Chapter 84: The Ghost of the Demon Realm

"Who?"

Rin had definitely heard a voice. There was no mistaking it. Yet when he looked around the room, there was no one there.

The voice had come from somewhere nearby, but Rin couldn’t tell from where. More importantly, there was something strangely familiar about it.

He didn’t know why. He didn’t know who the voice belonged to. But somehow, hearing it made his heart ache.

Rin was still trying to understand why he was crying so much. Even after everything Kaelith had told him, the tears simply wouldn’t stop.

Was it because everything he had just learned was too tragic? So many people had died. So many had been sacrificed. So many lives had been destroyed because of what had happened to Kaelith and the person he had loved.

Or... Was it because Rin himself had once been part of this world? The thought made his head hurt.

"I know it’s difficult for you to believe," Kaelith said, interrupting his thoughts.

Rin slowly raised his eyes. Kaelith was watching him carefully.

"But everything is real. You are Rin. The Rin that all of us have been waiting for."

Kaelith’s voice became strangely soft.

"And this time, I won’t lose you."

Rin stared at him.

"I understand what you’re saying. Somehow, I feel like you’re not lying to me." Rin finally replied, his voice trembling slightly.

He wiped his eyes, but another tear slipped down his cheek.

"Even though I’m crying, even though I feel like I’m suffering, part of me still can’t accept that all of this is real."

His expression became colder.

"Everything here is real?"

Kaelith remained silent.

"You expect me to believe that I’m your lover? That I... was a God?"

Kaelith slowly reached toward him and placed one finger against Rin’s chest. Right above his heart.

"If this wasn’t real, you wouldn’t be crying like this."

Rin frowned.

"Even if your memories haven’t returned yet, your heart remembers everything I’ve told you."

Kaelith’s gaze softened.

"Just like mine does."

Rin stared at him for several seconds.

"You can’t escape reality and this is your reality." Kaelith whispered.

Rin’s eyes immediately dropped toward the restraint still around his neck.

"Then if everything you’re saying is true... why am I still like this?"

He touched the restraint.

"Why won’t you let me leave?"

His voice became sharper.

"Why can’t I see the world for myself and figure out what is real and what isn’t?"

Rin looked directly at Kaelith.

"You prefer keeping me locked in here like a bird in a cage."

He took a shaky breath.

"And then you come to me with a sweet voice and sad stories."

Rin’s eyes hardened.

"Let’s say everything you told me is true. Fine."

He pointed toward the door.

"Then let me go. Let me see the world and find out whether what you’re saying is real."

Kaelith’s expression immediately changed.

"That... isn’t possible."

"Why?"

Rin’s voice suddenly rose.

"Why do I have to be put in this situation?"

He had finally reached his limit. All the information Kaelith had given him was flooding through his mind.

He didn’t know what to believe anymore. He didn’t know which memories were his.

He didn’t even know whether the person Kaelith was looking at was truly him or merely someone who happened to have the same name.

But Rin knew one thing. He couldn’t sit here like a doll and allow everyone else to decide his fate.

If Kaelith was telling the truth, then Rin had once been loved by everyone. So why was everything different now?

The demons clearly hated him. And Rin had no idea how humans would react to him either. But he was human. If he had a choice, he would rather live among humans than remain trapped in the Demon Realm.

"Let me go. Let me see the world." Rin said firmly.

"No."

Kaelith’s answer was immediate.

"You will not leave me."

His hands settled on Rin’s shoulders.

"Listen carefully. If you leave, I will destroy everything."

His eyes became frighteningly cold.

"I don’t care about anything except you."

Rin stared at him.

"Then come with me."

Kaelith froze.

"I never said I would leave alone."

For several seconds, Kaelith couldn’t answer.

Rin narrowed his eyes.

"Let me guess. In my last supposed life here, I never left the Demon Realm, did I?"

"That..."

Kaelith hesitated.

"It was because there was always some mystery—"

"Listen to me."

Rin interrupted him. His voice was calm now, but there was determination behind every word.

"I am not the Rin you knew."

