After Ten Millennia in Hell

Side Story Chapter 69 - Den of the Night Demons (6)

"Is this the Gate unnie was talking about?"

Flutter.

A gorgeous woman with dark purple hair landed on the roof of a building as she flapped her twelve black wings.

Jiggle.

Two giant hills shook despite her landing without even a sound.

"Kang-Woo..."

Han Seol-Ah looked down at the gate as she bit her lip anxiously. Lilith had said there was nothing to worry about but it was not enough to make her uneasiness disappear.

'Am I being too obsessive?'

She knew her desire to monopolize Kang-Woo was abnormally strong but she couldn't hold it back despite knowing that. She felt like she was going insane just from the thought of Oh Kang-Woo being in possible danger.

"I should never have gone shopping...!"

Seol-Ah did not expect Kang-Woo to enter a Gate out of nowhere as she went shopping to buy daring clothes to surprise him.

"Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo."

She exhaled heatedly and bit her lip. She wanted to embrace him with all her might and feel his warmth.

"I'm sure nothing's wrong. Yes. I know how strong he is. I'm sure he's fine. Yes. No..." She gritted her teeth and persuaded herself, "He has to be fine."

Seol-Ah's lifeless eyes focused on the Gate. She knew there was nothing to worry about like Lilith mentioned. Kang-Woo was not weak anymore; his powers had yet to return fully but he was still one of the top five strongest on Earth. Not only that, he was with Balrog. Barely anything could endanger them as long as they were together.

"..."

However, Seol-Ah recalled Kang-Woo collapsing at the swimming pool whenever she closed her eyes; the sight of him groaning in pain while unconscious was embedded in her head. The despairing memory was so painful she felt like she was being burned alive just thinking about it.

"Haaa, haaa."

Her breathing grew labored and her lips dried up just from recalling the memory.

Crackle! Crackle!

Black lightning sparked between Seol-Ah's twelve black wings. She slowly walked toward the small Gate entrance not even three meters tall.

Ba-dump, ba-dump.

Her heart felt like it was about to explode just from the fact that she could reunite with Kang-Woo soon. Her suffocating uneasiness disappeared before she had realized it and was replaced with ecstasy.

She wanted to meet him this instant. She wanted to gently embrace, kiss him passionately, and whisper sweet love into his ear.

Now. Right now. As soon as possible. Now. Now. Now. Now. Now. Now. Now. Now.

Ican'twaitmuchlongerI'mgoinginsaneIwanttoseeyouIwanttohugyouIwanttokissyouIloveyouKang-WooIloveyousomuchIloveyoutodeathIwillkillmyselfifyoudisappearmyheadwillexplodeIwanttokilleveryoneIwanttotearthemapartwhereareyouKang-WooKang-WooKang-WooKang-WooKang-Woo?

"Wait just a little longer, Kang-Woo. I'm coming. Your one and only Darling is coming."

Seol-Ah giggled as she entered the Gate.

***

"So, what you're saying is..." Kang-Woo clicked his tongue. "This place has nothing to do with the Nine Hells?"

"Nine Hells...?"

"Wh-What is that?"

"Don't beat around the bush and answer the damn question."

"W-We're sorry!"

Kang-Woo sighed. Pandemonium, the other Hell of the outer world, had nothing to do with the Nine Hells other than that demons also lived there.

'From what these Succubi have told me, the demons there seem to be stronger than the ones in the Nine Hells.'

It was hard to make an exact comparison since Kang-Woo had not seen them with his own eyes but from their stories, the demons of the Nine Hells sounded like errand boys for the school bullies who were the demons of Pandemonium.

'It's hurting my pride a bit.'

Kang-Woo felt highly unpleasant from hearing that the Hell he had struggled to survive for ten millennia was nothing compared to a different Hell.

"It's hard to believe, seeing how weak you guys are. Are you sure they're strong?" Kang-Woo asked the Succubi.

