A major decision was underway in front of the food stall. Hakase and Kiriel were using the direct approach—by playing a game of rock-paper-scissors. “Rock, Paper, Scissors!” Hakase’s paper covered Kiriel’s rock, prompting Kiriel to frown, clearly dissatisfied with the result. He had planned to laze around all day reading his comic books, but now, that plan had gone down the drain. “That means you’re in charge of meals today,” Hakase said gleefully. Today was a rare day off for the food stall, but Yoon-Hee had gone to Gyeonggi-do for a three-day B-rank Fissure training, accompanied by Yong-Yong and Karsiel to prevent any unforeseen incidents. With Do-Jun at work, Byeol was the only one left at home. Although Do-Jun had prepared breakfast before leaving for work, someone still had to take care of lunch and dinner. As a result, Kiriel and Hakase were helping out by deciding the day’s responsibilities with rock-paper-scissors. Kiriel stood in front of Do-Jun’s apartment and entered the PIN on the automatic lock. The lock disengaged with a click, and the door swung open. Kiriel carefully stepped inside, holding a stack of comic books in both hands. It was just past 10 AM. Kiriel placed the comic books on the living room table and stepped into the bedroom, where Byeol was curled up, asleep. Dressed in rabbit pajamas and bundled up in a ball, Byeol looked so adorable that Kiriel chuckled and kissed her on the cheek. Her soft, pale skin felt pleasant to the touch. Was there anyone else in the world as cute as this child? If Byeol ever grew up and got married, her partner would need to prepare for a fight to earn her hand in marriage. After all, the world was full of rotten eggs. Smiling to himself, Kiriel gently closed the bedroom door and sat down with his comic book, now thankful that he had lost to Hakase in rock-paper-scissors. Byeol woke up around noon. Still sleepy, she rubbed her eyes with tiny hands and shuffled into the living room. Kiriel, who had been engrossed in his comic book, set it aside, picked Byeol up in his arms, and gave her another kiss on the cheek. Byeol froze in place, taken aback by the sudden affection. “Kiss me back,” Kiriel said. Byeol squinted her eyes groggily and replied, “No.” “If you kiss me, I’ll order jjajangmyeon.”[1] Hearing the promise of jjajangmyeon, Byeol smiled brightly. “And dumplings too?” she asked. “Of course. I’ll even order sweet and sour pork.” Overjoyed, Byeol kissed Kiriel twice on the cheek. Satisfied, Kiriel set her down and pulled out his smartphone to call the Chinese restaurant. “Hello, this is Changshin Villa, Unit 301. I would like to order two jjajangmyeon and one sweet and sour pork. Oh, fried dumplings are on the house, right?” Kiriel and Byeol devoured the jjajangmyeon, fried dumplings, and sweet and sour pork in no time. Although the portions were large, Byeol’s appetite was unmatched for a child her age, and nothing was left on the table. Kiriel, too, loved Earth’s food too much to let anything go to waste. Technically, Do-Jun had asked Kiriel to prepare lunch himself, but he was at work. How would he know they had jjajangmyeon? Dinner, which they would have together, would be prepared from scratch, of course. To get rid of evidence, Kiriel quickly took the empty dishes out to the hallway to be picked up by the deliveryman.[2] When he returned, he found Byeol holding one of his comic books, blinking as she read it. It was a scene where a mafia member pointed a gun at someone’s head. “Kirieh, what’s a ‘noggin’?” Kiriel dashed over and snatched the book from her hands. Byeol tilted her head, genuinely confused. He broke out in a cold sweat, recalling the time Hakase had been caught swearing around Byeol, which had earned him a stern scolding from Do-Jun. “That’s a bad word. Forget it,” he told her sternly. “Okay. ‘noggin’ is a bad word. ‘Noggin’ is a ba...” “Stop! Don’t say it anymore!” Kiriel’s heart pounded. Byeol shook her head, baffled by the odd behavior that Kiriel showed from time to time. “Anyway, tell the King of the Earth that...” Kiriel trailed off. About five kilometers away, a powerful wave of energy surged—one that was very familiar. It was one of Solomon’s Demons, and a high-ranking one at that. Kiriel’s expression darkened. “Stay home. I have to go deal with the bad guy,” he told Byeol. Seeing Kiriel’s grave expression, she nodded uneasily. A long, violet Fissure stretched across the sky like a brushstroke over Gwanaksan Mountain. Inside the Fissure stood a humanoid figure—a man with jet-black skin and eight massive demon wings, holding a white whip. This was Valefor, the sixth-ranked demon among Solomon’s Seventy-Two Demons. Valefor strolled casually across the molten ground inside the Fissure, which was devoid of any signs of life. He leisurely made his way toward the exit that led to Earth. Suddenly, he halted as someone entered the Fissure. Valefor immediately recognized the newcomer: Kiriel, the Transcendent known as the Divine Archer. “Kiriel,” Valefor called his name. Kiriel glared at the demon, his face contorted with hostility. The strong of the Deep Realm often clashed with each other. Even among demons and Transcendents, there was constant rivalry, only interrupted by temporary truces. For Solomon’s upper demons, however, truces