After Ten Millennia in Hell

He'd pushed Ludwig into a corner and also eliminated all other choices for him. Kang-Woo had even revealed the truth to Ludwig to an extent and dragged him down into the pit of despair.

'Even after that…'

Ludwig was in the worst possible situation he could be placed in, yet he still rejected Kang-Woo's deal and resisted the Authority of Subordination.

'I'm surprised.'

Kang-Woo couldn't help but be impressed by Ludwig's pure and firm ideals. He'd thought that the chances of Ludwig refusing the deal in that situation would be extremely low.

"But…"

Kang-Woo shrugged while smirking at the absurdity.

He'd certainly thought that the chances would be low, but that also meant he had thought of the possibility of Ludwig refusing. In other words, Kang-Woo had already made the necessary preparations for such a situation.

"...That's all there is to it."

The demon laughed.

* * *

"I do not compromise with demons," he said in contempt as if he found even the thought of it disgusting.

Ludwig used his holy sword to prop him up as he staggered to his feet.

He knew it wasn't the best decision to make in his situation. He wasn't stupid enough that he couldn't recognize that bending his ideals for the future, Raphael, and Aernor would be the right decision.

'But…'

Ludwig's eyes gaze sharpened.

He knew demons very well. He knew just how evil, wicked, and clever they were.

'A deal?'

Ludwig laughed in disbelief. It was absurd.

Satan hadn't mentioned the price Ludwig would need to pay because there was no need to.

'Because…'

He was planning to take everything from Ludwig.

If the price Ludwig had to pay was everything he had, then his decision didn't matter; it would lead to a doomed end regardless. He wasn't stupid enough to not realize that.

Even if he managed to walk out of here alive, it wouldn't be over; he would spend the rest of his life as Satan's puppet before he could convey the truth to Raphael, killing his comrades of the light with his own hands.

'I cannot let that happen.'

Ludwig's eyes shone sharply.

It was true that he had to tell Raphael what he'd just learned, but borrowing the power of a demon to do that would be counterproductive. It would only be a shortcut to even greater destruction.

'In that case…'

Ludwig gulped and closed his eyes. He focused his attention on the holy sword Ludwig—the sword he'd even thrown away his name for.

"I offer my life," he said to the sword.

Whoom.

The holy sword vibrated and emitted a white light.

Ludwig caught his breath and raised his head. He shone brilliantly and spoke the name of the technique that he needed to sacrifice his life to use.

"Radiance."

Whoooom—!!!

The vibration became more intense, and the sword emitted an explosive amount of light that covered Ludwig.

Rip.

The skin on Ludwig's back tore, and four wings emerged from it. They weren't fake wings made of light like the ones he had before; these were real angel wings.

A brilliant light filled their surroundings.

"K-Kurgh!"

He twisted and squirmed as an enormous amount of sacred power from the holy sword flowed into him. It had already gone beyond the amount of sacred power a human body could accept.

"A-Aaaaaaaaahh!!"

Ludwig swung the holy sword while enveloped by the brilliant light.

Crackle!!

The darkness was split.

* * *

[My king,] Balrog's voice rang out through the black sphere. His tone was stiff. [It seems the plan has gone awry.]

"I can see that," Kang-Woo replied.

His initial plan had been to corrupt Ludwig and control him through the Authority of Subordination. In other words, Kang-Woo wanted to use an apostle of an angel as his puppet.

"It's a bit unfortunate."

Kang-Woo leaned back in his chair.

He had materialized the plan that he had improvised while making the dungeon with Lilith. Furthermore, he had done his best to amplify the anticipated gains.

'I guess it failed.'

If Kang-Woo just wanted to make Ludwig unable to use the holy sword, all he had to do was kill Ludwig. A dead man wouldn't be able to use the holy sword.

However, Kang-Woo wanted more than that. He had judged that he would be able to obtain an even greater return if he put in more effort to corrupt Ludwig, allowing the apostle to free himself from the repetitive pattern he was stuck in.

'That's why I was planning to use the Authority of Subordination.'

If Kang-Woo were able to obtain Ludwig, Ludwig would have been useful in all sorts of ways. Nevertheless, it would be difficult to do that now.

[Will you kill him?] Balrog asked with intense bloodlust.

"Mmm…" Kang-Woo murmured, thinking deeply about what to do.

He leaned back while rocking the chair and recalled his conversation with Vaal Zahak.

- Hmm. About that man named Ludwig… What a shame.

'A shame?'

- Yes. I have never seen a human with such a powerful and impressive body other than your brother. I would guess… that he is even better than Reynald.

'So?'

- Hehehe. If I could turn him into a Death Knight… an incredible piece of art would be born. A Death Knight of the highest… No, maybe something beyond a simple Death Knight. I may be able to turn him into an Abyss Knight.

'That name sounds strong as fuck.'

- They are a superior form of Death Knight. It can only be created with a vengeful soul that has suffered an unjust death. The power of such a being would be… Hehehe. Even Lord Balrog would have a hard time against it.

'Mmm… It's rejected for now. We can turn him into one anytime after using the Authority of Subordination on him.'

The short conversation played in his mind.

After thinking about it for a while, Kang-Woo slowly said, "No, don't kill him."

