It was inside a cave where a campfire was lit. Clyde and other imperial wizards were spending their last night in the dungeon to kill a demon contractor.
There was no encouraging sense of accomplishment or liberation about the fact that they were about to leave the dungeon. Dry arrogance to calmly kill time ahead of natural consequences. Or there was only a degree of awe and jealousy felt towards the overwhelmingly strong person. But none of those things existed inside Clyde.
“Lord Clyde, are you really trying to stay alert?”
Then, an elderly imperial wizard approached him with a cautious attitude and asked. He had the longest career among the imperial wizards. At least he had the right to speak, so he came to Clyde on behalf of everyone to confirm that he was on guard duty.
Clyde nodded. “Go rest.”
He was fine, and his physical condition was superior, so there was no need to worry. But he didn’t add such explanations.
It was a short answer to the point of being rude. Still, the imperial wizard seemed to be used to it and agreed without showing any displeasure. “Thank you for your consideration.”
Then, unlike when he approached, he walked away from Clyde at a faster pace and blended in with his colleagues.
Clyde knew there was a definite distance between him and them, although it wasn’t far. It was only natural.
Clyde was a person who made people uncomfortable just by his status or his accumulated prestige. In addition, his unsociable personality blocked access to others, like a sanctuary you couldn’t enter.
The night fell. Before they knew it, the imperial wizards had fallen into a deep sleep, and Clyde was lost in thought as he gazed up at the star-studded sky.
It’s inconvenient. That was his thought about the imperial wizards.
In fact, this dungeon could be easily cleared by Clyde alone. However, out of consideration of the imperial family’s reputation, this type of non-cooperative cooperation was maintained for a long time.
Clyde always lived his life in a state of tension. And that tension got even higher when he was with people. It had to be that way. Because there was a secret that shouldn’t be revealed.
-Don’t you want to eat human dreams?
Recently, he had been wandering around the dungeon almost non-stop with the imperial wizards, who made him more tired than the demon, so he was very tired as well as nervous. His half never missed the gap in his mind.
-In particular, don’t you want to taste Theresa’s dreams? You brat.
Clyde wanted to scream out a vicious threat, telling him to shut up, but her persevered, holding the holy relic tightly in his grasp.
-But it seems like you were wrong. It seems that Theresa Squire has fallen in love with Damian.
Griiit. Clyde gritted his molars and squeezed the glass bell so hard that his hand bled.
-No one likes you, Clyde.
The demon continued to mock him, giggling as to what was so exciting.
Clyde ignored the voice, but then his chest felt tight, and he took out the wedding ring hanging from his necklace. It was the ring he shared with Theresa when they got married in Delve Dungeon. He put on the ring on his left ring finger.
Sometimes, when he felt unbearable, he put the ring on like this. Then he definitely felt better, both his mood and his patience.
-Look. In the end, Theresa stopped loving you too, right?
Hihihi. The sound of ridicule was annoying, and he ended up reacting to the demon’s mockery without realizing it.
“You have a long tongue. At any rate, all you can do is talk about it in my head.”
This time, the demon seemed to be in a very bad mood, and an eerie energy swept over his body.
-Wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t provoke me?
Its voice became even more sinister.
Clyde scoffed at the trivial threat and cut his palm long, creating a wound.
Shudder! Then, the power of the holy relic was unleashed much more powerfully.
I guess this is the end for today.
Clyde stared at his blood-dripping hand, waiting for the demon to disappear. At the end of his warm gaze, there was the wedding ring that lost its pair. It suddenly occurred to him that his miserable situation fit him perfectly.
This was his reality and limitation. It would be impossible for him to want something more from Theresa. He was a half-demon who shouldn’t coexist with humans.
“Clyde.”
At that moment, a sweet, soothing voice was heard.
Clyde’s eyes widened when he noticed the woman who came straight ahead without him even noticing before. A blackthorn crown over her purple hair, light gray skin, long black, black-painted lips, and red eyes.
“It’s been a while since I last saw you.”
She was Lillith, his mother and the queen of the demons.
Lillith swept Clyde’s clear cheeks with her long, black nails.
“Put it away.”
“Don’t be so mean. Didn’t you miss your mom?”
