Save the date

No matter how much Jinu wanted to follow Rumi, he could not stop the concert—and upset so many demons. At least he was glad she had come. Jinu had hoped to see her before the start and explain what he did not have time to say yesterday, but something probably delayed her in the human world. For a moment, jealousy and disappointment flooded him. He could not leave and had to rely on Sussy’s insight. “Ready to continue?” Mystery asked. Abby, Baby, and Romance distracted the audience while Jinu came to his senses. Rumi’s scream… It awakened something in him. Someone. The greedy monster buried under his guilt. Exhaling through his teeth, Jinu pulled himself together. He could deal with his inner demon later, not in front of thousands of viewers. The price of his mistake now could be fatal to their entire world. “Ready.” The six songs seemed endless to him. But they achieved their goal—they received tremendous support. Gwi-Ma and any other Korean demon did not stand a chance against the popularity of the Saja Boys. After thanking their devoted audience, Jinu was the first to leave the stage. The others let him ahead, and he was grateful to them for that. The scene that awaited him at home made Jinu shudder. Rumi was hugging Derpy and crying. Her sword stuck out of the back of the bench, in front of which Sussy stood like a stone statue. Glittering blood flowed from under his torn sleeve and dripped onto the ground. “You did not take my warning seriously.” “Is that all you can say?!” Rumi shouted. The broken sound of the usually unshakeable girl’s voice broke Jinu’s heart. He slowly knelt down in front of Rumi and, stroking her tear-stained cheeks, tried to calm her down. But she pushed him away, hiding behind the tiger, and gave him a suspicious look. Jinu thought they had already overcome the mistrust. “Did you know? Did you?!” “Know what?” Jinu asked anxiously. “That Sussy…” Rumi sobbed quietly and pointed towards the cold-blooded bird-demon. ‘Did you know who he is? “No. He was given to me about twenty years ago, and I never asked about his origins.” “Who gave him to you?” After a long pause, Jinu finally said: “Gwi-Ma.” Rumi looked as if she would fall apart if he let her. Carefully lifting her into his arms, Jinu carried her into the house. His embrace helped her calm down, and he hastened to clarify the situation. “Gwi-Ma was skilled in illusions and memory alteration. He defeated many powerful opponents who fought him for the position of lord of the Korean demons through deception. Sussy and Derpy are among them.” Jinu sighed, gently running his finger along Rumi’s cheek. She was no longer crying, but her eyes—all four of them—glistened like liquid gold. Being a demon suited her. “Sussy was enchanted not long ago, he remembered his true form. But I am afraid that is all for now.” “He doesn’t remember anything?” The anger in Rumi’s voice gave way to sympathy, longing, disappointment. When Sussy first turned into a human-like demon, Jinu began to suspect that he and Rumi were connected. He just never imagined how closely. The shape of their eyes was almost identical, he should have figured it out… “Give him time.” “I’ll try…” Jinu nodded to the entering demons. Blushing, Rumi remembered the forgotten gifts from her friends, which Derpy had brought home. The box was slightly damaged, but everything inside was intact. The photos delighted the guys. Jinu rarely saw them so happy. When he picked them up from the wastelands and dark corners of the demonic world, they were just forgotten trash, too weak to grab a few souls for themselves or even get a decent place to live. Under Gwi-Ma’s oppression, the weaker ones suffered, and Jinu hated it. For four hundred years, he had grown accustomed to seeing the misery of others. He tried to convince himself that all demons, like him, deserved pain, hunger, and loneliness. Rumi helped him understand the flawed logic of this point of view. With Gwi-Ma’s defeat, Jinu got a chance to change the world he called home for good. For himself, for the Saja Boys, for other demons. “Where is Gwi-Ma now?” Rumi asked, wiping away her tears and clinging to Jinu’s side. He looked at her and smiled maliciously. “So deep that his flame froze.” “He will never return to his former power. We won’t let him,” Abby added furiously. He held a wide pink strip of leather in his hands and could not figure out on which part of the body it should be worn. “With the new lord, prosperity awaits us,” Romance said, winking at Jinu. “There’s a new demon lord?” Rumi gasped. “Is he powerful?” “He is,” Baby confirmed with a giggle. “Popular and terribly humane.” “What?” “He has his eye on you, sunshine,” Mystery sneered with one corner of his mouth. His reddish eyes appeared for a moment from under his fringe. “And I will devour your soul if you hurt him.” Jinu allowed the room to simmer in tension for a moment, then waved away the annoying guys and leaned towards Rumi. “They are rushing things. The voting is at dawn.” The last week had been very tense. First, flashes of violence began to flare up between the minor demons, then the bigger fish joined in. The Saja Boys were challenged a dozen times a day, and they, hardened by battles with the huntresses, put up a worthy fight. Jinu had to intervene only a couple of times, and he sent those angry demons to rebirth. They did not need new Gwi-Ma. “What did Sussy warn you about?” he asked, taking Rumi to his room, hoping to postpone his own explanations. “He said if the wrong half outweighs the other, I won’t be able to pass through the gateway. That the rules will change… What rules was he talking about?” Jinu bit his lip. Despite his lack of memory about his identity, Sussy understood the customs of the demonic world as if he had lived hundreds of