"King!" one of the hunters cried out, stepping forward.
Carla raised her hand.
"Stop. You can't do anything to him. You'll only get yourself killed."
"But—"
"Look at him," Carla said.
"If you still don't understand, then listen carefully. He is not an S-class demon. He is SS-class."
Her eyes never left King's body, hanging in the air.
King thrashed.
His breath came in broken gasps.
His legs kicked, finding nothing.
Carla clenched her fist until her nails dug into her palm.
"SS… class?"
"That's beyond our level."
"I've never even heard of an SS-class demon crossing the barrier into our world."
"This is it… the beginning of the end," a heavyset hunter muttered, collapsing to his knees in terror.
"Henry," another hunter snapped, glaring at him.
"You dragged us here to die."
"What? No!" Henry swallowed hard.
"I thought he was S-class. Who would've imagined an SS-class demon from legend could be summoned—by a kid without even a rank?"
He glanced at Vera.
All eyes turned toward her.
"You demon brat—"
"You brought destruction to this world."
"You're a cultist!"
"What the hell did I do wrong?" Vera yelled back.
"I just did what Henry told me!"
"You're both demon worshippers!"
"Huh?" Henry blurted.
Carla raised her hand.
"Enough."
Then she turned to Alastair.
"What will it take for you to release him?"
"I already told you," Alastair replied.
SS-class…
How quaint.
The classification meant nothing to him.
Whatever label this world placed on him was irrelevant.
He would be leaving it soon anyway.
"Why do you want to meet Hyde so badly?" Carla asked.
"That's none of your concern."
"Release him. Let my people withdraw. Then we can talk."
"Very well," Alastair said.
"But if you refuse, you all die."
He loosened his grip, lowering King to the floor—but kept a firm hold on the top of the boy's head, preventing him from moving.
With his free hand, he gestured toward the other hunters.
"Leave."
Carla turned to her team.
"Remember this. What happened here must never be disclosed. If the existence of an SS-class demon becomes public knowledge, you will face severe punishment."
"We understand. Thank you, Captain Carla. Please… stay safe."
"Even if we survive today, it won't matter. If SS-class demons can cross into our world, the apocalypse is inevitable."
"Captain Carla, you have to kill that girl. She summoned an SS-class demon—she's a harbinger of disaster!"
The hunters shouted as they fled.
"Keep talking and I'll kill you myself," Vera snarled, stepping forward with her sword.
"Where do you think you're going?" Alastair said, extending one hand.
Power surged—and he dragged her back to his side.
"Let go! I said let go!" Vera thrashed.
King struggled as well.
"Stop wriggling. This is why I hate children."
He released a suppressing force, freezing both of them in place.
"Enough," Carla said.
"Please release them and talk to me."
Alastair let go.
Vera and King glared but sank to the floor under Carla's stare.
"Why do you want to see Hyde?" Carla asked.
"I need him to open a dimensional gate. I must return to the world I came from."
"How can I trust that you only want to return—and not open a gate to bring an army here?"
"Why would I?" Alastair replied.
"What would I gain?
On the contrary—
if I fail to return within three days, and that child cannot use her time reversal for what I need…
I will reduce this world to ashes."
"…You plan to take her with you?" Carla said.
"That won't be allowed."
"Then your world will perish."
Alastair's gaze bore into her, crushing and absolute.
Carla looked between him and Vera.
"Then let's find Hyde first," she said at last.
"We'll decide the rest afterward."
"Agreed."
"The problem is we've lost contact with Hyde and Elijah. We only know they went to Thaubia two weeks ago—and they've been moving in and out of the area."
"Take me there."
"I need clearance from headquarters."
She made the call.
"They're sending a small aircraft. Departure in fifteen minutes."
"Try anything," Alastair said,
"and your headquarters will cease to exist."
...........................................
The aircraft departed for Thaubia, a fourteen-hour flight.
Alastair sat alone in the back row.
He neither slept nor spoke.
Were they taking care of Grace properly?
I should be at her side right now.
His fingers curled, one by one.
If anything happens to her…
I will destroy that world.
He thought of Grace's body—left behind when he was summoned.
If they wished to stop him from restoring her soul, destroying her body would be the most efficient solution.
The thought made his chest tighten.
"Hey," a low female voice said.
"Mind if I sit?"
He looked up.
Simone.
He nodded once.
Simone took the seat beside him.
She watched him for a moment.
"You weren't always a demon," she said.
"Were you?"
"I became one today."
She was silent, studying him—not with fear, but with recognition.
"That explains it," she said at last.
"Cases like yours are rare. In all my years… I've never seen one."
Alastair held her gaze.
"Why?" he asked.
"Why do humans become demons?"
A pause.
Then—
"…Can they ever become human again?"
Simone did not answer.
"I've heard," she said,
"that when a human suffers pain so great their soul can no longer bear its own shape…"
She paused.
"…it breaks."
Her eyes did not leave his.
"And when a soul breaks completely, it becomes something else.
Something colder.
Something that does not heal."