Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – The Return of the Demon God

Erin ground her teeth together and tore the shroud away.

The body that lay revealed was grotesque. The blood had been drained so completely that the flesh clung to the bones like stiffened leather. Most horrifying of all was the throat—half torn away, as if some beast had sunk its fangs in and ripped it out.

Yes, she knew this sight. Too well. She had seen such bodies before, eighteen years ago. Every corpse that monster had left behind had looked exactly like this.

“…The Demon God has returned,” Erin whispered.

The moment her eyes confirmed it, certainty filled her. After eighteen long years, the being had come here again.

The Demon God—real, present, no longer a nightmare consigned to memory.

At her words, Ten’s eyes widened, disbelief written across his face. “What? Commander, but… surely—”

“That the Demon God exists only in legend?” Erin’s voice cut him off.

How many times had she heard those very words in her life? That the Demon God was no more than a fable, a tale to frighten children?

But she knew better. He had stood before her. He had looked into her eyes and mocked her, promising they would meet again.

How could such a creature be nothing more than myth? Somewhere unseen, she could feel it now, smiling that beautiful, hideous smile, taunting her from the shadows.

Erin set her hand on Ten’s shoulder and leaned closer. “Tell me, do you place your faith in the empty words of men who know the Demon God only from ink on a page? Or…”

Her fingers dug in, grip tightening until Ten’s breath caught.

“…or do you think the word of the woman who saw him with her own eyes might be the more accurate?”

Ten tried to keep his face neutral, but the pain etched into his brow betrayed him. His shoulder might well have splintered beneath her hand. “I—I spoke thoughtlessly, Commander,” he managed at last.

Erin regarded him in silence, then allowed a thin, humorless smile to creep across her lips. She patted his shoulder once, almost gently.

Finally, after years of waiting, she could utter the words she had burned to say.

“He has silver hair and dark green eyes. Search the capital. Turn every stone. Find him.”

Ten wanted to protest—wanted to tell her the order was reckless, impossible—but when he met her gaze, the madness of anticipated vengeance blazing there, the words shriveled in his throat. He looked away.

***

The knightly order was in turmoil. They could not disobey a direct command from their commander, yet doubt simmered openly among them. Ten, alone, held his silence.

“Really?” one muttered. “Just because she was the sole survivor of that village back then, she thinks she can identify the culprit now?”

“Watch your tongue,” another hissed. “That was the Commander’s order.”

Ten scowled at their muttering, but it was clear the doubts were shared. Several nodded along, lending their agreement.

“No, Exo’s right,” said another. “Think about it. What if it isn’t the Demon God she described? What if she’s wrong? She’s already made up her mind it’s his work—”

“And your point?”

“My point is, if it isn’t the Demon God, then we’re wasting time chasing shadows while the real killer walks free. People will die.”

Ten’s brow furrowed deeper, anger rising.

Erin was not called the Night Demon simply for her resemblance to the horror. She possessed a gift no ordinary mortal did—the Eye of Truth. No disguise, no glamour could conceal a monster’s true form from her sight.

Every knight knew it. If Erin said it was the Demon God, then it was. That was all.

“Have you ever known the Commander to be wrong in her judgment?” Ten asked quietly, his voice a growl.

A reluctant answer: “No.”

“Then shut your mouths and do as she commands.”

The same man who often played the fool had become a beast when Erin was involved. He snapped the words like fangs, and the others grimaced.

“Damn, Ten,” one said with a smirk. “Why do you always lose your mind the moment it concerns her?”

“And you realize you’re worse this time, right?” another chimed in. “You were the first to find the body. Maybe you’re still shaken. That it?”

Ten said nothing, his downturned eyes making his perpetually aggrieved expression even more pitiful.

“You lot could also stop saying things that warrant sharp reactions,” he muttered at last.

The words chilled the air around them. A red-haired knight stepped forward, scowling, barring Ten’s path.

But Ten only lifted his chin, defiant. “If I’m wrong, then refute me. Go on, Neo.”

Neo ran a hand through his hair with exasperation. “Unbelievable. Look around you—this is madness. Anyone can see that.”

Everyone knew Ten’s reputation. He followed Erin blindly, without question, as though devotion itself were his profession. But now, he wasn’t merely devoted. He was fanatical. And that grated on Neo.

“You trust her blindly, I get that,” Neo continued. “But this—this is a monster we’re talking about. If she’s letting her emotions drive her, we could all be paying the price.”

Ten clenched his jaw.

“What if it isn’t the man she suspects? What if this killing wasn’t the Demon God’s doing at all? Then we’ll be chasing ghosts while another fiend goes free, feeding on innocents.”

Neo sighed as silence stretched. Even a zealot had to recognize the logic. “Look,” he added, softening, “none of us doubt her strength. Hell, she’s my role model. The youngest commander in history, chosen unanimously at twenty-three—and the only one in existence with the Eye of Truth. But she’s not herself right now, and you know it.”

Ten’s lips tightened.

“This isn’t the ideal Commander Erin we all look up to,” Neo said firmly.

“That much is true,” another knight agreed.

At last, Ten lowered his gaze. His silence was concession enough. Neo clapped his shoulder as if to reassure him. “We only meant we should tread carefully.”

“…You’re right. I reacted too sharply,” Ten admitted.

“Exactly. You’re on watch tonight anyway, aren’t you? Get some rest.”

Neo passed by him, patting his shoulder in passing. Ten watched his back retreat down the corridor, then turned toward his quarters.

There would be no rest for any of them. Not while this killing hung over them.

And yet, when he reached his room and closed the door, a strange smile crept across Ten’s lips, unbidden, as though he found some secret amusement in it all.

***

The murder caused an uproar. That such a thing had happened within the capital itself—a city long rumored safest, steeped in holy power—was scandal enough. That the killer might be a monster made it worse.

As Erin climbed into a carriage at someone’s summons, her thoughts churned.

I know better than anyone that letting emotions lead will only ruin everything. And yet…

She closed her eyes, pressing her palm against the ache in her brow.

The victim’s name had been Nelly Partman. A young woman, her family said. She had gone only to the market to buy provisions. The last person to see her alive had been an apple seller. After that—nothing. Until her desiccated body was found.

She vanished into thin air, only to return as a mummified corpse.

The rumor had already swept the capital.

The imperial court was pressing for answers, but that was not the most troubling part.

The summons had come from her adoptive father—the Duke of Ferr. Since the day she became commander, he had never once called her to his estate.

Not that she had ever lived there. Legally they were family, but she had not spent a day beneath his roof. That had been a mercy; had she done so, she would surely have borne the brunt of all the distinctions between child of blood and child by law.

The Duke had never interfered in her life so long as she did not disgrace the family name. But now, for him to summon her meant one thing: the imperial family’s pressure had extended even to House Ferr.

This is growing more tangled than I expected.

Erin exhaled a silent sigh and turned her eyes toward the window. The thought of vengeance had burned bright at first, but already something else pressed in—an emptiness she could not name. A hollow space spreading through her, stripping her of strength.

The carriage jolted to a halt. Erin stepped down and lifted her gaze.

The Duke of Ferr’s estate loomed above her, magnificent, befitting one of the empire’s most powerful men.

It had been years since she last saw it. As she stood in the drive, an all-too-familiar voice greeted her.

“Lady Erin, you have arrived.”

The butler was waiting at the entrance. Erin hesitated, then gave a stiff nod. The title sounded strange. She had grown accustomed to “Commander.” “Lady” felt alien on her ears.

“My lord is expecting you,” the butler said. “Please, allow me to show you in.”