After Ten Millennia in Hell

Satan couldn't properly form words due to his rage.

The darkness flickered.

He turned to check the expressions of Raphael and the Watchers of Light.

'Shit.'

They didn't look like they believed Satan at all. They were looking at Kang-Woo with eyes filled with deep trust.

[Hah…] Satan feigned laughter.

Gaining the trust of angels was no easy task.

Angels were so stubborn and inflexible that one would die of frustration trying to deal with them.

'How did he gain their trust?'

Satan couldn't understand it.

Raphael and his angels had not seen Guardians in a positive light.

Although their doubt toward Guardians had been eliminated due to the demon king's play, it did not change the fact that they had been unable to keep Ludwig safe.

'Despite that…'

The angels and the Watchers of Light were looking at Kang-Woo as if he were a comrade with whom they had gone through thick and thin.

No, they also seemed to have some loyalty toward him, albeit a bit of a stretch.

Anyway, it didn't change the fact that it was abnormal.

"Sataaaaaan!!"

Raphael spread his eight wings.

Satan grimaced.

'I have no choice.'

No matter what he did, he wouldn't be able to make Raphael doubt the demon king instead of him.

Satan raised his hand, and the darkness fluctuated like a wave and took the form of a pitch-black sword in his hand.

It was Wrath, the Hell Armament that represented him.

"Receive the judgment of light!"

Raphael threw his spear made of bright, white light.

Satan raised his pitch-black sword and blocked the attack.

Rumble!!!

Light and dark clashed, and a huge impact shook the surroundings.

An intense battle was occurring in the middle of a snowstorm that made it hard to see what was going on, and the ferocity of their battle split the earth.

[You dumbass…!] Satan said in anger.

The stupid angel was being played by the demon king, and just watching it made Satan feel sick.

Satan pulled his arm back, and darkness gathered around the pitch-black sword. He swung the sword upward.

Crack!!!

The ground distorted, and darkness soared from the ground like a fountain.

Raphael spun his spear like a windmill and blocked the darkness, and then they clashed once again.

An ear-splitting sound shook the battlefield.

[Haaa.]

Satan's eyes were shining with madness. Now that it had come this far, he could not keep dodging. He could not keep taking it lying down. He had to brace his resolve and bloodlust.

He looked at the demon king wearing the disgusting mask of mischief and bathing in golden light.

"That is 'Wrath.'"

Satan heard the demon king's voice in his memories. His mocking gaze and cackle filled his head.

'How dare you…'

The demon king had dared to say such a thing to the Prince of Wrath of all beings. Wrath encroached upon Satan. His head became hot, and the blazing heat wrapped his entire body. Behind the red demon mask, Satan's eyes turned black. His irises turned yellow, and his pupils stretched horizontally.

[Very well,] he said in a voice filled with madness.

He gripped Wrath with both hands and swung it down on the ground.

[Let us kill each other, demon king.]

An explosion sounded. The crack in the ground that had formed during the clashes with Raphael widened even more. Mounds of dirt scattered into the wind, and huge pillars of rock jutted from the crevice as if they were thorns. And…

WHOOM.

It sounded as if nature itself was screaming.

A second landslide occurred, and it quickly grew in size. Satan raised his sword while looking down at the collapsing mountain.

Bat-like wings unfurled, and he flew into the sky.

'Demon king.'

He glared at the demon king with deep, sunken eyes, and then he looked down at the giant black gem he was holding. The gem was a fragment of the Demonic Origin that he'd brought with him. He had not intended to face both the demon king and Raphael at the same time without a plan.

'If I use this…'

He had more than a chance to emerge victorious as long as he used the Divinity stored within the Demonic Origin.

Satan's eyes shone.

[Come!] he shouted as he raised his pitch-black sword.

* * *

"No, you fucker," Kang-Woo said as he smirked.

'He still hasn't graduated from his chuunibyou.'

He crossed his arms and watched from a distance as Raphael rushed toward Satan. Satan and Raphael clashed with each other.

'Not yet.'

There was no reason for Kang-Woo to make his move yet.

Of course, collaborating with Raphael and fighting against Satan could be good because it was obvious that two-on-one was better than one-on-one. However…

"This is the better option to avoid getting hurt."

Kang-Woo laughed. He already knew who Satan would primarily target if he joined the battle. Satan's rage would obviously be directed toward him, and Satan would prioritize attacking him instead of Raphael.

If that happened…

He and Satan would be the only ones getting hurt.

'That won't do.'

Everything had to be within the palm of his hand. He had to be able to control everything. He had to consider the worst-case scenario that Satan had become stronger than he had been in the Nine Hells and that there was a possibility of Satan severely wounding him if they fought.

'There's also the possibility of Raphael betraying me.'

The chances of that happening were low.

Raphael hadn't been able to sense the demonic energy that Kang-Woo had hidden using the Ruler of Demonic Energy Trait. It didn't seem like Raphael fully trusted him, but Raphael at least did not think that he was a demon.

'But still, you never know.'

What if Raphael realized his identity in the middle of the battle?

What if he attacked his wounded self?

As long as Kang-Woo was a demon and possessed the Demonic Sea, Kang-Woo wouldn't be able to fully trust an archangel.

