After Ten Millennia in Hell

There was an explosion of golden energy, and a brilliant light illuminated the entire area as if the sun had descended on the surface.

"A-Aaahhh."

With the golden energy covering his entire body, Reynald slowly tried to get up.

- Get up, Reynald.

"Lord Tirion…"

It wasn't hard to imagine what that energy was.

Reynald's expression darkened. The fact that he had been rendered helpless against an enemy's cowardly tactic weighed down on his shoulders.

- Raise your head, my child.

He could hear Tirion's magnificent and firm voice in his mind.

Reynald trembled while saying, "I'm sorry. I made a mistake…"

- You raised your sword to save a little girl. How could you call that righteous will a mistake?

"Aahhh." Reynald clenched Del Lain tighter. "Thank you, Lord Tirion."

- Huhu. I am proud of you, my child.

"I'm also honored to be able to serve you, Lord Tirion."

Strength returned to Reynald's weak legs. He staggered for a few steps, but he was ultimately able to stand back up. An explosive amount of strength spread through his body.

"It seems Vaal Zahak has acquired even greater power by becoming Satan's subordinate."

- Satan. Are they a being that's similar to the Evil God Lucifer?

Reynald nodded. "I have my suspicions of who Satan is."

- Who?

"There was a demon who was trying to make a demonic dragon his retainer when I first came to this world."

He retraced his memories. Vaal Zahak’s cowardly tactic reminded him of how that demon had fought.

It wasn't just that…

The energy that Reynald felt from Vaal Zahak’s attacks was similar to that demon's.

'I'm certain of it.'

He recalled the demon's face. The demon was a young man with sharp eyes. Although he looked like a human, his true identity was that of an evil demon.

- We cannot let him be, then.

"Yes. To protect this world, we have to eliminate Satan no matter what."

- Huhu. To do that, you cannot afford to fall here.

"Of course."

- I will lend you my power. Although the price I must pay is high… I am willing to pay it for you, my child.

"Thank you very much."

Reynald nodded and smiled.

Then he raised Del Lain. He could see that Vaal Zahak was still holding that little girl.

"Put your faith in the light!" Reynald shouted.

A golden light poured out of Del Lain.

Due to Vaal Zahak’s cowardly tactic of holding a hostage, Reynald had let the fight be a one-sided beat down. However, the situation had changed now that he'd received Tirion's power.

The light that poured out of Del Lain protected the little girl.

Vaal Zahak's gaze wavered.

Boom!

Reynald stomped on the ground, producing an enormous impact that destroyed the rocks around the area. An insane amount of power filled his body, and he shot forward so fast that it looked like he had been stretched. Reynald reached Vaal Zahak in an instant and swung Del Lain at his head.

[Kuh!]

Vaal Zahak quickly used magic, and a barrier made of black demonic energy appeared in front of him.

Baaaam!

[Kurgh!]

Del Lain struck the barrier, destroying it with just one attack. Vaal Zahak was violently flung backward.

"Are you okay?"

Reynald held the girl that Vaal Zahak had taken hostage.

The girl's expression became distorted.

Reynald put his hand on her cheek while making a worried expression.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked.

"N-No…"

The girl avoided looking at him. There was a sense of hesitation in her eyes.

- Do not take any action without Master's order.

- I know.

She heard Vaal Zahak tell her telepathically. Echidna nodded with a frown.

"I'm glad… Truly."

Reynald looked like he was about to cry from his accomplishment of having saved the little girl.

A handsome blonde young man covered with golden light was holding a beautiful little girl in his arms. Death Knights were scattered about on the ground, and a Lich had collapsed on the ground. It looked like a scene out of a film at a glance, but of course, the reality of it was different.

'Where do you think you're touching?' Echidna chided inwardly.

She twisted her body and freed herself from his embrace.

Echidna felt revolted that Reynald had touched her.

'Kang-Woo…'

What she wanted wasn't some moron with superficial beauty. She couldn't stand the touch of anyone besides the man who had saved her from the unbearable mire that was solitude.

Nevertheless, she hadn't forgotten her role.

"Thank you… for saving me," Echidna said and bowed with blushed cheeks.

Reynald stood up while making a proud expression.

He replied, "Please wait here. It’ll all be over soon."

The power that Tirion had lent him only lasted for a short while. Once that time was up, both he and Tirion would have to pay the price.

'I have to eliminate Vaal Zahak before that.'

Reynald grabbed his sword. He stomped on the ground without hesitation and leaped toward Vaal Zahak.

Meanwhile, Echidna took the chance to contact Kang-Woo.

Her expression was stiff as she called out to him. "Kang-Woo, can you hear me?"

- Yeah.

"What should I do? Should I help Vaal Zahak?"

- No, stay as you are for now. Also, get away from there as far as possible and hide when I give you a signal.

"Okay."

Echidna did not object.

There was no need for her to doubt Kang-Woo's commands. She just had to follow them. That was her role.

Echidna cut the call with eyes full of trust.

* * *

"Goddammit," Kang-Woo cursed. Then he paused the spar with Kim Si-Hun. "Let's take a break."

"Huff! Huff! Understood, hyung-nim." Si-Hun nodded while panting heavily.

