Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

The swamp wasn't a place they could take on with their current numbers. From the environment to the creatures they'd fight, the odds were stacked against them.

Even with YuWon and Lucifer there, he didn't expect the first expedition to be successful. Just then, the portal shimmered and Awakeners stepped out of it. Most of them were injured and quite a few of them were missing.

But they had a smile on their faces—the smile of victory.

They... did it!?

It wasn't until he noticed YuWon that he realized something was off. Unlike the rest, he was quiet and lost in his thoughts. But all that disappeared when their eyes met.

YuWon rushed towards him. Before Asmodeus could get a word in, he grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the tree root.

"YuWon!" Anna shouted, but didn't stop him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Asmodeus shot back.

"Where is he?" YuWon snarled, his voice echoing in the silence.

"Who—?"

Asmodeus questioned, only to realize that the portal had closed, and there was no sign of Lucifer. It didn't take long for him to piece everything together.

That brat must have done something.

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That's why he disobeyed his instructions and joined the trial. Asmodeus knew that, unlike him, Lucifer had never made peace with their current status. It was only a matter of time before he did something about it, and it looked like he finally did it.

However, he had no involvement in Lucifer's plan. But even if he did, no one laid hands on him, especially not a human.

No... the emotions are running too high.

Even though Asmodeus thought that, he believed there was no better way to blow off steam than a quick spar. He could let YuWon take out his frustrations and once he calmed down, they could have a civilized conversation.

He was about to push YuWon back to their usual sparring spots. But something unexpected happened.

A tiny figure appeared from behind YuWon and sat on his shoulder. When Asmodeus saw her face, he was too shocked to say anything. He blinked a few times, like he was trying to wake up from a dream.

It was her. His Lilith.

Asmodeus stared at her with his mouth hanging open. She looked familiar and different at the same time. She was small, like a tiny fairy, no bigger than the palm of his hand. Her once powerful and seductive form had diminished, leaving her with a stunted stature.

But there was no mistaking her. Lilith, the Queen of fallen angels. His wife. Or who she used to be.

"Lilith?" Asmodeus whispered. "Is that really you?"

But Lilith didn't even acknowledge him. She remained sitting there as she nestled against YuWon's neck. Her eyes were solely on YuWon, no one else, as if he was the only one who mattered to her.

"Don't bother with it," YuWon smirked, releasing his grip on Asmodeus. "She doesn't know you. Lilith belongs to me now."

As he said that, Lilith's smile widened, and she hugged YuWon's neck.

The words hit Asmodeus like god's smite. Even as a fallen angel, he hadn't felt so powerless before. How come someone as strong as Lilith turned into nothing more than a servant to a human?

"Impossible…" Asmodeus shook his head in denial. "This can't be real."

Unfortunately, it was real. The way she acted around YuWon and how she ignored him made it painfully obvious.

***

Some time ago, during the trial...

As the hydra collapsed, so did they, from exhaustion. The adrenaline faded, and they didn't even have the strength to stand. All of them, except for Yeji.

Yeji was crouched beside the Hydra's body. Her eyes remained bloodshot as she smiled maniacally, looking at the dead creature. Before anyone could do anything, she jumped at the Hydra's corpse like a rabid dog.

"Yeji, stop!"

But she didn't. She was too far gone to stop. With no other way to calm her, YuWon used the slave brand to knock her unconscious. It was the only method he knew to get her in control.

It was a cruel thing to do, but YuWon knew she probably liked it. Besides, he needed the Hydra's heart for himself.

"A little help here," YuWon called for the rest as they gathered next to the creature's chest.

Slowly, they began peeling the scales one after another. Yeji had made it seem effortless, but it took all of them to remove a single scale. If only she wasn't off the rails, taking the heart open would have been a breeze.

Finally, they reached the leathery skin and YuWon ripped it open with his sword. Blood gushed out of the wound, covering his face and hands as he dug deeper. After almost half an hour of search, his finger found what he was looking for.

With some help from Lysandra, he carved the heart out of Hydra, still feeling warm in his hands. YuWon wiped the blood from his face, staring at the heart for a moment, then the notification appeared.

+++

Hunt successful!

— Hunt down the five disasters and absorb their hearts.

— ??? (Alive, undiscovered)

— Hydra (Dead, Awaiting absorption)

— ??? (Alive, undiscovered)

— ??? (Alive, undiscovered)

— Disaster Mole (Dead, Absorbed)

+++

YuWon smiled and placed the heart in the Phantom bag. After going through the pain of absorbing the mole disaster's heart, he didn't want a repeat of that episode, at least not in the swamps.

But just as YuWon was about to close the bag, something unexpected happened.

The pink shard carrying Lilith's essence shot out of the bag. Before YuWon knew what was happening, it began hovering over the corpse.

A second later, there was a flash of light. The Hydra's corpse got sucked into the crystal, vanishing without a trace. The shard continued to glow and expand until it was the size of a football before falling apart.

A figure emerged from the broken crystal. It was a tiny female with translucent wings. With her pale skin and jet-black hair, she immediately rushed towards YuWon, curiously moving around him.

"Lilith..." he whispered.