The Daily Life of the Demon King

(The reason I dedicated this chapter to a partial disclosure of Zhang Ya's past is because not everyone has read this book. While most of the girls in Alex's family are already known, there is little information about Zhang Ya. And so enjoy.)

Alex stood before the dance studio where Zhang Ya had spent countless hours… right up until her death. He knew that once he crossed this threshold, the memories of his wife's final moments—full of pain and despair—would come to life before his eyes. He already knew what she had endured, but he didn't want to see it again for himself.

Lighting a cigarette, Alex slowly glanced down the dark hallway, as if deliberately delaying the moment of entry. A stagnant, heavy silence reigned here, and the walls seemed to breathe with forgetfulness. It was no surprise—West Jiujang Private Academy had been closed for many years, all because of the grim legends that surrounded it.

Alex remembered: after Zhang Ya became a red ghost, she began to take revenge on everyone involved in her death. The first to fall under her wrath were the girls from this very studio—those whose indirect guilt became a death sentence for them. Many students perished during her bloody vengeance, and only one of the main culprits had managed to escape her punishment.

Taking a deep breath, Alex accepted that he would have to go in anyway. He reached for the heavy lock securing the door and, with a sharp movement, ripped it off along with the chain. But before he could pull the door open, it slowly swung inward on its own, as if inviting him to enter.

Stepping inside, he found himself in a spacious hall. The studio was impressive: perfectly polished wooden floors, professional equipment, and acoustic panels to absorb sound—all signs of a high level of training. The walls were lined with adjustable ballet barres, and beneath them stretched a row of low benches for students to rest. On the opposite side stood six enormous mirrors joined into a single reflective wall, capturing the entire room in their surface.

Looking into those mirrors, Alex pictured Zhang Ya dancing here day after day, perfecting her movements, striving to be better. But the longer he looked, the heavier his heart felt. Of all the women in his family, Zhang Ya had drawn the most tragic fate. One fatal moment had turned her into a vengeful ghost who lived only for retribution. If not for their chance encounter in an underground laboratory of another world, they might never have met… and who knows what would have become of her—would she have grown even more fearsome, or vanished entirely?

He was still staring at his reflection when the silence was broken by a creak. Alex shifted his gaze and saw three chairs that hadn't been there a second ago. He knew exactly who they belonged to and, without hesitation, kicked each one, sending them flying toward the wall. The wooden floor echoed loudly with their impact.

Alex's eyes caught on the far corner, where certificates, awards, and a results list hung on the wall. The first line was crudely blacked out with marker. He recognized the name instantly. A name the entire school feared to speak aloud, as if it were cursed. The name of Zhang Ya. After her death, the upper floors of the academy had been sealed off, and entry was forbidden. But even that hadn't rid the building of nightmares, sudden deaths, and strange occurrences.

One photograph in particular drew his attention—a group shot of six people. Five girls stood close together, smiling at the camera, while the sixth stood off to the side, almost in the shadows, so far away that her figure was barely visible. If not for the white dance shoes peeking out from behind the corner, one might have thought it was a photo of just five friends.

Alex clenched his teeth. He had wanted to see Zhang Ya before she became a red ghost, but even here her face was hidden. Looking at the cheerful expressions of the five girls, he felt his anger rising. With a sudden punch, he struck the photo, smashing through the wall and scattering shards of glass across the floor. Slowly lowering his hand, Alex exhaled heavily, struggling to keep his rage in check.

To calm the storm building inside, Alex decided to inspect the entire dance studio, including the adjoining rooms. He didn't remember exactly where the stash of that fat bastard—the one responsible for Zhang Ya's death—was hidden, but he was certain he would find it.

He first opened the door to a small room. Inside stood a writing desk, a dresser, and a narrow single bed. Alex stepped in, cigarette between his fingers, and glanced around the space that had likely served as the occasional sleeping quarters for a local teacher. On the desk lay scattered copies of certificates—each one listing six names, but one was always crossed out with a thick black marker.

Alex just shook his head. The dance instructor had clearly put in effort to erase any mention of Zhang Ya's name, but unfortunately, in the end, he had escaped her bloody vengeance. Back in those days, Zhang Ya had craved only revenge, especially against the teacher.

Finding nothing useful, he returned to the hall—and once again saw those same three chairs in the center.

"Alright… you like moving around? I'll make sure you won't move again," Alex said grimly.

