One and I kept staring at each other for a long time without moving until we heard his underlings coming inside the room
I smirked at him as I tried my best not to get distracted while he simply looked amused as he kept staring at me.
The other liches started to murmur among themselves again, their voices getting distracting until One had enough that he shrieked at them in annoyance.
I win!
One facepalmed himself while muttering that he isn't this short fused and maybe it's my presence that's making him like that.
He told me that the name imp suits me though I don't look like one.
I just shrugged at him and demanded for Ghost to be released.
Of course, he found my demand hilarious.
I took a deep breath before reminding him about his phylactery.
He complained that it isn't fair of me offering it as I stole it in the first place.
I retorted that he should've found a better place to hide it then.
We continued to bicker, him trying to accuse me of being a thief and all sorts of names while I emphasized to him that if he thinks his phylactery is valuable to him then Ghost is also extremely precious to me too.
It took a long time for us to settle on a compromise of some sorts.
One told me that he will release Ghost on 3 conditions.
First, I should be able to hurt him.
Second, I should be able to show him an interesting way to damage him using any kind of magic.
Third, I should be able to teach him another hobby to pass the time.
He's trying to trick me!
He knows that I'm not a magic user!
And also by being a lich for a long time, he has all sorts of immunities placed on his body that a lot of spells might not cause any damage on him.
One smirked at me as he told me that he will give me some time to think of solutions. If I failed to do any of that, everyone especially me, will be turned into a lich.
And serve him for all eternity.
Ah.. so that's what happened to Ten and the others.
He gained underlings by tricking them!
Now I'm feeling pressured.
....
Of course we made a contract again.
Also he placed in the contract that he can't hurt me after doing all his demands, including my companions.
He looked too confident with himself as it seemed that I don't have a way to fulfill his demands.
I don't have an idea too on how to fulfill his demands!
I glanced around, trying to buy time when I saw Ghost staring at me as if he wants to say something.
His eyes looked like he was trying hard to tell me something when I suddenly remembered that he has my bag with him.
And my Buddhist staff.
YES!!!!
I know what to do now!
With a pitiful look on my face, I asked One if he has my bag.
One looked confused as he answered me that he didn't see me carrying anything when I arrived here in his place.
True.
I told him that my precious companion has my bag with him making One ponder for a bit before asking Ten to get it for him.
One is curious on how Ghost ended up having my bag in which I told him about the sandstorm.
He seemed bothered by what I said and told 3 of the liches that are watching us to investigate the matter.
Seeing that he treated the matter with the sandstorm seriously, I continued on telling him all about the cultists and what I saw in their abode.
One muttered all sorts of expletives under his breath, making me realize that he knows something about demons.
Suddenly, I remembered something I read about from one of my fantasy books.
Of course!
Liches and demon kings are natural enemies as they are extremely territorial!
Though both of them are evil, they have different goals and similar in thoughts of not serving a master.
They have huge pride of themselves.
Demon kings focus on total destruction while liches seek dominion and ruling their own kingdom but in isolation.
As soon as I'm done resolving his demands, I should probably give him a hint on the situation with the demons. Maybe he can help us.
....
One looked at my Buddhist staff with curiosity.
I know that he is curious about the staff as spiritual or holy magic doesn't yet exist here since none of the inhabitants in this world believe in a higher being.
And that gave me some advantage.
I reminded One of his agreement that he can't hurt me if I did all his demands, making him chuckle for a bit before answering that I should make sure to hurt him first before worrying about myself.
Okay.. he definitely said that!
The rest of the liches began murmuring among themselves again, making One get distracted that he turned towards them, shrieking in annoyance when I suddenly struck him hard on his skull using the Buddhist staff.
If Leon didn't amplify my Buddhist staff, hitting One would've been no effect at all.
So make sure you don't follow my method.
Liches have immunity against non-magical attacks such as bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage. But since my Buddhist staff is a magical, holy type of weapon, it provided a bit of damage.
Lucky me that Leon amplified it too much that it became deadly.
Also, there are rules in using a Buddhist staff in which I can't use it to kill or harm a being, even if it's evil, intentionally so I had to pretend that his head is some sort of a baseball and the Buddhist staff as the bat, bypassing the rules.
And you can guess what happened next.
....
I grinned at One as I reminded him again about his agreement in which he just looked at me warily.
The rest of the liches snickered at him, making him glare towards them that they instantly murmured among themselves again.
Now I'm about to do his second demand.
I told him that he should stand at the center of the room while the rest of the liches should stay away from us as far as possible.
Of course it didn't take too long to persuade the rest of the liches as they already have an idea that my Buddhist staff is deadlier than it looks.
They hurriedly moved towards the door and stood there along with the rest of my companions, looking like they are extremely enjoying the show.
One took a deep breath before telling me that he didn't expect that I would hit him like that.
In fact, I'm the first one who actually tried to use that kind of method in attempting to hurt him.
Ha! He really didn't expect it as it is impulsive of me to use that kind of method!
Not to mention that I struck him in a sneaky kind of way.
To be fair, nothing about the contract says that I should attack fairly.
Of course he told me that nobody can dare to do that to him in the future as he will make sure that he will be immune at that kind of attack.
Then with a nod from him, I started to chant all sorts of mantras and sutras.
While chanting, I danced the holy dance of the monks as a whitish glow surrounded One's body.
Immediately, he told me to stop and admitted that I did his second demand well.
