Darkness fell.
The thick demonic energy that leaked out of his skin covered the surroundings.
The scarily thick demonic energy poured from where the Ten Thousand Demon Core was located within his heart.
He could feel it…
'Demonic energy from the deepest part…'
If the Ten Thousand Demon Core could be separated by floors, it would belong to the middle floor.
The demonic energy there spread through his body, and he moved his finger.
There was no reaction.
'I wonder what it means to have achieved ‘Demonic Soul’.'
It was more confusing than Extreme Demonic Energy Body.
While thinking, KangWoo started to feel the changes inside his body.
It was many times more effective than he had imagined.
Demonic energy that moved on its own spread throughout his body.
The changes began.
'Ah.'
It was hard to explain how it felt.
His spine shuddered, and the hairs on his neck stood on end.
It was as if he were climbing.
He felt like he'd gone up a mountain so high that he couldn’t see the ground anymore.
Things he previously thought were obvious, things he considered clear, he suddenly thought weren't like that.
'What's going on?'
It felt clearly different from when he'd completed the Extreme Demonic Energy Body.
There wasn't an explosive change in strength, nor had his body gone through a change.
'Isn't it just getting stronger?'
It was different from his combat capability simply increasing.
It wasn't getting the strength to overwhelm and step on his opponents.
'This…'
He found the correct word.
It didn't take long.
A certain word passed through KangWoo’s head as he was curled up on the ground.
'Plate.'
A plate—an object used to hold something else.
Demonic Soul, that unknown strength, had turned him into a plate.
Ting-
He heard the familiar bell sound and raised his head.
A blue message window appeared in front of his eyes.
[You've successfully awakened Demonic Soul!]
[The plate capable of holding Divinity has been completed!]
[Your Demonic Energy stat has increased by 2.]
[Your Demonic Energy stat has reached 140!]
'A plate that can hold Divinity…'
He thought he understood what Demonic Soul did.
'Is this the road to becoming a Demon God?'
First, it was his body that changed.
Then, it was his soul.
In both changes, there was one goal…
Divinity.
The power that made gods, gods.
It was something that went beyond the laws of physics and made it possible to exercise 'miracles.'
'And…'
It was the ability to influence the system.
"…"
He slowly opened his eyes.
It was the same world, but it felt different.
It was a confusing way to say it, but it was hard to find a better way to say it.
He moved his finger, raised demonic energy, and used an Authority.
There was a passageway perfectly connected to the 'deepest' part of the Ten Thousand Demon Core.
It was as if he'd built a giant water pipe in the sea.
He could use demonic energy as naturally as when he used to be in the Hell of Nine Skies.
Slash-!!
Black blades soared from his fingers.
He turned his hand, and droplets of darkness fell as if they were blood.
One of the droplets hit the ground.
CRACK-!!
Black blades broke from the earth in a diameter of about 20 meters from where the droplet fell.
Earth Blades…
Although it was a skill he already used, when he used demonic energy from the deepest part, it felt completely different.
"It's been a while."
The tips of his mouth went up.
He remembered when he used to be at the top.
[Ah, ahh.]
Balrog felt excited.
He was an underling of the Demon King, so his soul was connected to him.
He could feel his strength.
* * *
He realized his master had fully returned to when he used to rule over the Hell of Nine Skies.
He knelt and slammed his head onto the ground.
[Demon King, you're back.]
"What nonsense is that?"
KangWoo smirked.
It was funny.
"I've been here all this time."
[…]
Balrog remained silent.
He felt ashamed for having used the words 'you're back.'
It was stupid.
Balrog knew who he was and what he was capable of.
He hadn’t reached the peak of the Hell of Nine Skies because he was strong.
In terms of strength, Baal was stronger than him.
Even during the 'Final Battle,' Baal was stronger than the Demon King.
But in the end…
The one who won was the Demon King, his master.
They'd suffered numerous losses throughout a battle that lasted a thousand years, and many underlings and partners died.
'But…'
The Demon King won in the end.
He didn't surrender, he didn't make concessions, and he didn't yield.
He had accepted a challenge he had no chance of winning at the time.
[Ah, ahh.]
Balrog's body trembled, and tears dripped from his eyes.
He shuddered from his endless faith, trust, and fanaticism.
The Demon King was right—he hadn't returned, he was always there.
[DEMON KIINNGG!!!]
Balrog rushed toward KangWoo and hugged him with both his arms.
[I, Balrog, am honored for having been given a chance to serve the Demon King!!]
Due to their overwhelming difference in height, KangWoo's head reached his armpit.
"Fuck! Back off!!"
KangWoo trembled at the horrible scent.
