n

n

nHo Sung Lee smoked his cigarette in Min Sung’s back yard and let the smoke float up into the sky.

nHo Sung Lee’s eyes followed the smoke up to the sky.

nHe imagined that Min Sung Kang was fighting up there beyond the blue sky in order to put an end to it once and for all.

nHe couldn’t believe it.

nHe couldn’t believe that a dark place like the Demonic Realm could exist in contrast to this peaceful world.

nHo Sung Lee smiled bitterly.

n“I wonder if he’s hungry.”

nHo Sung Lee, who was smoking his cigarette while looking up at the white clouds, got up in response to the sound of the doorbell.

nAfter throwing away his cigarette and washing his hands, he immediately went to the front door and checked the monitor.

nIt was Commander Ji Yoo Kim of the Central Institute.

nHo Sung Lee wiped his wet hands on his pants and opened the door.

n“Long time no see, Commander Kim,” said Ho Sung Lee with a smile.

nJi Yoo Kim smiled back.

n“Yes, long time no see. May I go inside?”

n“Of course. Come on in. Well, it’s not even my house, to begin with. Hahaha.”

nJi Yoo Kim entered with a smile.

n“Can I offer you a coffee? Or tea?”

n“I’ll have tea. Do you have herbal tea?”

nJi Yoo Kim asked as she sat down on the sofa.

n“Of course.”

nHo Sung Lee smiled and headed straight to the kitchen.

nWhile Ho Sung Lee made herbal tea in the kitchen, Ji Yoo Kim checked her phone with a heavy face.

nJi Yoo Kim’s face became even heavier upon checking her phone.

n“Here’s your herbal tea.”

nHo Sung Lee placed her tea down on the table and sat on the sofa.

nJi Yoo Kim wiped the frown off of her face and smiled.

n“Thank you.”

n“Don’t mention it.”

nHo Sung Lee joined with his own cup of herbal tea.

nHo Sung Lee was enjoying the scent of his herbal tea when he tilted his head at Ji Yoo Kim’s face.

n“You look like you have a lot on your mind.”

n“I’m sorry?”

n“You.”

n“Oh, I was trying to hide it. Is it that obvious?”

n“I don’t think you’ve ever been good at lying.”

nJi Yoo Kim smiled bitterly. She looked up at Ho Sung Lee and opened her mouth.

n“I heard you’re acting as Min Sung’s representative. Is that really okay with you?”

nHo Sung Lee shrugged.

n“Well, Min Sung told me to, so I should do it. It’s a lot of pressure, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it.”

nHo Sung Lee laughed.

n“Do you think Min Sung is okay?” Ji Yoo Kim asked with a worried face.

nHo Sung Lee groaned, “Hm…” and then stared into the distance in thought.

nJi Yoo Kim’s face looked anxious as Ho Sung Lee’s answer became more and more delayed.

nHowever…

n“He’ll be fine. It’s Min Sung. No matter how dreary the situation, he’s always found a way.”

nHo Sung Lee smiled at Ji Yoo Kim.

n“He’ll come back.”

nJi Yoo Kim smiled at Ho Sung Lee’s certain expression.

n“Yes, I’m sure you’re right.”

nFollowing a moment of silence, Ji Yoo Kim opened her mouth again.

n“Since you’re his representative now, I have a favor to ask you.”

n“What is it?”

n“Please make an announcement that you’ll be active as Min Sung’s representative in formal settings.”

n“I see. There will be a lot of backlash about me standing in for him.”

n“Many people in power from all over the world will approach you.”

n“How should I deal with them?”

n“I think you should think about how Min Sung would have handled this situation.”

nHo Sung Lee smiled bitterly.

nIn the end, that meant that he had to take responsibility for everything.

nBut that had already been decided ever since he agreed to take over Min Sung Kang’s duties on earth.

nIt wasn’t something he could avoid like a little child.

nHe had to face it head-on and find solutions.

n“Please set up my schedule,” said Ho Sung Lee.

n“Yes, of course. Also…”

nHo Sung Lee looked at Ji Yoo Kim while sipping his tea.

nJi Yoo Kim continued, “You’ll have to meet with the hunter leaders of all countries.”

nHo Sung Lee thought for a moment before nodding.

nHe believed that that was something he had to do.

n“Sure.”

n“But…”

nJi Yoo Kim trailed off as her face grew heavy.

n“Go ahead,” said Ho Sung Lee with a smile.

n“The hunter leaders will come off strong. They’ll ask why Min Sung Kang isn’t acting. Why they can’t meet him. If there’s a problem, they’ll interrogate you.”

n“I could just tell them the truth…”

nJi Yoo Kim sternly shook her head.

n“You can’t do that.”

n“Why not?”

nHo Sung Lee asked as if he was unable to understand.

n“If you tell them that, they’ll try to find a weakness and act on it as soon as Min Sung comes back.”

