The Missing Aethers
Aether…?
Among the countless natural sinkholes in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula—collectively known as cenotes—there is one especially beautiful spot called Ik Kil. It sits near the Chichen Itza ruins and is a regular stop for tourists visiting the site. Somewhere along Ik Kil’s walls, a hidden space had remained concealed. Until Aether was discovered, no one on Earth had known it existed.
With a sharp riiiip, the portal tore open and Sehwa and I stepped out. Three guards monitoring the area around Ik Kil flinched violently. They shouted in Spanish and swung their rifles toward us, but one flick of Sehwa’s wrist sent gray smoke pouring from their bodies. They collapsed on the spot.
Sehwa gathered the smoke rising from the three corpses, rolled it into a tight sphere, and crushed it in her fist. A dry crunch sounded as the smoke disintegrated into powder and sifted through her fingers like stone weathered to dust by centuries of wind and rain.
Having just erased three human souls without a flicker of emotion, Sehwa gazed at the moonlit interior of the cenote and let out a soft sigh of wonder.
“It’s so beautiful… I want to swim here…”
When I didn’t answer, she turned and arched an eyebrow.
“Master!”
“What?”
“I said I want to swim!”
“Then swim. Take your clothes off if you want.”
“Hmph…”
At my half-hearted reply, Sehwa clenched both fists and began throwing furious punches at the empty air. Her little shadow-boxing routine was so adorable I couldn’t stop a chuckle from slipping out.
“You can’t detect Aether anymore, can you?”
She froze, then drooped.
“No… I can’t.”
Ever since the Aether bound to her had transformed into something entirely different, her detection ability had vanished. Still, it didn’t matter. I already knew exactly where it was.
“I’m sorry…”
“For what?”
“For not being useful…”
“You get gloomy over the strangest things. Come here.”
Sehwa trotted over obediently. I pulled her close and planted a firm kiss on her forehead, telling her it was fine. Then I floated into the heart of the cenote and pressed my palm against the deepest wall where stone met water, pouring magic into it.
Crunch.
The rock crumbled exactly as the guards’ souls had, revealing a narrow passage just wide enough for a single person. I flashed a grin at Sehwa, who was watching with wide, curious eyes.
“Shall we?”
“Can’t I wait outside? It’s scary…”
Scary. Right.
“Then stay here.”
“Umm… No, I’ll go with you after all, Master.”
After all that flip-flopping, I let out a tired sigh and took the lead. Sehwa followed right behind, clutching the hem of my shirt like a child.
The passage was pitch black, but sharpening my vision let me see clearly. After walking for some time the tunnel widened, only to end at a blank wall. I frowned.
“What the hell?”
“What’s wrong…?”
I ignored Sehwa’s worried question and focused harder. There was supposed to be a rainbow-colored Aether here—Rose’s Aether. So why was nothing there?
This was definitely the right place. There was only one hidden cavity in Ik Kil’s walls. Then why… why was it empty?
Calm down.
It had to be here somewhere. It had to be. I spent a long time scouring every inch of the cenote.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Until now my plans had proceeded more or less as designed, even if a few details shifted. They had never strayed from the larger framework. This, however, was different. This had gone completely off the rails.
“This… this is impossible…!”
I smashed through walls, doubling and tripling the hollow space. I even tore open the entire cenote that had served as a tourist rest area for ages. Still, there was no sign of Rose’s Aether.
My body shook. Blood welled from my clenched fist.
Sehwa kept glancing at me, fidgeting anxiously, but I had no composure left to reassure her. I was barely holding myself together—how was I supposed to calm her?
Yuria’s Aether had been exactly where I remembered. So Rose’s should have been here too. Why wasn’t it? There were no traces of anyone taking it. No one should have been able to take it.
“I don’t understand… I just don’t understand.”
“M-Master… what don’t you understand…?”
Sehwa’s lips had gone deathly pale. My current state must have terrified her.
Fine. Let’s calm down. If Rose’s Aether isn’t here, we'll look for Caroline’s and Celine’s first.
“Let’s go somewhere else.”
The Demon King’s imperious tone had slipped out. This wasn’t the time to play Song Jihyeok.
“Y-Yes!”
Sehwa nodded frantically. I took her through the portal. Our next stops were Portugal and Greece.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
BOOM!CRACK!
“Kyaa!”
My right wrist bent at a grotesque angle after I punched the base’s wall in blind fury. Shards of concrete dug into my flesh and blood poured down. At the pointless violence, Sehwa screamed and whirled on Marcela.
“Heal him right now. Hurry!”
“Y-Your Majesty… we don’t have any medical equipment here.”
“Use magic, use anything—just heal him!”
“I-I’m terribly sorry, but I cannot use healing magic… None of the other demons can either…”
Sehwa’s face twisted into something demonic.
