00673 3. Meanwhile, at the same time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oppa! Oppa!”

A faint voice calling me. Drawn by that sound, I slowly opened my eyes and immediately realized I had been in a very deep sleep. A sudden wave of dizziness swept over my forehead, and my whole body felt heavy and sluggish.

As my blurry vision gradually focused, what I saw wasn’t a gray sky or a dark one.

It was a red sky. The moment I registered that, I jerked upright—and right beside me, a woman let out a sharp scream and collapsed. Turning my gaze in surprise, I saw Kim Hanbyul sitting on her backside, looking at me with wide, teary eyes.

“Why?”

“…Isn’t that a question you should be asking me?”

When I asked why she was staring at me like that, Kim Hanbyul gave me a look of disbelief.

I shook my head hard and looked around. Though I was still a bit dazed, two questions came to mind.

First, where exactly am I? And second, why did I wake up here?

As far as I remembered, I had been watching the changes in the Infernal World and then drifted off to sleep.

“Hmph. While you were asleep, that woman was up to something.”

At that moment, Hwajeong’s voice echoed in my head.

“She dressed you carefully, step by step. Moved you cautiously, afraid you might wake up. Completely absorbed in it, too. Hmph!”

Her sharp tone stabbed at my mind somehow. But thanks to that, one mystery was solved. So, Gehenna must have carried me while I was asleep and moved me to this area. And she brought me to where Kim Hanbyul is?

“Oppa, are you feeling more awake now?”

Just as I was sorting through my thoughts, Kim Hanbyul stood up and approached me, asking. Meanwhile, Hwajeong’s nagging voice continued in the background, but I decided to focus on Kim Hanbyul and nodded slowly.

“Are you really okay?”

Kim Hanbyul tilted her head, looking puzzled.

“Huh? Okay?”

“Don’t you remember? You were carried here by that person. You were completely out cold.”

“Oh… uh, yeah. I guess so.”

“…What exactly happened? I was worried waiting all day yesterday.”

Hmm. Maybe it’s better to change the subject here.

“Just talked about a lot of things. It was tough. By the way, where is this place?”

“Talking was tough…? Oh, this is the area where I’ve been living while you were unconscious.”

“Living area?”

“Yes. Luckily, that person temporarily assigned me this zone. Other than having nothing here, it’s not too bad.”

I mulled over Kim Hanbyul’s words for a moment. But no matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t make sense of it. Because, honestly, there really was nothing around. Just a vast, red wasteland, like when I first opened my eyes in Hell. And what did she mean by “temporary zone assignment”?

“I’m telling you, it’s not so bad here.”

Reading my expression, Kim Hanbyul smiled knowingly and continued.

“Think about it. You’ve been sleeping soundly without waking up even once until just now.”

Hmm. Now that I think about it, I did sleep pretty well. That actually makes some sense.

“I told you before, this world doesn’t have the concept of a home.”

By now, Kim Hanbyul had quietly sat down beside me, grinning. Is she really that happy just to be talking with me?

Anyway, I think I managed to steer the conversation well, but suddenly I realized how little I actually knew. To make sense of the situation I’m facing, I need to learn more.

With that in mind, I quietly spoke.

“Hanbyul.”

“Yes?”

“Could you tell me more, in detail?”

“Of course. What do you want to know?”

A long time ago.

Right after the initiation ritual began, Kim Hanbyul came to me and summarized the discussions among the prospective users. Back then, I thought she was a really good speaker, and this time was no different.

To sum it up, Hell is divided into eight sections, each considered its own world. That much I already knew.

But when she started talking about the “Atop,” things I didn’t know began to surface.

First, the Atop isn’t just a simple structure—it’s a kind of transportation that allows movement between sections. Any demon from any section can use the Atop without restriction. However, access to each section is limited. In other words, each demon can only enter certain sections.

For example, the section I’m currently in, called “Great Scorch,” is under the jurisdiction of the Hell Grand Duke. Only demons of legion commander rank or higher can enter this area.

