After Ten Millennia in Hell

Chapter 362 - Madness Bends to Even Greater Madness (2)

“What do you...”

Iris’s eyes quivered. Fear took over her body and paralyzed her sense of reason. She felt as if she was in a nightmare— no, as if she had come face to face with her nightmare.

“A-Aaaahh.”

Her legs tied to the chair shook, and she lost all strength in her lower body. She could feel her dress getting wet, but she was not in any condition for her face to get red from humiliation.

‘I’m gonna die.’

The only thing on Iris’s mind was death. Even without the radiant twelve wings on Han Seol-Ah’s back, the woman in front of her was more terrifying than anything she had ever experienced.

‘I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die.’

At this rate, she would die. The bloodlust aimed at her blew away all other thought.

“Fufu. Don’t worry.” Seol-Ah smiled widely. “There’s no way I would kill you, Iris.”

She placed her hand on top of Iris’s head while smiling crazily. Pure-white light poured out from her hand.

“Ah...”

Iris’s eyes turned hazy. She could feel her body being taken over by the colossal light pouring out from Seol-Ah’s hand.

Whoooom!

Golden light burst out from Iris as if putting up resistance. Seol-Ah expressed surprise as the golden light and white light clashed in the air.

“This must be... the power of the high elves.” It was more powerful than Seol-Ah had expected. “But... It won’t be able to block this.”

Seol-Ah added more power while giggling softly.

Boom—!

Just then, the door that had been protected by white light exploded. Seol-Ah turned her head in surprise.

“K-Kang-Woo?”

A man with sharp eyes had barged into the room while destroying the door. It was the man that Seol-Ah loved more than anything else.

Oh Kang-Woo remained silent after entering the room, and frowned as he stared at the clashing of golden and white light.

“Stop,” he stated.

“Kang-Woo, I was—”

“I told you to stop.”

Seol-Ah flinched. Kang-Woo’s tone of voice was so cold that she almost doubted that it had come from him. She was stricken with fear.

“Kang-Woo, I...”

“I know.”

Kang-Woo knew exactly what Seol-Ah was about to do, and why she had done something like this. He narrowed his eyes.

‘Seraph’s power has grown stronger.’

The obsession that had grown stronger, along with the power of the angels within Seol-Ah, was taking control of her. Kang-Woo walked up to Seol-Ah. Resolving the most urgent matter took priority.

“Kang-Woo, please listen to m—”

“Just stay still for now, darling.”

There was only one way to resolve this matter; Kang-Woo yanked Seol-Ah toward him and french-kissed her.

“Ah...”

Seol-Ah’s eyes widened as the thrill traveled from her tongue throughout her body. And then...

“Huh? Wh-What was I just...”

Seol-Ah looked around in confusion. The obsession that had taken control over her slightly died down, and her sense of reason came back.

“K-Kang-Woo. I-I’m sor— huh? Wh-Why did I...”

Kang-Woo embraced the panicking Seol-Ah and remarked, “Just focus on calming down. Close your eyes, take deep breaths, and empty your mind. Don’t think about anything else.”

Seol-Ah did as Kang-Woo said. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. The twelve wings that had sprouted from her back slowly faded and then completely disappeared.

“Kang-Woo...”

Seol-Ah became teary-eyed; only now had she finally remembered what she had done. She trembled and was having difficulty breathing.

‘What did I try to do to Iris?’

Her mind was in jumbles, and she was feeling nauseous. Since when had she become twisted to the point of no return?

“It’s okay. It’s all right.” Kang-Woo gently patted Seol-Ah’s back as he embraced her. Driving the panicking Seol-Ah into a corner was not wise. “It’s not your fault, Seol-Ah.”

It truly was not Seol-Ah’s fault.

‘I should’ve given her more attention.’

Kang-Woo had known that Seraph’s power within Seol-Ah was growing stronger as well as her obsession for him.

‘I also knew that that obsession was impossible to suppress.’

If the instinct of angels were the same as that of demons, there was no way that Seol-Ah would be able to control the power of the colossal being that was Seraph. Rather, it was a miracle that Seol-Ah had been able to endure it for all this time without much happening.

“Sniff... K-Kang-Woo. I-I’m so scared. Wh-What’s happening to me?” Seol-Ah asked while trembling.

She knew that something precious to her was getting twisted somehow. Kang-Woo also knew that feeling very well; the horrifying fear and anxiety of his entire being changing when he devoured a demon and accepted demonic energy for the first time.

“It’s okay. There’s nothing to be scared of.”

Kang-Woo calmly consoled Seol-Ah. Seol-Ah yanked herself out of his embrace and shook her head.

“Wh-What do you mean there's nothing to be scared of?! I was... What I was about to do to Iris was...”

Seol-Ah stared at Iris in pallor; Iris had passed out with her head lowered. The chains binding her had disappeared.

“Have I...” Seol-Ah stared at Kang-Woo in fear. She asked anxiously, “... Gone insane?”

Kang-Woo remained silent. Honestly speaking, she was not in a normal state.

‘But...’

