"Kim Suho. I want you. You are the perfect talent for Hell."
Swick! With a broad smile, the King of Hell flicked his finger. A wave of mana surrounded Javier, who was standing next to Lloyd.
Flinch! Lloyd noticed Javier's shoulders faintly tremble and wondered if he had been attacked. Javier, however, shook his head and whispered in a low voice, "I have not been attacked, Young Master. But I cannot hear anything. It appears that he somehow blocked my hearing."
Just when Lloyd was about to ask the king why, the latter let out a low snort and said, "You should thank me, Kim Suho. The secrets you have been hiding will be brought up several times throughout our discussion from now on."
"Is that why you blocked his hearing?" asked Lloyd.
"Yes, but it will only be for a short while."
"How gracious of you," huffed Lloyd.
"You are being quite short with me."
"I don't like to speak more than I have to at work."
"The same is true for me, Suho," the king of Hell replied mildly. "You are the most incredible talent that I have ever seen. By this, I mean you have all the necessary skills to manage Hell. That is why I decided to provide an excellent position for you here."
Lloyd frowned. "Are you thinking of slaving me around in Hell?"
"Yes, I am."
"So, that is why you made the restoration of destiny begin earlier?"
"That is also right."
Lloyd shot him a glare.
"There is no need for that. This place is much better fitting for you to show off your skills. I'm giving you an opportunity to expand your horizons."
Lloyd frowned again. "I never wanted that."
"But I do," replied Hell's King instantly. "I want you to showcase your skills in Hell. I want to see you do great work on my behalf. That way I can-"
"Sit back and relax. Am I wrong?"
"No, you are correct," the king said with a smile, not denying any of it. "The fact is, I am exhausted. However, it has been impossible for me to escape my fate as the King of Hell. That had always been the case and I didn't think anything would change in the future. Right when I was about to give up, you showed up. The ideal candidate to take over my position: someone with the perfect balance of intelligence, righteousness, and greed."
"To put it short, someone you can make use of."
"Correct. I needed someone who could be entrusted with the affairs of Hell. I didn't think that kind of talent could even exist despite my hopes."
Lloyd clenched his fists and pursed his lips. It was now clear to him what intentions the king had and why he wanted to recruit him so badly.
His opinion of me is far too high. He wants to keep his title as the King of Hell while pushing all of his work onto me.
Lloyd was dumbfounded by the king's words.
Does he think I worked my ass off all these years just to become his little puppet?
Lloyd immediately felt an impulse to confront the King of Hell, but realized it was not the right time. There was still plenty of room for negotiation before that needed to happen. So he suppressed it and replied, "Haah... I fully understand what you are saying. I am flattered by your high opinion of me. But I have a question."
"A question?"
"Yes," said Lloyd. "I am curious why you're doing it now of all times."
"Are you asking why I hastened the restoration of destiny?" asked the king.
"Yes. You could have just waited a few more decades to make use of me since I will inevitably die of old age. I can't wrap my head around why you're going so far to ruin my life and that of everyone around me."
He truly wanted to know. That was the only way he could attempt a negotiation and have any possibility of hope to improve the situation. He waited for a response from the King.
"Now is my only chance," said the King of Hell.
"Excuse me?"
"I mean tying you, Kim Suho, down to Hell." Lloyd didn't follow.
"Kim Suho," continued the king. "You have tricked and taken advantage of a fair number of people, putting them in awfully miserable positions at times. I would be surprised if you were not self-aware of this. Am I wrong?"
"That's either because they harmed me first, or I had no other choice-"
"That is an excuse. You have plenty of them. You had a crumbling family to save. You had a life to build. You needed to protect what was yours. There is always an explanation for every act of evil. Amongst them, some are valid and some are not."
“...”
"Your actions are the same, Suho. You had valid reasons for your bad deeds. However, they could have been avoided without a doubt, which is why you have accumulated bad karma." Hell's King's eyes shone as he spoke. "Yes, bad karma. You have earned plenty of it now, enough for me to tie you down to Hell. However, once you start living a plush life full of peace and leisure, the situation will change."
"Change? Could you mean-"
"That is right. As expected, you catch on quickly. I can tell that you are a good-natured man, Suho. You have merely been forced by unfortunate circumstances to take advantage of your surroundings for survival. But once you find peace in life, you will spend the rest of your remaining time taking care of everyone around you. Then, you will gradually earn good karma."
"That's what you feared would happen?"
"I was worried."
“...”
"With your extended life from the sponsorship of Dragon King Verkis and naturally good character, all the bad karma you have accumulated will be erased, by which point I will not be able to make you stay in Hell."
"In other words," sighed Lloyd, "You made the restoration of destiny begin earlier so that I would not have time to earn good karma."
"That's right."
"Ha." A chuckle escaped Lloyd. The whole situation seemed ridiculous. Feeling obstinate, he asked, "Did you really believe I would die once the restoration of destiny began? Unfortunately, I don't think I will."
"Hmm, why is that?"
"What if I stubbornly choose to continue living even after everyone around me dies?"
"Ha! Do you really think I have not considered that possibility?" Hell's King leaned forward. The eyes behind his rimless glasses were emotionless. "Kim Suho, there is no chance you will survive amidst the restoration of destiny. Why? This world does not want that to happen. It regards the man beside you, Javier, as its rightful protagonist."
