Player who Returned 10,000 years Later
chapter-172

After the appearance of Lucifer's underlings and Balrog, their time in Latin America finally came to an end.

After confirming that Balrog had lost, the members of the Demon Cult quickly escaped, and after that, the monsters returned to normal.

The US soldiers moved the indigenous people and began rebuilding Venezuela, the area in Latin America they could more or less administrate.

KangWoo's group left the remaining job to the US soldiers and Grace and returned to Korea.

On the way back, there was almost no conversation between KangWoo and the rest.

One of the reasons was that there was a demon that stood by his side constantly that was over five meters tall, but the biggest reason was that KangWoo had revealed his past.

Even if they'd said they trusted KangWoo, it would be hard to treat them like before.

'I guess it's similar to hearing that your friend used to be a violent criminal in the past.'

Although it might be different since he'd become a demon to survive in Hell.

'To them, it’s probably like they watched someone eat human flesh to survive on a deserted island.'

That was probably the best comparison.

They could understand KangWoo's situation, but they had a hard time accepting it because of the preconceived notions inside their heads.

'Well, I guess time will solve everything.'

It wasn't like time solved everything, but KangWoo thought that, in his case, time would naturally make things better.

What they needed wasn't time to trust KangWoo but time to order their thoughts and accept a demon as a partner.

'Anyway, the situation has improved.'

‘A blessing in disguise’ was the best way to describe the situation.

When his identity became known because of Balrog, he’d wondered how to overcome the situation, but everything ended up working very well.

Leaving aside that he was able to solve the crisis, he would be able to move more comfortably from that point onward.

'The biggest advantage is that I’ll be able to use Balrog more comfortably.'

If he had to keep hiding the fact that Balrog was a demon, he'd have trouble using him.

Even if he used him, he'd have to put on a show just like he did with Balzac, probably.

Being able to use Balrog comfortably as an ally made the bet worth it.

'Although it might look like a small thing, it isn't.'

Balrog's power was comparable to all of the Guardians.

Although Kim ShiHoon might have the potential to surpass him, that wasn't the case yet.

Leaving everything aside, Balrog's value could be summarized in the following sentence:

'Balrog can face the archdukes.'

Though he probably wouldn't be able to win against an archduke.

Even if everyone said that Balrog was as strong as an archduke, it was true that he lacked a bit compared to a real archduke.

But if KangWoo was added to the equation, he could reach a point where he could present a good match for them.

Being able to use Balrog without taking into consideration what others saw was a huge difference.

'Although it's going to be hard to use Balzac.'

The image of Balzac being Satan's underling was too huge.

If he used Balzac publicly, there was a chance he'd be accused of being the actual person who killed Reinald.

'That can't happen.'

The reason KangWoo was accepted as a warrior of light was thanks to the existence of Satan.

If the fact that he and Satan were the same being was revealed, everything would be over for real.

All of humanity would probably take out their weapons against him.

To KangWoo, who dreamed of a comfortable life, that was something he had to avoid.

[I'm sorry, my King. I didn't know your situation, and…]

"Well, you had no way of knowing, so it's okay."

They were in a building that was near the apartment where KangWoo lived.

Balrog was easily five meters tall, so he couldn't let him into his home. That's why KangWoo bought a building and modified it so Balrog could stay there.

KangWoo sat inside a building with a ceiling that was three stories tall.

Balrog dropped his head as he knelt.

[I never thought that the Demon King would make a plan to deceive humans.]

"Deceive? What are you talking about?"

[Hmm? Wasn't you acting as a warrior of light a plan to hit the humans from behind?]

"Don't say nonsense."

KangWoo sighed and shook his head.

What kind of nonsense was he saying? After all, he was trying really hard to protect Earth.

KangWoo explained his goal to Balrog.

[The Archdukes revived…? N-no, more than that… Demon King! Why would someone as grand as you protect weaklings like humans?! You must conquer this world and make everyone your underlings!]

"I'm not interested," he said with a bored voice.

"We fought for a really long time, and now I want to rest a bit."

[Hng…]

"Well, you're a demon, so you probably won't understand."

Demons didn't understand the concept of peace and safety.

They were a race that lived eternal lives, so they were genetically not able to think in such a way.

'If they could think that way, they would grow rapidly in number.'

* * *

Demons also reproduced and left descendants.

Among demons, there were also some that were capable of asexual reproduction.

If they were a race that wanted peace and safety, there would probably be almost a hundred billion demons in Hell.

'I'm not sure how angels do it, but demons maintain balance by killing each other.'

He wasn't sure who had made demons, but he couldn't help but think they’d done a meticulous job.

