Chapter 305 - I Should Make Kimchi Stew
Yuriel ?: [Did you get home safe?]
Yuriel ?: [We don't know when the encroachment will happen again, so stay safe.]
Yuriel ?: [And I'm going to live in Seoul, so find me a house.]
Me: [What about money?]
Yuriel ?: [Come on, you're rich! You can have a few of the magic tools here.]
Me: [LMAO I was joking.]
Yuriel ?: [How can you joke around in such a situation?]
Yuriel ?: [Anyway, contact me right away if something happens. You know you can't neutralize demonic energy with mana, right? Sacred power is better, so make sure you contact me!]
Me: [Okay.]
"Cute little son of a bitch."
Oh Kang-Woo smirked while looking at his smartphone.
After the demonic energy was neutralized with Uriel's sacred power, they decided to stop investigating, and each returned to their home after Kang-Woo had barely managed to convince Uriel to not follow him.
Kang-Woo lay on the bed when he got home.
'The message that the Seed of Corruption is growing hasn't appeared yet.'
Based on Uriel's current condition, it was only a matter of time.
'I should keep working to make him more obsessed.'
The closer he got to Uriel, the more his obsession would grow.
'And once that obsession reaches madness...'
Uriel would fall from grace.
"Mm..."
Kang-Woo crossed his arms and fell into thought.
'He said the fall could be reversed at the moment of its occurrence.'
If that was the case, then stopping it would be beneficial to him. After all, according to the quest, a temporary fall was good enough.
'Still, I feel a bit sorry for the kid.'
Kang-Woo had also grown attached to Uriel after spending all those months together. Uriel followed him everywhere like an abandoned puppy, so there was no way he wouldn't get attached. Although Kang-Woo had cringed when Uriel said that he would protect him, he would be lying if it didn't move him.
'Just a bit longer, kid. I swear I'll make it up to you once it's all over.'
He needed to prevent Uriel from falling permanently if he wanted the angels' cooperation in the future. Kang-Woo's thoughts stopped at the sound of an incoming message.
Yuriel ?: [But do we really need to keep it a secret? Why don't we just tell that Kim Si-Hun human and, umm... You said you had a lover, right? Han Seol-Ah, was it? Why don't we just tell them everything that's going on?]
"Absolutely not."
He couldn't imagine the consequences he would face if he told them. Kang-Woo immediately replied that it needed to be kept secret no matter what. Uriel kept insisting that they should tell the others, to which Kang-Woo kept turning down flat.
Me: [If you tell anyone, I will stop hanging out with you, Lord Uriel.]
Yuriel ?: [...]
Uriel finally agreed after Kang-Woo put the foot down. Kang-Woo put down the smartphone and sighed.
"I should get this done as quickly as possible."
Based on Uriel's reaction, he would most definitely end up telling other people. He had to finish everything before that happened.
'I don't have a lot of time.'
The friend slowly turning into a demonic beast and the protagonist struggling to save him... He needed to make a perfect TV drama around these two characters.
'Although I might be able to improvise a few things, I need to plan out the general script.'
Kang-Woo got out of his bed and sat at his desk.
Just then...
Knock, knock.
"Umm... Kang-Woo?" Seol-Ah entered in her pajamas. "D-Did everything go well?"
"Oh, yeah. It's going well."
Seol-Ah's expression brightened, and she blushed and grabbed his hand.
"Then can we..."
"Sorry. Like I told you this morning, I won't be able to sleep with you for the next few days."
He wasn't just planning on making Uriel fall. He also needed to drive him to the brink of falling from grace and then bring him back to normal. It was too bad he couldn't sleep with Seol-Ah, but he needed to focus on the plan first.
"... I-I see."
Seol-Ah lowered her head with a dark expression on her face. The two of them had begun sleeping together about a month and a few weeks ago, and Seol-Ah seemed to have become very into it.
'I want to sleep with you too, darling.'
Kang-Woo did his best to resist the temptation by shaking his head.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. Oh... Why don't you take this chance to stay with your mother for the time being?"
Seol-Ah's mother, Kim Mi-Jeong, was taking care of Seol-Ah's older brother, Han Tae-Hyun, who had practically become mentally disabled. No matter how much of a scumbag he had been, she couldn't just leave him be since he was her son. Kang-Woo had lifted the forced command he had planted in Tae-Hyun with the Authority of Fear, but the latter could no longer function like a regular person due to the deeply instilled trauma.
"That's..." Seol-Ah's expression hardened as she slurred.
It seemed like, unlike her mother, she still hadn't been able to forgive her brother.
'Well, I don't blame her.'
Tae-Hyun had tried to offer her up to his guild, so it was only natural. Kang-Woo had even put some Guardians members around Seol-Ah's mother for security, just in case.
"I'm sorry. Forget I said that."
"Not at all. It's all thanks to you that I can even have trivial worries like this," Seol-Ah answered while making a bright smile. "I'll get going, then. Please don't overwork yourself."
"Okay." Kang-Woo waved and closed the door. "Now then..."
He sat on the chair and re-read the messages he'd exchanged with Uriel.
'Let's begin.'
* * *
The days after were very hectic. Kang-Woo spent all day with Uriel to get even closer to him.
"Kuh...! C-Cough!"
"K-Kang-Woo!"
And of course, he sprinkled in some encroachment performances here and there while vomiting blood. Every time that happened, Uriel frantically poured his sacred power into Kang-Woo while bawling his eyes out.
"Lord Uriel, if I become a demonic b—"
"Shut up!"
