After Ten Millennia in Hell

"Kurgh!"

A huge impact shook the vault once again.

Zhuge Xian tried to maintain his balance in the middle of the shaking vault. Then he bit his lip and went to the room where he controlled his sorcery.

'Damn.'

He frowned.

Had he jinxed it? He'd never imagined that the Demon of Prophecy would actually invade the vault.

'Don't tell me…'

Zhuge Xian frowned.

The faces of the two new members whom he'd seen earlier today crossed his mind. The timing was too perfect to call it a simple coincidence.

"This isn't the time for that."

Zhuge Xian shook his head. He had other things to focus on.

"Fuuu."

He took a deep breath and quickly regained composure after trembling for only a short while.

Zhuge Xian entered the control room where he controlled every single spell cast within the vault. He sat down in a large chair and reached for the control device.

"The Demon of Prophecy, huh?"

Zhuge Xian gulped and moved his fingers in excitement.

'Even if you're a monster…'

He wasn't planning to let the Demon of Prophecy do as he wished.

Grace hadn't been exaggerating when she'd said that even the Demon of Prophecy wouldn't dare to do as he liked in the vault. The entire vault was under the control of Zhuge Xian's sorcery. He'd cast dozens of different spells to protect it. In the context of war, it was as if the enemy forces were rushing toward a fortress that had a massive wall riddled with cannons.

According to Zhuge Xian's calculations, not even the Demon of Prophecy would be able to do as he wished here.

"First off…"

Before starting, there was something he had to do. Zhuge Xian grabbed a transparent orb while putting on his mask.

[Requesting immediate backup.]

Leaving his confidence behind, the most important thing was telling Gaia about the situation. He could stall for time with his sorcery while waiting for support.

'No…'

A smile appeared on his face.

'If everything goes well, I could even defeat the Demon of Prophecy. '

Zhuge Xian searched the surrounding area with sorcery, but it didn't seem like the Demon of Prophecy had brought any reinforcements with him. This meant that Satan had decided to attack the vault alone.

Seeing as the Demon of Prophecy had jumped into the enemy's territory alone, it might just be a golden opportunity for Zhuge Xian.

Riiing.

[An unknown energy is surrounding the vault. The backup request has been hindered.]

"Damn."

All of Zhuge Xian's excitement disappeared, and he anxiously bit his lip. He slowly reread the message window that had appeared in front of his eyes.

'The message isn't being blocked.'

It was being hindered.

That meant that if he made the Demon of Prophecy exhaust his power, he might be able to weaken the energy surrounding the vault.

'I guess I have no choice but to fight.'

Zhuge Xian put on the headgear that he used to control his sorcery from the control room. The situation outside entered his field of vision; it was as if he were playing a VR game.

The combination of sorcery and headgear didn't seem like it would work well together, but the synergy between them was better than imagined.

'Those narrow-minded geezers would never understand.'

Sorcery had been passed down in the Zhuge Family before the Day of Calamity. As the heir, Zhuge Xian had learned sorcery ever since he was a child. He possessed a talent for sorcery like no other, so he did not stop at simply learning the sorcery passed down between generations and instead tried combining sorcery and modern science. The sorcerers in his family criticized his decision to combine sorcery and modern science, but that didn't stop him.

"Let's begin."

Zhuge Xian placed his hands on the keyboard while wearing the headgear.

He had created this sorcery device using modern science after much research. The power of the device far surpassed that of regular sorcery.

[System Activated. Defense level set to 2.]

"Not enough. Raise it to four."

[Correction. Adjusting defense level to 4.]

Zhuge Xian quickly moved his hands in tandem with the robotic voice. Typing sounds filled the control room.

'Here he comes.'

The demon in the red mask began to move.

Tap. Tap. The demon moved slowly and relaxed as if he were taking a stroll in a park.

Zhuge Xian frowned.

"So, you're going to act all relaxed, huh?"

He didn't like it. His hands moved swiftly.

"Let's see how long you can maintain that attitude."

[Commencing intruder banishment.]

Two magic circles appeared around the demon. They rose upward and poured down a stream of fire on him. However, the flames bounced away from the shroud of darkness and spewed all over the floor.

The demon continued advancing.

Then an ice spear emerged from a third magic circle and flew toward the demon.

Smash!

The demon lightly waved his hand and shattered the ice spear.

The floor split, and rocks were flung up from the ground. The demon stomped on the ground, destroying the floor along with the soaring rocks.

The demon didn't stop there.

Then thirty-seven magic circles lit up. Rays of light poured down on the demon like a rainstorm. The demon lightly flicked his finger, and all of the rays of light were vaporized.

Sixty-four magic circles appeared and caused a huge explosion. An ear-splitting noise and pieces of debris spread out in all directions. However, the demon walked out of the cloud of dust, unfazed, and the darkness surrounding him remained undisturbed.