“Get your hands off me!”
“Shhh.”
Lillith put her finger over her black lips.
“I’m showing an ecstatic dream to the humans over there. How sad would it be if you woke them up from making noise?”
It was literally bullshit. How can a human being put to sleep by the Monarch of Dreams wake up from a mere sound like this?
Clyde wanted to push Lillith immediately and show some kind of resistance. Still, the reality was that all he could do was lose control of his limbs and not be able to move.
“If those humans die, I will kill you somehow!”
“Oh my.”
Lillith let out a sad sigh at his son’s threat.
“Your humanity is always cute, but honestly, it’s a bit annoying. Why don’t you come home now?”
Clyde laughed at her remark. “Is there even a home for me in hell?”
“My castle is your home. There is a lot of work to be done as the next great monarch, so I guess you’ll stop playing house now.”
Lillith said so and put her black nails into her son’s heart.
“—!!” Clyde fell forward without even being able to scream.
Lillith pulled her nails out of his heart. But not a single drop of blood came out. It was natural. This wasn’t actually piercing of the body but merely an act of making a crack in the protective layer of the relic.
“Wake up, Baby.”
“…”
Then Clyde, who had fallen into Lillith’s arms, slowly rose up. His whole body was filled with emotion and demonic energy. Soon, he raised his head completely, and the pupils in his eyes were brightly revealed. It was a perfect red.
“You’re here, Mother.”
Lillith smiled at her beloved son but then looked gloomy as the power of the relic still enveloped his body.
“I’ve been saving my strength for a long time to wake you up. It seems like it’s still not enough to escape the shackles of the holy relic.”
Demon Clyde hugged his grieving mother. “It’s okay. But you brought me out like this, right?”
Those words aren’t just meant to comfort the heartbroken Lillith. Demon Clyde was thrilled at the moment when he finally regained control of his body after being unable to come out for so long.
“Yes. Let’s go home and find a way.”
The demon shook his head. “No. I still want to stay in the human world.”
“Why?”
The moment the demon’s red eyes touched the ring, an ecstatic smile appeared.
“There is someone I want to meet.”
* * *
It was the fourth floor of the main building of Valhalla. That floor was used only by the blood relatives of the Willow family. After inspecting Clyde’s room, which was only occasionally dusted because it wasn’t in use, the servant turned around and looked surprised.
“You’re here, Young Master? But what happened—”
Snap! The demon snapped his fingers, and the servant fell to the floor in a deep sleep.
“That’s boring.”
The human world was so boring, even all the creatures that make up this place. However, the reason he broke out of the dungeon and returned to Valhalla was because he wanted something.
The demon was happy and whistled. His steps stopped in front of a large mirror. Tsk. Looking at his unsightly reflection in the mirror, he involuntarily clicked his tongue.
“The unanswered brat.”
What do you do when your face is handsome? Even though he said that he’s like a beggar now. His other half had the worst sense of aesthetics. His long bangs combed down in fear that his eyes turning red when he lost control was the worst. Always buttoning up his tie neatly all the way to the neck was also the worst. Going around plain without a single piece of jewelry was also the worst. Everything about him was truly the worst.
“What kind of confidence do you have in a subject that is nothing but a shell?”
The demon began to fix the mess that his stupid, poor half had done to his body. His hair was naturally tousled, exposing his forehead; the tie constricted his neck was thrown into the trash can. It was worth watching because he didn’t even button up all the way. Still, he wasn’t satisfied.
The demon opened the dusty jewelry box and took out the earrings and bracelets that had been sitting there for a long time without ever seeing the light of day. Tuk, tuk. He mercilessly pierced his ears and hung his earrings.
“Hmm. It’s much better this way.”
Aside from his nasty personality, his shell, which always looked like an excellent model student, quickly transformed into a bully.
“As expected, I look much better like this.” The demon looked at himself in the mirror and smiled as if he was finally satisfied.
He had to pretend to be human, so his eyes were turned to blue, which was still acceptable. Just like that, he stomped out of the room, putting his hands in his pant pockets. Then he came face to face with the chairman.
“…Clyde?”
The chairman doubted his eyes. This was because his grandson, who always maintained neat appearance, had an unconventional appearance in many ways.
