After Ten Millennia in Hell

Side Story Chapter 102 - One Day (4)

"Grrr! Woof, woof!!" the Hellhound growled ferociously as she charged at extraordinary speed and swung her sharp claws at Sabnak.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTT!!"

Clang!!

Sabnak cursed as he blocked the Hellhound's claws with the Authority of Blades. He was not pushed back despite their size difference.

"I AM A DEMON WITH AN AUTHORITYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"

Demons with Authorities were extremely rare in the Nine Hells. Although having an Authority did not necessarily make a demon powerful, those with powerful Authorities like the princes of Hell were on another level compared to regular demons.

The same applied to Sabnak. Although his Authority only allowed him to sprout blades made of demonic energy from his hands, many demons did not even have such a simple Authority. There weren't many beings who could be a match for him in the First Hell.

"DIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Slash!!

The blade of demonic energy cut the bridge of the Hellhound's nose.

"GRRRRRRRR!!!"

"Kurgh!"

The Hellhound, blinded by rage, swung her claws regardless of whether her nose was cut or not. Sabnak rolled to the side to barely dodge the Hellhound's claws.

"Huff, huff!" he panted heavily as he calmly examined the Hellhound's movements.

'Her movements are easy to read, at the very least.'

The Hellhound's movements were as simple as what one would expect from a demonic beast with no intelligence. Her physical strength was extraordinary but not enough to overpower Sabnak, who possessed more demonic energy than most entities in the First Hell.

"Grr! Grrr!"

Most of all, the Hellhound was tired.

"Haaaaah!"

Sabnak ducked to dodge the Hellhound's front foot and quickly closed the distance. He activated the Authority of Blades to the extreme to lengthen the black blade, which was now three meters long. Sabnak swung the long blade to behead the Hellhound, but—

Bash!

"Gah!!"

The impact from the rock hitting Sabnak's head caused the blade to veer off course.

Pierce!

The blade dug into the Hellhound's shoulder.

"Grrr!!"

The Hellhound ignored the blood spewing from her shoulder and lowered her head to headbutt Sabnak.

"Kurgh!! Gah!" Sabnak was blown backward by the headbutt. "ARGHHHH!! GODDAMN HUMAAAAAAAAAN!!!"

Sabnak looked up and glared at the human who threw the rock. The human was getting in his way by throwing rocks at decisive moments from a tall boulder.

"SHIT! SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!"

Sabnak was boiling with rage, but he couldn't do anything. Although he had the advantage against the Hellhound, he didn't have the leeway to focus on something else during a battle with his life on the line.

"Bwehehehehehe!!!" the human throwing rocks from above laughed mockingly at Sabnak, enraging him even more.

"ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!" Sabnak roared as he frantically blocked the Hellhound's attacks.

He felt like he was going crazy from rage.

"WOOF!! GROWL!!"

"FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!! ATTACK THAT HUMAN, NOT MEEEEEEEE!!!"

The one who attacked the sleeping baby Hellhound first was the human, not him. Sabnak never had any intention of killing the baby.

"GRRR! GRRRR!!"

However, a demonic beast with no intelligence couldn't understand him. The Hellhound simply barraged Sabnak, whom she could smell her baby's blood from, with attacks.

Clang!! Clang!!

"Kurgh!! Urgh!!"

Sabnak bit his lip as he blocked the unending barrage of claw attacks.

'At this rate, I'll die...!'

He gripped the black blade made with his Authority tightly.

'I have no choice.'

He would have to attack the Hellhound with the resolve to suffer a critical wound.

"Huff, huff!"

Sabnak first widened his distance from the Hellhound and drew out as much demonic energy as he could.

Crack! Crack!!

His skin split in different parts of his body, and black blades sprouted from between. Sabnak, who now looked like a hedgehog, glared at the Hellhound.

"Grrrr."

The Hellhound stopped in her tracks momentarily.

Fwoosh—!

She took a deep breath in, and flames blazed from her mouth.

"Gasp!"

Sabnak grew impatient. Hellhounds did not use their breath under normal circumstances because it also damaged themselves. However, the Hellhound in front of him was drawing out as much fire as possible as if she were trying to take Sabnak out with her.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

Fwoosh—!!!

Colossal flames shot toward Sabnak.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

Sizzle!!

The flames not only melted Sabnak's skin but the baby Hellhound's corpse as well as the Hellhound herself. The flames that devoured all life engulfed the surroundings.

"Argh!! Gaaaaaaaaahhh!!"

Sabnak charged toward the Hellhound despite writhing in pain. He knew he would be reduced to ashes before the Hellhound because his resistance to fire was lower.

"PLEASE JUST DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" Sabnak screamed as he jumped at the Hellhound to body-smash her.

The blades that were sprouted all over his body sank into the Hellhound.

"Huff, huff, huff!"

Fwoosh, fwoosh!

The corpse of the Hellhound, whose head was split in two, collapsed and burned. Sabnak panted heavily and fell to the ground.

"I-I won."

He defeated the First Hell's apex predator— not only that but one who was blinded by rage from losing her baby.

"Haha! I wo—"

Whoosh!!!

As Sabnak was about to pump his fists and cheer, a sharp rock flew across the air.

Bash!

"Gah!"

The sharp rock cut Sabnak's skin which was melted from the fire. He clenched his wounds spewing black blood and turned around.

"Haaa, haaa, haaa."

He saw Kang-Woo, singed by the fire, panting heavily.

"Hehehe! I'm surprised you can survive in this fiery place." Sabnak smirked, his eyes gleaming.

He was more happy than enraged that the human was still alive since it meant he could take revenge against the arrogant human who had driven him this far.

