After Ten Millennia in Hell

Oh Kang-Woo touched the two demonic crystals that Kim Si-Hun handed him.

They were small compared to the one inside El Cuero's head, and there was also far less demonic energy inside them.

However, that wasn't important.

Kang-Woo, the Red Rose Guild, and the Hwarang Corps had been searching for them for two weeks, and they hadn't been able to find a single one, but Si-Hun had found not one but two!

"I first got this yesterday. I was hunting with the party members when I felt a chill down my back. How could I describe this… Oh, I told you that I felt a sense of discomfort when I first met you, right?"

"You did."

"It was similar to that."

"Ohhh."

"So I followed that sensation and then saw a weird monster."

"A weird monster?"

"Yes. We were mainly hunting Minotaurs, but its outer appearance was a bit weird. It was as if it had been dyed black. It also seemed a bit crazed."

"And you found this after you hunted it?"

"Yes." Si-Hun nodded.

"You found two inside the same monster?"

"No. Today, while hunting, I felt the same sense of discomfort. I followed it and found another weird monster, and this one came from it."

Si-Hun pointed to one of the two gems.

Kang-Woo's eyes sank, and the gears in his head quickly turned.

'He felt the same discomfort when he first saw me.'

The first thing Kang-Woo thought Si-Hun had felt was demonic energy. There was a high chance that Si-Hun instinctively felt discomfort when he was around someone who had demonic energy.

"Si-Hun, did you feel the same discomfort when you first met Echidna?"

Kang-Woo pointed to Echidna, who was sitting and sticking right next to him.

As the topic changed to her, she looked at Kang-Woo while tilting her head.

"Am I discomforting, Kang-Woo?"

"No, of course not."

"No. Although I met Ms. Echidna for the first time today… I didn't feel that kind of discomfort at all."

"I see."

It wasn't demonic energy.

Echidna was different from demons, but she still had demonic energy.

'Then…'

Leaving demonic energy aside, what did he have in common with monsters?

Nothing immediately came to mind.

He kept thinking.

At that moment, he remembered that Si-Hun said the Minotaur had been "dyed black."

'Was it being eroded by demonic energy and gradually turning into a demonic beast?'

If demonic energy turned humans into demons, it wouldn't be weird if it turned monsters into demonic beasts.

He naturally recalled when he had killed the Hellhound and Buer as soon as he thought about demonic beasts.

"Ah."

He let out a short exclamation. It was as if he'd managed to complete a puzzle.

'Rift Fragments.'

When he had killed demonic beasts, he had received messages saying he'd defeated Rift Fragments. Additionally, when he'd crossed the dimensional barrier to Earth, he had heard a voice mention that a Rift Core had been detected.

Rift Core and Fragment…

There was no way these two words weren't related.

'Si-Hun subconsciously feels discomfort at the presence of beings known as Rifts.'

It made sense.

Si-Hun had been chosen by the Gaia System, a transcendental being that was able to seal Kang-Woo's power.

Si-Hun's role was to be a protector, a being that could supplement the Gaia System, which had been impaired after the Rift Core had crossed the barrier into Earth.

'If the Gaia System was what had been blocking the Rift Fragments…'

It wouldn't be weird for Si-Hun to instinctively feel a sense of discomfort.

'Then does that mean the Demon Cult is intentionally creating Rift Fragments?'

He was starting to understand why they were planting the demonic crystals inside monsters.

A smile appeared on his face.

'Si-Hun can find them.'

He wasn't sure why the Demon Cult was trying to create Rift Fragments, but he was sure that Si-Hun could find them.

Rather than blindly trying to find a needle in the middle of a desert, it was far more effective to use a metal detector.

If it were Si-Hun, he would be able to find monsters with demonic crystals planted inside them from a distance.

"Si-Hun."

Kang-Woo grabbed Si-Hun's hands. Kang-Woo had never felt as proud of Si-Hun as he did at this very moment. It was the first time Kang-Woo thought that it had been worth how much he'd invested in him.

"Hyung-nim?"

"You're gonna have to help me for a bit."

"I'll help you with whatever as long as it's within my capability, but… what exactly do you want help with?"

"You just need to follow me without doing a thing."

"Pardon me?"

"You'll be more than enough help just staying by my side."

Si-Hun was just like a human GPS. Just guiding Kang-Woo in the direction he felt discomfort would be enough. Of course, in the near future, he would be able to do more than serve as a GPS, but this was more than enough for now.

"K-Kang-Woo?" Han Seol-Ah asked in shock.

"Kyaaaaaa! I knew it! They have been acting weird ever since the hospital! Yessss!" Choi Eun-Bi exclaimed.

"Huh?"

The two girls reacted before Si-Hun could. Seol-Ah was trembling, her face completely pale, and Eun-Bi was getting super worked up while bleeding from the nose.

Kang-Woo replayed the words he'd used in his head.

'Damn.'

Kang-Woo quickly let go of Si-Hun's hands.

"I-If you say so, hyung-nim…"

'Don't blush.'

"I'll do my best. After all, I've already made my resolution to follow you."

