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The Hell Duke’s tongue showed no sign of stopping. The moist sensation that had lingered on his lips soon traveled to my cheek, then over my nose, finally brushing against my eye.
Before I knew it, the Hell Duke’s gentle hand swept back my bangs, and his tongue even licked my forehead.
‘Huh?’
Only then did I begin to accept reality.
‘No wonder raindrops kept falling into my mouth in the dream…’
Turns out, it was the Hell Duke licking me, and that’s why I felt so wet.
‘No, wait. That’s not the real problem here.’
I looked up and saw the mysterious woman still “tasting” me.
The Hell Duke bit his tongue lightly, then moved it delicately, almost like a lioness grooming her cub. So…
“W-wait a minute!”
I shouted, and the relentless red tongue froze mid-motion.
“…Huh?”
The Hell Duke blinked wide-eyed, tilting his head as if to ask why. I tried my best to look flustered. But after tilting his head once more, he closed his eyes gently and slowly extended his tongue again.
“W-what are you doing?!”
I finally yelled and shoved the Hell Duke with all my might. But he didn’t budge. Instead, the force of my push sent me flying backward. After tumbling across the floor a few times, a dazed feeling settled over me, and I felt something warm trickling down the back of my neck. The sky above me was nothing but a deep, burning red.
‘This is… hell.’
Instinctively, I recalled the first time I fell into hell. Of course, I couldn’t be certain yet. But the sky I saw now was eerily similar to the hellscape I remembered.
“Seeing you move, it seems your body has recovered.”
Suddenly, a refined voice spoke. When I turned, the Hell Duke was standing with his arms crossed, watching me.
“You are…”
My mind was still a mess, so I trailed off. I had no idea what to say.
Come to think of it, there were more than a few strange things.
Is this really hell?
Why am I here?
Am I alive or dead?
And why was the Hell Duke licking me?
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
Suddenly, the Hell Duke stepped forward. Reflexively, I summoned my magic and braced myself. Though everything was still unclear, I had fought for my life before, so I couldn’t help but be wary of him.
“Why don’t you just stop?”
But the Hell Duke chuckled lightly and shook his head. Feeling tense, I quietly asked,
“What do you mean?”
“That fighting here is pointless.”
Shrugging, the Hell Duke continued with a serious expression.
“…Where exactly do you think you are, to challenge me here?”
His words silenced me. At least one question was answered: this place was definitely hell.
It made sense. If Helena had activated the spell to send the Hell Duke back, the destination had to be hell. And since I’d been here once before, it wasn’t surprising that hell existed in the whole plane.
But that wasn’t the important part.
If this really was hell, fighting the Hell Duke here was utterly meaningless. In the human world, I could somehow hold my own. When a being like the Hell Duke was summoned, his power was heavily restricted, while I was buffed in various ways.
But here, it was different. Hell was the Hell Duke’s home turf. He could unleash his full strength—and more if he wished. In other words, no matter how many times I died and came back, I couldn’t win.
That thought sent chills down my spine. I swallowed hard, relaxed my stance, and let my magic fade.
“Good, good. That’s the right attitude,” the Hell Duke said, finally satisfied. His sultry voice carried a hint of praise, which somehow stung my pride.
Though I’d lowered my guard, I still glared at him and asked,
“What’s going on here?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’s going on’? I don’t understand your question.”
“Don’t play games. Why didn’t you kill me?”
“…Hah!”
The Hell Duke covered his mouth with one hand and burst into a carefree laugh.
“Kill you? Me?”
“Don’t dodge the question…”
“Honestly, I don’t understand why you think that.”
“…?”
He laughed even louder, then calmed down and pointed a finger at me.
“Since we’re on the subject, I have a question for you too. …But first, won’t you sit down?”
The Hell Duke sat down gracefully, crossing his legs like a mermaid, and lightly tapped the ground as if inviting me to join him. Seeing such a mighty figure act so politely felt strangely unsettling.
…Anyway, his tone didn’t feel hostile, so I plopped down. I had a mountain of questions, and frankly, I wasn’t in a position to refuse a conversation.
After a moment, the Hell Duke fixed his gaze on me and spoke slowly.
“May I ask first?”
I nodded silently.
“Then why do you think I would kill you?”
What he said next made me question my ears.
“What…?”
“My words aren’t finished yet.”
I reflexively opened my mouth to interrupt, but he stopped me. After a short sigh, he continued.
“Think back carefully to that time. Really think about it. Do you honestly believe I truly fought you and the humans?”
“……”
“You were the one who charged at me first when I shouted ‘Wait!’ Yet I worried about you dying throughout the battle, tried to hold back against the desperate humans, and even shared my life force with you when you were near death. …After all that, you still don’t get it? Or are you pretending not to?”
“…Huh?”
At that moment, my body stiffened. Something about what he said felt off.
‘Alright. Let me think carefully.’
I gathered my scattered thoughts and focused. From the moment the Hell Duke was summoned…
Memories flashed through my mind.
‘Wait a minute…!’
‘…Why didn’t you just lie down?’
‘Don’t worry so much. Out of respect for you, I tried not to kill you unless absolutely necessary.’
‘I’ve made up my mind. No matter what it takes, I will claim you as mine. Whatever the cost.’
The more I thought, the clearer things became.
Sure enough, I had labeled the Hell Duke as an enemy from the start. That was largely because of my memories from the first time. The Hell Duke back then was the embodiment of hell itself. So naturally, I assumed it would be the same this time.
In other words, I believed the future might change, but some things wouldn’t.
But now that I thought about it, the Hell Duke in this second round was ruthless to the users, but unusually lenient with me. He had multiple chances to kill me but let them pass.
So why?
The questions piled up, but I decided to set my curiosity aside for now. It was better to solve the immediate mystery first. Besides, a sudden thought crept into my mind.
More importantly—
“Then could it be…”
“Could it be?”
The Hell Duke smiled knowingly and echoed my words. That only made my suspicion grow, and I felt my body trembling.
“Why exactly were you summoned here? You must have had a purpose for the ritual, right?”
Just before my suspicion turned into certainty, I shook my head desperately and blurted out. I suddenly felt frantic. Accepting the truth that came to mind made me feel unbearably sad.
“Huh? Not really any purpose.”
“…What?”
But then—
“I wasn’t summoned here by my own will. Someone forced me.”
“You mean someone forcibly summoned you to Atlanta?”
The moment the Hell Duke said that—
“Yeah. So… demons, I think?”
“……!”
It hit me like a hammer to the head.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Kim Soo-hyun: Getting ahead of yourself! This is exactly what getting ahead of yourself feels like!
X XX: Counting your chickens! This is exactly what counting your chickens feels like!
The intense battle with the Hell Duke and the story of subduing him… well, I think you all have guessed by now, right? Yes. That part hasn’t come yet. There’s no way I could write a scene where Kim Soo-hyun wakes up and immediately goes “yes, yes” like that. Ha ha ha.
Resolving the remaining questions.
Clarifying the mysteries surrounding the Hell Duke and Hwajeong.
The meeting with Kim Hanbyul.
Kim Soohyun’s mental awakening.
I believe I can only write after going through these four stages. It will probably take about three to four more chapters. Especially the fourth step is absolutely essential. Only then will there be a solid reason to enter Atlantis and move the story forward, so I kindly ask for the readers’ understanding.
With that, I hope everyone has a fiery Friday! :)