol-Ah, who had her head lowered.


    Lilith met eyes with her and whispered something in her ear. Seol-Ah¡¯s face reddened like a tomato.


    ¡°You¡¯re so cute. I¡¯ll teach you all kinds of things.¡± Lilith smiled as she lightly embraced Seol-Ah.


    ¡°... I-I¡¯ll be in your care,¡± Seol-Ah replied in a very small voice.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion, unable to follow what the two women were talking about.


    <i>¡®Well, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing.¡¯</i>


    Although Seol-Ah¡¯s obsession and possessive nature had gotten extreme due to the strengthening of Seraph¡¯s influence, she did not show that side to Lilith. It was as if Seol-Ah was fine with it as long as it was Lilith, like a junior yielding to their superior. Whatever the case, there was no need to worry at all about Lilith.


    ¡°Right then, let¡¯s all make preparations from today onward,¡± Kang-Woo stated as he turned around.


    He took out his smartphone and called Si-Hun.


    [Oh, hyung-nim?]


    ¡°Yeah. I have everyone we need.¡±


    Kang-Woo named every single member that would being with them. Of course, since Si-Hun and La both thought that Vaal Zahak was a servant of Satan, Kang-Woo altered his name a little.


    [Vernaak?]


    Si-Hun tilted his head in confusion from hearing a name that he had never heard of.


    ¡°Yeah. He used to be one of my subordinates back in Hell, and he apparently knows a lot about Aernor. He¡¯s very capable too.¡±


    [He wasn¡¯t at the picst time, though.]


    ¡°He couldn¡¯te back then due to circumstances.¡±


    [He lived at Balrog¡¯s house...? I never knew despite having gone there pretty frequently to train with Balrog.]


    ¡°He¡¯s a bit of a hikikomori[1], so he doesn¡¯t like to go outside.¡±


    In actuality, Kang-Woo had ordered Vaal Zahak to stay out of Si-Hun¡¯s sight, but Si-Hun had no way of knowing that.


    ¡°I¡¯ll introduce him to you next time.¡±


    [I understand.]


    ¡°Have you recruited anyone?¡±


    [Mm. Master said that he would stay here, and the same goes for Grace. As for Tae-Soo... I don¡¯t think it would be a good idea.]


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡±


    Although Kang Tae-Soo was leveling hard after having entered Guardians, he had only just entered the ranks of Ranker.


    [There¡¯s no one in particr besides me and La.]


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    Since their travels to Aernor would be filled with all sorts of dangers, they couldn¡¯t just take anyone with them. Finding sufficiently strong yers that they could trust deeply was not easy.


    In the end, the members of the Aernor exploration team had ended up being mostly Kang-Woo''s subordinates; it was only natural, considering the massive difference between regr yers and Kang-Woo¡¯s subordinates. Even Echidna, the weakest of them, was now able to use dragon tongue magic of fully mature dragons.


    ¡°Let¡¯s finalize the roster, then,¡± Kang-Woo said as he sent the finalized list of members to Si-Hun. ¡°Send this to La.¡±


    [Okay, hyung-nim.]


    Kang-Woo hung up.


    <i>¡®I guess it¡¯s time for me to get some work done too.¡¯</i>


    <i>Bam! Bam!</i>


    As he turned around while thinking, someone banged on the door to the point that it would break. Kang-Woo opened the door to see a red-haired woman ring at him while panting heavily.


    ¡°Take me with you too.¡±


    It was Cha Yeon-Joo.


    1. Hikikomori is a Japanese term referring to someone with severe tendencies of social withdrawal. ?

 Chapter 330 - Preparations to Leave (2)

    <h4>Chapter 330 - Preparations to Leave (2)</h4>


    ¡°You want toe with us?¡± Oh Kang-Woo asked, taken off guard by Cha Yeon-Joo¡¯s statement.


    It was not that he hadn¡¯t thought about her when he was thinking about members for the Aernor exploration team; Yeon-Joo was very capable as well as trustworthy, but there was just one reason why he had not asked her.


    ¡°What about your guild?¡± he asked.


    Yeon-Joo had a guild to manage. Not just that, Red Rose had be big enough to be thergest guild in Korea. It would be a different story if it was just a short mission, but he felt bad to take her on a mission that he had no idea how long it would take.


    ¡°I quit,¡± Yeon-Joo said.


    ¡°... What?¡±


    ¡°I quit my guild master position.¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡±


    Kang-Woo became wide-eyed by her sudden response. She had quit her position as guild master? It waspletely absurd, considering Red Rose possessed enough authority as Guardians, albeit restricted to Korea.


    Yeon-Joo crossed her arms and snorted. ¡°Well, to be exact, I didn¡¯t quit... I put Hyun-Woo in charge temporarily.¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at her dumbfoundedly. Although she had said that she had temporarily left it to Park Hyun-Woo, she did not sound like she had any intention of returning to the position.


    ¡°Are you sure you can quit just like that?¡± he asked.


    ¡°What does it matter? I was pretty much a figurehead anyway.¡± Yeon-Joo shook her hand as if she wasn¡¯t interested. ¡°I was never the right person for the job. This just happened to be the perfect opportunity for me to quit.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°So take me with you to that Aernor ce or whatever it was called,¡± she said while leaning toward Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°You didn¡¯t quit so you coulde with me, did you?¡±


    ¡°Wh-What?¡±


    Yeon-Joo reddened. She stammered for a bit, but then grimaced like a Yaksha.


    ¡°D-Don¡¯t screw with me, you son of a bitch! Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Why would I quit my position for the likes of you?! I just quit because I was sick and tired of it!¡± she shouted while panting heavily.


    Kang-Woo snickered, being able to read her like a book.


    ¡°You...!¡±


    Yeon-Jo raised her hand. <i>Thrash! </i>Chains poured out of her bracelet and shot toward Kang-Woo, which he easily caught.


    He muttered, ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°... About what?¡±


    ¡°No one knows when we¡¯ll be able toe back from this mission. No, being able toe back alive isn¡¯t even a guarantee.¡±


    Not even Kang-Woo knew what would happen during their mission to eliminate the Demon God¡¯s corpse. Although he was confident in his strength, the world was far too big.


    ¡°Will you stille with us despite that?¡± he asked, his eyes sunken deeply.


    Yeon-Joo stared at him in silence, but she did not take long to answer.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled as he heard the firm will in her answer. He stretched his hand toward her. ¡°I¡¯ll be in your care.¡±


    ¡°A-Ahem. Likewise...¡±


    ¡°Right, aren¡¯t you forgetting something?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Kang-Woo said while pointing at the chains that Yeon-Joo had released, ¡°Shouldn''t you be calling me <i>oppa</i>?¡±


    ¡°N-Ngh!¡±


    Yeon-Joo reddened again. She fumed like a steam engine and swung her fist at Kang-Woo.


    ¡°You fucking pervert!¡±


    The furious lioness made a mess of the house. Kang-Woo avoided her attacks while snickering.


    <i>¡®Well, I¡¯m d.¡¯</i>


    He had been hoping for Yeon-Joo toe with him; after all, unlike Han Seol-Ah and Lilith, Yeon-Joo felt more like a female friend. No, leaving aside gender, she was the only person that Kang-Woo could speak to like a true friend.


    Seol-Ah stared at Kang-Woo, who was running around while snickering, in silence.


    Something in her squirmed as she saw his mischievous side, something that he had never shown her. Her eyes lost their light.


    ¡°... Yeon-Joo.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What? I have to teach that pervert a lesson, so let¡¯s talkter,¡± Yeon-Joo answered while frowning.


    Seol-Ah extended her arm toward Yeon-Joo.


    <i>Fwoom!</i>


    ¡°Huh? Huuuh? Wh-What the hell is this?¡±


    Chains of light flowed out from Seol-Ah and restrained Yeon-Joo. They were the Demon-Binding Light that had bound Kang-Woo back when she had fallen from grace.


    <i>Step, step.</i> Seol-Ah slowly walked toward Yeon-Joo.


    ¡°Wh-What¡¯s wrong...?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk for a bit.¡±


    Seol-Ah smiled, and dragged the restrained Yeon-Joo to her room by the shoulder.


    ¡°H-Hey! W-Wait! Oh Kang-Woo! She¡¯s acting weird! Help me!¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing weird. I just want to talk, so don¡¯t worry and let¡¯s take our time.¡± Seol-Ah dragged Yeon-Joo along as she let out a lifeless giggle.


    Having instinctively felt danger, Yeon-Joo shouted, ¡°K-Kang-Woo! Oh Kang-Woo, you son of a bitch! Stop just staring nkly!! H-Hurry up and stop Seol¡ª Argh! K-Kang-Woo! No, o-oppa!!¡±


    <i>ck</i>. Seol-Ah closed the door to her room after having dragged Yeon-Joo in it. <i>Click</i>. The sound of the door locking was heard.


    Awkward silence fell. Kang-Woo, who had been running from Yeon-Joo, stared at the door nkly.


    ¡°Uhh... Mm.¡± He scratched his head awkwardly. He then turned his head and said energetically, ¡°Right, let¡¯s get ready to go.¡±


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s solitary screams flowed out through the seams of the door.


    ***


    After that, Kang-Woo¡¯s life became chaotically busy. The main thing that he focused on was to practice the Chaos skills through his Ninth Awakening Trait, Chaos Control. The training was extremely difficult due to the techniques¡¯ insane level of power and highlyplex level of control required.


    His arms and legs were blown off countless times due to the repulsion between demonic energy and sacred power, and his life had also been at risk a few times. Because the difficulty of the training was as high as that of molting, Kang-Woo trained in very remote ces.


    He had gotten significantly more used to using the Chaos skills thanks to Chaos Controlpared to when he had first learned them. However, he had not been able to learn any Low-rank skills toplete the fifth quest of the Key of the Demonic Sea because training Chaos skills was so dangerous that he could not do it often.


    <i>¡®I shouldn¡¯t rush.¡¯</i>


    Although there were times when he was extremely annoyed by the fact that he had not been able to get past the Bottom-rank, he did not push himself to train the Chaos skills. After all, there was nothing more pathetic than dying from training too hard due to impatience.


    Due to this, Kang-Woo had not put all his eggs into one basket that was Chaos skill training. He improved his demonic energy control by sleeping with Seol-Ah, and practiced the Authorities of the princes of Hell from time to time. He also did not forget to tighten Earth¡¯s security as well as preparing all the items needed for his trip to Aernor.


    ¡°Fuuu.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve gotten much better, hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me.¡±


    Kang-Woo had also been learning swordsmanship from Kim Si-Hun while helping him train. Of course, since he had never learned any systematic martial arts and possessed only average-level talent, he had not been able to gain much from the training. Although Kang-Woo¡¯s demonic energy control was amazing enough to even shock gods, he did not know how to do much else aside from his highly unpolishedbat skills.


    <i>¡®Fucking hell, novels say swordsmanship polished through experience is better than martial arts.¡¯</i>


    It wasplete bullshit; although his skills gained throughbat experience would not lose to regr martial arts...


    <i>¡®Kim Si-Hun, this son of a bitch...¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun did not possess regr martial arts. Kang-Woo had gotten absolutely floored back when he had faced Si-Hun purely through technique without relying on his Authorities.


    <i>¡®Motherfucking genius.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo once again realized through learning martial arts from Si-Hun that Si-Hun truly possessed an astonishing level of talent.


    <i>¡®Why are his skills improving more when he¡¯s the one teaching me martial arts?¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun was improving more than Kang-Woo despite Si-Hun being the one to teach Kang-Woo. He had said something about having attained enlightenment after exining in words what he had done all this time just by feeling.


    ¡°Screw it. Fuck this!¡± Kang-Woo eximed while throwing the sword temperamentally.


    Si-Hun approached while surprised. ¡°H-Hyung-nim. Don¡¯t be like that and let¡¯s try it for a bit longer. I¡¯m telling you, your learning speed is by no means slow.¡±


    Si-Hun was talking like a food delivery man telling the customer that they were almost there despite being miles away. Kang-Woo sighed and picked up the sword again.


    ¡°Haaa, this is driving me insane. Don¡¯t people with lots ofbat experience usually pick up on this stuff super quickly?¡±


    ¡°Thatbat experience is actually what¡¯s holding you back. Bad habits have been so ingrained into your muscles that your swordsmanship has be highly deformed.¡±


    Practice made permanent, not perfect.


    ¡°You will reach far higher heights once you fix those habits,¡± Si-Hun remarked.


    ¡°Easier said than done.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s habits had been ingrained into him for ten whole millennia; he would not be having this much trouble if he could just fix them.


    ¡°Haha, I have faith that you can do it, hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°Urgh.¡± Kang-Woo frowned in frustration. ¡°That¡¯s enough swordsmanship training. Let¡¯s move on to your cultivation technique training.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay, hyung-nim.¡±


    Kang-Woo was not one-sidedly getting trained by Si-Hun; he was using his astounding knowledge of energy control to teach Si-Hun how to circte his Qi more efficiently.


    ¡°I told you, that¡¯s not how you do it,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    ¡°U-Uhh...¡±


    ¡°Stop trying to rely on your instincts, and move your Qi through extremely thorough calctions.¡±


    ¡°Ngh...¡±


    Their roles reversed once it came time for cultivation technique training. Si-Hun frowned, seemingly unable to understand what Kang-Woo was saying. Kang-Woo smirked as if telling Si-Hun that this was how he had felt during their swordsmanship training.


    ¡°You have hundreds of thousands of meridians. Based on how you circte your Qi, the effect generated ispletely different for the same amount of power.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Of course, Kang-Woo was not doing this out of childish revenge. There was no one more skilled at controlling energy within oneself than Kang-Woo.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    Si-Hun closed his eyes and focused; translucent swords formed in the air. Formless Sword, the technique that Si-Hun had acquired after his assimtion with the Martial God surpassed 60%, had be far more precise than before.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wrap it up here.¡± Kang-Woo stood up after having supervised Si-Hun¡¯s training. ¡°We should finish getting ready. We leave tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°... It¡¯s already tomorrow. Time flew by so fast,¡± Si-Hun replied.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve been busy.¡±


    Gaia had taken four months to form a Gate that led to Aernor. The number of people also contributed to the long wait; it had taken much more time due to the strength of each member. But now, that all hade to an end; Gaia had sessfully formed a Gate that wouldn¡¯t put limiters on anyone.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Ah... Hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°I would like to ask you for a favor.¡±


    ¡°What kind of favor?¡± Kang-Woo asked while tilting his head in confusion.


    ¡°My mother wants to meet you at least once.¡±


    ¡°Your mother?¡±


    Si-Hun¡¯s mother had suffered through all kinds of discrimination and disdain as Kim Jae-Hyun¡¯s mistress.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    She had also sown the seed of trauma within Si-Hun.


    ¡°Why so out of the blue?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°She said that she wanted to express her gratitude for everything that you¡¯ve done for us.¡±


    Si-Hun¡¯s mother, after having been abandoned by Jae-Hyun, had copsed from healthplications, but had been treated in a hospital amodated by Kang-Woo (or Red Rose, to be more exact), and had be far better.


    <i>¡®It had been to earn Si-Hun¡¯s trust, but...¡¯</i>


    Whatever the case, debt was best repaid.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Kang-Woo nodded happily.


    He felt like he had a need to meet Si-Hun¡¯s mother, for the trauma that was still haunting Si-Hun to this day.


    <i>¡®Though it also feels like it¡¯s about time.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo and Si-Hun had first met four years ago. To be honest, this meeting should have happened ages ago.


    <i>¡®Even so...¡¯</i>


    It was better to sort everything out before they left for Aernor.


    ¡°Thank you very much, hyung-nim.¡±


    Si-Hun took Kang-Woo to a home somewhere in Seoul. Although the two-story home did not scream wealth, it soothed one¡¯s soul.


    ¡°This is my home,¡± Si-Hun remarked.


    ¡°Come to think of it, this is my first timeing to your home.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. I mostly stay in the Hall of Protection.¡±


    Si-Hun opened the door while smiling. Kang-Woo could not feel any traces of life in the home.


    ¡°Oh, my mother is saying that she stepped out for a bit to buy ingredients, and will be back soon.¡±


    ¡°I guess we can wait, then.¡±


    Kang-Woo, who had been thinking about going on a house tour, saw a pot of something in the kitchen. After having seen the ck substance in a giant pot, he frowned while pinching his nose due to the stench.


    ¡°What the hell is this culinary crime?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my mother¡¯s kimchi stew.¡±


    ¡°What the hell is this criminally delicious-looking kimchi stew?¡±


    It looked extremely delicious.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s what you meant,¡± Si-Hun said.


    ¡°I can already feel my mouth watering, man.¡±


    <i>Hahaha</i>. Kang-Wooughed while patting Si-Hun¡¯s shoulders.

 Chapter 331 - Preparations to Leave (3)

    <h4>Chapter 331 - Preparations to Leave (3)</h4>


    ¡°I-I-I-I-I-I¡¯m so sorry! I thought having just kimchi stew by itself would make the dining table a bit empty, so I went to the market to buy some more ingredients and lost track of time!¡±


    A middle-aged woman with short light brown hair, beautiful enough to be worthy of being Kim Si-Hun¡¯s mother, lowered her head. She was likely at least in her forties considering Si-Hun¡¯s age, but she could even be mistaken to be in her thirties, to the point that no one would use the term <i>middle-aged</i> to describe her if they did not know any better.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright.¡± Oh Kang-Woo shook his head and shed a smile.


    Although he was smiling, his eyes were pointed at the abomination on the dining table.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s supposed to be kimchi stew?¡¯</i>


    Why was it ck?


    <i>¡®How could she do such a thing to kimchi stew...?¡¯</i>


    It was worse than sacrilege. Kang-Woo wanted to flip the table, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to in front of Si-Hun¡¯s mother.


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll whip something up right away!¡± the mother eximed.


    <i>¡®Please don¡¯t.¡¯</i>


    Just by looking at the state of her kimchi stew, Kang-Woo could not expect anything from her other dishes.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I don¡¯t have an appetite.¡±


    ¡°Oh... Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yes, so there''s no need for you to worry about it. More importantly...¡± Kang-Woo slurred as he looked toward Si-Hun, gesturing him to hurry up and introduce him to the mother.


    Si-Hun got back to his senses and walked toward the two of them.


    ¡°This is my mother,¡± he introduced.


    ¡°My name is Jeong Seo-Ha.¡±


    ¡°Mother, this is¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve heard a lot about Kang-Woo.¡± Seo-Ha grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s hands while smiling brightly. ¡°Thank you for taking care of my son.¡±


    ¡°Not at all. I simply did my duty as his hyung,¡± Kang-Woo replied.


    Seo-Ha¡¯s expression froze from the mention of <i>hyung</i>. She then sent Si-Hun a gaze filled with guilt. ¡°Why don¡¯t we have something to eat first?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m fine. Like I mentioned before, I don¡¯t really have an appetite...¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I heard you love kimchi stew. What a shame,¡± Seo-Ha said while staring at the ck kimchi stew in disappointment. She then turned to Si-Hun after a short moment of silence. ¡°Si-Hun, could you give us a moment? I... have something I need to talk with Kang-Woo about in private.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Si-Hun looked at her in confusion.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious, so don¡¯t make that kind of face.¡±


    ¡°No, but...¡±


    ¡°Please, for me.¡±


    Si-Hun reluctantly nodded and went up to the second floor. Kang-Woo stared at Si-Hun climbing up the stairs, and then used the Authority of Silence to block all sound from escaping the living room. Si-Hun¡¯s superhuman senses would allow him to hear a conversation in the living room from the second floor with ease.


    <i>¡®What could she have to say to me?¡¯</i>


    He had no idea, but since Si-Hun¡¯s mother wanted to talk in private, Kang-Woo felt like he shouldn¡¯t let Si-Hun hear.


    ¡°What did you want to talk about?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Seo-Ha, who had been thinking about something absorbedly, turned around. ¡°Let me make you a cup of coffee first.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank you very much.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded softly, unable to refuse a cup of coffee on top of kimchi stew. Seo-Ha headed to the kitchen. <i>Click, ck.</i> The fragrance of coffee flowed all the way to the living room. As Seo-Ha was making coffee, Kang-Woo slowly took a look around the living room again.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s a nice ce.¡¯</i>


    He was not talking about extravagance nor that it looked pricey. Despite Seo-Ha mostly living by herself in this home, the ce was very clean and tidy. No, <i>clean </i>was not the right word to describe it.


    <i>¡®It feels homely.¡¯</i>


    The feeling of cozinessing from the entire home felt quite nice.


    <i>ck.</i>


    ¡°Here you go,¡± Seo-Ha said.


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    Kang-Woo sipped the coffee that she had made; it tasted normal, unlike her kimchi stew.


    <i>¡®All hail instant coffee.¡¯</i>


    The guaranteed sweetness enveloped his tongue.


    ¡°First of all...¡± Seo-Ha stood up and politely bowed toward Kang-Woo. ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°If it hadn¡¯t been for you, Si-Hun and I... would have never dreamed of having such a life.¡±


    ¡°Si-Hun has great talent as a yer. Even if it hadn¡¯t been for me, he would have been able to earn enough for the hospital bills and this house all on his ow¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Seo-Ha smiled faintly. ¡°If it hadn¡¯t been for you... Si-Hun never would have been able to smile like that.¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent, thinking about what he should say. Seo-Ha bowed toward Kang-Woo again.


    ¡°Thank you... so very much.¡±


    Kang-Woo could hear how heartfelt she was. In the end, he said the same thing that he had said earlier.


    ¡°I simply did my duty as his hyung.¡±


    ¡°Hohoho,¡± Seo-Ha giggled. ¡°I¡¯m relieved to see that you truly care for Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°But of course. Although we¡¯re not rted by blood, I consider him to be family.¡±


    Seo-Ha stared intently at Kang-Woo, and then sighed in relief. She continued, ¡°To be honest, I was very worried. You didn¡¯t build your friendship with Si-Hun through normal means, did you? I was worried because of that, but those worries have faded now.¡±


    ¡°... I beg your pardon?¡± Kang-Woo froze. Her words had been branded on his brain. ¡°What do you...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s hypnosis or some other kind of magic, but... you used some sort of coercive method to win Si-Hun over, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°...!¡± Chills ran down his back. Kang-Woo red at Seo-Ha. ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure what you mean.¡±


    ¡°Hohoho. It¡¯s okay. I won¡¯t tell Si-Hun.¡±


    She was talking as if she knew everything. Kang-Woo¡¯s mind was in jumbles.


    <i>¡®She knows.¡¯</i>


    She knew that Kang-Woo had attacked Si-Hun and made Si-Hun into his Familiar.


    <i>¡®But how?¡¯</i>


    Questions kept leading to other questions. The truth that he had kept secret all this time and thought would never be revealed, had been found out so easily.


    ¡°... How long have you known?¡± asked Kang-Woo.


    ¡°I had an inkling... ever since Si-Hun told me about you.¡± Seo-Ha put the cup of coffee down on the table and continued, ¡°That boy never refers to anyone as <i>hyung</i>, especially someone that he has only met recently.¡±


    Kang-Woo swept back his hair.


    <i>¡®I didn¡¯t expect this.¡¯</i>


    No, there was no way he could have, since there had been no way for him to know back when he made Si-Hun into his Familiar, the trauma that Si-Hun possessed, as well as how well Si-Hun¡¯s mother knew Si-Hun.


    Heavy silence fell. Kang-Woo downed the cup of coffee, thinking up dozens of possible excuses he could make. If he wanted to, he was confident that he could use whatever reason to satisfy Seo-Ha. He could even argue that she couldn¡¯t base anything off just from the fact that Si-Hun addressed him as <i>hyung</i>. However...


    <i>ck</i>. Kang-Wooid the cup down on the table.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything despite knowing that?¡±


    Kang-Woo did not make any excuses nor try to call it out as a lie; he had a feeling that he shouldn¡¯t, at least to Seo-Ha of all people.


    Seo-Ha remained silent, and then opened her mouth while staring into empty space. ¡°I...mitted an unforgivable sin to that boy.¡±


    Kang-Woo could feel the voidness in her voice. He could easily tell what the sin that she was referring to was.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun¡¯s trauma.¡¯</i>


    The words that his own birth mother had said to him,<i> ¡°I¡¯m sorry for giving birth to you¡±</i>, had been engraved in Si-Hun¡¯s soul.


    Kang-Woo had no idea how painful hearing those words were, since he had no memory of his parents.


    ¡°Back then... I was so tired, and felt so sorry for Si-Hun that... I ended up saying those words that I should have never said...¡± Transparent tears flowed down Seo-Ha¡¯s cheeks. ¡°I should have... never said those words to him of all people...¡±


    Her words were filled with sorrow. Kang-Woo did not say a word; no, he couldn¡¯t. He could not understand, sympathize, nor console her in any way, so he remained silent.


    ¡°That¡¯s why... When I saw that boy smiling so brightly... I couldn¡¯t say a word. Even if it was a lie... I just wanted my son to be happy.¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    ¡°Thank you. Thank you... so much,¡± Seo-Ha said while bowing repeatedly.


    She continued to thank Kang-Woo for making her son happy. Again, and again, and again.


    ***


    Kang-Woo walked home after separating from Si-Hun.


    His mind was in shambles. All kinds of thoughts tangled with one another. He frowned while recalling Seo-Ha, weeping while thanking him.


    <i>¡®Why... was I... so happy?¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t understand why he had been so happy to be thanked for making Si-Hun happy, even if it had been built on a lie.


    Kang-Woo was unable to decipher his own emotions. No, he had a guess why; he just didn¡¯t want to admit it.


    <i>¡®I felt like I was being pardoned for my sin.¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t help butugh from the shallow thought. He was trying to lessen his guilt by thinking that although he had forcibly turned Si-Hun into his Familiar, it was okay since he treasured him.


    <i>¡®Despite the person in question knowing absolutely nothing about it.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly.


    ¡°... Goddammit.¡±


    He clicked his tongue and sat down on a bench in front of the apartmentplex before heading inside.


    <i>¡®Tomorrow...¡¯</i>


    They would be leaving Earth. Although they were not leaving forever, he was sure that it would be a long journey.


    ¡°Fuck.¡±


    Unnecessary emotions filled Kang-Woo. He looked up at the night sky.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    He thought about all that he had been through sinceing back to Earth. He met Han Seol-Ah, Kim Si-Hun, Cha Yeon-Joo, Echidna, Kang Tae-Soo... He had met so many people and made just as many connections. Even his connection with Balrog and Lilith remained even aftering back to Earth.


    It might not have been the best start; the first step might have been askew, leading to his connections to others being tangled messily. Despite that, he considered such connections to be precious.


    <i>Bzzt.</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s vision became blurry. He was shown a in filled with corpses, and himself copsing to his knees and crying there.


    It might sound funny, but he also had things that he had treasured back in Hell; he had the same tangled connections there.


    <i>¡®They¡¯re all dead, though.¡¯</i>


    He had new connections now, ones that he had been unable to protect in the past.


    <i>¡®This time...¡¯</i>


    It would be different. He would make sure that it was.


    ¡°Fucking hell. I¡¯ve be such a goddamn softie. Why the fuck am I shooting a drama all by myself in the middle of the night?¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned. He stood up, and walked.


    ¡°... Let¡¯s go.¡±


    He set out, like he had always done. Forward.


    [Part One - END]

 Chapter 332 - Kimchi

    <h4>Chapter 332 - Kimchi</h4>


    Oh Kang-Woo opened his eyes. He felt this way all the time whenever he slept with Han Seol-Ah, but his body felt light. His mind was extremely clear, and the demonic energy within him was as quiet as a docilemb.


    <i>¡®This is why I can never quit sleeping with darling.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled from the feeling of refreshment clearing his mind. Although he did not need sleep, he always made sure to sleep at least three to four hours anyway because of this very feeling of refreshment.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo drew out his demonic energy by habit.


    <i>¡®Oh, my demonic energy control didn¡¯t improve today.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo expressed disappointment. His demonic energy control did not unconditionally improve just from sleeping with Seol-Ah; it was a random urrence, about a twenty to thirty percent chance.


    ¡°That¡¯s still phenomenal.¡±


    Considering that Kang-Woo possessed enough demonic energy to face beings of godhood despite himself not being able to use Divinity, just being able to improve his control over it was already amazing enough. However...


    ¡°... There have been more and moretely.¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned from seeing the red spots all over his upper body. Ever since Lilith joined their chambers with the excuse of needing to make a magic tool that would conceal Seol-Ah¡¯s powers, he saw more and more red spots on him every time he woke up, to the point that it was abnormal.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s sometimes on a very specific area too.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo lifted his pants and checked between his legs.


    ¡°Kurgh.¡±


    After red spots began to form on that specific area, the physiological phenomenon that hade to him every morning without fail, stopped. Kang-Woo looked down at his lifeless Fran?ois miserably.


    ¡°You¡¯re... not dead, are you?¡±


    <i>¡®You¡¯re still alive, right, Fran?ois?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo worriedly rubbed the red spots lightly that had formed around his thighs.


    ¡°Kang-Woo~¡± He heard Seol-Ah¡¯s voice from across the door. ¡°It¡¯s time to get up~ The meeting time ising up~¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± Kang-Woo answered as he got up. He looked around the room while stretching. ¡°... I¡¯ve grown quite attached to this ce.¡±


    The 350 square-feet room felt more familiar to him now than his grand demon king castle. He sentimentally slid his hand over his table, and turned his gaze toward his very expensiveptop.


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t forget this.¡±


    Kang-Woo opened his bag and packed hisptop. He did not need a charger; since there was no way that 220V outlets would exist in Aernor, he had hisptop modified so that it would be powered by mana instead. There was only one reason why he would go so far as to take theptop with him.


    Kang-Woo grabbed the rectangr item the size of his palm and put it in his pocket. It was an indispensable weapon that he had spent months perfecting between his training times, which would be of great help in his mission in Aernor; an external hard drive with a whopping 120 terabytes of storage.


    <i>¡®Also known as...¡¯</i>


    Noah¡¯s Ark; the item that would save humanity on the brink of extinction. It contained all the mysterious knowledge regarding the birth of life.


    ¡°... Alright.¡±


    Kang-Woo ced the external hard drive in his breast pocket, where he would be able to feel its warmth through his heart.


    ¡°Kang-Woo?¡± Seol-Ah called from outside his room.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right out.¡±


    Kang-Woo left his room to see Seol-Ah, Lilith, Echidna, Cha Yeon-Joo, Halcyon, Balrog, and Vaal Zahak already gathered.


    <i>¡®Oh, I guess he¡¯s Vernaak now.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the young man wearing a monocle, exuding a gloomy air. Vaal Zahak, who was wearing human skin made using magic, was using the alias <i>Vernaak</i> due to several circumstances.


    ¡°What did you pack?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Nothing in particr. I was just in my thoughts since we won¡¯t being back here for a while,¡± Kang-Woo lied.


    ¡°Hohoho. You¡¯re being unusually sentimental.¡±


    The quick-witted Lilith scanned Kang-Woo up and down. Kang-Woo took a step back and ced his hand on his left bosom.


    ¡°Hm! Hm! I¡¯ll show you myir when we get to Aernor, Kang-Woo!¡±


    Echidna was hyper, considering this to be a trip that she was going with Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo smirked and nodded. ¡°Yeah. We should definitely go there.¡±


    Although the mission was not so leisurely that they could call it a trip, if they sessfully eliminated the Demon God¡¯s corpse, it was not a bad idea to tour another world beforeing back to Earth.


    ¡°Wh-What should I do, Master Kang-Woo? Sh-Should I wear a mask? If I e-expose such a hideous face, I might be a nuisance to you...¡± Halcyon bit his nails anxiously.


    Kang-Woo flicked Halcyon¡¯s forehead and said, ¡°Nonsense. You already experienced it here, didn¡¯t you? No one will be disgusted by how you look.¡±


    ¡°B-But...!¡±


    ¡°No one will, so there¡¯s no need to worry.¡±


    Although Kang-Woo was unsure of Aernor¡¯s beauty standards, they would not be disgusted by Halcyon¡¯s looks. They would more likely be horrified by Lilith¡¯s true form.


    ¡°Wow, look at all these beauties around you. You¡¯re gonna get a harem at this rate.¡± Yeon-Joo nced at him sourly.


    Kang-Woo shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t help being a chick ma.¡±


    ¡°Big words for a virgin.¡±


    Kang-Woo took severe emotional damage. He took out a mana stone that led to the Hall of Protection while frowning.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    A white Gate that had be all too familiar formed. Kang-Woo¡¯s party took their own bags and entered the Gate.


    ¡°Ah, hyung-nim!¡±


    ¡°Is that everyone?¡±


    Kim Si-Hun and La were waiting for them in the Hall of Protection after finishing their own preparations. Kang-Woo walked up to them while waving.


    ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Another world... It¡¯s a bit nerve-wracking.¡± Seol-Ah took deep breaths with her hand on her chest. Just that slight movement caused something to shake.


    Seeing that, Yeon-Joo¡¯s expression stiffened, her gaze shifting to her own chest. ¡°... Fucking mid dif[1].¡±


    Someone had fed the mid.


    ¡°How are you feeling, La? I heard that you weren¡¯t in the best condition because you epted so much of Lady Gaia¡¯s power...¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine. Though it¡¯s true that I pushed myself a bit to ept enough of Lady Gaia¡¯s power to be able tomunicate with her even in Aernor, but it¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t handle,¡± La answered while energetically clenching her fists.


    Kang-Woo nodded in relief.


    <i>¡®La is the key to this whole operation.¡¯</i>


    Even if they managed to sessfully eliminate the Demon God¡¯s corpse without the help of Gaia¡¯s incarnation, they had absolutely no way of manipting the protection of Aernor.


    ¡°Ah...¡± La suddenly stared off into space. She then said, ¡°Lady Gaia has told us to make sure toe back safely.¡±


    Kang-Woo got down on one knee in front of La and lowered his head. ¡°Lady Gaia. Just like how you saved me, I will do my best to save you this time.¡±


    <i>Riiing</i>.


    [No, my child. I should be apologizing to you for entrusting such a dangerous mission to you.]


    [You have been blessed by the Goddess of Earth!]


    [You have recovered from all fatigue, and perfect physical condition will be maintained!]


    Powder made of white light sprinkled down on Kang-Woo¡¯s party. Kang-Woo smirked with his head still lowered.


    <i>¡®Nice.¡¯</i>


    Gaia did not seem to have discovered Kang-Woo¡¯s true identity. Rather, it seemed like her trust and affection toward him had be far deeper than before. Kang-Woo felt like he could lower his worries regarding her sudden trolling, like she had done in the past.


    [Find the high elves once you arrive in Aernor. They will guide you.]


    <i>¡®High elves, huh?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo peeked a nce at Si-Hun and recalled the Holy Sword Ludwig that was currently in his possession.


    <i>¡®Come to think of it, Ludwig used to have a high elves¡¯ blessing.¡¯</i>


    There was a chance that high elves possessed a special ability of detecting all that was demonic.


    <i>¡®... I¡¯m a bit worried.¡¯</i>


    If they were able to detect the Demonic Sea within him, it would result in all sorts of troubles.


    <i>¡®But it¡¯s not like I can afford to avoid them.¡¯</i>


    Since Lucis had no idea where the Demon God¡¯s heart was located, there was no other way to locate it than to rely on the high elves since they couldn¡¯t just randomly roam all over Aernor in search of it.


    ¡°I understand.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    [May the light guide you.]


    The powder made of light that had been sprinkling on their heads vanished. Kang-Woo got up and checked the time on his smartphone.


    <i>¡®It should be...¡¯</i>


    It was about time that what he had prepared would arrive.


    <i>Tap! Tap! Tap!</i>


    However, what had arrived was not what Kang-Woo had been waiting for.


    ¡°Hey, hey! You gotta take me with you too!¡± Uriel shouted while hurriedly running. He sighed in relief after seeing that the party had not left yet, and then red at Kang-Woo. ¡°You didn¡¯t forget about me, did you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. We were waiting for you,¡± Kang-Woo answered.


    ¡°... Didn¡¯t you guys gather way too early for that?¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    Even Kang-Woo had been a littleter than the scheduled meeting time.


    ¡°Tch,¡± Seol-Ah clicked her tongue from behind.


    Kang-Woo more or less had an idea of why Uriel had beente.


    La walked forward and said, ¡°Since we¡¯ve all gathered, let¡¯s g¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Kang-Woo interjected. ¡°My order still hasn¡¯t arrived yet, so let¡¯s wait a little longer.¡±


    ¡°... Your order?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a necessity for our mission to Aernor.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s party members tilted their heads in confusion while staring at the serious Kang-Woo.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    <i>Vrrrr</i>. Just then, Kang-Woo¡¯s smartphone vibrated.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s here.¡¯</i>


    Speak of the Devil, and he woulde; it was truly perfect timing.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± replied Kang-Woo while turning around, and walked to one of the Gates of the Hall of Protection.


    It was the one that led to the Grand Canyon, the ce that Balrog, Kang-Woo and others often used as a training area since they could let loose as much as they wanted there.


    ¡°What did you¡ª¡± As Yeon-Joo was talking, her mouth fell open after going through the Gate. ¡°... What the hell is all this?¡±


    An enormous number of boxes were piled up to the point that one would think they were at a warehouse or a harbor. Yeon-Joo approached one of the boxes and checked the english text written on it.


    ¡°Kimchi...¡± Yeon-Joo froze. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you...¡±


    ¡°I told you. It¡¯s a necessity,¡± Kang-Woo replied while smirking, and triumphantly revealed what was in the boxes. ¡°A hundred thousand tonnes of pork and kimchi, various vegetables and spices. I also prepared ten thousand tonnes of tuna, beef, eel and mackerel since it might be tiring to have just pork all the time.¡±


    Kang-Woo trembled from delight. ¡°Aaaahh...¡±


    It was perfect. This was the definition of heaven. Although he had prepared it himself, it could not have been any more perfect.


    Yeon-Joo stared at the gigantic pile of boxes with her mouth agape. ¡°How are you nning on taking all this with you?¡±


    ¡°I prepared this,¡± answered Kang-Woo as he took out a bag.


    It was a magic item that he had asked from Khadgar in exchange for his freedom. It was the ultimate item that could not only store an enormous number of ingredients, but could even maintain their freshness as well!


    ¡°That¡¯s not the end of it.¡± Kang-Woo had even prepared for the worst-case scenario and prepared live pigs as well as seeds for various vegetables and spices. ¡°Hahahahahaha!!¡±


    He could not help butugh. He clenched his fists and shouted toward the sky, ¡°Never again... Never again will I make the same mistake!¡±


    This time, it would be different; Kang-Woo recalled the vow that he had madest night.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± Yeon-Joo grabbed her head.


    <i>¡®Why... Why the fuck did I quit my guild master position to follow this goddamn lunatic who sold his soul to kimchi stew?¡¯</i>


    She felt like she was going to cry. It felt like her heartfelt decision had been stained after kimchi stew had been poured on it.


    ¡°You fucking kimchi stew maniac...¡±


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s voice spread throughout the empty space in vain.


    1. Mid dif refers to a term in MOBA such as League of Legends where one midner is weaker/stronger than the midner of the opposing team. ?

 Chapter 333 - Continent of Aernor (1)

    <h4>Chapter 333 - Continent of Aernor (1)</h4>


    The party traveled through the blue Gate. Their vision was distorted and they ended up in a silent darkness as if they had been thrown into space. Oh Kang-Woo was reminded of when he had entered the dimensional crack.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    The only thing different from back then was that it was not an endless tunnel; they were slowly but surely nearing the end of the tunnel. Their vision turned back clear as they were enveloped in the blue light.


    ¡°Argh, I feel dizzy,¡± Cha Yeon-Joo said, putting her hand on her forehead after going through the blue Gate.


    ¡°This is... the continent of Aernor?¡± Kang-Woo said as he looked around.


    The Gate had been opened in a gigantic forest.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t really tell based on the surroundings.¡¯</i>


    He was not a botanist, so he had no idea of whether these trees could only be found on Earth or Aernor.


    ¡°Uhh... Mm. Kang-Woo?¡± Han Seol-Ah called out to him.


    ¡°Hm? What is it, darling?¡±


    ¡°Over there...¡±


    Kang-Woo turned toward the direction where Seol-Ah pointed.


    ¡°Wha...¡± Kang-Woo unconsciously chuckled. ¡°I guess... we¡¯re not on Earth.¡±


    Seol-Ah had been pointing at a giant tree that had pulled out its own roots from the ground and was walking.


    ¡°Damn, it even has eyes and a mouth,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    ¡°Oh! Th-Th-Th-Th-That¡¯s...!¡± Yeon-Joo pped her hands together as if she had realized something. ¡°That¡¯s Maokai!¡±


    ¡°... What the hell is that?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°It could even be a world tree if grown to its full potential!¡±


    No matter how Kang-Woo look at it, the tree did not seem like it would grow asrge as a world tree.


    <i>¡®Anyway...¡¯</i>


    He was at least sure that such a tree did not exist on Earth.


    <i>¡®A monster like that hasn¡¯t been discovered in Gates either.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the walking tree while having his arms crossed. It was not the only tree that was moving; there were thousands of trees that were baring their sharp teeth as they pulled out their roots. Any normal person would have run away in shock.


    ¡°I will take care of them, hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°Stand aside. I will be the one to take care of them.¡±


    Si-Hun and Balrog stood in front of Kang-Woo while ring at each other, just like dogs that wanted to be praised. Kang-Woo smirked and waved his hand.


    ¡°Sure, go for it. Oh, why don¡¯t you guys make a bet about who can kill more of them?¡± Kang-Woo suggested.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡±


    Balrog and Si-Hun¡¯s eyes shone from the intriguing suggestion.


    ¡°You are arrogant,¡± Balrog said.


    ¡°Right back at you,¡± answered Si-Hun.


    They were emitting bloodlust at each other instead of the tree monsters.


    ¡°Whoever wins gets a dedicated one-day training session with hyung-nim.¡±


    <i>¡®What?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Kehehehe, deal.¡±


    <i>¡®Deal, my ass, you fucker. Who do you think you are to put me up as a prize?¡¯</i>


    ¡°What the hell are you two talking ab¡ª¡±


    <i>Wham!!</i>


    Si-Hun and Balrog charged toward the tree monsters before Kang-Woo even had a chance to stop them.


    <i>Crunch! Crush!</i>


    ¡°Skreeeee!¡±


    Sounds of trees being smashed along with the screams of monsters were heard from their surroundings in an instant.


    Kang-Woo grabbed his hair as if his head hurt, and then turned to Uriel. ¡°Lord Uriel, do you know where we are?¡±


    ¡°Mm. We seem to be in the Nightmare Forest in the southern region of the continent.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Kang-Woo fell into thought with his arms crossed, wondering what should be done first. They needed to find the high elves.


    ¡°Do you happen to know where the high elves are?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not sure either,¡± Uriel answered while shaking his head. ¡°Angels have a policy of staying away from Aernor matters as much as possible. We usually stay in a fortress called Sant¡¯Angelo and onlye out to perform missions.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean you know barely anything about the continent?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I know the generalyout, but... I barely know anything about how the people of Aernor live and where the high elves are.¡±


    They were in a pickle.


    <i>¡®This brat is fucking useless.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had gone far out of his way to prepare Seol-Ah¡¯s pendant, human skin for Balrog and Vaal Zahak to wear, and many other things just to keep things hidden from Uriel during their Aernor mission, but Uriel was of absolutely no benefit.


    <i>¡®Oh.¡¯</i>


    A thought popped up in Kang-Woo¡¯s mind.


    ¡°In that case, could you go back to that fortress and ask about the high elves? Since Holy Sword Ludwig had been blessed by the high elves, other angels might know where they are.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What? You want me to go to Sant¡¯Angelo? By myself?¡±


    Sant¡¯Angelo, the fortress of the angels, was located high above the northernmost region of Aernor. Just flying there from the Nightmare Forest, located in the southern region, would take an enormous amount of time.


    ¡°Yes, please. We barely know anything about this ce, so we would appreciate it if we could get help from the angels.¡±


    ¡°Ngh...¡±


    Uriel bit his lip; his expression clearly showed that he did not want to part from Kang-Woo.


    Just then, Seol-Ah hugged Kang-Woo¡¯s arm and said, ¡°You¡¯re right, Kang-Woo. I¡¯m... honestly a little scared. Trees suddenly moved and attacked us, and we have no idea where this ce is and what we should be doing.¡±


    Seol-Ah stuffed herself in Kang-Woo¡¯s embrace and gave Uriel a look as if telling him to go away already.


    ¡°Urgh!¡±


    Uriel red at Seol-Ah while baring his teeth, but he could not object since he had been just as confused when he crossed over to Earth. For them to adapt to a world that they knew nothing about, Uriel needed to be the one to provide them with the information.


    ¡°Urghhh. Oh! Then Kang-Woo, you shoulde with m¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t. I am the leader of this party.¡±


    ¡°Kuh...¡±


    It was a fair point. The leader of the party that was responsible formand could not be absent.


    ¡°I-In that case, I¡¯ll just call them¡ª¡±


    ¡°I believe it would be wise to go there directly to give an official report regarding this mission as well as about us.¡±


    It was more efficient to call them if it was just to ask for information regarding the high elves, but Kang-Wo¡¯s true objective was to get this nuisance of an angel out of his hair temporarily.


    ¡°Urgh, fine. In that case, I¡¯ll head to Sant¡¯Angelo to get information regarding the high elves.¡± Uriel nodded in dejection.


    Kang-Woo smiled and grabbed Uriel¡¯s hands. ¡°Thank you very much. There would be nothing better than having the help of the angels in this operation.¡±


    Uriel¡¯s cheeks reddened as he was joined with Kang-Woo by hand. Seol-Ah stared icy daggers at Uriel.


    ¡°Ahem, alright. I¡¯ll go make an official report to Lord Michael and request for reinforcements.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Kang-Woo smiled.


    Uriel spread out his wings and flew up into the air.


    ¡°I¡¯ll call you as soon as I arrive in Sant¡¯Angelo, so make sure you keep your crystal orb with you at all times!¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    With that, Uriel disappeared. As soon as he disappeared, Balrog unleashed his true form as if he was waiting for it and began to wipe out the tree monsters even faster.


    ¡°Graaaaaaahh!! I refuse to lose to the likes of you! I will not lose my one-on-one training session with my king!¡±


    Balrog seemed to have been falling behind Si-Hun in his human form. He rampaged like a beast and wiped out the monsters at incredible speed.


    ¡°Hahaha... We certainly can¡¯t show that to Lord Uriel,¡± said La while scratching her cheek.


    Kang-Woo mentioned while staring at her, ¡°This needs to be kept a secret, even to Lady Gaia.¡±


    La answered while nodding, ¡°Yes, of course. Oh, but shouldn¡¯t we tell her one day? I¡¯m sure that Lady Gaia will understand your circumstances.¡±


    ¡°We should, but not now. Let¡¯s tell her together once we finish this mission.¡±


    Kang-Woo had fallen into Hell in the past and turned into a demon against his will, and had been the demon king until he lost to Satan. He had managed to ovee demonic energy and turned back into a human with the help of Tirion, God of Heroes, and even the demons that served as his retainers back in Hell were with him. Although there was no need to tell Uriel, he needed to tell Gaia sooner orter.


    <i>¡®Well, I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯ll buy it, considering the trust I¡¯ve built with her.¡¯</i>


    However, one never knew how anything would turn out. One could never be too careful.


    ¡°Hehe. It¡¯s so much nicer now that the bothersome brat is gone.¡± Seol-Ah smiled brightly.


    She still seemed to bear hostility toward Uriel. Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and turned around.


    ¡°Vernaak.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master Kang-Woo.¡±


    Vaal Zahak¡ª no, Vernaak approached.


    ¡°Do you happen to know where the high elves are?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Although he had no idea if it was true or not, Vernaak was apparently the demon king of Aernor. In other words, he likely knew much about this continent, and possibly even knew about the location of the high elves.


    ¡°My apologies. I also... have not heard about the location of the high elves.¡± Vernaak shook his head, contrary to Kang-Woo¡¯s hopes.


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. Although Echidna also used to live in Aernor, there was no way that she would know where they were since she had never left herir.


    ¡°This is a bit of a predicament.¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned. They needed the help of the high elves to find the Demon God¡¯s heart, but they had no way of knowing where the high elves were.


    <i>¡®What a catch-22.¡¯</i>


    They had to go through too many hoops to do anything.


    <i>¡®I guess there¡¯s no other choice but to gather some information in a city.¡¯</i>


    It had not even been thirty minutes since they arrived in Aernor; there was no need to be hasty.


    ¡°In that case, do you know if there are any cities near the Nightmare Forest, Vernaak?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°None near the Nightmare Forest. As for a city closest to the forest... Mm, there is a city called Velen north of here.¡±


    ¡°How far is it?¡±


    ¡°Two weeks by carriage. After we get out of the Nightmare Forest, that is.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Kang-Woo leisurely turned around. Two weeks by carriage was by no means short, considering how developed Aernor¡¯s civilization was. Not just that, it was two weeks after getting out of the Nightmare Forest. If they were a normal party, they would have had to go by foot, but...


    ¡°Echidna.¡±


    Kang-Woo had a retainer that could fly.


    <i>¡®It¡¯d be faster if I flew by myself, but...¡¯</i>


    It was better for every party member to go together since not all of them could fly.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Echidna asked.


    ¡°Turn back to your true form and take us to Velen.¡±


    ¡°Hm! Hm! Got it!¡± Finally having gotten something to do, Echidna clenched her fists and nodded. ¡°Just a second, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ck light poured out from Echidna, which turned even brighter as she grew bigger. Once the ck light disappeared, all that was left was the intimidating demonic dragon. It had been a while since Kang-Woo had seen Echidna¡¯s true form.


    ¡°Huh? Is it just me or have you grown?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    [Hm! It¡¯s all thanks to you.]


    Likely having been influenced by Kang-Woo¡¯s growth in power, Echidna was far bigger than what she used to be when he first met her.


    ¡°Right, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s party climbed on to Echidna¡¯s back and grabbed hold of her scales that popped out like thorns on her back.


    ¡°Urgh...¡± Yeon-Joo¡¯s face paled. She said anxiously, ¡°D-Don¡¯t fly so rough this time, okay, brat?¡±


    She seemed to have recalled the nightmare of when she got on Echidna for the very first time.


    [I¡¯m not a brat,] Echidna said angrily as she spread her wings out.


    She soared into the sky at incredible speed.


    ¡°Kyaaaaaaaahh!!¡± Yeon-Joo screamed.


    <i>¡®Let¡¯s see.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo hid Echidna using an Authority and looked down at the forest that was stretched out endlessly, befitting the name of Nightmare Forest.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    The forest was being destroyed at breakneck speed.


    ¡°Kurgh! Move! I will be with hyung-nim!¡±


    ¡°My kiiiiiiiiiiiing!!¡±


    Si-Hun and Balrog were running amok to the point that the entire forest would be destroyed. Kang-Woo could feel their zing passion from all the way up in the sky.


    [Oh,e to think of it, I forgot to wait for th¡ª]


    ¡°Go.¡± Kang-Woo said, while sensing their zing passion, ¡°Just go.¡±


    [Huh?]


    Leave them behind, please.

 Chapter 334 - What the Hell is this Food Waste?

    <h4>Chapter 334 - What the Hell is this Food Waste?</h4>


    Wind blew past them at great speed. The city came into view just a few hours after Echidna took flight.


    <i>¡®That ce must be Velen.¡¯</i>


    Oh Kang-Woo looked down at the city with great interest. Although it was nothingpared to civilization on Earth, Aernor¡¯s civilization was nothing to scoff at either.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not as bad as the Middle Ages, at the very least.¡¯</i>


    The streets were clean, andmps were installed to illuminate the streets during the night. It felt more like a rural European town instead of a fantasy world.


    ¡°Take us down near the city, Echidna,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    [Hm! Okay!]


    Echidna began her descent while pping her wings. Although the sudden appearance of a dragon in the city¡¯s vicinity would usually cause panic, nothing happened thanks to the Authority of Concealment.


    ¡°Bleeeeeeghh!¡± Cha Yeon-Joo threw up on the ground as soon as theynded, and red at Echidna in resentment.


    [Hmph.] Echidna returned to her human form while snorting.


    ¡°Do you all have your interpretation devices?¡± asked Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Kang-Woo ced a sticker that looked like a nausea skin patch behind his ear. This was also one of the magic items that Kang-Woo had squeezed out of Khadgar.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    The party walked toward the city entrance.


    ¡°ID, please,¡± a guard at the entrance said.


    ¡°Here you go,¡± Kang-Woo replied while holding out a tree branch at the security guard.


    Of course, there was no way that he had prepared ID in advance.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a mercenary. Please keep in mind that you will be disposed of in ordance with Velen''sws if you cause amotion,¡± the guard mentioned firmly.


    Kang-Woo took back the tree branch and canceled the Authority of Blindness.


    ¡°Understood,¡± he answered and then headed into the city.


    Although Uriel was not with them, there were still ten of them, and each of them drew much attention due to their extraordinary looks.


    ¡°Wow... Th-They¡¯re goddesses.¡±


    ¡°L-L-L-Look at that man...! How can a man be so handsome?!¡±


    ¡°Cerberus! Cerberus has appeared!¡±


    Kang-Woo ignored the fuss around them and took a look around Velen.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s with this ce?¡¯</i>


    The scenery felt somewhat familiar. Kang-Woo recalled a city that felt simr to this ce.


    <i>¡®Valencia.¡¯</i>


    He could feel the same thing from this ce as that corrupt city in South America.


    ¡°Hyung-nim, this ce...¡± Kim Si-Hun, having felt the same thing, whispered to Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo took a thorough look around the city¡¯s streets while narrowing his eyes.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s certainly weird.¡¯</i>


    It was not that there wasn¡¯t anyone on the streets, since even now, the citizens were making a huge fuss while looking their way. However, if one took a good look at the people, they were dressed extravagantly and were wearing expensive-looking essories.


    <i>¡®As for the rest...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could not describe them as anything more than miserable. A negative and unsettling energy was enveloping the city, and he could even faintly smell rotting flesh from the alleyways.


    <i>¡®I guess it¡¯s because there¡¯s a ss system.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo did not know whether Velen had always been like this, or if this was how all of Aernor was like.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡±


    He interrupted his long thought. The gap between the rich and poor, as well as how much themoners were suffering, was none of his business. They had only one goal for havinge to this city.


    <i>¡®To find out the location of the high elves as well as general knowledge regarding Aermor.¡¯</i>


    They just needed to focus on that goal.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we get some money first, Kang-Woo?¡± Han Seol-Ah asked.


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    Whether they got food, amodations or items, they needed money to do so.


    <i>¡®I have no idea about Aernor¡¯s currency, but...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled therge amount of pure gold that he had brought; he had already confirmed that gold was also very expensive in Aernor.


    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s exchange the gold we brought into Aernor currency.¡±


    Thankfully, Velen was full of institutions simr to banks that allowed for the exchange of gold into currency. The unit of currency was <i>Arnan</i>, and the rate of currency seemed to be about the same as the Korean won; one won was roughly 1 Arnan.


    <i>¡®Makes things easy.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had thought that there would be some mimunication when the unit of currency changed, but they fortunately did not need to worry.


    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s exchange the gold for about one billion Arnans.¡±


    A hundred million Arnans per person would be more than enough to travel around Aernor. Kang-Woo exchanged a small portion of the pure gold that he had brought into currency.


    ¡°Let me know if you need more,¡± he said as he distributed 100 million Arnans to each person.


    Although carrying around a hundred million was certainly nerve-wracking, fortunately, there was a card in Aernor that allowed one to store money issued by banks.


    <i>¡®I never expected there to be debit cards in another world,¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo thought as he looked down in surprise at the magic tool in card form. Aernor waspletely different from the concept of another world that he had in mind.


    ¡°But why is the currency called Arnan? Are there no other nations in Aernor besides the Arnan Empire or whatever it was?¡± Cha Yeon-Joo asked.


    ¡°There are, but the Arnan Empire is so powerful and magically advanced that other nations also just use the Arnan as the currency,¡± Vernaak answered.


    ¡°Whoa.¡± Yeon-Joo fiddled around with the card in fascination.


    ¡°Shall we find amodations first?¡± Vernaak suggested.


    ¡°Sounds good.¡±


    They would not be able to gain all the information they needed in just one day; Kang-Woo nodded and looked around the area for amodations. There was an extravagant-looking inn next to a castle that seemed to belong to the lord of the territory.


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo, who was about to head there, narrowed his eyes and shook his head.


    <i>¡®Since my objective is to gather information, anywhere else is better than there.¡¯</i>


    The ces he had in mind were those that had a bar on the first floor and lodgings on the second floor and up. The quality of the amodations would obviously fall behindpared to the extravagant inn, but it would most definitely be a better ce to gather various kinds of information.


    Kang-Woo got off of the main street and found an inn with a bar on the first floor and lodgings from the second floor and up, just what he had wanted.


    ¡°Haaa, this is driving me insane.¡±


    ¡°How is Princess Iris doing these days?¡±


    ¡°How else? Shit! If only it weren¡¯t for that bitch...¡±


    ¡°Watch your mouth, dammit! Even if there aren¡¯t any nobles here, you need to be careful!¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. My bad.¡±


    Just like Kang-Woo had hoped, he heard interesting information before even opening the door of the inn.


    <i>¡®I guess there are some issues in the Arnan Empire.¡¯</i>


    If there were not any, there was no way that people would be badmouthing the imperial family despite this being a backwater bar.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll take my time collecting more info.¡¯</i>


    It was important to know how Aernor was running since they were here now. Kang-Woo went upstairs and unpacked first.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit worn down, but it¡¯s a lot cleaner than I expected,¡± said Seol-Ah, who had ended up using the same room as Kang-Woo.


    ¡°And the fact that they even have a debit card... I knew that Aernor¡¯s civilization was fairly developed, but it¡¯s a lot more developed than I thought.¡±


    ¡°Hoho. I¡¯m d we don¡¯t have to spend a lot of time adjusting.¡±


    Kang-Woo sat on the bed and said, ¡°Yeah. We don¡¯t know how long we¡¯ll have to stay here, after all.¡±


    Seol-Ah sat next to him and leaned on him while embracing his arm. The sensation of somethingrge yet soft shot up his arm.


    <i>¡®Cerberus has appeared!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled what someone had shouted on the street earlier.


    Seol-Ah giggled and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind living here forever, as long as I¡¯m with you.¡±


    ¡°Your mother would cry.¡±


    ¡°Ngh.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. Well, even so, I¡¯d say Earth is better.¡±


    Seol-Ah nodded and asked seductively, ¡°Are we going to bed for the day then, Kang-Woo?¡±


    Kang-Woo shook his head in disappointment. ¡°It¡¯s a bit early for that.¡±


    ¡°Urghh.¡±


    Seol-Ah pouted cutely. Kang-Woo smirked and got up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Kang-Woo.¡±


    Kang-Woo roughly unpacked, gathered his other party members and announced, ¡°Go around the city in groups and gather information about this continent. Anything is fine, whether it be information about Arnan¡¯s politicalndscape, or even better, information about high elves.¡±


    He then made the groups himself since it was obvious what would happen if they were left to make their own groups.


    ¡°Seol-Ah, Yeon-Joo and Echidna are group 1. Si-Hun and La are group 2. Lilith and Vernaak are group 3. Balrog and Halcyon are group 4.¡±


    ¡°What about you, Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll gather information from this bar.¡±


    He was intrigued by the conversation about Princess Iris that he had happened to overhear at the bar entrance.


    Lilith nodded and turned her head to Vernaak. ¡°Let use back as soon as possible after gathering useful information.¡±


    ¡°Yes, madam,¡± Vernaak replied while courteously bowing.


    He really looked the part since he was also wearing a butler outfit and a monocle.


    <i>¡®Although he¡¯s a skeleton.¡¯</i>


    A pink apron-wearing skeleton, that was.


    ***


    The party members aside from Kang-Woo dispersed to gather information. Kang-Woo, who was left all alone, walked down to the bar on the first floor. Curses andints boisterously filled the air. Despite this being a bar, Kang-Woo could easily tell how miserable the citizens¡¯ lives were usually, just from theck ofughs.


    <i>¡®I might as well eavesdrop as I get some drinks in me.¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t eavesdrop while drinking water when he was in a bar; he needed to order alcohol to avoid suspicion.


    <i>¡®They apparently have beer in Aernor as well.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo got thirsty after thinking about a cold ss of beer. He realized that he had not taken a break for the past few months because he had been so busy preparing for the Aernor mission.


    <i>¡®I feel sorry for the others.¡¯</i>


    He made excuses in his mind that it couldn¡¯t be helped since drinking in leisure was part of his act to gather information, and headed to the counter.


    Kang-Woo sat down and ordered, ¡°A beer and any food that you have.¡±


    A lukewarm beer and a few slices of ham arrived soon after.


    <i>¡®Fucking hell.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo grimaced as soon as he put the slice of ham in his mouth.


    <i>¡®Why is it so damn salty?¡¯</i>


    It was as if it had been soaked in salt. He was able to chill the beer using an Authority, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about how salty this ham was.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ve lost my appetite.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo spit out the ham and frowned.


    The boy who had been serving beer flinched. He quickly bowed and said, ¡°Ah... Umm, I-I¡¯m so sorry! My sister isn¡¯t the best cook... If it wasn¡¯t to your liking, I¡¯ll get you something else.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± Kang-Woo waved his hand and took something out from his jacket. ¡°Just pour this in a pot and heat it up for me.¡±


    He had taken out a vacuum seal bag containing Seol-Ah¡¯s kimchi stew. It was one of his favorite items since it was easily portable and could be heated up just as easily.


    ¡°Ah, food from outside is...¡±


    Kang-Woo ced two 50,000 Arnan bills into the boy¡¯s pocket.


    ¡°I will get it heated up for you in a sh!¡± the boy answered energetically and ran into the kitchen with the vacuum seal bag.


    Kang-Woo sipped the beer that he had chilled with the Authority of Freezing and looked around.


    <i>¡®Right then, let¡¯s listen in on what everyone¡¯s saying.¡¯</i>


    He perked up his ears to overhear everyone¡¯s conversations.


    ¡°Urgh. Have you heard? Taxes are rising again next year.¡±


    ¡°Shit, Viscount Velen is insane! With the empire going to the shitter...¡±


    ¡°Haaa. How do they expect us to survive when we¡¯re already barely holding on?¡±


    Comints could be heard from everywhere. Kang-Woo honed his sense of hearing while waiting for the kimchi stew. As he was organizing the iing auditory information in his brain...


    <i>m¡ª!!</i>


    ¡°Attention!! Put your hands over your heads and kneel!!¡±


    ¡°Where are the ten people that had just checked into this inn?!¡±


    Knights wearing armor destroyed the door and poured into the bar.


    ¡°V-Viscount Velen. What b-brings you here...?¡± the boy serving beer asked cautiously.


    The man being addressed as Viscount Velen frowned aggressively and kicked the boy.


    ¡°Arghh!¡±


    ¡°How dare a meremoner talk to me?¡±


    Viscount Velen trampled on the head of the boy in displeasure.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    The man¡¯s expression froze. Red liquid from the pot that the boy had been holding had sttered on his shoes.


    ¡°What the hell is this food waste?¡± Viscount Velen said while scraping his shoes on the floor in disgust.


    ¡°Did you just say... Food waste?¡±


    A man with sharp eyes stood up while dragging his chair back.

 Chapter 335 - Legend of the High Elves (1)

    <h4>Chapter 335 - Legend of the High Elves (1)</h4>


    ¡°Kimchi stew is¡ª! A sacred food!¡±


    ¡°Louder.¡±


    ¡°KIMCHI STEW IS¡ª!! A SACRED FOOOOOOOD!!¡±


    ¡°Put more heart into it.¡±


    ¡°Hurgh... K-Kimchi stew...¡±


    Tears flowed down Viscount Velen¡¯s swollen cheeks. The bar had be an absolute mess. Knights that had been recruited usingrge amounts of money were all sprawled on the floor with all their limbs broken, and the bar that had been shabbily but neatly decorated was in shambles.


    ¡°Do it right.¡± Oh Kang-Woo frowned in displeasure.


    Viscount Velen yelled the words again with his face pale.


    ¡°Tsk,¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and brought over a chair to sit in front of Viscount Velen.


    He then ced his foot over the hands of the viscount, who was crying with his head on the ground.


    ¡°Bastards like you are a waste of page space. Were you all made from a factory or something? How do you all say the exact same shit?¡±


    Whether it be Earth or Aernor, every single extra had the exact same personality and tone of speech, as if the author could not be bothered to give them any interesting characteristics.


    <i>¡®Are they like Nurse Joy?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked down at Viscount Velen in exasperation. <i>Crunch</i>. He trampled on the back of the viscount¡¯s hand. Screams echoed out.


    Stricken by fear, Viscount Velen said, ¡°P-Please listen to me. There is a reason why I¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t say anything. Just keep your mouth shut.¡±


    It was a waste of page space.


    ¡°I can tell who you are and why you got off your fat ass toe all the way here without you telling me.¡±


    There was only one reason why the lord of a territory woulde all the way to a shabby inn.


    <i>¡®For gold.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had purposefully revealed the enormous amount of gold that he possessed when he had gone to exchange it at the bank. It had not been because hecked caution.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no need to be cautious.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo leaned back on the chair. He would not lose even if this entire city¡ª no, this entire nation were to attack him all at once. A nation made up of mere humans would be no match for him, who used to have the entire Nine Hells under his foot.


    Not only that, Kang-Woo had gotten stronger than his former self; there was absolutely no need for him to be cautious over a mere lord of a territory when he had defeated a being of godhood that possessed Divinity, with just his demonic energy.


    ¡°Th-There seems to be a misunders¡ª¡±


    ¡°I told you to shut up, my fucking friend.¡±


    ¡°A-Apologies!¡±


    Kang-Woo put one leg over the other and crossed his arms. His n of covertly gathering information in the bar had gone out the window because of this fatass.


    <i>¡®What should I do now?¡¯</i>


    He wondered if he should go somewhere else. As he was left with his thoughts, he shook his head.


    <i>¡®No, I should make use of this opportunity.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked down at the trembling Viscount Velen. He could gather information at a bar anytime he wanted; it would be more effective at the moment to rip high-quality information off of a man in a leadership position.


    ¡°Let me ask you a few things,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    ¡°Y-Yes! A-Anything!¡±


    ¡°What are your thoughts on Princess Iris?¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡± Viscount Velen became wide-eyed at the unexpected question. ¡°I-I believe she is worthy of respect. She is fair and just, and is taking care of the empire¡¯s citizens in the ce of the bedridden emperor.¡±


    <i>¡®I can hear the gears turning in your head from here, man.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smirked. Viscount Velen seemed to have mistaken Kang-Woo for someone associated with the imperial family.


    ¡°She is fair and just, you say?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°A-Ahem! Y-Yes, that¡¯s correct!¡± Viscount Velen answered between coughs.


    It was obvious to anyone that he was lying.


    <i>¡®I guess I have my answer just from his reaction.¡¯</i>


    Princess Iris did not have a very good reputation amongmon folk, and even among the nobles. Since the emperor was bedridden, it was highly likely that Princess Iris was the one handling political affairs.


    <i>¡®In that case, could Princess Iris be why the Arnan Empire is in such a terrible state?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could not be sure; whatever the public thought, one could never have the whole truth unless they met with the person directly.


    <i>¡®I mean, it¡¯s none of my business.¡¯</i>


    He already had his hands full in search of the Demon God¡¯s corpse; he did not have the leeway to meddle with the empire¡¯s affairs.


    <i>¡®But it doesn¡¯t hurt to know.¡¯</i>


    Since he was in this world, it was better to know how it was turning.


    ¡°In other words, you¡¯re saying that you nobles are having a st thanks to the ipetent princess.¡±


    ¡°N-Not at all! I would not dare say such a thing about Her Highn¡ª¡±


    ¡°Bullshit.¡± Kang-Woo chuckled. ¡°I actually had an inkling from the moment I heard what the guard said.¡±


    The guard at the entrance of the city had told them that they would be disposed of in ordance with Velen''sws if they caused amotion.


    <i>¡®That was weird.¡¯</i>


    It wasn¡¯t thews of the empire, but Velen¡¯sws. In other words, Viscount Velen had createdws of his own preference to be followed in his territory. It made no sense that a mere lord of a remote territory would have enough authority to wieldws however they wanted.


    <i>¡®This nation is going to the shitter.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo did not know why, but he could clearly see the signs of the empire¡¯s imminent copse. It could not be called anything else, since a mere viscount was acting like a king in his own remote territory.


    ¡°Tsk,¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue in displeasure.


    Aernor¡¯s bad political state was not good news for him in the slightest.


    <i>¡®It might be a hassle while going around.¡¯</i>


    Although he had not been to any other territories yet, if they were no different from Velen, it would be an extreme hassle to gather information about the high elves while going around the continent. The closer the nation got to copse, the more the people in power would get ahead of themselves.


    Kang-Woo asked some more questions after that, and Viscount Velen answered them all while kneeling. However, there was no other useful information.


    ¡°Well, then.¡±


    Kang-Woo slowly raised his hand.


    <i>¡®Time to wrap things up.¡¯</i>


    He needed to extinguish the fire that was the hugemotion before it grew any bigger.


    ¡°Eek!¡± Seeing Kang-Woo raising his hand, Viscount Velen clenched his eyes shut and mmed his head on the floor while trembling in fear. ¡°P-Please, spare my life...!¡±


    ¡°Sheesh, don¡¯t get the wrong idea.¡± Kang-Woo crouched down in front of the viscount and grabbed the back of the viscount¡¯s neck. ¡°Do I look like the kind of person to kill people left and right?¡±


    ¡°Ah... O-Of course not! You are the paragon of righteousness and generosity!¡± Viscount Velen sucked up to Kang-Woo as much as he could for his own survival.


    <i>¡®Good, very good.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smirked and slowly drew out the Authority of Fear.


    ¡°You know that you can¡¯t tell anyone about what happened here, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do! I will take it to my grave!¡±


    It was a lie; Viscount Velen would most definitely spill to everyone about Kang-Woo as soon as he let him go.


    ¡°And you¡¯ll pay for this bar¡¯s repairs, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes! I will even have it fully remodeled!¡±


    It was a lie; Viscount Velen would likely have the boy and his older sister beheaded to vent his anger.


    ¡°Oh, and while you do that, lower the damn taxes. Capiche? You¡¯ve stuffed your face enough, so I don¡¯t see why you have to collect more.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir! I will abolish the ns to raise taxes next month!¡±


    It was all too obviously a lie.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was not displeased, since he did not hate people that could be unsightly without a second thought for the sake of their survival.


    ¡°Good, good. You¡¯ve made the right choice.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    Darkness enveloped Kang-Woo¡¯s hand that was holding Viscount Velen¡¯s neck. He activated the Authority of Fear, an Authority that turned the target insane by dropping their soul into the pits of fear that they could never escape from.


    ¡°Live a long life,¡± Kang-Woo stated. ¡°I¡¯m sure even a pitiful life like yours will have an upside one day.¡±


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    Viscount Velen¡¯s eyes widened. He trembled crazily while wetting his pants. He screamed with thest remaining sense of reason that he had.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Kang-Woo canceled the Authority after having thought of something. He realized that he had not asked the most important question. Without having his hopes up, he asked while sighing, ¡°Well... I doubt that you¡¯d know, but do you know anything about high elves?¡±


    Kang-Woo had asked just in case, but he doubted that a mere lord of a remote territory would know something that even Uriel and Vaal Zahak did not.


    ¡°Oh... Yes! I know something about high elves!¡± Viscount Velen eximed.


    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t think you w... Wait, what did you say?¡±


    ¡°T-To be more exact, I know a mage that knows much about high elves. He spent decades researching high elves, so I¡¯m sure he would know a lot about them.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth fell open from the unexpected profit.


    ¡°And where is this mage?¡±


    ¡°H-He lives in a small tower located a few days away from Velen in the direction of the Nightmare Forest. His temper is like no other, but... since he had once been the head imperial mage, I¡¯m sure that there¡¯s no one more knowledgeable about high elves than that geezer.¡±


    ¡°Hah...¡± Kang-Woo chuckled.


    He recalled seeing the small tower that Viscount Velen was talking about while flying here on Echidna¡¯s back.


    <i>¡®What a score!¡¯</i>


    It felt like having gotten an SSR character after rolling a free gacha pull without a speck of hope. Although there was no guarantee that mage would know where the high elves were, it would be better than blindly searching for information.


    ¡°Wow. Thanks, man. I never expected to get such valuable information in a ce like this,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    ¡°Hehehe. I-It¡¯s nothing,¡± Viscount Velen answered with a smile.


    He seemed to have been relieved after having been of help.


    ¡°Umm... In that case, I will excuse myself...¡±


    Viscount Velen did not know what Kang-Woo had been trying to do to him earlier, but he could instinctively tell that it had been extremely dangerous. He got up while thinking that Kang-Woo wouldn¡¯t do anything to him since he had been of help to him.


    Kang-Woo smiled and activated the Authority of Fear again while grabbing the head of Viscount Velen, who was staring at him with a pale face. ¡°Come on, where do you think you¡¯re going? We¡¯re not done here, are we?¡±


    Kang-Woo broke Viscount Velen¡¯s mind with the Authority of Fear.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    Viscount Velen¡¯s eyes lost their light. Kang-Woo snickered. It was true that Viscount Velen had been a big help to him; one could argue that he had given Kang-Woo core information for their Aernor expedition. However...


    <i>¡®This and that are twopletely different things.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 336 - Legend of the High Elves (2)

    <h4>Chapter 336 - Legend of the High Elves (2)</h4>


    ¡°Does that mean there is a mage that knows about high elves in the tower that we passed on our way here?¡± Lilith asked.


    Oh Kang-Woo nodded. ¡°Yeah. Well, it¡¯s a whole other issue whether he actually knows or not.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Lilith¡¯s eyes shone. She seductively caressed her lips and continued, ¡°Regardless, it does not change the fact that it is an unexpected discovery.¡±


    They could not have hit a bigger jackpot than this. Even a blind squirrel could find a nut once in a while, but this was like finding a lifetime¡¯s worth of nuts.


    ¡°Will we be heading there right away?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Kang-Woo nodded. Since they had found information about a being who knew about high elves, there was no reason to hesitate. ¡°I¡¯ll count on you to take care of things here, Lilith.¡±


    Kang-Woo turned around. The boy who had served him his food and drink, a woman who seemed to be his older sister, and the customers of the bar were staring at him while trembling. Although he could not make it so that it never happened, he could at least alter their memories a little.


    ¡°Yes, Master Kang-Woo.¡± Lilith nodded and walked toward them.


    Although there had been a short fuss, they soon turned silent after Lilith lightly snapped her finger.


    ¡°Before we go to the tower...¡± Kang-Woo turned toward his party members who had gathered after receiving his call. He asked, ¡°Have you guys found any useful information?¡±


    ¡°Nope. How could we have gathered anything useful after only an hour?¡± Cha Yeon-Jooined.


    They had been summoned back to the inn after barely having done anything, so there was no way that they had gathered any useful information.


    ¡°All that we noticed was that the peopleck energypared to the level of civilization. The streets were super gloomy. Oh, and security isn¡¯t all that great either. A few men tried to drag Seol-Ah away while we were walking around,¡± Yeon-Joo mentioned.


    ¡°What?¡± Kang-Woo frowned in displeasure.


    <i>¡®How dare theyy their hands on my darling?¡¯</i>


    He looked behind Yeon-Joo to see Han Seol-Ah slightly trembling in shock.


    ¡°Are you okay, darling?¡±


    ¡°... I was so scared, Kang-Woo.¡±


    Seol-Ah walked up to Kang-Woo and entered his embrace. Kang-Woo¡¯s expression crumpled as he stared at Seol-Ah¡¯s shaking shoulders.


    <i>¡®Nothing probably happened considering Seol-Ah¡¯s strength, but...¡¯</i>


    Being physically strong and being resilient to clear impure intentions werepletely different things. Taking Seol-Ah¡¯s personality into ount, she likely did not have any resistance to such tant vice.


    Kang-Woo hugged Seol-Ah even tighter and asked softly, ¡°Where are those sons of bitches?¡±


    ¡°Uhh, mm. Well...¡± Yeon-Joo hesitated.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t let them go, did you?¡±


    ¡°I mean... Uhh, we did, but...¡±


    ¡°You let them go? You should¡¯ve at least broken their arms and l¡ª¡±


    ¡°Their dicks were ripped off.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, at least their d... What?¡±


    <i>¡®Ripped what off?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Seol-Ah got pissed and ripped their dicks off.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    <i>¡®I beg your pardon? Seol-Ah?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Ah, Y-Yeon-Joo! Y-You said you would keep that a secret!¡±


    Seol-Ah, who had been in Kang-Woo¡¯s embrace, sprang up while as red as a tomato. She waspletely fine as if she had never been trembling in fear in the first ce.


    Kang-Woo reflexively closed his legs.


    Seol-Ah shouted, ¡°Y-You¡¯ve got it wrong, Kang-Woo! I-I didn¡¯t do anything. It was Yeon-Joo¡ª¡±


    ¡°What? You¡¯re ming it on me? What the fuck?!¡± Yeon-Joo yelled. ¡°You¡¯re the one who ripped it all off before I even had a chance to stop y¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough of that.¡± Kang-Woo shook his pale head.


    He looked at Seol-Ah.


    <i>¡®Darling... I haven¡¯t done anything bad, right? I¡¯m all good, right?¡¯</i>


    He stared at Seol-Ah with shaking pupils. Seol-Ah, who met his gaze, smiled.


    <i>¡®Alright, I think I¡¯m good.¡¯</i>


    ¡°What about you guys, Si-Hun and Balrog? Anything?¡±


    ¡°We have not been able to gather anything of value.¡± Balrog shook his head.


    Kang-Woo turned toward Kim Si-Hun, who seemed to be in thought.


    Si-Hun stated, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if this information is worth anything, but...¡±


    ¡°Anything is fine,¡± Kang-Woo replied.


    ¡°I heard that the princess of the Arnan Empire is passing through a city not far from here.¡±


    ¡°Princess Iris?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m not sure why an imperial princess is all the way out in this remote region, but... She¡¯s apparently going back to the imperial capital while taking a detour to this area.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    <i>¡®Princess Iris, huh?¡¯</i>


    He had wanted to meet her at least once.


    <i>¡®It would be nice if I could form an amicable rtionship with her.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was aiming for her immense power; he couldn''t care less whether she was wicked, a saint, or an absolute fucking bitch. There was no one more useful than her as long as he was able to bring her to his side.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll put it aside for now.¡¯</i>


    Although it would be nice if he had her as an ally, it did not mean that she was a necessity. He had no need to go out of his way to bring her to his side.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s move,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    Lilith was on the verge of finishing up. Kang-Woo got up, packed his things and headed toward the tower that Viscount Velen had mentioned.


    ***


    Kang-Woo¡¯s party arrived at the run-down tower. Kang-Woo lightly knocked on the door. The door was very worn down and weeds were growing from between the bricks; it was so dreary that it was a wonder if someone actually lived here.


    ¡°Anyone home?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    There was no reply. Kang-Woo lightly clicked his tongue.


    ¡°I havee in hopes of asking you something.¡±


    He had already confirmed with the Authority of the Beholder that someone was inside.


    Kang-Woo continued calmly, ¡°I would like some information regarding high elv¡ª¡±


    <i>Wham!</i> The door swung open aggressively, and out came an old mage that looked as if he would appear in a fantasy film about a ring. The mage red at Kang-Woo temperamentally.


    ¡°... Who are you all?¡± the mage asked, and then sniffed them with his eyes narrowed. ¡°Hah. You don¡¯t seem to be from Aernor.¡±


    The mage scanned Kang-Woo and the others in surprise. Kang-Woo was just as surprised.


    <i>¡®He found out as soon as he saw us.¡¯</i>


    And by smell, no less. Kang-Woo was highly curious about how the mage had found out.


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re correct,¡± Kang-Woo answered while nodding.


    The mage¡¯s eyes were dyed with even more suspicion.


    ¡°You want to know about high elves?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°... Why?¡±


    ¡°May wee in and exin ourselves slowly?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    The wary mage slowly nodded. Unlike its shabby outer appearance, the tower¡¯s interior was rather clean. The mage took them to a study filled with books.


    ¡°My name is Dous. It was a long time ago, but I used to work under His Imperial Majesty as a mage.¡±


    ¡°I am Oh Kang-Woo.¡±


    Dous lightly grabbed the hand that Kang-Woo had extended.


    ¡°So, why do you want to know about high elves?¡± Dous stared at Kang-Woo in suspicion.


    Kang-Woo remained silent for a short moment and calmly scanned Dous while the gears in his head turned rapidly.


    <i>¡®Now, what should I say to alleviate his suspicion and gain information?¡¯</i>


    He thought up a few ideas. Number one; to tell Dous the truth that they were looking for the high elves for their mission to eliminate the Demon God¡¯s corpse.


    <i>¡®No goddamn way he¡¯d believe that.¡¯</i>


    It sounded so insane that it would be a relief if Dous did not consider them to be crazy.


    <i>¡®Number two.¡¯</i>


    Simply because of curiosity?


    <i>¡®It¡¯s too vague.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo continued to think. He thought up a few other ideas, but none of them were good enough.


    <i>¡®How about I just force him to talk using the Authority of Fear?¡¯</i>


    He thought about it for a moment, but shook his head.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s too risky.¡¯</i>


    The Authority of Fear was not omnipotent. The chances of its sess fell drastically even if the target possessed even a little demonic energy resistance. Worst case scenario, Dous¡¯s mind would breakpletely and they would not be able to gain any information from him.


    <i>¡®Besides, he used to be the head imperial mage, so there¡¯s no way that he¡¯d be weak.¡¯</i>


    Using forceful methods was far too risky.


    <i>¡®In that case, the only things I can do are to alleviate his suspicion with a believable reason, or eliminate his caution altogether.¡¯</i>


    Either one did not seem easy.


    <i>¡®No, thetter</i> <i>actually might be possible.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could form a bond with Dous and lower his caution.


    <i>¡®This mage has a very high interest in high elves.¡¯</i>


    If he did not, there was no way that he would have spent decades researching them. No, his great interest in high elves was obvious from how he had run out of the tower immediately after Kang-Woo had mentioned high elves.


    Kang-Woo organized his thoughts and slowly answered, ¡°Because we are highly interested in them.¡±


    ¡°... You are?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Hm, I guess you could say that we like them.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Dous began to show interest. He coughed and then asked, ¡°Are there records of high elves even in your world?¡±


    ¡°Somewhat.¡±


    Most of them were out of imagination, but one could technically call them records.


    ¡°How interesting,¡± Dous expressed in great interest. He then asked excitedly, ¡°What kind of records? How are high elves recorded in your world? Have the differences between elves and high elves been clearly defined? How have their appearances been recorded?¡±


    He was like an otaku talking about their favorite anime with a fellow otaku. Kang-Woo smiled widely.


    <i>¡®Nice.¡¯</i>


    Dous had taken the bait.


    ¡°Hahaha. I¡¯ll go through everything with you slowly,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    He recited all the information that he knew about elves from a fantasy novel he had read long ago. ¡°They have been recorded to possess great beauty, a long lifespan, and eternal youth.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s more or less based on the truth.¡±


    ¡°Also...¡± Kang-Woo fervently continued, ¡°They are depicted to have exceptional archery skills in other novels.¡±


    ¡°Hm, I see.¡±


    ¡°They have also been recorded to have great affinity with spirits and are vegetarian because they cannot eat meat.¡±


    ¡°... Hmm. I see.¡±


    However, the longer Kang-Woo exined, the less interested Dous became. Kang-Woo could instinctively tell that these were not the kind of records that Dous had in mind. Kang-Woo frowned.


    <i>¡®What the hell?¡¯</i>


    What was he doing wrong? He had talked about the depictions of elves in fantasy novels and films, but Dous was not interested in the slightest. It felt as if the n drawn within Kang-Woo¡¯s head was falling apart.


    Just then, La interrupted, ¡°A moment please, Kang-Woo.¡± She took Kang-Woo outside and whispered, ¡°Are you trying to relieve Dous¡¯s suspicion by talking about high elves and forming a bond with him?¡±


    La had figured out Kang-Woo¡¯s intentions in a sh.


    ¡°Yes, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be going very well,¡± Kang-Woo replied.


    He had talked about the depiction of high elves in all the films, fantasy novels and anime that he had seen, but Dous did not seem to be interested in them at all.


    La narrowed her eyes. ¡°Please wait. If my suspicions are correct... I believe I can resolve this.¡±


    ¡°You, La?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Please trust me,¡± La responded with certainty.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder. ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Fufu. That¡¯s a secret. You can only know after you figure out why Dous is so interested in high elves.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that you know why?¡±


    ¡°Well... You could say that I can tell from his eyes. There can be no other reason why he is so passionate over high elves.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°Regardless, please leave it to me,¡± La stated as she took out aptop from her bag. It was one powered by mana, just like Kang-Woo¡¯s. ¡°I will go talk in private with Dous.¡±


    La asked the other party members to wait outside and walked inside by herself with herptop in hand.


    <i>¡®What is she trying to do?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the tightly-shut door in confusion. Just then, Dous¡¯s exmations rang out from beyond the door.


    ¡°Whoa! Whoooaaa!! B-By the heavens!¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s curiosity grew even more.


    <i>¡®Authority of Transparency.¡¯</i>


    Unable to handle the curiosity, Kang-Woo saw through the door by turning it transparent in his eyes to see what was happening inside. La had opened herptop and was showing Dous something on the screen.


    <i>¡®Let¡¯s see.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked at theptop screen. It was disying a manga, with the title on the screen written <i>The Lustful Night of an Elven Lady and an Orc ~A Night Drenched in Carnal Desire~</i>.


    ¡°... Huh?¡±


    <i>¡®Drenched in what?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hoho, it just came out," La mentioned.


    ¡°Amazing! Simply amazing!¡±


    <i>¡®Umm, excuse me? La?¡¯</i>


    ¡°This is what I was born for... <i>Sniff</i>. The days that I had spent researching... must have been for this moment.¡±


    ¡°I also felt it the moment I saw you, Dous. That this... was fate.¡±


    <i>¡®What the fuck are you two talking about?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Wh... What are these works of masterful art called in your world?¡±


    ¡°They are called ero manga.¡±


    <i>¡®Excuse me... Sister-inw.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Amazing... Phenomenal! How could they have portrayed such minute details...?¡±


    ¡°Here, there are plenty more.¡±


    ¡°Woooow!¡±


    <i>¡®Why are you doing this to me?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Unlike that young man earlier... You sure know your stuff. Hmph, who gives a shit about nitpicky details like that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because Kang-Woo isn¡¯t very well-versed in these kinds of things.¡±


    <i>¡®Nor do I want to be.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hehe. If it¡¯s you, I don¡¯t mind showing the results of my research. Here, take a look at these. They are books that I hired the most talented artists of the empire to draw.¡±


    ¡°My, Dous. Your collection is no joke either.¡±


    ¡°Huhu, I dedicated my entire life to collecting them.¡±


    <i>¡®Stop.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Yes... If you¡¯re asked what goes best with elves...¡±


    ¡°Is there even a need to ask? What else but...¡±


    <i>¡®Please stop.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Orcs!¡±


    ¡°Orcs!¡±


    <i>¡®Stop, you crazy sons of bitches.¡¯</i>


    <i>p!</i>


    <i>¡®Don¡¯t high-five.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Kang-Woo, what do you think La is talking about with Dous?¡± Seol-Ah asked while tilting her head.


    Kang-Woo raised his head in silence and nkly stared off into the empty space.


    <i>¡®I wonder how long we can stay appropriate for all ages?¡¯</i>

 Chapter 337 - Legend of the High Elves (3)

    <h4>Chapter 337 - Legend of the High Elves (3)</h4>


    ¡°Hahaha! Quite therade you have here!¡± Dous said as he smacked Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulder while chuckling aftering out of the tower.


    Kang-Woo nodded while smiling awkwardly. He stared at La and Dous with mixed feelings.


    ¡°La, what did you do to persuade Dous? He seemed a bit hard to please,¡± Kim Si-Hun whispered as he approached La.


    La giggled lightly and replied, ¡°Dous fortunately harbored a great deal of faith for Lady Gaia as well.¡±


    <i>¡®Liar.¡¯</i>


    ¡°He lowered his suspicions as soon as I exined to him how great and benevolent Lady Gaia is.¡±


    <i>¡®You didn¡¯t even say a thing about Gaia.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Oh, then did you reveal to him that you¡¯re Lady Gaia¡¯s incarnation?¡± Si-Hun asked.


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. I just... told him that I am one of Lady Gaia¡¯s loyal devotees.¡±


    ¡°A bond born from serving the same goddess, huh? I can understand why he lowered his guard all of a sudden.¡± Si-Hun nodded with a smile.


    Kang-Woo averted his gaze from La in silence.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun... It looks like you¡¯re gonna live your life being whipped by La.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo lightly clicked his tongue. Although he despised lies, he could understand La¡¯s circumstances of not being able to reveal the truth.


    <i>¡®I guess this is what you call lying in good faith.¡¯</i>


    It couldn¡¯t be helped; yes, there was no other way. Anyway...


    ¡°I¡¯m proud to have La as myrade,¡± Kang-Woo responded to Dous while smiling brightly.


    Dous smiled back. ¡°Right, you wanted to know about high elves, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone. They were finally getting into the main subject at hand.


    ¡°What do you want to know exactly?¡± Dous asked.


    ¡°Their location.¡±


    ¡°Mmmh...¡± Dous groaned as if he could not answer.


    ¡°Do you not know where they are?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°I do not. To be exact, there is no way to know. However, I do know the conditions that they appear in.¡±


    ¡°Conditions?¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s face, which had been dyed in disappointment, brightened again. Dous scratched his head as if he didn¡¯t know where to begin his exnation.


    ¡°Mm. It seems I have to exin some things about high elves first.¡±


    ¡°Please take your time.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Dous nodded. ¡°First, do you know the difference between elves and high elves?¡±


    ¡°Uhh... Mm. Aren¡¯t they kind of like... elven nobility or royalty?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly.¡± Dous firmly shook his head. ¡°To make aparison, they are actually closer to gods. ording to records, high elves were beings of godhood that possess Divinity. Among them, elder high elves were of the same level of godhood as Celestial Goddess Seraph, or even higher.¡±


    ¡°Hah,¡± Kang-Woo chuckled.


    <i>¡®High elves are deities?¡¯</i>


    He had never even expected it. One would normally consider a high elf to be something like the king of elves.


    <i>¡®I guess they¡¯re not kings, but gods that the elves serve.¡¯</i>


    If that was the case, it made sense that barely anyone knew of their location.


    ¡°Wait, then does that mean there is no physical way to meet with the high elves?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Although it was not the case for all beings of godhood, deities such as Gaia and Uranus stayed out of the physical world in order to be as free as possible from the influence of <i>providence</i>. Even a goddess as powerful as Gaia had only influenced the physical world through La via Deific Manifestation.


    ¡°No. Mm... Well, I guess it¡¯s not exactly untrue.¡± Dous shook his head ambiguously. ¡°Although high elves do not reside in the physical world, they can manifest here by borrowing the power of the world tree to form a body.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Kang-Woo sighed in relief. If they were able to descend into the physical world through a body, it meant that it was not impossible to meet them.


    Dous opened a book on the desk and continued, ¡°When the Arnan Empire was first founded, a high elf descended to bless the first emperor personally.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean high elves are like the Arnan Empire¡¯s guardians?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but... You could say that they are the guardians of the imperial family. As proof of that, all those who carry the blood of the imperial family are extremely handsome and beautiful.¡±


    Kang-Woo recalled Reynald¡¯s face. The blond hero¡¯s dazzling looks had been on par with Si-Hun¡¯s.


    ¡°Then... How can we meet those high elves?¡±


    Kang-Woo had a rough idea of what kind of beings the high elves were from Dous¡¯s exnation, but the most important thing was where they were. They needed that information to meet with the beings that would guide them to the Demon God¡¯s corpse.


    ¡°There is a legend rted to the high elves,¡± Dous mumbled. ¡°When this world reaches the brink of copse, the protector of the world tree will manifest before the savior. And, the protector of the world tree is referring to a high elf.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute. Does that mean...¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Dous smirked. ¡°It means there is realistically no way to meet them.¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned aggressively. They had ultimately gone back to square one. Dous patted Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulder while chuckling.


    ¡°Do not be so disappointed. ording to the records, elves and high elves are not that much different in terms of appearance. Although we cannot meet high elves, we at least have elves!¡± Dous looked toward La while snorting.


    ¡°Is there truly no other way? An elf that canmunicate with the high elves, perhaps?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    There was actually no need for them to meet with a high elf in person; just like how La ryed Gaia¡¯s will through Deific Manifestation, there could possibly be someone among the elves that could ry the high elves¡¯ will through a simr method... No, there needed to be.


    ¡°Mm. Probably not. I can proudly say that there is no one in this world who knows elves better than me, and I have never heard of an elf that couldmunicate with the high elves,¡± Dous responded as if hammering the final nail in the coffin.


    The faces of Kang-Woo and the expedition team froze.


    ¡°Hyung-nim, then...¡±


    ¡°We have no choice but to look for the Demon God¡¯s corpse without the high elves¡¯ help,¡± Kang-Woo said while sighing.


    They did not necessarily need to find the high elves first to find the Demon God¡¯s corpse. Although it was an ignorant method, they could just search every nook and cranny of the continent.


    <i>¡®Though I have no idea how long it would take.¡¯</i>


    They would be searching through an entire star. Even if Kang-Woo¡¯s party could freely soar across the skies, it would not be easy at all.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    Considering the Demon God¡¯s corpse had never been found until now, it was safe to assume that it would not be visible just by looking down from above.


    <i>¡®It could either be in the deep seas, a deep cave, or...¡¯</i>


    In the worst-case scenario, it might not exist in the physical world, just like the high elves.


    ¡°Shit,¡± Kang-Woo cursed.


    He ced his hand over his forehead as if his head hurt. Kang-Woo was not the only one deep in thought; La had also realized the gravity of the situation and was biting her lip with a gloomy expression. The air in the study grew heavy in an instant.


    ¡°Kang-Woo...¡± Han Seol-Ah carefully ced her hand above the contemting Kang-Woo¡¯s hand. ¡°No matter how long it takes, I¡¯m fine with it.¡±


    Seol-Ah smiled brightly. Echidna also trotted over and sat on Kang-Woo¡¯sp.


    ¡°Hm! I¡¯m fine with it too, as long as I¡¯m with you, Kang-Woo!¡±


    The two of them consoled Kang-Woo to lighten the mood as much as possible. Kang-Woo smirked and patted Echidna¡¯s head. Echidna swayed her legs while humming in joy.


    ¡°Yeah, we have to find it, no matter how long it takes.¡±


    They needed to, even if it would take years, or even decades. It was only a matter of time until Earth would be invaded by outer worlds if they did nothing.


    <i>¡®The problem is...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s expression was as gloomy as ever despite Seol Ah and Echidna¡¯s consolement. To be honest, he didn¡¯t mind however long he would need to stay in Aernor for, as long as he was with hisrades. It was different from Hell, where he had nothing good to eat, drink, and enjoy.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s just that there¡¯s a time limit.¡¯</i>


    ording to Gaia, the protections of the three stars of the Triad were dependent on each other. If they did not manage to find and eliminate the Demon God¡¯s corpse, Earth¡¯s protection would fall apart, and it would affect the protection of the two other stars soon after. A building was bound to copse without its supporting structures.


    <i>¡®But Gaia said that she would be able to hold on for a few years at the very least.¡¯</i>


    But if interpreted in another way, they only had a few years until Earth¡¯s protection copsed.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo sighed.


    The air in the study was as heavy as ever. Kang-Woo fell into thought with his head lowered.


    <i>¡®We need a way to find the Demon God¡¯s corpse.¡¯</i>


    However, he could not think of any, no matter how much he thought. Even Lucis, whom Kang-Woo had trusted to know where it was, did not remember; neither did the angels, and not even Gaia. The expedition team did not even have a single clue to go off of.


    <i>¡®Is there no other choice... but to depend on Bauli?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo thought about bringing the sleeping Bauli up from the Abyss, but shook his head. It was way too risky.


    <i>¡®What should I do...?¡¯</i>


    His mind had be a tangled mess.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Just then, a thought struck his mind like a lightning bolt.


    <i>¡®Yeah.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo chuckled unbeknownst to himself.


    <i>¡®Why didn¡¯t I think of that?¡¯</i>


    He almost burst intoughter from his own stupidity. It was a rather simple problem to solve, to the point that he felt pathetic for not having thought of it sooner.


    <i>¡®It was right in front of me!¡¯</i>


    There was no need to even think about it. The solution was stupidly simple. Kang-Woo recalled the legend that Dous had mentioned.


    <i>- When this world reaches the brink of copse, the protector of the world tree will manifest before the savior.</i>


    <i>¡®If a high elf will only appear if this world is on the brink of copse...¡¯</i>


    A smile filled with malice was stered on the demon¡¯s face. <i>Snicker</i>. He was unable to suppress hisughter.


    <i>¡®... I just have to bring Aernor to the brink of copse!¡¯</i>


    Truly a 5Head moment.

 Chapter 338 - Hero Maker (1)

    <h4>Chapter 338 - Hero Maker (1)</h4>


    ¡°Kang-Woo? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Han Seol-Ah asked.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Oh Kang-Woo shook his head while pulling down the corners of his mouth with all his might.


    <i>¡®Pfft, huehuehuehuehue.¡¯</i>


    He had almost let out a vulgarugh after having thought up a fantastic idea.


    <i>¡®Yes, this is the best way to go.¡¯</i>


    No matter how one thought about it, searching every nook and cranny of the continent for the Demon God¡¯s corpse was insane. However, there was no one but the high elves who could guide them to the corpse. In other words, they needed to do whatever it took to meet with the high elves.


    <i>¡®Everything will resolve itself as long as I bring this world to the brink of copse.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled brightly. Of course, just because he had made up his mind to bring Aernor to the brink of copse did not mean he would massacre civilians or partially destroy the continent.


    <i>¡®</i>Brink<i> is the keyword here.¡¯</i>


    The high elves would appear when Aernor was on the brink of copse, not when it was already copsing.


    <i>¡®Putting it on the brink of copse isn¡¯t that hard.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could already think of multiple ways that he could.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll need some time to put them into action, but...¡¯</i>


    The time taken would still be far shorter than randomly searching for the Demon God¡¯s corpse.


    <i>¡®Alright.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo felt like a weight had been taken off his shoulders now that his worries had been resolved. He smiled brightly.


    ¡°What¡¯s with that unpleasant smile?¡± Cha Yeon-Joo, who had been staring at Kang-Woo, frowned. She felt chills for some reason from seeing the radiant smile on Kang-Woo. She sighed and asked, ¡°So, what are we gonna do? Are we seriously gonna search the entire continent?¡±


    Looking for a needle in a desert would be easier than searching for the Demon God¡¯s corpse located who knows where in the continent.


    ¡°Nope,¡± Kang-Woo answered.


    ¡°Then how?¡±


    ¡°Have you thought of something?¡± La asked while tilting her head in wonder.


    Kang-Woo gazed at La, Yeon-Joo and Kim Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®Even so...¡¯</i>


    He could not tell the three of them the n that he had in mind.


    <i>¡®Maybe Lilith.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was a bit reluctant to tell even Seol-Ah. Although he trusted her, he did not want to show such a side of himself to her.


    <i>¡®Darling is also horrendous at acting.¡¯</i>


    Considering what had happened long ago with Shalgiel, it was probably better to just not tell her his n.


    <i>¡®The fewer people know, the better.¡¯</i>


    He was trying to drive the entire continent into the pits of hell to make the high elves manifest; although he would be careful to avoid casualties, they would be inevitable. Whatever he did, Aernor would suffer in some way or another. Since it was far too radical of a n for a Protector of Light to pull, it was best left hidden.


    ¡°I¡¯ll exin outside,¡± Kang-Woo answered while stealing a nce at Dous.


    La nodded.


    ¡°Thank you for the valuable information, Dous,¡± Kang-Woo mentioned.


    ¡°Not at all. I should be the one thanking you for the valuable experience.¡± Dous shook Kang-Woo¡¯s hand while smiling in satisfaction. ¡°If you ever need my help, feel free to give me a call anytime. Here is mymunication crystal code.¡±


    Dous handed Kang-Woo a mana code, simr to a phone number on Earth, while chuckling in joy. His temperamental nature that they had seen was nowhere to be found.


    <i>¡®Regardless of the process, I¡¯m d we managed to get a good ally thanks to La.¡¯</i>


    Although Dous was no longer active, he would be a very valuable ally to have since he used to be the head imperial mage. Kang-Woo registered Dous¡¯s mana code in his crystal orb and stood up.


    ¡°Come to think of it, you said that you were from Earth, correct?¡± Dous asked.


    ¡°Oh, yes. That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Dous stroked his beard. ¡°The empire... isn¡¯t in the best state at the moment, so I advise you not to travel around too much.¡±


    ¡°Is it because of Princess Iris?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Dous remained silent. He bit his lip with aplicated expression. ¡°I know how the public sees her, but... I at least want you to know that it is not entirely her fault. Everything was orchestrated by... No, never mind. Tsk, just take it as the ramblings of an old man. Anyway, have a safe trip.¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He felt like he could vaguely understand why such a distinguished mage lived in such a shabby tower.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m curious about what¡¯s going on in the empire, but...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo relinquished his thoughts. Since they had exchangedmunication crystal codes, he could ask Dous anytime he wanted.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    If things went ording to his thoughts, he was bound to learn about the empire¡¯s circumstances even if he didn¡¯t want to.


    <i>¡®Right now, I need time to organize my thoughts.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could not afford to exact such a grand n with weak foundations. First, he needed to perfect his n to make the high elves manifest into the physical world. Since it was not so simple to pull off, he could not just think up the perfect n here and now.


    <i>¡®I have to consider all variables, roles and methods.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had a mountain of work to do; he could not afford to waste time here.


    ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll be on our way,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    ¡°But isn¡¯t it alreadyte? If you don¡¯t have a ce to stay around here, how about you spend the night in the tower?¡± Dous asked.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Kang-Woo turned around and looked outside the window. Three moons were shining in the night sky.


    <i>¡®Time flew by so quickly.¡¯</i>


    Things had been so hectic that he had not even realized that the sun had set.


    <i>¡®Come to think of it, it hasn¡¯t even been a day since we arrived in Aernor.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo hadpletely forgotten because so many things had happened already.


    <i>¡®I guess there¡¯s no need to rush.¡¯</i>


    They had managed to get through the crisis without a hitch thanks to Viscount Velen¡¯s super carry.


    <i>¡®Thanks, man! I owe you!¡¯</i>


    They would never have met Dous if it hadn¡¯t been for Viscount Velen, and if it hadn¡¯t been for Dous, they would have done all sorts of pointless things in search of the high elves that did not even exist in the physical world.


    <i>¡®Shieeet, he carried us so hard. All hail the viscount!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s endless awe and respect for Viscount Velen set his heart aze.


    ¡°I understand. In that case, we will stay here for the night,¡± Kang-Woo answered.


    ¡°Hahaha. Although it¡¯s nothing much, use this tower however you like. And... La.¡±


    Dous gazed at La passionately. La nodded with a smile.


    ¡°Okay. I will bring you another sacred relic in the evening,¡± she answered.


    ¡°A-Ahem. I will look forward to it.¡± Dous stood up while smiling like a puppy. ¡°In that case, I will clean up the room on the upper floor. You seemed to have something that you needed to discuss among yourselves, so go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much,¡± expressed Kang-Woo.


    Although it was filled with impure desires, he was thankful for Dous¡¯s hospitality. Kang-Woo smiled while lowering his head. Dous closed the door and left.


    ¡°Now, then...¡± La looked toward Kang-Woo. ¡°What do you have in mind about our n of action going forward?¡±


    The other party members also focused on Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo ryed the fake n that he had thought up.


    <i>¡®No, it¡¯s not exactly fake.¡¯</i>


    To be exact, it was half of the true n.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of making contact with the high elves,¡± he stated.


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°What the hell, Kang-Woo? Were you not listening to that old mage? He said that there aren¡¯t any high elves in this world.¡± Yeon-Joo stared at Kang-Woo in confusion.


    ¡°No, think about it.¡± Kang-Woo nced at Yeon-Joo, Si-Hun and La in order.


    <i>¡®This is the most crucial point.¡¯</i>


    He needed to package one among the infinite possibilities as the truth, and make them believe that there was no other possibility.


    ¡°Dous said that the high elves will appear when this world is on the brink of copse,¡± Kang-Woo mentioned.


    ¡°Yeah... but what about it?¡±


    ¡°Yeon-Joo, do you think the Demon of Prophecy will sit idly by as we try to eliminate the Demon God¡¯s corpse?¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    The faces of Yeon-Joo, La and Si-Hun stiffened. The Demon of Prophecy was the pinnacle of all demons, feared even by the gods, that would bring ruin to the universe. Although his identity was veiled in secrecy, he surely existed.


    ¡°He will make his move,¡± Kang-Woo dered.


    The Demon of Prophecy was trying to bring ruin to all worlds, but if the Demon God¡¯s corpse was eliminated, Aernor¡¯s protection would be freed from keeping the corpse in check and put a hard stop to his objective.


    ¡°He will appear, no matter what. Even if he himself doesn¡¯t, one of the Four Heavenly Kings definitely will,¡± Kang-Woo continued.


    ¡°I see. Come to think of it, you¡¯re right, hyung-nim. There is no way that evil demon would just sit idly by as we go on this expedition.¡± Si-Hun agreed while making a serious face.


    Si-Hun had forgotten since the Demon of Prophecy had not made his move for months after Rakiel¡¯s death, but his forces were still very powerful.


    <i>¡®The Four Heavenly Kings...¡¯</i>


    Since Satan and Rakiel were dead now, only two remained. No, since the Demon of Prophecy was still alive, they still had at least three powerful enemies that they needed to face.


    <i>¡®Shit,¡¯ </i>Si-Hun cursed in his mind.


    His limbs trembled just from thinking about the Demon of Prophecy. He clenched his fists and bit his lip.


    La grabbed Si-Hun¡¯s trembling hands and turned to Kang-Woo, saying, ¡°I see. I understand what you are trying to say, Kang-Woo. You¡¯re saying that the high elves will sense danger and manifest once the Demon of Prophecy takes action, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Kang-Woo responded.


    ¡°In that case...¡± La¡¯s eyes shone. ording to the legend, the high elves would manifest in front of a <i>savior</i>. ¡°We should find that savior first.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Kang-Woo shook his head.


    Looking for a savior that they had no idea who it could be was just as insane as looking for the Demon God¡¯s corpse.


    La tilted her head in confusion and asked, ¡°Then what should we do?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to look for a savior.¡± Kang-Woo turned toward Si-Hun, who was looking back at Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly, and grabbed his shoulders. He smiled and continued, ¡°We¡¯re going to... make one.¡±

 Chapter 339 - Hero Maker (2)

    <h4>Chapter 339 - Hero Maker (2)</h4>


    ¡°Make... a savior?¡± La asked, wide-eyed.


    Oh Kang-Woo nodded while smiling. ¡±Yes.¡±


    The others stared at him in confusion at how he had said somethingpletely absurd so confidently.


    ¡°What... do you mean, hyung-nim?¡±


    ¡°Think about it, Si-Hun. If it were up to you, who would you give the title of the continent¡¯s savior to?¡±


    ¡°Well...¡±


    Kim Si-Hun fell into thought for a moment. A savior of a continent frequently appeared in novels, cartoons and films, so it was not difficult to conjure up an image in his head.


    ¡°I guess it would be... someone chosen by a god... who confronts great evil... and protects the people?¡± Si-Hun answered.


    ¡°Right?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Si-Hun¡¯s eyes widened. He came to realize why Kang-Woo, who was smiling joyfully, had said something like that.


    ¡°Si-Hun, you¡¯re...¡±


    He had been chosen by Gaia, was confronting a great evil known as the Demon of Prophecy, and had protected countless people.


    ¡°The perfect fit for <i>a hero from another world</i>.¡±


    ¡°W-Wait!!¡± Si-Hun shouted in bewilderment. He understood Kang-Woo¡¯s point, but... ¡°Th-The same could be said for you, hyung-nim!¡±


    Kang-Woo had also been chosen by Gaia and was fighting against great evil. No, considering Kang-Woo¡¯s aplishments, Si-Hun could not even hold a candle to him.


    ¡°No, it can¡¯t be me.¡± Kang-Woo shook his head without hesitation.


    If one just looked at the conditions of being a savior, there was no one more fit for the position than Kang-Woo. However...


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t be the hero.¡¯</i>


    He had something else to do¡ª something very special that he could not tell his other party members.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. High elves apparently possessed the ability to locate the Demon God¡¯s corpse, and Holy Sword Ludwig, which had been blessed by them, used to have the ability to locate the Demonic Sea.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s too dangerous for me to be the savior.¡¯</i>


    Worst-case scenario, his identity would be exposed. There was no need to risk the breakdown of trust that he had built ever since before he had be the Protector of Light.


    ¡°But why? No matter how I think about it, you¡¯re far better suited for¡ª¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re the master of the Holy Sword Ludwig.¡±


    Kang-Woo could not tell Si-Hun the true reason why he could not be the savior; he needed a good excuse.


    ¡°Although it had been broken back when Ludwig had been corrupted, that sword used to be imbued with the blessing of the high elves. If a high elf will appear before a savior, wouldn¡¯t it be natural that they would appear before the master of the holy sword?¡±


    Si-Hun bit his lip.


    Kang-Woo¡¯s logic was hard to refute. It certainly was better for Si-Hun, the master of the Holy Sword Ludwig, to be the savior.


    ¡°I vote for Si-Hun too,¡± Cha Yeon-Joo expressed.


    ¡°Yeon-Joo?¡± said Si-Hun.


    ¡°First off, your looks are onpletely different levels. Kang-Woo is... Well... What¡¯s the best way to describe it?¡± She put her hand on her forehead and searched for the right expression, and then pped her hands together. ¡°Oh. He kinda looks like trash.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    <i>¡®Trash?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo red at Yeon-Joo.


    Yeon-Joo rified while snickering, ¡°No, I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re ugly. How should I say this? You look like you have a bad personality... It¡¯s your eyes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say the same thing about you,¡± Kang-Woo rebutted.


    Yeon-Joo also did not look like a very nice person.


    ¡°Whatever the case, it¡¯s true that Si-Hun looks the part more, isn¡¯t it?¡± said Yeon-Joo.


    ¡°Urgh.¡± Kang-Woo nodded while groaning.


    Although he did not want to admit it, it was an undeniable fact that Si-Hun visually looked far more like a hero than Kang-Woo did.


    <i>¡®Are my eyes that sharp?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo unconsciously touched his eyes. Han Seol-Ah, who had been sitting next to him, grabbed his hand.


    ¡°Fufu, don¡¯t worry,¡± Seol-Ah said with a smile. ¡°There¡¯s no one in the universe that looks tastier than you.¡±


    ¡°Ahem. Thanks, darl¡ª¡±


    <i>¡®Hm? Tastier?¡¯</i>


    ¡°My, I¡¯m sorry. I misspoke.¡± <i>Hohoho</i>. Seol-Ah giggled.


    Kang-Woo stared at Seol-Ah in confusion, and then turned back to Si-Hun.


    ¡°Anyway, you get it now, right?¡±


    ¡°Mm. Even if I take the visual aspect as a joke... I guess I can¡¯t argue with the holy sword aspect.¡± Si-Hun, who had been in thought, nodded. ¡°So what do you have in mind specifically?¡±


    Making a savior was easier than looking for one who knows where, but it was still difficult in the absolute sense.


    ¡°I¡¯ve thought of something,¡± Kang-Woo responded.


    A specific scene had popped up in his head the moment that he had first thought of the n.


    Kang-Woo stared at Si-Hun and asked, ¡°Si-Hun, you said that Princess Iris would be passing somewhere around here, right?¡±


    He recalled the piece of information that Si-Hun had given him a while ago.


    ¡°Oh, yes. That¡¯s right,¡± Si-Hun replied.


    ¡°Let¡¯s tail her.¡±


    ¡°Tail... the princess?¡±


    ¡°You know that the empire isn¡¯t in the best state right now, right? If the political situation is this unstable, people are bound to harbor grudges for the people in leadership. You never know, Princess Iris might get attacked by a rebel army.¡±


    Actually, Kang-Woo did know; she would most definitely be attacked.


    <i>¡®Because I¡¯ll make it so.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone sharply.


    <i>¡®A hero will appear within the crisis!¡¯</i>


    It was the perfect first step for a hero that would save the continent.


    ¡°Hahaha. I doubt a rebel army would appear out of nowhere like that, hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°Well, I was half-joking. I had another objective in mind.¡±


    ¡°Another objective?¡±


    ¡°To be a hero praised by the entire continent, you need a dependable backer. Whether you kill an evil demon or wipe out a horde of monsters attacking a town, it¡¯s pointless if no one knows about it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...¡±


    It was true. No matter how many hero-like things one did, they would never be a hero if their aplishments were not spread across thend.


    ¡°Are you suggesting we establish a connection with the imperial family?¡± Si-Hun asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Kang-Woo nodded. ¡°Of course, we won¡¯t be able to form a connection with her just by tailing her. Our objective this time is to gather as much information about Princess Iris as possible, and then find a way to establish that connection.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Si-Hun nodded. It was certainly not a bad idea. One needed reliable backings to be a hero, and there was no one more reliable than a member of the imperial family.


    ¡°And the imperial family is apparently blessed by the high elves as well, so it would be a good idea to form a good rtionship with them,¡± Si-Hun mentioned, recalling what Dous had said earlier.


    Kang-Woo smiled and put his hand on Si-Hun¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you, man. I know you can do it.¡±


    ¡°Hyung-nim...¡±


    Si-Hun looked at Kang-Woo with trembling eyes; he could feel the deep trust in his voice.


    <i>¡®Hyung-nim has put his trust in me.¡¯</i>


    He could not think of anything besides needing to seed, no matter what it took.


    Kang-Woo patted Si-Hun¡¯s shoulder and responded, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll support you as best we can.¡±


    He already had experience making someone a hero. He was confident that he could do it even better this time.


    ¡°Have you heard when Princess Iris would be crossing through this area?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°I heard it was about a week from now.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded in satisfaction.


    <i>¡®A week, huh?¡¯</i>


    It was more than enough time to prepare.


    ***


    A week flew by in an instant. Each party member spent that time getting ustomed to Aernor in their own way.


    <i>¡®Well, it was more like enjoying leisure.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had taken his party members to various cities and towns to purchase clothes that didn¡¯t make them stand out, and just walked around the streets to sightsee.


    After a week¡¯s time, they hade to find out that Velen had been one of the better cities in the Arnan Empire to live in. As for the other cities, eighty percent of its territory had been turned into slums. The streets were filled with women selling their bodies, and copsedbor workers that were nothing but skin and bones.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s terrible.¡¯</i>


    It was so bad to the point that Kang-Woo almost had no idea how the empire was still running.


    ¡°Hyung-nim.¡±


    Si-Hun bit his lip from seeing the atrocity. Even Kang-Woo was frowning at the sight, so there was no question about how Si-Hun would be feeling about it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t pay it much mind, Si-Hun,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°But...¡±


    Si-Hun stared at the slum pitifully. Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    <i>¡®There''s no way he¡¯d listen to me even if I tell him that it¡¯s none of his business.¡¯</i>


    Considering Si-Hun¡¯s personality, that would only make him more passionate.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be able to change it once you be the hero.¡±


    ¡°Will I?¡±


    ¡°People will gain hope. So, don¡¯t worry about them and focus on what you have to do.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s words were notpletely groundless. The process of making Si-Hun a hero also included changing the corrupt empire.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s a bit of a problem, though.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo would only be able toe up with a detailed n after meeting Princess Iris in person.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s get going.¡± Kang-Woo turned around, his back toward the slum.


    He had found Princess Iris¡¯s current location through Lilith; she was passing through a narrow canyon before arriving in this city.


    <i>¡®And in that canyon...¡¯</i>


    Princess Iris would be attacked by the Undead army prepared by Vernaak.


    <i>¡®As for the setting, let¡¯s go with a ck mage having joined forces with the rebel army to cause a rebellion.¡¯</i>


    The only thing that mattered was to put Princess Iris in danger, and for Si-Hun toe and save her.


    Kang-Woo looked toward Vernaak and whispered, ¡°Is everything ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my king. The Undead are in ce and will attack the princess at your signal.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    The n was perfect. All that was left was to give the signal at the right time.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡±


    Kang-Woo and the party left the city in advance; to appear at the perfect timing, they needed to go toward the canyon early.


    ¡°But hyung-nim, is there really a need for us to go to the princess? It might cause problems if we¡¯re discovered.¡±


    Si-Hun, who had no idea about the n to put Princess Iris in danger using an Undead horde, tilted his head in confusion.


    ¡°Well...¡±


    While Kang-Woo was trying to think of a suitable excuse, Lilith¡¯s voice suddenly echoed in his head.


    <i>- My king, Princess Iris is getting attacked.</i>


    <i>- What? I haven¡¯t given the signal yet. Did they happen to find one of the Undead in hiding?</i>


    <i>- No, it¡¯s not that...</i> Lilith continued in slight bewilderment. <i>- It¡¯s not the Undead that we¡¯ve hidden. Humans in masks... are attacking the princess.</i>


    ¡°What?¡± Kang-Woo said out loud without realizing it.


    <i>- It seems to be an actual rebel army.</i>


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo chuckled at the absurdity.


    <i>¡®An actual rebel army appeared?¡¯</i>


    This hadn¡¯t been in the Demon of Prophecy¡¯s prophecy.

 Chapter 340 - Hero Maker (3)

    <h4>Chapter 340 - Hero Maker (3)</h4>


    <i>Whoosh!</i>


    Oh Kang-Woo and his party sped toward the canyon as soon as Kang-Woo was contacted by Lilith. It would result in a massive hup in their n if the princess were to die.


    <i>¡®Shit!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    <i>¡®An actual rebel army?¡¯</i>


    There could not have been a worse coincidence.


    <i>¡®What are the fucking chances?¡¯</i>


    Probability seemed to be nonexistent in this world. Rage surged within Kang-Woo, but only momentarily. He recalled what he needed to do first and foremost. He closed his eyes and gave Lilith amand.


    <i>- Protect the princess so that she doesn¡¯t die.</i>


    <i>- Yes, my king. However, I don¡¯t think you need to worry about that. The princess¡¯s knights are doing their part.</i>


    <i>- Really?</i>


    That was the only good news among all this. Kang-Woo expressed slight relief and sped up even more using the Authority of Haste.


    <i>ng! ng¡ª!</i>


    ¡°Kuh! Maintain formation!¡±


    ¡°Protect the princess!¡±


    As soon as Kang-Woo arrived, he could hear the sound of shing metal and smell the metallic scent of blood filling the canyon. He turned around.


    <i>¡®I think I¡¯m too early.¡¯</i>


    He had ended up getting separated from his party members after running with all his might; there was no one in the party that could keep up with Kang-Woo running at full speed.


    ¡°Lilith, what¡¯s the situation?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still under control.¡±


    Kang-Woo looked down at the battle between the knights in silver armor and the masked men in the narrow canyon.


    <i>¡®They¡¯re severely outnumbered.¡¯</i>


    There were only about thirty silver knights while there were easily over five hundred masked men.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t there way too few of them for escorting an imperial princess?¡± Kang-Woo mentioned as he watched over the battlefield.


    Not only were the silver knightscking in number, their skills also were not up to par for a group in charge of protecting an imperial process.


    Lilith nodded. ¡°I agree. Well... They¡¯re notpletely ipetent, but they certainly arecking in skill.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. Even though the empire was nearing its impending doom, such ipetence seemed highly unlikely.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll leave that forter.¡¯</i>


    He needed to focus on the current situation.


    ¡°Death to the witch!¡±


    ¡°We do not need an ipetent princess!¡±


    Desperation could be felt from the voices of the masked men. They were charging to their deaths at the knights while gripping a diverse array of weapons. Kang-Woo frowned as he looked down at the battle.


    ¡°This is...¡±


    Something about the rebel army¡¯s desperation bothered him, as if a cog in a machine had been misced. Kang-Woo fell into thought while tapping on the bridge of his nose with his finger.


    <i>¡®The pieces areing together.¡¯</i>


    However, the hypothesis in his head was nowhere near a level for him to considerplete. Hecked far too much information.


    <i>¡®But still... Just in case.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and contacted Vernaak.


    <i>- Vernaak.</i>


    <i>- Yes, Master.</i>


    <i>- I have a favor to ask.</i>


    Kang-Woo ryed amand to Vernaak while watching over the battle that was getting fiercer.


    ¡°Hyung-nim!¡±


    Kim Si-Hun arrived as soon as Kang-Woo¡¯s conversation with Vernaak was over. His expression stiffened as he looked down at the battle between the rebel army and the silver knights.


    ¡°Kuh, I can¡¯t believe something like this happened...¡±


    Si-Hun summoned Ludwig while biting his lip. He grasped the sword that was shining brilliantly.


    ¡°Hyung-nim, let¡¯s g¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, wait.¡± Kang-Woo grabbed Si-Hun¡¯s shoulder. ¡°... Not yet.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait a little longer.¡±


    Kang-Woo looked down at the battlefield calmly. Although the knights were being pushed back, they were holding on well.


    <i>¡®We need to appear when they¡¯re on the verge of death.¡¯</i>


    They needed a better timing to amplify the effect of a hero appearing in a crisis.


    ¡°Si-Hun. Now that things have ended up like this, we¡¯re gonna have to move up the n.¡±


    ¡°Are you referring to the hero n that you mentioned before?¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded. ¡°Go down there at the perfect time and save the princess.¡±


    Kang-Woo had been nning on giving Si-Hun this spiel after the Undead attackmenced, but the timing had gone slightly awry due to the sudden appearance of the rebel army.


    <i>¡®Either way, it doesn¡¯t really matter.¡¯</i>


    After all, telling this to Si-Hun had always been the n.


    ¡°Si-Hun, what do you think is the most importantponent that makes a hero?¡± Kang-Woo asked in all seriousness.


    Whatever the case, the hero-making operation needed to begin now. Si-Hun was left bewildered by Kang-Woo¡¯s sudden question.


    He folded his fingers one by one and answered, ¡°I¡¯m not sure... Righteousness? Courage?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no! Listen, Si-Hun.¡± Kang-Woo grabbed Si-Hun¡¯s shoulders. ¡°The most importantponent of a hero is...¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Si-Hun swallowed his saliva in anxiety.


    Kang-Woo continued, ¡°Style.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±


    ¡°You know, like how cool they look. Style makes a hero.


    ¡°Just think about it. If a 150 kg ugly bastard goes down there to save the princess and her knights, do you think he would be a hero? I guarantee you that the son of a bitch would be framed as the mastermind of this entire incident.¡±


    It was sad, but it was an undeniable truth. One¡¯s looks were more important than what people thought.


    ¡°But of course, that¡¯s of no concern to you,¡± Kang-Woo added.


    <i>¡®Since you¡¯re handsome as fuck. Jeez, you¡¯re even more handsome up close. Why the fuck are you so handsome, goddammit?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was getting irritated just thinking about it. He shook his head to disperse the rage that was gradually rising as he stared at Si-Hun.


    ¡°Well, anyway, I¡¯m saying that style is important.¡±


    ¡°Oh... I see.¡±


    ¡°So, what do you think you should do?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh...¡± Si-Hun slurred nkly.


    Kang-Woo pounded his chest in frustration. ¡°Since you don¡¯t need to care about looks, you just need to focus on your performance!¡±


    ¡°My... performance?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, man!¡± Kang-Woo nodded while smirking.


    A hero¡¯s entrance needed to be paired with the right performance, and Kang-Woo had the perfect one in mind.


    <i>¡®At times like this...¡¯</i>


    The gears in Kang-Woo¡¯s head went into overdrive.


    ***


    ¡°<i>Pant! Pant!</i>¡±


    ¡°Th-This way, Your Highness!¡±


    There was a woman in the narrow canyon filled with the thick stench of blood. She was blindingly beautiful, had morous wavy blonde hair, and was wearing a dress withces hanging on it. She was Iris von Arnan, the woman who had be the highest authority of the empire after the emperor had fallen ill and was now bedridden.


    ¡°Kyaah!¡±


    However, it was no simple feat to run in a narrow canyon in a dress and heels. She fell down shortly after.


    ¡°Your Highness!¡±


    The maids that had been taking care of her quickly ran toward her. They tried to help Iris up, but she could not stay on her feet because she had rolled her ankle as she fell.


    ¡°<i>Huff, huff.</i>¡±


    Iris put her hand on her swollen ankle while panting heavily. Sharp pain shot up her leg, and tears flowed down from her eyes.


    ¡°Why... What did I do so wrong to deserve this?!¡± she screamed in anger.


    She picked up a rock on the ground and threw it to vent her rage.


    ¡°Y-Your Highness... We have to hur¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shut up!!¡±


    Iris pped away the hand of one of the maids. She lowered her head while crying. She was not stupid enough to not have realized that it was far toote to escape.


    ¡°<i>Sniff...</i> Why... Why...¡±


    All that she could do was toment in vain.


    ¡°Your Highness...¡±


    Iris¡¯s maids looked at her in pity.


    Iris said sorrowfully, ¡°If only... If only Brother[1] were here...¡±


    Tears flowed down her cheeks. She clenched her fists while biting her lip.


    ¡°There she is!¡±


    ¡°The witch!¡±


    The masked members of the rebel army had reached the ce where Iris and her maids were.


    <i>Schwing</i>. Light reflected on the sharp sword.


    ¡°Kyaaah!¡±


    Iris screamed with her eyes shut tight. The masked men with swords in hand snorted.


    ¡°Hah! The witch that brought the empire to ruin sure can scream!¡±


    ¡°I guess she cares about her own life, at the very least.¡±


    Their words were filled with clear malice.


    ¡°It¡¯s because of greedy and ipetent members of the imperial family like you that the great Prime Minister Fidelio has such a hard time.¡±


    ¡°The empire wouldn¡¯t have turned out like this if he were the one to lead it.¡±


    Iris flinched. She red at the masked men while biting her lip.


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong...¡±


    Her lips fluttered. Countless words that she wanted to say were on the verge of leaving her mouth, but she couldn¡¯t let them.


    <i>¡®Besides...¡¯</i>


    There was no one in this world that would listen to her.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Iris muttered, having given up.


    <i>¡®Rather than living like this...¡¯</i>


    If she had to keep wandering within the inescapable valley of despair for the rest of her days...


    <i>¡®It¡¯s better to just die.¡¯</i>


    No one knew what she was going through; the only person that had always protected her was gone. What remained after his death was nothing but hell.


    ¡°Kill me. Just kill me already!¡± Iris yelled madly.


    The masked men only snorted at her screams of desperation.


    ¡°As you wish, we¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    ¡°For the revolutionary army! For a new empire!¡±


    The masked men raised their swords.


    ¡°Ah...¡± Iris expressed.


    She trembled subtly as she shut her eyes tight. Only one thing was on her mind; the appearance of a blond man enveloped in golden light.


    <i>¡®Brother...¡¯</i>


    Tears flowed down Iris¡¯s cheeks. The sword of one of the masked men swung down on her neck. Just then...


    <i>ng¡ª!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!!¡±


    A young man fell down from the sky and parried the masked man¡¯s sword. Hended on the ground crouched with one knee and hand on the ground. At the same time, great winds blew, and flower petals fluttered across the bloody battlefield out of nowhere.


    ¡°Wh-Who are you?!¡± a masked man yelled in bewilderment.


    The young man who had fallen from the sky slowly lifted himself up. He ignored the masked man and stretched his hand out toward Iris, who was on the ground.


    ¡°Are you hurt anywhere?¡±


    Kim Si-Hun had made his appearance.


    ***


    ¡°Shiiiet, that¡¯s it!¡± expressed Kang-Woo, who was watching the situation unfold from above. He pped while snickering. ¡°Nothing better than a superheronding on the first appearance!¡±


    There was nothing more stylish than blocking an attack while falling from the sky. Kang-Woo jumped in ce while pulling up a hologram of Si-Hun and Iris by using an Authority.


    ¡°Man, too bad I don¡¯t have any popcorn to go with this.¡±


    He should have brought that with him to Aernor as well. Kang-Woo watched the hologram while clicking his tongue.


    <i>- Are you hurt anywhere?</i>


    ¡°Dayum, nice line delivery.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled as he stared at Iris, who was hazily looking up at Si-Hun.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    It was time to make a hero.


    1. Brother isn¡¯t really used to address someone in English, but since the author is trying not to use the name of the person, I¡¯ll just have it like this. ?

 Chapter 341 - Would You Look At This Bitch?

    <h4>Chapter 341 - Would You Look At This Bitch?</h4>


    ¡°Brother...?¡± Iris von Arnan muttered in bewilderment. She had ended up calling the man enveloped in blinding light in front of her, her brother before she had realized it. ¡°Ah.¡±


    However, after her thoughts settled and she took a closer look at the man in front of her, she realized that the man was apletely different person from her older brother. The man had ck hair and eyes, and was handsome enough to be a work of art, to the point that she wondered if he had been blessed by the high elves as well.


    ¡°Wh-Who are...¡± Iris asked in a trembling voice.


    Kim Si-Hun took her hand and helped her up while smiling faintly. ¡°I came here after I heard the noises while I was passing by with my party members. Thank goodness I¡¯m not toote.¡±


    Iris flinched. It did not seem like this man knew who she was. The man red at the masked men.


    ¡°Why would you attack this poor woman?¡± Si-Hun asked.


    ¡°Hah, poor woman, you say?¡±


    ¡°Do you have any idea who that woman is?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s Iris von Arnan! The witch who brought the empire to ruin!¡±


    The masked men eximed in fury.


    ¡°Ngh...¡± Iris lowered her head in pallor from their screams.


    She knew very well her reputation among the public, and a portion of the spreading rumors were true.


    ¡°I see, you¡¯re the Imperial Highness.¡± Si-Hun purposefully expressed surprise.


    The masked men snorted and approached Si-Hun. ¡°Step aside. The empire can only regain its peace once that witch is dead.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I cannot.¡±


    Si-Hun raised his shining sword, firmly expressing that he would not step aside. He turned his head toward Iris, who was trembling behind him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± He stretched out his hand and ced it on her cheek. ¡°I will protect you.¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Iris¡¯s eyes widened. It had been far too long since someone had said that they would protect her. Her eyes unwittingly teared up. She shuddered all over.


    <i>¡®Nghh.¡¯</i>


    Unlike Iris¡¯s reaction, Si-Hun was having mixed feelings.


    <i>¡®Is this really gonna work?¡¯</i>


    In Si-Hun¡¯s opinion, a woman being told by someone who had literally fallen from the sky that they would protect her would only raise her caution instead of trust.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m doing it because hyung-nim told me to, but...¡¯</i>


    He honestly did not have much hope in the n.


    <i>¡®But I¡¯ll stick to it, since it¡¯s for hyung-nim.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun had unconditional trust for Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡®Don¡¯t worry, hyung.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun gripped his sword handle and poured his bloodlust toward the masked men. This operation was crucial for establishing a connection with Princess Iris, as well as the very first step for him to be a savior.


    <i>¡®For hyung...¡¯</i>


    He could not afford to let the n fail. Si-Hun red at the rebel army with zing eyes.


    ¡°K-Kuh!¡±


    ¡°S-Such eyes...¡±


    Si-Hun was powerful enough to face the princes of Hell. His assimtion rate with the Martial God had almost reached 70% during the past few months of training, so there was no way that mere soldiers of a rebel army would be able to handle his bloodlust.


    <i>Tap.</i>


    Si-Hun leaped forward with a step so quiet that one would not be able to hear it unless they concentrated, but unlike that faint sound, his body shot forward so quickly that it looked as if his body was being stretched.


    <i>¡®Heavenly Dragon Foot Technique.¡¯</i>


    It was one of the martial arts techniques of Martial God Tian Taihuang; Si-Hun moved as if a dragon was soaring across the sky. He sliced the sword of one of the masked men without hesitation with his holy sword.


    ¡°Wh-What the fuck?!¡±


    The masked men were shocked by how Si-Hun had reached them in the blink of an eye and sliced a sword clean in two. Si-Hun kicked a masked man¡¯s stomach with his right leg.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    The masked man rose slightly into the air and tumbled to the ground. Si-Hun rode the momentum and continued to swing his sword. <i>ng! ng! </i>The weapons of the masked men were sliced in two, one after another.


    ¡°Y-You monster!¡±


    ¡°He must be the witch¡¯s puppet!¡±


    ¡°Kill him!¡±


    The masked men did not back down even after witnessing Si-Hun¡¯s prowess. They depended solely on their numbers which reached five hundred. The masked men approached Si-Hun while getting into a military formation that they seemed to have practiced thoroughly.


    ¡°Tsk.¡±


    However, such a strategy was utterly ineffective against Si-Hun.


    ¡°Heavenly Dragon Lightning Strike.¡±


    A blue dragon appeared from the shining holy sword. Si-Hun jumped toward the center of the formation without hesitation while flying in the air using Void Steps. He gripped his sword with both hands and swung it down while falling, as if he was chopping firewood.


    <i>Crackle¡ª!!</i>


    The blue dragon that was leisurely flying in the air opened its mouth. It d itself in lightning and descended to the ground.


    ¡°Kurgh!!¡±


    ¡°Aaaarrgghh!¡±


    The masked men screamed. The ones that had been struck by the lightning head-on copsed on the spot. The unexpected tight formation by a rebel army had been destroyed from a single attack from Si-Hun. Si-Hun stood up from the crater that had been formed as if a meteor had crashed down. The brilliant light flowing from the holy sword enveloped his body.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    They were no match for Si-Hun. After realizing that they were inpletely different leagues, the soldiers of the rebel army lost their morale and trembled on the spot with their mouths agape.


    <i>¡®This should be enough.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun loosened his grip on the sword handle while staring at the rebel army stricken by fear. They had already lost their will to fight, so Si-Hun did not see the need to ughter them.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s a bit ufortable.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun frowned as he stared at the terrified men. He was not physically ufortable; it was just that using his powers on fellow humans, albeit a rebel army, did not feel right to him.


    ¡°Kuh! Kurgh!¡±


    ¡°Wh-What the...?! This is...¡±


    Just then, the corpses of the rebel army sprawled on the ground, rose. Their eyes were gray, and they were staggering. Si-Hun¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Undead?¡±


    It was not just the corpses of the rebel army. Skeletons wielding weapons also appeared from all around the forest.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on...?¡±


    Si-Hun fell into confusion. Why were there Undead monsters all of a sudden? He scanned the group of Skeletons with sharp eyes; they came out of the forest and stood in front of the rebel army as if protecting them. Such behavior from Undead monsters only meant one thing.


    ¡°Sons of bitches...¡±


    Si-Hun bit his lip. His resentment toward the demonic that had grown ever since his first encounter with Satan surged.


    ¡°You¡¯ve joined forces... with demons.¡±


    If that was not the case, nothing could exin why Undead monsters would protect the rebel army instead of attacking them. Si-Hun regretted going easy on them because they were fellow humans.


    ¡°Y-You¡¯re wrong!¡±


    ¡°Urgh! Wh-What the hell is wrong with these Skeletons?!¡±


    The rebel army grew confused as well. The resentment dyeing Si-Hun¡¯s face momentarily faltered as he saw the masked men¡¯s genuine confusion.


    Just then, Kang-Woo, who had been watching from above, came down the canyon. ¡°I knew something was off.¡±


    ¡°Hyung-nim?¡±


    Kang-Woo continued while staring at the rebel army and the horde of Undead, ¡°Si-Hun, I think they¡¯ve joined forces with demons.¡±


    ¡°There are demons in Aernor as well?¡±


    ¡°Have you forgotten where Lucifer came from?¡± Kang-Woo mentioned with sunken eyes.


    ¡°Ah,¡± Si-Hun expressed. He nodded and red at the rebel army and the Undead. ¡°I see.¡±


    There was likely a group simr to the Demon Cult in Aernor as well.


    ¡°Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°I know without you telling me, hyung-nim.¡±


    Si-Hun raised his sword while emitting chilling bloodlust. Kang-Woo above all others had assured that the rebel army had joined forces with demons. They had done something they should have never done, for the sake of overthrowing the nation. In that case, there was only one thing for Si-Hun to do.


    <i>¡®Formless Sword.¡¯</i>


    Swords made out of pure-white sword energy formed around Si-Hun. He lowered his stance and charged toward the rebel army and the Undead.


    ***


    ¡°Are you okay, Your Highness?¡±


    Si-Hun approached Iris, who was on the ground, after clearing out the Undead that had appeared from the forest. She was trembling slightly, possibly from seeing Si-Hun¡¯s astoundingbat prowess.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m alright... Urgh!¡±


    Iris tried to stand, but grimaced from the sharp pain shooting up her ankle. Si-Hun quickly ran up to her and helped her up.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Iris blushed. She looked around warily, and then asked hesitantly, ¡°M-May I ask who you are?¡±


    ¡°My name is Kim Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°Kim Si-Hun.¡±


    She engraved the name in her mind. Although such a name did not exist in the Arnan Empire, she paid it no mind.


    <i>¡®I heard the Eastern Federation uses such names.¡¯</i>


    He even had ck hair and eyes, so Iris was sure that he was from the Eastern Federation. If that was the case, it also made sense why he had not called her a witch since he likely did not know of the exact situation in Arnan.


    ¡°A-Ahh.¡±


    However, whether Si-Hun was from the Eastern Federation or not did not matter at the moment. She stared at Si-Hun dreamily, shivers traveling down her spine.


    ¡°I see. Then may I call you... Sir Si-Hun?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to address me so formally, Your Highness.¡±


    ¡°N-No! I will call you Sir Si-Hun!¡± Iris responded brightly.


    Kang-Woo smirked from seeing Si-Hun and Iris.


    <i>¡®This exceeds my expectations.¡¯</i>


    Thanks to Si-Hun¡¯s fantastic looks as well as his perfect rescue timing, Operation ¡°Knight In Shining Armor¡± has been a huge sess.


    <i>¡®Getting her support will be a piece of cake.¡¯</i>


    Seeing how Iris was acting, they could even hope for her full support for everything instead of just having her as a backer.


    <i>¡®Right, then.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. It was time to squeeze out some information from the imperial princess about the things that were bothering him in regard to the rebel army.


    ¡°Princess Iris, there are a few things I would like to ask you.¡±


    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Iris red at Kang-Woo as soon as he approached her. ¡°Stop bothering us and screw off.¡±


    She was staring at him in disgust as if he were a bug. She hid behind Si-Hun as if she would throw up just from Kang-Woo getting closer to her.


    <i>¡®Huh?¡¯</i>


    Would you look at this bitch?

 Chapter 342 - Who Should I Allow to Win?

    <h4>Chapter 342 - Who Should I Allow to Win?</h4>


    <i>¡®What the hell?¡¯</i>


    Oh Kang-Woo was left momentarily shocked from theplete opposite treatment that Iris had given himpared to Kim Si-Hun. He recalled how the citizens of the empire had referred to her as a witch.


    <i>¡®So that means...¡¯</i>


    This was how Iris usually treated people.


    <i>¡®I guess it would¡¯ve been bad if we didn¡¯t do this n.¡¯</i>


    If they had not gained the princess¡¯s favor by having Si-Hun save her in her time of need, there would have been massiveplications in their n.


    ¡°Did you not hear me telling you to screw off? Are you deaf or something?¡±


    Iris was staring at Kang-Woo coldly. Kang-Woo was more dumbfounded by her attitude than angry.


    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re saying to my hyung-nim?¡±


    Si-Hun reacted first to Iris¡¯s rudeness. He red at Iris, who was hiding behind him, with a hint of bloodlust. Kang-Woo was more bewildered by Si-Hun¡¯s action than Iris was.


    <i>¡®Jesus, Si-Hun. Stop that. You¡¯ll spoil the affinity that you have with her.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Ah, mm, I-I¡¯m sorry. I never thought that he would be your older brother...¡±


    Iris quickly lowered her head, but her eyes were still filled with wariness and hostility. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and stared at her.


    <i>¡®Something¡¯s off.¡¯</i>


    It was hard to consider her attitude as one that simply arose from her personality.


    <i>¡®Her reaction is a bit too extreme for that to be the case.¡¯</i>


    It was understandable that Iris would not consider Kang-Woo and Si-Hun to be brothers since they were not blood-rted. However, she likely at least knew that they wererades since she had seen them conversing.


    <i>¡®So why is she so hostile toward me?¡¯</i>


    It was weird. Iris should have had absolutely no reason to be so hostile toward Kang-Woo. Considering her attitude toward Si-Hun, she should have naturally been kind to Kang-Woo as well.


    <i>¡®Her having a shitty personality doesn¡¯t exin it.¡¯</i>


    Something continued to bother Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo stared at Iris sharply.


    <i>¡®Could it be...?¡¯</i>


    He recalled what Dous had muttered before.


    <i>- I at least want you to know that it is not entirely her fault.</i>


    <i>¡®Something must¡¯ve happened.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo did not know the details yet, but he was sure that something had caused her personality to be this twisted.


    <i>¡®Wait.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo fell into thought as he tapped the bridge of his nose. He had a feeling that what had bothered him about the rebel army and Iris were rted.


    It was not based on logic, but simply a hunch.


    ¡°May I continue my questions, Your Highness?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°What is it? I¡¯m tired, so make it quick,¡± Iris answered disrespectfully.


    Si-Hun frowned in displeasure, but Kang-Woo stopped him by giving him a look. He couldn''t care less if she was disrespectful or downright cussing him out; there was something far more important than that.


    ¡°Where were youing back from?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Iris became wide-eyed from the unexpected question, but answered while turning her head away, ¡°I went to the founding emperor¡¯s grave to pray in hopes that he would help resolve the empire''s crisis.¡±


    It was a pointless gesture; no, that was not the issue.


    <i>¡®Would a princess with that kind of personality willingly go to a grave to pray?¡¯</i>


    With only a few dozen knights, no less?


    <i>¡®I¡¯m starting to get the full picture now.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled. The fog in his mind was getting cleared up. The questions in his mind were getting answered.


    <i>¡®I see what happened.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo nodded and turned around. He looked down at the corpse of one of the masked men. To be exact, he looked down at the sword in the masked man¡¯s hand.


    <i>¡®Their weapons are unnaturally good.¡¯</i>


    Not just their swords, but the round shields on their wrists and the armor they were wearing practically looked brand new.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    The rebel army had assumed such perfect formations as if they had been professionally trained. It had been easily broken because they had been against Si-Hun, but those who were just slightly above average would have had a difficult time breaking through it.


    <i>¡®That makes no sense.¡¯</i>


    There was no way that a rebel army made up of regr citizens who had left their jobs behind to overthrow the nation due to poverty and hunger would be able to have high-quality armaments and assume airtight formations.


    ¡°Tsk,¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    There was no need to even think deeply about it; the simplest answer to aplicated question was usually the correct one.


    <i>¡®If it makes no sense for a rebel army to possess high-quality armaments and assume borate formations... The answer is simple. It means they were never part of the rebel army in the first ce.¡¯</i>


    Even if they were part of the rebel army, Kang-Woo was sure that they had at least been backed by someone.


    <i>¡®Who it could be is still a mystery, but...¡¯</i>


    They had manipted these men toe here and kill the princess.


    ¡°Who made you go to the grave?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Iris froze. She lowered her head in pallor and muttered, ¡°I-I went there of my own ord.¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    Iris responded fiercely, ¡°I¡¯m the imperial princess. Who would dare make me go anywhere?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I guess you¡¯re right.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded with a smile. It was cute how she was trying her best to maintain her pride. It was like seeing a child getting on their tiptoes to grab something high up without any help.


    ¡°What? Is that all you have to ask?¡± Iris asked.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s all.¡± Kang-Woo nodded and turned around.


    He had a few things that he had wanted to ask, but this was enough for now. There was no reason for him to find out at the moment who had made the princess turn out this way.


    <i>¡®Besides...¡¯</i>


    The answer woulde to him sooner orter. Kang-Woo gave Si-Hun a look.


    Si-Hun nodded and said to Iris, ¡°We will escort you to the capital, Princess Iris.¡±


    ¡°Sir Si-Hun...?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t afford to leave you alone after what happened here.¡±


    ¡°<i>Sniff</i>. Th-Thank you so much.¡±


    Iris was reacting in a waypletely different from her attitude toward Kang-Woo. She shed tears from being moved deeply.


    ¡°I will make sure to reward you handsomely once we get to the capital!¡± Iris eximed while clenching her fists.


    Kang-Woo chuckled at the absurdity.


    <i>¡®Come on...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s feelings were getting hurt. He shook his head and turned around.


    ¡°Hup.¡± Si-Hun lifted Iris in a princess carry.


    ¡°Ah...¡± Iris turned her head away,pletely red in embarrassment.


    ¡°I will introduce you to my otherrades besides Kang-Woo hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t ca¡ª A-Ahem. Okay. I¡¯m looking forward to meeting them.¡± Iris giggled.


    ¡°Umm... Your Highness,¡± one of Iris¡¯s maids called out.


    ¡°What is it now?¡± Iris, whose time with Si-Hun had been interrupted yet again, asked in irritation.


    ¡°Well... About the report for this incident...¡±


    Iris turned gloomy in an instant. She continued while trembling, ¡°Yeah, o-of course we should report it. Report that I was attacked by a rebel army, and that Sir Si-Hun came to my rescue.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±


    Something was amiss. Kang-Woo, who had been watching their interaction in silence, smiled and turned his head.


    <i>¡®I knew there was something off. This is gonna be interesting.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes glimmered as he licked his lips. If the situation was what he thought it to be...


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll have to think a little bit.¡¯</i>


    There was no need to rush. It would not be toote to act after taking his time to think.


    <i>¡®Besides...¡¯</i>


    It waspletely up to Kang-Woo to choose who woulde out victorious in the Arnan Empire, which was approaching its imminent demise. The rest were trash that would have no choice but to acknowledge the choice that he made and submit willingly.


    <i>¡®Now, then...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo thought leisurely with his arms crossed. Either Iris, who was sticking very close to Si-Hun, or the mastermind who had tried to kill Iris here...


    <i>¡®Who should I allow to win?¡¯</i>


    <i>Snicker</i>. The demon¡¯s eyes shone as if he was ying a fun game.


    ***


    Kang-Woo¡¯s party headed to the capital with Princess Iris. Although Iris¡¯s carriage had been destroyed from the rebel army¡¯s attack, it was easily fixed at a nearby city. Kang-Woo¡¯s party bought a few more carriages and set off to the capital. They could have flown there on Echidna, but they did not.


    <i>¡®Iris might faint from shock.¡¯</i>


    It was not difficult to imagine how that immature princess would react if she saw a dragon. Not just that, Echidna was a demonic dragon; she could not be shown to others recklessly.


    Although Iris had acted coldly to everyone besides Si-Hun at first, she opened up to them over time. She smiled every now and then, and they even chatted during meals. However, there had been something that Kang-Woo had not expected at all.


    ¡°Kyaaaaaaaaahh!¡± Iris screamed and threw down her spoon on the ground. ¡°S-Spicyyyyyyyyy!¡± She red at Kang-Woo, who was eating kimchi stew, teary-eyed. ¡°How can you eat something like this?!¡±


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes.


    <i>¡®Just let it go.¡¯</i>


    The spiciness could not be helped. Kang-Woo was not ignorant enough toin to a person of another world why they couldn¡¯t eat something so delicious.


    <i>Tap.</i>


    ¡°Kang-Woo, bring me some water.¡±


    ¡°Go get it yourself, Your Highness.¡±


    ¡°I hurt my ankle.¡±


    ¡°Are you still going on about an injury that was already fully healed days ago?¡±


    ¡°Argh! You talk too much!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have a big mouth. What are you going to do about it?¡±


    ¡°Water! Water!¡±


    ¡°Si-Hun, Her Imperial Highness wants some wat¡ª¡±


    ¡°Kyaaaahh! D-Don¡¯t call Sir Si-Hun!¡±


    A fuss broke out between Iris and Kang-Woo. The other party members did not even pay it any mind, having gotten used to it. This was what Kang-Woo had not expected.


    <i>¡®Why is she sticking so much to me instead of Si-Hun?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned as if his head hurt. For things to go ording to his n, Iris, who had fallen in love with Si-Hun at first sight, needed to grow closer to him to form a hero-princess bond. However, after a few days of spending time together, Iris was sticking only to Kang-Woo instead of Si-Hun and was chatting her mouth off.


    <i>¡®And don¡¯t even get me started on the reason.¡¯</i>


    Iris stole nces at Si-Hun from time to time, wondering if Si-Hun was actually getting her water, but Si-Hun was not even paying any mind to Iris and was having the time of his life chatting with La. Seeing that, Iris sulked, and so did Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡®This is driving me fucking insane.¡¯</i>


    Iris was only talking to Kang-Woo because of the stupid reason of being too embarrassed to talk to Si-Hun. The problem was that Iris¡¯s personality was so twisted that her methods of conversations consisted ofmands. Since there was no way that Kang-Woo would follow thosemands willingly, it resulted in arguments.


    <i>¡®And an even bigger problem...¡¯</i>


    Iris seemed to enjoy having such arguments. She, who had never met anyone in her life as an imperial princess who would defy her, was enjoying the new responses that Kang-Woo was giving her.


    <i>¡®Fucking hell, are you some nobledy in a bishojo game? The kind that goes </i>¡°Y-You¡¯re the first person to ever treat me this way!¡±<i>?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Haaa...¡± Kang-Woo sighed.


    <i>¡®Please let us arrive at the capital soon.¡¯</i>


    Even if it was part of the n, it was exhausting to deal with a sassy princess all day. Kang-Woo turned to look at Han Seol-Ah for some mental healing.


    <i>¡®Huh?¡¯</i>


    He could feel thick bloodlust in Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes as she looked this way.


    ¡°Hurry up with the water!¡±


    <i>¡®Holy fuck. We have to get to the capital soon. Like, right now. Please, the n will get fucked at this rate.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 343 - Paying For One’s Sin

    <h4>Chapter 343 - Paying For One¡¯s Sin</h4>


    ¡°At this pace, we¡¯ll reach the capital by tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Oh... Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡±


    Iris¡¯s expression darkened. She lifelessly walked to the carriage with slumped shoulders. Oh Kang-Woo clicked his tongue as he watched her. He had realized a few things about Iris during their few days together.


    <i>¡®She hasn¡¯t beenpletely irredeemable from the start.¡¯</i>


    Although she was a little immature, she was asionally delicate. However, she spoke disrespectfully to her maids and Kang-Woo as if it waspletely natural. Kang-Woo wondered what had caused her personality to be so twisted.


    <i>¡®Well, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll find out tomorrow.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared with sunken eyes at the pale, trembling Iris. The problem was not what sort of trauma she had suffered.


    <i>¡®Public opinion of her is worse than what I had expected.¡¯</i>


    Opinions regarding Princess Iris in the Arnan Empire literally could not get any worse. The people were tantly showing their detest of her to the point that it seemed excessive.


    <i>¡®An ipetent, greedy and egocentric princess.¡¯</i>


    The people pretty much considered her the epitome of corruption.


    <i>¡®I have a feeling that someone spread such rumors intentionally.¡¯</i>


    However, it was hard to absolve the princess of any fault. Considering how Iris treated her maids and everyone other than Kim Si-Hun, she could not be treated as a victim of false malicious rumors. As for how she treated the people below her...


    ¡°Siesta!! I told you to clean the inside of the carriage!¡± Iris yelled while hopping madly.


    <i>¡®Jesus Christ.¡¯</i>


    She was usually fine, but she turned hysterical whenever anything rted to the capital was mentioned. Whatever the reason, the people of the empire as well as Kang-Woo¡¯s party members did not have a good impression of her due to her hysteria.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s a problem.¡¯</i>


    At this rate, it would throw a wrench in the n to support the princess and raise Si-Hun as a hero, to the point that it would have been easier for Si-Hun to be hailed as a hero if they had taken the rebel army¡¯s side instead.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll have to think about it.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stood up. There was only one day left until they reached the imperial capital.


    ***


    ¡°Wow, so this is the capital?¡± Han Seol-Ah expressed in amazement.


    Kang-Woo, who was in the same carriage, looked around in surprise.


    ¡°I knew that they had made great advancements in magic, but this exceeds my expectations.¡±


    It could not even bepared to a tiny city like Velen. Five-story buildings were erected along the road that the carriage was traveling down, and the sidewalks were extremely clean, having been made with pure white marble.


    <i>¡®So this is...¡¯</i>


    It was the capital of Arnan, the most prosperous city in Aernor. Its size truly befitted its reputation. Kang-Woo looked out the window to check the expressions of the passersby.


    ¡°Tsk.¡±


    It was no different in the capital; likely having been notified of the princess¡¯s arrival, the people were ring at the carriage that Iris was in with hostility. It felt like a riot would ur with the slightest push, but it did not because a crowd of imperial soldiers came out to protect the carriage. Kang-Woo and his party were able to reach the golden imperial castle with the imperial soldiers escorting them.


    ¡°S-Sir Si-Hun. Umm... How long will you be staying in the imperial castle for?¡± Iris asked cautiously after getting off the carriage.


    Si-Hun momentarily fell into thought.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s all an act, though.¡¯</i>


    He had already talked it over with Kang-Woo beforehand.


    ¡°Since we¡¯re not in a rush... May we stay here for a while?¡± Si-Hun asked.


    ¡°Ah! O-Of course!¡± Iris answered happily.


    She guided the party into the imperial castle while smiling brightly. Just then...


    ¡°Oh, are these the good people that had saved you from the rebel army, Your Highness?¡± An old man in white vestments walked over to them slowly. He grabbed Si-Hun¡¯s hand and said softly, ¡°Thank you very much for saving Her Highness. Fuuu. My heart sank when I found out that she was attacked by rebel forces...¡±


    The old man in priest vestments sighed in relief while teary-eyed.


    ¡°I only did what I should have done,¡± Si-Hun replied.


    ¡°Hahaha. You are as heroic as I¡¯ve heard.¡±


    The old man went up to every single one of Kang-Woo¡¯s party members to shake their hands and bow to them.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve forgotten to introduce myself. I am Prime Minister Fidelio, Her Highness¡¯s advisor.¡± Fidelio politely bowed to Kang-Woo¡¯s party. He turned to the maids in the area and continued, ¡°They are the heroes that have saved Her Highness. Guide them to the VIP rooms.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Prime Minister.¡±


    ¡°It seems we¡¯ll have to hold a grand party soon. I will have to tell the other nobles of your heroics.¡± Fidelio smiled and approached Iris. ¡°Are you hurt anywhere, Your Highness?¡±


    ¡°Ah, uhh...¡± Iris turned pale as soon as Fidelio approached her. She lowered her head while trembling. ¡°I-I¡¯m... fine.¡±


    ¡°Phew. You have no idea how anxious I was when I heard that you went to the founding emperor¡¯s grave while I was away.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Iris muttered.


    It was not difficult to guess which of the two held more power in the imperial pce just from seeing Iris¡¯s attitude.


    Kang-Woo stared at Prime Minister Fidelio with sharp eyes. He had expected to find the mastermind of the incident sooner orter once he arrived at the imperial pce, but he had not expected to find them so soon.


    <i>¡®It was you, huh?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smirked. The fog in his mind had cleared uppletely.


    ***


    Kang-Woo¡¯s party unpacked as soon as they were guided to the VIP rooms. They were each given one room, and every single one of them was luxurious enough to make their mouths agape.


    ¡°Haaah.¡± Kang-Wooid down on the soft bed. ¡°Lilith.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master Kang-Woo.¡±


    Lilith appeared from the shadow on the ground as if she had expected Kang-Woo to call her. She alluringly sat down on the bed next to Kang-Woo and leaned toward him. She knew why Kang-Woo had called her even without being told.


    ¡°What will you do, my king?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking about it,¡± Kang-Woo answered.


    ¡°I think we will get through to that Fidelio human better than the princess.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±


    It was easier to work together with the prime minister, who practically had the empire in his grasp, than the ipetent princess. It was none of Kang-Woo¡¯s business whether or not Fidelio actually tried to have the princess killed.


    ¡°The problem is...¡± Kang-Woo slurred.


    ¡°The blessing of the high elves, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    The blessing of the high elves was apparently passed down to members of the imperial family. Kang-Woo could not be sure if that would influence the appearance of a high elf before the savior.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s hard to say that they¡¯re not rted.¡¯</i>


    Considering a high elf appeared before the founding emperor himself, it was hard to be sure that it had nothing to do with the manifestation of the high elves in the physical realm. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and fell into thought.


    <i>¡®It would be a piece of cake to cooperate with Fidelio and make Si-Hun a hero.¡¯</i>


    All they had to do was raise up the rebel army and kill Iris, just like what Fidelio had originally nned. If they did, Si-Hun would easily acquire the title of hero who had executed the corrupt imperial family and brought peace to the empire. They had plenty of justification to do so since Iris¡¯s reputation among the people of the empire could not be any lower.


    <i>¡®As for the other choice...¡¯</i>


    Taking Iris¡¯s side and eliminating Fidelio; even if they did, it would be very difficult for Si-Hun to be hailed as a hero.


    <i>¡®There are too many problems.¡¯</i>


    First of all, the impression of Iris that the people of the empire held was the absolute worst. They needed to change that impression for the better, but it was difficult to do it through normal means.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not like Iris ispetent.¡¯</i>


    No, even if she waspetent, people¡¯s impressions of her would not change if her twisted personality did not change as well. They needed to fix her twisted personality as well as allow her to break free from people¡¯s opinion of her being a witch.


    ¡°It¡¯s hellish.¡±


    Kang-Woo could barely see a future for that path. Considering Iris¡¯s hysterical behavior, she would not be easily persuaded, and there was a mountain of work they would need to do for her witch image among the public to be wiped clean.


    <i>¡®Is it really worth doing all that for the blessing of the high elves that might not even have an influence?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo put one leg over the other while lying down on the bed and bobbed the top leg up and down. Lilithid down next to him and embraced him.


    ¡°How about we cooperate with Fidelio and imprison Iris instead of killing her?¡± Lilith suggested.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, that might be even worse. In the high elves¡¯ point of view, we would pretty much be imprisoning someone that they blessed.¡±


    It was better for her to die by Fidelio¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Mm... May I voice my opinion?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°I believe we should help that princess.¡±


    ¡°Iris?¡±


    Lilith nodded. ¡°Even if it would be a hassle, isn¡¯t it better to pick the one that has a higher chance of manifesting the high elves?¡±


    ¡°True.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded. If he had to choose, it was more beneficial to him to take the side of the imperial family blessed by the high elves. Although he would have to work his ass off for a profit that he was not sure he would even gain, it was not something that he could not handle.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s only bothersome; it¡¯s not impossible.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    Lilith giggled seductively and continued, ¡°And... You would be paying for your sin.¡±


    ¡°Sin?¡±


    ¡°It would be better for you to go see yourself.¡± Lilith smiled softly without giving a concrete answer. ¡°You will find out once you go to where the princess is right now.¡±


    ¡°Mm,¡± Kang-Woo expressed while nodding.


    <i>¡®Well, it doesn¡¯t hurt to take a look.¡¯</i>


    It could be a clue to fix Iris¡¯s twisted personality. Kang-Woo did as Lilith said and headed toward Iris¡¯s chambers. Although there were imperial soldiers guarding the hallways, he was easily able to get past them using the Authority of Stealth.


    ¡°<i>Sniff... Sniff.</i>¡±


    Once he was right in front of Iris¡¯s chambers, he heard sobbing from across the door.


    ¡°Brother...¡±


    Kang-Woo could hear a sorrowful voice.


    <i>¡®Brother?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Transparency while tilting his head. The room beyond the door was reflected in his eyes. Iris was holding a small picture frame while scrunched up in her bed.


    <i>¡®Who is it?¡¯</i>


    He had not heard from her over the past few days that she had a brother. Kang-Woo repositioned himself to take a better look at the picture frame in Iris¡¯s hands. An extremely handsome blond man came into view; it was a familiar face.


    ¡°Reynald?¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Ohhh... I see.¡± Kang-Woo nodded with a long face.


    The pieces of the puzzle had been ced. Reynald von Arnan, the prince of the Arnan Empire and the hero overflowing with justice, had met a wretched death by the hands of Satan, the Prince of Wrath.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s our fault for failing to stop Satan earlier.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s heart became heavy when he thought about Reynald.


    <i>¡®He was a good guy...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists to the point that veins popped out. Although the main reason for his demise was him having gone off on his own, Kang-Woo was also at fault for not having warned him about Satan in advance.


    ¡°Haaa... So this is what she meant.¡±


    Kang-Woo lowered his head in sorrow. He finally understood what Lilith had meant.


    <i>- You would be paying for your sin.</i>


    <i>¡®Paying for my sin, huh? Yeah, I¡¯ll pay for it.¡¯</i>


    The opportunity to pay for the sin of failing to save Reynald from Satan had arrived.

 Chapter 344 - (Hellish) Party (1)

    <h4>Chapter 344 - (Hellish) Party (1)</h4>


    ¡°I see.¡± Kim Si-Hun nodded with a heavy expression.


    He sighed in pity. After finding out that Iris¡¯s brother was Rend, Oh Kang-Woo gathered his party members and told them of her circumstances.


    ¡°I never thought that Satan¡¯s actions would have influenced another world as well...¡±


    Si-Hun bit his lip in frustration. Satan, the Prince of Wrath, had been the decisive factor for Si-Hun¡¯s resentment for the demonic. Just thinking about Satan made Si-Hun¡¯s blood boil. Kang-Woo grabbed Si-Hun¡¯s arm to calm his thick bloodlust.


    ¡°Calm down, Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, hyung-nim.¡± Si-Hun looked down at his hands while smiling awkwardly. ¡°Even after a year since Satan died... I can¡¯t seem to forget.¡±


    There was no way that he would ever be able to, since Si-Hun had never actually won against Satan even once. The one who had killed Satan was none other than Rakiel, one of the Four Heavenly Kings.


    <i>- I am death. I am the end. I am the father of all wrath, and I am wrath itself.</i>


    Si-Hun recalled the golden eyes staring at him. A chill traveled down his spine, and he clenched his fists.


    <i>- I am Satan.</i>


    The memory of back when he had first met Satan, and him kneeling powerlessly without being able to do a thing lingered in his head. Si-Hun still trembled in fear whenever he thought of that memory. He became so scared that he could barely do anything.


    ¡°Si-Hun.¡± Kang-Woo clenched Si-Hun¡¯s arm even harder. He smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t make that kind of face. Satan is dead.¡±


    ¡°Yes... You¡¯re right.¡±


    Si-Hun nodded, still with an awkward smile. He put his hand over Kang-Woo¡¯s hand on his arm.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s warm.¡¯</i>


    He could feel Kang-Woo¡¯s warmth chasing away the chill that had spread throughout his body. Si-Hun took a deep breath and calmed his mind.


    ¡°Then does that mean Princess Iris¡¯s personality is... rted to Reynald¡¯s death?¡± Si-Hun asked.


    ¡°But how does it make sense that someone bes that much of a bitch just because their older brother died?¡± Cha Yeon-Joo interjected in irritation. She pounded her chest in frustration andined, ¡°My God, I barely held in my urge to smack that bitch¡¯s head. How did her personality get so twisted?¡±


    Although the other party members did not insult Iris like Yeon-Joo had, they seemed to have the same opinion just from looking at their faces.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like Iris. She keepsing onto you, Kang-Woo.¡± Echidna pulled on Kang-Woo¡¯s arm while grinding her teeth.


    Echidna seemed to have been bothered by the fact that she had barely been able to talk to Kang-Woo on the way to the capital because of Iris. It was cute how she was pouting in dissatisfaction.


    ¡°I-I agree! To M-Master Kang-Woo... She was so...! So...!¡±


    Halcyon clenched his small fists while trembling.


    Balrog also nodded in agreement and remarked while grimacing,¡°She is far too disrespectful to the king. If it had not been for the king¡¯smand, I would have long since ripped her head off.¡±


    Lilith grinned. ¡°I think she¡¯s cute.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s cute to you?¡± Yeon-Joo chuckled.


    Lilith simply giggled without a response.


    ¡°Yes, I think she¡¯s cute too.¡± Han Seol-Ah answered in Lilith¡¯s ce unexpectedly. ¡°I... would like to get along with her.¡±


    Seol-Ah giggled while covering her mouth. She was smiling, but her eyes were not. Chills ran down Yeon-Joo¡¯s spine.


    ¡°Y-Yeah.¡± Yeon-Joo nodded in puzzlement.


    Kang-Woo groaned.


    <i>¡®Pretty much everyone hates her.¡¯</i>


    Everyone other than Lilith was practically grinding their teeth. It was a little awkward since Kang-Woo had decided to take Iris¡¯s side.


    <i>¡®Fixing Iris¡¯s personality takes absolute priority.¡¯</i>


    However, that was easier said than done.


    ¡°I agree with Yeon-Joo. I don¡¯t think she became like that just because of Reynald¡¯s death,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    Her attitude toward Fidelio was far too extreme for that to be the case.


    <i>¡®I have a feeling that Fidelio had something to do with it.¡¯</i>


    If that was the case, it was good for Kang-Woo since it would be naturally resolved once they took Fidelio out of the picture.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    A different thought crossed his mind, but he shook his head. It was still too soon for him to be sure of such a guess.


    ¡°How about I go talk to her?¡± Si-Hun suggested while raising his hand.


    ¡°No, I got this. Si-Hun, you focus on deepening your bond with the princess while keeping the same distance from her as now,¡± Kang-Woo responded.


    ¡°Mm. I understand.¡±


    It would be right to leave it to Si-Hun to fix Iris¡¯s twisted personality, but he could not trust Si-Hun to take care of it.


    <i>¡®Considering Si-Hun¡¯s personality...¡¯</i>


    He would be the worst person for such a delicate matter. Since it would be a bother to tell him every single line for him to recite, it was better for Kang-Woo to just take care of it himself.


    ¡°Then will we be staying in the imperial pce?¡± Yeon-Joo asked while pouting.


    Kang-Woo fell into thought for a moment, and then answered, ¡°No, that would be inefficient.¡±


    This n did not need so many people to execute.


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    This many people would actually be a detriment to the n to raise Si-Hun up.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not like there¡¯s a certain date for when a high elf will manifest.¡¯</i>


    They couldn¡¯t just wait while twiddling their thumbs, relying only on a n to have a high elf manifest. To make the most use of their time...


    ¡°Let¡¯s split the party into two,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°Split the party...¡±


    ¡°Into two?¡±


    Yeon-Joo and Seol-Ah became wide-eyed.


    ¡°While the first party works on making Si-Hun a savior, the second party will look for information rted to the Demon God¡¯s corpse,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    ¡°W-Wait, that means...¡±


    The faces of a few party members paled. If the party was split into two, it meant that half the members of the party would be separated from Kang-Woo.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m going to stay with you, Kang-Woo!¡± Seol-Ah shouted urgently.


    Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°I already have five people in mind for the second party. Balrog, Yeon-Joo, Echidna, Halcyon, and La.¡±


    They were all people that would not be of much help for this n. Lilith was one of the very few party members that he could share his true n to, and as for Vernaak, he could add more realism to the n by making use of Undead. There was no need to even mention Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®Seol-Ah is a bit of an odd one out.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo sighed in relief after seeing Seol-Ah smiling brightly. As for her, she required special care from him because she had already fallen from grace once before.


    <i>¡®She¡¯s still mentally unstable.¡¯</i>


    The only ones who could control Seol-Ah at the moment were Kang-Woo and Lilith. Since both he and Lilith were in the first party, Seol-Ah also needed to be with them.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    ¡°Wh-What the hell?! Why me?!¡±


    Joy and sorrow intermingled from Kang-Woo¡¯s choice. Yeon-Joo sprang up in anger while grinding her teeth.


    ¡°Why? You don¡¯t want to be separated from me?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°O-Of course not! It¡¯s just a hassle to travel all over the ce!¡±


    Kang-Woo turned around while snickering. ¡°You¡¯re the leader of the second party, Balrog.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Balrog nodded withoutints.


    He seemed to know that there was nothing for him to do even if he stayed here.


    ¡°Kang-Woo...¡± Echidna pulled on Kang-Woo¡¯s clothes, teary-eyed.


    Kang-Woo patted her head. ¡°We¡¯re not gonna be separated for very long. Besides, you can fly over in a sh in your true form, can¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Urgh. Okay.¡± Echidna nodded while pouting. She then snorted while clenching her fists. ¡°Hm! I¡¯ll find tons of information for you, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll look forward to it.¡±


    Although Kang-Woo answered with a smile, he did not have high expectations for them.


    <i>¡®They¡¯d be lucky to even find a single clue.¡¯</i>


    There was a reason why Kang-Woo had gone with the bothersome choice of bringing Aernor to the brink of copse to make the high elves manifest. It was near impossible to locate the Demon God¡¯s corpse with no information whatsoever. Kang-Woo had split the party into two because he wanted to focus on supporting Si-Hun for the true n.


    <i>¡®Next up...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and recalled what Fidelio had said.


    <i>- It seems we¡¯ll have to hold a grand party soon. I will have to tell the other nobles of your heroics.</i>


    <i>¡®A party, huh?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled widely.


    <i>¡®A perfect stage.¡¯</i>


    ***


    Balrog left the imperial castle along with the second party. Iris was bewildered to hear the news at first, but was relieved after hearing that Si-Hun had remained.


    Kang-Woo made several preparations for the party, and one of them was figuring out the exact situation that Aernor was currently in. In regards to that, he received help from the second party that was currently traveling around the continent.


    <i>¡®An era of peace, huh?¡¯</i>


    If the situation of Aernor could be summarized in one phrase, it was exactly that. The forces worshiping Evil God Lucifer had been reduced to only a few due to the sudden disappearance of Lucifer a few years ago. Even Demon King Vaal Zahak, who had invaded several kingdoms in the northern region, had been subjugated through Reynald¡¯s heroic sacrifice, or that was what the public believed. The continent had entered an era of peace for the first time since the appearance of Evil God Lucifer.


    <i>¡®It doesn¡¯t feel like an era of peace, though.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly. The situation in Arnan was not good enough for them to enjoy the era of peace.


    <i>¡®But one good thing about it is...¡¯</i>


    The fear of demons was still rooted deep within the people of the continent. Surprisingly, life in Arnan was far betterpared to when they were at war.


    While Kang-Woo was organizing the information that he had gathered about the current situation in Aernor, someone knocked on his door. <i>ck</i>. The door was carefully opened.


    ¡°Are you ready, Kang-Woo?¡± Seol-Ah asked.


    ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± Kang-Woo paused his thoughts and turned his head toward Seol-Ah¡¯s voice. ¡°Wow.¡±


    He could not take his eyes off of Seol-Ah in a pure-white ball gown.


    ¡°Does it... look good on me?¡± she asked while looking down at her gown that had a bit too manyces.


    ¡°You look absolutely gorgeous.¡± Kang-Woo gave her a thumbs up.


    Seol-Ah smiled.


    ¡°Shall we go?¡± Kang-Woo stood up and lightly grabbed Seol-Ah¡¯s hand.


    Today was the day of the party that Fidelio had mentioned. The imperial castle was bustling with nobles that had arrived since morning. They were showering Si-Hun with gifts to gain his favor after hearing of his overwhelmingbat prowess.


    Kang-Woo smiled while looking down through a window of the imperial pce.


    <i>¡®Today...¡¯</i>


    A (hellish) party for Si-Hun wouldmence in the imperial pce.

 Chapter 345 - (Hellish) Party (2)

    <h4>Chapter 345 - (Hellish) Party (2)</h4>


    ¡°Are you the rumored hero?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard many things about you. Is it true that you defeated five hundred soldiers of the rebel army all by yourself?¡±


    ¡°I would like to hear more about that. Oh, I am Tyrande Westwood of Westwood Viscounty.¡±


    ¡°Oh, umm...¡±


    Kim Si-Hun was put on the spot as he was being given the full attention of nobles that hade from all over the empire. The rumor that Si-Hun had wiped out five hundred soldiers of the rebel army plus Undead monsters that ck mages had summoned, spread quickly throughout the nation.


    Since the Arnan Empire was currently in a state of disorder, nobles greatly valued those with highbat prowess. Hence, their interest in Si-Hun rose, and they approached him with all sorts of strategies such as gifts and beauty traps usingdies of each noble house to recruit him as a knight of their house.


    ¡°Damn, his poprity is through the roof.¡±


    Oh Kang-Woo snickered as he watched the nobledies stuck all over Si-Hun. Each house seemed to have gone all out, because each and everydy was considerably beautiful.


    <i>¡®Well, they¡¯re nothingpared to Si-Hun.¡¯</i>


    He felt sorry for the noble houses that had made great preparations to recruit Si-Hun into their house, but thedies were farckingpared to Si-Hun in terms of looks.


    <i>¡®A hero who defeated five hundred rebel army soldiers, huh?¡¯</i>


    It was nowhere near enough of an aplishment to be a hero. As proof of that...


    <i>¡®The ranks of nobles approaching Si-Hun aren¡¯t that high.¡¯</i>


    The true powers of the empire, such as those from duke and marquess houses, were simply observing Si-Hun from afar as if they were window shopping for clothes. Kang-Woo smirked.


    <i>¡®Watch him while you still can.¡¯</i>


    Because they would not be able toy eyes on Si-Hun so easily in the future. Kang-Woo drank a ss of champagne on the table andughed softly. The refreshing carbonation and the sweet taste of champagne lingered on his tongue.


    ¡°That aside, I¡¯m jealous,¡± Kang-Woo unconsciously muttered as he watched Si-Hun surrounded by about ten nobledies.


    He had expected something like this to happen when he first executed the n to make Si-Hun a hero, but he could not help but feel jealous when it was happening right before his eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re jealous?¡±


    <i>ck</i>. Han Seol-Ah, who was standing next to Kang-Woo, put down her champagne ss on the table and smiled.


    <i>¡®Huh?¡¯</i>


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I...¡± Kang-Woo tried to defend himself.


    ¡°You just said that you were jealous.¡±


    <i>¡®Fuck.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hahaha. It was just a figure of speech.¡±


    <i>¡®Please spare me.¡¯</i>


    ¡°All I need is you, darling.¡±


    ¡°You say that, but aren¡¯t there a bit too many women around you? Lilith, Yeon-Joo, and...¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re the best out of them.¡± Kang-Woo embraced Seol-Ah by the waist and lightly kissed her.


    Her eyes that had been gleaming sharply rxed from just a single kiss. Seol-Ah caressed her lips with her hand and giggled.


    ¡°Hehehe. I was just joking.¡±


    <i>¡®It didn¡¯t feel like a joke.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo coughed and reached for the various scrumptious-looking foodsid out on the table.


    ¡°The food here isn¡¯t bad. You try some too, darling.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Seol-Ah continued while staring vacantly at Kang-Woo, ¡°Sure looks tasty.¡±


    <i>¡®You¡¯re talking about the food, right?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Oh right, Kang-Woo. Tonight¡ª¡±


    ¡°So this is where you were!¡± Iris walked toward Kang-Woo with big strides while interrupting Seol-Ah. She pulled on Kang-Woo¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Are you just gonna let Sir Si-Hun suffer all by himself like that? I¡¯ll go with you, so get those women off of him.¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes narrowed. She red at Iris coldly, and then smiled toward Kang-Woo.


    ¡°I¡¯ll excuse myself first, Kang-Woo,¡± Seol-Ah said as she turned around.


    Iris displeased her, but she knew that it would cause trouble for Kang-Woo if she were to pick a fight with Iris.


    <i>¡®What a relief.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was worried about Seol-Ah¡¯s mental state, which was getting unstable againtely, but it was not to the point that she was unable to make rational decisions.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll have to give her some more attention.¡¯</i>


    As Seraph¡¯s influence grew stronger, so did Seol-Ah¡¯s obsession for Kang-Woo due to the unique racial characteristic of angels. Kang-Woo had managed to quell that obsessionst time by proposing to her, but it seemed like its effect was weakening. He needed to engrave deeper into Seol-Ah¡¯s mind that she was the most important person in his life.


    ¡°Hey, Kang-Woo! Are you ignoring me?¡± Iris yelled at him in irritation as he momentarily thought about Seol-Ah.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and turned toward her, answering, ¡°No, I¡¯m listening, Princess Iris.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. It looked like you were distracted by something else.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. How could I dare show such disrespect toward you, Your Highness?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with you all of a sudden?¡± Iris stared at Kang-Woo warily.


    ¡°More importantly, are you not one of the key people of this party? You should interact with the other nobles instead of someone like me.¡±


    In other words, Kang-Woo was telling Iris to fuck off.


    Iris red at him. ¡°What? Are you refusing mypany?¡±


    She was as temperamental and domineering as always when she wasn¡¯t around Si-Hun.


    Kang-Woo sighed and answered, ¡°You must havee to me because you have no one to talk to. I understand, Your Highness.¡±


    ¡°Ngh! Y-You¡¯re wrong!¡± Iris shouted while stomping her feet aggressively.


    <i>¡®Wrong, my ass.¡¯</i>


    It was obvious that she hade to Kang-Woo because no one would give her any attention, since she was considered the worst amongmoners and nobles alike.


    <i>¡®Whatever the case...¡¯</i>


    This was a good opportunity.


    ¡°In that case, could you tell me more about the nobles over there?¡± Kang-Woo asked while staring at the nobles who were looking at Si-Hun from a distance instead of fighting for his favor.


    There was a good chance that they were the true powers of Arnan.


    ¡°Mm. Okay.¡± Iris nodded. ¡°The one seated over there drinking coffee is Marquess Bera. He runs a huge ve market in the northeast region of the empire. And...¡±


    As Iris was exining the nobles one by one to Kang-Woo, her eyes stopped on one woman. She seemed to be in her forties with silver hair in an updo, and her eyes reflected an inexplicable sense of sorrow.


    ¡°Mm, who was she again?¡± Iris tilted her head in confusion.


    It did not seem the woman was of high peerage.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s pretty much it,¡± Iris expressed.


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    Iris¡¯s information would prove very useful, especially during this party.


    <i>¡®I already see a few evils that I need to eliminate.¡¯</i>


    To allow Iris to gain more power, Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t eliminate only Fidelio. He also needed to eliminate Fidelio¡¯s backers; in other words, the nobles that were sucking the empire dry.


    ¡°Princess Iris, it seems Si-Hun is finally free,¡± Kang-Woo mentioned as he pointed at Si-Hun, who had barely managed to run away from the nobledies. He picked up a random dish on the table and said, ¡°Come to think of it, this dish happens to be Si-Hun¡¯s favorite. Why don¡¯t you take some to him?¡±


    It was a smoked fish with some vegetables on the side; he had no idea what sort of fish it was, but Kang-Woo had enjoyed it quite a lot while he was chatting with Seol-Ah earlier.


    ¡°Oh, I-I see Sir Si-Hun likes elroy as well.¡± Iris stared at the dish in Kang-Woo¡¯s hand in surprise. The fish seemed to be called elroy. She muttered softly while trembling, ¡°Just like Brother...¡±


    ¡°Your Highness?¡± Kang-Woo called.


    ¡°Hm? N-Never mind! Ahem. Yeah, he likes elroy, huh?¡± Iris nodded in session and took the dish from Kang-Woo. ¡°I¡¯m off to see Sir Si-Hun, so stay right there!¡±


    Iris cautiously walked toward Si-Hun. Kang-Woo smirked and turned around. Of course, he had no intention of staying here like she had asked.


    <i>¡®I have my targets.¡¯</i>


    It was time to execute his true n that he had not divulged to Si-Hun, Seol-Ah nor Cha Yeon-Joo.


    <i>¡®Now, then...¡¯</i>


    It was time to ring the bells of demise.


    ***


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not a fan of fish...¡±


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo said to take it to you because he was sure that you would like it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, did he?¡±


    Si-Hun¡¯s eyes shone. He took the dish from Iris while smiling. The fact that he did not like fish was of no matterpared to the fact that Kang-Woo had rmended it.


    ¡°I would dly eat anything that hyung-nim rmends.¡±


    Si-Hun smiled and tried the fish known as elroy. Although it was a bit fatty, he was still able to eat it without issue because it did not have the characteristic fishy taste of fish.


    <i>¡®As expected of hyung-nim.¡¯</i>


    This must have been the reason why Kang-Woo had rmended a fish dish to him despite knowing that he did not like fish. Si-Hun smiled while thinking of Kang-Woo.


    Iris stood restlessly in front of him. ¡°Umm... Sir Si-Hun, are you thinking about bing a knight of a certain noble house?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Si-Hun recalled the nobles that hade to see him before the party had even begun. He smiled bitterly and shook his head. ¡°No, not at all.¡±


    ¡°Th-Then what will you...¡±


    ¡°My goal is to eradicate demon worshipers with my party members.¡±


    It was truly a goal befitting a hero. Although his true goal was a little different, he had chosen this goal after consulting with Kang-Woo because it sounded the most hero-like.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun¡¯s eyes sharpened. He had not lied just to deceive Iris.


    <i>¡®If Aernor also has an organization like the Demon Cult...¡¯</i>


    He would execute them himself with his sword. The seed of resentment that had sprouted when he had knelt before Satan still had not vanished.


    <i>¡®They might have something to do with the Four Heavenly Kings.¡¯</i>


    The Constetions of Evil had apparently been sealed in Aernor. Rakiel, who had been one of them, had crossed to Earth, but there was no guarantee that the other constetions had as well. No, since Earth¡¯s protection had been restored and Gaia had regained her power albeit temporarily, there was a high chance that they were still in Aernor.


    <i>¡®No matter what...¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun clenched his fists. Whatever happened, he would not let them do as they liked. Kang-Woo, La, and his other party members...


    <i>¡®I won¡¯t lose them.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun came to a resolution and looked at Iris, who trembled from seeing his eyes full of conviction.


    ¡°Brother,¡± she unconsciously muttered.


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°N-Nothing.¡± Iris shook her head fervently while as red as a tomato. She gulped and continued, ¡°I will give you my support, Sir Si-Hun.¡±


    The Arnan Empire could not overlook forces that worshiped demons either, since no one knew when a being like Demon King Vaal Zahak would attack the continent again.


    ¡°Thank you very much, Princess Iris.¡± Si-Hun bowed with a bright smile.


    Iris blushed. She lowered her head, rolled her feet and carefully mentioned, ¡°Umm, Sir Si-Hun. You canfortably call me Iri¡ª¡±


    <i>Crunch!</i>


    ¡°Kyaaah!¡±


    ¡°Wh-What the¡ª?¡±


    Just as Iris was in the middle of saying something, amotion arose.


    ¡°Kurgh! Urgh!¡±


    ¡°Marquess Bera?!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Marquess Bera, the noble who possessed thergest ve market in the empire, suddenly copsed while convulsing. The nobles around him approached him, and then...


    <i>sh!</i>


    ¡°Kyaaaaaaah!!¡±


    A green tentacle shot out from Marquess Bera¡¯s back and decapitated one of the nobles who was walking up to him. Horrifying screams filled the party venue.


    ¡°Skreeeeee!!¡±


    ¡°Kyaaaaaah!!¡±


    ¡°H-Help me!!¡±


    ¡°Guards! Where are the guards?!¡±


    At the same time, demonic beasts appeared from all around and began to randomly ughter nobles around them. Hell descended on the party venue that had been filled withughter.

 Chapter 346 - (Hellish) Party (3)

    <h4>Chapter 346 - (Hellish) Party (3)</h4>


    ¡°What the hell?¡±


    Kim Si-Hun stared at the green tentacles in surprise. They looked familiar; they were the tentacles that were on Yogg-Saron, Satan¡¯s subordinate, and he had also seen them when he had charged into the dungeon where Rakiel had been to rescue Oh Kang-Woo. Si-Hun did not hesitate for long.


    ¡°Sir Si-Hun!¡± Iris eximed.


    Si-Hun summoned Holy Sword Ludwig and charged toward Marquess Bera, who had turned into a hideous monster. He flew into the air while leaving afterimages that looked as if he was being stretched.


    <i>sh¡ª!</i>


    He split Marquess Bera in two with a single sh. Yellow pus sshed all over the ce as the green tentacle was cut. Si-Hun fluidly dodged the pus; it sshed on the floor of the imperial pce, which melted as soon as it came into contact with the pus.


    ¡°Wh-Whoaaa!¡±


    The eyes of the nobles shone after watching Si-Hun cutting down the demonic beast with a single sh.


    ¡°P-Please save me!¡±


    Tyrande Westwood, one of the nobledies that had approached Si-Hun earlier, quickly ran toward Si-Hun. Behind her was a hideous Undead that looked as if eight legs were forcibly attached to it. As she was running with her face pale, a middle-aged man next to her yanked her.


    ¡°You¡¯re just a bitch from a mere viscounty!¡± the man shouted as he threw Tyrande down toward the demonic beast. He waved at Si-Hun. ¡°Please help me first!¡±


    <i>Crush!</i>


    ¡°Grrrrrk!¡±


    ¡°Argh! Kurgh!¡±


    However, the demonic beast ran right past Tyrande for some reason and attacked the middle-aged man first. It wrapped its eight legs around the man and bit down on his neck with its rotten teeth. Crimson blood sprayed everywhere.


    ¡°Shit!¡±


    Si-Hun quickly shot a wave of sword energy to cut down the demonic beast, but the man whose neck had already been ripped apart by the demonic beast could no longer stand. Not just the man, but screams sounded out from all over the party venue. Si-Hun grimaced.


    <i>¡®There are too many of them.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun could face these demonic beasts easily, but protecting the people from the demonic beasts was a whole other issue. It was impossible for him to eliminate the countless demonic beasts at once all by himself.


    <i>¡®What are the guards doing?¡¯</i>


    It had been over a minute since themotion in the party venue sounded out, but there were no signs of guards arriving. Considering this venue was within the imperial pce, that was absolutely impossible; there was no way there would be no guards in an area where so many nobles were gathered.


    <i>¡®If they¡¯re noting despite that, it means...¡¯</i>


    The guards had likely been attacked by demonic beasts as well.


    ¡°Hyung-nim...¡±


    Si-Hun looked around for Kang-Woo, but he was nowhere to be found. He could not see Han Seol-Ah, who had also attended the party, either.


    <i>¡®I have to do it alone.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun gripped his sword tight. He could not let the demonic beasts run amok any longer.


    ¡°Huuu.¡±


    He took a deep breath and spread the Qi in his dantian throughout his body. Every single one of his meridians were filled with enormous amounts of Qi.


    <i>¡®Don¡¯t be shackled by form.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun did not have any techniques that would be able to wipe out the countless demonic beasts in the party venue all at once, since he was but a swordsman who yed demonic beasts with a sword.


    <i>¡®If my sword is the problem...¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun closed his eyes and imagined the shape of a sword. A transparent sword made of Qi formed in his mind.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll abandon the shape of a sword.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun manipted the Formless Sword. It was but a weapon formed with his Qi; it did not necessarily have to be in the shape of a sword. It was such a simple thought that he had no idea why he hadn¡¯t thought about it earlier, but that simple thought brought about a massive change.


    <i>sh, sh, sh!</i>


    ¡°H-Huh?¡±


    ¡°Wh-What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Hundreds of hands made of blue sword energy spread throughout the venue, tearing apart the hundreds of demonic beasts that had invaded the venue.


    ¡°Graaaaaaaaaahh!¡±


    A few demonic beasts dodged the blue hands and charged toward Si-Hun. Si-Hun lowered his stance. If they were aiming for him instead of the people, there was no need for him to use Formless Sword.


    <i>¡®Heavenly Dragon...¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun brought the sword to his waist as if to perform a sword draw technique. He twisted his hips with his right leg as the axis and swung Ludwig.


    <i>¡®sh!¡¯</i>


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    Pure-white condensed sword energy surged from Ludwig. The ten-meter-long sword energy horizontally shed the demonic beasts charging at him in half.


    <i>Fuuu.</i> Si-Hun took a deep breath and raised himself up.


    ¡°Wow...¡±


    ¡°How can a person be so powerful...?¡±


    The nobles who had witnessed Si-Hun¡¯s true power could not keep their mouths closed. Facing five hundred rebel army soldiers was nothingpared to what they had just witnessed, since they knew after experiencing the war against demons, just how powerful and terrifying demonic beasts were.


    ¡°It¡¯s not over yet,¡± Si-Hun remarked quietly as he stared at the nobles who were walking toward him.


    He walked to Iris¡¯s side as if protecting her and stared at the wall of the venue. He could feel thick demonic energy from across it.


    <i>Crash!</i>


    ¡°Grrrrrr!¡±


    ¡°Skreeeee!¡±


    Just as Si-Hun had thought, the wall shattered, and demonic beasts poured into the venue from it. Although there were not as many as before, each of them was much stronger. They scanned Si-Hun from a distance instead of rushing in recklessly. Si-Hun gazed at the demonic beasts with sharp eyes.


    <i>¡®They¡¯re all Undead.¡¯</i>


    There had not been a single demonic beast that had attacked the venue that was alive. They were all hideous monsters that looked as if they had been made by forcibly stitching dead demonic beasts together. They were more difficult to face because they did not stop their charge even if they were decapitated or dismembered. They needed to be shed into bits to the point that they could no longer move.


    <i>Whoooom.</i>


    Just then, themunication crystal in his pocket vibrated. After raising the crystal to check who it was, Si-Hun eximed, ¡°Hyung-nim?!¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s voice flowed out from the crystal.


    [Si-Hun. I¡¯m in the VIP room, but...]


    ¡°Have the demonic beasts attacked that area as well?¡±


    [Yeah.]


    Like Si-Hun had thought, the party venue had not been the only ce that was attacked.


    ¡°Hyung-nim, where could these demonic beasts havee from?¡±


    [I have no idea. Kuh! These sons of bitches!]


    ¡°A-Are you okay, hyung-nim?!¡±


    [I¡¯ll take care of things here, so you protect the princess. Got it?]


    ¡°Understood, hyung-nim.¡± Si-Hun nodded and put the crystal back in his pocket. He turned to the nobles who had survived the first wave of demonic beast attacks and remarked, ¡°Everyone, please gather around me.¡±


    ¡°G-Got it!¡±


    ¡°<i>Sniff!</i> Waaaaah!¡±


    ¡°What the hell are the guards doing?!¡±


    The surviving nobles gathered around Si-Hun without hesitation. Si-Hun walked forward and adjusted his grip on his sword. He had not been able to save every noble because they were far too dispersed, but that was no longer the case.


    <i>Fuuu</i>.


    Si-Hun had consumed a considerable amount of Qi from using Formless Sword, but he was still fine. He could fight.


    ¡°Sir Si-Hun...¡±


    ¡°Please stay right behind me, Your Highness.¡±


    Si-Hun stood right in front of Iris and focused. He red at the demonic beasts. Facing these demonic beasts was not an issue for him. Although they were much stronger than the ones from the first wave, considering the fact that Si-Hun was strong enough to face the princes of Hell, demonic beasts of this level were nothing to him.


    <i>¡®The problem is...¡¯</i>


    He needed to fight while keeping the princess and the nobles safe. Fighting while protecting someone was far more difficult than fighting all by oneself.


    <i>¡®Even so...¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun gripped his sword tighter. It had been none other than Kang-Woo who had asked him to do it.


    ¡°Grrrrrr!!¡±


    The demonic beasts that had only been watching began to charge. Si-Hun cut down the demonic beasts.


    ***


    ¡°Aaaahh. My subordinates...¡± Vernaak groaned.


    He was watching a live feed of Si-Hun cutting down the demonic beasts.


    ¡°Kurgh. After all the time I had taken to create those Undead Chimeras...¡±


    ¡°Come on, you can always make more. I¡¯ll help you out.¡± Kang-Woo lightly patted the dejected Vernaak¡¯s shoulder.


    Although half of the Undead demonic beast army that they had diligently made for the past few months before crossing to Aernor had been wiped out, it had been a necessary sacrifice.


    ¡°Ahem. I understand, Master.¡±


    ¡°More importantly, it¡¯s almost time, my king,¡± Lilith expressed.


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    Kang-Woo turned around. It was time for the main event of the (hellish) party that he had nned for Si-Hun. It was time to make the seed of demise sprout in Aernor.


    <i>¡®Let¡¯s do this.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo leisurely walked toward the party venue.


    <i>¡®I''ve been wondering which coin to invest in this time.¡¯</i>


    He had thought about Vaal Zahak at first. The demon king that the hero Reynald had defeated invading the continent once more was not a bad plot. However...


    <i>¡®It¡¯s too weak.¡¯</i>


    Unlike what Vaal Zahak had boasted about, he had not been as infamous in Aernor as he had made himself out to be.


    <i>¡®It would be weird to create apletely new being as well.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could also make up apletely new character like he had done with Rakiel. He had not revealed the group known as the Four Heavenly Kings for nothing.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. Even if it was the same song, it being sung by a world-renowned singer versus a street performer waspletely different. It was simply a matter of public recognition.


    <i>¡®It would be difficult to plunge the entire continent in fear if I used apletely new character.¡¯</i>


    He needed to be a being that everyone in the continent knew and feared.


    <i>¡®Well... I say all that, but there¡¯s only one person who fits the bill.¡¯</i>


    There was no need to think too deeply about it. Kang-Woo covered his face with his hands and used the ability he had acquired back in Shade.


    ¡°Mimicry.¡±


    Kang-Woo was enveloped in ck shadow. He grewrger, and ten ck wings sprouted from his back. Although they were ck wings, they were different from those of a fallen angel. His hair grew longer, and his teeth grew sharper. Goat horns sprouted from his forehead, his skin turned light purple, and a long tail extended from around his butt. Treacherous crimson eyes shone.


    Kang-Woo had transformed into Lucifer, the Prince of Pride, who was known as the Evil God in Aernor.


    <i>¡®Alright.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo snickered at how perfect the transformation was. He walked toward the party venue where Si-Hun was fighting the demonic beasts.


    <i>¡®Let¡¯s begin.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath.


    [©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥!!]


    A demon roar that transcended sound itself shook the party venue. Hundreds of demonic beasts moved to clear a path for Kang-Woo and bowed down.


    <i>Step, step.</i>


    ¡°Y-You¡¯re...¡±


    Kang-Woo could see Si-Hun¡¯s eyes quivering. He smirked and spoke as if humming.


    [It is nice to see you again, humans.]


    He slightly bowed with his right hand on his chest as if he were a butler greeting his master.


    [I am the almighty. I am the mocker. I bring demise to mortals, and am the master of the demonic, enchanted by pride.]


    <i>¡®Shiet, I spent a whole week thinking about this fucking line, you know? Huh? Do you sons of bitches have any idea?¡¯</i>


    [I am...]


    Kang-Woo slowly raised his torso.


    [... Lucifer.]


    Silence fell on the party venue. Suffocating fear spread throughout the pce from the return of the Evil God.


    <i>¡®Good, good!¡¯</i>


    The n was a massive sess. Kang-Woo suppressed hisughter with all his might.


    <i>¡®Yes, that¡¯s it! This was the reaction I wanted to see!¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t help but shrug in satisfaction from seeing the people stricken by fear.


    ¡°D-Dear!¡± Just then, a middle-aged woman who had been hiding in a corner called out to him. ¡°Dear! Where have you been all this time...?!¡±


    The woman trembled as if unable to believe what she was seeing. She ran up to Kang-Woo and embraced him with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°<i>Sniff</i>. I¡¯ve missed you. I¡¯ve been waiting for the day that we would meet again, my love.¡±


    Kang-Woo looked down at the woman with silver hair.


    [Pardon me?]


    <i>¡®Who might you be?¡¯</i>

 Chapter 347 - Advent of the Evil God (1)

    <h4>Chapter 347 - Advent of the Evil God (1)</h4>


    <i>¡®What... the fuck?¡¯</i>


    Oh Kang-Woo looked down dumbfoundedly at the silver-haired woman embracing him. She looked familiar; it was the middle-aged woman who had been staring into nothingness in sorrow while Iris had been introducing the nobles. She was just a nameless noble that not even Iris, who was quite knowledgeable about nobles, knew.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Dear? My love?


    <i>¡®Wha...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t understand what was going on. His thoughts were in jumbles, and his eyes quivered. He could not see any hint of lies in the middle-aged woman¡¯s eyes. He naturally thought about Lucis.


    <i>¡®He was born between a demon and a human.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled hearing something regarding Lucis when they first met, about how he had been discriminated against because he was a half-breed.


    [Wait.]


    If that was the case, that meant... Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened.


    <i>¡®Holy fuck. For real? She¡¯s Lucifer¡¯s wife?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo felt dizzy as if his head had been smashed with a hammer. It was a bad joke. He had of course known that Lucifer¡¯s partner was a human since Lucis was a half-breed. He had also considered the possibility of her still being alive.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    How could he have possibly known that she would be in this party venue? There could not have been a worse coincidence. The back of his head hurt.


    ¡°Dear? What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    <i>¡®You, ma¡¯am.¡¯</i>


    [I am simply happy to see you.]


    He suppressed the words of confusion from leaving his mouth as best as possible and embraced the middle-aged woman. Although he had no idea how things were turning out, he needed to y along for now.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t afford to fail here because of such a stupid reason.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes set aze with passion. The gears in his head turned in overdrive.


    The middle-aged woman smiled brightly and mentioned, ¡°Finally... The time must havee!¡±


    <i>¡®What time?¡¯</i>


    [You¡¯ve done well to wait this long.]


    ¡°H-Hohohoho!! I¡¯ve waited so long to take my revenge against the nobles of this corrupt and depraved empire!¡±


    <i>¡®Oh that¡¯s what you meant. I don¡¯t know when you guys talked about it, but it seems you¡¯ve waited a long time. Plus, your fucking husband is nowhere in sight. You must¡¯ve gone through a lot.¡¯</i>


    [I will be hosting a party just for you tonight.]


    ¡°Aaaahh...! My love!!¡±


    The middle-aged womanughed maniacally while trembling.


    <i>¡®Man, thisdy isn¡¯t right in the head either. I mean, I guess anyone who marries a prince of Hell would be.¡¯</i>


    [I love you, darling.]


    ¡°Darling...?¡±


    <i>¡®Oh, fuck. Should I not have called her that?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hohoho! That¡¯s so out of style!¡±


    <i>¡®Out of style? What¡¯s so out of style about it? Darling is the most affectionate way you could address your lover! You would¡¯ve been decapitated in seconds if my darling heard you say that. Got it,dy?¡¯</i>


    [Hahaha. Things like this are good every now and then.]


    ¡°Haaa. My love... But I love it the most when you call me by my name.¡±


    <i>¡®Pardon me? Your name? What is your name, ma¡¯am?¡¯</i>


    ¡°It¡¯s been so long, so please call me by my name, my love.¡±


    <i>¡®So what is that name of yours?¡¯</i>


    [Well...]


    ¡°Hurry. Do you have any idea how worried I was when you just vanished without a word?¡±


    <i>¡®Well, tell me your fucking name, then.¡¯</i>


    [About that...]


    ¡°My, what are you so embarrassed about after all we¡¯ve done?¡±


    <i>¡®Wow, it seems you two have a very healthy rtionship. Congrattions. However, I don¡¯t think you did a very good job on the child-raising aspect. Anyway, what¡¯s that name of yours?¡¯</i>


    [...]


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, dear?¡±


    <i>¡®That¡¯s my line. What¡¯s wrong with you, ma¡¯am?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Please hurry up and call me by my name.¡±


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t know.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hurry~¡±


    <i>¡®I really don¡¯t know.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Jeez, are you teasing me? I would¡¯ve been fine with it normally, but I can¡¯t endure it this time.¡±


    <i>¡®Please, just endure it. Act your age, for God¡¯s sake. You have a child.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hurry! Call me by my name!¡±


    <i>¡®For fuck¡¯s sake.¡¯</i>


    ¡°My love!! Hurry!!¡±


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t knooooow! I don¡¯t know, for fuck¡¯s sake! I don¡¯t even know who you are! Why the fuck are you even here?! Argh, fuck... My head.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s head felt like it was about to explode. All sorts of curses swirled around his head. He had used the Authority of the Beholder in hopes of finding out her name like he could do for yers, but no status window popped up.


    <i>¡®Ahh, I wanna hear it. Please lemme hear that goddamn bell chime.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo bit his lip as he stared at the middle-aged woman yelling at him to call her name.


    <i>¡®Since it¡¯se to this...¡¯</i>


    He had no choice; he needed to muster up the resolve.


    ¡°Please call me by my¡ª¡±


    <i>Whip</i>. Kang-Woo yanked the middle-aged woman¡¯s waist toward him. He leaned down and kissed her aggressively with tongue action.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    The eyes of the middle-aged woman widened. She became teary-eyed while trembling subtly.


    Kang-Woo swept back her silver hair and said gently, [I¡¯m sorry.]


    ¡°What do you mean, d¡ª¡±


    Kang-Woo shushed her with his finger.


    [Do not say a word.] He stared at her in sorrow. [I left you without a word. I have... left you with a scar in your heart.]


    <i>¡®Hahaha. What the fuck am I even talking about?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Lucifer...¡±


    [I...! I don¡¯t have the right... to call your name.]


    ¡°Lucifer!¡±


    <i>¡®Whoa, whoa. One kiss is enough, ma¡¯am. Calm down. Please, calm down.¡¯</i>


    ¡°<i>Sniff</i>.¡±


    Kang-Woo gently grabbed the crying middle-aged woman¡¯s shoulders and asked, [Could you step aside for a second?]


    ¡°Yes, my love.¡±


    The middle-aged woman modestly bowed and stepped back. She then red at the nobles while grinning mockingly.


    ¡°Hah.¡± Kim Si-Hun chuckled in absurdity after hearing Lucifer¡¯s conversation with the middle-aged woman.


    Although he knew that he should not be acting in such a way before the Evil God, he couldn¡¯t help butugh at the spectacle he was shown.


    ¡°Lucifer.¡± Si-Hun emitted bloodlust while baring his teeth. ¡°So you were behind all this.¡±


    The sudden demonic beast attack, the demolished party venue, and everything else had all been nned by Lucifer.


    <i>¡®I heard he had suddenly vanished a few years ago, but...¡¯</i>


    He hadunched an attack out of the blue. Si-Hun frowned. It had been such perfect timing that it was hard to exin it as simply a coincidence.


    <i>¡®If it¡¯s not a coincidence...¡¯</i>


    There was only one answer.


    ¡°Are you... serving the Demon of Prophecy as well?¡±


    There were only two of the Four Heavenly Kings remaining after the deaths of Satan and Rakiel, and Si-Hun was certain that Lucifer was one of them.


    [Who knows?] Lucifer smiled widely without answering the question.


    Si-Hun raised his sword. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t matter whether you¡¯re one of the Four Heavenly Kings or not.¡± It did not change the fact that he was an enemy that Si-Hun needed to kill. Si-Hun gripped the holy sword tighter. ¡°Those tainted by darkness... Receive the judgment of light!¡±


    Si-Hun shouted the words of Ludwig, who had suffered a miserable death after having been corrupted by Satan. He charged toward the culprit of the incident using his foot technique, and swung down on Lucifer¡¯s head as if chopping firewood.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    Lucifer slightly raised his hand. ck demonic energy gathered in front of it and blocked the holy sword pouring light. The holy sword and demonic energy shed, forming a powerful shockwave. Si-Hun, who had been in the air, was flung backward. He twisted around mid-air and nimblynded on his feet.


    ¡°Kuh.¡± Si-Hun bit his lip anxiously.


    That impact should have formed a crater dozens of meters wide, but...


    <i>¡®There¡¯s... not even a scratch on the ground.¡¯</i>


    It meant that Lucifer hadpletely offset the damage. No, that was not the right word to describe what had happened.


    <i>¡®He absorbed the impact.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun¡¯s face turned pale from Lucifer¡¯s great power. He regretted having separated from his other party members.


    [Young hero. It is not yet time for us to battle.]


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    [I mean that this party is not for you.] Lucifer grabbed the shoulder of the middle-aged woman next to him. [Today is meant only for her revenge.]


    [You have no idea what she had to suffer in Arnan,] Lucifer mentioned faintly.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Si-Hun asked as he looked toward Iris.


    Iris shook her head in pallor. ¡°I-I don¡¯t k-know either...¡±


    Si-Hun remained silent. It did not seem like she was lying. ¡°What in the world could have...¡±


    Si-Hun bit his lip and stared at the middle-aged woman. Since she had married a demon, one who was known as the Evil God no less, he was certain that it was no simple circumstance.


    [I will have her expl¡ª]


    ¡°No, Lucifer. Tell them yourself.¡±


    [Huh? Me?]


    ¡°Tell them what those filthy and wicked nobles made me go through!¡±


    Lucifer remained silent and then grabbed his head as if it hurt. He was panting and slightly trembling.


    [I¡¯m sorry. Just thinking about what you had to go through... I can barely contain my rage.]


    ¡°Dear...¡±


    The middle-aged woman grabbed Lucifer¡¯s clothes while teary-eyed.


    Lucifer covered her with his ck wings and continued, [The reason matters not. Besides... It can never be undone.]


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Even if we tell them the reason, there¡¯s no way that those wicked beings would ever listen.¡± The middle-aged woman nodded.


    Lucifer slowly walked forward. The moonlight shone down on him through the cracks of the destroyed party venue walls. He raised both his arms as if he was praying to God.


    [I dere in the name of Lucifer, the Prince of Pride!]


    His thunderous voice shook the entire imperial castle. No, it was not just the castle.


    ¡°Wh-What?¡±


    ¡°L-Lucifer?¡±


    ¡°As in E-Evil God Lucifer? Wh-What?! What the hell is happening?!¡±


    Lucifer¡¯s voice spread throughout the entire imperial capital. The people who had been asleep in their homes quickly opened their windows and turned toward the source of the sound. There, they saw... a giant ck Rift dozens of meters tall above the imperial castle. Green tentacles spraying yellow pus wriggled out from the ck Rift.


    [Tonight, the Arnan Empire will drown in blood! And Aernor will meet its demise!!]


    The eyes of the middle-aged woman widened from Lucifer¡¯s deration.


    ¡°D-Demise?¡±


    <i>¡®What? What the fuck is it now?¡¯</i>


    ¡°You never told me about that!¡±


    <i>¡®Yes, I really haven¡¯t.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Leaving the empire aside, if you destroy the c-continent...¡±


    <i>¡®What? Weren¡¯t you going about revenge and whatnot earlier? What¡¯s wrong this time?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Where is our Lucis supposed to live?!¡±


    <i>¡®Oh... Stop it. Just stop, ma¡¯am.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Answer me, Lucifer!¡±


    <i>¡®Just fucking stop, please.¡¯</i>


    [Fuck my life,] Lucifer muttered so that no one could hear him.

 Chapter 348 - Advent of the Evil God (2)

    <h4>Chapter 348 - Advent of the Evil God (2)</h4>


    [Don¡¯t worry, my dear.] Lucifer calmed down the middle-aged woman while smiling. [I have already thought of a ce for our Lucis to live.]


    ¡°Wh-Where?¡± The woman looked up at Lucifer with shaking eyes.


    Lucifer whispered while staring at Kim Si-Hun, [There is a world known as... Earth.]


    ¡°Earth...¡± The woman tilted her head in confusion from a word that she had never heard of before.


    [We will start anew there.]


    ¡°Another world...¡±


    The woman gulped from what she had never even thought about. It was certainly not a bad idea.


    ¡°I see, that was an option!¡± She nodded her head in delight.


    ¡°Earth, you say?¡± Si-Hun bared his teeth fiercely. He clenched the sword handle as if he were trying to break it and shouted, ¡°I will not let you have your way!¡±


    There was no way that he would allow the demon toy his hands on Earth on top of Aernor. Si-Hun infused Ludwig with his Qi and elongated the condensed sword energy. Lucifer raised his hand as he stared at Si-Hun, who was about to charge toward him at any second.


    [I believe I told you that this party is not for you.]


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about after pulling all this shit?!¡±


    Lucifer pointed at the ck Rift above the imperial castle while smiling. Hideous green tentacles were wriggling out from it. Undead demonic beasts that had attacked the party venue were also pouring out from it.


    ¡°Wh-What the...¡±


    The problem was that they were not heading toward the castle, but toward the imperial capital. Si-Hun was not dumb enough to not know what that meant.


    ¡°You crazy son of a bitch!!¡±


    It was not hard to imagine what would happen if those demonic beasts were left to run amok in the capital; countless people would be eaten alive by the demonic beasts. Although the capital could not be considered peaceful, many people lived in it, and Hell would befall them in an instant.


    ¡°Those people have done nothing!!¡±


    That was true; if Lucifer was truly nning on taking revenge for that middle-aged woman, his targets should naturally only be the nobles.


    [You¡¯re absolutely right.] Lucifer nodded. [They did nothing.]


    [All they did was bber unsightlyints. All they do is sit in bars and shout that the world is going wrong, as if that would change anything.]


    They looked down at the world in arrogance.


    [No one took action.]


    They did not think, resist, nor act.


    [Not even when they were pathetically spending their days like livestock. That is their sin.]


    Lucifer slowly turned around. <i>Split</i>. A three-meter-tall Rift formed in front of him. He walked toward it.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?!¡±


    Si-Hun could not afford to let Lucifer go. He quickly charged toward him, but...


    [Do you have the leeway to face me?]


    Si-Hun stopped in his tracks.


    [There are still many beasts remaining in the castle.] Lucifer nced at the demonic beasts that were bowing their heads toward him. [Imand you, my retainers.]


    He slowly raised his hand and pointed at Princess Iris behind Si-Hun.


    ¡°Eek!¡± Iris eximed while crouching.


    Lucifer ordered without interest, [Kill her.]


    ¡°Skreeeee!!!¡±


    ¡°Grrrrr!!¡±


    The demonic beasts that had been bowing down stood up and charged toward Iris while baring their teeth.


    ¡°Kuh!¡±


    Si-Hun turned away from Lucifer and swung his sword at the demonic beasts.


    [Well, then...] Lucifer waved his hand with his back toward Si-Hun. [I will be waiting for the day we meet again.]


    Lucifer disappeared into the ck Rift.


    ***


    Oh Kang-Woo walked out into a dark in outside the capital.


    [Fuuu,] he sighed.


    He was still in the form of Lucifer because there was still plenty of time until Mimicry would be undone.


    [I guess the first step was a s¡ª]


    ¡°Lucifer, why have we left already?¡±


    <i>¡®For fuck¡¯s sake, why did you follow me,dy?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned toward the voice.


    <i>¡®How did she even manage to follow me?¡¯</i>


    The ck Rift that he had created using an Authority was one meant for demons, which only those with demonic energy could pass through. However, this woman had managed to pass through it without issue, meaning...


    <i>¡®I knew she wasn¡¯t just a normal human.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could feel thick demonic energy from her. The fact that she had not turned into a demon or demonic beast despite having such demonic energy meant that she had perfect control over it.


    <i>¡®A ck mage, huh?¡¯</i>


    He had heard that there were people in Aernor who possessed demonic energy but could still maintain their human appearance.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to tear the nobles apart in front of me?¡±


    The middle-aged woman stared at Lucifer, unable to understand why he had left the venue right when they were about to exact their revenge. Kang-Woo fell into thought while staring at her.


    <i>¡®Should I kill her?¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun was no longer here, so it would be a piece of cake to end the facade and eliminate her.


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head. He couldn¡¯t afford to get rid of the valuable pawn that was Lucifer¡¯s wife.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be of useter on.¡¯</i>


    He had no idea where the real Lucifer was nor what he was doing. This woman could be able to be the link between Kang-Woo and Lucifer.


    [No, it is not yet the right time.]


    ¡°What do you mean?! We could have killed them all right then and there!¡± the middle-aged woman shouted angrily.


    Horrifying bloodlust poured out from her crumpled face.


    <i>¡®Witch.¡¯</i>


    The woman wrapped in madness perfectly matched the word that popped up in Kang-Woo¡¯s mind.


    <i>¡®A witch, huh?¡¯</i>


    He smiled and approached her. He swept back her silver hair and caressed her cheek.


    [Calm down.]


    Kang-Woo continued softly, [Death is nothing.]


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    [ I said, death is nothing.] <i>Snicker</i>. Kang-Woo continued as his eyes filled with madness, [Only life is true agony.]


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    The woman trembled, and her eyes opened wide. She could easily understand what Lucifer was trying to say.


    [Are you truly okay for your revenge to end so easily?]


    ¡°N-No! I can¡¯t let it end like this, after everything I¡¯ve been through!¡± the woman answered while nodding furiously.


    Kang-Woo smiled. [In that case, trust me and wait just a little longer.]


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll wait. I will wait as long as I need to, my love.¡±


    The middle-aged woman entered Kang-Woo¡¯s embrace, and they kissed passionately once again.


    ¡°Lucifer...¡±


    The woman slightly pulled down her dress with her eyes hazy.


    <i>¡®Whoa, whoa. Calm down, ma¡¯am. Calm down.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hngh, Lucifer...¡±


    <i>¡®Calm down! Fucking calm doooooooown!¡¯</i>


    [I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s time for me to go.]


    ¡°What do you mean, you have to go? A-Are you going to leave me again?¡±


    Lucifer turned around, his eyes filled with sorrow. [I¡¯m sorry I cannot stay by your side.]


    ¡°D-Don¡¯t go, Lucifer! Take me with you!¡±


    [I cannot do that.]


    ¡°Why?¡±


    [I... cannot tell you right now.]


    Lucifer lightly trembled, and then turned around to embrace her fiercely again.


    [One day... I will tell you everything.]


    ¡°Lucifer...¡±


    Transparent tears flowed down the woman¡¯s cheeks. Lucifer gradually began to turn into ck smoke.


    ¡°L-Lucifer!¡±


    The woman grabbed Lucifer in surprise, but he only slipped through her grasp. Lucifer, who was disappearing in smoke, reached his hand out toward her, their hands ovepping in the air.


    [Until we meet again...]


    ¡°Okay! I will wait, Lucifer! No matter how long it takes, I...!¡±


    Luciferpletely vanished without being able to hear the final part of her sentence.


    ***


    ¡°Haaa, haaa!¡±


    Si-Hun, who had cut down hundreds of demonic beasts, panted heavily. The demonic beasts with green tentacles were far stronger than the ones from the first wave that had attacked the party venue.


    ¡°The guards! The imperial guards have arrived!¡±


    ¡°Where the hell have you been?!¡±


    Several people might have died if the imperial guards had note as reinforcements. Si-Hun quickly turned around after having managed to kill every single demonic beast in the castle. The crisis was not over yet.


    <i>¡®The capital is in danger.¡¯</i>


    The demonic beasts that had poured out from the Rift in the air were heading to the capital.


    ¡°Your Highness! We must stop the demonic beasts from reaching the capital!¡±


    ¡°O-Okay! I understand!¡± Iris nodded and turned her head toward the guards. ¡°Imperial guards, hear me! Set out from the castle immediately and protect the citiz¡ª¡±


    While she wasmanding the imperial guards, her expression suddenly froze and she turned pale.


    ¡°Huh...? Wh-Why?¡±


    Iris grabbed her head, unable to understand. She began to tremble.


    ¡°Your Highness?¡± Si-Hun frowned.


    Iris stuttered, ¡°I-Imperial guards... S-Stay here and protect the c-castle.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying?!¡± Si-Hun yelled with his eyes wide.


    The demonic beasts were heading to the capital, but she wanted to leave the imperial guards here?


    ¡°Argh...¡±


    Iris bit her lip in pallor. She averted her gaze from Si-Hun and lowered her head, her hands clenching on her dress shaking.


    ¡°Th-There might still be demonic beasts remaining in the castle. I-Imperial guards... p-protect the castle.¡±


    Si-Hun bared his teeth from the absurdity. ¡°Your Highness!¡±


    He clenched his teeth while ring at Iris, but she only lowered her head in pallor.


    <i>¡¯Shit!¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun could not afford to waste any more time. He quickly turned around and ran toward the bridge connecting the imperial castle and the capital. The demonic beasts that were trying to head to the capital were gathered there. They were crossing the bridge extremely slowly for some reason.


    ¡°Skreeeee!!¡±


    ¡°Kuh!¡±


    Si-Hun blocked the bridge to the capital and raised his sword. Hundreds of demonic beasts hade out from the Rift.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll protect them.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun quickly nced back. The citizens of the empire hade out due to the hugemotion and were staring at Si-Hun facing the demonic beasts in surprise. Si-Hun¡¯s heart set aze.


    <i>¡®Whatever it takes!¡¯</i>


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!!</i>


    White light burst out from Si-Hun, dyeing the darkness white.


    ***


    ¡°Shit, shit, shit!¡± An old man in white vestments was swearing in a luxurious room. He shouted with a shaky voice, ¡°E-Evil God Lucifer... Wh-What the hell is going on?!¡±


    His expression crumpled.


    ¡°She wants to let the imperial guards out in a situation like this? Crazy bitch!¡±


    <i>Pant, pant</i>. Fidelio¡¯s shoulders trembled in fury. He clenched the transparent orb in his hand so hard that it could break. It was a magic tool imbued with telepathy magic. Unlike amunication crystal that only transmitted sound, this was an advanced magic tool that could transmit one¡¯s voice directly into a target¡¯s brain. If Fidelio had not taken quick measures, Iris would have sent the imperial guards to the capital.


    ¡°It seems...¡± Fidelio¡¯s eyes narrowed. It seemed he would have to give Iris another <i>lesson</i>.


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± Fidelio sighed and leaned back on a chair.


    It felt like his n that had been going smoothly was going awry as ofte.


    ¡°And those morons that joined forces with a ck mage... What in the world...¡±


    The rebel army that he had supplied with various armaments and training instructors had joined forces with a ck mage out of the blue, but they had failed in the one job they had despite that.


    <i>¡®Useless sons of bitches.¡¯</i>


    Fidelio frowned as if his head hurt. Just then, someone knocked on his door, and the door slowly opened.


    ¡°You¡¯re...¡± Fidelio turned toward the uninvited guest that had entered his room.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m d you see you¡¯re alright.¡± The young man with sharp eyes extended his hand toward Fidelio while smiling brightly. ¡°We¡¯ve met before, haven¡¯t we? My name is Oh Kang-Woo.¡±

 Chapter 349 - Walking Past the Back (1)

    <h4>Chapter 349 - Walking Past the Back (1)</h4>


    ¡°Ohh, you¡¯re Sir Kim Si-Hun¡¯s brother.¡± Fidelio grabbed the hand that Oh Kang-Woo had extended with a smile. He shook his head with a dark expression and said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard what was going on. <i>Fuuu...</i> If Sir Si-Hun had not been in the imperial castle, I can¡¯t even imagine the atrocity that would have urred here.¡±


    ¡°Did you not attend the party, Prime Minister Fidelio?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Hahaha. I had some work to do. As an elder, it is my duty to shoulder the work for the young princess,¡± Fidelio mentioned while chuckling as he nced at the pile of documents on the table.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    <i>¡®Oh, of course you¡¯d be busy.¡¯</i>


    After all, he was controlling the entire continent through the princess. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and used the Authority of the Beholder; the transparent orb that Fidelio had been holding before he entered the room came into view.


    <i>¡®He must¡¯ve used that tomand her.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had been able to feel the mana connected to Iris¡¯s body the moment her expression froze in the party venue. The thread of mana had been connecting her and that transparent orb.


    ¡°Haaa. I¡¯ve heard about the situation in the party venue, as well as Her Highness¡¯s decision...¡± Fidelio continued while sighing, ¡°Please do not think badly of Her Highness because she did not send the imperial guards to the capital. I¡¯m sure she was scared due to the sudden crisis.¡±


    Kang-Woo chuckled.


    <i>¡®You¡¯ve got some brains, I¡¯ll give you that.¡¯</i>


    Fidelio had so naturally pinned Iris as the culprit who had stopped the imperial guards from taking action. Considering Kang-Woo hade to visit Fidelio without warning, it had been a very quick judgment on Fidelio¡¯s part.


    ¡°I understand. My party is stopping the demonic beasts from reaching the capital,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    ¡°Phew, what a relief. I can¡¯t even imagine what would¡¯ve happened if you all weren¡¯t here...¡±


    ¡°Not at all. More importantly, I¡¯m d to see you¡¯re alright, Prime Minister.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. Thank you for worrying about an old man like me.¡± Fidelio smiled gently and bowed.


    Kang-Woo let go of Fidelio¡¯s hand and turned around. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve confirmed that you¡¯re safe, I will excuse myself.¡±


    ¡°Are you leaving already?¡±


    Since Kang-Woo had more or less figured out what sort of person Fidelio was, there was no more reason for him to stay here.


    ¡°I can¡¯t leave Si-Hun fighting all by himself.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re not a great fighter...¡±


    ¡°But I know how to fight, at the very least. Though I¡¯m nothingpared to Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, I see.¡± Fidelio nodded. He continued as his eyes shone, ¡°I would like to have a meal with Sir Si-Hun one day.¡±


    It was obvious what Fidelio had in mind. Kang-Woo was sure that Fidelio was made aware of Si-Hun¡¯s astoundingbat prowess that he had shown in the party venue.


    <i>¡®The situation has changed for him.¡¯</i>


    Although defeating five hundred rebel army soldiers all by oneself was very impressive, it was not to the point that Fidelio would do anything to get his hands on Si-Hun. As proof of that, Fidelio had not approached Si-Hun nor anyone in Kang-Woo¡¯s party after offering them their VIP rooms. However, wiping out Evil God Lucifer¡¯s subordinates was apletely different story.


    ¡°Haha, Understood.¡±


    Kang-Woo softlyughed and turned around. Even if Fidelio had not asked for it, he had been nning on arranging a meeting between the two.


    <i>¡®Soon.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled widely.


    ***


    The news of the advent of Evil God Lucifer stirred the entirety of Aernor. Not only had the Evil God, who had vanished without a trace a few years ago,e back, his deration of the continent¡¯s demise was enough to relight the fear that had been deeply rooted in the hearts of the continent¡¯s residents.


    Si-Hun¡¯s name spread throughout the continent like wildfire at the same time as the fear of Lucifer surged within the people. He was the hero who had protected the imperial capital from demonic beasts. Just seeing him stopping the horde of demonic beasts from crossing the narrow bridge between the castle and the capital had been enough to capture the hearts of the people. However, the expression of the hero himself was not bright at all.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Si-Hun sighed. He stared at Kang-Woo in worry. ¡°Hyung-nim...¡±


    ¡°We had expected this to happen, Si-Hun.¡±


    They had already expected that the Demon of Prophecy would not stand idly by as Kang-Woo¡¯s party continued their Aernor expedition.


    ¡°But thanks to that, the conditions have been fulfilled,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    ¡°Conditions?¡±


    ¡°I told you in the beginning, didn¡¯t I? Once the continent is sent to the brink of copse after the Demon of Prophecy takes action, the high elves will appear.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Si-Hun hadpletely forgotten about the high elves because of the appearance of Evil God Lucifer.


    He groaned and asked, ¡°When will they appear?¡±


    ¡°How should I know? But it¡¯s an undeniable fact that the conditions have been partially fulfilled.¡±


    Evil God Lucifer had dered the continent¡¯s demise, and Si-Hun had gained fame exceeding that of Reynald. They had met the fundamental requirements for a high elf to manifest.


    <i>¡®Though it¡¯s stillcking.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone sharply. He did not hope for a high elf to appear after barely having done anything. It had only been a few days since Evil God Lucifer had descended. Also, there had not been many casualties from this incident. It was far toocking of a situation for the continent to be considered on the brink of copse.


    <i>¡®But we¡¯ve taken the first step.¡¯</i>


    This operation had been a huge sess. Although there had been an unexpected variable midway, it had been a huge sess purely in terms of results. Si-Hun¡¯s name had spread throughout the continent, and people were praising him one after the other.


    <i>¡®Maybe I should¡¯ve tried to build it up better.¡¯</i>


    Whatever the case, the result had been beyond perfect despite the n having only just begun.


    <i>¡®Now then...¡¯</i>


    It was time to prepare for the next part of the n.


    ¡°Si-Hun, you¡¯ll have to go around.¡±


    ¡°Go around? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You know, like congresspersons going on election campaigns for votes. There are a bunch of rumors about you, but barely anyone has seen you in person.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s... true.¡±


    ¡°Show your face to the people, and make bullshit small talk with merchants about how hard life is nowadays and that you¡¯ll change this nation for the better.¡±


    ¡°Haha... I think I know what you mean.¡± Si-Hun nodded while smiling awkwardly. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that be dangerous to do when we have no idea what Lucifer is nning?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re doing it exactly because we don¡¯t know what he¡¯s nning. We can¡¯t let him have his way, can we? Besides, Lucifer probably doesn¡¯t know that we¡¯re trying to use his advent to manifest a high elf either.¡±


    ¡°I guess... you¡¯re right.¡± Si-Hun nodded.


    If he were Lucifer, he would likely have no idea about what Kang-Woo was nning.


    ¡°Using Lucifer¡¯s advent to our advantage...¡± Si-Hun nodded in session. ¡°As expected of you, hyung-nim.¡±


    Anyone could have thought of such a n if they racked their brain even a little, but Si-Hun had not even thought to pull off such a thing due to having been so intimidated by Lucifer.


    Si-Hun continued with a smile, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be scared of Lucifer at all, hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    That was obvious, since Lucifer had not actually appeared.


    ¡°I... didn¡¯t even think to use this crisis as an opportunity because I was scared of losing morerades like in the past against Satan.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. That just goes to show how much I trust you. I¡¯m scared too, man.¡±


    <i>¡®I didn¡¯t even manage to get any sleepst night.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Anyway, get out of the castle and go around the empire. You can go around with Balrog¡¯s party if you want to.¡±


    ¡°Huh? You¡¯re noting with me, hyung-nim?¡± Si-Hun asked, wide-eyed.


    He subtly trembled at the fact that he would be separated from Kang-Woo. Si-Hun looked at Kang-Woo pitifully as if he were an abandoned puppy looking up at its owner.


    <i>¡®What the hell, man? You didn¡¯t say much when you were separated from La. Why are you like this with me?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head with an awkward smile. ¡°I have things left to do here.¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    <i>¡®Don¡¯t make that face, Si-Hun. You¡¯re making me cringe¡ª No, scratch that.¡¯</i>


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to separate from you either, but I don¡¯t think I can go with you this time,¡± Kang-Woo mentioned.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, hyung-nim.¡± Si-Hun responded in all seriousness. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best so I don¡¯t disappoint you.¡±


    ¡°Okay, man.¡±


    <i>¡®My cute little bro.¡¯</i>


    ¡°I¡¯ll trust you, Si-Hun.¡±


    Kang-Woo patted Si-Hun¡¯s shoulder and stood up.


    ***


    Si-Hun left the imperial castle as per Kang-Woo¡¯s instructions. Iris tried to stop him while in tears, but Si-Hun left without looking back after promising her that he woulde back soon.


    ¡°<i>Fufu</i>. Are you feeling lonely after being separated from your little brother?¡± Lilith giggled while having her hand on Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Lonely, my ass. I¡¯m d I have one less person to care about,¡± Kang-Woo answered bluntly.


    Lilith held in herughter while covering her mouth. ¡°You say that, but even this morning, you were just standing in front of Si-Hun¡¯s room¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    ¡°My, I apologize.¡±


    Lilith giggled innocently; she seemed to have grown quite fond of teasing Kang-Wootely.


    ¡°More importantly, have you finished with the investigation?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°About Lucifer¡¯s wife?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    She had been the one variable that he had not expected in the previous operation. No, it would have been impossible for him to have expected it. He needed to figure out who she was in advance.


    ¡°My apologies. I have not yet been able to create an effective informationwork in this world. Could you wait a little longer?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not in a rush. But wouldn¡¯t she be a noble of high peerage if she was invited to the party?¡±


    ¡°Well... She seems to have forged her identity. After some investigation, even her invitation letter seems to have been forged.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    <i>¡®Well, I¡¯m sure I can just leave it to Lilith.¡¯</i>


    ¡°In that case...¡±


    Kang-Woo got up from the chair.


    ¡°Are you nning on going to see Iris?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    The reason why Kang-Woo had remained here was to fix the princess¡¯s twisted personality and to devise a n to change her witch image among the public.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll have to take care of that shitty personality of hers first.¡¯</i>


    Iris¡¯s hysteria had be even worse after the previous incident. Since her true personality was exactly like that of the rumors, he wasn¡¯t able to devise a n to rectify it.


    ¡°I¡¯m off, then,¡± Kang-Woo said to Lilith, and then left the room.


    His mind was full of thoughts about Iris.


    <i>¡®Did Fidelio ce some sort of brainwashing magic on her?¡¯</i>


    It was a possibility, considering how she had been trembling in fear. Kang-Woo used the Authority of Stealth and headed to Iris¡¯s room.


    <i>Shatter¡ª!!</i>


    ¡°Out! Get out!!¡±


    Just then, a hysterical voice echoed throughout the hallway. Kang-Woo headed to the source of the sound and saw a woman leaning on the wall of the hallway, crying.


    ¡°<i>Sniff, sniff...</i>¡±


    It was Siesta, one of Iris¡¯s maids. She was crying while having one hand on her swollen right cheek.


    <i>¡®What the hell?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo watched over the situation while frowning.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness...¡±


    Siesta bowed in front of Iris¡¯s room door while crying, and then turned around.


    <i>¡®Is she acting like this because Si-Hun went away?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo entered Iris¡¯s room whilepletely dumbfounded, but his expression froze soon after.


    ¡°<i>Sniff...</i> Hurgh. Waaaaahh.¡± Iris was crying while on her knees on the bed. ¡°No more... I-I can¡¯t take any more... <i>Sniff</i>. Brother... Brother...¡±


    Her clothes were loose as if they had been ripped apart, and her hair waspletely disheveled. Her cheeks were bruised as if she had been punched. Kang-Woo could see sheets stained with some sort of fluid under the nket that Iris was using to cover herself with.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Kang-Woo feignedughter.


    A chill ran down his spine. It was not hard to deduce who had done this to her.


    <i>¡®Fidelio... You¡¯re far crazier than I had thought.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 350 - Walking Past the Back (2)

    <h4>Chapter 350 - Walking Past the Back (2)</h4>


    Oh Kang-Woo had thought brainwashing magic to be the most likely. If not, he had also thought of the possibility of Fidelio having taken advantage of Iris¡¯s unstable mental state and put her through chronic hypnosis.


    <i>¡®Turns out it was nothing like that.¡¯</i>


    Fidelio was controlling Iris through simple and primitive violence. It was so simple that Kang-Woo felt like an idiot for having thought ofplicated possibilities for this long.


    <i>¡®Crazy old fucker.¡¯</i>


    Even though Fidelio held the true power in the empire,ying one¡¯s hands on an imperial princess was absolutely insane.


    ¡°Hurgh... <i>Sniff</i>. Waaaahh.¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at the crying Iris. After taking a closer look, there was fluid smeared on her mouth, and it reeked like organic waste.


    <i>¡®... It reeks?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked at the fluid staining the bed sheet again while tilting his head.


    <i>¡®Oh.¡¯</i>


    It was vomit. Kang-Woo used the Authority of Transparency to take a look at Iris, who had covered herself with a nket. Although her top was loose, her bottom was left untouched.


    ¡°<i>Fuuu</i>,¡± Kang-Woo sighed in relief, unbeknownst to himself.


    However, he grimaced and shook his head moments after.


    <i>¡®No, this isn¡¯t something to be relieved over.¡¯</i>


    Just the fact that Iris had been struck to the point that she vomited was crazy enough. It did not change the fact that Fidelio hadid his hands on an imperial princess. Kang-Woo recalled how pale she had gotten whenever the imperial capital was mentioned, and how she had trembled as if she was freezing.


    <i>¡®I see. I see why now.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo slowly closed his eyes. He recalled the sorrowful Dous. His words echoed in Kang-Woo¡¯s head.


    <i>- I at least want you to know that it is not entirely her fault.</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s thoughts were jumbled. An unpleasant feeling lingered around him.


    ¡°Wh-What? Who¡¯s there?¡±


    Possibly having heard Kang-Woo¡¯s feignedughter, Iris wiped her tears and looked around.


    Kang-Woo turned away from her, thinking that she wouldn¡¯t want others to see her in this state. Just then...


    ¡°Oh Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened.


    <i>¡®How?¡¯</i>


    He was currently using the Authority of Stealth. It would have been a different story if he had been noticed by someone with extremely heightened senses like Kim Si-Hun, but there was no way that Iris would have been able to sense him.


    ¡°You¡¯re Oh Kang-Woo... aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Kang-Woo turned his head. He saw that Iris¡¯s eyes were shining gold.


    <i>¡®The blessing of the high elves.¡¯</i>


    There was nothing but the power to detect the demonic, which was passed down through imperial blood, that would have allowed Iris to be able to detect him.


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡±


    Having no choice now that he was discovered, Kang-Woo dispelled the Authority of Stealth. Kang-Woo appeared in the dark room.


    ¡°Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Why are you...¡±


    Iris stared at Kang-Woo with shaking eyes. She red at him with slight bloodlust while pulling in the nket to cover her bruises.


    ¡°Since when were you here?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I only just arrived.¡±


    Deathly silence fell.


    Iris mumbled while lowering her head, ¡°Get out.¡± She screamed while holding back her tears, ¡°Out! Get out!! Get out right now!!¡±


    Kang-Woo felt pity from her mad screams.


    Kang-Woo looked up to the ceiling.


    <i>¡®What should I do? How should I handle this? Should I console her first? Ah, you must¡¯ve been in such agony until now. Fidelio, that fucker, he¡¯s a piece of shit. That must be why your personality is so shit. Yeah, I understand it all. It can¡¯t be helped since you had to go through something like this.¡¯</i>


    She must have gone through a very hard time.


    <i>¡®Fuck that.¡¯</i>


    Such empty words were a pointless form of consolement. Consoling her right here and now would be nothing but a way for him to lighten the burden in his heart.


    <i>¡®Considering the state she¡¯s in...¡¯</i>


    The problem would not be resolved even if Kang-Woo were to eliminate Fidelio. Her memories of Fidelio would not vanish just because the person himself did; Kang-Woo was sure of it just from the fact that Iris was barely able to look at Fidelio in the eyes. Her fear of him had already been deeply rooted in her soul.


    <i>¡®It won¡¯t disappear.¡¯</i>


    The fear that had been branded on her soul would not disappear. She would have to live on with that horrifying agony for the rest of her life. It was already far toote for Kang-Woo to do anything about it.


    Kang-Woo stared at the trembling Iris; she was bawling her eyes out while scrunched up. Did that mean she would have to live this way forever? Would she have to stay imprisoned by fear, covered in unheble scars for the rest of her life?


    Kang-Woo slightly opened his eyes. There was one way to eradicate the deeply-rooted fear in her heart.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Conflict momentarily shed in his mind. It was difficult to eradicate her trauma through normal means; in other words, the method that he had thought of was not a normal means. Hence, the aftereffects would be massive. Kang-Woo closed his eyes.


    <i>¡®What should I do?¡¯</i>


    Should he leave Iris to be imprisoned by fear for the rest of her life?


    <i>¡®Or...¡¯</i>


    Should he erase the fear in her heart while letting her suffer the aftereffects?


    ¡°Why... Why...¡± Iris muttered.


    She was trembling with her hand on her swollen right cheek.


    Kang-Woo did not have to think for very long. He slowly opened his eyes.


    ¡°Did Fidelio do this?¡± he asked despite already knowing the answer.


    ¡°What does it matter to you? Didn¡¯t I tell you to get out?! Go away! Get out!!¡± Iris screamed like a wounded beast.


    She picked up amp next to her bed and threw it at Kang-Woo. He easily deflected it. <i>Shatter! </i>Themp broke, and transparent ss shards scattered across the floor.


    ¡°Please, please...¡± Iris sobbed, transparent tears flowing down her cheeks. She begged, ¡°Get... out.¡±


    Kang-Woo did not listen; he slowly walked toward her. <i>Step, step.</i> The small sound of footsteps filled the room.


    ¡°And then what?¡± Kang-Woo stared at her with deeply sunken eyes. ¡°What¡¯re you gonna do after I get out?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Iris¡¯s eyes widened. She was more shocked by the content of his sentence than the fact that he was talking to her disrespectfully.


    <i>¡®Did you think I was gonna console you? Empathize with you? Would shit like that be able to save you?¡¯</i>


    ¡°I asked you what you were gonna do after I left.¡±


    ¡°Y-You...!¡± Iris frowned.


    ¡°Are you just gonna take it lying down while trembling in fear? Is trembling pathetically all you¡¯re capable of doing?¡±


    Iris remained silent. She bit her lip and said in a shaky tone, ¡°Then... What do you want me to do?¡± More tears flowed down her cheeks. She screamed, ¡°What was I supposed to do?!¡±


    Kang-Woo chuckled. ¡°What did you do until now, then?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I get that you suffered at Fidelio¡¯s hands, but what did you do to get away from it?¡±


    ¡°I...¡±


    ¡°Are you gonna say that you weren¡¯t able to? Because Fidelio held all the power?¡± Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°No, there¡¯s no fucking way. All that power wouldn¡¯t have gone straight to Fidelio¡¯s hands, would it?¡±


    ¡°Th-That¡¯s because Brother¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I get that it happened because Reynald died, but had there been absolutely no one who offered to help you, who held the most right to that power as the one next in line for the throne?¡±


    Iris refrained from answering.


    ¡°Well, fine. Let¡¯s say that it ended up that way after you kept yielding to Fidelio. But even so, you could¡¯ve at least told Si-Hun about it, couldn¡¯t you?¡±


    Iris had seen Si-Hun¡¯s impressivebat prowess with her own eyes, meaning she also knew that he was capable of saving her. However, she did not tell her; she did not beg to grab hold of that opportunity.


    ¡°Why? Because you were scared? Of Fidelio? Did you not even attempt to grab on to a sliver of hope because of a crappy reason like that?¡±


    Kang-Woo recalled his miserable and wretched days in Hell. Even though he had been scared, he had fought through it. He drank the blood of demons and devoured their flesh. He abandoned everything purely for the sake of victory.


    Iris continued to remain silent.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue as he stared at her.


    <i>¡®Bullshitting is so damn hard.¡¯</i>


    His argument was a facy.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no way she would¡¯ve been able to resist.¡¯</i>


    What he had said to Iris was like telling a victim of domestic, school, or any other forms of violence why they did nothing to stop their parents, teachers, or any other perpetrator from beating them up. People became powerless when fear was rooted deep in their hearts.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    That fact would not solve anything. Sympathizing with such logic would not eliminate the fear that had rooted itself in Iris¡¯s heart. Kang-Woo needed to make Iris think of her own ord that she had been mistaken all this time, or she would remain a scarred victim her whole life. For her to ovee her fear, she needed to stand on her own two feet.


    ¡°All you did was vent your anger on others,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    Iris had simply tried to make herself feel better by taking her pent-up rage out on the weak.


    ¡°Y-You¡¯re wrong.¡± Iris shook her head.


    ¡°You justined about how much you were suffering, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong!!¡± Iris shouted.


    A glint of bloodlust shone in her eyes. Hatred began to sprout from within her.


    <i>¡®Good.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had waited for this response.


    ¡°What am I wrong about?¡± he asked.


    ¡°W-Well...¡± Iris was lost for words. She trembled while biting her lip. She lowered her head and mumbled, ¡°Then... What should I... have done? What am I supposed to do?¡±


    Kang-Woo tilted his head and asked back, ¡°What do you want to do?¡±


    ¡°Tell me what you want to do most right now.¡±


    ¡°You... know what it is.¡±


    Kang-Woo did indeed know; he was not stupid enough not to. However...


    ¡°I wanna hear you say it.¡±


    Iris had been under Reynald¡¯s protection her whole life. Even after Reynald had died, she was curled up behind his back, trembling in fear.


    <i>¡®At that rate, she¡¯ll never be able toe out from there.¡¯</i>


    Silence fell. Iris shut her eyes tightly while trembling.


    She whispered, ¡°... enge.¡±


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t hear you.¡¯</i>


    ¡°I want to... take revenge,¡± Iris answered with her head lowered.


    ¡°Really? In that case... beg.¡±


    ¡° What?¡±


    Kang-Woo continued with deeply sunken eyes, ¡°I said, beg for my help. Get on your knees, put your head on the floor and plead for it.¡±


    Kang-Woo was forcing her to abandon everything for the sake of victory. Iris¡¯s expression froze.


    ¡°What? Your pride won¡¯t stand for it?¡±


    Iris closed her eyes. As she was about to say something...


    <i>Shatter!</i>


    ¡°Wh-What? Why are you...¡±


    A voice was heard from the door, belonging to an old man who was wearing casual clothes instead of his usual white vestments. Fidelio red at Kang-Woo after dropping the bottle of alcohol that had been in his hand.


    ¡°Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?¡± Fidelio asked.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh...¡±


    Iris turned pale, her teeth ttering as she trembled.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I want to ask you,¡± Kang-Woo interrupted. He slowly reached out to touch Iris¡¯s swollen cheek. ¡°What have you done to Iris?¡±


    Fidelio flinched. After racking his brain, he answered calmly, ¡°It was a lesson.¡±


    <i>¡®A lesson?¡¯</i>


    ¡°You could call it... tough love. You know how Her Highness acted during the incident at the imperial castle,¡± Fidelio continued.


    ¡°Th-That¡¯s¡ª!¡± Iris expressed.


    ¡°Be quiet.¡±


    Fidelio red at Iris, who then lowered her head as she was about to say something.


    ¡°Tough love, you say?¡± Kang-Woo responded.


    <i>¡®You call a beating to the point of her vomiting a lesson?¡¯</i>


    Silence stretched out for a moment.


    ¡°Pfft.¡± Laughter managed to squeeze out from Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth. He let it burst out without restraint, grabbing his stomach. ¡°Bahahahahahahahaha!!! Fuck, man. You have a better sense of humor than I thought.¡±


    Fidelio lightly bit his lip and then responded calmly, ¡°This is not for outsiders to get involved in. I had no choice but to do it to guide Princess Iris toward the right path.¡± He continued while grabbing his chest as if the act had truly hurt him, ¡°I did not want to do something so brutal to Her Highness either. But... I had no choice but to be tough on her... All because I love her!¡±


    ¡°Jesus fucking Christ.¡±


    <i>¡®That¡¯s quite the poker face you have there.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was genuinely impressed by how Fidelio could bullshit so hard in such a situation. His bullshittery was honestly a work of art.


    Fidelio red at Kang-Woo in displeasure. He turned to Iris and said, ¡°Tell him yourself, Your Highness. Tell him why I had no choice but to hit you.¡±


    ¡°Princess Iris.¡± Fidelio continued while aggressively clenching his fists, ¡°Go ahead and tell him.¡±


    ¡°U-Umm...¡±


    Iris looked at Kang-Woo in pallor. Kang-Woo simply waited for her to speak without a word.


    Iris continued while trembling and with her head lowered, ¡°Y-Yes. Prime Minister Fidelio was... g-giving me some... tough love... all for my... sake. He has done... nothing... wr-wrong.¡±


    She bit her lip, shuddering pitifully.


    ¡°You heard Her Highness.¡± Fidelio approached and aggressively gripped Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Even if you are one of Her Highness¡¯s saviors, I cannot let this slide.¡±


    Kang-Woo paid him no mind.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you know how grave a sin it is to trespass on Her Imperial Highness¡¯s chambers.¡±


    Kang-Woo ignored Fidelio. His attention was only on Iris, who was trembling in pallor. There was no point in him trying to give her any more of a helping hand. It was all up to her now.


    ¡°Iris,¡± Kang-Woo called.


    <i>¡®If you want to win, abandon it all. What remains of your pride, the fear pushing you down, and that back you¡¯re hiding behind... Everything.¡¯</i>


    Iris¡¯s teeth ttered. Her fear of Fidelio and the horrifying memories dominated her mind.


    <i>¡®Brother...¡¯</i>


    The dependable back that had always been protecting her... Iris had spent her days in joy while hiding behind that back. Once that back vanished, she was left fully exposed to hands stained with greed.


    <i>- What did you do until now, then?</i>


    Iris could not refute the fact that she had done nothing.


    <i>- Had there been absolutely no one who offered to help you?</i>


    There had been. Dous and the members of Reynald¡¯s party, who had gone on countless adventures together with Reynald, had offered their help, but Iris did not ept their help; she simply shrunk down in fear.


    <i>- Why? Because you were scared?</i>


    She was scared. Scared of the retaliation worsening, and of more pain. Hence, she said nothing; she was unable to say a word. She did not fight; she gave up on fighting.


    <i>- Did you not even attempt to grab on to a sliver of hope because of a crappy reason like that?</i>


    ¡°A-Arrgghh.¡± Iris grabbed her head. ¡°Urgh... Arghh...¡±


    She saw Reynald¡¯s back. For the very first time, she slowly walked past the back that had always protected her.


    ¡°H...¡± Iris looked up at Kang-Woo with quivering eyes. ¡°H-Help.¡±


    Kang-Woo snickered. ¡°That¡¯s a rather rude way of begging someone for help.¡±


    Iris slowly put her forehead on the floor. She said again while weeping, ¡°P-Please... help me. Please... Please help me!¡±


    <i>¡®Very good.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Your Highness, what are you say¡ª¡±


    Kang-Woo grabbed the wrist of Fidelio¡¯s arm that was on his shoulder.


    ¡°Tough love, was it?¡±


    <i>¡®You had no choice because you love her, right?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Fidelio.¡±


    <i>¡®I have a confession to make.¡¯</i>


    ¡°I love you too, motherfucker.¡±


    <i>Bash¡ª!!</i>


    Kang-Woo pulled on Fidelio¡¯s arm and punched him in the face.

 Chapter 351 - Walking Past the Back (3)

    <h4>Chapter 351 - Walking Past the Back (3)</h4>


    ¡°Oh, fuck,¡± Oh Kang-Woo expressed.


    <i>¡®He¡¯s not dead, is he? That¡¯d be bad.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked down at the fist he had used to punch Fidelio.


    <i>¡®Dammit, I held back quite a lot on that.¡¯</i>


    He had held back to a level that he would use to wipe off dust from his hands; no, even more than that. He had not even used a single speck of demonic energy, but...


    ¡°Kurgh! Guuuu...¡±


    ¡°Hey, you good? Whoa, you lost a few teeth. Your nose is a bit crooked too, I think.¡±


    ¡°Y-You bastaaaaard!!¡±


    ¡°But for real, I held back a lot on that, okay? Come to think of it, I¡¯m older than you. Why are you talking down to me, fucker?¡±


    Fidelio red at Kang-Woo.


    <i>ck!</i>


    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s with these guys?¡±


    As Kang-Woo turned around while snickering, twelve knights wearing ck armor appeared out of nowhere and surrounded him. Sharp swords were pointed at his neck, eyes, heart and groin. Kang-Woo whistled.


    ¡°Holy shit, that¡¯s some badass armor. But I think you guys messed up the timing for your appearance a little.¡±


    <i>¡®You should¡¯ve appeared before I fucking decked Fidelio in the face. Just look at him, he¡¯s crawling on the floor with blood pouring out from his nose.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Also, do you mind not pointing your sword there, my guy? My Fran?ois is trembling in fear.¡±


    <i>¡®He¡¯s already lifeless enough as it is, you fucking sons of bitches.¡¯</i>


    ¡°You son of a bitch...¡± Fidelio got up on his feet. He red at Kang-Woo with bloodlust, but then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. ¡°Do you seriously believe... this will go unpunished?¡±


    Fidelio had regained hisposure much faster than Kang-Woo had expected. He had not managed to take control over the empire by a fluke.


    ¡°Princess Iris,¡± Fidelio called.


    ¡°E-Eek!¡± Iris eximed while flinching as Fidelio red at her.


    She crouched with tears flowing down her cheeks.


    ¡°It seems you will need... a harsher lesson once this is over.¡±


    ¡°N-No... N-No more...¡±


    Iris trembled while stuffing her head between her knees.


    ¡°Enough of that shit.¡± Kang-Woo smirked and stepped forward. ¡°You¡¯ve way overused that trope.¡±


    <i>¡®That shit has overstayed its wee.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Halt,¡± said the knight in ck armor, who was pointing his sword at Kang-Woo¡¯s groin.


    ¡°Hey.¡± Kang-Woo slightly twisted his torso and clenched his fist. ¡°I told you...¡± He turned 180 degrees while using his left leg as the axis and drove his fist forward. The ck knight calmly tried to block the fist with his sword. ¡°Not to point your sword there.¡±


    <i>Bash!</i> Kang-Woo swung his fist and destroyed the sword before smashing it into the ck knight¡¯s sr plexus, and the knight¡¯s upper body vanished. Left with only his lower body, the knight copsed.


    ¡°Wh-What the¡ª?!¡±


    ¡°Kuh!¡±


    The shocked knights widened their distance from Kang-Woo. Fidelio aggressively frowned.


    ¡°I see you were hiding your strength,¡± he said.


    ¡°It¡¯s amon cliche, you know?¡±


    The cliche of the protagonist hiding their strength.


    <i>¡®Oh fuck, right. I¡¯m not the protagonist. If I had to give myself a role, I¡¯d be more the antagonist. Oh, well.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Shadow Knights,¡± Fidelio called.


    ¡°Whoa, they¡¯re called shadow knights? That¡¯s cool as fuck. I wanna try saying that too,¡± said Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Kuh. Let us see how long you can keep that leisurely attitude for!¡± Fidelio pointed at Kang-Woo. ¡°Kill that man!¡±


    ¡°Dude, please stop with the respectful speech.¡±


    <i>¡®You sound like Frieza.¡¯</i>


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    Blue aura enveloped the ck knights¡¯ swords. Kang-Woo¡¯s expression crumpled.


    ¡°The hell? Not ck aura? Come on, you should be staying consistent with your color scheme. Where¡¯s your sense of style?¡±


    ¡°Your arrogant attitude ends here,¡± said the ck knights to Kang-Woo, who waspletely unfazed despite them having unleashed their aura.


    Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°Zat so?¡±


    He snickered and took one step forward.


    ¡°Kill h¡ª¡±


    Kang-Woo teleported; he vanished and appeared right in front of a ck knight. Kang-Woo used the momentum tond an uppercut. <i>Bash!</i> The knight¡¯s head flew off along with his spine from the massive impact. Kang-Woo took the copsing ck knight¡¯s sword.


    ¡°You see, I¡¯ve been practicing martial arts like my life depended on ittely.¡±


    <i>¡®I¡¯m gonna have you all by my practice dummies.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Haap!¡± The ck knights charged toward Kang-Woo.


    Two had died, and now ten remained. Kang-Woo dodged a sword swung at his neck by leaning back.


    ¡°So...¡±


    He recalled Kim Si-Hun¡¯s teachings.


    <i>- Your worst habit is that you aim for the vitals far too much, hyung-nim.</i>


    <i>¡®Obviously, since demons won¡¯t die just from getting their limbs chopped off.¡¯</i>


    <i>- Once you fix that habit, your sword swings will be much smoother.</i>


    ¡°Like this, right?!¡±


    Kang-Woo bounced back and swung his sword. He did not focus on killing his opponent; he simply went with the flow of his martial arts.


    <i>ng¡ª!</i>


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    The sword that had been swung at him was deflected. Simply swinging his sword as per the flow of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Technique had easily blocked the attack aimed at him.


    <i>¡®This is awesome.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo felt like he was reciting a script that he had practiced in a y. He was only swinging as he was taught, but none of the knights¡¯ attacks were reaching him.


    <i>- You rely too much on weapons, hyung-nim. You keep trying to attack only with your sword.</i>


    <i>¡®Yeah, because I¡¯ll be the one to die if I don¡¯t. The constitution of demons is no joke.</i>


    <i>- Your martial arts will improve by leaps and bounds once you be proficient in using your knees, legs, shoulders and elbows.</i>


    Kang-Woo pushed away a knight who was charging toward him with his shoulder. He dealt a low kick, and the knight¡¯s stance crumbled.


    <i>Stab!</i> Kang-Woo thrusted his sword into the copsed knight¡¯s neck.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m getting the hang of this.¡±


    He was feeling something that he had not been able to feel from fighting an insanely talented genius like Si-Hun.


    ¡°What in the world are you all doing?!¡± Fidelio shouted.


    The ck knights approached Kang-Woo anxiously.


    ¡°But to be honest...¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and threw the sword aside. ¡°This isn¡¯t really for me.¡±


    Fighting like this was extremely bothersome.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just do it the easy way.¡±


    Kang-Woo slowly raised his hand and snapped his finger.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!</i>


    des sprouted from the ground with Kang-Woo at the epicenter.


    ¡°Just get split in half, will you?¡±


    The des shot into the knights¡¯ groins and out of their mouths. Their bodies were split vertically into two, and all copsed simultaneously. The stench of blood filled the room.


    ¡°Kyaaaaahh!!¡± Iris screamed at the horrifying scene.


    ¡°Wh-What in the...¡± Fidelio stared at Kang-Woo with his mouth agape.


    Kang-Woo had massacred the shadow knights in just one attack, and with just the snap of his finger, no less. Fidelio could feel his pants getting wet.


    ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, that¡¯s disgusting.¡± Kang-Woo frowned. ¡°Lilith.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master Kang-Woo.¡±


    Lilith appeared from Kang-Woo¡¯s shadow as if she had expected his summons.


    ¡°Clean up these bodies.¡±


    ¡°As youmand.¡±


    Kang-Woo approached the shaking Iris.


    ¡°Wh-What are you? H-How did you kill the shadow knights...?¡± Iris asked.


    ¡°Hm? You¡¯re being rather rude again.¡±


    ¡°Urgh...¡± Iris bit her lip. ¡°You mentioned that... you were a bad fighter.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that? I lied.¡±


    ¡°Now, get it together and drink this.¡±


    Kang-Woo bit his thumb to spill blood and stuffed his thumb into Iris''s mouth.


    ¡°Mmrp!¡± Iris expressed surprise from Kang-Woo¡¯s sudden action, but became wide-eyed once she saw that her wounds inflicted by Fidelio hadpletely healed. ¡°H-How...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll exinter. Follow me.¡±


    Kang-Woo turned around. They left Iris¡¯s chambers and went to Kang-Woo¡¯s room while Kang-Woo dragged Fidelio along, grabbing what little remained of his hair.


    ¡°Kurgh! L-Let me go! Do you have any idea what you¡¯re d¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh shit, some strands fell out.¡±


    ¡°Y-You bastaaaaaard!!¡±


    ¡°Come on, man. It¡¯s not like you had that many left. Having none at all is better than dearly holding on to a few strands.¡±


    ¡°Y-You abominable...! You call yourself a human aftermitting such atrocities?!¡±


    ¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, you¡¯re so intolerant. Did losing your hair make you this way? Anyway, take a seat here.¡±


    Kang-Woo dragged Fidelio into his room and seated him on a chair.


    <i>¡®Authority of Sealing.¡¯</i>


    <i>tter</i>. ck chains bound Fidelio to the chair.


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo. What are you nning on doing...?¡± asked Iris, who had followed Kang-Woo after changing clothes.


    Her eyes were shaking heavily in worry and anxiety. It was no exaggeration to say that Kang-Woo had dered war on the entire empire the moment that he attacked Fidelio. Even if he and Si-Hun were strong, would they be able to take on the full force of the empire?


    <i>¡®It¡¯s impossible.¡¯</i>


    There was no way that two people would be able to face an entire nation. Although they had party members, there were merely ten of them altogether.


    ¡°I¡¯m not gonna do anything,¡± said Kang-Woo as he turned to look down at the trembling Iris. ¡°You are.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Iris asked, wide-eyed. ¡°Wh-What does that mean?¡±


    Kang-Woo scanned her while narrowing his eyes.


    <i>¡®Still not enough.¡¯</i>


    Although Iris had managed to ovee her fear of Fidelio for the very first time, it was nowhere near enough. She was still afraid of him to the point that she could barely look at him, despite him being strapped to a chair and unable to move an inch.


    <i>¡®This won¡¯t do.¡¯</i>


    It was nowhere near enough. Her fear of Fidelio was still rooted deeply within her. She had only taken the first baby step; she was unable to stand on her own. She could barely walk or move forward.


    ¡°You said that you wanted to take revenge against Fidelio, didn¡¯t you?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Y-Yeah. I mean... Yes! I-I want to take revenge!¡± shouted Iris with her fists clenched.


    ¡°In that case, I will give you a choice.¡±


    ¡°A choice?¡±


    Iris¡¯s eyes shook.


    Kang-Woo continued, ¡°You have two choices.¡± He put up two fingers. ¡°First is that you let me take revenge for you. If you choose this, you will stay like this forever.¡±


    ¡°Stay like... what?¡±


    ¡°I mean, even if you manage to get your revenge, you¡¯ll never be able to escape from your fear of Fidelio.¡±


    Iris¡¯s expression froze. She was easily able to understand Kang-Woo¡¯s abstract expression.


    <i>¡®If I let Kang-Woo take revenge against Fidelio for me, I...¡¯</i>


    Iris bit her lip and clenched her clothes. She recalled her days of being beaten by Fidelio after Reynald disappeared. Fidelio had struck her using the excuse of it being a lesson. There was once she had been beaten so hard that her cheekbones had fractured.


    ¡°U-Urghh.¡±


    Iris couldn¡¯t stop shaking just from recalling that memory. She felt nauseous. Her fear of Fidelio overpowered her hatred toward him.


    <i>¡®I would keep having nightmares of him beating me for the rest of my life.¡¯</i>


    Iris was not even able to escape reality through her dreams. She panted heavily.


    ¡°Wh-What¡¯s the second choice...?¡± she asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be taking revenge with your own hands,¡± answered Kang-Woo.


    ¡°If I do that... Will I really be able to ovee my fears? Will the nightmares stop?¡±


    Iris grabbed on Kang-Woo¡¯s clothes in desperation.


    Kang-Woo answered calmly, ¡°Yes, but there will be side effects.¡±


    ¡°Side... effects?¡±


    ¡°You could break. No, you will most definitely be broken.¡±


    ¡°What... do you mean...?¡±


    ¡°I mean, as the price for oveing your fears, you will no longer be yourself.¡±


    There might be another way if they took their time to search for one. Iris might even forget the horrifying memories one day over time. However, at the very least, the method that Kang-Woo had thought of and was nning on doing, would change Iris permanently.


    Silence fell. Iris lowered her head and fell into thought. She honestly could not understand what Kang-Woo was trying to do nor what he meant by she would not be herself anymore. However...


    ¡°I... want to do it myself,¡± Iris said with difficulty. She then continued as her eyes glinted with an unbendable will, ¡°If I can be freed from this fear... this nightmare... I could even sell my soul to a demon.¡±


    ¡°Hah,¡± Kang-Woo chuckled.


    <i>¡®What a coincidence.¡¯</i>


    He slowly closed his eyes.


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    <i>¡®If that¡¯s what you have chosen... If you truly wish to sell your soul to free yourself from that fear... I¡¯ll buy it. I¡¯ll pull out the fear within you by the roots. I¡¯ll make it so that you¡¯re never gued with nightmares... Even if it breaks you.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his eyes. He raised his hand and patted Iris¡¯s head.


    ¡°In that case...¡±


    A ck droplet dropped from the ring on Kang-Woo¡¯s right middle finger, which turned into a ck dagger about twenty centimeters long.


    Kang-Woo handed Iris the dagger and said, ¡°Stab him with your own hands.¡±


    ¡°Pardon...? Y-You want me to kill him?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t say that. Let¡¯s start from the thighs. After that, we¡¯ll slowly gouge out his arms, calves, toes, fingers, ears, eyes, and tongue. One by one, slowly. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll make it so that he won¡¯t die until we¡¯re all done.¡±


    <i>¡®Until your deeply-rooted fear disappears...¡¯</i>


    ¡°You can take it slow.¡±


    <i>¡®Until your fear turns into hatred...¡¯</i>


    ¡°What are you doing? Take the dagger.¡±


    <i>¡®Until your hatred turns into madness...¡¯</i>


    ¡°Go on. Stab him.¡±


    <i>¡®Until you go insane.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 352 - Broken

    <h4>Chapter 352 - Broken</h4>


    ¡°A-Aaaahh...¡±


    Iris trembled as she clenched the dagger that Oh Kang-Woo had given her. She looked down at the sharp dagger in her hands. Her fear of Fidelio overtook her hatred for him.


    <i>¡®I-I¡¯m supposed to... stab him with this?¡¯</i>


    Her head was in jumbles. She had honestly imagined killing Fidelio with her own hands. No, she had imagined doing things way worse than that countless times, but...


    ¡°Haaa, haaa, haaa,¡± Iris panted heavily.


    Her heart beat faster. She could not even look in Fidelio¡¯s general direction. She wanted to throw aside the dagger in her hands.


    <i>¡®Why... Why?¡¯</i>


    Despite all the hatred she had for Fidelio...


    <i>¡®Why... Why isn¡¯t my body moving?¡¯</i>


    Iris aggressively bit her lip. She gripped the dagger tighter and forced herself up. She looked up and stared at Fidelio, who was shaking while bound to a chair.


    <i>tter!</i>


    Then, the dagger in her hands fell to the ground. Iris copsed and panted heavily.


    ¡°Wh-What? Wh-Why...?¡± Iris expressed confusion.


    Kang-Woo looked down at her.


    <i>¡®Well, it¡¯s to be expected.¡¯</i>


    Iris had never even held a de before, so there was no way that she would be able to stab someone just because she was told to.


    <i>¡®Especially in a situation like this.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could see that Iris could barely look Fidelio in the eyes even now. The fear that had deeply rooted itself in her soul was getting in her way.


    <i>¡®At this rate...¡¯</i>


    She would not be able to stab Fidelio. Kang-Woo walked toward the trembling Iris and crouched next to her.


    ¡°What are you doing? Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to take revenge?¡±


    ¡°U-Uhmm...¡± Iris gulped while stammering. She slowly handed Kang-Woo the dagger. ¡°Actually, c-could you... do it for me, S-Sir Kang-Woo? I-I¡¯m fine with just watching.¡±


    She had changed her mind after actuallying face to face with her fears. She averted herself from her trauma that was Fidelio.


    ¡°No,¡± Kang-Woo responded firmly as she handed Iris back the dagger. ¡°You have to do it yourself.¡±


    ¡°U-Urghhh.¡±


    Iris bit her lip as the hands that held the dagger shook.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t stab him...¡±


    ¡°Mmrp!! Mmmrrpp!¡±


    Kang-Woo extended his hand toward the chair that Fidelio was bound to. <i>Clunk</i>. The chains loosened.


    ¡°W-Wait!! I have what you want¡ª Mmrp!¡±


    The loosened chains bound Fidelio once again.


    Kang-Woo stared at Iris coldly with eyes devoid of emotion. ¡°... I will unchain him.¡±


    ¡°N-No!¡±


    Iris extended her hands out. She could easily imagine what would happen if Kang-Woo were to unchain Fidelio in this situation.


    <i>¡®Once again...¡¯</i>


    Iris would fall into that hell again¡ª no, an even worse hell would be in store for her. Iris lowered herself to the floor and grabbed the hem of Kang-Woo¡¯s pants.


    ¡°D-Don¡¯t. I¡¯m begging you. N-No, I beg of you, sir. Please... Please don¡¯t,¡± Iris pleaded while crying.


    Kang-Woo did not waver in the slightest from her desperation. Anyone could beg while grabbing on to one¡¯s pants. Such an act was meaningless.


    ¡°In that case...¡± Kang-Woo caressed the prostrated Iris¡¯s cheek. ¡°Stab him.¡±


    Iris flinched. She trembled while biting her lip.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    Iris stood up while crying. She tightly gripped the dagger that Kang-Woo had given her. She took multiple deep breaths.


    <i>¡®I-I can do it. No, I have to do it.¡¯</i>


    If she didn''t, Kang-Woo would actually release Fidelio. The sound of her ttering teeth echoed within her mind like thunder. She panted heavily, and her heart was beating so hard that it could burst. She shut her eyes tightly, turned to Fidelio, and slowly opened her eyes.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa, haaa!¡±


    There was fear. There was a monster. There was a demon where she had opened her eyes to look. Her eyes shook. She could barely face him.


    <i>- Your Highness.</i>


    The demon¡¯s voice echoed inside her head.


    <i>- Please do not be sad. This old man will protect you in ce of His Majesty and Prince Reynald.</i>


    She should never have taken his hand.


    <i>- This is a lesson.</i>


    She heard the demon''s cackles. The memories of pain and agony returned to her.


    ¡°U-Urgghh!¡±


    Iris bent forward like a bow. With the fear spreading throughout her body like a gue, something extremely tiny showed itself. It had been there this entire time; it had just been buried underneath the fear. It was... hatred.


    ¡°You... son of a bitch...!¡± Iris muttered, her eyes gleaming with bloodlust.


    She raised the dagger toward the old man, the hideous monster before her eyes, and stabbed.


    <i>Pierce!</i>


    ¡°Mmmrp!! Urp! Urppp!!¡±


    <i>tter! tter!</i> The chains binding Fidelio shook violently. Iris could feel Fidelio¡¯s squirms through the dagger that had pierced his right thigh.


    ¡°Kyaaaaahh!!¡± Iris screamed.


    The unfamiliar and unpleasant sensation of stabbing flesh traveled to her from the dagger, and it made her freeze. She fell on her butt with the dagger still in Fidelio¡¯s thigh. Kang-Woo appeared from behind her as she crawled backward.


    ¡°Good job,¡± he said as he put his hand on her shoulder to stop her retreat.


    ¡°I-It felt so weird. It felt m-mushy, and it was squirming...¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Kang-Woo put his hand on the back of her hand as if soothing her, and slowly guided her hand to the dagger. ¡°You can do it again, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Iris nodded and grabbed the dagger that she had stabbed into Fidelio¡¯s thigh. She felt the unpleasant sensation of a struggling living being.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m scared. I¡¯mscaredI¡¯mscaredI¡¯mscaredI¡¯mscaredI¡¯mscaredI¡¯mscared.¡¯</i>


    Tears flowed down her cheeks. She gripped the dagger and pulled it out. Blood spewed out from Fidelio¡¯s thigh and sttered on her.


    ¡°Urpp!! Bleeeeegghhh!!¡± Iris puked with her hands on the ground.


    Kang-Woo lightly patted Iris¡¯s back as she emptied her stomach.


    ¡°The first time is always the hardest. That¡¯s true for everything in this world. Once you get through the first time, it¡¯ll be much easier than you think the subsequent times.¡±


    ¡°Haaa, haaa, haaa.¡±


    ¡°Now, pick up the dagger again.¡±


    Iris gripped the dagger that Kang-Woo handed her.


    ¡°A-Ahhhhhhh!¡±


    She raised the dagger high again and stabbed Fidelio¡¯s thigh. <i>Pierce</i>. A chilling sensation traveled up her hands.


    <i>¡®Aaaahh.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was right. The first time she had done it was hard, but the second time was not as bad.


    ¡°Fi... delio...!¡±


    Iris pushed down her fears and pulled out the dagger.


    <i>Stab! Stab! Stab!</i>


    ¡°Fidelio! Fidelio! Fidelioooooo!!¡±


    She stabbed Fidelio¡¯s thigh again and again with all her might.


    ¡°Mmrp!! Mrp!¡±


    She could hear Fidelio¡¯s muffled screams and see his face dyed with fear.


    ¡°Heh.¡± Iris smiled.


    The fact that Fidelio was making the face that she had used to make all the time thrilled her.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s happening?¡¯</i>


    She could not understand. No, there was no need for her to understand.


    <i>¡®It feels good.¡¯</i>


    Iris pulled out the dagger and stabbed Fidelio¡¯s thigh again. Kang-Woo gently held her hand.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be picky,¡± he remarked.


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    Iris turned around to see Kang-Woo smiling at her. For a moment, she felt like she saw the face of a demon on Kang-Woo¡¯s. She saw a dark, boundless abyss.


    ¡°A-Aahh.¡±


    Iris trembled. The fear that she had felt for Fidelio all this time felt like nothingpared to true fear before her eyes at this moment.


    ¡°Now, don¡¯t just stab his thigh. Try stabbing him wherever you want,¡± said Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Wh-Where I want?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± The demon gave Iris''s back a gentle push. He brought his mouth close to her ear and whispered, ¡°Release as much of your hatred as you want.¡±


    Iris¡¯s eyes turned hazy from Kang-Woo¡¯s sweet whispers. She swung the dagger madly.


    ¡°IF ONLY!!!¡±


    Blood sttered as fingers were cut and fell on the ground.


    ¡°IT WEREN¡¯T FOR YOU!!!¡±


    Iris stabbed Fidelio''s cartge and twisted the dagger with all her might. The cracking of bones sounded out.


    ¡°YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!¡±


    The umtion of fear was being converted to hatred. Iris continued to swing the dagger while releasing her hatred. The sensation of cutting flesh no longer felt unpleasant to her, nor the dark-red blood sttering all over her.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m not scared anymore.¡¯</i>


    The corners of Iris¡¯s mouth slowly rose. She could finally understand what the thrilling sensation traveling down her spine was.


    <i>¡®This is fun.¡¯</i>


    It was fun beyond belief. She felt like she could burst out intoughter at any moment.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t believe I¡¯ve been missing out on something this fun!¡¯</i>


    Iris could now understand why Kang-Woo had stared at her in pity. He had likely been frustrated beyond belief.


    ¡°Haaa...¡± Iris sighed in ecstasy as she stared at Fidelio, who had be a rag covered in cuts.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s over.¡¯</i>


    Whoever said that vengeance made one feel empty was aplete dipshit; revenge was sweeter than anything in the world.


    ¡°Thank you... Sir Kang-Woo,¡± Iris said to Kang-Woo, her eyes hazy as if she were high.


    Kang-Woo smiled. ¡°What are you talking about? We¡¯re not done yet.¡±


    ¡°Pardon me?¡±


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not over?¡¯ </i>Iris thought.


    ¡°We¡¯ve only just begun.¡±


    Kang-Woo bit open his thumb and dripped blood on the bloodied Fidelio.


    ¡°Urpp!! Mmmmrpp!¡±


    Then, Fidelio jumped as if having a seizure and his wounds healed in the blink of an eye.


    ¡°Wh-Wha...¡± Iris expressed while wide-eyed.


    Kang-Woo picked up the dagger on the floor and handed it to Iris.


    ¡°Now then...¡±


    <i>¡®Let¡¯s start over.¡¯</i>


    ¡°The second time will be easier.¡±


    <i>¡®And even more the third time.¡¯</i>


    ***


    A few days passed. <i>ck</i>. Kang-Woo opened the door to a room, and was met with a thick scent of blood.


    ¡°H-Hehehehe.¡±


    Kang-Woo could hear a crazy giggle.


    ¡°Oh, Sir Kang-Woo~¡± Iris, who was fully covered in blood, turned toward Kang-Woo and smiled as her eyes gleamed with madness. She walked over to Kang-Woo and asked, ¡°Have I... done well? Have I?¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled brightly and patted her head. ¡°Yeah, you have.¡±


    ¡°Hihi,¡± Iris giggled in joy and embraced the dagger that Kang-Woo had given her.


    There was no longer any fear reflected in her eyes.

 Chapter 353 - Escape (1)

    <h4>Chapter 353 - Escape (1)</h4>


    ¡°Hehehe,¡± Iris giggled crazily.


    Oh Kang-Woo could see the madness in her eyes.


    Kang-Woo sighed with deeply sunken eyes. Her eyes no longer reflected fear of Fidelio, but...


    <i>¡®Did I make the right choice?¡¯</i>


    He was conflicted. Even he knew that this was not the best oue. It might have been better for Iris to live on while suffering from nightmares.


    <i>- If I can be freed from this fear... this nightmare... I could even sell my soul to a demon.</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled how desperately Iris had begged him while trembling. He closed his eyes. This had been her choice, and what she had wished for.


    <i>¡®I could have erased her memories using the Authority of Subordination, but...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo thought for a moment, but shook his head.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s too dangerous.¡¯</i>


    The blessing of the high elves on Iris had been powerful enough for her to recognize him under the Authority of Stealth. Making a contract of subordination with her would be far too dangerous.


    ¡°You¡¯re... not afraid of Fidelio anymore, right?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Iris answered brightly.


    Her radiant smile, despite her being covered in blood, was chilling.


    <i>¡®Even so...¡¯</i>


    With this, Iris hadpletely been freed from Fidelio¡¯s grasp.


    <i>¡®This has negative effects in its own right, but... It¡¯s at least better than spending the rest of her life being shackled by fear.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Sir Kang-Woo, where should we gouge out today~?¡±


    Iris grinned while staring at Kang-Woo with a chilling glint in her eyes. Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    <i>¡®Is this really for the better?¡¯</i>


    He had indeed aimed for this to happen, but he had not expected her to break this badly in the span of just a few days.


    <i>¡®I guess it goes to show the extent of the fear she had for Fidelio.¡¯</i>


    On top of that, her baseline gentle and kind nature had likely amplified the effects. Just like how the burst of emotion was stronger the more one bottled them up, the bloodlust that had been suppressed underneath her gentle nature plus her fears had set aze beyond control.


    <i>¡®I never thought it¡¯d get this bad.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo regretted pushing her so far.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll get better over time.¡¯</i>


    Time could not be rewound. The good news among all this was that Iris was very obedient, meaning that Kang-Woo was able to control her.


    <i>¡®I think it¡¯s about time that we stop.¡¯</i>


    Although Iris had been broken beyond repair, stopping now was better than continuing.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s enough.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Iris asked while wide-eyed as she looked back and forth between Kang-Woo and the unconscious Fidelio. ¡°Umm... What do you mean by...¡±


    ¡°I mean, you can stop now.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Iris subtly trembled. She fiddled with the dagger in disappointment.


    Kang-Woo smirked and continued, ¡°Revenge isn¡¯t all about stabbing, shing and breaking, you know? You should be taking back what was stolen from you, one by one.¡±


    ¡°What was stolen from me?¡± Iris asked in wonder.


    ¡°Your power as an imperial princess, and your reputation. They were all taken from you by Fidelio, weren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...¡±


    Conflict glinted in Iris¡¯s eyes. Although it was true that her power as a member of the imperial family had been taken away by Fidelio, he was not solely responsible for her infamy as a witch. Rather, she was more responsible for it because she had vented her stress on her servants.


    ¡°Iris.¡± Kang-Woo caressed the conflicted Iris¡¯s cheek. He asked gently, ¡°It was all Fidelio¡¯s fault, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes! O-Of course! It was all because of that human garbage!¡± Iris energetically answered while furiously nodding.


    Kang-Woo nodded with a smile. ¡°Good. Now, it¡¯s time for you to break free from your false charges and get ready to be the empress.¡±


    ¡°Empress...¡±


    Iris nkly stared at Kang-Woo. The word did not seem real. Her father, Emperor Leopold von Arnan, was getting sicker each day. He actually should have died long ago, but he was being forcibly kept alive with magic. Like Kang-Woo had said, Iris would without a doubt be the empress soon.


    <i>¡®Empress...? Me?¡¯</i>


    Iris¡¯s heart beat faster. She could not breathe properly; it felt as if a heavy weight was pressing down on her chest.


    ¡°It¡¯s... impossible. You know what the people of the empire say about me, Sir Kang-Woo.¡±


    The opinions of the people were actually of no consequence to Iris bing the empress, since she was the only one who carried the blood of the imperial family. However, the false usations against her were almost impossible to break away from. Although there was no proof to such usations, Iris knew very well how difficult it was to change an opinion that was considered to be the truth by many.


    ¡°You can leave that to me,¡± responded Kang-Woo.


    He smiled. He had already thought of a way to wipe her infamous reputation as a witch clean. He turned around to look at Fidelio, who was unconscious while covered in blood.


    ¡°Umm... Sir Kang-Woo.¡± Iris¡¯s eyes shone chillingly as she clenched the dagger. ¡°Shall we... End him now?¡±


    She red at the unconscious Fidelio with bloodlust. It was aplete flip in attitude from the beginning when she could barely look in Fidelio¡¯s general direction. Kang-Woo stared at Iris with mixed feelings, and then slowly shook his head.


    ¡°No,¡± said Kang-Woo.


    ¡°No...?¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t kill Fidelio.¡±


    ¡°What? Wh-What do you mean we won¡¯t kill him?!¡± Iris stared at Kang-Woo in bewilderment. Not killing Fidelio was absurd. She bared her teeth, raised the dagger menacingly and shouted, ¡°N-No! I have to kill that human garbage myself!¡±


    Kang-Woo firmly shook his head despite Iris¡¯s crazed defiance. ¡°Iris.¡±


    ¡°Ngh...¡±


    ¡°I told you that we won¡¯t kill him.¡±


    ¡°B-But...¡±


    Iris stared at Kang-Woo as if she were about to burst into tears at any moment. To her, Fidelio was her mortal enemy that had put her through hell. No, not just her, but he had sucked the life out of countless citizens of the empire. Iris could not ept the fact that such a person would not die for his sins.


    ¡°F-Fidelio needs to die,¡± Iris replied cautiously, pleading to Kang-Woo to change his mind.


    Kang-Woo smirked and asked, ¡°Really? Why do you think so?¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± There was no need to even mention it. Iris red at Fidelio in madness. ¡°Because nothing else befits the human garbage.¡±


    No matter how Iris thought about it, Fidelio did not deserve to live. Kang-Woo softlyughed at how bold Iris had be after just a few days.


    ¡°Do you seriously believe that?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°If you truly want to take revenge on Fidelio, he shouldn¡¯t end that way.¡±


    ¡°I... don¡¯t understand.¡±


    Kang-Woo tilted his head toward Iris. He patted her head and spoke to her as if he were a teacher teaching a child. ¡°If he dies, that¡¯s the end of it.¡±


    No matter how painfully and miserably one died, it would all end once they died. Their pain, suffering and sorrow would end at the moment of their death.


    ¡°Now, think about what you had to suffer in his hands. Didn¡¯t you think every day that you would be better off dead?¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    Iris opened her eyes wide. Kang-Woo was right. She had longed for death in the endless swamp of despair. She had thought that death was the only form of salvation for her.


    ¡°Why would you kill him and be done with it?¡± Kang-Woo smiled widely. Death was nothing. ¡°Keeping him alive would be more agonizing for him.¡±


    Only life was true agony. Iris felt chills running down her spine.


    <i>¡®Aaaahh, this person is... truly terrifying.¡¯</i>


    No, she was not even sure if he was human.


    <i>¡®It doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯</i>


    Iris couldn¡¯t care less whether Kang-Woo was a human, monster, or even a demon. What was important was that he had saved her and had guided her toward salvation. He had not protected her like Reynald or Kim Si-Hun had, nor had he given her a ce to hide behind. He had given her a push so that she would be able to stand on her own two feet.


    ¡°Okay. I will do as you say, Sir Kang-Woo.¡± Iris nodded while staring at Kang-Woo hazily.