He pulled a hammer and a handful of nails from his inventory. Stepping up to the first chair, he drove a nail into one of its legs. From the spot where the metal pierced the wood, thick crimson blood began to seep. Alex paid it no mind, methodically nailing down the remaining legs before moving on to the next chair. He did the same to the third.

Now, from each punctured leg, dark drops slowly trickled down, soaking into the floor. Anyone else in his place would have run for their life, but Alex only watched indifferently. He knew that within these three wooden chairs were trapped the souls of the girls who had once tormented Zhang Ya. She had killed them and left them forever in this hall so they could never leave the studio's walls.

Checking how firmly the chairs were nailed to the floor, Alex headed into the women's changing room. In the far corner, he spotted a lone locker—pushed away from the others, as if even its owner's belongings had to be kept apart.

Sighing, Alex stepped forward and opened it. Inside lay a dirty white ballet dress. He carefully took it out, packed it into a case, and decided to keep it. On the shelf sat five empty candy boxes.

"Ah, Zhang Ya… You were too kind. If you had been like me when you were alive, no one would have even thought of bullying you," he muttered as he closed the locker.

Alex understood—Zhang Ya had simply wanted friends, but her beauty and talent had only pushed people away, while her quiet, modest nature made her an easy target for cruel mockery. He didn't even want to imagine the humiliations she had endured at the hands of those five.

When he shut the locker door, a photograph fell to the floor. Alex picked it up and read the note on the back:

"Congratulations to Room 414 for winning the preliminary round to participate in the national competition."

Flipping the photo over, he saw six girls. Five stood close together, smiling and hugging, while the sixth stood about half a meter away, slightly to the side. Tall—around one meter seventy—she looked like the heroine of Swan Lake: graceful, pure, gentle, and beautiful. Even in the photograph, her elegance stood out among the rest.

Alex froze. At last, he saw Zhang Ya as she had been in life, before she became a red ghost.

"My love… You were breathtakingly beautiful when you were alive. Though you're still beautiful now… In short, as your husband, I've got no complaints," he said quietly, knowing she could hear him.

But instead of a verbal reply, long black strands of Zhang Ya's hair slipped out from his shadow. They slid toward the photograph and tore away the entire portion that showed the five girls, leaving only the part with Zhang Ya's image in his hands.

Alex smiled, recognizing this as a burst of jealousy from his ghostly wife, and wasn't surprised in the least. He had no intention of looking at the faces of those five anyway—she was the only one who mattered. With only the small fragment of her image remaining, Alex decided to keep it. He carefully placed the photograph into the case where he had earlier stored Zhang Ya's ballet dress.

In his family, every girl had belongings that reminded her of the past, but Zhang Ya had nothing left. Even if those items carried only pain and bitter memories, Alex still decided to keep them. He knew that if Zhang Ya had truly wanted to sever all ties with her past, she would have destroyed both the dress and the photo long ago.

When the photograph was safely in the case, there was a knock at the door. Alex raised an eyebrow in surprise and walked to the entrance. Opening the door, he once again saw the three chairs.

"Not tired of this yet?" he said with a frown. "I even nailed you to the floor so you wouldn't wander around. Or did you decide that just because you're ghosts now, you can scare people? Get back to your corner, or I'll eat you."

He bared his sharp teeth, his eyes flashing with irritation.

Alex's gaze dropped to the chairs' legs — and he noticed that the ghostly occupants hadn't given up. They had ripped out entire chunks of the wooden floor just to keep following him. Suppressing his annoyance, he kicked each chair, sending them flying toward the wall.

Unlike the haunted house, where twenty-four mannequins possessed by schoolchildren had followed him, these three chairs didn't inspire curiosity — only pure irritation. Those kids had simply wanted to know who he was, but these… they just seemed pointlessly stubborn.

Turning his gaze away from the wooden frames that had slammed into the wall, Alex caught sight of something strange in the mirror. Instead of empty chairs, it reflected three girls — dressed in dirty school uniforms, with deathly pale faces and mouths moving as if trying to speak. Their bodies seemed fused with the wooden frames, and their expressions were frozen in terror.

"What, scary now?" Alex said calmly. "Sit still, or I'll show you what cleansing fire is… or in your case, a fall straight into hell."

The ghost girls kept silently moving their lips. And in that moment, Zhang Ya emerged from Alex's shadow. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her bright red eyes locking onto the spectral figures.

