Chapter 650: Side Story Chapter 130 - Thousand-Year War (3)

Side Story Chapter 130 - Thousand-Year War (3)

“Half-baked demons...?”

In other words, demons born naturally through reproduction were flawed compared to demons born from the Seed of Demonic Energy. Oh Kang-Woo stared at the two trembling demons.

‘I can’t tell based on appearance.’

The only physical feature he noticed was that they looked fairly young.

“What’s the difference?” Kang-Woo asked.

“Hmm,” Balrog groaned as he scratched his chin. “You made your way from the First Hell to the Ninth Hell, correct?”

“Yeah. Wasn’t that the reason why you approached me?”

“In that case, have you ever met a child demon during your journey?”

“What? Of course, I...”

‘Huh?’

“Come to think of it... none of the demons I’ve met were children.”

Kang-Woo tilted his head in confusion. He had encountered and eaten countless demons in the nine millennia he had been in Hell; to the point that a sea of demonic energy so vast that he couldn’t even begin to contain had formed inside him.

‘But none of them were children.’

He had often seen infantile demonic beasts but never a child demon. He had never noticed because he never thought about it but thinking back on it now, it was logically impossible.

“Demons born from the Seed of Demonic Energy are born in an adult state,” Balrog remarked.

“They’re adults from the moment they’re born?”

“Correct. They, of course, lack intelligence and other aspects that require experience, but they are born with a prime physical form.”

In other words, Balrog was already a five-meter muscly monster from the moment he was born.

‘It’s a bit disgusting to think about.’

Kang-Woo got goosebumps just thinking about a five-meter muscly monster looking around with the sparkling eyes of a baby.

“But Halves are different,” said Balrog, looking down at the two demons with statures far more slender than the average demon. “Halves are born young and grow to become a complete demon.”

“Aha.”

Halves needed to grow to become strong. Such a flaw was fatal in the world of demons where strength decided everything.

“Is that why they’re called Halves?” Kang-Woo asked.

“There is that too, but... there is something more decisive.”

“What? There’s more?” said Kang-Woo as he feigned laughter.

“Halves...” Balrog narrowed his eyes and stared at the Halves in contempt. “Do not desire. No, it is more accurate to say that they desire something else.”

In exchange for being immortal, demons instinctively desired things so that they did not go insane from eternal life. It could be for pleasure in battle, great strength, or insurmountable authority. Whatever it was, the endless desire acted as their drive to live on. To a demon, desire was what gave their lives meaning and the root of their existence.

“Something else?” Kang-Woo asked.

“Halves desire others. They are driven by bonds with other demons instead of their own benefit and lives. To put it simply, they are altruistic.”

“Oh.”

An altruistic demon— one who cared more about other demons than themselves.

‘Sure sounds like a half-baked demon.’

It was a fatal flaw as a demon.

‘So that’s why the gray-skinned demon and Balrog were staring at the Halves like that.’

The severity of Balrog’s contempt was less than what the gray-skinned demon expressed but it was contempt nonetheless.

“But it still doesn’t quite make sense. Didn’t you also fight for your master with your life?”

Although Balrog survived and was reduced to a remnant, he was following Kang-Woo to one day fulfill his revenge against Bael for Beelzebub. It was more than enough to be called altruistic.

“Hmm. You have a point.”

“Right?”

“But it is also incorrect. I swore allegiance to my master because that is my desire.”

“What’s the difference?”

Whether someone helped others for themselves or the sake of others, it did not change the fact that they were helping others. The source of their desires was different but the result was the same.

“The difference is—”

“No, forget it. There’s no point even if the proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

Kang-Woo couldn’t care less whether or not the Halves were discriminated against by the demons.

“Pudding? What is that?”

“Probably what your brain is made out of.”

“What?”

“Never mind.” Kang-Woo cut Balrog off and walked toward the two demons named Firean and Fel. “You said something about this place being our territory, right?”

“Y-Yes!!” Firean nodded as he hiccuped.

