The pack appeared drained of energy as they didn't wake up when I sat up.
I seemed to be inside a tent that Lion must've made out of magic.
Seeing that I'm wearing a dress made me realize that someone had bathe and changed me while I was unconscious.
I'm sure that it's Lion who did it as it is always him whenever he's around.
I'm happy to see all of them and also all of us being together again but somehow, something feels hollow.
Wait, Khamsin isn't with us?
I wonder where he is as he's not inside the tent.
There's a brown cloak in the corner in which, when I took a closer look, it belongs to..
Hmmm..
I'm not really sure who as the cloak is quite plain looking.
I already know the color and design of the cloak each of the pack usually wear.
For Lion, the color of the cloaks that he usually wear are black, dark blue and purplish blue color, after learning the color of the flower that has the same name like me. He has other cloaks as well in various colors but he only use them rarely except for the brown colored cloak as he use it whenever we are exposed in an extremely dusty or muddy environment.
His cloaks usually have runic designs on them and seeing the cloak that I'm holding, I'm positive that this isn't his.
As for Sly, he prefers cloaks that has elegant designs on them. Usually, the colors he chooses are in the shade of gold, red and black, all of them are in deep colors.
Like Lion, he has a brown cloak as well, to be used if he is exposed to muddy or dusty environment.
But there's no design on the cloak that I'm holding, so it's not his as well.
Alpha only wears clothes that have either of these two colors, which are black and red, and doesn't own any brown colored cloak. He has cloaks that looks regal and also owns cloaks that looks rugged as well. I can easily determine his cloak as it is quite long and flowing, with a bit of fur on the collar and its fabric is a bit heavier.
So no, this cloak is definitely not his.
I highly doubt that it's Orm as the cloaks he owned are not that long and the cloaks are any of these three colors: purple, violet or green.
So obviously no.
Ghost is the only one left but I know that it's not his as well. He has this obsession with the color red. Anything he wears must be in a shade of red. He does have clothes and cloaks that has brownish-red color but yeah.. there's red color in it.
Definitely it's not his.
So who does this cloak belonged to?
Khamsin? Asmodeus? Subus?
Oh, wait. The pack didn't know about Bubu being Subus and Deus being Asmodeus.
Anyway, I can't see any of their stuff here.
Asmodeus likes flamboyant clothing, whether he is in his fake form or not. As for... Subus..
I still have rage inside me whenever I.. think about...
This is not hers as it's a bit big, former form or not.
I don't like to mention anything about her. Except that I regularly offer a prayer of peace to the real unnamed pixie.
May she rest in paradise.
As for Khamsin, he does have a lot of brown colored clothing but it has some of his feathers on its lining, especially his cloak, and its design is desert inspired, with other colors mixed in it.
So whose cloak is this?
Ah, whatever.
I wrapped my body with the cloak and went outside.
It's.. hard.
I just feel.. tired.
We seemed to be staying near a cliff, which is a bit clever of them as this place is definitely safe from predators though if we are facing flying monsters and flying wild predators, we would be an easy prey.
But since Lion is here, I'm sure that he must've placed a protection spell around the tent.
Wait. How did the pack meet up?
I mean, I remembered being with Alpha while the others are with Asmodeus. I have no idea where to find Lion at that time and I was about to search for him before I lost my mind again because of the torture.
Oh well.
I kept on walking until I reached the edge of the cliff.
Oh, my. It looks.. deep.
And tempting enough to jump.
A voice seems to whisper in my ear, telling me to jump as it will surely bring me my long awaited rest.
Yeah.. I should.
Heh.. I'm no longer sane anymore..
Dad.. should I do it? This is easier for me..
Soon, I can hear Lavender speaking to me harshly that I'm supposed to know better and that she always wished me the best.
Oh.. you're right Lavender.. I'm suppose to know better.. but..
Asmodeus' voice seems to interrupt my thoughts in which I just chuckled and asked him if he is alright as the torture I just had is making me lose my sanity.
He seemed to be trying to speak calmly, which was unusual for him, considering what just happened to both of us.
In a serious voice, he told me that the torture we experienced earlier was not from the demon king.
Say, what?
Is he serious?!
He informed me that the demon king is in a dangerous mood right now as the Netherworld is extremely unstable right now because a lot of demons had formed their own kingdoms and alliances.
