Side Story Chapter 138 - Thousand-Year War (11)

[You... will become king?]

Satan feigned laughter. Becoming the king of the Nine Hells meant forcing the princes of Hell here to submit— no, not just the ones present. The human would need to surpass Asmodeus, the Prince of Lust, Leviathan, the Prince of Envy, and Bael, the prince of Hell closest to becoming the king.

[How amusing,] said Satan as he smiled mockingly.

The princes had high hopes for Kang-Woo since his path was the closest to the one Bael had walked. That was why four of them had gathered to have him submit to them in advance and make him their retainer.

[The title of Demon King is not to be said so lightly, human.]

Not even Bael had managed to become king yet but a mere human who wasn’t even on the level of an archdemon was declaring that he would. It was so ridiculous that it wasn't even funny.

“I wonder... about that,” Oh Kang-Woo said faintly. “I guess... I’ll find out... once I try.”

He closed his eyes and felt the overflowing demonic energy inside him. He had opened two of the three Doors sealing the sea of demonic energy[1]. The demonic energy that he had been holding back all this time was unleashed, tearing him apart.

‘I don’t have... much time.’

Kang-Woo could instinctively tell he couldn’t maintain this condition for long.

“Haaa, haaa,” he panted heavily as he staggeringly walked toward Satan.

His vision suddenly shook as he was walking. He coughed and black mucus poured out from between his lips.

“A-Arghh.”

His teeth clacked— no he merely thought they did. His teeth had already turned into black mucus. It wasn’t just his teeth; his skin, muscles, bones, and intestines were being taken over by the viscous darkness from the sea of demonic energy. His body which had become mucus was incapable of feeling pain or any senses. All he could sense was darkness.

‘I’m falling.’

He was sinking into a bottomless abyss.

Thud.

Kang-Woo fell to his knees. He had neither the strength nor the will to stand.

“Argh, gurgh, gah!!”

Kang-Woo foamed at the mouth as he twisted and turned. He pulled on his hair as he writhed in pain. His consciousness was rapidly burning away.

“A-Arghh.”

He fumbled as he crawled, barely holding on to his flickering consciousness. Something sticky wrapped around his fingers. He looked down and saw light green tentacles between his fingers.

“...”

Kang-Woo gritted his teeth and held tightly to his fading consciousness. He couldn’t let himself be taken control of by the sea of demonic energy like this. He still had something he needed to do.

“Yeah...”

Kang-Woo covered his face with his trembling hands. Most of his body had turned into black mucus but there was a part that remained intact. He smiled and felt for his cheekbones and poked something squishy above them with his fingers.

‘My eyeballs.’

His eyes had yet to become black mucus.

“ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!”

He stabbed his fingers into his eyes and ripped them apart. Intense pain shot throughout his body and his fading consciousness was instantly brought back as if waking up.

***

“I do not know what you did, but... it seems you cannot control it.”

Lucifer’s eyes shone as he closely examined Kang-Woo. As he said, forget controlling the power— Kang-Woo was doing his best to hold on to his consciousness within the enormous torrent of demonic energy.

“Hmm, it seems so.”

“Puhihihi!! I can’t believe a mere human can possess this much demonic energy!!! Amazing!!! Fascinating!!! I was disappointed at first but to think he was hiding such power!!”

Once the princes of Hell realized Kang-Woo was acting irregularly, they let down their guards and stared greedily at the enormous demonic energy pouring out from Kang-Woo. A torrent of demonic energy was endlessly raging with him at the epicenter, befitting the expression of a sea of demonic energy.

“Puhi! Puhihi!! I-If only I can get my hands on that demonic energy...!” Mammon burst into laughter as he rubbed his fat cheeks and licked his lips as he drooled.

“Enough of your filthy behavior, Mammon.” Lucifer spread out his eight wings and continued arrogantly, “That demonic energy is mine.”

He barely quelled his excitement and flapped his wings as if to charge at Kang-Woo any moment.

“Hehe, I can’t let you do that.” Belphegor pushed his wheelchair and got in Lucifer’s way.

“Belphegor...”

Lucifer shot a death glare at Belphegor.

“Sheesh, you could even kill a prince of Hell with a glare like that.” Belphegor shrugged relaxedly and smiled nastily. “Lucifer, I’m sure you haven’t forgotten. You aren’t the only one here.”

“...”

Lucifer frowned in displeasure. He was momentarily blinded by the immense demonic energy but he was with competitors with whom he needed to share the covetous fruit.

“Tsk,” Lucifer clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Puhihi! How... what should we do?”

Mammon’s eyes shone greedily as he looked at Lucifer and Satan.

[Wait...]

Satan, who was closest to Kang-Woo, raised his hand.

“What is it, Satan?”

“Puhihi! You’re not going to say some bullshit about taking that human for yourself, are you?”

[No, that is not what I mean.]

