Side Story Chapter 98 - Corridor of Desire (3)

"Fucking swindler."

Cha Yeon-Joo feigned laughter as she stared at Oh Kang-Woo, who was humming as he packed the relics he took from the Lion of the Corridor in his bag. The lion had twenty-three relics; it was not as much as Kang-Woo had hoped but it was more than twice the amount of relics he had taken from the apostles of Oceiros.

"The gatekeeper is the real swindler. You can tell just from how the number of relics it had isn't a multiplier of five."

Like what it had done to Kang-Woo, the Lion of the Corridor had likely demanded five initially and then slowly raised the number.

"I guess so."

"Hence, my actions were purely in self-defense," answered Kang-Woo as if he did not feel shame for his actions in the slightest.

"Yeah, okay. Good for you, man."

Yeon-Joo shook her head and sighed as if she had given up.

"Fufu, of course. Kang-Woo did nothing wrong."

Han Seol-Ah smiled and hugged Kang-Woo from behind as he stuffed the relics into his bag.

"Hehehe. I knew you'd understand, Darling!"

"But... the way you were screaming out of nowhere was... a bit unsightly," remarked Seol-Ah, not knowing how to say it without hurting Kang-Woo's feelings.

"You have to act crazy to sons of bitches like that to intimidate them," Kang-Woo answered.

"Mm. But..."

"If you hated it, I won't do it again."

"N-Not at all! I'm ready to love every part of you!"

"Hehe. Never mind, then." Kang-Woo turned around to kiss Seol-Ah and stood up. "The bag has gotten too big, so I'll just store it in the subspace."

Human farming was truly the best out of every kind of farming; just in one day, Kang-Woo had gathered over thirty of the relics he had spent five days searching for with no luck.

"Right then, let's head inside," said Kang-Woo as he threw the bag into the subspace he stored the Leuconostoc in and stared at the open doors to the Corridor of Desire.

[A-Arghhh...]

Kang-Woo and the others walked past the half-dead gatekeeper and entered the Corridor.

"Wow, what's all this?"

"A-Are these all gold?"

The edges of the hallway dimly lit with candles were covered with gold. Some areas were covered with gold coins and giant lumps of gold were in other areas.

"So this is what it meant by the Corridor of Desire."

Kang-Woo uninterestedly stared at the hallway filled with gold. The average person would have been amazed by such a sight but to him, all this gold was nothing but shiny objects cluttering the hallway.

'I already have more money than I can spend.'

He had less than Yeon-Joo but he would never run out of money even if he spent his entire life spending it on whatever he wanted.

"K-Kang-Woo. C-Could we take some home...?" asked Seol-Ah with a trembling voice.

Her eyes were shining with all the gold in her vision, likely because she had been poor in the past.

"There's no reason to, is there? We already have plenty of money," said Yeon-Joo as she shrugged. She was just as uninterested in the gold as Kang-Woo.

"B-But... It just feels like a waste not to."

"Wow, I didn't see you in that light, Seol-Ah. You're quite the avaricious one, huh?"

"No! You're the weirder one for not feeling this way when you're in front of all this gold, Yeon-Joo!"

"I mean, I have nothing to refute that."

Most people would be all over this gold if they were here.

Kang-Woo remarked, "Hold yourself back, Darling."

"Kang-Woo..."

"Usually, the more money the better, but..." Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he stared at the gold covering the hallway. "Taking money lying around in places like this usually triggers some kind of trap."

"Ah," Seol-Ah expressed and nodded. It was a common cliche in films and TV shows that one suffered from being blinded by greed. "I-I didn't think it through enough."

"Hehe. You don't have to worry about money at all, Darling. We can just ask Yeon-Joo for some on the off chance that our money runs out."

"The fuck you say?" Yeon-Joo asked in irritation.

"You're the reason I can live so freely, Yeon-Joo noona!"

"The hell are you on about? Don't expect me to give you a single cent." Yeon-Joo snorted and turned away. "Well... If you really~ need it, I wouldn't mind letting you borrow a little. But! You'll have to kneel and beg me for it."

"Jeez, my little Yeon-Joo is so cute."

"Dammit, get the fuck away from me!!"

Yeon-Joo pushed Kang-Woo away as he was trying to embrace her.

Just then, Lilith who was searching the area called, "Master Kang-Woo, please come and take a look at this."

She pointed at a severely damaged mechanical device.

"This is..."

"Someone seems to have intentionally broken this."

Considering how it wasn't rusted or there was no dust on it, it seemed to be recent. Meaning, someone had already passed through this area before Kang-Woo and the others reached it.

"Someone got the jump on us."

'If we think about someone who passed through this area at this time...'

Kang-Woo could think of someone.

"E-Eek! I-It can't be!!!" Horos screamed as he blinked repeatedly. It seemed he was thinking of the same person as Kang-Woo. "Has the D-Demon King reached this place first?!"

"Maybe."

Since the Leuconostoc habitat near the entrance was destroyed, it was more than possible.

"We have to get out of here this inst—"

"Shut up."

"

Peep!

"

Kang-Woo grabbed Horos' head and dragged him along the hallway.

"Let's pick up the pace."

Since they found out someone was ahead of them, they couldn't take their time exploring the dungeon. Kang-Woo and the others hastily walked down the downslope hallway. As they kept going down, they came across pink mist filling the hallway dimly lit by candles.

"What the hell is this?"

"It's hypnotic incense."