Moreover, there are 66 Hell Legion Commanders in total, and it’s rare for anyone below Great Scorch to enter this section. (Hearing there are 66 of them confirmed my vague suspicions about the identities of the Hell Legion Commanders. Thinking of Vivian made it clear.)

Kim Hanbyul emphasized the difference between jurisdiction and access. Just as Gehenna oversees the seventh section, there are entities assigned to govern sections one through six. Those entities are the Legion Commanders.

After hearing this, I could somewhat understand the world of Hell. It’s basically a matter of territory.

Even if a demon can enter a section, they can’t roam freely everywhere within it. To move around, they need permission from the governing entity. The “temporary zone assignment” Kim Hanbyul mentioned earlier refers to this. In other words, it’s Gehenna’s favor to keep other demons from meddling.

A little later.

“Phew. This is tough.”

Kim Hanbyul rubbed her chin and sighed, speaking longer than before. Though some of my questions were answered, many more still piled up. But I decided to stop asking for now. She’s only been here a bit longer than me; she probably doesn’t know everything either.

…Though I’m really curious about the forge and the library. How on earth do such structures exist in Hell?

“But, Oppa.”

Just as I was debating whether to ask another question, Kim Hanbyul stopped rubbing her chin and spoke.

“I’m curious too. What exactly did you talk about with that person for so long? And why were you carried here unconscious?”

Her questions made me feel even more awkward.

Right, I can’t just say, “We had sex,” here.

“What? What kind of tough conversation made you pass out like that…?”

Kim Hanbyul looked genuinely curious and subtly pressed me.

This is driving me crazy. And I can’t exactly say it was a ‘conversation of the body,’ either.

Then—

Clink, clink…

Just as suspicion crossed Kim Hanbyul’s face, the sound of metal striking metal came from somewhere. I quickly turned my head and saw a savior—or rather, a knight clad in black armor—approaching.

“Wow. They said you’d be awake by now, and here you are, really up.”

The one striding forward with an irritating voice was the skeleton knight I had met recently at the Atop with Gehenna.

“Hello, miss.”

“Hello.”

The skeleton knight bowed politely toward me, then raised his heavy metal gauntlet to Kim Hanbyul, who stood and returned the greeting. Feeling awkward just standing there, I also rose and spoke with relief.

“So we meet again. You’re the Third Legion Commander, right?”

“Yes. The name I was given here is Be, Hi, Mo, S, Jo.”

For some reason, the skeleton knight—Behemoth—spelled out his name one syllable at a time. …Honestly, I had forgotten.

Feeling a bit embarrassed for some reason, I cleared my throat and continued.

“I see. By the way, did you come here under the orders of Gehenna, the Hell Grand Duke?”

“Oh? Yes, that’s right. How did you know?”

“You said you expected me to be awake by now. I guessed from that.”

“Wow, sharp as always. And you say ‘you’ so formally. You should lower your tone now. From now on…”

At that moment, Behemoth trailed off, looking at me. I tried to send a silent message to Kim Hanbyul with a sideways glance, hoping she’d catch on. Then, inside his helmet, Behemoth’s glowing eyes flickered, and he clicked his bony teeth together. Was he laughing?

“From now on…?”

“…Yes. From now on, you’ll need to go somewhere for a while.”

Kim Hanbyul asked in a puzzled voice, and Behemoth smoothly continued.

“But why lower your tone…”

“The Grand Duke is waiting. You can talk on the way.”

Behemoth cut off Kim Hanbyul and pointed in the direction he had come from.

Watching Behemoth turn around, I felt something like admiration. This guy—or rather, this skeleton—is pretty sharp. He’s got good instincts.

Anyway, since he’s helping me like this, I couldn’t just ignore him. I started following Behemoth at a brisk pace. Behind me, I heard Kim Hanbyul grumble something, but soon I felt her quietly trailing along.

‘Is she doing this on purpose, knowing what’s going on?’

