[Ren POV]
One month had passed since the Red Dragon drama, and things had finally started to settle.
Naturally, that meant we were already heading back to the human world for a mission.
I did not think Uwe would approve something like this so soon, not with everything that had happened, but maybe this was another test. He liked those. A little too much, if anyone asked me.
Still, I was not worried.
I had no plans to leave my new life behind. I actually liked it here. I had siblings, a giant house, good food, and enough chaos to keep me from getting bored. I would never say that out loud, of course. The moment you admit you like something, someone starts using it against you.
Even Hendrian and Julia had started growing on me, as difficult as both of them could be.
Julia had figured out who I was. Who I really was. Instead of trying to kill me or spitting venom in my face, she had done nothing. No hatred. No forgiveness either. Just cold indecision. She stood somewhere between accepting me as family and seeing me as the person who killed her fiancé.
Honestly, I did not blame her.
Leah and Lina had been good for advice. Uwe tried. That counted for something.
"So, are you all ready?" Leah asked.
She looked over us with that soft pride only a mother could manage without making it annoying.
"Yes, Mother," Hendrian said with a stiff nod.
He looked nervous, and not without reason.
"It's okay," Leah said. "You'll do fine out there. And remember, Ren and Marasuki are with you. If anything happens, rely on them."
"Hey, what about me?" Lucas asked, clearly offended.
"Yes, yes, you too," Leah said, waving him off with a smile. "Now, I gave you all the translators. You know how they work?"
"Yes, ma'am," Hendrian said, then glanced at the rest of us. "I have one question. Who's taking point?"
A short silence followed.
"...Ren?" Sara offered.
I blinked at her. "Why me?"
"You know the human world best," Marasuki said. "You've got experience, and you know how we work."
"So do you."
"I do," she said. "But you have more leadership presence."
"That sounds fake."
"Like a grumpy older sister."
"I'm younger than all of you."
"Still fits."
I groaned. "Why do I keep getting saddled with more work?"
Nyx walked up behind me and rubbed my back. "Because you'll do great."
Damn it.
She knew my weakness.
"Alright, kids," Uwe said, stepping up beside Leah. "Do well out there. Do not cause another war with the humans. That would be annoying."
"Annoying," I repeated. "That's your concern?"
"It would involve paperwork."
"Fair."
He handed me a thick folder.
I flipped it open. "Mission info. Of course."
"Read it during the flight."
"That means it is either important or you were too lazy to brief me properly."
"Both can be true."
I sighed and closed the folder. "Great."
"Okay, get in the carriages," Leah said, already shooing us forward. "You're going to be late."
"Good luck!" Karl called, waving from behind her.
He was staying behind. Probably for the best. The kid was brave, but this mission was already going to be enough of a headache.
Nyx gave me a quick hug and kissed my cheek. "You better come back."
"Yeah," Arty said, stepping closer. "We won't be able to look after that mansion forever."
She looked tired, but better than she had a month ago. Less like she was holding herself together with spite and duty.
"Don't worry," I said. "I'll be back before you even miss me."
Then I leaned in and kissed her cheek before she could dodge.
"Hey!" Arty yelped, her face going red.
"Heh. Try not to miss me too much, you two."
"Pah. Don't flatter yourself," Arty grumbled.
Nyx just watched me with softer eyes than usual.
"Lovebirds," Marasuki muttered. "We need to go."
"Yeah, yeah." I waved her off.
"Not you," she said, pointing past me. "Them."
Sara and her barn boy were still standing too close to each other, stuck in their own little romance bubble.
I stared at them for a second. "This could take a while."
"It won't," Marasuki said.
She grabbed Sara by the back of the collar and dragged her toward the carriage.
"Hey!" Sara complained.
"Mission first. Kissing later."
I climbed in after them before Sara could argue herself into a hole.
The month had not just been quiet. It had been healing, in a weird, uncomfortable way.
Arty had resigned from her post as Chief of Police. Nyx lost her general status, as expected. Duke White had not said anything to me yet about courting both his daughters, which was suspicious. I figured Uwe had something to do with that, but he was not talking.
Either way, it worked out for me.
Arty and Nyx had grown closer. They were finally acting like actual sisters instead of two armed disasters circling the same room. I was happy for them. Mostly.
