Kang Woo stepped forward without hesitation, his boot slamming into the lump of flesh, forcing it deeper into the cracked wall. His tone was cold, absolute, carrying no shred of pity.
"Stand up. Patch up your wounds. We're not done yet."
The Eternity Devil's many mouths shrieked at once, voice warped with desperation. "It's useless… you're inside my stomach! You cannot escape!"
Thump… Thump… A heartbeat resounded through the hallway. The Almighty stirred again, bending causality to Kang Woo's will.
When the sound faded, Kang Woo's left palm opened slowly. Resting there was a grotesque heart—still beating, slick with blood, its veins pulsing like it refused to accept reality.
Kang Woo's eyes narrowed, his voice calm but cruel. "Ironic, isn't it? You're called Eternity. Yet in truth, even gods die… no matter how long they live."
The Eternity Devil's thoughts twisted, panic seizing its monstrous mind. W-what is this man? He doesn't want to kill me… it's like he intends to use me. Forever.
Suddenly—SCHLUNK! SCHLUNK! SCHLUNK!—dark spears erupted through every part of its writhing flesh. Arms, heads, torsos, all impaled at once, pinning the devil against the wall like a grotesque specimen on display.
Kang Woo's voice cut through the air, sharp and merciless. "QUIET. DOWN."
The Eternity Devil's mouths trembled, one of them stammering, "B-but… I didn't say anything…"
Kang Woo leaned in slightly, his eyes gleaming with twin pupils, his tone laced with arrogance and cruelty. "Your purpose isn't to think. Thinking is for me. Your purpose is to obey, to exist only as a tool in my hand."
The Eternity Devil's thoughts spiraled in terror. T-that jar… that dark jar he prepared… this crazy man wants me sealed inside it. He's going to use me like a pet…
One of its many mouths opened shakily, voice trembling. "A-all right… I'll go to the j—"
Before it could finish, its body suddenly split into two with a wet SHRRRK! Black corruption crawled through the flesh, veins of Starscourge erupting across its form, twisting it into something even more grotesque.
The Eternity Devil screamed, horrified. "Whyyy?! I was about to do what you asked!"
Kang Woo's lips stretched into a manic smile, teeth glinting, his voice dripping with sadistic glee. "I just realized… having a hard punching bag is really fun."
Makima could only remain silent, her yellow-ringed eyes fixed on her king in his chaotic phase. She disliked what she saw—the cruelty, the indulgence in sadism—but Kang Woo was her husband, the only one she loved. I need to talk to him about this cruelty later, she thought. He did say I could influence him in the future. I'll hold him to that.
For four relentless minutes—an eternity stretched into torment—the Eternity Devil was subjected to Kang Woo's wrath. To the devil, each second was a century. Four minutes became four hundred years of agony. Crushed under Kang Woo's immense demonic aura, torn apart by the Blades of Chaos, then ripped open and stabbed a million times when Kang Woo wielded the Force Edge with merciless precision.
When at last he paused, Kang Woo wiped the blood casually from his hand, as though it were nothing more than dirt.
The Eternity Devil's mass quivered, its countless faces warped with terror. Its monstrous form shifted, kneeling low before him, many mouths crying out in unison—broken, desperate, begging.
"Have mercy! Have mercy! No more pain… please! Please, I'll do anything! Just no more pain!"
Kang Woo's eyes narrowed, his voice sharp with command as he gave his first order. "Now you'll use your abilities the way I want. First things first—get in the jar. And if my stooges try to use the staircase or the elevator to leave for the real world… don't loop them anymore. Understood?"
The Eternity Devil froze, stunned. The sudden absence of pain left it trembling, confused at the silence in its body.
Kang Woo's brow twitched, irritation slipping into his tone. "What, are you copying me? Or do you want more pain lessons, huh?"
The devil's heads jerked wildly, mouths crying out at once. "No! No more pain—I understand! I am going!"
Its massive, writhing form convulsed, shrinking down, compressing into a small lump of quivering flesh. With a wet, squelching sound, it slithered across the floor and slipped into the dark jar Kang Woo had prepared.
Kang Woo lifted the jar, dark ropes unfurling around it like twisted decorations, binding it to the nearby wall. The aura it radiated was thick, oppressive, a warning to anyone foolish enough to tamper with it.
Makima's voice slipped into the silence, calm but edged with quiet reproach. "Kang Woo… my king, if I may suggest—you prolonged things too far. The Eternity Devil already surrendered its allegiance to you. It seems you still carry that bad habit of yours."
Kang Woo blinked slowly, and the glow in his eyes dimmed. The Almighty faded, his gaze reverting to a single crimson pupil in each eye.
He turned to her, his expression steady, the faintest trace of understanding carved into his face. His words came low, deliberate—like truths weighed down by the weight of experience.
"Makima… never forget this. If there is someone you truly wish to hold dear, then you must be willing to be chaotic enough to cast aside everything else. Because once something precious is lost, not even time or gods can return it to you. The living must carry it forward, or it's gone forever."
Kang Woo's voice carried across the hallway, sharp and commanding. "Alright, you stooges, come out. It's time to debrief the current situation."
Two hotel doors creaked open at once. From the first door stepped Kishibe, sake flask in one hand, chewing lazily on a sausage as if the chaos around him didn't matter. Arai shuffled out next, wrapped tightly in a blanket like a nervous child. Kobeni followed, balancing a steaming bowl of ramen in her hands, her eyes darting anxiously between everyone in the hall.
