After Ten Millennia in Hell-Chapter 10Epilogue - Wedding Anniversary (8)

Lilith used to think it was okay at first. She thought she wouldn’t mind it. She thought that even if she was wearing someone else’s skin, she could look past such a trivial matter as long as he loved her.

Since Kurosaki Yurie, the former owner of Lilith’s current body, had gained a new body, Lilith thought there was no reason to call it a shell anymore. The silky black hair reaching her waist, the refined nose and bright eyes, and an appearance that garnered the attention of countless men whenever she walked on the street, were all part of her true form now.

“...”

However, doubt slowly grew inside Lilith’s heart and clouded her mind. She wondered if the love of her life did not love her but Lilith in the shell of Kurosaki Yurie.

Lilith did not think that was bad; after a decade of molding into human society, she realized how hideous her true form was to humans. Humans often went off about how true beauty was inside, but Lilith knew better than anyone how crucial one’s appearance was in human relationships.

‘Because the king fled from me until I attained Yurie’s body.’

Hence, she couldn’t help but imagine what would happen if she lost this form and returned to her true self. Would she no longer receive her king’s love?

‘No, there’s no way.’

Lilith tore apart the seed of doubt to deny her thoughts.

“Lilith unnie, why don’t we go shopping together today?”

“Unnie! What are you up to today?”

However, her heart felt like it was getting scalded by a hot iron each time she looked at Han Seol-Ah and Cha Yeon-Joo receiving her king’s love in the forms they were born with.

Lilith knew this feeling in her heart was unsightly jealousy and that she was keeping her distance from her innocent little sisters out of a sense of inferiority.

‘But I’m scared.’

She was scared of returning to her true form— she was terrified that the love of her life might look down at her as if he were staring at a squashed bug. This thought was not confined to Kang-Woo.

‘What about... Lilia?’

Unlike her hideous self by human standards, Lilia was fortunately blessed with an appearance resembling Kurosaki Yurie. Hence, Lilia’s beauty standards were far closer to humans than demons.

‘If Lilia were to see my true form I’d never shown her... I’m sure she would cry from fear.’

Lilith smiled self-deprecatingly and bit her lip. She was sure that not only Lilia but Kang-Hyun and Kang-Hee would look at her the same way— in disgust.

‘I can never let them find out.’

She would never show them what was inside her shell, whatever it took. She had spent a decade with that resolve in mind.

“Let’s take the picture in your true form.”

It was because of her resolve that she was shocked to hear such a thing from Oh Kang-Woo, who despised her true form more than anyone.

“No...” Lilith smiled sorrowfully and shook her head after much thought. “What are you going to do if the children happen to find the picture?”

“If that time comes, we’ll just have to explain to them calmly that this is their mother’s true form.”

“A-Anything but that!”

Lilith furiously shook her head. She might not have minded it back when she was unaware of human beauty standards but she could never allow such a thing to happen anymore.

“Th-The children will be afraid of me!”

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“Oh, I’m sure they would be at first.”

“They would run away from me like you used to! They’ll... come to h-hate me.”

“No.” Kang-Woo firmly shook his head. “Our children will never hate you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because they’re our children.”

“...”

“They’ll be scared at first, but they’ll get used to it over time.”

‘Just as I have.’

“But...”

“Can you return to your true form?”

“...” Lilith hesitated as she bit her lip and slowly nodded. “D-Don’t blame me if you regret it.”

Her skin melted like ice cream. Her pale, flawless skin disappeared and was replaced by hideous toad-like skin. Eighteen eyes appeared over her face and the corners of her mouth ripped to under her earlobes.

Squelch.

Her silky black hair turned into sticky tentacles covered in mucus.

‘Urpp.’

Kang-Woo just barely stopped himself from retching at the sight of Lilith’s true form which he had not seen in a while.

‘For fuck’s sake, it’s harder to get used to after not seeing it for a while.’

He was swept with regret once he saw the squirming tentacles, thinking maybe he had done something unnecessary.

‘Endure it.’

