Chapter 230

This was the front gate of Hell Castle.

The sky was completely black with smog.

Beneath it, two fierce pillars of fire soared.

A long passage stretched between those pillars of fire.

At the end of it, a gigantic skull was placed.

A skull almost the size of a mountain.

It was Hell Castle—the residence of the King of Hell and the center of Hell.

Pointing at Hell Castle, Satan Pagenti, a resident of Hell, laughed evilly.

“That is not Hell Castle.”

“Really? You’re a natural liar, aren’t you? You rotten bastard.”

“Heh heh, did you think I would be grateful if you said that?”

“Whether you’re grateful or not is your business.”

“Kekeke, is that so.”

Satan Pagenti kept spouting rude words.

But unlike his words, he kept bowing politely to Lloyd.

He had no choice.

From the moment he met Lloyd yesterday, he’d been beaten to the core.

Satan Pagenti could never forget what happened yesterday.

‘It really hurt, damn it!’

He’d just been walking down the street.

He’d been rolling around in the lava bath he used as a home, and he was starting to feel hungry.

He was wondering if he should harass and eat some lost soul he ran into.

So he’d come out for a stroll for the first time in a while.

Then, out of nowhere, a huge crow landed next to him, and the human riding it suddenly gave him a blessing.

It was none other than—

‘Hey, from now on, if you don’t answer my questions properly, you’ll have to be filial to your parents?’

…A tremendous blessing that insulted a Satan to the core, a shocking blessing that anyone in Hell would lament and deplore just hearing.

‘Filial to my parents!’

What kind of mindset did you need to utter something so vile?

How lightly did he have to think of him to throw out such a blessing the moment they met?

Satan Pagenti was truly furious.

As a resident of Hell, he immediately bared his fangs.

He would punish that rude human.

He would throw him into the Hellfire pit alive.

That was what he swore, as he rushed him.

And the next moment—

Clang!

He had to admire the clear, beautiful sound echoing through the world with his cheekbones.

The Steel Shovel flew in instantly.

The flat of the shovel head struck his face, snapping his head sideways.

That was the end.

His vision went dark.

How long had he been unconscious?

When he opened his eyes, that human—Lloyd—was smiling brightly at him.

‘Hello?’

‘I… I am…?’

He was about to ask what the hell was going on.

Before he could even form the words, another shovel-swing(?) flew at him.

Clang!

Again, that clear and beautiful sound echoed.

His vision went dark again.

Was that when it started?

He would wake up.

Lloyd would smile brightly.

Before he could say anything—

Another shovel-swing would come flying out of nowhere.

It felt like it happened exactly ten times.

Only when he woke up for the eleventh time did Satan Pagenti finally understand.

The moment he opened his eyes, he immediately prostrated himself.

‘I’m sorry! Please save me!’

He begged earnestly.

Then the human smiled, satisfied.

‘Then let’s get hit one more time?’

‘…!’

There was no one as vicious as him.

Even after he begged sincerely, the shovel still came flying.

His head snapped sharply again.

In his fading consciousness, Satan Pagenti realized it had been a long time since he’d seen someone this vicious.

He truly respected him.

As he blacked out, tears welled up in his eyes.

They were tears of emotion, from meeting someone truly worthy of respect.

When he opened his eyes again, he was ready to pledge his loyalty to Lloyd.

That was how it began.

From then on, he served Lloyd with all his heart and guided him.

For example—

‘Kekeke, so you were trying to fly to that Twisted Mountain?’

‘Uh.’

‘Oh my, you’re wise. Yes, that’s right. That’s Hell Castle.’

‘Really? If that’s not Hell Castle, should I fry you in lava as a reward?’

‘Please spare me.’

‘Then?’

‘Actually, that Twisted Mountain… hoo, it’s a mirage.’

‘Tsk, I had a rough idea, but as expected. So there’s a real Hell Castle somewhere else?’

‘Yes.’

‘Where is it, then?’

‘……’

‘Do you want to die?’

‘Actually, the real location of Hell Castle is… after crossing the lava stream… blah blah… after passing the west volcanic ash pile… chatter chatter… beyond the Skull Basin… blah blah…’

‘Wow, you were lying with a straight face?’