"W-We're super weak when it comes to physical fighting."

"Th-The demons of Pandemonium are extremely powerful!"

"They're laying low because they can't manifest into the physical realm, but once they do, not even the apostles on the Tower's top floor will be a match for them!"

"And how strong are they compared to me?" Kang-Woo asked.

"Ah..."

"W-Well..."

The Succubi kept silent. Although the demons of Pandemonium were powerful, they were no match for the boy in front of them.

"Well, let's leave that aside for now."

Kang-Woo smirked and turned around. It was pointless to compare himself to regular demons in the first place. The demons of Pandemonium might be strong enough to obliterate the demons of the Nine Hells, but they were nothing but prey to Kang-Woo.

"So those oh-so-great demons of Pandemonium can't manifest into the physical realm at the moment, right?" Kang-Woo asked.

"Yes, but... the situation has changed as of recently."

"It has?"

'The hell does that mean?'

"There used to be a powerful barrier that blocked manifestation into the physical realm, but... it has thinned significantly as of late. That is why we created this space to hunt men."

"..."

Kang-Woo's eyes narrowed.

'Why does this sound familiar...?'

It was similar to when the separation between Earth and the Nine Hells thinned after the Law of Titans was damaged.

'Does it have to do with our world?'

Kang-Woo was not sure. The Law of Titans was damaged for the Triad, not the outer world that Kang-Woo didn't even know the name of.

"So, the demons have manifested and are causing chaos?"

"N-No. Well, a few of them are, of course, but... most of them have likely manifested for other reasons."

"Other reasons?"

"Yes. They are likely planning to discover powerful relics to grow their strength."

The bickering apostles had mentioned something about a relic as well.

"What's a relic?" Kang-Woo asked.

"Pardon...?"

"You don't know what a relic is?"

The Succubi stared at Kang-Woo in disbelief.

Kang-Woo frowned slightly. "What did I say earlier?"

"Ah...! W-We apologize! We'll only answer what we're asked!"

"Good. So, what's a relic?"

"They are... armaments with mystical powers, created in the Tower. They come in different shapes and forms, and some are entirely formless."

'Something like an artifact, maybe? No, not really, since some of them are formless.'

The Succubi mentioned the Tower once again.

"What's this Tower thing that you keep talking about?" Kang-Woo asked.

"..."

The Succubi remained silent as they stared at Kang-Woo, their eyes trembling in shock. They seemed to have figured out that Kang-Woo was from a different world than them.

"Master, are you—"

"What did I say?"

"N-Never mind."

Kang-Woo waited for an answer as he glared at the naked Succubi.

"We don't know much about the Tower of Creation or who created it and for what purpose. All we know is that humans and demons alike try to climb it because they can acquire more powerful relics and wealth the higher you climb."

"How many floors are there?"

"N-No one knows how many floors the Tower has... the division of upper and lower floors is just based on how many floors have been cleared thus far."

"How many floors have been cleared?"

"We're not sure... W-We don't know much about the Tower! We swear!"

"Tsk," Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and nodded.

He could tell the Succubi were not lying from their expressions filled with terror.

'Tower of Creation, huh?' Kang-Woo sighed deeply, his head hurting. 'It's just one fucking thing after another.'

Akart, Pandemonium, and now the Tower of Creation.

'I thought this was a side story. You said it would only be about fifty chapters long, dammit.'

"Alright, fine. That's enough for now."

"W-Were we of help?" the Succubi asked.

"Yeah."

Kang-Woo would be able to effectively use the information about the Tower of Creation and that the outer world was slowly encroaching on Earth.

"Hehe! We're glad to have been of help to you, Master!"

'Since when did I become your master?'

"Do you have any other orders for us? We are willing to do anything for you, Master!"

"You are free to do whatever you like to us!"

"We will satisfy all of your desires!"

After tasting the hope of survival, the Succubi clung to Kang-Woo with sparkling eyes. Kang-Woo's eyes burned passionately as naked women stuck to him but he quickly regained his composure.