Kang-Woo more or less had an idea about what was on Lilith’s mind before Yeon-Joo told him about it. He knew her fear slowly grew as she learned more about the human world and how hideous they thought of her true form.

‘Her fear of her happy life shattering once her true form is exposed.’

He couldn’t imagine how Lilith felt interacting with her children under a mask.

‘That’s why I have to accept her first.’

Back in his days as the Demon King, Kang-Woo couldn’t accept Lilith’s feelings no matter how hard he tried. The reason was simple— because she was hideous to the point that he physically couldn’t handle her looks.

‘Looking back on it now, I feel guilty.’

It was not that Kang-Woo couldn’t understand his past self— physical appearance was a major part of relationships. For example, if a man’s loving partner suddenly turned into a giant cockroach, would that man be able to treat their lover the same way? Could he lovingly caress the cockroach’s hideous antennae and kiss their pointy lips?

‘No fucking way.’

Kang-Woo couldn’t accept Lilith for that same reason.

‘But now... I have to change.’

After becoming a husband of three wives, a father of three children, and a person who was responsible for others’ lives, he had become able to think more for others than himself.

‘I can’t let Lilith suffer alone.’

Hence, Kang-Woo decided to accept everything about her.

“Are you... okay?” asked Lilith in her true form as she stared at Kang-Woo cautiously.

Kang-Woo wrapped his arms around Lilith’s waist instead of answering.

“Ah...”

Their lips grew closer. Lilith’s tentacles squirmed more as she grew more excited.

“Kurgh...”

Kang-Woo flinched for a moment as he glanced at the squirming tentacles spewing pus but he took a deep breath and kissed Lilith.

“M-My king...”

Lilith touched her lips in disbelief. She had kissed Kang-Woo countless times but those were when she was in the shell of Kurosaki Yurie. She gave up on being able to kiss him in her true form— it would be a relief if he didn’t run away from her.

“Sniff... Sniff... M-My king, I...”

Yellow pus trickled down her cheeks. The seed of doubt that had rooted itself in Lilith’s heart— the fear of being abandoned by her king if her shell disappeared— was uprooted.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve done this sooner.”

“Sniff. N-No, it’s alright.”

Lilith embraced Kang-Woo and they kissed again. She was different in appearance but her lips were as soft and sweet as before.

“Hehe,” Lilith giggled as she touched her lips with the tip of her fingers.

Her eighteen eyes no longer reflected anxiety or fear.

“I love you, my king... no, my love.”

Lilith had stuck to calling Kang-Woo my king even as Seol-Ah and Yeon-Joo grew to call Kang-Woo honey and hubby respectively. It was so that she could resolve her broken heart if she were ever abandoned— she would tell herself that the last decade was like a mirage seen in a desert.

However, things would change. She would no longer be held back by anxiety and fear.

“I... I love you so much. More than anything,” whispered Lilith as she embraced Kang-Woo.

Kang-Woo waited for her to calm down as she caressed Lilith’s hair— no, tentacles. Lilith calmed down after about ten minutes. She stopped weeping and carefully placed her head over his chest.

“Are you sure... the children won’t hate me even after they find out what I truly look like?”

Lilith’s voice was still shaking anxiously.

Kang-Woo responded firmly as if to shake away any remaining anxiety from her, “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Even if I do squelchies to them?”

“Uhh... that’s a bit...”

“Fufu. I’m joking.”

“Haha, right?”

“Of course.”

Lilith smiled radiantly and nodded.

Squelch.

Then, the tentacles that had been caressing Kang-Woo suddenly wrapped around him.

“L-Lilith?’

Kang-Woo stared confusedly at Lilith as sticky fluid trickled down his arm.

Lilith smiled seductively and whispered in Kang-Woo’s ear, “After all, the only person I’ll do squelchies with is you, my love.”

‘Huh? What was that?’

“Alright, my love~ to the bedroom!”

“N-No, wait a second.”

‘N-No, my heart isn’t ready for that yet...!’

“I’ll make you... squelch all over ❤”

With that, the tenth anniversary reached its finale.

“HURGHHHHHHH.”

With the weepings of one demon.