Juhwan looked back. Made sure that Shota is out of sight and won't see him, he started running, almost flying out of the school house. He kept sprinting until reached his and Changmin's shared apartment. Thankfully amongst devil's charming looks and good skills was also speed, not lightning speed but better than average which helped him to reach the flat in less than two-three minutes.

The door was pushed open and Juhwan came in, his devil horns and tail appearing as soon as he closed the entry behind himself. To make your devil features disappear, you had to the have the thought of hiding them at the back of your head at all times and if you lost concentration, they appeared again. Fortunately, Juhwan and Changmin were great at this skill and didn't have to worry about exposing the underworld to humans; breaking the most important rule. They had been practising for years and were almost masters at this.

Changmin was already waiting for him in the hall. ,,What took you so long?" He asked, irritated.

,,Eh?" Hyperventilating Juhwan raised his eyebrows but had no time to argue back as Changmin grabbed his hand, pulling him to the living room.

,,Yubin??" Juhwan asked, eyes widening as he saw their nephew standing besides the window, looking quite worried.

,,Tell him." Said Changmin, throwing Juhwan between them. Yubin took a deep breath, then turning his head at the youngest.

,,After your parents left four days ago, some weird attacks have been happening at the furthest point in north in the underworld." His eyes looked tired and words sounded heavy.

Juhwan couldn't get a word out or a thought moving at first. When the truth finally hit him, he cursed silently under his breath. Things had never been sunny or flowery in the hell but such things were a serious threat to everything. If the balance in hell will fall out, the whole world will be - literally - fucked. That's why this was already such a serious thing even at such low range.

,,I've already told the guards to be extra careful and sharp-sighted and informed your parents as well. They can't come back anytime soon but at least we have their help from distance. Right now it's kept as a secret from citizens but it keeps coming closer within every day, attacking from new places. Eventually we can't hide it." The weight laying on Yubin's shoulders at the moment was well felt in the room. Juhwan was just thankful that he wasn't in their nephew's position.

,,Who??"

,,We don't know, the ones who have witnessed the attacks at the borders aren't quite sure of what they saw there."

,,They say it was like a big black fog which destroyed everything on its way. Like a fierce storm or something." Changmin added, then pressed his lips into a thin line.

,,Whatever it is, it waited until the king and queen would leave to come out. It thinks I can't keep it back for too long not to talk about destroying it." Yubin sounded scared, almost defeated. He was seriously worried for the future of the dimension.

,,We will figure something out. I'm sure." Juhwan said, trying to sound confident which he was successful in; he wanted to give hope to his cousin.

But in reality, he was terrified to his guts. Everything had been quiet for centuries, and now this. Fuck it, seriously.

Yubin sighed, everything unspoken echoing in that one breath. He then turned at the two brothers, voice sounding more clear and confident as he spoke. ,,What I want from you two besides being informed - which is the reason I'm here - is that since you are the closest out of all devils on Earth to the entry portals, you'd keep an eye on things here. We don't know where it'll go next or what it'll do next or who it'll attack next but as of right now, I'm announcing the highest status of being ready." He let his eyes slid over the two, making sure they got everything he said. ,,Everyone should prepare for the worst scenario." He added, the sentence throwing an invisible dark aura over them.

The brothers nodded, Juhwan feeling shivers running along his spine.

,,Good, thank you." Song Yubin smiled weakly. ,,I have to go back now. I cannot allow myself to stay away from hell longer than an hour." He hugged Changmin and Juhwan. ,,Please take care. Of yourselves and humans. And keep me updated." Mostly targeted at Changmin as the more responsible half out of the two.

,,We will." Changmin answered for both of them. Yubin nodded, and left the flat, letting his devil features disappear as he stepped outside.

,,The actual-" Juhwan started but Changmin was faster. ,,Fuck, I know. But it was naive for us to think that everything will stay calm and peaceful forever."

,,But I really did..."

,,I know. Me too, brother." The older put his hand on the younger's shoulder. ,,But now it's too late to think about what could've happened, we need to be Yubin's backbone and keep our eyes-ears open up here like he asked. We need to trust him to handle everything well down there."

Juhwan nodded slowly. His other half was right. He had to stay strong and brave not curl up in a corner like a vulnerable child. Humans were in danger, they were in danger and no matter how hard it was to believe, the world's future was in their hands. He knew they wouldn't get any help from heavenly creatures as well as they interrupted only in the very last minute.

So, they were on their own. Praying for things to end well.

a/n:
am alive! and here's an update i you guys enjoyed~ how are you doing? it's been a while...oh, you're good? i'm glad to hear! 🥺 i'm good as well!! i hope to see you soon in the next, fifth chapter!