After Ten Millennia in Hell

In the first place, he had only returned from Shanghai because of Grace McCubbin's sudden visit.

Si-Hun, who had become stronger after receiving the Blessing of Gaia, returned immediately to Shanghai.

"I will come back stronger than Master," Si-Hun had said confidently.

Wuchen, who had been right next to him, frowned. His reaction was natural since a newbie was trying to surpass him after just a few months of training. However, he couldn't deny that Si-Hun was growing that fast.

"Damn, why did I pick up such a monster of a disciple in my retirement years…" Wuchen had said in disbelief at Si-Hun's incredible growth rate.

Even if Si-Hun possessed the Heavenly Martial Physique, he never imagined he'd grow so fast.

If Si-Hun were the protagonist of a martial arts novel, he still wouldn't have been able to grow so quickly. But Si-Hun was a Player. Stats rose as they leveled up. And stats provided power as if creating power out of nothing.

It had been one week since Si-Hun and Wuchen had left for Shanghai.

Oh Kang-Woo gathered information about the Demon Cult through regular meetings with Gaia and Grace.

And…

"I will give you your very first mission, Kang-Woo."

'Finally!'

Kang-Woo exclaimed in delight at Gaia's words.

He'd been desperately waiting for information on the Demon Cult, and something had finally been caught in Guardians' information network.

"What sort of mission?" Kang-Woo asked while making a serious expression.

One's expression and eyes were the most important things.

He couldn't look too happy to hear that the Demon Cult had made their move. He had to make an expression that showed a mixture of worry and anger.

'This kind of thing is my forte.'

He was very confident in controlling his emotions, which was far easier than controlling the impulsive desires that came with a demon's body.

"The Gaia System has been weakening lately," Gaia said.

"… Wasn't that already happening?" Kang-Woo asked.

Gaia shook her head.

"Yes, but not at this fast of a pace. We believe there is a different cause."

"Hmm. Have you been able to find out where it has been happening?"

"I am not sure, but we received information that traces of the Demon Cult have been found in Korea."

"Korea?"

That was unexpected. The Demon Cult in Korea had collapsed after Baek Kang-Hyun's death.

'Did an entirely new branch take their place?'

He had no idea. He also wasn't sure why foreign Demon Cultists would come all the way to Korea to execute their plan.

"Yes. Traces have apparently been found in a Gate near a city called Daegu."

"Daegu is…"

Just like in Sapporo, Japan, there were cities in Korea that had also fallen into ruin after the Day of Calamity. Daegu was one of the cities that had it the worst.

'The situation's a little different from Sapporo, though.'

In Sapporo's case, the city's restoration was delayed because the monsters inhabiting the ruined city were too strong, but in Daegu's case, there was another reason.

'They can't afford to reclaim it.'

It had been five years since the Day of Calamity. No, it was about to be six.

Running a country after the Day of Calamity was already a miracle, so neglecting the restoration of a city due to a lack of money could not even be considered a controversy.

"I understand," Kang-Woo replied.

"We will be leaving it in your good hands. If it's too much for you to do alone, you could ask Protector Kim Si-Hun to—"

"No, Si-Hun is focusing on his training right now. I can't get in his way."

"Then how about other Protectors? Grace is in the United States right now, but Protectors Zhuge Xian and Ito Shinji can provide you with assistance."

Zhuge Xian and Ito Shinji.

They were the names of the Chinese and Japanese Protectors he'd heard of after joining Guardians.

They weren't Players who were publicly known like Alec Osborne and Grace McCubbin. Forget World Rankers; they weren't even registered as Rankers.

'According to what I've heard, they seem like good people.'

But he wasn't sure if, by good people, they would be someone like Alec or Si-Hun.

It was obvious that Gaia didn't have an eye for people, taking into consideration how Alec Osborne was.

'Well, I guess that's not completely true.'

In the cases of Si-Hun and Grace, they both had great talent and qualities as Protectors.

'Considering she accepted me as a member of Guardians while breaking the established rule, you can't say she doesn't have an eye for people at all.'

There probably weren't many people who could contribute to world peace with such pure intentions.

"I will give the investigation a shot on my own first," said Kang-Woo."

He thought of dragging Zhuge Xian and Ito Shinji to investigate the Demon Cultists near Daegu as well but decided not to. Since they were both members of Guardians, they were likely both very busy.

The Demon Cult wasn't active only in Korea, so it would be more effective if each member investigated their own regions.

'They could also get in my way during interrogations.'

Kang-Woo was planning on doing as many interrogations as possible to find a lead on the seemingly inactive Demon Cult.

If they were people like Alec, there was a chance they wouldn't be able to tolerate Kang-Woo's own way of justice and might do something unexpected.

"Understood. If you say so, then I will trust you."

"I will begin right away."

Now that he had a clue, there was no need to dilly-dally.

Kang-Woo put on the mask given to him by Guardians and walked out of the Hall of Protection. He exited the gate at the same place he had entered it—the rooftop of the building where he lived.

"Echidna, Vaal Zahak," he called the two summoned beasts that had sworn allegiance to him.

He could exact justice in his own way in front of his summoned beasts, so he didn't need to think too deeply before doing anything.

"What is it, Kang-Woo?"

Echidna reached the rooftop first. She was holding a rice cake skewer covered with red sauce.

"… What's that?"

"Vaal Zahak made it for me."

