"Hngh."
The next morning…
KangWoo slowly got up after becoming free from the nightmarish tentacles.
He wasn't completely recovered, but at least he could move his body a little bit.
'Status window.'
Ting-
[You have an unread message.]
[Do you want to read it?]
A blue message window appeared in front of him.
He nodded without hesitation.
[You've devoured the Archduke of Greed, Mamon.]
[The attribute ‘Reaper of Souls’ has been activated.]
[The attribute ‘Archduke Slayer’ has been activated.]
[You can now use Mamon's 'Authority of Flames.']
A thick smile appeared while he looked at the message that appeared in front of him.
'An archduke's Authority…'
It was a stronger and more destructive Authority than others that he couldn't control even back then when he used to rule over the Hell of Nine Skies.
The ridiculous firepower Mamon showed in the battle made it clear that the Authority of Flames was worth it.
KangWoo turned his head.
'There's still some left.'
The system message window hadn't ended.
He checked the rest of the message.
[You've fulfilled part of the second condition for Demonic Soul.]
[You must absorb another archduke's soul to fulfill all of the conditions for Demonic Soul.]
[Because you've fulfilled part of the conditions, your limit of Demonic Energy has increased.]
[Your Demonic Energy has increased by 5.]
[Your Demonic Energy has reached 135.]
[The passageway that connects with the 'deepest' part of the Ten Thousand Demon Core is 82.3% complete.]
'This...'
KangWoo's eyes widened.
His Demonic Energy stat had reached 135. Soon, the passageway to the deepest part of the Ten Thousand Demon Core would be complete.
The tips of his mouth went up.
'I feel like I've almost recovered it…'
His previous strength that the Gaia System had sealed…
He felt like he would soon be able to recover his full strength.
In the Hell of Nine Skies, he could use 100% of the demonic energy from the 'deepest' part.
Just with that, he was able to become the Demon King.
'But now I'm different from back then.'
Before awakening as a player, he didn't have the power called ‘Extreme Demonic Energy Body’, and he couldn't use an archduke's Authority.
He didn't know what effect Demonic Soul had, but that was a strength he didn't have while in Hell.
If he could use demonic energy from the 'deepest' part, he could probably reach a higher plane than before.
'Good.'
He felt that he could face an average archduke alone.
'I'm not sure about Baal, but I could perfectly face Lucifer and Satan.'
That was assuming they had the same strength as before.
At least he thought he wouldn't need to risk his life and open the door again.
'My body aches.'
He couldn't help but feel it'd be great if Mamon appeared in front of him again so that he could test how much stronger he'd become, but Mamon had already died, and it would be hard to contact Lucifer for the moment.
There was Balrog, but even he was wounded at the moment.
"Tsk."
It was too bad, but there was nothing he could do about it.
KangWoo lay back on the bed again.
"Oh, yeah…"
He remembered something.
KangWoo got up and grabbed his smartphone.
He called Kurosaki Yurie. To be more precise, Lilith, who was inside her body.
- Mr. KangWoo, did you sleep well?
"No..."
Remembering the previous night gave him chills.
KangWoo shook his head.
"Lilith. Where's 'Greed'?"
Greed…
It was Mamon’s Hell Equipment, and just like his 'Key of Demonic Energy Sea,' it was a piece of Transcendent-rank equipment.
- Yes? By Greed... Do you mean Mamon's Hell Equipment?
"Yes."
- Hmm. I'm sorry, but I didn’t find any Hell Equipment where Mr. KangWoo and Mamon fought.
"What?"
KangWoo frowned.
'Greed disappeared?'
He tried to remember what had happened.
'Did I devour it along with Mamon?'
The first thing he thought of was when he opened the second door of the Ten Thousand Demon Core when the darkness devoured Mamon and the other demons.
'I don't think that's what happened.'
He shook his head.
Even if his Authority of Predation was powerful, it couldn't eat Hell's Equipment.
Not only that, but even if it could, he should have gained a strength worthy of that.
No matter how much he looked at his status window or checked out the system messages, he couldn't see traces of Hell's Equipment.
'Was it destroyed?'
He shook his head.
That wasn't possible.
He had destroyed part of the Hell Equipment to free himself, but that was completely different from destroying it altogether.
Destroying Hell's Equipment should’ve been impossible unless the opponent was a god.
'No.'
If it were a god like Tyrion, they would probably get absorbed by Hell's Equipment.
"Where did it go?"
He frowned.
Since he'd devoured the soul of an archduke, the Hell's Equipment was an important unit.
Whir-
"Hmm?"
At that moment, the ring on his right middle finger shook.
The Key of the Demonic Energy Sea…
His Transcendent-rank equipment shook as if it were alive.
'Wait.'
[Equipment Information]
Item: Key of the Demonic Energy Sea
Rank: Transcendent (Engraving Complete)
Type: Growth *The item gets stronger whenever you fulfill a condition.
Normal Effect: Unique Stat +3, Indomitable, Transformation, ??? *Hasn't been unlocked yet.
Special Effect: ???, ??? *Hasn't been unlocked yet.
[Effect Explanation]
Indomitable: It can't be destroyed by any physical, magic, or soul attacks.
Transformation: It can transform into any 'weapon' registered as a skill. It can exercise 34% of the strength of the weapon made by Authority.
[Items Status]
* Digestion Status: Is currently preparing to digest the Hell's Equipment, 'Greed.'
* Not enough Demonic Energy: It's missing more high-quality demonic energy. It will begin digesting after you reach 'Demonic Soul.'
"What's this...?"
He laughed in disbelief.
