Chapter 287 - Festering Wound (1)
"In that case, I will help out for an hour or two. I also have some things I have to take care of today."
Actually, Oh Kang-Woo had absolutely nothing to do today. He just wanted to go back home as soon as possible and get all lovey-dovey with Han Seol-Ah.
"R-Really? That's a relief. There are too many Undead for me to wipe out on my own," said Uriel.
'I've seen you wipe out dozens of them with just a wave of your hand.'
"Ahem. It will probably take a couple of months for my army to arrive... You can help me locate Rakiel in the meantime, right?"
'I'm gonna play with my darling, damn pigeon.'
Kang-Woo tried his best to suppress the words from coming out of his mouth. He had been planning on having tons of dates with Seol-Ah after this was over, so this felt like a hammer to the back of the head.
Kang-Woo anxiously bit his lip and said, "Guardians can handle the Rakiel investiga—"
"You said we're allies. I can't just stand around doing nothing."
He was right. Kang-Woo couldn't think of any way to refute him.
"In that case, I will have Kim Si-Hun pair up with y—"
"No, I'm gonna go around with you."
'But fucking why though?'
Kang-Woo looked at Uriel in frustration. Why... why did it have to be him?
'I mean, it's not a bad thing.'
He would be able to gain a lot from helping Uriel purify the base and investigate Rakiel's traces.
First, he could make the angels indebted to him, which would obviously be quite useful for their relationship in the future. He'd be able to make the angels move as he wished at least once. However...
'Fuuuuuck.'
Kang-Woo clenched his hair. He knew it would be useful and that it was necessary, but...
'I wanna plaaaaaaaay!'
If everyone was able to do things because it was useful and necessary, no one would ever fail in dieting. There were countless things that people didn't want to do despite knowing that they had to.
It would be one thing if the real Rakiel had done it, but Kang-Woo did not want to waste time tracking down a Rakiel that didn't actually exist.
'But it doesn't feel right to just reject it.'
Kang-Woo sighed and opened his mouth.
"I also have a lot to do, so I would only be able to help out about two to three days a week... Is that alright with you?"
"Well, if you're busy, then I guess it can't be helped."
Thankfully, Uriel seemed to have common sense.
"In that case, let's just have a light purification session today. I will come tomorrow or the day after to help out with investigating Rakiel's traces."
"Okay!" Uriel energetically nodded, a smile on his face.
"..."
Kang-Woo covered his eyes.
'Fuck...' he inwardly cursed.
* * *
A month passed, and the days had been busy for Kang-Woo. He went on dates with Seol-Ah and also stayed at home, playing with Echidna and Halcyon.
Not only that, but he also went on a trip with Lilith, who had been swamped with work. Lilith had screamed in joy, and Kang-Woo had screamed for other reasons.
Of course, he didn't just play around.
He occasionally took some time to improve his demonic energy control and chased Rakiel's traces with Uriel.
'Though it's completely pointless...'
There was no Rakiel in the first place, so chasing after his traces was pointless. He'd suggested to Uriel that they give up since they hadn't been able to find anything, but Uriel had flatly refused for some reason.
In any case, they began cultivating a friendship from all their time together, and Kang-Woo had more or less achieved his objective.
"Hup."
Kang-Woo got up from bed.novelb1n
"There's that mark again."
For some reason, whenever he slept with Seol-Ah, he woke up with red marks all over his body. There were also some wet areas.
He had asked a few times, but she never gave him an answer. He also became extremely sleepy whenever he was in Seol-Ah's embrace for some reason, so he couldn't even stay up to check what was happening.
'That's that, but...'
Kang-Woo circulated his demonic energy through his body.
'I knew it.'
When he slept with Seol-Ah, there were times when his demonic energy control improved. He didn't know the exact reason, but when he slept with her, his demonic energy control improved far more than when he trained.
'Could it be Seraph's influence?'
He wasn't sure yet. Whatever the reason, after he had realized it would improve his control, Kang-Woo slept with Seol-Ah more often. As if his life were a fantasy webnovel, he got stronger just by sleeping, so there was no reason for him not to.
'But it kinda feels like my stamina gets reduced each time.'
It hadn't been like that at first, but he'd recently started to feel that his body was stiff when he woke up. It was as if someone had squeezed him dry.
'I wonder if it has something to do with my improved demonic energy control?'
