The Demon King looked at his wife, Mary, Queen of Ghosts, and let out a small sigh before saying,
"So that was what you were doing all those years..."
Then a faint smile appeared on his face as he continued,
"I always trusted that you weren't a coward, and that you had your own reasons for not joining my war against the dragons."
The moment he said that, Mary turned toward him and replied in a low voice,
"I never thought you had become that shameless, my husband."
Then she added with obvious sarcasm,
"Changing your decisions this quickly... you truly deserve the title of Demon King."
The Demon King's face immediately reddened when he heard his wife's words.
He realized that she had completely understood what he had been thinking.
Wanting to escape the embarrassing situation as quickly as possible, he turned toward his daughter and said,
"My little one, why don't you welcome your mother?"
Then he quickly continued,
"You haven't seen her for a very long time."
"Why don't the two of you talk for a while?"
He pointed toward the distant black darkness surrounding the Spectral World.
Then added,
"As for me, I'll go take care of my wife's little problem."
He laughed lightly as he continued,
"You two talk. I'll be back shortly."
The moment he finished speaking, he shot forward at tremendous speed toward the black fog.
He was trying to hide his embarrassment.
He had finally understood that his wife had only appeared after he had fully recovered because she needed his help.
And so he had decided to help her without forcing her to ask directly.
He knew her very well.
If she had asked him for help outright, she would have reminded him of it every single time they met afterward.
Without a doubt, she would have said,
"You fool, couldn't you understand what your wife wanted on your own?"
Besides, this task suited him far more than it suited her.
Mary ruled over ghosts, death, and souls.
But he...
He was the Demon King.
The owner of a terrifying destructive power capable of erasing those strange creatures from existence entirely.
Thus, he rushed toward his task, leaving his wife and daughter alone.
Mary watched him as he disappeared into the distance.
She felt a small amount of irritation at how correct his reasoning had been.
He had realized that he was wrong to accuse her of betrayal.
And he had tried to make up for it immediately.
He had even given her a chance to be alone with their daughter.
That action alone was a clear apology.
And although she did not show it...
She genuinely felt sorrow for not being able to help him in the past.
Now, after he had finally recovered, she had come seeking his assistance.
For a brief moment, she felt as though she were taking advantage of him.
But his recent actions made her forgive him from the bottom of her heart.
Even so...
She had no intention of telling him that yet.
At least not before repairing her relationship with their daughter.
Mary turned her gaze toward Lilith.
The last time she had seen her had been many years ago.
And now...
Her daughter had grown so much.
She had become more mature.
More beautiful.
Mary looked at her calmly and spoke in a gentle voice filled with affection.
"My little one..."
"Look at yourself."
"You've grown into such a beautiful young woman."
Then she stepped a little closer and added,
"Tell me..."
"Did Mara treat you well all these years?"
The moment Lilith heard her mother's words and saw her standing so close, her face immediately turned red.
An intense sense of embarrassment suddenly overcame her.
After everything she had said earlier...
She was beginning to realize that perhaps she had been harsher than she should have been.
So she answered while trying to avoid looking directly at her mother.
"I... I'm fine."
Then she added shyly,
"I've become one of Father's nine loyal rulers."
Mary's eyes widened slightly.
Then a proud smile appeared on her face.
She felt genuinely happy upon hearing that.
But the smile quickly disappeared.
A frown suddenly formed as she said irritably,
"What?"
"Your father allowed you to share the title of ruler with those filthy creatures?"
Crossing her arms, she continued angrily,
"I need to speak with him immediately."
"How could he allow such a thing?"
Then she lifted her head proudly and added,
"You are the heir to the Demon Kingdom."
"The Princess of Demons."
"Not merely one ruler among nine."
She shook her head in obvious displeasure.
"It seems I'll have to talk to your father when he returns."
"He still makes foolish decisions sometimes."
Lilith heard the obvious displeasure in her mother's voice regarding her current title.
She quickly spoke before Mary could start planning an argument with her father.
