Chapter 258: True Intentions

The next morning, I woke up to see that Khalissi was gone while Sylvie was still fast asleep beside me. With a tired sigh, I climbed out of bed and got ready for the day. There was lots to do today, mainly I would have a meeting with my pack: vampires, ghouls, lamias, and valkyries.

These were the primary groups that made up my pack in Purgatory. Today, I would have a meeting with all the different leaders to discuss my plans going forward. As I exited my room, I came upon a figure waiting for me outside.

To my surprise, it was actually Khalissi. She fiddled with her long white hair as she leaned against the wall outside my room. She nervously held down her head and tucked in her chin the moment she saw me. This was unlike her.

“Is something the matter?” I asked.

“Umm… yes. You wanted to speak with me, didn’t you? That’s why I’m here.”

She fiddled around with her hair as she spoke.

“What happened?” she mumbled under her breath. “The last thing I remember was… and then I was here. My mind is all foggy. I can’t remember what happened.”

“You fought against the dullahan, remember?”

The moment I said something about the dullahan, she held her head down in shame. This was definitely unlike her. She was far from the overconfident demon I knew. At that moment she seemed more meek.

“So what happened? After I fought against the dullahan, I mean,” she asked.

“Before that, I want you to explain everything that happened. How did you end up facing off against that demon? Did it come for you, or did you somehow know it was coming?”

She suddenly paused fiddling with her hair and glanced up at me.

“I knew the demon was coming.” She heaved a sigh. “I simply wanted to defeat it so it doesn’t become a nuisance in my way.”

I took a step closer to her, which caused her to jerk back.

“Is that really it? The only reason you attacked the dullahan was to save yourself?” I asked, staring into her eyes.

She, in response, folded her arms and averted her gaze.

“I already told you, why are you asking again? I didn’t want that demon getting in my way, so I decided to attack it the moment it arrived here.”

I took another step closer to her, which caused her to also take a step back, but the moment she did, her back hit the wall, cutting her retreat.

“What are you…”

“If you wanted to make sure that the demon didn’t get in your way, why didn’t you just tell me it was coming? And what exactly was the demon getting in the way of?”

“I uhh… what does it matter? It’s not any of your concerns. I have my own conflicts that you aren’t a part of,” she glared at me and balled her fist tightly as if telling me she wasn’t scared.

Seeing this, I couldn’t help but crack a smile. Khalissi was the type to smile when she was angry so the other person couldn’t use her emotions against her. This was the first time I was seeing her openly glaring, which was enough to tell me it was an all an act.

I reached out my hand towards her, and immediately she squinted, maybe expecting me to be angry at her. But opposite from what she expected, I calmly rested my hand on her head.

My intuition told me that her act of going after the demon wasn’t a selfish one. Maybe that was why she was embarrassed and feigning anger.

She slowly opened her eyes when she felt my hands on the top of her head. Immediately, her expression softened.

“You did good, even if you lost against the dullahan,” I said.

“How is losing good? Maybe staying in your pack made me weak,” she grumbled.

“Does that mean you want to leave? Since you did good, I would be fine with letting you go, as a reward.”

“…”

“Relax, I’m joking. I would never let you go.”

Her expression turned into a glare, but she couldn’t hide the flushness in her cheeks.

“I knew it was a lie. Anyway, since I explained to you what happened, it’s time for you to tell me what happened with the dullahan,” she said.

“He’s a part of my phantom pack.”

Her expression froze stiff.

“You recruited a demon as part of your pack?” she asked in disbelief.

“Yes. I guess it’s strange since you said it would be impossible for you to join my pack since your will belong to Lucifer.”

“Yes, I guess… But the dullahan, he belonged to death. In truth, you should’ve been able to recruit him. Maybe death let him go?”

Death… the one who rides on a pale horse. He is the first and only horseman I’ve met. Back then, I remember he mentioned something about a contract. One of these days, I’ve got to talk with him.

Suddenly, Khalissi let out a deep sigh. It was as if a weight had been lifted.

“Well, that’s good at least. Things could’ve been much worse. I know I don’t have to tell you this, but staying here any longer is dangerous,” she said.

“I know.”

But it brought to question: If here was dangerous, then where would be safe? Ryomen wasn’t even half as developed as Purgatory.

“If the wrong demon came here, then the entire city would’ve been wiped out.” She said.

This time, it was Khalissi who took a step forward.

“If a single demon is strong enough to wipe out your city, then you aren’t fit to be a leader. What’s the point in being an alpha if you aren’t strong enough to protect your pack? You need to get stronger,” Khalissi said.

One look in her eyes, and I could see just how serious she was. Her words weren’t meant as an insult, I had the feeling she was just looking out for me but still it made my stomach churn hearing it.

To think that everything I’ve accomplished so far could be wiped out just like that. By a single entity, no less.

I gave her a smile and ruffled her hair a bit.

“Don’t worry, things are coming to an end.” Saying that, I walked past her.

I really had kept the others waiting too long. It was time for me to go to my meeting.

“Hey, and don’t pat my head like I’m one of your girls,” Khalissi shouted as I walked away.

“Consider it your punishment for not telling me about the demon.” I hummed turning a corner.

I continued through the building and soon arrived at the room where the meeting would be held. It was a small office space. Inside was a group sitting around a long table.

Inside was Léa, who I had put as the leader of the vampires. I gave her this responsibility since she had really started to open up a bit. It was hard to think that this was the girl who used to be a shut-in. She was already in charge of the vampires of the Sun clan, but I started sending every vampire I recruited to her.

At first, I wanted to give the responsibility to Isabella, but she had no interest in leading. Beside Léa was Charlotte, who was in charge of the lamias. Due to her size, she was the first one I noticed when I entered the room.

Yuki was also there as the representative of the ghouls. She was as crazy as ever. When I entered the room, she was busy teasing Charlotte, who looked as if she wanted to rip out her throat.

The reason I had placed Yuki in charge of the ghouls was because she had asked for it. For some reason, she wanted to be the one to rule them. I admit she was a bit of a tyrant, and most of the ghouls were afraid of her, but she had done a decent job so far. Plus, she followed orders and was reliable if I needed someone killed or a certain group wiped out.

I treated them more like special forces, to be honest. If I needed a mass group of people killed for whatever reason, I would send Yuki and the other ghouls to handle it.

Sitting across from Yuki was Selice, the queen of the Valkyries. The valkyries were naturally exceptional warriors. If I was ever attacking a city like Purgatory, then an air strike was the first thing I would implement. The valkyries were perfect for this.

Selice sat, not saying a word, her posture as straight as a plank. For some reason, she seemed nervous, and the way she was dressed gave the impression that she was going to some big event. The moment I stepped through the door, her face seemed to light up.

As I stood at the entrance, my shadow began to swirl on the ground, and from it stepped the dullahan. With the gratitude of a knight, he bowed beside me, his armor clinking as he did. Since the moment he entered the shadow realm, I could sense him itching to get out.

I gave him a slight nod before going to take my seat at the head table. The dullahan followed behind me almost like a shadow. I sensed it would take some time getting used to him following me around, but that was the least of my worries.

Having taken my seat, I gazed at the faces of everyone present.

“Let’s begin the meeting. I had called you all here to discuss the upcoming war…”

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