After Ten Millennia in Hell

Oh Kang-Woo was chained to a cross-like pillar. He was not chained in the typical way with his arms tied to the cross with metal chains. Instead, the black chains, seemingly made of demonic energy, were penetrating both his shoulders, arms, calves, thighs, and collarbones and were coiled around the entire giant pillar. Blood and pus were leaking from his pierced skin, and Kang-Woo's face, which was missing an eye, was distorted in pain and fear.

- Si… Hun.

"A-Aaaahh."

Even in such a horrible situation…

- R… Run.

… He kept telling Si-Hun to run away.

"Hmm. He still doesn't seem to know his place."

The Demon of Prophecy, who was wearing Kang-Woo's skin, made a wicked smile and snapped his fingers.

- Kurgh, Urgh!

Thorns appeared from the chains penetrating Kang-Woo's flesh, making it seem like they were looking at a cactus.

The ten chains that had penetrated him moved. The sharp thorns lacerated his skin, removing the dry blood from his wounds and introducing fresh blood and pus.

- Kargh! Argh!

Kang-Woo seemed to be desperately enduring the pain.

Si-Hun's mind blanked.

"Stop, you motherfuckeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!!"

He charged with all his might, even while using the power of his innate Qi. He roared like a beast.

"Pfft, Pwahahahahaha!!"

The Demon of Prophecy let out crazed laughter as if the situation was unbelievably funny to him.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!"

Si-Hun charged at him with the intent to kill, but he had already reached his limit. A light swing from the Demon of Prophecy was enough to send Si-Hun flying.

"A-Argh," he groaned in pain. He crawled on the ground while forcibly moving his limbs. It was truly a wretched state.

"Such heartwarming brotherly love. Haha. It's truly…"

The Demon of Prophecy sighed passionately.

"… Beautiful."

Squelch, squelch.

A viscous liquid could be heard dripping.

Si-Hun raised his head to look at the Demon of Prophecy—his skin was falling apart from the head as if he no longer needed Kang-Woo's skin. The wrinkly skin dropped to the ground as if an insect was shedding its exoskeleton.

The body of the demon that had thrown away Kang-Woo's skin was…

"A-Aaaahh."

Si-Hun's eyes widened. He understood why Gaia had said that she didn't know who the Demon of Prophecy was.

The horrible demon was formed of a black liquid similar to tar; it was as if the demon was a being made of the Abyss that devoured all light.

"Wh-What the fuck is that…?" Yeon-Joo trembled.

Could that even be called a demon? It had no eyes, nose, or mouth; it was only made of viscous darkness.

"Y-You motherfucking slime…"

Yeon-Joo tried to mock the demon by calling it just a weak slime, but her lips were pale. She instinctively knew that that monster was by no means just a slime.

[Do you want to save this human?]

"…"

Snicker.

He pointed toward the floating screen while laughing mockingly. There was no need to give an answer because the Demon of Prophecy seemed to already know how important Kang-Woo was to Si-Hun.

Thud.

The Demon of Prophecy threw out a black gem that was about as big as two fingers. Laughing, he said, [If you want to save him, use that gem. It will guide you to where that human is.]

"…"

[I'm curious…]

Squelch.

The black liquid moved.

[… Of how beautifully you'll burn.]

The Demon of Prophecy spoke cryptically.

Just then, the wall of the cave collapsed, and an angel with eight wings appeared. It was Raphael.

"Kuh…"

Raphael was grimacing in pain before the battle even began, likely due to his injuries not having fully healed. He was breathing heavily. Compared to when he had fought against Satan, the light from his wings was significantly weaker.

[Whoops, I should be going.]

The Demon of Prophecy turned around.

"I will not let you escape!" Raphael shouted.

Slam!

Raphael rushed forward. The Demon of Prophecy swung his arm made of black mucus.

Crack.

A large portion of the skin on Raphael's left shoulder was ripped out.

"Kuh…!"

"L-Lord Raphael!"

Shalgiel quickly approached him.

Raphael was no different from a sick person who had gotten up from the hospital bed—it was impossible for him to fight against the Demon of Prophecy right now.

[Is this the extent of an archangel's strength?]

Raphael's eyes trembled. He looked at the demon whose body was made of black mucus.

"Who… are you? Even in the record of myths, there is no mention of a being like—"

[Myths, huh?]

The Demon of Prophecy laughed.

[History has forgotten too many things.]

A black Rift formed behind the Demon of Prophecy, and he slowly walked toward it.

Right before he completely disappeared into the Rift, the Demon of Prophecy whispered, [I will be looking forward to it, human.]

The Demon of Prophecy disappeared into the darkness.

"…"

Si-Hun picked up the gem on the floor in silence. His field of vision turned as black as the gem he had picked up.

Clang.

The holy sword in his hands fell to the ground, became white dust, and scattered.

* * *

"Fuuu, fuuu. Holy fuck."

Kang-Woo panted out heavily after escaping through a Gate he'd created with an Authority.

"I almost got fucked."

That was far too close. No, it wasn't just close. It had almost been all over for him.

