"Ha, ha, ha."
Heavy breathing was heard, and his clothes were soaked in a cold sweat.
A black figure shot forward at an incredible speed.
BOOM-!
He aggressively opened the door of the building and saw an abnormally tall ceiling.
[Demon King?]
Balrog, who was training alone in the big space, tilted his head.
"Please, let me hide here for a bit."
[Did something happen?]
"Somehow… I feel uneasy."
KangWoo kept talking with a hardened expression on his face.
After he returned from hanging out with Seol-ah, he looked over the documents he'd received from Kim ShiHoon once more; then, right when he was getting ready to sleep…
He heard a viscous liquid dripping along with something moving through the wall, so he quickly got up.
'I know this sound…'
He felt a familiar uneasiness.
A premonition-like sense was telling him to escape.
KangWoo left his house without hesitation and went to where Balrog was staying.
[Hahaha! You used to do this also in Hell.]
Balrog walked toward him, smiling.
'Don't laugh. That's even scarier.'
Balrog placed his hand on KangWoo's back.
[If you wanted to see me, you could have just said so… If it's the King's order, I, Balrog, will go anywhere.]
'What nonsense are you saying?'
His mouth fell open in disbelief.
Balrog cleaned the sweat off with a towel the size of a blanket as if he were satisfied that KangWoo was there to see him.
"Ha."
KangWoo wanted to say something, but he just sighed as if he were too tired to say anything.
He turned his head and looked around.
'It feels like I'm inside Gulliver's Travels.'
All of the equipment inside was specifically built for Balrog, who was five meters tall.
Since all of the furniture in the room was meant for Balrog’s size, he felt like a small person who'd gone to a country full of giants.
He jumped off the ground and landed on top of a giant sofa.
"Is there anything you find uncomfortable?" he asked him in passing.
Balrog smiled.
[There's nothing.]
"Still, isn't living alone uncomfortable…?"
Balrog had countless underlings beneath him in Hell, but they were on Earth.
—He had no underlings or a worthy partner.
Just because he was a demon didn't mean he had no emotions or that he couldn’t feel loneliness.
-Hop.
Balrog sat on the sofa. The sofa swayed, and for a brief moment, KangWoo's body floated in the air.
He opened his mouth.
[It's okay. After all, the Demon King is here.]
"…"
[I was more lonely in Hell after you left, Demon King.]
"Why…?"
He couldn't understand it.
If he had disappeared, since Balrog was second in command, he would have been the one in charge of the demon king's army.
'Balrog probably became the demon king.'
Since they'd killed all the archdukes, except for the ancient demonic monsters, there probably wasn't anyone capable of putting his position as demon king at risk.
He had obtained the power to rule over the Hell of Nine Skies, so KangWoo couldn't understand why he'd struggled in Hell.
[It’s because you weren't there, Demon King.]
'You're going to give me goosebumps.'
He felt chills at Balrog’s calm reply.
KangWoo increased the distance between them in disgust.
Balrog clapped as if he'd remembered something.
[Oh, yeah. Demon King, how about you try this?]
He walked toward the giant refrigerator and opened it before taking a giant silver container out of it.
"Draft beer…?"
It was a giant draft beer container they often used in shops.
Balrog nodded and brought out two of the giant containers.
[Didn't we enjoy a feast with humans where we burned the corpse of a beast and enjoyed eating it?]
"Don't tell me… Are you talking about the barbeque we had at the picnic?"
[Oh, so that act of cruelty is called a ‘barbeque’. To think that they'd laugh while eating the corpse of prey they hunted… Humans really are something.]
"No, I mean… If you put it like that, you're right, but…"
[Anyway, I tasted beer for the first time back then. The sensation of it hitting the upper part of my mouth… It was a surprising taste I hadn't been able to experience in Hell.]
"You have a sense of taste?" KangWoo asked back in surprise.
A demon's taste buds were almost non-existent because, after all, they didn't need to eat or drink, so there was no way they would have taste buds.
To them, eating the corpse of another demon was like a victory ceremony.
[Hahaha. After I got used to it, it wasn't bad, but I still can’t understand the flavor of the kimchi stew the Demon King enjoys so much.]
"How dare you insult kimchi stew."
[Hahaha! I'm sorry.]
Balrog smiled brightly.
* * *
KangWoo smiled as he recalled memories of the past while they were still in the 9th hell.
He remembered that the conversations he had with Balrog while engaging in war against the Archdukes were entertaining.
Crack- Pshh!!!
'Oh, fuck.'
Balrog tore the top off the draft beer container, and the beer overflowed from it.
Balrog picked up the other huge draft beer container and gave it to KangWoo.
[From what I've seen, humans did it like this. Ehem, ch…]
"Leaving the cheers aside, what are you going to do about the floor?"
[Ah, that's okay. Balzac will clean it up later.]
"You’re just going to leave everything to him…?"