‘Yes.’

‘Was it worth it?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then how do you feel now that you’ve told the truth?’

‘……It’s painful.’

‘Tsk, you’ve suffered a lot for telling the truth.’

‘Kuhuk.’

‘It’s okay. Cheer up, you rascal. I’ll insult you as a reward when the tour is over.’

‘Re-really?’

‘Of course.’

…It was like that.

And now, Satan Pagenti had finally succeeded in safely guiding Lloyd to the real Hell Castle.

‘Ah, it was really hard holding back the lies since yesterday.’

Of course, he’d lied whenever he could, little by little.

Even so, he’d told the truth far more often.

Thanks to that, guilt had gnawed at him the whole time.

But he endured.

Because the one he was guiding was Lloyd.

The owner of the infamous ‘Otherworldly Tone-Deafness.’

The very person who had chewed up the eardrums of Hell Knight Giorexius, commander of the 1st Hell Legion.

Guiding someone that vicious was an honor for three generations of the Satan family.

Satan Pagenti looked back at Lloyd with a sense of accomplishment.

“Um, well, now that the tour is over…”

“You want me to insult you?”

“Yes!”

Satan Pagenti’s eyes sparkled.

To hear insults directly from Master Singer Lloyd, he wanted to engrave them into his eardrums for the rest of his life.

Or put them in a frame and hang them up.

But Lloyd shattered Pagenti’s expectations in one blow.

“I don’t want to.”

“…Yes?”

“Did you really expect me to keep promises?”

“Hu, th, that means…”

“A promise I make with a guy like you is worth less to me than gum I’ve chewed and spat out, you know?”

“Ah, ah!”

“…Did you feel it?”

“…Yes.”

“Then get lost. I don’t want to see your face.”

“Thank you!”

Satan Pagenti ran off with a deeply satisfied expression.

Watching him retreat, Lloyd sighed.

‘Those Satans, seriously.’

Why did they like being insulted so much?

And why did they get excited and faint even when he lied to them?

‘If I released them onto Korean internet sites, they’d adapt really well.’

A feast of all kinds of family attacks and insults.

Constantly asking about the well-being of parents.

Unhesitating personality-degrading remarks.

Even people who couldn’t form a sentence without an insult.

Each site had its own flavor, but insulting and belittling each other was commonplace in Korea’s internet and SNS culture.

Looking at the Satans of Hell, they really would adapt perfectly.

‘Well, anyway.’

Lloyd shrugged and looked at the front gate of Hell Castle.

He’d come this far thanks to using a Satan well.

So now—

“Surely you are not planning to meet the King of Hell as you are?”

Javier, who had been quietly guarding Lloyd’s back, spoke.

Lloyd turned to him as if the question itself was strange.

“Uh.”

He smiled brightly.

Javier’s expression hardened.

“I think that’s too dangerous and naive a plan.”

“Dangerous and naive? Why?”

“Isn’t the opponent the King of Hell?”

Lloyd stepped through the front gate of Hell Castle.

Following behind, Javier continued.

“He is the one who rules Hell. We cannot know what kind of power he possesses. Therefore, I cannot guarantee Lloyd-nim’s safety, even if I have pioneered a new realm.”

“You’re saying you’re still uneasy even though you’ve become a Grand Master?”

“Yes.”

“Because you don’t know what kind of person the King of Hell is?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s okay.”

“Yes?”

Javier paused.

Lloyd shrugged.

“You don’t know it yet, but the King of Hell is the safest guy in this Hell.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“You don’t need to know. I have my own thoughts and plans, so just follow me with peace of mind.”

Lloyd chuckled.

Anyway, if it truly became dangerous, he could just open an escape Hellgate.

He could go back to the Lorasia Continent.

He could abandon this mission without regret and return to daily life.

He had no particular burden.

He kept walking, unhesitating.

As if he were strolling through the garden of the Frontera mansion.

With steady confidence, he entered the main palace of Hell Castle.

And then it naturally came to mind.

‘There was a part in Iron Blooded Knight that mentioned the King of Hell.’

King of Hell.

Ruler of Hell.

Monarch who ruled all Hell Knights.

When people heard those words, most imagined a destructive, godlike being.

