Chapter 237: Monopoly

In the days that passed, I mainly focused on settling into my new role as one of the heads of Purgatory. The witches and the vampires paid for Grey Waste to be rebuilt, and it was renamed to Wolf District. It was a little on the nose, but I didn’t care much.

Now, the people of my pack were allowed to freely enter the city whenever they pleased. This was a huge turning point, especially for the ghouls. Most of them didn’t even know what the rest of Purgatory looked like.

They were afraid of whatever punishment they would face if they did escape. Now they didn’t have to worry about it and had the chance to explore as they pleased. This also led to something else. There were more people showing up at our gate to beg to join my pack.

I turned most of them away and only hand-selected a few whom I thought could be valuable. My werewolf venom was arguably one of the valuable things I had. I couldn’t just hand it out to whoever asked.

Though I could’ve made the choice to recruit them as part of my pack, then kill them later when they served their purpose, I couldn’t feel comfortable killing a member of my pack unless it was absolutely necessary.

I think the quality of people I added to my pack is much more important than quantity.

Currently, I was going to meet with Damian and the three queen witches.

This meeting was to be held inside the witch of greed’s mansion. Arriving at the mansion, I was greeted at the gate by Aphrodite.

She was wearing a white dress and greeted me with a smile. She was holding a leash in her hand. Attached to the leash was a green-haired girl with fluffy dog ears and a tail.

I could tell by her scent that this girl was Ember. Aphrodite had turned her into her plaything, making her practically useless.

I spared her a glance but mostly kept my attention on Aphrodite.

“Alpha Liam, welcome.”

“Aphrodite.”

“You came alone. I thought for sure you would’ve brought one of your pack members with you. Maybe that demon?”

“You look well,” I said, purposefully evading the question.

This caused her smile to grow venomous, brighter. On the outside, she didn’t seem to care and even began to blush as if she was flattered.

“Thank you, you don’t look bad yourself.”

She looked at me teasingly before turning on her heel.

She then began leading me into the mansion. Ember hastily crawled behind her to catch up.

She sent glances at me every once in a while; her eyes seemed to convey the message ’help me.’

But every time she looked at me, she would quickly turn around to see if Aphrodite was watching.

Soon, we arrived at the meeting room. Aphrodite excitedly shoved the door open to reveal who was inside.

’It seemed everyone else had arrived.’

All of them I had personally met except the witch of sloth. The last time I saw her was at the auction.

She was sitting beside an older-looking man that I remembered Charlotte told me was her brother.

The other two persons in the room were Damian and the witch of greed.

“Strangely, even the usual late Damian managed to arrive on time. I wonder what could be the reason,” Aphrodite teased, flashing me a wink.

Entering the room, I took a seat at the table opposite Damian while Aphrodite settled in beside her sister.

“Now that we’re all here, let’s get down to the reason behind this meeting,” the witch of greed immediately said without wasting a second.

Her purple eyes turned to me. I knew exactly what she wanted to discuss.

“The mana crystals. When do you plan to return them?”

“I also heard he has the witch of calamity as his hostage. Since she’s the one most familiar with using mana crystals, we’ll need you to return her too,” this time it was the witch of sloth who spoke.

I watched each of their faces, Damian’s face especially. I wanted to see how he would react. So far, his expression remained blank. He didn’t seem to care, as far as I could guess.

The others looked at me expectantly. When I didn’t respond immediately, I could see the witch of sloth getting agitated.

“Persephone isn’t my hostage. She’s my partner.”

“Your partner?” The witch of greed questioned.

“I find that hard to believe. That old hag would never join you. All she cares about is that fossil.”

“It’s the truth, and from now on, the two of us will be handling the mana crystal distribution in this city.”

BAM!

The witch of sloth slammed her fist down on the table and pointed her finger at me, but then she froze. With just a raise of his hand, Damian caused her to freeze.

“He can’t do this!” She shouted. “The mana crystals are the single most important resource we have at our hands. Without it, we witches are powerless, and this city itself will cease to function. By monopolizing mana crystals and determining how they are distributed, he’s practically ruling this city.”

Damian didn’t react. It wasn’t as if he didn’t understand; he just didn’t care.

Whether I hold mana crystals or not, it would do nothing for his power.

“If the witch of calamity agrees to this, then I see no issue. Let’s not create unnecessary quarrels,” he said.

The witch of sloth gritted her teeth. She wanted to fight back, but with Damian agreeing to it, she saw it as not having any other choice.

“Who is to say Persephone actually agreed to this proposal? A few of the vampires from the Veylmont clan escaped that night. They said that Persephone was near death the last time they saw her. That her body was burnt beyond healing,” the witch of greed said.

“Where are these vampires now?” I asked.

The witch of greed said nothing. She looked unwilling to answer until Aphrodite chimed in.

“They all joined up with Nerissa Veylmont, Cassian’s wife.”

The witch of greed shot her a glare as she spoke.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the chance to speak with Persephone.”

“And we’re supposed to trust your word?” the witch of sloth snapped.

“Calm down, sis,” Suddenly her brother tried to calm her down.

Seeing this, her expression softened.

“Yun-Yun.”

Looking at her brother, I couldn’t help but think he seemed familiar.

“So to summarize, you won’t hand over the mana crystals or Persephone,” the witch of greed said, this time her tone seemed to imply, ’Do you really want to make that decision?’

“To summarize, Persephone and I will be working together to handle the distribution of mana crystals throughout this city to make sure they aren’t stolen again. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the witches get their fair share while the rest will be used for the people of this city.”

None of them said anything. It wasn’t that they gave up; it was more like they didn’t see the point of arguing.

I had the feeling that they all would be making moves to make sure they get what they want.

Having nothing else to discuss, the witch of sloth was the first to get up to leave, but I stopped her before she could.

“Come on, Yun-Yun,” she grabbed her brother by his hand, almost dragging him off his seat.

“Though if you feel the amount of mana crystals you were given isn’t enough, I will be happy to trade with my own crystals in the future,” I said, causing her to immediately freeze.

Their eyes narrowed at me.

“You mean the mana you got from Starlit city? The one you took from that demon. You wish to trade them for what exactly?”

“Yes, I’m willing to trade them in exchange for powerful witches from each of your factions. I want them to join my pack in exchange, I’ll give you mana crystals.”

Each of them had various reactions. The witch of sloth and the witch of greed looked as if they couldn’t believe what I was proposing.

Aphrodite alone seemed on board.

“Really, how much mana crystals are you willing to pay?” she asked.

“That depends on the witch. The more powerful of a witch you have to offer, the more mana crystals I’ll pay.”

Witches were a valuable group. They could build and construct intricate buildings within just a few hours.

With their magic, we could run a civilization without having electricity. The more witches you have, the bigger the settlement you’re able to create.

Aphrodite smiled and tugged on the leash in her hand.

“How much are you willing to pay for Ember here? The two of you are quite acquainted after all.”

I looked down at Ember, and I could see her pleading eyes and expression.

“Nothing. With the state she’s in, she is practically useless.”

Just then, as I spoke, the witch of sloth exited the room with her brother. I took that as her answer.

Apart from Ember, Aphrodite didn’t offer anyone else, and the witch of greed seemed disinterested.

So with that, the meeting came to an end, and we all went our separate ways.

Walking back home, I got the feeling that I was being followed by someone.

I had an inkling of who it was, so on my way back, I ducked into an alleyway, and of course, she followed me.

I could feel the bloodlust coming from her as she stared at me.

“Kitsune, I thought you died.”

“It was all your fault!” She shouted. Her claws out, and her tail upwards. From her posture, I could tell she was here to talk.

“You are to be blamed for everything.”

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