[Hehe. Aren't I in a higher position than him? Also, I'm not sure who he learned from, but he seemed quite used to doing housework.]
"It's probably born talent."
Balrog burst into laughter.
KangWoo sighed and bounced his finger.
The Authority of Ice activated, and a cold beer cup was created that he poured some of the alcohol into before raising it.
Cheers-
It was an unexpected toast.
Although it had nothing to do with the battle that was going to happen, he didn't feel like he was doing a useless thing.
He remembered when he'd first met Balrog.
"Haa! It's quite refreshing. Are there any snacks?"
[If you want, I'll go to a Demon Cult base right now and take a demon’s head…]
"No thanks. Fuck, I just can't talk with you."
KangWoo shook his head and took a sip of beer, and the carbonation passed through his throat.
There was a refreshing sensation, and the uneasiness he was feeling was swept away.
[This reminds me of the past.]
"The past?"
[Yes. When I first met you, Demon King.]
"…"
KangWoo remained silent after he heard that. Coincidentally, he was thinking the same thing.
- I'm Balrog.
He remembered their first dialogue.
- I see the rumors that a human had been able to climb up to the 9th hell were true.
He raised his head and saw him drinking from the beer can.
- I came here because there's something I wanted to ask.
His body was covered with wounds, and his eyes were dark, like the eyes of a dead fish rather than the eyes of a demon.
- Kill… Me…
"…"
The memory was cut short.
KangWoo swallowed the beer, his mouth closed.
A bitter taste spread through his mouth.
[I still remember your reply, Demon King.]
"Really? It's been so long that I can't remember it."
[You said, 'Don't act as if you know what I’ve been through. Back the fuck off.']
"Come on. There's no way I said something like that."
[In reality, there were more insults. At the time, I didn't know how to speak Korean, and I could only use demon language.]
"…"
There was silence.
KangWoo coughed and avoided looking at him.
'How weird. There's no way I said something like that.'
They said it was easy for past memories to be misremembered.
KangWoo shook his head and served more beer.
Clang-
He once again clinked glasses with Balrog.
'This isn't bad.'
Drinking while talking about the past…
He never imagined he'd do it with Balrog, but it didn't feel bad.
'One day, when everything's over…'
Those kinds of days would become normal.
He continued drinking his beer.
* * *
[Deemon Kiinngg~~]
"Ugh."
[Sniff. Demon King, do you know how lonely I was without you?]
"How is it possible that a demon got drunk?"
[Drunk? Hahaha! There's no way I, Balrog, would become drunk from alcohol like this!]
"You bastard, you're drunk right now!"
[Come on, there's no way. See? I can even walk straight!]
Crack-!
Balrog stepped on a table and crushed it; then he hugged KangWoo with his muscular arm.
Perhaps it was because he was training before KangWoo visited, but an immense smell hit him.
"Ugh."
He couldn't breathe.
Click-
"Balrog, have you seen KangWoo? I asked Ms. Seol-ah, but she said he suddenly went out…"
The door opened, and Kim ShiHoon entered.
Kim ShiHoon's expression hardened after he saw Balrog hugging KangWoo.
"ShiHoon, help me…"
KangWoo extended his hands, and Kim ShiHoon trembled.
"Balrog… you…"
Chilling killing intent rose up.
'ShiHoon, help me…'
KangWoo looked at ShiHoon with hopeful eyes while he was being restrained by Balrog.
"How could you do something so n… I mean, rude…"
'ShiHoon?'
"Balrog, pick up your weapon."
'What nonsense is this?'
"I challenge you to a duel."
'Excuse me?'
[Hahaha! Good for me!]
'What's good?'
BOOM. Balrog got up.
[Let's see who’s more fit to be the King's subordinate, human.]
"That's exactly what I want."
'Stop, you crazy bastards.'
KangWoo grabbed his head at the unexpected development of events.
Then…
Squeak-
He heard a liquid dripping.
KangWoo's face turned pale.
"Fufufu. I was wondering where you were. I’ve finally found you."
"Ah…"
"I listened to a piece of advice from Ms. Seol-ah today. I see… it seems like I was too passive until now."
"What? Passive? You?”
"Yes. I realized I must be more active in communicating my feelings toward the Demon King."
"No, that's not it."
"Come here, my love."
Lilith hugged him.
Balrog and Kim ShiHoon took out their weapons and began fighting.
There was a huge vibration, and the building shook.
'Will days like this keep happening before everything's over?'
He felt that he was in the middle of a nightmare and freed himself from the tentacles, desperately moving away.
He tried to enter the secret lab in Balrog’s building.
- Bzzt. Scanning finger.
- Error. Error.
- Stopping device.
- Stopping.
"Wh-what? Why isn't it opening?"
There was liquid over the scanning device, so the door wasn't opening.
"I can't open the door!"
Squeak-
"N-no!"
A tentacle wrapped around his body as if it were stopping him from escaping.
"This is crazy. I have to get out of here. Wait. I can't?"
AAAHHH!
