Werewolf Leveling: Building the Strongest Pack in the Apocalypse

Chapter 246: The Dullahan

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Khalissi was in a predicament of her own. She was about to come face to face with the demon who had set its sights on the city. Right at the edge of Purgatory, there was a bluish, slightly transparent barrier.

One that surrounded the entire city. Though it was difficult to see what was outside the barrier, Khalissi could very well sense it. It was a demon. And from the presence that this demon emitted, she knew it wasn’t any demon she had met before.

"Just who are you?" she wondered again. She wondered tirelessly. This was one of the few times in her entire existence that she had felt nervous.

She hoped that it was a demon weak enough where she could defeat it without hassle. But she was more worried about the possibility that it wasn’t a weak demon. If the wrong demon happened upon this place, then it would mean the end for everyone in the city.

With that possibility, she clutched her staff tightly in her hand and pointed it towards the barrier.

"I wonder how that idiot is getting on without me."

Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind along with the image of a certain person. But as these thoughts reared, a small smile began to form on her lips. She had been keeping guard of the barrier for a few days now, and those thoughts were the only thing that kept her going, or else she would’ve retreated long ago.

She would’ve broken down the barrier and escaped the city without anyone being the wiser. As those thoughts continued to play out in her mind, she suddenly felt something. She suddenly felt as if the presence was closer than before, as if it was right outside the barrier in front of her.

Realizing this, a purplish energy began swirling around the tip of her staff as she hastily tried to create a defense.

If the demon was going to get through the barrier, then it would need to break through with a powerful magic blast or brute force.

Khalissi prepared in advance to defend from such an attack, but her expectations were soon destroyed.

"What...? What is this?"

What she saw first was the head of a black horse. The horse moved through the barrier seamlessly as if it was a ghost. Mounted on the back of the beast was a headless horseman.

The horseman was dressed as a knight with a golden cloak dancing in the wind behind him. The armor wasn’t new. It seemed quite worn and had spots of dried blood covering the chest area and sleeves. Where its head was supposed to be lay only a stump that emitted black smoke.

Its only weapon seemed to be a whip made of human spines. The bone at the end was pointed and curved. It looked almost exactly like the stinger of a scorpion.

The horse, on the other hand, had a grey mane and red lifeless eyes. Black smoke oozed from its hooves.

"That’s... You’re a dullahan. You’re one of death’s. Why would you be here?" Khalissi muttered in disbelief.

Seeing the creature in front of her, an ominous feeling rose from the pit of her stomach. She never thought that she would encounter a creature that belonged to death himself.

What could he want?

All sorts of questions raged in her mind, but she knew no matter how much she guessed, she would never find the answer.

This demon had come to this city for a very specific reason, and if it was for the person she wished to protect, then she wouldn’t let it have him. She tightened her grip on her staff, pouring her magical energy through the weapon and aiming it at the dullahan.

"I won’t let you pass."

...

"That was always the plan," Mariah chuckled, and suddenly her shadow peeled itself off the ground and stood directly in front of me. "This should be enough."

The shadow glided across the floor, then stuck out its hands which took the shape of a spike. Sensing the danger, I leaned back to evade the blow while at the same time, I grabbed at the shadow.

My hands passed through it as if it was a ghost.

’So it can switch between a solid and ghost-like state,’ I mused.

The shadow continued to throw attacks at me, stretching its body and twisting itself into odd shapes to mimic a whip. If I attacked, it would become ghost-like, causing my attacks to pass through it.

Mariah remained seated, her legs crossed as she chuckled softly. She seemed satisfied by her creation.

The shadow seemed on guard for my attack, so the only way I was going to defeat it was with my speed. It would solidify itself every time it came in for an attack, so all I needed to do was counter before it went back to its ghost-like state.

Mariah’s shadow stretched its arms and swung it like a whip. The moment her attack was going to make contact, that’s when I struck. I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me. At that moment, I also realized something: as long as I remained in constant contact with her, then she couldn’t revert back to her ghostly state.

Just a single tug of her arms was all it took to send her flying through the air towards me. I readied my claws when I saw the speed at which she was approaching.

The impact was soundless as her speeding body came in contact with my claws. I buried it deep inside its chest and slammed it down onto the ground, breaking through the floor in the process.

"KREEWW!!"

The shadow let out a loud scream in its final moments. A second later, it poofed into smoke. I glanced up at Mariah to see that there was a small smile on her face, not only that, but she was standing up.

"Not bad," she said, and immediately as she spoke, several shadows began surrounding her and just as before, these shadows began peeling themselves off the ground.

"Can you face all of us?"