Epilogue Chapter 27 - Outing to Hell (4)

“Haaa...” Cha Yeon-Joo sighed as she stared at the two who had changed into swimsuits after Oh Kang-Woo barely persuaded Han Seol-Ah to wear a swimsuit. “Are you serious...? You’re going in there?”

She felt like she was about to vomit her breakfast bread as she stared at the boiling blood-red lake.

Seol-Ah hugged Kang-Woo’s arm and smiled. “If you don’t want to get in with us, you can just watch from there, Yeon-Joo.”

A vein bulged from Yeon-Joo’s forehead due to the blatant taunt.

“U-Urgh...! Argh! You guys are driving me insane!!!”

Yeon-Joo, on a tightrope between logic and instinct, pulled on her hair and ran behind a rock a short distance from the lake. She changed into the swimsuit Kang-Woo had prepared and walked reluctantly toward the blood-red lake.

“Urgh... You’d better watch out if what you said about the lake is a lie, Oh Kang-Woo. I’ll fucking kill you.” Yeon-Joo shut her eyes tightly and dipped her foot inside the lake. “Argh... this feels disgusting— Huh?”

A gentle warmth traveled up her foot once she dipped it into the lake.

“What the hell? Why does it feel good?”

“I told you, it only looks unsettling.”

Kang-Woo smirked as he looked at the dumbfounded Yeon-Joo.

‘I was like that at first too.’

He had entered the lake because of how much Lilith begged him; he recalled how perfect the temperature was and how it did not smell disgusting.

“My, you’re right,” said Seol-Ah in surprise. She seemed to have agreed to go in because it would be with Kang-Woo but did not expect it to feel good. “The water temperature isn’t too hot... and it smells rather fragrant for some reason.”

“It looks like it would suck the life force out of whoever goes in, though,” Yeon-Joo remarked.

“Actually, it does,” Kang-Woo answered.

“What the fuck did you say?!” Yeon-Joo stood up immediately as she was shoulder-deep in the blood-red lake. “So it is a cursed lake, then!”

“It’s fine. It does suck life force but it barely has any effect on us.”

Kang-Woo’s cells were made of the Demonic Sea, Seol-Ah possessed the powers of Celestial Goddess Seraph and a portion of the Demonic Sea, and Yeon-Joo possessed Divinity thanks to Kang-Woo. They could not be harmed by the likes of a mere lake.

“Ngh... I know, but knowing that makes me unpleasant.”

“Rather, it’ll feel even better over time.”

“Eh? What are you talking about?”

“Come on, get back into the lake.”

“Hmm.”

Yeon-Joo reluctantly sank back into the lake to her shoulders. A comforting feeling akin to being under a blanket in the sweltering summer heat with the air conditioner blasting spread throughout her body.

“It feels a bit... tingly.”

After some time, a nice feeling spread throughout her body as if she were in a carbonated spring.

Kang-Woo remarked, “I told you it would feel good.”

“Why do I feel this way?”

“The lake sucking our life force gives just the right amount of sensation. It’s kinda like a massage.”

“Oh, I see.”

Even punches felt good if they were light enough. Hence, the sucking of their life force by the lake brought a sense of pleasure instead.

“It’s a little tingly, but... it feels good.” Seol-Ah stretched out her smooth legs and leaned her head on a rock. “Haaah. I kind of want to take a nap like this.”

“Go ahead,” Kang-Woo said.

“But that would be a waste of our limited time.” Seol-Ah took her head off the rock and gently placed it on Kang-Woo’s shoulder. “We barely have any private time to spend together because we’re so busy taking care of the kids.”

“Well... that can’t be helped.”

“Fufu. It’s not like I have any complaints about it.”

Seol-Ah couldn’t be happier watching her children grow every day.

“But spending time with just the two of us now and then is also nice.”

“I feel the same way, Darling.”

“Excuse me...? I’m here too, you know?”

Yeon-Joo frowned and approached the two lovebirds stuck together. She stuck to Kang-Woo’s other side as if emphasizing she was also there and pinched his flank.

“Yes, of course. How could I forget about my lovely wife?”

“You guys said

just the two of us

.”

“It was a joke, of course.”

Kang-Woo smiled as he massaged his pouting wife’s neck. The tingling sensation from the lake added to the relaxing massage melted her pout away.

“Haaah, my hubby’s hands feel so good.”

“They became like this because you constantly ask me to massage your legs and shoulders.”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“Of course not.”

One of Kang-Woo’s little joys in life was to massage Yeon-Joo’s legs over his lap as they watched TV on the couch.

“Me too! Please give me a massage too!” Seol-Ah shouted.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Kang-Woo also grabbed Seol-Ah’s neck and slowly massaged it as he thought how slender her neck was.

“Oh, not my neck,” Seol-Ah said.

“Hm? The shoulder, then?”

“No, not there... here.”

Seol-Ah smiled seductively and pulled down the shoulder strap of her bikini. Kang-Woo gulped as he stared at the pale islands floating on the red water.

“Uhh... N-Not many demons come here, but this is a bit...”

“Are you saying you won’t?” Seol-Ah tilted her head with a sorrowful expression. She whispered, “I’d love to feel your massaging skills here too.”

The string connecting Kang-Woo’s mind to his sense of reason was about to snap.

