After Ten Millennia in Hell

The next morning, Oh Kang-Woo slowly got up after being freed from the nightmarish tentacles. He wasn't completely recovered, but he could at least move his body a little bit.

'Status window.'

Riiing.

[You have unread message windows.]

[Would you like to read them?]

A blue message window appeared in front of him.

He nodded without hesitation.

[You have consumed the Prince of Greed, Mammon.]

[Activating the Trait 'Reaper of Souls'.]

[Activating the Trait 'Prince Slayer'.]

[You can now use the Authority of Blaze possessed by Prince Mammon.]

A broad smile appeared on Kang-Woo's face while he looked at the message windows.

'A prince's Authority.'

Authority of Blaze was the most powerful and destructive Authority that not even Kang-Woo had been able to use back when he used to rule the Nine Hells. The ridiculous firepower Mammon had shown in the battle made it clear that the Authority of Blaze was worth the trouble Kang-Woo had gone through to get it.

Kang-Woo turned his head.

'There's still some left.'

The system notifications hadn't ended. He checked the rest of the message windows.

[The second condition of Demonic Soul has been partially fulfilled.]

[All the conditions of Demonic Soul will be fulfilled through the absorption of another prince's soul.]

[The upper limit of the Demonic Energy stat has risen due to the partial fulfillment of Demonic Soul's condition.]

[Demonic Energy has risen by 5.]

[Demonic Energy has reached 135.]

[The passage connected to the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core is 82.3% complete.]

'This is…'

Kang-Woo's eyes widened.

His Demonic Energy stat had reached 135. The passage to the deep end of the Ten Thousand Demon Core would soon be complete.

The tips of his mouth went up.

'I think I've almost fully restored it.'

The power that the Gaia System had sealed… He felt like he would soon be able to regain his full power.

Kang-Woo had been able to use a hundred percent of the demonic energy from the deep end when he had been in Hell. He had managed to become the Demon King with just that.

'But now I'm different from back then.'

Before awakening as a Player, he hadn't had the Ultimate Demonic Body, nor had he been able to use the Authority of a prince of Hell. Kang-Woo didn't know what effect Demonic Soul had, but that was also a power he hadn't had while in Hell.

If he could use demonic energy from the deep end, he could probably reach a plane higher than what he'd reached before.

'Very nice.'

Kang-Woo felt that he could face an average prince of Hell alone.

'I'm not sure about Bael, but I could definitely face Lucifer or Satan.'

That was assuming they were still only as powerful as before. In any case, he thought he wouldn't need to rely on opening a Door to defeat them.

'My body's itching for a fight.'

He couldn't help but feel it'd be great if Mammon appeared in front of him again so that he could test how much stronger he'd become, but Mammon had already died. As for Lucifer, it would be hard to make contact with him for the moment.

There was still the option of Balrog, but he was wounded at the moment.

"Tsk."

It was too bad, but there was nothing Kang-Woo could do about it.

He lay back on the bed again since he still couldn't move properly.

"Oh, right."

He remembered something.

Kang-Woo got up and grabbed his smartphone. He called Kurosaki Yurie—to be more precise, Lilith, who was inside her body.

- Did you sleep well, Master Kang-Woo?

"...No."

Remembering the previous night gave Kang-Woo chills. He shook them off.

"Lilith, where did you store Greed?"

Greed was Mammon's Hell Armament, and just like his Key of the Demonic Sea, it was a Transcendent-grade armament.

- Pardon? By Greed... Do you mean Mammon's Hell Armament?

"Yeah."

- Mm. I'm sorry, but I didn't find the Hell Armament at the place where you fought Mammon.

"What?"

Kang-Woo frowned.

'Greed vanished?'

He tried to remember what had happened.

'Did I consume it along with Mammon?'

The first thing he thought of was when he had forced the Ten Thousand Demon Core to run wild by opening a Door. The vast darkness had devoured Mammon and the other demons whole.

'That can't be the case.'

