Chapter 266
[Demon King, they’ve entered.]
“How many?”
[There are… at least three thousand people.]
“What?”
KangWoo’s eyes widened.
Balrog smirked.
[It seems like you built a connection with more people than expected.]
“Ha.”
He laughed in disbelief.
To think that thousands of people would jump into a trap.
‘Now that I think about it…’
His name had started to appear in mainstream media, so he started becoming famous among the public and players.
He couldn’t hide anymore, even if he tried.
That probably showed how many things he’d done after returning to Earth.
“But still… I didn’t think thousands would come.”
KangWoo leaned his back against the chair.
The chair was made of tentacles that oozed a sticky liquid. It was so horrible that looking at it made one want to puke.
‘Well, although it’s fake…’
It was one of the stage props that would make things feel more real.
The chair Lilith made looked so horrible that not even KangWoo wanted to sit on it.
‘With what it was made with…’
He decided not to think too deeply about it.
The tentacles that formed the chair kept poking him, so he constantly moved his ass.
He wasn’t sure why, but the chair was trembling.
“Well, anyways…”
KangWoo thought of what Balrog had told him—the fact that more people than expected had entered the dungeon.
‘Not bad.’
One could say that it was better.
After all, it was better to have a bigger audience.
“Balrog, can we see those who have entered?”
[Of course. Please wait a bit.]
Balrog brought the black communication crystal over, and KangWoo was able to view the dungeon’s interior with it.
Three thousand people had entered it, so it looked as if the interior of the dungeon were about to explode.
‘I’m a bit moved.’
He felt moved after seeing how many people had gathered to save him.
‘This is all thanks to my value as a person.’
KangWoo nodded while making a satisfied expression.
It felt as if his efforts to save the world were being compensated.
Although, in reality, rather than his values, his friendship with Cheon MooJin, Gaia, and Chae YeonJoo, among others, was probably why so many people had gathered. He decided not to think too deeply about it.
“Hmm…?”
KangWoo was looking at the players who’d been wounded by the traps that had activated when someone caught his eye—it was a player who was dealing with the wounded.
“Ah.”
Her glossy black hair had turned into a wiry mess, and there were also dark circles under her eyes.
Her eyes had reddened, and her face looked tired.
Although she usually looked calm, there was a sense of madness in her eyes.
“Dear…”
KangWoo’s expression seemed more depressed than at any time before.
From the first moment he started to make the plan, he knew Han Seol-ah would react like that.
“Haa…”
He sighed.
There was nothing he could do about it if he wanted to definitively separate ‘Oh KangWoo’ and the ‘Demon of Prophecy’, but he couldn’t help the sadness he felt.
“KangWoo, Seol-ah…” Echidna, who was watching the video along with him, mumbled sadly.
“…”
Echidna knew KangWoo’s situation, but there’s no way that looking at Han Seol-ah like that was easy.
KangWoo wasn’t often in the house because of the many things he had to do, so Echidna spent most of her time with Han Seol-ah.
She’d probably spent more time with her than with KangWoo.
“Sh-she really s-seems to be struggling.”
Halcyon hadn’t known Seol-ah for long, so he talked in a comparatively calm voice.
“I… I’ll comfort you.”
Halcyon carefully extended his hands toward KangWoo.
His cheeks touched the flat chest.
Her tip, no his tip, as he was still in the process of becoming a she, went up.
It was true that Han Seol-ah was the one to comfort him when he had been trembling in fear after waking and not seeing KangWoo nearby, but from Halcyon’s point of view, KangWoo was the only person that mattered.
Only KangWoo existed in his world.
Besides him, nothing mattered.
“Haa. Everyone, start preparing. You all know the plan, right?”
“Ah. Y-yes! Of course! I… I’ll make s-sure to be of help to Mr. K-KangWoo!”
Halcyon clenched his fist.
His long, silver hair danced.
KangWoo narrowed his eyes and looked at Halcyon.
‘You’re the one who I’m the most worried about.’
He was the strongest of his subordinates, but the core of the plan wasn’t who was the ‘strongest’.
“KangWoo… You must treat Seol-ah well later on. Okay?”
“Yes, of course.”
KangWoo patted Echidna.
Although there was nothing he could’ve done about it, he needed to repay Seol-ah for making her feel that bad.
‘ShiHoon and YeonJoo, too.’
Besides them, there were many people he was sorry to. For example, TaeSoo, and Gaia, among others.
‘Well, first, I must solve this incident.’