Lilith lightly clicked her tongue and snapped her finger. Her hair spread out and sucked all the pink mist from the air.

"Thanks."

"Fufu. Hypnotic incense of this level is nothing to me."

A Succubus Queen would have no trouble dealing with hypnotic incense.

"First it was greed, and now it's lust?"

Kang-Woo chuckled. He more or less understood what kind of place the Corridor of Desire was. They walked down the hallway free of hypnotic incense.

"Kang-Woo, over there..."

Seol-Ah pointed at something as they were walking down the hallway.

"Looks like he passed through this place as well."

Headless corpses of women wearing sensual clothing were lying around.

"They haven't been dead for a while."

"We shouldn't be too far from him."

If that was the case, there was no need to hesitate.

"Let's go."

Kang-Woo walked past the obsolete traps and continued to walk.

'Looks like it's gluttony this time.'

They saw food splattered all over the floor. Corpses of cats wearing chef's outfits were next to a table split in half.

'Fuck yeah, he's disabling all the traps.'

Kang-Woo and the others were just walking down the hallway without worrying about traps thanks to the Demon King destroying everything he saw.

"I'll have to thank the guy if we meet him."

Kang-Woo snickered as he continued down the hallway. They passed through the hallway themed with sloth and pride without anything getting in their way and then came across a door slightly smaller than the first one they passed.

"Another door?"

"Looks like it."

"Th-This is the entrance to the Corridor of Trials," Horos answered.

"Corridor of Trials?"

"Yes." Horos, who had been dragged along by Kang-Woo all this way, blinked and continued, "Only those who pass the Corridor of Desire and emerge victorious against the trial of one's past may reach the heart of the Corridor."

"...?"

"It's the legend that has been spreading throughout the Tower. It's why so many demons and apostles have gathered on this floor."

'Pandemonium's Demon King must have been one of them.'

Kang-Woo nodded and stared at the closed door.

"In other words, we have to get past this door, right?"

"Yes, correct."

"You said we would have to face a trial of our past. What does that mean?"

"I've heard that one would recall the worst memory in their memories once you enter the Corridor of Trials."

'Worst memory, huh?'

Kang-Woo frowned.

'What a pain.'

Immortality granted by the Demonic Sea was useless against psychological attacks.

"What do you want to do?" asked Yeon-Joo.

"We're entering, obviously."

They couldn't give up after coming this far.

"That Demon King from Pandemonium seems to have entered too."

They had walked down a straight hallway. There was no sign of broken walls, hence it was wise to assume the Demon King had already entered the Corridor of Trials.

"Will you all be okay?" asked Kang-Woo to Seol-Ah, Lilith, and Yeon-Joo.

The three women nodded simultaneously.

"Good."

Kang-Woo smiled and stood in front of the Corridor of Trials.

"I have a feeling you'll be the first to complete the trial, Kang-Woo."

Yeon-Joo clicked her tongue and answered, "Can't deny that. I have to admit, the son of a bitch's mind is like a steel trap."

"The worst memory of your life... I wonder which memory will appear?"

"Who knows?" Kang-Woo shrugged and shook his head.

'Maybe the time I got assaulted by Lilith will appear.'

Chills ran down Kang-Woo's spine. He opened the door, thinking it would be a terrible experience for him.

Creak.

Darkness flowed out between the doors.

"Ah."

Kang-Woo's consciousness shut off.

***

"Urghhh." Seol-Ah trembled as she opened her eyes. She panted, "Haaa, haaa."

Beads of sweat trickled from her forehead and pooled on her chin.

"..."

She bit her lip. Her memory had been about her drunk older brother shouting and beating up their mother. She felt nauseous— her vision was blurring and her legs trembled.

'I don't ever want to experience something like that again.'

Seol-Ah hugged her knees and trembled as she thought about the memory, so vivid that it felt like reality.

"You're awake."

"Yes. Looks like you woke up first, unnie."

"Hohoho. I woke up not long before you."

Lilith giggled faintly but her smile carried a hint of sorrow, unlike her usual self.

"..."

Seol-Ah did not bother to ask what memory Lilith was made to remember.

"What about Yeon-Joo and Kang-Woo?"

"They haven't woken up y—"

BOOM—!

Just then, Yeon-Joo sprang up and cursed, "ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!!! FUCKING DEMON CULTISTS!!!"

Tears were welled up around her eyes.

"Are you okay, Yeon-Joo?"

"Haaa, haaa, haaa. Fuck... I feel like shit."

Yeon-Joo wiped her tears away and disheveled her hair. The memory she was forced to recall was one about the guild member she treated like a little sister being kidnapped by the Demon Cultists.

"Haaa."

Yeon-Joo felt dizzy due to her surging rage. She repeatedly clenched her fists to calm down and her dizziness went away.

"What about Kang-Woo?"

"He hasn't woken up yet."

"Heh, he was talking about being the fastest but he's the slowest." Yeon-Joo smiled and approached Kang-Woo lying on the floor. "Hey, you're not pretending to be asleep, are you?"

There was no answer.

"Let's wait here for a bit, Yeon-Joo."

"Got it."

Time passed.

One hour...

"Fufu, the king is such a sleepyhead."

Two hours...

"Sheesh, he's not waking up at all."

Three hours...

"Kang-Woo...?"

And one day passed.

"Kang-Woo!! Kang-Woo!! Open your eyes!!!"

There was no answer.