"No... no, Mother."
Then she hurriedly added,
"I was the one who asked for it."
Mary looked at her in surprise.
Lilith continued,
"After I became strong enough."
"I'm the one who asked Father to grant me that title."
Silence filled the air for several moments.
Then Mary laughed softly.
It was an extremely rare laugh.
Very few people had ever seen her laugh.
She admired her daughter's integrity.
Lilith could have demanded any position she wished simply because she was the Demon King's daughter and the kingdom's heir.
No one would have opposed her.
But she hadn't done that.
Instead, she chose to earn the title only after she truly deserved it.
And that filled Mary with pride.
She stepped closer to her daughter.
Then gently embraced her.
Although the spectral robe concealed her expression...
The smile behind it was obvious in her voice.
She held Lilith for a long time.
A very long time.
Long enough for Lilith to start feeling embarrassed.
She was no longer a little child.
She had become one of the Nine Demon Rulers.
A powerful warrior feared by many enemies.
Yet at this moment...
She felt like a little girl once again.
Even so, she said nothing.
Deep down, she knew she had been wrong to attack her mother with harsh words immediately after their reunion.
She hadn't even given her a chance to explain what had happened in the past.
So she simply allowed her mother to hold her for as long as she wished.
Time passed unnoticed by either of them.
Finally...
Mary pulled back slightly.
Then she raised her black-gloved hand.
Gently ruffling Lilith's hair, she said in a soft voice overflowing with affection,
"You've grown up, my little one."
Lilith's cheeks reddened slightly.
But she could find no words to answer.
At that moment...
Mary turned her gaze toward the distant horizon.
Toward the black fog.
And she noticed that large portions of it were beginning to disappear.
The Spectral World itself had become calmer.
So she said,
"It seems your father is making progress."
Then she extended a hand toward Lilith.
And added,
"Come."
"Let's go see whether he's finished his work yet."
Lilith nodded.
Then the two of them flew together toward the Demon King's location.
Deep within the black fog...
The Demon King advanced calmly.
His demonic aura alone was enough to annihilate the interdimensional creatures approaching him.
The instant they touched that aura...
They broke apart and turned into black ash.
He didn't even need to attack.
His power alone was enough to erase thousands of creatures from existence.
And so he continued forward.
Step after step.
Until he finally approached the source of the fog itself.
There...
He stopped.
His eyes narrowed.
For he had finally discovered the cause of everything.
Before him stood an enormous black rift.
A gigantic dimensional fracture.
It looked like a wound torn directly into the fabric of reality itself.
From within it poured that strange black aura.
And endless swarms of interdimensional creatures emerged without pause.
The Demon King stared at the rift silently.
Then he immediately understood the truth.
Mary had been telling the truth from the beginning.
This rift was not newly formed.
It was ancient.
So enormous that it could only have reached such a size after years of continuous expansion.
Had it not been contained throughout all that time...
The Spectral World might already have been destroyed.
At that moment, the Demon King finally understood the magnitude of what his wife had been facing alone.
Mary was undeniably powerful.
One of the strongest beings in existence.
But the nature of her power was different.
She was the Queen of Ghosts.
The sovereign of souls and death.
The dimensional rift, however...
Was not something that could be sealed through ghostly powers alone.
She could contain it.
Slow its expansion.
Prevent it from devouring her world.
But she could not close it permanently.
He, on the other hand...
Was different.
He was not merely a demon.
Nor merely a king.
He was the Demon King himself.
The bearer of the absolute destructive power for which his bloodline had been feared since the dawn of the world.
The king chuckled softly.
Then stepped toward the colossal rift.
As endless interdimensional creatures continued pouring out of it...
A cold smile spread across his face.
And in a voice filled with confidence, he said,
"So..."
"You're the source of all this annoyance."
Slowly, he raised his hand toward the dimensional rift.
His smile became frightening.
Then he added,
"Well then..."
"It's time for you to disappear."
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
🔍 Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]