But reality?

It was different.

Very different.

Recalling that, Lloyd continued forward.

A living human, not a soul.

An existence that was utterly out of place in Hell.

He ignored the surprised whispers of Satans at his appearance.

He listened to the gossip of Hell Castle guards, wondering if that human was Master Singer Lloyd Frontera.

He moved toward the heart of the main palace.

Finally, he stood before the throne of the King of Hell.

He paid his respects.

The King of Hell was there.

A simple throne that looked like an office chair.

A desk that was wide but undecorated.

Documents piled across the desk.

A pale-faced man sat there, looking like he was about to suffocate under the mountain of paperwork.

Seeing Lloyd pay his respects, the man grumbled in open irritation.

“Hoo, I’m busy to death. What is this again…”

King of Hell.

The one who saw through the essence of souls.

The ruler of Karmic Fire and the guardian of the Nineteen Purgatories.

It was Hellkaros, the King of Hell.

Hellkaros continued grumbling.

“Hoo. I still have endless overdue work. What am I supposed to do if you come to me whenever you feel like it? Can’t you see I haven’t been able to leave this work for 670,000 years?”

“I apologize, ruler of Hell. Lloyd Frontera from the surface world pays his respects to the King of Hell.”

“What do you mean by paying respects. Kim Suho. We should be familiar with each other, shouldn’t we?”

Kim Suho.

The moment he heard that name, Lloyd flinched.

He glanced at Javier, still paying his respects beside him.

Fortunately, Javier didn’t seem to grasp what the name ‘Kim Suho’ truly meant.

Keeping an eye on Javier’s expression, Lloyd looked back up at Hellkaros.

“Yes, we are familiar. You have appeared in my dreams before.”

That was true.

The Giant of Fire.

He had appeared in Lloyd’s dreams in an imposing form.

Back then, Lloyd had dismissed it as nothing more than an unusually vivid dream.

Looking back now, it didn’t seem like an ordinary dream.

Lloyd continued.

“I sincerely apologize for visiting you today while you are so busy making judgments in Hell. May I state my business immediately?”

“Of course. Quickly, quickly.”

Hellkaros waved a hand in annoyance.

Even as he did, his gaze was already back on the documents, not on Lloyd.

One hand held a pen, signing as he spoke.

The other kept flipping pages and stamping them.

That was it.

That was the true appearance—the essence—of the King of Hell.

‘A workaholic. The one who makes real-time judgments over hundreds of millions, billions, trillions, tens of trillions of dead people and dead creatures. An existence buried under mountains of work. A ruler who punishes others with nothing but documents and judgments.’

The essence of the King of Hell from Iron Blooded Knight flashed through Lloyd’s mind.

He never fought directly.

He never killed any being.

Only documents and judgments.

Those two were all he needed to decide another being’s fate.

In other words, all of Hell’s military power was left to the Hell Knights and the Hell Legion.

And the King of Hell was eternally chained to a desk, buried in paperwork, issuing judgment after judgment.

That was Hellkaros.

Meaning, as long as Lloyd wasn’t formally brought in for judgment, Hellkaros was the least likely being in all of Hell to harm him.

At the very least, even if things went bad during a conversation, he would never personally try to kill or injure Lloyd.

Literally the safest guy in Hell.

That was why Lloyd wasn’t uneasy, even standing face-to-face with the King of Hell.

‘Actually, the Hell Knights are much scarier than the King of Hell.’

But Javier could stop the Hell Knights.

Because he had become a Grand Master.

Unless five or six Hell Knights attacked at once, Javier wouldn’t be pushed back.

And if Javier truly looked like he was going to lose—

If the moment came where there was no other way—

Lloyd could open an escape Hellgate.

He could flee to the surface.

So by Lloyd’s calculations, he could remain safe even in Hell.

That was the calculation and conviction with which he accepted Ancient Dragon Enticus’s request.

And now—

Now that he’d finally met the King of Hell—

He would handle his business quickly and leave.

He would return and seek an audience with Dragon King Verkis.

He would meticulously secure the Dragon King sponsorship’s benefits.

With that resolve firm in his mind, Lloyd licked his lips.

He delivered the substantial lines he’d prepared for this moment.