Chapter 263 - Demented Situation (3)

"What… did you say?"

Kim Si-Hun's eyes widened. His hands, gripping his sword, trembled.

- Do you still see me as Oh Kang-Woo?

Oh Kang-Woo had said it mockingly.

"A-Aaaahh."

Why hadn't he thought of the possibility? Why hadn't he even imagined it?

"You…"

There was no way Kang-Woo would attack him; there was no way he'd cut down angels or strangle Cha Yeon-Joo.

He wasn't that kind of person.

He was kinder and more generous than anyone else. Si-Hun loved and respected him even more than his own blood-related family.

"Who… are you?"

And that Kang-Woo had suddenly changed drastically. The answer wasn't complicated. It wasn't even worth thinking about.

It was a simple issue. It was so simple that he couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.

The man smiling in front of him… was not Oh Kang-Woo.

"Who are you, you son of a bitch!!!"

Si-Hun waved his hand. The weapons scattered on the ground rose into the air. There were dozens of weapons. His head became hot. He grunted in pain from reaching the limit of his brain's processing capacity.

"Raaaaahh!!!"

Si-Hun ignored it. He did not have the leeway or reason to think about it. His overflowing rage made his body move.

The dozens of weapons flew toward Kang-Woo—no, the Demon of Prophecy who had taken the shape of Kang-Woo.

CLAAAANG!!

White sparks flew out in all directions. The weapons, which were blocked by a black barrier, fell to the ground.

"I don't know, who do you think I am?"

Kang-Woo snickered while scanning the crowd. Their eyes were filled with bewilderment, fear, and chaos. He clenched his fists in a way that no one could see.

'FUCK YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!'

He would have raised his fists into the air and cheered if he could.

'Yes, it worked!'

It was an impeccable performance, even for him.

A perfect scenario—simple yet effective.

If the problem was that Kang-Woo had appeared when the Demon of Prophecy had been summoned… he just had to make people believe that the one summoned had never been Oh Kang-Woo in the first place.

'I feel a bit bad, though.'

He saw Yeon-Joo coughing on the floor and Si-Hun with clearly visible tear streaks on his face. Although there was nothing Kang-Woo could've done about it, he still felt guilty for having pushed them both into a corner.

'I'm sorry, Yeon-Joo.'

He had neutralized a technique of hers that he had never seen before all too easily.

'It looked like she practiced it a lot.'

It was a technique that shot out chains as if a red flower was blooming.

Considering that he had never seen it despite meeting up with Yeon-Joo quite frequently, that meant she'd practiced it quite a lot in secret. Although the technique itself was powerful, it was too poorly structured.

Kang-Woo was on a whole other level when it came to controlling energies, so from his perspective, the technique was riddled with problems.

'Ngh.'

Kang-Woo frowned.

He remembered her face full of bewilderment and despair when he easily destroyed her technique. He had even clenched her neck and given her a very painful experience.

'I'll make it up to you, I promise.'

He wanted to beg for forgiveness right this second if he could.

'And…'

Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun.

"How… how dare you…!"

Si-Hun grimaced, his expression a mix of rage, relief, resentment, and despair. The target of his rage and resentment was obviously him, and he was likely relieved by the fact that Kang-Woo wasn't the Demon of Prophecy.

'I'm so fucking sorry, Si-Hun!'

The one he felt the most sorry for was, without any doubt, Si-Hun. Seeing his little bro hurt all over broke his heart.

'I had no choice.'

It was a sorry excuse, but it wasn't a lie. In order to turn the situation in his favor, he needed to show everyone that he was the Demon of Prophecy wearing the skin of Oh Kang-Woo.

He had to push Si-Hun to the limit to make it feel real.

'It also breaks my heart.'

Every time he attacked Si-Hun with the intent to kill, he was worried he might actually end up killing him.

'Thanks for holding on, man.'

Si-Hun was just barely able to withstand his attacks, so he was able to complete the scenario.

'I never thought the day when I pretended to be me would come.'

There was nothing he could do about it. He had no other choice if he wanted to revert the situation.

'Now…'

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. Leaving aside his guilt, he smiled due to how his plan had worked out so well.

"How dare you pretend to be hyung…!"

The sight of Si-Hun trembling in anger was very protagonist-like. He was emitting powerful bloodlust toward the demon pretending to be the man he respected so much.

Kang-Woo once again burst into crazed laughter.

"Pfft! Bwahahahaha! Good! That's perfect! I can understand why Satan had taken a liking to you."

"…"

Si-Hun glared at him in bloodlust and gripped his sword. Since he knew the being in front of him was a demon pretending to be Kang-Woo, he didn't need to hesitate anymore.

Swoosh!

Si-Hun blurred as he began moving at supersonic speed, creating a huge sonic boom. He drew out his Qi to its absolute limit and swung at Kang-Woo's head.

"Come on, what's with you?"

Clang!!

Kang-Woo easily blocked the attack with the black blade extending from the back of his hand.

"Aren't I your highly respected hyung? You sure you wanna attack me so fiercely?"

"Shut up!!"

"Pfft, hahahaha!"