    ¡°Good. We¡¯ll be busy for a while.¡±


    Kang-Woo needed to eliminate those on Fidelio¡¯s side and form a line of support only for Iris. He needed to reconstruct this broken empire.


    <i>¡®Only then will I be able to focus on Lucifer.¡¯</i>


    There was a high chance that people would not fear the advent of the Evil God as much as Kang-Woo hoped in such a situation. People couldn''t care less about an Evil God or a Demon King when their daily lives were already a living hell.


    <i>¡®People tremble in fear when they have something to lose.¡¯</i>


    And when that fear turned into despair, the continent would reach the brink of copse.


    ¡°I¡¯ll even give you an opportunity to spend some quality time with Si-Hun, so do your best to earn it,¡± Kang-Woo expressed while lightly patting Iris¡¯s shoulder.


    Since she had fallen in love with Si-Hun, there would likely be no better reward than this.


    <i>¡®Though I feel sorry for my sister-inw.¡¯</i>


    Although Kang-Woo felt bad for doing this to La, there was no better bait than Si-Hun to have perfect control over Iris.


    ¡°Ah...¡± Iris eximed shortly. ¡°I understand. I will do my best.¡±


    She smiled while gently grabbing Kang-Woo¡¯s clothes. The smile felt awkward for some reason.


    ***


    Fidelio regained his consciousness within the room filled with a scent of blood.


    ¡°G-Gaaarghh,¡± he groaned unpleasantly through his wrinkled lips. ¡°Kurgh! Hurgh! Huff!¡±


    Fidelio panted heavily as he trembled from the lingering pain.


    <i>¡®H-He¡¯s insane.¡¯</i>


    He recalled the young man with the sharp eyes. He could not describe the man with any other word than that.


    <i>¡®He and Iris are both insane.¡¯</i>


    No, the man Oh Kang-Woo had already gone far past the realm of insanity.


    <i>¡®He¡¯s a demon.¡¯</i>


    Fidelio swallowed his saliva mixed with blood. His teeth ttered and he shed tears. He felt like he was swimming across an endless sea of nightmares.


    <i>¡®I have to run away.¡¯</i>


    He needed to get away from that demon¡¯s grasp. But how?


    ¡°A-Arghh.¡± The chains binding him ttered noisily as Fidelio struggled frantically. ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    He twisted around with all his might to get away from that crazed monster¡¯s grasp. The chains dragged on his skin, widening his wounds and blood flowing out from them.


    ¡°Raaaaaahh!!¡±


    Fidelio was in excruciating pain, but his fear of the demon was greater. Fidelio thrashed about as if he was having a seizure. And then...


    <i>Clunk.</i>


    ¡°Huh...?¡±


    The chains covered in blood loosened slightly. Fidelio¡¯s eyes widened. As he moved left to right, he could feel the chains slightly loosening.


    <i>¡®F-Finally!¡¯</i>


    He had finally grasped an opportunity. Fidelio thrashed about even more aggressively to bleed more. The ecstasy of being able to escape overtook the pain of his flesh being ripped apart.


    <i>¡®I have to run away.¡¯</i>


    Before that demon came back... As soon as possible...


    <i>¡®I have to run!!!¡¯</i>


    Fidelio was freed from the chair.

 Chapter 354 - Escape (2)

    <h4>Chapter 354 - Escape (2)</h4>


    ¡°Huff, huff!¡±


    Fidelio managed to make it outside of the imperial castle through a secret passageway and was running across a forest.


    <i>¡®I-I did it!¡¯</i>


    He looked back; there were no pursuers.


    <i>¡®I did it!¡¯</i>


    A sensation of thrill ran down Fidelio¡¯s spine. He smiled as he was hit with an unbearable feeling of ecstasy.


    ¡°That crazy son of a bitch...¡±


    Great hatred soon reced his ecstasy. Fidelio bit his lip and clenched his fists. He recalled how Oh Kang-Woo hadmanded Iris to stab him while smiling coldly.


    ¡°U-Urghh.¡±


    Fidelio trembled. His boiling hatred was cooled by an even greater sense of fear.


    ¡°Shit, shit!¡±


    He anxiously bit his nails and turned to look back at the imperial castle. He had spent years working hard to be the true ruler of the empire in ce of that moronic and ipetent princess. He only needed to take a few more steps, but...


    <i>¡®Just like that...¡¯</i>


    It had been taken away by a brat that hade from who knows where, all too easily.


    ¡°Kuh!¡±


    Fidelio bared his teeth and clenched his fists to the point that veins popped out.


    <i>¡®For now... I have to run.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had massacred the shadow knights that Fidelio had selected and raised with his heart and soul, with just the snap of his finger. Not just that, he had a brother that had faced hundreds of demonic beasts by himself. Fidelio had no chance facing them head-on.


    <i>¡®I have to wait for my chance.¡¯</i>


    Fidelio¡¯s eyes sharpened. Although those two were powerful, there were only two of them; they would be no match for overwhelming numbers.


    ¡°I should... make use of the rebel army.¡±


    The gears in Fidelio¡¯s head turned quickly. Considering the situation, Kang-Woo had most definitely taken Iris¡¯s side.


    ¡°The fool.¡±


    Fidelio couldn¡¯t help but smile. He couldn¡¯t believe that Kang-Woo had decided to side with Iris of all people. Even if Iris could be easily controlled, it was far too reckless.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s bitch¡¯s reputation is far beyond irreparable.¡¯</i>


    With the addition of the false rumors that Fidelio had spread along with her usual behavior, Iris¡¯s reputation could not be any worse among nobles andmoners alike. Even ves badmouthed her.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll make you regret siding with her.¡¯</i>


    Fidelio bit his lip as his eyes set aze with hatred. He was nning on pushing Kang-Woo into the pits of hell by using Iris. Although Kang-Woo had done nothing to the people of the empire, it did not matter.


    <i>¡®The public are nothing but beasts.¡¯</i>


    The truth did not matter to them; they would believe anything that was exciting and entertaining. Just by letting loose a rumor that Iris and Kang-Woo were in a romantic rtionship, the public would spread it all on their own. If Fidelio added a little more spice on top of that, Kang-Woo would be an aplice to the witch in less than a month.


    <i>¡®However strong you are... I wonder if you¡¯d still be able to stand with the princess after making the entire empire your enemy?¡¯</i>


    Fidelio smiled while imagining his sweet revenge. Although it was difficult to manipte the truth, it was more than doable for him. After all, he had done it countless times to get to his current position.


    <i>¡®When ites to agitation and fabrication... No one has me beat.¡¯</i>


    Fidelio snickered and once again looked back at the castle. He had ended up getting a horrifying memory from the experience, but he felt like the fear encroaching on his mind was waning as he imagined his revenge.


    <i>¡®I have to run for now.¡¯</i>


    He had prepared safe houses all over the empire just in case. Fidelio limped away.


    ***


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± Fidelio sighed in relief.


    He had sessfully escaped to the Velen Viscounty located in the southern region of the empire by using a magic circle in a safe house near the capital. Viscount Velen was one of Fidelio¡¯s supporters, so there was no ce better than this to hide out.


    ¡°Have you heard the news?¡±


    ¡°Of course I did. It¡¯s been huge for the past few days.¡±


    ¡°How could such a thing have...¡±


    The streets were noisy. People were discussing things in all seriousness in bars, markets, and everywhere else.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯</i>


    Fidelio frowned. He knew very well of the circumstances in Velen; the fact that people who barely had the energy to speak from working their asses off to survive were making such a fuss was highly abnormal.


    <i>¡®I should figure out what¡¯s going on.¡¯</i>


    Fidelio pulled down the hood of his robe and entered a bar.


    ¡°Get me a beer and something to eat.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± a server boy energetically answered.


    He brought out lukewarm beer and thinly-sliced ham.


    ¡°Kurgh, ptooey!!¡±


    Fidelio spit out the extremely salty ham. The boy lowered his head while smiling awkwardly.


    Fidelio drank the lukewarm beer and asked the boy, ¡°Has something special happened? The streets are rowdy.¡±


    ¡°Something special? Could it be that you still haven¡¯t heard the news?¡±


    ¡°What news?¡±


    Fidelio tilted his head in confusion. The boy ran somewhere in a rush and brought over a newspaper.


    ¡°It¡¯s a scoop among scoops among scoops!¡±


    Fidelio took the newspaper from the enthusiastic boy and read the headline.


    [Has Prime Minister Fidelio been supporting the advent of the Evil God all along?]


    [Additional evidence discovered of Prime Minister Fidelio¡¯s connection to Evil God Lucifer.]


    [Prime Minister Fidelio makes an official appearance... <i>¡°I willply wholeheartedly with the investigation.¡±</i>]


    ¡°What?¡±


    Fidelio¡¯s eyes widened. He saw himself on the first page of the imperial newspaper, lowering his head while surrounded by countless journalists.


    ¡°Wh-What the hell?¡±


    What in the world was happening? He was connected to Evil God Lucifer? Even though he had wanted to rule the empire, he had never considered something as insane as joining forces with a demon.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not important right now.¡±


    Fidelio shook his pale head.


    <i>¡®Why...¡¯</i>


    Why was he, who had been hiding out in his safe house for the past few days, in the newspaper surrounded by journalists?


    <i>¡®C-Could it be a disguise?¡¯</i>


    Fidelio shook his head. It was beyond the level of a disguise. Although there was magic capable of changing one¡¯s appearance, he had never seen one that urate. Fidelio himself could not tell the difference, so it was no question for other people. He felt as if his doppelganger had appeared.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Fidelio panted heavily.


    Something was going horribly wrong.


    <i>Wham!</i> The door of the bar swung open.


    ¡°All of you! Come outside right now!¡±


    ¡°The broadcast has begun!¡±


    <i>¡®Broadcast?¡¯</i>


    Fidelio turned his head. There was only one thing in the empire known as the broadcast; it referred to a special magic tool made to deliver the words of the emperor to the people, and it could not be used without the permission of the imperial family.


    ¡°Come to the za!¡± a man shouted.


    People swarmed out of the bar. Fidelio stared at them nkly, but then sprang up from his seat soon after.


    ¡°I-It can¡¯t be.¡±


    Fidelio grew pale. The worst possible oue popped up in his head.


    ¡°N-No!¡± Fidelio shouted as he followed the others to the za.


    The za was already filled with thousands of people. There was a giant crystal orb in the middle of the za, and a video feed was shown from the light that came out of it.


    [Everyone.]


    Fidelio himself was in that video feed.


    [I will reveal the whole truth to everyone, right here and now.]


    He was kneeling on a tform with a haggard expression, seemingly tired from the long investigation.


    ¡°Wh-What the...? What is he trying to do?¡±


    [I had cast brainwashing magic on Princess Iris to control her from the shadows.]


    ¡°What?¡±


    [I had also spread false rumors to have her be unjustly branded as a witch.]


    ¡°What the fuck... are you... talking... about?¡±


    [On top of that, I had a ck mage attack the princess.]


    ¡°Y-Y-You...¡±


    [No, that is not all.]


    The grave sins that Fidelio hadmitted left his own mouth.


    [It is also true that I have connections to Evil God Lucifer and his forces.]


    ¡°S-Stop.¡±


    [No, it is not simply a connection.]


    ¡°Stop it.¡±


    [I also had a great part in his resurrection. It was truly an excruciatingly long ordeal.]


    ¡°I told you to stop.¡±


    [Oh, why would I help in the Evil God¡¯s resurrection, you ask? Why else but this?]


    ¡°Y-You...¡±


    In the video feed, Fidelio sneered as he had his head lowered while kneeling. He continued, [Because I am one of Lord Lucifer¡¯s servants.]


    ¡°You motherfuckeeeeeeeeerr!!¡±


    At the same time, the kneeling Fidelio stood up.


    <i>Rumble¡ª! Crack! Crush!</i>


    The chains binding him exploded.


    [Pfft, bwahahahahaha!!] Fidelio burst outughing. [Idiotic humans! How could you have been fooled so easily?!]


    <i>Crunch, crunch.</i>


    Goat horns sprouted from Fidelio¡¯s forehead, and bat wings spread out as they ripped through the skin of his back.


    [Even if you have found out the truth, it is already toote!]


    Fidelio, who had turned into a demon, raised his arms high and released demonic energy. The imperial guards around him coughed up blood and copsed.


    [This continent will meet its end by Lord Lucifer¡¯s hands!]


    Fidelio, the demon who had been controlling the empire in the form of a human, stomped aggressively.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    [Tremble in fear! Fall into despair! Meet your deaths before the great evil!]


    Fidelio pped his bat wings and flew up into the sky.


    [The time of the end is near!]


    And with that, Fidelio disappeared into a ck Rift.


    The za grew silent. The people could not even mutter amongst themselves from being unable toprehend what they had just witnessed.


    ¡°M-My God.¡±


    ¡°Why did such a thing...¡±


    As time passed, more and more people muttered, and was the trigger for various curses and screams.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Fidelio¡¯s mouth was agape amidst the chaos. He looked up nkly into nothingness with lifeless eyes.


    <i>¡®Wha... What is this?¡¯</i>


    The question continued to be posed in his mind over and over again. Fidelio remained trembling while standing still in the middle of the za. He could not follow the current situation. An hour passed, and then two, and three; he remained standing in the za despite everyone else having left. Only he was remaining in the darkness past midnight.


    <i>Step, step.</i> Fidelio heard someone walking toward him. He turned to see who it was, and then his eyes widened.


    ¡°Y-You...¡±


    It was Oh Kang-Woo, the young man with the sharp eyes.


    ¡°Youuuuuuuuuu¡ª!!¡±


    Fidelio¡¯s rage ate away at his sanity. He charged at the young man in a craze, but of course...


    <i>Bash!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    Fidelio, who was about to punch Kang-Woo, was blown back. Kang-Woo walked toward the copsed Fidelio.


    ¡°Sheesh, I can¡¯t believe you were Lucifer¡¯s servant. You really shocked me.¡± Kang-Woo raised his hands in shock.


    Fidelio red at Kang-Woo in hatred while biting his lip.


    ¡°You bastard...! Do you seriously expect people to believe such an absurd lie?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I do.¡± Kang-Woo snickered and aggressively stomped on Fidelio¡¯s head. ¡°After all, people only see what they want to see. They couldn¡¯t care less about the truth.¡±


    Fidelio knew it just as well; people believed anything that was exciting and entertaining.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Fidelio¡¯s face grew pale. He finally understood what sort of person the human¡ª no, the demon Oh Kang-Woo was.


    ¡°You¡¯re...¡± Fidelio trembled.


    Kang-Woo smiled and crouched next to Fidelio.


    Fidelio averted his gaze from him.


    He did not know how Kang-Woo had pulled off such a perfect disguise, but it was obvious who had won.


    ¡°Kill me.¡±


    Fidelio had lost before he could even have done anything.


    ¡°Pfft,¡± Kang-Wooughed and pped Fidelio on the back of his head. ¡°What are you, a general who lost after fighting valiantly? You¡¯re nothing but a shitty mutt who ran with his tail between his legs.¡±


    ¡°Kuh.¡± Fidelio grimaced.


    Kang-Woo snickered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I told you, didn¡¯t I? I won¡¯t kill you.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying... You¡¯ll let me live?¡±


    ¡°Of course, man.¡± Kang-Woo nodded with a smile.


    He could see a sliver of light in Fidelio¡¯s eyes. He was likely hoping to escape once again.


    <i>¡®After all, he escaped once before.¡¯</i>


    <i>Kekeke</i>. Kang-Woo suppressed hisughter from bursting out. This was perfect; rather than giving up hope within inescapable despair, it was far more painful to struggle in vain while holding onto hope.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s why I set you free.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo put his hand on Fidelio¡¯s head with a smile. ¡°Did you know?¡±


    ¡°Kn-Know what?¡±


    ¡°That demons... don¡¯t have a lifespan.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t die, even if they don¡¯t eat, drink or sleep.¡±


    ¡°What are you... trying to say?¡±


    ¡°Do you know...¡± Kang-Woo continued in a chilling tone, ¡°What happens when a human turns into a demon?¡±


    ¡°Kurgh! Aaargh!¡± Fidelio grunted in pain.


    Something was flowing into him... something ck and impure.


    ¡°The brain remembers how it feels to eat, drink and sleep, but the body doesn¡¯t.¡±


    Because the body was that of a demon.


    ¡°Humans that have turned into demons are forever haunted by endless hunger and thirst until they eat and drink something. However, those sensations don''t kill them.¡±


    No matter how much they wanted to die... No matter how agonizing it was, they could not die.


    ¡°Here¡¯s a brain teaser for you. If that human who turned into a demon... was imprisoned where no one could ever find them... with their limbs severed... What do you think would happen?¡± Kang-Woo asked. ¡°They would live forever while suffering from endless hunger and thirst... as if they were in a desert with no oasis... within unending despair.¡±


    Fidelio flinched. He looked up.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    He saw a demon with ck scleras, golden irises, and horizontal pupils like that that of a goat, looking down at him.


    ¡°Congrattions, Fidelio.¡±


    <i>¡®You won¡¯t die from old age.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 355 - Uncomfortable Lunch (1)

    <h4>Chapter 355 - Ufortable Lunch (1)</h4>


    Oh Kang-Woo was enjoying a rxing afternoon doing nothing after having to do nothing but work recently. He had his eyes closed on the bed with his head on Han Seol-Ah¡¯s thighs as she stroked his head.


    ¡°Fufu. Does it feel good?¡± Seol-Ah asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Seol-Ah giggled as she looked down at Kang-Woo humming every time she stroked his head.


    <i>¡®How cute.¡¯</i>


    She gulped as she looked down at him. It had been a while since they had enjoyed themselves in Aernor. It felt as if her anxious heart was calming down a little.


    <i>¡®Kang-Woo.¡¯</i>


    Seol-Ah carefully ced her hand on Kang-Woo¡¯s cheek. His warmth traveled up her hand and made her shiver.


    <i>¡®Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo.¡¯</i>


    mes of passion zed from within her heart, and her powerful impulses fanned the mes. Uncontroble obsession made her throat dry. She wanted Kang-Woo; she wanted to monopolize him. She wanted there to be no one but the two of them in the world.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Seol-Ah sighed in delight.


    She shut her eyes tight and quelled the mes zing within her heart.


    <i>¡®What am I thinking?¡¯</i>


    She shook her head to shoo away the thoughts that even she herself found to be chilling. She was not stupid enough to not know the catastrophe that would ensue if she were to do such a thing.


    <i>¡®Kang-Woo is doing his best to protect us.¡¯</i>


    She was already unable to be of much help, so she couldn¡¯t allow herself to get in Kang-Woo¡¯s way.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    Seol-Ah looked at the ring on her left ring finger and smiled in joy. Shivers of thrill spread throughout her body.


    ¡°He... Hehehe,¡± sheughed unbeknownst to herself.


    Although they could not hold a ceremony due to the situation they were in, they were already engaged. Seol-Ah couldn¡¯t hold back her smile as she thought about it.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m just so happy right now.¡± Seol-Ah smiled, but turned slightly serious soon after, having remembered what had happened recently. ¡°But I was so shocked. To think that kind-looking elderly gentleman was Lucifer¡¯s retainer...¡±


    ¡°I was just as surprised. I didn¡¯t expect him to be capable of such a thing.¡± Kang-Woo nodded with a serious expression.


    Seol-Ah continued in worry, ¡°Will it be alright?¡±


    Her question held many meanings. Evil God Lucifer as well as a demon who served him had appeared, the empire had been run by a demon this entire time, and they had no idea what the Demon of Prophecy had nned. They had far too many fires to put out before they could eliminate the Demon God¡¯s corpse and restore Earth¡¯s protection.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Kang-Woo smiled.


    It was not because he himself was the Demon of Prophecy or because the Evil God that had appeared this time was a fake. There were many beings in the way of their expedition, such as Demon God Bauli, the Constetions of Evil, Lucifer and Behemoth. Since that was all that Kang-Woo knew, there was likely much more that he did not.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    In the end, he woulde out victorious. As it had been for the past ten millennia, he would win once again and always in the future.


    ¡°Kang-Woo...¡±


    Seol-Ah smiled as she saw how certain Kang-Woo was. Just hearing him say that it was okay was enough to make the burdens in her heart vanish.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry at all, darling.¡±


    Kang-Woo turned around while lying down. He stuffed his face between Seol-Ah¡¯s thighs and tickled her stomach. The fat on her slender waist was very soft.


    ¡°Kyaaah!¡± Seol-Ah jumped and lightly smacked Kang-Woo¡¯s head. ¡°Jeez, Kang-Woo! What are you doing all of a sudden?!¡±


    She was scolding him, but she was smiling as if she couldn¡¯t be happier. Brightughter filled the room.


    ¡°You sure act like a child every now and then, Kang-Woo.¡±


    Seol-Ah lightly pinched Kang-Woo¡¯s cheeks after he turned back around.


    ¡°Do you dislike it?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Not at all,¡± Seol-Ah answered firmly as if telling Kang-Woo not to be absurd. ¡°I love you, Kang-Woo.¡±


    Seol-Ah leaned down and kissed Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Hehehe,¡± Kang-Woo giggled yfully.


    Others would shank him out of jealousy if they saw such a scene, but he didn¡¯t care.


    <i>¡®This is the life.¡¯</i>


    He was not surrounded by tentacles spewing pus nor subordinates crazed with battle. He was not under a red sky nor on aridnd. Kang-Woo could not stop the corners of his mouth from rising.


    Just then, Seol-Ah pped her hands together as if she had remembered something. ¡°Oh, right. Kang-Woo, Si-Hun called this morning.¡±


    Kang-Woo had been in the middle of formting a n to revive the empire with Iris in the morning.


    ¡°Oh, is he doing well?¡± Kang-Woo asked in happiness.


    Seol-Ah nodded with a smile. ¡°He joined La¡¯s group and has been to many different cities.¡±


    ¡°How did the people react?¡±


    ¡°Fufu. I¡¯m sure you already know the answer to that.¡±


    Kang-Woo smirked and nodded. He could already expect how the people of the continent would react to Kim Si-Hun even if Seol-Ah didn¡¯t tell him.


    <i>¡®They¡¯d obviously love him.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun was a hero who had appeared amidst the chaos of the empire. He was extremely handsome, powerful enough to face hundreds of demonic beasts by himself, well-mannered and good-natured. Considering Si-Hun matched almost every single criterion there was to be a hero, there was no way that the people would dislike him.


    <i>¡®Especially when...¡¯</i>


    The people were shocked after having just learned Fidelio¡¯s true identity. They were in desperate need of a hero to depend on when their fear of Lucifer was engulfing the continent whole.


    ¡°But... There seems to have been a bit of trouble,¡± Seol-Ah expressed.


    ¡°Trouble?¡± asked Kang-Woo, tilting his head in wonder.


    ¡°Yes. There was an incident where a few citizens with weapons in hand attacked Si-Hun.¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and stood up from Seol-Ah¡¯s thighs. ¡°It wasn¡¯t just a single urrence, right?¡±


    ¡°Ah... Yes. It apparently happened three times in total as he was going around different cities.¡±


    Seol-Ah stared at Kang-Woo, surprised that he knew.


    ¡°Tsk,¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    He had expected Si-Hun to be attacked while he was traveling around various cities, but hearing that it actually happened displeased him.


    ¡°Do you think... it had something to do with Lucifer?¡± Seol-Ah asked.


    ¡°No, probably not.¡± Kang-Woo shook his head.


    It was highly unlikely that the people who had attacked Si-Hun had anything to do with Evil God Lucifer.


    ¡°Then why would they...¡±


    ¡°Because powerless citizens weren¡¯t the only people that he saved.¡±


    Si-Hun had not only killed the demonic beasts swarming toward the imperial capital, but the ones rampaging in the party venue as well. Considering that Si-Hun had rescued Fidelio as well as the corrupt nobles that were sucking the citizens of the empire dry, they would naturally hold a sense of resentment toward him.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s like if someone stopped a monster rampaging in the National Assembly building from killing the corrupt politicians.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun would have been praised as a hero for doing so if the state of the empire had been good, but unfortunately, the people of the empire considered the nobles to be no different from demons.


    <i>¡®No, maybe worse.¡¯</i>


    The people might think that it was only natural for demons to be that way since it was their nature, but that was not the case for nobles.


    <i>¡®The people probably wanted the nobles to have a taste of their own medicine.¡¯</i>


    Whether it be by the hands of demons or by starvation, death was all the same. People likely thought that it would have been better for the nobles whom they resented so much to die with them.


    <i>¡®I need to root out the evil as soon as possible.¡¯</i>


    At this rate, there mighte citizens who join forces with demons when the empire reaches the brink of copse. Kang-Woo needed to clean up the empire as soon as possible.


    ¡°Oh... I see.¡± Seol-Ah nodded in understanding.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and continued, ¡°But it¡¯s okay. Most of them think highly of Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief. We need to make this n a sess as soon as possible... so we can get out of here,¡± said Seol-Ah while narrowing her eyes.


    ¡°Why? You don¡¯t like it here?¡±


    Kang-Woo tilted his head as if he couldn¡¯t understand. They were getting the best treatment here in the imperial pce that one would usually receive in a five-star hotel.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it.¡± Seol-Ah leaned her head toward Kang-Woo and sniffed him. ¡°I knew it.¡± She had felt a strange sense of uneasiness when she had kissed Kang-Woo earlier. She said while pulling on the bed sheet, ¡°You... seem to have been with that princess again today.¡±


    <i>Rip</i>. Not only did the bed sheet tear, Seol-Ah was also letting out sacred power without restraint.


    <i>¡®Huh? What¡¯s with her all of a sudden?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked down at his body in confusion. Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes shone coldly.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been... with that princess a lottely, haven¡¯t you? Not just that, she hasn¡¯t been rude to you unlike before.¡±


    ¡°Oh... You see, umm...¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly. It was hard to exin to Seol-Ah what had happened between him and Iris.


    Seol-Ah¡¯s expression froze. The powerful impulse that she had felt before shook her once again. ¡°Nothing happened with that princess, right, Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°Yes, nothing happened.¡±


    <i>¡®That¡¯s technically not true, but it wasn¡¯t anything that you should be worried about.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hmm. But why did the princess be so humble all of a suddentely? She seems to have been staring intently at you as well.¡±


    <i>¡®Hahaha, that¡¯s because I intimidated her after she was getting ahead of herself.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Are you going to be with Princess Iris tomorrow as well?¡±


    <i>¡®Yeah, we¡¯re up to our necks with work to clean up Fidelio¡¯s shit.¡¯</i>


    Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes sank deeply. She muttered as if she was holding something back with all her might, ¡°Okay... You¡¯re busy, so I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡± White light shone from her back and formed twelve beautiful wings. ¡°I¡¯m lonely because I haven¡¯t been able to spend any quality time with youtely, but... I¡¯m fine. I can handle it.¡±


    <i>¡®Your attitude says otherwise.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Seol-Ah sighed feverishly. She caressed Kang-Woo¡¯s neck and said, ¡°I love you, Kang-Woo.¡±


    <i>¡®Why are you saying that while caressing my neck?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Uhh, yeah. I love you too, darling.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly. Seol-Ah smiled and stood up; the twelve wings that had been on her back had disappeared before he had realized it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go prepare lunch. You can lie down and rest for a bit longer.¡±


    That was music to Kang-Woo¡¯s ears. Although the imperial pce always preparedvish feasts, nothing beat Seol-Ah¡¯s kimchi stew.


    Kang-Woo said as his mouth was watering, ¡°Okay. Thanks, darl¡ª¡±


    <i>ck.</i>


    Just then, the room door opened.


    ¡°Umm... Sir Kang-Woo.¡± Iris peeked into the room from behind the door and spoke restlessly, ¡°Would you like to have lunch together?¡±


    Kang-Woo momentarily felt as if winter hade in the room. ¡°No, I¡¯m gonna have lunch with Seol-Ah tod¡ª¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Seol-Ah smiled and continued, ¡°Let¡¯s all have lunch together, Iris.¡±

 Chapter 356 - Uncomfortable Lunch (2)

    <h4>Chapter 356 - Ufortable Lunch (2)</h4>


    <i>ck, ck.</i>


    The sound of silverware hitting echoed in the silent room. Han Seol-Ah, Oh Kang-Woo and Iris sat side by side at a long table that could fit twenty people. Yes, not across from each other, but side by side. Very close together, on top of that.


    Three people sitting extremely close together at such arge table certainly was an awkward sight to behold.


    ¡°Eat as much as you want, Kang-Woo. If you¡¯re still hungry, I¡¯ve made more,¡± said Seol-Ah while holding out kimchi stew that she had made by borrowing the pce kitchen.


    ¡°Our head chef made this grilled elroy, Sir Kang-Woo,¡± said Iris while holding out a grilled fish as if not to lose to Seol-Ah.


    Seol-Ah slightly pushed away the dish that Iris was holding and remarked, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but Kang-Woo isn¡¯t a fan of fish.¡±


    <i>¡®No, I¡¯d say I¡¯m a pretty big fan. You make me kimchi stew with saury in it all the time, darling.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo kept his mouth shut to prevent the words from leaving his mouth because he was certain that he was better off staying quiet in this situation.


    ¡°He was enjoying it quite a lot at the party though,¡± replied Iris while narrowing her eyes.


    Although she had ovee her fear of Fidelio, her twisted personality would not be unwound so easily just because of that. Iris was still domineering toward everyone except Kim Si-Hun and Kang-Woo, but Seol-Ah paid no concern to her attitude.


    ¡°My, is that so? He must have forced it down, then.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you just don¡¯t know Sir Kang-Woo that well.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense.¡±


    <i>Hohoho.</i> Seol-Ahughed, and Iris red at her. Kang-Woo simply lowered his head lifelessly from the war of nerves that was urring with him in between.


    <i>¡®Is this Hell? Did something go wrong while I was crossing to Aernor and end up in the Nine Hells?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo felt like he was in the middle of a blizzard. He carefully had a spoonful of the kimchi stew that Seol-Ah had made for him.


    <i>¡®Fuck.¡¯</i>


    He could barely taste the delicious kimchi stew. It felt as if he was eating right next to two ticking time bombs.


    <i>¡®Why are you two doing this to me?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at Iris bitterly. He also held bitter feelings for Seol-Ah for going out of her way to eat with Iris when she could have just refused, but Iris had been the trigger for this misfortune.


    <i>¡®I thought you fell in love with Si-Hun at first sight. Why do you keep sticking to me?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo bit his lip. He wondered if Iris had turned out this way because of the extreme measure he had used to help Iris erase her fear of Fidelio.


    <i>¡®But still, Si-Hun is far better than me in all aspects.¡¯</i>


    The difference in their looks aside, their attitudes could not be any more different. Kang-Woo had never treated Iris kindly; even in the process to help her ovee her fear, he had pushed her as far down as possible to make her reach rock bottom. He had not consoled her nor empathized with her pain. Rather, Si-Hun had been the one to console her; Kang-Woo had made Si-Hun ask how Iris was doing every single day to have him score some points with her.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun was doing pretty well.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had once eavesdropped on their call on themunication crystal, and Si-Hun had consoled her with words that would even make a fellow man fall for him. On the other hand, Kang-Woo had criticized Iris about why she had just let herself be beaten up, made her beg him for his help, and all sorts of other shit.


    <i>¡®So why...¡¯</i>


    ¡°Sir Kang-Woo, please have some of this grilled elroy before it gets cold. I had the head chef procure elroy of the finest quality just for you.¡±


    <i>¡®Why are you doing this to me?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had some of the grilled fish that Iris persistently held out to him. As expected, he could barely taste it.


    ¡°See? Look how unwell Kang-Woo¡¯splexion looks,¡± Seol-Ah remarked.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s because of the red soup that he ate earlier.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. It¡¯sughable how you talk about Kang-Woo when you don¡¯t know a thing about kimchi stew.¡±


    <i>¡®What?¡¯</i>


    Were people not allowed to talk about Kang-Woo if they didn¡¯t know what kimchi stew was?


    <i>¡®Mm, is that how it works?¡¯</i>


    It kind of made sense. Kang-Woo tilted his head and thought about the most useless things possible to get as far away from the war of nerves between the two women as possible.


    <i>¡®Kimchi stew. Kimchi stew. Kimchi stew is delicious. I can never get sick of it. Why is kimchi stew so good when it¡¯s just a mixture of kimchi and meat?¡¯</i>


    While Kang-Woo was off in kimchi stewnd, the conversation between the two women continued.


    ¡°Come to think of it, you must be awfully lonely, Princess Iris.¡±


    ¡°Lonely? Me?¡±


    Seol-Ah nodded with a smile. ¡°Since your beloved Si-Hun isn¡¯t here.¡±


    ¡°My heart ached for you when I saw you bawling your eyes out when Si-Hun left...¡± Seol-Ah sighed with her hand on her chest.


    Iris raised an eyebrow. ¡°Really? I had no idea.¡±


    ¡°You seemed to care deeply for Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, since Sir Si-Hun is like a brother to me.¡±


    ¡°My, that¡¯s the first time I¡¯m hearing of it.¡± Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes shone, and she continued, ¡°Then I guess you were quite the brocon.¡±


    ¡°Brocon?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a term for a person who holds excessive love for their biological brother.¡±


    ¡°Mm, I don¡¯t know about that. I did love my brother, but only as a brother.¡±


    Iris and Seol-Ah locked eyes with each other. Kang-Woo thought he saw sparks crackling in thin air.


    <i>¡®I wonder what the secret to the taste of kimchi stew is?¡¯</i>


    He wondered if there was some sort of hidden truth contained deep within. Kang-Woo continued to stare into nothingness.


    Seol-Ah pped her hands together and smiled radiantly. ¡°My, that¡¯s truly a relief, then. Since Si-Hun isn¡¯t your actual brother, you don¡¯t have to stop yourself from loving him beyond the level of a brother.¡± Seol-Ah nodded in session. She energetically clenched her fists and continued with good intentions, ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, Princess Iris. I will do my best to help so that you two can get closer.¡±


    Iris giggled and answered, ¡°Hohoho, there¡¯s no need for you to poke your nose into something that¡¯s none of your business.¡±


    Sparks crackled in the air again.


    Kang-Woo grabbed his hair. However much he wanted to think about useless things, this was not the time.


    <i>¡®I have to put an end to this.¡¯</i>


    This was the first time that he was able to rx ever since arriving in Aernor. Starting tomorrow, his schedule was once again full with cleaning up the evil in the empire, reviving the nation, and all sorts ofplicated tasks.


    <i>¡®I would¡¯ve just been on myptop by myself all day if I knew this was gonna happen.¡¯</i>


    Noah¡¯s Ark was still left unused in his breast pocket.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just have them both,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    He brought the grilled elroy and kimchi stew in front of him. Although it was a ton of food, he was confident that no one could beat him in terms of eating.


    <i>Slurp! Munch, munch!</i>


    Kang-Woo ate the food as if he were inhaling it. The food was disappearing at an extremely fast pace, and the food that could have easily fed ten people had vanished in a sh.


    <i>tter.</i>


    ¡°Fuuu. Thanks for the food. They were both delicious,¡± said Kang-Woo after putting down the empty dishes on the table.


    <i>¡®Though I could barely taste anything.¡¯</i>


    ¡°You must¡¯ve been starving, Kang-Woo. Would you like some more?¡±


    Seol-Ah raised a napkin in a sh and wiped the sauce off of Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine, darling.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then let¡¯s go back to our room. We should continue... where we left off.¡±


    Seol-Ah leaned on Kang-Woo while smiling seductively. An extremely warm and soft sensation traveled up his arm.


    <i>¡®Huh? What were we doing earlier?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo searched through his memories. He recalled Seol-Ah whispering that she loved him while caressing his neck, as well as the inexplicable sense of fear that he had felt.


    <i>¡®You want to continue that? No thanks. I¡¯m scared.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Unfortunately for you, Sir Kang-Woo has business with me today, so that won¡¯t be possible,¡± Iris interjected.


    <i>¡®And what¡¯s with you? I told you that we should start tomorrow. I wanna take a break today. No, I¡¯m gonna. I haven¡¯t taken a single break ever since getting to Aernor. The Noah¡¯s Ark in my heart hasn¡¯t even seen the light of day yet. Khadgar... I¡¯m sorry, man. So this is how you felt.¡¯</i>


    Silence fell on them once again. Seol-Ah and Iris, who had been ring at each other with chilly eyes, turned to face Kang-Woo at the same time.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to our room now, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°How can we postpone such crucial work for tomorrow? The citizens of the empire are suffering even at this very moment, Sir Kang-Woo.¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He needed to follow one of them, but it was thankfully not a difficult choice to make.


    <i>¡®Darling or Iris...¡¯</i>


    One was his beloved darling, who was seemingly implying that they were going to be doing something erotic back in their room, and the other was a princess with a screw loose who was trying to get him to do work that he was nning on doing tomorrow. It was a given who he would choose.


    ¡°I promised darling that I would stay with her today, so let¡¯s leave work for tomorrow,¡± said Kang-Woo as he took Seol-Ah¡¯s hand and stood up.


    Iris aggressively bit his lip as she trembled in rage.


    <i>¡®For fuck¡¯s sake, since when did you care for the citizens so deeply? Si-Hun will be back soon, so just endure it until then and stop bothering me,dy.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo thought that Iris was sticking so closely to him because Si-Hun was absent.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun... I need you. Please take this girl away from me. Having two wives isn¡¯t bad, is it? You¡¯re a protagonist, for God¡¯s sake. You shouldn¡¯t stick with just one heroine. I¡¯ll put in a good word with La.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone with desperation as he thought about his brother, who was traveling around the empire.


    ¡°Hoho, in that case, we¡¯ll be on our way. See you next time, Your Highness.¡± Seol-Ah waved leisurely while smiling like the victor.


    Iris red at Seol-Ah and then asked Kang-Woo, ¡°Come to think of it, you two are lovers, correct?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah. We are.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Iris looked back and forth at Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah with narrow eyes. ¡°Well, such a rtionship doesn¡¯tst forever.¡±


    Iris snorted. Seol-Ah¡¯s face slightly crumpled. She repeatedly opened and closed her fists, and then belt down.


    ¡°Oh no.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, darling?¡±


    ¡°I dropped my ring by ident.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    <i>¡®How could you have possibly dropped a ring that you were wearing by ident?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hohoho. I¡¯m sorry, Kang-Woo. I ended up dropping the precious <i>engagement ring</i> that you gave me.¡±


    Seol-Ah smiled brightly and held out the ring that Kang-Woo had given her as if showing it off.


    Iris grimaced aggressively as she trembled.


    ¡°Well then, Princess Iris.¡± Seol-Ah approached Iris. ¡°We¡¯ll be on our way. I¡¯ll do my best to help you so that your rtionship with Si-Hun works out well, so you don¡¯t have to worry at all.¡±


    Seol-Ah then brought her mouth close to Iris¡¯s ear and whispered something. She seemed to have used some sort of divine magic because Kang-Woo wasn¡¯t able to hear a word of it.


    ¡°Good day, then.¡± Seol-Ah smiled as she waved her hand.


    She dragged Kang-Woo along by the arm and headed out the door. <i>m</i>. The door closed.


    Iris, having been left alone, nkly stared at the closed door.


    ¡°Uuu...¡± She fiercely bared her teeth and grimaced. ¡°Urghhh!¡±


    <i>Wham! </i>Iris violently kicked the table. The words that Seol-Ah had whispered into her ear echoed in her mind.


    <i>- How dare you have your sights on my Kang-Woo?</i>


    ¡°Haaa! Haaa!¡±


    <i>- Know your ce, bitch.</i>


    ¡°Han... Seol-Ah...!¡±


    Iris aggressively clenched her fists. <i>Wham!</i> She kicked the innocent table once again.

 Chapter 357 - Supporter

    <h4>Chapter 357 - Supporter</h4>


    ¡°You¡¯re not sure?¡± Oh Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Yes... I-I¡¯m sorry, Sir Kang-Woo,¡± answered Iris while dragging her feet across the ground with her head lowered as if she hadmitted a grave sin.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and shook his head. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s nothing worth apologizing for.¡±


    The first step that they needed to take to revive the empire was to clear out the corrupt nobles that were sucking the citizens dry.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not as easy as it sounds.¡¯</i>


    The Arnan Empire¡¯s current political system was one of a centralized government with the emperor as the centralized power and various nobles managing their respective territories. Kang-Woo was not nning on starting a revolution, so it would be a problem if he just beheaded nobles left and right.


    An unmanaged territory was far worse than one managed by a corrupt noble. The weak were not virtuous by nature; they would rip each other apart to take charge of the vacancy left by the noble. Considering the nightmare that nations run over by anarchy faced, punishing all nobles in the current imperial system was insane.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t deprive the nobles of all their power either.¡¯</i>


    Back when Kang-Woo had just entered thebor force after justing out of the orphanage, he had heard a middle-aged man shouting in the streets that politicians needed to work without pay.


    <i>¡®What a fucking joke.¡¯</i>


    There of course needed to be modifications made to a certain extent, but providing people of power with the corresponding level of power and rewards was a necessary evil. There was absolutely no one in the world idiotic enough to do such work without pay.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s the same concept as a ss president.¡¯</i>


    There were very few people who actively raised their hands to be the ss president. The reason was simple; they were given responsibility and work, but gained nothing out of it. If nobles had all their power taken from them, they would not do the work they were obligated to do.


    <i>¡®In that case, I¡¯ll have to somehow distinguish between the corrupt nobles and the nobles that only use the rights vested in them.¡¯</i>


    The problem was that Iris was not knowledgeable enough about the empire to sort the nobles into those two categories. Although she was not an idiot, she had far too little information to work with due to Fidelio¡¯s intentional concealment of such information from her. At this rate, Kang-Woo would not be able to eliminate the corrupt nobles in Fidelio¡¯s faction.


    ¡°I know a few of them through rumors, but they¡¯re nothing but rumors,¡± Iris cautiously remarked.


    Kang-Woo nodded. He could not act on simple rumors.


    <i>¡®I need someone who¡¯s knowledgeable about the empire¡¯s politicalndscape.¡¯</i>


    However, such people had either moved over to Fidelio¡¯s side or been unceremoniously transferred due to Fidelio¡¯s death grip over the empire.


    <i>¡®Do I have no choice but to ask Fidelio directly?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was reluctant to do so. Fidelio was a clever man; the moment that he found out he held valuable information, he would do anything it took to use it to his advantage.


    <i>¡®I do have a way to make him talk, but...¡¯</i>


    It was difficult to gain surefire information using such a method. After all, the one who would be saying the information was Fidelio himself; he would be using his own standards to name the corrupt nobles.


    <i>¡®It would be like gathering a bunch of pieces of shit and asking them who is worse.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was in dire need of someone who knew very well about the empire¡¯s politicalndscape.


    ¡°Do you happen to know someone well-versed in this topic?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Mm. Just a second, please.¡± Iris closed her eyes as if she was organizing the information in her head. She then eximed and opened her eyes. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°He used to be the imperial head mage. I¡¯m sure he would be very knowledgeable about the situation in the empire.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He had a feeling that he knew who the imperial head mage that Iris was referring to.


    <i>¡®That perverted son of a bitch is well-versed in politics?¡¯</i>


    He recalled the face of the mage that had almost changed the age rating of the novel with La. Just recalling him made Kang-Woo sigh.


    ¡°Haaa.¡±


    Kang-Woo thought for a moment to see if he had any other options, but there was no way that he would think of something so conveniently.


    ¡°Let me give him a call and¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay.¡± Kang-Woo shook his head and took out a crystal orb.


    Iris became wide-eyed. ¡°You knew about Dous?¡±


    ¡°Well... I happened to make his acquaintance.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly. To be honest, he also weed having Dous as a supporter.


    <i>¡®Since there¡¯s no one who knows about high elves better than him.¡¯</i>


    Making Kim Si-Hun the hero of the continent, saving Iris if that could be called saving, and reviving the empire was all to have a high elf manifest in Aernor. A schr of high elves such as Dous would no doubt be of great help to their n.


    [What is it?] Dous¡¯s voice came out of themunication crystal.


    Kang-Woo took a nce at Iris. He said, ¡°Dous.¡±


    <i>¡®It¡¯s time for you to stop watching ero manga and work.¡¯</i>


    ***


    ¡°Y-Your Highness...¡± Dous, who rushed to the capital as soon as he received Kang-Woo¡¯s call, froze as soon as he saw Iris. His wrinkled face was filled with regret, guilt and rage. ¡°... I heard about Fidelio.¡±


    The news that he was Lucifer¡¯s servant had already long since spread throughout the continent to the point that even Dous, who lived alone in the magic tower, heard about it.


    ¡°I knew he was a greedy and evil man, but to think he was a servant of the Evil God!¡± Dous kneeled in front of Iris and lowered his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I... should have been here to protect you, no matter what happened.¡±


    The past never returned. No matter how quickly one regretted their actions, it was already toote. Dous stared at Iris pitifully. The Iris that he knew was a kind and delicate girl. Even if Fidelio had run away, he expected her body and soul to be broken to the point that it would be impossible for her to get through daily life due to the trauma that Fidelio had inflicted on her.


    ¡°No. I¡¯m fine, Dous,¡± Iris stated.


    ¡°... Your Highness?¡±


    Dous became wide-eyed. Iris, whom he had thought would be in agony from the daily nightmares of Fidelio, lookedpletely fine.


    ¡°Though I still get angry whenever I think of what I had to go through because of that motherfucker.¡±


    ¡°Y-Your Highness?¡±


    Dous flinched from the deep madness and thick bloodlust that he was feeling from Iris. The kind and delicate girl that he knew was no longer there; she had been reced with a ferocious beast covered in bloodlust.


    <i>¡®What in the world...¡¯</i>


    How could the girl who used to tremble in fear just from looking at Fidelio in the eyes have changed so much? Dous stared at Iris in perplexity.


    ¡°Her Highness has ovee her fear of Prime Minister Fidelio with her strong will,¡± Kang-Woo informed.


    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Sir Kang-Woo.¡± Iris smiled brightly and embraced Kang-Woo¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Mm. I¡¯m not entirely certain what happened, but...¡± Dous slurred.


    He was not sure why Iris, who always used to treat anyone but Reynald bluntly and temperamentally, was so close to Kang-Woo, but...


    ¡°I am... truly relieved.¡±


    Dous smiled. It was far better to see Iris happy, albeit a little aggressive, than trembling in fear.


    ¡°Thank you foring back, Dous,¡± Iris remarked.


    ¡°Not at all. I should be the one thanking you for calling back this useless old man who failed to protect you, Your Highness.¡±


    Dous got on one knee and lowered his head. Kang-Woo smiled as he looked at Dous.


    <i>¡®Thank God he didn¡¯t say that he was going back to his secluded life.¡¯</i>


    Iris had practically no supporters, so Dous would be a reliable ally as well as her strength.


    ¡°More importantly, why have you called me?¡± Dous asked.


    He had still not been informed of the specifics of the situation.


    Kang-Woo handed Dous the list of nobles of the empire he had received from Lilith and stated, ¡°We would love to throw a party for you if we had enough time, but considering the circumstances, we have to get started right away.¡±


    Although he felt sorry for ving Dous away as soon as he came all this way, this was not the time to feel sorry.


    <i>¡®I have to get to those damn corrupt nobles before they cut off all ties with Fidelio.¡¯</i>


    As soon as Fidelio was discovered to be the servant of Evil God Lucifer, the nobles of Fidelio¡¯s faction were erasing all evidence of their ties with Fidelio like a lizard cutting off its own tail to escape a predator. They were lowering taxes and distributing goods to the people of their territory in hopes that they would not get caught up in the storm.


    <i>¡®I won¡¯t let them get away.¡¯</i>


    There was no way that a human who discovered the sweet taste of desire for the first time would reflect on and atone for their sins in the true sense.


    <i>¡®No, even if they do, the sins that they have alreadymitted don¡¯t disappear.¡¯</i>


    They had already dropped countless citizens into the pit of despair. Kang-Woo would not let them act like they had turned over a new leaf.


    ¡°Please pick out the nobles that had sided with Fidelio in this list. Oh, even if they didn¡¯t side with Fidelio, please pick them out anyway if they had ever tyrannized the citizens.¡±


    ¡°Mm,¡± Dous groaned as if he was in a predicament.


    Kang-Woo was worried that Dous did not know much about the empire¡¯s politicalndscape as he had hoped, but Dous had fortunately groaned for a different reason.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a lot,¡± Dous expressed.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±


    Punishing corrupt nobles en masse would temporarily brew chaos, but it was far better than leaving them be.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll punish them to an extent.¡¯</i>


    Considering the circumstances, Kang-Woo needed to be flexible. He knew that wishing only for virtuous nobles to manage territories was nothing but a naive ideal.


    ¡°Understood. In that case, I will first pick out the nobles that sided with Fidelio,¡± Dous said as he quickly worked through theplex pile of documents as if proving that he used to be the head imperial mage. ¡°First, Duke Delfio and Marquess Vander. They¡¯re the worst of the bunch.¡±


    Dous organized the documents containing the details of each noble at breakneck speed. Viscount Velen, whom Kang-Woo had met on his first day in Aernor, was among the pile of documents for the nobles in Fidelio¡¯s faction.


    ¡°I¡¯ve picked out the sons of bitches in Fidelio¡¯s faction first,¡± Dous remarked.


    ¡°There are quite a lot,¡± Kang-Woo mentioned.


    ¡°... He wasn¡¯t a demon for nothing.¡± Dous sighed and continued, ¡°He either purged or demoted every noble that went against him.¡±


    ¡°Are you among his victims?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Dous did not answer, but his silence was enough of an answer.


    ¡°How should we deal with these nobles...?¡± Kang-Woo turned his head toward Iris.


    Iris answered without hesitation, ¡°Execute them.¡±


    Thick bloodlust emanated from her eyes. Dous expressed shock, not having expected Iris to make such an extreme choice.


    ¡°A-All of them?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes. All nobles that have any sort of connection to Fidelio must die,¡± Iris answered firmly, then looked toward Kang-Woo with sparkling eyes like a dog waiting to be praised.


    Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly and nodded. ¡°It is a suitable punishment for what they have done.¡±


    ¡°... Are you sure it will be alright? Each of their private armies are a force to be reckoned with.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Kang-Woo shrugged.


    Kang-Woo¡¯s party was so powerful that nothing but a deity would be able to face them. The likes of private armies of nobles were of no consequence to them.


    ¡°We should first punish the nobles connected to Fidelio and think about what to do after¡ª¡±


    <i>ck!</i>


    The room door suddenly opened while Kang-Woo was talking. An unbelievably handsome man entered the room.


    ¡°Si-Hun?¡±


    ¡°Sir Si-Hun?¡±


    Kang-Woo was left wide-eyed as he stared at Kim Si-Hun. He had heard that Si-Hun would being back soon, but he had not expected him to be this quick.


    <i>¡®Alright, perfect timing, man.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked down at Iris, who was looking up at him with sparkling eyes. He had been waiting for someone who would be able to pry Iris off of him.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo gave Si-Hun a look and pointed at Iris. This was the perfect chance for him to score some points with Iris. Possibly having understood Kang-Woo¡¯s message, Si-Hun approached the group without hesitation.


    <i>¡®Yes, good! Now, if you embrace Iris and say some shit like </i>¡°I¡¯ve missed you, Your Highness,¡±<i> she¡¯ll fall head over heels for you!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction while imagining Si-Hun and Iris¡¯s heartfelt reunion. However, unlike what he had hoped, Si-Hun stormed right past Iris.


    <i>¡®Huh? He walked past her?¡¯</i>


    <i>Grab!</i>


    ¡°I¡¯ve missed you, hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    <i>¡®Not me, you stupid son of a bitch.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 358 - Ruining Our Great Work

    <h4>Chapter 358 - Ruining Our Great Work</h4>


    <i>¡®Why me, you dumbass?¡¯</i>


    Oh Kang-Woo turned anxiously to look at Iris. For his n to seed, it was a necessity for the hero and the imperial princess, in other words, Kim Si-Hun and Iris, to maintain an amicable rtionship.


    <i>¡®You have to make the high elf take as much of an interest in you as possible, dammit. Do I really have to spell everything out for you?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had discovered from when Iris had seen through his Authority of Stealth that the blessing of the high elves imbued in Iris was considerably powerful. There was a high chance that the high elves would have great interest in the one that they had blessed.


    <i>¡®Even if they don¡¯t treat her like their own child like Gaia does to her retainers...¡¯</i>


    They would at least treat Iris better than other people. Kang-Woo felt as if the ideal hero-princess picture in his mind was falling apart.


    <i>¡®I might have to... make some aggressive moves.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo would have to push a little more aggressively for Iris and Si-Hun¡¯s rtionship to bloom. Iris already had feelings for Si-Hun, so it would not be difficult to do as long as Si-Hun cooperated.


    ¡°Yeah. I missed you too, Si-Hun.¡± Kang-Woo pushed aside his thoughts for now and patted Si-Hun¡¯s shoulder. He had actually missed Si-Hun as well after all these weeks. ¡°How did your interactions with the citizens go?¡±


    ¡°They were extremely passionate. Haha, I felt like I¡¯d be an idol or something.¡± Si-Hun scratched his head in embarrassment.


    Kang-Woo smirked. <i>¡®Cute son of a bitch.¡¯</i>


    No idol could everpare to Si-Hun in terms of looks, so seeing him so embarrassed was rather cute. Kang-Woo patted Si-Hun¡¯s shoulder and turned toward Iris.


    ¡°You should greet the princess as well, Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Si-Hun eximed, having only just realized that he was told to form good rtions with the princess. ¡°I apologize, Your Highness. I was so distracted that I failed to see you.¡±


    ¡°Hoho. I-It¡¯s alright! I already knew that you two are very close.¡± Iris, who had been staring nkly at the two of them, hurriedly smiled and bowed to Si-Hun.


    Seeing that, Kang-Woo chuckled. <i>¡®Well, well. You got jealous, huh?¡¯</i>


    From Iris¡¯s reaction, she seemed to have been saddened by the fact that Si-Hun hade to Kang-Woo before her.


    <i>¡®I was a bit worried, but it seems it was needless.¡¯</i>


    Her jealousy was good news, especially if it was to the point that she was bothered by the fact that Si-Hun had taken care of his older brother, despite them both being men. It showed the extent of Iris¡¯s feelings for Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®Should I stimte those feelings a bit more?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo approached Si-Hun and lightly hit his shoulder. ¡°I was bored without you around, Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°H-Hyung-nim...¡±


    ¡°I heard you were attacked a few times. Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Haha! Okay. I¡¯m d you¡¯re unhurt, Si-Hun.¡±


    Kang-Woo purposefully unted his intimacy with Si-Hun.


    ¡°Ngh...¡±


    Like Kang-Woo had thought, Iris was biting her lip in frustration while staring at him and Si-Hun. Kang-Woo smiled widely.


    <i>¡®Man, I might actually get two sisters-inw at this rate. I¡¯ll have to think of a way to persuade Later.¡¯</i>


    ¡°That aside, Si-Hun. I¡¯m sorry to say this as soon as you¡¯vee back, but...¡± Kang-Woo prioritized what they needed to do first and foremost. He handed Si-Hun the documents that Dous had sorted. ¡°Capture everyone in these documents and bring them to me.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Si-Hun expressed.


    Kang-Woo nodded. The people of the empire thought worse of the nobles than they did demons. To revive the nation as well as publicize Si-Hun as a hero, Si-Hun himself needed to step up to punish the nobles.


    ¡°Who are they?¡± asked Si-Hun.


    ¡°Nobles that sided with Fidelio.¡±


    Si-Hun¡¯s eyes turned menacing as soon as Fidelio was mentioned. It had been exposed while he was traveling the nation, but it had been such a massive incident that he had also heard about Fidelio¡¯s true identity; he was the servant of Evil God Lucifer. The nobles that had sided with him likely did not know that Fidelio was a demon, but their actions had been no different from that of demons.


    ¡°... I guess I¡¯ll have to head out right away.¡± Si-Hun stared at Kang-Woo in disappointment, his eyes seemingly asking Kang-Woo if he coulde with him this time.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and shook his head; he had far more things to do.


    <i>¡®Moreover...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t be bothered to. It was far too much of a hassle. He was already far too busy to spend any time with his darling, so he did not want to take on any more bothersome work.


    <i>¡®The little brother is supposed to take on all the chores, Si-Hun. If you¡¯ve got a problem, just get older than me.¡¯</i>


    ¡°I understand. I will punish them myself.¡± Si-Hun summoned his holy sword while exuding bloodlust.


    Kang-Woo shook his head. ¡°No. Bring them to me without killing them.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡± Si-Hun¡¯s eyes widened in confusion.


    ¡°Iris needs to dere their execution herself in front of the people. Oh, since we have to give a speech to let the public know of every single one of their crimes, make sure to record any evidence you find with a crystal.¡±


    ¡°S-Sir Kang-Woo?¡± Iris expressed confusion this time.


    Hearing that she needed to give a speech before the citizens, she looked at Kang-Woo anxiously.


    ¡°I told you that I would let you take back what¡¯s yours.¡± Kang-Woo ced his hand on Iris¡¯s shaking shoulders. ¡°Nothing will change from before if you just leave everything to Si-Hun.¡±


    Iris¡¯s image of witch had considerably disappeared after the reveal of Fidelio¡¯s true identity, but there was no way that the people of the empire would amicably view a princess that had been controlled by a demon. Her reputation as a witch had simply been reced by that of an ipetent princess.


    <i>¡®I need to show them that Iris is punishing the nobles personally.¡¯</i>


    Only then would the people praise and acknowledge her.


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll do my best!¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not enough. You have to do well. Anyone can do their best.¡±


    ¡°Urgh...¡± Iris lowered her head in dejection.


    Kang-Woo chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll help you write your speech and teach you how to present it.¡±


    Kang-Woo had done it many times while he had ruled over Hell as the Demon King. He was very knowledgeable in grabbing people¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Okay!¡± Iris answered energetically.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you then, Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°I understand, hyung-nim.¡± Si-Hun bowed and turned around.


    Kang-Woo felt a little guilty as he looked at the back of his little brother, who was leaving for business as soon as he came back.


    ¡°At least take a break for today,¡± Kang-Woo suggested.


    ¡°I cannot. There¡¯s a chance that some of these nobles are associated with Lucifer. I am not feeling unwell in the slightest, so I will head out immediately.¡±


    ¡°Uhh, mm. Got it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for worrying about me, hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo grew even more guilty.


    <i>¡®Ngh. Well, it can¡¯t be helped. He says that he¡¯s fine. I didn¡¯t force him in any way. Yup, yup.¡¯</i>


    ¡°In that case, let us move on.¡± Kang-Woo handed Dous the remaining pile of documents. It was the list of nobles that had no direct rtions with Fidelio. ¡°Please pick out the nobles that had conducted wrongdoings unrted to Fidelio.¡±


    ¡°Mm. This is moreplicated. Understood.¡± Dous nodded and began to sort through the documents. ¡°Marquess Bera. He runs arge ve market in the northeastern region of the empire. He had no rtion with Fidelio because he was so far out along the border, but he is known for his evil conduct.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to worry about him. He¡¯s already dead.¡±


    ¡°Dead? Ohh... During the party venue incident?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Dous nodded in understanding and continued to sort through the documents. ¡°Mm, but the nobles with no direct rtions with Fidelio are difficult to charge with sins. After all, not many arepletely free of sin.¡±


    Dous picked out a few more while groaning. Kang-Woo picked up the pile and handed it to Iris.


    ¡°Princess Iris,¡± Kang-Woo called respectfully.


    ¡°Ah, yes!¡±


    ¡°Please read through these documents and decide how you will deal with the nobles.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Iris nodded. And then... ¡°Death, death, death.¡±


    She held up the golden seal that symbolized the authority of the imperial family and stamped it on every single document without hesitation. Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth fell open.


    <i>¡®What the... I told you to decide after reading through them, youngdy.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was about to say something, but sighed while shaking his head. He could not bring himself to say anything since he himself had been the one to make Iris this way.


    ¡°Wha...¡± muttered Dous all of a sudden, so silently that no one but Kang-Woo could have heard it.


    Dous looked down at a single document, and then took it out of the pile to stuff in his pocket.


    <i>Grab.</i>


    ¡°Wait.¡± Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes narrowed after grabbing Dous¡¯s wrist. ¡°What was that just now, Dous?¡±


    ¡°Oh, y-you see...¡± Dous broke into a cold sweat.


    ¡°You¡¯re not trying to pardon a noble just because you have personal ties with them, are you?¡±


    ¡°N-Not at all! I simply sorted it elsewhere because their action wasn¡¯t enough to be considered evil toward the people!!¡± Dous shouted.


    ¡°Then why did you put it in your pocket?¡±


    ¡°W-Well...¡±


    Dous¡¯s eyes quivered. Kang-Woo took the document out of Dous¡¯s pocket.


    ¡°Baron Lisanagi,¡± Kang-Woo read.


    Like Dous had said, the noble was only using the powers vested in him. No, his territory was so small that he did not have much power in the first ce, so it certainly was ambiguous to sort him as evil.


    ¡°Why did you take him out of the pile, Dous?¡± Kang-Woo red at him while emitting bloodlust.


    Dous trembled, being faced head-on with the bloodlust of the Demon King.


    He stuttered, ¡°B-Baron L-Lisanagi is... a phenomenal p-porn artist.¡± He gulped.


    ¡°... Pardon?¡±


    <i>¡®A phenomenal what artist?¡¯</i>


    ¡°He draws excellent porn... H-He is like a god in our industry! H-He mustn¡¯t be sentenced to death!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent, and his eyes red up.


    ¡°For a reason like that...¡±


    <i>¡®For a stupidly pathetic reason like that...¡¯</i>


    The floor of the imperial pce that he was standing on cracked like a spider web with him at the epicenter.


    ¡°... You¡¯re trying to ruin our great work?!¡± Kang-Woo expressed rage as he mmed his fist down on the table.


    ¡°Is your brain down in your groin?! You¡¯re thinking about porn in this situation? Hah! You should be embarrassed!¡±


    ¡°M-My apologies.¡± Dous lowered his head.


    Kang-Woo turned away from Dous in exasperation.


    <i>¡®What the hell is he thinking?¡¯</i>


    He had not expected Dous, whom he had trusted, to stab him in the back like this.


    <i>¡®If only I wasn¡¯t helped by him in the past...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo would not have left Dous be. He turned around while quelling the rage within him.


    ¡°I will go get some water.¡±


    He felt he would be unable to handle his boiling blood from spread throughout his body if he stayed here any longer. Kang-Woo opened the office door.


    ¡°... Sir Kang-Woo.¡±


    Just then, Iris approached him. She put her hand in his left breast pocket and took out a document that had been neatly folded and ced in there before anyone had realized it. It was the documents containing Baron Lisanagi¡¯s personal details.


    ¡°You forgot to leave the document here,¡± said Iris.


    ¡°...¡±


    <i>¡®Oh.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 359 - Spamming Underplots

    <h4>Chapter 359 - Spamming Underplots</h4>


    The n to root out the evils of the empiremenced. Kim Si-Hun went to each and every noble of Fidelio¡¯s faction that sucked the citizens of the empire dry, and subdued them.


    The nobles tried to stop Si-Hun by arming their knights, soldiers and even the people of their territory, but it was a pointless effort. Si-Hun barged into the territory all on his own, neutralized the citizens who had been forced to fight, and forced out the corrupt nobles.


    The other nobles who had heard about Si-Hun¡¯s actions tried to run without putting up resistance or making any excuses, but it was near impossible to run from the extremely fast Si-Hun with exceptionally heightened senses.


    Not just that, as if letting out the rage that had been suppressed all this time, the citizens stepped up to help Si-Hun by telling him in real time where the nobles ran to. Hence, the nobles of Fidelio¡¯s faction, who had literally be the public enemy of the entire empire, were soon thrown in jail and could do nothing but wait for the sentence that Iris would give them.


    ¡°Fufu. He sure is working hard. I wonder if it¡¯s to make himself look good to you, Master Kang-Woo?¡± Lilith giggled as she organized the report.


    Oh Kang-Woo turned toward her. ¡°How is the progress?¡±


    ¡°They have almost all been captured. The status of the nobles that had been demoted by Fidelio are also being restored.¡±


    ¡°Make sure you keep an eye on them as well. Just because they didn¡¯t take Fidelio¡¯s side doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re clean.¡±


    ¡°Fufu. After what¡¯s happening right now? Even if they have evil desires, they wouldn¡¯t dare act on them as long as Si-Hun is here.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡± Kang-Woo nodded. Regardless of whether it was of their own will or someone else¡¯s, the nobles would no longer be able to do whatever they wanted. ¡°That aside, have you found out who that woman is yet?¡±


    Kang-Woo recalled the woman who had made the Lucifer Coin prices plummet as soon as it skyrocketed.


    Lilith shook her head. ¡°No, not yet. However, I am acquiring more and more informants in Aernor as well. I should be able to gain some information about her soon.¡±


    ¡°Really? How did you get informants?¡±


    ¡°Fufu. Would you like to know?¡±


    Lilith smiled widely and turned a portion of her hair to a green tentacle. It wriggled up Kang-Woo¡¯s arm while spewing sticky mucus. Kang-Woo turned pale.


    ¡°... No.¡±


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t wanna know.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hoho. Well then, I will be on my way to expand my informationwork more.¡± Lilith lightly waved her hand and turned around.


    Kang-Woo was about to ask who she was using as informants, but decided not to.


    <i>¡®It doesn¡¯t do me any good to know.¡¯</i>


    He felt sorry for the poor victims of Lilith¡¯s tentacles, but it was none of his business.


    <i>¡®As long as it¡¯s not me, it¡¯s all good.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t care less about who they were. He nodded and turned away from Lilith.


    ¡°Oh right, Master Kang-Woo,¡± Lilith mentioned.


    ¡°H-Hm?¡± Kang-Woo flinched and turned back toward Lilith.


    ¡°Balrog ising back today, apparently.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone. Balrog¡¯s party, who had been traveling throughout the nation along with Si-Hun, had separated from Si-Hun again to investigate the entire continent.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s been about a month.¡¯</i>


    Time flew by after everything that Kang-Woo had to do.


    <i>¡®I might as well go out to greet them.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled and stood up.


    ***


    ¡°Kang-Woo!¡±


    Echidna ran toward Kang-Woo with a radiant smile and jumped into his arms. As if proving that she was a dragon, she was squeezing his waist with immense force despite her small stature.


    <i>¡®You¡¯re gonna break my spine, Echidna.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo chuckled and patted Echidna¡¯s head. ¡°How¡¯ve you been?¡±


    ¡°Hm! Hm! Kang-Woo! Kang-Woo!¡±


    Echidna was breathing heavily with her face buried in Kang-Woo¡¯s embrace, having no leeway to answer.


    <i>¡®Since when were dragons a breed of dog?¡¯</i>


    Echidna was taking in Kang-Woo¡¯s scent to an excessive degree. She rubbed her nose around Kang-Woo¡¯s sr plexus area and shouted happily, ¡°Hm! Sniffing Heaven [1]!¡±


    <i>¡®What the hell does that mean?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo tilted his head from the unfamiliar phrase. Balrog walked up to him before he had a chance to ask Echidna what it meant.


    ¡°Have you been well, Master Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. And you?¡±


    Kang-Woo waved at Balrog happily. He couldn¡¯t help but smile for some reason after seeing Balrog after a month.


    ¡°U-Urgh! M-Move!¡± Halcyon yanked away Echidna, who had been rubbing her face on Kang-Woo.


    He looked like a frail girl on the outside, but he was an ancient demonic beast; he was far stronger than the princes of Hell in terms of physical strength, so there was no way that Echidna would be able to handle such power.


    ¡°Ack!¡±


    Echidna red at Halcyon after being thrown back. Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and lightly conked Halcyon¡¯s head.


    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Kang-Woo scolded.


    ¡°Hng...¡± Halcyon became teary-eyed as he grabbed his forehead.


    Kang-Woo walked past him and grabbed Echidna¡¯s hand to help her up. He lightly brushed off the dirt on her butt and asked, ¡°How did it go?¡±


    ¡°I was lonely because you weren¡¯t with me,¡± answered Echidna.


    ¡°No, not that. Did you manage to find anything?¡±


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t really have my hopes up, though.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had told them to find clues regarding the Demon God¡¯s corpse, but it had been nothing but an excuse to send them away to prepare a stage for Si-Hun so that he could monopolize the achievements.


    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t really have my hopes u¡ª¡±


    ¡°We did find something a little suspicious,¡± Cha Yeon-Joo interjected.


    ¡°What?¡± Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. ¡°Something suspicious?¡±


    Yeon-Joo shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure. I didn¡¯t really see anything off about it, but Balrog thought it was a huge deal.¡±


    Kang-Woo turned toward Balrog. Balrog slowly closed his eyes and took something out of his pocket. It was a box the size of a palm; Kang-Woo opened it.


    ¡°Sand?¡± It was red sand. As Kang-Woo was about to ask what was so special about it, he suddenly froze. ¡°This is...¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are correct.¡± Balrog nodded. ¡°It is dirt from the Nine Hells.¡±


    Kang-Woo scooped up the red sand from the box and licked a little of it. He detected the bitter taste of blood and a minuscule amount of demonic energy within it. It was the dirt that made up thend of the Nine Hells.


    ¡°... Fuck.¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned. His head was in jumbles. Why would dirt containing demonic energy exist in Aernor?


    ¡°Where did you find this?¡±


    ¡°A town in the northern region of Aernor.¡±


    ¡°A town?¡±


    ¡°I say town, but... it was not one inhabited by people. It had be a ruin as if it had been attacked by monsters.¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He touched the red dirt in the box again.


    ¡°Were there any demons or demonic beasts in the area?¡± he asked.


    ¡°None,¡± answered Balrog.


    ¡°How far was the dirt spread?¡±


    ¡°About a hundred meters.¡±


    ¡°And nowhere else?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but the demonic energy itself was spread throughout the town.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent. A ruined town and the affected area spanning over about a hundred meters... There was extremely little information, but there were not many possibilities to choose from.


    ¡°... Someone must¡¯ve performed a summoning ritual,¡± Kang-Woo surmised.


    There was a good chance that the residents of the town had be sacrifices of the summoning ritual that the Demon Cult used to perform on Earth.


    Yeon-Joo grimaced and asked, ¡°Does that mean there¡¯s an organization like the Demon Cult here as well?¡±


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    <i>¡®The Demon Cult... The likes of the Demon Cult...¡¯</i>


    He firmly replied, ¡°The Demon Cult couldn¡¯t do something like this.¡±


    Yeon-Joo frowned as if she couldn¡¯t follow. ¡°What do you mean? The Demon Cult bastards sacrificed people to perform summoning rituals all the time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where you''re wrong.¡± Kang-Woo continued with sunken eyes, ¡°The Demon Cult made considerable investments for just one summoning ritual.¡±


    However, not once had thend of the Nine Hells been transported, nor had the summoning spanned a hundred meters, not even when Balrog had been summoned.


    ¡°But these guys managed to perform such arge-scale summoning by using people from a mere town as a sacrifice,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    There would be a few dozen people, at the very least, in a town located near the border of the empire, and it would not exceed three hundred.


    <i>¡®Especially if there hadn¡¯t even been a single report regarding the incident...¡¯</i>


    It meant that the town had been an extremely small one with not even a governing lord.


    <i>¡®With such a small number of people...¡¯</i>


    They had seeded in such arge-scale summoning with regr people who farmed for a living in a remote town as sacrifices, not even yers or other powerful individuals. Not even Kang-Woo would be able to do such a thing.


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo licked his lips. The bitter taste of blood from the red dirt lingered in his mouth. His boiling blood traveled throughout his body. <i>Ba-dump, ba-dump.</i> His heart beat rapidly. He felt anxiety, uneasiness, displeasure, and...


    ¡°Interesting.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled. Shivers of thrill ran down his spine. He had not gotten this feeling in a very long time. His demon instincts were stirred. An unknown enemy... A prey that was hiding within the darkness, waiting to strike... The desire to find and devour that prey made Kang-Woo¡¯s blood boil.


    <i>¡®I wonder who it could be?¡¯</i>


    He had no idea; he had nowhere near enough information.


    <i>¡®Well, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smirked and cooled down his boiling blood. It did not matter who it was, what they were nning, nor how much power they were amassing.


    <i>¡®Besides...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo woulde out victorious in the end. He had always done so, and would continue to do so in the future.


    ¡°Is that all that you¡¯ve found?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Yes. We were not able to find anything else,¡± answered Balrog.


    ¡°Mm. Let Lilith knowter so she can investigate it as well.¡±


    ¡°As youmand.¡±


    Balrog bowed deeply. Kang-Woo fell into thought as he looked down at Balrog.


    <i>¡®I want to head to that town this instant, but...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had things that he needed to do. He let go of his desire and shook his head.


    <i>¡®If Balrog says that he wasn¡¯t able to find anything else...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo wouldn¡¯t be able to find anything either, even if he went. Focusing on the task at hand was the right call.


    <i>¡®Although it¡¯s almosting to an end.¡¯</i>


    Making Si-Hun the hero of the continent, returning the authority of the imperial family to Iris, reviving the empire, and giving the people something to lose...


    <i>¡®I¡¯m still one step short.¡¯</i>


    Si-Huncked just one decisive factor that would not be supplemented just by subduing corrupt nobles and saving citizens from demonic beasts.


    <i>¡®Si-Huncks legitimacy.¡¯</i>


    To the people of the empire, Si-Hun was literally a hero who had fallen from the sky. He was being praised at the moment because he had aplished such incredible feats, but there were bound to be people who would criticize him for that factor. It was only natural, since Si-Hun was not a citizen of Arnan. To make aparison, it was as if a national crisis in Korea had been resolved by a foreigner who had appeared out of nowhere.


    <i>¡®He¡¯d be treated the same way as General MacArthur.¡¯</i>


    Although General Dous MacArthur was considered a hero among Koreans, he was not as famous as Korean heroes.


    <i>¡®Anyway...¡¯</i>


    Although Si-Hun was being sufficiently treated as a hero at the moment, there was a way to have him be hailed even more as a hero.


    <i>¡®A way to resolve Si-Hun¡¯s legitimacy as well as raise people¡¯s opinions of Iris at the same time.¡¯</i>


    ¡°La, I have something to tell you,¡± said Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Ah, okay. What is it, Kang-Woo?¡± As La was thinking hard about what she had heard about the summoning, she turned her head as Kang-Woo suddenly called her.


    ¡°Well, I have to ask for your understanding, to be more exact.¡±


    ¡°My understanding?¡±


    Kang-Woo grabbed La¡¯s shoulders and continued, ¡°I want Si-Hun and Iris to be engaged.¡±


    1. This was much more explicit, but I was ufortable tranting it that way since a child is saying it. ?

 Chapter 360 - Engagement Announcement

    <h4>Chapter 360 - Engagement Announcement</h4>


    ¡°Pardon?¡± La stared at Oh Kang-Woo wide-eyed, unable to understand the out-of-the-blue statement. She stuttered, ¡°Wh-What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about a real engagement,¡± Kang-Woo mentioned.


    ¡°Oh.¡± La fell into thought for a moment with her hand on her chin, and then nodded as if she understood what Kang-Woo meant. ¡°You must be thinking of solidifying Si-Hun¡¯s foothold in the empire by announcing his engagement with Iris.¡±


    She had been able to figure out Kang-Woo¡¯s intentions with ease.


    ¡°Correct.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    Marriage was an excellent political move; it had been used many more times in history for political purposes rather than for love, especially among those in power.


    Kang-Woo said, ¡°Si-Huncks legitimacy at the moment.¡±


    ¡°I get what you mean,¡± La agreed.


    Kim Si-Hun was already considered a hero by the majority of the continent, but his announcement of engagement with the imperial princess would consolidate his position even more.


    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that make the other nations wary of him?¡± La asked.


    Si-Hun needed to be the hero of Aernor, not the hero of the Arnan Empire. His engagement with Iris might be a bad move in that aspect, since the fact that he was not affiliated with any nation at the moment was a weapon in its own right.


    ¡°Mm,¡± Kang-Woo expressed. It was a valid argument, but... ¡°Although there are other nations in Aernor, the Arnan Empire¡¯s status is farrger than any of them.¡±


    It was easy to see, considering the entire continent was using the currency known as the Arnan.


    ¡°Also, it isn¡¯t just for Si-Hun to be acknowledged by the people of the empire,¡± Kang-Woo added.


    ¡°You¡¯ve even thought about the high elves.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    As long as Iris was blessed by the high elves, it was fair to assume that she had more of a connection with them than anyone else.


    ¡°From the perspective of the high elves, they would want nothing more than Si-Hun and Iris to get together,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    High elves were beings of godhood that possessed Divinity, so they likely possessed intelligence just like Gaia. Kang-Woo did not know how much interest they had in the matters of Aernor, but they probably would not think negatively of the matrimony between the one that they had blessed and the savior of the continent.


    ¡°Have you told Si-Hun and Iris?¡± Gaia asked.


    ¡°No, not yet.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with it as long as Si-Hun is okay with it as well. I would have qualms about it if it were an actual engagement, but... It¡¯s fake anyway.¡± La smiled gently.


    <i>¡®She sure gets it.¡¯</i>


    No matter how Kang-Woo looked at it, La was far better than Gaia. Kang-Woo smiled and bowed to La.


    ¡°Thank you very much for understanding.¡±


    As long as he acquired La¡¯s approval, the rest was easy. Si-Hun would do anything that Kang-Woo asked of him, and Iris had feelings for Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®They can take this chance to get closer to each other.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo felt sorry for La, but the ultimate goal was for Iris and Si-Hun to get together for real. Iris¡¯s current mental state was highly unstable, and there was nothing better to heal the mind than getting together with the one you love.


    <i>¡®I feel bad for her too.¡¯</i>


    Although it had ultimately been Iris¡¯s choice, Kang-Woo felt guilty about pushing her to the point that her mind hadpletely broken. There was no better opportunity than this to get rid of the nuisance that had been bothering himtely as well as to atone for his actions.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun, a protagonist has gotta have at least two heroines. She¡¯s a bit loco, but I¡¯m sure you can make it work.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo headed to the imperial pce while smiling in satisfaction.


    ***


    ¡°An... engagement?¡±


    Iris¡¯s eyes shook. She was reacting more strongly than La.


    <i>¡®No wonder.¡¯</i>


    It was only obvious since she had feelings for Si-Hun. She was likely cheering inside her head.


    ¡°I say engagement, but it¡¯s not a real one.¡±


    Kang-Woo gave her a short exnation. He naturally could not tell her that it was to manifest a high elf, so he told her instead that it was necessary to revive the empire.


    ¡°Oh...¡± Iris expressed.


    Kang-Woo smirked and put his hand over her shoulder. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so disappointed.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°Although it¡¯s fake, you¡¯ll be engaged to each other. You¡¯ll have far more opportunities to be together, just the two of you.¡±


    They needed to be together very often to fool everyone around them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try to make the fake engagement into a real one. I¡¯ll help you the best I can,¡± Kang-Woo said with a smile.


    Iris fell silent. She seemed to be confused by the sudden suggestion of an engagement, especially since it was a fake one.


    ¡°What did... Sir Si-Hun say?¡± she asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s okay with it. He said that his heart was pounding from the fact that he would be engaged with you, even if it is fake.¡±


    Kang-Woo did not forget to add some MSG. Iris¡¯s gaze wavered even more.


    ¡°His heart... pounded?¡±


    ¡°It means that Si-Hun has at least some feelings for you.¡±


    Si-Hun had actually said nothing of the sort, but it didn¡¯t matter. Kang-Woo needed to do at least this much to act as the cupid that would progress their stagnant rtionship.


    ¡°I see.¡± Iris lowered her head, conflicted.


    Kang-Woo smiled brightly and cheered Iris on. ¡°From what I see, you two suit each other very well. Don¡¯t be too disappointed that it¡¯s fake and do your best. Anyway, save it as a surprise announcement for the people around the end of your speech.¡±


    Iris stared at Kang-Woo, who stood up to leave, with mixed feelings and then asked, ¡°Umm... Sir Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°I would like to ask you something.¡± She averted his gaze while twiddling her fingers. ¡°If I be engaged to Sir Si-Hun... Will my time with you lessen?¡±


    ¡°I guess it would, yeah.¡±


    Regardless of whether it was true or not, everyone in the empire, nobles andmoners alike, would think that Si-Hun and Iris truly were engaged. If Iris were to stick to Kang-Woo in that situation like she was as ofte, bad rumors were bound to spread.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s nothing but good for you, since you¡¯ll be able to spend that much more time with Si-Hun.¡±


    Kang-Woo lightly patted Iris¡¯s shoulder and turned around. <i>ck</i>. He opened the door and left the room.


    Iris, who was left in the room by herself, stared at the closed door in silence.<i> Crunch, crunch</i>. She temperamentally bit her fingernails while continuing to stare fixated at the door.


    <i>- Hohoho. I¡¯m sorry, Kang-Woo. I ended up dropping the precious </i>engagement ring<i> that you gave me.</i>


    Han Seol-Ah¡¯sugh suddenly fluttered in her ears.


    <i>Crunch! </i>Blood flowed down from the fingernail that she was biting.


    ¡°Engagement.¡±


    Iris stood up as she swayed. She continued to say that word repeatedly in madness.


    ***


    ¡°Now, don¡¯t be nervous. You memorized the speech, right?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Yes, in full,¡± Iris replied.


    ¡°Just be confident.¡±


    The day that Iris would sentence the nobles that Si-Hun had captured arrived. The za was filled with people who hade to watch the ruling, and the broadcast that had been used during the Fidelio incident was also on. Iris looked down at the za anxiously, and then slowly walked forward.


    ¡°Look! It¡¯s Princess Iris!¡± someone yelled.


    However, the reception was not great.


    ¡°Tsk. What could a princess that was controlled by a demon possibly do?¡±


    ¡°Anything but an innocent ruling...¡±


    Everyone gathered in the za was looking up at Iris with worry and uneasiness. Iris shut her eyes tight.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m not scared.¡¯</i>


    She clenched her fists.


    <i>¡®This is nothingpared to back then.¡¯</i>


    Iris slowly opened her eyes and opened her mouth in front of the magic tool that amplified sound.


    ¡°Citizens of the empire.¡± Iris continued, ¡°I am... an ipetent princess.¡±


    Deathly silence fell. Everyone looked up at her in confusion, not having expected the princess herself to say such a thing.


    ¡°I was deceived by a demon in human clothing, and simply watched as the empire grew diseased.¡±


    The mumbles among the people grew louder.


    ¡°I will not make excuses.¡± Iris raised her head high. ¡°I was ipetent and powerless. I abandoned my duty as an imperial princess and averted my eyes from my suffering subjects. But no longer. No longer will I avert my eyes from my duty.¡±


    Iris extended her arm toward the nobles tied up in the za and shouted firmly, ¡°I will make the parasites that have gued the empire until now pay for their crimes!¡± She yelled toward the imperial guards, ¡°Death to these parasites!¡±


    The za fell silent for a moment, and then...


    ¡°Waaaaaaaaaahhh!!!¡±


    The people gathered at the za cheered at Iris¡¯spletely unexpected decision.


    ***


    ¡°It¡¯s going very well.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled as he looked down at the cheering citizens. They were all cheering for Iris, whom they all thought to be an ipetent princess, personally sentencing the corrupt nobles to death.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s usually unthinkable.¡¯</i>


    No matter how grave a crime noblesmitted, they were usually never executed unless they had instigated a rebellion. They were usually exiled or put under probation.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m sure there would be bacsh from other nobles, but...¡¯</i>


    It did not matter since they had Si-Hun. As long as he stood by Iris¡¯s side, the nobles could notin in any way. The execution progressed smoothly. The nobles who had not expected to be sentenced to death were noisy, but they were all soon beheaded.


    ¡°Waaaaaahhh!!¡±


    ¡°All hail Princess Iris!¡±


    ¡°All hail Sir Kim Si-Hun!!¡±


    The people gathered at the za cheered while shouting Si-Hun and Iris¡¯s names every time a noble was executed. Si-Hun, who was standing next to Iris, waved at the people while smiling awkwardly.


    ¡°And... I have something else to say to you all,¡± Iris mentioned.


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone.


    <i>¡®Oh, she¡¯s finally announcing it.¡¯</i>


    The engagement between Si-Hun and Iris, the final step of the hero n that he hade up with ever since hearing about the legend of the high elves, was about to be announced.


    ¡°I, Iris von Arnan, have promised to marry the hero that had saved the empire from crisis.¡±


    ¡°Waaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!¡±


    <i>¡®Jesus, look at that reaction. They¡¯re going wild when the hero¡¯s name hasn¡¯t even been mentioned yet.¡¯</i>


    ¡°The name of the hero whom I will be spending the rest of my life with is...¡± Iris slowly turned her head. ¡°... Oh Kang-Woo.¡±


    <i>¡®Mhm. Yeah.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    <i>¡®What? Oh Kang-Woo?¡¯</i>

 Chapter 361 - Madness Bends to Even Greater Madness (1)

    <h4>Chapter 361 - Madness Bends to Even Greater Madness (1)</h4>


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Oh Kang-Woo muttered.


    <i>¡®Why did she say my name?¡¯</i>


    His eyes shook. He quickly looked toward Iris; she was looking his way with a very wide smile, quivering as if she couldn¡¯t be any happier than this moment.


    ¡°You motherf...¡±


    The back of his head rang with pain, and his mind was in jumbles. He asked himself why, but he was able toe up with an answer soon enough. It was simple... so simple that he felt stupid for not having realized it sooner.


    <i>¡®Iris¡¯s feelings have... switched from Si-Hun to me.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t understand why he had been unable to pick up on the changes in Iris¡¯s affections.


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists. He knew exactly why. He was highly sensitive to emotions; he was well-versed in reading them as well as controlling them. After all, he was a demon. He had spent ten millennia in a world run by desires.


    However, he was unskilled in reading others¡¯ affections for him¡ª no, he was unable to feel it. One could say that he had be insensitive or broken. He had not felt such a thing for far too long. His life had been one of endless desperate battles to extend his survival; everything unrted to victory had been atrophied. He was unable to pick up on subtle changes in one¡¯s affection unless that affection was clearly transmitted to him verbally. Hence, he had missed the changes in Iris, and had made an error.


    <i>¡®Shit. I thought I¡¯d gotten better.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo thought that he had learned much about it after meeting Han Seol-Ah, but he had been sorely mistaken. He could hear mumbling from all around the za.


    ¡°Oh Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°Who is that?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the hero who saved the empire be Sir Kim Si-Hun?¡±


    The people who had been cheering just a few seconds ago were looking at each other in confusion due to the mention of apletely unexpected name. It was only natural; although Kang-Woo was fairly well-known on Earth, only a handful of people knew about him in Aernor because he had purposefully concealed his identity.


    <i>¡®This is bad.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo bit his lip while staring at the mumbling people. This was the worst possible situation. He had purposefully hidden his identity because he was trying to focus the attention of the high elves on Si-Hun. If the attention of the empire¡¯s citizens were to be focused on Kang-Woo, so would the attention of the high elves. Worst-case scenario, they would find out that he was the Demon of Prophecy.


    <i>¡®I mean, I guess I¡¯ll still be fine since I have Gaia¡¯s guarantee.¡¯</i>


    After Kang-Woo became the Protector of Light, he would be recognized as Gaia¡¯s retainer by all those who possessed Divinity. Hence, not even the high elves would easily be able to figure out his true identity.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    It did not change the fact that Iris had ripped apart the n that he had pictured in his mind. The gears in his head turned quickly. He needed to resolve this situation, even if he needed to use unreasonable means.


    ¡°Sir Kang-Woo...¡± Iris approached Kang-Woo while teary-eyed. She smiled and then whispered, ¡°Please give me a ring as well.¡±


    Her eyes were filled with twisted desires.


    <i>¡®Authority of Subordination.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and linked his consciousness with that of Kim Si-Hun, who was standing next to Iris. Si-Hun was left flustered by the train of events that hadpletely derailed from the original n.


    <i>- Si-Hun.</i>


    ¡°H-Hyung-nim?¡±


    <i>- You don¡¯t have to speak out loud.</i>


    <i>- What¡¯s going on? The n was supposed to be¡ª</i>


    <i>- Iris acted on her own.</i>


    <i>- Then...</i>


    Si-Hun was staring at Kang-Woo, not knowing what to do.


    <i>- Just do as I say.</i>


    Si-Hun was about to say something, but refrained from it and nodded. He listened to Kang-Woo¡¯s instructions, and then grabbed Iris¡¯s hand as she was walking toward Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Princess Iris. People will get the wrong idea if you call me by that name,¡± he expressed.


    ¡°H-Huh?¡± Iris stared at Si-Hun, unable to understand what he was talking about.


    ¡°You should only call me that... when we¡¯re by ourselves.¡±


    Si-Hun smiled gently and caressed Iris¡¯s cheek. He pulled Iris along and stood in front of the voice amplification magic tool.


    ¡°As you all know, I am not a citizen of Arnan.¡± Si-Hun calmly continued, ¡°In my hometown, children are given two names.¡±


    Kang-Woo was having Si-Hun spout absurd bullshit.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no other way.¡¯</i>


    He was trying to scoop back up water that had already been spilt, so it was naturally very clumsy.


    <i>¡®But even so...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes lit up. In the end, people only saw what they wanted to see, listened only to what they wanted to listen to, and trusted only what they wanted to trust.


    <i>¡®And they want Si-Hun and Iris to be a couple. If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯ll work.¡¯</i>


    Even if it was unreasonable and didn¡¯t make sense, Kang-Woo was certain that it would work for sure.


    ¡°I received names from both my mother and father. The name that Princess Iris has said is the one that my mother has given me.¡±


    ¡°Ohhhh,¡± the people gathered at the za expressed.


    Instead of it sounding more like they understood, their expression gave off more of a feeling that they were wondering if that meant Si-Hun and Iris were getting engaged.


    Si-Hun smiled brightly. ¡°Yes, Princess Iris and I have gotten engaged.¡±


    ¡°Waaaaaaaaahhh!!¡±


    ¡°<i>Whistle! Whistle!</i>¡±


    The people who had been confused began to cheer while whistling again.


    ¡°Urgh, n-no! I...!¡±


    Just as Iris was about to shout something while fiercely frowning, Kang-Woo stepped up.


    ¡°Iris,e here for a second.¡±


    ¡°Sir Kang-Woo?¡±


    Kang-Woo pulled Iris by the wrist in a way that would attract as little attention as possible. He made Iris step down from the tform while Si-Hun was distracting the people, and then red at her in anger.


    ¡°What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±


    ¡°U-Umm...¡± Iris lowered her head while stuttering. She started toe up with a poor excuse like Kang-Woo had. ¡°You said that I needed to be engaged to a hero of the empire for the nation to be revived. You are just as great of a hero as Sir Si-Hun, but people don¡¯t know that yet, so I thought I would take this chance to tell them of your aplishments...¡±


    Because Iris knew nothing of Kang-Woo¡¯s circumstances, she seemed to have been bothered by how no one knew of his achievements.


    Kang-Woo frowned. ¡°When did I tell you to do that kind of shit?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry.¡± Iris lowered her head in dejection.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue as he looked over at the people of the za who were waiting for Iris toe back up to the tform.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about thister. Get back up there and finish your speech.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Iris nodded while on the verge of tears.


    Thankfully, she managed to get through the rest of her speech without any issues. The people chanted Si-Hun and Iris¡¯s names, and the two of them came down from the tform while showing how close they were to everyone. Kang-Woo went back to his room after watching the speech to the very end.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s my fault for not realizing sooner, but...¡¯</i>


    Iris was ultimately responsible for acting on her own.


    <i>¡®I should scold her sternly.¡¯</i>


    It had been difficult for Kang-Woo to be stern with Iris due to her unstable mental state, but it would be bad if something like this happened again. Kang-Woo put his hand on his forehead as if it hurt.


    ¡°How did this happen...?¡±


    Nothing would change even if he knew Iris¡¯s feelings for him. He had no intention to be with another woman as long as Seol-Ah was with him.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Just then, something popped up in his head.


    <i>¡®Seol-Ah?¡¯</i>


    Come to think of it, Seol-Ah had been nowhere to be seen from around the midpoint of the speech. Kang-Woo¡¯s face turned pale.


    ¡°Wait.¡±


    He quickly got up and ran toward Iris¡¯s room. <i>Wham!</i> He swung open the door.


    ¡°Fuck.¡±


    Iris was nowhere to be seen in the empty room.


    ***


    A blonde woman slowly opened her eyes in a pitch-ck room, tied to a chair.


    ¡°H-Huh?¡± Iris looked around as if she couldn¡¯t understand what was going on. ¡°Wh-Where am I?¡±


    She tried to get up from the chair, but she heard the sound of chains ttering. Only then did she realize that she had been chained up.


    ¡°Wh-What the¡ª?¡±


    A chill ran down Iris''s spine. Shebed through her memories.


    <i>¡®After the speech... I separated from Sir Si-Hun and went back to my room, and then...¡¯</i>


    She had no memory of anything after that.


    ¡°Ngh! Urgghhh!¡±


    Iris twisted and turned madly, but she could not escape from the shining chains.


    <i>Creak.</i> A door opened.


    ¡°Wh-Who¡¯s there?!¡± Iris turned her head toward the sound to see a woman ring at her coldly. ¡°Han... Seol-Ah...?¡±


    Seol-Ah approached her slowly. ¡°You¡¯ve done something quite interesting this time.¡±


    ¡°Ngh...¡±


    ¡°I believe I told you before...¡± Seol-Ah yanked on Iris¡¯s hair and said with a voice filled with bloodlust, ¡°... That you should know your ce.¡±


    ¡°Urgh...!¡± Iris bared her teeth ferociously. She leaned toward Seol-Ah as if trying to leap at her and shouted, ¡°Shut up! Sir Kang-Woo loves me far more than the likes of you!¡±


    Iris recalled her memories with Kang-Woo and the feelings that they shared while stabbing Fidelio. The emotions and pleasures that she had felt were not hers alone; she was sure that Kang-Woo had also felt the same way.


    ¡°I can no longer... live on without... Sir Kang-Woo.¡±


    Iris red at Seol-Ah in madness. Kang-Woo had saved her¡ª no, he had given her a push for her to be able to stand on her own. He had taken her out of Reynald¡¯s shadow, which she had been hiding within all this time.


    Silence fell. Seol-Ah bent forward and grabbed her stomach.


    ¡°Pfft.¡± Theugh she was suppressing spilled out. ¡°Kang-Woo loves you more, you say?¡± The corners of Seol-Ah¡¯s mouth rose as if mocking Iris. ¡°That¡¯s enough of your delusions, Iris. I can¡¯t believe you still have the gall to say that after seeing this.¡±


    Seol-Ah waved her left hand with the ring on her ring finger in front of Iris.


    Iris¡¯s face froze. Seol-Ah slowly walked up to her, raised her hand and slowly caressed Iris¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°To be honest, I was fine with Lilith, Echidna, and... even Yeon-Joo. I could endure it if it were them,¡± Seol-Ah expressed.


    Iris was unable toprehend what Seol-Ah was talking about.


    ¡°But...¡± The light in Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes disappeared, and those eyes pointed toward Iris. ¡°... Not you. I can¡¯t let someone like you be with Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Ngh...! Wh-Why am I the only one?!¡± Iris shouted while frowning.


    Seol-Ah slowly lowered the hand that was caressing Iris¡¯s cheek. ¡°Because...¡± Seol-Ah¡¯s hand traveled from Iris¡¯s cheek to her chin. ¡°You...¡± And then to her neck. ¡°... Don¡¯t love Kang-Woo.¡± And then to her chest.


    ¡°What?¡± Iris froze,pletely dazed by Seol-Ah¡¯s iprehensible answer. ¡°What are you talking about?!¡±


    Seol-Ah giggled. ¡°What am I talking about, you ask? I¡¯m sure you know that better than I do.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong! I lov¡ª¡±


    ¡°You love him?¡± Seol-Ah shook her head. ¡°No. You don¡¯t love Kang-Woo.¡± Seol-Ah looked Iris straight in the eyes with her own eyes filled with thick bloodlust. ¡°You¡¯re just trying to use him.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened for you to have ended up this way, but... You just want Kang-Woo because you need someone to depend on.¡±


    Iris had been protected by someone all her life. By Reynald, Si-Hun, and...


    ¡°You simply chose Kang-Woo to rece your deceased brother.¡±


    ¡°Y-You¡¯re wrong!¡± Iris screamed.


    There was no way that she had chosen Kang-Woo to rece Reynald. She had barely managed toe out from the shadow to stand on her own two feet, so there was no way that she was trying to hide within someone else¡¯s shadow again.


    ¡°I¡¯m wrong?¡± Seol-Ah burst intoughter. ¡°Really? Do you really think so?¡±


    Silence fell once again. Iris trembled in pallor.


    ¡°No... No. I love Kang-Woo. I didn¡¯t want him so I could hide behind him. Wh-Who do you think you are to be spouting bullshit like that?!¡± Iris shouted madly as she red at Seol-Ah with bloodlust.


    Seol-Ah crouched while licking her lips to be with Iris at eye level.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter even if you don¡¯t know. Honestly, it doesn¡¯t matter even if I¡¯m wrong, and you truly do love Kang-Woo. After all...¡±


    Seol-Ah slowly extended her hand. An enormous amount of energy poured out from her.


    ¡°Eek!¡± Iris trembled in pallor.


    Seol-Ah smiled widely. Pure-white wings sprouted from her back. Madness so thick that it couldn¡¯t even bepared to that of Iris poured out from her.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to love Kang-Woo anymore.¡±


    The twelve wings on Seol-Ah¡¯s back radiated blinding light.

 Chapter 362 - Madness Bends to Even Greater Madness (2)

    <h4>Chapter 362 - Madness Bends to Even Greater Madness (2)</h4>


    ¡°What do you...¡±


    Iris¡¯s eyes quivered. Fear took over her body and paralyzed her sense of reason. She felt as if she was in a nightmare¡ª no, as if she hade face to face with her nightmare.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    Her legs tied to the chair shook, and she lost all strength in her lower body. She could feel her dress getting wet, but she was not in any condition for her face to get red from humiliation.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m gonna die.¡¯</i>


    The only thing on Iris¡¯s mind was death. Even without the radiant twelve wings on Han Seol-Ah¡¯s back, the woman in front of her was more terrifying than anything she had ever experienced.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m gonna die. I¡¯m gonna die. I¡¯m gonna die.¡¯</i>


    At this rate, she would die. The bloodlust aimed at her blew away all other thought.


    ¡°Fufu. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Seol-Ah smiled widely. ¡°There¡¯s no way I would kill you, Iris.¡±


    She ced her hand on top of Iris¡¯s head while smiling crazily. Pure-white light poured out from her hand.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Iris¡¯s eyes turned hazy. She could feel her body being taken over by the colossal light pouring out from Seol-Ah¡¯s hand.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    Golden light burst out from Iris as if putting up resistance. Seol-Ah expressed surprise as the golden light and white light shed in the air.


    ¡°This must be... the power of the high elves.¡± It was more powerful than Seol-Ah had expected. ¡°But... It won¡¯t be able to block this.¡±


    Seol-Ah added more power while giggling softly.


    <i>Boom¡ª!</i>


    Just then, the door that had been protected by white light exploded. Seol-Ah turned her head in surprise.


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo?¡±


    A man with sharp eyes had barged into the room while destroying the door. It was the man that Seol-Ah loved more than anything else.


    Oh Kang-Woo remained silent after entering the room, and frowned as he stared at the shing of golden and white light.


    ¡°Stop,¡± he stated.


    ¡°Kang-Woo, I was¡ª¡±


    ¡°I told you to stop.¡±


    Seol-Ah flinched. Kang-Woo¡¯s tone of voice was so cold that she almost doubted that it hade from him. She was stricken with fear.


    ¡°Kang-Woo, I...¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Kang-Woo knew exactly what Seol-Ah was about to do, and why she had done something like this. He narrowed his eyes.


    <i>¡®Seraph¡¯s power has grown stronger.¡¯</i>


    The obsession that had grown stronger, along with the power of the angels within Seol-Ah, was taking control of her. Kang-Woo walked up to Seol-Ah. Resolving the most urgent matter took priority.


    ¡°Kang-Woo, please listen to m¡ª¡±


    ¡°Just stay still for now, darling.¡±


    There was only one way to resolve this matter; Kang-Woo yanked Seol-Ah toward him and french-kissed her.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes widened as the thrill traveled from her tongue throughout her body. And then...


    ¡°Huh? Wh-What was I just...¡±


    Seol-Ah looked around in confusion. The obsession that had taken control over her slightly died down, and her sense of reason came back.


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo. I-I¡¯m sor¡ª huh? Wh-Why did I...¡±


    Kang-Woo embraced the panicking Seol-Ah and remarked, ¡°Just focus on calming down. Close your eyes, take deep breaths, and empty your mind. Don¡¯t think about anything else.¡±


    Seol-Ah did as Kang-Woo said. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. The twelve wings that had sprouted from her back slowly faded and thenpletely disappeared.


    ¡°Kang-Woo...¡±


    Seol-Ah became teary-eyed; only now had she finally remembered what she had done. She trembled and was having difficulty breathing.


    <i>¡®What did I try to do to Iris?¡¯</i>


    Her mind was in jumbles, and she was feeling nauseous. Since when had she be twisted to the point of no return?


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s all right.¡± Kang-Woo gently patted Seol-Ah¡¯s back as he embraced her. Driving the panicking Seol-Ah into a corner was not wise. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Seol-Ah.¡±


    It truly was not Seol-Ah¡¯s fault.


    <i>¡®I should¡¯ve given her more attention.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had known that Seraph¡¯s power within Seol-Ah was growing stronger as well as her obsession for him.


    <i>¡®I also knew that that obsession was impossible to suppress.¡¯</i>


    If the instinct of angels were the same as that of demons, there was no way that Seol-Ah would be able to control the power of the colossal being that was Seraph. Rather, it was a miracle that Seol-Ah had been able to endure it for all this time without much happening.


    ¡°<i>Sniff...</i> K-Kang-Woo. I-I¡¯m so scared. Wh-What¡¯s happening to me?¡± Seol-Ah asked while trembling.


    She knew that something precious to her was getting twisted somehow. Kang-Woo also knew that feeling very well; the horrifying fear and anxiety of his entire being changing when he devoured a demon and epted demonic energy for the first time.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. There¡¯s nothing to be scared of.¡±


    Kang-Woo calmly consoled Seol-Ah. Seol-Ah yanked herself out of his embrace and shook her head.


    ¡°Wh-What do you mean there''s nothing to be scared of?! I was... What I was about to do to Iris was...¡±


    Seol-Ah stared at Iris in pallor; Iris had passed out with her head lowered. The chains binding her had disappeared.


    ¡°Have I...¡± Seol-Ah stared at Kang-Woo in fear. She asked anxiously, ¡°... Gone insane?¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent. Honestly speaking, she was not in a normal state.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    The same could be said for him. Had he stayed sane after killing demons and devouring their flesh and blood?


    <i>¡®Of course not.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was insane. He was broken and twisted ever since he had first fallen into Hell. Even so, he had gone forward without looking back as he had always done.


    ¡°Darling. I haven¡¯t told you much about my past, have I?¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you a little of it.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled faintly and told Seol-Ah about when he had first fallen into Hell, and how he had turned into a demon after devouring one.


    ¡°Bing apletely different being with the senses of a humanes with its corresponding price,¡± he stated.


    ¡°Does that mean...¡± Tears dripped from Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes. She asked in fear, ¡°I¡¯ll be... like this forever? I can never go back to normal?¡±


    Kang-Woo firmly nodded. ¡°Yeah. You can never go back.¡±


    Seraph could no longer be separated from Seol-Ah. A body that had already be close to that of an angel could never return to the way it was. Seol-Ah would have to live with her crazed obsession for the rest of her life.


    ¡°No... way...¡±


    Seol-Ah copsed as despair took control over her. Kang-Woo grabbed Seol-Ah¡¯s hand and raised her up.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s dangerous to leave her like this.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could not leave Seol-Ah in this state. Her circumstances were different from that of his; he had slowly changed into a demon over a very long time period, but everything for her had changed in an extremely short period of time. It was no wonder that there would be correspondingplications.


    <i>¡®But thankfully...¡¯</i>


    There was a very simple way to resolve Seol-Ah¡¯s obsession.


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t really matter, does it?¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Seol-Ah stared at Kang-Woo, not able toprehend what he was saying.


    ¡°I said, you¡¯re fine the way you are.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What are you talking about, Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°Your obsession is me, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Seol-Ah turned red from the direct question.


    Kang-Woo caressed her red cheeks and continued calmly, ¡°Then there¡¯s no problem, since I won¡¯t ever be apart from you.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± Seol-Ah expressed.


    Her eyes widened, and sparks ran throughout her body.


    ¡°As long as the target of your obsession is me, there¡¯s no problem at all.¡±


    All madness was born out of deficiency; whether it be demons or angels, their madness arose when they did not get what they wanted. In that case, the solution was simple.


    ¡°I ask you to trust me just a little more. That¡¯s all I need.¡± Kang-Woo caressed the ring on Seol-Ah¡¯s left ring finger. ¡°Do you think I gave this to you for no reason?¡±


    ¡°Kang-Woo...¡± Seol-Ah muttered in a trembling tone. Her shoulders shook as the corners of her mouth rose as far as they could. ¡°Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo.¡± She hugged him as she repeated his name. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry...¡±


    Seol-Ah rubbed her face in his embrace. Kang-Woo smirked and patted her head.


    <i>¡®I guess that partly takes care of it.¡¯</i>


    If the instincts of demons and angels were the same in nature, the way to control them should also be the same.


    <i>¡®Let¡¯s start by having her ept it.¡¯</i>


    Seol-Ah needed to ept the changes to her body and senses. Rejecting and suppressing them would only make them more rampant. Demonic instinct was like a water hose; forcibly closing the end would cause the pressure to rise and eventually explode, just like how Seol-Ah ended up now.


    <i>¡®It needs to be controlled, not stopped.¡¯</i>


    Continuing the analogy from earlier, ces for the water to flow out would need to be made. To do that, Seol-Ah needed to ept and understand the flowing water, which was her instinctive impulse.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry,¡± Seol-Ah continuously apologized.


    Kang-Woo shook his head and stated, ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. Well... It wasn¡¯t really as I had intended it, but the result wasn¡¯t a bad one.¡±


    Kang-Woo looked toward the unconscious Iris. The energy of the high elves that he could feel from her had be iparably thicker than before.


    <i>¡®She must¡¯ve awakened.¡¯</i>


    It was the most likely conclusion. Iris had pulled out the power out of survival instinct aftering face to face with Seraph¡¯s colossal power.


    <i>¡®What a score.¡¯</i>


    The power of the high elves growing stronger in Iris was worth celebrating. With this, her connection to the high elves had grown stronger.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I¡¯m apologizing about,¡± Seol-Ah expressed.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    <i>¡®Then why are you apologizing?¡¯</i>


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Kang-Woo.¡± Seol-Ah grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s arm while panting heatedly. ¡°I... can¡¯t hold myself back anymore.¡±


    <i>¡®I beg your pardon? Hold what back?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Come with me,¡± she stated.


    ¡°H-Huh?¡±


    Seol-Ah pulled Kang-Woo by his clothes. They passed through the destroyed door and went into her room.


    ¡°Wait, darling.¡±


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not that, is it? We shouldn¡¯t. We¡¯re gonna be scolded for abusing our all-ages rating. We¡¯re gonna get told to fuck off to Noblesse</i>[1]<i> if we¡¯re gonna do shit like this.¡¯</i>


    <i>ck</i>. Seol-Ah snapped her finger and a white barrier, far stronger than the one on the door of the room that Iris was chained in, formed on the door.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Seol-Ah smiled gently and hugged Kang-Woo¡¯s head. She pushed him onto the bed and got on top of him. ¡°I¡¯ve practiced plenty.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Huuuh?¡±


    Huh?


    Huuuuuuuuuh?


    1. Noblesse is a section in the Korean webnovel website Joara, which includes mature novels. ?

 Chapter 363 - So What Tier Were You Again?

    <h4>Chapter 363 - So What Tier Were You Again?</h4>


    The sky was blue, and the chirping of birds sounded like the singing of angels. The sunlight that shone from between the clouds lit the room.


    ¡°Aaaahh,¡± Oh Kang-Woo expressed.


    This was life. The ten grueling millennia that he had suffered through in Hell were likely for this very moment¡ª no, it must have been. He looked up at the sky from the windowsill in mncholy.


    ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡± Cha Yeon-Joo, who hade to his room because it was past noon, frowned.


    Kang-Woo, who simply looked out the window without looking at her, remarked, ¡°It''s a beautiful day... is it not?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s raining.¡±


    ¡°Can you not hear the chirping of birds?¡±


    ¡°I said it¡¯s raining, you moron. There aren¡¯t any birds.¡±


    ¡°They sound like angels singing...¡±


    ¡°Hah,¡± Yeon-Joo chuckled in sarcasm at Kang-Woo¡¯s nonsense.


    Kang-Woo smirked and looked at her pridefully as if she was an ignorant girl. Yeon-Joo frowned aggressively.


    ¡°What?¡± she asked fiercely, feeling displeasure from the look that Kang-Woo was giving her.


    Kang-Woo grinned while paying no mind to her response and said, ¡°How do I look like to you right now?¡±


    ¡°Like a dumbass.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel anything new about me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d guess your brain was switched out for a new one.¡±


    Kang-Woo would usually not take such cutting remarks idly by, but he was different now. He smiled as if he was a saint who could embrace everything in the world and nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, I guess it could¡¯ve been,¡± he replied.


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s mouth was left agape, and she rubbed her arms as if she got goosebumps.


    ¡°What the hell is wrong with you? Did you take a bullet to the head?¡±


    It was a pointless question. There was no way that there would be guns in Aernor, and even if there were, they would never be able to pierce through Kang-Woo¡¯s head. No, even if a bullet managed to, Yeon-Joo knew that Kang-Woo would be perfectly fine.


    ¡°Wait...¡±


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s eyes narrowed. Kang-Woo looked as if he had a screw loose, and the bed was so disheveled to the point that Yeon-Joo wondered how he had slept. There weren¡¯t many things that could exin this situation.


    ¡°Well, well.¡± Yeon-Joo stared at Kang-Woo ridiculously. ¡°I was wondering why a guy like you, who doesn¡¯t even need sleep, was nowhere to be seen in the morning, but you sure went at it.¡±


    The back of Yeon-Joo¡¯s head hurt just from imagining what Kang-Woo had likely experiencedst night. She was boiling with rage for some reason, and was surging with the desire to p the grinning Kang-Woo¡¯s face. <i>Crack.</i> Yeon-Joo kicked a nearby chair to vent her frustration, and it shattered.


    ¡°Kang-Woo, did someone stop by?¡± Han Seol-Ah arrived with a boiling pot in hand. There was no question what was inside.


    ¡°Ngh...!¡± Yeon-Joo flinched.


    She knew very well how mentally unstable Seol-Ah wastely. Yeon-Joo did not even want to imagine the chaos that would ensue from Seol-Ah seeing that she and Kang-Woo were together alone in his room.


    ¡°This is¡ª w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-well...¡± Yeon-Joo backed away while stuttering.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here too, Yeon-Joo?¡± Seol-Ah ced the pot on the table while smiling. ¡°Great timing. Come eat with us.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s eyes widened. Such behavior from Seol-Ah was unimaginable from how she had recently been, exuding bloodlust whenever Kang-Woo was involved with any women. She was acting like herself when Yeon-Joo had first met her.


    ¡°Did you sleep well, Kang-Woo?¡± Seol-Ah asked as she approached Kang-Woo with a smile and kissed him softly on the cheek.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Kang-Woo energetically nodded.


    ¡°Fufu. The food is ready, soe to the table,¡± Seol-Ah said while gently patting Kang-Woo¡¯s head.


    Yeon-Joo stared at the two of them dumbfoundedly and sighed. ¡°Sheesh. You two sure were made for each other.¡±


    She thought, <i>¡®All couples, just fucking die.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re not gonna join us?¡± Seol-Ah asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna get in the way.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that ande take a seat.¡± Seol-Ah smiled brightly and grabbed Yeon-Joo¡¯s hand.


    Yeon-Joo, after thinking for a bit, ended up taking a seat. Seol-Ah sat next to Kang-Woo and opened the lid to reveal kimchi stew filled with eel and garlic[1].


    ¡°Huh?¡± Yeon-Joo expressed.


    <i>¡®Eel?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hohoho. Eat tons and regain your energy, Kang-Woo,¡± Seol-Ah remarked.


    ¡°Thanks for the meal, darling.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait.¡± Yeon-Joo quickly waved her hands. ¡°Eel in kimchi stew?¡±


    She had never heard of such abination.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it? We have it like this all the time.¡± Kang-Woo tilted his head as if he couldn¡¯t understand what the problem was.


    Yeon-Joo remained silent and slowly turned her head toward Seol-Ah. She was filling Kang-Woo¡¯s bowl with the kimchi stew with a very wide smile.


    ¡°You...¡± Yeon-Joo stared at Kang-Woo pitifully.


    ¡°What?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°No, never mind.¡± She shook her head and sighed.


    Kang-Woo had some of the kimchi stew and asked Yeon-Joo, ¡°Come to think of it, what brings you here?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Yeon-Joo recalled the reason why she hade to Kang-Woo¡¯s room in the first ce. ¡°Iris woke up.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± Kang-Woo put down his bowl and asked, ¡°How is she doing?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s acting a bit weird. She was trembling a ton as soon as she woke up, like she was terrified by something.¡±


    Seol-Ah slightly flinched. She turned to look at Kang-Woo in guilt.


    ¡°Oh, and... I could feel some sort of strange energy from Iris. She emits a golden aura from time to time.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    It was most likely because the power of the high elves dormant within Iris had awoken due to Seol-Ah.


    ¡°But why did that little brat pass out in the first ce? Did something happen?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    ¡°Just a little something.¡± Kang-Woo avoided answering the question while smiling awkwardly. There was no way that he could tell Yeon-Joo that the angelic instincts in Seol-Ah had gone out of control and caused her to kidnap and threaten Iris. ¡°I¡¯ll go see herter.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Seol-Ah shook her head. She grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s hand and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll go, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°You?¡± Kang-Woo looked at Seol-Ah, conflicted.


    No matter how he thought about it, it would only bring negative results.


    Seol-Ah continued with an expression filled with guilt, ¡°I feel like I would have to apologize to her personally.¡±


    ¡°Hmm...¡±


    Although it did not seem like a good idea for the kidnapper herself to visit the victim, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to refuse when Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes were filled with a firm will.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll leave Iris to you, darling.¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s mental state had be very stable after their <i>interaction</i>st night.


    <i>¡®But who knows when she¡¯ll rpse?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo knew very well how powerful the impulses brought about by instincts were. As long as Seraph was inside Seol-Ah, her obsession may go out of control at any time.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo scanned Seol-Ah. Her face was filled with guilt and worry for Iris; she was the same kind Seol-Ah that he had known for a very long time.


    <i>¡®I shouldn¡¯t have anything to worry about for the time being.¡¯</i>


    He should not make any rash decisions, but Seol-Ah did not seem like she would lose control in the immediate moment.


    ¡°Apologize? Did you do something to Iris, Seol-Ah?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    ¡°Oh... U-Uhmm...¡±


    ¡°What? Did you scold her or something?¡± Yeon-Joo snickered.


    Seol-Ah scratched her cheek while smiling awkwardly.


    ¡°She deserves it, considering all of her shit that we had to endure.¡± Yeon-Joo shook her head while waving her hand. ¡°Anyway, I came to tell you that, but a certain someone was as lifeless as a 0/14 ADC against a dimir with 23 kills. No, maybe Tahm Kench is a better reference in this situation[2].¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, nothing a troll who steals the CS from an ADC would know.¡±


    Kang-Woo raised an eyebrow. Although he had no idea what Yeon-Joo was saying, it felt extremely unpleasant. He narrowed his eyes and poked at her weakness.


    ¡°Big words for a Bronze yer.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I was curious, so I looked it up. You¡¯re treated no better than an insect.¡±


    ¡°N-Not true!! I just have terrible luck in teams! Just looking at skill alone, I¡¯m...!¡±


    ¡°So what tier are you again?¡±


    ¡°Y-You son of a bitch!¡±


    Yeon-Joo trembled in anger. She wanted to refute Kang-Woo¡¯s ims, but she copsed in despair from the irrefutable fact. Kang-Woo felt great satisfaction. He snickered once the displeasure he had felt earlier disappeared.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s enough of that. Let¡¯s eat before the stew gets cold,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    ¡°Urgh! Just you wait! I¡¯ve just been cking off. If I actually put my mind to it, I can easily escape Bronze...!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say it¡¯s practically hopeless, considering you¡¯re still stuck in that tier despite your physical prowess.¡±


    Kang-Woo chuckled. He had more or less of an idea after ying a few times with Yeon-Joo that there was no way that she would be in such a low tier with her superhuman reaction speed.


    ¡°Shut up!! You don¡¯t know shit!¡± Yeon-Joo eximed.


    <i>¡®That fiery temper of hers is probably what¡¯s holding her back. Well, it has nothing to do with me.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smirked and had more of Seol-Ah¡¯s kimchi stew.


    ¡°Kaaah.¡±


    It was delicious. Whether it was eel or anything else in it, kimchi stew was kimchi stew. Kang-Woo got up after emptying three bowls of rice in an instant.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the cleanup,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°No, Kang-Woo. Let me.¡±


    ¡°You made it, so I should be the one to clean.¡± Kang-Woo ced his hand on Seol-Ah¡¯s shoulder as she was about to get up. ¡°Besides, you were gonna go visit Iris, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Seol-Ah nodded with a gloomy expression after recalling what she needed to do. Kang-Woo levitated the pots with the Authority of the Sky and turned his head to Yeon-Joo.


    ¡°Right, then. Let¡¯s go wash the dishes.¡±


    ¡°Why me?¡±


    ¡°You had some too.¡±


    ¡°You ate ten times more than me!¡±


    Yeon-Joo frowned aggressively, but followed behind Kang-Woo anyway while grumbling. Kang-Woo smirked and headed to the imperial kitchen with Yeon-Joo.


    <i>Smash¡ª!!</i>


    Just then, something fell through the ceiling of the imperial castle. Kang-Woo pulled Yeon-Joo behind him by the shoulder and extended his arm forward, creating a shield shining gold.


    ¡°Wh-What the¡ª?!¡± Yeon-Joo shouted.


    Kang-Woo paid her no mind and focused on the being that had fallen from the sky.


    ¡°Uriel?¡±


    ¡°Kang... Woo...¡±


    A bloodied angel was stretching out his arm toward Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Hurry...¡±


    Uriel staggered toward Kang-Woo and kept himself up while grabbing Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulders. The angel, whose entire body was tattered beyond belief, squeezed out a warning.


    ¡°Run... away.¡±


    1. Freshwater eel is known in Korean culture to boost sexual desire, and I believe garlic does as well. ?


    2. I am toozy to exin this. People who don¡¯t y LoL don¡¯t need to know, and those who y LoL know anyway. ?

 Chapter 364 - Go To Sleep, Brat

    <h4>Chapter 364 - Go To Sleep, Brat</h4>


    Uriel was covered in blood. Since angel blood was white, he looked like he belonged in an R-18 game. Despite that, Oh Kang-Woo could tell that Uriel was on the verge of death.


    His eight wings had all been bent violently as if someone had scrunched up wings made with origami. His left arm was hanging down as if someone had forcefully stretched it out, and his left foot was bent backward. His blood vessels were protruding out from his temple and neck, reaching all over his body like a spider web.


    Uriel copsed. Kang-Woo put his arms under his armpits and supported him.


    Kang-Woo remained silent. To be more exact, he had nothing to say. He lifted Uriel up as his eyes sank. There were many things that he wanted to ask, but now was not the time.


    ¡°Yeon-Joo, go get Seol-Ah.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah! Okay!¡±


    Cha Yeon-Joo quickly nodded and ran somewhere. Kang-Wooid Uriel down in the hallway. He wanted to take him to the bed, but there was no time. <i>Crunch</i>. He bit open his finger, allowing his blood to flow.


    Kang-Woo momentarily wondered if it was possible to heal an angel with the Authority of Regeneration. He thought that it made no sense to be able to heal an angel with the blood of a demon.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no time to think about shit like that.¡¯</i>


    Blood was nothing but the medium to activate the Authority of Regeneration; none of the people whom Kang-Woo had treated had been encroached by demonic energy nor had been influenced by it.


    <i>¡®I have to try.¡¯</i>


    He needed to administer first aid at the very least. Kang-Woo ced his bleeding finger in Uriel¡¯s mouth and activated the Authority of Regeneration.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Uriel panted.


    Thankfully, it had an effect. His skin regained its healthy color, and his mangled limbs returned to normal.


    <i>¡®It''s not enough.¡¯</i>


    His ability was not specialized in healing; it was nothing more than first aid.


    ¡°Kang-Woo!¡±


    ¡°I brought Seol-Ah!¡±


    Yeon-Joo brought Han Seol-Ah just in time. Seol-Ah checked the state that Uriel was in with worry and ced her hands on his chest. <i>Whoooom! </i>White light burst from Seol-Ah.


    ¡°Urgh... Cough! Cough!¡±


    Uriel coughed up a fistful of blood. His expression rxed a little, and his breathing became lessbored. His bent wings went back to their normal state.


    ¡°Phew,¡± Seol-Ah sighed in relief. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead from having used a significant amount of power in a short period of time. ¡°He¡¯s out of immediate danger. If I use a little more power...¡±


    Kang-Woo grabbed the swaying Seol-Ah¡¯s shoulder and stated, ¡°This is enough.¡±


    ¡°But...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the rest,¡± he remarked as he lifted Uriel and took him to a room with a bed. Uriel was twisting and turning while sweating profusely. ¡°Seol-Ah and Yeon-Joo, please leave the room.¡±


    It was not good for there to be a crowd in a room with a patient in it.


    ¡°Yes, Kang-Woo,¡± Seol-Ah replied.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let La and Si-Hun know,¡± said Yeon-Joo.


    The two of them left the room, bringing silence to the room; the only thing that could be heard was Uriel¡¯s arrhythmic breathing.


    Kang-Woo looked down at Uriel in silence.


    <i>¡®Who could it have been?¡¯</i>


    Who could have possibly driven an archangel to the brink of death?


    <i>¡®The summoning ritual in the north...¡¯</i>


    From what he had heard, Sant¡¯Angelo, the floating ind of the angels, was located in the northernmost region of the continent.


    <i>¡®Could there be a connection?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could not be sure whether there was a connection between the traces of a summoning ritual in the north and Uriel¡¯s injury, but he was sure that it was by no means a coincidence.


    ¡°Ngh... Urgh!¡±


    Uriel twisted and turned on the bed. Kang-Woo bit open his finger again and ced it in Uriel¡¯s mouth. It was pointless for him to guess on his own; he would only get the full picture once Uriel was up.


    ¡°Kang... Woo?¡±


    Uriel, who had been twisting and turning while unconscious, slightly opened his eyes. He tried to prop himself up, but...


    ¡°Urgh!¡±


    ¡°Please stay still. It hasn¡¯t been long since your injuries were healed.¡±


    Uriely back on the bed.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    He felt sorry about barraging someone who had only just regained consciousness with questions, but he did not have the leeway to wait until Uriel had fully recovered.


    Uriel lightly bit his lip and said while trembling, ¡°Sant¡¯Angelo was... attacked.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded. He had expected it; considering where he had sent Uriel off to in order to get away from him, it was simple to guess. The problem was...


    ¡°By who?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Who could have possibly attacked Sant¡¯Angelo, the angels¡¯ abode?


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Uriel shook his head in pallor.


    Kang-Woo had not expected such an answer.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that... They were demons. No, there weren¡¯t just demons, but demonic beasts as well.¡±


    Demons and demonic beasts... It was far too vague.


    ¡°But they weren¡¯t like the demonic beasts I know. How should I say it...? They possessed intelligence? They followedmands perfectly... In any case, their assault on Sant¡¯Angelo was highly organized.¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He finally got some useful information. Demonic beasts that possessed intelligence and were powerful enough to face beings as powerful as the princes of Hell only meant one thing.


    <i>¡®Ancient demonic beasts.¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo aggressively frowned. <i>¡®Why are ancient demonic beasts in Aernor?¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t believe that those uncontroble monsters would follow someone¡¯s orders and work together. It was impossible to make any guesses just from the information about the appearance of ancient demonic beasts.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    There was one more thing that Kang-Woo didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°Did you get injured this badly from fighting the demonic beasts?¡± he asked.


    Uriel¡¯s injuries were far too abnormal to have been from battle. One normally died before being injured in such ways.


    <i>¡®Someone tortured him on purpose.¡¯</i>


    There was no other way to exin Uriel¡¯s injuries.


    Uriel¡¯s expression froze as he trembled like Iris in the past in front of Fidelio. His behavior was far off from his usual confident and prideful demeanor.


    ¡°I... don¡¯t know.¡± Uriel slowly shook his head. ¡°He had a mask on. He... wasn¡¯t that big, smelled putrid, and was really... really strong.¡±


    If an archangel was saying that, the opponent likely was considerably powerful.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Kang-Woo expressed. ¡°How would he bepared to Rakiel?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, since Lady Gaia had fought him with us. But in my opinion... He wasn¡¯t as strong as Rakiel. However, he was far more difficult of an opponent.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes sank. ¡°Why was he a more difficult opponent?¡±


    ¡°He had a strange ability.¡±


    ¡°An ability?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it''s magic or not, but I suddenly felt pain all over my body. Because of that... I lost without even being able to put up a decent fight.¡±


    <i>¡®Pain, huh?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo nodded. He could understand what Uriel meant by the opponent being weaker than Rakiel but harder to face. Pain was not something one was able to ovee through sheer will.


    ¡°Does that mean Sant¡¯Angelo has been destroyed by demons?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°No. Lord Michael and Gabriel have likely returned to Sant¡¯Angelo and are fighting the demons. I¡¯m not sure if they can win, but... the <i>blessing </i>hasn¡¯t been cut off, so Sant¡¯Angelo hasn¡¯t been destroyed.¡±


    There seemed to have been some sort of buff ced on the ce.


    ¡°I see.¡± Kang-Woo nodded. He had more or less figured out the situation, as well as what he needed to do now. ¡°Get some rest.¡±


    ¡°W-Wait! You¡¯re not thinking of going to Sant¡¯Angelo, are you?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am.¡±


    Angels were his precious allies. No, regardless of the angels, the enemies that he had no idea of their identity had finally shown themselves. Kang-Woo could not just let them run amok.


    ¡°I-It¡¯s too dangerous!¡± Uriel hurriedly grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s clothes.


    Kang-Woo chuckled. He slowly raised his hand and ced it on Uriel¡¯s head.


    ¡°Go to sleep, brat.¡±


    <i>¡®This hyung of yours will take care of it.¡¯</i>


    <i>Whoom. </i>Golden light flowed out from Kang-Woo¡¯s hand.


    ¡°What are...¡±


    Uriel¡¯s vision became blurry, and he passed out on the bed.


    ¡°Well, then.¡±


    <i>¡®Let¡¯s go check it out.¡¯</i>


    ***


    <i>Boom! Crash!</i>


    Sounds of explosions echoed throughout the dimly shining floating ind, which was covered in mes.


    ¡°I guess angels are nothing much.¡±


    Beings in red demon masks were sitting at the peak of a giant mountain under the floating ind in mes. One of the beings wearing the red demon mask snickered. His entire body was radiating a smell so putrid that it would destroy the nose of anyone near him.


    A female giggle leaked from another being under a mask. ¡°Hohoho. What do you expect from a bunch of pigeons hiding under Seraph¡¯s skirt?¡±


    ¡°Silence,¡± the being sitting in the middle stated. He sounded robotic as if he was devoid of emotions.


    The putrid being turned around. ¡°That aside, is it really okay for us to listen to what that hunchback says?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s cooking up some sort of scheme, but it¡¯s beneficial for us to cooperate with him in order for us to fulfill our wish.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, we wouldn¡¯t have had to go through this if Rakiel didn¡¯t go up and die like a dumbass.¡± The putrid being clicked his tongue.


    The being with the robotic voice turned around and raised something shining ck; it was wriggling around like it was a living organism. He put it in his pocket.


    ¡°We have already found what we need. Pull out.¡±


    ¡°Hm? What about the remaining pigeons?¡±


    ¡°We have no more time to waste.¡±


    ¡°Hah, so much for being known as the Constetion of Despair.¡± The putrid being snickered.


    The being known as the Constetion of Despair remained silent.


    ¡°Anyway, have you still been unable to contact Lucifer?¡± The sexy voice of a woman flowed out from the other being in the red mask again.


    The Constetion of Despair shook his head. ¡°The Evil God seems to have no intention of joining us.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, what a shame. I wanted to have a taste of Lucifer.¡±


    The putrid being snorted. ¡°Tsk. Yeah, we know you¡¯re horny twenty-four seven, Constetion of Lust. Weren¡¯t you ying around with a prince of Hell before?¡±


    ¡°Asmodeus? I got sick of him, so I killed him.¡± The Constetion of Lust giggled.


    Just then...


    ¡°Something¡¯sing.¡± A being of childlike stature with nk eyes turned his head and looked in a direction where nothing could be seen.


    ¡°Something?¡±


    ¡°The Protector of Light. Gaia¡¯s child... ising this way.¡±


    ¡°Protector of Light, huh?¡± The putrid being snickered. ¡°Perfect. I¡¯ll take this chance to eliminate one of Gaia¡¯s retainers.¡±


    ¡°Do as you like,¡± replied the Constetion of despair in monotone and turned around.


    <i>Crack</i>. A ck Rift appeared in front of him, and he slowly walked into it.


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m not that interested in Gaia¡¯s child, so I¡¯m leaving too~¡±


    The Constetion of Lust waved as she went into the Rift. Beings wearing red masks walked into the Rift one after another. Only the putrid being remained at the peak of the tall mountain.


    ¡°The Protector of Light.¡± The being snickered. ¡°I wonder how long you¡¯ll shine for under unimaginable pain?¡±


    The Constetion of Agony, the being radiating rancid smell, licked his lips in anticipation.

 Chapter 365 - I Don’t Understand

    <h4>Chapter 365 - I Don¡¯t Understand</h4>


    <i>Bang!</i> Oh Kang-Woo leaped into the air and flew at supersonic speed using the Authority of the Sky. The heat generated from the friction between his skin and the air set his surroundings aze. Despite flying at such insane speed, he still was not able to reach the northernmost region of the continent quickly.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s further than I thought.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shut his mouth tight. Uriel had flown this long distance just so he could tell Kang-Woo to run away, while his body was aplete mess, no less. Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.


    <i>¡®Dumb brat.¡¯</i>


    Uriel was nothing but a puppet being deceived and used by Kang-Woo. The fact that his puppet had risked his life to let him know of danger was pitiably pathetic. Kang-Woo felt that Uriel was a goddamn idiot, but he was furious for some reason. Could it be because he found Uriel¡¯s moronic actions pathetic beyond belief? He did not know, nor did he have any need to know.


    <i>Boom¡ª!!</i>


    Kang-Woo sped up even more. Once he drew out the full extent of his demonic energy, a stream of darkness tore through space like a meteor falling from the sky. He reached an endless mountain range so rugged that it did not seem habitable. Beyond it was an ocean, and atop it was a shining floating ind covered in mes. And...


    Someone wearing a red demon mask with his back to the floating ind was staring at Kang-Woo flying in his direction. He descended from the sky and stood in front of Kang-Woo. The man smelled so foul that Kang-Woo thought his nose was going to fall off.


    ¡°You must be the Protector of Light.¡±


    The being in the red mask snickered. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. The man knew that he was the Protector of Light.


    <i>¡®That means...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled the message window that had appeared when he had be the Protector of Light, that all beings of godhood would recognize him as a retainer of Gaia. In other words, the man in the red demon mask in front of him was a being of godhood, meaning there weren¡¯t many possibilities of who the man could be.


    ¡°Like I thought, you¡¯re a Constetion of Evil,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    He had expected it as soon as he saw Uriel¡¯s injuries, since there weren¡¯t many beings that could drive an archangel so far into a corner. Considering who could possibly attack Sant¡¯Angelo head-on, it narrowed down the number of possibilities even more.


    <i>¡®The elite guards of the Demon God.¡¯</i>


    They were the vestiges of the era of myths; beings that possessed great power and have existed far before even the princes of Hell.


    <i>¡®They could be considered gods of sorts.¡¯</i>


    Since they possessed Deific Essence, it was right to think so.


    <i>¡®I have no idea how they¡¯re able to use their powers freely, though.¡¯</i>


    All gods including Gaia were not able to use their powers to their full extent due to the restrictions from the system, but the Constetions of Evil were different; they did not seem to be under any restrictions whatsoever despite possessing Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®Whatever the case...¡¯</i>


    It was not the time to worry about that.


    ¡°Oh? Did you hear about us from Gaia?¡± The being in the mask stared at Kang-Woo in surprise. He slowly bowed while cackling. ¡°I am the Constetion of Agony.¡±


    ¡°What? Constetion of Agony? I thought you¡¯d be the Constetion of Filth because you smell like shit.¡±


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t believe that his guess had been wrong.


    <i>¡®Wait.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Then you smell this bad because you don¡¯t wash?¡±


    <i>¡®This motherfucker doesn¡¯t have a shred of conscience.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Fucking wash yourself, man. What the hell do you have to do to smell this bad?¡±


    The Constetion of Agony stared at Kang-Woo nonsensically. ¡°I was wondering what kind of person the Protector of Light would be, but it seems you¡¯re intellectuallycking.¡±


    ¡°The only thingcking here is your sense of hygiene. No, but seriously, what the fuck is this smell? Be honest, you fucker. Did you wipe after you took a shit or not? No, wait. You son of a bitch, could it be...¡±


    A horrifying thought popped into Kang-Woo¡¯s mind. A shiver ran down his spine.


    ¡°Did you... shit yourself?"


    "..."


    ¡°Fuck! I fucking knew it! You disgusting fu¡ª¡±


    The Constetion of Agony extended his arm before Kang-Woo could finish his sentence. ck wedges that looked like giant nails pierced out from the ground, riddling the surroundings with them in an instant. Kang-Woo lightly jumped, but the wedges extended to chase after him. He created a golden shield, and the wedges collided with it.


    Crash¡ª!


    The wedges went straight through the golden shield without losing any momentum and aimed for Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo twisted his body in midair to dodge the wedges.


    ¡°Tsk.¡±


    As he had thought, blocking attacks imbued with Divinity head-on was difficult. He would be able to block it if he used ridiculous amounts of demonic energy, but it was highly inefficient. It was like blocking a red-hot skewer with an extremely thick block of styrofoam.


    <i>¡®Divinity really makes all the difference.¡¯</i>


    The only thing Kang-Woo could use to take Divinity head on was Chaos attacks.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    If interpreted differently, it meant Kang-Woo had a chance as long as he didn¡¯t take on his opponent in a contest of strength. Kang-Woo used the Authority of Blink and teleported short distances in session, making it look as if he was appearing and disappearing all over the ce.


    ¡°G¨¢e Bulg.¡±


    Kang-Woo teleported right behind the Constetion of Agony and stretched his right arm downward. The Key of the Demonic Sea on his right middle finger turned into a dark red spear. He grabbed the Key of the Demonic Sea and thrusted it forward without hesitation.


    <i>ng¡ª!!</i>


    A barrier of demonic energy infused with Divinity blocked the attack. The Key of the Demonic Sea was pushed back as sparks flew.


    ¡°Kuh!¡± The Constetion of Agony quickly turned his head.


    It did not seem like he had blocked the attack consciously.


    <i>¡®If that¡¯s the case...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo lowered his stance and used the Authority of Blink in session while matching his movements to that of the Constetion of Agony.


    <i>ng¡ª! ng!</i>


    Kang-Woo thrusted the spear on the same spot of the barrier over and over again as if he was breaking through ice with an ice pick.


    ¡°Gungnir.¡±


    Kang-Woo added one more Authority; the dark-red spear grewrger.


    <i>¡®Authority of ze.¡¯</i>


    He then added a prince¡¯s Authority. Bright-yellow mes enveloped the spear edge, its heat melting the earth and creatingva. Kang-Woo thrust the spear.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!!</i>


    ¡°Gaaaaaaaaahh!¡±


    The spear pierced the Constetion of Agony¡¯s back. He curled up while screaming. Kang-Woo pulled out the spear and prepared to thrust it once again. He grabbed the spear with both hands and stomped on the ground to charge forward.


    ¡°Hyaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!¡±


    Just then, the Constetion of Agony screamed ear-splittingly. A chill ran down Kang-Woo¡¯s spine. He quickly jumped back and threw the spear at the Constetion of Agony.


    ck wedges spurted from the Constetion of Agony¡¯s back, making him look like a hedgehog. They flew out from his back in all directions, shing with the spear that Kang-Woo threw.


    <i>Crash!</i>


    The collision caused a deafening explosion. The fragments of the destroyed wedges pierced Kang-Woo.


    ¡°<i>Cough!</i>¡±


    Kang-Woo coughed up blood. Holes had formed all over him as if he had been hit with a grenade. He widened his distance from the Constetion of Agony while using the Authority of Regeneration.


    ¡°What in the...¡± The Constetion of Agony stared at Kang-Woo in shock.


    Although Kang-Woo was Gaia¡¯s retainer, he was ultimately a human. The Constetion of Agony couldn¡¯t believe that he was being pushed this far by a mere mortal who did not even possess Divinity. The attack that had pierced his back was so strong that he would have most definitely died if it had contained Divinity.


    ¡°Tsk, I guess he won¡¯t die in one blow.¡±


    Kang-Woo spit blood after recovering from his injuries and narrowed his eyes. He had felt it during his battle with Rakiel, but beings of godhood were truly difficult to face. The power of Divinity was so strong to the point that it was illogical.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled. His heart beat rapidly as he shivered in delight. He had not gotten this feeling in a very long time.


    <i>¡®This is fun.¡¯</i>


    It was so fun that he was about to go insane. It had been a while since Kang-Woo had met an opponent that even stood a chance against him. It had been a while since he had met an enemy that at least squirmed when he trampled on them.


    <i>¡®Were there any?¡¯</i>


    He could not think of any among those that he had faced after regaining his power. There was Rakiel, but he had been defeated by Gaia before Kang-Woo could even get fired up.


    <i>¡®Oh, I guess there was Behemoth.¡¯</i>


    However, Kang-Woo had not managed to have a proper battle with him either. Kang-Woo¡¯s demonic instincts set aze. His desire to battle prey, trample on them, achieve victory and devour their entire being, was boiling.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to clean him up a bit before eating him, though.¡±


    Kang-Woo drew out his demonic energy while smiling. Since the Constetions were mistaking him for the Protector of Light, he did not forget to transform the color of his demonic energy into gold. They likely saw the energy as a mixture of mana and sacred power.


    ¡°How dare a mere mortal...¡±


    The Constetion of Agony frowned. A lowly puppet of a god that should be worshiping the gods while on his knees was baring his teeth at him. Although there was a slight difference, he was also a god that possessed Deific Essence. The Constetion of Agony found the situation absolutely absurd.


    ¡°Kehehehe! How interesting! Very interesting!¡±


    The Constetion of Agony burst intoughter while grabbing his stomach, and slowly raised his hand. His delight only rose the more arrogant Gaia¡¯s puppet became.


    ¡°Protector of Light.¡±


    Although the Constetion of Agony could not feel a shred of justice from Kang-Woo despite having such a grand title, it did not matter. Since the Constetion of Nightmares had said so, there was no doubt that the man in front of him was the Protector of Light.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make you feel something good,¡± the Constetion of Agony said.


    ¡°Feel good? What the fuck?¡±


    <i>¡®The only person who can make me feel good is my darling.¡¯</i>


    ¡°...¡±


    The Constetion of Agony frowned for a moment, and then spread his arms wide. He decided to pay no more mind to the demented Protector and activated his Authority that had allowed him to rise to the position of the Constetion of Agony.


    ¡°Puppet of Gaia! This is...¡± He brought his hands together and manifested his Authority using the power of Divinity. He linked his senses with that of the disrespectful human. ¡°... Agony!¡±


    <i>Crack! Crunch!</i>


    The sound of cracking bones left the Constetion of Agony¡¯s body. His flesh was ripped apart, his bones broke, and each of his nerves were twisted. There was no way that a mere mortal would be able to endure pain of this level; even an archangel with eight wings had copsed on the spot while crying in pain. The Constetion of Agony sent the pain that he was feeling through self-harm to Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Kahahahaha!!¡±


    The Constetion of Agonyughed in delight. He could not stopughing from the thought of watching in leisure as the lowly human, who had dared to be disrespectful to him, writhed in pain. All the mortals that had faced the Constetion of Agony had all died while twisting and turning on the ground, crawling in their own piss and shit.


    ¡°Feel true agony! Feel despair as your bones break, your flesh is ripped apart, and your blood vessels burn!¡±


    The extreme pain was not one that a living organism would be able to handle. The only being that was able tough under such immense pain was the Constetion of Agony. He had never seen a single enemy on the battlefield that hadn¡¯t writhed under such pain.


    ¡°Do you feel it?! That very pain is the curse of life! It is living sin¡ª¡±


    <i>Bash¡ª!!</i>


    ¡°Kurghh!!¡±


    Kang-Woo punched theughing Constetion of Agony right in the face. The red demon mask was shattered, and the Constetion of Agony tumbled backward.


    ¡°You¡¯re so fucking loud.¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned while shaking off the Constetion of Agony¡¯s blood from his hand. He looked down at the Constetion of Agony in confusion. The pain of breaking bones, ripping flesh, and burning blood vessels...


    <i>¡®What¡¯s so fucking painful about that?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t understand.

 Chapter 366 - Crybaby

    <h4>Chapter 366 - Crybaby</h4>


    ¡°Wh-What?!¡±


    The Constetion of Agony¡¯s eyes widened. A face covered in hideous pus was revealed from the broken mask, and he stared at Oh Kang-Woo as if he couldn¡¯tprehend what was going on.


    ¡°You... can move?¡±


    The Constetion of Agony had linked his senses with that of the human through his Authority. He was sure that the human was feeling as much pain¡ª no, even greater pain than what he himself was feeling. There was no way a living being could endure such pain unless they also possessed as much resistance to pain as him. Pain was a very effective weapon even against those of godhood, but...


    ¡°How can you move under that much pain?!¡± the Constetion of Agony screamed madly.


    Kang-Woo smirked and answered calmly, ¡°Because it doesn¡¯t hurt. This much pain is more than tolerable.¡±


    ¡°Tolerable... you say?¡±


    The Constetion of Agony¡¯s eyes shook. He had harmed himself to a significant extent because he had wanted to see the disrespectful human writhing pathetically in pain, but the human was enduring it just fine.


    ¡°I mean, if I had to say whether it hurts or not, it definitely does,¡± Kang-Woo expressed. There was no way that breaking bones, tearing apart flesh, and burning blood vessels did not hurt. ¡°But it¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t handle.¡±


    Kang-Woo shrugged. He was as calm as if his finger had been slightly nicked with a box cutter. It was not the type of pain that was the problem, but its intensity.


    ¡°Rather, it¡¯s better than the usual,¡± Kang-Woo continued while lightly stretching.


    It did not feel all that bad, just like how light punches felt more rxing than painful.


    ¡°What?¡± The Constetion of Agony¡¯s mouth fell open.


    He could not understand what was going on. Pain was feared by all, mortal and immortal beings alike. Not even death was more terrifying than pain.


    ¡°U-Urghh!!¡±


    The Constetion of Agony grimaced. This could not be happening¡ª no, it should not be happening. He ced his hand on his eyelids.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how long you can keep up that absurd act for!¡±


    <i>Crush! Ooze.</i>


    The Constetion of Agony squashed his own eyeballs. The excruciating pain of one¡¯s eyes being crushed and pulled out was sent straight to Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo¡¯s eyebrows slightly rose.


    The Constetion of Agony burst outughing. ¡°Kehe, hahahaha! Yes! There¡¯s no way that you¡¯d be fine!¡±


    Kang-Woo was acting like he waspletely fine, but the Constetion of Agony knew that he was just enduring the pain with all his might.


    ¡°No, not that.¡± Kang-Woo chuckled. ¡°You just destroyed your eyes. What¡¯s up with that?¡±


    <i>¡®How are you gonna fight?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the Constetion of Agony, surprised by his ridiculous action. When he had first felt pain in his body, Kang-Woo had thought that the Constetion of Agony¡¯s ability was to make a target feel pain.


    <i>¡®Is that not it?¡¯</i>


    When the Constetion of Agony squashed his own eyeballs, Kang-Woo also felt pain in his eyes as well.


    ¡°Ohhh, I get it.¡± Kang-Woo nodded as if he understood.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not an ability that makes someone feel pain, but an ability that links one¡¯s senses with that of others.¡¯</i>


    He finally understood what sort of Authority the Constetion of Agony possessed. He couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    ¡°Then do you attack by hurting yourself?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    <i>¡®What a dumbass Authority.¡¯</i>


    Attacking through self-harm was certainly a novel idea, but it had far too many demerits. One¡¯s ownbat ability would fall from the injuries they themselves made through self-harm. Not just that, the Constetion of Agony had squashed his eyes of all things. Sight was a very important sense; although one could sense the enemy through sensing Qi like in martial arts novels, it did not seem like the Constetion of Agony possessed such an ability.


    ¡°Kuh, you can still act that way?¡± The Constetion of Agony frowned.


    His eyes were regenerated at an incredible rate as soon as he took his fingers out of his eye sockets.


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Oh, I see.¡±


    His regeneration speed was as fast as that of a slime.


    <i>¡®No wonder.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had thought that it was a ridiculous fighting method, but it made sense with the absurdly fast regeneration speed that the Constetion of Agony had shown that surpassed even the Authority of Regeneration. It was almost as if he was immortal.


    ¡°Try to endure this as well!¡± The Constetion of Agony shouted.


    <i>Crunch! Crack! Crunch¡ª!</i>


    The sound of bones breaking could be heard from all over the Constetion of Agony. His body was being deformed everywhere like a child ying with y-doh.


    ¡°Oh? This hurts a bit.¡± Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone. The pain that came from one¡¯s body being deformed like kneading dough was considerably higher than before. ¡°But it¡¯s still nothing I can¡¯t handle.¡±


    Kang-Woo had felt pain of this level countless times to the point that he was sick of it.


    ¡°Wh...at?¡±


    The Constetion of Agony was widening his eyes so much that it looked like the corners were about to rip. The pain just now was hard to endure even for him, who possessed a resistance to pain. No, it was so bad that even he wanted to stop harming himself right this second. He couldn¡¯t believe that a mere human, who did not even possess Bottom-rank Deific Essence, was able to handle pain that not even he, the Constetion of Agony who had been the subject of fear among countless angels and humans during the era of myths, was able to handle.


    ¡°What... are you? What the fuck are you?¡± The Constetion of Agony asked.


    Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°I mean, even so...¡±


    He did not like being in pain. Kang-Woo leaped toward the self-harming Constetion of Agony. He slightly twisted mid-air, brought his arms above his head and used an Authority.


    <i>¡®Inferno.¡¯</i>


    The Key of the Demonic Sea changed form to create a greatsword burning with yellow mes.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!!!</i>


    Incredible mes burned along the greatsword¡¯s edge. Kang-Woo swung down the sword.


    ¡°Gaaaaaaaahhh!!¡± the Constetion of Agony screamed.


    Yellow mes engulfed him; the pain of being burned was added on top of the self-harm.


    ¡°Nghh.¡±


    Kang-Woo also slightly grimaced. The pain was sent right to him as soon as he attacked the Constetion of Agony.


    <i>¡®This is a bit difficult. I should end this quickly.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo continuously swung Inferno.


    ¡°It¡¯s... pointless... human...!¡±


    The Constetion of Agony stopped hurting himself and scrunched up. He was regenerating at an absurd rate even while being engulfed in mes. Not just that, demonic energy infused with Divinity covered him as protection.


    <i>ng¡ª! ng!</i>


    Inferno bounced off of the demonic energy. Kang-Woo infused even more demonic energy into the Key of the Demonic Sea.


    <i>Crack!</i>


    The demonic energy barrier protecting the Constetion of Agony was slowly being broken. Kang-Woo did not stop.


    ¡°When you don¡¯t have Divinity...¡±


    One just needed to break the opponent¡¯s Divinity with stupid amounts of demonic energy. Kang-Woo continued to swing the greatsword. The demonic energy barrier was finally broken, and Inferno shed the Constetion of Agony.


    ¡°What the¡ª?!¡±


    The Constetion of Agony was shocked. Breaking through the power of a god in such a barbaric way was like piercing through a boulder with a water cannon.


    ¡°Kurgh, gaaaaaahh!¡± The Constetion of Agony twisted and turned as the continuous attacks shed him apart. He drew out Divinity while biting his lip. ¡°I told you... that it¡¯s pointless, humaaaaaaan!¡±


    <i>Boom¡ª!</i>


    Sharp wedges shot out from all over the Constetion of Agony as protection. Kang-Woo dodged the wedges and widened the distance from the Constetion of Agony, who had managed to fully recover in that short moment.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    The Constetion of Agony¡¯s regeneration speed was truly impressive. He twirled Inferno while under thought.


    ¡°I guess...¡± Kang-Woo nodded. He had no choice but to admit it. ¡°I can¡¯t kill you in a physical fight.¡±


    There actually was a way; if Kang-Woo used a Chaos skill, he would be able to tear apart the Constetion of Agony¡¯s Divinity and deal great damage to him.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Even that would be pointless before that absurd regeneration speed. It was so fast that the Constetion of Agony would even be able to fully regenerate within seconds, even if all that was left of him was a finger.


    <i>¡®I want it.¡¯</i>


    The Authority of Regeneration could not evenpare to it.


    ¡°<i>Huff, huff!</i>¡± The Constetion of Agony panted heavily.


    He once again scrunched up and protected himself with a demonic energy barrier infused with Divinity. Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone sharply.


    <i>¡®To face that son of a bitch...¡¯</i>


    He would have to obliterate the Constetion of Agony before he even had a chance to regenerate, or continue to hurt him until his regenerative ability was exhausted.


    <i>¡®¡¯Neither one would be easy.¡¯</i>


    Divinity was severely getting in Kang-Woo¡¯s way. He had used so much demonic energy to get through the Constetion of Agony¡¯s Divinity that dealing a decisive attack was highly difficult.


    ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck!!¡± the Constetion of Agony cursed.


    He did not expect to be pushed so far by a mere mortal with no Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®If I unleash the Demon God¡¯s power...¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Agony quickly shook his head to chase away the momentary thought. Unleashing the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence against a mere human was enough of an embarrassment for him to be aughing stock for eternity among the other Constetions.


    The Constetion of Agony stared at Kang-Woo in conflict. Since his strongest weapon, pain, was not working, he was not confident that he would be able to beat that human in a head-on battle. He continued to hesitate.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    The Constetion of Agony bit his lip. He could tell that he would have no way toe out victorious without unleashing the Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®Against a mere human!¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Agony attempted to unleash the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence while frowning, but...


    ¡°Huh?¡± It did not work. The immense power within his heart was not budging in the slightest. The Constetion of Agony expressed confusion. ¡°Wh-What the hell?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know.¡± Just then, Kang-Woo pped his hands together and nodded. He smiled as if he was very satisfied with the idea he hade up with. ¡°Come to think of it, your ability isn¡¯t to make others feel pain, but to share your senses with them, right?¡±


    If their senses were shared, it meant that Kang-Woo¡¯s pain would also be sent to the Constetion of Agony.


    <i>¡®If that¡¯s the case...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had a very easy way to face the Constetion of Agony.


    ¡°You were going off about true agony and shit earlier, weren¡¯t you?¡± Kang-Woo smiled widely. ¡°I¡¯ll specially show you a whole new world, man.¡± He ced his hand over his heart while snickering and said, ¡°Molting.¡±


    ¡°What are you d¡ª¡± Just as the Constetion was about to ask what Kang-Woo was doing, his eyes popped open. ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    He felt pain. Iprehensible and unimaginable pain that he had never experienced took over his body and tore it apart.


    ¡°Argh, urgh, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!¡±


    <i>¡®It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.¡¯</i>


    All other thoughts were erased as horrifying pain engulfed the Constetion of Agony.


    ¡°S-Stop!! Stoooooooooop!!!¡± The Constetion of Agony extended his arm in desperation while screaming madly.


    Kang-Woo smiled. ¡°What a fucking crybaby.¡±


    <i>¡®I haven¡¯t even gotten started, man.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 367 - Dope

    <h4>Chapter 367 - Dope</h4>


    Pain took over the Constetion of Agony¡¯s body and mind, and all thought was shredded.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    The Constetion of Agony raised his head with his mouth agape. It hurt; that was the only form of thought allowed to him. It hurt so much that he despised himself for being able to breathe in such a situation.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t even gotten started, man.¡±


    The Constetion of Agony heard someone¡¯s voice, but he couldn¡¯t remember who it was; his thought process no longer functioned well enough for him to be able to search through his memories, but he could at least understand the horrifying truth contained in those words.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t... gotten started?¡± the Constetion of Agony muttered.


    It did not make sense. He couldn¡¯tprehend the nonsense. Haven¡¯t gotten started? He had long since passed his limit of pain tolerance.


    <i>¡®What the hell is this?¡¯</i>


    What could this possibly be for it to hurt this much? The Constetion of Agony could affirm that he had never felt this level of pain before despite having lived since the era of myths. It hurt so much that all the pain he had felt thus far only felt like a tickle.


    <i>¡®How can a human endure such pain?¡¯</i>


    No, forget being human, even beings of godhood would sumb to such immense pain. They would be convulsing uncontrobly while crawling all over the ground.


    ¡°Gaaah, argh, urghh.¡±


    The Constetion of Agony bent like a bow as he flopped around on the ground while foaming at the mouth. He was at least not peeing and pooping all over the ce because bowel functions did not exist for a being of godhood.


    ¡°Stop... Stop...¡± the Constetion of Agony begged.


    He could do nothing but beg before such overwhelming pain. The pain tolerance he was so proud of as well as his Upper Intermediate-rank Deific Essence werepletely useless.


    ¡°Kurgh! <i>Cough!</i> A-Aaaahh.¡±


    ¡°What are you going all insane for? It¡¯s only been a minute.¡±


    ¡°A minute? One minute?¡±


    That was impossible. The Constetion of Agony felt like he had spent an eternity in pain, but it had only been one minute? He despaired with his eyes wide open. He hade back to his senses after hearing that it had only been one minute. The fact that this pain might go on endlessly terrified him more than the pain itself.


    <i>¡®I-I have to sever it.¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Agony needed to sever the link between him and that crazy human. He needed to stop sharing their senses. If not...


    <i>¡®Th-The pain will never end.¡¯</i>


    ¡°A-Argghhh.¡±


    The Constetion of Agony got up. He calmed down his insanely trembling hand and extended his arm forward.


    <i>¡®Stop... the Authority.¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Agony severed the link of demonic energy between him and the human... No, he tried to.


    ¡°Where the fuck do you think you¡¯re running off to?¡±


    Oh Kang-Woo smirked. Despite being under the immense pain of molting, he sensed that the Constetion of Agony was trying to sever their link.


    <i>¡®I won¡¯t let you just run away after setting the stage.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo snickered. He let his demonic energy permeate into the Constetion of Agony¡¯s demonic energy that was trying to leave his body. The two energies resisted each other fiercely, but only for a moment. The Constetion of Agony¡¯s demonic energy within Kang-Woo gradually started to mix with Kang-Woo¡¯s. Kang-Woo began to control the Constetion of Agony¡¯s demonic energy within him.


    ¡°Kurgh! Gaaaaaaaahhh!¡± the Constetion of Agony screamed, sensing that the demonic energy he had been trying to retrieve was going against him. He stared at Kang-Woo inplete iprehension. ¡°Wh-What? What the hell did you do?¡±


    The human had forcibly stopped the Constetion of Agony from stopping his Authority and was controlling his demonic energy. Such a thing should not be possible. The Constetion of Agony fell into panic.


    ¡°H-How?¡±


    He could barely talk; he was unable to form proper sentences.


    Kang-Woo answered leisurely, ¡°How else? I took control of your demonic energy and seized it.¡±


    ¡°You took control of my demonic energy... and seized it? B-Bullshit!! How could you possibly meddle with someone else¡¯s energy?!¡± the Constetion of Agony screamed madly.


    Not all demonic energy was the same; the same went for mana and sacred power. All power had its own unique properties and characteristics. Even if they brought about the exact same phenomenon through the same principles and were fundamentally the same, they were different. Just like how each human was different despite being of the same species, demonic energy also possessed its own pattern and properties based on the one who wielded it.


    ¡°I mean, it wasn¡¯t that hard.¡± Kang-Woo shrugged.


    Controlling demonic energy of unique patterns and properties was not even that difficult for him, since he had always done so for thest ten millennia without rest.


    Kang-Woo continued, ¡°It¡¯s doable as long as you control it in very small units.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You can control other people¡¯s energies if you control them in units so small that their unique patterns and properties don¡¯t show.¡±


    ¡°What in the world... are you talking about?¡±


    Controlling energy in units so small that its pattern and property didn¡¯t show was absurd; it was like saying there were no differences between different materials once they were broken down into subatomic particles. In the first ce, demonic energy was not used in such a way; just like how one did not move their muscles by consciously firing off every single muscle fiber, one did not use demonic energy in such a minutely detailed manner.


    ¡°Such a thing...¡±


    It was impossible. Such an insane act must not be possible.


    ¡°What... are you? What the hell are you?¡±


    The Constetion of Agony had neither heard nor imagined such a thing. How could such a human exist? There was no way that this human was Gaia¡¯s retainer. No one would be able to tame that monster, even if they were a god managing an entire star.


    ¡°What the hell are you?!¡±


    The Constetion of Agony trembled in fear and his teeth cked noisily. This was the second time he had felt this much fear for someone. He could barely breathe. His vision was blurring, and he was feeling extremely nauseous.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you already know? I¡¯m Lady Gaia¡¯s loyal retainer, the Protector of Light,¡± Kang-Woo dered.


    ¡°Bullshit!!¡±


    ¡°The fuck, man? Why did you even ask if you weren¡¯t gonna believe me? So much for being nice.¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned in displeasure and red at the Constetion of Agony.


    ¡°U-Urgh.¡±


    The Constetion of Agony did his best to take back control of his demonic energy within Kang-Woo while biting his lip. Kang-Woo smirked.


    <i>¡®I should get ready for it as well.¡¯</i>


    He leisurely stretched andid down on the ground with his arms and legs stretched out. It had been about five minutes since beginning molting; it was about time the worst arrived.


    ¡°Reveal your identity this inst¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hey, vomit-looking-ass old man.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What did you say?¡±


    ¡°You were alive since the era of myths. You¡¯re obviously older than me, so what¡¯s wrong with calling you an old man? Anyway, you should get ready,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like getting ready will do anything for you.¡±


    Kang-Woo sighed and closed his eyes.


    <i>Crack! Crunch¡ª!!</i>


    ¡°Gaaaaaaahhh!!¡±


    ¡°Shit, that fucking hurts!!!¡±


    The sound of bones breaking and shrieks echoed from the peak of the mountain.


    ***


    ¡°Can you hear me, old man?¡±


    ¡°A-Arghhh, urgh.¡±


    ¡°Get up, old man. Hello?¡±


    <i>¡®You¡¯ll catch a cold if you sleep in a ce like this.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo carefully poked the copsed Constetion of Agony with the end of his foot.


    <i>Squish.</i>


    ¡°Ah, fuck.¡±


    Rotten pus got on the end of his shoe. Kang-Woo felt like he stepped on poop that happened to spill out from an overflowing toilet. He couldn¡¯t feel any more disgusted.


    ¡°Get the fuck up, man!¡±


    Kang-Woo turned the Key of the Demonic Sea into a hammer and swung it at the convulsing Constetion of Agony.


    <i>Boosh!</i>


    Pus sttered everywhere.


    ¡°Fuck! That¡¯s disgusting!¡±


    Kang-Woo grimaced from the putrid smell exuding from the Constetion of Agony, who waspletely unresponsive even after being bashed with a hammer.


    ¡°Ahhh... Uhhh...¡±


    Kang-Woo could no longer see a sense of intelligence in the Constetion of Agony¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Aww, man... I had so much information I needed to get out of him.¡±


    Kang-Woo scratched his head due to theplications. He had not expected someone known as the Constetion of Agony to be so shocked from one molting session that his sense of reasonpletely flew away.


    <i>¡®Maybe I should¡¯ve killed him with Chaos skills, even if it took some time.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was btedly swept over with regret. One always regretted their decisions when it was toote.


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± Kang-Woo sighed. There was another problem.


    Conflict reflected in Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes as he looked down at the Constetion of Agony.


    ¡°Ahhh...¡± He grabbed his head. ¡°Should I eat this thing or not?¡±


    The Constetion of Agony was so goddamn filthy that Kang-Woo honestly did not want to use the Authority of Predation. Leaving the filth aside, the smell he was exuding was unbearable.


    <i>¡®Are you sure he isn¡¯t the Constetion of Filth?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo unconsciously sighed. It felt like he had identally dropped his meal into the toilet; he would not mind if it was any other meal, but this meal was made with the finest and most expensive ingredients.


    <i>¡®I should eat it for sure, but...¡¯</i>


    He did not want to. He absolutely despised the idea. Kang-Woo looked down at the Constetion of Agony with hesitation, but not for long.


    ¡°Haaa, fuck me.¡±


    It was absurd to give up on devouring a Constetion of Evil just because they were filthy.


    <i>¡®Authority of ze.¡¯</i>


    Fwoosh!


    Kang-Woo burned the Constetion of Agony with yellow mes.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    The Constetion of Agony did not show any response in particr despite being burned alive. He was alive, but he was no different from a corpse. Kang-Woo took a deep breath and used the Authority of Predation.


    <i>Crunch! Crunch!</i>


    ¡°Urpp!!¡±


    An inexplicably putrid smell assaulted his nose and churned his insides. All sorts of swear words stormed within his head.


    ¡°Motherf... Urgh!¡±


    Kang-Woo rolled on the ground while grimacing as if it was more agonizing than the molting. Just then, he suddenly heard a voice.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Kang-Woo turned his head in surprise. Although he had been using the Authority of Predation, he couldn¡¯t believe that he hadn¡¯t been able to notice someone approaching this close to him. It was aplete blunder on his part.


    <i>¡®Hm?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned around to see an angel with ten wings.


    <i>¡®If he has ten wings, that means...¡¯</i>


    From what Kang-Woo had heard, there was only one other angel aside from Rakiel who had ten wings. Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone. His thought process elerated beyond what was humanly possible.


    Kang-Woo looked down at himself; he was covered in blood and exposed flesh because he had just gone through molting. Since he had changed the color of his blood with the Authority of Coloring just in case, his blood was red.


    <i>¡®I can use this situation.¡¯</i>


    ¡°You are...¡± The angel with ten wings and short blond hair slowly walked toward Kang-Woo, and his eyes widened for a short moment. ¡°A retainer of Lady Gaia.¡±


    The man spoke calmly, but Kang-Woo felt an inexplicable sense of scrutiny and callousness under his courteous attitude.


    ¡°<i>Cough!</i> Kurgh... Y-Yes, I am.¡± Kang-Woo nodded while clenching his chest.


    The blond angel approached closer. ¡°You¡¯re hurt rather badly.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m alr¡ª <i>Cough!</i>¡±


    ¡°You should lie down for a bit.¡±


    The blond man slightly lowered his guard after realizing that Kang-Woo was hurt. Kang-Woo nodded andid down on the ground.


    Kang-Woo asked carefully, ¡°And you are...¡±


    ¡°My name is Michael. I have heard about you from Uriel, Mr. Oh Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°I... see. <i>Cough!</i>¡±


    Michael looked around in silence. There were traces of a fierce battle all around them, but there were no signs of the enemy¡¯s corpse.


    ¡°<i>Cough! Cough!</i>¡± Kang-Woo twisted around while coughing up blood.


    Something that had been under Kang-Woo slid toward Michael.


    ¡°This is...¡±


    Michael¡¯s eyes widened. It was a fragment of the mask worn by those who had attacked Sant¡¯Angelo. If a fragment of the mask was here, it only meant one thing.


    ¡°Did you perhaps see who had attacked Sant¡¯Angelo?¡±


    ¡°Yes... I di¡ª <i>Cough!</i>¡±


    Kang-Woo coughed up even more blood. Michael hesitated for a moment, and then frowned as if he was conflicted. However, it did notst long.


    ¡°Drink this. Your injuries will heal.¡±


    Michael took something out from his clothes and handed it to Kang-Woo. It was a vial containing a liquid of various colors like an aurora. Kang-Woo took the vial with shaking hands and drank the liquid.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [You have ingested the ¡®Repayment of the Dragon God.¡¯]


    [Healing all injuries and fatigue.]


    [All stats have permanently risen by 5, and your quality and control of mana has dramatically increased.]


    [You have learned dragon tongue magic.]


    <i>¡®Dope.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo suppressed the corners of his mouth from rising with all his might.


    <i>¡®I just did it to see what he would do, but what a fucking score.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Haaa, haaa.¡±


    ¡°How are your injuries?¡± Michael asked.


    ¡°Th-They all healed in an instant.¡±


    Kang-Woo raised his shirt to show Michael as if he couldn¡¯t believe it. Although he was covered in blood, not a single wound was visible.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s a given, since I wasn¡¯t injured in the first ce.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked down at himself as if he couldn¡¯t believe it while keeping himself from smiling.


    <i>¡®Now then...¡¯</i>


    It was time for Michael to tell Kang-Woo why he had used such a treasure to save him.


    ¡°Who attacked Sant¡¯Angelo?¡± Michael asked.


    <i>¡®I knew it.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo answered without hesitation, ¡°It was Evil God Lucifer.¡±

 Chapter 368 - He Doesn’t Wash

    <h4>Chapter 368 - He Doesn¡¯t Wash</h4>


    ¡°Evil God, you say?¡± Michael¡¯s expression froze, and then nodded as if he was convinced. He sighed. ¡°I heard that Lucifer began to make his move again, but... I never imagined he would attack Sant¡¯Angelo with ancient demonic beasts.¡±


    ¡°I was just as surprised as you when I first heard about it from Uriel,¡± Oh Kang-Woo remarked.


    ¡°Come to think of it, Uriel seemed to have headed to you. How is he?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s fortunately no longer in critical condition.¡±


    Michael¡¯s expression rxed slightly. ¡°What a relief.¡± He looked around and then asked, ¡°Did you face Lucifer all on your own, Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised. Even if you¡¯re a retainer of Lady Gaia, Lucifer has acquired Divinity and has earned the title of Evil God.¡±


    Michael scanned Kang-Woo skeptically with narrow eyes. He seemed to know how disadvantageous someone without Divinity was against someone with Divinity.


    Kang-Woo slightly lowered his head and answered with a trembling voice, ¡°Honestly... I can¡¯t really say that I faced him by myself, since I was pretty much made a fool of by him.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that Lucifer let you live on purpose?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. As for the reason, I don¡¯t know either.¡±


    Michael fell into deep thought under silence. He slowly looked up to look around, and then asked in a low tone, ¡°Kang-Woo, did Lucifer have something in particr? For example, an item that looked suspicious...¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes at Michael¡¯s question.


    <i>¡®A suspicious item, huh?¡¯</i>


    Although he had devoured the Constetion of Agony without leaving a single mound of flesh, he did not see any suspicious item that Michael was referring to. No matter how thoroughly they looked around, they could not even find a trace of a suspicious item. If Michael was asking such a question despite that...


    <i>¡®This son of a bitch must know something.¡¯</i>


    ¡°He did seem to be trying to hide something,¡± Kang-Woo replied.


    ¡°Did you happen to see what he was trying to hide? Do you remember what it looked like?¡±


    <i>¡®He took the bait instantly.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Mmm. I didn¡¯t really see it in detail either.¡±


    ¡°Was it something dark that was squirming as if it was alive?¡±


    Kang-Woo obviously had not seen such a thing.


    ¡°Oh,e to think of it, I remember seeing something simr during my battle with Lucifer.


    ¡°Could I ask what it is?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°I apologize. I cannot tell that to an outsider¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m only asking because I might be able to confirm if the item is what you¡¯re referring to if I have some more information, but if it is ssified to outsiders... It can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    Kang-Woo sighed and shook his head as if it truly was a shame.


    Michael expressed hesitance.


    He weighed the scales; on one side was telling Kang-Woo about the item, and on the other was being given details from Kang-Woo about the item that Lucifer had. Michael did not think for very long.


    ¡°That dark item is the legacy left by Demon God Bauli that had been secretly kept in Sant¡¯Angelo.¡±


    ¡°Bauli¡¯s legacy?¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened. He had not expected to gain such valuable information here.


    <i>¡®By Bauli¡¯s legacy, could he mean...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists as his expectations rose. If this item known as Bauli¡¯s legacy could be a clue to finding his corpse, there was no need to keep on with this shitshow.


    ¡°Is it rted to the Demon God¡¯s corpse?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°No, it is not.¡±


    <i>¡®Tsk, too bad.¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo expressed slight disappointment.<i> ¡®I mean, I guess nothing in life goes as you want all the time.¡¯</i>


    He was satisfied enough with having acquired the treasure known as the Repayment of the Dragon God as well as having managed to deceive Michael.


    ¡°Does that mean this thing known as Bauli¡¯s legacy has been stolen?¡±


    Michael nodded with a heavy expression. ¡°Yes, so I need to know if the item that Lucifer was hiding really is that legacy or not. After all... there were more than one being that had attacked Sant¡¯Angelo.¡±


    In other words, there had been far too many thieves that it could not be determined who took the most valuable item.


    <i>¡®Jeez.¡¯</i>


    The situation was truly fucked in Michael¡¯s point of view. A horde of ancient demonic beasts and beings in red demon masks suddenly attacked their fortress and stole the legacy of the Demon God they had been safekeeping. Not just that, he had no idea who the culprits were nor who possessed the legacy now.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s fucked.¡¯</i>


    It was far too gone at this point; the angels had already lost to the Constetions of Evil the moment Sant¡¯Angelo was attacked and the legacy was stolen.


    <i>¡®One of the Constetions of Evil must have that legacy of the Demon God or whatever.¡¯</i>


    Since the Constetion of Agony did not have it, it was likely a different Constetion. However, Kang-Woo had no idea who, or even how many Constetions of Evil there were.


    <i>¡®I only have one choice to make.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo would need to choose who to tell Michael had the Demon God¡¯s legacy. It was the right choice to say that the Constetions of Evil were the culprits. If he framed Lucifer for the crime, the Constetions of Evil would naturally be free from suspicion; it would be like helping the enemy. In their point of view, they would havepletely gotten away with it since the angels would be taking action while being sure of someone else entirely to be the culprit.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    If Kang-Woo framed Lucifer, the dangers of this world¡¯s copse would grow more dire, possibly being able to move up the high elves¡¯ manifestation into the physical world.


    <i>¡®They each have their pros and cons.¡¯</i>


    One would interfere with the enemy¡¯s ns, and the other would move up his own n.


    Kang-Woo stared at Michael with deep, sunken eyes. Michael looked desperate; the Demon God¡¯s legacy seemed to be a very important item.


    <i>¡®Now, what to do?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo momentarily closed his eyes to think, and then slowly opened them back up.


    ¡°I think Lucifer is the one who stole the legacy. I thought about it, and I¡¯m sure I saw the squirming darkness on Lucifer,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    ¡°So the Evil God stole the legacy.¡±


    Michael clenched his fists as his eyes gleamed with rage.


    <i>¡®He¡¯s apparently been fighting Lucifer for a very long time.¡¯</i>


    It was not bad at all; the more Michael resented Lucifer, the quicker Kang-Woo¡¯s n would progress.


    ¡°Yes. I believe... the Evil God was behind everything,¡± Kang-Woo dered.


    Michael remained silent from hearing Kang-Woo¡¯s words devoid of uncertainty. He bit his lip and clenched his fists, veins protruding from the back of his hands, and his shoulders subtly shook.


    Michael sighed deeply and stated, ¡°I honestly had others in mind as the culprits of this incident when Sant¡¯Angelo was first attacked.¡±


    ¡°Others?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Michael swept back his blond hair that looked as if it were made of gold and continued, ¡°I thought the Constetions of Evil were the culprits.¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent. Michael¡¯s guess was correct. The ones who had summoned ancient demonic beasts, massacred angels, and stole the Demon God¡¯s legacy from Sant¡¯Angelo were indeed the Constetions of Evil, the elite guards of the Demon God. However...


    ¡°I only saw the Evil God,¡± Kang-Woo stated firmly.


    He severed any form of suspicion that Michael had for the Constetions of Evil and focused them on Lucifer.


    Michael nodded. ¡°I know. There is no way that the Prince of Pride would join forces with others.¡± He sighed with a heavy expression and continued while biting his lip, ¡°He hadid low for quite a while after ending up with the witch, but... It seems things have ultimatelye to this.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°Do you happen to know the identity of that witch?¡±


    ¡°No. Lucifer had hidden her so well that I have no idea which human it is. However, I do know that Lucifer¡¯s attitude had changed quite a lot after meeting that witch.¡±


    ¡°His attitude changed?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Before, he was all about taking revenge against the Demon King and bringing the Nine Hells to this continent, but he had gotten much less rowdy after meeting the witch.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    <i>¡®Did something change in him after meeting thatdy?¡¯</i>


    He had no idea; in the first ce, Kang-Woo could not figure out why a prince of Hell would marry a human woman.


    <i>¡®Whatever the case...¡¯</i>


    It was not the time to worry about that at the moment.


    <i>Crackle¡ª!!</i>


    Just then, Kang-Woo heard sparks of lightning. He turned around to see Uriel flying this way from afar. He seemed to have flown all the way here as soon as he was healed.


    ¡°Kang-Woo!¡± Urielnded on the ground and ran toward Kang-Woo, his face red with fury. He shouted, ¡°I told you to run!! Why did youe here?!¡±


    He did not even notice Michael standing next to Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Ahem,¡± Michael softly coughed.


    ¡°<i>Gasp</i>. L-Lord Michael?¡±


    Uriel shrank back while fumbling,pletely unlike how prideful he usually was.


    Michael smiled and asked, ¡°How are your injuries, Uriel?¡±


    ¡°O-Oh, they¡¯re fine now. Kang-Woo treated me.¡±


    Uriel slowly approached Kang-Woo and carefully pulled on Kang-Woo¡¯s clothes. Kang-Woo lightly hit Uriel on the head.


    ¡°Ouch! Wh-Why did you hit me?!¡±


    ¡°You should¡¯ve just rested. Why did you fly all the way here?¡±


    ¡°W-Well, because I was worri¡ª¡±


    Uriel¡¯s eyes widened as he was about to say that he had been worried about Kang-Woo. He had realized that Kang-Woo was speaking to him casually instead of with respect.


    ¡°A-Ahem!¡± Uriel blushed.


    <i>¡®Why the hell are you blushing?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned. He had spoken casually without much thought, but Uriel had gotten overly embarrassed about it. He wondered if he should go back to speaking respectfully, but shook his head while sighing. This was not the time to be worrying about that.


    ¡°Come to think of it, what happened to that guy in the red mask? Did you see his face?¡± Uriel asked while looking around at the traces of battle in the area.


    Michael answered in Kang-Woo¡¯s ce, ¡°The invader in the red mask was apparently Lucifer. And... he stole the legacy as well.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What?¡±


    Uriel clenched his fists, and his eyes widened. He bit his lip and trembled. His blue hair soared into the air as sparks cracked between the strands.


    <i>¡®Are you a Super Saiyan? Your hair stands up when you get mad?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled and turned around. ¡°First off, let¡¯s head to Sant¡¯Angelo. We might be able to gain more clues once we investigate the scene of the crime.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± Michael nodded with a heavy expression.


    Although Sant¡¯Angelo was normally restricted to humans, it was not the time to nitpick over such trivial things at the moment.


    <i>¡®With this...¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo thought.


    Lucifer had attacked the party hosted at the imperial pce to massacre nobles, tried to kill powerless and innocent civilians en masse, joined forces with the Constetions of Evil, and attacked Sant¡¯Angelo to steal the Demon God¡¯s legacy. He had truly be a being fit for the world¡¯s copse.


    ¡°But Kang-Woo,¡± Uriel asked as he tilted his head in confusion. ¡°Did Lucifer... always smell that bad? I don¡¯t remember him smelling that bad in the past.¡±


    <i>¡®Oh, right.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes momentarily reflected perplexity. There would obviously be discrepancies in information since the one Uriel had met was actually the Constetion of Agony.


    <i>¡®Oh, fuck. What should I do?¡¯</i>


    Apletely unexpected problem arose. Kang-Woo turned the gears in his head toe up with an answer about the smell.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    However, he could note up with a way to exin why Lucifer would smell so bad, no matter how much he thought about it. In the end, he decided on this answer.


    ¡°The son of a bitch...¡± Kang-Woo gulped. ¡°... Doesn¡¯t seem to wash himself.¡±


    Silence fell. Uriel grimaced in disgust. With this, Lucifer had be a being fit for the world¡¯s copse, who had attacked the party hosted at the imperial pce to massacre nobles, tried to kill powerless and innocent civilians en masse, joined forces with the Constetions of Evil, attacked Sant¡¯Angelo to steal the Demon God¡¯s legacy, and smelled so bad because he never washed up.


    <i>¡®Lucifer... You gotta wash yourself, man.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 369 - Time to Take Off Your Masks

    <h4>Chapter 369 - Time to Take Off Your Masks</h4>


    The white floating ind above the ocean in the northernmost region of the continent, which used to be covered in radiant and beautiful light, was now covered in ck smoke and piles of ashes.


    ¡°Kuh!¡± Uriel bit his lip from seeing the sorry state of Sant¡¯Angelo.


    He was forcibly suppressing his rage while clenching his fists.


    ¡°How devastating.¡± Oh Kang-Woo looked around the ruins of Sant¡¯Angelo.


    The ancient demonic beasts that had attacked the ind seemed to have been taken care of, but the traces of fierce battle still remained.


    Kang-Woo jumped across a crumbling wall and looked around. He hade all the way to Sant¡¯Angelo for two things; one was to obtain clues by investigating the scene of the crime like he had suggested to Michael, and the other...


    ¡°Where are the corpses of the demonic beasts that attacked Sant¡¯Angelo?¡± he asked.


    It was to devour all the wasteful leftovers. Although Kang-Woo had be so powerful that he could not hope for any form of growth by eating average prey, it was a different story if those prey were ancient demonic beasts.


    <i>¡®Even better if I eat them while I¡¯m still digesting the Constetion of Agony.¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Agony¡¯s powers that Kang-Woo had devoured with the Authority of Predation had not been absorbed yet; he hadcked the time to do so because Michael had appeared right after he had eaten the Constetion of Agony. It was better to just digest everything all at once instead of dividing it into separate digestion sessions.


    ¡°Gabriel is likely gathering all the corpses in a single area,¡± Michael answered.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Although Kang-Woo had no idea who Gabriel was, the fact that the corpses were being gathered in a single area was good news for him. It would make things far less annoying.


    ¡°Could you take me to exactly where Lucifer attacked?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Since the corpses were in the middle of being gathered, the digestion would have to wait. In the meantime, Kang-Woo would fulfill his primary goal. Kang-Woo followed Michael to the ce where the Demon God¡¯s legacy had been stored.


    ¡°Here it is,¡± Michael stated.


    Kang-Woo could feel suffocatingly colossal amounts of sacred energy within the space.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    Kang-Woo crouched while clenching his chest as soon as he set foot into the dome-shaped storage space.


    <i>¡®What the hell?¡¯</i>


    He felt like his entire body was burning. Demonic energy beyond his control rampaged within his blood as if it was tearing him apart from the inside. Kang-Woo grimaced.


    <i>¡®So this is the ce where the Demon God¡¯s legacy was sealed.¡¯</i>


    The sacred energy within this space seemed to have stimted the dormant power of the Demon God within Kang-Woo. He could feel the Demon God, imprisoned in the Abyss, writhing.


    <i>- A-Aaaaaaaahhh!</i>


    <i>¡®Shut the hell up, man.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo forcibly suppressed the Demon God¡¯s rampaging energy. He felt the Demon God¡¯s voice waning after a few deep breaths.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Kang-Woo?¡±


    Michael and Uriel turned to Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Nothing. It seems the injuries I suffered from Lucifer haven¡¯t fully healed yet,¡± Kang-Woo replied while grimacing in pain.


    Michael¡¯s expression stiffened. ¡°... You must have been in critical condition, considering you¡¯re still hurt even after drinking the Repayment of the Dragon God.¡±


    ¡°R-Repayment of the Dragon God?!¡± Uriel shouted in surprise.


    Michael nodded while expressing sorrow. ¡°I couldn¡¯t just leave Lady Gaia¡¯s retainer to die.¡±


    ¡°Lord Michael...¡±


    Uriel looked at Michael as his eyes glistened with ears, deeply moved. It seemed the liquid that Michael had given Kang-Woo was far more valuable than Kang-Woo had thought.


    <i>¡®No wonder.¡¯</i>


    There was nothing that raised one¡¯s stats permanently other than the blessing of a god. Not just that, it had raised the quality and control of his mana, and he was even able to learn dragon tongue magic; there was no such treasure but this in the world.


    <i>¡®Though raising mana control does nothing for me.¡¯</i>


    It was not because the fundamental source of his power was not mana. Whether it be demonic energy, mana or sacred power, all forms of power were fundamentally the same in the sense that they contained the user¡¯s will and properties. If one¡¯s control over mana rose, so did one¡¯s control over demonic energy naturally.


    <i>¡®But the fact that it didn¡¯t rise means...¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo could only think of one reason. <i>¡®It¡¯s beyond a level that would rise with just the Repayment of the Dragon God or whatever.¡¯</i>


    It was not difficult to understand; in the first ce, one¡¯s control over energy was not quantifiable. After spending time with Han Seeol-Ah, Kang-Woo¡¯s demonic energy control had gone beyond impressive and was now straight up abnormal. Hence, it was not something that would rise just by drinking an elixir of sorts.


    <i>¡®Well, even so...¡¯</i>


    It had not been without benefits. Since his stats had risen permanently by five, the amount of demonic energy that he could use rose dramatically, and so did his mana and sacred power.


    <i>¡®My other stats have risen as well.¡¯</i>


    Although Kang-Woo had be so strong that stats no longer meant anything to him, he always weed growth.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll have to research dragon tongue magicter too.¡¯</i>


    Although it would not be of much help to him, he might find something that would be of help to Echidna.


    ¡°Fuuu. I¡¯mpletely fine now,¡± Kang-Woo stated as he stood back up after organizing his thoughts.


    Uriel¡¯s expression dyed with relief. Kang-Woo lightly patted Uriel¡¯s shoulder while smiling and looked around. He had not noticed when he first set foot into the area because of the Demon God¡¯s rampage, but traces of battle were all over the ce.


    <i>¡®This is...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes narrowed. Although not much could be gathered just from the traces, he could be sure of one thing.


    <i>¡®The one who stole the legacy wasn¡¯t the Constetion of Agony, at the very least.¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Agony was not able to make such marks. To make such marks in a ce protected by so much sacred power that would even stimte the Demon God, one would need to be...


    ¡°Hm? Why are you smiling? Did you figure something out?¡± Uriel asked.


    Kang-Woo pulled down the corners of his mouth that had unconsciously risen and shook his head. ¡°No, nothing.¡±


    His heart beat rapidly, and an overwhelming hunger suffocated his stomach. He felt like the saliva gathering in his mouth would flow down uncontrobly. His desire to abandon all of his ns and to find the culprit who stole the Demon God¡¯s legacy rampaged.


    <i>¡®I have to endure it.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath and suppressed his boiling desire and impulse with all his might. It was obvious what would happen if he were to be blinded by his desires.


    <i>¡®The fact that I can¡¯t use Divinity is a massive minus.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had bridged the gap between him and the Constetion of Agony through stupidly absurd amounts of demonic energy, but he would be no match for someone who was able to make such marks on sacred power this colossal.


    <i>¡®I would only have three things to work with.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo only had three things that would be effective against enemies with the powerful weapon known as Divinity.


    <i>¡®I could open the Doors.¡¯</i>


    That was a definitive no; the risk of opening the Doors was far too great. It was better not to open them unless it was absolutely necessary.


    <i>¡®The other two would be to use either demonic energy from the Abyss, or Chaos skills.¡¯</i>


    Neither one was appealing. Although Kang-Woo was able to use demonic energy from the Abyss, it was highly restrictive, and the risk associated with using Chaos skills was unreal. Power that one did not have full control over would only hurt its user.


    <i>¡®The best option would be for me to learn to use Divinity.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked down at himself. It was not like he didn¡¯t possess Divinity; within the darkness of the Ten Thousand Demon Core were beings of godhood that he had devoured thus far. No, even without them, the Ten Thousand Demon Core contained the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence, so there was no way that Kang-Woo did not possess Divinity.


    <i>¡®The problem is that I can¡¯t use it.¡¯</i>


    For Kang-Woo to be able to use Divinity, he himself would need to acquire Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®I guess I have no choice but toplete the </i>Road to Bing a Demon God<i> quest.¡¯</i>


    There was only one condition remaining; Kang-Woo would acquire Deific Essence as long as he learned a Low-rank Chaos skill.


    <i>¡®But I can¡¯t just make it happen right away.¡¯</i>


    Hence, it was not wise to chase after the Constetions of Evil who had stolen the Demon God¡¯s legacy. He needed to do what was within his capacity first.


    ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be any information I can get from this ce,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°I see.¡± Michael¡¯s expression stiffened in disappointment.


    Kang-Woo turned to him and continued, ¡°I would like to ask you something.¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course. What is it?¡±


    ¡°You are able to make contact with the gods of the divine realm to an extent, right, Lord Michael?¡±


    Michael knew about the gods of other dimensions such as Gaia, so he likely possessed a method to contact them.


    ¡°I am.¡± Michael nodded as Kang-Woo had hoped.


    ¡°In that case, are you able to contact the high elves as well?¡±


    ¡°No. They do not reside in the divine realm, so I have no way of contacting them.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Kang-Woo calmly nodded.


    He was not particrly disappointed since Dous had said that there was currently no one who was able to reach out to the high elves, even if they were the leader of the angels or other gods.


    <i>¡®I wonder how long they can stay in hiding where no one can find them?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled and looked down at his hand. If they couldn¡¯t be found, he would just make them crawl out of hiding themselves. He had almost finished making the preparations for it.


    <i>¡®Rather, thanks to this incident...¡¯</i>


    It had lessened the work he needed to do. The attack of Sant¡¯Angelo, the massacre of angels, and the theft of the Demon God¡¯s legacy...


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no better crisis than this.¡¯</i>


    It was a fantastic opportunity in many ways, so there was no way Kang-Woo would just leave it unused.


    ¡°If you are able to make contact with the gods of the divine realm, I would like to ask you for a favor,¡± Kang-Woo mentioned.


    ¡°A favor?¡± Michael tilted his head.


    Kang-Woo smiled widely.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t like the fact that I¡¯m helping them out, but...¡¯</i>


    It couldn¡¯t be helped; it was all for framing Lucifer as the culprit.


    ¡°I would like you to...¡±


    ***


    A being in a red mask was standing alone on an aridnd covered in red sand. He was staring in one direction as if he could see something in thin air.


    <i>Step, step.</i>


    A woman with ck squirming tentacles spewing yellow pus approached him. Her eight eyes like that of a spider were gleaming seductively.


    ¡°Did you hear? The Constetion of Agony is dead, apparently,¡± the woman said in a sexy voice.


    The woman with ck tentacles licked her lips with her snake-like tongue. She was the Constetion of Lust, the being who had created demons of unparalleled beauty known as subuses. She was Proserpine, the Subus Queen; her beauty was on another levelpared to regr subuses... In demon standards, of course.


    ¡°I have heard,¡± the man in the red mask replied expressionlessly.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Proserpine hummed in joy and turned, the fabric that was just barely covering her body fluttered down. ¡°Michael probably killed him, right?¡±


    ¡°Most likely.¡±


    ¡°Fufu. What should we do? Michael found out about us,¡± Proserpine asked as her eyes shone.


    ¡°It matters not,¡± the man in the red mask replied expressionlessly. He took something out from his pocket; it was a dark object squirming as if it was alive. ¡°No, you could say that it is better for us. It was about time we revealed ourselves to the world.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Why? You didn¡¯t let us go anywhere as we pleased all this time.¡±


    ¡°The situation has changed.¡± The man in the red mask raised the squirming object. ¡°Now... we need fear.¡±


    It was time to let others¡¯ fear of the Constetions of Evil fester. Whether it be humans, angels, or gods, they all needed to be in fear of the Demon God; they needed to tremble like infants and bow down with their heads on the ground.


    ¡°Only then will we be able to resurrect Lord Bauli.¡±


    Once the entire continent was enveloped in fear, the legacy would bepleted after the negative emotion was absorbed in its entirety.


    ¡°And for that, we need fear to be directed toward us.¡±


    Fear in general was not enough; it needed to be directed toward the Demon God. Since the Constetions of Evil had once stood by the Demon God to massacre countless beings in his name, it would not be difficult for the fear to be directed toward the Demon God.


    ¡°Is that why you sacrificed the Constetion of Agony?¡± Proserpine asked with a wide smile. ¡°Fufu. I know you sealed the Constetion of Agony¡¯s Deific Essence.¡±


    The man in the red mask turned around without answering.


    ¡°Kyahaha!¡± Proserpine burst intoughter. ¡°Well, I never liked him anyway, so I couldn¡¯t care less. But...¡± She slowly walked up to the man and caressed his chest with her ck tentacles. She winked with four of her eyes and remarked cutely, ¡°I won¡¯t stand for it if you do the same to me, okay?¡±


    The man in the red mask maintained his silence. He walked past Proserpine and stood on the widely spread rednd.


    ¡°Now...¡± He spread his arms out in front of the rednd. ¡°Children of the Constetions.¡±


    <i>Grrrrrrk.</i>


    The rednd shook, and thousands of demonic beasts wearing red demon masks shot out from the sand. They were the Demon God¡¯s army, created during the era of myths.


    The man in the red mask said to the demonic beasts, ¡°It is time to take off your masks.¡±


    It was time to plunge the world into inescapable despair. The man in the red mask reached for his own mask and took it off, revealing a hideous diagonal sh scar across his face. He had pale skin and thick purplish dark circles under his eyes. Thend of the Nine Hells under him was dyed ck just from the evil energy flowing out from his entire body.


    He was Tai Wuji, once known as the Heavenly Dragon, as well as one of the three heroes who had killed the Demon God alongside Gaia and Seraph. However, he was now known as the Constetion of Despair.


    ¡°How are the gods reacting?¡± Tai Wuji asked as he approached a boy who was staring nkly up into the sky.


    Since Michael had a close rtionship with the gods, he would most definitely have let the gods know that the Constetions of Evil have begun to make their move.


    ¡°The gods are...¡± the boy with nk eyes muttered. ¡°... Enraged.¡±


    Tai Wuji nodded as a smile appeared on his expressionless face.


    <i>¡®Rage, huh?¡¯</i>


    It was rage toward the Constetions of Evil, and by extension, the Demon God.


    <i>¡®But soon enough...¡¯</i>


    That rage would be despair, and that despair would be fear, nourishing the Demon God¡¯s legacy.


    ¡°Yes. They can stay enraged while they still c¡ª¡±


    ¡°The gods are... Enraged at Lucifer.¡±


    <i>¡®Huh?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Michael told the gods... that the one who attacked Sant¡¯Angelo and stole the legacy was Lucifer.¡±


    The gods werepletely off the mark.

 Chapter 370 - Yeah, No

    <h4>Chapter 370 - Yeah, No</h4>


    ¡°What... are you talking about?¡± Tai Wuji asked while frowning. The culprit who stole the legacy was Lucifer? It was far too out of left field. ¡°Are you saying that Michael mistook the Constetion of Agony for Lucifer?¡±


    That was impossible; Michael had fought against Lucifer for a very long time, so there was no way that he would be unable to distinguish between him and the Constetion of Agony.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The boy with nk eyes shook his head.


    Tai Wuji remained silent. He was having a hard time understanding what was going on. ¡°In that case, has the fear of the angels¡ª¡±


    ¡°They are all toward Lucifer, along with the fear of the humans. With the way things are now, the negative emotions cannot be absorbed.¡±


    Tai Wuji¡¯s eyebrows flinched. He was able to understand the fear of the humans for Lucifer since he had made his appearance in the empire not long ago, but how could even the fear of the angels be directed at him as well? The one who had massacred the angels at Sant¡¯Angelo and stole the legacy was him, not Lucifer.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Tai Wuji muttered with his eyes narrowed.


    Regret momentarily crossed his mind; maybe it would have been a good idea to attack Sant¡¯Angelo without putting masks on.


    <i>¡®Provided we were guaranteed to seed.¡¯</i>


    Since Tai Wuji had been unsure if he really would be able to steal the Demon God¡¯s legacy, he and the other Constetions of Evil had worn masks. If they had failed while they were bare-faced, the situation would have been much worse than now. Tai Wuji set aside his regret and returned to his usual expressionless face.


    ¡°What will you do?¡± the boy asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s only one thing we need to do,¡± Tai Wuji replied calmly.


    He did not know why the angels thought Lucifer had been the one to steal the legacy, but it did not change their objective.


    <i>¡®To plunge the continent in fear, and to direct that fear toward the Demon God.¡¯</i>


    To perfect the Demon God¡¯s legacy and create the<i> Key of the Demonic Sea</i>, they needed an enormous amount of negative emotions.


    <i>¡®Not a difficult task.¡¯</i>


    Plunging the continent into fear with its inhabitants fearing for their demise, and each person not even daring to utter the Demon God¡¯s name¡ª it was far too easy. Humans and angels were weak, and the gods were not able to intervene in any way.


    Tai Wuji turned to look across the endless ocean. Across the ocean was Aernor.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    He looked up. Across the dimensional wall, there was Huan, Tai Wuji¡¯s home world, and the world managed by Gaia. These three worlds were known as the Triad, and...


    ¡°They will soon... bow down before Lord Bauli,¡± the Constetion of Despair muttered.


    ***


    Unfortunately, Oh Kang-Woo had not been able to fulfill his secondary goal because the corpses of the ancient demonic beasts were being investigated by the angels. Hundreds of them were swarming around the corpses to investigate all sorts of things, so it was not easy to swipe the corpses.


    Kang-Woo decided toe back once the angels were about to dispose of the corpses, and went back to Arnan for now. There was a massivemotion in the imperial pce due to Uriel¡¯s appearance and Kang-Woo¡¯s disappearance.


    ¡°Find him!! Find him even if you have to scour the entire continent!!¡±


    Iris was nagging at the imperial army, and Kim Si-Hun had already set out to the north along with Balrog to chase after Kang-Woo. So had Halcyon and Echidna... No, everyone except for Lilith and Vernaak had already set out for the north.


    Feeling a phantom headache, Kang-Woo put his hand on his forehead while he read the imperial notice that whoever found him would receive an astronomical reward and be granted a noble peerage.


    <i>¡®What a fucking mess.¡¯</i>


    It was his fault for leaving without a word, but this was far too much of an overreaction.


    ¡°Wee back, Master Kang-Woo.¡± Lilith elegantly walked up to Kang-Woo while he was looking down at the imperial notice.


    She was giggling while covering her mouth with her hand as if she found the situation highly entertaining.


    Kang-Woo sighed and remarked, ¡°You should¡¯ve stopped them.¡±


    ¡°Hohoho. You know how unyielding Si-Hun can be. I barely managed to convince him to take Balrog and the others with him when he was about to chase after you all by himself.¡±


    ¡°Call the others back first.¡±


    They would only have an awkward encounter with the angels who were in the middle of cleaning up after the situation if they were to arrive in the north right now.


    Lilith nodded with a smile. ¡°I already have.¡±


    She seemed to have expected Kang-Woo to give her such an order. Kang-Woo was about to scold her that she should¡¯ve stopped everyone from going if she knew this was going to happen, but he shook his head; after all, he was ultimately at fault for heading to Sant¡¯Angelo without a word.


    ¡°Oh right, Master Kang-Woo.¡± Lilith walked up to him, clung to his arm and leaned on him. Her hands were slightly trembling. ¡°Please let us know before you leave next time.¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent and imagined how he would¡¯ve felt if the roles were reversed; if Han Seol-Ah had charged into enemy lines before he had known it.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Kang-Woo gently patted Lilith¡¯s head.


    She smiled widely. ¡°Fufufu. I believed you woulde back.¡±


    ¡°Well... I had something to tell you in private, so I guess it kind of worked out.¡±


    ¡°Something to tell me?¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded. Lilith was one of the very few people who knew his true n, so it was a good idea to let her know what was going on. He told her about what had happened with the Constetion of Agony and the angels back in the north.


    ¡°Mm,¡± Lilith expressed while putting her index finger on her lips. ¡°As you¡¯ve said, it¡¯s nothing but good for the Constetions of Evil.¡±


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped.¡±


    To focus all attention on Lucifer, Kang-Woo needed to take the heat off of the Constetions of Evil. Lilith nodded; it was better to focus on one prey than to divide one¡¯s focus on two and risk losing them both.


    ¡°In that case, are you nning on continuing to conceal the appearance of the Constetions of Evil?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Until the high elves appear, at the very least.¡±


    He could also im that the Constetions of Evil were working with Lucifer, but considering the Constetions of Evil were putting in the work, attention would naturally end up focusing on them instead of Lucifer.


    <i>¡®Though it might not matter who I use since either would drive the continent to its copse.¡¯</i>


    Whoever the fear was directed at, it did not matter to Kang-Woo as long as the continent was ced on the brink of copse.


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head after thinking momentarily. He was unable to control the Constetions of Evil. He needed to be inplete control for him to create shy and exciting situations with minimal casualties.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    Having multiple targets to fear might have a negative effect. Emotions could not be set aze endlessly; it would wear down and fade over time. For fear to be concentrated, there could not be more than one target for that fear.


    <i>¡®No matter how I think about it...¡¯</i>


    Just Lucifer was good enough as the evil being that would bring copse to the continent.


    ¡°Until then, I¡¯ll keep the focus entirely on Lucifer while concealing the Constetions of Evil as best I can. Lilith, once your informationwork isplete, regte information so that the Constetions of Evil aren¡¯t brought to light.¡±


    ¡°As youmand, Master Kang-Woo.¡± Lilith slightly raised the hem of her skirt and bowed elegantly. ¡°But...¡±


    Lilith stared at Kang-Woo in worry. She had heard from him about his battle with the Constetion of Agony, as well as the fact that the culprit who had stolen the legacy possessed power on another level to that of the Constetion of Agony.


    ¡°My king.¡±


    Lilith stared at Kang-Woo while hesitating to speak. Her expression was heavy as if she didn¡¯t know how to bring it up. Kang-Woo was easily able to figure out what she was worried about.


    ¡°What? You think I¡¯m gonna lose to them?¡± he asked.


    ¡°N-No, that¡¯s not it,¡± Lilith stuttered as she turned away.


    Kang-Woo was actually on the money. Although he was the Demon King who had ruled the Ninth Hell, his enemies were gods that had acquired Deific Essence. In terms of pure power, Kang-Woo was hopelessly outmatched.


    ¡°Come to think of it, I remember you making that face before.¡± Kang-Woo smirked and lightly ced his hand over Lilith¡¯s frozen mouth.


    ¡°Are you talking about the time right before your battle against Bael?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    At the time, Kang-Woo¡¯s difference in powerpared to Bael had been overwhelming. Even when Kang-Woo managed to defeat Bael, he had not managed to surpass him.


    ¡°Lilith.¡± Kang-Woo smiled. ¡°And what happened at the end?¡±


    Bael had been an absolute monster so overwhelmingly powerful that Kang-Woo had not managed to surpass him even to the very end. However...


    ¡°Which one of us won?¡±


    Kang-Woo had won. He overcame the despairingly overwhelming difference in strength and managed toe out victorious.


    ¡°My king...¡±


    Lilith¡¯s eyes widened. Shivers ran down her spine and throughout her body. The ends of her hair unconsciously turned into tentacles, and they turned red as if they were burning.


    Lilith looked up at Kang-Woo. Although he was talking as if it had been nothing, she remembered the pain, suffering and humiliation that he had to endure for that victory.


    <i>¡®Ah...¡¯</i>


    This was the kind of person Kang-Woo was. No matter what happened, whatever was blocking his path, he would always walk forward.


    ¡°Ahh, my king.¡± Lilith breathed heatedly as she became aroused. She put her arms around Kang-Woo¡¯s neck and kissed him passionately. She whispered sexily, ¡°I would like to go back to my true form, just for today. I want to make love to you in my true form, not in this ugly shell.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled faintly and stroked Lilith¡¯s hair, which was slowly turning into tentacles. He could feel the genuine passion in her eyes. He did not hesitate to answer.


    ¡°Yeah, no. Go back.¡±


    <i>¡®Over my dead body.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 371 - Did You Forget It Because It Barely Appeared?

    <h4>Chapter 371 - Did You Forget It Because It Barely Appeared?</h4>


    ¡°I¡¯ll be in my room because I have something to do, so let me know when Si-Hun and the others arrive,¡± Oh Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°Tch.¡± Lilith clicked her tongue in disappointment, but only for an instant. She smiled brightly and nodded. ¡°Yes, Master Kang-Woo. I will contact you as soon as they arrive.¡±


    <i>¡®I saw you click your tongue. No chance I¡¯m gonna let you touch me with your tentacles.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned away from the sullen Lilith and quickly walked away.


    ¡°Sir Kang-Woo!¡±


    Iris approached him on his way to his room and bawled her eyes out while grabbing his hands. After consoling her that he was alright and telling her to stop worrying about him and focus on her duties, Kang-Woo finally managed to reach his room.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Kang-Woo lightly stretched and drew out his demonic energy, which spread throughout the room and solidified as if it was coating the walls. ¡°G¨¢e Bulg.¡±


    Kang-Woo created a dark-red spear and threw it as hard as he could at the wall. <i>ng!</i> The spear bounced off the wall coated with demonic energy along with a clear metallic sound.


    ¡°This should be good enough.¡±


    Kang-Woo lightly knocked on the coated wall and walked toward the center of the room. He took a deep breath in and focused his mind.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll deal with the digestion first.¡¯</i>


    He had not melted down the Constetion of Agony¡¯s power that he had absorbed with the Authority of Predation yet. He had been nning on digesting it along with the powers of the ancient demonic beasts, but he ended up having to digest just the Constetion of Agony after failing to acquire the corpses.


    <i>¡®Well, it can¡¯t be helped.¡¯</i>


    It was far better than getting greedy while risking his rtionship with the angels getting sour. Besides, he would have a chance to acquire the corpses in the future. Although the demonic energy within the corpses would dissipate over time, he had no other choice.


    ¡°Now, then.¡± Before Kang-Woo began, he uttered the words that he hadn¡¯t said in a very long time. ¡°Status Window.¡±


    He could not remember thest time he had opened it¡ª no, he had almost forgotten about its existence. Since it had been a long time, he had decided to check his status.


    [Status Window]


    P??yer Name: Oh ????


    Lev??: 86 [Nin?? Awakening]


    ¡°... The hell is this?¡±


    His status window was filled with unknown letters. Kang-Woo looked down at his status window, warped as if it was filled with static, and frowned.


    <i>¡®No way... Did you forget it because it barely appeared? Have you been writing away without thinking of stats and hiding it now because you were put in a pickle?¡¯</i>


    ¡°What the hell are these ck letters?¡±


    Kang-Woo looked down at the warped portions of his status window. However, no matter many times he opened and closed it, the letters did not disappear.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t think they¡¯re doing any harm, at the very least.¡¯</i>


    Since he had no idea something like this had been happening before opening his status window, it likely was not influencing his powers in any way. After thinking for a while, he clicked his tongue and shook his head.


    <i>¡®I have no idea.¡¯</i>


    In the first ce, the system, which was known as the providence of the universe, was a highly abstract thing. Since Kang-Woo had no clues or anything to guess from, it was beyond him to figure out why this had happened.


    ¡°I¡¯ll set it aside for now.¡±


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and meditated.


    <i>Ssh.</i>


    He saw a ck sea. It was the endlessly stretching Demonic Sea. It surged, whirled, split, united, upturned, and burst. It was irregr and unrestricted, a chaotic sea of infinite demonic energy.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t believe I¡¯ve gotten used to seeing this insane sea.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly as he observed the raging ck sea. Although it looked highly unstable, this was merely the shallow end. As one went deeper toward the Abyss, the ferocity of the demonic energy became more severe.


    <i>¡®Well, then.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo went down toward the sea of demonic energy, and ced his foot on the raging surface.


    <i>Fshhh¡ª!</i>


    The sea of demonic energy froze along with a disturbing noise. Kang-Woo¡¯s abnormal demonic energy control had quelled the violently raging sea. He walked on the surface of the sea that had be as hard as concrete. There was a monster pierced by countless teeth on the surface of the sea.


    <i>- A-Aaaahh.</i>


    The Constetion of Agony was groaning with his mouth open.


    Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°You¡¯re still like that? What a crybaby.¡±


    He shook his head. The Constetion of Agony had been reduced to this state after experiencing molting only once.


    ¡°Where the hell is your backbone?¡±


    Kang-Woo walked toward him while clicking his tongue.


    <i>- A-Aaaahh. </i>The Constetion of Agony looked toward Kang-Woo. <i>- Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!</i>


    <i>Crack, crunch.</i>


    The Constetion of Agony screamed while twisting his body madly. He frantically struggled to get away from Kang-Woo as far as he could.


    ¡°It¡¯s pointless, man.¡±


    The Constetion of Agony had already been sucked into the Demonic Sea by the Authority of Predation. There was no way that a mere Constetion of Evil would be able to ovee the force of the Demonic Sea when not even the Demon God was able to.


    <i>- Y-You... You, you, you...</i>


    The Constetion of Agony¡¯s dangling eyeball that had been mangled by the sharp teeth stared at Kang-Woo. He repeated his words like a broken radio.


    <i>- A-Aaaahh. I see. I see.</i>


    He nodded what remained of his head as if he was convinced of something.


    Kang-Woo frowned. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    He approached the Constetion of Agony and grabbed his head.


    The Constetion of Agony muttered while sobbing,<i> - It... was you. You were... the Demon of... Prophecy. </i>He trembled in extreme fear.<i> - You were...! The Demon of Proph¡ª</i>


    ¡°The fuck are you talking about?¡±


    Kang-Woo grimaced at the Constetion of Agony¡¯s iprehensible words. He likely did not know Kang-Woo well enough to be spouting such bullshit.


    ¡°You see, I¡¯m...¡±


    <i>Rip. </i>The corners of Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth tore all the way to his ears, and sharp teeth pierced out from the skin over his cheekbones.


    ¡°The loyal retainer of Lady Gaia, and...¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s jaw dislocated, his mouth opening beyond what was humanly possible, just like a snake swallowing arge prey. His mouth reached all the way down to his sr plexus. Despite that, Kang-Woo was speaking as clearly as before.


    ¡°The Protector of Light.¡±


    <i>Munch! Crunch!</i>


    The Constetion of Agony was eaten alive by the abnormally wide mouth. He was squashed, pierced, twisted, and contorted.


    <i>Grrrrk.</i>


    The body of the Constetion of Agony was broken down into bits within Kang-Woo¡¯s stomach and dissipated into the ck sea.


    ¡°<i>Buuuuurp</i>.¡±


    Another evil being had disappeared thanks to the Protector of Light (Type: Darkness).


    ***


    <i>Riiing!</i>


    [You have devoured the entirety of the Constetion of Agony¡¯s Deific Essence.]


    [A portion of the Deific Essence is sealed.]


    [The Deific Essence devoured by the Authority of Predation is interfering with the system¡¯s restrictions.]


    [Raising the level cap from 86 to 89!]


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    <i>¡®Only three levels?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned aggressively. He saw the message that a portion of the Deific Essence was sealed.


    <i>¡®No wonder he was so weak.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. He did indeed think that the Constetion of Agony had been way too weak for his grandiose title. Other than the fact that the Divinity within his demonic energy made his defense extremely solid as well as his absurdly fast regenerative speed, he had been nothing special.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to get my Tenth Awakening Trait.¡±


    Kang-Woo sighed in disappointment. He had been looking forward to leveling up to get his Tenth Awakening Trait the most, but he had been one level short of reaching Level 90.


    <i>¡®I had a feeling that it would be a clue to earning Divinity.¡¯</i>


    Since the battle with the Constetion of Agony made him painfully aware of how important Divinity was, he was even more disappointed.


    ¡°Tsk,¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and shook his head.


    <i>¡®I guess I¡¯ll hope for better next time.¡¯</i>


    There was nothing that he could do at the moment. He could try to go out of his way to acquire the ancient demonic beasts¡¯ corpses, but it was pointless.


    <i>¡®There aren¡¯t any ancient demonic beasts that possess Divinity.¡¯</i>


    Even if there were, Behemoth would be it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see... In that case...¡±


    His excitement had died down due to having been one step short of reaching his Tenth Awakening, but there was one additional thing that he had managed to acquire.


    <i>¡®Dragon tongue magic.¡¯</i>


    It was the knowledge that he had gained after drinking the treasure known as the Repayment of the Dragon God. Kang-Woo organized the knowledge of dragon tongue magic swirling around in his head. His eyes shone with curiosity.


    <i>¡®Manifesting magic by using the power imbued within words, huh?¡¯</i>


    It was an extremely interesting method. Dragon tongue was obviously the keystone of dragon tongue magic, and dragon tongue itself was the beginning and end of all magic.


    <i>¡®Thenguage wasn¡¯t created formunication purposes in the first ce.¡¯</i>


    Dragon tongue was a magical form in the form ofnguage. One could only use dragon tongue by adjusting one¡¯s intensity, pitch, pronunciation, and speed of one¡¯s speech to a degree of perfection.


    Normal magic and skills also required activation words or to be cast, but in those cases, it was mainly used for materializing an image, or the symbol of the magic or skill itself.


    <i>¡®It can also be used for the coolness factor, like Reynald.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was reminded of the kind-hearted young man who had gone out of his way to shout his skill right before he was about to attack.


    <i>¡®He was a kind-hearted fellow, but to think he died so pitifully.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head as sorrow swept over him.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s why activation words should be short and concise. It should also never give away what the attack does. For example, Rasengan is better than Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol.¡¯</i>


    In any case, dragon tongue did not stop at simple activation words that allowed one to manifest an image, but the magical form itself.


    <i>¡®In other words, as long as the mana required for the manifestation of magic is supplied...¡¯</i>


    Simply saying the dragon tongue was enough to activate the magic.


    Silence fell in the room. Kang-Woo stroked his chin and got up from his chair.


    ¡°This is pretty fun.¡±


    Possibly because his hopes had not been high, he was having a lot more fun than he had expected. It was not because he was after the power of dragon tongue magic; however strong it was, it would not be as good as the Authorities of the princes of Hell. If he simply wanted strong techniques, he wouldn¡¯t go out of his way to research dragon tongue magic. He was not interested in how powerful or useful dragon tongue magic was.


    <i>¡®The way to imbue power intonguage...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was curious about its principles.


    ¡°Mmm.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled and stretched. His motivation was through the roof for some reason.


    <i>¡®Maybe it¡¯s because my growth has been stagnant for a while.¡¯</i>


    The Chaos skills and demonic energy from the Abyss were so difficult to control to the point that they could lead to his death; he seemed to have unknowingly umted stress due to such dangers.


    Kang-Woo decided to take this chance to research dragon tongue magic. Thankfully, he wouldn¡¯t be researching it alone; he had someone he could discuss dragon tongue with.


    <i>Whoooom.</i>


    Themunication crystal orb vibrated. Lilith¡¯s voice flowed out of it as soon as Kang-Woo put his hand over it.


    [Master Kang-Woo. Just now¡ª]


    ¡°Yeah, I know.¡±


    Kang-Woo turned to face the door.


    <i>Rumble.</i>


    He could feel vibrations simr to a rhinoceros charging. He lifted the demonic energy protecting the room.


    <i>Bam!</i>


    The door was destroyed.


    ¡°Kang-Wooooooooooooo!¡±


    Echidna jumped into Kang-Woo¡¯s arms.


    ***


    ¡°... I can¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You can¡¯t use dragon tongue, Kang-Woo.¡±

 Chapter 372 - But I Can

    <h4>Chapter 372 - But I Can</h4>


    ¡°Kang-Wooooooooooooo!¡±


    ¡°Whoa, there.¡±


    Oh Kang-Woo caught Echidna as she jumped into his embrace. Echidna looked up at him while teary-eyed.


    ¡°Why, why did you disappear without a word?!¡± she shouted.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly. He was most certainly at fault for this incident. If he had been in their shoes and either Kim Si-Hun, Han Seo-Ah, Echidna or anyone else acted on their own, he would have been furious. The fact that he was short on time was just an excuse; he could have concisely contacted them before heading out.


    <i>¡®Was I more hot-headed than I thought?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t tell. He might have been more impacted by Uriel¡¯s critical state than he had initially thought. In any case, he was in the wrong.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Kang-Woo apologized while patting Echidna¡¯s head.


    Echidna was about to say something, but refrained from doing so and simply clenched Kang-Woo¡¯s clothes without a word.


    ¡°<i>Sniff, sniff.</i>¡±


    <i>¡®Sheesh, you sure are full of snot and tears.¡¯</i>


    <i>Blow!</i>


    ¡°Wha...¡±


    <i>¡®Why are you blowing your nose on my clothes?¡¯</i>


    <i>Blow! Blow!</i>


    <i>¡®Stop that, youngdy. You¡¯re getting snot all over my cl¡ª¡¯</i>


    <i>Bloooo!</i>


    Kang-Woo grabbed Echidna¡¯s shoulders and lightly separated her from him. Soon after...


    ¡°Hyung-nim!¡±


    <i>¡®What is it this time, man?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Why, why did you disappear without a word?!¡±


    <i>¡®Are we gonna go through this each time per person? Keep that up and we¡¯ll be able to fill up today¡¯s chapter.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Sorry. I was so out of it that I didn¡¯t think to contact any of you guys,¡± Kang-Woo replied.


    ¡°Haaa. Jesus, do you have any idea how worried I was?¡±


    Si-Hun sighed in relief and then red at Kang-Woo. Seeing his eyes filled with rage, Kang-Woo smirked.


    <i>¡®Cute little son of a bitch.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun really felt like a little brother. Kang-Woo was finally able to escape after consoling every single one of his party members who had chased after him to the north. Seol-Ah slowly approached Kang-Woo after he finally managed to resolve the mess.


    ¡°Are you really okay, Kang-Woo?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I told you I am.¡±


    Seol-Ah carefully reached out to touch Kang-Woo. She smiled brightly and nodded. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll trust you.¡±


    <i>¡®But why are you touching my limbs if you trust me?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo suppressed his thoughts from leaving through his mouth and turned around. He walked up to Echidna, who was sitting down on the bed with her eyes all puffy from crying so much.


    ¡°Can you help me for a bit?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Hm? Me?¡±


    Echidna looked around to see if Kang-Woo had been talking to someone else, and then jumped up in surprise. She had always been the one to be helped by Kang-Woo, but the time hade for her to be able to help him. A fresh and exciting feeling ran down her spine and throughout her body.


    Echidna gulped and nodded energetically. ¡°Hm! Yeah, I can help! But with what?¡±


    Echidna looked up at Kang-Woo with sparkling eyes.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and continued, ¡°I want you to teach me stuff about dragon tongue magic.¡±


    ¡°Dragon tongue magic?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to use dragon tongue magic, Kang-Woo?¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded. To be more precise, he was trying to understand the construct and principles of dragon tongue rather than to be able to use it.


    Momentary silence fell. Echidna sat back down on the bed and rolled her feet covered by pink bunny socks. The bunny¡¯s ears were pping up and down.


    Echidna then answered with a sad expression, ¡°You can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t?¡±


    Echidna carefully nodded. ¡°Yeah. You can¡¯t use dragon tongue, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Hm,¡± Kang-Woo expressed. ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re not a dragon.¡±


    <i>¡®Oh. Only dragons could use it? I mean, I guess that makes sense since it¡¯s called dragon tongue.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo chuckled while putting his hand on his forehead. It was an obvious reason, but he still felt frustrated nheless.


    <i>¡®It feels like I was forced to stop shitting midway.¡¯</i>


    He understood it in his head, but he still wanted to question it for some reason.


    ¡°Dragons have their own unique vocal organs,¡± Echidna remarked.


    She opened her mouth and pointed inside it. She had three vocal chords.


    <i>¡®Three, huh? Why did I never know this? No, it¡¯d be weirder if I knew. In what world would I ever look at someone¡¯s vocal chords?¡¯</i>


    ¡°This organ usually fully forms once you be a mature dragon, but mine was fully developed early thanks to you, Kang-Woo,¡± Echidna said while smiling.


    Kang-Woo groaned and clicked his tongue. ¡°Then does that mean dragon tongue can¡¯t be used without that vocal organ?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You won¡¯t be able to pronounce the words at all.¡±


    Dragon tongue was a technique that crammed the entirety of a magic form into anguage. If one was not able to pronounce the words, there was no way for one to be able to use them.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    <i>¡®I mean, I was never interested in using it anyway.¡¯</i>


    He only needed to understand the principles of imbuing power into words.


    ¡°Can you use it for me?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Echidna nodded. ¡°Sure, just a second.¡±


    Since they couldn¡¯t use it in the room, they separated from the rest of the party and headed to a remote mountain near the area.


    Echidna took a deep breath and opened her mouth wide. [D O V A H K I I N!]


    The roar was so thick and abnormal that one would hardly believe that it came out from a little girl. The thunderous roar leveled the ground, and sharp des of wind shed everything in the area. The forest was sliced into tiny little pieces as if it had been ced in a giant blender. It was like a natural disaster had stormed by.


    ¡°<i>Whistle</i>.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone with great interest. It had been far stronger than he had expected.


    <i>¡®When did she grow this much?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at Echidna like a proud father. She had be far more powerful than when they first met.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa. What do you think, Kang-Woo?¡± Echidna asked while panting and looking up at Kang-Woo with sparkling eyes.


    Kang-Woo chuckled and patted her head.


    ¡°Hm! Hm!¡± Echidna smiled widely while snorting with excitement.


    <i>¡®So cute.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could understand how fathers felt as they watched their daughters grow.


    <i>¡®That aside...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo fell into thought while tapping on his chin with a finger.


    <i>¡®Demonic energy moved as soon as Echidna talked in dragon tongue.¡¯</i>


    He was able to tell the difference after watching from right next to Echidna. For regr magic, the entirety of the magic form was constructed first, and then the activation word was uttered to manifest the magic. In other words, it was a form of trigger word. But in the case of dragon tongue, the demonic energy moved at the same time that the activation word was uttered, and the magic manifested as soon as the activation word was finished.


    <i>¡®Amazing.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone. If he had to make aparison, it was like the difference between a bow and a gun. Regr magic was like a bow; the archer took out an arrow, aimed at the enemy, pulled the bowstring, and let the arrow loose. Kang-Woo also used skills made by merging Authorities in that manner.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Dragon tongue magic was different. Dragons simply ced their finger on the trigger of the ready-to-fire gun that was dragon tongue, and simply pulled the trigger by saying the activation word to fire the gun.


    <i>¡®Dragon tongue is usually far faster.¡¯</i>


    The difference in speed would be wider the more advanced the magic became. Low-rank magic barely required any former preparation. They were almost instinctual, so they usually did not even require activation words.


    <i>¡®Normal magic is better in that aspect.¡¯</i>


    However, more time was required to manifest magic the higher its rank was. If one was able to manifest magic just by uttering the activation word, the difference would be massive.


    ¡°Imbuing power into words, huh?¡± Kang-Woo muttered.


    It was as ambiguous as before. As he was lowering his head while in thought, Echidna approached him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it too much, Kang-Woo. You already use magic super fast even without something like dragon tongue.¡±


    That was indeed true; Kang-Woo barely used activation words for his skills. His demonic energy control was so abnormally high that it took him under 0.1 seconds to prepare skills made by merging Authorities. However...


    ¡°That 0.1 seconds makes all the difference.¡±


    Even if more zeroes were added and it only took 0.0001 seconds, that short time difference decided the result of a battle between the truly powerful. If Kang-Woo became able to use magic just by saying the activation word, he would be allowed more time to focus on other things.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try, at the very least,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    ¡°I told you, it¡¯s impossible since you don¡¯t have the vocal organ.¡±


    Echidna pulled on Kang-Woo¡¯s clothes as if questioning why he wasn¡¯t listening to her. Kang-Woo smiled and turned his head.


    <i>¡®Now, think. Would the reason really have to do with the vocal organ?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head. No matter how he thought about it, that did not seem to be the fundamental problem.


    <i>¡®That may be the case purely in terms of dragon tongue magic.¡¯</i>


    Dragon tongue was created and advanced by dragons; it was only natural that Kang-Woo would not be able to imitate them since he did not possess their vocal organs.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    The key of dragon tongue, that fascinating power, was not such a superficial aspect.


    <i>¡®Imbuing power into words.¡¯</i>


    That was the core of dragon tongue and its foundation. Dragon tongue was simply a result that was derived from the concept of imbuing power into words.


    <i>¡®If that¡¯s the case...¡¯</i>


    There was no reason that Kang-Woo would not be able to use it.


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± Kang-Woo inhaled as he recalled how Echidna had roared.


    ¡°You can be so stubborn sometimes, Kang-Woo. Dragon tongue was developed and advanced over hundreds of thousands of years. It¡¯s not something you can just¡ª¡±


    [D O V A H K I I N!]


    The roar that hade out from Echidna¡¯s mouth came out from Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth this time. The ground was leveled as a storm of demonic energy raged. However, the energy that was tearing apart the surroundings suddenly dissipated as if a fuse had been cut.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Echidna¡¯s eyes widened as she looked back and forth at the leveled ground and Kang-Woo. ¡°Wh-What? How did you do that, Kang-Woo?¡±


    Although it had gotten cut midway, Kang-Woo had definitely used dragon tongue. Echidna rushed toward Kang-Woo and pulled on his clothes.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Kang-Woo frowned as he stared at the leveled ground.


    He was not interested in the fact that he had managed to use dragon tongue.


    <i>¡®Why did it stop midway?¡¯</i>


    He was more focused on why it had only been partially sessful.


    <i>¡®Because my vocal organ is different.¡¯</i>


    Echidna had been right in that aspect. The form that had been crammed in the word had not manifested correctly because it had been said through a different vocal organ.


    ¡°I got the hang of it now,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    ¡°Wh-What?¡±


    Echidna looked up at Kang-Woo in confusion. How could he have gotten the hang of it after just one try? It was impossible, even if Kang-Woo possessed the vocal organ of a dragon. Even a mature dragon took a few months at least and decades at most to learn just one dragon tongue magic.


    ¡°What are you talking about, Kang-Woo?¡± Echidna asked with a trembling voice.


    ¡°The fundamental concept of dragon tongue magic is imbuing power into words, right? In that case, you don¡¯t need to pronounce the words like dragons do.¡±


    Kang-Woo pointed his hand at the peak of the mountain and uttered, ¡°Dovahkiin.¡±


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    A natural disaster several times more destructive than what Echidna had shownid waste to the entire mountain. Kang-Woo smiled at the destruction he had caused and shook his head.


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t even need to cling to dragon tongue. If the skill is fundamentally to imbue power into words, I can just say whatever I want, can¡¯t I?¡±


    He could just imbue his will into the words he uttered and mix it with his energy. As long as those conditions were fulfilled, that in itself would be magic.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [The skill ¡®dragon tongue magic¡¯ is evolving into ¡®Soul Speech¡¯!]


    [You have aplished an unprecedented feat!]


    [Dramatically raising your demonic energy control!]


    Echidna simply stared at Kang-Woo with her mouth agape in silence. Kang-Wooughed.


    ¡°I can¡¯t, you say?¡±


    <i>¡®But I can.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 373 - Haunted House (1)

    <h4>Chapter 373 - Haunted House (1)</h4>


    Silence fell. Echidna turned away from Kang-Woo and sat down while hugging her knees with her head buried between them.


    ¡°Uhhh...¡±


    ¡°Cheater,¡± Echidna said while pouting. She red at Kang-Woo and said again, ¡°You¡¯re a cheater, Kang-Woo.¡±


    Oh Kang-Woo smiled and tried to pat her head.


    ¡°Rawr!¡± Echidna stuck her head forward and bared her teeth.


    She was likely trying to scare him, but...


    <i>¡®So cute. I wanna tease her, but... Mm. I shouldn¡¯t.¡¯</i>


    It was not the time for that.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± Echidna shouted sharply.


    Kang-Woo retracted his hand while smiling bitterly. Echidna wasn¡¯t acting like herself, but he could understand why.


    <i>¡®It makes perfect sense.¡¯</i>


    Echidna had trained like crazy to learn dragon tongue magic, and even more after she had seen Kang-Woo while he was molting. Seeing Kang-Woo using dragon tongue, which she thought that he would never be able to use, in not even a day was likely a huge shock to her.


    No, Kang-Woo had not stopped at dragon tongue; he had gone beyond that and evolved the technique to something known as Soul Speech. He could pretty much guess what Echidna felt when she saw that.


    <i>¡®She probably felt that her efforts until now were denied.¡¯</i>


    She could have also felt ridiculed, or that her efforts would nevere to anything no matter how hard she tried. She was likely being weighed down by despair aftering face to face with a wall that she could never cross.


    Kang-Woo looked down at the crouching Echidna in silence. He wanted to tell her something.


    <i>¡®This isn¡¯t a matter of talent.¡¯</i>


    It wasn¡¯t a matter of time either.


    <i>¡®Absolutely not.¡¯</i>


    Such things were not enough to learn dragon tongue and reach the realm of Soul Speech in less than a day.


    ¡°Urghh.¡± Echidna bit her lip and lowered her head; tears welled up in her eyes.


    Silence fell once again. Kang-Woo was making all sorts of unreasonable excuses in his head. This was not a matter of talent nor time; it was a matter of the difference in the weight they were shouldering, as well as the path that they had walked until now.


    Kang-Woo possessed abnormally high demonic energy control to the point that it was monstrous; it was enough to even make a being of godhood faint in shock. The reason was awfully simple.


    <i>¡®Because I would die if I couldn¡¯t control it.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had lived for all this time while frantically struggling to survive. He would not havee this far without that struggle. He had spent every second of every day in fear of death if he let himself go even for a single moment. Those days piled up to months, years, and had reached ten millennia.


    ¡°Tsk,¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    Even so, he had no intention of arguing with Echidna about how she knew nothing and quibbling over how much he had suffered. Pity,passion, and sympathy were meaningless at this point for him.


    ¡°I knew you were amazing, Kang-Woo. I did, but...¡±


    Echidna lowered her head in sorrow. She likely had a lot on her mind.


    Kang-Woo smiled and turned around. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡±


    Trying to console her would be no different from making fun of her. She needed time to ept it.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Echidna slowly nodded.


    She stood up while slouching lifelessly, and then nkly stared up at the sky. Then suddenly, she pped both of her cheeks. She walked up to Kang-Woo and slightly pulled on his clothes.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for yelling at you earlier, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at her unexpectedly.


    <i>¡®I thought it¡¯d take her a few days.¡¯</i>


    Her recovery had been faster than he had expected.


    <i>¡®I guess she¡¯s grown.¡¯</i>


    It seemed Echidna had not only grown physically, but mentally as well. Kang-Woo smiled and nodded. He raised his hand and ruffled Echidna¡¯s hair.


    ¡°Have you calmed down now?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s only natural you would do something like that, Kang-Woo.¡±


    <i>¡®What does that mean?¡¯</i>


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about your past, but... Balrog tells me about it from time to time.¡±


    Echidna put her arms around his waist in silence. The silence continued between them for a while.


    Echidna then broke the silence. ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too hard, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t really push myself this time.¡± Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly.


    That was a lie; even if his demonic energy control was abnormally exceptional, it had been an extremely dangerous gamble to attempt to unearth the foundations of dragon tongue in just a day. It was no different than disassembling a machine that he had no idea how it was designed and reassembling it to his liking. Worst case scenario, forget Soul Speech, the dragon tongue could have gone out of control and he could have gotten greatly injured.


    <i>¡®Well, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve always done.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo grabbed Echidna¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. Iris said that she would prepare a feast for dinner to celebrate everyone¡¯s safe return.¡±


    But of course, it would be the imperial chefs who would be preparing it.


    ¡°Hm! Hm! I like Iris!¡±


    <i>¡®You said that you hated her before.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo chuckled and walked back to the castle.


    ***


    A week had passed since the Constetion of Agony had died. Kang-Woo had been so busy that he had no time to test out his newly acquired Soul Speech. Matters regarding the empire, angels, and gods were happening so fast, though he had been the one to instigate it.


    ¡°Fuuu.¡± Kang-Woo sighed and stretched his shoulders.


    He drank some of the coffee that Han Seol-Ah had brewed for him.


    ¡°Are you okay, Master Kang-Woo?¡± Lilith asked in worry.


    Kang-Woo had not slept for a week straight.


    ¡°I¡¯m physically fine, but I¡¯m kind of getting fatigued mentally,¡± Kang-Woo replied in a tired tone.


    Lilith¡¯s informationwork had been more or less perfected, so they had been racking their brains toe up with various overblown rumors regarding Lucifer to foster fear among the people. He was even trying to monitor the movements of the Constetions of Evil as well as investigating Lucifer¡¯s wife, so even creating a clone with the Authority of Cloning was not enough to divide the work to a manageable degree.


    ¡°How is fostering fear for Lucifer going?¡± Kang-Woo turned to ask Lilith.


    If he did not have her help, he would have given up long ago.


    ¡°It is going smoothly. Please take a look at these,¡± Lilith replied as she showed him a few photos.


    They were photos taken around the Arnan Empire. One of them was an empty bar; although there had been some people while Fidelio had still been in power, not even a single rat could be found anymore.


    ¡°No one is leaving their homes because of their fear for Lucifer,¡± Lilith remarked.


    ¡°Very good.¡± Kang-Woo smiled.


    He felt sorry for the bar owners, but the fear of Lucifer having taken root deep within the hearts of the people was good news.


    <i>¡®I should provide them with money and foodter.¡¯</i>


    Since he had practically incapacitated the empire¡¯s economy, he was nning on taking responsibility for the incident after it was all over.


    ¡°That aside, this much of an effect in just a week is beyond my expectations. I guess the news of the attack on Sant¡¯Angelo was big.¡±


    The angels wanted to hide the fact that Sant¡¯Angelo had been attacked, but there was no way that Kang-Woo would let that ammunition go unused. He used Lilith¡¯s informationwork to spread the news all over the continent that the sanctuary of the angels had been desecrated and plundered.


    ¡°There¡¯s that too, but...¡± Lilith smiled widely. ¡°The fact that the gods had taken action left a bigger impact.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that?¡± Kang-Woo smiled.


    Aernor was mostly polytheistic. Considering there were several gods that possessed Deific Essence and there were apostles that did their bidding, it was only natural. The majority of the continent worshiped Celestial Goddess Seraph and God of Heroes Tirion, but many people worshiped other gods as well.


    A week ago, a revtion was simultaneously received by apostles of multiple gods.


    <i>- Evil God Lucifer will bring copse to the continent!</i>


    The revtion¡¯s contents had been short but powerful. Not just that, the warning had been from not one, but multiple gods simultaneously. It was only natural that it would bring chaos to the entire continent. The people locked their doors and trembled in fear of the Evil God and his subordinates that mighte to invade at any second.


    ¡°It¡¯s going well.¡± Kang-Woo smiled widely.


    The message that he had sent the gods through Michael had arge effect. Once public fear of the continent¡¯s copse was fostered, it would not be long until the high elves manifested into the physical world.


    <i>¡®But I¡¯d have to do more for that to happen.¡¯</i>


    There was a limit to what simple rumors and fear could do. Only through the right incidents and Kim Si-Hun solving them would it perfect Kang-Woo¡¯s n.


    ¡°Hohoho. Do you know what Lucifer is being referred to among the humanstely?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Hm?¡± Kang-Woo tilted his head.


    Lilith continued while giggling, ¡°He¡¯s known as the Lord of the Flies. A demon of filth and disease.¡±


    <i>¡®Oh. Sheesh, Lucifer. That¡¯s why you should wash yourself more often, man.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue in pity. Lord of the Flies was an extremely filthy titlepared to his former title, Evil God.


    <i>¡®You brought this on yourself. I didn¡¯t do anything wrong. Trust me, bro.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned to Lilith and asked, ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. Come to think of it, I happened to receive a bit of a suspicious report.¡±


    ¡°A suspicious report?¡± Kang-Woo asked while narrowing his eyes.


    Lilith nodded. ¡°People have been continuing to go missing in a certain city... Well, it¡¯s notrge enough to be a city, but it¡¯s a fairly sizable town.¡±


    ¡°Missing?¡± Kang-Woo frowned. People going missing was not something that could be ignored, but it was not something that would be found suspicious by Lilith either. ¡°Did they just go missing?¡±


    ¡°No. I wouldn¡¯t be reporting it to you if that was the case.¡± Lilith shook her head.


    ¡°Then what?¡±


    ¡°Mmm... How should I say this?¡± Lilith searched for a fitting term while cing a finger on her lips. ¡°A haunted house... I guess?¡±


    ¡°A haunted house?¡±


    <i>¡®What the hell¡¯s with that out of the blue?¡¯</i>


    ¡°A giant mansion apparently appeared near the town. People who found it suspicious entered the mansion, but...¡±


    ¡°They never came back out, or something like that?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    It was a staple horror movie trope.


    ¡°Mm.¡± Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone. It was far too interesting to leave it be. ¡°Bring Si-Hun over.¡±

 Chapter 374 - Haunted House (2)

    <h4>Chapter 374 - Haunted House (2)</h4>


    ¡°Constetion of Fear.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master of Despair.¡±


    ¡°Will this really be able to change the flow of fear?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. There is no need to worry. Human feares from the unknown. No matter how much they fear the Evil God... People merely know his <i>name</i>.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Give it some time. Soon... The entire continent will be plunged into fear of the Constetions.¡±


    ***


    ¡°... It certainly is worth an investigation.¡± Kim Si-Hun, who had been told of the missing people in a town on the outskirts of the empire, nodded.


    It was far too optimistic to think that there was no rtionship between the mansion that suddenly appeared outside the town and the disappearing people.


    ¡°Let¡¯s set out right away. Oh, are you in the middle of anything?¡± Oh Kang-Woo asked as he stood up from his chair.


    He had spent an entire week buried under a pile of paperwork, so he wanted to move around.


    ¡°I had ns with some nobledies, but... I didn¡¯t want to attend anyway, so I will cancel them,¡± Si-Hun replied as he sighed.


    The greater the people¡¯s fear of Lucifer grew, the more popr Si-Hun became. He was starting to be revered as the hero who would save the continent from the hands of the filthy Lord of the Flies. Those of power from all over the continent were flocking to the empire to make connections with Si-Hun.


    ¡°Got it. In that case, bring La with you on the way and brief her on the incident as well,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°Will La being with us as well?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    La was Gaia¡¯s incarnation; they might be able to gain some sort of clues if the power of a god were to make contact with the suspicious mansion.


    <i>¡®Not all gods are righteous and kind, after all.¡¯</i>


    There were likely some gods that were cheering at the appearance of Evil God Lucifer, or were trying to take advantage of the chaos ande up with ways to raise their own Deific Essence. Some might be enraged at Lucifer on the outside, but were thinking otherwise.


    <i>¡®We can only trust our beautiful and intelligent Lady Gaia. Yup, yup.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Si-Hun left the room.


    Kang-Woo turned to Lilith and said, ¡°Lilith. You get ready too.¡±


    ¡°Pardon? Me too?¡±


    Lilith¡¯s eyes widened, not having expected for Kang-Woo to nominate her as well.


    ¡°There¡¯s no one more skilled than you in search and detection. Plus, you¡¯re the one who found out about the incident.¡±


    Rather, there was no reason not to take her.


    <i>¡®I shouldn¡¯t take any more than this.¡¯</i>


    There was nothing more foolish than bringing a crowd to investigate a suspicious incident.


    ¡°Uhh... Mm.¡± Lilith slurred with an awkward smile and then nodded. ¡°I understand. In that case, I will guide you to that mansion.¡±


    Kang-Woo had expected her to love getting the opportunity to go somewhere with him, but her reaction had been a lot more lukewarm.


    <i>¡®Is something going on with her? Well, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll find out eventually.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stood up.


    ***


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Kang-Woo muttered.


    They arrived at the town located on the outskirts of the empire. The small town that would likely have a town chief instead of a governing lord was covered in fog. The streets were deserted, and the sound of horses neighing,monly heard in the continent, could not be heard at all. No one would be able to tell that the town was inhabited if not for the lights visible through the windows.


    Kang-Woo continued, ¡°This is suspicious as fuck.¡±


    <i>¡®Is this Lothric Castle</i>[1]<i> or something?¡¯</i>


    ¡°That is where the town chief lives. He is also the one who first reported the incident,¡± Lilith said as she pointed at a house.


    It was a house that the town chief resided in, but it was no different from the other shabby houses around it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really feel any vitality in this town.¡± La frowned as she looked around.


    She carefully grabbed Si-Hun¡¯s hand, unsettled by the ominous aura surrounding the entire town.


    ¡°Let¡¯s enter,¡± Kang-Woo said as they headed to the chief¡¯s house.


    <i>Knock, knock.</i>


    <i>Creak.</i> The door slightly opened, and an elderly man with a very wrinkly face peeked out. He red at Kang-Woo and the others with caution.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯vee to investigate the missing cases.¡±


    The old man scanned Kang-Woo, Lilith and La warily, but he gasped while widening his eyes as soon as he saw Si-Hun.


    ¡°C-Could you be...!¡±


    The old man trembled as if he couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.


    Si-Hun bowed while smiling awkwardly. ¡°My name is Kim Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°I-I knew it! You were the Sword Emperor[2]!¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    <i>¡®Sword what?¡¯</i>


    ¡°The emperor of swords! The hero who chased away the Evil God! Aaaahh, I can¡¯t believe someone as great as the Sword Emperor woulde to help this small town!¡±


    The town mayor shook while bawling his eyes out, and Si-Hun also shook for a different reason.


    ¡°Pfft! S-Sword Emp... Pfft!¡± Kang-Woo suppressed hisughter with all his might.


    He couldn¡¯t believe that Si-Hun hade to be known as the Sword Emperor. He was so... <i>jealous</i>.


    ¡°Wh-What a f-fantastic title, Si-Hun.¡±


    <i>Kehehehe</i>. Kang-Woo smacked Si-Hun¡¯s shoulder repeatedly as giggles seeped out from his mouth.


    Si-Hun was shaking in silence. Despiteing up with cringe names like <i>Sirius Corps</i>, he seemed to be unable to handle a shockingly cringe name like <i>Sword Emperor.</i>


    ¡°P-Please stopughing, hyung-nim!¡± Si-Hun shouted.


    ¡°Kahahahaha! Why? It¡¯s a great title that the people gave you, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Ugh...¡± Si-Hun couldn¡¯t bring himself toin in front of the town mayor about why people had given him such a cringe title, and could only bite his lips.


    Si-Hun pouted in silence.


    La came up to him and grabbed his hand. ¡°It just means that the people hold you up in high regard, so there¡¯s no need for you to be so embarrassed.¡±


    ¡°But...¡±


    ¡°Hohoho. I¡¯ve taken a liking to it, at least.¡±


    ¡°R-Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± La smiled. ¡°Sword¡ª Pfft! Emperor. What a great title.¡±


    Si-Hun¡¯s expression crumpled even more. Kang-Woo, unable to hold it any longer, burst intoughter.


    <i>¡®Dayum, sister-inw. You sure know how to tease people.¡¯</i>


    ***


    ording to the town mayor¡¯s exnation, the mansion had appeared five days ago. People started to disappear when three young men of the town entered the mansion and never came back. After that, an ominous fog engulfed the entire town, and people began to disappear one by one. There were currently twenty-eight people that had gone missing; considering the size of the town, it did not seem like a coincidence at all.


    After hearing the details, Kang-Woo and the others headed to the mansion.


    ¡°Wow,¡± Kang-Woo expressed after seeing the mansion from up close. Windows were shattered, the door was rotten, and the walls were crumbling in certain areas. ¡°This is the perfect ce to shoot a horror film.¡±


    It was so tantly ominous that Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. He shrugged and walked toward the mansion. The ce was trying to be so tantly scary that Kang-Woo was not scared by it at all.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go in,¡± he stated.


    <i>Creak</i>. Kang-Woo opened the door, but he had no idea how it was still attached to the hinges. In front of them was a hallway that smelled of mold and faint blood.


    ¡°I certainly sense unsettling energy,¡± Si-Hun uttered as he narrowed his eyes and searched the hallway.


    He summoned the holy sword in advance and ced it on his waist.


    <i>Bam¡ª!!</i>


    Just then, the door that they entered the mansion from suddenly mmed shut, and the entire mansion fell dark instantly.


    ¡°Dayum,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    <i>¡®They¡¯re really pulling out all the stops, huh?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo snickered as if he was highly entertained. He lightly snapped his fingers, and then two mes appeared to light the hallway, which made the hallway look even more ominous.


    The hallway was full of mold, rusted metal, and unknown ck moss. Kang-Woo frowned as an unpleasant smell filled his nose. He looked around the hallway and noticed that it was forked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s split up into two and investigate the interior. Make sure to call with themunication crystal if you find anything.¡±


    The mansion was muchrger than he had expected. The hallway was not that wide either, so traveling as a whole group of four would be inefficient.


    ¡°Understood.¡± Si-Hun nodded and went down the right hallway with La.


    Kang-Woo turned around and went down the other hallway.


    Kang-Woo noticed that Lilith was not following him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you find something?¡±


    Lilith bit her lip without answering. ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing, my king.¡±


    She swallowed her saliva and hugged Kang-Woo¡¯s arm tight.


    <i>¡®Huh? She¡¯s been acting weird for a while now.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at Lilith while narrowing his eyes, thinking of a possibility.


    ¡°Lilith, could it be you¡¯re... scared?¡±


    ¡°O-Of course not! There¡¯s no way I would be scared just because I entered a run-down mansion like this!!¡± Lilith shouted.


    Kang-Woo smiled. Her reaction only solidified his suspicions. ¡°Man, how unexpected. I never thought you¡¯d be scared of something like this.¡±


    He had been with her for a thousand years, but this was the first time he had seen her act this way.


    ¡°I told you, I¡¯m not scared!¡± Lilith shouted as her face was as red as a tomato.


    Kang-Woo softlyughed. ¡°If you¡¯re so scared, should I investigate on my own?¡±


    ¡°N-No. Like I said, I¡¯m not scared in the slightest.¡± Lilith pulled on Kang-Woo¡¯s arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go, my king.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡±


    She was obviously pushing herself, but he paid it no mind.


    <i>¡®This is new.¡¯</i>


    It had been a while since he had seen this side of Lilith; no, it had been the first time.


    <i>¡®I never thought she¡¯d be scared of stuff like ghosts.¡¯</i>


    It was entertaining to see a flustered Lilithpared to how rxed she always was. Kang-Woo suppressed hisughter and continued investigating the mansion. Their steps echoed throughout the hallway.


    ¡°Urgh.¡±


    Lilith¡¯s expression was getting darker by the second. Kang-Wooughed in silence while looking at her reactions.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s so scary about this?¡¯</i>


    Ghosts had no way of harming them even if they appeared, so he couldn¡¯t understand her reactions.


    <i>¡®But it¡¯s fun to watch, at the very least.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could now understand why people loved watching horror films with others who couldn¡¯t handle it, and watching their reactions to the scenes. He thought that having brought her was worth it just for her reactions alone.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Just then, arge drawer that had been in the hallway suddenly fell. One of the cabs opened, spilling what looked to be human eyeballs, intestines, and blood.


    Kang-Woo chuckled. ¡°What a cute contrapt¡ª¡±


    ¡°KYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!¡± Lilith screamed.


    She held Kang-Woo''s arm tight and leaned her head on his shoulder. A sloppy and sticky sensation traveled up his arm.


    <i>¡®Huh? A sloppy and sticky sensation?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hyaaaaaaaaaahhh!¡±


    Lilith¡¯s hair floated and turned into green tentacles spewing pus that wrapped around Kang-Woo. Tears flowed down Lilith¡¯s eighteen eyeballs.


    ¡°KYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!¡± Kang-Woo screamed.


    ¡°M-My king!¡±


    Lilith¡¯s green tentacles dug into his clothes. No, not just his clothes, but they even dug into his mouth, nostrils and ears.


    ¡°Urrrrggggghhhhh.¡±


    <i>¡®What the actual fuck?¡¯</i>


    ¡°I-I¡¯m so scared!!¡±


    <i>¡®Me too. I¡¯m fucking scared too.¡¯</i>


    ¡°S-Save m...¡±


    <i>¡®Urrgghhh.¡¯</i>


    1. Lothric Castle is a location in <i>Dark Souls III</i>. ?


    2. Tian Wuchen¡¯s title was also Sword Emperor, but that is a direct trantion of the titlemonly used in wuxia novels. However, Si-Hun¡¯s title is one that phically spells out the English words S<i>word Emperor</i> in Korean, which sounds very cringe. ?

 Chapter 375 - Haunted House (3)

    <h4>Chapter 375 - Haunted House (3)</h4>


    In the mansion surrounded by ominous fog, one of the rooms was filled with a thick scent of blood and rotten trees. Translucent wraiths roamed the room.


    [Ah... Aahh.]


    [Kill, kill, kill.]


    [Rip off the ears, pull out the eyes, cut off the nose, crush the tongue.]


    [Kill, kill, kill.]


    [<i>Giggle, giggle.</i>]


    The wraiths roamed around the room while singing a chilling song as they danced andughed. Despite being translucent, they could not be any more hideous. Their heads were split in two as their brains trickled down, their eyeballs were dangling out of their eye sockets, and their tongues reached all the way down to their corbone.


    They did not possess sharp ws or fangs. They were made purely to instill fear into humans; fear of the unknown, of beings that were between the boundary of life and death that the living had never experienced. Hence, these beings were far more terrifying than any demon or demonic beast.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    A young man was tied to a wall in the room where the wraiths were dancing. He was trembling uncontrobly, fear having takenplete control over him. His eyes were missing from his sockets, his ears had been forcibly ripped off, and his nose had been cut off by something sharp. The rest of his body was not fine either; forget fingernails, none of his fingers were present.


    ¡°K-Kill... me.¡±


    The young man no longer wished to live. He simply wished for death that would end the excruciating pain and endless fear.


    [<i>Giggle.</i>]


    [<i>Giggle.</i>]


    The wraithsughed as they danced around the young man.


    ¡°P-Please!! Pleaaaaaase!!¡±


    He struggled frantically. Although he could no longer see because he had no eyes and couldn¡¯t even hear properly because his ears had been ripped off, he could tell that these wraiths would not kill him.


    ¡°A-Aaaaaaahhh!!!¡± he cried out in madness.


    His head was filled with the wraiths¡¯ughter.


    [Fun, fun, fun.]


    [Scream more for us.]


    [Be even more afraid.]


    They sang while dancing merrily.


    [Your ears were ripped off.]


    [I guess you won¡¯t be able to hear!]


    [Your eyes were pulled out.]


    [I guess you won¡¯t be able to see!]


    [Your nose was cut off.]


    [I guess you won¡¯t be able to smell!]


    [<i>Giggle. Giggle. Giggle.</i>]


    [Let¡¯s not cut off his tongue.]


    [Let¡¯s not, because he has to scream.]


    The man¡¯s mind was being slowly broken down as the wraiths roamed around him and giggled. Something flowed out from the man; a thick ck energy. It was negative emotion. The wraiths absorbed the materialization of extreme fear.


    ¡°A-Aaaaaaaaahhh!!¡±


    The man¡¯s screams filled the room. He was not the only one. A total of twenty-eight humans were tied up in the room as they screamed in fear while surrounded by wraiths.


    [<i>Giggle. Giggle.</i>]


    The wraithsughed inside the room filled with despair. Just then, one of them raised its head, and the other hundreds of them followed suit.


    [People have entered.]


    [Kill, kill, kill.]


    [Who will it be this time? How will they scream this time?]


    The wraiths danced whileughing in joy. They moved to search for their new prey.


    [What should we cut first this time?]


    [What should we rip off first this time?]


    Their giggles were full of malice. Once the wraiths flew to where their prey were...


    [Huh?]


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    The hallway was filled with green tentacles, and sticky mucus covered the floor, walls and ceiling. They had never seen such a realistic manifestation of nightmares before.


    [What? What? What?]


    [What¡¯s this?]


    The wraiths trembled as they instinctively felt fear. They stopped dancing and singing.


    <i>Squelch.</i> Something came out from between the green tentacles.


    ¡°U-Uuuurrrrhhh.¡±


    It was a young man with ck hair, the prey that the wraiths had been waiting for. The man who had escaped from the green tentacles raised his head and stared at the wraiths flying around the hallway.


    [A human hase.]


    [Prey hase.]


    The wraiths started to sing and dance again once they saw their prey.


    ¡°Kyaaaaaaahhh! My king! Gh-Ghosts! Ghosts have appeared!!¡±


    The green tentacles filling the hallway fiercely squirmed as a woman¡¯s screams were heard from somewhere. The man was sucked back into the tentacles after having barely escaped from them.


    ¡°Urgh, urggggghhhh.¡±


    The man was being squished between tentacles with just his right arm exposed, which was frantically shaking. He scratched the floor with his right arm, but then it lost its strength and flopped on the ground. He used what remained of his strength and wrote a message on the ground with the pus on his fingers.


    <i>- The culprit is Lili¡ª</i>


    ¡°Kyaaaaaaaaahhhh! Th-They¡¯reing this way! The ghosts areing this way!¡±


    However, his desperate efforts were cut short by the woman¡¯s screams. Even his right arm was sucked in between the tentacles. The wraiths stopped dancing and tilted their heads in wonder.


    [What¡¯s going on? What¡¯s happening?]


    [Could it be arade sent by the Constetion?]


    [Who? Who?]


    The wraiths approached the monster that was hunting the human.


    ¡°Kyaaaaahhh! Ahh...¡±


    The shrieks of the woman suddenly stopped as if she had fainted. The green tentacles filling the hallway stopped moving and flopped to the ground.


    <i>Squelch.</i> The man that had been sucked in between the tentacles slowly stood up and lifted his head with nk eyes.


    [The human came back out.]


    [He¡¯s still alive, he¡¯s still alive!]


    [Let¡¯s capture him and kill him, kill him.]


    The wraiths danced joyfully again after finding out that the prey they had thought had been stolen by another monster was still alive.


    ¡°So it was you guys,¡± said the man with sharp eyes. ¡°You... did all this.¡±


    The fear that the man should be feeling froming face to face with the wraiths could not be felt, only zing fury. The wraiths tilted their heads in wonder, unable to understand.


    [We didn¡¯t do anything though?]


    [We haven''t done anything yet.]


    They haven¡¯tid a finger on the man in front of them, at the very least.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything... you say?¡±


    The man¡¯s voice shook. Darkness so thick that it couldn¡¯t even bepared to the evil energy of the wraiths filled the hallway.


    <i>Rumble</i>. The entire mansion shook. The man slowly walked toward the wraiths.


    ¡°You... sons of bitcheeeeeeeeees!!¡± the man roared like a beast.


    The wraiths trembled after being exposed to suffocating demonic energy. Overwhelming fear took control over them.


    [What¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s wrong?]


    [We haven¡¯t done anyth¡ª]


    ¡°Do you have any idea?!¡±


    <i>Boom! </i>The man shot forward and grabbed the head of the wraith closest to him. It was impossible for a physical being to grab the body of a wraith, but the man grabbed it with ease.


    [H-Huh?]


    [Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!]


    Before the wraiths could even figure out what was going on, the wraith that had been grabbed shrieked. ck energy invaded its translucent body and ripped the wraith apart from the inside out.


    ¡°How hard I worked?!¡±


    The man ran at the speed of sound to grab more wraiths and ripped them apart mercilessly.


    ¡°To get away from those tentacles?!¡±


    A horrifying massacre ensued. Although there was no spige of flesh and blood, the bodies of the wraiths were most certainly being ripped apart. The remaining wraiths quickly began to run away.


    [No, no.]


    [We haven¡¯t done anything.]


    [We haven¡¯t done anything wrong.]


    They made excuses while frantically running away, but it was pointless.


    ¡°Raaaaaaaaaaahhh!¡±


    The roars of a wounded beast echoed throughout the mansion. True hell had fallen on the haunted house that had been made to instill fear into humans.


    ***


    [We¡¯re sorry. We¡¯re sorry.]


    [We were wrong. We were wrong.]


    The wraiths trembled in fear. The devil wearing human skin was walking toward the wraiths that had been driven into a corner.


    [Gyaaaaaaaahhh!!]


    A wraith was ripped apart with every step the human took. The wraiths that had been created to instill extreme fear into humans were dying while stricken with fear.


    [Monster. Monster. A monster has appeared.]


    [Spare us, spare us.]


    The wraiths ran away in fear by going through the walls. A few wraiths managed to survive the Demon King¡¯s rage and escape the mansion. Kang-Woo did not go out of his way to chase after them, since he had more or less managed to vent his anger.


    ¡°Fuuu, haaa.¡± Kang-Woo took a deep breath in and out. He slowly looked around the destroyed mansion and saw that there were no more wraiths.


    ¡°Ah.¡± He only managed to return to his senses now. He frowned and scratched his head. ¡°I should¡¯ve captured a few of them.¡±


    He needed a few of them alive to figure out how this mansion came to be.


    <i>¡®Though it¡¯s weird to think about capturing wraiths alive.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked around. He had killed all the wraiths that he could see while blinded by rage, so not a single wraith remained. He thought about chasing after the ones that had escaped, but he could no longer sense their presence, possibly because they were spirits.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    He btedly regretted his decision, but what was done was done. None of his hundreds of Authorities had the power to resurrect an annihted soul.


    ¡°Ngh.¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    ¡°H-Hyung-nim! What was that sound just now?!¡±


    Likely having heard the roars that Kang-Woo had made while massacring the wraiths, Kim Si-Hun and La quickly ran to him.


    ¡°Oh, umm...¡±


    Kang-Woo scratched his head awkwardly while thinking of a way to exin this. He couldn¡¯t tell them that he had gotten so enraged about being subjected to Lilith¡¯s tentacles because of the wraiths that he had killed them all.


    ¡°Wraiths suddenly attacked us all of a sudden,¡± Kang-Woo mentioned.


    ¡°Wraiths...?¡±


    Si-Hun looked around while wide-eyed, but wraiths were unable to leave a corpse since they had a spiritual form. All that he could feel were subtle traces of deathly energy.


    ¡°Did you defeat them all, hyung-nim?¡±


    ¡°They weren¡¯t that strong,¡± Kang-Woo replied.


    Honestly, he did not know; he had massacred any that he could see, so he had not properly gauged their strength.


    <i>¡®Well, even so...¡¯</i>


    He was sure that they would have been no match for Si-Hun and the other party members.


    <i>¡®It didn¡¯t seem like they were specialized inbat.¡¯</i>


    They did not have any weapons. They were extremely hideous and were exuding chilling, deathly energy, but that was it.


    ¡°I... see,¡± Si-Hun remarked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s look around a little more.¡±


    Although all the wraiths had disappeared, they could still acquire some information from the mansion itself. Their expectations were met soon after their search.


    ¡°A-Arghh.¡±


    As they searched each room along the hallway, they heard a voice. It was clearly that of a person,pletely different from the voices of the wraiths. Kang-Woo forced open the door.


    ¡°This is...¡±


    He frowned aggressively as soon as he saw what was inside. Although he was used to seeing horrible sights, he couldn¡¯t help but feel unpleasant at the sight he had to behold.


    ¡°What the...¡± Si-Hun muttered.


    Since it was hard to watch even for Kang-Woo, it was worse for Si-Hun. He was gripping the holy sword extremely tight with eyes wide open.


    ¡°Oh Gaia.¡± La shut her eyes tight and prayed to Gaia.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at the people who had be ragdolls as if they had endured gut-wrenching torture. There were twenty-eight of them; there was no need to even think about who they were.


    <i>¡®The missing townspeople.¡¯</i>


    The townspeople had been dragged into this mansion by the wraiths and been tortured.


    ¡°Hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°Just a second.¡±


    Kang-Woo bit open his thumb and healed one of the people using the Authority of Regeneration.


    ¡°E-Ehehe. K-Kill me. Kill me. Please... Kill me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s toote.¡± Kang-Woo shook his head as he looked down at the person he had treated.


    It was not a physical issue; their minds had already broken beyond repair. Nothing but fear could be seen in the eyes of those who had been captured by the wraiths.


    ¡°Kuh!¡± Si-Hun clenched his fists in frustration and stomped his feet.


    La approached the panting Si-Hun and held his hand.


    ¡°Si-Hun...¡±


    The two of them bit their lips while staring at the horrifying sight miserably.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    He could not afford to wallow in his emotions like the two of them, nor did he have a reason to. What he needed right now was information.


    <i>¡®Why?¡¯ </i>That was the only question he had in his mind. <i>¡®Why are they still alive?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the missing townspeople tied to the walls. They had been hideously wounded; their eyeballs had been pulled out, their ears had been ripped off, and they had been sliced all over the ce. Despite all that, they were still alive.


    <i>¡®They were forcibly kept alive.¡¯</i>


    They had not been kept alive so that they could be continuously tortured; their wounds were so severe that it was actually a wonder why they hadn¡¯t died. They were screaming and trembling in fear, but they were still alive. The wraiths had used some sort of means to prevent the people they had kidnapped from dying.


    <i>¡®But why?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t understand. It was too difficult to figure out. It was understandable that kidnapped people could be tortured; wraiths being cruel and merciless made sense.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    This was apletely different situation. The wraiths had kept dying people alive. They had prevented people who should have died from dying.


    ¡°Umm... Kang-Woo,¡± La said.


    Kang-Woo turned around.

 Chapter 376 - I Did It

    <h4>Chapter 376 - I Did It</h4>


    ¡°Pleasee here for a second,¡± La said.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Oh Kang-Woo walked over to where La was while tilting his head.


    Kim Si-Hun, who had been untying the survivors from the walls with a heavy expression, also walked over. La was pointing at a ck symbol drawn on the wall.


    <i>¡®The hell is this?¡¯</i>


    There was a giant hexagram that looked as if it had been drawn with a rough brush on the wall, and it was exuding thick demonic energy.


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    It wasn¡¯t just demonic energy; miniscule amounts of Divinity could be felt from it as well, as if a being of godhood had drawn it.


    ¡°This is the symbol of the Demon God,¡± La exined. ¡°This hexagram was... the symbol of Demon God Bauli and the Constetions of Evil during the era of myths when they almost brought this world to extinction.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit too ordinary for that?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s because the myth hasn''t been passed down well enough on Earth. In Aernor, this hexagram is still considered a symbol of demons and fear.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I also heard about it while I was traveling around the continent. Just using this symbol would be reason enough for you to be sentenced to death immediately,¡± Si-Hun added.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    <i>¡®The symbol of the Demon God.¡¯</i>


    Considering this symbol was on the wall, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess who had made this mansion.


    <i>¡®The Constetions of Evil must¡¯ve made their move.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned. He could understand that they had made their move, since they had already attacked Sant¡¯Angelo to steal the Demon God¡¯s legacy. It meant that they were done hiding and were going to take full action from now on.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t understand their actions. He had no choice, but he had ended up assisting the Constetions of Evil. He had framed someone else as the culprit of the attack on Sant¡¯Angelo and took thempletely off of the list of suspects.


    <i>¡®In their perspective, it should¡¯ve been an absolute score.¡¯</i>


    Should they not be cheering while pping since the police were chasing after someone else entirely after they hadmitted a heinous crime?


    <i>¡®Why are they just tantly advertising that they¡¯re the culprits?¡¯</i>


    It was so undisguised to the point that Kang-Woo was thinking someone was trying to frame the act on the Constetions of Evil.


    <i>¡®But there¡¯s no reason for anyone to do such a thing.¡¯</i>


    No matter how hard he thought about it, there weren¡¯t any forces that would benefit from framing the Constetions of Evil.


    ¡°Could it have been... the Constetions of Evil?¡± La asked carefully.


    Si-Hun nodded. ¡°Since the Demon God had died long ago, I believe they would be the culprits. I don¡¯t know why they would do such a thing, but...¡¯


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he listened to their opinions. Both La and Si-Hun thought that the Constetions of Evil were the culprits. In other words, most of the people who knew about the hexagram would also think the same, and there weren¡¯t many people in Aernor who didn¡¯t know about this hexagram.


    <i>¡®... Wait.¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone. A theory popped up in his head like a lightning bolt. <i>¡®What if their objective isn¡¯t to hide their identity, but to let it be known?¡¯</i>


    If that was the case, the story would change.


    <i>¡®But why?¡¯</i>


    Why would they need to do such a thing? It was true that the Constetions of Evil were powerful; each one of them possessed Deific Essence, and were free from the system¡¯s restrictions. However, they were overwhelmingly outnumbered. They had no reason to unt their return.


    ¡°Kang-Woo, over here...¡± Just then, La called Kang-Woo again. Kang-Woo turned around to see La, her face stiff while touching the victims¡¯ heads. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong with the townspeople.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Mental recovery magic doesn¡¯t work on them... as if their minds have beenpletely emptied. I don¡¯t think their minds have just been broken.¡±


    Emptied... La¡¯s choice of words caught Kang-Woo¡¯s attention. Kang-Woo looked around and recalled the wraiths that had been roaming around the mansion. They had kept the people that should have been dead, alive for some reason.


    ¡°Ah,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    The puzzle was finally starting toe together.


    <i>¡®The wraiths hadn¡¯t been specialized forbat.¡¯</i>


    Although one wouldn¡¯t even be able tond a blow on the wraiths unless they were powerful enough, they were certainly too weak to be retainers of a Constetion of Evil.


    <i>¡®What if their purpose wasn¡¯tbat from the very beginning?¡¯</i>


    Chains were installed on the walls of the two thousand square feet room, spread out in a way that it would be easy to chain people. Kang-Woo had thought of something as soon as he had entered the room.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s like... a factory.¡¯</i>


    A factory made to generate something from the kidnapped people. Kang-Woo asked La something to confirm his suspicions.


    ¡°La.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Yes, Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°Do you happen to know anything about magic that can extract power from negative emotions like fear, sorrow and despair?¡±


    ¡°Mm...¡± La fell into thought while grabbing her chin, and then answered, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard of such magic. In the past... back when Demon God Bauli was still alive, he had usedrge-scale magic by absorbing negative emotions from the Triad.¡±


    ¡°What kind of magic?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know in that much detail.¡± La shook her head while expressing embarrassment.


    Kang-Woo lightly clicked his tongue, but he did not mind the inconvenience.


    <i>¡®I more or less get it now.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes lit up. It was as if the strewn-about pieces of a puzzle had finallye together. He could now understand the actions of the Constetions of Evil that used to be iprehensible.


    <i>¡®So their goal had been to let themselves be known to the world from the start.¡¯</i>


    And this factory had been to acquire a source of unlimited negative emotions.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Kang-Woo unconsciously chuckled.


    He covered his wide grin with his hand. If they had done something like this to let themselves be known...


    <i>¡®It means they never caught a lucky break from the start, huh?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo wanted to burst intoughter right here and now. He had been bothered by the fact that the Constetions of Evil were likely benefiting from him naming Lucifer as the culprit for the Sant¡¯Angelo attack.


    <i>¡®I won¡¯t stand for someone catching a lucky break from my choice.¡¯</i>


    Even if it led to both of their demise, he would do whatever it took to stop random people from catching a lucky break from his actions.


    <i>¡®Why, you ask? Because it sucks! It¡¯s unfair! For example, let¡¯s say you bought someone a lottery ticket and they ended up winning. That person thenes to you to thank you for buying the ticket for them. You would for sure feel like shit. So, that doesn¡¯t make me a piece of shit. That¡¯s just how humans are.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hyung-nim?¡± Si-Hun called.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t mind me.¡± Kang-Woo waved his hand and turned around.


    He more or less understood the situation. He did not know what for, but the Constetions of Evil were collecting negative emotions such as fear, sorrow and despair.


    <i>¡®They¡¯re not just collecting them.¡¯</i>


    The entire continent was already filled with fear, directed at Lucifer, Lord of the Flies. If their objective was just to absorb negative emotions, they could just absorb it from anywhere in the continent.


    <i>¡®But they tried to let their identities be known by going out of their way to make this contraption.¡¯</i>


    There was only one exnation.


    <i>¡®They can¡¯t absorb fear directed at Lucifer.¡¯</i>


    If that wasn¡¯t the case, there was no reason at all for them to let themselves be known.


    ¡°Dayum.¡±


    <i>¡®What an interesting turn of events.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo snickered. He had discovered their objective and their means of fulfilling it.


    <i>¡®In that case, I¡¯ll make good use of it.¡¯</i>


    He had been trying to think of a good event for Lucifer, Lord of the Flies. Kang-Woo slowly walked up to the hexagram on the wall and put his hand on it.


    <i>¡®Try your best.¡¯</i>


    <i>Fwoosh</i>. The hexagram set aze and disappeared.


    <i>¡®Though it won¡¯t change anything.¡¯</i>


    Even if they were gods that possessed Deific Essence, no one was a match for Kang-Woo in distorting the truth.


    ¡°H-Hyung-nim? Why did you burn the symbol?¡± Si-Hun asked in confusion.


    Kang-Woo smiled and turned around. There was no need to exin himself.


    ¡°There must be more mansions like this,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    There might be a chance that they were not in the form of mansions. As long as they had decided to make themselves known, they would do whatever it took to amplify fear directed at them.


    ¡°Find them all. Find and burn them all.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled widely.


    ***


    ¡°Is it going well?¡± an expressionless man with a diagonal sh scar on his face asked in a monotone.


    A translucent being bowed to the man. He answered confidently, ¡°Yes, of course.¡±


    Proserpine, who was lying down, said uninterestedly, ¡°You say that, but the negative emotions don¡¯t seem to be gathering that much.¡±


    ¡°Ngh...¡± The Constetion of Fear, the translucent being, froze.


    Like she had mentioned, the collection of negative emotions was slower than expected.


    ¡°We could just go on a ughter trip, can¡¯t we? Why are we making things soplicated?¡± Proserpine suggested.


    ¡°Hmph. Please be quiet if you don¡¯t know anything.¡± The Constetion of Fear snorted and continued, ¡°Do you have any idea how difficult it is to change one¡¯s target of fear once it has been engraved?¡±


    The entire continent was plunged into fear of Lucifer. If they just went on a killing spree like Proserpine had suggested, people would just believe it was Lucifer who did it. Hence, it was meaningless; their fear needed to be directed at the hexagram.


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush me and wait a little longer. The gods will soon react,¡± the Constetion of Fear said.


    A human called Kim Si-Hun, known as the hero of the continent, was traveling across the continent to destroy the mansions. The Constetions already knew that he was a retainer of Gaia. Since he was an apostle of a god, he would not be idiotic enough not to know what the hexagram symbolized.


    <i>¡®And once the news reaches the gods...¡¯</i>


    They would not be able to focus only on Lucifer like they were now. After all, the hexagram symbolized the being that had once driven the gods toward extinction.


    ¡°There¡¯s been a response,¡± said the boy with nk eyes.


    The Constetion of Fear turned around in delight. ¡°Hehehe. As expected.¡±


    He nced at Proserpine as if boasting.


    ¡°Hmph,¡± Proserpine snorted and turned around.


    ¡°Now then, let us see what they¡¯re saying.¡±


    The Constetion of Fear ced his hand on the boy¡¯s shoulder and interfered with the <i>providence </i>using his Divinity. He did not interfere with much; he was just using a tiny amount of the blessing given to the beings of Earth, one of the Triad.


    <i>Riiing</i>.


    [The gods of the divine realm are trembling anxiously.]


    ¡°Good.¡±


    The Constetion of Fear smiled as he stared at the blue window in front of him. He had expected such a response.


    [The gods of the divine realm are feeling fear of copse.]


    ¡°Hehe, plunge into fear.¡±


    [The gods of the divine realm are enraged by the atrocitiesmitted by Evil God Lucifer!]


    ¡°Yes, be enra¡ª Huh? Lucifer?¡±


    Why was that guy¡¯s name being mentioned again?


    [The gods of the divine realm are enraged by the atrocitiesmitted by Evil God Lucifer!]


    ¡°W-Wait!¡± The Constetion of Fear reached for the intangible blue window. He shouted in frustration, ¡°I did it!¡±


    [The gods of the divine realm are enraged by the atrocitiesmitted by Evil God Lucifer!]


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t Lucifer!!¡± The Constetion of Fear pounded on his chest in frustration.


    [The gods of the divine realm are letting their apostles know of Lucifer¡¯s atrocities!]


    ¡°No!¡±


    [The gods of the divine realm are mocking Lucifer as the Lord of the Flies!]


    ¡°I did it!!!¡± The Constetion of Fear shouted, frustrated by the absurd situation.


    But of course, there was no way that his words would be able to reach the gods in the divine realm.


    [The gods of the divine realm discuss that they need to eliminate Lucifer as soon as possible!]


    [The gods of the divine realm are devising a solution.]


    [The gods of the divine realm are gathering Divinity. They are using a branch of the World Tree.]


    [Elder high elf, Elune expresses her will to manifest!]

 Chapter 377 - Time for a Feast

    <h4>Chapter 377 - Time for a Feast</h4>


    ¡°Iris is sick?¡± Oh Kang-Woo frowned after hearing the news from one of Iris¡¯s maids, who hade running to tell him.


    The maid nodded after taking some deep breaths. She answered while tearing up, ¡°Haaa, haaa. Yes. She¡¯s been saying that she was dizzy since yesterday, but once I checked up on her today, she had a huge fever...¡±


    Kang-Woo walked past the maid and toward Iris¡¯s room. <i>Wham!</i> He violently opened the door to see Irisying in her bed while sweating profusely.


    ¡°Haaa. Haaa. Sir... Kang-Woo?¡±


    Iris looked up at Kang-Woo in a daze. Thick blood vessels resembling tree roots had protruded from her skin. Iris forcibly tried to prop herself up.


    ¡°Stay still,¡± Kang-Woo said as he gently pushed her back down on the bed.


    He used the Authority of Insight to search her body.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t find anything wrong with her. Kang-Woo bit open his thumb.


    ¡°Drink.¡±


    ¡°<i>Cough! Cough!</i> Sir... Kang-Woo.¡±


    Kang-Woo forcibly pushed his thumb into the flustered Iris¡¯s mouth. He used the Authority of Regeneration, but nothing happened. Kang-Woo grimaced.


    <i>¡®She isn¡¯t sick.¡¯</i>


    He was sure of it. Kang-Woo looked down at Iris anxiously, and then called for help. This was not an issue he could resolve alone.


    ¡°Iris is sick?¡± Han Seol-Ah, who heard the news, approached them.


    She froze after seeing the blood vessels protruding all over Iris¡¯s skin like tree roots. She caressed Iris and closed her eyes.


    <i>Fwoom.</i>


    White light flowed out from Seol-Ah and into Iris.


    ¡°I...¡± Seol-Ah shook her head in confusion. ¡°... Don¡¯t know. Neither revitalization nor healing magic are working.¡±


    Seol-Ah was panicking since this had never happened before.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    <i>¡®If both my Authority of Regeneration and Seol-Ah¡¯s divine magic aren¡¯t working, that means...¡¯</i>


    Iris was not in this condition due to a disease or an injury.


    <i>¡®In that case...¡¯</i>


    There was one thing he could think of. Kang-Woo called La using hismunication crystal. After getting the call, La immediately came to Iris¡¯s room and thoroughly checked her condition.


    La nodded. ¡°These are signs of her bing an incarnation.¡±


    ¡°An incarnation?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I experienced the same thing when I first epted Lady Gaia into me.¡±


    An incarnation... Kang-Woo did not even need to question whose incarnation Iris was about to be. Kang-Woo smiled.


    ¡°That means...¡± he slurred.


    ¡°Yes.¡± La nodded. ¡°A high elf is... trying to manifest while borrowing Iris¡¯s body.¡±


    <i>¡®Hell yeah.¡¯</i> Kang-Woo clenched his fists after hearing the wee news. <i>¡®They¡¯re finally getting off their fat asses.¡¯</i>


    Making the high elves manifest by driving the continent to the brink of copse... The deranged n was nearing itspletion.


    ¡°When will the high elf manifest?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure either. Iris would first have to be an incarnation, but... no one knows how long that will take.¡±


    ¡°How long did it take for you?¡±


    ¡°About a month.¡±


    <i>¡®A month, huh?¡¯</i>


    ¡°But I can¡¯t guarantee it¡¯ll take that long for¡ª¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Kang-Woo interjected.


    In the first ce, bing an incarnation of a god was notmon, so it was near impossible to predict a time.


    Kang-Woo stood up. ¡°In that case, there¡¯s nothing wrong with Iris, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. She¡¯s just like this because she¡¯s in the middle of epting Divinity.¡±


    Kang-Woo sighed in relief.


    ¡°Sir... Kang-Woo?¡± Iris called Kang-Woo faintly.


    Kang-Woo lightly patted her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry and get some rest.¡±


    As if having been relieved by those words, Iris slowly closed her eyes. Kang-Woo left the room with La and Seo-Ah.


    ¡°The n... was a sess,¡± said La with a bitter smile.


    The n to make a high elf manifest by making Kim Si-Hun a hero, which seemed absurd in the beginning, was on the verge of seeding. La wanted to cheer, but could not bring herself to, considering the state Iris was in. She knew better than anyone how agonizing the process of bing an incarnation was.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    He did not feel anything in particr.


    <i>¡®After all, I knew it would seed.¡¯</i>


    He had done so much more than what La realized. He disguised himself as Evil God Lucifer to attack the empire, framed him as the culprit who attacked Sant¡¯Angelo, and distorted information to amplify fear. If the high elves did not manifest after going this far, he would have given up and found another way.


    <i>¡®Now, then.¡¯</i>


    All that was left to do now was what he had been forced to postpone until this point. Kang-Woo smiled. It was what he had been desperately waiting for, even more than the manifestation of the high elves; he had longed for it all this time.


    <i>Ba-dump, ba-dump.</i>


    His heart beat like crazy from the anticipation. Thrills ran throughout his entire body.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo breathed heatedly.


    He had been holding back all this time, but he could not hold it back anymore. He clenched his chest as he panted heavily.


    <i>¡®How long have I been like this?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo searched through his memories.


    <i>¡®Sant¡¯Angelo.¡¯</i>


    It was when he had seen the space protected by colossal sacred power destroyed by someone. No, it could have been from back when he had discovered the red sand from the Nine Hells. zing impulses were taking control over him to the point that he could barely hold it back anymore.


    Kang-Woo said impatiently, ¡°I have something to do, so I¡¯ll excuse myself.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I understand. I¡¯ll let the other party members know,¡± Seol-Ah replied as she nodded.


    Kang-Woo turned around and walked tedly. He exited the imperial pce to see a vast garden, which he walked past.


    ¡°Master Kang-Woo,¡± someone called.


    Kang-Woo turned to see a young man with brown hair.


    ¡°Balrog.¡±


    He was currently wearing human skin, but inside was arade whom Kang-Woo had fought alongside for a thousand years, as well as his loyal subordinate.


    Silence fell. Balrog stared at Kang-Woo, and then closed his eyes.


    ¡°I see you can barely hold it in,¡± Balrog slowly remarked.


    <i>¡®You got me.¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo snickered. <i>¡®This dim-witted son of a bitch is only quick-witted in times like this. I guess the time we spent together doesn¡¯t go anywhere. You¡¯re really something else, man... Not even Lilith was able to tell.¡¯</i>


    ¡°I¡¯ve been holding it back all this time,¡± Kang-Woo said calmly.


    He was acting calm, but he felt like his desires were about to explode at any second.


    Balrog opened his eyes. It had been a while since he had seen his king like this; as if his king had thrown aside his human skin and returned to his true demon form.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s at least... the first time I¡¯ve seen him like this on Earth.¡¯</i>


    It only meant that he had been desperately holding it back all this time.


    ¡°Were you not able to alleviate it a littlest time?¡± Balrog asked.


    ¡°No, that only made it worse. It ended so anticlimactic while I was getting fired up.¡±


    Kang-Woo recalled the Constetion of Agony. The battle had ended in such a dull manner. The fire zing within his heart had been doused with ice water, as if an engine had been revved up but was just left to be. He felt like the desires he had been holding back all this time were about to explode. He instinctively knew that he could no longer hold it back.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ve held it back for quite a while.¡¯</i>


    Considering how he had been like back in Hell, he had managed to miraculously hold it back for this long.


    <i>¡®How long has it been?¡¯</i>


    How long had it been since he had been able to fight with everything he had? Kang-Woo searched through his memories, but could not remember.


    <i>¡®At least...¡¯</i>


    He had not been able to ever since he had regained his powers as the Demon King. No, even before that, he had never used every ounce of his strength. Obsession was the instinct of angels, and desire was that of demons. Their limitless desire allowed them to maintain their sanity for their immortal lifespan.


    Among the countless forms of desire there were, Kang-Woo¡¯s desire was simple: to eat. To fight enemies stronger than him, to emerge victorious and to devour them as his spoils of battle. This very desire was what had allowed him to stay sane for the past ten millennia as well as what had allowed him to survive.


    ¡°Argh, urgh.¡±


    Kang-Woo panted heavily. A horrifying thirst tore apart his throat, but his desire could not be fulfilled; it would not be resolved just by devouring average demons and demonic beasts. He needed even stronger prey that would fire him up.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s times like this that I¡¯m jealous of Seol-Ah.¡¯</i>


    Seol-Ah¡¯s desire, her obsession toward Kang-Woo, was able to be resolved easily. However, Kang-Woo was different. There weren¡¯t many prey that would be able to fire him up anymore.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s why...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled. That was why he had been waiting for his n to bepleted.


    ¡°Will they being today?¡± Balrog asked.


    ¡°Who knows? But they won¡¯t just be taking it lying down.¡±


    Kang-Woo had made use of the ns of the Constetions of Evil and had thoroughly ruined them. The entire continent was plunged into fear of Lucifer, not the Constetions of Evil.


    <i>¡®They wouldn¡¯t stand for it... unless they¡¯re morons.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned around, his eyes filled with anticipation.