It was a possible explanation. It was nowhere near molting, but training to improve demonic energy control consumed massive amounts of his stamina. If he subconsciously trained while sleeping, it was obvious that his stamina would decrease.
'I'm not sure why it only happens when I sleep with Seol-Ah, though.'
Kang-Woo had become used to it happening, so he soon paid it no mind and turned on his smartphone.
'I'll just read some news.'
The black-haired young man, Vaal Zahak, bowed as if he were a waiter in a luxurious restaurant. The chain attached to his monocle shook slightly.
"Is it not perfect?" he asked.
"It would be, if it weren't for that goddamn pink apron."
"Huhu. That is not possible."
Vaal Zahak proudly flapped his pink apron.
Kang-Woo frowned.
"I-Is that really Vaal Zahak?" Seol-Ah asked in surprise.
"Yeah. What do you think? It's not weird, is it?" Kang-Woo asked.
"... I would've never guessed it was him based on his appearance."
"Hm! He looks like a butler from an anime!" Echidna also looked at the changed Vaal Zahak with shining eyes.
Vaal Zahak's slick tuxedo under the pink apron and his expensive-looking monocle made him look like a butler from Japanese anime and manga.
'He stands out for a different reason now.'
Kang-Woo feigned laughter but nodded in satisfaction. If he used his Ruler of Demonic Energy on top of this to completely conceal his retainers' demonic energy, no one would be able to tell that Vaal Zahak was a demon.
"A-Are you really Vaal Zahak?" Seol-Ah asked.
"Of course, madam."
Vaal Zahak touched the pendant on his neck. A black light momentarily covered his body, and he returned to his usual skeleton self.
"Whoa, that's pretty convenient!" Kang-Woo said.
"It took us quite a while to develop this magic tool."
Vaal Zahak puffed his chest out with great pride.
Kang-Woo looked around.
"Where's Balrog?"
Clack.
Speak of the devil, a door opened. There, Kang-Woo saw a brown-haired young man walking with Lilith's help.
"..."
"B-Balrog...?" Seol-Ah stuttered.
The man was over 190 cm tall, with toned muscles and a face bursting with masculine beauty. The muscle pig Balrog had turned into a large young man as if he had gone through a metamorphosis.
"B-Balrog?" Kang-Woo looked at him in disbelief.
To be honest, he thought that a human Balrog would look like a professional wrestler, but he had been completely off the mark. Balrog looked like a supermodel who could easily take the front cover of any fashion magazine.
"My king!"
After seeing Kang-Woo, Balrog walked toward him with a smile, but...
Tumble!
"Urgh!"
He tripped. Unlike Vaal Zahak, Balrog was originally five meters tall, so he had a hard time getting used to his shortened legs.
"Are you okay?" Kang-Woo asked.
"Kuh... To think I would have to show such disgrace to my king..."
"I mean, your limbs are shorter now, so of course that would happen."
Kang-Woo helped Balrog up.
Although Balrog had become smaller, he was still quite massive due to his height and wide shoulders.
"My king..."
Kang-Woo looked up at Balrog, who was blushing from being embarrassed that he had shown such a disgraceful side.
Due to the size difference, it looked as if Balrog were on top of him.
"..."
Kang-Woo suddenly felt a chill, so he threw Balrog, whom he had been supporting.
"Kurgh!" Balrog yelped.
'Fuck.'
He even thought that Balrog's usual muscle-pig self looked better.
Kang-Woo organized his thoughts and opened his mouth.
"There doesn't seem to be anything awkward about your disguises. To be honest, you've exceeded my expectations. Good work, Vaal Zahak."
"You flatter me," Vaal Zahak said as he clacked his teeth. "I was able to make it a much better quality thanks to Lady Lilith's help."
"Really?"
Kang-Woo turned his head toward Lilith.
Lilith waved her hands and smiled. She slowly walked toward him.
"I was not able to fulfill your other orders yet, but... I have made some progress on how we can conceal Seol-Ah's energy."
"If you're tired, you can take a short break. I can keep Uriel in check. Seol-Ah won't be in danger of being found out as long as we're careful."
"Fufu. I will do my absolute best in anything as long as you command me to do it."
Lilith made a bright smile.
For some reason, Seol-Ah nodded and even took notes for some reason. It was as if she were a student at a lecture.
Lilith said, "Oh, right. I visited the Hall of Protection for a short moment, and I have a message for you from Gaia."
"A message?"
"Yes." Lilith licked her lips. "She would like you to go to Venezuela with Si-Hun."
