After Ten Millennia in Hell

[Enough!] Kim Jae-Hyun\'s urgent voice rang out from the crystal orb.

Kang-Woo lifted his foot from Yeong-Hun\'s ankle.

"Sniff… Sniff." Yeong-Hun, who had likely never felt pain like that before, cried while hugging his ankle, which had been twisted in a weird direction.

Oh Kang-Woo calmly spoke toward the crystal orb, "Twenty minutes. If I don’t see you in twenty minutes, I\'ll crush his other ankle."

His voice contained no hint of mercy or compassion. Rather, Kang-Woo\'s tone suggested that he was enjoying the situation, and that made Jae-Hyun even angrier.

Jae-Hyun said murderously, [I don\'t know who you are. I don\'t know what you want. If you are trying to get a ransom from me, I can tell you it’s too late for that. I will look for you, I will find you... and I will kill you.]

Kang-Woo smirked at those words and replied, "Good luck."

Crack.

The crystal orb shattered, and its pieces fell onto the ground.

"Right... Now, then," Kang-Woo said.

He turned toward Yeong-Hun, who was trembling. Yeong-Hun looked up at Kang-Woo with a pale face. He was so terrified that he couldn’t even feel the sharp pain in his ankle.

"S-Spare me! P-Please! I-Is it money you want? If I could just talk to my father, I can get you as much as you—!"

"Money sounds good, but that\'s not what I\'m after."

Kang-Woo crouched down next to Yeong-Hun. He was smiling so serenely that it was hard to believe he had just mercilessly crushed someone\'s ankle. In such situations, it was even scarier to see someone with unwavering emotions.

Yeong-Hun trembled.

With a fearful voice, he asked, "Th-Then, wh-what do you want?"

"Peace on Earth," Kang-Woo answered without hesitation.

Yeong-Hun bit his lips doubtfully; he seemed to think Kang-Woo was lying.

"D-Don’t bullshit me and just tell me what you want!"

"Wow, you don\'t believe me?"

Kang-Woo looked at Yeong-Hun disappointedly.

Kang-Woo\'s goal was the eradication of the Demon Cult. Leaving the process aside, he wasn\'t lying about the end goal… because the Demon Cult was trying to turn Earth into Hell.

"All right, let’s get ready," Kang-Woo said.

"R-Ready for what...?"

Kang-Woo extended his hands toward Yeong-Hun\'s head.

Yeong-Hun screamed hysterically, "P-Please!! S-Spare me! Please spare my life!"

"Don\'t turn me into a bad guy all on your own. I won\'t kill you."

"Th-Then…"

"We need to get ready to meet your father."

Upon hearing that, Yeong-Hun gulped. Hope seemed to return to his eyes.

His father—Kim Jae-Hyun, who was perfect in every sense of the word—would probably be able to save him from this situation.

Yeong-Hun thought, \'I don’t know how you think you’ll get away with this, but...\'

Yeong-Hun was sure that his father would destroy this man.

"I\'m glad," Kang-Woo said.

"... You’re glad?"

"Yeah."

A deep smile appeared on Kang-Woo\'s face. He placed his hands on top of Yeong-Hun\'s head and activated one of his 666 Authorities. An explosive amount of demonic energy entered Yeong-Hun\'s head.

"Kurgh! Guh!" Yeong-Hun groaned.

His eyes turned upside down, and he was foaming at the mouth.

Kang-Woo gazed at Yeong-Hun, who was trembling, and said, "I\'m glad Kim Jae-Hyun loves you."

A father\'s love for his son… Kang-Woo could sense it from Jae-Hyun’s anger.

"It\'s easy to use someone who has people they love," Kang-Woo added with a laugh.

* * *

After using an Authority on Yeong-Hun, Kang-Woo took him and the party out of the Gate. Once outside, he saw members of the Red Rose Guild and Hwarang\'s 3rd Squadron, whom he had contacted before attacking Yeong-Hun.

"Who are those people?"

"Huh? I-Isn\'t that Cha Yeon-Joo from the Red Rose Guild and the captain of Hwarang’s 3rd Squadron, Baek Hwa-Yeon?!"

Han Seol-Ah and Kang Tae-Soo\'s eyes widened in surprise.

"I\'ll explain later. First, take Si-Hun to a safe place," Kang-Woo said.

"B-But…"

As they walked away from the Gate, Cha Yeon-Joo approached them.