The downside was that when we argued, they teamed up on me.
They had also sat me down and had "The Talk" about our relationship. Arty was hesitant. Nyx was all in. Nyx even admitted the whole thing had brought her and her sister closer, and then quickly added that it was not the only reason.
Sure.
They agreed we would take it slow.
Fair enough. I was young. Arty was forty-five, and Nyx was a bit younger. Still young for demons, but for me? Massive gap. My life had turned into something Doc would either laugh at or have a stroke over.
Probably both.
"What would Doc even say?" I muttered.
"Hm?" Hendrian asked.
"Nothing."
He pointed at the folder in my lap. "What are those files Uwe gave you?"
"Mission details."
"Anything we need to worry about?"
"Probably. I haven't read it yet."
"That's not comforting."
"I'm not here to comfort you."
Sara leaned forward from the other bench. "How long until we get to the human realm?"
"About an hour until the Sazanami Gate," Marasuki said. "After that, we get handed over to the humans and board an EU cargo plane. Seven hours to Europe."
Lucas groaned. "Seven hours?"
"Yes."
"In a cargo plane?"
"Yes."
"Humans are barbarians."
I snorted. "You have not even seen the seats yet."
The carriage ride settled into a low rhythm after that. The others talked in short bursts, then quieted down. Hendrian kept pretending not to be nervous. Lucas kept pretending he was not excited. Sara kept trying to look out the window every few minutes. Tim looked half asleep already. Julia sat with her arms folded, watching me every now and then like she still could not decide what box to put me in.
Good.
I hated boxes.
The air changed before the carriage slowed.
It was subtle, but I felt it. A pressure through my skin, then a brief pull behind my ribs. The Sazanami Gate was not like normal travel. It always felt like the world took a breath and forgot where it put you.
Marasuki looked at me. "We passed through."
"I felt it."
I closed my eyes and reached outward.
First thing I checked was my old warehouse.
My old home.
Nothing.
The space where it should have been felt empty. Cold. Like the connection had been cut clean.
'My old warehouse is gone. Must've self-destructed.'
I opened my eyes again.
That hurt more than I expected.
Not enough to show. Never that. But enough that I stared at the carriage floor for a few seconds and said nothing.
The carriage rolled to a stop not long after.
When the door opened, the smell hit first.
Human realm air.
Salt, fuel, hot metal, and distant rain. Not the Demon Realm's wild edge. Not palace stone or old forests. This was a military transfer yard, all steel platforms, concrete lanes, floodlights, and guards trying very hard not to stare.
We climbed out of the carriage one by one.
A few human soldiers stood nearby in EU colors. Behind them, farther down the tarmac, a cargo plane waited with its rear ramp open and engines already whining.
Duke White stood at the center of the receiving platform.
Of course he did.
White coat. Straight posture. Face like carved stone. He looked less like a welcoming party and more like a final warning someone had dressed in noble clothing.
"Oh," I said. "Hello, sir."
"Good morning," he said. "Your plane leaves in ten minutes."
"That sounds like a handoff."
"It is."
I glanced at the others. Marasuki had already noticed the mood shift. She gave me a small nod, then started moving the siblings toward the human officers.
"You guys go ahead," I said. "I'll join you."
Sara frowned. "What if you don't?"
"I will. Don't worry."
"That is what people say before they disappear."
"I am standing thirty meters from a cargo plane, not walking into a murder cave."
Lucas looked Duke White up and down. "Debatable."
"Go," Marasuki said.
That worked better than me asking.
The others moved off toward the plane, leaving me with Duke White near the edge of the platform. The morning mist curled over the concrete, and the cargo plane's engines filled the silence with a low growl.
Duke White did not waste time.
"Both?" he asked.
I did not pretend not to know. "Yes. Both."
"Explain."
I held his stare, though my stomach still pulled tight. Not fear exactly. More like standing too close to a loaded cannon and being very aware of where it was aimed.
"I did not plan it," I said. "It happened. I like Nyx and Artemis. Both of them. We talked about it, and we are taking it slow."
His face barely moved. "You are young."
"I know."
"Compared to them, very young."
"Also know that."
"And you think knowing it makes this less complicated?"
