"Haa, it's hard to deal with a brat."
He walked out of the cave and tried to get hold of his consciousness. While he was doing that, Lilith came out and sighed.
KangWoo turned his head.
"Did it work…?"
"Of course."
Lilith smiled.
"It might be impossible right now… but as time goes on, he will become a puppet that follows all of my orders."
"Well done."
He nodded.
Turning Lucis into his puppet was something that occupied an important place in his current plans.
Nothing seemed to work from control-type Authorities to Balzac's black magic, so Lilith's way of doing things working was something unexpected.
'The process was a bit…'
It was something that was horrifying to witness.
'Well, at least it was effective.'
He had his mouth closed while making a bitter look.
Lilith walked toward him.
"Demon King, please. Don't misunderstand me," she said in a sad voice.
"What…?"
"I cut all the tentacles I just used. I also didn't use my body. S-so…" she mumbled while making a worried expression.
"I… I didn't cheat!"
"…"
That thought had never crossed his mind.
He had never imagined that thinking that was even a possibility.
"Ugh… I didn't want to do something like that with a man that isn't the Demon King, but…"
"Ah, yes. Thanks."
KangWoo nodded while making an awkward expression.
Certainly, from Lilith's point of view, it was like having seduced an unknown, random brat, so it wasn't weird that she'd react like that.
"It's okay. I trust you."
He wasn't lying when he said that.
Balrog and Lilith…
He'd spent a lot of time with those two demons.
There was no way he wouldn't trust and value them.
He was cruel to his enemies, but he couldn't do the same to his allies.
That wasn't something a King would do, but it was more something a mindless idiot would do.
"Aah."
Lilith hugged KangWoo with shining eyes.
Was it because she was in her human form? He didn't feel repulsion.
"Oh, we don’t have time for this."
Lilith backed off while shaking her head.
"There's something I wanted to report."
There was a reason why she'd gone there to find him.
"There's a problem…"
"What happened?"
"There's a Demon Cult branch I'm closely watching. It's a giant base… similar to the one in Tibet, and there are more than a thousand members."
"Aha."
"I've been leaking some information and tried to make Lucifer's forces fight with them in a frontal battle… but the plan didn’t work out.'
"Keep talking."
KangWoo's eyes shone sharply.
"The Demon Cult is trying to avoid a frontal battle."
"Hmm."
"Just like when Mamon came out, I was hoping for them to come up with something… but if things continue like this, I think they'll end up leaving and throwing away this base."
"…"
He remained silent and fell into thought.
'I don't like this.'
He'd tried to cause a fight between Lucifer's forces and the Demon Cult to weaken them, but it seemed that his plan wasn't going as expected.
'What's going on?'
He even thought that he might have overestimated them.
'No.'
He shook his head.
After returning to Earth, he'd fought against the Demon Cult numerous times.
There was something he was sure about…
'They're hiding something.'
There were probably more than one or two things they were hiding.
He didn't even need more evidence.
They'd woken up Mamon, but even then, he didn't feel that it was Mamon who was leading them.
If Mamon was their leader, there was no way they'd be able to recover so easily.
There was someone else, for sure.
'Is Satan the one who's really leading the Demon Cult?'
Such a thought crossed his mind, but he shook it from his head.
"Anyways…"
He couldn't stand still.
"I guess there's no other choice."
He stood up.
"What are you going to do?"
"They serve a being called Phase of Evil. Most of them don't know who that Phase of Evil is."
One of the abnormal things about the Demon Cult was that they served the 'Phase of Evil', but no one knew exactly who the Phase of Evil was. They didn't even know if it was a demon or a human.
That Phase of Evil had probably organized things like that to stay under the radar, but it had a weird structure, considering it was a group full of crazy people.
'It's as if they were serving a king they can't see.'
He didn't know why that being had remained hidden, but he could use that.
"That's true."
"Then…"
KangWoo raised the red mask he’d gotten more used to using than the Guardian one.
"I'll just have to become their King."
His smile was covered by the mask.
* * *
"W-we can't win."
"Why is an archduke…? Is… isn't there any news from the higher-ups?"
In a certain region in Africa, there were dozens of people gathered around under a giant base built under the desert.
Despite the hot weather outside, the people were wearing black robes.
The members gathered there were ones that had the rank of Cardinal, at least.
BOOM-!
"H-how could it be that, even in a situation like this, there are no words from the higher-ups?! Just… what should we do now?!"
"And Ms. Y-Yulia?"
