An indescribable fear seized Shin, so overwhelming that he abruptly turned around, his crimson eyes searching for the source of this dreadful sensation.
His gaze swept across the chaotic heavens before narrowing toward the ruined wedding venue below.
Then, in the distance, he saw Tristan.
And the person he had just dropped.
Shin didn't even need to rush toward Yeri himself, his dark mist gathered in an instant before shooting toward her, ready to catch her falling body.
Yet, from such a great height, Yeri's trajectory suddenly shifted. An invisible force dragged her in another direction, pulling her away from the dark mist racing toward her.
Before she could comprehend what was happening, she found herself face-to-face with a man so breathtakingly handsome that he was practically blinding. Not only was his face striking, but his entire being seemed to radiate light.
"I trust you can persuade the Demon Emperor to put an end to this absurdity, Empress Jewel," he said bluntly.
"How?" Yeri asked, bewildered.
"Make him heed your demands."
With a sweep of his hand, the Light Emperor unleashed his power. A massive golden cage materialized around Yeri, trapping her within its confines and blocking Shin's dark mist from reaching her.
Shin's fury became palpable.
His dark mist writhed violently through the air, lashing against the golden cage in a relentless assault.
In the blink of an eye, Yeri found herself caught between two opposing forces, with both sides hurling their powers at each other as casually as though they were exchanging blows in an ordinary sparring match.
But what shocked her beyond words was Shin's appearance.
His skin was peeling away, and half his face had become almost unrecognizable. To put it bluntly, he looked as though he had suffered the most severe burns imaginable. The sight was made even more terrifying by the dark mist swirling around him and the pools of blood suspended in the air.
Yeri was at a loss for words.
Perhaps Shin's malicious aura was affecting her as well, for an inexplicable dread crept through her body, leaving her trembling despite her desperate desire to reach him.
After all, Shin's current vessel was human. Fighting countless beings from the Light Realm while continuously forcing his power beyond the limits of his mortal body had already pushed him to the brink. With his true power still restrained, the Light Realm was gradually gaining the upper hand.
"Brother Shin, stop!" Yeri screamed. "Don't do this! I know you don't understand what you're doing right now, but don't let it control you!"
Unfortunately, no matter how desperately she shouted or how hard she tried to make him understand, Shin seemed unable to hear her.
Worse still, despite his horrifying condition, he showed no apparent signs of pain.
Just then, the dimensional rift widened further, and an immense surge of demonic energy poured forth.
The barrier the Light Emperor had erected earlier began to crack, fissures spreading across its radiant surface.
The Light Emperor's pupils contracted, he could feel the entirety of this realm beginning to crumble.
Yeri stiffened, her gaze locked upon the enormous rift above.
As the demonic energy drew closer, it felt as though an invisible force were tearing her soul from her body as the golden cage protecting her began to melt under its overwhelming influence.
"Empress Mother, what's wrong?!" Xati's expression changed when he saw Yeri's condition.
She was growing increasingly pale, struggling to breathe as she clutched her chest.
Desperately, he commanded his serpent to coil around her, hoping to shield her from the approaching energy.
"Don't bother," Tristan said coldly. "Your serpent is a demonic entity itself. It cannot protect her. To this realm, demonic energy is akin to poison. And to a human, exposure to such power is fatal."
"Shut up! Shut up! Why do you keep talking?! Do something!" Xati shouted in a panic.
Desperate and frantic, he released his remaining two serpents, sending them hurtling toward Shin in an attempt to stop him.
Meanwhile, Shin watched as the dimensional rift continued to widen.
He watched the Light Realm's beings descend into despair and fury. He watched as the world around him was gradually swallowed by darkness.
Yet none of it mattered.
Within the depths of his consciousness, the madness stirred with unbridled delight, surging with an almost euphoric excitement as it urged him to destroy everything before him.
What was it that he truly wanted again?
For a fleeting moment, the question surfaced within his mind.
Then his gaze shifted.
The golden cage had disappeared, replaced by Xati's enormous serpent, which had coiled itself around a woman within its protective embrace.
Her face was deathly pale as she struggled to draw breath, one hand clutching her chest. Her translucent skin had begun to darken and corrode, as though the demonic energy were slowly consuming her very existence.
Shin "..."
Nearby, Tristan raised his sword toward the woman before turning his gaze toward him.
His lips moved, uttering words that Shin could not hear amid the deafening chaos.
Yet, somehow, he understood them: "Why prolong her suffering when she is destined to perish anyway? Your Majesty, allow me to grant the Empress a peaceful end for the second time."
For an instant, everything within Shin went still.
