After Ten Millennia in Hell

"I-I don't understand," Gaia voiced while making a shocked expression. "How could you, a human, be the demon king of Hell… and what do you mean when you say Satan raised a rebellion…?"

"I will explain from the beginning," Kang-Woo said. "Five years ago, on the Day of Calamity, I was absorbed by a black gate and fell into Hell."

"What…?"

"What do you mean…"

"I don't know why I fell into Hell either. I'm not sure if it was a simple coincidence or if someone caused it to happen deliberately, but I can tell you that I fell into Hell on that day."

There was a heavy silence.

Kang-Woo continued explaining, "I wasn't even a Player. I was only a weak human, so I did everything I could to survive. While doing that, some of the demonic energy of Hell entered my body, and—"

"You became a demon," Gaia realized with a trembling voice.

Kang-Woo nodded.

Someone who had accepted demonic energy into their body couldn't stay human. They either died because they couldn't resist the power of demonic energy, or they became a demonic beast devoid of reason due to being unable to resist their desires… Or they turned into a demon.

"That's right. After becoming a demon, I fought to survive for a very, very long time."

"What do you mean? It's only been five years since the Day of Calamity,” Cha Yeon-Joo said with a hardened expression.

Kang-Woo made a bitter smile. "It's been five years on Earth, but an incomparably greater amount of time has passed in Hell."

"Just how many years did you spend there for you to be saying—"

"Ten millennia."

"What?"

"I was stuck in Hell for ten millennia."

A heavy silence fell over them once more.

Ten millennia… was such a long time that they couldn't even imagine what it was like. It was too hard to get a grasp on how long that was, so no one was able to say anything in response.

[It is the truth. For the past ten millennia, the demon king went from the First to the Ninth H—]

"Balrog, be quiet."

[As you command.]

What Balrog said this time was of help to Kang-Woo.

A murmur spread among the others upon hearing Balrog testify that Kang-Woo had indeed spent ten millennia in Hell.

Yeon-Joo was so surprised that she couldn't keep her mouth closed.

"R-Really? You spent ten millennia in Hell?" she asked with a trembling voice.

"Yeah."

"And… you became the lord of Hell?"

"I did, for a time."

"Does that mean you aren't anymore?"

Kang-Woo nodded.

Everyone's attention focused on him.

'This is where it begins.'

From here on was the important part.

Everything he'd said until this point was the truth—about how five years ago, he'd fallen into Hell on the Day of Calamity and eventually become the lord of the Nine Hells during the ten millennia he spent in Hell.

'But a true lie…'

A true lie contained 99% truth with just 1% lie woven in between.

Kang-Woo told them the story he'd put together in his mind.

"There are very powerful demons referred to as 'princes' in Hell. I've been containing them in Hell by battling them."

"Containing them?"

"Yeah," Kang-Woo replied with a nod. "Because they had their sights on Earth."

"…"

"Among them, Satan was especially very interested in Earth."

"Th-Then did you become the demon king to stop the princes of Hell from invading Earth?" Gaia asked.

"No, that's not it."

He smiled bitterly and shook his head.

'I shouldn't overexaggerate.'

He couldn't make himself seem excessively righteous or altruistic. A setting that went against what would be expected from a normal human would ruin the story's plausibility.

"I'm not that righteous of a person. I just ended up becoming the demon king while fighting for my life so that I wouldn't be killed by demons," Kang-Woo continued with a calm voice. "But… I couldn't stand still when I saw that they were trying to invade the world I was born in. A long time had passed by, but I still had fond memories of Earth."

"But if Satan ended up coming to Earth, that means…"

"Yes. It's as you're thinking."

Kang-Woo clenched his hands into fists and bit his lip.

'Let's get into the right mood.'

The most important thing was his timing and performance.

He trembled as he said quietly, "I lost to Satan. No matter how much I struggled, I was no match for him after he awakened the Demonic Sea and his 666 Authorities."

"Ah…"

"Satan took my power and usurped my position as the demon king. He consolidated his forces, created a massive Rift, and crossed to Earth with the other princes of Hell."

"…"

"I followed Satan to Earth…" Kang-Woo stated with sunken eyes and a strong voice, "...to stop him."

Gaia remained silent.

Kang-Woo could see that she was in turmoil.

'I get it.'

It was unlikely that Gaia had thought of the possibility that the demon Satan and Kang-Woo were the same individual. Kang-Woo had created many alibis, so there was no way the others would think that.

Regardless, they would still have a hard time believing in Kang-Woo's words now that they knew he was a demon.

'From here on…'

There was a saying that trust was contagious. This was something that people experienced in their daily life. Humans were simple creatures. If a person were unsure as to whether they should buy something, they were more likely to purchase it if someone nearby said it was a great item. After all, there was a reason why the term 'wingman' was a thing.

'I will create the wave.'

Kang-Woo turned his head toward Si-Hun. Si-Hun's eyes turned hazy as he looked at Kang-Woo.

[Authority of Subordination has been activated.]

[You have successfully controlled your Familiar's actions.]

"I believe you, hyung-nim."

"P-Protector Kim Si-Hun?" Gaia asked in a flustered voice.

