The Fallen Hero Reincarnates as the Demon King's Son
Chapter 79 - 78 - Coming Out

Chapter 79: Chapter 78 - Coming Out

"Are you sure that he’s going to be alright in there?"

Rachel was worried out of her mind ever since she had seen the Demon King appear beside them, attacking the barrier. The fact that the barrier was made by the greatest mage this world had seen was also something that made her panic even further.

"Y-Yes... it should be fine," the adviser said, also worried.

They had no idea what had happened and why Caliste had disappeared all of a sudden, but he hoped that the dwarven territory wouldn’t be the one punished for his disappearance. After all, it was quite well known through history that the Demon King was someone with very intense emotions who could change his mind in seconds.

That’s why when he had left, the adviser was relieved but not completely.

-Tick!

-Tick!

Suddenly, a weak noise of ticking echoed through the cave.

Immediately, Rachel and the adviser’s eyes widened as the sound of ticking resounded from within the tunnel, which was blocked from entry.

A strong light then illuminated the insides of the tunnel as the light shown against the dirt, slightly piercing through the tiniest gaps in the walls.

"C-Caliste? Are you back?" Rachel asked right away.

Then, the sound of footsteps reached her ears, confirming that there was definitely someone on the other side of that wall. It had been barely two days since the wall had risen, and it had already been a huge deal. Imagine if it had lasted more than half a year like Caliste had spent inside of there.

Suddenly, the wall of dirt protecting the entry fell to the ground at once, the protections lifting as Rachel immediately ran toward the entry of the tunnel.

"Caliste! Is it you?"

She turned around the corner and right before her was Caliste standing before her. However, there was something strange about him.

’W-Why does he look so pure?’ she thought.

Caliste was a demon. She had always felt a deep sense of hatred within him. Caliste had done his best to hide it, but all demons had it. But now that he was standing before her, he looked pure, devoid of any dark thoughts.

It was honestly strange. There was also a certain brightness to him as if he had become a new person in the span of two days.

There were also the dark circles under his eyes, which were definitely special. But the most special thing about him was that he was currently talking to himself.

"Shut up! This is the way!" he laughed. "See? I told you that was the way back!"

He was looking into the air, talking. But there was nothing... it made him look like a bit of a weirdo, but Rachel didn’t mention it.

’Let’s hope he didn’t go crazy in there.’

"Caliste!" Rachel shouted again as this time, his gaze finally landed on her.

"Oh, Rachel. What are you doing there? Did something happen?"

Her eyes widened as she shook her head. "Of course something happened! What do you mean?! Some strange wall formed before the tunnel entry, making it impossible to enter it."

Caliste’s gaze shifted direction as she uttered those words for a short moment before coming back.

"What happened in there? Where did you go?"

"Hm... it was complicated. Hard to tell where I was, to be honest."

"What did you see inside?"

Caliste shrugged. "A lot of darkness... I had no choice but to leave at one point; I was turning batshit crazy."

She raised an eyebrow. ’I think you’re already crazy now...’

"Well, it’s good that you’re back. The Demon King even tried to come here to destroy the barrier. He wanted to see where you had left. He mentioned something about not being able to see you ever since you entered the tunnel."

Caliste was about to dismiss her and go get a good night’s sleep. But when he heard the words "Demon King," his interest immediately spiked. The last time he had seen the Demon King was years ago when he had removed his curse on his mana circuits.

So... what was happening here?

Why had he come here?

And what was that about not being able to observe him?

Had the Demon King been looking at him from afar?

If he had... then that could mean a ton of problems since Caliste wasn’t necessarily discreet about himself when he was alone in his room. He would sometimes speak to himself. The Demon King could have heard insane things.

"What did he say? Is that the only reason he was here?"

She shrugged. "I’m not too sure, actually. He attacked the barrier with a large beam of energy and then said that the barrier was made by Liana, the hero of the past. After that, he disappeared right away with a little frown on his forehead."

"He talked about Liana? What did he say?"

Rachel found it strange that Caliste was so interested in the Demon King. However, she believed that it was related to him being his father and the fact that he was the Demon King.

"Not much. He muttered her name, then disappeared; that’s all."

"Where did he go?" Caliste asked with a frown.

"Um... no idea."

Caliste released a loud sigh. "I see. Well, this tunnel is fixed now. Nothing should happen in here anymore."

"What about the dwarves who disappeared recently? Where are they?" the adviser asked.

Caliste waited a few seconds before speaking as he subtly nodded.

"Um, the people who disappeared are now dead. There is no way to bring them back. It was an unfortunate effect of the runes drawn on the walls of the tunnel."

This time, Rachel was the one who found it strange that Caliste knew of such a thing when he had basically no knowledge when it came to magic runes. So for him to speak of it so casually, there was definitely something strange.

She started to believe that maybe the person in front of her wasn’t really Caliste but someone else who had taken over his body.

"Can I ask you some questions?"

There were some things that only the Caliste she knew should know. They didn’t know each other much, but there were definitely things that they had only said to one another.

"Sure."

"What did you ask me in the train?"

Caliste frowned for a moment. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Answer."

"To let me do the quests by myself."

There was no hesitation in his voice, which slightly surprised Rachel. However, it was an easy question, so she decided to ask another one.

"Tell me what happened when you were testing your mana at the Demonic Academy."

"They had to change the mana crystal because I was too powerful."

Rachel was then lost as to what she would ask. Caliste was answering right away. He didn’t seem like he was thinking about the answers, which made her quite sure that the person before her was definitely Caliste.

"Why are you asking me all this?"

Rachel didn’t answer. Instead, she asked another question.

"How is it that you’re sure about the runes? What did you really see in there?"

"I told you already. I saw darkness; that’s all. Then, after some time, I finally managed to find an exit. That’s all."

Rachel didn’t know, and she couldn’t be sure. But she had a strong feeling that Caliste was hiding some things.

"Mhm... what about earlier? Who were you talking to?"

Caliste rolled his eyes to the back of his mind. "Can you stop with your questions? I’m quite tired now and I’d like to go sleep a little."

Rachel bit her lower lip as she was about to say something, but she was quickly stopped by the adviser.

The two of them watched him as he began to walk away from the cave.

Even now, Rachel looked at him, and she was almost sure that something had changed about him. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but... there was definitely something here. He looked happier and also... very angry, angrier than before. It was very strange.

Caliste left the cave as Liana was speaking, flying before him.

"That girl back there. She’s very talented in magic. With the right guidance, she could potentially become stronger than me in my prime."

Caliste didn’t even answer as he continued to walk forward. But that’s when he was stopped in his tracks as there was a man by the entrance of the cave; he had a hood on, his face hidden, and Caliste strangely hadn’t felt his presence.

"C-Caliste... that person..."

Caliste frowned and whispered, "What about him?"

"H-He’s the one who locked me up inside that place..."

"What are you talking about? You said it was the Demon King."

"It was the Demon King’s orders. But it wasn’t actually him who put me there. It was someone else, and I could remember his presence everywhere."

Liana was panicking as Caliste continued to walk forward with confidence.

"That man... he’s your ’brother.’"