Chapter 245

One month of preparation.

Four months of construction.

And at the end of it all, Hell’s first railroad.

The operation report for Hell Railroad 666 was an overwhelming success.

“So there were no problems during the test run?”

“Indeed, Ruler of Hell.”

Having safely completed the test run, Lloyd immediately entered Hell Castle.

He knelt respectfully before the King of Hell.

“Based on the final inspection of the overall operating condition, the train’s average speed during stable operation is estimated to be approximately 35 kilometers per hour. Accordingly, the time required for one train to transport souls from here, Hell Castle, to the farthest reaches of Hell and then return is expected to be about 7 hours.”

“7 hours.”

“That figure includes the time needed for loading and unloading souls as well.”

“Good. Then all that remains is to make more trains like the one tested today.”

“That is correct, Ruler of Hell. In addition, to prevent lava overflow from damaging the railroad, we constructed drainage channels, or rather, Dragon Drainage Routes, around the roadbed so the lava can flow away.”

“Dragon Drainage Routes, you say.”

“Yes. Going forward, if we station surplus Satan laborers at regular intervals along the line, they can continuously monitor how much lava is flowing in, whether the Dragon Drainage Routes are blocked, and whether the tracks are in good condition.”

“And if a problem arises, repairs can be carried out immediately?”

“Correct.”

“Hm. But what if a problem arises that even that cannot handle?”

“……”

“May I call you?”

“……”

Lloyd looked up at the King of Hell with a slightly aggrieved expression.

The King of Hell, who had summoned him all the way back to Hell for mere(?) after-sales service.

If he could have, Lloyd would have loved to shout, ‘You pain in the ass!’ and grab him by the collar.

But instead, he chose a far more constructive reaction than that.

With the mindset of squeezing profit out of any situation.

With a full service smile plastered across his face.

“Of course. But not for free.”

“How stingy.”

“Well, when we drafted the construction contract, we never included a clause for free post-construction maintenance. Besides, Your Majesty the King of Hell dislikes freebies in all matters too, doesn’t he?”

“That’s true, but…”

“If sufficient compensation is provided, I will respond to your call at any time.”

“Sufficient compensation, you say.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t tell me you intend to measure that compensation differently depending on the situation.”

“……”

“That’s right.”

“Market conditions and world circumstances change from moment to moment. There’s no helping that.”

Lloyd did not even bother to deny the King of Hell’s sharp remark.

He merely smiled shamelessly, like a sly fox vaulting over a fence.

Was he trying to brazenly brush off the request?

No.

In truth, this was his desperate effort to prevent unreasonable demands and sudden summons later on.

‘Of course. If I agree to after-sales repairs in advance, then that King of Hell guy is obviously going to drag me down here every time he needs something, isn’t he?’

The answer was obvious without even looking.

If the track condition deteriorated just a little.

If the train started rattling a bit more than before.

If some lava overflowed again and made the roadbed unstable.

It was obvious he would dump everything on Lloyd, even the things he could research himself or solve by cracking the whip on the Satans harder, just by calling him down here.

‘Because it’s convenient!’

If Lloyd diligently provided after-sales service once, twice, over and over like that?

If favors kept piling up until they became taken for granted?

Then from that point on, he would be demoted into an officially certified pushover.

The kind of guy who shows up whenever called, as though it were only natural.

That kind of perception would become fixed.

Lloyd wanted to avoid that at all costs.

‘And that’s obvious too. From now on, I’ll already be busy enough just enjoying the benefits, so why the hell should I keep making business trips to Hell?’

He had only just managed to escape being used as SCV labor for Her Majesty the Queen.

If he slipped up now, he could easily end up becoming Hell’s SCV instead.

Savoring that sense of danger with his whole body, Lloyd chattered desperately.

“So, I’m sorry, but I can’t just come whenever you call without any burden on your side. I have my own affairs too.”

“So if I summon you when you’re busy, I must present compensation worthy of that inconvenience?”

“Yes.”

“And whether that compensation is enough to move you or not is entirely up to your judgment. Correct?”

“I apologize again, but yes.”

“Hmm.”

The King of Hell’s eyes took on a meaningful look.

Lloyd felt a pang of anxiety inside, but desperately kept his smile in place.

‘Th-that King of Hell guy… he’s not going to hold a grudge and later slap me with some sentence like “life imprisonment in Hell” out of personal resentment, is he?’

Of course not.

Because the King of Hell was the fairest judge(?) in Hell.

A being who made only rational decisions without mixing in personal feelings.

Trusting in that fact, Lloyd was able to act this brazenly even before him.

Soon enough, the gamble paid off.

“Very well. On one hand, your attitude is impertinent. But no matter how I look at it, Kim Suho, in this matter you are the one holding the handle of the knife.”

“……Thank you for understanding.”

Lloyd let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, his ploy had worked.

Thanks to that, he could avoid being randomly dragged down to Hell later under the pretext of after-sales service.

From now on, he could refuse or accept requests as he pleased, case by case.

Satisfied, Lloyd was finally able to receive payment for the railroad construction as well.

