After Ten Millennia in Hell

Kim Si-Hun had a complicated expression as he gazed at Oh Kang-Woo, who was tearing up.

While staring at Reynald's lifeless body, Kang-Woo grabbed at his chest. His head hung low with a solemn look in his eyes.

"Don't be sad, Kang-Woo," Gaia said, taking a step forward. She placed her hand on top of the shoulder of Kang-Woo, who was silently crying. "The light hasn't faded yet."

Gaia tilted her head upward, and so did Kang-Woo.

The sky had been engulfed in darkness.

No, it wasn't just the sky. After the Gaia System broke, Gaia lost her sight. Because of that, the world had always looked dark to her.

However…

"Look, Kang-Woo."

Gaia extended her hand toward the sky. She couldn't see, but she could tell that there were countless stars in the night sky.

"It isn't over yet, Kang-Woo. As long as the members of Guardians, the Protectors of the world, remain, the light will never fade."

"Gaia…"

'Damn, what a line,' Kang-Woo thought.

He found it a bit cringy, but it wasn't appropriate to make a face at that moment.

Kang-Woo stood up while nodding.

"Yes. You're right, Gaia."

He looked at the countless stars in the sky. His eyes were filled with melancholy, and the mood was calm.

'Now's the time. I should do that…'

"Ahem." Kang-Woo quietly cleared his throat.

He needed to convey to them that he was truly sad about Reynald's death, but he was trying to move forward.

"The light… hasn't faded yet. No, I won't let it fade!" Kang-Woo said with a heartfelt voice.

'Yes! This is it!'

It was the look of a hero standing up after overcoming pain, the epitome of a cliche.

Kang-Woo, who stood up under the starlight, looked as much like a hero as Reynald.

"Yes. I believe in you, Kang-Woo."

"Sniff. Hyung-nim…"

Gaia smiled, and Si-Hun teared up.

It seemed like the other members of Guardians were moved as well.

'Awright. This makes it worth all the effort.'

Kang-Woo's little act had been cringey, but it was worth it. He could feel that Gaia trusted him fully... No, it was more than that. Like Si-Hun, Gaia admired Kang-Woo.

A smile appeared on Kang-Woo's face.

The process hadn't been simple, but it had been a huge success. He was able to overcome a crisis in which his identity could have been revealed, and he instead managed to earn more of his allies' trust.

'This is all thanks to the good deeds I've done in my daily life!'

Kang-Woo didn't hesitate to get his hands dirty for his little brother's first love. It seemed obvious to him that such good actions would allow him to earn more trust from those around him.

Kang-Woo knelt on one leg and placed his hand on Reynald's corpse, whose eyes were still wide open.

"I hope you can rest in peace," Kang-Woo said. He gently shut Reynald's eyelids and wished for him to rest in peace. "I won't ever forget you, Reynald."

'Let's never see each other again, man.'

Kang-Woo was already having a headache dealing with the Demon Cult and Satan on Earth. If the continent of Aernor were to be added on top of that, the situation would become too troublesome.

"Let's go—"

Fwoooosh!!

Just as Kang-Woo was about to suggest that they leave, golden light poured out from Del Lain, Reynald's sword.

"What is it now?" Kang-Woo muttered with a crumpled expression.

He'd thought the situation had been resolved with Reynald's death, but things started to go awry once more.

[Tirion, God of Heroes, is enraged!]

- Who dares to kill my child?!!

A stormy voice resounded in their minds.

"Kuh!"

"Kyaa!"

Their eyes quivered at the presence of such colossal energy.

- I asked who killed my child?!!

It was a voice filled with rage. A huge amount of golden energy stormed around Del Lain.

'Tirion, God of Heroes.'

Kang-Woo's expression hardened. He now understood why Tirion had the title of a god. Tirion's strength was overwhelming even though he was pouring out his strength through a sword rather than in person.

"Please calm down, Lord Tirion."

- Daughter of Gaia, do you know who killed my child?

Fwoom.

The golden light around Del Lain flickered.

Kang-Woo's eyes narrowed while listening to Tirion's words.

'Wait…'

Tirion was desperately asking who killed Reynald.

'Does he not know the details of what happened?'

There was a high chance that was the case. If Tirion had seen everything that happened with Reynald, he should've known that Kang-Woo had used his spear to stab Reynald.

'All right, I managed to dodge the worst possible outcome.'

The worst possible outcome was, of course, Tirion pointing him out as the culprit. If that were to happen, even Kang-Woo would be in deep trouble.

'If he doesn't know what happened here…'

So, Kang-Woo couldn't simply do nothing.

"The one who killed Reynald was Demon King Vaal Zahak," he said.

- No, it was not him. If it were Vaal Zahak, I would have been able to feel it.

Tirion rejected Kang-Woo's explanation.

'I guess Vaal Zahak isn't an option.'

Still, there was no need to fret. After all, there was a true demon on Earth that was using Vaal Zahak as his subordinate—the Demon of Prophecy, Satan.

"Then I'm sure it was Satan."

Kang-Woo didn't even need to say it himself; Gaia had said it instead.

- Satan.

Whirrr. Del Lain was vibrating.

- I see. So, it was Satan. That evil demon took away my child's life!

"Kurgh!"

There was an explosion of golden light, and the members of Guardians grunted due to Tirion's overwhelming power.

[Tirion's rage is directed toward Satan!]

'Nice!'

Kang-Woo clenched his hands into fists in celebration.

'You're the best, Satan!'

By this point, Satan was pretty much an all-purpose cheat code. Satan, the Demon of Prophecy, had even enraged a god from another world.

- Subjects of Gaia, are you also fighting against that evil demon?