KangWoo looked at Balrog with a tired expression.
He was looking at him with shining eyes that didn't match his body.
'You dumb muscle pig.'
That was the best way to describe him.
Still, it wasn't that he didn't like seeing him. They'd spent too much time together for that to be the case.
[Now it will be easier to face Satan and Lucifer.]
"No, that probably won't be the case."
He shook his head and narrowed his eyes.
"Those guys have Divinity."
[Divinity…?]
"Yes."
Just because they had Divinity didn't mean they were strong.
Having more Divinity meant that you had a better chance of being stronger, but unlike stats, it didn't necessarily translate into strength.
An example of that was Hero God Tyrion—KangWoo was sure he'd be able to beat him.
'But…'
That didn't mean that he could take them lightly.
While they were in the Hell of Nine Skies, they didn't have Divinity.
If they had, there's no way he wouldn't have noticed it when he devoured them.
'They obtained it here.'
Judging by the situation, both demons had gone back to a distant past by at least a thousand years.
During that time, not only had they recovered their bodies, but they'd reached a higher point than they had in the Hell of Nine Skies.
'What happened?'
He couldn't understand it.
A thousand years wasn't that many years for them.
For tens of thousands of years, they weren't able to surpass the limits of being 'archdukes.'
The only one that had been able to go beyond his limits was Baal, but it was suddenly different outside of Hell.
Both Satan and Lucifer had obtained Divinity.
They had been able to go beyond the wall that had stopped them from growing.
'How?'
He couldn't imagine how they were able to do that.
His head felt fuzzy. He clicked his tongue and shook his head.
'The important thing is that I can’t think of an obvious reason.'
He raised his hands.
FWOOSH-!!!
Yellow flames rose.
Mamon's Authority still felt awkward. It was bad.
Demonic Soul was just a plate.
'It’s an empty plate that hasn't been filled.'
Unlike what he'd expected, there wasn't an increase in power.
'More…'
He had to become stronger.
Craving and desire burned his throat.
Ting.
['The last step to becoming a ‘Demon God' has been generated.]
[Information]
* Condition 1: Reach 150 Demonic Energy stat.
* Condition 2: ???
* Condition 3: ???
"Why so many? Fuck."
Before, there were two conditions, but he had three for becoming a Demon God.
The only good thing was that it was the 'last' step to becoming a Demon God.
"Last, huh?"
For some reason, he didn't feel that it was the last.
KangWoo remembered when he’d created 'Inferno.'
There was still a higher Demon God quest marked with a '???' back then.
"Well, I guess it's better for it to be there than not…"
It was true that he was expectant.
Becoming stronger and being able to do something you couldn't do before was an incredible experience; it was something demons craved, even if it cost them eternal life.
"Oh, yeah…"
He looked at his right middle finger.
The ring was wriggling as if it were alive.
'It said that it would begin digesting after reaching Demonic Soul.'
He still had a lot of questions regarding the Key of the Demonic Energy Sea.
'It ate a Hell's Equipment.'
Something he hadn't been able to eat with the Authority of Predation had been eaten by the ring, so it would be weird if he weren't curious about it.
He opened the Key of the Demonic Energy Sea’s status window.
[Equipment Information]
Equipment Name: Key of the Demonic Energy Sea
Rank: Transcendent (Engraving Complete)
Type: Growth * It will become stronger whenever a certain condition is fulfilled.
[Equipment Status]
* Digesting: Currently, it's digesting 'Greed.' Extra effects are temporarily disabled.
'Hmm?'
KangWoo frowned and poured demonic energy into the Key of the Demonic Energy Sea.
'It isn't changing.'
He frowned.
Without the Key of the Demonic Energy Sea, he couldn't use his hidden card, 'Inferno.'
"Hngh…"
It wasn't that he couldn't fight against an archduke without Inferno, but the hidden card he'd practiced for so much having been blocked was quite an unpleasant feeling.
'I'll have to stay low-key for the moment.'
KangWoo thought of the things he had to do.
'I need to reach 150 Demonic Energy stat.'
His Demonic Energy stat had already become too high. To increase it any further, he would have to devour the body of an archduke.
'…Or maybe eat a ridiculously high amount of demons.'
Anyway, it was clear that, for the moment, he didn't have a way to increase it.
"Tsk," he clicked his tongue.
Considering that he'd missed Lucifer, he'd obtained a lot of things, but thinking about the future made his head hurt.
"Let's return."
He began to walk away and raised his head to look at the blue sky and the warm sun.
It had been two years since his return to Earth.
It had been seven years since the 'Cataclysmic Day.'
He'd finally recovered his strength from the ten thousand years he’d spent in Hell.