Kang-Woo smiled. “How many are there in your territory?”

“A-About three hundred.”

It was quite a large number since demons usually did not stick together.

“How many of them are Halves like you?”

“M-Most of us are Halves.”

“Most of you?”

“Yes...”

“How is that possible?”

Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder. Since Halves were demons born naturally through reproduction, the demons who gave birth to them should at least be regular.

“Demons usually abandon their children once they give birth to them.”

“What?” Kang-Woo was left wide-eyed, flabbergasted by Balrog’s explanation. “The parents abandon their children after giving birth to them?”

“Correct.”

“Why?”

“Hm? What do you mean, why? Children are but a byproduct of lust. Why would anyone waste their energy and time to raise those tiny weaklings?”

“Confucius would slap his balls in disbelief if he heard that.”

Kang-Woo chuckled as Balrog stared at him as if he were the weird one.

‘So this is Hell’s childcare system.’

It seemed Korea was still a far better place to live in than Hell.

“Well, anyway. Firean, right?”

“Y-Yes!”

“Tell me where your territory is. I’ll take you there.”

“You will...?”

Kang-Woo nudged the dead gray-skinned demon with his foot and said kindly, “You could come across assholes like this guy if you linger around here again, right?”

He needed to make sure that he didn’t garner suspicion if he wanted to devour their entire village.

“Ah... Th-Thank you very much!!”

Firean bowed with a pure smile. Kang-Woo smiled back.

“I will lead the way!” Firean shouted.

“Oh, just a second.” Kang-Woo turned around and walked back to the gray-skinned demon’s corpse. “Lemme eat this before we go.”

“Pardon?”

Kang-Woo’s palm split open and from it flowed black mucus covered in sharp teeth, covering the demon’s corpse.

Crunch! Crunch—!!

The sound of bones breaking echoed.

***

“Th-This way.”

Kang-Woo followed Firean to the Halves’ territory after devouring the gray-skinned demon’s corpse. The village of the Halves was inside a large cave beyond a convoluted rocky range. Inside the cave were poorly built huts and little demons were running around playing.

“Hah...” Kang-Woo couldn’t help but chuckle as he looked around the village.

‘So this is what he meant by different.’

Kang-Woo immediately understood what Balrog had said.

“Kyahahahaha!! Hey~! Stop right there~!”

“Hehehe! Over here!!”

The faces of the little demons playing in the cave were bright and the demons that looked slightly older were looking over the little demons with warmth.

‘This is a demon village?’

Kang-Woo had been to other demon villages. After all, powerful demons desired authority and were bound to grow their forces. However, the demon villages Kang-Woo had been to did not feel as warm as this one. They had all been cold and wretched; demons living in those villages were but slaves submitting to a powerful demon.

‘The expressions of those slaves were always of either rage or resentment.’

Some were even left lifeless after their desires were taken away from them.

“Firean!! You’re back from patrol!”

“Was everything g—”

“A-A human?”

The demons who gathered once Firean returned to the village stared at Kang-Woo wide-eyed. Their eyes carried senses of curiosity of caution but no hostility.

‘My God.’

Kang-Woo had never experienced something like this in Hell before. Most demons usually attacked him, calling him things like a puny lifeform.

“Wow, I’ve never seen a human in real life before!”

“But is he really a human? I feel a familiar energy from him.”

“M-Me too! I can feel demonic energy from him!”

The little demons clamored as they surrounded Kang-Woo.

“Kids, you’re bothering him.”

“Come here.”

The demons who seemed older than the others pulled the clamoring little demons away as they stole glances at Kang-Woo, their eyes carrying a hint of fear for an outsider. The awkward air only lasted for a moment.

Boom, boom.

“EEK!!!”

“A-AN ARCHDEMON!!!”

“BALROG!!! IT’S BALROG!!!”

“KYAAAAAAHHH!! CALL THE VILLAGE CHIEF!!! HURRY!!!”

