Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - Chapter 127

Chapter 127

Beili frowned, her fingers cradling the necklace’s pendant as she funneled even more Mana into it.

Like a cup of water poured into a dried-up lake, the Black Bone Scythe remained completely unresponsive.

She couldn’t help but look at Ashera again, her tone uncertain.

“Is this some kind of Mana storage tool? I’ve already poured Mana into it twice, and it’s like a bottomless pit.”

Hearing her question, the man tilted his head slightly. His long, straight silver hair cascaded down, and a slight curve tugged at the corner of his cold, thin lips.

“It isn’t.”

He uttered the two words softly.

“Then is this the right way? Injecting Mana into it?” Beili asked again.

“Yes.”

The Demon was a man of few words, refusing to offer even a single syllable more.

Beili could only sigh and turn back, focusing her attention as she continued to steadily pour Mana into the Black Bone Scythe pendant.

…

The night wind seemed to grow cooler, tossing the girl’s long, curly silver-gray hair into a bit of a mess.

Ashera reached out, his icy fingertips brushing the stray hairs away from her face, the curve of his lips softening.

Dong- Dong- Dong-

From the Central Plaza at the end of the street, the rhythmic, heavy tolling of a bell echoed through the night sky.

A flock of pigeons that had been leisurely strolling across the plaza was instantly startled. Their pure white wings flapped frantically as they took to the night sky, joining the bats that had been similarly disturbed from beneath the eaves of the dark alleys.

White feathers and black wings seemed to interweave like two colors of yarn, forming a lace-like cloak that drifted over the rooftops of the Imperial City’s streets.

A dark shadow flitted past, coming to a rest on the opposite side of the street.

“Hmm?”

Sensing something, Ashera, who was crouched by the carriage door, lifted his head. His hollow golden eyes ‘looked’ toward the opposite eaves.

A dark shadow hung upside down from the roof, its wings tucked in, silent and motionless.

“…A bat,”

His thin, cold lips parted as he suddenly spoke.

The girl standing by the carriage was still focused on channeling Mana into the necklace around her neck. Hearing him, she spared a moment to reply, “I noticed that too. There are a lot of bats in the Imperial City, especially in the dark alleys. Maybe the houses here have eaves built too much like caves…”

As the girl spoke, Ashera tilted his face up slightly, his hollow golden eyes quietly ‘watching’ the opposite direction for a moment.

As if thinking of something, the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.

He turned to ‘look’ at the girl who was still intently injecting Mana, his cold fingertip landing precisely between her slightly furrowed brows.

He gently smoothed the frown away. “How is it? Have you figured out how to use this gift yet?”

“I strongly suspect you’re lying to me.”

The girl unceremoniously brushed his hand away, her tone mercurial. “This necklace has taken half of my Mana, and there’s absolutely no reaction.”

His eyelashes, dark as black feathers, drooped slightly as he said slowly,

“Because it is not enough.”

…Huh?

The girl turned to look at him, her expression startled.

“Still not enough?”

That was the remaining half of her Mana!

“Do I… have to pour all of my Mana into it?” she asked hesitantly.

Ashera nodded slowly, a trace of a smile appearing on his perfectly sculpted face.

Seeing him nod, the girl stopped the flow of Mana.

Her brow furrowed again as she seemed to struggle with the dilemma-was the necklace he gave her worth exhausting all of her Mana?

…

Beili eventually chose to give it a try.

Mana could be gathered again once it was spent.

She took a soft breath and once again began to pour a steady stream of Mana into the Black Bone Scythe pendant.

As she exhausted every bit of Mana in her body at once, her face turned slightly pale, and a fine layer of sweat broke out on her forehead.

However, the necklace still didn’t change.

A vein pulsed at Beili’s temple. Just as she was about to blow a fuse, Ashera, still crouched by the carriage door, spoke first.

“Still not enough,” he said softly.

“Still not enough?!”

Her jewel-like, deep red eyes widened in shock.

Completely drained, she sighed helplessly. “That was all of my Mana.”

Truly, not a single drop was left.

“Regrettably, the Mana it requires is far more than that,” Ashera said slowly.

“Then what am I supposed to do?” she asked instinctively.

“Don’t be anxious, my dear Little Butterfly. It feels as though it is almost ready to be awakened by you.”

The silver-haired man in black robes ‘looked’ at her quietly, his hollow golden eyes unreadable, the corners of his cold, thin lips turning up slightly. “As for the matter of Mana…”

“You know which method can absorb a large amount of Mana the fastest, right now.”

His voice carried a heavy depth, like stone ground against sand, tinged with a lazy smile as he said deliberately:

“But you must be quick-before I change my mind.”

…
To quickly absorb Mana now, she had no choice but to kiss Ashera.

