Awakening Domination System: But I'm a Slave?-Chapter 325: Hunt [End]

Malachai ignored her. Reached out toward Brandon with one bloodstained hand.

But then...

He paused.

His entire body going rigid. He jumped backward.

Then—

WHOOSH!

Something massive landed where Malachai had been standing. The impact cracked the ground, sent soldiers stumbling.

A figure straightened from the landing crouch.

Tall. Female. Mature form with curves that spoke of power given flesh. White hair. Crimson eyes. Tail swishing behind her.

Lilith Morgath Nyx’athar.

Mother of Demons.

And she was furious.

"Oh, so we have an audience," Malachai commented.

Serana’s head jerked upward.

And she saw... there, on the mountain ridge overlooking the battle were—

Demons.

Thousands of them. A full army. All wearing colors that marked them as Lilith’s forces, as soldiers of the Demon Realm itself.

Elite units. Ancient demons.

All armed. All ready. All waiting for the Mother’s command.

Lilith’s crimson eyes found Malachai’s blood-red ones.

"Leave," she said flatly. All pretense of playfulness gone. Just absolute authority. "Emperor of Vampires. This is my domain."

As she spoke, demons poured from her position. Thousands of them flooding down the mountain, emerging from the ground, materializing from shadow. All taking positions that surrounded the vampire forces completely.

Weapons raised. Ready to kill on command.

Malachai’s eyes narrowed. His soldiers tensed, suddenly aware of how thoroughly they were outnumbered.

"These two are captives of my realm," Malachai said, his voice carrying forced calm. "I’m here to retrieve escaped prisoners who—"

Lilith gestured dismissively to the side.

Where demon corpses lay scattered. Elite units. Powerful creatures. All killed in the chaos.

"These bloodsuckers," she said, pointing at Serana, "killed my kind. In my territory." Her smile was sharp and cold. "Which means they answer to me. Not you."

She gestured.

Demonic soldiers moved immediately. Surrounded Serana, pressing weapons to her back, her neck, her head. Creating circle of blades that trapped her and her children.

Serana closed her eyes. Pulled Brandon and Elara closer against her chest. Whispered desperate apologies they couldn’t understand.

Malachai’s jaw clenched. "You know what you’re doing, demon?"

"I know exactly what I’m doing," Lilith replied without flinching.

"Do you?" Her crimson eyes blazed. "Coming into MY domain with your filthy troops? Killing my citizens? Starting conflicts on borders you have no authority over?"

She took a step forward. Power radiating from her like physical pressure.

"Or did you forget that I’m not some Noble House you can bully? That I’ve existed longer than you? That I could end you and every soldier you brought here without breaking a sweat?"

Her smile widened.

"Go ahead. Try me. See how far you get before I tear your empire apart from the inside. See how your coalition holds together."

She leaned forward slightly. "Test me, Emperor. I dare you."

Malachai stood rigid. His eyes swept across the assembled demonic forces. Thousands of them. Including figures he recognized, ancient demons, powerful entities, creatures that could match or exceed his own capabilities.

His fists clenched.

I could take her. One on one, I could but...

But not all of them. Not her and her army. Not without risking everything he’d built.

His eyes found Serana one last time. Found the two children she clutched desperately.

"Retreat," he commanded his soldiers. His voice was flat. Final.

The vampire forces pulled back. Slowly. Reluctantly. But they obeyed.

Malachai was last to leave, his blood-red eyes holding Lilith’s crimson ones across the distance.

"You haven’t done any good here, demon," he said quietly. "You think keeping them alive is mercy?"

"I think," Lilith replied with equal quiet, "that you should worry about your own realm. Before I decide to make it my business."

Malachai’s expression darkened. But he turned and walked away, his soldiers falling in around him.

They disappeared into the forest. Essence signatures fading. Leaving only devastation behind.

Silence fell over the battlefield.

Lilith gestured. Her demonic soldiers lowered their weapons, stepped back from Serana, gave the family space.

Then Lilith snapped her fingers.

And the "elite" demon corpses scattered across the battlefield shifted. Changed. Revealed their true forms, the lesser demon beasts, corrupted animals, nothing of real value.

These were illusions. She made them look like elite soldiers to strengthen her claim. To make Malachai think twice about challenging her authority.

Lilith turned and walked toward Thaddeus’s body.

He lay on the corrupted ground, blood pooling beneath him, his eyes staring at nothing.

She knelt beside him.

His breathing had nearly stopped. Shallow, irregular gasps.

His essence channels were shredded beyond repair.

But he was still aware. His copper eyes found hers as she knelt.

She clutched his wound, tried to channel healing essence, tried to repair, tried to save him, but...

Nothing happened.

The damage was too severe.

Thaddeus’s hand moved weakly. Clutched her wrist. His lips moved, forming words too quiet to hear.

"Protect them. Please. My children..."

Lilith’s jaw clenched. Her crimson eyes blazed with fury and grief.

"I promise you, my friend," she said, her voice carrying absolute conviction. "He won’t be touching even a strand of their hair. I swear it."

Thaddeus’s eyes cleared slightly. Understanding.

He blinked once. A single nod.

Then his body went limp. His final breath released. Eyes losing focus, becoming glass.

Dead.

Lilith closed his eyes gently. Pressed her hand over them until they stayed shut.

Paying final respect to a vampire who’d been more than just her best friend’s lover, who’d been family.

She stood. Turned toward the crying trio.

Serana knelt on the ground, clutching both children, sobbing uncontrollably. Her black hair fell forward, hiding her face. Her shoulders shook with grief.

Brandon and Elara clung to her. To each other. Both crying. Both traumatized beyond anything children should endure.

Lilith knelt before them. Her arms wrapped around all three.

"You’ll be okay," she whispered. Not a promise she could guarantee. Just... hope. Desperate, necessary hope.

"I’ve got you. All of you. You’re safe now."

She stroked Serana’s back. Held them while they broke. While they processed. While they tried to accept reality that couldn’t be accepted.

Brandon’s small face pressed against Lilith’s shoulder. His crimson eyes so much like his mother’s, stared over her shoulder.

At his father’s body. Cooling on corrupted ground.

At the forest where Malachai’s forces had disappeared.

And something changed in those eyes.

Not just grief. Not just fear.

Hatred.

Pure, burning, absolute hatred.

His small hands clenched into fists. His jaw set with determination that shouldn’t exist in four-year-old features.

He didn’t have words yet. Didn’t have the vocabulary to articulate what he felt.

But the curse formed anyway.

The man who took his father...

Everything would be taken away from him.

The teardrop pendant around his neck pulsed faintly.

Lilith held them. Protected them. Whispered promises she’d kill to keep.

And on the corrupted ground, Thaddeus Crimsonveil lay dead.

The last of House Crimsonveil.

Father. Husband. Survivor.

Gone.

But his children lived.

And in Brandon’s young heart, something took root.

Something patient.

Something inevitable.