It took Bryce a while to find his voice.
"No wonder... No wonder I've always felt that something was different about you two all these years. You weren't the same brats who used to cry whenever Hadi and Hiro bullied you... especially Shin."
"They were children, of course they would cry when they got beaten," Tristan replied matter-of-factly.
"Then why? If you two aren't truly human, you could've easily dealt with me. Why wait until now?" Bryce asked.
Tristan sneered. "Did you not hear me the first time? It's precisely because you're not even worth a fraction of our attention that we couldn't be bothered, even when you ran around thinking you were the one in control."
Bryce recalled all the years he'd spent building his organisation, accumulating his ill-gotten wealth, all for the sake of one day destroying the Keirs. And when that plan failed, he'd endlessly devised new ways to deal with Shin.
Yet it turned out he'd been fighting against a demon all along?
His entire life had revolved around revenge and defeating Shin, but the latter had never even considered him an enemy, much less a threat.
Had he been nothing more than a clown to these two all along?
Bryce "..."
Behind him, his subordinates kept shouting his name, demanding to know what they were supposed to do. The reality of their situation was simply too outrageous for them to process.
"Ha... Hahahaha!" Bryce burst into laughter, as though he'd finally lost his mind. "If that's the case, how do I become one of you? How many humans do I have to sacrifice?"
Tristan stared at him as though he were an idiot.
Shin scoffed. "Your idea of demons is nothing like what we actually are."
Bryce paid no attention to his words. Instead, he continued spouting nonsense, telling Shin that they could put the past behind them since Shin wasn't even the real one. He even claimed that he had plenty of experience and wouldn't mind becoming a subordinate to the demons.
When neither of them showed any intention of granting his wish, Bryce's lips curled into a sinister smile.
"Well, since you claim to be demons, you wouldn't really care if I blew all of us up here, would you?"
Before either of them could react, Bryce pulled the trigger, setting off the timed bomb.
The plane exploded in an instant, and no one from Bryce's side survived.
Even Shin and Tristan were caught off guard. Although the dark mist had shielded them from the worst of the blast, their human vessels were still vulnerable. A human body was far too fragile to withstand such destruction.
Shards and pieces of metal were embedded in Shin's body, along with a deep wound in his abdomen.
Tristan was in no better condition, with his head almost blown apart.
Bryce must have thought that was the end of them. However, Shin easily trapped the souls of everyone aboard within a blood array.
Normally, the Light Realm was responsible for guiding departed human souls, while the Demon Realm had absolutely nothing to do with them. But since Bryce had practically begged for it, Shin decided to grant his wish.
With only their souls remaining, Shin effortlessly opened a passageway meant for the dead.
Bryce stared in terror at what appeared to be an endless, pitch-black void.
"Now you know how to be afraid?" Tristan said with a smile. "Since you enjoy pretending to be crazy, why don't you enjoy your relocation to the Demon Realm?"
Bryce and the other souls barely had time to react before the passage closed.
"Ah, I forgot to remind them to avoid the Soul Devourer demons at all costs." Tristan tilted his head.
"Does it matter? Even if they survive, they'll last a few minutes at most." Shin's attention was fixed on his own tattered appearance.
The Demon Realm was never meant for humans, and there was a reason for that. Even if Bryce managed to avoid the Soul Devourers, most demons regarded human souls as little more than condiments for their cultivation or toys to amuse themselves with.
"Can you restore us to our original condition?" Tristan asked as they floated in the air.
Shin frowned. Unless he reversed time itself, restoring their vessels with his healing abilities alone wouldn't be easy. Unfortunately, reversing time would undoubtedly attract the attention of the Light Realm.
"Let's find somewhere to stay first," he said.
--
Yeri blinked in disbelief.
"This should've gone smoothly. I'd calculated exactly how much time I needed to restore this body, but some people are simply tired of living," Shin said casually.
Yeri understood that he was referring to Hiro shoving her. Shin had lost control after witnessing it, unleashing his madness and nearly bringing the entire human realm to an end.
"Do you know what happened to Bryce and his people in the Demon Realm?" she asked.
Shin smiled meaningfully. "Everything happening here is also known to the version of me in the Demon Realm, after all. We're one consciousness."
"And?" Yeri prompted.
"It means that all those times Bryce set his sights on you, all those times he wanted to harm you... What do you think the me as the Demon Emperor would do?"
Yeri "..."
Did Bryce even know that Shin wasn't just any demon?