“Useless whore. Get out.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am!”
As Marcela fled, Sehwa tried to soothe me while I trembled on the throne.
“Master… please calm down…”
With three Aethers missing, how the hell was I supposed to calm down? Still, she was right. The situation was too grave to waste time on rage.
“Haa…”
When I exhaled deeply, Sehwa sighed in relief.
“Master… you should get into the medical device…”
“It will heal naturally. Don’t worry. It doesn’t even hurt.”
“But—”
“I said don’t worry.”
“…Yes.”
Elbow on the throne’s armrest, chin in hand, I thought in silence.
The remaining three don’t appear in volume six? That made no sense. The developers had officially confirmed five heroines. Besides, Rose—Stella Hayley from volume three—was living peacefully on Earth right now. Of course the story might have changed because I, the Demon King, existed in this world. Even so, she had to appear. Stella was real. She had to appear.
Had the Doctor or Marcela taken the Aethers? Impossible. I monitored the Doctor constantly, and Marcela’s loyalty was absolute. They would have reported it immediately.
I ran through every other hypothesis, but none fit. Thinking was pointless. I should have verified every Aether before I began targeting Sehwa. My own complacency had caused this.
Yet… when I thought about it, there was no reason to panic. There were zero traces of theft. The Aethers simply weren’t where they were supposed to be. I had monitored their locations the entire time even if I hadn’t retrieved them myself. In other words, those three Aethers had never been in those places to begin with.
Then all I had to do was corrupt Yuria, keep watch over Rose, and wait. I already knew the truth: there was no guarantee volume six would follow the same flow as volumes one through five.
Stick to the plan. No need to change anything. Yes. It’s fine. Even if Caroline and Celine showed up transformed with a dramatic entrance, Sehwa and Yuria could handle them.
“Marcela!”
At my thunderous call, Marcela rushed in from outside and dropped to her knees.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Suspend the Aether replication research for the time being. While I focus on Yuria, search for the original Aethers. They may be somewhere else entirely.”
“Understood.”
I wanted to order her to scour the entire universe for Caroline and Celine, but that vast expanse made it impossible. If only I knew which galaxy they came from, the task would be simple. Unfortunately, trashy harem games rarely provided exact coordinates. All I knew was that they had come from another world in a distant galaxy. That information was useless.
Buzz! My phone vibrated. The sender was Yuria. The messages were addressed to Kim Taegon.
[ الرسائل النصية ]
Yuria: Dad, where are you? Why didn’t you come home yesterday? Why can’t I reach you?
Kim Taegon: Sorry, sweetheart. A sudden business trip came up… I was busy all night.
Yuria: Does it have to do with Jihyeok?
Kim Taegon: It’s a different project. I’ll definitely come home today.
Yuria: Okay.
After checking and rechecking my plans, the bones in my wrist had already knit back together and the embedded fragments had been pushed out. The Demon King’s body truly was convenient.
I rose from the throne and gave Sehwa a gentle, fatherly smile—the warm expression of Song Jihyeok. Only then did she finally relax. She even shot me a glare, her sharp eyes surprisingly intimidating.
“Let’s go back.”
“Yes…”
I couldn’t afford to waver. I simply had to do what I needed to do.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Click.
“All done.”
I finished expanding the device’s capacity and wiped sweat from my brow. Yuria answered in an awkward tone.
“Th-thank you.”
The lab currently held me, Sehwa, Yuria, and the Doctor. Since Yuria had no idea Sehwa was my subordinate, she couldn’t help but watch her nervously.
“Think nothing of it.”
I smiled brightly and sent Sehwa a signal—take the Doctor aside for a private talk. She approached the equipment-obsessed scientist with a shy expression.
“Doctor?”
“Hm?”
“I… have something to say. I wanted to apologize for what happened last time…”
“I see.”
Her genuinely remorseful tone and posture were perfect acting. I had been worried after the Canada incident, but it looked like I didn’t need to be.
The Doctor’s face brightened as she led Sehwa into the inner room. I stood, picked up the finished device, and fastened it around Yuria’s wrist.
“Jihyeok… you really shouldn’t do this inside the lab…”
She scolded me in a tiny voice. Apparently her conscience bothered her with Sehwa so close.
What do you mean I shouldn’t? You stood still the whole time I was putting it on.
“If you make a face like that, you’ll only invite more suspicion.”
“The situation… feels too uncomfortable…”
“You were talking with Sehwa earlier. What did she say?”
“She asked how I charged the device…”
“And what did you tell her?”
“That… I met someone I like…”
“Good. Don’t forget what comes after in two days.”
“Okay…”
Yuria retreated shyly. Watching her, I smiled to myself.
Song Jihyeok, Kim Taegon, and Sehwa are all working together to deceive you. How could you possibly resist?