“...”
"As a result, you will face endless waves of hardship. Even if you manage to overcome them, you will only be met with greater ordeals."
“...”
"These waves will only get worse as they come in. That is just how this phenomenon works. The more you overcome, the greater the next challenge will be. And so, it will mercilessly haunt you."
“...”
"Are you then still confident that you will be able to stand strong until the end?"
“...”
Lloyd was unable to respond to this and had no ideas to counter the king, but he persisted nonetheless, saying, "Of course, I am not confident. But..."
"But?"
"I'd like for you to clarify one thing. If I promise to work for Hell in the future... Could you put a stop to the restoration of destiny?" Lloyd asked, pinning all his hopes on this question. He desperately wondered if he could save the Count, Countess, Julian, Scheherazade, and everyone else around him by promising, no, signing a contract to diligently work in Hell after death, in exchange for stopping the restoration of destiny.
Hell's King clicked his tongue. "I did make the right judgment about your character. You are a good man at heart. But unfortunately, that is not possible."
"Even... if I promise you?"
"No." Hell's King gravely shook his head, saying, "No, the restoration of destiny cannot be stopped once it has begun regardless of anyone's opinion, including mine. The phenomenon can think and act for itself. It will not stop until it meets its goals.”
"It reminds me of a computer program," said Lloyd.
"Yes. It's similar to a computer program of your world."
“...”
"It must be clear to you by now. It's out of my control," said Hell's King with finality in his voice.
"I see." It was not a lie. The fact was painfully clear to him. The matter was beyond the King of Hell's control.
If the restoration of destiny is a computer program... then the King of Hell is the programmer.
That was it. There was currently a program that couldn't be paused once it began running. The programmer behind it, the King of Hell, claimed he had no control over it. Consequently, even if Lloyd killed the programmer, it would not affect the autonomous program.
In order to stop it... I need to either turn off its power source or break the machine itself.
Lloyd felt frustrated as he pondered a solution. As lost as he was, one thing was clear. He looked up and said, "There is no point in continuing this conversation then. It will only be a waste of our time."
"It is. The restoration of destiny will continue progressing even if you attack or kill me, bluntly speaking."
"I knew it..."
That confirmed his thoughts. A conversation or confrontation between them was pointless. Obviously, a negotiation wasn't possible either. It was never an option to begin with.
Tsk, I was hoping I could ask to delay the restoration of destiny.
Lloyd pressed his lips. The reason he came all the way down to Hell was to negotiate with the king and ultimately request him to delay the restoration of destiny. He hoped this would earn him a bit more time. However, it turned out that there was no way to slow or stop the phenomenon once it began. What was he going to do from here?
I should end our conversation now.
"I see," replied Lloyd immediately. "I will take my leave now."
"Hmm. You are giving up too quickly."
"I decided it would be better to take action instead of wasting time on this sort of conversation."
"Are you saying you won't give up?" asked the king in surprise.
"I should try my best to survive like I have until now."
"It won't be easy this time," added Hell's King.
"There wasn't a single time it was easy."
"Well, then. I wish you good luck."
Swick! Hell's King smiled mysteriously and flicked his finger. The same force of mana from earlier spread into the air and wrapped around Javier.
"Haah..." Javier let out a sigh.
Had his hearing returned?
The knight turned his head toward Lloyd and nodded, as though assuring Lloyd that he was all right.
"Good, that's a relief." Lloyd nodded his head. He then left the castle after bidding a proper farewell, clenching his teeth as he did.
Dammit. That worthless King of Hell!
The more Lloyd pondered the matter, the more infuriated he became. He knew that the King of Hell had thought highly of him and wanted to employ him. However, it had never occurred to him that the latter would go as far as to use the restoration of destiny to get what he wanted.
What's worse is that he is justified in his actions. After all, I changed the fate of countless lives, starting from Count and Countess Frontera, as well as Javier.
The people who should have died lived, changing the list of names on the King of Hell's registry. This gave the king a sufficient excuse to use the restoration of destiny as a way to rectify the situation.
What should I do now?
Lloyd sighed deeply as he glanced at the gloomy sky of Hell. His future seemed grim despite his confident declaration back in the castle.
What do I do?
He closed his eyes. Despite the dark future ahead of him, he tried to gather his emotions and not let himself become overwhelmed with despair.
Right. My life has never been easy.
After some introspection, he realized that was really the case. Back in South Korea, he had seen his parents commit suicide and afterward continued living as a poor college student. There were at least a hundred times when he could have given up. He was hardly treated as a human being and resided at the bottom of society. That did not change when he arrived in this world. He had faced many obstacles and life-threatening moments up to this point. As he looked back on his experiences, he slowly started to gain courage.
All right. Let's face this head-on like I've done with everything else until now. If I fail? Well. I will just die then.
He felt more at ease having that kind of mindset to begin with. His scattered mind started to come together again. From that point on, he deliberated over what he could do and the paths he could take. Lloyd considered every variable and what changes they would bring. All the separate pieces came together like a puzzle. Everything unfolded like a crumpled piece of paper. The bleak future ahead of him became brighter. At last, he saw a glimmer of hope.
That's it.
Lloyd lifted his gaze to the sky. His eyes brightly gleamed like someone who saw the light at the end of their tunnel.