“Now then, it is time to settle the construction fee. Let me see. According to the terms we negotiated and agreed upon in the contract, I am to release the soul of the dragon Enticus, which is being detained in Hell.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Good. Then I shall pay the price immediately.”

Scribble, scribble.

The King of Hell moved his pen.

In an instant, he drafted some kind of document and handed it to a Satan.

The Satan who received it scurried off somewhere at once.

A moment later, the Satan returned carrying a fist-sized translucent orb.

The King of Hell took it from him and held it out.

“Here. Take it.”

“Don’t tell me… this orb contains Enticus’s soul?”

“To be precise, it is a vessel temporarily containing that dragon’s soul.”

At those words, Lloyd could see a silhouette shifting faintly inside the translucent orb.

It truly did seem to be Enticus’s soul.

The King of Hell continued his explanation.

“The moment you pour mana into that orb, you can release the soul outside. That will be true liberation. But do not even think of doing it here. If you do, that soul will simply be detained in Hell once again.”

“In other words, you’re telling me to open the lid only after I go home.”

“Exactly.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

Lloyd carefully tucked the orb containing the ancient dragon’s soul into his portable bag.

Then, suddenly, he looked up at the King of Hell.

And he brought up a question he had never shown outwardly until now, though it had remained in one corner of his heart the whole time.

Something he had always been curious about.

“Um, excuse me. May I ask one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Your Majesty the King of Hell… do you perhaps know the reason I entered Lloyd Frontera’s body?”

From the very beginning, all the way until now.

He had wanted to know.

He had been curious.

But the King of Hell, upon hearing the question, immediately shook his head.

“No. I do not know that either.”

“I see…”

“However, I can tell you that it is an extremely rare phenomenon. It happens perhaps once every few hundred years.”

“You mean the event of my soul crossing over to another world?”

“Yes. Dimensions are not perfectly independent, you see. They appear separate, but the vast halos surrounding them often influence one another.”

“……Ah, yes.”

“Perhaps interference from gravitational waves generated between the dimensional halos affected the mana fluctuations. In the same way that matter gaining energy from Dirac’s sea can cause pair production.”

“……Ah, y-yes.”

“You understand what I’m saying, correct?”

“……I’m sorry.”

“Tsk.”

Why did he feel apologetic for no reason?

The King of Hell wore a bitter smile.

“But Kim Suho, you are not asking what most people in your position would be curious about.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Your physical body, the one left behind in your original world.”

“……”

Lloyd fell silent.

Of course, he was curious.

But…

“I am curious. But I don’t really want to know.”

“Why?”

“Because even if I knew, it wouldn’t change anything for me here.”

Lloyd’s smile turned bitter as well.

It was the truth.

Of course he was curious.

But he also didn’t want to know.

Knowing it would not give him any reason to change the person he was now.

It would do nothing except satisfy curiosity.

No, in fact, he was reluctant.

‘Those days were exhausting.’

Even if he tried to wrap them up as memories, the wrapping paper itself was dyed too deeply in hardship.

So he felt that occasionally recalling the past was enough.

He did not want to know more.

And of course, he did not want to go back either.

Perhaps the King of Hell understood how he felt.

He chuckled softly behind his rimless glasses.

“I see. Very well.”

“Thank you. Just knowing whether it’s alive is enough.”

“It is alive and well. Are you satisfied?”

“Yes. That’s enough.”

The body that had probably been left empty the moment his soul crossed over here.

He didn’t want to know in detail what state it was in or how it was living.

Just that one sentence.

Alive and well.

That was enough.

“Then I suppose it is time for you to leave. I shall specially open a Hellgate leading to the place from which you departed when you came to Hell.”

“Your Majesty means the Termina Grand Garden in Magentano?”

“That’s right.”

Swish!

With one simple gesture from the King of Hell, a Hellgate opened.

Beyond it, the dim scenery of night could be seen.

It was the Termina Grand Garden, still lying in ruins.

“The flow of time here and in the human world is different. During the five months you spent in Hell, only about five days have passed in the human world. Now, return.”

“Thank you.”

Lloyd inwardly wiped his brow in relief.

What if it had connected once again to the polar region from last time, the place they had used to deal with the Lava Giant?

What if he had been told to go back through there?

Fortunately, thanks to the King of Hell’s service(?), he had avoided an unplanned Arctic expedition.

“Then I will prepare and leave immediately.”

He needed to get out quickly before the King of Hell changed his mind.

After bowing in farewell, Lloyd moved swiftly.

He gathered Javier, the mystical creatures, and the Bone Dragon, all of whom had been waiting outside Hell Castle.

Together, they passed through the Hellgate.

With the mystical creatures tucked in his arms, Lloyd went first.

Javier followed behind him.

And finally, the Bone Dragon divided all its joints into fine pieces and passed through.

The moment they crossed over, the night wind of the human world greeted them.

“……Hooah.”

It was cold.

Not a midwinter cold.

But after getting used to Hell’s heat, even an ordinary breeze now felt chilly.

Still, Lloyd had no time to enjoy the clear air he was breathing again after so long, nor the grass beneath his feet for the first time in months.

