Chapter 377: Time for a Feast

"Iris is sick?" Oh Kang-Woo frowned after hearing the news from one of Iris's maids, who had come running to tell him.

The maid nodded after taking some deep breaths. She answered while tearing up, "Haaa, haaa. Yes. She's been saying that she was dizzy since yesterday, but once I checked up on her today, she had a huge fever..."

Kang-Woo walked past the maid and toward Iris's room. Wham! He violently opened the door to see Iris laying in her bed while sweating profusely.

"Haaa. Haaa. Sir... Kang-Woo?"

Iris looked up at Kang-Woo in a daze. Thick blood vessels resembling tree roots had protruded from her skin. Iris forcibly tried to prop herself up.

"Stay still," Kang-Woo said as he gently pushed her back down on the bed.

He used the Authority of Insight to search her body.

'What's going on?'

He couldn't find anything wrong with her. Kang-Woo bit open his thumb.

"Drink."

"Cough! Cough! Sir... Kang-Woo."

Kang-Woo forcibly pushed his thumb into the flustered Iris's mouth. He used the Authority of Regeneration, but nothing happened. Kang-Woo grimaced.

'She isn't sick.'

He was sure of it. Kang-Woo looked down at Iris anxiously, and then called for help. This was not an issue he could resolve alone.

"Iris is sick?" Han Seol-Ah, who heard the news, approached them.

She froze after seeing the blood vessels protruding all over Iris's skin like tree roots. She caressed Iris and closed her eyes.

Fwoom.

White light flowed out from Seol-Ah and into Iris.

"I..." Seol-Ah shook her head in confusion. "... Don't know. Neither revitalization nor healing magic are working."

Seol-Ah was panicking since this had never happened before.

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.

'If both my Authority of Regeneration and Seol-Ah's divine magic aren't working, that means...'

Iris was not in this condition due to a disease or an injury.

'In that case...'

There was one thing he could think of. Kang-Woo called Layla using his communication crystal. After getting the call, Layla immediately came to Iris's room and thoroughly checked her condition.

Layla nodded. "These are signs of her becoming an incarnation."

"An incarnation?"

"Yes. I experienced the same thing when I first accepted Lady Gaia into me."

An incarnation... Kang-Woo did not even need to question whose incarnation Iris was about to become. Kang-Woo smiled.

"That means..." he slurred.

"Yes." Layla nodded. "A high elf is... trying to manifest while borrowing Iris's body."

'Hell yeah.' Kang-Woo clenched his fists after hearing the welcome news. 'They're finally getting off their fat asses.'

Making the high elves manifest by driving the continent to the brink of collapse... The deranged plan was nearing its completion.

"When will the high elf manifest?" Kang-Woo asked.

"I'm not sure either. Iris would first have to become an incarnation, but... no one knows how long that will take."

"How long did it take for you?"

"About a month."

'A month, huh?'

"But I can't guarantee it'll take that long for—"

"I know," Kang-Woo interjected.

In the first place, becoming an incarnation of a god was not common, so it was near impossible to predict a time.

Kang-Woo stood up. "In that case, there's nothing wrong with Iris, right?"

"Yes. She's just like this because she's in the middle of accepting Divinity."

Kang-Woo sighed in relief.

"Sir... Kang-Woo?" Iris called Kang-Woo faintly.

Kang-Woo lightly patted her head. "Don't worry and get some rest."

As if having been relieved by those words, Iris slowly closed her eyes. Kang-Woo left the room with Layla and Seo-Ah.

"The plan... was a success," said Layla with a bitter smile.

The plan to make a high elf manifest by making Kim Si-Hun a hero, which seemed absurd in the beginning, was on the verge of succeeding. Layla wanted to cheer, but could not bring herself to, considering the state Iris was in. She knew better than anyone how agonizing the process of becoming an incarnation was.

"Yes." Kang-Woo nodded.

He did not feel anything in particular.

'After all, I knew it would succeed.'

He had done so much more than what Layla realized. He disguised himself as Evil God Lucifer to attack the empire, framed him as the culprit who attacked Sant'Angelo, and distorted information to amplify fear. If the high elves did not manifest after going this far, he would have given up and found another way.

'Now, then.'

All that was left to do now was what he had been forced to postpone until this point. Kang-Woo smiled. It was what he had been desperately waiting for, even more than the manifestation of the high elves; he had longed for it all this time.

Ba-dump, ba-dump.

His heart beat like crazy from the anticipation. Thrills ran throughout his entire body.

"Haaa," Kang-Woo breathed heatedly.

He had been holding back all this time, but he could not hold it back anymore. He clenched his chest as he panted heavily.

'How long have I been like this?'

Kang-Woo searched through his memories.

'Sant'Angelo.'

It was when he had seen the space protected by colossal sacred power destroyed by someone. No, it could have been from back when he had discovered the red sand from the Nine Hells. Blazing impulses were taking control over him to the point that he could barely hold it back anymore.

Kang-Woo said impatiently, "I have something to do, so I'll excuse myself."

"Oh, I understand. I'll let the other party members know," Seol-Ah replied as she nodded.