It was inside a cave where a campfire was lit. Clyde and other imperial wizards were spending their last night in the dungeon to kill a demon contractor.
There was no encouraging sense of accomplishment or liberation about the fact that they were about to leave the dungeon. Dry arrogance to calmly kill time ahead of natural consequences. Or there was only a degree of awe and jealousy felt towards the overwhelmingly strong person. But none of those things existed inside Clyde.
“Lord Clyde, are you really trying to stay alert?”
Then, an elderly imperial wizard approached him with a cautious attitude and asked. He had the longest career among the imperial wizards. At least he had the right to speak, so he came to Clyde on behalf of everyone to confirm that he was on guard duty.
Clyde nodded. “Go rest.”
He was fine, and his physical condition was superior, so there was no need to worry. But he didn’t add such explanations.
It was a short answer to the point of being rude. Still, the imperial wizard seemed to be used to it and agreed without showing any displeasure. “Thank you for your consideration.”
Then, unlike when he approached, he walked away from Clyde at a faster pace and blended in with his colleagues.
Clyde knew there was a definite distance between him and them, although it wasn’t far. It was only natural.
Clyde was a person who made people uncomfortable just by his status or his accumulated prestige. In addition, his unsociable personality blocked access to others, like a sanctuary you couldn’t enter.
The night fell. Before they knew it, the imperial wizards had fallen into a deep sleep, and Clyde was lost in thought as he gazed up at the star-studded sky.
It’s inconvenient. That was his thought about the imperial wizards.
In fact, this dungeon could be easily cleared by Clyde alone. However, out of consideration of the imperial family’s reputation, this type of non-cooperative cooperation was maintained for a long time.
Clyde always lived his life in a state of tension. And that tension got even higher when he was with people. It had to be that way. Because there was a secret that shouldn’t be revealed.
-Don’t you want to eat human dreams?
Recently, he had been wandering around the dungeon almost non-stop with the imperial wizards, who made him more tired than the demon, so he was very tired as well as nervous. His half never missed the gap in his mind.
-In particular, don’t you want to taste Theresa’s dreams? You brat.
Clyde wanted to scream out a vicious threat, telling him to shut up, but her persevered, holding the holy relic tightly in his grasp.
-But it seems like you were wrong. It seems that Theresa Squire has fallen in love with Damian.
Griiit. Clyde gritted his molars and squeezed the glass bell so hard that his hand bled.
-No one likes you, Clyde.
The demon continued to mock him, giggling as to what was so exciting.
Clyde ignored the voice, but then his chest felt tight, and he took out the wedding ring hanging from his necklace. It was the ring he shared with Theresa when they got married in Delve Dungeon. He put on the ring on his left ring finger.
Sometimes, when he felt unbearable, he put the ring on like this. Then he definitely felt better, both his mood and his patience.
-Look. In the end, Theresa stopped loving you too, right?
Hihihi. The sound of ridicule was annoying, and he ended up reacting to the demon’s mockery without realizing it.
“You have a long tongue. At any rate, all you can do is talk about it in my head.”
This time, the demon seemed to be in a very bad mood, and an eerie energy swept over his body.
-Wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t provoke me?
Its voice became even more sinister.
Clyde scoffed at the trivial threat and cut his palm long, creating a wound.
Shudder! Then, the power of the holy relic was unleashed much more powerfully.
I guess this is the end for today.
Clyde stared at his blood-dripping hand, waiting for the demon to disappear. At the end of his warm gaze, there was the wedding ring that lost its pair. It suddenly occurred to him that his miserable situation fit him perfectly.
This was his reality and limitation. It would be impossible for him to want something more from Theresa. He was a half-demon who shouldn’t coexist with humans.
“Clyde.”
At that moment, a sweet, soothing voice was heard.
Clyde’s eyes widened when he noticed the woman who came straight ahead without him even noticing before. A blackthorn crown over her purple hair, light gray skin, long black, black-painted lips, and red eyes.
“It’s been a while since I last saw you.”
She was Lillith, his mother and the queen of the demons.
Lillith swept Clyde’s clear cheeks with her long, black nails.
“Put it away.”
“Don’t be so mean. Didn’t you miss your mom?”
