After Ten Millennia in Hell

"Are you saying that another archangel will be coming?"

"Yes." Raphael nodded. "Taking into consideration that Rakiel… and the other Constellations have been freed from their seals, I will be unable to stop them on my own."

"…"

It made sense. No, it was weird that he had only requested backup from one archangel.

\'But still…\'

Oh Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.

\'I\'d be able to buy some time.\'

Whether Uriel, Gabriel, Michael, or every single archangel came to Earth, it didn\'t matter.

\'The seal hasn\'t been broken yet.\'

No matter how hard they tried, they wouldn\'t be able to find Rakiel.

\'And while they\'re wasting time…\'

He would have plenty of time to prepare. Actually, he would also be able to turn the situation in his favor.

\'It would be far too wasteful to abandon the Rakiel persona.\'

The gears in Kang-Woo\'s head turned quickly. Being aware and unaware that one\'s plan could go awry was worlds different. Since he knew that Rakiel was real and that his seal hadn\'t been broken yet, he would be able to use that.

"I will give you a piece of advice, incarnation of Gaia."

"Yes, Lord Raphael."

"Be more wary of your allies than your enemies. Resolve yourself to doubt those you love."

"… Pardon?" Gaia\'s expression hardened.

"Rakiel is the Constellation of Corruption for a reason. His whispers are clever and sweet. Soon… no, even now, your comrades may be falling for his unending temptations."

"…"

"Even during the war against the Demon God, the number of angels corrupted by his whispers was unfathomable."

"I will keep that in mind, but…" Straightening her back, she said in a firm voice, "I believe in the protectors of Guardians. They…"

She fumbled for Kang-Woo\'s and Kim Si-Hun\'s hands and grabbed them. She then smiled lightly in relief and finished her sentence, "… Are not ones to fall for a demon\'s whispers."

"…"

Raphael sighed.

Hearing that, Gaia smiled. "I know what you are worried about. I will also be wary of the chance that it could happen. You do not need to worry."

"I only hope for your trust to stay true."

Gaia bowed, and Kang-Woo and Si-Hun followed suit.

There was nothing else that needed to be discussed with Raphael.

"In that case, we will excuse ourselves."

Kang-Woo turned around.

"…"

After Guardians left, Raphael looked over the silent fortress and shut his eyes.

"Haaa."

He couldn\'t help but sigh.

\'Rakiel, of all people…\'

Raphael bit his lip.

Although Gaia had told him not to worry, as someone who had witnessed firsthand the havoc the Constellation of Corruption had caused, he could not afford to.

"Shalgiel."

"Yes, my lord."

"Thoroughly monitor Guardians. At least until Uriel arrives."

"… Rather than shouldering the risks, how about we take this chance to sever ties with Guardians entirely?" Shalgiel said as his eyes shone sharply.

Rakiel was capable of corrupting even angels, so it was hard to believe that humans would be able to resist. Rather than keeping the risk factor exposed, it was also an option to sever ties with them before it happened.

Raphael shook his head.

"You are being too hasty. That is your biggest problem."

"… I apologize."

"Just focus on monitoring them for now."

"Yes, my lord."

Shalgiel bowed.

Raphael stared at Shalgiel with a slight uneasiness since he was well aware of his fiery personality. He shook his head and stood up.

"I will investigate materials on Rakiel until Uriel arrives."

"What materials in particular?" Shalgiel asked.

"Have you ever heard why Rakiel fell?"

Shalgiel shook his head. "… No. I just heard that he had fallen for the Demon God\'s temptations."

"I am thinking of investigating how exactly he was tempted."

To face the darkness, one had to understand it. Raphael sighed deeply.

\'There are too many things I have to do.\'

He had to investigate Rakiel and return to the Embrace of Light to heal his wounds.

Raphael once again sighed.

* * *

Everything had a cause and effect. Although it might seem like a coincidence, if one took a closer look, there was almost always a reason.

After Kang-Woo separated from Gaia and Si-Hun, he ran at breakneck speed toward the cause of this effect… the starting point…

"Balrog, you motherfuckeeeeeeeeeer!!!"

Slam!

Kang-Woo kicked down a custom-made ten-meter-tall door. He jumped up into the air and turned midair, using the Authority of the Sky.

