After Ten Millennia in Hell

A strange message appeared in front of Ludwig.

Before he could finish reading the message, the darkness covering the entire cave wriggled. A tentacle rose from the side and targeted his head.

Ludwig quickly ducked, so the tentacle merely grazed his hair.

Bash!

"Kurgh!"

Instead of Ludwig, the tentacle caught a Watcher of Light standing next to him.

Squelch.

Liquid flowed down the tentacle. The tip of the tentacle split, and a sharp prominence appeared.

"E-Eek! H-Help me!! Help meeeeeeeee!!!" the priest screamed desperately.

He squirmed and cried as an intense fear that went beyond death engulfed him. The priest struggled and reached out in hopes of getting help, but…

Squelch!

"A-Arrgghh!!! L-Lord Ludwig!!! Lord Ludwig!!! H-Help me!! Lord Ludwiiiggg!!!"

"…"

The tentacle stuck to the priest's face. The dozens of sharp prominences at the opening of the tentacle wiggled as if they were savoring the priest's skin.

Then the tentacle's hundreds of prominences, which were as sharp as blades, pierced into the priest's flesh and sucked the blood that poured out of the wounds. After that…

Gurgle, gurgle.

Yellow pus poured out of the prominences and into those wounds.

Immense pain numbed the priest's mind as a horrible stench wafted from the tentacle.

"Aaaaahh! Aaaaahh!!"

"Father Xerath!!" Ludwig called out.

He quickly spread his hand, and white light gathered around it. He summoned the holy sword Ludwig, which was overflowing with sacred power. The sword was his name, life, and goal.

Ludwig grabbed the sword and swung it.

Crack!

The holy sword severed the tentacle, which was as thick as the thigh of an adult male human.

The sword had received the blessing of the high elves, who didn't appear unless Aernor was on the brink of collapse.

A sacred power that destroyed demonic entities flooded the area like a fast-spreading poison.

The severed tentacle fell away from the priest's head.

A sound resembling a groan emerged from Ludwig's mouth, "Ah,"

Splat.

The priest's skull had split open, and yellow pus poured out from it. His skin was rotting, and his eyeballs were dangling. The priest was already dead.

Ludwig's expression crumpled, and he took out a communication crystal orb. It was the crystal orb that he'd received from Gaia, who told him to use it if they needed help.

'Damn.'

Zzzzt. Zzzzt.

All that could be heard from the crystal orb was static. Amid the static was a man's voice.

- Hel… Wha… th?

"This is Ludwig. It seems like someone has meddled with the gate. I believe it is a demon's trap."

- What… status?

"I am fine, but one of my subordinates has already been done in. We will be in danger at this rate. I would like to request backup from every Guardians member. We will try to stall for time as we escape."

- Can… come ou… ide?

"We will not be able to leave. It seems a demon has complete control over this space."

- Where… are…

"I am not sure. We seem to be inside a dungeon."

- We… on our—ZZZT!!

The static worsened to the point that it was hard on the ears. Ludwig frowned and threw the crystal orb on the ground.

He looked at the profound abyss, turned around, and shouted, "We will advance!!!"

If they stayed here, they would surely die. They had to move to a place free from the tentacles.

"What? A-Advance?"

"We should be going back to—"

Two priests, who were blocking the tentacles' attacks, shouted anxiously.

Ludwig bit his lip and said, "There is nowhere to run."

"A-Aaahh."

After hearing those words, the priests turned their heads and saw that the Gate they'd crossed through had been devoured by the darkness. The priests fell into despair.

Ludwig gripped the holy sword and took a step forward. He drew out the sacred power that was inside his body and emitted an aura of white light.

It was the power of an angel. If demons had demonic energy, then angels exercised miracles through sacred power.

He concentrated that power on the holy sword. Then he raised his sword above his head and swung downward.

FWOOSH!!

The brilliant light from the holy sword cut straight through the tentacles. A pathway appeared within the dark cave filled with tentacles as if he were Moses splitting the Red Sea.

"Now!"

"Aaaaaaahh!!!"

The Watchers of Light charged forward. They threw their cumbersome robes away and concentrated the sacred power on their hands.

A white light burnt and spread in all directions like fire.

Sizzle—!!

The tentacles were burnt away by the white light, emitting smoke and letting off a terrible smell.

"Kuh!"

"Don't stop!!"

Ludwig grabbed a priest who had stopped due to the smell by the neck and pulled him away. A tentacle brushed past where he had just been standing,

Ludwig lowered his posture and concentrated sacred power on his back.

Flap!

White wings pierced out of his back. He used all his strength to flap his wings, quickly flying through the tentacle-filled cave and into the darkness.

[Kahahahahaha!!]

A laugh imbued with faint demonic energy reached Ludwig, and he frowned.

"I knew it was a demon's doing."

He wasn't sure how the demon had discovered his existence or how they'd managed to manipulate a Gate inside the Hall of Protection so that it would lead here. Nevertheless, he didn't think about it for long.

'First, I will kill the demon.'

There were no doubts in his ideals. If a demon had dragged him into a trap, the only thing he had to do was to kill them.

[Nice to meet you, human.]

"…"

Ludwig didn't answer. The opponent was a demon—a filthy heretic not worth even speaking to.

He raised his holy sword and got into a fighting stance.

[Kehehehe. Should we not at least exchange names?]