"We also can't communicate with Ms. Yulia."
There was a heavy silence.
The only thing heard were sighs.
"What is the Phase of Evil doing during a crisis like this…?" someone mumbled.
Everyone started to tremble.
The Phase of Evil…
The being they served and believed in.
The king they served was hidden under a veil.
Even amidst a crisis like that, the king hadn't appeared in front of his soldiers, so it was obvious that they would feel overwhelmed.
"We should retreat."
"Yes. I think that retreating would be the…"
Crack-!
At that moment, a black fissure suddenly appeared in the air.
"Wh-what?!"
"What's going on…"
The cultists looked at the fissure that had suddenly appeared.
Tap- Tap
A demon wearing a red mask appeared with a darkness that covered his entire body like a curtain.
The being that emitted an overwhelming pressure slowly walked toward them.
"E-eek!"
"L-Lucifer?!"
They'd felt a huge amount of demonic energy they'd never been able to feel before, so they naturally thought of that name.
The cultists trembled in fear.
The demon wearing a red mask walked toward them.
[You can even recognize your master?]
"Yes…?"
[Tsk, pathetic.]
The unknown being standing in front of the table waved his hand.
BOOM-!
"Cough!"
The body of a Cardinal sitting at the head of the table was pushed back.
An overwhelming amount of demonic energy applied pressure on them.
He pulled a chair back and sat.
"You…"
"D-don't tell me…"
[You asked what the Phase of Evil is doing?]
As if cutting their doubts, he spoke in a low voice.
[Here. I'm right in front of you.]
"Ah, ahh!"
The red mask twisted.
[I'm your father, the creator of darkness, the ruler of the abyss.]
A sticky demonic energy surrounded the cultists.
[I'm Satan,] he said in a sharp tone.
"Ah, ahh!!"
"Phase of Evil!!'
"S-Satan!!"
The cultists knelt.
They were thrilled.
Satan…
No one on Earth didn't know about him.
The cultists trembled after realizing the identity of the Phase of Evil they'd been serving.
[You're trying to escape?]
"Th-that."
The faces of the cultists paled.
Satan spread his hand, and a strong, absorbing force dragged the head of a cultist to him.
Paf-
The head exploded, and the smell of blood filled the entire room.
[A demon doesn't retreat.]
"Ah…"
"S-sorry!"
The cultists lowered their heads.
[Why is it that you serve a demon?]
Satan got up.
[There's only one reason why people serve demons… It has been that way since the beginning,] he said in a voice full of madness, desire, and lust.
[Eternal life? What's the point in living an eternal life as a slave? Desire? A desire that can't be fulfilled is just a curse. You don't serve demons for a reason like that.]
Stomp.
[Power! The strength to step over others and rise to the top! Wasn't that what you were after?!] he shouted.
The cultists trembled and felt chills.
[Escape? Make a deal? There's nothing of that sort for a demon! Lust, fight! Achieve! Kill the enemy and eat their flesh! Drink their blood! That's what we live for!!]
"Aah."
It hadn't been a minute since he'd appeared. Yet he was able to drag everyone's attention thanks to an overwhelming charisma.
The cultists found their mouths agape at such an overwhelming presence.
Satan took out something from inside his cloak.
Clang-
Dozens of black jewels got put over the table.
"Th-this…"
"Demonic Energy Stones…?"
[Eat them,] Satan said.
[I'll give you my strength. Fight. Kill the fake archduke who's making fun of the Demon Cult.]
The eyes behind the mask were burning.
[Die for me.]
"Aah!!"
"Satan!!"
"Phase of Evil!!!!"
The cultists started to go crazy.
The tips of Satan's mouth went up behind the mask.
* * *
Tap- Tap-
A figure ran through a giant ice cave with hurried steps.
Their robe uncovered a face distorted by heavy burns.
The person with such a horrifying appearance ran while taking a deep breath.
Suddenly, a black figure appeared in front of her.
The black figure was beating as if it were a giant's heart.
The woman, Yulia, shouted.
"Mr. S-Satan!!!"
BOOM-!!
A loud sound shook their surroundings, frost fell to the ground, and the black figure began moving.
[What's going on?]
"Y-you see…" Yulia stammered.
Satan's body, surrounded by darkness, started to wriggle.
[Speak. If you woke me for an insignificant reason, your soul will—]
"Mr. Satan…" Yulia gulped.
"Satan has appeared."
[…]
There was a heavy silence.
[What…?]
What did she mean?
