Player Who Returned 10,000 Years Later

Chapter 66 – Rite of Calling (Part 1)

This chapter is sponsored by Asekhan. (1/3)

Editor: Cherish

— We met with him… about eight months ago. — Kim Jae Hyun started telling his story.

Kang Yu leaned back on his chair and thought about what he said.

— Are you talking about that man in the red devil’s mask?

— I’m talking about the man in the red devil mask.

— You don’t know who he is?

The man nodded hard. So far, his words didn’t seem to be lies.

‘Even he doesn’t know who’s hiding behind the mask.’

Learning the identity of the masked man was one of the key points in getting information about the Devil’s Teachers.

— Go on.

— When I met him eight months ago, I got an offer. If I provide victims for the rite, he’ll turn me into a demon.

— You’re telling me you agreed…? — Young-ju looked at the man like he was crazy, hardly believing her ears.

Providing someone with sacrifices…

What he did and what they were still going to do could destroy the hard-won balance in the new world.

But how could they convince him otherwise, if he, wishing to become a demon, did not regret what he did?

— Huh. You’re just saying that because you don’t know anything about demons, — he murmured.

— What are you talking about?

— Demons are immortal. They’re already dead. Because their hearts don’t beat, they won’t grow old.

Immortality.

Eternal youth.

For those born to die, there’s no offer more tempting.

No matter how you try, you’ll end up dying anyway.

Death is the only inevitable thing that persecutes a man from birth.

For Kim Jae Hyun, who has power, money, and an army, the desire to avoid death was quite reasonable.

— Huh… Immortality, you say? — Young-ju sounded doubtful.

— Yes.

— How would you know?

— They’ve already lived with mankind for a thousand years.

— What…?

It wasn’t just Young-ju who was surprised to hear that.

Kang Yu, who had been sitting quietly until now, opened his mouth to speak too. After all, he already knew everything else the man had said.

— You’re saying the Devil’s Teachers appeared a thousand years ago?

It’s been five years since the day Players first appeared.

That’s why Kang Yu thought that the Devil’s Teachers must have appeared after that.

Kim Jae Hyun shook his head in response to Kang Yu’s question.

— They didn’t appear a thousand years ago, but much earlier. They were scattered all over the world, and in hiding, they grew bigger. Of course, they didn’t begin to be active that long ago, they only started to act about a few years ago.

— Hmm. — Kang Yu frowned as if he had a headache.

If they had been secretly developing for such a long time, it would be harder than expected to eradicate them.

— Is that why you kidnapped Players for the Devil’s Teachers? To get immortality?

— Yes.

— What a crazy man. — Young-ju glared at the man with hatred. — Were you really hoping to gain immortality? Do you think that if you lived for hundreds, thousands of years, you would stay in good health? —

People who only know immortality from books, comics, or movies dream about it and think they can handle it.

But one day, the moment will come, where everything collapses.

Everyone dreams of immortality, but, after receiving it and living hundreds, thousands of years, they will start to go crazy. That was what Young-ju meant.

Kim Jae Hyun laughed as if the girl had just told him a joke.

— You only say that because you don’t know anything about demons. A demon’s body keeps its mind, only becoming more sensitive to desires.

— What does that mean?

— It means that life will never get boring. A human body, a young spirit, and eternal life. Isn’t it great?

— Don’t be silly. It’s impossible…

— It’s possible. Do you think I’d play with fire if I wasn’t sure?

Chae Young-ju pressed her lips together tightly.

She knew that Kim Jae Hyun wasn’t a stupid person at all.

‘If I believe his words…’

She immediately thought that the Devil’s Teachers must be getting stronger and stronger every day.

It’s easy to seduce a man.

— That’s crazy, — the young guy muttered in a calm voice.

— Kang Yu…

Young-ju caught a note of anger in his tone, and she looked at him questioningly.

— Do you think it’s great to have a desire that never fades away? — His eyes were glowing with anger.

A longing that knows no boundaries.

It could be equated to the desire of three people together.

Even that was hardly enough to compare.

An unquenchable desire is followed by thirst. A person who had not experienced this thirst before could never understand how terrible it was.

It’s like constantly looking for a sip of water in an arid desert.

Or having no access to oxygen as if you were high in the sky.

It’s painful to survive.

It’s a real torment that cannot be described in words.

Kang Yu, in order not to drown in overwhelming desire, has learned to restrain himself.

However, even he could not always do that.

Even though he has lived ten thousand years.

Even though he became the Lord of Hell, before whom even the strongest of the strongest bowed down to.

‘You’re the one who knows nothing about demons.’ Kang Yu could barely resist saying those words out loud.

If he starts speaking like he understood demons now, it would only complicate the situation.

— Well, we’ve heard enough about your motives. So move on to the next topic. — Kang Yu confidently changed the topic.

Kang Yu thought that if he kept listening to Kim Jae Hyun’s story, it would turn him inside out.