The second door swung open. Aki stepped out with a cigarette smoldering between his lips—Himeno's brand, not his own—while Himeno herself trailed behind him, her face unreadable, expression flat. Then came the usual storm: Power and Denji, locked in yet another fight over food.
Denji snarled, clutching his plate. "That's my sausage! Yours already went down your damn stomach!"
Power cackled, clutching the hot dog high over her head. ", Denji! Hot dog is my hot dog! All food belongs to Power! You are weak, Denji humannn!"
The two of them shoved and snapped at each other, their argument echoing through the hallway like children bickering at a playground—only louder, hungrier, and infinitely more ridiculous.
Kang Woo's voice cut through the noise, calm but absolute. "You're all free to leave now. Go downstairs. That eternal invalid in my jar won't be looping you anymore. But I'm staying—this loop, this time that refuses to pass… it's exactly what I want. With one exception."
kang woo eyes slid toward Kishibe. "You need to wait. I still have a debt to settle."
Kishibe raised a brow, taking a long swig from his sake flask before speaking flatly. "Debt? You mean favors. You already said if one of my students—or even me—were in danger, you'd show up. That's the kind of thing I'll call in."
Kang Woo's smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "Not that, old man. I'm talking about the new variant of Compound V I promised you. Remember? When I talked it over with Makima in that fast food restaurant."
Aki exhaled a stream of smoke, his brow furrowed, voice flat but edged. "Kang Woo, this is a hotel, not a lab. Or a hospital you're so fond of. I recommend you go. Now."
Himeno folded her arms, her grin tilting into sharp sarcasm. "Since Makima's supposed to be your therapist but clearly isn't doing her job well… Kang Woo, maybe you should check yourself into a hospital. Your obsession with torturing devils—it's like a disease, you know?"
Kang Woo didn't even look at her. He pressed his palm flat against the wall to his right.
The sound came first—deep, guttural, a grumble that rattled the air like stone grinding against stone. Then his Heart of Chaos pulsed. Reality itself warped, bending under his will. The wall split and folded, and the hotel room on the right twisted into something wholly alien—gleaming with cold steel and neon lights.
A sprawling sci-fi laboratory unfurled where plain walls once stood. Rows of advanced instruments hummed with power, containment tubes glowed faintly, a hall of books stretched far into the distance, and shelves upon shelves of rare ingredients shimmered in glass containers. It was a fortress of science and sorcery meshed together, a sanctum crafted by sheer chaos.
Kang Woo lowered his hand, smirking faintly. "Ever heard of Faust—the great chemist? To me, he was just another insane person. But that's the truth of it. Do what you love, do what you're good at… that's how you achieve true happiness."
Division 4 stares as if someone's opened the sky. They already knew Kang Woo was terrifying — but this, folding a lab out of a hotel wall, is on a different scale. The air hums. The lab's lights cast cold reflections across shocked faces. All of them turn to Makima, who watches Kang Woo with a small, satisfied smile, like someone admiring a trick well performed.
Aki opens his mouth to speak, about to ask her something, when the room's temperature drops and a viscous shadow bleeds up from Kang Woo's skin. Black goo peels free, glistening with a life of its own.
Kishibe's hand slides to the hilt of his dagger in an instant, eyes narrowing.
Power stamps her foot, half-taunt, half-wary. "Oi—something's comin' outta him. I'll kill it! I'll kill another devil!" Her voice is loud and fierce, but her knees betray her; they tremble. The goo gives off an aura that tastes like old graves.
The ooze writhes, pulls itself up, and takes shape — a humanoid silhouette in Kang Woo's exact image. The thing steps forward, stretching, cracking its neck with a sound like old leather. Where Kang Woo's irises burned red, this new face has black sclera and cold, gray pupils. It's the Black King made flesh.
For a beat Aki and Himeno share the same thought and the same half-laugh of incredulity: does Kang Woo have a twin?
The Black King fixes Makima with a slow, contemptuous smile. "Ah," he hisses, voice like a blade dragged over stone, "one of these days, big log, you're going to die."
Makima's smile hardened.. Her palm curled as a black flame flickered and died—she didn't bother summoning it fully. Disdain laced her voice. "Use your true form, you Black shit , Let me burn you like the trash you are."
The Black King's mouth twisted into a sinister grin, his words sharp and mocking.
"Using Hellblaze against me? You must think you're above the clo—"
Before he could finish, Kang Woo tapped his shoulder, silencing him with a single gesture. His tone was calm, absolute.
"Alchemy. Let's get it done. Understand?"
The Black King's grin faltered into a smirk edged with suspicion.
"You must be desperate… if you're rushing to make the Philosopher's Stone now."
Kang Woo's hand rose, and in his grip shimmered the Emerald Tablet, its surface glowing with ancient, unnatural weight. His voice carried certainty.
"We've still got a day and more before the system's time runs out. Better to be productive."
He flicked his left hand, and the Eye of Mikhail detached from the back of his palm, falling. But before it struck the ground, its shape shifted, light folding into form—until it stood as a humanoid figure, appearance eerily similar to Teito Klein.
The Black King chuckled, his voice a razor's edge.
"Well, would you look at that. The eyeball's learned some tricks."
Mikhail's expression stayed flat, his gaze steady and cautious as it locked on the Black King. Extending his arm, he spoke in a calm, even tone.
"I only copy from the expert… the one who's always done it."
Kang Woo's eyes shifted toward Makima, his voice low but deliberate.
"I'll leave the bedtime story telling to you. Catch up with me once I start creating the Philosopher's Stone."