At once, strange things began happening in the dance studio. The metal locker doors groaned, as if something inside was trying to break free. The doors of the side rooms rattled under heavy blows from within. It was as though the unseen inhabitants of the studio were doing everything they could to drive Zhang Ya away so she would never return.

Alex took a drag from his cigarette, exhaled the smoke, and stomped his foot hard against the floor. Deep cracks spread outward like a spider's web across the hall's surface. The noise stopped instantly.

"That's better," he said coldly. "Or did you idiots think you could drive me and my wife away? Sit quietly… or I'll erase you."

His eyes gleamed with a bright violet light.

Scanning the room with a grim expression, Alex saw every ghost in the dance hall. The teacher and the students — all of them victims of Zhang Ya's vengeance. Seeing his dark stare, the ghosts tried to make themselves as transparent as possible so he wouldn't notice them. But Alex could still see them perfectly — even if they fully shifted into their spiritual form.

Suddenly, a metallic scent filled the air — the kind that only appeared when there was a lot of blood nearby. Alex raised an eyebrow, not expecting there to be another red ghost in this school.

The door to the dance studio burst open with a loud bang. Standing in the doorway was a fat man in a black suit, spattered with blood. Beneath the jacket, his shirt was completely soaked in it. But instead of the rage and malice typical of red ghosts, his face showed pure panic.

The noise and screams that followed his appearance were so loud they sounded like walls being smashed apart. Alex recognized those screams instantly. He covered his face with a hand, already knowing exactly who they belonged to.

It was GIR, Mimi, and Stitch — a trio capable of driving even a red ghost into a full-blown panic.

The rumbling grew louder until a hole burst open in one of the dance studio's walls. From it emerged GIR, MIMI, and Stitch — armed with iron clubs and bags of salt.

Spotting the red ghost they had been hunting, they immediately perked up. The ghost flinched and, without even attempting to resist, bolted for the exit.

"Wait! Don't run! We're your friends!" Stitch shouted, charging after him.

"WE'RE YOUR FRIENDS!" GIR echoed.

"THIS WON'T HURT!" MIMI added as she joined the chase.

When the red ghost vanished, fleeing from the overly enthusiastic trio of hunters, silence returned to the dance studio. Alex was so stunned by what he'd just witnessed that he momentarily lost the ability to speak. Zhang Ya's face also reflected her confusion.

The shouts of their "hunting squad" grew fainter and fainter. Alex even felt a twinge of pity for the poor ghost — if it ended up in the clutches of that trio, it might regret not passing on to the afterlife when it had the chance.

Alex and Zhang Ya exchanged a glance and, as often happened in their family, silently agreed to pretend nothing had happened. Alex even thought that if GIR, Mimi, and Stitch were given complete freedom of action, they would launch a crusade to cleanse the entire world of ghosts — and then head into the Red World to "continue the mission."

"You know, my love," Alex said with a smirk, "technically, that red ghost should have been terrified by your presence. But GIR, MIMI, and Stitch scared him so much, he stopped being afraid of even you. Heh-heh-heh… That trio is scarier than you."

Turning toward Zhang Ya, Alex suddenly found himself so close that their noses touched. In response to his words, Zhang Ya gave him a blank stare, clearly showing she didn't care. Seeing this, Alex simply smiled and lightly bumped his nose against hers — if only to try and cheer her up.

For a brief moment, another emotion flickered in Zhang Ya's red eyes. She looked away, her gaze settling on the large mirror in the dance studio. From her feet, red, pulsing veins began spreading across the floor like a spider's web. They reached the mirror and completely covered it. Then the veins sank into the surface, and the reflection changed.

Alex understood — Zhang Ya had decided to show him her past.

First, he saw Zhang Ya enter the dance studio carrying a bag from which boxes of candy protruded. She approached a group of five girls and offered them the treats, hoping to make friends.

When one of the girls reached out to take some, another — about Zhang Ya's height — stopped her. She began saying something, pointing at Zhang Ya. Then she ran into the changing room and returned with a school bag, from which she pulled out several love letters.

From the name on the envelopes, Alex realized they were all addressed to Zhang Ya.

In the reflection, Zhang Ya silently looked at the girl who kept talking, seemingly excited by the conversation. But it wasn't really a conversation — it was one-sided, with the second girl dominating it completely.

