After Ten Millennia in Hell

"What…?" Kim Jae-Hyun uttered. His eyes widened as he looked at his son in confusion. "Yeong-Hun, it's me. Your father!"

"Wh-What are you talking about, mister?"

Yeong-Hun was glaring at Jae-Hyun warily. It was as if all his memories of his father had been erased.

"Y-Yeong-Hun," Jae-Hyun said with quivering eyes.

Yeong-Hun couldn't remember Jae-Hyun. He was looking at his father warily as if they were strangers. That shock made Jae-Hyun tremble.

"A-Ahhhh..." Jae-Hyun uttered and then covered his mouth.

He felt nauseous, and he thought that he was about to vomit at any moment. His mind went blank. It was so strange for Jae-Hyun to hear Yeong-Hun calling him 'mister.'

"What... did you do?" Jae-Hyun asked.

He was still shaking when he turned and found Oh Kang-Woo standing there with a smile. Just seeing him smile was enough to make Jae-Hyun lose control.

"I said, what did you do?!" Jae-Hyun shouted.

His eyes were opened wide, and his tone sharp. His image of a reserved gentleman changed completely.

However, that was understandable. On the contrary, it would have been strange if he had maintained his composure. The memories of his beloved son had been erased. It was more shocking and terrifying to him than if his son's limbs had been torn apart.

Was this how he would feel if Yeong-Hun had died in front of him? Jae-Hyun wasn't sure. He wouldn’t have had to feel such an ambiguous and indescribable feeling if his son had died instead.

"L-Let me go, mister! Forget that. Where am I?" Yeong-Hun said while trying to free himself from Jae-Hyun's arms.

Jae-Hyun gradually lost hold of his rationality every time his son called him 'mister.'

"Y-You…" Jae-Hyun uttered, trembling as he looked at Kang-Woo.

After letting Yeong-Hun go, Jae-Hyun slowly stood up. He felt as though his entire world was crumbling. No, it had already crumbled.

Jae-Hyun exuded an intense bloodlust.

"Ch-Chairman."

"Please calm down!"

The executives of the Mir Guild tried to talk Jae-Hyun down, but he could not hear them.

Jae-Hyun stared at Kang-Woo’s mouth, ingraining that smile into his mind. He could almost hear Kang-Woo's mocking laughter.

"You bastaaaaaard!!" Jae-Hyun yelled.

His mana exploded, splitting open the land around him.

Jae-Hyun was one of the top ten Players in Korea. The minimum requirement to become a Ranker was to achieve the Eighth Awakening, but he had achieved his Ninth.

This man who was rumored to possess four S-rank Traits was losing control of himself.

Boom! Boom!

He leaped forward. The ground around him shook like there was an earthquake, and the concrete covering the ground was destroyed by the exploding mana.

Golden mana enveloped Jae-Hyun's fists in a distinct shape. It was similar to condensed Qi, a higher form of Qi that often appeared in martial arts novels.

While covered in materialized mana, Jae-Hyun leaped toward Kang-Woo.

"Oh, no, you don’t!" Cha Yeon-Joo yelled, blocking Jae-Hyun's path.

Red chains flew out of Yeon-Joo's hands and surrounded Jae-Hyun. Jae-Hyun swung his fists against the red chains, which were also enveloped in materialized mana.

Boom!!

A huge explosion shook the surroundings the moment that Jae-Hyun’s fist and Yeon-Joo’s chains collided. Jae-Hyun and Yeon-Joo exhibited powers that transcended human capabilities.

"Move!" Jae-Hyun, who had completely lost his mind, shouted at Yeon-Joo, who was blocking his way.

Jae-Hyun leaped forward like a beast, and Yeon-Joo once again shot the red chains at him.

Boom!

"Kurgh!!"

Jae-Hyun was one of Korea's top ten players, but Yeon-Joo was also in that group.

Yeon-Joo's red chains moved as if they were alive and wrapped around Jae-Hyun, climbing upward. The thorns on the chains embedded into Jae-Hyun’s skin and ripped it.

Jae-Hyun caught the chains and broke them with his bare hands. Then he threw the red chains to the side. Blood leaked out from his wounded skin, but Jae-Hyun paid his injuries no mind.

He persisted in trying to push forward and ignoring Yeon-Joo, who was in his way.

"Haap!" Baek Hwa-Yeon uttered.

She stopped Jae-Hyun's charge this time. She swung her white longsword at Jae-Hyun's neck, but Jae-Hyun smacked away the white longsword with his mana-covered fists. Hwa-Yeon was pushed back by his absurd power.

"Cough!"

Hwa-Yeon was one Awakening stage lower than Yeon-Joo and Jae-Hyun, so it was hard for her to block Jae-Hyun's charge.

"Hwa-Yeon! Stay back for now!"

"Understood!"

Hwa-Yeon nodded and increased her distance from Jae-Hyun.

Yeon-Joo filled the gap and spread her arms out. Then red chains exploded out from her red bracelets. These chains were the Legendary-grade weapon Bloodthirsty Chains. It was considered her trademark weapon.

Thrash!

She gathered the red chains together and formed a flail, which she launched toward Jae-Hyun. He could tell it was not a light attack, so he raised his right fist to block.

The chains then spread out like a net. If Jae-Hyun were to stay still, he would be caught by the net. However, Jae-Hyun didn't move backward even in that situation. Rather, he moved forward as if he couldn't see the net that was about to swallow him whole.

