"No!" I yelled, abruptly waking up.
Upon surveying my surroundings, I realized that I was seated in a private chamber within one of my sect's sanctuary.
"No, not that again."
After that incident, every time I went to sleep, my mind would replay the times I had lost someone I loved.
The nightmare I just had was about when that demon first appeared and took away my family and friends.
More than eighty percent of the people in my hometown were killed by the demon Lilith that day.
But even that was not enough for her. Ten years later, when I was employed as a demon hunter, she returned and took away Nehal from me.
"Mom, dad, Nehal, Aman, I swear in the name of god that I will find that demon and kill her."
*Knock* *Knock*
"Is everything fine, lord. I was going to knock on the door when I heard you shouting."
"Everything's fine."
"Could I enter the room, Lord?"
"Yes."
The door in front of me opened, and a smiling woman entered with her head bowed and her gaze directed at the ground.
"You can look at my face, Kimi."
"I do not think I am worthy of gazing directly at you, my Lord."
Kimi was one of my disciples and was in charge of all the White Moon Sect sanctuary's located in country J.
"Is everything prepared?"
"Yes, my lord, your fellow followers are patiently waiting for the lord himself to bless them."
"Okay. Anything more?"
"Yes, we discovered a total of seventy people with zero aura throughout the country, the majority of whom live in city T."
"All right, now leave. I will meet my followers in a moment."
Kimi bowed down and then exited the room, her head still bowed and her gaze fixed on the floor.
After a few minutes, I stood up and made my way to the hall where all of the city S supporters were gathered.
...
Opening the door, I saw a large group of people, all dressed in white, smiling widely and sitting quietly at their seats.
I entered through the door near the elevated stage, and as I approached the mic, the followers bowed down when they noticed me.
They began to cry while still smiling and uttering comments as they turned to face me.
I heard a shout from the crowd in front of me that said, "Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with your presence."
"He is so powerful that simply looking at him gives me goosebumps."
"I feel like I can die right now."
...
There are various ways to get someone to follow you, such as offering them money or using force, but these methods are only short-term.
Once you stop giving them money or using force, they will stop following you.
However, if someone begins to follow you, the situation completely changes because they will do as you say and regard you as someone superior to them.
But then again, it is not that simple to win someone over to your way. You have to prove to them that you are someone who can offer them hope when they are feeling low.
"My followers, happiness isn't found in fleeting pleasures or material possessions. True happiness emanates from within, from a deep connection with our community and purpose.
To achieve lasting happiness, we must shed the burdens of the outside world and embrace our shared journey towards enlightenment.
Death is unavoidable. Everyone who has ever lived in this world will die at some point, but death caused by a demon is unacceptable.
These demons feed on our lives, and they believe they can get away with it.
No! They can't! I guarantee that I will destroy every demon that exists in this world.
Let me ask you something, raise your hands if you joined us because you are afraid of a demon possessing you."
I noticed that more than half of the people seated in front of me raised their hands.
"Even so, you are allowing demons to live alongside you? The individuals who lack mana, or what we call "zeroes," are actually demons masquerading as humans.
The government withholds this information from us because it may cause issues for them, but as those who have lost loved ones to demons, it is our responsibility to exterminate all traces of them in order to find true happiness."
For a minute, the group in front of me was silent, but then one of the men yelled, "Yes, Lord, we will not let any demons to live with us," and after that, everyone began to concur with me.
I opened my arms and yelled, "If you ever find zeros, report us your family and we will get rid of that demon and attain pure happiness."
...
Following my speech in city S, we were headed to the other sanctuary located in city T.
We were stopped by heavy traffic on our way to the sanctuary, so I started staring out my window.
While looking out of the window I noticed two high school students who caught my attention.
One was a male student with a familiar dead look on his eyes, and the other was a female student of the same height with freckles on her face.
I was especially drawn to the male student because he did not have an aura and, for some reason, seeing him brought back memories from my past.
I was staring at him when he looked straight at me, as if he sensed my presence. However, the girl pinched his ears, causing him to turn from me to her.
"Lord Rohit, is something wrong?"
I tried to sprint directly towards them after hurling myself out of my car, but a truck pulled in front of me, obstructing my path.
I passed the truck and made my way to the sidewalk where that male student was walking, but it was too late because they were not there.
In the hopes of finding the student, I ran in their direction, but I was unable to locate them.
"It is that demon, I finally found you after eight years, and this time I will definitely erase your existence," I muttered to myself as I stood on the sidewalk.