Even though the demon king is extremely powerful, in the Netherworld, the other demons have a fair chance on trying to defeat him unless he lived much longer and has accumulated numerous souls than them. That's why he is desperate on getting the magic stones and for him to keep an eye on me, just in case the other demons learn about me.
What the..
Learning about this only made me freak out more!
In the Netherworld, it's either you kill or get killed. Or if you are really powerful, you can make them submit to you. The more souls you accumulate, the more powerful you can be. But nothing beats a human soul as the way the demon king is desperate in finding a human soul seems that a single human soul is equivalent to all the souls this world has.
So yeah, that's why the demons from my former world are like gods to them. Unlimited humans, unlimited sources of power.
Anyway, Asmodeus told me to be extremely alert as he has to go back to the netherworld, along with Subus.
The cloak is his as he had transformed himself back to his fake form earlier in order to find Lion and reunite all of us.
After he was tortured also, he hurriedly tried to find Lion as he already had an idea what happened to me.
While trying to find Lion, he reported everything what happened to the demon king in which the demon king is in a dangerous mood upon finding out that someone had tortured me by using the same method he used to torture me.
I don't really want to know the details as it is making me want to jump off the cliff right now.
I begged Asmodeus that I really don't want to know for now as I'm on the edge of losing my sanity for good.
And I'm hearing other voices as well too.
Mercifully, he understood but the other voices that I can't recognize is starting to get louder inside my mind.
Stop! Please, stop! I don't want to hear!
Dad?! Where are you??!!! Please take me away!
I covered my ears as I sobbed and in my desperation, I tried to jump off the cliff.
A voice seems to be crying out my name as I felt myself being held back from the edge.
I kept on sobbing that it took me awhile before I realized that Lion is the one holding me back.
He is sobbing as well while trying hard to comfort me with all sorts of reassurances.
Soon, the rest of the pack held me back too though I seemed to be in a sort of trance as more and more voices seemed to speak to me inside my mind.
I kept on covering my ears, yelling for the voices to stop talking in which thankfully, Lion seems to realize what is happening that he hurriedly performed some sort of spell that made the voices vanish.
Then after apologizing to me, he performed another spell to calm me down as he and the rest of the pack tried to comfort me.
With intense rage in his eyes, he signaled the rest of the pack to return to the tent immediately as he handed me to Sly, who instantly nuzzled me all over, telling everyone that he is going to perform a strong spell that will protect all of us as we are in an extremely dangerous situation.
I continued to observe them as they all looked extremely furious, as if they want to march to the netherworld and destroy everything.
I hope they won't do that as they are still lacking.
Even the demon king is having a hard time in trying to place the entire netherworld under his control.
.....
Lion cradled me in his arms tightly as he and the rest of the pack are talking about everything that just happened.
Good thing they didn't talk entirely in another language this time and I can understand bits and pieces of their conversation.
Ah. It seems that they finally connected everything.
They know that the demons from the Netherworld kept coming here and surprisingly, they have an idea that the netherworld is in chaos, that plenty of demons are already in this world but are not under the orders of the demon king..
Wait. I know that they can easily understand the situation but it's impossible unless...
Dad found a way to tell them something about the situation and who knows what else.
Thanks dad.
I don't know how he did it but it will somehow help the pack to decide on what to do next. I'm sure that despite their experiences, they love this world since it's their home.
I'm sure they will try to find a way to defend it against the demons.
But for now, I know they will prioritize my safety first.
Most of the things they talked about, I already knew.
What I didn't know is that Asmodeus, or Deus to them, made some sort of an excuse that he has to go back to his "territory" as there are presence of "demons" there and that he is needed back.
Ah. Hearing that they still call him Deus made me realize that they didn't know yet his real identity.
Same with Subus.. um.. Bubu to them.
As for Khamsin, his situation is real as I know that he doesn't want to leave unless he has to. His city is currently being attacked by monsters.
The other self proclaimed demon "kings" are making their move. No wonder that the real demon king is extremely pissed off.
As for me, I'm in a situation that I shouldn't be alone anymore.
If word got out that I'm extremely valuable to the demon king...
It isn't pretty on trying to imagine the outcome.
Maybe if it comes to that, I will accept dad's offer. But for now, I have huge gratitude towards this world.
Because of this world, I found love, confidence, joy and so many wonderful things, especially the pack whom I treasured greatly.
I will help them as much as I can until the time comes that I can't.
....
They decided to tell Leon as soon as we get back to the territory after a bit of deliberation.