He blocked Si-Hun's attacks while laughing mockingly.

'Urgh.'

Unlike how he was leisurely blocking the attacks, a bead of cold sweat dripped down Kang-Woo's neck.

'When did he get so strong?'

Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun with great interest. He wasn't sure if Si-Hun was drawing out power past his limits or if he had grown stronger without Kang-Woo noticing, but it was not easy blocking his attacks.

'You're growing very nicely, Si-Hun.'

He smiled proudly. He would have liked to pat him on the back, but it was hard to do that with what was going on.

Kang-Woo looked around.

The first part of his plan had succeeded.

'But it's not enough.'

He couldn't erase all doubts in the crowd with just this.

'It may be good enough for Si-Hun and Yeon-Joo, but I'm sure the angels won't be so easily convinced.'

Even if he claimed that he was some unknown demon and not Oh Kang-Woo, there was no way they'd believe him.

Humans of Earth did not share a very deep bond of trust with the angels.

It was, after all, a relationship built on understanding and self-interest for both parties. It was hard to expect them to trust him like Si-Hun and Yeon-Joo.

'I need stronger evidence.'

He needed better evidence that showed that Oh Kang-Woo wasn't the Demon of Prophecy.

'If things go as planned…'

He'd soon be able to get that opportunity.

Kang-Woo kept driving Si-Hun into a corner while waiting for that moment.

"Kuh!"

Si-Hun, who was barraging Kang-Woo with attacks, clenched his hand in pain. The skin on his hands was being torn apart from the recoil of going past his limit.

"Haaa, haaa."

He panted heavily.

"Cough! Cough! Urgh…" At that moment, Yeon-Joo got up from the floor. She glared at Kang-Woo while holding her bruised neck. "So… that bastard isn't Kang-Woo but someone else, right?"

A strong bloodlust appeared in her eyes.

Si-Hun silently nodded and quietly bit his lip.

'We're nowhere near strong enough to defeat him.'

He glared at the demon smiling leisurely.

The demon wearing Kang-Woo's skin was stronger than he could have ever imagined. He could not be defeated by the angels and Players here right now.

"Lord Shalgiel!" Si-Hun called out.

"Another… demon?"

Shalgiel had fallen into chaos from the sheer complexity of the situation.

"Shalgiel!!" Si-Hun shouted.

It was then that Shalgiel looked at Si-Hun.

"Call Lord Raphael right now!"

"He is…"

Shalgiel's expression had hardened.

Raphael still hadn't fully recovered from his injuries in his battle against Satan. To be honest, he had only just recovered to the point that he could barely move.

"Hurry!!"

"Kuh…"

Shalgiel bit his lip.

Si-Hun was right. They would not be able to defeat that demon with only the people here.

"Give me a second."

Shalgiel closed his eyes and tried to contact Raphael. A golden halo appeared over his head.

"Hmm. Calling for reinforcements, huh? Well, not a bad idea."

The demon wearing Kang-Woo's skin snickered while staring at Shalgiel and Si-Hun.

Si-Hun took out a communication crystal orb from his pocket. It was the magic tool that members of Guardians used to get in touch with one another.

'If he isn't Kang-Woo hyung…'

He should be able to contact Kang-Woo.

Si-Hun sent Qi into the communication crystal.

Whoom.

"Huh…?"

The crystal orb shone, and he could also hear its unique ringing.

- What's up?

He even heard Kang-Woo's voice. Everything was perfect, but…

"Wh-Why…?"

Si-Hun's eyes trembled, and his face paled.

"Hm? What's wrong? If you called someone, then you should talk."

The voice coming from the crystal orb was also coming from the demon wearing Kang-Woo's skin.

"Wh-Why do you have… h-hyung's crystal orb…?"

"Pfft, bwahahahahaha!!"

Kang-Woo burst into crazed laughter while holding his stomach.

'It's finally here!'

It was the moment he had been waiting for. He had expected it to happen. If he wasn't Kang-Woo, either Si-Hun or Yeon-Joo would obviously try to contact the real Oh Kang-Woo.

'Right, then…'

It was about time to proceed with phase two of the plan. He had already made the preparations while fighting Si-Hun.

"Why indeed… Why would I have this crystal orb? No, let me ask something even more simple."

"Wh-What do you…"

"Where do you think"—Kang-Woo slowly turned his head—"your oh-so-precious hyung is right now?"

"…"

Si-Hun trembled. If someone who wasn't Kang-Woo had his crystal orb…

"Pfft, bwahahahahahahahahaha!!!!"

Crazed laughter echoed throughout the cave. The Demon of Prophecy wearing Kang-Woo's skin lightly snapped his finger. A screen appeared in the air and displayed footage.

"A-Aaaahh."

Si-Hun fell to his knees when he saw the video. The video was filling him with despair.

- Si… Hun…

The video was filled with static, but he could still see Kang-Woo, who was tied up in steel chains, slowly raise his head. One of his eyes was missing as if it had been taken out on purpose.

Kang-Woo mumbled in a weak voice.

- R… Run.

"N-NOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Si-Hun's desperate scream rang out.