the innocent demon
The demon world had always been loud.
Not with voices—but with violence.
The sky was forever stained red, as if it had been soaked in blood centuries ago. The world cracked beneath constant battles, and the air carried the distant echoes of screams and war. Yet, hidden far from it all, there once stood a forest untouched by chaos. That forest had been Lin’s entire world.
He didn’t know how long he had lived there. Time meant nothing to him. Days passed, nights fell, seasons changed—but none of it stirred anything inside him.
Once, there had been someone else.
His mother.
She used to speak to him often, her voice gentle, her touch warm. She would smile, even when there was nothing to smile about. Sometimes she would hold his face and say things he never understood.
“You’ll learn one day, Lin.”
Learn what?
He never asked.
And then, one day, she was gone.
Her body had grown cold, her voice silent forever. Lin had sat beside her for hours… maybe days. He didn’t cry. He didn’t feel pain.
He only noticed one thing.
She wasn’t moving anymore.
So he left. Years passed—or maybe decades.
Lin grew stronger, though he never tried to. Power simply gathered around him, drawn to his existence like shadows to darkness. Other demons avoided the forest. They sensed something strange about him.
Not fear.
Something… emptier. nd then, one day, the war came.
It didn’t arrive quietly.
Flames devoured the trees. The sky roared. Demons clashed, their power tearing through the land. The forest—his forest—was destroyed in moments.
Lin stood in the middle of it.
Watching.
A tree fell beside him, burning. The heat brushed against his skin. The ground split beneath his feet.
Still, nothing.
No anger.
No sadness.
No resistance.
He tilted his head slightly, observing the destruction as if it were just… happening.
When the last tree fell, and nothing remained but ash and silence, Lin turned around and walked away. He wandered without direction.
There was no place he needed to go. No place he wanted to return to.
Eventually, he reached somewhere… different.
The air there felt heavy, like it was watching him.
A shrine stood in the middle of nothingness—ancient, cracked, yet untouched by war.
And there, seated upon a throne of shadows…
Was the Demon God.
“You are strange.”
The voice echoed without sound, vibrating through Lin’s very being.
Lin looked up at the god, his expression blank.
The Demon God observed him with glowing eyes, filled with something unreadable.
“No fear. No rage. No desire.” The god leaned forward slightly. “Yet your power rivals even the oldest demons.”
Lin said nothing.
He didn’t know what to say.
“I want it,” the god continued calmly. “A fragment of your power.”
Lin blinked once. “Okay.”
For the first time, the Demon God paused.
Then, slowly… he smiled.
“So simple. You don’t even ask why.”
Lin tilted his head. “Should I?”
A soft laugh escaped the god. “No. That’s exactly why you are interesting.”
The god raised a hand, and the space around them twisted.
“There is a rule. In exchange for taking your power… I must grant you one wish.”
Lin repeated the unfamiliar word quietly. “Wish…”
“Yes. Anything you want.”
Silence stretched between them.
Lin’s gaze drifted slightly, as if searching for something inside himself. But there was nothing there.
No desires.
No dreams.
Nothing.
Then, faintly, something surfaced—not a feeling, but a memory.
Burning trees.
A destroyed forest.
The place where he had… existed.
“Stop the war,” Lin said.
The Demon God watched him carefully.
“You don’t feel anger… yet you wish for it to end?”
Lin didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t know.
“It can be done,” the god said at last. “But not directly.”
He stood, his presence expanding like darkness swallowing light.
“I will send you to the human world.”
Lin’s eyes shifted slightly. “Human… world?”
“You will be invisible there,” the god continued, ignoring the question. “No one will see you. No one will hear you.”
He paused.
“Except one.”
Lin looked at him.
“Your soulmate.”
“…What is that?”
“The one bound to you by fate. The only one who can see you. The only one who can touch you… and change you.”
For the first time, Lin’s expression flickered—just slightly.
Change?
“You must find them,” the god said. “Stay with them. Protect them.”
His voice lowered, almost like a whisper carried through shadows.
“And through that bond… life will be created.”
“Your children will be born as eggs—beings that carry both demon and human essence.”
“When they hatch, send them back to me.”
“They will end the war.”
Lin processed the words slowly.
He didn’t understand most of it.
But he understood enough.
“This will stop the war?”
“Yes.”
“…Okay.”
The Demon God smiled.
“Then go, Lin. And perhaps… learn what it means to feel.”
The world shattered.
Light.
For the first time in his existence—true light.
It was soft. Warm. Almost overwhelming.
Lin stood in the middle of a bustling street.
Humans moved around him, laughing, talking, living.
None of them noticed him.
None of them saw him.
Lin looked at his hands.
Still there.
But invisible.
He turned his head slightly, watching the strange world around him.
Voices. Colors. Movement.
So much… life.
And yet—
He felt nothing.
Somewhere in this world… there was one person.
The only one who could see him.
The one who would change everything.
Lin began to walk.
Not knowing where he was going.
Not knowing what he was searching for.