'On top of that…'

He narrowed his eyes and recalled how Satan had shouted confidently at Raphael and him to come at him.

'He must have something up his sleeve.'

Satan wouldn't be so confident if he didn't have a trump card, and Kang-Woo wouldn't allow himself to be the victim of that card.

If someone was to be the victim, it had to be Raphael.

"Right, knock yourselves out."

Kang-Woo smiled brightly.

None of the countless Authorities he had allowed him to see the future, so he could only take every single variable into account, always assume the worst, and imagine failure. And…

'To always play the winning card.'

He didn't care who won the fight.

If Satan killed Raphael, the archangel that Kang-Woo couldn't trust would be eliminated.

If Raphael killed Satan, Kang-Woo could take measures to deal with the situation based on his reactions.

He had done the same thing when Lucifer fought against the Demon Cult.

He had no reason to take action himself.

'Solving everything with my own strength is stupid.'

It was something only a dumb person would do.

It would be a different story if there was no other way, but right now, an easy and comfortable path existed for him to take. There was absolutely no reason for him to suffer for no reason when doing nothing would take him more than halfway to the finish line.

'I guess I'll take this time to come up with a good excuse.'

Raphael might ask Kang-Woo what the hell he had been doing while he himself had been battling Satan, so he just had to prepare a suitable answer. It was actually not a difficult question to answer.

'Belphegor and some guy called Crimson Fiend are here, too'

Although they hadn't appeared yet, he could make use of them.

"Now, then."

There was one thing he had to do.

'Authority of Coloring.'

Kang-Woo used the Authority of Coloring to create light sticks that he stuck between his fingers and swung vigorously.

'Hurray! Hurray!'[1]

Raphael oppaaaaaaaa!

Satan oppaaaaaaaaa!

'I'm rooting for both of you!'

* * *

A spear of light chased Satan. He swung his pitch-black sword, letting out a wave of black demonic energy along the sword's trajectory.

'Why?'

He panted heavily.

Satan deflected Raphael's attack while making a confused expression.

Although he was fighting against Raphael, his mind was focused somewhere else.

'Why isn't he coming?'

The demon king was not participating in the battle.

He thought that the battle would take a two-on-one format, and he was expecting Raphael and the demon king to attack him simultaneously, so obviously, he'd prepared a strategy based on that.

'But why isn't he coming?'

Wham!

The pitch-black sword collided with the spear.

Satan pulled his hand back and swung his sword downward. A blade of demonic energy gathered and compressed along the trajectory of Wrath's blade.

'Authority of Extinction.'

Satan's Authority tore anything it touched into shreds. He had imbued the blade of demonic energy, which had just shot out, with this Authority.

"It is no use!"

Raphael pulled his spear back, throwing the spear while putting his foot forward as if stepping on air.

Thousands of illusions appeared around the spear as it flew. No, they weren't illusions. Thousands of spears made of light were gathering in a circle.

BOOM!!

The blade and spears clashed, and explosive sounds filled the sky as if thousands of bolts of lightning fell. The huge impact swept everything away, and the dark clouds that were spewing out a blizzard were blown away.

The sunlight shone down on them.

[Shit, shit!] Curses left Satan's mouth. His plan had been ruined.

He felt the Demonic Origin he had carefully placed in his bosom.

He needed to have both the demon king and Raphael within range. He still couldn't fully control the power of the Demonic Origin, so he didn't have many chances.

A trump card was called a trump card for a reason. If he could freely use it, he would've done so from the beginning.

'But…'

Kang-Woo wasn't coming.

No matter how long he waited while battling Raphael, he was not coming.

[Come, demon king!!] he screamed. [Fight me!!]

Why was the demon king not trying to finish him off after driving him into a corner?

Satan thought he was about to go crazy.

BOOM!!

[Raphael! Where is the demon king?!]

"You have lost your mind."

Raphael clicked his tongue.

Demon king?

What nonsense was that?

"You are the demon king."

His eyes shone sharply.

The Demon of Prophecy—the possessor of the Demonic Sea and master of 666 different Authorities.

If such a demon wasn't the demon king, then who could it possibly be?

[Shit! Oh Kang-Woo! Where is that son of a bitch?!]

"Did you think I would need a human to aid me in fighting you?"

Raphael laughed in disbelief.

He knew that the human Oh Kang-Woo had inherited the power of Tirion, God of Heroes, but that didn't mean an archangel should expect a human's help in fighting a demon.

"I will avenge Ludwig's death with my own hands!" Raphael shouted.

[For fuck's sake.]

Satan thought he was about to go crazy. He didn't even know what Ludwig looked like.

'Where are you, demon king?'

Satan hurriedly looked around for the demon king.

At that moment, he saw an eye-catching light. He saw the demon king looking up at them from within the debris of collapsed rocks.

[Th-Th-Th-Th-That son of a bitch…!]

The demon king was waving neon light sticks and excitedly watching their battle. He was hiding in a safe place after instigating the battle between him and Raphael.

[Th-That scumbag… How dare you—!!]

His rage had crossed the threshold.

Satan grabbed the back of his neck.

[Urgh.]

For a moment, his sight became blurry, and he felt like everything was spinning. Satan collapsed.

1. This is a Japanese way of cheering (fure, fure), which pretty much means "You can do it!". ☜