Doctor Demon

"Jazrads?" Jina echoed. Magrod grimly nodded.

"They are the rulers," he revealed. "And there are only three Jazrads in existence."

He held up his paw to count. "The first one is the Emperor himself," he stated. "No one knows his name because he's the only nameless demon in existence. He has been the ruler in Hell for thousands, no, millions of years. It's his job to keep an eye on the demons and make sure they don't go astray."

"He has a son," Magrod went on. "A pure bred demon who was born from within the fires of Hell. That son was not born from another woman nor a demon but rather through a ceremony. I don't know the details but it's said that the Emperor went on a hundred year meditation to perform the ritual. Finally, the first fully formed demon sprang out of Hellfire. He's the only one who is not a human soul but a demon from the start. Seeing his son, the Emperor decided to train his son so that he could one day take over Hell."

"Why is he training someone else to take his place?" Jina asked. "He's not gonna die, right? Then why did he do that?"

"Because," Magrod said in a dramatic tone. "The Emperor fell for a woman. A human woman."

"Huh?"

There was a long silence after his words. Jina slowly interpreted Magrod's words to her grandfather who was also confused. The Emperor fell in love with a woman?

"But that's a taboo," Magrod stated. "Demons aren't allowed to fall in love with humans. You see, humans are temporary unlike demons who live on for eternity. We don't die but simply live on and on. But the Emperor fell for a woman. It was during one of his many travels to Earth where he found this girl. He was intrigued and tailed her for days. Soon, they fell in love but that was catastrophic for them."

"The townspeople in those days were very superstitious. They noticed the girl was acting strange, talking to herself and was missing during the night. So they went to the local shaman who discovered the truth via rituals. The shaman rallied the townsfolk against her and she was burnt at stake. In his rage, the Emperor destroyed the entire village and took his beloved's charred body with him. Using all his powers, he put a special charm on her."

"What charm?" Jina whispered.

"A charm which will cause her to reincarnate every hundred years," Magrod revealed. "But that comes at a huge cost. You see, nothing is free in a deal with demons. It is kind of a deal the Emperor made with the Reapers. His beloved will reincarnate but she will not live beyond the age of thirty five. Something will always happen and she'll die. Sometimes, she might die sooner. But won't live beyond that age."

"So the Emperor produced a fully formed demon son and left Hell," he said in a sad tone. "He keeps on waiting on Earth for his lover to reincarnate again."

"Where is he now?" Junho demanded after Jina told him everything.

"We don't know," Magrod sighed. "But things are even more complicated than before."

His tone was now even more serious. "Five hundred years ago, when the Emperor's lover was reincarnated again, he traveled to the land where she dwelled. She was the Princess of this nation at that time and her brother was an ambitious Prince. The brother was looking to usurp the crown from their uncle and to do that, he invoked the highest spell. Which means, he summoned a Jazrad lord, aka our Emperor."

"In that ritual, the Emperor offered him the usual contract but also a condition," Magrod added. "A night with his sister. The greedy Prince agreed."

"The Princess was distraught but the Emperor was not going to harm her. Rather, he knew that upon seeing him, she would remember her past. And she did. The moment they saw each other that night, her memories came back to her and she realized it was her long lost love. That night, they finally consummated their relationship."

"Nine months later, the Princess gave birth to a boy in secret," Magrod said. "And the new King, her brother, was scared. The baby was a half demon who would one day bring calamity to the land according to the royal shaman."

"That shaman was actually possessed by the Emperor's other son. He was afraid that the new prince would take his throne in Hell and banish him. The new prince was already the much loved son of the Emperor and it threatened the position of the demon prince. So he possessed the royal shaman and made up a false prophecy that the new born baby will destroy the kingdom. They were urged to kill him, but the Princess protected her son. In the process, she was killed and the Emperor lost his lover again. In his fury, he cursed the land."

Magrod's face darkened as he quoted his master's words.

"When the moon will turn red and the blood of the moon fall on Earth,

The gates of all worlds open and a baby will be born.

A human who will see everything, go everywhere and break the barriers between the worlds.

Her eyes and hair will be the shade of fine mahogany, her beauty breathtaking

She will be the Butterfly Priestess, the one who will kill the creatures of the dark.

But once she is united with her true mate, the half demon and half human,

They will bring upon a calamity which will close the Gates of Hell forever

In life if they are separated then in death, they will be reunited.

And once they are reunited, they will unleash the punishment on all creatures of the dark.

The Priestess will arise'¦"

Priestess...Does that mean, I'm the Priestess? Jina wondered in shock.

"The Emperor took the baby and hid him in the forest before going off to face his other son. But the latter was ready. He trapped his father in a complicated web from which only a Jazrad can free him. The Emperor was stuck in that web for a long time."

"Meanwhile, the supernatural creatures of the forest raised the new Prince. Spirits, loyal demons, guardian angels. All of them rallied behind him and named their new lord, Wang Daesung. He grew up in a tower in the forest. Time went by and he was made aware about the prophecy. He knew that his true soulmate was going to be from that village. No one knew about the curse except for the old King but the Demon Emperor had killed him during the chaos and his son sat on the throne. He had no idea about the curse so Daseung took advantage of that."

"Daesung threatened the new Emperor that if he did not give him a wife by the time Daesung turned twenty five, he would destroy the kingdom. In his fear, the new King made a deal with Daesung that he will hand over the most beautiful girl in the land once she turns of age."

"The King then sent his soldiers to look for such a girl and they found one. She was a thirteen year old girl who was living in a temple where she was kept locked in a room. The priests had her locked up for some unknown reason but her unique looks made her perfect for the Demon Prince. With long almond shaded hair and same colored eyes, she was a unique beauty who would charm anyone. But her beauty was not the reason she was hidden away. That girl was special because-"

"She could see ghosts and go to Purgatory," Jina whispered. Magrod nodded.

"Yes," he replied. "She was assigned to be the bride of the Demon Prince once she turned of age. So as soon as she turned eighteen, she was married off to the Prince."

"What happens after that?" she demanded. "What happened to them?"

"A sad ending," Magrod said in a sad tone. "Eventually, they fell in love with each other but the King was now lusting after the Priestess and her powers. He wanted the great beauty and he summoned the other Prince. He wanted the Priestess for himself and to make her fall in love with him. The Hell Prince knew about the prophecy and wanted to do everything to stop it from coming true because he was not going to let them close the Gates of Hell."

"So the Hell Prince had his brother locked up and kidnapped the Priestess. But if there is one thing demons can't do, it is to change the free will of a person. We can't make a person fall in love with someone against their will. No matter how much the Hell Prince tried, he could not fulfill his end of the bargain. The Priestess refused to fall in love with the King."

"The King was about to harm her but in her fury, the Priestess opened the portal of Purgatory and killed him," Magrod revealed. "She tried to kill the Hell Prince but he stabbed her with a sword. Meanwhile, I freed Daesung and we went to save her but it was too late. Daesung was distraught and the demon in him was also shattered by the Priestess' state. I don't know what happened afterwards because the Hell Prince trapped me in Hell and I was unable to break out of his spell until very recently. All I know is that Daesung and his wife died in that event."

He dramatically paused before adding, "And now starts the second part of the prophecy."

"What is that?" Jina whispered.

"In life if they are separated then in death they will be reunited," Magrod quoted. "They died and are now reunited. You and that doctor, Ohm Hobin.. The two of you are the reincarnations of Prince Daesung and his wife, Chun Ailee."