"M-Mr. KangWoo?"
"Haa, Haa…"
He breathed heavily. He looked at Ito Shinji with bloodshot eyes.
Shinji was frightened at KangWoo's sudden change in attitude.
"Wh-what's wrong? Just what was written in the letter…?"
"CCTV."
"Yes?"
"Please, show me the recordings of the last time Kurosaki Yurie was seen."
"But we've already investigated…"
"Please show me."
WHOM.
The entire building vibrated. A strong killing intent poured out from KangWoo.
"Ugh!"
Ito Shinji's expression hardened after he felt a huge pressure weighing on his entire body.
It was a huge energy that he wouldn't even fathom the idea of resisting.
"Ah, ugh."
His hands trembled. He couldn't breathe properly. Ito Shinji looked at KangWoo in disbelief.
'That's…'
The power of a warrior who'd received the strength of Hero God Tyrion.
He'd heard the rumors, but seeing the power of a 'god' made him tremble.
"W-wait a bit, please."
Ito Shinji began to move quickly. KangWoo followed him.
There were dozens of monitors in the room Ito Shinji guided him to.
It was probably the room where they watched over the Emperor and Kurosaki Yurie from.
Ito Shinji pointed to one side.
"Those videos over there are the ones that were recorded when Ms. Kurosaki Yurie disappeared."
"Yes."
KangWoo sat down. The Kurosaki Yurie of one month before could be seen on the screens.
'Thankfully, it seems like she still had her human form until that moment.'
Going back to her original aspect couldn't be that easy, so he still had some hope.
'I must find a clue.'
It was something he had to do, even at the expense of his life.
KangWoo looked at the video.
Kurosaki Yurie was going somewhere in the middle of the night.
She'd easily jumped over the castle's walls and met up with a man.
"Wait, stop."
KangWoo looked at the man she'd met.
'His face can't be seen.'
He wasn't sure what magic they'd used, but his face was blurry.
It didn't matter how much they zoomed in, they couldn't see the man’s face.
"We've tried to search for the identity of the man… but as you see, his face is completely covered."
"Is other footage the same?"
"That…"
Ito Shinji slurred out the end of the sentence.
He sighed and replayed the footage again.
"It seems like it will be better if you look until the end."
Kurosaki Yurie met up with an unknown man, the man grabbed her hand, and after that.
"Ah."
Kurosaki Yurie and the man disappeared.
It was as if they'd teleported.
"After this, we weren't able to find Ms. Kurosaki Yurie."
"Damn."
KangWoo let out a short curse, grabbed his hair, and sighed.
'I must find her.'
It wasn't just to block Lilith from returning to her original appearance…
'No. I also want to stop that from happening.
His head became messy.
He remembered a part of the letter.
- I'm going to make sure to spread Demon King's name in the Demon Cult.
'FUCK.'
That was the biggest problem.
She wanted to spread his name inside the Demon Cult.
'That could seriously mess things up.'
He had somehow solved the Balrog incident, but what if the members of the Demon Cult began praising him as the Demon King?
'If that happens, it will really be the end.'
Then he wouldn't be able to use Satan's name anymore.
KangWoo anxiously bit his lip.
'The chances should be low.'
He wasn't sure who was leading the Demon Cult, but they'd probably nurtured the forces of the Demon Cult for more than a thousand years.
There was no way they'd go under the Demon King just because Lilith said something.
'The problem is…'
Lilith was more skillful than imagined.
He couldn't relax. After all, it was Lilith who had created a solid force for him when KangWoo became the public enemy of the archdukes.
She had a great ability to manage and control people.
KangWoo looked at the footage of Lilith and the unknown man disappearing a couple of times.
"Is there anything you've discovered from that person?"
"He's around 170 ~ 175 cm tall and probably weighs around 60kg. As you see, he doesn't have any wrinkles on his hand, so he's less than 40 years old."
"…"
KangWoo narrowed his eyes.
They were things that one could guess by looking at the footage, so it was as if they hadn't learned anything at all.
'Damn.'
170 ~ 175 cm tall, 60kg, 20 ~ 30 years old…
They were the physical characteristics of most young Japanese men.
'I can't make any conclusions based on this.'
Even though the Japanese population had decreased after the Cataclysmic Day, they couldn't point out who the man Kurosaki Yurie had met up with was just based on that.
'First, based on the letter…'
* * *
That man was probably the member of the Demon Cult Lilith had made contact with.
Ito Shinji kept talking.
"There's one clue we could get from the footage…"
"What is it?"
"Check out this part."
Ito Shinji replayed the video in slow motion.
It was the scene when the man waiting for her on top of the building jumped from the rooftop.
Considering a player's superhuman physical capabilities, it wasn't something impressive.
"Here."
Ito Shinji pointed to the man’s stomach.
Although it was just for a short moment, his stomach became visible through his fluttering clothes.
And there…
"There's a wound."