If he wanted to have the leisure to repay them later, he first had to turn off the fire that was burning his feet.
“Balrog, show me the map of the dungeon again.”
[Yes.]
Balrog showed him the structure of the dungeon.
He only had a few days to create the dungeon, so Balrog and Lilith’s help had been huge.
Thanks to the experience of having built a dungeon previously, they’d created many parts of it with great detail.
‘If I had to do this alone… Haa.’
KangWoo shook his head.
The dungeon was five times bigger than the one they’d created before.
KangWoo’s demonic energy had increased a lot, so they were able to create quite a big dungeon.
He couldn’t even think about how much he would’ve struggled if he’d had to do it alone.
‘Although… there was a mistake in the name.’
Just like when Ludwig got to the dungeon, thanks to the trap that activated as soon as they entered, it seemed like there wasn’t anyone who cared about the dungeon’s name.
“Echidna, you go over there. Halcyon, here. Balrog, you wait over there.”
The dungeon was created like a labyrinth, resembling a spread net.
There was no way three thousand people could move together, so they were definitely going to divide into groups.
What KangWoo wanted to do was to drag Kim ShiHoon, Chae YeonJoo, and Gaia to him at the center of it all.
‘To make it feel real, traps and middle bosses should obviously appear.’
It couldn’t look too easy or too hard.
* * *
They had to win after a harsh battle.
Balrog, Echidna, and Halcyon would be in charge of the balance.
[Hmm. Demon King, I have a question.]
“What is it?”
[Who are you going to reveal as the Demon of Prophecy?] Balrog asked while tilting his head.
He’d heard everything from KangWoo.
Since he’d failed to make Satan the Demon of Prophecy, he had to choose another demon, but KangWoo hadn’t said anything about that.
“I’m not going to reveal it.”
[Yes?]
“I’ll hide the identity of the Demon of Prophecy inside this labyrinth.”
[But…]
Balrog seemed confused.
Black angel wings and a red demon mask were prepared within the labyrinth—the props KangWoo had said he needed.
“Well… you’ll see.”
KangWoo laughed.
There was a way to hide the identity of the Demon of Prophecy and show its existence clearly.
From the moment Kim ShiHoon entered the dungeon, 90% of the plan had already succeeded.
“Ah, Balrog, suggest an angel name.”
“An angel name?”
“Yes. Any name that ends with ~el.”
Balrog fell into thought.
“Michael or Gabriel…”
Those were names that already exist.
“How about Rakiel…?”
“Woah, it sounds nice. Where did you hear it?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure. It suddenly came to my mind, but I can’t remember it clearly.”
“Well, that’s more than enough.”
KangWoo shrugged.
Rakiel… it didn’t sound bad.
“Everyone, play your roles well, and change into the disguises that Lilith prepared for you. Make sure no one recognizes you. Everyone has the voice-change artifact, right?”
“Yes. Lilith prepared it for us.”
“Even if it’s by mistake, ensure no one is seriously wounded.”
In reality, it would be better if they killed a few people to make everything feel more real, but not even KangWoo could kill the people that had come to save him.
“Then… start.”
After taking the communication crystal connected to the ones placed all over the dungeon, he gave the orders.
Halcyon, Echidna, and Balrog each moved to their positions.
Then…
– Ugh! Wh-what’s that tentacle dragon?!
– A s-succubus…?
– You idiot! There’s no way a succubus looks like that!
– D-damn it! Wh-what’s up with that muscle monster?!
Screams spread out from all around the dungeon.
He saw that the squadrons were struggling because of the middle boss.
‘Okay. Then, ShiHoon.’
KangWoo looked at the video that showed ShiHoon.
– We’re advancing.
‘Woah, they’re recklessly advancing.’
– C-captain! This is a trap area…
– We’re advancing.
‘Huh?’
– Haa! Haa! L-let us take a break…
– We’re advancing.
‘Hey, don’t overwork us. If you keep going like this, someone will die.’
– Undead!! Undead that were made with the corpses of angels…!
– We’re advancing.
‘Hey, you crazy bastard!’
Kim ShiHoon was advancing at a crazy speed while sweeping away the traps and monsters blocking him.
‘Stop it, you idiot!’
He’d placed the traps carefully to ensure people didn’t die, but if they were so reckless, it was inevitable that some might end up losing their lives.
Wounded people began appearing in Kim ShiHoon’s squadron.
– C-captain… Th-the wound…
– Everyone who’s injured, go back. We’re advancing without taking a break.