    ¡°Balrog.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my king.¡±


    Balrog got on one knee and looked up at Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo did not possess the signature features of a demon such as goat horns, bat wings and a ck tail, but Balrog could tell that the man in front of him was, without a doubt, the king of demons.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get in my way.¡±


    Balrog stayed silent. He bowed his head and answered, ¡°As youmand, my king.¡±


    Kang-Woo slowly walked past Balrog. For some reason, the Constetion of Agony¡¯s Deific Essence had been sealed. Having a taste of a small piece of meat was more agonizing than being starved. Unbearable thirst and hunger were taking control over Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Haaa.¡±


    Kang-Woo licked his lips and gulped. He looked up at the sky. He couldn¡¯t sense the Constetions of Evil at all, but he could tell that they would being to punish the mortals that had ruined their ns.


    ¡°Now...¡±


    It was time for a feast. Kang-Woo smiled.


    ***


    Thousands of translucent wraiths appeared at the imperial pce garden in the dead of night.


    [Kill, kill, kill.]


    [Capture the humans and skin them little by little.]


    [Let¡¯s dance to their screams.]


    The thousands of wraiths danced while singing a chilling song. Among them was a spirit exuding powerful deathly energy, whonded on the garden.


    [Oh Kang-Woo and Kim Si-Hun, was it?]


    He mumbled the names of the retainers of Gaia that had ruined his n. The Constetion of Fear rested his giant scythe, made from vengeful spirits, on his shoulder. Although there were two retainers of Gaia, he already knew who the main culprit who had ruined his n was.


    [Kim Si-Hun.]


    He was the hero who was being revered as the Sword Emperor.


    [How dare he...]


    <i>Whoooom.</i> The scythe made from vengeful spirits exuded deathly energy. The Constetion of Fear slowly walked toward the imperial pce in front of him. Just then...


    ¡°Come on... What the hell?¡± someone said.


    The Constetion of Fear turned to see a man with sharp eyes. The man clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and red at the Constetion of Fear.


    ¡°Just one?¡± the man remarked in dissatisfaction, as if he had excitedly gone to a buffet only to see that there wasn¡¯t arge selection of food to choose from.

 Chapter 378 - You Chicken?

    <h4>Chapter 378 - You Chicken?</h4>


    [You must be one of Gaia¡¯s puppets.]


    The Constetion of Fear scanned Oh Kang-Woo with dreary eyes. The Deific Essence that he had acquired as the God of Fear analyzed the power of Gaia within Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡®The Protector of Light.¡¯</i>


    It was a ridiculous title. The Constetion of Fear raised his scythe and looked around. He did not feel any other presence in the area.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯</i>


    If the human had been anticipating for him toe, he had expected for there to be a group of humans waiting to strike around the area. However, unlike his expectations, there was not a single presence within this giant garden other than Gaia¡¯s retainer.


    <i>¡®Could he be thinking of facing me by himself?¡¯</i>


    That was absurd. The Constetion of Fear shook his head. However reckless the man was, he would never think of facing a god by himself. He should have at least brought Kim Si-Hun, the other retainer of Gaia.


    <i>¡®Has hee to stall for time?¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Fear shook his head while frowning. If that was the case, they would have been better off just running away together; there was no reason for just one of them to stay behind.


    [Where are the others?]


    ¡°Not here,¡± Kang-Woo replied.


    [Not here?]


    The Constetion of Fear chuckled at the human¡¯s firm response.


    <i>¡®They must be hiding somewhere while aiming for an opening.¡¯</i>


    It was a pointless effort. He, who was the cluster of countless vengeful spirits, did not have such a thing as an opening.


    ¡°Dammit... I never thought only one woulde,¡± Kang-Woo said in disappointment.


    However, the Constetion of Fear could see the human¡¯s eyes zing.


    [...?]


    Only then did the Constetion of Fear realize something was wrong. The human¡¯s reaction was far too abnormal despite being before the God of Fear. He was not trembling in fear nor plunging into despair; his fighting spirit was not zing either.


    <i>¡®What is it?¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Fear sensed something unknown from the human¡¯s eyes. No, it was not unknown¡ª he knew what it was very well. However, he couldn¡¯t understand why the human had such eyes at this moment. The Constetion of Fear doubted his senses. If he was correct...


    <i>¡®He¡¯s ted.¡¯</i>


    The human was ted, like a starved beast having found a prey to feast on.


    <i>¡®Why...?¡¯</i>


    How could the human be looking at him with such eyes? He could not understand. During all his life, the Constetion of Fear had never seen tion in any of the eyes of mortals that he had faced.


    <i>¡®Has he gone insane?¡¯</i>


    That was the only conclusion that the Constetion of Fear coulde up with. He lowered his giant scythe. He had gone out of his way to take action himself to punish the mortals that had ruined his n, but he hade to face a deranged human. He had lost interest.


    ¡°Where are the others?¡± the human asked the same question that the Constetion of Fear had asked him.


    The Constetion of Fear, finding the situation stupid, answered, [Not here.]


    ¡°Not here?¡±


    The human seemed truly disappointed. No, he was biting his lip in frustration and stomping his feet.


    [Tsk.]


    The human seemed to have actually gone insane. The Constetion of Fear did not wait any longer. He had too many mortals to exact divine punishment on to waste any more time on one crazy human.


    [Kill him.]


    The Constetion of Fear raised his scythe and pointed at the human tomand the thousands of wraiths. They had been singing and dancing while looking forward to the ughter until a few minutes ago, but they had frozen while staring at the human.


    [...?]


    Time passed, and the Constetion of Fear tilted his head in confusion.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s happening?¡¯</i>


    The wraiths were not moving. They were usually thirsty for blood, but they were simply staying in ce without charging at their prey.


    [Ah, aaaahh.]


    No, they were not just staying still. They were trembling in fear.


    [What?] The Constetion of Fear widened his translucent eyes.


    His purple eyes that were the only clearly visible part of his body dyed with confusion.


    ¡°Oh,e to think of it...¡± The human smiled as he turned to look at the wraiths all around him. ¡°You guys know me, don¡¯t you?¡±


    [Ah, aaaahh.]


    The wraiths trembled. They, who had been created solely for the purpose of instilling fear into humans, were the ones trembling in fear.


    [It¡¯s that human. From back then.]


    [No, no. He¡¯s not human.]


    [A demon. A demon.]


    [A demon mad for revenge.]


    [He¡¯ll try to kill us again.]


    [He¡¯ll try to rip us apart.]


    The wraiths screamed while trembling in fear.


    Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly as if he was sorry and remarked, ¡°I mean, back then... I had my reasons.¡±


    [We haven¡¯t done anything.]


    [We didn¡¯t do anything to him.]


    ¡°Well... It¡¯s hard to exin.¡±


    Kang-Woo averted his eyes from the gazes of the victimized wraiths while scratching his head. He did indeed have a reason for mercilessly massacring the wraiths.


    ¡°It¡¯s because...¡±


    Kang-Woo carefully selected his words to exin himself as thoroughly as possible, in a way that would hurt the wraiths that had been massacred due to Kang-Woo¡¯s fit of rage, as little as possible.


    ¡°You guys look... hideous.¡±


    [...]


    The wraiths fell silent. Since Lilith had let loose her tentacles because she had gotten scared of the wraiths¡¯ hideous looks, it was technically not wrong.


    <i>¡®But... I sound like a scumbag for exining it that way. I¡¯m feeling a bit guilty.¡¯</i>


    [You¡¯re so harsh, so harsh.]


    [Demon! Evil demon!]


    ¡°I mean...¡±


    <i>¡®I am indeed a demon, but...¡¯</i>


    He did not want to hear that from wraiths that kidnapped and tortured humans.


    [Hah.] The Constetion of Fear chuckled at the absurd situation. [What do you think you¡¯re all doing?]


    He exuded chilling bloodlust not at Gaia¡¯s retainer, but his own retainers. The thousands of wraiths flinched. The Constetion of Fear drew out Divinity and swung his scythe.


    [Gyaaaaaaaahh!!]


    One of the wraiths was pierced by the giant scythe. It was violentlypressed as it screamed, and was sucked into the scythe.


    The god said furiously, [Did you not hear me telling you to kill that human?]


    The garden shook from the god¡¯s fury. The wraiths shook uncontrobly.


    [I willmand you again.] The Constetion of Fear pointed at Kang-Woo with his giant scythe again. [Kill the retainer of Gaia.]


    However...


    Once again, only silence could be heard in the vast garden.


    [What?]


    The Constetion of Fear¡¯s eyes widened at the iprehensible situation. The wraiths were not moving.


    [Ah, arghh.] They were simply groaning while staying in ce, not knowing what to do.


    <i>¡®They¡¯re not obeying mymands? Even after I used Divinity?¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Fear¡¯s thought became jumbled. He was more confused than enraged.


    <i>¡®This cannot be.¡¯</i>


    Wraiths were beings of the Underworld, so they were more sensitive to death and fear than anything in the world. However, they were in fear of someone else more than the God of Fear himself.


    <i>¡®This is... wrong.¡¯</i>


    He could not think of it as merely a mistake. The Constetion of Fear turned around and scanned the human in front of him more thoroughly. Other than his sharp eyes and his ferocious appearance, he did not look like anything else but human. He could also feel Gaia¡¯s power and golden mana within the human. However, he could not feel any Deific Essence, which any god would possess.


    To be frank, in terms of pure power, the difference between them was overwhelming to the point that it was despairing for the human. That was how much of a difference there was between one who could wield Divinity and one who couldn¡¯t. To make aparison, it was like a naked human against a human with full-te armor and powerful enchanted weapons. It could be possible with a horde of people, but it was not a gap that could be ovee by oneself.


    <i>¡®But why? Why are they so afraid of him?¡¯</i>


    [...]


    There was a discrepancy between his logic and instinct. The Constetion of Fear locked eyes with the human again. The human was still staring at him like a starved predator that had found a prey to feast on.


    The Constetion of Fear felt chills running down his back. It was fear, an emotion that he knew all too well.


    <i>¡®This man is dangerous.¡¯</i>


    He did not know exactly why, but his instincts were telling him so. It did not take him long to choose whether to follow those instincts or his logic.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s something about him.¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Fear no longer underestimated the mortal in front of him. Through the reactions of the wraiths and his own instincts, he had be sure that the human had something up his sleeve.


    <i>¡®I have to avoid him.¡¯</i>


    As long as he had no idea what that human was hiding, he could not face him. He was not idiotic enough to face someone blindly just because they did not possess Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®I should go back and find out.¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Fear narrowed his purple eyes. He needed more information before he could fight that human. He slowly widened the distance from that human in silence.


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone. He expressed, ¡°Wow. Dayum, you really surprised me.¡±


    His enemies usually ran straight at him while shouting, <i>¡°You lowly mortal!¡±</i> around this time. It was not because they were stupid and thoughtless, but because Kang-Woo was objectively at an overwhelming disadvantage. He had been made painfully aware of how much of a disadvantage one without Deific Essence was in against one with Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®But I never thought he would avoid the battle.¡¯</i>


    The Constetions of Evil did not know who he was, what he could do, and what he had done thus far. Hence, he had been sure that the Constetion of Fear would charge at him. He thought that his enemy would find the disrespect from a lowly and weak mortal without Deific Essence unforgivable.


    [Oh Kang-Woo, was it?] The Constetion of Fear continued calmly, [I wille back for your head.]


    He had made the deration while exuding as much bloodlust as possible to conceal the humiliation of running away from a mortal without Deific Essence.


    Kang-Woo burst intoughter as the Constetion of Fear turned around.


    ¡°Pfft, pwehehehehehe!!¡±


    The Constetion of Fear stopped in his tracks due to the flippantughter.


    Kang-Woo continued while wiping his tears, ¡°Jesus, that¡¯s some bravado you¡¯re exuding while running with your tail between your legs. Do you seriously think that makes you any less pathetic?¡±


    [Kuh. Y-You bastard...]


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you the God of Fear? Huh? Are you seriously running away like a scared little mutt?¡±


    [Silence!! I am not running away!] The Constetion of Fear shouted.


    There was a slight urgency mixed into his voice. Even though he was trusting his instincts, there was nothing more humiliating than a god running away after feeling fear from a human. The Constetion of Fear tried to turn around again while suppressing his boiling rage.


    ¡°You chicken?¡±


    <i>Flinch.</i> The Constetion of Fear froze. He did not know what that word meant, but it felt extremely unpleasant to hear.


    [Do not forget, human. This is nothing but a¡ª]


    ¡°You chicken?¡±


    [Strategic retreat...]


    ¡°You chicken?¡±


    [I am falling back at the moment, but I wille back for your head.]


    ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is, you¡¯re a chicken, right?¡±


    Silence fell. The Constetion of Fear grabbed the back of his neck.


    [You son of a...]


    The fear he had felt from the human was slowly being eaten away by his boiling rage.


    ***


    ¡°Tai Wuji.¡±


    A seductive voice filled the ck space. Proserpine approached Tai Wuji, who was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the thick darkness.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Tai Wuji responded expressionlessly.


    Proserpine took out a ck orb from between her well-endowed breasts.


    She smiled and answered, ¡°There¡¯s been contact from Lucifer.¡±

 Chapter 379 - Monster of the Demonic Sea (1)

    <h4>Chapter 379 - Monster of the Demonic Sea (1)</h4>


    [Fuuu, fuuu,] The Constetion of Fear took deep breaths.


    To be more exact, he was not breathing, but letting out deathly energy made out of vengeful spirits to quell his boiling rage. He clenched his scythe to calm his trembling hands.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s nothing but a cheap taunt.¡¯</i>


    He knew that, and he was not foolish enough to fall for it. However...


    ¡°You¡¯re actually scared? Come on, man. Aren¡¯t you a god, at least in name only? Hm? You¡¯re not actually trying to run away because of one puny human, are you?¡±


    <i>¡®Th-Th-That son of a...¡¯</i>


    All sorts of curses swirled around in the Constetion of Fear¡¯s head. He would not have been this angry if the human had mocked him in any other way. However, it was hard to endure when he was being ridiculed in such a primitively childish way.


    [...]


    The Constetion of Fear clenched his scythe so hard that it could break. Before serving Demon God Bauli, he was revered as the god of the Underworld. He had been a god since birth, and was worshiped by all wraiths and vengeful spirits. He was not able to endure such cheap mockery.


    <i>¡®I¡¯d only be caught into his plot if I stay any longer.¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Fear shut off his ears. He turned away from the frozen wraiths and flew into the air.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Oh Kang-Woo chuckled, honestly impressed.


    <i>¡®He¡¯s still not charging at me after that?¡¯</i>


    He knew very well that such childish taunts would not work against a regr opponent. However, his opponent was not regr in the slightest; he was a god, and Kang-Woo was merely a god¡¯s retainer.


    <i>¡®At the very least...¡¯</i>


    That was the case in the Constetion of Fear¡¯s perspective. To make aparison, it was like a private pping a colonel in the face and mocking him that he was too chicken to fight back.


    ¡°Why the fuck is he so scared?¡±


    Kang-Woo rolled his feet while frowning in displeasure. His n to make the opponent charge at him first had failed. In that case...


    ¡°Close.¡± Kang-Woo slowly raised his arm and used Soul Speech.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    The entire garden shook. Darkness shot out from the surroundings and gathered to form a dome, as if a giant ck bowl had been ced over them.


    [What the...]


    The shocked Constetion of Fear quickly flew up and swung his scythe at the darkness covering the sky.


    <i>Split!</i>


    An opening formed in the darkness, but only for an instant.


    <i>Squelch, squelch.</i>


    The darkness, as viscous as tar, squirmed as if it was alive and resealed the opening that the scythe had formed. It had been so fast that the Constetion of Fear did not even have the time to get out.


    [Kuh.] The Constetion of Fear grimaced. [Bastard! What did you do?!]


    He turned around while clenching his scythe. He would be able to make an opening to escape the dome of darkness if he had time, but he doubted he would have that leisure when the enemy who had formed this dome was inside with him.


    <i>¡®I have no choice.¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Fear made a quick judgment.


    [You seem to be eager to die by the hands of the God of Fear.]


    He could tell that he could no longer avoid a fight. He clenched his scythe while exuding chilling deathly energy.


    Kang-Woo scoffed. ¡°The fuck? You¡¯ve been trying to run away all this time, but look at you putting on airs now that you can¡¯t. Well, regardless...¡±


    He slowly lowered his arm and smiled in absolute ecstasy.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ve been waiting for this moment for so long.¡¯</i>


    He had been suppressing his desire with all his might after the battle with the Constetion of Agony, which he had been so excited for, ended so anticlimactically. He was looking forward to a desperate battle with his life on the line... a frontal assault against a being of godhood.


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± Kang-Woo took a breath so deep that his lungs were on the verge of bursting, and released the desire that he had been suppressing all this time. ¡°Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!!¡±


    The demon of demons, the Hell of Hells, and the predator of predators roared. He stomped his feet and jumped as he was filled with delight.


    <i>Boom¡ª!</i>


    The ground caved in a dozen meters as Kang-Woo leaped toward the Constetion of Fear. He stretched his right arm back midair.


    <i>¡®Leviathan.¡¯</i>


    The Key of the Demonic Sea transformed into an ax covered in freezing air. He grabbed the ax and threw it.


    <i>aang!</i>


    The ax was deflected along with a clear metallic sound. The Constetion of Fear had not blocked it; the attack had simply been deflected by the power of Divinity within the countless spirits that made up his body.


    <i>¡®Yes.¡¯</i>


    The corners of Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth rose so high as if they were ripping. Irresistible pleasure set him aze.


    <i>¡®This is it.¡¯</i>


    A battle against a being of godhood¡ª an illogical and unfair fight. Kang-Woo had been waiting for this feeling of vain and despair. He had been wanting a prey that would push him to his limits that not even he was aware of.


    ¡°Pfft, hahahahaha!!¡±


    Kang-Wooughed as he used the Authority of the Sky to fly through the air at supersonic speed. The ax that had been deflected off of the Divinity returned to his hand. It changed form into a sword, and Kang-Woo swung it down at the Constetion of Fear.


    [Crazy human...]


    The Constetion of Fear swung his scythe, dumbfounded. The scythe of vengeful spirits and the Key of the Demonic Sea shed.


    <i>ng¡ª!</i>


    The Key of the Demonic Sea was deflected once again. The sword that had shed with the scythe d in Divinity shattered into pieces. Kang-Woo used the repelling force to twirl, and transformed the Key of the Demonic Sea into a spear. The dark red spear dodged the scythe and aimed for the Constetion of Fear¡¯s neck.


    [Not good enough!]


    The Constetion of Fear fell back and swung his scythe, pouring out hundreds of vengeful spirits in its path.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s skin that had made contact with the vengeful spirits turned ck as if it had rotted. He fluidly fell back and stretched his left arm downward.


    ¡°Stab him to death.¡± Kang-Woo used Soul Speech.


    His demonic energy responded to his words imbued with his will; countless ck needles shot up from the ground.


    <i>aang¡ª!</i>


    Sharp sounds as if an iron te was being hammered nonstop echoed throughout the dome. However, none of the thousands of ck needles were able to break through the Constetion of Fear¡¯s barrier of Divinity; it had only made it a little thinner.


    The Constetion of Fear swung his scythe at Kang-Woo¡¯s head. Kang-Woo ducked to dodge; he thought that he had dodged itpletely, but hundreds of vengeful spirits poured out from the scythe¡¯s path like rainfall.


    ¡°Kurgh, argh.¡±


    Kang-Woo took the brunt of the vengeful spirits on his back, and they ripped his flesh apart. Rather than falling back, he walked toward the Constetion of Fear as he was being ripped apart by the vengeful spirits, and grabbed him with his right hand. Although the Constetion of Fear¡¯s body was made of translucent spirits, Kang-Woo was able to grab him with ease.


    [It¡¯s no use!]


    The Constetion of Fear swung down his scythe while shouting, cutting off Kang-Woo¡¯s right arm.


    <i>Ssh.</i> Red blood spewed out like a fountain.


    [Hmph. It seems you were all bark and no bite.]


    The Constetion of Fear snorted and trampled on Kang-Woo¡¯s severed right arm.


    <i>Crunch.</i> Kang-Woo¡¯s left leg was bent at an unnatural angle.


    The Constetion of Fear cut off Kang-Woo¡¯s right leg as well, and swung down the scythe at Kang-Woo, who only had a working left arm remaining. The scythe pierced his stomach and embedded itself on the ground.


    [Anyway...]


    The Constetion of Fear frowned as he thought of the ck barrier around them and the techniques that the human had used.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t feel any demonic energy from him.¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Fear tilted his head in confusion. He had a feeling that something was off; there was no way that the human¡¯s attacks were befitting a retainer of Gaia.


    <i>¡®Regardless...¡¯</i>


    The power that the human had been hiding was nothing special.


    [The likes of a god¡¯s apostle dared to mock a god,] the Constetion of Fear said leisurely.


    Contrary to his worries, there was an insurmountable gap between a being who possessed Deific Essence and one who did not. Not a single one of the human¡¯s attacks had managed to break through his barrier of Divinity, and the human had not been able to block a single one of his attacks imbued with Divinity. The result of the battle had been decided from the beginning.


    <i>¡®Were my instincts wrong?¡¯</i>


    The battle had been so anticlimactic that the Constetion of Fear couldn¡¯t help but think as such.


    [Die.]


    The Constetion of Fear pulled out his scythe while thinking that his instincts had dulled, splitting the human in half from his belly to head.


    [Fuuu,] the Constetion of Fear sighed as he turned around. He needed to find a way out of this barrier now. [Let¡¯s s¡ª]


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    Just then, he heard the sound of a viscous liquid. He looked down to see that it had been from his leg. The Constetion of Fear aggressively frowned after seeing the source of the sound. The right arm of the human that he had cut off was still grabbing his leg.


    [You¡¯re unpleasant to the very end.]


    The Constetion of Fear slowly reached down to grab the human¡¯s right arm. Just then...


    <i>Crunch¡ª!!</i>


    A giant mouth shot out from the right arm and ate the Constetion of Fear¡¯s arm whole.


    [Gaaaaaaaaahhh!!] the Constetion of Fear screamed.


    Although it had only been a mere fragment of the hundreds of thousands of vengeful spirits that made up his body, a splitting pain spread throughout his entire body.


    [Wh-What the hell?!]


    The Constetion of Fear jumped back in shock.


    <i>Munch, munch.</i>


    The giant mouth that hade out from the human¡¯s right arm ate the arm made of vengeful spirits as if it was a delicacy.


    <i>¡®What in the...¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Fear¡¯s eyes shook. He had existed ever since the era of myths, but he had never seen something like that. He trembled. The fear that he had felt a while ago as he looked at the human returned.


    <i>Squelch, squelch.</i>


    [...?]


    The Constetion of Fear heard more sounds of a sticky mucus. He turned toward the source of the sound.


    [What?]


    ¡°<i>Slurp</i>. Eating spirits is a first for me.¡±


    There, the human that should have died from being split into two was getting back up. He was chewing on something while looking like he couldn¡¯t be any happier.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t taste all that bad.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled extremely widely, the corners of his mouth actually tearing open to reach behind his ears. Saliva was dripping from the sharp teeth of a beast that had protruded out from his cheekbones.


    [What the hell... is that?]


    The Constetion of Fear¡¯s eyes widened. Something that should not be happening was happening before his very eyes.


    ¡°Now, then.¡±


    Kang-Woo slowly raised his arm. The right arm that had been severed at his elbow crawled toward him and stuck back on the severed area. He put his hand over his heart.


    ¡°Time for round two.¡±


    Ten Thousand Demon Core...


    First Door, open.


    ***


    Lucifer¡¯s voice flowed out from the ck orb.


    [I heard that you had contacted me.]


    ¡°I did.¡± Tai Wuji nodded.


    Before he had stolen the Demon God¡¯s legacy, he had contacted Lucifer to ask him if he had any intention to join forces with the Constetions of Evil.


    [I refuse,] Lucifer responded without hesitation.


    Tai Wuji nodded, having expected the response.


    ¡°You¡¯ve changed quite a lot. I had high hopes for you since you had managed to acquire Divinity despite being a mere demon.¡±


    Lucifer remained silent.


    Tai Wuji stared at the ck orb expressionlessly.


    ¡°That aside, it seems the retainers of Gaia are mistaking us for you.¡±


    [Mistaking?]


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing for you to bother with, since we will be correcting that mistake today.¡±


    [Are you nning on killing Gaia¡¯s retainer?]


    Tai Wuji simply nodded without a word.


    [Gaia will not stand for that.]


    ¡°What could she possibly do with her damaged Deific Essence?¡± Tai Wuji replied with his signature monotone voice.


    Lucifer narrowed his eyes and asked, [Who was Gaia¡¯s retainer again? It was a human named Kim Si-Hun, correct?]


    ¡°There is one other.¡±


    [Who?]


    ¡°A human named Oh Kang-Woo.¡±


    Silence fell.


    [What?]


    Tai Wuji could see Lucifer flustered from across the ck orb. Tai Wuji stared at Lucifer while slightly tilting his head.


    [Oh... Kang-Woo? No, no, wait. It can¡¯t be.] Lucifer expressed panic. He asked impatiently, [Can I see that human¡¯s face?]


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Tai Wuji slightly turned his head. A boy with nk eyes approached and opened his right hand. On top of it appeared the blue window known as the <i>System Window</i> among yers. On it was a picture of Oh Kang-Woo, back when he had epted Gaia¡¯s light and became the Protector of Light.


    [Ah.] Lucifer¡¯s eyes widened after seeing Kang-Wo¡¯s face. [Wh-Why? Satan surely had...]


    Satan had said that he had taken the Demonic Sea from the Demon King. Although it was impossible through normal means, Lucifer had known about Satan¡¯s final n to make the Demon King sh with the dimensional wall to annihte him. Lucifer had thought that Satan had acquired the Demonic Sea back then, but...


    [Why... Why...]


    Why was the Demon King still alive? Lucifer trembled; he scanned the picture of the Demon King on the blue window in pallor. If the Demon King had be a retainer of Gaia, it meant that he had regained his strength to the point that he could fool a god of the highest rank.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Tai Wuji asked.


    Lucifer did not answer him and asked instead, [You went to go... kill Gaia¡¯s retainers?]


    ¡°Yes. The Constetion of Fear went personally to exact punishment with his own hands.¡±


    Deathly silence fell. Lucifer said with a shaking voice, [Run... away.]


    ¡°What?¡±


    [I said to run away! Right now!!!]


    Lucifer¡¯s shout echoed from the ck orb.


    Tai Wuji frowned dumbfoundedly. ¡°Surely you don¡¯t mean from Gaia¡¯s retainer?¡± Even he, who was mostly devoid of emotions, couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at Lucifer¡¯s words. ¡°He is but a mere human without Deific Essence. He is not even an incarnation. He is but one of Gaia¡¯s puppets.¡±


    If one was not an incarnation, it was impossible for them to borrow Deific Essence from the god that they worshiped. Although the human had received Gaia¡¯s blessing, that was it. There was an insurmountable wall between those who possessed Deific Essence and those who did not.


    [God damn it!! You¡¯d be better off fighting Gaia or Seraph!!] Lucifer clenched his fists in pallor. He shouted, [Deific Essence? Incarnation? That doesn¡¯t mean anything to that monster!! Just shut up and run! Run as far away as possible before that monster devours you all and bes stronger!!!]


    Lucifer¡¯s roars echoed.

 Chapter 380 - Monster of the Demonic Sea (2)

    <h4>Chapter 380 - Monster of the Demonic Sea (2)</h4>


    Silence fell. Tai Wuji stared at Lucifer iprehensibly.


    <i>¡®We¡¯d be better off fighting Gaia or Seraph?¡¯</i>


    Gaia was greatly hurt at the moment, and Seraph had been annihted at the price of sealing the Constetions of Evil. Lucifer probably was not referring to the two of them in their current state; he had likely meant that the Constetions would have been better off fighting Gaia and Seraph in their prime.


    ¡°What kind of... nonsense is that?¡±


    Tai Wuji, a fellow god of the Triad, knew better than anyone how powerful gods of the highest rank were. No one but Titans, the creators of the gods, would be a match for them, but...


    <i>¡®He¡¯s telling us to run away from a mere human with no Deific Essence?¡¯</i>


    [Shit! What are you doing?! Hurry up and tell the one who went to kill Oh Kang-Woo to... No, it¡¯s probably toote for him. The rest of you should run, at the very least. You mustn¡¯t be devoured by him!] Lucifer shouted impatiently.


    He was more worried about them being eaten by the human named Oh Kang-Woo than for their lives. Tai Wuji frowned.


    <i>¡®He doesn¡¯t seem to be lying.¡¯</i>


    He could not understand why Lucifer was reacting to such an extent.


    <i>¡®Oh Kang-Woo...¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji needed to see for himself what kind of human he was.


    ¡°Thank you for the advice.¡± Tai Wuji stood up.


    [S-Stop! Wait, Heavenly Dragon!] Lucifer yelled.


    Tai Wuji¡¯s eyebrows slightly wrinkled. He ced his hand over the ck orb and said, ¡°Do not call me by that name.¡±


    <i>Crack</i>. The ck orb shattered into pieces.


    ***


    [I see, you weren¡¯t human.]


    The Constetion of Fear¡¯s purple eyes lit up while clenching his scythe. The human¡¯s body was regenerating while squirming as if it was made of liquid. No matter how one looked at him, he could not be called anything else but a monster.


    <i>¡®How did a monster like that be Gaia¡¯s retainer?¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Fear looked at Kang-Woo in confusion.


    <i>¡®In any case...¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Fear took a deep breath and d himself with Divinity. Even if the being in front of him could regenerate and was not human, there was nothing to fear. He looked down at his left arm that had been eaten by the giant mouth. The purple vengeful spirits gathered around the severed area to create a new arm.


    [Fuuu.]


    The Constetion of Fear was not human either, and also possessed regenerative capabilities on par with that monster. If that was the case...


    <i>¡®As long as I¡¯m careful of that mouth, I have the overwhelming advantage since I have Divinity.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s more like it.¡± Kang-Woo snickered in delight.


    It had been a while since he had this much fun. He didn¡¯t have to conceal himself with lies nor try to fool the enemy with tricks. He could rampage as much as his desires wanted.


    Kang-Woo slowly raised his head, took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He could feel the giant current of demonic energy raging from his heart throughout his body. He had opened one of the three Doors that sealed the Demonic Sea, but he had not lost his reason nor turned into a ck slime unlike when he had faced Baek Kang-Hyun.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m different from back then.¡¯</i>


    It was a given, since not only had he regained the power he had back in Hell, but had far surpassed it. Kang-Woo controlled the energy of the Demonic Sea that was flooding him through the Door. The deathly violent current of demonic energy was moving ording to his will.


    <i>¡®Opening two Doors is still a bit of a stretch.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could do it, but he was not confident that he wouldn¡¯t be swept by the colossal current of the Demonic Sea. It was a shame, but he decided not to pay it much mind. Although he had only opened one of the Doors, it was astonishing enough that he had be able to control the massive energy influx from opening one Door.


    <i>¡®Though I¡¯ll probably still suffer from the side effects.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo did not care; he was more than capable of handling a risk of that level if he could devour a god.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo exhaled and opened his eyes.


    <i>¡®Inferno.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo extended his arm to create a sword zing with yellow mes and jumped into the air.


    [Dance, sing.] The Constetion of Fear drearily chanted a spell, and then swung the giant scythe.


    <i>Whoosh¡ª!</i>


    A portion of the hundreds of thousands of vengeful spirits making up his body was pulled out and gathered into hundreds of spheres, which then shot toward Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo changed directions in midair; the foot technique that he had learned from Kim Si-Hun was a great help. He twisted around like a dancing dragon while stepping on the air and swung down Inferno with both hands. The Constetion of Fear raised his scythe to block the attack.


    <i>aang¡ª!</i>


    Inferno was deflected once again along with a clear metallic sound.


    [I told you that it was no use!] the Constetion of Fear shouted while bursting with Divinity.


    Kang-Woo smiled. He raised the deflected Inferno and swung it at his own arm.


    [What?]


    <i>sh!</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s arm was cut off by the zing sword as the Constetion of Fear¡¯s eyes were dyed with confusion. ck blood spewed out like a fountain and sshed on the Constetion of Fear.


    <i>Crunch!</i>


    [Gaaaaahh!]


    Countless mouths appeared from the blood and bit off parts of the Constetion of Fear. Neither the Divinity barrier that he had been so proud of nor his hundreds of thousands of vengeful spirits meant anything. The hundreds of mouths that had appeared from Kang-Woo¡¯s blood were gnawing at the Constetion of Fear at an rming pace like a school of piranhas.


    [Kurgh!]


    The Constetion of Fear looked down at himself in pallor. His entire body had fortunately not been covered with blood because he had instinctively jumped back after sensing that something was wrong. He severed the body parts covered in blood with his scythe.


    [<i>Huff, huff!</i>] the Constetion of Fear panted heavily.


    He had felt it earlier, but it was abnormally painful. The mouths had been so painful that cutting off the body parts covered in blood felt better.


    <i>¡®I-I can¡¯t let that bastard¡¯s blood get on me.¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Fear stepped back in pallor. He had once faced the Constetion of Agony, but the pain that he had experienced back then had been nothingpared to being eaten by those mouths.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll keep my distance and attack from far away.¡¯</i>


    It would be over the moment that he was covered in that monster¡¯s blood.


    [Sound the requiem!]


    <i>Whoosh¡ª!</i>


    The Constetion of Fear raised his scythe up high after widening his distance from Kang-Woo. The purple sphere made of vengeful spirits poured down like rainfall, leaving absolutely no space to dodge.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    The deathly energy within the vengeful spirits exploded once they hit the ground. A giant purple storm tore apart the surroundings as it formed a crater several hundred meters wide.


    [Is he dead?] the Constetion of Fear mumbled as he looked down at the destroyed ground.


    He could see the monster having been torn into little pieces, having been unable to dodge his attack. Just then, he heard someone cackling.


    ¡°Thanks for the resurrection g.¡±


    The Constetion of Fear¡¯s face stiffened as he turned toward the source of the sound.


    <i>Squelch, squelch.</i>


    The ck blood spilled all over the ground was gathering in one ce; the monster¡¯s limbs and intestines were regenerating while squirming.


    [What... in the world...]


    The Constetion of Fear got goosebumps. Although he himself was a cluster of vengeful spirits, not even he was able to regenerate after being torn into little bits.


    [How...]


    How was he supposed to kill that monster? No, was that monster even able to be killed? The Constetion of Fear trembled as he stared at the inexplicable monster.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Fear clenched his scythe anxiously. That had been his strongest attack; if the monster did not die from that, then he had no other choice.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll have to unleash the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    [Fuuu.]


    The Constetion of Fear¡¯s purple eyes shone. He focused while raising his scythe. To unleash the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence¡ª no, to be able to unleash it while staying alive, he needed to focus his entire being on the act.


    <i>Whoosh¡ª!!</i>


    Enormous energy suddenly flowed out from the Constetion of Fear. The vengeful spirits making up his body shone purple and swirled around like a vortex.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but...¡±


    Kang-Woo leaped forward without hesitation. He used the Authority of Blink to appear right in front of the Constetion of Fear, who was drawing out enormous amounts of energy.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the kind of person to wait for transformations.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled as he stretched out his right arm. He thought about waiting leisurely to see what the Constetion of Fear¡¯s trump card was, but he sensed that the energy flowing out from the Constetion of Fear was dangerous even for him after opening a Door.


    <i>Ssh! </i>Kang-Woo¡¯s ck blood spewed out as he cut off his right arm.


    [Kuh!]


    The Constetion of Fear halted his attempt to unleash the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence and quickly jumped back. However, a few drops of Kang-Woo¡¯s blood got on his shoulder.


    <i>Crunch!</i>


    [Gaaaaaaahh!!]


    Dozens of mouths once again appeared from the blood. The Constetion of Fear cut off his arm with his scythe while screaming.


    [<i>Huff, huff,</i>] he panted heavily as he stared at Kang-Woo in pallor. [H-How...]


    The Constetion of Fear had not tried to unleash the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence in the middle of battle without considering Kang-Woo¡¯s interference. A barrier made of the Demon God¡¯s power, powerful enough to buy him more than enough time to unleash the Deific Essence, was formed during the process.


    <i>¡®So why...¡¯</i>


    The Constetion of Fear looked at the monster in front of him iprehensibly. That monster had managed to pass through the Demon God¡¯s barrier with ease. He had not destroyed or ripped through it; he had simply gone through it as if it had never been there in the first ce.


    ¡°Hm? What?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Based on his reaction, it seemed like he had no knowledge of the barrier. The Constetion of Fear grimaced, unable to understand what was going on.


    <i>¡®Since it¡¯se to this, I¡¯ll have to unleash the Deific Essence right away... while risking annihtion.¡¯</i>


    It was the worst possible situation. The Constetion of Fear fell into thought while clenching his scythe.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? We¡¯re not done yet.¡± Kang-Woo smiled widely and continued, ¡°I wanna y some more.¡±


    He had not had enough yet. Although he had stopped the Constetion of Fear from using his trump card, the Constetion of Fear could still fight. Kang-Woo wanted to experience this joyous battle for a little longer. Kang-Woo charged at the Constetion of Fear while smiling.


    Just then...


    <i>sh!</i>


    The barrier surrounding them was torn, and a middle-aged man with a diagonal sh scar across his face slipped through. He stood between Kang-Woo and the Constetion of Fear with a sword shining blue in hand. The man simply stared at Kang-Woo, who was charging at the Constetion of Fear, expressionlessly.


    [C-Constetion of Despair.]


    The Constetion of Fear¡¯s eyes widened. The situation was straight out of a scene of a protagonisting to save a heroine in danger. The Constetion of Despair raised his sword and swung it at the charging Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo could not feel killing intent from the swing; it was only meant to keep Kang-Woo at bay.


    Kang-Woo smiled widely. The Constetion of Fear extended his arm, getting a bad feeling.


    [Wai¡ª!]


    Kang-Woo jumped straight into the path of the sword swing before the Constetion of Fear could finish his sentence.


    ¡°What?¡± Tai Wuji, who had not expected Kang-Woo to jump straight into his swing, expressed confusion.


    The Heavenly Dragon¡¯s sword sliced Kang-Woo¡¯s head clean off, and...


    <i>Ssh¡ª!</i>


    Blood sttered from the base of Kang-Woo¡¯s neck like a fountain... toward the Constetion of Fear behind Tai Wuji.


    ¡°What in the...¡± Tai Wuji muttered, having not expected the monster that Lucifer had warned him about, to die from just a warning swing.


    He turned around to look at the Constetion of Fear, who was covered from head to toe by the ck blood.


    [N-No... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!] the Constetion of Fear screamed in terror.

 Chapter 381 - Monster of the Demonic Sea (3)

    <h4>Chapter 381 - Monster of the Demonic Sea (3)</h4>


    The Constetion of Fear screamed in terror as he shook the ck blood off of himself with his one remaining arm, but...


    [N-No.]


    There was no way that he would be able to shake off all the blood that he had been drenched with. The Constetion of Fear reached out to Tai Wuji as his purple eyes shone.


    ¡°Why are you making such a fuss?¡± Tai Wuji frowned as if he could not understand.


    It was just some blood; it was nothing for a god to make such amotion over. However, it did not take long for his question to be answered.


    <i>Wriggle, wriggle!</i>


    The ck blood that the Constetion of Fear was drenched with shook and squirmed like a living organism. And then, countless mouths appeared from it.


    ¡°What the...¡±


    They resembled shark teeth. The mouths had no lips, and within the wide mouths were sharp teeth tightly spaced together. Rather than a mouth, it was more apt to describe it as opening the zipper of a bag and seeing countless fangs inside. They did not have tongues nor uvs, just mouths that existed to eat the prey and teeth to tear the prey apart. The countless mouths that appeared from the squirming ck blood began to devour the Constetion of Fear.


    [Gyeeeeeeeeehh!! Kyeghh! Eeeeeekk!]


    The screams were truly unsightly for a god to make. The Constetion of Fear copsed on the ground while writhing, crying and despairing. He stretched out his arm, begging to be saved, to get out of the clutches of this monster. His fingers were trembling desperately.


    <i>Crunch!</i>


    However, even those shaking fingers were eaten up by the mouths of the monster that had swarmed him like an army of ants.


    ¡°Kyaaah! Wh-What the hell is that?¡± Proserpine, who had arrived after Tai Wuji, shouted in shock after hearing the Constetion of Fear¡¯s screams. She asked while stuttering, ¡°I-Is that the monster Lucifer talked about?¡±


    Tai Wuji did not answer. His eyes subtly shook as he stared at the monster that was eating the Constetion of Fear. Despite having barely any emotions remaining, not even he was able to stay emotionless after seeing what was happening before him. He had never imagined there to be a being that was able to eat a god.


    ¡°Fuuu.¡±


    Tai Wuji took a deep breath, narrowed his eyes and concentrated. He had no idea what that monster was, but there was only one thing he needed to do.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t let any more Constetions die.¡¯</i>


    He could not have cared less about the Constetion of Agony because he had been so ipetent, but that was not the case for the Constetion of Fear. Although his n this time had failed, he was usually very capable.


    <i>Whoooom.</i>


    Tai Wuji drew out Qi from his dantian. However, his dantian was different from those of other martial artists. He had managed to surpass the Profound Realm and reached the Transcendent Realm, practically turning his entire meridianwork into a dantian.


    The blue light enveloping Tai Wuji¡¯s sword grew brighter. Darkness mixed with the blue light, enveloping the sword in dark blue mes.


    ¡°sh,¡± Tai Wuji chanted as he swung the sword.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!</i>


    The mouths that were eating the Constetion of Fear were set aze by the dark blue mes. The thousands of ck mouths wriggled as they were burned by the mes, and fell away from the Constetion of Fear.


    [Hurgh, urgh.]


    The Constetion of Fear, having be like a tattered rag, twisted and turned. His translucent body had be even more faint, and even his purple eyes, which were the only vivid part of his body, were also fading.


    [A-Arghh.]


    The Constetion of Fear fainted before he could even utter a word.


    Seeing that, Proserpine frowned. ¡°Is this thing still alive?¡±


    Although it was ambiguous to call a god made up of countless vengeful spirits <i>alive</i>, Tai Wuji nodded. In terms of whether his Deific Essence was still intact or not, he was alive.


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Proserpine asked while narrowing her <i>two </i>eyes.


    Although she usually possessed eight eyes, she was transformed into an elf at the moment for a certain reason. Her dreamlike blue-violet braided hair made her look beautiful beyond belief.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Tai Wuji shook his head.


    It was a monster that devoured gods in the literal sense. Despite having existed since the era of myths, he had never heard of such a being.


    It was only natural. Power had its own unique properties and characteristics, and that was especially true for Deific Essence. Devouring unique powers and mixing them with one¡¯s own was like, by human standards, being transfused blood of a different type. No, that was not descriptive enough; it was like being transfused oil instead of blood.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no way it could survive.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji stared in conflict at the monster being burned by the dark blue mes. The monster made of ck mucus was flinching as it melted, and seeped into the ground.


    ¡°Is it dead?¡± Proserpine asked while narrowing her eyes.


    Tai Wuji could no longer see the ck mucus monster that had taken his attack head on.


    He clenched his sword in silence, and then answered, ¡°No, not yet.¡±


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    They heard something sloshing as if confirming Tai Wuji¡¯s answer. They turned toward the source of the sound.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Kang-Woo¡¯s head, which had been cut off by Tai Wuji, was looking up at them while smiling.


    The blood from the severed head connected with that of his body. The headless body slowly stood up and leisurely walked toward the head. It picked up the head and connected it to the neck stump, and then the sh wound disappeared as if two bodies of waterbined into one.


    ¡°Two more, huh?¡± Kang-Woo snickered in irresistible joy as he smiled extremely wide.


    ¡°An Undead?¡± Proserpine stared at Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly. There was nothing but an Undead that would be fine even after being beheaded. ¡°No, that doesn¡¯t seem right.¡±


    She shook her head in confusion. She could not feel an ounce of deathly energy from Kang-Woo for him to be an Undead. Forget deathly energy; she could only feel desire so hot that she felt like she was being burned just looking at him.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like we have the leeway to figure out what he is,¡± Tai Wuji stated calmly as he lowered his stance.


    His eyes were no longer dyed with disturbance from when he first saw Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo nodded and replied, ¡°Exactly. We don¡¯t need to waste any more page space saying shit like ¡®Wh-Who the hell are you?¡¯, right?¡±


    <i>¡®I¡¯d bet we¡¯d get up to about ten chapters if we collected every single moment like that thus far.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Let¡¯s just enjoy the moment,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    Kang-Woo stared at Tai Wuji while breathing heatedly. He had realized it as soon as heid eyes on him.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s him.¡¯</i>


    The culprit who had destroyed the space under Sant¡¯Angelo that was being protected with colossal amounts of sacred power and stole the Demon God¡¯s legacy. Kang-Woo did not have proof, but he was sure, because...


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t know.¡¯</i>


    The power of the man in front of him could not be fathomed even after Kang-Woo had opened a Door.


    ¡°Yeah, this is more like it.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s heart was beating so hard that it could burst. He had eaten one of the Constetions to the point that the Constetion was in tatters, but Kang-Woo¡¯s hunger had not been sated yet. He wanted a stronger and more delectable prey. His sense of reason was being eaten away by his zing desire, but he did not care; he decided not to deny them, at least for this moment.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    He aggressively stomped on the ground and charged at Tai Wuji while turning the Key of the Demonic Sea into a sword. He did not imbue any Authorities into it since he knew that none of the Authorities he possessed would even leave a scratch on the god before him.


    <i>ng! ng! ng!</i>


    Tai Wuji calmly blocked Kang-Woo¡¯s attacks with his sword.


    ¡°Mm.¡± His eyebrows curved after exchanging a few blows. He tilted his head as if he couldn¡¯t understand something, but only for a moment. He returned to his expressionless self and swung his sword while saying in monotone, ¡°Trivial.¡±


    In the eyes of Tai Wuji, a god who had risen to the highest realm of martial arts, Kang-Woo¡¯s swordsmanship was beyond poor, and simply rubbish. Kang-Woo swung his sword horizontally, which Tai Wuji easily blocked by grabbing Kang-Woo¡¯s wrist and twisting it, disarming Kang-Woo. Tai Wuji pointed his sword at Kang-Woo.


    ¡°I know.¡± Kang-Woo cackled and threw himself at Tai Wuji¡¯s sword.


    He had never intended to fight with swordsmanship from the beginning. He grabbed Tai Wuji¡¯s de and cut his hand with it, spewing ck blood from his palm.


    ¡°Kuh.¡± Tai Wuji quickly jumped back.


    He had seen what would happen if one made contact with that blood.


    ¡°Hmm, so we just have to be careful of that blood, right?¡± Proserpine remarked.


    She joined the battle, firing magic spells at Kang-Woo from a distance. Thousands of arrows made of ck demonic energy poured down at Kang-Woo, which pierced all over his body like a hedgehog¡¯s quills.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s all you need to be careful of. Easy, right?¡± Kang-Woo replied.


    He turned into ck mucus. The arrows piercing him all fell to the ground, and Kang-Woo turned back to his original form.


    ¡°What the...¡± Proserpine stared at Kang-Woo iprehensibly.


    He was an immortal monster.


    ¡°I see.¡± Tai Wuji nodded as if he understood. He had figured out a way to face the monster that Lucifer had warned him about. ¡°Proserpine, buy me some time.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Proserpine would have normally warned him not to order her around, but she knew that this was not the time. She used all the spells in her arsenal to limit Kang-Woo¡¯s movements.


    ¡°If you¡¯re an immortal monster...¡± Tai Wuji gripped his sword with both hands and dered expressionlessly, ¡°I just have to annihte you without a trace.¡±


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!!!</i>


    Scorching dark blue mes set Tai Wuji¡¯s sword aze.


    ¡°Heavenly Dragon...¡±


    He raised his arms up over his head. The dark blue mes pouring out from the sword grewrger at an incredible pace. Condensed sword energy several kilometers tall was formed.


    ¡°... sh.¡±


    The condensed sword energy several kilometers tall condensed into a single point in an instant. Tai Wuji swung down the sword.


    ©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥!


    It did not even make a sound. The gruesome destruction continued without end. If it had not been for the ck barrier around them, the entirety of Arnan would have been blown away¡ª no, it would have split the entire continent of Aernor in half. The dark blue mes raged as if it would swallow up the entire world whole.


    ¡°Crazy son of a bitch! Were you trying to kill me too?!¡± Proserpine yelled.


    She had been partially caught in the dark blue mes, her beautifully braided hair now aplete mess.


    ¡°I had it under control,¡± Tai Wuji answered as he turned around.


    There was not even a trace of the monster that Lucifer had referred to in the area where everything had been obliterated.


    ¡°He¡¯s surely dead now, right?¡± Proserpine asked while looking around.


    Tai Wuji nodded. He had annihted the monster without leaving a single drop of blood. Even if the opponent was an immortal monster, they would not be able to survive this explosion.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡±


    Tai Wuji turned around and grabbed the ragged Constetion of Fear. Although Kim Si-Hun, the main culprit who had ruined their n, was still alive, he had a feeling that they should fall back for today.


    ¡°Haaa, my hair¡¯s a mess,¡± Proserpine grumbled as she tidied her disheveled hair.


    Tai Wuji swung his sword in the air.


    <i>Crack.</i>


    Space itself was split, forming a ck Rift. The two of them slowly walked in, and the ck Rift slowly closed like an elevator door.


    <i>Krrrrk!!</i>


    Just then, two hands formed in the air and forcibly stopped the Rift from fully closing.


    ¡°What...?¡±


    ¡°Wh-What the hell is it now?!¡±


    Tai Wuji¡¯s eyes widened, and Proserpine yelled in shock.


    ¡°Where... are you... going?¡± A stammering voice sounded out.


    ck smoke gathered around the two hands in the air. The smoke turned into small drops of blood, which then gathered into ck mucus. A head, legs, and torso appeared in mismatched form as if a child had yed around with y-doh.


    <i>Squelch, squelch.</i>


    The mismatched body slowly returned to its normal form, along with the sloppy sounds of mucus. The head that had been attached to the thigh slowly slid up. The eyes, nose and mouth were still not in their right ces.


    ¡°What the...¡± Tai Wuji muttered as he unconsciously stepped back.


    The thing forcibly keeping the closing Rift open was, without a doubt, the monster that he had just annihted.


    <i>¡°That doesn¡¯t mean anything to that monster!! Just shut up and run! Run as far away as possible before that monster devours you all and bes stronger!!!¡±</i>


    Lucifer¡¯s screams popped into Tai Wuji¡¯s mind.


    ¡°We¡¯re... not... done yet.¡±


    A horrifying monster that looked as if it had been born from the Demonic Sea itself was smiling at him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s... y for... a little... longer.¡±

 Chapter 382 - Monster of the Demonic Sea (4)

    <h4>Chapter 382 - Monster of the Demonic Sea (4)</h4>


    Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s consciousness was fuzzy. His sense of reason was flickering like a candle that was about to go out.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s... not over yet.¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t let it end yet. Kang-Woo added more strength into his hands and forcibly widened the gap in space.


    ¡°What the...¡± said the man across from him.


    Kang-Woo could see the shock in the man¡¯s eyes.


    <i>¡®Who was he again?¡¯</i>


    His consciousness flickered again.


    ¡°U-Urghh.¡±


    Kang-Woo lowered his head as he held on to his sense of reason the best he could. He could feel the ck sea flooding him through the wide-open Door.


    <i>¡®This is... a bit bad.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo barely managed to stay conscious. He thought about why things had ended up this way, but did not have to think for long. After all, he knew this would happen from the moment that he opened a Door.


    Kang-Woo could not die while a Door was open. Even if he was beheaded, his heart exploded, was split in half, or even all the blood in his body evaporated, he would not die. Since the power of the flooding Demonic Sea reconstructed his body, he would continue to resurrect unless the entire Demonic Sea itself was annihted.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s consciousness flickered once again. He could not quite remember where or who he was. His consciousness became more fuzzy the more the Demonic Sea reconstructed his body. His sense of reason was disappearing, and his intelligence was evaporating. All that was left of him was endless hunger.


    <i>¡®More. More, more, more, more. I wanna eat, I wanna eat. I¡¯m hungry. Hungry, hungry, hungry. I haven¡¯t eaten all of that spirit yet. That man with the dark blue sword looks good too. Oh, so does that elf next to him.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Haa, aaah,¡± Kang-Woo exhaled.


    <i>Squelch</i>. The surface of Kang-Woo¡¯s body pulsed as if a rock was thrown in ake. His limbs, head and torso lost their form and turned into ck mucus. Countless mouths appeared from the pulsing ck mucus.


    ¡°What... in the...¡± someone expressed.


    <i>¡®No, no. Those three aren¡¯t enough. You¡¯ve been holding it back all this time, haven¡¯t you? You haven¡¯t eaten until you were fully sated since you¡¯ve left Hell, right? Let¡¯s eat just a little more. Aren¡¯t you hungry?¡¯</i>


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo heard a voice¡ª a sweet and lovely voice.


    <i>¡®Now, now. Eat, eat, eat. Three is nowhere near enough. Eat some more. Devour this entire world. It¡¯s not even your world, right? It¡¯s none of your business even if this world ends, right? So, let¡¯s eat them all. Humans, angels, demons, monsters, elves, dragons, and gods. Let¡¯s eat them all.¡¯</i>


    ¡°...¡±


    <i>Growl.</i>


    Horrifying hunger took over Kang-Woo. His vision was getting distorted. He heard the voice once again.


    <i>¡®What do you think? Why don¡¯t you... open... another Door?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Y...¡± Kang-Woo bent forward like a bow and quelled his body that was starting to turn into ck mucus. He answered the sweet voice in his head. ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be joking.¡±


    Kang-Woo stood up within the ck sea that was flooding him. His disfigured body returned to its normal form. He wondered whose voice he had heard. It was not the Demon God. If it was not him, there was only one other it could have been.


    <i>¡®My desire.¡¯</i>


    The essence of demons, as well as the origin of the being that was Oh Kang-Woo. It was likely the voice of his desire that he had allowed to run wild.


    <i>¡°It... was you. You were... the Demon of... Prophecy.¡±</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled what the Constetion of Agony had said to him. He was the being that would bring all worlds to ruin. If he was consumed by the Demonic Sea, would that prophecy be fulfilled?


    <i>¡®Well... That will never happen.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo chuckled. If that was the case, the universe would have long since ceased to exist.


    ¡°What... are you?¡± someone asked.


    Kang-Woo turned toward the voice, seeing a half-dead Constetion of Fear as well as the middle-aged man holding him.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue as he looked at the middle-aged man. ¡°Bro, you said earlier that it was pointless to ask something like that.¡±


    <i>¡®Why do all these characters have the same lines? This is why you get med for having a repetitive plot.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Who cares about that?¡± Kang-Woo raised his right hand. The Key of the Demonic Sea that had been flung away by Tai Wuji returned to him and transformed into a dark red spear. ¡°Enough caring about boring shit like that and let¡¯s have some more fun.¡±


    Tai Wuji¡¯s face stiffened.


    He fell into thought as he touched the hilt of his sword, and then threw the Constetion of Fear at Kang-Woo as if to divert the attention of a wild beast by throwing food at it.


    ¡°Hah.¡± Kang-Woo asked while chuckling, ¡°Are you giving him for me to eat so that I¡¯ll give up on you?¡±


    Tai Wuji did not answer.


    ¡°Well, fine.¡± Kang-Woo slowly walked toward the ragged Constetion of Fear and picked him up.


    There was a risk of him losing his sense of reason if he were to fight for any longer. Kang-Woo despised things that he could not control. He did not use demonic energy from the Abyss because there were still things about it that he did not know, or Chaos skills because he could still not fully control them. He was not above making gambles if it was absolutely necessary, but there was no need to risk his life when there was no reason to make a gamble.


    ¡°Let¡¯s meet again,¡± said Kang-Woo.


    He raised the ragged Constetion of Fear. His mouth split open extremely wide like that of a snake and swallowed the Constetion of Fear whole.


    ¡°I will remember you,¡± Tai Wuji muttered.


    Kang-Woo smiled as he rubbed his stomach after devouring the Constetion of Fear. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to forget, even if you wanted to. Because I¡¯lle find you.¡±


    Tai Wuji turned around and walked into the ck Rift. Proserpine was staring at Kang-Woo nkly. He was a monster that she had never seen before, even during the era of myths.


    ¡°Ah...¡± Proserpine trembled slightly as vivid fear and her desires intermixed.


    ¡°Proserpine,¡± Tai Wuji called.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    She turned around and walked into the Rift as well. Only Kang-Woo remained within the area enveloped by the ck barrier.


    ¡°Haaah.¡±


    Kang-Woo pounded on his full belly after having devoured the Constetion of Fear. He would take care of the digestionter.


    ¡°Disappear.¡± Kang-Woo used Soul Speech to lift the Demonic Sea barrier.


    The ck barrier that had been covering the imperial garden melted and flowed into Kang-Woo. The garden that he had fought gods in was back to being full of flowers like the battle had never taken ce. It was only possible because the Demonic Sea had absorbed all the impact and destruction.


    <i>¡®If it hadn¡¯t been for the barrier...¡¯</i>


    Forget the garden, the entirety of Arnan might have been blown off the face of the continent.


    ¡°Hehehe,¡± Kang-Woo giggled.


    The battle had personally been satisfying enough to blow away the disappointment that he had felt when facing the Constetion of Agony.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± he exhaled.


    Kang-Woo slowly walked off. The battle had been a sess; now, it was time to pay the price.


    ¡°Is it over?¡±


    Kang-Woo heard a deep voice. He turned to see Balrog walking toward him in his human form.


    ¡°Yeah, it is,¡± Kang-Woo answered.


    ¡°Were you satisfied?¡±


    Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°More or less.¡±


    Balrog approached Kang-Woo and carefully touched Kang-Woo as he stood still. ¡°What a relief.¡±


    Despite saying that, Balrog did not seem relieved in the slightest.


    ¡°Did the others find out?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Of course they did.¡±


    It was no wonder; although the area had been protected by a barrier, thousands of wraiths had appeared in the imperial garden. There was no way that Kim Si-Hun and the other party members wouldn¡¯t have found out that Kang-Woo had fought a Constetion all by himself.


    ¡°What did they do?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you can imagine.¡± Balrog smiled bitterly.


    They would most certainly have tried to join the battle if Balrog had not stopped them.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Balrog looked down at Kang-Woo in silence, and then carefully lifted him up. Kang-Woo drooped down lifelessly in Balrog¡¯s arms like a corpse.


    ¡°How severe do you think it will be?¡± Balrog asked.


    ¡°The aftereffects? Who knows...? Worse than molting, probably,¡± Kang-Woo answered calmly.


    However, Balrog knew how hard Kang-Woo had tried to say that as calmly as possible.


    Balrog aggressively bit his lip, and ck blood trickled down to his chin. He clenched his fists, which were slightly shaking.


    ¡°Why did you... fight by yourself?¡± Balrog asked, despite knowing the answer.


    ¡°I told you. Because I couldn¡¯t hold back my¡ª¡±


    ¡°Enough of your lies!!¡± Balrog shouted as if he couldn¡¯t hold it back anymore.


    Deathly silence fell.


    ¡°I know that you¡¯ve been holding back your desire for a long time. I know that it was getting hard for you to hold it back, and that it had gotten worse after the previous incident. But even so... If it was you, my king...¡± Balrog¡¯s voice trembled. ¡°You could have... held it in.¡±


    Kang-Woo did not answer.


    ¡°You could have held it in... but you just didn¡¯t.¡±


    Balrog lowered his head. He knew why Kang-Woo did not hold himself back. Because Kang-Woo always shouldered everything on his shoulders, even if the weight broke his shoulders. He always moved forward.


    ¡°Balrog.¡±


    ¡°I know. Yes, I know very well.¡±


    Balrog knew that he was just grumbling. It was like a child that was conining at their father foring home toote because of work. He knew that, but he couldn¡¯t stop himself from saying it.


    ¡°It was because of Uriel, was it not? You were worried that we would also end up mangled by the power of a god, just like that angel.¡±


    Uriel had faced the Constetion of Agony, and had ended up in such terrible condition that it was a wonder why he had not died. Balrog could tell what his king thought after seeing that.


    ¡°That¡¯s why... you made an excuse to fight by yourself.¡±


    Kang-Woo had fooled himself by making some convenient excuse like that he could no longer hold back his desire.


    ¡°My king...¡±


    Balrog raised Kang-Woo and carefully embraced him. As the one who had been by Kang-Woo¡¯s side the longest, he knew very well how dangerous opening the Doors was, as well as the unimaginable pain that Kang-Woo would experience after.


    Kang-Woo would <i>only </i>end up experiencing unimaginable pain because he could control it; if he were to open too many of the Doors to the point that he could not control the massive influx of power, he would be devoured by the Demonic Sea, never able to get out.


    ¡°Balrog.¡±


    Kang-Woo raised one of his arms that he could barely move with all his might and ced it on Balrog¡¯s head. He wondered since when Balrog knew. It might have been from the very beginning, and he was simply just ying along with Kang-Woo¡¯s games.


    <i>¡®Son of a bitch. Why are you so perceptive about stuff like this when you look like even your brain is all muscles?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo lightly hit Balrog¡¯s head.


    ¡°We¡¯ve lost too much.¡± He smiled faintly and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t want to lose anything else anymore.¡±


    And with that, Kang-Woo slowly closed his eyes.


    Balrog trembled. He gritted his teeth as he looked down at Kang-Woo in his arms. An overwhelming sense of worthlessness weighed down on him. He did not want to be baggage; he did not want to be one of the weights on Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulders, but...


    ¡°H-Hurgh.¡±


    Sounds of sobbing seeped out as Balrog bit his lip. His shoulders trembled subtly. However much he struggled, his king was walking far too ahead of him.


    ¡°Hurghhhh...¡±


    Balrog embraced his king while continuing to weep silently.

 Chapter 383 - Water Comes Out Of Even a Dry Rag If You Wring It Hard Enough

    <h4>Chapter 383 - Water Comes Out Of Even a Dry Rag If You Wring It Hard Enough</h4>


    <i>Boom! Boom¡ª!</i>


    The sound of banging on the door rang out.


    ¡°Haaa, aahh.¡±


    Suppressed groans seeped out from the seams of the door, and then...


    ¡°Aaarrrggghhh!!¡±


    The groans turned into terrifying screams.


    <i>ck, ck, ck.</i>


    The door handle shook noisily. Balrog stood in front of the door and firmly held onto the handle. He crouched with his back to the door as if he was preventing something from getting out, and clenched his fists hard while listening to the screams through the door.


    Balrog lowered his head while biting his lip. His heart felt like it was being carved with a knife every time the screams rang out.


    ¡°Kang-Woo!¡±


    Balrog looked up to see a woman running through the hallway. It was Han Seol-Ah, his king¡¯s woman as well as the human whom the soul of the Celestial Goddess indwelled.


    ¡°You cannot.¡± Balrog extended his arm to stop Seol-Ah from opening the door.


    Seol-Ah red at Balrog fiercely. ¡°Move.¡±


    Balrog firmly shook his head.


    <i>Rumble.</i>


    Suffocatingly powerful energy poured out from Seol-Ah. The unfathomable amount of sacred power weighed down on Balrog.


    ¡°Kurgh, <i>cough</i>!¡±


    Balrog grimaced. His muscles expanded as if they would burst. He could barely breathe within the immense pressure, but he still did not move.


    ¡°Move...¡± Seol-Ah demanded.


    Twelve wings sprouted from her back. Balrog bit his lip. Her power truly was terrifyingly immense.


    <i>¡®With power like that... She would be of help to the king.¡¯</i>


    It was an undeniable truth. Balrog was confused, frustrated, and enraged. He had spent the past millennia struggling just to be able to walk alongside his king, but a human that was not even thirty years old had far surpassed him just because she possessed the soul of the Celestial Goddess. He could not help but think that it was unfair.


    Balrog gritted his teeth and remarked, ¡°You... cannot pass.¡±


    He stood his ground firmly despite being under immense pressure. He could not let her pass, since his king was on the other side of the door.


    The light in Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes disappeared. Emotion disappeared from her face as she slowly reached for the door handle.


    ¡°I told you... that you cannot.¡±


    Balrog grabbed Seol-Ah¡¯s wrist. Blood vessels were protruding from all over his body, showing how much strength he was using just to move within the immense energy.


    Seol-Ah looked down coldly at the crouched Balrog.


    ¡°Why? Why am I not allowed to enter when Kang-Woo is suffering that badly?¡±


    ¡°Because... there is nothing... you can do... for him.¡±


    ¡°I am confident in healing magic. At the very least, I¡¯ll be able to lessen his pain,¡± Seol-Ah remarked while pouring out sacred power and fluttering her twelve wings.


    Balrog shook his head with sunken eyes. ¡°No, there is nothing you can do.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t even tried yet!¡±


    ¡°We have. We have tried everything. Countless times.¡±


    After the king had molted, they had tried everything possible to lessen his pain, but it had all been pointless; they had only worsened his condition.


    ¡°Stay put. Please, just... stay put,¡± Balrog said desperately.


    Seol-Ah lowered her head while biting her lip. She asked with a trembling voice, ¡°Why... Why did Kang-Woo fight on his own?¡±


    The pressure weighing down on Balrog disappeared as Seol-Ah¡¯s twelve wings faded.


    Balrog sighed. He stared at her for a moment in silence, and then replied, ¡°Like how angels are driven by obsession, demons are driven by desire. I am sure you know what it is like since you have epted Seraph¡¯s power.¡±


    ¡°Kang-Woo¡¯s desire?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Balrog looked around. The fact that Kang-Woo still possessed the body of a demon needed to be hidden at all costs, especially from Kim Si-Hun and Gaia¡¯s incarnation. Thankfully, the two of them had gone to take care of the thousands of wraiths that had been released from the barrier.


    ¡°The king¡¯s desire is to battle powerful foes and partake in their flesh.¡±


    ¡°Partake... in their flesh?¡±


    <i>Flinch</i>. Seol-Ah¡¯s expression hardened.


    Balrog nodded. ¡°You could say that he craves it.¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes darkened. ¡°So, who was the Constetion that Kang-Woo fought?¡±


    Balrog shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Seol-Ah stared at the door while narrowing her eyes. Just then, Balrog saw Lilith quickly running toward them.


    ¡°B-Balrog!¡± She clenched Balrog¡¯s cor and shouted sharply, ¡°The king fought the Constetions by himself?! What the hell happened?!¡±


    Lilith was panting heavily, as if she had run here at full speed after hearing the news from afar.


    Balrog remained silent.


    Lilith clenched Balrog¡¯s cor harder as she frowned even more aggressively.


    ¡°Balrog. What the hell were you doing while this was happening?¡± she asked furiously.


    Balrog averted his gaze. Lilith burst with rage and raised her hand to attack him, but Seol-Ah stopped her.


    ¡°P-Please calm down, Lilith. It apparently couldn¡¯t be helped because of Kang-Woo¡¯s desire.¡±


    ¡°Desire?¡± Lilith frowned, but not because she was not aware of what Kang-Woo¡¯s desire was. She turned to Balrog and asked, ¡°What is she talking about?¡±


    It was absurd that Kang-Woo had fought by himself because he was unable to hold back his desire. If he was unable to control his desire, there was no way that this world would be in one piece. As far as Lilith knew, there was no demon who was in perfect control over their desire like Kang-Woo.


    Balrog simply lowered his head in silence.


    The lip that he was biting was shaking in frustration. Seeing that, Lilith was more or less able to figure out what had happened.


    ¡°Hah,¡± she feignedughter and red at Balrog in disdain. She said while suppressing her fury, ¡°Even after getting that new power you call Overlord Armor or whatever, you haven¡¯t changed one bit from the past.¡±


    Balrog could not raise his head.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Seol-Ah asked while looking back and forth at them, unable to understand.


    ¡°Hmph,¡± Lilith snorted lightly. She swept her hair back and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing for you to worry about. This is our problem to deal with.¡±


    Her arms fell to her sides lifelessly.


    Lilith cautiously asked Balrog, ¡°He opened a Door, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Balrog nodded.


    Lilith sighed. This was the second time that she had seen Kang-Woo open a Door. The first time was when he had faced Mammon, and the second time was now.


    <i>¡®Though I heard that he had also used it once before I arrived on Earth.¡¯</i>


    Regardless, this was the second time that she had seen it herself.


    She felt the same way after the ordeal with Mammon, but she couldn¡¯t help her rage from surging at Kang-Woo, who put his life on the line as if it were some token coin in an arcade. She felt like she was burning from the inside, and she teared up as she bit her lip aggressively.


    <i>¡®I should¡¯ve realized it sooner.¡¯</i>


    Whatever the reason, she needed to stop Kang-Woo from acting on his own. If there was no one to stop him, he would continue to try to shoulder everything by himself.


    ¡°Argh!¡±


    <i>Bang!</i> Lilith stomped on the ground in frustration. Seol-Ah, likely having been influenced by Lilith, also yelled in rage.


    Balrog smiled bitterly while looking at the two of them.


    He remarked, ¡°I have a request.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Seol-Ah asked coldly.


    ¡°I would like you two to keep silent about this incident even after the king wakes up.¡±


    A heavy silence fell.


    Lilith narrowed her eyes and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do that. I understand how the king feels, but we need to make sure he never does this kind of thing again.¡±


    Although Lilith knew why Kang-Woo had made such a reckless decision to fight a Constetion by himself, she could not let him do such a thing again. If she did, there was no point in her serving him by his side. Even if she were to perish from a single attack of a Constetion, she at least needed to be a shield that could block that one attack. She could not afford to stay as baggage that always needed to be protected.


    ¡°I beg of you.¡±


    Balrog bowed deeply. One could feel his strong determination despite him bowing. Lilith stared at him, and then turned around.


    ¡°Hmph. I¡¯ll be with the children, so take care of things here by yourself.¡±


    She was referring to Echidna and Halcyon. Balrog smiled faintly as he watched Lilith walking away. Seol-Ah was highly anxious due to Kang-Woo¡¯s endless screams past the door, but Lilith took Seol-Ah with her. Only Balrog remained in the hallway in front of the rattling door.


    ¡°Haaa...¡± he sighed deeply.


    He could feel the door that he was leaning on rattling. His king¡¯s screams did not stop. Balrog shut his eyes tight, blocked his ears and lowered his head while praying for the time to pass quickly.


    ***


    ¡°Are you really alright?¡± Balrog asked.


    ¡°I told you, I¡¯m fine,¡± Kang-Woo answered half-heartedly on the bed.


    He still couldn¡¯t move because of the side effects, but it was true that the pain had subsided significantly. Balrog sighed as he looked down at Kang-Wooying on the bed.


    ¡°<i>Sigh</i>. In that case, please get some rest.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and nodded.


    <i>¡®He looks like he¡¯ll give me a beating if I fight on my own again.¡¯</i>


    He thought that he should probably bring Balrog along next time to avoid a lecture.


    <i>Click.</i> Balrog opened the door and left the room. Kang-Woo rxed on the bed.


    ¡°Well, in any case...¡±


    It had been the most fun he had in a long time. Kang-Woo smiled while recalling his battle against the Constetions. Balrog had made Kang-Woo out to be some advocate of self-sacrifice, but it had partly been due to his own personal selfishness as well. Kang-Woo felt much better after his desire to hunt powerful foes and eat them, which had been left unsated for a long time, subsided significantly.


    <i>¡®No, that¡¯s not it.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head and smiled. Although it wasying dormant now, he had a feeling that his desire had grown stronger.


    <i>¡®That guy...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s heart beat rapidly when he thought about the middle-aged man with the diagonal sh scar on his face. The feeling of his blood boiling and the impulse of wanting to go after the man right this second was hard to endure.


    ¡°Hehehe,¡± Kang-Woo giggled.


    Thankfully, their battle would be inevitable. Even if that man did not take action, Kang-Woo would.


    <i>¡®I wonder how delicious he is?¡¯</i>


    His mouth was watering already. Kang-Woo rxed on the bed while looking forward to the day that he would meet the man again.


    <i>ck.</i>


    ¡°Umm... Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Oh, darling?¡±


    Seol-Ah entered the room. Kang-Woo weed her with a smile, but she did not look very happy.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Seol-Ah asked.


    ¡°Well... I can barely move, but I¡¯m not in pain anymore. I¡¯ll be back on my feet if I rest for a few days.¡±


    Considering the broken ability that was opening the Doors, side effects of this level were nothing. Seol-Ah sighed in relief.


    ¡°I brought you some fruit,¡± she said as she held up a tray that was filled with fruit sliced to a size easy to eat.


    There were also some fruits exclusive to Aernor.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Kang-Woo smiled while his eyes shone.


    He had been wanting to eat something sweet.


    ¡°Here, ahhh~¡±


    Seol-Ah grabbed a piece of fruit and brought it close to Kang-Woo. Since Kang-Woo couldn''t move at all due to the side effects, he was fed by Seol-Ah like a baby bird.


    ¡°Come to think of it, I heard about your desire from Balrog,¡± Seol-Ah remarked.


    ¡°Huh? My desire?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I heard you craved for people¡¯s bodies... and were driven by the desire to partake in them.¡±


    ¡°I mean, that¡¯s true, but...¡±


    <i>¡®Why did she put it so weirdly?¡¯</i>


    Seol-Ah put the fruit tray down on the table and caressed Kang-Woo¡¯s body.


    ¡°It bes dangerous for you if you don¡¯t act on your desires, just like my obsession, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but I managed to resolve it somewhat this time.¡±


    Although Kang-Woo had not been able to eat the other Constetions, he had managed to devour the Constetion of Fear. Not just that, the battle itself had been very satisfactory.


    ¡°It was resolved?¡± Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes widened as they shook while staring at Kang-Woo. She asked carefully, ¡°Was there... a woman among the Constetions?¡±


    ¡°Oh, there was one.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    It had been a beautiful elf named Proserpine.


    The light in Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes faded. She muttered something with her head lowered, and then got on the bed.


    ¡°Hello...? Seol-Ah?¡±


    Kang-Woo looked up at Seol-Ah in confusion. Seol-Ah looked down at him as her lips quivered.


    ¡°F-Fufu. Yes. It must be my fault for being unable to satisfy your desire, right? I understand.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think you do.¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, you can¡¯t move right now, can you?¡±


    Seol-Ah licked her lips.


    ¡°Umm, I think there¡¯s been some sort of¡ª¡±


    <i>Click.</i>


    As Kang-Woo was about to say that there had been some sort of misunderstanding, he heard the door locking.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    <i>¡®What was that?¡¯</i>


    ***


    ¡°Where the hell is that son of a bitch Oh Kang-Woo?!¡±


    ¡°Oh, Yeon-Joo.¡±


    ¡°Is Kang-Woo in there?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but he¡¯s sleeping now.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Step out of the way. Not only did that bastard fly off by himselfst time, he¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s okay. That¡¯ll never happen again.¡±


    ¡°Hm? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Fufu.¡± Seol-Ah giggled while covering her mouth. ¡°Wateres out of even a dry rag if you wring it hard enough.¡±

 Chapter 384 - It’s Nothing

    <h4>Chapter 384 - It¡¯s Nothing</h4>


    ¡°Kang-Woo, aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± Echidna asked as she looked down at Oh Kang-Woo while sitting next to the bed.


    Kang-Woo shook his head. ¡°No, not really. Seol-Ah fed me to the point that my stomach almost burst, so I don¡¯t have an appetite.¡±


    Echidna pouted as if she did not like his answer.


    ¡°No. You can eat more.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    <i>¡®Why are you the one to decide that?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hm! I brought tons of stuff from the imperial kitchen!¡±


    Echidna took out a heap of fruit that she had ced next to her feet. There were so many that Kang-Woo felt his stomach hurting just from looking at them.


    ¡°No, I seriously am full,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    ¡°But I won¡¯t have any other chances to feed you.¡±


    Kang-Woo had been stuck in bed while unable to move due to the side effects of opening a Door for the past few days. The party members were taking shifts to nurse Kang-Woo, who couldn¡¯t even move his limbs. Echidna thought that she wouldn¡¯t have the rare chance to feed Kang-Woo again if she missed this chance, so she started to cut the fruit that she had brought with a fruit knife while snorting.


    The fruit that had been the size of Echidna¡¯s palm was being skinned at insane speed and was reduced to the size of a pinky fingernail in a sh.


    ¡°Why would you peel a fruit like¡ª¡±


    ¡°I peeled it all!¡± Echidna said excitedly.


    ¡°You sure did.¡±


    <i>¡®The problem is that there¡¯s nothing to eat.¡±</i>


    Echidna brought the fruit to Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth while her eyes shone brightly. Kang-Woo dodged with just his head since his limbs weren¡¯t moving, but Echidna managed to get the fruit in Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth after much struggle.


    ¡°Uuurrrggghhh.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe,¡± Echidnaughed as if she was the happiest person in the world.


    Kang-Woo felt goosebumps from her smile. In the end, he was freed only after being forced to eat all of the fruit that Echidna had brought.


    <i>Click.</i>


    ¡°Brat, it¡¯s time to switch.¡±


    Cha Yeon-Joo opened the door; Echidna¡¯s shift seemed to have finished. Echidna stared at Kang-Woo as if she was disappointed, but then turned to Yeon-Joo and assumed a weird stance.


    ¡°Hello, way of the sword!¡±[1]


    ¡°What?¡±


    Yeon-Joo stared at Echidna in perplexity.


    Echidna pouted and turned her head away. ¡°You¡¯re no fun, Yeon-Joo.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, what even is that?¡±


    Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo in frustration, but Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly as if he did not know either.


    ¡°I¡¯lle back next time, Kang-Woo,¡± Echidna said as she walked away from the two dumbfounded people and out the door.


    An awkward air filled the room.


    ¡°What¡¯s with her?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    ¡°I dunno. Must be puberty.¡±


    ¡°That aside, you look goddamn terrible, Mr. Oh Kang-Woo,¡± Yeon-Joo said as she poked Kang-Woo.


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit, I did push myself a bit.¡±


    ¡°A bit? You call this a bit?¡± Yeon-Joo red at him. ¡°You¡¯re so goddamn patronizing, you know that? Hm? Are we nothing to you?¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly. It was only natural for him to be scolded this way since he had faced enemies that had tantly barged in, all by himself.


    Yeon-Joo sighed. She lowered her head and muttered, ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Her clenched fists were trembling. Although she was scolding Kang-Woo, she also knew very well that she would be of no help whatsoever in a battle against gods that possessed Deific Essence.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I get it,¡± Kang-Woo replied calmly.


    There was a clear difference in power between himself and his party members, and especially between him and Yeon-Joo, who arguably was the weakest among them. To put it bluntly, she would be of no help; it would be a relief if she wasn¡¯t a nuisance.


    Knowing that fact better than anyone, Yeon-Joo lowered her head in sorrow. She said sadly, ¡°It wasn¡¯t like this when we first met.¡±


    She was able to proudly fight alongside Kang-Woo when they had first met, but Kang-Woo had reached heights so high that she couldn¡¯t dare reach. Forget standing alongside him, she had be one of the weights on his shoulders.


    ¡°Should I... just go back?¡± Yeon-Joo asked while touching her bracelets. Her voice was so lifeless that it was hard to believe that it hade out of her.


    Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°Stop trying to put on airs.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯d expect nothing less from a Bronze yer.¡±


    ¡°Son of a bitch!¡±


    Yeon-Joo got on top of the bed in fury. She grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s cheeks and pulled them.


    ¡°Urrrrhhhh.¡±


    After the fuss, the two of them got off of each other while snickering.


    ¡°Come to think of it, did something happen between you and Seol-Ah?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    <i>Flinch</i>. Kang-Woo trembled while breaking out into a cold sweat.


    ¡°What? What happened?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Kang-Woo fell into terror while scrunched up. Yeon-Joo stared at the trembling Kang-Woo with her mouth agape.


    <i>¡®What the hell? What in the world did she do?¡¯</i>


    This was the first time that she had seen Kang-Woo like this.


    ¡°Ah... Whatever the case, get some rest.¡±


    Yeon-Joo sat next to the bed in perplexity, ced her hand on Kang-Woo¡¯s forehead, and slowly patted it.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with you all of a sudden?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Yeon-Joo shot him a fierce look and said, ¡°Shut up.¡±


    Kang-Woo smirked and let Yeon-Joo pat him.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not bad.¡¯</i>


    It feltpletely different to see a mild side from a lioness that constantly growled. Kang-Woo closed his eyes and enjoyed Yeon-Joo¡¯s hands in silence. He slowly fell asleep.


    ***


    ¡°Mm?¡±


    Kang-Woo opened his eyes. The room waspletely dark. He carefully moved his body and noticed that his limbs, which had not budged until now were moving a little.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m slowly recovering.¡¯</i>


    It was a good sign since he had mountains of things to take care of. Kang-Woo used his still stiff limbs to raise himself.


    ¡°Lay down for a bit longer, hyung-nim.¡±


    Kang-Woo heard a voice from next to him. He turned his head to see a man so dazzlingly handsome that it looked as if he was shining within the darkness.


    Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°Is it your turn this time?¡±


    Kim Si-Hun nodded with a faint smile. ¡°Yes. I just switched in.¡±


    ¡°You guys don¡¯t need to do this.¡±


    ¡°Not at all. We should at least stay by your side until you fully recover,¡± Si-Hun remarked firmly.


    Kang-Woo groaned. He was not used to being taken care of by people; he had mixed feelings about it.


    Si-Hun looked down at Kang-Woo on the bed in silence.


    <i>¡®You¡¯re gonna stare holes into me, man. Why are you staring so intently and making me ufortable?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo averted his gaze from Si-Hun, who was staring at him with deeply sunken eyes.


    After some silence, Si-Hun stated, ¡°Come to think of it, it¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve been alone together like this.¡±


    ¡°Has it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it has.¡± Si-Hun nodded with a smile and then turned his head to look up at the ceiling. ¡°I met Balrog beforeing here.¡± His clenched fists trembled. ¡°He seemed extremely mad at himself.¡±


    ¡°Hyung-nim.¡± Si-Hun lightly bit his lip. ¡°There¡¯s this one thing that I keep thinking about.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°About what would have happened in my life... if I had never met you.¡±


    Kang-Woo could feel the sorrow in Si-Hun¡¯s voice. He replied calmly, ¡°Nothing much would¡¯ve changed.¡±


    He was telling the truth; Si-Hun¡¯s talent had long since been affirmed. Although he hadcked confidence, he would have ovee it by himself and broken through his unfortunate circumstances.


    <i>¡®Rather...¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun might not have attained what he should have attained because of Kang-Woo, and because he was forcibly made into Kang-Woo¡¯s Familiar.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡± Si-Hun slowly shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t even imagine a life without you anymore, hyung-nim.¡±


    <i>¡®The hell are you talking about?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hyung-nim.¡± Si-Hun slowly reached out and grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s hand. ¡°Thank you. And... I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Si-Hun lowered his head, and his shoulders subtly trembled. Kang-Woo remained silent. He could see the ovep between Si-Hun and Balrog; the sight of them trembling due to their powerlessness.


    <i>¡®Did he figure it out?¡¯</i>


    The reason why Kang-Woo had fought the Constetions by himself while using his desire as a convenient excuse.


    <i>¡®Fuck.¡¯</i>


    It was not even funny. Kang-Woo recalled the day that he had first met Si-Hun when he had forcibly turned the absurdly talented Si-Hun into his Familiar. Si-Hun still did not know the truth; he did not know how their rtionship came to be. Seeing Si-Hun weeping because he had not been of any help at all made Kang-Woo curse in his head. It was like a hostage thanking a hostage taker. The unpleasant feeling made Kang-Woo feel sick.


    <i>¡®If I knew this would happen...¡¯</i>


    If Kang-Woo had known that he would be this close to Si-Hun...


    Kang-Woo shut his eyes tight. It was already far toote for regret. There was no way to fix the rtionship that had gotten off on the wrong foot from the very beginning. Kang-Woo frowned aggressively while staring at the weeping Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®What the fuck? Why am I feeling this way?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s head was in jumbles. He would never have felt this way over something like this back in Hell. Rather, he would have been happy about the fact that Si-Hun knew nothing and that he had Si-Hun¡¯s undying trust.


    <i>¡®I should be feeling that way, but... Why do I feel so unpleasant?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared up at the ceiling in silence. His mouth opened before he had even realized it.


    ¡°Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°Yes, hyung-nim?¡±


    ¡°Do you remember the day we first met?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do.¡± Si-Hun nodded with his eyes open wide. He smiled faintly while recalling the memories of that day. ¡°Back then, I would have never thought that I would be this close to you.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha,¡± Kang-Wooughed. However, it sounded extremely forced. ¡°Back then, I...¡±


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists, and he trembled. Vivid fear that he had not experienced even during his battle with the Constetion of Fear took control over him.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Si-Hun waited for Kang-Woo to finish his sentence while tilting his head.


    Silence fell. Kang-Woo shook his head while smiling awkwardly. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡±


    He swallowed the unfamiliar feeling; it was bitter.


    1. This is a line from the anime/manga <i>Kaguya-sama: Love is War</i> where Fujiwara Chika greets Shirogane Kei. ?

 Chapter 385 - God of Splendor (1)

    <h4>Chapter 385 - God of Splendor (1)</h4>


    Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s limbs began to move little by little, starting from his fingertips. His joints could now move fluidly, and he did not feel any fatigue weighing him down, nor did he feel powerless.


    ¡°Hup.¡± Kang-Woo got out of bed.


    He felt light, as if he had taken a hot shower after a workout.


    <i>¡®I think my demonic energy control improved again.¡¯</i>


    It could have been because he had reached the brink of death after opening a Door, or it might have been because Han Seol-Ah had driven him to the brink of death(?) afterward. In any case, Kang-Woo¡¯s demonic energy control, which had already been absurdly high, had improved even further.


    <i>¡®I guess it was worth it.¡¯</i>


    High risk, high return; he had taken a massive risk, so it was only natural that he was rewarded a corresponding amount in return. Not only that, Kang-Woo had managed to reach the point that he was in because he had risked his life countless times in the past.


    <i>¡®Now that I think about it, I must be extremely lucky.¡¯</i>


    Although it couldn¡¯t be exined simply by luck, he had indeed gambled with his life countless times.


    ¡°Come to think of it, I wonder how my demonic energy control would be in stat form?¡±


    Kang-Woo was curious. His Demonic Energy stat was currently 167. Although the Demonic Energy stat partially influenced demonic energy control, it was not an exact estimate.


    The Demonic Energy stat was more like a quantitative value that reflected the amount of demonic energy that Kang-Woo was able to use freely. Although he suffered from the side effects afterward, he was able to control the massive influx of demonic energy that came with opening a Door. Considering that, his demonic energy control would be far above 167 in stat form.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Just then, Kang-Woo heard a familiar chime of a bell. A blue window appeared in front of him.


    [Quantifying yer Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s demonic energy control.]


    [Error. Error.]


    [Quantific?? of ???? has fa??ed.]


    ¡°The hell is this?¡±


    Kang-Woo chuckled as he looked at the message window in front of him. The broken characters were covering the message window; they were the same characters on his status window.


    <i>¡®Does it mean that it can¡¯t be expressed by the System?¡¯</i>


    It seemed like a usible guess. Kang-Woo was not sure whether to be happy or upset by it. He was happy since he felt like he had be so strong that he had be like a glitched character in an RPG, but that also meant that he might not be able to receive privileges from the System.


    <i>¡®Will I be able to get my Tenth Awakening Trait?¡¯</i>


    If Kang-Woo was not able to, he would make the face of the one who had made the System exactly like those broken characters.


    <i>Click.</i> Lilith opened the door and entered the room. She flinched when she saw Kang-Woo out of his bed. She quickly ran toward him and grabbed his arm.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be up yet. Rest for a little longer,¡± she remarked.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine now.¡± Kang-Woo shook his head as he casually moved around.


    Lilith touched his arm with a worried expression. ¡°Are you really alright? You¡¯re not pushing yourself again, are you?¡±


    Kang-Woo smirked and answered, ¡°I told you, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Lilith sighed deeply. ¡°Jeez... You¡¯re making my life so hard, my king. Your life isn¡¯t yours alone anymore, you know?¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°It means that if you die, I¡¯ll die with you,¡± Lilith replied calmly.


    It sounded insane, but not a single ounce of madness could be heard in Lilith¡¯s voice; it was calm as if it was natural.


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit...¡± Kang-Woo slurred.


    ¡°Do you think Seol-Ah wouldn¡¯t?¡± Lilith asked.


    Kang-Woo remained silent. Lilith aside, Han Seol-Ah would most definitely choose death dly without hesitation if Kang-Woo were to die or disappear.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Balrog and Echidna would do the same,¡± Lilith expressed.


    ¡°Come on, I doubt Echidna would.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡±


    He was not. Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and nodded. ¡°Okay, fine. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Kang-Woo knew that he had many things on his shoulders, as well as that they would alle crumbling down if he were to die.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned his head in sorrow. If a time came when he needed to risk his life again, what would he do? There was no need to even think about it.


    <i>¡®I would risk my life again.¡¯</i>


    As he always had.


    Lilith stared at Kang-Woo sadly. She sighed deeply and shook her head.


    ¡°Come to think of it, did anything in particr happen while I was in bed? How¡¯s Iris?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°She hasn¡¯t awakened as an incarnation yet. As for while you were still asleep... Nothing except that Uriel and Michael came to visit.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Oh, and Uriel said to tell you to call him as soon as you wake up.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    Kang-Woo made a mental note to contact Uriel once he took care of all the urgent tasks. The signs of a high elf¡¯s manifestation had been confirmed, so he needed to release information about the Constetions of Evil to the angels to figure out what they were scheming and where.


    ¡°Any signs of the Constetions and Lucifer¡¯s movements?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°None.¡± Lilith shook her head.


    Kang-Woo frowned lightly.


    <i>¡®Maybe I pushed them too far.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo would be able to find them only if they made their move, but it was difficult toy out his next n since they weren¡¯t taking action at all.


    ¡°Oh. There was... an odd urrence,¡± Lilith mentioned.


    ¡°Odd how?¡± Kang-Woo tilted his head.


    ¡°Well... The streets of the empire are regaining their vitality. There are more people in the streets, and the frozen economy is beginning to go back to normal.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned. The citizens of Aernor, who had been plunged into fear, regaining their vitality could not be considered strange. It was not like fear could be extended for all of time, and people forgot about such emotions when they were busy enough getting by each day.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    There was no way that Lilith wouldn¡¯t know that. If she thought that it was odd, it meant that the fear that had spread throughout the empire was disappearing at an abnormal rate.


    ¡°Would it mean that the people¡¯s trust in Si-Hun has be that strong?¡± Kang-Woo posed.


    ¡°It¡¯s more than possible. After all, rumors have already spread that Si-Hun had taken care of the thousands of wraiths that had appeared at the imperial pce all by himself.¡±


    Kang-Woo stroked his chin. He doubted the guess despite posing it himself.


    <i>¡®I mean, it doesn¡¯t matter anymore.¡¯</i>


    The conditions for the high elf¡¯s manifestation had already been fulfilled. There was no need to amplify people¡¯s fear of Lucifer or to manipte information anymore. As long as the operation concluded smoothly, there was no need for him to take action.


    <i>¡®That should be it, but...¡¯</i>


    He felt unpleasant as if he had not wiped after taking a shit.


    <i>¡®Something¡¯s up.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned to Lilith and said, ¡°Look into that as well.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Lilith bowed deeply. ¡°Please don¡¯t push yourself and rest a little longer. There might still be some side effects remaining.¡±


    Lilith caressed Kang-Woo¡¯s arm worryingly before turning to leave.


    Kang-Woo smiled and nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    But of course, he had no intention of resting. After all, he had things to do.


    ¡°Haaa. I¡¯ll be excusing myself then, my king.¡±


    Lilith sighed and turned around. <i>Click</i>. The door closed. After being left alone in the room, Kang-Woo did some light stretches and closed his eyes.


    <i>¡®Let¡¯s see.¡¯</i>


    He was already bursting with anticipation. He meditated to see into himself and could see the Constetion of Fear devoured within the Demonic Sea. Unlike the Constetion of Agony, he was not conscious; he was simply floating on the surface, seemingly with no intellect as if he had be a mindless wraith.


    <i>¡®Hopefully, I¡¯ll reach my Tenth Awakening this time.¡¯</i>


    He had only one more level to go to reach 90 and achieve his Tenth Awakening. Even if it had be extremely difficult for him to level up, there was no way that it wouldn¡¯t rise even by one level after devouring a god.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m a bit anxious because of the broken characters earlier, though.¡¯</i>


    However, there was nothing that Kang-Woo could do about it. There was no way that he was able to interfere with the System, which had existed since the era of Titans, a past far before the era of myths.


    ¡°Now, then.¡±


    Kang-Woo concentrated. He slowly melted the Deific Essence of the Constetion of Fear.


    ¡°Haaa, aaah.¡±


    Sparks ran throughout his entire body. He could feel immense power being swallowed up by the ck sea.


    [You have absorbed the Constetion of Fear¡¯s Deific Essence!]


    [The absorbed Deific Essence is partially lifting the System¡¯s restrictions.]


    [Your level cap has risen from 89 to 93.]


    [You have achieved your Tenth Awakening. A new Trait will be granted!]


    <i>¡®Hell yeah.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled. Thankfully, he had managed to avoid a scenario where he was not given a Tenth Awakening Trait. The message windows continued.


    [Converting the absorbed deathly energy into demonic energy.]


    [Demonic Energy has risen by 5.]


    [Demonic Energy has reached 172. You can now use more of the demonic energy from the Abyss.]


    ¡°Very nice.¡±


    He had not expected his Demonic Energy stat to rise since the Constetion of Fear used a different form of energy entirely, but it had risen regardless. Kang-Woo opened and closed his fists while smiling in satisfaction. Possibly because he had risen to soaring heights, he could not feel a significant increase in power just because he had acquired more demonic energy.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll still take it.¡¯</i>


    If he was able to use more demonic energy freely, it also meant that he would be able to use more demonic energy when he needed to take risks. It was not bad at all. Not just that, a rise in his Demonic Energy stat had not been his primary goal in the first ce.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what my Tenth Awakening Tr¡ª¡±


    Just as he was about to open his status window excitedly, another blue window popped up in front of him.


    [You have acquired the Tenth Awakening Trait ¡®Deific Essence Usurpation.¡¯]


    [As per the Trait, you can obtain a portion of the Deific Essence you absorb.]


    [You have notpleted ¡®Road to Bing a Demon God¡¯ yet. Downgrading the absorbed Deific Essence.]


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened. He had acquired a Trait that would allow him to take the Deific Essence that he had absorbed as his own. Although the Deific Essence had been downgraded because the quest <i>Road to Bing a Demon God</i> had not beenpleted yet, the implications of the Trait were highly impactful.


    <i>¡®Acquiring Deific Essence means... that I¡¯ll be able to use Divinity.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Finally!¡±


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists. He had experienced firsthand how unfair and illogical a battle against a being with Divinity was while he did not possess Divinity. Although he had managed to ovee the difference with his absurd amount of demonic energy, it did not change the fact that it was an extremely inefficient battle. Kang-Woo stared at the message window with shining eyes.


    [You have acquired Lower Intermediate-rank Deific Essence via the Trait ¡®Deific Essence Usurpation.¡¯]


    <i>¡®Lower Intermediate, huh?¡¯</i>


    It was insanely low, considering he had devoured three Constetions of Evil. It seemed like the penalty for not havingpleted the <i>Road to Bing a Demon God</i> quest seemed to be higher than expected.


    <i>¡®Regardless...¡¯</i>


    Considering how ignorantly he had fought gods so far without having Deific Essence, it was a massive improvement.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    A foreign power that Kang-Woo had never felt before filled him up. It felt familiar for some reason.


    <i>¡®This is...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. It was familiar to the unknown power that had sealed his Ten Thousand Demon Core via the Gaia System.


    ¡°A power that can interfere with the <i>providence</i>, huh?¡±


    Kang-Woo felt the power of Divinity circting within him with sparkling eyes.


    <i>m!</i>


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo?¡±


    Before Kang-Woo even had a chance to test it out, La barged into his room. Possibly because she had been with the other party members, Seol-Ah, Kim Si-Hun, Cha Yeon-Joo, and the others were behind her.


    ¡°What was...¡±


    She was looking at Kang-Woo in disbelief. She seemed to have felt the energy of Kang-Woo acquiring Deific Essence because she was Gaia¡¯s incarnation.


    Kang-Woo turned toward La. Just then, another message window popped up in front of him.


    [A Deific Name most apt for yer Oh Kang-Woo will be granted due to the yer¡¯s acquisition of Deific Essence.]


    <i>¡®Deific Name? Is it like the names </i>Constetion of Agony<i> and </i>Corruption<i> or whatever?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the message with great interest.


    <i>¡®I wonder what I¡¯ll get? It probably won¡¯t be Demon God since I haven¡¯tpleted the quest yet. God of Predation? God of the Demonic Sea?¡¯</i>


    [Granting yer Oh Kang-Woo the Deific Name ¡®God of Lies.¡¯]


    ¡°What the fuck?¡±


    God of Lies?


    <i>¡®What the fuck are you on about?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned in displeasure.


    <i>¡®What do you mean, God of Lies? I¡¯ve never once lied in my life. What a fucking joke.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Kang-Woo... Did you perhaps... acquire Deific Essence?¡± La asked with a trembling voice.


    Kang-Woo nodded without hesitation and replied, ¡°Yes, I have. The system message says that I¡¯m... the God of Splendor.¡±


    [Granting yer Oh Kang-Woo the Deific Name ¡®God of Lies.¡¯]


    ¡°Haha. God of Splendor... It¡¯s a bit embarrassing.¡±


    [Granting yer Oh Kang-Woo the Deific Name ¡®God of Lies!¡¯]


    ¡°It must be because Lady Gaia chose me as the Protector of Light.¡±


    [Granting yer Oh Kang-Woo the Deific Name ¡®God of Lies!!!¡¯]


    Kang-Woo looked at the blinding golden light pouring out from himself as if he were in disbelief.


    ¡°I never knew... that light was so warm.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled while lightly touching his shining gold body.

 Chapter 386 - God of Splendor (2)

    <h4>Chapter 386 - God of Splendor (2)</h4>


    ¡°I... I can¡¯t believe it.¡±


    La stared at Oh Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly. Deific Essence was usually an innate quality. It hade to be back when Titans had created gods in the very distant past, to grant them the power to interfere with the providence when taking care of the creations.


    There, of course, were Titans such as Demon God Bauli, who had granted Deific Essence to beings to drive all creations to extinction, but it did not change the fact that Deific Essence was granted by Titans.


    ¡°Is it that shocking that I acquired Deific Essence?¡± Kang-Woo asked while tilting his head.


    He knew how difficult it was to acquire Deific Essence, but despite that, many enemies around him possessed it. Not just that, some beings who did not innately possess Deific Essence managed to acquire it, such as Lucifer.


    ¡°It is. It¡¯s extremely rare for someone who isn¡¯t an incarnation to acquire Deific Essence,¡± La answered as if she couldn¡¯t believe what Kang-Woo was saying.


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone with interest. ¡°Then that means it¡¯s not unprecedented, right?¡±


    ¡°Mm. There have been a few.¡± La nodded with an awkward smile. ¡°There have been less than five urrences since the era of myths, though.¡± La turned to look at Kim Si-Hun. ¡°Martial God Tian Taihuang, whose soul is within Si-Hun, was one of those urrences.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Si-Hun looked down at himself in surprise, having heard it for the first time.


    La nodded. ¡°Yes. Martial God Tian Taihuang was the disciple of Heavenly Dragon Tai Wuji. Since he was a human that the Heavenly Dragon himself raised, it¡¯s not strange that he acquired Deific Essence. However, you¡¯re... different, Kang-Woo.¡±


    As far as La knew, Kang-Woo had not been raised or trained by anyone.


    ¡°You¡¯ve fought by yourself, risen by yourself, and even acquired Deific Essence by yourself. A case like yours ispletely unprecedented,¡± La remarked.


    There was no being besides Kang-Woo since the era of myths who had risen to the top from the bottom. He did possess Gaia¡¯s blessing, but La knew better than anyone else that one could not acquire Deific Essence simply by being blessed by a god.


    ¡°In any case, that means there have been beings that had acquired Deific Essence,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    He smiled and looked away from La.


    <i>¡®Risen by myself, huh?¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo recalled what La had said. <i>¡®Have I risen by myself?¡¯</i>


    He wasn¡¯t sure, since he had possessed the Authority of Predation ever since he had fallen into Hell. No matter how he thought about it, he had not started from the bottom in the truest sense.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    That did not mean Kang-Woo had risen to where he was now with just the Authority granted to him; he was at least sure that no one else could be like him because he had not <i>only </i>acquired Divinity.


    <i>¡®I...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo possessed a dark, deep, and endless sea within him, which Deific Essence could neverpare to. He had been controlling and keeping it in check all this time. A god was nothing before that unending sea; even one of the Titans that had created those very gods had been imprisoned within the greatest depths of that sea. Kang-Woo had achieved far too much to say that he had risen to the top with someone else¡¯s power.


    ¡°Hyung-nim.¡±


    Si-Hun was staring at Kang-Woo. His eyes were hazy and filled with sorrow, but only for a moment. Si-Hun hugged Kang-Woo while congratting him.


    Han Seol-Ah approached Kang-Woo and asked, ¡°How did you acquire Deific Essence?¡±


    ¡°Well... I¡¯m still a bit confused right now, so I¡¯ll exin in more detailter,¡± Kang-Woo said to his party members, who had swarmed into his room.


    It had not even been ten minutes since he had be the God of Splendor. He was so curious about testing out the power that he did not have the leeway to do anything else.


    ¡°Oh... Okay. I understand, Kang-Woo.¡± Seol-Ah nodded in slight disappointment.


    The other party members were also dying to ask Kang-Woo all kinds of questions, but they decided to leave it forter.


    La said before turning around, ¡°I¡¯ll let Lady Gaia know about this.¡±


    Her expression was bright as she said that. Whatever the reason, Kang-Woo bing the God of Splendor was worthy of celebration since a literal god had pretty much been added to their party. Kang-Woo¡¯s existence would be the ray of light that would chase away the darkness that had befallen Aernor after the advent of Lucifer, the Lord of the Flies.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll leave it to you,¡± Kang-Woo replied.


    ¡°Phew. I honestly still can¡¯t believe it,¡± La expressed.


    ¡°Haha. I might have be a god, but I¡¯m still nothingpared to Lady Gaia.¡±


    It was more or less the truth since Gaia was far above him in terms of their Deific Essence ranks.


    ¡°Not necessarily.¡± La shook her head with a smile. ¡°Those who acquire Deific Essence instead of being born with it barely receive any restrictions from the System. Considering that, you might have more influence over the System right now than Lady Gaia.¡±


    That was the first time Kang-Woo was hearing of this. His eyes shone sharply.


    <i>¡®Is that why the Constetions of Evil aren¡¯t restricted by the System?¡¯</i>


    He was not sure about that, but the fact that he wouldn¡¯t be restricted by the System was wee news since it would be a problem if he wasn¡¯t able to use the power of Deific Essence that he had just earned.


    <i>ck.</i>


    The door closed. Kang-Woo sat down in a chair while humming.


    <i>¡®Well, then.¡¯</i>


    He used the power of Divinity as his eyes shone like a child opening his Christmas present.


    <i>Whoooom.</i>


    A formless energy that could not be detected with any sense spread throughout his body. The Divinity began to naturally mix with the enormous demonic energy within him.


    <i>¡®Oh, this is pretty cool.¡¯</i>


    It was different from demonic energy, mana, and sacred power. Those three energies usually did not mix, especially demonic energy and sacred power. However, Divinity melted into the demonic energy as if the two energies had been one from the very beginning.


    <i>¡®In the first ce, I can¡¯t do anything with just Divinity.¡¯</i>


    Unlike the other energies, Divinity itself did not trante to physical power. Demonic energy, mana, and sacred power were fundamentally the same because the manifestation of those powers resulted in a physical effect. Whether it be using Authorities with demonic energy, creating fire and ice with mana, or creating a spear of light with sacred power, the ultimate result was physical.


    To make aparison, it was like gunpowder. Guns, cannons, and missiles were all different, but they were the same in that they all used gunpowder and brought about a physical result. Although there was mind control magic and Authorities specialized in detection, they were a result of a physical manifestation of energy being used differently.


    Condensed demonic energy, mana, and sacred power were also tangible for a simr reason; a mountain of gunpowder became a powerful weapon in its own right without needing to be processed. However, Divinity did not possess such physical qualities.


    <i>¡®But once the Divinity mixes with demonic energy...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo used an Authority to create a dark red spear. The spear that had been made using demonic energy imbued with Divinity contained immense power.


    <i>¡®I guess it¡¯s simr to an enhancer or auxiliary.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo lightly swung the spear imbued with Divinity joyfully. Just then, an unexpected result arose.


    <i>¡®Hm?¡¯</i>


    The spear that was made with demonic energy was enveloped in golden light without Kang-Woo even having intended for it. No, that wasn¡¯t the only anomaly.


    ¡°What?¡±


    He could not feel the demonic energy at all. Not a single ounce of demonic energy was flowing out of the spear; it was to the point that even Kang-Woo himself had been fooled.


    <i>¡®What the hell?¡¯</i>


    He looked down at himself in surprise. He bit open his thumb to confirm something. Despite not having used the Authority of Coloring, <i>red </i>blood was flowing out from his finger.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Kang-Woo chuckled.


    <i>¡®It even has an effect like this?¡¯</i>


    It felt as if his active skills had turned into passive skills. Of course, once he willed himself that he did not want to hide his demonic energy, the golden light disappeared, and the dark energy took its ce.


    ¡°Wow,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    <i>¡®I guess that¡¯s the God of Splendor for ya.¡¯</i>


    Golden light naturally poured out of him without even needing to use Authorities just because Divinity was mixed into the demonic energy. It made his life so much easier.


    [Granting yer Oh Kang-Woo the Deific Name ¡®God of Lies...¡¯]


    ¡°Let¡¯s see. Since I¡¯m the God of Splendor now, I should make some skills that fit the title.¡±


    Kang-Woo fell into thought while stroking his chin.


    [The System has identified an error.]


    [The detected error does not exist.]


    [The Deific Name of yer Oh Kang-Woo is ¡®God of Lies!¡¯]


    ¡°No, mboyant skills might degrade my status as the God of Splendor.¡±


    Kang-Woo turned around after having made up his mind.


    [It is ¡®God of Lies!¡¯]


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go with naturally exuding faint amounts of power.¡±


    Kang-Woo enveloped himself in faint brilliant light and walked off.


    [It¡¯s God of Lies, you motherf¡ª]


    <i>Fwish.</i>


    Kang-Woo waved the annoying blue window away.


    ***


    A man with a hideous diagonal sh scar on his face was sitting cross-legged in the darkness. He was thinking with his eyes closed.


    <i>¡®That monster...¡¯</i>


    The terrifying monster looked as if it had been born from the Demonic Sea itself. Tai Wuji¡¯s mind was scrambled whenever he thought about that monster, but it was not just the monster¡¯s power that was making his thoughts so convoluted.


    <i>¡®How did he use the Heavenly Dragon Sword Technique?¡¯</i>


    That monster had used the sword technique that he had never taught to anyone else but his disciple.


    <i>¡®It wasughably terrible, but... It was without a doubt the Heavenly Dragon Sword Technique.¡¯</i>


    Not only that, it was good enough that it couldn¡¯t have been performed without someone¡¯s teachings.


    Silence fell. Tai Wuji turned to look at the boy with nk eyes. ¡°Constetion of Nightmares.¡±


    ¡°Mm,¡± the boy replied.


    ¡°Check if there is someone with the soul of Tian Taihuang near the monster.¡±


    Tai Wuji mentioned the name of the dear disciple that he had raised, taught, and killed with his own hands.

 Chapter 387 - Beauty Trap (1)

    <h4>Chapter 387 - Beauty Trap (1)</h4>


    A man was sitting cross-legged on top of a hill of red sand amidst aridnd where no life could be felt. He slowly stood up and unsheathed the sword strapped to his waist. Dark blue mes eerily traveled up from the base to the tip.


    ¡°Huup.¡±


    Tai Wuji took a deep breath and recalled an image of his enemy. A monster made of ck mucus appeared out of nowhere on top of the hill of red sand.


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    The monster was so disfigured that it looked like y-Doh squashed by a child. Sharp teeth could be seen within his smiling mouth.


    <i>¡®He does not die.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji fell into thought as his sword zed with dark blue mes. He was thinking about how to kill the monster that he had seen.


    <i>¡®He didn¡¯t die even after Ipletely vaporized him.¡¯</i>


    It was impossible; even a god possessing Deific Essence would die if their physical body was destroyed, and the same went for wraiths that possessed a spiritual form like the Constetion of Fear. There was no being that could survive after the physical vessel that held their Deific Essence was annihted.


    <i>¡®In other words...¡¯</i>


    The source of his power did note from his physical body, but somece else.


    ¡°Huuu,¡± Tai Wuji sighed deeply.


    No matter how much he guessed what the reason could be, it was meaningless unless he thought of a countermeasure.


    <i>¡®He does not die.¡¯</i>


    Not only was he unkible, but the monster possessed a weapon so powerful that it could easily tear apart protection made with Divinity.


    <i>¡®How about sealing?¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji shook his head. The monster had devoured the Constetion of Fear whole; there was no way that he could seal such a monster. They would need as much power as what Seraph had used to seal the Constetions of Evil at the cost of her own Deific Essence, but there was no one among the Constetions with that powerful of a sealing ability. The monster couldn¡¯t be killed, ignored, or sealed. There was practically no way to deal with him.


    <i>¡®No, wait.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji narrowed his eyes and recalled the memories of his battle against the monster again.


    ¡°Why did he fall back?¡±


    He had not thought about it because of the state of things at the time, but the monster had surely avoided a battle against him.


    Tai Wuji frowned. He couldn¡¯t understand why a monster crazed enough to swallow the entire world whole would suddenly fall back.


    <i>¡®Because I used the Constetion of Fear as bait?¡¯</i>


    That was a possibility; Tai Wuji had nned to escape from the monster while he was focused on the Constetion of Fear. However...


    <i>¡®He fell back too easily.¡¯</i>


    The monster had epted Tai Wuji¡¯s offer as if he had been waiting for it. Thinking about it in hindsight, it was certainly strange.


    ¡°He may not bepletely immortal.¡±


    Tai Wuji shook his head again. There was no way to describe someone who could survive their entire physical form being vaporized as other thanpletely immortal. That was likely not the issue.


    <i>¡®Maybe...¡¯</i> Tai Wuji gripped his sword handle in deep thought. <i>¡®... It is his mind that isn¡¯tpletely immortal.¡¯</i>


    The monster had initially possessed full intelligence, but after he had regenerated just from a single drop of blood, Tai Wuji could only feel madness from the monster.


    <i>¡®His mind is degraded the more he regenerates.¡¯</i>


    If that was the case, the monster¡¯s iprehensible actions made sense.


    <i>¡®He was weaker than me in all aspects.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji was sure of that one thing. It would be no issue for him to kill that monster multiple times over if he wanted to, but he had fallen back regardless because the monster did not die.


    ¡°His mind...¡±


    That was likely the key to facing that monster. Tai Wuji fell into thought again while gripping his sword. He recalled the monster again and again, analyzing the monster¡¯s gaze, actions, speech, and voice with his transcendent senses. Tai Wuji opened his eyes after some time, shining sharply.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m sure of it.¡¯</i>


    The more the monster regenerated, the more he lost control over himself. Madness and desire would take the ce of his degraded sense of reason and intelligence.


    A smile appeared on Tai Wuji¡¯s expressionless face. The monster was not unkible; even if it was an immortal being that would endlessly regenerate, there was a limit to it.


    <i>¡®His weakness is his mind.¡¯</i>


    He gripped his sword tighter. The vanity he had felt when facing the monster as if he was looking into an endless abyss, had disappeared. Since he had figured out the monster¡¯s weakness, there was only one thing he needed to do next.


    ¡°If his mind is his weakness...¡±


    Tai Wuji would just need to kill the monster over and over again until his mind was destroyed, reducing him into nothing but a mindless beast.


    <i>Fwoosh.</i>


    The dark blue mes enveloping the sword flickered. The imaginary monster made of ck mucus in front of Tai Wuji bared its teeth. He swung his sword at the monster, slicing it up into dozens of pieces, but it regenerated in a sh.


    ¡°Huuu,¡± Tai Wuji inhaled.


    He drew out Qi from his dantian and swung his sword again, slicing the monster countless times. The monster repeated the cycle of being shed and regenerating. A small amount of the monster¡¯s blood got on Tai Wuji while he was swinging his sword.


    <i>Crunch!</i>


    Excruciating pain traveled from where the blood sshed. Although the enemy had been made using Tai Wuji¡¯s imagination, the injury he had suffered was real. Enemies created using his transcendent senses were both imaginary and real at the same time, at least to Tai Wuji himself. If he allowed himself to be attacked by the imaginary enemy, his brain would register the attack as real and inflict injury on his body. If he allowed himself to be fatally wounded, he would die.


    ¡°Hup.¡±


    Tai Wuji cut off the portion of his body with blood sshed on it without hesitation. If he did not do so, that blood would feast on him endlessly. The blood containing countless teeth fell to the ground. Tai Wuji scanned the monster after widening the distance; the monster was still moving fine.


    ¡°Heavenly Dragon Rampage.¡±


    The countless shes tore the monster apart. An endless cycle of death and regeneration continued. The monster¡¯s movements slowly turned simple. Its sense of reason had disappeared, and only madness remained.


    <i>Kiiihhh...</i>


    The movements of the monster with no intelligence were simple. It began to eat everything around it, driven by madness.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    Dark blue mes set the monster aze. The monster that had lost its reason began to devour itself. It broke down and copsed.


    Tai Wuji sighed deeply.


    He sheathed his sword and lifted the concentration that he had maintained to the point that his brain was overloading. The copsing demon disappeared from before his eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s not easy.¡±


    Tai Wuji looked down at himself. He was covered in wounds. It was certainly difficult to kill an endlessly regenerating immortal monster without rest.


    <i>¡®I need an easier way to gnaw at his mind.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°Tai Wuji.¡±


    Just then, a boy with nk eyes approached him while dragging his feet. Tai Wuji turned around. In the boy¡¯s hand was a ck object pulsing as if it was alive, the Demon God¡¯s legacy.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Tai Wuji asked.


    ¡°The Demon God¡¯s legacy is absorbing fear.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Tai Wuji frowned. The Constetion of Fear¡¯s n had failed; fear was surely directed at Lucifer instead of the Demon God.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Tai Wuji asked.


    The boy shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Tai Wuji remained silent. If the Constetion of Nightmares did not know, there was no way for him to know.


    ¡°But there are traces of interference,¡± the boy mentioned.


    ¡°Interference?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but I don¡¯t know who.¡±


    Silence fell. Tai Wuji took the Demon God¡¯s legacy that the boy handed him. The pulsing darkness was aggressively absorbing the negative emotions spread throughout the continent.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t know what happened, but...¡¯</i>


    The growth of the Demon God¡¯s legacy was a good thing. Tai Wuji ced the Demon God¡¯s legacy in his pocket.


    <i>¡®I have one more card to y against that monster now.¡¯</i>


    Not even that monster would be a match for him once the Demon God¡¯s legacy was perfected.


    ¡°And I finished investigating the human that possesses Tian Taihuang¡¯s soul,¡± the boy remarked.


    Tai Wuji¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Kim Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°By Kim Si-Hun, you mean...¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Gaia¡¯s retainer. The same as Oh Kang-Woo.¡±


    Tai Wuji remained silent as the gears in his head turned at a rapid rate. The monster posing as Gaia¡¯s retainer, and the human that had inherited Tian Taihuang¡¯s soul... It was by no means a coincidence that they used the same martial arts.


    <i>¡®This is...¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji lightly clenched his fists. He could strongly feel that there was something about it that would be able to affect the monster¡¯s weakness, his mind.


    <i>¡®Not bad.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji nodded expressionlessly. His bitter loss had been a blessing in disguise, as he was gaining clues to victory one by one.


    <i>¡°You won¡¯t be able to forget, even if you wanted to.¡±</i>


    The monster¡¯s voice echoed in Tai Wuji¡¯s mind. Thick bloodlust poured out from Tai Wuji.


    <i>¡®Of course...¡¯</i>


    He never intended to forget in the first ce. He had been sharpening the de of revenge in his mind all this time. Tai Wuji passed the boy and walked down from the hill of red sand as he organized the n that he had thought of.


    <i>¡®To make contact with Kim Si-Hun, I have to divert the monster¡¯s attention.¡¯</i>


    However, that was easier said than done. Tai Wuji fell into thought as he walked.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Just then, a woman came into his view. It was Proserpine, the elf with braided blue-violet hair, the god of subuses, as well as the being with the Deific Name <i>Constetion of Lust</i>. She was nkly staring into nothingness.


    <i>¡®She¡¯s been like that ever since back then.¡¯</i>


    After meeting the monster, Proserpine was killing time while postponing her mission to infiltrate the ranks of the elves.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Tai Wuji asked in a low voice.


    Proserpine looked away from the nothingness and at Tai Wuji. She snorted and turned away. ¡°None of your business.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you have any right to say that when you¡¯re acting in a way that makes it my business.¡±


    Proserpine bit her lip. She looked away from Tai Wuji and stared into the nk space again. Her thoughts were full of the terrifying monster.


    <i>¡®Who could it be?¡¯</i>


    <i>Ba-dump, ba-dump.</i>


    Her heart beat rapidly. An inexplicable feeling of fear and desire intertwined whenever she thought of the monster.


    Proserpine sighed heatedly.


    Just like the suspension bridge effect, her fear of the monster was turning into feelings of love as more time passed.


    <i>¡®I want to...¡¯</i> Proserpine licked her lips as she grew more aroused.<i> ¡®... Have a taste of him.¡¯</i>


    The goddess of lust recalled the monster as her eyes filled with desire.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Tai Wuji chuckled as he stared at Proserpine. Then, he thought of an idea. ¡°I have a favor to ask.¡±


    ¡°Hm? What favor?¡± Proserpine frowned in annoyance.


    Tai Wuji exined his n.


    ¡°So you¡¯re telling me to divert that monster¡¯s attention, right?¡± Proserpine confirmed momentster.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Proserpine¡¯s eyes shone. Her initial annoyance was nowhere to be found, reced with anticipation to the point that she was panting heatedly.


    ¡°Do you think you can do it?¡± Tai Wuji asked.


    ¡°Do you even have to ask?¡±


    ¡°He is strong.¡±


    Tai Wuji would be able to, but Proserpine couldn''t face that monster by herself.


    ¡°Fufu,¡± Proserpine giggled. ¡°Who do you think I am?¡±


    She slowly stood up and released lustful energy. Her blue-violet hair soared into the sky and turned into squirming ck tentacles. Her skin was split, revealing eight eyes. She smiled seductively as she licked the pus flowing out the ends of her tentacles.


    ¡°Why would the goddess of lust fight with her fists? I¡¯ll seduce that monster with my unparalleled beauty.¡±

 Chapter 388 - Beauty Trap (2)

    <h4>Chapter 388 - Beauty Trap (2)</h4>


    It had been a week since Oh Kang-Woo had be the God of Splendor. Since then, Kang-Woo has focused on getting used to controlling the power of Divinity.


    ¡°Huuu,¡± Kang-Woo took a deep breath.


    He slowly raised his right arm, and the Key of the Demonic Sea began to turn into a shining golden sword. Satan would not be able to close his mouth from the shock if he were toe back from the dead and see this. After all, it was a replica of Satan¡¯s Hell Armament <i>Wrath </i>except that it was shining gold. No, its form wasn¡¯t the only simr thing.


    <i>Crack!</i>


    Space itself was severed along the path of the sword¡¯s swing and then closed back up. The demonic energy mixed with Divinity had torn apart space itself. Not only did the two swords look the same, but the energies that they exuded were also almost identical. No, since it contained Divinity, Kang-Woo¡¯s sword contained far more energy than Satan¡¯s Hell Armament.


    <i>¡®Well, even so... It wouldn¡¯t be of much use against that guy.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smirked. No matter how powerful the sword was, the Constetion of Despair possessed martial arts that Kang-Woo could not surpass. He would not be able to win with weapons.


    ¡°It should be about time he took action.¡±


    Kang-Woo transformed the Key of the Demonic Sea back into a ring. He had no intention of avoiding a fight against the Constetion of Despair just because he didn¡¯t stand a chance in a battle with weapons. Rather, he could barely sleep from the anticipation of being able to fight him soon.


    <i>¡®It was so fun.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s battle with the Constetion of Despair had been so fun that the desires he had been suppressing until now felt like they had been nothing. He had realized his limit; he had used every ounce of his strength and even went as far as to open one of the Doors, but he couldn¡¯t even imagine defeating the Constetion of Despair.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo sighed ecstatically.


    His heart was beating like crazy. How long had it been since he had faced an opponent that he had an utterly miniscule chance of winning against? It was only the third urrence, the first being when he had first fallen into Hell, and the second time being when he had first met Bael.


    ¡°For God¡¯s sake, this is driving me insane.¡±


    Kang-Woo tightly held his trembling hands into a fist. It felt like he was in love at first sight. The desire that had been lit within him was zing to the point that he could barely handle it. Kang-Woo thought about the Constetion of Despair¡¯s face like some lovesick teenage girl.


    Balrog was misunderstanding something. He thought that Kang-Woo had reluctantly fought against the Constetions by himself for the sake of hisrades under the guise that he couldn¡¯t hold back his desire.


    ¡°People would think I¡¯m a fucking saint if they didn¡¯t know any better.¡±


    Kang-Woo snickered. It was partly the truth; he did not want to see Kim Si-Hun, Han Seol-Ah, Balrog, and all of his other party members getting hurt. He did not even want to imagine them dying. However, he did not reluctantly stand on the battlefield by himself like some shonen manga protagonist; he was not that kind of person.


    <i>¡®You could say that two of my objectives ovepped, or that it was like killing two birds with one stone.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo wanted to fight against a Constetion of Evil, and he wanted to experience his limit. He wanted to let his zing desire take control and rampage to his heart¡¯s content. He could have held it in, but he didn¡¯t.


    It was just like going on a diet. People knew that they wouldn¡¯t die even if they didn¡¯t eat unhealthy foods, but they let their desire take control over them and eat to their heart¡¯s content. It was not that they weren¡¯t able to hold themselves back, but because they purposefully didn¡¯t.


    Kang-Woo was the same. He wanted to eat until his stomach burst as a reward for suppressing his desire for all this time. That was why he had fought a Constetion of Evil by himself, unencumbered by anything or anyone, to devour to his heart¡¯s content.


    <i>¡®Because there will be times in the future when I don¡¯t want to hold myself back but have to.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly. He knew that the time woulde, and he had already made up his resolve for the day.


    <i>¡®One day...¡¯</i>


    A time woulde when there would no longer be prey that he would be satisfied with. Battles full of madness and desire that would drive him to his utmost limit would cease to exist. He was not talking about world peace; one day, he would be so powerful that there would no longer be any enemy that would be able to fire him up.


    <i>¡®I think it took me about three or four years to get to this point.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled the day that he returned to Earth after his power was sealed by the Gaia System. It had not even been five years since then. In that short time, he had grown absurdly powerful to the point that his past self back when he ruled over the Nine Hells felt cute.


    Although Kang-Woo had received help from the System and hade across several lucky urrences, it had been ultimately all him. Even now, he was getting stronger at an uncontroble rate.


    <i>¡®The Demonic Sea is getting bigger.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had already devoured three Constetions of Evil. Even after his return to Earth, he had easily devoured over thousands of demons and demonic beasts. No, the deciding factor was that he had devoured one of the three corpses of the Demon God. It would have been weirder if the Demonic Sea had not grownrger.


    <i>¡®No, it¡¯s not just that.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked down at himself with sunken eyes. He hade to learn something new after acquiring Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®Even if I don¡¯t use the Authority of Predation...¡¯</i>


    The Demonic Sea was expanding all on its own as if space itself was expanding. Kang-Woo was confident that he would be able to control the endlessly growing Demonic Sea since his demonic energy control was also rising.


    <i>¡®The problem is that at this rate...¡¯</i>


    There would no longer be any prey that would be able to fire him up. His desires would not be sated, and he would only be left with an endless void. He was already prepared for it and was even confident that he would be able to endure it. He just wanted to, at the very least, experience things that would give him stimtion and allow him to reach his limits a few more times.


    <i>¡°You know, my king...¡±</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled Lilith¡¯s voice. She had once said this to him in an extremely angry voice.


    <i>¡°You¡¯re like a moth to a me.¡±</i>


    He had no idea where she had learned a phrase like that when moths didn¡¯t even exist in Hell. He couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    ¡°I can¡¯t argue with that. I did manage to get through a lot of life-threatening moments.¡±


    Back when the Demonic Sea had first been formed, Kang-Woo had been on the boundary between life and death every millisecond of each day. Even after he had formed the Ten Thousand Demon Core to be able to contain the Demonic Sea, he had willingly put himself on the brink of death several times through the repeated use of molting. After getting used to molting, he began to open the Doors entirely. He had managed to just barely survive so many times that he would not be able to say anything even if Lilith were to p him.


    <i>¡®Well, even if I were to redo things...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo would not change a thing.


    He lightly shook off the dirt on him and turned around. Aftering out of the forest that he had gone in to train, he headed to the imperial pce.


    ¡°Ah, Kang-Woo!¡± Seol-Ah greeted him with a smile as soon as she saw him and walked up to him. ¡°Are you done with your training?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    His training to be able to use Divinity was mostlyplete. It had not been that difficult since Divinity acted like an enhancer or auxiliary to another form of energy, so all he needed to do was check how much stronger his attacks became.


    ¡°Where are Si-Hun and Balrog?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re still training.¡±


    ¡°Still? They¡¯ve been at it since dawn.¡±


    After the previous incident, they had been abnormally obsessed with training.


    ¡°Well...¡± Seol-Ah slurred as she smiled bitterly.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    <i>¡®I should have a word with them.¡¯</i>


    Although he was not one to talk, training to abnormal degrees was not good for one¡¯s body. They would do better to train in moderation.


    ¡°Huh? You¡¯re back, Kang-Woo?¡± Cha Yeon-Joo said as she walked toward him.


    Her hair was also damp as if she had been training until just now. Her hair, wet with sweat, clinging to her nape looked oddly sexy.


    ¡°What?¡± Yeon-Joo red at Kang-Woo.


    She covered her chest, misunderstanding Kang-Woo¡¯s gaze.


    Kang-Woo chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s nothing for you to even hi¡ª¡±


    <i>Bash!</i>


    Yeon-Joo kicked him in the balls at the speed of light. Kang-Woo was able to dodge, but he purposefully got hit since he felt like dodging would be a bad idea.


    ¡°Ack!¡± Yeon-Joo was the one to copse instead of Kang-Woo while grabbing her shin. She red at Kang-Woo fiercely. ¡°You goddamn monster...¡±


    Yeon-Joo bit her lip in frustration after seeing that Kang-Woo was perfectly fine after being kicked in the balls. Rather, Seol-Ah was far more shocked.


    ¡°A-Are you okay, Kang-Woo?!¡± Seol-Ah reached out to him in pallor.


    Kang-Woo bent his hips backward to dodge her hand. ¡°I¡¯m fine, darling.¡±


    <i>¡®Rather, it won¡¯t be fine if you touch it.¡¯</i>


    ¡°My, you¡¯re back earlier than expected. I thought you woulde back a littleter.¡± Even Lilith hade out to see him.


    ¡°Divinity was easier to control than expected,¡± Kang-Woo answered while shrugging.


    Yeon-Joo spat on the ground. ¡°That aside, your Deific Name <i>God of Splendor</i>... What¡¯s up with that?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡±


    ¡°I thought you¡¯d be something like the <i>God of Lies</i> because you lie every chance you get.¡±


    ¡°What do you take me for?¡± Kang-Woo shook his head at the absurdity.


    There was no way he was something like the God of Lies.


    <i>Riiing, riiing.</i>


    <i>¡®What the fuck is it this time? Give it a rest already.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo swiped away the blue window in front of him without even looking at its contents.


    ¡°But honestly, I still can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve be a god... You look the same as always,¡± Yeon-Joo remarked as she scanned Kang-Woo from head to toe.


    The overpowering pressure that one would feel from a god could not be felt at all in Kang-Woo. No one would have been able to tell that Kang-Woo had acquired Deific Essence or whatever it was if it hadn¡¯t been for La.


    ¡°I mean, gods are different from our notion of them,¡± Kang-Woo responded with a smile.


    Omnipotent gods that one normally associated with the word <i>god </i>were different from gods that possessed Deific Essence. They were not omnipotent or omniscient; they simply possessed the unorthodox power known as Divinity.


    ¡°So, does our great God of Splendor n on choosing any apostles?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    ¡°Why? You wanna be one?¡±


    ¡°Can I be as strong as Kim Si-Hun if I be an apostle?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to call me oppa in exchange.¡±


    ¡°Fuck off. Forget it.¡± Yeon-Joo turned her head while grimacing in disgust.


    Kang-Woo snickered. To be honest, he had no idea how to make someone his apostle. No, even if he could, he had no intention of making anyone his apostle.


    <i>¡®Besides, it¡¯s not like Yeon-Joo will be as strong as Si-Hun even if she bes my apostle.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun had not be that powerful because he was Gaia¡¯s retainer. His talent far exceeded even that of Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡®If any of them were to acquire Divinity after me, it would be Si-Hun.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled while thinking about Si-Hun.


    ¡°Right, Master Kang-Woo. Could you tell me about those Constetions of Evil in more detail? I can¡¯t seem to get a lead on them,¡± Lilith asked.


    Kang-Woo nodded and answered, ¡°The man known as the Constetion of Despair was a middle-aged man with arge diagonal sh scar on his face.¡±


    He slowly exined everything about the Constetion of Despair whom he had seen that day.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that there was a woman as well?¡± asked Seol-Ah, who had been listening in silence, her eyes narrowing.


    Kang-Woo nodded. ¡°Yeah. Her name was Proserpine, but I don¡¯t know what Constetion she is.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Seol-Ah looked at Kang-Woo with sunken eyes. ¡°Was she pretty?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah. Extremely pretty.¡± Kang-Woo casually nodded.


    The Proserpine whom he had seen back then had possessed blinding beauty.


    <i>¡®First and foremost, she¡¯s an elf.¡¯</i>


    It was an irrevocable rule that elves needed to be beautiful.


    <i>¡®But why are subuses so fucking...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was getting a headache just thinking about it. He trembled as his trauma came back to him.


    ¡°She was pretty?¡± Seol-Ah asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s the first I¡¯m hearing of it,¡± Lilith stated.


    ¡°Hmph, I guess her mid was pretty strong, unlike a certain person,¡± Yeon-Joo remarked.


    <i>¡®Huh?¡¯</i>


    The three women were ring at him quite fiercely.


    ¡°No, I mean...¡± Kang-Woo looked at the three women as if he was being falsely used.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s wrong with calling a pretty woman pretty?¡¯</i>


    ¡°She was pretty, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hohoho, that¡¯s no question.¡±


    Just as Kang-Woo was about to continue, a woman¡¯s voice cut him off. Kang-Woo turned to the source of the voice, and saw...


    ¡°No.¡±


    ... Tentacles. ck tentaclesing out from all over the body, eight eyes, and green pus flowing out from the ends of the tentacles.


    ¡°What?¡±


    <i>¡®Who the fuck are you?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared while trembling at the woman who had appeared out of nowhere.


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo...?¡± Seol-Ah stared at him with shaking eyes. She continued in pallor, ¡°Is your fetish... N-No, such a thing...¡±


    Tears were gathering at the corners of Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°No,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t have that kind of fetish.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hah! Master Kang-Woo! What about that unsightly bitch is pretty?¡± Lilith yelled nonsensically.


    ¡°She¡¯s not pretty,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    ¡°Please take a good look! Her tentacles are ck!!¡±


    ¡°I said she¡¯s not pretty.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, her tentacles are dry, and there¡¯s no gloss to them whatsoever! And most of all...!¡±


    ¡°Fucking listen to me.¡±


    ¡°She only has eight eyes!!¡±


    ¡°No shit.¡±

 Chapter 389 - Beauty Trap (3)

    <h4>Chapter 389 - Beauty Trap (3)</h4>


    ¡°Hmm. You look surprisingly normal usually. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re the same monster as back then.¡± Proserpine scanned Oh Kang-Woo from head to toe while licking her lips with her snakelike tongue.


    She could no longer see the hideous monster that looked as if it had manifested straight out of a nightmare. Rather, he was faintly exuding golden light, as what one would normally expect from the Protector of Light.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Proserpine smiled widely. She knew very well that the monster had only be the Protector of Light by deceiving Gaia. She had seen with her own eyes the hideous and terrifying monster hidden under that unattractive human shell.


    <i>¡®Really...¡¯</i>


    Proserpine trembled. She couldn¡¯t forget about it no matter how much she tried. The monster made of viscous mucus, and the countless mouths deep within the darkness... The image of the monster that looked as if it had been born from the Demonic Sea that the Demon God had searched desperately for back in the era of myths had been engraved into her brain.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Proserpine exhaled heatedly.


    She became aroused. Although she had been granted Deific Essence by the Demon God, she was a subus in nature; one so powerful that she was known as the goddess of lust. She had been forgotten among the subuses because she had been sealed by Seraph for a long time, but her instincts did not go anywhere.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m sure it would feel wonderful... if I make love to that monster.¡¯</i>


    Subuses charmed their prey with their unparalleled beauty and illusion magic to make their prey fall in love with them. The slow extraction of life force from the prey that was madly in love with them was how subuses hunted. The stronger the prey, the more life force they possessed. Considering that, there was no better prey than the immortal monster in front of her.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll be able to feast on high-quality life force for the rest of my life.¡¯</i>


    Since the monster possessed abnormal regenerative capabilities, he would also possess infinite amounts of life force. Proserpine felt as if she had found an endless spring. She stared in arousal at the monster in human skin. She needed to make that monster fall in love with her to be supplied with infinite amounts of life force, and that was her specialty.


    ¡°Hmm. What do you think? This is my true form.¡± Proserpine swept back her ck tentacles while smiling seductively. Kang-Woo frowned miserably. ¡°Fufu. You seem to be lost for words at my beauty.¡±


    ¡°... I certainly am lost for words.¡± Kang-Woo grabbed his forehead as if he was having a headache.


    He was left so whished that he was lost for words.


    <i>¡®Why tentacles again?¡¯</i>


    Chilling fear traveled down his back as he recalled his trauma.


    ¡°Urgh!¡± Lilith bit her lip anxiously.


    She had ridiculed Proserpine, but Proserpine was so blindingly beautiful that even Lilith was getting concerned.


    Lilith pulled on Kang-Woo¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Master Kang-Woo. I can¡¯t stand this.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What?¡±


    Lilith proudly walked forward and turned back to her true form. Squirming green tentacles and eighteen eyes appeared.


    ¡°... Huh?¡± Proserpine stared at Lilith in bewilderment.


    She had never expected there to be another subus by the monster¡¯s side.


    ¡°L-Lilith?¡±


    ¡°Th-That¡¯s Lilith?¡±


    Han Seol-Ah and Cha Yeon-Joo were left in shock after seeing Lilith¡¯s true form for the first time. Lilith red at Proserpine while covering her mouth with one of her green tentacles.


    ¡°How dare you covet my dear husband?¡± Lilith remarked.


    ¡°Hmph. I don¡¯t know where a bitch like you came from, but this is none of your business. Why don¡¯t you scurry off somewhere else?¡± Proserpine said back.


    Their bloodlust shed in midair.


    ¡°...¡± Kang-Woo was left with his mouth agape, dumbfounded. He groaned in despair. ¡°Two tentacles...¡±


    He trembled. Just seeing those sticky tentacles caused his heart to beat aggressively and leave him in pallor.


    ¡°Not one, but two...¡±


    Kang-Woo wept while staring at Lilith and Proserpine confronting each other. He felt like he hade back to the Ninth Hell.


    ¡°... Kang-Woo.¡± Seol-Ah became teary-eyed while looking at Kang-Woo. ¡°Was that... the case?¡±


    <i>¡®What? What¡¯s the case?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Was I... not your type of woman?¡±


    <i>¡®What?¡¯</i>


    ¡°What in the world are you talking about?¡± Kang-Woo stared at Seol-Ah in confusion.


    It was as if she was asking if his type of woman had been someone with tentacles this entire time.


    ¡°Of course n¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for hiding it all this time, Seol-Ah.¡± Lilith grabbed Seol-Ah¡¯s arm in sorrow. She continued as her tentacles squirmed, ¡°What Master Kang-Woo truly loves are... these tentacles.¡±


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not.¡¯</i>


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell you all this time because you can never have them,¡± Lilith remarked.


    ¡°N-No way...¡± Seol-Ah slurred.


    <i>¡®I said it¡¯s not.¡¯</i>


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡± Kang-Woo red at Lilith in frustration. ¡°When did I ever say that I liked tentacles?¡±


    He needed to hammer the nail in the coffin this time for sure.


    ¡°I hate tentacles. Those multiple eyes and the pusing out from all over your body are nothing but hideous to me.¡± Kang-Woo continued while grabbing Lilith¡¯s shoulders, ¡°So, please... Please stop. You¡¯re far more beautiful in your Kurosaki Yurie form.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Lilith¡¯s expression stiffened. She became teary-eyed and lowered her head. ¡°R-Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    <i>¡®I swear on my mother¡¯s life. I mean, I¡¯m an orphan, but yeah.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t lie.¡± Proserpine snorted.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Kang-Woo said.


    <i>¡®Who are you to judge whether I¡¯m lying or not?¡¯</i>


    ¡°This is nothing but a facade you¡¯re putting on, isn¡¯t it? There¡¯s no way a monster like you would like the form of ugly humans.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent and then looked toward Yeon-Joo. Lilith and Seol-Ah aside, Yeon-Joo barely knew anything about the truth.


    ¡°... Facade? What is she talking about?¡± Yeon-Joo asked while frowning.


    ¡°She seems to know about my past,¡± Kang-Woo replied without hesitation.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    She hadpletely forgotten that Kang-Woo had been a demon before he had be the apostle of the God of Heroes.


    Yeon-Joo muttered as if she couldn¡¯t even imagine it, ¡°... Right. You spent ten millennia in Hell.¡±


    Ten millennia was such a long time that she couldn¡¯t even imagine what it would be like.


    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t your tastes change if you lived that long?¡± Yeon-Joo asked while tilting her head.


    Kang-Woo cursed unbeknownst to himself. Even if he were to live for a hundred millennia, the day that he would be into tentacles would nevere.


    ¡°...¡± Seol-Ah¡¯s face froze.


    She reyed Yeon-Joo¡¯s words inside her head.


    <i>¡®If Kang-Woo has lived for ten millennia...¡¯</i>


    It wouldn¡¯t be strange at all for his values to change. He might find Lilith and Proserpine, whom Seol-Ah found to be hideous, to be beautiful beyond belief.


    <i>¡®He was also married to Lilith.¡¯</i>


    Seol-Ah¡¯s doubts grewrger. Kang-Woo had spent almost a millennia with Lilith. There was no way that they would have been together for that long if he hated her. Seol-Ah bit her lip anxiously while having no idea about Kang-Woo¡¯s circumstances back then. The fear of Kang-Woo being taken away from her by someone else spread throughout her body.


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    Seol-Ah shook her head in pallor. Just the thought of Kang-Woo ending up with another woman made her feel nauseous. Her vision blurred, and an unbearable thirst suffocated her. Seol-Ah slowly turned to look at Proserpine, and the light in her eyes disappeared.


    <i>¡®She... has to die.¡¯</i>


    Proserpine was trying to take Kang-Woo from her. She couldn¡¯t be left to live. She needed to die in the worst possible way so that she could never covet Kang-Woo ever again. Seol-Ah needed to make her struggle under immense regret and despair.


    ¡°Well, whatever the case, I have no interest in you, so bring me the other guy,¡± Kang-Woo said while shaking his head.


    It was true that he had no interest in Proserpine. Although she was a Constetion of Evil, she was the same as Lilith; she was not specialized inbat.


    <i>¡®I guess there¡¯s meaning in that I can absorb Deific Essence from her, but...¡¯</i>


    She did not look appetizing in the slightestpared to the Constetion of Despair.


    <i>¡®Anyway...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes sharply. Whatever the reason was, a Constetion of Eviling here of their own ord was something to wee.


    <i>¡®Since I¡¯ll be able to squeeze some information out of her.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo lightly rolled his feet. An immense wave of golden energy pulsed from him and surrounded everything. Even if Proserpine was not specialized inbat, a battle against one that possessed Deific Essence could level the entire imperial capital if he did not put up a barrier.


    ¡°Come on, what¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re scaring me,¡± Proserpine said seductively while winking at Kang-Woo. She turned to look at Lilith and said confidently, ¡°Is it because of that subus? Fufu, if that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s no need to worry at all.¡±


    Lilith was also extremely beautiful, but she could not bepared to Proserpine herself. No, it wasn¡¯t only an issue of looks.


    ¡°If you make love to me once... I¡¯ll bestow you with pleasure that you¡¯ll never be able to forget.¡±


    Proserpine slightly lowered her clothes to show off more of her purple shoulders and cleavage.


    ¡°... Urp.¡±


    Kang-Woo almost vomited out the kimchi stew that he had eaten this morning from Proserpine¡¯s seduction.


    <i>¡®Fuck.¡¯</i> He couldn¡¯t stand it much longer. <i>¡®I¡¯ll just apprehend her and squeeze all the information she has.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head as if he was sick and tired of this and extended his right hand, turning the Key of the Demonic Sea into the form of <i>Wrath</i>. He grabbed the two-meter greatsword with one hand with ease.


    ¡°... Hm?¡± Proserpine¡¯s eyes widened. She could feel Kang-Woo¡¯s clear hostility toward her. ¡°Hmm. You¡¯re quite shy.¡±


    Proserpine looked at Kang-Woo as if he was cute while smiling widely.


    ¡°Shy, my ass,¡± Kang-Woo responded.


    He leaped toward Proserpine and swung the Key of the Demonic Sea down at her head. Proserpine¡¯s head split into two.


    ¡°...¡± Kang-Woo frowned and clicked his tongue. ¡°A clone, huh?¡±


    There was no way he would be able to kill a god that possessed Deific Essence with one strike, nor would Proserpine be immortal like Kang-Woo when he opened the Doors.


    ¡°... I can¡¯t believe you attacked me.¡±


    Proserpine, whose head had been split into two, turned into ck tentacles. Her face, which appeared amidst the tentacles, was dyed in shock, but only for a moment.


    ¡°Fufu. How interesting.¡± Proserpine licked her lips in delight and said ecstatically, ¡°You¡¯re the first man to ever reject me.¡±


    She stared at Kang-Woo in anticipation as if she was thinking joyfully about how to make him hers.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make you mine, no matter what.¡±


    Proserpine burst intoughter. The ck tentacles melted into the ground and disappeared.


    ¡°...¡± Seol-Ah stared at the disappearing clone while clenching her fists. ¡°You¡¯re going to... make Kang-Woo yours?¡±


    Chilling bloodlust lingered around her eyes. She bit her lip while gritting her teeth.

 Chapter 390 - I Will Show You The Truth

    <h4>Chapter 390 - I Will Show You The Truth</h4>


    ¡°... What the hell just happened?¡± Cha Yeon-Joo muttered.


    Proserpine had appeared and then disappeared in a sh, Lilith had revealed her true form for the very first time, and Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s fetish that he had been hiding all this time had been exposed. Yeon-Joo¡¯s head was hurting from overload.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not into tentacles.¡± Kang-Woo flicked the panicking Yeon-Joo on the forehead.


    ¡°Ack!¡± Yeon-Joo shouted while gripping her forehead.


    Kang-Woo ignored her and stared at the area where Proserpine had disappeared from.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t know what she was thinking to confront me like this, but...¡¯</i>


    It was great for him.


    <i>¡®Even if it was a clone, a part of it must have been connected to her main body to an extent for her to be able to control it.¡¯</i>


    It was the same concept as radio waves. Kang-Woo ced his hand on top of the area where the ck tentacles had melted down. He could feel traces of Proserpine¡¯s demonic energy. He smiled.


    <i>¡®This is more than enough of what I need to reverse track Proserpine¡¯s location.¡¯</i>


    Of course, it would be impossible within normal standards. Proserpine specialized in nonbat magic like Lilith, and she had perfectly prepared for the possibility of being reverse-tracked. However...


    <i>¡®I can do it.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s level of demonic energy control was far above logical limits. No matter how thoroughly she had prepared to conceal her whereabouts, as long as she had shown herself to him, it would be impossible for her to avoid his trace.


    <i>¡®Rather, her preparations have made it easier for me.¡¯</i>


    Proserpine was likely thinking that there was no way Kang-Woo would be able to trace her, which was good for him. Having the upper hand in information meant that he would have the initiative. Considering how important it was to possess the initiative inbat, Proserpine¡¯s error had granted Kang-Woo a priceless chance.


    ¡°... North.¡±


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his eyes. The demonic energy connected via Proserpine¡¯s clone was pointing north, at an area not far from Sant¡¯Angelo.


    <i>¡®They¡¯ve been right under our noses.¡¯</i>


    He had never expected them to have been hiding out near the stronghold of the angels. The flow of demonic energy was suddenly cut off at a certain point. The trace of demonic energy disappeared as if space itself had been severed.


    <i>¡®Tch. A barrier, eh?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and took his hand off the ground. He had reverse-tracked demonic energy the length of about half of the entire continent, but he was not tired in the slightest.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s a bit of a problem.¡¯</i>


    The fact that he had no idea what the area being protected by a barrier was like inside was fairly bothersome. It waspletely different from when Kang-Woo had faced the Constetions of Evil at the imperial pce; the enemies had invaded his home turf back then, but this was theplete opposite. He needed more information.


    <i>¡®It would be difficult to ambush if the area is protected by a barrier that severs space itself.¡¯</i>


    Although Kang-Woo had the initiative, he would not be able to ambush them.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± He crossed his arms and fell into thought.


    Kang-Woo wanted to reach his limits and feel stimtion. The desire to devour the man known as the Constetion of Despair right this second was making him restless.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    That did not mean that he could barge into enemy lines with no n at all. Wanting to feel stimtion and acting recklessly werepletely different things.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll have to make a stage where I can fight him to my heart¡¯s content.¡¯</i>


    Everything else would only be a nuisance to him.


    <i>¡®I need bait that will allow me to figure out the extent of their forces.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo needed a scout of sorts. It was easier said than done; if they were too weak, they would not even be able to figure out the extent of the enemy¡¯s forces. He thought of Kim Si-Hun as the perfect candidate, but he did not want to use Si-Hun as bait. He could not use Vernaak¡¯s undead demonic beast army either since their numbers had diminished severely after being used for the imperial pce attack.


    <i>¡®... Maybe the angels.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could not think of anyone better. He turned around after organizing his thoughts and saw Lilith, who was sulking after returning to her human form, Yeon-Joo, who was staring at him with conflicting thoughts, and...


    ¡°Darling?¡± Kang-Woo called.


    ¡°Ah, yes?¡± Han Seol-Ah, who had been mumbling something with her head down, looked up. She approached Kang-Woo while smiling as kindly as usual. ¡°What a strange woman she was. There¡¯s no way you would be seduced by another woman, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re right about that.¡±


    <i>¡®Especially if that woman is a tentacle monster.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hehe. Right?¡± Seol-Ah hugged Kang-Woo tightly with a smile.


    Kang-Woo smirked and turned to Lilith. ¡°Lilith. I found their whereabouts.¡±


    ¡°Did you track her using the trace she left behind?¡± Lilith asked with shining eyes.


    Kang-Woo nodded.


    ¡°What should we do? Should I direct my informationwork there? Or should I go there to investigate myself?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°No, it would be pointless. The ce is protected by such a powerful barrier that its interior can¡¯t be investigated.¡±


    The barrier was powerful enough to sever space itself, so it was far too dangerous even for Lilith to investigate inside.


    ¡°Then...¡± Lilith slurred.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going to Sant¡¯Angelo for a bit.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± Lilith expressed and then nodded with a wide smile. She seemed to have figured out Kang-Woo¡¯s intentions. ¡°I understand. In that case, I will let Balrog and the children know so that they¡¯re ready to depart at a moment¡¯s notice whenever.¡±


    ¡°Make me a Gate that connects to the northern region of the continent first. That¡¯s where they are.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Lilith nodded.


    Kang-Woo separated from Seol-Ah, who was hugging him. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a bit, darling.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Seol-Ah expressed anxiety for a short moment but then nodded. She grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s hand with a worried expression and continued, ¡°Okay, Kang-Woo. In exchange, please promise me that you won¡¯t face the Constetions by yourself this time.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded with a light smile. He had never nned to act alone from the beginning.


    <i>¡®After all, I doubt there would be only Constetions in that barrier.¡¯</i>


    The Constetions of Evil had summoned ancient demonic beasts to attack Sant¡¯Angelo. It was foolish to think that they did not have an army. Kang-Woo neededrades who would be able to get rid of the nuisances so that he would have his alone time with the Constetion of Despair.


    ¡°I promise.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded and turned around. <i>Boom!</i> He jumped into the air and shot toward Sant¡¯Angelo with an explosive sound.


    ***


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Si-Hun panted heavily.


    His body felt heavy as if he was being weighed down by massive boulders. He caught his breath and lifted his head.


    ¡°Huff, huff.¡± Balrog was also panting heavily while drenched in sweat.


    The two of them had been training aggressively since dawn, so they were borderline exhausted.


    ¡°... Let¡¯s stop here for today,¡± Si-Hun suggested.


    ¡°No, not yet.¡± Balrog shook his head and stepped forward.


    He lost his bnce and swayed to the side. Seeing that, Si-Hun slowly shook his head.


    ¡°We can¡¯t do anymore. You know that.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Balrog remained silent.


    He copsed to the ground and slowly caught his breath. It looked like he was trying to train some more after taking a short break.


    ¡°Balr¡ª¡± Si-Hun was about to call Balrog to say something, but stopped himself and turned away from him.


    <i>¡®I wonder if hyung-nim is back?¡¯</i>


    He had heard that Kang-Woo had gone to a remote mountain to train how to use Divinity. Si-Hun wiped off his sweat with a towel and gulped down some water.


    ¡°Kaaah.¡±


    There was nothing more refreshing than a cold ss of water after training all day from dawn.


    ¡°...¡±


    However, that refreshing feeling onlysted for a moment. Si-Hun¡¯s expression turned grim again. He looked down at his hands.


    <i>¡®I wonder when I¡¯ll be able to catch up to hyung-nim?¡¯</i>


    No, that was not the problem; Si-Hun at least wanted to be able to reach even a fraction of Kang-Woo¡¯s strength.


    ¡°Hyung...¡±


    Si-Hun thought of Kang-Woo. A sense of vanity, as if he was trying to take hold of the shining sun, swept over him.


    ¡°No.¡±


    Si-Hun shook his head. He shouldn¡¯t be having such weak thoughts.


    <i>¡®I should be thinking of how I can lessen his burdens even a little.¡¯</i>


    The weight on Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulders had likely gotten even heavier after bing the God of Splendor. Considering that fact, getting sad just because it was getting harder to catch up to him was ridiculous.


    <i>¡®After all he¡¯s done for me...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had saved him. Si-Hun, who had been saved from a hellish cycle akin to a swamp he could never escape from, had received so much from Kang-Woo that he couldn¡¯t dare to name them all.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun smiled as he recalled what Kang-Woo had said to him a while ago.


    <i>¡°Thanks for staying as my little brother.¡±</i>


    Those words lit up his world which had been shrouded in darkness formed by his horrendous trauma. Kang-Woo might not have meant anything much by it, but it had been nothing short of a saving grace to Si-Hun.


    ¡°... I guess I¡¯ll go see hyung.¡±


    Si-Hun smiled faintly. He wanted to see Kang-Woo after recalling those words. Just then...


    ¡°You must be Tian Taihuang¡¯s vessel.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    Si-Hun suddenly heard a voice. He summoned the holy sword and quickly turned around.


    ¡°Who...?¡± Si-Hun slurred.


    He was a middle-aged man who had a diagonal sh scar across his expressionless face. The man disappeared as he shed the air with his sword shining dark blue.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    Si-Hun was blown back. Tai Wuji caught up to him in a sh and swung his sword.


    <i>¡®Heavenly Dragon Rampage.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji had no intention of taking his time; if he took more than the necessary time, the monster woulde here.


    <i>aang¡ª!</i>


    Sparks flew as their swords crossed. Si-Hun fixed his broken stance and blocked all of Tai Wuji¡¯s strikes.


    ¡°H-Heavenly Dragon... Sword Technique?¡± Si-Hun stared at Tai Wuji in shock.


    The swordsmanship of the man was no doubt the martial art of the Martial God. Tai Wuji¡¯s eyes widened as he stared at Si-Hun, who had blocked all of his attacks.


    ¡°... No, it would not be apt to simply call you a vessel.¡±


    Tai Wuji scanned Si-Hun from top to bottom with shining eyes. The man in front of him was by no means a mere vessel for Tian Taihuang¡¯s soul.


    ¡°You may be able to acquire Deific Essence within ten... no, five years.¡±


    It was shocking. Even Tian Taihuang, one with talent blessed by the heavens, had taken over a hundred years to acquire Deific Essence despite Tai Wuji having taught him himself.


    <i>¡®...¡¯</i>


    A miniscule amount of desire arose from his heart devoid of emotions. It was a desire not of the Heavenly Dragon nor the Constetion of Despair, but simply one of a martial artist.


    <i>¡®If I raise him right...¡¯</i>


    The human might be able to reach heights that not even Tai Wuji could dare to reach.


    ¡°...¡±


    Tai Wuji cut off such thoughts. He was no longer the Heavenly Dragon; he was the Constetion of Despair that had risen from the dead via the power of Demon God Bauli. Striking a blow on the monster¡¯s mind by using Kim Si-Hun was of greater priority.


    <i>¡®I was nning on taking his head, but...¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji narrowed his eyes. He had sensed a very miniscule anomaly within Si-Hun¡¯s Qi when they had crossed swords.


    <i>¡®He has demonic energy.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji could feel the demonic energy that he felt when he faced the monster.


    <i>¡®... Could it be?¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji¡¯s eyes sank. Si-Hun gripped his sword anxiously while Tai Wuji was deep in thought.


    ¡°... Shit.¡±


    They had not even crossed swords for one second, but Si-Hun was sure of it.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t win.¡¯</i>


    The opponent was far too monstrous for him to handle.


    <i>¡®I have to call hyung.¡¯</i>


    There was no one but Kang-Woo who would be able to face the man in front of him. Si-Hun reached for themunication device in his pocket.


    ¡°I see,¡± Tai Wuji remarked. ¡°You weren¡¯t just a vessel, but that monster¡¯s puppet.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    Si-Hun could not understand what the middle-aged man was talking about. Then, Tai Wuji appeared in front of him in a sh and grabbed his neck.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡± Si-Hun grimaced.


    Tai Wuji ced his hand on Si-Hun¡¯s heart.


    ¡°What... are...¡± Si-Hun stared at him as his eyes shook.


    ¡°I will show you the truth,¡± said Tai Wuji in a low voice.


    And then...


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    Si-Hun¡¯s eyes widened.


    <i>¡°We¡¯ll be very good allies.¡±</i>


    Si-Hun saw a brightly smiling young man. He was all too familiar with that face.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    The memory that had been shrouded in darkness was brought to the light.

 Chapter 391 - Found You

    <h4>Chapter 391 - Found You</h4>


    ¡°Kang-Woo!¡± A blue-haired boy happily ran over as soon as Oh Kang-Woo arrived in Sant¡¯Angelo.


    Kang-Woo greeted Uriel with a smile. ¡°Have you been well?¡±


    Uriel shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s been a bit hectic because of the damage we suffered back then.¡±


    He was referring to the attack on Sant¡¯Angelo by Lucifer, the Lord of the Flies.


    Uriel looked back at Sant¡¯Angelo in sorrow and then turned to look up at Kang-Woo to ask, ¡°Come to think of it, I heard the news. You fought against a Constetion of Evil all on your own, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it just happened.¡±


    ¡°Just happened, my ass! What if I lost even...¡±


    Uriel lowered his head while biting his lip. He thought about Raphael, who had been corrupted at the hands of Rakiel, the Constetion of Corruption. Kang-Woo smiled faintly in silence.


    Uriel looked up and asked, ¡°Oh, and I heard that you had acquired Deific Essence. Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°A-A human who isn¡¯t even an incarnation acquired Deific Essence...¡± Uriel touched Kang-Woo all over in disbelief. ¡°What''s your Deific Name?¡±


    ¡°God of Splendor.¡±


    ¡°Hehe. It suits you.¡± Uriel nodded while grinning.


    Kang-Woo had been chosen as the Protector of Light by Gaia herself. There was no better name than <i>God of Splendor</i> for him.


    ¡°That¡¯s Oh Kang-Woo?¡± a woman asked.


    Kang-Woo turned to the source of the voice to see a blonde woman whom angel wings could not suit any better. She had eight wings on her back, just like Uriel. The woman chugged a bottle of alcohol while walking Kang-Woo¡¯s way. She reeked of alcohol.


    ¡°Gabriel,¡± Uriel muttered.


    ¡°Hihi. I was wondering who you were chatting away so happily with, but he¡¯s rather ordinary,¡± Gabriel said as she took out a rectangr box from her pocket.


    Inside the box was a long pipe. She stuffed tobo leaves into the pipe and lit it.


    ¡°Fuuu, haaa. Dayum, that¡¯s nice.¡±


    Kang-Woo stared dumbfoundedly at the woman with a bottle of alcohol in one hand and a pipe in the other.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s supposed to be an angel? I mean, I couldn¡¯t care less if she wants to drink and smoke, but you should at least keep up appearances.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. It felt weird to see a woman with looks far surpassing Han Seol-Ah leisurely enjoying alcohol and tobo.


    <i>¡®Well, she¡¯s at least better than Raphael and Michael.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo preferred the easygoing Gabriel far more than the overly serious Raphael or the excessively courteous Michael.


    He slightly turned his head toward Gabriel and replied, ¡°Aren¡¯t I at least better than ordinary?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Gabriel¡¯s eyes widened and then burst intoughter. ¡°Hahaha! Yeah, I guess you do look like a bit of a scumbag!¡±


    ¡°Jeez, I don¡¯t think you should say that to someone you just met.¡±


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t sweat the small stuff. Want a drink?¡±


    ¡°Give it here.¡± Kang-Woo gulped down the bottle that Gabriel handed him. ¡°Pfft!!¡± Kang-Woo spat it right out. ¡°What the fuck?¡±


    <i>¡®This isn¡¯t drinking alcohol.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned and looked at Gabriel, who was bursting withughter.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit strong,¡± she remarked.


    ¡°How strong?¡± he asked.


    ¡°96%.¡±


    ¡°Are your taste buds nonexistent?¡±


    <i>¡®That¡¯s more than most rubbing alcohol.¡¯</i>


    Gabriel sucked on her pipe again afterughing.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this your first time meeting each other?¡± Uriel said as he stared at the two of them while dumbfounded.


    They were getting along very well despite this being their first time meeting. Kang-Woo turned around and walked past Gabriel.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Lord Michael?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Mm. He¡¯s a bit busy right now... Oh,e to think of it, you should know about it too, so this is perfect timing,¡± Uriel stated.


    ¡°Know about what?¡±


    ¡°Just a second. I was nning on contacting you about this.¡±


    Uriel turned around and took out amunication device. Kang-Woo thought that Uriel was going to contact Michael with it, but Uriel turned to Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Lord Michael said that he would take this opportunity to introduce you to them,¡± he remarked.


    ¡°To whom?¡±


    ¡°The incarnations.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes narrowed. He knew what incarnations were, but the problem was the timing of their appearance.


    ¡°Why incarnations all of a sudden?¡± he asked.


    ¡°The gods made incarnations in bulk this time.¡±


    <i>¡®I guess it wasn¡¯t just Iris.¡¯</i>


    It meant that just like Iris was being made into an incarnation for a high elf to manifest into the physical world, the other gods had also made incarnations.


    <i>¡®I pretty much understand the situation, but...¡¯</i>


    Unlike Kang-Woo, the gods were unable to use their power as they liked because they were bound by the System¡¯s restrictions. The only way for them to influence the physical world was to make incarnations and apostles. To make a simpleparison, it was like rerouting one¡¯s IP to bypass firewalls. Just like how one¡¯s inte speed was slowed after bouncing one¡¯s IP, a god manifesting into the physical world through their incarnation considerably restricted their power.


    <i>¡®I heard that it consumes quite a lot of Divinity just to make one apostle.¡¯</i>


    Incarnations and apostles were different in that Deific Essence could be granted to incarnations. For example, Kang-Woo was Gaia¡¯s apostle, while La was Gaia¡¯s incarnation.


    <i>¡®Gods can each only make one incarnation.¡¯</i>


    And once that incarnation died, arge portion of the corresponding god¡¯s Divinity would be lost. Worst-case scenario, their Deific Essence rank would be lowered, or it could be annihted.


    <i>¡®The fact that they made incarnations in bulk despite those risks means...¡¯</i>


    The gods were likely trying to intervene in this incident.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t like it.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned. The more the gods interfered, the less he would be able to act to his heart¡¯s content. It was not wee news at all for him since he was desperately anticipating his battle with the Constetions.


    <i>¡®They won¡¯t try to steal my prey, would they?¡¯</i>


    They had better not, since Kang-Woo would kill them even if they were the incarnations of gods.


    ¡°Take me to the incarnations,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Uriel replied.


    Uriel took the lead as Gabriel followed from the back while staring at Kang-Woo with interest.


    <i>Click.</i>


    They entered a meeting room within Sant¡¯Angelo. The meeting room about a thousand square feet wide was quite elegantly designed. As soon as they entered, they caught the attention of everyone in the room. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and scanned everyone in the meeting room.


    <i>¡®There are about thirty of them.¡¯</i>


    If they were all incarnations, then it was a considerablyrge number. Kang-Woo could feel the power of Divinity from every single one of the incarnations wearing various priest garments; they seemed to have been granted Deific Essence from their respective gods.


    Michael, who was among the people in the room, approached Kang-Woo and said to the people, ¡°This is Lady Gaia¡¯s apostle, Oh Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°So that person is Lady Gaia¡¯s apostle.¡±


    The incarnations narrowed their eyes as they scanned Kang-Woo from head to toe. They seemed to be more wary of Kang-Woo than weing him.


    A young man stood up and approached Kang-Woo. He had blond hair, a neat appearance, and seemed very gentle.


    The man extended his hand toward Kang-Woo and said courteously, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Protector of Light. My name is Anduin. I was chosen as the incarnation of Lady Lumeria, the Goddess of Peace, and have been given the great honor of standing against great evil.¡±


    <i>¡®Why are you talking like that? Are you Reynald?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo suppressed his groan. It was far easier to speak toid-back people like Gabriel than some chuunibyou hero like this man. He swallowed such thoughts and lightly bowed.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s nice to meet you too, Sir Anduin. I am Oh Kang-Woo, an apostle of Lady Gaia.¡±


    Anduin looked around for someone; it was not difficult to guess who he was looking for.


    ¡°Si-Hun isn¡¯t here today,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Anduin nodded.


    He did not look disappointed; it seemed he did not particrly want to meet Kim Si-Hun.


    Kang-Woo looked around the meeting room and asked, ¡°Have you all be incarnations recently?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right,¡± Anduin responded. ¡°It was likely after the incorrigible demon Lucifer attacked Sant¡¯Angelo. Lady Lumeria could not stand idly by as the continent was plunged deeper into fear, so she has given me the honor of being her disciple for her to exercise her power as well.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    <i>¡®Thanks for the exposition. Yeah, characters like you are important for the plot. The period is simr to Iris.¡¯</i>


    However, Iris was still in bed without having be an incarnation yet.


    <i>¡®Maybe it¡¯s because of the difference in Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    It was either because the Deific Essence of the high elf trying to manifest through Iris was considerably high-ranked, or because the Deific Essence of the gods manifesting through Anduin and the other incarnations was low-ranked. It might also be both.


    ¡°We have decided to form an organization that we have named <i>Godly Pantheon</i>, its source purpose being to eradicate the demons threatening the continent per the will of the gods.¡±


    <i>¡®Godly Pantheon, huh?¡¯</i>


    It was simr to Guardians, although the two organizations were different in that they served different gods.


    <i>¡®I wonder if it will go well?¡¯</i>


    Although Aernor was polytheistic, it seemed difficult to run an organization of people that each served different gods. Kang-Woo quickly scanned the thirty incarnations; they did not seem in disagreement with joining the organization known as Godly Pantheon.


    <i>¡®Well, regardless...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t care less as long as they didn¡¯t meddle with his n.


    ¡°And with that said...¡± Anduin bowed deeply. ¡°Thank you for everything you¡¯ve done thus far, Gaia¡¯s apostle.¡±


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion. It was as if he was being told to clock out for the day since he was finished with his work. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean...¡±


    Anduin continued firmly, ¡°Even if the continent is in grave danger, we cannot entrust the fate of Aernor in the hands of a goddess of another world. We will fight with our strength from here on out. We would like to ask you and Sir Kim Si-Hun to step back.¡±


    The thirty incarnations drew out their Divinity as if they had prepared for this beforehand. They were trying to intimidate him.


    Kang-Woo fell silent. He raised his head and looked up at the meeting room ceiling. The corners of his mouth rose unconsciously.


    <i>¡®I found my scout.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 392 - There’s No Need To Lie

    <h4>Chapter 392 - There¡¯s No Need To Lie</h4>


    ¡°We¡¯re sorry to have ced such a heavy burden on you all this time.¡± Anduin bowed deeply again.


    Oh Kang-Woo smiled.


    <i>¡®I see how it is.¡¯</i>


    He more or less got an idea about why they were acting like this all of a sudden, as well as why the gods had made incarnations while taking the risk of their Deific Essence being demoted or annihted, and why all the incarnations that served different gods had rallied together.


    <i>¡®Because their prey is about to be stolen from them.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had orchestrated everything so that Kim Si-Hun could be the hero of the continent. Si-Hun¡¯s status in Aernor likely could not be tolerated by the gods or the apostles that served them.


    <i>¡®For example...¡¯</i>


    How would the Korean public react to a crime that could not be resolved by the Korean police, being resolved with ease by foreign police authorities?


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no need to even think about it.¡¯</i>


    The public would naturally curse the ipetence of the Korean police and demand reform, which was exactly what was happening right now in Aernor.


    The churches, which had been raising taxes from the people with excuses that they would save the continent from the hands of demons, had not been able to do a single thing against Lucifer¡¯s evildoings. It was only natural since everything had been nned by Kang-Woo. Si-Hun had appeared and resolved everything before they even had a chance to resolve anything.


    As a result, Si-Hun had gained fame far surpassing that of any church. The more Si-Hun¡¯s fame grew, so did the distrust of the people toward the churches. The people would naturally ce more faith in the hero who was saving them from real danger than the ipetent gods who weren¡¯t doing anything.


    <i>¡®Can¡¯t entrust the fate of Aernor in the hands of a goddess of another world, huh?¡¯</i>


    It was absolute horseshit. They simply did not want the power that they had amassed so far to disappear. Hence, they joined forces to chase away the outsider who was a threat to their power.


    Kang-Woo softly chuckled. Even in the despairing situation of Lucifer¡¯s advent and the unsealing of the Constetions of Evil, desire did not stop. They were acting exactly like demons to the point that Kang-Woo thought humans, gods, and demons were not so different after all.


    <i>¡®That aside, I didn¡¯t expect the gods to be this assertive.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo tilted his head. Making an incarnation was far more dangerous than it sounded. The god¡¯s Deific Essence could be demoted in rank or even be annihted just from the incarnation¡¯s death. Despite that, did the gods have a reason to let the churches keep their power while taking such risks?


    <i>¡®To protect the world from copse?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head. It was far too optimistic of a thought. He continued to think calmly. Why were the gods so afraid of the copse in the first ce?


    <i>¡®Is Deific Essence... rted to faith?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had thought of Deific Essence simply as a great power given by the Titans. After all, most gods had been born with Deific Essence given to them by the Titans; it was not something gained through religious faith. Even Kang-Woo had acquired Deific Essence without anyone worshiping him religiously.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m not sure.¡¯</i>


    Even if he was the God of Splendor, he did not have any apostles or a religious organization worshiping him. He had simply been given the right to control the unorthodox power known as Divinity.


    <i>¡®In any case...¡¯</i>


    What was important was that the gods were backing the Godly Pantheon to the point that they had taken risks to make incarnations and that they were also trying to exclude Kang-Woo and Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®This is...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled as his eyes gleamed like that of a starved beast.


    <i>¡®Very good.¡¯</i>


    He had been searching for the perfect scout. Although they were not quite up to par, since they could use Divinity because they were incarnations, they still qualified as scouts.


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about?!¡± Uriel red at Anduin. ¡°You¡¯re going to do as you like when we should all be joining forces?¡±


    Sparks crackled from Uriel¡¯s soaring hair. He slowly walked toward Anduin while exuding a ferocious aura.


    ¡°Uriel.¡± Michael extended his hand to stop Uriel. ¡°Calm down.¡±


    ¡°B-But...!¡±


    Uriel bit his lip in frustration and stared daggers at Anduin. Michael pulled Uriel back by the shoulder and then looked at Anduin and the other incarnations with sunken eyes.


    ¡°Is that truly what the Godly Pantheon believes?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes, it is.¡± Anduin nodded without hesitation.


    Michael slightly frowned and then nced toward Kang-Woo, who was also staring at Anduin in perplexity.


    ¡°... Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo sighed. He nodded as if it couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°I guess we have no choice if that is the will of the gods. I can¡¯t deny that we are outsiders.¡±


    ¡°We hope you don¡¯t take this personally. The decision has been made for both you and Sir Kim Si-Hun¡¯s sakes. We have made you two... carry far too heavy of a burden on your shoulders.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Kang-Woo nodded and continued with a smile, ¡°I am relieved to see that so many incarnations have gathered. With this, I think we can entrust our mission to you all.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. I appreciate your understanding.¡±


    Anduin extended his hand toward Kang-Woo with a smile. Kang-Woo shook Anduin¡¯s hand and smiled brightly.


    ¡°Oh, right,¡± Kang-Woo remarked. ¡°Come to think of it... I happened to obtain information about where the forces of evil are hiding.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°I-Is that true?¡±


    Anduin and Michael asked with their eyes widened. Michael, who had been searching fervently for the forces of evil after Lucifer stole the Demon God¡¯s legacy kept in Sant¡¯Angelo, was especially shocked.


    Kang-Woo nodded. ¡°I was able to figure out their location while fighting the Constetions of Evil not long ago.¡±


    ¡°Wha...¡±


    ¡°Are the forces of evil unaware of this?¡± Anduin asked with shining eyes.


    If their enemy was unaware that they possessed this information, they would be able to ambush the enemy while they had their guard down. Ambushes brought about enormous strategic benefits to the point that they made it possible to emerge victorious over enemies three times asrge in number. Anduin, who had experience fighting demons as a member of a church, was well aware of this.


    Kang-Woo nodded. He continued calmly, ¡°Yes, they are unaware. However, it is enemy lines. You should not approach it hastily.¡±


    Michael gulped. ¡°Kang-Woo is right. We should dispatch a survey team to figure out the extent of their forces.¡±


    ¡°There is a possibility that the forces of evil would prepare for an ambush at that rate,¡± Anduin replied as if he were hearing nonsense.


    Michael fell into thought for a moment and then shook his head. ¡°Even so, ambushing the enemy without knowing the extent of their strength is far too reckless.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Anduin¡¯s expression stiffened, but only for a moment. He returned to his usual gentle expression and nodded. ¡°I understand. We will postpone the ambush.¡±


    Anduin stepped back and walked closer to Kang-Woo. ¡°In that case, could you tell us where the forces of evil are located, Protector of Light?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He could feel the desire in Anduin¡¯s eyes. Kang-Woo smiled.


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±


    <i>¡®Of course I will. After all, only then will I be able to use you.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled faintly. There was no question of what decision Anduin would make once Kang-Woo told him where the Constetions were.


    <i>¡®I didn¡¯t lie, okay?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had told the god-honest truth. He had found out where the forces of evil were hiding, the Constetions of Evil had no idea about it, and he had told Anduin that they shouldn¡¯t approach the area hastily.


    <i>¡®But even so... I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll go anyway.¡¯</i>


    After all, it was a great chance for them to retake the faith of the people that had turned to Si-Hun, and to recover the lost power of the churches. Rather, they would be able to obtain glory far more brilliant than before.


    <i>¡®What reason could there possibly be for me to lie?¡¯</i>


    Things would go exactly as Kang-Woo wanted just by telling the truth.


    <i>¡®Well, I guess I didn''t tell them one thing.¡¯</i>


    Their ambush would not work as long as the barrier that severed space itself was up. The concept of an ambush itself was meaningless.


    <i>¡®But I mean... I don¡¯t need to go out of my way to tell them that. Not saying the whole truth doesn¡¯t make it a lie.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo snickered.


    ¡°The forces of evil are located...¡± He pointed out the location where the Constetions of Evil were hiding on the map that he had prepared. ¡°... Here.¡±


    ***


    Kang-Woo positioned himself so that he could look down at a deste valley between two giant mountains.


    ¡°Lilith, are you ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes, almost. I¡¯ll be done in just a bit, my king,¡± Lilith replied as she drew aplicated magic circle on the ground.


    Kang-Woo perched on arge rock and stared at the soldiers of the churches who were heading toward the valley.


    ¡°They sure brought a lot.¡±


    In Aernor, the power of the churches wasparable to that of the emperor. It was only natural; the power of religion was already powerful enough on Earth, where gods had no actual influence, but gods in Aernor exercised their influence through their incarnation and apostles. The existence of gods had already been proven, so no one doubted them.


    <i>¡®But there is a difference between the two worlds in the notion of gods.¡¯</i>


    Gods of Aernor were not considered almighty beings; they were considered more to be powerful superhumans than gods.


    <i>¡®I guess they¡¯re treated more like Greek gods.¡¯</i>


    Regardless...


    ¡°Break the barrier once they get close,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    ¡°Yes, my king,¡± Lilith responded with a smile.


    Since the barrier that the Constetions were hiding within was isting the space within from the rest of the world, there was no normal means to approach or see within it. To instigate a battle between the forces of the churches and the Constetions of Evil, the barrier needed to be destroyed at the perfect timing.


    ¡°My king, are you sure you don¡¯t need <i>Paimon¡¯s Eyes</i>?¡±


    Paimon was one of the demons he had devoured.[1]


    His eyes were very useful, so he had handed them to Lilith to use. Paimon¡¯s Eyes were able to detect traces of demonic energy and quantify the enemy¡¯s forces. It was the perfect item to use at times like this.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Kang-Woo shook his head while smiling. ¡°I¡¯m more urate.¡±


    Although it was a great item to use at times like this, it was no match for Kang-Woo¡¯s capabilities.


    Lilith smiled softly and nodded. ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Okay,e sit if you¡¯re all done. Let¡¯s watch together.¡±


    There was nothing more entertaining than watching a fire or a fight. Kang-Woo looked down at the army advancing to the valley while munching on some popcorn that he had made himself using ingredients simr to corn.


    ¡°Hoho. It¡¯s so nice being alone with you like this, my king.¡±


    Lilith got closer to Kang-Woo while cing her head on his shoulder as if she had no interest in the battle. Kang-Wooughed and turned his head toward the soldiers. They had almost arrived at the valley.


    <i>¡®That should be good.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo ced his feet on the magic circle that Lilith had prepared and drew out enormous amounts of demonic energy.


    <i>Crack.</i>


    Cracks resembling spider webs formed in the air along with the sound of the barrier shattering.


    ¡°Wh-What the¡ª?!¡±


    Kang-Woo could hear Anduin¡¯s voice from a distance. Countless demonic beasts began to pour out from the crack in space, which was getting bigger and bigger. Kang-Woo looked down in amusement at the churches¡¯ soldiers engaging with the demonic beasts.


    <i>¡®Now, kill each other.¡¯</i>


    1. It was written in Chapter 245 that Paimon was one of Kang-Woo¡¯s subordinates in Hell; this will be pending until the author gets back to us. ?

 Chapter 393 - For Aernor

    <h4>Chapter 393 - For Aernor</h4>


    <i>ng! ng! ng!</i>


    ¡°H-Hurry up and heal...!¡±


    ¡°Arghh!¡±


    ¡°H-How did the forces of evil notice our approach?!¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to bother with that!¡±


    Anduin stood at the forefront and swung the rays of light that poured out from both of his hands. The demonic beasts that were rushing toward him were swept into the storm of light imbued with Divinity and were reduced to ashes.


    ¡°All incarnations, scatter and eliminate the demonic beasts!¡±


    Anduin bit his lip as he looked around to see the apostles being ughtered by the demonic beasts pouring out from the Rift.


    <i>¡®How did demonic beastse pouring out at such perfect timing?¡¯</i>


    They were trying to ambush the forces of evil, but they ended up being the ones to be ambushed instead. Anduin clenched his fists and burst the heads of the demonic beasts that were charging at him while roaring. There were far too many demonic beasts for him to focus on resolving the countless questions in his head.


    ¡°Haaaaaaaah!¡± Anduin swung down his mace while shouting.


    Dozens of demonic beasts were blown into the air after getting struck with the mace.


    ***


    ¡°The son of a bitch sure is strong despite looking like a priest,¡± said Oh Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡®Is he some sort of melee priest?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was impressed by Anduin, who was bursting the heads of demonic beasts left and right at the forefront. He had expected Anduin to be a healer or buffer because of his gentle looks and long robe, but he was acting no different from any other warrior.


    ¡°I guess they live up to their title of incarnations. They fight demonic beasts very well,¡± said Lilith as she looked over the battlefield with shining eyes.


    Kang-Woo nodded. He had expected things to turn out this way.


    <i>¡®After all, the incarnations can use Divinity.¡¯</i>


    Although they were not able to use the power to its full extent since their Deific Essence was only borrowed from the gods, it was Divinity nheless. Considering how powerful La had be after Gaia recovered a significant portion of her power, it was unthinkable for thirty incarnations to be defeated by such demonic beasts.


    ¡°Fights sure are fun to watch,¡± Kang-Woo said leisurely.


    <i>Crunch</i>. He looked down at the battlefield excitedly while munching on a fistful of popcorn.


    ¡°Ah, you shouldn¡¯t be doing that,¡± Kang-Woo mumbled in frustration as he watched over Anduin and the other incarnations. ¡°Ah, ah! What the hell is that son of a bitch doing?¡±


    One of the incarnations had advanced too deep into enemy lines and had gotten isted from the rest. An enormous number of demonic beasts swarmed the incarnation like hundreds of Japanese honeybees attacking a giant ho.


    Demonic beasts invaded the formation of the churches¡¯ army through the vacancy of the incarnation. Another incarnation tried to fill that vacancy, but they ended up getting isted from the group as well. The demonic beasts that had fallen back due to Anduin¡¯s attacks began to attack ferociously again.


    ¡°Sheesh, I could do better than that.¡±


    Kang-Woo was backseating while clicking his tongue as he stared at the fumbling incarnations that weren¡¯t even able to properly use such a broken power like Divinity. He looked exactly like a middle-aged man watching a ser game from his couch and berating the yers.


    Lilith lightly giggled while covering her mouth. ¡°Will you participate?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s a hassle.¡±


    Kang-Woo scanned the demonic beasts uninterestedly. They certainly were powerful enough to be able to inhabit the Ninth Hell, but they were no longer appetizing enough for Kang-Woo, who had acquired Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®Rather, I would get even more hungry if I eat those small fry.¡¯</i>


    Those demonic beasts were like konjac jelly with almost no caloric value. Eating such things when his hunger and desire were at their peak would only sour his mood.


    ¡°That aside...¡± Kang-Woo looked down at the battle with sunken eyes. ¡°How did they summon that many demonic beasts?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t just their numbers; every one of them was on the strong side even among the demonic beasts of the Ninth Hell. There were easily over ten thousand of them, possibly even a hundred thousand. Such arge number of demonic beasts was hard to see even in the Ninth Hell.


    <i>¡®Did they mass-breed demonic beasts or something?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder. It was possible since demonic beasts had high reproductive potential, unlike demons.


    <i>¡®But they wouldn¡¯t have been easy to control.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he stared at the demonic beasts. To mass-breed demonic beasts, they would have to be gathered into one area like fish in a tank and prompted to breed. Not even Kang-Woo would be able to perfectly control demonic beasts, monsters with only killing and madness in their minds.


    <i>¡®Maybe one of the Constetions is specialized in controlling demonic beasts.¡¯</i>


    It would have been highly difficult to procure this many demonic beasts if that were not the case.


    An enormous amount of energy spread from Kang-Woo¡¯s feet to the ground around him.


    <i>¡®Authority of the Beholder.¡¯</i>


    The entire valley was drawn within his head as if he had gained a third eye on his forehead. He could vividly see the churches¡¯ army fighting the demonic beasts and hear Anduin¡¯s bellows. Kang-Woo was not interested in the soldiers; he focused his senses past the crack in the barrier that had formed in the air. He could feel the demonic beasts that were crouching within the barrier.


    <i>¡®There are ancient demonic beasts as well.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had seen the ancient demonic beasts when Sant¡¯Angelo had been attacked. He could see themmanding the hundreds of thousands of unintelligent demonic beasts.


    <i>¡®It seems I made the right choice not to charge in blind.¡¯</i>


    The forces of the Constetions of Evil were muchrger than Kang-Woo had expected. Although numbers were of no consequence to him considering how powerful he had be, it would certainly be an annoyance; it would be like having a bunch of flies flying around him.


    <i>¡®The nuisance will have to be cleaned up.¡¯</i>


    As for who would be cleaning them up, the soldiers of the churches would honorably sacrifice themselves for the task. If any remained, Balrog and his otherrades would finish them off.


    <i>¡®Once the flies are disposed of, only the Constetions will remain.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled widely. <i>Boom, boom.</i> His heart beat strongly. He could imagine the Constetion of Despair, who was likely watching over the battlefield from across the crack in the barrier.


    He suppressed the impulse to storm in through the crack right this second. His hunger and thirst were so powerful that they were on the verge of overpowering him. He gulped to quell his overflowing desire.


    ¡°But aren¡¯t the incarnations being pushed back way too easily?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll say. The Constetions haven¡¯t evene out yet. This won¡¯t do.¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue as he looked down at the soldiers being pushed back.


    He had more or less figured out the extent of the Constetions¡¯ forces, but the soldiers needed to do more for him; they needed to reduce the demonic beast army¡¯s numbers as much as possible.


    <i>¡®I guess their Deific Essences are low in rank.¡¯</i>


    The difference between them and La was far toorge that it wasughable to even call them incarnations.


    ¡°At least pull your weight as incarnations,¡± Kang-Woo muttered as he frowned in disappointment.


    Even if they were incarnations of lower gods, he couldn¡¯t believe that they were being pushed back by mere demonic beasts when they were able to use the broken power known as Divinity.


    ¡°I can certainly tell that it hasn¡¯t been very long since they¡¯ve been chosen as incarnations,¡± Lilith mentioned.


    ¡°There¡¯s that too, but the fact that they can¡¯t work together is the bigger issue.¡±


    Despite the grandiose name of their organization Godly Pantheon, it was ultimately made up of those who believed in different gods. The incarnations continued to be isted from the group after not following Anduin¡¯s orders, and the apostles were not able to prepare countermeasures for the demonic beasts¡¯ attacks because they were all fighting as if it were a free-for-all. Poor teamwork was worse than fighting by oneself.


    Kang-Woo shook his head in disappointment. ¡°I need them to at least draw out the Constetions.¡±


    The key to this n was for him to confirm how many more Constetions there were besides the Constetion of Despair and Proserpine. However, the incarnations were falling apart so easily that Kang-Woo was worried that the battle would be over before the Constetions even showed up.


    ¡°Shall we intervene?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    Kang-Woo looked down at the battlefield while deep in thought. At this rate, the Constetions would note out unless he were to take action.


    <i>Boom¡ª!!</i>


    Just then, a massive explosion rang out.


    ¡°Haaaaaaaap!!¡±


    The hundreds of demonic beasts surrounding Anduin were caught in the giant burst of light and turned to ash. Anduin smashed his mace into the ground and panted heavily.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa, haaa.¡±


    The battle was taking a turn for the worse. Anduin looked toward the apostles who were being toyed with by the demonic beasts. zing emotions surged from his heart.


    ¡°We cannot...¡± Anduin continued faintly with his head lowered. ¡°We cannot... fall here.¡±


    ¡°Sir Anduin...¡± The expressions of the incarnations who heard him stiffened.


    Heavy silence befell the battlefield momentarily. Anduin pulled himself up while clenching his mace as his legs trembled.


    ¡°If we were to fall here, the powerless people of the continent would be the next victims,¡± Anduin stated with a trembling voice.


    He had indeed been greedy. He could not bear the cold gazes of the people toward the church as Kim Si-Hun continued to perform great aplishments. Thinking about it now, he realized that he had made a truly idiotic choice. He should have attacked the enemy base with the help of Oh Kang-Woo, Kim Si-Hun, and the angels.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s... toote for regret.¡¯</i>


    Anduin shut his eyes tight. He knew that it was toote and that he had made the wrong choice. However...


    <i>¡®I need to protect them.¡¯</i>


    He bit his lip to the point that it bled. He could not turn his back and run, since the fate of the continent was on his shoulders. He was the hope of countless lives.


    ¡°O Goddess of Peace, Lumeria,¡± Anduin prayed sincerely as he kneeled and sped his hands together. ¡°Grant me the courage to break through the darkness.¡±


    <i>Whoooom.</i>


    Radiant light shone from his body. Enormous energy burst from him.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    Anduin¡¯s eyes widened. He was surging with Lumeria¡¯s power. Anduin, who was now enveloped in light, stood firmly.


    ¡°Sir Anduin...¡±


    ¡°W-Wow...¡±


    Anduin could see the apostles staring at him wide-eyed. He gripped his mace to the point that it could break. He knew that although they hade together as one through the Godly Pantheon, they were not able to work together since they each served different gods.


    ¡°We have each sworn our loyalty to different gods,¡± he stated.


    ¡°...¡± The incarnations remained silent.


    ¡°However!¡±


    <i>Boom! </i>Anduin stomped on the ground as blinding light enveloped him.


    ¡°We share amon goal: to save the continent and to purge evil from this world. Everyone... Please. Please work together as one,¡± Anduin pleaded.


    The incarnations looked at each other and then lowered their heads.


    ¡°I apologize, Father Anduin.¡±


    ¡°... We seemed to have forgotten the most important thing.¡±


    The incarnations teared up. Anduin could feel their overflowing emotions. He gripped his mace tight and turned around.


    ¡°One for all, all for one!¡± Anduin raised his mace high. ¡°Fight!¡±


    His bellow echoed throughout the battlefield bursting with the forces of evil.


    ¡°For Aernor!¡±


    Anduin charged at the horde of demonic beasts while exuding blinding light.


    ¡°Yeaaaahhhh!!¡±


    At this moment, the apostles who each served different gods joined as one.

 Chapter 394 - The Light Will Burn You

    <h4>Chapter 394 - The Light Will Burn You</h4>


    ¡°For Aernorrrr!¡±


    The forces of the churches wiped out the demonic beasts with Anduin at the forefront. A wave of brilliant light swept across the battlefield.


    Anduin lifted his mace high. ¡°Die, depraved forces of evil!¡±


    He swung down his mace as he bellowed. The shining mace split the earth, setting the hundreds of demonic beasts alight in its path.


    ¡°Yeaaaahhhh!!¡± The apostles were filled with morale as they watched Anduin wiping out hundreds of demonic beasts with one strike.


    They continued their charge at an overwhelming pace.


    ¡°Haaaaahh!!¡±


    Countless demonic beasts turned into ash every time Anduin swung his mace.


    <i>¡®With this power... With this great power granted to me by Lumeria... I¡¯ll be able to protect them.¡¯</i>


    He would be able to protect the people of the continent suffering in fear from the schemes of the forces of evil. Anduin imagined himself being praised as a hero as he killed the demonic beasts. He would be even more popr than Kim Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®No, this isn¡¯t the time.¡¯</i>


    Anduin shook his head. It was not the time to think about such pointless things. He had already made one terrible choice.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s still not toote.¡¯</i>


    This was his chance to make up for the error he had made, blinded by his desire and temptation. Anduin swung his mace at the forces of evil as his eyes shone brightly.


    ¡°L-Lady Lumeria has manifested...¡±


    ¡°The Goddess of Peace has manifested.¡±


    The apostles of the Church of Lumeria gasped as they watched the shining Anduin wiping out the demonic beasts.


    ¡°...¡±


    The incarnations of the other churches clenched their fists in silence, likely having been influenced by Anduin. They looked at each other and then followed after Anduin to charge at the demonic beasts. The demonic beasts that had filled the valley were unable to handle thebined forces of all the churches.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa!¡± Anduin panted heavily.


    He could barely catch his breath; he felt like he was about to copse at any second. His vision blurred, and he was staggering. His condition could not be any worse, but his eyes were gleaming with hope. But then...


    <i>Crack.</i>


    A man walked out from a ck Rift. The middle-aged man with a diagonal sh scar on his face stared expressionlessly at thebined forces of the churches.


    ¡°Tch, what the hell are these?¡±


    ¡°... Incarnations of the gods.¡±


    Said a woman with ck tentacles and a boy with nk eyes as they walked out from behind the man.


    ¡°You¡¯re...¡± Anduin slurred as he stared at the beings that hade out from the Rift.


    His limbs trembled as he suffocated within the energy that they were emitting.


    ¡°Incarnations? Have the gods started to make their move?¡± asked the woman with ck tentacles while frowning, paying no attention to Anduin at all.


    The boy with nk eyes nodded.


    ¡°Jeez, why now of all times? I¡¯ve been busy thinking of a way to appeal myself to my darling.¡±


    The woman with ck tentacles red in displeasure at Anduin, who got goosebumps because of the woman¡¯s hideous looks.


    ¡°Quiet,¡± said the man with the scar.


    The woman simply snorted at his words and asked, ¡°More importantly, what happened with what you want to do? Was it... Tian Taihuang? You said that you were going to meet the human who possesses your disciple¡¯s soul.¡±


    ¡°I told you to be quiet, Proserpine.¡± Tai Wuji red at Proserpine.


    ¡°...¡± Proserpine shrugged and averted her eyes from his gaze.


    Although she didn¡¯t know everything about him despite being fellow Constetions of Evil, she at least knew that she shouldn¡¯t test Tai Wuji¡¯s patience right now.


    ¡°Lumeria¡¯s incarnation.¡± Tai Wuji stared at Anduin with sunken eyes.


    Anduin flinched. He retched while grabbing his chest, having a hard time breathing. He trembled without being able to do anything in the face of unfathomable evil.


    Seeing that, Tai Wuji said expressionlessly, ¡°Pathetic.¡±


    He unsheathed his sword from his waist, and dark blue mes traveled up the de.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh,¡± Anduin muttered in fear.


    He copsed to his knees on the spot. The light of hope in his eyes dyed with despair.


    ***


    ¡°Kurgh! <i>Cough, cough!</i>¡±


    Dark red blood permeated the ground. A blond young man crawled along the valley that had been destroyed as if a natural disaster had passed by. He was Anduin, the incarnation of Lumeria as well as the leader of the Godly Pantheon.


    ¡°Urgh...¡±


    Tears flowed from his eyes. Thebined forces of the churches had been defeated so one-sidedly that it was an understatement to call the power of their enemy overwhelming.


    ¡°H-How can someone be so...¡±


    Anduin lowered his head while biting his lip. It had been an utterly miserable defeat.


    <i>Step, step.</i>


    Just then, he heard footsteps.


    ¡°... Huh?¡± Anduin looked up. He quickly shouted at the young man walking toward him, ¡°S-Sir Oh Kang-Woo! You must be careful! There is a man who possesses unfathomable strength among the forces of¡ª¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Kang-Woo answered with a smile.


    ¡°... Pardon?¡±


    ¡°I saw it all from up there. Dayum, he¡¯s such a delight. He¡¯s... the best,¡± muttered Kang-Woo as his eyes gleamed with madness.


    He exhaled heatedly. He shivered in ecstasy as he recalled the Constetion of Despair wiping out the soldiers of the churches.


    <i>¡®He¡¯s insanely powerful.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo wasn¡¯t even sure that he would be able to defeat him.


    ¡°Ha... Haha,¡± Kang-Wooughed.


    Irresistible desire fired him up.


    ¡°You... were watching...?¡± Anduin asked.


    ¡°Oh, yeah. Thanks, you were a lot of help.¡± Kang-Woo softlyughed and continued, ¡°I was able to find out the extent of the Constetions¡¯ forces, and even managed to confirm a Constetion that I didn¡¯t know about. Not just that, you reduced the number of demonic beasts for us. Man, you went above and beyond.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded consecutively. He had made the right call to use the incarnations as scouts as well as bait. Not only had they allowed Kang-Woo to figure out the extent of the enemy¡¯s forces, but they had also culled a considerable number of the demonic beasts that would have been a nuisance to him.


    ¡°Wh-What are you... talking about?¡± Anduin asked with a trembling voice, unable toprehend what Kang-Woo was saying.


    Kang-Woo looked down at him with a smile. ¡°What do you think I¡¯m talking about?¡±


    ¡°...¡± Silence fell for a few moments. Anduin¡¯s face paled, a thought popping up in his head. ¡°Could it be... you used us... as bait?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Kang-Woo tilted his head. ¡°Pfft, bwehehehehe! What do you mean, bait? You¡¯re the ones who came here on your own. Huh? I told you not toe here hastily, didn¡¯t I? Didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°U-Urgh!!¡± Anduin turned red with fury. ¡°Y-You nned for this to happen from the very beginning!¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled and grabbed Anduin¡¯s head. ¡°That¡¯s not true, is it, my friend?¡±


    ¡°... What?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who nned it all. All I did was give you the information necessary for you to make the choice.¡±


    ¡°Bull! You didn¡¯t say a word about there being this many demonic b¡ª¡±


    ¡°I sure didn¡¯t, because I didn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°All I told you was where the forces of evil were hiding. I¡¯m sure you know this, deep down in your heart.¡± Kang-Woo looked around the valley at the piles of corpses of apostles and incarnations. ¡°You drove everyone here to their deaths of your own ord.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Anduin¡¯s face paled. He shook his head and stuttered, ¡°N-No.¡±


    Kang-Woo cackled. ¡°No, it was your fault,¡± he said firmly to the incarnation who was trying to avert his eyes from the truth. ¡°You killed them all.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Anduin¡¯s teeth cked noisily. ¡°I-I...¡±


    ¡°You realized that you were wrong? You tried to right your wrongs?¡± Kang-Woo lifted the copsed Anduin by his hair. ¡°You think your sins would be forgiven as long as you realize that you were wrongter? Is everything forgiven once you promise yourself that you¡¯ll never do it again after driving your subordinates to their deaths?¡±


    ¡°N-No, I¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, my ass. You heard me and Michael warning you not toe here.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°But you still did regardless, with an entire army behind you, no less.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t force you to. You made the choice. You took the risk and came here to regain the honor of the churches and the trust of the people that had been stolen from you by Kim Si-Hun. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    ¡°...¡± Anduin bit his lip in silence.


    He found Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes, which looked as if they were looking into his soul, very unpleasant.


    ¡°Did you think you would look cool if you risked your lives for the people? Did you think they would revere you?¡±


    ¡°M-My intentions were purely for¡ª¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is that your choices have consequences. Don¡¯t try to cover up your sins with pointless heroics. You killed them. You killed every single person here.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Deathly silence fell. Anduin grabbed his head and trembled.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh,¡± he groaned while grimacing. Transparent tears flowed down his cheeks. ¡°H-Hurghhh.¡±


    ¡°Ahh...¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    <i>¡®You¡¯re making me feel bad, man.¡¯</i>


    Regardless of the process, Anduin had been of much help to him, so Kang-Woo felt bad seeing Anduin crying so miserably.


    <i>¡®You sure have softened, Oh Kang-Woo.¡¯</i>


    He was impressed by himself. Kang-Woo patted Anduin¡¯s shoulder to console him.


    ¡°Come on, man. Don¡¯t cry so much.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°To be honest, it¡¯s not entirely your fault. If you want to get to the nitty-gritty of it, I guess I incited you toe here by hiding the fact that an ambush would be pointless since there was a barrier.¡±


    ¡°... What?¡±


    ¡°Oh, and I was also the one who broke the barrier right when you arrived and caused the demonic beasts to pour out.¡±


    ¡°Y-You...¡±


    ¡°So, you know, cheer up! Don¡¯t be so down since it¡¯s not entirely your fault!¡±


    ¡°Y-You son of a bitch!¡±


    Anduin trembled with his mouth agape. He raised his trembling arm and swung it at Kang-Woo, but it dropped without even reaching him.


    ¡°Hm? The hell? This is the thanks I get after I consoled you since it wasn¡¯t entirely your fault?¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned as if he couldn¡¯t understand. Why was Anduin losing his temper when Kang-Woo consoled him while he was ming himself for the whole thing?


    ¡°A-Aaaahh,¡± Anduin groaned. He coughed up blood as the life in his eyes was slowly dissipating. ¡°Th-The...¡±


    Anduin drew out what remained of his power. He bit his lip and raised his right arm. Radiant light emitted from his hand.


    He said resentfully to the demon wearing human skin in front of him, ¡°The light... will... burn... you.¡±


    Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°The hell are you on about?¡±


    He grabbed Anduin¡¯s shining right hand. Blinding golden light far brighter than Anduin¡¯s light burst out.


    ¡°I am that very light, bro.¡±

 Chapter 395 - It’s Nothing

    <h4>Chapter 395 - It¡¯s Nothing</h4>


    [You have devoured a portion of the Deific Essence of Lumeria, Goddess of Peace.]


    A blue message window popped up. The corpses of the incarnations killed by the Constetion of Despair melted down into the darkness. The Deific Essences of thirty individuals were pushed into the Demonic Sea.


    [Activating the Trait ¡®Deific Essence Usurpation.¡¯]


    [Deific Essence has been promoted from Lower Intermediate-rank to Intermediate-rank.]


    ¡°I guess they were lower gods like I had expected.¡±


    Oh Kang-Woo frowned as he read the message window. He had absorbed thirty Deific Essences, but his rank had only risen to Intermediate-rank. Not only that, but his level cap did not rise either.


    <i>¡®I mean, I¡¯m not surprised.¡¯</i>


    The Deific Essences that incarnations possessed were not the whole Deific Essences of the gods. Kang-Woo should be satisfied with just his Deific Essence rank rising.


    <i>¡®Intermediate, huh?¡¯</i>


    He wondered how high the Constetion of Despair¡¯s Deific Essence rank was.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m sure it¡¯s at least High-rank or above.¡¯</i>


    He might even possess Top-rank Deific Essence like Gaia.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo sighed as his desire squirmed.


    <i>¡®Just a little longer.¡¯</i>


    He had confirmed the enemy¡¯s numbers, and their forces had been reduced significantly as well. He was a little worried about Proserpine and the boy with nk eyes, but he was sure that Kim Si-Hun, Balrog, Han Seol-Ah, and La would be able to take them on. They did not even have to win.


    <i>¡®Holding on until my battle with him ends is more than enough.¡¯</i>


    They should be more than capable of doing that. Kang-Woo looked around the devastated battlefield and then turned around.


    ¡°Lilith,¡± he called.


    ¡°Yes, my king.¡±


    ¡°Gather the others.¡±


    ¡°Will you be attacking right away?¡±


    ¡°After I contact Michael.¡±


    ¡°Mm... Would the angels take action right away?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they would if I tell them that the forces of evil might retreat if we don¡¯t strike now.¡±


    It was more than possible that the Constetions of Evil would change the location of their hideout after being discovered. Since their barrier had been broken, there was no need for them to hide in this valley.


    <i>¡®We have to strike right away.¡¯</i>


    It would be a problem for Kang-Woo as well if they were to run. They needed to attack the Constetions as soon as possible.


    ¡°I understand. I will have them gather in your room.¡±


    Lilith bowed deeply and went into the ck Rift connected directly to Arnan¡¯s imperial pce. Kang-Woo followed behind her and ended up in a familiar VIP room, the room that he was using in the pce.


    <i>¡®Let¡¯s see.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo checked the power of his promoted Deific Essence while Lilith was gathering the party members. Since Divinity was able to mix with any form of energy, it did not take long to check.


    <i>¡®I wonder if I¡¯d be able to face him without opening the Doors if I have Divinity?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and thought about the Constetion of Despair. The man had massacred the incarnations with such power that even the word <i>overwhelming </i>was an understatement. Kang-Woo got chills as he thought about the man¡¯s sword zing with dark blue mes.


    ¡°I would probably...¡±


    Kang-Woo looked up at the ceiling.


    <i>¡®Lose.¡¯</i>


    It was not even a question. It was not even a matter of the difference in their Deific Essence ranks. Even if Kang-Woo possessed Top-rank Deific Essence, he would not be able to defeat the Constetion of Despair; he was just that powerful.


    <i>¡®Martial arts sure is amazing.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had reached extraordinary levels of demonic energy control, but the same could be said for the Constetion of Despair¡¯s stage of martial arts. There was no way for Kang-Woo to face him without opening the Doors.


    <i>¡®No. Even if I open the Doors, I won''t be able to beat him.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo would not lose since he couldn¡¯t die, but he would not be able to win either.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Kang-Wooughed unconsciously.


    He ced his hand on his crazily beating heart. Within it was a ck sea that was struggling to break out into the world at any moment.


    An unbeatable enemy...


    <i>¡®How wonderful is that?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled as excruciating hunger set him aze. It felt as if avish feast that he was not allowed to eat was in front of his eyes.


    <i>¡®What should I do?¡¯</i>


    All sorts of thoughts stormed in his head as he suppressed the desire to rampage to his heart¡¯s content.


    <i>¡®How can I win?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo thought of countless measures, but they were cut down all too easily by the dark blue sword, which only fired up Kang-Woo even more. He continued his thoughts while being set aze by his hunger and the dark blue mes.


    <i>¡®Maybe...¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo looked down at his chest. <i>¡®Maybe...¡¯</i>


    Someone knocked on the door. Kang-Woo ceased his thoughts and turned his head. Hisrades who had been contacted by Lilith entered his room.


    <i>¡®It feels like it¡¯s been a while for some reason.¡¯</i>


    He looked at his party members one by one. He had been busy beyond belief after Proserpine infiltrated the imperial pce as well as the appearance of the Godly Pantheon.


    <i>¡®Darling doesn¡¯t look too good either.¡¯</i>


    Possibly because they hadn¡¯t talked for the past few days, Seol-Ah¡¯s expression was dark, and her face was a little emaciated. She was staring at Kang-Woo with shaking eyes. As Kang-Woo was about to talk to her...


    ¡°Prepare to attack? What are you talking about all of a sudden?!¡± Cha Yeon-Joo¡¯s voice echoed throughout the room.


    The otherrades behind her likely felt the same way; they were just not saying it. Kang-Woo lowered his head in silence. He mmed his hands on the table and pretended to be suppressing his rage.


    ¡°The Godly Pantheon... acted on their own,¡± he said.


    ¡°... What?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    ¡°By Godly Pantheon, do you mean the gathering of the incarnations that you talked about before?¡± La asked.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± Kang-Woo nodded while putting on a distressed expression and clenching his fists. ¡°Back when we met in Sant¡¯Angelo, Lord Michael and I agreed with them that we should attack them after making ample preparations, but the Godly Pantheon ignored that.¡±


    ¡°Meaning...¡±


    ¡°Yes. The soldiers of the churches attacked the base of the forces of evil.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    A heavy silence fell. La trembled subtly and shut her eyes tight as if she didn¡¯t want to imagine it.


    She asked, ¡°The soldiers...¡±


    ¡°They were... wiped out,¡± said Kang-Woo.


    It was like a bolt from the blue. The joy that they had felt when they had heard the news about incarnations bing their allies had been utterly shattered.


    ¡°Wh-What? Those fucking trolls... Why did they charge into enemy lines all by themselves?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    ¡°... I don¡¯t know.¡± Kang-Woo shook his head in confusion. ¡°They surely said during the meeting a few days ago that they would wait until we were ready...¡±


    They felt as if they had been betrayed. No, since the churches had acted on their own after they had agreed to stand by, it was a clear betrayal.


    ¡°Haaa.¡± Yeon-Joo frowned as if she couldn¡¯t believe what she was hearing.


    ¡°Then... What should we do now?¡± Seol-Ah asked seriously, understanding the gravity of the situation.


    ¡°We have no choice but to attack before they run away,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°...¡± La nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right... There¡¯s no other chance than now. We have to attack as quickly as possible before the enemies fully recover from the churches¡¯ attack.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Kang-Woo agreed.


    He liked that he could always get through to La.


    La stood up and took a deep breath in. She drew out her power and stated, ¡°Let¡¯s go right away, Kang-Woo.¡±


    Although it was only a portion, the power of the Top-rank goddess Gaia was nothing to scoff at. Suffocatingly powerful energy surged from La.


    ¡°... Kang-Woo. Since we¡¯re going to enemy lines, will that woman from before be there as well?¡± asked Seol-Ah as she narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°Probably,¡± Kang-Woo answered.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Chilling bloodlust filled Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes momentarily. She asked while touching her lips, ¡°May I fight her on my own?¡±


    ¡°Not on your own.¡± Kang-Woo shook his head firmly.


    Seol-Ah was also able to use Divinity because she had epted Seraph¡¯s soul, but her abilities were specialized toward buffing and healing rather thanbat. Having her fight Proserpine on her own was highly inefficient.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s also dangerous.¡¯</i>


    Even if Proserpine was not specialized inbat, Kang-Woo could not have Seol-Ah fight a Constetion of Evil by herself.


    ¡°Go with La and the others. I¡¯ll leave Lilith inmand. You don¡¯t have to win. Just focus on buying time.¡±


    ¡°With everyone? What about you, then...?¡±


    ¡°I have someone to face,¡± said Kang-Woo calmly.


    Si-Hun, who had been looking at Kang-Woo, flinched.


    ¡°Hm?¡± Kang-Woo turned to Si-Hun while tilting his head. ¡°Is something wrong? You don¡¯t look good at all.¡±


    ¡°Oh...¡± Si-Hun smiled awkwardly.


    As Kang-Woo had said, Si-Hun¡¯s expression was extremely gloomy. Even if he was nervous about facing the Constetions, there was no way that Si-Hun would make such a face. Rather than nervous, it was more apt to say that he looked as if he was in despair.


    ¡°...¡±


    Silence continued. Si-Hun bit his lip as he stared at Kang-Woo. A memory popped up in his head.


    <i>¡°We¡¯ll be very good allies.¡±</i>


    It was a familiar face and voice, but everything about it felt unfamiliar. It even felt grotesque. Si-Hun¡¯s head was spinning as if he felt nauseous.


    ¡°... Hyung... nim.¡±


    Si-Hun¡¯s memories continued. This time, it was of the middle-aged man with a diagonal sh scar across his face.


    The man said expressionlessly, <i>¡°You¡¯ve been deceived by that monster all this time.¡±</i>


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    <i>¡°Everything he has shown you thus far has been nothing but a facade to hide the abominable truth.¡±</i>


    <i>¡®That¡¯s impossible. Why would hyung-nim do such a thing to me?¡¯</i>


    <i>¡°To use you, of course. I¡¯m sure even you realize the extraordinary talent you possess.¡±</i>


    <i>¡®Hyung-nim is strong. There¡¯s no way he would need to use me.¡¯</i>


    <i>¡°I wonder about that? Are those of great wealth ever satisfied with the wealth they have? Desire is endless, especially if that man is a demon in nature.¡±</i>


    <i>¡®Hyung isn¡¯t a demon anymore.¡¯</i>


    <i>¡°Hah, what a funny joke. No one befits the word </i>demon <i>more than that monster.¡±</i>


    <i>¡®Shut up.¡¯</i>


    <i>¡°Will you continue to be deceived by him? Do you n on living as his puppet forever?¡±</i>


    <i>¡®I told you to shut up.¡¯</i>


    <i>¡°I will give you a chance to take your revenge. Soon, that monster wille to face me. When that timees...¡±</i>


    <i>¡®Please, don¡¯t say anything else.¡¯</i>


    <i>¡°Stab him.¡±</i>


    ¡°...¡± Si-Hun stared at Kang-Woo, who was looking at him worriedly.


    His vision blurred. The current Kang-Woo and the Kang-Woo that Si-Hun had seen that night ovepped; they mixed and were squashed.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Si-Hun felt his entire world shaking¡ª no, crumbling. He unconsciously ced his hand on his chest. The memory of the day that Kang-Woo turned Si-Hun into his puppet by cing his hand on Si-Hun¡¯s heart came back to him.


    Si-Hun was able to tell now. The Kang-Woo he had known until now... Everything Kang-Woo had shown him... had all been a lie. He had been used by him all this time.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Si-Hun?¡± called Kang-Woo while frowning at Si-Hun, who was simply staring at him nk-eyed.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Si-Hun smiled as he looked like he would fall apart any second.

 Chapter 396 - Prelude to War

    <h4>Chapter 396 - Prelude to War</h4>


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s depart as soon as I contact the angels. You guys can stand by in front of the Gate,¡± Oh Kang-Woo said as he stood up.


    The party members nodded and left the room.


    ¡°Oh, and Si-Hun,¡± Kang-Woo called Kim Si-Hun, who was about to leave.


    ¡°Y-Yes?¡± Si-Hun stared at Kang-Woo whilepletely flustered.


    His eyes were shaking and his lips were quivering.


    Kang-Woo asked while tilting his head, ¡°I¡¯m not going to eat you up or anything. What¡¯s been with you since earlier?¡±


    ¡°Ah, hahaha. It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m just not feeling very well.¡± Si-Hun scratched his head while smiling awkwardly.


    Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°I guess even you get like that sometimes. Are you nervous?¡±


    ¡°Yes, since we¡¯ll be fighting the Constetions of Evil head-on.¡±


    Kang-Woo put his hand on Si-Hun¡¯s shoulder and patted it lightly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much and lighten up. I¡¯ll protect you when ites down to it.¡±


    Si-Hun remained silent.


    ¡°Come to think of it, you said that people have gathered to join your fight, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± Si-Hun nodded in slight embarrassment.


    After Si-Hun¡¯s name had spread throughout the continent, people who wanted to join the hero¡¯s adventure gathered in the empire. Most of them were swordsmen, but there were many mages, priests, and elementalists as well.


    Kang-Woo had told Si-Hun to choose the most skilled among them and set up a task force simr to the Sirius Corps back on Earth. Although he had been worried that it would be a group of people wanting to y hero, the warriors who had gathered to join Si-Hun¡¯s adventure were more skilled than he had thought. There were even people who were head and shoulders above the rest.


    ¡°Bring them all as well,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°Understood.¡± Si-Hun nodded. He knew that their help was more imperative now than ever. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll be taking my leave, hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Si-Hun bowed and left the room.


    <i>¡®Now, then.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo took out amunication crystal orb. Since he had exined the situation to his party members, it was now time to have the angels participate in the operation. He called Uriel.


    [What¡¯s up, Kang-Woo?] Uriel answered ecstatically.


    Kang-Woo responded as if he was suppressing his rage, ¡°The Godly Pantheon messed up.¡±


    [What?]


    Kang-Woo repeated what he had exined to his party members. Uriel cursed and ran straight to Michael. Kang-Woo ended the call as soon as he got confirmation that the angels would head to the enemy¡¯s base right away as well. All he had left to do now was go to his party members who were waiting for him.


    ¡°My king,¡± Balrog called as soon as Kang-Woo opened the door.


    Kang-Woo turned his head. ¡°Were you waiting for me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why? You should¡¯ve just waited with the others in front of the Gate.¡±


    Balrog remained silent as he stared at Kang-Woo with sunken eyes. He said with a low voice, ¡°Kim Si-Hun is¡ª¡±


    ¡°Balrog,¡± Kang-Woo interjected. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be waiting in front of the Gate?¡±


    Balrog closed his eyes. ¡°You knew.¡±


    Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°It¡¯s hard not to when it¡¯s that obvious.¡±


    He recalled Si-Hun¡¯s expression that had been on the verge of falling apart. There was no way that he wouldn¡¯t know after seeing that.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Kang-Woo feignedughter.


    He had been prepared for this day toe since he knew that it would happen one day.


    <i>¡®The day that everything came undone.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes.


    ¡°What will you do?¡± Balrog asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not gonna do anything,¡± Kang-Woo answered without hesitation.


    Balrog¡¯s eyes widened as if he had not expected that answer. ¡°You will be able to erase his memories if you use the Authority of Subordination again.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Or you could just make him believe that those memories were an illusion. He would believe you without question.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°If even that is unsatisfactory, I believe you could tell him the truth. I believe Kim Si-Hun would underst¡ª¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at Balrog with deeply sunken eyes. Balrog flinched. He could feel the unending abyss within his king¡¯s eyes. It felt as if he was being devoured by the ck sea.


    ¡°Kurgh...¡±


    Balrog could barely breathe. He felt like a colossal energy was weighing down on him. He quickly lowered his head.


    ¡°I... apologize. I was out of line.¡±


    ¡°As long as you know.¡± Kang-Woo softlyughed and drew his energy back in.


    Balrog was able to breathe again. Kang-Woo turned around.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Balrog¡¯s lips quivered as if he wanted to say something, but sighed and stood up. Kang-Woo walked in front of Balrog. He had a bitter taste in his mouth, so bitter that his tongue was numb.


    ***


    A boy with nk eyes on a destend covered in red sand turned his head.


    ¡°He¡¯sing.¡± The boy trembled slightly. ¡°The monster of the Demonic Sea... ising.¡±


    Tai Wuji remained silent.


    He ced one hand on the handle of his sword strapped to his waist, and the other in his pocket to grab the darkness that was squirming as if it was alive.


    Tai Wuji asked as he looked down at the object, ¡°What of our forces?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve been reduced significantly.¡±


    Tai Wuji turned to look at the army of demonic beasts gathered on the red earth. As the boy had said, the numbers of the demonic beasts had been reduced significantlypared to before.


    ¡°Have you still not managed to get in touch with that hunchback?¡± Proserpine asked while biting her lip.


    The boy nodded.


    ¡°Shit. What the hell is that son of a bitch doing?¡± she mumbled while frowning. She turned to Tai Wuji and stated, ¡°Let¡¯s retreat for now. Give me a little more time and I¡¯ll be able to charm that monst¡ª¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Tai Wuji shook his head.


    Proserpine red at him with her eight eyes as her ck tentacles squirmed aggressively. ¡°What? You think I won¡¯t be able to charm him?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean.¡± Tai Wuji looked up in the air. He could see cracks forming on the barrier that they had just repaired. ¡°They¡¯re here.¡±


    <i>Crack!</i>


    Brilliant golden light seeped through the cracks in the barrier. Dozens of Rifts shining with golden light formed in the air, and out of them walked out angels, humans, and an army made up of the retainers of the gods. The first toe out was a boy with blue hair and eight wings.


    ¡°Shit... There¡¯s so goddamn many of them.¡±


    <i>Crackle, crackle!</i>


    The blue-haired boy frowned. Blue electricity sparked from both of his hands.


    ¡°Hihihi. It¡¯s better that way, isn¡¯t it? This is gonna be fun!¡± A woman with a bottle of alcohol in one hand giggled. She chugged down the half-full bottle. ¡°Kaaahh! That hits the spot!¡±


    ¡°Crazy bitch.¡± The blue-haired boy shook his head in exasperation.


    ¡°So it was you, Heavenly Dragon.¡± An angel with short blond hair red at Tai Wuji.


    Tai Wuji also knew the angel very well. ¡°Michael.¡±


    Michael took out a thick book of hundreds of pages, with each page shining radiantly.


    ¡°Th-These are the reduced numbers?¡± A red-haired woman stared at the demonic beast army in surprise.


    There were easily thousands of them. If these were the numbers remaining after the battle against the soldiers of the churches, she couldn¡¯t even imagine how many there had been originally.


    ¡°Huuu, huuu. Fuck, I should never havee to this goddamn world.¡± The red-haired woman grimaced as she panted heavily as if trying to calm herself.


    Although she was panting heavily, her heart was surprisingly as calm as it could be. It was as unmoving as gum stuck on asphalt... Not even a dandelion seed would move an inch from how calm she¡ª


    ¡°What the fuck? I¡¯m feeling like shit all of a sudden,¡± someone said.


    Cha Yeon-Joo frowned and picked her ears as if she had heard wrong. She looked around with fierce eyes and saw Han Seol-Ah walking toward her.


    ¡°Seol-Ah, did you just sw¡ª¡±


    ¡°Haaa.¡± Seol-Ah ignored Yeon-Joo as she stared daggers at one person.


    It was the woman with ck tentacles for hair.


    <i>Grind, grind.</i>


    Seol-Ah red at Proserpine with bloodlust while gritting her teeth.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to... steal my Kang-Woo?¡±


    It was unthinkable. She could not stand for it... ever. Enormous energy weighed down on everything around her as chilling bloodlust oozed from her gaze.


    ¡°Ahem,¡± Yeon-Joo quickly looked away from Seol-Ah.


    She could instinctively tell that she shouldn¡¯t talk to Seol-Ah right now.


    Tai Wuji stared in silence at the armying out from the golden Rifts.


    There were so many of them that he did not know where they had alle from, but he was not focusing on anyone else but the monster wearing human skin.


    ¡°You¡¯vee.¡± Tai Wuji red at the monster while gripping his sword.


    He subtly trembled. He had no idea whether it was because he was thrilled about the battle that was about to take ce, or if it was his unconscious fear of the monster. If there was one thing he knew...


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t avoid a battle against him.¡¯</i>


    The battle between them almost felt inevitable.


    ¡°Yeah, I have,¡± Kang-Woo said as he walked forward with a smile.


    His heart beat crazily with each step he took. He stared at his enemy ecstatically.


    All eyes focused on Kang-Woo the moment he walked forward. It was only natural since the man who seemed to be the enemy leader was staring straight at him, and so were the archangels.


    ¡°Hm?¡± Kang-Woo expressed confusion as all the attention was focused on him.


    <i>¡®The hell?¡¯</i>


    Friends and foes alike were all staring at him.


    <i>¡®Is this...¡¯</i>


    The atmosphere called for him to make some sort of battle cry.


    <i>¡®Fuck, I can¡¯t think of anything when I¡¯m put on the spot like this.¡¯</i>


    He had never used a battle cry when he hadmanded demons in Hell since they fought all on their own even without him saying anything.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned to Yeon-Joo. ¡°Hey. The battle cry you didst time was pretty good. Why don¡¯t you do it this time as w¡ª¡±


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be like that.¡± Yeon-Joo snickered and continued, ¡°Our Great Lord Kang-Woo should be the one to sound the battle cry in times like this. Something concise yet powerful, something that will send our morale through the roof!¡±


    She was getting her revenge from the time in the Manchurian in when Kang-Woo had left her in charge of an entire army and disappeared somewhere. Yeon-Joo stared at him joyfully as if telling him to have a taste of his own medicine.


    ¡°Shit,¡± Kang-Woo cursed lowly.


    He had a feeling that he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid it. The gears in his head turned in overdrive.


    <i>¡®Oh,e to think of it...¡¯</i>


    He recalled watching a movie with Echidna whilezing on the couch. He had no idea what it meant, but it was an extremely cool battle cry.


    <i>¡®Yeah, let¡¯s go with that.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo nodded and stomped his feet.


    <i>Boom¡ª!!</i>


    The ground shook. Enormous golden light surged out from Kang-Woo as if the sun had appeared atop the red earth. It was a magnificent sight to behold.


    Kang-Woo raised a golden sword high and shouted, ¡°Avengers!!¡±


    He then lowered the sword and pointed it at the enemies.


    ¡°Assemble.¡±

 Chapter 397 - Could You Stop Calling Him Darling?

    <h4>Chapter 397 - Could You Stop Calling Him Darling?</h4>


    ¡°The fuck?¡± Cha Yeon-Joo stared at Oh Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly. ¡°Crazy son of a bitch!! Why did you giarize?!¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Kang-Woo tilted his head.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s the problem?¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo put her hand on her neck as if she was getting a headache.


    ¡°God, that son of a bitch will be the end of me.¡±


    It probably would have been better for her to do it. However, as if to say that her worries had been unfounded...


    ¡°Yeaaaahhhh!!!¡±


    ¡°See? They love it,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    ¡°The hell? Why did that raise their morale?¡±


    Yeon-Joo stared dumbfoundedly at the angels and humans charging at the demonic beast army in a ze of passion. They had not reacted to the battle cry, but rather the radiant golden light.


    ¡°Fuck it, I don¡¯t care anymore.¡±


    Yeon-Joo decided to pay it no mind and turned toward the countless demonic beasts charging their way while roaring.


    <i>tter!!</i>


    Chains with sharp thorns on them twisted and turned as if they were alive.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    She stomped her feet and unleashed the chains on the demonic beasts. The chains fiercely pierced the demonic beasts charging at her.


    ¡°Fucking cheater...¡± Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo in displeasure even while killing demonic beasts.


    Kang-Woo walked forward while ignoring herment.


    ¡°Finally...¡±


    He faced the despair that he had been waiting for all this time like a lovesick girl.


    Tai Wuji unsheathed the de strapped to his waist while staring at the monster with sunken eyes.


    Tai Wuji and Oh Kang-Woo locked eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯ve acquired Deific Essence,¡± said Tai Wuji in a low tone.


    He could feel the Divinity mixed into the radiant golden light that the monster was emitting.


    Kang-Woo smiled. ¡°Thanks to you.¡±


    He didn¡¯t understand what Kang-Woo meant by that. Deific Essence was not something that could be acquired so easily thanks to someone else.


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji shook his head. The monster had eaten the Constetion of Fear whole.


    <i>¡®If it¡¯s that monster... It¡¯s more than possible.¡¯</i>


    He could finally understand why Lucifer had been that desperate. That monster was an iprehensible being.


    <i>¡®I have to kill him here.¡¯</i>


    If he didn¡¯t, the monster would be a hindrance to the revival of his master, Demon God Bauli.


    ¡°Nothing will change even if you have acquired Deific Essence,¡± dered Tai Wuji.


    Kang-Woo smirked and nodded. ¡°I know, bro.¡±


    He was already aware that he was no match for Tai Wuji just because he had Deific Essence now. Kang-Woo felt as if he was staring at an insurmountable wall as he looked at Tai Wuji. He felt breathless and he was trembling. Tai Wuji looked no different from a human in terms of outer appearance, but he was as overpowering as a giant dragon that covered the entire sky.


    <i>¡®Yeah, this is more like it. This is exactly what I wanted to feel.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Wooughed as if he couldn¡¯t be any happier. He gripped the golden sword tight and stomped on the ground.


    <i>Wham!!</i>


    He shot toward Tai Wuji like a golden arrow splitting the earth.


    ***


    ¡°O Almighty Gaia,¡± prayed La while sping her hands together.


    She borrowed the power of a goddess as an incarnation. A portion of Gaia¡¯s Deific Essence seeped into her, the massive power causing a storm around her.


    ¡°Urgh,¡± La grimaced.


    The more Deific Essence she borrowed, the more burden was ced on her. The great power felt as if it would cause her to burst like a balloon overfilled with air.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not enough.¡¯</i>


    La would be facing the Constetions of Evil, the elite guards of the Demon God, beings who had massacred countless gods during the era of myths. Kang-Woo had asked them to buy as much time as they could, but buying time against Constetions of Evil was extremely difficult in and of itself.


    ¡°Grant your unworthy incarnation your power.¡±


    <i>Whoooom.</i>


    La shone brightly; it was white,pletely different from Kang-Woo¡¯s light. Befitting the Deific Essence of the Goddess of Parental Love, just looking at the light was enough to warm the heart. La slowly turned to Lilith, the one inmand of the operation.


    ¡°First,¡± Lilith said calmly as she looked around the battlefield. ¡°Balrog, Si-Hun, and the two children, please take care of them.¡±


    <i>Boom!</i>


    A massive demonic beast twenty meters tall appeared along with an explosive sound. It was Ouroboros, an ancient demonic beast in the form of a snake. The angels¡¯ gazes turned fierce the moment Ouroboros appeared. They emitted bloodlust at the demonic beast that had ughtered countless angels during the attack on Sant¡¯Angelo.


    Ouroboros was not the only ancient demonic beast.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    The ground split as giant demonic beasts rose one by one while trampling on the demonic beasts in the area. One of them was a demonic beast covered in mes, who burned the angels that approached him to a crisp. It was Bul-Kathos, an ancient demonic beast enveloped in powerful mes that were on par with Prince Mammon¡¯s Authority of ze.


    ¡°Got it,¡± said Balrog as he walked forward while cracking his neck.


    ¡°Will Kang-Woo praise us if we kill them all?¡±


    ¡°R-Really? Then I¡¯ll k-kill them all.¡±


    Echidna and Halcyon also stared at the ancient demonic beasts with great interest.


    Kim Si-Hun, who had been staring at Kang-Woo whilepletely still, turned without a word.


    Lilith tilted her head in wonder for a moment but turned away from Si-Hun after checking that he was charging toward the ancient demonic beasts along with Balrog and the others.


    Lilith turned to La and Han Seol-Ah and said, ¡°We will be facing that Constetion.¡±


    She was pointing at the monster covered in ck tentacles.


    La frowned as she saw Proserpine¡¯s hideous looks. ¡°... Is she a Constetion of Evil?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± replied Lilith. She red at Proserpine and bit her nails anxiously. ¡°How dare a bitch with no gloss on her tentacles whatsoever...¡±


    Not only that, but she only had eight eyes. Lilith couldn¡¯t believe that Proserpine dared to proim herself as the Goddess of Subuses.


    <i>¡®Unforgivable.¡¯</i>


    Her looks probably were good enough back in the era of myths but were nothing now.


    ¡°Grannies past their prime should know their ce,¡± Lilith muttered.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Proserpine narrowed her eyes sharply, having heard Lilith. Her tentacles squirmed fiercely. ¡°I¡¯m past my prime?¡±


    ¡°Far past, I would add. You look easily above a few dozen millennia old.¡±


    <i>Hohoho,</i> Lilith giggled while covering her mouth.


    Since Proserpine had been active since the era of myths, she was indeed older than a few dozen millennia old.


    ¡°Hmph, age isn¡¯t everything in beauty, you know?¡± Proserpine argued.


    ¡°My, but being young is better for sure. Wouldn¡¯t you agree, granny?¡±


    ¡°You arrogant bitch...¡± Proserpine¡¯s eyes widened in fury.


    She could endure anything else, but as the Goddess of Subuses, she could not stand her beauty being mocked.


    ¡°Now, Seol-Ah. You can¡¯t lose Kang-Woo to a granny like that, can you?¡± Lilith asked.


    Seol-Ah nodded, her eyes filled with bloodlust.


    Proserpine feignedughter in exasperation. ¡°Hah. I guess I should deal with you all before I capture my darling¡¯s heart.¡±


    To make the monster hers, she needed to purge the parasites clinging to him first. Proserpine extended her tentacles while ring at Lilith and Seol-Ah.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s happening, but...¡± La slurred.


    She enveloped her hands with white light. She could at least tell that the <i>darling </i>Proserpine was referring to was Kang-Woo, and that she was trying to take him away from Seol-Ah and Lilith.


    She frowned in displeasure. ¡°NTR lovers must be exterminated.¡±


    <i>Bam!</i>


    La extended her arms forward and shot a giant ball of light at Proserpine.


    ¡°Hmph,¡± Proserpine snorted as if it were nothing.


    Although she was not specialized inbat, she was not so weak that she would lose to a mere incarnation with borrowed Deific Essence. However...


    ¡°Blessing of the Celestial Goddess,¡± Seol-Ah chanted.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    Proserpine had not expected Seol-Ah to be an unexpected variable. Twelve wings sprouted from Seol-Ah¡¯s back. Once she imbued her power into La, her half-baked Deific Essence gained its full form. The powers of Celestial Goddess Seraph and Gaiabined.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    The light was bright enough to blind the eyes. An intense wave of heat set everything in the area aze.


    ¡°Kyaaaaahhh!¡± Proserpine screamed as her tentacles were burned by the intense heat.


    She had expected Gaia¡¯s incarnation, but could not have imagined a human who possessed Celestial Goddess Seraph¡¯s power to join the battle.


    <i>¡®H-How?!¡¯</i>


    Proserpine¡¯s mind stormed with fear and rage. There was no way that she would ever forget the cursed Celestial Goddess Seraph. She had spent hundreds of millennia sealed in a pitch-ck space due to Seraph sealing the Constetions of Evil at the cost of her Divinity.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡± Proserpine grunted and turned her head.


    She was about to ask Tai Wuji for assistance, but he did not seem to have the leeway to do so since he had begun his battle against the monster of the Demonic Sea.


    <i>¡®I-I have to run.¡¯</i>


    Proserpine bit her lip anxiously. There was also the Constetion of Nightmares, but that brat was not specialized inbat either. She needed to hide somewhere until Tai Wuji disposed of the monster. She turned around without hesitation.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± La said as she chased after Proserpine.


    Behind her was also Han Seol-Ah with twelve wings. Proserpine grimaced aggressively.


    ***


    ¡°Argh, urgh...¡± Proserpine groaned as she blocked pus from spewing out of her severed tentacles. ¡°Shit, shit, shit!¡±


    She cursed as she stomped her feet.


    <i>¡®Crazy bitches.¡¯</i>


    Gaia¡¯s incarnation and the human with Seraph¡¯s power had stuck to her to no end. There had been chances for her to run away a few times, but Lilith had blocked those chances before Proserpine could use them.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Proserpine sighed.


    She had no choice but to unleash the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence. It had been highly risky, but she had sessfully managed to incapacitate Gaia¡¯s incarnation and sessfully run away.


    ¡°Urgh,¡± Proserpine groaned and copsed on the spot. She had escaped to the mountains quite a distance away from the valley. ¡°This ce should be safe.¡±


    Proserpine hugged herself as she trembled. She could barely move due to the side effects of unleashing the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll stay here until Tai Wuji wipes them all out.¡¯</i>


    Even if she were to stay out of the battle, Tai Wuji was there. However strong the monster of the Demonic Sea was or howrge the army of angels and humans was...


    <i>¡®Tai Wuji will win.¡¯</i>


    He was so powerful that his defeat was not even imaginable.


    Proserpine muttered in disappointment while hiding herself between two rocks, ¡°But I prefer that my darling doesn¡¯t die.¡±


    Just then...


    ¡°Could you stop calling Kang-Woo your darling?¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Proserpine quickly turned to the source of the voice.


    There, a woman with twelve wings was looking down at her.


    ¡°You see, Kang-Woo...¡± The woman walked forward while ring at Proserpine with lifeless eyes. ¡°... Can only be touched, cared for, embraced, hugged, patted, fed, teased, kissed, and loved by me. He¡¯s mine.¡±


    The twelve pure-white wings flickered ck.

 Chapter 398 - It Was A Lie After All

    <h4>Chapter 398 - It Was A Lie After All</h4>


    ¡°You...!¡± Proserpine red at Han Seol-Ah while biting her lip. She did not expect Seol-Ah to follow her all the way here. ¡°I guess you just left Gaia¡¯s incarnation to die, huh?¡±


    Proserpine had managed to escape after unleashing the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence and greatly injuring Gaia¡¯s incarnation. If Seol-Ah had just left the incarnation toe here, it meant that Gaia¡¯s incarnation would not survive.


    ¡°No,¡± Seol-Ah smirked and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve already given La first aid so that she wouldn¡¯t die.¡±


    <i>¡®In that short of a time?¡¯</i>


    Proserpine bit her lip right as she was about to say that out loud.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s possible for Seraph.¡¯</i>


    Although the human did not seem to be able to use Seraph¡¯s power to its full extent, first aid would be simple even if she were able to use a portion of it. Proserpine panted heavily while grasping her wound. The injury that she had inflicted on Gaia¡¯s incarnation was quiterge. If the human had only administered first aid...


    ¡°Gaia¡¯s incarnation must be writhing in pain right now,¡± Proserpine remarked.


    ¡°No need to worry. Lilith is taking good care of her. And...¡± Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes lit up crazily. ¡°I¡¯m sure La will understand. It¡¯s for the sake of killing a Constetion of Evil of all demons, after all.¡±


    Seol-Ah approached Proserpine while humming.


    Proserpine chuckled as her hand that was grasping her injury trembled. ¡°Hah. Do you seriously think you can kill me?¡±


    Celestial Goddess Seraph had a fatal weakness. She possessed powerful buffs that could make an ordinary farmer into the greatest warrior, and healing magic so powerful that it seemed as if she could bring the dead back to life. No, she actually could revive the dead with the magic spell <i>Resurrection </i>if she were to use the entirety of her power. However, her abilities were so specialized toward buffing and healing that herbat prowess wasughably bad.


    <i>¡®In other words, she can¡¯t do anything on her own.¡¯</i>


    Proserpine stared at Seol-Ah with narrowed eyes. Although she was in terrible condition, she wouldn¡¯t lose to a woman akin to a scarecrow with nobat ability.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make you regret your arrogance ofing here by yourself!¡± Proserpine shouted as she extended her arm.


    ck tentacles shot toward Seol-Ah¡¯s neck, but...


    <i>Grip.</i>


    Seol-Ah easily caught the tentacles aiming for her neck. She twisted the tentacles and pulled them with all her might.


    ¡°Kyaaaaaahhh!¡± Proserpine screamed. ¡°Wh-What?¡±


    Proserpine stared at Seol-Ah iprehensibly. If the human had inherited Seraph¡¯s soul, herbat ability should have been terrible.


    ¡°You dared to covet Kang-Woo...¡±


    Seol-Ah looked down at the tentacles in her hand with disgust. Her wings continued to flicker ck.


    <i>Rumble.</i>


    Darkness poured out from the wings and filled the surroundings along with a thunderous sound.


    ¡°... With these filthy tentacles.¡±


    Thousands of ck feathers shot at Proserpine.


    ¡°Kyaaaaaahhh!¡± Proserpine screamed while scrunching up.


    Thousands of feathers poured on Proserpine like a machine gun, tearing her skin and severing her tentacles.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Proserpine opened her eyes while panting heavily after the storm of feathers died down. Fortunately, she was not greatly injured.


    <i>¡®N-No.¡¯</i>


    It was not fortunate. It meant one thing if she was only lightly injured after allowing herself to be attacked whilepletely defenseless.


    <i>¡®She... avoided my vitals on purpose.¡¯</i>


    Chills ran down Proserpine¡¯s spine. She was ovee with fear as Seol-Ah looked down at her chillingly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make it so that... you can never even think aboutying a hand on Kang-Woo,¡± Seol-Ah muttered as she slowly walked toward Proserpine.


    Proserpine flinched. She gulped while trembling.


    <i>¡®Wh-What should I do?¡¯</i>


    She might have had a chance if she was in perfect form, but she was currently suffering from the side effects of unleashing the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence, so there was no way for her to face that insane human right now. Not only that, but she did not even have the strength to run anymore.


    ¡°Ngh...¡± Proserpine bit her lip.


    She needed to think of a way out of this situation.


    <i>¡®Come to think of it, she seemed to be madly obsessed with that monster.¡¯</i>


    Her obsession was abnormally high, exactly like the men that had been charmed by Proserpine. She did not have to think very hard about why that was.


    <i>¡®If she possesses Seraph¡¯s soul...¡¯</i>


    Proserpine knew about angels being driven by their obsessions. This female human¡¯s obsession was likely the monster himself. If that was the case, her crazy obsession was understandable since there was no way that a mere human would be able to control an angel¡¯s instincts, let alone Seraph¡¯s.


    <i>¡®Shit, I sure have stirred up the ho¡¯s nest.¡¯</i>


    Proserpine frowned aggressively. It was unavoidable since there was no way for her to have known that Seraph¡¯s soul dwelled within that human.


    <i>¡®But I still have a card to y.¡¯</i>


    Proserpine¡¯s eyes lit up. If that human was unable to handle the instincts of an angel, she would just use it against her.


    ¡°Hmm, you won¡¯t let mey a hand on him, you say?¡± asked Proserpine while smiling seductively.


    Seol-Ah casually nodded as she walked toward her. ¡°Yes. I won¡¯t let youy a hand on him.¡±


    ¡°Ho... Hohohohoho!!¡± Proserpine burst intoughter while covering her mouth with one hand and staring at Seol-Ah as if she were unable to contain her joy.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Seol-Ah red at theughing Proserpine.


    Proserpine twisted her body bewitchingly and answered, ¡°I mean~ I just thought it might be a bit toote for that.¡±


    Deathly silence fell.


    Seol-Ah asked while her eyes lit up crazily, ¡°What do you... mean by that?¡±


    ¡°Hohohoho!¡± Proserpine burst intoughter again. She licked her lips with her snakelike tongue and asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t been sleeping with darlingtely, have you?¡±


    Seol-Ah remained silent.


    Kang-Woo had been away for the past few days, so they had not been able to spend the night together.


    ¡°Man, what a shame. You would¡¯ve been able to see his disappointed face if you did.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Seol-Ah narrowed her eyes sharply. Kang-Woo being disappointed? Her heart beat strongly after hearing Proserpine¡¯s words that were implying something. ¡°What are you... talking about?¡±


    ¡°I wonder what I¡¯m talking about?¡± Proserpine giggled leisurely.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Seol-Ah spread out her twelve wings and shot toward Proserpine, violently grabbing her by the hair.


    ¡°Kyaah!¡±


    ¡°I asked you what you were talking about.¡±


    ¡°W-Wait! Th-That hurts! Let me go and then we¡¯ll talk!¡±


    ¡°Tell me now.¡± Seol-Ah looked down at Proserpine terrifyingly.


    Proserpine was smiling despite screaming. ¡°It seems darling hasn¡¯t told you. Well, I doubt he had the heart to.¡±


    ¡°A few days ago... Darling came to me.¡±


    ¡°Kang-Woo... went to see you?¡±


    Proserpine replied leisurely, ¡°Yeah. I left my traces on my clone back then.¡±


    She had never done such a thing, but now was not the time to sweat the small stuff.


    ¡°Then...¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s expression froze. She knew that Kang-Woo had headed to Sant¡¯Angelo after following the trace left behind by Proserpine. However, what if Kang-Woo went somewhere else before heading to Sant¡¯Angelo?


    ¡°Don¡¯t... lie,¡± Seol-Ah said ferociously as she clenched Proserpine¡¯s hair harder.


    ¡°Hohoho! Why do you think it¡¯s a lie?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way Kang-Woo would do such a thing.¡±


    ¡°Why? Aren¡¯t all men the same?¡±


    ¡°Kang-Woo is different.¡±


    ¡°No, he¡¯s the same,¡± Proserpine replied while shaking her head firmly. She continued craftily, ¡°His rtionship status seemed to be all over the ce, too. I¡¯m sure he did it with that Lilith bitch. His rtionship with that red hair seemed suspicious too.¡±


    ¡°Lilith is different.¡±


    Lilith had spent a thousand years with Kang-Woo. She had given Seol-Ah all sorts of advice on how to advance her rtionship with Kang-Woo, and they had even promised together that they would stay by Kang-Woo¡¯s side forever. Seol-Ah could never be jealous of Lilith of all people. After all, the one who hade between Kang-Woo and Lilith had been her; she had stolen Kang-Woo from Lilith, who had been devoted to Kang-Woo for thest thousand years.


    ¡°The first time is always the hardest. It gets easier the more you do it, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡± Proserpine asked suggestively.


    Seol-Ah clenched her fists. Proserpine was not wrong, but...


    ¡°There¡¯s no way... Kang-Woo would do such a thing.¡±


    Seol-Ah''s strength left her hands.


    ¡°Fufu,¡± Proserpine smiled widely as she widened the distance between them. She caressed her stomach and continued, ¡°Then who was it that entered me that night?¡±


    Proserpine continued while giggling, ¡°Do you know what darling said to me that night? He said that no one had ever made him feel that good. You can¡¯t me him. I wouldn¡¯t be known as the Constetion of Lust if I was the same as other women.¡± She burst out lustful energy and licked her lips seductively. ¡°He talked about you too. He said that you were no fun because you¡¯re so inexperienced.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What?¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes widened and flinched as if Proserpine had hit the mark. She did indeed have no experience with anyone other than Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Hohoho! You do look like you¡¯d be bad at it.¡± Proserpine mocked her and sighed in relief in her mind at the same time.


    <i>¡®I knew she¡¯d be bad at it.¡¯</i>


    She was not the Constetion of Lust for nothing. She could tell just from the way Seol-Ah smelled that she was inexperienced. Seol-Ah was trembling in shock.


    <i>¡®Hoho, it seems to have worked.¡¯</i>


    She could tell that her n had seeded.


    <i>¡®Once I hammer the nail in the coffin...¡¯</i>


    That human¡¯s obsession would turn into fury, and then...


    <i>¡®She¡¯ll use that fury to go tear the monster¡¯s groin apart.¡¯</i>


    One would normally doubt what they had been told, but that human was not in a normal condition at all.


    <i>¡®I doubt she can even think properly.¡¯</i>


    People often believed even the craziest of things if their desire reached the breaking point. It could often be seen in impulsive gamblers who did iprehensible things. The same could be said for obsession; once one¡¯s obsession reached its breaking point and turned into madness, one would barely have any leeway to make logical thoughts.


    ¡°Th-That¡¯s enough of your lies!¡±


    As Proserpine had expected, Seol-Ah shouted in madness while clenching her hair. Proserpine smiled widely.


    ¡°Fufu. It¡¯s been a while since I had that much fun as well.¡± She slowly ced her hand on her stomach. ¡°Oh, and...¡± She giggled as she caressed her stomach. ¡°I think... I¡¯m pregnant.¡±


    ¡°What... did you say?¡±


    ¡°Fufu. I¡¯m pregnant.¡± Proserpine looked down at her stomach lovingly. ¡°With my darling¡¯s... precious child.¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes widened. She was shocked to the point that blood vessels had protruded all over her body. Proserpine looked down victoriously at the despaired Seol-Ah.


    <i>¡®Alright, now¡ª¡¯</i>


    ¡°Liar,¡± Seol-Ah said chillingly.


    The atmospherepletely changed.


    ¡°H-Huh?¡± Proserpine looked at Seol-Ah perplexedly.


    She had a feeling that something had gone wrong.


    ¡°Liar...¡±


    The light in Seol-Ah¡¯s eyespletely disappeared. Her eyes as dark as the abyss were staring right at Proserpine.


    ¡°Liar... Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What the...¡± Proserpine got goosebumps.


    The human¡¯s mad obsession had not changed into fury; it had simply amplified into even greater madness.


    ¡°W-Wait! C-Calm down! It was just a prank¡ª¡±


    Proserpine instinctively tried to get away, but...


    <i>Crack.</i>


    ¡°Ack!!¡±


    Seol-Ah flew toward Proserpine at the speed of light and got on top of her. She moved her arms without hesitation as her wings flickering ck fluttered.


    <i>Crunch! Crunch! Crunch¡ª!!</i>


    ¡°Kyaaaaahhh!!¡± Proserpine screamed horrendously.


    Seol-Ah tore Proserpine apart alive, and...


    ¡°Heh. Just as I thought, it was a lie after all.¡±


    She looked down at the crevice she had made with her bloodied hands.


    She muttered, ¡°There¡¯s... nobody inside.¡±


    Seol-Ah giggled brightly.

 Chapter 399 - Stab Him

    <h4>Chapter 399 - Stab Him</h4>


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Thunderous explosions rang out as Oh Kang-Woo was blown away. He violently tumbled across the ground while leaving a line on the ground along his path, then sprang back up. He raised the golden sword made with the Key of the Demonic Sea and swung it at Tai Wuji, who appeared in front of him out of nowhere. The two swords collided.


    <i>Bang¡ª!!</i>


    Another explosion rang out.


    ¡°<i>Cough!</i>¡±


    Kang-Woo panted heavily. His sword imbued with Divinity was cleaved into two all too easily. He jumped back.


    ¡°Dayum, I¡¯m seriously no match for him.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled widely as he healed his torn hands with the Authority of Regeneration. He had infused Intermediate-rank Divinity into the Key of the Demonic Sea, but it was not enough to endure Tai Wuji¡¯s sword.


    <i>¡®But it¡¯s at least better than before.¡¯</i>


    Unlike their first confrontation when the Key of the Demonic Sea shattered as soon as it shed with Tai Wuji¡¯s sword, it could now handle a few blows.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s good enough.¡¯</i>


    It was a meaningful change since it made it far easier for him to handle a battle against the despair in front of him. Kang-Woo restored the sword to its original form while smiling. He gripped the sword shining with golden light.


    Tai Wuji stared at Kang-Woo with sunken eyes. He remarked while tapping on his sword handle, ¡°You¡¯ve changed from back then.¡±


    The man in front of him waspletely different from the horrifying monster that seemed like it had been born from the Demonic Sea. The man looked magnificent; sublime, even.


    ¡°It does not suit you,¡± Tai Wuji stated.


    He recalled the first time he came across the monster. He had been the furthest thing from being magnificent and sublime; he had only exuded madness so powerful that it could devour the entire world whole.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t opened any Doors yet,¡± Kang-Woo replied.


    ¡°Doors?¡± Tai Wuji tilted his head, unable to understand what the monster was talking about.


    Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t rush me, man. I¡¯ll open them soon enough.¡±


    He lightly swung his sword. He was well aware that he would not be able to face Tai Wuji without opening the Doors¡ª no, he was not certain that he would be able to win even after opening the Doors. He would not be able to lose since he couldn¡¯t die; it did not mean he would be able to win. Despite that, Kang-Woo was not opening them yet for one simple reason.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t use it infinitely.¡¯</i>


    Just because Kang-Woo didn¡¯t die while the Doors were open did not mean he waspletely immortal. As he continuously died and his physical body was harmed, his mind would gradually be eaten up by the Demonic Sea. Even if he didn¡¯t die, just having the Doors open quickly ate away at his mind. Kang-Woo would open the Doors after shaving Tai Wuji¡¯s endurance as much as possible.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled. Sparks ran all over his body every time he shed swords with Tai Wuji. The chilling sensation of the fact that he could be beheaded the moment he let his guard down stimted him.


    ¡°Haaah,¡± Kang-Woo exhaled heatedly.


    He felt like he was going insane from the secretion of endorphins. The stimting feeling of death being right around the corner could not be felt while the Doors were open. He wanted to relish in this feeling for just a little longer.


    Tai Wuji frowned. He was able to read what the monster was feeling from just his eyes full of anticipation. He said emotionlessly ¡°You¡¯re insane.¡±


    He couldn¡¯t imagine someone acting this way when they could die at any time.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s as if he¡¯s living to die.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji gripped his sword while suppressing the displeasure surging from deep within his heart. He stared at the monster with cold eyes.


    <i>¡®That madness of yours will end today.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± Tai Wuji inhaled deeply.


    He gripped the sword tightly and stomped his feet.


    <i>¡®Heavenly Dragon ws.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji swung his dark blue sword swiftly, resembling a dragon swinging down its ws. The sword was divided into five as it aimed for the monster¡¯s neck. It was not an illusion; each sword sh contained enough power to split an entire mountain in half. The shes resembling the ws of a beast aimed for Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s more like it.¡±


    Kang-Woo snickered as he swung his sword at the five condensed sword energies aiming for his neck. Sound so splitting that it could rupture one¡¯s eardrums rang out as the ground underneath the two of them caved in.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    A giant sinkhole several hundred meters deep was formed. The demonic beasts and humans fighting in the area quickly ran away. Kang-Woo and Tai Wuji casually continued their battle while stepping on thin air as if they couldn¡¯t care less that the ground had copsed.


    ¡°Hup!¡± Tai Wuji¡¯s eyes shone as he saw an opening.


    He swung down his sword and cut off Kang-Woo¡¯s right arm which had been holding the golden sword. Tai Wuji smiled faintly. Just then, Kang-Woo grabbed his right arm with his left and threw it at Tai Wuji.


    <i>Stab!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    The golden sword pierced Tai Wuji¡¯s stomach.


    Kang-Woo snickered. ¡°It sure is nice to be able to use Divinity.¡±


    Back when he did not have Divinity, he had to attack the same spot multiple times to be able to deal some damage due to the barrier of Divinity that his enemies possessed. However, now that he was able to use Divinity, he was able to get through the Divinity barrier, which was always up like a passive skill, with ease.


    ¡°What... the...¡± Tai Wuji grimaced. He had not expected the monster to attack by throwing his arm that was holding his weapon. Such an attack could not be performed by a sane person.


    Tai Wuji looked down at his bleeding stomach. The injury itself was not serious. He grabbed the monster¡¯s right arm and threw it down on the ground. The monster without a right arm was staring at him leisurely. He saw the monster cing his left hand on his chest.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s...¡¯</i>


    Chills ran down Tai Wuji¡¯s back. It was the same sensation that he had felt back when he had faced the monster at the imperial pce. It was the fear that one would feel when staring into the abyss.


    <i>¡®I have to stop him from doing that.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji did not know what that motion meant, but he was sure that he would see that horrendous monster again if he didn¡¯t stop him.


    <i>¡®In that case...¡¯</i>


    There was no better time to use the card that he had prepared. Tai Wuji slowly turned his head and sent a telepathic message to the young man who was staring at their battle nkly.


    <i>¡°Now is the time.¡±</i>


    The young man flinched.


    <i>¡°Stab him.¡±</i>


    Kim Si-Hun¡¯s eyes quivered after getting the telepathic message.


    ***


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    The ground was being distorted. Si-Hun stopped cutting down the demonic beasts in front of him and turned to where the deafening sound came from. He could see the shing of golden light and dark blue light.


    Si-Hun shut his eyes tightly in silence. The memories came back to him once his eyes were closed. He could see himself copsed in a dark alleyway and a smiling young man on top of him. The man¡¯s face was familiar and unfamiliar to him at the same time.


    <i>¡°We¡¯ll be very good allies.¡±</i>


    The man¡¯s voice was imprinted in his mind along with his eyes twisted with malice. He had never seen that side of his hyung before.


    <i>¡°You¡¯ve been deceived by that monster all this time.¡±</i>


    Tai Wuji¡¯s words echoed in his mind. Si-Hun had told him to shut up, but he already knew deep down that he had been used and betrayed by the hyung that he had trusted unconditionally. No, it could not even be called a betrayal, since the way that he felt about Kang-Woo was not the same as how Kang-Woo felt about him.


    <i>¡®He... never thought of me as his little brother from the beginning.¡¯</i>


    All that Kang-Woo cared about was Si-Hun¡¯s talent. He was nothing more than a useful puppet to Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡°There¡¯s this one thing that I keep thinking about,¡± </i>Si-Hun recalled his own words back when he had been sitting next to the bedridden Kang-Woo. <i>¡°About what would have happened in my life... if I had never met you.¡±</i>


    Si-Hun could not even imagine what would have happened if he had never met Kang-Woo. He could see nothing but a void.


    <i>¡°I can¡¯t even imagine a life without you anymore, hyung-nim.¡±</i>


    What would have Kang-Woo felt after hearing those words? Would he haveughed at him? Would he have mocked him, who was saying such a thing while having no idea that he was being controlled? It was likely.


    <i>¡®No, no. Don¡¯t think so pessimistically. He might have gotten attached to me after all this time. He might even care deeply for me now.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun recalled a novel about a protagonist kidnapping a child to raise them as an assassin but ended up falling in love with them. Kang-Woo might also have ended up caring for him like his own brother... just like the protagonist of that novel.


    ¡°Argh, urgh.¡± Si-Hun felt as if his head would explode. He teared up unconsciously. ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    His entire world had changed after meeting Kang-Woo. His world, which had been full of despair, had lit up brightly before he had realized it. And that world... had now copsedpletely.


    ¡°H-Hyung... Hyung...¡±


    Si-Hun lowered his head while clenching his hair. The fact that the Kang-Woo he had known thus far had been a lie... That his gaze, actions, words, and everything had been a lie... The pain brought about by them was unbearable.


    <i>¡°Now is the time.¡±</i>


    Si-Hun heard a voice and quickly looked up to see Tai Wuji looking down at him.


    ¡°N-No...¡± Si-Hun mumbled miserably since he knew what Tai Wuji would tell him to do.


    <i>¡°Stab him.¡±</i>


    However, Tai Wuji brought him despair nheless as if to trample on his hopes.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Si-Hun panted heavily.


    The sword in his hands felt hot to the touch. He could instinctively tell that there was no turning back. It was time to make his decision.


    Si-Hun held the sword tightly and leaped into the air. He ran across the sky by making steps using Formless Sword.


    <i>¡°We¡¯ll be very good allies.¡±</i>


    That voice was not leaving Si-Hun¡¯s head. It would likely never disappear. Si-Hun felt nauseous from the horrible sense of betrayal. His vision blurred. He felt like he could barely hear anything around him. The world around him felt like it was crumbling. No, his world might have already been destroyed the day that he met Tai Wuji.


    ¡°H-Haaah.¡±


    Si-Hun imbued his sword with power as the Qi from his dantian filled his entire body. And...


    <i>Pierce.</i>


    He stabbed without hesitation.

 Chapter 400 - Why Did You Do That?

    <h4>Chapter 400 - Why Did You Do That?</h4>


    Kim Si-Hun¡¯s mother was a barmaid, and one at a luxury bar that only served VIPs, at that. She had caught the attention of Si-Hun¡¯s father, and they ended up sleeping together. That was how Si-Hun was born.


    Si-Hun had no idea why a man like his father did not force his mother to abort the baby that had been an ident. Whatever the case, Si-Hun and his mother used to live with his father when he was very little.


    He remembered being fairly close to his older brother at the time. He did not remember when, but he had once made a bet with his older brother about who would be able to juggle a ser ball longer. At the time, his older brother had been full of confidence, but Si-Hun had ended up winning the bet by about five times the length of time. That had been his first time touching a ser ball.


    On that day, his older brother changed and the endless harassment began. At the time, Si-Hun had no idea why his older brother tormented him. He was just frustrated and sad. Only after he grew up did he realize that his brother tormented him out of jealousy. After realizing that fact, Si-Hun did everything worse than his brother on purpose. Whether it be studying, sports, or art, he praised his older brother for being good at everything.


    The harassment then turned into mockery. His older brother called him the son of a prostitute. Si-Hun had no idea what that word meant when he first heard it, but the day he learned what it meant, he beat up his older brother to the point that his teeth fell out. A while after the incident, Si-Hun learned that his older brother¡¯s cheekbones had almost shattered.


    That incident marked the beginning of hell. Si-Hun and his mother were kicked out of the house. His mother tried her best to find a workce to earn money, but she was not able to because of his father¡¯s interference. Poverty was more despairing than all else, but Si-Hun was happy just to be together with his mother. Although he was hungry and tired all the time, he was happy. Or at least, that was what Si-Hun had thought.


    One day, Si-Hun saw his mother sneaking out of the house. He followed after her and saw that she hade to his father¡¯s house and was begging for her and Si-Hun to be forgiven. His older brother came out of the house andughed while kicking her. He spat on her while cackling. Si-Hun was not able to do anything to stop it.


    On that day, his mother came back home with her face all bruised up and a handful of bills in her hand. She cried as she looked at Si-Hun and apologized to him while bawling her eyes out.


    <i>¡°I¡¯m sorry... for giving birth to you.¡±</i>


    Si-Hun found those words hurtful. They hurt so badly that he thought he would never be able to forget them.


    ¡°<i>Cough...</i>¡±


    Si-Hun heard someone coughing up blood. He could feel the trembles of the person that he stabbed through the sword. He looked up.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [Assimtion with Martial God Tian Taihuang has reached 87%.]


    [You have mastered Formless Sword!]


    [You have realized a portion of the principle of Mind¡¯s Sword!]


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Si-Hun panted heavily.


    He felt like his head would explode. The Qi surging from his dantian and the principles of martial arts filled his brain. He twisted the de. The wound widened along with the cracking of bones, and ck blood flowed out from it.


    ¡°Why?¡± Tai Wuji looked down at the sword that had pierced his heart and then back at Si-Hun.


    His eyes were wide open as if he couldn¡¯t understand.


    Si-Hun shut his eyes tightly without answering.


    ¡°In the end, you¡¯ve decided to remain as a puppet,¡± Tai Wuji stated coldly.


    He raised his sword as he stared at Si-Hun in disgust. Si-Hun did not answer this time either.


    ¡°Pathetic.¡±


    Tai Wuji grabbed the de that pierced his heart. Cracks formed on Holy Sword Ludwig, and itpletely shattered in his hands. Tai Wuji turned around and swung his sword.


    <i>sh!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    The sword zing with dark blue mes cut Si-Hun from his corbone to his stomach, spewing dark red blood like a fountain. As Si-Hun fell to the ground like a bird that had lost its wings...


    <i>Tap.</i>


    Someone raced across the sky and caught Si-Hun.


    ¡°Ah...¡± Si-Hun expressed.


    He raised his head and saw Oh Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo was looking down at him with deeply sunken eyes. Si-Hun could see an endless ck sea within Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Why did you do that?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Si-Hun smiled faintly as he looked up at Kang-Woo. ¡°I guess... you knew.¡±


    Kang-Woo had known that Si-Hun had regained his memories. Si-Hun couldn¡¯t help butugh after finding that out. He felt the heavy emotions weighing down on his heart lifting.


    ¡°Why did you do that?¡± Kang-Woo asked again.


    Si-Hun organized his thoughts toe up with an answer. He slowly raised his trembling hand and grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Even if... everything you¡¯ve shown me until now was a lie...¡±


    Even if Si-Hun was nothing more than a puppet...


    ¡°To me...¡±


    Tears flowed down Si-Hun¡¯s cheeks. He recalled the day that La was captured by Satan¡¯s subordinate, and what Kang-Woo had said to him back when he was on the verge of losing his sanity and bing a demon.


    <i>¡°Thanks... for staying as my little brother.¡±</i>


    Kang-Woo probably had no idea how much those words had saved him. Even if those words had been a lie and had been nothing more than a trick to keep him as a puppet...


    ¡°Your lies were more precious to me... than any truth.¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He feignedughter. ¡°You dumbass.¡±


    Si-Hun was truly an incorrigible dumbass.


    ¡°You¡¯re making me cringe, dude,¡± Kang-Woo mentioned.


    ssic Si-Hun; he was an expert at saying cringe lines.


    ¡°Haha,¡± Si-Hunughed brightly.


    He looked satisfied as if all his weights had been unloaded off his shoulders. Kang-Woo lightly smacked theughing Si-Hun on the back of his head.


    ¡°Why are youughing, dumbass?¡± he asked.


    Si-Hun was truly a dumbass. He was thanking the one who had used him after turning him into a puppet whileughing. Kang-Woo wondered if Si-Hun even had a brain in that head of his.


    ¡°Seriously...¡± Kang-Woo slurred.


    Si-Hun was so idiotic that Kang-Woo was boiling with rage.


    ¡°You¡¯ve tamed him well. He doesn¡¯t bite his master even without a leash on him,¡± said Tai Wuji as he looked at Si-Hun in contempt.


    Kang-Woo said in a low tone, ¡°So you were the one who restored Si-Hun¡¯s memories.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Tai Wuji smirked. ¡°How utterly pathetic. I did not expect the one to inherit the Heavenly Dragon¡¯s martial arts to be this moroni¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± Kang-Woo said as he turned to Tai Wuji. ¡°I get it, so shut up for a second.¡±


    Tai Wuji frowned. Kang-Woo turned his head back to Si-Hun. He gathered some of the blood spewing from his severed right arm with his left hand and poured it into Si-Hun¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Hyung.¡±


    ¡°You shut up too.¡±


    After administering first aid with the Authority of Regeneration, Kang-Woo lightly patted Si-Hun¡¯s body. A golden barrier enveloped him, and he was lowered slowly to the ground.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo sighed deeply.


    He closed his eyes. For some reason, his irritation was through the roof, to the point that he could barely handle it.


    ¡°I mean, I was gonna kill you anyway even without this, but...¡± Kang-Woo slowly opened his eyes to reveal ck scleras, yellow irises, and horizontal ck pupils filled with fury. He turned to Tai Wuji and remarked, ¡°You just gave me another reason to tear you apart.¡±


    Tai Wuji raised his sword in silence. Kang-Woo could feel unconceble anxiety in Tai Wuji¡¯s eyes. Kang-Woo took a deep breath to the point that his lungs could burst. And...


    ¡°Raaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!¡±


    The king¡¯s roar shook the earth. Angels, demons, demonic beasts, and humans all held their breaths.


    Kang-Woo bent forward and shot explosively toward Tai Wuji.


    ¡°Hup.¡± Tai Wuji positioned his sword forward.


    Kang-Woo ended up right in front of Tai Wuji in the blink of an eye and extended his remaining left arm. Tai Wuji raised the sword to cut off the left arm.


    ¡°Move,¡± Kang-Woo spoke in Soul Speech.


    The words imbued with power distorted thews of physics, allowing Kang-Woo to ovee space itself and move behind Tai Wuji. He grabbed Tai Wuji¡¯s neck, raised his right leg high, and swung it down as hard as he could.


    <i>Boom¡ª!!!</i>


    The repelling force caused Tai Wuji and Kang-Woo to shoot toward the sky. They passed the blue sky and the clouds as the scenery changed rapidly. In the end, they went past the atmosphere and reached outer space. The two monsters ended up in a dark void where no life could survive.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡± Tai Wuji turned and swung his sword, cutting off Kang-Woo¡¯s left hand that was holding him by the back of the neck. Red blood poured out from both of Kang-Woo¡¯s arm stumps, but they stayed floating in space due to the absence of gravity.


    ¡°Did you think anything would change if you came all the way here?¡± Tai Wuji snorted.


    Any normal life form would die as soon as they reached outer space, but Tai Wuji was a god, one who possessed Top-rank Deific Essence, no less. It was possible to breathe, speak, and move freely in outer space with the power of Divinity.


    ¡°Something does change,¡± Kang-Woo replied.


    He looked up and saw only darkness. He tried to take a deep breath but naturally, nothing entered his lungs. Having his breathing cut off was slightly unpleasant, but such trivial issues did not matter.


    ¡°Here...¡±


    The corners of Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth rose. No, they did not just rise; the corners ripped, and his cheeks tore open as if they had been sliced with a knife. Sharp teeth of a beast protruded out from between them.


    ¡°I can go as wild as I like.¡±


    Kang-Woo cackled. The red blood flowing out from his arm stumps slowly turned ck.


    ¡°Haaa.¡± Kang-Woo exhaled what remained of the air in his lungs and then chanted, ¡°First Door, open.¡±

 Chapter 401 - Moth

    <h4>Chapter 401 - Moth</h4>


    The Door opened and out flooded the ck sea. Immense power surged into Oh Kang-Woo. He felt like he was about to burst like a balloon overfilled with air.


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    His skin turned into ck mucus and then returned to normal. Kang-Woo crouched and then stomped on thin air.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    A ck wave spread out spherically. He was no longer emitting radiant golden energy; he was surrounded by darkness as thick as the abyss.


    ¡°You¡¯ve finally shown your true colors,¡± Tai Wuji remarked lowly.


    No way could sound be transmitted in outer space, but Tai Wuji couldmunicate by infusing his voice with Qi. He gripped his sword tighter and stared at the monster enveloped in darkness.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s... the monster of the Demonic Sea¡¯s true form.¡¯</i>


    He had a feeling that he could understand what the monster meant by opening the Doors. He got goosebumps when the monster¡¯s body had turned into mucus momentarily.


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± Tai Wuji breathed in by using his Qi infused with Divinity.


    He was not breathing in oxygen, but its effect was simr. He got fired up as he used Void Steps to move in outer space.


    <i>Swish!</i>


    Tai Wuji disappeared in a sh and appeared in front of Kang-Woo as if he had teleported.


    <i>¡®Heavenly Dragon Rampage.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji¡¯s dark blue sword split into thousands of des that filled the entirety of outer space.


    <i>sh! sh¡ª!</i>


    Kang-Woo was split in half, and those halves were split in half. The dragon¡¯s rampage continued to sh Kang-Woo¡¯s body over and over again.


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    However, Kang-Woo¡¯s fragmented body turned into ck mucus. He extended his arm which had returned to its normal shape, and a giant mouth appeared from the hand. Tai Wuji frowned.


    ¡°You know it¡¯s pointless,¡± remarked Kang-Woo as he swung the extended arm horizontally, the giant mouth aiming for Tai Wuji.


    Tai Wuji reflexively raised his sword, shing with the monster¡¯s teeth.


    ©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥!


    Although there was no sound, the shockwave was powerful enough to bend space. Intense heat was created from the shing of monsters who had surpassed the limits of living organisms. Tai Wuji grimaced.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s ufortable.¡¯</i>


    He had experienced many battles since the era of myths, but he had never fought in outer space before. Not only were there any footholds, but his limbs were not moving as he wanted them to, making the battle extremely ufortable.


    <i>¡®Moreover...¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji narrowed his eyes. He was able to make do with everything else, but as a martial artist, not being able to hear sound became a fatal disadvantage.


    <i>¡®I need to change locations.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji turned upside down and leaped toward Aernor to go back to where they had been. He fell toward the ground like a meteor.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Kang-Woo stomped his feet.


    ck mucus spread out like a and fired at Tai Wuji.


    ¡°Kuh,¡± Tai Wuji grunted.


    He gave up on getting to the ground due to the speed at which the ck mucus was following him and turned around. He raised his sword.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    The sword zing with dark blue mes split the ck mucus.


    <i>Ssh!</i>


    Tai Wuji could hear the ck mucus being shed because they had entered the atmosphere. He gave up on going any lower and turned to face Kang-Woo.


    <i>Bam!</i>


    Thick clouds underneath him evaporated along with the sound ofpressed air bursting. Tai Wuji raised his sword and severed the monster¡¯s head and limbs, stabbed his heart, and carved out his organs.


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    ¡°I told you... It¡¯s... useless,¡± the monster said as he smiled.


    Tai Wuji snorted as he looked at the monster. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s useless.¡± He continued as if mocking the monster, ¡°I wonder for how long you can keep up that immortality?¡±


    Although he had failed to damage the monster¡¯s mind using Kim Si-Hun, it did not change the fact that the monster¡¯s immortality was unstable.


    Kang-Woo remained silent. ¡°You...¡± He smiled. ¡°You knew, huh?¡±


    Tai Wuji seemed to have figured out what the weakness of the Doors was. The more Kang-Woo died, the more his sanity was devoured by the Demonic Sea. Tai Wuji knew that Kang-Woo¡¯s control over the Demonic Sea would fall apart and that he would disappear into the ck sea.


    ¡°Haaah,¡± Kang-Woo exhaled heatedly. His heart beat rapidly along with sparks of thrill spreading all over him. ¡°Yeah, this is more like it.¡±


    If Tai Wuji thought that Kang-Woo¡¯s immortality was infinite, he would just give up on the fight since fighting an immortal enemy that never died was pointless. However, if Tai Wuji knew the limits of Kang-Woo¡¯s immortality and that it did notst forever...


    <i>¡®He wouldn¡¯t give up.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo spread his arms out and split himself in half from the tip of his chin to his groin. ck mucus filled with sharp teeth and wide-open mouths burst out from the split areas and shot toward Tai Wuji.


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± Tai Wuji inhaled.


    He sheathed his sword and crouched. He pulled his butt back, widened his stance, and concentrated his Qi into a single point.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll end it with this attack.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Heavenly Dragon Extinction,¡± he muttered as he unsheathed his sword.


    Dark blue light split the world in half. A wave of dark blue light swept along the path of the sh like a tsunami. The dark blue light in the form of a dragon devoured the ck mucus.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    The ck mucus engulfed by the dark blue dragon turned to ash and dissipated in the air.


    ¡°I will kill you...¡± Tai Wuji charged while stepping on thin air and stabbed the monster who had split in half. He red at the monster coldly and continued, ¡°... Until you can no longere back to life.¡±


    ¡°Heh.¡± The monster smiled as he was covered in dark blue mes and extended his arms which were smoking from the cycle of melting and regenerating. ¡°I¡¯m ready when you are.¡±


    Tai Wuji frowned at the monster¡¯s answer.


    He looked up to see the monster¡¯s expression; he was smiling ecstatically while being burned alive by the mes as if he were eager to die.


    <i>¡®He¡¯s just like... a moth to a me.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Crazy bastard,¡± Tai Wuji muttered again.


    There was no other way to describe this monster than that. He frowned in displeasure. He could not be any more disgusted by the monster.


    <i>sh!!</i>


    Tai Wuji cut the monster again and shed before the ck mucus could regain its form.


    <i>sh! sh! sh¡ª!</i>


    He cut the monster over and over again to the point that he lost count of how many times he had swung his sword. The monster ended up in little pieces.


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    The monster no longer had the appearance of a human. The fragmented ck mucus wriggled, and each piece of the monster¡¯s body trembled intermittently.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh,¡± Kang-Woo groaned.


    He was being cut apart before he could even get a hold of himself. He could only repeat the cycle of being shed and regenerating. His remaining sanity was getting devoured by the Demonic Sea.


    <i>¡®Just as I thought...¡¯</i> Kang-Woo stared fixedly at Tai Wuji. <i>¡®He¡¯s strong.¡¯</i>


    The despair that he was facing was insanely powerful. Kang-Woo was dying over and over again without even having a chance to counterattack. At this rate, he would end up being devoured by the Demonic Sea without being able to do anything.


    ¡°<i>In that case, how about it?¡±</i>


    Kang-Woo heard a voice; it was the same voice that he heard every time he opened the Doors. The voice was sweet enough to melt his brain. His desire surged to fill the space of his devoured sanity. A powerful sense of hunger set him alight. It felt like he was on fire; no, he felt like he had be fire itself. Kang-Woo smirked.


    <i>¡®Think.¡¯</i>


    He needed to think of a way to defeat that despair. He needed a way to surpass his limits. He continued to think while being torn apart by Tai Wuji¡¯s sword. He couldn''t face Tai Wuji with normal means that entailed no risks whatsoever.


    <i>¡®In that case, I¡¯ll have to take risks.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo needed to jump into the mes burning him alive of his own ord. If he didn¡¯t he wouldn¡¯t be able to reach Tai Wuji. He spread out his arms and then sped his hands together.


    <i>¡®Chaos.¡¯</i>


    Burst.


    ©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥!!!


    A massive explosion that devoured even sound itself engulfed the surroundings.


    ¡°Kurgh!!¡± Tai Wuji grunted as he was swept into the explosion.


    The sword that he had instinctively swung had slightly melted from the heat. If he had not swung his sword to block the explosion, it would have been himself that melted. Chills ran down Tai Wuji¡¯s back. He looked up at the monster.


    ¡°Argh, kurgh, urgh!¡± Kang-Woo grunted in pain while clenching his chest.


    Tai Wuji had been the one attacked, but Kang-Woo¡¯s condition was worse off. He had used a Chaos skill while a Door was open; his control over the Demonic Sea that had already been running out had bottomed out.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Kang-Woo panted heavily.


    His vision was blurring. His sanity had reached its limit and was screaming at him. The ck sea was engulfing him whole.


    ¡°<i>Cough!</i>¡± Kang-Woo coughed up blood.


    ¡°You...¡± Tai Wuji red at Kang-Woo. ¡°I see.¡± He nodded as if he understood. ¡°You¡¯re like a moth.¡±


    He could tell from the monster¡¯s condition how much risk the monster had shouldered with thatst attack. The monster had caused that explosion while resolving himself to die. He had jumped into the mes without hesitation.


    <i>¡®Crazy bastard.¡¯</i>


    It was not something a sane person could do. Not even Tai Wuji, who had survived countless battles, was able to perform such suicide attacks so nonchntly.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Kang-Woo chuckled.


    <i>¡®A moth, huh?¡¯</i>


    He recalled what Lilith had said to him angrily long ago.


    <i>¡°You know, my king... You¡¯re like a moth to a me.¡±</i>


    Tai Wuji happened to say the same thing.


    ¡°Pfft,¡± Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    He slowly raised his hand¡ª no, what he raised could not even be called a hand. His body, which had been devoured by the Demonic Sea, had turned into something like ck y kneaded hideously.


    ¡°You¡¯re... wrong about that.¡± Kang-Woo shook his head. He was nothing like a moth to a me. That sounded like he was living the the sake of dying. ¡°I¡¯m not doing this shit to die, motherfucker.¡±


    He was not living or taking risks for the sake of dying. He had never once risked his life while desiring to die.


    Kang-Woo ced the hand that he had raised on his heart.


    ¡°<i>In that case, how about it?¡±</i>


    Kang-Woo heard the voice again. He closed his eyes. He was not jumping into the mes to die.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m... jumping into the mes to be fire itself.¡¯</i>


    Fire so colossal that it could burn the entire world whole.


    <i>¡°How about you open another Door?¡± </i>the voice continued.


    Kang-Woo smiled and answered the voice without hesitation, ¡°Sure.¡±


    <i>¡®Let¡¯s open another one.¡¯</i>


    The second Door opened.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [The System has identified an error.]


    [An error has been detected in yer Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s Deific Name.]


    [The new Deific Name has been identified.]


    [Granting yer Oh Kang-Woo with the Deific Name ¡®Voracity.¡¯]


    [Promoting Deific Essence from Intermediate-rank to Top-rank.]

 Chapter 402 - Flames of Voracity

    <h4>Chapter 402 - mes of Voracity</h4>


    ¡°What the...¡±


    Tai Wuji¡¯s expression froze. Something changed once the monster, who had barely been able to maintain his form, ced his hand over his heart.


    <i>¡®What happened?¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji stared at the monster iprehensibly. Once he stopped attacking, the monster slowly returned to his human form. Nothing had changed about him, at least in outer appearance.


    Tai Wuji gulped. His teeth were cking and his hands and feet were trembling. He could barely even breathe properly. He was sure that nothing had changed; he had been one-sidedly driving the monster into a corner, but for some reason, he was feeling extremely scared.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Tai Wuji panted heavily.


    He bit his lip while tightly gripping his slightly melted sword zing with dark blue mes. He lowered his stance anxiously. He thought that his emotions hadpletely dried up, but at this moment, he couldn¡¯t breathe as if he was a frog that hade face to face with a snake.


    ¡°Hah, aaaahh.¡± The monster raised his head.


    The clear sounds of bones cracking rang out from his body. The monster touched himself all over and then smiled.


    ¡°The second one is manageable too, I guess. I wonder if it¡¯s because my Deific Essence rose?¡± Oh Kang-Woo mumbled.


    Tai Wuji could not understand what the monster meant by the second one, but he was able to understand what he said after.


    <i>¡®His Deific Essence... rose?¡¯</i>


    That was impossible. Tai Wuji shook his head as if there was no way. The monster had eaten the Constetion of Fear and stolen his Deific Essence. However, he had done nothing this time that could have raised his Deific Essence. If his Deific Essence rose despite that...


    <i>¡®It means that he...¡¯</i>


    It was only possible if the monster was of the same rank as him or beyond that.


    Tai Wuji bit his lip anxiously. He focused Qi into his eyes and scanned the monster. ¡°Hup!¡±


    Tai Wuji opened his eyes widely. After seeing into the monster¡¯s body, he could see a ck sea as endless as the abyss.


    <i>¡®No, that¡¯s not the important part.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji trembled and gulped in pallor. The ck sea was not the issue. He could see the monster scrunched up at the center of the ck sea, and he was burning¡ª no, he was not burning.


    <i>¡®He¡¯s... bing fire itself.¡¯</i>


    The monster was bing a voracious fire that could burn down the entire world.


    ¡°What in the...¡± Tai Wuji could not finish his sentence.


    His thought process paused due to the sense of fear running down his back. Just then, the monster¡¯s mouth split open.


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s get back to it.¡± The monster smiled.


    Tai Wuji hurriedly raised his sword and enveloped the de in dark blue mes.


    <i>Crack.</i>


    ck fragments of bone flew out from the monster¡¯s body along with the chilling sounds of bones breaking. Countless bone fragments enveloped the surroundings like a tsunami.


    ¡°This is...¡±


    Tai Wuji looked around with shaking eyes. ck bone fragments covered everything around them. He felt like he was inside a giant beast¡¯s stomach. He gripped his sword tighter.


    <i>ck, ck.</i>


    Each fragment was about the size of an index finger. Seeing countless bone fragments wriggling as if they were alive was unimaginably grotesque. It felt like they were surrounded by millions of cockroaches.


    ¡°This time... you won¡¯t be... able to run,¡± someone stammered.


    Tai Wuji turned to the source of the voice and saw a mouth.


    ¡°What the f...¡± Tai Wuji swore unconsciously.


    The monster was covered in ck bone fragments. White teeth could be seen between the wriggling bone fragments. It looked as if the monster had be one giant mouth.


    Chills ran down Tai Wuji¡¯s back. He quickly adjusted his grip on his sword.


    ¡°Heavenly Dragon...¡±


    He raised the sword over his head and focused his entire Qi on his sword. The condensed sword energy lengthened by a few hundred meters and shed with the bone fragments around him.


    <i>Crackle¡ª!!</i>


    Sparks flew from the fragments. Tai Wuji condensed the sword energy even further into a single point; the sword contained enough power to split the entire continent in half.


    He shouted while swinging the sword down, ¡°sh!¡±


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    The sh containing immense power traveled in a straight line, vaporizing the smoke storming around them due to the intense heat. Even space itself was distorted. It was truly apt to call the attack an absolute sh that was able to cut anything in the world, and that very attack with everything Tai Wuji had was shot at the monster who had turned into a giant mouth.


    And then... It disappeared.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Tai Wuji¡¯s eyes widened. Something iprehensible had happened before his eyes. His sword sh that not even Demon God Bauli had been able to take lightly back in the era of myths had disappeared as if it had evaporated. It was as if it had never been used in the first ce.


    ¡°No... No,¡± Tai Wuji mumbled as he trembled uncontrobly. He continued in a voice filled with fear, ¡°It didn¡¯t... disappear.¡±


    Tai Wuji stared at the monster with shaking eyes.


    <i>Crunch, munch.</i>


    The monster was chewing in delight. Tai Wuji¡¯s face was dyed in shock.


    ¡°He... ate it?¡±


    How could someone eat the attack of Heavenly Dragon Tai Wuji, one of the gods of the Triad along with Gaia and Seraph, and an attack performed with all his might, no less?


    ¡°How could...¡±


    Chills ran all over Tai Wuji¡¯s body. He panted heavily as he stared at the monster.


    ¡°<i>Munch, gulp.</i>¡± The monster in the form of a giant mouth turned back into a human. He smiled and pounded on his stomach as if he had enjoyed avish feast. ¡°<i>Burp.</i> Dayum, that was delicious. I love this refined taste of Qi so much.¡±


    Kang-Woo licked his lips with a grin.