The moment the Hellgate closed, he immediately began sweeping his gaze around in every direction.

Fortunately, perhaps because it was the middle of the night, there were no prying eyes nearby.

Then he spoke.

“Yong Yong?”

Creek!

The Bone Dragon, Yong Yong, still in its scattered bone state, answered with a rattling bone sound.

Lloyd spoke to him.

“If people see you here now, it’ll cause a huge commotion, so hide somewhere for a while. Over there first. That’s east.”

Click!

“If you keep flying east, you’ll eventually hit a really huge mountain range. That’s the East Mountain Range. Stay there and play for a bit. And if you happen to meet any orcs, try to get along with them.”

Creak?

“Our Yong Yong is such a good boy. If you listen well, I’ll introduce you to the Bone Corps hyungs later. Now go.”

Click!

Yong Yong answered vigorously and immediately flew off into the eastern night sky.

Only then did Lloyd finally relax.

“Hooah.”

At last, he could truly feel the fresh wind of the human world.

He had spent nearly five months in Hell.

And yet only five days had passed in the human world during that time.

That unexpected fact was, in its own way, comforting.

‘Once the year changes, I’ll be thirty. Ahem.’

But for now, that had been delayed a little.

Thanks to the difference in time flow between Hell and the human world.

The catastrophe(?) of stepping into his thirties had been postponed just a bit.

And besides, he had safely returned from Hell after all.

‘So now it’s time to collect payment.’

He had not gone to Hell for no reason.

He went because there was something to gain.

Because there was clear profit in it.

That was the only reason.

So now was the time to collect the rewards of his trip to Hell carefully and thoroughly.

‘The ruined showcase at the Grand Garden because of the Bone Dragon’s rampage, or fixing the damage done to Her Majesty the Queen’s dignity because of that… well, there’s a lot to clean up, but that’s not my problem right now, so I’ll set it aside.’

That was not something he needed to interfere in.

That was the sort of thing to help with later, when he had the leisure.

Until then, it was something for Her Majesty the Queen and the royal family to deal with.

So, deciding to take care of his own affairs first, Lloyd made up his mind.

“Now then, let’s head out first.”

“Where do you intend to go?”

Javier, perhaps just as pleased to be back from Hell, had a rare brightness in his expression as he savored the clear air after so long.

Lloyd answered him.

“To a dark and gloomy place.”

“……”

“A place where people won’t see. I need to release the ancient dragon’s soul.”

Only then would he qualify for Dragon King Sponsorship Membership.

It was absolutely not something he could postpone.

Even if the sky split in two.

Unless his head split in two.

This came first.

And so Lloyd hurried forward.

He quietly and quickly slipped out of the still-devastated Termina Grand Garden.

He passed through the nighttime streets and crossed the RoiHabi Suspension Bridge.

Then he scaled the outer wall of the royal capital.

At last, he entered a deserted forest on the outskirts.

There, he found a suitable clearing and stopped.

“There’s no one nearby?”

“Yes. Aside from twelve rabbits, one fox targeting one of them, two owls, and a few other small animals, I sense no human presence.”

“Good.”

If Grand Master Javier said so, then that settled it.

Having confirmed that it was safe, Lloyd took the orb out from his bag.

Then he activated the Asrahan Heart Technique.

He poured mana amplified through it into the orb.

Fwaaaah…!

The translucent orb began to glow.

Soon, the enormous being crouching inside opened its eyes.

Then it burst out, shattering the orb from within.

There was not even time to try to say anything.

In an instant, it shot upward like a meteor into the night sky.

Literally becoming a star in the Milky Way, it flashed once and disappeared.

Whoooosh.

A cool night breeze blew past, brushing through his hair.

Amid that breeze, Lloyd stood there for a moment.

His eyes rolled rapidly.

He looked up at the Milky Way, where the ancient dragon’s soul had ascended.

Then he glanced down at the now-empty orb left in his palm.

Unknowingly, he swallowed dryly.

‘Don’t tell me.’

That ancient dragon.

Without even a single word of thanks.

Without the promised reward.

It hadn’t just bolted the moment it was freed… had it?

‘Ah, come on. No way.’

It had been a deal sealed with an Oath of the Soul.

An ancient dragon bound by a soul-sworn promise.

But could it really have broken that promise and fled the instant it was set free?

‘But… this does feel a little suspicious.’

There hadn’t even been a word of thanks.

Not even one dramatic and predictable scene.

It had just flashed once and vanished into the sky.

And now all that remained was an empty night breeze blowing past.

He couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

It was probably the same bitter feeling you got after being scammed in a secondhand trade.

Just as Lloyd was beginning to think that—

“Lloyd-nim.”

Javier tapped him on the shoulder.

“It seems an unexpected guest has arrived.”

A guest?

What did that mean?

Just moments ago, Javier had said there was no one nearby.

So when had this so-called guest shown up?

Lloyd blankly turned his head in the direction Javier indicated.

And the moment he saw who it was, his eyes widened.

There really was an unexpected guest standing there.

It was…

‘The Dragon King?’