[But at this rate, he will escape the dun—]

"It's fine."

[He knows too much,] Balrog replied worriedly.

Kang-Woo smiled.

"Balrog."

[Yes, my king.]

"What do you think is the best way to corrupt a saint?"

[There are many ways to—]

"Under the assumption that they will not be corrupted no matter what we do for whatever reason."

[…]

Balrog remained silent.

Corrupting an incorruptible saint… The question itself was contradictory. There was no answer to such a question.

"Take a good look." Kang-Woo smiled. "I'll teach you how."

* * *

Crackle!!

The darkness was split. The cave was torn apart, and light flowed through the cracks.

'This is…'

Ludwig saw the familiar ruined grassland.

'This is where we first arrived.'

Ludwig's eyes shone.

Then he turned and looked at Yogg-Saron. For some reason, the demon wasn't moving at all.

'This is my chance.'

Ludwig wasn't sure why the demon wasn't moving, but that didn't change the fact that it was the perfect opportunity for him to escape.

Ludwig crouched down, jumped into the air, and flapped his four wings. He shot forward at incredible speed.

'I have to let them know.'

He had to tell Raphael everything he'd heard in the dungeon.

Ludwig escaped the dungeon through the cracks in the darkness. Tentacles chased after him, but he was faster.

Crackle—!!

Upon breaking free from the dungeon, Ludwig crashed to the ground and rolled over the dirt.

"Huff, huff," he panted heavily.

The side effects from pushing the holy sword to its limit were already taking their toll on his body. Ludwig could tell that he did not have much time left.

'Quickly…'

He had to return to Aernor.

Just then…

"Ludwig!!"

"Are you okay?!!"

Kim Si-Hun, Kang-Woo, Gaia, Cha Yeon-Joo, Grace McCubbin, and other elite Guardians members were running toward him. It seemed like the backup Ludwig had asked for had arrived.

"Kuh…" Ludwig groaned as he looked at them warily.

Guardians was being deceived by the Demon of Prophecy. He first had to tell them the truth.

"You are all being decei—"

"Wait," Kang-Woo, the young man with sharp eyes at the front, interjected and raised his hand. With a stiff expression, he urged, "Everyone, stop."

"Wh-What's wrong, hyung-nim?!" Si-Hun asked anxiously.

"…" Kang-Woo frowned. "It's… too late."

"Huh? What do you—"

"Ludwig is already being controlled by a demon."

"...What?"

"I-Is that true, Kang-Woo?!" Gaia hurriedly asked.

"Yes. It's already… too late," Kang-Woo answered, nodding with a heavy expression. He clenched his hands into fists aggressively and stomped on the ground. "Shit! Shit! If only we'd arrived faster!"

Ludwig looked at Kang-Woo blankly.

'What is he talking about?'

Ludwig wasn't being controlled by a demon. He'd refused Satan's deal. He had escaped the dungeon purely with his power.

So, why was Kang-Woo saying that it was too late?

"H-Hyung-nim! What do you mean?! Ludwig is perfectly fi—"

"No," Kang-Woo said, firmly shaking his head. He took out a communication crystal orb from his pocket. "To be honest, from the moment I heard this message… I knew that it was too late."

A voice rang out from the crystal orb.

[This… Lud… g. It seems some… meddled with the Gate… demon's trap… I am… already… done in… danger… every… escape… demon has complete control over…]

It was Ludwig's voice, mixed with a lot of static interference. In the message, he seemed aware of his imminent death and spoke as if those were his last words. It was not hard to tell from this message that it had already been too late for Ludwig.

Kang-Woo grabbed Si-Hun's shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Si-Hun. I couldn't bear to let you listen to this message earlier."

"A-Aaaahh…"

"Ludwig… has already been corrupted by a demon."

Kang-Woo lowered his head as if he couldn't bear to look at Ludwig.

Ludwig looked at him with his mouth wide open.

'What the…'

His thoughts tumbled around in his mind. What he heard through the crystal orb was definitely his voice, but… he'd never said anything like that.

'What's going on?'

Ludwig turned pale.

He recalled the conversation he'd had with a Guardians member as soon as he entered the dungeon.

- Hel… Wha… th?

"This is Ludwig. It seems like someone has meddled with the Gate. I believe it is a demon's trap."

- What… status?

"I am fine, but one of my subordinates has already been done in. We will be in danger at this rate. I would like to request backup from every Guardians member. We will try to stall for time as we escape."

- Can… come ou… ide?

"We will not be able to leave. It seems a demon has complete control over this space."

- Where… are…

"I am not sure. We seem to be inside a dungeon."

- We… on our— ZZZT!!

That had been what he had said.

'How did that…'

[This… Lud… g. It seems some… meddled with the Gate… demon's trap… I am… already… done in… danger… every… escape… demon has complete control over…]

'...Turn into this?'

"A-Aaaahh," Ludwig uttered while trembling.

He looked at Kang-Woo with a pale face.

"Ludwig has already been corrupted," Kang-Woo said firmly as he teared up. "We must… kill him with our own hands."

Corrupting an incorruptible saint was much simpler than it seemed.

'The truth doesn't matter,' Kang-Woo thought.

All that mattered was what seemed like the truth.