Chapter 492: Conviction Succumbs to Hope (2)

Drip, drip, drip.

Melted ice fell as drops of water on the floor. Darkness fell on the temple that reeked with the stench of blood.

"A-Arghh." Eilles twisted and slowly opened his eyes. "Kurgh!"

He tried to move, but the black flames wrapped around him did not allow him to.

'Where am I...?'

He looked around. He had woken up in his half-melted temple where the Frostborn fought against the intruders.

'He didn't imprison me somewhere else.'

The fact that the intruders did not move him while he was unconscious was precious information.

'Time isn't on their side.'

If the intruders had all the time in the world, they would have taken him to their base and slowly interrogated him. Eilles narrowed his eyes and looked around. He couldn't see his interrogators, the man named Oh Kang-Woo or the woman named Lilith, anywhere.

"Where did they go?"

Eilles looked around uneasily. There was no way they had gone back after giving up on prying information out of him.

Fwoosh! Fwoosh—!

"Kurgh. Shit."

Eilles drew out the power of frost and tried to break free, but the black flames restraining him did not budge.

"Fuuu," Eilles sighed deeply and stopped struggling.

His blue eyes shone brightly within the dark temple.

'I'll never talk.'

Eilles more or less had an idea about what information regarding Bael that the intruders wanted.

'They want details about the day of the apocalypse.'

Bael and his army would invade Earth in exactly thirty-five days. They would massacre humanity, kill every god, and create a new world.

Eilles closed his eyes in silence.

'If I can't break out of these restraints...'

He was planning on ending his own life at the very least. After all, dead men told no tales.

"Fuuu."

Eilles had no qualms about dying. Rather, he was happy to die as long as it was for the sake of his loyalty toward his lord. However...

'Arianne.'

His daughter's face popped up in his head. The innocent laughter of the Frost Princess, as white as snow, echoed in his mind.

"Haaa." Eilles closed his eyes as he sighed. He muttered, "I'm... sorry."

He shook his head to shoo away the image of his daughter in his head.

"Frost Spirits," called Eilles as he slowly raised his head.

Light particles slightly smaller than the size of a fist formed around him. They were spirits created from the energy of frost, considerably smaller than when they first appeared. No, it wasn't just their size; the light particles were significantly dimmer and the cold energy within them was nothing compared to what it used to be.

"It seems you all have also been injured quite a lot."

Eilles looked at the Frost Spirits sorrowfully.

'But this should be enough.'

They were more than strong enough to end his life.

Eilles raised his head to expose his neck and closed his eyes. He commanded the Frost Spirits around him for the last time, "Kill me."

Crack!

The Frost Spirits turned into sharp ice spears that shot toward Eilles's neck.

Shatter!

However, the spears were destroyed before they could reach Eilles's neck. The Frost Spirits around him were engulfed by the black flames and evaporated.

"Come on, I can't let you have a badass death."

"Bastard." Eilles frowned fiercely. He bit his lip as he stared at the Frost Spirits which had become vapor and dissipated. "You still haven't given up?"

"Of course not." Kang-Woo nodded with a wide smile.

"You moron," said Eilles as he glared at Kang-Woo coldly. He continued firmly, "No matter what you do, I will never talk. Even if you rip off my fingernails, sever my limbs, or pry out my eyeballs, my conviction will not die."

Kang-Woo smiled. "Yeah, I know."

Eilles narrowed his eyes. He said coldly, "I don't know what you're planning, but there is nothing you can do.

"Whatever you do, you can never surpass him."

Eilles thought about Bael, his master; a true demon who possessed an endless abyss. He was the only one worthy of ruling all worlds.

"Come to think of it, the woman who was with you referred to you as the Demon King." Eilles chuckled mockingly. "I know you are a demon, but... that title does not suit you."

Eilles had never heard about the Demon King since he had only met Bael after the thousand-year war in the Ninth Hell. However, he could easily figure out what the title Demon King signified.

"You call yourself the king of demons?" Eilles stared at Kang-Woo as he laughed mockingly. "Lord Bael is the only one who fits that title."

Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly looked down at Eilles in silence. "Pfft!"

He burst into laughter as he clenched his stomach. "Bwahahahaha!! Dayum, I didn't think I'd laugh so hard all of a sudden." He wiped his tears from laughing too hard. "You haven't heard anything about me from Bael, have you?