Of course, even among demons, there were few that wanted to live a peaceful life, but they were the minority. Most of them liked fighting and stepping on their opponents.

And Balrog was among that 'most' group.

"You aren't trying to go against my will, right?"

[Of course not.]

Balrog bowed his head.

He instinctively craved destruction and conquest, but there was someone that was above such instincts—that someone was his master, KangWoo.

Balrog was someone who wouldn't hesitate to risk his life if it were for KangWoo.

[If the Demon King wishes for peace, then I'm going to kill all of your enemies so that they won't be able to interrupt your rest.]

"Wah… Well, okay. Anyway, since I finished explaining my situation, let me ask a few things."

[Yes.]

"Did anything happen while I was gone from Hell?"

He wasn't worried about the forces that he'd left behind.

'Ancient demonic monsters.'

What he heard from Doomguard…

He had heard the news that ancient demonic monsters, creatures that never left their territory, had begun trying to expand their areas.

Since the Demon Cult members had begun summoning demons from the 9th hell, he thought that it would be better if he heard more about that.

[There's something I wanted to tell you…]

Balrog's expression distorted.

[I think that Amon is planning something.]

"Amon?"

He frowned.

Amon…

Amon had been in Satan's faction but ended up deserting and joining KangWoo.

He had low physical capabilities but had a lot of knowledge related to magic.

He was also the one who helped KangWoo use Hell's equipment to create a dimensional rift that led to Earth.

"What does that mean?"

KangWoo narrowed his eyes.

Thick killing intent could be felt coming out from him.

Balrog trembled a bit. He raised his head and looked into KangWoo's eyes.

He could see the black pupil and white sclera.

[I'm also not exactly sure. It isn't that I have evidence… but after Demon King left for Earth, he locked himself up in his room and hasn't come out since.]

"But he's always been like that."

[But this time is quite serious. I haven't seen his face since you left for Earth. I even tried to force myself in, but he'd blocked the door with a strong barrier.]

"He blocked the door?"

KangWoo narrowed his eyes.

It was definitely weird.

'Well, he wasn't someone trustworthy from the beginning.'

The reason why he'd accepted Amon as an underling was because only he knew how to use Hell's equipment to create a fissure.

"Did he betray us…?"

[I'm not a hundred percent sure, but it's true that, after he locked himself up, the ancient demonic monsters began acting strange. We've even seen the Behemoth moving.]

The Behemoth…

It was one of the strongest ancient demonic monsters and was also the father of 'Leviathan,' one of the seven archdukes.

'The Leviathan was a crossbreed of an ancient demonic monster and a demon.'

There was not much known about the Behemoth besides the fact that it was Leviathan's father.

KangWoo had never seen him moving during the ten thousand years he was in Hell.

"Damn."

He felt uneasy.

But what was even more unpleasant than that uneasy feeling was that he couldn't do anything about it.

'It's not like I can return to Hell.'

He couldn't summon them and get rid of them, but it was also impossible for him to return to Hell.

'Fuck. I don't even want to return.'

He'd gone through all sorts of difficulties to return to Earth.

He really didn't want to go back to Hell.

"What about the others? I heard from Doomguard that he's investigating this."

[Doomguard and Argus are investigating but haven't been able to find the exact reason.]

"Damn."

He never thought he would have to worry about the Hell of Nine Skies after returning to Earth.

'If I knew things would turn out like this, I would've killed Amon before coming here.'

Although he'd thought that, he knew it didn't make sense.

He thought that, after returning to Earth, he would have nothing to do with Hell from that point onward. He'd never thought of the possibility of there being Gates or a Demon Cult.

'Right now, the only thing I can do is to grow my strength.'

He narrowed his eyes.

There was nothing else he could do to deal with the situation.

'I wasn't able to reach 130 in a stat.'

The Demon Cult was probably going to back off for a while after failing with Balrog's summon.

'Do I have to wait until Lucifer's forces attack the Demon Cult?'

The only thing he could think of at the moment was to wait until Lucifer's crossed to Earth from the Ernor continent and then ambushed them.

"Haa…"

He took a deep breath.

His head hurt.

'I hope something more complicated doesn't happen.'

He felt that his head was about to explode.

[But rather than that, Demon King…]

"Yes?"

Balrog looked around.

[Where's Lilith?]

"What do you mean? She's probably in Hell."

KangWoo shook his head as if he didn't even want to hear about that.

[Yes?]

Balrog tilted his head in confusion.

[But Lilith came to Earth before me…]

"What?"

KangWoo's eyes widened.

"What the fuck?"

‘She's already on Earth? ‘