The demon, who had a body covered in green tentacles, laughed. Horrid demonic energy weighed Ludwig down.

"I have no name to reveal to a demon," Ludwig said firmly.

[Kahahahaha! I like your attitude!]

The five-meter giant demon laughed. Every time he laughed, the darkness fluctuated.

The demon raised his two fists, which weren't covered by tentacles.

[Still, you should at least know the name of the being who will kill you.] The demon grinned. [I am Yogg-Saron.]

"…"

It was a demon Ludwig had never heard of.

He frowned.

Still, it didn't matter who the opponent was; what mattered was that the opponent in front of him was a demon.

'All demons… must die.'

Whoom!

The holy sword emitted light, and he rushed forward with the sword.

Despite how big he was, the demon easily dodged his attack.

Yogg-Saron turned 180 degrees with his left leg as the pivot point, lowered his posture, and shot forward.

[Hehehehe.]

"E-Eek!"

After dodging Ludwig's attack, Yogg-Saron grabbed the neck of one of the priests, placing the priest between him and Ludwig like a shield.

"L-Lord Ludwig!"

Stab!!

"Kurgh!!"

Ludwig cut the priest apart without hesitation.

It didn't matter if he was his subordinate or a comrade who served the light.

'To kill a demon….'

Ludwig had no time to consider such meaningless things.

The sword cut through the priest's body and stabbed Yogg-Saron's shoulder.

The green tentacle was severed, and his muscular red skin became visible. His hands were torn as if his sword had clashed with invulnerable armor.

[Kahaha!! You are merciless! Don't you have even a single bit of hesitation since they're your subordinates?]

"Silence, demon," Ludwig said in a low voice.

He'd killed a subordinate who had served him for a long time, but there was no regret on his face. He felt neither sorrow nor remorse. There was no way he'd feel such emotions.

After all, it was only natural for a being who served light to eradicate demons. It didn't matter how much he had to sacrifice if it was to kill a demon.

Schwing.

Ludwig raised his sword, and rays of light cut through the darkness. He radiated with sacred power, and when he flapped the wings on his back, it made him look angelic.

[Interesting.] Yogg-Saron laughed. [The demon king will take great interest in you.]

"...Demon king?" Ludwig frowned after hearing the ominous title. "Are you talking about Satan?"

[Hm? K-Kahahahahahaha!!!!] Yogg-Saron laughed while holding his stomach. [Satan?? Sataaaan? Do you truly believe I, Yogg-Saron, would serve such a weakling?]

"…"

Ludwig's eyes shook, and his thoughts ran wild.

If the demon king wasn't Satan…

'Who?'

Who was the being who had the ominous title of the demon king?

[Come, servant of light. I will let you realize the power of true darkness.]

Before Ludwig could continue his line of thought, Yogg-Saron cut through the light and leaped forward.

* * *

'Good.'

Outside of the dungeon, Kang-Woo smiled went up when he looked inside the dungeon through the magic device that Lilith had installed.

It had been thirty minutes since Balrog and Ludwig had begun fighting, and Ludwig was slowly getting pushed back.

'But still, he's quite strong.'

Kang-Woo had recovered his former strength after fulfilling the conditions for the Demonic Soul. Balrog was connected to him through his soul, so he was now truly on par with a prince of Hell.

Despite that, Ludwig had battled Balrog for thirty minutes. Moreover, he had even been able to wound him. Even for an apostle of an archangel, it was impressive that Ludwig had such strength.

'I'm sure the sword is playing a part in that as well.'

Kang-Woo looked at the sword that was emitting brilliant light—the holy sword Ludwig.

The apostle Ludwig was certainly stronger than he had expected.

'But…'

That was all there was to it.

Clatter!

"Kurgh! Huff! Huff!"

Ludwig knelt, holding his chest and panting heavily.

Kang-Woo smiled as he looked at him.

'I should get started.'

He put away the communication crystal he had been holding and took out a black sphere. Then, a tentacle stealthily stuck to the back of Ludwig's head.

After confirming the connection, Kang-Woo nodded in satisfaction. Now, his voice would enter Ludwig's mind directly.

'The effect is important.'

Doing that would produce a different effect from having Ludwig hear Kang-Woo's words with his ears. It was important that Kang-Woo's voice reverberated from Ludwig's mind to the rest of his body.

‘Right, then…'

It was time for Kang-Woo to recite the lines that he'd prepared. He surged with excitement.

‘Man, I've always wanted to say this at least once.'

He even felt that it was unfair he'd never had the opportunity to say it after becoming a Demon King.

"A-Ahem."

Kang-Woo stretched his neck muscles.

'Let’s get into the mood…'

He closed his eyes and pulled demonic energy from his body.

The phrase that he'd prepared was a symbol of corruption; it was what everyone thought of when they imagined corruption.

"Do you want power?" a grotesque and eerie voice flowed into Ludwig's mind through the black sphere.

It was a dark and wet voice that sounded as if it were coming from the abyss.

"...What?"

Ludwig looked around after hearing a voice flowing right into his mind.

Kang-Woo clenched his hands into fists.

'Shiiiiiieeeet!!! Fuck yeah! This is the shit! You can't go without this line if you wanna corrupt someone!'

Excitement surged within him.

'Holy fuck.'

"Do you want power?" Kang-Woo heard his line echoing in his ears.

'So fucking cool.'

Kang-Woo wished his darling could see this.