After Ten Millennia in Hell

Side Story Chapter 82 - There is No Light Here (7)

"Who are you people?!"

Bodyguards wearing black suits ran forward and glared threateningly at the group that suddenly infiltrated the live stage. A man among the people wearing different black suits than the bodyguards walked forward.

"Oh, there is no need to be so on guard. We have simply come to deliver the words of light."

He was a gentle-looking man in his mid-forties with well-groomed gray hair and tidy clothes. He walked toward the bodyguards with a smile.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Halt, halt!!"

"We will attack if you do not stop!"

The bodyguards shouted fiercely as they took out their weapons. Since this was the largest venue in England, the bodyguards hired were high-level Players.

"Hahaha. Allow me to apologize for the sudden visit." The man's voice was as gentle as a spring breeze. He courteously bowed and continued, "However, I would like to ask for your understanding since it is to deliver the words of light to everyone on this Earth."

"Hah," the bodyguards feigned laughter.

They couldn't care less whether the gray-haired man was courteous; he had barged into and was trying to ruin a stage being broadcast live throughout Europe.

"You fucking lunatics."

The bodyguards bared their teeth as they glared at the pastors.

A bodyguard holding a walkie-talkie said, "We've been authorized to subdue them by force."

The bodyguards standing in front of the pastors smirked, being allowed to legally exert violence on a group of lunatics.

"Crazy motherfuckers!!"

"Words of light, my ass!"

The bodyguards charged simultaneously.

"Ahhh," the gray-haired man expressed as he stared at the bodyguards. "How truly unfortunate."

He slowly raised his right arm and lightly snapped his finger.

Crack! Burst! Crush!!

"Wh-What the hell?!"

Blinding light shone all of a sudden, and the bodyguards charging at the pastors exploded. Blood, guts, and brain matter splattered all over the stage.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"

"WH-WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

"H-HELP MEEEEEEE!!!"

The audience gathered at the venue screamed and scattered. Chaos fell as tens of thousands of them ran all over the place.

"A-Aaaahh! What... what a disaster!"

The gray-haired pastor fell to his knees in front of the corpses of the dead bodyguards and pulled on his well-groomed hair, disheveling it.

"Why?!! Why did you defy the words of light and choose death?!!" He placed his hand on the puddle of blood and bawled his eyes out. "Hurghhh!! Sniff—! Th-The misery!!! What am I to do with all this misery I am feeling?!!"

The gray-haired pastor trembled in sorrow as if he couldn't bear the deaths of the bodyguards.

"Pastor Salvatore. We have little time," one of the pastors called from behind.

"Oh, that's right." Salvatore quickly stood up and crossed his arms into an X-shape in front of the dozens of corpses in front of him. "O Great Akart... Please guide these lambs who have lost the light."

He sincerely prayed and turned around to walk back to the stage as he trampled on the corpses.

"HMMMM!!! What do you think you're doing on this sacred stage?!!"

Just then, a cute black-haired girl wearing a frilly dress climbed up the stage and snorted loudly.

"And you are...?"

"That's my line! Who do you think you are, interrupting my live performance?!"

The girl placed her hands on her waist and glared at the pastors. She looked around for a moment and saw her fans who had come to watch her performance shouting at her.

"M-Miss Echidna!!! It's too dangerous!!!"

"What are you doing?!! You have to run!!!"

"Th-They're lunatics!!!"

Echidna's fans were staring at her in pallor. She stared back at her fans hesitantly and turned back at the pastors.

She raised her mic like a magic wand and shouted, "All of you, run away! I'll hold them at bay!!!"

"Wh-What?!"

"We're the ones telling you to run away!!"

The members of Echidna's fan club, who had flown from Korea to watch her performance, quickly shouted.

"Shit! This won't do! We have to stay and protect Miss Echidna!"

"I agree! Those who can fight, come forward!"

There were many high-ranking Players in the Watchmen, Echidna's fanatical fan club.

"Of all days, it had to be when Lady Aleyna is away...!"

The Dragon God, Eleyna Kalioreus, the leader of Echidna's fan club as well as one of Echidna's biggest fans, couldn't attend the live performance because of an important meeting in Aernor. Although it was being broadcast throughout Europe, she couldn't be expected to come since radio waves did not reach Aernor.

"Let us protect Miss Echidna!!"

"YEAAAAAAHHHHH!!" the Watchmen yelled as they stood in front of Echidna.

They, of course, were unarmed because they had come to watch a live performance.

Echidna jumped in panic and shouted, "Don't come here! Go away, all of you!"

She had come forward to protect her fans, but they had rather come to protect her.

"Everyone, could you step aside as the young lady asked?" asked Salvatore as if begging. "I am simply here to save all of you."

"What...?"

They couldn't believe such words were coming out of someone who brutally murdered the bodyguards seconds ago.

"Each of you is worthy of receiving the Great Akart's grace. I would rather not harm such individuals."

"Hm! Stop joking around!" Echidna walked forward with a frown. "You killed all these people and ruined the live stage!"

She shouted into the mic toward Salvatore, "FOKRAH DIIN!!!"

Dragon tongue magic echoed throughout the venue, A giant ball of ice formed in the air and flew toward Salvatore.

"Ahhh," Tears flowed down Salvatore's cheeks again. He lowered his head as he pulled on his disheveled gray hair and muttered, "Why must it be so difficult to deliver the words of light?"