Bash!!

[Kurghhh!!]

It was an impressive somersault kick.

Balrog, who reflexively protected his neck with his Overlord Armor, was blown into the air. He then crashed down onto the ground.

[M-My king?!]

"You son of a…! I asked you…! To suggest a name…! So why the fuck would you…!"

[Kurgh! Urgh! What is the matter, my king?!]

Balrog\'s shout echoed throughout the residence.

Kang-Woo took very deep breaths to calm down his overwhelming frustration.

"Haaa, haaa. Where did you… hear the name Rakiel?"

[… I beg your pardon?]

"I said, where did you hear the name Rakiel?\'"

[Mm. I cannot seem to remember…]

"Remember it."

Kang-Woo\'s eyes shone sharply. Balrog flinched and frantically nodded.

[I-I will remember it!]

It was not nice to see a five-meter-tall muscle giant trembling in fear, but now was not the time to think about that.

"Haaa."

Kang-Woo sat on the couch as if his head hurt.

Clack.

"Kang-Woo, what\'s wrong?"

"Master Kang-Woooooo! I missed you!"

A door opened, and Halcyon and Echidna appeared. Halcyon ran toward Kang-Woo as soon as he saw him.

"I was so lonely while you weren\'t h—"

Halcyon, who had been talking while grinning, stopped. After noticing that Kang-Woo was not in a good mood, he carefully let go of his arm and took a few steps back.

"U-Urghhh."

"… Is something wrong, Kang-Woo?" Echidna asked.

Lilith also entered the kitchen soon after Echidna and Halcyon and asked, "Is something the matter?"

"Ngh."

Kang-Woo grabbed his forehead while thinking about how to explain this complex situation.

"You see…"

He briefly explained to them his conversation with Raphael.

"Hah," Lilith also laughed in disbelief. She looked at Balrog with sharp eyes. "You don\'t know Rakiel?"

[Wh-What? You do?]

"I didn\'t know that he was a Constellation of Evil or whatever it was, but I\'ve at least heard the name. Wait, didn\'t you hear it with me?"

[I-I don\'t remember…]

Balrog slurred while scratching his head.

Lilith grabbed her forehead as if it hurt. "You muscle pig…"

"Lilith, you know about Rakiel as well?"

"Yes. I have heard of the name before."

"From who?"

"Amon."

Amon…

Kang-Woo frowned when the name was mentioned.

Amon had formerly been Satan\'s subordinate. No other demon was more knowledgeable about black magic in Hell than he was. He was also the one who\'d opened the Rift that led to Earth for Kang-Woo by using the Hell Armaments.

"Amon knew Rakiel?"

"Yes. I am certain that I have heard the name from Amon."

"What did he say?"

"It had not been anything in detail. He just… mentioned it in passing. He had asked if we knew about Rakiel."

"…"

She narrowed her eyes.

Kang-Woo felt something was off.

"Lilith, Balrog. Then, have you guys heard anything about Bauli?"

"Bauli?"

Lilith and Balrog looked at each other. The two demons shook their heads.

"No. I do not believe so."

"Then… what about Titans and beings of the Void?"

"Not that either…" Lilith slurred while looking troubled.

\'Lilith doesn\'t know about myths either.\'

Kang-Woo knew better than anyone how impressive Lilith\'s information network was, but even she didn\'t know about myths.

\'Meaning, myths hadn\'t been passed down in Hell.\'

That made it even weirder.

How could Amon know information not even Lilith was aware of?

"Balrog. Had Amon been acting strangely before you came to Earth?"

[I mean, I had not even been able to see him because he had shut himself in his laboratory ever since you had gone to Earth. If you would call that strange behavior, then… yes,] Balrog said while stroking his chin.

\'He had shut himself in his laboratory, huh?\'

Kang-Woo lacked information. There was no link between his seclusion and the Demon God.

"… Lilith."

"Yes, my king."

"Find a way to contact Hell. Doomguard, Marbas, anyone is fine. I need a way to contact someone at least at the level of commander."

"As you command."

Lilith bowed.

Kang-Woo leaned back on the couch. He needed to organize the situation.

