"Demon King Balzac?" Gaia asked in a trembling voice.
They already had their hands full with the Demon of Prophecy, so it was understandable that her head hurt when hearing about another Demon King.
She trembled while making an anxious expression.
Reinald nodded.
"Yes. Demon King Balzac. He's a strong lich who brought disease into the Ernor Continent and created an army of undead."
"So you're saying that Demon King came to Earth?" Kim ShiHoon asked while making an anxious expression.
Reinald nodded.
"That's right. According to the explanation from Mr. Tyrion, Demon King Balzac sold his soul to a demon from another world and used that to cross dimensions."
'Oh, fuck.'
KangWoo's expression became pale.
'I'm fucked.'
He hadn't kept Balzac's existence hidden from those close to him.
Han Seol-ah had become quite a good friend with him. Chae YeonJoo and Kim ShiHoon had also seen him before.
Not only that, but even Han Seol-ah's mom, Kim MiJeong, had gotten used to Balzac, and people could often see them talking.
'But ShiHoon and YeonJoo don't know his name.'
They just thought of Balzac as a skeleton monster he'd summoned.
It was understandable. The Balzac they'd seen was a skeleton wearing a pink apron who concentrated on doing housework.
It was hard to think of him as a 'Demon King.'
'But…'
Still, the situation wasn't good.
Things would be different if he'd kept Balzac hidden, but that wasn't the case.
'There's no way I would've been able to imagine something like this would happen.'
It was unfair.
Who would've thought that Reinald would follow Balzac into another world?
No, in the first place, he didn't even care about Reinald.
'Why didn't you just live a good life with, how was she called, Reina? in your world? Why did you come here to bother me?'
He looked at Reinald with resentment.
He was meddling too much.
If peace had arrived on the Ernor Continent after Demon King Balzac disappeared, he should've shut up and enjoyed peace.
'He even received a love confession.'
‘How dare he record a TV drama before him and then return to Earth after leaving his lover behind?’
He wanted to tear his head apart and check out his brain.
While KangWoo glared at Reinald with resentment, the conversation kept going on.
"If it's a demon from another world…"
"I heard he's the peak of all demons, the one who has the Sea of Demonic Energy inside of him."
There was a heavy atmosphere.
'Oh, fuck.'
His head began spinning.
It seemed like he also knew a bit about him.
Of course, even if Reinald accused him of being a Demon King, he wouldn't immediately be labeled as one.
It was obvious that people would trust KangWoo more than someone who’d come from another world.
Rather than that, Reinald would probably find himself in trouble.
'But…'
There was a huge difference between no one suspecting anything and an incident that could plant doubt in people.
It was just like there was a wall between the 0 and 1 that couldn't be crossed.
If they started to suspect him, KangWoo's effort of having obtained a perfect alibi through the Authority of Cloning would be for nothing.
"So it's Satan."
KangWoo quickly opened his mouth. He didn't have time to think anymore.
'I have to make them think it’s Satan, no matter what.'
Gaia and Kim ShiHoon nodded.
"Yes. I also think it's Satan."
"There's no one besides him that could do something like that."
Their support was quite helpful.
“Is Satan the name of the demon with the Sea of Demonic Energy inside him?" Reinald asked with his eyes shining.
'Of course.'
"Yes. Although I'm not sure what a Sea of Demonic Energy is, if you talk about the peak of evil, there should be no one else but Satan."
'Well done, ShiHoon!'
KangWoo clenched his fist after seeing how Kim ShiHoon was supporting him.
It was just a slight nudge, but without him having to do much more, they were claiming Satan was the culprit, so for KangWoo, it was like blowing his nose without his hands.
'Well done, my child!'
It was normal that he'd cheer for Kim ShiHoon.
"I see."
Reinald nodded. After thinking for a while, he turned to Gaia.
"I see. It wasn't a coincidence that I met Ms. Gaia here today."
'What kind of nonsense is this?'
KangWoo's expression naturally distorted.
Reinald spoke in a serious tone.
"My meeting with Ms. Gaia was because of Mr. Tyrion's guidance and revelation."
'Bullshit.'
"I could call it destiny."
Gaia looked perplexed at Reinald's words.
It would've been weird if she was calm after hearing someone from another world talk about stuff like destiny.
"I cannot defeat the Demon King alone."
'Then why the fuck did you come here, you dumb bastard?'
"But if Ms. Gaia and I join forces, we can defeat him. As an apostle of the hero god, Tyrion, I want to help Ms. Gaia."
"…"
Gaia remained silent after hearing what Reinald said next.
She was wondering if she could trust him or not.
He wanted to shout that they should cut the neck of that scammer, but it wasn't a situation where he could say something like that.
'Please refuse.'
* * *
At that point, he could only hope for Gaia herself to refuse Reinald's proposal.
Whir-!!
"Ah…!"
At that moment, a golden light started to come out of Reinald's body.
The golden light flowed into Gaia, and a short exclamation came out of her mouth.
"Ah. I see."
'What is going on?'
Gaia began nodding as if she'd realized something.