“Get your hands off me!”
“Shhh.”
Lillith put her finger over her black lips.
“I’m showing an ecstatic dream to the humans over there. How sad would it be if you woke them up from making noise?”
It was literally bullshit. How can a human being put to sleep by the Monarch of Dreams wake up from a mere sound like this?
Clyde wanted to push Lillith immediately and show some kind of resistance. Still, the reality was that all he could do was lose control of his limbs and not be able to move.
“If those humans die, I will kill you somehow!”
“Oh my.”
Lillith let out a sad sigh at his son’s threat.
“Your humanity is always cute, but honestly, it’s a bit annoying. Why don’t you come home now?”
Clyde laughed at her remark. “Is there even a home for me in hell?”
“My castle is your home. There is a lot of work to be done as the next great monarch, so I guess you’ll stop playing house now.”
Lillith said so and put her black nails into her son’s heart.
“—!!” Clyde fell forward without even being able to scream.
Lillith pulled her nails out of his heart. But not a single drop of blood came out. It was natural. This wasn’t actually piercing of the body but merely an act of making a crack in the protective layer of the relic.
“Wake up, Baby.”
“…”
Then Clyde, who had fallen into Lillith’s arms, slowly rose up. His whole body was filled with emotion and demonic energy. Soon, he raised his head completely, and the pupils in his eyes were brightly revealed. It was a perfect red.
“You’re here, Mother.”
Lillith smiled at her beloved son but then looked gloomy as the power of the relic still enveloped his body.
“I’ve been saving my strength for a long time to wake you up. It seems like it’s still not enough to escape the shackles of the holy relic.”
Demon Clyde hugged his grieving mother. “It’s okay. But you brought me out like this, right?”
Those words aren’t just meant to comfort the heartbroken Lillith. Demon Clyde was thrilled at the moment when he finally regained control of his body after being unable to come out for so long.
“Yes. Let’s go home and find a way.”
The demon shook his head. “No. I still want to stay in the human world.”
“Why?”
The moment the demon’s red eyes touched the ring, an ecstatic smile appeared.
“There is someone I want to meet.”
* * *
It was the fourth floor of the main building of Valhalla. That floor was used only by the blood relatives of the Willow family. After inspecting Clyde’s room, which was only occasionally dusted because it wasn’t in use, the servant turned around and looked surprised.
“You’re here, Young Master? But what happened—”
Snap! The demon snapped his fingers, and the servant fell to the floor in a deep sleep.
“That’s boring.”
The human world was so boring, even all the creatures that make up this place. However, the reason he broke out of the dungeon and returned to Valhalla was because he wanted something.
The demon was happy and whistled. His steps stopped in front of a large mirror. Tsk. Looking at his unsightly reflection in the mirror, he involuntarily clicked his tongue.
“The unanswered brat.”
What do you do when your face is handsome? Even though he said that he’s like a beggar now. His other half had the worst sense of aesthetics. His long bangs combed down in fear that his eyes turning red when he lost control was the worst. Always buttoning up his tie neatly all the way to the neck was also the worst. Going around plain without a single piece of jewelry was also the worst. Everything about him was truly the worst.
“What kind of confidence do you have in a subject that is nothing but a shell?”
The demon began to fix the mess that his stupid, poor half had done to his body. His hair was naturally tousled, exposing his forehead; the tie constricted his neck was thrown into the trash can. It was worth watching because he didn’t even button up all the way. Still, he wasn’t satisfied.
The demon opened the dusty jewelry box and took out the earrings and bracelets that had been sitting there for a long time without ever seeing the light of day. Tuk, tuk. He mercilessly pierced his ears and hung his earrings.
“Hmm. It’s much better this way.”
Aside from his nasty personality, his shell, which always looked like an excellent model student, quickly transformed into a bully.
“As expected, I look much better like this.” The demon looked at himself in the mirror and smiled as if he was finally satisfied.
He had to pretend to be human, so his eyes were turned to blue, which was still acceptable. Just like that, he stomped out of the room, putting his hands in his pant pockets. Then he came face to face with the chairman.
“…Clyde?”
The chairman doubted his eyes. This was because his grandson, who always maintained neat appearance, had an unconventional appearance in many ways.
