After Ten Millennia in Hell

"What's this now?" Oh Kang-Woo said in bewilderment after reading the system window.

He got that system message as he absorbed the Chrysalis and the demonic energy that flowed out of the Ten Thousand Demon Core.

'A decimal point?'

It was a stat increment that he'd never seen before.

'Is it because the demonic energy from the Chrysalis is kind of ambiguous?'

He hadn't been expecting his stat to go up by one from hunting a Chrysalis anyway. His Demonic Energy stat had risen to 122 thanks to the Blessing of Gaia, so he knew it wouldn't go up from absorbing the Chrysalis.

'Well, I guess it's better than not rising at all.'

A decimal point was better than nothing.

Since he'd found a new jackpot called a Rift Seed, he didn't feel the need to rush.

'As for the Trait, Reaper of Souls…’

Riiing.

[The target is not a demon.]

"Like I thought, it won't activate."

A Chrysalis wasn't a demon but a demonic beast, so it made sense that a Trait that let him absorb souls of demons wouldn’t activate.

"I guess I have no choice but to keep hunting demons."

He had to keep absorbing demon souls to fulfill one of the conditions for Demonic Soul.

"First—"

Kang-Woo cut that thought. His growth was not a priority at the moment.

He took out a transparent orb from his pocket.

"Ah, aah, can you hear me?"

[Yes, go ahead,] Gaia's voice rang out from the orb. [Were you able to complete the mission?]

"Yes. I've resolved matters in Daegu."

[Were you hurt in any way during the mission? If you were, you can come to the Hall of Protection to be trea—]

"No."

Gaia seemed worried about Kang-Woo, but he cut Gaia's words short. He hadn't gotten hurt, and he certainly didn't have time to relax while being treated.

"I have acquired important information."

[What kind…?]

Kang-Woo told her about the Rift Seed and how the Demon Cult was sowing Rift Seeds all around the world. Guardians had to mobilize all of their forces to bring the Demon Cult's plan to a halt.

[…] Gaia was silent for a moment.

Then she said solemnly, [I understand. I will contact every single member of Guardians and have them focus on destroying the Rift Seeds.]

"No. We shouldn't destroy them."

That would be a huge loss for Kang-Woo.

Kang-Woo explained in a serious tone, "We should collect them and put them in one place."

[Collect?]

"Yes."

[But if we do that, the Rift Seeds would remain—]

"You don't need to worry about that. The Rift Seeds don't activate as long as they're pulled out of the ground."

[Oh, I see.]

Gaia seemed like she still couldn't fully understand what Kang-Woo was saying.

[But is there a reason we should be collecting them instead of destroying them? Wouldn't it be better to destroy them just in case?]

"That would be true if we just wanted to stop their plan."

Nevertheless, Kang-Woo didn't falter. Making situations flow in the direction he wanted was his forte.

[Then why…?]

"You need to think more long term. We won't be able to solve the lingering issue by only acting after the Demon Cult makes their moves.

[Ah.]

"Have you ever tried to research the Demon Cult's knowledge?"

[Of course, but it's such esoteric knowledge that we weren't able to get results.]

"In such cases, the better it is to have more research materials. The Demon Cult can cause incidents like that so unilaterally because of all of the knowledge they've obtained through the years. Without researching that, we'll always be a step behind them."

[Ahhh.]

She voiced apologetically, [I had no idea you had thought that far… I apologize. I didn't know you thought so seriously about the Demon Cult.]

"Haha. I'm just being selfish. As a resident of Earth, I'm just doing my best to save myself."

[No, that can't be called being selfish,] Gaia stated firmly. [If you just wanted to save yourself, you could've stayed down and remained hidden. But you stepped up to protect those precious to you. You're fighting while putting your life at risk. You couldn't call such determination selfish.]

Kang-Woo laughed lightly, "Haha. That's embarrassing. You don't need to praise me so much."

[Hoho, you don't need to be so humble. As you've suggested, we will try to collect as many Rift Seeds as possible without destroying them.]

"Thank you."

[No, I should be the one thanking you. I will take measures so that we can collect as many of them as possible.]

"I will also collect as many as I can."

The call was cut. A smile appeared on Kang-Woo's face.

"Of course, we should collect them instead of destroying them."

Collecting the Rift Seeds for research to put a stop to the plan permanently…? That was nonsense. Even with the Authority of Insight, Kang-Woo couldn't completely decipher the Demon Cult's knowledge.

If it was knowledge not even the demon king who used to rule over the Nine Hells could understand, there was no way Guardians would be able to figure something out through research.

"And putting a permanent stop to it is out of the question."

He couldn't let the Demon Cult roam around freely, but that didn't mean he wanted to stop their plan. To Kang-Woo, the Demon Cult were chefs who prepared delicious food for him.

'I'll squeeze as much as I can out of them before throwing them away.'

He walked out of the Gate with a thought that would make the Demon Cult members go insane if they were to hear it.