Thunk—!!

A burst of golden light deflected the ball of ice toward the Watchmen.

"N-No!"

Echidna quickly jumped toward the ball of ice she created.

Crack—!!

"Arghhh!!"

"M-Miss Echidna!!!"

The ball of ice exploded, its fragments flying everywhere. Some of them ripped Echidna's skin, and she bled.

"Oww... it hurts."

Echidna grabbed the ice fragment stuck in her flank and teared up. She had never felt pain ever since she met Kang-Woo.

'I'm scared.'

She trembled as fear ran down her back and throughout her body. The man who infiltrated the live stage was so powerful that she would be no match for him even if she returned to her original form.

'I'm... scared.'

Echidna shut her eyes tightly. Her will to fight was destroyed due to the immense gap in their strength.

'Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo.'

She wanted to see Kang-Woo's face so badly. She wanted to throw aside her fans and her live performance to run into Kang-Woo's arms, but...

"M-Miss Echidna!!"

"All of you... hurry up and run."

She couldn't bring herself to abandon the people who were risking their lives to protect her, who was but an idol who sang and danced.

"Miss Echidna..."

"NOW!!! GET OUT OF HERE!!!" Echidna shouted as she walked forward.

Her legs were shaking uncontrollably, and she thought she was going to die of fear, but her legs were moving nonetheless, just like the man who freed her from loneliness.

"Truly..." Salvatore's eyes glowed gold. His gentle expression instantly turned cold. "An ignorant bunch."

He slowly raised his arm to snap his fingers.

BOOM—!!!

Just then, something fell from the sky at breakneck speed and destroyed the stage.

"What the..." Salvatore frowned intensely.

"Huh...? K-Kang-Woo?" Echidna, who was casting magic as she put pressure on her bleeding wound, was left wide-eyed. "KANG-WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

She ran to Kang-Woo teary-eyed and with a wide smile.

"Hm! Hm!! Kang-Woo! You came!!!"

"..."

"Huh? K-Kang-Woo?"

Echidna looked up in confusion after getting no response. Kang-Woo was staring at her flank, which was bleeding profusely due to an ice fragment pierced into it.

"Who did this to you?" Kang-Woo asked.

"K-Kang-Woo?"

"Who... did this... to you?"

"Kang-Woo... Y-Your eyes are scaring me."

Echidna trembled.

Kang-Woo grabbed her trembling shoulders and asked in a low tone, "Why didn't you run?"

"..."

"You could have."

"W-Well... my fans were..."

Echidna averted her gaze from Kang-Woo. The heavily-injured Kim Si-Hun overlapped with Echidna in Kang-Woo's vision— no, it wasn't just Si-Hun.

- Victory... to my king.

He also recalled the dependable moron who smiled widely despite heavily bleeding.

"Why, why, why, why, why, why?"

Kang-Woo gripped Echidna's shoulders harder. His fingers trembled, his vision blurred, and he felt like he was about to vomit.

"Why the fuck are you all so eager to die?"

"Ngh." Echidna winced. "K-Kang-Woo, you're hurting me."

"Haaa, haaa, haaa," Kang-Woo panted heavily.

His trembling eyes were filled with pure fear. Echidna looked up at him in silence.

"I'm sorry, Kang-Woo..."

She carefully caressed Kang-Woo's trembling cheek, her warmth transferring to him.

"..."

Kang-Woo turned around in silence to face Pastor Salvatore, who was pulling on his disheveled gray hair.

"A-Aaaahh." He looked around the stage and the equipment for the live broadcast, destroyed by Kang-Woo's violent landing on the stage. "Why, why, why, why, why, WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"

Slam—!

Salvatore stomped his foot aggressively.

"WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE GETTING IN THE WAY OF US DELIVERING THE WORDS OF LIGHT?!!" He pulled on his hair hysterically. And shouted madly, "ALL I AM DOING IS TRYING TO SHOW YOU ALL THE LIGHT!!! THE RADIANCE!!! THE GREAT AKART'S BENEVOLENCE AND GRACE!!!"

Salvatore spread out his arms toward the sky.

"TAKE A GOOD LOOK!!! THIS IS THE LIGHT!!! THE LIGHT OF THE ALMIGHTY AKART, WHO WILL GUIDE US ALL TO PARADISE!!!"

Whoooom—!!!

A golden wave enormous enough to engulf the entire live venue pulsed from Salvatore and gathered into a sphere in the air.

"Ahhh, please take a good look at this brilliant radiance." Salvatore kneeled toward the sphere of light in the air. He burst into tears, crossed his forearms into an X-shape, and shouted passionately, "O GREAT AKART! BRING DOWN THE LIGHT OF TRUTH UPON THESE LOWLY TRUTHSEEKERS!!! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIGHT! LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!"

Whooom—!!!

The golden sphere shone brighter as if the sun had descended on Earth. Salvatore's tears drenched the ground.

"No."

Kang-Woo walked toward the golden sun and slowly extended his arm toward it. He closed his fist in midair as if crushing the sun. And then, the light vanished.

"Huh...?"

The blindingly radiant golden sun was vaporized. The live venue was dyed in darkness as if a light switch had been turned off.

"There is no light here."

Only yellow eyes with horizontal pupils lit up within the abyssal darkness.