Chapter 256 - There Really Are No Hopes and Dreams in Hell

"Oh… Kang-Woo…"

"Yeah, that's my name."

"C-Can I call you M-Master Kang-Woo from now on?"

Halcyon looked up at him with shining eyes as if she were an abandoned dog that had just been adopted.

Kang-Woo smirked and nodded.

Halcyon's expression brightened. She clenched her two fists and trembled, unable to hide her joy.

'Ah, I'm feeling guilty…'

Kang-Woo was still a person, so he couldn't help but feel guilty after seeing her so happy. The guilt was weighing down on his shoulders.

'That aside…'

There was something he had to do.

"In exchange, I have a condition."

"A c-condition?"

Her eyes trembled with uneasiness.

Kang-Woo calmly said, "Become my retainer. A Familiar, to be more precise."

No matter how much demonic energy he had, he would not be able to subordinate a demonic beast on the level of Halcyon with the Authority of Subordination.

'But…'

It would be a different story if Halcyon herself submitted to him of her own accord. If that were the case, the chances of the Authority of Subordination succeeding would increase greatly.

'This is why I took the time to do all of that.'

If he took her out in her current state, she'd immediately realize that it wasn't just Kang-Woo who didn't find her disgusting.

From her point of view, the number of saviors would greatly increase, and then her desperate feeling to stick to Kang-Woo would most definitely decrease.

'I need to tie the knot before that.'

He needed to place the leash that was the Authority of Subordination, which would make her unable to defy him.

"A… Familiar?"

Halcyon's eyes widened. She nodded without hesitation.

"O-Okay! I-I'll do it! I-I'll become your Familiar!"

"…"

Kang-Woo wondered if she was saying that while knowing what being a Familiar entailed.

In the cases of Balrog and Lilith, it was different—they weren't chained by the Authority of Subordination. The only ones chained by his Authority of Subordination were Kim Si-Hun and Echidna.

'Those two can't go against my commands.'

He couldn't give them any commands that went against their survival instincts like committing suicide, but besides that, they couldn't go against him.

He had even controlled Si-Hun numerous times with it.

'Well, I guess it doesn't matter.'

It didn't matter to him if she knew what a Familiar was or not.

A swindler didn't need to think about what would happen to the person signing the contract.

'… Although I'm not a swindler.'

Kang-Woo had not lied to Halcyon, at the very least.

It was true that he found her beautiful, and he had not hidden the fact that he would take her with him on the condition that she became his Familiar. No one could dare call him a swindler after all that.

"Good."

Kang-Woo put his hand on Halcyon's shoulder. Demonic energy rose from within him.

'Authority of Subordination.'

Whoom!

An immense amount of demonic energy flowed out of him. The demonic energy was so thick that it felt viscous. It flowed into Halcyon's body.

Halcyon closed her eyes and accepted the demonic energy without offering any resistance.

Powerful shackles restrained her soul.

Riiing.

[The subject is accepting the 'Authority of Subordination' without resistance.]

[Drastically raising the Authority of Subordination's chance of success.]

[The soul has been successfully subordinated. Registering 'Halcyon' as your Familiar.]

'Alright.'

He could feel that his soul was linked to hers, and a smile appeared on his face. After Balrog and Si-Hun, he had obtained yet another powerful ally who could face the princes of Hell.

"A-Aaaahh."

Halcyon let out an exclamation while holding her chest.

Kang-Woo silently looked down at her as she trembled.

'That aside, she's actually extremely flat.'

Even Echidna's chest was bigger than hers.

He shrugged and turned around.

'That's none of my concern.'

He did not like them flat. Like most men, he was an advocate of voluptuous women. However, the fact that Halcyon was flat had absolutely nothing to do with him.

'I already have my darling.'

He couldn't help but smile when he thought of Han Seol-Ah. He already had a perfect woman like her, so he did not need anyone else.

"Thank… you. Th-Thank you so much. Sniff."

Halcyon shed tears.

Kang-Woo made a complex expression. It felt weird to be thanked for turning her into a slave who could not defy him.

"Well… let's leave the detailed introductions for a bit later."

There were other important matters to resolve first.

Kang-Woo said, "I want to ask you something."

"What… is it?"

Halcyon tilted her head.

"How did you get here?"

"Ah…" Halcyon looked around the area and cautiously said, "I-I'm not sure either. My memories prior to coming here are… fuzzy."