Si-Hun nodded without hesitation. "Gaia, think of everything hyung-nim has done until now."

"…"

"If he were on the demons' side, why would he fight so hard against them?"

"B-But…" Gaia uttered hesitantly.

She understood what Si-Hun was saying… but how could they trust the words of a demon without any doubt whatsoever?

"I trust Kang-Woo too," Han Seol-Ah chimed in.

She was the next to step up.

"At first, after seeing how much Kang-Woo liked kimchi stew, I honestly thought he was a bit of a weirdo," Seol-Ah said, gazing at Kang-Woo sadly. She extended her hand and carefully caressed his cheek. "But now… I understand. It must be because you endured that immeasurably long time in Hell all by yourself."

Tears dripped from Seol-Ah's eyes.

She didn't know what kind of place Hell was, but she could imagine based on Kang-Woo's reactions the first time they'd met.

'He must have been so lonely,' she thought while biting her lip.

Among all the people here, she was the one who'd known Kang-Woo the longest. She recalled all the time she'd spent with him.

'That must have been why he had such lonely eyes.'

Seol-Ah had occasionally seen deep sorrow in Kang-Woo's eyes, and she was now finally able to understand the reason behind it.

"It's okay. After meeting you, I've never been lonely, Seol-Ah," Kang-Woo expressed and held Seol-Ah's hand, which was caressing his cheek.

'I didn't expect this.'

He hadn't thought that Seol-Ah would step up to defend him. Nevertheless, thanks to her support, the small wave he'd made through Si-Hun had gotten bigger.

'I'll twist things even more.'

Kang-Woo couldn't just ride the wave that he had made. Just like how a healthy amount of push and pull was important in a relationship, it was also important when lying.

He held out the Guardians' white mask in his possession toward Gaia.

"Regardless, it doesn't change the fact that I've been deceiving everyone," Kang-Woo said. He placed the mask in Gaia's hand. "Effective immediately, I will leave the Guardians. I will forever disappear from your lives."

"Ah…"

"H-Hyung-nim!"

"Wh-What are you talking about, Kang-Woo?!"

Everyone was shocked by his bombshell of a declaration.

Kang-Woo hadn't controlled Si-Hun with the Authority of Subordination this time, but Si-Hun still quickly ran toward him. Meanwhile, Seol-Ah shouted, seemingly about to cry.

There was no need to mention how Tian Suyan, who had blatantly announced that she had feelings for him, reacted. Kang Tae-Soo shook his head in shock.

"Th-That's a load of shit, you son of a bitch! Do you have any idea how much I've invested in you?!" Yeon-Joo shouted with her face turning red.

After everyone's heated reactions, all of their attention was placed on Gaia.

"Kang-Woo…"

She touched the mask he had returned to her while making a sad expression and biting her lip.

'Can I trust Kang-Woo?'

Gaia thought of all the time she'd spent with him.

She hadn't known him for a long time. It had only been a couple of months… but she'd learned a lot about him during that time.

'Kang-Woo is…'

Kang-Woo was the one who had gotten the angriest after discovering that Satan had killed Alec Osborne and targeted Si-Hun's life. He was also the one who had learned about the Demon Cult's plans and tried harder than anyone else to stop them.

After Satan plundered the Guardians' vault, it was Kang-Woo once again who had woken them up from their complacency. He was also the first one who had noticed Reynald had been in danger and shed genuine tears after he died.

Moreover, Kang-Woo had always given her advice whenever she had been about to fall into despair.

'Kang-Woo…'

How could she suspect him?

Gaia tightly gripped the mask he'd given her. Her thin hands were trembling.

"I trust you," Gaia stated.

"...Gaia."

"It doesn't matter if you're a demon or a demon king," Gaia continued quietly. "No darkness can cover the light that is within you."

After all, Tirion, the God of Heroes, had chosen Kang-Woo.

'There must be a reason Lord Tirion chose Kang-Woo.'

She had felt Tirion's energy through Reynald, and she could tell how much he despised the demonic. Despite that, Tirion had chosen Kang-Woo.

'There is no way he wouldn't have known.'

There was no way Tirion hadn't known about Kang-Woo's true identity after connecting with him. Despite that, Tirion remained inside Kang-Woo. That could only mean one thing.

'He saw the light within Kang-Woo.'

Gaia couldn't help but think that.

"Kang-Woo. Please remain in Guardians. We… need you," Gaia voiced and returned the mask to Kang-Woo.

Kang-Woo looked surprised, but he accepted the mask.

"Thank you for believing in me," he said.

Right then…

Fwoosh—!!!

The black demonic energy flowing out of his body started to be dyed with brilliant golden light.

"Aahh."

The others gasped upon seeing a bright light shine from Kang-Woo.

"I swear that I will save the world along with the Guardians, no matter what," Kang-Woo declared.

They could sense his strong determination in his voice.

Kang-Woo, who was still surrounded by golden light, put the white mask back on.

He was a man who had been born in darkness, but he had now become light. Despite possessing the body of a demon, he was a hero more devoted than anyone else to justice and to protecting the world. This was the birth of Oh Kang-Woo, Warrior of Light.

'What an incredible production~!!'