Side Story Chapter 33 - Troubling Date (4)

“Why is there... one missing?”

Oh Kang-Woo thought time had stopped. He couldn’t breathe. His back was drenched with cold sweats. His lips trembled. His thoughts evaporated, leaving his head completely blank.

‘Ah...’

he groaned in his head.

‘I’m fucked. My life is over. What do I do? Seriously, what the fuck do I do?’

“Did you... use one?” asked Han Seol-Ah, eyes devoid of life.

Kang-Woo closed his eyes, thinking of countless lies and excuses he could tell her.

‘No, no!’

He bit his lip and shook his head. He no longer wanted to deceive his darling with cheap lies.

‘I’ve... always lied.’

He put on a false mask and deceived others for the sake of survival and to devour his enemies while their guard was down. He distorted the truth, looked down on his enemies, and trampled on them.

‘But...’

Kang-Woo clenched his fists and shut his eyes tightly. It was Seol-Ah of all people— the woman whom he had promised to be with forever.

‘I... don’t want to lie to Seol-Ah at the very least.’

He wanted to show her what was under his false mask.

‘Only then can I truly say that I love her.’

He hardened his resolve.

‘Yeah. I’ll tell her the truth. I won’t add even the tiniest lie. I’ll lay it all out in front of her.’

“I...” Kang-Woo looked into her eyes and continued, “Blew it up like a balloon.”

He told the god-honest truth.

Silence fell once again.

Whoooom!

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The twelve angel wings that shone brightly under the deathly silence were flickering black like a broken light bulb.

“Hohoho. What an interesting excuse, Kang-Woo.”

“H-Huh?”

Kang-Woo stared at Seol-Ah as he took a step back.

“A balloon...? Hoho. You must be rather flustered.”

“N-No, it’s the truth.”

‘I seriously blew it up like a balloon.’

“Tell me.”

“What?”

“Tell me where, when, and who you used it with!”

“W-Wait! You’ve got it wrong! I seriously used it like a balloon!”

“Enough with your absurd excuses!! Who in the world would use this as a balloon?!”

“It was super elastic!”

‘It got this~ big!’

“Urgh!”

Seol-Ah’s expression crumpled. Chains of light poured out from the twelve wings and wrapped around Kang-Woo.

“Darling, I told you these things don’t work on me anymore.”

Kang-Woo was not his former self. After his battle against Rajang, he regained enough power to just barely be a match for Kim Si-Hun; such restraints would not work on him.

“Wh-What the hell?”

‘Why can’t I break them?’

However, Kang-Woo stared at Seol-Ah perplexedly after noticing that her chains were several times stronger than before. He couldn’t break them even after using all his might.

‘Th-There’s no way Darling is this strong...’

The powers she was displaying surpassed that of Si-Hun.

‘That’s impossible.’

Kang-Woo shook his head in disbelief, his face pale. Even if the soul of the Celestial Goddess Seraph dwelled within Seol-Ah, her powers were merely those she gained without a price. She couldn’t be compared to Si-Hun, who awakened Deific Essence after endless effort and training as well as enough talent to back it up. At least, that was how it was supposed to be.

“Th-They won’t break.”

Kang-Woo couldn’t understand why the chains didn’t budge, no matter how much he struggled.

‘Oh.’

Just then, a thought popped up in his head.

‘Come to think of it...’

Although it was gone now, Seol-Ah had experience accepting the power of a Titan, an entity that not even he could fathom. Such a feat would have been impossible if Seol-Ah did not possess talent surpassing that of Si-Hun.

Kang-Woo’s face paled.

“Stay still, Kang-Woo.”

Seol-Ah approached Kang-Woo, her eyes chillingly lifeless and devoid of the usual gentle light in them. She seductively caressed the restrained Kang-Woo’s cheek. She then reached for under his neck, lifted him, and laid him on the bed.

“Kang-Woo...”

“W-Wait! Please wait!”

“Please... don’t lie to me anymore.”

“No! I told you I wasn’t lying!”

‘I seriously used it like a balloon!’

Her eyes filled with sorrow. She fiercely bit her lip and trembled.

She raised the box that fell out of Kang-Woo’s pocket and asked coldly, “You... used this with Yeon-Joo, didn't you?”

“No.”

She asked sorrowfully, “You... did it with Yeon-Joo, didn't you?”

“I didn’t.”

Tears welled up from Seol-Ah’s eyes.

“You can tell me the truth. After all, I’ve known for a while now that you harbor some feelings for Yeon-Joo as well. But of course, I am a little... very... extremely hurt that you slept with her without telling me.”

“No, I seriously didn’t! I just used it to tease her! We went outside after she confessed to me and that’s when this fell out of her pocket—”

“So, Yeon-Joo confessed to you first.”

“

Gasp

. I mean... she did, but...”

