Chapter 294 - Lost Octopus (1)
Whoom.
Black light flickered around Oh Kang-Woo's middle finger. He looked down at his black ring, which was vibrating subtly.
'It's been like this for a while now.'
After fulfilling one of the conditions for Chaos, the advanced quest of Road to Becoming a Demon God, the Key of the Demonic Sea had begun to change.
He didn't know if the digestion of the Hell Armament was about to be complete or if there was another reason, but the Key of the Demonic Sea, which had remained dormant for a while, had started to show some changes.
'Well, I guess it's a good thing.'
Although he didn't need a weapon, being unable to use Transcendent-grade equipment that could ease the burden of using numerous Authorities simultaneously was unfortunate.
'I'm also curious... about what this thing is.'
Kang-Woo looked down at the Key of the Demonic Sea. It was a convenient weapon that could change into any shape. Although it had some limits, it could replicate the power of weapons made through merging Authorities.
Not only that...
'It's a weapon... that eats Hell Armaments.'
Hell Armaments represented the power of the princes of Hell. If all seven of those transcendental weapons gathered, they could easily tear open a Rift between dimensions and bend space and time.
"... I wonder what it'll become."
The secret behind why the Key of the Demonic Sea could devour Hell Armaments could possibly be more important than the Road to Becoming a Demon God quest. After all, the demonic energy within the Hell Armaments could not even be eaten by the Authority of Predation.
"Well, whatever the case..."
There was nothing he could do at the moment but wait for results.
Kang-Woo stopped giving the Key of the Demonic Sea any more attention and grabbed a cup of coffee.
Just then...
Knock, knock.
"Darling?"
When he turned his head toward the opening door, he saw Lilith smiling in the doorway.Trace the roots of this material to novelb!n•
She bowed and entered the room.
"What's up?"
"I have come to report what I had learned by interrogating Jason."
Lilith handed Kang-Woo several documents. It was a list of names of politicians and billionaires from all over the world who had been involved in the Valencia incident. Most were Americans, but there were also influential figures from other countries.
"That's a lot."
"It seems there have been many people dissatisfied with Guardians' quick rise in power."
"I bet. It's a bit too much power for one organization to have."
It was only obvious, considering a group made up of Players possessed enough power surpassing some countries, to be able to influence the entire world.
"But," Kang-Woo continued as he handed the documents back to her. "We need this much power, at the very least, to prepare for what's ahead."
No, they needed even more power to defend against the imminent invasion of the outer worlds.
"Hoho." Lilith smiled. She bowed and said, "There is no need to worry. I will make it so that this world bows down to you, my king."
"I don't want or need anything like that."
Kang-Woo shook his head in disapproval. He hated hassles; the one that the world should be bowing down to needed to be Guardians, or more specifically, Kim Si-Hun. Although Kang-Woo had appointed Si-Hun to be the figurehead, he couldn't just play around behind the shadows either.
'I feel like I'm moving further away from my dream.'
To illustrate that point, he was stuck looking over documents as soon as he had woken up. He sighed as he felt himself getting further away from his dream of becoming a wealthy bum. If it were up to him, he'd just spend the entire day flirting with his darling.
"What's the status in Valencia?" Kang-Woo asked.
"Si-Hun is cleaning up the entire city with the Sirius Corps. He captured a bulk of Guardians Players that had laid their hands on the natives, and they will be undergoing trial in a month's time."
"It'd be difficult to secure evidence, though."
There weren't many crime prevention measures, such as CCTV cameras, in place yet in Valencia. If the issue went to court, many Players would get away scot-free due to lack of evidence. Whatever they were charged with, it was easy to claim one's innocence if there was no evidence for their crimes to be backed up with.
"Hoho. The victims' tears are evidence enough."
Lilith smiled widely. Even if she had to fabricate evidence, she was planning on winning the case.
Kang-Woo smiled bitterly and nodded.
He covered his mouth, and his face paled.
"Are you okay, Master Kang-Woo?"
Lilith stroked his back in worry. Although she looked like Kurosaki Yurie at the moment, her hand touching his back felt sticky for some reason.
"I-I'm fine. Let's set aside the travel plans for a bit. There are still a ton of things we have to do, and I also have plans with Seol-Ah."
"... I see."
Lilith nodded while making a sad expression. Her expression had noticeably darkened when Han-Seol-Ah was mentioned.
Creak.
"Umm..."
Seol-Ah opened the door and peeked into the room, holding a tray full of delicious fruits.
"You were in the middle of a meeting, right? Have some fruit."
"Thanks, darling."
Kang-Woo grabbed the tray from Seol-Ah with a bright smile, as if he had found a ray of light within the endless darkness.
"..."
Lilith frowned when she saw this side of Kang-Woo. She placed her hand on her chest. It started to hurt.
'He has...'
Tears slightly formed around her eyes.
'... Never smiled like that to me.'
A feeling that she had never felt before burned her heart.
Lilith shook her head.
'What am I thinking?'
In the end, she was the legal wife. The vows of love that they had pledged were still vivid in her memories.
'Maybe...'
Worries that Kang-Woo might have forgotten about the vows they had made surged.
'There's no way.'
Her masterful tentacle techniques always caused him to scream in such a lovely way, even during their last trip. There was no way the king didn't love her.
'But still...'
Lilith pouted. She would prefer if he gave her a bit more attention.
"In that case, I will be excusing myself."
"Why?" Kang-Woo asked. "Stay for a bit longer and have some fruit."
"Hohoho. The faster I resolve this, the earlier I will be rewarded by you, Master Kang-Woo."
Lilith lightly waved and walked out of the room.
Clack.
The door closed.
"Haaa."
Lilith softly sighed. Her mind was in a mess.
'Now isn't the time.'
She hadn't hurried just to receive Kang-Woo's love.
The traces of demonic energy around Seoul had spread at tremendous speed over just a few days. At this rate, a massive incident would break out at any second.
'It's as if... it's searching for something.'
Lilith narrowed her eyes and set off. And...
* * *
"... What?" Kang-Woo asked while aggressively frowning.
Balrog, who was on his knees in front of him, flapped his lips in hesitation but then bit his lip and lowered his head.
"Lilith has... disappeared."