"I'll tear you apa—"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Kang-Woo screamed. He grabbed a rock with his remaining right hand and ran toward Sabnak. "DIE, MOTHERFUCKEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!"

He swung the rock down into the collapsed Sabnak's head.

Bash!!

"Argh!!!" Sabnak yelled and tumbled across the ground.

He quickly swung his arm and used the Authority of Blades but nothing came out because he was out of demonic energy. His arm hit nothing as he swung it in the air.

"Huff, huff!"

Kang-Woo bared his teeth ferociously as he looked down at Sabnak, who was struggling in pain with his hands on his head. He failed to make Sabnak and the Hellhound kill each other, but he at least succeeded in making Sabnak use all of his strength.

'In that case, I can take care of the finishing blow.'

"W-Wai—"

"DIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Bash!!

Kang-Woo swung down the rock on Sabnak's head again. His palm split from the impact similar to hammering steel, but he ignored it.

"DIE!!! DIE!!!!"

Kang-Woo's head heated up, and sparks ran throughout his body as black blood splattered on his cheeks.

"Kekeke!"

He was bursting with laughter for some reason.

"Pfft!! Kehehehehehehehe!!!"

The ecstasy was melting his brain. Seeing Sabnak's head becoming mush each time Kang-Woo smashed the rock down couldn't make him happier.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! YEAH!!! DIE!!! DIE, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!"

Kang-Woo's vision blurred. He could no longer feel pain from his severed left arm, the thirst burning his throat, or the hunger tearing his stomach apart anymore. All he could feel was the screams echoing in his head.

"Kurgh, guh... krrrk!"

Sabnak's face caved in, and one of his eyeballs popped out. Kang-Woo grabbed it and yanked it out. More hideous screams echoed in his head.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

Kang-Woo grabbed Sabnak's head and smashed it into the rocky ground with all his might, but it only dealt next to no injuries.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

If once wasn't enough, he would do it twice. If twice wasn't enough, he would do it thrice.

"Kurgh! S-Stop—"

Kang-Woo smashed Sabnak's head into the ground until his head was split open.

Crack!

"..."

Brain matter flowed out of Sabnak's head at last.

"Huff! Huff! Huff! Huff!" Kang-Woo panted heavily and collapsed.

He did not have the time to relish in his victory.

"A-Arghh."

The ecstasy was once again replaced by extreme hunger and thirst. Kang-Woo raised his head and looked around. The Hellhound and her baby's corpses had already been reduced to ashes.

"Slurp!! Slurp—!!!"

All he could drink at the moment was the black blood flowing out from Sabnak's cracked head.

"Slurp!!! Gulp!!!"

Kang-Woo crawled and licked the black blood on the ground like a dog. The bitter taste of blood stimulated his tongue.

"Huff! Huff! Huff!"

However, he couldn't care less about how the liquid tasted as long as it quenched his thirst.

"H-Hehehehehe!!!"

The blood moistened Kang-Woo's dry throat. He was invigorated with energy, incomparable to when he drank his own urine.

"More, more, more, more."

He couldn't be satisfied with just blood. Kang-Woo grabbed Sabnak's body with his right hand and bit into Sabnak's throat.

"Munch! Munch! Krrrk! Munch!!"

It was bitter and had the texture of rubber, but it was almost a blessing for Kang-Woo, who had not eaten anything for the past three days. Kang-Woo frantically devoured the demon's flesh until he could feel his intestines were full.

"Huh...?"

Just then, he realized he could feel his left hand that should have been severed.

"Wh-What the hell?"

Kang-Woo looked down at his left hand in disbelief. The hand that had been severed by Sabnak's blade had regenerated before he realized it. No, that was not all there was to it.

"H-Huh?"

He was brimming with power. His muscles had swelled, and his body felt light. He was in far better condition compared to when he first ended up here.

"What in the...."

Kang-Woo closed and opened his left fist incomprehensibly.

Schwing!!

"What the—?! Th-That scared me!!!"

His hand split and a black blade shot out all of a sudden.

"This is... the blade that the demon used."

Kang-Woo turned to look down at Sabnak's corpse, which he had been frantically devouring.

"..."

He had no idea why but his injuries healed once he ate the demon and even gained his ability to conjure blades.

"Haaa, haaa. Am I able to take the powers... of monsters I eat?"

Kang-Woo had no idea, but he was sure of one thing.

"I... survived."

He had survived these nightmarish monsters.

"H-Haha."

Kang-Woo flopped on the ground. He couldn't feel the thirst and hunger driving him mad anymore. He didn't know why but his injuries were gone, and he was brimming with power incomparable to when he first fell in here.

"Yeah... I'm gonna survive. In this fucking place... for sure."

A glimmer of hope shone in Kang-Woo's eyes. He would survive. He would stay alive no matter what until he returned to Earth.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go b— Ah."

Only after looking up at the sky did he realize the burning red sky had turned dark.

"A-Aaaahh."

One day had passed. He drank his own urine, risked his life to look for food in the rocky region, smeared Hellhound poop all over himself, used it to lure the wolves, infiltrated the Hellhound's nest while the Hellhound was busy fighting the wolves, met a demon, got his arm severed, lured the Hellhound back to her nest, killed the demon who suffered a critical wound from his battle against the Hellhound, and devoured his flesh and blood—

All in only one day.

"I'm... going back. I'm sure... there's a way... back."

Kang-Woo's hands shivered.

"Yeah, it won't take long... just a little longer... yeah. I should be able to go back... in just a few days."

Kang-Woo slowly stood up. He lifted the demon's corpse he had yet to finish eating over his shoulder and staggered as he walked away. His fourth night in Hell fell as he mumbled to himself that he'd be able to get out of this Hell soon.

And... 3,649,996 more nights remained until he could return.