Satan narrowed his eyes and examined Kang-Woo.

‘What is this...?’

Something was off. His instincts, senses, and the intuition he had developed for nearly an eternity were screaming at him... to run.

“A-Arghh.”

The human who had been writhing on the ground stood up as he staggered. His eye sockets were empty and he seemed so weak that he would die with just a poke. The human had been dying, unable to even keep his demonic energy under control. No matter how much demonic energy he possessed, there was no reason to be afraid if he couldn’t control it.

‘Or at least, that should be the case.’

If that was the case, why were Satan’s instincts urging him so fervently to run away?

Squelch.

The black mucus wriggled and squirmed as they gathered into the human’s empty eye sockets.

[Those are...]

Satan narrowed his eyes and intently examined the change. Something was squirming inside the black mucus that filled the human’s eye sockets. The black mucus split and something yellow came out of it.

[Eyes?]

Yellow eyes like those of a reptile and horizontally split pupils like those of a goat looked back at Satan. The corners of the human’s mouth split open to his earlobes and revealed teeth as sharp as those of a wild beast.

[...!!]

Satan stepped backward without realizing it. Something was going wrong.

‘What... in the...?’

CRUNCH—!!!

“GAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”

Before Satan even had time to think about the question in his mind, Belphegor, who had his back to the human as he was blocking Lucifer’s way, screamed in pain. Satan quickly turned to Belphegor.

[Wha...]

The human who had been right in front of him moments ago was on top of Belphegor’s wheelchair and munching on his shoulder.

‘When?’

Satan had lost sight of the human despite having his eyes on him the whole time. The human had ended up on top of Belphegor the moment Satan blinked.

“ARGHH!! GAAHHH!! G-GET OFF ME!!”

Belphegor twisted madly and raised his fists. The wheelchair he was in wrapped around his fists into gauntlets in the blink of an eye. Sloth, one of the Hell Armaments that only the princes of Hell could use, smashed into the head of the human biting his shoulder.

Bash!

The human’s head popped like a balloon with one hit from Sloth.

“Damn it!!! Belphegor, you damn moron!!” Lucifer shouted. “Why did you kill the human?!”

The treasure chest of nearly infinite demonic energy had been destroyed. Lucifer glared at Belphegor resentfully. However, Belphegor was in no condition to reply to Lucifer’s criticism.

“Haaa, haaa!” Belphegor panted heavily as he fell to the ground and clenched his bitten shoulder.

Mammon cackled and remarked, “Puhihi!! Aren’t you overreacting? He only bit your shoulder.”

“S-Something’s wrong,” Belphegor remarked.

“Puhi? What’s wrong?”

Belphegor continued in pallor, “The moment he bit my shoulder, I felt... pain I’ve never felt before.”

He trembled as he touched his shoulder, black blood pouring out of it.

“It’ll regenerate in seconds. What is the big deal?” Lucifer said.

A prince’s regenerative capabilities were on another level compared to a regular demon. A bite off of their shoulder would not even take a minute to fully heal— or at least, it should.

“Why...?”

Belphegor looked down at his bleeding shoulder incomprehensibly. The fist-sized chunk of flesh bitten off by the human was not regenerating.

“Wh-What the... Why...?!” he shouted in panic.

“Haaa... You bring shame to the title of prince.”

Lucifer shook his head in shame. He couldn’t care less that Belphegor’s injury was not regenerating. He was only thinking about how to extract the immense demonic energy from the dead human.

“Shit! This is all because that idiot killed the human...!”

“Puhihi! There’s no need to make such a fuss, Lucifer.”

“What?”

“Look around you.”

“...?”

Lucifer frowned and looked around. He realized what Mammon was talking about and nodded.

“Puhihi!! The human is dead but his demonic energy is still here!”

“I see...”

The human they were aiming for had been killed by Sloth but the immense demonic energy he possessed was still lingering in the surroundings. As long as they figured out how to get their hands on it, the death of the human was of no issue whatsoever.

“Well, then. Let’s us resume the negotia—”

[... up.]

“What?”

[Shut... up.]

Lucifer frowned fiercely. “Are you so eager to shed blood, Satan?”

[I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!!!] shouted Satan in pallor. [Do you... not hear it?]

“What?”

[The sound.]

Wriggle.

“What sound...?”

[The sound... of something viscous and sticky.]

Squelch.

Satan said tremblingly, [The horrible and unpleasant sound... it’s echoing.]

“...?”

Lucifer frowned and focused on his hearing.

Squelch.

A displeasing and unsettling sound entered his ears.

“What in the...”

Lucifer grimaced and turned around and saw—

“Huh?”

A nightmare that the princes of Hell would never forget— rising.

1. Part 2 of the main story mentioned that Kang-Woo only ever opened two Doors when he fought against Bael... I guess the author forgot about writing that. ☜