After Ten Millennia in Hell

Oh Kang-Woo\'s eyes widened in surprise.

The woman in the wheelchair was Gaia… the leader of Guardians and the being whom Kang-Woo thought was related to the system that was sealing his Ten Thousand Demon Core.

\'I can\'t believe I\'ve met her at a time like this.\'

He\'d guessed that he would meet her eventually if he stayed with Kim Si-Hun… but he hadn\'t expected that it would be this soon.

\'I never imagined she would make a move herself.\'

Gaia was the leader of Guardians, so he thought he would only meet her after he got a bit closer to the Protectors.

\'Is Si-Hun that important?\'

In Kang-Woo\'s opinion, Si-Hun\'s talent was far superior to that of Alec Osborne. This meant that Si-Hun could be special even among Guardians.

\'Or…\'

Kang-Woo lowered his gaze.

\'They\'re that desperate.\'

The Gaia System was getting weaker, and the Demon Cult was like a ticking time bomb. Guardians weren\'t in a situation where they could stay still.

\'But…\'

Kang-Woo looked at Gaia.

Despite Gaia\'s position as the leader of Guardians, Kang-Woo couldn\'t feel any sort of power from her.

\'Maybe she isn\'t related to the system?\'

Their names could just happen to be the same. That was the worst possible outcome from all of the options he could think of.

\'The name Gaia is quite rare.\'

Kang-Woo had to hear her explanation first before jumping to conclusions.

He focused on Gaia\'s words as Gaia continued speaking.

"So, you\'re the person that Protector Kim Si-Hun spoke of," Gaia said, turning her head to Kang-Woo.

Her eyes were still closed. However, Gaia\'s expression hardened for a moment. Then it relaxed.

"Nice to meet you. I\'ve heard about you from Grace. You\'re Protector Kim Si-Hun\'s sworn brother, right?" Gaia asked.

\'I guess she can\'t recognize it,\' Kang-Woo thought.

There was no need for him to think deeply about why her expression had hardened for a moment. The answer was that Protectors subconsciously felt a bit of repulsion toward beings from the Rift.

\'But that feeling isn\'t that strong.\'

Si-Hun and Alec had also felt a sense of repulsion toward Kang-Woo, but they hadn\'t acted upon it. That meant that the feeling of repulsion was very vague.

Kang-Woo had been worried that Gaia would be able to figure out his identity immediately, but that didn\'t seem to be the case.

\'What a relief.\'

If Gaia had discovered that he was the Rift Core, things would\'ve become problematic.

Kang-Woo nodded and replied, "Yes. I\'m Si-Hun\'s sworn brother."

"Hoho. A sworn brother in this day and age… That\'s a kind of relationship you don\'t see often."

"Hyung-nim is someone more important than family to me. I respect and admire him more than my biological brother," Si-Hun expressed in a firm voice.

Respect shouldn\'t even be mentioned. Si-Hun despised his biological brother, so he wasn\'t exaggerating.

\'You\'re embarrassing me, man,\' Kang-Woo thought.

Why was Si-Hun saying that so passionately? It almost sounded like a love confession.

Gaia turned her head to Si-Hun.

"Fufu. You\'re a very passionate person, Protector Kim Si-Hun."

"Pardon? No, I wouldn\'t go that far…"

Si-Hun shook his head while flustered.

Gaia smiled and said, "I can tell how clean and beautiful your soul is… and what it is that you\'re trying to obtain to the point of setting that soul ablaze."

"…"

Upon hearing those words, Si-Hun remained silent.

Gaia slowly reached out toward him, but she couldn\'t find the right direction, and her hands wandered around.

Grace McCubbin, who had been standing behind her, took a step forward.

"This way, Gaia."

"Ah. Thank you, Grace."

Gaia followed Grace\'s guidance and extended her hand toward Si-Hun.

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.

\'She really must be blind.\'

Well, there was no point in having her eyes closed all the time if she wasn’t blind.

Gaia touched Si-Hun and expressed, "I know what conflict you\'re going through… your hardships and anguish, but I\'m on your side. I want to be by your side and support your wishes."

"Gaia…"

Si-Hun\'s eyes widened. He trembled as if he\'d been struck by lightning.

Gaia laughed and said, "Even though my body is as hideous and ruined as this, I want to help you. Would that be too much?"

"H-Hideous? That\'s not true!" Si-Hun quickly shouted.

Kang-Woo laughed while looking at them.

\'My, aren’t you two having fun?\'

Anyway, he\'d obtained some information.

\'A ruined body.\'

Kang-Woo looked at Gaia, who was sitting in a wheelchair. He could somewhat understand what she meant.

\'She\'s injured.\'

After taking a closer look, he could tell that Gaia’s ruined body wasn’t due to a physical defect she\'d been born with. She\'d probably suffered a huge injury and could not move about unless she was in a wheelchair. It was likely due to a similar reason that she was unable to see.

\'I guess it isn\'t just the name that\'s the same.\'

After finding out that Gaia was injured, Kang-Woo thought of the Gaia System—the world\'s defense system, which was getting weaker. It made sense that she was severely injured if she was somehow related to the system.

"More importantly, let\'s get to the main issue at hand," Kang-Woo interrupted, lightly pulling Si-Hun back.

There was something that Kang-Woo had to check.

