Player who Returned 10,000 years Later
chapter-168

The battle was over.

All the demons' bodies turned into black fog and scattered away. Not only that, but the Demon Cult members had also paid the price for their crimes.

There was a short silence.

KangWoo and the rest were breathing heavily after fighting against the demons.

"Wave of Light."

Han Seol-ah opened both arms and cast magic.

The wings that were drawn on her back started to emit light, and it spread to the other people.

They looked at her in surprise.

"This is…"

"Amazing."

It wasn't a simple magic that healed wounds.

They felt that the tiredness and mental stress they'd gotten while fighting was being healed.

"Since when could you use magic like this?" Kim ShiHoon asked in surprise.

There were many healers that could heal wounds, but the number of healers that could heal tiredness stacked inside the body was extremely low.

It was hard to say that mental stress was in the realm of healing.

"It's thanks to the attribute I obtained after the eighth Awakening."

"Amazing."

It was honestly a surprise.

That's how special Han Seol-ah's healing magic was.

'Now that I think about it, the effect of the buff was incredible as well.'

The reason why he'd been able to face Halphas, one of the three demons, was thanks to the buff she'd applied on him.

He had never heard about a buff that increased your stats by an absolute value.

"N-no…"

Han Seol-ah blushed in shyness because of the attention she was getting.

—But there was a smile on her face.

Not many people disliked being recognized and praised, after all.

Han Seol-ah looked at KangWoo. She clenched her fists in excitement.

"Mr. KangWoo, you must be more tired than the rest, so I'm going to use one more magic on you."

Han Seol-ah grabbed his hand and used another magic.

To be honest, two out of the three demons had been defeated by KangWoo, so, in reality, she hadn't said anything wrong.

"Thank you," KangWoo said while smiling.

A smile appeared on Han Seol-ah's mouth.

She looked at the light flowing out of her and entering KangWoo's body.

'The effect is definitely great.'

It was as if the tiredness that had been stacked by fighting the demons disappeared.

After reaching 120 stats, just like the Black Pearl Coat's effect didn't apply to him anymore, her buffs also didn't increase his stats.

That's why he thought it would be hard for him to get help from Han Seol-ah while fighting, but it seemed like he'd underestimated her.

'Hmm.'

KangWoo narrowed his eyes.

It wasn't that she'd received the soul of the Martial God like Kim ShiHoon; she also hadn't been chosen by the Gaia System like the other Guardians. But still, he could feel an unknown energy coming from her.

'What's this?'

He didn't know what it was.

KangWoo shook his head while thinking about it.

There was nothing more stupid than trying to assume an answer to a question he couldn’t even begin to solve.

'I'll have to look closely.'

That was all he could do for the moment.

But rather than that, solving the situation at the present was more important.

"Is it over?" Chae YeonJoo asked.

KangWoo nodded.

"I can’t feel anything around here. It seems like it's over," He calmly answered.

To be honest, the Demon Cult’s plan wasn't over yet.

They were probably trying to summon a being from the 9th hell right then.

'I can't pour ashes over cooked rice.'

It would be better if they ambushed them after they managed to summon a being from the 9th hell.

'I guess we could stay here and then give an excuse and start moving.'

He'd already heard where the summoning ceremony was taking place.

He thought it would be okay if they moved once he felt a huge amount of demonic energy.

'Good.'

KangWoo smiled as everything was going according to his plans.

It was at that moment…

"Ah…"

A short exclamation left KangWoo's mouth.

Gaia extended her trembling hands.

"What's wrong?" Kim ShiHoon said while making a worried expression.

Gaia opened her mouth.

"Ms. Gaia herself… gave us a quest."

"Yes?"

"Wait for a moment. I'm going to share it with you."

She waved her hand in the air.

A blue message window appeared in front of her.

Ting-

[S-rank special quest is starting.]

Quest Details: Block the summoning of a demon from the 9th hell.

Reward: None.

P.S: I'm, so… rry… My children. Ah, right now, the only thing I can do… Is… This.

‘What's this?’

KangWoo frowned after reading the message that appeared in front of him.

But he soon realized what Gaia had done.

'That fucking troll!'

He frowned.

* * *

She'd just told them through a quest that the Demon Cult hadn't finished summoning yet and that they were trying to summon a demon from the 9th hell.

'Fuck…!'

He could understand why she'd done that.

She probably couldn't stay calm while looking at her children relaxing while thinking they had defeated their enemies.

The intentions were nice. If he hadn't known they were trying to summon someone from the 9th hell, it would have been of great help.

'But why…?'

‘But why with this timing?’

Even if her intentions had been good, if the result was a mess, it meant nothing.

That quest of Gaia’s would be equivalent to flipping the dining table.

'Not only that, but there's no reward.'

Seeing that there was no reward, it seemed like she didn't even have the strength to interfere with the system.

Seeing a god waste her power over things like that hurt his head.

'Think…'

He began thinking.

Since the rest had discovered that the demon summoning ceremony hadn't ended, he had no choice but to change the plan.

"This…"

"It seems like the summoning isn't over yet."

Gaia kept talking while her expression hardened.