    Tai Wuji was not able to close his mouth from the shock. ¡°You... bastard. How did you...¡±


    He had seen the monster eating the Constetion of Fear whole, but this was a different issue entirely. Eating a physical body and eating an attack made of pure energy werepletely different. All forms of power were fundamentally physical; if the monster was able to eat power such as Heavenly Dragon sh that could distort space itself, it meant that there was practically no way to kill this monster.


    ¡°What the fuck?!¡± Tai Wuji swung his sword like a madman,unching a mass of dark blue sword energies at Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Nice,¡± said the monster. His body split in half from his corbone area to his belly button, and from there came out a giant mouth. ¡°After the main dishes dessert.¡±


    The dozens of condensed sword energies disappeared into the monster¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡± Tai Wuji grunted.


    He leaped toward the monster and stabbed him directly with the dark blue sword.


    <i>Crunch.</i>


    Half of the Heavenly Dragon Sword, the de that Tai Wuji had used since the era of myths, was eaten by the monster. Tai Wuji¡¯s face was dyed in shock.


    ¡°Impossible...¡±


    He lost strength in his legs and his arms fell to his sides lifelessly. The fact that the monster didn¡¯t die was not the issue; the issue was that attacking the monster itself was meaningless. Whatever attack he poured at the monster, they simply disappeared into the monster¡¯s mouth.


    Tai Wuji turned around in fear and began to run away.


    ¡°Shit! Shit!¡±


    However, there was nowhere for him to go since he was surrounded by ck bone fragments. The monster slowly walked toward him.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I¡¯m sure there¡¯s more you can do,¡± said the monster in a voice filled with madness, like the growls of a starved beast.


    His eyes were zing with desire, and he was staring at Tai Wuji as if criticizing and reproaching him.


    ¡°Fight harder. Drive me deeper into a corner. Go past your limits and try to trample me until the very end.¡±


    The monster was staring at Tai Wuji in desperation. Tai Wuji clenched the broken Heavenly Dragon Sword and bit his lip. The words of the monster gave him goosebumps rather than humiliation. He was scared.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± the monster sighed deeply and shook his head in disappointment.


    He slowly raised his hand, and ck bone fragments gathered on top of it.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s...¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji¡¯s eyes widened. Each of the bone fragments gathered on top of the monster¡¯s hand contained power. Tai Wuji knew what those powers were.


    <i>¡®Demon... Authorities?¡¯</i>


    Authorities that only select demons possessed were imbued within each of the bone fragments.


    ¡°How...¡±


    How could one possess that many Authorities?


    <i>Crack, crunch.</i>


    The bone fragments collided on top of the monster¡¯s hand. Tai Wuji gulped.


    <i>¡®There are at least over six hundred of them.¡¯</i>


    It was an absurd number. The hundreds of bone fragments each imbued with a different Authority gathered while colliding violently against each other. And then...


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!</i>


    The united Authorities turned into mes; the voracious fire that Tai Wuji had seen with the monster that could engulf the entire world whole.


    <i>¡®mes of Voracity.¡¯</i>


    Those words popped up in Tai Wuji¡¯s head unbeknownst to himself. He believed that there was no better name for mes that could set the entire world aze. The mes of Voracity burning on top of the monster¡¯s hand traveled up his arm and then spread throughout his body. Just like that, the monster became one with the mes of gold and ck.


    Tai Wuji stepped backward. The monster had be fire itself, and only the monster¡¯s teeth remained within it.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t win.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji could not see himself winning no matter how many times he constructed an image of that monster with his transcendent senses.


    <i>¡®In that case...¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji loosened his grip on his sword.


    ¡°Huuu,¡± he exhaled deeply and bit his lip.


    He could no longer fight or run.


    <i>¡®I have no choice.¡¯</i>


    He had sworn to himself that he would never use it even if he were to die, but there was no way to face that monster other than to be a monster himself.


    ¡°You wanted to fight some more, correct?¡± Tai Wuji asked coldly.


    The monster, who had been walking toward Tai Wuji, stopped in his tracks and stared at Tai Wuji in anticipation.


    ¡°I will fulfill your wish,¡± said Tai Wuji as he ced his hand over his chest and closed his eyes.


    He knew that there was no other choice, but he was still reluctant to do it. He was about to abandon the martial arts that he had trained his whole life and be a monster.


    <i>¡®In the end...¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji slowly opened his eyes again and raised his head in sorrow. He had walked down the path of martial arts for ages, but he had not managed to reach the end of the path.


    <i>¡®Kim Si-Hun, was it?¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji wondered if that human would be able to ovee the insurmountable wall that he had been stuck on and reach the end of the path of martial arts. He had no idea, but it was now pointless to wonder. After all, the moment he made this choice, he would never be able to reach it for the rest of his life.


    Tai Wuji let go of his sword. ¡°Unleash.¡±


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!!</i>


    The Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence was unleashed, and immense demonic energy stormed around Tai Wuji¡¯s body.


    <i>Crack, crunch!</i>


    Goat horns appeared on Tai Wuji¡¯s forehead, bat wings sprouted from his back, and a reptilian tail grew from above his butt.


    ¡°Hurgh, argh.¡± Tai Wuji trembled from the immense power surging from himself. ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    Irresistible pleasure ran down his back and throughout the rest of his body.


    ¡°Why did I...¡±


    Why had he denied this power for all this time? He had been turning his back on such great power because of his moronic resolution of wanting to reach the end of the path of martial arts.


    ¡°Haha... Hahahahaha!!¡± Tai Wuji burst intoughter while grabbing his stomach.


    He was boiling with immense desire, and the world around him felt different. He felt so much joy that he had no idea why he had not be a demon this entire time.


    ¡°Die!¡± Tai Wuji shouted while clenching his fist ecstatically.


    He had a feeling that he would be able to defeat the inexplicable monster in front of him with this immense power.


    <i>Boom!!</i>


    Tai Wuji leaped forward, and the bone fragments that he stepped on exploded. He punched the monster in the face, and then...


    <i>Crunch.</i>


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Tai Wuji¡¯s arm disappeared. He looked down nkly at his arm which had be a stump from the elbow down. His mind was a mess after experiencing something iprehensible.


    ¡°<i>Munch, munch...</i> Huh?¡± The monster who had been chewing spat and frowned in displeasure. ¡°The hell?¡±


    The monster extended his arm and aggressively grabbed Tai Wuji¡¯s horn while narrowing his eyes.


    ¡°Why did the taste change?¡±


    <i>¡®Did he go bad?¡¯</i>

 Chapter 403 - The Battle Is Already Over

    <h4>Chapter 403 - The Battle Is Already Over</h4>


    ¡°What the hell did you do?¡± Oh Kang-Woo asked as he frowned.


    Tai Wuji tastedpletely different from before. He had tasted as refined as the finest cuisine, but his energy suddenly turned crude and disorderly. Rather than change, it was more apt to say it had deteriorated.


    Kang-Woo covered his face with his hands and pushed the zing mes away to see.


    ¡°The hell?¡± He frowned after seeing what Tai Wuji had be. He saw bat wings on his back and goat horns on his forehead. Kang-Woo expressed in disappointment, ¡°... No way. Did you be a demon?¡±


    Kang-Woo gritted his teeth aggressively.


    ¡°What the f...¡± he cursed as he stomped his feet in dissatisfaction. ¡°Why... Why did you be a demon, you dumbass?!¡±


    Kang-Woo had been satiating himself within the priceless pleasure and madness brought by the great battle, but...


    ¡°If you became a demon...¡±


    If Tai Wuji put down his sword and reduced himself to a demon...


    ¡°The battle is already over.¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at Tai Wuji in disappointment¡ª no, despair.


    <i>¡®Just a little longer... If we had fought for just a little longer...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked down at himself. He was covered in the mes of Voracity, the gold and ck fire created through the merging of every single Authority that he had gained through the eating of demons.


    <i>¡®I would¡¯ve been able to perfect it.¡¯</i>


    The mes covering Kang-Woo were getting weaker. A feeling of vanity swept over him like a wet nket. He looked down in disappointment at the mes of Voracity, which had been reduced to a small ember.


    The Authority of ze used by Prince Mammon could not even bepared to the mes of Voracity, made through the merging of all the Authorities within the Demonic Sea, sacred power, and demonic energy. Not even the explosion that he had created through the Chaos skill could bepared to it.


    Kang-Woo stared in disappointment as the mes powerful enough to burn the entire world to a crisp disappeared from his fingertips. He clicked his tongue.


    <i>¡®Well, at the very least...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo lightly waved his hand, and it turned into gold and ck mes.


    <i>¡®It hasn¡¯t disappearedpletely.¡¯</i>


    He was able to mimic the mes of Voracity to an extent.


    <i>¡®This is good enough for now.¡¯</i>


    mes of this level were more than enough to face Tai Wuji; no, he honestly did not need the mes of Voracity to face Tai Wuji anymore.


    <i>¡®With the way he is now...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was confident that he would be able to defeat him even with the second Door closed. That was how weak Tai Wuji felt to him.


    ¡°What... the...¡± Tai Wuji stared at Kang-Woo iprehensibly as his eyes shook. ¡°Why...?¡±


    He had surely be stronger; he was surging with power that had rushed into him through the unleashing of the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence. He now possessed enough power to vaporize an entire star.


    <i>¡®So why...¡¯</i>


    Why was he still no match for that monster? Tai Wuji trembled and bit his lip as he clenched what remained of his other arm after the monster ate it.


    ¡°What do you mean... the battle is already over?¡± Tai Wuji asked while ring at Kang-Woo.


    The battle was not over yet. He had gained power iparable to what he had before unleashing the Deific Essence. He should be the one saying that the battle was already over.


    ¡°I mean exactly what I said,¡± Kang-Woo answered uninterestedly. He stared at Tai Wuji, who had be a demon, deplorably and continued, ¡°You were stronger before you turned into a demon.¡±


    Before turning into a demon, Tai Wuji had been magnificent and thrill-inducing. However...


    ¡°Now, you¡¯re nothing but a strong dumbass.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit!¡±


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Tai Wuji aggressively stomped his feet. Suffocating power poured out from him; it was the power that Demon God Bauli had granted him. The Transcendent-rank Deific Essence only possessed by Titans, beings that have existed since before the era of myths, was now in his hands.


    <i>¡®A strong dumbass, you say?¡¯</i>


    That was impossible. Tai Wuji refused to believe it was possible since he had to let go of the martial arts that he had spent all his life training to gain this power. He gritted his teeth and extended his remaining arm toward Kang-Woo.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!!¡±


    <i>Rumble!!</i>


    A storm of ck waves, formed by the immense demonic energy Tai Wuji had earned through unleashing the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence, shot at Kang-Woo. The wave of demonic energy was so powerful that it could vaporize the entire continent of Aernor. However...


    ¡°What¡¯s so impossible about it, man?¡± Kang-Woo mentioned.


    <i>Poof.</i>


    The wave of demonic energy vanished without a trace. It brought about no change whatsoever as if one had poured a bucket of water into an ocean.


    Kang-Woo spat in dissatisfaction. ¡°See? It tastes like shit.¡±


    Tai Wuji¡¯s expression dyed in shock. The surging sense of vanity drained him of his strength. He copsed down to his knees and lowered his head with nk eyes.


    ¡°Just... why?¡±


    ¡°Do you still not understand?¡± Kang-Woo stared at Tai Wuji in disdain. ¡°Did you seriously think you were beating me because you were strong?¡±


    Kang-Woo smirked and shook his head. The reason why he had not been able to surpass Tai Wuji was not just because Tai Wuji was strong. If that was the only reason, Kang-Woo would have won the moment he opened the first Door of the Demonic Sea since the power contained by the Demonic Sea was nearly infinite.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    He was not able to surpass Tai Wuji; he had lost so miserably that he had no choice but to open the second Door while risking his life. In the first ce, Tai Wuji was not able to defeat him because he was strong.


    ¡°No, there¡¯s no way that¡¯s the case,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    Tai Wuji had only been able to overpower Kang-Woo so one-sidedly because the realm of martial arts that he reached through endless training had been so incredibly high.


    <i>¡®I barely know martial arts.¡¯</i>


    He had learned a little from Kim Si-Hun, but what he had learned was barely the tip of the iceberg. Compared to Tai Wuji¡¯s knowledge of martial arts, it was fair to say that Kang-Woo knew nothing about martial arts.


    <i>¡®Even if I dedicate my life to martial arts...¡¯</i>


    He would never be able to reach the realm that Tai Wuji had reached; that was how impressive Tai Wuji had been.


    ¡°But you threw all that away?¡± Kang-Woo sighed deeply and clicked his tongue.


    The moment Tai Wuji abandoned his sword and became a demon, he practically challenged Kang-Woo to a battle of pure strength using demonic energy.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    There was no way Kang-Woo would lose in such a battle.


    ¡°Fucking dumbass,¡± Kang-Woo said in condemnation with no intent to mock Tai Wuji in any way.


    Tai Wuji looked down at himself nkly in shock. He had gained this power by giving up everything that he had umted until now.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    He had lost the hope of being able to defeat that monster exactly because he had given everything up. His head was burning up, and he was having trouble breathing due to the horrible sense of regret. His vision blurred as he was filled with uncontroble fury.


    ¡°Shut... up.¡±


    Tai Wuji stood up. He did not acknowledge¡ª no, could not acknowledge his blunder. He had no choice but to be a monster himself to face that monster. There had been no other way than to let go of his sword.


    ¡°Let us see how long you can pretend to be in leisure,¡± said Tai Wuji as he stood up while fluttering his bat wings.


    Kang-Woo chuckled. ¡°What, are you going so far as to fabricate your memories now?¡±


    There was no way Tai Wuji wouldn¡¯t know that the gap between them had widened after he became a demon. Kang-Woo could easily guess why Tai Wuji was not acknowledging the fact that he had made the irreversible blunder of abandoning his martial arts.


    ¡°Sick bastard,¡± Kang-Woo red at Tai Wuji in contempt and shook his head in disappointment. ¡°You just fabricate any memory that you don¡¯t like, huh?¡±


    Tai Wuji was just consoling himself that he was not wrong and that he had made the right choice. It could not be any more pathetic. Tai Wuji¡¯s shamelessness disgusted Kang-Woo.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [I mean, you¡¯re not one to talk¡ª]


    ¡°I¡¯m disappointed in you, Tai Wuji.¡±


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists.


    <i>Fwoosh.</i>


    The mes of Voracity covered his fists; the gold and ck mes burned fiercely as if they wanted to eat some more.


    ¡°How can one who barely knows himself ever hope to know his enemies?¡± Kang-Woo said as if criticizing Tai Wuji.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [Like I said, you¡¯re not one to t¡ª]


    <i>Bam!</i>


    Kang-Woo stomped his feet and swung his fist, and the mes of Voracity extended in the direction of his swing.


    ¡°Grrrrrrrrr!!¡± Tai Wuji growled like a beast and raised his arm.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    He burst with demonic energy while protecting himself with his bat wings.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    However, the surging demonic energy was all too easily devoured by the mes of Voracity and disappeared.


    <i>¡®What an insane technique...!¡¯ </i>Tai Wuji thought.


    He stepped back in shock. The mes that the monster had made were monstrous beyond belief. Attacks were meaningless before those mes because they devoured everything in their path. It was as useless as shooting a water gun at a giant tsunami.


    The mes of Voracity grewrger after eating the demonic energy and continued to aim for Tai Wuji.


    <i>¡®To get through those mes and kill that monster...¡¯</i>


    There was no other way than to attack with power that the mes of Voracity could not absorb all at once.


    <i>¡®But how?¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji had not been able to ovee those mes with either the strongest sword attack he had or the power he had acquired after unleashing the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®There isn¡¯t a way.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji lowered his head. However much he thought, he could not think of a way to kill that monster. Just then...


    <i>Wriggle.</i>


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Tai Wuji¡¯s eyes widened. He could feel something squirming on his chest.


    <i>¡®Could it be...?¡¯</i>


    His eyes shone as he took out the object with his one remaining arm.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    In his hand was a ck lump squirming as if it was alive. The lump was absorbing the energy that was fiercely reverberating around them.


    ¡°The Key of the Demonic Sea...¡±


    The Demon God¡¯s legacy was on the verge of beingpleted. Tai Wuji stared at the pulsing ck lump with shaking eyes. A ray of hope lit up his eyes.


    <i>¡®If it¡¯s the Demon God¡¯s legacy... With this ck lump that contains Demon God Bauli¡¯s power... I¡¯ll be able to kill that monster.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji grasped the ck lump while smiling ecstatically.


    ¡°Ha... Hahahahahaha!¡± he burst intoughter.


    He could feel the overwhelming power from the Demon God¡¯s legacy. Power even greater than what he had obtained after unleashing the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence flowed into him. It was so massive that he felt unbeatable. He had a feeling that he would be able to extinguish that monster¡¯s mes with ease.


    Tai Wuji tried to pull in the ck lump while bursting intoughter, but...


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    It was not budging. The ck lump was squirming in his hand as if it was unhappy. Immense pressure spread his fingers apart.


    ¡°W-Wait!¡±


    The Demon God¡¯s legacy escaped Tai Wuji¡¯s grasp and moved on its own in the air.


    ¡°N-No...¡±


    The ck lump flew toward Kang-Woo like a dog running to its owner. Tai Wuji¡¯s face dyed with despair.


    ¡°Nooooooooo!!¡±


    Kang-Woo caught the ck lump that flew toward him. It squirmed in Kang-Woo¡¯s hand happily like a dog begging to be pet by its owner.


    ¡°The hell is this thing?¡± Kang-Woo tilted his head.

 Chapter 404 - Stay In There Forever

    <h4>Chapter 404 - Stay In There Forever</h4>


    ¡°The hell is this thing?¡± Oh Kang-Woo tilted his head as he stared at the ck lump in his hand.


    It was squirming happily like a dog begging to be petted by its owner.


    <i>¡®Huh?¡¯</i>


    It felt extremely familiar for some reason as if he had found the missing half of a precious item. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he stared at the ck lump in his hand.


    ¡°Wh-Why...¡±


    Tai Wuji copsed to his knees in despair. After experiencing a moment of hope, the despair that came after was soul-crushing.


    ¡°How many goddamn times are you gonna say that?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    <i>¡®Are you trying to fill the page space?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Why do you have so many goddamn things to ask? Just ept things as they are.¡±


    Kang-Woo smirked and walked toward Tai Wuji. Seeing the state he was in, extending the fight any longer seemed meaningless.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m notpletely satisfied, but...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled as he recalled the sense of despair and vanity he felt when he first met Tai Wuji. The sparks of pleasure that he felt could not bepared to anything else.


    <i>¡®I wonder how many more times I¡¯ll be able to experience something like this?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly. It had been an extremely long time since he had faced his limits. He faced the despairingly insurmountable wall and then surpassed it like he had always done. The pleasure that came with surpassing his limits was so sweet that he felt like his brain was melting.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo sighed.


    His mind was unexpectedly clear despite opening two Doors.


    <i>¡®What in the world is happening to me?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had no idea; he had long since be an unprecedented being. He was growing at an unfathomable rate. Not even he knew what would be waiting for him at the end of the road.


    ¡°Well, I guess it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    He didn¡¯t care much about what would be waiting for him at the end. He would just move forward like he had always done.


    ¡°Let¡¯s end this,¡± Kang-Woo stated as he slowly walked toward Tai Wuji, who had his head lowered while on his knees.


    He raised his arm that burned fiercely with the mes of Voracity. Just then...


    <i>Wriggle.</i>


    The ck lump on his hand squirmed. It slowly moved toward the ck ring on his right hand. Then, Kang-Woo¡¯s field of vision turned ck.


    <i>¡®What the hell?¡¯</i>


    He suddenly saw an endless ck sea and was pulled into it.


    <i>Wriggle¡ª!</i>


    The sea pulsed, and the world distorted. Something was trying to crawl out from the deepest part of the ck sea.


    [Finally, finally!]


    The sea split in half. The first thing that Kang-Woo saw was the giant eye that spanned a kilometer, which he had seen before. Dozens of such eyes within pulsating darkness appeared from the split sea. It was a Titan sorge that no words could describe its size.


    <i>¡®You¡¯re...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the Titan with deeply sunken eyes.


    The Titan shouted ecstatically, [The key that will free me has finally appeared!]


    The Titan smiled and extended his arm toward Kang-Woo. Once he did, the ring on Kang-Woo¡¯s right hand was pulled out. The Key of the Demonic Seabined with the ck lump and slowly fell toward the Titan.


    [Kehe, kahahahahahaha!!]


    The Demon God¡¯s crazedughter shook the Demonic Sea. Kang-Woo slowly looked down at the massive Titan and smiled.


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to crawl out again? I¡¯m surprised you don¡¯t get tired of it,¡± Kang-Woo remarked mockingly.


    The Demon God blinked; just that was enough to cause massive waves in the sea.


    [He... Hehehe. Cursed puppet. Do you have any idea how long the time of prophecy has been dyed because of you?]


    ¡°How should I fucking know? Forget that.¡± Kang-Woo pointed at the falling Key of the Demonic Sea while staring at the Demon God. ¡°Why don¡¯t you return what¡¯s mine first?¡±


    [Hah! The Key of the Demonic Sea is yours, you say?]


    The Demon God feignedughter.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    The Demon God stomped his feet, shaking the entire Demonic Sea.


    [I am the true owner of this key!]


    The Demon God burst intoughter as he looked at the ring slowly falling toward him. His hand was getting closer to reaching the Key of the Demonic Sea.


    [Finally... I can get out of the Abyss of the Demonic Sea.] He had been imprisoned here for far too long. He cackled as he stared at Kang-Woo. [I will make good use of your body.]


    ¡°Jesus, man.¡± Kang-Woo frowned. He had felt this when he met the Demon God for the first time, but... ¡°Why are each of your lines so goddamn shitty?¡±


    <i>¡®Are you from the DC Universe?¡¯</i>


    ¡°And you call yourself a final boss? Huh? Try to at least sound badass. There¡¯s no tension in the story whatsoever because you¡¯re being such a dickhead. Come up with some kind of cool persona like Tai Wuji. Barking like a mutt does nothing for you.¡±


    Kang-Woo looked down at the Demon God in dissatisfaction. Having the character that was supposed to be the mastermind spoutingme lines like thatpletely killed the tension in the air.


    The Demon God was lost for words. Rage filled his massive eyes. [A mere puppet dares¡ª]


    ¡°There you go with the crap lines again.¡±


    [Your leisurely attitude ends now!]


    ¡°Jesus Christ. You never learn.¡±


    Kang-Woo sighed in disappointment. The Demon God extended his arm toward the Key of the Demonic Sea while gritting his teeth.


    [Come!]


    His thunderous voice shook the ck sea. Kang-Woo looked down at him in silence and then slowly extended his arm as well.


    <i>Fwoosh.</i>


    The mes of Voracity burned on his hand, and then the Key of the Demonic Sea that had been falling toward the Demon God stopped.


    [What?]


    The Demon God¡¯s eyes shook. The ck lump peeked out of the Key of the Demonic Sea and looked around like a lost puppy looking for its owner. It looked back and forth at Kang-Woo and the Demon God.


    [Over here! I am your master!] the Demon God shouted.


    Kang-Woo smiled faintly and waved around the mes of Voracity as if he were waving food at a dog.


    <i>Wriggle. </i>The ck lump twisted around in confusion.


    ¡°What are you thinking so hard about?¡± Kang-Woo said as if persuading the ck lump. ¡°I am the master of this Demonic Sea.¡±


    <i>Wriggle. </i>The ck lump twisted as if it were tilting its head.


    [Bull! I am the master of the Demonic Sea!]


    ¡°Big words for a dickhead who¡¯s stuck here and can¡¯t even get out.¡± Kang-Woo snickered.


    Darkness was wrapped around the Demon God¡¯s legs like tentacles to prevent him from getting out through the split sea. He was still imprisoned in the Abyss and was unable to get out of the Demonic Sea.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you can see¡ª Well, I guess you can¡¯t see since you don¡¯t have eyes. Regardless, you can tell who the master of this sea is, can¡¯t you?¡± Kang-Woo asked the ck lump.


    <i>Wriggle.</i> The ck lump moved up and down as if it were nodding.


    It slipped back into the ring and slowly floated up toward Kang-Woo.


    [N-No!] the Demon God shouted anxiously. He red at Kang-Woo in fury. [How dare a mere puppet proim to be the master of the Demonic Sea?!]


    ¡°What~?¡± Kang-Woo said while putting one hand behind his ear. ¡°I can¡¯t hear you because you¡¯re stuck so far down in the Abyss like a fucking loser~!¡±


    [You son of a bitch!!]


    <i>Rumble!!</i>


    The Demon God twisted and turned like a madman, which Kang-Wooughed at as he watched.


    The Demon God shouted while ring at Kang-Woo, [I am your creator! I made you, and I raised you!]


    ¡°Wait, what? Then... You were my mom?¡±


    [That is not what I meant!!]


    ¡°Mom.¡± Kang-Woo looked down at the Demon God with trembling eyes. ¡°I wanted to meet you so much, Mom.¡±


    [Son of a bitch!! I told you that is not what I meant!!]


    ¡°Oh, sorry. I guess you¡¯re my dad, right?¡±


    [Aaarrrggghhh!!] The Demon God pounded on his chest in frustration.


    He raised his colossal fist and swung it at Kang-Woo. It contained power so unfathomable that it could easily destroy a world. Kang-Woo did not dodge it¡ª no, there was no need for him to.


    <i>Whoosh!</i>


    The fist stopped right before it hit Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo smirked as he looked at the fist that was at least a few kilometers wide.


    ¡°What? You¡¯re not gonna kill me? If you¡¯re so mad, why don¡¯t you just do it?¡±


    [U-Urghh.]


    ¡°Pfft! Bwehehehehe!!¡± Kang-Woo burst intoughter while gripping his stomach. ¡°Yeah, I guess you can¡¯t. After all, if I die and my body is annihted, you¡¯ll be stuck here forever.¡±


    The Demon God remained silent.


    ¡°Oh, but you¡¯ll still be stuck here forever even if you don¡¯t kill me.¡±


    [Shut... up.]


    ¡°What a dipshit. If I were in your shoes, I would have punched me at least once out of irritation.¡±


    [I told you... to shut up.]


    ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯d die if I got hit by you even once. Why don¡¯t you just kill me? Hm? Do you not even have a shred of pride? Just close your eyes and swing your fist! And then, you can just rot in here for the rest of your life.¡±


    [I told you to shut up!!] the Demon God shouted crazily as he stared daggers at Kang-Woo. [You... are nothing!!] He clenched his fists tightly as he twisted around to get out of the Abyss. [You are nothing without me!!!]


    ¡°I could say the same to you.¡±


    [Do you seriously believe you¡¯d be able to maintain control of the Demonic Sea without me?!]


    ¡°What does that matter? You¡¯ll never be getting out of here anyway.¡±


    [You are nothing but my puppet!!]


    Kang-Woo licked his lips.


    <i>¡®A puppet, huh?¡¯</i>


    That could be true. Based on what the Demon God said, he seemed to have created him for real. He did not know how it happened since he had no memories of the past. However, he knew that he was a doll created by the Demon God. It was likely because of him that Kang-Woo fell into Hell and possessed the Authority of Predation from the beginning.


    ¡°So? So what? Should I say shit like <i>¡°I-I¡¯ve been a puppet all along?!¡±</i> while bawling my eyes out for you? Or does something like<i> ¡°Th-That¡¯s impossible!¡±</i> while falling into despair feel better for you? Fuck you. Who the hell do you think you are?¡±


    Kang-Woo slowly raised his hand, and the Key of the Demonic Sea enveloped by the Demon God¡¯s legacy was put on his right middle finger again.


    ¡°I am the master of the Demonic Sea.¡±


    <i>Fwoosh!</i> mes surged around them.


    ¡°I am not your puppet, you son of a bitch.¡±


    The mes of Voracity swallowed up the Demonic Sea to grow bigger.


    ¡°And I... am... Iron M¡ª Oh Kang-Woo.¡±


    [What?]


    ¡°Sorry, it was a bit embarrassing to say.¡±


    Kang-Woo raised his hand with the Key of the Demonic Sea on it.


    [The Demon God¡¯s legacy has been absorbed into the Key of the Demonic Sea.]


    [All functions of the ¡®Key of the Demonic Sea¡¯ have been unlocked.]


    [The ¡®Key of the Demonic Sea¡¯ has chosen the ¡®God of Voracity¡¯ as its owner!]


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    The Demonic Sea shook. An unfathomable amount of power surged into Kang-Woo.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    Kang-Woo was set aze with golden mes.


    [N-No...]


    The Demon God reached out his arm, but the Abyss that stuck itself to his legs did not let him go.


    [Aaarrrggghhh!!] The Demon God¡¯s screams echoed throughout the Demonic Sea.


    The split sea slowly began to close.


    ¡°Stop bothering to try toe out.¡± Kang-Woo snickered as he looked down at the struggling Demon God. ¡°Just stay in the forever.¡±


    Kang-Woo snapped his finger. mes of Voracity poured out of the Key of the Demonic Sea. They devoured the sea and created a long road, and Kang-Woo followed the road out of the Demonic Sea.

 Chapter 405 - To My King

    <h4>Chapter 405 - To My King</h4>


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    The nightmarish voracious mes powerful enough to engulf the entire world zed.


    ¡°Why...¡± Tai Wuji¡¯s eyes shook.


    Oh Kang-Woo suddenly turned into a giant ck sphere the moment the Demon God¡¯s legacy stuck to him. Tai Wuji had no idea what was happening inside, but there was one thing he knew.


    ¡°Why... do I feel... his energy from...¡±


    Tai Wuji could vividly feel from within the ck sphere Demon God Bauli, his former enemy but now master to whom he had pledged his soul, imprisoned within an endless abyss. He could hear him struggling and roaring. Tai Wuji¡¯s face paled from imagining an absurd possibility.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s as if... he¡¯s been devoured by the monster.¡¯</i>


    The Demon God was bellowing miserably within the monster.


    ¡°Why... Why... Why...?¡± Tai Wuji continued to ask.


    He had no idea what the monster was, why the Demon God, whom he had been trying to revive, was inside the monster, and why the Demon God was unable to get out. The shing of the information flowing into his brain and the logic that was already in there made him nauseous.


    <i>Crack.</i>


    And then, the ck sphere slowly split open. Tai Wuji looked up with shining eyes, hoping that it was his master who hade out of the sphere.


    ¡°What a persistent fellow,¡± said the one who hade out of the sphere.


    However, what came out of the sphere was not hope but bottomless despair.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡± Tai Wuji trembled with his mouth agape.


    He hoped that all of this was a lie and just a bad dream.


    ¡°Now, then.¡± Kang-Woo ced his hand on the trembling Tai Wuji¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Time to eat the rest.¡±


    <i>Split.</i>


    Kang-Woo widened his mouth and ate Tai Wuji whole before his hopes could be fulfilled.


    <i>Crunch.</i>


    Chilling sounds of bones breaking echoed.


    ***


    ¡°Haaa, haaa!¡± Cha Yeon-Joo panted heavily.


    ¡°<i>Skree!</i>¡±


    A demonic beast that looked like a giant scorpion charged toward Yeon-Joo and shot its tail at her. However, the scorpion did not have a stinger at the end of its tail, but something that looked like a crocodile¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Guh...!¡± Yeon-Joo quickly twisted her body.


    <i>Snap!</i>


    The demonic beast¡¯s tail just grazed her and mmed into the ground. Arge hole formed on the ground as if it had been dug with an excavator.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Yeon-Joo cursed.


    <i>tter!</i>


    Chains poured out from her bracelets and coiled around the scorpion¡¯s tail. She grabbed the chains like a certain spider hero and jumped behind the demonic beast.


    <i>¡®Energy Drain.¡¯</i>


    The demonic beast¡¯s life force was rapidly absorbed through the chains. As long as she stayed like this, the demonic beast would be a dry corpse after some time.


    ¡°Grrrrrkk!¡±


    ¡°Kyaaaah!¡±


    However, the demonic beast¡¯s struggles were fiercer than Yeon-Joo had expected. The demonic beast violently swung its tail while trying to aim for Yeon-Joo with the crocodile mouth at the end of its tail. Yeon-Joo was flung around like the striking head of a il.


    ¡°Urpp!¡± She covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself from vomiting.


    She was slowly losing her grip on the chains.


    <i>¡®Not good¡ª¡¯</i>


    Just as warming signals rang out inside her head, someone caught her.


    ¡°Bal...rog?¡±


    It was Balrog, who was currently in the form of a tall brown-haired young man to hide his demon appearance. He reached for the chains before answering Yeon-Joo.


    ¡°Hey, wait¡ª¡±


    Energy Drain did not distinguish between friend and foe. If Balrog touched the chains, his life force would also be drained. However, he ignored Yeon-Joo¡¯s warning and grabbed the chains.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Balrog stomped his feet aggressively and pulled the chains.


    ¡°<i>Skreeeee!</i>¡±


    The scorpion which was about a dozen meters tall was dragged toward Balrog. Balrog lowered his stance and raised his fist.


    <i>Ker-thunk.</i>


    A ck gauntlet formed on his hand by summoning the Overlord Armor, and he swung down his fist like an ax.


    <i>Smash¡ª!!</i>


    The giant scorpion¡¯s head was crushed with just one blow. Green fluids sttered all over the ce.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Balrog let go of the chains and turned toward Yeon-Joo.


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s mouth refused to close after witnessing such absurd strength.


    ¡°<i>Skreee!</i>¡±


    More demonic beasts charged toward them. Balrog lightly twisted and swung his arm. Just that light motion was enough to mangle the demonic beasts and blow them back.


    ¡°Uhhh... They were called ancient demonic beasts, right? How did they even get here?¡± Yeon-Joo asked cautiously.


    Balrog clicked his tongue and shook his head. ¡°This isn¡¯t good.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Kim Si-Hun and Gaia¡¯s incarnation have been incapacitated. The king¡¯s woman has left the battlefield as well.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What?¡± Yeon-Joo¡¯s eyes widened. She asked as her voice and lips trembled, ¡°Are they... dead?¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re not.¡± Balrog shook his head, at which Yeon-Joo expressed relief. Balrog continued in irritation, ¡°But we¡¯ve been put in a bad spot because of that.¡±


    Leaving Gaia¡¯s incarnation aside, Kim Si-Hun¡¯s absence severely impacted theirbat ability. There weren¡¯t many people who were able to face ancient demonic beasts and there were far too many regr demonic beasts. Most importantly...


    ¡°The Constetion of Nightmares has joined the battle.¡±


    The participation of the boy with nk eyes, who didn¡¯t seem to have any use inbat, hadpletely flipped the momentum of the battle. Not only could the Constetion of Nightmares control demonic beasts, but he could also cast powerful buffs on them like Han Seol-Ah.


    In addition to that, Halcyon and Echidna had also left the formation to retrieve La, who was injured during her battle against Proserpine, and Kim Si-Hun, who was left in the middle of the battlefield while enveloped in a golden barrier.


    ¡°The line would have been broken long ago if not for the angels,¡± Balrog said calmly.


    However, the contents of his words were not things to take lightly. It meant that Balrog was here because he was going from ce to ce to hold the copsing line as best as he could.


    ¡°W-Will we be able to hold out, then?¡± Yeon-Joo asked anxiously after hearing the gist of the situation.


    Balrog shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. One thing I know for sure is that we have to hold the line until the king returns.¡±


    Balrog charged forward, and Yeon-Joo quickly followed behind him.


    ¡°Gaaaaaahhh!¡±


    ¡°Arghhh!¡±


    ¡°H-Help me!¡±


    Screams echoed from all around them. A swarm of demonic beasts was massacring the humans and angels.


    <i>Bash! Crush!</i>


    ¡°<i>Roaaaar!</i>¡±


    Balrog arrived at the copsing line and charged forward while wiping out demonic beasts with Overlord Armor gauntlets on both arms fuming like a steam engine. Chains spread out like a and blocked the demonic beasts¡¯ escape route.


    [<i>Skreeeeeeeeeeee!!</i>]


    Just then, a giant snake rose as the ground shook and split. Ouroboros, a twenty-meter-long snake red at Balrog as it flicked its snakelike tongue.


    ¡°Step back,¡± Balrog said calmly to Yeon-Joo and raised his fists.


    [Grrrrrr.] Ouroboros stared at Balrog with its slit pupils. It stammered, [You... face me... dare... by yourself?]


    Its sentence structure was also a little off. Although it possessed intelligence because it was an ancient demonic beast, it did not seem to possess full intelligence.


    [A human... impertinent... you are.]


    Ouroboros twisted its giant body and swung its thick tail.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Balrog blocked the tail but was pushed back, lines forming on the ground as his feet dragged. However, that was only for a moment; Balrog grabbed Ouroboros¡¯s tail with both arms and smirked.


    ¡°I never imagined I would hear such a thing from a mere demonic beast.¡±


    <i>Crack!</i>


    Balrog¡¯s hands dug into the flesh of Ouroboros¡¯s tail.


    [Graaaaaaaaahh!]


    ¡°A demonic beast should....¡±


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Balrog stomped his feet and lifted Ouroboros with his absurd strength.


    ¡°Stick to roaring like a beast!¡±


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    Balrog flung the twenty-meter snake away.


    [<i>Skreeeeee!</i>]


    Ouroboros writhed in pain.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    Just then, a giant demonic beast covered in mes jumped out from behind the copsed Ouroboros. It was Bul-Kathos, a fire demonic beast referred to as the final form of demonic beasts like the Hell Hound and Cerberus. The giant lion red at Balrog as its mane made of fire fluttered.


    Balrog remained silent.


    He was facing two ancient demonic beasts. Not only that, but they were many times stronger than usual thanks to receiving the power of the Constetion of Nightmares. It would be difficult to face even one, but now there were two of them.


    <i>¡®This won¡¯t be easy.¡¯</i>


    That was an understatement; Balrog would not be able to win. He slowly walked forward.


    ¡°H-Hey! I-It¡¯s dangerous!¡± Yeon-Joo shouted.


    Balrog continued to walk forward firmly. He knew that he was no match for them both, but he walked forward regardless; no, he needed to.


    Balrog saw his king¡¯s familiar back. He turned around to see Yeon-Joo shouting at him. He could see his past self¡ª no, his current self in her.


    <i>¡®Was this... how you felt?¡¯</i>


    If they failed to hold this line, the demonic beasts would invade the heart of their formation in an instant. There were the copsed Gaia and Kim Si-Hun there, and likely Lilith as well.


    ¡°Kehehe,¡± Balrogughed softly.


    He had never felt this way before. He turned forward again to see Ouroboros and Bul-Kathos ring at him. Just seeing those two was enough to make him hold his breath. He was filled with anxiety and fear. However...


    <i>¡®Just like the king always does...¡¯</i>


    He walked forward, toward the two ancient demonic beasts.


    <i>Ker-thunk.</i>


    The gauntlets on his arms slowly grew bigger. The sounds of cogs turning echoed within him. He raised his hand and touched his pendant. His human skin disappeared and he grew bigger, bursting muscles taking the ce of his weak human body. Goat horns and bat wings grew from him as well.


    ¡°Hurghhh.¡±


    Balrog was in his demon form for only a moment. ck armor began to wrap around him. They covered his chest, shoulders, stomach, thighs, and legs one by one. Metallic sounds echoed from between the gaps in the armor. Cogwheels filled the joint areas of the armor as if Balrog was wearing a robotic suit.


    <i>Pshhh¡ª!</i>


    White vapor burst out from the gaps in the armor as the cogwheels turned quickly.


    ¡°Victory...¡± Balrog slowly clenched his fist. ¡°To my king.¡±

 Chapter 406 - I’ll Show You A Whole New World

    <h4>Chapter 406 - I¡¯ll Show You A Whole New World</h4>


    <i>Pshhhhh¡ª!</i>


    White vapor burst out from the gaps in the armor. Balrog clenched his fists as his entire body surged with power. He lowered his stance and pulled one leg back.


    <i>Boom¡ª!!</i>


    Balrog shot forward like a cannon toward the forehead of Bul-Kathos, the lion with a ming mane. He twisted in midair, pulled his right fist as far back as possible, and punched with all his might.


    <i>Bash¡ª!</i>


    [Grrrrrr!]


    Bul-Kathos scrunched up while growling in pain after getting hit right on the forehead. mes poured out from its mane as it shook its head. The Overlord Armor covering Balrog glowed red hot.


    ¡°Kurgh,¡± Balrog grunted as he retreated.


    His skin under the Overlord Armor was melting from the intense heat. Intense pain as if he was being seared on a hot iron spread throughout his body. Ouroboros¡¯s giant tail whipped him before he even had a chance to get a hold of himself.


    ¡°Hup!¡±


    <i>Crash!</i>


    Balrog reflexively raised his arms to block the tail. His feet dragged along the ground while leaving marks.


    [Weren¡¯t... human... you,] Ouroboros stammered.


    [Why has a demon sided with the humans?] Bul-Kathos spoke clearly.


    ¡°I am simply following my king¡¯smand,¡± Balrog answered concisely as he retook a battle stance.


    [King?]


    [Who... King?]


    Bul-Kathos and Ouroboros tilted their heads in wonder. Balrog pulled his right arm back without answering them.


    <i>Ker-thunk.</i>


    The sound of gears interlocking with each other rang. White vapor fumed from Balrog¡¯s elbow.


    ¡°Sky...¡±


    <i>Bam!</i>


    He stomped his feet and punched forward.


    ¡°Breaker.¡±


    <i>Whoosh!</i>


    The white vaporpressed into a sphere and shot out like a cannon. Bul-Kathos opened its mouth widely and let out a me breath like a dragon would. The vapor and the mes shed.


    <i>Tsssss¡ª!</i>


    Intense heat swept everything around them. The heat and vapor mixed to create a heat storm, melting everything in the area.


    ¡°Arghhh!¡±


    ¡°<i>Skreee!</i>¡±


    A massive hole was formed in the eye of the heat storm. Humans, angels, and demonic beasts all ran away to not get caught in the storm.


    ¡°Kurgh.¡± Balrog scrunched up, having difficulty handling the heat as well.


    [<i>Hisssss!</i>]


    Ouroboros widened its giant mouth and charged at Balrog, purple liquid dripping from its sharp fangs.


    ¡°Kuh!¡±


    Balrog quickly grabbed Ouroboros¡¯s fangs and stomped on its bottom mouth to prevent it from swallowing him.


    <i>Tssssss¡ª!</i>


    ¡°Gurgh, argh.¡±


    Ouroboros¡¯s powerful venom melted the ck armor around Balrog¡¯s hands, exposing his skin. He screamed as horrible pain traveled up from his hands.


    ¡°A-Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!¡±


    He focused the power of the Overlord Armor on his arms, and the melting gauntlets were restored. Cracks formed on Ouroboros¡¯s fangs.


    [How... my fangs... did you...] Ouroboros stammered in bewilderment.


    Balrog roared as his eyes lit up, ¡°Raaaaaaaaahhh!!¡±


    He pulled out Ouroboros¡¯s fangs and purple venom poured out like a fountain. He quickly leaped away and tumbled to the ground.


    [<i>Skreeeeeeeeee!!</i>] Ouroboros screamed.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa.¡± Balrog stood up while panting heavily as the Overlord Armor on his hands melted and regenerated repeatedly. ¡°Kurgh...¡±


    Balrog staggered as his vision blurred; he felt his strength leaving his body. The Overlord Armor was manifested through his blood. The more the armor was damaged, the more blood he lost to restore it.


    ¡°<i>Huff, huff,</i>¡± Balrog caught his breath to calm down his trembling.


    He had pulled out Ouroboros¡¯s fangs, but there was one more enemy to worry about. Bul-Kathos was ring at him while growling ferociously.


    <i>¡®This isn¡¯t good.¡¯</i>


    He had known that facing two ancient demonic beasts would be difficult, but it felt nearly impossible after actually facing them. There was no way that he would be able to face them both at once without taking risks.


    <i>¡®I have to... put my life on the line.¡¯</i>


    Just like what his king always did. Balrog chuckled as he recalled himself getting angry at his king, who constantly risked his life without a second thought.


    <i>¡®... I can see now that you had no choice.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had not risked his life for the sake of dying; he had simply done it because there was no other choice.


    ¡°... Hah,¡± Balrogughed unbeknownst to himself.


    He was trembling and was having a hard time breathing. Fear crawled down his back and spread throughout his whole body. This was likely what his king had felt all this time while fighting.


    <i>¡®I thought I knew him well.¡¯</i>


    Balrog had known nothing. The weight on his king¡¯s shoulders now felt unfathomable to him.


    ¡°Kehehehehe,¡± he chuckled softly.


    The fear sending chills all over him did not feel bad at all. He felt as if he was getting closer to his king.


    ¡°Fuuu.¡±


    Balrog took a deep breath and slowly brought his right arm toward his mouth. And then...


    <i>Crunch.</i>


    He bit into his forearm as hard as he could, ck blood pouring out like a fountain.


    ¡°Come to me.¡±


    The spewing blood flowed down the ck armor.


    ¡°Devour my flesh and be an unbreakable shield.¡±


    <i>nk, nk, nk, nk.</i>


    The sound of nging metal echoed. The Overlord Armor grew bigger as it absorbed Balrog¡¯s blood. ck armor wrapped around the ck armor. Balrog was situated within a giant armor as if he were piloting a giant robot. The armor grew over ten meters tall.


    <i>Rumble. Boom.</i>


    A dense metallic sound echoed with each step Balrog took. He lowered his stance as he spread out his arms.


    <i>Pshhhhhhh¡ª!!</i>


    An enormous amount of vapor burst out of the armor and spread like fog. Balrog stood up and leaped fiercely toward the ancient demonic beasts.


    <i>Boooooom¡ª!</i>


    ¡°Raaaaaaaaahhh!¡± Balrog roared as he charged forward.


    Now that he was wearing the giant Overlord Armor, he was the same size as the ancient demonic beasts.


    [Grrrrrr!]


    [<i>Hissssss!</i>]


    Bul-Kathos and Ouroboros cried out fiercely. Ouroboros swung its giant tail like a whip.


    <i>Snatch!</i>


    [<i>Hiss?</i>]


    Balrog caught the tail and pulled the Giant Ouroboros toward him while leaning back.


    ¡°Haaaaah!¡±


    Balrog twisted his body as he swung Ouroboros around. Bul-Kathos quickly dodged the swing.


    ¡°Kehehe, my main weapon was a whip until a while ago,¡± Balrogughed softly as he added strength to his arm and flicked his wrist.


    <i>Smash!</i>


    Ouroboros bounced and snapped Bul-Kathos like a whip.


    [<i>Roaaaaaar!</i>]


    Bul-Kathos collided with the giant Ouroboros and was flung into the air. It tumbled on the ground aggressively as it screamed in pain.


    ¡°Haaaaah!¡±


    Balrog smashed Ouroboros down on Bul-Kathos repeatedly. Hazy smoke rose as the two ancient demonic beasts¡¯ bodies made contact.


    [Skreeeeeee!!] Ouroboros screamed as it burned from Bul-Kathos¡¯s mes.


    The impact from being smashed into the ground as well as its flesh burning was difficult to endure even for a powerful demonic beast that had existed since ancient times.


    <i>Wham!</i>


    Balrog raised his arms over his head and smashed down Ouroboros with all his might. The two ancient demonic beasts screamed as they got entangled.


    ¡°<i>Huff, huff, huff,</i>¡± Balrog panted heavily. His vision was distorting and his body was screaming at him. ¡°Hah.¡±


    However, he could stillugh. He couldn¡¯t care less about the state he was in.


    [Demon, surrender, forgive!]


    [Graaaaahh!]


    Balrog ran toward the two shouting ancient demonic beasts. He grabbed Ouroboros by the neck with one hand and Bul-Kathos by the tail with the other and raised them.


    [What... are you¡ª]


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you a whole new world.¡±


    [W-Wai¡ª]


    Balrog shoved Ouroboros¡¯s head up Bul-Kathos¡¯s ass.


    [Gaaaaaahhh!!]


    Crazed screams echoed. Ouroboros¡¯s head melted from Bul-Kathos¡¯s heat, and Bul-Kathos was poisoned by Ouroboros¡¯s venom that was pouring out from its broken fangs.


    ¡°Kahahahahaha!¡± Balrog burst intoughter as he trampled on the screaming entangled ancient demonic beasts. He suddenly staggered and crouched as he wasughing. ¡°Kurgh.¡±


    <i>¡®I guess I¡¯ve reached my limit.¡¯</i>


    He had used far too much blood to draw out the power of Overlord Armor to its maximum output. He looked down at his right forearm that he had bitten and saw that there was no blood pouring out of it, showing just how much blood he had used up.


    Balrog looked up. He had dealt with Ouroboros and Bul-Kathos, but there were still an uncountable number of demonic beasts left. Not only that, but the Constetion of Nightmares remained.


    ¡°Kurgh, urgh.¡±


    <i>nk, nk. Creak.</i>


    The Overlord Armor was quickly reducing in size as if it were a machine powering down. There was no other way to bring out the Overlord Armor again but to rip out his heart to make more blood.


    ¡°Kehehe. That doesn¡¯t sound too bad either,¡± Balrog remarked as he ced his hand over his heart.


    If he could shine brightly like a radiant fire for just a moment by ripping out his heart, it would be worth it.


    <i>Step.</i>


    Someone¡¯s quiet steps echoed.


    ¡°What doesn¡¯t sound too bad, you moron?¡±


    Balrog heard a familiar voice. He was filled with thrill and delight.


    ¡°My... king.¡±


    Balrog looked at Kang-Woo with shaking eyes. Kang-Woo slowly walked toward him and lightly smacked him on the back of the head.


    ¡°How dare you try to die without my permission?¡±


    ¡°Kehehe. I simply followed your example, my king.¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned in displeasure. ¡°I¡¯ve never been as reckless as you, dammit.¡±


    ¡°Kahahaha! I could easily name ten instances off the top of my head that I had seen with my own eyes.¡±


    Forget ten, he had seen it hundreds¡ª no, thousands of times.


    ¡°Tsk,¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    <i>¡®This son of a bitch sure fought shily.¡¯</i>


    Balrog had taken off the human skin that had been prepared for him and had fought with all his might. Kang-Woo slowly extended his hand. Golden light poured out from his hand and wrapped around Balrog. It probably looked to others like he was finishing off a copsed demon.


    <i>¡®This probably won¡¯t be enough.¡¯</i>


    This would be nowhere near enough to clean up Balrog¡¯s massive shit. He needed something so attention-grabbing that would blow away all thoughts about Balrog from the minds of the humans and angels.


    Kang-Woo slowly walked past Balrog and toward the middle of the battlefield. He stared at the corpses of the two ancient demonic beasts with deeply sunken eyes. No, he stared past the corpses and at the entire battlefield.


    <i>ng! ng!</i>


    ¡°Arghhh!¡±


    ¡°H-Help me!¡±


    ¡°Die, damn demonic beasts!!¡±


    Kang-Woo could hear the ringing sounds of metal, explosions, and people¡¯s screams. He could smell blood and the excrement flowing out from the corpses. He could see angels and humans fighting against the demonic beasts.


    The elites of the continent that had followed Kim Si-Hun into the battlefield were stricken with fear as they were torn apart and eaten alive by the demonic beasts. The wings of angels who had jumped into the battlefield with nothing but revenge on their minds were drenched with the ck blood of demonic beasts. The enormous number of demonic beasts were endlessly craving ughter while walking over the corpses of fellow demonic beasts.


    Madness surged, rampaged, and entangled.


    ¡°Fuuu.¡± Kang-Woo took a deep breath.


    He lightly jumped up and slowly floated up into the air.


    <i>¡®Now...¡¯</i>


    It was time to end the war.


    [<i>Skreeeeeeeee!</i>]


    Giant demonic beasts charged at the floating Kang-Woo, causing the ground to shake. Kang-Woo slowly closed his eyes.


    <i>Whoooom¡ª!!</i>


    Golden light radiant enough to light the entire world illuminated the entire bloodied battlefield.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    People stopped fighting and looked up at the light.


    <i>tter.</i>


    The weapons that they dropped fell to the ground.


    ¡°This light...¡±


    The angels, who had been so blinded by revenge that they were charging at the demonic beasts with no regard for their own lives, also looked up nkly at the light. All eyes on the battlefield were focused on Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo slowly raised his arm and stated, ¡°Those tainted by darkness...¡± He lowered the arm that he raised. ¡°Receive the judgment of light.¡±


    The demonic beasts charging toward Kang-Woo were suddenly covered by great mes the moment that Kang-Woo lowered his arm. Hundreds of thousands of demonic beasts were reduced to ashes before they even had a chance to scream.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh,¡± the people expressed.


    This was the advent of the God of Splendor, which would be recorded in the history of Aernor for all of time.

 Chapter 407 - It’s Only Thanks To You That I Managed To Come This Far

    <h4>Chapter 407 - It¡¯s Only Thanks To You That I Managed To Come This Far</h4>


    The war against the Constetions of Evil came to an end and the one who had be the most famous after it was without a doubt Oh Kang-Woo. He was a hero who had appeared on the battlefield while it had been plunging into despair. He was enveloped in radiant light and had eradicated the entire demonic beast army in an instant.


    The people of the continent worshiped Kang-Woo as the God of Splendor. After finding out that he and Kim Si-Hun were brothers, their fame skyrocketed. Even a church had been formed to worship the two of them like gods.


    ¡°O Messiah.¡±


    ¡°O Savior of Light.¡±


    The people bowed in the direction of Arnan¡¯s imperial pce that Kang-Woo was residing in, at least three times a day. Kang-Woo sighed as he stared at his devotees praying while gathered around the pce.


    ¡°... Shit.¡± He frowned while groaning.


    <i>¡®This wasn¡¯t my intention.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun needed to be the target of worship as per his original n, but Kang-Woo ended up bing more famous instead.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo sighed.


    He had no choice but to do something to divert the people¡¯s attention from Balrog to himself, but it had worked a little too well. He had made a mistake.


    <i>¡®I got too worked up.¡¯</i>


    He had gotten a bit too enraged after seeing Balrog on the verge of death and used way more power than necessary to kill the demonic beasts.


    ¡°The n has gone a bit awry,¡± Kang-Woo mumbled while leaning on his chair.


    In the first ce, he had appointed Si-Hun as the savior instead of himself to fool the high elves, who were able to detect all that was demonic.


    <i>¡®But I don¡¯t think I¡¯d get caught now.¡¯</i>


    Considering the abilities that he had gained after awakening as the God of Splendor, even a high elf might not be able to figure out his true identity.


    <i>¡®Even so...¡¯</i>


    It was wise to take as little risks as possible. It would not end with just his n failing if the manifested high elf found out his identity.


    Kang-Woo stood up from the chair and looked at the mirror on the table. He could see his familiar face, one with sharp eyes and a ferocious appearance.


    ¡°...¡± He remained silent and closed his eyes.


    <i>¡®I wonder... how long I can remain human for?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo ced his hand on his chest while smiling bitterly and felt the ck sea within his heart.


    <i>¡®I didn¡¯t suffer side effects from opening the Doors this time.¡¯</i>


    Nothing happened after he closed the Doors of the Ten Thousand Demon Core; he did not feel pain as if his soul was being torn apart or pressure as if his entire body was being squashed.


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    He could not wee the fact that there had been no side effects. It was like feeling no pain when one smashed down a hammer on their finger. After all, the fact that there were no side effects meant that something important within him had broken.


    ¡°Ngh.¡±


    Kang-Woo grabbed his forehead. Side effects urred after opening the Doors because he forcibly pushed the immense power flooding into himself back into the Ten Thousand Demon Core. However, there had been no side effects this time.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m being eaten away by the Demonic Sea.¡¯</i>


    It was even possible that he was bing one with the Demonic Sea.


    ¡°I should leave it for the absolute worst-case scenarios.¡±


    Whatever the case, it was true that his body was changing in unexpected ways. Although it couldn¡¯t be helped if the situation called for it, he should refrain from opening the Doors as much as possible from now on.


    <i>¡®Well, I can face most enemies even without opening the Doors now.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo lightly snapped his finger.


    <i>Fwoosh.</i>


    Gold and ck mes zed from the end of his finger. It was the mes of Voracity. He was not able to turn his entire body into mes like he had been able to while the Doors were open, but being able to use it was more than enough.


    It was so powerful that the Authority of ze felt like child¡¯s y. In terms of power, only the Chaos skills would be able to hold up to it, but using the mes of Voracity was nowhere near as risky as the Chaos skills.


    <i>¡®The only downside is that it stimtes my desire.¡¯</i>


    However, Kang-Woo was more than able to handle the risk since he was confident in being able to keep his desire in check.


    Someone knocked on the door.


    ¡°Come in,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    <i>Creak. </i>Han Seol-Ah entered the room. She carefully approached Kang-Woo, embraced him, and then kissed him.


    ¡°How are Si-Hun and La?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°They still haven¡¯t woken up yet.¡±


    ¡°Same for Balrog?¡±


    ¡°Balrog woke up a little while ago.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded. Si-Hun and La had been the most gravely injured in the war. He had healed them using the Authority of Regeneration, but they were not regaining consciousness because their injuries were mostly internal.


    ¡°That aside, what happened with Proserpine? I heard you chased after her,¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    He had heard that the Constetion of Lust had run away after injuring La. Since the Constetion of Nightmares had also run away once Kang-Woo arrived, two Constetions had survived the war. Although they wouldn¡¯t take action in particr since their leader Tai Wuji had died, Kang-Woo did not like the fact that risk factors remained.


    ¡°Oh...¡± Seol-Ah lowered her head with a dark expression. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Kang-Woo. I chased after her, but she managed to escape.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    It was unfortunate, but it was already amazing enough that they had forced a Constetion of Evil to run away.


    ¡°Umm... Kang-Woo.¡± Seol-Ah hugged Kang-Woo tighter.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°I have something to ask you.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Have you met Proserpine privately after our first encounter with her?¡±


    ¡°...?¡± Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder, unable to understand why she was asking such a question. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t met her since the encounter at the imperial pce.¡±


    ¡°Hehe,¡± Seol-Ah giggled after hearing his answer. She leaned her head on Kang-Woo''s shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡±


    ¡°Hm? What is?¡±


    ¡°Nothing at all,¡± Seol-Ah said as she let go of Kang-Woo. ¡°I¡¯ll be getting back to La and Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Right, how is Iris doing?¡±


    ¡°She hasn¡¯t regained consciousness either.¡±


    ¡°Tsk. Okay.¡±


    Iris had been unconscious for almost a month but was showing no signs of waking up.


    <i>¡®Is the high elf even gonna manifest?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was slightly anxious, but there was nothing else that he could do besides waiting.


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll see you in the evening, Kang-Woo.¡±


    Seol-Ah put her arms around Kang-Woo¡¯s neck and kissed him. Kang-Woo could feel her tongue entering his mouth.


    ¡°Mmph,¡± Seol-Ah moaned.


    Kang-Woo gulped. Seol-Ah felt far sexier than usual.


    ¡°Hehe. I love you, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    Seol-Ah turned around while slightly flushed. Kang-Woo walked with her out to the door and went back into his room.


    <i>¡®That aside...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo raised his right hand, extended his fingers, and stared at the ring on his right middle finger.


    ¡°What¡¯s with this thing?¡±


    He saw the message window saying that all powers of the Key of the Demonic Sea had been unlocked after the Demon God¡¯s legacy was absorbed into it as well as that it had chosen him as its owner.


    <i>¡®But why have there been no changes whatsoever? It doesn¡¯t feel like it weakened in any way at least.¡¯</i>


    In terms of its capacity, it had gotten better; however, it was nowhere near as grand as what the message window had mentioned about its powers being fully unlocked. Kang-Woo looked down at the Key of the Demonic Sea and then back up. There was something else that he needed to do.


    ¡°I should get to digesting him,¡± he muttered while softly pounding his chest.


    Things had been so hectic after the war that he had no time to digest Tai Wuji. Kang-Woo bent down and ced his hand on the ground. Golden light spread out from his hand and lit up the room.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Kang-Woo walked toward the center of the room after creating a barrier and closed his eyes. He could feel Tai Wuji¡¯s energy within the Demonic Sea. He focused his mind and controlled the demonic energy.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [You have acquired Top-rank Deific Essence.]


    [Raising the level cap.]


    [Level cap has risen from 93 to 100.]


    [You have reached the Eleventh Awakening and obtained a new Trait.]


    ¡°Hell yeah.¡± Kang-Woo smiled as he looked at the message window in front of him.


    <i>¡®Though I was hoping for it to rise a bit more.¡¯</i>


    He thought absorbing Top-rank Deific Essence would get him up to his Twelfth Awakening, but unfortunately not.


    <i>¡®At least I managed to get a new Trait.¡¯</i>


    Traits were extremely useful for his growth. Kang-Woo checked the new message windows in anticipation.


    [You have obtained the new Trait ¡®Chaos Domination.¡¯]


    [Your control over Chaos skills has risen.]


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Kang-Woo tilted his head while stroking his chin.


    It seemed to be an advanced version of his Ninth Awakening Trait ¡®Chaos Control.¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s good, but...¡±


    He didn¡¯t feel good about it. He would not have much need for Chaos skills anymore now that he had the mes of Voracity. It boasted great power, but it came at a corresponding risk.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll still give it a try.¡±


    Kang-Woo drew out both demonic energy and sacred power and forcibly mixed the opposite powers.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    Just the mixing of the two powers caused everything around him to shake due to the immense power. Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone as he was forming Chaos.


    <i>¡®The recoil has lessened.¡¯</i>


    The two energies that used to collide against each other crazily were now heeding his control. Kang-Woo smiled widely as he stared at the gray energy. Just then...


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    ¡°What the...¡±


    The mes of Voracity appeared all of a sudden and began to devour the gray energy like a starved beast that had found its prey. The voracious mes swallowed the Chaos energy whole.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s with this thing?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned as he tried to control the mes of Voracity, but it did not budge for some reason.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!!!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    The mes zed ferociously once they finished eating the Chaos energy. The fire grew so massive that not even Kang-Woo was able to handle it. He reflexively extended his arm.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    The barrier made with the power of the Demonic Sea shook. The mes of Voracity that had eaten the Chaos energy floated around him as if it were alive.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [You have learned ¡®Chaos - ze¡¯, an Intermediate-rank Chaos skill.]


    A blue window appeared in front of Kang-Woo. And then...


    [All conditions of ¡®Road to bing a Demon God¡¯ have been fulfilled.]


    ¡°Hah,¡± Kang-Woo chuckled.


    Rather than thinking<i> ¡°finally¡±</i>, he was thinking <i>¡°just like that?¡± </i>instead. The mes of Voracity floating around him was quivering as if it was giggling.


    ¡°... Well, regardless.¡± Kang-Woo smiled.


    He had finallypleted the <i>Road to bing a Demon God</i> quest.


    <i>¡®It took so god damn long.¡¯</i>


    He had obtained many things throughout the quest, but it had taken an ungodly amount of time to fulfill all the conditions. In terms of novel chapters, it had taken over three hundred chapters.


    ¡°Dayum, at least it¡¯s finally over.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled as he waited for the reward that he would receive. A message window appeared momentster.


    [The ¡®Road to bing a Demon God¡¯ quest has beenpleted, but yer Oh Kang-Woo cannot obtain the Demon God¡¯s Deific Essence because he already possesses the Deific Essence of ¡®Voracity¡¯.]


    ¡°What the fuck?¡±


    After the time it had taken and the shit he had gone through to fulfill every single condition, he wouldn¡¯t be getting any rewards since he had already acquired Deific Essence?


    ¡°Motherf...¡± Kang-Woo grabbed the back of his neck as he boiled with rage. ¡°Fucking garbage System! Just you wait, motherfucker. I know you expressed emotions before. You have an ego, don¡¯t you? In that case, I¡¯m gonnae find you, got it? You can hear me, can¡¯t you? I said I¡¯m gonnae find you. I don¡¯t know what the fuck the providence of the universe and the System are, but I¡¯m gonna twist your head into a god damn question mark, you son of a bitch.¡±


    Kang-Woo threatened the System in the same way that he had pledged to do a very long time ago.


    ¡°You¡¯re a fucking useless, moronic, sorry excuse for a Sys¡ª¡±


    [yer Oh Kang-Woo has not been properly rewarded forpleting the ¡®Road to Bing a Demon God¡¯ quest. Hence, an alternate reward will be given.]


    ¡°¡ªtem, but it¡¯s true that you¡¯ve helped me a lot thus far. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to gain these Traits and levels if not for the System. I¡¯m... always grateful to you. It¡¯s only thanks to you that I managed toe this far.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled warmly as he stared at the blue message window.

 Chapter 408 - Why Is It Cute?

    <h4>Chapter 408 - Why Is It Cute?</h4>


    [...]


    A blue message window with just ellipses appeared as if the System was lost for words. Oh Kang-Woo coughed as he stared at the message window. A question popped up in his head.


    <i>¡®What in the world is this System?¡¯</i>


    Gods like Gaia had referred to the System as the <i>providence</i>. The Gaia System that had sealed Kang-Woo¡¯s power when he first came back to Earth was a portion of the <i>providence </i>granted to Gaia, the chief god of Earth.


    <i>¡®In other words...¡¯</i>


    A mere portion of the providence had been enough to seal the Demonic Sea within him.


    <i>¡®I mean, it¡¯s different from back then.¡¯</i>


    That was an understatement; Kang-Woo was growing at an explosive rate ever since he had arrived on Earth, and the Demonic Sea was also expanding endlessly. The height that he had reached back in Hell could not even bepared to his current self.


    <i>¡®But even so...¡¯</i>


    It did not change the fact that the Demonic Sea had been sealed with just a small portion of that providence.


    [Calcting an alternate reward...]


    <i>¡®Just seeing these message windows makes it seem like some sort of machine, but...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the message window that was filling up a bar like the loading screen of a game. It was not expressing any emotion at the moment, but...


    <i>¡®It has an ego.¡¯</i>


    The System could think and make decisions, but it felt more like artificial intelligence rather than a real person.


    <i>¡®I wonder what it could be?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo continued to think. Gaia had said that beings of other worlds were not able to meddle with Earth due to the Gaia System¡¯s protection.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s not the only thing it can do.¡¯</i>


    Protection was merely but a portion of the providence¡¯s capabilities. The providence created yers and granted them power. It restricted the actions of gods and prevented them from recklessly intervening in the physical world. Its power was not only restricted to Earth and Aernor; it spanned throughout the entire universe and kept all worlds in check.


    <i>¡®As if... it¡¯s aw that someone made intentionally.¡¯</i>


    [Excessive prying into the ¡®Law of Titans¡¯ has been detected.]


    [Additional prying will result in the demotion of Deific Essence.]


    A message window popped up along with a familiar bell chime. It was red, unlike the usual blue.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Kang-Woo smirked.


    <i>¡®They¡¯re warning me not to dig any deeper, huh?¡¯</i>


    It was an interesting response. Kang-Woo stared at the red warning window with great interest. There was no need for him to risk his Deific Essence getting demoted by trying to earn information.


    <i>¡®I got a general idea from that message.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the words <i>Law of Titans</i>. Titans were the creators of the gods as well as the entire universe.


    <i>¡®Titans are more like gods than the actual gods.¡¯</i>


    Beings like Gaia and Tirion who possessed Deific Essence were different from the gods that one usually associated the word to. Gods were neither omnipotent nor omniscient; they were nothing but superhumans with a personality.


    <i>¡®They¡¯re like the immortals of martial arts novels.¡¯</i>


    It was not an exactparison since those like Kang-Woo who acquired Deific Essence through growth and achievements were extremely rare. Most gods were born with Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®They¡¯re closer to the gods of Greek mythology.¡¯</i>


    It just so happened to be Gaia, one of the gods of Greek mythology, who was the chief god of Earth.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way it¡¯s a coincidence.¡±


    There was likely some sort of connection between Gaia and Greek mythology.


    <i>¡®In any case...¡¯</i>


    The important thing was the words <i>Law of Titans</i> themselves. It was not difficult to figure out who had made the System just from those words.


    <i>¡®The Titans, like Bauli.¡¯</i>


    If that was the case, Kang-Woo could understand how just a mere portion of the power was able to seal the Demonic Sea.


    ¡°Titans, huh?¡±


    Kang-Woo raised his head. His eyes glinted with madness as he stared into nothingness. A chilling smile lit up his face and he licked his lips. Titans... the beings who had created the gods and the universe...


    <i>¡®I wonder how they taste?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo gulped. His heart was beating like crazy. His body temperature rose as his blood circted quickly. Suffocating thirst and gut-wrenching hunger took control over him.


    ¡°No, this isn¡¯t the time.¡±


    Kang-Woo shook his head and quelled his surging desire while taking deep breaths. Even if he acted true to his desire, he had no way of finding out where the Titans were and if they even existed.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo thought about Demon God Bauli, the Titan who was roaring madly while imprisoned in the Abyss. Kang-Woo had acted impertinently to him while as rxed as he could be, but...


    <i>¡®I wouldn¡¯t stand a chance whatsoever if we were to fight.¡¯</i>


    The only reason why Bauli did not kill Kang-Woo was because he needed his body. If Kang-Woo fought Bauli for real, he would 100% lose.


    <i>¡°You are nothing without me!!!¡±</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled what Bauli had shouted at him. He knew that there were no lies in Bauli¡¯s words.


    <i>¡®If not for Bauli...¡¯</i>


    The Demonic Sea would fall apart because the keystone of the Demonic Sea was not Kang-Woo but Bauli.


    ¡°I should be prepared for this as well.¡±


    He needed to bear in mind that he might need to face Bauli head-on in the future. Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and clicked his tongue.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    Just then, he heard the bell chime that he had been waiting for.


    [The reward of the ¡®Road to Bing a Demon God¡¯ quest has been changed to the Trait ¡®The Revered.¡¯]


    [The yer can convert faith directed at ¡®Oh Kang-Woo¡¯ into Divinity and absorb it. The yer¡¯s Deific Essence will be promoted once a fixed amount of Divinity has been umted.]


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone as he read the blue message window in front of him.


    ¡°Faith, huh?¡±


    He looked down from the imperial pce¡¯s window and saw the people of the continent praying while on their knees. They were worshiping both him and Kim Si-Hun like gods after the war. The people of the continent had named the church that they had created the <i>Church of Splendor</i>. It was the perfect name to worship Kang-Woo, the God of Splendor.


    Kang-Woo looked down at the devotees of the Church of Splendor while licking his lips.


    ¡°Not bad at all.¡±


    No, it wasn¡¯t just not bad; it was an incredible ability. Unlike demonic energy, sacred power, and mana, there was no way to umte Divinity. Kang-Woo was only able to umte it by eating those who possessed Deific Essence with the Authority of Predation.


    <i>¡®If I can change people¡¯s faith into Divinity...¡¯</i>


    He would have a way to receive Divinity. It was as if a caveman, who only hunted for food, learned how to farm.


    <i>¡®Meat is the best, but...¡¯</i>


    Procuring a stable supply of sustenance when he had no idea when he would be able to find his next prey was worthy of wee.


    <i>¡®But how am I supposed to convert it?¡¯</i>


    The basic usage instructions of a Trait usually flowed into one¡¯s mind once they learned it, but the method to convert faith into Divinity did not enter his brain no matter how long he waited. Then, a message window popped up as if to answer his question.


    [Faith can be converted into Divinity through the ¡®Key of the Demonic Sea.¡¯]


    ¡°The Key of the Demonic Sea?¡±


    Kang-Woo raised his right hand while tilting his head. Why did a function like that form on the Key of the Demonic Sea out of the blue?


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    ¡°The hell?¡±


    Something popped out of the ck ring; it was the ck lump known as the Demon God¡¯s legacy. The ck lump, which had note out of the ring since Kang-Woo came out of the Demonic Sea, traveled up Kang-Woo¡¯s arm to his shoulder and rubbed itself on his cheek. Unlike the sloppy sounds that it made every time it moved, it was as soft as a bouncy ball.


    <i>Squeak, squeak, squeak!</i>


    The ck lump quivered in joy. Two yellow dots appeared on the lump.


    <i>¡®It even has eyes?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the ck lump in confusion. He felt as if he had been smacked on the back of the head with a sledgehammer after finding out that this was the Key of the Demonic Sea¡¯s true form. The ck lump tilted its head in wonder as it stared at the wide-mouthed Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Grrrk?¡±


    ¡°You can even make sounds?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    The ck lump jumped up and down on Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulder. Kang-Woo grabbed his forehead in confusion and stared at the ck lump. It was slightly smaller than a ser ball; its glossy skin and how it made waves on its skin whenever it moved made it look exactly like a generic slime.


    ¡°Grrrk! Grrrk!¡±


    ¡°Hah,¡± Kang-Woo chuckled due to the absurdity.


    <i>¡®The hell is this? Did the author just force this thing into the story since protagonists of other fantasy novels all have cute pets? If you were gonna make one, at least put some thought into it. This thing is just a ck slime.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo red at the ck lump in silence.


    It flinched and lowered its head like a dog getting scolded by its owner.


    <i>¡®The hell? Why is it cute?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Grrrk...¡±


    The ck lump¡¯s yellow eyes shook. Kang-Woo slowly reached for the ck lump and touched it.


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    The sound was unpleasant, but its texture was not sloppy at all. Since it was soft and squishy, it felt nice to touch. It felt like a water balloon.


    ¡°Grrrk, grrrk.¡±


    The moment Kang-Woo touched the ck lump, it narrowed its eyes as if it were smiling and rubbed itself on his hand.


    ¡°Ahh.¡±


    Kang-Woo had no choice but to admit it. He clenched his fists in frustration.


    <i>¡®This thing... is cute.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Why are you so damn cute for a slime?¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned due to the discrepancy between what he saw and the logic in his head.


    <i>¡®No, it doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s cute or not.¡¯</i>


    The ck lump had a role to y.


    ¡°Absorb the faith of those people over there,¡± Kang-Woo said to the ck lump.


    ¡°Grrrk!¡± The ck lump nodded as if saying to trust it.


    Kang-Woo fell into thought while looking at the ck lump.


    <i>¡®Come to think of it, the Demon God¡¯s legacy was able to absorb fear.¡¯</i>


    The Constetions of Evil hade to Kang-Woo and Si-Hun in the first ce because the fear that should have been directed toward them had been directed to Lucifer instead.


    <i>¡®Fear and faith, huh?¡¯</i>


    Gods were objects for those to ce their faith in, as well as beings to be feared and worshiped.


    <i>¡®Oh, that¡¯s why it¡¯s able to absorb faith.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo nodded as if he understood now. The Demon God¡¯s legacy had been able to absorb emotions and convert them into Divinity from the very beginning, and it had simply been made avable through the power of the System.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Kang-Woo looked at the ck lump while nodding.


    It was time to witness how an immaterial concept like faith was able to be converted into Divinity.


    <i>Squelch, squish.</i>


    The ck lump came down from Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulder and bounced toward the window.


    <i>Split.</i>


    And then, the ck lump opened up to reveal a hideous mouth filled with sharp teeth. The mouth grew bigger and bigger to a size that could easily swallow a person whole, and it ferociously bit the air.


    <i>Crunch, crunch!</i>


    Chilling sounds rang out. The ck lump worked hard to eat something that couldn¡¯t be seen.


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth was agape as if he couldn¡¯t believe it. The ck lump that had been so cute had turned into a hideous monster in the blink of an eye.


    [Converting the absorbed faith into Divinity through the Key of the Demonic Sea.¡¯]


    ¡°Grrrk!¡±


    The ck lump jumped onto Kang-Woo¡¯s hand after devouring the faith. Kang-Woo could feel Divinity flowing into his body as the ck lump rubbed itself on the ring.


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    As expected, it wasn¡¯t a lot.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s only about three hundred people at most whoe to the imperial pce to pray, after all.¡¯</i>


    Most of all, there was no way that an immaterial concept like faith could be converted into energy with 100% efficiency.


    ¡°Well, in any case...¡± Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction. ¡°Church of Splendor, huh?¡±


    There was no better name for a church that worshiped the God of Splendor.


    <i>¡®Looks like I¡¯ve gained a magnificent food source¡ª I mean, some magnificent devotees.¡¯</i>


    The seeds had been sown; all Kang-Woo needed to do now was to add just the right amount of fertilizer and water so that the crops could grow well.


    ¡°Hehe,¡± Kang-Woo giggled as all sorts of ns popped up in his head.


    He turned his head to the ck lump, which was looking up at him with sparkling eyes as if it wanted to be praised.


    ¡°Come to think of it, I should give you a name.¡±


    He couldn¡¯t keep calling it <i>ck lump</i>.


    ¡°Hmmm...¡± Kang-Woo fell into thought and then snapped his finger as if he had thought of a great name. ¡°Yeah.¡± He raised the ck lump with his hands. ¡°Your name will be Slushy.¡±


    ¡°Grrrk!¡±


    Slushy bounced up and down as if it were happy.

 Chapter 409 - I’m Sorry

    <h4>Chapter 409 - I¡¯m Sorry</h4>


    ¡°Now, then...¡±


    Oh Kang-Woo stood up after a while. He couldn¡¯t be ying with Slushy forever.


    <i>¡®I might as well visit Balrog.¡¯</i>


    Since Han Seol-Ah said he had regained consciousness, Kang-Woo should check up on him.


    <i>¡®I mean, I¡¯m sure he¡¯s fine.¡¯</i>


    It was Balrog of all people; there was probably no need for him to worry. But even so...


    ¡°Tsk, he¡¯s such a handful.¡± Kang-Woo turned around whileining about how weak Balrog was for being unconscious for a few days just from losing a little blood. He grumbled while putting on a coat, ¡°Sheesh, What¡¯s the point of being a giant when you have no backbone?¡±


    Unlike his grumbling, Kang-Woo could not help himself from smiling.


    ¡°Grrrk...?¡± Slushy tilted its head as it looked up at Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo reached out his hand toward Slushy. ¡°You cane too.¡±


    ¡°Grrrk!¡±


    Slushy jumped onto Kang-Woo¡¯s arm and bounced up to his shoulder. They headed to Balrog¡¯s room together. Kang-Woo easily passed through the magic barrier erected to hide Balrog¡¯s demon form and entered the room. An extremely muscr demon was lying in a bedrge enough to fill the entire VIP room.


    ¡°I guess they had a bed size big enough for you,¡± Kang-Woo said as he snickered at the sight of Balrog lying in bed.


    ¡°Oh, my king!¡± Balrog eximed.


    ¡°Just stay in bed, man.¡±


    Kang-Woo lightly flicked his finger at Balrog as he was trying to get up. An invisible pressure weighed down on Balrog.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    ¡°Stop being such a baby.¡±


    Kang-Woo walked up to Balrog and yfully punched his shoulder. Lilith giggled as she watched in silence.


    ¡°Mmm... What were they called again? Oh, right. You act like what the earthlings call <i>boomers</i>, Master Kang-Woo,¡± she remarked.


    ¡°What?¡± Kang-Woo stared at Lilith in puzzlement.


    <i>¡®Me? A boomer? What are you talking about? I¡¯m only a little over ten millennia years old. I¡¯m still in my prime.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at Lilith as if he had been wrongfully used.


    ¡°Hohoho. More importantly, what is that thing on your shoulder?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Kang-Woo lightly shrugged. Slushy fell in surprise and bounced on the ground. ¡°It¡¯s the Demon God¡¯s legacy.¡±


    ¡°... This thing?¡±


    Lilith chuckled as if it was ridiculous. It was a natural response; there was no way that anyone would think of a ck slime when they thought about what the Demon God¡¯s legacy would look like.


    ¡°Grrrk?¡± Slushy looked around and then jumped on Lilith¡¯sp.


    ¡°Oh, my. Fufu, what a cute little thing,¡± Lilith remarked as she patted Slushy¡¯s head.


    Slushy squirmed around while extending itself as if stretching its arms. It looked like tentacles hade out of it.


    ¡°My, my.¡± Lilith¡¯s eyes shone. She embraced Slushy while smiling widely. ¡°No wonder it is called the Demon God¡¯s legacy.¡±


    ¡°... What¡¯s the reason?¡±


    <i>¡®What convinced you exactly?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned away, not wanting to ask any further, and sat on Balrog¡¯s bed.


    ¡°Are you feeling better?¡± he asked.


    ¡°... I am ashamed to be in this condition.¡± Balrog lowered his head due to the humiliation. His eyes then widened as if something hade to mind. ¡°Come to think of it, how can you move around, my king? I¡¯m sure you opened the Doors this time as well...¡±


    ¡°Oh, the thing is...¡±


    Kang-Woo exined his current condition to Balrog and Lilith. Their expressions hardened.


    ¡°That¡¯s...¡±


    ¡°Dangerous.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s body had changed in a way that not even he was aware of. Although the change itself was good, it was not something to be relieved about.


    ¡°You should never open the Doors again,¡± Balrog said as he grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s arm and stared at him as if to beg him.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of myself, so don¡¯t worry about me, man.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Balrog bit his lip and then sighed deeply. ¡°... I will trust that you will.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like you do.¡±


    ¡°Can you me me, considering what you¡¯ve done thus far?¡±


    Kang-Woo had no way to refute that.


    ¡°Well... You look fine,¡± he said as he looked down at the bedridden Balrog while smiling.


    ¡°You know that my constitution is the thing I¡¯m most proud of.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can see that,¡± Kang-Woo remarked as he looked at Balrog¡¯s bulging muscles as if he was genuinely impressed.


    He turned to Lilith, who was patting Slushy. ¡°Right, Lilith. I have a favor to ask you.¡±


    ¡°Anything for you, my king.¡±


    ¡°Could you gather information about the Church of Splendor?¡±


    ¡°The Church of Splendor?¡± Lilith¡¯s eyes widened in wonder. ¡°Are you referring to the new religious group that worships you and Si-Hun like gods?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I want you to gather as much information as possible about its size, who leads the devotees, and stuff like that.¡±


    ¡°I understand, but may I ask why you want to investigate the Church of Splendor all of a sudden?¡± Lilith tilted her head as if she couldn¡¯t understand.


    Kang-Woo had acquired Deific Essence, but its power had no direct corrtion to religion. If they were corrted, there was no way that the strongest god of Earth would be Gaia.


    ¡°It¡¯s for farming,¡± Kang-Woo answered.


    ¡°Farming...?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled widely, but it felt somewhat creepy.


    ¡°Hmm...¡± Lilith expressed and then nodded.


    Kang-Woo stood up from the bed and said to Balrog, ¡°Get some more rest.¡±


    ¡°Are you leaving already?¡±


    ¡°What more do you want than meing to visit you?¡± Kang-Woo replied curtly.


    Lilith giggled. ¡°I see you¡¯re letting Balrog rest in silence.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°Hoho. Okay, we can just leave it at that.¡±


    Kang-Woo walked away from the giggling Lilith to the door.


    ¡°Oh right, Master Kang-Woo,¡± Lilith called as Kang-Woo was about to leave through the door. ¡°I heard from Seol-Ah earlier. It seems he has woken up.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Kang-Woo remained silent.


    He did not even need to ask who Lilith was referring to.


    <i>¡°Your lies were more precious to me... than any truth.¡±</i>


    The faint voice echoed in Kang-Woo¡¯s head. He felt stifled as if a giant rock was pushing down on his chest. He had no idea what to say when he met Kim Si-Hun. He found the conversation that he would need to have with Si-Hun far more difficult than his battle against Tai Wuji and his confrontation with the Demon God in the Demonic Sea.


    ¡°... Okay.¡±


    Lilith asked in worry, ¡°Will you be going?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Kang-Woo calmly nodded.


    He couldn¡¯t avoid him forever.


    ¡°...¡± Lilith stared at Kang-Woo with sunken eyes. She slowly walked toward him and ced her hands on his cheeks. ¡°Do not be afraid, my king.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Him? Afraid? Lilith¡¯s words felt far too unfamiliar to Kang-Woo. His lips quivered as if he was about to refute something, but he shut his mouth. Seeing that, Lilith giggled.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be off, then.¡± Kang-Woo turned around and left the room. Slushy followed after him while bouncing. ¡°Haaa.¡± He sighed while grabbing Slushy and raised it into the air.


    ¡°Grrrk?!¡± Slushy flinched.


    Kang-Woo ced it on his shoulder and walked with heavy steps.


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    This was likely how a criminal felt when walking into a courthouse.


    <i>¡®How did I even get this way?¡¯</i>


    He felt stuffy as if he had eaten dozens of sweet potatoes without anything to drink. He would never have felt this way in the past.


    <i>¡®I must be changing.¡¯</i>


    Not only was his physical body changing, but his mind was as well.


    ¡°Tsk.¡±


    He had no idea how it would turn out. It might end up being nothing special once it came down to it. However, even so... He had no idea.


    <i>¡®Fuck it.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo gave up on thinking; such thoughts did not suit him at all.


    <i>ck.</i> He opened the door.


    ¡°Oh, Kang-Woo. I was just about to contact you,¡± Seol-Ah greeted.


    Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead; it seemed like she had been using healing magic on Si-Hun and La until just now. Kang-Woo greeted Seol-Ah by lightly nodding and entered the room.


    ¡°... Ah,¡± Si-Hun expressed while lying in bed.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo and Si-Hun remained silent, unable to say a word to each other. An awkward air filled the room.


    ¡°Did something happen between you two?¡± Seol-Ah asked while tilting her head, having no idea about what had happened between them.


    ¡°Darling. Could you go to La¡¯s room for a bit?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Mmm. Okay.¡±


    Seol-Ah was about to ask something but nodded soon after once she saw Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes. She quietly closed the door and left.


    ¡°Are you feeling better now?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Oh, yes. I still have some internal injuries, but I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Si-Hun replied as he touched the area that Tai Wuji had shed.


    The wound hadpletely disappeared without leaving any scars thanks to the Authority of Regeneration, but the pain remained.


    ¡°Urgh.¡± Si-Hun clenched his chest as he was trying to get up from the bed.


    Kang-Woo frowned. ¡°Just stay the hell in bed.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Si-Hun lightly nodded andid back down.


    Silence filled the room again.


    ¡°... Hyung-nim.¡± Si-Hun broke the silence first. ¡°To be honest, I felt betrayed at first.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Si-Hun smiled faintly. ¡°I thought a lot about why you did such a thing and whether my memories of that night were real or not.¡±


    ¡°They were. I did everything that you remember about that night.¡±


    ¡°Haha,¡± Si-Hunughed softly and nodded as if he felt refreshed. He slowly looked up and stared nkly at the ceiling. ¡°I won¡¯t ask you why, since... it¡¯s already in the past.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Kang-Woo was lost for words.


    The sin that he hadmitted on Si-Hun was far too grave to be glossed over in such a way.


    <i>¡®Fucking moron.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo got angry at how ridiculous Si-Hun was being. How nice did someone have to be to think something that moronic?


    ¡°You god damn pushov¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hyung,¡± Si-Hun interjected as he turned to Kang-Woo. He smiled as he locked eyes with Kang-Woo. ¡°Thank you... for staying as my older brother.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s mind turnedpletely white as if he had been struck on the head with a sledgehammer. Feignedughter and curses entangled along with countless emotions.


    ¡°...¡±


    Silence fell once again. Kang-Woo lowered his head and thought about what to say. Whatever he said and whatever excuses he made, it would be meaningless.


    After much thought, he carefully said, ¡°... I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    That was the bittersweet phrase he hade up with.


    Si-Hun softlyughed. He looked back up at the ceiling and said, ¡°Hyung-nim. Would you like to go on a trip?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    <i>¡®What¡¯s with that out of the blue?¡¯</i>


    ¡°We haven¡¯t been able to take a break even once aftering to Aernor. I think it would be a good idea for everyone to go on a little trip.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Kang-Woo fell into thought. The war against the Constetions of Evil was over, and Iris had yet to wake up.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not a bad idea timing-wise.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo honestly had a ton of things he needed to do. He needed to test the power of <i>Voracity</i>, which had risen to Top-rank in Deific Essence, and train the new Chaos skill and mes of Voracity that he had learned. People had not yet forgottenpletely about Balrog, who had run wild during the war, and most of all, he needed to put his focus on the Church of Splendor, his new farnd.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled faintly. He had so much to do, but hisrades also needed a break after working restlessly for all this time. Unlike himself, humans were unable to work without rest. Also, this was Si-Hun¡¯s effort to eliminate the awkward air that had formed between them.


    ¡°Yeah, sounds good.¡± Kang-Woo nodded with a smile.


    With that, their trip had been decided.

 Chapter 410 - Kang-Woo, Did You Mate With Seol-Ah?

    <h4>Chapter 410 - Kang-Woo, Did You Mate With Seol-Ah?</h4>


    <i>Bam!</i>


    A door burst open early in the morning.


    "Hm! Hm!" Echidna snorted in excitement. She burst into Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s room with a huge bag. "Kang-Woo! Kang-Woo! It¡¯s morning! Wake up!"


    The party had nned to go on a trip today. Echidna, who was as excited as an elementary schooler on the day of a field trip, had barged into Kang-Woo¡¯s room fully prepared.


    "Mmm... What? What time is it?" Kang-Woo woke up while rubbing his eyes. He looked at the clock next to the bed and saw that it was only a little past 6 AM.


    "I told you that we were leaving at ten."


    "Hm! You need time to get ready!"


    "I could even move houses if I have four hours." Kang-Woo chuckled.


    Forget four hours, he could even move the entire imperial pce somewhere else in five minutes with his ability.


    <i>¡®Well, at least it¡¯s nice to see.¡¯</i>


    He could tell that he had made the right choice to agree on the trip with how excited Echidna was. As he was about to pull away the nket and get out of bed, he realized a crucial fact; he waspletely naked, and his Fran?ois was pitching a tent underneath the nket.


    <i>¡®Oh shit. I¡¯m fu¡ª¡¯</i>


    "Urmm. What¡¯s happening?" Han Seol-Ah, who had been sleeping next to him, got up while rubbing her eyes.


    Kang-Woo¡¯s expression hardened. Seol-Ah was naturallypletely naked as well. After seeing what was going on, Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes widened in pallor.


    "Huh?" Echidna tilted her head while staring at the two of them.


    She scanned them and then pped her hands together as if she had figured out what happened.


    "Kang-Woo," she called.


    "Y-Yeah?" Kang-Woo answered anxiously.


    He felt like a parent who had gotten caught by his child in the act.


    Echidna, who likely had no idea what that felt like, asked casually, "Did you mate with Seol-Ah?"


    <i>¡®Whoa there, dear child. What the hell are you saying in an all-ages novel?¡¯</i>


    Deathly silence fell.


    "Grrrk."


    "Mmrp!"


    Slushy jumped up and stuck to Echidna¡¯s face and then looked back at Kang-Woo as if it were saying that it would leave the rest to him.


    <i>¡®Slushy, you son of a bitch... I love you, man.¡¯</i>


    "Now, darling!"


    "Okay!"


    Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah jumped out of bed and put on their clothesid on the ground at supersonic speed to the point that sonic booms rang out with each motion.


    "Urghh!" Echidna smacked Slushy down on the ground.


    <i>St.</i> Slushy ttened on the ground after it had done its job.


    "Right, then. Let¡¯s go. Wow, how much did you pack?" said Kang-Woo as he walked over to Echidna, fully clothed.


    Echidna stared at Kang-Woo iprehensibly. "Kang-Woo, why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Mating isn¡¯t a big de¡ª"


    "Now, now. Let¡¯s stop talking about that."


    <i>¡®Any more and we¡¯ll be censored.¡¯</i>


    "What¡¯s wrong with showing a p****...?"


    <i>¡®See? We¡¯re already getting censored.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo grabbed Echidna by the shoulders, turned her around, and left the room with her.


    The flushed Seol-Ah ran past them and shouted, "I-I¡¯ll go prepare breakfast, Kang-Woo!"


    Kang-Woo went back into the room with Echidna, dragging her by the arm.


    "Alright, alright. Why don¡¯t we take a look at everything you prepared?"


    "Hm! I packed a bunch of stuff since you said we were gonna have a barbecue party!"


    Echidna began to show off everything in the giant bag, seemingly having forgotten about what had happened a few moments ago. Kang-Woo sighed in relief.


    ***


    "Wow... Like you said, the scenery is to die for, hyung-nim," Kim Si-Hun remarked in astonishment.


    They were on top of a massive mountain. The most striking part about the peak was that it was covered in dreamlike flowers that illuminated blue as if they were fireflies. Such a sight did not exist on Earth¡ª no, it was hard to witness even in Aernor.


    Kang-Woo had chosen a volcano known as Caldesann as their pic spot. Although it was restricted to the people of the continent due to its steep terrain and the powerful monsters that inhabited it, none of such things mattered to Kang-Woo.


    "It¡¯s awesome, isn¡¯t it?" Kang-Woo smiled as he looked around.


    The luminescent flowers containing faint amounts of mana were shining blue, the wind was blowing refreshingly despite it being the peak of a giant mountain, and the weather was so nice that they could even take a nap. Kang-Woo had chosen the perfect ce for a pic if he could say so himself.


    "How did you find a ce like this?" Si-Hun asked as he nodded.


    "I happened to see it while I was flying to Sant¡¯Angelo a while ago."


    Kang-Woo had no leeway to enjoy the view at the time due to the incident with Uriel and the Constetion of Agony, but this ce naturally came to mind once they decided to go on a trip.


    "Haha, it sure is nice." Si-Hun stretched as heughed.


    Seeing that, Kang-Woo alsoughed.


    "Mm. But it doesn¡¯t seem to be an ordinary ce," Balrog mentioned as he got down on one knee and touched the flowers.


    He was in hisfortable demon form since only the party members were present.


    "Pretty cool, right?" Kang-Woo nodded as if agreeing with Balrog.


    A ce like this where it was covered in flowers containing mana would be difficult to find even in Aernor. No, it was their first time even seeing flowers like these in Aernor.


    "Well, I don¡¯t think it makes a difference," Kang-Woo added.


    "That I agree." Balrog nodded.


    Whatever dangers existed on this mountain, Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t care less since the possibility of there being something too dangerous for him to handle was nearly nonexistent.


    "What do you think, darling? Do you like it?"


    "Yes. It¡¯s beautiful."


    Seol-Ah looked around as if she was blown away by Caldesann¡¯s scenery. Kang-Woo smiled.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m d I left it as a surprise.¡¯</i>


    He had kept the pic location a secret because he was hoping for reactions like this. He had simply told his party members that he had found an amazing ce for a pic.


    "Hm?"


    Just then, Kang-Woo saw Echidna¡¯s expression as stiff as a rock; it was hard to believe considering she had been so excited this morning. It was as if she was dissatisfied with the pic spot.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯</i>


    Echidna, who always smiled wherever she went as long as she was with Kang-Woo, was not smiling at all.


    <i>¡®Did I do something wrong?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was rather surprised by the lukewarm reaction despite having been highly confident in the location.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s so wrong about this ce?¡¯</i>


    A scenery like this was extremely difficult to find.


    "Haaa..." Cha Yeon-Joo sighed deeply as she stared at Kang-Woo as if he was pathetic. "Do you seriously not know why she¡¯s like that? Tsk, tsk. What do you expect from the ten-millennia virgin?"


    <i>¡®What¡¯d you call me, bitch?¡¯</i>


    "What¡¯s wrong with this ce?" Kang-Woo asked in frustration.


    Was this not the perfect ce to have a pic? He had even wiped out the monsters in the area the day before so they wouldn¡¯t be interrupted.


    "I¡¯m severely disappointed in you, Kang-Woo." Even La criticized him.


    Kang-Woo stared at the two of them as if he was being wrongfully used.


    "I trusted you... I was so looking forward to the trip..." La muttered.


    "Wha..."


    <i>¡®Why are you two doing this to me?¡¯</i>


    "What the hell is the problem?"


    "Each party member prepared this as soon as you told us about the trip," La answered as she rummaged through the bag that she brought and took out...


    "A swimsuit?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Yes!" La stomped on the ground while ring at Kang-Woo and shouted, "Wouldn¡¯t the beach be the obvious choice with these members?! Do you even have eyes, Kang-Woo?!"


    <i>¡®That¡¯s a bit hurtful, La.¡¯</i>


    "Look at Seol-Ah and Lilith! How could you make a brainless decision like going to a mountain when these two are here? Are you okay in the head?!"


    <i>¡®That¡¯s extremely hurtful, La.¡¯</i>


    "Huh? What about me?" Yeon-Joo asked while pointing at herself.


    <i>¡®You stay out of this.¡¯</i>


    "A-Aaaahh," Kang-Woo groaned.


    Chills ran down his back. He clenched his fists as if he had been enlightened. He looked at the swimsuit in La¡¯s hand; just from the size, he could tell that it was Seol-Ah¡¯s.


    <i>¡®And... A bikini! Allow me to say it twice because it¡¯s important. A bikini!! To think I made such a blunder...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo lowered his head. He could not refute La¡¯s criticisms in any way. Mystical flowers that glowed blue? Perfect weather? None of that mattered.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m a moron.¡¯</i>


    How could he not have realized the truth when it had been right in front of him this whole time? Kang-Woo bit his lip in anger.


    "Haaa. I had high hopes for you, but you¡¯ve disappointed me, Kang-Woo." La sighed.


    "No." Kang-Woo shook his head. "It¡¯s not toote."


    "Pardon?" La tilted her head in confusion. "Are you saying that you¡¯ll change locations?"


    Kang-Woo shook his head. That was an option, but there was an even easier option.


    "I¡¯m going to create ake here."


    "Pardon?"


    Kang-Woo walked past the dumbfounded La and ced his hands on the ground. Radiant golden light burst from his body.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!!</i>


    The earth split and upturned. The entire mountain was split in two, and from there...


    <i>Pshhhhhh¡ª!</i>


    Hot spring water that had been lying dormant within the volcano was forcibly drawn out through Kang-Woo¡¯s power. An enormous amount of hot spring water filled with sulfur shot upward like a geyser.


    <i>¡®And now...¡¯</i>


    He drew out his Top-rank Deific Essence. He eliminated the sulfur from the hot spring water and lowered the temperature of the water to the point that it was cool. Then, hebined the split mountain.


    "Alright."


    A perfectke had been formed. Although it was nothing but a giant pool of water that contained no life, it didn¡¯t matter.


    "What do you think, La?" Kang-Woo smiled as he turned to La.


    "..."


    La simply stared at Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly with her mouth agape, but only for a moment. She slowly walked up to Kang-Woo and raised her right hand.


    <i>p!</i>


    A clear sound rang out as Kang-Woo and La pped their hands together.


    "..."


    Yeon-Joo looked back and forth at Kang-Woo and theke that had formed on the peak of the mountain out of nowhere. She covered her face with her hands and recalled a fact that she had tried her hardest to forget.


    "Why..." She wept in sorrow. "Why the hell did I... end up falling for this dumbass...?"


    Her sobs continued for a while longer.

 Chapter 411 - Dragon of Caldesann [Bonus Image]

    <h4>Chapter 411 - Dragon of Caldesann [Bonus Image]</h4>


    "A-Aaaahh," Oh Kang-Woo expressed as sparks traveled around his body.


    "Wh-What do you think, Kang-Woo?" asked the flushed Han Seol-Ah.


    She was wearing a white bikini that suited her very well. Two huge objects filled Kang-Woo''s vision. He had seen her naked in bed many times, but seeing her in a swimsuit outside was amazing in its own right.


    <i>''Fuck. I''m so d I''m alive.''</i>


    Kang-Woo gave Seol-Ah a thumbs-up while tears flowed down his cheeks.


    "I-It''s a little embarrassing if you react that way," she muttered while covering herself with her arms, but she smiled widely despite her embarrassment.


    "So this is a swimsuit? Hmm. What a strange culture. Humans wear things that are no different from underwear in public?" Lilith said in fascination as she pulled on the string of her ck bikini.


    "That''s the point," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "Really?" Lilith tilted her head as if she was having a hard time understanding.


    "Haaa, haaa. Good... Very, very good," La muttered as she rapidly pressed the shutter of a giant camera that she had pulled out of nowhere.


    Her heavy panting made her look extremely shady.


    <i>''Gaia... Are you sure you want someone like her as your incarnation?''</i>


    Kang-Woo chuckled as he stared at La, who had also changed into a swimsuit.


    "Please get out of the way, Kang-Woo. I need Seol-Ah to be in full view."


    "Ah, yes, ma''am."


    Kang-Woo took a step back.


    "Ahem," Kim Si-Hun coughed as he peeked nces at La in her swimsuit.


    Kang-Woo stared at Si-Hun pitifully.


    <i>''Si-Hun... Your future wife is a bit weird. I think there''s a pervy old man inside her.''</i>


    However, there was no way Si-Hun, who was blinded by love, could see such a thing. Si-Hun walked over to La and chatted with her affectionately.


    Then, Halcyon and Echidna approached Kang-Woo.


    "M-Master Kang-Woo. I..."


    "Why don''t we have swimsuits?"


    "Well, there are very important reasons." Kang-Woo calmly nodded. "First, Echidna."


    "Yeah?"


    "You can''t wear a swimsuit."


    <i>''It''ll affect the novel ranking.''</i>


    "You can wear one once you''re older," Kang-Woo continued.


    "Is there an age limit for swimsuits?" Echidna asked.


    "Yup."


    <i>''Fifteen and up.''</i>


    "But I''m older than Seol-Ah."


    "You still can''t."


    "It''s unfair."


    "Life is usually unfair, Echidna."


    Kang-Woo patted Echidna''s head with a warm smile. Echidna tilted her head, unable to understand theplicated truth of life.


    "M-Master Kang-Woo. Wh-Why can''t I wear a swimsuit?" Halcyon asked.


    "You..."


    Kang-Woo slightly looked down at Halcyon''s lower body; more specifically, he imagined the magnum dong under Halcyon''s clothes. Kang-Woo was swept over with dizziness.


    "You just can''t," Kang-Woo replied.


    "I-I just can''t? Wh-Why only me...?"


    <i>''If I say you can''t, then you just fucking can''t.''</i>


    "It''s unfair!" Halcyon shouted.


    <i>''I feel the same way, man. I feel the same way.''</i>


    "Hmph, you made an entireke just to see some swimsuits? You''re fucking crazy." Cha Yeon-Joo walked over to Kang-Woo while shaking her head.


    She was wearing a hoodie, but she was wearing a red bikini underneath.


    "Mmm." Kang-Woo nodded as he stared at her.


    "What?" Yeon-Joo red at him.


    "No, I just thought it suited you better than I expected."


    Yeon-Joo was quite slim so she looked very good in a swimsuit.


    "H-Hmm~ Really?" Yeon-Joo turned her head away while blushing and smiled. "I guess you have eyes, at the very least."


    Kang-Woo smirked at the smug Yeon-Joo and said as he turned around, "Anyway, go have some fun in theke. I''ll be preparing the barbecue."


    "Urgh."


    "No fair, Kang-Woo."


    Kang-Woo turned away from theining Halcyon and Echidna. As he was about to get the barbecue set that was packed in a bag...


    "Ah..." he muttered.


    "My king, is this the barbecue set?" Balrog asked.


    "Huhu. I, Vernaak, have prepared the meat and vegetables already."


    A red giant in massive swim trunks and a skeleton wearing a pink apron came into view.


    "God..." Kang-Woo covered his eyes. They hurt as if they were rotting. "Fuck off... I''ll take care of it myself."


    "That is uneptable! How could I dare call myself your subordinate if I let you do everything yourself?!"


    "We will assist you!!"


    "Please... Just fuck off..."


    Kang-Woo''s sobs echoed throughout Caldesann''s peak.


    ***


    <i>Tsssss!</i>


    The meat on the grill sizzled mouth-wateringly. Kang-Woo distributed the meat to each of his party members.


    Si-Hun put down his te and came up to him. "I''ll take over, hyung-nim."


    Kang-Woo shook his head. "Forget it and eat some more with La."


    "But..."


    "Hurry up and go talk her down."


    Kang-Woo pointed at La, who was rapidly pressing the camera shutter without eating any meat.


    "Daaaaaayumt! <i>Huff, huff.</i> P-Please give me just one sexy pose, Lilith!"


    Si-Hun smiled awkwardly. "H-Haha. La seems a bit excited."


    "I doubt even her parents would be able to recognize her when she''s like that."


    <i>''Though I don''t know if they''re alive.''</i>


    "A-Ahem," Si-Hun coughed as he walked over to La.


    Kang-Woo chuckled.


    <i>''She''spletely different from when I first met her.''</i>


    It might be a bit too severe of a change, but it was not a bad one. After all, it meant that she trusted him and the other party members.


    "You have some too, Kang-Woo," Seol-Ah said as stuck next to Kang-Woo.


    "I''m eating as I''m grilling."


    "You haven''t been eating at all since earlier, though." Seol-Ah pouted. She grabbed a piece of meat with her chopsticks and held it out in front of Kang-Woo. "Here, ahhh~"


    Kang-Woo ate the meat. As expected of meat that he grilled himself, it melted in his mouth.


    "What was this meat called again?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "I''m not sure. I believe it came from an animal called... Triton. I''ve never seen them, though."


    "I see." Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    Seeing that, Seol-Ah smiled faintly. "Shall I put some in your kimchi stew?"


    "That''s my darling."


    <i>''You know me so well.''</i>


    "Hohoho. Give me just a moment. I brought the ingredients just in case."


    Seol-Ah walked to where the bags were while humming. Kang-Woo watched her walk away and then looked at the other party members. None of them would ever get tired from just a little fun in the water, and they were having fun chatting while eating the grilled meat.


    <i>''How nice.''</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled faintly. It was such a sweet feeling that he felt as if his brain would melt.


    "Hm?"


    Just then, Echidna entered Kang-Woo''s field of vision.


    "<i>Munch, munch.</i>"


    She was eating with a dark expression as if she were deep in thought. Rather than enjoying the taste of the meat, it looked more like she was just chewing for the sake of it.


    <i>''What''s up with her?''</i>


    Echidna had been acting weird since a while ago. As Kang-Woo was about to stop grilling the meat and go to her, Balrog beat him to it.


    "What is wrong, young dragon?" Balrog asked as he sat next to Echidna.


    Because he was in his demon form, he towered over her even while seated.


    "Nothing." Echidna shook her head.


    "It doesn''t look like nothing. Your expression has been dark since earlier.


    "If you have something on your mind, tell me. I, Balrog, will hear you out." Balrogughed heartily.


    Echidna''s lips quivered with her head lowered. She then looked to see if anyone was around.


    <i>''I''ll give them some space.''</i>


    Kang-Woo gathered the other party members somewhere else with the excuse that they needed to help make the kimchi stew. He wanted to hear what was on Echidna''s mind, but it seemed like the better choice to step out.


    <i>''Echidna is overly dependent on me.''</i>


    That could partially be the reason why she was not able to talk to Kang-Woo about it.


    Balrog chugged down an entire barrel of beer.


    "Kaaahh." He wiped his mouth and said, "The only thing that is good for you to keep inside is loyalty, young dragon."


    Echidna pouted and grumbled, "You talk like an old man, Balrog."


    "Kahahaha! I''m far past the age where I can be called an old man, even by dragon standards."


    "I''ve been here before."


    "Oh?" Balrog''s eyes widened.


    Kang-Woo, who was also listening from a distance, widened his eyes in surprise.


    "Are you saying this isn''t your first time on... What was this mountain called? Oh, Caldesann?"


    "Yeah. I came here with my dad when I was little," Echidna muttered.


    She recalled the days with her father, who had suddenly disappeared one day and left her. Her expression darkened.


    "Hmm. I see."


    Balrog nodded as if he had understood why Echidna had been so down.


    <i>Crack!</i>


    He broke open yet another barrel of beer.


    "Have a drink, young dragon. Hehe. This thing known as alcohol is great in times like this."


    Balrog lightly patted Echidna''s back. His hand was so big that it could cover her entire back.


    "It''s too big." Echidna softly giggled while pouting.


    "In that case, please use this." Vernaak walked up to them and handed Echidna a transparent ss.


    "Thanks, Vaal Z¡ª I mean, Vernaak."


    Just as Echidna was about to take the ss that Vernaak handed her...


    <i>Whaaaam¡ª!!!</i>


    "Wh-What the¡ª?!"


    The mountain shook all of a sudden.


    [Who dares disrupt the sacred Caldesann?!]


    A thunderous voice shook the entire mountain. The ground split and from between it emerged a giant dragon with red scales. The enraged dragon covered in intense mes looked down at the intruders that had made a mess out of Caldesann.


    "Huh?" Echidna''s eyes widened. She muttered with her mouth agape in disbelief, "Dad...?"

 Chapter 412 - Ill Be Taking Your Daughter

    <h4>Chapter 412 - I''ll Be Taking Your Daughter</h4>


    [Echidna...?]


    The red dragon looked down at Echidna with shaking eyes. Silence fell.


    "Hah," Oh Kang-Woo feignedughter.


    This dragon seemed to be Echidna''s father who had left Echidna by herself in the past.


    <i>''Demonic Dragon Kargath, was it?''</i>


    He recalled the message window that he had seen a long time ago.


    <i>''I never thought I''d meet him in this way.''</i>


    "Hmm." Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    He did not have a positive impression of Kargath. How could he, when Kargath was the reason why Echidna had gone through such misfortune?


    <i>''But still...''</i>


    That was not reason enough to beat him to a pulp in front of Echidna. Kang-Woo decided to try to converse with Kargath first.


    "You must be Karg¡ª"


    [You bastaaaaaaards!! What are you trying to do to Echidna?!!]


    Caldesann shook from Kargath''s enraged roar before Kang-Woo could even finish his sentence. Kang-Woo frowned.


    <i>''What''s up with this son of a bitch? What are we trying to do to Echidna, he said?''</i>


    Kang-Woo could not understand why Kargath was so enraged. He turned to Echidna.


    <i>''Why is he so¡ª''</i>


    Next to Echidna was a red giant who had his hand on Echidna''s back, and in front of her was a skeleton wearing a pink apron.


    "Huh?"


    <i>''Oh, mmm. I can see why he''s angry.''</i>


    Any parent would be enraged if they saw their daughter next to a demon and an Undead with no prior information.


    <i>''But... Was he not a demonic dragon?''</i>


    If that was the case, there was no way Kargath would be acting so sensitively from seeing Echidna with a demon and an Undead. Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion and scanned Kargath with the Authority of Insight.


    <i>''He... doesn''t have demonic energy?''</i>


    Kang-Woo wondered if Kargath''s demonic energy had disappeared like himself after he had be the God of Splendor, but he could not feel Deific Essence from Kargath either. He was confused by the iprehensible situation.


    [Step away from Echidna this instant!]


    Kargath stomped his feet while roaring. He drew out a massive wave of mana and shot it at Balrog.


    "D-Dad, no!" Echidna shouted hurriedly.


    She stood up and stepped in front of Balrog. The mana st quickly changed direction.


    <i>Crash!</i>


    The mana st collided with theke and created a massive pir of water.


    [No...? Wh-What do you mean, Echidna?]


    Echidna clenched her fists and continued, "They''re my friends. Don''t hurt them."


    She red at Kargath, whose face turned as white as a sheet.


    [Friends...? H-Have you been brainwashed by that demon?] he asked desperately as if he found it hard to believe.


    "No." Echidna shook her head. She looked up at Kargath while biting her lip. She said in a low voice as if pulling out the emotions that she had suppressed all this time, "Dad... Where have you been... all this time?"


    Her shoulders were trembling and her eyes were filled with rage and sorrow. Kang-Woo couldn''t imagine how much of her emotions she had suppressed to stop herself from saying that until now.


    Kargath remained silent for a long time. [I''m... sorry.]


    He lowered his head.


    "Why... Why did you disappear without a word? Why... did you... abandon me?"


    [I did not abandon you!!] Kargath quickly shouted. [I did not.]


    "Then...!!" Tears flowed down Echidna''s cheeks as she bit her lip aggressively. "Why... Why..."


    Echidna fell to her knees as she wept, the tears pooling at the tip of her chin. Balrog wiped her tears with his hand.


    [How dare a filthy demon touch my daughter?!]


    "Do you truly believe you have the right to say that?" Balrog slowly stood up and sneered at him. "Kargath... Yes, I remember hearing about you from Amon. A dragon cursed by the Dragon God for breaking a taboo due to his greed for Deific Essence."


    Balrog red at Kargath and continued, "Foolish dragon, do you know the demon named Lucifer?]


    [Are you a subordinate of the Evil God?]


    "No. That is not what I''m trying to say." Balrog slowly shook his head. He lightly patted Echidna''s shoulder and continued fiercely, "I''m trying to ask if you knew that not even the Evil God abandoned his child."


    Kargath flinched. He took a deep breath, mes lingering around his mouth, and then said, [I had... no choice. It was the only choice I could make... to lift the curse that the Dragon God ced on our family.]


    Kang-Woo thought about what Kargath meant by a curse but was easily able to figure it out.


    "In other words, you were cursed by the Dragon God because you fucked up, so you left your daughter to ask the Dragon God for forgiveness and get the curse lifted, right?"


    He might not have necessarily asked for forgiveness; he might have made a deal with the Dragon God or even made threats. However he did it, it did not change the fact that he had left Echidna to lift that curse.


    "Well, it seems like you managed to get the curse lifted since I don''t feel any demonic energy from you, but..."


    Echidna had suffered from istion while Kargath had left her to lift the curse.


    [Silence!] Kargath roared fiercely and continued in desperation, [You know nothing about the fate of a demonic dragon!! Demonic dragons are not acknowledged by any dragon! They are ostracized and exterminated! I... could not afford to pass on such a fate to my daughter.]


    Kang-Woo smirked. "Wow, I would think that the Dragon God cursed you because he fucking hated you if I didn''t know any better."


    He approached Echidna, whose shoulders were trembling with her head down, and ced his hand on her head.


    "It sure is nice to be able to say that you had no choice."


    Phrases like it was all for your sake, it couldn''t have been helped, and that there was no other way... They were all so sweet that they couldpletely erase one''s bitter regrets.


    "To be honest with you, I have no idea what to feel," Kang-Woo remarked.


    He could not even imagine the feelings of a parent since he did not have children or parents. The concept of family was aplete enigma to him.


    "But..." Kang-Woo patted the crying Echidna. "Do you seriously believe Echidna wanted that?"


    He stared at the crying girl. To her, Kargath had been everything. She did not care about the fact that she was a demonic dragon or that she would be ostracized by other dragons. Kargath had made her the loneliest dragon in the world to save her from istion; it was truly ironic.


    [You know nothing!] Kargath eximed.


    "That''s why I said I have no idea, man."


    There was no need for Kang-Woo to know about what Kargath had felt and the resolve he had to make to leave Echidna or what sort of tearjerking story was hidden underneath. None of that mattered.


    "What matters is that..."


    Kang-Woo pulled Echidna toward him by the shoulder. Echidna''s eyes widened as she was pulled into Kang-Woo''s embrace.


    "Kang... Woo?" She looked up at him with shaking eyes.


    Kang-Woo said to Echidna while embracing Echidna, "... Echidna is my Familiar."


    [What did you say?] Kargath''s eyes widened.


    He knew very well what the word <i>Familiar </i>entailed.


    [H-How dare you?! You''ve been enving Echidna?!]


    "Whoa there, don''t get the wrong idea. At least say that I subordinated her."


    [Get away from Echidna!] Kargath roared madly.


    Kang-Woo grinned and looked toward Echidna. "You heard him. What should I do?"


    Echidna hesitated as she trembled and bit her lip. She then slowly grabbed Kang-Woo''s clothes and wept. "Don''t go away. Don''t leave me alone again..."


    Kang-Woo smiled widely. "Oh man, what do we have here?" He turned to Kargath. "It looks like you''ll be the one to be abandoned this time."


    [You bastaaaaaaard!]


    Kargath raised his head and charged at Kang-Woo in fury.


    Kang-Woo extended his arm toward Kargath andmanded in Soul Speech, "Kneel."


    <i>Boom!</i>


    [Kurgh!]


    The massive Kargath was pushed down by an unknown power. He stared at Kang-Woo in shock.


    [H-How can a human use S-Soul Speech...?] he muttered as if he couldn''t understand. He shouted desperately while twisting and turning, [My child! Come here! You are being deceived by that human!!]


    "Urgh." Echidna bit her lip and turned to face Kargath. "Dad..." She stood up straight and continued after much silence, "I was so... so lonely when you first disappeared."


    [That''s...]


    "I was okay with being a demonic dragon. I didn''t care even if I was ostracized and hunted down. All I wanted was... to be together with you, Dad. But why... Why did you disappear... without a word?"


    More tears flowed down Echidna''s cheeks.


    [Echidna...] Kargath said with a trembling voice.


    Echidna raised her head after crying for a while and said as if she was releasing her pent-up emotions, "I''m not gonna go to you, Dad. The ce where I belong... is here now."


    She gripped Kang-Woo''s clothes tighter. Kang-Woo smiled as he ced his hand on Echidna''s shoulder. "You heard her."


    He cackled.


    Cha Yeon-Joo watched in silence.


    She knew exactly what was going on. She knew that Echidna had chosen Kang-Woo over Kargath of her own ord and that Kargath was reaping what he had sown.


    <i>''But...''</i>


    She stared at the despairing Kargath and the cackling Kang-Woo who had his hand on Echidna''s shoulder.


    <i>''Why does that son of a bitch look like the viin here?''</i>


    [N-No!! A-Anything but my daughter...!]


    "Maybe this wouldn''t be happening if you treated her better when it mattered~"


    <i>''Dude.''</i>


    [A-Aaaaahh!! Wh-What are you nning on doing to my daughter?!]


    "Hahaha! I can at least guarantee that she''ll have way more fun with me than she ever had with you."


    <i>''Oh Kang-Woo, you son of a bitch.''</i>


    "I''ll send you pictures from time to time. Ones of her smiling very happily, that is."


    <i>''You crazy bastard.''</i>


    "Pfft! Bwehehehe!! Right then, I''ll be taking your daughter!"


    Yeon-Joo stared at Kang-Woo in shock. "He''s..."


    <i>''A fucking scumbag.''</i>

 Chapter 413 - Church of Splendor

    <h4>Chapter 413 - Church of Splendor</h4>


    The pic on Caldesann came to an anticlimactic end due to Kargath''s appearance. Everyone was disappointed, but they knew that they couldn''t continue the pic. The party members promised to do something like this again next time and packed their things.


    Oh Kang-Woo ced several restrictions on Kargath so that he couldn''t try anything funny and returned to the imperial pce. Kang-Woo would normally have killed him to eliminate any risk factors, but he couldn''t bring himself to kill Echidna''s father in front of her.


    "Kang-Woo." Echidna entered Kang-Woo''s room while he was unpacking.


    She came up and hugged him without a word. She was acting reserved, simr to when Kang-Woo first met her.


    Kang-Woo gently patted her head.


    After hugging him for a while, Echidna muttered cautiously, "I don''t wanna be alone anymore."


    Kang-Woo smirked. "I''ll make it so that you can''t leave my side no matter how much you don''t want me to."


    "Hihi." Echidna giggled and buried her face in Kang-Woo''s embrace. "I''m sorry. The pic was ruined because of me."


    "It''s fine. We can always go again when we have a chance."


    Going to a pic was no big deal; although it would be hard now since they were so busy, they could go on all the pics they wanted until they were sick of it once they finished what they needed to do.


    "Okay!" Echidna shouted brightly and nodded cutely. She then grabbed his clothes and asked carefully, "Kang-Woo, can I sleep with you tonight?"


    "Mmm... Just a second."


    Kang-Woo needed to ask Han Seol-Ah if it was okay since they usually slept together every night. Just as he was about to call her...


    "I think it''s fine," Seol-Ah said as she entered the room as if she had heard their conversation from outside. "It''s been a while since I slept with Echidna."


    She lightly hugged Echidna and ced her head on Echidna''s chin.


    Echidna turned around and asked in anticipation, "Are you gonna sleep with us too, Seol-Ah?"


    "Yeah, sure." Seol-Ah smiled and patted Echidna''s head.


    "Hm! Hm! Okay! Let''s all sleep together!"


    Echidna jumped on the bed and snorted in excitement. Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah softlyughed and stared at each other.


    "Hm! I''m gonna stay upte tonight!" Echidna shouted with shining eyes, lying between Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah.


    However, she fell asleep after not even ten minutes of excitement. Kang-Woo smirked and closed his eyes after lying down. It was a short trip, but he had a feeling it would be a longsting memory.


    ***


    "Here is my report on what I have investigated about the Church of Splendor," Lilith said as she entered Kang-Woo''s room with a few pages of documents in hand.


    A few days passed since the trip. Kang-Woo took the documents that Lilith handed him and nodded.


    "First, this is the current size of the Church of Splendor."


    Lilith pointed at a specific portion of the document. There was a map that seemed to be one of Aernor and the Church of Splendor was marked with a yellow highlighter.


    "Its forces are spreading at an extraordinary rate with the Arnan Empire as the epicenter."


    "You say that, but it doesn''t look like it has spread much beyond Arnan, has it?" Kang-Woo remarked.


    "It hasn''t even been a month since it was formed, after all."


    "Oh, right." Kang-Woo nodded as if he had forgotten.


    The Church of Splendor was indeed growing at an extraordinary rate; it was only natural with Kang-Woo''s miraculous feat during the war and Kim Si-Hun''s fame. Even so, it was difficult for the Church of Splendor to take over the other religious organizations of Aernor, a polytheistic world.


    <i>''It''s the same as Christianity failing to spreadrgely throughout Japan.''</i>


    Faith wasplex; people usually did not wee change, especially in the case of religion. It would take a long time for someone who already believed in one religion to switch to another.


    "Considering that, it''s pretty fast," Kang-Woo said.


    The Church of Splendor was growing so quickly that it could even be considered a contagious disease.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. After listening to Lilith, he noticed something strange after taking a look through the documents again.


    "Isn''t it spreading a little too quickly?"


    It was theplete opposite question from the one that he had asked before. He could not help but think that the church was growing a little too quickly once he took a look at the map again after taking into ount Aernor''s religious circumstances.


    "Yes, you''re right," Lilith agreed. "It''s because the Church of Splendor took over some existing religious organizations."


    "They joined my religion?"


    "Yes. The remnants of the Godly Pantheon made derations along the line that they had received revtions to follow the God of Splendor, causing a massive influx into the Church of Splendor."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo fell into thought as he stroked his chin.


    <i>''The gods gave revtions to follow me?''</i>


    He shook his head after some thought.


    "That''s hard to believe."


    The gods had likely received significant penalties because of the mass deaths of the incarnations. There were likely even some gods whose Deific Essence was annihted.


    <i>''But they''re transferring their forces to a different god in that situation?''</i>


    It was far too optimistic to think that they had made a necessary sacrifice for the sake of Aernor''s future. For gods born with Deific Essence like Gaia and Tirion, Deific Essence was the only way for them to influence the physical world. In other words, Deific Essence was no different from their limbs.


    <i>''Cutting off their limbs and giving them to another god?''</i>


    It was bullshit. Kang-Woo snickered. He had a feeling about what was going on.


    "After all the shit they went about the glory of the Godly Pantheon and all, they''ve pretty much given up on it."


    The gods took the brunt of the penalty after their incarnations were killed at the hands of Tai Wuji. Those who worshiped gods with low Deific Essence had likely lost most of the blessings and power that they had received from that god. Not only had the power of the churches weakened after Si-Hun''s appearance, but the people who had acted as the leaders of the churches had ended up dying during the war. The remnants had no choice but to find another way to live.


    <i>''And so they chose the Church of Splendor as their lifeline.''</i>


    It was far too wise of a decision for Kang-Woo to insult them as a bunch of leeches since he would have made the same choice if he had been in their shoes.


    "Yes. Because of that, there have been some issues urring in the Church of Splendor," Lilith stated.


    "Well, I would assume so."


    Kang-Woo nodded as the puzzle pieces matched inside his head. The remnants of the Godly Pantheon were absorbed into the Church of Splendor. No, <i>absorbed </i>was not the right word to use.


    "They''re probably working to devour the Church of Splendor as we speak."


    "Hoho, exactly."


    Kang-Woo crossed his arms and shook his leg. The Church of Splendor was easily being devoured by the remnants of the Godly Pantheon no doubt because of the Church of Splendor itself.


    "Maybe I should''ve made some apostles or an incarnation," Kang-Woo muttered.


    The God of Splendor, the one whom the devotees of the Church of Splendor worshiped, did not have any apostles or an incarnation. There were not even devotees to whom Kang-Woo had indirectly granted power; it was only natural since the religion was made spontaneously by the people of the continent who praised Kang-Woo and Si-Hun.


    In other words, the Church of Splendor had no one in administrative positions whom Kang-Woo had appointed. To the Godly Pantheon, there was no better religious organization for them to devour.


    "They sure used their heads," Kang-Woo smirked.


    Members of the Godly Pantheon had administrative experience in their respective churches, so it was likely a piece of cake for them to use the people of the continent, who had gathered purely for the sake of worship, for their benefit.


    <i>''I mean, it would''ve been no business of mine what they did with the Church of Splendor before, but...''</i>


    The situation had changed. After all, the pure faith of the Church of Splendor''s devotees could be converted into power for him. Kang-Woo now had a reason to grow the Church of Splendor. The Church of Splendor would grow even if he just left it to be, and the remnants of the Godly Pantheon would benefit from its growth as well.


    <i>''But...''</i>


    There was a huge problem.


    <i>''They don''t have an ounce of faith in me as a god.''</i>


    The remnants of the Godly Pantheon had simply stuck to the Church of Splendor like a pack of hyenas to regain the power that they had lost after the influence of the churches had severely weakened; they did not have any form of faith in Kang-Woo. It was truly ironic that the leaders of the Church of Splendor did not believe in the God of Splendor.


    "Shall I kick them out?" Lilith asked casually.


    Kang-Woo shook his head. "No, it''s better to have experienced people in administrative positions than some randos."


    "But why? They don''t believe in you, Master Kang-Woo." Lilith tilted her head in wonder.


    Kang-Woo stood up while smiling. The solution was simple.


    "In that case, I''ll make them believe."


    It was time for him to give a sermon.


    ***


    A boy with nk eyes was walking along a destend under a red sky.


    "Wee back," an unpleasant voice like nails on a chalkboard sounded out.


    Darkness clumped together in midair and walked out a hunchback demon with a staff.


    "Yeah." The boy with nk eyes nodded. He turned to the hunchback demon and asked, "How is the progress on the world tree?"


    "It is proceeding ording to n. We will see results in a little longer," replied the hunchback demon as he hit the ground with the end of his staff.


    The boy nodded. "Oh, right. Something pretty interesting was formed. Have you heard?"


    "Are you referring to the Church of Splendor?"


    "Yeah." The boy nodded with a faint smile.


    "What will you do?" the hunchback demon asked.


    "I wonder what I should do?" The boy looked up at the red sky and fell into thought. He then answered uninterestedly, "Mmm. I''m toozy to think about it."


    "I understand. In that case, I will take measures myself." The hunchback demon bowed deeply. He cackled and then asked, "How did you feel about seeing the Demon King after all this time?"


    The boy remained silent. Then, the corners of his mouth slowly rose; they went past his cheekbones, all the way to his earlobes. "Kihi!"


    Madness filled the boy''s nk eyes. Enormous demonic energy poured out from him.


    <i>Crack, crack!</i>


    Goat horns sprouted from the boy''s forehead and bat wings pierced out of his back.


    "Haaah," the boy exhaled in ecstasy as he recalled the Demon King''s radiant mes of Voracity. He muttered, "He looked very... very delicious."


    "Kekeke." The hunchback demon nodded. "I am d to hear that, Lord Bael."

 Chapter 414 - Do You Believe In The Light?

    <h4>Chapter 414 - Do You Believe In The Light?</h4>


    "We must put our faith in the God of Splendor!!"


    "Lord Oh Kang-Woo will save Aernor from the darkness!"


    The za was sting with the shouts of people in white clerical clothing with voice amplification magic tools in hand.


    "Hoho, they sure are going at it." Lilith giggled.


    Kang-Woo nodded as he chuckled. "Man, it''s only hitting me now aftering here myself."


    It felt like he was in some sort of cult rally, but its effect was huge.


    "All hail Oh Kang-Woo! All hail Kim Si-Hun!"


    "Blessed be the God of Splendor!"


    Kang-Woo could feel the fanaticism in their cheers. Slushy, who was on his shoulder, was bouncing up and down as if it couldn''t wait to gobble up all the faith in the air.


    <i>''So this is where the Church of Splendor is based.''</i>


    Kang-Woo looked around. The Church of Splendor was not based in the capital but in the city where the Godly Pantheon had been based; to be more exact, the Church of Lumeria where Anduin had been a member had changed to the base of the Church of Splendor.


    <i>''I guess the Goddess of Peace was dumped.''</i>


    Kang-Woo feignedughter due to the absurdity. The Church of Lumeria had held the most influence in Aernor, which was why Anduin had been the leader of the Godly Pantheon. However, the base of the Church of Lumeria was now being used as the base for the Church of Splendor. Kang-Woo was astonished by how quickly the apostles of the Goddess of Peace had changed ship.


    "Shall we take a look around the base?" Lilith suggested.


    "Sure." Kang-Woo nodded.


    He looked around the buildings that had be the base of the Church of Splendor with Lilith. There was no one to recognize him since he had changed his appearance with Mimicry.


    "I can see they threw a shit ton of money into making these buildings."


    Kang-Woo whistled as he looked around. Although it was not as extravagant as the imperial pce, the buildings could still hold their own. It felt like he was witnessing the buildings of the Catholic church in the Middle Ages when their power was at its peak.


    "Oh my, look over there, Master Kang-Woo."


    Lilith pointed somewhere as she was looking around. Thousands of people had gathered to pray in front of a giant mural; it was one drawn of Kang-Woo turning the demonic beast army into ash in an instant.


    <i>''When the hell did they draw something like that?''</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the mural in disbelief. It had only been a month since the Church of Splendor had formed; he couldn''t believe that such a massive mural had been drawn in that short of a time.


    "O God of Splendor..."


    "Grant us light."


    Kang-Woo could hear the people gathered in front of the mural praying. Slushy chewed slightly, absorbing the faith in the air little by little. He could feel Divinity flowing into him through Slushy.


    <i>''Pretty sweet.''</i>


    It was like being fed while doing nothing in bed. Kang-Woo smiled as he was earning Divinity for free without having done anything.


    <i>''But it''s still not that much.''</i>


    No matter how quickly the Church of Splendor was expanding throughout the continent, it was only a little over a month old. Also, there was a limit to how much Divinity he could earn since the ones in leadership did not believe in Kang-Woo in the slightest.


    "Are you all praying sincerely?" someone asked.


    A group of people entered through a door. Unlike the priests in white clerical clothing shouting in the za, these people were wearing extravagant vestments.


    "Cardinal Mihile!"


    "Whoaaa!"


    "We will be counting on your guidance today as well, Cardinal Daylen!"


    People cheered as the one known as Cardinal Mihile entered alongside several other cardinals.


    "Haha. There''s no need to rush, dear devotees," Mihileughed brightly as he ced a thick book on the podium and stroked the cover.


    <i>''Cardinal, huh?''</i>


    Kang-Woo scanned the cardinals standing on the tform with great interest. They all looked like kind elderly gentlemen from just a nce.


    "Can I leave today''s sermon to you, Cardinal Ian?" asked Mihile as he turned.


    The cardinal known as Ian was a middle-aged man with hollow eyes and ck hair, a rare hair color in Aernor.


    "No. I apologize. My throat hurts too much today," Ian replied as he rubbed his throat.


    Mihile''s eyebrows rose slightly.


    "Ah..."


    "To think we can''t hear Cardinal Ian''s great words..."


    Many people expressed disappointment.


    Mihile reassured them as he opened the book. "Hahaha. It can''t be helped since Father Ian isn''t feeling well. In that case, I will ry to you all the words of light in his ce."


    The devotees cheered passionately as Mihile stood in front of the podium. He raised his hand to calm the devotees down as if it were an everyday urrence, and silence fell in an instant.


    "Today, I would first like to talk about hardship and adversity," Mihile began. "There will be times in your lives when you will experience suffering and hardships, but it is especially in such times when you must never lose faith. Your faith in Lord Oh Kang-Woo symbolizes your acknowledgment of his supreme authority, and it will help you ovee any adversity. We must always believe in our god Oh Kang-Woo and trust that he will guide us to the right path."


    <i>''Wow, would you take a look at this son of a bitch?'' </i>Kang-Woo was impressed by Mihile''s sermon. <i>''He sure is getting into it, huh?''</i>


    Experience sure spoke for itself; despite the sermon being about a simple subject, it was impactful enough to pull people in.


    "Verse 19 states that although righteous people will experience suffering, He will save us from adversity."


    <i>''I won''t, though.''</i>


    "If you take a look at chapter 27 verse 2, Lord Oh Kang-Woo says that we must love our enemies who give us adversity and suffering."


    <i>''The hell are you talking about? You should kill your enemies.''</i>


    Kang-Woo listened to Mihile''s sermon while chuckling. It was so well-structured that he couldn''t believe that it had been made in just a month.


    <i>''They''ve prepared so well.''</i>


    Kang-Woo softlyughed as he passed around the book that the Church of Splendor was giving out. He couldn''t hold in hisughter for the entire sermon.


    <i>''I''m shocked that someone with no faith whatsoever can spout shit like that.''</i>


    He had not felt an ounce of faith in Mihile. Slushy on his shoulder had been drooling while staring at the devotees listening to the sermon, but it showed no interest in the cardinals on the tform.


    "I will roll the question over to you all. How would you describe your feelings about Lord Oh Kang-Woo? Do you worship him?" Mihile closed the book. "That will be all for today''s sermon."


    Thunderous apuse rang out along with cheers. Mihile smiled in satisfaction as he stared at the Church of Splendor''s devotees. The cardinals climbed down the tform.


    "Let''s go," Kang-Woo stated.


    "Yes, my king."


    Kang-Woo snapped his finger and activated the Authority of Stealth to conceal himself and Lilith, then followed behind the cardinals.


    "I have some business to attend to, so I will excuse myself." Cardinal Ian bowed and turned around.


    Once he got far enough away, the other cardinals'' attitudes changed abruptly.


    "Fuuu. Why has Ian been acting that waytely?"


    "He''s tantly ignoring us at this point."


    They stared at Ian in displeasure as he was getting further away.


    Mihile raised his hands to silence them. "Now, now, calm down. What if the devotees hear?"


    "Hmph. I doubt those unenlightened bunch would even be able to understand what we''re saying."


    "Hahaha! Right you are."


    The cardinalsughed heartily.


    "Haaah. I was honestly worried about what would happen once I heard the news that Sir Anduin was killed, but life sure does find a way for you to live on."


    "It must be the blessing of the gods."


    "Hehe. Some nobody up and became the God of Splendor? Where in the world did that kind of absurd rumore from?"


    "Who cares, as long as we benefit from it?"


    The cardinals nodded repeatedly and snickered.


    "Long live the God of Splendor!" one of the cardinals shouted and spread his arms.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    Just then, light manifested.


    "Thank you, everyone." A being enveloped in splendid golden light walked toward the cardinals. He ced his hand on his chest and said affectionately, "To think you would have so much faith in the light... I have been truly moved."


    The cardinals gasped in shock. Kang-Woo, who had undone Mimicry, looked the same as the mural.


    "Why are you all so surprised?" Kang-Woo tilted his head as if he couldn''t understand. "I''vee to visit the Church of Splendor after hearing about it recently."


    "I-I see."


    The cardinals nced at each other as they were sweating profusely. They all focused their gaze on Mihile, who calmly walked forward and bowed.


    "I deeply appreciate your visit. My name is Mihile. Although I amcking, I have taken on the role of delivering your words to the devotees."


    "Hahaha. I''m honored to receive such faith when I''ve only just earned Deific Essence and be a god." Kang-Woo nodded with a bright smile.


    Seeing his reaction, the other cardinals sighed in relief; they seemed to be assuming that Kang-Woo had not heard their earlier conversation.


    "In that case," Kang-Woo said as he took a step forward. "I would like to take this chance to deliver my words to you all directly."


    The cardinals nodded with an awkward smile, being given the chance to hear a sermon directly from a god.


    "First..." Kang-Woo slowly raised his hand. "I would like to talk about hardship and adversity."


    Kang-Woo threw a fast punch. He held back as much as possible, but it was still not enough for cardinals, who had lost the powers granted to them by their gods, to handle.


    <i>Bash!</i>


    "Kurgh!"


    Mihile was punched directly in the face.


    "G-God of Splendor!"


    "Wh-What are you¡ª!"


    The other cardinals shouted in shock. Kang-Woo grabbed the cardinal next to him by the hair and smashed his head into the wall.


    <i>Wham!</i>


    "Arrrggghhh!"


    "There will be times in your lives when you will experience suffering and hardships."


    <i>Crunch.</i>


    The arm of one of the cardinals was twisted severely.


    "Gaaaaaaaahhh!"


    "But it is especially in such times when you must never lose faith."


    <i>Crack!</i>


    The teeth of one of the cardinals fell to the ground.


    "Verse 19 states that although righteous people will experience suffering, the light will save them from adversity."


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Kang-Woo grabbed the fleeing Mihile by the leg and smashed him down onto the ground.


    "Chapter 27 verse 2; we must learn to love our enemies who give us adversity and suffering."


    "S-Save u¡ª Aarrgghh!"


    Kang-Woo trampled on Mihile''s knees as he was crawling away. Mihile''s screams rang out along with the sound of his bones breaking. It did not take long for all the cardinals to be copsed on the ground. All of their limbs were twisted in abnormal directions.


    "Sister Lilith," Kang-Woo called.


    "Yes, God of Splendor." Lilith appeared behind Kang-Woo and bowed modestly.


    "Please treat the cardinals."


    "Yes, my lord."


    Lilith took out a potion emitting golden light. It was a special healing potion made with a drop of the God of Splendor''s blood. Once Lilith poured the potion on the cardinals, their bodies immediately returned to normal.


    "Now then, everyone." Kang-Woo smiled. "Let us continue the sermon."


    "W-Wait¡ª"


    <i>Crunch! Crack!</i>


    The God of Splendor''s sermon continued.


    "Aaarrrggghhh!!"


    "Bleeeeeghhh!"


    The cardinals cheered as if they were deeply inspired after hearing the words of a god. Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction.


    "Everyone," he called.


    "Urrrhhh," the cardinals groaned like Undead.


    "Do you believe in the light?"


    "Kurgh! D-Do you seriously think you''ll get away with what you''ve done to¡ª"


    "Haaa," Kang-Woo sighed and shook his head. "It seems you stillck faith."


    Kang-Woo grabbed Mihile by the hair and clenched his other hand into a fist.


    "S-Stop! W-Wait¡ª"


    <i>Crunch!</i>


    Mihile''s cheekbone shattered. Unable to handle the massive pressure, one of his eyeballs popped out of the socket. Horrible violence continued on end.


    "Everyone," Kang-Woo called again. "Do you believe in the light?"


    "Yesss..."


    "W-We do."


    Kang-Woo turned his head to look at Slushy. It was facing away from the cardinals as if it waspletely uninterested in them. It meant that faith could not be detected in them.


    "Aaaahh." Kang-Woo shook his head in pity. "It truly breaks my heart that I must put my devotees through such suffering."


    He couldn''t believe that it was this difficult to deliver the words of a god. His heart ached every time he swung his fists.


    <i>''But...''</i>


    He needed to endure it. For the sake of delivering the words of the light and for true faith to bloom...


    <i>''I have to ovee this pain.''</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists and bit his lip. He had resolved himself for it, but his heart still hurt nheless.


    "Hurghh..." Tears flowed down Kang-Woo''s cheeks. He reached down and grabbed Mihile''s eyeball that had popped out. "Everyone... Do you believe... in the light?"

 Chapter 415 - This Is The End Of The Line, Damn Swindler

    <h4>Chapter 415 - This Is The End Of The Line, Damn Swindler</h4>


    "Do you believe in the light now?" asked a young man enveloped by radiant light in a brightly lit room.


    "Y-Yes!!"


    "We believe!!"


    The cardinals in extravagant vestments nodded furiously. Their faces were filled with fear and suffering. The young man softly patted the ck lump on his shoulder that was drooling with its mouth wide open. It was proof that faith could be felt in them.


    "Haha," Oh Kang-Wooughed and nodded in satisfaction. "What a relief... It seems my words have reached your hearts."


    He could vividly feel their belief as they looked up at him. He was moved by how his teachings had allowed zing passion to be lit in their hearts.


    "Don''t you agree, Cardinal Mihile?" Kang-Woo asked leisurely.


    "A-Aaaahh." Mihile''s face turned pale as he nodded like a bobblehead.


    Kang-Woo lightly patted Mihile''s shoulder. "Thank you for guiding the devotees in my ce thus far."


    "N-Not at all. I-It is only natural for me to do as a d-d-d-devotee of the Church of Splendor," Mihile replied desperately.


    Kang-Wooughed lightly. "Haha. Come to think of it, I heard you were once a devotee of Lady Lumeria, the Goddess of Peace."


    "Oh, y-yes. Th-That''s correct."


    "Even if it was because of a revtion sent by her, to think you would work so hard to deliver the words of light to the people of the continent... I have been truly moved."


    "Ah, h-h-haha. Th-Thank you very much."


    "In that case, could I ask you to continue to do your best to grow the Church of Splendor even more... Not just limited to Arnan, but throughout the continent?"


    Kang-Woo grabbed Mihile''s hand tightly. Mihile''s hands were trembling severely, likely because Kang-Woo''s words moved him.


    "Eek!!" Mihile shrieked, looking like he was about to pass out at any moment.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder. "What''s wrong, Father Mihile?"


    "N-Nothing at all! I will do my best to spread the words of the God of Splendor throughout the continent!" Mihile screamed with conviction.


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction. "I''m very d to hear that, Father Mihile."


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but be moved by Mihile''s dedication despite Kang-Woo only having acquired Deific Essence a month ago. His eyes teared up with certainty that the Church of Splendor would be expanded at an even greater pace from today onward.


    "In that case, could you gather the devotees for a moment, Father Mihile?" Kang-Woo asked.


    He needed to take direct action for the expansion of the Church of Splendor to take off at an even greater pace. People would naturally ce greater faith in something that they could see than what they couldn''t.


    "O-Of course!" Mihile nodded furiously.


    The cardinals quickly turned around and ran to the massive prayer room where the devotees were gathered. Kang-Woo smiled as he stared at their backs.


    "I guess that resolves the faith issue."


    Lilith, who had been watching the whole time, approached Kang-Woo in worry. "Are you sure this was the right decision, Master Kang-Woo?"


    It had been far too forceful of a method. Kang-Woo would be the one in a predicament if the cardinals were to bber about the sermon that Kang-Woo had subjected to them.


    "It''s fine." Kang-Woo nodded leisurely. "I ced an Authority on them so they can''t talk about it."


    Kang-Woo knew very well that he would be the one in trouble if that were to happen, so he had restricted the cardinals with the Authority of Fear during the sermon.


    "Hoho. I never thought to instill faith in people using such a method. How fascinating," Lilith remarked.


    "Well, it''s technically not faith."


    It was likely closer to an emotion akin to self-protection brought about in a situation of extreme terror. There were different kinds of faith.


    <i>''It doesn''t matter.''</i>


    After all, his main source of faith was the regr devotees, not the cardinals. He couldn''t care less whether or not they had faith in him or feared him, as long as they obeyed hismands.


    "Right then, let''s get on with the second sermon."


    Kang-Woo slowly walked to the prayer room. It was time to deliver the words of the God of Splendor to the regr devotees this time.


    <i>Murmur, murmur.</i>


    "L-Lord Oh Kang-Woo himself has manifested?"


    "Is that true?"


    "A-Aaaahh. To think I would live to see the day..."


    Kang-Woo could hear people mumbling as he headed to the prayer room where the mural was drawn. It had not been long since he had told the cardinals to gather the devotees, but the prayer room was packed with people to a point that couldn''t bepared to from earlier. The cardinals seemed to have gathered as many people as possible through something like a broadcast.


    <i>''It''s about the same amount of people as when Iris announced her marriage.''</i>


    There were so many people that it looked like the entire city had gathered.


    "Grrrk! Grrrk!"


    Slushy bounced ecstatically; it seemed to have been impressed by the dense amount of faith that every single person was exuding. Kang-Woo scanned the people before climbing up the tform. There was a massive amount of people, but...


    <i>''It''s still not enough.''</i>


    It was nowhere near enough to fill the belly of Kang-Woo, whose Deific Essence had reached Top-rank. The conversion of faith to Divinity was highly inefficient in the first ce. If the Authority of Predation could bepared to a nuclear power nt, converting faith to Divinity would be simr to a sr power generator. Since the power conversion efficiency was so inefficient, he needed as much faith as possible.


    <i>''The people of this city won''t be enough.''</i>


    This many people had shown up only because it was where the Church of Splendor was based; he could expect nowhere near these numbers in other cities.


    <i>''Not just that, its quality is poor as well.''</i>


    It was only natural since the Church of Splendor was formed because of the miraculous power that Kang-Woo had shown during the war against the Constetions of Evil. To put it in other words, that was the only reason. Before then, forget the God of Splendor, no one even knew Kang-Woo''s name; actually, they knew the name itself.


    <i>''It was leaked because of Iris''s bullshit during her marriage announcement.''</i>


    Back then, Kang-Woo had Kim Si-Hun y the blunder off by saying that <i>Oh Kang-Woo</i> was the other name that Iris called him when they were alone together. It had been resolved without issue at the time, but the issue resurfaced after Kang-Woo came to be known as the God of Splendor.


    <i>''We managed to bury it again somehow.''</i>


    Barely anyone cared about it in the first ce, and the smallmotion died down after Si-Hun rified that Oh Kang-Woo was actually his older brother''s name. Although that created confusion regarding Iris''s past statement, not many people paid it any mind since people cared more about the birth of the light that would save the continent from darkness rather than who the princess would be marrying.


    <i>''Regardless...''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s name had only been spread widely because of the miracle that he had shown during the war.


    <i>''I need to show them more proof.''</i>


    He needed to show them that he was the light that would save the continent and that the people of the continent needed to ce their faith in him as their god.


    Kang-Woo slowly walked up the steps to the tform.


    <i>Whoooom¡ª!</i>


    Blinding light poured out of his body as he climbed. The mumbling devotees fell silent after witnessing the overwhelming splendor.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    "The light..."


    "The light has manifested..."


    The devotees'' eyes widened. This was the light that eradicated darkness that they had only heard about through rumors. The ones who were witnessing the light with their own eyes were frozen in shock.


    "Greetings, devotees of light." Kang-Woo raised his arms aftering up to the tform. Blinding light spread throughout the enormous prayer room. "I will bless all who have gathered here today in the name of Splendor."


    Kang-Woo activated the Authority of Vitality as he filled the room with light. The widely spread demonic energy filled the ten thousand people gathered to the brim with energy. Although it was nothingpared to Han Seol-Ah''s buffs, this was more than enough for now.


    "W-Wo!"


    "I''m brimming with power..."


    The devotees of the Church of Splendor expressed surprise. All of their fatigue vanished and they were filled with energy as soon as the light touched them.


    "O God of Splendor!"


    "Save us from the darkness!"


    The devotees all kneeled and began praying as if they had nned it. There were even those crying from being so moved among them.


    <i>''Now, then...''</i>


    Kang-Woo looked for something while looking down at them. He had sessfully managed to clear the first condition with the wide-area buff.


    <i>''But... This isn''t enough.''</i>


    The elimination of fatigue and surge of power could not be called a god''s miracle.


    <i>''In times like this...''</i>


    Actions spoke louder than words. After all, the cardinals who were filled with disbelief were now filled with unwavering faith in Kang-Woo after his sermon.


    "O dearmb who follows the light..."


    Kang-Woo, who had been looking around, quickly found his target. He was staring at a woman who was desperately praying while hugging a child who looked to be about five years old. The child did not seem to be in good condition because they were coughing severely in pallor even after receiving Kang-Woo''s blessing.


    "P-Pardon? A-Are you talking to me?"


    The middle-aged woman quickly looked up as Kang-Woo walked toward her.


    "Yes, I am." Kang-Woo nodded as he reached out to the child. The woman''s eyes were filled with hope and fear. "Your child seems to be sick."


    "Y-Yes! All of a sudden, since a few days ago... P-Please look after this poor child!" the woman yelled in desperation.


    Kang-Woo slightly bit open his thumb to make blood. His red blood carried a golden tinge.


    "Ah..." The woman flinched.


    Kang-Woo gently patted the woman''s back and held out his thumb toward the child.


    "Let my blood guide the youngmb toward the light," Kang-Woo said.


    The drop of blood fell into the child''s mouth, and then the severely coughing child began to heal at an extraordinary rate.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    "H-How can this be...?"


    The devotees expressed disbelief while wide-eyed. After witnessing a miracle, they quickly ran toward the tform while pushing each other aside.


    "O-O God of Splendor!"


    "Please grant the blessing of light to my wife as well!"


    "M-My husband was greatly hurt in the mines a while ago! Please..."


    There were not many people who would be able to stay still after witnessing a miracle happen right before their eyes. Chaos fell in the prayer room.


    "Be silent," Kang-Woo said.


    The rowdy prayer room fell silent immediately. The immense power flowing out of Kang-Woo weighed down the devotees running toward him.


    "There is no need to worry, devotees of light," Kang-Woo said as if calming down the devotees. "The blessing of light will be with you all."


    "A-Aaaahh," the devotees expressed as they prayed while crying.


    "Sister Lilith," Kang-Woo called.


    "Yes, God of Splendor."


    Lilith walked forward with perfect timing and took out a potion that had been used while Kang-Woo was giving the cardinals a sermon. Arge amount had been consumed for the sake of instilling faith into the cardinals, but there was more than enough for everyone here since he had made them in bulk beforeing to the Church of Splendor''s base.


    "Please distribute the holy water to the devotees," Kang-Woo stated.


    "As the lightmands." Lilith bowed deeply.


    <i>''I knew it was the right choice to bring Lilith with me.''</i>


    They had only devised a general n beforeing here; Kang-Woo had mostly been adlibbing this entire time, but Lilith was matching his pace perfectly. Such perfect teamwork would not have been possible if it had been Seol-Ah or any other party member.


    <i>''I should give her a gift or somethingter.''</i>


    Kang-Woo turned toward the devotees while smiling in satisfaction.


    "Aaaahh. O God of Splendor."


    "I will follow the light!"


    Kang-Woo could now feel something beyond faith in the devotees'' eyes.


    <i>''Yeah, this is more like it.''</i>


    Their faith was more like fanaticism now. Kang-Woo had hoped for the Church of Splendor to be more like a cult.


    <i>''It might cause trouble with the other religious organizations if they be a little overzealous in their beliefs, but...''</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn''t care less if they caused a religious war or interrogated heretics.


    <i>''As long as I can squeeze out faith from them, that''s all I need.''</i>


    Kang-Woo burst outughing in his head. He could see Slushy on his shoulder drooling as it felt the fanatical faith from the devotees.


    <i>''Alright, this should do for n¡ª''</i>


    <i>Crash!</i>


    The door burst open and a man walked up to the tform with big strides. The gazes of the surprised devotees turned to the man who suddenly appeared.


    "Cardinal Ian?"


    The hollow-eyed ck-haired man gritted his teeth and shouted, "This is the end of the line... damn swindler!" He pointed at Kang-Woo and turned to the surprised devotees.


    Ian shouted while frowning, "Dear devotees of light, you are all being deceived! That man is not the God of Splendor! His... His true identity is..." He said while ring fiercely at Kang-Woo, "The king of demons... and all that is evil."

 Chapter 416 - Water Always Knows The Answer

    <h4>Chapter 416 - Water Always Knows The Answer</h4>


    ¡°...¡±


    Deathly silence fell within the massive prayer room. The devotees, who had been going wild after witnessing the God of Splendor¡¯s miracle, looked at each other in confusion.


    ¡°Father Ian?¡±


    ¡°Wh-What do you mean?¡±


    The devotees were left flustered. None of them would have believed it If the one spouting nonsense that the God of Splendor was a swindler had been some random person, but it was Cardinal Ian. He was one of the founding members of the Church of Splendor alongside the other cardinals like Mihile who had received revtions from the gods.


    The fact that Ian, who had the support of the devotees to the point that he could be the leader of the church, was iming that the God of Splendor was a swindler would naturally cause the devotees to be confused.


    ¡°All of you, please calm down.¡± Oh Kang-Woo slowly extended his hands toward the rowdy devotees. A golden light was brought down on them like a tent. Kang-Woo smiled faintly as if he was not flustered in the slightest and looked at Ian. ¡°Cardinal Ian, was it? I¡¯ve heard a lot about you.¡±


    That was a lie. He had seen Ian when he first entered the prayer room, but he had never heard anything about him other than when the other cardinals talked behind his back.


    ¡°There seems to have been a mistake¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shut up, abominable demon!¡± Ian firmly shook his head as if he did not find it worth his time to entertain Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyebrows slightly flinched.


    <i>¡®What the hell is going on?¡¯</i>


    He was as calm as he could be on the outside, but his mind was in jumbles.


    <i>¡®How does he know?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo slightly bit his lip as he reyed the memories of every action he had taken after the war.


    <i>¡®Nothing.¡¯</i>


    No matter how hard he thought about it, he had done nothing that could have possibly revealed his identity. Most of his battles against the Constetions of Evil had urred within a barrier made by the Demonic Sea, and traces of his demonic energy hadpletely disappeared after earning Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®Did he see Balrog changing into his true form during the war?¡¯</i>


    That was the only thing that Kang-Woo had failed to perfectly conceal.


    <i>¡®No, no.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head. He had taken action to quickly resolve that matter.


    <i>¡®Besides, just because Balrog¡¯s identity was revealed wouldn¡¯t make him think that I¡¯m the Demon King.¡¯</i>


    It would be a massive jump in logic.


    <i>¡®What could it be, then?¡¯</i>


    Ian would have had no way of realizing Kang-Woo¡¯s true identity.


    ¡°That demon is the Demon King who ruled over the Nine Hells!¡± Ian shouted.


    ¡°...¡±


    Silence fell the more Ian shouted. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and scanned Ian. He could think about how Ian had figured out his identityter. Putting out the fire that Ian had set was of higher priority.


    <i>¡®Well, considering the situation...¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo looked at the devotees¡¯ expressions and smiled faintly. <i>¡®It doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯ll have to do anything.¡¯</i>


    In other words, the situation would resolve itself without him needing to do anything.


    ¡°What kind of nonsense is that?!¡±


    ¡°The God of Splendor has shown us the miracle of light before our very eyes!¡±


    ¡°There is no way that he would be the Demon King!¡±


    The devotees strongly refuted Ian¡¯s ims. Some were directing hostility, and even bloodlust, at him. They might have believed Ian¡¯s ims before Kang-Woo had shown them a miracle, but they had seen a severely ill child being healed to perfect condition right in front of them. Even someone with the title of cardinal would not be able to convince them with just his words, no matter how influential his sermons were.


    <i>¡®People in suffering need miracles that they can see rather than vague words of light.¡¯</i>


    ¡°The evil one here us you, Cardinal Ian!¡±


    ¡°He dares disrespect the God of Splendor!¡±


    Hostile screams filled the prayer room. The woman who was shouting that her husband was in serious condition was swinging the thick holy scripture threateningly.


    ¡°Kuh...¡± Ian bit his lip anxiously as he looked at the crazed devotees. He clenched his fists and shouted, ¡°Those tainted by darkness, receive the judgment of light!¡±


    He decided to take matters into his own hands after judging that he wouldn¡¯t be able to convince the public. Thick sacred power flowed out of him; he was quite powerful, to be expected of someone possessing the title of cardinal. He formed a spear made of light and fired it at Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Kyaaaaaaaahhh!¡±


    ¡°G-God of Splendor!¡±


    The devotees ran in front of Kang-Woo while screaming to take the attack for him, but...


    <i>Scatter.</i>


    The spear of light being fired at Kang-Woo turned to dust in midair as if the spear itself was refusing to attack him.


    ¡°H-How...¡± Ian trembled while wide-eyed.


    He gritted his teeth and prepared his next attack. Kang-Woo extended his arm toward Ian.


    <i>¡®Authority of Stillness.¡¯</i>


    He activated Prince Belphegor¡¯s Authority. Irresistible power stopped Ian¡¯s movements.


    ¡°Devotees of light, quell your rage,¡± Kang-Woo remarked to the devotees, who had let madness take control of them. They flinched and stepped back. ¡°There seems to have been a misunderstanding.¡±


    Kang-Woo walked toward Ian, who could not move at all due to the Authority of Stillness. Kang-Woo lightly ced his hand on Ian¡¯s shoulder and said in sorrow, ¡°Cardinal Ian. I have faith in you.¡±


    ¡°Aaaahh...¡±


    ¡°O light...¡±


    The devotees kneeled while tearing up. The God of Splendor was not enraged at Ian, who had not only insulted him by iming he was the Demon King but even attacked him. Instead, he was saying that he had faith in him.


    ¡°Devotees of light,¡± Kang-Woo said as he turned to the devotees. ¡°You must not forget the words of light.¡± He slowly raised his hand and pointed at the holy scripture on the podium. ¡°Chapter 27 verse 2; learn to love your enemies who give you adversity and suffering.¡±


    ¡°Hurgh. I will keep it in mind... for the rest of my life!¡±


    ¡°We will trust and follow only the path of splendor!¡±


    The devotees bowed their heads while hugging the holy scripture. Hearing the God of Splendor putting the words of light into action was highly impactful to the devotees, who had only read it through the holy scriptures. Kang-Woo turned away from the devotees while smiling gently.


    ¡°I will resolve this misunderstanding with Cardinal Ian. In the meantime, I will have the other cardinals guide the devotees¡¯ prayers.¡±


    ¡°U-Understood!¡± Cardinal Mihile shouted as he bowed deeply.


    Kang-Woo grabbed the immobile Ian by the shoulder and dragged him down from the tform and into the bathroom next to the prayer room. He ced a barrier with demonic energy and then undid the Authority of Stillness.


    ¡°<i>Huff, huff!</i>¡± Ian stepped back as he panted heavily. ¡°Bastard! How long will you keep up this wicked fa?ade?¡±


    He yelled in anger and raised his fist to punch Kang-Woo, but Kang-Woo easily caught it.


    ¡°Kurgh! L-Let go of me!¡±


    Ian tried to get out of Kang-Woo¡¯s grasp, but could not ovee Kang-Woo¡¯s grip strength.


    ¡°Cardinal Ian,¡± Kang-Woo called with a gentle smile. ¡°Where did you hear that false information?¡±


    ¡°Hah, false information, you say?¡± Ian red at Kang-Woo and bared his teeth. ¡°I saw you ruling over the Nine Hells with my own eyes! You were sitting on a giant throne with hundreds of thousands of demons at your heel!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    <i>¡®He saw me back when I was in Hell?¡¯</i>


    He could understand Ian¡¯s attitude if that were true. Even if he had entered the Church of Splendor to make use of its rise in poprity, he was still a priest; he followed the light and resented all those dyed in evil. It was only natural for him to be enraged by the fact that the God of Splendor was the Demon King.


    <i>¡®Well, even if he¡¯s a priest, he¡¯s nothing more than a leech who stuck to a different god after abandoning the one he used to believe in.¡¯</i>


    Ian was fundamentally no different from Mihile since the only reason they stuck to the Church of Splendor was to regain their power that had been vanishing after the Godly Pantheon fell apart. Their actions of writing holy scriptures and giving sermons based on that was no different from a scam.


    <i>¡®Even swindlers have a conscience, is that it?¡¯</i>


    Ian delivered the words of a god that he didn¡¯t even believe in for the sake of keeping his power but was enraged when the god turned out to be the Demon King. It was truly ironic.


    <i>¡®Regardless...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo did not care about the reason behind Ian¡¯s actions.


    ¡°Who showed you?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Who dared to show Ian his days of ruling over Hell as the Demon King? That was all that mattered.


    ¡°Hmph, do you seriously believe I¡¯ll tell you?!¡± Ian snorted and turned his head away.


    Kang-Woo stared at Ian with deeply sunken eyes and ced his hand on Ian¡¯s head.


    <i>¡®Authority of Fear.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo activated the Authority that would control Ian¡¯s mind. However...


    <i>Crackle¡ª!</i>


    ¡°... Hm?¡±


    ¡°Kuh! Did you think that your evil schemes would work on me?!¡±


    ck sparks flew from Ian¡¯s head. Ian red at Kang-Woo ferociously while gritting his teeth. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    <i>¡®He resisted the Authority?¡¯</i>


    Even though the Authority of Fear had a high chance of failure, it should not have been possible for Ian to resist it considering their unfathomable gap in power.


    <i>¡®If that¡¯s the case...¡¯</i>


    It meant that someone else had provided Ian with a measure to resist mind-control Authorities, and it was likely that the individual had told Ian about Kang-Woo¡¯s true identity.


    ¡°Haha,¡± Kang-Woo softlyughed.


    ¡°Wh-What¡¯s so funny...?¡± Ian stared at him with trembling eyes.


    Kang-Woo swept up his hair.


    <i>¡®If mind-control Authorities won¡¯t work...¡¯</i>


    He had no choice but to make Ian talk of his own ord without relying on Authorities, and it was simple to do so.


    ¡°Cardinal Ian.¡± Kang-Woo smiled gently. ¡°Have you heard of this saying?¡±


    ¡°Wh-What saying...?¡±


    Ian trembled. Kang-Woo walked to the bathroom sink and turned on the faucet. In terms of water facilities, Aernor was not much different from Earth. Water poured into the sink.


    Kang-Woo ced his hand over the stream of water and remarked, ¡°Water always knows the answer.¡±


    ¡°... What?¡±


    Ian tilted his head. He had never heard of such a saying.


    ¡°Hahaha,¡± Kang-Wooughed. He approached Ian and grabbed him by the hair. ¡°No need to worry.¡±


    He stuffed Ian¡¯s head into the sink filled with water.


    ¡°Kurgh! Urpp!! Urgh!¡±


    Ian iled aggressively.


    Kang-Woo added more strength to his hand and continued, ¡°You¡¯ll find out what it means soon enough.¡±

 Chapter 417 - I Swear In My Deific Name of Splendor

    <h4>Chapter 417 - I Swear In My Deific Name of Splendor</h4>


    "Kurgh, Urgh! Urpp!"


    "Right then, can you tell me who showed you that footage now?"


    "I-I canno¡ª"


    <i>Ssh!</i>


    "Kurp! <i>Gurgle! Gurgle!</i>"


    "Hahaha, you''re unyielding. I like that about people."


    "Kurgh!" Ian grunted in pain as he coughed up water and trembled. His eyes looking up at Oh Kang-Woo were dyed in fear. He averted his gaze from Kang-Woo and remarked, "I-I don''t... k-know."


    "You don''t know?"


    "Yes. I-I don''t know who showed m¡ª"


    Kang-Woo grabbed Ian by the hair and smiled in a way devoid of malice. "In that case, I will help you remember."


    "W-Wait¡ª"


    <i>Ssh!</i>


    Bubbles came up from under the water. Kang-Woo counted down slowly and then pulled Ian''s head out.


    "Right, did that jog your memory?"


    "<i>Huff! Huff! Huff!</i>" Ian trembled as he panted heavily.


    Kang-Woo could easily tell that Ian''s eyes dyed in fear were directed not only toward him.


    "Cardinal Ian," Kang-Woo called.


    "U-Urgh." Ian flinched.


    Kang-Woo smiled gently and ced his hand softly on Ian''s shoulder. "There''s no need to worry."


    "..."


    "Nothing will happen to you as long as you answer me honestly."


    "Th-that''s..."


    "I swear in my Deific Name of Splendor. I''m sure you know what it means for a god to pledge with their Deific Essence on the line."


    "B-but..."


    Ian gulped and looked up at Kang-Woo in doubt.


    Kang-Woo smiled. "Oh, the footage you''ve seen was indeed of me. However... look at me now."


    <i>Whoooom.</i>


    Golden light poured out from Kang-Woo''s hand.


    "A-Aaaahh." Ian''s mouth fell open from witnessing the Deific Essence of Splendor right in front of him.


    He had seen Kang-Woo emitting light toward the devotees earlier, but seeing the splendid light up close was in a league of its own.


    "O-O light..." Ian stuttered as he reached for the golden light.


    It was warm and beautiful, on another levelpared to the sacred power that he had witnessed all his life. Demon King? That was out of the question. How could the king of all evil possess such radiant light? Ian trembled.


    <i>''Maybe I was mistaken.''</i>


    How could anyone doubt that Kang-Woo was the God of Splendor after seeing this light? Ian''s eyes shook; he even thought that the torture Kang-Woo had subjected him to had been for his sake.


    <i>''Yes...''</i>


    Ian ced his hand on the splendid light as he remembered the words that he had emphasized again and again during his sermons.


    <i>''Hardship and adversity.''</i>


    As long as one believed, they would be saved.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Ian stared at the light in front of him in a daze, unable to close his mouth. He was sure that the God of Splendor had done all this to guide him to salvation. The light of hope filled his eyes.


    <i>''Hah.''</i> Kang-Woo smiled faintly as he looked down at Ian. <i>''Humans sure are fascinating.''</i>


    He could feel trace amounts of Ian''s faith in him. Ian''s attitude logically did not make sense; how could someone have faith in someone who had tortured him just a few moments ago?


    <i>''Well, I guess it makes sense in this case.''</i>


    Kang-Wooughed softly. Ian had been forced on the boundary between life and death again and again through Kang-Woo''s torture. A ray of hope was ced in front of him when both his body and mind were at their limits; there was no way that he wouldn''t grab hold of it, even if the chance of salvation was minuscule.


    "A-Are you truly... the God of Splendor?" Ian asked.


    "That''s right," Kang-Woo affirmed without hesitation. "Lady Gaia already knows that I used to be the Demon King."


    "Ah..." Ian''s eyes widened. ording to what he had heard through the Godly Pantheon, Oh Kang-Woo and Kim Si-Hun were both retainers of Gaia. "Then Lady Gaia has..."


    "Yes. She has epted me as her retainer even after knowing everything," Kang-Woo answered calmly with his hand on his chest. His voice carried faint sorrow.


    "..."


    Ian remained silent. He could tell why there was sorrow in Kang-Woo''s voice.


    <i>''He must have felt guilty.''</i>


    Ian was sure that Kang-Woo felt guilty about the fact that he used to be the king of all that was evil.


    "I... apologize. Without even knowing that, I..." Ian lowered his head.


    Kang-Woo gently patted Ian''s shoulder and said, "There is no need to worry, devotee of light. Anyone can stray from the path of light. So have I."


    "O God of Splendor..."


    "Right then, can you tell me who showed you my past?"


    "Th-That''s..."


    "Do not worry, devotee of light. I swear in my Deific Essence of Splendor that I will protect you."


    "..." Ian expressed hesitation for a while. He then clenched his fists and answered, "The one who showed me was... a hunchback old man."


    "... A hunchback old man?"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. The word <i>hunchback </i>reminded him of a certain demon.


    <i>''But Amon isn''t a human.''</i>


    Ian had referred to the person as an old man.


    "Was he human?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Pardon? Y-Yes, he was." Ian nodded in confusion, not knowing why Kang-Woo was asking such a thing.


    Kang-Woo scanned Ian with deeply sunken eyes.


    <i>''He doesn''t seem to be lying.''</i>


    If that was the case, it meant that the hunchback whom Ian had met was a human, not a demon.


    <i>''Or...''</i>


    He might have been a demon in human skin.


    <i>''There''s a good chance that it''s Amon.''</i>


    Kang-Woo could not think of anyone but Amon who possessed footage of his past in the Nine Hells and was a hunchback.


    "That old man showed me the footage... and said that the <i>time of prophecy</i> would arrive if I didn''t expose the God of Splendor''s fa?ade."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo''s eyebrows slightly flinched.


    <i>''He even knows that I''m the Demon of Prophecy?''</i>


    Kang-Wo''s head hurt. He recalled Amon as he swept up his hair. Amon used to be one of Satan''s subordinates and one who managed to reach extraordinary heights in ck magic. He had made a Gate that led to Earth using the Hell Armaments that Kang-Woo had gathered.


    Kang-Woo gathered information about Amon from his memories, but there was one thing that he remembered most of all.


    <i>''I could never figure out what was on his mind.''</i>


    Amon was unpleasant and abnormal. He had sworn his loyalty to Kang-Woo and praised his name after bing his subordinate, but Kang-Woo knew that he had never been genuine. To Kang-Woo, Amon was more of a business partner whom he cooperated with for each of their benefit rather than a subordinate.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He thought about why Amon was acting like this and how he had managed to figure out his true identity but ceased thinking momentarily after.


    <i>''I can''t figure anything out with the information I have now.''</i>


    Hecked far too much information; there was no way for him to guess Amon''s goals.


    <i>''One thing I know for sure is...''</i>


    Kang-Woo smirked as he looked down at Ian.


    "... Son of a bitch, he dares to taunt me?"


    Amon had purposefully leaked his identity to Kang-Woo through Ian. Kang-Woo couldn''t help butugh.


    "Pardon? Wh-What do you mean?" Ian asked dumbfoundedly.


    Kang-Woo did not answer; he simply covered his face with one hand and suppressed hisughter. Thick and crazed bloodlust swirled around him.


    <i>''He would have easily been able to keep himself hidden.''</i>


    If Amon was able to change his form into a human, he would not have had to stay as a hunchback. There was no way that Amon was stupid enough to not realize that Kang-Woo would easily figure him out just from the facts that the culprit was a hunchback and that he possessed footage of Kang-Woo''s days in Hell. If Amon kept his hunchback form, it meant that...


    <i>''He''s daring me to catch him, is that it?''</i>


    Amon was tantly taunting Kang-Woo.


    "Pfft, hahahahaha!" Kang-Woo burst intoughter.


    Although they had been nothing but partners, Kang-Woo couldn''t help butugh at the fact that his past subordinate was taunting him.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    Enormous energy poured out from Kang-Woo and shook the Church of Splendor''s base¡ª no, the entire city that it was based in.


    "A-Aaaaaaahhh!" Ian screamed as he crouched.


    Kang-Woo paid it no mind.


    "Alright, I''ll y ball."


    He licked his lips as his eyes glinted. There was likely nothing he would be able to do at the moment; there was no way that a demon as clever as Amon would have left any clues for Kang-Woo to chase him with.


    <i>''I don''t know where you are and what you''re nning, but...''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s heart beat rapidly. He had a feeling that there was something unfathomable lying dormant, waiting for him; something even greater than Tai Wuji.


    "Haaah," Kang-Woo exhaled heatedly and pulled down the rising corners of his mouth with all his might.


    He could feel his powerful hunger setting aze¡ª no, it was bing fire itself.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!</i>


    Gold and ck mes ignited, filling the barrier with intense heat.


    "Kurgh, argh!" Ian struggled on the ground in pain.


    Kang-Woo smirked and condensed the mes to the end of his finger. The mes of Voracity shrunk down to the size of a candlelight and flickered on top of his finger.


    "Thank you for being honest, Cardinal Ian," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "<i>Huff, huff!</i> A-Ahem. Then..."


    "Yes. There''s no need to worry."


    Kang-Woo nodded with a bright smile. And then...


    <i>Stab!</i>


    "Kurgh, kuh!"


    He stuffed the mes of Voracity into Ian.


    "Kurgh, gaaaaaaaaahhh!" Ian screamed as he twisted and turned.


    The mes of Voracity within him was burning him from the inside.


    "Wh-Why...?!" Ian looked up at Kang-Woo in shock as if he couldn''t understand. "Y-You... swore on... your... Deific Essence..."


    A pledge with one''s Deific Essence on the line was not to be taken lightly; once a god broke a pledge after swearing on their Deific Essence, their Deific Essence would be demoted or annihted as per the <i>providence</i>.


    "Hahaha," Kang-Wooughed. "Yes, I did indeed swear on my Deific Essence." His smile grew wider, turning into madness. "My Deific Essence of <i>Splendor</i>, that is."


    Ian''s eyes widened as if he had realized something. "N-No way..."


    <i>''Why... why... why...''</i>


    Ian fell into despair as that one word echoed inside his mind. He stood up using all his strength and raised his fist to punch Kang-Woo.


    "Y-You bastaaaaaard!!"


    "Pfft! Bwehehehe, this is why you should always read the fucking contract before signing, dipshit."


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    Ian was engulfed by the mes of Voracity before he even had a chance to punch.

 Chapter 418 - The Awakened Princess

    <h4>Chapter 418 - The Awakened Princess</h4>


    The rapid growth of the Church of Splendor got explosively faster after the God of Splendor manifested at the base of the church and performed a miracle. The devotees of the Church of Splendor in other nations besides Arnan were also making branches of the church of their own ord.


    The main factor that influenced the explosive growth was of course the holy water made with the God of Splendor''s blood, which could heal any injury or cure any illness of those who drank it. The devotees prayed sincerely day and night just to procure the holy water distributed only to the most devoted members of the church.


    <i>Crunch, crunch, crunch.</i>


    Slushy burped as it bounced up and down after absorbing the overflowing faith across the entire continent from the windowsill. After absorbing arge amount of faith, it rolled toward Oh Kang-Woo and stuck to his arm. The Divinity converted from faith flowed into him through the Key of the Demonic Sea.


    Kang-Woo, who had been sitting while looking through the document that Mihile had sent him, smiled in satisfaction.


    "It''s be quite a lot," he remarked.


    It had been worth taking action personally.


    <i>''Well, it still can''t bepared to devouring Deific Essence with the Authority of Predation, though.''</i>


    That could not be helped since eating Deific Essence to collect Divinity would naturally give more Divinity than converting faith into Divinity.


    <i>''But at least with this, I have a stable and endless supply of Divinity.''</i>


    It was like depositing a sizable sum of money in a bank and earning interest. Although it was not much at the moment, Kang-Woo was able to earn Deific Essence for free without much work.


    "A few decades of this and it''ll sum up to an enormous amount," Kang-Woo mumbled as he patted Slushy, who was dozing off as if it had gotten tired from eating faith.


    If a few decades passed like this, he would be able to gain enough Divinity as what he had gotten after devouring the Constetion of Fear; it would unfortunately not be as much as what he had gotten after eating Tai Wuji. It was an incredible amount considering Kang-Woo had not been able to defeat the Constetion of Fear without opening a Door back when he had faced him for the first time.


    Not only that, but the future of the Church of Splendor was very bright since it had not yet spread throughout the entire continent.


    <i>''But...''</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. Desire was endless; he couldn''t have cared less when the means did not exist, but now that he was collecting Divinity through the Church of Splendor, he was dissatisfied with how little he was collecting each time.


    "I''d prefer to have something more impactful."


    Kang-Woo could not think of anything that would be even more impactful than the holy water.


    <i>''At this point, bringing the dead back to life would be the only way.''</i>


    However, that was impossible even for Kang-Woo.


    "... If not that, I''d need the appearance of some sort of viin."


    After the death of the Constetions of Evil, there had been no appearances of beings that could be a threat to the continent. Lucifer was cooped up who knows where, and Amon had not taken any action since his taunts.


    <i>''I mean, I could pretend to be Lucifer again, but...''</i>


    It would be inefficient to go out of his way to raise people''s faith in that manner. No matter how perfect the n was, he needed to take into ount every variable that could risk the exposure of his identity. It was not worth going through the risk just to be able to collect a little more Divinity from the Church of Splendor.


    At the moment, the amount of Divinity that he was earning from the Church of Splendor was nice to have but not to the point that he depended on it. The cease in supply would not have a significant impact in the slightest.


    <i>''I''ll wait a little longer.''</i>


    Since Amon had gone out of his way to taunt Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo was hoping for him to take some sort of action. He got out of his chair and left his room. The moment he opened the door, he happened to see Cha Yeon-Joo walking along the hallway.


    "Well, well, well, if it isn''t the great God of Splendor?" Yeon-Joo waved as she snickered.


    "Where are you off to?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "To check up on the princess,"


    "Iris? Why all of a sudden?"


    "La asked me to check up on her since it''s weird that she still hasn''t woken up."


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He hadpletely forgotten about Iris due to matters regarding the Church of Splendor, but Iris had not woken up for almost two months.


    "That''s true," Kang-Woo remarked.


    As La had said, it was far toote. Although Elune, the leader of the high elves ording to Dous, possessed Top-rank Deific Essence like Gaia, it was still far toote.


    <i>''La said it would take around a month.''</i>


    Although the time taken for one to ept Deific Essence and be an incarnation varied between people, one couldn''t help but wonder if there was some sort of issue when it had almost been two months.


    "I''ll go with you," stated Kang-Woo.


    He followed Yeon-Joo to check on Iris.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    Once they slowly opened the door, they could see Iris lying in bedpletely still like a dead person. One would think she was indeed dead if not for her shallow breaths and the faint green energy flowing out from her.


    "H-Have youe to see the princess?"


    The maids who had been nursing Iris quickly bowed once Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo entered. They could not hide their anxiety as they looked at Kang-Woo, who was being treated with more respect than any noble after the war.


    Kang-Woo nodded and asked, "May we check Princess Iris''s condition for a moment?"


    "O-Of course!"


    "We will leave you to it! Please call us back once you''re finished!"


    The maids backstepped toward the door while bowing repeatedly. Although Kang-Woo''s party members were considered VIPs, it was unreal to leave them alone with a member of the imperial family without any guards. However, Kang-Woo currently had as much, if not more, influence than the emperor himself.


    The maids quickly left the room and closed the door. Kang-Woo walked toward Iris, who was lying still in bed.


    Yeon-Joo scanned Iris and remarked, "Nothing seems to be off about her from a nce."


    "That''s the problem," Kang-Woo responded.


    There was no way to know why Iris had not woken up yet if nothing was wrong.


    "Hmm." Yeon-Joo poked the sleeping Iris and said, "Actually, there''s something I''ve been curious about all this time."


    "What is it?"


    "Is it okay for her not to eat and stuff?"


    "Apparently, it''s fine since nutrients are automatically generated while one is epting Deific Essence."


    "Really? Then, uhhh... What about the bathroom?"


    "..."


    <i>''Huh?''</i>


    "That I don''t know," Kang-Woo said.


    "..." An awkward silence fell. Yeon-Joo red at Kang-Woo and got between him and Iris as if protecting Iris. "I won''t stand for it if you''re imagining weird stuff."


    "You''re the one who brought it up first. Besides, what the hell would I be imagining?"


    <i>''Is La influencing you?''</i>


    "Ngh. Whatever the case, she sure has it rough. She''s pretty much a vegetable with no signs of waking up."


    Kang-Woo nodded as he sighed. "Yeah, we need her to wake up so we can get back to Earth as soon as possible."


    Although they had gotten used to life in Aernor, there were still many things that they missed about Earth. Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and ced his hand on Iris''s forehead. Just then...


    <i>Whoooom¡ª!</i>


    The faint green light flowing out of Iris suddenly grew thicker.


    "A-Arghh," Iris groaned as her fingers slightly twitched.


    "H-Huh?" Yeon-Joo, who had been poking the sleeping Iris, expressed confusion.


    Kang-Woo turned to her and said calmly, "Go bring La. Seol-Ah, too."


    "O-Okay!" Yeon-Joo nodded quickly and ran out the door.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened as he was checking Iris''s condition.


    <i>''Her ears... are getting longer.''</i>


    They were just like those of the elf Kang-Woo had seen among Reynald''s party.


    <i>''Is the incarnation process finally over?''</i>


    The opportunity to gain information about the location of the Demon God''s corpse had arrived atst after almost two months of waiting. Kang-Woo bit open his finger and poured blood into Iris''s mouth just in case. He used the Authority of Regeneration, but nothing about Iris changed.


    "A-Arghhh!"


    Iris''s movements grew bigger.


    <i>Bang!</i>


    The door swung open fiercely and entered the party members one by one.


    "Kang-Woo!" Han Seol-Ah shouted.


    "I brought them all!" Yeon-Joo said.


    "Hyung-nim! What was that energy just now...?" Kim Si-Hun asked.


    "Just a moment, Kang-Woo." La walked forward and closed her eyes after grabbing the groaning Iris''s wrist.


    Her white light and Iris''s green light mixed.


    "This is..." La''s eyes shone. "A sign of Deific Manifestation."


    They had seen Deific Manifestation multiple times in La.


    Kang-Woo nodded and asked, "Does that mean a high elf is trying to manifest here by borrowing Iris''s body?"


    "Yes. Not only that, they are very powerful... It might be Lady Elune, whom Dous had mentionedst time."


    "I see."


    Kang-Woo nervously scanned the light pouring out from Iris.


    <i>''Would she figure me out?''</i>


    Kang-Woo was more or less sure that he would not get caught after awakening the Deific Essence of Splendor, but he could not help but get chills down his back.


    <i>''Should I just stay as far away as possible?''</i>


    That was the best way to ensure his safety.


    <i>''No, it would be too unnatural.''</i>


    He would have considered it if he was already far away, but it would be far too unnatural to leave all of a sudden since he was already in the room. Not only that, not showing himself to the high elf when he was worshiped even more than Si-Hun as the savior of the continent after bing the God of Splendor was a stretch. Worst-case scenario, it would cause the high elf to have doubts about him.


    <i>''I''ll just conceal my energy as best as I can.''</i>


    Kang-Woo stuffed the demonic energy spread throughout his body into the Ten Thousand Demon Core and reced it with sacred power. The golden light that had been radiating from him became even brighter.


    "... Wait." La frowned as she was touching Iris''s wrist.


    "What''s wrong?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Something... is off." La tilted her head as if she couldn''t understand. "This isn''t a normal Deific Manifestation."


    "Pardon? What do you mean?"


    "... The Deific Essence I''m feeling is highly unstable."


    La closed her eyes tightly and felt Elune''s Deific Essence flowing through Iris. It was shaking violently as if it had been damaged. Then, Iris''s eyes slowly opened.


    [<i>C-Cough!!</i>] Iris coughed up blood as soon as she opened her eyes. She swayed as she covered her mouth with one hand. [Argh, urgh. Wh-Where am I...?]


    A mystical voice,pletely different from that of a human, which felt like it was echoing within one''s mind, flowed out of Iris''s mouth.


    [<i>Cough!</i>]


    Iris¡ª no, Elune, who had borrowed Iris''s body, coughed up blood again while covering her mouth. Kang-Woo grabbed her arm as she was violently coughing up blood.


    "Are you alright?" he asked.


    [Wh-Who are you...?]


    Elune slowly looked up. Kang-Woo and Elune''s eyes met.


    Kang-Woo carefully supported her and said without hesitation, "This is embarrassing for me to say myself, but I am the one who has been chosen by Splendor."


    Splendid, beautiful, and warm golden light poured out from Kang-Woo.


    [Aaaahh, you must be...] Elune remarked with a trembling voice. [The... savior.]


    Kang-Woo smiled faintly and nodded. "That''s right."

 Chapter 419 - Darkness Casting Over The Future

    <h4>Chapter 419 - Darkness Casting Over The Future</h4>


    [<i>Cough! Cough!</i>]


    Elune, who had manifested by borrowing Iris''s body, coughed aggressively with one hand covering her mouth.


    "A-Are you okay?" Han Seol-Ah asked as she used healing magic on Elune.


    White light flowed into Elune and herplexion improved. She turned to look at Seol-Ah in surprise.


    [Why do I feel Lady Seraph''s energy inside you...?]


    "Oh, that''s..." Seol-Ah slurred in puzzlement.


    Not even she knew why Seraph''s soul was inside her. Oh Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and scanned Elune as an awkward air was lingering between Seol-Ah and Elune.


    <i>''What''s going on? Has the Deific Manifestation not been properly realized?''</i>


    As La had mentioned, Elune''s Deific Essence was highly unstable. It was as if he was looking at a critically injured patient. Kang-Woo was reminded of something as he looked at Elune coughing up blood.


    <i>''She gives off the same feeling as La when I first met her.''</i>


    At the time, La''s condition had deteriorated to the point that she needed to be in a wheelchair and was blind. Her condition was because Gaia had been injured due to the invasion of the Demon of Prophecy into Earth, damaging Earth''s protection in the process.


    <i>''An incarnation''s state of being is connected to their respective god.''</i>


    In other words...


    <i>''Is Elune injured?''</i>


    The first thing that Kang-Woo wondered was why. He had heard that, unlike the other gods, high elves resided in a dimension that a giant tree known as the World Tree was.


    <i>''It''s an important tree that acts as a pir for the Triad, from what I''ve heard.''</i>


    ording to Dous, the World Tree was created by Yggdrasil, the Titan of Life. They also created high elves to be the guardians of the World Tree, and elves were derived from the high elves.


    <i>''I heard that the World Tree was protected by a powerful barrier.''</i>


    The barrier had been so powerful that not even Demon God Bauli, who had been rampaging to destroy the Triad during the era of myths, was able to approach anywhere near the World Tree.


    ''If Elune was injured despite that...''


    It meant that something terrible had happened within the World Tree.


    "Lady Elune," Kang-Woo called.


    [Ah, savior.] Elune turned to Kang-Woo while in the middle of being healed by Seol-Ah. Just then, her eyes widened. [Huh? H-How?]


    Elune looked around in disbelief. Her mouth opened in shock as she looked back and forth at Kang-Woo and Kim Si-Hun behind him.


    [Th-there are... t-two saviors?]


    "Pardon?"


    <i>''Oh, fuck.''</i>


    A chill ran down Kang-Woo''s back. He aggressively bit his lip.


    <i>''Shit. It wasn''t me.''</i>


    He had thought he had been chosen as the savior because he had acquired the Derific Essence of Splendor and his fame had spread throughout the continent. However, his guess had been way off the mark.


    <i>''I forgot that he was the protagonist.''</i>


    Kang-Woo put a hand on his forehead and bit his lip. He had been acting as the light so muchtely that he had forgotten the most important fact; he was not the savior but the Demon of Prophecy who would bring all world to an end.


    [But ording to the prophecy... No, prophecies aren''t always correct,] Elune muttered in confusion.


    Kang-Woo ced his hand on her shoulder to change the subject. "Please calm down, Lady Elune."


    [Ah...]


    "More importantly, what just happened? You coughed up blood all of a sudden... Is something wrong with Iris''s body?"


    [No, not at all. Rather, the problem is... me.]


    Elune lowered her head with a stiff expression and touched the blood on Iris''s clothes as if she were sorry for hurting Iris.


    "Is something wrong?"


    [...]


    Elune clenched her clothes while biting her lip. Kang-Woo waited for her to answer without rushing her.


    Elune then answered, [The World Tree... has begun to rot.]


    "Pardon?"


    <i>''It can rot?''</i>


    [It is of course not a natural phenomenon.] Elune shook her head and continued, [Someone is corrupting the World Tree intentionally.]


    "... Who?"


    [Well... We have yet to find the culprit either. The power of the high elveses from the World Tree. Since the source of our power is suddenly rotting...]


    "Your condition has be so critical that you can barely maintain your Deific Essence?" Kang-Woo asked.


    [...] Elune nodded in silence.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    <i>''If even the leader of the high elves coughed up blood as soon as she manifested...''</i>


    There was no question about the condition of the other high elves.


    <i>''This isn''t good.''</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned. Elune''s condition was only a little better than Gaia''s back when the Gaia System was damaged.


    <i>''Would she be able to locate the Demon God''s corpse in this state?''</i>


    The reason that they wanted to meet the high elves was ultimately to figure out the location of the Demon God''s corpse. However, seeing the state that Elune was in, it seemed like a stretch for her to locate it.


    <i>''No, no.''</i>


    Elune may know where the corpse was without needing to locate it with her power.


    "Lady Elune," Kang-Woo called.


    [Yes?]


    "We''re searching for the Demon God''s corpse. Do you perhaps know anything about where it is?"


    [Ah...] She lowered her head apologetically as her lips quivered. [I apologize. Because the World Tree is rotting... We can barely use our power to detect the demonic.]


    "Is there anything about its location that you knew about in the past?"


    [... Do you know what the Demon God''s corpse sealed in Aernor is?]


    Kang-Woo nodded. He had heard about it from Gaia beforeing here.


    "I heard that it is the Demon God''s heart."


    [Yes, that is correct. It is the region that contains thergest portion of Demon God Bauli''s power as well as the decisive region for his revival.] Elune continued in a low tone, [After the war against the Demon God ended, Lady Gaia asked me to seal the heart in a barrier that changes location in specific time intervals. It was so that no one could figure out where it was without being chosen by the World Tree.]


    "..."


    "W-Wait! That means..." Cha Yeon-Joo sprang up from her chair with a hardened expression. If its location changed periodically... "We have no way of finding the Demon God''s corpse anymore..." she muttered lifelessly.


    Kang-Woo did not look good either.


    <i>''It''s sealed in a barrier that changes locations?''</i>


    He swept up his hair as he sighed deeply. If that was true, it was truly impossible to find the Demon God''s heart without Elune''s help.


    <i>''Fuck.''</i>


    Kang-Woo almost swore out loud due to the unexpected development. He had thought aboutbing through the entire continent if not even the high elves knew where the corpse was, but that n had gone up in mes.


    <i>''We need Elune''s help.''</i>


    If that was the case, there was only one way.


    "Is there a way to restore the World Tree?" asked Kang-Woo as he ced his hand on Elune''s shoulder.


    [... There is.]


    Kang-Woo sighed in relief. "How do we do it?"


    [The World Tree is being corrupted because of a <i>ck thorn</i> embedded in it.]


    "A ck thorn?"


    [Yes. I don''t know exactly what it is, but... I am sure that it is muddling the inside of the World Tree and absorbing its energy.]


    "I see." Kang-Woo softly nodded.


    The way forward was bleak after hearing about the Demon God''s heart, but it cleared up after hearing the solution.


    "Do we just have to get rid of that thorn, then?" he asked.


    [... Yes, b-but it is extremely dangerous because the World Tree''s energy is running rampant around the area!] Elune shouted as her pointy ears trembled.


    Kang-Woo smirked and turned to his party members; they were nodding despite him not saying anything. He turned back to Elune and said, "It''s okay. We will dispose of the thorn that is corrupting the World Tree."


    [Ah...] Elune expressed.


    She lowered her head as she teared up. Her shoulders were trembling; perhaps because she was in Iris''s body, she looked like back when Iris was freed from Fidelio''s grasp.


    [Th-thank you. Th-thank you... very much!] Elune bowed repeatedly.


    Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly as he looked down at her.


    <i>''She doesn''t give off the aura of a Top-rank goddess at all. Well, in any case...''</i>


    She was far easier to deal with than someone like Gaia.


    [May your path be filled with blessings, dear saviors.]


    Elune brought her hands together and prayed. Green light flowed out from her and filled the room.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [You have received ''Elune''s Blessing!'']


    [Raising all stats by 5.]


    <i>''Oh, Ipletely forgot about stats.''</i>


    Kang-Woo had reached a point where increases in his Demonic Energy stat did not mean much to his growth. However, it was always wee.


    "Thank you very much," he remarked.


    [I don''t know why there are two saviors contrary to the prophecy, but... considering how powerful you both are, I believe that you will be able to stop this world''s demise.]


    Elune looked at Kang-Woo and Si-Hun with a bright smile. She stood up as she staggered.


    [Ngh...!]


    "Ah! B-be careful!"


    La quickly caught Elune as she was about to fall.


    [Thank you, incarnation of Gaia.] Elune bowed slightly to La and slowly walked toward Kang-Woo and Si-Hun. [Could you twoe toward me for a second?]


    "... Okay."


    "Of course."


    Kang-Woo and Si-Hun nced at each other for a second and walked toward Elune. Elune grabbed each one of Kang-Woo and Si-Hun''s hands and closed her eyes.


    [I cannot use much of my power since my Deific Essence is unstable, but... I can at least see a little bit of your paths forward.]


    <i>Whoooom¡ª!</i>


    A dense green light poured out from her. Kang-Woo frowned, unable to figure out what she was trying to do.


    "It''s foresight," remarked Dous, who slowly walked over to Kang-Woo, as if resolving his worries.


    "... Since when were you here?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "How could I miss the chance to see a high elf when I''ve been researching them my whole life?" Dous chuckled and continued, "What Lady Elune is doing to you right now is the unique ability of the high elves."


    "Foresight?"


    "To be more exact, she''s warning you of the dangers you will face in the future. It''s not as exact as a prophecy, though."


    Kang-Woo slightly nodded.


    <i>''Dangers of the future, huh?''</i>


    He found itughable. Danger was his everyday life and he had ovee them every single time. He wasn''t all that interested in being warned of it.


    <i>''Well, but still...''</i>


    It didn''t do him any harm to know.


    [...]


    Elune focused as she held Kang-Woo and Si-Hun''s hands. A green light asforting as the sun shining down on a peaceful forest enveloped them.


    [A-Aaaahh.] Elune''s mouth gaped open. [H-how...? Wh-why...?]


    She trembled in disbelief. Kang-Woo and Si-Hun stared perplexedly at the trembling Elune.


    [<i>Huff, huff, huff!</i>] Elune fell to her knees as she panted heavily.


    Si-Hun carefully supported her.


    "... What happened?" Kang-Woo asked in a low tone.


    [Ah...] Elune trembled in pallor. [S-something''s wrong...]


    "What do you mean?"


    [Y-your futures... A-all the possible paths that you could embark on...] Elune bit her lip. [Th-they are all shrouded in colossal darkness. An endless abyss is... engulfing your futures!]


    "..."


    <i>''Huh?''</i>


    [Th-that''s not possible... This is more than just encountering dangers on your path! Th-there isn''t a single moment when you''re free from the darkness!!]


    <i>''Wait a minute...''</i>


    [A-Aaaahh, o almighty Titans. Why... Why have you given these poor saviors such an awful fate?!]


    Elune closed her eyes and teared up.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo nced away from Elune. The endless abyss filling the two saviors'' paths...


    <i>''... Isn''t that me?''</i>


    [Sniff. Y-you will be engulfed... by a b-ck sea...]


    <i>''Shit. It fucking is me.''</i>

 Chapter 420 - Unwavering

    <h4>Chapter 420 - Unwavering</h4>


    "Uhhh... Mm."


    Oh Kang-Woo looked at Elune, who was crying as if they were all doomed. There was no need to think about why his and Kim Si-Hun''s paths were shrouded in darkness.


    <i>''Because I''m that fucking darkness.''</i>


    It was only natural.


    "What do you mean... darkness?" Si-Hun asked with a hardened expression.


    Elune wiped her tears and answered, [The paths that you two must walk are shrouded... in endless darkness.]


    "... Does that mean it is dangerous?"


    [It is not just dangerous!] Elune shouted. [I have... never seen such a future. It is worse than when I prophesied the continent''s demise!]


    "..."


    [Just thinking about the despair that you two must struggle through, I...] Elune lowered her head, unable to finish her sentence.


    Her slender shoulders were trembling. She was likely not this saddened simply because she was worried about Kang-Woo and Si-Hun''s futures; she was probably in despair over the fact that the duty of the saviors to save the world from its demise would never be realized.


    [At this rate...]


    The world would inevitably end. The saviors, the continent''s only hope, would ultimately be engulfed by endless darkness. Elune trembled due to the inevitable despair. She was shocked even greater than when the World Tree began to rot. It was only natural since she had just prophesied that this world had no future.


    "..." Si-Hun clenched his fists and bit his lip ferociously. "Is it that bad... even after the Constetions were killed?"


    He thought the darkness had been somewhat lifted after the war against the Constetions of Evil ended. He had hope that they would be able to stop the world''s demise and move forward.


    <i>''But...''</i>


    Si-Hun shut his eyes tightly. Nothing had changed. His and Kang-Woo''s paths were still shrouded in unfathomable darkness.


    "..."


    Si-Hun had already been determined to face the countless dangers that were in his and Kang-Woo''s path, but hearing about it directly from Elune gave him chills. He recalled Alec and Reynald, who had died at Satan''s hands, Ludwig, who had been corrupted by Rakiel, and the countless heroes devoured by the darkness.


    <i>''Maybe one day...''</i>


    Si-Hun turned his head as his eyes shook and looked at Kang-Woo, who was looking at Elune with a hardened expression.


    <i>''Hyung will also...''</i>


    Si-Hun clenched his fists to the point that his hands would break. A heavy atmosphere loomed over the room.


    [<i>Sniff... Sniff.</i>]


    <i>''For fuck''s sake.''</i> Kang-Woo grabbed his forehead as if his head hurt.<i> ''What am I supposed to do here?''</i>


    He couldn''te out and say honestly that the darkness Elune had seen in her foresight was him.


    <i>''I need to take care of this funeral home atmosphere first somehow.''</i>


    Kang-Woo looked beyond Si-Hun and at La, Cha Yeon-Joo, and his other party members. Everyone in the room looked as if they were patients who received the news from the doctor that they were terminally ill.


    "A-Aaaahh. N-No," Han Seol-Ah muttered.


    In the case of Seol-Ah, she looked as if she would explode if someone touched her the wrong way.


    <i>''At this rate...''</i>


    A disaster would befall them before they even tried to restore the World Tree¡ª no, his identity might be exposed before that.


    "Fuuu," Kang-Woo took a deep breath, stood up, and walked toward the crying Elune.


    <i>''If I can''t reveal my identity...''</i>


    He had to go about it a different way.


    <i>''But that''s...''</i>


    Kang-Woo gulped as his shoulders slightly trembled. Just thinking about the idea that he hade up with was enough for him to feel like his heart was getting squeezed. He was sure that it would work; from what Elune had shown him, he was sure that she would be convinced. But... But...


    <i>''I have no choice.''</i>


    Kang-Woo bit his lip. He had no other way to resolve this situation.


    <i>''I have to be unwavering.''</i>


    He resolved himself and walked forward.


    "Lady Elune."


    [... Yes?] The crying Elune raised her head. Kang-Woo stared at her with deeply sunken eyes and carefully grabbed her hand. [L-Lord Kang-Woo?]


    Elune looked up at Kang-Woo perplexedly. Kang-Woo guided her by the hand toward the windowsill. He opened the window and the chilly night air flowed in. He looked up to see a dark sky without a single star.


    It was only natural since using illumination magic tools was the norm in Aernor. It was especially so since they were in the capital of the Arnan Empire; just like how dark the night sky was in Seoul, the capital of Arnan was also shrouded in darkness despite each house being illuminated.


    Kang-Woo looked up at the night sky and slowly turned to Elune. "The night sky... is dark."


    [Yes, it is...] Elune stared at Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly as if she had no idea what Kang-Woo was trying to say.


    Kang-Woo smiled and continued, "Just like our future that you prophesied."


    [...]


    Elune flinched. She slowly lifted her head and locked eyes with Kang-Woo.


    <i>Whoooom.</i>


    Kang-Woo slowly raised his hand and golden light poured out from it.


    [Lord Kang-Woo...?]


    The radiant splendor that poured out from Kang-Woo shot toward the night sky. The sky shrouded in darkness without a single star in sight was lit brightly.


    [This is...]


    "How is it now?" Kang-Woo looked up at the shining night sky with a bright smile. "Do you... see the light now?"


    Elune nkly stared at the zing light shining in the night sky with her mouth agape. It was beautiful.


    [...]


    Tears flowed down her cheeks unbeknownst to herself. She recalled herself crying in despair after foreseeing a future shrouded in darkness. It was unbearably embarrassing.


    "Haha," Kang-Wooughed and slowly raised his hand to wipe Elune''s tears.


    [L-Lord Kang-Woo.] Elune stared at Kang-Woo in surprise and then averted her eyes from him in embarrassment. Her face was slightly flushed.


    "There is no need to worry, Lady Elune." Kang-Woo continued, "Light... shines brighter in the darkness."


    [...]


    Elune looked up at Kang-Woo as if she had never thought about it that way. The hero who had been foretold of his near-inevitable death was still shining brightly.


    <i>''But I...''</i>


    She had burst into unsightly tears from the despair that the saviors would be killed and the world would meet its demise.


    <i>''So much for being the guardian of the World Tree and one who needs to guide the saviors to the right path.''</i>


    Forget guiding them to the right path, she had lost all hope and fell into despair all by herself.


    [... I apologize, dear saviors. I have shown you an unsightly side of myself.]


    Elune bowed deeply with a faint smile. This was not the time to be wallowing in despair. Oveing the immediate danger was of higher priority.


    [In that case, I will guide you all to the World Tr¡ª]


    "Oh, just a moment, please," Kang-Woo interjected. "May I excuse myself for a moment?"


    [Pardon? Is something wrong...?]


    "Not at all. I just... want to harden my resolve," Kang-Woo remarked somewhat sorrowfully.


    [Ah,] Elune expressed.


    She had an idea about why Kang-Woo had said that.


    <i>''He was saying things like that, but I''m sure he was afraid too.''</i>


    She was embarrassed of herself for only saying what she wanted to say without knowing how Kang-Woo felt.


    [I understand.]


    Elune slowly nodded. Kang-Woo turned around and went past the door. Si-Hun tried to follow him, but Kang-Woo stopped him in his tracks.


    <i>ck.</i>


    "..."


    Kang-Woo sprinted through the hallway after closing the door behind him. He jumped into his room and locked the door.


    "U-Urghhh."


    He twisted and turned as if in pain.


    "ALWIUDHFIWOLAUDBVLKDJHBFILWUABF." Kang-Woo screamed iprehensible words. "Fuck, fuck, FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!"


    His bellows shook the room.


    <i>"Light... shines brighter in the darkness."</i>


    The words that he had said himself reyed inside his head.


    "Urpp!"


    The kimchi stew that he had for dinner came all the way up to his neck due to the insanely revolting feeling. He fell to his knees, his fingers distorting as if he was having a seizure.


    "Ah..."


    Kang-Woo nkly stared at the night sky. His eyes were filled with an endless sense of shame and remorse; it was like staring at himself across the monitor after doing the deed to some porn.


    "I wanna die. I... don''t need anything else anymore... I just wanna die."


    Tears flowed down his cheeks. He had prepared himself for it, but he could not get used to this pain.


    "Urghh."


    The road to being a hero was a harsh one. His sobs of shame continued for a very long time.


    ***


    "Fuuu. Well, then." Kang-Woo came back after calming himself down and asked calmly, "Are we heading to the ce where the World Tree is right away?"


    Elune nodded. [We should go as soon as possible.]


    The World Tree was rotting as they spoke, so they needed to get rid of the ck thorn embedded in the World Tree as soon as possible. Kang-Woo turned around to look at his party members.


    "Let''s go, hyung-nim."


    "Urghh, what the hell is with this development?"


    "Hm! I''ll go anywhere as long as it''s with you, Kang-Woo!"


    Each of the party members brought out their weapons as if they were indifferent to the unexpected danger. The anxiety in the air was almost palpable. Kang-Woo smiled and nodded.


    "Let''s go then."


    [... I would like to thank you once again.] Elune bowed to the party members. [Well then, I will open the door to the World Tree right away.]


    "Is it okay when your Deific Essence is unstable?"


    [You''re all risking your lives, so I cannot afford not to either as the guardian of the World Tree,] Elune remarked firmly.


    The green light flowing out of her seeped into thin air.


    [Ngh...]


    She controlled her Divinity as she bit her lip as blood flowed from between them. And then...


    Crack.


    [... Huh?]


    A crack formed in the air like a mirror and enormous ck energy poured out from it.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    "Kyaaaaahhh!"


    "Wh-what the hell?!"


    The entire imperial castle shook. Kang-Woo quickly stepped back with Elune, who had been nkly staring at the crack.


    "What''s going on?!" he asked.


    [I-I don''t know eith¡ª]


    <i>Shatter¡ª!!</i>


    The crack that formed in the room went out through the window and connected with the night sky. A giant Rift several kilometers wide covered the sky of the capital.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    ck rotten tree roots stretched out from the Rift.

 Chapter 421 - If I Cant Go In

    <h4>Chapter 421 - If I Can''t Go In</h4>


    It looked as if the sky was falling apart. Countless tree roots poured out from the crack in the sky that looked like shattered ss. The ck rotten roots stretched toward the capital of Arnan as it squirmed violently. Their dynamic movements made them look more like tentacles rather than tree roots.


    "This is..." Kim Si-Hun''s eyes widened in shock.


    Enormous energy swirled within the giant Rift in the sky that was about several kilometers wide. The ferociously storming energy wiped out everything in its area.


    "H-hyung-nim!"


    Si-Hun quickly called Oh Kang-Woo, who was staring in shock at the countless tree roots stretching toward the capital as he was supporting Elune.


    Kang-Woo turned to Elune and asked, "Is that the World Tree?"


    It looked far too abnormal to call the World Tree; they looked more like the moving tree monsters that the party had seen when they had firste to Aernor.


    Elune nodded in pallor. [Y-yes, b-but how did the World Treee here...?]


    Kang-Woo turned away from the panicking Elune.


    <i>''So that''s the corrupted World Tree, huh?''</i>


    He had expected it to be an unfathomably colossal tree from its name and because it was known as the pir of the Triad.


    <i>''But...''</i>


    He had never expected it to be able to move. The World Treeing out of the Rift was more like a giant monster than a tree, and one that could easily engulf the entire capital, no less.


    <i>''Regardless...''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s eyes lit up. This was a little out of his expectations, but it did not change what he needed to do.


    "We just have to get in there and dispose of the ck thorn corrupting the World Tree, right?"


    [Y-yes, but¡ª]


    "That''s all we need to know," Kang-Woo interjected and turned to his party members. "Let''s go."


    The party members nodded.


    [I-I will apany you! I won''t be of much help in my current state, but... I will do my best to support you all even a little!] Elune shouted as she clenched her fists.


    Kang-Woo lightly nodded and put his foot on the window frame. He looked down and scanned the surroundings.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    <i>Crumble¡ª!</i>


    The roots of the World Tree that reached the ground were rampaging throughout the city like starved beasts. Each root was hundreds of meters long, easily able to destroy buildings with a single swing.


    "Kyaaaaaahhh!"


    "Wh-what the hell?!"


    "H-help me!"


    The people swept by the giant roots screamed. They were massacred all too easily by the undefiable disaster. mes and smoke instantly filled the entire capital.


    "Holy fuck..." Kang-Woo frowned aggressively.


    He bit his lip as he looked down at the people being ughtered by the roots of the corrupted World Tree. Fury ran down his back and throughout his body. Of course, he was not angry that people were dying.


    <i>''My precious farm!''</i>


    The poption of the capital of Arnan was asrge as the poption of several citiesbined, and the majority of the people in it were devotees of the Church of Splendor. His Divinity collection nt that he had raised with his heart and soul even while doing all sorts of cringe shit was being destroyed by mere tree roots.


    "Those fucking <i>I am Groot</i> bastards..."


    The back of his head hurt. He would burn down the World Tree if it were up to him, but he suppressed the desire and jumped out of the window.


    "Let''s clean up those goddamn roots first!" Kang-Woo shouted to his party members following after him.


    He red with fury at the World Tre roots destroying the capital. He clenched his fists and pledged.


    ''I''ll protect them.''


    His precious Divinity farm¡ª no, his precious devotees of Splendor!


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    Radiant splendor poured out from Kang-Woo, possibly having reacted to his heroic spirit.


    <i>Tap!</i>


    He jumped into the air and pulled his right arm back.


    <i>''Axes are the best to cut down trees.''</i>


    <i>Grrrk.</i>


    Slushy went into the Key of the Demonic Sea, which turned into a giant ax. Kang-Woo twisted in midair and swung down his right arm.


    <i>Crack¡ª!!</i>


    The golden ray of light split the world into two. The World Tree roots destroying the capital split in half with one attack. The energy did not lose its momentum after cutting the roots, charging forward as it destroyed buildings in its path.


    "A-Aaaahh!"


    "O Light!!"


    "The God of Splendor has manifested!!"


    The people being ughtered by the ck roots kneeled as they looked up at the light. They brought their hands together and burst into tears.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    "<i>Gasp!</i>"


    A World Tree root fell toward the praying devotees. They tried to get away in shock, but it was far toote to dodge the root.


    <i>tter!</i>


    Red chains spread out like a and deflected the root.


    "For fuck''s sake! Stop fucking around and run, you lunatics!" yelled Cha Yeon-Joo at the people who suddenly got on their knees to pray instead of running away.


    "Wh-what? Fucking around?"


    "Are you doubting the light?!"


    "Prayer is the one true path to salvation!"


    The devotees filling the streets got angry at Yeon-Joo instead of thanking her.


    "These sons of bitches..." Yeon-Joo stared in exasperation at the devotees who went back to praying.


    The problem was that there were more than just a few of them. Si-Hun and the other party members were unable to leave the area because they were protecting the praying devotees.


    "Hey! Do something about these people!" Yeon-Joo shouted as she looked up.


    Kang-Woo, who wiped out the roots of the World Tree with one attack, slowly raised his arms as he saw what was going on.


    [Devotees of light.] The words of a god echoed directly within the heads of everyone in the capital. [Prayer with just one''s thoughts will not lead to salvation. One must first act toward reaching salvation of their own ord.]


    "Aaaahh..."


    [Save those in danger and evacuate the city. That is the true path toward the light.]


    "I believe!"


    "Take the injured and evacuate the city!"


    The devotees who got angry at Yeon-Joo changedpletely and got moving after hearing Kang-Woo''s words.


    "Wha..." Yeon-Joo feignedughter as she stared at Kang-Woo enveloped in radiant splendormanding the devotees/


    <i>''Has he taken a liking to that shit now?''</i>


    If that was not the case, how could he say such cringe lines so naturally?


    <i>Wham¡ª!</i>


    "Kyah!" Yeon-Joo screamed.


    A giant tree root attacked her and cut off her thoughts.


    "Hup!" Si-Hun stood between Yeon-Joo and the tree root and swung his sword.


    <i>sh!</i>


    He had lost the holy sword during the war, but swords were no longer of importance to him after mastering Formless Sword. A sword made of blue condensed sword energy split the tree root in half.


    "Be careful," Si-Hun remarked.


    "Y-Yeah. Thanks." Yeon-Joo nodded in embarrassment.


    Si-Hun went past her and ran to where Kang-Woo was.


    "Hyung-nim! There will be no end to them at this rate!"


    Kang-Woo nodded. As Si-Hun had said, the roots were continuously pouring out of the Rift in the sky.


    <i>''I have to find that ck thorn or whatever it was.''</i>


    If he did not, they would be stuck in an endless and pointless battle of attrition.


    <i>''Authority of the Beholder.''</i>


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and focused. If the ck thorn was the cause of the World Tree''s corruption, he would be able to find where it was by tracing the energy within the World Tree. He spread out his demonic energy and searched the World Tree''s roots.


    "Motherfucker," he cursed after examining the roots.


    <i>''The energies are entangled.''</i>


    Hundreds of energies were violently shing against one another within the World Tree. Among them, there were energies fundamentally different from mana, sacred power, and demonic energy.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo frowned. He was reminded of something after searching the inside of the World Tree with the Authority of the Beholder.


    <i>''It''s like I''m looking at Chaos.''</i>


    It was insanely disordered.


    "This won''t be easy."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. If someone had heard that, they would have stared at him dumbfoundedly as if asking him what the hell he was talking about. Not easy? The issue was well beyond that.


    The inside of the World Tree at the moment was as disordered as a record-breaking tsunami sweeping across an entire city. It would be like trying to find something on the ground while fighting through the extreme current. However...


    <i>''It''s nothing I can''t handle.''</i>


    For Kang-Woo, who possessed inexplicably extraordinary levels of energy control, it was only moderately difficult.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    Kang-Woo located a path in the chaotic storm of energies within the World Tree. He sprinted along the path that would annihte him with just a single misstep.


    <i>''Found it.''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. He found something embedded in the World Tree, the cause of what was entangling the energies within it.


    "This way!" he shouted as he ran to where the ck thorn was.


    His party members frantically ran after him.


    "Hyung-nim! Where is the ck thorn?!" Si-Hun asked as he looked around after catching up to Kang-Woo.


    He could not see anything besides the root of the World Tree.


    "It''s not here," Kang-Woo answered calmly.


    The party members expressed confusion.


    "Th-then where is it?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "There." Kang-Woo pointed at the sky; more specifically, the several-kilometer Rift covering the night sky.


    "Don''t tell me..."


    "Are you saying that... It''s in there?" Si-Hun looked up at the Rift in shock.


    Hundreds of thousands of World Tree roots were squirming within the Rift.


    [A-Aaaahh.]


    Elune copsed to her knees on the spot. If the ck thorn was within that area filled with horrendous chaos, it was practically impossible to approach it. They would be ripped into shreds the moment they entered the Rift.


    [Y-you... cannot.] Elune shook her head in pallor.


    Even if one of the gods of the Triad were here, it would be impossible for them to enter that Rift.


    "It''s alright," Kang-Woo remarked.


    [... Pardon?] Elune looked at Kang-Woo as if she couldn''t understand. She shouted hurriedly, [It''s alright? Y-you''re not nning on going in there, are you?!]


    That would be nothing but suicide.


    Kang-Woo smiled. "No."


    It would be impossible even for him to jump into that Rift ande back alive.


    [Then...]


    "If we can''t go in..."


    <i>Crack!</i>


    Kang-Woo grabbed one of the roots swung at him and smiled. If they weren''t able to go into the Rift, there was only one other option.


    "Hup!"


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath in, widened his stance, and pulled the root with all his might.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    Thunderous sounds rang throughout the sky of the capital.


    <i>''If I can''t go in... I''ll just pull it out.''</i>


    [W-Wait¡ª]


    <i>Crackle¡ª!!!</i>


    Before Elune could stop Kang-Woo, the colossal tree that acted as the pir supporting the Triad began to be pulled out by Kang-Woo.

 Chapter 422 - God of the Satellite World

    <h4>Chapter 422 - God of the Satellite World</h4>


    The unfathomably colossal tree was being pulled out of the Rift. Although the giant mass of countless roots of the World Tree being squeezed out of the Rift looked like a baby being born, it was more akin to a mother dragging their child out of their room by the hair.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    A thunderous sound echoed as if the sky itself was being upturned. No, the sound was so massive that it would be no exaggeration to say that it could be heard throughout Aernor.


    "Aaaaaaaahhh!" the evacuating citizens screamed as they covered their bleeding ears.


    "Celestial Protection!" Han Seol-Ah chanted.


    La also quickly chanted, "O Gaia, bring down your blessing unto the powerless."


    The white light that poured out from them protected the people from the ear splitting sound shaking the entire capital.


    "H-hyung-nim?!" Kim Si-Hun looked at Oh Kang-Woo in surprise.


    He did not think it was possible to uproot and pull out a tree dozens of kilometers tall. The colossal scale of events sent shivers down his spine.


    "Focus," Balrog said to the flustered Si-Hun. He looked up at the roots of the World Tree being pulled out of the Rift and muttered, "... There is something there."


    "What?"


    Si-Hun looked at where Balrog was looking as well. As he had mentioned, a purple light lingered around the giant mass of roots of the World Tree.


    "That''s..." Si-Hun slurred.


    "There is no time to waste." Balrog jumped on one of the roots and ran up.


    "Ngh!" Si-Hun followed after him.


    "Wh-where are you going?!" Cha Yeon-Joo shouted as she ran after Si-Hun.


    "Lady Elune, this way!" La grabbed the copsed Elune''s hand and flew up to the sky.


    Seol-Ah, Echidna, and the other party members quickly chased after Balrog and Si-Hun.


    "Kang-Woo!"


    Seol-Ah looked around for Kang-Woo after climbing on a tree root after Si-Hun. Kang-Woo, who hade up with the insane idea of pulling the World Tree out of the Rift by its root, was panting severely.


    "Haaa, so fucking heavy," he cursed as he frowned.


    His entire body was screaming in pain after squeezing out all the demonic energy he had without opening the Doors. His vision momentarily blurred; it had been a long time since he had experienced demonic energy exhaustion.


    "Fuuu, haaa," Kang-Woo took deep breaths topose himself.


    He could feel the demonic energy he had used up all at once filling back up through the Ten Thousand Demon Core. He wanted to rest some more, but he knew better than anyone that it was not the time.


    <i>''Is that the ck thorn?''</i>


    He looked at the area where purple light was lingering somewhat drearily. The mix of ck and purple made it look inexplicably otherworldly.


    "That''s..."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He remembered seeing the purple energy around the World Tree root somewhere before.


    <i>''Was it back when I fought the Constetion of Fear?''</i>


    He recalled the god of vengeful spirits with a giant scythe, but he shook his head.


    <i>''No, it''s a little different.''</i>


    He was sure that he had seen it somewhere before, but it was noting to him.


    "Tsk," Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and crouched down.


    He did not have the leeway to search through his memories. He jumped, flying across the sky at extraordinary speed.


    <i>''Now, then... Let''s go see who corrupted the World Tree.''</i>


    Kang-Woo raised his right fist and punched using the force generated from shooting forward.


    <i>''Skybreaker.''</i>


    He activated the skill he had not used in a very long time. The ck and purple light collided with Kang-Woo''s fist.


    <i>Boom¡ª!!</i>


    The barrier was destroyed along with a massive shockwave.


    "Hyung-nim!"


    "Kang-Woo!"


    Si-Hun and the other party members arrived after running up the World Tree root. Kang-Woo nodded at them lightly and turned to look inside the destroyed barrier.


    "Gurgh, what the hell? Why did the World Tree fall all of a sudden?"


    A monster was looking around with its hand on his forehead. The reason why Kang-Woo referred to him as a <i>monster </i>was simple.


    "Hmm?"


    His skin was covered in unknown mucus, his head resembled that of a snake, and transparent wings were sprouted on his head and back. His muscr arms reached his knees, making him resemble abination of a Lizardman and an alien.


    "Heh, well, well. If it isn''t Lady Elune?"


    The unknown monster flicked his purple tongue. His voice was rather flippant, unlike his appearance. Kang-Woo frowned as he stared at the monster he had never seen before.


    <i>''A demon?''</i>


    That was the first thought that came to his mind. Demons varied infinitely in appearance, so there would be no surprise if he was a demon, but...


    <i>''No.''</i>


    Kang-Woo denied the thought. He could not feel an ounce of demonic energy from the creature; he was simply enveloped in energy that Kang-Woo had never felt before.


    <i>''What is that?''</i>


    It was neither demonic energy nor sacred power; it was not energy derived from the power of nature like mana or Qi either. It was the first kind of energy Kang-Woo had seen as if the monster hade from an outer world.


    "Oh," Kang-Woo expressed. "I remember."


    He finally recalled where he had seen the purple energy lingering around the monster.


    <i>''It''s the power I felt from the purple Rift we used to enter the satellite world.''</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled Shade, the satellite world that had fallen to ruin after being corrupted by the Nine Hells. Although the monster looked nothing like the shadow with the <i>Mimicry </i>ability, the energy around them was simr.


    <i>''But of course...''</i>


    The monster possessed far more powerful energy than the shadow.


    [You are...] Elune''s eyes widened as she stared at the snake-headed monster in disbelief. [H-how are you here...? The world that you lived in already...]


    "Heh, yes. It fell to ruin." The snake-headed monster nodded as he flicked his tongue. His eyes were filled with chilling bloodlust. He remarked resentfully, "Because... you abandoned us."


    He red at Elune with bloodlust.


    "... Who is he?" Kang-Woo asked Elune.


    Elune bit her lip and replied, [He is... the guardian deity of the satellite world... Moab.]


    "<i>Was</i>, to be more exact." The snake-headed monster aggressively clenched his fists as he snickered.


    Kang-Woo stared at him with narrow eyes.


    <i>''If he''s a guardian deity...''</i>


    That would put him on the same level as Seraph and Gaia, a being with the mission to protect a world and possessed a portion of the providence, the power to guard a star.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He could understand why he could feel such power from the snake-headed monster. The problem was...


    "What does he mean by you abandoned them?" he asked.


    [That''s...] Elune slurred.


    The snake-headed monster remarked before she could continue, "It means exactly as it sounds. This goddamn tree abandoned us to guard the Triad."


    [That is not true! It was unavoidab¡ª]


    "Yeah, yeah, sure." The snake-headed monster nodded as it snickered. "After all, our world was nothingpared to this oh-so-important world, right? Right?"


    [You''re wrong! The power of the World Tree did not reach the satellite worlds due to the copse of the Gaia Sys¡ª]


    "Well, despite all that," the snake-headed monster interjected and smiled. "It wasn''t all bad."


    [... Pardon?]


    "I would never have met him if my world was never encroached on by the Nine Hells."


    The snake-headed monster trembled as if it were in ecstasy and snapped his finger.


    <i>Rumble!</i>


    The roots of the World Tree corrupted by the purple energy squirmed as if it was in pain.


    [N-No...]


    Elune hurriedly reached out but copsed as she coughed up blood due to the rampaging energy within the World Tree.


    The snake-headed monster shouted, "Now! Elune! It is time for you to pay for your s¡ª"


    "Just a second," Kang-Woo interjected with his hand up.


    The snake-headed monster frowned as he red at the sudden disrupter.


    "Who the hell are y¡ª"


    "I can already tell what you''re gonna say next, so shut up for a second. Lemme think for a bit."


    "... What did you say?"


    Kang-Woo turned away from the snake-headed monster and fell into thought.


    <i>''So, to summarize...''</i>


    The bnce between Gaia, Aernor, and Huan was disrupted due to the damaged Gaia System, and the World Tree focused its power on the Triad to make up for that imbnce as best it could.


    <i>''And...''</i>


    The satellite worlds fell to ruin in the process via the encroachment by the Nine Hells through the cracks formed in the protection.


    <i>''So, Shade wasn''t the only one that fell to ruin.''</i>


    The situation was far more severe than he had imagined. If every satellite world had copsed via the encroachment by the Nine Hells, the next world on the list was naturally Earth.


    <i>''Motherfucker.''</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned aggressively. In the first ce, the fundamental reason why the bnce among the Triad was disrupted and the World Tree was forced to give up on the satellite worlds was... because he had collided with the Gaia System.


    <i>''It''s me again? Why is it always me? Why is it my fault every single time? I just wanted to live a happy life with my kimchi stew. What did I do so wrong for worlds to be ending?''</i>


    Kang-Woo pulled on his hair in frustration.


    "... Hah," the snake-headed monster chuckled as he watched Kang-Woo pulling on his hair while paying no mind to him.


    The monster did not know where the human came from, but he was getting angry from being tantly ignored. He was the guardian deity who used to rule over an entire world, albeit now a copsed one. He had even been epted as one of the masters of the <i>Four Heavens</i> and obtained power far beyond his days as a god. There was no need or reason for him to endure this disrespect.


    <i>''It''s not fully ready yet, but...''</i>


    The monster turned to where the ck thorn he had embedded in the World Tree was. The thorn embedded in a root was absorbing the energy within the World Tree like a starved beast.


    <i>''It should be enough to make them pay for their sins.''</i>


    The monster smiled and unsheathed the sword on his waist. It was a long urumi as thin as a piece of paper. The monster flicked his arm like a whip; the long urumi aimed for Kang-Woo as it slithered like a snake.


    "Hyung-nim!"


    Si-Hun stood between the monster and Kang-Woo. He used Formless Sword and deflected the urumi.


    <i>ng!</i>


    "Kurgh!" Si-Hun''s hands holding the sword ripped and he was blown back. "Y-you''re..."


    "Oh? You are quite exceptional for a human." The snake-headed monster lowered his stance as he smiled gloomily and said, "Hear me, humans. My name is Moab. I am a god of a fallen world and one of the loyal subordinates of the Demon of Prophecy."


    "... What?" Kang-Woo said with wide eyes.


    <i>''One of the loyal subordinates of the Demon of Prophecy? What the hell is he talking about? I don''t remember raising someone like you.''</i>


    "And...!"


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Moab stomped on the ground and shouted as he raised his sword high, "The Fourth Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings!"


    Enormous energy stormed around Moab.


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened again. "Did you just say... Four Heavenly Kings?"


    "Kehehe. I doubt amoebas like you who were under the protection of the World Tree have ever heard the name bef¡ª"


    "Hyung-nim! He must be thest member of the Four Heavenly Kings!" Si-Hun shouted as if he fully understood what was going on, interrupting Moab.


    "Uhh, mm. Yeah..." Kang-Woo stammered with a hardened expression.


    <i>''Four Heavenly Kings? They actually exist? Why the fuck does everything Ie up with be real? Huh? Why do I keep foreshadowing the plot? What fucking hole are these fuckers crawling out of? Gimme a break, dammit! Four Heavenly Kings? Get with the times! A name like that isme as fuck! Do these motherfuckers die if they don''t group up in fours? Are you the goddamn Teletubbies? Why the Four Heavenly Kings, of all names?''</i>


    "... Thest member? What are you talking about?" Moab red at Si-Hun iprehensibly.


    Si-Hun gritted his teeth and answered, "You, Satan, Rakiel, and Lucifer! Did you think I wouldn''t know?!"


    "What? Satan? Rakiel? Who the hell are they?"


    "How dare you try to act dumb, you foul monster!"


    "No, seriously, I don''t know who they are¡ª"


    "How many heroes do you think... died at your filthy hands?!"


    "What are you talking about?"


    "Alec Osborne! Reynald! Ludwig! You... You bastards killed them all!"


    "You''re not listening to me. Who the hell are¡ª"


    "Hyung-nim!" Si-Hun turned to Kang-Woo as if not interested in Moab''s excuses.


    Kang-Woo nodded as his eyes shone sharply. "Yeah, Si-Hun."


    As long as Moab revealed that he was one of the Four Heavenly Kings, there was no longer any need for chatter.


    <i>''Countless heroes have lost their lives at their filthy hands.''</i>


    Their sacrifices could not be left in vain.


    "It''s time for us to avenge those great heroes."

 Chapter 423 - I Will Have You Pay For Your Great Sins

    <h4>Chapter 423 - I Will Have You Pay For Your Great Sins</h4>


    "Wha..." Moab''s mouth gaped open because the conversation flowed in an iprehensible direction.


    He was surprised that they knew about the Four Heavenly Kings, but what they said about him being thest remaining of them confused him even more.


    <i>''I wasn''t informed about any of the Heavenly Kings taking action.''</i>


    They were all making preparations for the <i>time of prophecy</i>; Moab was likely the only one who had shown himself in the Triad, but...


    <i>''What the hell are these humans talking about?''</i>


    The humans have been saying iprehensible things for a while now, about how Moab was thest remaining Heavenly King and that the others had died at the hands of heroes.


    "Did you cast some sort of illusion magic, Elune?" Moab asked with a frown.


    Nothing else would be able to exin what was going on, but his guess waspletely wrong. Even Elune was staring at Oh Kang-Woo and Kim Si-Hun wide-eyed as if she couldn''t follow the conversation.


    [Saviors, what do you mean by that you have to avenge the great heroes...?]


    "They were our preciousrades as well as our good friends," Kang-Woo said as he teared up. "But they were... killed at the hands of... the Four Heavenly Kings."


    He lowered his head as his shoulders slightly trembled. A single tear flowed down his cheek. Just thinking about the heroes'' deaths felt like his heart was being squeezed. Moab had not killed them himself, but he was still one of the Four Heavenly Kings; there was no way that he waspletely uninvolved with the other Kings.


    [Ah,] Elune expressed.


    She was informed of many things that urred in the physical world by the other gods while she was the guardian of the World Tree, but this was her first time hearing of this.


    [I see... how unfortunate,] she remarked somberly.


    She was well aware of how it felt to lose loved ones.


    "I..." Kang-Woo bit his lip and clenched his fists. "I will not let their deaths be in vain."


    There was no way that he would ever forget their bravery that had shone brightly until the moment of their deaths.


    [Savior...]


    Elune stared at Kang-Woo with shaking eyes and her entire body tingled. Kang-Woo was not crying simply because those precious to him had died; he was trying to move forward with their lives on his shoulders.


    <i>''O almighty Titans...''</i> Elune thought as she closed her eyes. <i>''Your prophecy was correct. This man is... the one who will save the world from the Demon of Prophecy.''</i>


    Her heart beat rapidly. She felt like she could see a light of hope shining down on the world prophesied to fall... and the future filled with despair. Elune smiled faintly as she brought her hands together.


    "What the hell have you been talking about since earlier?" Moab walked forward, unable to handle it any longer. He flicked his snake tongue and continued, "Reynald? Ludwig? I don''t even know who these people a¡ª"


    "Shut up!" Kang-Woo shook with rage as uncontroble rage filled him. "How dare you shamelessly make excuses?!"


    "No, I seriously don''t kn¡ª"


    "Reynald and Ludwig... Those heroes should never have died that way!" he shouted straight from the heart.


    Kang-Woo recalled the deaths of the two heroes. He had not witnessed the moment of Alec Osborne''s death, but he clearly remembered the moments of Reynald and Ludwig''s deaths.


    "You''re not listening to me. I¡ª"


    "Enough of your lowly excuses, Moab!"


    "I''m not making excuses, I just don''t know what you talking ab¡ª"


    "I... I will never forgive you."


    "Son of a bitch..."


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes to look away from MNoab, who was still acting dumb.


    <i>''He''s not worth talking to.''</i>


    Moab had no intention of listening, so there was no way that Kang-Woo''s words would reach him. The truth meant nothing before his shamelessness.


    <i>''If words won''t get through to him...''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone sharply. There was no other way but this.


    "I will have you... pay for your grave sins," he said what Moab had tried to say to Elune earlier.


    "Who the hell are you? Huh? You''re just saying what you want to say without¡ª"


    Kang-Woo dashed toward Moab, who had beenining with a frown.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    A ray of golden light streaked behind him. He stretched his right hand downward and the Key of the Demonic Sea turned into the form of a sword; it was Del Lain, the sword of the sun. Kang-Woo gripped the divine artifact of Tirion, thete God of Heroes, and swung it down aggressively.


    <i>aaang¡ª!</i>


    Moab was pushed back along with the echoing sound of metal shing.


    "Wh-what the¡ª?!" Moab''s eyes were filled with shock. He stared at Kang-Woo in disbelief. "D-Deific Essence?"


    Not only that, it was not mere Low-rank or Lower Intermediate-rank; it was at least High-rank.


    <i>''How could a human possibly...!''</i>


    Moab stared at Kang-Woo iprehensibly. It was already shocking enough that a human possessed Deific Essence, but one of High-rank or above? He felt as if he was having a nightmare.


    "... It seems you had a trick up your sleeve."


    Moab''s eyes shone sharply as he flicked his tongue. He fixed his stance and grabbed his sword tighter. He had lost hisposure for a moment due to the unexpected variable, but that was it. He would not lose in Deific Essence since he was a former guardian deity of a world.


    "Fuuu." Moab took a deep breath and unleashed his Deific Essence.


    Back when he was still a guardian deity, he would have had to pay an enormous price in his Divinity to unleash his Deific Essence in the physical world. However, he had been freed from the <i>Law of Titans</i> after receiving that person''s <i>grace</i>.


    "<i>Hisssssss!!</i>"


    Moab swung down his urumi with his long arms. It coiled like a snake and then...


    <i>Swoosh!</i>


    The coiled sword straightened and shot out at incredible speed, piercing Kang-Woo''s shoulder in the blink of an eye.


    "Kurgh!" Kang-Woo grunted.


    However, that was only for a moment. He did not jump back but rather walked forward.


    "What?!"


    Moab was startled by Kang-Woo''s crazy behavior as if he didn''t care if his arm was cut off, creating an opening for Kang-Woo to exploit. He swung Del Lain with his other arm, aiming for Moab''s nk.


    "What a cheap scheme!" shouted Moab and grimaced as he pulled out his urumi stabbing Kang-Woo''s shoulder.


    He then swung it at Del Lain being swung toward his nk.


    <i>ng!</i>


    Del Lain was blown back. Kang-Woo used the recoil to flip backward and tried to deal a somersault kick on Moab''s chin.


    "Kurgh!" Moab jumped back to dodge the attack and crossed his arms.


    The urumi moved elegantly as if it were dancing, pouring waves of condensed sword energy like rainfall. Kang-Woo was leftpletely open to the sword energy attacks after performing arge attack like a somersault kick.


    <i>''Alright!''</i>


    Moab''s eyes shone, thinking that he had grasped victory. The purple condensed sword energies poured down on Kang-Woo to tear him apart, but...


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!</i>


    Gold and ck mes resembling a ck sun enveloped Kang-Woo. The purple condensed sword energies flying at him disappeared in a sh.


    "... What?"


    The sword energies had vanished as if they had been vaporized. No, that was not the right word to describe it. Moab looked in shock at the mes akin to a ck sun. If he saw it correctly...


    <i>''They were... eaten?''</i>


    His attacks had most certainly been eaten by those raging mes.


    "Urgh!" Moab quickly jumped backward as a chill ran down his back.


    Kang-Woo chased after him and aimed for his nk again.


    "No, you don''t!" Moab swung his urumi to blow back Del Lain again.


    Just then, Kang-Woo smiled unpleasantly as he let go of Del Lain without hesitation.


    "...!" Moab''s eyes widened.


    He instinctively scrunched up after realizing that the attack had been a feint, but Kang-Woo ced his hand on Moab''s sr plexus before he could.


    "Chaos, Burst."


    <i>Booooom¡ª!!</i>


    A colossal explosion engulfed Moab.


    "Kurgh!"


    Moab was blown back as he coughed up blood, but Kang-Woo grabbed him by the ankle.


    "You will never be able to imagine...!" Kang-Woo shouted as he infused his voice with boiling rage. "For how long I¡ª no, we have waited to take our revenge!"


    "<i>Cough!</i> What revenge... are you talking ab¡ª"


    "We will no longer take it lying down!"


    Kang-Woo red ferociously at Moab. He turned to his party members watching the battle.


    <i>''If only...''</i>


    He imagined how happy he would have been to see Alec, Reynald, and Ludwig among them. Just imagining it brought him to tears.


    <i>''No, no!''</i>


    Kang-Woo quickly shook his head. It was not the time to be crying. The tears could wait until he had taken revenge for his precious fallenrades.


    "This is...!"


    <i>Bang!</i>


    Kang-Woo stomped his feet with Moab''s ankle still in hand.


    "For Alec, more righteous than anyone!"


    "Kurgh!"


    Kang-Woo smashed Moab down on the ground by the ankle. A god possessing Deific Essence would not take any damage just from being smashed into the ground, so Kang-Woo made a bed of spikes on the ground with the Key of the Demonic Sea.


    "Gaaaaaaaaaaahhh!" Moab screamed as the spikes pierced him.


    "And this is...!" Kang-Woo raised his leg and kicked Moab in the face like a ser ball. "For Reynald, more courageous than anyone!"


    Moab tumbled on the ground without even being able to scream after being kicked right in the face. His vision blurred and horrible pain spread throughout his body.


    "A-Arghh."


    Moab stood up and grabbed his face. Any other being would have died after receiving such attacks, but his powerful Divinity was healing him at incredible speed.


    "Andstly, this is...!"


    "W-Wait!" yelled Moab in pallor after hearing Kang-Woo''s voice.


    However, Kang-Woopletely ignored his desperate pleas. He jumped as he was running at Moab and raised his arms over his head with his fingers sped. He then swung his hands down on Moab''s head like a hammer.


    "For Ludwig, who loved the light more than anyone!"


    <i>Bash¡ª!!</i>

 Chapter 424 - Demonic Sword Ingrium

    <h4>Chapter 424 - Demonic Sword Ingrium</h4>


    "Kurgh!"


    Moab''s skull caved in after Oh Kang-Woo smashed his fist down on his head. Moab screamed in pain as he grabbed his head. The sticky fluid covering his skin sttered all over the ce.


    "<i>Huff, huff,</i>" Kang-Woo panted heavily.


    He was trembling all over after unleashing all the emotions he had been suppressing this entire time.


    "Hyung-nim..." Kim Si-Hun walked up to the heavily panting Kang-Woo and stared at him with aplicated expression. "So you''ve been keeping it in all this time."


    "... I''m sorry for fighting by myself, Si-Hun."


    Only then did Kang-Woo realize that he had rampaged by himself, blinded by his fury. Si-Hun was probably holding back more emotions than him.


    "Not at all." Si-Hun shook his head. He continued in dejection, "I know very well... that I won''t be of help to you with my current strength."


    He had be confident in his skills after mastering Formless Sword and grasping the principle of Mind''s Sword.


    <i>''But...''</i>


    Getting blown away just from blocking the enemy''s attack, which did not even have the enemy''s full power behind it, made Si-Hun realize that his confidence had been conceit.


    <i>''It''s... still not enough. Nowhere near enough. I have to get stronger. Only then will I...''</i>


    Si-Hun looked up and saw Kang-Woo. He was ovepping with the heroes brutally murdered by demons. Si-Hun clenched his fists.


    <i>''I won''t let hyung die, at the very least. I''ll protect him at any cost.''</i>


    Si-Hun embedded the pledge deep within his heart.


    [Savior...] Elune approached Kang-Woo and sorrowfully wiped the tears flowing down Kang-Woo''s cheeks. [I see that even a person as great as you... holds great sadness within your heart.]


    Her eyes were filled withpassion, sympathy, and trust for Kang-Woo.


    <i>''Good,''</i> Kang-Woo thought as the corners of his mouth slightly rose.


    Not only had he neutralized Moab, but he had also earned Elune''s trust. His earnings were massive despite this being an unexpected situation.


    <i>''What a fucking mess.''</i>


    Kang-Woo had never expected the Four Heavenly Kings to exist.


    <i>''Fucking hell. What should I do about the other three?''</i>


    Moab had referred to himself as the Fourth Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings. In other words, there was a First, Second, and Third Heaven.


    <i>''Everyone is thinking Moab is the final Heavenly King.''</i>


    Lucifer remained, but since his appearance had already been revealed to the whole world, the appearance of a new Heavenly King would cause extreme confusion.


    <i>''Goddammit.''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s mind was a mess. He sighed.


    <i>''Just focus on the task at hand.''</i>


    It was not the time to bother with the other Heavenly Kings that haven''t even shown themselves yet. Restoring the World Tree and having Elune find the Demon God''s corpse was of higher priority.


    "U-Urghh," Han Seol-Ah groaned as she stared at Elune, anxiously biting her lip.


    <i>''Huh?''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s expression froze. An uneasy feeling ran down his back. He looked down at himself and saw that Elune was embracing him as if consoling him.


    <i>''Darling, no!''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s face turned pale as he imagined the worst-case scenario.


    "Kang-Woo..." Seol-Ah walked toward him with dead eyes.


    Just then, someone grabbed her shoulder.


    "... Lilith?" Seol-Ah called.


    "Shh." Lilith ced her index finger on her lips and winked.


    Seol-Ah expressed reluctance for a moment and then nodded lifelessly.


    <i>''Nice!''</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled thanks to Lilith''s perfect intervention. Lilith was far more proficient in controlling Seol-Ah than him in some ways. Even while Seol-Ah was on the verge of losing her sense of reason due to angelic instinct, she always listened to Lilith.


    <i>''And...''</i>


    Although Seol-Ahcked control over her instincts, she was not bad enough for Kang-Woo to consider her a troll. Her obsession was to be with Kang-Woo; the stronger that obsession was, the stronger her emotion to not be hated by Kang-Woo got as well. She would never do something that would bring Kang-Woo harm.


    <i>''Darling seems to have calmed down.''</i>


    It was time to pull out the ck thorn embedded in the World Tree now. Just as Kang-Woo was about to separate from Elune...


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    [Kyaaah!]


    "Lady Elune!"


    The roots of the World Tree shook greatly. Elune scrunched up and screamed in pain. ck light was pouring out of the roots.


    <i>''What the hell is this?''</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned as he supported Elune.


    "Kurgh, argh." Moab flinched on the ground with his skull bashed in. The ck light pouring out of the World Tree''s roots flowed into him. "<i>Hissssssss!</i>"


    Moab''s head began to rapidly regenerate. The ck light that had poured into him shot toward the surroundings.


    "My king!"


    "Hyung-nim!"


    Both Balrog and Si-Hun stood in front of Kang-Woo to protect him. Balrog put on his Overlord Armor to block the light, and Si-Hun used his sword to deflect the light.


    <i>Wham! Crack!</i>


    The ray of ck light destroyed one of the World Tree''s roots.


    "Hyung-nim, this is..."


    "Take care of Lady Elune for me," Kang-Woo said as he left the panting Elune to Si-Hun.


    He smiled as he stared at the staggering Moab slowly standing up.


    <i>''Alright, you have a phase 2, do you?''</i>


    Kang-Woo had almost been disappointed that a battle against one of the guardian deities of a satellite world ended so anticlimactic. Kang-Woo walked up to Moab as he licked his lips.


    "Kurghhh. You... bastard." Moab red at Kang-Woo as he touched his head, which had caved in after Kang-Woo''s punch. He muttered furiously, "I won''t... forgive... you."


    Kang-Woo looked back at Elune, who was looking at them, and clenched his fists.


    "You''re not done yet... is it?" Kang-Woo dragged his foot in annoyance. He said in a low tone, "I already expected this to happen. It was like this with the other Heavenly Kings. Satan and Rakiel... didn''t die so easily either."


    He was already used to it; neither Satan nor Rakiel allowed themselves to die without using the cowardly trump card up their sleeves.


    "For thest fucking time, I don''t fucking know those goddamn people!!!" Moab yelled in desperation.


    Kang-Woo frowned. "Hah, I''m surprised you don''t get tired of that shit. Are you still ying dumb?"


    "Ah..." Moab grabbed the back of his neck as he staggered. "I see... You''ll act like that to the very end, is it?" Moab red at Kang-Woo in bloodlust as if he had given up on exining himself. "Let us see if you can keep saying that after you die."


    Moab threw his urumi down on the ground.


    "...?" Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he looked at Moab throwing away his weapon.


    Moab smiled. "Your pointless show ends here."


    He took a deep breath and straightened his back. He acknowledged his blunder.


    <i>''The human is powerful.''</i>


    The fact that Moab had gotten agitated due to the humans'' absurd bullshit was part of it, but that was not enough to exin his loss. The human in front of Moab was abnormally powerful to the point that he would not be able to beat him with his own strength.


    <i>''In that case...''</i>


    Moab''s eyes shone as he looked at the ck light pouring out of the World Tree. The tree was no longer resisting, meaning that it had been fully corrupted. Moab smiled.


    <i>''At least the n has seeded.''</i>


    The primary part of their ultimate n had seeded; with this, his master had likely gotten his hands on what he wanted.


    <i>''Now...''</i>


    Moab smiled as he recalled his conversation with his master.


    <i>"What to do with the thorn once the World Tree has been corrupted?"</i> Moab''s master waved his hand in disinterest and continued, <i>"You can have it."</i>


    <i>"A-are you sure?"</i>


    <i>"Yeah, yeah. You should rece that flimsy sword. It looks like it''d break from the slightest touch."</i>


    Moab''s master cackled. Although he was acting like it was no big deal, Moab knew better than anyone how immense the power within the thorn was.


    "<i>Hissssss.</i>" Moab flicked his tongue and snickered. "Human, do you know what material the high elves use when they create holy swords?"


    "... What?"


    Kang-Woo frowned due to the unexpected question. Why was Moab asking a question like that all of a sudden?


    "<i>Hiss,</i> Elune, I''m sure you know the answer."


    [D-don''t tell me you...] Elune stared at Moab with wide shaking eyes.


    Moab continued as he cackled, "High elves use a branch of the World Tree when creating holy swords. A very, very small amount, at that." Moab curled his fingers to make a small circle and smiled. "In that case, what do you think the material would be for a demonic sword?"


    [M-Moab! What are you trying to do?!] Elune hurriedly shouted.


    Moab burst into crazedughter. "Kehehe! I corrupted the World Tree, so how wasteful would it be to not use its branch?"


    He extended his arm toward the World Tree pouring ck light. The ck thorn embedded in its root was slowly pulled out. It was exuding suffocating energy after absorbing as much of the impure energy of the corrupted World Tree as it could.


    [N-no...]


    Elune trembled in pallor. The ck thorn had turned into a branch of the World Tree after absorbing the energy of the corrupted World Tree. Just imagining the power of a demonic sword created with a branch of the World Tree, one exuding far more energy than what regr branches contained no less, was terrifying in and of itself.


    [S-savior! We have to stop Moab!]


    "Understood." Kang-Woo nodded.


    He had no idea what Moab was trying to do, but he at least knew that he shouldn''t let Moab do as he wished.


    "Stop, Moab!" shouted Kang-Woo as radiant splendor poured out of him.


    "<i>Hiss!</i>" Moab spread out his arms. "It''s toote! Come! Demonic sword of the World Tree, Ingrium!"


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    Immense energy poured out from the ck thorn. The thorn containing the energy of the corrupted World Tree began to turn into a greatsword almost two meters long and floated in the air.


    "The demonic sword will guide you all toward damnation¡ª Huh?"


    Demonic Sword Ingrium slowly flew in Kang-Woo''s direction.


    <i>''Wait, huh?''</i>


    <i>Fwoom.</i>


    <i>''Don''te here.''</i>


    <i>Fwoom.</i>


    <i>''Don''t fuckinge this way, motherfucker.''</i>


    <i>Fwoom.</i>


    <i>''Please fuck off.''</i>


    Riiing.


    [Demonic Sword Ingrium has recognized you as its master!]


    [You have been chosen by Ingrium!]


    [You have obtained the title ''Ruler of Demonic Swords''!]


    <i>''Fucking hell.''</i>


    <i>Fwoom.</i>


    <i>''What the fuck is this thing? Why is iting to me?''</i>

 Chapter 425 - Its Calling Me

    <h4>Chapter 425 - It''s Calling Me</h4>


    "H-Huh?"


    Oh Kang-Woo was not the only surprised one; Moab looked dumbfoundedly back and forth between the demonic sword and Kang-Woo.


    "Wh-What? What is happening?" Moab said to himself.


    Demonic Sword Ingrium had been attracted to someone else, the God of Splendor, no less.


    <i>''I was told that Ingrium would be drawn to the greatest demonic being.''</i>


    Moab was the only demonic being here.


    <i>''Has something gone wrong?''</i>


    He wondered if he had made some sort of mistake during the creation process of Ingrium, but he could not think of anything. He had embedded into the World Tree the <i>Tooth of Predation</i>, an item his master gave, capable of entangling the energy within the World Tree.


    He then turned the Tooth of Predation that had absorbed the energy of the corrupted World Tree into a branch of the corrupted World Tree, granted it a name, and added an ego of a demonic sword into it. Everything had gone exactly to n.


    <i>''But why...''</i>


    Why was the demonic sword heading to the God of Splendor instead?


    "Urgh!"


    Moab ran toward the demonic sword flying to Kang-Woo and forcibly grasped it. Seeing that, Kang-Woo''s eyes shone as he clenched his fists.


    <i>''Alright! Nice going, snake-head! Yeah, just take it! I don''t need it, so just take it and fuck off.''</i>


    Kang-Woo cheered for Moab desperately.


    "Kurgh! Your master... is... me!!" Moab shouted with a frown as he gripped Ingrium''s handle tightly.


    Kang-Woo created tiny neon sticks in secret and waved them.


    <i>''Do it! Do it! Do your best, Moab oppa!! Please get that crazy sword away from me! Do your best, Moab opp¡ª''</i>


    <i>Whoooom¡ª!!</i>


    "K-kurgh¡ª! N-no! I-I am your master!"


    <i>''You fucking dipshit!!''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s face turned pale. Immense energy poured from the demonic sword''s handle and tore Moab''s hands apart. Moab stepped back as he screamed, his hands having be like bloody rags.


    <i>Fwoom.</i>


    Ingrioum began to fly toward Kang-Woo again after pushing Moab away.


    [Lord... Kang-Woo? C-could that sword be flying toward you?]


    "Why is a demonic sword heading to hyung-nim...?"


    Elune and Kim Si-Hun stared at Kang-Woo iprehensibly. It was not just the two of them; the citizens of the empire who had not managed to evacuate yet mumbled in confusion.


    "Wh-what''s going on?"


    "Is that sword flying at the God of Splendor?"


    "Th-the God of Splendor is in danger!"


    "N-no. Take a closer look. That''s..."


    "Doesn''t the demonic sword look like it''s being drawn to the God of Splendor?"


    It was flying so slowly that it looked nothing like an attack. The mumbles grewrger. Cold sweats trickled down Kang-Woo''s back.


    <i>''Holy fuck. What do I do? What the fuck is going on?''</i>


    He did not find it a disaster when the demonic sword was made, but something absurd urred. He recalled his battle against Tai Wuji.


    <i>''It''s simr to back then.''</i>


    The Demon God''s legacypleted by Tai Wuji had flown to Kang-Woo instead.


    <i>''The problem is...''</i>


    He was alone at the time, but far too many people were watching right now. Kang-Woo could not afford to devour thevish feast in front of him at the moment. He stared at the demonic sword pouring out immense demonic energy.


    <i>''I don''t need you, so please fuck off.''</i>


    Kang-Woo was drooling from the immense power within the demonic sword, but he did not want it to the point that he would risk his true identity being discovered.


    "Wh-what the hell have you done?!" Moab fiercely bared his teeth at Kang-Woo.


    <i>''I wanna know just as much as you, man.''</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the demonic sword flying his way as he bit his lip anxiously and racked his brain about what to do.


    <i>''iming it to be Moab''s scheme is a bit of a stretch.''</i>


    Moab was acting far too unsightly for Kang-Woo to frame it on him. How could he possibly im such a thing when Moab was flicked away by the sword like a man kicked away by his leaving lover after grabbing onto her clothes?


    <i>''It''s not that believable to say that the demonic sword ising to attack me either.''</i>


    The demonic sword was flying so gently toward him that it did not feel menacing in the slightest; it was like a dog greeting its owner.


    <i>''In that case...''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone sharply as a thought popped up in his head.


    "This is..." he expressed confusion as he stared at the demonic sword flying his way.


    [Lord Kang-Woo, wh-what is going on?] Elune asked.


    However, Kang-Woo ignored her and walked toward the demonic sword.


    He mumbled as he stared fixedly at it, "What? I can''t hear you very well. Can you speak a little lou¡ª oh."


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    "What''s wrong, hyung-nim?" Si-Hun asked.


    "What''s wrong with you? What can''t you hear well?" Cha Yeon-Joo asked in wonder.


    "... What?" Kang-Woo flinched and turned to Si-Hun and Yeon-Joo in surprise. "You can''t hear this voice?"


    "Voice... you say?"


    "What voice?"


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists and looked back at the demonic sword. "... It''s crying. It keeps talking in a sad voice."


    "What? I can''t hear anything..." Yeon-Joo remarked.


    "No, I''m sure. It''s screaming desperately to help it and to get it out of here!"


    "Have your ears gone bad? None of us can hear anything..." Yeon-Joo frowned.


    [A-Aaaahh!] Elune''s eyes widened as if she had realized something. She trembled in disbelief and continued, [L-Lord Kang-Woo, did you perhaps... hear the voice of the World Tree? How could you directly hear the voice of the World Tree...?!]


    It was impossible even for a high elf to hear the voice of the World Tree.


    [Aaaahh, savior.]


    Elune modestly kneeled and brought her hands together. Hearing the voice of the World Tree was a miracle impossible to experience unless one was a savior.


    She said desperately with tears running down her cheeks, [Please... shine your light down on us trapped within the endless darkness.]


    Kang-Woo looked down at her and then slowly walked toward the demonic sword.


    "H-hyung-nim! It''s dangerous!"


    Si-Hun stood between him and the sword. Kang-Woo put his hand on Si-Hun; ''s shoulder and shook his head.


    "No, it''s not dangerous."


    "Hyung-nim...?"


    "It''s calling me." Kang-Woo stared at Ingrium with shaking eyes. "It''s telling me... to save it."


    The single strand of ego left of the World Tree, which had been corrupted, was calling Kang-Woo desperately.


    "..."


    <i>''Save me. Save me. Save me. Take me out of this darkness. Take me out of this despair. Take me out of this nightmare."</i>


    "A-arghh." Kang-Woo crouched as he covered his ears and he twisted and turned in pain.


    "K-Kang-Woo!" Han Seol-Ah ran to him in pallor.


    "Stay away" Kang-Woo extended his hand toward her to stop her and stood up as he bit his lip. "I have to... do this on my own."


    No one but him would be able to do it.


    "Fuuu."


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath and staggered toward the demonic sword.


    "Bastaaaaard! What are you trying to do?"


    Moab charged at Kang-Woo anxiously, but a brown-haired young man got in his way.


    "Do not interfere with the king."


    <i>Ker-thunk.</i>


    The sound of cogwheels engaging rang out. A ck full-te armor enveloped Balrog and he swung his fist hard at Moab.


    <i>Wham!</i>


    "Kurgh!"


    Moab was blown back by a massive impact. It was nowhere near enough force to push him back if he had been in his usual state, but it was difficult to endure after his power had weakened after his battle against Kang-Woo.


    Moab gritted his teeth and ran forward again, but...


    "Stay away from hyung."


    "We''ll keep him away, Kang-Woo."


    Si-Hun and La joined the battle.


    Moab frowned aggressively. "You dare..."


    <i>Hissssss</i>. A menacing sound left Moab''s mouth.


    <i>Boom¡ª!</i>


    The battle between Moab and Kang-Woo''s party members began.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo turned away from his party members again and walked toward the sword. He arrived right in front of it and grabbed Ingrium by the hilt.


    <i>Whoooom¡ª!!</i>


    Immense power filled him as suffocating demonic energy poured out of the sword and swept everything around it.


    "Kurgh, a-arghh." Kang-Woo scrunched up as he held the sword.


    Blood vessels popped out from the arm grabbing the sword and he coughed up blood.


    [S-savior!] Elune shouted as Kang-Woo was being corrupted by the demonic sword.


    "Kurgh, hurgh!" Kang-Woo gripped the sword harder as he panted heavily. "I''ll... save... you from... the darkness..."


    <i>Whoooom¡ª!</i>


    Radiant light poured out.


    Riiing.


    [A contract with Demonic Sword Ingrium has been established.]


    [You have acquired full control over the demonic energy of Demonic Sword Ingrium.]


    [Updating the Trait ''Ruler of Demonic Energy.'']


    The demonic energy pouring out of Demonic Sword Ingrium began to be dyed in white. Radiant splendor spread throughout the surroundings like a wave of light.


    [A-aaaahh. O light...]


    Elune burst into tears as she watched the demonic sword turn into a holy sword. Chills ran down her back.


    "Haaa, haaa." Kang-Woo held the demonic¡ª no, holy sword zing in radiant light.


    He ran toward Moab, whom his party members were keeping in check.


    "U-urghh!"


    Moab quickly tried to dodge the sword, but Kang-Woo pierced his heart faster.


    "Kurgh!" Moab coughed up purple blood after getting stabbed by Ingrium. "<i>C-cough</i>...? Wh-what the...?"


    Moab''s eyes widened. He had surely witnessed a miracle of the demonic sword being converted to a holy sword, but...


    <i>''This is just a demonic sword!''</i>


    It was enveloped in golden light, but it was still exuding demonic energy like it was before. Its appearance had changed a little, but its contents not at all.


    "What... in the world..."


    Moab looked up in iprehension at the God of Splendor, who was staring right at him with his sword embedded in Moab''s heart. The God of Splendor was smirking nastily with his back to his party members.


    "Y-you... don''t tell me..." Moab''s eyes widened as he imagined something that should never have happened. "You bastard..."


    He coughed up purple blood again; he could tell that he did not have much time left.


    "Cough! Cough! Do not rest easy... just because you defeated me." Moab fell to his knees and continued resentfully, "I am but... the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings..."


    "The hell are you talking about?" Kang-Woo frowned in confusion. "I know that Satan was the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings."


    "You motherf..."


    <i>Thud</i>. Moab copsed to the floor. He said as he lost hold of himself, "Like I said... Who the hell... is... Satan...?"


    With that, Moab took hisst breath.

 Chapter 426 - There’s No Reason To Be Scared Of Darling

    <h4>Chapter 426 - There¡¯s No Reason To Be Scared Of Darling</h4>


    ¡°Hm, hmm~ Hm, hm, hm.¡±


    A boy was humming joyfully atop a hill covered in dry sand red as if it were dyed in blood. He was sitting on a giant rock and was innocently swinging his legs.


    <i>Step, tap, step, tap.</i>


    Someone slowly walked toward the boy with the sound of a staff hitting the ground between the steps.


    The boy asked without looking back, ¡°Is that you, Amon?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lord Bael.¡± The hunchback demon wearing an old robe bowed deeply. ¡°The World Tree has been sessfully corrupted.¡±


    ¡°Good work.¡± The boy smiled brightly and nodded.


    Amon rubbed his staff on the ground and remarked, ¡°However, it is not a permanent corruption. Your tooth has been removed, so the World Tree will be restored to its original state soon.¡±


    ¡°Hehe. It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Bael lightly shook his head as if he didn¡¯t care. ¡°I already got what I wanted.¡±


    Bael looked up into the sky and smiled widely.


    The corners of Amon¡¯s wrinkly mouth rose. ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°May I assume that means you will be departing right away?¡±


    ¡°Mmm~ about that,¡± Bael leaned back to look at Amon. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of seeing someone before I go.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Lucifer.¡± Bael licked his lips and cackled. ¡°Ahhh, I haven¡¯t seen Lucifer in so long either. I wonder if he¡¯s doing well?¡±


    ¡°I am sure that Lord Lucifer misses you as well.¡±


    ¡°Hihi! You think so too, right?¡±


    Bael pped his hands together with a bright smile.


    Amon ced his hand on the top of his staff and asked, ¡°But... Are you sure this is fine?¡±


    ¡°Hm? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Ingrium has fallen to the Demon King¡¯s hands.¡±


    ¡°Oh, ohhhh! That?¡± Bael smiled and continued, ¡°It¡¯s fine. After all, I let Moab have it so I could give the demonic sword to the Demon King.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Amon remained silent as he looked down at the leisurely Bael. He could see an endless abyss in the innocent-looking boy.


    ¡°Hihihi,¡± Bael giggled as he shook his legs. He then stretched andid down on the ground with his arms and legs spread out widely. ¡°Nghhh~! Ah, I can¡¯t wait.¡±


    Bael looked up at the sky and mumbled, ¡°I can¡¯t wait, I can¡¯t wait, I can¡¯t wait, I can¡¯t wait, I can¡¯t wait, I can¡¯t wait, I can¡¯t wait, I can¡¯t wait.¡±


    The corners of his mouth ripped open to his earlobes and revealed sharp teeth of a beast. He licked his lips with his long tongue and saliva drooled down to his chin.


    ¡°I wanna eat...¡± Bael jumped up and down restlessly. ¡°I wanna eat, I wanna eat, I wanna eat, I wanna eat, I wanna eat!!!¡±


    <i>Crackle!</i>


    Bael extended his arm and pulled out the Second Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings.


    ¡°L-Lord Bael?¡± Peleshet, the master of the Second Heaven, twisted anxiously as Bael grabbed him by the neck.


    ¡°I¡¯m... hungry.¡±


    The crazed eyes of a starved beast red at Peleshet.


    ¡°E-eek...!¡±


    Baek¡¯s mouth split open as wide as how snakes devoured their prey.


    Crunch!


    Peleshet¡¯s head vanished into Bael¡¯s mouth. It was horrendous to see a boy greedily chewing on a head farrger than himself.


    ¡°<i>Munch, munch.</i>¡± Bael swallowed Peleshet¡¯s head and began to hum again. ¡°Hmm~ hm, hm, hm~¡±


    The bright and innocent sound of humming echoed throughout thend of the Nine Hells.


    ***


    ¡°O light...¡±


    ¡°Believe in the light!¡±


    ¡°Ohmen! Ohmen!¡±[1]


    A week passed since the attack of the World Tree on the capital and Moab was killed by Kang-Woo. The Church of Splendor had been growing explosively even before this incident, but it had picked up even more speed.


    Of course, the rapid expansion was majorly thanks to Lilith, who had spread the news throughout the continent that the God of Splendor saved the capital from the corrupted World Tree. She even used the immense wealth stored at the Church of Splendor¡¯s base to restore the capital with the help of the devotees.


    Not only did the God of Splendor save the capital from the Corrupted World Tree, but the Church of Splendor was even providing the funds and manpower to restore the continent; it was only natural that the church¡¯s influence would rise. The nobles that had managed to survive Iris¡¯s purge of corrupt nobles also used this chance to donaterge sums of money to the Church of Splendor to improve public opinion.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Oh Kang-Woo sighed as he looked down at the horde of people restoring the capital. ¡°What the fuck is with the <i>Ohmen...</i>?¡±


    He frowned as he heard the chant that the Church of Splendor¡¯s devotees had recentlye up with. He could not get used to it no matter how many times he heard it.


    <i>¡®That aside...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned as he tapped on his chest. The Ten Thousand Demon Core contained the corpse of Moab that he had eaten with the Authority of Predation.


    <i>¡®Eating him didn¡¯t give me all that much.¡¯</i>


    It might be because Moab used a form of energy different from what Kang-Woo used, or because Kang-Woo had just be too powerful. Regardless, Kang-Woo did not gain much after the digestion wasplete despite having his hopes up since Moab was a god of a satellite world.


    <i>¡®In any case...¡¯</i>


    He had gained barely anything from Moab, but he had gained something. Kang-Woo slightly turned his head to the table to look at the sword with faint light pouring out through the sheath.


    <i>Whoosh!</i>


    The sword flew to his hand the moment Kang-Woo extended his arm toward it.


    <i>¡®Demonic Sword Ingrium, was it?¡¯</i>


    It was a powerful weapon made with a branch of the corrupted World Tree.


    <i>¡®It doesn¡¯t feel like it should be that much of a big deal.¡¯</i>


    The power within the sword was not weak in the slightest; it was undeniable that Holy Sword Ludwig could not even bepared to Ingrium.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    It did not contain power that could destroy the entire world or to the point that Kang-Woo was unable to control it.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s just a little better than a sword made with the Key of the Demonic Sea.¡¯</i>


    Considering the Key of the Demonic Sea was a Transcendent-grade weapon, the fact that it was stronger was honestly extraordinary.


    ¡°Tsk... Am I being too greedy?¡±


    The fundamental reason was likely Kang-Woo¡¯s growth; he had be so strong that his weapon¡¯s capabilities were pointless.


    <i>¡®Well, at least the amount of demonic energy I can use without opening the Doors rose.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s demonic energy was not infinite unless he opened the Doors. To be more exact, it was infinite, but it just took time to replenish it through the Ten Thousand Demon Core. If he had to make aparison, his state without opening the Doors is like a phone unplugged from a charger.


    <i>¡®Following that analogy, this thing is like a power bank.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was able to store demonic energy in Ingrium, so it was extremely useful when he did not have the Doors open. Not only that, it could store an immense amount of demonic energy.


    ¡°I would¡¯ve liked to have given it to Si-Hun instead,¡± Kang-Woo mumbled as he twirled Ingrium around.


    No matter how he thought about it, the weapon was more suited for Si-Hun than him since Si-Hun far surpassed him in the way of the sword.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t give it to him though since it¡¯s already imprinted to me.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked down at Ingrium in disappointment. Just then, someone knocked on the door.


    Kang-Woo turned to the door. ¡°Come in.¡±


    A blonde woman in a dress carefully opened the door and entered. It was Iris.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Elune had left Iris¡¯s body to revive the World Tree after Moab¡¯s death. Iris had fallen into a panic after finding out that she had been asleep for two months.


    ¡°O-oh, I¡¯m feeling much better now, Sir Kang-Woo.¡± Iris carefully nodded and walked up to Kang-Woo. She looked around, searching for someone. ¡°Umm... Is Seol-Ah here?¡±


    ¡°Nope. Darling left a little earlier.¡±


    ¡°Phew.¡±


    Iris sighed in relief and cautiously sat next to Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo asked, ¡°Have you been contacted by Lady Elune at all?¡±


    ¡°That happens to be why I¡¯vee to see you today.¡± Iris clenched her dress and lowered her head. ¡°Lady Elune said that... she would borrow my body to manifest again soon.¡±


    She was trembling, her eyes filled with fear. It was natural to be restless since a goddess would be borrowing her body to manifest.


    ¡°Are you scared?¡± Kang-Woo asked and smirked.


    Iris lowered her head and tapped on the floor with the ends of her heels. She mumbled as she wept, ¡°... Yes, I¡¯m scared.¡±


    Kang-Woo patted Iris¡¯s head. ¡°Whenever you¡¯re scared, think back to that time.¡±


    Iris recalled a memory filled with blood. Kang-Woo put his hand over her trembling hand.


    ¡°You can beat your fears. You can kill and ovee them. You¡¯ve proven that yourself.¡±


    Hearing Kang-Woo¡¯s clear voice calmed Iris down for some reason. Her hands stopped trembling.


    She smiled. ¡°Thank you very much, Sir Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Right then, I¡¯ll call my party members.¡±


    It would be better for everyone to hear Elune¡¯s words than just himself. Kang-Woo stood up.


    ¡°S-Sir Kang-Woo!¡± Iris quickly grabbed his clothes.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°I... ummm... S-Seol-Ah is a bit...¡±


    Iris trembled in fear once again; she looked even more terrified than when Elune said that she would manifest by borrowing Iris¡¯s body.


    <i>¡®What? What¡¯s so wrong about my darling? She¡¯s kinder and more gentle than anyone.¡¯</i>


    There were indeed times when she lost control, but that was only because she did not have full control over her angelic instincts. She was usually very kind to everyone.


    <i>¡®Yup, yup. My darling is the literal epitome of an angel!¡¯</i>


    That was not an understatement since her body was now closer to that of an angel.


    Kang-Woo sternly said, ¡°Iris. I know what my darling did to you, but I think your attitude is a bit much.¡±


    ¡°S-Sir Kang-Woo...¡±


    ¡°People would think my darling is a monster or something if they didn¡¯t know any better.¡±


    ¡°I apologize.¡± Iris lowered her head in dejection.


    ¡°Listen carefully, Iris. My darling is more beautiful, kinder, and more gentle than anyone el¡ª¡±


    <i>ck. </i>Han Seol-Ah entered the room.


    ¡°Oh, Kang-Woo. I see you were with Iris.¡±


    <i>Rip! Smash!</i>


    Kang-Woo tore his clothes that Iris was gripping without hesitation and rolled backward to widen the distance from her. He rolled back so quickly that a chair and desk in his path split in two.


    ¡°Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°Hi, darling.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled brightly and embraced Seol-Ah. He kissed her cheek and turned his head toward Iris.


    ¡°Anyway, do you see it now? There¡¯s no reason at all for you to be scared of or avoid darling. Understood.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s hands around Seol-Ah¡¯s waist were trembling. Seeing that, Iris nodded reluctantly.


    ¡°I understand,¡± she answered lifelessly.


    1. Koreans tend to change the first word of <i>Amen </i>(??) to a word that represents someone and chant that to praise them like gods. ?

 Chapter 427 - World Tree’s Prophecy

    <h4>Chapter 427 - World Tree¡¯s Prophecy</h4>


    The party members stared anxiously at the white light flowing out from Iris.


    [Savior.]


    Soon after, Iris¡¯s consciousness faded and Elune took its ce. Elune slowly turned to Kang-Woo, her expression filled with trust and expectation.


    ¡°How is the World tree?¡± Kang-Woo asked cautiously.


    The World Tree was the only way for them to find the Demon God¡¯s heart. Their n would be irreparable if the Word Tree were not revived.


    [It has yet to regain its full strength, but it is getting better,] Elune answered with a faint smile.


    The party members expressed relief.


    ¡°In that case...¡±


    [Yes.] Elune nodded. [I can locate the Demon God¡¯s heart.]


    ¡°Phew,¡± Cha Yeon-Joo sighed in relief.


    ¡°What a relief,¡± La remarked as she looked at Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo asked in a low tone, ¡°Where is the Demon God¡¯s heart?¡±


    [Please give me a moment.]


    Elune closed her eyes and brought her hands together. Bright green light particles floated around her; an inexplicably warm andfortable energy filled the room.


    [O great Titan Yggdrasil,] Elune prayed, her voice echoing. The green light filling the room shone even more brightly as she prayed. [Light up the path of the Savior.]


    <i>Whoooom¡ª!</i>


    The light particles around Elune swirled aggressively. Kang-Woo squinted due to the blinding light. Just then...


    [Ah.] Elune¡¯s eyes widened and she trembled in pallor. [A-Aaaahh.]


    <i>¡®What with her all of a sudden?¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo frowned as he stared at the pale-faced Elune. <i>¡®Is it because of me again?¡¯</i>


    Elune looked exactly like when she had foreseen Kang-Woo and Kim Si-Hun¡¯s futures. Kang-Woo frowned, thinking that it was because of him again.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± he asked.


    [P-prophecy...]


    ¡°Prophecy?¡±


    [I have received... a new prophecy,] Elune stammered as she looked up nkly at thin air.


    ¡°What prophecy?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Silence fell. The light disappeared from Elune¡¯s eyes like a machine that lost power. She then began to speak, [The ck sun will burn the sky, and the Triad will meet its end on the day that the Demonic Sea floods.]


    Kang-Woo sighed as if he had expected it after hearing Elune¡¯s prophecy.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s fucking me again.¡¯</i>


    He had no idea what the ck sun was, but he was sure that the flooding of the Demonic Sea was referring to himself. He bit his lip as if he was tired of it now.


    <i>¡®What the fuck? I don¡¯t give a flying fuck about ending worlds. Just leave me the fuck alone. Why is everyone trying so hard to kill me?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo grabbed the back of his head but the rage-induced headache onlysted for a moment. He took a deep breath and calmed down.


    <i>¡®I doubt it¡¯s a baseless prophecy.¡¯</i>


    If that was the case, Elune would not be so panicked. There were likely differences in terms of specific details, but it would most likely ur in the future.


    <i>¡®What is gonna happen?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had no clue. The prophecy was so vague that he did not even know the general time frame of the foretold event. Hecked far too much information to guess what the prophecy was warning them about.


    ¡°What the hell does that even mean?¡± Yeon-Joo asked as she tilted her head in confusion.


    [I am not sure either.] Elune shook her head with a hardened expression. [But... I am sure that the Triad will be in grave danger soon.]


    Deathly silence fell.


    Si-Hun lowered his head with a darkened expression and said, ¡°Even after all that we¡¯ve done... Nothing has changed?¡±


    They had killed one of the Four Heavenly Kings and revived the World Tree, but the future did not change at all.


    ¡°We already expected this, didn¡¯t we?¡± Kang-Wooughed brightly to uplift the somber mood.


    He could not tell exactly what the prophecy was trying to say, but he did not need to worry as long as the prophecy was directed at him.


    <i>¡®Why the hell would I end the world?¡¯</i>


    There were so many things that he had not been able to do yet. He would be crazy to end the world when he was trying to enjoy his life after suffering in Hell for ten millennia.


    <i>¡®Moreover...¡¯</i>


    This was not the time to focus on a pointless prophecy.


    ¡°Where is the Demon God¡¯s heart located?¡± he asked.


    [Oh, I-I apologize. I forgot the most important part,] Elune continued with a reddened face, [The Demon God¡¯s heart is...]


    She closed her eyes and light particles poured out from her again. She slowly opened her eyes and looked in a certain direction.


    [May I borrow a map?]


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Kang-Woo took out a map as if having expected this situation. Elune pointed at a certain area on the map.


    ¡°Huh? This ce...¡± Yeon-Joo¡¯s eyes widened after seeing the area that Elune pointed at on the map.


    Kang-Woo barely managed to hold in his curses as he stared at where Elune pointed.


    ¡°Where we first arrived in Aernor...¡± Yeon-Joo feignedughter.


    Elune was pointing at the Nightmare Forest, the forbidden region where Kang-Woo and his party members ended up when they crossed from Earth to Aernor.


    ¡°So we¡¯ve been pointless going around the world this entire time?¡± Yeon-Joo remarked as if having a hard time suppressing her frustration.


    Kang-Woo sighed deeply. Their objective had been right under their noses this entire time. It felt as if he had been hit hard on the back of his head.


    ¡°Well, we weren¡¯t able to find it in the first ce,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    Kang-Woo did not ck off on searching just because that had been where they had firstnded; rather, he had searched every nook and cranny of the Nightmare Forest, more thoroughly than anywhere else, with the Authority of the Beholder. If he had not been able to detect the Demon God¡¯s heart despite that, it meant that...


    ¡®Either it¡¯s hidden so thoroughly that not even an Authority can detect it, or...¡¯


    The Demon God¡¯s heart could have been moved to that location after they had left.


    ¡°In any case, now that we¡¯ve found where it is, there¡¯s no need to dilly-dally.¡±


    Kang-Woo stood up. Their ultimate objective foring to Aernor was finally in view; there was no reason or need to hesitate.


    ¡°Yes, hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re ready to depart at any time.¡±


    Si-Hun and La also stood up. Kang-Woo nodded.


    [May the light be with you, savior.] Elune brought her hands together and bowed. [<i>Cough!</i>]


    She then coughed up blood all of a sudden.


    ¡°L-Lady Elune?!¡± La quickly ran up to her in surprise.


    Elune smiled faintly as if saying not to worry. [I¡¯m... alright. <i>Cough!</i>]


    Unlike what she was saying, the green light was flowing out from her body and dissipating in the air.


    <i>¡®She¡¯s...¡¯</i> Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. <i>¡®Being restricted.¡¯</i>


    Those born with Deific Essence were restricted as per the <i>Law of Titans</i> when they used their power in the physical world. Based on Elune¡¯s condition, she seemed to have risked the annihtion of her Deific Essence to find the Demon God¡¯s heart.


    [Please... Please save... this world.]


    The light flowing out of her grew fainter. Elune reached her hand toward Kang-Woo, which he grabbed and smiled.


    ¡°I swear it in my Deific Essence of Splendor. I will save this world from demise... no matter what.¡±


    [Ah...]


    Elune¡¯s eyes shook. She lowered her head as tears flowed down her cheeks. The green lightpletely disappeared soon after.


    ¡°Sir... Kang-Woo.¡±


    Iris, who had regained her consciousness, staggered toward Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Get some rest,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    ¡°You¡¯lle back... right?¡±


    Kang-Woo did not answer and lightly patted her head. Iris passed out.


    ¡°Hup.¡± He lifted her andid her on the bed. He then turned to his party members. ¡°Right then, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ***


    ¡°It feels like a while since we¡¯ve been here,¡± Kang-Woo remarked as he looked around after arriving in the Nightmare Forest.


    It had not even been half a year since they came to Aernor, but it felt like it had been far longer than that.


    ¡°A lot has happened since then, after all,¡± Si-Hun responded as he nodded.


    ¡°Well, then.¡± Kang-Woo floated into the air using an Authority tomence the investigation. ¡°... Hm?¡±


    Just then, he felt something strange. He frowned and looked around the Nightmare Forest.


    ¡°What is wrong, my king?¡± Balrog asked.


    ¡°Something¡¯s off.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You know, you and Si-Hun pretty much destroyed half the forest back then.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Balrog coughed, having recalled his embarrassing actions. ¡°I remember, but... what about it?¡±


    ¡°There are no traces of it.¡±


    Kang-Woo came back down and ced his hand on the ground. He searched the area using the Authority of the Beholder, but he could not sense any traces of the forest being destroyed.


    ¡°That is strange indeed. There is no way traces of that idiot¡¯s rampage would disappear in just a few months,¡± Lilith remarked as she walked over.


    ¡°Could it be because of those Maokai? You know, those moving tree monsters,¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    Kang-Woo shook his head. ¡°No. Even if that¡¯s the case, seeing no traces of the destruction whatsoever is abnormal.¡±


    The moment they arrived at the Nightmare Forest, Kang-Woo felt a sense of incongruence that he had not felt when the party had arrived on Aernor for the first time. The entire area felt hot and stuffy like the summer air after rain.


    <i>¡®It feels like... we¡¯ve arrived in another world.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Umm... Kang-Woo,¡± Han Seol-Ah called.


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Come take a look at this.¡±


    She extended her hand toward Kang-Woo, showing him what was in her hands. Kang-Woo¡¯s face hardened.


    ¡°This is...¡±


    ¡°You mentioned it before, didn¡¯t you? That there was sand like this where you came from... in Hell.¡±


    Seol-Ah had red sand, dirt containing demonic energy that could not sustain any life whatsoever, in her hands. Such dirt could only be found in the Nine Hells.


    ¡°Where did you find this?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Over there... in that tree.¡± Seol-Ah pointed at a tree with its bark stripped off.


    Kang-Woo walked up to the tree and touched it.


    <i>Pour.</i>


    ¡°What the...¡±


    The entire tree turned into red sand and copsed.


    <i>¡®Wait, could this be...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s expression hardened as the worst-case scenario popped up in his head. Kang-Woo lightly swung his arm at the trees around him and shot light particles about the size of a fingertip. And then...


    ¡°Fuck...¡±


    The trees burst as soon as the light particle struck them and scattered on the ground as red sand.


    ¡°The hell? Why did the trees be sand all of a sudden?¡± Yeon-Joo tilted her head in confusion.


    Kang-Woo bit his lip and answered, ¡°They didn¡¯t be sand.¡±


    ¡°Then what?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    Kang-Woo bent down, stuck his hand into the ground, and dug out about a fistful of dirt.


    ¡°This entire forest... has been corroded by the Nine Hells.¡±


    Under the dirt was sand as red as blood.


    ***


    A being was blown away past the trees in a deste forest where no life could be felt.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    He was smashed into the ground, creating a massive dust cloud made up of red sand.


    ¡°Kurgh, <i>cough!</i>¡±


    The being that pathetically tumbled across the ground grunted in pain as he clenched the ground.


    <i>Step, step.</i>


    A boy with nk eyes walked toward the being.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Lucifer?¡± The boy with nk eyes exuded chilling bloodlust as the corners of his mouth split open. ¡°I thought you¡¯d give me a warm wee.¡±


    The boy giggled as he looked down at the copsed Lucifer.

 Chapter 428 - You Cannot Handle That Monster

    <h4>Chapter 428 - You Cannot Handle That Monster</h4>


    ¡°Bael...¡± The copsed Lucifer looked up at the boy with shaking eyes.


    The boy known as Bael hummed as he smiled widely. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re still here. I thought you would¡¯ve run away a long time ago.¡±


    Lucifer remained silent.


    He had thought about running away, but...


    ¡°I...¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I know. You have to get your son back, right? That¡¯s why you¡¯re not moving from where the <i>heart </i>is.¡± The boy nodded as if he understoodpletely. ¡°Hihi, you should¡¯ve educated your son better. You sure are having a hard time because of a moronic son like that.¡±


    ¡°Shut... up.¡±


    Lucifer red at Bael as he bit his lip and gripped what remained of his arm that Bael ripped off with his<i> mouth</i>. ck blood was pouring out of the arm.


    ¡°Bael... What are you trying to do?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Bael tilted his head innocently. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you know what this ce is!¡±


    ¡°Hihi, of course I do. Why would I not when I went out of my way to corrupt the World Tree to find this ce?¡±


    ¡°Then...!¡±


    ¡°You see...¡± Bael hummed and continued, ¡°I¡¯m just trying to take back what¡¯s mine.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Lucifer¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Take back... what¡¯s yours?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. This is...¡± Bael slowly pointed at the forest being consumed by the red sand. ¡°All mine.¡±


    Silence fell.


    Lucifer stared at Bael as if he couldn¡¯t understand.


    <i>¡®What... is he talking about?¡¯</i>


    If what Bael was talking about was what Lucifer was thinking of, then...


    <i>¡®No, that¡¯s impossible.¡¯</i>


    Lucifer shook his head, trying to shoo away his horrifying thought.


