After Ten Millennia in Hell

"Fufu… It must be too hard for you to believe at the moment."

"N-no," Kim Si-Hun said with a trembling voice.

Gaia turned to Grace McCubbin.

"Grace, please bring me that."

"Just a second."

Grace raised her hand, and blue energy gathered around it.

Click.

A wall shining with white light opened, and inside was a translucent blue sphere. The blue sphere, which could be seen through like a hologram, floated over to the table.

"What is this?" Si-Hun asked while looking at the blue sphere.

"It is the current state of Earth."

Gaia extended her hand and touched the blue sphere. As she did that, a white light surrounding the blue sphere rose up as if simulating the Earth's atmosphere.

Holes were in the protective barrier as if it were mold.

"Could this barrier of light be…"

"Yes, that's right. What you are looking at right now is the current state of the Gaia System."

"…"

There was a heavy silence. Oh Kang-Woo raised his head and looked at the blue sphere in detail.

'Damn it.'

It didn't look good. No, it was quite serious.

He wasn't sure how much it used to shine, but there were many holes in the barrier of light, and the light itself was also very dim in some areas.

"Is there a way to restore the Gaia System?"

To Kang-Woo, restoring the Gaia System, which he had broken, to its original state was as important as getting stronger.

Gaia made a weak smile.

"There isn't a way to restore the Gaia System at the moment."

Gaia had said it firmly, but Kang-Woo's eyes shone.

"You said 'at the moment.' Does that mean there might be a way to restore it later?"

"That's…" Gaia slurred her sentence. She sighed and said, "The Gaia System has a recovery function, but that function isn't taking effect at the moment. I hope it will recover someday."

"But you don't know when that's going to be?"

"… Yes." She slightly bit her lips. "To be honest with you… I'm not even sure if the recovery function is still intact. In the worst-case scenario, the Gaia System itself could disappear."

It was a hopeless situation.

Kang-Woo took a deep breath. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say there was no realistic way to restore it.

A heavy atmosphere filled the room.

"But there is still hope," Gaia quickly added.

"Hope?"

She clenched her fists and continued, "The Demon of Prophecy. I believe that if we eliminate that demon, the Gaia System will recover."

'That's not an option, young lady.'

Kang-Woo put his hand on his forehead as if his head hurt.

'I'm that fucking Demon of Prophecy.'

He couldn't commit suicide for world peace.

That wasn't an option for him since he wanted to protect the world for his own well-being and peace.

'I can't bite off more than I can chew.'

World peace was a secondary goal.

His primary goal was to live in peace with a beautiful girl like Han Seol-Ah as his bride.

Si-Hun, who had been silently listening, opened his mouth. "I'd like to ask you something."

"Go ahead," Gaia replied.

"Is the reason why you are injured… related to the Gaia System being damaged?"

"Ah…"

Gaia let out a short exclamation. She hesitated to answer for a bit.

So, instead of her, Grace answered.

"Yeah. Gaia became like this because the Gaia System's damage is worsening."

"G-Grace!"

"There's no need to hide it, is there?"

"But…" Gaia slurred her words.

Grace patted her shoulder and said, "It doesn't matter what the duty of Guardians is. I'm fighting to heal you."

A kind smile was drawn on Grace's face. There was worry and love mixed in her eyes.

Si-Hun remained silent. He lightly caressed the handle of the sword at his waist.

"Is there a way to heal Gaia right now?" he asked.

"There is."

"Grace. You don't need to give him unnecessary informa—"

"The reason doesn't matter, does it? Our ultimate goal is the same."

"Well…"

It was a vague conversation. Si-Hun stared at Grace.

"Will Gaia be healed if we kill the Demon of Prophecy?"

"Not exactly. There's no guarantee that the Gaia System will recover if we kill the Demon of Prophecy, but… it's the best shot we have."

"…"

Si-Hun clenched his fists. His eyes were trembling while looking at Gaia.

'Don't, Si-Hun.'

Kang-Woo grabbed his head while looking at Si-Hun, who was burning with a strong sense of justice.

'You can't kill the Demon of Prophecy.'

Just imagining Si-Hun, whom he had taken care of so much, pointing his sword at him made his head hurt.

'Fuck.'

Kang-Woo frowned. The situation was getting complex.

'It's not something that can be resolved by just keeping my mouth shut.'

There had been a revelation. Members of Guardians would be desperately searching for the Demon of Prophecy.

He still wasn't sure if they had a way to identify the Demon of Prophecy, but he couldn't remain on the sidelines doing nothing.