"We must stop the demon from the 9th hell from being summoned."

"Well, seeing the current KangWoo, is there a need to stop them?" Chae YeonJoo asked.

She'd seen how he overwhelmingly annihilated a group of demons.

She’d almost felt sorry for the demons, so it was true that she didn't feel the need to stop them.

"No, that's not true."

Gaia shook her head.

Up until that point, they were able to eliminate the demons easily thanks to KangWoo's help.

Although he was a hero who had received strength from a god, they weren't sure if he'd be able to fight the demons from the strongest hell.

"That's right. We must stop them as soon as possible."

KangWoo took a step forward. He kept talking in a loud voice.

"It isn't like I'm not confident I'll be able to win against a demon from the 9th hell, but it will be even easier if we stop it from happening."

"Mr. KangWoo is right," Gaia agreed with him.

"Then we should first figure out where it's taking place…"

"If it's that, there's a place I can think of."

"Mr. KangWoo?"

"Yes."

"After receiving the quest, I've been feeling something unpleasant through Mr. Tyrion’s strength."

He once again used Tyrion's name.

It was a cheat that was at an equal level to Satan.

People reacted after he said he'd felt something unpleasant.

"Where did you feel it?"

"Follow me."

KangWoo turned and began running.

He took them opposite where the summoning was taking place.

'I need to stall for some time!'

That was the best thing he could do at that moment.

He had to stall until the Demon Cult could successfully finish the summoning ceremony.

'You Demon Cult bastards! You better not fail!'

It was a desperate, mental shout.

KangWoo took them in another direction.

'Come on!'

Ten minutes passed…

"We're almost there."

Twenty minutes…

"Hyeongnim, if things go on like this…"

"It's over here! We're going to get there in five minutes!"

Thirty minutes…

"Mr. KangWoo, is it really in this direction…?"

"We're really almost there!"

'FUUCCKK!'

He couldn't help but curse.

'When are they going to succeed?'

It was understandable that he'd be annoyed.

The more they went in the direction he was guiding them, the weaker the Demonic Energy floating around became, and demonic monsters couldn't be seen anymore.

Their trust in him could crumble.

'Succeed, please!'

He couldn't misguide them forever.

He was starting to feel angry about how slow and inefficient the Demon Cult members were.

'Please…'

Had his desperate prayers reached the heavens?

BOOM-!!

With a loud sound, a huge pillar of demonic energy rose to the sky.

'Finally!'

KangWoo's eyes shone.

'They finally succeeded!!'

"O-over there!"

"Everyone, quick!"

They began running toward where the black pillar had appeared.

KangWoo gulped while looking at the black pillar.

'It's at least a great demon.'

—A demon that was among the strongest in the 9th hell.

His steps became lighter; he was almost starting to feel proud for being able to deceive his allies for 30 minutes.

KangWoo arrived at where the summoning ceremony was taking place while his eyes shone.

"In-intruders!"

"Ugh! So you finally got here!"

As expected, they were trying to summon a great demon from the 9th hell.

Unlike a normal place, where there were mostly between five and six members, there were at least 50 people.

'Good!'

He raised his weapon while smiling.

"This is where your evil deeds end!" He shouted.

'You did it!'

Although they were late, they'd been able to succeed anyway.

KangWoo's smile was hidden behind his mask.

'Let's see who you summoned…'

He looked at the black fissure.

And…

"Hahaha! It's already too late, you damned servants of the gods!!"

"Now that he's come, you won't be able to escape death!"

Tap Tap-

A giant demon who was five meters tall emerged from the black fissure.

He had a muscular body with red skin, goat horns on his forehead, bat wings, and a long tail.

He was a demon who had an overwhelming destructive presence.

The members of the Demon Cult knelt.

"Everyone, worship him! He's a great demon from the 9th hell!"

"The Monarch of Destruction, Balrog!!"

"…"

There was silence.

The demon that had walked out of the fissure opened his mouth.

[Is this place Earth?]

"Yes!!"

[Who are you?]

"We're loyal servants of demons! Mortals that crave immortality!"

[Hmm.]

The giant demon turned his head as if he weren't interested.

KangWoo and the demon looked at each other.

[Huh?]

"…"

KangWoo was wearing a mask.

In other words, his disguise was only a thin piece of material covering his face.

But Balrog had spent a few thousand years with him, so the fact that he was wearing a mask meant nothing.

[D-Demon King!]

Balrog knelt.

[Finally, I've met my Demon King again! I heard the news from Doom Guard. You don't know how much I've missed you, Demon King!!]

Boom! He slammed his forehead into the floor.

[Demon King!! I, Balrog, came here to be loyal to you again!!]

"…"

There was a heavy silence.

No one said anything.

There was no way they could say anything.

KangWoo turned his head.

He sensed everyone's eyes on him.

He slowly opened his mouth.

"I don't know what he's talking about."

[Aah! Demon King!]

"I really don't know anything."

[Sniff! I've really missed you!]

"I don't know who this demon is."

[Demon Kiinngg!!!]

"…"

There was once again silence.

He felt everyone staring at him.

A curse left his mouth.

"Fuck."

‘I'm fucked.’