Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – On the Stairs to the Land of Zion

“Activate the Mortal Realm communication system! Turn on the Mortal Realm monitor!”

Arang, who had flown straight to the underground security control room of the Palace of King Yama, urgently gave voice commands to the system.

Following Arang’s orders, various indicator lights on the communication system began lighting up.

Two or three employees in the security control room stared at Arang, who had suddenly rushed inside, with puzzled expressions.

“When will the monitor turn on?”

Unlike the audio system, the monitor needed a little time before it could display anything.

Receiving images from the Mortal Realm required a certain amount of loading time.

“We’ll attempt an emergency activation.”

Seeing the tense expression on Arang’s face, one of the security officers hurriedly moved to operate the system.

Arang switched on the microphone.

“Human Emperor! Are you safe?!”

—Ugh… Arang? What’s going on all of a sudden? You wouldn’t answer no matter how many times I called you before…

Hyunwoo’s weak voice came through the speakers.

“I heard you screaming and rushed over here! Did you run into a Violent Ghost or something?!”

Her voice was filled with concern.

—……

“Why aren’t you answering?! If you’re badly injured, should I send Fallen Fairy Ganghae?!”

—No…

“Then what happened?!”

Arang felt like she was going to explode from frustration.

—Constipation…

“……”

Something inside Arang seemed to break.

—Because of Aiz, I ran away from home and haven’t been eating properly… I’ve been surviving on convenience-store lunch boxes, so I think I got constipated. I’m in a subway public restroom right now… It hurts so much. I feel like that place is going to tear apart…

“……”

“Princess Arang… should we stop activating the monitor…?”

The security officer who had overheard their conversation cautiously asked her.

“Yes… I don’t want to see such a disgusting sight…”

—Arang… It feels good hearing your voice again after so long. I think my constipation is already disappearing.

Arang felt like she was about to become constipated instead.

Chiiik.

She switched off the microphone.

“I’m sorry. I made such a fuss over something completely pointless…”

Arang lowered her head toward the security staff, speaking in a drained voice.

“No… Lady Arang, you’re the one who has it harder…”

The security control room employees knew.

They knew very well just how much bitter suffering Arang had endured because of the Human Emperor.

One by one, the indicator lights of the underground security control room—one of the most heavily protected areas in the Underworld—began switching off.

After the ministers’ meeting of the Kingdom of Yama ended, the officials who had attended began leaving the Palace of King Yama one by one.

Because Princess Arang had caused such a commotion, the meeting had ended earlier than expected.

All of the ministers wore somewhat dissatisfied expressions.

“Well then, everyone, good work today.”

Minister of Internal Affairs Kangcheong greeted the other ministers before stepping through the main gates of the palace.

Sheesh. They copy practically everything from the Mortal Realm, so why don’t we have cars?

An important official like me should be riding around in some luxurious car. That would look much more impressive…

Kangcheong grumbled inwardly.

The Kingdom of Yama had adopted almost every culture and system used in the Mortal Realm.

There were only a few major differences.

The buildings still maintained their old-fashioned appearance, taking the form of traditional estates and tiled-roof houses.

And there were no cars.

There was a simple reason for that.

Every citizen of the Kingdom of Yama could basically use the Shrinking Earth Technique.

The technique allowed them to walk at speeds comparable to vehicles in the Mortal Realm.

Because of that, cars would only cause traffic jams and take up unnecessary space.

They would actually be more inconvenient.

Well, I suppose I should get some exercise while I’m at it.

The moment Kangcheong began moving his legs, his body shot forward at incredible speed.

The stone-paved Yama Boulevard stretched in a straight line from the Palace of King Yama all the way toward Hyeonmu Boulevard in the downtown district.

“Hey, Kangcheong! How about a glass of Hell Fragrance tonight?”

The Minister of Justice, who was moving beside him using the Shrinking Earth Technique, called out.

“Sorry. I promised my wife we’d eat out tonight. Let’s have a drink another time.”

“Very well. Have a peaceful evening, and I’ll see you later.”

The Minister of Justice changed direction and sped away.

Kangcheong felt a little disappointed.

A glass of Hell Fragrance sounded tempting.

But keeping his promise to his wife—who was scarier than any evil ghost—was far more important.

Huh? What’s that?

Kangcheong, who had been traveling at great speed, suddenly stopped as though slamming on the brakes.

A fairy wearing celestial robes was stumbling out of the forest beside Yama Boulevard.

She looked as though someone had violently attacked her.

Intentional violence that harmed others was almost unheard of in the Underworld.

In a world responsible for managing Hell, committing violence was basically the same as saying you wanted to go to Hell yourself.

Therefore, unless an evil ghost escaped from Hell, it was extremely rare for citizens of the Kingdom of Yama to suffer physical injuries.

“Excuse me, Fairy. Did something happen? Good heavens! Look at your face!”

As Kangcheong approached, he cried out in shock.

There was a wound across the beautiful fairy’s face, as if something sharp had cut her.

Blood flowed down from the injury.

“There’s an evil ghost that escaped from Hell hiding in that forest. It attacked me and caused this wound.”

The fairy spoke with a pained expression.

“An evil ghost? Good heavens… what a disaster. Then I’ll immediately inform the royal palace and summon a Combat Envoy.”

“No. Before that, please help support me. I feel like I’m going to collapse.”

The fairy staggered.

“Oh dear. Be careful.”

Kangcheong quickly moved closer and supported the fairy, who looked ready to fall at any moment.