were unheard of. “So it’s true you’ve made Earth your base,” Valefor remarked. “Take me to Earth’s king. I have no interest in underlings.” Kiriel just shrugged. Although ranked lower than Valefor, the difference in their strengths wasn’t big enough to just give up and walk away. Moreover, Kiriel had recently acquired a forbidden artifact, the Magic-Sealing Ring, which gave him an advantage. Without responding, Kiriel drew Gungnir. Valefor smirked knowingly, channeling magic into his artifact, Bloodsucker. The white whip began to glow crimson as if soaked in blood. Kiriel struck first. Knowing that close combat would put him at a disadvantage, he aimed to deal damage from a distance. However, Valefor anticipated this and used Space Fold to appear right in front of Kiriel, cracking his whip downward. Kiriel blocked the attack with Gungnir, using it as a shield. Sparks flew as the weapons collided mid-air. Valefor sneered, his voice dripping with malice. “Kiriel! This is where you’ll be buried!” Do-Jun had finished lunch at the office cafeteria and was now out for coffee with his colleagues. He sat under the large sun umbrella set up by the roadside, sipping coffee with his coworkers. In the distance, around the Gwanaksan area, he sensed two immense energies colliding. One of them belonged to Kiriel, but the other was an unfamiliar energy. However, its nature was reminiscent of those who were called Solomon’s Demons. Do-Jun hummed, prompting Cheol-Soo to ask, “What’s wrong?” “Oh, it’s nothing, Chief.” In terms of sheer power, Kiriel was slightly at a disadvantage. However, the gap wasn’t significant, and with some skill, Kiriel could emerge victorious. Besides, hadn’t Kiriel recently acquired that forbidden artifact? A text arrived from Young-Chul, responding to Do-Jun’s earlier message. Jung Young-Chul: Understood. The situation room at the Hunter’s Bureau had summoned an operations team because of the sudden appearance of an S-rank Great Fissure. However, Do-Jun had reassured them not to worry. Do-Jun assumed Kiriel would be able to wrap things up and return home by 6 PM to prepare dinner. Countless arrows of light shot out from Gungnir, raining down from the sky. Valefor smirked, swinging Bloodsucker wide to deflect the incoming barrage of arrows. There was no sign of a decisive outcome, but it seemed like Valefor was thoroughly enjoying the long-awaited thrill of battle. “That’s all you’ve got, Kiriel?” he asked. Valefor stomped the ground. The earth caved in, and lava erupted from the crevices. Kiriel jumped high into the sky to dodge the charge, but Valefor quickly changed course and chased after him. “W-wait! Time out!” Kiriel called out. As time passed, his complexion grew paler. Valefor chuckled, interpreting Kiriel’s weakening state as exhaustion from prolonged combat. However, the real reason for Kiriel’s alarmed expression was something else entirely. “I... I have a very important mission to complete today,” Kiriel said. It was almost 6 PM, and he was running out of time. He desperately wanted to finish Valefor off and get home, but his opponent was not easy to deal with. To make matters worse, Bloodsucker’s effects were taking a toll on Kiriel’s stamina. “Don’t even try to stall, Kiriel. Your feeble life ends here tonight.” Valefor laughed. “I... I swear! Or... how about we eat dinner first and fight later? Just give me three hours!” Valefor assumed Kiriel wanted time to recover his energy for a renewed fight. Resolving not to fall for such a cheap trick, Valefor sneered. It was time to deliver the final blow. Bloodsucker, now engorged with a sufficient amount of blood, radiated a crimson aura of madness. Having met the conditions, the weapon’s true power was now unleashed. That was when someone entered the Fissure. Kiriel drew in a sharp breath. The intruder was none other than Do-Jun. Do-Jun steadily walked across the lava-filled terrain, approached the duo, and glanced between Kiriel and Valefor. “I see you were goofing around,” he said to Kiriel. “N-no! I... I was dealing with a bad guy...” At that moment, Valefor swung the unleashed Bloodsucker at Do-Jun. The demon intended to quickly eliminate this irritating intruder and then get on with killing Kiriel. Without even turning around, Do-Jun casually extended his fist. Valefor was sent flying to the edge of the Fissure and collapsed in a heap. Bloodsucker slowly lost its crimson hue, fading back to pale white. “Go home and start preparing dinner,” Do-Jun instructed. “And as punishment, do the dishes too. Got it?” With that, Do-Jun left the Fissure as if he were never there. Kiriel returned home with some beef bulgogi he had bought at the store. Byeol had been drawing in her sketchbook with crayons. She poked her head out to see who had arrived. Seeing Kiriel holding the bulgogi, she broke into a big smile and ran toward him with small steps. Kiriel looked completely exhausted. When he left, he said he was going to take down a bad guy. It must have been a pretty tough fight. “You get the bad guy?” Byeol asked. “Well, uh...” Kiriel scratched his head awkwardly. “I guess you could say that.” 1. Jjajangmyeon is black bean noodles. ☜ 2. In Korea, when you order Chinese food, the restaurant sends someone to pick up your dishes afterward. ☜