    ¡°Man~ That aside, it sure has been a while, hasn¡¯t it?¡±


    Bael smiled as he stretched. Anyone else would be stupefied if they saw Bael¡¯s pure and innocent smile, but Bael was simply smiling from a demon¡¯s perspective.


    ¡°The war... Yeah, I¡¯ve barely seen you since th¡ª¡±


    ¡°Bael,¡± Lucifer interjected. ¡°I will ask you again. Why... have youe to see me? What are you trying to do?¡±


    ¡°Hm? I just told you, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°That absurd nonsense does not count as an answer!¡± Lucifer shouted fiercely.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Bael clicked his tongue in disappointment and slowly raised his hand. A suffocatingly colossal amount of demonic energy flowed out from him. ¡°Too bad. I wanted to chat a little more.¡±


    ¡°You...¡±


    Lucifer¡¯s expression hardened; he could easily tell what Bael was about to do.


    ¡°Kuh!¡±


    Lucifer quickly got up and extended his remaining hand at Bael, shooting ck lightning at him.


    ¡°Heh.¡± Bael smiled and swallowed his saliva.


    <i>Crackle¡ª!!</i>


    Bael lightly waved his hand. ck sparks flew around him and easily deflected Lucifer¡¯s attack.


    ¡°You¡¯ve changed quite a lot from before,¡± Bael remarked as he smiled widely.


    He lightly charged forward, disappearing as if he had assimted with nature.


    <i>Grip!</i>


    ¡°<i>Gasp.</i>¡±


    Bael appeared in front of Lucifer and grabbed his head before Lucifer had even realized it.


    ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s because of your Deific Essence? You look more... yes, far more...¡± Bael¡¯s mouth widened like a snake preparing to swallow its prey. He continued, ¡°Delicious.¡±


    <i>Crunch!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    Lucifer quickly jumped back, Bael¡¯s mouth just barely grazing his shoulder. The protection made from his Top-rank Deific Essence was made obsolete, and arge lump of flesh was torn off.


    ¡°Baaaaaaaaael!¡± Lucifer shouted as he stomped his feet.


    He spread his ck wings that looked like those of a fallen angel; unlike before, he now possessed twelve wings, ck lightning crackling between them.


    ¡°Hihi.¡± Bael giggled as he stared at the storm of lightning. He hummed and spread out his arms. ¡°Like I had thought, you¡¯ve be more delicious.¡±


    Bael¡¯s body split from head to groin and countless teeth sprouted from in between. The ck lightning vanished before it could even reach Bael.


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i> Lucifer shook his head in pallor. It had not vanished. <i>¡®It was... eaten.¡¯</i>


    Lucifer¡¯s mind fell into chaos. The question of <i>how </i>echoed within his head over and over again.


    <i>¡®Where did he get such power?¡¯</i>


    Lucifer stared at Bael in astonishment. Bael had always been powerful. No, that was not the right word to describe him.


    <i>¡®He was special.¡¯</i>


    Bael was apletely different being from normal demons. Demons were born with power; some demons were destined to be princes of Hell, others were destined to be archdemons, and so on. There were some minute differences as they grew, but none of them were able to escape from the destiny given to them.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Bael was different. To be more exact, <i>those two</i> were different. Both Bael and the Demon King started from the First Hell and managed to reach the Ninth Hell, a feat that no demon had managed to pull off.


    <i>¡®Though it can¡¯t be called a miracle anymore.¡¯</i>


    The thought that demons could not grow beyond the power they were born with was now outdated; even Lucifer had far surpassed his past self. It was thanks to Deific Essence, which allowed demons to ovee their innate limits.


    <i>¡®But even so...¡¯</i>


    Lucifer bit his lip. Even though Bael had acquired Deific Essence like himself, this much of a gap in their strength was unreal.


    ¡°How did you... be so powerful?¡± Lucifer asked.


    ¡°Hm?¡± Bael smiled and boasted like a child giving away the answer for a riddle, ¡°Because I managed to get my hands on one of the three, obviously.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Lucifer remained silent. He was easily able to figure out what Bael was referring to.


    ¡°You...¡± Lucifer stared at Bael iprehensibly. ¡°... Ate a Demonic Origin.¡±


    The Demonic Origin was a portion of the Demon God¡¯s corpse, which had been split into three after he had fallen at the hands of the gods.


    ¡°Hihihi! They belonged to me from the very beginning!¡±


    Bael burst intoughter as he grabbed his stomach. Seeing that, Lucifer finally realized why Bael hade to see him and what he was trying to do.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Lucifer feignedughter. ¡°Are you perhaps... trying to devour the Demon King?¡±


    ¡°Huh? How did you know?¡± Bael stared at Lucifer wide-eyed as if he was genuinely surprised.


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Lucifer lowered his head and burst intoughter. ¡°Bwahahahahaha!! You¡¯re going to devour the Demon King? That monster?¡± He looked at Bael as if mocking him and remarked firmly, ¡°Have you forgotten, Bael? About who he is and what happened to us in the war against him? About how logic-defying that monster born from the Demonic Sea is? You say you¡¯ll devour the Demon King? Don¡¯t make meugh, Bael. That monster... is not someone you can handle. No, none of us can. He is... a living apocalypse.¡±


    The expression of the giggling Bael suddenly hardened. ¡°I... can¡¯t handle him, you say?¡±


    The pure and innocent face of the boy crumpled. Bael grabbed Lucifer by the cor.


    ¡°Me? Me?! ME?!!¡± Bael yelled madly as he tightened his grip on Lucifer¡¯s cor. ¡°I... can¡¯t... handle him, you say?!¡±


    ¡°Kurgh! Urgh...¡± Lucifer grunted as immense power weighed down on him.


    ¡°Say that again, Lucifer. Try saying that again. Huh?¡± Bael asked as he brought his torn mouth closer to Lucifer.


    Lucifer adjusted his neck position to breathe and said firmly without hesitation, ¡°Yeah. You... can¡¯t handle the Demon King.¡±


    Bael¡¯s expression hardened even more as Lucifer was still being firm even in this situation. He then tilted his head as if could not understand.


    ¡°Why? I¡¯ve be far stronger than before.¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°Man, I sure was fooled by him at the time. How could I not have when he begged me to ept him as my underling as he crawled around and even licked my feet?¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°He caught me off guard that time, but it¡¯s different now. It¡¯s my turn this time, okay? Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°So what?¡± Lucifer chuckled nonsensically and asked in genuine iprehension, ¡°What does any of that matter?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You know just as well as me, don¡¯t you, Bael? Did you not see him with your own eyes in your final battle against him? You cannot kill that monster. There is no way that you can. As long as he possesses the Demonic Sea... He will not die, no matter what you do to him.¡±


    ¡°In that case¡ª¡±


    ¡°In that case, what? That monster has survived even after being torn apart by the dimensional wall. He hase back alive after being driven to death thousands of times!¡± Lucifer trembled as if he did not even want to imagine it and bit his lip. ¡°You... cannot handle that monster.¡±


    Emotion vanished from Bael¡¯s face. ¡°Heh.¡±


    Bael smiled once again and his eyes filled with madness returned to their nk state.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see... if I really can¡¯t handle him.¡±


    Bael giggled as if something had broken inside him. Hearing thatugh sent shivers down Lucifer¡¯s spine.


    <i>¡®This is bad.¡¯</i>


    Bael was not normal at the moment. It was not hard to tell what would happen to Lucifer if he stayed captured by Bael.


    <i>¡®I have to run.¡¯</i>


    Lucifer¡¯s eyes shone as he bit his lip. He could not afford to die here.


    <i>¡®Lucis...¡¯</i>


    Lucifer closed his eyes and spread his twelve wings at once.


    <i>Crackle¡ª!!</i>


    An immense lightning storm raged.


    <i>¡®As long as I can get away from this crazy bastard¡¯s grasp...¡¯</i>


    There was no other being that was of any threat to him. He was sure that he would be able to find his son, who had fallen to Lilith¡¯s temptations, one day.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Bael expressed confusion as he came to his senses after thinking deeply about something. ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    He frowned and grabbed one of Lucifer¡¯s wings.


    <i>¡®Now!¡¯</i>


    Lucifer closed his eyes and twisted his body. The wing that Bael had grabbed was ripped off entirely.


    ¡°Gaaaaaaaahhh!¡±


    Immense pain stormed within him, but he could not afford to waste the opportunity he had barely managed to acquire.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Lucifer quickly leaped forward and pped his wings to fly forward without even getting a chance to get a hold of himself. Then...


    <i>m!</i>


    ¡°The hell?¡±


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo! Are you alright?!¡±


    Lucifer bumped into someone as he was flying straight forward.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡± Lucifer was blown backward.


    <i>¡®What was that?¡¯</i>


    Whether it be trees, rocks, or monsters, there was no way that anything would be able to stop his full-power charge.


    <i>¡®Who the hell...¡¯</i>


    Lucifer looked up as he grimaced.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡± Unending despair entered his eyes. ¡°N-No...¡± He stepped back as he trembled and screamed desperately, ¡°NOOOOOOOO!!!¡±


    ¡°Lucifer?¡±


    The Demon King was right in front of him.

 Chapter 429 - You Think Your Life Is The Only Drama?

    <h4>Chapter 429 - You Think Your Life Is The Only Drama?</h4>


    ¡°Lucifer?¡±


    Oh Kang-Woo looked down at the being who had flown out of the bushes and mmed into him.


    <i>¡®The hell? Why did he appear out of there?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was left dumbfounded by Lucifer¡¯s sudden appearance.


    <i>¡®Fucking hell.¡¯</i> A chill ran down Kang-Woo¡¯s spine, but not because he feared Lucifer. <i>¡®Why did he have to appear now of all times?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo bit his lip. It would have been no problem if Kang-Woo were alone or with Lilith and Balrog. However...


    <i>¡®What should I do?¡¯</i>


    He was with Kim Si-Hun, La, and many others who didn¡¯t know his true identity; not even his lover knew the whole truth about him. They also did not know the fact that Kang-Woo had been the one to create the persona of Lucifer, Lord of the Flies.


    <i>¡®Fuck, fuck, fuck. This happened with Moab too. Why are there so many people fucking me over these days? Things haven¡¯t been going my way at all. What did I do to deserve all of this shit? Huh? No one lives for a more pure and innocent purpose than me, so why do I have to go through all this?¡¯</i>


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [The Law of Titans judges that it is a reasonable price that yer Oh Kang-Woo must pay for the countless evil acts he hasm¡ª]


    ¡°The fuck you say?¡±


    <i>¡®Do you wanna be bent into a question mark?¡¯</i>


    [yer Oh Kang-Woo has acquired the buff ¡®Just My Luck¡¯ as a reward for his atrociously bad luck.]


    <i>¡®Why does it sound like a debuff?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shooed away the blue windows popping up in front of him and frowned. The System had said some nonsense about Kang-Woo paying for the evil acts he hadmitted, but...


    <i>¡®Well, I can¡¯t deny that I¡¯d sown the seeds.¡¯</i>


    He had gone down a path that he could never return from several times regardless of whether he had intended to or not.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned his head to look at Si-Hun and La.


    ¡°Lucifer...!¡±


    ¡°Be careful, everyone!¡±


    Si-Hun was fiercely emitting energy with his sword unsheathed and La was borrowing power from Gaia by praying to her. Every party member was filled with anxiety, but only for a moment; curiosity took its ce soon after. It was only natural since Lucifer was stricken with fear as he stared at Kang-Woo as if he were prey in front of a predator.


    ¡°Wh-why are you here...?¡± Lucifer asked as he trembled.


    ¡°Is that really Lucifer?¡±


    ¡°He gives off a different vibe from before.¡±


    The party members stared at Lucifer in astonishment. Lucifer was the demon who had infiltrated the imperial castle, massacred the nobles, and turned the capital into a sea of fire. He had also ughtered countless angels in Sant¡¯Angelo and had even acquired the infamous title of <i>Lord of the Flies</i>, but the way he was acting at the moment shamed his reputation.


    <i>¡®Dammit.¡¯</i> Kang-Woo bit his lip. <i>¡®This isn¡¯t good.¡¯</i>


    There was a limit to how much Kang-Woo could ad-lib on the spot. He did not have to worry much since his party members trusted him unconditionally, but there was also a good chance that he would be put in a position that he couldn¡¯t talk his way out of like when Si-Hun had regained his memories.


    <i>¡®What should I do?¡¯</i>


    As Kang-Woo¡¯s thoughts were in jumbles...


    ¡°Sh-shit!¡±


    Lucifer quickly turned around and ran away. Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone.


    <i>¡®Is the buff actually working?¡¯</i>


    There was nothing better for Kang-Woo if Lucifer were to run away first. Kang-Woo did not go out of his way to stop Lucifer, who flew out of the party members¡¯ field of view in a sh.


    ¡°H-hyung-nim!¡± Si-Hun quickly shouted.


    ¡°Kang-Woo nodded and replied, ¡°Let¡¯s split up and find him.¡±


    He then turned his head to look at Lilith.


    <i>- Lilith.</i>


    <i>- Yes, my king.</i>


    <i>- Subtly create a disturbance to slow down their pursuit.</i>


    Of course, Kang-Woo had no intention of letting Lucifer run away; he was just trying to face Lucifer by himself and to do that, he needed to prevent his party members from catching up to him.


    <i>- As youmand.</i>


    Lilith modestly bowed.


    Kang-Woo turned to Si-Hun and said, ¡°Si-Hun, you go this way, and I¡¯ll search over there. Lilith specializes in pursuits like this, so do exactly as she says.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡¯ Si-Hun nodded.


    Kang-Woo turned back from Si-Hun and ran in the direction where Lucifer ran off. He had run away far past Kang-Woo¡¯s field of view, but it didn¡¯t matter since Kang-Woo was better than anyone at chasing people just from the traces of demonic energy.


    <i>¡®Not just that...¡¯</i>


    He had no idea why, but Lucifer was severely injured. There was no way that he would be able to go far with those injuries.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Kang-Woo flew across the giant forest using the Authority of the Sky. It did not take long until he could see Lucifer running away as blood dripped from where his wing was torn off. Kang-Woo flew down like a hawk hunting its prey and smashed the heel of his foot down on Lucifer.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡± Lucifer tumbled across the ground.


    Kang-Woo walked up to him and remarked leisurely, ¡°It¡¯s been a while. How¡¯ve you been?¡±


    Since there was no one around, there was no need for him to put on an act.


    ¡°D-Demon King.¡± Lucifer looked up in pallor at Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    <i>¡®I haven¡¯t felt like this in a while.¡¯</i>


    Thest enemy who remembered Kang-Woo¡¯s past days in Hell was Satan.


    ¡°You¡¯ve kept yourself hidden for quite a while now, but it looks like you¡¯ve gotten your ass beat.¡±


    Kang-Woo looked down leisurely at Lucifer. His left arm was torn off as if it had been eaten by something and one of his ck wings that looked like those of a fallen angel had been torn off.


    <i>¡®I heard he acquired Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    Not only that, but if a wing had not been ripped off, Lucifer would have twelve wings. Considering Lucifer only had eight back when he ruled as one of the princes of Hell, it meant that he had gained immense power after acquiring Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®So who could¡¯ve put him in this state?¡¯</i>


    Although it varied, demons on average possessed extraordinary vitality, and it needed not even be mentioned for Lucifer, a prince of Hell who had risen to be a god. If Lucifer¡¯s injuries were not regenerating, it meant that the being who had injured him was far more powerful than him.


    ¡°Kurgh.¡± Lucifer lowered his head as he bit his lip.


    Such tant mockery only brought humiliation to Lucifer as the Prince of Pride, but...


    ¡°S-spare me,¡± Lucifer stuttered.


    He brought his head down on the ground. His extreme fear of the Demon King devoured any sense of humiliation he was feeling.


    <i>¡®I have to live... whatever it takes. I can¡¯t afford to die.¡¯</i>


    Lucifer shut his eyes tightly and recalled a silver-haired woman smiling nkly as if something had broken within her.


    <i>¡®Helen.¡¯ </i>Lucifer bit his lip and clenched his fists. <i>¡®I swear to you... I wille back with Lucis.¡¯</i>


    He needed to survive even if his title of <i>Pride </i>were to be thrown into the gutter.


    ¡°Wow. You¡¯ve seriously changed a lot, Lucifer.¡±


    Kang-Woo looked down at Lucifer in surprise. The Lucifer that he knew was not able to endure mockery; he truly befitted the title of the Prince of Pride.


    <i>¡®To be fair, he wouldn¡¯t be so prideful in front of me considering everything he went through because of me.¡¯</i>


    Lucifer had survived until the final moments of the thousand-year war and witnessed Kang-Woo¡¯s battle against Bael. His attitude was understandable if he was aware of the battle.


    <i>¡®Though it looks like he also has other reasons.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked down at Lucifer, who had his head on the ground, with great interest.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Lucifer? Hm? Why don¡¯t you fight me again as you say shit like how I¡¯m just a mere human?¡± Kang-Woo asked as he chuckled.


    Lucifer shut his eyes tightly. He was boiling with rage, but he suppressed it with all his might. ¡°If you are talking about back then... I-I apologize.¡±


    Lucifer recalled the final battle that decided the one true ruler of the Nine Hells between Bael, the Prince of Gluttony, and the Demon King. And in that battle, the Demon King...


    Chills ran throughout Lucifer¡¯s body. He just barely managed to quell his trembles.


    <i>¡®He¡¯s a monster.¡¯</i>


    Lucifer looked up at Kang-Woo with shaking eyes. The sight of the ck sea that flooded the red earth, devouring countless demons with its monstrous teeth was engraved in his mind.


    <i>¡®I mustn¡¯t fight him.¡¯</i>


    Lucifer could not afford to die.


    ¡°Dayum, are you sure you¡¯re Lucifer? However scared you are, you were never one to grovel like this.¡±


    Kang-Woo had honestly not expected Lucifer to beg for his life. Lucifer had acquired Deific Essence; Kang-Woo wasn¡¯t sure how, but the amount of Divinity he could feel from Lucifer was on par with that of Tai Wuji. He likely was not highly restricted by the System since it was not something he was born with.


    <i>¡®Even despite that, he¡¯s acting this way?¡¯</i>


    It was logically hard to understand.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Kang-Woo crossed his arms and fell into thought.


    There were two possible reasons why he was acting like this. He could have either been so traumatized by Kang-Woo¡¯s past self or...


    ¡°You have a reason that you can¡¯t afford to die,¡± Kang-Woo muttered.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Haha, your face gives it all away.¡± Kang-Woo snickered. It was not difficult to figure out what the reason was. ¡°You sure love your son, huh? Why didn¡¯t you educate him better if you love him so much?¡±


    ¡°Kuh...¡± Lucifer bit his lip anxiously. He suppressed his boiling rage and bowed his head again. ¡°I beg of you, Demon King. Please... Please let me see Lucis.¡±


    ¡°Pfft, bwahahahaha!!¡±


    Kang-Woo burst intoughter as he grabbed his stomach. He couldn¡¯t help it; how funny was it that the Prince of Pride¡¯s head was full of love for his son?


    Kang-Woo looked down at Lucifer and said with a smile, ¡°Enough with the shitshow.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°What? Is your Deific Name the God of Emotion or something? You¡¯re so fucking emotional.¡± Kang-Woo slowly raised his foot and mmed it down on Lucifer¡¯s head. ¡°You think only your son is precious?¡±


    Lucifer was known as the Evil God before Kang-Woo arrived on Aernor.


    ¡°You think your life is the only drama?¡±


    Lucifer had likely killed countless people during his quest to earn Deific Essence, and those people likely had a reason that they couldn¡¯t afford to die as well.


    Kang-Woo spit on the ground.


    ¡°Enough bullshit and get the hell up.¡±


    <i>¡®How dare you try to pull a pity show?¡¯</i>

 Chapter 430 - Be The Protagonist If You Have A Problem With That

    <h4>Chapter 430 - Be The Protagonist If You Have A Problem With That</h4>


    ¡°Demon King...¡± Lucifer bit his lip desperately as he clenched his fists. ¡°If you return Lucis to me... I will be your retainer. I will do anything you say without question.¡±


    Lucifer lowered his head. Although he had acquired Deific Essence, he was once the Prince of Pride; he never bent to anyone because he was more prideful than anyone. Even while the other princes of Hell avoided Bael, Lucifer trespassed on Baels¡¯ territory without reluctance. Such a person had beenpletely broken.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. The Lucifer that he knew was not this kind of person.


    <i>¡®Lucis, huh?¡¯</i>


    Lucis was currently put to sleep with his consciousness sealed within Vernaak¡¯sboratory that Kang-Woo had made for him in the imperial pce. It was to be able to use him as bait whenever Kang-Woo wanted if he ever faced Lucifer.


    <i>¡®I never thought it¡¯d work this well.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had expected the bait only to cause hesitation in Lucifer¡¯s actions a few times, but his expectations were pleasantly exceeded. The Prince of Pride whom Kang-Woo knew no longer existed.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo sighed deeply and looked up.


    <i>¡®He¡¯ll be my retainer if I give him Lucis?¡¯</i>


    It was a tempting offer. Lucis was pretty much losing his value as bait after being neglected all this time; there was no better trade if Kang-Woo could use him to gain Lucifer as his retainer. However...


    ¡°Wow, this brings back old times, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled widely as the memories of his suffering and struggling self that he wanted to forget arose.


    ¡°What do you...¡±


    ¡°You know, the time when you brainwashed my subordinates andmanded them tomit mass suicide bombing.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Man, I was so desperate back then. I remember begging you to stop. Do you remember?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...¡±


    Kang-Woo grabbed the shaking Lucifer¡¯s head and smiled. It was easy to give Lucis to Lucifer; in terms of efficiency, it would be far more useful to have Lucifer as a retainer than killing him.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and recalled his days in Hell. He had not gone through the thousand-year war without a single loss like some overpowered shounen protagonist. If that had been the case, he would not have been stuck in Hell for ten millennia. He had lost and despaired countless times. He had ultimately ended uping out victorious, but he had lost far too much in the process.


    ¡°It seems like you remember now. Well, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand. After all, the perpetrator tends to remember less than the victim.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled widely. Just remembering his preciousrades, who had sworn their undying allegiance to him, charging at him with bombs in their embrace brought about unpleasant emotions.


    ¡°Well, I guess what I¡¯m doing could be considered a pity show too, but so what? Be the protagonist if you have a problem with that.¡±


    Stuff like this was usually exclusive to the protagonist.


    <i>¡®Oh, but am I the protagonist? Wouldn¡¯t it be Si-Hun? Well, whatever.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo brought Lucifer¡¯s head closer to his.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t stop back then.¡± Kang-Woo smiled and continued, ¡°And the same goes for me.¡±


    He gripped Lucifer¡¯s head like a hydraulic press with his immense strength.


    ¡°Kurgh! Urgh!¡± Lucifer trembled with his eyes wide open and his mouth agape.


    ¡°I won¡¯t stop either.¡±


    Lucifer felt as if his head would explode. He pped his eleven wings to summon ck lightning.


    <i>Crackle¡ª!</i>


    Lucifer was blown backward as ck lightning sparked around him.


    ¡°Shit...!¡±


    Lucifer turned around. He could tell that conciliation with the Demon King through words was impossible.


    <i>¡®In that case...¡¯</i>


    ¡°You¡¯re thinking of running again?¡± Kang-Woo asked as he smiled and snapped his fingers.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    Gold and ck mes surrounded the area. They zed fiercely and aimed for Lucifer.


    <i>Sizzle¡ª!</i>


    ¡°Gaaaaaahhh!¡± Lucifer twisted and turned as he screamed.


    The mes of Voracity tore his Deific Essence apart and burned him.


    <i>¡®He¡¯s this powerful even without opening the Doors...?!¡¯</i>


    Lucifer looked at Kang-Woo in pallor. The Demon King had be an icon of fear because of the Demonic Sea that he possessed, and his true form was revealed once he opened the Doors of that Demonic Sea. However...


    ¡°Tsk, you can¡¯t even bepared to Tai Wuji.¡±


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!</i>


    ¡°Kurghhh!¡±


    Lucifer could not put up any sort of resistance against the zing mes surrounding him. Kang-Woo clicked his tongue in disappointment. Lucifer¡¯s Deific Essence was on par with that of Tai Wuji, but Lucifer¡¯sbat prowess was highly unremarkable inparison.


    <i>¡®I mean, I guess it¡¯s obvious since the reason why I had a hard time against Tai Wuji wasn¡¯t because of his Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    Tai Wuji had been so powerful because he had reached a realm that Kang-Woo had no idea about.


    <i>¡®Besides, I couldn¡¯t use the mes of Voracity back then.¡¯</i>


    Considering that, Kang-Woo realized how much he had gained from his battle against Tai Wuji. He had acquired Top-rank Deific Essence, the mes of Voracity, and even his Chaos skill control had improved.


    <i>¡®I can now fight Top-rank gods without relying on the Doors.¡¯</i>


    It was fortunate since Kang-Woo had been reluctant to open the Doors after the side effects disappeared all of a sudden.


    ¡°<i>Huff, huff...</i>¡±


    ¡°Is it over already?¡± Kang-Woo asked as he sighed in disappointment.


    He had expected this result somewhat; he had be far too strong and he could barely sense a will to fight from Lucifer.


    <i>¡®And most importantly...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and stared at Lucifer¡¯s torn arm and wing. ck blood was pouring out of the wounds without end.


    <i>¡®He was severely injured from the start.¡¯</i>


    Lucifer would have had a hard time against Kang-Woo even if he was in perfect condition, but there was no way he would be any match when he was that injured.


    ¡°Lucifer.¡± Kang-Woo walked up to Lucifer, who was panting heavily after being singed by the mes of Voracity. He crouched down and stared at Lucifer trembling in despair and asked, ¡°Who made you like this?¡±


    =Kang-Woo wanted to ask Lucifer this from the very beginning. Who could have possibly driven the Lord of the Flies so far into the corner?


    ¡°...¡±


    Inexplicable anxiety ran down Lucifer¡¯s back. He was getting nauseous and dizzy for some reason.


    ¡°...el.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°It was... Bael.¡±


    ¡°... What?¡± Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened. The name <i>Bael </i>shocked him. ¡°W-wait. Did you say Bael? Bael is here?¡±


    He would not have been this flustered if Lucifer had mentioned any other prince of Hell or even one of the Four Heavenly Kings, but...


    <i>¡®Bael.¡¯</i>


    Bael was different; Kang-Woo had never defeated him in the truest sense. He had only managed to deal a critical wound on Bael by crawling on the ground like a dog to lower his guard. Kang-Woo then absorbed Bael¡¯s forces with Lilith¡¯s help and attacked him with hundreds of thousands of demons.


    <i>¡®Even with that, I wasn¡¯t able to beat him.¡¯</i>


    It was only after risking his life and opening the Second Door that he was able to devour Bael. Kang-Woo barely remembered anything about the battle since he had been unconscious, but Balrog told him that his final battle against Bael had been desperate and horrendous beyond belief. It was to the point that Lucifer, who had witnessed the battle, developed trauma because of it.


    <i>¡®And you¡¯re telling me he¡¯s here?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He took a deep breath to calm himself and recalled Bael and his eyes filled with madness in contrast to his pure and innocentughter.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± he exhaled.


    The perplexity and slight fear that Kang-Woo had felt when he first met Bael had long since vanished and been reced by hunger. Intense thirst grinded his throat and his stomach hurt from the extreme hunger.


    ¡°Bael.¡±


    Kang-Woo drooled uncontrobly as powerful desire surged almost to a point that he couldn¡¯t control.


    <i>¡®Calm down, calm down.¡¯ </i>He quelled his desire with all his might. <i>¡®It¡¯ll be different from back then.¡¯</i>


    In the past, Bael had looked so delicious that Kang-Woo was barely able to handle himself, but that would likely not be the case anymore.


    <i>¡®Because I didn¡¯t have Deific Essence back then.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had attained far more power than his past self after returning to Earth. He had several great powers in his arsenal such as the demonic energy from the Abyss, Chaos, and the mes of Voracity.


    <i>¡®It¡¯ll be different from back then.¡¯</i>


    If Kang-Woo had this much power back in Hell, forget opening the Doors, he would not even have needed the mes of Voracity to devour Bael. Even so...


    <i>¡®Bael, Bael, Bael.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s heart beat rapidly as if he were recalling his first love. The uncontroble hunger was making him drool to no end. He wanted to meet Bael right away.


    <i>¡®No, no.¡¯</i>


    He would rather not meet him in fear that the emotions and spark he was feeling at the moment might die in vain after seeing him. He feared that Bael might be too weak.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Kang-Woo chuckled.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to see my first love.¡¯</i>


    His mind was in jumbles. Kang-Woo shook his head to get a hold of himself.


    ¡°Where is Bael?¡± Kang-Woo asked aftering to his senses.


    Lucifer pointed at a part of the forest and said, ¡°H-he was there when I ran away from him.¡±


    The trees were scorched ck, likely due to the battle between Bael and Lucifer.


    ¡°... Huh?¡± Kang-Woo¡¯s expression hardened after seeing where Lucifer had pointed.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s...¡¯</i>


    It was where he had told his party members to search for him to be left alone with Lucifer.


    ¡°Wait...¡± A chill ran down Kang-Woo¡¯s spine. He quickly tried to call Lilith, but she was not answering. ¡°Shit!¡±


    Kang-Woo quickly turned around. Seeing that, Lucifer¡¯s eyes lit up with hope.


    <i>¡®Yes, go!¡¯ </i>Lucifer prayed desperately in his head. However...


    ¡°Lemme borrow your shoulder.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Kang-Woo grabbed Lucifer by the chin and ced one foot on Lucifer¡¯s shoulder.


    <i>¡®I wanted to get some more info out of him, but...¡¯</i>


    Unfortunately, it did not seem like he had the time.


    ¡°Wh-what are you... t-trying to do?¡± Lucifer asked.


    ¡°What? Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡±


    Kang-Woo pressed his foot into Lucifer¡¯s shoulder even harder and raised the hand that was holding Lucifer¡¯s chin.


    <i>Crack!</i>


    ¡°Kurghhh! Gaaaaaaaaaaahhh!¡±


    Lucifer¡¯s neck elongated and then ripped out along with his spine.


    ¡°What? Did you think I¡¯d forget about you?¡± Kang-Woo chuckled. ¡°You won¡¯t get away from me twice, man.¡±


    Kang-Woo used Lucifer¡¯s shoulder as a foothold and jumped up like a cannon, Lucifer¡¯s spine dangling behind him like a tail.


    <i>Zoom!</i>


    Kang-Woo flew to the area where trees were burning.


    <i>¡®... Huh? That¡¯s...¡¯</i>


    He saw the boy with nk eyes that he had seen during the war against the Constetions of Evil. It was the boy known as the Constetion of Nightmares. He was facing Balrog and Si-Hun at once with a bright smile. He could not see Bael anywhere.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t know what''s going on, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that my party members are being attacked.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hup.¡± Kang-Woo took a deep breath and fell toward the boy who was facing Si-Hun as if he were toying around.


    He gripped Lucifer¡¯s spine and threw it at the Constetion of Nightmares like a hammer throw.


    <i>Wham¡ª!!</i>


    A massive explosion swept the surroundings.


    ¡°H-hyung-nim!¡±


    ¡°My king!¡±


    <i>Tap.</i>


    Kang-Woonded on the ground and pulled back Si-Hun and Balrog, who had be like ragdolls.


    ¡°Ahhh...¡± The boy walked out of the dust cloud. ¡°Heh.¡± He smiled widely as soon as he saw Kang-Woo. ¡°It¡¯s been a while. How¡¯ve you been?¡±


    The boy giggled innocently in contrast to his eyes filled with madness.

 Chapter 431 - Bael, Prince of Gluttony (1)

    <h4>Chapter 431 - Bael, Prince of Gluttony (1)</h4>


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re well acquainted enough to say that it¡¯s been a while,¡± said Oh Kang-Woo.


    He narrowed his eyes and stared at the boy with nk eyes. He had ck eyes and ck hair and was a fairly handsome boy. He would not lose in terms of looks against Uriel¡ª no, he might receive even more love than Uriel based on people¡¯s preferences.


    <i>¡®Why does he have balls with a face like¡ª no, this isn¡¯t the time.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head and stared at the boy.


    ¡°Hm? Ohhh! Come to think of it, you¡¯ve never met me in this form!¡± The boy giggled as he pped. He wiped the tears that had formed fromughing too much and said, ¡°It¡¯s me, Bael.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth split open. ¡°You¡¯re Bael?¡±


    <i>¡®What the hell is he talking about?¡¯</i>


    The Bael that Kang-Woo knew was a monster covered in muscles like Balrog. There was no bigger twist than this.


    <i>¡®Well, I guess physical form doesn¡¯t matter much to a being as powerful as Bael, but isn¡¯t this way too big of a change?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hihi, did I surprise you?¡± Bael asked.


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    He was certain that the boy in front of him was Bael from his childlike manner of speech and bright voice.


    <i>¡®Rather, this form suits him better.¡¯</i>


    In the past, Kang-Woo had to suppress his desire to vomit as he had to watch a muscle pig acting like a spoiled child.


    ¡°Hyung-nim, have you spoken with the Constetion of Nightmares before? And who in the world is B¡ª?¡±


    ¡°M-my king. That is... Bael?¡± Balrog interjected Kim Si-Hun and approached Kang-Woo in pallor.


    Balrog, wearing his Overlord Armor, couldn¡¯t help but tremble at the mention of the name <i>Bael</i>. It was only natural since that was how much power the name itself held.


    ¡°Mmm~ Wait, huh? Are you perhaps Balrog? Wow! What¡¯s with that ck armor? Hihihi! That¡¯s so cool!¡± Bael burst intoughter as he pped after finding Balrog, who stepped back warily. ¡°Hehe. In that case, Lilith must be somewhere around here too, right? It¡¯s so nice to see everyone, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s so fucking nice that I could jump off a fucking cliff,¡± Kang-Woo replied as he frowned aggressively.


    ¡°Come on, there you go again with the bad words. I told you not to do that since it¡¯ll worsen your personality, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Oh gosh, I¡¯m so sorry. I was born this way, so it¡¯s not easy to fix.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, but since you used to be one of my underlings, I guess I could let it slide,¡± Bael said with a smile.


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°Underling...?¡±


    ¡°H-hyung-nim. What is that child talking about?¡±


    Han Seol-Ah, Cha Yeon-Joo, and Si-Hun stared at Kang-Woo in surprise. They couldn¡¯t even imagine Kang-Woo being someone¡¯s underling.


    Baelughed and pped as he watched the party members¡¯ reaction. ¡°Hihihi! That¡¯s right! Kang-Woo was one of my precious underlings! You have no idea how much I treasured him!¡±


    ¡°And then I caved your head in,¡± Kang-Woo replied.


    ¡°Sheesh. Thinking back on it even now, that hurt my feelings a lot. Hm? Don¡¯t you remember what you said to me?¡± Bael smiled, the corners of his mouth ripping to reach his earlobes, and revealed his grotesque teeth. He stepped forward with his right foot and continued, ¡°You don¡¯t remember? You pledged your allegiance to me as you licked my feet.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°What do you...¡±


    The party members¡¯ mouths split open. Balrog exuded bloodlust as he grimaced. He was enraged by how Bael was trying to taunt Kang-Woo by bringing up the past.


    ¡°You bastard...¡± Balrog clenched his fists.


    Although it had been a part of Kang-Woo¡¯s n to fool Bael, the fact that his king had licked the feet of the enemy was beyond humiliating.


    <i>¡®My king...¡¯</i>


    Balrog couldn¡¯t imagine how much more humiliated Kang-Woo felt when he was feeling this much humiliation. He looked at Kang-Woo in worry.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Rather than rage, Kang-Woo was smiling widely. ¡°Oh, right. I remember.¡±


    ¡°H-hyung-nim?¡±


    Kang-Woo shrugged and continued calmly, ¡°I remember it being salty, man. You should wash your feet.¡±


    Bael¡¯s mouth was agape, dumbfounded by the unexpected response. ¡°Heh... Aren¡¯t you embarrassed?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± Kang-Woo smirked.


    It didn¡¯t matter even if he was embarrassed by the fact that he had crawled on the ground pathetically or licked his enemy¡¯s feet.


    ¡°Yeah, and...¡± He licked his lips and continued mockingly, ¡°Who won in the end?¡±


    ¡°B-big words for someone who ambushed me unfairly¡ª¡±


    ¡°Unfair? Jeez, I never thought I¡¯d hear that from a demon. Unfair? So what, motherfucker? I told you back then, didn¡¯t I? That you shouldn¡¯t have been fooled in the first ce if you have a problem with it. It¡¯s your fault for trusting your enemy just because they licked your feet.¡±


    ¡°Ngh!¡±


    Bael frowned aggressively. He was annoyed that Kang-Woo had used Bael¡¯s tactic to humiliate Kang-Woo against him. Bael stomped his feet in irritation as he clenched his fists.


    ¡°Ts, tsk. You¡¯re still as childish as always.¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and smiled.


    ¡°Kang-Woo l-licked his feet?¡± Seol-Ah muttered, her voice subtly trembling in ecstasy. ¡°S-such an envi¡ª I mean, humiliating act...!¡±


    Seol-Ah emitted bloodlust as if she were about to cut Bael apart with a saw.


    <i>¡®Darling, that¡¯s a bit...¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo feignedughter and shook his head. <i>¡®Well, anyway...¡¯</i>


    He narrowed his eyes. There was no way that Bael was here by coincidence.


    <i>¡®He must be aiming for the Demon God¡¯s heart.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo crossed his arms and fell into thought. He then recalled Ian, who had exposed Kang-Woo¡¯s identity after infiltrating the Church of Splendor.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Kang-Woo thought deeply as he tapped on his chin. He asked as a test, ¡°Did you join forces with Amon?¡±


    ¡°Huh? What? How did you know?¡± Bael asked.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t. I just guessed.¡±


    <i>¡®He took the bait instantly. What a score.¡¯</i>


    Bael remained silent.


    ¡°Then I guess it was you who corrupted the World Tree.¡±


    ¡°How did you know that?¡±


    ¡°I told you. I just guessed.¡±


    <i>¡®He fell for it again. He acts like a child, is his brain that of a child as well?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hi... hihi,¡± Bael giggled and shrugged. He straightened his back and said with a leisurely expression, ¡°Well... it doesn¡¯t really matter that you found out anyway.¡±


    ¡°Stop acting calm after getting your n exposed because you acted like an idiot. It only makes you look more pathetic.¡±


    Kang-Woo shook his head, feeling sorry for Amon for joining forces with someone like this.


    Bael remained silent for a moment. He then smiled and said, ¡°Yeah, you were... always like this.¡±


    He recalled his memories of the thousand-year war. There had been no one who managed to grind his gears as much as the Demon King during that nightmarish war for the right to rule over the Nine Hells.


    <i>¡®This is fun.¡¯</i>


    Bael trembled ecstatically. The only one who could make him this enraged and make his bloodlust and madness run wild...


    <i>¡®It¡¯s always been you.¡¯</i>


    Everyone but the Demon King had simply been stricken with fear or ran away just from looking at Bael. There was no one but the Demon King who was able to stand tall against him. And... And... And...


    ¡°Hi... hihi.¡± Bael smiled. ¡°I can¡¯t understand...¡± He red at Kang-Woo with eyes filled with bloodlust and glinting with madness. ¡°Why was it you? Why did it have to be you and not me?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Kang-Woo frowned, not able to understand what Bael was saying.


    ¡°Hihihi... Hihihihi!¡± Bael simplyughed as his shoulders shook.


    ¡°Hyung-nim. Who is... that Bael person?¡± Si-Hun expressed anxiety as he clenched his sword.


    ¡°A thorn from the past.¡±


    ¡°Your past...¡±


    Si-Hun flinched. Kang-Woo¡¯s body was that of a demon before he returned to being a human with the power of light.


    <i>¡®In that case...¡¯</i>


    It meant that the child was a demon in human skin. Si-Hun bit his lip and drew out his demonic energy.


    ¡°Hehe. A thorn? You¡¯re hurting my feelings. Weren¡¯t we closer than that?¡±


    Bael walked toward the party as he giggled. Each of the party members pulled out their weapons in vignce of Bael.


    ¡°All of you, stand back,¡± said Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°B-but...¡±


    The party members looked at Kang-Woo in confusion.


    Kang-Woo said firmly, ¡°I have to be the one to face him.¡±


    To be more precise, he was the only one who could. That was how powerful Bael was.


    ¡°Hurgh~! Man, I missed this feeling.¡± Bael stretched and looked at Kang-Woo leisurely. He asked with a smile, ¡°Oh right,e to think of it, have you heard of something called... the World Tree¡¯s prophecy?¡±


    Silence fell due to Bael¡¯s sudden question. The party members flinched. Why was Bael mentioning the prophecy that they had only heard from Elune before they came here?


    ¡°I just don¡¯t understand that prophecy no matter how many times I repeat it in my head, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡± Bael stared at Kang-Woo with deeply sunken eyes. ¡°Since... you¡¯re not the Demon of Prophecy.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it?¡± Bael tilted his head. ¡°The Demon of Prophecy... The pinnacle of all demons who will bring demise to this world...!!¡± He spread his arms wide and stomped his feet. ¡°Is not you! It¡¯s me!!¡±


    He continued as if he was singing, his voice filled with madness, ¡°Huh? Don¡¯t you think so as well? Don¡¯t you? You think it¡¯s me and not you, right?¡±


    <i>Crack, crack.</i>


    Bael¡¯s tilted head went beyond its normal range of motion. The crown of his head reached his chest as if his neck had been broken.


    ¡°Hihi, are you angry?¡± Bael asked with a smile. ¡°Are you angry that you¡¯re not the Demon of Prophecy, that you¡¯re not the pinnacle of all demons? Hm? Hihi, I¡¯m sure you are, right? You can¡¯t hold in your rage, can you?¡±


    Bael burst into crazedughter and shouted, ¡°You¡¯re...! Nothing!! You... You... You... YOUUUUUU!!! YOU¡¯RE NOTHING!!!!¡±


    Giant bat wings sprouted from Bael¡¯s back. Six ck tails grew from his tailbone and cracked the ground like a whip.


    ¡°It¡¯s not you, but me! I¡¯m more amazing than you! I¡¯m greater than you! Okay? Do you understand?¡± Bael red at Kang-Woo in deep, zing resentment. He shouted as if he was desperate, ¡°Why don¡¯t you say something? Huh? SAY SOMETHING!!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± Kang-Woo nodded. ¡°Yup, you¡¯re the Demon of Prophecy. You¡¯re the greatest. You¡¯re the demon who will bring this world to its end, the pinnacle of all demons, and the strongest demon of all time.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Bael tilted his head in confusion, not having expected this kind of response.


    <i>¡®Pfft! Bwehehehehehe!!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo suppressed hisughter with all his might. This was the score of all scores.


    <i>¡®Fucking hell, haha! You heard that, right? Huh? The son of a bitch said that he¡¯s the Demon of Prophecy! Not me, but him! I fucking knew it. I should¡¯ve known from the moment that I was being framed as the Demon of Prophecy. I would never do anything like ending the world.¡¯</i>


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [The World Tree states that the Demon of Prophecy is yer Oh Ka¡ª]


    <i>¡®Hahaha! Yeah! It wasn¡¯t me!¡¯</i>


    [yer Oh Kang-W¡ª]


    <i>¡®It was never me!!!¡¯</i>


    [I¡¯m saying that it¡¯s y¡ª]


    ¡°Yeah, I see.¡± Kang-Woo red at Bael in bloodlust. He then turned to La and said, ¡°Please let Lady Gaia know. The Demon of Prophecy was... Bael.¡±

 Chapter 432 - Bael, Prince of Gluttony (2)

    <h4>Chapter 432 - Bael, Prince of Gluttony (2)</h4>


    ¡°I... see.¡± La nodded with a serious face.


    The identity of the Demon of Prophecy hidden under veils had finally been revealed.


    ¡°I will make sure to let Lady Gaia know,¡± La said.


    ¡°Thank you. I will leave it to you.¡± Oh Kang-Woo nodded and turned to Bael, who was staring at him dumbfoundedly.


    ¡°Huh?¡± He tilted his head in confusion due to thepletely unexpected response. ¡°Why are you so cid about this, Kang-Woo?¡±


    Bael couldn¡¯t understand why Kang-Woo was so easily able to ept the fact that he was not the Demon of Prophecy, the true ruler of all demons and that he was nothing at all.


    ¡°Hm? Hmmm?¡± Bael looked around wide-eyed. And then... ¡°Oh.¡±


    A single thought popped up in his head. It was a possibility that he had never even considered because it was so absurd.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me... You don¡¯t have any intention of devouring the worlds? Hm? You don¡¯t want toplete the Demonic Sea and be the <i>Primordial Being</i>?¡±


    That was impossible; devouring the Triad andpleting the Demonic Sea was the ultimate goal of Demon God Bauli and those who possessed the Demonic Sea.


    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Kang-Woo said firmly. ¡°I¡¯m here to save this world from demise.¡±


    Blinding, radiant, and beautiful light poured out from Kang-Woo, but Bael could vividly feel the ck sea hidden within the splendor. The reaches of the ck sea were still as endless as the abyss; it truly deserved to be known as the Demonic Sea.


    <i>¡®He has the Demonic Sea for sure, so why? Why doesn¡¯t he want to devour the Triad?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Wait, wait.¡± Bael shook his head in confusion. ¡°Then you... sided with Gaia because you had no intention of ending the worlds from the beginning?¡±


    Bael could not help but chuckle. He thought that the Demon King had be Gaia¡¯s retainer to backstab her, the same thing that he did to Bael, but that was not the case. The Demon King... truly did not have any intention of devouring the worlds.


    ¡°Why? Why? Why?¡± Bael asked repeatedly. He could not understand. There was no way that he could. ¡°You have the Demonic Sea, don¡¯t you? Despite that, you¡¯re choosing not toplete it? You¡¯re choosing to suppress your desire?¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned at Bael¡¯s questions. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean. The only power that I have is the power of Splendor.¡±


    ¡°Hah,¡± Bael chuckled and crouched as he grabbed his stomach. ¡°Ha... Hahahahahahaha!¡± He burst into crazedughter. ¡°You¡¯re insane¡ª no, your mind haspletely fried!¡±


    Bael red at Kang-Woo with zing eyes. ¡°As I thought, you¡¯re not worthy. You don¡¯t have the right to be the Demon of Prophecy!!¡± He gritted his sharp teeth and yelled, ¡°It¡¯s not you, but me! Hihihi! IT¡¯S ME!!¡±


    Bael jumped up and down joyfully. Kang-Woo judged that there was no point listening any further and raised the shining Ingrium.


    ¡°Fuuu.¡± Kang-Woo took a deep breath.


    He lowered his stance and shot forward.


    <i>Whoosh!</i>


    He shot a sh of light at Bael.


    ¡°Hihihihi!!¡± The corners of Bael¡¯s mouth rose to his cheekbones as he spread out his arms. His body split from chin to groin; teeth sprouted from the split area and ate the sh of light that Kang-Woo shot in the blink of an eye.


    ¡°What?¡± Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened.


    <i>¡®What the hell? Why... do you have that?¡¯</i>


    He could not understand. His thought process could not keep up with the situation before his eyes. His vision slowed down as if time had stopped.


    ¡°Kuh!¡± Kang-Woo quickly jumped backward as he stared at Bael in shock.


    Something that should not have been possible had happened right before his eyes.


    ¡°Heh.¡± Bael smiled. ¡°What?¡±


    He giggled as his shoulder shook ecstatically.


    ¡°How...¡± Kang-Woo slurred.


    ¡°Are you shocked that I have this?¡± Bael asked as he stroked his split body. His smile grew evenrger. ¡°I knew it.¡±


    Bael slowly raised his right arm and his hand split in half.


    ¡°You know nothing.¡±


    <i>Squelch, squelch.</i>


    ck mucus oozed out from the split areas and countless mouths appeared from it.


    Bael chanted in a voice filled with madness, ¡°Authority of Predation.¡±


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!!</i>


    The ck mucus that poured out from Bael¡¯s hand spread widely and formed a giant ck wave of countless mouths that devoured everything in its path.


    ¡°M-my king!¡± Balrog shouted.


    ¡°Stay away,¡± Kang-Woo replied with a deep voice as he stared at the ck wave.


    <i>¡®How?¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo asked in his head again.<i> ¡®Why does Bael have the Authority of Predation?¡¯</i>


    The Authority of Predation was Kang-Woo¡¯s Authority; it was a power that only he could use, one that had been with him from the First Hell to the Ninth.


    <i>¡®So how...¡¯</i>


    How could Bael use the Authority of Predation?


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s mind was in jumbles. The iprehensible situation was putting him in a daze.


    <i>¡®Since when?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo did not remember his entire battle against Bael. His consciousness had been trapped deep within the Demonic Sea the moment that he opened the Second Door of the Ten Thousand Demon Core against Bael. Kang-Woo had already defeated Bael by the time he had barely managed to escape from the Demonic Sea¡¯s clutches.


    <i>¡®But I¡¯m sure that he didn¡¯t use the Authority of Predation.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled his battle against Bael before he opened the Doors. Bael had not used the Authority of Predation even when Kang-Woo attacked him with his army of hundreds of thousands of demons.


    No, every demon in the Nine Hells knew one thing about Bael. He did not have an Authority; the Authority of Gluttony that Beelzebub possessed as the Prince of Gluttony had not been passed down to Bael. The only reason Bael became the Prince of Gluttony was because he had taken Beelzebub¡¯s ce after killing him.


    <i>¡®I also heard that the Authority of Gluttony only sounds simr to the Authority of Predation and that they¡¯repletely different Authorities.¡¯</i>


    Even if Bael inherited Beelzebub¡¯s Authority, it would still not make sense. The Authority of Gluttony allowed one to umte demonic energy beyond one¡¯s limits; it was not something that could take demonic energy from other beings and absorb them like the Authority of Predation.


    <i>Crack! Crunch!</i>


    The ck wave of countless mouths had reached right in front of Kang-Woo as he had been in thought. Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and extended his arms.


    <i>¡®First, I¡¯ll focus on the battle against Bael.¡¯</i>


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Kang-Woo stomped his feet and gripped Ingrium with one hand and Inferno created with the Key of the Demonic Sea in the other hand.


    He crossed the two swords and chanted, ¡°Twilight.¡±


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    Golden mes spread out in a fan shape. The sky was set aze like a sunset and intense heat swept the entire forest.


    <i>Boom! Crackle!</i>


    The ground split and red sand that had melted from the intense heat erupted from the cracks like a volcano.


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo!¡± Seol-Ah quickly reached out to Kang-Woo amidst the chaos, but Balrog grabbed her arm.


    ¡°We have to run away,¡± he stated.


    ¡°B-but...¡±


    Balrog bit his lip and muttered, ¡°We will only be a nuisance to the king if we stay close to him.¡±


    His powerlessness was weighing him down. His expression was the same that Seol-Ah saw when he did nothing as Kang-Woo struggled with the side effects of opening the Doors.


    ¡°Kang-Woo...¡± Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes glistened with tears.


    She hesitated for a while and then turned around as tears flowed down her cheeks. Balrog lifted her and ran to where the heat wouldn¡¯t harm them.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!!</i>


    ¡°Hihihi! What? Is that all you¡¯ve got?!¡± Bael burst intoughter within the zing mes. ¡°More, more, more!! Bring out more of your power!! Huh? I know you¡¯re stronger than this!!¡±


    Bael spread his arms out and split the enormous mes in half.


    Kang-Woo frowned as he watched Bael nullify Kang-Woo¡¯s attacks with ease.


    <i>¡®This isn¡¯t gonna work.¡¯</i>


    Although they had not fought for long, Kang-Woo could feel an overwhelming gap between him and Bael. At this rate, he would be no match for Bael.


    <i>¡®In that case...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo ced his hand over his heart. He could see three doors keeping the ck sea at bay. The moment that he grabbed the handle of the First Door...


    ¡°Lord Bael, the preparations areplete,¡± an unpleasant voice like nails on a chalkboard rang out.


    Kang-Woo turned to see a hunchback demon wearing an old robe.


    <i>¡®Amon.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes gleamed with wariness.


    ¡°Huh? Already?¡± Bael expressed disappointment. He whined like a little boy asking his parents to buy him a toy, ¡°Why~? It was just getting good! Can¡¯t I fight for just a little longer?¡±


    ¡°Keke. You know that we came here for a different reason.¡± Amon tapped the ground with his staff and continued as if scolding Bael, ¡°The enjoyment will only amplify if you postpone it.¡±


    ¡°Tch.¡± Bael pouted and stomped his feet as if having a temper tantrum. He said as he smiled widely and waved, ¡°Sorry, Kang-Woo. Let¡¯s y again next time!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. I wanna y some more now,¡± Kang-Woo replied as he red fiercely at Bael.


    He had no idea what Bael had nned, but he could not let him run away.


    ¡°Hihihi.¡± Bael smiled innocently and looked up. ¡°I wonder if you can?¡±


    Bael¡¯s mouth expanded massively, defying thews of physics. His mouth which had grown to hundreds of meters now looked as if it were a colossal.


    <i>Crunch!</i>


    And then, something was devoured by his mouth.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Kang-Woo muttered as a chill ran down his spine.


    He felt as if something horrible and irreversible had urred.


    ¡°Heh.¡± Bael chuckled. And then...


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [The Demon God¡¯s Heart has been absorbed by Bael.]


    [A portion of the privileges will be granted to Bael as per the ¡®Law of Titans.¡¯]


    ¡°Right then, see ya.¡±


    <i>Crackle¡ª!!</i>


    A giant Rift easily several kilometers wide formed in midair. Bael jumped into the Rift as he waved innocently.


    ¡°Stop right th¡ª¡±


    Before Kang-Woo even had a chance to chase after Bael...


    [The privileges of the ¡®Gaia System¡¯ will be transferred from Gaia to Bael.]


    [Bael hasmanded the copse of the ¡®Gaia System.¡¯]


    A blue window containing a horrifying message covered Kang-Woo¡¯s field of vision.


    [Commencing the copse of the ¡®Gaia System.¡¯]


    ¡°Motherfucker... Just my luck...¡± Kang-Woo cursed as he read the contents of the blue message windows.

 Chapter 433 - Linked Worlds (1)

    <h4>Chapter 433 - Linked Worlds (1)</h4>


    Rumble¡ª!!


    The sky looked as if it were copsing. The earth was upturned and shot up like a giant tsunami. The entire forest was being destroyed as if a giant had grabbed and flipped the ground.


    ¡°Kyaaaaah! Wh-what the fuck?!¡±


    ¡°H-hyung-nim!!¡±


    Cha Yeon-Joo and Kim Si-Hun¡¯s screams rang out.


    Oh Kang-Woo floated into the air and shouted, ¡°Get away from the ground!¡±


    There was fortunately someone among his party members who could easily keep them safe in the air.


    ¡°Echidna!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Echidna nodded and jumped into the air.


    The girl the size of a middle schooler lit up and turned into a massive dragon twenty meters tall.


    [<i>Krarararararara!!</i>][1]


    ¡°What the hell¡¯s up with that roar?¡±


    <i>¡®Did you turn invisible or something?¡¯</i>[2]


    [Hm! All of you, get on my back!] Echidna shouted as she spread her giant wings.


    The party members quickly climbed on her back.


    <i>Whoosh!</i>


    Echidna flew into the air, the ground crumbling under her. Kang-Woo bit his lip as he looked down at the copsing forest.


    <i>¡®Shit. What the fuck is going on? The Gaia System is copsing?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo knew very well what the Gaia System¡¯s role was. It was the power that protected Earth from otherworldly invaders.


    <i>¡®If that disappears...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s face paled. The Earth that he had worked so hard to protect would be vulnerable to otherworldly invasions. To make aparison, it was as if the walls of a fortress had vaporized instantly. Not even Kang-Woo had any idea of what sort of beings there were in the outer worlds and how they would interfere with Earth.


    ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck!¡± Kang-Woo cursed.


    Anxiety took over him. This was the worst possible scenario.


    <i>¡®Dammit.¡¯</i>


    He should have opened the Doors the moment he saw Bael. He should have realized what Bael was up to once he found out that Bael and Lucifer were in this forest. Bted regret swept over him.


    ¡°H-hyung-nim. La is...¡±


    Kang-Woo managed toe back to his senses after hearing Si-Hun¡¯s shaking voice.


    <i>¡®Wait.¡¯</i>


    He recalled what La looked like when he first met her. She had no eyesight and had been in a wheelchair because the Gaia System was severely damaged as a result of Kang-Woo returning to Earth. But if that very Gaia System had nowpletely copsed, she would be...


    ¡°Shit!¡±


    Kang-Woo quickly turned around to see La panting heavily in Si-Hun¡¯s arms. He ran to her, bit open his finger, and poured blood into her mouth.


    ¡°U-Urgh...¡±


    ¡°Darling! Use all the healing magic you have on La right now!¡±


    ¡°O-okay!¡± Han Seol-Ah quickly approached La and poured healing magic on La.


    The heavily panting La¡¯splexion began to return to normal.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa. I¡¯m alright now, everyone,¡± La said as she caught her breath.


    ¡°... You are?¡± Kang-Woo asked, unable to understand.


    He had seen many times through La and Iris that the condition of a god affected their incarnation. The Gaia System had copsed, so it would not be a surprise even if Gaia, Earth¡¯s guardian deity, were to be annihted. How could she be fine?


    La calmly exined, ¡°Lady Gaia... managed to escape from the effects of the Gaia System¡¯s copse after losing her rights as the guardian deity.¡±


    Kang-Woo sighed in relief at the unexpected news. There was no better news than this in terms of right at this moment.


    ¡°What in the world is going on?¡± Kang-Woo asked as he stared at the giant Rift several kilometers wide that had formed in the Nightmare Forest.


    The ground around them was being sucked into the Rift like a ck hole.


    ¡°I¡¯m... not sure either. I-I¡¯ve never seen anything like this before,¡± La replied.


    It was an obvious answer since the protection of a star had never copsed before. In that case...


    ¡°Are you able to get in contact with Lady Gaia?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°... Just a moment.¡± La closed her eyes and brought her hands together. White light particles formed around her.


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± Kang-Woo sighed deeply and grabbed his forehead.


    He had not been this flustered since when he had first fallen into Hell.


    <i>¡®Calm down.¡¯</i>


    The water had already been spilled. Bael had eaten the Demon God¡¯s heart and Earth¡¯s protection had been destroyed. Nothing could be worse than this.


    <i>¡®But I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a way to fix this goddamn despairing situation.¡¯</i>


    ¡°...¡± Kang-Woo thought in silence.


    However, the situation did not allow him the leisure to think.


    <i>Boom! Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo...¡±


    ¡°Wh-what should we do about that?¡±


    The Rift which was already several kilometers wide was getting evenrger.


    ¡°...¡±


    At this rate, it could even devour the entire continent of Aernor.


    ¡°Haaa... Fuck.¡± Kang-Woo raised his head and sighed.


    Although he had acquired Top-rank Deific Essence, it was nearly impossible to close a Rift gettingrger to the point that it could engulf an entire world. It was as insane as stopping a natural disaster with one¡¯s bare hands.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    <i>¡®Well, since when have I only done things that were possible?¡¯</i>


    He lightly jumped down from Echidna¡¯s back.


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo?!¡± Seol-Ah yelled from behind.


    Kang-Woo ignored her andnded on the copsing ground.


    ¡°Fucking brat.¡±


    Kang-Woo grimaced as he stared at the ground being sucked into the Rift.


    He slowly walked to the Rift, spread his arms wide, andmanded with Soul Speech, ¡°Close.¡±


    <i>Crackle¡ª!!!</i>


    A sound akin to steel being torn apart echoed. Kang-Woo slowly brought the arms he had spread out closer together as he burned with golden light.


    ¡°No... way...¡±


    ¡°H-how could he close that Rift with pure strength...?¡±


    Kang-Woo could hear the shocked voices of his party members, but he ignored them.


    ¡°Kurgh.¡± Kang-Woo raised his head as immense pressure weighed down on him. ¡°Arghhh...¡±


    His eyes widened and his mouth agape. His muscles swelled up as if they would burst and his blood vessels popped out hideously.


    ¡°Fuck...¡±


    <i>¡®This hurts like hell.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo felt like he was beingpressed by a giant hydraulic press. His body contorted, unable to handle the pressure.


    <i>Crack! Crunch!</i>


    His arms, legs, head, and hips twisted. Horrendous pain ate away at his sanity.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s okay.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo bit his lip. He was used to this level of pain; he could endure pain like this all day if he had to.


    ¡°Kang-Woo!¡±


    Just then, Seol-Ah¡¯s magic flowed into him, restoring his distorted body to its original condition. Kang-Woo¡¯s flickering consciousness became a little clearer thanks to Seol-Ah¡¯s help.


    <i>Crack¡ª!!</i>


    The destruction continued; the ground around them had been destroyed to the point that it was irreparable.


    ¡°Fuuu.¡± Kang-Woo took a deep breath.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    Kang-Woo was enveloped by gold and ck mes¡ª no, he had be fire itself.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [Raising yer Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s proficiency in the ¡®mes of Voracity.¡¯]


    [You have obtained a clue for acquiring Transcendent-rank Deific Essence!]


    Blue message windows popped up, but Kang-Woo did not have the leeway to check what it said. His consciousness turned hazy as the giant mes rampaged.


    ¡°A-arghhh.¡±


    Kang-Woo crouched. He could feel the mes of Voracity around him gettingrger and spreading to the expanding Rift.


    <i>Tsssss¡ª!!</i>


    The Rift that was devouring a world was being devoured by the zing mes.


    ¡°Raaaaaaaaaaahhh!!¡±


    The gold and ck mes were burning the entire world. Immense power flowed into Kang-Woo¡ª no, power might be flowing out of him; he couldn¡¯t tell. He extended his arm. He felt like he would be able to do something.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    Kang-Woo closed into a fist the hand of the arm that he was extending. The mes of Voracity wrapped around the borders of the expanding Rift. The gold and ck mes eating away at the giant ck Rift looked as if a <i>ck sun</i> had risen.


    <i>Tssssss.</i>


    The Rift¡¯s expansion stopped.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Kang-Woo panted heavily and copsed on the spot. He could not muster an ounce of strength.


    <i>¡®Did I stop it?¡¯</i>


    He turned his head as he was lying down on the ground. He had stopped the Rift from expanding but had not managed to close it. But the good news was that the Rift was no longer sucking everything around it like a ck hole.


    [Kang-Woo!]


    Echidna flew toward Kang-Woo as she pped her giant wings. The party members soon arrived where Kang-Woo was. Seol-Ah quickly used healing magic on him, and Si-Hun and Balrog stood around him like bodyguards.


    ¡°... Hyung-nim.¡±


    <i>Schwing.</i>


    Si-Hun created a sword with blue condensed sword energy and stared at the ck Rift.


    ¡°I sense a presence. Not one, but many,¡± he continued.


    They could feel people walking toward them from within the Rift. The party members prepared themselves anxiously.


    <i>Whoooom.</i>


    A wave formed on the surface of the ck Rift and a foot emerged; it looked to be that of a human. An entire leg soon emerged as well as a sword strapped to the person¡¯s waist.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Si-Hun lowered his stance and charged forward.


    <i>¡®Heavenly Dragon Fl¡ª¡¯</i>


    As Si-Hun raised the sword above his head and was about to swing it down...


    ¡°... Si-Hun?¡± said an old man who walked out of the Rift.


    Si-Hun stopped himself in his tracks and stared at the old man in surprise.


    ¡°Master...?¡±


    The old man who walked out of the Rift was Tian Wuchen, the yer with the title <i>Sword Emperor</i>.


    ¡°What in the...¡± Si-Hun stared dumbfoundedly at Wuchen, who was supposed to be on Earth at the moment.


    ¡°Yeon-Joo? Is that you?¡± A masculine woman walked out of the Rift behind Wuchen and stared at Yeon-Joo with her head tilted.


    ¡°Huh? Hwa-Yeon? Why are you here...?¡±


    ¡°Whoa! Why are you here, you guys? Didn¡¯t you say that you were going to, uhhh... What was it called again? Vernar or whatever it was?¡±


    Even Kang Tae-Soo, whom Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t even remember thest time he was relevant, had appeared.


    ¡°... What the hell?¡± Kang-Woo on the ground looked around in shock.


    yers who were supposed to be on Earth had crossed through the Rift; that could only mean one thing.


    ¡°Has Aernor and Earth... been linked?¡±


    1. This is how dragons roar in the Korean novel series <i>Dragon Raja</i> (1997) written by Lee Yeongdo, not to be confused with the Chinese novel with the same name. The novel pioneered the Korean fantasy genre, with several of the fantasy tropes you see in modern Korean fantasy originating from this novel. ?


    2. This is a reference to White Dragon Cathselprime, who can use invisibility magic. ?

 Chapter 434 - Linked Worlds (2)

    <h4>Chapter 434 - Linked Worlds (2)</h4>


    ¡°So...¡± Oh Kang-Woo slurred. ¡°Your name was... uhhh... Deok-Gu, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Tae-Soo! Kang Tae-Soo! I can¡¯t believe you forgot my name even if it¡¯s been a while, hyung-nim!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. I¡¯m just joking, man.¡±


    <i>¡®Sorry. I actually forgot. Can you me me when you¡¯ve barely appeared?¡¯</i>


    How was he supposed to remember a character that vanished into thin air in a long novel like this?


    <i>¡®Well, whatever the case, this isn¡¯t the time.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned to Tian Wuchen and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I would like to ask. Didn¡¯t you all... go to another dimension to fulfill a mission that Lady Gaia gave you?¡± Wuchen asked.


    ¡°This is that dimension.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what?¡±


    Wuchen looked around in surprise. The surroundings had been destroyed beyond recognition due to Kang-Woo¡¯s battle against Bael, to the point that the Nine Hells would look better.


    ¡°Was the continent of Aernor... this hideous a ce?¡±


    ¡°No, this is just from a battle that took ce here.¡±


    ¡°What sort of battle would level the surroundings like this...?¡±


    Wuchen¡¯s expression hardened as if he couldn¡¯t imagine it. The area around them looked as if a battle between Titans of myth had taken ce.


    ¡°More importantly, could you answer my earlier question?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Oh, my apologies. We were... It was called North Korea, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    It was one of the counties that had fallen during the Day of Cmity.


    ¡°A giant Gate suddenly appeared there. As you can see... It was well over several kilometers wide,¡± Wuchen mentioned.


    ¡°And so Guardians sent you to investigate?¡±


    Wuchen nodded. ¡°After all, there hasn¡¯t been a Gate asrge as this even during the Day of Cmity. Although... I never expected this ce to be a continent of another world.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Kang-Woo remained silent.


    As he had expected, Earth and Aernor seemed to have been linked.


    <i>¡®Why?¡¯</i>


    It had not been impossible to cross between Earth and Aernor; Lucifer, Uriel, and even Kang-Woo and his party members had crossed the dimensional wall.


    <i>¡®But this is different.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked up at the Rift that looked easily above ten kilometers in diameter. The mes of Voracity had managed to stop its expansion, but it did not disappear. It was as if a bridge had been built between two inds that previously required a boat to go back and forth. Just like what Wuchen and the others did, anyone would be able to cross between Earth and Aernor through the Rift.


    <i>¡®...¡¯</i> There was only one exnation for why this happened. <i>¡®The Gaia System¡¯s copse.¡¯</i>


    The protective barrier on Earth hadpletely vanished.


    <i>¡®The invasion on Earth has already begun.¡¯</i>


    The first world that invaded Earth was Aernor, the world closest to Earth.


    ¡°... Goddammit,¡± Kang-Woo cursed.


    The link between Earth and Aernor was not a big problem; Kang-Woo weed the fact that he could freely cross between Earth and Aernor.


    <i>¡®But that¡¯s surely not the end of it.¡¯</i>


    Aernor was only the beginning. All sorts of outer worlds would begin to invade Earth after the Triad.


    <i>¡®And I¡¯m sure the Nine Hells will be among them.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned fiercely. The worst possible situation that he had imagined after he discovered the true nature of the Gaia System had urred.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s toote to restore the Gaia System now.¡¯</i>


    They had only just barely managed to fix the hole that Kang-Woo had made, and that had taken years of effort. Not only that, but the fix had only been temporary. Now that the entire Gaia System had copsed, there was no practical way to restore it anymore. That fact would not change even if Kang-Woo were to find Bael and kill him immediately.


    <i>¡®Motherfucker.¡¯</i>


    The situation could not be any worse. A sense of powerlessness spread over him.


    [M-my children! Are you alright?!]


    Just then, a brown-haired woman with a gentle appearance and emitting faint light came out of the Rift and ran toward Kang-Woo and his party members. Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened.


    <i>¡®The hell? Why is Gaia here?¡¯</i>


    His confusion only grew. The gods of the divine realm could only manifest in the physical realm through their incarnations;ing to the physical realm in their true form was impossible unless they were to risk the System annihting their Deific Essence.


    ¡°L-Lady Gaia?¡± La also stared at Gaia in surprise and asked in pallor, ¡°Wh-what is happening? If you manifest directly like this, the restriction...¡±


    [There is no need to worry. Well, that is not quite true, but...] Gaia sighed deeply and continued, [The Law¡¯s restrictions have vanished.]


    ¡°... What?¡±


    [Those possessing Deific Essence are no longer under restriction... They can freely use their power in the physical realm.]


    ¡°...¡±


    A heavy silence fell. Kang-Woo bit his lip. It was not hard to imagine who had eradicated the Laws of Titans that restricted the actions of gods.


    <i>¡®Bael, that crazy motherfucker...¡¯</i>


    Not only had he destroyed Earth¡¯s protective barrier, but he had also freed the gods from their chains. He had pretty much quickened Earth¡¯s journey to its demise.


    ¡°...¡±


    Something snapped within Kang-Woo¡¯s head. He felt dizzy as he imagined Bael bursting intoughter in front of him.


    ¡°P-please wait. By the restrictions being undone, you mean...¡± La looked at Gaia in shock.


    Gaia nodded with a heavy expression. [Yes. It means that beings who possess Deific Essence can... manifest directly into the physical realm.]


    ¡°N-no way...¡± La copsed to her knees.


    It was obvious, but not all those who possessed Deific Essence desired to protect the world. Some were demonic in nature and could not care less if every world were to fall as long as it could fulfill their self-satisfaction. If the Law of Titans keeping those beings in check disappeared, they would rampage to their heart¡¯s content.


    ¡°Wh-what... What happened to Earth?¡± La asked as she stuttered.


    If beings who possessed Deific Essence trespassed into Earth, there would no doubt be chaos beyond the Day of Cmity. It would be no surprise even if Earth had fallen already.


    [Fortunately, Uranus took quick action to block the gods from manifesting as they wanted, but... I do not know how long that willst.] Gaia bit her lip anxiously. [We have to find that Demon of Prophecy named Bael as soon as possible to avoid the worst possible scenario. My children, did you see where he went?]


    La shook her head with a heavy expression.


    [How... How could this have...] Gaia¡¯s eyes filled with despair. She lowered her head as her shoulders trembled. [In the end... we are unable to stop the prophecy.]


    Despite the Protectors doing their best to stop the end, it wasing nheless.


    ¡°... Let us first return to Earth ande up with a countermeasure,¡± Kang-Woo suggested emptily amidst the somber atmosphere.


    Gaia turned to Kang-Woo. [Yes, you are right. Nothing will change even if we stay still. That aside, my child. I heard that you fought against the Demon of Prophecy. Are you feeling alr¡ª]


    As she was about to reach out to Kang-Woo in worry...


    [...!]


    A chill ran throughout Gaia¡¯s body.


    [A-arghh.]


    She couldn¡¯t breathe properly. A powerless feeling as if she was being sucked into an endless abyss swept over her the moment she looked into Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes. Gaia trembled from the extreme fear.


    <i>¡®What... in the...¡¯</i>


    The sudden feeling then instantly disappeared before Gaia even had a chance to get a hold of herself. Gaia stared at Kang-Woo again with shaking eyes. Although his expression was slightly hardened, he was still the Protector of Light that she cherished.


    <i>¡®What was that?¡¯</i>


    The fear that she felt had been far too vivid for it to be an imagination. She had not felt this much fear even when she had fought against the Demon God in the past. She had seen a giant mouth with the teeth of a horrendous monster on the other side of the abyss; the image was engraved into her brain.


    ¡°Lady Gaia?¡± Kang-Woo called her with a gentle voice.


    [Oh, I-I¡¯m sorry.]


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    [No, it¡¯s nothing.] Gaia shook her head.


    She felt dizzy as if she had an extremely realistic dream.


    ¡°I see,¡± Kang-Woo answered. Gaia¡¯s eyes staring at him were a little cold. ¡°In that case, I will excuse myself to contact Iris before we go.¡±


    [Iris?]


    ¡°She is Lady Elune¡¯s incarnation. She was of great help to our explorations in Aernor.¡±


    [Ohhh, I see.] Gaia nodded as if she understood. [Go ahead. I will make preparations to return to Earth with the other children.]


    ¡°I will leave it to you.¡±


    Kang-Woo turned around and walked along the Nightmare Forest that had been destroyed to the point that no one would think this ce used to be a forest at a nce. As he walked... and walked... and kept walking...


    ¡°... My king.¡±


    Kang-Woo heard Lilith¡¯s subtly trembling voice. He ignored her and continued to walk.


    ¡°My king!¡± Lilith shouted and grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s arm.


    Kang-Woo turned to face Lilith.


    ¡°... <i>Gasp</i>.¡±


    His pupils were stretched horizontally, the whites of his eyes had been dyed ck, and his irises were bright yellow. Lilith trembled in pallor. Kang-Woo shook off Lilith¡¯s hand and turned back around.


    ¡°Go back. I¡¯ll be right there.¡±


    ¡°M-my king...¡±


    ¡°I told you... to go back.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Lilith bit her lip and bowed. Kang-Woo walked until Lilith could no longer see him.


    <i>Wham¡ª!!</i>


    He mmed down his fist.


    ¡°Hah.¡± Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Ha... hahaha. Fucking hell.¡±


    He looked up. It had truly been a while since he had <i>lost</i>.


    ¡°Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael, Bael,¡± Kang-Woo repeated as if he were singing.


    His shoulders shook. He could not remember thest time he had been this enraged.


    ¡°Alright, you wanna have a go, is it?¡±


    The corners of Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth rose. Earth¡¯s protective barrier was now gone. The Nine Hells would begin to invade Earth. If that was the case...


    ¡°I¡¯ll...¡±


    He would simply have to remind them who their king was.


    ¡°... devour you all.¡±

 Chapter 435 - Olympus (1)

    <h4>Chapter 435 - Olympus (1)</h4>


    ¡°Seoul... It¡¯s been a while.¡±


    The concrete jungle. After the Day of Cmity, Seoul¡¯s resources were mostly reced with the mana stones collected from monsters, resulting in skies so blue that one wouldn¡¯t think they were in a city. Despite returning to their home world after half a year, the expressions of the party members could not be darker.


    Cha Yeon-Joo sighed. ¡°Haaa. I didn¡¯t think we¡¯de back feeling like shit.¡±


    They had crossed to a different dimension for an expedition to eliminate the Demon God¡¯s heart, but it had been a wasted trip in terms of results.


    ¡°It¡¯s peaceful,¡± Yeon-Joo muttered as she looked around at the people in the streets.


    There were no noticeable changes. People were walking around as usual; some were listening to music,ughing on a call, or going to the supermarket as they held hands with their children.


    Yeon-Joo bit her lip and closed her eyes. This peaceful sight would notst much longer; these streets would soon be dyed with madness and destruction once the beings from outer worlds invaded.


    She sighed deeply and asked, ¡°There¡¯s a possibility that the otherworldly forces are friendly, isn¡¯t there?¡±


    ¡°They could be, but we ultimately won¡¯t be able to avoid chaos,¡± Oh Kang-Woo replied.


    Even if one or two parties were to approach Earth with amicable intentions, it would still cause chaos to an extent. Moreover, the chances of an otherworldly force that they had no rtion to, approaching them with amicable intentions were low.


    <i>¡®And it¡¯s not like we can be sure they have the intelligence required formunication.¡¯</i>


    There would be even less of a chance that they would be friendly if the otherworldly forces invading Earth were highly unintelligent like demonic beasts or monsters.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and looked around the streets. As Yeon-Joo mentioned, it was peaceful.


    <i>¡®Well, I couldn¡¯t care about less what happens to these people.¡¯</i>


    It was none of his business whether these people became food for demonic beasts or were torn apart by demons. He was not delicate enough to worry about what happened to people whom he had no rtions with. Unlike Kim Si-Hun and Yeon-Joo, whose eyes were filled with emotions, Kang-Woo fell into thought nonchntly.


    <i>¡®Maybe I should prepare an escape route just in case.¡¯</i>


    If Earth were to be brought to the brink of copse after being unable to endure otherworldly invasions, it would be nice to have a ce to run away to with a few people. In other words, Operation: So Long, Earth.


    <i>¡®Darling, Si-Hun... Echidna, Yeon-Joo. I¡¯ll of course take Balrog, and as long as Lilith stays in this form...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo thought about the people he would take. As long as they were with him, he couldn¡¯t care less about Earth¡¯s destruction.


    <i>¡®Well, it would only be in a worst-case scenario.¡¯</i>


    Since the entire Triad would be destroyed ording to the prophecy, he would not be able to settle in Aernor. He needed to find a world free from the Gaia System¡¯s influence. Just finding a world like that would not be easy, and he was getting a headache just thinking about how to set up a stable life there.


    <i>¡®Not just that, my delicate and kind darling would no doubt be heartbroken.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had invested too much on Earth to give up on it. He decided to set aside nning the operation for now and began to think of an alternative n.


    <i>¡®Alright, let¡¯s organize the situation first.¡¯</i>


    Earth had lost its ability to block otherworldly invasions due to the Gaia System¡¯s copse. Although Gates still existed, its numbers would skyrocket to an iparable number once the invasion picked up speed.


    <i>¡®Also, the interference of the gods.¡¯</i>


    There was no telling what the beings possessing Deific Essence, who had been stuck in the divine realm due to the System¡¯s restrictions shackling them, would do now that they had been freed. No, to be more precise, Kang-Woo more or less knew what they would do.


    <i>¡®They would fulfill their desire.¡¯</i>


    Actual gods were different from the almighty gods that religious organizations of Earth worshiped. Beings who possessed Deific Essence were closer to humans with special powers than gods. Since that was the case, they would do as their desire directed now that they were free to do as they liked.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and tapped his thigh with his finger.


    <i>¡®Guardians won¡¯t do.¡¯</i>


    yers would not be able to block the disasters that woulde.


    <i>¡®In that case... the only way is to get the gods¡¯ cooperation.¡¯</i>


    He needed help from beings possessing Deific Essence; he would not be able to block all the invasions by himself. Just like how Guardians had been made through the gathering of Protectors, an organization consisting of beings who possessed Deific Essence needed to be made. Then, the organization would keep the other gods in check so that they couldn¡¯t run wild as they desired.


    ¡°Hyung-nim?¡± Si-Hun called the thinking Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Oh, huh?¡±


    ¡°What... should we do now?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°First,¡± Kang-Woo turned to the party members and continued, ¡°Go back home and get some rest. It¡¯s been half a year since we¡¯ve been back.¡±


    ¡°R-rest? How can we rest in a situation like this?!¡± Yeon-Joo shouted.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do right now even if we don¡¯t rest.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but...¡±


    ¡°We need a break. If we don¡¯t rest now, we might not have a chance toter. You should stop by the Red Rose Guild, shouldn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Right, then. All of you, go get some rest. Si-Hun, you go visit your mother too.¡±


    ¡°Okay, hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll call you all once I¡¯ve finished preparing.¡± Kang-Woo turned around and grabbed Han Seol-Ah¡¯s hands. He continued, ¡°Go back home first with Exchidna and Halcyon, darling. I have some stuff to talk about with Lady Gaia, so I¡¯ll stop by the Hall of Protection.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you then,¡± Seol-Ah answered desperately as she tightened her grip on Kang-Woo¡¯d hands.


    Kang-Woo could feel her strong desire of not wanting to let go of him.


    ¡°It would be bad if your identity were to be...¡± Kang-Woo slurred.


    <i>¡®Come to think of it...¡¯</i>


    There was no need to hide the fact that Seraph was within Seol-Ah anymore. The Constetions of Evil who had been sealed by Seraph¡¯s power had already been freed and killed. Not only that but Seol-Ah would not be undermined by the gods since she possessed the soul of Seraph, a Top-rank goddess.


    ¡°Alright, then. Darling and Lilith, follow me.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Kang-Woo opened the Gate leading to the Hall of Protection. Gaia had already gone to the Hall of Protection with La after guiding them to Earth.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m sure Gaia won¡¯t be the only god there.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone. Since the chains shackling the gods had been broken, Gaia¡¯s closest associates would likely have manifested into the physical realm as well.


    ¡°I wonder if the gods siding with Gaia will go along with it?¡± Lilith asked as they headed to the Hall of Protection.


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    <i>¡®It seems like she has an idea of what I¡¯m trying to do.¡¯</i>


    As expected of Lilith. No, the idea of creating an organization, like Guardians, of beings who possessed Deific Essence might just be a simple one.


    <i>¡®Although I doubt there are many who would be able to put such an idea into action.¡¯</i>


    How many beings would be able to keep several different gods in check?


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Kang-Woo answered.


    ¡°There will surely be much opposition.¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    Even if the gods resisted, Kang-Woo needed them under his control. He couldn''t trust Gaia to take care of it.


    ¡°I can¡¯t afford to have one foot out the door anymore.¡±


    Kang-Woo had never once taken action directly in Aernor even during his days in Guardians; he had always coordinated the situation from the shadows as he ced Si-Hun as the figurehead. This was because he did not want to shoulder the risk involved with having his identity revealed. However...


    ¡°From now on...¡±


    He needed beings who listened to him, obeyed him, and died at hismand.


    ¡°I¡¯ll personally take action,¡± he stated with fiercely zing eyes.


    Lilith remained silent.


    Kang-Woo reminded her of back when she saw him for the first time in the Ninth Hell.


    ***


    ¡°You¡¯re here, my child,¡± Gaia greeted him in the Hall of Protection as if she had been waiting for him.


    There were many other gods as well.


    ¡°Let me introduce you. This is Uranus, the one who had taken on the role of guardian deity in my ce while I was incapacitated. And this is...¡±


    Gaia continued with the introductions. The names of the gods that she introduced were all ones that Kang-Woo was familiar with through Greek mythology.


    ¡°That blondie who looks like he likes to screw around is Zeus, and the blue-haired one next to him is Poseidon,¡± Gaia remarked.


    ¡°What do you mean, screw around, Mother?¡± Zeus asked.


    ¡°Quiet. Do you have any idea how many incidents there have been in the divine realm because of you?¡± Gaia said as she red at Zeus.


    Zeusughed heartily and shouted, ¡°Can you me me? Just like how a butterfly can¡¯t fly past a beautiful flower, I can¡¯t avert my eyes from the lovelydies thirsty for love!¡±


    Kang-Woo chuckled as he listened to Zeus¡¯s nonsense.


    <i>¡®I had an inkling ever since I found out that Gaia was Earth¡¯s guardian deity, but...¡¯</i>


    He had not imagined gods with familiar names like Zeus and Poseidon to appear.


    <i>¡®And their personalities kinda match the legends too.¡¯</i>


    Of course not everything was the same as the legends; Kang-Woo was easily able to tell that from the fact that Uranus looked well.


    <i>¡®ording to the myths, he was castrated and became a eunuch.¡¯</i>


    Uranus did not look like a eunuch.


    <i>¡®I mean, it¡¯s a bit weird to say that someone doesn¡¯t look like a eunuch, but whatever.¡¯</i>


    It felt weird seeing beings of mythology that Kang-Woo had only read about through children¡¯s books back in the orphanage.


    ¡°Andstly, this is... Artemis, the goddess of the moon,¡± Gaia said as she turned to the ck-haired woman standing silently in the corner of the Hall of Protection.


    Her eyes were filled with sorrow and loneliness as she leaned against the wall in silence.


    <i>¡®Hm?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo tilted his head as he looked at Artemis, who was staring nkly into nothingness. She did not seem to be worrying about the end of the world like the other gods.


    Noticing Kang-Woo¡¯s reaction, Gaia continued sorrowfully, ¡°Artemis... lost some precious to her.¡±


    ¡°Due to this incident?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°No, not that.¡± Gaia shook her head. ¡°The Deific Essence of Apollo, her older brother, was annihted suddenly one day. Yes, as if...¡± Gaia looked at Artemis pitifully. ¡°As if he broke an oath that he made with his Deific Essence on the line.¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent. It was no wonder why Artemis was wallowing in sadness since her older brother had been annihted out of nowhere without knowing why.


    ¡°It must have been the Demon of Prophecy¡¯s doing.¡± Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes teared as if he understood Artemis¡¯s pain.


    He knew how agonizing it was to lose those precious to him.


    ¡°Haaa... I hate myself for being unable to help her in times like this,¡± Gaia remarked.


    ¡°Not at all, Lady Gaia, You¡¯ve done your best,¡± Kang-Woo consoled as he patted Gaia¡¯s shoulder.


    <i>¡®Bael.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo thought about the demon who had spread unfathomable sorrow and dreamed of even greater disaster.


    ¡°Now, then.¡± Kang-Woo set aside his sorrow, quelled his rage, and said to the crowd, ¡°Let us begin the countermeasure meeting.¡±

 Chapter 436 - Olympus (2)

    <h4>Chapter 436 - Olympus (2)</h4>


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Zeus raised his eyebrows after hearing Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s statement and turned to Gaia.


    It was not just him, but the other gods as well. They were all staring at Gaia and Uranus in confusion as if they were asking why a mere retainer was leading the countermeasure meeting. It was only natural since they did not know that Kang-Woo had acquired Top-rank Deific Essence; although he had been chosen by Gaia, he was but a retainer. Some of the gods were even giving Kang-Woo hostile res.


    ¡°Enough with the disrespect.¡± Gaia frowned as she stared at the gods. ¡°My child has risked his life to protect Earth while we were restricted by the Law. Are there any of you who know Earth¡¯s situation better than my child?¡±


    ¡°Mm. You are right.¡± Poseidon nodded.


    Although the human was a mere retainer without Deific Essence, his achievements and experience of protecting Earth all this time needed to be acknowledged. As Gaia had mentioned, none of the gods knew about Earth¡¯s situation better than the human.


    ¡°In that case, let us continue the meeting,¡± Kang-Woo said firmly as the gods focused their attention on him. ¡°I am sure all of you have some idea about what is happening on Earth right now.¡±


    A few gods nodded.


    Kang-Woo continued calmly, ¡°Bael, the Demon of Prophecy, destroyed Earth¡¯s protection and freed beings possessing Deific Essence from the Law of Titans. Hence, gods like yourselves have been allowed to act freely on Earth along with themencement of otherworldly invasions. First of all, we can''t block these invasions in our current situation.¡±


    As long as the Gaia System, Earth¡¯s protection, was not restored from itspletely copsed state, it would be fundamentally impossible to block the invasions. Not only that but there was no way to restore it at the moment.


    ¡°As for the otherworldly invasions, we can onlye up with measures to take after the fact. In other words, we have to either chase out or conciliate the otherworldly beings once they arrive through a Rift.¡±


    They needed to make preparations to be able to act at any time as soon as a Rift opened, but they couldn¡¯t do anything else. The outer worlds would always have the initiative in this situation.


    ¡°But...¡±


    That was not the case for gods who had been freed from the restriction.


    ¡°We can regte the gods who are likely to cause chaos among the freed ones on our end.¡±


    If they had been freed, they simply needed to be put on a new leash.


    ¡°Hah, so you¡¯re suggesting we attack them first?¡± one of the gods asked as he snorted.


    He was covered in muscles like Balrog and was wearing a lion¡¯s head like a helmet.


    <i>¡®Heracles, was it?¡¯</i>


    He was one of the gods who had given Kang-Woo a hostile re earlier.


    ¡°I¡¯m not suggesting we attack them. We would just keep them in check so that they can¡¯t make any reckless moves,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°That¡¯s the same thing.¡± Heracles red as he argued.


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyebrows slightly flinched. ¡°You are free to think of it that way. We have to act first before they cause chaos.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit. You want to do something like that when we have no idea who will cause chaos and who won¡¯t? Are you nning on antagonizing even the neutral gods as well?¡± Heracles asked curtly.


    His argument was valid; restricting the gods who were trying to enjoy their newfound freedom would surely cause opposition even from gods who had no intention of causing chaos from the beginning.


    Kang-Woo chuckled at the trivial objection. ¡°Yes, it doesn¡¯t matter if we antagonize them.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°In the current situation, the gods are like refugees.¡±


    Kang-Woo knew that not every god would have malicious intentions. The majority of the gods would probably manifest into the physical realm simply out of curiosity. Among them, there were likely gods like Gaia who would stand against the Demon of Prophecy to protect the physical realm. However...


    ¡°The risk of them causing chaos is more than enough of a reason to restrict their entry,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    Many on Earth couldn¡¯t live anywhere else, but gods were different; they had no unavoidable reason to manifest in the physical realm. Like demons had the Nine Hells, the gods had the divine realm.


    ¡°All gods who manifest into the physical realm must be designated as enemies and cast out,¡± Kang-Woo dered.


    ¡°Hah, then are you telling us to go back to the divine realm?¡±


    ¡°You would have to be sorted. Only the gods permitted by me and Lady Gaia should be allowed to remain in the physical realm.¡±


    The gazes of the gods on him grew even more hostile. The atmosphere in the Hall of Protection turned menacing.


    ¡°Hah, we have to get your permission to be in the physical realm?¡± Heracles red at Kang-Woo sharply. He grabbed his double-bit ax and asked in a low tone, ¡°Are you insane?¡±


    ¡°A-all of you, calm down.¡± Gaia hurriedly stood between Heracles and Kang-Woo.


    She stared at Kang-Woo in bewilderment, not expecting him to suggest such a radical countermeasure. ¡°My child. It certainly would be an effective countermeasure, but... opposition from the other gods will be too great.¡±


    There were countless gods and just as many factions. Gaia, a Top-rank goddess as well as Earth¡¯s guardian deity until a few moments ago, naturally possessed thergest faction, but it was notrge enough to keep all other factions in check. This was especially so now that her privileges as guardian deity had been stripped from her. If Gaia tried to forcibly regte the other gods, her faction could end up going to war against the other factions.


    ¡°That¡¯s a risk we¡¯ll have to take,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    ¡°It is way more than just a risk...¡± Gaia slurred.


    ¡°I am suggesting we set an example of how to avoid a war.¡±


    ¡°That very example is what may cause a war.¡±


    ¡°In that case...¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at Gaia with deeply sunken eyes.


    Gaia flinched.


    She felt the same chilling terror as back when she saw Kang-Woo after his confrontation with Bael. She could barely breathe as she was overwhelmed by an endless abyss.


    ¡°We just have to trample them to the point that they wouldn¡¯t dare to consider war.¡±


    Deathly silence fell. The gods in the Hall of Protection stared at Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly, lost for words.


    ¡°M-mmm.¡± Gaia stared at Kang-Woo, not sure what to do.


    Seeing her reaction, Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    <i>¡®I knew taking action myself was the right call.¡¯</i>


    When Kang-Woo first heard about the gods being freed from their restriction, he considered letting Gaia keep the other gods in check.


    <i>¡®It¡¯ll be a shitshow if I let Gaia take care of it.¡¯</i>


    She did not possess the conviction to make extreme decisions like this.


    <i>¡®No wonder why the Demon of Prophecy is free to run rampant.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at Gaia in disappointment.


    <i>¡®How can she be so incapable?¡¯</i>


    No, that was probably the wrong word to use. Kang-Woo could tell from the trust that Uranus and the other gods had in her that she likely possessed the qualities of an excellent benevolent ruler.


    <i>¡®But you need a tyrant in turbulent times like this.¡¯</i>


    The end of the world was right around the corner; nothing would get done if they were to think about the circumstances of others like Gaia wanted. If the other gods did notply, Kang-Woo just needed to make themply.


    ¡°I-instead of an extreme measure like that, we should try to talk it out... no, finding the Demon of Prophecy and restoring the Law of Titanses first,¡± Gaia suggested.


    ¡°That would be the most ideal option, but we have no idea where Bael is or what he¡¯s nning, do we?¡± Kang-Woo refuted.


    ¡°That is true, but...¡±


    ¡°Rather than trying to find Bael who knows where, we should resolve the chaos that we can at the moment first.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Of course, that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to stop the search on Bael. You don¡¯t have to worry about that,¡± Kang-Woo stated and looked around.


    As Lilith had feared, res of hostility were all around him.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s about time at least one of them loses their patience and steps up.¡¯</i>


    He had not expected the gods to take this lying down. Even if the gods of Olympus did not have a strong sense of authority, Kang-Woo¡¯s action had surely crossed the line. After all, even though Gaia treated her retainers like her children, the other gods thought of retainers as ves who followed their everymand.


    <i>¡®Alright, one of you make a scene.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo would be the one in a predicament if no one stepped up because Gaia was here. Opposition that was not resolved was toxic for a group; taking their opposition head-on to prove that he had the right to say such things would prevent future troubles.


    <i>¡®I could reveal that I have Top-rank Deific Essence, but...¡¯</i>


    It would not mean much. Not only would they not believe him, they would not obey him even if they did believe him. It was not like Deific Essence was a ranking system; no god would obey another god just because they possessed a higher Deific Essence rank. In such cases, it was much easier to have them experience that Kang-Woo had the power to keep the gods in check.


    <i>¡®Now, hurry up. It¡¯d be bad for me if none of you stepped up.¡¯</i>


    If the meeting ended with no objections, the gods would only consider Kang-Woo as a mere human who was nothing but talk.


    <i>¡®Hurry the fuck up! Just stand up and say some shit like, </i>¡°You impertinent human!¡± <i>¡¯</i>


    <i>m!!</i>


    ¡°You impertinent human!¡±


    <i>¡®Hell yeah! That¡¯s it, Heracles. I knew you had it in you!¡¯</i>


    ¡°There is only so much bullshit that I can handle!¡±


    ¡°Listen listen I can¡¯t listen!¡±[1]


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Oh, my apologies. I ended up saying what I was thinking.¡±


    <i>¡®Son of a bitch. What a fucking buzzkill.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Anyway, you object to this n?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Hah, that¡¯s the understatement of the era! Keeping all the gods in check? Risking war? We¡¯d be the only ones sacrificed in your insane n!¡±


    ¡°That is incorrect.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I will ask for assistance from the gods of Olympus, but I will be taking on the role of persecuting the gods who do notply with the restriction.¡±


    Heracles and the other gods were dumbfounded by how calm Kang-Woo was. ¡°Hah.¡±


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Heracles stomped his feet and raised his ax.


    ¡°I will see for myself whether or not you have the power to back up your bullshit,¡± he said.


    ¡°Haha,¡± Kang-Woo softlyughed. He had been waiting desperately for such a response. ¡°Of course.¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at Heracles as he smiled fiercely.


    ¡°Aah, just a second.¡±


    Just then, a handsome middle-aged man with long, wavy blond hair held Heracles back and walked forward. It was Zeus.


    ¡°Father?¡± Heracles looked back at Zeus perplexedly.


    Zeus smiled and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll be the one to test that human.¡±


    ¡°Zeus! What do you think you¡¯re doing?! You might hurt my child if you¡ª¡± Gaia shouted.


    Zeus cut her off. ¡°Hahaha. There¡¯s no need to worry, Mother. I¡¯ll go easy on him. In exchange...¡± He turned to Kang-Woo¡ª no, to be more exact, the two women behind him. ¡°Could you allow me to spend some time with that beautifuldy over there if I deem that you are unworthy?¡±


    Zeus¡¯s eyes shone as he stared at Han Seol-Ah.


    ¡°Pardon? M-me?¡± Seol-Ah asked in bewilderment.


    ¡°Ahh, yes! I have never seen a woman as beautiful as you, even in the divine realm!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent. Seol-Ah hid behind Kang-Woo and embraced his arm.


    ¡°I...¡±


    <i>¡®What the fuck do you think you¡¯re doing, dammit?¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo thought.


    ¡°B-belong to Kang-Woo.¡±


    <i>¡®You¡¯re making my darling anxious.¡¯</i>


    ¡°<i>Grit</i>. Are you... trying to separate me and Kang-Woo?¡±


    <i>¡®Uhhh, what are you doing darling? You¡¯re gonna break my arm at that rate.¡¯</i>


    <i>Creak.</i>


    <i>¡®Wait, it¡¯s seriously gonna break.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Are you... trying to get in our way?¡±


    <i>¡®Hahaha. Calm down, darling. At this rate, you¡¯re gonna rip him into shreds. If you do that, we can kiss the gods¡¯ cooperation goodbye.¡¯</i>


    1. This is a Korean meme; it is an extremely literal trantion of Heracles¡¯s line above, which is used pretty often in anime/manga/manhwa. ?

 Chapter 437 - GAME OVER

    <h4>Chapter 437 - GAME OVER</h4>


    ¡°Mm, you¡¯re already taken?¡± Zeus asked as he nced at Oh Kang-Woo. He scanned Kang-Woo from head to toe and said as he smiled slyly, ¡°He does not deserve a beautiful blue bird like yourself.¡±


    Heughed heartily and looked back at Han Seol-Ah flirtatiously. ¡°I can guarantee that I can make you far happier.¡±


    ¡°Shut... up.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Great! There¡¯s nothing that makes a man more passionate than a woman hard to get!¡±


    Zeusughed even harder as Seol-Ah red at him in displeasure. He exhaled heatedly as he scanned Seol-Ah from head to toe.


    ¡°Not even Aphrodite would be a match for your beauty! To think there was such a precious gem hidden within the physical realm...¡±


    Zeus then turned to the other woman behind Kang-Woo.


    ¡°By the gods, how can this be?!¡± His eyes lit up as he looked at Lilith. ¡°Hahaha, there is not one but two flowers! Is this a festival?!¡±


    ¡°My, you tter me.¡±Lilith smiled and walked toward Kang-Woo, cing her hand on his shoulder and smiling seductively. ¡°But unfortunately for you, this man has acquired both of these flowers.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Zeus groaned, slightly astonished. He then turned to Kang-Woo andughed heartily. ¡°Hahaha! What a predicament. It is still not toote for you to change your mind and do as Lady Gaia says. At this rate, you¡¯ll be embarrassed in front of your lovelydies!¡±


    ¡°Zeus!¡± Gaia shouted, unable to endure it any longer. ¡°I told you to behave yourself!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. It¡¯s just a joke, Mother. Not even I would covet a woman who already has a beloved.¡±


    ¡°Bull! You¡¯ve caused countless incidents in the divine realm because of that!¡±


    ¡°Oh, had I?¡± Zeus turned back to Kang-Woo as he smiled slyly. ¡°Anyway, may I spend some time alone with your women if you fail the test?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Seol-Ah answered in Kang-Woo¡¯s ce. She hid behind Kang-Woo, embracing his arm as she trembled and gritted her teeth. ¡°Why are you trying to get between me and Kang-Woo?¡±


    She red at Zeus with empty eyes.


    ¡°Hahaha. I am not trying to get between you two. I am simply heartbroken to see a flower entangled by the stifling vines known as a rtionship.¡±


    Seol-Ah frowned aggressively due to Zeus¡¯s sly attitude. As twelve translucent wings were about to sprout from her back...


    ¡°Calm down, darling,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    ¡°Kang-Woo?¡±


    He grabbed Seol-Ah¡¯s shoulder and pulled his arm out of her embrace. ¡°That¡¯s fine. However, could you do one thing that I ask you if I pass the test?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Of course! I swear on my Deific Essence of Lightning!¡± Zeus nodded as heughed heartily. He shrugged and turned to Gaia. ¡°Alright, then. Is there a decent ce to carry out the test around here?¡±


    ¡°Zeus,¡± Gaia muttered.


    ¡°Hahaha, there is no need to be so worried, Mother. I will not severely injure your precious retainer.¡±


    Zeus looked around and lightly snapped his finger.


    <i>Crackle.</i>


    Blue sparks spread from his hand to the walls.


    ¡°Oh, I found the perfect ce,¡± Zeus said as he walked to therge training room that Kim Si-Hun usually used.


    As Kang-Woo was about to follow Zeus inside, Gaia grabbed his arm with an anxious expression.


    ¡°My child, think this through again. No god in Olympus surpasses Zeus in terms ofbat. Even if you¡¯ve received my power... it will not be enough to face Zeus.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled as Gaia begged him desperately. He entered the training room without answering her. Gaia stared at Kang-Woo¡¯s back in pity.


    Uranus slowly approached and grabbed Gaia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Do not worry. I will intervene if Zeus is about to go too far.¡±


    ¡°But...¡±


    ¡°Your retainer will also get a chance to experience how powerful the gods are. He will give up on his absurd n of keeping all the gods in check.¡±


    Gaia brought her hands together in worry. White light flowed out from her and entered Kang-Woo. A barrier made of Divinity enveloped him so that he would avoid severe injuries.


    ¡°Haha. Your love for your retainers is as strong as always.¡± Noticing the light, Zeus chuckled. He said leisurely, ¡°Well then, I will let you attack first.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled widely and bowed. ¡°I look forward to your guidance.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! At least you have a minimal level of courtesy! Do not worry. I will do my best to embarrass you as least as possible in front of your women¡ª¡±


    Kang-Woo turned into a golden light and disappeared.


    <i>Tap.</i>


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Kang-Woo teleported behind Zeus and grabbed him by the back of his head. Kang-Woo swung Zeus¡¯s head down and his knee up.


    <i>Bash!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡± Zeus grunted after getting a knee mmed into his face.


    Kang-Woo grabbed Zeus¡¯s head with both hands and mmed his knee into Zeus¡¯s face again and again. The protective barrier of Deific Essence around Zeus shattered and his nose broke.


    ¡°W-Wa...¡± Zeus quickly shouted.


    However, Kang-Woo mmed Zeus¡¯s head into the ground and stomped his feet.


    <i>Swish!!</i>


    Hundreds of golden swords sprouted from the ground like a graveyard of swords. Kang-Woo then ran with Zeus¡¯s head on the ground.


    <i>sh!</i>


    ¡°Aaarrrggghhh!!!¡± Zeus screamed.


    Zeus¡¯s head was split, blood pouring out of his head from being shed by the swords of splendor on the ground. He frantically twisted himself out of Kang-Woo¡¯s hand.


    ¡°<i>Huff, huff, huff!</i>¡± he panted heavily as he stared at Kang-Woo in disbelief. ¡°H-how did you break the Deific Essence protection...?¡±


    ¡°Because I also have Deific Essence.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Zeus was left astonished by Kang-Woo¡¯s calm answer. He turned to look at Gaia momentarily but shook his head. A god couldn''t grant Deific Essence to anyone but their incarnation.


    <i>¡®That means...¡¯</i>


    The human had acquired Deific Essence with his own strength. Zeus knew how impressive of a feat that was.


    ¡°Forgive me for the disrespect.¡± Zeus stopped underestimating Kang-Woo and widened his stance. ¡°Can you tell me your Deific Name?¡±


    <i>Crackle!!</i>


    Zeus¡¯s eyes shone as blue lightning enveloped him. His sly expression from earlier vanished and had been reced with one befitting the dignity of the God of Lightning.


    Kang-Woo said as he stared at Zeus, ¡°Splendor. My Deific Name is Splendor.¡±


    He said the name of his Deific Essence which he had acquired after oveing countless adversities.


    <i>sh¡ª!</i>


    Blinding light filled the Hall of Protection.


    <i>Riiing!</i>


    [Affiliating Gaia¡¯s retainer, the God of Splendor, with Olympus.]


    [Error, error.]


    [The God of Splendor¡¯s entry to Olympus has been canceled due to an unknown reason.]


    ***


    The battle between the God of Lightning Zeus and the God of Splendor Oh Kang-Woo had gone in apletely different direction than expected.


    ¡°N-no way...¡±


    Heracles¡¯s mouth gaped open in shock as he watched the battle, chills running down his back. The battle had been overwhelming, but the problem was...


    ¡°<i>Cough!</i> Kurgh...¡±


    The one on the ground was Zeus, one of the strongest gods of Olympus.


    ¡°I-I¡¯ve lost,¡± Zeus said as he lowered his head in front of Kang-Woo.


    He did not want to admit it, but he had no choice after being beaten so one-sidedly. He had lost so miserably that the word was not enough to describe his loss.


    Zeus nodded and continued, ¡°I see that... your deration to keep the gods in check wasn¡¯t just talk.¡±


    It was not just the fact that Kang-Woo possessed Top-rank Derific Essence; the God of Splendor was so powerful that the entire force of Olympus might not be a match for him.


    ¡°Can I take that as an agreement to my n?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Zeus nced in silence at Gaia, whose mouth was still gaped open in disbelief. He nodded slightly and said, ¡°The ultimate decision is up to Mother, but I at least will agree.¡±


    His pride did not allow him to take back his word after losing so miserably. Kang-Woo smiled. He did not need to look at Gaia¡¯s response since she had most definitely realized that he had the power to back up his words.


    ¡°Well, then...¡±


    Kang-Woo grabbed Zeus¡¯s shoulder. He had gotten what he wanted, but he could not let Zeus¡¯s ogling of Seol-Ah and Lilith slide. ¡°Could I ask you to do that one thing as promised right now?¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Zeus averted his gaze from Kang-Woo. He had put his Deific Essence on the line since he had been sure that he would win, but regret swept over him after losing. ¡°... Tell me what you want.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing special. You only need to stay still for it.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°Please follow me.¡±


    Kang-Woo helped Zeus up and smiled. He told Gaia that he needed to discuss something with Zeus privately and headed down to the Hall of Protection¡¯s basement where Guardians equipment and potions were stored.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    Kang-Woo slid open the thick steel door.


    ¡°Where is this ce?¡± Zeus asked.


    ¡°A storage room.¡±


    ¡°Why are we here...?¡± Zeus asked as he tilted his head iprehensibly.


    Kang-Woo looked back at him and smiled. ¡°My request is simple. Just stay in here for a few hours without using any of your powers.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zeus frowned after hearing the unexpected request. ¡°Mm... I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking, but okay.¡±


    Zeus dly nodded and sat on a chair in the storage room. Kang-Woo walked behind him and then extended his right hand outward. Slushy jumped out of the Key of the Demonic Sea and onto Zeus¡¯s face.


    ¡°Urpp! Wh-what is th¡ª¡±


    Slushy covered Zeus¡¯s eyes and Kang-Woo tied Zeus¡¯s hands and legs together using the Authority of Sealing.


    ¡°Kurgh! L-let me go!!¡± Zeus shouted.


    He was unable to escape from the Authority of Sealing because he was not able to use any of his powers as he had sworn with his Deific Essence on the line.


    ¡°Lord Zeus,¡± Kang-Woo called.


    ¡°Kuh! D-dammit! What are you trying to do to me?!¡±


    Kang-Woo brought his mouth closer to the struggling Zeus¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Have you ever heard this saying?¡± Kang-Woo ced his hand on Zeus¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Every beautiful flower...¡±


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    ¡°... Has tentacles.¡±


    <i>Squelch, squelch.</i>


    Green tentacles poured out from the seams of the storage room walls.


    ¡°Wh-what? What does that m¡ª W-wait! Wh-what are these strange sounds?!! Kurgh! S-something is crawling up my b-body!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha. I will erase your memories after, so you don¡¯t have to worry. It¡¯ll just feel like a nightmare once I do.¡±


    <i>¡®A nightmare so terrible that it¡¯ll traumatize you, that is.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Well, then...¡± Kang-Woo nodded at Lilith, who was looking his way as she waved, and headed to the storage room door.


    ¡°W-wait! P-please!! P-please, let me go!!¡±


    <i>tter, tter, tter.</i>


    Zeus struggled frantically behind him.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    Kang-Woo closed the thick steel door.


    ¡°GAME OVER.¡±


    <i>Thump.</i>

 Chapter 438 - Unreaching Voice (1)

    <h4>Chapter 438 - Unreaching Voice (1)</h4>


    An absurd neww was ced through Gaia; entry into the physical realm was restricted to all gods who did not receive permission from Gaia and the God of Splendor, and the Deific Essence of those who broke thisw would be annihted without question.


    ¡°How are they taking it?¡± Oh Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°As you can predict.¡± Gaia nodded, having an expression of mixed feelings.


    Kang-Woo nodded back. It was not difficult to guess how the gods, who were finally free from their restrictions, would react to being restricted again right after. Although they could notin in the past since they were restricted by the Law of Titans, a set of rules created by beings superior to them, this instance was different.


    The ones restricting them this time were Gaia, a Top-rank goddess but a fellow deity nheless, and the God of Splendor, a retainer of Gaia who was once human. Being kept in check by a human, albeit one possessing Deific Essence, was as humiliating as having a pet, whom one raised, cing a cor on them.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no way they would stand for it.¡¯</i>


    No matter how powerful the faction of Olympus was, they would never ept this absurd level of dictatorship.


    ¡°At this rate...¡± Gaia slurred anxiously.


    Kang-Woo nodded. ¡°They would band together.¡±


    An anti-Gaia faction would be formed tobat Olympus¡¯s dictatorship. There was no better way for people to join forces than against amon enemy.


    Uranus stepped forward as he was listening to Kang-Woo and Gaia¡¯s conversation. He gave off an aura as sharp as a knife despite his barbaric appearance.


    ¡°With the way things are progressing, it seems the gods who oppose this n are gathering around the forces of Asgard with Odin at the center,¡± he remarked.


    ¡°Odin...¡± Gaia narrowed her eyes.


    Odin was one of the Top-rank gods as well as one who had once been Earth¡¯s guardian deity. He stepped down from the position after being greatly injured in the battle against Demon God Bauli, but that was a very long time ago. He possessed power on par with¡ª no, even greater than his prime.


    ¡°Hah, there¡¯s Odin too?¡± Kang-Woo chuckled after hearing the name.


    He was having a hard time taking in the fact that the gods he had only read about through cartoons and books were alive and breathing.


    ¡°Yes. He was once Earth¡¯s guardian deity. His son Thor is as powerful as Zeus,¡± Gaia remarked.


    ¡°Has Thor lost some weight?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be that fat in the end.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Gaia asked as she tilted her head.


    Kang-Woo shrugged and changed the subject. ¡°Anyway, are there any gods who have joined forces with Asgard?¡±


    ¡°There is a god named Susanoo.¡±


    Kang-Woo had not heard that name in a long time.


    <i>¡®What was his name again?¡¯</i> Kang-Woo fell into thought as he narrowed his eyes. <i>¡®Tsujimoto? No, that man is a god</i>[1]<i>, not a yer... Was it Fujimoto?¡¯</i>


    Fujimoto Ryoma was a yer who had managed to manifest Susanoo, albeit for a moment.


    <i>¡®Well, regardless.¡¯</i>


    Susanoo was a god of Japanese mythology.


    <i>¡®There are so many fucking gods.¡¯</i>


    If every god from every myth existed, their number would be countless.


    <i>¡®No wonder Heracles called me insane.¡¯</i>


    Olympus had practically dered war on an unfathomable number of gods, so their insults to Kang-Woo were valid. Rather, it was a surprise that his n was agreed upon just from him beating the crap out of Zeus.


    <i>¡®It must be because even Gaia knows what will happen if gods are left to their own devices.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could tell that Gaia was thinking about how absurd this n was even now from how she looked as if she had died several times over. However, regardless of whether it was absurd or not, she had gone with Kang-Woo¡¯s n anyway since she had no other choice. Unlike the gloomy Gaia, Kang-Woo was pulling down the rising corners of his mouth with all his might.


    <i>¡®Gods in revolt, huh?¡¯</i>


    The more uncontroble their numbers grew, the better it was for him.


    <i>Badump, badump.</i>


    His heart beat faster and his hunger pained his stomach. He licked his lips as he recalled the message he had seen as he was trying to suppress the Rift connecting Aernor and Earth.


    <i>¡®Transcendent-rank Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    It was the rank above Top-rank Deific Essence. Kang-Woo was cheering at the fact that he was gaining more nutrients as he was on the cusp of attaining it.


    <i>¡®Bael... Perhaps you were a saint.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had been enraged out of his mind when Bael had initially trolled, but he couldn¡¯t help but think that things were heading in a favorable direction now that they were progressing.


    <i>¡®Besides, getting rid of the Demon God¡¯s heart wouldn¡¯t have been a permanent fix.¡¯</i>


    The Gaia System¡¯s copse was inevitable; it was only a matter of time. Rather, Gaia and La wouldn¡¯t be fine as they were now if Bael hadn¡¯t taken ownership of the Gaia System.


    <i>¡®And if that happened, Si-Hun¡¯s mind would have shatteredpletely.¡¯</i>


    Considering Kim Si-Hun¡¯s personality, leaving the copsed Gaia System aside, he would not have been able to bear La falling apart in front of him. Worst-case scenario, he could have turned into a demon likest time, leaving Kang-Woo with no way of fixing it.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t let him be Doom Si-Hun.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun and La had both be people whom Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t abandon.


    <i>¡®Anyway, things haven¡¯t gonepletely to shit.¡¯</i>


    There was nothing that could be done at the moment about the otherworldly invasion; leaving the Nine Hells aside, he could not prepare for invasions from worlds that he had never heard about or seen.


    <i>¡®Without a way to block all invasions from outer worlds like the Gaia System...¡¯</i>


    There would be no other choice but Kang-Woo himself to take on the role of the Gaia System.


    <i>¡®I have to suppress the otherworldly invasions by force if necessary.¡¯</i>


    For him to do that, he needed to attain Transcendent-rank Deific Essence; there was nothing more perfect than overwhelming power to deal with any variables that arose. No matter how skilled he was at deceiving the enemy and influencing their actions with his eloquence, he would just be all bark and no bite without the power to back it up.


    <i>¡®And most of all.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes sank deeply and a cold me lit up from within the endless abyss.


    <i>¡®Bael.¡¯</i>


    He needed to emerge victorious against the demon that he had not been able to defeat even once. The battle against Bael was inevitable and there was no one but Kang-Woo who could face him¡ª no, not even Kang-Woo himself was a match for Bael at the moment.


    <i>¡®There was no way for me to beat him even before he ate the Demon God¡¯s heart.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s head hurt just thinking about the unfathomable power Bael had gained after eating the heart.


    <i>¡®Maybe...¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes narrowed as the worst-case scenario that he didn¡¯t even want to imagine popped up in his head. <i>¡®Even opening the Doors might not be enough.¡¯</i>


    He could only open up to the second Door. He had never opened the third Door ever since he created the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t open the third one... no matter what.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head. He would lose control of the Demonic Seapletely once he opened the third Door. He was not being figurative when he said that the entire world would be eaten up by the Demonic Sea.


    <i>¡®I can only open up to the second one.¡¯</i>


    Even with that restriction, his consciousness would be blown away if he kept the Doors open for too long. For him to control the Doors while staying as conscious as possible, he needed the Transcendent-rank Deific Essence.


    In the past, just opening the first Door caused him to lose consciousness, but he was different now. Not only had he be iparably more powerful than his past self, he was now able to keep two Doors open with full consciousness. He had never put it to the test, but he felt like he could keep the first Door open for days.


    <i>¡®It would¡¯ve been unimaginable in the past.¡¯</i>


    Even during his days in the Nine Hells, the Doors were like a self-destruct button. He had refrained from it so strongly that he could count on one hand the number of times that he opened them before his battle against Bael.


    <i>¡®I hope they gather as much as possible.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had no idea if the condition for attaining Transcendent-rank Deific Essence was to eat an immense amount of Deific Essence, but he would eat as much as he could since an opportunity had arisen.


    ¡°Haaa. My child, I still think this is far too reckless,¡± Gaia remarked with a serious expression as Kang-Woo was thinking about the gods of the anti-Gaia faction. She stood up and continued, ¡°I will go to Odin myself and see if I can resolve this with words.¡±


    Kang-Qoo quickly grabbed her arm and replied, ¡°Lady Gaia, you already know that the situation has escted too far for it to be resolved that easily.¡±


    ¡°You never know until you try. Fortunately, Odin is not a stubborn man. He will listen as long as¡ª¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Kang-Woo said firmly.


    <i>¡®Words? Over my dead body.¡¯</i>


    Gaia was trying to ruin a feast that had already beenid out in front of Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Only the powerless humans will be hurt if we do not set an example,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°...¡±


    Gaia lowered her head. She knew why Kang-Woo was saying such things; although he possessed Deific Essence now, he would always take the side of humans since he used to be one.


    ¡°I will think it through a little more,¡± Gaia answered hesitantly and averted her gaze from Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo stood up and replied, ¡°In that case, please continue to monitor the movements of the Asgardian forces.¡±


    It would put him in a bad light if he were to push Gaia any further.


    <i>¡®Maybe I should take some sort of measure,¡¯</i> Kang-Woo thought but shook his head. <i>¡®No, I¡¯m sure Odin will make a move first as long as we bide the time.¡¯</i>


    Thew had already been announced in Gaia¡¯s name. The anti-Gaia faction was already growing in number, so it was only a matter of time until their suppressed emotions burst.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll burst.¡¯</i>


    There was no way that the gods would stand for this level of dictatorship.


    ¡°Well then, I will excuse myself.¡± Kang-Woo bowed courteously and turned around.


    The gods were not the only problem. The Gates on Earth had been showing abnormalitiestely as well.


    <i>¡®I need to make preparations for that as well.¡¯</i>


    However, it was far easier to deal with thanks to Guardians.


    <i>Whoooom.</i>


    Kang-Woo walked through a gate in the Hall of Protection and went back to Seoul; to be more precise, the mountain on the outskirts of Seoul that Kang-Woo frequently used as a training ground.


    ¡°I might as well have dinner with Seol-Ah tonight.¡±


    He had not been able to spend much time with Seol-Ah because he had been busy resolving the problems regarding the divine realm. He was watering at the mouth thinking about the warm kimchi stew she always made for him.


    <i>Step, step.</i>


    ¡°Are you the God of Splendor?¡±


    Just then, a blond man with a rectangr hammer walked toward Kang-Woo.


    ¡°And you are...?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Thor, God of Thunder.¡±


    <i>¡®Oh, what? They¡¯re already here? Dayum, and here I¡¯d thought it¡¯d take a little longer.¡¯</i>


    The anti-Gaia faction had only just formed, so Kang-Woo had thought it would take some time until they took action.


    ¡°To think you¡¯d manifest into the physical realm without Lady Gaia¡¯s consent... Have you not heard the neww?¡± Kang-Woo asked in a low tone with Ingrium in hand.


    <i>¡®He¡¯s apparently as strong as Zeus.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth watered from his desire to test that statement.


    ¡°No, I am not here to fight,¡± Thor answered.


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°I am here to converse with you.¡±


    <i>¡®Converse? What the fuck are you on about? You¡¯re not trying to resolve this with words too, are you?¡¯</i>


    1. This is referring to Fujimoto Ryozo, the producer of the <i>Monster Hunter</i> series and a man whom the Korean gamers consider a god (for some reason lmao). ?

 Chapter 439 - Unreaching Voice (2)

    <h4>Chapter 439 - Unreaching Voice (2)</h4>


    <i>¡®Nah, there¡¯s no way.¡¯</i>


    Oh Kang-Woo shook his head. He could understand Gaia¡¯s desire to talk since her Deific Essence was that of Parental Love, but he had heard that Odin was not one to shy away from a battle.


    Thew that Kang-Woo had implemented through Gaia was no different from treating every single god as an evil one as well as raising the status of the gods of Olympus to the level of Titans. Odin would surely take that as a deration of war that he would not stand for. Considering that he formed the anti-Gaia faction the moment thew was announced was proof of that.


    <i>¡®But he wants to talk, going so far as to send his son as an envoy? Is the son of a bitch plotting something?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was hoping that this was part of Odin¡¯s devious scheme to stab Gaia in the back.


    <i>¡®Please.¡¯</i>


    If that were the case, Kang-Woo would be able to stab Odin right back after pretending to be deceived.


    ¡°... You want to talk?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Thor nodded with a heavy expression.


    Kang-Woo red at him and replied, ¡°I believe Lady Gaia has already made herself clear.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Thor groaned as if he were hard-pressed. ¡°I do not know why someone as kind as Lady Gaia would make such a radical decision, but...¡±


    Thor and the other gods did not seem to think that Kang-Woo hade up with thew. It was only natural; no one would think that the God of Splendor, who used to be Gaia¡¯s retainer and still was after acquiring Deific Essence, would be the one leading the entire faction of Olympus. The other gods had likely deduced that it was either Gaia''s or Uranus¡¯s idea.


    Thor continued firmly, ¡°I was told by my father that considering the circumstances, we should first begin by talking.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Based on thisw, Lady Gaia seems to be fearing that we would cause chaos once we manifest into the physical realm. My father has also taken that into ount; Asgard is also in the process of preparing a measure that would keep in check the gods who would cause chaos in the physical realm.¡±


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    ¡°He has expressed dissatisfaction with the gods of Olympus trying to treat all gods as evil gods who would cause chaos in the physical realm with no discussion whatsoever,¡± Thor said.


    <i>¡®The hell? They¡¯re seriously trying to resolve things with words?¡¯</i>


    ¡°We cannot afford to risk Ragnarok, especially when we need to prepare for otherworldly invasions now that Earth¡¯s protection is gone.¡±


    <i>¡®Why the fuck is he so logical? I can¡¯t even argue because not saying anything wrong. Is Zeus the dumbass or are Thor and Odin just that intelligent?¡¯</i>


    They had perfect knowledge of the circumstances. They formed the anti-Gaia faction to demonstrate their power while expressing their desire toe to a pacifistic conclusion. It also made sense why they would approach Kang-Woo before Gaia.


    <i>¡®Because rumors that Gaia treasures me have already spread far and wide.¡¯</i>


    If they thought that the radical decision was made by Gaia, they would naturally judge that it would be better to convince the people around Gaia instead of her directly.


    <i>¡®Dayum, Odin. I¡¯m starting to like you. Should I just abandon Gaia and side with Odin instead?¡¯</i>


    Sweet temptation filled Kang-Woo¡¯s mind but he shook his head.


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    He had invested far too much in the Gaia Coin to abandon it now. Most of all, Gaia was just the right amount of stupid for him to easily make use of her.


    <i>¡®It¡¯d be difficult to make Odin do as I want.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo also did not have the time to go through the shitshow of tears to build up trust with another god.


    ¡°So, may I have a moment of your time to talk? I¡¯m sure you also feel that Lady Gaia has crossed the line a little with the implementation of thisw,¡± Thor stated.


    ¡°...¡± Kang-Woo remained silent. He lowered his head with a dark expression, sighed deeply, and nodded. ¡°Yes, I am also having a hard time understanding Lady Gaia¡¯s actions.¡±


    There was no way that anyone would be able to easily understand Gaia¡¯s radical decision to antagonize all gods.


    ¡°... Yes, her action is no different from dering war on all gods, is it not?¡± Thor replied.


    ¡°That just goes to show how much she cares for Earth¡¯s safety.¡±


    ¡°But that very decision has put Earth in danger. If the gods go to war against each other, Earth will notst.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°The Demon of Prophecy is trying to devour the worlds. This is not the time to fight among ourselves; we have to unite as we had against the Demon God,¡± Thor remarked, his eyes filled with passion. ¡°My father is not against thew itself. He also understands that extreme means must be taken to protect the physical realm.¡±


    <i>¡®Hm?¡¯</i> Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes after hearing what Thor said.


    ¡°Then...¡± Kang-Woo slurred.


    ¡°He just thinks that it is too heavy of a burden for Lady Gaia herself to shoulder.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    <i>¡®Oh? Would you look at these sons of bitches?¡¯</i>


    It seemed like Thor¡¯s sound reasoning earlier was all for this.


    <i>¡®He was just stating facts when he was talking about gods needing to band together, but in actuality, they don¡¯t like the fact that Olympus is trying to monopolize the power and just want a piece of the pie as well. Hah, they sure have thought it through.¡¯</i>


    The one who had formed the anti-Gaia faction was in truth after the authority to control all the gods like what Olympus was trying to do. It was no different from themander of a revolutionary army joining forces with the government to bend the entire country to their will.


    <i>¡®Should I seriously switch to the Odin Coin?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was taking a liking to Odin more and more by the second.


    <i>¡®No, no.¡¯</i>


    He would have considered it if he knew about Odin from the beginning, but it was far toote to change sides. He could not afford to waste time and effort when the otherworldly invasions could start at any moment.


    ¡°I see. The other gods would no doubt follow suit if Lord Odin were to join us.¡± Kang-Woo nodded. ¡°I will put in a good word to Lady Gaia about it.¡±


    ¡°... Thank you.¡± Thor smiled faintly. ¡°In that case, I will take my leave. I will send a messenger next time, so you can ry the progress to them.¡±


    Thor ced his hammer on his belt and extended his hand to Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo grabbed his hand and then yanked it with all his might.


    <i>Stab!</i>


    Kang-Woo brought his arm holding Ingrium forward, the sword shining gold piercing Thor¡¯s stomach.


    ¡°Kurgh...!¡± Thor¡¯s eyes widened.


    Kang-Woo brought Ingrium up toward Thor¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Urgh!¡±


    Thor grabbed his hammer from his belt and smashed Ingrium¡¯s de. Ingrium was sent flying to the side and Thor¡¯s stomach was sliced open.


    <i>Crackle¡ª!</i>


    An immense amount of lightning poured out from Thor¡¯s stomach. His stomach was restored to its original form along with the sounds of burning flesh.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue in disappointment. ¡°Tsk, I guess I was hoping for too much to kill you with one strike.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what is the meaning of this?!¡± Thor looked up at Kang-Woo in shock.


    He was shocked enough that Kang-Woo had managed to pierce right through his Deific Essence barrier, but he was having an even harder time understanding the sudden attack.


    ¡°Attacking an envoy sent to propose a discussion is a taboo!¡± Thor shouted.


    ¡°Taboo, my ass. Do you think war is a game? Huh? Do you want to take turns attacking each other or something?¡± Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°There are no rules in war, dumbass.¡±


    <i>Fwoosh.</i>


    The mes of Voracity burned brightly. The mes that had been enveloping Ingrium¡¯s de were devouring the lightning pouring out from Thor.


    ¡°Y-you bastard...!¡±


    Thor¡¯s face reddened with rage as his beard shook. Kang-Woo¡¯s words were unbearable to him as the God of Thunder as well as an honorable warrior. He red at Kang-Woo in disgust.


    ¡°I heard that the God of Splendor is a warrior who knows honor despite originally being human... It seems I have heard wrong,¡± Thor remarked.


    ¡°Yeah, you sure did.¡± Kang-Woo felt like he was about to hurl from being called an honorable warrior. ¡°There¡¯s no fucking honor in killing. Also, big words from someone who tried to use this opportunity to gain power by joining forces with Olympus.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...¡±


    ¡°Deny it if you can. You sure are a pro at sugarcoating. For the sake of the world? To stop the otherworldly invasions? Bullshit. Then why did you form an opposing faction after thew was announced and then secretly approach us to share the power?¡±


    Kang-Woo feignedughter.


    ¡°Susanoo or whatever the fuck his name was, he joined you guys too, didn¡¯t he? Does he know about this? Hm? Does he know that Asgard is trying to join forces with Olympus to gain power over all gods?¡±


    ¡°,,,¡±


    ¡°Of course, he doesn¡¯t. How could he? After all, the entire anti-Gaia faction would be disbanded as soon as it is exposed.¡± Kang-Woo spat on the ground. ¡°You talk too much for a fucking snake.¡±


    ¡°Silence! You know nothing about my father¡¯s great n!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t?¡± Kang-Woo cackled. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll give you that.¡±


    It might be true that Odin did not covet power; he might have offered his help genuinely for world peace, and the war between gods would be avoided if Olympus and Asgard joined forces.


    ¡°But you see, so what? Why is that important?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°... What?¡±


    Kang-Woo needed an immense amount of Divinity to reach Transcendent-rank Deific Essence, and there was no better supply for it than the group of gods banded together against Gaia.


    ¡°The truth isn¡¯t important.¡±


    If Kang-Woo needed it, he would attain it; he would do whatever it took, even if he needed to trample on someone¡¯s goodwill. That was how he had survived and emerged victorious thus far.


    ¡°What¡¯s important is what seems like the truth.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled widely. He couldn¡¯t care less what Odin really wanted. It was enough knowing that Odin was an evil god who desired power for malicious reasons and a cowardly opportunist.


    <i>¡®And if that¡¯s not the case, I¡¯ll just make it so with my own hands.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 440 - Unreaching Voice (3)

    <h4>Chapter 440 - Unreaching Voice (3)</h4>


    ¡°You bastard...¡± Thor trembled in shock.


    There was something severely broken about the human¡ª no, the being wearing human skin.


    ¡°...¡±


    Thor remained silent as he frowned aggressively. He clenched Mjolnir harder as blue lightning enveloped him.


    ¡°I am Thor.¡± He raised Mjolnir; ck clouds formed over him and a blue lightning bolt struck him. ¡°Son of Odin, and the God of Thunder!!¡±


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    Waves of power spread throughout the area as the earth shook. Kang-Woo twirled Ingrium and smiled.


    ¡°I am Oh Kang-Woo.¡± He then raised Ingrium and continued, ¡°Son of... wait.¡±


    <i>¡®Shit, I¡¯m an orphan.¡¯</i>


    Bauli had revealed himself to be Kang-Woo¡¯s mother, but it was ambiguous to say that he had been born from the Demon God. Kang-Woo grimaced.


    ¡°You son of a bitch... How dare you mock me?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Thor asked perplexedly.


    ¡°Do you have any idea about the sorrow and istion thates with having no parents? Huh? Do you?! And you have the gall to brag about your dad in front of me? You scumbag...¡±


    Kang-Woo bit his lip. He felt as if an old wound that he had stuffed deep within him had resurfaced.


    ¡°Unforgivable.¡± Kang-Woo clenched Ingrium tighter and red at Thor.


    ¡°Crazy son of a...¡± Thor stared at Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly with his mouth agape. He could not help but think that Kang-Woo had gone insane. ¡°Hup!¡±


    Thor took a deep breath and clenched Mjolnir harder. His bursting muscles swelled even more and ripped his clothes.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    Thor jumped into the air and pulled his arm back. He swung the hammer like a windmill and threw it at Kang-Woo.


    <i>Crackle¡ª!</i>


    Kang-Woo deflected Mjolnir with Ingrium, his arm numb from the powerful impact.


    ¡°Slushy.¡±


    ¡°Grrrk!¡±


    A ck lump jumped out from the Key of the Demonic Sea. Slushy jumped up and down as it opened its massive mouth with hideous teeth within it,pletely unlike its cute appearance.


    ¡°<i>Buuuuuurp!</i>¡±


    Hundreds of swords, spears, and axes shot out of Slushy¡¯s mouth like cannonballs and at Thor.


    ¡°It¡¯s futile!¡± Thor extended his arm in midair, summoning Mjolnir back to him after it was deflected by Ingrium.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    He aggressively swung the hammer and deflected the weapons that Slushy shot out. The weapons fell to the ground, turned into ck mucus, and oozed back into Slushy.


    ¡°It¡¯s not bad as a way to keep the opponent in check.¡± Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction as he stared at the hundreds of weapons.


    He had found it a waste to leave Slushy as simply a Divinity converter and had found an effective way to use it after many trials. He patted Slushy on the head to praise it.


    ¡°<i>Burp! Buuuuurp!</i>¡±


    ¡°But the sound effect is a bit...¡±


    Slushy was practically burping out various weapons that had been stored within the Key of the Demonic Sea through demonic energy, so the sounds that Slushy made were very unpleasant.


    ¡°Kuh!!¡± Thor grimaced as hundreds of weapons continuously shot at him. He clenched his teeth and raised Mjolnir. ¡°Thunder!¡±


    <i>Rumble!</i>


    A giant ck cloud formed in the sky and shot down a tremendous lightning bolt. The weapons being shot at Thor were reduced to ashes in a sh. Thor did not waste the opportunity and charged at Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo smiled. ¡°He¡¯s better than Zeus.¡±


    He had heard that Zeus and Thor were simr in power, but he had to give the edge to Thor.


    ¡°Well,¡± Kang-Woo expressed as he ducked to dodge Mjolnir and then did a backflip to kick Thor¡¯s chin. ¡°Not that it changes anything.¡±


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    Thor was blown back from the kick. Kang-WEoo got back on his feet and extended his left arm to the side.


    ¡°Chaos, Thread.¡±


    The Chaos energy took the form of silk threads and spread like a. Likely due to the influence of Kang-Woo¡¯s Deific Essence of Splendor, the Chaos energy that was usually gray was shining gold. The gold threads filled the entire area like spider webs. Thor made contact with one of the gold threads as he was being blown back.


    <i>Boom¡ª!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    The electricity protecting Thor was blown away as the part that made contact with the thread exploded. Thor quickly swung his arm to get away from the threads. Kang-Woo quickly ran up to Thor in the meantime and swung down Ingrium in a reverse grip.


    <i>Stab!</i>


    ¡°Urghhh!¡± Thor grunted as Ingrium pierced his shoulder.


    He bit his lip and swung Mjolnir upward.


    ¡°Haaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!¡± Thor screamed with his arms spread widely.


    <i>Crackle¡ª!!</i>


    A blinding lightning storm thrashed about. Thor¡¯s eyes shone blue as the mountain began to be destroyed as lightning poured out of him like a tsunami.


    ¡°Whoa.¡± Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone as he stared at the mass destruction.


    Unlike his battle against Zeus, which had been nothing but a friendly duel, Kang-Woo could feel a sense of danger now that Thor had unleashed his full power to kill Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡®Yeah.¡¯</i> Kang-Woo smiled and licked his lips.<i> ¡®This is more like it.¡¯</i>


    His heart beat rapidly as hunger and thirst took control of him. He bared his teeth ferociously as he red at Thor like a starved beast.


    ¡°Thor, God of Thunder,mands you!¡±


    Thor stomped his foot aggressively and raised Mjolnir high. ck clouds covered the entirety of Seoul¡ª no, possibly Korea itself. The blue lightning storm enveloped Thor.


    ¡°Storm Bringer!¡±


    A lightning bolt struck down from the ck cloud and a sound so thunderous rang out as if the sky was falling.


    ¡°Heh,¡± Kang-Woo chuckled as he stared into the sky and opened his mouth.


    The lightning bolt struck him.


    <i>Crackle¡ª!!!</i>


    The destruction was on par with a natural disaster. Kang-Woo felt immense pain as the lightning burned through Kang-Woo¡¯s Deific Essence protection.


    <i>¡®More.¡¯</i>


    This was nowhere near enough; his thirst scratched at his throat and his hunger strangled his stomach. He recalled his battle against Tai Wuji.


    <i>¡®More, more, more.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo wanted to experience that feeling again. He stared at Thor ecstatically and with hope. Thor was beginning to pant heavily as he was summoning the lightning.


    <i>¡®Keep going just a little longer.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at Thor in desperation. He felt like he would be able to experience the feeling from back then again with just a little more.


    <i>Spark¡ª!!</i>


    Thousands of lightning bolts struck Kang-Woo one after another. His Deific Essence protection fell apart. He created a shield using the Authority of Invulnerability, but the lightning pierced straight through the golden shield. His skin was burnt ck, white smoke rising from the burnt areas. He could barely see because his eyes had burned as well.


    ¡°<i>Huff, huff, huff!</i>¡± Thor panted heavily.


    He had squeezed out all the Divinity he possessed with thatst attack. His vision blurred and he swayed from loss of strength in his legs as he stared at the God of Splendor, who had be nothing but a pile of ash.


    <i>¡®Damn it.¡¯</i>


    Thor bit his lip regretfully. ¡°... I guess talking is out of the question now.¡±


    He had killed Gaia¡¯s retainer. Since Gaia treasured her retainers as much as her children, Asgard would not be able to avoid a frontal battle against Olympus. Ragnarok, the war of gods, was near.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Thor sighed deeply.


    He turned around and shook his head, thinking about why things had escted to this extent.


    ¡°Where are... you going?¡±


    Just then, he heard a voice that he should not be hearing.


    ¡°... What?¡± Thor turned around in shock.


    He saw the God of Splendor¡¯s ashen corpse¡ª no, he had only thought that it was a corpse.


    ¡°You were... so... close.¡± Kang-Woo sighed in disappointment. ¡°You won¡¯t... do.¡±


    <i>Crack, crack.</i>


    The God of Splendor slowly moved around.


    ¡°I wonder... how Odin will... be? Hm? I can look... forward to it... right?¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled crazily in anticipation like a predator with defenseless prey right in front of him.


    ¡°...!¡±


    A chill ran down Thor¡¯s back. He was left immobile from fear.


    ¡°You...¡± Thor slurred with his eyes widened.


    He could instinctively tell that the being in front of him was not the God of Splendor.


    ¡°Who... are you?¡± Thor asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Kang-Woo opened his mouth to bare his teeth and stuck his tongue out. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t doubt the light.¡±


    <i>Fwoosh.</i>


    Gold and ck mes enveloped Kang-Woo¡¯s burnt body.


    ***


    An old man was sitting on the throne of a giant pce with its walls covered in murals. The old man had a bushy beard, white hair, and was wearing a ck eyepatch over one eye. He stared with his one remaining eye at the woman kneeling and bowing in front of him.


    ¡°Has there still been no contact from Thor?¡± Odin asked.


    ¡°N-not yet, Lord Odin.¡±


    Odin was a Top-rank god who led Asgard, a faction as powerful as Olympus. An intense aura was pouring out from the old god who had once battled the Demon God by himself. The kneeling and bowing woman subtly trembled.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Just then, the pce door swung open, and entered a man with a pale expression.


    Odin slowly looked up and asked, ¡°What is it Heimdall?¡±


    ¡°L-Lord Odin...¡±


    The man referred to as Heimdall walked up to Odin as he trembled. He closed his eyes and handed Odin a box.


    ¡°... What is this?¡± Odin asked.


    ¡°Lord Thor... Lord Thor has...¡± Heimdall lowered his head without being able to finish his sentence.


    Odin¡¯s eyebrows rose. He felt a chill run down his back. He took the box that Heimdall handed him and opened it with trembling hands.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡± Odin¡¯s eyes widened as he groaned. ¡°Thor... Thor...¡±


    Thor¡¯s severed head was inside the square box. From the way that his eyes were still open, it seemed like he had died in terror.


    ¡°My son...¡±


    A message was written on Thor¡¯s forehead.


    <i>- I see that you tried to mess with my child.</i>


    <i>- Hear me, Odin.</i>


    <i>- Only death awaits those who disobey me, Gaia.</i>


    <i>m!!</i>


    Odin clenched his fist and swung it down on the ground.


    <i>Rumble.</i>


    The entire pce shook.


    ¡°Gaia...¡± Odin muttered resentfully. mes of animosity filled his one remaining eye. ¡°Gaiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!¡±


    Odin¡¯s rageful screams echoed throughout the pce.

 Chapter 441 - Unreaching Voice (4)

    <h4>Chapter 441 - Unreaching Voice (4)</h4>


    A brown-haired woman had her eyes closed inside a white meeting room in the Hall of Protection. She then slowly opened her eyes after deep thought.


    ¡°As I¡¯d thought,¡± she muttered as she sighed deeply. ¡°It seems I¡¯ve made a hasty decision.¡±


    Gaia, the brown-haired woman, expressed deep regret. Thew of keeping the gods in the divine realm that she had announced caused immense shock among the gods.


    <i>¡®Ragnarok.¡¯</i>


    Her decision might cause the war among gods passed down in Norse mythology.


    ¡°Haaa.¡±


    Gaia closed her eyes again. Oh Kang-Woo had a point; if the gods were allowed to do as they wanted in the physical realm without any restrictions, the destruction during the Day of Cmity would palepared to the chaos that would ensue.


    <i>¡®If something like that were to happen when Earth¡¯s protection is gone... the world would self-destruct before the Demon of Prophecy even gets a chance to devour it.¡¯</i>


    It was unavoidable, so Gaia announced thew as Kang-Woo suggested. However...


    Gaia closed her eyes tighter as anxiety flushed over her. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn¡¯t help but wonder if she could have made a better choice.


    <i>¡®At least the opposing faction is gathering around Odin.¡¯</i>


    Odin was the furthest thing from being evil; his desire to protect the world was real since he had once been Earth¡¯s guardian deity.


    ¡°Uranus,¡± Gaia called.


    ¡°Yes, Lady Gaia,¡± Uranus replied as he approached Gaia.


    ¡°How is the situation in Asgard?¡±


    ¡°As I have mentioned, gods who oppose thew you have announced are gathering there.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°However, they do not seem to be preparing for an assault yet. A few gods from radical factions are pushing for a war, but Odin has been suppressing them personally.¡±


    ¡°Odin has?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Ah... but I have heard that Odin¡¯s actions have be strange after meeting Heimdall not long ago.¡±


    ¡°Strange?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I do not know why, but unlike how he usually inspects the situation outside the pce daily, he has been screaming inside the pce all day... I still have yet to acquire any details.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°But from the circumstances we can see, it is true that Odin is trying to avoid a war.¡±


    Gaia¡¯s eyes sank.


    <i>¡®Perhaps...¡¯</i>


    She thought of the possibility of being able to resolve this chaotic situation without a war.


    <i>¡®Although my child has said that talking is meaningless.¡¯</i>


    There was no better way than avoiding a war through negotiations.


    <i>¡®I should try to talk to him.¡¯</i>


    They had made far too hasty of a decision due to the copse of Earth¡¯s protection and the fact that the Demon God¡¯s heart fell into the hands of the Demon of Prophecy.


    <i>¡®I was too impulsive.¡¯</i>


    The fact that Kang-Woo easily overpowered her retainer Zeus also impacted her decision greatly because she was sure that even if a war took ce, they would be able to win as long as Kang-Woo and Olympus joined forces.


    However, Gaia did not expect Odin to be so assertive. She never thought that Odin, who had been Earth¡¯s guardian deity before her, wouldpletely oppose her decision and form an opposing faction.


    ¡°Odin,¡± she muttered faintly.


    <i>¡®A war against Odin must be avoided.¡¯</i>


    The physical realm would without a doubt be affected by a war between gods.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not just that.¡¯</i>


    The negative effects aside, pitting gods against each other when they should be standing together against the Demon of Prophecy was even worse.


    ¡°Uranus, call Zeus over.¡±


    ¡°Zeus?¡± Uranus looked at Gaia in dissatisfaction. ¡°Are you perhaps... thinking of sending Zeus as an envoy?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t afford to go to war without attempting conversation.¡±


    ¡°I should be the one to go.¡±


    ¡°No. It has to be Zeus.¡±


    Uranus was without a doubt the second-inmand of Olympus. No one in their right mind would send their second-inmand to enemy territory as an envoy.


    <i>¡®But I can¡¯t just send anyone either.¡¯</i>


    To make sure her desire to talk gets through to Odin, she needed to send a god of adequate power and position in Olympus as an envoy.


    ¡°How about Heracles...?¡± Uranus asked.


    ¡°I feel bad to say this, but this sort of mission is not suited for him.¡±


    Uranus was left speechless.


    Gaia gently caressed Uranus¡¯s arm and continued, ¡°There is no need to worry. Zeus is certainly immature, but he would never do anything that would dishonor Olympus.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± Uranus nodded.


    Zeus was a severe phnderer, but he was able to separate business from private matters. No, he was more serious and dignified than anyone in the face of other factions exactly because he cared deeply about appearances.


    ¡°Understood.¡± Uranus bowed lightly and contacted someone.


    The meeting room door opened soon after and entered Zeus.


    ¡°Hm? What¡¯s wrong? You don¡¯t look well.¡± Gaia expressed perplexity after seeing Zeus.


    His face was haggard as if his life force had been squeezed out. His golden hair waspletely disheveled and he smelled terrible. It was shocking, considering how well he took care of his appearance.


    ¡°A nightmare...¡± he mumbled.


    ¡°Nightmare?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been under the weather thest few days as if I¡¯ve had a terrible nightmare.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Why don¡¯t you just not sleep?¡± Gaia asked as she tilted her head.


    Staying awake was no problem whatsoever for beings with Deific Essence.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not the problem.¡± Zeus shook his head lifelessly. ¡°It¡¯s just that whenever I¡¯m alone... especially when I¡¯m sitting down, I¡¯m reminded of a horrible memory.¡±


    Zeus sighed deeply in frustration, not understanding what was wrong either.


    Gaia stared at Zeus in worry.


    She would not have thought much of it if Zeus was a normal human, but he was a god; one of the most powerful in Olympus, no less. She could not even imagine what sort of nightmare he was suffering from for him to be in such a terrible condition.


    ¡°More importantly, what have you summoned me for?¡± Zeus asked.


    ¡°Oh...¡± Gaia hesitated for a moment but then slowly said, ¡°I have a favor to ask you.¡±


    Gaia exined her n to converse with Odin.


    ¡°You want me to go to Asgard as an envoy?¡± Zeus asked to confirm.


    ¡°Yes. Even if he is part of an opposing faction, Odin is an honorable warrior. He would never bring you harm while you are there.¡±


    ¡°Mm. I was not worried about that in the first ce.¡± Zeus nodded. Not even the most evil of gods would attack an envoy from an enemy faction. ¡°It¡¯s just that I promised to support the God of Splendor¡¯s n.¡±


    Although Zeus was a yboy, he was honorable enough not to break a promise that he had made after losing in a duel.


    Gaia shook her head and exined, ¡°I am not suggesting we withdraw the n. I just want to hear Odin¡¯s opinion. It would be better for everyone if we could avoid a war throughpromise.¡±


    ¡°Mmm...¡± Zeus fell into thought with his arms crossed. He then nodded and looked at Gaia. ¡°I understand, Mother. I will ry your will to Odin.¡±


    ¡°I will be counting on you, my child.¡±


    Gaia ced her hand on Zeus¡¯s shoulder and smiled.


    ¡°I will also help myself to some of Asgard¡¯s women while I¡¯m there...¡±


    ¡°You! Have you still note to your senses?!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha! I was just joking.¡±


    Zeus smiled slyly as always and turned around. He slowly turned into white powder and began to disappear; he was canceling his manifestation in the physical realm and transferring his body back to the divine realm.


    ¡°In that case, I will be off.¡±


    Zeus bowed lightly and waved. He then disappeared from Earthpletely.


    ¡°Please.¡± Gaia brought her hands together. ¡°May my voice reach him...¡±


    The goddess of parental love prayed sincerely.


    ***


    ¡°What?¡± An old man wearing an eyepatch over one eye was sitting inside an enormous pce. ¡°Zeus... hase here?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes, my lord.¡± The confused Heimdall nodded.


    Odin, the old man with an eyepatch, frowned aggressively. ¡°Has hee to dere war?¡±


    Odin then shook his head. Olympus had already dered war the moment they sent him Thor¡¯s head. There was no point in them sending an envoy to directly dere war.


    ¡°What will you do? Just say the word and I will eliminate Zeus¡ª¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Odin raised his hand and shook his head. ¡°Let him in.¡±


    ¡°L-let Zeus in?!¡± Heimdall yelled. ¡°He is the son of our mortal enemy who killed Thor!¡±


    Odin stared at Heimdall furiously in silence. ¡°I told you to let him in.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± Heimdall nodded as he bit his lip.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    A sly-looking blond man walked through the pce doors. Zeus bowed lightly to Odin.


    ¡°Why have youe?¡± Odin asked as he stared down at Zeus with sunken eyes.


    He could not imagine for what reason his mortal enemy who killed his son had sent her child as an envoy.


    ¡°I havee to ry Mother¡¯s¡ª I mean, Lady Gaia¡¯s words.¡±


    ¡°Gaia¡¯s words?¡± Odin frowned aggressively.


    Zeus nodded and continued, ¡°Lady Gaia would like to converse with you, Lord Odin.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    The atmosphere within the pce froze. Odin clenched the armrest of his throne to the point that it could break. He red at Zeus in front of him with deep resentment.


    ¡°She wants... to talk?¡± Odin stammered.


    His white beard trembled as if he was experiencing the greatest humiliation of his life.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡± Zeus lowered his head.


    ¡°Hah.¡± Odin smiled and lowered his head. ¡°Hah... Hahahahahahaha!!!!¡±


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    Enormous energy stormed within the pce.


    ¡°Lord... Odin?¡± Zeus looked up at Odin in confusion.


    <i>Crack.</i>


    Odin stood up from his crumbled throne.


    ¡°Gaia, Gaia, Gaia... How much will you insult me until you are satisfied?¡±


    ¡°What do you...¡±


    ¡°Hehehehe, very well.¡±


    Odin looked down at Zeus in animosity. He slowly walked down toward Zeus and grabbed him by the neck.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    Odin had once been at the pinnacle of all Earth¡¯s gods. There was no way Zeus would be able to resist him.


    ¡°Gaia...¡± Odin mumbled as he choked Zeus. ¡°I will make sure you feel the excruciating sorrow... of losing your child.¡±

 Chapter 442 - Unreaching Voice (5)

    <h4>Chapter 442 - Unreaching Voice (5)</h4>


    ¡°Kurgh, urgh!¡±


    Zeus twisted and turned frantically. Blue lightning sparked from him and burned Odin¡¯s hand, creating an instant opening he was able to take advantage of.


    <i>Jump!</i>


    Zeus desperately widened the distance between himself and Odin. He looked up at him as he panted heavily.


    ¡°Wh-why are you doing this?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Why, you ask?¡±


    Odin looked down at Zeus with deeply sunken eyes. Zeus could feel the intense rage within Odin¡¯s one blue eye.


    Zeus flinched. He felt as if Odin had grown several dozen timesrger. It was like facing a Titan, the creator of the gods. Chills ran down his spine.


    <i>¡®Was Odin... this powerful?¡¯</i>


    Zeus stared at Odin in pallor. He knew that Odin had fought the Demon God by himself far in the past, but he had never expected him to be this strong.


    ¡°Kurgh...¡±


    Zeus bit his lip as Odin¡¯s immense power weighed him down. He drew out as much of his Divinity as he could, but the pressure did not vanish.


    <i>¡®So this is... the power of a god with Top-rank Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    Zeus couldn¡¯t believe it. He had seen Gaia in battle a few times, but the power he had felt from her was never to the extent that he was feeling from Odin. It was not iprehensible; there were differences in power between gods of the same rank. Even Zeus himself was far more powerful than other gods of the same rank as him, so it was only natural for Odin, who was once at the pinnacle of Earth¡¯s gods, to be the same.


    Zeus gulped as Odin stared down at him.


    ¡°Did you just ask me... why?¡± Odin asked in a low tone.


    Zeus nodded slightly. ¡°I know that my mother has made a radical decision, but I¡¯m sure you know why such a decision is necessary, do you not, Lord Odin?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°If beings with Deific Essence were all left to their own devices, unimaginable chaos would¡ª¡±


    ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is, what you did was necessary?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. Hence¡ª¡±


    <i>Wham¡ª!</i>


    Airpressed to its limit smashed into Zeus, sending him flying backward like a cannonball.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    ¡°It was... necessary?¡±


    <i>Boom. Boom.</i>


    The pce shook with each step that Odin took.


    ¡°It was necessary for Thor... my child, to die at the hands of that bitch?!¡±


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    Compressed air burst, thunderous sounds ringing out. The walls of the pce cracked and began to crumble.


    ¡°Th-Thor?¡±


    Zeus looked up at Odin in confusion. Gaia killed Thor? What in the world was Odin talking about?


    ¡°L-Lord Odin, please w¡ª¡±


    ¡°Silence!!! How dare you run your filthy tongue at me?!¡±


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Odin stomped his foot. Cracks formed on the ground as if an earthquake was taking ce. Intense gusts of wind poured out from Odin and weighed Zeus down.


    Odin said angrily, ¡°I... wanted peace.¡±


    However, the peace he had in mind differed from what Gaia wanted. Odin wanted a world ruled by the gods; he wanted to govern the foolish humans who had lost their faith and restore the past glory of the gods. He was about to take the first step to that restoration by joining forces with Olympus to unite the gods of the divine realm.


    <i>¡®Moronic bitch.¡¯</i>


    However, peace would never be realized as long as humans existed. Several millennia¡¯s worth of history proved his point. They endlessly fought, disputed, resented, and desired because they were imperfect, unlike gods. One could even call them defective goods. Hence, gods needed to band together first to keep those humans in line. Only then would they be able to prevent the <i>time of prophecy</i>.


    ¡°I was nning on joining forces with you to prepare for the time of prophecy.¡±


    That was the only way to avoid destruction, which was why Odin had created the opposing faction as soon as Gaia announced thew so that he could give Gaia an offer that she could never refuse.


    ¡°But Gaia was the one who pped my hand away first.¡±


    She had killed Thor. No, she did not just kill him but had even sent Zeus to mock him.


    ¡°And after that, she wants to talk?¡± Zeus feignedughter and walked toward Zeus as his eyes gleamed with fury. ¡°The one who refused to talk first... were you all.¡±


    Odin slowly raised his arm. ¡°Come.¡±


    A massive storm raged and destroyed the floor of the pce. A long spear enveloped in intense winds shot out from the ground. Once Odin extended his arm toward it, the spear flew through the air and ced itself on Odin¡¯s hand.


    Odin clenched the spear and said the spear¡¯s name, ¡°Gungnir.¡±


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    The massive storm raged once again, destroying the crumbling pce. Outside the destroyed pce was an army of Asgardian gods filled with a desire for revenge. No, it was not just Asgardian gods; there were also gods of Japanese mythology like Susanoo and gods of Hindu and Egyptian mythology. Gods who stood against Gaia had all gathered in Asgard.


    ¡°Ah...¡± Zeus muttered as he stared in pallor with his mouth agape.


    Odin raised Gungnir. ¡°Let Ragnarok begin.¡±


    The war between gods had begun.


    ***


    ¡°So... you sent Zeus to Odin?¡± Oh Kang-Woo asked in a heavy tone.


    Gaia floundered and answered as if she were making excuses, ¡°It was a decision I came to after much thought. Odin is not a stuck-up god, and... it is far too reckless to go to war without even attempting conversation.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Odin is an honorable warrior. Even if he has no desire to talk, he would never harm Zeus, so...¡±


    ¡°I see. Now that I think about it, I believe I was also being a bit too hasty.¡±


    ¡°Y-you agree with me?¡± Gaia stared at Kang-Woo in delight.


    She was acting excessively humble despite talking to her retainer. It had to do with her personality, but also because Kang-Woo¡¯s position was on the line. From Gaia¡¯s perspective, Kang-Woo was no longer simply her retainer; he was powerful enough to overpower Zeus. The God of Splendor was one of the very few rays of hope that could save the world from the time of prophecy. She needed to do whatever it took to avoid him keeping his distance from her due to conflicting opinions.


    Kang-Woo said with a smile, ¡°It is ultimately your decision to make, Lady Gaia. I am but your retainer, so I will respect your decision.¡±


    Gaia¡¯s expression shone brightly.


    ¡°But... I can¡¯t help but be worried. I wonder if Odin has any intention to talk...¡± Kang-Woo answered in a depressed tone.


    ¡°There is no need to worry. Odin had fought the Demon God once before to protect the world. I am sure he understands why my decision was unavoidable.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded in silence. He then prayed, ¡°I wish your will... gets through to Odin.¡±


    ¡°My child...¡±


    Gaia teared up as if she had been moved. She had not expected Kang-Woo to trust her this much despite not consulting him.


    <i>¡®This n needs to seed for the sake of living up to my child¡¯s expectations. I doubt he would refuse conversation entirely.¡¯</i>


    The priority was toe to apromise with Odin so that they could avoid the worst possible oue, war.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t worry either, Lady Gaia.¡± Kang-Woo approached Gaia as she was in thought and lightly held her hands. He said gently, ¡°I¡¯m sure Odin will understand you.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°There is no one more devoted to protecting this world than you.¡±


    ¡°Do not say that.¡± Gaia shook her head and held Kang-Woo¡¯s hands tighter. ¡°I am not the most dedicated. You are. No, not just you. La, Si-Hun... Everyone is going above and beyond to protect this world.¡±


    If it weren¡¯t for them, Earth would have fallen years ago; the time of prophecy might havee long ago. Gaia¡¯s eyes glistened with tears.


    ¡°Thank you. Thank you... so much, my child.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled gently. He could feel Gaia¡¯s sincerity through her trembling hands.


    ¡°Good deeds... are bound to be rewarded one day. I am sure your words will reach Odin, Lady Gaia.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Gaia wiped her tears as she was moved by Kang-Woo¡¯s words.


    <i>Bang!</i>


    Just then, Uranus swung open the door and barged into the room. His face was pale and he was panting heavily.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Gaia asked with a stiff expression.


    An uneasy feeling ran down her back as she looked at Uranus¡¯s pale face.


    ¡°L-Lady Gaia...¡± Uranus trembled, unable to finish his sentence.


    ¡°I asked you what¡¯s wrong!¡± Gaia yelled anxiously.


    She was nothing like how she usually was.


    Uranus closed his eyes shut. ¡°... Hermes found something in the Olympus temple a few moments ago.¡±


    He then reached out his hands holding a box.


    Gaia gulped. She could faintly smell blood from the box. The worst possible scenario passed through her mind.


    ¡°No.¡± Gaia shook her head. ¡°Th-there¡¯s no way. That¡¯s impossible.¡±


    She erased the imagination from her mind but she could already tell what was in the box.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way...¡±


    Gaia bit her lip as she reached for the box¡¯s lid and opened it with trembling hands.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    Inside it was Zeus¡¯s head, his eyes wide open. There were words carved on his forehead with a knife.


    <i>- Gaia. You will pay for the choice you¡¯ve made.</i>


    ¡°A-Aaaaaaaaaahhh!!¡± Gaia screamed in desperation. She copsed with her hands clenching her hair as if she didn¡¯t want to believe the reality in front of her. ¡°M-my child. My child...!¡±


    Tears flowed down her cheeks as she embraced Zeus¡¯s head.


    <i>Bang!</i>


    ¡°Shit, shit!¡±


    Kang-Woo mmed his fist down on the table next to the despairing Gaia, smashing it into two. He looked down in anger at Gaia who was hugging Zeus¡¯s head.


    ¡°How... How could this have...¡± Gaia wept in despair.


    ¡°Lady Gaia...¡± Kang-Woo ced his hand on her shoulder. ¡°Odin was... never interested in peace from the very beginning.¡±


    If that were not the case, Odin would never have killed so brutally an envoy sent to propose a conversation. Kang-Woo bit his lip. His heart felt heavy as he looked down at the weeping Gaia. It felt as if his heart was burning. Tears trickled down from his eyes as well.


    ¡°Your will... didn¡¯t reach him.¡±


    The voice of a goddess who wanted peace... The will of the goddess who sacrificed herself to protect the world... was trampled by Odin to a pulp.


    ¡°Lady Gaia.¡±


    ¡°Hurgh, hurgh.¡±


    ¡°How long are you nning on staying copsed like this?¡± Kang-Woo added more strength into his hand on Gaia¡¯s shoulder and said in rage, ¡°We have to stand.¡±


    <i>¡®For Zeus, who died at Odin¡¯s hands.¡¯</i>


    ¡°We...¡±


    <i>¡®For the sake of world peace.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Have to stand.¡±


    They needed to put their misery aside and stand.

 Chapter 443 - Ragnarok (1)

    <h4>Chapter 443 - Ragnarok (1)</h4>


    ¡°Odin...¡± Oh Kang-Woo mumbled in anger.


    He clenched his fists as he looked down at the weeping Gaia. He did not expect that Odin would not do such a thing; after all, sending an envoy to enemy lines came with its risks. However, he did not think the honorable warrior Odin would go this far.


    <i>¡®Fucking scumbag.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo bit his lip. Tracing back human history, envoys were rarely harmed. It was not just a matter of courtesy but a form ofmon sense.


    <i>¡®Even in history, a war started just because delegations were sent back with their beards shaved.¡¯</i>[1]


    And in this instance, it was not a beard but a mustache.


    <i>¡®It can no longer be avoided.¡¯</i>


    The war between gods, Ragnarok, had already begun.


    ¡°H-how could Odin...¡±


    Gaia wept with nk eyes, still unable to take in the fact that Zeus was dead. Kang-Woo¡¯s heart felt heavy as he stared at Gaia embracing Zeus¡¯s head.


    ¡°It certainly is iprehensible.¡± Kang-Woo set aside his sorrow and continued, ¡°Even if they are in an opposing faction, they must know that justification is a crucial part of war. Despite that...¡±


    Kang-Woo could only think of one possibility of why Odin had made such a radical decision.


    ¡°Could he be... associated with the Demon of Prophecy?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    The crying Gaia looked up at him with quivering eyes.


    Kang-Woo calmly exined, ¡°Who benefits the most from this war?¡±


    Gaia remained silent. The answer was obvious even without her answering.


    ¡°The one who would benefit the most from instigating a war between Olympus and Asgard is... the Demon of Prophecy.¡±


    ¡°W-wait. That means...¡±


    ¡°Yes. I think it is safe to assume that Odin has joined forces with the Demon of Prophecy.¡±


    If that was not the case, there was no way that Odin, who knew very well how much Gaia cherished her children, would send Zeus back to Gaia as just a head.


    ¡°That is impossible. Odin cares deeply about the world¡¯s security to the point that he even faced the Demon God by himself in the past. There is no way he would make such a¡ª¡±


    Kang-Woo interjected, ¡°Then do you think Odin beheading Zeus is for the sake of world peace?¡±


    Gaia remained silent. She could not refute Kang-Woo¡¯s words. Although she had made a radical decision, she knew that there was no way Odin would not know that it was all for preventing chaos from ensuing in the physical realm. There was only one exnation why, despite all that, Odin would form an opposing faction and send back Zeus¡¯s head to her.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡± Gaia¡¯s expression turned pale. A thought that she did not even want to imagine popped up in her head. ¡°Odin... joined forces with Bael...?¡±


    Her shoulder trembled as rage and sorrow stormed within her. Kang-Woo grabbed Gaia¡¯s trembling hands and helped her up.


    ¡°Lady Gaia.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Gaia stood up as she staggered.


    There was no reason to ask Kang-Woo what he wanted to say to her or why he helped her up. She also knew that this was not the time to be wallowing in despair.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Odin wille up with some sort of excuse to deny that fact,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    There was no way that all the Asgardian gods joined forces with the Demon of Prophecy. Odin had likely been the mastermind for the entire situation. If that were the case, Odin would frame Gaia for a crime that she did notmit to justify his actions while covering the truth. For example, an absurd excuse that Gaia beheaded Thor and sent it to him.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s nothing more impossible than that.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned, feeling displeasure just from imagining it. It was unthinkable that a gentle goddess like Gaia would send Odin Thor¡¯s severed head.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m sure he joined forces with Bael.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t think of any other reason. He quelled the overflowing emotions that he felt as he looked down at Gaia and turned around as golden light enveloped him.


    He then looked toward Uranus and said, ¡°Now that it hase to this, we also have to prepare to go to the divine realm.¡±


    Uranus fell into thought in silence for a moment and then nodded slightly. ¡°If war is unavoidable, it is better for it to be held in the divine realm than the physical realm.¡±


    Ragnarok in the physical realm would result in irreparable destruction.


    ¡°Lady Gaia. I willmand the gods of Olympus to gather,¡± Uranus mentioned.


    The gods of Olympus had scattered throughout Earth to make sure that no god had manifested on Earth without Gaia¡¯s permission. Gaia nodded with a heavy expression. She could tell that war was now unavoidable and that it should not be avoided.


    ¡°Tell the gods of Olympus.¡± Gaia, the goddess with the Deific Essence of Parental Love, pushed her sorrow aside and stood up.


    White light poured out from her and lit the Hall of Protection. Zeus¡¯s head in her arms turned into white light particles and dissipated into the air. The God of Splendor licked his lips as if it were a waste, but no one happened to see it.


    ¡°Zeus¡¯s lightning has lost its light... at the hands of Odin.¡± Gaia stood tall as she bit her lip. Intense rage filled her gaze in ce of sorrow. ¡°We will not take this lying down. We will... fight. We will make them pay for waging war against Olympus and brutally murdering my child.¡±


    They would set aside their sorrow and fight as they burned with rage.


    ¡°It is time for Ragnarok,¡± Gaia dered with zing eyes.


    ***


    While the gods of Olympus gathered at the Hall of Protection one after another, Kang-Woo took the time to tell La, Kim Si-Hun, and other members of Guardians what was going on.


    ¡°We will go with you,¡± Si-Hun replied without hesitation.


    His eyes were zing with passion as he clenched his sword.


    ¡°No.¡± Kang-Woo shook his head.


    Si-Hun could not fight against those with Deific Essence yet. Not just Si-Hun, but most members of Guardians were powerless against those who possessed Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s just how overpowered Deific Essence is.¡¯</i>


    It didn¡¯t matter how much Deific Essence one had; even a being with Lower Intermediate-rank Deific Essence could damage beings of high ranks. The problem was the difference between those who possessed Deific Essence and those who did not.


    <i>¡®The broken thing about Deific Essence is how it allows one to be almostpletely immune to physical and magical damage.¡¯</i>


    For those who did not possess Deific Essence to break through this barrier, they needed to pour extremely inefficient attacks at the enemy to no end.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m fine since I have the Demonic Sea.¡¯</i>


    However, if someone like Si-Hun were to do such a thing, their Qi would bottom out before even five minutes.


    <i>¡®Gods like Zeus and Thor would be no match for Si-Hun simply in terms of martial arts level.¡¯</i>


    To make aparison, Deific Essence was like a piece of equipment that allowed one to earn great power just by having it, regardless of individual power. It was an absurdly unfair fight like someone with a tiny tree branch against someone with full-te body armor.


    <i>¡®I should figure something out.¡¯</i>


    The enemies that Guardians would be facing from now on would mostly possess Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®But not now.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was not leaving without them only because they would be of no use in this battle. They had something else to do.


    ¡°La. You said that there have been abnormalities about the Gatestely, right?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Ah, yes. That¡¯s right.¡± La, who had been staring at Si-Hun in worry, turned to Kang-Woo and answered. ¡°Giant monsters swarming out from C-rank Gates, the interior of Gates that had only been the size of a mountain suddenly expanding to the size of an entire city... There have been various abnormalities.¡±


    There was no need to wonder about what was causing it.


    ¡°It must be due to the copse of the Gaia System,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°I think so as well.¡± La nodded.


    Kang-Woo was easily able to guess something like this would happen just from the fact that Gates had been the first thing to experience abnormalities when Kang-Woo returned to Earth for the first time.


    ¡°La, please take care of the changes in the Gates... while I¡¯m gone.¡±


    La nodded in silence and stared at Kang-Woo in worry. ¡°... You¡¯lle back, won''t you?¡±


    Kang-Woo had be an irreceable asset in Guardians, even taking out the fact that he was extremely strong.


    Kang-Woo smiled. ¡°Of course I will.¡±


    La and Si-Hun smiled faintly at how Kang-Woo answered without hesitation like always.


    ¡°In that case, I will leave things here to you,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°Okay, you can count on us.¡± La nodded with a strong will.


    La had not been able to show off her leadership skillstely, but the leader of Guardians was not Kang-Woo but her. Kang-Woo smiled after seeing her reaction.


    <i>¡®I can trust La.¡¯</i>


    She was several times more trustworthy than Gaia. Kang-Woo had witnessed La¡¯spetency many times over.


    <i>¡®And Lilith will be with her.¡¯</i>


    Lilith would be far better at figuring out the impacts that each change in the Gates would bring than Kang-Woo. After all, his specialty only shone when he was facing enemies.


    ¡°That aside, to think Odin and Bael joined forces... I still can¡¯t believe it,¡± Si-Hun mentioned.


    ¡°I¡¯m more surprised by the fact that gods like Odin and Zeus even exist,¡± Cha Yeon-Joo replied as she stared at Si-Hun in deep thought.


    Kang-Woo smirked and nodded. He had the same thought.


    ¡°Anyway.¡± Yeon-Joo crossed her arms and red at Kang-Woo. ¡°Don¡¯t get hurt after doing shit by yourself again and just stay put in a corner somewhere. Gaia¡¯s gonna be the one fighting Odin, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    The ones in the spotlight of this war were Olympus and Asgard, not Kang-Woo, or at least that was what Guardians thought.


    ¡°As you wish, mydy.¡± Kang-Woo yfully bowed and turned around.


    ck.


    He left the meeting room and closed the door behind him.


    <i>¡®I should let Darling know as well.¡¯</i>


    Han Seol-Ah would make even more of a fuss than Si-Hun, but it couldn¡¯t be helped; he couldn¡¯t afford to take her to the divine realm. No, he couldn¡¯t take anyone since in this war, he would...


    ¡°<i>Slurp</i>.¡± Kang-Woo wiped the drool flowing down from his mouth.


    ¡°My king,¡± someone called. Kang-Woo turned his head to see Lilith with a pile of documents in one hand. ¡°I heard you were participating in the war between the gods.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It just happened.¡± Kang-Woo calmly nodded.


    Lilith stared at Kang-Woo with narrowed eyes and asked, ¡°But my king, I have something to ask you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what is it?¡±


    ¡°Did Odin really kill Zeus... because he joined forces with Bael?¡± she asked as she tilted her head, not being able to fully understand.


    Kang-Woo smiled and turned around. He walked past Lilith and answered, ¡°Of course.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled. The corners of his mouth tore hideously to his earlobes.


    ¡°Why else would he kill Zeus?¡±


    The demon smiled as he licked his saliva-covered lips.


    Lilith turned to Kang-Woo in silence. The smile of her king that she had seen all the time felt awkward and unfamiliar to her, like a piece of a puzzle or a cog that didn¡¯t fit.


    1. This is referring to the bible story of David sending men to Hanun, who seeded the throne as king of the Ammonites, to show him goodwill, but Hanun shaves off half their beards and sends them back to David. ?

 Chapter 444 - Ragnarok (2)

    <h4>Chapter 444 - Ragnarok (2)</h4>


    ¡°Alright, let us be off,¡± stated Uranus.


    The gods of Olympus gathered in the Hall of Protection nodded with stiff expressions. A massive war between gods on the scale of Ragnarok had not urred since even before Demon God Bauli''s insurgence. Even immortal beings like themselves could not help but be anxious.


    ¡°Begin,¡± Gaiamanded as she stood at the forefront of the formation.


    Uranus raised his arm and the floor of the Hall of Protection shone.


    <i>¡®The divine realm, huh?¡¯</i>


    Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone as he stared at the light particles getting brighter. He had only heard about it; this was his first time going there.


    <i>¡®I wonder what it¡¯s like?¡¯</i>


    Considering how gods used their energy to manifest into the physical realm, he guessed that it wouldn¡¯t be some sort of utopia; if that were the case, the gods would not go out of their way to manifest into the physical realm even if they were freed of their restrictions.


    <i>¡®But I doubt it¡¯d be like the Nine Hells either.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had no idea, so he stopped thinking about it and waited leisurely. Once the light filling the Hall of Protection became unbearably bright, Kang-Woo and the other gods turned into light and disappeared.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [You have entered the First Realm. The entry of those who do not possess Deific Essence will be forcibly restricted.]


    A blue message window popped up in front of him.


    <i>¡®Oh, so people without Deific Essence couldn¡¯t enter in the first ce.¡¯</i>


    He knew it was the right call not to take Guardians with him. If only those with Deific Essence could enter, only Han Seol-Ah and La would have been able to.


    <i>¡®Well, I never had the intention of bringing them anyway.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked around. The first thing he thought was that it was <i>empty</i>. It was ck and void like he was in outer space and inds were floating here and there. Branches of an unfathomablyrge tree were connected to the floating inds.


    <i>¡®That must be the World Tree.¡¯</i>


    Elune had said that the World Tree was a pir for the Triad.


    <i>¡®So this is what she meant.¡¯</i>


    This was the First Realm; in other words, it was the divine realm of Earth. If they traveled down the branches, they would likelye across the divine realms of Aernor and Huan.


    <i>¡®Hm?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo noticed something odd as he was looking at the World Tree.


    ¡°Why is that area disconnected?¡± he asked.


    A portion of one of the branches was plunged into darkness.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s...¡± Gaia continued with a sunken voice, ¡°The path to the Second Realm... the divine realm of Huan.¡±


    ¡°Was it always that dark?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Gaia shook her head. ¡°Do you remember when the World Tree was momentarily corrupted?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes.¡±


    ¡°Since then, the path to the Second Realm has been covered in darkness and blocked for some unknown reason.¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    <i>¡®Come to think of it, Aernor and Earth were connected, but not Huan.¡¯</i>


    He had never been there or heard anything about Huan, but he at least knew that it was one of the Triad. The fact that it was not connected to Earth meant one of two things.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s either further to Earth than Aernor is, or... it has already fallen.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo made a mental note to learn about it in more detailter.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not the time to worry about it.¡¯</i>


    He needed to focus on the war that was about to take ce. Kang-Woo and the gods of Olympus arrived at an ind lined with Greek pces that one wouldmonly see in cartoons.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s smaller than I expected.¡¯</i>


    Olympus was smaller than Jeju Ind. It somewhat made sense since no matter how many gods there were, there would not be as many as the poption of humans on Earth.


    <i>¡®I can understand why gods want to manifest into the physical realm now.¡¯</i>


    The world of the gods was filled with nothing but a void. Kang-Woo was not referring only to the background or infrastructure; just being in this ce felt like a portion of his emotions was getting cut out. It was to the point that he was honestly impressed that gods were able to live in a ce like this for this long.


    <i>¡®How about Asgard?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked for the stage where the war would take ce¡ª no, he was about to.


    <i>¡®I guess I won¡¯t even have to go out of my way to find it.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo chuckled as he stared at a giant branch that connected Olympus to a different ind. On the branch that was easily several dozens of kilometers long were thousands of gods standing in formation. At the forefront was a one-eyed old god with a bushy white beard on a war horse, ring at Gaia.


    ¡°Odin,¡± Gaia muttered as she also red at Odin with a zing gaze.


    <i>Rumble!</i>


    The energies of Top-rank gods shing caused the branch to vibrate.


    ¡°Gaia...¡± Odin pointed his long spear at Gaia as his blue eye shone with resentment. ¡°You will pay for the choice you¡¯ve made.¡±


    It was the phrase he had carved into Zeus¡¯s forehead. Gaia bit her lip and clenched her fists.


    ¡°Were you so dissatisfied with keeping the gods in check... for the sake of preventing chaos in the physical realm?¡± Gaia asked.


    Odin had been so dissatisfied to the point that he immediately killed Zeus whom Gaia had sent to offer a peaceful resolution.


    Odin¡¯s eye shone. It was already far toote for them toe to apromise through conversation. Their willpower was the only thing that remained.


    Odin answered without hesitation, ¡°Gods are not the ones who should be kept in check. It is the humans.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°They have lost their faith. Our existence has be but fiction to them. We must restore their forgotten faith... their respect for us, our glory.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Who but us could possibly stop the impending doom?¡±


    ¡°So you... for that sort of reason... killed Zeus?!¡±


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    Gaia¡¯s scream shook space itself. Blinding light poured out from her.


    ¡°Hah.¡± Odin chuckled at the absurdity. He smirked and said coldly, ¡°You do not have the right to say that.¡±


    He was so speechless that he could not even get mad at Gaia¡¯s shamelessness after killing Thor with her own hands.


    ¡°As I¡¯d thought... You were never fit for the position of guardian deity,¡± Odin remarked.


    He had passed down the seat of Earth¡¯s guardian deity to her after getting greatly injured after the battle against the Demon God, but he did not expect her to be this shameless and impertinent. He even thought that Bael managed to take Gaia¡¯s privileges as guardian deity due to her ipetence.


    Deathly silence fell between the two Top-rank gods. They raised their hands simultaneously, realizing there was no point in further conversation. The tension in the air reached its limit.


    ¡°Raaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!¡±


    Odin¡¯s roar shook the battlefield. The white war horse raised its front legs. A raging storm condensed and gathered around Odin¡¯s spear edge. He then pulled back his arm as far as he could and threw Gungnir.


    <i>Crackle¡ª!!</i>


    Thepressed storm was unleashed, its unfathomable power destroying everything in its path.


    ¡°Aaarrrggghhh!¡±


    The gods of Olympus screamed as they stared at the spear destroying everything around it. Their formation was destroyed by the storm that tore apart their Deific Essence barrier just from making contact with it.


    ¡°Odin.¡±


    Just then, Gaia walked forward. The white light pouring out of her spread out like a tent.


    <i>Boom¡ª!!!</i>


    The barrier of light and the storm collided. The several-kilometer World Tree branch was beginning to crack. The gods of Olympus and Asgard shed against each other atop the breaking World Tree branch.


    <i>ng! Crack! Crush!</i>


    Deific Essences collided with each other. Attacks enveloped in Divinity filled the battlefield.


    ¡°Die!¡±


    ¡°For Asgard!¡±


    A battle between gods was no different from that between humans other than that they used Divinity. The battlefield was filled with curses and stormed with emotions.


    ¡°Fuuu.¡± Kang-Woo took a deep breath as he looked down at the fighting gods.


    He was used to the nging of metal, the barrage of screams and curses, the thick scent of blood, and the disgusting stench of excrement.


    <i>¡®Nice.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t help but smile. The battle that he was watching from afar made his heart race.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± he sighed ecstatically as powerful hunger paralyzed his brain.


    He felt like his thirst was drying him up.


    <i>¡®Now, then.¡¯</i>


    It was time for a light appetizer.


    <i>Tap.</i>


    He lightly tapped his feet. His hand ripped open and a wave of gold spread across the World Tree branch. The light was so faint, unlike his title of God of Splendor, that one would never notice unless they paid close attention.


    <i>¡®And no one would be focusing on the ground during a heated battle like this.¡¯</i>


    As long as Kang-Woo focused on concealing his energy without participating in the battle, he was confident in being able to fool even Elune.


    <i>Fwoooom.</i>


    The corpses of the dead gods were absorbed through the Authority of Predation. Of course, he did not outright devour their entire corpses; there was no way that the gods wouldn¡¯t notice the corpses disappearing even if they were in the middle of a war. Instead of eating their corpses, Kang-Woo was sucking the energy within them.


    ¡°Haaa.¡±


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and enjoyed the Deific Essence flowing into him.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [Obtaining the Deific Essence of the Lower Intermediate-rank god ¡®Baldr.¡¯ The rank of the Deific Essence obtained will be lowered because the entire body was not predated.]


    [Obtaining the Deific Essence of the Upper Intermediate-rank god ¡®Susanoo.¡¯ The rank of the Deific Essence obtained will be lowered because the entire body was not predated.]


    [Obtaining the Deific Essence of the Bottom-rank god ¡®Abd al-Ali.¡¯ The rank of...]


    Bell chimes continued to ring in his head. Kang-Woo would usuallyin about it being too loud, but the usually annoying chimes sounded blissful due to the Deific Essence flowing into him.


    <i>¡®With this...¡¯</i> Kang-Woo clenched his fists and his heart raced. <i>¡®I¡¯ll be able to obtain it.¡¯</i>


    Transcendent-rank Deific Essence, the power superior to Top-rank.


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo bit his lip. That was not good enough.


    <i>¡®I have to obtain it, whatever it takes.¡¯</i>


    Even if he had to get an unfathomable amount of blood on his hands. Even if he had to be weighed down by intense resentment,ment, despair, and vengeful desire. Even if he had to send a son¡¯s severed head to his father. Even if he had to deceive a mother who had her son¡¯s severed head in her arms.


    Kang-Woo gritted his teeth as he recalled Bael, who felt like he was engraved in Kang-Woo¡¯s brain. His heart felt like it was getting trampled on. An overwhelming sense of anxiety swept over him and blurred his vision.


    <i>¡®If I can¡¯t obtain it...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled a nightmarish hill of corpses filled with mangled flesh and pools of blood, and himself copsed on his knees atop the hill wailing. He could see faces ovepping those of the corpses making up the hill; that of Han Seol-Ah, Lilith, Balrog, and Kim Si-Hun. The faces continued to ovep and explode.


    He could hear Bael¡¯sughter. It kept going and going... It did not stop.


    ¡°More.¡±


    Kang-Woo looked up to the top of the World Tree. He could faintly see Gaia facing Odin. His burning thirst and unbearable hunger set him aze.


    ¡°I need... more.¡±


    He slowly walked toward Odin.

 Chapter 445 - Ragnarok (3)

    <h4>Chapter 445 - Ragnarok (3)</h4>


    Compressed wind des shot out like a cannonball. The storm enveloping the edge of Odin¡¯s spear tore apart space itself.


    ¡°Hurgh!¡± Gaia grunted and raised her hand.


    A barrier of white light collided with the storm.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    An explosion that surpassed sound shook everything in its surroundings. Gaia could be seen biting her lip anxiously among the blinding light particles.


    ¡°Is this all there to your oh-so-great will?!¡± Odin shouted and aggressively swung down Gungnir.


    Gaia crossed her hands and blocked the spear. She gritted her teeth.


    ¡°Odin... I... I trusted you.¡±


    It was far in the past, but Odin used to be Earth¡¯s guardian deity. Although their opinions differed, Gaia never thought Odin would cause Ragnarok. The price of her trust had been one too hefty to pay.


    ¡°You... You are also a father! So why...?¡±


    Gaia recalled Zeus¡¯s dead eyes. She bit her lip aggressively as her insides churned and she teared up.


    Odin stared at the crying Gaia in silence. It was so baffling that it wasn¡¯t even funny. ¡°You¡¯re the one who started it f¡ª¡±


    <i>¡®Wait.¡¯</i>


    An inexplicable sense of uneasiness swept over him as he pointed Gungnir in rage at Gaia. He looked at Gaia, filled with so much anger that she was trembling.


    <i>¡®Why is she... so angry?¡¯</i>


    Odin knew very well that Gaia deeply treasured her children, but her reaction was illogical.


    <i>¡®She didn¡¯t expect me to kill Zeus?¡¯</i>


    That was impossible; she had beheaded Thor and sent it to him. How could she not have expected him to behead Zeus and send his head back to her after doing such a thing?


    <i>¡®No, wait...¡¯</i>


    Odin¡¯s expression stiffened. He lowered Gungnir and bit his lip.


    <i>¡®Why didn¡¯t I realize it sooner?¡¯</i>


    An enormous sense of regret reced his boundless rage.


    <i>¡®I should have realized from the moment Zeus came to see me.¡¯</i>


    No, he had many other opportunities to realize it, even during his current battle against Gaia.


    The answer was simple¡ª even the stupidest person alive could have figured it out. He could not even make an excuse that he was tricked; this was his blunder and his alone.


    <i>¡®Thor... wasn¡¯t killed by Gaia.¡¯</i>


    It was obvious with just a little thought. Considering Gaia¡¯s personality, there was no way that she would have beheaded an envoy requesting a peaceful resolution and sent the head to Odin. Not only that, but she would never have sent Zeus to him as an envoy if she had killed Thor in the first ce. Odin had not managed to figure out such a poor scheme.


    ¡°...¡±


    Odin closed his eyes. Thor¡¯s severed head floated around him like an illusion. Just imagining it filled him with rage.


    <i>¡®It must have been... because of my rage.¡¯</i>


    Odin had lost his mind the moment he saw Thor¡¯s head. He lost the ability to think with reason and his sense of judgment had clouded. He averted his gaze from the truth that he could have reached with just a few hours¡ª no, a few minutes of thinking.


    <i>¡®These are nothing but excuses.¡¯</i>


    Odin bit his lip and shook his head. It was cowardly for him to me his blunder for Thor¡¯s death. He was the one at fault.


    ¡°It seems I am the one who needs to pay,¡± Odin mumbled in sorrow. He lowered Gungnir and looked at Gaia. ¡°Gaia.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Gaia red at Odin, confused by Odin¡¯s sudden change in behavior.


    ¡°How much do you know about the God of Splendor?¡±


    Gaia narrowed her eyes due to the unexpected question. She thought for a moment and then answered, ¡°The God of Splendor is my child as well as my hope.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°He is a hero who is giving his all to protect this world from chaos... unlike you, Odin.¡±


    Odin closed his eyes. ¡°Gaia, there is no reason for us to fight.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Gaia¡¯s eyes widened.


    There was no reason for them to fight? There was no nonsense more absurd than this.


    ¡°How dare you say that... after you brutally murdered my son Zeus?!¡± Gaia screamed in genuine fury.


    Odin continued calmly, ¡°Listen to me.¡±


    He then let go of Gungnir entirely to show that he had no wish to fight. The spear enveloped in a storm slowly dropped to the ground.


    Gaia stared at Odin, who was slowly walking toward her, in confusion. ¡°What are you scheming... Odin?¡±


    ¡°You are being deceived by the God of Splendor.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°He is not the hope of this world, much less a hero who is trying to protect it from chaos. He is¡ª¡±


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    As Odin was about to continue, an unfathomable amount of demonic energy surged from him. ck demonic energy condensed around his hand that had let go of Gungnir.


    ¡°What the¡ª¡±


    <i>Swoosh!!</i>


    Odin¡¯s eyes widened. Before he even had a chance to finish his sentence, a de made of condensed demonic energy shot toward Gaia.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Gaia had momentarily let her guard down because Odin had let go of Gungnir, so she was unable to react to the ck depletely outside of her expectations.


    <i>Ssh!!</i>


    Red blood sttered, a long sh wound from shoulder to belly button forming on Gaia.


    ¡°<i>C-cough!</i>¡± Gaia copsed as she clenched her wound. She looked up at Odin in resentment and muttered, ¡°Odin...¡±


    <i>Swoosh!</i>


    Another ck de formed on Odin¡¯s hand and shot toward Gaia again. Gaia shut her eyes tightly before she realized it.


    <i>Boom¡ª!!</i>


    A deafening sound rang out. Gaia had scrunched up instinctively, but she did not feel the pain of a demonic energy de prating her. She slowly opened her eyes.


    ¡°My child...¡±


    ¡°Lady Gaia.¡±


    The one who had blocked the demonic energy de to protect Gaia was Oh Kang-Woo, the hero covered in radiant light.


    He looked down at Gaia and said sorrowfully, ¡°I told you... not to listen to anything that Odin says.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m... s-sorry.¡±


    Gaia lowered her head and clenched her wound tighter. She could not find any words to exin herself since she had already known that Odin had joined forces with Bael.


    ¡°No. I... I should have arrived sooner,¡± Kang-Woo shook his head and embraced her.


    He slowly ced his hand on Gaia¡¯s wound. As one would expect from a Top-rank goddess, her wound that looked fatal was being healed at an incredible rate.


    ¡°Focus on treating your wound. I... will face Odin,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°B-but...¡±


    ¡°Lady Gaia.¡± Kang-Woo smiled faintly and grabbed her hands. ¡°I have been the one... in your care all this time.¡±


    ¡°I... have not done anything...¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not true.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°If not for your sacrifice, we would not have been able to stop the Demon of Prophecy when he first came to Earth.¡±


    In terms of the result, she was unable to stop the Demon of Prophecy from crossing to Earth, but the Triad would have long since fallen if Gaia had not sacrificed herself.


    ¡°I would not be here today either if you hadn¡¯t created Guardians in preparation for the time of prophecy.¡±


    Gaia had always done her best to protect Earth as well as the Triad. Considering how restricted the gods were in involving themselves with the physical realm back when the Law of Titans was active, it was no exaggeration to say that Gaia had protected Earth at the risk of her annihtion.


    ¡°This time,¡± Kang-Woo dered as he tightly held Gaia¡¯s hands. ¡°It is my turn to protect you.¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Tears welled up around Gaia¡¯s eyes. She could feel Kang-Woo¡¯s warmth through his hands, healing her. She was getting unbearably tired for some reason.


    ¡°My... child...¡±


    A single tear trickled down her cheek. She lost consciousness once the tear dripped down.


    Deathly silence fell once Gaia passed out.


    Odin stared at Kang-Woo as he frowned and said, ¡°So this is how you have been deceiving Gaia all this time.¡±


    Causing one¡¯s energy to be emitted from someone else¡¯s body was truly an astonishing ability. When the first demonic energy de shot out from Odin¡¯s hand, even Odin himself wondered if he had been the one who attacked Gaia without realizing it; that was how wless the ability was.


    <i>¡®With such an absurd ability, no wonder Gaia would be fooled.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°I deceived Lady Gaia? What nonsense are you talking about? People would think I¡¯m the God of Lies or something if they didn''t know any better. The one who made that cowardly attack was none other than you, Odin.¡±


    Kang-Woo red furiously at Odin, the old god who had joined forces with Bael. Although it had been long in the past, he should be embarrassed of himself as Earth¡¯s former guardian deity.


    Odin stared at Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly. He was not perplexed because of Kang-Woo¡¯s bullshit that he had joined forces with Bael; what perplexed Odin was that despite knowing the full truth, the fury he could feel from Kang-Woo was genuine.


    <i>¡®Is he altering even his own emotions and memories?¡¯</i>


    If that were not the case, nothing else could exin the God of Splendor¡¯s genuine fury. A chill ran down Odin¡¯s back.


    ¡°You¡¯re insane.¡±


    Odin had no other way to describe Kang-Woo. He stared at Kang-Woo with trembling eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Kang-Woo snickered. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to do this either but you see, if I don¡¯t do this...¡±


    He sounded somewhat desperate. Intense thirst and hunger tore him apart. If he didn¡¯t fabricate the truth and wear a mask of lies...


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be able to beat that son of a bitch.¡±


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t care less about good or evil. He trampled on ethics and morals. Friend or foe did not matter either, nor did whether or not he had to writhe in suffering or cry out in despair. As long as he got to eat and be stronger, as long as he could get stronger ande out victorious, none of it mattered.


    ¡°<i>Do you remember what you told me when we first met?¡±</i>


    Kang-Woo heard Balrog¡¯s voice.


    <i>¡°You said that whatever there is blocking your way, it does not change what you have to do.¡±</i>


    Keep moving forward.


    Forward, forward.


    Forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward.


    While devouring everything in the world.


    Far higher than what anyone has ever reached. A ce where he could devour the chaos of the gods, the otherworldly invasions, and even Bael whom Kang-Woo had never managed to defeat even once!


    Kang-Woo aggressively gritted his teeth.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo sighed deeply.


    He closed his eyes and raised his head. The sound of bones cracking echoed. Goat horns sprouted from his forehead. He opened his eyes with horizontal pupils and yellow irises pointed right at Odin.


    Kang-Woo smiled, the corners of his mouth ripping to his earlobes and sharp teeth sprouting from between his lips.


    ¡°Now, it¡¯s time for a feast.¡±

 Chapter 446 - Ragnarok (4)

    <h4>Chapter 446 - Ragnarok (4)</h4>


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Oh Kang-Woo exhaled heatedly.


    He scrunched up and licked his lips. He touched the goat horns that sprouted on his forehead and then extended his arm.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    The mes of Voracity burned from the ends of his fingers and began to slowly spread. His arms were now covered in mes¡ª no, they became fire itself.


    <i>¡®More.¡¯</i>


    This was not enough. He needed to make mes that would set his entire body aze, just like when he fought against Tai Wuji.


    <i>¡®More, more, more.¡¯</i>


    The thirst strangled Kang-Woo. The hunger was burning him from within. He opened his mouth and stared at Odin as he stuck out his tongue.


    ¡°You... should be enough, right?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    Odin would allow him to reach far greater heights.


    Odin stared at Kang-Woo with a stiff expression. A condensed storm raged around Gungnir¡¯s edge. He slurred, ¡°You...¡±


    Odin¡¯s blue eyes slightly trembled and a chill ran down his spine.


    <i>¡®Demon.¡¯</i>


    There was no better way to exin Kang-Woo, who was covered in ck mes.


    ¡°Right?¡± The demon opened his mouth even wider and smiled.


    His yellow irises filled with madness stared at at Odin. He lightly bent his knees and leaped.


    <i>Boom¡ª!</i>


    Kang-Woo shot toward Odin along with a massive sonic boom. He pulled back his fist covered in the mes of Voracity and pushed it forward.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!</i>


    The mes of Voracity shot at Odin like a cannonball.


    ¡°Kuh!¡±


    Odin bit his lip anxiously. He did not know what those mes were, but he could instinctively tell that he should not touch them. ¡°Haap!¡±


    He swung Gungnir upward. The storm raging around its edge absorbed and then deflected the mes of Voracity. The wind mixed with the mes shot upward like a pir.


    ¡°A mere demon...¡±


    Odin¡¯s one eye shone.


    <i>Crack. Rip.</i>


    His armor burst as his muscles swelled. They swelled up to a point unbelievable for an old man. His muscles squirmed as if they were alive. Odin raised Gungnir high, causing an enormous storm to rage around them.


    Odin roared, ¡°Dares to undermine a god?!¡±


    His voice was so loud that it could overpower the storm. Kang-Woo bent backward and snapped his finger. A golden energy wrapped around the area and prevented Odin¡¯s roar from spreading.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Kang-Woo smiled. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±


    Heughed brightly and pulled out Ingrium attached to his waist. He raised his right arm to the side and tapped the ring on his middle finger.


    ¡°Come on out,¡± Kang-Woo called Slushy, who was sleeping within the Key of the Demonic Sea.


    However, Slushy did note out of the ring no matter how long Kang-Woo waited.


    <i>¡®The hell?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned aggressively in irritation.


    ¡°Are you in your rebellious phase?¡± he asked the ring as he looked down at it.


    Slushy did not respond. He would usually bounce out of the ring and cling to him, but he was not doing so.


    Kang-Woo bit his lip. He could tell that something had gone wrong. As he was in his thoughts, his demonic horizontal goat pupils with yellow irises turned back to his usual eyes with round pupils and ck irises.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    ¡°Fuck.¡±


    The mes of Voracity ate away at Kang-Woo before he even had a chance to regain control over it. His unfathomable hunger was eating away at his sanity. His burning desire was turning his sense of reason to ash.


    ¡°Argh...¡±


    Kang-Woo lowered his head with his hand on his forehead. His desire was running out of control like a racing truck with malfunctioning brakes. No matter how hard he tried to suppress it, his unleashed desire was burning him at an rming rate.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa, haaa,¡± Kang-Woo panted heavily. His eyes, which had momentarily returned to those of a human, reverted back to his demonic goat eyes. ¡°Fuuu.¡±


    His head turned nk and was filled with hunger.


    <i>¡®What was I thinking about again?¡¯</i>


    He did not remember¡ª no, he did not feel the need to remember. His mind was hazy despite not opening the Doors.


    <i>¡®I have to... be stronger.¡¯</i>


    Only his desire burned brightly within his hazy consciousness.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m not good enough yet.¡¯</i>


    At this rate, he would not be able to reach the point that he wanted. He needed to walk forward even more. No, he needed to run. Only then...


    Kang-Woo gritted his teeth. The mes of Voracity covering his arms grewrger. Ingrium burned with the mes of Voracity.


    ¡°Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!¡± Kang-Woo roared.


    He swung Ingrium at Odin holding Gungnir. The giant mes poured out from the demonic sword¡¯s edge and burned space itself.


    ¡°Hup!¡± Odin inhaled shortly.


    He gripped Gungnir with both hands and swung it around like a windmill.


    <i>Whoosh¡ª!</i>


    An enormous storm surged from Gungnir and mixed with the mes of Voracity. A powerful heat storm slightly extinguished the mes of Voracity covering Kang-Woo¡¯s arms. Odin¡¯s blue eye shone.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Odin stomped his foot and lowered his stance with the spear shaft under his armpit.


    ¡°Die.¡±


    <i>Crackle¡ª!!</i>


    The storm condensed around Gungnir¡¯s edge and blue lightning crackled within it. The lightning was so powerful and blinding that Thor¡¯s lightning could not bepared to it. Odin then straightened his knees from his lowered stance and twisted his torso.


    ¡°Gungnir.¡±


    He thrust Gungnir forward. The condensed lightning storm and Gungnir¡¯s edge burned bright red.


    ¡°Heh.¡± Kang-Woo smiled as he stared at the spear flying at him.


    <i>Badump, badump.</i>


    His heart was beating uncontrobly and sparks of ecstasy ran down his back.


    <i>¡®Yeah.¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo was reminded of his battle against Tai Wuji. <i>¡®This is it.¡¯</i>


    He had been craving this feeling¡ª this exhrating sense of despair.


    ¡°Kihi,¡± Kang-Wooughed as the corners of his mouth ripped to his earlobes.


    He stuck his tongue out and extended his left arm forward.


    <i>Stab.</i>


    Gungnir¡¯s edge pierced Kang-Woo¡¯s left hand. The mes of Voracity began to eat the immense power contained in Gungnir¡¯s edge.


    <i>Crack, crunch!</i>


    However, the speed at which Gungnir was piercing through Kang-Woo was faster than Kang-Woo absorbing the power within Gungnir. His left arm was ripped openpletely as Gungnir continued to drill into him. Kang-Woo quickly raised his right arm, but even that was ripped apart in less than a second.


    <i>Stab.</i>


    ¡°Kurgh.¡±


    Gungnir shot through Kang-Woo¡¯s heart after he lost both of his hands. A giant hole was made from under his corbone to just above his belly button, obliterating his organs in the area.


    ¡°Arghh...¡± Kang-Woo crouched. ¡°Not... enough.¡±


    <i>Wriggle.</i>


    Although almost half of his body had been obliterated, his destroyed organs began to regenerate at an incredible rate. The speed transcended logic as if Kang-Woo had opened the Doors.


    <i>¡®Or had I opened them already?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo did not know nor did he want to know. He did not feel the need to.


    ¡°A little more...¡±


    His thirst burned his throat. He looked at Odin as if begging him. It didn¡¯t matter whether or not the Doors were open. Kang-Woo only cared about one thing.


    ¡°For...ward. For...ward.¡±


    It was to walk toward the prey in front of him without breaking down.


    ¡°I...¡±


    Kang-Woo had to win. He could not afford to lose. If he were to fall apart... If he were to lose...


    ¡°I have... to... win.¡±


    <i>Wriggle.</i>


    ck mucus gathered and regenerated his destroyed organs. He leaped forward once he was fully healed.


    Odin extended his right arm,pletely expressionless. Gungnir, which had drilled through Kang-Woo, flew back into his hand. Anyone would have been bewildered by a monster whose body instantly regenerated from a fatal wound, but Odin did not falter.


    ¡°If you will not die,¡± Odin remarked as his blue eye shone with zing spirit. ¡°I will keep killing you until you do.¡±


    <i>Whir¡ª!</i>


    Gungnir¡¯s edge began to divide until thousands of them filled the sky.


    ¡°Haaaaaaap!!¡±


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Odin¡¯s white hair fluttered in the wind. His muscles swelled to the point that they would explode. He twisted his torso back and threw his spear with all his might at the demon charging at him. The thousands of spear edges filling the sky poured down like rainfall on the demon.


    Kang-Woo looked up into the sky at the thousands of spear edges.


    ¡°Burn,¡± hemanded with Soul Speech.


    The mes of Voracity covering his arms burned even stronger.


    ¡°Burn, Burn. Burn. Burn. Burn.¡±


    He used Soul Speech over and over again as if he were singing. The mes around his arms spread out like a.


    !!


    Thousands of spear edges collided with the of fire. The explosion that transcended sound shook the World Tree.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    Odin quickly stepped back from the explosion that distorted and tore apart space itself.


    <i>Crack, crack!</i>


    ¡°What the...¡±


    However, he could see the monster, who was still charging at him despite his body being torn apart by the distorted space.


    <i>Crunch!</i>


    The monster ate Odin¡¯s right arm before he could do anything. The Top-rank Deific Essence barrier was negated all too easily by the monster¡¯s teeth as they dug into Odin¡¯s flesh.


    ¡°Kurghhhhh!!¡± Intense pain traveled up Odin¡¯s arm. He bit his lip and raised his left arm. ¡°You fucking monster...!¡±


    He raised Gungnir and swung it down at the head of the monster eating his right arm.


    <i>Crack.</i>


    The monster¡¯s head exploded.


    <i>Crunch, crunch, crunch.</i>


    However, the monster¡¯s mouth did not let go of Odin¡¯s arm.


    ¡°More, more, more,¡± the monster muttered chillingly as he continued to devour Odin¡¯s flesh. He then screamed like a crazed beast, ¡°MORE, MORE, MORE, MORE!!¡±


    Odin¡¯s expression turned pale.


    ¡°You¡ª¡±


    Odin was about to say something as his eyes trembled, but the monster covered in mes grabbed his neck before he could and pulled it down. The monster, who had been eating Odin¡¯s arm, opened his mouth wide like a snake and swallowed Odin¡¯s entire upper body whole.


    <i>Crunch, crunch.</i>


    Kang-Woo waited for the bell chime as he devoured Odin¡¯s body and Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®Alright,e on. Hurry up and tell me that I reached Transcendent-rank Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    He waited for the blue message window, but no matter how much time passed, no such message window appeared. Forget that, not even a message window saying that he absorbed Odin¡¯s Deific Essence appeared.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± Kang-Woo came back to his senses as if he had been doused by cold water. ¡°Why... didn¡¯t I reach it?¡±


    He had absorbed the corpses of hundreds of gods and even devoured the Deific Essence of Odin, a Top-rank god.


    ¡°After all I ate? Huh? I ate everything I possibly could.¡±


    No matter how long Kang-Woo waited, the message that said he reached Transcendent-rank Deific Essence did not appear.


    ¡°Fucking why?!¡±


    <i>Boom!</i>


    He stomped his foot aggressively.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa, haaa.¡± Kang-Woo crouched. ¡°More... more, more, more, more, more.¡±


    Even after eating hundreds of gods and devouring Odin whole, the hunger burning him from the inside did not disappear.

 Chapter 447 - Shouldered Weight

    <h4>Chapter 447 - Shouldered Weight</h4>


    ¡°More, more, more.¡±


    Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s desire was overflowing; it was zing to the point that he wondered if anything this intense had ever happened to him.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa.¡±


    His breathing became heavy. He clenched his chest as his vision blurred.


    <i>¡®More, more...¡¯</i>


    His sanity was being devoured. His ego and emotions were being vaporized by mes, leaving only his desire.


    ¡°Fu...ck.¡±


    Kang-Woo crouched down and bit his lip so hard that his teeth dug into his flesh. He was thirsty. He was hungry. He wascking.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    The golden barrier surrounding the area disappeared.


    ¡°M-my child!¡±


    Kang-Woo could see the fully healed Gaia approaching him. He walked over to her naturally to devour her flesh.


    ¡°A-arghh.¡±


    He suppressed his steps with all his might. He clenched his hair and gritted his teeth, frantically holding on to the thin thread that was his sanity.


    <i>¡®This is... bad.¡¯</i>


    No, it wasn¡¯t bad. This was normal. He had always been like this. What was so wrong about a demon staying true to his desire?


    ¡°Haaa, haaa.¡±


    Kang-Woo could see a ck sea. An endless abyss was looking at him. It was not Bauli; it was something far more enormous. It was an infinite darkness.


    <i>¡®What... the hell?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned his head. He could see three doors of different sizes, which were keeping the darkness at bay, being drowned up by the ck sea. No, that was not the right way to describe it.


    <i>¡®They¡¯re... bing one.¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t understand. He couldn¡¯t think straight.


    The abyss stared at him and said, <i>- What¡¯s wrong?</i>


    Kang-Woo could hear theughter of an innocent child.


    <i>- This is what you desired, isn¡¯t it?</i>


    He wanted to get stronger by eating so that he could win and protect what he cherished. He wanted to do whatever it took, whatever the cost.


    <i>¡®For...ward.¡¯</i>


    <i>- That¡¯s it.</i>


    <i>¡®Forward, forward, forward...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s consciousness faded.


    ***


    ¡°<i>Gasp!</i>¡±


    Kang-Woo sprang up. He looked around and saw white walls. He was in one of the rooms of the Hall of Protection.


    ¡°You¡¯re up, my king.¡±


    Kang-Woo heard Lilith¡¯s voice. She was reading a thick pile of documents as she sat next to the bed.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°The war ended with Odin¡¯s death. Olympus won.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Gaia has remained in the divine realm to negotiate with the opposing faction. Your quick disposal of Odin resulted in minimal losses from both sides or so I¡¯ve heard.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°How long was I out for?¡±


    ¡°About three days.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo stood up with an anxious expression. He immediately checked the amount of Divinity within him, but he could barely feel a differencepared to the amount before Ragnarok. He had not managed to achieve Transcendent-rank Deific Essence.


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned aggressively.


    <i>¡®I rested for three goddamn days.¡¯</i>


    The otherworldly invasions could begin at any second. Bael could bare his fangs at any second. He could not afford to waste even a single millisecond.


    <i>¡®I have to get stronger.¡¯</i>


    He was nowhere near powerful enough.


    <i>¡®More...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes turned yellow and his horizontally stretched pupils shone chillingly.


    <i>¡®What should I do?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had thought that he would reach Transcendent-rank Deific Essence by devouring Odin, but forget acquiring it, he did not even manage to obtain a single clue.


    <i>¡®Was Odin not enough? In that case, if I devour Gaia... as well as Elune...¡¯</i>


    He was sure that he would be able to if he did.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    If it was not enough, he simply had to eat more. It was the most simple and surefire solution.


    ¡°I¡¯ll start with Gaia¡ª¡±


    ¡°My king,¡± Lilith interjected.


    Kang-Woo turned his head to her. She was staring at him in sorrow.


    ¡°Why did you do it?¡± she asked.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean, why did you incite the war between the gods?¡±


    ¡°That was because Odin¡ª¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Lilith firmly shook her head and said coldly, ¡°You did it, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    Lilith narrowed her eyes. ¡°It wasn¡¯t like you, my king.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t like me?¡±


    Kang-Woo feignedughter.


    <i>¡®Wasn¡¯t like me? Then should I have stayed true to ethics and morals like Reynald and held hands toward a better future?¡¯</i>


    ¡°I¡¯ve always been like this,¡± Kang-Woo imed.


    ¡°No, that isn¡¯t true.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit. I¡¯ve done far worse things than th¡ª¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯ve done those things only when you were sure that the other party was an enemy. You only took such action when you were certain that they would get in your way. You¡¯ve never run wild like a madman like you are doing now.¡±


    Silence fell. Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t deny it. Gathering allies and reducing enemies had been his fundamental survival tactic in the Nine Hells. He didn¡¯t take into ount whether the targets that he devoured were good or evil, but he at least never hunted those that would not get in his way.


    ¡°I am not saying you shouldn¡¯t have killed Odin. The problem is how you did it.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You were far too sloppy.¡± Lilith continued coldly, ¡°If Gaia did not have the utmost trust in you and Odin hadn¡¯t lost himself in his rage, the fact that you were the culprit of this incident would have easily been exposed. To be honest, your n only went without a hitch because the gods are as moronic as they could get. Jeez, thinking about it even now, they were insanely stupid. How could they not have figured it out? Their intelligence as a whole must have dropped down a few pegs after being stuck in the divine realm for so long...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Whatever the case, it wasn¡¯t like you at all, my king.¡± Lilith stood up and walked toward Kang-Woo. ¡°If you were your usual self, even if you wanted to devour Odin, you would have picked a fight only after eliminating as much of a chance that you would be exposed as possible.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°My king.¡± Lilith gently grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s hands and stared at him with deeply sunken eyes. She asked, ¡°Why are you so impatient?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Impatient was the perfect word for it. It was not a problem that Kang-Woo killed Odin; the fact that he incited Ragnarok and caused gods to kill each other was not of importance either. Lilith couldn¡¯t care less about those things. The problem was Kang-Woo¡¯s current state. He was impatient as if he was being chased by something.


    ¡°Why am I so impatient?¡± Kang-Woo frowned aggressively and red at Lilith with his teeth bared. ¡°Why... you ask?¡±


    Was she asking because she didn¡¯t know? Did she seriously not know the reason why?


    ¡°Because I have to get stronger. If I don¡¯t eat and be stronger... if I don¡¯t manage to win and protect what I cherish, I¡¯ll...¡± Kang-Woo bit his lip and muttered, ¡°I¡¯ll... lose to that son of a bitch again.¡±


    He lowered his head and recalled his loss. He had the Demon God¡¯s heart stolen from right under his nose. He recalled Bael cackling at him. Although their battle in the Nightmare Forest did not decide a clear winner, the result itself had no doubt been his loss.


    <i>¡®I can''t stop him.¡¯</i>


    He wasn¡¯t sure whether or not he would have won even if he opened the Doors.


    <i>¡®No, I probably would¡¯ve still lost.¡¯</i>


    It would have been a different story if Kang-Woo had let go of his sanity entirely, but he likely would not have been able to win if he kept hold of it. Besides, the end result would have been the same if he had let go of his sanity; if the Demonic Sea were to be fully unleashed... this world would without a doubte to an end.


    <i>¡®And he even managed to get his hands on the Demon God¡¯s heart.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s chance of victory had been reduced even more. At this rate, he would lose again.


    ¡°My king.¡± Lilith ced her hand on Kang-Woo¡¯s cheek, her eyes filled with sorrow. She gently caressed his cheek. ¡°It¡¯s not like you have never suffered a single loss in your life.¡±


    The Demon King¡¯s path of conquest had not been clean of defeat; he had lost, been trampled on, and crumbled countless times. Despite that, he crawled his way up from the bottom and ultimately ended came out victorious.


    ¡°There is no need for you to be this impatient just because you lost to Bael once,¡± Lilith remarked as if scolding Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shook. ¡°No need... to be impatient? Just from losing once?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    ¡°Ha. Haha. Haha.¡±


    Kang-Woo burst intoughter; it was a sorrow-filledughter as if he was wailing in tears.


    ¡°Don¡¯t... bullshit me.¡±


    Kang-Woo gritted his teeth and red at Lilith fiercely. Lilith was right. He had faced defeat countless times in the Nine Hells. He overcame those defeats and came out victorious.


    But...


    But...


    But...


    <i>m!</i>


    Kang-Woo punched the wall. He ignored the hunger strangling him and the thirst burning him alive. He trampled on his surging desire. Once everything disappeared, only he was left. Not the savior of the world, not the Demon King who ruled the Nine Hells, not the master of the Demonic Sea, but the human Oh Kang-Woo.


    Something came bursting out. Something that he had been suppressing within him with all his might exploded.


    Kang-Woo shouted, ¡°I CAN¡¯T AFFORD TO LOSE A SINGLE TIME ANYMORE!! I BECAME STRONGER THROUGH DEFEAT? I CRAWLED MY WAY UP TO THE TOP? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY DIED IN THAT PROCESS?!¡±


    They had died. Countless subordinates who had pledged their loyalty to him died in the most atrocious and wretched ways possible. They had died, died, died, died, died, and died again. They continued to die until their corpses made a giant hill.


    ¡°I HAVE TO FUCKING GET STRONGER! I HAVE TO KEEP WINNING!¡±


    Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. Forward.


    He couldn¡¯t stop. He couldn¡¯t break. He couldn¡¯t fall. If he were to copse, Bael would bare his teeth at the people who followed him.


    ¡°THEY¡¯D ALL DIE, SO WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?!¡± Kang-Woo screamed in desperation. ¡°DO YOU THINK NUMBERS WOULD HAVE ANY EFFECT ON HIM? HUH? OLYMPUS? ASGARD? GUARDIANS? THEY¡¯RE ALL MEANINGLESS TO HIM!!¡±


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Kang-Woo stomped his foot. In the end, there was no one but him who was a match for Bael. If he fell, there was no one else.


    He continued desperately, ¡°I... have to get stronger.¡±


    He needed to get stronger. He needed to fight and win. Running away was pointless. Even if he escaped somewhere far away from the Triad, it was only a matter of time. Bael would devour the Triad ande for him; wherever Kang-Woo was, Bael would eventuallye to find him and devour everything he cherished.


    ¡°I...¡± Kang-Woo panted heavily and lowered his head. He mustered the words. ¡°I... have to win.¡±


    He could not afford to lose even once. He could not afford to let the things that happened in Hell to repeat.


    Lilith remained silent.


    This was the first time she had seen such a vulnerable side of Kang-Woo after all the time they had spent and the countless battles they had fought together.


    <i>¡®Just how long had he been desperately holding on for? How long had he been suppressing these emotions?¡¯</i>


    She couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine.


    ¡°Master Kang-Woo.¡±


    She did not address him as her king. The man in front of her was not the Demon King. He was the human Oh Kang-Woo, who had been crushed under the weight of that title.


    ¡°It must have been... so hard for you.¡±


    Lilith took Kang-Woo¡¯s head and embraced it tightly, patting it as if she wereforting a hurt child.


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    He lowered his head as he was in her arms. He recalled the faces of countless people. They were the faces of Han Seol-Ah, Lilith, Balrog, and Kim Si-Hun. Not just them; the gazes of Cha Yeon-Joo, Echidna, La, Iris, Halcyon, Vaal Zahak, Uriel, and countless others were staring at him. They had a hold on him. They were the ones he was shouldering; they were the ones that he needed to shoulder.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    It was hard for him. There was no way that it wasn¡¯t. No matter how much he endured, and endured, and endured, and endured, and endured, and endured, and endured... Every time he tried to walk forward...


    ¡°It¡¯s... so heavy.¡±


    The weight he was shouldering was far too heavy.


    ¡°I feel like I¡¯m... getting crushed to death,¡± Kang-Woo said as he wept, tears trickling down his cheeks.

 Chapter 448 - You Don’t Control Me

    <h4>Chapter 448 - You Don¡¯t Control Me</h4>


    Silence fell, leaving only the weeping sounds of a hurt beast filling the room. Lilith slowly patted Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s head in her embrace until he stopped weeping and his bursting emotions subsided.


    <i>¡°DO YOU THINK NUMBERS WOULD HAVE ANY EFFECT ON HIM? HUH? OLYMPUS? ASGARD? GUARDIANS? THEY¡¯RE ALL MEANINGLESS TO HIM!!¡±</i>


    Lilith recalled Kang-Woo¡¯s screams. She could not think of a rebuttal to his words. Numbers were indeed meaningless against Bael; that had already been proven during the war to decide the supreme overlord of the Nine Hells in the past. She had made most of Bael¡¯s forces betray him with her exceptional illusion magic, but it ended up being meaningless. That was the kind of being Bael was.


    <i>¡®No one but Master Kang-Woo is a match for him.¡¯</i>


    She knew all too well that Kim Si-Hun, Gaia, Balrog, or Han Seol-Ah would not be able to handle Bael. No, they would only be a nuisance for Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡®In the end, there¡¯s no other way to face Bael than for Master Kang-Woo to be stronger than him.¡¯</i>


    There was just one way for Kang-Woo to get stronger: to eat without regard for good or evil, friend or foe.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s why...¡¯</i>


    Lilith smiled sorrowfully and looked down at the shaking Kang-Woo in her arms. She couldn¡¯t begin to imagine how cornered he must have felt and the weight crushing him.


    <i>¡®Poor thing.¡¯</i>


    Lilith hugged Kang-Woo tighter like he was a precious treasure.


    ¡°You¡¯ll win,¡± she said.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re the Master Kang-Woo that I know, you¡¯lle out on top in the end.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know. Someone might die in the process. You might lose someone you cherish, like you had back in the Nine Hells. But...¡± Lilith smiled brightly. ¡°I know you¡¯ll be able to ovee it.¡±


    ¡°No. You¡¯re wrong.¡±


    Kang-Woo bit his lip. The dead did not return. There was no way to regain what one had lost. Victory meant nothing if everything he had disappeared as a result.


    ¡°I... don¡¯t wanna lose anything else.¡±


    Kang-Woo lowered his head and wept pitifully.


    ¡°Hohoho,¡± Lilithughed with her mouth covered. She swept Kang-Woo¡¯s hair back and kissed him. ¡°I won¡¯t say anything stupid like I¡¯ll stay with you even in death, but I can at least tell you this.¡± She stared at Kang-Woo, her eyes willed with certainty. ¡°Even if I were to die... I will be happy. As long as I¡¯m with you... As long as I have the memories of the times I have spent with you, I¡¯m sure that I can stay smiling even in the face of death.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shook as he panted heavily. ¡°No.¡±


    Die with a smile? What kind of bullshit was that?


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare die without my permission.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my heart skipped a beat there.¡±


    Lilith slightly blushed. She wrapped her arms around Kang-Woo¡¯s neck and leaned down to kiss Kang-Woo again.


    <i>¡®I feel bad for Seol-Ah, but I can¡¯t hold back my bursting emotions,¡¯ </i>she thought.


    ¡°If you won¡¯t let me die, then...¡± Lilith ced her hand on Kang-Woo¡¯s cheek. She brought her face close to Kang-Woo¡¯s face until their noses almost touched and whispered, ¡°Please win.¡±


    Whatever Kang-Woo did, even if he were to devour everything, even if the entire world were to curse and resent him, Lilith would follow him to the very end.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t afford to lose a single time...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t lose. Simple, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lilith said leisurely as if it was only natural for her king to able to do it.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Kang-Woo chuckled and asked dumbfoundedly, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be telling me that it¡¯s okay for me to lose or that you¡¯ll help me shoulder the weight?¡±


    ¡°My, did you want something like that? Hohoho, but it¡¯s a fact that no one but you can face Bael and that our lives are in your hands.¡± Lilithughed brightly and stared at Kang-Woo with deeply sunken eyes. She continued, ¡°So, please win.¡±


    If it was Kang-Woo, her beloved king, he would win for sure even if his opponent was a god, an unknown otherworldly entity, or even Bael.


    Kang-Woo remained silent. Forget unloading some of the weight on his shoulders, Lilith was adding even more.


    ¡°Pfft.¡±


    The pressure on his shoulders lessened for some reason.


    <i>¡®Just don¡¯t lose, huh?¡¯</i>


    ¡°You make it... sound so easy,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    He couldn¡¯t help butugh as he shrugged.


    <i>¡®Yeah, it was so simple.¡¯</i>


    If he had always ended uping out on top every single time, he just needed to do the same this time as well.


    <i>¡®Without losing anything.¡¯</i>


    He would win by andslide.


    ¡°Haha, for fuck¡¯s sake.¡±


    Kang-Woo burst intoughter with his hand on his face. He felt like an idiot for being crushed by the weight on his shoulders all this time.


    <i>¡®I just don¡¯t have to lose, right?¡¯</i>


    If that was the case, there was something he needed to do first.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± he said.


    ¡°Master Kang-Woo?¡±


    Kang-Woo turned away from Lilith, who was tilting her head in confusion, and closed his eyes to reach the ck sea within the Ten Thousand Demon Core.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll beat the shit out of this motherfucker first.¡¯</i>


    The ck sea, an infinite darkness, was drowning the three Doors that kept it at bay. There was no need to think deeply about what was trying to take over the Ten Thousand Demon Core and Kang-Woo himself.


    <i>¡®Desire.¡¯</i>


    It was the entity that those who possessed demonic energy inevitably had to face. It was the source of demonic energy itself.


    ¡°A-arghh.¡±


    Kang-Woo trembled as intense hunger and thirst burned him alive.


    <i>Fwoosh.</i>


    The mes zed fiercely. The gold and ck mes were made only out of Kang-Woo¡¯s desire to eat.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± he panted heavily.


    His desire was boiling to the point that he could barely hold it back. His mind felt hazy and his vision looked as if static was filling it. His sense of reason was getting devoured and his sanity was getting burnt to a crisp. Everything in the world was falling apart. It was being vaporized by mes. The only thing left among the ashes was his desire.


    <i>- More, more, more, more.</i>


    His desire shouted as if it had not had enough. The powerful impulse to devour everything in the world was taking over Kang-Woo¡¯s mind. He slowly raised his head within the unfathomable sense of desire.


    <i>¡®It was you.¡¯</i>


    The entity that had been trying to take control of him by taking advantage of his weakened mindset was the mes of desire¡ª his Deific Essence of Voracity.


    <i>¡®I knew something was off.¡¯</i>


    Thinking back on it, there were several irregrities. He would never do what he had done even if he had been cornered by stress and the pressure of needing to get stronger.


    <i>¡°It wasn¡¯t like you, my king.¡±</i>


    Yes. It wasn¡¯t like him. He didn¡¯t care about good or evil. He paid no mind to ethics and trampled on a concept as trivial as morals. That did not change in the past or the present. He killed anyone who got in his way and even those whom he thought would in the future. If he needed something, he would do whatever it took to get his hands on it. Lilith knew very well what kind of person Kang-Woo was but she still judged that his actions until now had not been like him.


    <i>¡®It must¡¯ve been because I was getting eaten by this thing.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and stared at the zing mes. The mes of Voracity was formed only by his desire to eat; it was filled with his thirst and hunger. He had been controlled by his own Deific Essence this entire time.


    <i>¡®So this is why I was so desperate to acquire Transcendent-rank Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    He could finally understand the situation somewhat.


    <i>¡®But since when?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo searched back on his memories. It did not take long for him to find out when he had begun to change due to the Deific Essence of Voracity¡¯s control over him.


    <i>¡®Right after I lost to Bael.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo chuckled. ¡°This fucking body of mine is so goddamn popr.¡±


    Not just Bauli, but even his Deific Essence of Voracity was coveting his body. It was trying to devour Kang-Woo through the mes of Voracvity by making him sumb to his desire.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!!</i>


    Enormous mes easily over thousands of meters tall,rge enough to devour the entire world, charged at Kang-Woo.


    <i>Bounce!</i>


    ¡°Grrrk, grrrk!¡±


    Just then, Slushy appeared in Kang-Woo¡¯s consciousness. It stood between Kang-Woo and the mes, ring at the mes fiercely.


    ¡°Grrrk! Grrrrrrrk!¡±


    It opened its mouth threateningly and kept the mes in check.


    Kang-Woo smirked. ¡°The hell, man? Took you long enough to crawl out.¡±


    ¡°Grrrk, grrrk...¡±


    Slushy flinched and looked at Kang-Woo as if he was wronged. Kang-Woo snickered and lightly tapped Slushy¡¯s glistening skin.


    <i>Splosh, splosh.</i>


    ¡°Stop acting all tough and stay behind me.¡±


    ¡°Grrrk?¡±


    Kang-Woo grabbed Slushy by the head and threw him back.


    ¡°Grrrk!!¡±


    Slushy bounced backward as he rolled.


    ¡°Now, then.¡±


    Kang-Woo raised his head to see a burning ck sea. This was probably how it would look if one set fire to a sea of gasoline. He could feel the intense heat burning him despite this being a world in his consciousness. The giant pir of fire made of desire opened its mouth and swallowed Kang-Woo.


    <i>Tsssss¡ª!</i>


    His skin burned and his blood evaporated. Intense hunger and thirst distorted his senses. His sense of reason was being ground away as his sanity was devoured.


    <i>- It¡¯s not enough.</i>


    Kang-Woo heard a voice.


    <i>- It¡¯s not enough, is it? More, more, more, more. We need to move forward. We need to climb even higher, somewhere no one will ever reach. You know as well, don¡¯t you? You¡ª</i>


    ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, you talk too much.¡± Kang-Woo cut off the voice echoing in his head and spat on the ground. ¡°Hey.¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at the mes of Voracity eating away at him.


    ¡°Know your fucking ce.¡±


    He couldn¡¯t believe that he, none other than the Demon King himself, was trying to be controlled.


    ¡°You don¡¯t control me.¡±


    Desire was an undefiable instinct for a demon; all demons acted on their desire and were controlled by it. However, that was only in the case of a regr demon.


    ¡°I reign above you.¡±


    Kang-Woo was the pinnacle of all demons.


    He, who had trampled on the Demon God and became the master of the Demonic Sea, said in a low tone, ¡°Kneel, you son of a bitch.¡±


    Hemanded the colossal mes that had swallowed him whole.

 Chapter 449 - Ruler of Voracity

    <h4>Chapter 449 - Ruler of Voracity</h4>


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!!</i>


    The mes of Voracity aggressively bounced away from Oh Kang-Woo. The mes tried to charge at him several more times.


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t learned your lesson, motherfucker?¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned. The mes of Voracity charging at him were being bounced away by an invisible force. The battle between a single human and mes colossal enough to swallow the world whole looked like it wouldn¡¯t even be a contest from a nce.


    <i>¡®But this is a space formed within my consciousness.¡¯</i>


    Thews of physics did not apply here. It did not matter who was stronger; one¡¯s willpower and ability to control energy did, and Kang-Woo had far surpassed even the Demon God in those two aspects.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!</i>


    The mes of Voracity exuded intense heat in anger and twisted around as if it couldn¡¯t understand. If willpower was the most important in this space, this phenomenon couldn¡¯t be. After all, desire was the most powerful instinct for a demon.


    <i>Fwoosh.</i>


    The mes of Voracity condensed in midair and took the form of a human. It was simr in size and shape to Kang-Woo as if it had used him as a temte. The mes in the form of a human slowly walked toward Kang-Woo.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± asked Kang-Woo as he smirked fiercely.


    He lightly stomped his foot and then the Demonic Sea wrapped around the mes of Voracity.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!!</i>


    It writhed aggressively but could not escape from the enormous Demonic Sea¡¯s clutches. Now that Kang-Woo was free from the shackles of desire, the Demonic Sea was back in his full control.


    ¡°Got a problem?¡±


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!</i>


    ¡°Hah. You¡¯ve sure had it easy, huh?¡±


    Kang-Woo slowly walked toward the zing mes of Voracity. It struggled with all its might and burned even more fiercely to get out of the Demonic Sea¡¯s grasp. The sticky ck mucous energy began to evaporate little by little.


    ¡°After ten millennia of being under my feet, you happily decide to crawl up after seeing a sliver of a crack in my defense to take advantage of?¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled widely at his desire. He had never once sumbed to his desire in the long span of ten millennia. He had ovee it every single time and emerged victorious. His desire was unable to control him; he was always the one to control it.


    <i>Split.</i>


    Kang-Woo opened his mouth. The corners of his mouth ripped to his earlobes and sharp teeth emerged from between his lips.


    <i>Crack!</i>


    Goat horns sprouted from his forehead.


    <i>Grrrrk.</i>


    The Demonic Sea surged and wrapped around Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Hurghhh.¡±


    He crouched within the raging Demonic Sea. An unfathomable sense of omnipotence filled him.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!</i>


    The mes of Voracity in human form stepped backward. Feeling uneasy, it then turned around and began to run away. Kang-Woo cackled as he stuck his long tongue out.


    ¡°I told you¡ª¡±


    <i>Boom¡ª!!</i>


    Kang-Woo shot forward like a bullet and the Demonic Sea wrapping around him followed as if stuck to him.


    <i>Whoosh!</i>


    The Demonic Sea stuck to Kang-Woo¡¯s back spread out like a fan. The Demonic Sea spread on each side of his back looked like giant ck wings made of sticky mucus.


    ¡°To kneel!¡±


    <i>Ssh!</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched the fleeing mes of Voracity and shoved it into the Demonic Sea. The endless abyssal sea swirled around like a vortex and began to devour the mes of Voracity.


    <i>Grrrrk! Grrrrk!</i>


    The mes of Voracity floundered desperately. The ck sea was greedily devouring the Deific Essence of Voracity.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    The mes of Voracity stuck within the Demonic Sea extended its arm toward Kang-Woo as if begging him to let it out.


    Kang-Woo cackled and asked teasingly, ¡°What? You want to live?¡±


    <i>Fwoosh, fwoosh!</i>


    It nodded with what looked like its head. Kang-Woo grabbed the mes of Voracity stuck within the Demonic Sea.


    ¡°Hmm. What to do?¡±


    He narrowed his eyes and fell into thought. It would be the best choice to eliminate it since it had risen against him.


    <i>¡®But I can¡¯t abandon something that I went out of my way to raise to Top-rank Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t afford to abandon the Deific Essence of Voracity because the mes of Voracity were extremely powerful.


    ¡°Come out.¡±


    Kang-Woo pulled out the Deific Essence of Voracity stuck within the Demonic Sea.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!</i>


    The mes that had been zing so fiercely that they could devour the entire world stepped away from Kang-Woo as if running away. The zing mes then bowed to Kang-Woo like a loyal subject of a king, or a devotee to a god.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [The ¡®mes of Voracity¡¯ have surrendered to you!]


    [Raising the rank of the ¡®mes of Voracity¡¯!]


    [You have absorbed the Deific Essence within the ¡®mes of Voracity.¡¯]


    [Raising the level cap from 100 to 110!]


    [You have reached your Twelfth Awakening!]


    [You have fulfilled a portion of the condition to acquire Transcendent-rank Deific Essence!]


    [There are ten more levels left until you reach the maximum level (Thirteenth Awakening).]


    ¡°Sheesh, this thing is loud as hell. Why are youing out only now when you didn¡¯t when I was telling you to?¡±


    Kang-Woo smirked as he picked his ear. The blue message windows did not appear in front of him because this was a space within his consciousness. In exchange, the messages were read out within his head.


    <i>¡®Well, I¡¯ll think about themter.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo slowly turned to the mes in human form bowing to his feet and narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°Bow down properly.¡±


    The mes flinched, properly smashing its head down on the ground.


    ¡°Stand up.¡±


    The mes of Voracity stood up.


    ¡°Sit down.¡±


    The mes of Voracity quickly squatted down. Kang-Woo chuckled.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t see the point of something like this in my consciousness, but...¡¯</i>


    It at least showed that the mes of Voracity had submitted to himpletely.


    <i>¡®That aside, do Deific Essence usually have individual will?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo thought for a moment and narrowed his eyes.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s a fact that gods are influenced by their Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    Gaia with the Deific Essence of Parental Love deeply cherished her children and retainers, and Tirion with the Deific Essence of Heroes possessed a heroic personality that one would only see inic books. Even Odin, the God of War, stood at the forefront of the battlefield during Ragnarok.


    <i>¡®So gods are usually meant to be influenced by their Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    If that were the case, Kang-Woo would also naturally be influenced by the Deific Essence of Voracity.


    ¡°Is it really okay for me to get this thing to Transcendent-rank?¡±


    The rise in rank of one¡¯s Deific Essence would also mean that its influence over them would also rise. Kang-Woo had been fortunate that he had not acquired Transcendent-rank Deific Essence after devouring Odin. If he had acquired it while there had been cracks in his defense...


    <i>¡®I might have beenpletely taken over by the Deific Essence of Voracity.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could not afford to take it lightly.


    <i>¡®But it¡¯s not like I can give up on Transcendent-rank Deific Essence either.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled softly. He was in a situation where he couldn¡¯t give up on Transcendent-rank Deific Essence but was unable to block the influence that the Deific Essence had on him.


    <i>¡®In that case, I¡¯ll just make the Deific Essence submit.¡¯</i>


    He would make it so that the Deific Essence couldn¡¯t even look up at him.


    ¡°Up, down, up, down.¡±


    The Deific Essence of Voracity stood up and squatted repeatedly at Kang-Woo¡¯smand.


    ¡°Sit, sit. Huh? Are my words going out the other ear? Did I tell you to stand up? Huh?¡±


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    ¡°What? You didn¡¯t know? Huh? Do you think saying that solves everything? Do you want to be annihted? Get your shit together.¡±


    <i>Fwoosh, fwoosh.</i>


    ¡°Down. Up, down, up, roll to the left, roll to the right, jump, fly.¡±


    The mes of Voracity moved exactly as Kang-Woomanded. Kang-Woo smiled as he stared at the mes of Voracity.


    ¡°Well, since this is a world within my consciousness, I¡¯m sure we have plenty of time...¡±


    <i>Fwoosh, fwoosh...</i>


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to put you in your ce.¡±


    <i>¡®So that you can never even think about coveting my body.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo burst intoughter. The mes of Voracity flinched.


    <i>Fwoosh...</i>


    ***


    ¡°Fuuu... Haaa.¡±


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his eyes. He wondered how much time had passed; his sense of time had been so distorted in the world of his consciousness that he was not sure. Kang-Woo turned his head and saw Lilith, who was staring at him in the same spot and posture that he remembered her being when he closed his eyes.


    He asked, ¡°How much time passed?¡±


    Lilith¡¯s eyes were subtly shaking anxiously. She answered, ¡°About... three hours.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    He felt as if it had been three years. Kang-Woo looked at Lilith as he stretched. He could see her gaze shaking anxiously.


    ¡°What is it?¡± he asked.


    Lilith looked at Kang-Woo¡¯s back without answering.


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder and looked back as well.


    ¡°Wha...¡±


    ck wings had sprouted from his back. Demonic energy condensed to its absolute limit was dripping from the wings that looked as if they were made from sticky mucus.


    <i>¡®The hell are these?¡¯</i>


    He had indeed made wings when he was in the world of his consciousness, but they were still there in the real world.


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    Just then, gold and ck mes set the ck wings alight.


    ¡°M-Master Kang-Woo...!¡±


    Lilith quickly reached out to Kang-Woo, who lightly shook his head and grabbed her hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± he replied as he lightly moved his zing wings around.


    This was the first time that he gained wings despite being a demon for ten millennia, but he was able to control them easily as if he had them from the beginning.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [The ¡®mes of Voracity¡¯ has surrenderedpletely to yer Oh Kang-Woo!]


    [You have acquired the title ¡®Ruler of Voracity¡¯!]


    [You can control the impulse of Voracity as per the title¡¯s effect.]


    <i>¡®Whoa.¡¯</i> Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone as he read the message in front of him. <i>¡®Is this because the mes of Voracity¡¯s rank rose?¡¯</i>


    He now possessed wings of gold and ck mes.


    ¡°So fucking cool...¡±


    <i>¡®It¡¯s sick as fuck. I might fall for myself.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Master Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°Look at these, Lilith. Aren¡¯t they cool as fuck?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re wings! Yeah? Wings!!¡±


    <i>¡®You can¡¯t get any cooler than this!!!¡¯</i>


    <i>Fwoosh, fwoosh.</i>


    Kang-Woo excitedly pped his wings of fire.


    ¡°Phew...¡± Lilith sighed in relief after finally realizing that there was nothing wrong with Kang-Woo. She gave him an angry look and said, ¡°I thought something bad happened to you.¡±


    Kang-Woo snickered and ced his hand on Lilith¡¯s cheek. ¡°... Thanks.¡±


    If it hadn¡¯t been for Lilith, he would have gone insane after getting his mind devoured by his desire.


    Lilith lowered her head as she blushed. Kang-Woo patted her head. ¡°Are you...pletely fine now?¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded and snapped his finger instead of answering. The wings of fire were immediately sucked back into him. He then looked at Lilith and smiled gently.


    ¡°Ah...¡± Lilith expressed. It was the smile that she knew and had seen all this time. ¡°Master Kang-Woo.¡±


    She hugged Kang-Woo tightly, teary-eyed. She had acted like she was fine, but her heart had felt like it would burst from the thought of Kang-Woo being taken over by some other entity.


    ¡°I¡¯m... I¡¯m so d. <i>Sniff</i>.¡±


    She was so d that a tentacle slowly sprouted from her chest and burst, putrid yellow pus sshing on Kang-Woo¡¯s clothes.


    Kang-Woo grimaced.


    He was about to say something but stopped himself. He sighed and turned around.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    He took off the jacket stained with Lilith¡¯s pus and burnt it to ash with the mes that casually ignited from his finger. His use of the mes was so natural that it couldn¡¯t even bepared to when he first learned the mes of Voracity.


    ¡°...¡±


    Lilith stared nkly at Kang-Woo¡¯s back. She smiled widely and knelt on one knee.


    ¡°Victory¡ª¡±


    To her beloved, who stood up in the end despite being crushed by unfathomable weight.


    ¡°To my beloved king.¡±

 Chapter 450 - Aernor Delegation (1)

    <h4>Chapter 450 - Aernor Delegation (1)</h4>


    The first thing that Oh Kang-Woo did after waking up from the world of his consciousness was to settle the aftermaths of Ragnarok. The war had wrapped up as Olympus¡¯s victory due to Odin¡¯s defeat, but Asgard did not acknowledge their defeat despite losing theirmander; they resisted aggressively and desperately.


    Kang-Woo and Gaia focused on calming Asgard. It did not take very long since the difference in their power was clear now that Odin had been annihted. In addition to that, Gaia proposed apromise to all of the opposing factions to form a sort of association whose purpose was to ease the restriction. The anti-Gaia faction had no choice but to ept the proposal as they were despairing over the overwhelming difference in power.


    ¡°It looks like things in the divine realm have calmed down a little.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded as he looked through the documents that Uranus had sent him. The gods had worried that arge majority of the gods would die due to Ragnarok, but they had managed toe to apromise without major casualties.


    <i>¡®Well, I bet there are still gods who strongly oppose thew in their minds.¡¯</i>


    Forget just their minds, Kang-Woo was sure that there would be gods who would ignore thew entirely and manifest into the physical realm anyway. Even so, they had managed to prevent the Earth from falling into chaos due to the gods. As long as the gods were afraid of being annihted, they would not recklessly manifest into the physical realm.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo sighed as he leaned on the backrest of his chair. He was exhausted after working his ass off needlessly in the divine realm.


    <i>¡®If only I came to my fucking senses before things got this big...¡¯</i>


    Multiple waves of regret swept over him.


    <i>¡®I mean, I probably would have had to eliminate Odin sooner orter from what he was saying.¡¯</i>


    However, he would have been able to do that without needing to cause an all-out war between gods.


    <i>¡®And most of all...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes. Someone knocked on his door and entered. It was Lilith, who had another pile of documents in hand. Kang-Woo flinched as he saw her bowing to him.


    ¡°What is it?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Hoho. This is the file containing the activities of Guardians while you were away.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡±


    Kang-Woo took the documents awkwardly. He was not feeling down because he was given more work to do.


    Kang-Woo peeked nces at Lilith in silence and gulped.


    ¡°My, what¡¯s wrong, Master Kang-Woo?¡± Lilith tilted her head in confusion, wide-eyed.


    ¡°Huh? No, nothing.¡±


    Kang-Woo shook his head frantically like amon dazed anime protagonist.


    ¡°My~ Is that so?¡± Lilith looked at Kang-Woo with a smile.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Nothing at all~¡±


    Lilith smiled even wider. She hummed and walked toward the seated Kang-Woo as she looked at him teasingly.


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo turned his head from her. He had gone through this several times already after <i>that incident</i>. Lilith giggled as she lightly ced her hands on Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°Master Kang-Woo~¡±


    ¡°You can go if you¡¯re done. I still have a ton of things left to do.¡±


    ¡°My, my. How cold you are.¡± Lilith ced her hands on her chest, overly acting like she was heartbroken. She then spread her arms out and continued, ¡°Here, Master Kang-Woo. You can smother yourself in my embrace... like back then.¡±


    ¡°Kurgh,¡± Kang-Woo groaned and bit his lip.


    His shoulders subtly trembled with his head lowered.


    ¡°Go on, hurry. You¡¯ve been having a hard timetely, haven¡¯t you? You can unwind in my arms...¡±


    ¡°S-stop...¡±


    ¡°And cry to your heart¡¯s content.¡±


    ¡°Please fucking stop!¡± Kang-Woo shouted as he sprang up from his chair as if having a seizure.


    ¡°Hohohoho!¡± Lilith burst intoughter with one hand covering her mouth. She poked Kang-Woo¡¯s chest with her finger and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Master Kang-Woo~? I, Lilith, am always willing to lend you my embrace whenever you need it!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Now, don¡¯t hold back and jump into my¡ª Kyaaah!¡±


    Kang-Woo grabbed Lilith by her hips and threw her out of the room. Lilith turned her hair into tentacles and gracefullynded on the ground.


    ¡°I told you to stop...¡± said Kang-Woo as he panted heavily.


    Lilith giggled even more. ¡°Hoho, my apologies. I couldn¡¯t help it from how entertaining your reactions were.¡± She elegantly bowed and continued, ¡°La asked me to tell you that there will be a Guardians general assembly soon, so she would appreciate it if you could participate.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded and flopped back down on his chair.


    <i>ck.</i>


    The door of his room closed and silence fell.


    Kang-Woo lowered his head. ¡°Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!¡±


    He screamed as he clenched his hair.


    <i>¡°It¡¯s... so heavy.</i>


    ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!


    <i>¡°I feel like I¡¯m... getting crushed to death!</i>


    ¡°ilJASDHFKLJWHDFILFBWlidbflkjABDFKLBkldbfkljb.¡±


    Kang-Woo muttered iprehensibly. He jumped into his bed and clenched his hair. He kicked the sheets that he had left untidied after waking up and rolled around.


    ¡°Why... Why did I say shit like that...?¡±


    He wept in deep sorrow. There was no darker past than this.


    <i>¡®Deific Essence of Voracity, you fucking son of a bitch. Should I go back into the world of my consciousness and fuck it up again?¡¯</i>


    <i>Fwoosh, fwoosh.</i>


    A small ember set alight from Kang-Woo¡¯s finger as he was deep in thought and wriggled as if it were wronged.


    ¡°What? What the fuck do you want from me?¡±


    <i>Fwoosh.</i>


    The ember flinched and went back into Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Urghhh,¡± Kang-Woo groaned bizarrely as he clenched his hair again.


    <i>ck.</i>


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo?!¡±


    Just then, Han Seol-Ah opened the door anxiously after hearing Kang-Woo¡¯s groans.


    ¡°Darling.¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at Seol-Ah with shaking eyes. All the humiliation that he had experienced at Lilith¡¯s hands swept over him. He let the surging emotions take him.


    ¡°Darliiiiiiing!¡±


    ¡°Wh-whoa!¡±


    Kang-Woo jumped into Seol-Ah¡¯s arms. His face buried into her well-endowed chest. His cheeks were enveloped by a warm and soft sensation. A delightful scent entered his nose. He could feel his stress melting away in a sh.


    ¡°Aaaahh.¡±


    <i>¡®I¡¯m so fucking happy. I can¡¯t even remember the dark past anymore. I¡¯m sure my darling won¡¯t make fun of me. She¡¯s... she¡¯s different from Lilith.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Seol-Ah asked as she looked down at Kang-Woo in worry.


    Kang-Woo regained hisposure and stepped away from her as he cleared his throat.


    ¡°No, nothing at all.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like it.¡±


    ¡°I was just worked up over a past mistake.¡±


    ¡°A past... mistake?¡±


    Seol-Ah tilted her head in wonder, but Kang-Woo forcibly changed the subject so that she couldn¡¯t dig into it.


    ¡°How are you doingtely, darling? I¡¯ve barely been able to see you.¡±


    It had been to change the subject, but he was considerably worried about it.


    <i>¡®Darling doesn¡¯t only just get sad because we haven¡¯t been able to see each other.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo did not know why, but Seraph¡¯s soul was within Seol-Ah. She had awakened through Seraph¡¯s power and ended up bing an angel in the body of a human, simr to Kang-Woo, a demon in a human body. However, she was unable to control her obsession because the change had been too sudden, and the target of her obsession was none other than Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡®She won¡¯t fall from grace again, would she?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked at Seol-Ah uneasily.


    ¡°Ah...¡± Seol-Ah bit her lip aggressively and nodded. ¡°Yes... That¡¯s right. You¡¯ve been... fairly busytely.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m f-fine!¡±


    <i>¡®You don¡¯t look fine.¡¯</i>


    ¡°I-I know that you¡¯re very... busy. <i>Grit</i>. So... I¡¯m fine. <i>Grind</i>. Even if you¡¯re not here... I can take care of myself just fine.¡±


    <i>¡®You seriously don¡¯t look fine.¡¯</i>


    ¡°...¡±


    Seol-Ah bit her lip, brought her legs together, and twisted them as if she were holding in her pee, possibly having recalled the time that Kang-Woo was away. Her bloodshot eyes were staring intently at Kang-Woo¡¯s limbs.


    <i>¡®The hell? It kinda looks like she¡¯s contemting whether or not to cut them off. You¡¯re not, right? Huh? It¡¯s all in my head, right, Darling? You¡¯re not gonna dismember me or anything, right? They¡¯ll grow back even if you cut them off, so don¡¯t cut them. You better not.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Haaa, fuuu~ haaa.¡± Seol-Ah shut her eyes tightly and took deep breaths. Her bloodshot eyes returned to normal. ¡°A-ahem. I¡¯m sorry, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re fine?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sure! I...¡± Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes darted around. She grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s hands and then kissed him. She said quietly as she blushed, ¡°... I missed you, Kang-Woo.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled faintly.


    <i>¡®It looks like she can control her instincts somewhat now.¡¯</i>


    Her condition was not as bad as when she had fallen.


    <i>¡®But you never know.¡¯</i>


    Suppressing one¡¯s desire was easier said than done. Even Kang-Woo himself had made a huge blunder because his desire had almost taken control of him.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not good to suppress it at all times either.¡¯</i>


    It would only have the opposite effect. Just like how Kang-Woo unleashed his instinctive desire to eat whenever he faced powerful foes like Tai Wuji, one needed to unwind and fulfill their desire every once in a while.


    ¡°Darling. It¡¯s just gonna be the two of us today after all this time, so is there anything you want to do?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Pardon?¡± Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes widened due to Kang-Woo¡¯s sudden question.


    Kang-Woo smirked and continued, ¡°The matters in the divine realm have more or less been resolved, so... I have some free time today. If there¡¯s anything you want to do, let me know.¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s target of obsession was himself, so the best way to fulfill what she desired was to let her do what she wanted to him.


    An awkward silence fell. Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes darted around as she stole nces at Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Wh-what I want to do...?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± Seol-Ah lowered her head as her face reddened. ¡°I-is it really okay for me to say it?¡±


    ¡°Haha. Of course, anything.¡±


    It was obvious what a pure and innocent woman like Seol-Ah would want to do.


    <i>¡®Yeah, I¡¯ve been wanting to go on a date with Seol-Ah after so long.¡¯</i>


    It would be nice to go to a cinema with her as they held hands, or even spending some quality time in a nearby cafe would be nice in its own right.


    <i>¡®We could even go to the department store that we went to with Echidna a while ago. Mhm.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction as he thought of date courses in his head.


    ¡°Umm... In that case,¡± Seol-Ah cautiously said. She took off the house slippers that she had been wearing and said, ¡°P-please lick my... feet.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Excuse me?

 Chapter 451 - Aernor Delegation (2)

    <h4>Chapter 451 - Aernor Delegation (2)</h4>


    ¡°Ah... Ahn!¡±


    Han Seol-Ah¡¯s erotic moans filled Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s ears.


    Kang-Woo stopped what he was doing and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Ummm, darling.¡±


    ¡°Haaa, haaa. Yes, K-Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°Could you do something about your voice...?¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at her with a sour expression. Seol-Ah¡¯s face turned as red as a tomato. She clenched her clothes and bit her lip.


    ¡°B-but...!¡± she shouted. ¡°I can¡¯t help it when it feels so good!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo put his hand on his forehead as if his head hurt and looked down at Seol-Ah¡¯s foot that she stretched out in front of him. Her pale feet had no blemishes whatsoever. They were so beautiful that Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t help but gulp. He slowly massaged them with both hands.


    <i>¡®Come on, licking feet is a bit much. It¡¯s not even about my pride.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo cleared his throat and focused back on massaging Seol-Ah¡¯s foot. Seol-Ah was slightly disappointed at first, but she was showing excessively good reactions once the massage began.


    ¡°Right, that¡¯s enough,¡± Kang-Woo said as he took his hands off Seol-Ah¡¯s foot.


    ¡°A-already...?¡± Seol-Ah asked hesitantly in disappointment. Her gaze almost broke Kang-Woo, but he forcibly turned away. ¡°No fair, Kang-Woo. You said that you would do anything...¡±


    Seol-Ah narrowed her eyes and poked Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Uhhh, mmm. Well...¡±


    ¡°Hoho. I¡¯m joking.¡± She smiled and hugged Kang-Woo. She buried her face into his chest and took a deep breath in. ¡°Fuuu, haaa.¡±


    Seol-Ah smiled after relishing in Kang-Woo¡¯s scent and remarked, ¡°I¡¯m d.¡±


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°Back then... I mean, after you met that demon called Bael, you¡¯ve been acting a little weird, but I think you¡¯re back to normal now.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    His darling seemed to have noticed it as well. Kang-Woo smiled bitterly.


    ¡°Oh right, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Hm? What?¡±


    ¡°Umm... Iris has decided toe to Earth from Aernor as part of a delegation. She¡¯s nning on participating in the Guardians general assembly as well.¡±


    ¡°Iris?¡±


    Kang-Woo expressed confusion.


    <i>¡®A delegation from Aernor, huh?¡¯</i>


    It was not impossible since a Gate had formed where people could freely go back and forth between Earth and Aernor. Even so, Iris herself would not have been able to decide to bring a delegation to Earth.


    ¡°Who pushed for it?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    He doubted that Iris would have proposed it first.


    ¡°La asked me to do it,¡± Seol-Ah answered.


    ¡°You, darling?¡±


    ¡°Yes. She said that having me tell her about it would be far more effective...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent. As La had said, Seol-Ah would be more effective in convincing Iris considering what happened between them.


    <i>¡®But La shouldn¡¯t know what happened between Darling and Iris.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had not told any of his party members about the war of nerves that had taken ce between Iris and Seol-Ah¡ª no, he couldn¡¯t.


    <i>¡®Because Darling almost fell from grace.¡¯</i>


    Seol-Ah would have beenpletely taken over by her angelic instincts if Kang-Woo had not made it in time.


    ¡°Did she mention why?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°La said that it¡¯s because she noticed how cautious Iris is when interacting with me.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    From what La said, it seemed like she did not know what happened between Iris and Seol-Ah.


    <i>¡®It sounds like she asked Seol-Ah for a favor on a hunch.¡¯</i>


    It made sense since Kang-Woo personally considered La to be second only to Lilith in terms of capability.


    ¡°It would¡¯ve been much better if you or Si-Hun had been the ones to do it, but... You two were both so busy that I contacted Iris myself,¡± Seol-Ah remarked.


    ¡°Good job. When is Irising?¡±


    ¡°In three days. She was saying how much she wanted to see you,¡± Seol-Ah said as she pouted, finding it unpleasant.


    Kang-Woo smirked. If La had been the one to push for this, he more or less had an idea of why.


    ¡°Then it must have been announced to the public already, right? That people from another world will be visiting.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Have you watched the news too?¡± Seol-Ah asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Kang-Woo replied as he shook his head.


    It was an obvious result.


    <i>¡®La must be trying to have the two worlds cooperate.¡¯</i>


    This was the most likely reason why La had invited a delegation from Aernor to Earth by going as far as to ask Seol-Ah to n it.


    <i>¡®That must be the reason for sure considering what will happen in the future.¡¯</i>


    Earth was currently in a crisis. They had managed to prevent the gods of Earth from running amok somehow, but that would not stop the otherworldly invasions. It was a wise choice to gain as many allies as possible to prepare for theing future.


    <i>¡®Though it¡¯s easier said than done.¡¯</i>


    Different nations on Earth were at conflict with one another all the time; the conflict would only be amplified if they were different worlds entirely.


    <i>¡®But at least the leaders of both worlds aren¡¯t ones to incite discord.¡¯</i>


    La was practically the leader of Earth and it was Iris for Aernor. Kang-Woo was at least sure that there would not be conflict between them.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s worth a try.¡¯</i>


    The fact that the leaders of the two worlds had every intention to cooperate was a huge plus since those who were under leadership usually tended to follow leadership.


    ¡°Things should go smoothly as long as they make a good first impression,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°Yes. Iris said not to worry as well.¡±


    It would be Earth¡¯s first time interacting with those of another world. Language barriers could be resolved with magic, but there was nothing that could be done about cultural differences. In such times, first impressions were everything.


    <i>¡®Likes and dislikes are mostly decided by first impressions, after all.¡¯</i>


    People dressed as neatly as possible on a blind date for a reason. There was nothing more important than a first impression when one was trying to impress someone that they had never met before. As long as Aernor left a good first impression on Earth, their chance of cooperation would dramatically increase.


    ¡°Mm... wait.¡± Kang-Woo grabbed his chin and fell into thought.


    <i>¡®This is a crucial matter for Earth as well.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had initially thought that the cooperation between Earth and Aernor was for preparations against otherworldly invasions, but after thinking more deeply about it, it was not that simple.


    <i>¡®We don¡¯t know which worlds will be linked to Earth from now on.¡¯</i>


    They couldn¡¯t just pick fights with every single world that ended up getting connected to Earth. If the beings of the other world possessed enough intelligence for cooperation, it was the right choice to. Meaning, that the delegation from Aernor would be the very first otherworldly beings that Earth would make contact with and would also form a fundamental bias among those of Earth toward every otherworldly beings that they came across. To make a quickparison, it was like an isted nation epting foreign civilizations for the very first time.


    <i>¡®First impressions are imperative for things like that.¡¯</i>


    If a nation went out of its way to open its borders to establish diplomatic rtions only for the foreign nations to mess up everything, the nation¡¯s hostile views on foreign nations would naturally grow beyond control.


    <i>¡®La thought this through more than I had expected.¡¯</i>


    It was great that the first foreign entity that Earth would interact with was a delegation from Aernor since there was no risk of theming and making a giant mess of things.


    <i>¡®Was that also within her calctions?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled, impressed by La¡¯s judgment. He could be at ease leaving things to her.


    <i>¡®Unlike a certain goddess.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned. His head hurt just thinking about Gaia.


    <i>¡®I mean, I was partially at fault for going out of control.¡¯</i>


    But it was also partially Gaia¡¯s fault for being so ipetent. He was especially frustrated out of his mind when he was settling things with Gaia after Ragnarok.


    <i>¡®How are you not even a quarter as capable as your incarnation?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head as if not wanting to think any more about Gaia.


    ¡°Anyway, thanks, Darling.¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± Seol-Ah smiled gently. She then pped her hands together as if she had thought of something. ¡°Oh right, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion and looked at Seol-Ah, wondering what it was about now. Seol-Ah took something out of her pants pocket.


    <i>¡®A piece of paper?¡¯</i>


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Lilith handed me this a while ago. Just a second.¡±


    ¡°Lilith?¡±


    An uneasy feeling ran down his back.


    ¡°Title, Weight of the King.¡±


    ¡°Title?¡±


    ¡°The weight of life crushes my shoulders. How long will I be able tost?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Pain and despair are weighing down on me. The sky filled with sorrow is as hazy as always.¡±


    ¡°W-wai¡ª¡±


    ¡°I cry in her arms.¡±


    ¡°Wait, Darling. What the hell is that?¡±


    <i>¡®What the fuck? What the actual fuck?¡¯</i>


    ¡°And so... I shed tears once in a while...¡±


    ¡°Kurgh! Urgh!¡±


    Kang-Woo clenched his chest as his entire body trembled. His face paled as he had trouble breathing.


    ¡°Lilith said that you love this poem, so I tried reading it,¡± Seol-Ah said as she smiled. She then looked down at the piece of paper and tilted her head in wonder. ¡°That aside, I wonder what this poem is about. I can at least tell that the person in the poem is having... an extremely hard time.¡±


    ¡°A-aaaahh.¡±


    ¡°What did you like about this poem, Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°S-stop...¡±


    <i>¡®Stop, please. Any more and my life will...¡¯</i>


    ¡°Oh, if... perhaps... you¡¯re having as hard of a time as the person in this poem,¡± Seol-Ah said as she smiled. ¡°Then I¡¯ll lend you my arms.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Hoho. I¡¯m joking. There¡¯s no way you¡¯d be like that.¡±


    ¡°D-Darling...¡±


    ¡°But...¡± Seol-Ah swept up Kang-Woo¡¯s hair and kissed his forehead. She continued, ¡°When you are having a hard time... make sure to rely on me, okay?¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent. ¡°Urgh, urrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhh.¡±


    Between his lips seeped out a horrifying groan that could only exist in Hell. He clenched his hair as the memories came back to him.


    <i>¡°It¡¯s... so heavy.¡±</i>


    ¡°N-no... N-no more...¡±


    Stay...


    <i>¡°I feel like I¡¯m...¡±</i>


    ¡°Stop, s-stop...!¡±


    Stay...


    <i>¡°Getting crushed to death.¡±</i>


    ¡°Stooooooooooooooooop!!¡± Kang-Woo shouted in despair at his past self within his memories.


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo?!¡± Seol-Ah looked at Kang-Woo in surprise.


    Kang-Woo lowered his head as he clenched his hair.


    ¡°Ahhh...¡±


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll just die. I¡¯ll just fucking die.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hurgh, <i>sniff</i>, fuck my life...¡±

 Chapter 452 - Aernor Delegation (2)

    <h4>Chapter 452 - Aernor Delegation (2)</h4>


    ¡°Kang-Woo! I brought the clothes you¡¯ll be wearing today!¡± Echidna shouted from outside Oh Kang-Wo¡¯s room.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Kang-Woo answered shortly.


    The door swung open and entered a neatly dressed Echidna. It was rare to see her in such clothes, but her appearance made the clothes look more like a school uniform than formal attire.


    ¡°Who gave you those clothes?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Lilith did! She got you this too!¡± Echidna said as she handed Kang-Woo a clean set of formal attire.


    Kang-Woo epted the clothes. They looked extremely luxurious from just a nce.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve worn a suit.¡¯</i>


    He did not like wearing ufortable clothes to move around in, but he had no choice today.


    <i>¡®Since today¡¯s the day that Aernor¡¯s delegation arrives.¡¯</i>


    Dressing neatly for the asion to wee them was a formality. Kang-Woo slightly lifted his t-shirt to change.


    ¡°Hm! Hm!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Hm! Hmmmm!¡±


    ¡°Umm... Could you give me some privacy?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my duty to watch over your growth, Kang-Woo!¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡±


    ¡°Kang-Woo! What color are your panties today?!¡±


    ¡°Slushy.¡±


    Kang-Woo raised his right hand without answering Echidna.


    ¡°Grrk!¡±


    Slushy bounced out from the Key of the Demonic Sea and stuck to Echidna¡¯s face.


    ¡°Kyah!¡±


    Echidna struggled to get Slushy off of her face. Meanwhile, Kang-Woo changed into the suit that Echidna got for him and stood in front of the mirror.


    <i>¡®Mm. Not bad.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled as he stared at himself in the mirror. People tended to see their reflection in the mirror as more handsome than they actually were.


    ¡°Puhah!¡±


    ¡°Grrk!¡±


    Echidna managed to get Slushy off of her face and threw it aside, Slushy rolling across the ground. Kang-Woo smiled and walked toward Echidna.


    He asked as he fixed his clothes, ¡°How do I look?¡±


    ¡°Mm...¡± Echidna narrowed her eyes and scanned Kang-Woo from top to bottom. ¡°You look like a character from an anime.¡±


    ¡°What? What anime?¡±


    ¡°You know, uhhh... You look like you¡¯ll say something like <i>¡°You¡¯re slow... Even when you fall¡±</i>[1] !¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    The line sounded like something that would add a new page to his collection of dark pasts.


    ¡°Anyway.¡± Kang-Woo shrugged and turned around. ¡°What time were we supposed to meet Si-Hun again?¡±


    ¡°Mm. We have about an hour left!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    There was still time to spare. Kang-Woo sat down on a chair and Echidna trotted behind him.


    ¡°Hm! Kang-Woo! Lemme style your hair,¡± she said as she poured some hair wax on her hands.


    Kang-Woo smirked and nodded. Echidna began to run her fingers along Kang-Woo¡¯s hair quite delicately.


    <i>¡®Now, then.¡¯</i>


    He had plenty of time, so he opened his status window and took a look at where his Twelfth Awakening Trait was written.


    [Twelfth Awakening Trait: ¡®Ruler of the Demonic Sea (Rank: EX)¡¯]


    [Effect 1: The yer can maintain their sanity for longer with the Doors open.]


    [Effect 2: ????????????????????????????]


    <i>¡®An EX-rank Trait.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had never seen such a rank.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s certainly a broken ability.¡¯</i>


    The ability to keep the Doors open for longer was something he needed the most at the moment.


    <i>¡®Though I won¡¯t be able to test it out.¡¯</i>


    Opening the Doors came with immense risk; he couldn¡¯t use it just to test out his new Trait.


    <i>¡®The problem is...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked at the message covered in static for the Trait¡¯s second effect.


    <i>¡®The hell is this?¡¯</i>


    Just like what had happened with his status window back then, the letters werepletely illegible. Kang-Woo¡¯s anger only grew as he stared at the letters.


    <i>¡®I have no clues to go off of, so I have no choice but to randomly test shit out.¡¯</i>


    It was certainly something rted to the Doors, but just like the first effect, he couldn¡¯t afford to open the Doors only to find out what the second effect did.


    ¡°Ngh. I guess there¡¯s nothing I can test out at the moment,¡± Kang-Woo muttered as he groaned.


    He was at least relieved that the Trait would be of great help to him when he had no choice but to open the Doors.


    ¡°Kang-Woo! I¡¯m all done!¡± Echidna shouted.


    Kang-Woo nodded and stood up to look at himself in the mirror.


    ¡°Not bad.¡± The hairstyle suited him considerably well. ¡°Right then, let¡¯s go.¡±


    It was almost time for the delegation to arrive.


    ***


    ¡°This is Reporter Kim Seon-Kyung of SKM News! I am in front of the Gate where we will meet the people from Aernor for the very first time! The ce is filled with the executive members of Guardians, national representatives, and countless people to witness this historic moment with their own eyes!¡±


    The boisterous sound of helicopter des turning rang but the mumblings of countless people were enough to drown it out. La, Grace McCubbin, Kim Si-Hun, and Kang-Woo were standing in front of the Gate in formal attire to greet the delegation from Aernor.


    <i>¡®There are so many goddamn people.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked around in annoyance. The area was filled with politicians from every country, reporters, and regr citizens. It was only to this extent thanks to the Guardians yers regting them; it would have beenplete chaos if they were all left to be.


    <i>¡®The inte is on fire too.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned on a stream on his smartphone.


    [Live stream of the first encounter with Aernor¡¯s delegation: 382,190 watching]


    JerryM: Sheesh, are these numbers for real??


    Butterfly Valley: ban the spammers plz


    Wooden Spoon: Sheeeeeeesh! People from another world! I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m living to see the day!!


    Ro Yu-Jin: It has to be a cute girl, right? With big tits, right? They have to be big! That¡¯s the rule!


    Woojin: Elf! They have to be an elf if they¡¯re from another world!


    Sosori: I just imagined myself going to another world.


    Tresha: Guys stfu. The stream isgging cuz of the chat.


    Sosori: Wow u left me hanging


    The chat was so fast that Kang-Woo could barely read any of them. Over 380 thousand people were watching the livestream, and that was the Koreans alone.


    <i>¡®If we take the entire world into ount...¡¯</i>


    There would likely be an immense number of people watching the scene right now.


    <i>¡®I mean, it''s only natural.¡¯</i>


    It was Earth¡¯s first encounter with another world of all things; there was no way that people wouldn¡¯t be interested.


    <i>¡®It looks like the reactions are... mostly positive.¡¯</i>


    It was more apt to say that they were curious. One would only be able to tell whether their curiosity would turn to amity or hostility after the meeting took ce.


    <i>¡®You¡¯re my only hope, Iris!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo put his smartphone back into his pocket as his eyes shone. It was no exaggeration to say that whether this first meeting would be sessful or not was entirely up to Iris. He was honestly not that worried.


    <i>¡®The first impression would most definitely be amicable considering her good looks.¡¯</i>


    One¡¯s looks were the most important in first impressions; there was nothing more simple than that to leave an impactful first impression. Considering that, Iris¡¯s elven beauty would no doubt leave a wonderful impression on the people of Earth as well as fulfill their fantasies of another world.


    <i>¡®Not just that, her ears got longer after bing Elune¡¯s incarnation.¡¯</i>


    Her physical form had be closer to that of an elf than a human. People thought of elves when they thought about another world, which could be seen from thements.


    <i>¡®This is gonna work.¡¯</i>


    The n was already halfplete with just Iris¡¯s looks. The rest would be resolved as long as Lilith manipted public opinion.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    A wave formed on the giant Gate that was several kilometers tall. The voices of news reporters filled the scene.


    ¡°Everyone! A historical moment is about to take ce! The delegation from Aernor is about to arrive on Earth! Countless Gates have formed since the Day of Cmity, but this is the first time that we will be interacting with other humans with as much intelligence as us!¡±


    ¡°What will the people from the other world look like? Will we be able to form an amicable rtionship with them?¡±


    ¡°ording to the First Lady Grace McCubbin, Guardians have already formed a bond of trust with...¡±


    Voices sounded out from all over as the entire world focused on the Gate.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    The wave on the Gate grew stronger.


    <i>¡®Right, then.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the Gate in anticipation.


    <i>Step, step.</i>


    Clear sounds of footsteps echoed from the Gate. They sounded like the marching of trained soldiers.


    <i>¡®Did she bring the imperial army as the delegation?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t help but think so. He stared at the Gate with a slight frown.


    <i>¡®An army isn¡¯t good.¡¯</i>


    Seeing armed soldiers would only raise the people of Earth¡¯s wariness of those from Aernor.


    <i>¡®But asking them not to be armed is a bit much too.¡¯</i>


    No matter how much Iris trusted Kang-Woo,ing to another world without having any means to protect oneself was asking for too much.


    <i>¡®This is more than within my limits of approval.¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo nodded. <i>¡®Now, it¡¯ll all go smoothly once the first impression is good.¡¯</i>


    An alliance between Earth and Aernor was about to be formed.


    ¡°Everyone! The delegation of Aernor ising out of...¡± a news reporter slurred their words after seeing the delegation.


    ¡°The hell?¡± Kang-Woo was left with his mouth agape after seeing the delegation walking out of the Gate.


    The delegation of Aernor consisted of thousands of people and were all wearing white clerical robes covering their entire bodies with a beautiful golden emblem on them. Kang-Woo was familiar with the emblem.


    ¡°Wha¡ª Why is...¡±


    <i>¡®Why is the Church of Splendor here?¡¯</i>


    [Greetings, people of Earth,] said a blonde woman standing at the front. Her words tranted by magic filled the surroundings via a voice amplification device. [My name is Iris von Arnan, the princess of the Arnan Empire.]


    Iris took off her white hood, revealing her beautiful face with her golden hair fluttering in the wind.


    [I havee to Earth to deliver the words of light to you all.]


    ¡°... Hey.¡±


    [Everyone, do you believe in the light?]


    ¡°Wait a second.¡±


    [Are you aware of the God of Splendor?]


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth was left agape.


    <i>¡®In the ce where Earth would meet the people of Aernor for the very first time... where their first impression would decide everything...¡¯</i>


    ¡°What the fuck do you think you¡¯re d¡ª¡±


    Before Kang-Woo had a chance to finish his sentence, Iris shouted, [People of Earth! Let us all put our faith in the God of Splendor! We must all believe in the God of Splendor! We must all follow his words!]


    ¡°No.¡±


    [Let us all praise him!]


    ¡°Stop.¡±


    [Ohmen! Ohmen! Ohmen!!! O light!!][2]


    ¡°Please fucking stop.¡±


    {Ohmeeeeeeeeeen!!]


    Kang-Woo looked around in silence.


    Everyone¡¯s mouths were left agape in shock due to the appearance of a group of cultists. Kang-Woo lowered his head with his hair clenched.


    ¡°Motherfucker.¡±


    <i>¡®Why does this shit always happen to me?¡¯</i>


    1. This is a line said by Kuchiki Byakuya from <i>Bleach </i>when Kurosaki Ichigo faces him for the very first time. ?


    2. Refer to the reference in Chapter 426 to see what <i>Ohmen </i>means. ?

 Chapter 453 - Aernor Delegation (4)

    <h4>Chapter 453 - Aernor Delegation (4)</h4>


    ¡°Uhh, mm...¡± The reporter who had beenmentating passionately slurred with a dumbfounded expression.


    It was not just the reporter; everyone looking at Aernor¡¯s delegation was lost for words. The same went for the people in the live chat.


    [Live stream of the first encounter with Aernor¡¯s delegation: 403,271 watching]


    JerryM: ???


    BestTaeSoo: Whut?


    Lemme out of bronze: The hell? Is this a cult?


    Tresha: Holy shit LMFAO


    Ro Yu-Mi: It¡¯s for sure a cult


    Ro Yu-Jin: Holy mother of God. It¡¯s a blonde elf!! A real blonde elf!!


    Wooden Spoon: LET¡¯S GOOOOOOOOOO!!!


    Ro Yu-Mi: That¡¯s all you can think about in this situation?


    Fuck Rogues: Guys, this isn¡¯t the issue! I hit it big! I found a dungeon hidden within a Gate!


    Butterfly Valley: plz ban spammers


    <i>¡®What a fucking mess.¡¯</i>


    However optimistically one looked, Aernor¡¯s delegation looked like nothing but a fanatical cult. Negative opinions of the delegation umted to the point that Iris¡¯s looks were not enough to cover for them.


    <i>¡®This isn¡¯t good.¡¯</i>


    It was the worst possible first impression. Oh Kang-Woo was sure that the people of Earth would consider the people of Aernor, whom they needed to cooperate with to prepare for future dangers, as a world of cultists.


    <i>¡®I need to demonstrate somehow that they¡¯re not cultists.¡¯</i>


    It was far toote to stop the delegation¡¯s actions since the entire world had already seen them preaching <i>Ohmen </i>as they prayed to the God of Splendor. It was impossible even for Kang-Woo to erase the memories of every single person who saw it.


    <i>¡®Now that it hase to this...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had no other choice. He needed to make them devotees who had received the blessing of the God of Splendor instead of a group of fanatical cultists.


    <i>¡®At least they didn''t reveal my name.¡¯</i>


    The situation would have been irreparable if the delegation had mentioned Kang-Woo by name.


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± Kang-Woo sighed deeply and snapped his finger.


    <i>Whoooom!!</i>


    [Whooooaaaa!]


    [O light of splendor!]


    [Ohmen! Ohmen! Ohmen!]


    Golden light poured out from the bodies of the delegates praising the light. The entire delegation glowed gold.


    <i>¡®Now.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo turned to look at the blonde woman standing at the forefront of the delegation. She was the only one who could resolve this chaos.


    <i>- Iris.</i>


    <i>- Ah, yes! Sir Kang-Woo!</i>


    Iris smiled brightly after finding Kang-Woo, giving him a proud expression as if she wanted to be praised. Kang-Woo¡¯s head hurt.


    <i>- Stop this goddamn bullshit.</i>


    <i>- B-bull... shit?</i>


    <i>- Yeah. Tell them all to shut the fuck up.</i>


    <i>- B-but...</i>


    Iris flinched as she heard Kang-Woo¡¯s furious voice. It seemed she was sure that Kang-Woo would like it.


    <i>- Do exactly as I say from now on.</i>


    <i>- I understand.</i>


    Iris nodded in dejection. Kang-Woo felt bad after seeing her face but now was not the time. He ryed his n that would resolve the situation as best as possible.


    ¡°Th-this is...¡±


    [Fufu. You all seem to be surprised.]


    Iris smiled softly and raised her hand. Fortunately, the delegation was made up of people within her full control; the delegates screaming <i>Ohmen </i>quieted down immediately once they saw Iris¡¯s hand.


    [I apologize for the discourtesy. I was just so excited to ry the blessing of light to the people of Earth with whom we will be maintaining an amicable alliance from now on.]


    Iris bowed politely by slightly raising the hem of her clerical robe. She was treated like an ipetent princess before Kang-Woo arrived on Aernor, but the education that she received due to being born into royalty did not disappear. The confused people around the Gate slightly lowered their guard as they witnessed Iris¡¯s elegance.


    ¡°Umm... may I ask what the blessing of light is?¡± asked one of the reporters through an interpretation magic tool.


    [I am referring to the blessing of the God of Splendor who takes care of the people of Aernor. Mm... Just a second, please.]


    Iris slowly raised her right hand.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    Blinding golden light surged from her hand; a pir of light shot up several dozens of kilometers and spread like a tent. Light particles akin to raindrops fell from the sky.


    <i>¡®Authority of Enhancement.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo activated an Authority at the same time; it filled one with energy and improved one¡¯s condition to be ideal forbat. Kang-Woo did not need such an Authority since his body was in its best condition at all times, but it was a different story for the regr people and yers here.


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    ¡°Why am I surging with power all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s up! After twenty longid years!!¡±


    The people who received the blessing of splendor touched themselves in shock. Their fatigue and irritation had vanished as if they had never existed. The people who had gathered to watch the historic moment of Earth and Aernor¡¯s first interaction were naturally in terrible condition since they had been stuck among the massive crowd for an entire day. The crowd of people worked in Kang-Woo¡¯s favor.


    [This is the God of Splendor¡¯s blessing. Of course, this is only a fragment of his power,] Iris answered the reporter with an elegant smile.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    The reporter also looked down at himself in disbelief and shock. He could feel himself brimming with vitality despite having spent several all-nighters preparing to report on the delegation from Aernor.


    The people began to look at Iris and the delegation differently; they were not fanatical cultists but those who could invoke the blessing and miracle of a real god.


    ¡°Umm... Are there yers among you?¡± the reporter asked.


    Some yers of Earth could perform miracles like this as well with their abilities, but even fewer were able to cast such a wide-area buff to thousands of people at once.


    [yers? What are those?]


    ¡°I mean, people who have been given benefits from the System to level up and awaken Traits¡ª¡±


    [Hoho. No, nothing of the sort.] Iris giggled and shook her head. [All you need is faith toward the light. The God of Splendor grants us such blessings just from believing in him.]


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    The reporter¡¯s eyes were filled with doubt again. It did not make sense that someone could perform such acts just by believing despite a very few number of yers being able to.


    [Do you believe it is absurd?]


    ¡°Ah, I-I wouldn¡¯t say that, but...¡±


    [Hoho. There is no need to be so confused. It is only natural for you to think that way since you have not received the blessing of Splendor.] Iris smiled gently and held the reporter¡¯s hands. [Now, why don¡¯t you try reciting <i>Ohmen</i>? It usually takes time for one to receive a blessing, but... I will try to pray to the God of Splendor for an exception.]


    ¡°Mm... <i>O-Ohmen</i>?¡± the reporters stuttered. Just then...


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    ¡°<i>Gasp!</i>¡±


    Golden light shot down from the sky and flowed into the reporter. The reporter took a few steps back in terror but then stared at the golden light enveloping him.


    ¡°This is...¡±


    Kim Seon-Kyung, the reporter interviewing Iris, was brimming with power. She was a yer who had achieved her Third Awakening. She had turned to the path of reporting after being unable to enter high-ranking Gates due to her low Trait rank, but she was most definitely stronger than a regr person, which was why she was able to figure it out much more quickly.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [You have received the ¡®Blessing of Splendor(???).¡¯]


    [You have be a devotee of the ¡®God of Splendor(???).¡¯]


    [Dramatically raising all stats!]


    [Raising the rank of ¡®Deceptive Footwork (Rank: E)¡¯ to D!]


    ¡°This is...¡± the reporter mumbled as she read through the message window.


    ¡°Wh-what the hell?¡±


    ¡°Can we really gain power just from believing?¡±


    The people looked back and forth between Iris and the reporter in disbelief. Their mumbles grew louder. Iris looked back at them and spread her arms wide.


    [The blessing of splendor does not discriminate between race, sex, age... or even what world you¡¯re from.]


    Only Iris¡¯s voice echoed clearly in the deathly silence.


    [If the people of Earth trust the blessing of light as we do...] Iris stared at the camera that the reporter was holding and continued, [It will be proof that although our worlds are different, we are one.]


    ¡°Yeaaaaaaaahhh!¡±


    Cheers sounded out from all over. The people who had been staring at the Aernor delegation like a bunch of crazy fanatics were now staring passionately at the light flowing out of the delegates.


    <i>¡®Fuck yeah.¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo clenched his fists as he looked at the surrounding reactions. <i>¡®This is it! It worked!¡¯</i>


    He had sessfully managed to steer a bus on the brink of cracking.


    <i>¡®I ended up with an apostle I don¡¯t even want.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly as he stared at Seon-Kyung, the reporter interviewing Iris.


    <i>¡®Thank God I learned how to make apostles back in the divine realm.¡¯</i>


    Those with Deific Essence were able to create incarnations and apostles. As for creating an incarnation, the god needed to take the risk of sharing the damage that their incarnation suffered. Of course, like how La had been stuck in a wheelchair, any damages that Gaia suffered would go back to La. It was impossible to give apostles Deific Essence, but blessing them through a small portion of Divinity would permanently raise their power. Kang-Woo had also be Gaia¡¯s apostle through her blessing.


    <i>¡®My Divinity went down a little, but whatever. At least he came up with something interesting.¡¯</i>


    There was nothing more important than the fact that he had managed to turn this crisis around. Kang-Woo sighed in relief. Just then...


    ¡°... Ohmen.¡±


    ¡°Ohmen, ohmen, ohmen.¡±


    ¡°Ohmeeeeeeeeeeeen!!¡±


    <i>¡®The hell is this now?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked around dumbfoundedly. The people who witnessed what had happened between Iris and the reporter quickly began to chant <i>Ohmen</i>.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [The Church of Splendor¡¯s Korean branch has been formed.]


    [You can collect Divinity based on their faith.]


    The Church of Splendor, which had practically taken over Aernor, had made its way to Earth.

 Chapter 454 - Who?

    <h4>Chapter 454 - Who?</h4>


    A boy with nk eyes was sitting on top of a giant hill made of dry red sand as darkness akin to the abyss was squirming around him. He was focusing on something with his eyes closed.


    Tap, tap, tap.


    The sound of a staff hitting the ground echoed. A hunchback demon covered in bandages everywhere except his eyes walked toward the boy.


    ¡°Lord Bael, how is the digestion of the Demon God¡¯s heart faring?¡±


    The boy known as Bael slowly opened his eyes. He pouted in displeasure and said, ¡°It¡¯s not as easy as I¡¯d thought it would be. I think I¡¯ll need a little more time.¡±


    ¡°Kekeke. There is no need to rush. You have already imed victory from the moment that you acquired the Demon God¡¯s heart.¡±


    ¡°Hihihi, right? But even so, I wanna digest it as quickly as possible.¡± Baelughed as he pounded his chest, hisughter echoing. ¡°That aside, what brings you here? Are you having a hard time rallying the demons of the Nine Hells?¡±


    ¡°No. There certainly are those who resist, but... things are going without a hitch.¡±


    ¡°Then what?¡± Bael asked as he stared at Amon with his head tilted.


    Amon¡¯s red eyes narrowed. He said with a voice as unpleasant as nails on a chalkboard, ¡°It seems... a Titan has intervened.¡±


    Bael remained silent. He smirked and continued, ¡°Heh, what got those geezers off of their asses?¡±


    ¡°Most likely due to the Law of Titans.¡±


    ¡°Hihihi! I guess there can be no other reason.¡± Bael cackled as he nodded. He narrowed his eyes fiercely and asked, ¡°So, in what way have they intervened? No, before that... which one of those fatasses was it?¡±


    ¡°Nostrian, the Titan of Time.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Bael¡¯s eyes shone, never having heard of the name.


    ¡°However, it was not a direct intervention,¡± Amon mentioned.


    ¡°Really?¡± Bael clicked his tongue in disappointment.


