Ch.152Chapter 152 – Hell (2)

「===

The third World Boss has been defeated.

Civilization’s Military Power has increased.

Lv. 2 > Lv. 3

Providing reward.

-Gate of Heaven

===」

Kim Jaemin received the reward notification on his status window shortly after defeating Lucifer.

“Gate of Heaven? Is that a metaphorical expression?”

People debated about the nature of this unknown reward, but it was actually literal. The status window never lies.

“Oh, Team Leader, look over there?”

An employee from the cleanup crew who was handling the aftermath of the battle in Rome pointed at the sky.

Above the Colosseum, where the finger was pointing, a golden gate had appeared. From within the sacred, rippling golden waves, bizarre creatures emerged. Beings with six pairs of wings covered in eyes, creatures with human, ox, and sheep heads attached to a single body, and more. Though they all had different appearances, they shared one common trait: they all possessed angelic wings.

The people at the scene trembled, thinking these monsters would kill them like any other creatures that emerged from gates. However, instead of attacking humans, these strange beings spoke through an unusual mental wave.

[Fear not. We have come to deliver heavenly grace that will reach all people.]

***

[Unprecedented golden gates have opened around the world, prompting the Hunter Association to launch urgent investigations. Life forms calling themselves “angels” have emerged from these gates, helping to eliminate monsters…]

“Oh my, it’s the end of days… Who knows what will become of this world.”

Kim Jaemin’s mother, Jeong Malsuk, muttered while watching the news. These days, the news only delivered unbelievable stories. Tens of millions of people dying in a single day, demons appearing somewhere—all these surreal events.

But today’s news was particularly hard to believe. Angels… While some people had been calling monsters “demons” based on the status window’s description, there had never been beings that called themselves angels and communicated with humans.

Moreover, the angels didn’t just speak to humans. They proclaimed themselves allies of humanity and hunted demons. Wherever gates opened, angels gathered in groups and flew to eliminate demons with their holy power. Just as various religions had testified for thousands of years.

‘These angels… They never showed themselves in Eden, so why now?’

True to his nature of doubting everything unfamiliar, Kim Jaemin was suspicious of the angels’ intentions. There were many questionable aspects about them—from their appearance that resembled demons more than humans, to the way they mechanically killed demons without answering any questions, devoid of emotion.

‘It’s almost as if they’re robots programmed with commands.’

Originally, not many people truly believed that monsters were actually demons, but the existence of angels rekindled concepts of demons, hell, heaven, and God in people’s minds. With the growing interest in the afterlife, the number of religious followers was rapidly increasing.

“…I should meet them in person—”

“Oh my, Jaemin! Where do you think you’re going with that body!”

As Kim Jaemin tried to get up, Jeong Malsuk forcibly laid him back down on the bed.

“Jaemin, I heard you disappeared without saying anything last time? Do you know how embarrassed I was in front of President Park Jugwan!”

“…But thanks to my actions, we caught the Four Heavenly Kings without greater casualties.”

“And look what happened to your body.”

Jeong Malsuk pointed at each healing artifact wrapped tightly around Kim Jaemin’s body. These were measures to treat the aftereffects that wouldn’t easily heal even with holy magic and skills.

In the final battle with Lucifer, Kim Jaemin succeeded in cutting down Lucifer along with the devil’s final attack. At that moment, Lucifer was already half-dead, melting into the sun he had created. The arrogant angel who challenged the divine realm met the same fate as Icarus.

However, the fireball Lucifer had formed had already grown uncontrollably large. The chain reaction of destruction, where collapsing atoms caused neighboring atoms to collapse, had progressed beyond control. If left unchecked, it was obvious that not just Rome but the entire Italian peninsula would suffer irreparable damage.

Faced with this overwhelming crisis, the hero could have possibly saved only himself, but he didn’t. Kim Jaemin canceled his teleportation spell and instead began casting another spell. Absolute Zero, a 9th-tier ice magic that forcibly stops particle activity, and Aqua, a 1st-tier elemental magic.