She opened her mouth to eat the rice cake skewer, her mouth was so wide that one wouldn't believe her mouth belonged to a little girl. She ate the entire rice cake skewer at once.

Nom, nom.

"It's good."

Silence fell. The silence was finally broken by Kang-Woo's shaking shadow.

A white skeleton appeared from the shadow, which wriggled as if it were alive.

[I have answered your summons, Master.]

Vaal Zahak, a powerful Lich who was once known as the demon king, was wearing a pink apron with a cute bunny on it instead of wearing his somber robe.

"Vaal Zahak, you…"

Kang-Woo's mouth gaped open in shock at Vaal Zahak's appearance.

Vaal Zahak raised his head and looked up at the radiantly shining sun.

[Wow. What great weather we're having. Hehehe…] Thick demonic energy rose from him. The ruler of death said in a low tone, [Weather like this is perfect for washing the blankets. If you would bestow me with some time…]

"No, we can leave that for later. We have more important things to take care of."

Kang-Woo glared at Vaal Zahak while making a serious expression. It wasn't the time to care about trivial things like washing blankets.

"Don't tell me there isn't a rice cake skewer for me?" he asked in a serious voice.

[Hahaha! Master! What do you take the mighty Vaal Zahak for?]

Vaal Zahak snapped his finger. The shadow shook again, and a perfectly fried rice cake skewer appeared.

[Huhu. I've been learning cooking from Madam Seol-Ah lately, and I've come to realize how profound the world of cooking truly is.]

"Let's give it a try."

He took a bite of the rice cake skewer. A spicy but sweet taste spread through his mouth.

"It's very well-made."

[I will keep doing my best. More importantly, for what reason have you called us?]

"Oh, right."

Kang-Woo turned his head to Echidna, who was licking the sauce off of her hands.

"A mission. It's about time we let loose after a while."

Echidna's and Vaal Zahak's eyes shone.

* * *

Kang-Woo flew to Daegu on Echidna.

Daegu was ruined just like Vladivostok. He didn't see traces of anyone in the vicinity.

'Authority of the Beholder.'

He expanded his demonic energy. Investigating an area where demonic energy was clearly visible was easier.

'There's nothing around here.'

He couldn't find traces of demonic energy in the area.

'Was the information wrong?' he thought briefly, but then he shook his head. He couldn't be so sure yet.

"Let's enter the Gate."

There were three A-rank Gates in Daegu. Players could perfectly deal with them nowadays, but that hadn't been the case during the Day of Calamity.

Kang-Woo entered one of the three Gates.

'Bingo.'

As soon as he entered, he felt demonic energy. He walked toward the source.

"This is…"

Once he reached the place where the demonic energy was concentrated, he saw a black stake in the shape of an inverted cross about a meter tall stuck in the ground.

There was a Rift around the stake as if space itself had been broken, and the size of the Rift was getting bigger.

'What the hell is this?'

He had never seen such an object while fighting the Demon Cult until now.

He was about to approach the black stake when…

Grrrr.

There was a low cry, and he turned his head toward the source of the sound.

"Of course they wouldn't have just left it unattended."

He saw an Ogre and some Elite Trolls that often appeared inside A-rank Gates.

'No.'

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. He used the Authority of the Beholder and looked at the monsters.

Monsters moved by using the energy within mana stones, but instead of mana, he could feel demonic energy from them.

'Are they being contaminated?'

Just like when he'd found a demonic crystal inside El Cuero's head, the monsters were slowly turning into demonic beasts.

"Prepare for battle."

"Okay!"

[As you command.]

The two summoned beasts drew out their energies when…

"Who the hell are you guys?"

A scrawny young man almost two meters tall appeared while making a cheeky smile.

"Hmm. You don't look like you're from the Hwarang Corps…"

He didn't seem surprised by how Vaal Zahak looked.

"Well, whatever. I can just kill trespassers."

His smile widened, and he snapped his fingers.

Kiieekk!

The land that the man was standing on was upturned, and a monster with a long tail appeared.

The monster wasn't that big. It was only three meters tall, but its body was covered with black scales as if it wore armor. There was a green acidic solution coming out of its body.

The monster looked like a certain alien from a science fiction film.

Kang-Woo's eyes shone after looking at the monster.

'A Chrysalis?'

A Chrysalis did not look that powerful from a glance, but it was a demonic beast that resided in the Eighth Hell. It was strong enough to instantly massacre a huge group of Cerberuses.

'They can even control a demonic beast of the Eighth Hell now?'

He couldn't help but exclaim in admiration at the Demon Cult's knowledge.

A Chrysalis was a very violent demonic beast that not even demons of the Eighth Hell picked a fight with. It wasn't as intelligent as an ancient demonic beast like Halcyon, but still, it was quite clever compared to other demonic beasts.

If the Demon Cult could control such a demonic beast, that meant their knowledge was on another level.

"The Eighth Hell, huh?"

The demonic energy from the demonic beasts of the Third Hell he'd devoured before wasn't much help, but it was a completely different story if it was from the Eighth Hell.

Kang-Woo smacked his lips.

"I'll face that thing."

For the first time in a while, food worthy of eating had appeared. It didn't look tasty, but that didn't matter.

'I've been with Lilith for a millennium.'

He almost found an alien cute.

Kang-Woo made a bright smile and took a step forward.