He had barely managed to fix the situation thanks to the trust he had built with Si-Hun, Yeon-Joo, and Gaia.

"… This is where it truly begins."

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. Since he had managed to perform first aid on the situation, it was now time to make a plan to fully treat it.

"Fuuu."

Kang-Woo sighed deeply and sat on the floor since the couch had been summoned along with him. Not even he had expected this turn of events, so he needed time to organize his highly jumbled thoughts.

'I'm sure I have some time.'

He'd given them a gem to use if they wanted to save him.

That gem was something he'd created with Lilith in the past. It was what they'd used to create the gate that led to the dungeon where Ludwig had been corrupted.

'I'm sure they won't use it immediately.'

After all, it was obviously a trap. There was even a chance that they wouldn't use it at all.

"…"

After thinking about it for a while, Kang-Woo shook his head.

'They'll come, at the very least.'

He knew Si-Hun very well. Even if Si-Hun knew it was a trap, even if it were a burning pit of fire, he would for sure jump into it to save him.

'That's just how he is.'

Kang-Woo smirked.

He once again started to feel guilty, but he shook his head and continued thinking.

'I'll organize the situation first.'

His eyes shone sharply.

Leaving the process aside, the result wasn't bad. Considering that he had simply dealt with a sudden situation, he'd acquired quite a lot of things.

'It's also perfect timing, too.'

It was just after Gaia had appeared and trolled, saying that Satan wasn't the Demon of Prophecy.

'It needed to happen one way or another.'

The value of the Satan Coin had plummeted due to Gaia's revelation. He had already been thinking about finding someone to replace Satan and become the new 'Demon of Prophecy.'

"…"

Kang-Woo put his hand on his forehead and thought of Gaia.

'It's pointless to make someone else the Demon of Prophecy.'

Let's say he tried to frame Lucifer as the Demon of Prophecy. There was a chance Gaia would appear again and say he wasn't the Demon of Prophecy.

'Useless bitch.'

Thinking about Gaia made him furious, but he couldn't do anything about it. No matter how much he hated her, she was the main god protecting Earth. If she ended up dying, it would most likely lead to the end of this world.

'If gods from other worlds invade en masse…'

It was not hard to imagine what would happen. No matter how strong he was, Earth would be destroyed, and the home he had yearned for for ten millennia would vanish without a trace.

"Fuuu."

He sighed, shook his head, and refocused. It was time to focus on the Demon of Prophecy.

'The Demon of Prophecy… needs to stay anonymous.'

Just like a character that was simply a silhouette in mystery manhwa and anime, the true identity and form of the Demon of Prophecy must never be known.

However…

'He shouldn't be hidden too thoroughly.'

He had to keep giving them clues that showed that the Demon of Prophecy truly existed. Comparing this plan to the detective manhwa and anime mentioned before, he had to make sure the audience knew that a culprit actually existed.

"… It's so complicated."

Kang-Woo swept his hair up. He had to spread the evidence of the existence of the Demon of Prophecy while hiding his identity. It was a very complicated task, but that was the best possible way to avoid being an object of suspicion by the gods.

'Hiding his existence… while dropping hints about his existence…'

He narrowed his eyes. The gears in his head turned.

'There is a way.'

His eyes shone sharply.

He had already thought of something—that was why he'd given Si-Hun the black gem.

"First… I should contact Balrog and Lilith."

After things had become so complicated, they were the first ones he'd thought of. Whether he liked them or not, they were the ones whom he'd been with the longest, so they coordinated well together.

'As for Echidna and Halcyon…'

He fell into thought. He didn't have much experience coordinating with them. He'd only coordinated a short while with Echidna when they'd killed Reynald, and he wasn't sure if Halcyon was capable of acting.

'But I have no other choice.'

He couldn't do everything by himself. He needed more actors for his play.

'Alright, I'll also contact Vaal Zahak, Halcyon, and Echidna.'

He also thought about Han Seol-Ah but shook his head. Considering the situation, it would be better if as few people knew what was going on as possible. Unlike the others, Seol-Ah's soul wasn't linked to his, so hiding the truth from her was the correct answer.

Kang-Woo got up.

'As for what I have to do…'

If he wanted to enact a play, he needed the corresponding stage. He wasn't sure when Si-Hun would use the black gem, so creating the stage from scratch would be ineffective.

Thankfully, he already had the perfect one that he'd used before.

He moved to the dungeon he'd created.

Riiing.

[You have entered the SS+ rank dungeon 'Lilith ♡ Demon King Love Houwhythefuckdidyounameitlikethisfuckitsalreadyset'.]

"…"

There was silence.

He grabbed his head.

"For fuck's sake…"

He had to rebuild the stage from scratch.

* * *

Slam!!

A huge sound akin to cannon fire echoed throughout a giant fortress.

Crack.

The table Si-Hun had smashed his fist down on was split into two.

"… What does that mean?" Si-Hun glared at Shalgiel.

Shalgiel sighed deeply.

"The angels will not be taking part in this rescue operation."

"…"

Heavy silence fell.