Chapter 323 - Atonement (1)
“That was so much fun, Kang-Woo,” Echidna said as she held Oh Kang-Woo’s hand while smiling.
Time flew by when having fun; It had become dark before they had realized it, and stores were closing one after another. Their time in Akihabara had come to an end.
Kang-Woo smirked while nodding. Although he had been a little bewildered by the maid cafe they had visited in the beginning, he had a much better time afterward.
“Let’s come again next time,” he said as he gently stroked Echidna’s hair.
“Okay!” Echidna answered brightly.
Seeing her radiant smile eased Kang-Woo’s mind.
“Shall we go home?” he expressed.
Although he had mentioned passports last time, they had not flown here; after all, they could literally go anywhere in the world through the Hall of Protection via Gates that had been installed all over the world. Kang-Woo went to an area with no people to open a Gate leading to the Hall of Protection. Just then, Echidna hugged his arm as if dangling on it.
“... Thank you,” she said softly while smiling, “If it weren’t for you... I would’ve never known happiness like this, Kang-Woo.”
Kang-Woo turned his head to look down at her. Her smile momentarily felt extremely beautiful to him.
“...”
Kang-Woo scratched his cheek. He was not used to feeling such emotions.
“... Let’s go home.”
“Okay!"
Echidna held his hand even tighter. Although Kang-Woo was not used to such a feeling, it did not feel bad at all.
***
The day after his trip with Echidna, Kang-Woo arrived at the Hall of Protection after getting a call from Kim Si-Hun. Si-Hun, who had just come out of the training room, looked haggard.
“What’s up with your face?” Kang-Woo asked while frowning.
If a superhuman like Si-Hun was in such terrible condition, it meant that it was about something serious.
“... Hyung-nim,” Si-Hun called with a trembling voice. He bit his lip while on the verge of tears. “I called you because... I would like to ask you something.”
“... What is it?” N♡vεlB¡n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time.
“Lady Gaia probably doesn’t know this, but... You used to be a demon, right?”
“Yeah, I used to be.”
Kang-Woo actually was still a demon, although Si-Hun thought that Kang-Woo had returned to being a human after becoming the apostle of the God of Heroes.
“Is it dangerous even for a former demon... to be encroached by demonic energy?”
Si-Hun stared at Kang-Woo with desperation, hoping for him to answer no.
‘Aha.’
Kang-Woo finally understood why Si-Hun was so haggard.
‘Cute little bastard.’
Si-Hun had been worried about him. Kang-Woo fell into thought while suppressing the corners of his mouth from curling up.
‘How should I handle this?’
He thought whether or not he should specially tell Si-Hun, who had become a complete mess, but lightly shook his head.
‘Si-Hun is too close to Layla.’
After Grace McCubbin had become the public leader of Guardians, Si-Hun had been staying in the Hall of Protection and assisting Layla in her place. Although Layla no longer needed protection now that Gaia had regained her power, Si-Hun still assisted her for various things in the Hall of Protection.
‘I feel sorry for Si-Hun, but...’
He could not afford to shoulder the risk of the truth being exposed in this situation.
“... Yeah. My body has practically become that of a human,” Kang-Woo answered.
“Th-Then, if the encroachment of demonic energy continues, will you become a demon... like before?”
“No.” Kang-Woo shook his head in sorrow.
Si-Hun’s face paled. There were only two outcomes for a human that had been encroached by demonic energy. If they did not become a demon...
“A-Are you saying... You’ll become a demonic beast?”
Si-Hun now knew the difference between demons and demonic beasts very well. Demons possessed intelligence, but demonic beasts...
“I’m not sure either, but considering the symptoms... It’s likely,” Kang-Woo replied while smiling bitterly.
[H-Hyung-nim!]
“...?”
Si-Hun was acting in a way completely different from his expectations. Kang-Woo would have yeeted his smartphone if Si-Hun had called him to say something cheesy like he could rely on him, but that did not seem to be the case. He seemed to be shocked by something.
“What’s wrong?”
[H-He appeared... in the H-Hall of Protection.]
“He?” Kang-Woo frowned.
[R-Rakiel! Rakiel has come to the Hall of Protection all by himself!]
“...!”
Kang-Woo’s eyes widened.
‘What?’
Why would Rakiel be there? Kang-Woo cut the call and quickly called Lilith.
“Lilith!”
- My, what’s wrong, my king?
“Where... Where’s Lucis?!”
- He’s right next to me.
“... What?”
Kang-Woo’s voice trembled.
‘What the hell?’
If it was neither Lucis or Kang-Woo...
“Could it be... The real Rakiel?”
Kang-Woo clenched his hair in complete chaos.
‘Why would he just barge in out of nowhere?’
There was only one reason why the Constellation of Corruption would appear in the Hall of Protection, where Gaia’s incarnation was.
‘Holy fuck.’
Leaving aside how Rakiel had managed to find the Hall of Protection, he had just barged in through the front door without giving them any time to prepare. Kang-Woo had known that the seal on Rakiel was weakening and that he would be coming to Earth in the near future, but he had never expected him to act so rashly.
‘I should...’
As Kang-Woo was about to head to the Hall of Protection right away, he stopped in his tracks.
“Wait.”
His eyes narrowed. The gears in his head turned rapidly.
‘Something doesn’t add up.’
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't make much sense of Rakiel’s actions. If he had known to come to the Hall of Protection, he would have also known that it was Guardians headquarters. Despite that, he had walked in all by himself with no subordinates to assist him. Worst of all, Gaia’s incarnation was in that Hall of Protection.
‘Wait a fucking minute.’
Unsettling thoughts swirled around his head. He bit his lip in anxiety.
“Kang-Woo? What’s wrong?” Seol-Ah asked while opening his room door and coming in.
Kang-Woo grabbed Seol-Ah’s hand and said, “Darling, I don’t have time to explain, but I need you to follow me for a second.”
This was not the time to take one’s time to explain matters. Seol-Ah expressed confusion, but nodded in silence. The two of them headed to the Hall of Protection.
There was Gaia, who was exuding immense energy as if she had already manifested within Layla, Si-Hun, who was already assuming a fighting stance with Ludwig in hand, and...
“O Goddess of the earth.” There was a black-winged angel kneeling in front of Gaia. “I have come to atone for my sins.”
Rakiel placed his head on the floor. Kang-Woo grabbed his head in panic. The worst-case scenario he had pictured in his mind was happening before his very eyes.
‘Fucking son of a bitch.’
This was not good at all.
‘Shit.’
Kang-Woo grimaced from the unexpected turn of events. He glared at Rakiel with sunken eyes.
‘You want to atone for your sins?’
The corners of his mouth curled up, and he licked his lips.
‘Over my dead body.’