Although Si-Hun seemed tired, Kang-Woo hadn't even broken a sweat.

"I guess I'm still no match for you, hyung-nim."

Si-Hun averted his gaze while smiling bitterly in self-deprecation.

Kang-Woo lightly patted Si-Hun's shoulder and said, "Come on. What kind of hyung would I be if I let you catch up to me so quickly?"

"Hahaha. Just you wait. I'll catch up to you eventually."

"I'll be waiting," Kang-Woo replied with a smirk.

However, once he turned around, his expression darkened. He was still smiling on the outside, but that wasn't reflected at all on the inside.

'Fucking hell.'

Kang-Woo could see Vaal Zahak through his left eye.

The hostage plan had failed after Reynald powered up, and the situation had completely changed. The fight was still one-sided, but it was now Reynald who was overpowering Vaal Zahak. Vaal Zahak was holding on thanks to his magic, but it was clear that he would lose to Reynald soon.

'At this rate, I'll lose Vaal Zahak.'

Kang-Woo frowned. He couldn't let Reynald kill Vaal Zahak.

'I have no choice.'

As Kang-Woo raised his head, the gears of his mind turned quickly. His first plan had failed, but he had a backup plan.

'Although it's a bit dangerous.'

Considering the situation, he had no other choice.

Kang-Woo turned to Gaia and said, "Come to think of it, Reynald should've received his revelation by now."

"Ah, yes. Time flew by so quickly…"

"Let's have a listen to that revelation of his."

Kang-Woo went to Reynald's room with Gaia and Si-Hun, but of course, it was empty.

"Where did Reynald go?" Kang-Woo voiced while looking around.

"Have you heard anything from him?" Si-Hun asked Gaia after doing a quick search as well.

"No, I haven't," Gaia replied.

"Wait, hyung-nim."

Si-Hun pointed somewhere. The white floor had been hollowed. It wasn’t hard to deduce what had made that dent in the ground.

"There are traces of him going somewhere in a hurry," Si-Hun inferred.

"Wait, if that’s the case…"

Kang-Woo looked at the traces with a hardened expression and ran out while following the trail. The traces led them toward the room which contained the Gate that was connected with the Grand Canyon.

"Hyung-nim, this is…"

"Fuck!" Kang-Woo cursed.

"Wh-What happened?" Gaia asked with a trembling voice.

"The traces show that he went somewhere in a hurry after receiving the revelation."

"Then that means…"

Kang-Woo nodded. "Yes. Vaal Zahak… or maybe the Demon Cult, must have used some sort of trick to lure Reynald out."

"O-Oh, no…" Gaia uttered, trembling and turning pale.

Seeing that Reynald had run off by himself, the situation had to have been quite urgent. The thought that their new ally could disappear made Gaia anxious.

No, Reynald’s value did not stop at that of simply an ally. As an apostle of a god, he possessed great power and even the blessing of the god he served. Most importantly, thanks to his revelations, he would have been able to provide them with information about the Demon Cult. That was why the thought of losing him was horrifying to Gaia.

"I'll go ahead first," Kang-Woo said.

There was no time to hesitate.

Kang-Woo turned and stomped on the ground.

"Hyung-nim!"

"Take Gaia and follow me!"

After saying that, Kang-Woo crossed the Gate. He ran along the canyon at breakneck speed with all his might and the Authority of Haste. While running on the steep surface as effortlessly as if it were flat ground, Kang-Woo put on his Guardians mask.

As he could see Reynald with his left eye, Kang-Woo ran straight to the place where there was an explosion of golden energy.

"Reynald!!" Kang-Woo called out to Reynald urgently.

"Kang-Woo?"

Reynald was surprised by Kang-Woo's sudden appearance.

"Why did you come here by yourself without a word?!"

"I'm sorry. I had my reasons for not telling you all."

"Just what—"

"Vaal Zahak took someone hostage and lured me here." Reynald angrily pointed toward Vaal Zahak, who was on the floor. "An innocent girl was put in danger because of this cowardly demon, but… she's okay now. Thanks to Lord Tirion's blessing, I was able to keep her safe."

Reynald smiled and was about to turn around.

"Ngh."

However, he suddenly staggered instead.

The golden blessing that had been wrapped around him disappeared. This meant that the power he had borrowed from Tirion had been used up. Reynald couldn't hear Tirion's voice anymore.

'It's okay,' Reynald thought.

The situation was over. Demon King Vaal Zahak had collapsed, and reinforcements had arrived. He'd even rescued the beautiful little girl who had been held hostage.

"Huh?"

The little girl he'd saved was nowhere to be seen.

Reynald urgently looked around for the little girl.

"Th-The girl that Vaal Zahak held hostage earlier was definitely here! K-Kang-Woo! Have you seen a little girl around h—"

Stab!

A dark-red spear pierced Reynald.

"You’re a fucking pest to the very end," Kang-Woo sneered.

He twisted the spear, and blood poured out of Reynald like a waterfall.

"Go play hero in a different novel," Kang-Woo said, snickering. "Ah, but I don't think anyone would read a novel with you as the protagonist."

Reynald's novel: Dropped