CHAPTER 4

“THEN WHY? Why appear now? Why abandon me? Did I do something wrong? Why?” Cent’s voice cracked as she stared at the man. The latter was staring at her as if she was a puzzle that needed solving.

“Can you stand?” Instead, his reply earned him a confused response from Cent, who was on the verge of breaking down. 

“Huh?”

“Can you stand?” He asked her again with an even tone that would be mistaken as a dull tone or as if he was bored. Cent reluctantly nodded her head, wondering what he would do. But as soon as she moved her head, his enormous left wing swept her as the infernal flames engulfed them.

“What the heck!” Cent widened her eyes as she saw how the fire did not hurt her or how they were transported to the dining room after she blinked.

I doubted again if I was in a dream or a dream within a dream.

Being cradled by a gigantic wing was one thing, but being treated gently as if he cared for her like a father would make Cent teary-eyed again. “I will tell you everything, but first, eat.”

He gently slid her to the ground to recover her balance. The weight of her wings at her back and the horn on her forehead did not weigh her down, which astounded Cent since the latter thought she would be having difficulty walking. 

“Come.” Her estranged father beckoned her to sit at the right seat of the head table where he was about to sit. Now in his human form again, he offered her the chair himself. 

A big slimy arm with a glove-covered hand served her beef steak. Looking up, her jaw almost dropped when she saw another creature from her sketchbook. Cent was sure she saw this creature in her nightmares like Mr. Goblin or her alleged father. The creature had big round eyes almost popping and his fangs upside down. His face twisted gruesomely when he attempted to grin at her which she replied with a forced smile. “Hey. Awesome teeth. Where are you getting your dental care?”

“That one doesn’t talk. His name is Frankenstein, an oni.” Her alleged father took her attention back.

Oh, they have names? Of course, they have names. 

“What about Mr. Goblin? What’s his name?”

She asked this out of curiosity, so she thought it would be alright to ask, but the telltale sign of the very first emotion she saw in his eyes made her think otherwise. His bright green eyes glared at her, but she somehow felt she was not the recipient of the harsh glare. Woah. How the heck did I know that?

“Why are you asking for Gukasho? Did he do something?” 

Gukasho? Cent smiled as he remembered that he had called her ‘my lady’ since she woke up. Something she only saw in N*****x Series. She felt like a princess. Unfortunately, his estranged father did not take her reaction lightly.

In one snap, he brought a freshly bathed Gukasho. The loud clatter of her knife dropping to the floor resonated in the eerily quiet and vast dining room.

“My-My lord? What am I doing here, interrupting your time with the princess?” He was genuinely clueless that the Grand Duke was already plotting to kill him in many ways after the dinner.

“I also want to know, Gukasho.” His every word was laced with a promise of painful death which made the poor goblin turn pale.

Cent wanted to help, so she interrupted the prosecution in front of her. “Forgive him, please. I was wondering since I first saw him when I woke up.”

“And why should I forgive him?” His sharp, bright green eyes turned to her, challenging her to give him an answer that would spare a life. Though Cent did not truly understand why her alleged father suddenly became murderous.

Well, I guess he is called the great demon Beelzebub the Glutton for a reason. An idea popped out from her train of thought. Though it was an embarrassing thing to do, Cent did not want to see a bloodbath while eating a beefsteak. With a trembling voice, she reached out to his right arm. “Please, da-dad.” Her cheeks felt hot as she wanted to tuck tail and run to the nearest room and hide; Cent steeled herself while gazing at her alleged father’s eyes.

The ferocity in his eyes vanished like it was never there. The reaction made Cent blow a breath of relief. The feral demon snapped his fingers again, vanishing the pitiful goblin looking at her in a new light.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Cent asked him when she could not stand the awkward silence anymore. Not to mention his creepy gaze as he watched her eat.

“I don’t eat,” he answered her in a matter-in-fact way.

“Oh, right. You’re the great demon. So no human eating diet chart, huh. Sounds cool.” She wanted to sound nonchalant as she talked about cannibalism, but the idea of eating humans made her want to puke the beefsteak she had just swallowed.

“Demons feed on the middle world’s depravity. Chaos, famine, plague, and war were my source of strength, basically what you called food. You won’t need to feed on depravity for you, a half-demon. Instead, your power manifested in me. You will learn about that soon.”

The rest of the dinner continued with him staring at her again. Cent poured all of her focus into her meal while having a mantra in her mind. 

Mind over matter. Mind over matter. Mind over matter, wooh! 