"..."
"I'll protect you, so don't you dare say shit like that. Got it?"
Uriel did his best to fully chase out the demonic energy from Kang-Woo.
Based on what he'd learned after contacting Sant'Angelo in Aernor, there were two ways to resolve it. One was to eliminate Rakiel, and the other was for Kang-Woo to grow strong enough to be able to burn off the demonic energy within him.
"Shit, shit!" Uriel cursed after hearing the two options.
It was only obvious, since he knew very well that either option was realistically impossible.
Uriel rented a suite in the apartment where Kang-Woo and Cha Yeon-Joo lived with Kang-Woo's help. At first, he had insisted on living in the same house as Kang-Woo, but they had compromised on him living three floors down.
Yuriel ?: [Hey, what are you doing?]
Yuriel ?: [Come down.]
The closer they became and the more often Kang-Woo experienced the demonic energy encroachment, the more severe Uriel's obsession became, proving the plan was going smoothly. But because of that, Kang-Woo had barely been home and was spending all his time with Uriel to get rid of the demonic energy within him.
'But I'm almost there.'
Kang-Woo opened the door to his room as he read Uriel's message. He knew things would be over soon thanks to the system messages.
Riiing.
[The Seed of Corruption is growing.]
[The prerequisite quest is close to completion!]
'Finally.'
Kang-Woo clenched his fists. He had been faking the encroachment for two weeks straight, and it was time to end the boring drama.
Clack.
As he came out of his room, he saw Seol-Ah sitting on the living room couch. She had become unrecognizably haggard in these past two weeks. Kang-Woo felt a pain in his heart.
'I'm sorry, darling.'
He recalled the conversations he had with Seol-Ah over the past two weeks.
"Umm... Kang-Woo, what would you like to have for dinner tonight?"
"Oh, sorry. I'm having dinner with Uriel tonight."
"Ah... okay."
"Kang-Woo... umm, what time will you be coming h—"
"Sorry, darling. I'm gonna be sleeping over at Uriel's tonight."
"... Okay."
"Will you be... staying out tonight as well?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"..."
"Haaa."
He couldn't help but sigh after thinking about their exchanges.
'I never thought she'd get this bad.'
Ever since they became lovers, he knew that Seol-Ah found the time they spent together to be very joyful. And so did he, but this was so important that he hadn't been able to give her any attention.
Kang-Woo walked toward her.
"... Kang-Woo?"
"I'm sorry for not being able to spend any time with you lately, darling." He hugged Seol-Ah, who had thick dark circles under her eyes.
Her expression brightened. "Then what about tod—"
"Just give me a little more time. It's almost over."
"Ah..." Her bright expression darkened again.
Kang-Woo gave her a light kiss and turned around. He wanted to spend some more time with Seol-Ah, but he could feel his phone vibrating from Uriel's messages.
"I'll get going, then. Eat without me. I think I'll be spending time with Uriel until late today."
"... Okay." Seol-Ah nodded while smiling awkwardly.
Kang-Woo opened the front door with a bitter smile on his face.
'I'll have to settle this by today.'
He himself would not be able to hold on for much longer either if he kept dragging this on. He had already thought of the finale. Since a message saying that the quest was almost complete had appeared, there was no reason for him to hesitate any longer.
'It's for sure gonna work this time.'
The finale he'd prepared was like this: He'd go to a deserted mountain and contact Uriel, asking for his help in a faint voice that sounded like he was on the verge of death.
'Uriel will fly over immediately.'
Once Uriel arrived, he'd put the green tentacles he received from Lilith on his right arm and act as if he were turning into a demonic beast.
'And then for my final line...'
- I'm begging you. Before I turn into a monster... kill me.
'Shiiiet! That's the one!'
It was a fantastic line, if he said so himself. It would surely work since Uriel's obsession for Kang-Woo was growing with each day.
'As for the climax... let's go with the power I inherited from Tirion growing stronger after all the sacred power I got from Uriel which then chases out the demonic energy.'
A hero powering up in a crisis... It was awfully cliche, but since he couldn't become an actual demonic beast, it was the best he could do.
'Alright, I'll go with this.'
Kang-Woo smiled and searched for where he should set the stage for the finale.
* * *
Clack.
"..."
Seol-Ah stared at the front door, which had just closed. Her face had become so thin over the past two weeks that she was almost unrecognizable, and thick dark circles had formed under her eyes.
"Oh... Right." Seol-Ah got up. "I should make kimchi stew for Kang-Woo."
Step, step.
She staggered to the kitchen, grabbed the pot, and took out kimchi and pork from the refrigerator.
"I'm sure he's tired from how busy he's been lately, so I'm sure he'll love it if I make a lot."
Seol-Ah laughed softly. She grabbed a kitchen knife and cut the kimchi.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump!
She swung down the kitchen knife as if she were chopping firewood. Deep knife marks formed on the cutting board, and red fluid from the kimchi splattered all over the place. However, that was only for a moment.
"..." Seol-Ah began to tear up. "Sniff, sniff."
Tears flowed down her cheeks.
Just then...
Ding, dong.
"Huh...?"
The bell rang.
Bang, bang, bang.
She heard someone banging on the door.
"K-Kang-Woo?"
She knew that there was no way Kang-Woo would ring the doorbell, but she was in no condition to have such thoughts.
Clack!
She opened the door.
"Ah..."
"The hell? Where's Kang-Woo?"
When she opened the door, she saw a young blue-haired boy standing in a crooked posture.
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