From Human to Skeleton: Revived with Infinite System Crystals

"As you know, the human realm is under the Angelics' umbrella, and even if he is with you now, he belongs with us." Gripping her shirt slightly, preparing for anything, the Demon King, however, took a sigh of breath before taking a seat in his throne chair. Even in his smaller state, he put a hand over his head in exhaustion.

"Why did you come here on your own will? What you say is technically true, however, your coming here without direct orders hints towards you being here for more personal reasons," the Demon King queried.

"There are a lot of moving pieces going on, young lady. You should start to realize shortly that not everything is as black and white as you have been led to believe," he continued, his voice laced with a mix of weariness and wisdom.

"I am, in fact, worried about Ty, however, but you can help out in other ways."

"I will see to it that he returns here in one piece, but I will request of you a task," he said, his tone suggesting a deeper plan at play.

Kieran, visibly worried, with sweat dripping down her forehead and her voice shaky, asked, "An-and what would that be exactly?"

The Demon King, looking intently at her, posed a crucial question, "Let me ask you this first, do you trust Erebos?"

The question threw Kieran back a bit, but she responded promptly, "I don't know if I can trust him, but he does seem to have some larger plan going on. It's hard to say who is benefiting from it."

The Demon King, palming his hands together over his chin, stated in agreement, "His actions are not random; he is planning something." Then, probing further, he asked, "Are you aware of him attacking a woman named Jade?"

In confusion, she replied, "Jade? I can't say I've heard that name before."

"I guess it doesn't matter too much, but she is Ty's girlfriend before he was 'killed'," the Demon King said.

"Erebos attacked her and others but left her alive for whatever reason."

Kieran, placing a finger over her lips, stated, "I never heard about this happening. We didn't even get alerted that this happened on Earth."

"There is a lot you aren't aware of. Even now, creatures from the Vale of Despair leak into the human world, neglected by the Angelic race because it's deemed not important enough to deal with," the Demon King informed her, his tone indicating a mix of frustration and resignation at the situation.

Kieran's voice rose slightly, a hint of disbelief underlying her words, "Surely you lie. Earth is a holy relic, free from any otherworldly intervention! It was created so we c—"

The Demon King's interruption was swift and decisive, silencing her mid-sentence. "Then go find out for yourself," he stated, his voice carrying an edge that left little room for argument.

Kieran paused, her expression shifting from conviction to confusion. "Huh?" she uttered, the simplicity of her response betraying the sudden uncertainty she felt.

"I can't just go to the human world," she said, a touch of frustration creeping into her voice. "It was hard enough getting tasked to investigate the souls being stolen, not to mention that was your work!"

"You managed to come here, didn't you?" The Demon King stated, a slight smirk playing on his lips, his hand thoughtfully resting on his chin.

"Yes, but that's only because I moved up in rank from B to A, so I have more authority to venture around without supervision. But even now, I could get in serious trouble," Kieran admitted, her voice conveying a mix of pride and concern.

"Well, if you want to help Ty, you're going to need to head to Earth regardless. And when you are there, you will see that my words are true," the Demon King said, his tone firm yet carrying an undercurrent of sincerity.

"And what on Earth would benefit Ty?" she asked, confusion evident in her tone.

"Simple," the Demon King replied, his voice calm yet carrying a weight of certainty. "I believe the issue is that the body I gave him just isn't suitable for his soul, for one reason or another. All you need to do is collect his body and bring it here. Once he finishes his current mission, we will give him back his own body, which will make returning him back to Earth easier anyway."

Perplexed, Kieran furrowed her brows, voicing her concern, "And what if he doesn't survive to make it back here?"

"Don't worry about that. The planet is my domain, and I don't need any filthy Angelic people messing with my planet again. Blowing up Alexira was more than uncalled for," the Demon King said, his tone laced with bitterness and accusation.

"It is only protocol when a planet 'fails' that it be reset, to prevent the planet's evil from spreading elsewhere," Kieran replied, her voice carrying a sense of duty, yet with a hint of doubt creeping in.

"Don't you try to lecture me on protocol," he shot back sharply. "The planet still had plenty of people left to fight, but it was destroyed because of what they were looking for. And I assume you already know Ty isn't a platinum soul."

"I uh, actually, he—" Kieran started, but before she could finish, the Demon King instantly vanished from his seat. In a blur of motion, he was standing over her, placing a hand on her head so fast she had no time to react. Just as swiftly, he removed it.

"I see, so you decided to lie about what happened on my planet. Now that is interesting. It seems you have started questioning things going on, even if subconsciously," he observed, his voice carrying a note of revelation.

"How did you,—" Kieran began but was cut off.

"Don't worry about it," he stated dismissively. "Just know that getting Ty back into his own body is the best direction we can go for him. And maybe spending some time on Earth will open your eyes a bit more."

"The Angelic Race is not benevolent. Though I care little for what you do, I have my own plans in motion," he continued, his tone indicating a deeper game at play.

"So please find your way out of here before you get yourself in trouble."