Side Story Chapter 136 - Thousand-Year War (9)

“Balrog?”

[Well, well. So, this is where the remnant of Beelzebub has been this whole time.]

Lucifer and Satan’s eyes shone with great interest. Balrog glared at the two princes of Hell with deeply sunken eyes.

“If you call yourself a prince of Hell, live up to its name.”

“Hahaha! Your words hit quite heavy for a mere remnant.” Lucifer chuckled coldly as he flapped his eight wings.

“My words are not the only thing that is heavy.”

Balrog aggressively clenched his fists and grabbed a long whip, blazing with red flames, from his waist.

“Haha! I will admit, you deserve to be called the strongest archdemon.” Lucifer narrowed his eyes and slowly raised his left hand. “However...”

Whoooom!!

Dozens of black spheres appeared in front of his hand.

“It does not change that you are a mere archdemon.”

The fist-sized black spheres shot at Balrog.

“Huup!!” Balrog took a deep breath and crouched. His red muscles swelled to the point that they could burst. “RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”

Balrog’s Demon Roar shook the earth as his whip enveloped in flames swept the surroundings. The spheres hit by the whip were redirected at Lucifer.

“Impressive.”

Lucifer stared at Balrog with his signature arrogance and chuckled mockingly. The black spheres melted away like snowflakes once they touched Lucifer’s body.

“Gahahaha!!! Is that all you’ve got as a prince of Hell?!” Balrog shouted as he charged. “MORE, MORE, MORE!! FIRE ME UP MORE!”

He burst into laughter as he crazily swung his whip.

“FILL THE FINAL MOMENTS OF THE GREAT BALROG WITH BLAZING GLORY!”

Balrog sped across the earth as his surroundings shook. Lucifer chuckled as he watched Balrog approaching with tremendous energy.

“I see.” Lucifer nodded as if he understood. “You... have already made this place your deathbed.”

A demon would be insane to face the princes of Hell otherwise. Although Balrog was the most powerful archdemon, he was no match for a prince of Hell. Not only that but Lucifer was not the only one here; four out of the seven princes of Hell were present. Balrog had no chance of surviving this predicament.

“Gehehehe!” Balrog cackled. “If I die against a prince of Hell... I am sure that will be enough to satisfy my liege.”

Balrog stared blankly into space in sorrow and pulled himself together to charge at both Lucifer and Satan. Shockwaves shook the surroundings.

“Haaa, haaa, haaa!” Oh Kang-Woo panted heavily as he watched the battle.

‘Now’s my chance.’

He clenched his fists and looked around. All four princes were focused on Balrog; this was the only chance he had to escape.

‘I’ll bring out as much demonic energy as possible and use the Authority of Haste and Authority of Shadows simultaneously.’

Kang-Woo could travel through shadows with the Authority of Shadows and move at supersonic speeds with the Authority of Haste. Not even the princes of Hell should be able to catch up to him if he used those two Authorities simultaneously.

‘I’ll only have one chance.’

If the princes noticed that he was trying to escape, he wouldn’t get a second chance.

“Huuu, huuu.”

Kang-Woo wiped the sweat off his forehead and calculated the ideal time to escape. Belphegor and Mammon’s armies surrounded the area as Lucifer and Satan were busy massacring the Halves.

‘All the better for me.’

They likely had their guards down, thinking Kang-Woo had nowhere to go.

‘I’ll use that lapse in caution.’

He would use the Authority of Shadows to move past the encirclement and the Authority of Haste to outrun his pursuers.

‘It’s perfectly possible.’

An encirclement was perfect for trapping a target but was terrible for pursuing them. If Kang-Woo managed to break through it, he would easily be able to escape.

“Man, that’s Balrog for you. He’s fighting on par against Lucifer and Satan simultaneously.”

“Puhihihihi! They’re obviously holding back! Look, they haven’t even taken out their weapons!”