Kaelith’s expression became complicated.

"And you won’t be able to control me."

Rin looked straight into his eyes.

"I want to see the world. I want answers. I want to know exactly what happened."

His voice dropped.

"If I have to stay here like some little puppy on a leash, then I’d rather die."

Kaelith went completely silent. His expression changed. The attitude. The voice. The scent.

Even the smallest movements. Everything about Rin reminded him of the Rin from his memories.

And just like that Rin... This Rin was curious. He wanted adventure. He wanted mysteries. He wanted to see what existed beyond the walls surrounding him.

Kaelith had always allowed Rin to follow his curiosity before. And every single time... Rin had disappeared. Again. And again. And again. Kaelith couldn’t lose him another time.

But when Rin said that he would rather die than remain imprisoned here, something inside Kaelith trembled.

Just as Kaelith was trying to escape the darkness of his own thoughts, Rin’s voice reached him.

"I won’t disappear."

Kaelith looked up.

"If that’s what you’re thinking."

"What?"

"I understand, and I don’t understand, why I’m in this situation."

Rin took a breath.

"I can’t completely accept what you’re doing. But if I was eliminated the last time, then there are two possibilities."

He raised one finger.

"Either I discovered something I wasn’t supposed to know."

Then another.

"Or I failed to discover something important."

Rin’s eyes became serious.

"And what interests me the most right now is the world."

He looked toward the window.

"Where am I? I want to see the other realms."

Then he looked back at Kaelith.

"I’m human. You’re a demon. There’s no way only demons exist in this entire world."

Rin spoke directly.

"So I want to see the World."

Kaelith was shocked. For once, the Demon King had absolutely no answer.

And then—

"I agree."

A voice suddenly echoed through the room.

"I support this idea."

Rin froze. That voice. He had heard it again.

"Who?"

There was a short silence. Then the voice answered.

"Welcome back, big brother. Have you been well?"

Rin’s expression immediately changed.

"Big brother?"

His irritation quickly overtook his confusion.

"Who are you? Where are you?"

He looked around.

"Come out!"

The voice chuckled.

"I’m right beside you."

Rin suddenly felt something cold run down his spine. A voice had spoken directly beside his ear.

"Hahaha."

The unseen speaker sounded amused.

"I never thought I’d see you this frightened."

Rin’s face turned pale. He slowly turned his head. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing there.

And then it hit him. This was a fantasy world. Demons existed. Gods existed. Magic existed. Invocations existed. So if there was a voice beside him that belonged to no visible person...

There was only one possible explanation.

"A GHOST!"

Rin screamed at the top of his lungs.

"GHOST!"

He immediately tried to jump out of bed. And then something even stranger happened. The chain around his neck suddenly snapped.

It fell away as if an invisible blade had sliced through it. Rin didn’t even stop to think about what had happened. He ran.

"GHOST! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

He rushed out of the room as fast as his legs could carry him. Kaelith remained frozen for several seconds.

The Demon King stared at the empty doorway. He had witnessed wars. He had fought gods. He had destroyed kingdoms. But nothing had prepared him for this.

"Rin?"

Kaelith finally recovered. A terrible sense of panic immediately hit him.

He had to follow. He had to make sure Rin was safe. But before he could take another step, the mysterious voice spoke again.

"Did you really have to do that?"

Kaelith stopped. His expression darkened.

"I... didn’t have a choice."

"You didn’t have a choice?"

The voice was suddenly cold.

"So you preferred to restrain him, drug him, and take advantage of him?"

Kaelith’s expression tightened.

"I..."

"Even though all three of us wanted to bring him back, neither he nor I expected you to do something like this, Kaelith."

The room fell silent.

"You were the one who loved Rin the most."

The voice became colder.

"You were the one destined for him."

A pause.

"But if you continue doing this..."

The voice dropped into something terrifying.

"I WILL KILL YOU."

Kaelith’s hands clenched.

"Listen to me."

His voice was hoarse.

"Everything is for his own good."

Everything he had done. Everything he had decided. Everything he had justified.

"It is all for Rin."