“WH-WHAT IS BEELZEBUB’S CHIEF COMMANDER DOING HERE?!!”

The entire village fell into panic once Balrog, who had been following Kang-Woo from a distance, entered the cave. The Halves pulled on their hair and ran around the cave.

‘What a crazy reaction.’

It went to show how highly renowned Balrog was in the Ninth Hell.

“How noisy...” Balrog frowned and brought out his demonic energy.

“H-Hiccup!”

“U-Urgh, gurgh.”

“P-Please spare our lives...”

The demons got on their knees and bowed with their heads on the ground. Some of them even had their eyes rolled backward as they mumbled incomprehensibly.

“E-Everyone! Don’t worry! They will not harm us!!” shouted Firean as he stepped forward.

“Th-They won’t?”

“There’s no way...”

The other demons stared at Balrog in disbelief. Halves were subjects of disgust and disdain to other demons. There were even demons who went out of their way to search for and kill Halves out of disgust. Hence, there was no way a demon wouldn’t kill Halves despite being right in front of him.

Balrog looked around and remarked, “The boy is right. I have zero interest in Halves like you. However...”

Rumble—!

The demonic energy bursting from him shook the surroundings.

“That is only if you do not annoy me with your screams.”

“Mmrp...!”

“H-Hiccup!”

The demons shut their mouths with their hands and trembled in pallor. Kang-Woo feigned laughter as he looked at the demons stricken with terror.

“What a fucking sight.”

He found it rather comedic to see hundreds of hideous demons trembling in fear.

“Hey, Balrog. Fuck off over there. You’re scaring them.”

Kang-Woo would be troubled if they were to run away.

“I have no reason to listen to the likes of you,” Balrog muttered as he glared at Kang-Woo fiercely.

“You said you’d cooperate, didn't you? Is this what you call cooperation?”

“...”

Balrog sighed without refuting and walked out of the cave.

“Th-This way, Sir Kang-Woo. I will introduce you to the village chief,” mumbled Firean, likely terrified by Balrog’s immense energy.

Kang-Woo nodded and followed behind Firean.

‘Is there a way to devour them all in one go?’

The Halves were so weak that he doubted whether they were demons of the Ninth Hell or not but there were too many of them. He had no way to catch them all if all three hundred of them were to scatter in different directions.

‘And I wouldn’t get much demonic energy if I only eat a few of them.’

They were like a white elephant.

Just then, a demon walked out of the house at the deepest point of the cave.

“Firean, who are these people?”

His voice was so gentle that it was hard to believe it came from a demon. The village chief was a fully mature demon, unlike the other demons of the village. His left arm was abnormally swollen with muscles compared to his dried-up right arm.

‘That’s a leader of a group for you.’

The village chief’s demonic energy was far stronger than that of the other Halves.

‘But that’s all there is to it.’

Kang-Woo could take him with his current strength.

“Village chief!! They saved me and Fel!”

“They saved you...?”

Firean explained to the village chief what happened. His expression was as hard as rock initially but sighed in relief as the explanation continued.

“Thank you for saving these children. I am Zepar, the chief of this village.”

Zepar bowed courteously and extended his dried-up right arm. Kang-Woo grabbed Zepar’s hand.

“My name is Oh Kang-Woo.”

“I have heard the rumors about the human defeating countless demons from the First Hell, aiming to reach the Ninth Hell.”

Zepar seemed to know about Kang-Woo. He nodded.

Zepar sighed deeply and dropped his shoulders. “Haaa. Yet another attack... How many times has it been this month?”

‘Hm?’

Kang-Woo’s eyes shone.

“Does this happen often?” he asked.

“Yes... Countless demons despise Halves. We’ll have to move our village again soon.”

“...”

Kang-Woo thought of an idea as he thought about what Zepar said.

‘Wait a second...’

The village was the target of the demons’ hatred, and the Halves were being endlessly attacked.

‘I can use this, can’t I?’

Kang-Woo smiled like a farmer who found a goose that laid golden eggs.