But I wasn't finished yet!
In fact, I was just getting started!
He asked me what kind of magic that I used as he thought that I wasn't a magic user in the first place.
I grinned at him then told him that there's a price for learning that kind of information.
....
Even though his place is horrible, we decided to stay for a day as the other liches generously helped my companions in improving their magic.
In fact, too generous as if they were glad that I did revenge for them against One.
Despite being hesitant at first, my companions were soon thankful for the opportunity as the liches taught them really good techniques.
No wonder, as liches are known to be master spellcasters.
And they lived for a long time too, giving them time to master all sorts of magic and improving it as well.
Everyone enjoyed it except for Bubu as she insisted on staying outside of One's place.
I don't know why she tried to avoid him but it seems that she doesn't mind staying outside as she mentioned that she will practice her attacks on the undead instead.
One seemed to be looking at her in a strange kind of way though he didn't say anything.
Oohh.. are they ex-lovers or something?
One seems to know what I'm thinking about that he instantly shook his head.
He doesn't know her but he thinks that she is too strange for him.
One and I are sitting beside each other as I'm teaching him how to knit.
He enjoyed it immensely and told me that I did all his demands quite well.
Of course, Ghost was released instantly and is spending time with us by placing his head on my lap while I kept caressing his head.
Ghost had appeared in the middle of the burial grounds, causing chaos and ruckus that all of the liches, especially One, came out of their abode to investigate the noise as they can't concentrate with their work.
They were intrigued upon seeing Ghost transformed into his ultimate form as they didn't know that it was possible to transform into a lich and be able to return to your regular form.
I told One that he should get out from his place from time to time as there are so many wonderful things that he has yet to discover.
He looked surprised upon hearing me, including Ghost as well when I mentioned about wonderful things.
I told him that everything is wonderful to me, and that they all have their own beauty which made it more extraordinary.
Disbelief in my statement showed on his face as he smirked at me, asking if I found their lich forms beautiful as well.
To prove my point, I asked Ghost to transform into his ultimate form in front of me.
He was hesitant at first but he eventually obeyed.
Then I told him to lower his face in which I kissed him tenderly on his forehead while caressing his face.
If you could only see One's face!
As for Ghost, he seemed over the moon with my affection that he instantly carried me in his arms before remembering that One and I are in the middle of a conversation.
Since then, One has no doubts on what I tell him.
....
One looked at Ghost in disbelief when I mentioned to him that Ghost and I aren't mates yet.
It took him a while to glare at Ghost before asking him if he is out of his mind.
Ghost didn't answer him though his face got extremely red that he hurriedly joined the others with their magical training.
One muttered all sorts of unpleasant names towards Ghost under his breath while knitting in a record speed.
He told me that he'll be my parent from this day forward and that I should tell him if I'm in some trouble as he will immediately help me.
That's actually helpful!
But I should give him his phylactery first.
Of course! I almost forgot!
Facing him, I kept on striking my chest repeatedly until I regurgitated the gem.
Now I can finally feel comfortable!
I smiled at him while handing him the gem in which he had a horrified look in his face.
Of course since he declared himself as my parent, he scolded me for a long time.
....
Too long even until we are about to leave his place, following me everywhere as he kept on nagging me all sorts of stuff.
He told me that he will check on me from time to time, making sure that I'm safe and that my mates should handle me with great care.
Or else.
He's a strange lich. I thought he can't feel any emotions at all.
Oh, well. Not everything that I know about in my previous world is applicable here.
He told us the location of Deus, which was very helpful to us as we don't need to waste anymore time in trying to find him.
While my companions are busy talking with their lich instructors except for Bubu, who stayed away in a far distance from them, One took me aside and warned me to stay extremely vigilant.
Of course I told him everything. Yes, everything including the fact that I'm not from this world.
He looked fascinated at first before horror appeared on his face as he understood the seriousness of my situation.
And yes, he knows EVERYTHING. Somehow, Rahab's spell doesn't apply to him but he can't talk to anyone else about what I told him.
Hmmm.. magic really is weird.
Anyway, he told me that he will get to the bottom of it and will get rid of the cultists too.
Interestingly, he told me that he suspected that the demons who are after me and the demons that the cultists are worshipping are different from each other. It's as if they belonged to different factions.
Also, he told me that I'm correct in my assumption that the demon king must be here and in disguise.
I shouldn't contact him directly as I might bring unwanted attention upon myself. Instead, he will be the one to contact me directly but he has to make a spell that will go undetected by the demon king.
Yes, he knows that the demon king has eyes everywhere.
He admitted that he might have a chance with the demon king a long time ago but the problem now became too great for him to challenge the demon king alone.
Not to mention that my blood can amplify the demon king's abilities unlike him. One doesn't need to consume blood but improving his abilities takes a long time, giving the demon king a huge advantage against him.
He warned me again to be careful and wrapped a scarf that he knitted around my neck.
Sadly, he can't remove the cuff around my neck but promised me that he will try to find a way to remove it.
I immediately hugged him and told him to take care of himself and that he should contact me anytime.
We all rode on Sly's back as he is on his dragon form, while the liches stood by watching us when I suddenly called One as dad.
Everyone looked at me curiously, including One in which I explained to them what a dad is.
Then with a wave from me, Sly took off and to my surprise, I saw One smile at me.
I didn't know liches could smile genuinely.
Oh well, it's a strange world after all.