‘Hey, ShiHoon…’
He expected the rescue plan to take at least three days, but the dungeon was being cleared at an incredible pace.
‘Stop.’
He was thinking about controlling the situation in a relaxed manner, but he anxiously started to look for his disguise.
He didn’t have enough time, so there were many things he hadn’t been able to prepare.
– We’re advancing.
‘Take a break. If you keep going like this, you’ll exhaust your qi and die.’
– We’re advancing.
“Hey.”
BANG-!!
“Fuck.”
Eight hours after they began clearing the dungeon, Kim ShiHoon broke down the wall and reached the last room.
* * *
“Haa, haa…”
“Y-you crazy bastard…”
Pained moans sounded from all around.
Chae YeonJoo, covered in wounds, collapsed in place.
It was the same for Cheon MooJin—he knelt while vomiting blood.
“Cough! Cough!”
Kim ShiHoon blocked his mouth.
He’d pushed his body to the limit, so crimson blood was leaking out of him.
Still…
“KangWoo… hyeong…”
With a stagger, he walked forward.
At that moment…
– Clap, clap, clap.
“So you finally arrived.”
Someone unknown appeared from a passageway—someone that had black angel wings and was wearing a red demon mask.
“You…”
He seemed different from the Demon of Prophecy, whose body was made of a black liquid.
Although they looked similar, their atmosphere and voices were completely different.
Kim ShiHoon’s eyes shook after seeing that someone that wasn’t the Demon of Prophecy had appeared.
“I’m Rakiel, one of the Four Heavenly Kings Hell, the one who rules Corruption.”
“Rakiel…?”
Kim ShiHoon frowned at the mention of a name he hadn’t heard before.
He turned around. Everyone else also seemed confused.
KangWoo, no, Rakiel was smiling behind the mask.
‘It’s obvious that you haven’t heard it before.’
He’d just made it up, after all.
KangWoo had just nodded at a name that Balrog had made up for him.
‘The name doesn’t matter anyways.’
What mattered was that Rakiel was a virtual being that KangWoo had created.
The real one wouldn’t appear, and thus he wouldn’t cause any problems like Satan had.
‘Four Kings of Hell. How cool!’
He felt proud of what he’d thought about.
A way to prove the existence of the Demon of Prophecy while hiding his identity…
The best way to do that was to create a subordinate that served him.
‘There’s no danger of me being discovered.’
In situations where he needed to use Satan, he could just use the virtual card called ‘Rakiel’ he had created.
Rakiel wasn’t the ‘Demon of Prophecy’, but he was a ‘subordinate of the Demon of Prophecy’, so there was no danger of Gaia appearing out of nowhere and trolling.
‘Now, I can just hide the identity of the Demon of Prophecy and keep using Rakiel’s name whenever I need to use someone.’
There wasn’t a risk of being discovered as the Demon of Prophecy anymore.
‘Yes, this is it!’
KangWoo’s body shook in excitement.
A coin that was going to replace Satan’s coin…
‘It was something that I could create.’
As if creating something out of nothing, he just had to create a coin he could comfortably use.
KangWoo nodded in satisfaction. The peak of the setup wasn’t simply creating the ‘Rakiel’ coin.
“Four Kings of Hell…?”
Kim ShiHoon mumbled it with a hardened expression.
Something flashed past his mind.
“D-don’t tell me that Satan…”
“Haha, you’re fast, huh?”
“So Satan is also part of the Four Kings of Hell!”
Satan’s name had already fallen pretty much as far as possible, so it was the perfect time to make it completely fall.
It wasn’t what he intended, but it was revealed that Satan wasn’t the Demon of Prophecy but his subordinate, so there was no way they’d be able to doubt that.
KangWoo threw a prop he’d prepared beforehand to Kim ShiHoon.
Tap, roll-
Kim ShiHoon grabbed something that was on the floor.
His eyes widened.
“Th-this…!”
“How dare you compare me with someone like Satan.”
The thing the monster with black wings had thrown to the floor as if it were trash…
It was Satan’s head.
“He’s the weakest among the Four Kings of Hell.”
KangWoo, no, the king that ruled ‘Corruption’ along with the Four Kings of Hell.
He was someone who used to be an angel but whose eyes had turned black after deciding to serve the Demon of Prophecy.
Rakiel burst into laughter.
– Sniff. Please… Please stop, you motherfucker…
He heard a faint voice but ignored it.
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