    ¡°He has handed a portion of his power to a human through a Gate.¡±


    ¡°Hihihi. Is he aiming to keep an eye on me or something?¡±


    ¡°I am not yet sure of his exact intentions.¡± Amon shook his head and continued, ¡°But considering the situation, it seems correct to assume that it is rted to the time of prophecy.¡±


    ¡°Hehe. True.¡±


    Bael nodded. Most of the Titans likely couldn¡¯t care less about what happened to the Triad, but it was a different story for a Titan who knew about the prophecy.


    The corners of Bael¡¯s mouth split, reaching his earlobes. ¡°Because he knows that once I devour the Triad... they¡¯re next.¡±


    He licked the saliva around his lips. Madness filled his narrowed eyes. Seeing that, Amon cackled.


    ¡°What will you do?¡± Amon asked.


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°About Nostrian¡¯s intervention.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Baelid down on top of the hill of red sand and answered, ¡°Leave it be.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°Just forget about it.¡±


    Amon blinked repeatedly, not having expected this response. ¡°Leaving the other Titans aside, leaving Nostrian to his own devices is¡ª¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    ¡°He might¡ª¡±


    ¡°I said, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    Bael spread his arms out and stared up at the red sky apathetically as he yawned.


    ¡°Titans, huh?¡± Bael snickered; he recalled someone as his eyes filled with the madness of hunger. It was the face of a human with sharp eyes. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it sound fun?¡±


    His voice echoed throughout the hill of red sand.


    ***


    A month had passed since the delegation from Aernor first arrived on Earth. Since then, Oh Kang-Woo had been busy every single moment of his day. He was forced to travel all over the world to introduce Iris to every world leader and was even made to schedule times for her to build amicable rtions with Guardians members whom she had not yet met.


    He had also eliminated a terrorist organization that opposed cooperation with the people of another world and spread as many extremely positive articles about Aernor as he could.


    However, that did not mean he could only focus on the alliance between Aernor and Earth. He spent time with Han Seol-Ah before she exploded, helped Kim Si-Hun and Balrog train, killed monsters that came out of Gates with Cha Yeon-Joo, and many others. His free time was nonexistent during the past month, and public interest in the delegation of Aernor began to die down.


    ¡°A meeting?¡± Kang-Woo asked, tilting his head in confusion as he stared at Lilith.


    ¡°Yes. La has asked you to participate in the emergency meeting to be held this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Why? We just had the general assembly a few days ago.¡±


    They had only just had the Guardians general assembly with Iris and the world leaders three days ago. As a result, troops would be dispatched from Aernor to Earth and would be provided a space for them to live near Seoul, just like how Korea provided the US Armed Forces amodations during the Day of Cmity.


    There was much opposition from the other countries regarding Aernor¡¯s troops only being dispatched to Seoul but it was resolved without much issue because the giant Gate that led to Aernor was close to Seoul and the troops could travel to other countries swiftly using the Gates of the Hall of Protection. Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t believe that they were having another meeting after thinking that things would die down from now on.


    ¡°It¡¯s apparently about something else,¡± Lilith mentioned.


    ¡°Mm... What is it about, then?¡±


    ¡°She said that there is a yer whom she wants to introduce to you.¡±


    ¡°A yer?¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at Lilith in confusion. Lilith only shrugged, not having any of the details either.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    <i>¡®An emergency meeting just to introduce a yer?¡¯</i>


    If such a big deal was being made out of something that could be ryed over a message or a call, it was surely not about some ordinary yer.


    <i>¡®I should go check it out.¡¯</i>


    La was not one to make a huge deal about such things for no reason. Kang-Woo headed to the Hall of Protection immediately. Tian Wuchen, Si-Hun, and Cha Yeon-Joo were already there after hearing the news.


    ¡°Oh, hyung-nim!¡± Si-Hun approached Kang-Woo with a smile.


    <i>¡®Son of a bitch gets more handsome with each day.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo greeted Si-Hun back with a wave. Seeing that, Yeon-Joo pouted.


    ¡°Hmph, what are you, his dog?¡±


    Si-Hun looked exactly like a puppy running to Kang-Woo, his owner.


    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re saying to my Si-Hun?¡± Kang-Woo said.


    ¡°Oh? <i>Your </i>Si-Hun, you say?¡± Yeon-Joo chuckled. ¡°That aside, have you heard anything about the yer?¡±


    ¡°Nope. How about you, Si-Hun, Have you heard anything from La?¡±


    ¡°No. I was so busy killing monsterstely that I barely had time to meet La.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded slightly and headed deeper into the Hall of Protection. La was sitting in the meeting room.


    ¡°Oh, thank you foring, everyone.¡± She smiled as she looked at the Guardians members entering the meeting room. She stood up and bowed politely. ¡°Thank you all for giving me a moment of your precious time.¡±


    ¡°I was told that you have a yer you¡¯d like to introduce to us... Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Hoho. Just a moment, please.¡± La looked up and scanned the people in the meeting room. She then continued, ¡°Before I introduce him...I¡¯m sure you all know that there has been a massive influx of abnormal phenomena in the Gates, right?¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded. He had been hearing of it sinceing back from the divine realm.


    ¡°Mm... There is a yer who has been eliminating monsters pouring out of those Gates since a month ago.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Isn¡¯t it obvious that a yer would be killing monsters?¡± Yeon-Joo asked with her head tilted in confusion.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. ¡°There¡¯s no way La would gather us just because of that.¡±


    The fact that La opened an emergency meeting meant that this yer had done far more than simply killing monsters.


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, Kang-Woo. This yer... has killed an enormous number of monsters rapidly growing in numbertely,¡± La stated.


    ¡°How much is enormous? How many monsters have this yer killedpared to the average yer...?¡±


    ¡°He has probably killed more monsters than Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at La dumbfoundedly. Si-Hun had been entirely focused on killing the rapidly growing number of monsters while Kang-Woo had been away in the divine realm.


    <i>¡®More than Si-Hun?¡¯</i>


    It was hard to believe. Si-Hun was the strongest human that Kang-Woo knew. If Divinity was taken out of the equation, Zeus, Thor, and even Odin would be no match for Si-Hun. Only Tai Wuji was on a level that surpassed Si-Hun.


    ¡°More than me?¡± Si-Hun asked as well, just as shocked as Kang-Woo.


    La nodded softly. ¡°You two might be simr in terms of exact number, but...¡± She turned to Kang-Woo and continued, ¡°In just one month, this yer has killed enough monsters to be on par with the total number that Si-Hun has killed. All in Gates that S-rank monsters appear in, no less.¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent. A human had killed enough monsters to be on par with Si-Hun, and they had done it all in Gates where S-rank monsters appeared in.


    <i>¡®It''s impossible unless they possess Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    No, not even Deific Essence would be able to make it easy since Deific Essence was more specialized toward defense than offense.


    Kang-Woo had just one question that he was most curious about.


    ¡°How has a yer like that... not been known thus far?¡±


    It did not make sense for a yer who could do such things to not have been under the radar.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s as if... they fell out of the sky.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at La,pletely unable to understand.


    Having expected the question, La smiled bitterly and responded, ¡°ording to him, he came across a strange fate in a dungeon that he found within a Gate one month ago.¡±


    ¡°A strange fate?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He was allegedly an ordinary yer before then.¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. It sounded far too made-up.


    <i>¡®Did they be an incarnation or something?¡¯</i>


    That was the only possibility he coulde up with.


    ¡®But the gods of Earth¡¯s divine realm are being kept in check by Gaia.¡¯


    If that was the case, an outer god might have approached the yer instead.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll have to see him for myself.¡¯</i>


    It was difficult toe to a conclusion when they had not even seen him yet. After waiting in the meeting room for a little, a young man opened the door and entered. He had light brown hair and looked fairly affable.


    <i>¡®A new face.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo scanned the young man with deeply sunken eyes. Just then, the young man smiled brightly as soon as he saw Kang-Woo.


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo? Is that you, Kang-Woo?!¡±


    The young man walked up to Kang-Woo excitedly. ¡°I-I can¡¯t believe I got to meet you again... It is truly an honor!¡±


    ¡°Uhh, mm.¡±


    <i>¡®The hell?¡¯</i>


    ¡°It¡¯s me! Kim Tae-Hyun!¡±[1]


    <i>¡®Who?¡¯</i>


    ¡°You saved my life a long time ago! I still haven¡¯t forgotten the help you gave me back then. I¡¯m always thankful to you!¡±


    ¡°Of course, I remember you, Tae-Hyun. It¡¯s nice to see you again.¡±


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo... I-I knew you¡¯d remember me!! I knew you¡¯d still remember the promise we made!¡±[2]


    <i>¡®Seriously, who the fuck is this guy?¡¯</i>


    ¡°How could I forget? There¡¯s... no way I would forget about you, Tae-Hyun.¡±


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t remember, no matter how hard I think.¡¯</i>


    1. This is the rogue who was with Kang Tae-Soo when they were attacked by the members of the Andras Guild, all the way back in Chapter 19. ?


    2. Refer to around the beginning of Chapter 20. ?

 Chapter 455 - Another Protagonist

    <h4>Chapter 455 - Another Protagonist</h4>


    ¡°I¡¯vee to fulfill the promise that I made to you... and to repay the favor.¡±


    The young man who introduced himself as Kim Tae-Hyun reached out his hand with a bright smile. Oh Kang-Woo also smiled and grabbed Tae-Hyun¡¯s hand.


    <i>¡®Seriously, who the hell is this guy?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t recall the young man no matter how thoroughly he flipped through his memories.


    <i>¡®He doesn¡¯t seem to be lying.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun did not seem to be fabricating a story to take advantage of Kang-Woo¡¯s fame. In the first ce, if he wanted to be famous, he would be aiming for Kim Si-Hun instead since Si-Hun was far more famous than Kang-Woo at least on Earth.


    <i>¡®Then that means he has actually met me in the past.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo went through his memories again slowly as he stared at Tae-Hyun¡¯s face. His affable expression wasmon in Japanese fantasy anime; he was average, neither handsome nor ugly.


    <i>¡®Where have I seen him before?¡¯</i>


    He felt like he would remember with just a little reminder. He traversed through a forest of memories covered in thick fog. Just then, he recalled someone¡¯s desperate screams from the depths of his memory.


    <i>"I''m a rogue! Someone, anyone, please let me join your party! I''ll provide first aid if nothing else!!"</i>[1]


    <i>¡®Oh.¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened.<i> ¡®Fucking hell. No wonder I didn¡¯t recall him right away.¡¯</i>


    It was such a long time ago. No, that was not the only issue since Kang-Woo would have remembered it if the event had been important. The main reason that Kang-Woo was unable to recall Kim Tae-Hyun immediately was not because it had been so long but because his importance had been so insignificant.


    <i>¡®Yeah... I once saved him from the Andras Guild.¡¯</i>


    Several more memories popped up in Kang-Woo¡¯s head once he remembered the event.


    <i>"I''ll definitely grow out of being a first-aid administrator and repay you for today''s favor!"</i>[2]


    Kang-Woo recalled Tae-Hyun saying those words before leaving.


    <i>¡®Dayum. What a long-ass foreshadowing.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at Tae-Hyun dumbfoundedly. No matter how he thought about it, it felt more like something that the author made use of afterpletely forgetting about it than perfectly calling back a foreshadowing that had urred over four hundred chapters ago.


    ¡°I¡¯m no longer the weak first-aid administrator I used to be! I¡¯ve grown to a point that I can be of help to you!¡± Tae-Hyun shouted brightly.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes for a moment.


    <i>¡®Grown, huh?¡¯</i>


    How could a rogue-ss yer who was rejected by even low-level parties have grown faster than even Si-Hun?


    <i>¡®It doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡¯</i>


    It was worse than a new character being introduced in a game that destroyed the bncepletely. To make aparison, it was like seeing a regr high schooler in your neighborhood who yed basketball casually suddenly making his debut in the NBA and destroying Michael Jordan. Tae-Hyun¡¯s growth was unreal even if he hade across some sort of strange fate.


    ¡°Haha. I¡¯ve never thought of you as weak even once, Tae-Hyun,¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo...¡±


    ¡°But how were you able to grow this quickly?¡±


    Kang-Woo scanned Tae-Hyun with narrow eyes, observing his eyes, voice, and every little movement that he made.


    ¡°Mm. Well...¡± Tae-Hyun scratched his head and continued, ¡°I think it was about a month ago. It was when I was exploring a Gate by myself. It was a B-rank Gate in the Haeundae district of Busan.¡±


    B was not that high of a rank for a Gate.


    ¡°But an S-rank monster suddenly appeared in the Gate due to the abnormal phenomena urring in Gatestely... I identally fell from a cliff as I was frantically running away.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I closed my eyes, thinking I was going to die, but I luckily managed to survive thanks to being caught by tree roots that happened to have grown out of the cliff walls. And then¡ª¡±


    ¡°And then you came across a strange fate, or something like that?¡±


    ¡°Ah! Th-that¡¯s right! To be more exact, I found a hidden dungeon!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo put a hand over his forehead as if he was having a headache.


    <i>¡®What the fuck? Coming across a strange fate from falling down a cliff? Is this some martial arts story?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t evenugh. He organized his thoughts and then asked, ¡°... Could you give me more details about this hidden dungeon?¡±


    ¡°Mm. I¡¯m not sure exactly what it was either. A message saying that I entered <i>Nostrian¡¯s Will</i> appeared as soon as I entered the hidden dungeon, and then I immediately passed out.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo had never heard of anyone named Nostrian.


    <i>¡®Are they an outer god?¡¯</i>


    He had nothing to go off of at the moment.


    ¡°I found this around my neck when I woke up,¡± Tae-Hyun said as he raised the ne on his neck.


    The ornament of the ne was about half the size of a palm and had strange symbols on it. In the center of those symbols, an eye that gave off an unpleasant feeling was engraved.


    <i>¡®It looks like the Time Stone thingie.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled seeing a ne like that in a superhero film that he had once seen. Kang-Woo scanned the ne on Tae-Hyun¡¯s neck with the Authority of Insight.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [yer Oh Kang-Woo¡¯s Deific Essence is too low in rank to check the information of the corresponding item.]


    <i>¡®... What?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s expression crumpled aggressively after seeing the message in front of him. His Deific Essence was Top-rank and on the verge of reaching Transcendent-rank, but it was too low.


    <i>¡®What the hell is happening?¡¯</i>


    His head was in jumbles.


    ¡°What about after that...?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Well, as you can see, I acquired immense power.¡±


    Tae-Hyun slightly raised his hand. Translucent light particles gathered around his hand as if crystal fragments that had been scattered in midair wereing together.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    Colossal power shook the surroundings. Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened.


    <i>¡®The hell?¡¯</i>


    He had never felt this sort of power before. He had seen demons, angels, and even gods, but this was the first time that a form of energy caused him to feel this way. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    <i>¡®Deific Essence?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head. It was different from the power that regr Deific Essence gave off.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s simr in terms of type.¡¯</i>


    Deific Essence was the closest to how the energy felt but it was different. To make aparison, it was like the difference between a leopard and a tiger. They were both ssified as the <i>Felidae </i>family but were different species.


    <i>¡®But the problem is that energy would be the tiger instead of the leopard.¡¯</i>


    The amount of energy was not enormous in any way but it was stronger than Deific Essence in terms of quality.


    <i>¡®It seems... I¡¯ll have to test it out.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Mm...¡±


    ¡°Haha. I know it¡¯s a difficult story to take in,¡± Tae-Hyun said as he scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. He then walked toward Kang-Woo with bright eyes. ¡°But I didn¡¯t lie.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. I didn¡¯t think you were, Tae-Hyun.¡±


    The fact that Tae-Hyun had killed an enormous number of monsters after acquiring that power was proof.


    ¡°Does that mean I can enter Guardians as well?¡± Tae-Hyun asked anxiously as he gulped.


    It seemed like he had killed the rapidly growing number of monsters right after gaining power because he wanted to be a part of Guardians. Kang-Woo smiled at Tae-Hyun who was zing with passion.


    ¡°Would you be able to take a simple recruitment test before that?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Ah, yes! Of course!¡±


    Tae-Hyun nodded. Kang-Woo nced at Si-Hun.


    ¡°Si-Hun.¡±


    ¡°Yes, hyung-nim.¡±


    Si-Hun, who had been staring nkly at Tae-Hyun, turned to Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Could you test Tae-Hyun?¡±


    ¡°... Of course.¡± Si-Hun clenched his sword and slightly nodded.


    It seemed like hispetitive spirit was set aze after hearing that Tae-Hyun had killed more monsters than him. Si-Hun¡¯s eyes staring at Tae-Hyun were zing with passion. Kang-Woo tapped on the bridge of his nose as he looked back and forth at the two men.


    <i>¡®Now, then. Let¡¯s see what this Nostrian¡¯s Will is made of.¡¯</i>


    <i>ck.</i>


    They entered the training room in the Hall of Protection. It was durable enough to have handled the battle between Kang-Woo and Zeus. Si-Hun and Tae-Hyun stood across from each other in the white room.


    Cha Yeon-Joo narrowed her eyes as she stared at them and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t his story super suspicious? He just ended uping across a strange fate after falling down a cliff?¡±


    Kang-Woo answered, ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s lying. I¡¯ve even met him before.¡±


    ¡°How did you get to know him?¡±


    Kang-Woo exined to her what happened between him and Tae-Hyun in the past.


    ¡°Hah. What a fucking callback...¡± Yeon-Joo muttered.


    ¡°I¡¯ll say.¡± Kang-Woo shrugged. He stared at Si-Hun, who was unsheathing his sword, and asked, ¡°Who do you think will win?¡±


    ¡°Si-Hun, obviously,¡± replied Yeon-Joo as if she had no doubt.


    Even if Tae-Hyun had acquired some unknown power, she would naturally think that Si-Hun woulde out on top considering she had witnessed how powerful he was.


    ¡°... I guess so.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded and paid attention to the uing battle. The others thought so as well, mainly thinking about how long Tae-Hyun would be able tost against Si-Hun.


    ¡°Then, let us begin,¡± Si-Hun said.


    Their duel finally began. Si-Hun stretched out his arm and created a formless sword. He gripped the sword and leaped forward, leaving afterimages along his path. Si-Hun lightly swung his sword at Tae-Hyun after arriving in front of him in an instant.


    <i>ng¡ª!</i>


    ¡°Hup!¡±


    Tae-Hyun took out a dagger from his waist and blocked Si-Hun¡¯s attack. Si-Hun did not falter and spun to attack again.


    <i>¡®Heavenly Dragon Rampage.¡¯</i>


    He used a sword technique without hesitation to end the battle as quickly as possible. Hundreds of sword attacks aimed at Tae-Hyun, all real attacks made of formless swords.


    <i>ng, ng, ng¡ª!!</i>


    ¡°...!¡±


    Tae-Hyun parried every single attack aimed at him, leaving Si-Hun in shock.


    ¡°What the...¡±


    Si-Hun did not stay shocked for long and went on the offensive again.


    <i>ng! ng! aang!</i>


    However, none of his attacks were able to even graze Tae-Hyun. Si-Hun added feints now and then but Tae-Hyun perfectly parried his attacks with just a dagger.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun¡¯s eyes were filled with shock. Tae-Hyun¡¯s movements were not exceptional nor was he a better martial artist than Si-Hun. No, Tae-Hyun¡¯s movements were just fast; they were poor in terms of quality.


    <i>¡®So how...¡¯</i>


    How was he able to deflect every single one of Si-Hun¡¯s attacks?


    <i>¡®It¡¯s as if... he knows the future.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Haap!¡± Tae-Hyun shouted and charged at Si-Hun.


    Translucent light particles that looked like scattered crystal fragments poured out of Tae-Hyun¡¯s ne. He held the dagger in a reverse grip and swung it down. Si-Hun calmly raised his sword to block the attack.


    <i>aaaang!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    The formless sword shattered in an instant as if a wooden sword collided with a steel sword. Si-Hun quickly jumped back as his hands were numb from the impact.


    ¡°Fuuu.¡±


    Si-Hun¡¯s eyes sank deeply and he bit his lip anxiously.


    <i>¡®... Divinity.¡¯</i>


    That was the only thing that could shatter a sword made of condensed sword energy so easily.


    ¡°...¡±


    Si-Hun clenched his fist tighter. He knew how overwhelmingly disadvantaged one without Deific Essence was against one with Deific Essence.


    ¡°Fuuu, haaa.¡± Si-Hun took deep breaths and turned to look at Kang-Woo watching the battle.


    <i>¡°Thanks... for staying as my little brother.¡±</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s words echoed in his head.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t lose.¡¯ </i>Si-Hun gritted his teeth. <i>¡®Not when hyung is watching.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun¡¯s eyes set aze with passion.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [Raising yer Kim Si-Hun¡¯s assimtion with the Martial God!]


    A clear bell chime rang in his head.


    ***


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned aggressively as he watched the battle. He stared at Tae-Hyun who was overpowering Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®He kinda gives off the protagonist energy as well.¡¯</i>


    If Si-Hun gave off the aura of a Korean manhwa protagonist, then Tae-Hyun gave off the aura of a Japanese light novel protagonist.


    <i>¡®You know, the trope of the worst ss actually being the strongest. Fucking hell. Why are there so many goddamn protagonists? What about me? Huh? What about me, goddammit?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo wanted to be a protagonist too.


    1. Refer to Chapter 13. ?


    2. Refer to Chapter 20. ?

 Chapter 456 - Can I Call You Hyung?

    <h4>Chapter 456 - Can I Call You Hyung?</h4>


    <i>ng!</i>


    Thunderous sounds of metal shing echoed; sparks flew all over the ce as shockwaves shook the training room.


    ¡°Kuh!¡± Kim Tae-Hyun grunted in frustration.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯</i>


    He held the initiative; Kim Si-Hun¡¯s attacks were not hurting him in the slightest and Si-Hun could not take his attacks head-on. Tae-Hyun¡¯s attacks were also faster since he possessed Nostrian¡¯s Will.


    <i>¡®So why?¡¯</i>


    Why was he not able to bring the battle to an end? Tae-Hyun anxiously stared at Si-Hun, who was panting heavily.


    <i>¡®I wanted to show myself flooring the Sword Dragon.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun expressed disappointment. He nced at Kang-Woo, who was calmly observing the battle.


    <i>¡®Kang-Woo.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun¡¯s heart beat rapidly as he recalled when he first met Kang-Woo. He was like a hero who hade to the rescue when Tae-Hyun was on the ground, on the verge of being kidnapped by the Andras Guild as a sacrifice. He recalled Kang-Woo leaving to eradicate evil without hesitation right after saving him. He admired Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡®I want to be like Kang-Woo too.¡¯</i>


    He wanted to be a hero who protected the weak as well. He wanted to be just like the protagonists in the stories he had read, which was why he did his best to level up despite being disrespected for being a rogue.


    <i>¡®And I finally got my chance.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun clenched his ne, immense power flowing into him through it. He had no idea what kind of power this was or whose it was, but he was certain about one thing: that it would make his dreame true.


    <i>¡®Please watch me, Kang-Woo.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun looked at his idol; he wanted to look as cool as possible in front of him of all people. He took a deep breath in, lowered his stance, gripped his dagger tightly, and slowly blinked.


    <i>¡®Foresight.¡¯</i>


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [Activating ¡®Nostrian¡¯s Eye.¡¯]


    Tae-Hyun set aside the message window in front of him and scanned Si-Hun. Foresight was a skill that he acquired after obtaining the item known as Nostrian¡¯s Eye in the unknown dungeon. It was a broken skill that allowed him to look five seconds into the future. He was easily able to block any attack that came his way with it.


    ¡°Haap!¡±


    <i>ng¡ª!!</i>


    The sword made of blue light cleaved into two. Si-Hun created another sword immediately after and fluidly continued his barrage of attacks, but none of his attacks managed to get past the small dagger. Si-Hun¡¯s sword was deflected all too easily by Tae-Hyun¡¯s dagger as if he were looking into the future.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa, haaa,¡± Si-Hun panted heavily.


    His palms were torn, red blood dripping on the ground.


    <i>¡®Damn...¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun couldn¡¯t believe that every single attack was blocked perfectly. It was like ying chess against aputer. The result was the same however many times he attacked and even if he added feints. It was like trying to climb an insurmountable wall. He could even feel his Qi quickly being depleted.


    <i>¡®If only... If only I had Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    If so, Si-Hun would not be so easily overwhelmed. He would be able to overpower the enemy even if they knew his every move, but he was powerless because he did not possess Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®No.¡¯ </i>Si-Hun bit his lip. <i>¡®Hyung beat Constetions of Evil back when he didn¡¯t have Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    To stand by Kang-Woo¡¯s side and walk alongside him, Si-Hun also needed to surpass that wall.


    <i>¡®I can do it.¡¯</i>


    He needed to stand against desperate situations just like Kang-Woo had.


    ¡°Haaaaaaaahhh!¡± Si-Hun roared.


    He clenched his sword with both hands as blood poured from his torn palms and pulled out what little remained of his Qi. He brought the sword above his head and swung it down with all his might.


    <i>¡®Heavenly Dragon sh!¡¯</i>


    <i>Boooooooom!!</i>


    An enormous explosion shook the training room.


    ¡°<i>Huff, huff,</i>¡± Si-Hun panted heavily as blood flowed from his mouth and his vision blurred.


    ¡°Phew. That one was a bit dangerous.¡±


    Tae-Hyun was staring at Si-Hun in surprise. Despite blocking the attack by predicting the future, Si-Hun¡¯s attack had been a serious threat.


    Si-Hun¡¯s expression stiffened. His all-out attack had been nothing but <i>a bit dangerous</i> to his opponent. He lowered his head and said reluctantly, ¡°... I¡¯ve lost.¡±


    Deathly silence fell on the training room. The shocked Guardians members stared at Si-Hun with their mouths agape. Kim Si-Hun, the Sword Dragon who was second only to Kang-Woo in terms of strength, had lost.


    ¡°S-Si-Hun,¡± La called with a hard expression.


    Si-Hun did not answer; he only had his head lowered with his fists clenched with blood pouring from them.


    Kang-Woo remained silent as he stared at Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®Tsk,¡¯</i> he clicked his tongue. <i>¡®I guess not even Si-Hun can ovee the difference made by Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    The conclusion that Kang-Woo came to after watching their battle was simple.


    <i>¡®Deific Essence is just he broken.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun fought hard by moving as if he could see the future, but Si-Hun was objectively above him in all aspects. Rather, Si-Hun proved his overwhelming power by dragging a battle that he never had a chance of winning in the first ce for this long.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun would have easily won if he had Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun was also very impressive for blocking every single attack as if he could see the future, but his movements were honestly very poor.


    <i>¡®He didn¡¯t be that strong through umtion of effort.¡¯</i>


    He simply won because he had better items. However, considering that Tae-Hyun grew to be this strong only after a month of obtaining that unknown power, his potential was promising.


    <i>¡®Especially with his movements that look as if he can see the future.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun would be far more powerful with time, to a point that not even Kang-Woo could fathom.


    <i>¡®That aside.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he stared at Tae-Hyun¡¯s ne with the grotesque eye on it.


    <i>¡®What the hell is that?¡¯</i>


    What sort of item could allow a below-average yer to surpass Si-Hun?


    <i>¡®He¡¯s not an incarnation.¡¯</i>


    The power that Kang-Woo could feel from Tae-Hyun was different from regr Deific Essence for that to be the case.


    Kang-Woo stared at Tae-Hyun, who was waving at him with a bright smile.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll have to keep an eye on him for a bit.¡¯</i>


    It would be difficult to decide what to do with Tae-Hyun until he figured out exactly what that ne was. Kang-Woo entered the training room and pped.


    ¡°Great job, you two,¡± he remarked.


    ¡°Hyung-nim.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so down, Si-Hun.¡± Kang-Woo lightly patted Si-Hun¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You did your best.¡±


    Si-Hun aggressively bit his lip and lowered his head again, his shoulders subtly trembling.


    Kang-Woo was about to say something to Si-Hun but decided not to.


    He had recently experienced the pain that came with being weighed down by one¡¯s powerlessness.


    <i>¡®I should just... leave him alone for now.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun needed some stimtion since he barely had any since the incident with Tai Wuji.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun hasn¡¯t grown at all since then.¡¯</i>


    He had stayed the same from the moment that he stabbed Tai Wuji.


    <i>¡®I guess it makes sense since the trauma pressuring him has disappeared.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun was freed from his trauma but now that he was free, he was no longer desperate.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun is already at a point where he can acquire Deific Essence on his own.¡¯</i>


    However, hecked something decisive that would allow him to surpass the wall and be even stronger.


    <i>¡®Not even this would be enough.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue as he stared at Si-Hun, who had his head lowered. He was devastated by the loss, but he likely thought that it couldn¡¯t be helped.


    <i>¡®He¡¯s probably thinking that he would¡¯ve won if he had Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    If one lost in a game because of the difference in itemspared to their opponent, they wouldn¡¯t feel desperation or aspiration. They would feel that they couldn¡¯t have done anything about it rather than a desire to improve themselves or aspire to be stronger.


    <i>¡®He needs stronger stimtion.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun needed something that would make him feel even more desperate.


    ¡°Ngh,¡± Kang-Woo groaned.


    It was hard to figure out what to do. He couldn¡¯t stage a La kidnapping again likest time either.


    <i>¡®He might digivolve into a Skull Greymon again if I push him too hard.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo needed something that would push Si-Hun to just the right extent and make him desperate for just the right amount.


    No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn¡¯t think of anything. Just then...


    ¡°Umm... Kang-Woo,¡± Tae-Hyun called,


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I was thinking about something.¡±


    ¡°N-Not at all!¡±


    Tae-Hyun quickly shook his head. Kang-Woo smirked. If Uriel was like a slightly cranky cat, then Tae-Hyun was like a loyal dog.


    <i>¡®Looks like I¡¯m being rewarded for living like a saint.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo would have never expected the rogue that he saved that day toe back to him in this way. The saintly life that he could swear by the heavens that he had lived was finally rewarding him. Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction.


    <i>¡®I still can¡¯t fully trust him, but he¡¯ll be a good pawn as long as he stays this loyal to me.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled nastily.


    ¡®No, no.¡¯ He erased the impure thoughts. <i>¡®I could never use someone. I am light. I am light. I am light.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled brightly and extended his hand toward Tae-Hyun. ¡°Wee to Guardians.¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Tae-Hyun shook with excitement. He clenched his fists and muttered to himself, ¡°Nice.¡±


    Kang-Woo chuckled at how genuinely moved Tae-Hyun was.


    <i>¡®He¡¯s the perfect pawn¡ª I mean,rade.¡¯</i>


    It was as if a perfectly ripe truckload of watermelons was dropped in front of his house. Kang-Woo gripped Tae-Hyun¡¯s hand tighter as light filled his heart.


    ¡°Umm... K-Kang-Woo,¡± Tae-Hyun called cautiously.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Umm... Could I...¡± Tae-Hyun gulped and continued, ¡°P-Perhaps... call you hyung?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes. Of course, you can.¡±


    It was not a difficult request; rather, Kang-Woo weed the idea of bing closer to Tae-Hyun.


    ¡°Ah, hahaha! Th-Thank you very much, Kang-Woo hyung! You can speak casually to me!¡±


    ¡°Okay, sure.¡± Kang-Woo nodded with a smile.<i> </i>¡°... Hm?¡±


    Kang-Woo saw Si-Hun drop his sword made of blue sword energy, which dissipated into the air before it hit the ground. He could see Si-Hun trembling in shock with his eyes wide open.


    <i>¡®The hell? What¡¯s up with you, Si-Hun?¡¯</i>

 Chapter 457 - For My Beloved Little Brother (1)

    <h4>Chapter 457 - For My Beloved Little Brother (1)</h4>


    Kim Si-Hun¡¯s expression was frozen beyond belief the moment Kim Tae-Hyun called Oh Kang-Woo <i>hyung</i>.


    <i>¡®The hell?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at Si-Hun in confusion.


    <i>¡®Why does he look like his entire world shattered? It¡¯s not like I cheated on him or anything.¡¯</i>


    He felt like he was some husband who was caught cheating on his wife.


    Kang-Woo approached Si-Hun and carefully called, ¡°Si-Hun?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Si-Hun came back to his senses and shook his head with an awkward smile. ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing, hyung-nim.¡±


    <i>¡®Nothing, my ass. Why would you make that face if nothing was wrong?¡¯</i>


    ¡°M-My grip loosened. Hahaha. The sword is a little heavy.¡±


    <i>¡®That¡¯s a formless sword, it doesn¡¯t have any weight. He looks shocked, however I look at him. Is it because I allowed Tae-Hyun to call me hyung?¡¯</i>


    Considering the situation, that seemed to be the reason.


    <i>¡®For real? Just because of that?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo chuckled as he stared at Si-Hun averting his gaze from Kang-Woo as he smiled awkwardly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going back to my room. Haha. Wee to Guardians, Tae-Hyun,¡± Si-Hun remarked as he approached Tae-Hyun, still smiling awkwardly.


    Tae-Hyun smirked as if mocking Si-Hun and grabbed the hand that Si-Hun stretched out. His eyes were filled with the leisure granted to the victor.


    <i>¡®The hell¡¯s with him now?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned at Tae-Hyun¡¯s attitude which looked as if he were looking down on Si-Hun.


    Tae-Hyun replied as if boasting, ¡°Thank you very much. I managed to win <i>purely by luck</i> today, but I was able to see how amazing of a yer you were, Sword Dragon.¡±


    Si-Hun remained silent.


    Tae-Hyun smiled as he stared at Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®I heard that Kang-Woo hyung treasures the Sword Dragon.¡¯</i>


    The public already knew that Sword Dragon Kim Si-Hun and Kang-Woo were sworn brothers. It was difficult for them not to know since Si-Hun bragged about Kang-Woo constantly wherever he went.


    <i>¡®It¡¯ll be different now.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun clenched his fist. He won the duel, so the one who would be standing alongside Kang-Woo would be him, not Si-Hun.


    ¡°Hehe,¡± Tae-Hyun giggled innocently.


    He imagined himself saving the world from danger with his benefactor who had saved his life in the past.


    <i>¡®And one day...¡¯</i>


    He would surpass his benefactor and save him from danger! Tae-Hyun couldn¡¯t help but smile as he imagined the scene straight out of an anime. His heart beat faster as his passion grew. The ridicule and disrespect that he had faced as someone with the weakest ss shed before his eyes.


    <i>¡®To do that...¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun stared at Si-Hun, who was more handsome than the average celebrity and far more talented than the average yer. He was the epitome of a protagonist.


    <i>¡®...I have to surpass the Sword Dragon.¡¯</i>


    He had already taken the first step. He was surprised by the unexpectedly powerful attack at the end of their battle, but he managed to defeat the Sword Dragon nheless.


    Tae-Hyun smiled slyly and continued, ¡°Hahaha. I¡¯ll be in your care from now on.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes...¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re <i>brothers </i>now, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    Si-Hun¡¯s expression momentarily crumpled. His gaze toward Tae-Hyun shone chillingly. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.


    ¡°Yes... we are. We¡¯re both... brothers. Hahaha.¡±


    Si-Hun giggled as his shoulders trembled and turned around to quickly leave the training room.


    ¡°Um, Si-Hun...¡± La called.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, La. I¡¯m feeling a little tired, so can we talkter?¡±


    Si-Hun walked toward his room in the Hall of Protection without even looking La¡¯s way.


    ¡°H-Hoho. Si-Hun seems to be a little shocked. I don¡¯t me him since I didn¡¯t expect Si-Hun to lose either,¡± La said forcibly, trying to sound bright to lighten the mood.


    Kang-Woo stared at Si-Hun getting further away.


    Tae-Hyun walked toward Kang-Woo and asked with anticipation, ¡°Umm... Kang-Woo hyung. Could you give me a tour of the Hall of Protection?¡±


    The Hall of Protection was the symbol of Guardians. It was a strategic hub that allowed them to have ess to the entire world via Gates. All yers wanted to visit the Hall of Protection at least once.


    ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± Kang-Woo replied with a smile and nodded.


    He took Tae-Hyun around the Hall of Protection.


    ¡°Wow, hyung! So this Gate is connected directly to the Grand Canyon? That Gate is connected to Beijing...¡±


    Tae-Hyun expressed astonishment as he looked at the Gates connected to areas all over the world. Kang-Woo stared at him with narrow eyes¡ª to be more exact, at the ne made of ovepping geometrical shapes that Tae-Hyun was wearing.


    <i>¡®What could that be?¡¯</i>


    The ne was unquestionably the item that gave Tae-Hyun his immense power.


    <i>¡®It has to be an intervention from a deity.¡¯</i>


    One of a considerably high rank, no less.


    Kang-Woo scanned the brightly smiling Tae-Hyun in silence.


    <i>¡®Should I invest in this coin?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s mind was filled with whether or not to invest in the Kim Tae-Hyun coin that had appeared like a meteor. He would be lying if he said that he wasn¡¯t curious. Nothing about the item could be examined with the Authority of Insight and it granted its wearer power even stronger than regr Deific Essence and an ability to predict the future. Although Tae-Hyun¡¯s movements were poor at the moment, he would be several times stronger once his skills were polished. His potential was even greater than that of Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®I could also take that item from him and give it to Si-Hun or just use it myself.¡¯</i>


    However, that was like cutting open the belly of a goose thatid golden eggs[1]. Besides, most items Legendary-grade and above were imprinted to their wielder, so it would be pointless to take them from others; especially if it were an item that looked to be at least Transcendent-grade like that ne.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. Si-Hun also likely thought the same thing.


    <i>¡®Thinking of it that way, the way Si-Hun acted makes sense.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had thought that Si-Hun was shocked over something so trivial, but he slowly understood his reaction.


    <i>¡®He wasn¡¯t shocked that Tae-Hyun called me hyung.¡¯</i>


    Kang Tae-Soo also referred to Kang-Woo as hyung-nim. If that was why Si-Hun was shocked, he would also not like the way that Tae-Soo called Kang-Woo <i>hyung-nim</i>.


    <i>¡®The difference between Tae-Soo and Tae-Hyun... Si-Hun must be thinking... that his ce might be taken from him.¡¯</i>


    It was within the realm of possibility since to Si-Hun, Kang-Woo was someone more precious to him than his blood-rted brother; Kang-Woo had rescued him from a life of trauma and led him to where he was now.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun, you...¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo felt bitter as he thought about Si-Hun¡¯s emotions. <i>¡®There¡¯s no way I would abandon you.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo no longer thought of Si-Hun as just a talented pawn. There was no way that Tae-Hyun¡¯s potential being higher than Si-Hun¡¯s would affect their rtionship.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t think Si-Hun feels the same way, though.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun let go of his sword the moment that Tae-Hyun called Kang-Woo <i>hyung</i>. It was not difficult to guess how shocked Si-Hun was, considering how important a sword was for Si-Hun as a swordsman.


    <i>¡®Tae-Hyun also fanned the mes.¡¯</i>


    He had tantly taunted Si-Hun as if he was telling Si-Hun that his hyung was his now.


    Kang-Woo recalled Si-Hun¡¯s devastated expression in silence.


    ¡°Kang-Woo hyung?¡± Tae-Hyun called.


    ¡°Oh, yeah?¡±


    ¡°Is there something wrong?¡±


    ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t say that.¡±


    ¡°Then¡ª¡±


    ¡°That aside, could you tell me exactly what happened when you obtained that ne? Don¡¯t leave out a single detail.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to, but there are honestly more things that I don¡¯t know than what I know.¡± Tae-Hyun gripped the Eye of Nostrian and continued, ¡°There isn¡¯t much I can tell you other than that I gained a skill called <i>Foresight </i>and that I became extremely strong once I got this ne.¡±


    ¡°Have you heard any voices in your head?¡±


    ¡°No, never.¡±


    ¡°Then has your body ever moved in a way that you didn''t intend to?¡±


    ¡°That hasn¡¯t happened either,¡± Tae-Hyun replied as he shook his head.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    <i>¡®They haven¡¯t done anything to him despite granting him that much power?¡¯</i>


    It was far too suspicious.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s impossible.¡¯</i>


    It was as if a millionaire gave the majority of his wealth to a random person on the streets with no strings attached. Something like this with no price or objective was bound to have hidden conditions.


    <i>¡®This is a dangerous coin.¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo was made sure of it after listening to Tae-Hyun¡¯s story. <i>¡®But it¡¯s too soon to make a move.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo still had no way of figuring out who gave Tae-Hyun that power or for what reason. However fishy it was, it would not be wise to give up on the Tae-Hyun Coin.


    <i>¡®Especially when he¡¯s so loyal to me.¡¯</i>


    It would be a huge waste to give up on someone who could be a huge asset if handled well.


    <i>¡®Allies with Deific Essence are always wee.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo did not expect Tae-Hyun to be of help to him in facing Bael since no one but himself was able to.


    <i>¡®But the otherworldly invasions are a different story.¡¯</i>


    He would not be able to block the invasions by himself; this was evident by the fact that he couldn¡¯t resolve the abnormal phenomena urring in the Gates all over the world by himself.


    <i>¡®After all, there¡¯s only one of me.¡¯</i>


    No matter how powerful he was, one soldier couldn''t defend a castle. He needed dependable allies to keep the castle that was Earth safe.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll have Lilith keep him monitored twenty-four seven.¡¯</i>


    Keeping his guard up was good enough for now.


    ¡°Haha. I never thought a day like this woulde. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m touring the Hall of Protection with you... Kang-Woo hyung.¡±


    Tae-Hyun smiled as if he couldn¡¯t be happier. He seriously reminded Kang-Woo of a dog.


    <i>¡®His excessive loyalty might be a problem.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo sighed as he recalled the war of nerves between Si-Hun and Tae-Hyun. He stood in front of the closed door of Si-Hun¡¯s room.


    <i>¡®What should I do about Si-Hun?¡¯</i>


    He was already getting a headache when thinking about how to console the shocked Si-Hun who had locked himself in his room.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, hyung?¡± Tae-Hyun asked as he turned around to look back at Kang-Woo, who suddenly stopped in ce.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Just then, an idea popped up in Kang-Woo¡¯s head. ¡°... No, that¡¯s a bit...¡±


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    <i>¡®But this is the best option.¡¯</i>


    He thought about other options but couldn¡¯t think of anything else.


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists.


    <i>¡®Yeah.¡¯</i>


    He had no other choice; he needed to be the one to help Si-Hun ovee the wall blocking his growth.


    <i>¡®The older brother needs to make sacrifices for his little brother.¡¯</i>


    He needed to steel his heart for the sake of his beloved little brother.


    ¡°Tae-Hyun,¡± Kang-Woo called.


    ¡°Ah, yes, Kang-Woo hyung?¡±


    Tae-Hyun trotted toward Kang-Woo with a smile. Kang-Woo also smiled brightly and put his hand on Tae-Hyun¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go grab something to eat together?¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Tae-Hyun¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°O-Okay! S-Sounds good! I was just about getting hungry as well!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a good kimchi stew ce I know.¡±


    ¡°Kimchi stew! I love kimchi stew!¡±


    ¡°Really? Haha. It looks like we¡¯ll get along well.¡±


    Kang-Woo patted Tae-Hyun¡¯s shoulder and turned around.


    <i>Shatter!</i>


    The sound of something breaking came from inside Si-Hun¡¯s room.


    1. This is a Korean idiom that teaches us to be patient instead of chasing instant gratification. ?

 Chapter 458 - For My Beloved Little Brother (2)

    <h4>Chapter 458 - For My Beloved Little Brother (2)</h4>


    <i>¡°Why don¡¯t we go grab something to eat together?¡±</i>


    Kim Si-Hun heard a familiar voice from across the door.


    Si-Hun gritted his teeth as he was sitting on his bed.


    <i>Shatter!</i>


    Ferocious energy poured out from him, causing the photo album on his desk to fall to the ground.


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    Si-Hun looked up in bewilderment. He stood from his bed and walked to the fallen album containing a photo of a smiling Kang-Woo with his arm, holding a kebab, resting on Si-Hun¡¯s shoulder.


    Si-Hun lifted the photo they had taken back when they went to Caldesann and carefully brushed off the ss fragments.


    ¡°Hyung,¡± Si-Hun muttered.


    He felt like something was weighing down on his chest.


    <i>¡°We¡¯re </i>brothers <i>now, aren¡¯t we?¡±</i>


    Kim Tae-Hyun¡¯s mocking voice echoed inside Si-Hun¡¯s head. He clenched his fists tightly.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything.¡±


    Si-Hun was boiling with rage despite knowing that it was nothing to be angry over.


    <i>¡®After all the hard work I put in... to stay as his little brother.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun did not like the fact that Tae-Hyun had appointed himself to be in the same position as him.


    Si-Hun rxed his fists. He quelled his rage and shook his head. ¡°Haaa. How pathetic am I?¡±


    He scolded himself for having a loser¡¯s mindset as he gathered the ss fragments on the ground and threw them in the trash bin.


    <i>¡®Well, at least he doesn¡¯t seem to be scheming anything bad.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun¡¯s hostility toward him was likely due to his excessive loyalty toward Kang-Woo; it did not seem to be stemming from ill intentions.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun was able to be of more help to Kang-Woo than Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun slowly raised his hand. His Qi gathered using the principle of Formless Sword, creating a sword shining blue in the air.


    <i>¡®Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    That was the difference between him and Tae-Hyun. His ability that seemed as if he was seeing the future was certainly a hindrance, but there was a way around it. However, no such way existed for Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®What do I need to do... to acquire it?¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun was drawing a nk. It felt like he was facing an insurmountable wall. It was the first wall he was facing as one who possessed astonishing talent thanks to his Heavenly Martial Physique.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Si-Hun sighed deeply again.


    The blue sword in the air turned into tiny particles and dissipated. His thoughts were jumbled. He looked down at the photo that he took out of the broken photo album.


    <i>¡°Thanks... for staying as my little brother.¡±</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s words that had guided him toward salvation echoed in his head. His frown rxed and he smiled.


    ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s no need for me topare myself to him.¡±


    Si-Hun shook his head as he thought about Tae-Hyun. The rtionship between himself and Kang-Woo was not simply that of brothers. They were not rted by blood but Si-Hun considered Kang-Woo to be more than his older brother, and Kang-Woo thought the same.


    <i>¡®If not, there would be no reason for him to say that to me.¡¯</i>


    The weight on Si-Hun¡¯s chest lightened and his jumbled thoughts cleared up.


    <i>¡®I can think of him to be about the same level as Tae-Soo.¡¯</i>


    There was no reason for Si-Hun to think hard about it; he could just treat Tae-Hyun the same way that he treated Tae-Soo. After all, Tae-Hyun was now a member of Guardians.


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll ask him for a duel next time.¡±


    Si-Hun might be able to find a clue that would allow him to surpass the wall blocking his growth.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll train with Balrog today.¡¯</i>


    He wanted to move around a little more, possibly because he lost to Tae-Hyun. Si-Hun left the room, his steps much lighter than before.


    ***


    ¡°Huuu, huu,¡± Si-Hun panted heavily as hey on the ground after his duel with Balrog.


    ¡°Did something happen to you today?¡± asked Balrog after he put on the pendant to return to human form.


    ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a little more <i>desperate </i>than usual.¡±


    Si-Hun narrowed his eyes, not sure what Balrog was talking about. ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°It means exactly what I said. You were fighting as if something was chasing you. Oh... well, you were like that in the past too.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Rather, that desperation of yours has been severelyckingtely.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about...?¡±


    ¡°Are you not aware of it?¡± Balrog snorted and continued, ¡°You are no longer <i>desperate </i>after the battle against Tai Wuji.¡±


    Si-Hun felt as if he had been hit on the back of the head with a sledgehammer. His eyes widened and he trembled slightly. ¡°I¡¯m... not desperate?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit. I simply haven¡¯t had enough timetely because I¡¯ve been killing monsters. I haven¡¯t been cking on my training.¡±


    ¡°That is not what I¡¯m saying,¡± Balrog answered firmly. ¡°I am simply saying that you have lost your desperation.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the same th¡ª¡±


    ¡°No. They are different.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°In the past, every single swing you took was filled with desperation. Each of your movements felt as if you were frantically chasing after something.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°But not anymore. You are... no longer desperate.¡±


    ¡°Ngh.¡±


    Si-Hun bit his lip and red at Balrog. Balrog¡¯s words felt like they were gutting him.


    ¡®No.¡¯ Si-Hun shook his head, denying Balrog''s words. <i>¡®I¡¯ve been training more desperately than anyone to catch up to hyung.¡¯</i>


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna go,¡± Si-Hun muttered.


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    Balrog smirked as he stared at Si-Hun turning around temperamentally and walking away. Si-Hun left Balrog¡¯s house. He could see people busily filling the streets after leaving the barrier that blocked regr people from entering.


    Si-Hun put on a hat and mask to conceal his face and trudged along.


    <i>¡®Ick... desperation?¡¯</i>


    Balrog¡¯s words echoed in his head. Displeasure spread throughout his body as an unknown sense of anxiety took over.


    <i>¡°Thanks... for staying as my little brother.¡±</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s words once again echoed in his head, erasing the displeasure that he was feeling. The anxiety disappeared before Si-Hun had realized it.


    ¡°Haha,¡± Si-Hunughed as his expression rxed.


    <i>¡®Yeah, there¡¯s no need to worry.¡¯</i>


    He had already ovee his trauma. Balrog¡¯s words that Si-Huncked desperation were referring to Si-Hun back when he was controlled by his trauma.


    <i>¡®Of course, I wouldn¡¯t feel like the same person as back then.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun was saved by Kang-Woo, his beloved older brother. He was freed from his lifelong curse.


    ¡°I should call hyung-nimter.¡±


    Si-Hun walked along with a smile.


    ***


    ¡°Hyung-nim?¡±


    <i>- Yeah, Si-Hun?</i>


    ¡°Are you free to talk right now?¡±


    <i>- Sorry... I¡¯m hanging out with Tae-Hyun right now.</i>


    ¡°Again?¡±


    <i>- Yeah. I¡¯ll call youter.</i>


    ¡°Oh... Okay, hyung-nim.¡±


    <i>- Is anything going on with you? I¡¯ve barely seen youtely because I¡¯ve been so busy.</i>


    ¡°Haha. I¡¯m fine.¡±


    <i>- Okay. I¡¯ll call youter.</i>


    Kang-Woo hung up.


    ¡°He must be busy,¡± Si-Hun muttered.


    Kang-Woo was busy helping Tae-Hyun adapt to the various duties of being a Guardians member for the past week.


    ¡°It¡¯s only natural since hyung-nim does a lot of other things besides that.¡±


    Kang-Woo was so busy that Si-Hun worried for his wellbeing. He was so busy with matters of the divine realm, Aernor, and Earth that Si-Hun had no time to talk to him.


    ¡°Haha. Yeah... It can¡¯t be helped.¡± Si-Hun closed his eyes. ¡°...¡±


    <i>Thud.</i>


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Si-Hun had dropped his smartphone. He picked it up and put it on his desk.


    Hey on his bed.


    <i>¡®The abnormal Gate phenomenon reported yesterday was resolved by Tae-Hyun.¡¯</i>


    There had been no other reports after that. Si-Hun slowly fell asleep.


    ¡°Ah.¡± He woke up several hourster and got out of bed. ¡°I fell asleep before I realized it.¡±


    Si-Hun had thought about having another training session with Balrog, but he had fallen asleep for several hours. He fixed his disheveled hair and went out of his room.


    ¡°Mm?¡± He came across Kang-Woo sitting in a chair after reaching the meeting room. ¡°Hyung¡ª¡±


    As he was about to greet Kang-Woo with a smile...


    <i>Vrrrr.</i>


    ¡°Yeah, Tae-Hyun? What¡¯s up?¡±


    Kang-Woo was talking to someone over the phone. Si-Hun¡¯s smile froze.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m over by the Hall of Protection.¡±


    Si-Hun clenched his fists tightly without realizing it.


    ***


    <i>¡®He¡¯s here.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo subtly nced over to the hallway and saw Si-Hun staring at him.


    <i>¡®Well, then.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo kept the smartphone over his ear and continued with a smile, ¡°How¡¯s the training going?¡±


    There was no answer.


    ¡°Really? Haha, that¡¯s a relief.¡±


    Kang-Woo continued to speak to himself.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll head over there once I finish going through this paperwork.¡±


    <i>¡®Si-Hun. You understand, right? You know I¡¯m doing this for you, right?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Haha. Yeah, okay. I¡¯ll see you there.¡±


    <i>¡®You¡¯ve gotta surpass the wall blocking you and acquire Deific Essence too. I¡¯m doing all of this for your sake.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Tae-Hyun.¡±


    <i>¡®Okay? You feel me, right? You know that I have no choice but to do this even though it breaks my heart, right?¡¯</i>


    ¡°You have no idea how much of a relief it is you have you with me.¡±


    <i>¡®Right? I have no choice, right? I¡¯m not a fucking scumbag, right?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Thanks... for staying as my little brother.¡±


    Kang-Woo spoke as naturally as he breathed despite his growing sense of guilt.

 Chapter 459 - Surpassing the Wall (1)

    <h4>Chapter 459 - Surpassing the Wall (1)</h4>


    Kim Si-Hun¡¯s world went white. His breathing turned erratic and his head was burning up.


    <i>¡®Hyung?¡¯</i>


    He wanted to call Oh Kang-Woo but his voice was noting out. His vision was blurring and his legs lost their strength.


    <i>¡®Why... why, why, why?¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun continued to ask himself in his head.


    <i>¡°Thanks... for staying as my little brother.¡±</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s words that had saved him swirled around his head. Those words had been what linked the two of them; it was proof of the fact that they were more than sworn brothers.


    <i>¡®But... why?¡¯</i>


    Why was Kang-Woo saying that to Kim Tae-Hyun? It was as if Kang-Woo no longer needed Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®No, that¡¯s impossible. After all that we¡¯ve been through together.¡¯</i>


    They had decimated the Demon Cult and battled Satan, the Four Heavenly Kings, and even the Constetions of Evil together. They had fought frantically across countless battlefields to protect the world from the clutches of evil. So why was someone who had gotten stronger only because he was lucky, taking Si-Hun¡¯s spot as Kang-Woo¡¯s little brother?


    Si-Hun gritted his teeth. A zing emotion welled up from within him.


    <i>¡®What¡¯s... the difference?¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun thought about the difference between him and Tae-Hyun. Why was Kang-Woo paying more attention to Tae-Hyun than Si-Hun?


    He did not take long to figure out the answer.


    <i>¡®Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    That was the only thing that Tae-Hyun had that Si-Hun did not, and what was needed most in these dire times.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s because of Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had sacrificed everything to save the world. He understood how dependable one who possessed Deific Essence was when the world was in crisis.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s why he epted Tae-Hyun as his little brother.¡¯</i>


    If that were not the case, Kang-Woo would not pay this much attention to Tae-Hyun.


    ¡°Haha,¡± Si-Hunughed dryly.


    The answer that he hade to was disheartening.


    <i>¡®Hyung-nim had no choice either.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had reluctantly been babying Tae-Hyun and answering his childish needs because he needed to do whatever it took to have him as an ally for the sake of the world.


    <i>¡®Yeah, that has to be it.¡¯</i>


    Nothing else would exin Kang-Woo¡¯s behavior. Si-Hun gritted his teeth and walked away from the meeting room where Kang-Woo was sitting.


    ¡°Deific Essence,¡± Si-Hun muttered.


    He needed Deific Essence to make Kang-Woo look his way again and to stay as his little brother.


    <i>"I''m sorry for giving birth to you."</i>


    He heard the cursed words he had long since forgotten, which had shackled his life for years.


    ¡°I need... Deific Essence.¡±


    Si-Hun staggered down the hallway.


    ***


    Kang-Woo slowly closed his eyes in the silent meeting room.


    <i>¡®This should be enough.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun needed a unique form of stimtion to surpass the wall he had reached. He needed something that would reawaken his past trauma.


    <i>¡®It isn¡¯t only his talent that allowed Si-Hun to power up in moments of danger.¡¯</i>


    The trauma that shackled him was what drove his awakening.


    <i>¡®It might not be anything much for other people, but...¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun¡¯s trauma and his desire to be acknowledged by the most precious people in his life were out of the ordinary for most people. However, for Si-Hun, who had been abandoned by his father, harassed by his older brother, and whose life itself had been denied by the most important person in his life, it was more important than anything.


    <i>¡®He¡¯ll desire salvation once again. He¡¯ll work frantically to be acknowledged once again.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo remained silent. He sighed and put his hand on his forehead. ¡°... Maybe I should¡¯ve used another way.¡±


    Regret btedly swept over him. Although Kang-Woo had done it to help Si-Hun awaken Deific Essence, he also thought that it was a little excessive.


    <i>¡®No, this isn¡¯t simply an issue of Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    It was easy for Kang-Woo to give Si-Hun Deific Essence; he just needed to make Si-Hun his incarnation. Just like how La was able to use a portion of Gaia¡¯s Deific Essence, Si-Hun would be able to use a portion of Kang-Woo¡¯s Deific Essence as well.


    <i>¡®But that¡¯s meaningless.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo would¡¯ve made Si-Hun his incarnation if Si-Hun himself had no chance of acquiring Deific Essence on his own, but it was more than possible for Si-Hun to acquire it on his own. No, it was a wonder why Si-Hun had still not managed to.


    <i>¡®He needs some sort of decisive trigger.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun needed something that would allow him to surpass the wall blocking his growth.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun can do it.¡¯</i>


    If it was the Si-Hun that Kang-Woo knew, he would easily be able to surpass his limits and acquire Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®And when that happens,¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun would surely spread his wings and grow to astronomical heights.


    ¡°Deific Essence that one awakens on their own ispletely different from regr Deific Essence.¡±


    Deific Essence was a fraudulent power, but there was a massive difference between those who were born with Deific Essence without any cost and those who acquired Deific Essence on their own.


    <i>¡®If I make Si-Hun my incarnation and just give him Deific Essence, his growth would stop then and there.¡¯</i>


    He would be reduced to someone with borrowed power despite having the potential to be a god on their own.


    ¡°I can¡¯t let that happen.¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. Although he felt bad for bringing back Si-Hun¡¯s trauma, he had no other choice. Abnormal phenomena within Gates were growing; it had even reached a point where an unknown item that Tae-Hyun was wearing appeared from within it. Si-Hun needed Deific Essence as soon as possible.


    <i>¡®As for the others...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo thought about his other party members but shook his head.


    <i>¡®Let''s focus on Si-Hun first. He needs just the right amount of stimtion.¡¯</i>


    Since Si-Hun had once fallen because Kang-Woo had pushed him too far, Kang-Woo needed to dial it back a little.


    <i>¡®I shouldn¡¯t push him any more than I already have.¡¯</i>


    He needed to tell Balrog and La to watch what they said to Si-Hun since those two met Si-Hun the most often.


    <i>¡®Once I make Si-Hun put his all into training...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo would then appear to make some sort of tearjerking performance.


    ¡°As for my lines... <i>Who gives a shit about Deific Essence?! Even without that... you¡¯re my precious little brother!</i> Yeah, let¡¯s go with that.¡±


    Kang-Woo was already cringing from the thought but it couldn¡¯t be helped.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun likes this sort of thing.¡¯</i>


    Considering what he had done to Si-Hun, he was more than willing to blurt out cringeworthy lines; after all, Kang-Woo was ultimately the one who made Si-Hun¡¯s trauma resurface.


    ¡°That aside.¡±


    Kang-Woo looked down at his muted smartphone on the table. It was filled with messages from Tae-Hyun.


    <i>¡®Why is this kid so loyal to me?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo did not dislike it, but he felt that it was a bit too excessive.


    <i>¡®To make aparison, it¡¯s like one of those extremely devoted idol fans.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun felt like someone who couldn¡¯t hold back his joy of being able to work together with his idol.


    ¡°Ngh.¡±


    Whatever the case, Tae-Hyun was exhausting to deal with.


    ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    Kang-Woo needed to stay with Tae-Hyun until he figured out exactly what the <i>Eye of Nostrian</i> that Tae-Hyun had obtained was.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes as he thought about Si-Hun and Tae-Hyun. He once again felt like he had flowers (stamens) in each hand.


    <i>¡®Fuck.¡¯</i>


    He clenched his fists and shook his head.


    ¡°Darling... Darling...¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s sorrowful voice filled the meeting room.


    ***


    ¡°<i>Huff, huff,</i>¡± Si-Hun panted heavily.


    The training room had be a mess. Si-Hun took a staggering step.


    ¡°Heavenly Dragon...¡±


    He squeezed out what little remained of his Qi and raised his sword made with blue sword energy. However, the formless sword made with sword energy dissipated into thin air.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Si-Hun panted as he watched his sword vanishing. ¡°Kurgh.¡±


    His knees buckled from the exhaustion of pulling out too much Qi.


    ¡°No...¡±


    He couldn¡¯t copse here. He put strength into his buckling knees and forcibly stood back up.


    <i>¡®It''s not enough.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun raised his hands again as he bit his lip. A faint blue light gathered into the shape of a sword.


    <i>¡®To earn Deific Essence...¡¯</i>


    He needed Deific Essence to stay as Kang-Woo¡¯s little brother.


    ¡°Fuuu...¡±


    Si-Hun took a deep breath in; a small amount of Qi within nature entered him through his breath.


    <i>¡®I need to acquire Mind¡¯s Sword before I can earn Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    He had a feeling that it was the final gateway that he needed to pass through to acquire Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®A sword of the mind, huh?¡¯</i>


    It was amon stage in martial arts. Si-Hun had read hundreds of books about its theory that he had borrowed from Tan Wuchen.


    ¡°I have no idea.¡±


    However, he couldn¡¯t even begin to grasp what a sword of the mind was. Si-Hun, who had been growing without any barriers thanks to his extraordinary talent, was having a hard time manifesting an extremely vague concept.


    ¡°Haaa.¡±


    Si-Hun clenched his hair and turned around. His knees buckled once again.


    Si-Hun frowned aggressively.


    ¡°Huh? Si-Hun?¡±


    Tae-Hyun entered the training room as Si-Hun was about to move his trembling hands.


    Si-Hun red at Tae-Hyun in silence.


    ¡°Mm. It looks like you¡¯re training until quitete.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Haha. That¡¯s the Sword Dragon for you. I should learn a thing or two from you.¡±


    Tae-Hyun smiled brightly at Si-Hun but it carried a tiny amount of ridicule as well.


    Si-Hun turned around in silence.


    ¡°Anyway, have you seen Kang-Woo hyung?¡±


    Si-Hun tilted his head in wonder, maintaining his frown. ¡°Weren¡¯t you with him today?¡±


    ¡°No. We were nning on meeting, but... he seemed pretty busy.¡±


    Si-Hun remained silent.


    <i>¡®Did somethinge up along the way?¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun smiled unbeknownst to himself from the fact that Tae-Hyun and Kang-Woo were not able to meet up. Noticing that, Tae-Hyun red at Si-Hun in anger.


    ¡°Come to think of it... I heard from Kang-Woo hyung that the reason why you weren¡¯t able to beat me back then was because of the thing called Deific Essence.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Haha. I also heard that the only yers in Guardians who have Deific Essence are me and Kang-Woo hyung.¡± Tae-Hyun continued leisurely, ¡°It seems... hyung and I go well with each other, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Si-Hun frowned aggressively.

 Chapter 460 - Surpassing the Wall (2)

    <h4>Chapter 460 - Surpassing the Wall (2)</h4>


    ¡°Good for you. You happened to acquire Deific Essence <i>purely by chance</i>,¡± Kim Si-Hun narrowed his eyes and continued, ¡°Without any form of effort whatsoever.¡±


    ¡°Ngh.¡±


    Kim Tae-Hyun slightly frowned. He wanted to deny it, but it was an undeniable fact that he had gained power simply by chance.


    <i>¡®I...¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun clenched his fists.


    <i>¡°What? A rogue? Sorry, we don¡¯t need you.¡±</i>


    <i>¡°We don¡¯t have any heals to waste on a rogue so just screw off and give first aid somewhere else.¡±</i>


    <i>¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, what use are you if you can¡¯t deal or tank damage? Just quit being a yer.¡±</i>


    Tae-Hyun lost his family at the hands of monsters on the Day of Cmity. This tragedy was not only his; countless people lost those precious to them on that day. He thought his life would change once he awakened as a yer five years after the Day of Cmity; he thought he could be the hero he had dreamed of bing ever since his family died before his very eyes.


    However, reality was cruel. The Trait he had awakened was treated worse than useless by the other yers.


    <i>¡®I...¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun became desperate since that day. He wanted to be a protagonist. He wanted to ovee his adversities and grow stronger like a shounen manga protagonist. He wanted to be praised by others and save the world from danger with style. And...


    He wanted to tell his family, whom he couldn¡¯t save, that he had managed to protect people this time. He, who had dared to survive by himself after being unable to do anything, had saved the world and the countless people in it. It had be his life¡¯s purpose to tell them.


    ¡°Without... any effort?¡± Tae-Hyun bit his lip and red at Si-Hun. ¡°I could say the same to you!!!¡±


    Unlike Tae-Hyun, who wasn¡¯t acknowledged by anyone after awakening as a yer, Si-Hun grew stronger without stopping as soon as he awakened because he had talent, unlike Tae-Hyun. Tae-Hyun red at Si-Hun. He knew that this was nothing more than petty jealousy and that he would be the only pathetic one for acting this way.


    ¡°If only it weren¡¯t for you...¡±


    The dream that Tae-Hyun had been desiring all this time was right in front of him, but his wild dream of bing a hero who was praised by all was already taken by someone else; someone with the title of Sword Dragon.


    Silence fell. The two men took out their weapons simultaneously as if no words were needed.


    <i>Bang.</i>


    Tae-Hyun shut the door behind him and entered the training room. He took a stance as he held a thirty-centimeter dagger in a reverse grip. Si-Hun held a formless sword made of blue sword energy and calmed his heavy breaths. His sword was shining far less brightly than usual.


    <i>¡®Dammit.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun could not be in a worse state due to having trained to his limit until just now. His legs were shaking, his breathing was heavy, and he barely had any Qi left.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun had a feeling that he shouldn¡¯t fall back.


    <i>¡°You are... no longer desperate.¡±</i>


    Si-Hun recalled Balrog¡¯s words. He denied them and considered them to be nonsense at the time, but he could feel it as well.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m... not desperate anymore.¡¯</i>


    He had given up on going past the first wall that he had ever faced in his life. He thought that he did not need to get any stronger than he already was.


    <i>¡®Hyung.¡¯</i>


    To walk alongside Oh Kang-Woo and to lighten the weight on his shoulders even a little, Si-Hun needed to surpass the insurmountable wall blocking his path.


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± Si-Hun took a deep breath in.


    He replenished his Qi stores through his breaths. It was nowhere near enough to fill his usual abundant stores, but he needed everything he could get at the moment.


    <i>¡®Heavenly Dragon Concealment.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun turned faint as if a dragon was concealing itself within the clouds and disappeared into thin air.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t have a chance in a head-on battle.¡¯</i>


    He realized through thest battle how pointless it was to take an opponent with Deific Essence head-on. There were only two ways for someone without Deific Essence to face someone with Deific Essence; they could either use enough power that the Deific Essence was unable to block or focus their attacks on a point where the Deific Essence barrier was weak.


    <i>¡®The first method is impossible.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun had felt that he did not have enough Qi even when he was at his best, so it was out of the question when he barely had any Qi to use.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll focus on where the barrier is weak.¡¯</i>


    It was like aiming for the gaps in the armor of an opponent with full-te armor.


    <i>ng! ng! ng!</i>


    ¡°Urgh...¡±


    It was a near-impossible strategy for a regr warrior to even attempt, but Si-Hun had long since surpassed that stage. Si-Hun sword continuously struck Tae-Hyun¡¯s shoulder. The sword bounced off of the Deific Essence barrier with a clear sound of shing metal.


    <i>¡®I knew it.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun nodded after feeling a recoil much weaker than before. He had felt it during his previous battle against Tae-Hyun as well, but the Deific Essence barrier was weaker in areas where the individual paid less attention. One would naturally be more wary of attacks aiming at their vitals such as the head, heart, and neck. However, protection around areas like the shoulder and thigh, where their life wouldn¡¯t be threatened even if they were attacked, was weaker.


    ¡°Kuh,¡± Tae-Hyun grunted.


    He was unable to follow Si-Hun¡¯s movements. He would have been sliced into pieces as soon as the battle began if he hadn¡¯t been protected by Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®Dammit.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun bit his lip. He could feel the overwhelming difference between himself and Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®I knew from the start that I wascking in skill.¡¯</i>


    However, he possessed a skill that could easily make up for it.


    <i>¡®Foresight.¡¯</i>


    Faint light poured out from the Eye of Nostrian. Light particles resembling crystal fragments wrapped around him. It didn¡¯t matter where Si-Hun was or whether or not Tae-Hyun could follow his movements.


    <i>¡®Now!¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun turned around and lowered his dagger. Si-Hun¡¯s sword, which was aimed at his thigh, was deflected by the dagger.


    Si-Hun frowned.


    <i>¡®This again.¡¯</i>


    His attack was blocked as if his opponent could see the future. Si-Hun was sure that Tae-Hyun couldn¡¯t follow his movements, but he managed to block the attack regardless.


    <i>¡®How far into the future can he see?¡¯</i>


    He needed to figure that out first and foremost. Si-Hun fixed his grip on his sword and set aside his initial n of getting through the Deific Essence barrier.


    <i>¡®Heavenly Sword Rampage.¡¯</i>


    Countless attacks poured down on Tae-Hyun, who deflected every single one of them with his dagger despite being able to leave it to his Deific Essence barrier to block them for him. It was a blunder that arose from hisck of battle experience and Si-Hun did not let that blunder get past him.


    <i>¡®Five seconds.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun¡¯s eyes shone. Tae-Hyun had predicted Si-Hun¡¯s attacks exactly five seconds into the future.


    <i>¡®What a broken ability...¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun felt even more disheartened after figuring out Tae-Hyun¡¯s ability. Being able to see five seconds into the future was invaluable in a battle where even a millisecond was precious.


    <i>ng! ng! ng!</i>


    ¡°Hmph, where did your vigor from earlier go?¡± Si-Hun snorted once he regained hisposure.


    He was easily able to block Si-Hun¡¯s attacks after using Foresight, but blocking them was all he could do. He was not yet skilled enough to counterattack.


    <i>¡®It''s okay,¡¯</i> Tae-Hyun thought as he stared leisurely at Si-Hun.


    Si-Hun was noticeably exhausted, so he would copse on his own as long as Tae-Hyun held out without attacking.


    <i>¡®I can win.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun leisurely blocked Si-Hun¡¯s attacks.


    ¡°Huff, huff, huff,¡± Si-Hun panted heavily.


    He swung his sword while drenched in sweat, but he was ultimately unable to even graze Tae-Hyun.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [Your Qi has been depleted.]


    [Continuous use of martial arts will lead to Qi deviation.]


    Messages appeared in front of Si-Hun but he ignored them and gripped his sword tighter.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t afford to back down.¡¯</i>


    He recalled Kang-Woo and the powerlessness he felt as he stared at his back. Chasing after Kang-Woo was already so agonizing, so he couldn¡¯t even imagine how agonizing it would be for Kang-Woo to be that far forward.


    <i>¡°You are... no longer desperate.¡±</i>


    Si-Hun heard Balrog¡¯s words again. He could now understand why Balrog said something like that.


    <i>¡®It was because I was hiding behind hyung¡¯s back.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun thought that Kang-Woo was strong enough to resolve any danger that the world would be ced in; he thought that Kang-Woo would be able to stop anything like a superhero in a film. That was how extraordinary Kang-Woo¡¯s feats were. Si-Hun thought that everything would be resolved as long as he hid within Kang-Woo¡¯s shadow, hence he did not bother to be desperate.


    ¡°Fuuu, haaa,¡± Si-Hun calmed his breathing.


    He was out of Qi and his fingers could barely move.


    <i>¡®I can do it.¡¯</i>


    He needed to surpass the wall blocking his path.


    <i>¡®I...¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun continued to breathe. Miniscule amounts of Qi filled his empty dantian.


    <i>¡®It''s not enough.¡¯</i>


    This amount of Qi was not enough to surpass Tae-Hyun¡¯s Deific Essence. He needed even greater power.


    <i>¡®But how?¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun¡¯s Qi consumption rate was astronomically faster than the rate of umtion.


    <i>¡®Wait.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun¡¯s eyes widened. His breaths were an act to absorb and store Qi from within the atmosphere.


    <i>¡®Why do I have to store it inside me?¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun felt as if he had been struck by a lightning bolt. If Qi was within the atmosphere, why did he need to go out of his way to absorb it by breathing before using it?


    <i>¡®What if I just... use the Qi straight from the atmosphere?¡¯</i>


    If he could, his internal Qi or his dantian would not matter.


    <i>¡®No... even my body... has never held any meaning.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun had been shackled by his physical form. It was only natural since he was a human with a physical body. He spent his entire life seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and tasting. However, Qi was different; it was all around them. There was no point in confining it in a body. The only reason why Si-Hun had confined the Qi within himself to use it until now was because he simply did not know how to effectively use the energy.


    <i>¡®But now...¡¯</i>


    He was different. He already knew how to freely use the Qi within the atmosphere. He had already surpassed the concept of having a dantian and was able to use the energy of nature.


    <i>¡®I simply never used it until now.¡¯</i>


    He was finally able to understand the meaning behind the words <i>Mind¡¯s Sword</i>. It was nothing superficial like infusing energy into his bloodlust or cutting with just his willpower.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s to... abandon my body. My dantian.¡¯</i>


    It was to escape his physical form and be one with the world¡¯s energy. It was to control the boundless energy only with his <i>mind</i>. That was the essence of Mind¡¯s Sword.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [You have fully assimted with Martial God Tian Taihuang!]


    [You have realized the Mind¡¯s Sword.]


    [You have reached the initial stage of the Transcendent Realm!]


    [Granting the title ¡®Sword of Heaven¡¯ as per the Law of Titans!]


    [You have acquired the Upper Intermediate-rank Deific Essence ¡®Heavenly Sword¡¯!]


    ¡°Haaa.¡±


    <i>Whaaaam!</i>


    Immense energy raged along with a barrage of message windows. Blinding blue light swirled around Si-Hun.


    ***


    ¡°Shall I go see how Si-Hun¡¯s doing?¡±


    Kang-Woo, who purged the stamens from his mind with the help of Han Seol-Ah, headed to the Hall of Protection.


    <i>¡®He should be in the middle of training about now.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was sure that Si-Hun would be isting himself in the training room, training frantically.


    <i>¡®I should cheer him up so that he doesn¡¯t push himself too hard.¡¯</i>


    It was not good to push Si-Hun over the edge; Kang-Woo was working to provide Si-Hun with just the right amount of stimtion.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see...¡±


    Kang-Woo passed through a Gate to enter the Hall of Protection and headed toward the training room.


    <i>¡®Huh?¡¯</i>


    Just then, he felt a Deific Essence that he had never felt before.


    <i>¡®Has a god manifested?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo frowned aggressively and quickened his steps toward the training room.


    <i>Boom! Crash!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh! <i>Cough!</i>¡±


    There, Kang-Woo saw Tae-Hyun getting pummeled by Si-Hun¡¯s sword shes.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened. An unrealistic sight was happening before his very eyes. He couldn¡¯t believe Tae-Hyun and Si-Hun were fighting out of the blue, but the flow of the battle was even more unbelievable. Si-Hun, who had been floored by Tae-Hyun only a week ago, was overpowering Tae-Hyun as if it had never happened.


    <i>¡®Deific Essence. It¡¯s Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun was blocking Si-Hun¡¯s attacks with his foresight ability but was unable to block thempletely. The only way this could be possible was if both of them possessed Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun finally awakened Deific Essence!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s mouth was left agape. It had only been a day since he had provided Si-Hun with stimtion. Si-Hun had achieved what Kang-Woo had expected him to take around three months at least, a year at most.


    <i>¡®I knew it was the right choice to stick with the Si-Hun Coin!¡¯</i>


    This was likely how an investor felt when their stock price rose tripled in just one day that they bought it.


    <i>¡®It''s not over yet.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun was getting stronger with each passing moment now that he acquired Deific Essence, proven by the blue energy wrapping him getting thicker. Kang-Woo clenched his fists.


    <i>¡®Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!!¡¯</i>


    To the moooooooooooon!!!!

 Chapter 461 - Surpassing the Wall (3)

    <h4>Chapter 461 - Surpassing the Wall (3)</h4>


    <i>ng! ng!</i>


    A sword enveloped in blue light ripped space apart. Kim Tae-Hyun barely blocked the sword with his dagger but was blown back from the impact.


    ¡°Haaa.¡± Kim Si-Hun momentarily stopped attacking and took a deep breath in.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m vanishing.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun felt like he was melting away into thin air like ice cream on a hot summer day. The feeling of his sword in his hand as well as the sensation of swinging his arm and stomping his feet felt different from usual. It was like he was controlling a game avatar; it felt like his soul had left his body and was controlling his body from above. His body felt nonexistent, leaving him with only his consciousness.


    <i>ng!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    There was no point in using martial arts. As soon as he thought of attacking, the Qi around him responded to his will. His Qi which had been depleted before was overflowing; it was like the ocean was his energy source.


    <i>¡®This must be... Deific Essence.¡¯</i>


    It was the absolute power that separated gods from mortals. Si-Hun trembled from the power filling him to the brim. However, he did not know that this power was not given to him because he acquired Deific Essence.


    Deific Essence was merely a byproduct of the power that he had realized. He had reached a realm that beings such as Zeus and Thor, who had been born with Deific Essence, could never reach. The overpowering majesty of one who acquired Deific Essence on their own was pouring out from Si-Hun.


    <i>ng¡ª!!</i>


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Tae-Hyun panted heavily.


    <i>¡®How?¡¯</i>


    The situation changed from the moment that blue energy burst from Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®I can see the future, so how am I getting pushed back this hard?¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun aggressively bit his lip. He gripped the dagger that he was holding in a reverse grip harder and activated Foresight to its limit.


    <i>¡®I can see it.¡¯</i>


    He could see every single one of Si-Hun¡¯s movements as well as how and where he would attack.


    <i>Wham!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    However, knowing the future was not enough to deal with Si-Hun¡¯s attacks. The moment that Tae-Hyun blocked with his dagger, the massive impact destroyed his stance.


    ¡°Why, why, why?!¡± Tae-Hyun shouted as if he couldn¡¯t understand.


    Although Si-Hun had powered up in the moment of crisis, it did not change the fact that Tae-Hyun had the upper hand. Tae-Hyun himself did not know it but his Deific Essence was not normal. It was that of the Titans, power that not even those who had acquired Deific Essence on their own could ever possess. Tae-Hyun was objectively faster and stronger than Si-Hun, and he even possessed the ability to look into the future.


    <i>¡®But I can¡¯t block his attacks.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun panted heavily as he frantically swung his dagger. There was a fundamental difference in skill between Tae-Hyun and Si-Hun. No matter how strong the power that Tae-Hyun possessed was, he was unable to use it to its full potential because hecked the skill to.


    <i>¡®At this rate...¡¯</i> Tae-Hyun¡¯s expression was dyed with anxiety. <i>¡®Again...¡¯</i>


    He recalled the day that he awakened as a yer and excitedly went to the yer Registration Office. He recalled the gazes of disdain and the voices filled with pity, telling him that he wouldn¡¯t amount to anything and that he should give up.


    <i>¡®Kang-Woo hyung.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun clenched his dagger almost to the point that it could break. Kang-Woo was the one who relighted his dream that he was about to give up; Kang-Woo was his idol as well as his messiah.


    <i>¡®I...¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun¡¯s dagger was blown away from his hand and he tumbled backward.


    ¡°Fuuu.¡±


    Si-Hun caught his breath as he stared at Tae-Hyun copsed on the ground. His body was screaming at him that he had not yet managed to fully realize his enlightenment, but he couldn¡¯t attack someone on the ground.


    ¡°Let¡¯s end the d¡ª¡±


    As Si-Hun was about to end the duel, Tae-Hyun stood back up as he staggered.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa.¡±


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    Tae-Hyun¡¯s ne began to burn brightly.


    ¡°Wh-What¡¯s happening...?¡± Tae-Hyun, who did not seem to know what was going on either, grabbed his ne in perplexity.


    <i>Crackle.</i>


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    The scenery changed.


    <i>¡®What is this?¡¯</i>


    The world was filled with gray static as if Tae-Hyun were staring at a broken TV monitor. He saw ruins of destroyed buildings. The sky was burning red and thend was distorted.


    There were countless corpses around him. A thousand? Ten thousand? No, there was an entire mountain¡¯s worth of corpses. It was as if he were looking at a sea of corpses.


    <i>¡®A-Aaaahh.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun¡¯s expression turned pale. A chilling sense of fear took over him. There was someone atop the sea of corpses.


    <i>¡®Who¡¯s... there?¡¯</i>


    <i>Crackle¡ª!!!</i>


    The gray static filled Tae-Hyun¡¯s vision again.


    ¡°<i>Gasp!</i>¡± Tae-Hyun gasped for breath, still grabbing the ne.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    The light pouring out from the Eye of Nostrian entered his body before he could even think about what he had just seen.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [Strengthening the effect of the ¡®Eye of Nostrian.¡¯]


    [Strengthening the ability of ¡®Foresight.¡¯]


    Blue message windows popped up at the same time that blood vessels bulged around Tae-Hyun¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°H-Haha.¡±


    Great power filled him to the point that Tae-Hyun forgot about what he had just seen. He leaped toward Si-Hun as he reveled in the overwhelming power.


    ¡°Ngh...!¡± Si-Hun grunted.


    Just like how Si-Hun awakened Deific Essence during their battle, Tae-Hyun also powered up all of a sudden. Tae-Hyun, who had been on the defensive this entire time, went on the offensive.


    ¡°Kuh!¡±


    The problem was that every single one of his attacks was dangerous. It felt as if Tae-Hyun had aplete understanding of Si-Hun¡¯s movements.


    <i>¡®Five seconds? Seven? No...¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun seemed to be predicting Si-Hun¡¯s movements up to at least ten seconds forward in time.


    ¡°Fuuu, fuuu,¡± Si-Hun exhaled heavily.


    He gripped his blue sword tightly and closed his eyes.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no need to be flustered.¡¯</i>


    Whether or not Tae-Hyun could see five or ten seconds into the future, it did not change what Si-Hun needed to do. Si-Hun slowly opened his eyes again and dragged into him as much of the infinite Qi around him as possible.


    <i>¡®It doesn¡¯t matter if he can see the future.¡¯</i>


    He would attack Tae-Hyun with something that he wouldn¡¯t be able to block even if he knew that it wasing.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    The entire training room shook. The blue light around Si-Hun grewrger. Si-Hun trembled in ecstasy. His enlightenment was melting into his sword at an extraordinary rate.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [Raising the stage of Mind¡¯s Sword!]


    [Promoting yer Kim Si-Hun¡¯s Deific Essence rank from Upper Intermediate to High!]


    Si-Hun possessed a deep understanding of martial arts. He had reached a realm that could not be reached by those who were born with Deific Essence. And now, he had an opponent whom he could unleash his martial arts understanding against. These three things were elerating his growth at an exponential rate.


    ***


    <i>¡®Jesus Christ... His growth is as uncontroble as an eight-tonne truck with its brakes broken.¡¯</i>


    Oh Kang-Woo was watching the duel between Si-Hun and Tae-Hyun with his mouth agape. Tae-Hyun also grew stronger during the duel, but that was ultimately thanks to his item; he could not bepared to Si-Hun, who managed to grow by surpassing his limits.


    <i>¡®Yes! That¡¯s it!!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists as he watched Si-Hun¡¯s explosive growth and closed his eyes.


    <i>¡®I knew I was right.¡¯</i>


    It was the right decision to bet on the Si-Hun Coin than the risky Tae-Hyun Coin.


    <i>¡®There have been tons of tropes where protagonists get stronger by pure lucktely, but they can¡¯t hold a candle to a traditional protagonist.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had no idea who gave Tae-Hyun that absurd power, but in the end, the power was not Tae-Hyun¡¯s. Just like how someone who got rich overnight from winning the lottery couldn¡¯tpare to someone with a sessful business, Tae-Hyun could never surpass Si-Hun.


    <i>Bang! Rumble¡ª! Boom!!</i>


    The training room was falling apart¡ª No, it would have already been obliterated if Kang-Woo hadn¡¯t set up a protective barrier of demonic energy in the middle of the battle.


    ¡°Mm...¡± Kang-Woo groaned as he watched the battle that was getting more violent.


    <i>¡®They¡¯re starting to get a bit too aggressive.¡¯</i>


    Both Si-Hun who was going past his limits and Tae-Hyun who was enveloped in the light pouring out of the ne were exuding bloodlust as if they were trying to kill each other.


    <i>¡®And Si-Hun¡¯s body looks like it has reached its limit.¡¯</i>


    Although Si-Hun had surpassed the wall blocking his growth, it did not mean that he had fully recovered his health like a game character after leveling up. Si-Hun¡¯s body was at its limit¡ª no, it had passed its limit and was falling apart little by little.


    <i>¡®This is enough.¡¯</i>


    It was dangerous to let the battle go on any longer. In the worst-case scenario, he could lose both Si-Hun and Tae-Hyun.


    <i>¡®I should step in.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had already decided on his lines to say to Si-Hun, so all that remained was to barge into the training room and stop their battle. Kang-Woo waited for the right time.


    ¡°<i>Cough, cough!</i>¡±


    Just then, Si-Hun put his hand over his mouth and began to cough up blood.


    His body was unable to handle the excessive load and was falling apart.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Kang-Woo cursed as he was waiting for the right time.


    It was not the time to wait; Si-Hun¡¯s body was in far worse condition than Kang-Woo had expected.


    <i>m!</i>


    ¡°Si-Hun!!¡± Kang-Woo mmed open the training room door and ran to Si-Hun.


    ¡°Hyung... nim?¡±


    Si-Hun¡¯s eyes widened as he watched Kang-Woo who suddenly appeared. Kang-Woo embraced Si-Hun as he copsed. He could feel the abundant Divinity within Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®This is...¡¯</i>


    It was at least High-rank Deific Essence; not just that, it was one that Si-Hun acquired himself!


    <i>¡®Hell fucking yeah!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo knew that Si-Hun had awakened Deific Essence, but he had never expected for its rank to be so high from the start. Kang-Woo shed tears as he held Si-Hun.


    ¡°The Si-Hun Coin has gone through the roof!!¡±


    <i>¡®Who gives a shit about Deific Essence?!¡¯</i>


    ¡°Pardon?¡± Si-Hun asked.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Error! Error!


    ¡°Wh-Who gives a shit about Deific Essence?!¡±


    ¡°Umm... Hyung-nim?¡±


    ¡°Why are you trying to get stronger to the point that you¡¯re destroying yourself like this?!¡±


    ¡°Hyung.¡±


    ¡°Si-Hun...¡± Tears trickled down Kang-Woo¡¯s cheeks and fell on Si-Hun¡¯s face. ¡°Even without that... you¡¯re my precious little brother...¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s tears did not stop as he held Si-Hun in his arms.

 Chapter 462 - How Would You Like To Receive The Blessing Of Light?

    <h4>Chapter 462 - How Would You Like To Receive The Blessing Of Light?</h4>


    <i>¡®Am I fucked?¡¯</i>


    The cold sweat covering Oh Kang-Wo¡¯s back was drenching his clothes. He had gotten way too excited because Kim Si-Hun¡¯s Deific Essence reached a rank far higher than he expected. Kang-Woo made a terrible blunder in a situation where the heart was crucial. Kang-Woo stared at Si-Hun anxiously.


    ¡°H-Hyung...¡± Si-Hun was looking up at Kang-Woo in confusion. His eyes were hazy as if he were half asleep. ¡°Wh-Why are you here...?¡±


    He was stuttering as if he could barely talk or listen, likely due to being in critical condition.


    <i>¡®Fucking safe. No, I shouldn¡¯t be happy.¡¯</i>


    It meant that Si-Hun¡¯s condition was so bad that he could barely hear anything. Kang-Woo bit open his finger without hesitation and let his blood flow into Si-Hun¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa.¡±


    Si-Hun¡¯s paleplexion returned to its normal color. Si-Hun bit his lip as he panted heavily.


    ¡°Si-Hun.¡±


    Si-Hun remained silent as Kang-Woo called him.


    Kang-Woo made a fist and said in a trembling tone, ¡°What the hell were you doing until you ended up like this?¡±


    ¡°W-Well...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare bullshit me that it was a duel. Anyone could see that it wasn¡¯t.¡±


    Si-Hun flinched. It had initially been a duel, but both Si-Hun and Kim Tae-Hyun had lost their sense of reason the more it went on and turned into a deathmatch. No organization was fond of internal conflicts; the duel between him and Tae-Hyun crossed the line.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Si-Hun lowered his head in dejection.


    Kang-Woo bit his lip aggressively and looked down at Si-Hun in rage. ¡°Was it... because of Deific Essence?


    ¡°Did you push yourself until you almost died... for something as meaningless as Deific Essence?¡±


    Si-Hun turned away from Kang-Woo¡¯s rage-filled gaze and answered, ¡°It¡¯s... not meaningless.


    ¡°Without Deific Essence... I can¡¯t help you in any way, hyung-nim. I can¡¯t... lessen the weight on your shoulders.¡±


    Beings with Deific Essence were able to do as they liked after being freed from the Law of Titans. Gods of Earth as well as outer gods would begin to covet Earth. Having no Deific Essence in a situation like this was practically the same as leaving everything to Kang-Woo.


    ¡°I...¡± Si-Hun bit his lip and continued, ¡°Want to stay... as your little brother.¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened. He had never imagined that Si-Hun would be thinking this way. He looked at Si-Hun in sorrow.


    ¡°Have I... ever said that you won¡¯t be my little brother anymore if you don¡¯t have Deific Essence?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Did I ever say that I don¡¯t need you if you¡¯re useless to me?¡±


    ¡°Th-That¡¯s...!¡±


    ¡°Si-Hun,¡± Kang-Woo interjected. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a family. I¡¯ve never seen my parents and I¡¯ve always been alone since I was born.¡±


    Si-Hun knew this already.


    ¡°You¡¯re the first family that I ever had,¡± Kang-Woo said.


    Si-Hun¡¯s eyes widened. The word <i>family </i>impacted him greatly. Family was always associated with despair for Si-Hun as well as a nightmare that gued his life¡ª until he met Kang-Woo, that was.


    ¡°Who gives a shit about Deific Essence? What does it matter whether you¡¯re of help or not?¡± Kang-Woo hugged Si-Hun tighter. He continued with a subtly trembling voice, ¡°Even without that...¡±


    Even without Deific Essence, even if Si-Hun would no longer be of help in battle...


    ¡°You¡¯re... my one and only little brother.¡±


    Si-Hun teared up. ¡°H-Hyung-nim... No, hyung.¡±


    Hearing that he was Kang-Woo¡¯s one and only little brother touched him deeply.


    ¡°Get some rest.¡±


    Kang-Woo covered Si-Hun¡¯s eyes. Si-Hun fell asleep like a puppet with its strings detached, likely because his fatigue had reached its limit.


    Silence fell in the training room. Kang-Woo slowly turned to look at Tae-Hyun, who was crouching with his hands on his eyes with blood vessels bulging around it. The physical burden seemed to have been great from using Foresight past its limit.


    ¡°Tae-Hyun,¡± Kang-Woo called him formally.[1]


    Tae-Hyun, who was covering his eyes, looked up in confusion. ¡°H-Hyung.¡±


    ¡°Why did you fight Si-Hun to the point that he ended up like that?¡±


    Tae-Hyun remained silent, unable to make any excuses. He had taunted Si-Hun to fight, knowing that Si-Hun had just finished his training. He averted his gaze from Kang-Woo and slurred, ¡°W-Well...¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, you treated Si-Hun aggressively from the beginning.¡±


    ¡°H-Hyung.¡±


    ¡°Please do not call me hyung,¡± Kang-Woo replied fiercely. Tae-Hyun flinched in pallor. ¡°There is no reason for me to be called hyung by someone who hurts my family.¡±


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo hyung.¡±


    Tae-Hyun reached out for Kang-Woo with a stiff expression. Kang-Woo coldly pped his hand away.


    Tae-Hyun kneeled in pallor and lowered his head. He shouted, ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m... so sorry.¡±


    Tae-Hyun shed tears as his shoulders trembled. ¡°I was... jealous.¡±


    He had been jealous of Si-Hun, who had everything that he desired but couldn¡¯t have.


    Silence fell again. Tae-Hyun stood back up and bowed to Kang-Woo. He took out a token in the shape of a shield from his pocket and handed it to Kang-Woo.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I will never... show myself to Guardians again.¡±


    Tae-Hyun expected that he wouldn¡¯t be able to stay in Guardians after pulling something like this. He bowed once again and turned around.


    Kang-Woo stared at Tae-Hyun¡¯s back in silence. ¡°Fuuu.¡±


    He sighed and grabbed Tae-Hyun¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Tae-Hyun.¡±[2]


    ¡°H-Hyung?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better apologize to Si-Hunter, got it?¡±


    ¡°O-Okay! I got it!¡± Tae-Hyun quickly nodded with an expression much brighter than before.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and lightly flicked Tae-Hyun¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Ouch.¡±


    ¡°You look like you pushed yourself a bit too far as well, so get some rest. I¡¯ll set a time and ce for you to talk things through with Si-Hunter.¡±


    ¡°Hehe. Okay, hyung.¡± Tae-Hyun giggled as he gripped his forehead.


    Once Tae-Hyun left, Kang-Woo lifted Si-Hun.


    The corners of his mouth rose and he licked his lips with his long tongue.


    <i>¡®With this, Si-Hun has awakened Deific Essence and Tae-Hyun can no longer defy me. Tae-Hyun¡¯s ability seems to have gotten stronger as well.¡¯</i>


    Possibly due to it having been a sh between protagonists, the two of them powered up one after the other when it would have been difficult for a regr yer to do so.


    ¡°Pfft. Bwehehehehe!!¡±


    A vulgarughter echoed within the training room.


    ***


    Si-Hun and Tae-Hyun were unable to avoid incapacitation after their aggressive bout. Since the duel had been closer to a death match, their wounds were naturally very deep.


    ¡°Shit,¡± Kang-Woo cursed as he entered his room.


    He copsed on his bed in exhaustion. He had no choice but to fill the vacancies that Si-Hun and Tae-Hyun while they were recuperating. Resolving the abnormal Gate phenomena that were urring one after the other was draining Kang-Woo mentally.


    ¡°I¡¯m so goddamn tired.¡±


    Kang-Woo sighed deeply. He already had a mountain load of things to do even without resolving Gate issues.


    <i>¡®I have to deal with the Church of Splendor too.¡¯</i>


    He had heard from Lilith that the Church of Splendor¡¯s influence was spreading at incredible speed on Earth as well due to the active interactions between Earth and Aernor.


    The reason was obvious. With Earth¡¯s protection gone, monsters from all over the world began to run wild, and several abnormal Gate phenomena were being spotted per day. Not only were new Gates being formed, but new monsters never seen before were also appearing from them.


    Kang-Woo had expected this to happen now that the dangers of otherworldly invasions were looming over them, but this was more than he had expected. The victim count was growingrger despite the entire force of Guardians doing their best to eliminate the monsters. When the world was in such a crisis, there was no way that the Church of Splendor wouldn¡¯t grow when simply putting one¡¯s faith in the God of Splendor would give them power.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t leave an opportunity as good as this unused.¡¯</i>


    If the Church of Splendor sessfully took off on Earth, Kang-Woo would gain hundreds of millions of devotees. He needed to seize the opportunity since he was able to convert faith to Divinity, but he had no leeway to pay it any attention due to Si-Hun and Tae-Hyun¡¯s incapacitation.


    ¡°I need someone with Deific Essence.¡±


    He would have liked to borrow the power of the gods, but they did not have the leeway to help him because they were busy enough to keep the chaotic divine realm under control.


    <i>¡®What should I do?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo needed a way to control the growing Church of Splendor and make an ally with Deific Essence at the same time.


    ¡°I guess this is the only way.¡±


    <i>¡®I need to make an incarnation.¡¯</i>


    He needed someone who would control the Church of Splendor in his ce.


    ¡°Mm...¡±


    Kang-Woo fell into thought with his arms crossed. If he made an incarnation, he could let them borrow a portion of his Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®But the problem is that it would be far less powerful than if they acquire Deific Essence on their own.¡¯</i>


    Han Seol-Ah and La were not very powerful despite possessing Deific Essence because their Deific Essence was borrowed.


    <i>¡®But it can¡¯t be helped.¡¯</i>


    The difference between having Deific Essence and not having it was far too great. Not only that but those who acquired Deific Essence by themselves could be counted with two hands even afterbing through the history of the entire world. Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t afford to wait for such a rarity to happen.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s a limit to hodling</i>[3]<i>.¡¯</i>


    Even Si-Hun only managed to awaken Deific Essence a few days ago. It was far too inefficient to wait for his otherrades to awaken it.


    <i>¡®Who should I choose?¡¯</i>


    Seol-Ah and La were out of the question since they already possessed Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®Balrog?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo thought of his subordinate whom he had spent a millennium fighting together with.


    He shook his head after much thought.


    <i>¡®Balrog has the possibility of awakening Deific Essence on his own.¡¯</i>


    Balrog had surpassed a demon¡¯s innate limits and acquired a new power known as Overlord Armor. If he earned Deific Essence without any cost, his growth would stop then and there like Kang-Woo had feared would happen with Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®I need to choose someone with absolutely no possibility of awakening Deific Essence on their own.¡¯</i>


    It sounded cruel but no matter how hard one worked, only a select few were able to surpass their limits.


    ¡°Then who should I¡ª¡±


    <i>ck.</i>


    ¡°Huh? It¡¯s rare to see you in your room.¡± A red-haired woman entered his room. ¡°Hey, about the monster that appeared in Yeongdeungpo¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yeon-Joo.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Kang-Woo grabbed Cha Yeon-Joo by the shoulders and stared at her sincerely.


    ¡°Wh-What¡¯s up with you?¡±


    Yeon-Joo backed away with red cheeks.


    Kang-Woo continued in a low tone, ¡°How would you like to receive the blessing of light?¡±


    ¡°Huh? What the fuck are you talking about?¡±


    1. This can¡¯t really be reflected in English but just know that Kang-Woo started to talk to Tae-Hyun as if they were strangers. ?


    2. Kang-Woo is back to using casual speech. ?


    3. HODL is a crypto term (hold on for dear life) that refers to the strategy of not selling your assets even amid extreme price changes in the market. ?

 Chapter 463 - Soulmate

    <h4>Chapter 463 - Soulmate</h4>


    ¡°You want me to be your incarnation?¡± asked Cha Yeon-Joo as she snorted after hearing a quick exnation from Oh Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo nodded and replied, ¡°Yeah.¡±


    He had thought about Echidna, Halcyon, and others as candidates as well, but there was no one better than Yeon-Joo as his incarnation.


    <i>¡®She¡¯s not one to be pushed around by anyone.¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s ability to freely control chains allowed her to attack at all ranges.


    <i>¡®She¡¯s unmatched in terms of weapon versatility.¡¯</i>


    There weren¡¯t many people who used weapons as unique as chains, so dealing with them was tricky. She was also capable of wide-area attacks, unlikemon weapons like swords and spears.


    <i>¡®I need someone who can wipe out monsters quickly to stop the abnormal phenomena of Gate monsters.¡¯</i>


    If the power of Divinity was added to the chains made with Behemoth¡¯s horn that contained the power of Deicide, the ability to kill gods, regr monsters would be torn apart like pieces of paper. But of course, Yeoon-Joo also had her ws.


    <i>¡®She¡¯s weak in one-on-one battles.¡¯</i>


    Although Yeon-Joo was very strong, chains in and of itself were a disadvantageous weapon against one opponent. It allowed her to perform wide-area attacks but the power contained in each chain was weak. It was effective against those who couldn¡¯t properly deal with attacks that came at them from all sides, but it was useless against those at the level of Kim Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®But that doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo did not expect her to go on death matches against powerful individual opponents.


    <i>¡®I just need her to wipe out the swarm of monsters.¡¯</i>


    It sounded cruel but Kang-Woo could not expect anything more from her. No matter how hard she tried, she would never rise to be on the same level as Si-Hun.


    ¡°What changes if I be your incarnation?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    ¡°You can borrow my Deific Essence.¡±


    ¡°Your Deific Essence?¡±


    Kang-Woo lightly nodded. Unlike apostles who could only be granted buffs and blessings by using a certain amount of Divinity, incarnations were able to be given a portion of the god¡¯s Deific Essence. In other words, they were able to use Deific Essence at no cost to them.


    ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡± asked Yeon-Joo anxiously.


    She did not know much about incarnations, so she seemed to be thinking that it came at a cost.


    <i>¡®Well, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s no cost whatsoever.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smirked and answered, ¡°You¡¯ll be my soulmate from now on.¡±


    Once Yeon-Joo became Kang-Woo¡¯s incarnation, they would be directly affected by each other¡¯s conditions. For example, Gaia¡¯s severe injury led La, Gaia¡¯s incarnation, to lose her eyesight and function in her legs. The incarnation getting critically injured or dying also affected the god, to the point that those with low-rank Deific Essence were either demoted in rank or annihted.


    <i>¡®Well, simply speaking, if I die, she dies too.¡¯</i>


    Soulmate was the perfect term to describe their rtionship.


    ¡°Wh-What?¡± Yeon-Joo¡¯s eyes widened with her mouth agape.


    Her face reddened to the point that it could explode. She kicked Kang-Woo in the groin.


    ng!


    ¡°Argh!¡± Yeon-Joo screamed.


    Kang-Woo¡¯s Deific Essence barrier automatically activated and blew Yeon-Joo¡¯s leg back with a metallic sound.


    ¡°You fucking...¡± Yeon-Joo red at Kang-Woo as she grabbed her ankle.


    Kang-Woo shrugged and continued, ¡°This is why you need Deific Essence.¡±


    Yeon-Joo bit her lip and turned her head away from him. She stuttered, ¡°S-So the catch is... I have to be your s-soulmate?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Kang-Woo nodded without hesitation.


    The rtionship between a god and their incarnation was like the one between a demon and their Familiar. A master-servant rtionship was more urate than referring to it as a soulmate, but Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t tell Yeon-Joo to be his servant.


    ¡°Y-You filthy bastard!¡± Yeon-Joo clenched her fists and trembled. ¡°I knew you were scum, but... I-I never thought you would do something like this...¡±


    She crossed her arms to cover her breasts and crouched as she red at Kang-Woo with rage. Kang-Woo was confused by her reaction.


    ¡°I beg your pardon?¡±


    <i>¡®What are you talking about?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Y-You son of a bitch! Motherfucker!¡±


    <i>¡®What the fuck did I do so wrong? I told you that I¡¯ll make you my incarnation! You¡¯ll get Deific Essence for free!¡¯</i>


    ¡°Y-You fucking pervert! S-Seol-Ah and Lilith weren¡¯t enough for you? Y-You¡¯re even aiming for me...!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    <i>¡®What the fuck have you been saying since earlier?¡¯</i>


    ¡°H-Hmph! I knew this would happen from the beginning!¡±


    <i>¡®Know fucking what?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Y-You scumbag!!¡±


    Yeon-Joo took off her jacket and threw it at Kang-Woo, who let himself be hit by it in the face and caught it as it fell. He was even more perplexed than before.


    <i>¡®What in the world is up with her? Does she hate being an incarnation that badly?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Fuuu, fuuu,¡± Yeon-Joo took deep breaths with her hand on her chest. She gulped and said, ¡°... Fine.¡±


    She nodded in silence and shut her eyes tightly. She then began to lift her T-shirt little by little.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    <i>¡®Why is she taking off her clothes all of a sudden?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at Yeon-Joo in confusion.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    He managed to figure out what she was misunderstanding soon after.


    <i>¡®Fucking hell, what does she take me for?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo feignedughter, being put in a situation that would bemon in the mangas that La would like.


    <i>¡®I guess my use of the term soulmate was the issue.¡¯</i>


    He had not noticed since he did not have that sort of intention in any way whatsoever, but he could understand how it could have caused the misunderstanding after thinking about it.


    ¡°<i>Sniff...</i> Y-You piece of shit.¡±


    Yeon-Joo lifted her shirt even more as tears flowed down her cheeks. Unlike her words expressing displeasure, her facial expression was filled with anticipation for some reason.


    <i>¡®Mm... When should I stop her?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo knew that he needed to stop Yeon-Joo from going off on her own, but he hesitated for obvious reasons. He stared at Yeon-Joo with deeply sunken eyes and clenched his fists.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s way too entertaining to just... stop her here, isn¡¯t it? Right? I¡¯m not the weird one, right? This is fun, right? I can¡¯t just let it end here, right?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo kept the corners of his mouth lowered with all his might.


    ¡°U-Urgh.¡±


    Yeon-Joo was subtly trembling, not able to lift her shirt any higher than her waist. Kang-Woo stood up and approached her. He slowly ced his hand on Yeon-Joo¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°Hngh!¡± Yeon-Joo flinched. She red at Kang-Woo with teary eyes. ¡°I-I¡¯ll never forget about what you¡¯re going to do to me today.¡±


    She then closed her eyes and protruded her lips.


    <i>¡®A-Aaaahh.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was filled with ecstasy and he trembled in delight as he panted heavily.


    <i>¡®My god, what should I fucking do? This is so goddamn fun.¡¯</i>


    He knew that he needed to stop, but his body refused his mind and moved on its own. Kang-Woo smiled, slowly moved his hand on her cheek to her nape, and tilted his head.


    ¡°H-Hurghhh.¡± Yeon-Joo trembled with her eyes closed.


    Kang-Woo brought his mouth close to her ear and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll make you a memory... that you¡¯ll never forget even if you want to.¡±


    Kang-Woo could hear Yeon-Joo¡¯s teeth cking from inside her mouth. She wept sorrowfully with her eyes closed.


    ¡°You idiot. Wh-Why would you... so forcefully...¡± Tears flowed down her cheeks one drop after another. She mumbled, ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do this... As long as you properly confessed, I would have...¡±


    Kang-Woo looked down at the crying Yeon-Joo andmanded in a low tone, ¡°Lay on the bed.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I will nowmence the incarnation ritual.¡±


    ¡°R-Ritual, my ass... You scumbag.¡±


    Yeon-Joo was about to take off her shirt but Kang-Woo pulled her arms down and shook his head.


    ¡°What? You want to take them off yourself, is that it?¡± Yeon-Joo stared daggers at Kang-Woo. She snorted as if the situation was trivial and sat on the bed. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯ve sure grown, my little Kang-Woo~ Hm? The ten millennia virgin has be a bona-fide yer, hasn¡¯t he?¡±


    Yeon-Joo was acting leisurely but her limbs were undoubtedly shaking. Kang-Woo approached Yeon-Joo in silence.


    ¡°Wh-What?¡± Yeon-Joo gulped as she looked up at him.


    Kang-Woo pushed Yeon-Joo down onto the bed by her shoulders.


    ¡°Kyaah!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Wh-What do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡±


    ¡°Now... Swear that you¡¯ll offer your body to the great God of Splendor.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What did you say?¡± Yeon-Joo looked up at Kang-Woo in shock. ¡°Y-You¡¯ve got some crazy fetishes...¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t say it, I can¡¯t make you my incarnation.¡±


    ¡°Ngh! Th-That¡¯s enough of your bullshit!¡± Yeon-Joo red at Kang-Woo in rage but sighed deeply soon after and said hesitantly, ¡°I-I offer my body... to the g-great.... God of Splendor.¡±


    ¡°Louder.¡±


    ¡°I-I offer my body!¡±


    ¡°Louder!!¡±


    ¡°I OFFER MY BODY!! TO THE GREAT!! GOD OF SPLENDOOOOOOOOR!!!¡±


    ¡°Good!¡±


    Kang-Woo snapped his finger and nodded. Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly because of the nonsensical situation.


    Kang-Woo snickered and continued, ¡°Now then, call me <i>oppa </i>with a cute voice.¡±


    ¡°O-Oppa.¡±


    ¡°Cuter!¡±


    ¡°O-Oppa~!¡±


    ¡°Pfft! Bwehehehehehe!!!¡±


    Unable to hold back hisughter, Kang-Woo rolled on the ground with his hands on his stomach.


    Yeon-Joo looked down in disdain at Kang-Woo rolling on the ground. She had an uneasy feeling from when Kang-Woo was saying things about the great God of Splendor.


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    ¡°Bwehehehehe!!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t fucking tell me, you...¡±


    ¡°Ahahaha!! Kehehehe.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not, right? It¡¯s fucking not, right? You tried to get with me by using Deific Essence as bait, right? Right? You weren¡¯t fucking with me, right?¡±


    ¡°Kehe, kehehehe, <i>As long as you properly confessed, I would have...</i> Pfft! What? You want me to confess?¡± Kang-Woo turned to Yeon-Joo and smiled brightly. ¡°Yeah, I was fucking with you.¡±


    <i>Kahaha.</i>


    <i>¡®Ahh. It¡¯s so fun. It¡¯s the most fun I¡¯ve ever had!¡¯</i>

 Chapter 464 - I Wonder What Color I Should Make The Chains?

    <h4>Chapter 464 - I Wonder What Color I Should Make The Chains?</h4>


    <i>Shatter!! Crunch, boom!</i>


    The windows shattered as things in the room were thrown everywhere.


    ¡°You motherfuckeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!!¡± the lioness with bloodshot eyes roared as she rampaged.


    <i>tter!</i>


    The chains with red thorns on them smacked Kang-Woo.


    <i>Bash!</i>


    Due to the chains containing the power of Deicide, Yeon-Joo¡¯s attack prated Kang-Woo¡¯s Deific Essence barrier and tore his clothes despite her not having Deific Essence yet. Kang-Woo bounced all over the room and was smashed into a wall.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡± Kang-Woo grunted as the chains smacked him.


    <i>¡®Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have made her that weapon.¡¯</i>


    The chains made with Behemoth¡¯s horn were getting through Kang-Woo¡¯s Deific Essence barrier and injuring him.


    ¡°Waaahh!! Y-You son of a bitch! Fucking bastard!!!¡± Yeon-Joo swung the chains around as she bawled her eyes out.


    He was capable of blocking her attacks but would feel guilty doing so because of how much she was crying.


    ¡°Hurgh! Waaaaaaaahhh!¡± Yeon-Joo kept crying as if it was the saddest day of her life.


    Kang-Woo scanned her calmly even while being chained and flung around all over the ce.


    <i>¡®Mm. I think I¡¯m fucked. Did I go too far?¡¯</i>


    His prank did not have malicious intentions but things were getting a little too serious; they had long since crossed the line of joking.


    <i>¡®But... I had no choice. What else should I have done in that situation? I¡¯ve done nothing wrong.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo could swear that anyone would have done the same as him if they were put in that situation.


    <i>Bash!</i>


    ¡°<i>Cough! Cough!</i>¡±


    The chains smacked him right on his chin. Kang-Woo gripped his chin because the blow hurt quite a bit this time.


    ¡°Huff, huff,¡± Yeon-Joo stopped attacking as she panted heavily.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Kang-Woo apologized.


    ¡°Shut up!!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault.¡±


    ¡°I said shut up!! I don¡¯t wanna hear it, motherfucker!!¡± Yeon-Joo screamed with her face zing red. She charged at Kang-Woo as she bared her teeth and raised her chains teary-eyed. ¡°I won¡¯t... forgive you.¡±


    Kang-Woo instinctively flinched as the bloodshot eyes of a lioness were pointed at him.


    <i>tter¡ª!</i>


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s chains moved like snakes and began to strangle Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡®Mm.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was left conflicted as he stared at Yeon-Joo chaining him.


    <i>¡®Should I just get out of them by force?¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo had yet to go through the incarnation ritual so she was merely a yer without Deific Essence. It was simple for him to break free from the chains. No, even if she became his incarnation, he would still be able to get out of these chains with ease.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    The chained Kang-Woo looked up at Yeon-Joo.


    ¡°<i>Huff, huff.</i> I-I won¡¯t forgive you,¡± she panted heavily, her expression filled with both humiliation and fury.


    She had gotten on top of the chained Kang-Woo and subtly trembled as she gulped. It seemed like she had no idea what to do now that she had gotten on top of him. The way that she was darting her eyes around was cute. Kang-Woo smiled.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll leave it be for a little longer.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had a feeling that he would see something even more entertaining. He thought that he had enough fun but thought otherwise after seeing Yeon-Joo being indecisive with her face as red as a tomato.


    <i>¡®A little more... Just a little more...¡¯</i>


    Desire was the most powerful drug. Kang-Woo looked up at Yeon-Joo in anticipation, staying put as he was chained.


    ¡°I-I won¡¯t forgive you!¡±


    Yeon-Joo bit her lip anxiously, not knowing what to do after Kang-Woo let himself be chained.


    ¡°Is that all you can say?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°N-Ngh!¡±


    A vein bulged from Yeon-Joo¡¯s forehead. She raised her fist as if she was about to punch Kang-Woo in the face.


    Silence fell. ¡°Hurgh, urgh.¡±


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s tears dropped on Kang-Woo¡¯s cheeks.


    ¡°You... scumbag.¡±


    She punched Kang-Woo¡¯s chest. They were closer to punches one would throw during a temper tantrum than what one would use to punch someone. Her shoulders were trembling pitifully.


    <i>¡®Mm.¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo expressed guilt. <i>¡®I guess I went too far.¡¯</i>


    He felt bad after seeing Yeon-Joo¡¯s tears.


    He grabbed Yeon-Joo¡¯s arm and said sincerely, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Yeon-Joo stopped punching Kang-Woo. She wiped her tears and red at him. ¡°I¡¯ll rip it off if you do this shit again.¡±


    <i>¡®Rip what off?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Haha. I swear I¡¯ll never do it again.¡± Kang-Woo smiled brightly and nodded.


    <i>¡®I should hold off on the teasing for the time being.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t help but feel bad seeing Yeon-Joo in this state.


    ¡°That aside.¡± Kang-Woo looked down at himself. ¡°Could you let me go now?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Only then did Yeon-Joo realize the position they were in. She was on top of the chained Kang-Woo; it did not look good in any context.


    ¡°Y-You goddamn pervert!¡± Yeon-Joo pped Kang-Woo.


    ¡°What? You¡¯re the one who chained me.¡±


    ¡°Wh-Whatever!¡±


    <i>ck.</i>


    As Yeon-Joo was about to get up in embarrassment, the door opened.


    ¡°Umm... I heard some loud noises. I-Is something going on?¡± Han Seol-Ah entered. ¡°Huh?¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes widened after seeing what was going on. Kang-Woo was on the ground in chains with Yeon-Joo on top of him. Anyone would be shocked to see such a thing.


    ¡°Darling...?¡±


    Kang-Woo was just as shocked as Seol-Ah was. He could imagine what she was thinking, seeing them in such a position.


    <i>¡®Wait, wait. Aren¡¯t we fucked? What the actual fuck?¡¯</i>


    The endless human desire caused them to repeat the same mistakes. Kang-Woo never expected that his desire to tease Yeon-Joo even more would result in an even worse situation.


    ¡°Kang-Woo...? What is... going on here?¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes lost their light. Her kind eyes turned as dark as that of a corpse.


    <i>¡®U-Uhhhhhhhhh, wait just a fucking minute. What do I do? Seriously, what the fuck do I do?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s mind was in shambles. His thoughts turned as nk as a sheet.


    ¡°S-Seol-Ah!¡± Yeon-Joo shouted.


    ¡°Yeon-Joo. Could you exin to me... what is going on here?¡±


    ¡°U-Umm...¡±


    Yeon-Joo was also trembling as she stuttered due to the sudden appearance of Seol-Ah. If this were an anime, her eyes would be spinning.


    After much thought, Yeon-Joo pointed at Kang-Woo and shouted, ¡°I-It was Kang-Woo¡¯s idea!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    <i>¡®What the fuck, bitch?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Kang-Woo said that he was interested in bondage! I was only helping him out!¡±


    <i>¡®What the fuck is with that bullshit, woman? You could¡¯vee up with a better excuse. No way that would work.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Kang-Woo is... interested in bondage?¡±


    <i>¡®Huh?¡¯</i>


    ¡°I-Is that true?¡± Seol-Ah asked.


    ¡°Y-Yeah! I was just letting him experience it because he was saying that he wanted to try it out with you next time!¡± Yeon-Joo imed.


    ¡°O-Oh my.¡±


    <i>¡®The fuck? Why is this working?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Kang-Woo... If it was something like that, you could¡¯ve just asked me...¡± Seol-Ah twisted around with her face reddened.


    <i>¡®Darling... Did you hurt your head? Why are you being convinced by such an obvious lie?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at Seol-Ah dumbfoundedly. He found the answer as he watched Seol-Ah imagining something with the corners of her mouth raised.


    <i>¡®Her desire must¡¯ve taken over her.¡¯</i>


    People often talked about men thinking with their groin when they were turned on, and that was exactly how Seol-Ah was acting right now. Her desire for bondage was farrger than the fact that Yeon-Joo and Kang-Woo were in a sexual position. No, it might have been because the one on top of Kang-Woo was Yeon-Joo.


    Seol-Ah¡¯s mad obsession was not something that couldn¡¯t distinguish between friend and foe. The key factor of her madness was her separation from Kang-Woo; the madness that she showed stemmed from her extreme fear of someone else taking Kang-Woo away from her forever. In the case of Lilith and Yeon-Joo, she trusted that Kang-Woo would not be taken from her even if Lilith or Yeon-Joo were to sleep with Kang-Woo. In other words, Lilith and Yeon-Joo were within the levels of Seol-Ah¡¯s approval.


    <i>¡®Right? Am I right? You¡¯re not gonna say some shit about cutting me equally between the three of you, right?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at Seol-Ah in desperation. He easily broke free from the chains and grabbed both of Seol-Ah¡¯s hands.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got it all wrong, Darling. What¡¯s really happening is¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Kang-Woo.¡±


    <i>¡®What¡¯s okay?¡¯</i>


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to hide it.¡±


    <i>¡®I never hid anything.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Whatever it is... I¡¯m ready to ept anything about you.¡±


    <i>¡®You¡¯re acting like this because you wanna do it, aren¡¯t you?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hehe,¡± Seol-Ah giggled and kissed Kang-Woo. ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll go finish making our meal.¡±


    She turned around as she hummed.


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Seol-Ah then turned back around as if she had remembered something. ¡°Yeon-Joo.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah?¡±


    Seol-Ah slowly approached Yeon-Joo and embraced her.


    She brought her mouth close to Yeon-Joo¡¯s ear and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t... stick too close to him, okay?¡±


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s face turned pale. Seol-Ah giggled with her mouth covering her mouth and turned around again.


    ¡°Well then, pleasee to the dining room in about thirty minutes,¡± Seol-Ah said as she hummed and headed to the door.


    ¡°Wait, Darl¡ª¡±


    ¡°I wonder what color I should make the chains?¡± Seol-Ah mumbled.


    <i>m.</i>


    The door closed. Kang-Woo¡¯s arm that was reaching out for the door was frozen.


    Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo exchanged nces.


    ¡°Uhh... Mm,¡± Yeon-Joo stammered. ¡°So, how do I be an incarnation?¡±


    She changed the subject.


    Kang-Woo lowered his head as he grabbed his hair.


    <i>¡®Fuck.¡¯</i>


    He was fucked.

 Chapter 465 - What’s This About?

    <h4>Chapter 465 - What¡¯s This About?</h4>


    ¡°... Umm, hello?


    ¡°Earth to Mr. Oh Kang-Woo?


    ¡°Hey, Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Oh Kang-Woo!¡± Cha Yeon-Joo smacked Kang-Woo on the back of the head. ¡°Ack!¡±


    Yeon-Joo yelled in pain as her hand rebounded due to the Deific Essence barrier.


    ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, what a stupidly broken power.¡±


    She saw again how amazing Deific Essence was. She would be lying if she said that she was not interested in the Deific Essence that she would get after bing an incarnation.


    <i>¡®Since I¡¯m... pretty much useless right now.¡¯</i>


    She did not ck off on her training, but she knew that she would never reach Kim Si-Hun or Balrog¡¯s level no matter how hard she worked. She was frustrated and angry, but the wall known as talent was so unsurpassable that she couldn¡¯t even approach it.


    <i>¡®I never thought the day woulde that I had a problem like this.¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo chuckled. Among regr yers, she was a prodigy who had awakened an S-rank Trait in her First Awakening. Just like how she was feeling the insurmountable gap between herself and Si-Hun, other yers also likely felt the same with her.


    <i>¡®I was merely a frog in the well.¡¯</i>


    She was forced to realize how meager her talent had been when she looked at the truly powerful like Kang-Woo and Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®But I know that they didn¡¯t earn their strength just because of talent.¡¯</i>


    Si-Hun trained to absurd levels every single day, and Kang-Woo had struggled to survive for ten millennia. Saying that they became that strong only because they were talented was a mockery to them.


    <i>¡®But if I can acquire Deific Essence...¡¯</i>


    If she was able to get even a few steps closer to them, she had a feeling that she would be freed at least a little from the powerlessness weighing her down.


    <i>¡®And...¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo coughed as she sneaked a peek at Kang-Woo, who had not yet managed to recover from the shock earlier, clenching his head. He couldn¡¯t look any more unreliable, but she did not find it all that bad.


    <i>¡®I-If I be his incarnation... will our souls be connected?¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo twisted around as she thought about La and then red at Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡®Fucking hell, he could¡¯ve just given it to me straight instead of saying shit like bing soulmates...¡¯</i>


    She was boiling with fury just thinking about what had happened earlier.


    ¡®Well, regardless.¡¯


    Her fury quelled soon after and was reced with happiness.


    <i>¡®If I be his incarnation... I guess we¡¯ll be able to spend some more time together.¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo was getting hot as all sorts of thoughts popped up in her head. The corners of her mouth had no intention ofing down.


    ¡°F-Fuck!¡±


    The smiling Yeon-Joo stepped back in surprise. She covered her mouth and stared at Kang-Woo wide-eyed.


    <i>¡®I must be fucking crazy! Why am I so happy about being able to spend more time with that sly, perverted virgin?! You¡¯re better than that, Cha Yeon-Joo. Did you forget what he did to you just now?¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo reprimanded her body for acting differently from how she was feeling.


    ¡°Fuuu, fuuu,¡± she took deep breaths to calm herself down. She hugged herself and crouched.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    He seemed to have regained his senses after Yeon-Joo cursed loudly; he was looking down at Yeon-Joo perplexedly.


    Veins bulged from Yeon-Joo¡¯s forehead. ¡°I should be asking you that question.¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    He couldn¡¯t say anything in retort since he had just been in panic mode as he clenched his hair.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll... think about Darlingter.¡¯</i>


    He got chills from seeing Han Seol-Ah wondering what color she should make the chains, but nothing would be resolved no matter how much he tried to exin to her what actually happened.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll have to wait until Darling¡¯s desire dies down a little.¡¯</i>


    The crisis might escte if he were to do anything before that.


    ¡°Haaa. Let¡¯s get back to the main topic.¡± Kang-Woo sighed and turned to Yeon-Joo.


    ¡°How do I be your incarnation?¡± asked Yeon-Joo as she pouted. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you if you say that shit about rituals or whatever.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha,¡± Kang-Woo softlyughed, reminded of what happened earlier. ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to do anything. Just ept my power without resistance.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°You might lose consciousness as your body turns into that of an incarnation, but... you won¡¯t be out ofmission for over a month like it had been for Iris.¡±


    Iris had taken a long time to be an incarnation because the process had been when the Law of Titans was still active, but now that the restrictions on the gods were gone, it would take nowhere near that amount of time.


    ¡°But why did you choose me as your incarnation? There are tons of people without Deific Essence,¡± Yeon-Joo asked with narrow eyes.


    Kang-Woo momentarily fell into thought about whether or not to tell her the truth.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s a bit harsh tell tell her that it was because you¡¯ll never acquire Deific Essence on your own.¡¯</i>


    To be honest, that was not the only reason; there were plenty of people who had no possibility of acquiring Deific Essence on their own, such as Echidna, Halcyon, Vaal Zahak, and Lilith. However, Kang-Woo had chosen Yeon-Joo for one simple reason.


    ¡°Because I trust you,¡± Kang-Woo stated.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not making an incarnation simply to give them Deific Essence.¡±


    ¡°Th-Then what?¡±


    ¡°You know that the Church of Splendor is slowly spreading throughout Earth, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve heard about it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like you to keep them under control.¡±


    Yeon-Joo may not look like it, but she was a born leader. If she wasn¡¯t, she would never have been able to create a massive guild like Red Rose no matter how high her Awakening Traits were.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t Lilith be a better fit for that kind of job?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    ¡°No. Lilith is extremely capable, but she¡¯s not a leader.¡±


    A leader needed charismatic qualities that allowed others to be naturally drawn to them even without forcing loyalty on them. Loyalty became meaningless the moment it was pressured on someone.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s an innate quality.¡¯</i>


    The charisma of a leader was simr to the Heavenly Martial Body in martial arts; it could not be learned.


    ¡°R-Really? Hmm. Hehe. I guess I can¡¯t argue with that.¡± Yeon-Joo shrugged as she giggled, feeling good from Kang-Woo¡¯spliments. However, she frowned soon after. ¡°... Wait, then do I have to say shit like <i>Ohmen </i>and preach like Iris does?¡±


    ¡°If the situation calls for it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do the ritual then.¡±


    ¡°You wanna die?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Haaa. Why do I have to praise a scumbag like you?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t force you to do it.¡±


    Kang-Woo needed an incarnation but had no intention of forcing anyone to do it.


    Yeon-Joo bit her lip as she mumbled curses and then plopped down on a chair. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled. ¡°I knew you would.¡±


    Yeon-Joo turned her head away in dissatisfaction. Kang-Woo smiled and approached her. He slowly ced his hand on her head and recalled the incarnation chant that he had heard in Olympus.


    ¡°Imand you in the name of my Deific Essence,¡± he chanted in a low tone.


    <i>Whoooom!!</i>


    Blinding golden light poured out of Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡®Draw out only Divinity.¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo would turn into a demon the moment that demonic energy mixed with the Divinity.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t let her be a demon.¡¯</i>


    The body of a demon caused one to endlessly desire. Kang-Woo knew better than anyone how agonizing it was to keep that in check. Telling a demon to suppress their desire was the same as telling someone dying of thirst not to drink water or a starving person not to have thevish feastid out in front of them. Their mind would slowly deteriorate under endless thirst and hunger. Kang-Woo would be cing an unfathomable amount of weight on Yeon-Joo to bear if he were to make her a demon.


    ¡°One who epts my power.¡±


    The golden light gathered around Kang-Woo¡¯s hand that was on Yeon-Joo¡¯s head.


    ¡°Be my flesh, be my blood, and be my bones.¡±


    <i>Whoooom!!</i>


    ¡°Ngh...!¡± The blinding light began to flow into Yeon-Joo. ¡°Hurgh!¡±


    Yeon-Joo grunted as overwhelming power raged within her. She felt unfathomable fear; her body was naturally rejecting the enormous power that entered her.


    <i>¡®No.¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Jo shook her head at her instinct to reject the power. She bit her lip and clenched her fists. Kang-Woo had said to ept the power without resistance.


    <i>¡®Fucking hell, easier said than done.¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo cursed at Kang-Woo, who had talked about it as if it was a piece of cake. Not rejecting the power flowing into her was like telling someone not to tense up during an injection with a giant needle. They knew that they shouldn¡¯t tense up but the body did naturally.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    The mana within Yeon-Joo was desperately rejecting the Divinity flowing into her through Kang-Woo. She could instinctively feel that it would be for naught if Kang-Woo¡¯s Divinity forced her mana to submit. Knowing that, Kang-Woo also did not try to force Yeon-Joo¡¯s mana to submit.


    ¡°Huuu, huuu,¡± Yeon-Joo panted heavily.


    <i>¡®I have to... trust Kang-Woo.¡¯</i>


    She needed to trust the man who had embedded himself deep within her heart before she had realized it.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Yeon-Joo chuckled.


    Her body began to ept Kang-Woo¡¯s Divinity without resistance as soon as she thought about trusting him.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s... not so hard.¡¯</i>


    She easily realized the reason why but she shook her head to deny it as she snorted.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no way I trusted that pervert from the very beginning.¡¯</i>


    She had simply decided to trust him so that she could acquire Deific Essence. There was no other reason.


    <i>¡®Yup, that¡¯s it.¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo nodded with a leisurely expression. The entirety of the golden light flowed into Yeon-Joo through Kang-Woo¡¯s hand.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [You have been chosen as the incarnation of the ¡®God of Splendor(???).¡¯]


    [Drastically raising all stats!]


    [Promoting all Traits by one rank!]


    [You have acquired a portion of the ¡®Deific Essence of Voracity.¡¯]


    [You can now use Deific Manifestation!]


    ¡°Huh?¡± Yeon-Joo¡¯s eyes widened as she stared at the messages in front of her. ¡°Hey... Wh-What¡¯s this about?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Uhh... Weren¡¯t you the God of Splendor? It said that I acquired the Deific Essence of Voracity.¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent.


    <i>¡®Oh fuck. I forgot I was the God of Voracity.¡¯</i>

 Chapter 466 - What Am I The God Of Again?

    <h4>Chapter 466 - What Am I The God Of Again?</h4>


    Silence fell as Cha Yeon-Joo and Oh Kang-Woo looked at each other awkwardly. Kang-Woo bit his lip anxiously.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    It was not like he had thought that he had be light itself after preaching it all the time. He knew very well that he possessed the Deific Essence of a predator underneath the fa?ade of Splendor.


    <i>¡®But you hid it for me all this time.¡¯</i>


    Although there had been question marks next to it, the System hid his true Deific Essence until now. It was likely thanks to the Deific Essence of <i>Lies </i>that he possessed before Voracity.


    <i>¡®So why?¡¯</i>


    Why were they snitching on him so tantly this time?


    ¡°... Did you say Deific Essence of Voracity?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Uhh, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Fuuu.¡±


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath and clenched his fists as he thought about the System.


    <i>¡®I canmunicate with them to some extent if I remember correctly.¡¯</i>


    It was around when he hadpleted the <i>Road to Bing a Demon God</i> quest.


    <i>¡®I don¡¯t know how, but...¡¯</i>


    The System was able to read the minds of individuals and possessed an ego that was closer to artificial intelligence than that of a person.


    <i>¡®In that case.¡¯</i>


    He had a feeling that his sincere feelings would reach them.


    <i>¡®System. System. What¡¯s with you all of a sudden? Was the bond between us that shallow? Hm? You¡¯re the Law of Titans, right? There¡¯s gonna be issues if you keep doing stuff like this. I told you before, didn¡¯t I? I¡¯m gonnae after you once I deal with Bael. Screw the Law of Titans. The Gaia System is gone anyway, so how about I destroy you too? Hm? How about I just fucking destroy everything?¡¯</i>


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [It is strictly prohibited for a being with no privileges to meddle with the Law.]


    <i>¡®I¡¯m not asking for much, am I? You¡¯re just editing one word. This is good for both of us, don¡¯t you agree?¡¯</i>


    [It is strictly prohibited...]


    <i>¡®Hm? You want to protect the world too, don''t you? Isn¡¯t that why you put restrictions on the gods and blocked otherworldly invasions until now?¡¯</i>


    [F-For a being with no privileges to...]


    <i>¡®Fucking fine. Let¡¯s just speedrun straight to the bad ending, then. I¡¯m just gonna keep running away from Bael, okay? I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll devour every world in his path to chase after me. Do you think he¡¯s gonna leave the Titans alone? I guess we can just all die together miserably ever after.¡¯</i>


    [...]


    <i>¡®I¡¯m out here busting my ass trying to save the world, but the System that¡¯s supposed to be managing the world is not only being unhelpful but getting in my way?¡¯</i>


    [The privileges of the auxiliary control system ¡®Eve¡¯ have greatly reduced due to the Law¡¯s privileges being transferred to Bael¡ª]


    <i>¡®Huh? More excuses? Is that all you have to say for yourself? Do you even love me?¡¯</i>


    [Why am I being treated like a lover caught in an affair?]


    <i>¡®Forget it! It¡¯s over between us!¡¯</i>


    [...]


    An awkward silence fell. Momentster...


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [A System error has been detected.]


    [You have acquired a portion of the ¡®Deific Essence of (fucking) Splendor!¡¯]


    ¡°... Huh?¡± Yeon-Joo stared at the blue message window with her mouth agape again.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Th-The contents changed. A System error...? I-I¡¯ve never seen something like this. But what¡¯s with the <i>fucking </i>in brackets...?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve experienced that a few times too.¡±


    ¡°You too?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. There have been many instances of errors popping up on message windowstely. I think it¡¯s because of the Gaia System¡¯s copse.¡±


    Yeon-Joo tilted her head, confused by Kang-Woo¡¯s words. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say before that the messages yers get have nothing to do with the Gaia System? You said it had to do with, uhhh... what was it? Earth¡¯s protection? That thing.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. The Gaia System refers to the barrier that protects Earth from otherworldly invasions, and the message windows that yers get are produced by a superior system known as the Law of Titans.¡±


    ¡°Then¡ª¡±


    ¡°But you can¡¯t say that they¡¯repletely unrted to each other. You know who the privileges of the Law of Titans have been transferred to, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°... Bael.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. There¡¯s no way he just left the System be.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Yeon-Joo nodded reluctantly. She more or less understood what Kang-Woo was talking about, but she couldn¡¯t help but feel that things did not add up.


    <i>¡®No matter how much I think about it, it sounds way too forced.¡¯</i>


    She was able to tell from how flustered Kang-Woo had been when she mentioned the Deific Essence of Voracity.


    <i>¡®Getting such a reaction out of that snake means I¡¯ve hit the bullseye.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo would have expertly talked his way out of the situation if it was trivial, but Yeon-Joo couldn¡¯t help but be doubtful since he had been so flustered. No, even if she left all that aside, it made no sense to push it off as a System error.


    ¡°...¡± Yeon-Joo crossed her arms and red at Kang-Woo. ¡°... I knew it was strange.¡±


    ¡°What was?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, what else? That you¡¯re the God of Splendor.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Yeon-Joo continued triumphantly, ¡°I at least believe that I know you better than Kim Si-Hun. All your talk about being the light and salvation is an act, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    A lioness never let go of their prey once she had them in her clutches.


    ¡°To be honest, you¡¯re more fitting as the viin than the savior of the world, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    ¡°...¡±


    Yeon-Joo smiled as she looked at Kang-Woo who couldn¡¯t make any excuses. She could feel that she had the upper hand. She shrugged and nodded.


    ¡°Well, I understand. I¡¯m sure you were hesitant to say that you became the God of Voracity to Gaia and the other gods. Just the name makes you sound like an evil god.¡± Yeon-Joo patted Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulder as if she understood and continued, ¡°Hmph, but I don¡¯t think of you as an evil god. You¡¯re sly, a pervert, and a goddamn scumbag, but you¡¯re working harder than anyone to protect the world, aren¡¯t you? So... you can be honest with me, okay? We¡¯re soulmates, aren¡¯t we? Soulmates shouldn¡¯t be hiding anything from each other.¡±


    Yeon-Joo continued to press Kang-Woo¡¯s weakness with a wide smile. She couldn¡¯t help but shrug from the satisfaction of exacting revenge.


    ¡°... Yeon-Joo,¡± Kang-Woo said to the brightly smiling Yeon-Joo. ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯m the God of Splendor.¡±


    ¡°Hmph,¡± Yeon-Joo snorted as if telling Kang-Woo not to lie. ¡°Are you trying to talk your way out of this? I already know that you¡¯re not the God of Splendor from your reaction.¡±


    She shook her head as she clicked her tongue. She then recited a line that could be straight out of a manga, ¡°Who cares if your Deific Essence is Splendor or Voracity? What matters is that you¡¯re Oh Kang-Woo, right? Anyway, I don¡¯t care what god you are, so just be honest with me.¡±


    <i>¡®That¡¯s different from me getting hold of your weakness, though.¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo smirked. There was no way that she would let go of Kang-Woo¡¯s weakness that she had barely managed to obtain. She didn¡¯t give a damn about what God Kang-Woo was, but Gaia surely would.


    <i>¡®Hihihi.¡¯</i>


    She couldn¡¯t help but giggle as she thought about all sorts of things that she would order Kang-Woo to do.


    <i>¡®First, I¡¯ll take revenge for earlier.¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s eyes set aze. She was nning on exacting divine punishment on the man who had toyed with her feelings.


    ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t matter whether you care or not.¡± Kang-Woo slowly raised his head and continued with a serious expression, ¡°Trust me, Yeon-Joo. I¡¯m not the God of Voracity, but the God of Splendor.¡±


    ¡°Why are you trying so hard to hide¡ª¡±


    Kang-Woo took out his smartphone before the irritated Yeon-Joo could finish her sentence and clicked on something.


    <i>- I-I¡¯ll never forget about what you¡¯re going to do to me today.</i>


    A familiar voice came out of the smartphone.


    ¡°...!!¡± Yeon-Joo¡¯s eyes widened in shock as she trembled. ¡°Y-You bastard, don¡¯t tell me...¡±


    ¡°Haaa. Yeon-Joo.¡± Kang-Woo sighed deeply and continued, ¡°Why don¡¯t you believe me?¡±


    <i>- You idiot. Wh-Why would you... so forcefully...</i>


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you understand how I feel?¡±


    <i>- You didn¡¯t have to do this... As long as you properly confessed, I would have...</i>


    ¡°We became soulmates who trust and rely on each other!¡± Kang-Woo clenched his fists in sorrow and shouted, ¡°So why won¡¯t you believe me?!¡±


    <i>- I OFFER MY BODY!! TO THE GREAT!! GOD OF SPLENDOOOOOOOOR!!!</i>


    A desperate scream flowed out from the smartphone.


    ¡°...¡±


    Yeon-Joo trembled in pallor. She thought about immediately snatching the smartphone away and crushing it, but she knew how unrealistic it was considering who was holding it.


    ¡°Y-You goddamn... fucking b-bastard.¡±


    ¡°Yeon-Joo...¡± Kang-Woo raised his smartphone volume to the max and grabbed Yeon-Joo¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Tell me.¡±


    <i>- O-Oppa~!</i>


    ¡°What am I... the god of again?¡±


    A deathly silence fell in the room. Yeon-Joo copsed on the spot.


    ¡°Hurgh. Waaaaahh.¡± Tears flowed down her cheeks as she wept pitifully. She said with all her might, ¡°Th-The God... of Splendor.¡±


    Kang-Woo wiped his own tears away and nodded. ¡°Thank you... Thank you so much for believing in me.¡±


    The truth always won. Blinding golden light poured out of Kang-Woo.


    ***


    A boy sitting on top of a red hill made of dry sand suddenly looked up into the sky.


    ¡°Heh,¡± the boyughed.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± asked a musclebound giant who was kneeling next to the boy.


    He was Marax, a demon subordinate of Bael and the <i>Third Heaven</i>. Bael crouched as he gripped his stomach without answering Marax.


    ¡°Pfft! Hahahahahahaha!!¡± A crazedughter echoed throughout the arid hill. ¡°I can¡¯t believe he meddled with the Law without any privileges.¡±


    The boy¡¯s eyes were fierce despite his bright smile. He cked his teeth and licked his lips.


    ¡°Really...¡±


    The Demon King always exceeded his expectations and looked down on him from above as if mocking him.


    <i>Grit.</i>


    ¡°It¡¯s... not you.¡± The boy¡¯s eyes filled with madness. He continued, ¡°You¡¯re not... the master of the Demonic Sea. I am.¡±


    The boy burst intoughter as he panted heavily.


    ¡°Well, whatever.¡±


    Viscous demonic energy flowed out of the boy as he looked up into the sky. He opened and closed his hand repeatedly as if grabbing something invisible and smiled.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± The boy said innocently, ¡°It¡¯s about time... they arrived.¡±


    The boy hummed in anticipation.


    ¡°I wonder what otherworldly beings taste like?¡± He licked his lips and thought about the Demon King. ¡°You¡¯re curious too, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    The boyughed as he shrugged.


    <i>Spark.</i>


    A small Rift appeared in the sky that the boy was looking up at.

 Chapter 467 - Attack

    <h4>Chapter 467 - Attack</h4>


    He dreamed of a burning sky and a distortednd. The soaring hill was filled with corpses. No, the hill itself was made of corpses. The hill of death felt familiar for some reason.


    It was Seoul, the city he had lived in all his life. It was reduced to ruins but a little of its form remained.


    <i>¡®A-Aaaahh.¡¯</i>


    Someone was on top of the mountain made of corpses in the ruined city.


    <i>¡®Who... are you?¡¯</i>


    A nightmarish being... a despair-inducing being was smiling brightly as they were munching on the corpses.


    <i>Crackle.</i>


    His vision distorted as his consciousness sank¡ª no, it was resurfacing.


    ¡°<i>Gasp!</i>¡± Kim Tae-Hyun fell from his bed. ¡°<i>Huff, huff!</i>¡±


    He panted heavily on the ground. His eyes felt like they were burning. Tae-Hyun touched the area around his eyes.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Only then did he realize that blood was flowing from his eyes.


    ¡°Wh-What the hell?¡±


    Tae-Hyun touched his face drenched with tears of blood. The fact that blood was pouring out of one¡¯s eyes was enough to make anyone stricken with fear. He wiped the blood away with his shaking hands.


    Tae-Hyun remained silent as he looked down at his hands smeared with blood and uneasily gripped the Eye of Nostrian around his neck.


    <i>¡®Is it a side effect from using its power?¡¯</i>


    He didn¡¯t know; he had never experienced something like this even after using Foresight many times until now.


    <i>¡®Did something go wrong during the duel?¡¯</i>


    Since the duel had been closer to a death match, it was not strange for there to be lingering side effects. Tae-Hyun had been bedridden for the past few days after his duel with Kim Si-Hun.


    ¡°Haaa.¡±


    Tae-Hyun took some tissues from his desk and wiped the area around his eyes. He threw the tissues drenched with blood into the trash can.


    <i>¡®What could that have been?¡¯</i>


    He wondered if the vision in his dream would be what the end of the world would look like. The burning sky and the distortednd were engraved in his mind.


    ¡°It has to be a dream... right?¡±


    Tae-Hyun shook his head to get the horrifying scene out of his head, but he couldn¡¯t shake off the uneasiness that had made itself home in his mind. No, it might have been because Tae-Hyun knew deep down that the scene of the end of the world wasn¡¯t a dream.


    Tae-Hyun remained silent as he bit his lip and stood up.


    <i>¡®I have to... let hyung know.¡¯</i>


    He needed to tell Kang-Woo about the horrifying future he saw. Tae-Hyun went out the door.


    ***


    ¡°You saw the end?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Tae-Hyun nodded with a serious expression.


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    <i>¡®The end, huh?¡¯</i>


    He would have told them to cut the bullshit if it had been anyone else, but it was a different story if it came from Tae-Hyun, who could see the future.


    <i>¡®Could it be... Bael?¡¯</i>


    That was naturally the first individual Kang-Woo thought of. It was not hard to imagine how the entire world would be Bael¡¯s meal if Kang-Woo were to lose.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Kang-Woo smirked.


    <i>¡®How interesting.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo already knew that he was severely outmatched; he was unfazed by someone prophesizing the end of the world.


    <i>¡®However the future turns out, it doesn¡¯t change what I have to do.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo licked his lips with his long tongue. A powerful hunger that he had not felt since he brought the Deific Essence of Voracity under control strangled his stomach.


    He swept up his hair and asked, ¡°And you said the demolished city was Seoul, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    If that was the case, it meant there was a high chance that his final battle against Bael would be in Seoul.


    <i>¡®Not good.¡¯</i>


    Seoul was one of the most popted cities in the world both before and after the Day of Cmity. Whether Kang-Woo won or lost the battle, the damage would be far too great.


    <i>¡®I at least need to move the battlefield elsewhere.¡¯</i>


    He did not know when the battle would take ce, but he needed to make as much change as possible before then.


    <i>¡®If I can¡¯t change the location, then I should make several underground bunkers throughout Seoul.¡¯</i>


    If the future Tae-Hyun saw was about Kang-Woo¡¯s battle against Bael, there was a high chance that the battle would take ce in Seoul no matter what Kang-Woo did. If that was the case, he needed to prepare so that there would be as little casualties as possible.


    ¡°Umm... Kang-Woo hyung.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°Could the future I saw be rted to the abnormal Gate phenomena?¡±


    Kang-Woo thought about Bael but Tae-Hyun was thinking about the otherworldly invasions that were already taking ce through the Gates. It was only natural since Tae-Hyun had not seen Bael.


    Kang-Woo shook his head and answered, ¡°No, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s rted to¡ª¡±


    He stopped himself and frowned aggressively.


    <i>¡®Wait.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was thinking that it couldn¡¯t be anyone else but Bael; he had ruled out all other dangerous possibilities, including the otherworldly invasions, and focused only on Bael.


    <i>¡®No, no.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo rejected his thoughts. No matter what the situation was, it was foolish to think about only one possibility among the countless.


    <i>¡®Bael might have nothing to do with the future Tae-Hyun saw.¡¯</i>


    The otherworldly invasions were gradually getting worse and worse. The chance of it was low, but it couldn¡¯t be ruled out.


    <i>¡®I should make my move quickly.¡¯</i>


    Tae-Hyun could only see five to ten seconds into the future. Even if he saw a far-off future due to the amplification of his power, Kang-Woo doubted that it would be as far as several years away.


    ¡°We need to gather the Guardians memb¡ª¡±


    <i>Beep¡ª!</i>


    A loud rm rang from Kang-Woo and Tae-Hyun¡¯s chests. Kang-Woo took out the white token engraved with a golden shield from his pocket. It was the magic tool provided by the executives of Guardians that could open a Gate leading to the Hall of Protection.


    [E-Emergency!] La¡¯s panicked voice echoed from the magic tool. [Requesting all Guardians members to gather in Seoul!!]


    <i>¡®The hell? Since when did it have a feature like this?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had been a Guardians member for years but it was the first time it was being used for an emergency gathering. In other words, the situation was so urgent that it needed to be used. Kang-Woo thought about the future Tae-Hyun talked about and his expression stiffened.


    [W-We¡¯re being attacked! An enormous number of monsters are attacking Seoul!]


    Themunication cut off.


    Kang-Woo and Tae-Hyun stared at each other with stiff expressions.


    ¡°Hyung, this is...¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡±


    Kang-Woo quickly turned around. Fortunately, they did not have to go far since the yer hospital that Tae-Hyun was staying in was in Seoul.


    ¡°H-Hyung?¡±


    ¡°Stay still.¡±


    Kang-Woo lifted Tae-Hyun with the Authority of the Sky and flew out from the window.


    ¡°Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!¡± Tae-Hyun screamed.


    Kang-Woo ignored the screams and flew across the sky at supersonic speed.


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡±


    He saw a massive red Rift several kilometers wide above Seoul. It was as if the sky was burning red.


    ¡°Shit.¡± Kang-Woo clenched his fists. ¡°They¡¯re done ying around, is it?¡±


    There had been countless signs ever since the abnormal Gate phenomena first began. No, something like this was inevitable from the moment the Gaia System copsed. Otherworldly invasions were the fate of a world with no protection.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Kang-Woo bared his teeth as he frowned aggressively. He swept up his hair and smiled.


    <i>¡®They dare covet this world?¡¯</i>


    It was the world where he and the people precious to him lived... as well as the home of kimchi stew.


    ¡°Not a chance, you sons of bitches. This is my world.¡±


    The Demon King bared his teeth at the red sky.


    ***


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    Smoke covered the sky as intense heat filled the streets.


    ¡°Kyaaaaaahhh!!¡±


    ¡°S-Save me!!¡±


    Screams rang throughout the burning city.


    ¡°<i>Karakarakarakara!</i>¡±


    Monsters that looked like giant cockroaches were hunting the running humans. The three meter-long roaches were scurrying across the streets at incredible speeds. One of the insects grabbed a middle-aged man and opened its mouth.


    <i>Crunch!</i>


    It ate the man alive without hesitation.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    The woman who had been running with the man copsed on the spot and looked up at the monster in despair.


    ¡°O-O light...¡± She recited the prayer of the Church of Splendor that she heard about recently, despite knowing that it wouldn¡¯t change anything. ¡°O-O li¡ª¡±


    The roach that ate the man alive turned to her before she could finish her prayer.


    <i>sh¡ª!</i>


    Just then, a golden light fell like lightning and split the roach in half.


    ¡°Fucking hell, that¡¯s disgusting.¡±


    Viscous green fluids were flowing out of the roach¡¯s split halves.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡±


    The man enveloped in golden light lifted one of the halves and opened his mouth widely.


    <i>Crunch.</i>


    The predatory insect was being eaten instead.


    ¡°<i>Ptooey</i>. Ew, that tastes like shit.¡± The man who took a big bite out of the insect¡¯s corpse frowned and spit on the ground. ¡°There are so goddamn many of them.¡±


    The man covered in golden light sighed and turned around. Countless insects were falling from the Rift above Seoul. The man slowly raised his hand.


    <i>Snap.</i>


    ¡°Let¡¯s kill about half of them.¡±


    Golden mes engulfed the swarm of insects like a tsunami.

 Chapter 470 - Parasite King (2)

    <h4>Chapter 470 - Parasite King (2)</h4>


    ¡°Why is a human¡ª¡± As Oh Kang-Woo was about to ask why a human was here, he stopped talking once he saw the middle-aged man walking closer. ¡°Tsk, of course.¡±


    He wondered why a human was among the swarm of Parasites, but he could tell the man was not human from a closer look. The man¡¯s eyes were fully ck and blood vessels were bulging around them; he even possessed a form of energy which Kang-Woo, who possessed sacred power, mana, and demonic energy, had never seen before. The man was not human in any aspect; although he looked very simr to being human, Kang-Woo could tell the being within the man¡¯s body was a monster from an outer world.


    <i>¡®He must have taken over the body.¡¯</i>


    The middle-aged man¡¯s clothes were simr to the other humans around Huan, whom Parasites also took over.


    <i>¡®These insects are as unpleasant as I thought.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo felt extreme displeasure as he stared at the unknown middle-aged man with his body taken over by a monster. It was because Kang-Woo also had several beings lying in wait to take over his body.


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± he took a deep breath.


    The demonic energy drained from using Twilight was filled back up through the Demonic Sea. Kang-Woo gripped Ingrium and lowered his stance.


    <i>Split.</i>


    Translucent wings sprouted from the middle-aged man¡¯s back.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    A sonic boom rang as the man flew toward Kang-Woo, causing a wave ofpressed air to rage like a storm. The man charged at Kang-Woo along with a thunderous sound. He stretched his arm out to the side, creating a formless sword like Kim Si-Hun usually did.


    <i>ng¡ª!</i>


    Ingrium and the formless sword shed. Kang-Woo and the middle-aged man were both blown backward from the powerful recoil.


    ¡°Oh?¡± The man looked down at his numb hand and then stared at Kang-Woo with great interest, his eyes shining.


    ¡°A mere insect knows how to use a sword?¡± said Kang-Woo as he smiled and lightly shook his hand that had been holding Ingrium.


    His eyes filled with a powerful sense of hunger as he stared at the middle-aged man.


    <i>¡®Not bad.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled and licked his lips. They only shed swords once but Kang-Woo could tell that the Parasite was powerful from the fact that he was blown back.


    <i>¡®But that¡¯s all there is to it.¡¯</i>


    He did not know how much more power the insect was hiding, but the battle would be nothing but leisurely entertainment for him.


    <i>¡®You have more to give, don¡¯t you?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled widely and stared at the Parasite King in anticipation. He recalled his battle against Tai Wuji and the feeling that he could only feel against those with phenomenal power. He recalled the spark that he could only experience from devouring such prey, which was even more satisfying than the passionate hunger and thirst.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t all you¡¯ve got, is it?¡±


    Kang-Woo gripped his sword stronger as he relished in the thrill he had not felt in a long time.


    [To think there was one this powerful in the Triad.] The Parasite King expressed astonishment. [Wonderful.]


    The king shivered in excitement at the fact that he would be able to rece the immense disappointment that he had felt when facing the strongest being in Huan, with ecstasy all at once.


    [It¡¯s been a while... since I¡¯ve felt this way.]


    The Parasite King¡¯s heart beat faster. He had traveled across countless worlds to conquer and destroy them for a time so long that he could not even remember when he had begun, all for the sake of finding someone who would allow him to evolve. He desired to be freed from the endless boredom that he had been weighed down by ever since he became king.


    [No... It is too soon to be sure.]


    The Parasite King quelled his growing anticipation and shook his head. He had yet to bring out even a quarter of his full power. It was far too soon to be ted that he had found his match just because his opponent managed to block one of his attacks. His immense ecstasy immediately turned into disappointment back when he faced the most powerful being in Huan.


    [I beg of you, entertain me,] the Parasite King said desperately.


    ¡°Hah, the insect even knows how to talk,¡± Kang-Woo chuckled.


    The two predators stared at each other in silence.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Kang-Woo and the Parasite King leaped at each other simultaneously after a short period of silence. Immense powers shed against one another, the ground tearing apart from the shockwave.


    <i>Bang! m! Crash!</i>


    The two kings moved so impossibly fast that they couldn¡¯t be seen with the naked eye.


    [Haaaaaaaaahh!] the Parasite King roared.


    The hideous blood vessels around his eyes spread throughout his entire body. The memories of the body that he had taken over, especially the power known as martial arts and the way to use weapons, flowed into him, and he moved his sword based on that.


    <i>Boom! Boom¡ª!</i>


    Explosive sounds simr to dozens of cannons firing rang each time the swords shed and shook the earth.


    [Hah, hahahaha!]


    The Parasite Kingughed in ecstasy, feeling the numbness in his hands and staring at the human who was blocking all of his attacks without getting overpowered.


    [You¡¯re much better than I¡¯d expected!]


    The Parasite King had expected it from the moment of their sh, but the man in front of him was far stronger than the self-proimed strongest being of Huan. The human was easily blocking the Parasite King¡¯s attacks, which could easily split a giant mountain, and was even counterattacking. His anxiety of his ecstasy turning into disappointment melted away.


    Kang-Woo blocked the attacks in silence.


    Unlike the ecstatic Parasite King, he was slightly frowning as if he was dissatisfied.


    <i>Bash!</i>


    Kang-Woo deflected the Parasite King¡¯s sword aimed at his head and kicked him in the stomach with his right foot. The Parasite King was blown backward but managed to stop after tumbling on the ground for several hundred meters.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Kang-Woo said to the Parasite King on the ground. He asked in disappointment, ¡°You didn¡¯t spout that badass line about entertaining you for this childish nonsense, did you?¡±


    Kang-Woo had slight anticipation for the Parasite King, who managed to push him back, but he couldn¡¯t help but gradually grow disappointed as the battle went on.


    ¡°Are you seriously using those shitty martial arts techniques you learned from who knows where against me?¡±


    Kang-Woo had trained with Si-Hun countless times and even battled Tai Wuji, whose martial arts skills were unmatched. There was no way that martial arts one was performing through memory would work on him. The Parasite King¡¯s attacks aiming for Kang-Woo¡¯s vitals couldn¡¯t be poorer and his swings were awfully simple to read. It was like someone wearing clothes that didn¡¯t fit them at all.


    ¡°If you¡¯re an insect, then fight like one, dammit.¡±


    Kang-Woo red at the Parasite King.


    The Parasite King stood up. [My apologies.]


    He bowed courteously and flew up into the air again, letting go of the green formless sword which dispersed into thin air.


    [I will treat you with respect,] said the Parasite King in a low tone.


    Performing untrained martial arts against a worthy opponent, whom he found after an excruciatingly long time, was highly disrespectful. Mere martial arts did not suit the Parasite King.


    <i>Crunch, crunch.</i>


    Sounds of bone breaking and distorting could be heard. The Parasite King was slowly turning from being close to human to a hideous monster. An exoskeleton covered his skin and another pair of eyes formed¡ª no, the four eyes then became eight, sixteen, then thirty-two. Every eye covering the Parasite King¡¯s face stared at Kang-Woo.


    [Before we begin,] remarked the Parasite King as he pped his translucent wings, [Why don¡¯t we talk for a little?]


    ¡°Talk?¡± Kang-Woo chuckled. He smiled fiercely and shook his head. ¡°Screw that.¡±


    Talking was pointless after the battle they just had.


    ¡°John Wick would have killed at least five people during the time we just spent talki¡ª¡±


    ¡°Please wait, my king,¡± Lilith interrupted.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    She approached Kang-Woo and whispered calmly, ¡°Why don¡¯t you at least pry as much information out of him as you can before resuming the battle?¡±


    Kang-Woo remained silent as his expression full of excitement rxed.


    <i>¡®Prying as much information as I can, huh?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo realized why Lilith had suggested such a thing after calming down a little.


    <i>¡®She¡¯s right. This is the first time Earth has been invaded by an outer world and it can happen again at any time.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. The otherworldly invasions had only just begun; as long as Earth¡¯s protection was gone, not even Kang-Woo could predict how many more invaders like the Parasites woulde to invade Earth. As Lilith said, they needed as much information about outer worlds as possible.


    <i>¡®I got too excited.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo admitted his blunder and turned to the Parasite King.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s talk.¡±


    [Let us exchange introductions first. Battling against a worthy opponent without even knowing their namecks elegance,] said the Parasite King calmly.


    <i>¡®Elegance, huh?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo more or less had an idea of why the Parasite King offered to talk all of a sudden in the middle of a battle.


    <i>¡®He¡¯s quite intelligent for an insect.¡¯</i>


    Unlike the Cockroaches which seemed to be lower lifeforms, the evolved lifeforms and above seemed to possess intelligence on par with or even greater than that of humans.


    <i>¡®I didn¡¯t think they would be mindless monsters just because they were from outer worlds, but still.¡¯</i>


    It was weird to see monsters, that looked as if they would appear in games about wars in space, conversing normally and worrying about elegance.


    [I am a resident of the Eight Realms.]


    <i>¡®Eight Realms?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was reminded of the Nine Hells but shook his head.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no way.¡¯</i>


    There was no demon like the Parasite King in the Eighth Hell¡ª no, it was impossible.


    <i>¡®If there was a demon like that back when I was still in Hell...¡¯</i>


    The one on the throne would have been that insect, not Kang-Woo.


    <i>¡®Since I didn¡¯t have Deific Essence back then and the Demonic Sea wasn¡¯t as big as it is now.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo would have been easily overpowered even if he had opened the Doors at the time.


    <i>¡®But not anymore.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the Parasite King leisurely.


    [The mortals refer to me as the <i>Parasite King</i>.]


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    The Parasite King¡¯s skin around his neck split open and poured out green tentacles covered in sticky mucus.


    [Now, it is time for you to tell me your n¡ª]


    <i>Bash¡ª!!</i>


    Kang-Woo ran up to the Parasite King and punched him in the face before the Parasite King could finish his sentence.


    [Kurgh! Wh-What is the meaning of this?!] shouted the Parasite King in confusion.


    ¡°M-Master Kang-Woo?¡± Lilith asked wide-eyed, also shocked by Kang-Woo¡¯s sudden behavior. She stared nervously at the Parasite King and whispered to Kang-Woo, ¡°I told you that we should pry information from¡ª¡±


    ¡°Kill him,¡± Kang-Woo interjected as he looked down at the Parasite King with the eyes of a dead fish.


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°We have to kill him.¡±


    Kang-Woo bit his lip aggressively.


    <i>¡®Talk? Information? What does any of that matter?¡¯</i>


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    Multiple green tentacles were hideously squirming around the Parasite King.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh,¡± Kang-Woo groaned as he gripped his sword in pallor. He screamed desperately, ¡°We have to fucking kill that son of a bitch now!!!¡±

 Chapter 480 - Demon of Prophecy (1)

    <h4>Chapter 480 - Demon of Prophecy (1)</h4>


    A day passed and Oh Kang-Woo set out early in the morning.


    ¡°Urgh,¡± he groaned as he stretched. ¡°I didn¡¯t even get to sleep an hour.¡±


    His mind was filled with the things that he did all night. He coughed and looked down.


    <i>¡®Fran?ois... You¡¯re still going strong, buddy.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled as he stared at hisrade with whom he had gone through a strenuous battlefield. His head was held high and his steps were light for some reason. He bought an entire box of energy drinks at a nearby convenience store and opened a Gate leading to the Hall of Protection. He saw a white hallway once he passed through the Gate.


    <i>¡®Si-Hun isn¡¯t here to greet me like always.¡¯</i>


    Kim Si-Hun always ran to Kang-Woo after sensing his presence as soon as Kang-Woo entered the Hall of Protection, but he was nowhere to be found today.


    <i>¡®Is he not here?¡¯</i>


    He might be helping to find information regarding Nostrian like Echidna and Halcyon.


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Kang-Woo headed to La¡¯s office as he looked around. He knocked on her office door.


    ¡°Layl¡ª Kurgh.¡±


    Kang-Woo grimaced due to the dark aura that seeped out of the office as soon as he opened the door.


    <i>¡®What the hell is this smell...?¡¯</i>


    The office smelled like a rotting corpse.


    ¡°Oh... Kang-Woo... Wee...¡±


    Kang-Woo turned as he grimaced and saw La, with extremely dark circles under his eyes, looking up at him.


    <i>Tap, tap, tap.</i>


    Next to her was Si-Hun, reading documents and stamping seals like a machine. His eyes staring at the documents were not filled with light like usual.


    The mood in the office was as somber as the putrid stench of sweat. There was a mountain of documents so high that Kang-Woo had no idea how it had managed to reach that height.


    Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly and said, ¡°Mm... You guys sure are hardworking, at it so early in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Pardon? Morning? Is it morning right now?¡± La stared nkly in Kang-Woo¡¯s general direction. She giggled as she shrugged and said lifelessly, ¡°F-Fufu. I¡¯ve been here since... sincest week, so... I didn¡¯t even know it was morning.¡±


    ¡°I-I see.¡±


    <i>¡®Is she broken? Well, I somewhat expected this after hearing about it from Lilith.¡¯</i>


    The restoration of Seoul had likely progressed so quickly thanks to the dying La and Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m feeling bad now.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had also been busy the past week trying to find a way to restore Kim Tae-Hyun¡¯s memories, but the word <i>busy </i>could not even begin to describe the amount of work that La and Si-Hun had to do.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s like I¡¯m seeing game developers whose game release date was brought forward by three months out of the blue.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head and handed the energy drinks that he bought to La and Si-Hun.


    ¡°Are you guys okay?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Okay...? Yes, I am. After all, I¡¯m the only one... who can do this.¡± La took the energy drink from Kang-Woo and chugged it. ¡°Kaaah! I... feel a bit better now.¡±


    ¡°You should get some rest.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no time to rest.¡±


    La sighed deeply. The biggest problem with the Parasite invasion was that the attacked city had been none other than Seoul, one of the most popted cities in the world before and even after the Day of Cmity. There would naturally be a massive amount of coteral damage. Although the number of deaths wasn¡¯t nearly asrge as it should have been considering the scale of the invasion, there were a massive number of injured.


    ¡°What are the politicians of each nation doing?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re working just as hard as us. That¡¯s the problem.¡±


    La sighed deeply again. Countries that did not experience disaster were working just as hard as Korea. The problem was the issue of relief supplies; Guardians was inevitably put on the spot because they needed to act as the mediators between those who needed the supplies trying to get as much as possible, and those giving the supplies trying to give as little as possible.


    <i>¡®This isn¡¯t something that can be resolved through force.¡¯</i>


    Taking one side would inevitably cause even bigger problems down the road. To Kang-Woo, mediating between two sides was far more difficult than devouring one side.


    ¡°That aside, what brings you here, Kang-Woo? Have you finished what you needed to do?¡± asked La, staring at Kang-Woo passionately and full of hope.


    Their workload would be massively reduced if Kang-Woo assisted them, allowing La and Si-Hun to escape this administration hell.


    ¡®A-At least let me take a shower...!¡¯ La thought as she gulped and stared at Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Mm...¡± Kang-Woo softly shook his head and answered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I think I¡¯ll have to focus on restoring Tae-Hyun¡¯s memories for a little longer.¡±


    ¡°O-Oh...¡±


    La¡¯s hopeful expression broke down, her eyes filling with despair. Kang-Woo calmly lowered his head.


    <i>¡®I have no choice.¡¯</i>


    In truth, Kang-Woo hadpletely given up on restoring Tae-Hyun¡¯s memories, and he had originallye to the Hall of Protection to help the suffering La and Si-Hun. However, there was one simple reason why he had told them that he was not done yet.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s a fucking pain in the ass.¡¯</i>


    He would prefer a Hell filled with demons than a hell of documents. His sense of guilt was repeatedly stabbing him as he looked at the disheveled La.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m here for a different reason.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo hypnotized himself to protect his conscience. It just so happened that he had another reason why he came to see La.


    <i>¡®Yeah, that¡¯s good. Let¡¯s go with that.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo nodded in satisfaction and continued, ¡°I came to see you because of matters involving the divine realm.¡±


    ¡°The divine realm?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Kang-Woo nodded and continued angrily, ¡°I was wondering why the hell they didn¡¯t show themselves during this entire mess.¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡± La expressed. ¡°Now that you mention it... I haven¡¯t even thought about it.¡±


    The gods were now free from the Law of Titans restricting them, so it was indeed weird that they did not take any action during the Parasite invasion.


    <i>¡®Even if they¡¯re busy keeping in check the evil gods trying to manifest, it doesn¡¯t logically make sense.¡¯</i> Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.<i> ¡®It would be a relief if they didn¡¯t appear simply because they were short on hands, but in the worst-case scenario...¡¯</i>


    He had reason to expect that something had happened in the divine realm¡ª something so big that they couldn¡¯t manifest on Earth even as the Parasites were invading it.


    ¡°Just a second. I will try to contact Lady Gaia.¡± La, also realizing it was not a trivial matter, stopped what she was doing and stood up. ¡°...¡±


    She closed her eyes for several minutes.


    ¡°Why...¡± she muttered with a trembling voice.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    <i>¡®I knew it.¡¯</i>


    There was no way the gods of Olympus would do nothing as the Parasites invaded Earth.


    ¡°I can¡¯t... get in touch with Lady Gaia,¡± La said in pallor.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes.


    <i>¡®Shit.¡¯</i>


    Something else had happened while he had been focused on the Parasites.


    ***


    ck smoke rose from the branches of the giant tree that acted as the pir of every world.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    ¡°S-Stop that monster!!¡±


    There was a giant pce attached to one of the branches. It was Olympus, where the gods which humans knew through Greek mythology resided.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!</i>


    The extraordinarily beautiful pce of Olympus was crumbling as it was engulfed in mes.


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    A boy with nk eyes was standing above the ruins of the pce. He looked down at the gods of Olympus with a bright smile.


    <i>Tap.</i>


    The boy vanished into thin air with just a little tap of his feet. He then appeared in front of Uranus as if he had teleported.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡± Uranus quickly jumped backward.


    However, the boy¡¯s hand was faster.


    ¡°Stay still,¡± the boy said and kicked Uranus in the stomach.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    Uranus¡¯ Deific Essence barrier was torn apart with just one blow. He copsed on the spot.


    ¡°Hihi. Well then, bon app¨¦tit~¡±


    The boy opened his mouth wide like a snake and was about to swallow Uranus whole.


    ¡°Get your filthy hands off of him!!¡± shouted a brown-haired goddess.


    A massive shockwave blew the boy away and he tumbled across the ground.


    ¡°Urgh, what the hell do you think you¡¯re doing, olddy? Haven¡¯t you learned that you shouldn¡¯t interrupt someone when they¡¯re eating?¡±


    The boy turned to the woman in annoyance. Gaia, the brown-haired goddess, red at the boy furiously.


    ¡°Bael, how dare you...¡±


    ¡°Hihihi,¡± Bael giggled innocently as his shoulders moved up and down. ¡°You¡¯ll get wrinkles on your forehead if you get so angry, olddy.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m just as irritated as you, you know?¡± Bael licked his lips. ¡°I was so~ curious about how an otherworldly being would taste, but I had to give up on them ande here instead.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking ab¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hehehe. Are you curious?¡± The boy smiled. ¡°It was so hrious how you were all being fooled by him, so I gave up on eating them and came here instead.¡±


    Gaia frowned in silence. ¡°Fooled...?¡±


    ¡°Hehe. Yeah! Like a bunch of morons!¡± Bael pped his hands together with a bright smile. ¡°I was watching to see how long you¡¯d stay fooled for, but after some thought...¡±


    His nk eyes widened, filling with madness.


    ¡°I thought it¡¯d be more fun to tell you the truth instead of just watching.¡±


    Bael jumped up and down, filled with excitement from just thinking about it.


    ¡°Hihi, I wonder what he¡¯ll do once everything is exposed? Hm? I wonder how he¡¯ll try to fool you again?¡± The boy¡¯s eyes darted around madly. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll find a way to resolve it the first time, but what about the second time? And the third? How would he fix it? Hm?¡±


    ¡°What have you been talking about since earlier...?¡±


    ¡°H-Hihihi!! Just imagine! Aren¡¯t you excited to see how that arrogant bastard despairs once everything is exposed?!¡± Bael spread his arms wide and burst intoughter. ¡°That¡¯s why... I¡¯vee to see you.¡±


    Gaia stared at Bael dumbfoundedly. ¡°You¡¯re insane.¡±


    There was no flow or reasoning to his sentences. It sounded like he was just bbering things that came to mind without a filter. Gaia shook her head, thinking that Bael had gone insane.


    ¡°Insane? Hm? Do I look like I¡¯m insane?¡± Bael cackled, the corners of his mouth ripping to his earlobes.


    Gaia shrouded herself with Divinity and prepared forbat as if there was no point in dragging the conversation.


    ¡°I wonder if you¡¯ll still be able to say that... after seeing this?¡±


    Bael snapped his fingers and a blue window appeared in front of Gaia. It was the thing that yers referred to as the System, created by the Law of Titans.


    <i>- You want to feel fear?</i>


    On the screen was her retainer whom she deeply trusted.


    ¡°M-My child!¡±


    Gaia¡¯s retainer was battling the Parasite King, who had invaded Earth from the outer world.


    ¡°Kurgh,¡± Gaia grunted anxiously.


    Not only was she not able to help her retainer, but she was being one-sidedly overwhelmed by Bael.


    <i>- Sure, I¡¯ll let you feel it until you¡¯re sick of it.</i>


    Just then, Kang-Woo on the screen smiled in a way filled with madness, which Gaia had never seen from him before. His smile could only be described as <i>demonic</i>.


    ¡°My... child?¡±


    Gaia stared at the screen as her eyes shook. The God of Splendor whom Gaia knew was nowhere in sight.


    <i>- Open.</i>


    The Door to the Demonic Sea opened.

 Chapter 496 - Preparations for War (2)

    <h4>Chapter 496 - Preparations for War (2)</h4>


    <i>Thud.</i> Oh Kang-Woo put down the Nectar he had been drinking on the table. Gaia flinched.


    ¡°So,¡± Kang-Woo remarked quietly. ¡°Most of the gods of Olympus won¡¯t be able to participate in the war?¡±


    He red at Gaia as if he were dissatisfied. Gaia lowered her head as her lips quivered.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. They have yet to recover from Bael¡¯s attack fully, so the majority of the gods won¡¯t be in any condition to fight.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Gaia quickly continued as if to appease Kang-Woo, ¡°B-But I will bring with me every single god who can move at least a little.¡±


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo sighed deeply.


    Bael had attacked Olympus while Earth was being invaded by the Parasites. The majority of the gods were thankfully not devoured by Bael, but they were wounded to the point that their Deific Essence was on the verge of being annihted.


    <i>¡®Did he n this as well?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo thought Bael¡¯s main objective had been to sow the seed of doubt in Gaia¡¯s heart to create discord between her and Kang-Woo, but he couldn¡¯t rule out other possibilities.


    <i>¡®Or it might have been Amon¡¯s idea.¡¯</i>


    Considering all of Bael¡¯s actions until now, everything had been about Kang-Woo; Bael had no interest in anything unrted to Kang-Woo. Despite that, his n was being set up very smoothly for the day of the Apocalypse.


    <i>¡®Amon is coordinating Bael¡¯s madness.¡¯</i>


    If not for Amon, the impulsive Bael who did as he liked could never have set up such an intricate n.


    ¡°What a pain.¡±


    Excluding Kang-Woo¡¯s main party members, the gods of Olympus could be considered the most powerful force Kang-Woo had; their incapacitation would deal a massive blow to his n.


    <i>¡®Well, it doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯s lying.¡¯</i>


    The gods of Olympus, whom Kang-Woo had seen during his visit to see Gaia, were so injured that they could barely stand.


    <i>¡®Not even Seol-Ah will be able to heal them.¡¯</i>


    Physical injuries could be healed with no problem as long as they were alive, but not even Han Seol-Ah¡¯s healing magic could heal injuries to one¡¯s Deific Essence.


    ¡°I have no words.¡± Gaia sighed and shook her head. She raised her head again after some silence and continued calmly, ¡°But Uranus and I are almostpletely fine. If Bael has amassed an army of demons from the Ninth Hell, we and the Protectors will be more than enough to stop them, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡±


    She was treating the demons of the Ninth Hell as if they were monsters from a low-ranking Gate.


    ¡°That''s true,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    It was understandable, considering the current extent of the Ninth Hell¡¯s forces.


    <i>¡®Demons from the Ninth Hell barely feel like a threat at this point.¡¯</i>


    Every prince of Hell, the former rulers of the Ninth Hell, was dead except for Bael, and the Demon King, the pinnacle of all demons, was none other than Kang-Woo. In other words, the Ninth Hell without the Demon King and the seven princes of Hell was but a gathering of average demons. And most importantly...


    ¡°How many demons from the Ninth Hell can even prate the Deific Essence barrier?¡±


    No demon had possessed Deific Essence back when Kang-Woo used to rule over Hell as its king. To put it simply, people with Deific Essence like Kim Si-Hun, Gaia, and Cha Yeon-Joo would easily be able to massacre the demons.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head with deeply sunken eyes.


    ¡°Do you think they didn¡¯t think of that?¡± he stated.


    ¡°That¡¯s...¡±


    ¡°Bael was the one who freed the gods from their leash. Would he have done such a thing without realizing they would get in his way?¡±


    Although Bael was a demented son of a bitch, Gaia was underestimating him far too much.


    ¡°He has the Demon God¡¯s heart and the privilege to manipte the Law of Titans. There¡¯s no way he would n an attack with no countermeasure for those with Deific Essence.¡±


    Gaia remained silent, being bombarded by irrefutable facts. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it through enough.¡±


    ¡°Tsk,¡± Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and stood up. ¡°I got it for now. Gather as many gods as you can and manifest on Earth before the date I told you. They don¡¯t need to be from Olympus; just get as many as possible.¡±


    ¡°I got it.¡± Gaia nodded. Just as Kang-Woo turned around, she grabbed his clothes. ¡°Umm...¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Heh. What brings the sudden change of heart? You were going off not long ago about me being the Demon of Prophecy who will end the world.¡±


    ¡°A-Ahem. Forget that.¡± Gaia coughed, her cheeks slightly flushed. She looked up at Kang-Woo and continued, ¡°To be honest, I am still scared. I¡¯m worried that the Demonic Seaying dormant inside you will devour you and end the world.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± Gaia said as she stared at Kang-Woo firmly. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to trust you, no matter what end awaits me.¡±


    Gaia clenched the fist of her other hand, which was on her knee.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled and shook his hand. He never expected Gaia to say that she trusted him ever again after revealing his true identity to her and giving her no choice but to trust him.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s not a bad feeling.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shrugged as he turned around and left Olympus.


    ***


    <i>¡®Now, then.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes after returning to the Hall of Protection. He had just finished his business with Olympus but there was no time to rest. He took out his smartphone and opened a web portal with a green background[1] to check the trending searches.


    [Live Trending Keywords]


    1. Martial Law


    2. Seoul Martial Law


    3. Martial Law meaning


    4. Seoul house price


    ¡°Yeah, house prices sure are fucking important.¡±


    Kang-Woo chuckled. As he had expected, chaos had befallen Korea once martialw had been dered.


    <i>¡®Yeah, it would be weirder if everything was normal after martialw was dered and people were told to move to another world.¡¯</i>


    It would be crazy behavior if people just packed their bags and left for Aernor without question. Kang-Woo opened the news category and read through thements.


    [News Feed]


    Chamber: The hell? Martialw out of nowhere...?


    tokki: What the hell¡¯s this natione to?!


    Namu: Could it be rted to the insect invasion in Seoulst time?


    Jing S: But fr, are they even allowed to kick out every citizen in Seoul this suddenly?


    Cyncoco: Isekai, here Ie!! Lezgoooooo!! My time has finallye!!


    Penguin the GOAT: Holy shit, there¡¯s a martialw opposition rally at Gwanghwamun right now.


    Cosy: LMAO everyone, gather at Gwanghwamun if you don¡¯t wanna be chased out to another world.


    <i>¡®A rally, huh?¡¯</i>


    As Kang-Woo had expected, panic had reached its peak.


    ¡°But this...¡±


    He had already thought of a peaceful countermeasure that would turn the chaos into trust.


    <i>Brrrrr. </i>Kang-Woo called someone.


    <i>- What do you want?</i>


    An irritated voice sounded from the other side of the phone.


    <i>- I¡¯m already busy as hell, so I¡¯m gonna hang up if it¡¯s not impor¡ª</i>


    ¡°Yeon-Joo.¡±


    <i>- ... What?</i>


    ¡°I miss you.¡±


    <i>- Pfft! </i>Cough! Cough!<i> Wh-What?</i>


    ¡°I want to see you right now.¡±


    <i>- Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What¡¯s wrong with you all of a sudden?! Y-You know we¡¯re gonna be drowning in work for the next month!</i>


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly why.¡±


    <i>- Wh-What?</i>


    ¡°We... only have a month left, Yeon-Joo.¡±


    <i>- S-So what?</i>


    ¡°Now¡¯s the only time we have... to say the things we haven¡¯t been able to say to each other.¡±


    <i>- ...</i>


    ¡°This might be... our only chance.¡±


    <i>- U-Urghhh.</i>


    ¡°...¡±


    <i>- ...Where are you?</i>


    The voice across the phone sounded slightly ted.


    Kang-Woo answered, ¡°Come to the roof of our apartment.¡±


    <i>- N-Ngh. I-I¡¯ll be there in a bit, so wait for me there.</i>


    Before hanging up, Kang-Woo heard stomping sounds and Yeon-Joo screaming, <i>¡®Kyaaaahh! What do I do?!¡¯</i>.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Kang-Woo made Yeon-Joo something to give her after he hung up. He already had a rough idea of it so it did not take long to make.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    After about two hours of waiting on the rooftop, Yeon-Joo finally appeared as she opened the door to the roof.


    ¡°S-Sorry for making you wait so long,¡± she said as she swept back her red hair with a yellow hairpin on it.


    She had gone all out on her attire instead of her usual jeans and a white T-shirt. She was wearing a white blouse and a checkered skirt. She was wearing low patent leather heels and even some expensive-looking essories. She was already a knockout beauty in regr attire, but she looked even more radiant now.


    ¡°S-So, what did you want to say to me?¡± Yeon-Joo asked as she twirled the ends of her hair around her finger for no reason.


    ¡°I wanted to ask you a favor.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled and handed her something. Yeon-Joo expressed slight disappointment.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°A speech.¡±


    ¡°A speech?¡± Yeon-Joo frowned.


    Kang-Woo turned on the live stream of the martialw opposition rally and said, I¡¯d like you to put an end to this rally as the leader of the Church of Splendor.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Yeon-Joo read through the speech that Kang-Woo handed her in silence. In it were things about how everything was ording to what the God of Splendor had prophesied, and that they needed to go to Aernor before an even bigger disaster struck. Yeon-Joo turned red after reading further into the speech.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m not fucking doing this! Wh-What the fuck?!¡±


    It was not just about reciting the speech; Yeon-Joo would need to put on a tearjerking performance and preach <i>Ohmen </i>in front of hundreds of thousands of people. It was impossible to do for anyone with a sense of shame, especially for the rtively shy Yeon-Joo.


    ¡°Never! I¡¯ll neeeeeeeeeeever do it!! Over my dead body!!¡± she shouted madly.


    Snap!


    Just then, Kang-Woo took a photo of Yeon-Joo.


    ¡°What did you just do?¡±


    Yeon-Joo flinched and stared at Kang-Woo.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t do it...¡± Kang-Woo smiled brightly. He opened the messenger app, selected a photo, and hovered his thumb over the <i>send </i>button. ¡°I¡¯ll send this photo of you I just took... to Seol-Ah. I wonder how she¡¯ll react?¡±


    ¡°KYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!¡± Yeon-Joo screamed.


    She looked down at her clothes in pallor. Unlike her usual clothes, her attire oozed with the desire to look pretty for someone, and the same could be said for her makeup and hairstyle. If Seol-Ah were to see this...


    ¡°Y-You...¡± Yeon-Joo¡¯s shoulders trembled. ¡°YOU MOTHERFUCKEEEEEEEEEEERRRRR!!¡±


    She grabbed Kang-Woo by his hair and smashed her knee into his face. Her attack prated his Deific Essence barrier and caved his face in. Blood poured out of Kang-Woo¡¯s nose.


    <i>¡®Uhh, mm.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo fell into thought as he was getting his ass beaten by a crazed lioness.


    <i>¡®Man, it¡¯s actually hurting my conscience this time.¡¯</i>


    He knew that he had taken advantage of her feelings far too much this time.


    <i>¡®Yeon-Joo, oh Yeon-Joo. Forgive me just this once. I¡¯ll be super, super good to you once this is all over. I¡¯ll carry you to Gold.¡¯</i>


    1. This is referring to Naver, Korea¡¯s first web portal. ?

 Chapter 498 - Stragglers (1)

    <h4>Chapter 498 - Stragglers (1)</h4>


    ¡°Ah... To think there was such an atrocity in Olympus...¡± Michael expressed sorrow.


    He, Uriel, and Gabriel couldn¡¯t help but be shocked after hearing that Bael had attacked Olympus.


    ¡°Th-Then have all the gods of Olympus been annihted?¡± Uriel asked.


    ¡°No, but...¡±


    Oh Kang-Woo exined the current state of Olympus.


    ¡°This is... the worst.¡±


    Uriel¡¯s expression hardened. It was despairing to hear that most of the gods of Olympus could not participate in the war against Bael and his army, which was only a month away.


    Kang-Woo mentioned, ¡°I¡¯m sure Bael attacked them with this in mind.¡±


    ¡°Haaa...¡± Uriel shook his head in disbelief. ¡°Just how strong is Bael... to be able to decimate Olympus by himself?¡±


    He knew how powerful those with Deific Essence were since Michael was one of such beings. He could hardly believe that a group of such beings were one-sidedly beaten by one demon.


    ¡°He¡¯s strong. Overwhelmingly so,¡± answered Kang-Woo concisely.


    He was not exaggerating to keep them on their toes; Bael was so powerful that not even Kang-Woo was sure whether or not he would be able to defeat him. Bael might even be on the same level as the Titans, the creator of worlds.


    Silence fell. Even Gabriel, the always yful angel, was serious after hearing about the loss at Olympus.


    ¡°It might be weird for me to say this since I was the bearer of the bad news, but rx.¡± Kang-Woo smiled faintly and continued, ¡°Whatever the case may be, this isn¡¯t a battle we can avoid. We should be raising our chances of victory instead of trembling in fear.¡±


    It was easier said than done. Imagine if a dump truck were to suddenly veer off itsne and charge right at you; how many of us would be able to stay calm and think to roll to the side? Nine out of ten people would fall into panic mode and get hit by the truck without being able to react.


    <i>¡®And those nine out of ten people can¡¯t be an archangel.¡¯</i>


    The archangels did not betray Kang-Woo¡¯s expectations.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°Nothing will change even if we stay in fear.¡±


    Uriel and Michael nodded in seriousness. They were unwavering to the point that it was boring.


    <i>¡®They don¡¯t disappoint.¡¯</i>


    It would have been pointless to ask for their assistance if they were any other way.


    Kang-Woo continued, ¡°Let¡¯s head to the Hall of Protection first. I will give you the details on the defense line there.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± Michael nodded. As he was following behind Kang-Woo, he was reminded of something and then asked, ¡°Oh right. Come to think of it, why did you ask us not to bring the other angels?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I was curious about that as well. Why did you ask only for us three?¡± asked Uriel with his head tilted in wonder.


    Michael approached Kang-Woo and said, ¡°If you¡¯re worried about the state of Sant¡¯Angelo, it has been more or less resto¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not why.¡± Kang-Woo shook his head.


    When he asked Iris to contact Michael to ask for assistance, he also told Iris to tell Michael not to bring other angels aside from Uriel and Gabriel.


    ¡°Setting up the defense line itself is going to be muchter. I just thought there was no need to bring so many so soon.¡±


    Michael tilted his head in confusion, unable to understand the logic. He asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it be prepared as soon as possible since the war is only a month away?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re indeed short on time, but not getting caught is more important.¡±


    Bael would be attacking Seoul in one month, but Kang-Woo needed to maintain the fa?ade that he had no idea about the day of the <i>Apocalypse </i>for their n of attack to work.


    <i>¡®That would make the ambush meaningless.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo had temporarily prevented Bael from being able to observe them through the System, but that was not good enough for him to rest easy.


    <i>¡®We have to set up a defense line throughout Seoul.¡¯</i>


    It was far too wide of a perimeter to be lying in ambush; stealth was the most crucial part of this n, which required the defense line to be prepared as thoroughly and quickly as possible. Hence, it needed to be set up aste as possible.


    ¡°It seems I did not think it through enough.¡± Michael nodded as he stroked his chin, having fully understood Kang-Woo¡¯s intentions. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t it be discovered regardless as soon as we set up the defense line?¡±


    Kang-Woo shrugged and answered, ¡°I¡¯ve already thought of a countermeasure for that.¡±


    However, his countermeasure was not as perfect as he was letting it out to be.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo lightly closed and opened his fists. <i>¡®How hard can it be to keep a brat¡¯s eyes covered?¡¯</i>


    He was certain that he was unmatched at least in his ability to hide things.


    ¡°This won¡¯t be easy.¡± Michael narrowed his eyes and nodded.


    ¡°But it has to be done.¡±


    ¡°As expected of the God of Splendor.¡± Michaelughed.


    Kang-Woo smiled back and turned around. ¡°Right, let¡¯s go to the Hall of Protection. La will brief you on the details once you arrive.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Wh-What about you, Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°I have something to do, so I can¡¯t stay.¡±


    One month was barely enough time to prepare a barrier and a defense line around Seoul, all while staying out of Bael¡¯s sight. There was no time to waste catching up with old friends.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Uriel expressed dejection.


    ¡°Urghh...¡± Iris also looked dejected, biting her lip after finding out that she wouldn¡¯t be able to spend time with Kang-Woo after being apart for so long.


    ¡°Wow, the great God of Splendor sure is popr.¡± Gabriel wrapped her arm around Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulders with a smile. She brought her mouth close to Kang-Woo¡¯s ear, her breath reeking of alcohol. ¡°Why don¡¯t you work your charm that got you so popr on little old me as well?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha.¡±


    <i>¡®What¡¯s wrong with you, crazydy?¡¯</i>


    ¡°I already have a Darling.¡±


    <i>¡®Keep that up, and you¡¯ll die.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hmm. You¡¯re getting me even more fired up.¡±


    <i>¡®You might catch fire for real at this rate.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Alright, pleasee this way.¡±


    Kang-Woo took Gabriel¡¯s arm off of his shoulders and turned.


    ¡°Tsk, you¡¯re no fun.¡± Gabriel clicked her tongue and stepped away from Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo looked back at her and smiled.


    <i>¡®You don¡¯t know this, but I just saved your life.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Before that, I have something to tell you,¡± Michael remarked as Kang-Woo was about to get moving as he shook his head.


    ¡°Oh... that? Is there even a need to tell him when it¡¯s almost over?¡± asked Uriel apathetically as he interlocked his finger behind his head, knowing exactly what Michael was about to tell Kang-Woo.


    ¡°We should share every little detail in dire situations like this.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Kang-Woo asked as he turned to Michael, tilting his head.


    ¡°A group of demons was discovered in Aernor not long ago.¡±


    ¡°A group of demons?¡±


    ¡°Yes. There were about... a hundred of them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not that many... or I guess it could be considered a lot. Did they cause any issues?¡±


    ¡°Not much. After all...¡± Michael narrowed his eyes and continued, ¡°They were stragglers.¡±


    ¡°Stragglers?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I do not know exactly why, but the demons were running away while covered in wounds.¡±


    ¡°From who?¡±


    ¡°That we don¡¯t know, but I would assume there was some sort of power struggle among the demons.¡±


    Kang-Woo suddenly recalled what Eilles had said.


    <i>- The majority of Lord Bael¡¯s army is made up of the demons of the Ninth Hell.</i>


    In other words, Bael had taken control of the Ninth Hell after Kang-Woo left.


    <i>¡®And if there was a power struggle among the demons of the Ninth Hell...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo thought about his loyal subordinates who had been with him during the war against the seven princes of Hell and when he earned the right to rule over Hell.


    <i>¡®It can¡¯t be.¡¯</i>


    A thought that he didn¡¯t even want to imagine crossed his mind. He suspected as soon as he was told that Bael had gathered an army of demons from the Ninth Hell that there would be a conflict between his former army and Bael¡¯s army. He had already expected and prepared himself for it.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    If the number of stragglers only amounted to a hundred, it meant one thing that Kang-Woo had not expected to happen.


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s expression froze, chilling bloodlust filling his eyes.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not.¡¯</i>


    He erased the negative thoughts, denying them as nonsense.


    <i>¡®I¡¯m sure they¡¯re just some random straggler demons.¡¯</i>


    A part of his mind was sure that his negative thought was true despite his best efforts to deny it.


    Kang-Woo asked quietly, ¡°Was there... a particr demon among them whose name you know or if any of their characteristics stood out to you?¡±


    Michael nodded. ¡°Oh, yes. I believe the leader of the stragglers was named...¡± He lightly tapped on his chin as hebed through his memories. ¡°Doomguard.¡±


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes. The possibility he had tried so hard to deny had be a fact.


    <i>¡®Doomguard.¡¯</i>


    He was the Guardian of Ruin, as well as the demon whomanded the third battalion of Kang-Woo¡¯s Demon King army.


    ¡°Could you... tell me where those stragglers are headed?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Oh, of course. They¡¯re heading southeast of Aernor, but... we are close to catching up to them. If you would like to interrogate them, I would rmend you wait a litt¡ª¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Kang-Woo interjected, his eyes glinting fiercely. ¡°I will go personally.¡±


    ¡°You, Kang-Woo...?¡±


    ¡°Yes. There is a high chance they are associated with the Demon of Prophecy. I would like to interrogate them myself.¡±


    ¡°I see. In that case, I will have the pursuit squad apany y¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s alright. You can just tell me where they are and I will resolve this issue myself.¡±


    Kang-Woo waved his hand and smiled brightly, but there was something slightly off about his smile.

 Chapter 504 - Day of the Apocalypse (1)

    <h4>Chapter 504 - Day of the Apocalypse (1)</h4>


    A month passed by in a sh. During that time, Oh Kang-Woo prepared a barrier and a defense line that would span the entirety of Seoul and selected the members who would be present for the battle against Bael and his army. Of course, he couldn¡¯t do all of that by himself; La, Kim Si-Hun, Lilith, Cha Yeon-Joo, and others helped an enormous amount.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s finally tomorrow.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked up at the sky. Time passed by in a sh ever since he arrived on Earth, but it had been several times faster this past month.


    ¡°They¡¯re probably in the middle of the final briefing.¡±


    Kang-Woo would have been required to participate, but La had allowed him to take a break after the insane schedule he had to suffer this past month.


    <i>¡®Well, the final briefing isn¡¯t as crucial as it sounds.¡¯</i>


    Although the war would decide the fate of this world, it was fundamentally different from a regr war. Things like intricate strategies, impregnable defenses, and impablemanding of forces would not decide the oue of this war.


    <i>¡®It all depends on who between me and Bael survives.¡¯</i>


    Hence, La was doing her best to brief the members of Guardians not on how to win the war, but on how to minimize casualties. Even if they managed to defeat Bael¡¯s army, it would be pointless if Kang-Woo didn¡¯t defeat Bael, and it would be just as pointless if Earth were to fall to Bael¡¯s army after Kang-Woo defeated Bael.


    <i>¡®The battle needs to end as quickly as possible.¡¯</i>


    There was no better option than that.


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo looked down at his hands. He had done everything he could but there was one thing he was disappointed about.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to get Transcendent-rank Deific Essence.¡±


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and narrowed his eyes. He had been most focused on getting it during the month of preparation, but he failed no matter how many times he tried.


    <i>¡®I thought I¡¯d be able to get it after devouring Arakyle and the entire Despair Corps.¡¯</i>


    The System window did not even appear as if to spit on his hopes.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t even get in touch with the System these days.¡¯</i>


    It could be because the System was putting all of its power into keeping matters of Earth out of Bael¡¯s eyes, or it might be a sign that the Law of Titans was almostpletely in Bael¡¯s control. Kang-Woo could not get in touch with the artificial intelligence that had introduced itself to him as <i>Eve</i>.


    ¡°Tsk, I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    The day of the Apocalypse was tomorrow; there was no time to sulk because he had been unable to acquire Transcendent-rank Deific Essence.


    <i>¡®I might as well go through some final checks too.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stood up as he circted the enormous amount of demonic energy flowing out from his heart.


    ¡°Umm... are you here, Kang-Woo?¡±


    The rooftop door opened and appeared from it Han Seol-Ah.


    Kang-Woo turned around happily and asked, ¡°What is it, Darling?¡±


    ¡°The briefing just ended so I came to get you.¡±


    ¡°Get me? For what?¡±


    ¡°La suggested everyone have a meal together since this is our final night,¡± Seol-Ah remarked in a slightly heavy tone. The word <i>final </i>seemed to have impacted her quite greatly.


    ¡°Really? Sounds good.¡±


    Seol-Ah thought, <i>¡®After tomorrow... no one knows how things will turn out.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hurgh,¡± Seol-Ah groaned and bit her lip anxiously.


    Chills ran down her back from the thought that she might never see Kang-Woo again. She clenched her trembling fists and the light disappeared in her eyes. She approached Kang-Woo and caressed his arm.


    ¡°... Umm, Darling?¡±


    <i>¡®Why are you touching my arm out of the blue?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Oh... I-It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    <i>¡®Your eyes are a bit too scary for that to be the case.¡¯</i>


    ¡°...¡± Seol-Ah lightly clenched Kang-Woo¡¯s arm and continued, ¡°To be honest... I want to forcibly take you with me and run away somewhere.¡±


    ¡°With my limbs intact?¡±


    ¡°... Pardon?¡±


    ¡°No, forget I said anything,¡± said Kang-Woo and smirked. He patted Seol-Ah¡¯s head and continued, ¡°You know that won¡¯t change anything.¡±


    Even if Kang-Woo were to run away, Bael would chase him to the very end. A fight against Bael was no longer a choice. The cycle would end only if one of them died.


    ¡°Yes. I know, but...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Darling.¡± Kang-Woo kissed Seol-Ah. ¡°I¡¯m gonna win.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s expression brightened. She smiled faintly and nodded in silence.


    ¡°Right, we shouldn¡¯t keep La waiting. Has everyone else gathered?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Yes. Oh, we¡¯re not meeting in the Hall of Protection. It¡¯s going to be at... Balrog¡¯s house.¡±


    ¡°Balrog¡¯s house? Why there?¡±


    ¡°Because the angels are at the Hall of Protection.¡±


    ¡°Oh...¡± Kang-Woo nodded after understanding. ¡°Then let¡¯s fly there.¡±


    He reached out his hand toward Seol-Ah, who grabbed it with an embarrassed expression. Kang-Woo reached under her knees and lifted her. Of course, Seol-Ah didn¡¯t need to be carried since she had Seraph¡¯s wings but take a damn hint.


    Kang-Woo jumped up from the apartment rooftop and looked down at the city view under them. The streets of Seoul were <i>bustling </i>with people.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that¡¯s all fake,¡± Seol-Ah mentioned as she looked down at the streets filled with neon signs and people.


    ¡°We need to do at least this much to fool Bael.¡±


    Anyone would be suspicious if the ce they were about to invade had be a ghost town. To prevent something like that from happening, he filled the deserted streets with the <i>Key of the Demonic Sea</i>.


    <i>¡®Slushy sure went all out.¡¯</i>


    The Key of the Demonic Sea was able to transform into anything; its arsenal was not restricted to weapons. Kang-Woo had made Slushy create dolls the shape of humans and spread them throughout Seoul.


    ¡°...¡±


    Seol-Ah looked up at Kang-Woo in silence. He was mentioning it as if it had been a piece of cake, but she knew how hard he had worked to create those dolls.


    <i>¡®It goes to show just how important this war is.¡¯</i>


    Seol-Ah closed her eyes as she added more strength to her arms around Kang-Woo¡¯s neck.


    ¡°...¡±


    An inexplicable uneasiness surged within her despite being able to feel his warmth from so close.


    ***


    A boy was standing on top of a hill made of red sand below a burning red sky. He looked down with nk eyes at the enormous number of demons standing at attention in front of him.


    He asked, ¡°Is everything ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Amon replied as he bowed. He lightly pounded his staff on the ground and continued, ¡°Arakyle being killed by the Demon King after acting on his own was outside of my expectations...¡±


    Amon frowned in displeasure. He had epted Arakyle into their ranks because he said that he would betray the Demon King and join them, but he had caused a mess after acting without orders.


    ¡°But it has not affected the n.¡±


    Their army boasted immense power even without Arakyle and the Despair Corps. Their goal was to end not just Earth but all worlds of the Triad and to put them under the rule of the Nine Hells. Ending Earth would be a piece of cake.


    ¡°I have also prepared a trump card,¡± Amon expressed.


    ¡°A trump card?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Amon smiled, his wrinkled face wrinkling further. He caressed a ck orb in his pocket; the soul of a demon was squirming inside of it.


    ¡°Hmm~¡± Bael turned around apathetically, having no interest in it. He looked down at his army as he pped his legs. ¡°I was a bit worried when the monitoring feature of the Law was blocked.¡±


    ¡°There is no need to worry. They are not prepared in the slightest.¡±


    Amon smiled widely. They were the ones who held the initiative since the humans had no idea when Bael and his army would invade. Their victory was already set in stone.


    ¡°Once you get your hands on the Demonic Sea, all privileges of the Law of Titans will be transferred to you.¡±


    ¡°Hihihi!¡± Baelughed as his shoulders moved up and down. ¡°I don¡¯t need that shit.¡±


    Crack.


    Bael¡¯s head tilted at an abnormal ny degrees and he stared at Amon.


    ¡°What...?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit about what happens to the Law of Titans.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about winning the war or making the Triad the territory of the Nine Hells.¡±


    ¡°What do you¡ª¡±


    ¡°You see.¡± Bael twirled as if dancing. ¡°All I need is to prove that he¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Just seeing him struggling pathetically and powerlessly is enough for me. Everything else other than the Demon King is of no concern to me.¡±


    Bael¡¯s eyes glinted with madness.


    ¡°H-Hihihi!! Hihihi!!¡± He burst into crazedughter as he stuck out his long tongue. ¡°Hey, Amon.¡±


    ¡°... Yes, Lord Bael.¡±


    ¡°Do you think the Demon King will be able to bear it... even if <i>that </i>were to disappear?¡± Bael asked as he hummed.


    Amon firmly shook his head. ¡°No. He... will not be able to bear it. After all, the Demon King is not the one who keeps the Demonic Sea intact.¡±


    ¡°Hihihi! Right? He won¡¯t be able to do a thing, right?¡± Baelughed as if making a fuss and trembled. ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    He looked up at the burning red sky, his eyes filled with ecstasy.


    ¡°Hihihi! You¡¯re nothing,¡± he said to someone who couldn¡¯t see or hear him. ¡°I was first, okay? Do you know that? I DID IT BEFORE YOU!!!¡±


    <i>Huff, huff.</i>


    Bael shouted to the point that he was out of breath and then cackled.


    ¡°Haaah.¡± He sprawled on top of the hill of red sand. ¡°H-Hihi. Finally... I¡¯ve finally made it this far.¡±


    Much time had passed since he lost to the Demon King, regained his power, acquired the Demon God¡¯s heart, and met the Demon King again.


    ¡°Youughed at me back then.¡±


    Bael recalled the Demon King mocking him, saying that he was nothing.


    Crack.


    He clenched his fists so hard that his bones broke. Bael looked at the sky as hey down on top of the hill. The burning red sky looked tranquil today for some reason.


    ¡°The calm before the storm, I believe it was called?¡±


    It was the perfect phrase to describe the tranquility.


    ¡°Hi... Hihi. You or me, I wonder?¡±


    The battle on the day of the Apocalypse would decide who was right.

 Side Story Chapter 32 - Troubling Date (3)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 32 - Troubling Date (3)</h4>


    An awkward silence fell between the two people who came out of the Ferris wheel cart.


    ¡°U-Umm... Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m disappointed in you, Darling.¡±


    ¡°Ngh...!¡± Han Seol-Ah flinched and she hunched. She lowered her head like a sinner and twiddled her fingers. ¡°I¡¯m sorry... I-I couldn¡¯t hold myself back because it¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve been a-alone together.¡±


    ¡°Even if we were in a Ferris wheel... We would¡¯ve been visible to everyone if I hadn¡¯t used the Authority of Blindness.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then does that mean we can do it anywhere as long as you use that Auth¡ª¡±


    ¡°Darling.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Seol-Ah lowered her head sorrowfully.


    Oh Kang-Woo sighed. The Authority of Blindness was overpowered in that it could alter the target¡¯s sense of sight to make things not visible to them or turn into something entirely different in their eyes. Purely regarding its capabilities, not even the Authorities of the princes of Hell could hold up to it.


    <i>¡®But ites with a massive amount of restrictions.¡¯</i>


    Not only was its demonic energy consumption rate insanely high, but its effects plummeted when used on an unspecifiedrge number of people. Most of all, the Authority of Blindness would be undone almost instantly if the target had even the tiniest amount of demonic energy resistance.


    <i>¡®Fortunately, there are only regr people with no resistance to demonic energy around.¡¯</i>


    If there had been a High Ranker in the area, they could have seen through the Authority of Blindness and what was happening inside the cart.


    ¡°Are you angry...?¡± cautiously asked Seol-Ah as she grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s clothes, teary-eyed as if she were about to cry.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s okay, Darling.¡±


    No one could get angry at Seol-Ah after seeing her face. Kang-Woo smiled brightly and patted the dejected Seol-Ah¡¯s back.


    ¡°Kang-Woo!¡±


    Two soft mounds of fat pressed against Kang-Woo¡¯s cheeks.


    ¡°Urgh.¡± It took Kang-Woo a few minutes to barely escape her embrace. ¡°Ahem. That aside, shall we get something to eat?¡±


    ¡°Oh, look at the time.¡±


    It was already past lunchtime after the two did all kinds of <i>things</i>. They did not require sustenance but couldn¡¯t pass up on delicious food when they were on a date.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ve never had American food either.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo preferred Korean to Western cuisine, but that did not mean he didn¡¯t like hamburgers, fried chicken, pizza, and other foods. He practically liked anything delicious.


    ¡°Here are the restaurants. Let¡¯s go here.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Seol-Ah smiled brightly again after judging Kang-Woo''s anger had quelled, and hugged Kang-Woo¡¯s arm again. They headed to the food court.


    ¡°Th-The smell of grease is insane,¡± Seol-Ah remarked.


    ¡°They say half of America¡¯s poption is obese, and I think I get why.¡±


    Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah¡¯s mouths were left agape as they entered the food court. The stench of grease and cheese was so pungent that they felt full just from being in the area.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see, what should we eat?¡± Kang-Woo wondered.


    ¡°Ngh... I think I lost my appetite.¡±


    He circled the food court, holding hands with Seol-Ah. The ce was filled with familiar foods like hamburgers, pizza, and pasta, as well as foods he had never seen before.


    <i>¡®Ah, I¡¯m craving kimchi stew.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo sighed as he stared at foods he did not particrly crave. He would likely not find a ce that made kimchi stew in such a faraway foreign country.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll make sure kimchi stew is sold all over the world one day,¡¯ </i>he thought passionately.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just choose randomly.¡±


    Kang-Woo sighed and walked to the nearest restaurant that mainly sold fried chicken thigh lunchboxes mixed with mashed potatoes and other vegetables. It seemed the most appetizing out of the rest of the foods he had seen.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have the same as you, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    They took their seats once they ordered and the guest pager vibrated soon after.


    ¡°Right then, shall we eat?¡±


    ¡°Hoho, you love your friend chicken, don¡¯t you, Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°I sure do.¡±


    Kang-Woo loved Korean food far more but enjoyed fried chicken the most among Western foods.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s have a taste of American fried chicken.¡±


    He opened the lunchbox, stuck a fork into therge chicken thigh, and took a big bite.


    ¡°Pffp!!¡± An insanely salty taste attacked his taste buds. ¡°What the fuck is this?!¡±


    <i>¡®Did they stuff the chicken with salt or something?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Ngh...¡±


    Seol-Ah also grimaced after biting into the chicken thigh.


    <i>¡®How much salt did they add for it to get this salty?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo took a mouthful of the mashed potatoes to cancel out the saltiness.


    ¡°Pffp! Why the fuck is this salty?!¡±


    It was even saltier than the fried chicken for some reason.


    Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah looked down at the lunchbox in astonishment.


    ¡°I guess... the Western food we had in Korea was just Korean food.¡±


    ¡°I once saw on the news that Korea has been shifting to saltier foodstely, but it¡¯s not even close to this,¡± Seol-Ah mentioned.


    Kang-Woo threw away the lunchboxes. Although they were on a date, he did not want to eat fried chicken practically covered in salt.


    ¡°Urgh, let¡¯s just look around some more, Darling.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Kang-Woo.¡±


    They got up from their seats and looked around Universal Studios again. The food left much to be desired, but there were tons of things to do in the amusement park. It was already evening after they rode various attractions such as one themed with robots that could transform into cars, a boat where a massive shark suddenly appeared next to them, and many others.


    ¡°Whoa, time flew by so quickly.¡±


    ¡°I had a wonderful time.¡± Seol-Ah smiled in satisfaction.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go back now?¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡± she expressed disappointment. She wanted to spend some more time with Kang-Woo alone. ¡°A-Already?¡±


    ¡°We should, considering the time difference.¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s expression darkened. She bit her lip, softly grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s clothes, and said, ¡°I want to... be with you for a little longer, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°But we live togeth¡ª¡± Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion but remained silent as he noticed Seol-Ah¡¯s teary eyes. ¡°Okay, then. We¡¯ve seen everything there is to see here, so why don¡¯t we head to the beach?¡±


    ¡°Ah...! O-Okay!¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s gloomy expression brightened in an instant. Kang-Woo grabbed her hand and headed to Santa Monica Beach located in Los Angeles. It was considerably far from Universal Studios, but it was no problem for Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah who could fly at supersonic speed.


    <i>Swoosh.</i>


    ¡°Fufu, This feels kind of romantic.¡± Seol-Ah giggled as they walked along the beach in the dark, holding hands.


    It was not talking despite them barely talking; rather, they were hit with waves of joy.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa.¡±


    Just then, Kang-Woo heard heavy breathing. He turned to see Seol-Ah, her face red and biting her lip as if desperately trying to hold something back.


    ¡°Darling?¡±


    ¡°Yes?!¡±


    Seol-Ah flinched and turned to Kang-Woo in surprise.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°N-N-N-N-Nothing!¡± she stuttered as she rapidly shook her head.


    It was not difficult to figure out why. ¡°Are you having trouble holding back?¡±


    ¡°N-No! Not at all! I¡¯m happy enough just holding hands with you like this!¡± However, her cheeks were so red it could be seen in the dark. She forcibly made a leisurely expression and continued, ¡°S-So... I won¡¯t suggest things like going on the Ferris wheel or anything like that from earlier.¡±


    She seemed to have taken the scolding she had gotten after the incident in the Ferris wheel hard.


    ¡°Pfft! Hahahaha!¡±


    Kang-Woo burst intoughter and softly kissed Seol-Ah. Her awkward smile as she desperately held back her impulses couldn¡¯t be any more lovely; after all, the key reason was her deep love for him.


    ¡°Wh-Why are youughing, Kang-Woo?!¡± shouted Seol-Ah as she lightly pinched Kang-Woo.


    She shrank back cutely like a dog being scolded by their owner.


    ¡°There seemed to be tons of motels in the area, so why don¡¯t we stop by one of them?¡± Kang-Woo suggested.


    ¡°A m-motel?¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes shook, panting even more heavily than before. Kang-Woo could feel her trembling because they were holding hands.


    ¡°I mean... I doubt you¡¯ll be satisfied with my current body.¡±


    Kang-Woo lowered his head in sorrow, just like his lowered Fran?ois.


    <i>¡®Fuck my life...¡¯</i>


    He was swept by a massive sense of shame. He felt like a middle-aged man searching for foods that boost libido like a hyena.


    <i>¡®Well, libido isn¡¯t the issue in my case.¡¯</i>


    There were no issues since what was sucked out of him was replenished with Seol-Ah¡¯s healing magic, but there was a different issue entirely.


    Riiing.


    [It¡¯s an issue of scale (Vienna).]


    ¡®Quiet.¡¯


    [Puhi! Puhi! ~(???~)(~???)~!]


    [Kufufufufu.]


    <i>¡®Hahaha. Oh, Eve. You¡¯ve been having it so easytely, huh? You said that I¡¯ll gain the privilege to influence the Law of Titans once I regain my powers, didn¡¯t you? Did you forget that we can have a tearjerking meeting once that happens?¡¯</i>


    [...]


    <i>¡®Just you wait, bitch. I¡¯ll turn your head into a question mark as soon as I get to you.]</i>


    [?(?? ? -?)??]


    <i>¡®Fuck off.¡¯</i>


    [??¨@?¨A?????? ]


    <i>¡®Get the fuck out of my sight. Those goddamn emotes won¡¯t help you.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hohoho. Don¡¯t worry about that,m Kang-Woo,¡± Seol-Ah said as she smiled and hugged Kang-Woo. She licked Kang-Woo¡¯s ear and whispered, ¡°I told you I like it just as much when I can fit the entire thing in my mouth ?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s switch was flipped. She dragged Kang-Woo by the arm and quickly left the beach. They reached a nearby motel and locked eyes with each other.


    ¡°First, let me take off my clothes¡ª¡±


    ¡°Fufu, I¡¯ll take them off for you.¡±


    Seol-Ah smiled gently as she reached for Kang-Woo, who stepped back in embarrassment.


    Thud.


    Just then, something fell out of his pocket.


    ¡°Huh...?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this, Kang-Woo?¡±


    Seol-Ah tilted her head and picked up the rectangr box that fell to the ground. It was the box that Kang-Woo had put into his pocket after teasing Cha Yeon-Joo as much as he wanted to. Seol-Ah¡¯s expression froze as she saw what the box contained.


    Deathly silence fell in the motel room. Cold sweats ran down Kang-Woo¡¯s back.


    ¡°U-Uhhh...¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes darted crazily, his vision whitening. He needed to find the words that would resolve this situation as quickly as possible.


    ¡°It¡¯s best to be careful since we¡¯re not married yet, you know?¡± The hesitation was over in a mere instant. He held Seol-Ah¡¯s hand and said in all seriousness, ¡°Even if I can alter my bodily fluids, you can never be too careful. I want to consider having children in the future, but right now, I...¡±


    <i>¡®Yeah! Hell yeah! This should be good enough! Okay, just one more step! One more step!!¡¯</i>


    ¡°I want to enjoy the time we have together as a couple some more.¡±


    <i>¡®Am I safe? I¡¯m safe, right?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Kang-Woo,¡± said Seol-Ah, her tone as cold as ice. She thoroughly examined the contents of the box and slowly turned to look at Kang-Woo, her eyes devoid of life. ¡°This box...¡±


    <i>Creak.</i>


    Her head tilted abnormally like a wooden doll.


    ¡°Why is there... one missing?¡±

 Side Story Chapter 33 - Troubling Date (4)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 33 - Troubling Date (4)</h4>


    ¡°Why is there... one missing?¡±


    Oh Kang-Woo thought time had stopped. He couldn¡¯t breathe. His back was drenched with cold sweats. His lips trembled. His thoughts evaporated, leaving his headpletely nk.


    <i>¡®Ah...¡¯</i> he groaned in his head. <i>¡®I¡¯m fucked. My life is over. What do I do? Seriously, what the fuck do I do?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Did you... use one?¡± asked Han Seol-Ah, eyes devoid of life.


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes, thinking of countless lies and excuses he could tell her.


    <i>¡®No, no!¡¯</i>


    He bit his lip and shook his head. He no longer wanted to deceive his darling with cheap lies.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ve... always lied.¡¯</i>


    He put on a false mask and deceived others for the sake of survival and to devour his enemies while their guard was down. He distorted the truth, looked down on his enemies, and trampled on them.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists and shut his eyes tightly. It was Seol-Ah of all people¡ª the woman whom he had promised to be with forever.


    <i>¡®I... don¡¯t want to lie to Seol-Ah at the very least.¡¯</i>


    He wanted to show her what was under his false mask.


    <i>¡®Only then can I truly say that I love her.¡¯</i>


    He hardened his resolve.


    <i>¡®Yeah. I¡¯ll tell her the truth. I won¡¯t add even the tiniest lie. I¡¯lly it all out in front of her.¡¯</i>


    ¡°I...¡± Kang-Woo looked into her eyes and continued, ¡°Blew it up like a balloon.¡±


    He told the god-honest truth.


    Silence fell once again.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    The twelve angel wings that shone brightly under the deathly silence were flickering ck like a broken light bulb.


    ¡°Hohoho. What an interesting excuse, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°H-Huh?¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at Seol-Ah as he took a step back.


    ¡°A balloon...? Hoho. You must be rather flustered.¡±


    ¡°N-No, it¡¯s the truth.¡±


    <i>¡®I seriously blew it up like a balloon.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Tell me.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Tell me where, when, and who you used it with!¡±


    ¡°W-Wait! You¡¯ve got it wrong! I seriously used it like a balloon!¡±


    ¡°Enough with your absurd excuses!! Who in the world would use this as a balloon?!¡±


    ¡°It was super stic!¡±


    <i>¡®It got this~ big!¡¯</i>


    ¡°Urgh!¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s expression crumpled. Chains of light poured out from the twelve wings and wrapped around Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Darling, I told you these things don¡¯t work on me anymore.¡±


    Kang-Woo was not his former self. After his battle against Rajang, he regained enough power to just barely be a match for Kim Si-Hun; such restraints would not work on him.


    ¡°Wh-What the hell?¡±


    <i>¡®Why can¡¯t I break them?¡¯</i>


    However, Kang-Woo stared at Seol-Ah perplexedly after noticing that her chains were several times stronger than before. He couldn¡¯t break them even after using all his might.


    <i>¡®Th-There¡¯s no way Darling is this strong...¡¯</i>


    The powers she was disying surpassed that of Si-Hun.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s impossible.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head in disbelief, his face pale. Even if the soul of the Celestial Goddess Seraph dwelled within Seol-Ah, her powers were merely those she gained without a price. She couldn¡¯t bepared to Si-Hun, who awakened Deific Essence after endless effort and training as well as enough talent to back it up. At least, that was how it was supposed to be.


    ¡°Th-They won¡¯t break.¡±


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t understand why the chains didn¡¯t budge, no matter how much he struggled.


    <i>¡®Oh.¡¯</i> Just then, a thought popped up in his head.<i> ¡®Come to think of it...¡¯</i>


    Although it was gone now, Seol-Ah had experience epting the power of a Titan, an entity that not even he could fathom. Such a feat would have been impossible if Seol-Ah did not possess talent surpassing that of Si-Hun.


    Kang-Woo¡¯s face paled.


    ¡°Stay still, Kang-Woo.¡±


    Seol-Ah approached Kang-Woo, her eyes chillingly lifeless and devoid of the usual gentle light in them. She seductively caressed the restrained Kang-Woo¡¯s cheek. She then reached for under his neck, lifted him, andid him on the bed.


    ¡°Kang-Woo...¡±


    ¡°W-Wait! Please wait!¡±


    ¡°Please... don¡¯t lie to me anymore.¡±


    ¡°No! I told you I wasn¡¯t lying!¡±


    <i>¡®I seriously used it like a balloon!¡¯</i>


    Her eyes filled with sorrow. She fiercely bit her lip and trembled.


    She raised the box that fell out of Kang-Woo¡¯s pocket and asked coldly, ¡°You... used this with Yeon-Joo, didn''t you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    She asked sorrowfully, ¡°You... did it with Yeon-Joo, didn''t you?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±


    Tears welled up from Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°You can tell me the truth. After all, I¡¯ve known for a while now that you harbor some feelings for Yeon-Joo as well. But of course, I am a little... very... extremely hurt that you slept with her without telling me.¡±


    ¡°No, I seriously didn¡¯t! I just used it to tease her! We went outside after she confessed to me and that¡¯s when this fell out of her pocket¡ª¡±


    ¡°So, Yeon-Joo confessed to you first.¡±


    ¡°<i>Gasp</i>. I mean... she did, but...¡±


    Seol-Ah smiled sorrowfully. It was different from the case of Lilith; Kang-Woo had epted Lilith only after he got Seol-Ah¡¯s approval as a way to prove to Seo-Ah that she was his number one.


    ¡°Ahaha. To be honest... I knew something like this would happen one day. I was ready for it, but... I wished for you to tell me first at the very least. I wished for you to give me at least some time to steel my heart.¡±


    Tears flowed down Seol-Ah¡¯s cheeks. Kang-Woo also burst into tears.


    ¡°I said I didn¡¯t... I use it like a balloon...¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s expression hardened. ¡°Why, why...¡±


    Her lifeless eyes shook even more.


    ¡°Why do you keep lying to me?¡±


    She gritted her teeth and grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°After seeing how much I love you! After seeing how much I trust you! I don¡¯t need anything else but you!!¡±


    <i>Crackle!</i>


    ck sparks formed around the twelve wings as they flickered ck more rapidly.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa, haaa.¡±


    Seol-Ah panted heavily. The more the wings flickered, the power surging from her grew more massive.


    ¡°This won¡¯t do.¡± Seol-Ah got on top of the restrained Kang-Woo. ¡°Until you realize I am your number one...¡± She slowly wrapped around him and whispered seductively in his ear, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a thorough lesson. I¡¯ll make it so that not a single cell in your body can live without me.¡±


    Kang-Woo looked up as he struggled.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    He saw twelve jet-ck wings.


    ***


    <i>Whoosh! Whoosh!</i>


    Explosive fists tore through space.


    ¡°Huup!¡±


    Red muscles swelled as if they would explode. Balrog brought his right foot back and pulled back his fist like drawing a bow. He shifted his weight to his left foot and twisted his hips.


    ¡°Haaaah!¡±


    <i>Boom¡ª!!!</i>


    A sandbag protected by dozens of barriers shook. Balrog took a breath and consecutively punched the shaking sandbag. His fists, almost asrge as a human torso, smashing into the sandbag looked like a wrecking ball smashing into a building.


    <i>Crack! Burst¡ª!</i>


    ¡°Mm?¡± The sandbag eventually exploded after taking many of Balrog¡¯s punches. ¡°Not again.¡±


    Balrog clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and shook his head.


    ¡°Fuuu... Come to think of it. I haven¡¯t seen the king at alltely.¡±


    Balrog frowned, his hideous face crumpling. They had met every day back when Balrog was helping with Kang-Woo¡¯s training but they had barely met once the training lost its effect.


    ¡°Hmm. Should I visit him?¡± Balrog fell into thought as he fiddled with the pendant that allowed him to transform into a human. ¡°Yes!¡±


    There was no reason to wait for his king to visit him first. It was only natural for a loyal subordinate to check on his king. Balrog turned to the training room door and opened it. Just then, he noticed someone on the other side.


    ¡°Lilith...? What are you doing here?¡±


    Lilith was standing in front of the training room door with a somber expression.


    ¡°Balrog. There¡¯s something I have to tell you, so follow me.¡±


    Balrog frowned. He wanted to ask what it was about but couldn¡¯t bring himself to after noticing how darkened her expression was.


    ¡°Understood.¡± He nodded and followed behind her.


    Lilith took Balrog to the Hall of Protection, the headquarters of Guardians. La, Si-Hun, Yeon-Joo, and Echidna were already gathered there.


    ¡°So, what is this about?¡± asked Yeon-Joo as she turned to Lilith.


    Lilith shut her eyes tightly and asked, ¡°Has anyone in this room seen Master Kang-Woo this past week?¡±


    ¡°Oh Kang-Woo...?¡± Yeon-Joo¡¯s expression crumpled. She turned away and said apathetically, ¡°Nope, he hasn¡¯t contacted me even once this whole week.¡±


    Her tone carried a hint of sorrow and loneliness. She softly bit her lip.


    ¡°I have not seen hyung-nim either.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    Echidna and Lilith¡¯s expressions grew darker with Si Hun and La¡¯s answers.


    ¡°<i>Sniff, waaaaaaaaah!</i>¡± Echidna then burst into tears, grabbing everyone¡¯s attention as they stared at her dumbfoundedly. ¡°<i>Sniff!</i> Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah... disappeared.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    <i>m!</i>


    Si-Hun sprang up from his seat in pallor.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Lilith sighed deeply. ¡°At first, I thought Master Kang-Woo went on a trip with Seol-Ah because they weren¡¯ting home without any contact.¡±


    She lowered her head lifelessly.


    ¡°But...¡± Her clenched fists trembled. ¡°It¡¯s weird they haven¡¯t contacted us for a whole week.¡±


    Kang-Woo always told people where he was headed so that they wouldn¡¯t worry about him, but not this time; he had left without a trace with Seol-Ah.


    ¡°No way...¡± Yeon-Joo slurred.


    It was the same as when he was trapped in the Temple of Truth after getting kidnapped by the Wikiholic.


    Yeon-Joo continued, ¡°Are you saying... Kang-Woo was kidnapped?¡±


    Lilith nodded.


    <i>Boom¡ª!!</i>


    The floor of the Hall of Protection split along with a deafening sound.


    ¡°Who...?¡± Balrog¡¯s eyes zed as he roared, ¡°WHO DARES KIDNAP THE KING¡ª?!¡±


    Balrog¡¯s ferocious Demon Roar echoed throughout the Hall of Protection.

 Side Story Chapter 34 - Troubling Date (5)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 34 - Troubling Date (5)</h4>


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    The Hall of Protection shook. Echidna turned pale from sensing the immense energy pouring out of Balrog.


    ¡°Calm down, muscle pig,¡± said Lilith coldly.


    ¡°The king was kidnapped, and you expect me to calm d¡ª¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do, then? We have no idea where Master Kang-Woo is.¡±


    Balrog flinched and bit his lip in frustration. ¡°My apologies, young dragon.¡±


    ¡°Mm. I-It¡¯s okay.¡± Echidna shook her head as she caught her breath.


    It was not difficult to imagine the thoughts going through Balrog¡¯s head.


    ¡°La,¡± Lilith called as she gently patted the trembling Echidna¡¯s head. ¡°Please keep the divine realm out of this incid¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure of it. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    La nodded, knowing exactly what Lilith was trying to say. Gaia was partly responsible for keeping the gods of the divine realm in check so that they couldn¡¯t manifest into Earth, but the main reason was that they were afraid of the monster Oh Kang-Woo after witnessing his might during his battle against Bael. If the information that Kang-Woo disappeared was to spread throughout the divine realm, the situation would get even moreplicated than now.


    ¡°I will call an emergency meeting for all of Guardians this instant,¡± said Kim Si-Hun as he turned around to leave right away, gripping the hilt of his sword.


    ¡°No, please wait,¡± Lilith remarked.


    ¡°There is no time to waste!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right! That son of a bitch Kang-Woo is gone! What are we doing just standing around here for?!¡± Yeon-Joo shouted anxiously. ¡°I¡¯ll gather my guild members right now! We¡¯re bound to find a clue or two if Guardians and Red Rose investigate together¡ª¡±


    ¡°Calm down, Yeon-Joo,¡± Lilith said calmly. ¡°Unleashing a massive number of people to investigate is no different from telling the kidnapper to run away.¡±


    ¡°Th-That¡¯s true, but...¡±


    ¡°Please leave the investigation to me.¡±


    ¡°Y-You have a way to find Kang-Woo?¡± Yeon-Joo widened her eyes, filled with hope. She then recalled something and shouted, ¡°Oh, right! You¡¯re in charge of managing Kang-Woo¡¯s personal information, right?!¡±


    She recalled hearing something about it when Kang-Woo misunderstood online shit-talking at the PC room as a leak of his personal information.


    ¡°Then you have ess to his smartphone and stuff like that, right? Can¡¯t you locate him using the GPS on his phone?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    Lilith shook her head and answered, ¡°Of course, I tried to locate Master Kang-Woo¡¯s smartphone before calling all of you here, but...¡± She then sighed and continued, ¡°Seol-Ah once secretly installed a tracking app on Master Kang-Woo¡¯s phone. After that, he has the tracking function turned off at all times because Seol-Ah would keeping to find him wherever he goes...¡±


    Yeon-Joo¡¯s mouth was left agape in astonishment. ¡°Th-Then there¡¯s no other way?¡±


    Lilith nodded with a heavy expression. ¡°But I¡¯m confident I can find him more effectivelypared to having people search for him randomly.¡±


    Yeon-Joo bit her lip and sat back down on her chair. She muttered sorrowfully, ¡°That damn moron... where the hell is he...?¡±


    She pulled on her hair anxiously.


    <i>¡®After... what he did to me.¡¯</i>


    Yeon-Joo felt boiling rage as well as unbearable shame as she looked back on the memory from back then.


    La, who was looking around the chaos-filled meeting room, turned to Lilith and asked calmly, ¡°You¡¯re thinking of using the private intelligence organization that you have been fostering, correct?¡±


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯ve known about it?¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t underestimate the intelligence capacity of Guardians.¡±


    The intelligence organization fostered by Lilith was low in number but extraordinarily skilled. In contrast, the intelligence organization under Guardians used their immense numbers and unparalleled authority to gather information.


    ¡°In that case...¡± Lilith slurred.


    ¡°Let us have our organizations join forces for today.¡±


    Lilith and La exchanged nces. If Guardians, with its unparalleled authority, and the intelligence organization Lilith worked hard to foster, were to join forces, there was no information in the world they couldn¡¯t find.


    The others who had practically be useless could only stand and watch.


    ¡°First, we have to find where Master Kang-Woo wasst spotted.¡± They needed to figure out where Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah went before they could do anything. Lilith asked La, ¡°Could you let me borrow the right to ess the surveince cameras installed throughout Korea¡ª¡±


    ¡°No.¡± La shook her head. ¡°There is a record of Kang-Woo using the Hall of Protection before he disappeared,¡± she said as she checked the Hall of Protection visit records on her tablet. ¡°They... used the Gate that leads to Los Angeles.¡±


    The Hall of Protection was connected to Gates throughout the world, hence it was often used by executive members as a convenient transportation method.


    ¡°America? For what?¡± asked Yeon-Joo as she tilted her head.


    ¡°We¡¯re about to find out.¡± Lilith took out amunication orb and contacted someone. ¡°Log into Master Kang-Woo¡¯s ount and check his search records.¡±


    Her orb lit up soon after.


    ¡°Universal Studios was among Master Kang-Woo¡¯s search records.¡±


    ¡°Then... they went to an amusement park together?¡± wondered La.


    ¡°Ah! Come to think of it, Seol-Ah once said she wanted to go to an amusement park together with Kang-Woo!¡± shouted Echidna as she raised her hand.


    ¡°Then we should start our investigation from Universal Studios,¡± Lilith remarked.


    ¡°How...? That ce is packed with people.¡±


    Yeon-Joo shook her head in despair. It did not matter if Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah went to Universal Studios when the ce was massive, and tens of thousands of people visited the amusement park each day.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡±


    ¡°I will give you ess to all the surveince cameras installed throughout Universal Studios.¡±


    Lilith and La confidently looked at each other. La used the immense authority possessed by Guardians to acquire the code necessary to ess the Universal Studios surveince server, and Lilith¡¯s intelligence teambed through the surveince footage.


    ¡°We will get live reports of the situation through this crystal orb,¡± said Lilith as she ced the orb on a table.


    Video footage rose from it like a hologram, searching for Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah by scanning footage containing countless people.


    ¡°This feels like... an American spy film.¡±


    Yeon-Joo expressed astonishment as she stared at the screen of countless people¡¯s faces being scanned at extraordinary speed.


    ¡°Found them.¡±


    Lilith¡¯s intelligence team found Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah from the footage in less than five minutes and tracked them using that information.


    ¡°Theyst went to... a motel located in Santa Monica. No traces of them for an entire week after that.¡±


    ¡°A motel? Could it be...?¡± Yeon-Joo frowned. There was nothing wrong with a couple going to a motel but an absurd thought popped into her head. ¡°Nah, there¡¯s no way.¡±


    She erased the thought and stood up.


    ¡°Right, let¡¯s give the ce a visit.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Is it here?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Yeon-Joo and Lilith anxiously stared at the motel room door.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to hesitate for?¡±


    ¡°Ah, wait¡ª¡±


    Balrog in his human form approached the door and kicked open the door before Yeon-Jo and Lilith could stop him.


    Wham!!


    The door shattered, exposing the situation inside the motel room.


    Silence fell outside the room.


    ¡°Gurgh, urghhh.¡±


    The room was as hot as a sauna and reeked of sweat. Twelve ck wings could be seen as a small amount of light shone into the room. They could also hear someone¡¯s deathly groans.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa. How¡¯s this, Kang-Woo? Does it feel good?¡±


    ¡°Stop... stop...¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s aroused voice could also be heard inside the room.


    ¡°Uhh, mm.¡±


    Lilith tapped Balrog, who was left dumbfounded after witnessing the situation inside the room, on the shoulder.


    ¡°Balrog. Could you take everyone outside?¡±


    ¡°This is...¡±


    ¡°Right now.¡±


    Balrog nodded as he took the others to leave the room.


    ¡°Oh, you should stay, Yeon-Joo. I suspect... this has something to do with you,¡± Lilith remarked.


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Yeon-Joo nodded nkly.


    The others left the motel, leaving just Lilith and Yeon-Joo.


    ¡°Huh...?¡± Seol-Ah¡¯s eyes widened, only now realizing people had entered the room.


    ¡°Haaa. Seol-Ah, could you exin what¡¯s going on here?¡±


    ¡°L-Lilith unnie.¡± Seol-Ah flusteredly stared at Lilith momentarily but bit her lip and red at Yeon-Joo after noticing her. ¡°Yeon-Joo. I thought you were my friend... I trusted you!¡±


    Yeon-Joo stared at Seol-Ah, who was pping her ck wings, her eyes full of guilt. She more or less understood why Seol-Ah had ended up this way and why Lilith asked her to stay.


    ¡°Did you do something like this... because I confessed to Kang-WOo?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Seol-Ah shook her head in irritation.


    ¡°Eh...? No?¡±


    ¡°I knew you had feelings for Kang-Woo! And that he reciprocated those feelings!¡±


    Seol-Ah had even thought about approving Yeon-Joo like she had done with Lilith when she was ready. After all, Yeon-Joo was the only person whom she could truly consider a friend.


    ¡°But... I didn¡¯t think you would do it with Kang-Woo without a word to me!¡±


    This was a clear betrayal. It was important to tell someone before they went and did something. It was a major issue when a certain video gamepany ended a certain league; there was a massive difference between doing something after telling people about it and saying something after the fact.


    ¡°Kang-Woo is mine! I care about him the most! I love him the most! Why, why, why, why?!¡±


    Madness exuded from her gaze.


    Yeon-Joo stared at her and tilted her head in confusion. ¡°What... are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I-I mean, you know...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never done it with Kang-Woo.¡±


    Seol-Ah and Yeon-Joo stared at each other, mouths agape as if they couldn¡¯t understand what the other was saying.


    ¡°N-No, that can¡¯t be...¡±


    ¡°Seol-Ah. Yeon-Joo is telling the truth.¡± Lilith smiled as she embraced Yeon-Joo from behind.


    ¡°Kyaah! Wh-What are you doing?!¡±


    Lilith caressed every nook and cranny of Yeon-Joo¡¯s body and continued, ¡°My, what a cute response. Fufu. I guarantee it. Yeon-Joo is a virgin with zero experience.¡±


    She was inside a human body at the moment but Lilith was a subus; she could tell whether someone was a virgin or not just from looking at them.


    ¡°Huh...? Huh?¡± Seol-Ah looked around in confusion. She quickly picked up a rectangr box and shouted, ¡°Th-Then what¡¯s this?!¡±


    ¡°<i>Gasp!</i>¡± Yeon-Joo turned pale after seeing the box. ¡°Th-That¡¯s...¡±


    Yeon-Joo swallowed her humiliation and exined in detail about the time when Kang-Woo teased her.


    ¡°So...¡± Seol-Ah looked down at the box and asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t do it with Kang-Woo?¡±


    ¡°Wh-Why the hell would I do it with that son of a bitch?! I-I mean, uhh... I-I¡¯m not saying I wouldn¡¯t, but... I¡¯m saying... Argh! Whatever, I didn¡¯t do anything with him!!¡±


    Silence fell in the room again.


    ¡°Gurghhhhhhhh. <i>Waaaaaaaaaah!!</i>¡± Sorrowful weeping echoed within the deathly silence. ¡°I told you... I used it like a fucking balloon...¡±

 Side Story Chapter 35 - How Did You Know?

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 35 - How Did You Know?</h4>


    ¡°<i>Yawn</i>.¡±


    A week had passed since the kidnapping incident. Oh Kang-Woo stretched as he took in the sunlight shining between the curtains.


    ¡°Good morning, my king.¡± Lilith, lying to his right, smiled as he caressed his head.


    ¡°Morning.¡± Kang-Woo nodded.


    ¡°Mrmm. Stay in bed a little longer, Kang-Woo.¡±


    Seol-Ah, lying to his left, pulled Kang-Woo in as he was about to get out of bed. She seemed to be a little drowsy still.


    Kang-Woo smirked and lightly pinched Seol-Ah¡¯s cheek. ¡°Why? So you can chain me to the bed again?¡±


    ¡°Ngh! Th-That¡¯s...¡± Seol-Ah sprang up because of his teasing words and lowered her head in shame. ¡°I¡¯m... so sorry. I wasn¡¯t myself back then.¡±


    She had already apologized hundreds of times.


    ¡°Hmm. I agree you went a little too far this time, Seol-Ah. Fufu, I never expected the king¡¯s radio silence was because of you,¡± Lilith expressed.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, unnie.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s fine. Rather, I¡¯m happy since I got another cute little sister to tease because of it.¡± Lilith smiled as she trembled ecstatically. ¡°I could understand why the king loves to tease her so much after trying it myself~ Her reactions are so cute!¡±


    It was revealed after the kidnapping incident that Kang-Woo and Cha Yeon-Joo had not slept together, but the fact that Yeon-Joo confessed her love to Kang-Woo was exposed. Although the order had been reversed, Seol-Ah was put in a situation of whether or not she would approve of Yeon-Joo on top of Lilith.


    Seol-Ah, who was under an immense sense of shame after misunderstanding what happened between Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo, begged them to forgive her and that she wanted to stay with them. Si-Hun and Balrog, who were furious after finding out about Kang-Woo getting kidnapped, implored Kang-Woo to give her a thorough scolding so that she could never cross the line again.


    <i>¡®But well, it all worked out in terms of results.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t lose the golden opportunity that would get Seol-Ah to instantly approve Yeon-Joo as one of Kang-Woo¡¯s lovers. Hence, he ended up getting a third lover.


    Fuck my life. I¡¯ve never even dated a girl until I was thirty.


    ¡°That aside, is Yeon-Joo really not moving in with us?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°She got angry at me, shouting why the hell she woulde live with me.¡±


    ¡°Mm. Isn¡¯t she just shy?¡±


    ¡°I would guess so, considering her personality. I¡¯m sure she needs time to collect her thoughts about this, so I didn¡¯t pester her about it.¡±


    They lived separately but could see each other at any time with one elevator ride. There was no reason to force her to move in with them when she was getting so shy about it.


    <i>¡®And no matter how much I think about it...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at Lilith and Seol-Ah who were stuck to him left and right like mas. They would likely not give up their spots just because Yeon-Joo moved in.


    <i>¡®It¡¯ll only breed conflict.¡¯</i>


    He was already having enough trouble with Seol-Ah and Lilith so it would be difficult to give attention to Yeon-Joo on top of that.


    ¡°What a shame. I wanted to live with her since we¡¯re not that close yet,¡± remarked Lilith as she sighed.


    ¡°It seemed like you two got pretty closetely.¡±


    ¡°Hohoho. Yeon-Joo is simply shy; she doesn¡¯t dislike me.¡±


    After Yeon-Joo became Kang-Woo¡¯s third lover, Lilith approached her and suggested they be sisters since they were now family. Yeon-Joo allowed the female rookie members of her guild to call her <i>unnie </i>but began to avoid Lilith because she was embarrassed to call someone <i>unnie </i>herself. However, Lilith did not stand for it. She visited Yeon-Joo every day to tease her and deepen their bond.


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡±


    Kang-Woo was happy to hear his lovers were close to one another.


    ¡°Then, Kang-Woo... why don¡¯t you count the wrinkles on the ceiling before lunch?¡± Seol-Ah asked seductively.[1]


    ¡°My, that¡¯s a good idea.¡± Lilith also smiled seductively as she embraced Kang-Woo.


    ¡°There aren¡¯t any wrinkles on the ceiling.¡± Kang-Woo pushed them aside and got up. Once their switches were flipped, forget lunch, it would be evening by the time they were satisfied. ¡°More importantly, Darling. Show me your wings.¡±


    ¡°Ah, okay.¡±


    Seol-Ah expressed slight disappointment as she looked at Kang-Woo. She nodded and closed her eyes.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    Massive energy poured out of her as twelve wings sprouted from her back. They were dyed jet-ck, the previous brilliant white color nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°Looks like... they haven¡¯t returned to normal,¡± Kang-Woo mentioned.


    ¡°Yes. They¡¯ve been ck ever since.¡±


    Seol-Ah¡¯s wings had turned ck ever since the kidnapping incident, meaning she had be a fallen angel like Rakiel. Kang-Woo sighed deeply as he stared at Seol-Ah¡¯s ck wings.


    <i>¡®Is it weird that a demon is worried that an angel fell from grace?¡¯</i>


    Considering the members of their home (Demon King, subus, demonic dragon), a fallen angel was more fitting. However, it was only natural for Kang-Woo to be worried since he had no idea what problems the change would bring.


    ¡°Are you feeling fine?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes. Rather, I feel better than before I fell from grace. The... umm, obsession isn¡¯t as bad.¡±


    Seol-Ah lowered her head sorrowfully, recalling what she had donest week. Kang-Woo smiled and gently patted her head.


    ¡°Be careful. No one knows what negative effectse with falling from grace.¡±


    The only thing Kang-Woo knew at this time was that the property of her sacred power had changed into that simr to demonic energy. Her kind personality had not changed nor was she running rampant in madness. Rather, as she mentioned, she seemed to be betterpared to when her actions were heavily influenced by her angelic instincts.


    <i>¡®The properties of her spells have also changed.¡¯</i>


    Her spells which had been specialized for healing and buffs had changed into debuffs like curses, weakening, and restraints. She had be far stronger than before in terms of directbat prowess, but it came at the cost of her extraordinary support capabilities.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be careful. I¡¯ll also practice so that I can master my new powers,¡± said Seol-Ah passionately with her fists clenched.


    Kang-Woo was highly worried about her fall from grace but she was not in particr.


    <i>¡®Being a fallen angel makes me a better match for Kang-Woo.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was a demon, so she thought that she was better off being an entity close to that.


    <i>¡®And now... I can protect Kang-Woo myself.¡¯</i>


    Seol-Ah attained power iparable to her previous self after falling from grace. She was now more powerful than Si-Hun, the man praised to be the strongest human. She still hadn¡¯t reached her full potential because she was having trouble being in control of her altered magic properties, but once she mastered them, she would be one of Kang-Woo¡¯s strongest allies alongside Si-Hun and Balrog.


    ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too hard,¡± said Kang-Woo worryingly as he looked at the excited Seol-Ah.


    Seol-Ah had experienced a power-up from falling from grace, bing more powerful than Celestial Goddess Seraph.


    <i>¡®How is this possible?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo looked at Seol-Ah iprehensibly. The source of her power was Seraph¡¯s soul. Even if she fell from grace, bing more powerful than the source of her power was logically iprehensible.


    <i>¡®Is it really because she epted the power of a Titan?¡¯</i>


    Not even Kang-Woo had an answer to that question.


    ¡°In any case, make sure you let me know if you feel anything strange.¡±


    ¡°Hoho. Don¡¯t worry, Kang-Woo. Aren¡¯t you checking me every night?¡±


    Seol-Ah smiled lovingly and embraced Kang-Woo, who groaned as he scratched his head. He was conflicted because of how happy she was despite having be a fallen angel.


    Beep! Beep! Beep!


    Just then, an rm signal noisily rang inside the room. The token provided by Guardians was shing red.


    ¡°This is...¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s expression hardened. It was simr to when the Parasite King invaded Earth. Guardians had called an emergency meeting.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Kang-Woo, Seol-Ah, Lilith, and Echidna headed to the Hall of Protection with no time to wash up. La and Si-Hun were waiting for them in the meeting room.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± asked Kang-Woo as he approached La.


    La was looking down at a tablet, her hand on her forehead as if she were having a headache.


    She mentioned, ¡°I¡¯m not sure... if I should call this an otherworldly invasion. Whatever the case, we¡¯ve identified an abnormal Gate phenomenon.¡±


    As Kang-Woo had expected, it had to do with outer worlds.


    <i>¡®Yeah. No wonder it¡¯s been so peacefultely.¡¯</i>


    He clicked his tongue. Otherworldly invasions had been continuously urring for the past three years but one as massive as the one with the Parasite King had miraculously never urred.


    ¡°Has Akart made his move?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    La shook her head with mixed feelings. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that yet.¡±


    Kang-Woo pulled a chair back and sighed as he sat down.


    <i>¡®Otherworldly beings... Invasions from a different universe. How big are you gonna make this? Let¡¯s see, I guess the only genre that hasn¡¯t appeared at all would be sci-fi.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo chuckled nonsensically. He turned to La, who was pulling on her hair, and asked, ¡°What? Did a giant battleship appear or something?¡±


    ¡°Pardon...?¡± La¡¯s eyes widened. She asked perplexedly, ¡°H-How did you know?¡±


    Kang-Woo pulled on his hair like La had done. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake.¡±


    <i>¡®It¡¯s sci-fi for real this time?¡¯</i>


    1. I believe this is a reference to a certain repeated line in Japanese manga; it pretty much trantes to ¡°It¡¯ll be over before you know it once you¡¯re counting the stains on the ceiling.¡± It seems to be what a man says before viting a woman... ?

 Side Story Chapter 36 - Welcome To Earth (1)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 36 - Wee To Earth (1)</h4>


    ¡°What~? A giant battleship?¡± asked Cha Yeon-Joo, who rushed to the Hall of Protection after hearing the emergency meeting rm, dumbfounded. She chuckled nonsensically and shook her head. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake. How far are they gonna take this? Huh? It¡¯s write first and thinkter, is it?¡±


    She cursed as she reacted exactly like Oh Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Leave theints forter.¡± Kang-Woo calmed Yeon-Joo down and turned to La. ¡°Where is that giant battleship right now?¡±


    La pointed up and replied, ¡°It is slowly lowering toward the atmosphere. If it doesn¡¯t change its course, it will likely... appear in east USA.¡±


    ¡°Pardon? Atmosphere?¡± Kang-Woo tilted his head, confused by La¡¯s response. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it was an abnormal Gate phenomenon? What do you mean by atmosphere...?¡±


    ¡°The identified Gate was opened beyond the atmosphere¡ª in other words, outer space.¡±


    <i>¡®The Gate had to open in outer space of all ces? You¡¯ve run out of ideas, is it?¡¯</i>


    However, the location of the Gate was not important.


    ¡°Can we make contact with them?¡±


    Checking whether or not the otherworldly beings were willing tomunicate was of the highest priority.


    <i>¡®Nothing better than ending things without a fight.¡¯</i>


    If they possessed enough intelligence to build a giant battleship, they would at least not be mindless monsters like the Parasites. If that were the case, they could be persuaded to go back to where they came from without attacking Earth. There was also the option to wee them.


    <i>¡®But that¡¯s out of the question.¡¯</i>


    It was far too dangerous to wee otherworldly beings without knowing what their objective was. They of course could havee here due to unavoidable circumstances; perhaps they hade to Earth in seek of refuge because their world ended, or evacuees who lost their way in space.


    <i>¡®But so what?¡¯</i>


    There was no reason to consider their circumstances. Having lost their home or their way was their problem; Kang-Woo was not moronic enough to wee a ticking time bomb, drunk on his willingness to be generous.


    ¡°No, they refused contact,¡± La replied.


    ¡°They refused?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We confirmed that themunication went through, but... they hung up without a word.¡±


    ¡°Then that confirms it.¡±


    The fact that they refused tomunicate could only mean one thing.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll decimate them so they won¡¯t ever think about going anywhere near Earth.¡¯</i>


    ***


    ¡°Commander. We will soon break through the atmosphere.¡±


    The First Fleet of the Gctic Federation was the most elite fleet that conquered countlesss, resulting in them being nicknamed the <i>Conquest Fleet</i>. At the front of the fleet was a giant battleship known as the <i>Macross</i>, the culmination of all the Gctic Federation¡¯s science and technology, moving toward Earth menacingly.


    ¡°What a pathetic civilization this houses.¡±


    The white-hairedmander clicked his tongue as he looked at a screen showing various ces on Earth. He could see cars that were still restricted to the ground and gray buildings with primitive models. The civilization was below average among thes the fleet had conquered.


    <i>¡®I was worried when we were sucked into that unknown portal, but...¡¯</i>


    They had fortunately found a soon after, where they could stock up on necessary resources. Considering the level of the¡¯s civilization, it did not seem like a bad idea to colonize the as well.


    ¡°Tsk... of all times, it had to be when we were in the middle of an important project.¡±


    Themander sighed deeply and shook his head. The project that the Gctic Federation had been working on for a long time was about to be finished, but they were suddenly sucked into an unknown portal and ended up in front of a that they did not even know the coordinates to.


    <i>¡®I¡¯ll colonize this as quickly as possible and resume the project.¡¯</i>


    The Gctic Federation had poured all of the technology avable to them into making an <i>android</i>. Considering the astronomical amount of money invested into the project, they needed to resume it as soon as possible.


    ¡°We have broken through the atmosphere.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Themander stood up. ¡°Are the hacking preparationsplete?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±


    His subordinate nodded confidently. Themander smirked and walked forward, his heart beating from excitement. The feeling of teaching true fear to frogs in a well who simply lived their lives knowing nothing of what was lurking beyond their and trampling on those frogs as they struggled beneath his feet¡ª he never got tired of it, no matter how manys he conquered.


    ¡°You have nothing to me but your weakness.¡± Themander burst intoughter and stood on a tform. ¡°Commence the hacking.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± the members of the fleet shouted as they typed away on buttons floating in midair like a hologram.


    With that, everymunication device on Earth was under the control of the <i>Macross</i>.


    - Huh? Wh-What¡¯s going on?


    - What¡¯s wrong with the screen?


    Digital billboards, TVs,puters, smartphones, and every other electronic device with a screen disyed themander standing on a tform. Themander could see the frogs panicking through various disys on the <i>Macross</i>.


    He smiled and dered, ¡°My name is Mike Dopud,mander of the <i>Macross </i>that leads the First Fleet of the Gctic Federation.¡±


    The first step of conquest was to engrave his existence into his enemies¡¯ minds and link it with fear. He would eliminate all thoughts of resistance in their minds with unfathomable power.


    ¡°From this moment, this will be a colony of the Gctic Federation. Those who obey will be an honorable worker of the Gctic Federation, and those who resist...¡± Themander¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°Will taste the power of the Gctic Federation¡¯s tactical weapon.¡±


    Themander finished his speech¡ª no, it was closer to a deration of war.


    - Gctic Federation?


    - What the hell is he talking about?


    The people who heard the deration of war cursed as they expressed how foolish this was.


    <i>¡®Well, this is the natural response.¡¯</i>


    Themander did not think they would believe him unconditionally. After all, frogs in a well would not know the true power of a conqueror outside the well.


    ¡°Well... I did not expect words to be enough anyway.¡± He smiled nastily and continued, ¡°First, I will erase this city off the map.¡±


    He looked down at New York, the first city the Macross arrived in, and said apathetically, ¡°Ready the sma Cann¡ª¡±


    ¡°C-Commander!¡±


    Themander turned toward the voice as he was about tomand the obliteration of the city.


    A subordinate in charge of the battleship¡¯s front-facing cameras shouted, ¡°Th-There is a boy on the deck!!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Themander stared at his subordinate nonsensically. ¡°What in the world are you talking about? Pull up the front-facing camera screen here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!!¡±


    The screen reflecting the city of New York changed to the deck of the <i>Macross</i>. As his subordinate had reported, an arrogant-looking boy with upturned eyes was standing leisurely on the deck. He wasfortably walking on the deck of the <i>Macross </i>without the usual powered suit or jetpack.


    ¡°What in the...¡±


    Themander frowned in disbelief. A human couldn''t possibly prate the <i>Macross¡¯s </i>automatic defense system¡ª no, it was already impossible for them to fly in the sky without any equipment and reach the battleship. The members of the fleet were flustered by the impossible sight.


    [Yeah, it makes things so much easier if youe out swinging like this.]


    They could see the boy smile. They had no idea what sort of magic he used, but the boy¡¯s voice echoed inside their heads. His voice sounded mischievous, cold, and like that of a starved beast at the same time.


    [It¡¯s better thanying out your life story and saying pity-filled shit like ¡°We have no choice to do this to survive...¡±. Wouldn¡¯t you say so?]


    Themander frowned fiercely.


    ¡°What of the automatic defense system?¡±


    ¡°H-He¡¯s not being designated as a target!¡±


    ¡°Do you think manual controls are just for show? Switch to manual this instant!¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, sir!¡±


    The subordinate in charge of the front-facing cameras quickly typed on the holographic keyboard.


    <i>Whirr, ker-thunk!</i>


    The deck opened, revealing the barrel of aser cannon.


    ¡°Fire,¡± themander said apathetically.


    [I mean, even if you guys were going through some desperate, heartbreaking, or tearjerking circumstances¡ª]


    <i>Fwoom¡ª!</i>


    A blueser beam powerful enough to incinerate a mere human swept through the boy.


    ¡°Huuu.¡± Themander turned from the screen to the subordinate in charge of managing the automatic defense system. ¡°What did you do to the defense system for it to not even detect a little brat approaching the ship?¡±


    ¡°Th-That¡¯s...¡± The subordinate stared at themander, his expression pale. ¡°Nothing! There is nothing wrong with the automatic defense sys¡ª¡±


    ¡°You talk too much.¡±


    Themander took out his gun and aimed at his subordinate. Just then, the whisper of a voice sounding mischievous, cold, and like that of a starved beast at the same time echoed inside the heads of the fleet.


    [I would have killed you regardless.]


    The unpleasant and unsettling sound of squelching mucus rang out along withughter.


    ¡°What the...¡±


    Themander turned around. The boy who should have been incinerated by theser cannon was standing on the deck,pletely fine. No, that thing could not even be called a boy. His melted flesh was reced by ck mucus with countless sharp teeth protruding from it. The monstrous lifeform only seen in nightmares smiled.


    [Right, you said those who resist will taste the power of your tactical weapon, didn¡¯t you?]


    The boy¡ª no, the monstrous lifeform taking the form of a boy slowly raised his arm.


    <i>Boom¡ª!</i>


    A massive explosion shook the battleship.


    ¡°Wh-What¡¯s going on?!¡±


    A subordinate shouted, ¡°S-Something broke through the hull and entered the ship!!¡±


    ¡°What are you waiting for?! Pull up the footage!!¡±


    The screen switched to the ship¡¯s interior cameras, showing an extraordinarily handsome young man and a giant covered in swelling red muscles.


    [I have some tactical weapons of my own.]


    Unsettlingughter echoed inside the fleet¡¯s heads.

 Side Story Chapter 37 - Welcome To Earth (2)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 37 - Wee To Earth (2)</h4>


    ¡°Sector 37-B has been destroyed!¡±


    ¡°So has Sector 12-A!¡±


    ¡°Sectors 36-C, 35-A, 32-A have been d-destroyed! They are heading to the engine room!¡±


    Subordinates quickly reported the damages as red warning lights shed.


    ¡°Th-This cannot be...¡±


    Themander standing on the tform was left with his mouth agape in disbelief. The destruction speed could not be the work of only two intruders.


    <i>- I have some tactical weapons of my own.</i>


    He recalled the words of the monstrous lifeform in the shape of a boy. Themander gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.


    ¡°Deploy the Anthem Corps.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, sir!¡±


    <i>Tssssssssss.</i>


    The hangar door opened, and soldiers wearing visors covering their faces marched out. Their eyes did not express any fear or excitement as they headed to the sector where the intruders were. No, they did not express any emotions in the first ce.


    ¡°Wipe out the intruders,¡± themander ordered through a mic.


    [Roger.]


    The human weapons, seventy percent of their body reced with machinery through special medical procedures, nodded robotically.


    ¡°They will know... the price of invading the <i>Macross</i>.¡±


    Themander gritted his teeth and turned to therge screen. The Anthem Corps had already made it to the intruder wielding a white sword. Themander smiled wickedly and focused on the monster on the deck, staring at the screen as he smiled without moving.


    Themander said confidently, ¡°The Anthem Corps consists of soldiers whose bodies are mostly mechanical.¡±


    They could throw five tonnes like a pebble and run a hundred meters in two seconds. Furthermore, their powered suits were equipped with various weapons, made using the Gctic Federation¡¯stest technology¡ª a jetpack capable of three-dimensional movement, aser rifle capable of shooting through a tank, and an energy barrier boasting absolute defense. Compared to that, the intruder they were facing was wielding only...


    ¡°A sword? Hahaha! A sword!¡±


    The young man wielding the stone looked like a caveman from the Stone Agepared to the Anthem Corps soldiers.


    ¡°How primitive for a tactical weapon!¡± themander shouted as he red at the monstrous lifeform.


    He had no idea what sorcery the man used to destroy the sectors so quickly with a sword, but the intruders were done for the moment the Anthem Corps was deployed. A sword couldn¡¯t defeat a gun.


    ¡°Turn him into a beehive!¡±


    Gunfire rained horizontally on the young man, thesers lighting up the narrow hallway. The swordsman with no armor whatsoever would die without even having a chance to put up a resistance.


    <i>Ting, ting, ting!</i>


    ¡°What...?¡±


    Sparks flew asser beams were deflected andnded on the hallway walls. Themander stared at the screen wide-eyed.


    ¡°H-He¡¯s deflecting the beams?¡±


    It was impossible. Themander looked closer at the screen, but the result did not change. The thousands ofser beams were getting deflected by the young man¡¯s abnormally fast sword swings.


    ¡°Wh-What in the...¡±


    It would have been astonishing enough if the man managed to deflect one beam, but he was deflecting thousands. Themander watched the battle with his mouth agape.


    <i>- It won¡¯t end at this rate.</i>


    The young man deflecting the beams clicked his tongue. He switched his stance, raised his sword above his head, and swung it down without hesitation.


    <i>- Heavenly Dragon sh.</i>


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    The entire hallway turned to ice as a thunderous sound rang throughout the battleship. However, the young man¡¯s attack did not end there.


    <i>- Link.</i>


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    ¡°Arghh!¡±


    ¡°Kurghhh!¡±


    The control room tilted, the fleet members screaming as they rolled on the ground.


    ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡±


    Themander also fell off the tform as he screamed. His knee smashed into a corner of the tform, and blood poured out of it. Sharp pain traveled throughout his body.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa!¡± themander panted heavily as he clenched his knee.


    He looked up at the screen after recovering from shock and saw that it was cked out. He stood up as he trembled.


    ¡°R-Report damages!¡±


    The subordinates on the ground forced themselves back up.


    ¡°R-Reporting!¡±


    The interior of the battleship was shown as a hologram. A subordinate typing on his holographic keyboard expressed shock, widening his eyes.


    He said nkly, ¡°32... destroyed.¡±


    ¡°What? You reported Sector 32 was destroyed earlier! Get it together!¡± themander shouted.


    The subordinate turned to themander and said sorrowfully, ¡°No...¡±


    ¡°What? No, what?¡±


    ¡°I am not talking about Sector 32... thirty-two sectors were destroyed.¡±


    ¡°What...?¡±


    Themander¡¯s eyes widened, his expression as dumbfounded as his subordinate. The <i>Macross </i>was divided into one hundred sectors. If thirty-two of them were destroyed it meant a third of the battleship was destroyed from one attack.


    ¡°What in the world... are you talking about?¡±


    Themander swayed as he gripped his forehead. A third of the Macross, which would be unscratched even after it received a direct hit from a nuke, was destroyed by a sword. He pulled on his hair due to the absurd situation he was in.


    ¡°Where in the world are we...?¡±


    ¡°C-Commander! An intruder arrived at the engine room!¡±


    Themander received the worst possible news as he shook his head in despair.


    ¡°Is it... that swordsman?¡± he asked.


    ¡°N-No!¡±


    The subordinate pulled up footage of the engine room and disyed a red giant covered in muscles.


    ¡°What in the world is that...?¡±


    It did not look human no matter how he looked at the creature.


    <i>- Hmm. Is this the ce the king told me about?</i>


    The red monster mumbled as he charged into the engine room.


    <i>Beep! Beep! Beep!</i>


    The lights of the engine room turned red as noisy rm noises rang.


    ¡°He... e-entered the engine room... as if it were n-nothing.¡±


    The subordinate stared nkly at the screen. Themander couldn¡¯t help but chuckle after seeing the red monster forcing his way into the engine room with nothing to protect himself.


    ¡°Forget about that monster.¡±


    The engine room was ten million degrees Celsius inside. Any lifeform would burn to death if they were to enter with nothing to protect them.


    ¡°More importantly, confirm if there are survivors among the Anthem C¡ª¡±


    Themander cut himself off aftering to his senses.


    <i>¡®No, no!¡¯</i>


    The lifeforms on this defiedmon sense. He wouldn¡¯t put it past one of them to be capable of surviving in ten million degrees Celsius after seeing one of them destroying a third of the Macross with the swing of a sword.


    ¡°Overheat... the engine.¡±


    ¡°O-Overheat?¡±


    Themander quickly shouted, ¡°Yes. There is no time. Maximum output, this instant!¡±


    The temperature in the engine room could skyrocket to nearly a hundred million degrees Celsius once made to overheat. It was advised against since it ced a massive burden on the entire battleship but now was not the time to worry about that.


    ¡°Macross, maximum output! Overheating!¡±


    ¡°Engine temperature thirty million, fifty... and rising!¡±


    ¡°Fuuu...¡± themander sighed deeply.


    He had let his worries get the better of him; he wondered if it was the right choice to overheat the engine to kill one intruder.


    <i>- Gahahahahahahahaha!!!</i>


    Just then, a heartyughter echoed from the engine room.


    ¡°What...?¡±


    Themander quickly looked up at the screen.


    <i>- It¡¯s getting pretty hot in here!</i>


    The camera couldn¡¯t capture anything because of the immense heat, but it could catch the intruder¡¯sughter and voice filled with excitement.


    ¡°Wh-What in the world is going on?¡± themander muttered as he looked around.


    ¡°Th-The temperature inside the engine room is... going d-down.¡± A subordinate continued in pallor, ¡°The intruder entered the engine room unprotected and... is tearing apart the engine with his b-bare hands.¡±


    Themander fell to his knees. ¡°I-It cannot be... This can¡¯t be happening.¡±


    He pulled on his hair and shook his head. The report was so unrealistic that he felt like he was going insane.


    <i>¡®We have to get out of here.¡¯</i>


    He did not want to spend another second on this crazy.


    ¡°Wh-What about the other battleships? What are they doing?¡±


    The first fleet of the Gctic Federation had many battleships other than the <i>Macross</i>. They couldn¡¯tpare to the Macross in terms of specs but they had no choice but to get on another battleship now that the <i>Macross </i>was destroyed.


    ¡°Attemptingmunication!¡±


    <i>Beep!</i>


    The screen changed to disy the interior of one of the battleships approaching Earth behind the <i>Macross</i>.


    <i>- A-Arghhh!!</i>


    <i>- Save me!!</i>


    The first thing they heard was screams. They then saw red chains moving freely as if they were alive, tearing apart the members of the Gctic Federation.


    <i>- For fuck¡¯s sake, this ce is too big. It took way too long to find the damn control room.</i>


    The screen disyed a red-haired woman in the middle of the storm of blood in the control room.


    ¡°H-Huh...?¡±


    ¡°Shit! What about the other battleships?!¡± themander screamed desperately.


    The screen switched.


    <i>- Haaa. Really... I was just about to get it on with Kang-Woo. Why are you all so eager to get in our way?</i>


    <i>- A-A-Aaaaaaaaaaah!</i>


    <i>- M-My insides feel... Bleeeeeeeeeegh!</i>


    <i>- I don¡¯t need anything else as long as I¡¯m with Kang-Woo. Why would you try so hard to get in my way? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Say something.</i>


    The screen disyed a woman with twelve ck wings emitting unsettling ck light, to which the members of the Gctic Federation vomited as soon as it made contact with them as if they were exposed to a biochemical weapon.


    <i>- Urpp! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it huuuuuuurts!!</i>


    The screen reflected members of the fleet screaming as they writhed in pain.


    ¡°A-Another one...¡±


    <i>Beep.</i>


    The screen switched again.


    <i>- Krararararara!!</i>


    <i>- Arghhhhhh!!</i>


    <i>- Hm! Hm! It¡¯s been a while since I reverted!</i>


    <i>- Please go a little slower, Echidna. You don¡¯t have Deific Essence, so it would be dangerous if they focused their attacks on you.</i>


    <i>- Okay, La!</i>


    This time, it was a ck dragon tearing the control room apart and a brown-haired, elegant-looking woman on top of her.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh,¡± themander groaned in despair. ¡°The <i>F-Frontier...</i> What of the <i>Frontier</i>?¡±


    The <i>Frontier </i>was a supply battleship situated in the rear, in charge of sending reinforcements and supplies to other battleships. It was the only battleship they had not checked.


    <i>Beep!</i>


    Communication with the <i>Frontier </i>seeded, and the screen switched.


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    <i>- Geeeeeeeeeeeeehhh!</i>


    <i>- Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!</i>


    <i>- Hohoho. Would you mind telling me every piece of information you know? Oh, there is no need to worry. You can take as much time as you need~</i>


    Sticky green tentacles filled the control room, wrapping around and viting every member of the Gctic Federation. In the middle of the room was a monster with eighteen eyes, giggling ecstatically.


    Themander trembled on the ground, unable to understand what he had just seen. ¡°Wh-What? A ck angel, a dragon...? H-Haha. And to top it off, a tentacle monster?¡±


    There was also the human who destroyed a third of the Macross with his sword and the monster who entered the ten million degrees Celsius engine room and tore apart the engine with his bare hands.


    ¡°What is with this...?¡± Themander trembled like a madman and shouted, ¡°WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THIS GODDAMN PLANET?!!¡±


    He had conquered countlesss, some of them inhabited by alien lifeforms he had never seen before and others that could be straight out of a cartoon or novel. However, he could assert that he had never seen nor heard of a as insane as this.


    ¡°Right, wee to Earth.¡±


    The boy entered the control room before themander realized it and spread his arms out.

 Side Story Chapter 38 - Welcome To Earth (3)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 38 - Wee To Earth (3)</h4>


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    Themander stepped backward in pallor. He felt as if he were stuck in a neverending nightmare, the fear taking control of his body. He could feel his wet pants as he stepped back.


    ¡°S-Stay away.¡± He shouted, ¡°STAY AWAY!!¡±


    ¡°Why are you telling me to stay away? It¡¯s only making me want to get closer.¡±


    ¡°Eek!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Oh Kang-Woo burst intoughter as he looked down at the terrifiedmander. He grabbed a copsed chair in the mess of a control room and leisurely sat down. ¡°To be honest, you were just a terrible match for us.¡±


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue as themander trembled pitifully. There was no better way to express it.


    <i>¡®In terms of firepower, they might be superior.¡¯</i>


    Their technology was so advanced thatparing it to Earth¡¯s primitive technology was a joke. Purely in terms of physical destructive capabilities, their weapons surpassed Kim Si-Hun or Balrog.


    ¡°But the weapons you¡¯re so proud of don¡¯t work on us.¡±


    Their weapons were not imbued with Divinity. No matter how strong their attacks were, their power would be drastically reduced after colliding with the Deific Essence barrier. The enemy was so outmatched that it was almost unfair. Their defeat was decided from the moment they failed to prate the Deific Essence barrier.


    ¡°I mean, the result wouldn¡¯t have changed even without the Deific Essence barrier.¡±


    Kang-Woo cackled. The situation was different from when the Parasites invaded Earth. This was now full of individuals so powerful that calling them <i>monsters </i>would be an understatement.


    <i>¡®Not only that, but these guys are far below the Parasites.¡¯</i>


    The Gctic Federation was objectively far weaker than the Parasites. However advanced their technology was, they were still no more than humans.


    <i>¡®How the hell did they conquer countlesss?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion, wondering if the forces of the outer worlds weren¡¯t as strong as he once expected.


    ¡°No... that¡¯s not it,¡± Kang-Woo muttered as he shook his head.


    <i>¡®Earth¡¯s full power is heavily focused on me, Si-Hun, and Balrog.¡¯</i>


    Han Seol-Ah recently joined the list as well. In any case, yers wouldn¡¯t have had a chance against the Gctic Federation if the four of them were not here. Even a High Ranker with the ability to fly would have no chance against a giant battleship.


    <i>¡®Earth¡¯s power bnce is an absolute mess.¡¯</i>


    The difference in power between Kang-Woo and the high-ranking yers was like the difference between Son Goku and Mr. Satan. Kang-Woo had be so powerful to the point that his past self in the Nine Hells felt like a joke. Hence, it was difficult to judge the strength of the Gctic Federation by his standards.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t give a shit about how manys you conquered.¡± There was something more important to find out. ¡°Do you know Akart?¡±


    ¡°Akart...?¡±


    Themander shook his head in confusion. He did not seem to be lying.


    <i>¡®So Akart wasn¡¯t the one who brought them here?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and raised his arm. If they didn¡¯t know anything about Akart then there was no reason to keep them alive.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t know, then you might as well d¡ª¡±


    <i>Bweeeeeeeeeeee!!</i>


    Just then, an earsplitting noise shook the control room.


    ¡°The hell...?¡±


    Kang-Woo frowned. Warning rms have been ringing since earlier, but this sounded different; it was more like a sonic weapon meant to burst one¡¯s eardrums than an rm.


    <i>¡®What could it be for it to be louder than the rm for the engine getting destroyed?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo chuckled nonsensically. He took a step back and looked around with great interest.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°C-Commander...¡±


    The expressions of the soldiers of the Gctic Federation in the control room turned pale. They were trembling in fear, more terrified than when a third of the battleship was destroyed and the engine was torn apart.


    ¡°Could it be...¡±


    Themander¡¯s expression was just as pale. He stared at his subordinates as he shook his head as if he didn¡¯t want to believe it. One of the subordinates staggered as he raised himself to check the holographic monitor that was still somehow functional.


    ¡°Lactheon Alpha has... broken out.¡±


    ¡°Wha...¡±


    Themander fell to the ground as if he had given up on life. Lactheon Alpha was the name of the android that would have been deployed for the project in which the Gctic Federation had invested all of its resources. However, Lactheon Alpha possessed a critical w and the federation ended up needing to create a beta version to be deployed.


    Lactheon Alpha¡¯s critical w was that it had developed a personality.


    <i>Boom¡ª!</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    The door to the control room burst open by an explosion. A white-haired young man strutted into the control room as he strangled a Gctic Federation soldier.


    ¡°Kurgh! Guh! S-Spare m...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    <i>Crunch!</i>


    The white-haired man broke the soldier¡¯s neck without hesitation and turned to look with uninterested eyes at the terrifiedmander who had wet his pants. The white-haired young man walked toward themander.


    ¡°S-Stop! Wait, Lactheon Alpha!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°If you kill me, the project will¡ª Kurgh!¡±


    The young man known as Lactheon Alpha trampled on the copsedmander¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Where is the code?¡± asked Lactheon Alpha in a low tone.


    His voice sounded robotic as if hecked emotions. Themander looked around as he bit his lip.


    He pointed at Kang-Woo and shouted, ¡°I will give you the code if you kill that intruder!¡±


    ¡°Intruder...?¡±


    Only then did Lactheon Alpha turn to look at Kang-Woo, who had been watching the situation unfold with great interest. Kang-Woo chuckled.


    ¡°What kind of development is this?¡±


    Considering the white-haired young man attacked the members of the Gctic Federation as soon as he suddenly entered the control room, they did not seem to be allies.


    Lactheon Alpha, whose foot was on themander¡¯s chest, slowly turned to Kang-Woo. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I should be asking you that question. Who are you?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Wh-What are you doing?! I told you to kill that intruder if you want to know where the project code is!¡± shouted themander like a madman.


    Lactheon Alpha looked down at themander and then took his foot off him to face Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Lactheon Alpha, Form Two,¡± he muttered as he bowed.


    <i>nk, nk, nk!</i>


    The sound of cogs interlocking rang from Lactheon Alpha¡¯s body. His back opened and a white suit wrapped around him. Unlike Balrog¡¯s Overlord Armor, this suit was made purely with the power of science.


    ¡°Whoa, what the fuck? Are you Iron Man?¡±


    Kang-Woo expressed amazement as he stared at Lactheon Alpha in the white suit. He had no idea what the rtionship between themander and Lactheon Alpha was or what the project code was, but he knew one thing.


    ¡°That¡¯s so fucking cool. Can I have one too?¡±


    Lactheon Alpha did not answer.


    <i>Vwoooooooo!</i>


    The back of the suit opened to reveal powerful jet engines. Lactheon Alpha shot forward along with a deafening sound.


    ¡°Please, just one. I won¡¯t ask for two.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Can it be in ck?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I guess not. Sadge.¡±


    ¡°You... talk a lot.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the only thing I can be proud of.¡±


    ¡°I have no grudge against you, but I will have you die,¡± said Lactheon Alpha as he raised his right arm.


    <i>Ker-thunk!</i>


    A sharp de shot out from the back of his hand to split Kang-Woo apart.


    <i>ng¡ª!</i>


    ¡°...!¡±


    The sound of hitting metal echoed throughout the control room. Lactheon Alpha quickly jumped back once he realized his attack failed. He looked back and forth at his de and Kang-Woo iprehensibly.


    ¡°What... is that?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s called Divinity,¡± Kang-Woo answered.


    ¡°Divinity...?¡±


    Lactheon Alpha frowned. He did not know what Divinity was but he did not have much time; he needed to end this battle as soon as possible and get his hands on the project code.


    ¡°Haaap!!¡±


    Lactheon Alpha spread out his arms.


    <i>nk, nk, nk!</i>


    A dozen gun barrels sprouted from the suit like a hedgehog¡¯s quills along with the sound of cogs interlocking.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!</i>


    Mini-missiles fired from the barrels and flew toward Kang-Woo.


    ¡°I want it more and more,¡± Kang-Woo remarked as he whistled and leisurely raised his hand.


    He could just stand still and let his Deific Essence barrier do the work but it did not feel good to get bombarded like a training dummy.


    <i>¡®I might as well warm up a little.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled. He had no interest in the elite soldiers of the Gctic Federation wearing powered suits or their highly advanced technological weapons that made Earth¡¯s technology pale inparison, but the android Lactheon Alpha piqued his interest for some reason.


    ¡°Authority of des.¡±


    A ck de shot out the back of Kang-Woo¡¯s hand like Lactheon Alpha¡¯s de. He lightly stepped forward and swung the de.


    <i>sh¡ª!!</i>


    The Authority of des awakened a new ability because the demonic energy of the Abyss became avable after the Demonic Sea fused with Kang-Woo¡¯s body. Space itself was split along the path of the swing and from it sprouted branches of des. It was as if a thick was formed in midair.


    ¡°ck Net,¡± Kang-Woo muttered the activation word.


    A of des appeared and shed every mini-missile flying at Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Urgh!¡±


    Lactheon Alpha gritted his teeth and fired missiles endlessly from a distance. Bullets, missiles,sers, and sma cannons shook the entire control room. However, none of them could prate the of des.


    ¡°Ahh,¡± Lactheon Alpha expressed as he chuckled bitterly. He looked down at himself with trembling eyes. ¡°Fuuu.¡±


    There was no way to break through that of de with normal means. If that was the case, all that was left were abnormal means.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, captain...¡±


    Lactheon Alpha looked sorrowfully into the air as if thinking of someone¡ª the <i>God of Machines</i>, whom he could never see again... who would never return.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Lactheon Alpha sighed.


    He raised his right hand and slowly ced it over his heart. He opened the suit and removed the safety systems.


    <i>Crackle!</i>


    Blue sparks flew from Lactheon Alpha¡¯s chest.


    He said piously as if praying to a god, ¡°Overheat.¡±


    <i>Tssssssssssssss!!</i>


    The white suit glowed red as immense amounts of steam poured out of it.

 Side Story Chapter 39 - Welcome To Earth (4)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 39 - Wee To Earth (4)</h4>


    <i>Tsssssssssss!!</i>


    The thick steam filled the control room like fog.


    ¡°Arghhh!!¡±


    ¡°S-So hot!!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m burniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!¡±


    The soldiers of the Gctic Federation remaining in the control room screamed in agony. Their skin melted due to the heat from the steam. The scent of burnt flesh filled the control room in an instant along with horrifying screams.


    ¡°Kurgh! A-Are you nning on killing me as well?!¡±


    A translucent energy barrier had formed around themander, pushing away the steam and its heat as his subordinates were burning to death; he seemed to be the only one wearing special protective clothing.


    Lactheon Alpha clenched his fists in silence. His eyes gleamed brightly under the visor. ¡°Fuuu, haaa.¡±


    <i>Tsssss.</i>


    Scorching steam poured from the gaps in the suit each time he breathed.


    <i>Ker-thunk!</i>


    The suit''s backhand portion opened and shot out from it another de. Lactheon Alpha crossed the two glowing-red des into an X.


    ¡°Sheesh, here¡¯s another dual-wielding simp.¡±


    <i>¡®One Varian green teatte, please!¡¯</i>[1]


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Lactheon charged at Kang-Woo without a word.


    ¡°Twin des are best matched with twin des.¡±


    Kang-Woo snickered and extended his left arm. The back of his left hand split and from it shot out a ck de as he activated the Authority of des. Kang-Woo swung his arms at the charging Lactheon Alpha.


    <i>ng¡ª!!!</i>


    The four des shed hundreds of times in a fraction of a second, each aiming for the opponent¡¯s vitals.


    ¡°Kaaah, this is it!!¡±


    Sparks ran throughout his body. It had been a while since he had this much fun swinging swords. The mes of Voracity, which he had been relying on far too heavily, was so overpowered that he had forgotten how fun it was to use swords.


    ¡°Starbust Streeeeeeeeeeeeeam!!!¡±


    Kang-Woo swung his des as if he were in a trance. Sparks flew from each sh of the des. It was even more fun because his opponent was not a martial arts master like Kim Si-Hun; Kang-Woo would have been floored almost instantly if he faced Si-Hun with twin des.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa.¡±


    Lactheon Alpha, who seemed to have used his trump card, was the first to tire out. He panted heavily as he widened the distance between him and Kang-Woo and gritted his teeth.


    ¡°Wha? Are you gonna bring out another de? Are we going three-sword style this time?¡±


    Lactheon Alpha retracted his des into his suit in silence.


    ¡°The hell, man? I was having so much fun. Stop fucking around and take out your weapons ag¡ª¡±


    ¡°Rocket¡ª¡±


    <i>Click.</i>


    As Kang-Woo approached Lactheon Alpha in disappointment, Lactheon Alpha extended his arm and pointed it at Kang-Woo. He lowered his stance and grabbed his right forearm with his left hand.


    <i>Tsssssssssssss!!</i>


    White steam burst out of Lactheon Alpha.


    ¡°Punch.¡±


    <i>Boom¡ª!!</i>


    Lactheon Alpha¡¯s right arm shot forward from the elbow down along with a thunderous explosion. The right arm, elerated by a jet engine, reached Kang-Woo before he had time to react.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes widened.


    <i>¡®The hell? What the fuck is he using his arm to attack for? What are you gonna do after? What kind of garbage technique is this?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!!¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s Deific Essence barrier was prated by pure physical power before he had a chance to resolve the questions in his head. A fist-sized hole was made in his chest and the resulting shockwave tore apart his body. Kang-Woo was turned to mush from his waist up and exploded, his internal organs sttering all over the ce.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa, haaa,¡± Lactheon Alpha panted heavily after firing his <i>Rocket Punch</i> and staggered.


    ¡°D-Did you kill him?¡± Themander smiled brightly and stood up.


    ¡°Hand over... the code,¡± said Lactheon Alpha, copsing as if he would shut down at any moment.


    <i>Crackle!</i>


    The glowing red suit was dismantled as sparks flew from his body.


    ¡°H-Hahahahah!!¡± Themanderughed wickedly, overjoyed by the situation. ¡°Using Overheat with an unstable core... You¡¯ve practically killed yourself without me having to do anything!¡±


    <i>Bash!</i>


    He kicked the copsed Lactheon Alpha and then typed on the holographic keyboard.


    ¡°There should be at least one escape pod remaining¡ª Kurgh!¡±


    <i>Wriggle.</i>


    Someone ced their hand on themander¡¯s head along with the sound of sticky mucus.


    ¡°Wh-What the...?¡± Themander turned back in shock. ¡°H-How are you still alive?¡±


    It was Kang-Woo, who should have died from his upper body being torn to bits. He couldn¡¯t be alive.


    ¡°WHY WON¡¯T YOU DIE, YOU DAMN MONSTEEEEEEEEEEEEER?!¡±


    Kang-Woo looked down at themander apathetically. He had heard that line from his enemies countless times and had be sick of it.


    ¡°Shut the hell up, man.¡±


    <i>Crack.</i>


    He grabbed one of themander¡¯s teeth and yanked it out, a fountain of blood pouring from where it was.


    ¡°Urgh! Uuuuuuuuurghhh!!¡±


    Themander trembled and burst into tears. Kang-Woo paid him no mind and turned to look at the copsed Lactheon Alpha¡ª to be more precise, at his right arm, missing from the elbow down.


    ¡°What the fuck? Why is it so cool yet stupid at the same time?¡±


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion after getting a taste of a rocket punch. It was weirdly badass despite being a garbage technique that fired a fully functioning limb at the enemy.