It almost sounded as if Kaelith was trying to convince himself. As if admitting he had done something wrong would mean admitting that all his suffering had been meaningless.

"For him?"

The unseen voice answered coldly.

"Kaelith, your love has become poison to Rin."

Kaelith said nothing.

"This isn’t simply love anymore."

The voice became sharper.

"It’s madness. Obsession."

Then came the final warning.

"Just because this world favors you doesn’t mean Rin belongs only to you."

Silence.

"I am here. And he is here too."

Kaelith opened his mouth.

"I—"

Before he could finish, another voice came from the corridor.

"Hey, Kaelith!"

Was Rin. Kaelith immediately turned.

"Did it leave?"

"Who?"

Kaelith blinked.

"Who are you talking about?"

Rin slowly peeked around the doorway.

"You know..."

He lowered his voice.

"The ghost."

Kaelith stared at him.

"..."

"Is it still here?"

Rin looked genuinely frightened. The mysterious voice immediately answered.

"Of course I’m still here."

Rin’s face went pale again.

"Where do you think I’m going, big brother?"

"Who are you?"

Rin swallowed.

"And why do you keep calling me big brother?"

"Why?"

The voice sounded amused.

"Because you are my big brother."

Rin’s eyes widened.

"I... I don’t have any brothers!"

"Yes, you do."

The voice laughed.

"I’m right here, big brother."

A sudden breeze passed through the corridor. Rin’s nightshirt fluttered. His eyes widened.

"G...GHOSTTT!"

He immediately turned toward Kaelith.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Then he screamed even louder.

"KAELITH! RUN!"

"What?"

Kaelith didn’t understand anything. The Demon King himself was now staring at Rin as though he were the strangest creature he had ever encountered.

Before Kaelith could ask another question, Rin grabbed his wrist.

"RUN!"

"Rin, wait—"

"GHOSTS ARE NOT A JOKE!"

Rin dragged him down the corridor.

"RUN!"

Kaelith stumbled after him.

"Wait!"

"RUN!"

Behind them, the mysterious voice laughed.

"Big brother, wait for me!"

"DON’T FOLLOW ME!"

"Come on, big brother! Let’s talk!"

"NO!"

"I missed you!"

"THAT’S EXACTLY WHY I’M RUNNING!"

And that night... would become a legend throughout the entire Demon Realm.

A human dressed in a nightshirt and long pants was running through the Demon King’s palace at full speed.

And he wasn’t running alone. He was dragging the Demon King himself by the wrist.

Kaelith—the ruler of the Demon Realm. The being feared by gods, demons, and countless kingdoms. The legendary Demon King who had once brought entire armies to their knees... was being dragged through his own palace by his terrified royal consort.

"GHOST!"

Rin was practically crying.

"RUN WITH EVERYONE!"

Behind them came the mysterious voice.

"Big brother! Wait!"

"DON’T COME CLOSER!"

Demons standing in the corridors could only stare. Nobody dared to move. Nobody dared to speak. No one understood what they were witnessing.

Their terrifying King was being dragged around by the wrist by a human wearing nothing more than his nightclothes.

And somehow... Kaelith was laughing.

After thousands of years, the Demon King was laughing. Not the cold laughter his subjects feared. Not the cruel smile that appeared before destruction.

It was genuine. Happy.

For the first time in countless years, Kaelith looked almost like the person he had once been.

All because of one human. Rin.

The man who had finally returned. The man everyone had been waiting for.

The man who had somehow managed to bring something back to the Demon Realm that had been missing for thousands of years.

Chaos.

And as Rin continued running for his life, completely unaware of the strange happiness in Kaelith’s eyes, the mysterious voice continued following them through the palace.

"Big brother!"

"GO AWAY!"

"Wait for me!"

"NO!"

"Let’s talk!"

"KAELITH, RUN FASTER!"

For the first time in thousands of years... the Demon Realm was alive with laughter, shouting, and absolute chaos.

And perhaps that was exactly what everyone had been waiting for.

Because Rin was finally back. And wherever Rin went... chaos followed.