After Ten Millennia in Hell

They already had their hands full with the Demon of Prophecy, so it was understandable that her head hurt when hearing about another demon king.

She trembled while making an anxious expression.

Reynald nodded.

"Yes. Demon King Vaal Zahak. He is a powerful Lich who plagued Aernor with disease and created an army of undead."

"And you're saying that this demon king came to Earth?" Kim Si-Hun asked while making an anxious expression.

Reynald nodded.

"Correct. According to Lord Tirion, Demon King Vaal Zahak sold his soul to a demon of another world to cross between the two dimensions."

'Fucking hell.'

Oh Kang-Woo's expression became pale.

'I'm fucked.'

He hadn't kept Vaal Zahak's existence hidden from those close to him.

Han Seol-Ah had become quite a good friend with him, and even Cha Yeon-Joo and Si-Hun had also seen him before.

Not only that, even Seol-Ah's mother, Kim Mi-Jeong, had gotten used to Vaal Zahak, and they often chatted together.

'But Si-Hun and Yeon-Joo don't know his name.'

They just thought of Vaal Zahak as some low-ranking monster like a Skeleton.

It was understandable. The Vaal Zahak they'd seen was just a bag of bones wearing a pink apron who concentrated on doing housework.

It was impossible to associate him with a term like demon king.

'But…'

The situation wasn't good.

Things would be different if he'd kept Vaal Zahak hidden from the beginning, but that hadn't been the case.

'How could I have possibly known something like this would happen?'

It was unfair.

Who would've thought that Reynald would follow Vaal Zahak to another world?

No, in the first place, Kang-Woo had almost forgotten Reynald even existed.

'What's wrong with just having a nice life in your own world with that girl Reina, or whatever the fuck her name was? Why the fuck did you have to come all the way here to mess shit up?'

He glared at Reynald with resentment. Reynald was an absolute nuisance.

If peace had come to Aernor after Demon King Vaal Zahak disappeared, he should've just shut up and enjoyed the peace.

'You even received a love confession, man.'

Reynald had left his lover behind and come all the way to Earth by himself after playing out an entire soap opera in front of Kang-Woo before.

Kang-Woo wanted to tear his head apart and examine his brain.

While Kang-Woo was glaring at Reynald with resentment, the conversation continued.

"A demon of another world…"

"I was told that he is a supreme demon standing above all demons and that he is the holder of the Demonic Sea," Reynald answered.

There was a heavy atmosphere.

'Oh, fuck.'

His head began spinning. It seemed Reynald also knew a bit about him.

Of course, even if Reynald accused Kang-Woo of being a demon king, he wouldn't immediately be labeled as one. It was obvious that people would trust Kang-Woo more than someone who'd come from another world. Reynald, instead, would be the one put in a predicament.

'But…'

There was a huge difference between no one suspecting anything and a trigger that could plant doubt in people.

There was an insurmountable wall between nothing and something; Kang-Woo's efforts to obtain a perfect alibi through the Authority of Cloning would be for nothing.

"It must be Satan."

Kang-Woo quickly opened his mouth. He didn't have time to think of any other way.

'I'll go all in on Satan!'

Gaia and Si-Hun nodded.

"Yes. I believe so as well."

"There's no one besides him who could do something like that."

Their support was quite helpful.

"Is Satan the name of the demon that holds the Demonic Sea?" Reynald asked with shining eyes.

'Sure is.'

"Yes," Si-Hun said. "I'm not sure what this Demonic Sea is, but I'm sure Satan is the demon standing above all demons."

'That's it, Si-Hun!'

Kang-Woo clenched his fists after seeing how Si-Hun was backing him up. He was driving Satan to be the culprit with just the slightest nudge from Kang-Woo, so Si-Hun was practically doing all the work for him.

'Well done, my boy!'

It was normal that he'd cheer for Si-Hun.

"I see." Reynald nodded. After thinking for a while, he turned to Gaia. "In that case, it must not be simply a coincidence that I've met you here, Lady Gaia."

'What the hell are you talking about now?'

Kang-Woo's expression naturally distorted.

Reynald said in a serious tone, "I've been guided here to meet you through Lord Tirion's guidance and revelation."

'Bullshit.'

"You could say that it's destiny," Reynald said.

Gaia looked perplexed at his words.

It would've been weird if she was calm after hearing someone from another world talk about stuff like destiny.

He continued, "I cannot defeat the demon king alone."

'Then why the fuck did you come here, dumbass?'

"But if you and I join forces, we can defeat him. As an apostle of Tirion, the God of Heroes, I would like to help you, Lady Gaia."

Gaia remained silent after hearing Reynald. She was wondering if she could trust him or not.

Kang-Woo wanted to shout that they should behead that damn swindler, but it wasn't a situation where he could say something like that.

'Please refuse.'

At that point, he could only hope for Gaia herself to refuse Reynald's proposal.

Fwoom!!

"Ah…!"

At that moment, a golden light came out of Reynald. The golden light flowed into Gaia, and a short exclamation came out of her mouth.

"Ahh. I see," Gaia said.

'What the hell happened now?'

Gaia began nodding as if she'd realized something.

