Chapter 269
Soft…
It was a warm and lumpy feeling.
He was sitting inside a bathtub full of warm water and nuzzled into something that gave a soft sensation.
A delicious smell stimulated his nose.
He extended his hands and touched that soft thing.
‘Big…’
It was even hard to grab it with one hand.
“Ugh…!”
As he touched the soft thing, he heard a moan wet with water and something trembling, but he didn’t back off or escape.
‘Ah…’
He rubbed his head on the soft thing and enjoyed that sensation.
It was a sense of softness that he hadn’t experienced before.
His life had been full of painful moments. It was full of desperation and struggles.
‘For what.’
Why had he tried so hard?
He tried to remember. It was a memory of when he used to be in Hell.
He almost died numerous times. No, it was surprising that he hadn’t died.
The thought of committing suicide had crossed his mind more than once.
Then…
‘Why did I resist?’
He couldn’t remember.
It felt fuzzy, as if part of the drawing had been cut out.
The soft sensation that touched the skin of his face was warm. He curled his body up as if he were a kid, a baby on his mother’s bed.
“Ha.”
He heard a noise again, but once more, that soft sensation didn’t disappear.
The soft sensation spread through his body.
‘Ah.’
A tear dripped from his eyes. It was as if a castle that was built throughout the history of time had crumbled.
A sensation shook his body that was hard to resist.
“M-Mr. KangWoo…?”
Someone was calling him.
He wanted to feel that warm sensation more, so he ignored those words.
How long had it been since he’d felt such a peaceful sensation?
No, that wasn’t the correct expression.
After all, he’d never felt it before.
– At the time, Demon King, you said it like this…
He heard a voice—it was a familiar voice.
– You had to go to a higher place. A much higher place.
Further and beyond.
“Ah, ugh.”
He felt a huge pressure through his body.
Alone, while carrying all of his baggage…
He walked forward.
He looked around and couldn’t see anything.
“I’m… tired.”
Too many had died.
‘I’m tired of this.’
He didn’t want to carry the weight anymore. He couldn’t handle it.
‘I…’
He wasn’t perfect. He had never been perfect.
He wasn’t a superhuman or a god.
He just had desperately struggled.
He wanted to stop, stand still, and take a breath.
All of the eyes watching him and the weight on his shoulders didn’t allow him to do that.
No matter how tired he was…
Forward and forward.
“…”
A warm feeling surrounded him.
Tears dripped from his eyes. He began crying like a beast.
He felt a warm hand touching his hair and saw a white light coming from her hands and entering his body.
“It’s okay.”
An unbelievably kind voice spoke to him.
“Don’t worry.”
The hands that were touching his hair went down his back.
That sweetness made him feel drunk, and his consciousness went fuzzy.
He let that fuzzy feeling take over his body.
His consciousness flickered.
* * *
KangWoo got up.
It’d been 10 days since the rescue plan.
He couldn’t keep staying still while receiving Han Seol-ah’s care.
“My condition seems great.”
He didn’t understand why, but his body felt light.
KangWoo tilted his head.
If he’d really been wounded, one would think that he’d fully recovered.
‘I wasn’t hurt in the first place.’
He’d spent 10 days in bed to make the rescue plan feel more real.
Not only was he not wounded… he didn’t even have a single scar.
The only damage he’d received was the light that came out of Han Seol-ah, but since it only lasted briefly, he managed to heal quickly.
‘What’s going on?’
In his confusion, he took hold of his demonic energy.
His eyes widened.
“What’s happening.”
He felt the demonic energy calmly flowing through his body.
He laughed in disbelief at that foreign sensation.
‘Why is it so calm?’
To think that it would flow calmly. It wasn’t that it was the qi that appeared in martial arts novels. Those kinds of expressions didn’t suit demonic energy.
‘Bullshit.’
Demonic energy should go wild like a crazy woman wearing a flower pendant.
It was as if the demonic energy moving through like a torrent had suddenly met a calm river. It was moving in such a calm way that it felt foreign.
“There doesn’t seem to be a difference in the output…”
KangWoo laughed in disbelief.
There wasn’t a difference in output, but the demonic energy was calm.
There was only one possible conclusion…
‘Is it because my control of demonic energy has increased?’
What was happening?
KangWoo scratched his head in confusion.
“Did I eat some kind of elixir in the night?”