Eventually, she rejected the candy, and Zhang Ya, silently putting the treats back in her bag, left.

The scene in the mirror shifted again, like a TV series showing flashbacks from earlier episodes. The next moment from Zhang Ya's life appeared.

The five girls were huddled in a circle, chatting animatedly and laughing while Zhang Ya trained alone. But suddenly, the door to the dance studio burst open with a loud crash. Several of the girls flinched. Thinking it was the teacher, they scrambled to their feet and pretended to be practicing.

In the doorway appeared the blurred silhouette of a man. Around one meter eighty tall, hunched and broad-shouldered, he seemed to fill the entire space. Alex recognized him instantly — the very one responsible for Zhang Ya's death. Rage twisted Alex's face. Unfortunately, the mirror did not show the man's face, but Alex already knew where to find this bastard, and he was certain that sooner or later, they would meet.

The image shifted again. The girls returned to their practice while the man entered his office. After some time, he reappeared, cracked the door open, and gestured for Zhang Ya to come over. She froze, as if she didn't know him and didn't trust him. Hesitantly, she approached the office, stopping at the threshold but not stepping inside. Alex knew what was coming next, and his fingers curled into fists — he wanted to smash the mirror just to avoid seeing what was about to happen. But he understood: Zhang Ya wanted him to share this moment from her past.

A few seconds later, Zhang Ya finally crossed the threshold. The mirror did not show what happened inside. Only after eight long seconds did the image darken, and Zhang Ya burst from the office, the man gripping her arm tightly as he ran after her. He shouted curses, and the five girls in the studio saw everything — but didn't move. No one dared to intervene.

Cornered far from the door, Zhang Ya cried out loudly for help, but no one responded. The girls turned away, pretending nothing was happening. The man advanced, spitting vile words at her. Zhang Ya's fingers brushed against the windowsill behind her — the only path to freedom. And in the next moment, she made her choice.

Alex, his face dark, watched her fall from the window in the reflection. Any trace of pity he had left for the ghosts trapped in this academy vanished completely.

The man, instead of rushing to save her, merely stepped to the window and looked down. Then he turned back toward the five girls. One of them began to cry, and he roughly yanked her to her feet, jabbing a finger in her face and saying something threatening. Alex knew — each of them had their own dark ties to this man, and that was why they obeyed him without question. None of them would dare defy him.

Alex didn't want to see another second of it. Snapping his fingers, he shattered the mirror, and its shards dissolved into the air. He didn't care what happened after that. He could change it all — go back in time and burst into the studio at that exact moment.

"My love," he said quietly, looking into Zhang Ya's red eyes, "just say the word, and I'll change everything. I'll go back to the past and destroy every single one of them in this academy."

He waited for her answer. One nod would be enough — and the tragedy would never have happened. But Zhang Ya only shook her head softly. Even as a bloodthirsty ghost, she had gained what she had always longed for: someone she loved, who loved her back; friends and a large family, even if not deeply close. She also had three daughters — not by blood, but ones she was ready to protect. She knew that if Alex changed the past, they would never meet. And that was something she could not lose.

Alex simply sighed, accepting her choice. Their quiet gaze at each other was interrupted by the sound of a notification. He looked away, pulled out his phone, and saw a message from GIR: a selfie of him holding a pair of red ballet shoes.

"Looks like that trio found your shoes," Alex said with a smile, turning the screen toward Zhang Ya. "If that's the case, the red ghost of this academy has probably already moved on to the afterlife. Maybe there are still more of your things left here?"

Upon hearing Alex's words, Zhang Ya only shook her head, making it clear there was nothing else of hers in the academy. Alex nodded, and almost immediately another message arrived — this time, just a simple file.

Opening it, Alex realized it was a police file. The name inside — Zhu Xiu. Skimming through the materials, he instantly understood: this was the very scumbag responsible for Zhang Ya's death.

The file stated that Zhu Xiu had been accused multiple times of harassing students and many other women. There were dozens of victim statements, yet each time he got away with it — either the cases were hushed up, or he was detained for a couple of days and then released again.

"Pff, what a rare piece of trash… Not that it's surprising. With a face like that, he should be living under a bridge," Alex said, closing the file.

Zhang Ya tilted her head questioningly, clearly unsure if he was joking or being serious. Alex smirked — his ghost-wife clearly didn't catch the reference to trolls, who, according to legends, live under bridges and prey on travelers.

