“You…”

Eilles narrowed his eyes, his expression completely frozen as he glared at Oh Kang-Woo, but not because the human was the most disrespectful and vulgar man he had seen.

He was staring at something else entirely; at the flames that had devoured the storm made by the Frost Sword.

Soul Speech allowed one to speak words imbued with power, invoking miracles that defied the laws of physics. The Frost Sword was infused with the powers of the Frost Queen, which could be activated through Soul Speech. The frost storm activated with the power of Soul Speech was powerful enough to overpower even a being with Top-rank Deific Essence.

Eilles stared at the flames that had devoured the storm created by the Frost Sword. Its black and gold colors reminded him of a black sun. A chill ran down Eilles’s back.

He said to Arianne, “Get to someplace safe.”

“Father…?”

“Now,” said Eilles firmly as if he would take no objections.

Arianne teared up momentarily and then turned away after glaring at Kang-Woo.

“Hmph! Father! Please kill those filthy peasants!”

“Very well.” Eilles clenched his fists and gave Arianne a sweet smile.

“Sheesh.” Kang-Woo chuckled as he watched them. “Are we in a drama or something? I would think we’re the bad guys if I didn’t know any better. Huh? Wait. Are we the baddies since we’re technically the intruders…?”

Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder with his arms crossed. Undeniably, a subordinate of Bael was an enemy of humanity and a threat to Earth, but Kang-Woo was the villain in this specific situation.

Eilles frowned as he watched Kang-Woo tilting his head. “You talk too much, human.”

“I get told that a lot.”

“I wonder if you can keep talking after I cut off that blabbering head of yours?”

“Hm? I sure can, even if my head gets chopped off. Don’t tell me you can’t?”

Eilles glared at Kang-Woo in displeasure. Kang-Woo cackled as his shoulders moved up and down.

“Well, that’s enough pointless banter,” Kang-Woo stated.

His frivolous attitude took a 180; he stared at Eilles as coldly as Eilles was glaring at him.

Kang-Woo then asked, “What’s your relationship with Bael?”

Eilles’s eyebrows made of thin ice flinched. “Do not speak his name so disrespectfully.”

“Hmm. Based on that sentence, you seem to be his subordinate…”

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes.

It was highly likely.

“I am Eilles, Lord Bael’s loyal retainer as well as the master of the First Heaven.”

“Yeah, I had a hunch,” replied Kang-Woo as he nodded.

Kang-Woo recalled the outer god named Moab.

After some simple thought, one could easily deduce that the master of the First Heaven among the four would make him the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Kang-Woo smiled. He was only here to investigate an abnormal Gate phenomenon but ended up catching a massive fish without even intending it.

Although it was temporarily blocked at the moment, Bael had been gathering all sorts of information about Kang-Woo using his System privileges until recently. Not only did Kang-Woo not know where Bael was, but he had no idea about the scale of Bael’s army and when he was planning to strike.

He would surely have precious information that would even the playing field.

“Nice.” Kang-Woo smiled widely and licked his lips.

“What’s nice?”

“It looks like I’m gonna be able to get some information about Bael from you.”

“Hah,” Eilles laughed in spite of himself and glared at Kang-Woo fiercely. “Do you think I will give you that information?”

“Yeah.” Kang-Woo nodded without hesitation. He smiled and slightly bent forward. “I think you will.”

Eilles shook his head, thinking he would not get through to the human. He gripped the Frost Sword tightly and slowly walked toward Kang-Woo. “I am not obligated to do that.”

“It’s okay. I’ll just make you feel obligated to.”

Kang-Woo snickered and stood in front of Eilles. He never thought that Eilles would give up that information so easily.

Kang-Woo stared at Eilles with great interest. He licked his lips and pulled out Ingrium strapped to his waist.

The flames of Voracity wrapped around Ingrium. He lowered his stance and leaped forward.

The entire temple shook.

Kang-Woo swung down his sword.

The frost storm and the Flames of Voracity clashed. The storm of ice and fire filled the temple with an enormous amount of steam.“Freeze,” Eilles said in Soul Speech.

Freezing energy poured out of the Frost Sword and engulfed Kang-Woo.

Kang-Woo smiled and asked, “That’s Soul Speech, isn’t it?”

He added more strength into his grip on Ingrium and stepped forward. He slightly twisted his body and commanded in Soul Speech, “Burn.”