'What should I do?'

For a moment, he felt his head had become blank.

"Could you give me more details about the Demon of Prophecy?" Si-Hun asked while his eyes shone.

Gaia carefully opened her mouth.

"I do not have any exact information, but… I have a few guesses."

"Please tell me."

'Why are you doing this, Si-Hun?'

"I want to know more about the Demon of Prophecy."

'It's me, bro.'

Kang-Woo's inner ramblings didn't reach Si-Hun.

Si-Hun was so serious that the others wondered why he was so passionate about it.

Gaia was also bewildered by his attitude. She slightly flinched and continued.

"The Demon of Prophecy… is already on Earth."

"They're already on Earth?"

"Yes." Gaia nodded. "It was nine months ago. The exact date should be… May 22nd."

'Oh, fuck.'

"The Gaia System was overloaded and started breaking down on that day."

'She's even sure about the exact date?'

Kang-Woo's expression hardened.

If she knew the exact date, his chances of being discovered increased.

"Has the Demon of Prophecy made any moves ever since that day?"

"Yes. According to our guess, there's a chance that their original strength has been sealed due to the influence of the Gaia System."

"If their strength has been sealed…"

"We have every single member of Guardians investigating the changes that happened from that day onward. Information about anyone becoming illogically powerful, or matters involving the Demon Cult… They might even be among us, disguised as a human being."

'I'm fucked.'

If they investigated Kang-Woo, it wouldn't be hard to discover he'd Awakened as a Player around that date.

Taking into consideration how powerful Kang-Woo was while not being a Protector, he would have a hard time avoiding being suspected. After all, Kang-Woo's extremely fast growth rate couldn't be explained with a simple excuse such as talent.

'At this point, it's a miracle that I haven't been found out.'

He had to find a way to escape suspicion.

His head became messy.

'What should I—'

Slam!

'Huh?'

He heard a dull sound.

Si-Hun had slammed the table with his fists and stood up.

"I see. I get it now…" Si-Hun mumbled with a trembling voice. He was biting his lip so hard that it was bleeding.

'What's up with him?'

"What's wrong, Protector Kim Si-Hun?" Gaia asked.

"I've figured it out."

"Pardon me?"

Si-Hun's eyes shone intensely. He spat out, "I think I know who the Demon of Prophecy is."

'Huh?'

"Wh-What do you…"

Everyone was shocked. Si-Hun's low voice spread through the room.

"Satan. That man is the Demon of Prophecy."

'Oh, wait.'

"Satan, you say?"

"Yes. I've kept this a secret from everyone, but I had met him three months ago."

'Is this how it's gonna play out?'

Kang-Woo's mouth fell open. To be honest, he had never expected it to play out like this.

"Si-Hun, th—"

"I'm sorry for not telling you before, hyung-nim. I was worried you'd be killed if you got involved."

"Protector Kim Si-Hun, please give us more details."

"That day, I went to the hotel rooftop after being contacted by Mr. Osborne…"

Si-Hun's explanation continued. The more the story went on, the more Gaia's and Grace's expressions hardened.

"Th-Then… Protector Alec went missing because…"

"He wasn't killed by a Demon Cult assassin but by the Demon of Prophecy?"

The two women were astonished.

Si-Hun nodded.

"Yes."

'Si-Hun.'

"All this while, I had no idea why Satan had attacked Alec, but… I think I get it now."

'I love you, Si-Hun.'

"Satan was trying to get rid of a Guardians member because he was a threat to him."

'Yes! Fantastic work, my boy!'

"Satan is the Demon of the Prophecy."

"A-Aaahhh…"

A short exclamation came out of Gaia's mouth.

Slam!

"Hyung-nim?"

"Kang-Woo?"

After Si-Hun, Kang-Woo angrily stood up. He grabbed Si-Hun's shoulders while looking at him intensely as if actually furious.

"So what you're saying is that son of a bitch Satan tried to hurt you, right?"

"Oh, u-uhmm…"

"Tell me the truth. Did he try to kill you?"

"… Yes."

Si-Hun nodded with difficulty, as if he had found the incident of that day insulting.

Kang-Woo turned his head toward Gaia.

"Can Guardians only be joined if one is a Protector?"

"Pardon? Y-Yes, according to the rules…"

"This is no time to quibble over rules."

Kang-Woo let his energy burst out. Intense and suffocating energy pressured the surroundings.

"I will also join Guardians."

He had no other choice.

'Now that it's come to this, I'll go against Satan!'