Chapter 152 - Demon King Vaal Zahak (1)
"Since we have lots of empty rooms in the Hall of Protection, why don't you stay there, Reynald?" Gaia offered.
"Understood," Reynald replied. "There are many things I don't know about this world, so I should learn the basics at the very least."
"Hohoho. I will help you with that, so there is no need for you to worry."
"I am so glad to have you with me, Gaia."
The two apostles were talking as if they'd already become great friends. They seemed to be attracted to each other since they had both been chosen as apostles by the gods.
'There's a good chance of that being the case.'
It had been only a few hours since they'd met. In that short period of time, they had already become used to each other. That probably had something to do with Tirion's light entering Gaia's body.
It was obvious that Kim Si-Hun felt anxious looking at them. He looked as if he knew that he needed to do something, but was too anxious to do anything.
No, it seemed Si-Hun couldn't even understand what he was feeling at the moment.
'Don't worry, Si-Hun.'
He put his arm on Si-Hun's shoulder without a word.
Kang-Woo felt bad for the kind soul Kim Si-Hun, who had no idea what to do.
'Just leave it all to me, man.'
"Hyung-nim?"
"Oh, you just seemed a bit down."
"N-Not at all, hyung-nim. Hahaha. My thoughts are a bit of a mess at the moment," Si-Hun said while scratching his head.
"Is it because of Reynald?"
"N-No! It's nothing like that."
'Stop talking out of your ass, man. It's written all over your face.'
Kang-Woo smirked and patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry. I'm pretty sure Gaia is interested in you."
"I-It's nothing like that!"
"Hahaha! A grown man shouldn't become embarrassed over something like this."
"Hyung-nim!"
Kang-Woo felt that the way Si-Hun glared at him while blushing was cute. He thought that maybe having a real little brother would feel like this.
Kang-Woo laughed and followed Gaia and Reynald.
"Oh. Come to think of it, where do you live, Gaia?" Reynald asked.
"I usually stay in the Hall of Protection. I have difficulty with daily life if Grace isn't there to help me, so…"
"Huh? Does that mean I will be living with the two of you?"
"Hoho. It's okay. The Hall of Protection is very big. It also has all the facilities required for daily life."
"Mmm. Even so, living with the two of you in the same space is…"
"You don't have to worry about it."
Si-Hun bit his lip while listening to the conversation between Gaia and Reynald. It was obvious that he would react in such a way. After all, Gaia and Reynald had not only suddenly become close, but they were also going to live together.
'I'll have to deal with this quickly.'
Seeing Si-Hun like this made Kang-Woo's heart ache.
'I'll also look suspicious if I keep the mask on around him.'
He wasn't doing this for his own benefit, but it was true that leaving Reynald like this was dangerous. If he was going to deal with him, it was better to do it as soon as possible.
'Let's see…'
Kang-Woo began thinking while narrowing his eyes. He had to think of a way to deal with Reynald while avoiding suspicion.
'There's actually a very good way.'
The problem was that he couldn't think of a good way to build up to using that method.
"Hmm."
He fell into thought.
'I should…'
He narrowed his eyes. It was at that moment…
"In that case, let us begin the search for Vaal Zahak tomorrow. If Vaal Zahak had become Satan's underling, we may be able to find Satan through him."
Gaia seemed troubled by Reynald's proposal.
"I'm sorry. I understand your passion, but forget Vaal Zahak, we don't even have a way to track the Demon Cult that he and Satan are associated with."
They couldn't deny that reality.
At the moment, Guardians didn't have a way to track the Demon Cult.
Reynald smiled at her words.
"You don't have to worry about that. I can't track the Demon Cult, but thanks to Lord Tirion's blessing, I can find Vaal Zahak's general location."
"I-Is that true?!"
The Guardians members were all astonished by what Reynald said.
Kang-Woo was no exception.
'The fuck?'
Yet another unexpected development.
Kang-Woo's expression hardened.
'I seriously don't have time to be fooling around.'
It was a completely different story if Reynald could track Vaal Zahak's location.
Reynald looked at the astonished people and said, "Yes. Once a day, when the sky is dyed in gold, I can receive a revelation on where Vaal Zahak is and what he is doing."
"Wha…"
"What an ability…"
Everyone exclaimed in surprise.
Although it was only limited to Vaal Zahak, they could even figure out the locations of Satan and the Demon Cult's core members.
The eyes of the Guardians members began burning with passion.
It was a golden opportunity to find a lead on the Demon Cult, which was an expert in covering its tracks.
'Motherfucking scammer.'
Of course, Kang-Woo was frowning.
He wasn't sure what kind of god Tirion was, but compared to Gaia, there were too many things he could do. Being able to exercise that sort of ability while on Earth and not on the continent of Aernor was an absolute scam.
"We could definitely use this," Gaia remarked.
Si-Hun also nodded with shining eyes. "Yes. This is our chance to figure out the full extent of the Demon Cult's forces."
It seemed as if he thought that this wasn't the time to be jealous of Reynald. The other Guardians members became passionate.
"In that case, let's take some time to figure out Vaal Zahak's location and state."
"Yes. The time when the sky is dyed in gold must be referring to sunset."
"Right, there isn't much time left, so I will wait here."
'Shit.'
Only Kang-Woo placed his hand on top of his forehead as if he was having a headache.
'I need to make a move as soon as today.'
Once Reynald received the revelation even once, it would be over.