Echidna and Vaal Zahak followed him out after clearing out all the demonic beasts around them.

"Echidna, Vaal Zahak. There are two more gates near this area. See if there's the stake that we saw earlier in either of them. If there is, don't destroy it and bring it to me."

"Okay, Kang-Woo."

[As you command.]

The two summoned beasts moved according to his command.

Kang-Woo took out his smartphone after exiting the gate.

'I already contacted Gaia.'

It was time to make the other people that he knew take action. Kang-Woo contacted Tian Suyan, Cha Yeon-Joo, and Jang Hyun-Jae.

After explaining the situation to the three people, he asked them to collect the Rift Seeds.

"This should be enough for China and Korea."

There was only Japan left.

Kang-Woo took out the card with the contact information he'd received before. It was Kurosaki Yurie's number.

'I'm not sure why she cares so much for me, but…'

She was too good a contact to not use in this situation.

Brrr—

[Kurosaki Yurie speaking, Master Kang-Woo.]

'She picked up so damn quickly.'

Yurie had answered before the call even finished ringing once.

"Hello, Ms. Kurosaki. I believe this is the first time we're speaking over the phone."

[Yes, I believe so.]

Yurie sounded a bit cold, seemingly displeased that Kang-Woo had not called her even once.

"I apologize for not contacting you earlier. I've been very busy lately."

[Not at all. I'm sure you had your reasons.]

It seemed like her mood improved.

"The reason why I've contacted you is…"

He began explaining the Rift Seeds.

[I see…I understand. We will also conduct thorough investigations.]

"Thank you."

[Oh, may I ask you something?]

"Of course."

[This group that’s known as the Demon Cult… do you happen to know which demon they serve? I've tried conducting my own investigations, but I haven't been able to find anything.]

"Mmm."

It was a sudden question, but there was no reason for Kang-Woo to hesitate with a reply.

"They serve the demon Satan."

It wouldn't be good if only Guardians knew about the existence of the Demon of Prophecy, Satan.

'It'd be better if as many people as possible know about it.'

Kang-Woo had already told the people closest to him, like Suyan and Yeon-Joo, about Satan. The more people knew about Satan's existence, the fewer people would suspect Kang-Woo.

[Hmm. Satan, you say?]

Yurie seemed dissatisfied with the answer.

Kang-Woo tilted his head puzzledly at her reaction.

Nevertheless, he answered confidently, "Yes, the demon they serve is Satan."

[I see. I understand.]

"Then I will be looking forward to your call once you've collected the Rift Seeds."

[Very well. I will do as you ask, Master Kang-Woo.]

"Thank you very much."

Kang-Woo was about to cut the call when…

[Oh, right. There was something else I wanted to ask you. Is that okay?]

"Yes, of course."

[It's a personal question completely unrelated to this incident, but… do you happen to know the myth of Cthulhu?]

"Myth of Cthulhu?"

The question was so out of left field that it caught Kang-Woo off guard.

'I believe it's a myth containing tons of tentacles.'

Kang-Woo had heard about it because it had been overused in many forms of media.

"Yes, I do, but why…"

[I have the power to call upon the power of gods, so I have been investigating many different myths. I wanted to ask your opinion on a few that caught my attention.]

"Oh, I see."

Kang-Woo recalled her ability—the power to borrow the power of gods in Japanese mythology.

'To be more precise, it's the ability to summon the power of otherworldly beings.'

It was an ability he thought would be worth researching in detail one day.

'I’m certain there's a dimension where gods of mythology reside.'

There was a chance that Gaia's true body existed in that dimension.

'The myth of Cthulhu, huh?'

If it hadn't come out of someone's imagination and was about an existing world…

'It should be good to investigate their powers beforehand.'

After sorting out his thoughts, Kang-Woo said, "It does seem interesting. Are you able to draw out the powers of beings from outside of Japanese mythology?"

[No, that's not the case. I can only borrow the power of gods in Japanese mythology.]

"Hmm. I see."

Kang-Woo wasn't sure if he was happy or disappointed.

'I guess it's a good thing.'

He didn't want to see a god covered in tentacles.

[Fufu. I see, you're interested. Thank you very much. I will call you again next time,] Yurie murmured while giggling unnervingly and ended the call.

"Ah, understood."

Kang-Woo looked at his smartphone with confused eyes.

'What an enigmatic woman.'

Yurie had sent an octopus as a gift. Then she'd asked something completely unexpected out of the blue. Kang-Woo couldn't help but think that she was a bit crazy.

"Well. I guess it doesn't matter."

As long as Yurie didn't get in his way, it didn't matter if she was a bit nuts.

For the moment, Kang-Woo's focus wasn't on Yurie but on the Rift Seeds that were being sown throughout the world.

'The net has been cast.'

A broad grin appeared on his face.

It was time for him to patiently wait for the harvest.

'Now I just have to wait.'