After Ten Millennia in Hell

"Eek!"

"Wh-what the hell is that monster?"

When she opened her eyes for the very first time, she saw demons looking down at her in disgust. They grimaced as they looked at her as if she were hideous.

"Shit! Urpp!"

"Bleeegh!"

They vomited while looking at her.

Unlike them, she didn't have numerous eyes, skin covered in wriggling tentacles, or moldy skin covered in holes.

"I-Is this a demonic beast?"

They called her a demonic beast, not a demon. A beast with no intelligence or sense of reason. A being that moved and survived only through instinct.

"I-I have never seen such a hideous demonic beast…"

They were looking at her in disgust, and their voices were filled with enmity.

'I…'

She crouched down and prayed.

She frantically prayed, begging them not to harass her, not to hurt her.

'I've done nothing wrong.'

"Kill it!"

"Kill that disgusting thing! Hurry!"

Attacks poured toward her from every direction.

She couldn't understand why they resented her and why they were disgusted with her so much, but there was one thing she was sure about: being hit by their attacks hurt a lot.

She ran away. Because she was born a monster, she was very fast.

She desperately ran away with all her might.

"Follow it!"

"We cannot let that thing grow!"

They chased after her, trampled on her, and tore at her flesh.

It hurt. It hurt so much that she could barely endure it.

"Please… don't… hurt… me," she begged in desperation.

"What's wrong with this demonic beast?"

According to what she had heard from them, demonic beasts, just like their name suggested, were beasts with no intelligence. They didn't feel despair or fear. They were monsters that wouldn't hesitate to attack if they thought someone was their enemy.

That was the demonic beast they referred to.

"Sniff, sniff."

So what?

She wasn't like that. She possessed neither the madness nor the brutal desire to tear apart her enemies. She was just terrified by their words and looks of disgust.

No matter where she ran, they always chased after her. It was the same with those she met for the first time. All demons she met showered her with attacks as they vomited.

Life was fear and pain. Everyone in the world cursed her. It was a never-ending nightmare. In the end…

"Y-You're also trying to harass me, aren't you?"

She lost her mind. There was no way she would be able to endure it while staying sane. Surrounded by fear and madness, she killed everyone who approached her.

She realized that, if she didn't kill, she was the one who would get killed.

"Sniff, sniff."

She made a territory. She then realized that if she stayed inside the robust borders she'd built, other demons wouldn't come after her.

But…

"Waaaaaahh!!"

The wound didn't close. The way they had pointed at her and their disgusted gazes did not disappear from her head.

She wanted someone who wouldn't look at her in fear or disgust, but however long she waited—a century, a millennia, even ten millennia—no such being appeared. She would always be a target of fear and disgust. It was an unending nightmare.

"Sniff, sniff."

She remained shrunk within the robust borders she had built while bawling her eyes out. Even if she cried, nothing would change. Just like that… too many years passed.

* * *

"Kyahahahahahahaha!!!"

Hysterical laughter echoed throughout the surroundings.

Halcyon crawled on the ground and grabbed Oh Kang-Woo's pants.

"R-Really? A-Am I really pretty?" she asked desperately. She was looking up at him with sincerity, like a devotee seeking salvation.

"Uhh, I mean, yeah."

Kang-Woo looked down at her with a confused expression. He answered reflexively. He had not expected such an assertive response; no, it was borderline lunacy.

"A-Aaaahh."

Halcyon cried while touching her face. She looked like she was high on drugs. She once again burst out into laughter filled with pleasure, thrill, and madness.

'Don't tell me…'

Kang-Woo thought of a certain possibility. He looked at Balrog lying on the floor, still vomiting.

A scenario of a possible explanation came to mind.

'This must be the first time she has ever heard that she's pretty.'

Taking into consideration that Halcyon looked more hideous than anything from a demon's perspective, she had likely never heard that she was pretty in Hell.

'I'm sure it's not just that.'

She wouldn't react like this just because she had simply never been called pretty.

'Trauma.'

There was a chance that her appearance being so hideous to other demons had left a deep trauma on her. No, if that hadn't traumatized her, there was no way she would be reacting like this.

She had likely been ostracized and had become all demons' target of resentment and disgust.

"Well…"

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. The ends of his mouth went up.

'I can use this.'

It wasn't hard to guess what Halcyon had gone through.

'It's obvious.'

He could guess and imagine it. In that case, using her experience to his advantage was not hard at all.

'The important thing is…'

How valuable Halcyon would be to him. As for that, there was no need to even think about it.

'Even right now, it'll be nothing but a plus for me.'

There were many things he wanted to ask Halcyon: the reason why she, an ancient demonic beast, had arrived on Earth, and the information on the abnormal movements of the other ancient demonic beasts and Behemoth, the king of demonic beasts…

'Not just that.'

After reaching 150 in his Demonic Energy stat, he temporarily couldn't use the Authority of Predation to absorb demonic energy. Of course, he could always compress Halcyon's corpse, just like he did with Belphegor.

'But…'

It wasn't like his control over demonic energy would skyrocket anytime soon. It needed to be slowly improved through repetitive training. Continuing to turn the corpses of demons and demonic beasts into gems was far too inefficient. He wasn't even sure when he would be able to absorb Belphegor.

'I mean, it would be a different story if I managed to awaken some sort of power or something.'

He wasn't Kim Si-Hun, so relying on powering up was not good.