Evacuating Vaal Zahak to somewhere distant wouldn't solve anything.
He didn't know exactly how much information the daily revelations gave, so he couldn't create any unnecessary variables.
Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and fell into thought.
'I can't take action myself like I did before.'
Creating a dummy with the Authority of Cloning and taking action himself was too risky.
'I don't know what effects Tirion's blessing has.'
That was the biggest problem.
He wasn't sure how much influence the god Tirion could exercise, so taking action himself could be too risky.
'In that case…'
He just needed to have someone else take action instead.
The gears in Kang-Woo's head went into overdrive. He was thinking about what he should do in this situation.
'Wait.'
His eyes shone. He turned and looked at Reynald, who was making plans for the days ahead.
A handsome young man whose appearance was comparable to Si-Hun's…
Their personalities were also quite similar.
'To be more precise, it's closer to Alec's personality than Si-Hun's.'
Thanks to Kang-Woo's influence, Si-Hun hadn't become like Alec Osborne.
But Reynald was different.
Although his nature was similar to Si-Hun's, Kang-Woo hadn't been around to influence him, so he was more like Alec with Si-Hun's looks.
"If that's the case…" he mumbled in a low voice and licked his lip.
'I can use him.'
Kang-Woo thought of a way to use Reynald's divine revelation against him.
Kang-Woo separated from the rest of the Guardians members who were in the middle of a meeting and took out a communication orb.
It wasn't the one given to Guardians members but one he'd made to communicate with his summoned beasts.
'Being righteous is exhausting.'
Kang-Woo laughed.
* * *
"Gaia, there's something I'd like to talk to you about," Kang-Woo said.
"To me?"
"Yes. You come too, Si-Hun."
"But hyung-nim, it'll be sunset soon…"
"It's not like we're going to make our move as soon as we receive the revelation. Aren't we going to analyze the Demon Cult based on the information obtained through the revelations over the next few days?"
"I guess that's true."
Si-Hun and Gaia seemed surprised by Kang-Woo's sudden proposal, but they followed him anyway.
They went to the Hall of Protection's training room.
Kang-Woo turned around after reaching the huge white room.
"What are we doing here, hyung-nim?"
"I've watched the footage of when Satan invaded. Since there's a chance we might find Satan through Reynald, we might have to fight him."
"Ah, I see."
"So I wanted to test it," Kang-Woo said while caressing the ring on his right middle finger.
"Test what?" Si-Hun asked.
"If we're a match for Satan at the moment."
"…"
"I've come to realize after seeing Reynald how important it is to be chosen by a god."
"… Hyung-nim."
"Si-Hun, you don't need to feel intimidated. You have the soul of the Martial God inside you. If Reynald can do it, so can you."
Kang-Woo picked up his weapon.
"Come to think of it, this is the first time we've sparred," he remarked.
"Hahaha, you're right."
After realizing Kang-Woo's intentions, Si-Hun unsheathed the El Cuero Blade.
Kang-Woo turned to Gaia.
"Gaia, I would like for you to check if you can feel from Si-Hun something similar to what you received from Lord Tirion."
"So that's why you called me. I understand."
Gaia nodded and focused her attention on Si-Hun's energy.
Kang-Woo and Si-Hun's spar was about to begin.
'Although this isn't really why I called you.'
Kang-Woo made a faint smile.
The reason why he'd called both people was to separate them from Reynald.
He focused on his left eye. He linked his vision with that of his summoned beasts.
- Are you ready, Vaal Zahak?
- Of course, Master.
- Move according to plan.
- Yes, Master.
- Hm! Kang-Woo! I'll do my best too!
- Okay.
They exchanged a short conversation.
"Haap!"
Si-Hun charged toward Kang-Woo with the El Cuero Blade.
* * *
"Ah."
Reynald, who was sitting in his room in the Hall of Protection, let out a short exclamation. Energy was filling his body. The revelation was beginning.
- Kyaaaaah!
- Hahaha! What a fantastic sacrifice!
"Th-This is…"
A little girl's screams reached his ears.
He saw Vaal Zahak.
He saw a massive canyon and piles of rocks.
It was the place that had apparently been attacked by Satan a few days before Reynald had come to Earth.
He saw Vaal Zahak holding a frail little girl. Vaal Zahak opened his mouth, his eye sockets shining with a yellow light.
- Reynald. You thought that I, Demon King Vaal Zahak, wouldn't know you've come to this world?
"N-No way."
- Hehehe. You probably realized where I am right now through the revelation.
Vaal Zahak's creepy voice spread through his ear.
- KYAAH! S-Save me!! Please, help me!
- Reynald, if you want to save this girl, come here alone.
After saying that, Vaal Zahak violently grabbed the girl's neck.
- Cough! S-Save m…!
The girl wriggled her legs in pain.
"You bastard!! How dare you…!"
Reynald's eyes widened, and the anger blew his reason away.
"Vaal Zahak!" the hero roared.
Vaal Zahak's evil laugh spread through his ear.
- Hahaha!! Did you really believe you'd be able to face me if you had Tirion's blessing? Did you believe something would change if you met Gaia's lackeys?
Intense yellow light came out of the skeleton's empty eye sockets.
- Have you forgotten who I am, Reynald?
Vaal Zahak raised his arms, and a huge amount of demonic energy surged out of him.
The black robe fluttered.
- I am Demon King Vaal Zahak.
Flutter.
There was a pink apron visible under the hem of his robe.
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