'Now that I think about it, this is a growth-type weapon.'
Its basic capabilities were so great that he had forgotten about that.
'To think that it would devour a Hell Equipment.'
He hadn’t heard of weapons being similar to their owners, so he never thought that it would have an ability like that.
"Well, I'm glad I won't have to find where it is.'
He was disappointed he couldn't immediately use the power of the Hell Equipment, but it wasn't that it had disappeared, so he felt relieved.
KangWoo looked at the Key of the Demonic Energy Sea that had the shape of a ring wiggling.
'A Transcendent-rank weapon that has absorbed a Hell Equipment.'
He would be lying if he said he wasn't expectant.
* * *
He thought that an unprecedented weapon might be born, so it was inevitable his heart would tremble in excitement.
"If it devoured Greed..."
That meant it could also devour the other Hell Equipment.
'I can't wait to see it.'
His heart beat faster, just like a child who had received his Christmas gift.
- Mr. KangWoo? Did something happen? Should I check where the Hell Equipment is?
"No, it's okay. There's no need to do that."
KangWoo stood up.
"More than that. Where are ShiHoon and Balrog?"
He had finished checking everything he'd received from Mamon.
It was time to check on his underlings.
He got the locations of Kim ShiHoon and Balrog through Lilith.
He stood up.
"First..."
Balrog and Kim ShiHoon.
KangWoo hesitated between the two but ended up choosing Kim ShiHoon.
"Balrog is strong, after all."
It wasn't a matter of who was most important.
In the case of Balrog, as long as he was alive, he would recover for sure.
'When half of his body was turned into ashes, he fully recovered.'
In the case of Kim ShiHoon, it was different.
He didn't have an unnaturally effective regenerative ability.
'Well, I guess he's still going to be okay.'
He was a hero chosen by a god, after all.
He was the person closer to being a 'protagonist' than anyone else he'd seen until that point.
Whenever he was put in a risky situation, he always got up so he wasn't that worried, to be honest.
KangWoo opened the door with light steps.
"M-Mr. KangWoo!'
As he opened the door, Han Seol-ah walked toward him with an anxious expression.
"D-did you regain consciousness? Does it hurt anywhere...? No, more than that, you shouldn't move as soon as you wake up!!"
It seemed like she'd been very worried while he wasn't conscious. She spoke with a cracking voice.
From the dark circles under her eyes, it looked as if she hadn't slept for a few days.
It seemed like Lilith hadn't told her he'd woken up.
'Ehem.'
He was moved.
He remembered that nightmarish time the previous day.
'I'll offer you my life, my dear!'
Han Seol-ah was holding him carefully, worried that he might lose consciousness again.
"KangWoo, are you okay...?"
Echidna, who had come along with Han Seol-ah, grabbed KangWoo's sleeves with an anxious expression.
KangWoo nodded while smiling.
"How's ShiHoon doing?"
"He still hasn't woken up."
"Hmm."
He nodded.
The wounds he received from Mamon were probably deep.
"I'm going to go and see ShiHoon."
KangWoo left the two behind and entered the room where Kim ShiHoon was sleeping.
He saw Kim ShiHoon sleeping on the bed.
"..."
He bit his finger, and black blood flowed from it.
He opened Kim ShiHoon's mouth and made his blood flow into him.
'Authority of Regeneration.'
An Authority of Regeneration that he used with 135 Demonic Energy stat…
Kim ShiHoon's pale face regained color, and his two melted arms regenerated.
As if he'd turned back time, as if a god had made a miracle happen, Kim ShiHoon's body was being regenerated.
"Ugh..."
Kim ShiHoon opened his eyes.
He looked around and made a flustered expression after looking at KangWoo.
"H-hyeongnim? A-are you okay?!"
"That's what I want to ask… Is your body okay?"
"Ah..."
Kim ShiHoon sighed in relief after seeing how KangWoo looked.
"It's okay. I don't even have any pain..." he said while smiling.
"But more than that. What happened with M-Mamon?"
It seemed like he still hadn't recovered from the shock of the battle.
"Mamon died."
"Ah."
"It's all thanks to you, ShiHoon."
KangWoo patted his shoulder.
It wasn't something he said to make him feel good.
If Kim ShiHoon hadn't stalled for time, he would have had trouble trying to dodge the worst possible scenario.
'Well done.'
He felt satisfied with the result of his investment in Kim ShiHoon.
It was obvious he would feel proud.
KangWoo looked at Kim ShiHoon with a satisfied smile.
'Now, it would be great if he became a bit stronger...'
Wasting Kim ShiHoon's potential in time-wasting stuff was too bad.
Kim ShiHoon had the potential to become strong enough to face an archduke. No, maybe even more than that.
'It won't be easy.'
Although his life had been put in danger numerous times, Kim ShiHoon wasn't able to awaken himself that time.
'Even if it's Kim ShiHoon awakening that easily...'
"Huh...?"
KangWoo's thoughts were cut short by Kim ShiHoon's trembling voice.
"H-hyeongnim!"
He turned his head and looked at his hands with an urgent look on his face.
"I… I can't feel my hands..."
"What...?"
KangWoo looked at Kim ShiHoon in disbelief.
'An awakening flag, here?'
The hero who had lost his strength…
The cliche of losing his strength and the hero becoming stronger after successfully overcoming such struggles…
It was a story development he'd seen many times before.
"Haa..."
KangWoo wasn't sure if he should act happy or sad in that scene. He grabbed his forehead while making a confused expression.
'I bet my entire net worth and my left hand at Kim ShiHoon successfully awakening.'
‘You should fall behind if you're scared.’
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