He couldn’t help but laugh at what he said.
It wasn’t that eating an elixir was fun.
One couldn’t increase their control over demonic energy ‘just’ by eating an elixir.
“It’s good, but…”
He still wasn’t at a point where he could absorb Belphegor’s demonic energy.
Considering how much of a dangerous task it was to increase one’s demonic energy, it having increased after a short nap was great news.
‘I wonder what happened.’
He was tilting his head when the door opened.
Clack-
“D-did you wake up, Mr. KangWoo?”
“Ah, yes. I just got up.”
Han Seol-ah entered the room.
‘…?’
His eyes widened when he saw her.
“Did something happen? Your cheeks seem red.”
“Yes? Ah, it’s nothing!!”
Han Seol-ah quickly shook her head.
She took a deep breath and walked to her with expectant eyes.
“D-does it still hurt somewhere? If so, today as well, I’ll…”
“No. I’m okay.”
Han Seol-ah’s expression turned grim.
KangWoo smirked.
“Thanks for taking care of me. I’m really feeling better.”
“Is… is that so?”
“Yes.”
KangWoo nodded.
“I can’t stay in bed and do nothing. It’s about time I start to move.”
“…”
“Why?”
“It… it’s nothing.”
Han Seol-ah lowered her head as if she’d remembered something.
Her cheeks reddened, and it felt like steam was coming out of her head.
“Uhm… Mr. KangWoo…”
“Yes.”
“You… said that you spent ten thousand years in Hell…”
“…”
* * *
KangWoo remained silent.
He slowly nodded.
“Could you tell me about that—”
“No.”
He said it in a bit of a cold manner, and Han Seol-ah trembled a bit.
KangWoo calmly kept talking.
To be honest, talking about it wasn’t hard.
He was sure that, if it were Han Seol-ah, she’d understand what he’d gone through and accept him as he was.
Even so. No, it was precisely because of that…
“I… can’t do that.”
“Why not…? I want to know more about you, Mr. KangWoo.”
“Because you’ll feel sympathy.”
“What…?”
“If you hear it, you’ll feel sympathy.”
KangWoo smiled bitterly.
It wasn’t that he was trying to look cool.
His past, the years he’d spent in Hell, was like a soap opera.
‘It was an amazing shitshow.’
Considering how desperate and miserable it was, one could perfectly compare it to other stories.
They were memories that were hard to mention out loud.
‘Considering the shit storm that will probably happen if I recall those things…’
He felt that he was going to puke while talking.
There was a chance he might even cry.
‘That isn’t something that I should do at my age.’
Of course, it wasn’t that age and mental maturity were co-related.
It was easy to find people that didn’t act their age.
If you had a demon’s body, the constant cravings stopped your mind from maturing.
For example, he wasn’t as knowledgeable as an old man who had gone through many things in his life.
“…”
Han Seol-ah made a sad expression.
“Don’t make that expression. They aren’t fun or interesting stories.”
“It’s not that…”
“I know what you’re trying to say, but I’m too embarrassed to say them out loud… I don’t want to remember them at the moment.”
Han Seol-ah sighed.
“If you say so, there’s nothing I can do.”
“Thank you.”
“I haven’t given up yet. I’m definitely going to hear everything about you, Mr. KangWoo,” Han Seol-ah said while looking at him with a firm expression.
KangWoo scratched his head at her sudden declaration.
“Rather than that, where are Halcyon and Echidna?”
“I heard they’re being taken care of by Ms. Lilith.”
He already knew that, but he asked just in case.
‘They’re probably really desperate at the moment.’
Those two relied on him too much.
It was true that they were his subordinates, but the biggest reason was their innate personalities.
He’d told Balrog to make them stay at home, so they were probably really annoyed at the moment.
‘I should leave that for later.’
There were other things he had to do.
KangWoo began walking.
“Where are you going?”
“I think that I should meet up with the angels.”
“…”
Anger appeared in Han Seol-ah’s eyes because they’d decided not to cooperate in his rescue mission.
KangWoo smiled bitterly and spoke.
“I also heard what happened, but we cannot deny that they’re our allies. Not only that, but it’s hard to say that it was a good decision that so many people came to rescue me. just one person.”
“Th-that…!”
“Still… thank you.”
KangWoo grabbed Han Seol-ah’s hand.
