00645 A Dangerous Blind Date(?)
It had already been three days since we left the Iron Mountain Range behind. After the march on the third day ended, the entire expedition set up camp on the endless grasslands.
The past two days had been relatively easy, with no need to stand guard, but today my turn came around again. I wasn’t thrilled about having to keep watch so often, but since I was the one who insisted that everyone, regardless of rank, take turns on guard duty, I had no choice but to go without complaint. At least I was on the night shift, which was some consolation.
Crunch, crunch.
Snap, snap!
Through the deep night, the dying embers of the campfire flickered faintly. The previous guards must have been careless with the firewood; only small twigs remained.
I picked up a twig and tossed it into the fire, then quietly spoke.
“Hanbyul, thank you.”
Of course, I wasn’t talking to myself. I sensed someone cautiously approaching from behind. Since guard duty required at least two people, I was addressing the user who would be sharing the night shift with me.
“…”
As expected, the footsteps behind me faltered for a moment. But it was brief, and soon the footsteps came closer, and someone quietly sat down beside me.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not falling for that twice.”
A cold voice came from beside me. When I glanced over, I saw Kim Hanbyul glaring at me with a displeased expression. Naturally, I already knew she was my partner for tonight’s watch.
I smiled wryly and spoke.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You startled me with that sudden, random comment, trying to make me trip. I remember what happened last time.”
Oh no, she caught on. It seems the trick that worked once won’t work twice on her.
Still, I wasn’t just trying to joke around. I’d forgotten in the excitement of leaving the Iron Mountain Range, but I wanted to thank Hanbyul properly at least once. The good mood I was in now was all thanks to her advice. If I had hesitated even a little back then, I might have lost my brother to the awakened Kushan Thor.
I saw her lips pout slightly, so I decided to speak honestly.
“But I really am grateful.”
“Are you joking again?”
“No, I’m serious. Don’t you really know why I’m thankful?”
“…”
Only then did Hanbyul seem to realize I wasn’t just talking nonsense, and she relaxed her lips.
“Is it because of what I told you back then?”
She even hesitated before saying it. I smiled warmly.
“That too, and also for what you did back at Ganesha.”
“W-well… you already thanked me for Ganesha a while ago.”
She looked a bit shy and quickly averted her gaze. Seeing that, a playful urge rose in me, and I raised my voice in mock anger.
“So? Does that mean I’m not allowed to thank you again?”
“N-no, that’s not it…”
Hanbyul looked flustered, blinking rapidly as she scratched her cheek.
“You really don’t have to thank me that much…”
“Why? Do you think I’m some shameless person who doesn’t even know when to be grateful? Wow, I’m disappointed in you.”
“Ah, why are you like this today?”
“Hahaha.”
Eventually, the cornered Hanbyul frowned and pouted. I chuckled lightly and raised my hands in surrender. Surprisingly, teasing her was quite fun.
Hanbyul grumbled for a while with a very dissatisfied look, then fiddled with the ring on her left ring finger and spoke.
“Anyway, you don’t really have to thank me. If we’re counting, I should be thanking you dozens of times.”
“Huh? Dozens? Come on, that’s an exaggeration.”
I tilted my head, finding it hard to agree with “dozens” — a few times, maybe, but dozens?
Reading my expression, Hanbyul shook her head.
“It’s not an exaggeration… When I think about it, there are actually a lot of things I’m grateful to you for.”
“Like what?”
I asked quietly. Hanbyul seemed to ponder for a moment, then continued.
“Well… the rites of passage, the secret class… ah.”
Suddenly, she gasped in realization. But I caught the phrase “secret class…” before she changed the subject.
Hanbyul had the secret class of Jewel Mage. But I hadn’t given it to her; it was a class she only discovered the day before the graduation ceremony at the User Academy.
Before she could divert the topic, I quickly asked.
“By the way, how did you get that class?”
Hanbyul looked at me, clearly caught off guard.