About five minutes after leaving the spot where I woke up, following the skeleton knight—

“We’re on our way to where the Grand Duke is.”

When I asked where we were headed, Behemoth, who had been walking ahead, subtly slowed his pace and replied. No, you skullhead, I already told you that earlier.

Maybe noticing my expression, Behemoth clicked his teeth again.

“What’s there to worry about? Surely we wouldn’t harm someone so kind to us. Ha ha ha.”

“Kind to us? What do you mean?”

Just then, Kim Hanbyul quickly cut in. She’d probably been steeling herself since we left earlier, determined this time to get an explanation. Her intensity made me a little uneasy, but Behemoth calmly nodded in response.

“Yes. Kind indeed. This person here soothed our Duke.”

…Huh? ‘Soothed’? That choice of words sounds pretty loaded. Could it be that now, at this point, they’re trying to mess with me?

“S-Soothed? From what I heard, you just had a conversation. A very difficult conversation, mind you.”

Kim Hanbyul, sensing something off in the tone, strongly objected.

“Hmm… a difficult conversation, huh? Well, that’s not exactly wrong.”

Behemoth suddenly bowed his head toward me and whispered, “A conversation of the body. Mm-hmm.”

…This skull. Not only does he think like me, it’s like we’re on the same wavelength. If we shared the same user, we’d probably be best friends.

“What do you mean by that…?”

“Because our Duke has spent a very long time in loneliness.”

Despite Kim Hanbyul’s persistence, Behemoth responded clearly and calmly.

Kim Hanbyul shook her head, clearly not understanding.

“B-But…?”

“It’s simple. This person possesses something that captivates the Duke’s interest. By having a deep conversation about that something, they eased the Duke’s loneliness. That’s why they’re a person to be grateful for.”

“Still… I just don’t get it. How can one conversation make someone so grateful? Even an invitation?”

“Well, from a human perspective, I can see why you’d think that. I understand. But imagine having to endure the boredom you felt here for thousands of years to come.”

The moment he said that, Kim Hanbyul looked like she had no words left. I couldn’t help but admire him silently. Wow. To shut down such a suspicious mind with words alone. Of course, if you dug deeper, there might be room for objection, but even that was cleverly dismissed as ‘a human perspective.’

Having knocked Kim Hanbyul out with his reasoning, Behemoth shrugged his armored shoulders and sidled up close to me. Hmm. I appreciate it, but it’s a bit much.

“Anyway, put your doubts aside and relax. The Duke probably called you here to express his gratitude.”

Behemoth whispered this, his eyes briefly dimming before flashing brightly again. I tilted my head, wondering how to interpret that expression.

“Gratitude?”

“Ah, don’t worry. You know how straightforward our Duke is, right? You’ve experienced it yourself… Ha ha ha. Anyway, he won’t just say thank you with words.”

“No, it’s not that. I just don’t understand why suddenly a thank-you…”

“Oh? You don’t know?”

Behemoth opened his mouth wide and let out a whistle-like breath.

“Huh. You haven’t heard? The one who fulfilled the Duke’s thousand-year wish, and yet this is the reaction…”

“……?”

“Surely you haven’t seen the changes in the Mugan Zone?”

“…Ah!”

At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.

A wish.

Changes in the Mugan Zone.

“The Mugan Zone is where the birth and death of a king happen together.”

Behemoth continued. Now that I thought about it, the Hell Duke had said something similar.

Only now did I fully understand.

From the moment a king’s life begins to stir, changes in the Mugan Zone also start. The red glow I saw before falling asleep was a kind of signal announcing the birth of a new Mugan world.

In other words, I had succeeded in impregnating the Hell Duke.

Yeah. That’s it.

…Wait a minute. Then why hadn’t the Hell Duke told me this?

Just as this new question popped into my head—

“Oh. We’ve arrived.”

Suddenly, a voice announced our arrival. I stopped walking and looked up.

---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------

An extra story? I think it’ll be finished by next week. Hehe. :)