"Of course. Killing Satan, the Demon of Prophecy, is our duty," Kang-Woo replied.

There was determination in his eyes and no hesitation in his voice.

The sword resonated with Kang-Woo's burst of justice-filled words.

- I will lend you all of my power! Even if it means I'll vanish from existence!

[Warning. Excessive interference of Tirion, God of Heroes, has been detected. Further interference deemed impossible.]

A message window appeared in front of them.

- Kuuurrgghh!

They could feel the pain in Tirion's voice.

Kang-Woo's eyes shone sharply.

The System had turned normal people into Players, and thanks to the ability known as stats, it could give them power, seemingly out of thin air.

'Now that I think about it, Gaia said that she could interfere with the system, although at a limited capacity.'

If those who received a god's power could interfere with the system, it wasn't weird that the god who gave them that power in the first place could as well.

'It seems not even gods can interfere with the system without consequences.'

He was able to roughly figure that out from hearing Tirion's pained voice.

Kang-Woo wasn't sure what the system was or how it worked… He wasn't even sure if the Gaia System that had created the players was the same one as the one that had been damaged because of Satan, the Demon of Prophecy.

Nevertheless, it wasn't hard for Kang-Woo to understand the current situation. Tirion wanted to give a portion of his power to the members of Guardians… even if it could lead to his annihilation.

"Lord Tirion! A hero like you mustn't disappear!" Kang-Woo shouted hurriedly.

Of course, his inner thoughts were different.

'Just cough up your power and disappear.'

Kang-Woo couldn't care less if Tirion were annihilated. Rather, it would be better if Tirion disappeared as soon as possible since he was the one who had thrown Reynald to Kang-Woo.

"A god mustn't sacrifice himself for mere mortals like us."

- No! My will is firm!

"Lord Tirion!"

'Yeah. I knew you were more likely to do it if I said you shouldn't.'

The more a person tried to stop a hero, the more passionate they became about doing something.

The corners of Kang-Woo's lips lifted subtly.

Then he stood up while wiping his tears.

"If that is the will of a god, then we will follow it," Kang-Woo said with a firm voice and intense eyes. "I swear it in the name of Gaia. We will make sure Reynald's sacrifice wasn't in vain. We will kill Satan, the Demon of Prophecy, and his subordinate Vaal Zahak and save the world!"

Tirion reacted to Kang-Woo's intense voice.

- What is your name?

The golden light that flowed out from Del Lain wrapped around Kang-Woo's body.

Kang-Woo knelt on one knee as if he were a knight pledging allegiance to a king.

"My name is Oh Kang-Woo."

- Hmm. I can feel an inexplicable power from you.

Kang-Woo flinched.

'Don't tell me he feels the Ten Thousand Demon Core.'

If Tirion could sense Kang-Woo's Ten Thousand Demon Core, then Kang-Woo would have to scrap a large part of his plan.

"Kang-Woo hyung-nim wasn't chosen as a Protector, but he became powerful through his own painstaking efforts. I'm sure that what you're feeling is his indestructible will," Si-Hun stated.

Gaia agreed, "He's right. Kang-Woo is more righteous and heroic than anyone I've ever met. He was the first to take action after Reynald disappeared and the one who was the saddest about his death."

A Protector and Gaia's apostle spoke up in Kang-Woo's favor.

'I love you guys!' Kang-Woo thought.

It was the support of the couple that he'd helped unite by working as cupid.

Kang-Woo unconsciously tightened his fists.

- I see. So, you were the first to take action in response to my child's sorrow and the one who was saddened the most by his death.

They were able to convince Tirion—who was prepared to die to avenge the death of his child, Reynald. The decisive factor was Gaia's words since she was also an apostle of a god just like Reynald.

After Tirion heard Gaia's words, Del Lain's golden light fluttered intensely.

Just as Gaia trusted Reynald because they were both the apostles of a god, Tirion seemed to trust Gaia quite a lot too.

- Very well. I choose you to inherit the hero's dying wishes.

'YOLO!'

The tips of Kang-Woo's mouth went up.

Golden light poured out of Del Lain.

- Please, use my power for justice.

Tirion, who was prepared to be annihilated, requested earnestly.

"I will put my faith in the light!" Kang-Woo shouted in a firm voice.

An intense light poured into Kang-Woo.

Riiing.

[You have received the God of Heroes' Blessing.]

[Divinity of Tirion, God of Heroes, will be annihilated due to his excessive interference in the System.]

The intensely bright light made it hard for Kang-Woo and the others to keep their eyes open.

An explosive amount of energy entered Kang-Woo, and he immediately became connected with Tirion.

- W-Wait…

Before being annihilated, what was left of Tirion's consciousness expressed his shock. However, since he was connected with Kang-Woo, the only one who could hear him was Kang-Woo.

- Th-This is…! The D-Demonic Sea! You are the master of the Demonic Sea!! Tirion's voice rang out in Kang-Woo's mind.

He'd finally realized Kang-Woo's true identity.

'It's too late,' Kang-Woo thought.

Tirion's voice was getting weaker. That meant he was about to be annihilated.

- You bastard!! Y-You…!! It was you who killed my child!! Aah, wh-what have I done?!

Kang-Woo smiled.

'Don't be so sad. Just like you've asked, I'll kill Satan with my own hands.'

- Nonsense! If you are not Satan, then who is?!

'It's a long story, man. Anyway, you can leave the rest to me and disappear. I'll keep this world safe.'

- YOOOOUUUUUU!!

Tirion's desperate scream filled Kang-Woo's mind.

'What? I didn't ask you to choose me.'

Kang-Woo couldn't hold back his laughter anymore.

'You're the idiot for being deceived. Kahahaha.'