Kim ShiHoon frowned after her sudden change in attitude.
"What happened?"
"Should I say it was a revelation? I received Mr. Tyrion's will," Gaia said in a confused tone. It seemed like it was her first time experiencing something like that.
KangWoo looked at the golden light surrounding her as if it were unfair.
'What a comfortable series of developments, fuck.'
It might have made sense if only light had come out.
Reinald's eyes shone.
"You received Mr. Tyrion's will?"
"Yes. He asked me to defeat demons along with Mr. Reinald."
"Woah, as expected."
"I'm not sure if it's destiny, but it seems like we were lucky to have met Mr. Reinald…"
Gaia nodded while making a faint smile.
A bright smile appeared on Reinald's face.
"No. This isn't luck but destiny."
"Haha."
The two apostles laughed.
Kim ShiHoon's expression hardened while looking at them.
Reinald didn't notice Kim ShiHoon's mood change and looked at KangWoo.
"That person…"
"Ah, he's someone who recently joined Guardians. He isn't someone chosen by God, but he's one of the more righteous people."
"Oh, nice to meet you. I'm Reinald."
Reinald extended his hand toward KangWoo.
KangWoo's expression distorted.
'Damn.'
He would surely be suspected if he didn't take his mask off.
KangWoo concentrated the demonic energy in his body while biting his lip.
'If it's just for a moment, I'll be able to do it.'
The Authority of Blind, which showed an illusion to a target.
Since it had such great effects, if the target were powerful, he'd be able to resist it easily.
But they weren't in the middle of a battle.
Reinald was also probably relaxing.
If it were at that moment, even if it was for a very short moment, he'd be able to try and use the Authority of Blind.
'I must succeed.'
The risk of what would happen if he failed was too big.
He used the Authority of Blind as he took off the mask.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Oh KangWoo."
"Haha. When I decided to chase Demon King Balzac, I was worried about what I should do, but looking at heroes like this makes me feel relieved."
Reinald smiled.
After exchanging a handshake, KangWoo put on the mask again. It seemed like the Authority of Blind had worked.
"Aah."
The situation he was worried about was solved. He sighed in relief.
Was it because he'd used the Authority of Blind against someone who'd received the blessing of a god? He felt that he'd used almost half of his demonic energy.
KangWoo looked at Reinald in worry.
'What should I do with this guy?'
First, he was sure Reinald was an apostle chosen by a god.
Strictly speaking, he'd become an ally, so was it correct to get rid of him? He couldn't help but wonder about that.
'It isn't like he's crazy like Alec.'
He couldn't deny he was a hero that fought against evil.
He seemed like a good person; he was sure he'd saved the lives of numerous people.
It was as if he were looking at the Kim ShiHoon of another world.
Getting rid of him made him feel like trash who'd do anything for his own benefit.
KangWoo narrowed his eyes and fell into his thoughts.
At that moment, Reinald approached Kim ShiHoon and extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. ShiHoon."
"Ah, yes."
Kim ShiHoon nodded while smiling awkwardly.
KangWoo's eyes stopped on Kim ShiHoon.
'Huh?'
Kim ShiHoon's attitude was weird.
"And, Ms. Gaia, I also got a new revelation from Mr. Tyrion."
"What?"
After exchanging handshakes with other Guardian members, he once again approached Gaia.
He kneeled in front of Gaia, looking like a knight promising loyalty to his king.
"Mr. Tyrion asked me to protect you."
Reinald grabbed her hand while smiling.
Kim ShiHoon's expression hardened.
"Mr. R-Reinald?"
"I knew it from the first moment I saw you… My reason for coming here is to protect you."
Reinald kissed the back of Gaia's hands.
Gaia's face reddened.
'Huh? Look at this bastard.'
KangWoo frowned after awwing Reinald trying to pick up on Gaia.
It was the first time he'd seen Gaia, yet he was doing things like that in front of her. However, he had a woman magician called Reina in his homeland.
"Ugh…"
Kim ShiHoon frowned.
KangWoo looked at Reinald, Gaia, and Kim ShiHoon.
It wasn't hard to see that there was a weird atmosphere around the three.
'How dare he try to pick up ShiHoon's girl?'
In reality, it was hard to call Gaia Kim ShiHoon's woman.
After all, Gaia was just Kim ShiHoon's crush at the moment.
Anyway, he couldn't deny that he was trying to interfere with his little brother's first love.
'This can't stay like this.'
If he remained still in that situation, he didn't have the right to call himself ShiHoon’s hyeong.
'This isn't because I think there's a chance Reinald could discover my identity.'
It also wasn't because there was a chance that the Guardians would target his summoned monster, Balzac.
It was all for Kim ShiHoon.
That's right…
'This is something I must do for ShiHoon.'
KangWoo nodded.
'If it's for ShiHoon's first love…!'
He had no other option but to kill and get rid of the hero from another world.
He had no other option than to stab an ally in the back.
'ShiHoon! You just need to believe in hyeong!'
‘If it's for you, I don't mind my hands getting dirty!’
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