“Tsk, I hoped he would drain their energy as much as possible.”

Fortunately, Mammon and Belphegor were focused entirely on the battle between Balrog and the other two princes.

‘Now!’

Kang-Woo was about to use the Authority of Shadows with the demonic energy he had accumulated, but—

“KYAAAAAHHH!!”

“F-Fel!!! Y-You son of a bitch!!”

He heard a familiar voice; it was one he had heard every day for the past three years. Kang-Woo turned to see Fel captured by one of the demons in Satan’s army. She was screaming as she struggled with her legs dangling.

“...”

Kang-Woo flinched. He shut his eyes tightly.

‘Ignore her.’

It would be impossible for him to escape if he was responsible for another demon’s life. If they were all going to die here, it was better that he survived on his own.

“Let go of Fel— Arghh!!”

“Firean!!”

“V-Village chief!”

“Stand back!”

From the sound of it, Zepar seemed to have stepped in. However, the result wouldn’t change. The Halves whom Kang-Woo had spent the past three years with would all die here. Yes, all of them— without a trace.

‘Don’t think about it.’

The memories of the past three years flashed across his head. He felt the warmth he had never felt in Hell since coming to the village, the one place he thought of as home in the cold and agonizing Hell.

‘Don’t... think about anything.’

The demons that weren’t demon-like... the half-baked demons... the small fry that were forced to live like insects and meet an end worse than insects...

‘Just run away.’

Nothing would change even if Kang-Woo stepped in. He wouldn’t be able to protect them even if he went all-out.

‘Yeah.’

It couldn’t be helped.

“Kurgh!! Guh!!”

“Kyaaaahhh!! V-Village chief!!!”

It was better for at least one person to live, wasn’t it?

“

Sniff!! Waaaaaaaahhh!!

”

In the first place, Kang-Woo had no obligation to save the Halves.

“

Sniff...

”

“Fel! Come here!!”

They had been bait to hunt demons since the beginning. If a shark bit the bait, it was only natural he would cut the line.

‘Yeah.’

“Kyaaaahhh!!”

“F-Fel!! Fel—!!”

Kang-Woo just needed to shut his eyes, ears, and mouth... and run.

“Ah...!”

Fel discovered him; their eyes met.

“Sir K—” Fel was about to call for Kang-Woo but bit her lip and shook her head.

Schwing!

Satan’s retainer unsheathed his sword and swung it down at Fel’s neck—

“YOU MOTHERFUCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!”

Wham!!

Kang-Woo ran at full speed with the Authority of Haste. His legs hurt so bad that they could shatter at any second but he ignored it.

Bash—!!!

“GAAAAAAAAHHH!!”

Kang-Woo kicked the retainer’s head, caving it in. The retainer was sent flying.

Boom, boom, boom!

The demon skipped across the ground backward like a skipping stone on water.

“Sir... Kang-Woo?”

Fel looked up at Kang-Woo, her six eyes opened wide.

“Fel!!”

Firean quickly ran up to Fel and hugged her.

“...”

Kang-Woo looked down at the hugging siblings and bit his lip.

‘Why?’

he asked himself.

He knew that his action just now was idiotic; it was irrational.

‘After what I said about not putting on a pity show.’

Kang-Woo couldn’t help but laugh. He couldn’t be more embarrassed and humiliated at himself.

“Stop crying and come this way,” he said.

If he had dropped to his lowest point, he at least didn’t want to die with regrets.

‘Authority of Shelters.’

A small sinkhole formed on the hard rocky terrain. However, it was not just a sinkhole; it could minimize the presence of those who stayed inside it.

“Stay in here.”

Kang-Woo pushed Fel and Firean into the sinkhole.

“B-But...”

“What about you, Sir Kang-Woo...?”

“I can’t go in there.”

To be more exact, it would be pointless for him. There was a limit to the amount of one’s presence that could be hidden with the Authority of Shelters. As long as the princes of Hell were searching for him, he would undoubtedly be discovered even if he hid inside the sinkhole.

