The Gray Exile
A teacup sat before Yoon Sang-hyuk, steam curling up from its surface. After taking a sip, he looked around, and the sights that met him were so unlike the Demon Realm that they would have been impossible to imagine at first glance.
The vast chamber was large enough to serve as the Masked Castle’s banquet hall, and every inch of it was lined with countless bookshelves. Naturally, every one of those shelves was packed with books.
The scent of time clung to them, the quiet fragrance books gave off as they aged, and it stirred his nose.
Across from Yoon Sang-hyuk sat a shabby old man drinking tea. He was Vassago, the owner of this immense library and the third-ranked among the Demon Lords of the Demon Realm, a being of exalted status.
Baal had said, “If you’re curious about anything, ask Vassago.”
Apparently too lazy to explain the rest himself, Baal had left the details to Vassago. And so here Yoon Sang-hyuk was, sitting across from him at the table and drinking tea.
It had already been quite a while since they sat facing each other, but steam still rose steadily from the teacup in front of him.
“Do you know Heros?”
After taking a sip of tea, Vassago nodded.
“Of course I know him. He was a dimension merchant who contracted with me. I’m rather bothered by the whole business of making contracts with others, so unlike the other Demon Lords, I don’t have many contractors. Heros was one of the few.”
“Is your contract with him still in effect?”
“No. The moment he died by your hand, the contract was voided.”
Yoon Sang-hyuk gave a small nod.
He remembered Heros worrying that if he ever became hostile toward the Demon Lords of the Demon Realm, he might become an enemy depending on the situation. It was a relief to know that would never happen now.
“What are you going to tell me?”
“What do you want to hear?”
“It’s not advisable to answer a question with a question.”
“Hmm-.”
Snap.
Vassago flicked his fingers.
At once, the surrounding bookcases slid aside, and several others took their place.
“From here to there, the shelves contain books that record information about Satan and the Demon Lords who follow him. And the three shelves over there contain books about the Abyss of the Void. You’re not seriously expecting me to recite the contents of several thousand books to you, are you?”
Vassago chuckled.
“Though, of course, all those thousands of books are in this head of mine.”
“Then I’d like to hear about Satan and Baal first.”
“I don’t know what sort of story you’re expecting, but it won’t be the beautiful one you’re imagining. Satan was... hmm, a tyrant. Back when he ruled the Demon Realm, the rankings among the Demon Lords changed whenever he felt like it. Were there constant struggles? Absolutely not. If Satan was in a foul mood, a Demon Lord would be erased. If he grew bored of his own boredom, another Demon Lord would be erased. Perhaps Satan was a ruler the demons, monsters, and beasts truly adored. Under normal circumstances, one couldn’t become a Demon Lord, but because of Satan, they could seize that throne. Baal was born a monster, rose through brutal conflict to become a demon, and then climbed all the way to Demon Lord. One by one, he defeated the high-ranking Demon Lords and rose to stand right beneath Satan’s jaw.”
That was the Demon Realm. To rise higher, one simply had to defeat whoever stood above. In that place, the meaning of rank was absolute.
“Why didn’t Satan erase Baal? Surely the reason Baal gave wasn’t the whole story?”
“There couldn’t have been a greater reason. Until Baal challenged Satan, no one had ever dared challenge the ruler of the Demon Realm, the king of the Demon Realm, for that throne. Satan must have been surprised too. When Baal first lost, I also thought Satan would erase him. But he didn’t. From that moment on, Baal must have understood too. He must have realized why Satan had been so merciful toward his defeat. Perhaps Baal sealed Satan and his followers in the Abyss of the Void for the very same reason Satan once had.”
Yoon Sang-hyuk looked at Vassago as if he didn’t understand a word of it.
“The Abyss of the Void is where the essence of the Demon Realm gathers. It’s where the purest demonic energy converges. They say their souls and bodies were split apart and bound by endless chains, but... that still doesn’t mean Satan was completely sealed away. Perhaps he’s already recovered all his power. No, he will have recovered it. Satan is that kind of being. Endless chains holding him down? Hah! Ridiculous.”
“Why would Baal imprison Satan there? He’s a threat to him.”
“Didn’t I just say it? The reason is the same as the one Satan had for not erasing Baal.”
Yoon Sang-hyuk started to speak, then closed his mouth again. He thought he understood what Vassago was saying. Before Baal became the ruler of the Demon Realm, back when he was endlessly challenging Satan, he must have come to understand the solitude, emptiness, and boredom that followed an absolute being like fate.
“Baal may have wanted Satan to one day break out of the Abyss of the Void and stand before him.”
It was a notion ordinary logic couldn’t grasp, but Yoon Sang-hyuk felt he could understand Baal.
“Then Baal telling me to go to the Abyss of the Void and bring back Satan’s heart...?”
