Our journey back to the territory is quite slow but steady.
All of us are familiar now with the dangers of the desert so we managed to avoid almost all of it.
We travel while riding on Sly's back in his dragon form at night, but rest during mornings as the heat is too much for Sly and Asmodeus isn't here anymore to provide us with steeds.
Lion had decided for us to travel on a different route after we gave dad a quick visit.
...
Dad gave us scarves that he knitted though he gave me a blanket also.
His place looked different compared before. Everything is filled with his knitting, including his underlings' garments. His underlings looked like they had no choice with the matter.
Dad and his underlings tried to remove the transformation stone from my forehead but to no avail that eventually, dad excused us both and we went to his room to talk privately.
After securing the room with a spell that prevents anyone from eavesdropping, he gave a nod and told me to tell him everything what I haven't told him since our last conversation.
Of course I told him everything. I don't have anything left to hide from him anymore.
Yes, he knows about Rahab, Asmodeus and Subus now.
Also, I told him all I know about demons and the Netherworld according to the fantasy books that I used to read.
He took notes and frowned when I told him about the famous seven arch demons.
Seeing the look on his face, I know that he can't defeat them all if he face them now even if he has his underlings and the pack with him.
Yes, even if Leon and Maelsa is with us.
But thankfully, it's only Asmodeus and Beelzebub that have completed their arch demon form, according to Asmodeus. Sadly, dad told me that he can put up a fight against the two of them but it's a different story when the demon king is with them.
Especially that I'm here in this world.
If the demon king consumes me then it's really the end.
That's how powerful the demon king would end up after consuming my soul.
There's nothing in this world that would neutralize or weaken him. My former world has all sorts of gods and holy stuff that will prevent him from being too powerful but in this world, they have nothing else to control his madness.
I wonder why gods don't exist here?
Except for my Buddhist staff which had been blessed by the monks in my former world and was also amplified by Leon, we have nothing at all.
But to fight until we all die.
How tragic.
Despite dad being a lich that needed a lot of dead bodies for his army of the undead, even he admitted that it's too much and the world needed constant cycle of life and death to survive.
He was about to say something else when he stopped talking suddenly and stared at me for quite sometime.
Then with a glare, he asked me if I told him everything.
But I did!
I insisted that I told him everything when he interrupted me and took the hand mirror that we gave him.
He told me to look at my appearance in the mirror and oh, my gosh...
I looked so pale.
Seeing me in a panic, dad's face soften and murmured that he thought that I was trying to hide something from him.
In tears, I told him about the headaches and all the other sensations that I felt lately.
I confessed that I thought that it was just me with unstable hormones and not having my menstruation yet...
Seeing the confused look on dad's face made me realize that he doesn't have any idea what I'm talking about.
So I told him.
.....
I didn't know that liches could feel embarrassment.
They were supposed to have almost no emotion left in them.
Despite dad being like Lion who loves knowledge, he told me that he doesn't NEED to know EVERYTHING.
But he told me to tell him everything!
Dummy.
After a bit of awkwardness, he sighed and admitted that he has a bit of suspicion but maybe I am right.
What suspicion?
The transformation stone being embedded on my forehead may result in a disastrous effect on my body.
But I feel fine! Except for some discomfort maybe.
Still, he insisted on telling me about the signs and symptoms that I should look out for. If I feel any of those, I should tell him immediately.
How should I contact him when I'm just waiting for him to contact me first?
With a grin, he showed me the communication device that Lion gave him.
Aha! He just wants to use it!
Using the device, he can now manage not to use more of his power.
As for the signs and symptoms, these are the things that I should look out for:
1. Feeling of coldness.
But it's normal to feel cold after bathing!
2. Skin discoloration.
So far, I don't have any. Except that I looked pale, according to dad.
Lion and the rest of the pack didn't tell me anything about seeing discoloration on my skin so no, I don't have any.
3. Sensitivity to magic.
Huh? I have no words for it.
4. Fever or chills.
Am I supposed to be feeling sick?
5. Some parts of the body may feel heavier.
My forehead feels heavy because of the stupid magic stone. Nothing else.
6. The need to eat or sleep will be reduced.
If I kept tasting the food that I'm cooking, of course I'll feel full!
I still sleep a lot except that I take naps less often. I'm quite thankful for that.
7. Intrusive thoughts.
Uh.. this doesn't count as I kept having intrusive thoughts from time to time before getting the transformation stone.
8. Weird impulses.
Really.
9. Detachment.
Already experienced it before getting the stone!
10. Strange physical changes on some parts of the body.
Like what?
Dad couldn't answer the last question directly as he told me that it defers from individual to individual.
I see.
I assured dad that the pack and I would hurry back to the territory so Maelsa or Leon can remove it without any further trouble.
