Side Story Chapter 128 - Thousand-Year War (1)

“The hell? Is this son of a bitch dreaming about Balrog after what we did yesterday?”

Cha Yeon-Joo frowned as she stared at the screen. One’s dreams were usually based on a memory that left a powerful impact on them. One would dream of a game if they had played it for the entire day the day before, or of an impactful scene in a movie or TV show.

“Why?”

There were, of course, instances where that wasn’t the case but Yeon-Joo did not expect Kang-Woo to be having a dream about Balrog despite the engagement ceremony they held yesterday, which was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Seol-Ah also tilted her head in wonder. “Y-Yeah, I also thought he’d be dreaming about our engagement ceremony for sure.”

“...”

Only Lilith was staring at the screen in silence.

“This...” She narrowed her eyes as he stared at Kang-Woo and Balrog walking along the desolate red land. “Isn’t a dream.”

“Pardon? Then what is it, unnie?”

“What else could this be but a dream?”

“A... memory,” said Lilith quietly as she slowly moved her hand on Kang-Woo’s forehead. “This is... the king’s memory.”

A fragment of his memory was playing through Lilith’s Trait.

“Eh? Wasn’t your Trait the ability to display dreams?” asked Yeon-Joo wide-eyed.

Lilith swiped her fingers in midair as she read through her status window in more detail and shook her head.

“It looks like the Trait can display someone’s memory instead of dreams if a specific condition is met. I had no idea, I only found out just now.”

“And what condition is that?”

“Mm. Just a moment.” Lilith swiped the air several times again and suddenly smiled widely. “My, my~ Fufu. My king, you flirt~”

“What is it, unnie?”

“Fufu. I can only view the target’s memories if the relationship between me and the target is one of absolute trust.”

“Oh.”

Yeon-Joo snickered once she found out why Lilith was twisting around in pure joy. It was only natural since it was proof that Kang-Woo trusted Lilith unconditionally.

“So that means this isn’t Kang-Woo’s dream but his memory?” Seol-Ah asked.

“That’s right.”

“Wow...” Seol-Ah expressed as she softly clapped her hands together. “Kang-Woo’s past...”

Kang-Woo rarely talked about his past. All Seol-Ah knew was that he fell into Hell ten millennia ago and that he rose to become the Demon King after defeating the seven princes of Hell through countless hellish trials. She had no idea about the wretched things Kang-Woo had to go through in detail.

“Unnie, then exactly when is this memory from? Since he’s with Balrog, will you also appear at some point?” Yeon-Joo asked.

“No...” Lilith shook her head. “This is from before when he met me.”

“Before? Didn’t you guys meet in the Ninth Hell?”

“Hmm. I guess I’ll have to explain.”

Kang-Woo told Lilith not to mention what happened in the Ninth Hell if possible but she felt like an explanation was needed.

“The king arrived at the Ninth Hell nine millennia after he first fell into the First Hell.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard about that.”

“He met Balrog as soon as he arrived at the Ninth Hell and declared war against the seven princes of Hell soon after that.”

That was the trigger for the Thousand-Year War, the event that changed the entire Ninth Hell.

“If the war lasted a thousand years... does that mean Kang-Woo declared war pretty much as soon as he arrived at the Ninth Hell?”

“Sheesh, that’s Oh Kang-Woo for you.”

Seol-Ah and Yeon-Joo expressed great interest in Kang-Woo’s story. Declaring war against all seven princes of Hell, the strongest of the Ninth Hell as soon as he set foot in their territory was so extreme that one could wonder whether it was gallant or idiotic.

“The king met me about two hundred years after the war began.”

“Oh, so he only had Balrog to go around with at that time?” Yeon-Joo asked.

Lilith nodded.

Yeon-Joo stared at the screen with great interest and asked, “But why did he declare war so abruptly?”

Kang-Woo never picked a fight until he had sufficient preparations. It was unlike him to wage war as soon as he arrived at the Ninth Hell.

“About that...” Lilith slurred as she narrowed her eyes. “I’m not sure either.”

“Eh? You don’t know, unnie?”

“The king hasn’t told me about those days.”

“Then the video we’re seeing right now is...”

“Yup, that’s right.” Lilith nodded as she stared intently at the footage. “It’s about the days I’ve never heard about from the king.”

“Whoa,” Yeon-Joo expressed as she fixed her sitting posture.

The two hundred years from when Kang-Woo arrived at the Ninth Hell to his meeting with Lilith were completely blank; not even Lilith knew about it. One could only be curious about such precious memories.

“Let’s keep watching!!”

“Hoho, calm down.”

“I can’t believe I get to see Kang-Woo’s past...”

The three women focused on the footage, full of anticipation.

Kang-Woo turned to Balrog as they were endlessly walking along the desolate red plain. He was frowning in displeasure for some reason.

- How long are you going to keep following me?

- Until I get my answer,

Balrog replied apathetically.

“Whoa, what the hell? Is Balrog speaking informally to Kang-Woo?”

“Wh-What a surprise.”

Yeon-Joo and Seol-Ah were left wide-eyed.

Kang-Woo continued,

- I told you to find your answer up your mommy’s coochie.