“Was he telling you to challenge the impossible?”
“That’s what I think.”
“And when he told you to speak with me, I imagine he hoped my words would make you give up.”
“You think I’ll give up?”
Yoon Sang-hyuk asked with a faint snort of laughter, and Vassago gave a quiet chuckle of his own before shaking his head.
“It may sound strange, but you are oddly similar to Baal. Reckless, yes, but you also charge straight into things even when you know they’re impossible. Perhaps that’s why Baal chose coexistence in the end, rather than annihilation.”
“Who are the Demon Lords who follow Satan?”
“A very long time ago, in an age so distant even memory has grown dim, the Demon Realm had its ruler, Satan, and four stars that blazed brilliantly around him. Tamian, Bingard, Braum, and Hauel were those four. Each was a lord governing a region, and each was also a Grand Duke of the Demon Realm. The demons, monsters, and beasts who followed them were too many to count. When Satan was defeated by Baal, stripped of his power, and confined to the Abyss of the Void, all four of them and the legions that followed them went there too. Of course, no one knows what became of them after that. I may carry all knowledge in my head, but even I cannot see what lies inside the Abyss of the Void. Still, if I were to guess, the lower monsters and beasts among Satan’s followers would have been torn to shreds the instant they entered. The pure demonic energy that flows through the Abyss of the Void is not something creatures like that can withstand.”
The half-empty teacup filled again with fresh tea. Yoon Sang-hyuk moistened his dry throat with a sip.
“If they’ve somehow survived there, then they can no longer be ordinary monsters or beasts. Some of them may have become exalted existences that far surpass even us Demon Lords. For reference, Satan was bound by endless chains with his soul and body separated, but the four Demon Lords who followed him entered the Abyss of the Void without any seal at all. There’s no telling what sort of monsters they’ve become by now.”
“If the Abyss of the Void is such a place, why don’t Satan and his followers, after recovering their strength, escape? If they’ve gained that much power, shouldn’t they naturally challenge Baal and reclaim the throne they lost?”
“Well. I can’t tell you that either. The inside of the Abyss of the Void may not be as barren as we imagine. Or perhaps they’re content with life there. Figuring out the reason for that is one of the things you’ll have to do.”
Yoon Sang-hyuk let out a dry laugh.
How was he supposed to kill Satan, who was certain to be stronger than Baal? And on top of that, didn’t he have four Demon Lords at his side whose strength he couldn’t even begin to imagine?
The realization he had reached in his final duel with Baal. He had obtained absolute power capable of erasing everything. But even that power had not been enough to completely suppress Baal.
No, if Baal had chosen mutual destruction in that final moment instead of coexistence, he wouldn’t even be sitting here talking to Vassago now.
“Your heart is suddenly beating faster. Are you afraid, perhaps?”
“Hmph.”
He let out a dismissive snort, but it wasn’t a denial. It was only camouflage to hide his own weakness.
“It must feel hopeless. But if it were you, you’d still challenge it even if there were not a speck of possibility.”
“You know me well.”
“Heh. Yes. That is why I said you resemble Baal. You’ll need a long time to prepare.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think of how much effort you spent before challenging Baal again. Make that effort once more. Like the humans who were called Players, level up and grow stronger, then challenge him again.”
“Here?”
Yoon Sang-hyuk asked.
To level up here, he would have to eliminate the beings of the Demon Realm, meaning demons, beasts, and monsters.
“I can tell what you’re thinking. But the thing you’re worried about won’t happen. The ones who die at your hand are creatures whose lives aren’t worth much even if they remain alive. And the place you need to go has already been decided.”
“The place I need to go?”
Vassago flicked his fingers again. All the surrounding bookcases slid away, and a single shelf glided forward and stopped. Yoon Sang-hyuk stared at it in surprise. The books on this shelf gave off a completely different feeling from the ones he had seen so far, or more precisely, from the feeling conveyed by the books themselves.
Vassago took one book from the shelf and set it on the table.
“The Demon Realm is so vast that its ends cannot be seen. Naturally, there are many unusual places within it. Among them, the Gray Exile is without question the most unusual.”
“The Gray Exile?”
The many meanings carried by gray did not suit the Demon Realm.
Vassago pointed at Yoon Sang-hyuk.
“That power you’re wrapped in from head to toe. That place is connected to it as well.”
“The power wrapped around my body?”
Yoon Sang-hyuk lowered his gaze and looked himself over. The Yorgheim Set was there. Because he had come to the Demon Realm, its glow had grown faint, but it still radiated a subtle holy power.
“You mean holy power?”
Vassago smiled in a way that was impossible to read.
“Go to the Gray Exile. If you’re lucky, you may even gain the power to stand against Satan there.”