“What do you guys think you’re doing outside? What if someone sees?”

Yeon-Joo pinched Kang-Woo’s flank hard as he was about to sail to the giant islands like an explorer who discovered uncharted lands.

‘Ahhhh!’

The ship filled with the hopes and dreams of uncharted land sank into the red water.

“Seol-Ah, why don’t you practice some restraint, huh? Restraint,” Yeon-Joo scolded.

“I never thought... I’d hear something like that from you, Yeon-Joo.”

“What the hell did you say, bitch?”

“Fufu. I’m joking.” Seol-Ah pulled her shoulder straps back up and stretched. “That aside... I wonder if Kang-Hyun is okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“Balrog is a bit hotheaded, isn’t he?”

Seol-Ah couldn’t help but worry about her son who wasn’t even ten years old being taught by a massive demon.

“He’ll be fine. Balrog is at least better at teaching than me.”

“Oh, is that so?” Seol-Ah asked in surprise.

Yeon-Joo added, “I can’t imagine him teaching others.”

“Balrog was the one who trained my army back in the day.”

“Wow. I never expected that muscle pig to have that kind of talent.” Yeon-Joo nodded with great interest.

Seol-Ah sighed in relief and placed a hand on Kang-Woo’s chest. “But... I don’t know if it’s okay for us as Kang-Hyun’s guardians to enjoy our time like this as he’s training hard.”

“I don’t think you should be saying that as you’re groping your husband,” Yeon-Joo retorted.

“My, you should touch them too, Yeon-Joo. They’re so hard.”

“Ahem. Well, if you insist.” Yeon-Joo placed her hand on Kang-Woo’s other chest. “Whoa, it’s so hard.”

“Right?”

“...”

‘Excuse me, wives? Weren’t you just worrying about our son?’

“Right, let’s get back on topic... Dammit, stop groping me, you two!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. My hands moved on their own.”

“A-Ahem. Why are you getting so mad? It’s not a crime for a wife to touch her husband’s chest. You grope our boobs when you’re bored all the time.”

Kang-Woo mentioned, “You don’t even have anything there for me to—”

“What did you say?” Yeon-Joo interjected.

“Nothing.”

“Keep talking, motherfucker.”

Kang-Woo averted his gaze from his fiercely frowning wife and changed the subject.

“A-Anyway, it’ll only hinder Kang-Hyun’s training if we watch over him. Keeping our distance will help him in the long run.”

“You... have a point.”

“Kang-Hyun is rather delicate, unlike Yeon-Joo, after all,” Seol-Ah added.

“I-I’m delicate too!”

“Hmm... Okay, sure. You’re so delicate, my wife.”

“Argh... Haaa, alright. Kang-Hyun is nothing like me. Happy?” said Yeon-Joo in dejection as she hugged her knees.

Kang-Woo smiled and patted his wife’s back. “That’s not the case. You guys have one thing in common.”

“You’re not gonna say hair color, are you...?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“The fact that you do whatever it takes to protect those precious to you.”

Yeon-Joo tried to hide it but Kang-Woo knew better than anyone the blood, sweat, and tears she had shed to protect her precious son. In the first place, Kang-Woo had gotten to know Yeon-Joo because she had been hunting down the Demon Cult that killed her guild members.

“Wh-What the fuck, man?! Why the hell are you being so cringe?!”

Yeon-Joo coughed as she turned away, her ears bright red.

“In any case, all we can do right now is to trust our son and wait.”

“I see,” Seol-Ah said.

“Don’t worry, Darling,” Kang-Woo consoled as he thought about his son. “Our son will overcome any hardships thrown at him.”

He believed Kang-Hyun would conquer any harsh training Balrog could give him.

‘After all, that boy takes after me the most.’

***

Balrog and Kang-Hyun stood across each other in the basement of the Demon King’s castle, surrounded by giant walls.

“I will refrain from using honorifics during our training, my prince.”

“O-Okay! Of course!”

“Fuuu, then...” Balrog looked down at Kang-Hyun with deeply sunken eyes. “You wanted to learn how to become stronger, correct?”

“Yes!”

“What do you think you should do to become stronger?”

“Well... being able to use demonic energy...”

“Hah,” Balrog snorted as he shook his head. “You do not need the likes of demonic energy to become strong.”

“Then what...?”

“Fear. To become stronger... you must overcome the fear lying dormant inside you.”

“Overcoming fear...” Kang-Hyun couldn’t picture him doing anything of the sort because it was so abstract. “What should I do to overcome fear?”

“You must first confront it.”

“But—”

“I know. It’s not as easy as it sounds to confront true fear rooted inside oneself.”

Not many could confidently face their deeply-rooted fears.

“Hence, we will begin by creating fear for you to overcome. Think of it as a stepping stone to one day confront the true fear inside you.”

“Okay.”

‘Creating fear, huh? Is he going to beat me senseless or something?’

Violence was the easiest way to create fear.

“There is a limit to fear created by violence.”

“Then...”

“If you have inherited his blood... there is a very effective method.” Balrog smiled and looked toward the entrance. “Yurie.”

“Hm...?”

Kang-Hyun did not understand why Balrog would call Aunt Yurie. He tilted his head and looked toward the entrance.

Squelch.

Just then, an unpleasant and sticky sound echoed from the darkness.