nHo Sung Lee’s face grew stiff.

n“Can they do that? If he does come back, how do they expect to handle it?”

n“Think about it, Korea and the world. If you look at the overall structure, which country has always been at the top?”

n“The US.”

n“That’s right. The US. They’ll try their best to use Min Sung to their advantage.”

nHo Sung Lee nodded.

n“You’re right.”

nHo Sung Lee stared into the distance with a more serious face and thought deeply.

nJi Yoo Kim continued, “So you must come off strong as well as Min Sung’s representative.”

n“Strong?”

nHo Sung Lee looked at Ji Yoo Kim with surprise.

n“Yes. Make sure they don’t shake Korea down.”

nHo Sung Lee nodded to her stern advice.

n“I understand what you’re saying.”

nJi Yoo Kim smiled.

n“And let me know if you need any help, no matter what it is.”

n“Thank you.”

nJi Yoo Kim turned toward the window facing the back yard.

nThe clear sky was now dark, and drops of rain began to fall.

nJi Yoo Kim intertwined her fingers and looked anxious.

n“He’ll be fine,” said Ho Sung Lee as he also looked out the window with Ji Yoo Kim.

nJi Yoo Kim tried her best to smile as she continued to watch the raindrops fall.

n***

nHellcard’s face looked annoyed.

nHe thought he could get rid of the human easily and sit on the throne as the devil god who returned.

nHe thought there would be no problems in the process, but his expectations were completely shattered.

nRucifer was currently begging a human to spare his life.

nThe sight of it was so unsightly that not even Hellcard wanted to look.

nHellcard, who was watching from afar, looked to his right.

nThere stood the Dionysus Gods who were now devils.

n“Go and help Rucifer kill the human,” commanded Hellcard.

nThe Dionysus Gods turned devils flapped their wings and flew in the northern direction to fulfill Hellcard’s command.

nHellcard didn’t expect them to kill the human.

nWhile they bought him some more time, he had to think about what the most advantageous fight would be now that he had the power of the great god.

nSince it hadn’t been long since he woke from his seal, he had to wake up some more.

nOnce he regained even two-thirds of his past power, everything could go as planned.

nIf he happened to regain his strength, he would kill the human and even wipe out the great god, who had handed his powers over to the human.

n“… The Dionysus Gods were in the wrong, too, but even the great god looked down upon Hellcard’s power.”

nHellcard began to laugh.

n“Just you wait. I’m going to start with that human and then wipe out the great god afterward, hahahaha!”

nHellcard’s eyes flashed.

n***

n“Please, sob! Please spare me. I only followed Hellcard’s orders.”

nMin Sung looked down at RUcifer, who was crying like a baby, and knitted his brows.

n“Hellcard? Who’s that?”

nRucifer immediately organized his thoughts and opened his mouth.

n“The former devil king. He has been unleashed from his seal,” replied Rucifer with tears covering his face.

n‘The former devil king…’

nMin Sung could finally understand why the great god had passed down his powers to him.

nIt was his way of telling him to deal with the Demonic Realm himself.

nSince he was going to get rid of the DemoniC Realm anyway, it was for the best.

nThere was no point for him to spare lives.

nAs soon as Min Sung’s eyes filled with killer energy, Rucifer instinctively felt it as he crawled back and looked up at Min Sung.

n“S-spare…”

nJust as Rucifer mumbled in fear, he heard a loud noise.

nSomething was coming their way.

nMin Sung turned his head.

nThe Dionysus Gods, who were now devils, flew over and landed behind Rucifer.

nAs soon as Min Sung saw it, he realized that the Dionysus Gods had turned into devils.

nHe was able to make them out immediately, and it was quite a sight.

nThey no longer looked like beautiful human beings.

nThey had dark skin, dark wings, horns, ripped lips, and their overall outer appearance resembled a monster.

nSo the fact that they were posing confidently put Min Sung at a loss for words.

nWhat Min Sung couldn’t understand was their confidence.

nDespite the state Rucifer was in, they must’ve trusted their numbers because they were monsters who didn’t have an ounce of fear.

n“S-step back. Don’t you dare provoke them!”

nRucifer shouted in shock, but they were not obeying Rucifer, to begin with.

nThey were solely under the control of Hellcard.

nAnd they, who were under full control, were in charge of buying time.

nThey didn’t even see Rucifer, and Min Sung was able to realize that not long afterward.

n“G-gasp!”

nRucifer limped and tried to run away.

nHe then ran away through a dark space in the air.

nMin Sung then knitted his brows at the 9 fallen angels.

nDespite having received great power and dodged a near-death experience, he still couldn’t be bothered.

nBut if he wasn’t so sensitive yet dense, he wouldn’t have survived until now.

nMin Sung cracked his knuckles and smiled.

n“I want to learn more about Hellcard through you.”

n