He still looked like in doubt so I told him that he can communicate with anyone from the pack using the communication device that Lion gave him.
That cheered him up a bit.
Ah, wait. I should ask him about the pregnancy problem.
Or not.
I didn't even get to finish my sentence when he told me that I should ask someone else about that, not him.
I protested that he should know since he is supposed to have all sorts of knowledge about almost everything.
Dad shrieked the word magic as he looked even more embarrassed.
Why should he...
Oh.
With sudden realization, I laughed uncontrollably.
He gave me a glare that I ignored.
How tragic. Hahaha!
It's such a waste having to spend eternity without any...
I laughed and laughed until I couldn't laugh anymore.
With a huge sigh, he just stared at me, deadpan, while waiting for me to stop laughing.
Unfortunately for him, it took a long time.
.....
Dad said that Leon sounds familiar to him, despite the description I gave of his current appearance. He didn't know him personally but he had heard about him.
He told me that as soon as the transformation stone is removed from my forehead, I should follow his suggestion.
Like?
Transforming Leon back to his original form.
Say, what?
I reminded dad that I'm not a magic user in which he told me that I should not underestimate the magic that comes from the transformation stone. Also, I should speak a certain incantation upon activating it.
It took me several efforts of trying to speak it properly until dad is satisfied.
He warned that I might sleep for days after doing it.
Dad has a smug look on his face as he confidently told me that Leon will be a great ally after I do that.
He added that we need a lot of loyal allies if we're planning to fight against the demon king.
Uh, dad? Who said anything about fighting back?!!
It took me awhile before I realized that we may eventually end up fighting against the demon king for several reasons:
The pack, especially Lion, doesn't want the demon king to have me. Yes, they finally learned about it after dad indirectly told them.
Dad, being a lich, says that this world is his territory. To be more precise, this part of the desert is his territory. But having the entire world as his territory doesn't sound too bad.
He now has a new goal and is trying to ignore my glare.
The pack again, wants revenge of all the pain and suffering that I experienced while being in this world.
Dad also wants revenge on the demon king for trying to hurt his imp.
Aww. Thanks dad.
Lion and Alpha wanted to destroy the demon king for tricking them. Dad had somehow managed to put things together with a little help from what I told him and indirectly made Lion realize the huge scam that he is in. As for Alpha, he already knew that he was scammed except for the part that the demon king had intended for me to return to this world all along.
They didn't know that I already knew about everything and continued to act normally. Dad didn't tell them that I knew after I begged him to keep them ignorant.
I don't want things to change between us.
But I can feel Lion's regret of his stupidity. I don't have any hard feelings about it. We didn't meet yet when he made the contract but I admit that it was stupid of him for making contracts with shady individuals because of greed.
Yes, it was greed as he might end up like dad or worse.
That's what happened to the unknown and dad. Wanting too much of something and not setting limits.
Alpha didn't regret anything, according to dad. He had told dad that he was willing to give his soul just to have me back with no regrets on his part.
But he was furious that my soul was used as the price as he didn't agree to it. When he first made the contract, it was his soul that was the price. To his horror, the scam was eventually revealed and that is why he had to do everything to prevent the demon king from getting my soul.
Despite the fact that dad reminded him that he can break the contract anytime as it's no longer his soul that will be taken anyway, Alpha exclaimed that he'd rather suffer in the Netherworld until the end of eternity than having the demon king claim my soul.
Sadly, Lion can't forgive himself.
He didn't say anything else after dad revealed the scam. Even when dad tried to lessen the pain by telling him that it's entirely the demon king's fault for changing the price of the contract. I know that Lion would know immediately if he was being scammed. I've got a feeling that he's in denial until dad indirectly made him aware of it.
After their conversation, something in Lion changed.
It's like he's obsessed in making plans to destroy any demon he might encounter, especially the demon king.
Of course, it's dad who told me about it as Lion pretended that everything is fine.
But I know that it's not as every time I slept, I felt him staring at me while caressing my face with trembling hands. Sometimes, I felt him crying silently while embracing me as he must've thought that I was asleep.
No I wasn't.
He's also getting paranoid whenever he can't see me, much to the rest of the pack's surprise. Except for Alpha as he already had an idea why.
The rest of the pack doesn't mind though as they themselves are guarded because of the current situation but Lion is on another level.
Since our visit from dad, Lion is always checking if I have any pain from my neck while planning with the rest of the pack on how they can set me free from my cuff. Also, Lion and Alpha became closer as they began making plans on how to break their contract while keeping me and my soul safe from the demon king.
The pack is making so many plans that it gave me headaches whenever I hear some parts of it. They usually talk whenever I'm supposed to be asleep. No matter how much I tried not to listen, I can hear parts and bits of it.