'I told you not to blush, man.'

Kang-Woo covered his face with his two hands and regretted what he had just said, but it was already too late.

'How am I supposed to explain this?'

Kang-Woo couldn't get Seol-Ah's pale-stricken face out of his head.

***

"In that case, I will see you tomorrow morning," Si-Hun remarked.

"Okay, take care on your way back."

"Hyung-nim! Are you sure I can't come with you too?!" Kang Tae-Soo asked.

"I told you. We might be going into Gates A-rank and above. The more people I have to protect, the more dangerous it will be."

"Urgh…"

"Or are you confident that you won't be a hindrance when we're against monsters in A-rank Gates?"

"N-No."

"Then you know what you have to do, right?"

"Ugh… Okay, Kang-Woo hyung-nim. I, Kang Tae-Soo, will withdraw this time, but I will not give up!"

"Sure. I'll be waiting for you."

Kang-Woo laughed.

After clarifying the situation to resolve the misunderstanding, he saw Si-Hun, Tae-Soo, and Eun-Bi out.

He honestly wanted to go search the Gates right this very second if he could, but there were things he had to do before that.

'I'll have to plan an efficient route.'

Mindlessly searching only nearby Gates would be very inefficient.

It would be better to explain things to Cha Yeon-Joo and Baek Hwa-Yeon and then determine the most efficient route.

'I'll have to visit the Red Rose Guild.'

It did not take long to reach the Red Rose guild house even on foot.

Kang-Woo turned his head toward Seol-Ah and Echidna, who were next to him.

"I'm gonna go visit Red Rose. I might be long."

"Is there anything I can help with?" Seol-Ah asked.

"Not at the moment."

Too many cooks spoiled the broth; not many people were needed to set an efficient route.

Seol-Ah and Echidna looked disappointed, but they nodded.

"In that case, we'll be heading back inside. Have a safe trip."

"Thanks."

After waving at them, Kang-Woo turned around.

Echidna and Seol-Ah waited at the apartment entrance and stared at Kang-Woo walking away until he couldn't be seen anymore.

"Seol-Ah, you look sad."

"Fufu. It's nothing."

Seol-ah patted Echidna's head.

Echidna grabbed Seol-Ah's clothes.

"It's okay. Kang-Woo feels super thankful to you. I know it since I'm linked to Kang-Woo."

"Ngh… R-Really?"

Seol-ah smiled while blushing.

She grabbed Echidna's hand.

"Let's head inside first. I'll let you choose our menu for dinner tonight, Echidna."

"Hm! Hm! I want beef!" Echidna said while snorting.

"Fufu. Okay. Then let's stop by the supermarke—"

Seol-ah suddenly stopped speaking. Her expression hardened.

"Who are you?"

Ten men wearing red masks and dark robes, which seemed to melt into the darkness, surrounded them.

"Who are we?"

"There is no need for you to know."

They kept talking.

"We only want one thing."

"Your lives."

"What you must do right now is…"

"… Call him."

They each took turns speaking. It was as if all ten were connected as one.

"To call… who?" Seol-ah asked.

"Oh Kang-Woo."

"Call the man you follow."

"And then your role will end."

Seol-ah bit her lips. "I won't call him. I don't know who you people are, but I won't just do as you s—"

"Do I just have to call Kang-Woo?" asked Echidna.

"E-Echidna?!"

"Just a second, I'll call him right now."

Echidna closed her eyes as if she couldn't understand the situation they were in. She called Kang-Woo through the link that a summoned beast had with their master.

"Kang-Woo will be here soon."

"I'm glad you're quick on the uptake."

The men wearing red masks laughed.

Kang-Woo, who had been on his way to the Red Rose Guild, soon appeared.

"Who are you?" Kang-Woo asked in a low voice while looking at the men surrounding Seol-Ah and Echidna.

"You don't need to know who we are."

"Just follow our orders."

"If you want a painless death."

Kang-Woo looked at the men wearing red masks with great interest.

"Are you from the Demon Cult?" Kang-Woo asked.

"We are not obligated to answer that," one of them answered

"You are the one who must answer," another added.

"What an idiotic way of speaking," Kang-Woo said as he laughed in disbelief.

Echidna and Seol-Ah were surrounded by the men, but he wasn't worried at all.

The red-masked men remained silent after seeing his relaxed attitude.

"You are impertinent, just like he said."

"A child who knows nothing of worldly affairs."

"You must think you have everything since you're under Cha Yeon-Joo…"

"But we will make you understand how big the world truly is."

The men moved behind Echidna and Seol-ah and grabbed them from behind. They pointed kris blades at their necks.

"Be careful," Kang-Woo said.

The men laughed.

"It's already too late. Nothing will change even if they are careful."

"No, not them…" A smile appeared on Kang-Woo's face. "You guys."

"…?"

Crack!!

Echidna, who transformed one of her arms into a dragon's, violently struck the one that had grabbed her from behind.

The man was blown backward, and the sound of his bones breaking sounded out.

"Don't touch me." Echidna glared at them coldly. "Only Kang-Woo can touch my body."