“My, how kind of you. You walked right into my arms all by yourself.”

“Hm? What did you just say?”

Kangcheong found her words strange.

At that moment—

He saw the fairy’s mouth opening wider and wider.

It expanded until it was almost as large as his entire head.

CRUNCH!

“UWAAAGH!”

The fairy’s jaws snapped around Kangcheong’s head.

With a single bite, Kangcheong screamed and died on the spot.

“Well then… thank you for the meal.”

The fairy dragged Kangcheong’s corpse back into the forest.

A short while later—

Kangcheong calmly walked out of the woods as though nothing had ever happened.

“Now that I’ve absorbed Kangcheong’s soul power… shall I go access the Underworld database?”

His appearance was Kangcheong’s.

But the voice coming from his mouth belonged to a woman.

“Once I finish the mission, I can hurry back and have Taerang praise me~”

Soul-Transferring Violent Ghost Mongra smiled happily.

Soul power possessed unique characteristics much like the iris of an eye or a fingerprint.

It could never be perfectly copied or duplicated.

The Underworld used this property of soul power to create security systems that allowed only authorized individuals to enter valuable treasure vaults and important restricted facilities.

After killing Kangcheong, Soul-Transferring Violent Ghost Mongra planned to enter his office.

There, she would use Kangcheong’s soul power to access the Register of Lost Souls, the Underworld’s database, and steal the information Taerang wanted.

“When I return to the Mortal Realm, I wonder what reward Taerang will give me~?”

She giggled.

“Maybe he’ll invite me into his bed? Hohoho.”

Imagining all kinds of pleasant possibilities, Mongra made her way toward the Palace of King Yama.

A little distance away from the center of the city was a poor district built along a rough mountainside.

The houses were packed tightly together like matchboxes.

Any building that was slightly larger was divided into tiny rooms on each floor, arranged like the cells of a beehive.

Because the district was located high on the mountain and the roads were extremely narrow, there was almost no public transportation.

The only option was a small village bus that arrived every thirty minutes.

“Ugh… how much farther do I have to climb?”

I had already spent forty minutes walking up the winding alleys from below.

And now—

A ridiculously steep staircase stood before me, looking like the climbing section of an amusement park roller coaster.

I raised my gaze.

The stairs seemed endless.

I could practically see the sky at the very top.

Sheesh…

Does the Land of Zion only appear after climbing the Stairway to Heaven or something?

I checked the map again.

There was no mistake.

To reach the Land of Zion, where Han Mandeok was doing volunteer work, I had to climb these stairs.

Thanks to leveling up as the Human Emperor, I still had more than enough stamina.

But after walking for so long, even I was beginning to get annoyed.

There was nothing else I could do.

So I started climbing.

To pass the time, I began counting the stairs one by one.

I was curious how many there actually were.

It was nearly two in the afternoon.

The sun seemed to be somewhere beyond the top of the staircase.

“One… two… three… four…”

I decided to take my time.

“Twenty-one… twenty-two… twenty-three…”

So many unfamiliar things had been happening lately.

My mind had become a complete mess.

Maybe slowly climbing these stairs would help clear my thoughts.

“Thirty-one… thirty-two… thirty-three…”

Then suddenly—

I felt as though I had climbed an enormous staircase like this before.

The staircase in my memory was far greater than the one I was currently climbing.

It felt as though it stretched all the way to the end of the heavens.

Thick clouds surrounded it.

And many different people seemed to be standing along both sides of the stairs.

Rainbow-colored lights shimmered all along the staircase.

“One hundred twenty… one hundred twenty-one… one hundred twenty-two…”

Yes.

There had definitely been men, women, and elderly people standing along those stairs.

The men wore dignified, elegant suits and armor.

Every single woman was beautiful, dressed in magnificent, flowing clothes.

They were all looking at me with respect.

Some looked at me with love.

Others with reverence.

And some with jealousy.

The higher I climbed, the stronger the emotion in my heart became.

Deep inside my chest—

My affection for someone seemed to surge like waves across an endless sea.

“One hundred ninety-one… one hundred ninety-two… one hundred ninety-three…”

The closer I came to the end of the staircase, the more overwhelming my emotions became.

It felt as though I had dedicated my entire life to reach that single moment.

“Two hundred…”

There were only ten stairs remaining.

I raised my head.

Brilliant sunlight poured directly into my eyes.

At the top of the stairs—

A woman seemed to be standing there.

Her extremely long, pitch-black hair flowed behind her in three beautiful sections.

She possessed eyes kinder than those of any woman in this world.

And her smile…

It was like sunlight.

A smile that had once driven away the darkness buried inside my inhuman heart.

“…Hwaryeong.”

Warm liquid ran down my cheek.

The woman smiled softly with her eyes and reached out her hand toward me.

I reached toward her.

I tried to take her hand.

“YOU BASTARD…! DO YOU KNOW YOUR SINS?!”

Suddenly—

A roar like thunder exploded through the air.

The deafening shout felt powerful enough to tear my eardrums apart.

I immediately shut my eyes and covered my ears.

“Ugh…”

A sharp pain suddenly tore through my head, as though something had violently stirred the inside of my skull.

I let out a groan.

“Huh?”

I blinked.

“Why was I crying?”

I wiped my wet eyes and brushed away the tears running down my cheeks.

It was strange.

When I reached the top of the staircase, the intense sunlight stung my eyes.

My chest hurt.

I didn’t know why.

Trying to shake off the sudden sadness that had settled over me—

I continued toward the Land of Zion.