The Flames of Voracity instantly grew bigger as it devoured the frost storm.

“What the—!” Eilles expressed shock.

He thought,

“Kurgh!”

Eilles distanced himself from the Flames of Voracity, spreading as it devoured the frost storm. A massive crater was formed where he had been standing; the floor of the Frozen Temple had evaporated.

He looked at Kang-Woo in disbelief. It was as if he were having a horrible nightmare. Eilles bit his lip and swung the Frost sword toward the ground.

A giant ice wall surged from the ground along the Frost Sword’s swing. The wall made contact with the Flames of Voracity and evaporated soon after.

“Fuuu,” Eilles inhaled deeply, using the small amount of time bought.

He organized his thoughts and focused on the enemy before him. He had no idea where such a human appeared from.

Of that, Eilles was sure.

“O frost spirit,” Eilles muttered. “I command you in the name of the king.”

Although the intruder was far more powerful than he had expected, they were in the Frozen Temple, the home of the Frostborn as well as where the power of frost was the strongest.

“Extinguish the flames.”

Thousands of frost spirits that looked like cotton balls appeared around Eilles. They filled the surroundings in an instant and swelled simultaneously.

Space itself froze. Air so freezing that it could freeze one’s lungs just by breathing engulfed Kang-Woo. He jumped backward and stretched out his left hand enveloped in the Flames of Voracity. The flames were snuffed out by the freezing air. Despite being within the influence of Seol-Ah’s sanctuary, Eilles’s magic easily penetrated Seol-Ah’s protective sanctuary and turned Kang-Woo’s left hand into ice.

“It’s over.”

Eilles turned away from Kang-Woo, whose left hand was frozen, as if the battle had been decided. There was nothing more to see once the frost spirits made contact with the enemy; they would spread throughout the enemy’s body until they were completely frozen.

“Wow.”

Kang-Woo looked down at his frozen arm with great interest.

The power of frost invaded his body and the ice spread across more of his body as if it were poison. It started from his left forearm and then spread to his shoulder, collarbone, and then his chest. It did not take long for most of his body to become frozen.

“That hits the spot. Nice and cool.” Kang-Woo smirked.

The freezing energy spread throughout his body and he stopped moving as if he had become an ice statue.

“You can no longer run that impertinent mouth of yours.”

Eilles snorted and turned away from Kang-Woo. He had yet to dispose of all the intruders; there were still six more intruders whom he needed to turn into ice statues.

“Mm… He’s completely frozen.”

“A-A statue of Kang-Woo… .”

Cha Yeon-Joo was staring at Kang-Woo in ice as if it were no big deal, and Han Seol-Ah was panting heatedly as she drooled.

“Hm?” Eilles’s expression crumpled slightly.

The reactions of the intruders were weird. Humans normally became enraged or scared out of their wits once they saw a comrade die before their very eyes.

None of them were getting enraged or trembling in fear.

Just then, the ice around Kang-Woo began to crack. Flames like the black sun spewed from the cracks in the ice.

“I told you.” Kang-Woo walked out of the shattered ice and smirked. “I can keep talking even if my head gets chopped off.”

Merely freezing him wouldn’t be enough to kill him.

“You…”

Eilles’s eyes widened as he was encroached by fear. He finally realized the off-putting feeling he experienced when he first saw the intruder.

“You’re… not human.”

Kang-Woo smiled as he stared at the terrified Eilles. He wrapped himself with the Flames of Voracity— no, he became the Flames of Voracity themselves. The flames enveloped in chaos burned radiantly.

The black sun sprouted wings and the ice making up the Frozen Temple began to melt slowly.

“Now,” said Kang-Woo after melting the entire temple. “Do you feel obligated to tell me now?”

“...”

Eilles gripped the Frost Sword tightly. He could tell what the outcome of the battle would be as he stared at the burning black sun.

He closed his eyes and recalled his daughter who ran away. He turned to face the burning black sun with wings and slowly opened his eyes, staring at Kang-Woo after mustering up his resolve.

“Even if I were to melt to death, my loyalty to my liege Bael will never break.”

“No,” Kang-Woo immediately replied and licked his lips with his long tongue. He then declared as if he had seen the future, “It’ll break.”

The demon cackled as his shoulders moved up and down.