Chapter 112: Sacred Relic Excavation Team (4)
Splash—
The two tentacles instantly wrapped around Galomah’s body.
“Interesting. Are you the one who moved Nine City here? For someone responsible for that, your power seems a bit weak.”
『You talk too much.』
The voice emanated from the tentacle.
Galomah felt it more like a buzzing resonance inside his head than sound coming through his ears.
But it didn’t affect him much.
“As expected. Still in the process of growing? I hadn’t heard that He was raising a successor—could you be an illegitimate child?”
The tentacle almost seemed to get caught up in Galomah’s words.
Certainly, among all the countless beings it had encountered so far, this one was the most extraordinary.
Moreover, considering this wasn’t even his main body, it was astonishing.
Of course, that made binding his body relatively easy.
Killing him, however, was impossible.
In that case, there was only one thing it could do now.
Shwaa—
In an instant, a tentacle pierced straight through the back of Galomah’s head.
Then the demon smirked.
“Trying to find my main body? Good idea.”
Rather than resisting, Galomah deliberately opened the connection path to his main body.
The tentacle felt an uneasy sensation and tried to sever the link.
But.
“Where do you think you’re running?”
Galomah forcibly seized the tentacle’s consciousness as it tried to withdraw and dragged it toward his main body in an instant.
Soon, the tentacle’s view unfolded with the full panorama of Gehenna.
His main body stood atop a skyscraper, looking down below.
Massive airships armed with giant cannons floated through the sky.
The Demon King’s Army, composed of various races, marched in formation along the vast boulevards.
Above all, the overwhelming sight was the void energy emanating from Galomah’s main body.
The energy transmitted through the tentacle’s consciousness rivaled Chae Jin-young’s psionic energy.
『Behold well—the heart of hell. You will regret not kneeling and pledging loyalty to me today.』
Galomah’s main body in Gehenna and his clone in Nine City spoke simultaneously.
A voice completely different from before—laden with true power.
“Ughhh…….”
Vritra groaned in pain as black blood poured from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
Since Chae Jin-young shared mental strength with the tentacle, it sustained almost no damage.
『Kneel.』
At that moment.
Tss-ts-ts—
A black portal opened in front of Galomah, and a human stepped out.
Chae Jin-young, who had been fully focused on training his sister.
His expression clearly showed annoyance at the interruption.
Galomah nodded as if realizing something upon seeing him.
『I see. I thought you couldn’t possibly be alone. So it was you—the human said to wield that blasphemous energy.』
“You know me?”
At Chae Jin-young’s question, Galomah gave a short laugh.
『Kek… Of course. The leader of the Hell God Religion has been keeping close tabs on you. In your world, he’s called “Godfather,” right? Quite the amusing fellow, giving himself such a title.』
“So if I go to Gehenna, I’ll meet Godfather’s main body.”
『Yes. But it won’t be easy. The barrier surrounding Gehenna is at a level even a deity cannot breach.』
“And that means you and the rest of Gehenna’s lot can’t easily come out either. Right?”
Chae Jin-young asked with a smirk.
Galomah stared at him with empty eyes for a moment before laughing along.
『Indeed. I thought you were just strong, but you’re sharper than expected.』
“Seeing you send an illusion just to threaten me made it pretty obvious.”
『But don’t get cocky. Soon, Nine City will—』
“Shut up and disappear.”
Boom boom boom—
With psychokinesis, Chae Jin-young instantly crushed Galomah’s illusion to pieces.
Even though it was only a clone and not the main body, it had carried a portion of his power and was quite formidable.
Vritra, still dazed and flickering in and out of consciousness, saw the scene and prostrated himself flat on the floor in reverence.
“Ooh… As expected of the Apostle of God, delivering divine punishment.”
Chae Jin-young let the words of praise go in one ear and out the other as he conversed with the tentacle.