The same could be said for him. Had he stayed sane after killing demons and devouring their flesh and blood?

‘Of course not.’

Kang-Woo was insane. He was broken and twisted ever since he had first fallen into Hell. Even so, he had gone forward without looking back as he had always done.

“Darling. I haven’t told you much about my past, have I?”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll tell you a little of it.”

Kang-Woo smiled faintly and told Seol-Ah about when he had first fallen into Hell, and how he had turned into a demon after devouring one.

“Becoming a completely different being with the senses of a human comes with its corresponding price,” he stated.

“Does that mean...” Tears dripped from Seol-Ah’s eyes. She asked in fear, “I’ll be... like this forever? I can never go back to normal?”

Kang-Woo firmly nodded. “Yeah. You can never go back.”

Seraph could no longer be separated from Seol-Ah. A body that had already become close to that of an angel could never return to the way it was. Seol-Ah would have to live with her crazed obsession for the rest of her life.

“No... way...”

Seol-Ah collapsed as despair took control over her. Kang-Woo grabbed Seol-Ah’s hand and raised her up.

‘It’s dangerous to leave her like this.’

Kang-Woo could not leave Seol-Ah in this state. Her circumstances were different from that of his; he had slowly changed into a demon over a very long time period, but everything for her had changed in an extremely short period of time. It was no wonder that there would be corresponding complications.

‘But thankfully...’

There was a very simple way to resolve Seol-Ah’s obsession.

“But that doesn’t really matter, does it?” Kang-Woo stated.

“I’m sorry?” Seol-Ah stared at Kang-Woo, not able to comprehend what he was saying.

“I said, you’re fine the way you are.”

“Wh-What are you talking about, Kang-Woo?”

“Your obsession is me, isn’t it?”

Seol-Ah turned red from the direct question.

Kang-Woo caressed her red cheeks and continued calmly, “Then there’s no problem, since I won’t ever be apart from you.”

“Ah,” Seol-Ah expressed.

Her eyes widened, and sparks ran throughout her body.

“As long as the target of your obsession is me, there’s no problem at all.”

All madness was born out of deficiency; whether it be demons or angels, their madness arose when they did not get what they wanted. In that case, the solution was simple.

“I ask you to trust me just a little more. That’s all I need.” Kang-Woo caressed the ring on Seol-Ah’s left ring finger. “Do you think I gave this to you for no reason?”

“Kang-Woo...” Seol-Ah muttered in a trembling tone. Her shoulders shook as the corners of her mouth rose as far as they could. “Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo, Kang-Woo.” She hugged him as she repeated his name. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry...”

Seol-Ah rubbed her face in his embrace. Kang-Woo smirked and patted her head.

‘I guess that partly takes care of it.’

If the instincts of demons and angels were the same in nature, the way to control them should also be the same.

‘Let’s start by having her accept it.’

Seol-Ah needed to accept the changes to her body and senses. Rejecting and suppressing them would only make them more rampant. Demonic instinct was like a water hose; forcibly closing the end would cause the pressure to rise and eventually explode, just like how Seol-Ah ended up now.

‘It needs to be controlled, not stopped.’

Continuing the analogy from earlier, places for the water to flow out would need to be made. To do that, Seol-Ah needed to accept and understand the flowing water, which was her instinctive impulse.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Seol-Ah continuously apologized.

Kang-Woo shook his head and stated, “No, it’s okay. Well... It wasn’t really as I had intended it, but the result wasn’t a bad one.”

Kang-Woo looked toward the unconscious Iris. The energy of the high elves that he could feel from her had become incomparably thicker than before.

‘She must’ve awakened.’

It was the most likely conclusion. Iris had pulled out the power out of survival instinct after coming face to face with Seraph’s colossal power.

‘What a score.’

The power of the high elves growing stronger in Iris was worth celebrating. With this, her connection to the high elves had grown stronger.

“No, that’s not what I’m apologizing about,” Seol-Ah expressed.

“Huh?”

‘Then why are you apologizing?’

“I’m sorry, Kang-Woo.” Seol-Ah grabbed Kang-Woo’s arm while panting heatedly. “I... can’t hold myself back anymore.”

‘I beg your pardon? Hold what back?’

“Come with me,” she stated.

“H-Huh?”

Seol-Ah pulled Kang-Woo by his clothes. They passed through the destroyed door and went into her room.

“Wait, darling.”

‘It’s not that, is it? We shouldn’t. We’re gonna be scolded for abusing our all-ages rating. We’re gonna get told to fuck off to Noblesse[1] if we’re gonna do shit like this.’

Clack. Seol-Ah snapped her finger and a white barrier, far stronger than the one on the door of the room that Iris was chained in, formed on the door.

“Don’t worry.” Seol-Ah smiled gently and hugged Kang-Woo’s head. She pushed him onto the bed and got on top of him. “I’ve practiced plenty.”

“Huh? Huuuh?”

Huh?

Huuuuuuuuuh?

1. Noblesse is a section in the Korean webnovel website Joara, which includes mature novels. ?