Perhaps if he ever had the chance to meet the Mad Emperor, he'd finally understand what it truly meant to be in hell.
-
By the time the wedding festivities finally came to an end, darkness had already fallen.
The moment their wedding car left the venue, it was immediately surrounded by reporters and people who had been waiting outside.
With so much happening that day, from the clan elders' reluctance to accept Yeri, the elaborate arrangements Shin had made just to marry her, the sudden appearances of Shin and Tristan, Ellis's arrest, and the wedding itself, people simply couldn't get enough of the drama.
"What are the security personnel doing?" Shin frowned in annoyance as their car came to a halt.
"There's a crowd all the way to the highway... It's quite appalling." The driver shook his head, equally baffled. Anyone would think there was a national rally taking place.
Shin glanced beside him and found Yeri already asleep, he knew she must have been utterly exhausted. He had noticed that when they left the venue, she could barely lift her wedding gown as she walked.
Carefully, he adjusted her position, allowing her head to rest against his shoulder.
"Shin Keir! Please, just answer one question!" Someone knocked on the car door from outside.
"Are you really going to send your own uncle to prison? How did you know he was involved with Bryce Gate?"
Seeing that it would take some time before they could leave, Shin simply used his abilities again, compelling the crowd to part and clear a path for their car despite his already deteriorating condition.
The driver stared in utter disbelief as the people surrounding them suddenly stepped aside. However, he quickly seized the opportunity and drove forward.
Shin felt his muscles stiffen. A patch of skin on his arm peeled away and fell off like a piece of paper. It was his body's silent protest against his repeated overuse of power.
--
Three days after their wedding, the excitement surrounding the event had yet to die down. Netizens and the media were still discussing every detail.
SJ Entertainment, Saeki's company, had also received countless calls from businesses hoping to collaborate with the couple or Yeri individually. Magazines were requesting exclusive interviews, while various brands were eager to secure their endorsement.
Several people had also gained sudden fame through their association with Yeri. Among them were Xian Song, Nina, the maid of honour, Jj Zhi, and especially Lianna Arvind.
The piano piece Lianna had performed at the wedding was now in high demand. The fact that she was Zahn's ex-wife had also made headlines, with netizens eagerly dissecting their past relationship.
Yeri finally found some time to check her social media account and update her name to Yeri Zhi-Keir.
She was utterly dumbfounded when she discovered that she had somehow accumulated 35 million followers.
What the hell was going on?
She had even surpassed the follower counts of many globally recognised celebrities, athletes, and politicians!
Then she remembered that Shin also had a personal account under the name 'S', so she decided to take a look.
145 million followers
Yeri "...?!"
Okay, perhaps she had been a little too conceited for thinking that 35 million was such a big number when Shin was clearly a globally recognised figure.
Still, what exactly were all these people following him for?
She scrolled through his posts. Legal notices, statements defending her against haters, and reposts of content from her own account.
That was practically his entire page.
"Ready?"
Shin approached, dressed casually in a white T-shirt and denim jeans.
Yeri looked him over before nodding. It was rare to see him dressed so casually.
They were about to leave for their honeymoon, although Shin had kept their destination a surprise.
"Does your husband look handsome?" Shin asked with a grin.
Yeri scoffed. At least he had the conscience to restore his face to normal, even if the rest of his body still looked like a zombie.
"Thank you for not giving me a fright every time I open my eyes in the morning anymore."
-
At the airport, people were quick to recognise them. Even though they were in the restricted VIP area, Yeri could still feel countless eyes fixed on them.
Would she ever get used to this?
Her phone rang, and when she swiped to check the notification, she found a message from Elder Madam Keir reminding her about proper manners and etiquette. It was just one among the many messages of the same nature she had received.
Ever since the old matriarch heard the news that Tristan was alive, she had suddenly made a remarkable recovery and was now discharged from the hospital.
With nothing better to occupy her time, she had apparently decided to focus on criticising Yeri, constantly nagging her about etiquette and the importance of maintaining the family's reputation.
"What's the matter?" Shin asked.
Yeri shrugged. "Family duties?"
Shin glanced at her phone, took it from her, and promptly blocked Elder Madam Keir and the other elders who had been messaging her.
"What are you doing? I can handle it," Yeri said.
"Let me remind you that they're humans. You don't have to appease them. If you can handle it, then focus more on me. I want my wife's attention all to myself."
"I know, but just like you, I also have responsibilities as a human. Maintaining appearances and pacifying people are among them," Yeri explained.