『Both the angelic tribe and the demons are coming in pairs. I didn’t expect relocating Nine City to bring back consequences like this.』
‘Well, I see it as a good opportunity.’
『Opportunity?』
‘If they start another holy war or whatever, won’t they just end up killing each other?’
At Chae Jin-young’s words, the tentacle wriggled with excitement.
『Then we need to find a way to draw more angels into hell.』
***
After completely concealing her holy power, Rael successfully infiltrated Nine City.
The halo above her head, the golden bracelets and anklets, and even her white wings were perfectly hidden.
Transforming into a full demon was impossible, but maintaining a human-like appearance was feasible.
[TL Note: Switching “devils” → “demons” for the Hell race from here on.]
Though it wouldn’t last long.
She would simply need to periodically enter and exit Nine City to carry out her mission.
“…….”
To avoid drawing any suspicion at all, Rael didn’t even speak.
She passed by countless red demons and headed straight toward the tallest building.
The towering skyscraper visible from anywhere in Nine City.
It was the headquarters of the Red Industry.
As she drew closer.
Tss-ts-ts…
“……?”
Rael sensed an unusual energy coming from the direction of the headquarters.
The entire area was filled with demons exuding demonic energy, but something even higher-tier was present.
As a highly sensitive angel, she noticed it immediately.
‘Should I go closer? Or keep my distance for safety?’
She couldn’t help but hesitate.
To find out what was happening, she needed to approach, but doing so would greatly increase the risk of detection.
Though she had been assigned surveillance duty, getting caught and taken prisoner would only harm the angelic tribe.
After deliberating, she ultimately chose to observe from afar.
Right after that decision, an energy far beyond anything previous erupted.
Kwaaaaa—
“What was that just now?”
“It came from the Red Industry side?”
Even the demons who were normally unfazed by demonic energy turned around in shock.
For a moment, every hair on Rael’s body stood on end. She nearly let her hidden wings unfurl and expose herself.
‘This… isn’t normal. I need to get out of here.’
Instinctively, she felt the urge to leave the city.
Staying in Nine City any longer might bring disaster.
The massive surge of demonic energy just now seemed to have destabilized her disguise faster than expected, so she needed to regroup.
As she turned to leave.
Tss-ts—
Suddenly, a black portal opened in the air right in front of her.
“……!”
Sensing a familiar aura from the portal, Rael inhaled sharply in surprise.
She quickly hid her flustered expression and tried to walk past it naturally.
Then a voice came.
“Well, well. Isn’t this the angel we saw earlier?”
A human stepped out of the portal.
The very person responsible for summoning this city into hell.
“Damn it…….”
A curse involuntarily slipped from Rael’s lips.
All her careful disguise had become utterly useless.
Rael bit her lip and pondered what to do.
But hesitation was meaningless.
Tss-ts…
Her body was already restrained by an unknown force, unable to move an inch.
“What exactly do you intend to do to me?”
Rael asked calmly and politely, just as she had during their first encounter.
“What do I intend? Just to have a little ‘conversation.’”
“…….”
She had a strong premonition it wouldn’t be a pleasant one.
***
Chae Jin-young returned to Vritra’s executive office on the 49th floor of the Red Industry, bringing the angel along.
Traces of the clash with the so-called Lord of Hell, Galomah, still lingered in the room.
Remnants of void energy remained on the scene.
Feeling it, Rael’s face grew extremely tense.
“You feel it too, right? This power.”
“…….”
Rael remained silent, unsure what to say.
“Do you know a guy named Galomah?”
“Yes. Isn’t he the current Lord of Hell? But why are you…?”
“Why do I call him ‘that guy’? Because I’m fundamentally enemies with him and his kind.”
Rael looked at Chae Jin-young in confusion.
Since he had rebuilt a city in hell, she had naturally assumed he was under the Demon King’s command.
“…Perhaps… you’re planning a rebellion…”
Rael seemed to think Chae Jin-young was attempting a coup against Galomah.
