“This is strange.”
Han So-young kept her eyes fixed on the devil circling in the sky.
Kim Yoo-hyun’s lightning bolts, crackling with electric energy, were relentlessly pursuing their target. Astaroth, who had been darting around frantically trying to shake them off, suddenly grimaced and twisted his body. Then, crossing his hands, he faced the stubborn streaks of lightning chasing him.
Rumble!
A dark red, circular barrier flared up in front of Astaroth. But just before the lightning bolts could strike, they exploded outward like fireworks in a perfect circle. The dozens of lightning strands scattered in all directions, then regrouped the moment they passed the barrier, pressing in on Astaroth from every side.
Eventually, Astaroth’s flight came to a halt. Watching his control reach its limit was surprising enough, but then he radiated energy from his entire body. The black flames he wielded were no weak force, and most of the lightning was either burned away or deflected. But the key point was that Astaroth—who had never stopped flying until now—had finally come to a standstill.
“Phew. What kind of human is this…?”
Astaroth exhaled in relief, only to be stunned the next moment. A massive spear, crackling with violet electricity, shot toward him. Its power was incomparable to the fragmented lightning bolts.
Crackle, crackle!
As Astaroth instinctively curled up, a sharp, tingling sound swept through the area. Han So-young, who had launched a delayed attack, clicked her tongue in disappointment. Through the fading electric currents, a slightly scorched Astaroth appeared. He was clutching his abdomen with one hand—clearly hit, but not seriously wounded.
After a moment, Astaroth resumed circling in the air, and Kim Yoo-hyun quickly summoned more lightning. Watching the dark clouds slowly rolling in, Han So-young quietly gathered her thoughts.
So far, the battle hadn’t been unfavorable, but it wasn’t exactly going in their favor either. To put it more precisely, it was dragging on without progress.
Why aren’t they fighting more aggressively?
If an outsider were watching, they probably wouldn’t think like Han So-young. Kim Yoo-hyun was relentlessly pressuring Astaroth with thunderous lightning, and whenever an opening appeared, Han So-young would thrust the Spear of Longinus. Astaroth only counterattacked occasionally, mostly flying nonstop and focusing on defense.
But Han So-young was certain of one thing—because her “extrasensory perception” allowed her to sense Astaroth’s true intentions.
It was hard to put into words, but one thing was clear: the opponent wasn’t giving his all. Yet, it wasn’t as if he was holding back out of kindness—there were fleeting moments of anxiety. His attention wasn’t fully on her or Hamil Lord; it seemed divided, focused somewhere else. In fact, Astaroth had glanced away several times during the fight.
Definitely. He’s got something planned.
Just as Han So-young finished her thought, Astaroth unleashed a yellow lightning bolt and glanced sideways. Instinctively, Han So-young followed his gaze—and then, suddenly—
Boom!
A tremendous explosion shattered the air as two figures appeared faintly in the distance.
How much time had passed?
The sky was clear—or rather, darkened with gathering storm clouds. As she stared blankly at the drifting clouds, her senses sharpened. The ground beneath her back felt unusually soft and cushiony today. She almost wished she could close her eyes and fall asleep right there. If only she could, how refreshing it would feel upon waking.
Of course, wishes are just wishes. She knew well enough that she couldn’t afford to give in. She’d come this far by pushing through and enduring; to give up now just because she was weary would be laughable.
She didn’t know how long she’d been down, but she remembered exactly how many times she’d fallen: eleven, or maybe twelve if you counted the last time she was struck in the chest. Gently touching her ribs, she felt the dented armor beneath her fingers. No matter how much she tried to dodge…
If not for the strange armor of the Chaotic Phantom Guard, the protective fortress of Gehenna, and Hwa-jeong’s advice shouted at every crisis, she would have died many times over.
I’m going to die. Really. I’m giving it everything I’ve got because they say I just have to hold on, but it feels like there’s no end in sight.
If you’ve got time to complain, why don’t you just get up already?
“Yeah, you’re right.”