Then his entire being surged forward.
"Paris Helle! You dare court death?!"
Tristan smiled, believing Shin had finally regained some semblance of reason.
But before he could respond, something shot out from the dimensional rift.
A crimson strand, swift as lightning, tore through the air and severed the arm holding Tristan's sword.
"Ah..."
Tristan could only stare as his severed arm fell away, his expression momentarily blank with disbelief.
Even so, the loss of his arm barely held his attention.
From the dimensional rift, countless crimson strands were now forcing their way through the opening, twisting and intertwining like a monstrous web of living veins.
They writhed through the heavens, weaving together into the semblance of an enormous creature made entirely of blood-red threads.
The sight sent a chill through even the most powerful beings present.
It seemed the Demon Emperor had sensed that Yeri was in danger.
And now, the thing emerging from the dimensional rift was furious.
Shin grabbed Tristan by the collar, but the latter couldn't be bothered and shouted, "Hurry up and seal the rift first! Where's the key?"
"I'll have your head first!"
"Emperor Hexion, snap out of it!" Tristan pointed at Yeri. "You want to come into this realm? Have you forgotten why only a fragment of your consciousness could enter this world? If you unintentionally cause your Empress's death again, even if you take my life, are you so certain you can bring her back to life a second time?"
Tristan knew the Demon Emperor could hear him through Shin.
Shin gritted his teeth, looking as though he were fighting against himself with every ounce of his strength.
At that moment, Yeri lost consciousness again, while Xati bawled his eyes out beside her.
Shin released Tristan and gathered Yeri into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest.
Tristan seized the opportunity and nodded toward the Light Realm.
"Now!"
Just as they had done when fighting the Mad Emperor in the Demon Realm, countless seals materialised in the air. Enormous golden shackles emerged from them and shot toward Shin, wrapping around his legs and body.
Shin could feel the madness within him thrashing violently as the restraints bound it back into its cage, sealing it once more within the abyss that lay deep inside him.
High above, the dimensional rift also stopped widening.
"Return," Shin commanded.
The enormous blood-red threads retreated into the rift, disappearing from sight.
When they finally landed on the ground, the surrounding landscape had become a desolate wasteland, utterly devastated by the battle.
"Is Empress Mother going to die again?" Xati asked between sobs, his little hand clutching Yeri's dress.
Shin ignored him and immediately began restoring time.
"Emperor Hexion, who's to say this won't happen again? How do you intend to compensate us for the destruction caused by your madness? And what about the humans who died?" the Light Emperor demanded angrily.
"Time will return everything to the way it was," Shin replied calmly.
Above them, the dimensional rift gradually began to close, while the demons that had entered the human realm were swept back into the Demon Realm.
"You think that simply because you can restore time, the trouble you've caused can be erased as well? You've violated numerous agreements between our realms!"
Shin paused for a moment before replying, "I apologise. You should go to the Demon Realm and demand compensation."
The beings of Light erupted into furious protests, their voices overlapping.
Go to the Demon Realm, where the real Mad Emperor resides? For what? To fight another battle?
"We are not demons who delight in violence and senseless bloodshed!"
"Trapped in these human vessels, there's only so much we can offer here. Besides, it's not as though human wealth holds any interest for you," Tristan chimed in. "But the Demon Realm has something you want, doesn't it?"
The Light Emperor's expression darkened.
Indeed, only the Demon Realm possessed what they sought. As strange as it might sound, the aura of its soil, once cleansed, was beneficial to their cultivation.
--
When Yeri regained consciousness, she found herself standing before the altar.
"Huh...?"
Still dazed, she struggled to steady her unsteady legs. Before she could stumble, however, a firm arm wrapped around her waist, keeping her upright.
"How are you feeling?" Shin whispered into her ear.
Yeri touched her forehead and glanced around in confusion.
Wasn't this the moment when everyone had been arguing?
The clan elders, her parents, Ellis, and the others were all standing in the exact positions she remembered from before Hiro had shoved her.
Yeri's mind was in a tangled mess.
Had it all been a dream? A nightmare? Or merely a delusion?
However, the moment she lifted her gaze to look at Shin, she realised that everything that had happened was no dream.
Shin still looked exactly as he had when fighting the beings of the Light Realm earlier.
Anyone else would have screamed in terror at the sight of him, or perhaps even fainted from a heart attack.
After all, the man holding her was practically a walking corpse. No, a zombie!
Yet, strangely enough, no one around them seemed to react to his horrifying appearance.
"Afraid? Am I too ugly now?" Shin asked.
Yeri "..."
No. Ugly was an understatement.