Dean: [Screaming] “Sorcerer! You're a sorcerer!!!!” [Backing away quickly] “Please, someone save me!!!!” [Falls]

  Deos: [Indifferently] “Please, calm down.”

  ||| I tried to run, but he released some auras that brought me down. I turned to him, trembling with fear. |||

  Dean: [Afraid, anxious, panicked] “Please don’t kill me!”

  Deos: “Relax, I’m not going to do anything to you. Even if I wanted to, this body is too weak to kill anyone.”

  Dean: “You… you're not going to kill me?”

  Deos: “Well, you know too much now, so killing you would be the logical option. But I can’t do anything anyway… though I won't let you escape either.”

  Dean: [Nervous and scared] “Wh… what are you?!”

  Deos: “What? I already told you. I’m Deos Abrast, the king of Demonia. Which part didn’t you understand?”

  Dean: “D… Demon? But… but you’re human!”

  Deos: “This is just a vessel for someone whose soul died long ago. Damn, what a pathetic vessel—I can’t even kill a weak exorcist with it!”

  Dean: “What are you talking about?!”

  Deos: “Listen, kid. I came to this world in my spiritual form to save my foolish sister from the hands of these human exorcists.”

  Dean: “Spiritual… form?”

  Deos: “If I came in my real body, it’d be obvious that I’m the Demon King, and that would mean openly declaring an eternal war. Anyway, I just wanted to save my sister, bring her back to our world, and end this war that’s been going on for over five hundred years in this world’s time. The reason this war started is because of my stupid sister—if she hadn’t broken the truce, they wouldn’t have captured her, and I wouldn’t have had to send envoys to negotiate with the humans. But they killed my envoys, so I had no choice but to declare war to get my dear sister back.”

  Dean: “So you're saying… once you get your sister back, the war will stop?”

  Deos: “Of course. There’d be no reason to lose more of my people's lives.”

  Dean: “Then why are you here? Wouldn’t it be better to just let your followers get her?”

  Deos: [Chuckles lightly] “They’re too weak against the current strength of humans. Some humans have evolved to match the power of a First General in my world. That’s why I came myself—to rescue her and end this war. I didn’t have time to find a proper vessel. The closest body to me before my spiritual form vanished was this one—the weak old man you’re looking at. I went to where my sister was being held, told them I’d take her back with me and the war would stop once we left this world. I didn’t expect them to agree, but surprisingly, they did.”

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  Dean: “That’s… amazing!”

  Deos: “But…”

  Dean: “But… what?”

  Deos: [Angrily and sharply] “Those bastard humans betrayed us! They were planning to kill me and my sister at the same time. It was a battle where I couldn’t even use 10% of my power. All I could do was break my sister’s seal—she helped me escape, and I ended up with the injuries you saw. She was taken again… by that one-eyed bastard!”

  Dean: “So that’s what happened…”

  Deos: “Yes. And now, all I want is to get my sister back. But I can’t do that with this body anymore.”

  Dean: “What… what do you mean by that?”

  Deos: [Smiles] “Dean Frankfurt! I’m offering you an opportunity like no other!”

  Dean: “What do you mean?”

  Deos: [With an evil grin] “Let me inhabit your body and help me save my sister—and I’ll give you the body and face you truly deserve!”

  Dean: “What are you talking about?!”

  Deos: [Still grinning] “I’ll make you handsome, with a perfect body—no, the most perfect and handsome man this planet has seen in this age! [Grabs Dean’s face with both hands] You’ll make everyone around you look ugly—even the most attractive men and boys! You won’t be that kid who was abandoned by his parents just because of his ugly face! Everyone who humiliated you will kneel at your feet begging for forgiveness! And your parents… they’ll regret what they did! Just let me be inside your body—let me save my sister, let me end this war—and you’ll become the most beautiful human being anyone has ever seen! So… what do you say?!”

  Dean: [Anger and sadness on his face] “I don’t want it.”