“He’s as foul-mouthed as always.”

- I have no such thing as parents.

- Dayum.

- Why are you so surprised?

- I mean, isn’t it weirder to not be surprised by the fact that someone doesn’t have parents?

- Most demons are born from the

Seed of Demonic Energy.

You can count on one hand the number of demons born through reproduction.

Yeon-Joo and Seol-Ah naturally turned to Lilith after hearing Balrog’s apathetic reply.

“Yeah, Balrog is right.”

“Really? And what is this Seed of Demonic Energy?”

“Mmm. Not even demons are sure about that. Something like a black Rift forms in midair... and a demon is born from it.”

Yeon-Joo and Seol-Ah enthusiastically asked Lilith about several other things after hearing several pieces of new information. After answering a few more questions, Lilith pointed at the screen and smiled.

“I’ll answer all of your questions later, so why don’t we focus on the video?”

“Oh. Sorry, unnie.”

“We’ll keep watching.”

The three women focused on the footage in silence.

***

“Alright, fine. Let’s say that you don’t have a mommy. Why are you trying to find whatever answer you’re trying to find from me? In the first place, what the fuck are you even curious about?”

“How were you...” Balrog stared at Kang-Woo with shaking eyes. “Able to reach the Ninth Hell all the way from the First Hell?”

“Because I’m strong as fuck.”

“...”

“Is that it? Then stop being a bother and fuck off.”

“You...” Balrog stared at Kang-Woo with deeply sunken eyes. “Are not strong.”

It was the truth. Balrog had seen the human known as Oh Kang-Woo fighting several times in the time they were together but he was not particularly strong. The human was indeed far stronger than the average demon of the Ninth Hell. However, forget the seven princes of Hell— even the archdemons could defeat him easily. Even Balrog himself could defeat the human with ease.

‘At this moment, anyway.’

The thing Balrog found hardest to understand was that the human Oh Kang-Woo was growing stronger the more he ate demons or demonic beasts— at an unbelievable rate, no less.

“I need that ability,” Balrog remarked.

“What ability?”

“Your ability to grow stronger by eating demons.”

“Oh, the Authority of Predation? I can’t give it to you even if I want to, man.”

Kang-Woo shrugged and shook his head. Demons couldn’t transfer their Authority to other demons.

‘Nor do I have a reason to.’

Kang-Woo was leaving the demon Balrog alone at the moment because he was severely outmatched but the demon would also become his prey in the future.

‘I’ll devour you whole one day.’

Balrog’s abundant and powerful demonic energy would help Kang-Woo achieve his goal.

“I see. I had my hopes up because a human possessed it.”

‘Not a chance.”

“That aside, human. You are after the seven princes of Hell, are you not?”

“Yeah. What of it?”

“Why... are you after them?”

“Because I need their weapons,” Kang-Woo answered as he clicked his tongue.

“You need the Hell Armaments?”

“Yeah. I heard those weapons grant the power to tear through dimensions once all of them are gathered.” He gritted his teeth and continued, “I’m gonna use that power to return to Earth.”

“Earth? Ohh, you’re referring to the world of humans.”

“Exactly.” Kang-Woo nodded firmly.

It seemed like Kang-Woo was answering without hesitation but Balrog saw a hint of exhaustion in Kang-Woo’s expression. Balrog sighed.

“What an empty dream.”

Gathering the seven Hell Armaments was so absurd that one would have to be insane to think of it.

“That’s none of your business,” Kang-Woo replied in irritation.

“Well, regardless.” Balrog continued to follow Kang-Woo. “If your objective is to kill the princes of Hell...” Giant footsteps formed on the red sand. “I will join you.”

“Haaa...”

Kang-Woo shook his head, sick and tired of the demon Balrog.

‘Come to think of it, they called him a remnant.’

He heard Balrog used to serve the prince of Hell Beelzebub but lost his master at the hands of a demon named Bael. In that case, his target was most likely Bael, the demon who killed his master.

‘Well... I guess it doesn’t matter for now.’

Kang-Woo needed to kill Bael sooner or later since his goal was to gather the Hell Armaments. He wouldn’t mind having company along the way since their goals partially matched.

‘I can just kill him later if he becomes a nuisance.’

Whatever the case, nothing bad would come out of letting Balrog accompany him. After all, Balrog was far stronger than him at the moment.

“...”

“...”

And with that, Kang-Woo walked along the endless red land with his very first demon companion ever since he fell into Hell. He was tortured daily by extreme hunger and thirst when he first arrived in Hell but he did not feel its effects as much now that he had practically become a full demon.

‘But I could die at this very moment if I had a piping hot pot of kimchi stew.’

The pleasure that came from the act of eating, which was etched deep into his brain, harassed him to no end.

“Haaa,” Kang-Woo sighed as he kept walking.

- GAAAAAAAAAAH!!! H-HELP MEEEEE!!!

Just then, screams echoed from the other side of a red wall of earth.

“Damn, man’s got bars.”

“Will you go?”

“Of course.” Kang-Woo headed to the source of the scream as if it were obvious. “It’s a free corpse to feast on.”