Only knowing one thing—
His story had just begun. Lin walked through the human world without direction.
The ground beneath his feet felt… different. Softer. The air lacked the heavy weight of the demon world. Everything was brighter, louder—filled with movement and life.
Humans passed through him as if he didn’t exist.
Because to them… he didn’t.
Lin watched them quietly. Some were smiling. Some were arguing. Some looked tired, others full of energy. Their expressions kept changing, shifting in ways he couldn’t understand.
Why did their faces move like that?
What made them… react?
Before he could think further—
A familiar voice echoed in his mind.
“Hey.”
Lin stopped walking.
“…God?”
The voice of the Demon God sounded slightly annoyed. “I forgot to tell you something important.”
Lin waited.
“You need to summon a spirit slave. Someone to help you adjust to that world.”
Lin blinked. “Adjust?”
“Yes, adjust. Most demons don’t need one…” The god paused, then added bluntly, “but you are a bit of an idiot.”
Lin didn’t react.
“As your god,” the voice softened just slightly, “I see you as my child. I can’t let my child wander around in misery.”
Lin tilted his head faintly.
Misery?
He didn’t feel miserable.
But… he also didn’t feel anything else.
“Just join your hands,” the Demon God instructed, “and say ‘spirit slave.’”
“…Okay.”
Lin stood still in the middle of the street as people unknowingly passed through him.
He slowly raised his hands, pressing them together just as he was told.
Then, in his usual calm tone, he said—
“Spirit slave.”
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then suddenly, the air around him shifted.
A faint glow appeared between his hands, growing brighter and brighter until it forced Lin to narrow his eyes slightly.
The light twisted, forming a shape.
A figure.
And then—
Crack.
The light shattered like glass. The light from the summoning had barely faded when Lin looked down—
And blinked.
A small, round creature sat on the ground, its tiny paws resting on its belly.
A hamster.
It twitched its nose… then spoke.
“Ahh… finally. That was a rough summon.”
Lin stared.
“…You are my slave.”
The hamster immediately straightened, as if used to this.
“Yes, I am your slave,” it said calmly. “My name is Han.”
Lin nodded once.
“Tell me what we need to do.”
Han’s tiny eyes gleamed with surprising intelligence. “Simple. Follow me.”
And just like that, Lin began walking behind a talking hamster.
Through a world he didn’t understand.
Toward something he couldn’t name.
Meanwhile—
In a quiet human apartment building, a man stepped out of his door, keys in hand.
His name was Yuvan.
Twenty-five years old. Game developer. Ordinary—on the surface.
He stretched slightly, yawning as he checked his phone.
“Milk…” he muttered. “Why do I always forget to buy it earlier…”
He walked toward the elevator, pressing the button lazily. There was someone already inside.
A boy.
No… not just a boy.
He had horns.
A tail swayed faintly behind him.
And beside him, sitting calmly on the floor—
Was a hamster.
Yuvan stared.
For a full second.
Two.
Three.
“…What?”
The word slipped out before he could stop it.
The boy turned his head.
Their eyes met.
Lin looked at him quietly.
“…You can see me.”
Yuvan’s heartbeat stuttered.
A strange feeling crept up his spine—not fear.
Not exactly.
Something sharper.
Something… curious.
“…Of course I can see you,” Yuvan said slowly, narrowing his eyes. “You’re standing right there.”
His gaze flicked over Lin again—horns, tail, unnatural presence.
Then to the hamster.
Then back.
“…I’m either dreaming,” Yuvan murmured, “or this just got very interesting.”
Han squeaked softly. “Oh. That must be him.”
Lin looked down. “Him?”
Han nodded. “The one who can see you.”
Silence filled the elevator.
Thick.
Heavy.
Yuvan’s lips slowly curled into a smile.
Not warm.
Not friendly.
Dangerous.
“Well then…” he said, voice low and smooth, “seems like I just found something rare.”
He stepped closer.
Lin didn’t move.
Didn’t react.
Didn’t understand.
Yuvan stopped right in front of him, studying his face carefully.
“…What are you?” he asked softly.
“A demon,” Lin replied without hesitation.
Another pause.
Then—
Yuvan laughed quietly.
“A demon… in my building.”
His eyes darkened slightly, something calculating flickering beneath the surface.
“Looks like today won’t be boring after all.” The elevator hummed softly as it descended.
The space between them felt… charged.
Yuvan was still staring at Lin, studying every detail—the horns, the tail, the unnatural calm in his eyes.
No fear.
No confusion.
No hesitation.
It was unsettling.
And fascinating.
Then Lin spoke.
“I want you to bear my children.”
Silence.
Yuvan blinked.
Once.
Twice.
“…I’m sorry—what?”
Lin continued in the same flat tone, as if stating something completely normal.
“In egg form,” he added. “You are my soulmate.”
The elevator suddenly felt much smaller.
Yuvan stared at him, trying to process what he had just heard.
Then—
He laughed.
Not loudly.
Not wildly.
But slowly… like he was savoring something unexpected.
