After Ten Millennia in Hell

“Lucifer?”

Oh Kang-Woo looked down at the being who had flown out of the bushes and slammed into him.

‘The hell? Why did he appear out of there?’

Kang-Woo was left dumbfounded by Lucifer’s sudden appearance.

‘Fucking hell.’ A chill ran down Kang-Woo’s spine, but not because he feared Lucifer. ‘Why did he have to appear now of all times?’

Kang-Woo bit his lip. It would have been no problem if Kang-Woo were alone or with Lilith and Balrog. However...

‘What should I do?’

He was with Kim Si-Hun, Layla, and many others who didn’t know his true identity; not even his lover knew the whole truth about him. They also did not know the fact that Kang-Woo had been the one to create the persona of Lucifer, Lord of the Flies.

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck. This happened with Moab too. Why are there so many people fucking me over these days? Things haven’t been going my way at all. What did I do to deserve all of this shit? Huh? No one lives for a more pure and innocent purpose than me, so why do I have to go through all this?’

Riiing.

[The Law of Titans judges that it is a reasonable price that Player Oh Kang-Woo must pay for the countless evil acts he has comm—]

“The fuck you say?”

‘Do you wanna be bent into a question mark?’

[Player Oh Kang-Woo has acquired the buff ‘Just My Luck’ as a reward for his atrociously bad luck.]

‘Why does it sound like a debuff?’

Kang-Woo shooed away the blue windows popping up in front of him and frowned. The System had said some nonsense about Kang-Woo paying for the evil acts he had committed, but...

‘Well, I can’t deny that I’d sown the seeds.’

He had gone down a path that he could never return from several times regardless of whether he had intended to or not.

‘Shit.’

Kang-Woo turned his head to look at Si-Hun and Layla.

“Lucifer...!”

“Be careful, everyone!”

Si-Hun was fiercely emitting energy with his sword unsheathed and Layla was borrowing power from Gaia by praying to her. Every party member was filled with anxiety, but only for a moment; curiosity took its place soon after. It was only natural since Lucifer was stricken with fear as he stared at Kang-Woo as if he were prey in front of a predator.

“Wh-why are you here...?” Lucifer asked as he trembled.

“Is that really Lucifer?”

“He gives off a different vibe from before.”

The party members stared at Lucifer in astonishment. Lucifer was the demon who had infiltrated the imperial castle, massacred the nobles, and turned the capital into a sea of fire. He had also slaughtered countless angels in Sant’Angelo and had even acquired the infamous title of Lord of the Flies, but the way he was acting at the moment shamed his reputation.

‘Dammit.’ Kang-Woo bit his lip. ‘This isn’t good.’

There was a limit to how much Kang-Woo could ad-lib on the spot. He did not have to worry much since his party members trusted him unconditionally, but there was also a good chance that he would be put in a position that he couldn’t talk his way out of like when Si-Hun had regained his memories.

‘What should I do?’

As Kang-Woo’s thoughts were in jumbles...

“Sh-shit!”

Lucifer quickly turned around and ran away. Kang-Woo’s eyes shone.

‘Is the buff actually working?’

There was nothing better for Kang-Woo if Lucifer were to run away first. Kang-Woo did not go out of his way to stop Lucifer, who flew out of the party members’ field of view in a flash.

“H-hyung-nim!” Si-Hun quickly shouted.

“Kang-Woo nodded and replied, “Let’s split up and find him.”

He then turned his head to look at Lilith.

- Lilith.

- Yes, my king.

- Subtly create a disturbance to slow down their pursuit.

Of course, Kang-Woo had no intention of letting Lucifer run away; he was just trying to face Lucifer by himself and to do that, he needed to prevent his party members from catching up to him.

- As you command.

Lilith modestly bowed.

Kang-Woo turned to Si-Hun and said, “Si-Hun, you go this way, and I’ll search over there. Lilith specializes in pursuits like this, so do exactly as she says.”

“Okay!’ Si-Hun nodded.

Kang-Woo turned back from Si-Hun and ran in the direction where Lucifer ran off. He had run away far past Kang-Woo’s field of view, but it didn’t matter since Kang-Woo was better than anyone at chasing people just from the traces of demonic energy.

‘Not just that...’

He had no idea why, but Lucifer was severely injured. There was no way that he would be able to go far with those injuries.

Boom!

Kang-Woo flew across the giant forest using the Authority of the Sky. It did not take long until he could see Lucifer running away as blood dripped from where his wing was torn off. Kang-Woo flew down like a hawk hunting its prey and smashed the heel of his foot down on Lucifer.

“Kurgh!” Lucifer tumbled across the ground.

Kang-Woo walked up to him and remarked leisurely, “It’s been a while. How’ve you been?”

Since there was no one around, there was no need for him to put on an act.

“D-Demon King.” Lucifer looked up in pallor at Kang-Woo.

Kang-Woo smirked.