‘But if it’s just these two...’

The princes of Hell were not aiming for the Halves. As long as they weren’t seen, the princes wouldn’t go out of their way to search for them.

“Stay here and shut up.”

“Ah...”

Kang-Woo turned around as Fel was about to say something, and covered the sinkhole entrance with dirt. He looked around and saw that the princes’ retainers had killed nearly all the Halves.

“...”

Kang-Woo stayed silent and drew out his demonic energy to use the Authority of Shadows. He quickly melted into his own shadow—

[Where are you off to in such a hurry?]

Immense demonic energy filled the area along with the echo of a deep voice.

“Arghh!!!”

Kang-Woo was hit with a powerful shockwave as he was forcibly pulled out of his shadow.

“

Cough, cough!!

”

Kang-Woo coughed up blood. His intestines had become mush and intense pain shot throughout his body. He felt dizzy. He could see the demon shrouded in darkness as he grimaced in pain.

‘Satan...?’

Satan should have been battling Balrog.

“Haaa, haaa,” Kang-Woo panted heavily and turned to where Balrog had been battling two of the princes.

He saw a mangled Balrog, barely with his life intact, collapsed on the ground.

“I was... too late.”

Kang-Woo was overwhelmed with regret for not having been faster.

[No, nothing would have changed even if you had acted faster.] A chilling voice echoed inside Kang-Woo’s head. [We already knew you were looking for a chance to escape.]

“...”

In that case, it would have been meaningless even if he had used the Authority of Shadows before he noticed Fel.

“Fuck...”

Kang-Woo couldn’t help but laugh. He was satisfied just from knowing that he wouldn’t have been able to escape from the beginning. He could now die without regrets.

[And...]

Step, step.

Satan slowly walked toward...

“Huh...?”

[That you missed your chance so you could hide these Halves.]

Satan reached into the sinkhole and pulled out a Half crouched inside it.

“Kyaaaahhh!!” Fel screamed in Satan’s clutches.

“You...”

Kang-Woo trembled with his eyes widened. An uneasy sensation spread throughout his body.

“D-Don’t,” he pleaded. He bowed with his head on the ground and begged unsightly, “Please, please...”

However, Kang-Woo already knew that Satan wouldn’t stop.

[Hear me, human.]

Satan smiled nastily.

“DON’T YOU FUCKING DAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE!!!” Kang-Woo screamed as he stomped his feet to charge.

However, he lost strength in his legs due to his mangled intestines. He tumbled across the ground like an idiot.

[The only right the weak possess—]

“ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!” Kang-Woo roared as he desperately crawled on the ground on all fours.

His mangled intestines poured out of his mouth with bitter blood. He could taste the dried bloodlight plant.

[Is to suffer.]

Dark light flowed into Fel from Satan’s hand.

“A-Aaaahh.”

Satan let go of Fel and she fell to the ground.

“S-Sir Kang-Woo...”

Cracks began to form on her skin. She staggered toward Kang-Woo, forcing her crumbling body forward.

“H-Hehe,” she giggled awkwardly after arriving in front of the collapsed Kang-Woo. She continued tremblingly, “You... You should’ve just run away. That’s why... I didn’t... call your name.”

That had been why Fel had stopped herself from calling for Kang-Woo, which ultimately ended up being meaningless. Even if Kang-Woo had abandoned Fel, Satan would have caught him.

Crack, crack!!

“N-No...”

Fel was breaking, pieces of her body falling to the ground.

“Fel...”

Kang-Woo reached for Fel with his trembling hand.

“Sir Kang-Woo... Thank y—”

Shatter!

Before Fel could even finish her final words, she crumbled into pieces and fell to the ground before Kang-Woo’s hand could reach her cheek covered in cracks.

“Ah—”

Kang-Woo’s thoughts froze.