"Sniff, sniff. I-I'm glad. I'm so happy…"

Halcyon was moved to tears.

Kang-Woo looked at her expressionlessly.

'In other words…'

It was far more beneficial to make her into an ally than to kill her and make her into a gem to absorb in the future. Although she didn't possess an Authority, she would be able to overpower a prince of Hell in terms of physical ability.

'Alright.'

Kang-Woo smirked. He'd decided on a goal and knew how to achieve it, so there was no reason to hesitate.

"Y-You're telling the truth, right? Y-You're not lying, right?"

Halcyon looked up at him anxiously while placing her hands together.

Kang-Woo reached out toward her while making a kind smile. He put his hand on her cheek.

"Mm…"

Kang-Woo hesitated for a moment.

Halcyon's expression paled as she trembled.

"Now that I take a closer look, maybe not that pretty."

"Ah…"

A short exclamation came out of Halcyon's mouth—it was one mixed with disappointment and relief.

Kang-Woo smirked. It had been just as he had expected.

'Calling her pretty here would be more of a detriment.'

It was a simple issue.

Imagine there was someone who had only heard they were ugly all their life. Would they be able to fully trust the words of someone who came up to them and praised them for being way too beautiful?

'Of course not.'

Whether they were human, demon, or demonic beast, all lifeforms possessed self-preservation instincts. They would naturally be wary of people who told them 'absurd lies.'

"I-I thought as much. Th-There would be no way that I'm… pretty."

Tears flowed down Halcyon's cheeks.

"I'm… unsightly, disgusting, and…"

Her voice became progressively weaker as if she were struggling to find the words.

Kang-Woo's eyes shone.

'Now.'

He grasped the chance once she was put to her lowest point.

"No, I wouldn't say that," he said firmly.

"Pardon…?"

"I'm saying that you're not unsightly or disgusting. Well, I'm not sure what you've heard until now, but at least, for me, that's not the case at all."

"Ah…"

"Even when looking at you again, you're not bad at all. You're not unsightly or disgusting."

Kang-Woo smirked and wiped her tears.

There was no need to exaggerate. No, exaggerating would only make things worse.

What Halcyon really wanted wasn't for someone to tell her she was beautiful.

'What she really wants is…'

Someone who didn't find her disgusting.

"A-Aaaahh.."

That was all. Just that one tiny little thing was nothing short of salvation for her.

"Sniff, sniff."

Tears flowed down her cheeks. She was trembling with excitement.

"Thank… you. Thank you so… so much."

She cried even more while clutching his clothes.

Kang-Woo slowly looked elsewhere while looking down at her.

'It's not enough yet.'

The puzzle was 99% complete. The final piece needed to be added.

He took out his communication device and whispered.

- Stand up, Balrog.

Balrog, who had still been vomiting while collapsed on the ground, staggered into a standing position.

[Kuh! Watch out, my king!!]

After seeing Halcyon stuck to Kang-Woo, he quickly stomped on the ground. The Overlord Armor made of black demonic energy wrapped around his arms.

"Urgh…!"

Halcyon clenched her eyes shut, pitifully trembling. After having been put on the verge of exhaustion after battling with Kang-Woo, she would not be able to block Balrog's fist covered in the Overlord Armor.

Kang-Woo slowly raised his hand.

Whaam!!

Kang-Woo stopped Balrog's fist right next to Halcyon's head. If he had been even a millisecond late, her head would have been blown off.

[M-My king?]

"I'm not in any danger, so stay still."

Halcyon looked up at Kang-Woo in surprise.

"Ah…"

Her clutch on his clothes became even stronger.

[Are you… not affected at all while seeing that monster, my king?] Balrog asked while having trouble keeping his eyes on Halcyon.

'That's it.'

It was the question he had been hoping for. The final piece of the puzzle had been formed, so he calmly said, "I guess not."

"…"

Halcyon looked up at him anxiously.

"Unlike what I've heard from you, I don't really find Halcyon unsightly." He placed down the final piece of the puzzle. "Are my eyes weird? I even find it a bit pretty."

[Wha…]

"I guess only I think that way."

Kang-Woo shrugged and then looked at Halcyon. He could see a change in her eyes.

'That's it.'

The only one who didn't find her disgusting…

If that person's eyes were a bit special, and only that person did not find her to be disgusting…

"Tsk. That's enough for the subjugation. Let's go back, Balrog."

"E-Excuse me!"

Halcyon raised her head.

He could sense desperation in her voice.

If there was only one person in the world who could take her out of the endless nightmare…

'She would desperately cling to them, whatever it took.'

Halcyon desperately exclaimed, "P-Please take me with you! I-I'll do anything. I-I won't cry, s-so… p-please don't abandon me. I'm sorry for a-attacking you earlier. I won't ever do it again. I-I'll do anything you ask, s-so please…"

He could see a mad sense of desperation in her eyes.

Kang-Woo slowly turned his head.

'That's it.'

A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Of course, what he did likely wasn't morally correct. Leaving a demon's point of view aside, she was actually beautiful, and him being the only one who wasn't disgusted by her looks was a lie.

'But…'

He had no intention of telling her the whole truth. He had not gone through this hassle to give her salvation, nor was it to take her out of her painful nightmare.

'What I need is someone who listens, follows, thinks of, serves, and dies for only me.'

That was all he needed.

"Well, okay." Kang-Woo smiled. "I'll take you."

"Ah…"

Halcyon's eyes filled with delight.