"Your memories are fuzzy?"

"Y-Yes!"

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.

She couldn't lie because of the Authority of Subordination.

"Since when have your memories been fuzzy?"

"Umm… I-It hasn't been that long. A-Around a year? I-I'm not exactly sure. I-I'm sorry."

She lowered her head as if she'd committed a capital crime.

'A year, huh?'

It wasn't a short time, but that was not the case for immortal demons and demonic beasts.

Kang-Woo tried his best to recall the past.

If her fuzzy memory started a year ago, then it would be around the time the Demon Cult had summoned Balrog to Earth.

'If her memories had been fuzzy since then…'

There was one thing that he could think of.

"Is there nothing you can remember?"

"N-No, I can still remember fragments."

"Tell me everything you can remember."

"Mm… I don't remember well, but… I-I was heading somewhere."

"You were heading somewhere?"

"Yes. I just thought that I had to go there… as if I had been hypnotized. I-I think that's why I had headed there."

"And then you were here when you came back to your senses?"

"Y-yes! Th-that's right! When I came back to my senses, I was already here!"

"…"

Kang-Woo remained silent. He turned his head toward Balrog, who was resisting the urge to vomit.

"Balrog, when did the ancient demonic beasts start acting strangely?"

[About… a year ago. Since then, the ancient demonic beasts have been leaving their territories.]

"Which ancient demonic beasts exactly?"

[Bul-Kathos, Ouroboros, and Lacrasha. Oh, and Halcyon over there. Also…]

Balrog hesitated for a moment.

[We had confirmed that Behemoth had moved as well.]

"…"

Behemoth…

The king of demonic beasts and the father of Leviathan, a prince of Hell.

Not even Kang-Woo had heard much about him.

'It would be bad if Behemoth crossed over to Earth.'

Leaving other ancient demonic beasts aside, not even Kang-Woo could take Behemoth lightly.

'Her consciousness became fuzzy, and she was heading somewhere…'

And when she came back to her senses, she was already within this Gate.

He began organizing the information he'd heard from Halcyon.

"…"

Kang-Woo frowned.

'I have no idea.'

He lacked information.

"Do you remember why your memories became fuzzy?"

"I-I'm not sure. I-It just happened one day…"

"What about any information on the other ancient demonic beasts, such as Behemoth?"

"I-I don't know. I've never met them. I-I'm sorry for being u-useless!"

Halcyon was crying, and she begged Kang-Woo not to abandon her.

Kang-Woo placed his hand on top of his forehead as if he was getting a headache.

'Something is happening.'

He wasn't sure whether it was intentional or just a natural phenomenon, but one thing for sure was that something was happening in Hell after the princes of Hell had disappeared and he had left.

"Shit."

A short curse left his mouth.

He thought he would be able to relax a little after taking care of Satan, but he had received unsettling news.

'I mean, I've already known it since a while back.'

He already knew that ancient demonic beasts and Behemoth had begun moving strangely, but he hadn't thought that much about it because it was something that was happening in Hell.

'But…'

The situation had changed.

He wouldn't care if it was something that was happening in Hell, but if it involved Earth, that was a whole other story.

"… What a bother."

The biggest problem was that there wasn't anything he could do. He had no way to go back to Hell, so there was no way to find the culprit or stop whatever was happening in advance.

"Balrog, is there a way to contact Hell?"

The demon king army was still in Hell. Kang-Woo wasn't sure what had happened to the army now that both Balrog and Lilith were MIA, but it would not have been broken up so easily. However…

[There isn't one.]

Balrog shook his head.

Kang-Woo sighed deeply.

'I guess the only thing I can do is wait.'

However, he didn't feel like this issue was one that could be solved simply by waiting.

"… Let's go back for now."

Kang-Woo turned his body after thinking about it for a while. He couldn't find a solution at the moment.

'The only solution at the moment is to keep finding the ancient demonic beasts in Gates and killing them.

'I'm sure it won't be as easy as with Halcyon.'

She had been an exception among exceptions. The other ancient demonic beasts would probably fight to their deaths.

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue.

'It can't be helped.'

He could only find and kill them as they appeared on Earth.

'I gotta improve my control over demonic energy quicker.'

Now that things had come to this, the best course of action was to grow stronger by devouring the ancient demonic beasts. To do that, he needed to raise his level of demonic energy control, currently capped at handling a Demonic Energy stat of 150.

"A-Are you sure I can go with you?"