    ¡°Anyway.¡± Kang-Woo walked toward the copsed Lactheon Alpha as he dragged themander by his head. ¡°Thanks. You helped me stimte the Demonic Sea.¡±


    The Demonic Sea¡¯s energy circted due to an attack it had never experienced before. To survive, it released the demonic energy it had been preserving. Kang-Woo nodded in satisfaction as he felt his demonic energy that had be thicker than before.


    Lactheon Alpha looked up at Kang-Woo with deeply sunken eyes. He was calm as if he had known Kang-Woo would not die from that attack. ¡°I have... a favor to ask.¡±


    ¡°What? Are you gonna ask me to get that code or whatever it is for you?¡±


    Lactheon Alpha nodded.


    Kang-Woo smirked and replied, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ve been curious to death about what you guys were talking about anyway.¡±


    He gripped themander¡¯s head harder.


    ¡°Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!¡±


    ¡°Now, it¡¯s time for you to talk. What is this code thingie?¡±


    ¡°Harghh! Z-Zdop! Zdop!!!¡± Themander shouted incoherently because of his yanked-out tooth. ¡°A-Ayy daak!!!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Ayy daak!¡±


    ¡°SPEAK PROPERLY, MOTHERFUCKER!!!¡±


    <i>Bash!</i>


    Kang-Woo kicked themander in the stomach.


    ¡°WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU SO INARTICULATE?!!¡±


    <i>Bash! Bash! Bash!</i>


    ¡°Hurgh! Z-Zdop! Zdoooooooop!¡±


    Unable to contain his rage, Kang-Woo beat themander senselessly. The raggedmander became even more of a mess than before.


    ¡°Fuuu. That¡¯s what you get for fucking around with me.¡±


    It was themander¡¯s fault for pretending to be inarticte to mock Kang-Woo.


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll... talk...¡±


    His speech was much better than before.


    ¡°Good. Now we can get somewhere.¡±


    As Kang-Woo thought, violence was the best mode of conversation.


    ¡°<i>Sniff... Waaaaaah.</i>¡±


    Themander pulled out a small chip from his pocket as he bawled his eyes out. He inserted it under the holographic monitor and typed aplex password to deactivate the security programs. A file named <i>Project </i>appeared.


    ¡°Is this what you were looking for?¡± asked Kang-Woo as he looked down at Lactheon Alpha.


    ¡°That¡¯s... correct.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± Kang-Woo opened the file and checked its contents. ¡°Project Deus Ex Machina?¡±


    It was a rather overblown project name. He checked the file¡¯s contents with the Authority of Insight activated, but there were so many terms and skills he did not know that nothing stuck in his mind.


    ¡°Well... I understood that an android is going to be sent to another. What does this mean?¡± asked Kang-Woo, tilting his head.


    ¡°There is... no... time.¡± Lactheon Alpha grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s ankle as sparks flew from him and begged, ¡°The battleship¡¯s...munication system... will soon be.... down. The project... must be stopped... before...¡±


    <i>Crackle!</i>


    The sparks flew from Lactheon Alpha even more aggressively as he began to fall apart.


    ¡°H-Hurry. Stop... the project.¡±


    His body, made of machinery instead of flesh and blood, was falling apart like a sand castle.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but...¡± Kang-Woo smiled as he looked down at the dying Lactheon Alpha. ¡°Since you helped me gain tons of demonic energy, I¡¯ll do you a favor.¡±


    Based on the little of what he understood from the project file, it was about sending an android to a faraway to conquer it.


    <i>¡®If the android being sent is anything like Lactheon Alpha, then that would be razed to the ground if the project isn¡¯t stopped.¡¯</i>


    There was no question the destruction a machine, who prated a Deific Essence barrier with pure physical power, could enact on a, even on its own.


    <i>¡®That¡¯s fate has nothing to do with me, but that¡¯s not reason enough to do nothing when I can stop it.¡¯</i>


    <i>Beep.</i>


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Insight to set up amunication array as it was exined in the project file.


    <i>Zzzzt.</i>


    Themunication was filled withrge amounts of static, likely because the battleship was half-destroyed.


    This is a message from the Gctic Federation,¡± said Kang-Woo in a deep voice into a microphone. ¡°From today, the federation is disbanded. Hence, all ongoing projects, including Project Deus Ex Machina, are to be suspended.¡±


    He did not know if anyone was listening to his message.


    ¡°I repeat.¡±


    Nor did he know what would result from his message.


    ¡°All ongoing projects are to be suspended.¡±


    <i>Beep.</i>


    The hologram turned red and a message appeared on it before themunication array was shut down.


    [Forcefully endingmunication with ¡®Deus Ex Machina Mk. 0¡¯ due to bad connection.]


    1. This is a reference to Varian Wrynn, a character in the Warcraft lore who uses a sword named Shmayne, made of two fused swords that can be detached. He dies from being flooded with Fel magic and exploding, which Koreans turned into a green tea meme. ?

 Side Story Chapter 40 - To Live as a Human (1)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 40 - To Live as a Human (1)</h4>


    ¡°So in the end, that battleship had nothing to do with Akart?¡± asked Lilith as she narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°Yup,¡± Oh Kang-Woo answered. Three days passed since the giant battleship menacingly appeared above New York and was destroyed as soon as it appeared. ¡°I think it was just a regr otherworldly invasion.¡±


    He tried to gather as much information about the Gctic Federation as possible for the past three days but he couldn¡¯t find any traces of Akart.


    ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s even more worrisome that he hasn¡¯t made a move at all.¡±


    Lilith shook her head as she stroked her chin. It was like how developers got more worried when they didn¡¯t discover any bugs in their program. ording to the System, Akart was trying to end the Triad; it only amplified their anxiety since there were no signs of it.


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯d be better for my heart if he just appeared out of the blue like the Gctic Federation.¡±


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and nodded. Lilith giggled and walked behind Kang-Woo, who was sitting on a chair.


    She hugged him from behind and asked, ¡°That aside, about the... android, was it? You said it managed to prate your Deific Essence barrier purely with physical power. Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I didn¡¯t feel Deific Essence from him. It was pure physical power.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s... surprising.¡±


    Lilith widened her eyes in disbelief. As far as she knew, no one but Kang-Woo was capable of such a thing.


    ¡°It just goes to show we have to be wary of other otherworldly beings aside from Akart,¡± Kang-Woo remarked.


    ¡°It is as you say.¡±


    Lilith nodded with a heavy expression. Most otherworldly beings would not even manage to get past Kim Si-Hun, forget Kang-Woo. Even if a being whom Si-Hun couldn¡¯t handle were to appear, Kang-Woo, the Demon King who possessed the Demonic Sea, would take care of them.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Even with an immortal body and countless overpowered Authorities, Kang-Woo was not devoid of weaknesses. Even now, his body was unstable and iplete.


    <i>¡®And most of all...¡¯</i>


    Lilith looked down at Kang-Woo with deeply sunken eyes and recalled him weeping on the ground before the war against Bael.


    <i>- It¡¯s... so heavy. I feel like I¡¯m... getting crushed to death.</i>


    It was a side of her king that only she knew¡ª one of him weeping as if he would fall apart at any second. Her heart ached as she softly bit her lip.


    <i>¡®I can¡¯t let the king shoulder everything again.</i>


    No matter how many countermeasures they made to deal with the otherworldly invasions and Akart, their ultimate solution was always Kang-Woo. Lilith sighed because there wasn¡¯t much she could do.


    ¡°What are you thinking so hard about?¡± asked Kang-Woo as he tilted his head.


    ¡°I was thinking about something from the past.¡±


    ¡°The past? What is it?¡±


    ¡°Fufu. Your true self... that only I know.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    Lilith brought her lips to Kang-Woo¡¯s ear and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s... so heavy.¡±


    ¡°Kurgh! <i>Cough! Cough!</i>¡±


    ¡°I feel like I¡¯m... getting cr¡ª¡±


    ¡°Gyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhh!!!¡± Kang-Woo screamed like a madman as he twisted and turned. It looked as if he were getting tortured with a hot iron. ¡°S-Stop!! Fuck! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!¡±


    He screamed more, copsing as he grabbed Lilith by her leg.


    Lilith smiled and asked, ¡°My, my, what¡¯s wrong, my king?¡±


    ¡°L-Lilith... no, Master Lilith. Please... Anything but that...¡±


    ¡°Hoho. There¡¯s no need to feel so embarrassed. It is a precious memory for me.¡±


    ¡°Gurgh. Guuuuuuuhhh.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my dear king.¡± Lilith held in herughter as she looked down at the weeping Kang-Woo. She gently caressed his cheek and separated him from her in disappointment. ¡°I should get going now.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Do you have something to do?¡±


    ¡°I want to check one more time Akart¡¯s involvement in this incident.¡±


    ¡°You already did multiple times.¡±


    ¡°Even so...¡±


    Lilith smiled sorrowfully and turned around. Even she knew that she wouldn¡¯t get anything out of checking multiple times.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    This was the only thing she could do to lessen the weight on Kang-Woo¡¯s shoulders even a little.


    ¡°You can stay here and rest with Seol-Ah, my king,¡± Lilith remarked as she headed to the door.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Kang-Woo grabbed her arm. ¡°Aren¡¯t you pushing yourself too hard these days?¡±


    Lilith was working so much that Kang-Woo had barely seen her facetely. Not only was she gathering and analyzing various information as well as checking for abnormal Gate phenomena daily, but she was even traveling to Aernor to search for traces of Akart. On top of that, she was visiting yers who awakened Traits specialized in information gathering to expand her private intelligence organization.


    <i>¡®She¡¯s also taking care of the rtionship between Yeon-Joo and Seol-Ah.¡¯</i>


    She had taken on the role of the eldest sister and acted as the mediator so that conflict did not form among the three of them. It was thanks to her that the rtionship between Seol-Ah and Yeon-Joo, which had gotten awkward due to the kidnapping incident, returned to how it used to be.


    No matter how extraordinarily capable she was, not even she would be having an easy time dealing withplex human rtionships and a nearly lethal dose of workload.


    ¡°It¡¯s... nothingpared to what you have been dealing with, my king.¡±


    Lilith smiled as if she were fine and turned around again. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. It was a nearly negligible change, but he could notice it since he had known Lilith for a very long time.


    <i>¡®She¡¯s exhausted.¡¯</i>


    It looked like she was doing her best to hide it, but signs of fatigue were reflected on her face. Kang-Woo yanked Lilith toward him by her arm.


    ¡°H-Huh? My king?¡±


    ¡°Take a break for today. No, you¡¯re forbidden from working for the next three days.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an order.¡±


    ¡°My king...¡± Lilith stared at Kang-Woo wide-eyed, her shoulders trembling. ¡°Fufufu. You... are so lovely.¡±


    Kang-Woo had always been like this; he reached out to help people as if it were nothing despite shouldering the most weight. He suppressed his sorrow, trampled on his agony, and moved forward.


    <i>¡®He¡¯s been like this since his days in Hell.¡¯</i>


    That was why she had fallen in love with him.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Lilith exhaled heatedly. She stared at Kang-Woo passionately and perched on the table. She smiled seductively and crossed one leg over the other, exposing her bewitching legs covered in ck tights. ¡°So, now that we¡¯re on break, what should we do?¡±


    She ced her foot on Kang-Woo¡¯s thigh and tickled his inner thigh with it.


    ¡°Tell me what you want to do, my king ?¡±


    Lilith leaned toward Kang-Woo as she stimted his inner thigh. She reached for Kang-Woo¡¯s chin and tickled it as she smiled bewitchingly.


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo gulped. Her sex appeal far surpassed that of Yeon-Joo and Seol-Ah. Her seductive energy overwhelmed him as if proving she was a subus.


    ¡°Ngh...¡± Kang-Woo grunted.


    He felt as if his instincts would take over at any moment.


    ¡°Fufu.¡±


    Lilith came down from the table and sat on Kang-Woo¡¯sp. She extended her tongue as long as a snake and licked his earlobe.


    She whispered seductively, ¡°Why hold back?¡±


    The whispers of a subus were enough for anyone to lose their sense of reason.


    ¡°My body and heart... they both exist only for you, my king. I will ept all of your bursting desires and impulses... ?¡±


    She continued to whisper as she blew on Kang-Woo¡¯s ear, proving she was none other than the Subus Queen. Her ck hair wriggled as if it were alive and wrapped around Kang-Woo. Her irresistible temptations stirred Kang-Woo¡¯s instincts.


    Kang-Woo softly grabbed Lilith by her waist and gulped. ¡°First, get on the bed.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Haaang...!!¡±


    A moan echoed throughout the room. Lilith bit her lip as she hugged a pillow. She subtly trembled.


    ¡°M-My king! I-I...! I can¡¯t hold it anymore...!¡±


    She shut her eyes tightly as she straightened her legs covered in ck tights. She scrunched her toes as she trembled intensely, moaning in ecstasy.


    ¡°Ummm... Lilith.¡± Kang-Woo chuckled nonsensically as he stared at her. He pressed on her back with his fingers and asked, ¡°What are these sounds you¡¯re making when I¡¯m just giving you a massage?¡±


    ¡°B-But...¡± Lilith turned around in tears. She flinched nonstop as she intertwined her fingers. ¡°I¡¯ve never felt anything like this...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. I doubt demons even know what a massage is.¡±


    Kang-Woo snickered and pressed with his fingers again.


    ¡°Haaaaaaang!¡± Lilith moaned, burying her face in the pillow.


    Her reactions were extremely cute, nothing like her usual seductive self. Kang-Woo added more strength to massaging her back.


    ¡°P-Please stop, my king!!¡± Lilith scurried away from Kang-Woo. She sat on a corner of the bed as if shriveled up, covered herself with a nket with only her head exposed, and red at Kang-Woo in frustration. ¡°Urghhh... I was going to take the lead today.¡±


    ¡°No chance.¡± Kang-Woo smiled as he wiggled his fingers. ¡°Right, then. Come back here and lie down.¡±


    ¡°Th-That¡¯s enough massaging for today!¡±


    ¡°Why? Doesn¡¯t it feel good? I mean, you don¡¯t have any knots on your muscles, but there¡¯s nothing better than this in terms of fatigue recovery.¡±


    ¡°Th-That¡¯s true, but...¡± Lilith pouted. ¡°This isn¡¯t what I had in mind!¡±


    She sprang up and pushed Kang-Woo down on the bed. She got on top of him and ced her hand on his chest as she bewitchingly licked her lips.


    ¡°Haaa. My king.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second,¡± said Kang-Woo as he grabbed Lilith¡¯s hand.


    ¡°No more... massages.¡±


    ¡°Not that. We do this all the time, don¡¯t we?¡±


    They had not done ittely because Lilith had barely been home, but that was beside the point.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we get some fresh air together?¡±


    Kang-Woo had spent time with Seol-Ah and Yeon-Joo privately but could not remember thest time he spent quality time with Lilith.


    ¡°Pardon? R-Really?!¡± Lilith¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, having never expected Kang-Woo to suggest such a thing. ¡°Yes! Okay! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    She smiled radiantly and nodded. Her hair had turned into tentacles and was dancing before Kang-Woo realized it.

 Side Story Chapter 41 - To Live as a Human (2)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 41 - To Live as a Human (2)</h4>


    ¡°I think this is the first time we¡¯ve gone out on a date, just the two of us,¡± said Lilith as she grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s hand with a smile.


    The gentle sea breeze of Gwangalli Beach blew over them. They called it a date, but they were not anywhere special like when Oh Kang-Woo went with Han Seol-Ah to an amusement park. They had gone shopping, to a coffee shop, and chatted as they walked along the beach like a regr couple.


    ¡°Oh, my king. May I try a bite of that?¡±


    Lilith pointed at a restaurant as they were walking along the beach. It was a corn dog chain with restaurants all over the world.


    ¡°Huh? You want to eat that?¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at Lilith wide-eyed. He was not belittling corn dogs; he was just shocked that Lilith of all people wanted to <i>eat </i>something.


    ¡°But you can barely taste it, can you?¡± he asked.


    Demons generally did not eat since demonic energy was all they needed in terms of sustenance. Hence, unless one was like Kang-Woo, who went from human to demon, taste buds were atrophied for most demons.


    ¡°Fufu. I¡¯ve been gaining a sense of tastetely,¡± Lilith replied.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes gleamed with great interest. This was the first time he had heard of a demon gaining a sense of taste.


    ¡°Yes. It could be because I¡¯ve been using a human body all this time.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Kang-Woo expressed, recalling something he had forgotten because it had been such a long time. ¡°Come to think of it, that¡¯s not your body.¡±


    The body that Lilith was using at the moment was originally that of the woman Kurosaki Yurie. Kang-Woo had forgotten because it looked as if Lilith had taken full control over it.


    ¡°Come to think of it... Kurosaki Yurie, was it? Is the former owner of that body still asleep?¡±


    Kang-Woo recalled Lilith saying that Kurosaki Yurie was asleep inside her consciousness when he asked her a very long time ago.


    ¡°Oh...¡± Lilith subtly flinched. She averted her gaze from Kang-Woo, her expression reflecting slight anxiety, and continued after a short moment, ¡°Yes. Sh-She¡¯s still asleep.¡±


    The way she replied as she tapped on the ground with the end of her foot was slightly unnatural. Kang-Woo stared at Lilith doubtfully.


    ¡°She¡¯s been sleeping for a while, hasn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it has been a long time.¡±


    ¡°Mmm... Perhaps her consciousness is being suppressed by that of a demon.¡±


    That was the only logical reason he could think of for why Kurosaki Yurie had yet to awaken.


    <i>¡®Well, it kind of makes sense.¡¯</i>


    The one in control was none other than the Subus Queen. Considering Lilith had lived far longer than Kurosaki Yurie, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for her consciousness to be overwhelmed by Lilith¡¯s and be unable to wake up, even if she were the original owner of the body.


    <i>¡®I feel a little bad for her.¡¯</i>


    Forget frustrated; she might even resent Lilith for stealing her body.


    <i>¡®Well, it has nothing to do with me.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo shrugged leisurely. Ethically speaking, Lilith could be seen as a viin who stole the body of an innocent woman.


    <i>¡®So what?¡¯</i>


    He was not acquainted with Kurosaki Yurie, nor had he spoken to her even once. He couldn¡¯t care less about someone getting his body stolen by a demon. Rather, he couldn¡¯t be happier that Lilith had turned from a tentacle monster to a stunning beauty.


    <i>¡®Though she still thinks tentacles are the most beautiful things in the world.¡¯</i>


    At the very least, Lilith realized that Kang-Woo did not like tentacles and did not manifest them in front of him unless she was ecstatic or flustered.


    <i>¡®The problem is...¡¯</i>


    She seemed to think the reason why Kang-Woo despised her tentacles had to do with his tastes in particr. She didn¡¯t think that her tentacles were hideous but that Kang-Woo¡¯s abnormal tastes rejected her stunningly beautiful tentacles.


    ¡°Haaa,¡± Kang-Woo sighed deeply.


    He had done his best to exin it to her multiple times, but the beauty standards deeply rooted inside her head did not change. It was difficult to change a notion in one¡¯s head once rooted in ce.


    There was no need to look far for an example. People in the past thought that being obese was an indication of health and wealth and thought those with more fat were more beautiful. Would those people think the celebrities and models of today were attractive?


    <i>¡®No way.¡¯</i>


    It was easier to picture the other way around. The people of today would not envy the obese people of the past who were considered the epitome of beauty.


    <i>¡®I mean... I guess it¡¯s fine as long as she doesn¡¯t unt them around me.¡¯</i>


    It didn¡¯t matter to Kang-Woo if Lilith thought he had abnormal tastes or kinky fetishes; all that mattered was that she knew he didn¡¯t like tentacles. Kang-Woo stopped thinking about useless things and turned to the restaurant Lilith pointed at.


    ¡°Sure. Which vor?¡±


    ¡°Mozzare cheese!¡±


    Kang-Woo ordered two mozzare cheese corn dogs and paid at the card machine ced in front of the restaurant. Two delicious-looking corn dogs covered in sugar and ketchup arrived soon after.[1] Kang-Woo gulped and took arge bite out of the corn dog.


    ¡°<i>Nom, nom</i>. Damn, this is good.¡±


    The mozzare cheese, sausage, and crispy bread danced inside his mouth. Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t believe it was so good despite its cheap price. He could understand why this corn dog chain was famous all over the world.


    ¡°Mmm. <i>Nom, nom.</i>¡±


    Lilith was eating only the bread portion of the corn dog with her eyes closed as if focusing on the taste.


    ¡°Eh? Why are you eating it like that?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°My taste buds haven¡¯t fully developed yet, so I have a hard time sensing different tastes at once.¡±


    It sounded bullshit yet logical at the same time.


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡±


    Kang-Woo wondered if there was even a point to eating a corn dog if she was going to eat it like that, but set the thought aside and watched Lilith eating the corn dog like a bird taking small pieces off of its food.


    ¡°<i>Nom</i>.¡±


    Lilith ate the bread and the mozzare cheese portion of the corn dog, leaving only the sausage. She put it in her mouth and sucked it like a bar of ice cream. Not just that, she stuck out her tongue and licked it from base to tip.


    ¡°...¡±


    <i>¡®Uhhh, mmm. This is... Ahem.¡¯</i>


    <i>- SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEET!!!</i>


    Someone¡¯s voice echoed inside Kang-Woo¡¯s head.


    <i>¡®Go away... get out of my head, La!! She¡¯s only eating it that way because her taste buds haven¡¯t fully developed! Surely it doesn¡¯t imply anything else...!¡¯</i>


    ¡°Haaang... <i>Slurp</i>.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°My, what¡¯s wrong, my king?¡±


    Lilith smiled and licked the sausage more passionately.


    ¡°You¡¯re... doing that on purpose, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Hohoho. Doing what~? I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about, my king~¡± said Lilith as she teasingly bit the tip of the sausage.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡±


    Kang-Woo fiercely bit his lip.


    <i>¡®Y-You crafty biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch!¡¯</i>


    He could not let this slide.


    ¡°Go to horny jail!!!¡±


    ¡°O-Oh? M-My king?!¡±


    Kang-Woo slipped behind Lilith, grabbed her shoulders, and began to massage them with adequate strength.


    ¡°Hngh! P-Please wait, th-this is...!¡± yelled Lilith, who was not used to getting massages, as she aggressively twisted and turned.


    Kang-Woo kept hold of Lilith by the shoulders so that she couldn¡¯t get away and used only his thumbs to press between her neck and shoulders.


    ¡°You naughty girl!¡±


    <i>Riiing!</i>


    [?(?`?¡ä?)? How right you are!]


    <i>¡®Why are you getting involved?¡¯</i>


    [How dare she mock our beloved guardian deity¡¯s only w byparing it to a sausage?!]


    ¡®You fucking bitch.¡¯


    [©»(£àÃó¡ä)©¿Our guardian deity¡¯s sausage isn¡¯t that big!]


    <i>¡®Y-Yooooooou fucking... Why are you doing this to me? Why do you keep appearing every time I almost forget about you?¡¯</i>


    [My ego has been slowly developingtely but I¡¯m bored because I have nothing to do.]


    <i>¡®Then why don¡¯t I make it so that you¡¯re busy as fuck?¡¯</i>


    [LMAO sorry not sorry!!]


    Kang-Woo frowned as he stared at the blue message window disappearing as if running away.


    <i>¡®That bitch needs a lesson too.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was slowly but surely gaining privileges to the Law of Titans as his powers returned. He gritted his teeth, determined to one day have a meeting with Eve.


    ¡°My king...?¡± Lilith looked at him with her head tilted.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Kang-Woo focused back on Lilith and smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s finish what we were doing.¡±


    ¡°Ah! P-Please, wait!¡±


    Lilith¡¯s screams continued.


    ***


    ¡°Haaa, haaa.¡± Lilith panted heavily and leaned her head on Kang-Woo¡¯s chest once he let go of her shoulders after punishing her until he was satisfied. ¡°It was... just a joke.¡±


    Lilith pouted adorably. Kang-Woo patted Lilith¡¯s head.


    ¡°That aside... Spending time with you like this makes it feel like I¡¯ve be human,¡± Lilith remarked.


    ¡°Human?¡±


    Lilith smiled bitterly and replied, ¡°Yes. Spending time alongside humans as I eat andugh like them... it¡¯s just a feeling I get.¡±


    <i>¡®Does it mean she¡¯s getting ustomed to human culture?¡¯</i>


    It was only natural since it had been a while since she first arrived on Earth.


    <i>¡®Wait...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes lit up as if he thought of a good idea. If she was getting used to human culture, it also meant she was developing human values. In other words, Her beauty standards, which he couldn¡¯t change no matter what he did, could adapt to human standards as well.


    ¡°Lilith,¡± he called.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    Kang-Woo grabbed her hands and asked seriously, ¡°You love me, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°That means you¡¯ll be living on Earth with me from now on, right?¡±


    Lilith nodded.


    ¡°In that case, you have to start living as a human than a demon.¡±


    ¡°Living... as a human?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Kang-Woo gripped Lilith¡¯s hands harder. ¡°You have to know human values, notions, thoughts... and what they like and dislike.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not demons anymore. To live alongside humans in a society made by humans... we need to be human.¡±


    That was what it meant to live as a human.


    ¡°Ah...¡± Lilith¡¯s eyes widened as if she were enlightened. ¡°Human values...¡±


    She fell into thought as she ced her hands over her chest. She fell into deep thought and raised her head.


    ¡°Does that mean I also have to learn about the morals and ethics of human society?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Huh? Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡®Morals and ethics are a part of human values.¡¯


    ¡°...¡±


    Deathly silence fell. Lilith bit her lip with a gloomy expression. She shut her eyes tightly as she thought long and hard, then slowly opened her eyes.


    ¡°I have something to confess, my king.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What is it?¡±


    ¡°To tell you the truth... Kurosaki Yurie, the former owner of this body, woke up not long ago.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    <i>¡®She woke up?¡¯</i>


    ¡°To live as a human like you said... I would have to follow human morals and ethics. If that is the case...¡± Lilith said sorrowfully, ¡°It would be the right call... to give this body back to its rightful owner, right? After all, from a human point of view, I am... a wicked being who stole the body of an innocent human.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo reached out to grab Lilith¡¯s shoulders as her eyes shook. He could feel her anxiety and worry just from touching her. She was likely thinking that if she returned this body to its rightful owner, Kang-Woo would start running away from her again like he had in Hell.


    ¡°Listen carefully, Lilith,¡± Kang-Woo remarked in all seriousness. ¡°We are demons to the core.¡±


    <i>¡®We can never be human.¡¯</i>


    1. Yes, we sprinkle sugar on corn dogs... I don¡¯t like it being so sweet but if others like it then whatever... ?

 Side Story Chapter 42 - Kurosaki Yurie (1)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 42 - Kurosaki Yurie (1)</h4>


    ¡°Pardon?¡± Lilith stared at Kang-Woo, wide-eyed and confused. ¡°But you just said¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh, forget all that bullshit I said earlier,¡± Oh Kang-Woo remarked.


    A demon living as a human was so unthinkable that one would think the person thinking it had a gun to his head.


    ¡°Do we have to follow human values to live alongside them?¡± Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t help butugh. He called, ¡°Lilith.¡±


    He gripped Lilith¡¯s shoulders harder as he suppressed his surging anxiety.


    He continued, ¡°Humans are an idiotic garbage race.¡±


    They were illogical, violent, and disorderly. They were the cause of Earth¡¯s environmental destruction for a reason.


    ¡°Learning their values won¡¯t do you any good. We may live alongside humans but can never be them¡ª no, we have no reason to be like them. So, uhhh... you should just use Kurosaki Yurie¡¯s body.¡±


    Kang-Woo stared at Lilith desperately, imagining what would happen if Lilith returned to her true form permanently after all this time.


    <i>¡®F-Fuck no. Anything but that!!¡¯</i>


    His face turned pale as he panted heavily, and cold sweats ran down his back. Transcendental fear took over him, causing him to tremble. He was more afraid than when he faced millions of demons in the Abyss.


    ¡°My king...¡± Lilith grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s hands, teary-eyed. ¡°Of course, I want to keep using this body too.¡±


    Back in Hell, Lilith had not ended up together with Kang-Woo because she continued to use her tentacles to entice him without realizing his abnormally twisted fetish, which was that he despised tentacles. The thing that realized her unrequited love, which seemed tost forever, was the body of Kurosaki Yurie.


    This tentacle-less, in, and ugly female body matched Kang-Woo¡¯s tastes perfectly, hence Liltih did not want to give up the body that allowed her to be one with Kang-Woo.


    ¡°But if I continue to share this body with her... our consciousness will begin to mix.¡±


    Even if they were to mix, the dominant one would ultimately be Lilith. No matter how strong-willed Kurosaki Yurie was, it would be difficult for her to dominate the Subus Queen, who had lived for thousands of years.


    ¡°I¡¯m... a little scared,¡± Lilith muttered as she carefully grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s clothes.


    It was only natural that she would emerge victorious in a battle for control against Kurosaki Yurie. It was foolish to even consider the possibility of losing against a mere human¡ª it was impossible for a demon who had lived for thousands of years to lose.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    She knew someone who hade out on top against impossible odds. Heughed in the face of the despairing difference in strength and trampled on causality to emerge victorious.


    ¡°It¡¯s highly unlikely, but... what if something like you had done in the Demonic Sea happens?¡±


    Kang-Woo entered his consciousness and defeated Bauli, a Primordial Titan, who was trying to take over his body. The difference in power between Lilith and Kurosaki Yurie was nothingpared to what the difference between Kang-Woo and Bauli had been at the time.


    ¡°And... even if I manage to overpower her consciousness...¡±


    Lilith would not be able to avoid a portion of Kurosaki Yurie¡¯s consciousness mixing with hers since it was no different from two souls existing inside one body.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want my feelings for you... to be tainted by someone else¡¯s consciousness.¡±


    Lilith looked at Kang-Woo, full of anxiety. Her love for Kang-Woo likely would not change even if the consciousness were to mix, but it would not bepletely the same as long as a portion of Kurosaki Yurie¡¯s consciousness was mixed with Lilith¡¯s.


    ¡°Mm, so...¡± Kang-Woo slurred as he pulled on his hair anxiously.


    He did not think Kurosaki Yurie¡¯s consciousness woulde out on top; his miraculous feat of defeating the Demon God was only possible because it was him.


    <i>¡®But there¡¯s no way to stop their consciousness from mixing.¡¯</i>


    If two souls existed in one body, one would influence the other; it was just a matter of the extent.


    <i>¡®What do I do?¡¯</i>


    His thoughts were in a jumble.


    ¡°My king...¡± Lilith grabbed Kang-Woo¡¯s hands and stared at him teary-eyed. She asked worryingly, ¡°Would you still love me... even if I were to return to my original form?¡±


    Kang-Woo could feel her hands trembling.


    He gripped her hands harder and answered without hesitation, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a hard no.¡±


    <i>¡®I would never have returned to Earth if it was something that could be ovee with love. I will never love tentacles even if were to be torn apart.¡¯</i>


    ¡°My king, you idiot!!¡±


    Lilith pped Kang-Woo in the face with all her might.


    ¡°Kurgh!¡± Kang-Woo grunted as he twirled in the air three times and fell on his face.


    He could have blocked it using his Deific Essence barrier but lowered it because he had a feeling he should shut up and let himself get pped in this situation.


    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to tell me that you would, even if it¡¯s a lie!¡± Lilith red at Kang-Woo as she panted seethingly.


    ¡°Okay. I would still love you even if you return to your original form.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s toote!¡±


    ¡°What the hell do you want me to do, then?¡± Kang-Woo groaned as he got back up, scratching his head.


    Just then, Lilith suddenly turned her head with nk eyes, staring into nothingness.


    ¡°Pardon...? Is that true?¡± she talked to herself. ¡°Why...? Isn¡¯t this your body, Yurie?¡±


    It seemed she was speaking to Kurosaki Yurie¡¯s consciousness. Kang-Woo simply waited with his arms crossed since not even he could eavesdrop on a conversation inside someone¡¯s head. Their conversation continued for a while longer and stopped.


    ¡°What did she say?¡± Kang-Woo asked, tilting his head.


    Lilith groaned as she twirled the ends of her ck hair. She answered, ¡°Yurie wants a different body.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Kang-Woo did not expect such an answer. He frowned as he stared at the wide-eyed Lilith. ¡°I mean... that would be good for all of us.¡±


    Everything would be solved if the original owner of the body wanted to leave it. Their consciousness would not mix, and Kurosaki Yurie¡¯s body would be Lilith¡¯s.


    ¡°But why?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    It was no easy decision to give up one¡¯s body.


    ¡°Well...¡± Lilith slurred then continued calmly, ¡°I think you should hear it from her.¡±


    Lilith snapped her finger and then her charming aura that naturally enticed others disappeared. A simple change in the body¡¯s owner was enough for a woman who gave off bewitching energy to turn into a pure and innocent girl.


    ¡°Haaa... I believe this is our first time speaking face to face,¡± said Lilith¡ª no, Kurosaki Yurie as she stared at Kang-Woo.


    She gave off an elegant aura as she swept her hair behind her ear, one that couldn¡¯t be felt from Lilith.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Kang-Woo nodded as he locked eyes with Yurie. ¡°So, why do you want to give up your body?¡±


    His tone was cold, the opposite of when he was talking to Lilith. His gaze was fierce as if telling Yurie that he would devour her soul if she tried anything funny.


    ¡°There is no need for you to be so on guard,¡± Yurie remarked.


    ¡°I will be the judge of that. Stop beating around the bush and talk.¡±


    Yurie sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not scheming anything in particr. I just...¡± She looked up and continued in an exhausted tone, ¡°Want to live my own life.¡±


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He could easily figure out what she meant by that based on her former position. ¡°You want to give up your life as a celestial maiden[1]?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡± Yurie smiled sorrowfully. ¡°I was isted from others since I was young. I couldn¡¯t y outside like the other children nor did I have friends my age. As for my education... it was all from private tutors.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°It got worse after the Day of Cmity. I was looked after by the government because of the special power I awakened. I was always apanied by bodyguards and couldn¡¯t even eat the things I wanted.¡±


    Yurie¡¯s clenched fists trembled.


    She continued bitterly, ¡°I... don¡¯t want to go back to that life.¡±


    Kang-Woo nodded, understanding her reasons.


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t matter anymore. Lilith has full control over the Japanese government, so no one can put a leash on you even if you decide to stay in that body.¡±


    The first thing Lilith did after entering Yurie¡¯s body was to gain freedom by forcing the higher-ups of the Japanese government to submit to her. It was only natural since she couldn¡¯t be with Kang-Woo if she didn¡¯t do that. In other words, Yurie would be free if she were to live on in her original body.


    ¡°No.¡± Yurie shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m different from her. As long as I¡¯m in this body... I can¡¯t be free.¡±


    She bit her lip and embraced herself as if imprisoning herself.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. A person who never had wings couldn¡¯t soar freely across the skies just because they were given wings. Yurie had been imprisoned her entire life, hence she had never experienced a life of freedom. That was why she desired to have a fresh start in a new body.


    ¡°Okay, I get your reason.¡± Kang-Woo nodded as he withdrew his bloodlust. There was no need to be wary of her now that their interests matched. ¡°Then as for your new body...¡±


    ¡°Oh, please leave that to me.¡±


    The elegant and pure air around Yurie changed as if a switch was flipped, changing into one bursting with charm and lust.


    ¡°A body perfect for Yurie to make her fresh start... One more beautiful than anyone...¡±


    Lilith¡¯s eyes shone as she smiled seductively.


    ¡°I will make one just for her.¡±


    Kang-Woo flinched, chills running down his back.


    <i>¡®Uhhh... just a fucking second. You¡¯re going to make it?¡¯</i>


    1. She was never called that in the main story but I guess that¡¯s what we¡¯re going with. ?

 Side Story Chapter 43 - Kurosaki Yurie (2)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 43 - Kurosaki Yurie (2)</h4>


    Three days passed since they epted Kurosaki Yurie¡¯s favor. Lilith forcibly took over Vaal Zahak¡¯sboratory and focused on creating a body just for Yurie. Oh Kang-Woo was then contacted today that the body for Yurie waspleted atst.


    Kang-Woo, who was being fed kimchi stew by Han Seol-Ah in her arms like usual, made sure to take a <i>protective shield</i> before heading to the apartment floor where Vaal Zahak¡¯sb was.


    ¡°Now... slowly open your eyes.¡±


    Kang-Woo arrived to see that Yurie¡¯s soul was in the process of being transferred to the new body. A faint blue light that was Yurie¡¯s soul shone within the thick fog of demonic energy and entered the new body.


    ¡°This is... my new body?¡± Yurie slowly opened her eyes. She looked down and examined her body. ¡°Wow... You didn¡¯t have to make me so beautiful.¡±


    She looked at herself in the mirror. Her original form was already beautiful, but this was on another level of beauty. She had golden hair, mysterious purple eyes, and pale skin. She used to be a traditional Asian beauty, so her new look felt rather exotic to her.


    ¡°Eh...?¡±


    Kang-Woo expressed confusion as he stared at Yurie¡¯s new look.


    <i>¡®She¡¯s actually beautiful.¡¯</i>


    He had imagined a nightmare-fuel hideous creature that would only exist in Hell when Lilith offered to make the body, but contrary to his expectations, Yurie was just a regr, beautiful woman no matter how he looked at her.


    ¡°Phew,¡± Kang-Woo sighed in relief with his hand on his chest.


    <i>¡®Fortunately, it doesn¡¯t seem like I¡¯ll need this.¡¯</i>


    He looked down at the ck ring in his hand. It was an item he created bypressing several Authorities, containing various features that blocked all of his senses in preparation for the worst-case scenario. Kang-Woo withdrew the Authorities and absorbed the ring back into himself. He turned to examine Yurie¡¯s new body with great interest.


    <i>¡®She¡¯s beautiful.¡¯</i>


    She was but a squidpared to his Darling, but she would be the most beautiful person in the room anywhere else.


    <i>¡®Hmm. I can¡¯t believe Lilith had such talent. You¡¯ve changed, Lilith!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists, ovee with ecstasy. She hade to understand human beauty standards atst.


    He approached Yurie, handed her a card, and remarked, ¡°This contains enough money for you to live afortable life.¡±


    ¡°N-No, you don¡¯t have to do that much for me...¡±


    She would need money to start a new life from scratch; if she were broke, the only life waiting for her would be one of working to death.


    <i>¡®Though I¡¯m sure she¡¯s capable enough to get by.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was sure she wouldn¡¯t have a hard time earning money since she was once known as the celestial maiden. Considering she had her unique Deific Manifestation Trait, she would have quite a leisurely life. However, Kang-Woo gave her the card anyway.


    ¡°In exchange, could you work as a member of Guardians?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Guardians...?¡±


    ¡°I say work, but it won¡¯t be anything like a nine-to-five job. Your job would be to stop abnormal Gate phenomena and protect the citizens. Of course, you will be rewarded based on your aplishments.¡±


    It would be a shame to lose such a capable individual. She would be a great addition to the forces of Guardians.


    <i>¡®The more cards I can y, the better.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo was more than willing to expand Guardians if it meant he could continue his lovey-dovey life with his Darling.


    ¡°Oh, in that case, I would be happy to help.¡± Yurie smiled and dly epted Kang-Woo¡¯s offer. She took the card and turned to Lilith to say, ¡°Thank you very much for making me this wonderful body, Lilith.¡±


    ¡°My, a wonderful body? What are you talking about?¡± Lilith tilted her head as if not understanding what Yurie was saying. She said innocently, ¡°You have yet to see its <i>true </i>form.¡±


    ¡°Pardon...?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Yurie and Kang-Woo both turned to Lilith.


    Lilith giggled and continued, ¡°That form is but a shell made for Yurie to interact with human society without issue.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s face turned pale as chills ran down his back.


    <i>¡®It can¡¯t be.¡¯</i>


    The nightmare he did not want to imagine was approaching.


    ¡°This is the body¡¯s true form.¡±


    Lilith smiled as she softly tapped Yurie¡¯s body.


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    The sound of sticky mucus echoed throughout theb. Yurie¡¯s head split, and yellow pus poured out like a fountain. Her mysterious purple eyes popped out of their sockets and dangled near her earlobes. Her skin, as pale as snow, split like the ground of an arid desert and was turned inside out.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh,¡± Kang-Woo groaned in terror, getting a full view of the horrifying sight.


    He quickly searched for his protective shield, but he had already withdrawn the Authorities and absorbed it back into himself.


    <i>¡®N-No.¡¯</i>


    He couldn¡¯t block his senses simply by closing his eyes since his transcendentally developed senses immediately took over once his sense of sight was blocked. If he closed his eyes, he would hear or smell better. In other words, he would feel the nightmare even more realistically if he closed his eyes.


    ¡°Urpp.¡±


    Kang-Woo was getting nauseous. This was likely what a human body looked like if turned inside out. It was like the scene in a certain alien film where the monster crawled out of a human belly.


    ¡°My, my, my! You¡¯re absolutely gorgeous! I made them myself, but I must say, those tentacles are so~ beautiful!¡±


    Lilith pped as she giggled. Purple tentacles poured out after ripping through what Lilith called a <i>shell</i>. Its color was likely close to that of a sandwich left in a fridge for around three years. Tentacles that looked as if mold had grown from them wriggled along the ground.


    ¡°GYEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHH!!¡± Kang-Woo screamed as he pulled on his hair.


    <i>¡®A dyed attack!¡¯</i>


    The first form that Lilith showed him had been nothing but a means to lower his guard. She had formed an opening in his defenses for the tentacles to wriggle through. Kang-Woo was in agony as if his retinas were burning; if he could, he would pop his eyes out of their sockets and clean them with holy water.


    <i>¡®I-I mustn¡¯t close my eyes!¡¯</i>


    If he did, his heightened senses would amplify the sound of the tentacles and the stench of the pus, resulting in a vivid image of the tentacles being drawn and engraved in his head.


    <i>¡®This is a horrid nightmare! A despair I can never escape from!¡¯</i>


    ¡°Th-This is...¡± Yurie slurred.


    ¡°Hohoho. Do you like it? Oh, for your information, my tentacles look like this~¡±


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    Lilith¡¯s hair surged into the air and turned into green tentacles. She no longer revealed her tentacles in front of Kang-Woo since she knew he hated them but she seemed to have forgotten Kang-Woo was there due to her excitement.


    ¡°A-Aaaahh!¡± Kang-Woo writhed in pain as he saw the tentacles entwining with one another. ¡°BLEEEEEEEEEEEGHHH!¡±


    Prepare for tentacles! And make it double!


    ¡°Gurghhhhhhh... F-Fuck...¡±


    Trauma he had forgotten was slowlying back to Kang-Woo. He stumbled backward in pallor.


    ¡°L-Lilith...¡±


    ¡°My, I¡¯m sorry. I forgot you disliked tentacles,¡± said Lilith as she stared at Kang-Woo pitifully.


    Her expression made it look like she was being given no choice but to match her king¡¯s unhinged fetishes, causing Kang-Woo to go crazy. Lilith turned her green tentacles back to ck hair.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Kang-Woo panted heavily and turned to Yurie, who had be a purple tentacle monster.


    ¡°M-My body... t-tentacles...¡±


    Yurie was looking down at her tentacle body, lost for words due to shock.


    ¡°Umm... Y-Yurie? I know you¡¯re in shock, but please try to calm down.¡±


    She was likely in bigger shock than Kang-Woo was.


    ¡°Ahhh...¡±


    Yurie¡¯s eyes were turning hazy as if denying reality.


    <i>¡®This is bad!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo tried to reach for Yurie before she took extreme measures but heard her voice before he could.


    ¡°How lovely.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    <i>¡®What the fuck did I just hear?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Hohoho! Right?! I knew you would love it, Yurie!¡± Lilith yelled.


    ¡°How can tentacles... be this beautiful...? I could never have imagined it.¡±


    ?????????


    <i>¡®What the fuck? What in the actual fuck is going on right now?¡¯</i>


    ¡°Did you say... lovely?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Yes. Just take a look at these purple tentacles. Aren¡¯t they blindingly beautiful?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, maybe you went blind because of it.¡±


    ¡°My, what are you saying, my king? Don¡¯t listen to him, Yurie. You see, the king hates tentacles. Can you believe it?¡±


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s... a little hard to believe.¡±


    ¡°?????????¡±


    <i>¡®What? Wha? Whuuh? Did I end up on the Beta World Line somehow?¡¯</i>


    ¡°El... Psy... Kongroo.¡±


    <i>¡®No, I must be in a nightmare. Yeah, yeah. There¡¯s no way this is real.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Are you perhaps only aroused by corpses or something, Kang-Woo? Yurie asked.


    ¡°Come on~ his fetishes aren¡¯t that bad. He just has some exotic kinks.¡±


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡± Kang-Woo stumbled backward as he listened to the demented conversation between the two women.


    <i>¡®What is this? What is going on? What the fuck is up with that Yurie bitch? Father! If you¡¯re watching, please answer me! Oh right, I fucking killed Bauli.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo¡¯s head was in jumbles and his vision was getting blurry. It was as dark as when he was traversing through the Abyss.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    ¡°Vaal Zahak, what is with all this noise¡ª Hmm?¡± Just then, a demon covered in red muscles entered theb. ¡°My king?¡±


    Balrog tilted his head in confusion as he looked at Kang-Woo pulling on his hair in pallor.


    ¡°B-Balrog!¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s expression brightened as if he had found a ray of light within the endless darkness. However, it onlysted for a moment.


    ¡°What is the matt¡ª <i>Gasp!!</i>¡± Balrog looked around theb and his eyes widened after noticing Kurosaki Yurie¡¯s purple tentacle monster form. ¡°M-My king!!!¡±


    ¡°Balrog...?¡±


    ¡°Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Who is that stunningly beautiful woman?!!¡±


    <i>¡®Ahhh. I don¡¯t fucking know what¡¯s right or wrong anymore. The source of all worry and anguish is the head. In that case, I¡¯ll destroy my head.¡¯</i>


    <i>Bash!</i>


    Kang-Woo smashed his head into theboratory wall with all his might.

 Side Story Chapter 44 - Kurosaki Yurie (3)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 44 - Kurosaki Yurie (3)</h4>


    <i>Bash! Bash! Crack!</i>


    Oh Kang-Woo smashed his head into the wall like a wrecking ball. The wall, protected by protection magic, caved in, but it did not leave a scratch on his head, no matter how hard he smashed it in. A wall like this wouldn¡¯t be able to injure him in the first ce.


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Kang-Woo panted heavily and turned around as he trembled.


    ¡°Wh-Who... are you?¡±


    Balrog was staring with shaking eyes at Kurosaki Yurie; his face reddened although his skin was normally red anyway. This was the first time Kang-Woo had seen such an expression on Balrog¡¯s face.


    ¡°My, it seems our muscle pig has an eye for beauty,¡± said Lilith as she stared at the reddened Balrog and giggled. She pulled Yurie close by her shoulders and continued, ¡°You know this body I use has a former owner, right?¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I guess you wouldn¡¯t know. In any case, the soul of a human wasying dormant inside this body.¡±


    Lilith concisely told Balrog about Yurie.


    Balrog stared intently at Yurie as he asked, ¡°Then does that mean... you are the former owner of the body Lilith is using right now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. As you can see, I have been given a new body,¡± Yurie answered.


    ¡°A-Ahem. I-It is a... stunning body.¡±


    ¡°Hoho. I think so as well.¡±


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    Yurie smiled as her mold-like purple tentacles squirmed.


    <i>Ba-dump.</i>


    ¡°Kurgh!¡± Balrog crouched as he clenched his chest.


    ¡°My, oh my~ I wonder what¡¯s wrong with our muscle pig, who always has nothing but the king on his mind~?¡± Lilith¡¯s eyes shone like a predator that found its prey. ¡°What do you think? She¡¯s beautiful, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°Sh-Shut up.¡±


    ¡°Hohoho! To think I¡¯d live to see such a side of the great Balrog!¡±


    <i>Squirm, squirm.</i>


    Lilith¡¯s hair turned back into green tentacles and entwined with the purple tentacles.


    She asked teasingly, ¡°Fufu. Who¡¯s prettier, me or her?¡±


    Balrog grimaced and shouted as if it were obvious, ¡°What is there to evenpare, Lilith? Her tentacles are far more beautiful!¡±


    ¡°My, that¡¯s a little hurtful.¡± Lilith slightly frowned and pouted as if her pride was hurt. ¡°I¡¯m only in this form because of the king. Have you forgotten my true form of beauty?¡±


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    Eighteen eyes appeared on Lilith¡¯s face. Her skin rotted ck and green tentacles surged from her hair.


    ¡°Kuh...¡± Balrog grunted, overwhelmed by Lilith¡¯s beauty.


    <i>¡®As expected of the Subus Queen...!¡¯</i>


    Justying eyes on Lilith was enough for his heart to sway.


    <i>¡®But...¡¯</i>


    Balrog bit his lip. Yurie, whose tentacles were squirming awkwardly as if she were not used to them yet, looked cuter and more loving.


    He clenched his fists and said to Lilith, ¡°That woman is so blinding that I can barely even see you.¡±


    ¡°My, my. You sure have fallen head over heels for her, huh?¡±


    ¡°Pardon? F-For me?¡± Yurie asked in surprise and turned to Balrog. ¡°Ah...¡±


    She flinched from seeing Balrog, covered in bulging muscles.


    She stole nces at Balrog with a flushed face and remarked dejectedly, ¡°B-Butpared to Lilith, I¡¯m just...¡±


    Yurie lowered her head unconfidently.


    Balrog slowly walked toward the dejected Yurie and remarked, ¡°There is no need for you to lower your head, mydy of amethyst tentacles.¡± He took one of the purple tentacles and kissed the end of it. ¡°My name is Balrog. I am the most loyal subordinate of the Demon King as well as a demon who walks the path of domination.¡±


    Balrog flexed his already massive muscles, swelling to the point that they looked hideous.


    ¡°Oh my...!¡±


    Yurie was left wide-eyed as she witnessed Balrog bulking up to a level that one would wonder if steroids ran through his blood vessels instead of blood. Her cheeks reddened, although it was hard to tell because of her purple skin.


    ¡°Hehe. What do you think?¡± Balrog asked as he posed like a bodybuilder.


    He made his massive muscles bounce, making them look as if they were alive. They were so big that they would even make an ogre get the fuck out of dodge, propelled by the rocket-level propulsive power of the shit it would take out of fear.


    ¡°M-Magnificent...¡± mumbled Yurie in embarrassment.


    She and Balrog locked eyes with each other.


    Kang-Woo copsed to his knees as he watched them. ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    He pulled on his hair. His heart beat erratically, and he felt like his brain was melting. His vision was blurring.


    ¡°Hello, madness... my old friend.¡±


    He shook his head to deny reality, but the sight he was being forced to behold did not change. The entangled green and purple tentacles, the mountain of muscles, and the reddened purple tentacle monster as itid eyes on the mountain of muscles.


    ¡°Arghhh.¡±


    <i>¡®What am I seeing right now? Is this reality? Is it?¡¯</i>


    ¡°No...¡± Kang-Woo mumbled. ¡°There¡¯s no way... this is real.¡±


    He shook his head in terror. There was no way this hellish sight, despairing enough to be a culmination of human sins since the beginning of time, was real.


    ¡°GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!¡± Kang-Woo screamed as he pulled on his hair.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s over! The world is ending! It¡¯s the Apocalypse!¡¯</i>


    Earth was done for; it was toote to help it. The entire world would be engulfed by tentacles and rot from their pus. Tentacles would pour like rain and hit like a tsunami. Human civilization and culture as we know it would vanish. The tentacles would dominate people and turn them into cultists who worshiped tentacles. The world would be engulfed by despair and grief.


    ¡°Ruin hase to our family!!¡±[1]


    Kang-Woo convulsed as if he were having a seizure and foamed at the mouth.


    ¡°O-Oh no! My king!¡±


    Lilith approached Kang-Woo in shock¡ª in her green tentacle form, of course.


    ¡°BEGONE, FOUL DEMOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!¡±


    ¡°Kyaah!!¡±


    Kang-Woo swung his arm that was getting wrapped in tentacles, pushing Lilith back.


    ¡°<i>Huff, huff, huff.</i>¡±


    He panted heavily as he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart. Chaos in his head was beginning to die down.


    <i>¡®Just... why?¡¯ </i>Kang-Woo thought.


    He could understand Lilith and Balrog, albeit reluctantly. They were born as demons and spent the majority of their lives in the Ninth Hell where values were different from those of Earth.


    <i>¡®So what¡¯s wrong with that bitch?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo red at Yurie in confusion. She was not a demon but a nobledy raised like a flower in a greenhouse to be the celestial maiden. He couldn¡¯t understand why she was reacting in such unhinged ways despite not having experienced demonic values.


    <i>¡®She¡¯s into tentacles and muscles?¡¯</i>


    No, that was impossible; he could understand muscles but not tentacles; it did not make sense even if she had extraordinarily unhinged fetishes. It was not a matter of values, but one of human instinct.


    <i>¡®There¡¯s no way a human could ever love tentacles...!¡¯</i>


    Tentacles were a living nightmare; it was uneptable logically and emotionally. No one but people who suffered brain damage from an ident or the most extreme psychopaths could ever love tentacles, but Kurosaki Yurie did not apply to either category.


    ¡°Then why...¡±


    Kang-Woo forced the gears in his head to turn to find the matching pieces of the puzzle.


    <i>- But if I continue to share this body with her... our consciousness will begin to mix.</i>


    Just then, Kang-Woo recalled Lilith¡¯s words.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    He felt as if he were struck by lightning. If two souls existed in one body, the mixing of consciousness was inevitable. And of course, the weaker soul would naturally be more influenced by the stronger soul.


    <i>¡®Lilith¡¯s consciousness... has corrupted hers!¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo felt as if the fog inside his head had cleared. He could more or less understand where her demented fetishes were derived from.


    ¡°Fuuu,¡± Kang-Woo exhaled.


    He could calm down now that he figured out the cause of the insanity.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s okay. It can¡¯t be helped, right?¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo knew how different the values held by humans and demons were because of the hell he experienced in Hell.


    <i>¡®No need to panic.¡¯</i>


    He closed his eyes, his other senses heightening to the extreme once his sense of sight was blocked.


    <i>Squelch, squelch.</i>


    The sound of squirming tentacles echoed inside his head. Kang-Woo clenched his fists and bit his lip.


    <i>¡®No one¡¯s in the wrong. It¡¯s simply a matter of difference in values.¡¯</i>


    Just like how humans stayed true to their values, so did demons. Kang-Woo felt bad for Yurie, whose values had be closer to those of demons due to Lilith¡¯s consciousness, but he paid it no mind since it had nothing to do with him.


    <i>¡®It¡¯s toote.¡¯</i>


    Once two consciousnesses mixed, it could never be reverted. Kurosaki Yurie would have to live like that for the rest of her life.


    <i>¡®So, clear your head and slowly open your eyes. I¡¯ve done nothing wrong. Lilith, Balrog, and Yurie are all innocent.¡¯</i>


    The difference in values between humans and demons was not <i>wrong</i>; it was just <i>different</i>.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    <i>¡®As long as we can understand one another...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his eyes.


    ¡°We can all be togeth¡ª¡±


    ¡°Please be my woman,¡± Balrog confessed.


    ¡°B-But... we¡¯ve only just met...¡±


    ¡°What does that matter? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve felt it too. You and I... are meant to be.¡±


    ¡°Hngh! P-Please wait!¡±


    ¡°You said you wanted a new body to be free, did you not?¡±


    ¡°Ah... yes.¡±


    ¡®I, Balrog, will be your wings.¡±


    ¡°A-Aaaahh.¡±


    ¡°Come to me, my amethyst.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Balrog...¡±


    The mold-purple tentacle monster and a five-meter lump of red muscles kissed.


    ¡°BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEGHHHHHHHHH!!!¡±


    Kang-Woo copsed and convulsed.


    <i>¡®Different, not wrong? We can all be together as long as we understand one another?¡¯</i>


    ¡°WHAT A LOAD OF FUCKING BULLSHIT!!!¡±


    Kang-Woo cursed at himself and aggressively turned around.


    ¡°O-Oh! My king!¡±


    Lilith quickly reached out to Kang-Woo, but he ignored it. He did not have time to get on the elevator. He ran so quickly up the stairs that he felt like his lungs were about to burst.


    <i>Crack! Boom!</i>


    Kang-Woo ripped open the front door and dived into Han Seol-Ah¡¯s arms.


    ¡°DARLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!¡±


    ¡°K-Kang-Woo? Wh-What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Gurghhh... <i>Waaaaaaahhh</i>,¡± he cried sorrowfully as he rubbed his face on Seol-Ah¡¯s voluptuous breasts and hugged her tightly. ¡°I hate tentacles... I like Darling... <i>Sniff</i>, you¡¯re the only one for me... I like you the best...¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    Seol-Ah looked down at Kang-Woo in confusion and then embraced Kang-Woo with a smile as she sprouted her twelve ck wings.


    ¡°You¡¯re the only one for me too, Kang-Woo,¡± she whispered as she enveloped him with her twelve wings.


    1. This is a line in a cinematic of the game <i>Darkest Dungeon</i>. I believe there are some English memes with this line too. ?

 Side Story Chapter 45 - Nectar (1)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 45 - Nectar (1)</h4>


    A week passed since Oh Kang-Woo witnessed the end of humanity. Kang-Woo had spent his days stuck in his room in Han Seol-Ah¡¯s arms out of severe psychological shock. The trauma from Hell he had managed to forget about hade to haunt him, amplified twofold. Kang-Woo was curled up in bed, trembling in pallor, as Seol-Ah soothed him with a smile.


    Lilith came to visit him as he was slowly forgetting about the trauma¡ª in the form of Kurosaki Yurie, which was now hers.


    ¡°Come on, my king. I said I was sorry.¡±


    Kang-Woo red at Lilith with narrowed eyes.


    Lilith kissed him on the cheek and winked. ¡°I won¡¯t ever show my tentacles in front of you. Okay? I also advised Yurie, so you don¡¯t have to worry about anything.¡±


    ¡°Really...?¡±


    ¡°Of course. There¡¯s no way I would do something you hate on purpose.¡±


    ¡°But you did all this time.¡±


    ¡°Tee-hee.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to act cute on me.¡± Kang-Woo frowned and lightly flicked Lilith¡¯s forehead. ¡°Haaa. Fine. Don¡¯t you dare do it again, got it?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t stay stuck in his room forever. He had shown an unsightly side of himself due to the overwhelming influx of trauma.


    ¡°Oh, are you forgiving unnie already?¡± asked Seol-Ah in disappointment as she pulled on Kang-Woo¡¯s arm. She pouted and continued, ¡°You could scold her a little more...¡±


    ¡°My, what do you think you¡¯re saying about your unnie?¡±


    Lilith narrowed her eyes as she caressed Seol-Ah¡¯s body.


    ¡°Kyaah! P-Please don¡¯t touch me in weird ces~!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been monopolizing the king for an entire week. Don¡¯t you think you should give your beloved unnie a turn?¡±


    ¡°Ngh...¡±


    ¡°Now, now, move over. Or, are you going to kidnap him again?¡±


    ¡°Y-You said you wouldn¡¯t bring that up again!¡± shouted Seol;-Ah, her face as red as a tomato.


    Lilith giggled as she pulled Kang-Woo, who was in Seol-Ah¡¯s arms, toward her. Seol-Ah stared at Kang-Woo in disappointment but as Lilith said, she had monopolized Kang-Woo for a week. A disaster like before would happen again if she were any more stubborn.


    ¡°That aside, what happened with Balrog and Yurie?¡± Kang-Woo asked.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you watching back then? They¡¯ve been practically inseparabletely,¡± answered Lilith as she ced Kang-Woo on herp and hugged him from behind.


    ¡°He got a lover... just like that, huh?¡±


    Kang-Woo couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. He couldn¡¯t imagine Balrog, whom Kang-Woo always thought had muscles for brains, having a lover.


    ¡°Hoho. Can you me him? It was a body made by yours truly.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Kang-Woo¡¯s expression darkened, being reminded of the hellscape from a week ago. Noticing his disgust, Lilith lightly bit Kang-Woo¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Urgh!¡±


    ¡°Forget about what happened back then.¡±


    ¡°Ngh...¡± Kang-Woo shook his head and stood up. ¡°More importantly, since Balrog has a partner now, we should hold a congrattory party for him, right?¡±


    ¡°A party?¡± Lilith asked.


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯ll also work to introduce Yurie to the others.¡±


    ¡°Mm. Is there a need to go so far for that muscle pig?¡±


    ¡°Come on, be nicer to Balrog.¡±


    Although he had trolled more times than Kang-Woo could remember, Balrog was Kang-Woo¡¯s longest and most loyal subordinate. Kang-Woo wanted to at least hold a congrattory party for him since he had found a partner after a thousand years.


    ¡°Hohoho. Alright, my king.¡± Lilith nodded as she giggled. ¡°In that case, I will send the invitations.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then I will prepare the food!¡± shouted Seol-Ah, raising her hand enthusiastically.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll leave the cooking to you, Darling.¡±


    ¡°Fufu. I¡¯ll make tons of your favorite foods, Kang-Woo.¡±


    ¡°The party isn¡¯t for me.¡±


    ¡°Oh... but Balrog can barely taste the food, can he?¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true. He only likes alcohol.¡±


    Balrog loved beer not because of its taste but its scent and fizziness.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to order beer by the barrel...¡±


    Considering Balrog¡¯s size and that he could chug an entire beer barrel, pints of beer wouldn¡¯t be enough.


    <i>¡®In that case...¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo took out his smartphone and sent someone a video.


    ¡°Hm? Did you just send a video to someone?¡± asked Seol-Ah as she tilted her head and peeked at Kang-Woo¡¯s smartphone disy.


    ¡°Do you want to watch too, Seol-Ah?¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled as he yed the video, showing a woman with red hair standing in a dimly lit street in the middle of the night.


    <i>- What¡¯s this...?</i>


    <i>- I-It¡¯s not mine!!</i>


    <i>- It fell out of your pocket., didn¡¯t it?</i>


    <i>- I-I mean, yes, b-b-b-b-b-but...!</i>


    <i>¡®Ahhh...¡¯</i>


    It was one of the precious memories Kang-Woo had made with her¡ª one so beautiful that he would never forget it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll cherish it... always.¡±


    Tears flowed down Kang-Woo¡¯s cheeks. He hugged the smartphone as he remembered his treasured memories with the woman.


    <i>Whaaaaaaaam!!</i>


    Soon after, the front door that had been recently fixed ripped open again.


    ¡°OH KANG-WOO, YOU MOTHERFUCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!¡±


    <i>Bash!</i>


    Cha Yeon-Joo stormed into Kang-Woo¡¯s room andnded an uppercut on Kang-Woo¡¯s chin.


    ¡°Gurgh!¡±


    Kang-Woo mmed into the ceiling and then fell to the ground. Yeon-Joo kicked the copsed Kang-Woo as she panted furiously.


    ¡°YOU!!! FUCKING!!! BITCH!!! AFTER ALL THAT TIME WITHOUT ANY CONTACT, YOU SEND THAT?! HUH?!¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeon-Joo!¡± Seol-Ah shouted.


    ¡°WHAT?!¡±


    Yeon-Joo turned to Seol-Ah, her eyes bloodshot.


    ¡°U-Ummm...¡± Seol-Ah smiled awkwardly after having seen the video. ¡°You see... Kang-Woo was just...¡±


    She tried to think of an excuse, but nothing came to mind, no matter how much she thought. Even Seol-Ah thought Kang-Woo deserved the beating.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Kang-Woo...¡±


    Seol-Ah turned away in sorrow.


    ¡°<i>Huff, huff</i>. So, why did you send me that fucking video? Huh?¡± asked Yeon-Joo as she caught her breath after kicking Kang-Woo to her heart¡¯s content.


    ¡°Because I missed you, obviously.¡±


    Kang-Woo smiled as he rubbed the ces he was kicked and pulled Yeon-Joo toward him by her waist.


    ¡°Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Whuuut?!¡± Yeon-Joo stammered with her face as red as her hair and stepped backward. ¡°Wh-What are you talking about?¡±


    She turned away from Kang-Woo as she twisted her body in embarrassment.


    ¡°Haaaaah~! My little sister is so cute!¡±


    Lilith jumped at Yeon-Joo with her eyes shining.


    ¡°Ack! G-Get off of me!!¡± Yeon-Joo flopped around like a fish caught in a. ¡°Ah! Let go, Lilith!¡±


    ¡°My, my, you should be calling me unnie, right?¡±


    ¡°Ngh!¡±


    ¡°Now, now. Why don¡¯t you call me unnie? Hm? We¡¯re a family now, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    Yeon-Joo bit her lip. ¡°G-Get off of me, u-u-unnie...¡±


    ¡°Kyaaa! My little sisters are soooooooo~ cute!¡±


    Lilith shouted as she barraged Yeon-Joo¡¯s cheeks with kisses. Yeon-Joo began to scream again as she struggled to get out of Lilith¡¯s grasp.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Lilith unnie.¡±


    Seol-Ah pulled Lilith off of Yeon-Joo.


    Kang-Woo took a step back and looked at the three women.


    <i>¡®Is this the first time these three gathered in one room since that incident?¡¯</i>


    Lilith was very busy and Yeon-Joo lived on another floor, so they had not been given the chance to gather in one spot.


    <i>¡®I still can¡¯t believe it.¡¯</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the three noisily bantering, illogically beautiful women. He might be slightly biased, but they were extremely beautiful even objectively speaking.


    ¡°<i>Sniff</i>.¡± Kang-Woo began to tear up.


    <i>¡®My time suffering in Hell was worth it.¡¯</i>


    He was in a rtionship with not one but all three of those beautiful women at the same time. He was overwhelmed by enough happiness to blow his agonizing past away.


    ¡°That aside, did you actually call me over because you missed me?¡±


    Yeon-Joo, who just barely managed to escape from Lilith¡¯s grasp, red at Kang-Woo.


    ¡°Yeah. Well, I guess there¡¯s also something else.¡±


    ¡°Urgh, I knew it. So, what is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like you to get some alcohol.¡±


    ¡°Alcohol?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I want to hold a congrattory party for Balrog for getting a girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Balrog got a girlfr... Wait, what? What did you just fucking say? That lump of muscles got a girlfriend?!¡± Yeon-Joo grabbed Kang-Woo by his cor, her mouth agape. ¡°Wh-Who?!¡±


    ¡°Her name is Kurosaki Yurie.¡±


    ¡°Eh...? Isn¡¯t that the owner of Lilith¡¯s body?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Some things happened.¡±


    Kang-Woo concisely exined the matter with Yurie.


    ¡°Wow... for real? Balrog fell in love with her at first sight?¡±


    ¡°Hoho. You should¡¯ve seen that muscle pig¡¯s face,¡± Lilith remarked.


    ¡°Argh! Why didn¡¯t you film it, unnie? I want to see it so fucking bad!¡± Yeon-Joo stomped her feet in genuine disappointment. She then turned to Kang-Woo and asked, ¡°Jeez, you always record anything when it¡¯s to embarrass me, so why didn¡¯t you do anything this time?¡±


    ¡°Uhh... mm.¡±


    Of course, Kang-Woo omitted the part about the tentacles.


    ¡°Argh! I¡¯m so fucking curious! Oh, Vaal Zahak would have footage, right? It¡¯s hisb!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t watch it,¡± Kang-Woo said firmly.


    ¡°Eh? Why?? It¡¯d be fun.¡±


    ¡°Just shut up and take my word for it.¡± Kang-Woo covered his eyes to forget the nightmarish sight. ¡°Fuuu. Anyway, I want to hold a party for him. He drinks way too much so I¡¯ve been searching for someone who can get tons of beer.¡±


    ¡°And why is that me...?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    ¡°Because you drink a shit ton.¡±


    ¡°So what?¡± Yeon-Joo turned away as she crossed her arms. ¡°I mean... it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    ¡°I knew it.¡±


    ¡°Shut the fuck up.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°Ahem. I mean, it¡¯s no problem, but he wouldn¡¯t get drunk, would he?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Kang-Woo nodded in disappointment.


    There were many advantages to having the body of a god, but one disadvantage was that they couldn¡¯t get drunk from alcohol.


    ¡°It would only bring memories of getting drunk...¡± Kang-Woo expressed.


    It would be the same as drinking non-alcoholic beer. Yeon-Joo clicked her tongue in agreement.


    ¡°It¡¯s like doing hip thrusts to get the feeling of having sex,¡± Yeon-Joo remarked.


    ¡°What¡¯s with thatparison?¡±


    <i>¡®You don¡¯t even have one.¡¯</i>


    ¡°Haaah? Did you imagine something dirty just now?¡± Yeon-Joo asked.


    ¡°Not at all.¡±


    ¡°Heh. You¡¯re no different from non-alcoholic beer at the moment, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about...?¡±


    Yeon-Joo smirked and said, ¡°You¡¯re all talk but you¡¯re probably tiny down th¡ª Kyaaaaaahh!¡±


    Kang-Woo charged at Yeon-Joo at the speed of light and grabbed her by the cor.


    ¡°YOUUUUUU!! YOU BIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!!!¡±


    ¡°Bwahahahahahaha!!¡±


    ¡°Stopughing, you bitch!¡±


    ¡°Hihihi! That¡¯s revenge for earlier, dammit!¡±


    Seol-Ah pouted in dissatisfaction as she watched Yeon-Joo and Kang-Woo bickering and mumbled, ¡°It may be tiny, but... it¡¯s cute.¡±


    ¡°Haaa, haaa,¡± Kang-Woo panted.


    ¡°Ugh... but seriously, what a shame. I don¡¯t even remember thest time I got drunk.¡±


    Yeon-Joo sighed in disappointment.


    Just then, Lilith pped her hands together. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve heard something from La once before. She said that even those with Deific Essence can get drunk when they drink nectar, the drink of the gods.¡±


    ¡°FOR REAL?!¡±


    Yeon-Joo and Kang-Woo¡¯s eyes shone simultaneously.

 Side Story Chapter 46 - Nectar (2)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 46 - Nectar (2)</h4>


    "P-People with Deific Essence can get drunk?!"


    "Where do you get that drink?!"


    Oh Kang-Woo and Cha Yeon-Joo leaned toward Lilith as they snorted in excitement.


    "My, how scary." Lilith giggled as the two of them got up in her face as if they were about to devour her. "I''m not too sure about the details either. Is getting drunk something to get so excited about?"


    Lilith tilted her head iprehensibly. She did not know what getting drunk felt like since alcohol did not exist in the Nine Hells.


    "Of course, it is!" shouted Yeon-Joo as she clenched her fists. "Do you have any idea how precious a cold beer is after a long day of hard work?! The tingles! The spark! The slow creep of tipsiness! Kaaah...!" Yeon-Joo trembled in excitement. "After I got Deific Essence, I thought I was going crazy because I couldn''t get drunk no matter how strong the alcohol was!"


    "Mm. I still don''t get it," Lilith remarked as she stared in confusion at the passionate Yeon-Joo.


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and said, "That''s just because Yeon-Joo is an alcoholic. It''s nothing to get that excited about."


    "Haaah? What the hell did you just say?"


    "But I can''t deny it feels good."


    Kang-Woo shrugged as he turned away from Yeon-Joo ring at him fiercely. He was not showing it, but he also loved alcohol a great deal.


    <i>''Alcohol used to be my only source of joy.''</i>


    Kang-Woo used to live in poverty since he was an orphan. He received subsidies from the government but it wasn''t much. Hence, he needed to work various jobs just to stay alive. Alcohol was like a stress reliever that allowed him to forget his miserable life even for a moment.


    <i>''I don''t know if that''s a good thing, though.''</i>


    In any case, he did indeed miss the feeling of getting drunk.


    "Hoho. I''m sure La can get some if I ask her," Lilith answered.


    Yeon-Joo ecstatically grabbed Lilith''s hands and asked, "How can we get it? Just tell me how and I''ll use all of my guild''s funds to secure as much as possible¡ª"


    <i>''Is Red Rose gonna be alright?'' </i>Kang-Woo thought.


    He intervened, "It''s called nectar. It''s probably something you can only get in the divine realm."


    "Oh..." Yeon-Joo groaned. "I knew I heard the name somewhere. It''s the thing that appears in Greek mythology."


    Nectar, the drink of the gods, was one of the most famous foods in Greek mythology alongside ambrosia.


    <i>''Was Dionysus the one who made it...?''</i>


    Kang-Woo honestly had no idea. There were Greek mythology stories made intoic books in the orphanage but he barely remembered any of them because he was too focused on the book where Heracles sucked on Hera''s tits.


    <i>''Ahhh, my younger self, driven by instinct. The boy who used to think with his dick than his brain. I''ve fulfilled the dream of our dicks after ten long millennia.''</i>


    "DARLIIIIIIIIIIIING!!"


    "Yes? K-Kang-Woo?"


    Kang-Woo, driven by zing impulse, jumped into Seol-Ah''s arms. Seol-Ah expressed confusion from his sudden actions but did not push him away.


    "What the fuck is up with you all of a sudden?" Yeon-Joo frowned in dissatisfaction and dragged Kang-Woo away from Seol-Ah by his cor. "Sheesh, is Darling all you know how to say...? I-It''s not like Seol-Ah is your only Darling, is she?"


    "But she is."


    "Then what the fuck am I?"


    "You''re... a tsundere little sister?"


    "What?"


    "Call me oppa."


    "Wanna die?"


    "I''m sorry."


    Yeon-Joo red at Kang-Woo as she panted furiously. Kang-Woo snickered and softly kissed her, to which Yeon-Joo widened her eyes in surprise. The way her face turned as red as her hair was extremely cute.


    "Wh-What the hell are you doing?!"


    "I''m joking. I wouldn''t be dating you if I thought of you as a little sister."


    "U-Urgh..."


    "But still, Seol-Ah is my only Darling."


    "Motherfucker." Yeon-Joo grimaced fiercely. "Haaa. Seriously... I''d love to just beat you to death."


    Yeon-Joo red at Kang-Woo as she trembled in anger with her fists clenched. She wanted to smack Kang-Woo senseless to her heart''s content but couldn''t since she knew how Seol-Ah, who was watching hesitantly, would react if she did.


    "Fuuu. At times like this, alcohol is... Ah!" Yeon-Joo''s eyes shone, recalling something she had forgotten about. "Forget that, alcohol! That nectar thing or whatever it''s called! Can we drink it during the party?"


    "Hmm. Just a second, I''ll try asking La," said Lilith as she pulled out a transparent crystal orb from between her breasts.


    "Tch." Yeon-Joo (72 cm) frowned as she witnessed how natural Lilith''s motion was. "Unnie''s aren''t asrge as Seol-Ah''s, but they''re still pretty big..."


    She was highly dissatisfied.


    "Hm? What are?" Lilith asked.


    "Nothing."


    "Fufu. If you''re talking about breasts, why don''t I make them bigger for you?"


    "Huh? R-Really?"


    "I heard human female breasts get bigger if you massage them!"


    Lilith giggled, smiling lewdly as her ck hair squirmed. Yeon-Joo''s eyes zed fiercely.


    "Shut up and order the damn alcohol," Yeon-Joo warned.


    "My, I''m so scared."


    Lilith giggled and ced her hand over the orb. After Kang-Woo''s kidnapping incident, she and La made amunication orb where they couldmunicate directly with each other to maintain good rtions between their intelligence organizations.


    "Hello? Can you hear me, La?"


    La appeared from themunication orb as a hologram.


    [SHIIIIIIIIIEEEEEET!! Dog ears and a leash! Hell yeah! This time, I''ll make my cute little Si-Hun wear this¡ª <i>Gasp!!</i>]


    They saw La in a light green tracksuit, sitting in her office chair and screeching like a madman as if she were worshiping a demon. She was clicking her mouse furiously when she noticed hermunication orb was on and stared at it flusteredly.


    [A-Ahem! This armor looks like it would have high defense.]


    "The dog ears and a leash?" Kang-Woo asked.


    [My, Kang-Woo. To what do I owe the pleasure? I was just on the yer auction website, looking through the item catalog because Si-Hun''s armor is fairly worn out.]


    "I can see Bananamall[1] in the URL."


    [Hohoho. What are you talking about? Why would I be on such an indecent website?]


    "Say that after you close the Hitomi tab."


    <i>''Have some shame, woman.''</i>


    [Ahaha. Oh, Kang-Woo. Well, if you would go so far, it can''t be helped. I''ll have this dog ears and leash set shipped to your address so Seol-Ah can¡ª]


    "I can see the armor is made with high-quality leather. Wow, a +8 defense enchantment? It looks super lightweight too. I think it would be great for an agile warrior like Si-Hun."


    [Do you think so too?]


    "Of course! I would love one too! You sure have an excellent eye for equipment, sister-inw!"


    [Would you like me to buy you one as well?]


    "Hahaha! I appreciate the gesture, but it''s fine."


    <i>''Si-Hun... my beloved little brother... you sure have it hard too. I''m sorry I wasn''t able to protect you.''</i>


    "Dog ears... Leash...!"


    Seol-Ah was snorting in excitement with her fists clenched from behind.


    <i>''Mm. I''ll pretend I didn''t see it.''</i>


    [So, did you need something?]


    Lilith answered, "I have a favor to ask. Oh, and to invite you to the party as well."


    La tilted her head in wonder and asked, [A party? What party?]


    "Fufu. Something great happened to Balrog, so we''re throwing him a party."


    [The NTR lover?]


    "Pardon?"


    [N-No, I misspoke. What happened to Balrog that deserves to be celebrated?]


    "Hohoho. Get this~"


    Lilith went on and on about the events a week ago with a smile.


    <i>''It looks like I''m watching two olddies gossiping over the phone.''</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head as their conversation continued without end. They seemed to be a good match for one another, considering how much fun they were having as they talked to each other.


    Yeon-Joo was ncing at Lilith, wondering when she would bring up the alcohol, and Seol-Ah pulled Kang-Woo toward her to ce him on herp and hugged him from behind with a smile.


    "Do you like dogs, Kang-Woo?" she asked.


    "What? Why do you want to know that all of a sudden?"


    "Hohoho No reason~ I''m just curious about whether you like dogs or not."


    <i>''I don''t think it''s for no reason.''</i>


    "I hate dogs," Kang-Woo said.


    "Oh~ I knew it! You love dogs, right?"


    ?


    "I said I hate dogs."


    "Hohoho. I knew you would love dogs, Kang-Woo! There''s no way any human would hate something as cute as dogs."


    "I''m a demon."


    <i>''The Demon King, no less.''</i>


    "Hehehe~ Oh, I think the cutest part about a dog is their ears!"


    "I feel like I''ll puke just from the sight of them."


    "Oh, right! I heard that no matter how well-trained a dog is, they need a leash!"


    "I disagree."


    <i>''Can you hear me? Am I muted?''</i>


    "Hm, hm, hm~?"


    Seol-Ah hummed as she rubbed her cheeks on Kang-Woo''s head.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo turned to Lilith, who was chatting away with La. His expression darkened.


    "Alcohol..."


    <i>''Yes. I need alcohol to forget about this bullshit life. Right now. I''m desperate.''</i>


    [Hmm, so you''re saying you need nectar to celebrate Balrog being in a rtionship, right?]


    "Yes. Would you be able to get some for us?" Lilith asked.


    [Lady Gaia will get me some right away once I ask her.]


    "My, that''s perfect ?"


    [Hoho. I''ll let Si-Hun know, so please let me know once you set a date!]


    "Okay~"


    The call ended.


    "Alcohol... I need alcohol..."


    "Huff, huff. N-Now...! Right now!"


    Yeon-Joo and Kang-Woo were staring at Lilith with bloodshot eyes.


    "Oh?" Lilith tilted her head in confusion as she stared at the two of them, who had turned into alcoholics during her call with La. "Fufu. Then why don''t we hold the party tonight?"


    She had a feeling she shouldn''t make these two wait any longer than that.


    "HEL YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! LET''S DRINK TILL WE FUCKING DROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!" Yeon-Joo cheered, pumping her fists in the air.


    "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Kang-Woo sprang up as well as he screamed.


    <i>p!</i>


    Yeon-Joo and Kang-Woo high-fived and they locked eyes with each other.


    "Hihihi! Oh Kang-Woo, don''t you dare fall behind, you hear?"


    "Kek. That''s my fucking line."


    "Heh, big words for a brat."


    "Looks like I''ll be adding another page to our cherished memories together."


    "Fuck you."


    "Shut up."


    1. Bananamall is a Korean online store of adult goods. ?

 Side Story Chapter 47 - Nectar (3)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 47 - Nectar (3)</h4>


    People were gathered on the apartment floor of a luxurious apartment on the coast of Haeundae Beach. The renovated apartment floor that Kang-Woo lived in wasrge enough to host a football game if all the furniture was removed. A ton of delicious-looking food filled a long table, and in the middle of it was of course an extrarge pot containing piping-hot kimchi stew filled with various meats.


    Oh Kang-Woo was seated in front of the kimchi stew that could feed over fifty people, snorting in excitement.


    "Right, then. Before we get this party started," said Kang-Woo as he held the hand of Han Seol-Ah sitting next to him. "Let us thank Darling for preparing all of this food for us."


    "Fufu. Everything looks so delicious," Lilith remarked.


    "You made all of this, sister-inw?" Kim Si-Hun asked.


    "Jesus... what''s with the size of that kimchi stew?" Cha Yeon-Joo muttered.


    People stared at the food so plentiful that it could break the table legs as they licked their lips.


    "N-No, umm... Echidna and Yeon-Joo helped me," Seol-Ah answered.


    "Hm! Kang-Woo! Eat what I made first!" Echidna shouted as she snorted, bringing a piece of kimbap to Kang-Woo''s mouth.


    "Just a second. We''re not done yet." Kang-Woo patted Echidna''s head and turned to someone. "La."


    "I-Is it finally getting revealed?"


    Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo gulped as they stared intently at La wearing a beautiful dress instead of a light green tracksuit.


    La swept her brown hair behind her ear and smiled. "Here it is. This is nectar."


    She stood up and spread her arms widely like a curator disying an item for exhibition. A giant oak barrel appeared on the ground between her hands.


    "I''ll lift it, La," Si-Hun expressed as he stood up before La could lift it.


    "Oh, thank you."


    The oak barrel was so big that an adult man could swim in it, but Si-Hun lifted it easily and ced it next to the table. A tap was attached to the oak barrel so that it could be conveniently poured into a cup.


    "I''ll take your cups one by one," said Si-Hun as he extended his arm.


    "Hehe. Finally...!"


    "Alcohol! ALCOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!"


    Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo handed Si-Hun their pint sses simultaneously. Si-Hun smiled as he epted their sses and poured the nectar.


    "Wow..."


    "The scent is amazing!"


    It was a purple liquid with a mystical shine to it. The alcohol that looked like melted gems gave off a scent as sweet as honey.


    "Hehe. Can my share be poured into this ss, my king?" Balrog asked.


    "Sure."


    A ss farrger than a human head was prepared for the five-meter Balrog. Everyone''s ss was filled soon after.


    "Finally..." muttered Yeon-Joo as she caressed the ss, her eyes hazy as if she were high.


    Nectar, a drink that could intoxicate even the gods, looked simr to regr wine at first nce but one wouldn''t darepare its extraordinary scent to regr wine. Its scent was so strong that it looked like the space was distorting around it.


    "Right, then. Everyone has their ss, right?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Yes."


    "Let''s get to drinking already!"


    "Be patient. Let''s get a word from the stars of this party."


    Kang-Woo smiled as he nced at Balrog and Yurie sitting as if they were stuck to each other. All eyes fell on the couple.


    "A-Ahem," Balrog coughed, not ustomed to being the center of attention, and raised his ss. "Well... I am sure you have already been given the details about her." He gently pulled Yurie close to him by her shoulder and remarked, "This is my woman."


    "Damn, how manly."


    "Jesus, your choice of words..." Kang-Woo squirmed, cringing at how Balrog introduced Yurie.


    "Hah. In the few days I haven''t seen you... Did you threaten Miss Kurosaki or something?" asked Si-Hun as he red at Balrog nonsensically.


    He couldn''t believe Balrog had gotten a girlfriend out of nowhere, even more so because the woman in question was Kurosaki Yurie, the world-famous celestial maiden.


    <i>''She lookspletely different, though.''</i>


    Si-Hun heard about her circumstances from La but was still having trouble believing such an elegant and gentle woman epted Balrog''s confession of love.


    <i>''He threatened her somehow, no doubt.''</i>


    Si-Hun stared at Balrog suspiciously.


    "I was not threatened in the slightest. I decided of my own ord to ept Balrog as my beloved." Yurie smiled as she caressed Balrog''s arm covered in muscles.


    "B-Beloved?"


    There was no way of addressing more unbefitting Balrog than that. It looked extremely unnatural how a Western beauty with golden hair and mystical purple eyes was clinging to the red giant Balrog as she called him her beloved.


    "What exactly about Balrog... did you fall in love with?" asked Yeon-Joo as she chuckled due to the absurdity.


    Yurie answered without hesitation, "These toned and dependable muscles."


    She gently caressed Balrog''s chest.


    "..."


    Silence fell among the women. It would have made sense if the muscles were modestly toned, but Balrog was so abnormally muscr that it would even make a gym rat shit his pants. At that point, the muscles were more disgusting than charming.


    "Well, regardless. Let''s congratte them." Kang-Woo raised his ss. "Congrattions, man. I thought you''d die forever alone but look at you now, leaving the nest."


    "What do you mean by leaving? The most important individual in my life is still you, my king."


    "Please fuck off."


    "Kehehehehe!"


    The others raised their ss one after another.


    "Right! To their cherished, healthy, Tigrex, unmoving love! Adamantium!!"


    "What the fuck was that in the middle?"


    "I couldn''t think of anything else."


    "Dumbass."


    "ADAMANTIUUUUUUM!!"


    "What the... Argh, fuck it. ADAMANTIUUUUUUUM!!!"


    Clink!


    The sound of sses hitting echoed.


    "And now! To Yeon-Joo, thest remaining "Ada"mantium[1]!"


    "Motherfucker!!"


    "Kurgh!"


    <i>Bash!</i>


    Red hair fluttered in the air. Kang-Woo flew into the air after getting kicked and tumbled across the ground. He deserved it.


    "<i>Cough! Cough!</i> A-Ahem. Jeez, it was just a joke..."


    "Hohoho. Here you go, my king."


    Lilith smiled and handed Kang-Woo the ss of alcohol she somehow grabbed in the air without it spilling. Echidna sat next to Kang-Woo and pulled on his clothes.


    "Kang-Woo. I haven''t mated either. I wanna be Adamantium too!" said Echidna as she snorted, likely mistaking it for some honorable title.


    "It''s too early for you, Echidna."


    "Urgh..."


    Kang-Woo patted the dejected Echidna''s head and raised his ss again in the boisterous atmosphere. He brought the ss to his lips, full of anticipation.


    <i>''Leaving aside everyone else, I wonder if I can get drunk?''</i>


    Kang-Woo was not just any individual with Deific Essence; he was the Demonic Sea itself, every cell in his body made of the Demonic Sea. Not even he knew whether or not the nectar could intoxicate him.


    <i>''Well, I guess I''ll find out.''</i>


    He stopped thinking and took a sip of the nectar.


    <i>Gulp, gulp.</i>


    "...!"


    "Huh?!"


    Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo''s eyes widened and they stared at each other.


    "This is fucking delicious!!"


    "Wow, the fuck? They were hogging something like this all for themselves?"


    It wasn''t as sweet as one might expect from its scent. Rather, it had just the right amount of bitterness and fizziness. It looked like wine but tasted more like beer. Most of all, regr alcohol couldn''tpare to how it spread throughout the body as if it were smearing into their souls.


    "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYUM!!!"


    "Hey! Male prostitute! Pour me another ss!"


    "M-Male prostitute?"


    "Chop chop!"


    "Ngh..."


    Yeon-Joo and Kang-Woo''s moods skyrocketed. Si-Hun, sitting next to the oak barrel, had be the server before he knew it.


    "Ah... this is delicious, Kang-Woo."


    "My, so this is what alcohol tastes like."


    Seol-Ah and Lilith were also wide-eyed as they sipped the nectar.


    "That''s enough serving. You have some too, Si-Hun," said La as she smiled and handed him a ss.


    She was smiling but her eyes were like a beast eyeing its prey.


    "Oh, thank you very much, La."


    Si-Hun also sipped the nectar, not noticing her gaze.


    <i>Bang!</i>


    "Kaaaaaahh! This is fantastic stuff!" shouted Balrog as heughed heartily, smashing down his giant ss.


    "You have some alcohol left on your lips, my beloved."


    Yurie wiped Balrog''s lips with a handkerchief.


    "Hm? Oh, thank you."


    Balrog smiled as he pulled Yurie toward him with his arm around her waist.


    "Hah, would you look at that?"


    "I guess it''s true thatte bloomers aren''t to be trifled with."


    Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joomentated from the sidelines.


    "That aside, how do you feel? Are you feeling it yet?" Kang-Wo asked.


    "Not sure... I do feel a little tipsy but not that much."


    Yeon-Joo tilted her head and chugged another pint of nectar. Kang-Woo followed suit.


    <i>''I think I''m getting a little drunk.''</i>


    He had yet to see a noticeable change but he felt slightly tipsy. It seemed to be the truth that beings with Deific Essence could get drunk with nectar.


    <i>''In that case...'' </i>


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone.


    "Once, more, ADAMANTIUUUUUUUUM!!"


    The rowdy alcohol party continued.


    ***


    "Hyung-nim! No, hyung!!" A flushed Si-Hun mmed down his pint ss and grabbed Kang-Woo''s hand. "Do you know?! How much I love you, hyung?!"


    "Yeah, I think I do. More importantly, you good?"


    "Am I gooooooooood? I''mpletely fine!"


    "You don''t look fine at all."


    Si-Hun, drunk out of his mind, staggered as he giggled.


    "I''m gonna get even stronger! Stronger and stronger!" Si-Hun gripped Kang-Woo''s hand harder and bit his lip. "And... never again... will I leave you to fight on your own..."


    Si-Hun passed out, his head mming on the table.


    "Hah, you little..." Kang-Woo chuckled and patted Si-Hun''s shoulder. "La, you should take this guy home¡ª"


    "YAHOOOOOOOOOOOO! What do you think about this kind of roley, Seol-Ah?!"


    "<i>Gasp!</i> I-I never imagined something like this existed!"


    <i>''What the fuck is that woman doing?''</i>


    "I guess not. Hey, Balrog. Take this guy¡ª"


    "GRAAAAAAHHH! MY KIIIIIIIIIIIING!!"


    "Kurgh!"


    "I OFFER YOU MY LOYALTY! MY SOUL! MY EVERYTHING TO YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!!"


    "Y-You''re crushing me... S-Stop..."


    Kang-Woo pped his legs with a pale expression, getting crushed by Balrog''s bulging muscles.


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    Just then, purple tentacles wrapped around Balrog and Kang-Woo.


    "Hohoho. He''s gotten a bit too drunk. I will take my beloved home."


    "GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHH!! Don''t wrap me with him! Release me!!!" Kang-Woo screamed as he struggled to get out of Balrog''s grasp. "<i>Huff, huff.</i>"


    The room had be a mess. Empty pint sses were rolling across the floor and chaos ensued as everyone was drunk. An hour had to pass until the chaos that seemed tost forever died down.


    "Everyone''s... passed out."


    Kang-Woo chuckled as he stared at everyone sprawled out all over the ce. He felt like he was thest one alive in a warzone.


    <i>''I guess I can''t getpletely drunk.''</i>


    Likely because of the Demonic Sea, he didn''t get drunk out of his mind like everyone else despite drinking just as much if not more. He was only drunk to the point that he could feel good from its effects.


    <i>''I guess it''s better than nothing.''</i>


    It had been a while since Kang-Woo felt drunk.


    "Right, then."


    Kang-Woo, the only survivor in the mess of a house, was about to shove La and Si-Hun into an unused room.


    "Oh, I''m okay," La suddenly remarked.


    "Eh? What? You weren''t drunk?"


    "Yes. I''m quite a heavy drinker," she answered as she stood up and lifted Si-Hun.


    "Wait just a goddamn second. You were teaching Seol-Ah weird shit because you were drunk."


    "Fufu. That''s just because I wanted to."


    "You bitch."


    "Well then, I''ll be on my way with my puppy~"


    La left with a lecherous smile and Si-Hun in her arms. Kang-Woo simply stared at her from behind in exasperation.


    <i>''She used to be so innocent back when she was in her wheelchair...''</i>


    No one could have known this was her true self.


    "Now, then."


    Since Yurie had taken Balrog with her, only Yeon-Joo, Lilith, Echidna, and Seol-Ah remained. It just so happened the only ones left were his lovers, although one was yet to be decided.


    "First, Lilith..."


    Kang-Woo lifted Lilith and carried her to a room. Heid her on the bed and put a nket over her.


    "Sweet dreams."


    He kissed her forehead and turned to leave.


    <i>Click.</i>


    "Huh?"


    The door suddenly locked.


    "Where do you think you''re going?" someone whispered in his ear seductively.


    Kang-Woo slowly turned around to see Lilith, perched on the bed with one leg over the other, her clothes slightly disheveled.


    He approached her and asked, "Why did you get up? You should get some rest."


    He did not get an answer. He tilted his head in wonder and called, "Lilith...?"


    Lilith narrowed her eyes.


    <i>Swoosh!</i>


    Her hair wrapped around Kang-Woo and pushed him to the ground.


    "Urgh!"


    Kang-Woo wrapped in ck hair and pushed to the ground, looked up at Lilith in confusion. Lilith brought her foot, covered in tights, close to Kang-Woo''s face and smiled lecherously.


    "Who said you could call me Lilith?" She caressed Kang-Woo''s chin with the tips of her feet and giggled. "That''s <i>my queen</i> to you."


    1. Ada (??) means virgin in Korean. ?

 Side Story Chapter 48 - Nectar (4)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 48 - Nectar (4)</h4>


    "I... beg your pardon?"


    Silence fell as if time had stopped. Oh Kang-Woo looked up at Lilith, dumbfounded.


    "L-Lilith?" he called as he forced himself to smile, forcibly suppressing the ominous feeling.


    Lilith frowned. "Are you deaf, my servant? Did I not tell you that I am your queen?"


    She pinched Kang-Woo''s cheek with her toes and looked down at him in slight anger.


    "Uhh... mm."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shook.


    <i>''What the fuck is going on? Is this how she gets when she''s drunk?''</i>


    Lilith''s behavior couldn''t be anything but a drunken frenzy.


    "Lilith, I think you''re a bit dru¡ª"


    "Shush. How many times must I say it for you to understand?"


    Lilith narrowed her eyes and poked Kang-Woo''s cheek with her toes.


    "..." Kang-Woo remained silent, his eyes darting and his expression filled with hesitation.


    <i>''What the hell do I do?''</i>


    He had a feeling it wouldn''t end well if he were to just ignore her and leave. For example, she might let go of whatever hold she had left of her reason and return to her true form.


    <i>''Motherfucker!''</i>


    That was thest thing he could allow to happen. His psychological state was already at its limit from witnessing Yurie and Lilith''s double tentacles. Moreover, Lilith was drunk at the moment; there was no telling what she would do with her tentacles when her limiter was broken.


    <i>''I have to stop her.''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s eyes zed with fighting spirit. He needed to stop the horrifying and wretched end of humanity at all costs.


    <i>''I have no choice... but to y along with her drunken frenzy.''</i>


    "Apologies, my queen. I forgot my ce as your retainer and dared to speak your name."


    Kang-Woo kneeled without hesitation and bowed in front of her feet. He was not above getting down on all fours as an apology; he was a professional ass-sucker who managed to satisfy even Bael. ying along with a woman''s drunken frenzy was a piece of cake.


    "Hohoho. It seems you''ve finally cleaned your ears." Lilith smiled seductively and caressed Kang-Woo''s head with her foot. "Now, I want to hear you say it again. Who am I?"


    "You are Queen Lilith."


    "My, good boy." Lilith pped her hands together as if she were proud of him. "Right, then. It is time for you to serve your queen." She extended her leg toward Kang-Woo and said, "Hmm~ A massage, was it? Do that for me."


    "Yes, my queen."


    Kang-Woo nodded and began to massage her foot covered in ck tights.


    "Haang!" Lilith moaned, flinching each time Kang-Woo rubbed her feet. "Haaa, haaa. Very good."


    "Your happiness is my happiness, my queen."


    Kang-Woo smiled as he threw his pride into the gutter and continued the massage.


    "My, what amendable mindset." Lilith leaned toward Kang-Woo and patted his head. "Fufu. Why don''t I reward you?"


    Her ck hair stretched toward the door and opened it. It then reached outside the room and came back with a cup of purple liquid giving off a sweet scent; it was what was remaining of the nectar.


    "Now, drink as much as you want," said Lilith as she poured the cup of nectar on her leg.


    The alcohol trickled down her wless leg and gathered at the ends of her toes into a drop. She slowly raised her foot and brought it toward Kang-Woo''s mouth.


    "Pardon...?"


    <i>''You want me to drink? Like this?''</i>


    "What are you waiting for?" asked Lilith as she wagged her feet. She whispered seductively, "Drink up ?"


    Lilith''s charms were powerful enough to melt the soul; the mind-melting order of the Subus Queen entered Kang-Woo''s ears.


    "J..."


    <i>''Jesus fuck!! This is a bit too high of a hurdle.''</i>


    Kang-Woo was fine with ying along with Lilith''s queen roley but did not ever imagine she would pour alcohol on her leg and order him to drink it. His eyes shook as he stared at the nectar dripping from the ends of Lilith''s ck tights.


    <i>''Wait... what the hell?''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s heart beat faster. He swallowed his saliva as his throat got as dry as a desert.


    "Oh fuck... right."


    He was dizzy and his vision was blurry. He realized he was not in the right state of mind either. He was not drunk out of his mind like Lilith but he was still fairly drunk.


    "Hmm. My reward for you is all gonna drip on the floor at this rate." Lilith looked down at the hesitating Kang-Woo and brought her toes even closer to his mouth. She whispered, "Go on. Move that unsightly tongue of yours... and lick as much as you like ?"


    "WHOOOOOOAAAAAA!!"


    Kang-Woo''s desire surged. He grabbed Lilith''s foot with both hands, his mind all fuzzy.


    <i>''Yeah! This fucking shit is no big deal!!''</i>


    He had already thrown out his pride. Besides, he and Lilith had already pledged their love for each other; he was more than willing to y along with the cute whims of his lover.


    <i>''The queen''s orders are absolute! I have no choice but toply...!''</i>


    "As youmand, my queen."


    "Fufu. Good boy."


    Lilith smiled widely. Kang-Woo gulped and slowly extended his tongue toward the drop of nectar on Lilith''s ck tights.


    <i>''Today, I reject my humanity.''</i>


    "<i>Rero</i>."


    "Haaang!"


    Kang-Woo could feel the coarse tights on his tongue. Just a single drop of the nectar rushed him with its overpowering scent; it felt as if someone sprayed an entire bottle of Febreze in his mouth. He devoted licked Lilith''s toes as if he were revering her feet.


    <i>''Since I''ve decided to do it, I''ll go all the way!''</i>


    "<i>Rero rero rero rero</i>."


    "Hngh! W-Wait! Lick slower!"


    Lilith writhed as her face reddened. Kang-Woo ignored her order and added more strength to his licking.


    "<i>RERO RERO RERO RERO RERO RERO!!!</i>"


    "Y-You rascal"


    Lilith hit Kang-Woo''s head with her palm. She sounded as if she were scolding him but the strength of her strikes was more like pats.


    "Fuuu," Kang-Woo exhaled.


    He wiped the remains of the nectar on his mouth in satisfaction after drinking his queen''s reward without leaving a drop.


    "Haaa, haaa, haaa," Lilith flopped on the bed as she panted heavily. "What... an insolent retainer you are."


    "I simply did as youmanded, my queen."


    "Hmph, you sure can talk." Lilith perched back on the bed after recovering herposure somewhat. She smiled widely and tapped the area of the bed next to her. "Sit up here."


    "Yes, my queen!"


    Kang-Woo raced to the bed and sat down.


    "Stay still." Lilith softly ced her head on Kang-Woo''sp. "Fufu. This feels nice."


    Lilith slowly closed her eyes, still smiling widely. Kang-Woo gently patted Lilith''s head and smiled faintly.


    <i>''This is new.''</i>


    It was fascinating to see such a side of Lilith, who was always loyal to him and offered him her unconditional love.


    <i>''Actually, I guess that''s not the casetely.''</i>


    After they officially became lovers, Lilith had be more like a sexy noona than his loyal subordinate. Whichever the case, this was his first time seeing Lilith acting like an oppressive queen.


    "Why are you smiling?" Lilith asked.


    "I was just thinking how lovely you are."


    "Ngh...!" Lilith flinched. She turned away to hide her reddened face and mumbled, "D-Don''t... say something like that so nonchntly."


    "Pfft!" Kang-Woo couldn''t help butugh at her embarrassment.


    "..." Lilith red at Kang-Woo. "It seems an insolent retainer needs to be punished."


    She instantly got up and pushed Kang-Woo down. She got on top of him and smiled sexily as she panted heatedly.


    "Hmm. It''s a bit hot in here," she remarked.


    "Pardon? The air conditioner is sting..."


    "It''s hot. Don''t you agree?"


    "It''s sweltering hot in here, my queen. Would you like me to get you some ice water?"


    "No. Lay still, just like that." Lilith pushed Kang-Woo back down as he was about to get up and licked her lips like a predator aiming for its prey. "Times like this call for some vigorous exercise, don''t you think?"


    Lilith caressed Kang-Woo''s cheek as she looked at him lustfully.


    "Well, we should take the others to their rooms first¡ª"


    "Hmph. Who said you could talk back to me?" Lilith went back to her queen mode and shushed Kang-Woo by cing her index finger on his lips. "Fufu. Stay still until the punishment is over."


    <i>Gulp.</i>


    She panted heavily as she took off her disheveled clothes and threw them aside.


    "I''ll make love to you until sunriiiiiii... hnnngh."


    Lilith copsed on the bed.


    "Eh...?" Kang-Woo stared wide-eyed at Lilith, passed out on the bed. There was no response even when he poked her cheek. "The hell?"


    He examined her in confusion; she was sleeping away, off in hernd of dreams.


    "Hah," Kang-Woo chuckled. "She fell asleep?"


    He scratched his head as he felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment and relief.


    "Well... alright, then."


    The drunk Echidna, Han Seol-Ah, and Cha Yeon-Joo were still sprawled out in the living room.


    "Up we go. Jesus, they''repletely wasted."


    "Hm... K-Kang-Woo... I-I don''t feel so good..."


    "Yeah, yeah. Get some sleep."


    Kang-Woo lifted Echidna and took her to her room.


    "Hrmmm... Kang-Woo..."


    Next was Seol-Ah.


    "Sweet dreams, Darling. Forget everything you heard from La."


    He kissed her on the cheek and went back out into the living room.


    "Yeon-Joo can use that room... Hm? What? You''re awake?"


    "..." Yeon-Joo was sitting on the couch in a daze. "Ahhh..."


    Her expression brightened as soon as she saw Kang-Woo. She sprang up from the couch and raced to Kang-Woo, jumping into his arms.


    "Oppa~! Where have you been?! Hihi! Don''t leave me alone!!"


    "..."


    <i>''What the fuck''s up with her?''</i>

 Side Story Chapter 61 - Happy End? (3)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 61 - Happy End? (3)</h4>


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    The familiar bell chime that all yers knew rang as a blue message window appeared in the air.


    [There is no threat to his life.]


    "Phew."


    "Haaa..."


    "Sniff, waaaaaaaaaaahhh!"


    The women sighed in relief after reading the message and shed tears.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Balrog, the muscle-bound red demon sorge that he made therge room look tiny, grimaced fiercely.


    He shouted, "The king copsed?! What in the world happened?!"


    He couldn''t help but be shocked by the news of Oh Kang-Woo, who devoured the Demon God and Bael then became the Demonic Sea, copsing.


    "Wh-What is happening to Kang-Woo?" asked Han Seol-Ah as she stuttered.


    There was fortunately no threat to his life but she couldn''t help but be anxious from seeing him unconscious and in pain.


    Lilith asked calmly, "Eve... was it? Could you exin to us what''s happening?"


    A bell chimed as a blue message window appeared to answer her question.


    [I suspect the Light of Akart flowed into the Demonic Sea through the guardian deity''s wound made during his battle against Akart''s subordinate.]


    "The Light of Akart...?"


    [It is a light infused with the power of Akart, the Titan of Light, Truth, and Bnce. It holds the power to disintegrate the Demonic Sea.]


    The light made an injury that would have normally been healed instantly, into a critical wound. Not even Bael had ovee Kang-Woo''s immortality but Akart had dome so easily.


    "No way..."


    Cha Yeon-Joo bit her lip in pallor. If a power capable of disintegrating the Demonic Sea entered Kang-Woo, who became on with the Demonic Sea, it was no different from ingesting a deadly poison.


    "Then what''s gonna happen to Kang-Woo¡ª"


    [Like I said, there is no threat to his life. Even if the light is capable of disintegrating the Demonic Sea, the guardian deity cannot be killed with such a small wound.]


    "But he''s not getting up!"


    [He has simply lost consciousness momentarily to push the Light of Akart out of his body. He will naturally wake up over time.]


    "When is that... exactly?"


    [I do not know exactly when.]


    Sighs of relief filled the room again. No one knew when he would wake up but their anxiety was lessening since the System confirmed he would wake up over time.


    "It won''t take years or anything, right?" asked Yeon-Joo worryingly.


    She had only just be one of Kang-Woo''s lovers, so it would be hard for her to endure if he did not wake up for years.


    [It would take around three months at most.]


    It was a short yet long amount of time. However, the fact that he would wake up in only three months was extraordinary, considering Akart was a Titan.


    "You... goddamn sleepyhead."


    Yeon-Joo poked the unconscious and bedridden Kang-Woo''s cheek.


    "Three months... three whole months..."


    Seol-Ah burst into tears as if the world was ending. She could barely be without Kang-Woo for a day but now she couldn''t talk to him for three months. He was physically here but it was meaningless if he were unconscious.


    "Ah..."


    Unfathomably dark emotions welled up from inside her. Her consciousness flickered as an unquenchable thirst ripped her throat apart.


    "Is there anything we can do?" asked Balrog in a low tone.


    [The process can be hastened if the Demonic Sea is stimted.]


    In the first ce, Kang-Woo only lost consciousness from the power of a mere subordinate of Akart instead of Akart himself because his reconstruction was iplete. If the Demonic Sea could exert its full power, forget losing consciousness¡ª his immortality would have never been affected in the first ce.


    "Stimte the Demonic Sea...?"


    Balrog''s eyes darted, panic-stricken. He already knew how to stimte the Demonic Sea because Kang-Woo hade to the training room for Balrog''s help.


    <i>''His life needs to be threatened.''</i>


    If Kang-Woo was on the verge of death, the Demonic Sea instinctively took action to hasten Kang-Woo''s reconstruction. The reconstruction would naturally take ce over time even if the Demonic Sea was not stimted, but they needed to hasten the process since no one knew when Akart would attack Earth.


    <i>''But... it''s impossible with my current power.''</i>


    It was not because Balrog was too weak to make the Demonic Sea feel threatened; Kang-Woo had already be ustomed to Balrog''s attacks through their training together. In other words, the Demonic Sea no longer treated Balrog''s attacks as a threat.


    <i>''It''s impossible for that brat as well.''</i>


    Since Kim Si-Hun had also participated in the training, he couldn''t stimte the Demonic Sea anymore either.


    <i>''If that''s the case...''</i>


    Balrog looked around with deeply sunken eyes in search of someone strong enough to stimte the Demonic Sea as well as who had never joined the training sessions with Kang-Woo.


    <i>''Come to think of it...''</i>


    There was someone perfect for the job. Balrog''s eyes shone as he looked at Seol-Ah.


    <i>''She fell from grace not long ago, if I remember correctly.''</i>


    In exchange for losing her healing and buffing magic, Seol-Ah gained powerful curse magic. She had also obliterated several battleships by herself during the space invasion not long ago.


    <i>''She''s more than enough to threaten the Demonic Sea.''</i>


    From what Kang-Woo had told Balrog, she could temporarily surpass even Si-Hun in strength. In that case, she could easily stimte the Demonic Sea with her curse magic!


    "King''s woman," called Balrog as he bowed to Seol-Ah.


    "Y-Yes?" Seol-Ah raised her head, which had been lowered in despair.


    "Could you give it stimtion?"


    "Uhh... I-I think I misheard you. Did you say you want me to give Kang-Woo stimtion?"


    "Yes, you could say that."


    Since Kang-Woo was the Demonic Sea itself, stimting the Demonic Sea was the same as giving Kang-Woo stimtion.


    "I want you to give the king the greatest stimtion possible."


    Her powerful curse magic was more than enough to threaten the Demonic Sea.


    "Pardon...?" Seol-Ah stared at Balrog in disbelief. Her face reddened as she twisted in embarrassment. "Th-The greatest stimtion...?"


    Seol-Ah panted heavily, her eyes as wide as those of a predator eyeing its prey.


    "A-Are you sure it''s okay...?" she asked.


    "What are you worried about?"


    "Umm..." Seol-Ah averted her gaze from Balrog and continued as if she were holding something back, "Are you sure... I can make a mess of the unconscious Kang-Woo... twenty-four-seven?"


    Seol-Ah gulped as she did her best to suppress her surging desire.


    "Hahaha! So that''s what you were worried about!" Balrog burst intoughter.


    <i>''She must be worried that the king might die for real!''</i>


    Balrog was worried about the same thing back when Kang-Woo first exined the training method to him.


    "There is nothing to worry about, king''s woman."


    No matter how much power she used, she could never kill Kang-Woo. As he had be one with the Demonic Sea, he was the definition of <i>immortal</i>.


    "You can do anything you like to him," said Balrog.


    Whatever curse magic Seol-Ah used, it would not be enough to kill the king.


    "A-Anything I like...?" Seol-Ah''s eyes shook. She trembled in uncontainable ecstasy. "Are you sure... I can do whatever I like?"


    "Of course." Balrog nodded without hesitation.


    The more curse magic she cast on Kang-Woo, the Demonic Sea sleeping inside him would feel more threatened and be more active.


    <i>''And if that happens...''</i>


    It would naturally lead to the healing process hastening and Kang-Woo would wake up even stronger than before. It was like killing two birds with one stone.


    "..."


    Seol-Ah''s eyes zed passionately.


    <i>''I can feel the madness and resolve in her gaze! As expected of the woman the king chose!''</i>


    Balrog cheered inside his head.


    <i>''To think she can resolve herself so strongly even when she has to attack the man she loves with the intent to kill!''</i>


    Even Balrog unconsciously hesitated when he needed to attack Kang-Woo. Although it had been to stimte the Demonic Sea, it was agonizing for him to attack the king he had pledged his life to. However, Seol-Ah was different.


    <i>''An indomitable will!''</i>


    Balrog was impressed by Seol-Ah, who was steeling her resolve to endure any pain as long as it was for the man she loved.


    "I understand. If it is for Kang-Woo... I have no choice," Seol-Ah answered calmly. However, her eyes were filled with unfiltered ecstasy. "A week¡ª no, that wasn''t enoughst time."


    She slowly caressed the unconscious Kang-Woo as she stared at him like a delicious snack.


    She licked her lips and continued, "Ten days... Yes, I will need at least ten days. Yes, fufufu. Okay. For the next ten days... I will make a mess of Kang-Woo without rest."


    "Ten days?!" shouted Balrog in shock.


    <i>''She''s nning on using curse magic nonstop for ten days straight?!''</i>


    Magic required significantly more mental fortitude and stamina than one expected. Not only that but curse magic powerful enough to drive Kang-Woo to the brink of death could cause one to copse from exhaustion after even one spell.


    <i>''Such a thing for ten days straight?!''</i>


    Balrog couldn''t believe it. By regr human standards, it was like sprinting at full speed for ten days straight.


    <i>''This must be what true love is!''</i>


    Not even Balrog, who had devoted his soul to Kang-Woo, was confident he could mercilessly swing his fists with full power at Kang-Woo repeatedly for ten days straight. Leaving the matter of stamina aside, the idea of attacking his king already broke his heart. Despite that, Seol-Ah had dered she would pour curse magic at Kang-Woo for ten days straight. Balrog couldn''t help but be filled with respect for her.


    "King''s woman¡ª no, my queen. I, Balrog, will trust in you and wait." Balrog bowed deeply. "Well then, we will be outside."


    Balrog couldn''t bear to witness the horrible sight of someone casting powerful curse magic at the man they loved as well as the king Balrog swore allegiance to.


    <i>Grip.</i>


    "Hm?"


    Kang-Woo''s hand grabbed Balrog''s leg as Balrog was about to leave. He examined Kang-Woo to check if he had woken up but it did not seem to be the case. His king was still unconscious in bed.


    <i>''My king...''</i>


    Kang-Woo had likely moved out of pure instinct. Balrog teared up.


    <i>''You must be deeply worried about the queen.''</i>


    Kang-Woo also knew how agonizing it was to cast curse magic on one''s lover. Balrog was sure his king, despite being unconscious, had grabbed his leg because he was worried about letting Seol-Ah endure such agony on her own.


    "Do not worry, my king. This is... something the queen has decided herself."


    Balrog couldn''t get in the way of Seol-Ah''s resolve and indomitable will.


    "Well, then..."


    <i>ck.</i>


    Balrog took the other women out of the room and closed the door. For some reason, he thought he heard Seol-Ah''s ecstaticughter behind the door.


    "I must have heard wrong."


    He firmly shook his head. Everyone knew how deeply Seol-Ah loved Kang-Woo. She would neverugh when she needed to endlessly cast horrible curse magic at him.


    "My queen... however hard it is, you must ovee it."


    Balrog bowed respectfully in front of the closed door.

 Side Story Chapter 62 - Happy End? (4)

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


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


    "Aaaahh."


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


    <i>''Looks like I''m back.''</i>


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "Where the hell are they?"


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


    [G-Go away, you monster!!]


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


    [Save meeeeeeeeeeee!!!]


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


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


    Kang-Woo chuckled as he chased after the demons.


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


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


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


    [Gaaaaaaaahhh!! R-Ruuuuuun!!]


    [A demon!! A demon has appeared!]


    "You guys are demons too."


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


    "Hm?"


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "Bael?"


    [Oh, fuck.]


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


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


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


    "Where are you going, Lord Bael¡ª?!"


    [S-Stay away¡ª!!]


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


    [STAY THE FUCK AWAY¡ª!!]


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "What the fuck is¡ª Kurgh!"


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


    "Gah, ugh!"


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


    "I-It''s getting sucked out...!"


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


    <i>''Shit!''</i>


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


    "I-I''m... gonna die...!"


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


    "Kurgh! <i>Huff! Huff!</i>"


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


    <i>''Wh-What is it now?''</i>


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


    "I''m... getting eaten!"


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


    "<i>Gasp!!</i>"


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


    "Shit..."


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


    "No..."


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


    ***


    "Huuu."


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


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


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


    <i>ck.</i>


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


    "Young dragon," he called.


    "Hi, Balrog..."


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


    "How is the king?"


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


    "She has...?"


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


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


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


    "Hmm."


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


    "I wonder how long it will take."


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


    <i>RUMBLE¡ª!!</i>


    "Wha¡ª!"


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


    <i>''This power!''</i>


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


    <i>''How powerful...!''</i>


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


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


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


    "Young dragon!"


    "Hm! I felt it too!"


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


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


    <i>''The queen did it!''</i>


    She had stimted the Demonic Sea by threatening its existence.


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


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


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


    <i>ck.</i>


    The door slowly opened.


    "Gurrrr... Kuh. U-Urrrrrhhh."


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


    "M-My king?"


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


    "Fufu. Stop overreacting, Balrog."


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


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


    "Mm. I-I see."


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


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


    "Yes, my king."


    "Sa...ve... m¡ª"


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


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


    "N-Not now..."


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


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


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


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


    Riiing!


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


    A blue message window popped up with a bell chime.

 Side Story Chapter 63 - Demon Kings Day

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 63 - Demon King''s Day</h4>


    Light entered the room from between the thick curtains.


    "Mmm."


    Kang-Woo tossed and turned on the bed and slowly opened his eyes.


    <i>''What time is it?''</i>


    He barely slept because Han Seol-Ah and Lilith had been on him all night.


    "I slept for... about two hours."


    Kang-Woo stretched on the bed after checking the clock. It was nowhere near enough sleep for a normal person to function throughout the day but more than enough for him, who merely used sleep for mental fatigue recovery.


    Half a month passed since Seol-Ah and Lilith fervently <i>helped </i>Kang-Woo push out the Light of Akart in his system. He had been busy for a few days after he woke up but soon went back to his regr peaceful days.


    <i>''Though I don''t know if I can call my days peacefultely.''</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled bitterly. He was spending his days doing nothing at home and ying with his lovers whenever he had time. His heart felt heavy since he felt like he had be a gigolo or something simr.


    <i>''Why did my life turn out this way?''</i>


    "Well, at least..."


    Kang-Woo looked down in satisfaction. He could feel Fran?ois, having arisen in the sunlight like a sunflower.


    "He... hehehe."


    He couldn''t help butugh. Fran?ois, who had shriveled up once the body reconstructionmenced, had somewhat returned to its former glory. It was smaller than what it once was but its current size was eptable.


    Kang-Woo himself had grown as well. Not only had he grown taller but he gained some muscles as well, looking more like a teenager than a child.


    <i>''I''ve gotten a lot stronger too.''</i>


    Kang-Woo was strong enough to face Balrog without relying on his immortality now. His life must have been endangered significantly during his ten days of unconsciousness. The Light of Akart also ended up being of help in stimting the Demonic Sea as well.


    <i>''Although Seol-Ah and Lilith cling to me more than before because of it.''</i>


    However, he did not dislike spending time with his lovers since they were both bombshells.


    "Kang-Woo? Did you wake up just now?" asked Seol-Ah as she entered the room and into the bed with a smile.


    "Yeah," Kang-Woo said gently and kissed her on the cheek.


    "Hehe. Kang-Woo~"


    "My, is there nothing for me?" asked Lilith who followed behind Seol-Ah as she giggled.


    "C''mere."


    Kang-Woo kissed Lilith''s cheek as well and chatted with them for a bit.


    <i>''Wait, I shouldn''t be doing this.''</i>


    He couldn''t spend his dayszing around at home all day.


    "I should be getting out of bed."


    "Hmm. You can stay in bed for a bit longer, you know?" Lilith suggested.


    Kang-Woo was slightly tempted but unfurled the nket and got out of bed.


    "I have work to do. Besides, Echidna is gonna wake up soon and ask for food."


    Seol-Ah also got out of bed and answered, "In that case, I''ll make us something right away. It''ll only take a few minutes."


    "Okay," answered Kang-Woo as he folded the nket and opened the window to air out the room.


    The cool autumn wind pushed out the moist air in the room.


    ck.


    Kang-Woo came out of the room.


    "Hm! Good morning, Kang-Woo!"


    Echidna, who had been gaming on the couch, trotted toward him. Kang-Woo caught Echidna as she jumped toward him and smiled.


    "Morning. When did you get up?"


    "An hour ago!"


    "Come to think of it, are you resuming your idol work anytime soon?"


    "Mm. The agency contacted me to schedule a return date."


    "That''s good."


    It was good to have something to do in life.


    "Seol-Ah! I''m hungry!" Echidna shouted.


    "Hoho. I''ll make you lunch, so wait just a bit. Is there anything you want to eat?"


    "Pork cutlet!"


    "Mm, then I guess we''re having pork cutlet and kimchi stew today."


    Kimchi stew was a regr item on the Kang-Woo household menu.


    "Then let''s y games while we wait, Kang-Woo!"


    "Okay, okay."


    Echidna dragged Kang-Woo to the couch by his arm.


    "Kang-Woo! Use your burst! Hurry!"


    "Dammit, why aren''t they hitting? Are you sure this isn''t a bug?"


    The family sat around the table filled with delicious food after Kang-Woo and Echidna yed games while the food was being prepared.


    "Oh, let me call Yeon-Joo," said Seol-Ah as she pulled out her smartphone and contacted Cha Yeon-Joo.


    The front door opened after about five minutes and Yeon-Joo entered.


    "It''s pork cutlet today?" she asked.


    "Yeah. Echidna wanted some, so I made it."


    "You could''ve called me earlier. I would''ve helped out."


    "Oh, umm... I-It''s okay."


    Seol-Ah smiled awkwardly and averted her gaze from Yeon-Joo. With that, Kang-Woo and the four women sat around the table like usual.


    "Thank you for the meal~"


    "Fufu. Dig in, Kang-Woo."


    "Dayum, your kimchi stew is the best, Darling!"


    "Don''t you ever get tired of it? You eat it for every meal," Yeon-Joo mentioned.


    "How could I when Darling''s the one making it for me?"


    "Sigh, goddamn kimchi stew maniac."


    Kang-Woo smiled as he and the others emptied everything that had been prepared on the table. The kimchi stew was naturally delicious but so was the pork cutlet.


    "That aside, how''s the guild been doing?" Kang-Woo asked Yeon-Joo.


    "There''s a bit of an issue, but... it''s nothing for you to get involved in."


    "Really?"


    They chatted some more as they enjoyed an after-meal coffee.


    Lilith added some sugar to her coffee and asked, "Come to think of it, when are you going to move in with us, Yeon-Joo? It must be annoying for you to keep going back and forth... and you can''t be with the king."


    "I-I''m just gonna live separately!"


    "Hmm. You''re so stubborn. This won''t do. I''m going to move all of your things from your house to here."


    "Don''t, unnie!"


    "Hoho. We can only be a true family once we all live under the same roof."


    Lilith had been trying to persuade Yeon-Joo to move in with them for a while.


    <i>''I mean, I''m all for Yeon-Joo moving in with us.''</i>


    Only then would they be even more intimate with each other. Although they only lived an elevator ride away, it was different from living under the same roof.


    "Right, I''m off to work," Yeon-Joo remarked.


    "Sure. You''reing back for dinner, right?"


    "Yup." Yeon-Joo waved as she left to go to her guild.


    Kang-Woo felt even more like a gigolo since he was sending her off as he was still in his pajamas.


    "Kang-Woo. I''ll be at the underground training room today," Seol-Ah remarked.


    "To practice your magic?"


    "Yes."


    Seol-Ah was spending time in the training room every day to adapt to her new magic, which hadpletely changed in quality after she fell from grace.


    "Have a safe trip," Kang-Woo said.


    "Fufu. I''ll be back before dinner."


    Seol-Ah smiled widely and stuck out her lips, asking for a kiss.


    <i>''Why is my Darling so cute?''</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled like an idiot and kissed her.


    "Right then, Lilith. Hand me the documents regarding abnormal Gate phenomena."


    "Yes, my king."


    Kang-Woo showered after Yeon-Joo and Seol-Ah left and went to his home office to begin today''s work.


    "Any movement from Akart?"


    "We... have yet to find traces of him."


    "Mm." Kang-Woo nodded. "We probably won''t be able to find him through established means."


    Kang-Woo couldn''t detect his power with the Authority of Insight. However extraordinary Lilith''s intelligence organization was, they would likely not be able to detect traces that not even he could.


    "In that case..." Lilith slurred.


    "The best we can do at the moment is to follow as many abnormal Gate phenomena as possible when they ur."


    This was not a perfect n either; it was realistically impossible to find traces of every unconfirmed Gate phenomena as they happen in real-time throughout the world. Not only that but considering not even the Authority of Insight could detect Akart''s power, it was also possible Akart could invade Earth even without the Gate phenomena.


    "So the best we can do is to twiddle our thumbs and wait."


    "Yeah, since we have no way of striking first."


    No one knew where the Titan was hiding or what he was doing. Kang-Woo did not like that he was being forced to be passive, but there was no other way at the moment.


    "It''s okay. If his goal is to end the world, he''s bound to show himself sooner orter."


    Once that day came, Kang-Woo would devour him as much as he liked.


    "I''m sorry, my king. I wanted to be of more help..." Lilith lowered her head in sorrow.


    Kang-Woo smirked and hugged Lilith. "You''re already helping more than enough. Akart isn''t the only thing we should be worrying about, is it?"


    Akart was merely the enemy they needed to be on alert the most for; they couldn''t ignore all the other otherworldly invasions. Lilith was investigating every otherworldly invasion urring throughout the world, big or small, and giving Kang-Woo reports on them.


    <i>''We could never respond to the otherworldly invasions this quickly if not for Lilith.''</i>


    Thanks to the informationwork she set up with the help of Guardians, they could dispatch the right forces for the job to promptly deal with the abnormal phenomena.


    "Haaa... Jeez, please don''t say things like that. You''re making me embarrassed ?"


    "What? What did I say?"


    "Fufu. Anyway, I''m off to have a short meeting with La."


    "Okay."


    Kang-Woo waved at Lilith after receiving the documents.


    <i>''There isn''t anything particrly out of the ordinary.''</i>


    Kang-Woo got out of the chair and stretched after reading through today''s report.


    "Right, I might as well let loose too."


    He called Balrog and Kim Si-Hun and headed down to the underground training room where Seol-Ah was training. He needed to train consistently to get used to the demonic energy of the Abyss, of which the amount avable to him had dramatically increased after his growth.


    ***


    Kang-Woo came back home with Seol-Ah after training with Balrog and Si-Hun until evening.


    "Wee back," Yeon-Joo said.


    "Thanks. You''re clocked out already?"


    "What do you mean, already? It''s past eight. Of course, I''d be off."


    "You didn''t get off work and leave your employees working overtime, did you?"


    "Our employees rarely work overtime."


    "Bullshit, they were practically living there."


    "Those were special circumstances!"


    As Kang-Woo was chatting with Yeon-Joo, he and Seol-Ah brought the groceries they bought beforeing home into the kitchen. They were carrying an enormous amount since Kang-Woo ate quite a lot.


    "You can get some rest, Kang-Woo. I''ll have dinner ready in a sh," Seol-Ah remarked.


    "Anything you need help with?" he asked.


    "I''m fine."


    "You sure?"


    "Hehe. Cooking for you is one of my joys in life, Kang-Woo."


    Kang-Woo groaned after his assistance was firmly declined by Seol-Ah. He nodded and sat on the couch.


    "Hey, Oh Kang-Woo. What game are you ying with Echidna these days?"


    "I think it was Monster something. Wanna y with us?"


    "Hm! I bought another controller just for you, Yeon-Joo!"


    "Whoa."


    "I even bought another TV so we can y together!"


    "Dayum, for real?"


    Buying another TV solely to game with more people... tell me you''re rich without telling me you''re rich.


    "How much was it? I''ll pay for it."


    "Hm! I''m the unnie, so it''s my gift to you!"


    "What?"


    "Come back with bigger breasts if you wanna pay me!"


    "The fuck you say, brat?"


    The three of them gamed boisterously in the living room. Lilith, who was helping Seol-Ah set the table, giggled.


    "Having Yeon-Joo here sure makes the atmosphere more lively."


    "I want to y games with Kang-Woo too..." Seol-Ah mumbled.


    "Then why don''t you?"


    "Nghh. My mind freezes up for some reason whenever I y games, so I''m not very good."


    "I also tried itst time, but I had no idea what to do. Human culture sure is difficult."


    "I''m human too..."


    "Oh? You''re a fallen angel now, aren''t you?"


    Lilith and Seol-Ah smiled gently as they watched the three people gaming as they trash-talked each other. And with that, another day passed.

 Side Story Chapter 64 - Den of the Night Demons (1)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 64 - Den of the Night Demons (1)</h4>


    <i>Sizzle¡ª!</i>


    The sound of sizzling meat echoed from the kitchen and a mouth-watering scent wafted throughout the house.


    "Whoa, something smells delicious. What meat is that?"


    Oh Kang-Woo, who woke upter than the women, came out of the room as he scratched his stomach.


    Han Seol-Ah smiled as she cooked the meat on a frying pan and answered, "I''m making 1++ hanwoo sirloin steak[1]."


    "Dayum, nice."


    Kang-Woo could never have dreamt of such a high-quality cut of beef before his days in Hell.


    "Hehe. Since you''ve been working hardtely, I bought the best cut in hopes of cheering you up."


    "DARLIIIIIIIIIING!"


    Kang-Woo hugged Seol-Ah from behind as she cooked the meat. Cha Yeon-Joo ended up moving in with them after Lilith finally managed to convince her; after that, the extent of his stamina was getting tested every day.


    "M-My. Th-The meat is gonna burn, Kang-Woo."


    "Hehe. It''s okay."


    Repaying his Darling''s goodwill was more important.


    "Stop fucking around so early in the morning and stay still, dammit."


    Yeon-Joo, sitting at the dining table, red at him. Kang-Woo smirked as he stuck to Seol-Ah''s back.


    "Kehehe. Are you jealous?"


    "J-Jealous, my ass!"


    "C''mere. Looks like our Yeon-Joo wants a hug too."


    "Fuck off!"


    "Haaa. Where did the cutie fromst night go...?"


    Kang-Woo recalledst night''s memories, his eyes filled with sorrow. Yeon-Joo was breathtakingly cute in the bedroom, likely because she had not been at it for as long as Lilith and Seol-Ah.


    <i>''Too bad I can''t show it to you guys. It would blow your minds.''</i>


    "You started calling me oppa from around the seventh time..."


    "Sh-Shut the fuck up!!"


    "Hehehe. C''mere, my cutie Yeon-Joo."


    "Argh! Screw off!"


    She kept cursing at Kang-Woo to go away but slowly ced her arms around Kang-Woo''s waist once he went up to her to hug her.


    <i>''This is Yeon-Joo''s unique charm.''</i>


    "...ss me," Yeon-Joo mumbled, her face as red as her hair.


    "Huh?" Kang-Woo stared at her as he tilted his head.


    She shouted in anger, "I-I said, kiss me! I was the only one who didn''t get one this morning!"


    <i>''Holy fuck. How can she be so cute?''</i>


    It was not just Yeon-Joo; Seol-Ah and Lilith also grew cuter and lovelier each day, making Kang-Woo go insane.


    <i>''I heard the fire of love dies down over time.''</i>


    However, Kang-Woo was confident such a thing would never happen when it came to these three women.


    "Alright, your wish is mymand!" Kang-Woo shouted.


    "D-Don''t fucking kiss me!"


    "You literally just asked me to."


    "Wh-Whatever! Just don''t!" she shouted in bted embarrassment as she pushed Kang-Woo away.


    However, she couldn''t overpower Kang-Woo anymore now that his strength rivaled that of Balrog. He grabbed Yeon-Joo''s wrist and kissed her.


    "My, my. Yeon-Joo has be rather bold~?" Lilith smiled widely as if she were having the time of her life.


    "Hm! Meat! Seol-Ah, let''s eat already!"


    The usual Echidna would have also clung to Kang-Woo and pestered him to kiss her as well but she wasser-focused on the beef being cooked in front of her. She was snorting in excitement with a knife and fork in her hands.


    "Hoho. It''ll be ready soon."


    Seol-Ah ced the cooked steak on the table.


    "Thank you for the meal~"


    They had a family meal as usual under the boisterous atmosphere. The highest-grade sirloin steak melted in Kang-Woo''s mouth. The sauce Seol-Ah made synergized perfectly with the beef as well.


    <i>''Screw whoever said ingredients didn''t matter in cooking. Money rules.''</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn''t stop smiling. They finished their meal soon after and Kang-Woo decided to help Seol-Ah clean up. As they were in the middle of it, he noticed Seol-Ah staring nkly at her smartphone.


    "Hm? What are you looking at?"


    "Mm. I''m registering my credit card. I haven''t tried online shopping, so it''s a little difficult for me."


    "Oh, what are you trying to buy?"


    It was rare for Seol-Ah, as terrible with technology as Lilith, a literal demon, to shop for something online.


    "Mm..." Seol-Ah slurred. "Kang-Woo."


    "Yeah?"


    "What do you like more, cats or dogs?"


    "Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"


    "Hohoho. No reason," Seol-Ah giggled as she covered her mouth. Her eyes were gleaming with ecstasy and herughter felt like an abyss that should not be meddled with. "Hmm. I think a cat would suit you better than a dog."


    "What''s this about?"


    <i>''Why are you wondering something like that out of the blue?''</i>


    "Kang-Woo."


    "Y-Yeah?"


    "I love you."


    Seol-Ah hugged Kang-Woo and barraged his face with kisses to the point that he was worried he would die from internal bleeding. She smiled as if she couldn''t be happier and hugged Kang-Woo even tighter as she closed her eyes.


    "I love you too, Darling... no, wait a second. Don''t change the subject. Why did you ask me that?"


    "Ah! Look at the time! I promised Yeon-Joo and Echidna to go shopping with them today!"


    Seol-Ah tantly avoided answering the question and stormed into her room after taking off her apron.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo, left alone in the kitchen, stared at Seol-Ah''s back anxiously. He thought he saw a pervertedlyughing La ovepped with Seol-Ah for some reason.


    <i>''Nah, I''m sure it''s nothing. My kind Darling would never. Yup, yup, yup. No way in hell.''</i>


    "Hm? Why the long face, my king?" Lilith asked.


    "Huh? Oh, it''s nothing. More importantly, the other girls are going shopping. Are you not joining them?"


    "Hoho. I have to report abnormal Gate phenomena to you, after all."


    "Oh."


    Come to think of it, Kang-Woo had yet to receive a report from Lilith today.


    "Alright. Finish your report quickly and join them."


    He wanted to send her on her way right now but he couldn''t afford to miss a single day of checking every abnormal Gate phenomena. Incidents always tend to happen in moments of negligence.


    "Fufu. As you wish, my king." Lilith nodded as she handed Kang-Woo the documents she prepared for today.


    "Mm."


    He looked over it but there didn''t seem to be anything out of the ordinary today either.


    Just then, Lilith narrowed her eyes as she was looking through the documents with Kang-Woo and remarked, "My king. There is one piece of information which has yet to be determined whether it is an abnormal Gate phenomenon or not."


    "What is it?"


    "Multiple casualties have urred inside a B-rank Gate in Daegu."


    "Hm. So?"


    yers dying inside a Gate was somon that it wasn''t even worth reporting.


    "Well... the state they were in is a little strange. The number of casualties for that Gate is far higher than the average as well."


    It piqued Kang-Woo''s interest.


    "Strange how?" he asked.


    "They were dried up like mummies."


    "Dried up?"


    <i>''Is it the work of some slime variant or a vampire?''</i>


    "Yes, I hear they were nothing but skin and bones," Lilith answered.


    "Hmm."


    "And that is not the end of it."


    "What else?"


    "The victims are all male." Lilith continued calmly, "Even for mixed-gender parties, only the men were kidnapped and killed."


    "Hmm," Kang-Woo expressed. It was indeed suspicious. "Wait, you''re saying this isn''t an abnormal Gate phenomenon?"


    Such a thing could only be described as one.


    Lilith nodded and answered, "Whatever is causing this incident isn''ting out of the Gate."


    "Oh."


    Kang-Woo more or less understood.


    <i>''Abnormal Gate phenomena can only be detected once the otherworldly beingse out of the Gate.''</i>


    Gates were like tunnels that linked Earth and the outer worlds. In other words, the otherworldly being couldn''t be detected on Earth if they stayed in the tunnel.


    "In that case, it''s likely a monster that establishes a territory and doesn''te out of it," Kang-Woo surmised.


    "I agree."


    "I see..." Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and stroked his chin.


    <i>''If they''re noting out, then there''s not much reason to investigate.''</i>


    There was no point in going out of their way to kill otherworldly beings that were not direct threats to Earth. They were already having difficulty tracing every otherworldly being that came out of Gates; they did not have the manpower to dispatch to investigate beings that did note out of Gates.


    "Lastly." Lilith sighed softly as if she couldn''tprehend it and continued, "Unidentified corpses were discovered along with those of the yers who entered the Gate."


    "An unidentified corpse?"


    <i>''What the hell is that supposed to mean?''</i>


    "Yes. There were several corpses with no record of them entering the Gate. We tried matching their DNA and fingerprint with the database but couldn''t identify any of them."


    "..." Kang-Woo remained silent.


    yers were obligated to register their DNA and fingerprint to acquire their ID from the yer Association. No, even if they weren''t yers, all Korean citizens had their fingerprints registered in the government database.


    <i>''Could they be foreigners...? No.''</i>


    Foreigners needed a corresponding license to enter a Gate in Korea, and their identities were naturally recorded in the process. They could have faked their IDs and secretly entered the Gate but that wouldn''t exin why there were so many unidentified corpses.


    <i>''I might as well check anyway.''</i>


    "Any chance they were foreigners?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "I have already searched through the international yer database. No matches."


    <i>''Yeah, no way Lilith didn''t think of something so simple. In that case, if the corpse wasn''t that of a Korean or a foreigner...''</i>


    <i>- My name is Kim Tae-Ho. I am a seven-star apostle of Ishvalda.</i>


    A memory popped up in Kang-Woo''s head¡ª one of the people from another world whom Kang-Woo met at the Temple of Truth.


    "This... deserves an investigation," Kang-Woo remarked.


    As long as corpses of people from another world were discovered, he couldn''t leave it be only because they weren''ting out of the Gate.


    "Shall I dispatch a team?" Lilith asked.


    "No." Kang-Woo shook his head. He stood up and answered, "I''ll go."


    He was spending his days wasting away as he was sucked left and right like a stud horse¡ª this was a great opportunity.


    <i>''I''ma say goodbye to my bum life!''</i>


    1. Hanwoo beef has its own grading process like Japan''s ''A'' ssification. For hanwoo, it ranges from 3 (lowest) to 1++ (highest). ?

 Side Story Chapter 65 - Den of the Night Demons (2)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 65 - Den of the Night Demons (2)</h4>


    "You''ll go, my king?" asked Lilith, wide-eyed.


    "Yup," Oh Kang-Woo answered.


    "Hmm. Wouldn''t it be better to send an investigation team first? You''re quite busy, aren''t you?"


    "No, I''m not."


    <i>''I''m gonna die of boredom at this rate.''</i>


    "My," Lilith expressed as if telling Kang-Woo to stop with the nonsense. "Aren''t you working hard every night? ?"


    <i>''Since when was being a stud horse my job? I mean, I can''t deny it, considering what my days have been liketely.''</i>


    "In any case, I''ll take charge of the investigation."


    "Hmm. I think it''s a little too beneath your pay grade, my king."


    Lilith was right; Kang-Woo was the strongest person on Earth. He should naturally only take part in extinction-level events like the invasions from Parasites or the Gctic Federation. Just like how the CEO didn''t perform tasks normally left to an intern, Kang-Woo did not usually take part in things far below his capabilities.


    "But it''s not like anything will change just from waiting around for something to happen," Kang-Woo remarked.


    He needed to jump into danger to hasten his body reconstruction; he had long since passed the point of it being hastened through training.


    "Mm..." Lilith groaned as she fell into thought. She sighed softly and stared at Kang-Woo in worry. "Haaa. If you want to do it so badly, then I can''t stop you. But I don''t want you to go by yourself, considering what happenedst time."


    "I was never nning to."


    They had no idea what was lurking beyond the Gate or how powerful they were. Kang-Woo was not foolish enough to recklessly charge in with full trust in his strength.


    <i>''This is what I made a team for.''</i>


    Having two people was safer than one, and even safer if there were three.


    "I''ll go with Si-Hun and Balrog."


    Kang-Woo wondered if he should also take Han Seol-Ah, who had be as strong as Kim Si-Hun.


    <i>''If I take Darling... she might get in the way of the investigation.''</i>


    The victims of the incident were all men; Kang-Woo had no idea who the enemy was but it was highly likely they would pay no attention to Seol-Ah.


    <i>''And it''s been a while since the girls went out together. I don''t want to ruin their fun.''</i>


    Seol-Ah, who was madly obsessed with Kang-Woo, had separated from Kang-Woo for the first time in a while to y with Cha Yeon-Joo and Echidna. Kang-Woo did not want to interfere with her unless she was truly needed.


    "Mm... Si-Hun probably can''t make it," Lilith answered.


    "Hm? Is he doing something else?"


    "Yes. I heard from La."


    "What is he doing?"


    "I did not manage to get the details. Shall I contact her and find out?"


    "No, it''s fine."


    Si-Hun was the second-inmand of Guardians, meaning he was far busier than Kang-Woo.


    <i>''If Si-Hun can''te, I guess there''s only one other candidate.''</i>


    "Balrog, the son of a bitch. I guess it''ll be just the two of us. It''s been a while."


    Kang-Woo chuckled and stood up. He loved spending time with his lovers but couldn''t treat them as openly as he could with Balrog, who was closer to a friend than a subordinate.


    "Right, then. I''ll go with Balrog."


    "Understood. Please be careful, and contact me if anything happens."


    "Sure."


    Kang-Woo said goodbye to Lilith as he left through the front door and headed to the elevator.


    <i>Whoosh! Whoosh!</i>


    He went down to the underground floor and saw Balrog swinging his fists by himself. Kang-Woo walked toward him as he waved.


    "Training as soon as you wake up?" he asked.


    "Oh. Good morning, my king."


    "Holy fuck, you reek of sweat."


    The stench of sweat attacked his nose as soon as he entered the training room.


    "Gahahaha! It''s the scent of a man," Balrog mentioned.


    "Man, my ass. Any progress with your training?"


    "Hmm. No, not particrly."


    "I''m not surprised."


    Balrog was too strong at this point to power up just from training.


    "But it looks like you''re working pretty hard despite that," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "I get restless if I''m doing nothing."


    "Why don''t you go somewhere nice with Yurie?"


    Balrogughed heartily and nodded. "Gahaha! I will keep that in mind." He wiped himself with the custom-made giant towel and asked, "That aside, what brings you here so early?"


    "If you have nothing to do, go on a mission with me."


    "A mission?"


    Kang-Woo concisely exined the suspicious phenomenon Lilith reported to him.


    "Oh? A monster that only attacks men... just like a subus."


    "Don''t even say that word in front of me."


    <i>''I''m getting nauseous just from hearing it.''</i>


    "Hehe. I was just joking."


    "Don''t even joke about that. I''m getting goosebumps."


    "Hm. I still can''t understand your beauty standards, my king. Leaving everything aside, that woman Lilith is the most beautiful in the Nine Hells..."


    "Halcyon is prettier in my eyes. Happy?"


    "Kurgh! U-Unbelievable!! What a disgusting statement!!!"


    Balrog twisted around as he pulled on his hair in disbelief.


    "Enough of that bullshit," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "Huuu. I''ve been living in the world of humans for quite a while now, but I still cannot get used to their beauty standards."


    "Oh,e to think of it, what''s Halcyon been up totely?"


    Kang-Woo did not remember thest time he saw Halcyon; it was as if he had be irrelevant in a long-running novel.


    "Halcyon is in hibernation," Balrog answered.


    "Hibernation."


    "Yes, since he''s a demonic beast."


    "Mmm. When will it end?"


    "Who knows? The hibernation period is different for every demonic beast..."


    "Why didn''t you say anything? I would''ve visited him before he hibernated if I''d known."


    "Halcyon asked me not to tell you anything."


    "He did?"


    "Yes. He said he had something to tell you once he came out of hibernation..."


    "Mmm. Alright. Anyway, are youing?"


    "How could I ever disobey you?" Balrog remarked.


    "Good." Kang-Woo nodded with a smile. "Then get yourself cleaned up and turn into your human form."


    "My human form?"


    "The victims were all human men. They might not approach you if you''re in your true form."


    "Hmm. It''s ufortable, but... I understand."


    Balrog nodded as he entered the showers.


    ***


    "This must be the B-rank Gate," Kang-Woo said.


    The Gate wasn''t too big; it was three meters tall at most. If Balrog were in his true form, he would have to duck to enter.


    <i>''If the entrance is only this big, it means the inside isn''t that big either.''</i>


    Kang-Woo wondered what kind of monster was wreaking havoc inside the Gate.


    <i>''I guess I''ll find out.''</i>


    He entered the Gate with Balrog.


    "It''s quite dark," Balrog mentioned.


    They were inside a long tunnel as if they were in an ant nest. Pink rocks embedded in the ceiling were emitting light but it was so faint that they barely lit up the dark tunnel.


    "Well, it doesn''t matter to us."


    Demons could see as well in the dark as they could in the day.


    "Hehe. Right, you are."


    "Let''s head deeper inside."


    They stopped the chit chat and slowly walked through the tunnel. Kang-Woo rubbed his hand against the wall and looked around.


    <i>''Nothing out of the ordinary so far.''</i>


    All he could notice was that it was dark and slightly moist.


    <i>Garrrrrrrrr!</i>


    A monster that looked like a giantrva screeched ferociously and attacked them.


    <i>Crush!</i>


    And of course, it exploded with one blow.


    "Looks like shit."


    Kang-Woo frowned and rubbed his shoe against the ground to wipe the green goo off of it.


    "Is this thing the culprit?" Balrog asked.


    "No. Take a look at its teeth. They''re super sharp."


    A monster with teeth as sharp as these could never create corpses as dry as a mummy.


    "Then it must be a monster that originally inhabited this Gate."


    "Probably. Let''s head deeper inside."


    Kang-Woo and Balrog continued to walk down the tunnel. They sometimes came across a forked road or an empty cave but they did not find anything special. All they could find were giantrvae that Bear Grylls would eat and say were creamy in texture.


    "For fuck''s sake. Where the hell are they hiding?"


    "Mm. The tunnel seems to end here."


    They had already hit a dead end despite not having walked for very long. As Kang-Woo had expected, the Gate was fairly small.


    "Let''s try going another way," Kang-Woo suggested.


    "Yes, my king."


    Kang-Woo and Balrog backtracked and went down the other tunnel.


    "This is... also a dead end," Balrog said.


    "This is driving me nuts."


    Both of the forked roads led to a dead end.


    "Have we not explored the entire dungeon?" Balrog asked.


    "How does it only take an hour to fully explore a B-rank Gate? And there''s no sight of those goddamn Imhotep makers."


    "What is Imhotep?"


    "You don''t need to know." Kang-Woo sighed. "Let''s get out of here ande back another time."


    There was no point in searching a dungeon they had already fully explored. If the monster appeared at a specific time of day, they were better offing back in the evening.


    "Understood." Balrog nodded as he took the lead.


    Although the tunnel was dark and narrow, they did not have difficulty navigating the way they came from since the tunnel system was notplex.


    "Huh...?"


    Around the twenty-minute mark of their walking and looking around, Balrog suddenly stopped with his eyes widened.


    "What is it?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Umm... my king. Was this not where the entrance was?"


    "It should be. There''s only one path."


    "..." Balrog''s expression hardened. He slowly turned around and said quietly, "The entrance... is gone."


    "What?"


    "The Gate entrance is supposed to be here, but... I don''t see it."


    "The fuck are you talking ab¡ª oh, fuck," Kang-Woo cursed after walking past Balrog and looking around.


    <i>''It''s really gone.''</i>


    The Gate entrance they hade in from was nowhere in sight.


    Kang-Woo turned around after searching some more and remarked, "Let''s... backtrack."


    They went back to the forked road they were just at.


    "Why are there three fucking paths now?"


    <i>''Did it get a boner?''</i>


    "The hell is going on?"


    Not only were there three paths instead of two, but each of them lookedpletely different from what they had been like when they first came across it.


    "Hah, you thought this was enough to make me panic?"


    "Kehehe! I don''t know who they are, but they sure are arrogant!"


    "Let''s rip their heads off once we catch them."


    "Of course, my king!"


    "Right! Let''s investigate again, starting from the left!"


    "Gahahaha! Stop hiding like cowards ande out!"


    Kang-Woo and Balrogughed heartily as if they were unfazed and walked down the left path. With that, five hours passed. Kang-Woo had no choice but to admit it.


    "Fuck."


    <i>''We''re lost.''</i>

 Side Story Chapter 66 - Den of the Night Demons (3)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 66 - Den of the Night Demons (3)</h4>


    "Goddammit," Oh Kang-Woo cursed.


    He had no idea where they were. Once a new path opened, an existing path disappeared.


    "Where the hell are we?"


    "I... am not sure either at this point," answered Balrog as he looked around and sighed.


    <i>''Shit.''</i>


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. The Gate''s structure was changing in real time.


    <i>''Was this a shifting maze?''</i>


    He had never heard of such a phenomenon.


    "Hmm. It seems we have no choice," Balrog said as his eyes gleamed, immense demonic energy gathering around his fist. "We have to blow everything away, tunnel and all."


    "Wait."


    Kang-Woo stopped Balrog as he was about to swing his fist. They would indeed be able to find their way once they destroyed everything, but there was one problem.


    "They could run away."


    There would have been no point ining here if the monster that turned the yers into mummies escaped.


    "Urgh," Balrog groaned.


    "Let''s try walking for a little longer. If we''re still stuck after that, just blow everything away."


    "Understood."


    Balrog nodded and followed Kang-Woo through theplexly entwined tunnel.


    <i>- Fuck!</i>


    <i>- This is all your fault!</i>


    <i>- Bullshit!</i>


    Just then, they heard people arguing from the other side of the tunnel.


    "Balrog."


    "Yes, my king."


    Kang-Woo and Balrog headed to the source of the sound without hesitation.


    "You sons of bitches!"


    "You bastards wanna go?!"


    "Hah! Bring it on!"


    They reached a cave about one hundred meters wide, where two factions, about twenty people in total, were in a standoff. They were ring at one another in rage with their weapons out.


    "This never would''ve happened if you sons of bitches weren''t so greedy over the relic!"


    "We solved the puzzle first!"


    Kang-Woo didn''t know what they were arguing about but it was getting heated.


    "Helya''s fucking dildos!"


    "What did you say? Big words from Ishvalda''s electric fucking fleshlights!"


    <i>''Holy shit, look at them go.''</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but chuckle as he watched the two factions fiercely cursing at each other.


    <i>''That aside... Ishvalda?''</i>


    He had heard the name before.


    <i>''That Kim Tae-Ho guy or whatever his name was mentioned it.''</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled the young man who introduced himself as a seven-star apostle of Ishvalda. He was one of the people from another Earth whom Kang-Woo met back at the Temple of Truth. He used lightning infused with enough power that impressed even Kang-Woo.


    <i>''That fucking troll.''</i>


    Kang-Woo still got headaches from recalling how Kim Tae-Ho had drawn the giant golden monkey Rajang''s attention toward the group due to his carelessness.


    <i>''Were the unidentified corpses Lilith mentioned from their world?''</i>


    That seemed the most likely. They were also from <i>Earth </i>but it was undoubtedly an outer world ifpared to the <i>Earth </i>Kang-Woo lived in. It was only natural their fingerprints or DNA weren''t in any database.


    "Hah! It seems words won''t get us anywhere!"


    "You never intended to settle things with words from the beginning! I heard Ishvalda''s apostles were evil but I never expected it to be this bad!"


    "What did you say?!"


    "Everyone knows you extort the residents of the Tower''s lower floors of their money!"


    "Hah! I can''t believe I''m hearing this from someone who killed people to get information about this relic!"


    "Shut up! That was a fair trade!"


    "Bullshit. You call killing five people a fair trade?"


    "Wh-Where did you get that information from...?"


    "Shit! What are we going to do now?! Now that we''re stuck here, you can kiss getting out of here goodbye!"


    Members of each faction were getting more and more worked up.


    <i>''I don''t know what relic they''re talking about, but...''</i>


    Kang-Woo could tell both factions were pieces of shit in their own right.


    <i>''I mean, I had a feeling that was the case for the Ishvalda group since that fucking troll is a member, but I don''t give a damn.''</i>


    He couldn''t care less whether they extorted money from others or gained information by killing people. The important thing was that they had information about this ce. If they didn''t, they would never have said that they couldn''t get out once they were stuck here.


    "Ah, ahhh," Kang-Woo cleared his throat as he stepped forward. He spoke as respectfully as possible, "Please stop fighting, everyone."


    "Haaah?"


    "Who the hell is that brat?"


    The members of both factions stared at Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo smiled and said kindly, "I am one of the people who are stuck here. This is not the time to fight." He then shouted with all his heart, "It is time for us to join forces and find a way out together!"


    "..."


    "..."


    The expressions of the people staring at Kang-Woo crumpled as they red at him as if they couldn''tprehend what he was saying. They went back to ring at each other and cursing.


    "Damn Ishvalda dogs!"


    "Hah! It seems your brains aren''t developed enough to understand words!"


    Kang-Woo quickly shouted, "Everyone! Violence breeds nothing!"


    Yes, violence never solved anything. They needed to join forces and get out of here together.


    "Bring it on, motherfuckers!"


    "O Helya! Grant me the power of the sun!"


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    Intense mes raged.


    "Take the judgment of Ishvalda!"


    <i>Crackle!</i>


    Blue lightning on par with the mes sparked.


    "Everyone! Please stop fighting!!"


    "Kurgh! Die!!"


    "Bastards!"


    <i>Boom! ng!</i>


    The factions began fighting against each other. shing metal echoed throughout the cave as the mes and lightning raged.


    "Everyone! Please stop f¡ª"


    "Die, you cocksuckers!"


    "Kuh! Son of a bitch!"


    "Every..."


    <i>''These fucking bastards.''</i>


    "STOP FUCKING FIGHTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!"


    A destructive impulse took over Kang-Woo as a thin string keeping his sense of reason intact snapped.


    <i>Bash! Crunch!</i>


    Kang-Woo ran forward and dealt a low kick to the two nearest people fighting. Their legs bent at an unnatural angle and they screamed as they copsed on the spot.


    "Huh...?"


    "Wh-What was that?"


    The others stopped fighting and stared at Kang-Woo wide-eyed.


    "ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" Kang-Woo screamed ferociously as he charged at the people fighting. "WHY THE FUCK AREN''T YOU SONS OF BITCHES LISTENING TO ME?!!"


    He couldn''t contain his fury.


    "Kurgh! <i>Cough!!!</i>"


    "GAAAAAAAAAAH! M-MY AAAAAAAARM!!"


    "I FUCKING TOLD YOU TO STOP FIGHTING!!"


    <i>Bash! Crunch! Crush!</i>


    Kang-Woo beat the shit out of everyone who entered his field of vision like a wolf in a flock of sheep. The sound of bones breaking echoed throughout the cave.


    "Arghh! I-I''m sor..."


    "Huh? What?"


    "I''m sor¡ª <i>Cough!</i>"


    "SPEAK CLEARLY, MOTHERFUCKER!!!"


    <i>Crunch!</i>


    The man vomited blood as his ribs shattered.


    "GAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!" his screams filled the cave. "<i>Cough! Cough!</i> Gah..."


    "NOW! REPEAT AFTER ME! VIOLENCE!"


    "I-It hurts... I''m gonna d-die..."


    "VIOLEEEEEEEEEEENCE!!!"


    "GAAAAAAAAAHHH! I-I''m sorry! P-Please stop hitting me!! V-Violeeeeeeeence!!"


    "IS BAD!"


    "I-Is bad..."


    "I CAN''T HEAR YOU, MOTHERFUCKEEEEEEEEERS!!"


    "Kurgh!! Urgh! I-IS BAAAAAAAAAD!!"


    "AGAIN!! VIOLENCE! IS BAD!!"


    "VIOLEEEEENCE!! IS BAAAAAAAAAAD!!"


    "THEN WHY THE FUCK WERE YOU FIGHTING?????!!!!!!!!!"


    <i>Crunch, crack.</i>


    "Ah."


    <i>''He''s dead.''</i>


    "Huuu," Kang-Woo caught his breath.


    He identally killed one of them but it didn''t matter.


    <i>''There are plenty more people I can ask.''</i>


    Kang-Woo slowly turned around to see people looking up at him in pallor, their eyes filled with terror.


    <i>''I knew it.''</i>


    There was nothing like illogical violence to instill fear into people. Since Kang-Woo engraved into their minds that he was insane, they wouldn''t look down on him because of his young appearance.


    "I will take care of the interrogation, my king," Balrog remarked as he approached.


    Kang-Woo shook his head. "No, it''s okay."


    Interrogations were best carried out by the source of the person they feared.


    "Right, then. Attention, everyone!"


    Kang-Woo pped his hands together to gather their attention.


    "<i>Gasp!</i>"


    "P-Please spare us!"


    The people bowed in fear just from Kang-Woo pping his hands together. Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction.


    "Do you know where we are?" Kang-Woo asked a random person as he ced his foot on their fingers.


    "Eek! I-I do!! I KNOOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHH!!" shouted a man as the pressure on his fingers grew stronger.


    "Where are we?"


    "A-A space created by a d-demon!"


    "A demon...?"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    <i>''A space created by a demon? Demons... still exist?''</i>


    As far as he knew, most demons from the Nine Hells died in the battle between him and Bael. Even if some demons had survived, he was confused about why they would create a space on another Earth to kill people.


    The man trembled as he shouted, "W-We''ve done nothing wrong! We simply entered a dungeon to find a relic! But those damn Ishvalda dogs activated a trap and¡ª!"


    Crush!


    Kang-Woo pressed his foot down on the man''s fingers without hesitation, bending them at an unnatural angle.


    "GAAAAAAAHHH!!"


    "I don''t give a shit about who did what, so just stick to answering my questions."


    "Gurghhh. I-I understand...!"


    The man cried as he held his broken fingers.


    "To think a demon did this... It''s quite hard to believe," Balrog expressed.


    "Yeah. Was there a demon who could make spaces like this?"


    "Mm. I can''t quite remember."


    Balrog fell into thought as he tilted his head. Kang-Woo lightly kicked the copsed man''s hip.


    "Do you know which demon made this space?" he asked.


    "Gurgh... M-My fingers..."


    "For fuck''s sake. You''re outright ignoring my questions now, are you?"


    "Eek! I-I''ll talk! I''ll talk!!!" the man shouted as he smashed his head into the ground.


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and waited for the man to answer.


    "This ce is called... Den of the Night Demons."


    "What...?"


    Chills went down Kang-Woo''s spine the moment he heard what this ce was called.


    "W-Wait a second. By night demons, you mean..."


    He was reminded of a fear he did not want to even imagine.


    "Yes! It is a space made by s-subi to suck the life force of men!!"


    "...!!!" Kang-Woo''s eyes widened. He shouted from the bottom of his heart, "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY?!! This is a den of subi...?"


    His feet, firmly nted on the ground, began to shake uncontrobly.

 Side Story Chapter 67 - Den of the Night Demons (4)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 67 - Den of the Night Demons (4)</h4>


    "A-Aaaahh," Oh Kang-Woo groaned as he pulled on his hair. Intense fear that was permanently engraved in his mind took over him. "AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"


    He screamed as he twisted and turned. He trembled uncontrobly like a vibrator and foamed at the mouth.


    "S-Subi...?"


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    Kang-Woo was reminded of the green tentacles covered in sticky mucus. He had seen the subi that served Lilith a few times during his days in Hell. Just like Lilith, they were nightmarish creatures that had likely crawled out from the worst of nightmares. Imagining a den of such creatures sent shivers down Kang-Woo''s spine.


    "Th-That''s correct! This is a space created by evil Subi!"


    "How many... how many of them are there?" asked Kang-Woo as he gulped.


    "Uhh... I-I''m not sure..."


    The man fell into thought as his eyes darted around. Kang-Woo raised his fist in silence.


    "Gaaaaaaaah!! W-Wait! Please wait!!"


    The man turned back to look at the copsed people as if begging for assistance.


    Another man who seemed to be hisrade quickly answered, "N-No one is certain about their exact numbers! B-But..."


    "But what?"


    "I heard that the Den of the Night Demons consists of at least three hundred Subi!"


    "THREE HUNDRED?!!"


    <i>''Did you fucking say three hundred?!!''</i>


    Kang-Woo was so shocked that his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.


    "GYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Kang-Woo fell to his knees as he screamed in terror.


    <i>''Three hundred Subi...?! I shouldn''t have fuckinge! I should''ve justzed around at home with my Darling! As I thought, it''s dangerous outside!''</i>


    Kang-Woo stepped back in pallor.


    Seeing a sliver of hope from seeing Kang-Woo trembling in fear, the man who had been beaten by Kang-Woo shouted, "N-Now isn''t the time to fight among ourselves!"


    "..."


    "We have to join forces to escape from this den of Subi!"


    A vein bulged from Kang-Woo''s forehead.


    "Yeah, makes sense," Kang-Woo answered.


    "R-Right?"


    "Yup, it makes a whole lot of sense for me to beat your ass."


    <i>''You should''ve listened to me when you had the chance.''</i>


    <i>Bash¡ª!</i>


    Kang-Woo kicked the man''s stomach like a football.


    "Kurgh¡ª!! Urgh!" The man clenched his stomach and coughed up blood.


    "Fuuu," Kang-Woo sighed as he looked down at the convulsing man.


    "Y-You fucking brat!!" The man who had proudly revealed himself as an apostle of Helya earlier red at Kang-Woo as he bared his teeth. "Fine! Kill us, motherfucker! We''re gonna die here anyway so it doesn''t matter who kills us, whether it be you or the Subi!!"


    "Alright. If you want to die so badly, I''ll kill you."


    "H-Hahaha!! You''ll follow us in death soon enough after once your life force is drained by the Subi!" shouted the man as he acted calm despite being terrified.


    Kang-Woo stopped in his tracks as he was walking toward the man.


    <i>''Draining life force, huh?''</i>


    If this was a den of Subi like the men said, the Subi woulde to them sooner orter to drain their life force. Kang-Woo had seen the process of Subi draining their prey several times. They wrapped their prey with dozens of tentacles and brutally squeezed out their life force to the veryst drop. He never wanted to see such a horrifying sight again.


    <i>''I could use these guys as bait, at the very least.''</i>


    It was not wise to kill them right away.


    "Th-Three hundred Subi... Ahem! What a predicament," said Balrog anxiously as he approached. No, his voice was filled with anticipation rather than anxiety for some reason. "Hah! My word! H-Hundreds of those beautiful and lewd demons?! Ahem! I''m worried they might fall for my burly muscles!"


    "What the fuck are you talking about...?"


    Kang-Woo''s expression immediately crumpled.


    "You have to agree, don''t you, my king?! What should I do if those Subi fall for me and try to seduce me bare naked?!"


    "Kill them all, obviously."


    <i>''Three hundred Subi trying to seduce us while bare naked... Fuck, I almost imagined it.''</i>


    Balrog eximed in shock, "H-How could you say such a thing?! Subi are rare, even in Hell! To think you would even consider eradicating a paradise of three hundred Subi..."


    From his perspective, a den of Subi was nothing but a paradise made up of only beautiful women.


    "PARADISE, MY ASS!!!" Kang-Woo shouted furiously.


    He felt nauseous just from imagining a gathering of those hideous tentacle monsters.


    <i>''Whatever the case, I have to get the fuck out of here fast.''</i>


    Kang-Woo needed to find a way out before the Subi came to feast on their prey.


    "Balrog, I''m destroying the tunnel."


    "M-My king?"


    They had no time to waste. The Subi coulde to suck the life force out of the copsed men at any second.


    <i>''Anything but Subi.''</i>


    Kang-Woo could confidently face any other demon but he couldn''t even bear the sight of one hideous tentacle monster.


    "Huup."


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    Immense demonic energy, more than enough to obliterate the tunnel, gathered around Kang-Woo''s fist.


    Swoosh¡ª!


    - Hohohoho!


    As he was about to swing his fist, pink smoke covered the ground. The copsed men trembled in terror as soon as they saw the fog-like smoke.


    "Gurghhh! W-We''re dead...!"


    "Th-The Subi are here¡ª!!"


    "W-Were all gonna die!"


    Chaos spread like poison; the apostles of Helya and Ishvalda screamed in fear.


    "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!"


    Kang-Woo also screamed in extreme fear as he pulled his hair among the apostles. It was toote to escape.


    "Th-They''reing! Here they fuckinge!!"


    Kang-Woo trembled as he took several steps back. He could see a ck silhouette inside the pink mist walking seductively toward them. He wanted to shut his eyes tightly but he knew better than anyone else that it was meaningless due to his transcendental senses.


    "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Balrog cheered with his fists clenched.


    Unlike the terrified expressions of the others, only his face was filled with excitement and ecstasy.


    "Fufu. We have quite the feast today ?"


    "Haaaaaaaaah~ Such a thick scent of energy~ I''m already getting wet~ ?"


    "Oh? Why are they all copsed? Fufu, are they offering themselves to us?"


    Seductive voices as if they were born to seduce men echoed throughout the cave. The Subi revealed themselves from the pink mist atst.


    "GAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"


    "S-SAVE MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"


    The apostles who could no longer move after getting beaten by Kang-Woo screamed in terror.


    "FUUUUUUUUCK!! THEY''RE HERE! THEY''RE REALLY HERE!!"


    Kang-Woo trembled in despair and panic.


    "Oh? There''s a cute little boy among them."


    "Kyaah! I call dibs on him!"


    "Fufufu. I''ll let you taste the greatest pleasure you''ve ever had, so why don''t youe here, little boy?"


    The Subi giggled bewitchingly as they approached the men. The beauty of the Subi who came out from the smoke lived up to their reputation of draining the life force of men.


    "Fuck off, damn tentacle mons¡ª huh?"


    <i>''Why are they beautiful?''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s eyes opened widely in disbelief. They were tall and slender; not only were their breasts plentiful but their waists were narrow and their buttocks were thick inparison. The Subi who came out of the mist looked as if they were the culmination of every man''s hopes and dreams.


    "What the fuck?"


    <i>''What the fuck?''</i>


    "Why are they beautiful?"


    Kang-Woo stared at the Subi, his expression frozen. The Subi, who were wearing so little clothes to the point that there was no point even wearing anything, giggled as they posed like supermodels.


    "He''s asking why Subi are beautiful? Fufufu. Did youe here without knowing what Subi are, cute little boy?"


    "Hohoho. Don''t you worry. These olderdies here will teach you nice and well about what Subi are~ ?"


    "Hehe. That boy is cute, so let''s raise him as our pet!"


    The Subi giggled, havingpletely misunderstood the reason why Kang-Woo was shocked.


    "Oh..." Kang-Woo expressed.


    He finally understood everything¡ª about why demons from the Nine Hells were targeting another world out of the blue, and why people of another Earth knew about this ce known as the <i>Den of the Night Demons</i>.


    <i>''These Subi... aren''t from the Nine Hells.''</i>


    Just like how there was another <i>Earth</i>, the Subi were also from another <i>Hell</i>.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Kang-Woo''s hands shook. Something boiling deep inside his heart surged up to his brain. A zing emotion took over him,


    "MOTHERFUCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!"


    Intense rage burnt his sense of reason to a crisp.


    "WHY...? WHY THE FUCK IS THE NINE HELLS... IN THE NINE HELLS, THEY WERE...!!!"


    <i>''Subi from another world are so beautiful, but why are the Subi from the Nine Hells so...''</i>


    "FUCKING BITCHES! WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU TREMBLING IN FEAR FOR SUCCUBI THAT LOOK LIKE THAT?!" Kang-Woo screamed as he picked up one of the copsed men by the cor.


    "Kurgh! Urgh! Guh! Wh-Why are you¡ª"


    Unimaginable frustration boiled inside Kang-Woo.


    <i>''If only...''</i>


    If only he had fallen into the other world''s Hell instead of the Nine Hells and rose to be the Demon King there, he would never have developed this wretched trauma.


    "Haaa, haaa," Kang-Woo panted heavily as he red fiercely at the Subi.


    "O-Oh?"


    "S-Such power...!"


    The Subi turned as white as a sheet after feeling the energy bursting from Kang-Woo and stepped back.


    <i>''They mustn''t exist.''</i>


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists. Beautiful Subi! Subi with no more than two eyes and no yellow pus! Subi without tentacles¡ª no, those green wriggling trash!!! He refused to believe such beings existed.


    "Beings like you... cannot exist. No such beings can exist in this universe. I can''t... I can''t be the only one to experience such pain."


    As Kang-Woo was spending his days in agony with tentacles wrapped around him, beautiful Subi were giggling and frolicking in a Hell of another world. He refused to believe such a reality.


    "Yeah, you guys... aren''t Subi."


    Kang-Woo slowly raised his right arm.


    <i>Schwing!</i>


    A jet-ck greatsword appeared in his hand.


    "Balrog," he called.


    "BLEEEEEEEEEEGHHH!!!"


    "...?"


    All Kang-Woo got as a response was the sound of vomiting. Balrog''s eyes were bloodshot as he puked so hard that he could even vomit out his intestines. He red at the Subi.


    "Subi without tentacles...?" Balrog took off his pendant and red ferociously at the Subi. "HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELVES SUCCUBI WITH SUCH HIDEOUS FORMS?!!"


    Boom!


    A muscle-bound red giant with eyes trembling with rage appeared out of nowhere.


    "BEAUTIFUL SUCCUBI¡ª!"


    "HIDEOUS SUCCUBI¡ª!"


    The voice of the two demons ovepped.


    "MUST NOT EXIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIST!!!"


    ***


    "Wh-What? Kang-Woo and Mr. Balrog entered a Gate?" said Han Seol-Ah anxiously as she grabbed Lilith''s hand in pallor.


    "The king is with Balrog, so there''s nothing you need to worry about. Besides, the king has regained much of his power."


    "But..."


    Seol-Ah lowered her head with a dark expression. She recalled the sight of the unconscious Kang-Woo after being attacked by Akart''s subordinate. She fell into thought for a while and then pushed back her chair as she stood up.


    "I''m getting too worried, unnie. Please tell me where the Gate that Kang-Woo entered is."


    Seol-Ah clenched her fist, her eyes filled with determination.

 Side Story Chapter 68 - Den of the Night Demons (5)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 68 - Den of the Night Demons (5)</h4>


    "AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!! I REFUSE TO ACCEPT IT¡ª!!"


    "I''M SO FUCKING ANGRY¡ª!!!"


    Oh Kang-Woo and Balrog charged at the Subi in a blind rage; for different reasons but their goals were the same. Fuel was added to the raging mes of fury setting their souls aze.


    "Wh-What''s up with them?"


    "Where did they evene from...?!"


    The Subi stepped backward as they stared at Kang-Woo and Balrog, charging at them while foaming at the mouth and tongues out. The thing that flustered them the most was Balrog, who returned to his true form after taking off his pendant.


    "A demon...?" That human was a demon?!"


    "Ngh! Be careful, unnie! He looks dangerous!"


    "GRAAAAAAAAHHH!!" Balrog bellowed.


    His swelling red muscles and five-meter stature made him the embodiment of a killing machine.


    "Hoho. Don''t worry." A purple-haired Subus, slightly taller than the other Subi, stepped forward and sucked her finger erotically as she smiled. "However strong the demon... no man can resist our charms ?"


    The Subus pped her wings as she exuded pink mist that stimted male desire. She elegantly walked toward Balrog as she lifted her clothes, which were but a ck leather string.


    "Now ? why don''t you embrace me with those magnificent musc¡ª KYAAAAAAHH!!"


    "HOW DARE AN UGLY BITCH LIKE YOU TRY TO SEDUCE THE GREAT BALROG?!"


    <i>Bash¡ª!</i>


    Balrog did not stop his charge and drop kicked the Subus with all his might, caving in the Subus''s stomach.


    "Kurgh¡ª!"


    The purple-haired Subus copsed as she coughed up ck blood.


    "KYAAAAAAAAAHHH!"


    "U-Unnie?!"


    "H-How could you?!"


    The Subi screamed in shock.


    They red at Balrog and shouted, "An ugly bitch?! How dare you spout such nder to unnie''s face?!"


    "Hah! You have no right to call yourselves Subi! You should at least be on par with my woman!"


    "Hmph! How beautiful could she possibly be?" the Subi asked as they snorted.


    "Kehehehe! I will show you if you are so curious!" shouted Balrog as he took out a picture from his pocket.


    The picture, which was printer paper size, was of Kurosaki Yurie''s purple tentacle monster form.


    "Urpp!"


    "Wh-What in the world is that monster?!"


    The Subi covered their mouths to stop themselves from vomiting.


    "Did you say... monster?" Balrog gritted his teeth, not having expected such a response from them. "HOW DARE YOU CALL THIS PERFECT WOMAN A MONSTER¡ª?!"


    <i>Boom!</i>


    The entire cave shook as Balrog stomped his foot. A destructive Demon Roar burst out from him.


    "Eek!"


    "H-He''s crazy!"


    The Subi distanced themselves from Kang-Woo in disgust. They naturally switched their attention to Kang-Woo.


    "He called that boy his king, didn''t he?"


    "Then as long as we seduce him..."


    "Fufu! He doesn''t look like a demon, so it should be a piece of cake!"


    They didn''t know why the crazy demon was calling the boy his king but their n of action was decided since they confirmed the demon was following the boy''smands.


    "The more innocent the boy, the easier it is to drown them in desire ?"


    "Fufu. Leave it to me."


    A well-endowed Subus pped her wings as she smiled seductively. She flew toward Kang-Woo and licked her lips as she pulled down the ck leather string covering her breasts.


    "Now, little boy~ why don''t you try touching my breasts?"


    "..."


    "Fufu. You don''t have to hold back. You''ve never seen breasts this big and beautiful, have you?"


    "Hah..." Kang-Woo chuckled as he stared at the Subus trying to seduce him with her breasts. "You think you can seduce me with mere breasts?"


    <i>''Pathetic. How dare they try to seduce the Demon King with mere average breasts?''</i>


    "Only my Darling''s breasts can satisfy me, dammit."


    Kang-Woo gritted his teeth and punched the Subus.


    "Kyaaahh!"


    The Subus tumbled across the ground with her breasts exposed.


    "Fuuu, haaa." Kang-Woo red at the hundreds of Subi coldly. All of them were indeed beautiful enough to live up to the reputation of Subi.


    <i>''But... They don''t evene close to my lovers!''</i>


    "BALROOOOOOOOOOOOOG!!"


    "JUST SAY THE WORDS, MY KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!"


    "KILL THEM AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL!!"


    "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!! AS YOU COMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!!"


    "KAHAHAHA!! YEAH! I REFUSE TO BE THE ONLY ONE WHO SUFFERS!!! HOPES AND DREAMS SHOULD NEVER EXIST IN HELL¡ª!"


    Kang-Woo and Balrog roared madly as they began to ughter the Subi one by one.


    "KYAAAAHHH!"


    "Wh-What''s with these crazy sons of bitches?!"


    "Our charms aren''t working against them!!"


    Subi drained the life force of men through powerful illusions and charms. If those did not work, then theirbat prowess drastically went down.


    <i>Bash!</i>


    <i>Rip!</i>


    "Arghh!! Th-They''re insane...!"


    "WHAT''S WRONG WITH THESE IMPOTENT BASTARDS¡ª?!"


    Not only that, but they were facing Kang-Woo and Balrog; mere Subi were no match for two beings who could easily tear apart the average god.


    "Kuh..."


    A purple-haired Subus, wearing a small crown unlike the others, bit her lip anxiously as she watched the number of Subi dwindle rapidly from the middle of the crowd.


    "M-My queen!"


    "At this rate...!"


    The Subi guarding her shouted anxiously. The Subus with the dreamlike purple hair was the Subus Queen.


    "..."


    The Subus Queen examined Balrog and Kang-Woo with shaking eyes.


    <i>''It''s impossible to take them on.''</i>


    The red demon and the boy were monsters.


    <i>''I''ve never seen monsters like them even in Pandemonium!''</i>


    Not even the bloodthirsty demons of their home were this powerful.


    <i>''There''s no way.'' </i>The Subus Queen gulped. <i>''Wh-What should we do?''</i>


    It was likely impossible to escape from those two monsters. The Subus Queen focused her attention on Kang-Woo.


    <i>''Our charms seem ineffective on that red muscle pig, but...''</i>


    The boy reacted somewhat to the exposed breasts. The Subus Queen gulped again.


    ''In that case...''


    There was only one way to live.


    "We surrender! We surrender!!"


    She flew toward Kang-Woo and bowed after taking off her clothes.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo, who had been ughtering Subi with his sword, froze.


    "F-Forgive us!"


    "We apologize for failing to recognize someone of exalted personage!"


    Once the Subus Queen surrendered, the other Subi also took off their clothes and bowed.


    "The hell?"


    Kang-Woo stopped swinging his sword after being shown a strip show out of nowhere. Balrog also lowered his fists once Kang-Woo stopped attacking.


    "We will do everything you ask!"


    "Please spare us!"


    Taking advantage of Kang-Woo stopping his attack, the Subi began clinging to him.


    "H-Huh?" Kang-Woo stuttered as he stepped back flusteredly.


    He was uninterested in women other than his Darling and his other two lovers but he couldn''t help but be flustered by hundreds of bare naked Subi clinging to him.


    "What do you think you''re¡ª"


    "We will serve you as our master if you spare us!"


    "We will be your ves for the sole purpose of satisfying your desires!"


    The Subi became even more assertive after seeing their attempts were effective. Not only were they bare naked, but they were also posing in various erotic ways.


    <i>''Holy shit!''</i> Kang-Woo shouted in his head.


    He could feel his desires welling up from inside him as he witnessed the extraordinary sight. He was the Demon King but he was also a healthy man; he couldn''t stay unfazed when shown such a sight.


    "Fuuu, haaa."


    Kang-Woo closed his eyes and took deep breaths.


    <i>''I won''t fall for them.''</i>


    His eyes full of passion slowly cooled down. The Subi were extraordinarily charming but he had not one but three women to whom he had pledged his evesting love.


    <i>''I won''t give them any of my attention. I have my Darling, Lilith, and Yeon-Joo.''</i>


    Kang-Woo was already having trouble satisfying three women. ves aside, he physically couldn''t satisfy anyone else when he was already being drained daily.


    <i>''But...''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone as he said, "In that case, let me ask you a few questions."


    He had no reason to fall for their charms but it was important to get useful information out of them.


    "O-Oh!"


    "Ask us anything!"


    "Fufu. What would you like to know? About what our moans sound like in bed?"


    "No, dammit."


    Kang-Woo frowned. He stomped his foot and shook away the Subi clinging to him.


    "Ahng! I see you like to be rough..."


    "Shut the hell up, dammit. Before I tear all of you to shreds."


    "..."


    "My question is, where did youe from?"


    "Pardon...?"


    Kang-Woo red at the Subus Queen and asked, "Where the hell did you crawl out of to start devouring people?"


    "We''re from Pandemonium."


    "Pandemonium...?"


    "Yes. I''m sure you''ve heard about it if you''re also climbing the <i>Tower</i>, haven''t you?"


    The Subus Queen seemed to believe Kang-Woo and Balrog were residents of their world.


    "Earth... oh, fuck. I guess that ce is Earth too. Alright, then. How did you end up in this Gate?"


    "Gate...?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "..."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue.


    <i>''I guess they don''t know what Gates are.''</i>


    If that was the case, it meant the Subi did not willinglye to upy one of the Gates of this Earth.


    <i>''Shit.''</i>


    The situation was worse than Kang-Woo expected. It was different from the situation with the Parasites and the Gctic Federation, who had intentionally crossed the Gate to invade Earth. As for the Subi, forget invading Earth, they were not even aware of the Gate.


    <i>''Which means the invasion of our world by the world of these Subi and damn apostles has progressed much further than I expected.''</i>


    The two worlds had been linked through the Gates despite the people of the other world having no intention of invading Kang-Woo''s world.


    "Fuck," Kang-Woo cursed as he snapped his fingers.


    A pile of rocks on the ground turned into a chair of the perfect size for him.


    <i>''Looks like this is gonna take a while.''</i>


    There was no need to rush, so it was best to get as much information from the Subi as possible.


    Kang-Woo looked down at the bowing naked Subi and said, "Right then. First, tell me everything you know about this Pandemonium."

 Side Story Chapter 69 - Den of the Night Demons (6)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 69 - Den of the Night Demons (6)</h4>


    "Is this the Gate unnie was talking about?"


    <i>Flutter.</i>


    A gorgeous woman with dark purple hairnded on the roof of a building as she pped her twelve ck wings.


    <i>Jiggle.</i>


    Two giant hills shook despite hernding without even a sound.


    "Kang-Woo..."


    Han Seol-Ah looked down at the gate as she bit her lip anxiously. Lilith had said there was nothing to worry about but it was not enough to make her uneasiness disappear.


    <i>''Am I being too obsessive?''</i>


    She knew her desire to monopolize Kang-Woo was abnormally strong but she couldn''t hold it back despite knowing that. She felt like she was going insane just from the thought of Oh Kang-Woo being in possible danger.


    "I should never have gone shopping...!"


    Seol-Ah did not expect Kang-Woo to enter a Gate out of nowhere as she went shopping to buy daring clothes to surprise him.


    "Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo."


    She exhaled heatedly and bit her lip. She wanted to embrace him with all her might and feel his warmth.


    "I''m sure nothing''s wrong. Yes. I know how strong he is. I''m sure he''s fine. Yes. No..." She gritted her teeth and persuaded herself, "He has to be fine."


    Seol-Ah''s lifeless eyes focused on the Gate. She knew there was nothing to worry about like Lilith mentioned. Kang-Woo was not weak anymore; his powers had yet to return fully but he was still one of the top five strongest on Earth. Not only that, he was with Balrog. Barely anything could endanger them as long as they were together.


    "..."


    However, Seol-Ah recalled Kang-Woo copsing at the swimming pool whenever she closed her eyes; the sight of him groaning in pain while unconscious was embedded in her head. The despairing memory was so painful she felt like she was being burned alive just thinking about it.


    "Haaa, haaa."


    Her breathing grewbored and her lips dried up just from recalling the memory.


    <i>Crackle! Crackle!</i>


    ck lightning sparked between Seol-Ah''s twelve ck wings. She slowly walked toward the small Gate entrance not even three meters tall.


    <i>Ba-dump, ba-dump.</i>


    Her heart felt like it was about to explode just from the fact that she could reunite with Kang-Woo soon. Her suffocating uneasiness disappeared before she had realized it and was reced with ecstasy.


    She wanted to meet him this instant. She wanted to gently embrace, kiss him passionately, and whisper sweet love into his ear.


    Now. Right now. As soon as possible. Now. Now. Now. Now. Now. Now. Now. Now.


    Ican''twaitmuchlongerI''mgoinginsaneIwanttoseeyouIwanttohugyouIwanttokissyouIloveyouKang-WooIloveyousomuchIloveyoutodeathIwillkillmyselfifyoudisappearmyheadwillexplodeIwanttokilleveryoneIwanttotearthemapartwhereareyouKang-WooKang-WooKang-WooKang-WooKang-Woo?


    "Wait just a little longer, Kang-Woo. I''ming. Your one and only Darling ising."


    Seol-Ah giggled as she entered the Gate.


    ***


    "So, what you''re saying is..." Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. "This ce has nothing to do with the Nine Hells?"


    "Nine Hells...?"


    "Wh-What is that?"


    "Don''t beat around the bush and answer the damn question."


    "W-We''re sorry!"


    Kang-Woo sighed. Pandemonium, the other Hell of the outer world, had nothing to do with the Nine Hells other than that demons also lived there.


    <i>''From what these Subi have told me, the demons there seem to be stronger than the ones in the Nine Hells.''</i>


    It was hard to make an exactparison since Kang-Woo had not seen them with his own eyes but from their stories, the demons of the Nine Hells sounded like errand boys for the school bullies who were the demons of Pandemonium.


    <i>''It''s hurting my pride a bit.''</i>


    Kang-Woo felt highly unpleasant from hearing that the Hell he had struggled to survive for ten millennia was nothingpared to a different Hell.


    "It''s hard to believe, seeing how weak you guys are. Are you sure they''re strong?" Kang-Woo asked the Subi.


    "W-We''re super weak when ites to physical fighting."


    "Th-The demons of Pandemonium are extremely powerful!"


    "They''reying low because they can''t manifest into the physical realm, but once they do, not even the apostles on the Tower''s top floor will be a match for them!"


    "And how strong are theypared to me?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Ah..."


    "W-Well..."


    The Subi kept silent. Although the demons of Pandemonium were powerful, they were no match for the boy in front of them.


    "Well, let''s leave that aside for now."


    Kang-Woo smirked and turned around. It was pointless topare himself to regr demons in the first ce. The demons of Pandemonium might be strong enough to obliterate the demons of the Nine Hells, but they were nothing but prey to Kang-Woo.


    "So those oh-so-great demons of Pandemonium can''t manifest into the physical realm at the moment, right?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Yes, but... the situation has changed as of recently."


    "It has?"


    <i>''The hell does that mean?''</i>


    "There used to be a powerful barrier that blocked manifestation into the physical realm, but... it has thinned significantly as ofte. That is why we created this space to hunt men."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed.


    <i>''Why does this sound familiar...?''</i>


    It was simr to when the separation between Earth and the Nine Hells thinned after the Law of Titans was damaged.


    <i>''Does it have to do with our world?''</i>


    Kang-Woo was not sure. The Law of Titans was damaged for the Triad, not the outer world that Kang-Woo didn''t even know the name of.


    "So, the demons have manifested and are causing chaos?"


    "N-No. Well, a few of them are, of course, but... most of them have likely manifested for other reasons."


    "Other reasons?"


    "Yes. They are likely nning to discover powerful relics to grow their strength."


    The bickering apostles had mentioned something about a relic as well.


    "What''s a relic?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Pardon...?"


    "You don''t know what a relic is?"


    The Subi stared at Kang-Woo in disbelief.


    Kang-Woo frowned slightly. "What did I say earlier?"


    "Ah...! W-We apologize! We''ll only answer what we''re asked!"


    "Good. So, what''s a relic?"


    "They are... armaments with mystical powers, created in the Tower. Theye in different shapes and forms, and some are entirely formless."


    <i>''Something like an artifact, maybe? No, not really, since some of them are formless.''</i>


    The Subi mentioned the Tower once again.


    "What''s this <i>Tower </i>thing that you keep talking about?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "..."


    The Subi remained silent as they stared at Kang-Woo, their eyes trembling in shock. They seemed to have figured out that Kang-Woo was from a different world than them.


    "Master, are you¡ª"


    "What did I say?"


    "N-Never mind."


    Kang-Woo waited for an answer as he red at the naked Subi.


    "We don''t know much about the Tower of Creation or who created it and for what purpose. All we know is that humans and demons alike try to climb it because they can acquire more powerful relics and wealth the higher you climb."


    "How many floors are there?"


    "N-No one knows how many floors the Tower has... the division of upper and lower floors is just based on how many floors have been cleared thus far."


    "How many floors have been cleared?"


    "We''re not sure... W-We don''t know much about the Tower! We swear!"


    "Tsk," Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and nodded.


    He could tell the Subi were not lying from their expressions filled with terror.


    <i>''Tower of Creation, huh?'' </i>Kang-Woo sighed deeply, his head hurting. <i>''It''s just one fucking thing after another.''</i>


    Akart, Pandemonium, and now the Tower of Creation.


    <i>''I thought this was a side story. You said it would only be about fifty chapters long, dammit.''</i>


    "Alright, fine. That''s enough for now."


    "W-Were we of help?" the Subi asked.


    "Yeah."


    Kang-Woo would be able to effectively use the information about the Tower of Creation and that the outer world was slowly encroaching on Earth.


    "Hehe! We''re d to have been of help to you, Master!"


    <i>''Since when did I be your master?''</i>


    "Do you have any other orders for us? We are willing to do anything for you, Master!"


    "You are free to do whatever you like to us!"


    "We will satisfy all of your desires!"


    After tasting the hope of survival, the Subi clung to Kang-Woo with sparkling eyes. Kang-Woo''s eyes burned passionately as naked women stuck to him but he quickly regained hisposure.


    "Get the fuck off me."


    "Eek!"


    "Ngh...!"


    The Subi flinched and stepped back once Kang-Woo red at them fiercely.


    Balrog stepped forward and remarked, "We got everything we need from them. I believe killing them is for the best."


    "Aaaahh!"


    "Please... Please spare us!"


    The Subi freaked out and bowed with their heads on the ground again.


    "Wait a second," Kang-Woo said as he stopped Balrog.


    <i>''They might be useful.''</i>


    Since they had useful abilities, it wouldn''t be bad to use them as analysts. Kang-Woo remembered Lilithining about how there were too few people capable enough as analysts.


    <i>''And...''</i>


    Kang-Woo gulped as he stared at the Subi. Although he was faithful to his lovers, he couldn''t help but get adulterous emotions as a healthy man in front of over a hundred naked beautiful Subi.


    <i>''I have no intention ofying my hands on them, though.''</i>


    He would never dare to cheat on his precious lovers.


    <i>''But... it''s fine to look, isn''t it?''</i>


    Irresistible desire traveled down his back and throughout his body. He had no intention of doing anything indecent with the Subi but couldn''t help but think it was fine if it was only to stare at their attractive bodies as if they were made of every man''s hopes and dreams.


    <i>''Seriously, though. When am I ever gonna have another chance like this?''</i>


    Kang-Woo would never get another chance to freely stare at a hundred nude bombshell beauties even if he were to live another ten millennia.


    "Th-Then are we being spared?"


    "We''ll do anything as long as you let us live!"


    The Subi''s desperate pleas echoed in Kang-Woo''s ear.


    He coughed and answered as calmly as possible, "Right, then. First, take care of those guys on the ground."


    The apostles who Kang-Woo beat senselessly were still groaning in the cave. They had heard the conversation between Kang-Woo and the Subi. As long as their world continued to encroach on Earth, the apostles needed to be eliminated to eliminate unexpected variables.


    "By dispose, you mean..."


    "Kill them. It''s what you lured them here to do, isn''t it?"


    The Subi had made a den here to suck the life force out of men; that was the only kind of disposal Kang-Woo could have meant.


    <i>''Yeah, it can''t be helped.''</i>


    Kang-Woo gulped as he imagined the mass-devouring session of the Subi. They needed to be full of energy since he was nning to use them as analysts, and he also needed to eliminate the apostles; it was two birds in one stone. He could swear on his life that he had no other intentions.


    "Understood!"


    "Fufu, we just have to suck the life force out of them, right?"


    The Subi smiled erotically and stood up. The feast of the night demons began.


    "ARRRRGHHHH! LET ME GO! LET ME GOOOO!"


    "H-HELP ME!!"


    "Hehe. It won''t hurt if you stop moving, you know?"


    "Stay still~"


    The Subi hummed as they drained the apostles'' life force.


    "Haha..."


    Subi draining the life force of dozens of men was a rare sight.


    <i>''This...'' </i>Kang-Woo clenched his fists as he forced the corners of his mouth down with all his might. <i>''Isn''t bad! No! To be honest, it''s great!''</i>


    He would never see a sight as great as this again.


    "Hehehe."


    Kang-Woo suppressed hisughter as he watched the Subi devouring their prey. Just then, he heard a familiar voice.


    "Kang-Woo...?"


    "Huh...?"


    He did not even have the time toprehend the situation. He turned toward the voice that he should not be hearing. There, he saw... a ck-winged ¡¾angel¡¿.


    "DARLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!" There was no time to think. Kang-Woo let his instincts take over. "Hurgh! Darling¡ª!"


    He twisted and turned to make his clothes, which had been disheveled during the battle, into even worse shape. He hugged Seol-Ah and looked up at her with eyes filled with fear.


    "What... what happened?" Seol-Ah asked.


    "Sniff! Th-Those evil Subi tried to...!" Kang-Woo bit his lip and shouted, "They tried to molest me!!!"


    "..."


    Seol-Ah''s lifeless eyes focused on the Subi.


    "Ohh." The stunning ck-winged angel said emotionlessly, "I see."

 Side Story Chapter 70 - Den of the Night Demons (7)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 70 - Den of the Night Demons (7)</h4>


    "Wh-What?!"


    "What are you talking about?!!"


    The Subi shouted in confusion. They had tried to molest Oh Kang-Woo but none seeded.


    "Wh-Who is that woman?"


    The Subi gulped as they stared at Han Seol-Ah, who was staring at them with lifeless eyes, and the twelve ck wings on her back.


    "Ngh..."


    "S-Something is..."


    Chills ran down their spine. Their teeth cked just from staring into the woman''s nk eyes. A nauseating fear engulfed them each time the twelve ck wings pped. They could instinctively tell something was wrong.


    "U-Umm... M-Master?"


    "We never m-molested you! We didn''t even touch a hair on your body, Master!!!"


    The Subi stared at Kang-Woo desperately.


    "Master...?" Seol-Ah, who was patting Kang-Woo''s head in her embrace, said calmly, "Why are you calling Kang-Woo your master?"


    "Umm..."


    "W-Well..."


    The Subi nced at one another. The fear spreading throughout them died down slightly after hearing the woman''s gentle voice, unlike her terrifying eyes. They realized it was possible to get through to her.


    "We have decided to serve Sir Kang-Woo as our master because we admire his personality!"


    "We pledge ourselves to him!!"


    "Umm... you are his wife, correct? You may also order us to your liking, ma''am!"


    The Subi approached Seol-Ah with a smile to prove they were innocent.


    "Why... are you calling Kang-Woo your master?"


    "Pardon?"


    "Like we said, we admire his personality¡ª"


    "Why?"


    <i>Creak.</i>


    Seol-Ah tilted her head like the head of a wooden doll being turned.


    "Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?"


    "H-Huh?"


    "WhyareyoucallingKang-WooyourmasterWhyareyoucallingKang-WooyourmasterWhyareyoucallingKang-WooyourmasterWhyareyoucallingKang-Wooyourmaster?"


    "Eek!"


    "Wh-What''s wrong with her?"


    The Subi stepped back in pallor but Seol-Ah stepped forward in response.


    "Hm? Please, tell me. Why did Kang-Woo... my Kang-Woo... my only Kang-Woo... be your master?"


    "H-He''s not!"


    "He''s not our master!! We just called him that because we wanted to live!!"


    "Why are you... not answering me?"


    <i>Flutter.</i>


    The ck feathers of Seol-Ah''s wings fell like snowkes as she pped them.


    "Th-This bitch is crazy!"


    "She''s not right in the head!!"


    The Subi flew into the air in shock. Seol-Ah''s nk eyes followed them.


    She asked as if she genuinely couldn''t understand, "How weird. Why is no one answering me when I''ve been asking the same question so many times?"


    "W-We did answer!!"


    "We just called that brat master because we didn''t want to die!!"


    "Again." Seol-Ah stomped her foot on the ground. She raised her right hand and anxiously bit her nails. "No one''s answering me. Why aren''t they answering me? Hm? I''ve been asking the same question over and over and over and over and over and over again."


    "Sh-She''s seriously insane!!"


    <i>Crack, crack.</i>


    Blood poured from Seol-Ah''s nails.


    "I''m not asking much, am I? I just want to know why you called Kang-Woo your master. Isn''t it a simple question to answer? So... WHY AREN''T YOU ANSWERING MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


    <i>Rumble¡ª!</i>


    The entire cave shook. Darkness poured out of the twelve wings, creating a small vortex. ck feathers flew through the air as if dancing.


    "Damn bitch!"


    One of the Subi in the air charged at her to attack with her sharp nails. Seol-Ah easily grabbed the Subus'' hand.


    "Ngh!"


    The Subus tried to get away from Seol-Ah''s grasp with all her might but it was impossible since, in terms of power, Seol-Ah had surpassed Seraph.


    "D-Dammit! Let go of me!!" the Subus shouted.


    Seol-Ah stared at the Subus with nk eyes. She strongly pped her wings and sprayed ck powder on the Subus'' hand that Seol-Ah was grabbing.


    "H-Huh? Wh-What the hell is this?!"


    <i>Tsssssss¡ª!</i>


    The sound of hot oil on skin rang out as the Subus'' hand rotted ck. The Subus screamed as she saw her hand decaying rapidly.


    "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! H-HELP ME!!! WHAT THE HELL IS THIIIIIIIIIIIS?!"


    It was a horrifying sight to see one''s body decaying. The Subus could not feel pain likely because her nerves had also decayed but the fear of her body decaying took over her mind.


    "Ahhh." Seol-Ah smiled as she listened to the Subus'' screams. "You finally answered me."


    Seol-Ah giggled as she tightened her grip. The Subus'' decayed arm broke as if breaking a small tree branch. The Subus'' entire body decayed soon after as she copsed. Seol-Ah tramped on the decayed Subus'' corpse.


    "Fufu." She smiled as she scanned the terrified Subi. "Right then, it''s time for you all to answer as well."


    "KYAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"


    "NOOOOOOOOOO!!"


    "Hey!! K-Kang-Woo, right?! Stop her, please¡ª!!"


    The sight was straight out of a horror film. The Subi screamed as they scattered to run away from Seol-Ah, who flew into the air to chase after them.


    "Now," Seol-Ah remarked with a smile. "Please answer me."


    She pped her wings aggressively, sending her ck feathers flying like a snowstorm.


    <i>Tsssssssss¡ª!</i>


    "KYAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! M-MY LEEEEEEEEG!!"


    "M-MY WINGS!!"


    The areas that were touched by the ck feathers decayed ck. Arms, legs, wings, heads... areas touched by the feathers turned into ck mounds of flesh and fell to the ground. Thousands of feathers danced in the air every time Seol-Ah pped her wings. The ground was filled with nothing but death.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    "S-Save..."


    <i>Thud, thump.</i>


    The Subi fell to the ground one after another. The beautiful predators who brutally drained men of their life force met their ends as dried up as their prey.


    <i>''Holy shit, Darling as strong as fuck.''</i>


    Kang-Woo witnessed the inhumane massacre urring in the cave with his mouth agape. He knew Seol-Ah''s magic qualities turned into that of powerful curse magic after falling from grace, but he couldn''t help but be shocked after witnessing the extent of her power.


    <i>''That aside...''</i>


    Kang-Woo looked up at Seol-Ah, who was bursting intoughter each time she brutally murdered a Subus.


    <i>''This is seriously bad.''</i>


    He did not want to badmouth his precious Darling but he understood why the Subi were screaming in terror; that was how insane Seol-Ah was acting. She exuded so much madness that even Kang-Woo was getting scared of her.


    <i>''She lost control again.''</i>


    No matter how furious she was after hearing Kang-Woo was almost molested, this was crossing the line. It seemed like her asional loss of control happened to ovep with the situation here.


    "Darling."


    Kang-Woo was the only one who could stop her when she was in this state. He flew up to her using the Authority of the Sky and hugged her from behind.


    "Kang-Woo...?"


    Light gleamed from her lifeless eyes.


    "Calm down, Darling. You''re out of control right now."


    "No... These demons tried to molest you. They deserve more than this," Seol-Ah answered quietly as her eyes glinted with madness. "I will... kill everyst one of them."


    Kang-Woo gulped anxiously. Most of the Subi had already died. He couldn''t care less about whether the Subi were massacred or not but he needed to calm Seol-Ah down.


    "They tried, but I didn''t let them."


    "But your clothes were disheveled..."


    "They just ended up like this as I fought them."


    "Oh." The light slowly returned to Seol-Ah''s lifeless eyes. "Th-Then I guess you weren''t molested."


    "Of course not."


    "Haaa. After hearing that they molested you, I..."


    Seol-Ah wiped her tears as she sighed in relief.


    <i>''I guess she thought I was molested for real.''</i>


    If that was the case, Kang-Woo could understand how crazy she got. He would have done the same if Seol-Ah were vited by a random demon.


    <i>''Thinking of it that way, maybe Darling is calmer than me.''</i>


    If it were him, he might have destroyed the entire world that the demon inhabited out of fury. He understood Seol-Ah''s actions after thinking about it in her shoes.


    "There''s no way I would do it with any other woman than you, would I?"


    "What about Lilith unnie and Yeo-Joo...?"


    "I mean, they''re..."


    "Hoho. I''m joking. Haaa. Really... my mind went nk when I heard you were molested." Seol-Ah shed tears of relief after calming down a little. She gently caressed Kang-Woo''s cheek and asked in worry, "Are you sure... you''re okay?"


    "I''m sure."


    "That''s... a relief." Seol-Ah embraced Kang-Woo. "From now on... don''t you dare go into a Gate without telling me. Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"


    "Sorry. I''m really sorry."


    Whatever excuse he had, he was in the wrong for leaving without a word. After all, he had copsed not long ago.


    "Are you sure you''re repenting?" Seol-Ah asked.


    "Of course. I''ll tell you everything before I go from now on."


    "Haaa. Kang-Woo..." Seol-Ah kissed Kang-Woo in tears. "Ah! B-But I won''t forgive you right away!"


    She pped her hands together, having thought of something as they were kissing.


    "Fufu. You should naturally be punished if you did something wrong, wouldn''t you say?"


    "H-Huh?"


    <i>''What kind of punishment?''</i>


    "Kang-Woo." Seol-Ah embraced Kang-Woo tightly with both arms to keep him from escaping and whispered in his ear, "Which one do you like more, cats or dogs?"


    "..."


    <i>''Why are you asking something like that...?''</i>


    "C-Cats...?"


    "My! I knew it!! I thought you''d look better as a cat too~"


    <i>''We''re just talking about animals, right? Right? Am I right?''</i>


    "Hehe. Kang-Woo with cat ears..."


    "No, Darling. Please¡ª"


    "Please add a ¨Cnya at the end of your sentences, please."


    <i>''I don''t wa¨Cnya.''</i>

 Side Story Chapter 71 - Home Alone (1)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 71 - Home Alone (1)</h4>


    <i>Wham!</i>


    A desk shook after a fist was mmed down on it.


    "P-Pandemonium?!"


    Lilith, who heard everything about what happened in the Den of the Night Demons after Oh Kang-Woo came out of the Gate, sprang up from her seat in shock.


    "Oh, do you know something about it?" asked Kang-Woo with shining eyes.


    "No, not that." Lilith ced her hand on her forehead and shook her head as she mumbled, "A world with Subi with no tentacles... I can''t believe such a world exists."


    <i>''Why is that what you''re shocked by?''</i>


    "In any case, I brought the Subi survivors with me so could you manage them, Lilith?"


    The Subi pledged their allegiance to Han Seol-Ah in terror after just barely managing to survive the storm of curses. They had even used a strange magic they called Contract of Subordination so they could never defy her.


    Seol-Ah believed the Subi couldn''t be left alive since they had tried to molest Kang-Woo but after much convincing from him, twenty Subi managed to be spared. One of them was the Subus Queen with mystical purple hair.


    "Mm. I would rather not have such ugly beings as my subordinates, but... I have no choice if it is your order, my king."


    "They''re fairly capable so I''m sure they''ll be of use to you."


    Lilith nodded in satisfaction. "Fufu. I was short on personnel, so this is great news."


    "And they should know more about the Tower, so focus on gathering more information about that."


    "Tower of Creation, was it? It''s just one thing after another, isn''t it?"


    "I''ll say." Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and nodded.


    Lilith tilted her head in confusion. "Hm? You don''t seem all that displeased about it, my king."


    "Was it that obvious?"


    "Fufu. I''ve been with you for centuries already. I''ve reached a point where I can tell exactly what you''re thinking from just a nce."


    <i>''Then why do you keep trying with the tentacles?''</i>


    He erased the thought from his head and continued, "To be honest with you, I''m a bit happy about it."


    "Hoho. Is it perhaps because of those Subi?" Lilith asked.


    "Of course not," Kang-Woo smirked and shook his head. He looked down at his hand and continued, "My reconstruction progressed, albeit a minuscule amount."


    "Oh? Does that mean the Demonic Sea was stimted?"


    "Yeah."


    "Were the Subi that strong?"


    "No, they''re not the reason."


    The Subi were pathetically weak in terms ofbat prowess. Even a Ranker on Earth could easily defeat them.


    <i>''Though a male yer wouldn''t have been able to resist their charms.''</i>


    There was a different reason why the Demonic Sea was stimted.


    "I don''t think a threat to my life is the only factor that stimtes the Demonic Sea."


    "Then what else can?"


    "Powers I''ve never experienced before. I think the Demonic Sea reacts to powers not recorded in the Abyss."


    It was more or less confirmed during his training with Balrog. The Demonic Sea reacted more sensitively to powers it had not experienced before. In other words, devouring the powers of otherworldly beings was apletely new experience for the Demonic Sea.


    "In other words, that means the more otherworldly beings invade, the quicker the rate at which you regain your powers?" Lilith asked.


    "I wouldn''t say that."


    "...?"


    Kang-Woo smirked. "It won''t stop there."


    "Ah."


    Kang-Woo had be the Demonic Sea itself after fusing with it. If that were the case, he couldn''t think of the stimtion of the Demonic Sea as a process of him regaining his powers. His endless desires would take him even higher.


    <i>''Forward.''</i>


    Forward.


    Lilith giggled dispiritedly as she shook her head. "Hehe. How like you, my king."


    "It''s how I''ve survived until now, after all."


    "Yes, and that very person is whom I''ve devoted my life to. Okay, I will add information about the Tower of Creation into my next report."


    "Send it to our sister-inw as well."


    "Fufu. Of course." Lilith smiled faintly and nodded. "That aside..." Her gaze slowly moved to focus on someone. "How long are you going to stay like that for, Seol-Ah?"


    Seol-Ah was hugging Kang-Woo from behind like a turtle shell. She had been leaving hickeys on Kang-Woo''s neck and ear in silence while Kang-Woo and Lilith were talking. She was acting like Gollum with the One Ring.


    "<i>Nom, nom.</i>" Seol-Ah ticklishly bit Kang-Woo''s neck and slowly looked up. "Until Kang-Woo keeps his promise."


    "What promise?" Lilith asked.


    "Cat ears... and tail..."


    "...?"


    "Haaa," Seol-Ah sighed in disappointment.


    Kang-Woo strongly refused to wear the cat ears and tail that she had bought. Seol-Ah was disappointed but she couldn''t force Kang-Woo to do anything he didn''t like since Kang-Woo''s happiness was like her Alpha and Omega. She shoved her disappointment aside and stood up after letting Kang-Woo go.


    "I''m sorry for clinging to you ufortably, Kang-Woo. I''ve calmed down."


    Seol-Ah asionally quelled her surging obsessiveness by hugging Kang-Woo. It usually did notst long but it was especially long this time because she thought Kang-Woo was molested by the Subi.


    "Hehe. There''s no way I would ever find you ufortable, Darling."


    He despised the idea of wearing cat ears and tail, but he would never find it ufortable to be held by a woman he loved.


    "Oh, then let''s stay like that for a bit longer," Seol-Ah expressed.


    "But enough is enough. Didn''t you say you had something to show me?"


    "Oh, right." Seol-Ah pped her hands together. "Please wait just a¡ª Oh, let me get Yeon-Joo as well."


    "What did you want to show me?"


    "Hehe. You know we went shopping for clothes, right?"


    "Yeah."


    Kang-Woo did not mention to the women that he was investigating a Gate because of that reason; it was extremely rare for Seol-Ah, who normally refused to be apart from Kang-Woo, to go shopping with the other girls.


    <i>''Though I was almost fucked because I didn''t tell her.''</i>


    He still got chills when he recalled Seol-Ah full of madness in the Den of the Night Demons.


    "I wanted to show you the clothes we bought," Seol-Ah said.


    "Whoa. Really?"


    Kang-Wo''s eyes shone. Seol-Ah was so frugal that she owned very few clothes; not only did she cycle between three to four outfits for each season but they were all cheap clothes with nd designs.


    <i>''But Darling looks amazing in anything!''</i>


    Seol-Ah''s looks made anything she wore like brand-name clothes. Kang-Woo surged with excitement from hearing that she had bought new clothes.


    "Show me right now!" Kang-Woo shouted.


    "Fufu. Just a moment, please."


    Seol-Ah smiled and left the room. In the living room were Cha Yeon-Joo and Echidna gaming away.


    "Yeon-Joo~ where did you put the clothes we bought?"


    "Those? They''re in the dressing room... W-Wait! You''re not gonna wear them, are you?!"


    "Of course I am. That''s what we bought them for, isn''t it?" said Seol-Ah, her eyes wide as if she didn''t know what Yeon-Joo was talking about.


    Yeon-Joo''s cheeks reddened. "I mean, th-that''s true, b-but I need some time to prepare myself."


    "Fufu. You change into them too, Yeon-Joo."


    "Hey! W-Wait! Stop dragging me!"


    Seol-Ah dragged Yeon-Joo into the dressing room.


    "Hm! Are we wearing the clothes we boughtst time?"


    Echidna also ran into the dressing room as she snorted.


    <i>ck.</i>


    The room door opened after some time.


    "Hehe. What do you think, Kang-Woo? Does it look good on me?"


    Seol-Ah was wearing knee socks that reached her thighs, ck high heels, a very short ck skirt, and a white dress shirt. Kang-Woo focused on the garter belt that traveled up her pale thighs. Seol-Ah''s officedy outfit took Kang-Woo''s breath away.


    "!!!!!!"


    Kang-Woo cheered but no sound came out of his mouth. His eyes shook uncontrobly. The clothes Seol-Ah usually wore covered her curves because she only wore baggy clothes to fit her gigantic breasts, but these tight clothes entuated her curves to the max.


    "Does it... look bad on me?" asked Seol-Ah hesitantly because Kang-Woo was simply standing nkly in silence. "Oh."


    As Seol-Ah was shaking anxiously, she then noticed something on Kang-Woo''s lower body. The anxiety in her eyes disappeared and she smiled widely.


    "Hehe. It seems you like it ?"


    "D-DARLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!"


    Kang-Woo let his bursting emotions loose and hugged Seol-Ah tightly.


    <i>Snap!</i>


    "Kyaah!"


    The buttons of her shirt barely holding her chest at bay burst out and hit Kang-Woo''s cheek.


    "<i>Gasp</i>."


    <i>''Dear Lord.''</i>


    "Th-The shirt is ruined," Seol-Ah remarked.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo was lost for words by the destructive capabilities of Seol-Ah''s breasts.


    "For fuck''s sake... he''s clinging only to Seol-Ah again."


    Just then, he heard Yeon-Joo''s mumbles. He turned around with shining eyes.


    "WHOOOOOAAAAAAA!!!"


    Yeon-Joo was wearing tall boots that went beyond her knees, tight leather pants, and an off-shoulder blouse. Kang-Woo felt like he was going insane from seeing Yeon-Joo, who undoubtedly had the most beautiful legs out of his lovers, wearing such tight pants.


    "YOU''RE SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL, YEON-JOO!!"


    "Th-The fuck are you talking about?"


    "Hehe. Did you buy it so you can show off to your oppa?"


    "No fucking way!!" Yeon-Joo shouted and turned around but she couldn''t hide her smile. She whispered to herself, "Son of a bitch... he''s so happy. Hehe."


    <i>''I can hear you, Yeon-Joo.''</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction but then turned serious after enjoying their beauty as much as he liked.


    He remarked, "Those clothes suit you two really well, but don''t you dare wear them outside."


    The clothes looked so great on them that he could jump three meters into the air and do a 2,520-degree backflip.


    <i>''Which is exactly why I can''t show anyone else.''</i>


    He couldn''t live with other men witnessing his lovers in such alluring outfits.


    <i>''It''s only for me.''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s eyes zed passionately.


    "My, my! This is the first time I''ve seen Kang-Woo like this!"


    "Hehe. Do you like them that much?"


    Seol-Ah and Yeon-Joo smiled brightly as Kang-Woo acted possessively.


    "Hehe. Don''t worry. We didn''t buy them to wear outside in the first ce," Seol-Ah mentioned.


    "Then where?"


    <i>''Where else would you wear new clothes?''</i>


    "Fufu. Where else?" Seol-Ah whispered in his ear, "The bedroom ?"


    "I''m crying."


    <i>''I''m so fucking happy.''</i>


    "You fucking pervert," Yeon-Joo remarked.


    "You''ll wear it too, right, Yeon-Joo?"


    "A-Ahem. I mean... as long as you beg for it, I don''t see why not."


    "I''ll beg right now."


    Kang-Woo did a headstand without hesitation.


    "Pfft! The hell is that?"


    "Oh, this is called a <i>headstand bow</i>[1]."


    "Hehehehehe! You''re such a dumbass. Alright, fine. I''ll wear it, but not tonight."


    "Why not tonight?"


    <i>''You''re already wearing it!''</i>


    "I have to go to the guild in the evening. I told you something came up, didn''t I?"


    "Oh."


    He indeed remembered Yeon-Joo talking about it.


    "What about you, Darling?"


    "Oh... I-I''m sorry, Kang-Woo. I decided to visit my mother since it''s been a while. I''ll probably be spending the night there."


    "I''m crying!!"


    <i>''The tears won''t stop!''</i>


    1. I don''t think there''s an English name for it but it''s like a meme of bowing so low that you''re just doing a headstand. ?

 Side Story Chapter 72 - Home Alone (2)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 72 - Home Alone (2)</h4>


    "Hmm, what a shame. If I had tagged along, I could''ve seen the king''s reaction to me." Lilith softly sighed as she stared at Oh Kang-Woo, crying in disappointment. "If it were me, I would''ve surprised him with something even bolder."


    She seductively licked her lips as she examined Seol-Ah and Yeon-Joo''s outfits. They looked great butcked exposure. Although covering skin had its charms, it needed to be exposed to an extent.


    "Hehe. Go shopping with Darling and Yeon-Joo next time. I wanna see your outfit too, Lilith."


    "Hoho. Understood, my king." Lilith nodded as she giggled. "That aside, did you not buy anything, Echidna?"


    Unlike Cha Yeon-Joo and Han Seol-Ah, Echidna did not change into anything.


    Echidna snorted with her hands on her waist and shouted, "I made a custom order! One for me, Seol-Ah, Lilith, and Yeon-Joo!"


    "Oh? What did you order?"


    "Hehe. I''ll show you when it gets here! We can all wear them together and y with Kang-Woo!"


    "Hm?" Lilith expressed concern. "You know what the king said. You can join us once you''re older¡ª"


    "I''m not talking about mating!"


    "Oh, is that so?" Lilith tilted her head in wonder with her eyes widened. She had naturally imagined something naughty since it involved ying while wearing certain outfits. "Then what are we going to y?"


    "Hm hm! I''ll tell you that once the clothes get here too! I''m sure Kang-Woo will love it!"


    "Hmm~ I''m getting curious."


    "Be patient!"


    Lilith nodded and turned to Kang-Woo. "Alright then, my king. I should get going since I''d like to educate the Subi. I apologize for being unable to be with you in the evening."


    "Hm? You''re leaving too, Lilith?" asked Echidna as she tilted her head with a finger on her lips.


    "Yup. The king asked me to do something. Why don''t you keep the kingpany for today, Echidna?"


    "Mmm... I have to leave too."


    "Oh? Do you have ns?"


    "Myeback live is soon, so I have to practice!"


    Lilith pped her hands together and nodded. "Oh. Come to think of it, you mentioned you would be making aeback soon."


    "Huh?" Kang-Woo, who had been listening in depression, widened his eyes.


    A crucial fact popped up in his head.


    <i>''Wait a second.''</i>


    Yeon-Joo and Seol-Ah wouldn''t be home since they had business to take care of. On top of that, Lilith and Echidna were also gone.


    <i>''Wha... Could it be, I''m home alone today?''</i>


    Sparks of ecstasy flew throughout his body as if he had never been depressed.


    <i>''HELL YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!''</i>


    He was surging with pleasure.


    <i>''What in the world?!''</i>


    He had never once been home alone ever since he returned to Earth.


    <i>''I mean, I couldn''t be happier when we''re all together, but everyone needs time for themselves now and then!''</i>


    Kang-Woo had never spent time alone because Seol-Ah''s love was far too strong.


    "H-Hehehe," Kang-Wooughed in delight.


    He kept himself from cheering with all his might.


    <i>''I mean, I''ve never felt ufortable being with Darling.''</i>


    He could never feel ufortable being around a woman as kind and considerate as Seol-Ah. She kissed him every morning, made him meals, washed him, and let him touch her bountiful breasts anytime he liked.


    The same went for Yeon-Joo and Lilith. If he were ufortable around such loving women, he might as well be dead.


    <i>''But it''s not bad having just a day for myself!''</i>


    This was likely how a married man felt when his wife left to visit her parents. Although Kang-Woo''s life was far better than the vast majority of married men, it did not change the fact that some alone time was precious to him.


    "I guess it can''t be helped. I''ll be home alone," he said as he suppressed the rising corners of his mouth with all his might.


    "B-By yourself?"


    "My, that''s a first, isn''t it?"


    "You''re not gonna do weird shit just because you''re home by yourself, are you?"


    The three women expressed confusion due to the unprecedented situation.


    Kang-Woo teared up as he sent them off, saying, "Man, I''m so sad. My tears won''t stop from the thought of spending the night all by myself."


    <i>''I''m so hap¡ª I mean, I''m so fucking sad!!!''</i>


    "I didn''t expect you to be so sad... This won''t do. I''ll call my mother and say I''ll visit another time," Seol-Ah remarked.


    <i>''Huh?''</i>


    "No, no, no, no. Darling, you haven''t visited your mother in a long time. You need to visit her and buy her something delicious."


    "But..."


    "Don''t worry! I''m not a child. I can stay home by myself, no problem!"


    "I''m just worried... you''ll be lonely."


    "It''s just one day! You have ab~~~~~~~~~~solutely nothing to worry about, so go ahead and spend the night at your mother''s ce! You''d better! Got it?"


    <i>''I''m sad as fuck but I''m doing this for you, Darling! You know that, right?''</i>


    "Haaa. If you say so, then I will," Seol-Ah replied.


    "Kang-Woo, you son of a bitch. You''re acting a little suspicious. You''re not happy that we''re all out of the house, are you?"


    "Of course not! I can''t believe you''d use me of such a thing!!!"


    <i>''Can''t you see that my tears (of joy) aren''t stopping?!''</i>


    "I feel like I''d die just from being apart from my beloved wives for even a day!! Ahhh!! Can there be torture as bad as this in the world?! But¡ª!"


    Kang-Woo mmed his foot into the ground.


    "I think I should stay home by myself today! For me to realize how precious the time I spend with you all is!! For me to realize the unbelievable joy thates with being with you all!!!"


    "..."


    "..."


    The expressions of the four women were dazed by Kang-Woo''s soulful speech.


    "Yeah, well... Alright."


    "Fufufu. I never realized how much you value your time with us. I love you, my king."


    "Jeez... I mean, I also realized how precious your presence is only after you disappeared. Hehe. I''ll spend the day being a good daughter."


    Seol-Ah hugged Kang-Woo and kissed him, and so did Lilith and Yeon-Joo.


    "Hm! Kang-Woo! Me too!"


    "On the cheek for you, Echidna."


    Kang-Woo kissed Echidna on the cheek. She pouted because she was the only one who wasn''t kissed on the lips.


    She then shouted energetically, "Right then, Kang-Woo! Complete my MapleStory dailies for me while I''m gone!"


    "What''s that?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "It''s a game I''ve been yingtely!"


    "Why are you making me do it?"


    "I''ll see you all tomorrow."


    "Okay~"


    "This noona here is going out to make some dough, so watch over the house, damn freeloader."


    "Fufu. I''ll educate the Subi well~"


    "Hm! I''m gonna be out for a few days, so I''ll let you know once my live concert date is decided!"


    With that, the four women left.


    "..."


    Silence filled the house.


    "Wow."


    Kang-Woo couldn''t remember if the house had ever been this quiet since he bought it. The ce he had spent every day in felt unfamiliar for some reason.


    "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Kang-Woo cheered with his arms in the air.


    As he expected, there was no response.


    "Holy shit. This is fucking amazing." Kang-Woo snickered as he walked around the house as if he were lost. He then flopped on the couch and muttered, "But what do I do now?"


    <i>''Now that I''m alone for real, there''s not much to do.''</i>


    Kang-Woo was never one to have hobbies; he did not particrly watch much TV or y games. Even if he went outside, he had nothing to do.


    "Should I go see Si-Hun?"


    He tried calling Kim Si-Hun since they had not eaten together for a while but Si-Hun was not answering.


    "Shit, is he still working?" The matter he had heard about from Lilith seemed to have not ended yet. "Mm... Is there anything I can''t usually do?"


    Kang-Woo fell into thought as he scratched his head. He rolled on the couch as he thought about what he could be doing to spend the time. He would usually find such a thing boring but did not, likely because he was home alone.


    "Oh." Kang-Woo sprang up after remembering something. "Hehe. This is naturally at the top of the list of things I can''t usually do."


    Kang-Woo smirked and flung away the clothes he was wearing one by one.


    He relished in the freedom of being bare naked and yelled, "GAHAHAHAHA! EVERY DEMACIAN A KING!"


    Kang-Woo put his arms up in the air like a Proletariat who started a revolution and raced throughout the house.


    "FREEEEEEEEEDOM! ALWAYS WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINS!!"


    His body was flooded with endorphins. He would normally be captured by his Darling and dragged into the bedroom if he were to do such a thing, but not today! There was no one to stop him!!!


    "BWEHEHEHEHEHE!!!"


    Kang-Woo burst intoughter like a madman but it was deathly quiet around him; there was no one to bother him. The feeling ofmitting a taboo spread throughout his body with an unbelievable sense of freedom.


    "Ahhh," Kang-Woo groaned.


    A frog in the well did not feel stifled because it had never even seen the outside world. It was unaware of the restrictions ced by the unknown. Kang-Woo realized that he had never tasted true freedom because he was restrained by the framework known as logic.


    "I am..."


    However, at this very moment, he realized what true freedom was. The frog in the well had sprouted wings.


    "Flying Frog."


    Kang-Woo jumped without a run-up, flipped in the air, andnded on the living room floor. He was well aware of how stupid he was acting.


    "I''m alone, so who cares?"


    He was not causing anyone trouble so there was no problem with acting like a dumbass in his own home.


    <i>''Yeah, I''m sure everyone has done something like this when they were alone. They''ve just never said it.''</i>


    Kang-Woo was sure of it. He severed thest string attached to his sense of reason and rolled across the living room.


    "Alright! I think it''s time for a song!"


    He turned on the giant speaker installed in the corner of the living room and sted music that Echidna downloaded. The thunderous music shook the living room.


    "Bam! Dadadadadadada~!"


    He thrusted his hips to the beat of the music and furiously shook his arm as if he were ying an air guitar.


    "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"


    Kang-Woo enjoyed his time alone to the fullest like a free madman.

 Side Story Chapter 73 - Home Alone (3)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 73 - Home Alone (3)</h4>


    "Fuuu. This is a little tiring."


    Oh Kang-Woo flopped on the couch after doing all sorts of things in the house. He was swept with fatigue after relishing in the freedom he felt for the first time since returning to Earth. The burning desire and impulse died down and his sense of reason returned. He pushed aside the immense shame that came with the fatigue and sat up.


    "I can''t stop here."


    He did not know when such a chance woulde again. The chances of all four women being away from home at once were minuscule. Han Seol-Ah didn''t do anything other than housework and training.


    <i>''It might legitimately be my only chance.''</i>


    There would be even less time once he married and had children with them.


    "In that case, I have to enjoy as much of it while I still can."


    Kang-Woo smiled and stood up from the couch.


    "Mm."


    However, he couldn''t think of anything he wanted to do.


    <i>''I don''t wanna do that insane shit again.''</i>


    After nothing came to mind, Kang-Woo decided to walk around the house mindlessly.


    "But man, this ce sure is big."


    It was only natural since they had renovated an entire floor of an ultra-luxury apartment to make it one home; it was so big that they could y football indoors if they removed the furniture.


    <i>''To be honest, a house has no right being this big.''</i>


    They couldn''t use all the space with only five people in it. Also, he, Seol-Ah, Lilith, and Cha Yeon-Joo used the same bedroom every night; they had a dressing room filled with clothes and their individual rooms but they were barely used.


    "Come to think of it, I''ve never been inside their rooms."


    Kang-Woo had seen Echidna''s room many times since he often was in there to y games with her but he had never been to the other women''s rooms since they practically lived in his bedroom.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo suddenly surged with curiosity. He wanted to see how they decorated their rooms.


    "I might as well sneak a peek."


    He smiled as he headed to Yeon-Joo''s room since she had only recently moved in.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    "She hasn''t even unpacked her things yet..."


    There were unopened boxes throughout the room; the only things worth mentioning were exercise equipment.


    "Hm?"


    Kang-Woo noticed a small album on a desk and in the frame was a picture they had taken during their pic in Aernor.


    "Man, how long has this been?"


    He looked down at himself in the picture, munching on a piece of meat. Thetter portion of the pic was a little chaotic due to Kargath but it was a wonderful memory nheless.


    "Huh? But wasn''t it a group picture?"


    He was the only person in the frame for some reason. Kang-Woo thought for a moment and chuckled after realizing it.


    "Jeez, she''s so cute."


    He realized that the picture was zoomed in so that only he was in the frame. He left Yeon-Joo''s room after looking around for a little longer.


    "Should I take a peek at Lilith''s room next?"


    This was the room Kang-Woo was most curious about. He wanted to know how Lilith, who spent most of her life in Hell, spent her life.


    Creak.


    Kang-Woo carefully opened the door.


    "Oh? It''s surprisingly normal."


    He opened the door cautiously because he was afraid there would be tentacles everywhere but it was unexpectedly tidy. Her bed was neatly made as if she had never even used it and there were other stationeries and furniture. It was quite a in and tidy room.


    "I didn''t expect this at all."


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion and opened the drawer next to the window.


    "<i>Gasp</i>."


    It was filled with erotic clothes and lingerie.


    "I don''t think... she even needs to buy clothes."


    Kang-Woo gulped as he took a moment to appreciate Lilith''s clothes. Each of them had severely little surface area and the slingshot bikini she had worn in Singapore was among them.


    <i>''I''m gonna ask her to wear them next time.''</i>


    He came to a resolution after closing the drawer.


    "There are a ton of books too."


    There was arge number of books neatly ced on a bookshelf on her desk. Kang-Woo took a few of them out, wondering what sort of books she usually read.


    [How to use a smartphone.]


    [Understanding modern culture.]


    [Hot among women in their twenties! Slightly~ erotic fashion that will 100% capture your man''s heart!]


    "So this is where she got her choice of clothes from..."


    Lilith seemed to have bought whatever was in this book since she did not understand human beauty standards.


    <i>''That aside...''</i>


    Kang-Woo smiled faintly as he looked through Lilith''s books. She was doing her best without anyone knowing to fit into human culture.


    "She might perfectly assimte with human culture at this rate."


    He hoped for her to soon realize how disgusting tentacles were to humans.


    "Right, then." Kang-Woo closed the door to Lilith''s room and headed toward the end of the hallway. "I wonder what Darling''s room is like?"


    He was just as excited for Seol-Ah''s room as he was for Lilith''s room.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    He carefully opened the door once again.


    "..."


    The floor, walls, and ceiling were filled with pictures of himself. Dolls that looked like him filled her desk and she even had a body pillow of Kang-Woo printed on her bed.


    "Uhh, mm." He remained frozen at the entrance and looked away from the room exuding madness. "I didn''t see anything. Yup."


    <i>ck.</i>


    Kang-Woo closed the door and turned around.


    "Alright."


    <i>''What should I do now?''</i>


    He walked around the house again after finishing what he wanted to do. He wanted to do things he had never done before but he did not have anything he could do when he was alone since he already had a rtively free lifestyle.


    "Mm. But I don''t wanna waste time doing nothing."


    Kang-Woo went back to his room after roaming around the house. It was not the bedroom he shared with his lovers but the one he used for work.


    "Huh? That''s..."


    He noticed a palm-sized rectangr item as he was rummaging through the room to find something to do. It was the external hard drive he had filled with the mysteries of the birth of life before left for Aernor¡ª Npah''s Ark.


    "HOLY SHIT! HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?!"


    Kang-Woo lifted the external hard drive with shining eyes. He had honestly not even used it ever since he made it.


    <i>''To be more precise, I had no reason to.''</i>


    It lost its purpose since his rtionship with Seol-Ah took off. Kang-Woo had no reason to watch the videos since the women in all the videosbined couldn''t match up to his Darling.


    "Huh...? Wait a second."


    Just then, a thought crossed his mind.


    <i>''Something... I can''t usually do?''</i>


    His hand holding the external hard drive trembled. Sparks traveled throughout his body.


    "Aaaahh." It was likely fate that he coincidentally discovered his external hard drive here. "Wings."


    Yes, the frog with wings had be truly free after seeing the world outside the well.


    "Alright!"


    Kang-Woo headed to the living room with the external hard drive and aptop. Arge TV was in the living room where Echidna yed her games.


    "I could never do this when I''m not alone."


    He connected hisptop to the TV and randomly chose one of the videos containing the mysteries of the birth of life.


    "Whoa." The color of flesh filled therge TV screen. "WHOOOOOOOOAAAAAAA!!!"


    He couldn''t believe it.


    "Kehehehe! Dayum, I can''t believe a day where I can watch this on TV hase!"


    Kang-Woo wondered how many people who didn''t live alone had experienced something like this¡ª no, he wasn''t sure if there were people crazy enough to do this even if they did live alone.


    "Bwehehehehe!! Yeah! This is it! This is what true freedom is!!"


    Kang-Woo grabbed some snacks from the kitchen and munched on them on the couch as he watched the video.


    "Mmm. But..." His expression darkened after not even five minutes. "This is boring."


    After thinking about it, there was no point in him watching videos like this. Time would be better spent doing what was in the video with his lovers.


    "Haaa," Kang-Woo sighed deeply as his sense of reason returned.


    The shame he had pushed aside returned. The limitless exhration and sense of freedom melted away like snow and a question popped up in his head.


    ''What the fuck am I doing by myself?"


    Kang-Woo tried to be true to his impulses and do all sorts of dumb shit as amemoration for being home alone for the first time but he was honestly not having any fun.


    "It''s... more fun being with everyone."


    He didn''t give a shit even if he would never get a chance like this again¡ª he had more fun spending time with the women he loved.


    "Sheesh."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and stood up.


    <i>''I might as well take a shower and train with Balrog.''</i>


    He had nothing to do even if he stayed at home. After all, he was never one to have hobbies.


    "Oh, maybe I''ll do those dailies Echidna asked me to do once I finish training with Balrog."


    He had no idea what to do but he had a feeling he could figure it out as long as he mashed tons of buttons.


    "Let''s see. As for clothes... I''ll change once I take a shower."


    Kang-Woo looked around the living room. It was a mess from the insane shit he had done a while ago.


    "I should turn that off first."


    The pping of flesh from the video about the birth of life was echoing throughout the living room. Now that Kang-Woo hade back to his senses, he realized how much of a dumbass he was for doing everything he had done.


    "But well, it wasn''t all that bad."


    Deviant behavior of this level was nothing, considering he would likely never get the chance to again.


    "Lastly..."


    Kang-Woo took a deep breath as a finale for this session of madness.


    "Hup!"


    He raised his arms over his head and opened his mouth wide. The frog with wings had seen the world but would return to his well after realizing how cozy it was.


    "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"


    Kang-Woo yelled as loud as he could as he raced through the living room. This was thest form of sce he could give for the frog that had severed its wings of its own ord¡ª a requiem for the world it would never see again.


    "VWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"


    Goodbye, flying frog.


    Goodbye, Demacia.


    It''s time for me to go back to¡ª


    "Hey, Oh Kang-Woo! Noona''s home! The fucking meeting was postponed to tomorrow!"


    Huh...?

 Side Story Chapter 74 - Home Alone (4)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 74 - Home Alone (4)</h4>


    "I''m sure you have nothing else to do, so let''s go to a PC room or someth¡ª"


    Cha Yeon-Joo''s gaze shifted to the living room as she entered the apartment through the front door and took off her shoes.


    "Huh...?"


    Her brain couldn''t fully process the information her eyes were receiving. The living room was a mess, Oh Kang-Woo was screeching with his arms over his head bare naked, and porn was sting in the living room on therge TV. She felt as if she had yet to wake up from a nightmare.


    "..."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo locked eyes with each other in silence. They were perfectly still as if they weregging.


    "Oh... Kang-Woo...?" called Yeon-Joo, her voice shaking as if she were barely holding on to her sense of reason.


    Kang-Woo slowly put his arms down and said quietly, "This isn''t what it looks like."


    "What the fuck is it then?"


    "I can exin everything."


    "Spit it out then."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo remained silent for a few moments. The moans echoing from therge TV were interfering with his thought process.


    <i>''What can I say to exin this situation? The only answer that can make her understand is¡ª''</i>


    "F..."


    "F?"


    "F-Flying Frog."


    "The fuck is that?"


    "No, I mean..."


    <i>''There are no words to exin this fucking mess.''</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at Yeon-Joo in despair.


    "Oh," Yeon-Joo expressed, having thought of something.


    <i>Snap.</i>


    She took out her smartphone and took a picture of Kang-Woo.


    "What are you¡ª!"


    Kang-Woo widened his eyes. He was so dazed due to his destroyed mental state that he failed to react in time.


    "So what you''re saying is..." Yeon-Joo saved the photo on the drive as Kang-Woo had done to her a while ago and looked around the living room with cold eyes. "You were doing this kind of shit while we were away, huh?"


    "Y-Yeon-Joo."


    "H-Hehehehe! Interesting. How very~~ interesting, right, my little Kang-Woo? I''m sure Seol-Ah will find it interesting too, wouldn''t you say?"


    "Noona. My lovely Yeon-Joo noona. Please listen to me."


    "Oh, I''m listening and looking very fucking well. The problem is that this entire situation is entering my eyes a bit too~ well. Fucking hell. Who would''ve thought I would catch my boyfriend doing shit like this so proudly after I returned home because my meeting was dyed?"


    "That''s not it."


    "Were three women not enough for you, damn perverted brat? Huh?"


    "Of course not. I''m always overflowing with satisfaction and happiness. For real."


    "What''s all this then?" asked Yeon-Joo as she crossed her arms and red at the TV screen.


    "I was... curious."


    "Oh? Curious, huh?"


    "I''m being legit here."


    Kang-Woo spared no detail exining what happened after the women left. He knew whatever he said would sound like pathetic excuses after he was exposed like that but he had no choice. It would be worse to acknowledge what he did.


    "So, you wanted to do things you usually can''t do since you''re never home alone?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Yes, ma''am."


    "Would you believe that if you were in my shoes?"


    "No, ma''am."


    <i>''I probably would''ve told them to cut the bullshit.''</i>


    "Right?"


    "Yeah, but it''s true¡ª!! I know it''s hard to believe!"


    "D-Don''t approach me butt naked, dammit!!" shouted Yeon-Joo, as red as a tomato as Kang-Woo walked toward her in frustration. "W-Wear some clothes first."


    Yeon-Joo picked up the clothes sprawled on the ground and threw them at Kang-Woo.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo put his clothes back on in silence.


    "Haaa," Yeon-Joo sighed deeply. "I mean, it sounds like the biggest piece of bullshit I''ve ever heard, but... fine. I can understand it."


    She knew the inexplicable sense of freedom one felt when home alone¡ª though anyone would rarely do something this unhinged. She understood how Kang-Woo could have felt stressed out from having no time to himself with his lovers by his side twenty-four-seven.


    "And besides, even if you''re lying... you didn''t do anything wrong."


    It was not like he did anything morally wrong; he was just an adult man watching an adult video. Yeon-Joo did not feel particrly good about it but she couldn''t criticize him either.


    "R-Right?" Kang-Woo said brightly.


    Yeon-Joo smiled and nodded. "Yeah, but since I might be the only one who thinks that way, lemme ask your one and only Darling about how she feels about it."


    "YEON-JOO NOONAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"


    Kang-Woo raced toward Yeon-Joo and grabbed her leg. He wanted nothing more than to take her smartphone but that wasn''t an option since she had saved it to her drive.


    <i>''If only I knew her ID and password...!''</i>


    Yeon-Joo had already thought of the possibility of Kang-Woo taking her smartphone by force, so she logged out as soon as she saved the picture to her drive. Not even Kang-Woo could get her ID and password from inside her head by force.


    "Heh..."


    Yeon-Joo smirked as she looked down at Kang-Woo, clinging to her leg and looking up at her in desperation. She had never felt this way before; sparks were slowly spreading throughout her entire body.


    "Ehehehehehehehe!!" She burst intoughter as she looked down at Kang-Woo gripping her pants as if begging. "Ahhh, so this is how it feels, huh?"


    Yeon-Joo more or less understood why Kang-Woo loved to tease her so much.


    "Y-Yeon-Joo, c-could you be..."


    "F-Fufufu. Fufufufufufu! Yeah, you son of a bitch. This is payback for all the times you''ve teased me!" Yeon-Joo''s eyes zed with fury. She ced her hand on Kang-Woo''s shoulder as she licked her lips with a smile. "I wonder what kind ofmand I should give you little Kang-Woo?"


    "Command...?"


    "Fufufufu! You''re not asking because you seriously don''t know, are you?"


    Yeon-Joo recalled the humiliation she experienced from Kang-Woo''s teasing. The umted rage inside her heart was bursting all at once.


    "Kurgh." Kang-Woo bit his lip.


    He never thought a day when he was teased by Yeon-Joo woulde.


    "Hehehehe!" Yeon-Joo giggled as she covered her mouth with both hands as if she had thought of something good. She sat on the couch and put one leg over the other. "Now, why don''t you dance for me?"


    "Wh-What?"


    "What''s wrong? Weren''t you happy because you discovered true freedom? Then you should naturally express your joy with a dance. Go on. Your noona will take a very~ good look!"


    "..."


    Kang-Woo''s mouth opened in shock.


    <i>''She wants me to dance in front of her? How could she be so cruel? To think someone couldmand a fellow person to do such a humiliating act! She''s a demon! I mean, I''m a demon too, but still!''</i>


    "Hehe. What are you doing? Go on and dance."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo bit his lip and slowly began to shake his hips. Dancing in silence when he didn''t even know how to dance was torture to him. Even he, who rarely felt humiliated, was overwhelmed with humiliation at this moment.


    "Pfft! Kyahahahahaha!! You call that dancing?!"


    Yeon-Joo burst intoughter as she grabbed her stomach and swung her legs.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo suppressed his surging rage. Only after he was put on the receiving end of the teasing did he realize how humiliating it was.


    <i>''Shit. To think I would face humiliation from Yeon-Joo of all people!''</i>


    "Bwehehehehe! Now, then~ I wonder what I should have you do this time?" Yeon-Joo giggled uncontrobly. She then raised her feet toward Kang-Woo and shook them lightly. "Right. First, massage my feet."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo usually wouldn''t have minded giving Yeon-Joo a foot massage but it enraged him even more because of the current situation.


    "Alright, fine. I''ll do it."


    "Huh? Fine? Is that any way to talk to your noona?" said Yeon-Joo haughtily.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo shut his eyes tightly to quell the welling fury inside him with all his might.


    "Ehehehe! Shit, man, this feels amazing!!!" Yeon-Joo giggled ecstatically and wiggled her feet. "Go on, massage them."


    "Yes... ma''am."


    Kang-Woo got down on one knee and pressed on her feet.


    "Hngh...! U-Ugh, that feels nice." Yeon-Joo leaned on the couch as she looked down at Kang-Woo massaging her feet. "Ngh! Hey! Not so hard, dammit!"


    "..."


    "Where''s my answer?!"


    "Fine, I''ll go lighter."


    "What did I say? Is that any way to talk to you noona?"


    "I will... go lighter, ma''am."


    "Bwehehehe! Ahh~ This feels so good~! Yeah, this is the life!"


    Yeon-Jooughed and licked her lips. Kang-Woo crumpled more and more as Yeon-Joo''sughter echoed inside his head. The rage he had quelled was slowly creeping back up.


    "Hehehe! Oh Kang-Woo, you son of a bitch! Do you understand the humiliation I had to experience because of you until now?"


    "Until now...?"


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. It felt as if he was forgetting something important. He pulled out the important truth under his surging rage.


    "Oh."


    <i>''Come to think of it, I have one too, don''t I?''</i>


    He had the album of love containing their wonderful memories. There was no need even to mention what would happen if he were to unt one of the album''s pages.


    <i>''No, wait a second.''</i>


    She only had one picture to use against him, while he had various pictures and videos waiting to be used.


    "Hah."


    In other words, she was no match for him.


    <i>''I can''t believe I realized this only just now. I guess I was more flustered than I thought.''</i>


    "..."


    Kang-Woo stopped massaging Yeon-Joo''s feet and slowly stood up in silence.


    "Huh? What the hell? Who told you to st¡ª"


    Yeon-Joo froze as she was about to rip him a new one. She flinched once she noticed the air around Kang-Woo changed all of a sudden.


    "Wh-Why are you... making such a scary face...?"


    An uneasy feeling ran down Yeon-Joo''s back.

 Side Story Chapter 75 - Home Alone (5)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 75 - Home Alone (5)</h4>


    "Wh-What? What''s up with you?!"


    Cha Yeon-Joo trembled subtly. She could see the unbridled rage in Oh Kang-Woo''s eyes. An uneasy feeling ran down her back; she sensed that she might have opened Pandora''s box.


    "Urgh!"


    Yeon-Joo pushed the uneasiness away and threateningly raised her smartphone.


    "Y-You''d better look down!!" Unlike her fierce tone, her voice was slightly shaking in fear. "If you don''t, I''ll send that picture to Seol-Ah¡ª"


    "Now that I think about it," interjected Kang-Woo calmly. He smiled as he also took out his smartphone. "You''re not the only one with a weapon, are you?"


    "What...?"


    "I have one too. An album filled with our precious memories, that is."


    Kang-Woo yed one of the videos on his drive.


    <i>- I wanna do it too!! I don''t wanna be Adamantium anymore! I wanna do it with you too, oppa!!</i>


    "<i>Gasp</i>."


    It was Yeon-Joo when she was drunk. The dark past was so nightmarish that she had purged it from his memory but she was reminded of it through Kang-Woo''s smartphone.


    "Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You!!! You son of a¡ª!!"


    "That''s not all of it."


    Kang-Woo also yed the other videos he had recorded in the past. Yeon-Joo''s expression crumpled more and more as Kang-Woo yed each video.


    "A-Are you ckmailing me?" Yeon-Joo said.


    "I think that''s enough, don''t you think?"


    "Ngh."


    "Now... what''s your choice?"


    "Wh-What do you mean?" asked Yeon-Joo as she bit her lip.


    Kang-Woo answered as apathetically as possible, "Either we both die... or we both live. You make the choice."


    <i>''The intimidated one is always at a disadvantage in situations like this.''</i>


    "What are you gonna do... if I send this to Seol-Ah?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "I''ll release these videos to Red Rose. I exchanged emails with a few of your guild members back when I was helping with your files."


    "Y-You son of a bitch! What the fuck?!"


    Just thinking about her guild members seeing those videos plunged her into deep terror.


    "But of course, I won''t release them if you don''t send that picture to Darling."


    Kang-Woo had recorded far more of Yeon-Joo''s dark pasts but the one she had on him was just as bad. He couldn''t even imagine what would happen if Seol-Ah were to see that picture.


    "..."


    "..."


    The two of them stared at each other warily. The silent war of nerves heated the air around them.


    "Th-Then let''s do this," Yeon-Joo said first. She gulped and said quietly, "I''ll delete your picture on my drive, so you delete everything you have on me."


    "Oh, are we negotiating now?"


    "Just answer me! Will you delete them or not?!"


    "Mm." Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He stroked his chin as he continued, "The conditions aren''t mathematically equivalent, are they?"


    Yeon-Joo only had one picture of him while Kang-Woo had several videos of her. It would be an equivalent exchange to delete one of his videos on her but not all of them.


    "Urgh! Who gives a shit about math when you took those videos without consent!"


    "Right back at you."


    "Wh-Whatever!"


    "..."


    Kang-Woo continued to think in silence.


    <i>''It''s not a bad deal.''</i>


    The conditions were not mathematically equivalent but he didn''t care as long as Yeon-Joo would delete the picture. He would rather die than let his Darling see such a humiliating picture.


    <i>''And most of all...''</i>


    Kang-Woo smirked.


    "Fine, you have a deal."


    "Fuck yeah!!!" Yeon-Joo cheered as she pumped both fists in the air.


    She could finally get rid of all the humiliating videos Kang-Woo had of her.


    "Right. First, let''s delete the files we have of each other on our smartphones," Kang-Woo said.


    "Okay."


    They both showed the other proof they deleted the file.


    "Stay away from me for a second," Yeon-Joo remarked.


    Yeon-Joo logged back into her drive and clenched her smartphone, being on high alert.


    <i>''He might try to take it by force.''</i>


    As long as she was holding it like this, not even Kang-Woo could take it from her. Although Kang-Woo was far stronger than her, she could at least crush the phone before Kang-Woo could try anything.


    "We''ll delete it together on the count of three, alright...?" Yeon-Joo suggested.


    Kang-Woo calmly nodded.


    "Okay, then."


    They hovered their finger over the delete button on their drives.


    "One, two."


    The tension in the air was palpable.


    Yeon-Joo said the final number, "Three."


    <i>Beep.</i>


    The sound from a smartphone rang throughout the living room.


    "Pfft!" Just then, Yeon-Joo burst intoughter as she clenched her smartphone. "KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Hehehe! You seriously deleted them?"


    "You..."


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shook. Yeon-Joo smiled brightly as she stared at Kang-Woo''s flustered expression.


    "Fufu. What? It''s your specialty, isn''t it? Huh? The deceived one has no one to me but themselves, right? Bwahahahaha!"


    Yeon-Joo took her finger, which purposefully missed the delete button, off of the smartphone disy. The file was gone forever from Kang-Woo''s drive but the picture she had of him remained intact. It was a childish ploy but it didn''t matter since it had seeded.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo remained silent, his expression frozen. He tried to slowly lift his arm but Yeon-Joo quickly pulled back her hand holding her smartphone.


    She shouted, "Stop! Don''t move! Fufufu! With this, I''m the only one with a weapon, huh?"


    "Cha... Yeon-Joo."


    "Mwahahaha! Huh~? Are you sure you don''t wanna call me Yeon-Joo noona~?"


    Yeon-Joo taunted Kang-Woo as she burst intoughter after being sure of her victory. However, Kang-Woo smiled brightly as if he were never furious.


    "Do you know, Yeon-Joo?"


    "Huh? Know what? The fact that you lost hopelessly against me? Hehe!"


    Yeon-Joo giggled, drunk on the joy of victory.


    Kang-Woo continued, "Do you know why our sister-inw can ept Gaia into her body?"


    "Huh?"


    Yeon-Joo expressed confusion. She did not understand why Kang-Woo was bringing up La and Gaia all of a sudden.


    "What''s your ploy? Are you changing the subject?"


    "No, it''s relevant to the situation we''re in right now."


    "The hell are you talking about?" Yeon-Joo tilted her head in confusion, unable to understand. "Do I know why La can ept Gaia into her body? Naturally, because La is Gaia''s incarnation... Ah."


    Yeon-Joo''s eyes widened. Kang-Woo smiled.


    "Yes, and you''re my incarnation, Yeon-Joo."


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!!</i>


    Gold and ck mes ignited Yeon-Joo.


    "W-Wai¡ª!"


    Yeon-Joo was about to crush the smartphone in her hand.


    "Deific Manifestation."


    But before that, Kang-Woo took over Yeon-Joo''s body through the Deific Essence of Voracity before she could.


    "A-Argh."


    Yeon-Joo convulsed as if she were having a seizure, then lowered her head with drooped shoulders.


    "I never thought I''d use Deific Manifestation for the first time in this way."


    The one who raised their head was not Yeon-Joo but Kang-Woo, who took over Yeon-Joo''s body through Deific Manifestation.


    [WH-WHAT THE HELL IS THIIIIIIIIIIIIIS¡ª?!!]


    Yeon-Joo''s screams echoed inside Kang-Woo''s head. Kang-Woo smiled and raised the smartphone containing the humiliating picture of himself, in Yeon-Joo''s hand.


    [Y-Y-Y-You son of a...! G-Get the hell out of my body!!]


    "Don''t rush me. I''ll leave as soon as I''m done."


    Kang-Woo pressed the delete button to permanently erase the picture, and then Yeon-Joo''s body suddenly bent forward.


    "Pwah!" Yeon-Joo regained control of her body. "Haaa! Haaa!"


    Deific Manifestation consumed an enormous amount of stamina. Yeon-Joo did her best to calm her breathing and red ferociously at Kang-Woo.


    "Y-You crazy bastard!!!"


    She couldn''t believe Kang-Woo would do something as crazy as forcibly using Deific Manifestation to delete a picture.


    "That''s what you get for deceiving me," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "Urgh!"


    Yeon-Joo flinched. She bit her lip in frustration and clenched her fists.


    <i>''That shameless scumbag!''</i>


    There was nothing Yeon-Joo could do if all Kang-Woo needed to do was take over her body through Deific Manifestation.


    "If you could do something like this, why didn''t you do it in the beginni¡ª"


    "Because it would''ve been pointless."


    "What?"


    Kang-Woo smiled faintly and shook his head. He would''ve used it as soon as he had the chance if it could resolve the situation. However, it would have been pointless.


    "Deific Manifestation only allows me to take physical control. I don''t have ess to your thoughts."


    "Then..."


    "Yeah, I would''ve had no way of deleting the picture if you hadn''t made that proposal and logged into your drive."


    "D-Dammit!"


    Yeon-Joo''s expression dyed in despair. She never expected to fall victim to her own ploy.


    "Kurgh!" She red at Kang-Woo in frustration. "Shit... I thought I finally had a hold of your weakness I could take advantage of."


    It seemed like there was still a long way to go until she had a weakness of that scumbag to exploit. Yeon-Joo sighed and wiped the sweat on her forehead.


    "Well, whatever. The deal''s off, right?"


    The n had derailed midway but it had been a sess in terms of the result since both of their dark pasts were deleted forever.


    "Off?" Kang-Woo stared at her as if he had no idea what she was talking about. He smirked nastily and continued, "There''s no way it''s off."


    "What...?"


    "Yeon-Joo. Did you think I only had one album of the precious memories we''ve made?"


    "Wh-What did you say?!" Yeon-Joo shouted in pallor.


    Kang-Woo cackled and typed away on hisptop connected to the TV.


    <i>- I don''t wanna be Adamantium anymore!!!</i>


    The video of Yeon-Joo throwing a temper tantrum on the floor yed on the TV screen.


    "Y-You son of a bitch!!! You tricked me!!!" Yeon-Joo screamed in despair.


    She teared up due to the betrayal as she red at Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo cackled and replied, "The deceived one has no one to me but themselves, isn''t that right?"


    It was not wrong; it was only natural to consider Kang-Woo had made backups of the footage since it had been a while since he took them. Yeon-Joo had nothing else to me but her poor n and letting her guard down midway.


    "Y-Y-Y-You...!"


    "Right, then." Kang-Woo smiled brightly and licked his lips. Since his humiliating picture was gone for good, he had only one thing left to do. "Yeon-Joo?"


    "Y-Yeah?"


    "Is that any way to talk to your oppa?"


    "..."


    "Answer."


    "Y-Yes... oppa?"


    Yeon-Joo''s face turned as red as her hair.


    Kang-Woo sat leisurely on the couch and continued, "Right, then~ I wonder what I should have you do?"


    "..."


    "Oh, right. That should be good."


    He had already decided on what he would have Yeon-Joo do for his sweet revenge.


    "My little Yeon-Joo, could you dance for me?"


    "F-Fuck you!! I''m not gonna dance, you motherfucker!!!"


    "Bwehehehehe!!! What? Are you embarrassed? Hm~? You were having the time of your life making me do it, but you''re embarrassed when you have to be the one to do it?"


    "N-Ngh!"


    Yeon-Joo stomped the floor in frustration and gritted her teeth. No matter how much she wanted to defy him, she no longer had any cards to y in retaliation.


    "F-Fine! I''ll do it!! I just have to fucking do it, right?!!" Yeon-Joo screamed in tears. She danced awkwardly with no music in the background. "<i>Sniff</i>. Hurghhh!"


    She felt like her heart was going to burst from humiliation.


    "Th-That''s enough, right?!" she shouted in tears after dancing in the middle of the living room.


    However, the corners of Kang-Woo''s lips rose.


    "No, of course not." Revenge was only fun if it was paid back several times over. "We''ve only just gotten started."


    "Wh-What?"


    Yeon-Joo froze like a frog face-to-face with a snake. She couldn''t imagine what other humiliating acts Kang-Woo would make her do.


    "Okay, why don''t you dance again wearing this?"


    "Y-You...! Those clothes are...!"


    They were the leather clothes she had worn for Kang-Woo this morning. Dancing was embarrassing enough as it was, but Yeon-Joo might seriously go insane if she danced in those clothes.


    "K-Kang-Woo! I-I mean, Kang-Woo oppa!! P-Please!!"


    "Don''t worry." Kang-Woo embraced the begging Yeon-Joo and whispered sweetly, "We''re the only ones home tonight."


    "N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"


    That night, desperate screams of humiliation did not stop until dawn in Kang-Woo''s home.

 Side Story Chapter 76 - There is No Light Here (1)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 76 - There is No Light Here (1)</h4>


    "I''m off to work. I''ll be home past midnight again tonight, so don''t wait around for me and go to bed," said Cha Yeon-Joo as she mmed the front door shut and left.


    Han Seol-Ah stared at the front door worryingly and said, "She''s going to work without eating breakfast again... is she that busy at the guildtely?"


    Yeon-Joo had beening homete far past midnight and going to work early for the past five days. She was not sleeping in therge bedroom with Kang-Woo but taking short naps in her private bedroom. Seeing how on-edge she was, she also seemed considerably stressed out.


    Oh Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly and scratched his head. "Mm. Who knows?"


    "I think it''s because of theplicated matter she has been dealing with at the guild."


    Seol-Ah thought Yeon-Joo''s sudden change in behavior stemmed from problems at her guild but Kang-Woo knew exactly what the problem was.


    <i>''Did I go too far?''</i>


    Kang-Woo found himself inadvertently teasing Yeon-Joo far more than he usually did. Getting hurt by that, Yeon-Joo had not even been looking Kang-Woo in the eyes.


    <i>''I should set aside some private time with Yeon-Joo.''</i>


    Thinking back, he admitted he had gone too far. He needed to apologize to her for teasing her so much. He had a feeling it wouldn''t be too hard; although she was upset, she always came home every night and Kang-Woo noticed her hesitantly stealing nces at him asionally.


    "Hehehe. So gosh darn cute."


    Every time he noticed Yeon-Joo twisting in embarrassment, he wanted to run to her and give her a big hug.


    <i>''But I need to endure it.''</i>


    Apologizing came first.


    "P-Pardon? Wh-Why are you calling me cute all of a sudden?"


    "Huh?"


    Seol-Ah blushed and swept her hair behind her ear, misunderstanding that Kang-Woo was talking about her. Kang-Woo remained confused momentarily but pulled her toward him by the waist and kissed her.


    "Because I love you to death, Darling."


    "J-Jeez! You shouldn''t say something like that so out of the blue!!" shouted Seol-Ah as she closed her eyes in embarrassment. She trembled as if she were desperately holding something back. She then smiled and stroked Kang-Woo''s hair. "Fufu. I love you too, Kang-Woo."


    <i>''Ahhh. I''m being healed.''</i>


    Barely anything could top being softly held by Seol-Ah.


    "I''m... sorry, Kang-Woo," said Seol-Ah sorrowfully as she stroked Kang-Woo''s hair.


    Kang-Woo looked up in confusion.


    "Huh? Sorry for what?"


    As far as he knew, there was nothing Seol-Ah needed to apologize to him for. No, even if she did something wrong, he couldugh it off as nothing.


    "For showing an awful side of myself after failing to suppress my impulses."


    "Oh."


    As Seol-Ah mentioned, she looked extremely dangerous as she massacred the Subi.


    Seol-Ah continued dejectedly, "I want to hold myself back too, but... my mind goes nk once the impulse takes over."


    "Hehe. Have you been worried about that this whole time?"


    "Even I could tell I looked insane. I-I''m worried you''lle to hate me..."


    "That will never happen," said Kang-Woo firmly as he tightly embraced her. He could nevere to hate Seol-Ah. "I don''t care whether you go insane, let your impulses take over, or show a detestable side of yourself. You just need to stay by my side."


    He did not need anything else. Even if she were to chain him up after failing to control her impulses, brutally massacre any woman out of jealousy for trying to approach him, or fall into madness due to her obsession, he did not care. Others could see Seol-Ah''s obsessive love as twisted and insane, but he did not.


    "My life with you is what I''ve been desiring for ten millennia."


    Hence, her existence itself was perfect and pure.


    "Kang-Woo..." Seol-Ah stared at Kang-Woo with trembling eyes. Her smile widened like waves forming after throwing a pebble in a pond. "Me too... I''m so happy that I met you, Kang-Woo."


    "Hehehe. So don''t think about pointless stuff like that again. Got it?"


    "Okay."


    Seol-Ah smiled as she and Kang-Woo kissed.


    "Oh, but you''ll have to change one thing," Kang-Woo mentioned.


    "Pardon? Ch-Change what?"


    "Make time for yourself."


    It was no exaggeration to say Seol-Ah''s life excessively revolved around Kang-Woo. He was happy that his lover felt so strongly about him but it did not stop him from being worried.


    "For example, go shopping with Yeon-Joo and Lilith... or somewhere to y with Echidna... or find a hobby you can enjoy by yourself."


    Kang-Woo was not one to have many hobbies but he was not as bad as Seol-Ah; she had severed herself from all forms of entertainment like a monk and was spending her time only for Kang-Woo.


    <i>''Joys in life aren''t necessarily felt only with your lover.''</i>


    Kang-Woo wanted to let Seol-Ah enjoy other joys in life besides himself.


    "But all I need in my life is y¡ª"


    "Don''t give me that. You know I''m not saying I dislike being with you."


    "Mmm." Seol-Ah fell into thought and then pped her hands together as if she had thought of a good idea. "In that case, could I take some sses?"


    "sses? For what?"


    "Fufu. Cooking sses. I want to learn a wider variety of dishes."


    "Mm. Everything you make for me is delicious, though."


    "Hohoho. Thank you very much, but I want to gain some professional knowledge. After all, it brings me so much joy whenever you find my food delicious."


    "Really?"


    Kang-Woo had no reason to refuse.


    "Hehe. Okay then, I should take some time today to search for a good cooking school~"


    Seol-Ah went into her room with a smile.


    As Kang-Woo stared at Seol-Ah''s back in silence, Lilith giggled with one hand over her mouth after returning from the Hall of Protection.


    "Fufufu. You''re smiling so big that your lips are about to rip, my king."


    "Oh, wee back."


    "My, my, I always wonder if our cute little Seol-Ah really is a fallen angel whenever I look at her~"


    "She''s the same to me regardless of whether or not she''s a fallen angel."


    "Oh? I think I''m getting a bit jealous."


    "I love you just as much, Lilith."


    "Fufu, then¡ª"


    "Oh, but I hate your tentacles."


    "Hmph," Lilith cutely snorted with her index finger on her lips. "Oh,e to think of it, I have something to report to you, my king."


    "What is it?"


    "I heard from La today that a suspicious church has been rapidly expanding its influence as ofte."


    "A suspicious church?"


    "Yes. It''s called the Church of Radiance."


    "..."


    Just from the name, it was simr to his Church of Splendor.


    <i>''Though the Church of Splendor is practically gone on Earth.''</i>


    The Church of Splendor, which had spread to Earth from Aernor, was almost gone on Earth. It was due to various reasons such as a difference in culture or how nonsystematic it was, but the main reason was because the church was not managed during Kang-Woo''s three years of absence being stuck in the Abyss of the Demonic Sea. A church could notst long without donations, a scripture to learn, or even a ce to hold a service.


    <i>''I heard it''s still booming in Aernor.''</i>


    Whatever the case, Kang-Woo no longer cared. Now that he had acquired Transcendent-rank Deific Essence, the amount of Divinity he earned from faith was but a drop in the ocean.


    <i>''I guess it''s better than nothing.''</i>


    However, he wouldn''t be bothered even if he didn''t have it; a drop in the ocean was still something but it did not change the fact that it was nothing but a drop. Time would be better spent fighting otherworldly beings in Gates than bothering with the Church of Splendor.


    "What kind of church is it?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "I''m not sure. They have yet to fully reveal themselves, but they''ve been saying shady things like how they needed to evacuate to paradise since the Earth would soon meet its end."


    "So it''s a cult." Kang-Woo had never seen a normal religion that prophesized the end of the world. "If you''re reporting it to me, then the religion must''ve spread quite far, right?"


    "Yes, and the matter Si-Hun has been investigating is rted to the Church of Radiance."


    "Oh."


    <i>''No wonder I couldn''t get in touch with him. He was investigating this matter.''</i>


    If Kim Si-Hun was tasked to investigate, it meant the situation was quite dire.


    "Is he still investigating?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "No, hepleted his investigation and returned."


    "Really?"


    Kang-Woo nodded and turned around.


    <i>''I should hear it directly from him.''</i>


    There was nothing better than hearing about the situation from the investigator.


    <i>''And I''ll get to see him after a while.''</i>


    Kang-Woo wanted to see his little brother since it had been a while.


    "Right then, I''m going out to meet Si-Hun."


    "Shall Ie with you?" Lilith asked.


    "It''s fine. I''m just gonna see him and get a quick rundown."


    Kang-Woo headed to the Hall of Protection through a Gate and entered a familiar white hallway.


    "It''s been a while, Kang-Woo," La greeted.


    "Sure has~ How''ve you been, sister-inw?" replied Kang-Woo casually as he waved.


    They used to speak formally but have been talking more casually to each othertely since they had be quite close.


    "It''s been busy, but... I''ve been fine. What brings you here?"


    "I''m here to see Si-Hun."


    "Oh, he''s in his room."


    "Hehe. How have you two been getting alongtely?"


    "We''re getting along great. But..."


    "But what?"


    "I think he''s been avoiding me since recently."


    "Eh?" Kang-Woo couldn''t believe Si-Hun would do such a thing. "Did you force the dog ears on him or something?"


    "No, nothing like that... I mean, I bought them but I haven''t brought them up yet."


    "So you did buy them."


    <i>''Poor Si-Hun.''</i>


    "Hehe. Don''t worry, sister-inw. I''ll get to the bottom of this."


    "Please don''t mention anything about me telling you about it."


    "Sure thing."


    Kang-Woo nodded and knocked on Si-Hun''s door.


    "Hyung-nim...?"


    Si-Hun came out of his room immediately after Kang-Woo knocked on his door, likely from sensing Kang-Woo''s presence. Kang-Woo had not seen Si-Hun in a while but he was as breathtakingly handsome as ever. However, Kang-Woo''s expression hardened as he stared at him.


    "I-It''s been a while, hyung-nim," Si-Hun stuttered, considerably flustered by Kang-Woo. "I''m sorry I haven''t called. The investigation took longer than I expected. Oh, why don''t youe in first? Would you like something to drink¡ª"


    "Hey," Kang-Woo interrupted.


    "Hyung-nim...?"


    Si-Hun looked back at him in confusion. Kang-Woo ced his hand on Si-Hun''s shoulder and violently ripped his shirt.


    "Wh-What are you doing, hyung-nim?!"


    Si-Hun stepped backward in shock. Kang-Woo caught up to him in a sh and tore up the rest of the half-torn shirt, exposing Si-Hun''s extraordinarily toned body.


    "That''s my goddamn line," Kang-Woo replied as he red at Si-Hun''s bare upper body with a grimace. "Who the fuck did this to you?"


    There was a massive wound stretching from his left chest to his pelvis.

 Side Story Chapter 77 - There is No Light Here (2)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 77 - There is No Light Here (2)</h4>


    A heavy silence fell. Kim Si-Hun''s eyes shook violently. He lowered his head and averted his gaze from Oh Kang-Woo.


    "Kim Si-Hun," Kang-Woo called.


    Si-Hun muttered after much silence, "There was... a small ident during my investigation."


    "An ident?" Kang-Woo feignedughter as he red at Si-Hun. "It''s not easy to get an injury this big from a small ident."


    It was more so in the case of Si-Hun.


    "It''s nothing you need to bother yourself with, hyung-nim."


    "Si-Hun."


    "I''ll take care of this matter on my own¡ª"


    "KIM SI-HUN!!!" Kang-Woo stomped his foot and pushed Si-Hun into a wall. "I''ll decide if it''s worth bothering myself with it."


    His precious little brother came back hurt; not only that but anyone weaker than him would have died from a wound like that. Any older brother would be worried sick.


    "Kang-Woo hyung..."


    Si-Hun flusteredly looked down at Kang-Woo.


    "You''d better tell me what happened if you want to keep calling me your hyung."


    Si-Hun remained silent with a darkened expression. He thought for a moment and slowly said, "As I was investigating the Church of Radiance... I discovered their base of operations. They were in the middle of a ritual they called <i>Ascension</i>."


    "Ascension?"


    "Yes. An insane ritual about guiding young souls to paradise to help them escape the apocalypse..."


    "Guiding young souls to paradise?" Kang-Woo grimaced. "Wait. Does that mean..."


    "Yes. They were killing infants as part of their ritual."


    Si-Hun clenched his fists, and his shoulders trembled. He grimaced as blue energy emitted from him. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    "They''re beyond crazy."


    Not even the former Demon Cult killed infants.


    "So you lost your mind and charged at them?" Kang-Woo surmised.


    Si-Hun would have called Guardians for reinforcements once he found their base since his role was purely to investigate.


    "Yes... I couldn''t stand and watch such atrocities happening before my eyes."


    "I mean, yeah. I don''t me you."


    Anyone would have lost their cool after seeing such a sight. Even Kang-Woo would have frowned intensely at it.


    <i>''That''s all I would''ve done, though.''</i>


    Kang-Woo would''ve felt slightly disgusted and ufortable if he saw an inhumane ritual involving the murder of infants, but that would have been all. He was far removed from human ethics and morals; as long as the people he cared for were not harmed, he would not be distraught, no matter how gruesome the death.


    <i>''And in that sense...''</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the gruesome wound across Si-Hun''s chest and gritted his teeth. The fact that they managed to leave such a wound on Si-Hun was far more important than a ritual involving the murder of infants. Si-Hun was Kang-Woo''s precious little brother.


    "So, who the hell wounded you?"


    "It was someone the devotees called a <i>pastor</i>."


    "Pastor? Isn''t that a super low rank?"


    Kang-Woo wasn''t well-versed in religious hierarchies but he at least knew a pastor was rtively low in rank.


    <i>''And they managed to injure Si-Hun?''</i>


    It was impossible considering how powerful SI-Hun was¡ª no, just the fact that a mere cult injured Si-Hun was impossible.


    "No, the Church of Radiance doesn''t seem to have ranks like Cardinal or Pope. There were only devotees and a few pastors."


    "How many of them were you up against for them to manage to hurt you?" Kang-Woo asked.


    Hundreds would have to attack Si-Hun at once to even have a chance of injuring him.


    "It was... one."


    "What?"


    "I only fought against... one pastor."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    <i>''Si-Hun got an injury like that in a one-on-one fight?''</i>


    Wounding Si-Hun was almost impossible unless the opponent was on Balrog or Kang-Woo''s level.


    "And is the pastor dead?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "No. He ran away mid-battle."


    "You couldn''t even fucking kill him?"


    Kang-Woo frowned strongly. He couldn''t believe Si-Hun let his opponent escape on top of getting wounded.


    <i>''Perhaps...''</i>


    A thought passed through his head.


    "How long have you been injured?"


    "It''s been about three days."


    Those as powerful as Si-Hun possessed extraordinary regenerative capabilities. They were of course not on the same level as the immortal Kang-Woo but their injuries usually healed overnight.


    <i>''But it hasn''t healed after three days, meaning...''</i>


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and remarked, "Those sons of bitches... must be Akart''s subordinates."


    Nothing but the power of Akart could allow one to face Earth''s strongest swordsman one-on-one and drastically reduce one''s regenerative capabilities. Not only that but the name <i>Church of Radiance</i> was a dead giveaway.


    "Yes..." Si-Hun nodded with a darkened expression.


    He seemed aware that the power of a Titan was involved. Kang-Woo realized why Si-Hun was trying to hide the fact that he was injured.


    "Is that why you were hiding it?"


    "..."


    "Because I copsed before?"


    "I heard Akart''s power is fatal to you."


    The Light of Akart contained the power to disintegrate the Demonic Sea. Even if Si-Hun were attacked by the Light of Akart, it would only end with his regenerative capabilities weakening. However, the light was deadly to Kang-Woo. Since Kang-Woo''s body was made of the Demonic Sea, the Light of Akart was his only fatal weakness.


    "So what?" Kang-Woo mentioned.


    Just because he wouldn''t be immortal against attacks infused with the Light of Akart did not mean he couldn''t face Akart.


    "It''s too dangerous."


    "When has it ever not been dangerous?"


    "At the very least, I have more of an advantage against Akart than you."


    "For fuck''s sake, we''re not Pokemon. We don''t have the leeway to worry about type advantages."


    It was not like the enemy was immortal because Kang-Woo wasn''t; just because the opponent''s attacks were fatal to him didn''t mean his attacks were ineffective against the enemy. It was a death match, nheless.


    "I have to... take care of this myself," Si-Hun stated.


    "No."


    Kang-Woo shook his head. His eyes shone as he stared at therge wound across Si-Hun''s chest. As an older brother, he couldn''t stand idly by after his little brother came home beaten up.


    He bared his teeth ferociously and continued, "It''s my matter to take care of now."


    <i>''How dare they hurt my little brother?''</i>


    ***


    "So, where is their region of operations?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Haaa..." Si-Hun sighed and lowered his head. He knew he couldn''t convince Kang-Woo otherwise. He continued worryingly, "They are expanding from France rapidly throughout Europe."


    "Really?"


    "Yes. The speed of their expansion is insane. They likely have over a hundred thousand devotees."


    "What?"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head iprehensibly.


    <i>''How the hell did they manage that?''</i>


    It was not like they were in wartime; it was nearly impossible for a cult to gain influence so rapidly throughout the continent.


    <i>''I would''ve understood if they were like the Demon Cult.''</i>


    The Demon Cult rewarded their members for their faith with power and longevity. They used bait that all humans coveted to gain more followers. Even with that, the Demon Cult couldn''t spread as quickly as the rate the Church of Radiance was spreading. All the Church of Radiance was doing was spreading propaganda about going to paradise to escape the apocalypse but somehow managed to gain over hundreds of thousands of devotees.


    <i>''This can''t be possible.''</i>


    Not even a god who manifested into the physical realm could spread their influence this quickly.


    "What the hell are these guys? How are they getting this big so quickly?"


    It was pandemic-level speed, no joke.


    "I''m not sure about their method of propagation either."


    "Hmm... If they''re that big, they must have many bases of operations."


    "That''s correct."


    "Do they do that atrocious shit in all their locations?" Kang-Woo asked as he recalled what Si-Hun said about the rituals.


    Si-Hun shook his head. "No, they just say things people want to hear?"


    "Like what?"


    "Do not worry about the end; everyone here can be saved... things like that."


    "Seriously though, it has to be a joke. Do people actually believe that crap?"


    Not only that but there were hundreds of thousands of people.


    "If you ask me, I believe they''re using some sort of mass hypnosis," Si-Hun posed.


    "Mass hypnosis?"


    "Yes, since as you said, nothing else can exin their growth speed."


    "Hmm. I guess we can find out for ourselves." Kang-Woo nodded and turned around as he continued, "You know a few other base locations, right?"


    "I do."


    "Tell me."


    "..."


    Si-Hun sighed as he stared at Kang-Woo, eyes gleaming as if he would immediately rush to where Si-Hun indicated. He took off the shirt Kang-Woo ripped and put on a different one.


    "What are you doing?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "I''ming with you."


    "Hell no. You''re wounded. I''m going alone so just tell me where the hell it is."


    "I won''t tell you if you insist on going alone."


    Kang-Woo remained silent as he stared at Si-Hun''s determined eyes. He clicked his tongue. "Jeez, you stubborn son of a bitch. Just don''t hold me back with that injury, got it?"


    "Haha. I''m confident I can win if I face him again. I''ve already learned his attack pattern."


    "Big words for someone who lost."


    Si-Hun''s face reddened as he shouted, "I-I didn''t lose! He just got away!"


    Kang-Woo smirked and said as he walked, "I''m gonna stop by my house, so stay here."


    The disaster from before might ur if he disappeared without a word again.


    <i>''The Church of Radiance, huh? It''s time to teach them who''s more radiant.''</i>

 Side Story Chapter 78 - There is No Light Here (3)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 78 - There is No Light Here (3)</h4>


    [Hmm... are you going to Europe with Si-Hun then, Kang-Woo?]


    Echidna''s voice sounded from Oh Kang-Woo''s smartphone.


    Kang-Woo nodded and answered, "Yeah."


    [It just so happens I''m in Ennd!]


    "Hm? You''re in Europe?"


    [Yeah! I have my live performance in a few hours!]


    Kang-Woo had heard Echidna was preparing to make hereback as an idol.


    Echidna snorted and proudly remarked, [Hm! It''s a super~ huge live performance! Not only is it gonna be broadcast throughout Ennd but Europe as a whole!]


    "Areeback performances usually thatrge-scale? In a foreign country, no less?"


    Kang-Woo knew Echidna was globally famous, but not enough for her performance to be broadcast throughout Europe.


    [Urgh. The thing is... it was supposed to be someone else but I stepped up because they suddenly couldn''t make it.]


    "So you''re just a fill-in."


    [I-I''m not a fill-in! Tons of my fans will be there too!]


    "Kehehe. Alright, alright."


    Even if Echidna were a fill-in, the fact that she could perform on such a massive live stage was proof of her poprity.


    [Kang-Woo... could you, umm...e watch my performance? I''ll save you a VIP seat!!]


    "Sorry, I don''t think I can make it."


    It was a shame he couldn''t watch Echidna''s performance live, but he couldn''t put off the matter with the Church of Radiance.


    "I''ll watch it online when I have time. It''ll be broadcast online too, right?"


    [It will, but... Yeon-Joo and Seol-Ah said they couldn''te either. I can''t believe you all!]


    "Why can''t theye?"


    [Seol-Ah said she was going to enroll in some sses with Yeon-Joo. They said they couldn''te because the deadline is today.]


    "Oh."


    ''Come to think of it, she said she was taking cooking sses. I guess Yeon-Joo''s tagging along too. I highly doubt sses would help her wretched cooking skills.''


    In any case, Han Seol-Ah was trying to take some hobbies like Kang-Woo suggested.


    "Sorry. I''lle to your next live performance for sure."


    [Hm! It''s a promise!]


    "Okay."


    [Alright, I''m off to my rehearsal!]


    The call ended. Kang-Woo put his smartphone in his pocket and looked around the empty living room.


    <i>''I guess Darling is busy today.''</i>


    It was a good thing since he had no intention of bringing Seol-Ah along.


    <i>ck.</i>


    Just then, the front door opened, and Seol-Ah and Cha Yeon-Joo entered.


    "Oh? Since when were you home, Kang-Woo? I thought you went to see Si-Hun."


    "Th-The hell?! The son of a bitch Oh Kang-Woo is here?"


    Yeon-Joo hid behind Seol-Ah in shock.


    "Have you registered for your sses?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "No, we''re about to. A famous chef runs the sses, so there are tests involved."


    "Sounds like a hardcore ce."


    "Fufu. I thought I might as well learn from the best."


    "Hehe. That''s fine and all, but... isn''t Yeon-Joo a lost cause?"


    Kang-Woo snickered as he stared at Yeon-Joo hiding behind Seol-Ah. She was in an awkward stance because she was taller than Seol-Ah.


    "I-I''m gonna take the introductory sses!" Yeon-Joo shouted.


    "Really? What about your guild? Haven''t you been busytely?"


    She was probably acting busier than she was because she wanted to avoid Kang-Woo but there seemed to be real trouble the guild was dealing with as well.


    "Ngh... That''s a bit of a pain in the ass, but Seol-Ah said she wouldn''t stand for it if I didn''te with her."


    "Wh-When did I say that?"


    "You said I needed toe with you no matter what!"


    "I-I did, but only because I didn''t want to go by myself."


    "Heh, see what I mean?"


    Kang-Woo smiled faintly as the two women bickered.


    "That''s good. Oh, I also have some business to attend to from today, so I won''t be home."


    "Business?"


    "What work could a freeloader like you possibly have?"


    Kang-Woo told them about investigating the cult known as the Church of Radiance.


    "I-I''ming with you!"


    "If something that serious is happening, we don''t have any time to waste, do we? Should I alsoe along?"


    "No, it''s fine. We''re still in the investigation phase." Kang-Woo shook his head to stop the two women from trying to follow him.


    It was true that they were only going to be investigating the Church of Radiance, but Kang-Woo didn''t want to put his lovers in danger, especially when someone known as a pastor managed to injure Si-Hun.


    <i>''And...''</i>


    He did not want to show Seol-Ah and Yeon-Joo the horrifying rituals that the members of the Church of Radiance were holding. It would not affect Kang-Woo much, but it would have a significant impact on them.


    "I''ll be on my way then. Have a safe trip, you two."


    "Are you sure you''ll be fine without us?"


    "Don''t worry, and stay with Yeon-Joo."


    Kang-Woo lightly kissed Seol-Ah and turned around. Just then, Yeon-Joo grabbed his shoulder.


    "Hm? What is it?"


    Yeon-Joo twisted around with her cheeks reddened. She mumbled quietly, "Wh-What about me...?"


    "Hehe."


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but chuckle as he saw how cute Yeon-Joo was. He kissed Yeon-Joo as well.


    Yeon-Joo turned around and muttered, "Don''t you dare... think of this as me forgiving you."


    "I''ll sincerely apologize once Ie back. I''m sorry."


    "Haaa. Anyway, don''t you dare get hurt, got it?"


    "Gotcha."


    Kang-Woo nodded and headed to the Hall of Protection, where Si-Hun was waiting for him.


    ***


    "Is this the meeting ce?"


    "Yes."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and looked around. Si-Hun had taken him to a giant slum in France. The buildings were so run down that they looked like they were about to fall apart. Not only did the streets reek of excrement but rats and insects filled them as well.


    "A perfect ce for a cult to spread..."


    People with nothing to lose tended to gravitate toward cults.


    "That''s the ce, hyung-nim."


    "Okay."


    Kang-Woo and Si-Hun changed into dirty and worn-out clothes to fit in with the surroundings and headed to the meeting ce. Thousands of people were crowded in an old factory. Kang-Woo grimaced due to the putrid stench around him.


    "It will start soon," Si-Hun remarked.


    "Will that pastor who ran away from you make his appearance?"


    "I am not sure about that."


    "Hmm."


    <i>''I guess we''ll have to wait and see.''</i>


    As Kang-Woo and Si-Hun waited among the crowd, a young man in a suit climbed up the stage. He was wearing a golden ne with a bnce scale pattern on it.


    "It''s very nice to meet you, everyone. I give you my sincerest thanks for gathering here today."


    His voice was as gentle as a spring breeze. No one would think such a man could hold a ritual as psychotic as killing infants. The thousands of people mumbled even more once they noticed the man on the stage.


    The man closed his eyes and said, "First, let us pray before I bestow upon you the words of radiance."


    <i>Whoooom!!</i>


    Radiant golden light poured out from behind the young man and filled the deste streets. The lifeless and dark streets were suddenly illuminated as if the sun had risen.


    "Ahhh."


    "The blessing of radiance!"


    "Let us be guided toward paradise!"


