Bloody Mary paid no attention to her husband's words or his obvious anger.
She completely ignored him.
Instead, she turned her gaze toward Lilith.
Although her face remained hidden beneath the spectral robe that covered her entirely, her voice sounded different this time.
It was still cold and frightening...
Yet it carried a clear trace of affection.
She spoke calmly.
"I haven't seen you for a very long time, my little one."
Then she added,
"Why haven't you come to visit me all these years?"
Lilith looked at her mother with obvious coldness.
The irritation in her eyes was unmistakable.
Then she answered without hesitation.
"Because I will not betray my father."
Silence filled the air for a moment.
But Lilith continued.
"And I will not speak with someone who betrayed us in the past."
The moment those words left her mouth...
The entire Spectral World fell silent.
Even the ghosts drifting through the sky stopped moving.
The gray mist froze in place.
It felt as though the world itself was waiting for Bloody Mary's response.
Mary slowly turned her gaze toward her husband.
Although her robe concealed her expression...
Her anger was so obvious that the Demon King could sense it easily.
As for him...
He chuckled softly.
In fact, he seemed pleased by what his daughter had said.
Then he looked at Lilith and said with satisfaction,
"Well done, my little one."
He turned as though he intended to leave.
Then added with obvious mockery,
"Let's go."
"It seems your mother has matters more important than us."
The moment he said that...
A terrifying surge of power erupted from Bloody Mary's body.
The entire Spectral World froze.
The sky darkened into a gloomy gray.
The countless ghosts scattered everywhere lowered their heads in terror.
The frightening spectral aura focused entirely on the Demon King.
Mary carefully kept its influence away from Lilith.
Then she spoke in a cold voice.
"Are you the reason our daughter behaves this way, Mara?"
The moment she spoke the Demon King's name...
Space itself trembled.
Deep within the Demon Continent...
A terrifying curse awakened.
An ancient curse connected to the Demon King's true name.
An enormous wave of black power surged through both worlds, rushing toward the source that had spoken the forbidden name.
Yet Bloody Mary showed no fear.
As for the Demon King...
He calmly raised a hand.
The curse shattered before it could reach his wife.
He knew that curse better than anyone.
Because he had created it himself.
Long ago...
The Demon King had decided to make his true name forbidden throughout the world.
Anyone who spoke it or wrote it...
Would immediately be known to him.
Their identity.
Their location.
Their race.
Their history.
And even more than that.
The curse would constantly pursue them.
It would rob them of peaceful sleep.
Whenever they slept...
Nightmares would attack them.
As time passed, those nightmares would slowly destroy their mind.
Until they completely lost their sanity.
Because of this...
The Demon King's true name had become one of the most terrifying secrets in existence.
Many incidents had occurred in the past because people ignored ancient warnings and used his name openly.
Since then...
Most races had established strict laws forbidding the use of his true name.
Not out of respect.
Nor solely because they feared his power.
But because they feared the curse itself.
And now...
Bloody Mary stood before her husband without the slightest concern.
As though the curse did not exist at all.
The Demon King looked at her coldly.
Then said mockingly,
"You are the only one who still insists on using that name."
Bloody Mary looked at him calmly.
Then spoke in a low and dangerous voice.
"Do you truly believe the curse you created can affect me, my husband?"
The Demon King did not answer.
He remained silent.
Because he knew the truth very well.
His curse was terrifying to the weak and to those with fragile minds.
Even some powerful beings had fallen victim to it over the years.
But before true supreme powers...
Before beings such as Bloody Mary...
That curse was little more than a simple game that could be discarded with ease.
Thus, he saw no point in arguing.
Before he could say anything...
Lilith interrupted.
She looked at her mother coldly.
Then said,
"Leave Father aside, Mother."
She continued,
"Why did you bring us here in the first place?"
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"And don't tell me you missed us."
"We both know you only care about yourself."
"You never cared about us."
Silence followed.
Bloody Mary looked at her daughter for a long time.
Then released a quiet sigh.
Her strange voice carried both authority and affection.
"I did not help your father back then because I was occupied."
She paused briefly.
Then continued.
"I was preventing certain spiritual beasts from harming the Spectral World."
The Demon King raised an eyebrow mockingly.
Then waved his massive arm.
"And you still lie with such confidence, my dear."
He laughed softly.
"Everyone knows the Spectral World is one of the strongest worlds in existence."
"There are very few things capable of threatening it."
Then he looked directly at her.
"The only thing that could truly endanger it would be the spiritual realm of the Ancient Spirit Beings used by the elves of Mira."
Lilith looked at her father.
Then nodded in agreement.
She turned back toward her mother.
"Even if what you're saying is true..."
"You could have told us."
"You could have sent a single message."
"Instead of leaving us for years without any explanation."
Silence returned once more.
Bloody Mary looked at her daughter.
Then said calmly,
"It seems you do not believe me."
Slowly, she raised her hand.
"Then see for yourselves."
In the next instant...
The world around them vanished.
When their vision returned...
They found themselves somewhere entirely different.
At the edge of the Spectral World.
At its outermost boundary.
The moment the Demon King looked ahead...
His eyes widened.
Lilith's shock was equally obvious.
But the most shocked among them was the Demon King himself.
For he sensed something incredibly strange.
Something he had never felt before within the Spectral World.
The Spectral World had always been gray.
Covered in mist.
Filled with countless ghosts and terrifying spirits.
But what stood before them now...
Was not gray mist.
It was darkness.
Absolute darkness.
A darkness that seemed to devour everything it touched.
A colossal mass of blackness stretched across the horizon.
Constantly pressing against the borders of the Spectral World.
As though attempting to consume it entirely.
The Demon King stared at the scene for several moments.
Then slowly turned toward his wife.
For the first time in a very long while...
Concern appeared on his face.
He spoke in a dangerous voice.
"Could this be..."
His eyes narrowed.
"...an invasion by the World-Wandering Creatures?"
Silence followed.
Then Bloody Mary nodded.
"Yes."
The Demon King's expression immediately darkened.
Meanwhile, Lilith continued staring at the distant darkness in disbelief.
Mary continued.
"Several years ago, some of those creatures began attempting to breach the boundaries of my world."
She gestured toward the endless darkness before them.
"At first, there were only a few."
"But their numbers increased over time."
She continued calmly.
"I managed to repel them."
"And I drove many of them away."
Her voice softened slightly.
"But I could not stop them completely."
The Demon King watched her carefully.
She continued.
"All I could do was prevent them from devouring the Spectral World."
Silence settled once again.
Then she said,
"You know the nature of those creatures."
"The true danger is not their strength."
"But their numbers."
"Their ability to spread."
"And their endless hunger to consume everything before them."
Her words were heavy.
Even for the Demon King.
He knew the stories surrounding those creatures well.
Strange beings that traveled between spiritual and material worlds.
Appearing suddenly from unknown voids.
They cared nothing for conquest.
Nothing for rulership.
Nothing for domination.
They desired only one thing...
Consumption.
The Demon King looked toward the distant darkness once more.
Then back at his wife.
The mockery gradually disappeared from his face.
If Mary had truly spent all these years containing such a threat...
Then perhaps she had been telling the truth from the very beginning.
And for the first time since meeting her again...
He found himself with nothing to say.
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
🔍 Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]