She didn’t harbor the slightest doubt that he wasn’t under the Demon King’s command.
Chae Jin-young gave up on explaining and got straight to the point.
“Yeah, well… think whatever you want. Soon, Gehenna’s Demon King Army will march out.”
“…!”
Rael’s eyes widened at the bombshell news.
She rolled her eyes in confusion before finally speaking.
“I’m certain… the high-ranking demons still cannot leave Gehenna’s barrier at this time.”
“The lingering void energy here is more than enough proof, don’t you think?”
“…….”
Rael couldn’t argue.
It was rare for a demon to leave behind such powerful remnants.
More than that, she was puzzled how he had escaped Gehenna and come here in the first place.
“Well, for now he can only barely send illusions. But he said it himself—time is running out.”
Chae Jin-young hadn’t even noticed when Galomah’s clone had infiltrated Nine City.
Even the tentacle’s surveillance net had failed to catch it, so it was only natural.
He must have teleported directly into the heart of Nine City and blended in with the other demons to erase his traces.
“That’s…”
Rael trailed off, lost in thought.
She wouldn’t fully believe Chae Jin-young’s words, but at the very least, it would serve as a warning to the angelic tribe.
And if so, the angels couldn’t simply sit still.
Chae Jin-young planned to provoke a war between the two races while carving a path to Gehenna.
“The moment the Demon King Army rises again, catastrophe will begin across many dimensions. You know that well, don’t you?”
“You’re asking us to join hands with you.”
“Exactly. Unlike the other angels, you’re easy to talk to.”
Chae Jin-young liked Rael’s quick wits and caution—unlike the angels who had tried to charge in recklessly from the start.
That was why he was glad she had infiltrated Nine City.
“I cannot decide this alone. No matter how much you may be a human… as long as you’re connected to the demons, cooperation may be impossible.”
Of course, being cautious and perceptive meant she wouldn’t accept his proposal easily either.
But that much was well within his expectations.
“Well, I know you can’t decide right away. But think carefully about who will suffer the most when the Demon King Army marches.”
He had already heard a rough explanation from Vritra about the relationship between demons and angels.
Of course, Vritra had lived before Nine City’s destruction, so he didn’t know recent events.
Still, having experienced four wars, he knew well enough how deep the enmity ran between the two sides.
“And if we refuse?”
At Rael’s question, Chae Jin-young pondered for a moment before shrugging.
“Then there’s nothing to be done. I’ll just have to fight alone.”
“…….”
He was sincere.
A war with the Demon King Army was inevitable anyway.
Whether that sincerity reached Rael was uncertain.
Tss-ts—
Chae Jin-young opened a portal and spoke.
“Get out before the city’s demons notice you.”
“…Thank you.”
Rael left those words and disappeared through the portal.
『Is this really alright? With Nine City’s current strength alone, it can’t even stand against a single Galomah.』
From what the tentacle sensed, even a one-on-one fight between Chae Jin-young and Galomah had no guaranteed victor.
If the entire Demon King Army joined in, Nine City would naturally fall—and if they reached Earth, destruction would be unavoidable.
Chae Jin-young was well aware of that.
“The answer is simple. I just need to become far stronger than that Galomah guy.”
Of course, explosive growth in the short term was nearly impossible.
But a new possibility had opened for him.
Cyclic energy.
Right now, he couldn’t naturally regenerate cyclic energy, so training had limitations.
But now that he knew holy power originated from cyclic energy, energy supply would become much easier.
The “sacred relic excavation team” he had dispatched to the city would bring back plenty.
And.
“It’s about time you advanced to a ‘higher’ existence too.”
『A higher existence.』
“Let’s find a way to refine your black mana into void energy.”
『I’ve already acquired the method.』
At the tentacle’s words, Chae Jin-young showed a rare look of surprise.
“What? How?”
『Thanks to that Galomah guy.』
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