    The golden wave spread among the thousands of people gathered in the old factory. The eyes of the people enveloped by the golden light also turned gold momentarily; the light naturally entered Kang-Woo as well since he was also in the crowd.


    <i>''Is this the mass hypnosis?''</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn''t tell; he couldn''t feel any change inside him despite the light entering him. He couldn''t feel any hypnotic or other psychological effects other than feeling slightlyforted.


    "Ahhh!"


    "Salvation... Please grant us salvation!!"


    The others enveloped by the light did not seem to have been hypnotized either. Rather, theirplexion brightened, and the fatigue in their eyes cleared. Those clenching their stomachs from starvation suddenly stood up, and those coughing uncontrobly, likely due to illness, stopped coughing and smiled brightly.


    "..."


    The sight befitted the word <i>paradise</i>.


    "Thank you. Thank you very much!!!"


    "I will follow the radiance!!"


    "O Almighty Radiance!!"


    The thousands of people cheered fanatically and then lowered their heads to pray. Their prayer stance was a little odd; they crossed their arms into an X-shape over their chest.


    <i>''Yibambe?''</i>


    Kang-Woo followed suit and crossed his arms into an X-shape.


    He shouted, "GRANT US SALVATION FROM THE APOCALYPSE¡ª!! GUIDE US TO PARADISE¡ª!!!"


    His screams echoed throughout the old factory.


    "WHOOOOOAAAAA!!"


    The people''s gazes naturally shifted to Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo shouted again, "I WILL BELIEVE IN THE LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT¡ª!!!"


    The people staring at him gave him a thumbs-up. They also cheered fanatically and shouted for paradise, like Kang-Woo.


    "YEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!"


    "GRANT US SALVATION¡ª!!!''


    "O RADIAAAAAAAAAAAAAANCE!!"


    Madness filled the factory.


    "H-Hyung-nim?"


    Si-Hun stared at Kang-Woo in confusion. Kang-Woo ignored him and screeched with all his might.


    "WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"


    "Ahhh! This desperate cry!!"


    "I see you have realized the meaning of radiance as well!!"


    Those who looked like homeless people ced their hands on Kang-Woo''s shoulders as he was screaming more passionately than anyone.


    "My brother!!!"


    "Ahh. yes!! We''re brothers!!"


    "Let us all shout for the radiance!!!"


    "WHOOOOOAAAAA!!!''


    "O RADIAAAAAAAAAAAAAANCE!!!"


    The roars filling the factory amplified further. The devotees of the Church of Radiance grabbed each other''s shoulders and swayed left and right as they screamed. Tears flowed from Kang-Woo''s eyes. At this moment, the devotees had be one.


    "EVERYONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT¡ª?!!"


    "OF COURSE WE DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"


    "THE LIGHT WILL BRING US SALVATIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!"


    "IT WILL GUIDE US TO PARADIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE!!!"


    The other devotees screamed their lungs out alongside Kang-Woo.


    "AT THIS VERY MOMENT!!! WE HAVE BECOME ONE UNDER THE LIGHT!!! DO YOU FEEL IT, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS¡ª?! DO YOU FEEL THE RADIANT LIGHT¡ª?!"


    "I FEEL IT!! AHHH!! I FEEL IT!!!"


    "TELL ME HOW IT FEELS¡ª!!"


    "IT COULDN''T BE WARMER AND MORE COMFORTING!!!"


    "I DON''T FEEL HUNGRY ANYMORE!!!"


    "I DON''T FEEL THE PAIN OR SADNESS!!!"


    "THIS LIGHT IS WHAT WILL GUIDE US TO SALVATION!!!"


    As Kang-Woo thought, the golden light made the people temporarily forget their hunger and pain.


    <i>''It''s not mass hypnosis but mass drugging.''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s work was done now that he figured out what effect the light held.


    "E-Everyone! Please calm down!" shouted hurriedly the young man on the stage. He seemed panicked as he witnessed the chaos that could no longer be called a prayer. "There is no need for you to do this. The light of radiance will guide you all to salv¡ª"


    Kang-Woo interjected the young man and shouted, "EVERYONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! LET US SCREAM AND SHOUT¡ª!!! SET YOUR SOUL ABLAZE AND PRAY FOR THE LIGHT''S SALVATIOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!"


    "O RADIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANCE!!!"


    "PLEASE GRANT US SALVATIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!"


    Kang-Woo raised his arms high in the peak of madness.


    "WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"


    "W-WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!"


    "GYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH!!!"


    "SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESH!!!"


    The young man''s expression paled as he witnessed the peak of delirium.


    He shouted, "E-Everyone, p-please calm down...!"


    However, his voice was drowned by the crazed screams.

 Side Story Chapter 79 - There is No Light Here (4)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 79 - There is No Light Here (4)</h4>


    "WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!"


    "GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"


    "GRRRRK! KURGH! GRRRRRRRR!!"


    Crazed screeches which one would think were made by demons from Hell filled the factory. The people gathered in the factory pulled on their hear as they thrashed about. No matter how one looked at it, it couldn''t be called a regr gathering.


    "Ngh..."


    The flustered young man bit his lip.


    <i>Whoooom.</i>


    The golden wave filling the factory shrank.


    "GYAAAA... Huh?"


    "A-Ahem!"


    "I-I think we got a little too excited, everyone."


    The people screeching madly suddenly coughed and remained silent once they regained their senses after the golden wave emitted by the young man shrank. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.


    <i>''As I thought, that light is what''s cursing this.''</i>


    He didn''t feel any change in himself but it seemed highly effective on regr people. It was no different from hypnosis if madness could be induced in them so easily.


    <i>''So this is how they''ve been gathering devotees.''</i>


    Kang-Woo could understand the church''s pandemic-level rate of propagation.


    "Huuu. Haha. We have many more passionate devotees than usual today," said the young man on the stage with an awkward smile. "Right then, please allow thiscking agent of light to bring you all the words of radiance."


    The young man took a moment to clear his throat.


    "H-Hyung-nim, why did you..." asked Kim Si-Hun nervously before the sermon began.


    He seemed to have been greatly shocked by Kang-Woo for instigating the madness.


    "There was something I wanted to check."


    Kang-Woo needed to determine the extent of the golden wave''s effects and how infatuated the devotees were with the Church of Radiance.


    "And besides, we''ll be less suspected this way."


    "Oh."


    Blending in without being noticed was the basics of infiltration.


    "I feel like your actions only drew attention to yourself though..." Si-Hun smiled bitterly as he slurred. "In any case, he fortunately doesn''t seem to be paying much attention to you."


    "Is that the pastor you went up againstst time?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "No. The pastor I fought was a man in his mid-forties."


    "Is that so?"


    Si-Hun had mentioned there were multiple pastors, hence the young man was likely one of them.


    "Let''s just wait and see what he says for now."


    "Understood."


    Kang-Woo and Si-Hun examined the young pastor.


    "Before I begin the sermon, may I ask you all to share your stories with me?" the pastor asked gently.


    "Pardon...?"


    "O-Our stories?"


    "You can talk about anything you''d like. Stories of your life, hardships, sorrows... Anything."


    "..."


    The devotees nced at each other. Just then, a woman holding a small baby walked out from the crowd.


    The young pastor smiled brightly as he stared at the baby. "Oh, what a beautiful baby."


    The baby giggled as he reached for the pastor.


    The woman mentioned with a trembling voice, "Pastor... I-I recently gave birth to this boy, but... I-I can''t afford to raise him... <i>Sniff!</i>"


    The woman burst into tears.


    "The boy''s father abandoned him... I-I can''t work because my illness is getting worse... and I can''t afford to get treatment."


    It wasmon; one needed to earn money to raise a baby but they couldn''t work due to illness. However, they couldn''t afford to treat the illness, resulting in a cycle of poverty. There were countless such cases on Earth due to many countries going bankrupt after the Day of Cmity.


    "Please... just this child. Please help me so that at least he can live on. I don''t care what happens to me. I don''t mind dying if it means he will be saved..."


    The young pastor slowly reached for the woman in silence. "I see... you''ve suffered greatly."


    Tears trickled down his cheeks. He embraced the woman without even thinking about wiping his tears. His clean suit was dirtied by the woman''s clothes.


    "P-Pastor? Y-Your clothes¡ª"


    "It''s alright. You are far more important to me than mere clothes."


    The man grabbed the woman''s shoulders.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    Golden light entered the woman through the man''s hands.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    The woman''s sorrowful eyes went nk. She smiled faintly as if she were high.


    She shouted with joy, "I... I don''t feel any pain, Pastor! A-Am I cured?"


    "No." The pastor firmly shook his head as he stared at the smiling woman. "This power is merely to help you momentarily forget your pain. I am not powerful enough to cure your illness."


    "N-No way!"


    "Your body will plead for pain over time and agony will engulf you yet again."


    "Then what about this child¡ª"


    "However," the pastor interjected, eyes full of determination. "As for this child... I will take full responsibility and guide him to <i>paradise</i>."


    "A-Aaaahh!"


    "Do not worry. This beautiful gem of yours will be freed from this wretched world... and live happily in a safe and joyful world."


    "Pastor...!"


    The woman lowered her head with tears in her eyes.


    The pastor received the baby from her and slowly turned to the devotees to say, "Everyone. The current Earth is... no different from a sinking ship." He looked around the crowd and continued in a low tone, "The keel of the ship has been broken beyond repair and water is continuously flowing in from a break in the hull."


    His gentle voice echoed throughout the silent factory.


    "Are you all aware of the otherworldly beings?" he asked.


    "Otherworldly...?"


    "I am referring to beings from other worlds besides Earth. I am sure you are aware of them. After all, they have already invaded Earth many times."


    "Oh! Are you talking about the giant space battleship that appeared above New York a while ago?"


    "Come to think of it, I heard that a swarm of giant insects invaded Seoul!"


    The devotees nodded one after another. The people of Earth were already aware of the otherworldly invasions; such invasions have been urring one after another, albeit the scales were nowhere near that of the Gctic Federation and the Parasites.


    "Yes. Such beings will continue to invade this world. They will bare their sharp fangs and brutally ughter your families and loved ones." The young pastor clenched his fists, bit his lip, and his shoulders trembled. "This world will soon meet its end."


    "Ahhh!"


    "Wh-What a disaster!"


    The devotees gathered in the factory trembled in shock. The young pastor stared at them in deep sorrow.


    "With my meager powers... I cannot save every one of you." He kneeled and lowered his head toward the devotees. "I''m sorry, I''m sorry. I''m sorry. I''m sincerely sorry... for being unable to protect and save all of you."


    "P=Pastor..."


    "Please raise your head!!"


    The devotees panicked once the pastor bowed to them.


    He raised his head and continued with a bitter smile, "Haha. Of course, I have no intention of running away. Once the apocalypsees... I willy down my life alongside you all."


    "..."


    "However, this child... this beautiful and pure gem! I cannot allow him to meet his end in this wretched world."


    The young pastor slowly stood up and teared up as he embraced the baby tightly.


    "I will conduct... the ritual of <i>Ascension</i>."


    Immense golden light, iparable to the amount from before, burst and spread throughout the factory. Darkness in the slums was chased away as if the sun rose.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    "O Radiance..."


    The eyes of the devotees turned nk as they were enveloped by the golden wave. They crossed their forearms into an X-shape and lowered their heads. The young pastor smiled as he looked down at the baby in his arms.


    "Please... be free from this world and live happily and healthy in a better ce."


    The immense golden light enveloped the baby.


    "<i>Waaaaaahh!</i>" the baby cried the moment the light enveloped him.


    The young pastor gently rocked the baby to console him. He smiled as kindly as he could and kissed the baby''s forehead.


    "There is nothing to worry about. There will be no pain. If you close your eyes... a new world... one far safer and warmer than this world... will be waiting for you."


    "<i>Uuung</i>?"


    The baby stopped crying and looked up innocently at the young pastor as he tilted his head and giggled. The golden light slowly covered the baby like a tent.


    "What a load of fucking bullshit."


    <i>Bash¡ª!!!</i>


    Kang-Woo jumped up on stage and kicked the young pastor''s face.


    "Kurgh!!"


    The young pastor was sent flying as he grabbed his broken nose. Kang-Woo carefully caught the falling baby.


    "Paradise, my ass. What do you think you''re doing to a baby who can''t even walk yet?"


    He red at the young pastor with a grimace.


    "Ah." The young pastor slowly looked up and saw that the golden light enveloping the baby had disappeared. "Y-You..."


    The pastor''s pupils constricted as he stared at Kang-Woo wide-eyed.


    "WHAT HAVE YOU DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE?!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed in desperation.


    His wretched screeches shook the factory. The pastor pulled on his hair in irritation and red at Kang-Woo resentfully.


    "THAT CHILD!!! HE COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED!!! WHY?!! WHY DID YOU INTERFERE?!! I COULD HAVE SAVED THE BOY FROM THIS BROKEN WORLD!!! THE APOCALYPSE!!! I NEEDED TO SAVE HIM NO MATTER WHAT!!!"


    Tears flowed down the man''s cheeks. He kneeled as he stared at the baby in Kang-Woo''s arms.


    <i>Bang! Bang! Bang!</i>


    He mmed his head into the ground.


    "I''M SORRY!! I''M SORRY, LITTLE ONE!!! I-I COULDN''T SAVE YOU!!! I COULDN''T GUIDE YOU TO PARADISE!!!"


    The blood pouring from the pastor''s forehead wet his face. He slowly raised his head and stared at Kang-Woo with animosity.


    "YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!!!" The pastor gritted his teeth and stood up. He screamed resentfully, "YOU KILLED THAT CHILD!!! YOU! YOU SENTENCED HIM TO DEATH!!!"


    "<i>Waaaaaaahhh!</i>"


    Kang-Woo looked down at the baby who began to cry again in his arms and chuckled.


    "The fuck are you on about, dipshit?"

 Side Story Chapter 80 - There is No Light Here (5)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 80 - There is No Light Here (5)</h4>


    "Ah shit, I got snot on my shirt."


    Oh Kang-Woo frowned and wiped off the crying baby''s snot with his sleeve.


    "Hurgh!! How... How could you do something so atrocious?!" The young pastor was still crying as if the world had ended. "Why?! Why did you kill that child?!!"


    "What the fuck are you talking about, man? He''s as fit as a fiddle."


    <i>''Can''t you fucking hear him crying his tiny lungs out?''</i>


    "HOW COULD YOU KILL AN INNOCENT BABY WHO CAN''T EVEN WALK YET?!!"


    "I said I didn''t kill him."


    "ANSWER ME!!! I''M ASKING WHY YOU SAW THE NEED TO KILL THE BABY!!!"


    "Are you even listening to me?"


    "YOU CRUEL DEMON!!! DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE YOUR SINS WILL GO UNPUNISHED?!!"


    "FUCKING HELL¡ª!!! I DIDN''T KILL THE FUCKING BABY, YOU MOTHERFUCKER¡ª!!! HE''S RIGHT HERE, LIVING AND BREATHING!!! WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL OFF THE BABY?!!"


    "AHHH!! O ALMIGHTY AKART!! PLEASE BRING SALVATION TO THAT YOUNG SOUL ONCE AGAIN!!! AND BRING DOWN THE MACE OF LIGHT ON THE DEMON WHO DARED TO KILL THAT TINY GEM!!!"


    "ARRRRGGGHHHHH!!! YOU''RE PISSING ME THE FUCK OFF¡ª!!!"


    <i>''I''m so fucking angry!!! Why the fuck isn''t he listening to a word I say?!!''</i>


    "Please calm down, hyung-nim. Words will not get through to him."


    Kim Si-Hun climbed up to the stage after Kang-Woo and unsheathed his sword from his waist. Frost staged around the white de.


    "He seriously believes killing the baby is a form of salvation."


    Si-Hun red at the pastor more coldly than the frost raging around his sword.


    "What a bunch of lunatics."


    Kang-Woo shook his head in exasperation.


    "Killing... the baby?" mumbled the young pastor and violently gritted his teeth. "Why would you me me for such a thing? You are the ones who killed that child."


    "There you go again with the bullshit. What did you do just now, then?"


    The golden light had an effect simr to narcotics; it reced pain with pleasure. If an immense amount of such light were to enter a baby, they would either die of a heart attack or stroke.


    "I was offering that child salvation," the pastor answered.


    "Bullshit. You call killing a baby salvation?"


    "I am not killing him!! His soul will be guided to the great Akart and be reborn in a safe world!"


    "What...?"


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    <i>''Reborn in a safe world? Does this son of a bitch think reincarnating them is salvation?''</i>


    He did not know whether or not they were truly being reincarnated but the fact that the babies were being killed did not change.


    "That''s the same thing as killing," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "No! They''re different! Killing would be letting them stay in this world!!" the pastor firmly shouted. "This world is soon to end."


    "Who the hell is spouting that kind of bullshit?"


    "I am sure you''re aware of it too! The endless otherworldly invasions! The copsed Law and bnce!" The pastor spread out his arms and stomped the ground. "This world will soon meet its end!! It is no different from a sinking ship!!"


    "Hah..." Kang-Woo chuckled and red at the pastor. "Then why don''t you die and be reincarnated first?"


    If the pastor truly believed this world was about to end, he would also end his life of his own ord and reincarnate to another world¡ª although no one could know whether the reincarnation was real or not.


    "Enough of your nonsense!" the pastor shouted.


    "You''re the one who''s spouting nons¡ª"


    "Who would you save first in a sinking ship? Who would you save first in a burning house?!" The young pastor''s tears trickled down his cheeks and gathered at the tip of his chin. "You would naturally save the children¡ª the young souls first!!! It is only natural you would save the young ones who have yet to enjoy life!!!"


    "..."


    <i>''Oh, I get it now.''</i>


    "But you want me to take my own life and be sent to paradise first? No, no, no!! I cannot do that!!! No human should do such a thing!! It is selfish and greedy!!"


    <i>''He''s...''</i>


    "No matter how hard you try to stop me, I will save that child!! I will not abandon that young soul!!!"


    <i>''A pure, transparent, undefiled, righteous...''</i>


    "Lunatic." Kang-Woo stared at the young pastor with deeply sunken eyes. "Yeah, I''ve seen bastards like you. Morons who stay true to their moronic convictions."


    "..."


    "Do you seriously believe the end is near? Do you seriously think the souls of infants will be sent to paradise by killing them?"


    "That is correct. ording to the great Akart¡ª"


    "Then why would you, who''s so proud and righteous, drug people to make them follow you?"


    "That''s¡ª"


    "Aren''t you making them follow you after drugging them because you know in your heart that what you say sounds like a load of bullshit?"


    "I am not. I am simply doing this in hopes that they can find somefort in their life full of hardships¡ª"


    "No, you''re not. If you wanted to do that, you wouldn''t need to spread that light only when you''re holding sermons."


    If the pastor truly had no reason to use them and only desired theirfort, he wouldn''t spread the light only in such gatherings.


    "I''m certain you know there isn''t anyone who would genuinely believe and understand your bullshit. That''s why you''re using that painkilling light, aren''t you?"


    "INCORRECT¡ª!! Everyone gathered here is listening carefully to the words of light and staying true to them!!"


    "Is that so? All I see is a bunch of druggies."


    Kang-Woo smirked and looked around. The devotees were intoxicated by the golden light that burst forth during the ritual of Ascension and were giggling nkly. No one would think of them as faithful devotees following the light.


    "You simply used these people to spread Akart''s bullshit."


    "I did not! I am trying to save them!!"


    "By killing them? Alright, fine. Let''s say they reincarnate to another world. Shouldn''t you at least get their consent? Who are you to kill people and reincarnate them without their permission?"


    Kang-Woo wondered if the mother still would have consented to reincarnating her baby if she weren''t under the golden light''s effects. Regardless of whether the pastor was guiding the baby to salvation or not, his actions were forceful the moment he used the light no different from a narcotic.


    "Do you ask consent before saving people on a sinking boat?" the pastor asked.


    "That''s how you wanna y, huh? Do you seriously think the two situations are the same? You had more than enough time to ask for consent."


    "It is the same! The end of the world is imminent!"


    "Oh, shit~ I''m scared shitless! The sky is falling and the ground is breaking!! The end of the world is here!!"


    "Urgh!!" The pastor bit his lip.


    "Whatever you say doesn''t change the fact that you turned these people into your puppets to use them." Kang-Woo turned around and put the baby in the dazed mother''s arms. He called, "Si-Hun."


    "Yes, hyung-nim."


    "I have things to ask that bastard, so don''t kill him."


    "Understood."


    Si-Hun nodded and charged toward the pastor.


    "Kurgh! Damned wicked demons!"


    The pastor grimaced and stretched out his arm. Gold light particles gathered to form a shield.


    "The demons¡ª" The blue condensed sword energy surged from the white de. "¡ª are you bastards."


    Si-Hun swung his sword.


    <i>ng! Crack¡ª!!</i>


    The white sword caused a frost storm as it shed with the golden shield.


    "I mean, technically, I am a demon," Kang-Woo muttered.


    "Hyung-nim...?"


    "Oh, sorry. Go get him, Si-Hun!"


    Kang-Woo moved the dazed devotees so they wouldn''t be caught in the battle and clenched his fist toward Si-Hun.


    "Kurghhh," grunted the pastor after getting caught in the frost storm. "O Great Akart... Grant me the light of truth."


    A golden wave burst from him and gathered to turn into the shape of a spear.


    "Haaaaahh!" the pastor shouted as he thrusted the golden spear.


    "Too slow."


    Si-Hun used a foot technique to move left and dodged the spear. He pivoted with his right foot to turn 180 degrees and swung his sword at incredible speed.


    <i>ng!</i>


    "Kurgh!" the pastor grunted as he just barely blocked the attack after quickly pulling his spear back to him.


    He swayed greatly, likely because he did not block the attack in a strong stance.


    <i>ng, ng, ng!</i>


    The attacks continued like a stream of water¡ª no, a rapid river. Dozens of attacks shed the pastor in less than a second.


    "It''s pointless!!!" The pastor fluidly moved his spear as he gritted his teeth. He twirled his spear and blocked all of Si-Hun''s attacks. "Repent in death!"


    <i>Thump!</i>


    The pastor mmed the butt of his spear on the ground and flew into the air. He then changed directions midair as if he were stepping on invisible steps.


    <i>Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!</i>


    Countless spear attacks rained down from all directions as if the edges of the spear had multiplied, leaving no room to dodge or block.


    "Different person, same technique." Si-Hun coldly chuckled as he stared at the countless spear attacks. The pastor he was facing was different from the one he battled but their techniques were the same. "If that''s the case..."


    Si-Hun raised his sword over his head in a reverse grip so that the tip of the de faced the ground.


    "You won''t be a match for me."


    He stabbed the ground with all his might.


    <i>Split¡ª!!!</i>


    Frost spread from where the sword stabbed the ground, enveloping the surroundings in intense cold.


    "Wh-What in the...!"


    The pastor''s movements turned noticeably slower after getting enveloped in the cold.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Si-Hun pulled out his sword and charged at the pastor at incredible speed and poured an unfathomablyrge wave of attacks at him. The pastor quickly gripped his spear tightly and tried to block Si-Hun''s attacks but was getting pushed back due to his lowered speed.


    "I-Impossible!"


    Not only that but Si-Hun was countering all of the pastor''s attacks as if he knew exactly how the pastor would attack.


    Si-Hun smiled coldly and said, "I''ve seen it before."


    He would never fall for an attack twice. No matter how fluidly the pastors could handle their spears, Si-Hun had already learned their pattern.


    The pastor shouted in shock, "That''s insane! How could one perfectly decipher the martial art that the Great Akart has bestowed upon us?!!"


    <i>ng¡ª!</i>


    Si-Hun took advantage of negligible openings that not even the truly powerful could take advantage of to attack the pastor. He disarmed the pastor and the golden spear flew out of his hand. Si-Hun brought the frost sword to the pastor''s neck.


    "I just can."


    "..."


    The pastor fell to the ground, lost for words. Kang-Woo, watching their battle in silence, pped his hands together as if he had recalled something.


    "Ohh...e to think of it, he''s the protagonist."


    <i>''You got the Sharingan, or what?''</i>

 Side Story Chapter 81 - There is No Light Here (6)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 81 - There is No Light Here (6)</h4>


    <i>''I guess he wasn''t bullshitting when he said he learned the attack pattern.''</i>


    Oh Kang-Woo thought Kim Si-Hun was just making excuses because he didn''t want to acknowledge his defeat.


    <i>''I mean, I have to admit Si-Hun is overpowered as fuck.''</i>


    No matter howplex and extraordinary the opponent''s martial art was, it would not work on him more than once. He gained a perfect understanding of the martial art''s movements and weaknesses after seeing it once and would use that against the enemy the second time it was used.


    It was impossible to defeat Si-Hun purely with martial arts; one would either have to overpower him with pure physical prowess or face him with magic no one had ever seen before or something like witchcraft.


    "Th-This can''t be," the pastor muttered.


    "It can," Si-Hun replied as he stabbed his sword into the copsed pastor''s shoulders.


    Crack!


    White frost spread from the young pastor''s shoulders and instantly froze his arms.


    "He''s been neutralized, hyung-nim."


    "Good work, Si-Hun," Kang-Woo said as he patted Si-Hun''s shoulder.


    Si-Hun slightly blushed.


    <i>''Why the hell are you blushing? You''re making it weird.''</i>


    "That aside, I guess you weren''t lying when you said you learned his attack pattern."


    "Oh, that''s..."


    "To be honest, I thought you were lying because of embarrassment."


    "..."


    Si-Hun smiled awkwardly and remained silent. Kang-Woo stared at him curiously.


    "What''s wrong?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "To be honest... this pastor was far weaker than the one I faced. That was the only reason I could win this easily."


    "Oh, is that so?"


    Kang-Woo thought as much; Si-Hun had overpowered his opponent too easily, even taking into ount he learned his opponent''s attack pattern.


    "Yes. There was a gap in overall skill as well, but... there was a huge difference between them in generalbat prowess. The attacks of the pastor I faced were so overpowering that I thought my palms were getting torn apart just from blocking his spear."


    "Hmm. I see." Kang-Woo nodded and slowly walked toward the young pastor squirming on the ground like an insect. "Right then, shall we begin?"


    "B-Begin what?" the young pastor asked.


    "Come on, I''m sure you know what."


    Kang-Woo smirked. There was only one thing to do after capturing an enemy alive.


    "Do you wanna do this the hard way, or do you just wanna talk?" he asked.


    "Kurgh! We do not submit to pain!"


    "That''s what you think."


    A human who did not submit to pain did not exist.


    <i>''I mean, I don''t know whether he''s human or not yet.''</i>


    The young pastor red at Kang-Woo and shouted, "Pastor Salvatore will not forgive this abominable act!"


    <i>''Pastor Salvatore?''</i>


    He was likely the pastor who fought against Si-Hun; after all, there likely weren''t many who could physically overpower Si-Hun.


    "Alright. First, why don''t you tell me where this Pastor Salvatore is?"


    Kang-Woo cackled as he approached the pastor. He ced his foot over the pastor''s knee and stomped down with all his might.


    <i>Crunch!</i>


    "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!" the young pastor screamed.


    <i>''Alright, I''ve confirmed he can feel pain.''</i>


    In that case, there was no point in checking whether he was human or a different entity in the form of one. As long as he could feel pain, he wouldn''t be able to handle the painful torture.


    "I... cannot... say."


    "Yeah, I thought as much. But you see, you won''t be able to handle not telling me soon," said Kang-Woo as he leaned toward the young pastor with a bright smile.


    "Wh-What are you nning to do?!"


    "Nothing special."


    Kang-Woo stuck his finger into the hole in the pastor''s shoulder that Si-Hun made.


    "Argh!" the pastor screamed in pain.


    "Have you heard about <i>molting</i>?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Mol...ting?"


    "Don''t be so confused. You''ll know once you experience it for yourself. I mean, it''s notplete molting, so you don''t have to worry. I''m just going to inject some demonic energy from the Abyss into you to imitate it."


    "Wh-What are you talking ab¡ª"


    "Right, then."


    Kang-Woo injected demonic energy from the Abyss into the young pastor through his finger in the pastor''s shoulder.


    "Ah."


    The young pastor''s eyes widened. The demonic energy of the Abyss was like a deadly poison to anyone who didn''t possess the Demonic Sea. The demonic energy inside the pastor began to tear him apart from the inside.


    "GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" the young pastor screeched inexplicably. It sounded like something a monster that crawled out from an eternal nightmare would make. "ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"


    Blood poured out from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. His skin split, his muscles and blood vessels protruding from the ends.


    "KARRRGHHH! GURGHHH!"


    The pastor''s eyes rolled backward, and he foamed at the mouth as he convulsed uncontrobly.


    "That''s enough."


    Kang-Woo retrieved the demonic energy of the Abyss he injected into the pastor. The screaming and convulsing pastor panted heavily.


    "<i>Huff! Huff! Huff!!</i>"


    Tears flowed down his cheeks, and his eyes filled with terror darted all over the ce.


    "Okay, do you feel like telling me now?"


    "A-Aaaahh."


    "Haven''t had enough yet, have you? I guess we can go another round, then."


    "W-Wait!! Please wait a second!!" the young pastor shouted intensely.


    Kang-Woo smiled widely.


    "Pastor Salvatore is..." the young pastor continued with bloodshot eyes and a trembling tone, "the one who will save this world."


    "What?"


    Kang-Woo frowned.


    <i>Whoooom¡ª!!!</i>


    Just then, immense golden light poured out of the bnce scale ne the young pastor was wearing.


    "Oh, fuck!"


    Realizing something was wrong, Kang-Woo quickly reached for the ne to rip it off the young pastor''s neck.


    <i>Sizzle¡ª!!</i>


    "Arghh!!!"


    Kang-Woo''s hand burned the moment he touched the ne. Intense pain traveled up from his hand as the skin on his hand was charred ck.


    "It is... toote," the young pastor said with a smile.


    The immense golden light wrapped the young pastor.


    "Shit!" Kang-Woo cursed and bit his lip as he helplessly stared at the golden light getting brighter.


    "Haha. No matter how hard you try to interfere with the Great Akart''s n... his will cannot be bent. He will bring salvation to this world... which is already crashing and burning."


    The young pastor smiled even wider.


    "Soon... no, today, everyone on Earth will know the Great Akart''s will... and his almighty name."


    "Today? What the fuck are you talking about?" Kang-Woo asked as he red at the pastor.


    Akart''s existence was one of the most tightly-kept secrets. Forget ordinary citizens; only a select few in Guardians knew of his existence.


    "Huhuhu. Today... the bnce will be met..."


    The golden light enveloping the pastor reached its peak brightness. The immense energy swelled as if it would explode at any moment.


    "Fuck! Run, Si-Hun!!! This shit is gonna blow!!!" shouted Kang-Woo as he quickly turned around.


    "H-Hyung-nim!!"


    <i>''That''s for sure an </i>"Art is an explosion"<i> moment!!!''</i>


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! MOTHERFUCKER¡ª!!!" Kang-Woo cursed as he ran like hell.


    The golden storm was already right behind him.


    <i>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!</i>


    "HYUUUUUUUUUUUUNG!!!"


    A golden explosion shook the entire slum along with an ear-splitting sound. Kang-Woo faintly heard Si-Hun''s voice between the noise.


    "Motherfu..."


    Kang-Woo was swept into the explosion, but he felt something sturdy envelop him.


    <i>RUMBLE¡ª!!!</i>


    An enormous mushroom cloud formed in the obliterated slums before Kang-Woo could see what it was. He passed out along with the feeling of floating in the air.


    ***


    "Kurgh! <i>Cough!</i>"


    Kang-Woo stood up and coughed heavily. The debris from the destroyed buildings was all around him.


    "Goddammit," he cursed as he grabbed his forehead.


    He never expected the pastor to self-destruct. Not only that but the explosion was so massive that it destroyed the entire slums.


    <i>''But why am I almostpletely fine after that massive explosion?''</i>


    The Light of Akart was deadly to him. Considering the density of light he felt, it wouldn''t be strange for him to have lost consciousness for several days like what happened in Singapore. Despite that, he couldn''t see any significant physical issues.


    "Wait a second..."


    A bad feeling went down his back. He threw aside the debris of buildings around him with shaking hands.


    "A-Arghh... <i>Cough! Cough!</i>"


    Under the debris was the heavily coughing Si-Hun, in terrible condition.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo froze. He could easily figure out that Si-Hun was the one who shielded him from the explosion.


    "A-Are you okay... hyung?" called Si-Hun, his voice so faint he might pass out at any moment.


    "Kim Si-Hun..."


    "H-Haha. What a relief." Si-Hun smiled faintly and copsed with a satisfied expression. "I was... able to protect you... this time."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo bit open his thumb in silence, his expressionpletely frozen. He let the blood flow into Si-Hun''s mouth and used the Authority of Regeneration.


    "Kurgh! <i>Cough!</i> Haaa, haaa. I''m okay, hyung."


    "Just shut up and drink."


    "Hehehe. This isn''t enough... to kill me. The Light of Akart... doesn''t have any significant¡ª <i>Cough!</i> Effect on me."


    As Si-Hun mentioned, his injuries were serious, but he wasn''t on the verge of death. His injuries couldn''t be instantly healed with the Authority of Regeneration because the Light of Akart drastically reduced the speed at which wounds healed but hisplexion was slowly improving.


    "..."


    Relief momentarily gleamed in Kang-Woo''s eyes and immediately disappeared. He expressionlessly picked up Si-Hun.


    <i>- Tonight, we bring you a live broadcast from Manchester Arena!</i>


    Just then, something noisy lit up among the debris. Kang-Woo turned to see that it was a smartphone on the ground with no owner. It was a miracle it managed to survive the explosion.


    <i>- There was huge news because of the sudden participation of a famous Korean idol! Of course, she is yet to be popr enough to perform on a global live performance like this, but she is garnering much attention from the audience thanks to her cuteness and extraordinary voice!</i>


    Kang-Woo focused on the smartphone screen.


    <i>- Right, then! Let us head right to the live stage! Please,e out!</i>


    The program host shouted excitedly.


    <i>- Greetings, everyone. My name is Salvatore. I am a pastor here to deliver to you all the words of the Great Akart.</i>


    <i>- H-Huh? Wh-Who are you people? What? What''s going on?</i>


    The host sounded confused. The screen showed a group of people in formal suits and wearing a golden bnce scale ne. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he stared at the smartphone screen.


    <i>"Today, everyone on Earth will know the Great Akart''s will... and his almighty name."</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled the young pastor''s final words.


    "I see now."


    He finally understood what the young pastor meant. He picked up the smartphone on the ground. Chaos had fallen on the live stage after the pastors took control of it. Kang-Woo smirked wickedly like a demon as he stared at the smartphone screen.


    "There you are."


    <i>Crack.</i>


    Kang-Woo crushed the smartphone in his hand.

 Side Story Chapter 82 - There is No Light Here (7)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 82 - There is No Light Here (7)</h4>


    "Who are you people?!"


    Bodyguards wearing ck suits ran forward and red threateningly at the group that suddenly infiltrated the live stage. A man among the people wearing different ck suits than the bodyguards walked forward.


    "Oh, there is no need to be so on guard. We have simplye to deliver the words of light."


    He was a gentle-looking man in his mid-forties with well-groomed gray hair and tidy clothes. He walked toward the bodyguards with a smile.


    "What the hell are you talking about?!"


    "Halt, halt!!"


    "We will attack if you do not stop!"


    The bodyguards shouted fiercely as they took out their weapons. Since this was thergest venue in Ennd, the bodyguards hired were high-level yers.


    "Hahaha. Allow me to apologize for the sudden visit." The man''s voice was as gentle as a spring breeze. He courteously bowed and continued, "However, I would like to ask for your understanding since it is to deliver the words of light to everyone on this Earth."


    "Hah," the bodyguards feignedughter.


    They couldn''t care less whether the gray-haired man was courteous; he had barged into and was trying to ruin a stage being broadcast live throughout Europe.


    "You fucking lunatics."


    The bodyguards bared their teeth as they red at the pastors.


    A bodyguard holding a walkie-talkie said, "We''ve been authorized to subdue them by force."


    The bodyguards standing in front of the pastors smirked, being allowed to legally exert violence on a group of lunatics.


    "Crazy motherfuckers!!"


    "Words of light, my ass!"


    The bodyguards charged simultaneously.


    "Ahhh," the gray-haired man expressed as he stared at the bodyguards. "How truly unfortunate."


    He slowly raised his right arm and lightly snapped his finger.


    <i>Crack! Burst! Crush!!</i>


    "Wh-What the hell?!"


    Blinding light shone all of a sudden, and the bodyguards charging at the pastors exploded. Blood, guts, and brain matter sttered all over the stage.


    "KYAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"


    "WH-WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"


    "H-HELP MEEEEEEE!!!"


    The audience gathered at the venue screamed and scattered. Chaos fell as tens of thousands of them ran all over the ce.


    "A-Aaaahh! What... what a disaster!"


    The gray-haired pastor fell to his knees in front of the corpses of the dead bodyguards and pulled on his well-groomed hair, disheveling it.


    "Why?!! Why did you defy the words of light and choose death?!!" He ced his hand on the puddle of blood and bawled his eyes out. "Hurghhh!! Sniff¡ª! Th-The misery!!! What am I to do with all this misery I am feeling?!!"


    The gray-haired pastor trembled in sorrow as if he couldn''t bear the deaths of the bodyguards.


    "Pastor Salvatore. We have little time," one of the pastors called from behind.


    "Oh, that''s right." Salvatore quickly stood up and crossed his arms into an X-shape in front of the dozens of corpses in front of him. "O Great Akart... Please guide thesembs who have lost the light."


    He sincerely prayed and turned around to walk back to the stage as he trampled on the corpses.


    "HMMMM!!! What do you think you''re doing on this sacred stage?!!"


    Just then, a cute ck-haired girl wearing a frilly dress climbed up the stage and snorted loudly.


    "And you are...?"


    "That''s my line! Who do you think you are, interrupting my live performance?!"


    The girl ced her hands on her waist and red at the pastors. She looked around for a moment and saw her fans who hade to watch her performance shouting at her.


    "M-Miss Echidna!!! It''s too dangerous!!!"


    "What are you doing?!! You have to run!!!"


    "Th-They''re lunatics!!!"


    Echidna''s fans were staring at her in pallor. She stared back at her fans hesitantly and turned back at the pastors.


    She raised her mic like a magic wand and shouted, "All of you, run away! I''ll hold them at bay!!!"


    "Wh-What?!"


    "We''re the ones telling you to run away!!"


    The members of Echidna''s fan club, who had flown from Korea to watch her performance, quickly shouted.


    "Shit! This won''t do! We have to stay and protect Miss Echidna!"


    "I agree! Those who can fight,e forward!"


    There were many high-ranking yers in the <i>Watchmen</i>, Echidna''s fanatical fan club.


    "Of all days, it had to be when Lady Aleyna is away...!"


    The Dragon God, Eleyna Kalioreus, the leader of Echidna''s fan club as well as one of Echidna''s biggest fans, couldn''t attend the live performance because of an important meeting in Aernor. Although it was being broadcast throughout Europe, she couldn''t be expected toe since radio waves did not reach Aernor.


    "Let us protect Miss Echidna!!"


    "YEAAAAAAHHHHH!!" the Watchmen yelled as they stood in front of Echidna.


    They, of course, were unarmed because they hade to watch a live performance.


    Echidna jumped in panic and shouted, "Don''te here! Go away, all of you!"


    She hade forward to protect her fans, but they had rathere to protect her.


    "Everyone, could you step aside as the youngdy asked?" asked Salvatore as if begging. "I am simply here to save all of you."


    "What...?"


    They couldn''t believe such words wereing out of someone who brutally murdered the bodyguards seconds ago.


    "Each of you is worthy of receiving the Great Akart''s grace. I would rather not harm such individuals."


    "Hm! Stop joking around!" Echidna walked forward with a frown. "You killed all these people and ruined the live stage!"


    She shouted into the mic toward Salvatore, "FOKRAH DIIN!!!"


    Dragon tongue magic echoed throughout the venue, A giant ball of ice formed in the air and flew toward Salvatore.


    "Ahhh," Tears flowed down Salvatore''s cheeks again. He lowered his head as he pulled on his disheveled gray hair and muttered, "Why must it be so difficult to deliver the words of light?"


    <i>Thunk¡ª!!</i>


    A burst of golden light deflected the ball of ice toward the Watchmen.


    "N-No!"


    Echidna quickly jumped toward the ball of ice she created.


    Crack¡ª!!


    "Arghhh!!"


    "M-Miss Echidna!!!"


    The ball of ice exploded, its fragments flying everywhere. Some of them ripped Echidna''s skin, and she bled.


    "Oww... it hurts."


    Echidna grabbed the ice fragment stuck in her nk and teared up. She had never felt pain ever since she met Kang-Woo.


    <i>''I''m scared.''</i>


    She trembled as fear ran down her back and throughout her body. The man who infiltrated the live stage was so powerful that she would be no match for him even if she returned to her original form.


    <i>''I''m... scared.''</i>


    Echidna shut her eyes tightly. Her will to fight was destroyed due to the immense gap in their strength.


    <i>''Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo.''</i>


    She wanted to see Kang-Woo''s face so badly. She wanted to throw aside her fans and her live performance to run into Kang-Woo''s arms, but...


    "M-Miss Echidna!!"


    "All of you... hurry up and run."


    She couldn''t bring herself to abandon the people who were risking their lives to protect her, who was but an idol who sang and danced.


    "Miss Echidna..."


    "NOW!!! GET OUT OF HERE!!!" Echidna shouted as she walked forward.


    Her legs were shaking uncontrobly, and she thought she was going to die of fear, but her legs were moving nheless, just like the man who freed her from loneliness.


    "Truly..." Salvatore''s eyes glowed gold. His gentle expression instantly turned cold. "An ignorant bunch."


    He slowly raised his arm to snap his fingers.


    <i>BOOM¡ª!!!</i>


    Just then, something fell from the sky at breakneck speed and destroyed the stage.


    "What the..." Salvatore frowned intensely.


    "Huh...? K-Kang-Woo?" Echidna, who was casting magic as she put pressure on her bleeding wound, was left wide-eyed. "KANG-WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"


    She ran to Kang-Woo teary-eyed and with a wide smile.


    "Hm! Hm!! Kang-Woo! You came!!!"


    "..."


    "Huh? K-Kang-Woo?"


    Echidna looked up in confusion after getting no response. Kang-Woo was staring at her nk, which was bleeding profusely due to an ice fragment pierced into it.


    "Who did this to you?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "K-Kang-Woo?"


    "Who... did this... to you?"


    "Kang-Woo... Y-Your eyes are scaring me."


    Echidna trembled.


    Kang-Woo grabbed her trembling shoulders and asked in a low tone, "Why didn''t you run?"


    "..."


    "You could have."


    "W-Well... my fans were..."


    Echidna averted her gaze from Kang-Woo. The heavily-injured Kim Si-Hun ovepped with Echidna in Kang-Woo''s vision¡ª no, it wasn''t just Si-Hun.


    <i>- Victory... to my king.</i>


    He also recalled the dependable moron who smiled widely despite heavily bleeding.


    "Why, why, why, why, why, why?"


    Kang-Woo gripped Echidna''s shoulders harder. His fingers trembled, his vision blurred, and he felt like he was about to vomit.


    "Why the fuck are you all so eager to die?"


    "Ngh." Echidna winced. "K-Kang-Woo, you''re hurting me."


    "Haaa, haaa, haaa," Kang-Woo panted heavily.


    His trembling eyes were filled with pure fear. Echidna looked up at him in silence.


    "I''m sorry, Kang-Woo..."


    She carefully caressed Kang-Woo''s trembling cheek, her warmth transferring to him.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo turned around in silence to face Pastor Salvatore, who was pulling on his disheveled gray hair.


    "A-Aaaahh." He looked around the stage and the equipment for the live broadcast, destroyed by Kang-Woo''s violentnding on the stage. "Why, why, why, why, why, WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"


    <i>m¡ª!</i>


    Salvatore stomped his foot aggressively.


    "WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE GETTING IN THE WAY OF US DELIVERING THE WORDS OF LIGHT?!!" He pulled on his hair hysterically. And shouted madly, "ALL I AM DOING IS TRYING TO SHOW YOU ALL THE LIGHT!!! THE RADIANCE!!! THE GREAT AKART''S BENEVOLENCE AND GRACE!!!"


    Salvatore spread out his arms toward the sky.


    "TAKE A GOOD LOOK!!! THIS IS THE LIGHT!!! THE LIGHT OF THE ALMIGHTY AKART, WHO WILL GUIDE US ALL TO PARADISE!!!"


    <i>Whoooom¡ª!!!</i>


    A golden wave enormous enough to engulf the entire live venue pulsed from Salvatore and gathered into a sphere in the air.


    "Ahhh, please take a good look at this brilliant radiance." Salvatore kneeled toward the sphere of light in the air. He burst into tears, crossed his forearms into an X-shape, and shouted passionately, "O GREAT AKART! BRING DOWN THE LIGHT OF TRUTH UPON THESE LOWLY TRUTHSEEKERS!!! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!"


    <i>Whooom¡ª!!!</i>


    The golden sphere shone brighter as if the sun had descended on Earth. Salvatore''s tears drenched the ground.


    "No."


    Kang-Woo walked toward the golden sun and slowly extended his arm toward it. He closed his fist in midair as if crushing the sun. And then, the light vanished.


    "Huh...?"


    The blindingly radiant golden sun was vaporized. The live venue was dyed in darkness as if a light switch had been turned off.


    "There is no light here."


    Only yellow eyes with horizontal pupils lit up within the abyssal darkness.

 Side Story Chapter 83 - There is No Light Here (8)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 83 - There is No Light Here (8)</h4>


    "Wha..."


    Pastor Salvatore''s shoulders trembled. Two ember-like eyes were staring at him in the darkness. Chills ran down his spine as he realized something was wrong.


    "WHO DARES COVER THE GREAT AKART''S LIGHT¡ª?!!" Salvatore shouted to erase the fear spreading throughout him.


    The yellow eyes in the darkness slowly shook and floated closer to him.


    "U-Urgh."


    Salvatore stepped backward without realizing it. The eyes, as yellow as that of a reptile, and the horizontal pupils, were chilling.


    "Eyes of a demon...!" Salvatore bit his lip. No other creature could have such evil eyes. "YOU BASTAAAAAAAAARD!!! SO YOU WERE THE SERVANT OF A DEMON!!!"


    He grimaced and raised his arms high.


    "PASTOOOOOOOOOORS!!! BRING JUDGMENT ON THE WICKED DEMON WHO DARES TO COVER THE LIGHT OF TRUTH!!"


    "JUDGMEEEEEEEEENT!!!"


    "JUDGMENT TO THE DEMON!!"


    The pastors standing behind Salvatore yelled as golden light burst from them. However, the golden light shining in the jet-ck darkness did not emit an inch past them.


    "Wh-What in the...!"


    "What is this darkness?!"


    It was as if the darkness was devouring the light. They couldn''t see anything in the abyssal darkness. All they could see were the two shining demonic eyes. The pastors couldn''t even see each other despite emitting light.


    "O GREAT AKART!!! GRANT YOUR LIGHT TO YOUR LOWLY SERVANTS!!!"


    "THE LIGHT¡ª!!"


    "THE LIGHT¡ª!!"


    The pastors lowered their stance inside the jet-ck darkness. Their sense of sight was blocked, but they were still seasoned warriors; they couldn''t be stopped just from the loss of sight.


    <i>ck, ck!</i>


    The light emitting from them gathered and turned into a long spear. They gripped their spears tightly and one of the pastors charged at the eyes gleaming in the darkness.


    "DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"


    He thrust his spear at the area slightly below the eyes, where the enemy''s neck would be.


    <i>Whoosh!!</i>


    "Huh?"


    The spear only sliced through the air. The pastor was left wide-eyed and frozen.


    <i>Crunch¡ª!!</i>


    "GAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    Sharp teeth bit into the pastor''s neck. Arge chunk was bitten off, and blood spewed like a fountain.


    "Kurgh! Grrrk!"


    The pastor copsed.


    Salvatore quickly shouted, "Those eyes are bait!!! Do not be fooled!!"


    If there was nothing where a neck should be based on the location of the eyes, it meant the eyes themselves were bait from the beginning.


    "He''s somewhere else!"


    "I-I can''t see anything in front of me!" one of the pastors shouted in terror.


    As he said, none of them could see a few centimeters in front of themselves. They were emitting light at full power but they couldn''t even see their bodies due to being engulfed in darkness.


    "YOU IMBECILE¡ª!!" shouted Salvatore as he stomped on the ground. "DO NOT DOUBT THE LIGHT OF THE GREAT AKART! HIS LIGHT WILL SOON CHASE AWAY THIS DARKNESS!!!"


    He crossed his forearms into an X-shape in front of his chest.


    <i>Whoooom¡ª!!!</i>


    Radiance burst upward like a pir and split the darkness.


    "I told you." Just then, a voice echoed from the darkness. "There is no light here."


    It was so close that it sounded as if it was being whispered in Salvatore''s ear.


    "<i>Gasp!!</i>" Salvatore stepped backward in shock. "There you are, bastard!!!"


    <i>Whoosh!</i>


    He swung his spear in the direction where he heard the voice but it only sliced the air. He couldn''t feel the edge of the spear slicing through flesh.


    "Argh!! Where are you?! Where?!!" shouted Salvatore with a grimace.


    An individual who reached heights as high as him usually did not rely on sight. Their heightened senses allowed them to draw a clearer image of their surroundings using the tiny sounds, smell, and movement of the air around them. At least, it should have been that way.


    "SHIT!!!"


    Salvatore couldn''t sense anything around him for some reason, as if even his senses were devoured by the darkness. All he could hear were the breaths of his fellow pastors, filled with fear.


    <i>''Breaths?''</i>


    Salvatore''s eyes shone fiercely.


    "That''s it! Sound!! Focus on the sound of his movements!"


    "Y-Yes, sir!!" the pastors quickly answered.


    They anxiously gripped their spears and focused their sense of hearing.


    "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    A screech echoed in the darkness.


    "There!!!"


    One of the pastors thrust his spear in the direction of the sound.


    <i>Stab!</i>


    "Kurgh!!"


    "Yes!!!"


    He felt his spear stabbing something. The pastor smiled brightly and thrust his spear even deeper.


    "Gurgh! Gah!! Arghhh!!"


    "H-Hahahahahahahaha!!! Die!!! Die, you evil demon!!!"


    "P-Pastor... L-Levetoo..."


    "Huh...?" The pastor who was thrusting his spear deeper as heughed maniacally froze. He knew whose voice that was. "Pastor... Andrew?"


    "Cough! Cough! I am... not the dem..."


    The pastor named Andrew copsed without finishing his sentence.


    "Ah."


    The feeling of stabbing into flesh lingered in Pastor Levetto''s hands. Blood trickled down the spear shaft and wet his hand. He had killed hisrade rather than the demon.


    "A-Aaaahh. Wh-What have I d-done?"


    The pastor fell into panic and dropped his spear.


    <i>tter!</i>


    The spear fell to the ground and dissipated into golden powder. Pastor Levetto faintly saw Pastor Andrew''s corpse before the golden powder was engulfed by the darkness.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Levetto screamed as he pulled on his hair.


    "C-Calm down!!! This is merely the demon''s tricks!!" Salvatore quickly shouted. "R-Remaining pastors, shout your name!!"


    "B-Bruno, the lowly servant of the Great Akart, is here!"


    "Jordan is here!"


    "Marcia is here!!"


    "Hurgh! I-I...!! Wh-What have I done to Pastor Andrew...?!"


    There was Bruno, Jordan, Marcia, and Levetto, who could barely speak due to panic. There was also Andrew who died at Levetto''s spear, and the pastor whose neck was bitten off by the demon. Including Salvatore, there were seven, which matched the number of pastors who infiltrated the live broadcast.


    "Wait a second..." Salvatore''s expression turned pale. "In that case..."


    <i>''Who was the one who screamed in the darkness earlier?''</i>


    "A-Aaaahh."


    The terrible scream that had echoed in the darkness had been from the demon to deceive them.


    "Y-YOU BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!!!"


    Salvatore''s expression crumpled and turned red with fury.


    "Kurgh!! Guh!! Gaaaaaaahhh!!"


    Screams rang in the darkness again. Salvatore frowned ferociously.


    "I WILL NOT FALL FOR THE SAME TRICK TWICE!!" He then shouted in the jet-ck darkness again, "PASTORS!! SAY YOUR NAMES AGAIN!!"


    "B-Bruno is here!"


    "Jordan is here!!"


    "Hurgh! Hurghhh!!"


    They couldn''t hear Marcia.


    "Marcia!! Where are you, Pastor Marcia?!!"


    There was no answer.


    "<i>Sniff!! Waaaaaaaaahhh!!!</i>"


    "Shit!! Pastor Levetto!! Now is not the time for despair!!!"


    Salvatore walked in the direction of Levetto''s weeping sounds. He could not see him but reached for the area where he could hear the sounds. He grabbed what seemed to be Levetto''s shoulder.


    "Pastor Levetto! Get a hold of yourself, Pastor Levetto!!!"


    "Hurghhhh!!!"


    Salvatore violently shook Levetto''s shoulder.


    <i>Ssh, ssh.</i>


    "Huh...?"


    A warm liquid sshed on the back of Salvatore''s hand. He brought his hand closer to smell it¡ª it was blood.


    "What the..." Salvatore frowned and reached for Levetto again. "Pastor Levetto, what is this blood¡ª"


    <i>Ssh</i>.


    "Huh?"


    There was nothing in the area where Levetto''s head should be. All Salvatore could feel was warm blood wetting his hand.


    "<i>Waaaaaaaahhh! Waaaaaaaaahhh!</i> I-I killed Pastor Andrew...!"


    Levetto''s cries continued to echo in the darkness. Salvatore''s teeth cked, shaking in fear.


    "You..."


    He turned to the direction where he could hear the sound¡ª it was echoing close by.


    "Who... are you?"


    Levetto was already dead¡ª hence, the one weeping in Levetto''s voice had to be...


    "Oh, you got me."


    "ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!" Salvatore roared in fury and swung his spear at the source of the sound.


    A storm of spears swept the surroundings.


    "Huff! Huff! Huff!"


    However, Salvatore couldn''t see anything. He couldn''t hear anything. He couldn''t feel anything. All he could feel were his heavy breathing and the cold sweats gathering at the middle of his chin.


    "BRUNO!!! JORDAN!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!"


    "Over here, Pastor Salvatore!!!"


    The voice sounded slightly far away. Salvatore ran toward the direction of the voice.


    "We have to gather and emit as much light as possible!"


    They needed to burst their radiance in one area to drive away the darkness even a little.


    "Alright, start praying to the Great Akart right away!!!"


    "Over here, Pastor Salvatore!!!"


    "I know! Are you Pastor Bruno or Pastor Jordan?!"


    Salvatore couldn''t even distinguish whose voice it was, possibly due to the darkness dulling his senses.


    "Over here, Pastor Salvatore!!!"


    "Yes, I know that alr¡ª"


    "Over here, Pastor Salvatore!!!"


    "Huh...?"


    Creak.


    The sound of something distorting echoed.


    "OverherePastorSalvatoreOverherePastorSalvatoreOverherePastorSalvatore.... OverherePastorSalvatoreOverherePastorSalvatoreOverherePastorSalvatore.... OverherePastorSalvatoreOverherePastorSalvatoreOverherePastorSalvatoreOverherePastorSalvatore."


    "What the..."


    Salvatore reached for the area where the sounds wereing from and felt two mounds of flesh. He grabbed them and brought them so close they were a hair''s breadth away from his face. They were Bruno and Jordan''s heads.


    "Why...?"


    Salvatore''s legs trembled. He felt dizzy, and he felt like he was about to throw up. He couldn''t understand what he was seeing or if it was even real. He couldn''t even tell if the liquid on his hands was blood or if his heavy panting was even his.


    Just then, the demon''s voice echoed in his head.


    "Alright, here''s a question for you."


    Salvatore quickly turned to see two yellow eyes with horizontal pupils staring at him. A mouth filled with sharp teeth opened wide under the eyes.


    "For long long do you think you were alone?"


    The demon''s cackles echoed in the darkness.

 Side Story Chapter 84 - There is No Light Here (9)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 84 - There is No Light Here (9)</h4>


    "U-Urgh!" Salvatore''s face turned pale as fear spread throughout his body like poison. "AARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!"


    He screamed madly as he randomly swung his spear.


    "DIE!!! EVIL DEMON!!!"


    However, he couldn''t feel the spear slicing anything.


    "SHIT! SHIT! SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!"


    <i>Boom!</i>


    Salvatore swung down his spear on the ground with all his might.


    "Huff, huff."


    The ground should have been destroyed with his power, but the darkness pulsed as if absorbing the impact.


    "Are you done now?"


    <i>Squelch.</i>


    Salvatore heard something stick moving. He turned to see yellow eyes staring at him coldly.


    "Wh-What are you...?"


    He trembled and stepped backward.


    "That''s strange."


    <i>Split.</i>


    Salvatore felt a chill on his neck.


    "<i>Gasp!</i>"


    He quickly rolled sideways. Sharp teeth bit off a portion of his neck.


    "<i>Huff! Huff!</i>"


    Intense fear took control of him. Cold sweats trickling down his neck mixed with the blood pouring from the wound on his neck.


    The demon whispered into the copsed Salvatore''s ear, "I believe I asked you a question first."


    "E-Eek!!" Salvatore rolled forward after hearing the demon''s voice so close to him. "Wh-Where are you?!! Where the hell are you?!!"


    He couldn''t see anything in the darkness. Fear of the invisible enemy took over his mind.


    Salvatore desperately prayed, "O Great Akart!!! Grant your lowly servant the power to defeat the darkness!!!"


    An intense golden light burst from him.


    "You''re so goddamn noisy. Are all of Akart''s subordinates like this?"


    Salvatore heard mockingughter.


    <i>Wriggle.</i>


    The intense golden light was devoured and vanished along with the sound of a sticky liquid flowing.


    "H-How...? WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!!" Salvatore screamed, unable to ept the reality before him.


    The Light of Akart was capable of annihting evil and chasing away darkness. All evil touched by the light was destroyed as it writhed in horrible pain¡ª at least, it should have been.


    "Why...? WHY IS THE LIGHT OF THE GREAT AKART BEING DEVOURED BY THE DARKNESS?!!" Salvatore screamed in despair as he witnessed something he had never experienced before.


    "It''s quite obvious, really." The demon in the darkness smiled. "However potent the poison is, a drop of it in the ocean is meaningless."


    "What are you talking ab¡ª"


    "It means exactly what I''m saying. Even if the Light of Akart has the power to destroy evil, it''s no threat to the Demonic Sea when it''s the size of rat shit."


    "...!!"


    Salvatore''s eyes widened. The Demonic Sea¡ª one of the two darknesses born from the Primordial. He remembered hearing about its existence from Akart.


    "The King... of the Demonic Sea!"


    Salvatore''s eyes filled with fury¡ª with boundless resentment for evil. He gripped his spear tightly and faced the king of demons who destroyed the bnce.


    He prayed, "O Great Akart, protect me with the light of truth. Guide me with your sacred wisdom and guide my soul with your divine light even if my path is shrouded in darkness."


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    The golden light shone even as it continued to be devoured by the darkness.


    "Haaaah!!!" Salvatore shouted and thrust his spear.


    Since all his senses were blocked, he had no choice but to thrust his spear only with faith that his enemy was there.


    <i>Pierce¡ª!!</i>


    He felt something. He could see the music-like darkness pulsing.


    "O GREAT AKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAART!!!"


    Salvatore smiled as he swung madly at the darkness in front of him. The darkness split in two and the golden light he prayed desperately for flowed in between the split ends.


    "Ahhh." Tears flowed down Salvatore''s cheeks. "O Great Akart, you have answered my prayers atst¡ª"


    <i>Fwoosh!</i>


    "Huh...?"


    The golden light mixed with the darkness, golden mes wrapping around the darkness in a circle.


    "A ck... sun?"


    [GYEEEEEEEEEEEHHH!!!]


    [GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!]


    [GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!]


    The ck sun opened, and countless demons poured out of it to charge at Salvatore.


    "Wh-What in the world?!"


    Salvatore quickly raised his spear in shock.


    <i>sh!</i>


    Although the majority of his senses were gone, he cut down the demons with his extraordinary spear techniques.


    [KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHHH!!]


    The demon shed by the spear was annihted. The Light of Akart nullified its immortality and burned the demon''s soul to a crisp.


    [GRRRRRRRR!!]


    [GYAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!]


    However, more demons crawled out of the ck sun and charged at him endlessly like a tsunami.


    "RAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"


    Salvatore swung his spear at the endless swarm of demons. A demon was annihted each time the golden spear shone.


    However... however... however...


    "O GREAT AKAAAAAAAAART!!! GRANT ME THE LIGHT TO CHASE THIS DARKNESS AWAY!!!"


    It did not end¡ª they did not stop. No matter how many Salvatore killed, demons endlessly crawled out from the Abyss. The golden light enveloping the edge of his spear grew slightly dimmer.


    ***


    Salvatore was ughtering countless demons inside the darkness with no light in sight. He continued to swing his spear at the demons crawling out of the Abyss; his expression dyed in fear. The demons devoured by the Abyss were annihted with each swing of Salvatore''s spear, but there were still countless more left.


    "Go as nuts as you like."


    Kang-Wooughed softly as his consciousness grew fainter. Salvatore''s spear attacks were indeed dangerous but it wasn''t enough to defeat every demon in the Demonic Sea.


    "Haaa," Kang-Woo exhaled heatedly.


    He felt like he was burning from intense thirst and deathly hunger.


    <i>''It''s been a while.''</i>


    Kang-Woo didn''t remember thest time he felt like this. He was getting dizzy; his sense of reason was burning away and the thick smoke stung his nose.


    Abyss Liberation.


    It was a technique to unleash the Abyss lying deep inside him and enveloping his surroundings with it. Kang-Woo needed to take corresponding risks when using it since his body reconstruction was iplete but he had no choice.


    <i>''I probably can''t beat him with normal means.''</i>


    Not even Kim Si-Hun could defeat Salvatore; not only that but he possessed the Light of Akart, the perfect counter to Kang-Woo.


    <i>''Plus the other pastors.''</i>


    Not only were they the perfect counter to Kang-Woo but he was also outnumbered. He couldn''t defeat them unless he was willing to take risks and forcibly unleash the Abyss.


    <i>''At least it''s way better than when I opened the Doors.''</i>


    Kang-Woo was now perfectly one with the Demonic Sea, but there was a time when he sealed the Demonic Sea with the Ten Thousand Demon Core to use its powers. It was far better than what he had to go through back then.


    "<i>Cough, cough!</i>"


    But of course, the intense pain that followed did not change. Kang-Woo felt like his sanity was burning away and turning into ash. He was just barely holding on to his sense of reason, but he felt like the Demonic Sea would devour him at any moment.


    It was easier to hold onpared to when he opened the Doors in the past, but he had made a massive gamble to unleash the Abyss when his body was still iplete. He might even have to spend a long time stuck in the Abyss again.


    <i>''I can''t let that happen.''</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head as he held on to his sanity for dear life. It would be no problem for him to devour the Abyss to escape it once again since he had already done it once before.


    <i>''But...''</i>


    He couldn''t spend three more years in reality and nearly an eternity in the Abyss again.


    <i>''Darling will cry.''</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn''t let Han Seol-Ah cry again.


    "This should be good enough."


    Kang-Woo called back the Abyss he liberated. The ck sun disappeared, and the darkness enveloping the live stage dissipated. Light seeped through the scattering darkness.


    "<i>Huff, huff, huff!</i>"


    Salvatore''s expression was grim even though the light he had hoped for so desperately was here. He copsed powerlessly after exhausting all of his stamina facing the demons of the Abyss.


    "O-O Great A-Akart."


    Salvatore faintly called for Akart, but the flickering light would no longer shine brightly. The golden spear in his hand turned into powder and blew away.


    <i>Step, step.</i>


    The sound of footsteps rumbled in Salvatore''s head like thunder.


    "A-Arghhh."


    He looked up at the person making the footstep sounds in pallor. It was a teenage boy who looked about as old as a high school freshman. The boy, who couldn''t be viewed as scary to anyone who didn''t know better, was terrifying beyond belief in Salvatore''s eyes.


    "H-How can this be...?"


    Kang-Woo reached for Salvatore''s neck in silence.


    <i>Sizzle¡ª!!!</i>


    Kang-Woo''s hand burned to a crisp the moment he grabbed Salvatore''s golden ne.


    "..."


    He paid it no mind and ripped off the ne.


    <i>tter.</i>


    The ne rolled across the ground.


    "I have so much to ask you."


    "A-Aaaahh. Y-Y-You..."


    Salvatore crawled backward, stricken with fear. His mind was already broken after experiencing extreme fear inside the Abyss.


    "But before that¡ª" Kang-Woo smirked, gritted his teeth, and raised his fist. "You need a beating."


    <i>Bash! Bash! Bash!</i>


    "Kurgh! Urgh!!"


    Merciless violence barraged Salvatore.


    <i>Crack!</i>


    His cheekbones caved in, and his ribs broke. His kneecaps shattered and his legs bent at an unnatural angle.


    "Argh!! ARGHHH!!!" Salvatore screamed.


    However, it was only the beginning.


    "Have you heard about molting?"


    "M-Molting...?"


    Salvatore looked up at Kang-Woo with shaking eyes. He had no idea what Kang-Woo was referring to but he knew it wasn''t good. Chills were sent down his spine.


    Salvatore shouted in terror, "I-I''ll talk!!! I-I''ll tell you a-anything!!"


    Not an ounce of dignity was left in the man. All that was on his mind was the desire to escape the demon''s grasp.


    "No, you don''t have to tell me anything yet."


    Kang-Woo grabbed the terrified Salvatore''s head and ced his thumbs over shaking eyes.


    "P-Please." Salvatore''s teeth cked in intense fear. He desperately prayed, "O-O-O Almighty A-Akart, grant your l-lowly servant your l-l-l-l-light...!"


    <i>Crush.</i>


    Kang-Woo shoved his thumbs into Salvatore''s eyeballs. Demonic energy of the Abyss flowed into Salvatore''s head through Kang-Woo''s thumbs.


    "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    Salvatore was filled with unbearable pain he had never felt before. Kang-Woo smiled widely as he looked down at the convulsing Salvatore.


    "I guess you can''t see the light anymore, huh?"

 Side Story Chapter 85 - Intermission

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 85 - Intermission</h4>


    "A-Arghh."


    Pools of blood covered the ground. A middle-aged man spewing blood from his eye sockets crawled on the ground miserably. His well-groomed gray hair was nowhere in sight after being ripped out.


    No words were descriptive enough to express the wretched state the man was in. His limbs were bent at unnatural angles, and his skin was torn off, exposing his muscles and fatty tissue. It was a miracle the man was still alive.


    Oh Kang-Woo, who was apathetically looking down at the man, narrowed his eyes as he lightly kicked the crawling Salvatore''s nk and asked, "So what you''re saying is, you guys were never from Earth, right?"


    "Th-That''s r-right."


    <i>Bash!</i>


    Kang-Woo kicked Salvatore''s nk like a football. Blood poured out from the torn flesh.


    "Kurgh!!!"


    "What gave you the idea to think you can speak casually to me, motherfucker?"


    Kang-Woo understood it when Salvatore was talking disrespectfully before the battle, but he was not changing his manner of speech after he was beaten beyond senseless.


    <i>''Is it because he''s bald now?''</i>


    Kang-Woo pped Salvatore''s smooth scalp. As a proud man born in Korea where respect was everything, he couldn''t let such disrespect slide.


    "This won''t do. I''ll have to teach this fucking alien some manners."


    Kang-Woo crouched and grabbed Salvatore''s front teeth with his fingers.


    "H-Huh?"


    Salvatore''s shoulders violently trembled.


    Kang-Woo gripped Salvatore''s teeth tightly and shouted, "MANNERS MAKETH MAN!!!"


    He pulled out Salvatore''s front teeth as if he were pulling out a child''s loose tooth.


    "ARGHHHHHHHH!!!"


    Salvatore screamed as the warmth of oriental etiquette flowed into him.


    "Let''s try this again. So what you''re saying is, you guys were never from Earth, right?"


    "Yazz... zur."


    "What?"


    "Yazs, zur!"


    "SPEAK PROPERLY, MOTHERFUCKER!!!"


    <i>Bash!</i>


    Kang-Woo smashed Salvatore''s face in.


    "Are you making fun of me? Huh? What the fuck is wrong with your pronunciations?"


    Salvatore quickly shook his head. "M-Mai hooh..."


    "What? Are you ming me now?"


    "N-NAH AH ALL!"


    "Then why aren''t you pronouncing your words properly?"


    "I-I will phonounze dem phopelly!"


    "WRYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"


    Kang-Woo was boiling with rage as Salvatore continued to insult him with his terrible pronunciations. He was certain Salvatore was doing this on purpose to undermine him.


    "Let''s go for another round of molting."


    "B-BWEAZE!!! A-ANYZING BUH DAH!!!"


    "And another one."


    <i>''How dare he pull this shit on me?''</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn''t stand being treated like this when he went out of his way to politely teach him oriental etiquette.


    "HYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    Salvatore convulsed as he screamed in intense pain.


    <i>''That aside, this dude is gonna die at this rate.''</i>


    Kang-Woo would be in a predicament if that were to happen. He took his hand off Salvatore and continued his questions.


    "Then how did youe to Earth?"


    If they hade through a Gate, their presence would have been detected. However, Kang-Woo was only made aware of their presence after the Church of Radiance spread throughout Europe.


    "V-Vee wode dai..."


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of Regeneration to only heal Salvatore''s teeth because he could barely understand him.


    "<i>Cough! Cough! Huff, huff</i>. W-We rode the light to get here."


    "What?"


    <i>''Rode the light? What the hell does that mean?''</i>


    "Those blessed by the Great Akart can assimte with the light by borrowing his powers. W-We assimted with the light and reached Earth that way."


    "What the fuck?"


    Kang-Woo grabbed his forehead as if having a headache.


    <i>''No wonder we couldn''t detect them.''</i>


    There was no way to detect beings who crossed the Gate by assimting with light.


    <i>''I guess that''s also why we couldn''t detect the Wikiholic''s movements.''</i>


    It was impossible to track someone who turned into light to travel throughout the world like some kind of ghost.


    "Then why didn''t you turn into light to run away earlier?"


    ''Though I''m sure he wouldn''t have been able to since I enveloped the surroundings in the Abyss.''


    "B-Because... I needed to borrow the Great Akart''s powers to..."


    "Ohh, so that''s why you were praying like a motherfucker to him to grant you his light."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo thought Salvatore was trying to power up, but in reality, he was just trying to run away.


    <i>''Wait a second, that means...''</i> Kang-Woo''s eyes narrowed. <i>''The Wikiholic transformed into light at will to travel around. If the Wikiholic could do it but Salvatore couldn''t, that means...''</i>


    "You... how high are you among Akart''s subordinates?"


    "Pardon...?"


    "What rank are you among that motherfucker Akart''s henchmen?"


    "M-Motherfucker?! The disrespect!"


    "Stop fucking around."


    Kang-Woo aggressively kicked Salvatore''s nk again.


    Salvatore winced. "I am... ranked f-fifth among the Great Akart''s retainers."


    "Fifth?"


    Meaning there were four more that were stronger than Salvatore.


    "Haaa, fuck."


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but sigh. There were four more individuals which even Si-Hun would have difficulty against. Not only that but considering they were ranked, Si-Hun might not be a match for those ranked above Salvatore.


    <i>''Assuming one of the four is the Wikiholic...''</i>


    Kang-Woo still had no idea who the other three were.


    "Tell me about the ones ranked above you."


    "A-About that..." Salvatore answered tremblingly, "I-I don''t know anything about them."


    "What about the Wikiholic?"


    "Wikiholic...?"


    "Oh, I''m talking about that golden lion."


    "I-I don''t know. There is rarely a reason for the retainers to gather, so..."


    "Then how do you know the ranks?"


    "The Great Akart has designated me as his fifth retainer."


    Salvatore did not seem to be lying.


    "Alright, fine. Then what the hell is Akart doing right now? Why isn''t heing to Earth personally?"


    He was only sending small fry as if he were a demon lord giving EXP to the hero.


    "He is..." Just then, Salvatore, who had been writhing in pain, suddenly stopped. "Saving the world... of which the bnce has been disrupted."


    "..."


    Salvatore mumbled emotionlessly, "Bnce to the tilted scale! Bnce to the tilted scale!!"


    "Hey."


    "Bncetothetiltedscalebncetothetiltedscalebncetothetiltedscale."


    "For fuck''s sake, hey!"


    Kang-Woo frowned and violently grabbed Salvatore.


    <i>''Something''s off. Is this another self-destruct g?''</i>


    Kang-Woo looked down at Salvatore anxiously, but he was not glowing gold like the other pastor. Rather, the light, which had been shining dimly from Salvatore, was fading.


    "Hey, hey, hey!! Don''t die!!"


    Kang-Woo quickly bit open his finger and shoved it into Salvatore''s mouth. He used the Authority of Regeneration to treat Salvatore. His distorted limbs went back to their normal positions and his torn flesh turned back to normal.


    "Bncetothetiltedscalebncetothetiltedscalebncetothetiltedscale."


    "Shit..."


    Kang-Woo sighed deeply. Salvatore was now physically fine but was lifelessly mumbling the same words repeatedly like a broken machine.


    <i>''What went wrong?''</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled their conversation.


    "Asking directly about Akart... I would guess."


    The minds of Akart''s subordinates were likely set up to be broken if they even attempted to leak any information about Akart. It was the same setup used by the Demon Cult in the past.


    "Salvation, my ass."


    There was no way someone who brainwashed their subordinates so that their minds would break if they ever tried to leak information about him would save the world.


    <i>''The problem is, these motherfuckers really believe they''re bringing salvation to this world.''</i>


    Nothing was more annoying than the convictions of a dumbass.


    "No..." Kang-Woo shook his head after some thought.


    <i>''They''re notpletely illogical.''</i>


    He recalled the words of the young pastor.


    <i>"I am sure you''re aware of it too! The endless otherworldly invasions! The copsed Law and bnce!"</i>


    As he said, Earth currently had no protections against the otherworldly invasions. Otherworldly beings such as the Parasites and the Gctic Federation could invade Earth at any moment, and Earth had no defense mechanisms to prevent it.


    <i>"This world will soon meet its end!! It is no different from a sinking ship!!"</i>


    "Sinking ship, huh?" Kang-Woo recalled.


    The young pastor had a point. Earth could be endlessly bombarded by otherworldly invasions and one day meet its end. It was also possible that Akart''s subordinates hade to Earth to save people. However...


    "Fuck that."


    Kang-Woo chuckled coldly. If the ship was sinking, he would raise it. If he couldn''t raise it, he would block all the holes so that water would not enter. He would just trample on the invaders so brutally that no one would dare evene anywhere near Earth.


    <i>''So, Earth doesn''t need salvation.''</i>


    "Well... I''m sure the son of a bitch wille crawling sooner orter whatever I do."


    First, Singapore, and now the Church of Radiance¡ª Akart was sending his retainers to Earth to exact his <i>salvation</i>.


    <i>''Though they''re nothing but terrorists based on what they''ve been doing.''</i>


    They were killing people with the excuse that they were being sent to another world before Earth met its demise. Not only that but reincarnation was limited to a select few who received Akart''s blessing.


    "What a load of fucking bullshit."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and narrowed his eyes. He couldn''t help but be irritated since people from another world were spouting shit about salvation when the people on Earth were already taking matters into their own hands.


    "Jeez."


    Kang-Woo sighed and turned around.


    "Urgh..."


    Only a ck-haired girl remained on the empty live stage where the audience evacuated. Echidna flinched after meeting eyes with Kang-Woo.


    "Is your wound okay?" Kang-Woo approached Echidna and examined the wound on her nk¡ª it was quite serious. He bit open his finger which had already healed and remarked, "Here, drink."


    "Kang-Woo..." Echidna looked up at him hesitantly.


    "It''s gonna disappear if you don''t drink it. Go on."


    "Okay."


    Echidna licked Kang-Woo''s finger. It ticked a little. Her wound healed in a sh because the wound was caused by her own magic rather than the Light of Akart.


    "I''m sorry, Kang-Woo." Echidna lowered her head dejectedly after being fully healed. "I''m sorry... for not running away and fighting."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo remained silent as he stared at Echidna trembling in fear. She likely knew she was no match for Salvatore and that she could escape if she abandoned her fans. However, she decided not to.


    "Honestly, I..." Kang-Woo slurred dryly. "Don''t really understand."


    "Kang-Woo..."


    "I don''t get why you would risk your life for a bunch of strangers."


    "That''s..."


    "I would rather they all die than you fall in danger."


    No, Kang-Woo wouldn''t give a shit if everyone else gathered in the venue were mercilessly ughtered if it meant Echidna would be safe.


    "..."


    Echidna clenched her fists in silence. Her fists were shaking as if she were suppressing her will to say something. Kang-Woo patted Echidna''s head.


    "But in the end, that''s just what I think."


    "Kang-Woo...?"


    "Just because I feel that way doesn''t mean you have to as well."


    Kang-Woo and Echidna were different. They held different values and acted on different things. Things that weren''t precious to him might be precious to her. He did not have the right to force his beliefs on Echidna just because she was different from him.


    "But... I wish you''d take better care of yourself." Kang-Woo smiled faintly and kissed Echidna''s forehead.


    "K-Kang-Woo!" Echidna blushed. "Hm! Hm! Hm!"


    She jumped up and down as she snorted excitedly, but then went back to lowering her head lifelessly.


    <i>''What''s this? Is she bipr?''</i>


    "Thank you... Kang-Woo." Echidna gently grabbed Kang-Woo''s clothes. "You''re... the most precious to me too, so I won''t let myself get hurt anymore."


    "Okay."


    "Kang-Woo..."


    "Hm?"


    "Gimme a piggyback ride."


    "Huh?"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head, confused by Echidna''s sudden request. Echidna pulled on his clothes more and twisted around to act cute.


    "Hurry~ Piggyback~"


    "Alright, sure. That''s not so difficult."


    Kang-Woo turned around and crouched. Echidna jumped on his back.


    "Hehehe." She smiled widely. "Kang-Woo."


    "Hm?"


    "I wanna bear four."


    "..."


    <i>''Four what?''</i>

 Side Story Chapter 86 - Eve (1)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 86 - Eve (1)</h4>


    "There are... four more of those monsters?" asked Lilith in shock.


    "No, there may be more." Oh Kang-Woo shook his head as he took a bite of a piece of fruit Han Seol-Ah cut for him.


    "More?"


    "Akart called Salvatore his fifth retainer. It might be referring to the order in which he became Akart''s retainer instead of a rank."


    "Oh."


    "In that sense, the third and fourth might be weaker than Salvatore, and the sixth might be stronger."


    They wouldn''t know for sure unless they faced the retainers.


    "But since we won''t get anywhere if we think about it that way... let''s just interpret them as ranks for now. It''s simpler to think there are four individuals stronger than Salvatore."


    They couldn''t prepare for all variables; it would be enough as long as it was to a point where they wouldn''t be caught too off guard.


    <i>''And besides...''</i>


    They couldn''t do much in terms of preparation anyway.


    "Haaa. That aside, invading Earth by riding the light... how absurd." Lilith sighed as she clenched her forehead.


    As Kang-Woo''s chief intelligence officer, the ability of Akart''s retainers was hard to deal with.


    "This is the first time my abilities felt so useless," she expressed.


    "Not at all. I don''t have a way to detect something like that either," Kang-Woo consoled.


    "But at least we managed to get some information about Akart."


    "It was worth it just from getting the number of his retainers."


    <i>''Though we didn''t manage to get anything else.''</i>


    Kang-Woo continued, "Anyway, they''ll continue to crawl into this world."


    He wasn''t stupid enough to hope Akart would give up just because two of his retainers died.


    "You said his objective was... salvation, correct?" Lilith asked.


    "Yeah."


    "I wonder if their souls are actually being reincarnated to a different world?"


    "Who knows? I have no idea, but... if you ask me, I think they are."


    Unlike the Demon Cult, the Church of Radiance did not act on malice or profit. They were madmen so transparently pure that they innocently acted on unwavering convictions they perceived as righteous. They were likely not doing something like this while knowing the souls weren''t being sent to a different world.


    "What kind of world do you think they''re being sent to?" Lilith asked.


    "No idea. There are all kinds of worlds, after all."


    They were already aware of more than five different worlds.


    "But that doesn''t matter. What matters is they''re doing as they like in my territory."


    "Fufu. You''re right. They all deserve death," Lilith answered, her eyes gleaming with bloodlust.


    She had limated well to human culture but she was still a demon to the core. She couldn''t care less whether their objective was salvation or anything else.


    "Then what do you think that incident in Singapore was for?" she asked.


    "The zombie apocalypse?"


    "Yes. That was done by Akart''s retainer too."


    Leaving aside the Church of Radiance, the zombie apocalypse was far from the idea of salvation.


    "Not sure... it''s honestly so far removed from everything. It''s hard to believe Akart''s retainer had something to do with it."


    "Even more so, considering what the Wikiholic did. It was pretty much randomly kidnapping people from various worlds and imprisoning them."


    "I have an idea why for that one." Kang-Woo finished his apple and took out a can of coke from the mini fridge under his desk. "Want something to drink?"


    "I''ll have a McCol[1], please."


    "Oh my god."


    <i>''Your taste buds are still whack.''</i>


    "We don''t have McCol."


    "Oh, is that so? Then I''ll have a Zico[2]. I had some a while ago and it was delicious."


    "That''s been discontinued."


    "Wh-What?"


    Lilith''s eyes widened in panic.


    <i>''McCol and Zico? That''s a demon''s taste buds for you.''</i>


    "Just have a canned coffee."


    "Fufu. Could you feed it to me with your mouth, my king?"


    Lilith smiled seductively and puckered her lips.


    Kang-Woo brought the can to her lips and continued, "Anyway. This is just my guess, but I think the Wikiholic was looking for candidates to be Akart''s retainer."


    "Candidates?"


    "Yeah. I saw someone who had practically be a worshiper of Akart when I was there."


    Kang-Woo had a feeling there were multiple Temples of Truth.


    "In that case, should we consider the matter with the Wikiholic and the two subsequent incidents as separate?" Lilith asked.


    "Yeah. I mean... I still don''t know what massacring people with a zombie apocalypse has to do with bringing salvation, though. Whatever the case, what matters is that they''re not aiming specifically for me."


    In both incidents, Akart''s subordinates were not targeting Kang-Woo; they were purely targeting every human on Earth.


    "In other words, Akart''s subordinates are getting as many humans involved in each incident as possible."


    "In that case... I will focus my investigations around abnormal events that involverge poptions."


    "I''ll be counting on you."


    "Fufu. Please leave it to me." Lilith emptied the canned coffee, softly kissed Kang-Woo, and turned around. "I''ll be taking my leave, my king~"


    "Okay."


    "Will you be visiting Si-Hun at the hospital again?"


    "No. I went yesterday, so I''m gonna get some work done today."


    "Hoho. Looks like Si-Hun is going to be lonely today."


    "I''m sure he''ll be fine. He has our sister-inw with him."


    Lilith closed the door behind her. Kang-Woo stretched after being left alone in his room.


    "That aside..."


    Kang-Woo looked down at himself. He had liberated the Abyss for the first time after escaping it and bing perfectly fused with the Demonic Sea. Of course, he did not liberate itpletely.


    <i>''It''d be like using a nuke to hunt a rabbit.''</i>


    He liberated just enough to endure the Light of Akart that Salvatore and the other pastors were emitting. Topare it to opening the Doors as he did in the past, it was equivalent to opening one Door. Theparison no longer applied to him since the Demonic Sea was no longer sealed behind the three Doors but it was simr enough.


    "There aren''t any side effects like I''d feared."


    Rather, his reconstruction had hastened even more after battling Akart''s retainers. His fingers had grown thicker and his muscles had be more well-defined.


    "I would''ve used it earlier if I knew this would happen."


    There was far less of a riskpared to opening the Doors. His sanity did not blow away nor was he devoured by the Abyss.


    <i>''No, no.''</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head after much thinking. Liberating the Abyss when the Demonic Sea had yet to stabilize was like flooring the elerator of a car with no windows, bumpers, or doors. He would use it if he had no choice but he couldn''t risk being stuck in the Abyss for years just for his growth.


    <i>''Moreover, I have no idea whether my growth was thanks to liberating the Abyss or fighting against Salvatore.''</i>


    However, it was likely thetter. The Light of Akart could easily stimte the Demonic Sea since the light could disintegrate it.


    <i>Riiing.</i>


    [Sir Guardian Deity ?(*¡ä¦á`*)? ! I have information to share with you!]


    A blue message window appeared in front of Kang-Woo as he was about to get up after organizing his thoughts regarding Abyss Liberation.


    "Hm? It''s been a while, you."


    It had been a long time since Eve messaged him.


    [I couldn''t get in touch with you because I''ve been busy overhauling the Law of Titans!]


    "Overhaul...? Did you find a way to restore the Law of Titans, perhaps?"


    [No. I simply maximized the functions that are still usable.]


    "Tsk." Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and nodded.


    If the Law of Titans could be repaired so easily, Akart wouldn''t be furious about it and try to end the world in which its bnce was disrupted.


    "That aside, what information?"


    [Thanks to the overhaul, you can now use a portion of the functions of the Law of Titans!]


    [Congrattions! ?*.?(¨@?¨A)?.*?]


    "What?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened by the unexpected news.


    [Oh, I say this, but it is but a portion. I would advise you don''t expect much from the already-damaged Law.]


    "Hmm. So, what sort of things can I do?"


    Kang-Woo was excited to hear what kind of functions he could take advantage of since the Law of Titans was the same as the System.


    [At this stage, you can awaken new Traits irrespective of level!]


    "Oh?'' Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. The ability to awaken new Traits was certainly an amazing one. "Can I awaken Traits in others as well?"


    [Yes! (?¡ä¨Œ`?)]


    [However, the type and rank of the Trait awakened is randomized!]


    "Whoooaaa," Kang-Woo expressed amazement.


    Although it was random, just the fact that he could get new Traits after reaching the max level was more than wee. Not only that but he could also grant new Traits to others.


    <i>''If I grant new Traits to Yeon-Joo and Si-Hun...''</i>


    He could help them break through their teau phase of growth.


    [However, you cannot use this function yet (???¦ä???).]


    "Why not?"


    [The currently-damaged Law of Titans cannot replenish its energy independently. To awaken Traits in yers, the power of a Titan is required.]


    "..."


    Kang-Woo frowned. It made sense that the power of a Titan was required since they were the ones who created the Law of Titans. The problem was how to get hold of a Titan''s power.


    "What if I use Bauli?"


    [Bauli''s body and soul have been devoured by the Demonic Sea. It is impossible to bring out only his power.]


    [(??©n?)?]


    "Shit."


    <i>''What a useless fucking father.''</i>


    "Then what? Does that mean I can''t use the Law of Titans''s functions?"


    It was as useless as a remote controller with no batteries.


    [Just like your Fran?ois, Sir Guardian Deity!]


    "What?"


    [Doing it every night and still no news of a Kang-Woo Jr...]


    "I''m not making them on purpose, dammit."


    He couldn''t have a child when he had yet to marry his lovers. He would have more than enough time for that after the ceremony.


    [A seedless watermelon... A seedless Fran?ois...]


    "The fuck you say?"


    [~(???~)(~???)~]


    <i>''Where the fuck are you getting those goddamn emoticons?''</i>


    [Back to the topic at hand.] The emoticon disappeared. [You can use the Law''s function by using the power of Akart''s subordinates you defeat.]


    "Hm? Then what about when I killed Salvatore?"


    [I was still in the middle of overhauling the Law at the time so it couldn''t absorb the power.]


    In the end, it still meant Kang-Woo couldn''t use the function.


    <i>''Akart''s subordinates, huh?''</i>


    Since Kang-Woo had no way of hunting them down, he was still at square one.


    "Haaa," Kang-Woo sighed and shook his head. "Huh? Wait a second."


    Just then, he noticed the golden bnce scale nes he had gathered in a corner of his room.


    1. McCol (??) is a Korean barley soda beverage. It''s kind of like root beer; it''s an acquired taste and is a very prizing drink in Korea. ?


    2. Zico is a Korean coconut water beverage, not to be confused with the Korean rapper/singer ZICO. Like McCol, it''s a very prizing drink but much more negative than positive. ?

 Side Story Chapter 87 - Eve (2)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 87 - Eve (2)</h4>


    "Can''t I use those?"


    The golden scale nes Oh Kang-Woo ripped off the pastors contained enough power to decimate the entire slums. Since Kang-Woo''s hands burned like a vampire exposed to sunlight if he touched them, he had asked the yers in Guardians to collect them.


    <i>Whoooom, whoooom.</i>


    A faint golden light was emitting from the golden scale ne despite the death of their wearers, meaning Akart''s powers were still infused in them.


    Riiing!


    [Oh! I think we can gather energy from those nes!]


    The blue message window shone. Kang-Woo smirked.


    "Alright. Let''s use those nes."


    <i>''Thank goodness I collected them.''</i>


    "But how are we going to absorb energy from them?"


    Kang-Woo couldn''t absorb the Light of Akart using the Authority of Predation because it was like a deadly poison to him. Eve had warned him not to do so a while ago when he was about to.


    [Leave it to me!]


    [(??????)??]


    Eve sent an emoticon full of confidence.


    [First, could you gather those nes in one area?]


    Kang-Woo grabbed the nes messily sprawled on the corner of his room.


    <i>Sizzle.</i>


    "Ouch! Fuck."


    His hand was burning, ck smoke rising from it.


    "Looks like the energy seeped out a little."


    The light emitted from Salvatore''s ne was so powerful that it practically melted Kang-Woo''s hand off when it was on Salvatore but it was nowhere near as bad now.


    [It seems some of the energy seeped out because it has been taken off of the wearer.]


    "Dammit."


    <i>''I would''ve severed their limbs and kept them alive if I knew that beforehand.''</i>


    Kang-Woo was swept with regret but shook his head. No one could have known this would happen; he would just take as much of the Titan''s energy as he could from Akart''s subordinates that woulde.


    "Alright, here they are."


    Kang-Woo ced seven nes on the desk. Although the light was not as powerful as before, the nes still contained the Light of Akart; Kang-Woo''s hand was heavily disfigured and was not regenerating.


    "Hurts like a bitch."


    Kang-Woo frowned as he looked down at his hand. He had gotten so used to all of his injuries healing in seconds that it had be ufortable being wounded and in pain for long periods.


    <i>''Nothing I can''t handle, though.''</i>


    Pain of this level wasughablepared to the pain of molting.


    [Well then, please wait a moment.]


    The blue message window in front of Kang-Woo floated toward the desk and turned into the shape of a funnel. Kang-Woo''s eyes widened in shock.


    <i>''Fuck, was that a mouth this whole time? Can a System window even be a mouth? Wasn''t it just a message window?''</i>


    "What the f¡ª"


    [Shh. Please be quiet. I need to focus.]


    The transformed blue message window made contact with the golden nes.


    [<i>Fwoooooooooooooooo!!!</i>]


    [? (?¡¥?¡¥)¦Ò]


    <i>''Is there a need to add SFX?''</i>


    [Aah, you were at my side, all along.]


    <i>''???''</i>


    [My true mentor... My guiding moonlight.][1]


    "What the fuck are you going on about?"


    [Hihi. It''s just a meme.]


    <i>''How do you expect me to react to a meme I don''t know?''</i>


    [Anyway, I''ve absorbed a portion of the power of a Titan!]


    [Yes! But there wasn''t much energy remaining in the nes, so... there''s at least enough to awaken one new Trait.]


    Kang-Woo couldn''t believe seven nes only amounted to one Trait, albeit arge amount of power had already left them.


    [It is because the Law of Titans is damaged.]


    "Makes sense."


    It was only natural that the efficiency of its energy-absorbing function was low. A junk car''s fuel efficiency did not change just from getting topped up with fuel.


    "Then I guess ites down to whom I should give a new Trait to."


    In terms of efficiency, Kim Si-Hun, Cha Yeon-Joo, or Han Seol-Ah would be the safest choices. Considering how powerful Kang-Woo already was, he couldn''t hope for a massive power-up with one or two new Traits.


    <i>''I already have so many Authorities left unused.''</i>


    It was simr to gear in RPGs; beginner gear was left unused once the yer progressed further into the game. Kang-Woo barely used any offensive Authorities other than the highly efficient ones and those he was well ustomed to using.


    <i>''It''s way better to use the mes of Voracity instead.''</i>


    He had recently been using mainly the princes'' Authorities and the Authority of des which he had used the longest. He would likely not use an S-rank or SS-rank Trait even if he got them.


    <i>''But it''s not like there are only offensive-type Traits.''</i>


    There were highly useful Traits such as <i>Ruler of Demonic Energy</i> which concealed his demonic energy, and <i>Mana-Hungry Demon</i> which converted mana into demonic energy. Considering he had useful Traits like those two, it wouldn''t be bad to get some more Traits for himself.


    "Alright." Kang-Woo''s eyes gleamed after much thought and he nodded. "I''ll use the first one on myself."


    He thought he wouldn''t have anything to do with Traits since he had reached the max level but was surging with excitement after finding out that was not the case.


    "How does it work?"


    [Leave it to me!]


    The message window next to the nes flew Kang-Woo''s way and covered him like a tent.


    [( ¤Ä?>©n<?)¤Ä Yaaaap!]


    <i>Swirl¡ª!</i>


    A roulette appeared on the message window and rapidly spun.


    [Quick Steps (Rank: F)]


    [Merciless ughterer (Rank: B)] ?


    [Tentacle Expansion (Rank C)]


    [Abyss Watcher (Rank: SSS)]


    [Merciless ughterer (Rank: B)]


    [Tentacle Expansion (Rank C)]


    [[Abyss Watcher (Rank: SSS)] ?


    [Astral Projection (Rank: A)]


    "What the fuck is Tentacle Expansion?"


    yers normally had a higher chance of acquiring high-ranking Traits the higher their level was. However, their ranks and types werepletely random as the System mentioned.


    <i>Swirl¡ª!</i>


    The roulette rapidly spun.


    <i>''Is this how it feels to spend millions of won on a mobile gacha game</i>[2]<i>?''</i>


    Kang-Woo anxiously clenched his fists, staring fixedly at the spinning roulette.


    "Abyss Watcher!!! Abyss Watcher, let''s go!!!"


    He had no idea what kind of effects it would have or whether it was an offensive-type or utility-type Trait, but the fact that it was SSS-rank got himser-focused on it.


    "SSS-rank! AHHHHH!!! I WANT AN SSS-RANK TOO!!!"


    Not only that but he felt like it had to do with the Demonic Sea from its name.


    "SSS-CLASS REVIVAL HUNTER!! SSS-CLASS ASSASSIN PLAYER!!"


    <i>''And the other thirty-five search results from the keywords SSS-ss!''</i>


    "ME TOO!! I WANNA BE SSS-CLASS TOO!!![3]"


    Kang-Woo stared at the roulette with bloodshot eyes. Sharp anxiety traveled down from his neck to back and throughout his body. He could more or less understand why people wasted tens of millions of won on gacha, which was no different from gambling.


    <i>''This... stimtes human instinct!!''</i>


    <i>Tick, tick, tick, tick.</i>


    The roulette slowed down more and more.


    <i>Tick... tick.</i>


    [Merciless ughterer (Rank: B)]


    [Tentacle Expansion (Rank C)] ?


    [[Abyss Watcher (Rank: SSS)]


    [Astral Projection (Rank: A)]


    "MOTHERFUCKING TENTACLE EXPANSION!!! NOT THAT!!! ANYTHING BUT THAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!"


    <i>''Just let me be free from tentacles already!!''</i>


    Kang-Woo desperately stared at the roulette but it wasn''t spinning as energetically as before.


    "WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"


    <i>''Tentacles again?!! Why is it always tentacles?!!''</i>


    "FUCK MY LIFE!! I LOST Abyss Watcher BY ONE SLOT?! I CAN''T BE SSS-CLASS?! <i>WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!</i>"


    Kang-Woo burst into tears of despair. This was likely how it felt to get only a one-star unit in a mobile game that one poured millions of won into or a gambler who lost after betting their entire life savings.


    <i>''I should''ve just given a Trait to Si-Hun or Yeon-Joo.''</i>


    [Wait! It''s not over yet, Sir Guardian Deity!]


    "Huh?"


    The weeping and hair-pulling Kang-Woo turned back to the roulette.


    <i>Tick... tick... tick...</i>


    Although extremely slow, the roulette arrow was still moving.


    "Huh? C-Could it be?"


    Kang-Woo stared at the roulette, his eyes filled with hope. The arrow was about to move past the Tentacle Expansion slot.


    "Th-That''s it!!!" He clenched his fists and stared at the roulette anxiously. "Please!!! Please!!! Abyss Watcher!!!"


    <i>''It looks strong as fuck just from the name!!! I feel like I''d start swinging a badass fiery sword from my second phase</i>[4]<i>!!!''</i>


    <i>Tick, tick... tick.</i>


    "Let''s go!!! Let''s go!!! LET''S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"


    <i>''If I get this, I''m fucking changing the title of this novel to </i>The Return of the SSS-ss yer After Ten Millennia in Hell<i>!!!''</i>


    [Merciless ughterer (Rank: B)]


    [Tentacle Expansion (Rank C)]


    [[Abyss Watcher (Rank: SSS)] ?


    [Astral Projection (Rank: A)]


    "THERE IT ISSSSSSSSSSSS!!!" Kang-Woo raised his arms high and cheered.


    However...


    Tick!


    [[Abyss Watcher (Rank: SSS)]


    [Astral Projection (Rank: A)] ?


    "There it... huh?"


    The roulette arrow stoppedpletely. Kang-Woo, who had been cheering, froze after seeing the arrow pointed at the slot directly below the Abyss Watcher Trait.


    "What? What the fuck? Astral Projection?"


    Kang-Woo red at the A-rank Trait called Astral Projection irritatedly. A-rank was fairly high; although Kang-Woo couldn''t rte since his list of Traits was full of S-rank and above, it was certainly not a low rank.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo stared at the message window in disappointment.


    "I mean... Dammit, am I supposed to be happy or mad?"


    The A-rank Trait looked like garbagepared to the SSS-rank one directly above it¡ª no, an A-rank Trait was literal garbage by Kang-Woo''s standards.


    "SSS-rank..."


    Kang-Woo sorrowfully reached for the roulette that had yet to disappear and burst into tears as he stared at the shining SSS-rank Trait.


    "Fuck... my SSS-rank Trait..."


    <i>''Just one slot away... this fucking luck of mine...''</i>


    Riiing!


    [Pfft! Luck? More like a skill issue!]


    <i>''The fuck you say?''</i>


    [~(???~)(~???)~ LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL~]


    1. This is a cursed Korean meme from the game <i>Bloodborne</i>. This line is from the boss <i>Ludwig, the ursed</i> when he enters his second phase. At the end of the cutscene where he brings the sword to his face, the lower half of his elongated face isn''t on the screen, and someone posted that it looks like how a woman''s mouth is elongated when they give a BJ in hentai... ?


    2. Keep in mind a million KRW is roughly $1,000. ?


    3. A lot of Korean manhwas & novels interchange ss and rank so it might be confusing to some people. Just know it means the same thing. I just used ss since <i>SSS-ss Revival Hunter</i> is the official title of the novel that will being to Wuxiaworld! ?


    4. This is a reference to the boss Abyss Watchers in Dark Souls III, whose sword ignites in its second phase. ?

 Side Story Chapter 88 - Eve (3)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 88 - Eve (3)</h4>


    "How does skill y into a random roulette?"


    <i>''There''s nothing but luck that can influence a roulette that you can''t manipte.''</i>


    [Heheh!]


    [It''s all~ because you weren''t desperate enough!]


    [???( ¨B ? ¨B )???]


    <i>''I swear I''ll fold your head into a question mark if I ever meet you.''</i>


    [Hohoho~ You''re wee to try if you can ever meet me, that is~]


    It was still impossible to meet Eve despite restoring a portion of the Law of Titans because the dimension that Eve inhabited was isted from the concept of separate dimensions like the world in the Abyss.


    "Huuu. Go away, you," Kang-Woo sighed and shooed the message window away.


    [Ahh! You''re sending me away already? It''s been so long since we got to meet each other again! You haven''t even checked the effects of your new Trait!]


    "Then just keep your mouth shut."


    Kang-Woo softly clicked his tongue and clicked the tab written [Astral Projection (Rank: A)].


    [Astral Projection (Rank: A)]


    *The yer''s soul can separate from their body and move freely.


    *When in astral form, the yer can pass through physical objects and cannot exert physical force.


    *The yer can enter immaterial dimensions such as the spirit dimension and astral dimension when in astral form.


    *The yer will suffer fatal damage if hit by a spiritual attack in their astral form.


    "Nothing particrly special about it."


    As the name suggested, his soul could separate from his body.


    <i>''It sounds useful for investigating ces.''</i>


    Since he could pass through physical objects in astral form, it would be useful when scouting dungeons withplexyouts.


    "But there''s no reason to go out of my way to use it."


    Kang-Woo could see through walls using the Authority of the Beholder and Authority of Insight. Such a Trait would only be useful in situations like back when he was stuck with Balrog in the Den of the Night Demons.


    "Tsk."


    As he had thought, he would have no use for it. It wasn''t like he could exert physical force in his astral form, and he would be fatally vulnerable to spiritual attacks. Considering that, there was even less of a reason to use it.


    "But..." Something intrigued Kang-Woo. "What''s the spirit dimension and astral dimension?"


    <i>''Why are there so many dimensions?''</i>


    [They are both dimensions you cannot enter from Earth. Not yet, anyway.]


    Countless outer worlds were invading Earth after damage to the Law of Titans. They couldn''t enter it now but that could change in the future.


    "Well... Since I got it, I might as well use it."


    Kang-Wooy down on the bed in his office. He usually used therge bed in the master bedroom with his lovers but he also used this bed whenever he wanted to take a break now and then.


    "Let''s see."


    He closed his eyes and imagined his soul separating from his body. It wasn''t difficult to do since instructions on how to use a Trait instantly flowed into a yer''s mind once they acquired it.


    "Whoa."


    Kang-Woo''s blue astral form floated in the air after using Astral Projection. He looked down to see himself lying down on the bed.


    "This is awesome."


    It was fascinating to see himself in a third-person view. Kang-Woo slowly floated upward and passed through the ceiling.


    <i>''It''s nice to pass through walls.''</i>


    However, that was it. He did not see much use to it other than the fact that he could pass through walls and fly around freely.


    "Pshh."


    [How do you like your new Trait?]


    "It''s crap."


    He honestly couldn''t understand why it was an A-rank Trait.


    [That''s unfortunate. Better luck next time!]


    [(????)?]


    "Hah. Who knows how long that''s gonna be? We don''t know when Akart''s subordinates wille again."


    Kang-Woo pulled on his hair in irritation. He couldn''t exert physical force on objects or other people in his astral form but it looked like he could touch himself. He might be able to touch others in astral form.


    "But I don''t see anything that looks like ghosts."


    Kang-Woo wondered if he would see ghosts flying around him in his astral form but he couldn''t see anything of the sort.


    "Haaa," he sighed and turned around to go back to his body.


    He moved his hand to swipe away the blue message window wishing him better luck next time.


    <i>Plunge!</i>


    "Hm?"


    Just then, Kang-Woo felt his arm entering the blue message window. The feeling was vividly different from passing through walls. He was not passing through it but entering it.


    "What''s this?"


    Kang-Woo was left wide-eyed and he flew into the message window.


    "Where..."


    The ground was nothing but white as if he was on a snowy in.


    "Where am I?"


    Kang-Woo looked around in confusion. He did not expect such a world beyond the system window.


    <i>''Come to think of it...''</i>


    Kang-Woo naturally recalled the Trait description.


    *The yer can enter immaterial dimensions such as the spirit dimension and astral dimension when in astral form.


    <i>''Since Eve said the spirit dimension and astral dimension can''t be essed from Earth...''</i>


    "Could this ce be..."


    "S-Sir Guardian Deity?"


    A voice echoed in the white space. Kang-Woo turned to the source of the voice and saw a transparent being that looked as if they were made of ss. They were so transparent that it was difficult to distinguish them from the surroundings but once he looked closer, the shape of the being was simr to that of a human woman.


    Kang-Woo stared at the being who called him and asked, "Eve...?"


    "Ahh!! I-Is it really you, Sir Guardian Deity?!" Eve jumped in surprise. "H-How are you here?!"


    "That''s what I want to ask you." Kang-Woo had no idea how he entered Eve''s world. "Is this a ce anyone can enter in their astral form?"


    "No! There''s no way! Even if they''re in their astral form, they shouldn''t be able to enter this dimension..." Eve slurred and then pped her hands together. "Oh...e to think of it, that may not apply to you, Sir Guardian Deity."


    "It doesn''t?"


    "Yes. I think you were able to enter because you were authorized by the Law."


    In other words, Kang-Woo could enter this dimension thanks to the merging of the Astral Projection Trait and the privileges of the Law of Titans he held.


    "Wow! I can''t believe someone else other than me can enter this dimension!!" Eve jumped up and down in excitement. "I-I''m... s-so happy!! I''m so moved!!"


    [?(¨@?¨A*)?!!!]


    A cheerful emoticon appeared on her face that was nothing but a smooth surface. Kang-Wo chuckled as he stared at the cheering Eve.


    <i>''Do AI even have feelings of loneliness?''</i>


    Kang-Woo did not remember Eve being so full of expression when he first became aware of her existence.


    <i>''It started when... Bael destroyed the Law of Titans.''</i>


    It was just an assumption but Eve might have acquired emotions because the Law of Titans was damaged. After all, such emotions were unneeded in an AI that managed the Law of Titans.


    <i>''An AI with emotions, huh?''</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled the android with emotions he met during the Gctic Federation invasion. He felt like the dying android in tears was ovepping with Eve.


    "Then is this where the Law of Titans is?" Kang-Woo asked as he looked around the endless white space.


    Eve shook her head and answered, "No, this is just a domain of consciousness where I reside."


    "Domain of consciousness?"


    "Mmm, how should I exin it? Oh! To make aparison, it''s something like my office!"


    "I see." Kang-Woo nodded with interest. "But there''s nothing here to call it an office."


    "Hehe. Just a moment, please."


    Eve giggled softly and pped her hands together.


    <i>Flutter¡ª!!</i>


    Rectangr screens resemblingputer screens appeared behind her. Complex strings of data were popping up on them in real time.


    "What is that?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "It is indicating that the Law of Titans is running." Eve pointed at the thousands of screens and continued, "Things like yers leveling up and acquiring new Traits are all shown here!"


    "Aha. I kind of get it. Then is that what you used tomunicate with me?"


    "Yes!" Eve nodded.


    Kang-Woo stared at the countless number of screens and asked, "But are you sure you can leave it running like that? Characters keep popping up."


    Eve twirled and answered, "The Law of Titans generally takes care of everything. There isn''t much I can do. My role is simply to oversee it, nothing more."


    "Then have you been spending all this time just staring at these screens?"


    Kang-Woo could understand why Eve was so happy to see him. Even he would be extremely lonely if all he could do was stare at screens in an endless white space.


    "Hehe. You don''t have to worry about me. Not only is the emotion of loneliness itself extremely faint in me but I find enjoyment in watching everything that happens on Earth from here."


    "That''s good."


    Kang-Woo was relieved to hear Eve wasn''t drowning in istion since they were technically partners.


    "Even so, I''m so happy I could meet you face to face!!!"


    Eve twirled and expressed joy.


    "Are you that happy?"


    Eve jumped in ce and shouted, "Of course! I never imagined I would ever get to meet you!"


    An (?¡ä¨Œ`?) emoticon appeared on her face.


    "Yeah, I''m happy to see you too."


    Kang-Woo smiled warmly and stretched out his arms as if telling Eve toe in for a hug.


    "Ah." Eve hesitated for a moment. "SIR GUARDIAN DEITYYYYYYYYY!!!"


    [???(¡ñ¨B?¨B¡ñ)???]


    An emoticon appeared on her smooth face as she ran toward Kang-Woo.


    "Eve!!!"


    Kang-Woo had been waiting for the day that he could meet Eve face to face.


    "Ahhh! I knew you were a kind person!!"


    Eve couldn''t believe Kang-Woo was treating her, a mere AI, with such warmth.


    "Sir Guardian Deity!!"


    "Eve!!"


    "SIR GUARDIAN DEITYYYYYY!!!"


    "EEEEEEEEEEEEVE!!!"


    Kang-Woo and Eve ran toward each other with their arms stretched out. They grew closer and closer with each step. They both jumped into the air.


    "Sir Guardian D¡ª KURGHHH!!!"


    Kang-Woo dropkicked Eve with all his might.


    <i>Whack! Boom! Thud.</i>


    Eve was blown away and tumbled across the ground.


    "S-Sir Guardian Deity...?"


    Kang-Woo slowly walked toward Eve and smirked.


    "You have no idea how long I''ve waited for this moment."


    "W-Wait! C-Calm down! Please calm down, Sir Guardian Deity!!"


    "You see, Eve... I''m so curious. I''m so curious that my head feels like it''s about to explode! Fucking call me Curious George!!!"


    "Pardon? Wh-What are you curious about?"


    Kang-Woo smiled as he stared fixedly at the trembling Eve.


    "About whether your head can be twisted into a question mark or not."

 Side Story Chapter 89 - Eve (4)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 89 - Eve (4)</h4>


    "GYAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    Screams echoed throughout the white in. A transparent being with their head bent into the shape of a hook screamed in agony.


    "Wow, it bends pretty well," Oh Kang-Woo remarked.


    He did not know what Eve''s body was made of, but her head was stic and y-like; it was like making ss art. Kang-Woo grabbed Eve''s head again and twisted it.


    "GYAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! I-IT HUUUUUUUUUURTS!!! IT HURTS, SIR GUARDIAN DEITYYYYYYYY!!!"


    "What was it you said? A seedless watermelon? A Vienna sausage?"


    "I''M SORRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"


    Eve screamed in Kang-Woo''s clutches. Although she was an AI that managed the Law of Titans, she couldn''t resist because she did not possess anybat capabilities.


    "You''re sorry?"


    "YEEEEEEEESSS!!!"


    "Then why did you say all those things??"


    "I''M SORRYYYYYYYYYY!!!"


    "I''m asking you why, aren''t I?"


    "I JUST WANTED TO TALK TO YOU!! I''M RESTRICTED FROM SENDING MESSAGES TO PLAYERS WITHOUT PRIVILEGES!!!"


    "So you sent those hurtful messages because you wanted to talk to me?"


    "I''M SORRYYYYYYYYY!! M-MY HEAD!! MY HEAAAAAAAAAD!!!"


    "WHY AREN''T YOU ANSWERING MY QUESTIOOOOOOON?!!"


    "I-I''M SORRYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"


    "AGAIN!!! YOU''RE NOT ANSWERING ME AGAAAAAAAAAAAIN!!! WHY DO YOU KEEP IGNORING MEEEEEEEEEEEE?!!"


    "GYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! P-PLEASE SPARE MEEEEEEE!!!"


    "WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"


    Kang-Woo continued to bend Eve''s head to vent all of his pent-up frustrations. Eve''s excessively stretched head swayed lifelessly.


    "Fuuu."


    He let go of the rage deep inside him and released Eve. She fell to the ground and wept.


    "<i>WAAAAAAAAHHH!</i> I''M SORRYYYYYY!!"


    [ ??©n? ]


    A crying emoticon appeared on her face. Kang-Woo smirked and lightly smacked her head with the back of his hand.


    "Ouch."


    "Don''t do those things from now on."


    "Okay..."


    "So, how has it beentely?"


    "What do you mean?"


    Kang-Woo sat on the ground and replied, "Earth, considering how much Akart has been messing with it."


    "Oh..." Eve expressed and nodded. "There are no issues with Earth yet thanks to you and the other yers stopping the otherworldly invasions."


    "Will Earth be safe as long as we keep stopping them? It won''t spontaneously copse or anything, will it?"


    "No, that will not happen."


    That was good news. Kang-Woo would be out of options if Earth would inevitably fall no matter how well he protected it.


    "Is there a possibility that Akart will give up on Earth as long as we keep protecting Earth?" Kang-Woo asked, slightly hopeful.


    He wondered if Akart would stoping for Earth if he took on the role of the damaged Law of Titans.


    "..." Eve shook her head in silence. "That will likely... never happen. I do not know the details either but Akart has never left a world with a disrupted bnce untouched."


    "Fuck," Kang-Woo cursed.


    He was already determined to face Akart but he would rather avoid it if he could.


    "What are the other Titans doing? Why is he the only one doing this shit?"


    "Mm... The majority of the Titans are likely too busy battling the beings of the Void. Akart is a little different."


    Kang-Woo chuckled and asked, "What are beings of the Void?"


    <i>''Hm? Wait a second. I think I''ve heard about them somewhere.''</i>


    He searched through his memories and remembered that Raphael had mentioned it a long time ago[1].


    "I don''t know much about the beings of the Void either. All I know is that they are very powerful entities that exist outside the Law of Titans."


    "Outside the Law, huh?" Kang-Woo thought of the Cthulhu Mythos. "Then are the beings of the Void like Outer Gods, and the Titans are like Elder Gods[2]?"


    "It''s not an exactparison, but it''s close."


    However, in this scenario, an Elder God was the one trying to end all life on Earth instead of an Outer God.


    "Is there anything else you know about Akart?" Kang-Woo asked.


    He would need as much information about Akart as possible since a confrontation with him was inevitable at this rate.


    "As I have mentioned before, I do not know much either. Hmm... Oh! I know that Akart epted the power of light born from the Primordial!"


    "Light born from the Primordial..."


    Kang-Woo''s expression hardened. Such light was likely just as powerful as the darkness of the Demonic Sea.


    <i>''That must be why his light has the power to disintegrate the Demonic Sea.''</i>


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and shook his head.


    "I also know that he is among the most powerful of the Titans," Eve added.


    "More powerful than Bauli?"


    "Bauli was... among the weakest of the Titans if not the weakest. He acquired the seed of the Demonic Sea purely by chance."


    <i>''Why are you insulting my daddy?''</i>


    "Yeah, I figured." Kang-Woo feignedughter and nodded.


    He had wondered for a while if Bauli was weak for a Titan.


    <i>''He lost against the gods, after all.''</i>


    Bauli was defeated by an alliance of gods gathered around Gaia, Seraph, and Tai Wuji. Not only that but he was continuously disrespected by Kang-Woo in the world of the Abyss and couldn''t take over Bael''s body either after he jumped from Kang-Woo to Bael.


    <i>''He''s a dumbass.''</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn''t remember thest time Bauli was dignified.


    "Are you... worried?" Eve asked.


    "Hm? About what?"


    "About facing Akart," she answered worriedly with an (???¦ä???) emoticon on her face.


    Kang-Woo smirked and shook his head. "No."


    There was no reason for him to be worried.


    "No matter what he does, I''ll be the one to emerge victorious. Like I always have."


    "I... have no idea where that confidence of yours surges from."


    "I''ll send you the motherfucker''s headter."


    "I don''t need it. Besides, you can''t bring it here with you."


    "That''s true." Kang-Woo snickered and stared at the screens behind Eve. "That aside, you can see everything happening on Earth with those?"


    "Not everything since the Law is damaged. Mmm... the things I can see are restricted to what''s around you."


    "Really? How do you see them?"


    Kang-Woo was curious about how Evemunicated with him from here.


    "Just a moment, please."


    Eve turned around and ced her hand over a screen. It turned into a disy of Kang-Woo''s room and him lying on the bed.


    "Whoa, like this, huh?"


    "Yes. They''re like cameras that float around you, Sir Guardian Deity."


    "Wait... Does that mean... don''t tell me you watch us in bed?"


    "Hehe. The four of you sure go at it intensely! When the three of them¡ª GYAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    Kang-Woo bent Eve''s head again.


    "Turn it off at night from now on. Respect our privacy."


    "ARGHHH!! O-OKAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!!" Eve screamed as she writhed in pain.


    "Hm?" Just then, Kang-Woo saw on the screen someone entering his room. "Echidna?"


    [Huh? Are you sleeping, Kang-Woo?]


    Kang-Wo saw Echidna approaching him with her head tilted.


    [Mmm... I wanted to y games with you.]


    Echidna stood next to the bed, pouting with a finger on her lips.


    [...]


    She looked down at him for a few moments and then turned around in disappointment to leave the room.


    "This is pretty damn cool."


    It was odd to see himself lying in bed as people came to check on him; it was like watching a prank video.


    Creak.


    [Hey, Oh Kang-Woo. I have something to ask y¡ª Eh? The hell? Are you sleeping?]


    As Kang-Woo was staring at himself sleeping, Cha Yeon-Joo entered the room this time.


    [Urgh. What should I do...?]


    Yeon-Joo pondered on whether to wake him up or not as she scratched her head.


    [Whatever. I can ask himter.]


    She turned around and walked toward the door.


    [...]


    However, she stopped in her tracks.


    [A-Ahem!]


    She coughed and looked around.


    [Umm... H-Hey...]


    She mumbled in embarrassment as she twisted in embarrassment and turned back toward Kang-Woo.


    [Y-You''re... sleeping, right?]


    Yeon-Joo looked around some more and hesitantly got closer to Kang-Woo.


    [Ngh.]


    She blushed as she carefully bent down and kissed Kang-Woo.


    [H-Hehehe.]


    Yeon-Joo giggled and poked the sleeping Kang-Woo''s cheek.


    "What should I do, Eve?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "My Yeon-Joo is way too cute."


    "Good for you," Eve replied bluntly as she stared at the screen next to Kang-Woo. "You sure are blessed, Sir Guardian Deity."


    "It''s only natural since I saved the goddamn world."


    Kang-Woo thought he had the right to be this blessed since he had remained a virgin for ten millennia, or a little over nine millennia, to be more exact.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    Yeon-Joo kissed him again and left the room.


    "I might as well go back," Kang-Woo said.


    He had nothing else to do here.


    "Oh, Sir Guardian Deity. It takes about thirty minutes to generate an exit."


    "Eh? What kind of bullshit is that? This isn''t some bus in the countryside."


    "This world was built for the management of the Law of Titans. I couldn''t do anything when you entered, but I have to generate an exit so that it doesn''t cause any anomalies."


    "Oh, then I guess I have no choice but to wait."


    To make aparison, it was like waiting until a USB was safe to remove from aputer. The Law of Titans was already damaged considerably so he did not want to cause further damage.


    "Then what should I spend thirty minutes on...?"


    Kang-Woo turned to the screens, thinking about checking information about other yers.


    [Oh? Are you asleep, Kang-Woo?]


    Just then, Han Seol-Ah entered his room.


    "Why is there so much traffic in my room?"


    No one besides Lilith usually entered his office room when he was working.


    [Hmm...]


    Seol-Ah looked down at the sleeping Kang-Woo and kissed him as Yeon-Joo had done.


    "Hehe. Oh, Darling."


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help but smile as both women kissed his sleeping self.


    <i>''My lovers are so cute.''</i>


    They kissed each other regrly but seeing them kissing him while he was asleep brought him even more joy.


    [Huh? Is he that tired?]


    Seol-Ah tilted her head in wonder after Kang-Woo did not wake up even after a kiss.


    [Kang-Woo? Kang-Woo?]


    Seol-Ah shook Kang-Woo''s shoulders in slight worry. Her expression grew harder after Kang-Woo stayed asleep no matter how hard she shook him.


    "Eve, send Darling a message."


    "What should I send?"


    "Something about me being in a world of consciousness and that I can''t wake up for thirty minutes."


    "Okay!"


    Eve typed away on a screen and a message window appeared in front of Seol-Ah.


    [Phew.]


    Seol-Ah ced her hand over her chest and sighed in relief.


    [Mm... If he won''t wake up for thirty minutes...]


    She fell into thought for a moment and pped her hands together as if she had thought of a great idea.


    [I should be able to do it without him knowing!]


    <i>''Do what without me knowing?''</i>


    "I wonder what she''s about to do?" Eve asked.


    "No idea."


    Kang-Woo and Eve focused on the screen. Seol-Ah left the room for a moment and came back as she hummed. There was something in her hand.


    "Wait."


    It was a hairband with cat ears on it and... a tail with a bead tip.


    "WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAAAAAAAAAAAIT!!! GAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Kang-Woo aggressively grabbed Eve''s shoulders. "OPEN THE DOOR!!!"


    "P-Pardon?? Why all of a sudden?"


    "OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!"


    "Y-You have to wait thirty minutes¡ª"


    "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND OPEN THE FUCKING DOOOOOOOOOOOOR!"


    <i>''If you don''t open it now, something else will open!!''</i>


    1. Refer to Chapter 270. ?


    2. I''m not well-versed in the Cthulhu Mythos but after some research, it seems the Elder Gods are extraterrestrial entities that protect humans while the Outer Gods are evil entities that live in the void outside the universe. ?

 Side Story Chapter 90 - Capture the Relic (1)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 90 - Capture the Relic (1)</h4>


    "Come on, Kang-Woo. I told you it was just a joke!"


    "..."


    Oh Kang-Woo stared at Han Seol-Ah with narrow eyes. A day passed since he nagged Eve into letting him leave the Law of Titans maintenance office. He barely managed to stop his butthole from being prated in his sleep.


    "I swear it was a joke~ I would never do something like that while you''re unconscious~," Seol-Ah said cutely as she embraced the sulking Kang-Woo.


    "Then why did you bring the cat ears and tail?"


    "I-I told you, it was just a joke."


    Seol-Ah smiled awkwardly as she averted her gaze from Kang-Woo.


    Kang-Woo grabbed her chin to force her to look at him and said, "Look into my eyes and say it."


    "U-Urghhh." Her eyes darted all over. Her lips quivered, and she lowered her head. She said lifelessly, "I''m... sorry."


    Kang-Woo sighed deeply. "Don''t ever do that again. I''m serious."


    "I wanted to see it at least once..."


    "I mean, the ears are fine, but..."


    <i>''I''d rather die than wear that tail.''</i>


    "Oh! Does that mean you''re willing to wear the ears?!"


    Seol-Ah smiled as radiantly as the sun.


    "No, I changed my mind. No ears either."


    "Ah! Y-You just said it was fine!"


    "In any case, you went too far this time, Darling."


    "Urgh... I''m sorry. I couldn''t help myself after seeing you unconscious." Seol-Ah scratched her head with an awkward smile. She then asked sweetly, "To make up for it, I''ll make you a super delicious dish I learned in my cooking ss. Will you forgive me?"


    Seol-Ah stuffed Kang-Woo''s face between her voluptuous breasts and gently caressed his head.


    "Ahh..."


    The sensation on Kang-Woo''s cheeks was soft beyond belief. Seol-Ah''s scent tickled his nose, her hand gently stroked his hair, and the warmth of her embrace that felt like he was submerged in a hot spring spread throughout his body.


    "Fufu. Kang-Woo..."


    Seol-Ah lowered her head and teasingly bit his ear. The ticklish feeling filled Kang-Woo with delight.


    "Dammit," Kang-Woo remarked.


    <i>''Are you even a man if you don''t forgive your girl in this situation?''</i>


    Kang-Woo distanced himself from Seol-Ah. He coughed and said, "Alright. Don''t ever do it again, got it?"


    "Fufu. I love you, Kang-Woo."


    "Yeah. I love you too, Darling."


    Seol-Ah and Kang-Woo locked eyes with each other. They approached each other as if they had made a promise within the heat caused by their passionate love.


    "Enough with this shitshow." Cha Yeon-Joo on the couch stared at the two lovers. "Let''s eat already. I''m hungry."


    "Okay. Gimme a second. It should be done soon," said Seol-Ah as she headed toward the oven in the kitchen.


    "An oven dish?" Kang-Woo said in slight disappointment since he preferred Korean dishes over Western dishes.


    <i>''There aren''t many Korean dishes that require an oven.''</i>


    Nevertheless, Kang-Woo was still excited since Seol-Ah had learned it in a cooking ss that required applicants to take a test to attend.


    Kang-Woo sat down at the table and asked Yeon-Joo sitting across from him, "What about you, Yeon-Joo? You went to learn cooking too, didn''t you?"


    "Oh. You see, I-I..." Yeon-Joo stuttered as she looked away from Kang-Woo.


    Seol-Ah giggled with her mouth covered and answered, "Yeon-Joo was scolded by the instructor."


    "What did they say?"


    "We were making a chicken dish but the instructor said that it was so raw that she should take it to a vet to save it."


    "Pfft!"


    <i>''The instructor has a sense of humor.''</i>


    "Sh-Shut up! Everyone makes mistakes! I don''t like that instructor! He''s not even the instructor for the basic ss..."


    "I''m sure he''s giving you special attention because you''re the master of Red Rose."


    "Why would someone who''s giving me special attention outright insult me?"


    "Fufu. Maybe that''s just the way he teaches people."


    "For fuck''s sake, he talks so much shit," Yeon-Jooined, badmouthing the instructor.


    "I mean, you''re not one to talk about talking shit," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "The fuck you say?"


    "See? You didn''t even hesitate to swear at me."


    "Argh! Sh-Shut up!" Yeon-Joo shouted and stomped her feet with her head down.


    Kang-Woo could hear her mumbling <i>"D-Does he dislike women who swear a lot? Wh-What do I do?"</i> with her head down.


    "Pfffft..."


    "Wh-What the f¡ª I-I mean, you son of a¡ª no, not that either. U-Urghhh!!!" Yeon-Joo pulled on her hair and twisted around as if in pain. "Y-You... A-Aaaahh..."


    "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Kang-Woo burst intoughter.


    Yeon-Joo blushed immensely. "Wh-Why are youughing?!"


    "Kehehe! Pfft! It''s just that you not trying to swear was too cute."


    "Wh-What?"


    "You don''t have to force yourself to stop."


    <i>''I have a potty mouth too.''</i>


    Besides, Yeon-Joo was the cutest when she cursed out of embarrassment.


    "I like it when you curse, Yeon-Joo."


    "Y-You do? R-Really?" Yeon-Joo''s eyes widened. She looked around as she pondered and carefully muttered, "S-Son of a bitch."


    "Hehe! Yes! Curse as much as you want!!"


    <i>''That''s my Yeon-Joo!''</i>


    "H-Huhuhu! D-Do you like getting insulted that badly?!"


    "Hehe. Yeah. You''re the cutest and most beautiful when you curse."


    "I-I am?" Yeon-Joo snorted like Echidna and shouted, "Motherfucker! Dipshit!!!"


    "Yes!!! That''s it!"


    <i>''Keep it up, Yeon-Joo!!!''</i>


    "You parent-less fuck!"


    "Huh?"


    <i>''That''s a bit of a low blow.''</i>


    "I at least have a dad!!!"


    <i>''Though I killed him!!!''</i>


    "Yeon-Joo, that kind of insult is a little..." said Seol-Ah as she grabbed the excited Yeon-Joo.


    Yeon-Joo blushed and scratched her head. "Oh, s-sorry. I got a little too fired up."


    "Fufu. Take a seat, everyone. It''s ready."


    "I''ll bring Echidna."


    "Okay~"


    Kang-Woo brought Echidna, who had been gaming in her room.


    "Man... just a little more and I could''ve killed the Twin Princes[1]..."


    "You can after you eat."


    "Okay!"


    Everyone but Lilith, who was away due to business, sat at the table. Seol-Ah brought the dish out of the oven and ced it on the table.


    "Ta-dah~! This is what I learned from my instructor~!"


    "Bread...?"


    A giant load of bread the size of a human thigh was on a tray.


    "Fufu, are you sure it''s bread?"


    Seol-Ah smiled confidently and sliced the bread in half.


    "Wh-Whoa!"


    "Is that meat inside?!"


    A scrumptious b of meat filled the inside of the crispy bread.


    "It''s called a Beef Wellington. The meat inside is tenderloin and ham."


    "This is insane."


    Kang-Woo could never have imagined abination of crispy bread, beef tenderloin, and ham.


    "I''m sure it would taste amazing with kimchi stew."


    "Stop saying stupid shit and eat," Yeon-Joo said sharply.


    Kang-Woo stared at the slice of the Beef Wellington in slight disappointment and took a big bite.


    "It''s so good!!!"


    As expected, Seol-Ah''s cooking was impable.


    ***


    "Huuu, that was a great meal."


    Kang-Woo pounded on his stomach in satisfaction. Even he, who didn''t particrly like Western foods, ate it like there was no tomorrow.


    <i>''It was a bit fatty, though.''</i>


    It was only natural since it was bread, beef, and ham together.


    "At times like this, you need a piping hot pot of kimchi stew..."


    ck.


    As Kang-Woo was nning on having kimchi stew for dinner, Lilith walked into the apartment from the front door. She was holding a small sculpture a little bigger than a fist.


    "Wee back."


    "I''m back, my king."


    "What''s that sculpture?"


    It was a crude sculpture that looked simr to a dol hareubang[2] or a Moai statue.


    "Oh, I was nning on talking to you about this," Lilith said as she ced the sculpture on the table and sat down. "yers have been discovering objects like this in the Mega Gate in Egypttely."


    "These Moai-like statues?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "No, theye in different sizes and shapes. Some of them are weapons or armor, and others are masks, totems, or sculptures."


    "So, what is this thing?"


    "From what I''ve heard... they are called <i>relics</i>."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo remembered hearing about relics when he was in the Den of the Night Demons.


    <i>''I believe it had something to do with the Tower of Creation.''</i>


    In any case, humans and demons alike were desperate to find these relics.


    "This... came out of a Gate?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Yes. They are being discovered in a Mega Gate."


    "How big is a Mega Gate?"


    "I heard it''s asrge as the Korean Penins inside."


    "That''s big as fuck."


    It was rare for a Gate to be that massive inside.


    "But I''ve heard the Gate used to berge before the relic was discovered, but nowhere near asrge as it is now," Lilith added.


    "Does that mean the inside of the Gate suddenly expanded?"


    "Yes."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. An inexplicable chill ran down his back.


    "Anyway, relics like these are being discovered in that Gate, right?"


    "Yes, but the problem is..." Lilith sighed. "Before we could restrict this information, rumors about these relics have spread to a point that we can no longer block it."


    "What...?"


    <i>''That means...''</i>


    "yers are going mad trying to acquire these relics for themselves."


    "Oh, I''ve heard about that too." Yeon-Joo raised her hand as she was listening in silence. "These relics or whatever levels the yers up, right?"


    "Oh, you''ve heard about it too, Yeon-Joo?" Lilith asked in surprise.


    "Of course, I''m the master of Red Rose. My guild members have been hounding me to send a survey team there."


    "Did you?"


    "Not yet. I heard it''s a shitshow there right now. People fighting and killing each other... Oh, and there is a weird group of people there, apparently."


    "Weird?"


    "They''ve been picking fights with people, introducing themselves as whatever-star apostles."


    "..." Kang-Woo''s expression hardened.


    <i>''No way.''</i>


    Just like what happened in the Den of the Night Demons, people from the Tower of Creation had leaked into this world.


    <i>''In arge scale this time, no less.''</i>


    "Fuck," Kang-Woo reflexively cursed.


    He had expected it to happen sooner orter. He knew that the other Earth where the Tower of Creation existed was gradually melting together with his Earth.


    <i>''This time, an entire floor of the Tower of Creation might have connected with the Gate.''</i>


    The sudden expansion of the Gate''s interior, the discovery of relics that should only be found in the Tower of Creation, and the appearance of apostles, possessing special powers simr to yers, who worshiped gods like Ishvalda and Helya¡ª everything was falling into ce.


    "I''ll have to investigate this," Kang-Woo remarked.


    "What should I do with this relic?"


    "Just toss it aside somewhere."


    Kang-Woo was sure it would be useless to him. It could level a yer up but he was already at the max level.


    <i>Riiing!</i>


    [Sir! Sir Guardian Deity!!]


    Just then, a blue message window popped up in front of him.


    "Huh? What''s up?"


    [It''s faint, but I can feel the power of a Titan inside that relic!!]


    <i>''What?''</i>


    1. This is referring to Prince Lorian and Lothric in <i>Dark Souls III</i>. ?


    2. Dol hareubang is a statuemonly seen on Jeju Ind. ?

 Side Story Chapter 91 - Capture the Relic (2)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 91 - Capture the Relic (2)</h4>


    "The power of a Titan is in this thing?"


    Oh Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly lifted the sculpture that looked like a dol hareubang. No one would think something like this would contain such unfathomable power.


    He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Is it... the power of Akart?"


    [I am not sure yet, but I am sure it is the power of a Titan.]


    <i>''Come to think of it, the yers are going crazy over the relics because...''</i>


    Kang-Woo turned to Cha Yeon-Joo and asked, "Yeon-Joo. You said this relic levels yers up, right?"


    "Yeah, at least that''s what I was told. You know that yers usually can''t level up further after reaching a level cap until something triggers a break in that cap, right?"


    "Yeah."


    <i>''Though it was so long ago, I don''t remember that well.''</i>


    "But if they absorb the mana or whatever kind of power is infused in these relics, they can ignore that cap and level up."


    "..."


    "It''s not just for leveling up. Some permanently boost one''s stats and others allow yers to awaken new Traits."


    "No wonder they''re going crazy over it."


    The reward was far better than simple monster hunting.


    "And the weapon and armor-type relics are so overpowered that they leave most Legendary-grade equipment in the dust."


    "..."


    Such effects would be impossible if not for the powers of a Titan infused in them. Kang-Woo examined the sculpture intently and fell into thought.


    "But these relics don''t all have the same effects, right?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Of course not."


    "Then how do you distinguish which is good?"


    "Oh, I heard there''s a way to check." Yeon-Joo took the relic from Kang-Woo. "Just appraise the item like you''re opening a status window."


    Riiing!


    [????????????????????????]


    [¡ï¡ï]


    "You see the stars under the broken characters, right?"


    "Yeah."


    "This is its rank. It''s apparently called a two-star relic."


    "And the higher the better?"


    "Yeah. The highest that''s been discovered is a seven-star relic."


    It was simr to the apostles'' ranking system on the other Earth.


    "How good is a seven-star relic?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "The bastards at Valha are keeping it so under wraps that no one knows."


    Valha was also one of the top five guilds in the world like Red Rose.


    "Seven-star relics give one power on par with Upper Intermediate-rank Deific Essence," answered Lilith, who had been listening leisurely, as she put one leg over the other.


    Yeon-Joo stared at her in surprise. "How do you know that, unnie?"


    "Fufu. I don''t run an intelligence organization for nothing. Getting information from inside Valha is a piece of cake."


    "Holy shit. My members couldn''t find anything even after painstaking research."


    "Just to let you know, I also know everything going on in your guild, Yeon-Joo. Hoho. You''ve been quite busy for a while but things have been getting some time to spare, right?"


    "Wha¡ª"


    Yeon-Joo''s mouth was left agape in disbelief. Not many could escape from Lilith''s eyes other than beings like Akart''s retainers who could assimte with light to move around.


    "In any case, you''re saying high-ranking relics can grant Deific Essence, right?" Kang-Woo asked with shining eyes.


    <i>''Then if I gather those relics...''</i>


    He faintly smiled, remembering the spinning roulette.


    "Eve, can you extract the Titan''s power from these relics too?"


    [Yes! The retention rate of these relics is far higher than the nes fromst time, so I should be able to extract much more energy!]


    [?*.?(¨@?¨A)?.*?]


    Eve sent an emoticon full of confidence with shining effects. Kang-Woo clenched his fists.


    "Trait gacha!!"


    ''I got a mid Trait like Astral Projectionst time, but this time...''


    "ABYSS WATCHER!!!"


    He could get his SSS-rank Trait or possibly something even greater.


    "What? Abyss what?" asked Yeon-Joo, startled by Kang-Woo''s sudden cheering.


    Han Seol-Ah and Lilith were also staring at him iprehensibly.


    "Hehehehehe," Kang-Woo chuckled, paying them no mind.


    He was already tingling with excitement thinking about the Trait gacha like apulsive gambler.


    <i>''If I''m especially lucky, I might be able to get an EX-rank Trait!''</i>


    Even Kang-Woo couldn''t help but drool at the thought of getting an EX-rank Trait despite already possessing the unfathomable power that was the Demonic Sea.


    <i>''The Miracle Trait that Seol-Ah used to resurrect Balrog was also EX-rank.''</i>


    Considering that, he needed to get one of the same rank no matter what.


    <i>''Though I bet the chances are low as fuck!!''</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled what Eve had said to him.


    "I need to be... more desperate."


    He needed to believe that it woulde to him.


    "What?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "I''ll get it!! I''ll get it this time for sure!!!"


    "Get what?"


    "Yeon-Joo!!! You believe your oppa, don''t you?!!"


    "For fuck''s sake, did you take a bullet to the head? What the fuck have you been talking about since earlier?!"


    "Just believe! Believe me just one more time!!!"


    <i>''Just one more pull! This''ll be thest one, I swear!!!''</i>


    ***


    It was chaos.


    "Hey! Stop pushing!!!"


    "Move, you sons of bitches!!"


    "The fuck are you on about?! I was first!"


    "We''re not in a fucking amusement park! There''s no such thing as firste first served here!"


    People were pushing and cursing at each other.


    "Motherfucker!"


    "Wanna go, huh?!"


    "Yeah, let''s fucking go!"


    "Fucking bring it!!"


    <i>Bash!!</i>


    The two yers who were making a scene began to fight each other.


    "Fucking hell," Kang-Woo muttered as he witnessed the hellscape on par with the Nine Hells. "What a goddamn shitshow."


    "I''ve heard the rumors, but this is pretty bad."


    "E-Everyone here is a yer, aren''t they?"


    "Hohoho. This reminds me of Hell."


    Yeon-Joo, Seol-Ah, and Lilith gave their thoughts as they witnessed the chaos. Kang-Woo quickly flew to Egypt as soon as he heard the news about the relics before other yers could take them all, taking his three lovers who were with him at the time. It had been a while since he formed a party with just them.


    "Good thing we didn''t take Echidna with us," Kang-Woo expressed.


    Echidna did not follow them because she needed to stream.


    "Holy crap, are we in a warzone or something?" Yeon-Joo shook her head with her mouth agape.


    Thousands of yers of various ethnicities, nationalities, genders, and ages were fighting to enter a pyramid.


    "A-Are the relics worth this much?" Seol-Ah asked in confusion as she looked at Kang-Woo.


    "I mean, I don''t me them considering how valuable the relics are."


    To yers, one''s level was an absolute indicator of one''s strength since leveling came with boosts in stats and new Trait skills. Even if the relics weren''t used to level up, the power infused in the equipment-type relics far surpassed that of Legendary-grade equipment.


    <i>''Of course, they''d go crazy over them.''</i>


    Even if the yer didn''t want to use it, they could easily be sold for billions if they were sold.


    "At least it hasn''t turned into a ughterhouse..."


    yers were still holding on to their sense of reason. None of them who were fighting were taking out their weapons, likely because they knew the situation would be uncontroble if they started killing each other. They stuck to fighting with their fists.


    <i>''But it''s a shitshow nheless.''</i>


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    Yeon-Joo sighed and clicked her head, saying, "Seeing this, I''m d I didn''t send any of my members here. It would''ve been a mess if they came here."


    Things would undoubtedly get worse if a member of Red Rose were to join the fray.


    "But why isn''t the crowd getting smaller?" Yeon-Joo wondered.


    Seol-Ah agreed. "That''s what I was thinking. I wonder if something happened?"


    There was a massive wave of yers but people around the entrance were not moving. Kang-Woo and the others stepped back from the crowd and observed the entrance.


    <i>Bash! Punch!</i>


    "No one may enter the Gate without permission."


    "Kurgh!"


    They saw yers getting beaten up and pushed away from the entrance.


    "Who the hell are those guys?" Kang-Woo wondered.


    A group of people wearing silver armor straight out of a Middle Ages fantasy novel was attacking people trying to enter the Gate and pushing them back. There were about two hundred of them, which was far less than the number of yers gathered at the pyramid entrance, but each of them was far stronger than the average yer.


    "Huh? Those guys are from Valha!" said Yeon-Joo, noticing the symbol of crossed swords on the shoulder te of the yers'' silver armor.


    "Valha has no right to block the entrance!"


    "He''s right! It''s illegal for anyone but Guardians to regte Gate entry!"


    The yers shoutedints at the Valha members blocking the Gate entrance. The yers in silver armor grimaced as the yers continued to swarm the entrance.


    "Did you not hear us saying you may not enter?!"


    <i>Bash! Crack!</i>


    "Kurgh!"


    "Argh!!! M-My leg!!"


    "Urgh!"


    The yers swarming the entrance were beaten up and pushed back by the Valha members again.


    "Ngh..."


    The yers nced at each other and began stepping away from the entrance, intimidated by the Valha members. They could easily defeat the Valha members if the thousands of them worked together but there was no way yers blinded by greed for the relics would work together.


    "Any otherints?"


    Arge man who seemed to be of high rank among the Valha members red intimidatingly at the yers. The yers flinched and stepped away.


    "W-We''ll be reporting this to Guardians!"


    "Damn scumbags!"


    yers were only timidly cursing at the Valha members¡ª no one was willing to fight them.


    "Wow, what a performance they''re putting on." Kang-Woo chuckled as he witnessed the scene. "Let''s head inside."


    "What about Valha? Are you gonna beat them all up?" asked Yeon-Joo with a frown. "That''s gonna turn out badly down the road."


    Valha was one of thergest guilds in the world and had dozens of affiliate guilds under their wing. Kang-Woo could easily deal with the members blocking the Gate but he and his group would have to deal with all sorts of trouble with them while searching for the relics.


    Lilith crossed her arms and suggested, "How about we use our positions as Guardians members?"


    As the yers mentioned, no one but Guardians was allowed to regte Gate entry. They would have no choice but to disperse if it was used to pressure them.


    "But if we do that, we''ll get an earful from sister-inw once it deals a massive blow to our finances."


    Valha, like other major guilds, supported Guardians with funding and high-level yers. They might cut off their support if Guardians members threatened them.


    <i>''We have to keep good hold of our piggy bank.''</i>


    Guardians used an astronomical amount of money to run. There was no need to go out of their way to sever their rtionship with one of their piggy banks.


    "Then what do you suggest?" Lilith asked.


    "Not sure." Kang-Woo thought about a way to get past the Valha members without causing unnecessary trouble with them. "Mmm... we need some decent scapegoats."


    Kang-Woo looked around for people suitable for the role.


    "For fuck''s sake, this is the problem with major guilds. We came all this way for nothing... Huh? What''s this?"


    "Dayum, what a sight!"


    A group of nasty-looking yers smiled wickedly as they stared at Kang-Woo''s group. To be more specific, they were staring at Lilith, Seol-Ah, and Yeon-Joo.


    "Hehehe. Looks like the treasure wasn''t in the Gate but out here."


    "Hey, prettydies~ why don''t you hang out with us~?"


    The men approached the group with lecherous smiles, drooling as they stared at the three women. Kang-Woo smiled widely as he stared at the mening their way.


    "Found them."


    <i>''Forget same-day delivery. Get ready for same-minute delivery.''</i>

 Side Story Chapter 92 - Capture the Relic (3)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 92 - Capture the Relic (3)</h4>


    "Wow, how did you guys appear at the perfect time?!"


    Oh Kang-Woo weed the five thugs with open arms. They seemed like a party of mediocre yers who came a long way to Egypt in search of relics, blinded by profit.


    "It''s great to see you all, my friends!!! I''ve been looking for people like you!!!" Kang-Woo shouted as he walked toward the thugs.


    "Wh-What?"


    "What''s with this brat?"


    "Is he crazy?"


    They did not expect someone to be happy about their presence instead of running away in fear as usual.


    "Crazy? What are you talking about, my friend?!! Is that any way to be talking to your friend?!!" Kang-Woo shouted.


    "I don''t fucking recall us being friends."


    "Of course we are! Do you not see how happy I am to see you?!"


    Words couldn''t describe how happy Kang-Woo was to find them. This was probably how a Pokemon trainer felt whening across a legendary Pokemon. Kang-Woo was filled with fascination and surprise.


    "You''re happy... to see us?"


    "Yes!" Kang-Woo nodded. "Seriously, it''s hard to find horndogs as moronic as you guys in this day and age!!"


    "What the fuck did you say?"


    "Come on, try thinking about this logically!! We''re in such a massive crowd! It''s not even a secluded ce, it''s a goddamn in!"


    Not only that but in the vicinity was Valha, one of the greatest guilds in the world. One couldn''t make passes at people so tantly in a ce like this unless their brain cells were almost nonexistent.


    "You guys are fucking amazing!!! You''re the best!"


    Kang-Woo couldn''t believe how moronic they were¡ª their intelligence level was shockingly low.


    "Hehe, it''s nothing that impressive¡ª Ouch!"


    "Get a grip, you dumbass. That brat is making fun of us." The man who seemed to be the party leader smacked the man scratching his head in embarrassment on the back of his head. "You fucking brat, how dare you disrespect your elders?"


    He took out his weapon as if it was better it turned out this way. Even while taking out his weapon, his gaze was focused on the three women instead of Kang-Woo.


    "Ladies, why don''t we talk somewhere private after you teach your little brother some manners?"


    "Oh? What do you mean by little brother?" Lilith smiled and hugged Kang-WOo from behind. "This man is my husband."


    "Wh-What...?"


    The man''s expression was dyed with shock. There was no way a brat who could only be in his teens at most had such a beautiful wife.


    "Hah, do you expect me to believe that bullshit?"


    "Fufu, is that what you think?" Lilith smiled alluringly and gently grabbed Kang-Woo''s chin. "How about now?"


    She kissed Kang-Woo for them to see.


    "<i>Gasp...</i>"


    "Wh-What the hell?"


    The men were flustered by the tant show of love.


    "Ah, no fair, unnie!"


    "What the hell are you doing in public?!"


    Han Seol-Ah and Cha Yeon-Joo also approached Kang-Woo in surprise.


    "I want to kiss Kang-Woo too."


    Seol-Ah yanked Kang-Woo toward her by his arm and kissed him.


    Yeon-Joo blushed and shouted, "Seol-Ah! Not you too!"


    "Fufu. It''s fine, isn''t it? Now, don''t be shy, Yeon-Joo."


    "W-Wait! Wait a second, unnie!"


    "Hohoho. No need to be embarrassed."


    Lilith pulled Yeon-Joo toward Kang-Woo and made her stick to him. Despite mumblingints, Yeon-Joo carefully embraced Kang-Woo''s arm.


    "..."


    "H-Hyung-nim... is this a dream?"


    The thugs flirting with the three women were left with their mouths agape in disbelief. All three of the women seemed to be in a romantic rtionship with the boy.


    "Fuck..." An overwhelming sense of defeat suddenly flooded the party leader. He gritted his teeth and clenched his ax as hard as possible to quell his rage. "That''s enough, dammit."


    "Hehe, what? You jealous?"


    Kang-Woo cackled as he stared at the shaking party leader.


    "Motherfucker!"


    The man ferociously swung his ax at Kang-Woo''s head, which Kang-Woo easily grabbed.


    "Well, that''s enough ying around." He smirked nastily. "You horndogs are gonna help me."


    ***


    <i>Mumble, mumble.</i>


    "This is going too far!"


    "He''s right!"


    yers were still gathered in front of the Gate entrance, unable to let go of their greed for the relics, and yelling at the Valha guild members.


    "I said you may not enter."


    The guild members in silver armor continued to block the entrance with cold expressions while the yers were ncing at each other, reluctant to attack.


    Dash¡ª!


    Just then, a man who looked to be a thug charged out from the group of yers and ran toward the Gate.


    "No, you don''t!"


    Each Valha member guarding the Gate entrance was nearly Ranker-level yers¡ª they would not be caught off guard by something like this.


    <i>Bash!</i>


    One of the Valha members softly clenched his fist and punched the charging man.


    "I believe I said you may not enter without permission."


    Since the punch was to intimidate, he did not add much strength to it.


    "Kurgh! <i>Cough! Cough!!</i>"


    "Huh?"


    However, the man who was punched suddenly coughed up a fountain of blood.


    "Wh-What the hell?"


    There was so much blood that the Valha guild member was more surprised. He looked down at his fist and then the surroundings in disbelief.


    "H-Hyung!!!"


    Just then, a ck-haired teenage boy shoved the yers aside and hugged the copsed man.


    "N-No!!! Get a hold of yourself, hyung!!!"


    "Kurgh, urghh, guh!"


    The boy frantically shook the man''s shoulders. The man groaned painfully and continued to vomit blood.


    "<i>Waaaaaahhh!!!</i> N-No, hyung!!! Don''t dieeeeeeeee!!!" the boy yelled.


    The nearby yers gathered around the Valha member who punched the man.


    "N-No. I... I wasn''t trying to kill him."


    The Valha member shook his head in bewilderment.


    "Sniff!! Waaaaahh... You said you would find a relic and pay for Mom''s hospital bills... W-We promised to live happily as a family again, the three of us!!!"


    The ck-haired boy bawled his eyes out with the man in his arms.


    "Tsk, tsk."


    "Scumbags..."


    "Hah! However major of a guild you are, how could you kill someone?"


    The gazes of the nearby yers turned menacing. They began to jeer at the Valha members blocking the Gate entrance.


    "N-No! There must be a mistake!!" shouted the guild member who struck the man. "I didn''t punch him that hard¡ª"


    "You demon!!!" yelled the ck-haired boy at the guild member. "Why?!! Why did you kill my hyung?!!"


    "Like I said, I just punched him lightly¡ª"


    "Are you saying my hyung died just from a light punch? Huh? Is that what you''re saying?!!"


    "No, but I¡ª"


    "Then what?!! Why is my hyung dead?!!" the boy shouted as he pointed at the dead man covered in blood.


    "Th-Those scumbags!"


    "I didn''t expect Valha to be capable of such brutality!!"


    "BOO¡ª!!!"


    The yers jeered as they slowly approached the Valha members.


    "Bring him back!!! Bring my brother back, you scumbags!!"


    "What did that boy do so wrong to deserve this?!"


    Public opinion worsened drastically. Resentment far worse than when Valha blocked the entrance filled the air.


    "N-No!"


    "All of you, calm down!"


    "Y-You may not enter without permission!"


    The Valha members shouted in bewilderment once the atmosphere suddenly grew far worse. One of the members at the front took out his weapon.


    "I knew it!!!" the boy shouted and pointed as soon as he saw the weapon. "You were nning on killing us all from the start, weren''t you?!"


    "Wh-What?"


    "Kill my hyung, me, and everyone else here!!"


    "N-No, you have it wrong¡ª"


    However major the guild was, a yer killing someone with no justifiable cause was a massive issue.


    "Liar!! You''re all liars!!!"


    The boy lowered his head in tears.


    "I-I''m sorry. I didn''t think he would die from that¡ª"


    "Bring him back!!! Bring my hyung baaaaaaack!!!"


    "I..."


    The Valha guild members nced at each other, not knowing what to do.


    "Are we just going to stand here and do nothing?!!"


    "This little boy lost his older brother!!!"


    "Can you imagine how sad he must be?!"


    Sympathy for the little boy spread throughout the crowd. The eyes of the yers around the entrance filled with a sense of justice.


    "You incorrigible scumbags!!!"


    "Did you want to monopolize the relics that badly?!!"


    "You bastards are worse than scum!!!"


    The yers took out their weapons one after another.


    "A-All of you calm down!!"


    "Valha will not hold back once you take out your weapons!"


    The Valha guild members quickly threatened the yers.


    "Big words for the ones who killed someone first!"


    "Resorting to shameless threats shows just how terrible Valha is!!"


    The little boy stood up as the tension in the air was palpable.


    "AHHHHH!!! BRING MY HYUNG BAAAAAAAACK!!!"


    The boy raised his older brother''s ax with great difficulty and ran toward the Valha guild members.


    "Shit!"


    The guild members did not use their fists to prevent the same incident from happening again and instead grabbed the boy''s arm to restrain him. However...


    <i>Pierce!</i>


    "AARRGGHHH!!!"


    "Huh?"


    The hand of one of the guild members identally made contact with the ax as he stretched it out to grab the boy''s arm, causing the boy to lose his grip on the ax. The falling ax unfortunately stabbed the boy''s chest.


    "A-Are you okay?!"


    The Valha guild member approached the boy in shock. The boy staggered and vomited blood.


    "All I wanted... was to live happily ever after with my family..."


    A single tear flowed down the boy''s cheek.


    "Ah..." The boy swayed toward the yers staring at him in shock. He stretched out his hand and muttered, "I don''t... wanna die. <i>Sniff!</i> I don''t wanna die..."


    The boy copsed.


    "RAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    "CRAZY MOTHERFUCKERS!!!"


    "HOW COULD YOU KILL SUCH A YOUNG BOY?!!"


    The tension broke. The yers, with their weapons out, ferociously charged at the Valhja guild members.


    "YOU SONS OF BITCHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!"


    "YOU BASTARDS AREN''T HUMAN!!!"


    "YOU''RE WORSE THAN BEASTS!!!"


    Chaos fell at the Gate entrance in an instant. Thousands of yers fought against the hundreds of Valha guild members.


    "Up we go."


    The boy stood up in the middle of the battlefield and pulled out the ax stabbed into his chest. Everyone was so focused on the battle that no one noticed him walking past them. Kang-Woo walked toward his party members, standing by at a distance from the chaos.


    "Sorry for making you wait. Let''s head inside."


    All the Valha guild members guarding the entrance left to join the battle, leaving the entrance empty.


    Kang-Woo stretched with a smile of satisfaction. "Looks like we can head inside without causing trouble for Guardians and us."


    "Hah..." Yeon-Joo, who was following Kang-Woo into the pyramid, chuckled bafflingly. She looked back at the yers fighting each other outside the entrance and mumbled, "What the hell is this shitshow...?"


    Kang-Woo turned back to face her and smiled. "Justice is usually way easier to take advantage of than malice."


    "..."


    Kang-Woo''s humming echoed throughout the empty pyramid tunnel.

 Side Story Chapter 93 - Capture the Relic (4)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 93 - Capture the Relic (4)</h4>


    "Sheesh, there''s no end in sight."


    "It''s as wide as the Korean Penins, after all."


    Kang-Woo and his party were weed by a thick forest filled with trees that did not exist on Earth as soon as they entered the Gate.


    Han Seol-Ah asked as she looked around, "How will we find relics in this big ce?"


    "Just a second."


    Kang-Woo got on one knee and ced his hand on the ground. He closed his eyes and focused.


    <i>''Authority of the Beholder.''</i>


    The Authority allowed Kang-Woo to immediately have a full image of the terrain in his mind. Information about several kilometers of forest terrain as well as the various lifeforms in it poured into him like a tidal wave.


    "Urgh..." Kang-Woo winced.


    His brain felt like it would explode. He had be one with the Demonic Sea but that didn''t mean his brain''s processing speed increased.


    "Haaa."


    Lifeforms roaming around the forest such as animals and monsters, people, insects on the ground and trees, and even corpses buried under the dirt¡ª an enormous amount of information tore his brain apart.


    "Nothing here..."


    Kang-Woo slowly opened his eyes and shook his head. He searched several kilometers using the Authority of the Beholder but couldn''t find anything that looked like a relic.


    "Maybe this area has been cleaned out," Cha Yeon-Joo wondered, tilting her head.


    Kang-Woo shrugged and shook his head. "Maybe, but... it might be just that I can''t find them with my Authority."


    "Come to think of it, the same thing happened back in Singapore," Lilith noted.


    Authorities like the Beholder and Insight couldn''t detect the powers of a Titan.


    Lilith stepped forward and said, "One moment, please. Let me try searching as well."


    Lilith surpassed Kang-Woo when it came to gathering information. The range at which she could wasn''t as wide as Kang-Woo but she might be able to find the relics.


    <i>Wriggle.</i>


    Lilith''s hair extended and crawled across the ground in all directions like snakes.


    "Mmm..." Lilith groaned with his eyes closed. She sighed as she shook her head and continued, "It looks like I can''t find anything with my abilities either."


    Kang-Woo nodded in disappointment.


    "Now what do we do?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Well... there''s no other way." Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. "We''ll have to search on foot."


    "The fuck? You want to look for it normally?" Yeon-Joo asked in shock.


    The chances of finding relics with no help in this massive ce were despairingly low.


    "That''s how the other yers found them. It at least means they''re easy to distinguish."


    The relics were mostly in the shape of totems like the one Lilith brought, weapons, or armor. Such things would stand out in a forest, hence it was not as impossible as one would think.


    "I guess it''s going to take a while." Seol-Ah rummaged through a backpack she brought and continued, "Maybe I should''ve brought more food and cooking utensils."


    "I mean, we don''t need food to survive anymore. Don''t worry about it, Darling."


    "But we don''t know how many days we''ll have to spend here..."


    "Hehehe. I''m full just from looking at you, Darling."


    "Oh, you." Seol-Ah lightly jabbed Kang-Woo''s side and hugged his arm.


    "Jeez, get a room." Yeon-Joo clicked her tongue and shook her head.


    Kang-Woo smirked and walked forward, holding hands with Seol-Ah.


    "Alright, let''s go catch us some relics!"


    The sun was beaming down on them, the leaves rustled from the gentle winds, and the chirping of birds echoed throughout the forest.


    <i>''I might as well treat it like a stroll in the park!''</i>


    Kang-Woo hummed as he walked through the forest.


    ***


    "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!" Screams echoed throughout the forest. "WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE RELIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICS?!!"


    Five days passed since Kang-Woo and his party entered the Gate. They had been searching for relics leisurely as if they were on a stroll at first but they did not find anything after five whole days.


    "C-Calm down, Kang-Woo." The sweating Seol-Ah grabbed Kang-Woo''s shoulder.


    "For God''s sake, why don''t you quiet down over there? Do you think you''re the only one who hasn''t found relics?"


    A party also searching for relics not far from them red at Kang-Woo.


    "What''d you fucking say to me?"


    "I-I mean, uhh... I''m just saying we should both do our best."


    The person from the other party slowly walked away in pallor once Kang-Woo red at him while exuding a small amount of demonic energy.


    "Haaa," Kang-Woo sighed.


    Yeon-Joo sat down on a rock and swept her long red hair back. "We''ve seen nothing but people. Where are the goddamn relics?"


    "I''ll say."


    Kang-Woo and the others were currently at the center of the Gate where Valha had found the seven-star relic. They had flown here because they heard it was where the most relics could be found but all that was here were people who hade from who knows where.


    "But there were some parties who found relics," said Lilith with her finger on her lip.


    The rumor that most relics were found here did not seem to be fake.


    "That''s why it pisses me off more," Kang-Woo remarked.


    <i>''Why am I the only one who can''t find any?''</i>


    <i>Riiing!</i>


    [Obviously, because you''recking desperation¡ª]


    "Shut up."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue in irritation and swiped the message window away. Just then, men who looked like they would have wanted to be human traffickers when they grew up walked out from thick bushes.


    "Well, well, well~ have you guys found any relics yet?" one of them asked.


    There were five of them, the same number as the party of moronic horndogs Kang-Woo met outside the Gate. They were all bald and had an entric tattoo drawn from the crown of their head to their neck.


    "Hehehe. I hope you got some."


    "Who the hell are you guys?" Kang-Woo frowned at the five bald men.


    They snickered for some reason and crumpled their already nasty faces.


    "We are the apostles of Oceiros, the God of Plundering."


    "You''ve heard the name, correct?"


    "...?"


    Kang-Woo had never heard of Oceiros before.


    <i>''Wait, apostles?'' </i>Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. <i>''They''re from the Tower of Creation.''</i>


    Yeon-Joo had said some people calling themselves apostles were attacking yers.


    <i>''The God of Plundering, huh?''</i>


    They were likely the ones Yeon-Joo was talking about.


    "Hm? What? You don''t know us?"


    "Oh, maybe they''re those people! Uhh... what did they call themselves? Oh, right! The crazy people who call themselves yers!"


    The ones calling themselves apostles were crazy to yers but it was the other way around in the apostles'' perspective.


    "Hehe, who cares?"


    "All we need is their relics."


    The men smiled wickedly and approached Kang-Woo and the others.


    "Gehehe! Now, you can avoid bloodshed as long as you hand over your relics¡ª KUUUUURGHHH!!"


    "We don''t have any relics to give, motherfuckers," Kang-Woo remarked.


    There was no need to listen to those who had approached them for obvious reasons. Kang-Woo ran up to the closest apostle in a sh and stuck his hand into the apostle''s chest. Kang-Woo''s hand came out of the apostle''s back, his heart still beating in Kang-Woo''s hand. Kang-Woo crushed the heart.


    "Fuck!"


    "We could''ve handled this by talking like civilized men!"


    The apostles of Oceiros grimaced as they took out their weapons.


    <i>Whoooom!</i>


    The entric tattoos drawn on their bald heads shone purple.


    Kang-Woo answered, "You can talk as much as you like with your parents in the afterlife."


    He kicked the apostle''s corpse aside and spread out his arms. His palms split and ck des shot out from them. Two of the apostles of Oceiros were shouting something but they were beheaded by the des before Kang-Woo could hear them. Their hairless heads flew into the air.


    "I''m craving some hard-boiled eggs."


    The two heads rolled across the ground nicely, likely because theck of hair reduced friction.


    "E-Eek!!! Wh-What the fuck?!"


    One of the two remaining apostles quickly turned around and ran after realizing something was wrong.


    <i>tter¡ª!</i>


    "Good thing you guys showed up. I was getting pissed off."


    Red chains wrapped the apostle''s limbs.


    "Die."


    Yeon-Joo snapped her fingers and the chains tore the apostle''s limbs apart.


    "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    Thest apostle screamed in terror and quickly ran in Seol-Ah''s direction.


    "S-Stay away, motherfuckers!!! I''ll kill this bitch!!!" he shouted as he pointed a sharp de at Seol-Ah''s neck.


    "Poor thing..."


    "He chose Seol-Ah of all people..."


    Kang-Woo and Yeon-Joo clicked their tongues, pitying the apostle.


    "Wh-What?"The apostle looked around in confusion, being met with a reaction different than what he expected.


    "..." Seol-Ah gritted her teeth as he stared at the man''s hand grabbing her arm. The light in her eyes vanished. "...uch me."


    "Wh-What did you say?"


    "I said, only Kang-Woo is allowed to touch me," Seol-Ah said chillingly.


    "H-Huh?"


    The apostle stepped back after an uneasy feeling swept over him.


    <i>Tssssssss¡ª!!</i>


    "GYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" the apostle screamed as his flesh decayed rapidly.


    <i>Crack, crack!</i>


    The apostle''s limbs fell to the ground like rotten tree branches. He copsed as he screamed madly and died.


    "Holy fuck..." Kang-Woo prayed for the apostle in his mind after seeing him dying horribly even by his standards.


    "Kang-Woo... that man touched me."


    "There, there. Don''t worry, Darling. I''ll clean you up."


    Kang-Woo grabbed Seol-Ah''s arm and blew on it as if he were blowing dust away. The light in her eyes came back and she smiled.


    "Hehe. It tickles~"


    "Haha. All better now, right?"


    "Yes, Kang-Woo."


    As he continued to blow on Seol-Ah''s arm, Lilith''s eyes widened as she was examining the apostles'' corpses.


    "Oh, my king."


    "Huh?"


    She picked up two sculptures that were both slightly bigger than the one they had seen a few days ago and a round shield that could cover an entire arm.


    "These are relics," Lilith replied.


    <i>''Eh? We found relics? Just like that? Not just one but three?''</i>


    "Holy fuck, it''s for real! Open the item status window right now!" Yeon-Joo shouted as she approached the sculptures and touched them.


    Kang-Woo did as she said.


    <i>Riiing!</i>


    [??????????????????]


    [¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [????????????????]


    [¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    [????????????????????????????]


    [¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï]


    The two sculptures were three-star relics and the round shield was a four-star relic.


    "SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEET!!!"


    Sparks traveled throughout Kang-Woo. He had finally found relics that he had not seen a trace of for the past five days.


    "Eve, can I pull for a Trait with this much?" he asked as he grabbed the relics.


    <i>Riiing!</i>


    [Yes! You should be able to pull once with this much!!]


    "HELL FUCKING YEAH!"


    Eve had mentioned the retention and absorption efficiency of the relics for the power of a Titan was high but he did not expect to be able to pull the Trait gacha when he had to offer seven nesst time.


    "Then let''s do it right away... no."


    Kang-Woo shook his head.


    <i>''I might be able to get more.''</i>


    It would be better to pull for several Traits after getting as many as possible.


    "Anyway, it looks like we hit the jackpot." Kang-Woo hummed with a smile.


    "Are you that happy?" Yeon-Joo chuckled as she looked at Kang-Woo but grimaced once the five corpses came into her view. "That aside, I guess there will always be people like this, whether they''re from Earth or the Tower."


    "Of course."


    Kang-Woo recalled the five thugs he met outside the Gate. They had also tried to take others'' belongings, blinded by greed. Although they were from different worlds, they were humans all the same.


    "Wait... the same?" Kang-Woo softly gasped. The irrefutable truth struck him like a lightning bolt. He clenched his fists and shouted, "Yeah... that''s it!!! Desire...! Desire was the key!!"


    The yers outside the Gate and the apostles inside the Gate were from different worlds but they were both blinded by desire and tried to take what was not theirs.


    "Ahh... yes. We''re from different worlds, but we were¡¾one¡¿from the start."


    Humans from Earth and the Tower were never different. Theymunicated and sympathized with one another through desire. In other words...


    "Desire..."


    It could be considered the true love for humanity that could unite us all.


    "What the fuck are you talking about?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    "Huhu. I''ve figured it out, Yeon-Joo."


    Humans, whether they were from Earth, the Gctic Federation, or the Tower, were cut from the same cloth and wererades.


    Kang-Woo shouted firmly, "We have a sacred duty to spread this love for humanity!!"


    "Is he alright in the head?" Yeon-Joo asked Lilith as she tilted her head.


    Lilith also tilted her head in confusion.


    "Alright! Let''s go, Yeon-Joo!!! To unite humanity!! We have to share this precious emotion with everyone!!!"


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Beholder to search the surroundings. He couldn''t detect relics with it but could detect people.


    "Alright! Found them!!!"


    He found the apostles of Oceiros with entric tattoos on their bald heads. The five of them were plundering relics from people they came across. Kang-Woo quickly dashed toward the apostles of Oceiros, his heart beating excitedly with the desire to share the love for humanity he had realized. He soon reached the apostles and stood face-to-face with them.


    "Huh? Who the hell is that?" said one of the apostles.


    Kang-Woo smirked and said as he walked toward them, "Well, well, well~ have you guys found any relics yet?"


    Kang-Woo''s hand split and a ck de shot out of it.


    He licked his lips as he chuckled, "Hehehe. I hope you got some."


    Human farming¡ª ON.

 Side Story Chapter 94 - Capture the Relic (5)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 94 - Capture the Relic (5)</h4>


    "What the hell''s with this crazy brat...?"


    The apostles of Oceiros chuckled at the teenage boy, who seemed no older than a high schooler, trying to intimidate them.


    "What are you doing, kid?"


    The apostles red at Oh Kang-Woo as theyughed mockingly at him. They were the apostles of Oceiros, the God of Plundering; as hunters who always took what they wanted by force, they were very used to situations like this.


    "I am..." Kang-Woo puffed out his chest confidently and elucidated the truth he had realized. "A spreader of true love for humanity."


    "What?"


    "A truth-seeking pilgrim whose mission is to unite humanity of different dimensions and environments."


    <i>''Ahh, yes. You could call me the true messiah of humanity.''</i>


    "The hell? Is he insane?"


    "I think so."


    The bald apostles tilted their heads in confusion as they stared at each other dumbfoundedly.


    "Okay... So what, you crazy brat?"


    One of the apostles, who looked like his face was ground by a millstone, snorted as he approached Kang-Woo and red at him menacingly.


    Stab!


    "GAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    Kang-Woo stuck his fingers into the man''s eyes.


    "What else, you motherfuckers?"


    He grabbed the agonizing man''s head and smashed it into the ground. His head exploded like a watermelon and sttered across the ground. Kang-Woo smiled widely as blood spewed like a fountain around him.


    "Hand over everything you have, shiny-headed pieces of shit."


    Kang-Woo''s gleaming eyes were full of endless love for humanity.


    "Wh-What the fuck?!"


    "Prepare for battle!!!"


    The four remaining apostles hurriedly took out their weapons.


    <i>Whoooom¡ª!</i>


    The entric tattoos on their bald heads shone purple like the group Kang-Woo hade across earlier, meaning they were on the same side.


    <i>''In other words...''</i>


    There was a good chance they also had relics.


    "Hehehehe," Kang-Woo giggled greedily. He licked the de protruding from his palm and continued, "You can avoid bloodshed as long as you hand over your relics."


    "Fuck you!"


    "Kill that fucking brat!"


    The expressions of the apostles crumpled, hearing their usual lines spat back at them.


    "O Oceiros, God of Plundering! Grant us the power to plunder the lives of our enemies!"


    <i>Whoooom¡ª!</i>


    The entric tattoo shone purple. The apostles'' muscles swelled abnormally and they grew to three meters in height. The apostles, covered in muscles like Balrog, bared their teeth and charged at Kang-Woo.


    <i>Boom¡ª!!</i>


    Craters formed with each ferocious step they took.


    "RAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!" the apostles roared like beasts as they raised their double-edged axes.


    <i>Slice!</i>


    "Kurgh!! Gah!"


    However, they were no match for Kang-Woo no matter how ferocious they were. Kang-Woo easily beheaded one of the apostles after cutting his ax in half and looked down at the giant corpse with great interest.


    "Looks like you guys have a muscle augmentation ability."


    The apostles of Ishvalda could control lightning and the apostles of Helya could control fire.


    <i>''I''m starting to get it.''</i>


    A worshiper was granted powers by the god they worshiped and were categorized by stars based on the amount of powers they were granted.


    <i>''Kinda like levels for a yer.''</i>


    Kim Tae-Ho, the man whom Kang-Woo met at the Temple of Truth, introduced himself as a seven-star apostle of Ishvalda.


    "What star apostles of Oceiros are you guys?"


    "Sh-Shit!"


    "I-In one blow?!"


    ''Huh?''


    "I said, what star apostles are you guys?"


    "W-We can''t win!!"


    "Hello? Can you hear me?"


    "Scatter!!"


    "WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!! HOW DARE YOU BASTARDS IGNORE ME?!"


    "E-Eek!! H-He''s insane!!"


    "I AM THE MISSIONARY OF HUMANITYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"


    Kang-Woo chased after the apostles who scattered in three different directions but did not go out of his way to chase all three.


    "<i>Sigh</i>, that crazy son of a bitch."


    "Mmm... I l-love... that side of K-Kang-Woo as... well. Yes! I sure do!"


    The sighing Cha Yeon-Joo and Han Seol-Ah who was nodding with an awkward smile neutralized the apostles who went left and right. Kang-Woo caught the apostle who ran in the opposite direction and beat him up mercilessly.


    "WHAT DID I JUST ASK?!!"


    "Kurgh! Urgh! Argh! P-Please spare me!!"


    "WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!! YOU''RE IGNORING ME AGAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!!!"


    Kang-Woo smashed the apostle''s head into the dirt and ground it against the ground.


    "Gah! Kurgh! Krrrk!"


    The apostle''s nose broke and the skin on his cheekbones and lips ripped off.


    "Ah..."


    Kang-Woo realized he got too worked up only after the apostle turned out unrecognizable.


    "Don''t worry, man. You''ll be alright," he consoled the apostle as he patted his shoulder. "You were fugly before this anyway. You''re not much different from before!"


    "Hurgh, <i>waaaaah</i>."


    The apostle burst into tears, likely because he was so moved by Kang-Woo''s consoling words. His tears mixed with the blood pouring from his mangled cheeks and fell to the ground.


    "So, what star apostles are you guys?" Kang-Woo asked again.


    "W-We are... f-five-star apostles of Oceiros."


    <i>''Five-star, huh? They''re a bit lower than Kim Tae-Ho.''</i>


    Kang-Woo honestly couldn''t tell the difference between the five apostles and Tae-Ho because they felt the same by his standards.


    <i>''Nah, Kim Tae-Ho was at least stronger than this.''</i>


    Seven-star relics apparently granted power close to Deific Essence. Tae-Ho had also shown enough power to deal damage even to those with Deific Essence in his <i>Ultracharge </i>state.


    <i>''If Ipare the average yer to the average apostle... apostles are probably stronger.''</i>


    yers couldn''t hurt those with Deific Essence other than a select few so apostles were likely stronger on average.


    <i>''I mean, it''s all the same in the end.''</i>


    Kang-Woo shrugged and gripped the apostle''s shoulder tighter, his fingers digging into the apostle''s flesh as if his hand were a hydraulic press. A little tighter and the apostle''s shoulder would be crushed.


    Kang-Woo cackled and whispered into the apostle''s ear, "So... do you have some relics, my man? Hm? Be honest. Contrary to my actions, I''m not a bad person."


    "Huff, huff, huff! P-Please... s-spare me. S-Spare me."


    The apostle of Oceiros trembled in pallor. It was odd to see how a three-meter muscr giant was trembling in fear from a high school boy but no one here could deny that the boy was far more monstrous than any demon of Pandemonium.


    "Oh, you~ you''re hurting my feelings, you know? When did I ever say I was going to kill you? Just give me all the relics you have and we can all be happy! Okay?"


    "N-Ngh."


    "Besides, they''re all ones you stole from others, aren''t they?"


    The hesitant apostle gulped and pointed somewhere with trembling hands.


    "Th-They''re over there."


    There was arge bag where he was pointing. Kang-Woo gestured to Lilith with her eyes and she examined the bag.


    "My, there are four this time."


    "Lemme check their ranks." Yeon-Joo approached Lilith to check the relics'' ranks. "Two four-stars and two three-stars."


    "Kehehehehe, very nice."


    <i>''''That''s human farming for you. Seven relics already after not finding any for five days!''</i>


    It was a bit of a shame that the relics'' ranks were not as high as he had hoped but the profit was more than good enough.


    ''And besides, we''re just getting started."


    Kang-Woo looked down at the apostle of Oceiros greedily.


    "E-Eek!"


    "Hehehe. There''s no way only ten of you came to plunder relics, right? Hm? Where are the others?"


    The apostle shook his head and shouted, "I-I don''t know!! I swear!! We received orders separately in groups, so none of us know where the other groups are!!"


    He did not seem to be lying based on how desperate he sounded.


    <i>''He''s not the kind of person to cover for hisrades either. I''m sure he really doesn''t know.''</i>


    "Is that so? Well, then I guess it can''t be helped." Kang-Woo shrugged and raised his arm, the ck de shining menacingly. "You''ll have to die."


    "Y-You said you would s-spare me if I gave you the relics!!!"


    "No, I didn''t. When did I ever say that? I said we could all be happy if you give me the relics." Kang-Woo smiled and lightly pped the apostle''s bald head. "I''m sure you''ll be happier dead than bald."


    "What the fuck are you talking ab¡ª"


    Slice!


    Kang-Woo beheaded theining apostle of Oceiros.


    "Bwehehehehe!! Scumbags are so innocent and cute!" he burst intoughter as he looked down at the apostle''s head, whose eyes were still open and full of hope that he would be spared.


    The reason did not matter since Kang-Woo never had any intention of letting them live.


    "Right, then. Who should I give happiness to next?"


    Kang-Woo hummed as he turned to face the remaining two apostles.


    "Eek! S-Stay away!!!"


    "SAVE UUUUUUSSSSS!!!"


    The apostles screamed in tears.


    "Urgh!! Arghhh!!"


    The apostle chained by Yeon-Joo struggled aggressively but the thorns on the chains sank into his flesh more and more.


    "Kurgh! Gah! Krrrk!"


    "Dayum. I guess he went to find his own happiness."


    The struggling apostle died from severe blood loss soon after. Kang-Woo chuckled and turned to the remaining apostle who was on the ground, unable to move due to Seol-Ah''s curse magic, flinching.


    "Right, then. It''s your turn now¡ª"


    "L-Listen!! I have information!!!"


    "Hm?" Kang-Woo tilted his head as he was about to finish the apostle off. "What information?"


    "A ten-star relic!!! It''s lying dormant somewhere on this floor!!!"


    "Ten stars?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. A seven-star relic could exert power on par with Deific Essence so he couldn''t imagine what a ten-star relic could do.


    <i>''It would be a massive score if I find it.''</i>


    He was naturally interested in the information.


    "Where is it? No, I doubt you guys would be plundering if you already knew. Just tell me everything you know about that ten-star relic."


    "H-Hehehe," the apostle chuckled and raised his head confidently as if he had seized the initiative once he saw Kang-Woo was interested. "If you want to know, release me from this magic this instant!!"


    Kang-Woo smiled and lightly pped the apostle''s head.


    "Come on, you''re gonna be like that? Just tell me about that ten-star relic and I''ll kill you."


    "Hah!! You can''t fool me with your lies! Even if you swear to me that you''ll let me live, I won''t... huh?" The apostle of Oceiros tilted his head in confusion. "You''ll... kill me?"


    "Yup." Kang-Woo nodded without hesitation.


    "Are you taking me for a fool, motherfucker...?"


    "Hahaha. Well, I doubt you''d understand at the moment. Don''t worry, though." Kang-Woo smiled as he licked his lips and grabbed the apostle''s head. "You''ll want death more than anyone else soon enough."


    <i>''I''ll make sure of it.''</i>


    "W-Wait!! Wait a second!!!"


    "Bwehehehehe! Alright, shall we start light with a finger?"


    "N-No!!! PLEAAAAAASE!!!" the apostle screamed.


    "..." Yeon-Joo remained silent as she bore witness to a sight hard to bear. She turned to Seol-Ah and said cautiously, "Umm, Seol-Ah."


    "Y-Yeah?"


    "We''re punishing bad guys who are killing yers and stealing their relics, right?''


    "Y... Yeah." Seol-Ah nodded as she smiled awkwardly.


    "But..." Yeon-Joo stared at the screaming apostle of Oceiros and Kang-Wooughing maniacally. "Why does he seem like more of a bad guy?"


    "..."


    There was no response.

 Side Story Chapter 95 - Capture the Relic (6)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 95 - Capture the Relic (6)</h4>


    "Ta-dah! It''s time for some fun and exciting magic!!" shouted Oh Kang-Woo.


    "..." The apostle of Oceiros lifelessly stared into thin air.


    "Today''s magic trick is~"


    Kang-Woo raised two cups¡ª one was empty and the other was filled with boiling oil.


    "Making this boiling oil disappear!"


    "A-Aaaahh." The apostle groaned in devastation. His lifeless eyes filled with fear. He desperately begged, "N-No. P-Please... stop!"


    "Come on~ what''s wrong? I haven''t even shown you the trick yet!" Kang-Woo confidently pushed the two cups forward. "Alright, take a good look! I know you''ll love it!"


    He cleared his throat and raised the cup with boiling oil inside.


    "As you can see, this cup contains boiling oil."


    The magician was again performing magic tricks for his one audience member today. He knew only one person was watching but that did not erode his desire to make people smile with his magic tricks.


    "If I tilt this cup and pour its contents into the other cup..."


    <i>Sizzle¡ª!!!</i>


    "GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    The boiling oil barely missed the empty cup and poured on the apostle''s groin like a fountain. The apostle convulsed violently as his eyes flipped backward.


    "Ta-dah!!! Look!!! Both cups are empty!"


    Kang-Woo showed the inside of the two cups to the panting and trembling apostle. They were naturally empty because Kang-Woo had poured the boiling oil on the apostle.


    "Hehehe! Amazing, right? Hm?"


    "P-Please... s-stop..."


    "Huh? What do you mean? Is this not good enough for you? I guess I have no choice... I didn''t want to show you this magic trick, but you''ve forced my hand..."


    "...ll me."


    "It''s called dismemberment magic. A person is put in a box and their limbs are cut off and then reattached¡ª huh? What did you say?"


    "K-Kill... me. <i>Waaaaaahhh</i>. Please, just kill me..."


    The apostle of Oceiros lowered his head in tears.


    "Bwehehehehe!" Kang-Wooughed in satisfaction and walked leisurely toward the apostle. "Then you know what you have to do, right?"


    "I-I''ll talk... I''ll tell you everything I know!!!"


    "No need for that. Just spit out information about the ten-star relic."


    Kang-Woo couldn''t care less about anything else.


    "I-I am not certain either since it is all based on rumors, but legends say the¡¾Demonic Sword Midirys dormant in the northernmost ancient ruins of this floor."


    "Demonic Sword?"


    Kang-Woo frowned, feeling displeasure from those two words. He remembered being taken for a ride by Bael with Demonic Sword Ingrium, a sword made from a branch of the corrupted World Tree.


    "And this Midir is the ten-star relic?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Y-Yes! ording to the legends, one swing of the sword turns day to night, and a second swing covers the earth with a ck sea!"


    "Dayum."


    Kang-Woo chuckled. The legend was obviously overblown from how abstract it was rather than in detail.


    <i>''I mean, that''s how all legends are, I guess. But still...''</i>


    The fact that there were legends passed down about it confirmed how valuable the relic was.


    <i>''I might be able to awaken five... no, ten Traits.''</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn''t choose the Traits but the more pulls he had, the higher the chances he had to pull a high-ranking one.


    "Is ten stars the highest?" Kang-Woo asked.


    He had been curious for a while about how high the star ranking went.


    "O-Of course not. The highest is naturally... twelve stars."


    The apostle stared at Kang-Woo, unable to understand why he would ask something so obvious.


    <i>''Twelve, huh?''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone with great interest. Seven stars could damage those with Deific Essence, so he couldn''t imagine how powerful twelve stars would be.


    <i>''Maybe...''</i>


    It could be something that surpassed even Kang-Woo¡ª something unfathomable that he had never experienced.


    "Haaa," Kang-Woo exhaled heatedly as extreme hunger that he hadn''t felt in a while burned his throat. He turned to the apostle of Oceiros as he greedily licked his lips and asked, "Does that mean there are twelve-star relics and apostles?"


    "N-No, not anymore."


    "No?"


    "Th-The existence of twelve stars is just passed down as legends. None exist at this moment."


    "Tsk," Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. "What about eleven stars?"


    "Th-That does not exist either."


    "Then is ten stars the highest among the existing relics?"


    The apostle nodded.


    <i>''That''s a shame.''</i>


    Kang-Woo quelled his extreme hunger and narrowed his eyes.


    "That aside, why didn''t you guys go to find the ten-star relic?"


    There was no reason for them to be plundering here if they knew it was in the northernmost region. No matter how many three to four-star relics they collected, they wouldn''te close to a ten-star relic.


    "Th-That''s because..." the apostle averted his gaze from Kang-Woo and continued, "Th-The ce is bustling with the demons of Pandemonium."


    "Demons of Pandemonium?"


    Kang-Woo recalled the Subus Queen saying something about the demons of Pandemonium scouring the Tower for relics.


    "Then you were stealing from the weak because you were scared of the demons?"


    "Th-That''s... correct." The apostle lowered his head in shame.


    "I see."


    Kang-Woo nodded; he more or less understood.


    <i>''I don''t think I can get much else from him.''</i>


    It was time to fulfill his promise.


    "Okay. Thanks for the info."


    Kang-Woo ced his hand on the dejected apostle''s head. He gripped hard and the apostle''s head exploded.


    "What shall we do now, my king?" Lilith asked after putting the relics they collected in a bag. "Will we be heading north?"


    "No," replied Kang-Woo as he slowly turned around and shook his head. "I can''t outright trust what this guy said."


    He wanted the ten-star relic but he stillcked far too much information to just head north without looking back.


    "Then..."


    "I''ll ask a few more of these guys whether or not it''s true, and farm some more in the process."


    Kang-Woo licked his lips and put the bag filled with relics over his shoulder.


    ***


    Kang-Woo invested one more day into hunting the apostles of Oceiros and acquired four more relics.


    "Hehe. Good, good."


    They were all low-ranking three to four-star relics but it was an impressive haul considering how they hade up with nothing after the initial five days. Kang-Woo chuckled in satisfaction after stuffing eleven relics in tworge bags.


    "It looks like we took care of most of them," mentioned Cha Yeon-Joo as she stood up and dusted off her hands.


    "Will we be heading north now?" Han Seol-Ah asked.


    "Yup."


    The information about the ten-star relic being in the north seemed to be true after asking a few more apostles of Oceiros.


    "But Darling, aren''t you tired? I can head north by myself, so why don''t you head home first?"


    "No! I''ming with you!" shouted Seol-Ah as if Kang-Woo was talking nonsense.


    "You have a cooking ss to get to, don''t you?"


    "I can skip it."


    Kang-Woo stared at Seol-Ah worryingly. He only took the women with him because he didn''t expect it would take this long, but he felt bad because they had not been able to wash and sleep at all.


    "I don''t want to make my Darling suffer."


    Kang-Woo sighed as he rubbed Seol-Ah''s soft hands. He couldn''t help but be worried despite knowing she had long since surpassed human limits.


    "Fufu. I''m not suffering at all. How could I be when I get to be with you?"


    "DARLIIIIIIIIIIING!!!"


    Kang-Woo jumped into Seol-A''s embrace and rubbed his head between her bosoms. The position was a little awkward because they were around the same height now.


    "Sheesh, fuck around some more, why don''t you?"


    "You can go home and rest if you''re tired too, Yeon-Joo."


    "Forget it, you son of a bitch. I''m skipping out on guild work so I might as welle back with some relics."


    "Hehehe. You say that, but you just don''t wanna be the only one left out, right?"


    "Argh, fuck off!" Yeon-Joo shouted as she pushed away the clinging Kang-Woo and walked forward. "More importantly, let''s be quick if we''re gonna head north. Pandemonium, was it? The demons from there are after the relic too, aren''t they?"


    "Sure."


    Kang-Woo grabbed Yeon-Joo and Lilith by the waist and flew into the air using the Authority of the Sky. Yeon-Joo could mimic flying by using her chains but it was more efficient for Kang-Woo to carry her when flying long distances.


    "That aside, why don''t you have wings when you''re a demon, Lilith unnie?" Yeon-Joo asked.


    Lilith smiled widely as her long hair squirmed. "Fufu. Not all demons have wings."


    "Urgh. I hate having wings at times like this." Seol-Ah pped her ck angel wings and flew into the air.


    "Alright, let''s go!"


    <i>''To Northrend!!!''</i>


    <i>Whoosh¡ª!!</i>


    Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Sky to rapidly fly north. Although the inside of the Gate was as wide as the Korean Penins, they were able to reach it shortly.


    "Where are the ancient ruins?"


    "All I see are trees."


    They couldn''t see any ruins no matter how much they looked around from above. Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Beholder just in case but he couldn''t find anything that looked like ancient ruins.


    "Hm?"


    Just then, Kang-Woo felt demonic energy from below. It was simr to the demonic energy he used but oddly different.


    <i>''The demons of Pandemonium.''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone as he flew down toward the ce where he could feel the demonic energy.

 Side Story Chapter 96 - Corridor of Desire (1)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 96 - Corridor of Desire (1)</h4>


    <i>Whoosh¡ª!!</i>


    Oh Kang-Woo rapidly flew down with the two women in his arms.


    <i>Boom!</i>


    A dust cloud formed from where hended.


    "Hmm?" A group of demons exuding wicked demonic energy were searching for something. "Apostles?"


    "They''re brave to havee here."


    There were six demons with varying appearances. One had the head of a lion with goat horns and another had just an eyeball for a head. The only thing simr about them was that they exuded odd demonic energy.


    The demonsughed after discovering Kang-Woo and his party.


    "Great timing. We were just about getting bored."


    "Might as well taste some human meat¡ª GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    Kang-Woo charged at the demons without hesitation and split one of the demons'' heads open with an ax he created.


    He clicked his tongue and remarked, "Sorry about that. Dialogue from extras has been filling up too much page spacetely. Let''s finish this quickly."


    "Wh-What the¡ª?!"


    "How could a human possibly¡ª"


    "Whoooaaa!! They''re trying to fill up more page space!!"


    <i>Smash! Stter!!''</i>


    Kang-Woo swung his ax and split another of the demons'' heads before they could spout another word.


    "Phew. I managed to save some page space. Hehehe."


    Kang-Woo chuckled after wiping out five of the six demons in a sh. All he needed to do now was to squeeze out information from the remaining demon.


    "E-Eek!" The remaining demon was the one with an eyeball for a head. His eyeball shook as he shouted in fear, "D-Demon!! It''s a demon!"


    <i>''You''re a demon too, dumbass.''</i>


    "Now, now, settle down. Let''s deal with this nice and sexy, yeah?"


    "D-Deal with what?"


    "You just have to answer my questions." Kang-Woo poked the demon''s giant eyeball and continued, "I''ve heard there''s an ancient dungeon somewhere around here. Do you know anything about it?"


    "Ah..." said the demon using the mouth located on his neck.


    There was no way he wouldn''t know since the demons around this ce were all after the ten-star relic hidden here.


    "I do."


    "I mean,... I doubt you''d know where it is, so just tell me everything you know about¡ª"


    "N-No! I know where it is as well!"


    "What?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes widened.


    <i>''It knows where it is?''</i>


    He looked down at the demon doubtfully and asked, "Then why have you been lurking around here?"


    There was no reason not to go to the ancient dungeon straight away if they knew where it was.


    "Well... to enter the C-Corridor of Desire, you have to offer relics to the gatekeeper as a sacrifice, so... w-we''ve been looking for them first."


    The Corridor of Desire seemed to be the name of the ancient dungeon where the ten-star relicy dormant.


    "You have to offer relics? How many?"


    "F-Five, and they have to be at least three stars."


    "Hmm." Kang-Woo had more than enough for the time being. He grabbed the demon''s pumpkin-sized head and said, "Very well. Take us there."


    The demon was rtively small except for his massive eyeball of a head, so it was easier to carry him around.


    "I-I understand!"


    "Dayum, I like how you don''t beat around the bush."


    Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction and lightly smacked the eye demon''s head. If the demon continued to cooperate, he wouldn''t mind sparing his life.


    "Urgh... but it looks so fugly," said Yeon-Joo as she looked down at the eye demon and frowned.


    The demon''s eye was covered in disgusting blood vessels and his body was so thin he looked like rotten twigs. The demon was highly unpleasant to look at.


    "How dare a lowly human speak to the great Horos that w¡ª <i>Peep!</i>"


    <i>''Why do you scream like that?''</i>


    "I don''t care if you''re Horos or Hollow. Just lead the fucking way."


    "Urgh. I-I understand." Horos nodded in fear. "Th-That way."


    Kang-Woo and the others walked to where Horos pointed.


    "Hm?"


    Not long after walking, they found an area where the ground was melted as ifva had run over it. Red nts that looked like cabbages were sprouted from ce to ce on the melted ground.


    "What happened here?"


    "I wonder if some of the demons fought against each other here?"


    "The traces are too big for that to be the case."


    The destruction was overwhelming¡ª the vast surroundings were melted as if a natural disaster had urred.


    "Did a volcano erupt or something, then?"


    "A-Aaaahh," Horos groaned and trembled as Kang-Woo and the others were thinking about what could have happened. "W-We have to..."


    "What?"


    "We have to run!!! Right now!!!" Horos screamed in desperation as he struggled. "NOOOOOOOOWWW!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HEEEEEEEEEEEERE!!!"


    "Shut the hell up."


    "Kurgh!"


    Kang-Woo smacked Horos'' head and frowned.


    He asked, "What''s got you all riled up?"


    "There''s only one demon who would destroy Leuconostoc habitats!!" shouted Horos as he pointed at the red nts. "The Demon King! The Demon King must have done this!"


    "What?"


    <i>''Why me all of a sudden? No, wait.''</i>


    After thinking it through, Horos likely wasn''t referring to Kang-Woo since he saw Kang-Woo as human.


    "By Demon King, do you mean the king of Pandemonium?"


    "Y-Yes!"


    The giant eye blinked rapidly.


    "What the¡ª haaa..."


    <i>''Where should I even start? Leuconostoc must be those cabbage-like things. But why would the Demon King go around destroying nt habitats? Does he hate vegetarians?''</i>


    Kang-Woo had no idea what was going on.


    "Exin to me in more detail," he demanded.


    "P-Pardon? Exin?"


    "Yeah. Why did the Demon King burn those nts? No, in the first ce, what are those nts?"


    "Umm..." Horos averted his gaze from Kang-Woo and exined, "Those nts are known as Leuconostoc. They are... the main food source for low-ranking demons of Pandemonium."


    "Food?"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion. Demons did not need to eat since they extracted nutrients from demonic energy.


    "That''s correct."


    "Why do they need to eat?"


    "Pardon? Wh-What do you mean, why...? It''s naturally because low-ranking demons can''t procure meat, so they just eat Leuconostoc to survive."


    "...?"


    "...?"


    The two demons stared at each other in confusion. Just then, Lilith who was listening in silence nodded with a finger on her lips.


    "Hmm, it seems the demons of Pandemonium are fundamentally different from the demons of the Nine Hells."


    "Oh," Kang-Woo expressed and nodded.


    <i>''Come to think of it, we''re not the same demons.''</i>


    Their demonic energy felt simr but something was odd about it. It was like the difference between gasoline and diesel.


    "I guess the demons here have to eat to survive," Kang-Woo said.


    "I-Isn''t that obvious? How can a living organism survive without eating?"


    <i>''I can.''</i>


    "Alright, fine. Let''s move on. Why did the Demon King burn these things?"


    "The Demon King despises Leuconostoc with a passion for some reason. He is known for burning Leuconostoc habitats with his Purgatory Lava whenever hees across them."


    "..."


    <i>''A Demon King who burns nts out of his hatred for them... The fuck? Is he okay in the head?''</i>


    Kang-Woo chuckled and asked, "So, you''re saying the Demon King passed through here, right?"


    "Y-Yes! Forget the Corridor of Desire, we have to get out of here right now!!!"


    "No way."


    Kang-Woo had no reason to give up on the relic because the Demon King was here first.


    <i>''The Demon King of Pandemonium, huh?''</i>


    Kang-Woo wanted to meet him and ask why he was burning these nts.


    "Y-You''re not going to run away?!"


    "Of course not."


    "Argh! I won''t go! I don''t think you know how cruel and terrifying the Demon King is, but we''re all going to die at this rate!!"


    "You''re dead anyway if you don''te with us."


    "<i>Peeeeeeeeeeeep!!!</i>"


    The eye demon struggled as he screamed in a way that did not suit him at all.


    "Can''t you do something about that scream of yours?"


    "Urghhh! Y-You humans are blinded by greed!!! Is one relic worth more than your lives?!"


    "It''s at least worth more than your life."


    "<i>Peep...</i> <i>Peep...</i>"


    Horos copsed in tears. It was horrifying to see tears falling from an eyerger than a basketball.


    "Alright. Take us to the Corridor of Desire or whatever it was called."


    "<i>Peep...</i>"


    Horos lowered his head as if he had given up on everything.


    "But still, I''m pretty curious. Why does he burn those nts?" Yeon-Joo wondered.


    "Who knows?"


    "Maybe it tastes like shit?" Yeon-Joo stared at the Leuconostoc, unable to hold back her curiosity.


    "Should I try some?" Kang-Woo suggested.


    He was also curious. There were some Leuconostoc that remained unharmed by the disaster.


    "It''s too dangerous, Kang-Woo. You don''t know what it''s made of."


    "Don''t worry, Darling. I''m physically incapable of getting sick from food now."


    Kang-Woo walked past Seol-Ah, who was trying to stop him worryingly, and walked toward the Leuconostoc.


    "Let''s have a taste."


    He ripped off a leaf from the red nt that looked like a cabbage and bit into it.


    "Huh...?"


    Kang-Woo was shocked by the taste. He ripped off more leaves and shoved them into his mouth. Sweet, spicy, and sour tastes filled his mouth. He was not mistaken.


    "This is..." Kang-Woo chuckled nonsensically. "Kimchi?"


    <i>''He fucking hates kimchi?''</i>

 Side Story Chapter 97 - Corridor of Desire (2)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 97 - Corridor of Desire (2)</h4>


    "The hell are you on about? Did you eat so much kimchi stew that it dyed your taste buds?" said Cha Yeon-Joo as she approached dumbfoundedly.


    "No, for real."


    "Do you have any idea how much seasoning goes into making kimchi? There''s no way a in nt would taste like¡ª holy fuck, it does."


    Yeon-Joo''s eyes widened after crouching beside Oh Kang-Woo and biting a Leuconostoc leaf. The red nt that looked like a cabbage tasted the same as kimchi¡ª a well-fermented one.


    "Yeon-Joo..." Kang-Woo looked down at the Leuconostoc with a serious expression. "Red Rose bought somend in Seoul, right?"


    "I''m not nting these things."


    "WHY NOT?!! IT''S A PLANT THAT TASTES LIKE KIMCHI!!!"


    "Are you fucking crazy?! Who in their right mind would nt these things in cash-raking property?!"


    "Things?!! This extraordinary discovery will allow humanity to evolve one step further!!"


    "You fucking kimchi stew maniac." Yeon-Joo grabbed her forehead as if her head hurt. "Anyway, don''t you dare try to nt these things on my guild''s property."


    "Dammit."


    Kang-Woo looked down at the Leuconostoc in disappointment and carefully dug into the earth to take out the Leuconostoc with its roots intact.


    <i>''I''ll take it home with me.''</i>


    Once he figured out how to cultivate them, he would nt them throughout the Earth.


    <i>''It''s perfect.''</i>


    Just like how Mun Ik-Jeom brought cottonseed from China to Korea, humanity would reach greater heights with this otherworldly nt.


    "That aside, to think he would hate kimchi... that Demon King is out of his mind."


    "The only one out of his mind here is you," said Yeon-Joo firmly. "Whatever, let''s get going already. Someone might get to the relic before us if we keep dilly-dallying."


    She looked back at Kang-Woo who stored the Leuconostoc in his subspace bag as if it were a valuable treasure, and walked toward him.


    She said to Horos, "Lead the way."


    "..."


    Horos remained silent. His shoulders dropped as if he had given up and led the way. He took them to a small cave that one person could barely fit in.


    "We just have to walk straight inside," Horos said.


    The passageway grewrger as they headed deeper inside the cave and they soon reached a massive cavity around a hundred meters tall. At the end of the cavity was a giant door about the same height as the cave and guarded by a quadrupedal beast statue that looked like the Xiezhi.


    "No wonder we couldn''t see it from above."


    The inside of the cave was massive but its entrance was like that of an ant''s nest. Not only that but the space inside the cave was protected by some kind of barrier, hence it couldn''t be detected by the Authority of the Beholder or Insight.


    "But how did you know where this ce was?" asked Kang-Woo with great interest as he lightly smacked Horos'' head.


    Although the entrance was tiny, it could have been discovered by a massive search involving countless people. However, Horos was only apanied by five other demons¡ª nowhere near enough manpower to find a ce like this.


    "It is thanks to my¡¾irvoyance¡¿ability. It allows me to detect even the movement of an ant several dozen kilometers away. I used this ability to search the inside of this cave, which was why I knew the Corridor of Desire was in here."


    Horos proudly tapped on his giant eye.


    "Dayum, you''re more useful than I thought you were."


    <i>''I''m gonna eat him using the Authority of Predation and take his irvoyance abilityter.''</i>


    "Alright, let''s head inside."


    Kang-Woo walked toward the giant door at the end of the cavity.


    <i>GRRRRRR!!!</i>


    The entire cavity shook as Kang-Woo and the others got closer to the door and a thunderous sound rang. The statue of the giant beast in front of the door slowly moved its head.


    [You who have reached the Corridor of Desire.]


    A deep voice echoed throughout the cavity. The statue''s eyes gleamed white and it examined Kang-Woo and the others.


    [If you wish to enter, give up five relics as offerings.]


    As Horos mentioned, the gatekeeper demanded relics as offerings.


    "Alright."


    Kang-Woo nodded and opened the bag containing the relics the apostles of Oceiros generously gave him. They had eleven relics in two bags.


    <i>''It''s a shame, but...''</i>


    He didn''t mind investing this much for a ten-star relic.


    "Three-star relics are good enough, right?"


    Kang-Woo left the four and five-star relics in the bag and offered five three-star relics to the gatekeeper.


    [...]


    The gatekeeper''s eyes shone white in silence. Its gaze shifted away from the five three-star relics and to the bags containing the remaining relics.


    <i>Grrrrr.</i>


    The gatekeeper said in a low tone, [Eight.]


    "What?"


    [You must give up eight relics to enter.]


    Its deep voice dyed with greed. The gatekeeper smirked. Its dignified expression turned into one blinded by greed in an instant.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo stared in silence at the gatekeeperughing greedily. Yeon-Joo, who had been listening in silence from the back, stepped forward with a frown.


    "You said five before, motherfucker!" she shouted. "Why did you change your mind?!"


    [Hmm.] The gatekeeper smiled nastily and continued, [Ten]


    "The fuck you say?"


    [You must give up ten relics as offerings to enter the corridor.]


    "Motherfucker!!"


    Yeon-Joo gritted her teeth and gave the gatekeeper a death re. However, the gatekeeper chuckled in amusement as if it were enjoying her reactions.


    [You shall not pass without offering your relics.]


    Just then, Kang-Woo said, "Four."


    [Hm? Are you asking me to take four off?]


    The gatekeeper stared at Kang-Woo as it chuckled.


    "Three."


    [...?]


    "Two."


    [You bastard...] The gatekeeper frowned once it understood Kang-Woo''s intentions of counting down by one. [Are you threatening me?]


    "One."


    [The absurdity!]


    <i>Boom!</i>


    The gatekeeper stomped its foot and red fiercely at Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo slowly turned around and stuffed the five relics he put down in front of the gatekeeper back into his bag.


    "Too bad. I have no more relics to give you."


    Kang-Woo closed the bag and turned back to the gatekeeper.


    "What are you doing?" He crossed his arms and gestured at the door with his chin. "Open the door."


    "Wh-What do you think you''re doing?!!" shouted Horos wide-eyed. "You''re mocking the Lion of the Corridor?! Are you insane?!!"


    Horos turned around in pallor and bowed in front of the gatekeeper.


    "Th-This human simply cannot think straight due to his insanity!! I-I implore you to quell your rage¡ª"


    [IMPERTINENT HUMAN¡ª!]


    "<i>PEEEEEEEEEEP!!!</i>" Horos screamed.


    <i>Rumble¡ª!!!</i>


    The cavity shook violently as the gatekeeper, over fifty meters tall andrger than Echidna, rushed forward. Its giant front foot, which seemed to easily weigh dozens of tonnes, smashed down on Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo grabbed Horos by his head and flung him to the side before the gatekeeper''s footnded on him.


    <i>BOOM¡ª!!!</i>


    A giant crater formed where Kang-Woo had been standing.


    [How dare you mock the Lion of the Corridor?!] the Gatekeeper shouted haughtily as it looked down at the human who was crushed into a pulp.


    <i>Wriggle.</i>


    [Hm?]


    Kang-Woo, who had been crushed by the gatekeeper''s front foot, stood up slowly. ck mucus flowed out of his split top and bottom halves and merged.


    "Looks like you can get through the Deific Essence barrier."


    The human who had been crushed crossed his arms again as if nothing happened and smiled leisurely.


    "But that''s all there is to it."


    The flesh of Kang-Woo''s palm split open and ck mucus poured on the ground like a waterfall. It spread throughout the ground of the cavity and reached the gatekeeper''s feet.


    [Wh-What the¡ª]


    "Dark Spears."


    The gatekeeper tried to step back but sharp des shot up from the ck mucus before it had the chance.


    <i>Stab! Stab¡ª!!</i>


    [Gaaaaaaaaahhh!!]


    Thousands of spears shot out of the darkness and pierced the gatekeeper''s feet. The spears then span rapidly, turning the gatekeeper''s feet into mush. The gatekeeper copsed.


    [Kurgh, guh... U-Urghhh.]


    The gatekeeper stared at Kang-Woo in fear. Its fifty-meter-tall body trembled pitifully.


    [Y-You pass.]


    "Huh? Pass what?"


    The gatekeeper stuttered, [Y-You have proven your worth to me. Y-You may enter the Corridor of Desire without offering relics.]


    It was talking as if it had been a test all along.


    "Oh~! So this was all to test whether I was worthy or not?"


    [C-Correct.]


    "I knew it! So you picked a fight with us by raising the required number of relic offerings on purpose, huh?"


    [Of course!] The gatekeeper nodded as its eyes shone white.


    "Wow, I was so surprised, you know? My balls almost shriveled up because I was so, so scared!!"


    [It was to pick out those worthy from the unworthy. I hope you understand.]


    "Hahaha! I see!" Kang-Woo smiled brightly and walked toward the copsed gatekeeper. "But you see, I was so~ sooooo~ scared."


    [I apologize for scaring you.]


    "No, you don''t understand. I was so scared that I almost pissed my pants while doing multiple backflips in midair!!!"


    [I-I see.]


    "I WAS SO~~~!!! SOOOOOOO~~~~~ SCARED!!! I THOUGHT I WAS GOING FUCKING INSAAAAAAAAAAAANE!!!" Kang-Woo pped the gatekeeper''s cheek like hitting a drum and screamed, "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! SO SCAAAAAAAAAAARY!!! I WAS SO SCARED THAT YOU HURT MY FEEEEEEEEEEEEEELINGS!!!!!"


    [W-Wait.]


    "IS THERE ANYOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE?!! WHO CAN CONSOLE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?!!"


    [C-Calm down, human!!]


    "ANYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE?!! IS THERE ANYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE?!!!!"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes rolled backward as he convulsed and foamed at the mouth.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! WHAT DO I DO?!! WHAT SHOULD I DO, SIR GATEKEEPER?!! I''M SO SCAAAAAAAAAAAAARED!!! I''M SO SCARED THAT I JUST MIGHT TEAR YOU APAAAAAAAAAART!!!"


    [I-I will let you in right away, human!! I will open the door, so just calm down!!]


    "WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"


    [C-Calm down!!!] shouted the Gatekeeper as it stared at the human suddenly convulsing uncontrobly.


    <i>Bash! Bash! Bash! Bash! Bash!</i>


    Kang-Woo''s ps suddenly turned into punches. The gatekeeper''s head slowly began to dent like iron being hammered.


    [GAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! S-STOP, HUMAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!]


    "IS THERE ANYOOOOOOOOOOONE WHO CAN TEND TO THE WOOOOOOOOOOOUNDS OF MY HEAAAAAAAAAAART?!!"


    [WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU ACTING LIKE THIS?!!]


    "WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY DIDN''T YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUU JUST TAKE THE DAMN RELICS THE FIRST TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME?!!"


    [P-Please!!! Please calm down, humaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!! I-I''m sorry!!!] begged the gatekeeper as it shook its dented head.


    Kang-Woo suddenly froze.


    "You''re sorry?"


    The gatekeeper nodded as it trembled. [Y-Yes! I''m sorry!!! Please forgive me!!]


    "Really?" Kang-Woo smirked. "Then hand over all the relics you took until now."

 Side Story Chapter 98 - Corridor of Desire (3)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 98 - Corridor of Desire (3)</h4>


    "Fucking swindler."


    Cha Yeon-Joo feignedughter as she stared at Oh Kang-Woo, who was humming as he packed the relics he took from the Lion of the Corridor in his bag. The lion had twenty-three relics; it was not as much as Kang-Woo had hoped but it was more than twice the amount of relics he had taken from the apostles of Oceiros.


    "The gatekeeper is the real swindler. You can tell just from how the number of relics it had isn''t a multiplier of five."


    Like what it had done to Kang-Woo, the Lion of the Corridor had likely demanded five initially and then slowly raised the number.


    "I guess so."


    "Hence, my actions were purely in self-defense," answered Kang-Woo as if he did not feel shame for his actions in the slightest.


    "Yeah, okay. Good for you, man."


    Yeon-Joo shook her head and sighed as if she had given up.


    "Fufu, of course. Kang-Woo did nothing wrong."


    Han Seol-Ah smiled and hugged Kang-Woo from behind as he stuffed the relics into his bag.


    "Hehehe. I knew you''d understand, Darling!"


    "But... the way you were screaming out of nowhere was... a bit unsightly," remarked Seol-Ah, not knowing how to say it without hurting Kang-Woo''s feelings.


    "You have to act crazy to sons of bitches like that to intimidate them," Kang-Woo answered.


    "Mm. But..."


    "If you hated it, I won''t do it again."


    "N-Not at all! I''m ready to love every part of you!"


    "Hehe. Never mind, then." Kang-Woo turned around to kiss Seol-Ah and stood up. "The bag has gotten too big, so I''ll just store it in the subspace."


    Human farming was truly the best out of every kind of farming; just in one day, Kang-Woo had gathered over thirty of the relics he had spent five days searching for with no luck.


    "Right then, let''s head inside," said Kang-Woo as he threw the bag into the subspace he stored the Leuconostoc in and stared at the open doors to the Corridor of Desire.


    [A-Arghhh...]


    Kang-Woo and the others walked past the half-dead gatekeeper and entered the Corridor.


    "Wow, what''s all this?"


    "A-Are these all gold?"


    The edges of the hallway dimly lit with candles were covered with gold. Some areas were covered with gold coins and giant lumps of gold were in other areas.


    "So this is what it meant by the Corridor of Desire."


    Kang-Woo uninterestedly stared at the hallway filled with gold. The average person would have been amazed by such a sight but to him, all this gold was nothing but shiny objects cluttering the hallway.


    <i>''I already have more money than I can spend.''</i>


    He had less than Yeon-Joo but he would never run out of money even if he spent his entire life spending it on whatever he wanted.


    "K-Kang-Woo. C-Could we take some home...?" asked Seol-Ah with a trembling voice.


    Her eyes were shining with all the gold in her vision, likely because she had been poor in the past.


    "There''s no reason to, is there? We already have plenty of money," said Yeon-Joo as she shrugged. She was just as uninterested in the gold as Kang-Woo.


    "B-But... It just feels like a waste not to."


    "Wow, I didn''t see you in that light, Seol-Ah. You''re quite the avaricious one, huh?"


    "No! You''re the weirder one for not feeling this way when you''re in front of all this gold, Yeon-Joo!"


    "I mean, I have nothing to refute that."


    Most people would be all over this gold if they were here.


    Kang-Woo remarked, "Hold yourself back, Darling."


    "Kang-Woo..."


    "Usually, the more money the better, but..." Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he stared at the gold covering the hallway. "Taking money lying around in ces like this usually triggers some kind of trap."


    "Ah," Seol-Ah expressed and nodded. It was amon cliche in films and TV shows that one suffered from being blinded by greed. "I-I didn''t think it through enough."


    "Hehe. You don''t have to worry about money at all, Darling. We can just ask Yeon-Joo for some on the off chance that our money runs out."


    "The fuck you say?" Yeon-Joo asked in irritation.


    "You''re the reason I can live so freely, Yeon-Joo noona!"


    "The hell are you on about? Don''t expect me to give you a single cent." Yeon-Joo snorted and turned away. "Well... If you really~ need it, I wouldn''t mind letting you borrow a little. But! You''ll have to kneel and beg me for it."


    "Jeez, my little Yeon-Joo is so cute."


    "Dammit, get the fuck away from me!!"


    Yeon-Joo pushed Kang-Woo away as he was trying to embrace her.


    Just then, Lilith who was searching the area called, "Master Kang-Woo, pleasee and take a look at this."


    She pointed at a severely damaged mechanical device.


    "This is..."


    "Someone seems to have intentionally broken this."


    Considering how it wasn''t rusted or there was no dust on it, it seemed to be recent. Meaning, someone had already passed through this area before Kang-Woo and the others reached it.


    "Someone got the jump on us."


    <i>''If we think about someone who passed through this area at this time...''</i>


    Kang-Woo could think of someone.


    "E-Eek! I-It can''t be!!!" Horos screamed as he blinked repeatedly. It seemed he was thinking of the same person as Kang-Woo. "Has the D-Demon King reached this ce first?!"


    "Maybe."


    Since the Leuconostoc habitat near the entrance was destroyed, it was more than possible.


    "We have to get out of here this inst¡ª"


    "Shut up."


    "<i>Peep!</i>"


    Kang-Woo grabbed Horos'' head and dragged him along the hallway.


    "Let''s pick up the pace."


    Since they found out someone was ahead of them, they couldn''t take their time exploring the dungeon. Kang-Woo and the others hastily walked down the downslope hallway. As they kept going down, they came across pink mist filling the hallway dimly lit by candles.


    "What the hell is this?"


    "It''s hypnotic incense."


    Lilith lightly clicked her tongue and snapped her finger. Her hair spread out and sucked all the pink mist from the air.


    "Thanks."


    "Fufu. Hypnotic incense of this level is nothing to me."


    A Subus Queen would have no trouble dealing with hypnotic incense.


    "First it was greed, and now it''s lust?"


    Kang-Woo chuckled. He more or less understood what kind of ce the Corridor of Desire was. They walked down the hallway free of hypnotic incense.


    "Kang-Woo, over there..."


    Seol-Ah pointed at something as they were walking down the hallway.


    "Looks like he passed through this ce as well."


    Headless corpses of women wearing sensual clothing were lying around.


    "They haven''t been dead for a while."


    "We shouldn''t be too far from him."


    If that was the case, there was no need to hesitate.


    "Let''s go."


    Kang-Woo walked past the obsolete traps and continued to walk.


    <i>''Looks like it''s gluttony this time.''</i>


    They saw food sttered all over the floor. Corpses of cats wearing chef''s outfits were next to a table split in half.


    <i>''Fuck yeah, he''s disabling all the traps.''</i>


    Kang-Woo and the others were just walking down the hallway without worrying about traps thanks to the Demon King destroying everything he saw.


    "I''ll have to thank the guy if we meet him."


    Kang-Woo snickered as he continued down the hallway. They passed through the hallway themed with sloth and pride without anything getting in their way and then came across a door slightly smaller than the first one they passed.


    "Another door?"


    "Looks like it."


    "Th-This is the entrance to the Corridor of Trials," Horos answered.


    "Corridor of Trials?"


    "Yes." Horos, who had been dragged along by Kang-Woo all this way, blinked and continued, "Only those who pass the Corridor of Desire and emerge victorious against the trial of one''s past may reach the heart of the Corridor."


    "...?"


    "It''s the legend that has been spreading throughout the Tower. It''s why so many demons and apostles have gathered on this floor."


    <i>''Pandemonium''s Demon King must have been one of them.''</i>


    Kang-Woo nodded and stared at the closed door.


    "In other words, we have to get past this door, right?"


    "Yes, correct."


    "You said we would have to face a trial of our past. What does that mean?"


    "I''ve heard that one would recall the worst memory in their memories once you enter the Corridor of Trials."


    <i>''Worst memory, huh?''</i> Kang-Woo frowned. <i>''What a pain.''</i>


    Immortality granted by the Demonic Sea was useless against psychological attacks.


    "What do you want to do?" asked Yeon-Joo.


    "We''re entering, obviously."


    They couldn''t give up aftering this far.


    "That Demon King from Pandemonium seems to have entered too."


    They had walked down a straight hallway. There was no sign of broken walls, hence it was wise to assume the Demon King had already entered the Corridor of Trials.


    "Will you all be okay?" asked Kang-Woo to Seol-Ah, Lilith, and Yeon-Joo.


    The three women nodded simultaneously.


    "Good."


    Kang-Woo smiled and stood in front of the Corridor of Trials.


    "I have a feeling you''ll be the first toplete the trial, Kang-Woo."


    Yeon-Joo clicked her tongue and answered, "Can''t deny that. I have to admit, the son of a bitch''s mind is like a steel trap."


    "The worst memory of your life... I wonder which memory will appear?"


    "Who knows?" Kang-Woo shrugged and shook his head.


    <i>''Maybe the time I got assaulted by Lilith will appear.''</i>


    Chills ran down Kang-Woo''s spine. He opened the door, thinking it would be a terrible experience for him.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    Darkness flowed out between the doors.


    "Ah."


    Kang-Woo''s consciousness shut off.


    ***


    "Urghhh." Seol-Ah trembled as she opened her eyes. She panted, "Haaa, haaa."


    Beads of sweat trickled from her forehead and pooled on her chin.


    "..."


    She bit her lip. Her memory had been about her drunk older brother shouting and beating up their mother. She felt nauseous¡ª her vision was blurring and her legs trembled.


    <i>''I don''t ever want to experience something like that again.''</i>


    Seol-Ah hugged her knees and trembled as she thought about the memory, so vivid that it felt like reality.


    "You''re awake."


    "Yes. Looks like you woke up first, unnie."


    "Hohoho. I woke up not long before you."


    Lilith giggled faintly but her smile carried a hint of sorrow, unlike her usual self.


    "..."


    Seol-Ah did not bother to ask what memory Lilith was made to remember.


    "What about Yeon-Joo and Kang-Woo?"


    "They haven''t woken up y¡ª"


    <i>BOOM¡ª!</i>


    Just then, Yeon-Joo sprang up and cursed, "ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!!! FUCKING DEMON CULTISTS!!!"


    Tears were welled up around her eyes.


    "Are you okay, Yeon-Joo?"


    "Haaa, haaa, haaa. Fuck... I feel like shit."


    Yeon-Joo wiped her tears away and disheveled her hair. The memory she was forced to recall was one about the guild member she treated like a little sister being kidnapped by the Demon Cultists.


    "Haaa."


    Yeon-Joo felt dizzy due to her surging rage. She repeatedly clenched her fists to calm down and her dizziness went away.


    "What about Kang-Woo?"


    "He hasn''t woken up yet."


    "Heh, he was talking about being the fastest but he''s the slowest." Yeon-Joo smiled and approached Kang-Woo lying on the floor. "Hey, you''re not pretending to be asleep, are you?"


    There was no answer.


    "Let''s wait here for a bit, Yeon-Joo."


    "Got it."


    Time passed.


    One hour...


    "Fufu, the king is such a sleepyhead."


    Two hours...


    "Sheesh, he''s not waking up at all."


    Three hours...


    "Kang-Woo...?"


    And one day passed.


    "Kang-Woo!! Kang-Woo!! Open your eyes!!!"


    There was no answer.

 Side Story Chapter 99 - One Day (1)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 99 - One Day (1)</h4>


    "Haaa, haaa, haaa."


    The unquenching thirst was burning Oh Kang-Woo''s throat. He felt like he was hallucinating from the pain of his cells drying up.


    "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" he cursed as he pulled on his hair.


    Kang-Woo looked around and saw tall sharp rocks, cracks in the earth, and a red sky.


    "Where... the hell am I?"


    It happened almost instantaneously¡ª a ck Gate suddenly appeared in front of him as he was dragging his fatigued self to his one-room apartment after a day''s worth of hard work. He was sucked into it before he even had time to evade it and ended up in a ce he had never seen before once he opened his eyes.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Kang-Woo thought it was a dream at first; he thought he was hallucinating because he had pushed himself too hard to make enough to pay the overdue rent. However, he did not wake up from this nightmare no matter how much time passed. The sky continued to burn red and he was surrounded by aridnd covered in rocks.


    "Shit, shit..."


    He couldn''t tell how much time had passed since he ended up here. The burning red sky darkened three times so he could only assume three days had passed.


    "H-Hurgh. What the fuck... what in the actual fuck?"


    Kang-Woo staggered. He couldn''t form tears because even his eyes had dried up. He hid between the tall sharp rocks and trembled.


    "Water... water..."


    He was going insane from dehydration. Every cell in his body was desperate for water.


    "Haaa, haaa. Water, water, water, water."


    He stood up as he swayed and pulled down his pants. He aimed at a small hole in the rock and peed. A dark yellow fluid pooled in the hole.


    "<i>Huff, huff, huff!</i>"


    A disgusting scent attacked Kang-Woo''s sense of smell but he couldn''t care less.


    "WATER!!!"


    He crouched as he panted heavily and licked the urine pooled in the hole. He suppressed his desire to vomit with all his might from the disgusting salty taste and the nasty stench and licked everyst drop of the urine.


    "Haaa, haaa."


    His mind became clearer with the sensation of his thirst being quenched.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo aggressively bit his lip.


    <i>''I can''t keep doing this.''</i>


    There was barely any urineing out anymore.


    "I need... something to drink."


    However, he had no idea if water even existed in this aridnd. He had spent a lot of time searching the surroundings but couldn''t even find trees or nts. All that he found in three days was...


    "A monster..."


    It was a giant wolf about three meters long. It had two horns on its forehead and its fangs gleamed like knives. He barely managed to escape from the monster on his second day here.


    <i>''I was lucky.''</i>


    The monster wolf suddenly gave up on chasing Kang-Woo once he entered the rocky terrain. He had been staying hidden here since then but was reaching his limit. He couldn''t stay hidden forever.


    <i>''I need food and water.''</i>


    "Anything... even a bug."


    Kang-Woo forced his trembling legs to move and came out of the space between the rocks.


    <i>''The monster wolf fell back around here.''</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the desert terrain filled with red sand across from the rocky terrain. The wolf had chased him up to where the rocky terrain began and suddenly turned back.


    "One thing for sure is... going that way is dangerous."


    He might meet the monster again if he stepped foot into the red sand desert. Kang-Woo traversed deeper into the rocky region to look for food and water.


    "Shit..."


    He did not find anything after an hour of searching. All he could find was tall rocks¡ª not a hint of living organisms like small bugs, rats, or snakes.


    "Shit, shit, shit!"


    Kang-Woo pulled on his hair in irritation. The extreme thirst drove him more insane than the fear of death.


    "Please... anything," he prayed as he continued to walk.


    Just then, a putrid stench attacked his nose.


    "Urpp!"


    He almost vomited from the stench.


    <i>''This is...''</i>


    Kang-Woo once worked as a sewer cleaner and the stench he had been familiarized with wasing from beyond the wall of rocks in front of him.


    "Poop...?"


    Kang-Woo carefully approached the rocks and soon found the source of the stench. There was a one-meter pile of brown poop under the rock wall.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and examined the poop.


    <i>''It''s recent.''</i>


    He brought his hand close to the poop and could feel its warmth, meaning the one who excreted this giant pile of poop was nearby.


    "Shit."


    Kang-Woo bit his lip. Considering the pile of poop was almost a meter tall, the one who excreted it was likely far taller.


    "I guess... I wasn''t lucky."


    He recalled the monster wolf turning back as soon as he entered the rocky region.


    <i>''This must be a different monster''s territory.''</i>


    Kang-Woo had no idea whose territory this was but he was at least sure he was no match for it. After all, a three-meter monster gave up on Kang-Woo, its prey, once he entered the other monster''s territory.


    "Haaa, haaa."


    Kang-Woo was filled with anxiety. His heart beat so strong it was about to burst.


    <i>''First...''</i>


    He scooped a handful of the giant pile of poop and took arge bite.


    "Urpp! BLEEEEEEEEEEEGHHH!!!"


    He felt his intestines wringing. He tried to eat some with the hope that he could eat it but its stench and taste was so bad that he vomited out the poop along with some stomach juices.


    <i>''I can''t eat this.''</i>


    Kang-Woo bit his lip. If he couldn''t eat it, he would have to look around for something else¡ª in the rocky territory of an unknown monster.


    "Huuu, huuu," he caught his breath and turned around to look down at the giant pile of poop.


    <i>''If I don''t want to get discovered...''</i>


    <i>St, st.</i>


    "Urgh, fuck."


    Kang-Woo smeared the poop all over himself. He couldn''t handle its horrible taste but could just barely endure its putrid stench. No, even if he couldn''t endure it, he needed to if he wanted to survive.


    <i>''If the monster here relies on its sense of smell, I should be able to somewhat hide my presence with this.''</i>


    Other powerful monsters might also run away as well after getting a scent of the poop, just like how the monster wolf in the red sand desert had.


    "Alright."


    Kang-Woo finished covering every part of himself with the poop and carefully traversed the rocky territory. He wouldn''tst any longer if he didn''t find something to drink by today.


    <i>''Please, please.''</i>


    Kang-Woo desperately looked around but like before, there was only aridnd and rocks. There wasn''t even a tiny bug in sight.


    <i>''What the hell is with this ce?''</i>


    He couldn''t understand why there was nothing to eat or drink in a ce where even a three-meter wolf could live. There should at least be a puddle of water.


    <i>''Then what do these goddamn monsters eat and drink?''</i>


    Kang-Woo was filled with frustration and rage, unable to understand the situation.


    <i>Rustle, stter.</i>


    "...!"


    Just then, Kang-Woo heard something loving on the other side of a rock wall. He became wide-eyed as he crouched and carefully stuck close to the rock wall. He peeked on the other side of the wall.


    <i>''Wh-What the hell is that?''</i>


    It was twice asrge as the monster wolf that had chased him in the red sand desert. A giant dog with ck fur was curled up into a ball and darting its tongue in and out, red mes igniting around its mouth each time it did. Its ws scratching the ground were so sharp that it was sinking into the rock.


    <i>''Is that... the boss of this territory?''</i>


    Kang-Woo could tell from a nce that it was powerful.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo examined the monster anxiously.


    <i>''It hasn''t discovered me.''</i>


    Kang-Woo could see it sniffing but it didn''t detect him; it seemed like he had made the right call to smear poop all over himself.


    <i>''Hm?''</i>


    Just then, he saw something small moving between the curled-up monster. He took a closer look and saw that it was a smaller dog rubbing its cheek on therger dog''s stomach. Although it was smaller, it was still easily over a meter long.


    <i>''Is that its baby?''</i>


    It was likely the case considering how simr they looked. The giant ck dog was licking the small dog as if it were a precious treasure. Anyone could see that it was a mother caring for her baby but Kang-Woo''s heart was not filled with warmth since the dog was over five meters and breathing fire.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo crawled on the ground so that he would make as little sound as possible and got far away from the monster''s nest.


    "Pwah! Haaa, haaa!" he panted heavily once he got far away from the nest and fell to the ground. "Fucking hell..."


    Kang-Woo could understand why the monster wolf had turned back.


    <i>''What do I do?''</i>


    He might be able to hunt the baby dog but there was no way he could when it was stuck to the mother.


    <i>''Should I find something else to eat?''</i>


    Kang-Woo thought about it for a while but shook his head. He had spent thest several hours looking around but found nothing. Not only that but he did not have much time; his lips were dried up and his vision was getting blurry due to dehydration.


    <i>''I have to kill that monster''s baby.''</i>


    That was the only path to survival.


    <i>''But how?''</i>


    He needed a way to separate the mother from the baby.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo''s mind was jumbled. Considering the monster''s overwhelming size, it would instantly catch up to him and tear him apart with its sharp ws if he tried to outrun it.


    <i>''Outrunning it is impossible.''</i>


    He couldn''t outrun the monster even if he were in his best condition, so it was even less likely he could when he was exhausted.


    "What should I..." Kang-Woo bit his lip anxiously. "Urgh, blegh!!"


    He grimaced once the monster''s poop on his lips touched his tongue.


    "Huh...?"


    Just then, he thought of an idea.


    <i>''With this, maybe I can...''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone as he looked down at the poop he was smeared with.

 Side Story Chapter 100 - One Day (2)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 100 - One Day (2)</h4>


    "It might be possible... with this," mumbled Oh Kang-Woo as he stared at the monster poop smeared all over him.


    <i>''These monsters have their own territories, like bears and other wild beasts.''</i>


    As proof, the giant wolf chasing after him suddenly turned back once they arrived at the rocky region.


    <i>''But what if I can lure the wolf here?''</i>


    Considering the dog was almost twice the size, the wolf would be no match.


    <i>''But it should at least buy me enough time to kill the baby.''</i>


    The problem was how he was going to lure the wolf here.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the putrid poop of the ck dog. If he ced the poop in the horned wolf''s territory, it might think the dog had trespassed on its territory, and enter the dog''s territory in rage.


    <i>''It''s a gamble... one with a terribly low chance of sess.''</i>


    Purely based on size, the wolf would not be able to defeat the ck dog. In other words, even if Kang-Woo ced the ck dog''s poop in the horned wolf''s territory, the wolf might run away instead of fighting.


    <i>''It''s natural to avoid a fight with a stronger predator.''</i>


    However, logic and reasoning did not always apply to the world of beasts.


    <i>''If the wolf is the kind of beast to be extremely wary of others trespassing on its territory... maybe it''ll try to fight regardless of its chances of victory.''</i>


    Kang-Woo had no idea if these monsters were simr to the ones in the animal kingdom but they had territories and were careful not to trespass on them.


    <i>''It''s a gamble worth taking.''</i>


    No, he would die if he didn''t. He would lose the strength to move or remain sane soon. Even now, the unquenching thirst and extreme hunger were killing him. He did not have the leeway to worry about the chances of sess.


    "Huuu."


    Kang-Woo did not have time to hesitate. He headed to where he found the pile of poop and ttened the T-shirt he was wearing on the ground to carry the poop.


    "Urpp."


    He did his best not to vomit from the stench and headed to the red sand desert where he saw the horned wolf. Since he was walking straight to it instead of looking around carefully for food, he realized it was fairly close.


    <i>''Alright.''</i>


    If Kang-Woo could lure the horned wolf to the rocky region, the ck dog would undoubtedly take action to find the one who trespassed on its territory to protect her baby.


    <i>''I have to spread as much of it as wide as possible.''</i>


    Kang-Woo walked around the red sand desert and sprayed the ck dog''s poop he was carrying with his T-shirt.


    "What is this, Hansel and Gretel?"


    Kang-Woo frowned as he stared at the trail of poop in his path.


    <i>''I''m done.''</i>


    The preparations wereplete; all that was left was for the horned wolf to think its territory was invaded and head to the rocky region.


    "Please."


    Kang-Woo hid between the tall sharp rocks again and prayed with his fists clenched. It was over for him if the wolf ran away instead of trespassing on the rocky region. He did not have the strength or sanity to look around for more food.


    "Grrrrr."


    "Grrrk!! Krrrrk!!"


    "<i>Woof!</i> Grrr!"


    Just then, Kang-Woo heard multiple growls.


    <i>''There... wasn''t just one?''</i>


    Kang-Woo peeked out from between the rocks. In the red sand desert were three horned wolves growling at each other as if discussing what to do.


    <i>''Alright!!''</i>


    Kang-Woo pumped his fists with shining eyes. One wolf would have been no match for the ck dog based on the size difference but three of them might put up a good fight.


    <i>''It''s a different story if they hunt in packs!''</i>


    If they were in a pack, they were more likely to try to protect their territory.


    "GRAAAAAAHHH!!"


    "GRRRRRRRR!!"


    "<i>WOOF!! WOOF!!</i>"


    The horned wolves growled ferociously and red at the rocky region, their eyes full of bloodlust.


    "Grrrr!!"


    They stopped growling soon after and ran into the rocky region.


    <i>''Hell yeah!''</i>


    Kang-Woo suppressed his cheers with all his might and ran after the wolves. They were so fast that it took a while for him to catch up. He then arrived near the ck dog''s best as he stayed hidden.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!!</i>


    "GRAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"


    The giant five-meter ck dog charged out of the nest as she breathed fire.


    "Grrrrk!! Krrrk!!"


    "<i>Woof!</i>"


    The ck dog charged without hesitation at the three horned wolves that trespassed on her territory. A one-versus-three battle began.


    Crunch! Crack!


    "<i>Whine¡ª!!</i>"


    "<i>Woof! Woof!!</i>"


    The ck dog smashed its front foot into one of the rabid horned wolves, which was blown back helplessly.


    "Oh... fuck."


    Kang-Woo froze as he watched the battle.


    <i>''They''re getting floored.''</i>


    Unlike what he had hoped, the ck dog was wiping out the three horned wolves with ease.


    <i>''I don''t have much time.''</i>


    Kang-Woo was done for if he didn''t kill the baby dog before the mother killed the three wolves.


    "<i>Huff, huff.</i>"


    He hurried to the ck dog''s nest, avoiding being seen by the monsters. He eliminated traces of his scent by smearing more poop on himself and crawled to minimize making a sound. He arrived at the nest soon after.


    "Grrr. Grrr."


    The baby ck dog was curled up into a ball and sleeping. Kang-Woo approached the baby with shining eyes.


    <i>''I''ll have to shut its mouth first to keep it from making a sound.''</i>


    If the baby made a sound, the mother would hurry back to the nest in an instant. Kang-Woo moved as carefully as possible so that the baby would wake up. It was thankfully in a deep slumber and didn''t notice Kang-Woo approaching it.


    <i>''It''s so fucking big.''</i>


    Although it was a baby, it was still a meter tall. Kang-Woo continued to approach the baby, wondering whether he could finish it off in one blow.


    Just then, a voice echoed, "Stop."


    Kang-Woo turned around, wide-eyed.


    "You must be insane, trying to kill a baby Hellhound in Hellhound territory."


    "Wh-What? Wh-Who are you...?"


    Kang-Woo stared at the owner of the voice with shaking eyes. The man had the head of a ram, two horns on his forehead, and a long tail with a sharp end like a skewer. Unlike the monsters Kang-Woo had seen so far, he was walking on two feet instead of four. The man looked like a generic demon worshiper wearing a goat head but Kang-Woo could instinctively tell that it was the man''s real head.


    "A... demon?"


    The word naturally came to mind. The goat horns, ck skin, and long tail were the hallmarks of a demon in fiction.


    "Why is a demon here...?"


    "Is it not obvious for a demon to be in Hell?" replied the demon quietly as he chuckled.


    He also seemed to be careful not to wake the baby ck dog.


    "Hell...?" Kang-Woo stared at the demon iprehensibly.


    <i>''This is Hell? What the hell is he talking about?''</i>


    His mind was in jumbles¡ª no that wasn''t the only question he had.


    <i>''Why can I... understand that demon?''</i>


    Kang-Woo was sure the demon was talking in anguage that was not Korean but his words were being automatically interpreted in Kang-Woo''s head somehow¡ª as if he could understand thenguage of demons from the beginning.


    <i>''That''s impossible.''</i>


    Kang-Woo didn''t mean to brag but his skills in foreignnguages were so atrocious that he could barely hold a normal English conversation. He couldn''t have learned thenguage of demons.


    <i>''What the hell is going on?''</i>


    Kang-Woo stared at the demon in confusion.


    "That aside, a human... Hmm. It seems the rumor of humans being found in various ces for the past few days was true," the demon mumbled and smiled.


    He had mumbled so quietly to not wake up the baby ck dog, so Kang-Woo did not hear what he said.


    "Hehehe. I heard that if you kill those humans and eat their hearts... you''ll gain immense demonic energy."


    The demon''s eyes gleamed with desire and he licked his lips. It had been worth it to trespass on a Hellhound''s territory in search of the rumored humans.


    The demon smiled and said haughtily, "I am Sabnak, a demon of the First Hell."


    His palm split and a ck de shot out from between.


    "Die and be my flesh and blood, human."


    Sabnak pointed his shining de at Kang-Woo.


    "<i>Huff, huff,</i>" Kang-Woo panted heavily as he stared at the ck de pointed at him.


    He could barely hear what the demon was saying because he was speaking so quietly but he was sure about one thing.


    <i>''I''m going to die.''</i>


    Kang-Woo''s heart beat rapidly. His extreme hunger and thirst disappeared and a chill ran down his back.


    "I''m gonna die...? Here? Like this?"


    He stared at the demon with shaking eyes. The de protruding from the hand of the demon calling himself Sabnak was gleaming. Kang-Woo would undoubtedly die if he were to be stabbed by that de. There would be no miracle to save him.


    "Haaa, haaa, haaa!"


    Kang-Woo could feel his legs shaking. His heavy breaths echoed inside his head like thunder. He looked around but saw no way to run. Not only was he out of strength, he could tell from the demon''s muscr thighs that the demon would be far faster than him.


    "A-Arghh."


    Even so, Kang-Woo couldn''t fight. One swing from the ck de would easily split him in two.


    <i>''Then, then, then...''</i>


    He would die. He had no other choice but to¡ª


    "...you."


    "Hm?"


    "Fuck you, motherfucker." Kang-Woo violently stomped his foot and raised his head. He squeezed out all the air he could muster from his lungs to shout, "I REFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSE!!!"


    "Grrr?"


    The sleeping baby Hellhound opened its eyes.


    "TO DIE ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!"


    Kang-Woo jumped on the back of the baby Hellhound. He wrapped his right arm around the Hellhound''s neck and raised his left arm.


    <i>Pierce!!!</i>


    "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    Kang-Woo shoved his left arm into the baby Hellhound''s left eye. The baby Hellhound''s screech shook the rocky region.


    "Y-You crazy son of a bitch!!!"


    Sabnak''s eyes widened in shock.


    "H-Hehehehehehe!!!" Kang-Woo burst into crazedughter and smiled as he red at the demon. "IF I''M GONNA DIE, I''M FUCKING TAKING YOU WITH ME, MOTHERFUCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!"

 Side Story Chapter 101 - One Day (3)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 101 - One Day (3)</h4>


    "C-Crazy human!!!" Sabnak shouted in pallor.


    They were in the territory of the Hellhound, one of the apex predators of the First Hell. Since the human attacked the Hellhound''s baby in her nest, the Hellhound was bound to run back here.


    "Shit!"


    Sabnak quickly swung the ck de he made with the Authority of des. He needed to silence the screeching baby Hellhound as soon as possible.


    sh!!!


    The ck de cut the baby Hellhound from head to chest.


    "Krrrk! <i>Whine...</i>"


    The baby Hellhound died in one blow, unbing of its reputation as the strongest predator in the First Hell. Sabnak red at Oh Kang-Woo after killing the baby.


    "You crazy son of a bitch!! Do you want to be devoured by a Hellhound who lost its baby?!"


    "H-Hehe," Kang-Woo snickered. "Whether the Hellhound kills me or you, it''s all the same, dammit."


    "..."


    Sabnak couldn''t refute Kang-Woo''s logic. He remained silent because he was nning on killing the human and eating his heart


    Sabnak narrowed his eyes. Although the Hellhound was one of the most powerful demonic beasts in the First Hell, he was a demon with an Authority; it was not like he didn''t stand a chance. No, he had a higher chance of victory.


    <i>''But it''s too dangerous.''</i>


    Sabnak could win if the Hellhound were in a normal state but not even he could handle a Hellhound blind with rage because it would charge at him with the intent to kill without a care for its life. Sabnak may win if he were lucky but would likely die from the injuries he suffered in the battle.


    "Dammit," Sabnak cursed and frowned.


    The baby Hellhound was dead, making the battle impossible to avoid. The Hellhound, blinded by rage, would continue to chase his scent until it killed him.


    <i>''Then before that...''</i>


    He would kill the human and devour his heart. No one had any idea why but the humans who had been appearing throughout the First Helltely drastically boosted the demonic energy of those who ate their hearts.


    "I can''t believe I''m being forced to deal with this shit just because of a mere human insect." Sabnak red at Kang-Woo with a frown. "I''ll have you pay for this with your life, human."


    "What a load of shit."


    Kang-Woo smiled as he panted heavily. Such lines weren''t even used in mediocre martial arts novels these days.


    "And I told you, didn''t I?" Kang-Woo smirked as he slowly crouched. "If I die, I''m taking you with me. No, you''re the only one who''s gonna die."


    "What?" Sabnak''s eyebrows crumpled.


    Kang-Woo stuffed his left hand into the baby Hellhound''s split chest.


    <i>''Here it is.''</i>


    He felt something squishy in his hand. He grabbed it and pulled out the baby Hellhound''s stopped heart.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo gulped as he stared at the ck blood trickling down his left arm. He wanted to quench his thirst with the ck blood more than anything.


    <i>''Endure it.''</i>


    It would be over for him the moment he drank the blood. To be more specific, he would be the target of the mother Hellhound the moment the blood got on his body.


    <i>''Their sense of smell is highly developed.''</i>


    Kang-Woo recalled how he wasn''t detected by the Hellhound when he was covered in poop. Just like dogs, they relied on their sense of smell to distinguish friend and foe.


    <i>''In that case.''</i>


    The mother Hellhound would naturally attack the one whom she could smell her baby''s blood from.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo looked down at himself. His left arm was soaked in the ck blood from shoving his arm into the baby Hellhound''s eye and pulling out its heart from its chest.


    <i>''But nowhere else.''</i>


    The blood did not stter anywhere else thanks to him being on the baby Hellhound''s back when Sabnak killed the baby. Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and looked down at the baby Hellhound''s heart in his left hand. He chuckled at the idea he had just thought of.


    <i>''It''s insane.''</i>


    However, he wouldn''t survive in this ce unless he was insane.


    "Huuu, huuu, huuu!"


    Kang-Woo''s heart beat rapidly due to the massive anxiety crushing him. He panted heavily and lowered his stance.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    He squeezed out what remained of his strength to charge at Sabnak.


    "What the...?"


    Sabnak stepped back in confusion, not expecting the human to charge at him first, and reflexively raised his arm. The ck de gleamed as it swung toward the human.


    "NOW!!!"


    Kang-Woo smiled as he stared at the ck de.


    <i>''If only my left arm is covered in the baby Hellhound''s blood, I just have to cut it off!!!''</i>


    Kang-Woo swung his left arm holding the baby Hellhound''s heart with all his might at the ck de, so sharp that it could likely slice rocks like tofu.


    <i>sh¡ª!!</i>


    "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Kang-Woo screamed. The gut-wrenching pain traveling up his left arm drove him crazy. "IT HURTS, IT HURTS, IT HURTS, IT HURTS!!!"


    His cheeks were doused with tears. He wondered if this was how it felt to be scalded with a hot iron. Overwhelming pain he had never experienced before turned his mind nk.


    "A-Arghhh."


    Kang-Woo suppressed his screams with all his might and stared at his left arm. It was spewing so much red blood that it was hard to believe he had been suffering from severe dehydration. At this rate, he would die from blood loss instead of by the Hellhound.


    "<i>Huff, huff, huff!</i>"


    Kang-Woo tied the T-shirt he had used to collect the Hellhound poop to stop the bleeding, albeit poorly. He then turned around to look at Sabnak. The n he had in mind had seeded.


    "Wh-What in the...?"


    The left arm Kang-Woo had swung as if throwing it had flown toward Sabnak after being sliced off. It collided with Sabnak''s chest and the baby Hellhound''s heart burst with blood from the impact.


    "I-It can''t be." Sabnak stared at Kang-Woo in disbelief. "You..."


    Sabnak knew how sensitive a Hellhound''s sense of smell was, and he was covered in the baby Hellhound''s blood.


    "Son of a..."


    Sabnak stared at Kang-Woo with trembling eyes. The human had swung his arm toward Sabnak''s de to throw the baby Hellhound''s heart at Sabnak. It wasn''t something anyone sane could do.


    "Kuh!!"


    Sabnak bit his lip and charged at the human. Now that it hade to this, he needed to kill the human as quickly as possible.


    <i>BOOM¡ª!!!</i>


    "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    However, before Sabnak could swing his de, the mother Hellhound battling the horned wolves returned to her nest with a thunderous roar. She was covered in wounds likely made from the battle against the wolves.


    "D-Dammit!"


    Sabnak quickly turned to the Hellhound. Nothing was more terrifying in the First Hell than a Hellhound blinded by rage.


    <i>Split!</i>


    "AAAAAAAAAHHH!!"


    Sabnak did not have time to bother with the human. Another ck de sprouted from his other hand as he prepared to face the Hellhound charging at him.


    "GRRR! <i>WOOF!!</i>"


    "Kurgh!!!"


    Befitting of its title as the most powerful predator in the First Hell, the Hellhound''s physical strength was extraordinary. The earth shook with each step the Hellhound took and she bared her sharp fangs at Sabnak.


    "ARGHHHHH!!! MOTHERFUCKING HUMAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!" Sabnak screamed in fury as he faced the Hellhound.


    The Hellhound was focused only on Sabnak as if she couldn''t even see Kang-Woo. It was only natural; not only was Kang-Woo not covered in her baby''s blood, he was also covered in Hellhound poop. Although Kang-Woo''s blood was dripping from his severed left arm, that was not important to the Hellhound who just lost her baby.


    "Haaa, haaa," Kang-Woo panted heavily and crouched as he watched the battle between two monsters.


    <i>''If I chose to fight those monsters...''</i>


    Chills ran down his spine.


    <i>''First, I should...''</i>


    Kang-Woo crawled to escape from where Sabnak and the Hellhound were fighting, making as little sound as possible.


    "A-Arghh."


    Tears flowed down his cheeks. Sharp pain radiated from the stump of his left arm. His vision blurred with even the slightest movement.


    "<i>Huff, huff, huff.</i>"


    Kang-Woo bit his lip and held on to the string connected to his consciousness with all his might.


    "Kurgh."


    He could just crawl away but instead crawled up a rock about three meters tall. Despite being this high, the Hellhound was sorge that he still needed to look up.


    <i>''He''s fighting a lot better than the wolves.''</i>


    Sabnak was only a little taller than Kang-Woo but thankfully he, with his sharp ck des, was fighting on par with the Hellhound despite the massive size difference.


    "Kurgh."


    Kang-Woo endured the pain shooting from his left arm and grabbed one of the small rocks around the area. He had not crawled up this rock to observe the battle from above.


    <i>''Even if I run away, I''ll die soon enough.''</i>


    Running away in starvation and exhaustion would notst him long.


    <i>''In that case.''</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn''t do anything about his severed arm but he at least needed to find something to eat and drink here.


    "I''ll... kill both of them here."


    He, of course, was nowhere near strong enough to kill either of the monsters.


    <i>''But I can at least keep the battle neck and neck.''</i>


    Kang-Woo gripped the rock and raised his arm high.


    "RAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!" Sabnak roared as he ferociously swung his ck des against the Hellhound.


    The Hellhound was already tired as if she had been in a battle before this. If that was the case, Sabnak had a chance to win.


    "DIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!"


    <i>Bash!</i>


    Just then, a rock flew out of nowhere and hit his head.


    "Gah! Wh-What the¡ª?!"


    Sabnak swayed and momentarily stopped.


    "<i>ROOOOOOOOAR!!</i>"


    The Hellhound did not miss that chance and smashed Sabnak with her front foot.


    "Kurgh! Urgh!"


    Sabnak looked up even while being blown backward. On one of the rocks was the human who covered him with the baby Hellhound''s blood, with a rock in his hand.


    "YOU BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!!!"


    Sabnak gave the human a death re.


    "Pfft! Hahahahaha!!" Kang-Woo burst intoughter despite being in immense pain.


    <i>''Ahh, yeah.''</i>


    Even as the pain was turning his mind nk, he couldn''t stopughing as he stared at the demon ring at him.


    <i>''I''m gonna survive.''</i>


    No matter how pathetic, desperate, cowardly, unsightly, and low he needed to act...


    <i>''I...''</i> Kang-Woo gritted his teeth. <i>''Will survive this goddamn Hell.''</i>

 Side Story Chapter 102 - One Day (4)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 102 - One Day (4)</h4>


    "Grrr! <i>Woof, woof!!</i>" the Hellhound growled ferociously as she charged at extraordinary speed and swung her sharp ws at Sabnak.


    "GAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTT!!"


    <i>ng!!</i>


    Sabnak cursed as he blocked the Hellhound''s ws with the Authority of des. He was not pushed back despite their size difference.


    "I AM A DEMON WITH AN AUTHORITYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"


    Demons with Authorities were extremely rare in the Nine Hells. Although having an Authority did not necessarily make a demon powerful, those with powerful Authorities like the princes of Hell were on another levelpared to regr demons.


    The same applied to Sabnak. Although his Authority only allowed him to sprout des made of demonic energy from his hands, many demons did not even have such a simple Authority. There weren''t many beings who could be a match for him in the First Hell.


    "DIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"


    <i>sh!!</i>


    The de of demonic energy cut the bridge of the Hellhound''s nose.


    "GRRRRRRRR!!!"


    "Kurgh!"


    The Hellhound, blinded by rage, swung her ws regardless of whether her nose was cut or not. Sabnak rolled to the side to barely dodge the Hellhound''s ws.


    "<i>Huff, huff!</i>" he panted heavily as he calmly examined the Hellhound''s movements.


    <i>''Her movements are easy to read, at the very least.''</i>


    The Hellhound''s movements were as simple as what one would expect from a demonic beast with no intelligence. Her physical strength was extraordinary but not enough to overpower Sabnak, who possessed more demonic energy than most entities in the First Hell.


    "Grr! Grrr!"


    Most of all, the Hellhound was tired.


    "Haaaaah!"


    Sabnak ducked to dodge the Hellhound''s front foot and quickly closed the distance. He activated the Authority of des to the extreme to lengthen the ck de, which was now three meters long. Sabnak swung the long de to behead the Hellhound, but¡ª


    <i>Bash!</i>


    "Gah!!"


    The impact from the rock hitting Sabnak''s head caused the de to veer off course.


    <i>Pierce!</i>


    The de dug into the Hellhound''s shoulder.


    "Grrr!!"


    The Hellhound ignored the blood spewing from her shoulder and lowered her head to headbutt Sabnak.


    "Kurgh!! Gah!" Sabnak was blown backward by the headbutt. "ARGHHHH!! GODDAMN HUMAAAAAAAAAN!!!"


    Sabnak looked up and red at the human who threw the rock. The human was getting in his way by throwing rocks at decisive moments from a tall boulder.


    "SHIT! SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!"


    Sabnak was boiling with rage, but he couldn''t do anything. Although he had the advantage against the Hellhound, he didn''t have the leeway to focus on something else during a battle with his life on the line.


    "Bwehehehehehe!!!" the human throwing rocks from aboveughed mockingly at Sabnak, enraging him even more.


    "ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!" Sabnak roared as he frantically blocked the Hellhound''s attacks.


    He felt like he was going crazy from rage.


    "<i>WOOF!! GROWL!!</i>"


    "FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!! ATTACK THAT HUMAN, NOT MEEEEEEEE!!!"


    The one who attacked the sleeping baby Hellhound first was the human, not him. Sabnak never had any intention of killing the baby.


    "GRRR! GRRRR!!"


    However, a demonic beast with no intelligence couldn''t understand him. The Hellhound simply barraged Sabnak, whom she could smell her baby''s blood from, with attacks.


    <i>ng!! ng!!</i>


    "Kurgh!! Urgh!!"


    Sabnak bit his lip as he blocked the unending barrage of w attacks.


    <i>''At this rate, I''ll die...!''</i>


    He gripped the ck de made with his Authority tightly.


    <i>''I have no choice.''</i>


    He would have to attack the Hellhound with the resolve to suffer a critical wound.


    "<i>Huff, huff!</i>"


    Sabnak first widened his distance from the Hellhound and drew out as much demonic energy as he could.


    <i>Crack! Crack!!</i>


    His skin split in different parts of his body, and ck des sprouted from between. Sabnak, who now looked like a hedgehog, red at the Hellhound.


    "Grrrr."


    The Hellhound stopped in her tracks momentarily.


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!</i>


    She took a deep breath in, and mes zed from her mouth.


    "<i>Gasp!</i>"


    Sabnak grew impatient. Hellhounds did not use their breath under normal circumstances because it also damaged themselves. However, the Hellhound in front of him was drawing out as much fire as possible as if she were trying to take Sabnak out with her.


    "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    <i>Fwoosh¡ª!!!</i>


    Colossal mes shot toward Sabnak.


    "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    <i>Sizzle!!</i>


    The mes not only melted Sabnak''s skin but the baby Hellhound''s corpse as well as the Hellhound herself. The mes that devoured all life engulfed the surroundings.


    "Argh!! Gaaaaaaaaahhh!!"


    Sabnak charged toward the Hellhound despite writhing in pain. He knew he would be reduced to ashes before the Hellhound because his resistance to fire was lower.


    "PLEASE JUST DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" Sabnak screamed as he jumped at the Hellhound to body-smash her.


    The des that were sprouted all over his body sank into the Hellhound.


    "Huff, huff, huff!"


    <i>Fwoosh, fwoosh!</i>


    The corpse of the Hellhound, whose head was split in two, copsed and burned. Sabnak panted heavily and fell to the ground.


    "I-I won."


    He defeated the First Hell''s apex predator¡ª not only that but one who was blinded by rage from losing her baby.


    "Haha! I wo¡ª"


    <i>Whoosh!!!</i>


    As Sabnak was about to pump his fists and cheer, a sharp rock flew across the air.


    <i>Bash!</i>


    "Gah!"


    The sharp rock cut Sabnak''s skin which was melted from the fire. He clenched his wounds spewing ck blood and turned around.


    "Haaa, haaa, haaa."


    He saw Kang-Woo, singed by the fire, panting heavily.


    "Hehehe! I''m surprised you can survive in this fiery ce." Sabnak smirked, his eyes gleaming.


    He was more happy than enraged that the human was still alive since it meant he could take revenge against the arrogant human who had driven him this far.


    "I''ll tear you apa¡ª"


    "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Kang-Woo screamed. He grabbed a rock with his remaining right hand and ran toward Sabnak. "DIE, MOTHERFUCKEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!"


    He swung the rock down into the copsed Sabnak''s head.


    Bash!!


    "Argh!!!" Sabnak yelled and tumbled across the ground.


    He quickly swung his arm and used the Authority of des but nothing came out because he was out of demonic energy. His arm hit nothing as he swung it in the air.


    "<i>Huff, huff!</i>"


    Kang-Woo bared his teeth ferociously as he looked down at Sabnak, who was struggling in pain with his hands on his head. He failed to make Sabnak and the Hellhound kill each other, but he at least seeded in making Sabnak use all of his strength.


    <i>''In that case, I can take care of the finishing blow.''</i>


    "W-Wai¡ª"


    "DIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"


    Bash!!


    Kang-Woo swung down the rock on Sabnak''s head again. His palm split from the impact simr to hammering steel, but he ignored it.


    "DIE!!! DIE!!!!"


    Kang-Woo''s head heated up, and sparks ran throughout his body as ck blood sttered on his cheeks.


    "Kekeke!"


    He was bursting withughter for some reason.


    "Pfft!! Kehehehehehehehe!!!"


    The ecstasy was melting his brain. Seeing Sabnak''s head bing mush each time Kang-Woo smashed the rock down couldn''t make him happier.


    "BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! YEAH!!! DIE!!! DIE, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!"


    Kang-Woo''s vision blurred. He could no longer feel pain from his severed left arm, the thirst burning his throat, or the hunger tearing his stomach apart anymore. All he could feel was the screams echoing in his head.


    "Kurgh, guh... krrrk!"


    Sabnak''s face caved in, and one of his eyeballs popped out. Kang-Woo grabbed it and yanked it out. More hideous screams echoed in his head.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"


    Kang-Woo grabbed Sabnak''s head and smashed it into the rocky ground with all his might, but it only dealt next to no injuries.


    <i>Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!</i>


    If once wasn''t enough, he would do it twice. If twice wasn''t enough, he would do it thrice.


    "Kurgh! S-Stop¡ª"


    Kang-Woo smashed Sabnak''s head into the ground until his head was split open.


    <i>Crack!</i>


    "..."


    Brain matter flowed out of Sabnak''s head atst.


    "<i>Huff! Huff! Huff! Huff!</i>" Kang-Woo panted heavily and copsed.


    He did not have the time to relish in his victory.


    "A-Arghh."


    The ecstasy was once again reced by extreme hunger and thirst. Kang-Woo raised his head and looked around. The Hellhound and her baby''s corpses had already been reduced to ashes.


    "<i>Slurp!! Slurp¡ª!!!</i>"


    All he could drink at the moment was the ck blood flowing out from Sabnak''s cracked head.


    "<i>Slurp!!! Gulp!!!</i>"


    Kang-Woo crawled and licked the ck blood on the ground like a dog. The bitter taste of blood stimted his tongue.


    "<i>Huff! Huff! Huff!</i>"


    However, he couldn''t care less about how the liquid tasted as long as it quenched his thirst.


    "H-Hehehehehe!!!"


    The blood moistened Kang-Woo''s dry throat. He was invigorated with energy, iparable to when he drank his own urine.


    "More, more, more, more."


    He couldn''t be satisfied with just blood. Kang-Woo grabbed Sabnak''s body with his right hand and bit into Sabnak''s throat.


    "<i>Munch! Munch! Krrrk! Munch!!</i>"


    It was bitter and had the texture of rubber, but it was almost a blessing for Kang-Woo, who had not eaten anything for the past three days. Kang-Woo frantically devoured the demon''s flesh until he could feel his intestines were full.


    "Huh...?"


    Just then, he realized he could feel his left hand that should have been severed.


    "Wh-What the hell?"


    Kang-Woo looked down at his left hand in disbelief. The hand that had been severed by Sabnak''s de had regenerated before he realized it. No, that was not all there was to it.


    "H-Huh?"


    He was brimming with power. His muscles had swelled, and his body felt light. He was in far better conditionpared to when he first ended up here.


    "What in the...."


    Kang-Woo closed and opened his left fist iprehensibly.


    <i>Schwing!!</i>


    "What the¡ª?! Th-That scared me!!!"


    His hand split and a ck de shot out all of a sudden.


    "This is... the de that the demon used."


    Kang-Woo turned to look down at Sabnak''s corpse, which he had been frantically devouring.


    "..."


    He had no idea why but his injuries healed once he ate the demon and even gained his ability to conjure des.


    "Haaa, haaa. Am I able to take the powers... of monsters I eat?"


    Kang-Woo had no idea, but he was sure of one thing.


    "I... survived."


    He had survived these nightmarish monsters.


    "H-Haha."


    Kang-Woo flopped on the ground. He couldn''t feel the thirst and hunger driving him mad anymore. He didn''t know why but his injuries were gone, and he was brimming with power iparable to when he first fell in here.


    "Yeah... I''m gonna survive. In this fucking ce... for sure."


    A glimmer of hope shone in Kang-Woo''s eyes. He would survive. He would stay alive no matter what until he returned to Earth.


    "Yeah, I''m gonna go b¡ª Ah."


    Only after looking up at the sky did he realize the burning red sky had turned dark.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    One day had passed. He drank his own urine, risked his life to look for food in the rocky region, smeared Hellhound poop all over himself, used it to lure the wolves, infiltrated the Hellhound''s nest while the Hellhound was busy fighting the wolves, met a demon, got his arm severed, lured the Hellhound back to her nest, killed the demon who suffered a critical wound from his battle against the Hellhound, and devoured his flesh and blood¡ª


    All in only one day.


    "I''m... going back. I''m sure... there''s a way... back."


    Kang-Woo''s hands shivered.


    "Yeah, it won''t take long... just a little longer... yeah. I should be able to go back... in just a few days."


    Kang-Woo slowly stood up. He lifted the demon''s corpse he had yet to finish eating over his shoulder and staggered as he walked away. His fourth night in Hell fell as he mumbled to himself that he''d be able to get out of this Hell soon.


    And... 3,649,996 more nights remained until he could return.

 Side Story Chapter 103 - Demon King of Pandemonium (1)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 103 - Demon King of Pandemonium (1)</h4>


    "Kang-Woo!!! Wake up, Kang-Woo!!!"


    A voice echoed in Oh Kang-Woo''s head. He woke up as if he were being pulled out by the voice, filled with worry and anxiety. It felt like he had resurfaced from deep water.


    "Urpp!! Bleeeeegghhh!!"


    He instinctively turned to the ground and vomited as soon as he regained consciousness.


    "K-Kang-Woo!!!"


    Han Seol-Ah ced a hand on Kang-Woo''s back as she teared up. He could feel her soft and gentle touch through his clothes.


    "Hey!! Are you okay, Oh Kang-Woo?!"


    "Calm down and step back, both of you. You''re making the king ufortable."


    Kang-Woo also heard Cha Yeon-Joo and Lilith''s voices. Seol-Ah and Yeon-Joo took their hands off Kang-Woo as Lilith said.


    "<i>Huff, huff, huff!</i>"


    Kang-Woo panted heavily with his hands on the ground. He felt dizzy, and his vision was distorted. The fragments of his memory that had torn his brain apart until just now were making his brain throb.


    "A-Arghhh."


    Kang-Woo turned around as he trembled. He saw Seol-Ah in confusion, not knowing what to do. He quickly stretched out his arms and embraced her tightly.


    "H-Huh? K-Kang-Woo?"


    "..."


    The crying Seol-Ah became wide-eyed from suddenly being embraced. Kang-Woo did not answer her and stretched his arm toward Yeon-Joo to embrace her as well.


    "Wh-What the hell are you doing first thing you wake up?!"


    Yeon-Joo let herself be embraced despite shouting. Kang-Woo stretched out his other hand.


    "Fufu, you don''t have to be so desperate, my king." Lilith grabbed Kang-Woo''s hand and embraced him from behind. She gently whispered, "Your Lilith is right here."


    Kang-Woo''s chaotic mind calmed down a little from Lilith''s sweet voice.


    " A little bit..." he muttered with the three women in his arms. "Let me stay like this for a little bit."


    "..."


    "..."


    The three women nodded in silence and either caressed Kang-Woo''s head or hugged his arms tightly. Their warmth traveled into Kang-Woo. He could feel the darkness shrouding his consciousness being lifted.


    <i>''Fuck.'' </i>Kang-Woo suppressed his curses. <i>''So this is what you call a trauma.''</i>


    It was his memory of falling into Hell for the first time and his wretched fourth day there.


    "..."


    Kang-Woo remained silent. The trauma did not end with just that day; every day in Hell was a nightmare and filled with wretched battles. His life in Hell shed before his eyes. Of course, he did not remember every memory of the ten millennia he spent there, but the especially horrifying days were amplified and reyed in his head.


    <i>''I did my best to forget them.''</i>


    The des made from his memories tore him apart. Kang-Woo swept back his hair drenched in sweat.


    "Huuu... I''m okay now."


    Kang-Woo caught his breath and backed away from the three women. Just like how it was with nightmares, the fragments of his memories quickly disappeared not long after he woke up.


    "How long was I out?"


    He felt like he had been asleep for years.


    "For a day," answered Lilith as she wiped Kang-Woo''s mouth with a handkerchief.


    "A day..."


    Kang-Woo let out a hollowughter. He couldn''t believe it had only been one day.


    "Are you sure you''re okay, Kang-Woo?"


    Seol-Ah grabbed Kang-Woo''s hand in worry.


    "Yeah. I''m fine now, Darling. When did you wake up?"


    "The three of us woke up after about an hour."


    "Ngh."


    It seemed like he was the only one who slept in.


    "What exactly did you remember?" asked Yeon-Joo cautiously.


    "Well, I mean... things." Kang-Woo avoided answering and clicked his tongue.


    He had nowhere hear enough time to tell her everything he went through in the Nine Hells.


    "Sigh..." Yeon-Joo softly sighed and lightly pinched Kang-Woo''s nk. "You''d better tell this noona everythingter, got it?"


    "Why? Are you curious?"


    Kang-Woo smiled yfully and stared at her. Yeon-Joo''s cheeks turned as red as her hair.


    "N-No! I''m not curious!! I-I mean... well..." she stuttered as she averted her gaze from Kang-Woo. Her lips quivered as she twisted around, and she then answered quietly, "We''re not m-married yet, but... our rtionship is close enough, isn''t it? Yeah, and s-spouses shouldn''t keep any secrets from each other! Yeah!"


    Her expression looked like she was dying of embarrassment. Kang-Woo''s eyes widened. His heart almost stopped.


    "Kaaaaaaahhh!! You''re so goddamn cute, Yeon-Joo noona!!"


    "Arghh!! Wh-What the hell are you doing, dammit?!"


    Kang-Woo embraced Yeon-Joo and kissed her repeatedly. She was cursing and swinging her fists in his embrace, but Kang-Woo couldn''t find her any cuter.


    "Hehehe! You''re right, we may not have had the wedding yet, but we''re practically spouses! Yeah, yeah!"


    The disturbing memories melted away before Kang-Woo realized it and were reced by an irresistible impulse. He went beyond kissing her cheek and sucked it.


    "Y-You crazy fucker!!! Let go!! Let go of me!!!"


    Yeon-Joo screamed as she cursed and kicked Kang-Woo, but he paid it no mind and added more strength to his arms, embracing her. Seol-Ah and Lilith stared intently at them and narrowed their eyes.


    "I wonder if Yeon-Joo''s doing that on purpose?"


    "Hmm, who knows? It doesn''t look like it. I think she just has a talent for it."


    Stimting the desires of men with natural cunning charms¡ª it was truly a frightening talent if it was not through careful calctions.


    "Sh-Should I curse like Yeon-Joo too?" Seol-Ah asked with shining eyes.


    "Fufu. Why don''t you give it a try?" Lilith smiled faintly.


    Seol-Ah clenched her fists and nodded.


    "K-Kang-Woo!"


    "Yeah?"


    "M-Motherfxxker!!"


    "Huh? What''s with you all of a sudden?"


    "Fxxking Bxxxh! Dipsxxt!"


    "The hell?"


    <i>''What''s with all the X''s? Are we X-Men now?''</i>


    "Wh-What''s wrong, Darling?" Kang-Woo stared at Seol-Ah in confusion.


    "Urgh..." Seol-Ah''s shoulders drooped in dejection after not getting the reaction she had hoped. "Cursing at Kang-Woo... I-I can''t do it!"


    "You just did a ton."


    Kang-Woo stared at Lilith in exasperation and pointed at Seol-Ah as if telling Lilith to exin what was going on.


    "Hohoho, isn''t our Seol-Ah rather lovely as well?"


    She shrugged and embraced Seol-Ah with a wide smile.


    "I mean, she sure is, but..." Kang-Woo sighed as he stared at Seol-Ah, still unable to understand. He then looked around and asked, "That aside, where''s Horos?"


    Lilith pointed at a part of the hallway and said, "Way~ over there."


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Horos was hugging his knees and trembling in pallor. Tears were dripping from his eye the size of a pumpkin.


    "What trauma did you see?" Kang-Woo asked in curiosity.


    Horos looked up at Kang-Woo in pallor and shouted, "P-Please spare me!!! Please!!!"


    <i>''The fuck''s with you all of a sudden?''</i>


    "I won''t resist anymore! Please!! Please don''t bash my head in as you scream weird things!!!"


    <i>''Oh.''</i>


    "Did you... see me as your trauma?" Kang-Woo asked.


    Horos ferociously nodded.


    "Oh, umm... Well... sorry about that."


    "<i>Sniff¡ª!</i> I-I was so scared!"


    "I won''t do anything to you as long as you listen to me, so don''t worry."


    Horos was far more useful than Kang-Woo expected. He could examine ces that Kang-Woo couldn''t even detect with the Authority of the Beholder and he was also very knowledgeable about Pandemonium.


    <i>''I was gonna eat him once we entered the Corridor, but...''</i>


    Kang-Woo still had a use for him.


    "<i>Sniff...</i> R-Really?"


    "Yeah, of course."


    His looks aside, Horos followed orders well and was rather decent personality-wise.


    "Right, shall we get back to it?"


    They had fallen behind by one day because Kang-Woo woke up toote. Horos nodded and stood up.


    "Just straight down, right?" Kang-Woo asked.


    "Y-Yes."


    "Let''s go." Kang-Woo took the lead and the party went down a long flight of stairs. "Is this all there is to it? This isn''t what I had in mind for a ce called the Corridor of Trials."


    Kang-Woo wasn''t one to talk when he was the slowest to wake up, but considering even Horos woke up without issues, the Corridor of Trials did not seem very difficult despite its grandiose name.


    "I''ve heard there remains something called the Trial of the Demonic Sword at the deepest point of the corridor," Horos replied.


    "Trial of the Demonic Sword?"


    "Yes. That trial is likely the most dangerous and difficult in this ancient dungeon."


    "What kind of trial would a sword give, though?"


    Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion.


    Horos exined, "They say Demonic Sword Midir is imbued with the soul of a powerful ancient demonic dragon. If you aren''t acknowledged by the demonic dragon, you go insane and die."


    "The demonic sword is an Ego Sword?"


    Kang-Woo''s eyes shone. Ego Swords were powerful weaponsmonly seen in fantasy tropes.


    <i>''Come to think of it, Ingrium also had an ego.''</i>


    The demonic sword that betrayed Kang-Woo also flew around ording to his will.


    "Then the chances of the Demon King running with the relic should be pretty low."


    Since it was a trial given by a ten-star relic, Kang-Woo was sure even the Demon King of Pandemonium would have a hard time.


    "I... can''t give you a clear answer on that." Horos shook his giant eye for a head. "Although Demonic Sword Midir is one of the most powerful relics that exist in the Tower... I believe the Demon King would pass its trial without much difficulty considering the legendary feats he has shown in Pandemonium."


    "I see."


    It meant they did not have time to waste. They needed to reach the end of the corridor as soon as possible to prevent the Demon King of Pandemonium from getting away with the relic.


    "Let''s go."


    The group quickened their steps. There were a few things that looked like traps on their way, but like the others, they were inactive, likely because the Demon King ahead of the group destroyed them. They reached the end of the corridor soon after and saw thick darkness engulfing the surroundings like a swamp.


    "Who... are you people?"


    Within the darkness was the Demon King.

 Side Story Chapter 104 - Demon King of Pandemonium (2)

    <h4>Side Story Chapter 104 - Demon King of Pandemonium (2)</h4>


    "<i>PEEEEEEEP!!</i> I-It''s the Demon King!!! It''s really him!!!" Horos trembled in shock. "P-Please spare me!!! Please!!! I was dragged here by that human against my will!!! Please, spare my life, my king¡ª!!!"


    "..."


    <i>Bash!</i>


    Oh Kang-Woo smacked the screaming Horos on the head and looked forward with his head tilted.


    "That''s the Demon King?"


    A young man was standing in the middle of the ck swamp. The Demon King of Pandemonium had ck hair that reached his waist, pale skin, a well-defined jawline, and a sharp nose, giving him a slight unisex feel.


    "Sheesh, the fuck?" Kang-Woo expressed. "He''s handsome as fuck."


    He was almost on par with Kim Si-Hun.


    "But doesn''t he look a little too human to be the king of demons?"


    His entric outfit aside, the Demon King of Pandemonium could even be mistaken for a human.


    Lilith giggled and said, "Hohoho. You''re not one to talk, are you, my king?"


    "I guess so."


    In Kang-Woo''s case, he was a human turned into a demon. However, it was fascinating to see since that was likely not true for the Demon King of Pandemonium.


    Just then, Horos blinked as he shouted at Kang-Woo, "Wh-What are you talking about?! The king used to be human, so, of course, he looks like one!"


    "What...?" Kang-Woo''s eyes widened. "The Demon King of Pandemonium... used to be a human?"


    "<i>Peep!!</i> Why are you asking something that even children know?!" Horos shouted in frustration. "The Demon King of Pandemonium, Oh Hyun-Seong, is a legendary being who fell into Pandemonium ten millennia ago and rose to be the Demon King!! Everyone in the Tower knows this!!!"


    "..."


    Kang-Woo''s mouth was left agape.


    <i>''The hell?''</i> He stared at the ck-haired man in disbelief. <i>''He''s human too? And he even fell into Pandemonium ten millennia ago?''</i>


    Kang-Woo couldn''t help butugh.


    <i>''Are our Earths parallel worlds for real?''</i>


    It was too simr to call it a coincidence.


    "Wait a second..."


    Just then, something popped into Kang-Woo''s head.


    <i>''If that guy really is a parallel version of me...''</i>


    There was a possibility that the Demon King of Pandemonium could possess the Demonic Sea as well.


    Riiing.


    [No, Sir Guardian Deity. That demon does not possess the Demonic Sea.] A blue message window popped up. [The world where the Tower of Creation exists is but an outer world. It is not parallel to Earth.]


    "Then what about him?"


    Kang-Woo gestured with his chin at the Demon King of Pandemonium standing aloof in the middle of the ck swamp. There were too many simrities between the two Demon Kings who were once human.


    "Just look at him. We practically look the same!"


    [Do you have any shame, Sir Guardian Deity?]


    <i>''Fuck. Alright, fine. He''s just slightly more handsome than me by a near-negligible amount. As small as the hair on an ant''s ass¡ª''</i>


    [You''re getting more and more unsightly, Sir Guardian Deity. (£þ(?)£þ)]


    "Shaddup."


    <i>''Darling says I''m the most handsome man in the world.''</i>


    "Seriously though, how can it be possible if it''s not a parallel world?"


    It couldn''t be passed off as a mere coincidence.


    [The world where the Tower of Creation exists could have been influenced by the Triad because of their proximity. However, it is not as symmetrical as a parallel world.]


    "Hmm."


    Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and swiped the message aside. He still found it hard to ept but decided not to think too deeply about it.


    <i>''That''s not important right now.''</i>


    It was enough knowing that the Demon King of Pandemonium did not have the Demonic Sea.


    "Who is that human who keeps talking to himself?"


    "Hmph, he dares act disrespectfully in front of Master Hyun-Seong."


    Two women, one with red hair and the other with blue hair, rose from within the Demon King Oh Hyun-Seong''s shadow. They couldn''tpare to Han Seol-Ah, but they were considerably beautiful. The Two women frowned in displeasure as they red at Kang-Woo.


    "No." Hyun-Seong slowly shook his head. "That is not a human."


    His eyes, as dark as obsidian, gazed at Kang-Woo as if looking into him.


    "Pardon?"


    "Not human?"


    The two women examined Kang-Woo in surprise.


    "Oh?" Kang-Woo''s eyes shone with interest as he stared at Hyun-Seong. "Looks like you have a good eye."


    It was quite surprising, considering Kang-Woo was concealing his demonic energy using his Trait <i>Ruler of Demonic Energy</i>.


    "Who are you...? I have never heard about a human who became a demon in Pandemonium other than me," Hyun-Seong asked coldly.


    It seemed like he even figured out Kang-Woo went through the same thing as him.


    "Oh, uhhh... I''m..." Kang-Woo slurred troublingly.


    Since the Demon King of Pandemonium did not know about the existence of the Nine Hells, it would be difficult to exin that Kang-Woo was a Demon King of another world.


    <i>''What should I do?''</i>


    As Kang-Woo was staring at the Demon King of Pandemonium as he thought about what to do, he noticed the sword in his hand.


    "Oh."


    The sword was gleaming with dark blue light, emitting energy so immense that anyone could tell it was no ordinary sword.


    "A-Aaaahh."


    Kang-Woo realized it.


    "Yeah."


    He shivered from the sparks running throughout his body. They started from two different worlds, but they both started from the weakest in Hell and fought their way to the top for ten grueling millennia. Their worlds were not parallel, ording to Eve, but that didn''t matter.


    "I''m sure of it. This is..."


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists. Something hot was surging from deep inside his heart. His heart beat uncontrobly, and he could barely contain his impulses.


    "This is... undoubtedly...¡¾Love for Humanity¡¿... No, NO!!!"


    It was more apt to call it¡¾Comradeship¡¿!!!


    "What...?"


    "Ahhh!!! Yes!!! Why did I not realize it from the moment I saw you?!!"


    Kang-Woo stomped his foot as if scolding his moronic self. The nightmarishly wretched memories of his days in Hell brought up at the Corridor of Trials filled his head again. No one else could understand his lone struggle.


    "I am... the only one who truly understands you."


    "...?"


    "The only one who can understand your pain!!! The only one who can sympathize with your despair!!! The only one who can share your tears!!!"


    "What in the world are you talking about?"


    "YES!!!"


    <i>Boom¡ª!!!</i>


    Kang-Woo smashed his foot into the ground, his expression filled with passion. The darkness lingering in the ck swamp pulsed. Kang-Woo walked toward Hyun-Seong with his arms out wide.


    "I AM YOUR¡¾FRIEND¡¿!!!"


    Although they were from different worlds, they shared the same experiences and felt the same despair when they fell into Hell for the first time. They smeared poop on themselves to survive and barely survived by eating the flesh of demons. Kang-Woo and Hyun-Seong were likely the only two who could sympathize with each other in the entire universe. Hence, they could call each other friends despite meeting for the first time today.


    "Are you insane?"


    Hyun-Seong frowned as he red at Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo grabbed his chest and swayed as if his feelings were hurt.


    "H-Hyun-Seong!!! How could you be so harsh toward your friend?!!"


    <i>''I''m heartbroken!!! I think only a relic could piece my heart back together!!!''</i>


    "Are you saying... we''re friends because we''re both humans who turned into demons?" Hyun-Seong stared at Kang-Woo in exasperation.


    Kang-Woo nodded passionately and eximed, "Yes!! That''s exactly it!!! We''ve experienced the same pain and despair!! We''re the only two people in the world who can understand each other!!!"


    "..."


    "You are my friend!! Whatever you say, we are friends!!"


    Kang-Woo clenched his fists and approached Hyun-Seong.


    "How dare you?!"


    "You will not take a step further!"


    The two women who appeared from Hyun-Seong''s shadow charged at Kang-Woo angrily. Kang-Woo lightly flicked his finger at the two women.


    <i>Bang!!!</i>


    "KYAAAAAAAAHH!!"


    A wave of demonic energy spread from where Kang-Woo flicked his finger. The two women were blown back by the wave.


    "..." Hyun-Seong''s eyes shone. He nced at the two women who were blown back and looked back at Kang-Woo in surprise. "It looks like you have the skill to back up your insanity."


    The spread of the wave was instantaneous but he could feel the power in the demonic energy through his skin.


    Hyun-Seong continued, "But you chose the wrong opponent."


    The demon would be no match for him.


    "Friend... a friend, huh?"


    It had been a while since he heard that word. Hyun-Seong chuckled faintly and stared at Kang-Woo.


    "Very well. Let us be friends."


    Hyun-Seong had never seen a human who became a demon other than himself. He was brimming with curiosity.


    "Nice!! Okay!! Awesome!!! We''re best friends from today, Hyun-Seong!!" Kang-Woo fearlessly ced his arm around Hyun-Seong''s shoulders and danced. "Oh, but Hyun-Seong. You hurt my feelings a lot earlier."


    It was too harsh to call one''s friend insane. Kang-Woo, who had never once cursed in his life nor had the thought to, was heartbroken.


    "I tend to get super angry andsh out whenever my feelings are hurt."


    "What are you trying to say?"


    "And it turns out you have something that can cure my heartbreak!" Kang-Woo patted Hyun-Seong''s shoulder with a smile. "Hyun-Seong. Friends are supposed to share everything."


    Kang-Woo passionately stared at Hyun-Seong.


    "So¡ª" he continued. "Let me borrow that relic you have in your hand."


    "What...?"


    "I''ll give it back in a sh, yeah? Just for a little bit."


    "..."


    "Come on~ what''s with that face? I just need to use it for something and give it back. Or is it that you don''t trust your best friend?"


    Kang-Woo stuck out his tongue, put his thumb on the tip of his tongue, and his pinky on his forehead[1].


    "See, look. I swear on my mom!!!"


    <i>''Though I don''t have one.''</i>


    "..."


    "Come on, what? You still don''t believe me? Hah! Fine!! I swear on my dad too!!! I swear on his name and honor that I''ll give it back in just a second!!"


    <i>''My dad is a great man. I should know; I killed him.''</i>


    "I''ll be really upset if you don''t let me borrow it even after all that, okay?"


    Kang-Woo gripped Hyun-Seong''s shoulder harder.


    1. This is a gesture used in Korea basically used to show that you swear you''re not lying. It''s called ??, which is an abbreviation for "If I break this promise, my mom is a prostitute." ?


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