Demoniac | Renjun | Demon

Chapter forty-two: Let the mask fall

Renjun's blood had turned to ice the second Lycans' fingertips released their flames.
Renjun didn't remember ever panicking in his life before, but at that moment, it felt as if his heart was about to burst out of his chest. It was the kind of vicious fear that spread through your veins and twisted your stomach.

He heard himself scream Jieun's name, the red fire that was about to eat her alive reflecting in his dark eyes.

Suddenly, everything became clear. Renjun didn't know what was happening and he didn't try to think about it as his body acted on its own, not waiting for him to decide on what to do. It was like he didn't control anything anymore, the powerful instinct of his demon side completely taking over.

Renjun felt himself jump in front of the girl just as Lycans' power was about to kill her, enveloping Jieun with his arms. He let out a deep groan of pain as he felt his back hurt like never before, but it wasn't due to the flames burning his skin. Renjun knew it, he could feel it, and yet, he couldn't believe it.

His wings.

His large and dark wings had grown out of his back, replacing the white fake ones, and were wrapped around him and Jieun like an infallible cocoon, protecting them from the raging fire. The soft black and majestic feathers turned hard, like a shield, and absorbed Lycans' power as he grew weaker by the second.

Renjun was feeling so many emotions at once that he didn't know what to think. His demon side had acted on its own, connecting back with its instincts buried deep inside. He didn't know whether or not his powers had suddenly come back thanks to the fact that it was midnight, or for another reason, but he was just glad they did. He'd have time to think about it later.

Right now, he simply hugged Jieun closer to his body, a hand on her side and the other one on the back of her neck. Renjun didn't know if she was still conscious and if she had witnessed the whole scene, but he wasn't worried about it. He could still erase her memories later.

Once the fire died down after a while, Renjun carefully retracted his wings a little, still protecting Jieun with his body as a shield as he slowly turned around.

Lycans had turned to ashes; his fire had consumed him completely, and Daerius was nowhere to be found. He had most likely fled, too scared of Renjun's wrath now that he had his full powers back.

A faint gasp made him turn around to face Jieun. He still had his hand on the back of her neck and felt her move around a little. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing a golden color, like he had seen before.

Renjun didn't speak, hypnotized by the gold shining in the moonlight, completely forgetting about the large wings in his back. Only when Jieun widened her glowing eyes did he realize that something was wrong.

"Are you alright?" he asked, retracting his wings completely with a whoosh.

Jieun blinked a couple times, trying to figure out whether what she had seen was real or not.

"Y-You had w-wings," she managed to say, pointing a shy finger at him after completely ignoring his question.

Renjun didn't say anything and simply cleared his throat.

A small frown made its way to Jieun's face as she examined his face carefully.

"Y-Your face," she said again, scanning his features.

Renjun brough the hand that was on her side to his face, palping his skin looking for the thing that had caught the girl's attention.

"Your eyes," Jieun spoke again, carrying on with her thorough examination.

"What about them?" Renjun whispered, very much aware of their proximity.

His breath was mixing with hers as he was unable to look away from her mesmerizing gaze.

"They're red," she murmured, fascinated.

Jieun didn't control the hand that she slowly brought to his face, gently tracing his features.

"You have horns," she said again.

Renjun tried his hardest not to back away from her touch, not trusting himself and his feelings. He looked for any sign of fear in her golden eyes, but they were free of any worry.

"And fangs," Jieun went on.

"I do," Renjun admitted, looking at her straight in the eye, waiting for her to panic eventually, but she didn't.

It had been a while since Renjun had been on earth, but every time his nature had been revealed to a human, they had all been terrorized.

He should have known Jieun would be different. That girl never did anything like every other human.

"Aren't you scared?" he asked, trying to control the shaking in his voice.

He couldn't explain the sudden feeling of distress in his heart at the thought of Jieun looking at him as one would look at a monster. Because that's what he was, after all.
A monster.

"No," she said, her voice soft but firm.

Renjun sucked in a breath, his heart beating in his throat.

"Why would I?"

For the first time in a while, Renjun was left speechless.

"Haven't you seen what I am?" he frowned. "How hideous I look?"

"Hideous?" Jieun repeated, raising her eyebrows in incomprehension. "Where?"

Renjun looked at her with a whole different pair of eyes.

"C-Can you show them again?" she shyly asked.

He frowned, "Show you what?"

"Your wings."

Renjun didn't say anything, slowly detaching himself from her. He ignored the sudden cold and feeling of emptiness invading his chest.

He closed his eyes, hoping his powers weren't completely gone now that it was past midnight. He took a deep breath and slightly shrugged, his large wings suddenly coming out of his back with a gust of wind, softly blowing Jieun's hair away.

The moonlight gave silver highlights to the black feathers, as if liquid steel was running down his wings.

"Wow," Jieun opened her eyes wide, taking in every single magical detail.

Renjun tried to look away from her astonished eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to.

"Are you...?" Jieun began, not sure of the words that would come out of her mouth.

Renjun didn't detach his eyes from hers as he spoke with a low voice, "I'm a demon, Dove."

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