The fireball, on the verge of becoming a mushroom cloud, was enveloped by extreme cold. The magical cold forcibly broke the chain of nuclear reactions. Then, the large amount of cooling water created by Aqua surrounded it, cooling the heat of the explosion.

Thanks to Kim Jaemin’s quick response, the terrible fate of Italy being wiped off the map was avoided, but even he couldn’t escape the effects completely.

The terrible heat and radiation that he couldn’t fully block penetrated his body, leaving deep aftereffects. Kim Jaemin had self-healed simple burns and external injuries with holy spells, but there was no way to heal cells damaged at the molecular level.

“The doctor said it, didn’t he? You need to wait for natural healing. Just stay home and rest until the damaged cells die and new ones grow, okay?”

Jeong Malsuk reasoned with her son. She was worried about her son who kept volunteering for dangerous tasks while he should be recovering.

“Jaemin, your reaction speed is slower and your senses aren’t normal. You can’t even move properly.”

“It’s qi sensation, qi sensation. That has nothing to do with moving my body.”

“It still means you’re in pain.”

Faced with his mother’s persistent concern, Kim Jaemin surrendered first.

“Alright. I give up. I’ll rest quietly as you say.”

“That’s right! Our son has been through so much, you need to rest. Get some fresh air once in a while, eat something delicious.”

“I can’t go out because people will recognize me. It’s obvious they’ll crowd around asking for autographs and photos… Then the security guards won’t be enough to protect you.”

“You know many amazing spells, don’t you? Are you saying you can’t use them just this once?”

He did know illusion magic useful for deceiving others’ eyes. He wanted to pretend he didn’t, but he couldn’t lie to his mother. Reluctantly, Kim Jaemin nodded.

“…But we can’t go too far.”

Jeong Malsuk’s expression brightened at the prospect of finally enjoying daily life alone with her son. The son who returned after 10 years of disappearance was very different from the child in her memory. Jeong Malsuk wanted time to build new memories with her son who had changed into an unfamiliar figure, to bridge that gap.

Security guard Kim Eunji watched as Jeong Malsuk excitedly made restaurant reservations to dine with her son. Kim Eunji took out her phone and sent a secret message somewhere.

***

“…What is this?”

Shin Jaehyuk, who had climbed the tower and finally reached the top floor, couldn’t hide his confusion. His insight observed the mass of flesh before him.

「===

《Name》 Asmodeus

《Level》 103 (Weakened)

《Achievements》

<Archduke of Hell>

<Incarnation of Wrath and Lust>

<One Who Shared a Bed with a Million>

<Eve of the Underworld>

<Biological Factory>

<Fate of the Defeated>

===」

As Gode had said, Asmodeus was at the top of the tower. However, she wasn’t in the form Shin Jaehyuk had expected. With her lower body embedded in the wall as if merged with the tower, a barely breathing mass of flesh emitted incomprehensible moans.

‘That’s… Asmodeus?’

Upon closer inspection, facial features were visible among the sagging flesh. Tentacles extending from the tower were attached all over her body, with unknown liquids sloshing through them as they were injected into her.

“…It’s supplying nutrients.”

“That’s right. Originally, she was a powerful succubus. But after fighting Belial for the vacant position among the Four Heavenly Kings, this was the price of her defeat.”

Thousands of blood vessels connected to Asmodeus’s lower body. They were the same kind of vessels he had seen on his way here.

“So Asmodeus is the mother of all demons out there.”

“You’re quite perceptive indeed.”

The mother who manages all wombs within the domain. The core component of the Demon Plant that receives food from the Tree of Qliphoth and distributes nutrients to all cocoons. That was the current state of the defeated one once called the Archduke of Hell.

“This makes things easier. The job just got simpler.”