Crack, crack!
Puff!
Ba’al’s neck didn’t just break—it was crushed. The Hell Duke’s terrifying grip squeezed the neck he held, bending it grotesquely. The twisted neck snapped mercilessly, separating the head from the body, which fell to the ground. The body, still suspended in midair, went limp.
Thud!
Roll, roll…
The head that tumbled to the ground finally stopped. Ba’al’s face was half-exposed, his eyes turned inside out. Everyone watching the Hell Duke—demons and fiends alike—swallowed hard.
Even considering Ba’al’s two lives, this was shocking. Who could have imagined that one of the Great Demons would die so pitifully?
Moments later, the Hell Duke gently released his grip, and Ba’al’s small body collapsed.
“I never thought such an attack would take me down… Seems I underestimated you.”
The Hell Duke brushed his hands off with grace, sounding regretful. Just then, blood droplets sprinkled from his hands onto Ba’al’s face.
“…Take them all down!”
Astaroth’s desperate roar echoed through the quiet Hell’s Backlands. The 14 Demon Lords and fiends immediately sprang into action.
The demon realm operated on absolute obedience from top to bottom. Fiends, as created beings, showed blind loyalty to their creators—the demons. So, with one of the Great Demons dead, it was only natural for them to go berserk, especially Ba’al’s subordinates.
But—
“Uoooooooh!”
The Hell Duke smiled faintly as the fiend army charged like a furious tidal wave. His calm, confident demeanor was unsettling.
Perhaps sensing this unease, Astaroth hurriedly moved his legs.
But his target wasn’t the Hell Duke. Astaroth ran toward the ruined watchtower, where Belzebub was just getting ready to join the fight.
“Belzebub!”
“Ke-Kel?”
“Jin! Don’t worry about anything else—just finish the formation!”
“What did you say?”
Belzebub asked, confused. But when he caught Astaroth’s cold, determined gaze, he fell silent. A memory of Satan’s joking words flickered through his mind.
“If a threat ever arises that could endanger us demons… Astaroth will probably be the last one standing.”
Belzebub calmly met Astaroth’s eyes. The Great Demon known as the “Demon of Wrath” was restraining his anger and carefully assessing the situation.
“Jin, finish the formation as quickly as possible! No matter what!”
Astaroth’s command was clear: focus solely on completing the dimensional transfer formation.
Belzebub, who was in charge of the formation, nodded in agreement.
“…Kel!”
With Belzebub’s consent, Astaroth turned to find Asmodeus. Then—
Vrrrrrrr!
“…?!”
Suddenly, Astaroth felt a violent tremor coursing through his body. Reflexively, he looked toward the center of the fiend assault, where the Hell Duke was erupting with explosive flames from head to toe. At the same time, everyone in the Hell’s Backlands, except the Hell Duke, saw their vision flood with a bright red hue.
Then, the Hell Duke clenched his slender hand tightly. In an instant, eight blazing streams of fire burst forth from his body, shining brilliantly as they began to explode.
Krrrrrrrrrrr!
The shattered fragments of fire coalesced into a storm, swirling wildly around him. The storm devoured the charging fiends greedily, then exploded again, scattering their bodies in all directions. Hundreds of fiends’ limbs and organs were flung through the air, burning red and breaking apart as they scattered.
“Ugh…!”
The Great Demons all gasped at the overwhelming destruction.
“Hahahahahahahaha!”
The Hell Duke laughed with ecstatic delight at the spectacular display of flames.
Then—
“…I, I…”
Suddenly, his laughter cut off abruptly. With eyes now steady and serious, he fixed his gaze on Astaroth. Then, raising his clenched fist toward the sky, he spoke.
“Did you think I climbed all the way up here just to deal with petty pests like you?”
The Hell Duke, who had gripped his delicate fingers tightly, suddenly spread them wide. The raging storm of fire around them began to subside, shrinking until it transformed into a single, long stream of flame. The Hell Duke flexed his hand sharply, as if cracking a whip.
