Hell's Handbook

Chapter 400

Twenty six years. Su Jin had spent a whole 26 years in this world. That was around the same time he had spent alive in his world, which made Su Jin feel a little disoriented.

A town appeared before his eyes. This was a modern town, and the residents were getting ready for bed. They were going to make sure they got enough sleep for the work needed the next day. None of them knew they were about to become a meal for demons.

Then again, there were some who knew. The Night Parade of a Hundred Demons was a Level A Challenge, so at least three teams had been placed here by the Handbook. They had to survive until the next day in order to return to where they came from and continue their normal lives.

“Most of the time, we would command the demons to start a massacre, but… should we mix things up a little this time?” The nine tailed fox smiled charmingly at Su Jin.

Su Jin’s gaze was fixed on the town in front of him, and he had not noticed her smile at all. He hadn’t seen a modern city in more than 20 years, and wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

“You’re good with allowing the Handbook to keep making use of you guys?” asked Su Jin suddenly.

The three demons exchanged glances. Daitengu scoffed and said, “Humph, who would be good with that? But what can we do about it? All our ancestors were formidable characters, yet they all died horrible deaths. If even they weren’t able to fight back, what can the three of us do?”

“Join me!” said Su Jin calmly as he looked straight at them.

The three demons were a little stunned. Bifang spoke up first, “That’s a good suggestion, of course, but… we’re not as incredible as you are and we can’t escape the Handbook’s search. If we try anything funny, I’m sure a large number of the Handbook’s manifestations will come and smite us.”

But Su Jin shook his head slightly and said confidently, “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to prepare a world where you will not be disturbed, a world that belongs to me.”

“A world that belongs to you? Are you talking about a world that you’ve cut off from the Handbook?” asked Bifang.

Su Jin nodded. “I need to find a sufficiently large planet, free it, and turn it into my world.”

Su Jin wanted to find a place that would become like a base of sorts, so a small planet would not be enough. He needed a huge planet that could support a large number of lifeforms.

“If you can find such a place, I’m willing to join you,” said the nine tailed fox without hesitation. She laughed sadly and said, “Honestly, I’m getting quite tired of living in this never-ending cycle for so many years.”

Daitengu and Bifang hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded and said, “We are also willing to join you.”

Su Jin smiled and nodded. The three demons were not considered top notch warriors, but they were lifeforms outside of the Handbook’s control, so the Handbook would not notice even if they joined his side. Besides, if they were in his world, they would be allowed to improve and develop themselves, so they could become valuable help to him in the future.

Su Jin was still too weak, or at least compared to Hell’s Handbook and the will of the universe. He had to carefully strengthen himself so that he would get the chance to unleash his rage in the future.

“What do we do now?” asked the nine tailed fox.

Su Jin paused to think, then said, “Wait for sunrise. I have a way to take you guys with me.”

The demons listened to Su Jin and kept their demons parked outside the town. Black mist surrounded them so they looked like dark clouds on the ground.

The parade of demons were all formidable creatures. They were lifeforms that had developed their demonic powers while sleeping for the past few decades and were all sentient. But they treated the great demons like the way ants treated their queen. They listened to the instructions of the three great demons and did not do anything out of line.

Meanwhile, the three teams of owners in the town were warily waiting for danger to arrive. They were in a Level A Challenge, so any change in the situation could kill them. They were certain that it was impossible for them to finish this Challenge with all three teams intact.

But strangely enough, the black mist they could see stopped outside the small town. Time ticked by slowly, and dawn was almost here, but that only made the owners feel even more uneasy. It didn’t make sense for a Level A Challenge to be this easy to get through. Were the demons prepared to suddenly surge through the town just before dawn? If that was the case, that was bad news for the owners. A short but extremely powerful attack was tough for owners to handle.

They continued to wait in fear, but when dawn came, everything went black, and they were told that they had completed the Challenge. They were completely confused. That… was a Level A Challenge? Really?

Meanwhile, the colors in Su Jin’s eyes had changed constantly just before dawn arrived. He was changing his own properties to turn himself from being part of the Challenge to being an owner.

The way the Handbook worked was to throw owners into a Challenge and give them the conditions for passing it. Once the Challenge came to an end, owners who had fulfilled the conditions would be like owners with a key to the door back to their world. But they also needed a pass to get through that door, and that pass was their identity as an owner.

In other words, the Handbook did not care about the number of owners that made it in or out. Death during Challenges were commonplace, and revival of owners was not rare either. Some Challenges provided the items required for the Ceremony of the Gods, and some Challenges even had beings that could revive owners. So, it didn’t matter if the number of owners that finished the Challenge were more or less than the original number sent into one.

Everything went dark and Su Jin appeared in his Personal Hell Domain. The three demons also appeared behind him. He did not change their characteristics into owners and turned them into summonable creatures. He could have done that, of course, but if he did that, he had no idea where the three of them would be sent to after the Challenge ended. They didn’t own Handbooks either, so they would not have a corresponding Personal Hell Domain to return to either.

“No prizes for completing the Challenge?” After placing the Handbook on the usual pedestal, he realized he did not get anything for completing the Challenge. There were probably other conditions he needed to fulfil in order to get points. Perhaps there was a code that owners carried when they started a Challenge, and only owners with the same code could get points after they were done with the Challenge. That would prevent any revived owners from getting points without completing any missions.

But Su Jin didn’t care for the points. Getting the three demons was his best prize. He chose to leave and returned to the real world. The three demons left with him too.

Immediately after he returned to his world, the Demon Lord appeared in front of them. But unlike how she usually was, she was standing warily in front of them, ready to launch an attack anytime.

The Demon Lord was covered in black armor, and there was already a black arrow on the bowstring of her Demon Lord’s Longbow. The nonchalant and flirtatious look she normally had in her eyes was gone, replaced with a fierceness instead.

“Gosh, what are you doing?!” Su Jin got a shock. Ever since he saved her and brought her back to his place, she had been very lazy and unmotivated every day, and looked more like a woman who only cared about having fun, not a high and mighty lord of demons. This was the first time he had seen her like this.

The moment she realized it was Su Jin, the armor disappeared and the fierce look in her eyes was gone too. She grumbled, “Oh, it’s just you. I got a shock. These fellows… what a strange presence they have. Are they great demons?”

“Oh my! I can’t believe you recognized them! But surely they aren’t enough to scare you like that, are they?” Su Jin burst out laughing. To the Demon Lord, they had conversed not too long ago. But to Su Jin, they had not conversed for more than 20 years, and he felt like he had just met with an old friend.

But the Demon Lord sighed heavily and plonked down on the sofa. She hesitated for a moment, then finally said to Su Jin, “A lot of elder gods have been killed, so when I sensed the sort of power coming my way, I thought they had come for me, so I reacted like that.”

“A lot of elder gods have been killed?” Su Jin blinked. “Is it the Mad Hatter and his companions?”

She shook her head and said, “Not them. It’s the group that doesn’t agree with them. Dozens of elder gods… all wiped out. Not a single one survived.”

Su Jin gasped. A few dozen elder gods would have been a force to be reckoned with, yet they all perished!