‘I haven’t felt like this in a while.’

The last enemy who remembered Kang-Woo’s past days in Hell was Satan.

“You’ve kept yourself hidden for quite a while now, but it looks like you’ve gotten your ass beat.”

Kang-Woo looked down leisurely at Lucifer. His left arm was torn off as if it had been eaten by something and one of his black wings that looked like those of a fallen angel had been torn off.

‘I heard he acquired Deific Essence.’

Not only that, but if a wing had not been ripped off, Lucifer would have twelve wings. Considering Lucifer only had eight back when he ruled as one of the princes of Hell, it meant that he had gained immense power after acquiring Deific Essence.

‘So who could’ve put him in this state?’

Although it varied, demons on average possessed extraordinary vitality, and it needed not even be mentioned for Lucifer, a prince of Hell who had risen to become a god. If Lucifer’s injuries were not regenerating, it meant that the being who had injured him was far more powerful than him.

“Kurgh.” Lucifer lowered his head as he bit his lip.

Such blatant mockery only brought humiliation to Lucifer as the Prince of Pride, but...

“S-spare me,” Lucifer stuttered.

He brought his head down on the ground. His extreme fear of the Demon King devoured any sense of humiliation he was feeling.

‘I have to live... whatever it takes. I can’t afford to die.’

Lucifer shut his eyes tightly and recalled a silver-haired woman smiling blankly as if something had broken within her.

‘Helen.’ Lucifer bit his lip and clenched his fists. ‘I swear to you... I will come back with Lucis.’

He needed to survive even if his title of Pride were to be thrown into the gutter.

“Wow. You’ve seriously changed a lot, Lucifer.”

Kang-Woo looked down at Lucifer in surprise. The Lucifer that he knew was not able to endure mockery; he truly befitted the title of the Prince of Pride.

‘To be fair, he wouldn’t be so prideful in front of me considering everything he went through because of me.’

Lucifer had survived until the final moments of the thousand-year war and witnessed Kang-Woo’s battle against Bael. His attitude was understandable if he was aware of the battle.

‘Though it looks like he also has other reasons.’

Kang-Woo looked down at Lucifer, who had his head on the ground, with great interest.

“What’s wrong, Lucifer? Hm? Why don’t you fight me again as you say shit like how I’m just a mere human?” Kang-Woo asked as he chuckled.

Lucifer shut his eyes tightly. He was boiling with rage, but he suppressed it with all his might. “If you are talking about back then... I-I apologize.”

Lucifer recalled the final battle that decided the one true ruler of the Nine Hells between Bael, the Prince of Gluttony, and the Demon King. And in that battle, the Demon King...

Chills ran throughout Lucifer’s body. He just barely managed to quell his trembles.

‘He’s a monster.’

Lucifer looked up at Kang-Woo with shaking eyes. The sight of the black sea that flooded the red earth, devouring countless demons with its monstrous teeth was engraved in his mind.

‘I mustn’t fight him.’

Lucifer could not afford to die.

“Dayum, are you sure you’re Lucifer? However scared you are, you were never one to grovel like this.”

Kang-Woo had honestly not expected Lucifer to beg for his life. Lucifer had acquired Deific Essence; Kang-Woo wasn’t sure how, but the amount of Divinity he could feel from Lucifer was on par with that of Tai Wuji. He likely was not highly restricted by the System since it was not something he was born with.

‘Even despite that, he’s acting this way?’

It was logically hard to understand.

“Hmm.” Kang-Woo crossed his arms and fell into thought.

There were two possible reasons why he was acting like this. He could have either been so traumatized by Kang-Woo’s past self or...

“You have a reason that you can’t afford to die,” Kang-Woo muttered.

“...”

“Haha, your face gives it all away.” Kang-Woo snickered. It was not difficult to figure out what the reason was. “You sure love your son, huh? Why didn’t you educate him better if you love him so much?”

“Kuh...” Lucifer bit his lip anxiously. He suppressed his boiling rage and bowed his head again. “I beg of you, Demon King. Please... Please let me see Lucis.”

“Pfft, bwahahahaha!!”

Kang-Woo burst into laughter as he grabbed his stomach. He couldn’t help it; how funny was it that the Prince of Pride’s head was full of love for his son?

Kang-Woo looked down at Lucifer and said with a smile, “Enough with the shitshow.”

“...”

“What? Is your Deific Name the God of Emotion or something? You’re so fucking emotional.” Kang-Woo slowly raised his foot and slammed it down on Lucifer’s head. “You think only your son is precious?”

Lucifer was known as the Evil God before Kang-Woo arrived on Aernor.

“You think your life is the only drama?”

Lucifer had likely killed countless people during his quest to earn Deific Essence, and those people likely had a reason that they couldn’t afford to die as well.

Kang-Woo spit on the ground.

“Enough bullshit and get the hell up.”

‘How dare you try to pull a pity show?’

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