She called out, "Kang-Woo! I was wondering where you were. We couldn’t find you anywhere after you called us here."

Seol-Ah was surprised. She had only seen Yeon-Joo on the news, yet Yeon-Joo spoke like she knew Kang-Woo.

"K-Kang-Woo, you know the Red Rose Guild\'s guild master?" Seol-Ah asked.

"Sadly, yes," Kang-Woo replied.

"That\'s my line," Yeon-Joo said, glaring at Kang-Woo. She then turned her head to look at Seol-Ah. "Well... it seems like you know me. Who are you?"

"M-My name is Han Seol-Ah."

"Hmm," Yeon-Joo murmured as she gazed at Seol-Ah.

She looked at Seol-Ah from top to bottom and paused at Seol-Ah\'s breasts.

"Keh!" Yeon-Joo uttered with veins protruding on her forehead.

She took a deep breath and asked, "What\'s your relationship with Kang-Woo?"

"I-I should be the one asking you that question. And why do you address him so c-casually?" Seol-Ah replied, glaring at Yeon-Joo in the most intimidating way she could.

\'She doesn\'t look scary at all, though.\'

It was as if a cat had brandished its claws against a tiger.

Kang-Woo ended their strange war of nerves, "Let\'s leave introductions for later. There’s something more important than that right now. Seol-Ah, take the rest of the party members away with you."

"Ah…"

"Once it\'s over, I\'ll tell you everything at home."

"Okay, Kang-Woo."

Seol-Ah seemed a bit sad, but she nodded and left the Gate area with the other members.

Yeon-Joo turned her head to Kang-Woo, who was watching Seol-Ah walk away.

"So, where\'s the fish that took the bait?" Yeon-Joo asked.

"Here," Kang-Woo replied.

He threw Yeong-Hun, whom he had dragged along, to the floor.

Yeon-Joo\'s eyes shone brightly and said, "I had a feeling it was the Mir Guild."

"Were you expecting it?"

"It was just a feeling. After all, among the major guilds, they’re the only ones crazy enough to do something so insane."

Yeon-Joo\'s guess had been influenced by her personal feelings.

\'I remember something about them having bad blood,\' Kang-Woo thought as he recalled what he\'d heard from Kang Seong-Soo.

Yeon-Joo continued, "So, we just have to interrogate and get information out of him, right?"

"No. Kim Yeong-Hun is just a pawn. He probably won\'t know the exact details."

"Then..."

"I called Kim Jae-Hyun here. He\'ll be here within twenty minutes."

"...!"

Baek Hwa-Yeon\'s and Yeon-Joo\'s expressions hardened upon hearing that name.

"W-Wait! You called Kim Jae-Hyun here?" Yeon-Joo asked in surprise.

She looked at Yeong-Hun, who was unconscious on the floor. Then one thought crossed her mind.

Yeon-Joo said, "Don\'t tell me… you took Kim Yeong-Hun hostage?"

"I could sense his great love for his son."

"You crazy son of a..." Yeon-Joo uttered, looking at him in disbelief.

Interrogating Yeong-Hun was one thing, but calling Jae-Hyun here…?

"Kim Jae-Hyun won\'t stand for this," she stated.

"I wouldn’t have it any other way," Kang-Woo replied calmly.

"Haa... So, that\'s why you said to bring as many of our forces as possible," Yeon-Joo said with a sigh.

She didn\'t think they would be having an all-out war against the Mir Guild so out of the blue.

Yeon-Joo thought, \'It was bound to happen eventually, but...\'

They couldn\'t just leave the Mir Guild alone now that it was certain that the guild was connected to the Demon Cult. A war against the Mir Guild was an inevitable part of the process to eradicate the Demon Cult.

\'But I never thought that it would be now.\'

Yeon-Joo bit her lip lightly.

She hadn’t been able to bring all of their elite members because she\'d left as quickly as possible to look for Kang-Woo. It had been the same for Hwa-Yeon. The government would normally join forces with a major guild to tilt the odds in their favor, but the odds were fairly even in the current situation.

"Don\'t worry. It isn\'t going to be a difficult battle," Kang-Woo said calmly.

Hwa-Yeon spoke while frowning, "I\'m sorry, but neither Yeon-Joo’s guild nor my 3rd Squadron are fully present. There\'s no way that the battle against the Mir Gild won\'t be a difficult one. Aren\'t you being too hasty?"