The demon just kept going.

"Adjust defense level to five."

Beads of cold sweat dripped from Zhuge Xian's forehead. His typing speed increased.

[Adjusting defense level to 5.]

Rumble!

A partition wall next to the vault opened. Golems emitting a blue light flooded out and charged toward the demon.

The demon lowered his posture, drooping down his arms to his sides. He then stretched them outward like unfurling wings.

Crack!

Black blades rose from the ground and pierced the golems. All of the golems were destroyed in a single attack.

"Adjust defense level to six."

[Adjusting defense level to 6.]

172 magic circles appeared and surrounded the demon, shining at him simultaneously. A black wave surged out from the demon, and the wedges of light exploded.

"Fuuu, fuuu."

Zhuge Xian's breath became heavier. He was typing as if he was about to destroy the keyboard.

The wedges of light that poured in all directions hit each other and merged, creating a glorious sight. They formed a spear of light over thirty meters long.

'And then…'

He added illusions on top of that. Dozens more light spears appeared. Only one was real, but those who weren't specialized in sorcery wouldn't be able to tell which one it was.

Spears of light flew at the demon.

'You won't be able to block these.'

Zhuge Xian was sure of it.

BOOM!!

A huge explosion shook the Grand Canyon. The rock wall crumbled, forming a dust cloud.

"What the…"

Zhuge Xian saw the demon grabbing the real light spear. The demon had been able to pick out the real one from among the dozens of illusions.

Snap!

The giant light spear cracked, shattering into pieces.

Zhuge Xian couldn't see the demon's expression due to the mask, but he was sure that the demon was smiling.

"Huff! Huff!"

He breathed heavily from his overuse of sorcery. Warm blood dripped out of his nose, ran down his lips, and into his mouth.

"A-Adjust defense level to seven."

[Adjusting defense level to maximum. Activating 'Sword of Protec—']

Crush!

Before the system message could finish, the partition wall of the control room was torn down. The demon in the red mask emerged through the broken wall.

Zhuge Xian shuddered, uttering, "M-Monster."

He trembled. ‘Monster' was the only word he could think of.

[How dare you compare me to a mere monster?] the demon in the red mask said quietly. [Did you really believe you could stop me with that toy?]

The demon extended his hand. A huge pulling force dragged Zhuge Xian toward him.

"Kurgh!"

[Remember this, human.]

The demon fixed his aggressive gaze on Zhuge Xian.

[I am death, I am the end. I am the father of all wrath, and I am wrath itself.]

The mask twisted.

[I am Satan.]

After the demon finished saying that, Zhuge Xian lost consciousness.

* * *

"...What?" Gaia uttered with a trembling voice.

The tableware she held in her hand fell to the ground, and her other hand, which was holding the communication orb, shook.

"What's wrong?" Kim Si-Hun asked while making a worried expression.

Gaia had been having a good time eating dinner in Kang-Woo's home. However, her expression darkened after she answered a call through the orb.

Oh Kang-Woo's, Grace McCubbin's, and Han Seol-Ah's expressions hardened upon seeing Gaia's sudden change in demeanor.

"Th-The vault… was attacked."

"Attacked? Was it the Demon Cult?" Kang-Woo asked in a hurried voice.

Gaia answered with a pale face, "The one who attacked the vault was… Satan."

"...What?"

Everyone was astonished.

Kang-Woo's, Si-Hun's, and Grace's mouths fell open at the unexpected development of events. It was shocking that Satan had attacked the vault. Despite how ridiculous it might sound, they had never imagined that Satan would actually take action himself.

"S-Satan?!" Si-Hun exclaimed in shock and grabbed Gaia's shoulders.

Gaia bit her lip and nodded. "...Yes. He invaded the vault an hour ago and took all of the seeds that we had collected."

"Kuh!" Si-Hun hurriedly got up. Then he turned to Kang-Woo. "Hyung-nim!"

"Let's go," Kang-Woo said with a nod, getting up as well.

Si-Hun opened a gate that led toward the Hall of Protection, with Grace and Gaia following him.

Kang-Woo walked behind them.

'Good.'

The Authority of Cloning had done its job well.

Of course, the Satan that had invaded the vault wasn't his clone. There was no way that a clone he'd created with an Authority would be powerful enough to destroy Guardians' vault. A clone could only do simple tasks like eating and talking.

"Haha," Kang-Woo laughed lightly.

Yes… his clone could only do simple tasks like eating or talking.

'With this…'

He'd obtained the Rift Seeds that had been collected from all over the world and gained the perfect alibi proving that he wasn't Satan.

Kang-Woo's clone followed Si-Hun, Gaia, and Grace through the Gate and disappeared.