Even though Leon is cruel towards them in the past, for now they have no choice as they can't face the demons by themselves.
Dad is helping us by trying to destroy the cultists though they seemed to be multiplying fast despite dad and the rest of his underlings' efforts.
They don't trust Maelsa at all. Good. I don't trust him at all.
As for the demons in disguise, they decided to destroy them one by one quietly.
But they forgot about one important detail.
How will they know which ones are demons in disguise and which ones are not?
After several moments, Alpha asked Lion the same question.
Lion frowned for a moment before asking Ghost to get my Buddhist staff and to give it to him.
To make the long story short, none of them can activate the Buddhist staff's power despite Lion knowing all of the sutras and mantras that I usually spoke.
His memory is a bit freaky sometimes.
With suspicion in his eyes, Sly placed my hand on the Buddhist staff as Lion spoke one of the chants. He didn't even finish chanting when the Buddhist staff glowed, much to everyone's dismay.
They all fell silent for a long, long time.
....
Orm reminded Lion that they have to find the transformation stone fast or I might suffer again.
The rest of the pack got ready while Lion continued to cradle me in his arms. He didn't say anything though he kept kissing me all over my face.
He nuzzled my ear then kept apologizing for all sorts of stuff and confessed that he and the rest of the pack don't really care what happens to this world if it weren't for the fact that the other demons might discover my value.
With determination in his eyes, he said that they will do everything now with all their might to destroy everything that threatens my safety.
The word everything was emphasized strongly, as if he is telling me indirectly that he wants to find a way to destroy his and Alpha's contract without affecting me.
Of course, as soon as my safety is guaranteed, they have no plans to be the heroes in saving this world as they can find a way to use their magic in finding a new place for us to live, even if we have to go to another world as well.
Then with a gentle lick on my ear, he told me to wait for a little while as they will do what it takes to keep me safe and sane.
Sly approached us and gave me a tender kiss on my forehead before telling Lion that everything is ready. The rest of the pack joined us, giving me soft kisses all over my face as Lion performed a spell that made them all fly towards the transformation stone's location.
Yes, Asmodeus told him about the location after seeing Lion killing the demons surrounding him with extreme madness that made Asmodeus admit that he'll do well in facing the low leveled demons by himself now.
That's why it was quite unusual that Lion didn't look for me as soon as the strange phenomenon that filled his mind wore off.
Asmodeus hurriedly admitted to me that the demons that Lion faced by himself are not under the demon king's command as they looked too strange, as if they were newly created as a result of an experiment.
Much to my surprise, he murmured several colorful expletives, that someone tried to make a new kind of demon in a horrible way.
Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted as Lion whispered in my ear that we arrived at the location and the transformation stone is in front of us.
He doesn't want me to get it by myself but he can't approach it as something seems to be preventing him and the rest of the pack from going near it.
I have to get it alone.
But if i don't want to then they will try to find another way to get it.
I just want to finish this.
Seeing my eyes stare at him, he gave me a soft kiss while whispering that they are here to make sure that I'm safe.
Then he removed the spell.
I slowly walked towards the transformation stone silently while my legs wobbled too much that I tripped and fell on the ground.
I gave a weak smile towards the pack and continued on my way towards the transformation stone that is at the top of a small hill.
Why didn't I brought my Buddhist staff?!!
I could've used it as a support as my legs are not stable for now!
Slowly, silently I walked in small steps until I finally reached the top in which I saw the transformation stone floating on a magic circle.
But something seems strange.
A weird color seems to be glowing around the transformation stone. Usually, magic stones glowed purely based on the past magic stones that I've got but the transformation stone looks a bit different right now.
Asmodeus didn't say anything about it looking weird so it must be my ignorance.
I didn't feel anything besides seeing it strange. This world is already strange so complaining about its appearance being strange is a bit silly.
Well... Here goes nothing.
When I was about to take the transformation stone, it immediately flew towards me and embedded itself on my forehead.
It was extremely painful at first that I immediately fell on the ground.
Instantly, the pack went towards my side as nothing prevented them from approaching me anymore.
Lion carried me in one of his arms as his other hand tried to cast a spell to remove the magic stone from my forehead.
Unlike the control stone, I didn't feel anything else besides the pain that slowly subsided after awhile.
Though I feel sleepier until my eyes are getting too heavy that I finally fell asleep.
Thank goodness that I can finally have a restful sleep.