"Hwa-Yeon, what happens when the commander of an opposing force charges at you completely devoid of reason?" Kang-Woo asked.

"... The fight would obviously end in our victory."

"Yes. That\'s what\'s going to happen," Kang-Woo replied as if he had foreseen the future.

Hwa-Yeon seemed confused and asked, "Are you saying that Kim Jae-Hyun will charge at us… completely devoid of reason?"

"A father\'s love for his son is unconditional," Kang-Woo stated with a shrug.

Yeon-Joo shook her head with a stiff expression and commented, "Even if Kim Yeong-Hun is a mindless idiot, Kim Jae-Hyun is different. He won’t lose his mind just because you’ve taken Kim Yeong-Hun hostage."

After all, Jae-Hyun was so calculative and cold that he could become the CEO of a colossal corporation like Mir Electronics.

Kang-Woo laughed lightly at her words and said, "No. He’ll charge at us."

"... Are you planning on destroying his son’s arms and legs in front of him or something?" Yeon-Joo questioned while looking at Yeong-Hun\'s right ankle.

Kang-Woo shook his head and smirked as he said, "Of course not. You seriously think Kim Jae-Hyun would lose his mind over something like that?"

"... Seriously, what are you planning on doing?" Yeon-Joo asked.

She got goosebumps while looking at Kang-Woo.

Without answering, Kang-Woo directed his eyes toward the road and said, "Looks like he\'s here."

"Ngh...?!"

Vroom!!

Around twenty SUVs raced into the area, destroying the barricade around the Gate\'s entrance.

Click.

The car door of one of the cars opened, and an expressionless middle-aged man got out of the car. The man, who had slicked-back hair, was emitting a suffocatingly powerful bloodlust.

"... I should have known you people were behind this," Jae-Hyun said, directing his strong bloodlust at Yeon-Joo and Hwa-Yeon. Then his gaze darted around the area. He remarked, "How reckless. Do you think that it\'s over just because you\'ve taken my son hostage?"

Jae-Hyun was quick to notice that the Red Rose Guild and the Hwarang Corps hadn\'t brought all of their forces.

Jae-Hyun\'s gaze burned with an intense bloodlust as he asked, "Where is the man I spoke to?"

"Over here," Kang-Woo answered, waving his hand as if he were greeting a friend.

Jae-Hyun\'s bloodlust grew stronger.

"I thank you for not running away," he said.

Click, click.

The doors of the other SUVs opened, and over two hundred members of the Mir Guild got out from the cars.

Jae-Hyun glared at Kang-Woo and asked, "So, where is my son?"

"Here, take him."

After saying that, Kang-Woo picked up Yeong-Hun and threw him over.

"Chairman!"

"Watch out!"

Two people immediately stepped in front of Jae-Hyun, thinking that a bomb might have been planted on Yeong-Hun.

Thump.

"…"

"What the..."

There was a heavy silence.

Unlike their expectations, nothing happened. Before Yeong-Hun landed on the ground, there was even a cloud of black smoke that appeared and cushioned his landing.

"... Step aside," Jae-Hyun ordered.

"Chairman, please wait. It might still be a trap—"

"I said, step aside."

Jae-Hyun pushed his subordinates aside and scooped Yeong-Hun up off the ground.

After picking his son up, Jae-Hyun trembled as he said, "I\'m not sure why you’ve done this, but..."

Enormous amounts of mana burst out from him and stormed his surroundings. Jae-Hyun glared at Kang-Woo with eyes filled with bloodlust.

"With this, you have no chance of victory. I will kill you in the worst way possible," Jae-Hyun declared while grinding his teeth.

"U-Urgghh..." Yeong-Hun came back to his senses right then.

"Yeong-Hun!"

Jae-Hyun withdrew his bloodlust and hugged his son. He softly caressed the cheek of Yeong-Hun, who was slowly opening his eyes. It was a scene that would move anyone who wasn\'t aware of what was going on.

"A-Ahh..." Yeong-Hun uttered when he opened his eyes completely.

He looked around and then fixed his gaze on Jae-Hyun, who was still hugging him. Yeong-Hun trembled in fear, but it wasn\'t in fear of Kang-Woo and the acts of ruthless violence that Kang-Woo had done to him.

His fear was… directed toward Jae-Hyun.

"Wh-Who are you... mister?"