The fiery whip flickered with a lively bounce, then shot upward like a roar tearing through the sky. It pierced through the blackened ashes that hung in the air, slicing cleanly through the void and leaving behind a long, glowing red trail.
And then—
Crackle, crackle!
The fiery whip had only brushed through empty space, yet from the glowing scar it left, an eerie sound of something splitting and tearing echoed out.
Was it a premonition of something ominous? Without realizing it, the demons looked up at the sky. Their eyes widened at the sudden, thick stench of sulfur and brimstone that filled the air. Then, stunned, they gaped at the spectacle unfolding above.
Crackle, crackle! Crackle, crackle!
Yes.
The sky was splitting apart.
A rift opened in the heavens, revealing a blazing inferno within. The widening crack grew to a size incomparable to the earlier circular disc.
At last, when the rift had torn open wide enough—
“Open, Gate of Gehenna.”
The Hell Duke parted his lips slightly, murmuring in a low voice. From that moment, figures began to emerge slowly from the fiery hellscape beyond the sky.
“…Damn it.”
The moment Astaroth caught sight of the approaching hellish army, a bleak light flickered in his eyes.
Meanwhile, elsewhere at the same time—
The Demon Realm.
“…We’ve just confirmed the clash with the Hell Duke.”
Belial’s report came through. Satan, who had been slowly raising his wine glass, paused and lowered his gaze. Under the unspoken pressure to continue, Belial spoke cautiously.
“Also, the humans on the northern continent are now just within reach of the city.”
“…Perfect timing.”
At last, Satan muttered softly.
“If we’d been any later… well, it wouldn’t have been a disaster, but the careful arrangements we made would have been wasted.”
“Wasted? The timing of sending them doesn’t really matter, does it? Whether now or later…”
“No, I’m not talking about the Hell Duke. I mean the Seed of the Demon.”
“Ah.”
Satan added calmly. Belial, finally understanding, let out a small exclamation and glanced aside. There, suspended in midair, was a demon wrapped tightly in chains, limp and lifeless.
“So, the seed will sprout soon.”
Belial said, watching the demon for a moment with a hint of regret in his tone. Satan slowly toyed with his glass, then chuckled softly.
“Can’t be helped. Since it was forcibly implanted, it’s bound to be different from a seed nurtured over a long time. …Well, anyway, this plan was meant to use it once and discard it.”
“That’s true.”
“Yes. Not much time left now. Just a little longer.”
“…Understood.”
Belial swallowed hard, about to speak, when Satan suddenly rose calmly from his seat.
“Since the opponent is the Hell Duke, variables will definitely arise. But if it’s Astaroth, he should be able to hold out until the true power is unleashed. Even if it costs him dearly.”
Then, without warning, he clenched his hand tightly. The innocent wine glass shattered into pieces, clinking as it fell.
“And any variables that occur… I will control them with my arrangements. Only then will the plan to launch the counterattack be complete.”
A strange smile crept across Satan’s face as he caressed the shards still in his palm. It was as if he found this whole situation amusing beyond measure.
Belial looked up at him with a meaningful gaze.
“I’m really looking forward to what happens next. I’m curious to see the expressions on those humans’ faces when they see the Hell Duke.”
Satan’s lips curled into a low, dark laugh.
“Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh…”
Moments later, a chilling laugh echoed through the dark space.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Kim Soo-hyun: Hey, Satan. You know that thing? Try it. That thing.
Satan: Uh~ Again…?
Kim Soo-hyun: Come on~! Hurry up~!
Satan: Uh, okay…
(A moment later, Satan, with a serious face.)
Satan: “And any variables that occur… I will control them with my arrangements… Only then will the plan to launch the counterattack be complete…”
Kim Soo-hyun: Ahahahahahahahahaha!
P.S. If you’re curious about the meaning of this note, just search “That thing, try it” on Naver. :)