After Ten Millennia in Hell

A short exclamation left Lilith's mouth. Her purple skin reddened.

"Ah, ah, aah!"

Lilith closed her eyes and jumped in place as she clenched her fists and wiggled her tentacles. She didn't know how to react.

Pus poured out in all directions from the ends of her tentacles.

'…'

Oh Kang-Woo closed his eyes. Even if he tried to ignore it and desperately endure it…

'Fuck…'

He wasn't sure if he'd made the right decision.

'Did I dig my own grave?'

He was swept with regret, wondering that maybe he had made the wrong decision while he was drunk on his own emotions. No matter how precious her feelings were to him, he could not bring himself to ever get used to those tentacles.

"Sniff. Sniff… I love you… I love you so much, my king." Lilith smiled brightly. "Hehe. This is the first time… you kissed me first, my king."

Kang-Woo remained silent with a complicated emotion as he stared at Lilith, who couldn't be any happier.

'I'm thankful, but…'

No matter how much he tried to ignore her outer appearance and look at the person within…

'It's too much.'

Kang-Woo closed his eyes to the stench stimulating his nose.

If she'd looked like Kurosaki Yurie, he couldn't have been any happier, but what he was going through was so hard to withstand that his emotions cooled down pretty quickly.

'Wait.'

A certain thought crossed his mind, and Kang-Woo's eyes shone sharply.

'What if I…'

Although he had treated her far too harshly until now, he had ample justification to do this at this moment in time.

"But still, I can't let this go unpunished."

"Lilith, what you've done is akin to having betrayed me."

"Th-That…" Lilith's eyes trembled.

Regardless of her reason, it did not change the fact that she had planned this to deceive him. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she had committed treason. Even execution would be an appropriate punishment.

"… I apologize."

Lilith lowered her head without even thinking about making excuses. Her shoulders trembled, and she anxiously shifted her feet.

"I will accept any punishment," she said while gulping.

Kang-Woo could feel she was even willing to take her own life if commanded.

'Good.'

Kang-Woo opened his mouth slowly while making a nervous expression.

"From now on, I forbid you from being in your demon form in front of me."

"… Pardon?"

"Stay in the form of Kurosaki Yurie whenever you are with me."

"N-Not that!!" Lilith quickly shouted.

The demon king had finally made a move on her, but staying in that ugly and unsightly form might completely extinguish any sparks of love that had been formed at this moment.

"Please, my king! A-Anything but that…!"

She was scared she might be abandoned if she stayed in her human form.

'It took me hundreds of years to win his heart despite looking this beautiful…!'

It had taken hundreds of years to win the demon king's heart in her demon form, which was praised by all demons and would even make lower demons go mad with lust when they saw her. If she returned to her human form, his feelings would surely die down over time.

"You said you'd accept any punishment, did you not?" Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and glared at her.

Flinch.

Lilith trembled.

"I… understand," she nodded while making a heavy expression. Her tentacles disappeared, and she returned to the form of Kurosaki Yurie.

Kang-Woo clenched his fists while maintaining a solemn expression.

'YOLOOOOOOOO!!!' he exclaimed in silence.

He would have danced right here and now if he could.

'Fuck yes! It worked!!!'

Tears dripped down his cheeks. To be honest, Kang-Woo wanted to tell Lilith the truth; he wanted to tell her that he hated tentacles and her pus even more.

'But she didn't believe me the hundreds of times I said that her human form was far more beautiful.'

He had told her to the point that he had become absolutely sick of it, but even after that, she simply laughed it off. She had even shaken her head and giggled when he had taken a day to tell her seriously.

'At this point, I honestly don't think she's acting like this because she doesn't know.'

Lilith wasn't an idiot, so she probably knew that he wasn't joking after having been told so many times. In other words, it was more accurate to say that she was denying it despite knowing that Kang-Woo was telling the truth.

'Well…'

It wasn't like he couldn't understand Lilith. One might think she was crazy by human standards, but that was not the case—she'd lived for more than ten millennia. He wasn't sure how old she was exactly, but rumors of Lilith had already spread throughout the Nine Hells when Kang-Woo had first fallen into Hell.

After only being told she was beautiful for all that time, her appearance had been denied by the one she loved most. It would be weirder if she had accepted it easily.

'But it's all over now.'

A smile appeared on Kang-Woo's face.

"M-Must I really stay by your side in such an ugly appearance?" Lilith asked in a sad voice.

"Yeah. You must always be in this form whenever you're with me."

"Even during… n-nightly service?"

"Absolutely. Always. No matter what," he emphasized three times.

Tears flowed from Lilith's eyes.

"Wh-Why such a pointless punishment…?! How could you do this when you went absolutely crazy over my tentacle techniques?!!"

Kang-Woo barely managed to stop himself from cursing.

"Regardless, this is my punishment for you. Unless it isn't for unleashing your power during combat, you must always be in human form."

"Urgh…"

"You aren't thinking of glossing over such a serious crime, are you?"

Her lips moved slightly as if she were trying to say something, but she lowered her head.

"I… understand."

Wham!