Yeon-Joo's chains enveloped Jae-Hyun.

"Raaaahhhh!" Jae-Hyun screamed while thrashing about in the net of thorny chains.

Jae-Hyun paid a hefty price for that. Parts of his skin got caught on the thorns and were torn open, but he didn't care about that.

He grabbed the thorny chains with both of his hands. The muscles of his arms, which were covered with materialized mana, swelled as if they were about to burst.

Crack!

The chains were ripped apart as if they were just thin ropes.

"I told you to move!!" Jae-Hyun's crazed voice rang throughout the area.

Blood seeped out from the horrible wounds all over his body. The wounds were so deep that it wouldn't be weird if he died immediately. However, he had surpassed Level 80 and achieved his Ninth Awakening, so he wouldn't collapse from just that.

"Fucking hell..." Yeon-Joo muttered.

She was shocked by Jae-Hyun’s lunacy.

‘I can’t believe he took that attack head-on,’ she thought.

Yeon-Joo's Legendary-grade weapon, Bloodthirsty Chains, had a special effect called Energy Drain. It snatched a significant amount of health from a target whose flesh had been ripped by the thorns on the chains. Yet, the crazed Jae-Hyun was going as strong as ever.

'He isn’t going to stop his charge, even if it kills him.'

Yeon-Joo's expression hardened.

"AARRGGHH!" Jae-Hyun roared, resuming his charge.

Back Hwa-Yeon leaped forward from the rear.

"Yeon-Joo! I’ll be counting on your support!"

"Got it!"

Yeon-Joo extended her hand toward Hwa-Yeon, and the red chains formed a shield in front of the latter.

Boom!!

Jae-Hyun stomped on the ground, destroying his surroundings that were within a ten-meter radius. He twisted his torso, raised his right fist, and used the generated momentum to smash his fist downward.

The mana around his fist spread outward, engulfing Hwa-Yeon in an enormous shockwave. She hid behind the shield of chains that Yeon-Joo had made, but Jae-Hyun's materialized mana destroyed the chains.

Hwa-Yeon then slashed upward, cleaving the mana that had gotten past the chains into two. A gap in Jae-Hyun’s defenses had formed after the massive attack, and Hwa-Yeon's gaze turned sharp when she spotted it.

'Whirlwind.'

She activated her Trait skill.

A strong gust surrounded the white longsword, and Hwa-Yeon swung it at a speed that forced even Jae-Hyun, who was in a crazed state, to leap backward. Hwa-Yeon's blade brushed past Jae-Hyun by a narrow margin.

Slash!

Jae-Hyun managed to avoid the blade, but he couldn't dodge the whirlwind around it. The whirlwind slashed him from his flank to his collarbone, causing a fountain of blood to spray out.

Hwa-Yeon flinched when she saw that she had dealt an almost fatal wound to Jae-Hyun. It would be troublesome if Jae-Hyun were to die; they wouldn’t be able to get information about the Demon Cult from him.

Hwa-Yeon's hesitation created an opportunity for Jae-Hyun.

"Abyss!"

Crackle!!

Jae-Hyun smashed the ground with both of his fists. Powerful energy exploded into the ground like a volcano, accompanied by a thunderous sound.

The storm of mana engulfed Hwa-Yeon. It sent her tumbling to the ground, and she coughed up dark red blood.

"Kurgh!"

Jae-Hyun's attack was powerful.

Hwa-Yeon staggered to her feet. She could be fatally wounded if she remained still and was injured by Jae-Hyun’s subsequent attack.

Nonetheless, she had been worried over nothing. Jae-Hyun wasn't targeting her.

"Raaaahhhh!" Jae-Hyun, who was covered in blood, shouted like a monster and ran toward Kang-Woo.

There were only twenty meters between them. Players possessed superhuman strength, so they could close that distance with a single step.

However, Yeon-Joo wasn't stupid enough to let go of an opponent who was ignoring her and charging toward Kang-Woo.

"Chain spear!"

She threw five chains toward Jae-Hyun’s back.

Stab.

There were fifteen meters left between Jae-Hyun and Kang-Woo. A chain embedded itself in Jae-Hyun's right thigh.

Stab Stab.

There were ten meters left. A chain penetrated his left hand and elbow.

Stab.

There were five meters left. A chain pierced his right shoulder.

"Haa, haa..."

Jae-Hyun looked down at the last chain that had pierced through his stomach. He was breathing roughly, and blood was running down from his mouth.

Then he shifted his gaze to the young man who was now standing right in front of him.

Kang-Woo was smiling, seemingly to mock Jae-Hyun.

"Urgh, a-argh," Jae-Hyun groaned.

He squeezed out all of his remaining strength and swung his right fist. His fist did not contain any mana at all, let alone materialized mana.

Tap.

His right fist hit Kang-Woo's chest weakly. Then Jae-Hyun, who had used up all of his strength, collapsed.

Kang-Woo bent down and made eye contact with Jae-Hyun. Jae-Hyun looked at him with a gaze that showed he was about to die out at any moment.

Kang-Woo slowly extended his hand and grabbed the back of Jae-Hyun's head. Their faces got so close to each other that their noses were about to touch.

Kang-Woo said quietly, "Do you know who I am now?"