"If you want to have Si-Hun join Guardians, please give us the exact details about the goal and situation of Guardians," he said dryly.

Kang-Woo couldn\'t let Si-Hun join a group whose goal he didn\'t even know about. To build a good relationship with them, he first needed to know what their ultimate goal was.

"I understand. I will explain to you step by step. Please take a seat," Gaia replied.

After Kang-Woo and Si-Hun sat down, Gaia continued speaking.

"Have you heard of the Gaia System?"

"…"

There was silence.

Kang-Woo\'s gaze wavered as he thought, \'She\'s getting straight to the point.\'

The worst-case scenario he\'d imagined about only Gaia merely having the same name as the Gaia System did not actualize.

\'I\'m not sure what kind of relationship they have, but…\'

There was a clear connection between Gaia and the Gaia System.

"Ah," Si-Hun uttered and nodded. "Yes. I\'ve heard of it. When I awakened as a Protector, I got a message saying that I was chosen to supplement the Gaia System."

"Yes. Every person who awakened as a Protector received that message."

"Could it be… Did you send that message, Gaia?" Si-Hun asked while gulping.

The names Gaia and Gaia System… Si-Hun also thought the two were related.

\'Well done, Si-Hun!\'

Kang-Woo clenched his fists. Si-Hun had asked what Kang-Woo wanted to know the most.

"No." Gaia shook her head. "I wasn\'t the one who sent it."

"Then…"

"First, I think I should give more details about what the Gaia System is," Gaia said with a smile. "Si-Hun, Kang-Woo, do you two believe in otherworldly beings?"

"By otherworldly… do you mean like other worlds that appear in manhwa and anime?"

"Yes, the beings of Hell that the Demon Cult is summoning are beings that have crossed over from a different dimension."

"Ah."

"It isn\'t just Hell. Numerous dimensions are interconnected. The Gates you are used to are passageways that connect those dimensions."

"I… see."

Si-Hun nodded in confusion after hearing a story of such an absurd scale that it was hard to understand.

Gaia calmly continued, "You can think of the Gaia System as a barrier that protects Earth from otherworldly invasions."

"In that case, Gaia, you are…"

"I am the Gaia System\'s… Fufu, what would be a good word? Incarnation? Agent? Fragment?"

It seemed like Gaia herself couldn\'t exactly define what she was either.

"Ah, I\'ve heard that there is a profession called ‘miko\' in Japan, referring to women who serve gods. Translated, I guess it would be a female shaman. It\'s not a perfect term for what I am, but it\'s close enough."

"You’re an incarnation…?"

"It’s not as grand as it sounds. I can influence the system a tiny bit, but it consumes an astronomical amount of my power, and there are many restrictions on what I can do."

"…"

"Hmm. It might be a bit hard to understand. Ah, when the Demon Cult incident happened in Korea, I interfered with the system and sent a message to you, Si-Hun."

"Oh, back then…"

Si-Hun\'s eyes widened. He recalled the sudden quest window that had seemed to be written by someone, unlike the regular system windows sent by the Gaia System.

Gaia made a self-deprecating smile and stated, "That\'s the extent of the things I can do."

\'I see,\' Kang-Woo thought with a bright gaze.

He now knew what kind of relationship Gaia had with the Gaia System.

\'The incarnation of the Gaia System.\'

However, her role and authority were incredibly limited. From his point of view, it was a bit disappointing.

\'If she had more authority, she might be able to lift the seal.\'

The most disappointing thing was the seal of his Ten Thousand Demon Core. Just unsealing it would have changed everything.

\'I guess it won\'t be that easy.\'

Kang-Woo frowned. He didn\'t like the situation, but there was nothing he could do about it.

\'It\'s okay.\'

It wasn\'t like relying on the Gaia System was the only way to weaken the Ten Thousand Demon Core\'s seal.

Leaving the disappointment behind, Kang-Woo focused his gaze on Gaia.

"Then, is the goal of Guardians to take over the Gaia System\'s role and defeat those otherworldly beings?" Si-Hun asked.

"Yes."

\'As expected.\'

Kang-Woo nodded. It matched perfectly with what he had expected their goal to be.

"But Guardians has another goal."

\'Huh?\'

"What is it?"

"Fuuu."

Gaia took a deep breath before saying, "The ultimate goal of Guardians is… to kill the Demon of Prophecy."

\'What the hell is that?\'

"The Demon of Prophecy?"

"Yes. Five years ago… on the Day of Calamity, I received a revelation." Gaia clenched her hands into fists and recited the revelation that the Gaia System had sent her that day. "The advent of the Demon of Prophecy will plague the land in the near future."

\'The Demon of Prophecy, huh?\'

"For that demon will be the lord of Hell."

\'Huh? Wait.\'

“The lord of Hell will destroy this world and drown it in darkness."

\'Don\'t tell me…\'

"Gather the Protectors and kill the Demon of Prophecy to protect this world."

\'Is the Demon of Prophecy me?\'

Gaia trembled as she said the last part of the revelation, "The Demon of Prophecy is the master of the Demonic Sea with 666 different Authorities. Face him with the full force of the Protectors… That was the revelation I had received."

"…"

There was a heavy silence.

Kang-Woo covered his face with his hands.

\'It really is me. Fuck me.\'