Finishing the last of her meal finally, Cent wiped her lips after drinking. Then she faced him with renewed conviction. “So, why did you abandon me?” Her voice held a no-bullshit tone.

Cent wanted to know why she had to go through that. She needed to understand why she had to grow up thinking she did not belong when he was lurking around the corner doing some evil stuff.

With her emotions wrecked, Cent felt her eyes changing colors that match his bright lime green ones. “Your mother died from childbirth. Keeping you meant killing you, Maleficent. The Demon King Lucifer made three absolute laws in the Malevolent world with six other demons, including me, thousands of years ago. The first law stated that our children could not stay with us until the said children turned eighteen.”

The Grand Duke continued when he saw that she was listening and observing every word he uttered. “That law has certain conditions. One of those is if I keep you, your demon blood will eat you. And for someone born from a human, your heart will not be able to take it. You would die should I defy the laws. So I waited. I waited for eighteen years, Maleficent. I waited for you to come home with me.” His tone lacked affection, but it did not lessen the impact of his words on a girl who had longed for a home her entire life.

Staring at her father without blinking, Cent felt her tears race to fall. I am not abandoned because I am an abomination.  

Reading her mind, the Grand Duke shook his head. “No, you are never an abomination. You are just unique among those humans. I was there. I was there when the nun took you. I was there when you first got your ability. And I was there when they tried to baptize you. You may not see me, but you were never alone. The shadows with you are a piece of my shadow. I am always with you as you took a piece of me wherever you go, my child.”

Cent could not take it anymore. She abruptly dashed to her father, hugging him tightly as she wept like a five-year-old child. Maybe, in her heart, she was still a kid missing her family.

I have been lost for eighteen years and am finally home.

Cent kept on crying until her eyes could not cry anymore. His scent smelled like home. And his large hand patted her back, lulling her to sleep.

“MY LORD, Headmaster Kirk sent an invitation for the princess.” Gukasho nervously handed the charcoal-colored envelope with the Transylvania Academy emblem onto the coffee table. The purple-skinned goblin almost jumped when the Grand Duke set the envelope aflame by just glaring at it.

Gukasho knew that the Grand Duke neglected all his duties just to watch his daughter sleep as he sat on the settee beside the bed she was staying in. “I took eighteen years standing behind the shadows as I watched her grow up. It’s been two days since I got her. And now you are bringing me the news that will take my daughter away from me again?” His tone was calm and lifeless, but the burning anger behind his eyes could not be mistaken for Gukasho.

“I dare not, my lord. I am only concerned for the princess’ well-being. Should she fail to attend Transylvania Academy, the other three Halflings will target her easily. It is the only place that could help her bring out her full potential.”

Transylvania Academy was founded by the three leaders of the world. The angel, Michael, from the Benevolent World; the Kraken, Headmaster Kirk, from the Ambivalent World; and the demon king, Lucifer, from the Malevolent World.

This academy was the only school where the creatures of the three worlds could coexist. It was in the neutral zone, the home of the great tree Ygdrasil.

And the young miss must attend and be recognized by the Demon King to be fully accepted in the Demon World. Gukasho knew that the Grand Duke cared for his only child, but if he wanted her to survive the Demon World, he must let his daughter be a monster worthy of her name.

“What’s with Transylvania Academy?” Cent stretched like a cat before she sat on the bed to face the two, talking about a particular academy she should attend.

“I will excuse myself, my lord, my lady.” Cent saw Gukasho leave her and her father to talk. The very thought of having a father made Cent smile like a lunatic. She wanted to scream and shout that she had got family. Her internal happy dance got interrupted when her father cleared his throat to draw her attention.

“I need to talk to you about that, Maleficent.” He sat on the edge of her bed.

The way he was stalling made Cent nervous as heck. She got a bad feeling about it. Dreading his words, she listened to him, her hands fisting the blanket. 

Is this the part when he will tell me that I have to go back to foster care? I thought I was finally home?

“No, Maleficent. You are never going back to that place ever again. But before I can take you to my estate in the Demon World, the first law still has the last condition.”

“The first law again? The last time the first law interjected, I had to spend eighteen years without my last living family. Do I have to endure it again? Please, dad. I can’t take that anymore, knowing I have you.” Cent’s frantic and clammy hands held his large cold hands. Her voice was trembling as tears threatened to spill. His firm and callous hands grasped her cheeks. “Listen to me, Maleficent. You will not be taken away from me again. It is just this condition requires you to study at a school where you will foster your demonic attributes. You need to learn how to be a monster, my child.”

What?