Just then, a huge noise sounded out. Kang-Woo and Lilith looked toward the source of the sound.

"Wh-What are you talking about?!" Lucis, who had been healed by the Authority of Regeneration, glared at Kang-Woo with an expression full of despair. "How could you do something… so horrible to Lady Lilith?!!"

Lucis shook his head as if he couldn't stand to look at her.

"…"

Kang-Woo looked at him in disbelief. He considered burning him into a crisp again with the Authority of Blaze, but then he smiled as if he'd thought of something better.

"Do you hate Lilith's human form that much?"

"Obviously! This is an insult to Lady Lilith's beautiful tentacles!"

"Then I guess you ultimately only love Lilith for her looks."

"Wh-What?"

"Tsk, tsk, after all your talk about true love… Pathetic."

"Kuh!" Lucis's face aggressively crumpled. "N-No!! I'm truly in love with—"

"Then why did you react so sensitively? The only thing different about her is merely her appearance."

"Well…"

"It just means that you care more about her outer appearance than what's within."

"Y-You're wr—"

"Prove it if I'm wrong."

Lucis remained silent, and his face paled.

Kang-Woo smiled in satisfaction and looked down at him.

"You don't have the right to love her, you brat."

"U-Urgh." Lucis lowered his head, and tears dripped down his cheeks.

Kang-Woo snickered as he looked at Lucis, who was crying in dejection like a loser.

'That's enough joking around.'

It was about time to get to the main point.

"Right, brat. There are a few things that I want to ask you."

"D-Do you seriously think I'll—"

"Lilith," Kang-Woo quietly called out.

The quick-witted Lilith nodded, converted a few of her hair strands into tentacles, and wrapped Lucis's body.

"Gasp!"

Lucis's eyes widened. His eyes turned hazy as he twisted to get free.

Kang-Woo smiled wickedly.

'I've already confirmed that he's still under the brainwashing effect.'

If the effect had disappeared, there was no way he'd have come to Earth in secret to save Lilith without telling his father.

"Argh, urghh." Lucis drooled.

"First off, where's Lucifer?"

"Father is… in the middle… of a trial."

"A trial?"

Kang-Woo recalled Lucis saying through the communication orb that he had become stronger after overcoming a trial.

"And what is this trial?"

"The trial… is a space… made by the… Demon God's heart. It involves… growing one's… power there."

The Demon God's heart.

Kang-Woo's eyes narrowed.

"What kind of space is it exactly?"

"A place… where the flow of time… is different. A space… free from the… laws of physics."

Lucis's answers were choppy due to the brainwashing effect, but Kang-Woo could more or less understand what he was saying.

'Is it the same kind of space as that nightmare of the Primordial Darkness?'

He recalled the black space that he had followed Satan into. Lucis had said that the flow of time was different there, so it was understandable that Lucis had become so strong in such a short period of time.

'If Lucis became this strong…'

He couldn't even guess how much stronger Lucifer had become.

'The son of a bitch had Divinity when he first came to Earth…'

Kang-Woo's expression turned anxious.

Although he himself had become overwhelmingly stronger than his past self, so had Lucifer. Kang-Woo couldn't fathom how serious of a wild card Lucifer would become while Lucifer was preparing for his revenge in the trial, the space made from the Demon God's heart.

'I'll have to keep this guy for now, then.'

Kang-Woo looked down at Lucis. As long as he had Lucis, Lucifer wouldn't be able to act freely. For now, he had acquired some solid insurance.

'There's no need to be in a rush.'

He narrowed his eyes. It was dangerous to be indolent, but there was no need to be in a rush either.

'If I play my cards right, I could use Lucifer as well.'

The gears in his head started to quickly turn.

He did not have a detailed plan yet, but he surmised that he would be able to use Lucifer in the future if he used Lucis correctly. Kang-Woo couldn't help but smile.

'This is what you get for not raising your son right.'

Lucis's trolling was enough to make Kang-Woo shudder. He got goosebumps from imagining having a son like Lucis.

"Lilith, brainwash him even more thoroughly than before. Ensure he's willing to stab his father or cut open his throat if you order him to."

"Yes, my king." Lilith bowed.

The brainwashing she'd already applied to him was still in effect, so it wouldn't be hard to intensify it.

Kang-Woo turned away while making a satisfied expression.

Just then…

"Hm…?"

Kang-Woo saw the eight wings on Lucis's back and the black lightning crackling between them. A thought crossed his mind like a bolt of lightning.

'Wait just a minute.' Kang-Woo's eyes widened.

"Fuck yeah. I can use this."

He laughed in disbelief from not having thought of it sooner.

'He can be used for more than just keeping Lucifer in check.'

"Pfft, huehuehuehue."

A vulgar laugh unwittingly flowed out of his mouth.

"My king…?"

"Step aside for a second."

Kang-Woo walked toward Lucis and tightly gripped his shoulders.

"Listen carefully, Lucis."

"U-Urrh…?"

"Your name is no longer Lucis."

"Na…me?"

"From now on, your name is…"

Kang-Woo smirked.

"Rakiel."