Shin Jaehyuk thrust his spear into Asmodeus’s neck, who had lost all combat ability. Despite the sharp blade digging into her flesh, Asmodeus couldn’t offer any resistance. Her plump lips moved silently.

Just as Shin Jaehyuk was about to drive the spear all the way through—

Demonic energy surged from behind him.

“Before that, I’d like to make something clear.”

“Gode?”

“Satan’s order was to guide you to Asmodeus’s domain. I have fulfilled my contract.”

“You bastard, don’t tell me you’re…”

“Which means, from now on, your safety is no longer my concern.”

A geometric magic circle deployed around Gode. Giant octopus tentacles shot out from the magic circle and struck at Shin Jaehyuk. Deflecting the impact with his spear shaft, Shin Jaehyuk glared at Gode.

“You planned this from the beginning!”

“Your body is a valuable asset. How a mortal can possess so much holy power, how you reincarnated without losing your memories—these are things worth researching.”

Gode formed a curse seal. A creepy sensation spread, and blood began flowing from every orifice of Shin Jaehyuk’s body.

‘A curse…!’

Shin Jaehyuk quickly used the Blessing of Dissolution.

‘Be not captivated by what you see, nor dwell on what remains unseen.’

Holy energy drove away the curse. But while Shin Jaehyuk was using the spell, Gode wasn’t idle either.

The magic circle gradually expanded as if gnawing at space, and the owner of the octopus legs revealed itself. The monster had a form too horrific to describe in words. Octopus legs like cilia, a centipede-like elongated body. Around it, countless upper bodies of demons protruded. It was as if demons of all kinds from hell had been collected and molded into a single clay mass.

“How do you like it? A chimera stitched together from sixty thousand types of demons. My masterpiece.”

The sixty thousand faces screamed in chorus. Green gas suddenly erupted from sixty thousand mouths. The gas containing paralyzing components enveloped Shin Jaehyuk.

Even holding his breath, the gas invaded his lungs like a living organism. Soon after, the signals transmitted to his muscles weakened as a result of internal chemical reactions, and his movements became sluggish.

“It’s a curse you can’t escape, a fate.”

As Gode formed a seal, the sixty thousand demons attached to the chimera followed their master in forming seals. Stacking and amplification—basic techniques for strengthening curses, but the story changes when the number of casters reaches five digits.

With a bone-chilling wail, the death energy of vengeful spirits concentrated at Gode’s fingertips.

“To your eyes, I must appear to be moving very quickly. That’s because the chemical you’ve inhaled is slowing even your neural functions.”

Confident in his victory over the immobilized Shin Jaehyuk, Gode pointed his finger at him. The projected flesh pierced through Shin Jaehyuk’s heart.

Shin Jaehyuk’s body began to distort, starting from the parts farthest from his heart. The sensation of bones forcibly twisting, muscles tearing, and flesh being crushed. The holy power flowing through his body instinctively tried to heal the wounds, but the curse showed no signs of stopping.

“I’m well aware of how remarkable your regenerative abilities and holy spells are. But they’re all useless right now. This is death energy condensed from vengeful spirits collected over hundreds of years.”

In normal condition, he would have dispelled the curse with a holy spell, but Shin Jaehyuk was currently paralyzed. With his consciousness slowed along with his body, he had no opportunity to use spells.

“The effect of the curse is forced separation of flesh and soul. It’s a spell that mimics the phenomenon of death itself. As a human, accept the inevitable fate…”

Gode’s gaze met Shin Jaehyuk’s. A calm gaze inappropriate for the situation pierced through Gode. An inexplicable, instinctive sense of foreboding flashed through his mind.

The next moment, a flash of light exploded from Shin Jaehyuk’s body.

“Ugh- How!”

When Gode slowly opened his eyes after reflexively squeezing them shut, Shin Jaehyuk, who had regained his physical freedom, was staring directly at him.

“As long as I’m human, you say.”

Light gathered in his recovering hand. The light formed into the shape of a solid spear.

“Then it wouldn’t work on me.”