At Hwa-jeong’s sharp voice, she used her sword as a support and groaned as she pushed herself up. Now that she thought about it, it was strange. Just moments ago, as Thanatos, she had a perfect chance to attack—so why hadn’t she?
The answer was right in front of her.
“Haa, cough! Haa, cough!”
Covering her mouth with her left hand and bracing her right on her knee, Thanatos struggled to catch her breath. Her condition was far from good. She looked like a young girl suffering from a bad cold, gasping for air as if she might collapse at any moment. Most tellingly, she wasn’t spitting out strange words like before—she was silent.
But not yet. Not yet. She had to hold on a little longer. You could tell by her eyes—her opponent was still staring at her with those hideous eyes. Thanatos hadn’t given up either.
Could she really hold on? Despite the bleak feeling, Han So-young calmly steadied herself. Thanatos spat out a black liquid and straightened her bent back.
“Hoo!”
She exhaled sharply once, then—
“Hah!”
With a short shout, she lunged forward like a leopard. Black smoke poured from her powerful fists. The moment she moved toward the Chaotic Phantom Guard, the smoke swirled and turned back toward Han So-young. This time, the smoke wove tightly together, forming a net that suddenly expanded and flew straight at her. She could almost understand how a fish feels caught in a cast net.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
Reluctantly, with all sides blocked, she activated the protective fortress. This was the fourth time.
Her mana dropped by more than half in an instant, but the effect was clear. The black net tightening around her failed to ensnare and bounced off slightly. She jabbed twice with her sword, then spread her wings and took flight through the gap. Behind her, she heard a chilling grinding sound.
“Grrrr!”
Leaping with all her might, Thanatos on the ground shrank to a mere dot. But distance was meaningless against an opponent like that. With a single stomp, she rocketed upward, closing the gap in an instant.
“Huh?”
Then she saw something strange. Thanatos’s gliding speed slowed. The closer she got, the more her speed dropped exponentially. Considering she had been charging headlong without hesitation just moments ago, this was definitely odd. Han So-young couldn’t help but notice the strained expression on Thanatos’s face.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a thick pillar of water shot up from the ground at incredible speed. It wrapped around Thanatos’s chasing foot like a wave.
“Ahh?”
Caught off guard, Thanatos’s balance faltered badly. Looking down, Han So-young saw a giant water golem stretching out an arm, and a silver-haired woman gazing up at her. Nimue had joined the fight and summoned the King of Water Spirits.
“Annoying!”
Hwa-jeong’s voice struck her mind like a thunderclap. At the same time, a shiver ran through her body as if struck by lightning. Thanatos stopped her pursuit and kicked irritably, scattering shimmering blue droplets everywhere. But immediately, another water pillar rose, wrapping tightly around her ankle. This was the opening.
Before she even realized it, Han So-young had reflexively unleashed a fiery sword. The blazing blades, trailing like comets, shot in all directions toward Thanatos.
In that instant, she clearly saw it.
A flash of conflict flickered across Thanatos’s face.
Fwoosh!
But in less than a second, the fiery swords swept from her face to her toes.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Thanatos screamed as she plummeted straight down. The ground trembled faintly with the impact.
Rushing down, Han So-young found the woman lying flat like a frog. She was trembling, barely managing to lift her upper body.
Thanatos’s form after the fiery sword strike was utterly pitiful. It had been bad before, but now it was even worse.
Her limbs were so faint they were almost invisible without enhanced vision, and her body flickered between clarity and blur, like a dying fluorescent light.
Her energy had naturally weakened, and the fierce aura she had shown when first releasing her power was gone. In truth, Han So-young hadn’t even landed a proper hit, yet Thanatos seemed to be self-destructing. Her strength was visibly draining in real time.
Watching Thanatos stumble repeatedly, Hwa-jeong muttered disdainfully.
What does she mean?
“Seal? What did you say?”
“Didn’t I tell you? The seal on Thanatos was created by multiple gods working together, so it’s absolutely unbreakable. Just as I expected. Heh heh.”