"Yes. It seems like his stomach was pierced with a sword."
"…"
"That's why we've searched through the records of all the hospitals… but we haven't been able to figure out that man's identity yet."
Ito Shinji's explanation ended.
KangWoo fell into thought while looking at the man's wound.
'Wait…'
The Demon Cult, a wound in the stomach, and someone Kurosaki Yurie would contact…
Those three facts bounced around KangWoo’ head.
His eyes shone.
'Akiyama…'
The person who'd summoned Lilith in the past.
He'd summoned her for a ridiculous reason, and the other members of the Demon Cult praised him at a level that was almost crazy.
And…
'He’s a pervert.'
He'd summoned Lilith because she was supposedly the ideal woman of all men.
KangWoo frowned.
'The Demon Cult member Lilith contacted was Akiyama.'
He couldn't think of anyone else that fulfilled those three conditions.
"Mr. Ito…"
"Yes?"
"If you knew this man’s face, could you find his location?”
"Yes? Th-that's possible, but how…"
"This is the man's face."
KangWoo put some strength in the Key of the Demonic Energy Sea that was on his right middle finger.
The Key of the Demonic Energy Sea could be turned into other things than weapons.
—He could transform it into anything he imagined.
That's how useful the Transcendent-rank weapon Key of the Demonic Energy Sea was.
Crack-
The Key of the Demonic Energy Sea turned into a black liquid and created a form in the air.
What the Key of the Demonic Energy Sea created was the face of Akiyama that he’d recalled.
"This…"
"There are a few things that make me suspect this man is the culprit. Please start investigating by using this man's face."
"W-wait a moment, please."
Ito Shinji took a picture of Akiyama’s face that was created using the Key of the Demonic Energy Sea and went running toward somewhere.
"Haa," he sighed.
KangWoo clenched his fist.
'I got a clue.'
Thanks to him seeing she'd made contact with Akiyama, he'd found a clue.
He just had to wait for Ito Shinji to find out more about him.
'Please…'
His legs trembled anxiously.
He began looking at the ceiling with a desperate expression.
'I hope I'm not too late.'
* * *
Dark pupils…
There were remnants of buildings that were destroyed.
It was the place where the Demon Cult members had tried to summon Lilith in the past. It was under the Sapporo Station, which had been destroyed after KangWoo and Fujimoto got involved.
A woman was walking through heaps of rubble.
"It seems like the preparations are finally done."
A man with freckles nodded at her words.
"Yes!"
"Fufu. Well done, Cardinal Akiyama."
"It-it was nothing! I can do anything if it's to recover Ms. Lilith's original form!" Akiyama said, smiling as he looked at her.
"How is it going to work?"
"We're going to create a huge fissure that connects to the Hell of Nine Skies. We're going to drag demonic energy from there and recreate the physical body based on the information written in Ms. Lilith's soul."
"Hngh? Is something like that possible?"
"Fufu. This is all thanks to the knowledge given to us by the higher-ups."
Akiyama proudly kept talking.
“The Gaia System has weakened, so we can do more things.”
"Is Satan among those higher-ups?"
"Hmm. I'm sorry. That's something not even I know. The information about the higher-ups is secret even among the Demon Cult…"
"I see."
"B-but… Ms. Lilith, once you return to your original form, you'll probably be able to meet with them!" Akiyama said in a fuss.
Lilith nodded while smiling. A huge amount of sexual energy came out of her body.
Akiyama was smiling with his mouth wide open.
"I'm glad. I want to meet up with them. Ah, also… did you finish what I asked you to?"
"Ah. If it's that, we're currently working on it."
Akiyama nodded.
What Lilith asked of him… To spread the existence of the real 'Demon King.'
Akiyama secretly spread the 'Book of Hell' Lilith had created herself among the Demon Cult.
"But is there really a Demon King? From what I've learned from the Cult, the seven archdukes are maintaining the balance in the Hell of Nine Skies…"
"Fufu. You're soon going to learn."
A thick smile appeared on her face.
"If the preparations are done, let's start."
"He, hehe. Ms. Lilith, you're finally going to recover your original form."
"Fufu. The reward… You can expect it," Lilith said while stroking Akiyama's chin.
But that was only for a short while. After turning her body from Akiyama, she took out her handkerchief and used it to clean her hands as if she'd touched something dirty.
"He, hehe."
Akiyama smiled like he was dumb while looking at Lilith's back.
'Finally!'
He clenched his fist.
Soon, he'd be able to control the soul of the Succubus Queen.
'She's already this pretty…'
He couldn't even imagine how beautiful she'd be once she recovered her original form.
Excited, Akiyama put his hand on top of the magic circle.
Dozens of Demon Cult members that were there to help him began chanting.
"Guys! This is the moment where our long-lasting dreams become a reality!"
A single tear dripped down Akiyama's eyes.
"Stop imagining perverted things, guys!!"
The black fissure started to form.