The man looked at him, anger bubbling in his chest. Biting his lip, he forced himself to continue:

— Following our agreement, we were to kidnap the victims and, through the ritual, hand Magi over to some members of the Guild.

— Magi? Does it look like Maryok? — Young-ju asked.

— It’s demonic power. It looks like Maryok, but it’s still different.

— Hmm… So you have this Magi, too?

— No. I haven’t accepted it yet.

— Why not? Isn’t this the reason why you made a deal with the Devil’s Teachers?

— Yes. But if you hurry to consume Magi, you’d only become a monster who can’t curb thirst, rather than a demon.

— Do humans start to change after taking a single portion?

— Yes. He said that if I wanted to become a demon without losing my mind, it would require more preparation.

— Then why did you give Magi to your guild members? Did he order them to be monsters?

— But it made them stronger. Because the members of the guild are the same as soldiers. If they can fight, it doesn’t matter whether they’re monsters or people.

— Crazy. — Young-ju’s face twisted into a disgusted look.

She started to get nauseous from how disappointed she was in him.

Compared to this, Kang Yu’s cruel actions didn’t seem so bad to her.

— What’s a ‘calling?’ Who are you going to call?

— The Devil…

— The Devil? — Kang Yu squinted.

Kim Jae Hyun nodded his head and continued:

— I don’t know for sure either. But I’m sure they’re going to call the Devil.

— The Devil’s Teachers’ main goal is to call the Devil to Earth?

— I don’t know. But they are doing their best to make it happen.

— Hmm… — Kang Yu nodded.

‘I haven’t absorbed all the demons.’

Kang Yu has dealt with more than hundreds of thousands of demons.

However, there were still those who haven’t been devoured by him.

After all, Hell is crazy big.

Even Kang Yu, having spent ten thousand years there, did not visit all corners nor meet all the demons.

He only ate the demons who threatened his life, or when it was necessary for him to survive.

‘How strong is the demon they’re going to summon?’

If they call someone above the Seventh Thousandth Circle of Hell, it would be difficult for Kang Yu, in his current state, to oppose him.

— So far, they haven’t summoned anyone else?

If the man’s words were true, they’ve been around for over a thousand years.

During that time, they might have tried to summon other demons as well.

— I don’t know. But they said that this would be the first attempt for Korea.

— First, you say?

— They say the barrier that separates us from other worlds has been weakening lately. About a month ago, I heard it was much easier for them to summon demons now.

Kang Yu was frowning.

As soon as he heard about the weakening barrier between the worlds, Kang Yu immediately remembered the system error.

The timing that the barrier started weakening coincides with Kang Yu’s return from Hell.

‘So…’

It is because of the system error that the Devil’s Teachers have become active.

‘It’s because of me.’ Kang Yu’s face twisted.

The problem they were trying so hard to solve was because of him.

‘Maybe it will recover by itself.’

Hanging on to this small hope, Kang Yu continued:

— Is this barrier still in a weak condition?

— Yes, and they say it’s still weakening.

— Oh, fuck.

Not only is it not recovering, but it’s continuing to weaken.

‘Hellcats and demons won’t come to Earth to take advantage of this, will they?’

Maybe it won’t just be from Hell.

There’s a chance that other humans, like Ronald of RNO could also come to Earth.

‘Worse yet, there may be other worlds besides Hell and RNO.’

The situation was worse than he thought.

The problem was that Kang Yu had no idea how to get out of this situation.

‘What a mess I’ve made…’

This problem could be compared to, for example, a meteorite falling on Earth when it’s lost its atmosphere.

Kang Yu had no idea what would happen if the barrier fell completely.

— Phew… — The guy took a deep breath.

It felt like his head was getting heavier and heavier by the second.

‘Let’s handle things in order.’

There was no way to solve the problem if he only continued to agonize about the situation.

What’s important right now is to first understand what the Devil’s Teachers are and stop what they are attempting.

— Do you know where the unknown man in the red mask is? I mean the location of his main office.

— I know it, but… he’s probably not there anymore.

— He’s not there anymore?

Kim Jae Hyun nodded his head affirmatively.

— He’s probably getting ready for the calling ceremony.

— Were there enough victims…?

— I’m not sure. I don’t know about that.

— Wait a minute, something doesn’t add up. You were the one who collected the sacrifices.

If there were enough victims, they wouldn’t have risked Si Hoon’s life to gather more sacrifices.

And yet, the person supplying the victims doesn’t know how much more is needed? Strange.

Kim Jae Hyun began to laugh.

— We’re not the only ones who have succeeded.

— Shit… — Kang Yu frowned.

It’s not hard to guess what he meant.

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Young-ju tilted her head to the side and asked:

— What does that mean?

To answer her question, Kang Yu answered as simply as possible:

— It wasn’t just the Mir Guild that made a deal with the Devil Teachers.

***