Kang-Woo shook his head.

Even if his Authority of Predation was powerful, it couldn't consume a Hell Armament. Even if it could, he should have gained power corresponding to that.

No matter how much he searched through his status window or checked the system messages, he couldn't see any traces of him having consumed the Hell Armament.

'Was it destroyed?'

He rejected the idea, shaking his head again.

That was even more impossible. He had cracked the Hell Armament to break out of it, but that was completely different from destroying it entirely. Only a god would be able to destroy a Hell Armament.

'No.'

If it were a god at the level of Tirion, they would be devoured by the Hell Armament instead.

"Where the hell did it go?"

Kang-Woo frowned.

He'd devoured the soul of a prince of Hell, so the Hell Armament was an important resource he could now use, and he definitely wanted to use it. After all, that transcendental weapon contained so much power that it could not even be fathomed by Kang-Woo.

Whooom.

"Hm?"

At that moment, the ring on his right middle finger shook. His Transcendent-grade weapon, the Key of the Demonic Sea, shook as if it were alive.

'Wait.'

He checked the information window of the Key of the Demonic Sea with bright eyes.

[Equipment Information]

[Equipment Name: Key of the Demonic Sea

Grade: Transcendent (Imprinted)

Type: Growth *The equipment will grow stronger whenever certain conditions are fulfilled.

Basic Effect: Unique Stat +3, Indomitability, Transformation, ??? *It has not been unlocked.

Special Effect: ???, ??? *It has not been unlocked.]

[Effect Description]

[Indomitability: The equipment cannot be destroyed by any physical, magical, or spiritual attacks.

Transformation: The equipment can transform into any weapon registered as a skill. It will exert 34% capacity of weapons made using Authorities.]

[Equipment Status]

[*Digestion Stand-by: Currently preparing to digest the Hell Armament 'Greed'.

*Inadequate Demonic Energy: The wielder's demonic energy quality is inadequate. Digestion will commence once Demonic Soul is achieved.]

"...The hell is this?"

Kang-Woo laughed in disbelief.

'Now that I think about it, this is a growth-type weapon.'

The basic capabilities of the Key of the Demonic Sea were so great, but he had forgotten about them.

'I can't believe it devoured a Hell Armament.'

It was as if the weapon was taking after its wielder. He never thought that it would have an ability like this.

"Well, I'm glad I won't have to worry about where it is.”

He was disappointed he couldn't immediately use the power of the Hell Armament. Nonetheless, it hadn't disappeared, so he felt relieved.

Kang-Woo looked down at the wriggling Key of the Demonic Sea in ring form.

'A Transcendent-grade weapon that has absorbed a Hell Armament, huh?'

Kang-Woo would be lying if he said he didn't have his expectations up now. His heart beat faster at the expectation that an unprecedented armament would be born.

"If it devoured Greed..."

That meant it could also devour the other Hell Armaments.

'I can't wait.'

His heart raced excitedly just like that of a child who had received his Christmas gift.

- Master Kang-Woo? What's wrong? Should I check again if the Hell Armament was there?

"No, it's fine. There's no need."

Kang-Woo stood up.

"Besides that. Where are Si-Hun and Balrog?"

He had finished checking the rewards that he had gotten from consuming Mammon. It was time to check on his subordinates.

Kang-Woo got the locations of Kim Si-Hun and Balrog from Lilith. Then he stood up.

"First..."

Kang-Woo hesitated between the Balrog and Si-Hun but ended up choosing Si-Hun.

'Balrog is tough.'

It wasn't a matter of who was more important. In the case of Balrog, his regenerative capabilities were so high that he would regenerate completely as long as he was still alive.

'He pretty much regenerated in a flash even when half of his body had turned to ash.'

However, that was not the case for Si-Hun. He didn't have abnormal regenerative capabilities like Balrog.

'Well, I'm sure he'll be fine.'