To be honest, my thoughts are jumbled and chaotic. Most of it doesn't make any sense at all. I'm not even sure that what I heard is real or if I had heard it properly.
Before we left, dad told me to be wary with Maelsa as he doesn't know him and will be investigating him soon.
Okay dad. Thanks.
....
We continued our journey with silence.
Lion told us that we're not stopping anymore and will be travelling day and night in order to arrive at the territory as soon as possible.
Despite the pack being exhausted, nobody complained as they are furious with everything and anxious about my safety.
With everyone lacking sleep, except me as I can sleep anytime with Lion holding me, they were soon short-tempered with each other.
Bickers soon turned into heated arguments then finally, an all-out brawl between them out of frustration and exhaustion.
While the pack were busy brawling with each other, I suddenly felt another intense headache coming.
The noises from the brawling made it worse.
Even though I don't usually meddle in their fights unless I had to, which is rare, I asked them in an annoyed voice if they could somehow stop and we'll try to settle things down peacefully.
I know that everyone is exhausted and frustrated. I'm also aware that they didn't mean it when they all told me to butt out and to leave them alone.
But it hurts to hear it.
I could see the horror on their faces when they realized what they unintentionally said that they immediately stopped fighting and tried to apologize to me.
Even though their words hurt, I understood them but before I could say something, suddenly I couldn't hear anything and my vision blurred until darkness.
.....
My head hurts.
I can hear all sorts of voices in my mind that seems to speak at the same time.
The voices told me about my failures and faults, making my chest hurt that I can feel myself trying to breathe fast.
What's wrong with me?
It feels like my body is in pain.
The burning kind, as if I'm being placed inside an oven.
I feel hot.
I tried to open my eyes but everything looks blurred.
Though my vision is blurred, I can somehow see that I'm inside a tent and lying on a rug.
My body is covered with several blankets and there's a piece of cloth on my forehead.
Ah.
I'm definitely sick.
How unfortunate.
I tried to glance around but it made me dizzy instead. My body feels so hot and painful.
It's so cold yet my body feels like it's burning. There's so many things that I need but somehow, I don't want to ask someone for help.
It.. still hurts.
I kept on panting while someone tried to wipe my body with a cool cloth.
No! It's too cold!
I still can't hear anyone as it seems like my ears somehow failed to work, as if I have a really bad cold.
I wonder why I got sick all of a sudden? There's no reason for me to get sick and it is a bad timing as the pack might think that I got sick because of what they said.
It hurts but I don't blame them at all as they...
A voice in my head interrupted me and told me in a sneer that I'm the cause of their distress.
It kept blaming me all sorts of things that even though I was not affected at first, it somehow wore me down.
All sorts of negative thoughts filled my mind that soon, all my past painful and traumatic experiences gave me a reminder.
Yeah. Why did I try to forget everything?
Feelings of sorrow and anger filled my thoughts that my breathing became erratic and my fever got even more worse.
Yes. I know that I'm having a fever. The worst kind of fever.
Mercifully, I did not become blind and deaf as soon, I'm starting to hear sounds and voices despite my condition.
My vision improved even though my fever is becoming even more dangerous that I'm at risk of dying.
What else is new?
I can see the pack in a panic and sobbing as they tried to find a way to heal me. I can hear them trying to apologize all sorts of stuff that I ignored as I somehow felt abnormal surge of anger towards them.
There's no pity from me when I saw their exhaustion and pain written all over their faces.
....
They finally collapsed out of exhaustion despite drinking several bottles of energy potion.
Too bad that they didn't see me getting a bit stronger.
Not just stronger but somehow refreshed and renewed.
Like being born again.
I sat up and glanced around and saw them in disheveled, sorry state as they somehow surrounded me in a protective circle despite their condition.
How pathetic.
Wait. Why am I thinking like this?!
Lion looked like he hasn't slept for so long that he looked dreadful. Sly is a mess. Alpha seems like he's shedding fur and hair all over because of stress. Orm looks like a ghost. Ghost himself... I have no words to describe him.
That's just me being kind in describing them.
They actually looked even worse than the words that I described them.
Ha! Good for them.
What the...what are these thoughts?! I'm not that kind of person to think horrible thoughts towards the pack no matter how hurt i..
A lie. Stop lying to yourself!
I'm not lying! SHUT UP!
No, YOU shut up!
Stop it!
It's so noisy!
All sorts of voices filled my mind that my body soon started trembling. Is this what dad warned me about?!
Dad! Help me!
Of course, I'm asking dad for help as I...
I don't want to burden the pack, especially Lion anymore.
I bit my lip hard as I tried to stand up when I saw a glimpse of my hand.
It doesn't look like a hand anymore.
But a claw.