“Thanks to you, I survived.”
“I wasn’t alone. Also… thinking about everything I received from Mr. KangWoo, that much was nothing.”
Han Seol-ah looked at him with intense eyes.
KangWoo coughed and turned around.
“I’ll be back before night.”
As if he wanted to hide his embarrassment, he quickly started to walk away.
Whir-
He opened a gate on the apartment’s rooftop and moved toward the Hall of Protection.
The Hall of Protection had many gates that led to different places worldwide, so using it was quite convenient.
“H-Hyeongnim?!”
“Long time no see.”
“Are you feeling okay?!”
As soon as he entered the Hall of Protection, he was greeted by Kim ShiHoon.
He smirked after seeing his excitement.
“I’m okay. I’m fully recovered.”
He couldn’t understand why, but he was feeling better than before.
“Haa. I was really worried. I heard you were hurting so much that you couldn’t accept visitors…”
“…?”
KangWoo tilted his head.
He had never said something like that.
“I’m glad that you’ve recovered. Why did you come here instead of taking a break?”
“I’m fully healed, so I should explain what happened. Also, I need to think about future plans.”
“…”
Kim ShiHoon remained silent.
He was thinking about how to reply.
“Call Gaia, too. I’d rather explain things once.”
“Yes. Understood. Should I also call Ms. Chae YeonJoo?”
“No. Raphael doesn’t know YeonJoo that much. I think that it would be better if only we went.”
“Are you planning to meet the angels…?”
Kim ShiHoon made an unpleasant expression.
KangWoo gave him a bitter smile.
He’d reacted the same way as Han Seol-ah.
“I know what you’re thinking, but we’re still allies with the angels.”
“…”
“ShiHoon…”
“Yes… I know.”
Kim ShiHoon bit his lips and nodded.
He knew it, but…
“Haa.”
He took a deep breath.
“I’ll bring Gaia.”
Kim ShiHoon turned around.
KangWoo smiled in satisfaction while looking at Kim ShiHoon’s back.
‘This much should be enough.’
The distance they had with the angels was perfect.
After all, he was a demon, so he couldn’t fully trust them.
They needed to collaborate up to a certain point, but both sides being cautious and only collaborating when something happened was the relationship KangWoo wanted with the angels.
“Mr. KangWoo! Y-your body. Is it okay…?”
“Let’s talk about that as we go.’
KangWoo smiled when he saw Gaia’s worried face.
* * *
“The Four Kings of Hell…”
Raphael placed his hand on his forehead.
It was an unexpected development of events.
“Did the Demon of Prophecy’s forces become that strong already? To make things worse, ‘that’ hasn’t been resolved yet…”
He bit his lips.
His head hurt at the thought of the demons’ strength.
“Could you tell me what happened?”
“Of course.”
KangWoo calmly began talking.
He explained how he went to investigate Satan; then he told him how he’d found traces and how the Demon of Prophecy ambushed him.
The more he talked, the darker Raphael’s expression became.
‘Good.’
KangWoo smiled.
‘He believed it.’
It seemed he wasn’t suspecting he was the Demon or Prophecy.
‘I’m finally going to be safe!’
Judging by Raphael’s expression, the plan had been a success.
He would no longer be suspected as the Demon of Prophecy, and he’d also created a comfortable card called ‘Fallen Angel Rakiel’.
‘Good! Rakiel coin, let’s go!’
Thinking about using the Rakiel card made him excited.
‘I should’ve done this from the beginning.’
How much had he struggled because of Satan’s sudden appearance?
KangWoo nodded.
“So, what was the name of the demon from the Four Kings of Hell you met?”
“Fallen Angel Rakiel,” KangWoo said without hesitation.
“Rakiel…?”
‘Yes. It’s probably your first time hearing the name.’
After all, he’d made it up.
He laughed.
BOOM-!
Raphael’s eyes suddenly went as wide as saucers, and he stood up with great urgency.
“R-Rakiel was there?!!”
‘Huh?’
“Wh-why?!! Why is that fallen constellation on Earth…?!”
‘What the fuck?’
“D-don’t tell me…”
Raphael’s expression paled.
“D-did the seal… disappear?”
“…”
KangWoo remained silent.
‘No…’
He grabbed his head.
‘Who the fuck is Rakiel…?’
Something had gone wrong.
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