"Yeah."

As he nodded, Halcyon brightly smiled and trotted after him. She smiled happily while carefully grabbing the ends of his clothes.

'… I'll have to explain to Seol-Ah first thing when I get home.'

Kang-Woo headed home while smiling bitterly.

* * *

"Your new Familiar…?" Seol-Ah asked.

"Yeah."

"Is it… a similar case to Echidna?"

"You could say that."

Although it wasn't exactly the same, it didn't change the fact that they were both his Familiars. There was no big difference.

Seol-Ah looked at Halcyon with great interest.

"Eek!"

Halcyon hid behind Kang-Woo in fear. It was similar to how Echidna had first reacted.

"…"

Echidna, who had followed behind Seol-Ah, glared at Halcyon in disapproval. She pulled Kang-Woo's arm while on full alert against Halcyon.

"Kang-Woo is mine. Don't try anything funny, newbie."

'Why are you acting like some territorial sunbae?'

Kang-Woo patted Echidna's head while feigning laughter. He said, "Halcyon will be sleeping in my room tonight."

"In your room, Kang-Woo?"

"Yeah. I mean, just look…"

Halcyon was trembling severely while grabbing Kang-Woo's clothes, her face as white as a sheet.

'Her personality has a part in it, but…'

It was also because of a particular characteristic of demonic beasts. Most demonic beasts, like feline creatures, had the characteristic of building their own territory and rarely leaving it. Since this was her first time coming here, it was also the period of time when her anxiety and wariness were at their peak.

"Oh, I see," Echidna said. "What should we do for dinner, then?"

"We don't need food."

"Mm… Then I'll bring out a blanket and a pillow."

"Thanks." Kang-Woo turned to Halcyon. "Let's go."

"Ah… O-Okay!"

As soon as he entered his room, Halcyon followed him. She relaxed a little now that there were just the two of them.

"I'm sure you're exhausted. Let's sleep," Kang-Woo said.

After the battle with Halcyon and all the mind-boggling things they had talked about, he was tired. Kang-Woo laid the blanket on the floor so she could sleep.

Halcyon nervously looked up at him.

"C-Could we… sleep together?"

"Hm?"

It was an unexpected proposal.

Halcyon quickly lowered her head.

"N-Nothing! H-How dare I s-say such a thing?! I-I'm so sorry!"

"…"

Kang-Woo looked silently at Halcyon, who was crying as if she'd committed a heinous crime. He sighed.

'I honestly wouldn't mind.'

If he were asked whether he liked or disliked the idea, he, of course, liked it. Who would hate the idea of sharing the bed with a beauty like Halcyon?

'But I feel bad for Seol-Ah.'

His mind was in a jumble since it felt as if he would be unintentionally having an affair. After thinking about it for a while, Kang-Woo said in a low voice, "… Only for today."

He'd made her his Familiar through the Authority of Subordination, so sleeping with her for just one night was nothing.

'We'll only be sleeping, after all.'

He wasn't at risk of not being able to handle his desires. If he couldn't resist such a temptation, he wouldn't have been able to handle the desires that a demon's body brought.

"Th-thank you very much!"

Halcyon clenched her fists while making a bright expression.

He smirked at how innocent she looked.

Click.

He turned off the light and lay on the bed with Halcyon.

"Hehehe…"

Halcyon smiled while lying next to him.

While lying on the bed, Kang-Woo began thinking about everything that had happened today.

'It's even more frustrating now that we're like this.'

If Balrog had reported to Kang-Woo nine hundred years ago and Kang-Woo had gone to see Halcyon, Kang-Woo could have at least had a better time in Hell.

'You were right, Akiyama.'

He remembered the crazy Japanese Demon Cultist who had summoned Lilith.

'There were indeed hopes and dreams in Hell.'

It was just that he hadn't been able to find it.

Even in Hell, there had been a hidden gem.

"Hehe… Master Kang-Woo." Halcyon stuck closer to Kang-Woo.

"Hey, you're sticking too cl—"

Just then…

"Huh?"

He felt a strange sensation against his thigh, touching something that shouldn't be there.

'What the fuck?'

Kang-Woo raised the blanket. He looked down and saw the hard thing pressing against his thigh.

"Wait a minute."

His face paled.

"You were…"

"What's wrong?" Halcyon asked.

Mouth open in shock, Kang-Woo finished his sentence,"… a man?"

Dangle.