Si-Hun frowned at her sudden change in attitude.

"What happened?"

"I guess I should call it… a revelation. I received the will of Lord Tirion, whom Reynald had mentioned," Gaia said in a confused tone. It seemed this was her first time experiencing such a thing.

Kang-Woo looked at the golden light surrounding her in frustration.

'What a fucking convenient course of development.'

It was as if the author of the story was saying that anything was possible if light came out of someone.

Reynald's eyes shone.

"You received Lord Tirion's will?"

"Yes. He asked me to defeat the demons alongside you, Reynald."

"Wow, just as I'd thought."

"… I'm not sure if it's destiny, but it seems like we were lucky to have met you, Reynald."

Gaia nodded while making a faint smile.

A bright smile appeared on Reynald's face.

"No. This isn't luck but destiny."

"Hoho."

The two apostles laughed.

Si-Hun's expression stiffened slightly while looking at them.

Reynald didn't notice Si-Hun's mood change and looked toward Kang-Woo.

"That gentleman is…"

"Oh, he joined Guardians just recently. He isn't a protector chosen by God, but he is more righteous than anyone else."

"I see. It's nice to meet you. My name is Reynald."

Reynald extended his hand toward Kang-Woo.

Kang-Woo's expression distorted.

'Damn.'

It would surely raise suspicion if he didn't take his mask off.

Kang-Woo concentrated the demonic energy in his body while biting his lip.

'If it's just for a moment, I'll be able to do it.'

The Authority of Blindness, which showed an illusion to a target.

Its effect was so overpowered that it made the Authority very easy for a powerful opponent to resist.

However, they weren't in the middle of a battle; Reynald most likely had his guard down. Taking that into account, Kang-Woo felt that it would be worth trying out the Authority of Blindness for a very short moment.

'I have to succeed.'

The risk of what would happen if he failed was too big.

He used the Authority of Blindness as he took off his mask.

"Nice to meet you. I am Oh Kang-Woo."

"Haha. I was worried about what I should do when I first decided to chase after the Demon King Vaal Zahak, but seeing heroes like you all gives me peace of mind."

Reynald smiled.

After shaking hands, Kang-Woo put his mask back on. It seemed the Authority of Blindness had worked.

"Fuuu."

He had managed to overcome the crisis smoothly. He sighed in relief.

He had used almost half his demonic energy stores in that short instant due to having used the Authority of Blindness on someone who had received a blessing from a god.

Kang-Woo looked at Reynald in worry.

'What should I do with this guy?'

First, he was sure Reynald was an apostle chosen by a god.

Strictly speaking, he'd become an ally, so was it correct to get rid of him? He couldn't help but wonder about that.

'He's not insane like Alec.'

He couldn't deny that Reynald was a hero who fought against evil. Reynald had a good personality, and Kang-Woo was sure he'd saved numerous lives.

It was as if he were looking at the Si-Hun of another world.

The thought of getting rid of him made Kang-Woo feel as if he were trash who killed his allies for his own profit.

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and fell into thought.

At that moment, Reynald approached Si-Hun and extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Si-Hun."

"Ah, yes."

Si-Hun nodded while smiling awkwardly.

Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun.

'Huh?'

Si-Hun was acting a little weird.

"And Lady Gaia. I believe I've received yet another revelation from Lord Tirion."

"Pardon?"

After exchanging handshakes with the other Guardians members, he once again approached Gaia. He kneeled on one knee in front of Gaia, looking like a knight pledging loyalty to his king.

"Lord Tirion has told me to protect you."

Smiling, Reynald grabbed her hand.

Si-Hun's expression stiffened even more.

"R-Reynald?" Gaia stammered.

"I knew it from the moment I first saw you. My reason for coming here was to protect you."

Reynald kissed the back of Gaia's hand.

Her face reddened.

'Would you look at this son of a bitch?'

Kang-Woo frowned as he watched Reynald court Gaia. He was pulling such shit with Gaia, whom he had met for the very first time a few moments ago, while having the female mage named Reina at home.

"Kuh…"

Si-Hun frowned.

Kang-Woo looked at Reynald, Gaia, and Si-Hun. It wasn't hard to see that there was a weird atmosphere around the three.

'How dare he try to pick up Si-Hun's girl?'

In reality, it was hard to call Gaia Si-Hun's woman. After all, Gaia was just Si-Hun's crush at the moment. Anyway, Kang-Woo couldn't deny that Reynald was trying to interfere with his little brother's first love.

'This won't do.'

If Kang-Woo remained still in this situation, he wouldn't have the right to call himself Si-Hun's hyung.

'This is most definitely not because there's a chance Reynald could discover my identity.'

It also wasn't because there was a chance that Guardians would target his summoned beast Vaal Zahak.

It was all for Si-Hun.

Yes.

'I have no choice but to do this for Si-Hun.'

Kang-Woo nodded.

'For Si-Hun's first love!'

He had no other option but to kill and get rid of the hero from another world. He had no other option but to do the trashy thing and stab his ally right in the back.

'Si-Hun! Leave it to me! If it's for you, I don't mind my hands getting dirty!'