"Get the fuck off me."

"Eek!"

"Ngh...!"

The Succubi flinched and stepped back once Kang-Woo glared at them fiercely.

Balrog stepped forward and remarked, "We got everything we need from them. I believe killing them is for the best."

"Aaaahh!"

"Please... Please spare us!"

The Succubi freaked out and bowed with their heads on the ground again.

"Wait a second," Kang-Woo said as he stopped Balrog.

'They might be useful.'

Since they had useful abilities, it wouldn't be bad to use them as analysts. Kang-Woo remembered Lilith complaining about how there were too few people capable enough as analysts.

'And...'

Kang-Woo gulped as he stared at the Succubi. Although he was faithful to his lovers, he couldn't help but get adulterous emotions as a healthy man in front of over a hundred naked beautiful Succubi.

'I have no intention of laying my hands on them, though.'

He would never dare to cheat on his precious lovers.

'But... it's fine to look, isn't it?'

Irresistible desire traveled down his back and throughout his body. He had no intention of doing anything indecent with the Succubi but couldn't help but think it was fine if it was only to stare at their attractive bodies as if they were made of every man's hopes and dreams.

'Seriously, though. When am I ever gonna have another chance like this?'

Kang-Woo would never get another chance to freely stare at a hundred nude bombshell beauties even if he were to live another ten millennia.

"Th-Then are we being spared?"

"We'll do anything as long as you let us live!"

The Succubi's desperate pleas echoed in Kang-Woo's ear.

He coughed and answered as calmly as possible, "Right, then. First, take care of those guys on the ground."

The apostles who Kang-Woo beat senselessly were still groaning in the cave. They had heard the conversation between Kang-Woo and the Succubi. As long as their world continued to encroach on Earth, the apostles needed to be eliminated to eliminate unexpected variables.

"By dispose, you mean..."

"Kill them. It's what you lured them here to do, isn't it?"

The Succubi had made a den here to suck the life force out of men; that was the only kind of disposal Kang-Woo could have meant.

'Yeah, it can't be helped.'

Kang-Woo gulped as he imagined the mass-devouring session of the Succubi. They needed to be full of energy since he was planning to use them as analysts, and he also needed to eliminate the apostles; it was two birds in one stone. He could swear on his life that he had no other intentions.

"Understood!"

"Fufu, we just have to suck the life force out of them, right?"

The Succubi smiled erotically and stood up. The feast of the night demons began.

"ARRRRGHHHH! LET ME GO! LET ME GOOOO!"

"H-HELP ME!!"

"Hehe. It won't hurt if you stop moving, you know?"

"Stay still~"

The Succubi hummed as they drained the apostles' life force.

"Haha..."

Succubi draining the life force of dozens of men was a rare sight.

'This...' Kang-Woo clenched his fists as he forced the corners of his mouth down with all his might. 'Isn't bad! No! To be honest, it's great!'

He would never see a sight as great as this again.

"Hehehe."

Kang-Woo suppressed his laughter as he watched the Succubi devouring their prey. Just then, he heard a familiar voice.

"Kang-Woo...?"

"Huh...?"

He did not even have the time to comprehend the situation. He turned toward the voice that he should not be hearing. There, he saw... a black-winged 【angel】.

"DARLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!" There was no time to think. Kang-Woo let his instincts take over. "Hurgh! Darling—!"

He twisted and turned to make his clothes, which had been disheveled during the battle, into even worse shape. He hugged Seol-Ah and looked up at her with eyes filled with fear.

"What... what happened?" Seol-Ah asked.

"Sniff! Th-Those evil Succubi tried to...!" Kang-Woo bit his lip and shouted, "They tried to molest me!!!"

"..."

Seol-Ah's lifeless eyes focused on the Succubi.

"Ohh." The stunning black-winged angel said emotionlessly, "I see."