"Makes sense. There's no way he'd want to tell you."

If Bael were to tell anyone about how that long war ended, it meant that he would have to acknowledge his loss.

"What relationship do you have with Lord Bael?" asked Eilles.

"Heh." Kang-Woo smiled.

He reached down to grab Eilles by his white hair.

Bash!

He raised his knee and smashed it into Eilles's chin.

"Kurgh!!" Eilles grunted in pain.

Kang-Woo did not stop; he smashed his knee into Eilles's face over and over again.

"Guh! Gah! Kurgh!"

Eilles's nose broke. His teeth made of translucent ice shattered and fell to the ground as they mixed with white blood.

Thud.

Eilles fell to the ground on his face.

"You should consider the position you're in, my friend." Kang-Woo crouched and lightly slapped the collapsed Eilles's head. He smiled kindly and said, "I'm the one who's asking the questions, aren't I?"

"Kuh..." Eilles bit his lip from the humiliation. He looked up at Kang-Woo.

"Kill me," he said angrily. "You will never hear what you want from me."

Eilles's voice was filled with certainty. His eyes did not falter in the slightest even after getting tortured to this extent.

"Really? Do you truly think you can overcome any kind of pain?" Kang-Woo asked.

"Without question," Eilles answered without hesitation. He continued with eyes filled with willpower, "My conviction will not be bent by mere pain."

He was not all talk; he was certain that he would never give away information about Bael, whatever pain he was subjected to.

'Lord Bael.' Eilles bit his lip as he thought about his lord. 'No matter the despair and agony I am placed in, my loyalty for you will not change.'

Eilles glared at Kang-Woo with blazing eyes. He chuckled mockingly again and continued, "Now, torture me however you want. You can peel off my skin, gouge out my flesh, and even break my bones.

"You won't get anything from me. Rather, you will only waste the little time you already have to prepare for Lord Bael's grand plan."

The demon known as Oh Kang-Woo was powerful; so powerful that Eilles, the strongest of the Four Heavenly Kings, had not been able to deal any meaningful damage to him. He could even become a threat to Bael's grand plan.

'I'm prepared to endure any kind of pain as long as I can keep him here.'

"Pfft! Hahahahaha!" Kang-Woo burst into laughter with his hand clenching his stomach as he looked down at Eilles. He nodded repeatedly with a smile of satisfaction."Man, you're good. I like you. Personally, I'm a huge fan of single-minded people like you."

He liked these kinds of people much better than those blinded by desire with no conviction, ideals, or aspirations.

"Because it's all the more fun to break you."

Kang-Woo cackled as he moved his shoulders up and down.

Eilles frowned in displeasure.

"Ahem. Alright, you said that your conviction won't be bent by any pain, right?" Kang-Woo grabbed Eilles by his chin as he nodded in understanding. "In that case."

He bent down and looked into the eyes of Eilles, collapsed on the ground, looking up at him.

"Ah," Eilles groaned the moment he saw Kang-Woo's black scleras, yellow irises, and horizontal pupils.

'What the...' He could feel that something was going wrong. 'What is this feeling...?'

Eilles lowered his head in confusion.

"What about this, then?"

Just then, Kang-Woo took something out of his pocket. It was a translucent piece of ice.

"Ah." Eilles's eyes widened the moment he saw the ice. He trembled and his teeth clacked together. "N-No."

He denied his thoughts. He desperately hoped that the first thing he thought of when he saw the piece of ice was wrong.

"I-It can't be."

He leaned closer to look down at the piece of ice that Kang-Woo dropped on the ground. It was an immaculately beautiful piece of ice. He understood whose it was even if he didn't want to.

"A-Aaaahh," Eilles groaned in despair as tears ran down his cheeks.

"Arianne, was it?" The demon brought his mouth close to Eilles's ears and whispered, "She had such beautiful fingers."

"A-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!" Eilles screamed. "Y-YOU SON OF A BIIIIIIIITCH!!!"

Crack! Crack!

Eilles writhed madly and charged at the demon.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!!"

However, the black flames wrapping him restrained him.

"I WILL KILL YOUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Eilles's screams of despair echoed throughout the temple.