lives in it. Maybe that was the case. Maybe he had fought Gwi-Ma for power long before Jinu became a demon… “The rules for crossing the barrier cannot be circumvented. This agreement is older than dirt,” he reluctantly admitted. At present, Rumi’s demonic half was clearly dominant, and the barrier had been sealed as soon as Gwi-Ma was defeated. “You really are unable to leave the demon world while rules have power over you. Plus, the new lord will change them as soon as he is announced. And then we will be able to return to the mortal world.” ‘For food,’ Jinu added to himself. “But… We restored the barrier…” Rumi raised her hand to her mouth and turned pale, although for a moment a look of relief flashed across her face. “It never blocked all demons, only our negative influence. You patched up the holes we used. Now only demons that feed on positive emotions can pass through it. Derpy and Sussy are among the few because, unlike demons born of humans, they have always been immortal.” “Who are they?” “The forgotten guardians of the sanctuaries.” Jinu brushed a strand of hair from Rumi’s forehead, which had fallen out of her braid. “Gwi-Ma has fallen and no longer controls the stolen energy reserves, but they are depleted. The demons were threatened with a hungry and unhappy existence, but soon they will have enough food.” “So the demons won’t stop stealing souls?” Rumi asked, frowning. “And it was all for nothing?!” “We are demons, we are fed by anger, envy, lust, fear—a mass of ugly and low feelings. The more innocent the soul, the more precious and delicious its dark side. Therefore, corrupted pure souls are the best,” Jinu’s eyes flashed like molten gold. Noticing the tension in Rumi’s posture, he smiled. “But we do not need to eat them. That is why I want us to go on stage together and sing side by side. We will get enough food for all the demons.” “But what if the new lord does not allow it?” “We just have to wait for the voting.” Jinu hugged Rumi, and she finally relaxed. In the next room, the guys were discussing the huntresses’ gifts, laughing and enjoying edible treats. But Jinu felt comfortable in Rumi’s company. They shared little personal details, talked about their habits and hobbies, danced around confessions of the most intimate kind, too inspired by freedom, but wary of unknown trouble. For the first time, Jinu was not worried about preserving his life, but about its development. It was so weird. The noise in the next room suddenly died down. Jinu immediately understood why. In front of Rumi and him, two sheets of paper with lists of candidates were woven from ashes. Smiling at each other, they ticked the same name. By noon, the lord of the Korean demons had been elected. His name was on everyone’s lips. Even Rumi said: “Congratulations, Jinu!” The rules were changed as soon as Jinu finished with the formalities. From now on, demons were allowed to go to the human world to collect energy without harming souls—Jinu did not forget about a few exceptions, because some mortals deserved to meet their death in the stomachs of demons. Rumi returned to her place and promised to organise a meeting between their friends next time. A month later, the first joint concert of Saja Boys and Huntrix took place. They gathered a decent audience, despite the decline in popularity caused by the break-up and reunion of both groups. Jinu was the first to step into the spotlight. For centuries we harvested souls, We served them to the grim lord at meals, So obedient, bitter and unarmed, We only wanted to be unharmed. From ashes dim, we rose again anew, And seized tightly the chance we could not screw, We came together like a lion’s pride, We climbed onto the stage, we did not hide. We sang to mortals of desired freedom, Of rising sun blinding us through the gloom, And of sheet lightning flashing through the night, We pretended everything was alright. But our bright hour was short indeed, We gave in to a vicious fate’s lead. When the demon lord was overthrown, His painful control we finally disowned, While our realms were split in twain, We will determine who deserves to reign. Dear maidens gifted us a new start, Which we will etch on our ruined hearts, The fiery tyrant was buried deep, Our leader will take his throne for keeps. During the fighting with demonic flames, He gave his soul for his beloved dame, With all his power and genuine care, He saved her from the infernal snare. She protected the pitiful mortals, Closed us down behind the portals, She did it, both ruthless and forgiving. But she came down to the nonlivings, Greeted us with a warm and joyful smile And offered to stop being lost exiles. From ashes dim, we rose again anew, And seized tightly the chance we could not screw, We came together like a lion’s pride, We climbed onto the stage, we did not hide. We have tasted freedom on the tongues, So, in lieu of being souls’ herders, We will give the demons admirers’ bliss. The daily routine became our peace, We have hot dates every Saturday night, Where we all hunt under the starlight. Our savior maidens we have brought close, With the intention, we caught their elbows, And sweetly whispered words of deepest trust, That since now only they hold our hearts. The audience cheered. Rumi blew a kiss to Jinu and raised her microphone to her lips. Sussy sat at the edge of the stands, dressed in an expensive suit with his usual white pattern along the body. He watched the performance as the new manager of the Saja Boys: although the demon knew very little about music, his ability to persuade even the dead helped them return to the best recording studio and to the top of the charts. “She looks so much like her mother,” Sussy said quietly. Hearing this, Jinu just smiled softly. The bird-demon’s memory was gradually returning.