\'There\'s no need to bother with the complicated stuff for the moment.\'

The myths, Titans, beings of the Void… Even if he thought about those things, he wouldn\'t be able to find an answer. What he needed to do now was determine what he needed to be wary of and what he needed to do.

\'First of all, it would be best to limit using the Rakiel persona as much as possible.\'

He would use it if he had no other choice, but he could not use it freely. Since he knew the seal was weakening, he had to consider the possibility that the real Rakiel would appear.

\'And…\'

Uriel would be coming to Earth; it wouldn\'t be weird if more archangels came after him. They would likely focus on finding Rakiel as soon as reinforcements arrived.

\'But they won\'t be able to find him.\'

They would most definitely investigate the people who had managed to come back from facing Rakiel, for example, the person who had miraculously been rescued after having been captured by Rakiel.

If they didn\'t get the result they wanted, they would obviously expand their search to the people around that person.

\'Leaving Lilith, Echidna, and Halcyon aside…\'

Even if Vaal Zahak and Balrog could hide their demonic energy, they could do nothing about their appearance.

"Vaal Zahak."

Clack.

The door of the laboratory opened, and a skeleton walked out.

"…"

He was wearing a pink hood while a pink apron covered his bare ribs. Even the duster was pink.

"Dude… you…"

[Kehehe. What is it, my king?]

"That\'s what I want to know. What is up with you?"

[There was too much dust in the laboratory, so I had been in the middle of cleaning. Huhuhu. My king… what will you have me do next? Shall I make the corpse of a saint into an Undead, or shall I turn those disgusting servants of light into puppets—]

"Don\'t say things like that while wearing those clothes. I can\'t focus."

[Kahahaha! What do you mean? Are they not great ceremonial attire?]

"No… Ah… Sorry. I\'m… My mistake."

Kang-Woo turned away from him without being able to put words together.

"Haaa. There\'s something I need you to do."

[What is it?]

"You know how to use black magic, right?"

[Of course.]

"Can you create a suit that looks exactly like a human? Whatever you need to use to make it."

[Mm. Something like the tentacle decorations that Lady Lilith had made last time?]

"No. It has to be more detailed than that. Enough for one to be able to act exactly like a human after wearing it."

[… It may take some time, but it is possible. How many should I make?]

"Just for you and Balrog."

[Lord Balrog? Mm. Taking Lord Balrog\'s stature into account, he would never be considered a human…]

"I can shrink his body, so don\'t worry about that. But try to make one as big as you can within the confines of human parameters so that it doesn\'t look out of place."

[Understood.]

Kang-Woo looked at Balrog, who seemed confused at his words.

[M-My king. What do you mean by you will shrink me…?]

"I\'m going to transform your body with an Authority. You won\'t be able to fight, but try to adapt to it to the extent that you can at least spend daily life in it."

[… Is there a need for me to act like a human to that extent?]

"Just in case so that angels don\'t catch on to you."

[I can easily slaughter those puny angels mys—]

"Balrog."

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. Balrog flinched and slammed his forehead onto the ground.

[My apologies.]

"Good."

Kang-Woo turned his eyes from Balrog and swept up his hair.

\'The biggest problem is the demon god.\'

Kang-Woo recalled the myth that he had heard from Raphael. He knew the identity and objective of the Demon God lying within the Abyss of the Ten Thousand Demon Core.

Bauli was targeting his body.

\'I can\'t eliminate him.\'

Just keeping him from coming out was already hard enough.

"…"

He thought about it for a while, but there was only one conclusion he could reach.

\'I have to improve my demonic energy control.\'

To prevent the Demon God from crawling out, to absorb Belphegor\'s demonic energy and raise his Demonic Energy stat, and to prepare against possible variables…

\'And to make sure…\'

Kang-Woo\'s eyes deepened.

He recalled an endless mountain of corpses.

He recalled his despairing self.

\'… I don\'t lose anyone else.\'

He needed to improve his demonic energy control as quickly as possible.

"…"

Kang-Woo closed his eyes. There was one way to dramatically improve it.

\'But that way is…\'

He hesitated a bit, but that only lasted for a short while. He slowly opened his eyes.

"Balrog."

[Yes, my king.]

"I\'m gonna molt."

Balrog\'s eyes widened.