Seeing his smile, Zhang Ya felt a surge of irritation: her hair came to life, wrapping around Alex and tugging him by the hair at the back of his head.

"Alright, alright, I won't laugh!" he raised his hands in mock surrender. "Now we can leave. Since there's nothing else to do here, it's time to bring this academy down. After that, we've got a hunt planned."

Zhang Ya nodded and vanished into his shadow.

Alex gave the dance studio one last glance, pulled a bundle of explosives from his backpack, and tossed it into the center of the room. On his way out, he looked once more at the ghosts and smirked predatorily.

"Better luck in your next life, losers," he said, pulling out the detonator.

Then, without hesitation, he jumped out of the third-floor window and pressed the button midair. Once again, he forgot that the explosives he crafted himself were always too powerful — and sometimes, a little too quick to go off.

This time, it was instantaneous: a series of explosions thundered through the academy, with the blast in the dance studio being especially strong. The shockwave caught Alex and hurled him toward the street.

The girls waiting for him by the transport heard the boom, then spotted a figure flying out of the fiery cloud, trailing a smoky streak behind. They immediately knew who it was and only sighed tiredly.

Alex landed right beside them, smashing face-first into the concrete. The girls didn't even think of helping — they just laughed at how he'd been blown away by his own bomb yet again.

Only Erina, Alice, and Hisako looked concerned.

"Alex, are you okay?" Erina asked, running toward him.

"Don't worry about him," Lucina smirked. "He's fine. This isn't the first time he's been blown away by one of his explosions. I've lost count of how many times it's happened."

"I'm fine," Alex rasped, rolling onto his back. "But a little concern wouldn't hurt. And thank you, Erina — your care is much appreciated."

In response, the girls only laughed. Erina came closer and helped him to his feet. Once standing, he first brushed the dust off himself, then lazily swept his gaze across the whole group. Finally, he turned his eyes to GIR, MIMI, and Stitch.

Without a word, GIR handed Alex the red ballet shoes. Alex carefully took them and placed them in the case beside Zhang Ya's white ballet dress and photograph. The girls watched curiously but didn't ask questions. Once he finished packing, Alex stowed the case into his inventory — where it would be completely safe.

"So," Rory said, leaning against the car, "what did you manage to find out about Zhang Ya's past in this academy?"

"Quite a lot," Alex replied, glancing at the time on his phone. "I'll give you the short version."

Lighting a cigarette, he decided that this time he wouldn't gloss over the details. In the past, when speaking about Zhang Ya's past, he had left out many of the cruel moments — but now the girls needed to know everything.

He began recounting what he had seen in the academy, especially in the dance studio. As they listened, the girls frowned, and some voiced their outrage openly. When Alex reached the moment of Zhang Ya's death, their emotions overflowed — if he hadn't stopped them, they might well have launched a "crusade" against her killer right then and there.

The more restrained ones immediately started searching for documents and records related to the academy and Zhang Ya's past. Saya pulled out her laptop, set it on the car hood, and, with the help of the Red Queen, gained access to all the necessary data. Soon, the screen was filled with photos, articles, and archival materials.

"My school had bullies too… but nothing even close to this horror," Rei said, staring at the screen.

"Hmph. Zhang Ya could've just punched those idiots, and it would've been over," Renka muttered, crossing her arms.

"And what did you expect?" Coco chimed in. "Look at Zhang Ya when she was alive… and now look at those jealous hens. It's obvious without words. And that's not even counting all her first-place trophies."

"Alright, girls, enough digging through the past," Alex cut in, showing them his phone. "I've got only three hours left before my vacation ends. And I still haven't done the most important thing."

The clock read nine in the evening. Excluding the night, Alex really did have only three hours left. The girls exchanged glances and agreed he was right — there was no point in chewing over the past any longer.

However, seeing the genuine curiosity on their faces, Alex still revealed what he planned to do next. His plan — to hunt down that bastard himself. Upon hearing this, some of the girls smiled with bloodthirsty approval, fully supporting his intentions.

After a quick kiss to Alex, they decided to take Anya, Nyaruko, and Jinx with them, so that the trio of gremlins wouldn't be underfoot. Once the cars drove away, only Alex, GIR, MIMI, and Stitch remained against the backdrop of the burning academy.

To be continued…

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