Seol-Ah smiled sorrowfully. It was different from the case of Lilith; Kang-Woo had accepted Lilith only after he got Seol-Ah’s approval as a way to prove to Seo-Ah that she was his number one.

“Ahaha. To be honest... I knew something like this would happen one day. I was ready for it, but... I wished for you to tell me first at the very least. I wished for you to give me at least some time to steel my heart.”

Tears flowed down Seol-Ah’s cheeks. Kang-Woo also burst into tears.

“I said I didn’t... I use it like a balloon...”

Seol-Ah’s expression hardened. “Why, why...”

Her lifeless eyes shook even more.

“Why do you keep lying to me?”

She gritted her teeth and grabbed Kang-Woo’s shoulders.

“After seeing how much I love you! After seeing how much I trust you! I don’t need anything else but you!!”

Crackle!

Black sparks formed around the twelve wings as they flickered black more rapidly.

“Haaa, haaa, haaa.”

Seol-Ah panted heavily. The more the wings flickered, the power surging from her grew more massive.

“This won’t do.” Seol-Ah got on top of the restrained Kang-Woo. “Until you realize I am your number one...” She slowly wrapped around him and whispered seductively in his ear, “I’ll give you a thorough lesson. I’ll make it so that not a single cell in your body can live without me.”

Kang-Woo looked up as he struggled.

“Ah...”

He saw twelve jet-black wings.

***

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Explosive fists tore through space.

“Huup!”

Red muscles swelled as if they would explode. Balrog brought his right foot back and pulled back his fist like drawing a bow. He shifted his weight to his left foot and twisted his hips.

“Haaaah!”

Boom—!!!

A sandbag protected by dozens of barriers shook. Balrog took a breath and consecutively punched the shaking sandbag. His fists, almost as large as a human torso, smashing into the sandbag looked like a wrecking ball smashing into a building.

Crack! Burst—!

“Mm?” The sandbag eventually exploded after taking many of Balrog’s punches. “Not again.”

Balrog clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and shook his head.

“Fuuu... Come to think of it. I haven’t seen the king at all lately.”

Balrog frowned, his hideous face crumpling. They had met every day back when Balrog was helping with Kang-Woo’s training but they had barely met once the training lost its effect.

“Hmm. Should I visit him?” Balrog fell into thought as he fiddled with the pendant that allowed him to transform into a human. “Yes!”

There was no reason to wait for his king to visit him first. It was only natural for a loyal subordinate to check on his king. Balrog turned to the training room door and opened it. Just then, he noticed someone on the other side.

“Lilith...? What are you doing here?”

Lilith was standing in front of the training room door with a somber expression.

“Balrog. There’s something I have to tell you, so follow me.”

Balrog frowned. He wanted to ask what it was about but couldn’t bring himself to after noticing how darkened her expression was.

“Understood.” He nodded and followed behind her.

Lilith took Balrog to the Hall of Protection, the headquarters of Guardians. Layla, Si-Hun, Yeon-Joo, and Echidna were already gathered there.

“So, what is this about?” asked Yeon-Joo as she turned to Lilith.

Lilith shut her eyes tightly and asked, “Has anyone in this room seen Master Kang-Woo this past week?”

“Oh Kang-Woo...?” Yeon-Joo’s expression crumpled. She turned away and said apathetically, “Nope, he hasn’t contacted me even once this whole week.”

Her tone carried a hint of sorrow and loneliness. She softly bit her lip.

“I have not seen hyung-nim either.”

“Me too.”

Echidna and Lilith’s expressions grew darker with Si Hun and Layla’s answers.

“

Sniff, waaaaaaaaah!

” Echidna then burst into tears, grabbing everyone’s attention as they stared at her dumbfoundedly. “

Sniff!

Kang-Woo and Seol-Ah... disappeared.”

“What?!”

Slam!

Si-Hun sprang up from his seat in pallor.

“Haaa,” Lilith sighed deeply. “At first, I thought Master Kang-Woo went on a trip with Seol-Ah because they weren’t coming home without any contact.”

She lowered her head lifelessly.

“But...” Her clenched fists trembled. “It’s weird they haven’t contacted us for a whole week.”

Kang-Woo always told people where he was headed so that they wouldn’t worry about him, but not this time; he had left without a trace with Seol-Ah.

“No way...” Yeon-Joo slurred.

It was the same as when he was trapped in the Temple of Truth after getting kidnapped by the Wikiholic.

Yeon-Joo continued, “Are you saying... Kang-Woo was kidnapped?”

Lilith nodded.

Boom—!!

The floor of the Hall of Protection split along with a deafening sound.

“Who...?” Balrog’s eyes blazed as he roared, “WHO DARES KIDNAP THE KING—?!”

Balrog’s ferocious Demon Roar echoed throughout the Hall of Protection.