Hwajeong spoke with a triumphant tone, but I couldn’t make sense of it. The seal on Thanatos hasn’t been broken? Then does that mean the woman before me isn’t actually Thanatos?
“She is Thanatos. And I said the seal isn’t broken—it’s still in place.”
As if reading my thoughts, Hwajeong continued with a teasing edge.
“To be honest, I was pretty shocked at first. I kept thinking, no way, no way… but she really came out into the world. That means someone managed to break the external seal. Hey, do you think the gods didn’t consider that possibility? Especially when they were sealing a crazy god like Thanatos?”
“So there was an internal seal as well, not just an external one?”
“Not exactly internal, more like a direct seal placed on Thanatos herself. Just in case the external seal was ever broken, so she couldn’t run wild. Think about it—if you want to directly limit the power of a god of death like Thanatos, the god placing the seal has to be stronger or at least equal in power, right?”
“That makes sense.”
“That’s why I said no one could break it. Except for you and Gehenna—that is, me and Geohwa—no one else has the power to lift the seal restricting Thanatos. And even if someone tried, unless it’s Gehenna, it would take both you and me giving it our all just to barely break it.”
“I see.”
Only then did I begin to understand the whole situation.
Why Thanatos wasn’t as strong as expected, why she seemed to weaken over time, and why she was pushed to the brink of destruction.
“Heh, looks like you want to live after all, huh? Kim Soohyun. Go finish this.”
Hwajeong’s tone implied that if left alone, Thanatos would recover to her former strength. Without a word, I walked forward and stopped in front of the woman who was barely kneeling.
Thanatos let out a low, simmering groan and struggled to look up at me. Despite her exhaustion, fierce hatred still burned in every corner of her face—the will to kill me at all costs. A chill ran down my spine, and I quickly raised my sword.
“Wait…”
A weak, desperate voice called out to me.
“Just a moment…”
The fierce light in Thanatos’s eyes faded, replaced by a gentle expression like a warm spring breeze. Her slightly wet eyes seemed to plead for something, so pitiful she no longer looked like a god of death.
“There’s no need to hesitate. End it!”
“P-please… don’t kill me.”
Hwajeong’s commanding voice overlapped with Thanatos’s desperate plea.
“…You want me to spare you?”
Surprised by the unexpected request, I asked, and Thanatos nodded frantically.
“Y-yeah! You saw for yourself, didn’t you? I’m pretty useful, right?”
“What?”
“Remember what I said earlier? That the angels only come after the demons are dealt with. So? Don’t you want to team up with me?”
“What are you talking about?”
I scoffed, thinking it was ridiculous, but Thanatos’s tone grew even more desperate.
“Think about it. If Hwajeong and Thanatos join forces, who’s going to be a problem—the angels or the demons? Huh?”
“You want me to trust you?”
“There’s a saying: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I have my own grudges against the angels, too.”
“And what about those guys?”
“The demons? Just throw them away. Or if you want, I’ll kill them for you. You’re way better than those guys. As long as you spare me, I’ll do whatever you say.”
“…”
Hearing her say she’d do whatever I asked stirred something faintly inside me. Honestly, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t tempted. Especially the offer to help against the angels was a dangerously enticing prospect.
“Just so we’re clear—I hope you’re not thinking of binding Thanatos with that ridiculous contract of yours. Get a grip!”
But the moment Hwajeong’s voice echoed in my mind, I gripped the sword hilt tightly, as if it might crumble. Sensing this, Thanatos looked at me with watery eyes and a sorrowful expression.
“Please…”
It was at that moment.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Next chapter, I’ll finally be able to add a subtitle.
Until now, I deliberately left them out.
Because so many of you eagle-eyed readers were predicting the story just from the subtitles… OTL
So I’ve decided to include subtitles only at the end of each episode.
Well, actually, some keywords came up yesterday during Ansol and Mar’s conversation…
But I still want to believe most of you don’t know yet. (?)