  Deos: [Stunned, removes his hands from Dean’s face] “What? What did you just say?”

  Dean: “I said I don’t want it.”

  Deos: [Uneasy] “You don’t want… what?”

  Dean: “I don’t want your offer. I reject it.”

  Deos: “I don’t understand… why?”

  Dean: “I already told you… I don’t want to be handsome. What would change, really? [Looks aside, disappointed] Nothing. Of course, nothing.”

  Deos: “Don’t you care? Don’t you want to improve your life?!”

  Dean: “I do want to improve it… but… [lowers his eyes] not like this.”

  Deos: “Don’t you care about fame? Popularity? The respect you deserve? What about the girls—every guy wants that! Isn’t that reality?! Why refuse something that could change your entire pathetic life?!”

  Dean: “I don’t care about any of that—except respect. I don’t care about girls, fame, or beauty. And my life isn’t pathetic. It’s just… a little hard.”

  Deos: [Calmly] “Kid… that’ll never happen in this world. No matter what you do, they’ll never accept you. No matter what you accomplish, or how good you are—someone will always convince others otherwise. That’s the nature of this society. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and you’ve lived it. No one cares about what you do unless they can look at your face with respect. You won’t get the respect you crave by staying like this. They’ll never accept you. Human society judges only what the eyes can see. Are you still chasing a dream you’ll never reach? Like trying to catch light in a jar?”

  Dean: [Hopelessly] “I… I don’t know.”

  |||Deos placed two fingers on my forehead, and suddenly I remembered every moment of my life—every bit of bullying, beatings, torture, and humiliation. Every time my head was shoved into a toilet. Every bruise on my face. Every time they stubbed cigarettes out on me. Every time they dumped feces on me in the school bathroom. Every time I was thrown into the trash while taking out garbage from the restaurant. Was I worse than garbage itself?! Every night I suffered in pain and loneliness. Every time I wanted to cry with all my might, but didn’t. All my worst memories flashed before my eyes like a film reel. My parents’ abandonment and my grandmother’s death passed before me like lightning, but I felt everything as if for the first time. My eyes welled up with tears.|||

  Deos: “It’s hard, isn’t it? Enduring all of that, knowing you can’t do anything no matter how hard you try. You’re pitiful, Dean Frankfurt. Truly pitiful.”

  |||I couldn’t stop myself. I cried. Tears poured like a dam breaking. I couldn’t hold them back anymore—I was so tired. I’d held on for seventeen years, but this… this was too much. I couldn’t hold on in that moment, not even for a minute. Is this how I’ll live the rest of my life? Alone in this house? Will I be a coward, hiding here like so many others like me? Will I give up on my dream of being accepted in this body? Will that never happen? Why are people like this?! Why do they care so much about appearances?! Appearance is just appearance, right? Is it because they’re ugly on the inside that they crave beauty on the outside? Or do they want beautiful people to show off, or to make others jealous? Why do the rich get to pay teachers for grades and be called geniuses, while the poor struggle through life, work their asses off, and are still called cheaters and liars? Looks and money are the keys to survival in this world. That’s become so clear to me. If looks are what get attention, then I have to become the absolute best—so the entire world listens to me when I merely sneeze!!! So I wiped my tears with my hand and looked up at Deos, who was staring down at me with pity.|||

  Deos: “What do you say?”

  Dean: “If I can’t speak with this face even through the biggest microphone… then I’ll choose a way to make the whole world look at me just because I sneezed!”

  Deos: [Eyes widening, pupils shrinking] “Does that mean…?!”

  Dean: [Calm and firm] “Yes. I’ll help you save your sister… and end this war!”

  Deos: [Still stunned, grinning mischievously and wickedly with indescribable joy, eyes spelling out “I can’t believe it,” voice full of glee] “Then I look forward to working with you… human… Deeaaaan Fraaankfooort!”

  Dean: [Wearing a very serious, firm, and confident expression] …

  ---

  ||| End of Chapter |||