Kang-Woo turned around and walked elatedly. He exited the imperial palace to see a vast garden, which he walked past.

"Master Kang-Woo," someone called.

Kang-Woo turned to see a young man with brown hair.

"Balrog."

He was currently wearing human skin, but inside was a comrade whom Kang-Woo had fought alongside for a thousand years, as well as his loyal subordinate.

Silence fell. Balrog stared at Kang-Woo, and then closed his eyes.

"I see you can barely hold it in," Balrog slowly remarked.

'You got me.' Kang-Woo snickered. 'This dim-witted son of a bitch is only quick-witted in times like this. I guess the time we spent together doesn't go anywhere. You're really something else, man... Not even Lilith was able to tell.'

"I've been holding it back all this time," Kang-Woo said calmly.

He was acting calm, but he felt like his desires were about to explode at any second.

Balrog opened his eyes. It had been a while since he had seen his king like this; as if his king had thrown aside his human skin and returned to his true demon form.

'It's at least... the first time I've seen him like this on Earth.'

It only meant that he had been desperately holding it back all this time.

"Were you not able to alleviate it a little last time?" Balrog asked.

"No, that only made it worse. It ended so anticlimactic while I was getting fired up."

Kang-Woo recalled the Constellation of Agony. The battle had ended in such a dull manner. The fire blazing within his heart had been doused with ice water, as if an engine had been revved up but was just left to be. He felt like the desires he had been holding back all this time were about to explode. He instinctively knew that he could no longer hold it back.

'I've held it back for quite a while.'

Considering how he had been like back in Hell, he had managed to miraculously hold it back for this long.

'How long has it been?'

How long had it been since he had been able to fight with everything he had? Kang-Woo searched through his memories, but could not remember.

'At least...'

He had not been able to ever since he had regained his powers as the Demon King. No, even before that, he had never used every ounce of his strength. Obsession was the instinct of angels, and desire was that of demons. Their limitless desire allowed them to maintain their sanity for their immortal lifespan.

Among the countless forms of desire there were, Kang-Woo's desire was simple: to eat. To fight enemies stronger than him, to emerge victorious and to devour them as his spoils of battle. This very desire was what had allowed him to stay sane for the past ten millennia as well as what had allowed him to survive.

"Argh, urgh."

Kang-Woo panted heavily. A horrifying thirst tore apart his throat, but his desire could not be fulfilled; it would not be resolved just by devouring average demons and demonic beasts. He needed even stronger prey that would fire him up.

'It's times like this that I'm jealous of Seol-Ah.'

Seol-Ah's desire, her obsession toward Kang-Woo, was able to be resolved easily. However, Kang-Woo was different. There weren't many prey that would be able to fire him up anymore.

'That's why...'

Kang-Woo smiled. That was why he had been waiting for his plan to be completed.

"Will they be coming today?" Balrog asked.

"Who knows? But they won't just be taking it lying down."

Kang-Woo had made use of the plans of the Constellations of Evil and had thoroughly ruined them. The entire continent was plunged into fear of Lucifer, not the Constellations of Evil.

'They wouldn't stand for it... unless they're morons.'

Kang-Woo turned around, his eyes filled with anticipation.

"Balrog."

"Yes, my king."

Balrog got on one knee and looked up at Kang-Woo. Kang-Woo did not possess the signature features of a demon such as goat horns, bat wings and a black tail, but Balrog could tell that the man in front of him was, without a doubt, the king of demons.

"Don't get in my way."

Balrog stayed silent. He bowed his head and answered, "As you command, my king."

Kang-Woo slowly walked past Balrog. For some reason, the Constellation of Agony's Deific Essence had been sealed. Having a taste of a small piece of meat was more agonizing than being starved. Unbearable thirst and hunger were taking control over Kang-Woo.

"Haaa."

Kang-Woo licked his lips and gulped. He looked up at the sky. He couldn't sense the Constellations of Evil at all, but he could tell that they would be coming to punish the mortals that had ruined their plans.

"Now..."

It was time for a feast. Kang-Woo smiled.

***

Thousands of translucent wraiths appeared at the imperial palace garden in the dead of night.

[Kill, kill, kill.]

[Capture the humans and skin them little by little.]

[Let's dance to their screams.]

The thousands of wraiths danced while singing a chilling song. Among them was a spirit exuding powerful deathly energy, who landed on the garden.

[Oh Kang-Woo and Kim Si-Hun, was it?]

He mumbled the names of the retainers of Gaia that had ruined his plan. The Constellation of Fear rested his giant scythe, made from vengeful spirits, on his shoulder. Although there were two retainers of Gaia, he already knew who the main culprit who had ruined his plan was.

[Kim Si-Hun.]

He was the hero who was being revered as the Sword Emperor.

[How dare he...]

Whoooom. The scythe made from vengeful spirits exuded deathly energy. The Constellation of Fear slowly walked toward the imperial palace in front of him. Just then...

"Come on... What the hell?" someone said.

The Constellation of Fear turned to see a man with sharp eyes. The man clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and glared at the Constellation of Fear.

"Just one?" the man remarked in dissatisfaction, as if he had excitedly gone to a buffet only to see that there wasn't a large selection of food to choose from.