"No." I crossed my arms. "But I'm not playing with them."
He watched me for a long moment.
"They are not ordinary women," he said. "They are my daughters. One was a general. One kept order in my city. They have bled for their people and carried more than most ever will. This is not a game."
"I know."
"Do you?"
"Yes," I said, sharper than I meant to. I forced myself to ease back. "I've seen what they can do. I've seen what they carry. I don't want to own them, fix them, or use them to make myself feel better. I want to stand with them."
His jaw shifted slightly.
"You are a half-demon. Former human. Political problem. Everything around you becomes complicated."
"Yeah," I said. "I noticed."
His eyes narrowed.
I kept going before my brain could suggest shutting up.
"I'm not asking you to like it. I'm not even asking you to trust me. But don't talk like I'm playing with them. I would fight the world for the people I care about. Already have."
"Arrogant."
"Probably."
"That is not a defense."
"It's an honest answer."
His stare sharpened, but he did not interrupt.
I let out a slow breath. "Your family name almost got me killed. I still walked back into your territory. I still stayed. I still care about them. If that makes me stupid, fine. But I'm not lying."
Silence stretched between us.
Finally, he spoke.
"Uwe told me that if I laid a hand on you, he would kill me."
I laughed under my breath. "Sounds like him."
"Do not think that makes you safe. If you break either of their hearts, I will not care if Uwe himself stands between us. I will come for you."
"I would expect nothing less."
"They deserve someone who treats them properly."
"I know." My voice came out quieter. "I'm trying to be that."
He looked at me again, not just at my face or the horns or the half-demon problem standing in front of him. It felt like he was weighing the whole mess of me and deciding how much danger I was worth.
"So this is the version of you they chose," he said at last.
"Unfortunately."
"Tch."
He turned toward the cargo plane. "Come. You'll miss your flight."
I blinked. "Wait. Does that mean you're okay with this?"
"I am not okay with this."
"Right. Of course."
"But I will wait and see," he said. "If you are lying, I will know."
I let out a breath I had not realized I was holding. "Fair enough."
He started walking.
I followed, then made the mistake of opening my mouth.
"Father-in-law?"
He stopped.
For half a second, I thought I had just died.
Then he lifted one hand in a dismissive wave and kept walking.
I muttered, "That went better than expected."
"It did not."
"Still alive, so yes, it did."
We walked the rest of the way in silence.
The EU cargo plane loomed at the edge of the tarmac, its engines already spinning up. Marasuki stood near the ramp with her arms crossed. Hendrian, Lucas, Sara, Julia, Tim, and the others were already aboard, stowing bags and taking seats.
Marasuki looked at me as I approached. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah," I said. "Just had a very intense talk with my future-father-in-law."
"Oh?" she asked, smirking. "Did you survive?"
"Barely. I think he does not want to kill me. For now."
"Progress."
"That is what I said."
She motioned toward the ramp. "Get on the plane before someone changes their mind."
I climbed aboard and found an empty seat near the middle. The cargo bay was cold and loud, exactly as promised. Hendrian had already settled by the sidewall with his arms crossed, pretending to sleep. He was not fooling anyone. Lucas kept looking around like he wanted to complain but did not know where to start. Sara was whispering with Tim. Julia watched the human crew with sharp eyes.
I dropped into my seat and pulled the folder from my bag.
The weight of it felt worse now.
Not physically. Just enough to be annoying.
I opened it and scanned the first page.
Top-level clearance.
Several redacted names.
An image of the Saintess near the front of the briefing file.
Multiple notes about monster activity over the last month. Movement changes. Attack pattern changes. Reports from border scouts. A few lines were blacked out hard enough that someone had wanted them dead twice.
"Anything interesting?" Marasuki asked from across the aisle.
"Monsters are getting organized."
"That is not interesting. That is bad."
"Both can be true."
She gave me a flat look.
I flipped to the next page and kept reading as the ramp began to close behind us. The carriage, Duke White, and the human-side transfer yard disappeared behind the metal wall.
The engines roared louder.
Outside, the Human Realm waited.
Again.
This time, I was not going in as a human soldier. Not as a prisoner. Not as a ghost from a family that never knew what to do with me.
I was going in as myself.
Ren Daimonas.