After all, Si-Hun was a hero who had been chosen by a god. He was the person closest to being a protagonist than anyone else Kang-Woo had seen until this point. Si-Hun had risen above every single moment of crisis, so Kang-Woo was not worried at all.

Kang-Woo opened the door with light steps.

"K-Kang-Woo!" Han Seol-Ah walked toward him with an anxious expression. "Y-You're finally up! Are you hurting anywh—n-no, more importantly, you shouldn't be moving around as soon as you wake up!!"

It seemed like she'd been very worried while Kang-Woo had been unconscious. She was on the verge of tears.

From the dark circles under her eyes, it looked as if she hadn't slept for a few days. It seemed like Lilith hadn't told Seol-Ah that Kang-Woo had woken up last night.

Kang-Woo sniffled. He felt moved, especially upon recalling the nightmarish experience from last night.

'I'll offer you my life, my dear!' he thought.

Kang-Woo's heart beat rapidly as Seol-Ah held him cautiously, worried that he might lose consciousness again.

"Kang-Woo, are you okay...?" Echidna, who had come along with Seol-Ah, pulled on Kang-Woo's clothes with an anxious expression.

Kang-Woo nodded with a smile.

"How's Si-Hun doing?" he asked.

"He still hasn't woken up."

"Hm."

Kang-Woo nodded.

The injuries that Mammon had inflicted on Si-Hun were probably quite severe.

"I'm gonna go see Si-Hun," Kang-Woo said.

He left Seol-Ah and Echidna outside and entered the room that Si-Hun was in.

Kang-Woo found Si-Hun asleep on the bed.

"..."

He bit his thumb, and black blood flowed from it. Then he opened Si-Hun's mouth and dripped the blood inside.

'Authority of Regeneration.'

Kang-Woo used the Authority of Regeneration with his Demonic Energy stat, which was currently at 135 points. That was enough to regenerate Si-Hun's burned arms. His pale face regained its color as well.

Si-Hun's body was being restored. It was as if time was rewinding or a miracle was occurring.

"Urmmm…” Si-Hun murmured as he opened his eyes.

He looked around and made a bewildered expression upon seeing Kang-Woo.

"H-Hyung-nim? A-Are you okay?!" Si-Hun asked.

"That's my line. Are you okay?" Kang-Woo replied.

"Ah..." Si-Hun sighed in relief when he saw that Kang-Woo seemed well.

"I'm fine. I… don't feel any pain," Si-Hun said with a faint smile. Then he suddenly raised his voice in a panic, "But more importantly, wh-what happened with Mammon?"

It seemed like his memories of the battle were in fragments.

"Mammon is dead."

"Ah."

"It's all thanks to you, Si-Hun."

Kang-Woo patted his shoulder.

Those were not empty words. If Si-Hun hadn't bought Kang-Woo enough time, Kang-Woo would not have been able to avoid the worst-case scenario.

'I'm proud of you.'

He felt satisfied with the result of his investment in Si-Hun.

Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun with a proud and satisfied smile.

'Now, it would be great if he became a bit stronger...'

Si-Hun had far too great a potential for him to be used just for buying time. He had the potential to become strong enough to face a prince of Hell. No, maybe even more than that.

'It won't be easy though.'

Si-Hun's life had been at risk numerous times in this war, yet he hadn't been able to experience a power-up.

'I guess not even Si-Hun would be able to power up that easil—'

"Huh...?"

Kang-Woo's thoughts were cut short by Si-Hun's trembling voice.

"H-Hyung-nim." Si-Hun turned his head urgently and looked down at his two hands in despair. "I-I can't… f-feel my hands."

"...What?"

Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun in disbelief.

'Is this a power-up flag?'

The hero who had lost his power…

The cliche of a hero losing his power and then becoming stronger after successfully overcoming the trial was a story development Kang-Woo had seen many times before.

"Hah…"

Kang-Woo grabbed his forehead while making a confused expression, unsure if he should be happy or sad.

'I bet my entire net worth and my left hand that Si-Hun is powering up.'

You won't do it, no balls.