Knowing what he meant, Beili pressed her lips together, a flush of embarrassment rising in her chest.

She hadn’t expected that after going in a full circle, she would still end up drawing Mana from Ashera.

But she couldn’t afford to back down-not when she had already burned through every last bit of her Mana.

It was like a reckless wager, the kind where she’d shoved her entire fortune onto the table.

If she got nothing out of it, she’d lose so badly she’d never recover.

If she got nothing out of it, she would be left wearing a necklace that was purely decorative, forced to walk back to the Constance residence on foot.

Yes-right now, she couldn’t even manage a Beast Transformation!

This was awful.

Beili stared at the necklace looped around her fingers, the dim streetlight catching in the eerie glimmer of her red eyes.

Whatever those muddled, hard-to-name feelings were-whether they had disappeared or not-none of that mattered anymore.

Now.

This was the best moment to take Mana from him.

If she didn’t activate this magical tool tonight, she couldn’t let this guy leave!

Beili steeled herself. She drew in a quiet breath, cleared her mind of stray thoughts, and turned to approach the silver-haired man in a black robe crouched by the carriage door.

Sensing the shift in her mood, Ashera tilted his sculpture-pale face slightly, “looking” toward her.

The smile at the corner of his mouth deepened, as though when he had handed her that “gift,” he’d already been prepared to wait for her to come to him on her own.

…

Soon.

The girl stopped in front of the silver-haired man in a black robe.

She lifted her chin. Framed by silky, glossy silver-gray curls, her face looked delicate and coldly beautiful.

Under the warm yellow streetlamp, their shadows fell in crisp outlines across the neatly laid bluestone pavement.

Beneath the brim of her neatly pleated black bonnet, butterflies carved from black diamonds glittered among blooming Black Roses, their edges flashing with extravagant luster under the fluorite streetlamps.

The moment she stepped in close to Ashera, she rose onto her tiptoes and leaned toward his face.

Just as her lips were about to touch his, the silver-haired man in a black robe tipped his head up slightly-and calmly dodged her kiss.

Beili froze. Her feet dropped back down, and she looked at him, baffled.

“What is it?”

Ashera’s hollow golden eyes turned again to “look” across the street-toward the motionless, upside-down black shadow hanging beneath the eaves.

His lips curved into a soundless smile before he spoke slowly. “My dear Little Butterfly, you seem rather eager.”

Beili choked. She shot him a glare. “Weren’t you the one who said we had to be quick?”

“Mm… I did say that.”

The amused curve of his mouth hardly faded at all.

Ashera let out a soft laugh, lowered his gaze, and dipped his head again. “Then come.”

…

His long, straight silver hair slid down beside his pallid cheek as he leaned in.

Under the mingled glow of moonlight and streetlamps, his face seemed dusted with silver frost.

Those sacred-looking golden eyes, unfocused and empty, rested on her as if they could still see.

His thin lips were cool, holding a faint, elusive smile-waiting for her to tilt her face up and kiss him.

Beili gripped his black robe and went onto her tiptoes again, lifting her head and bringing her face close.

At the very last moment-Ashera turned his head away again.

Beili went speechless.

For a second, she genuinely wanted to hit him.

Her dark red eyes flared as she raised her voice, anger spilling out. “Are you going to kiss me or not?”

“Little Butterfly, being this impatient isn’t a good look.”

Ashera lifted a hand. His cold knuckles brushed her cheek with featherlight strokes. “I’m only reminding you-if we transfer Mana here, someone will see.”

Beili twisted her head to scan the unnaturally empty street. Holding back her fury, she yanked at his robe. “Stop messing with me. Hurry up!”

With a low chuckle that sounded almost like a sigh, Ashera finally stopped teasing her.

His pale, icy hand caught her upturned chin.

He bent down and pressed his cold lips against hers-against the kiss she had offered first.

…

Across the street, under the eaves.

A bat watched as the two drew close at the carriage door, then melted into an intimate kiss.

After a few seconds of stillness.

The bat spread its wings and slipped away from the eaves.

…

Night draped itself over everything.

The main street, usually bustling and bright with lights, was now swallowed by silence.

Not long after that strange, dark-colored carriage arrived, the shops lining both sides of the road began to shut their doors one after another, as if hiding from something. The street became eerily deserted, leaving only the warm yellow pools of light cast by fluorite streetlamps.

Anyone who could keep a shop on the main street was backed by someone important-either a wealthy Noble or a member of the Royal Family.

After the Royal Family’s mysterious “second Prince” appeared at the Hunting Forest on the outskirts of the city, many families quietly began investigating him: his identity, his appearance, his name, his origins.

They all wanted to know.

Prince Cyril had been the first in line to inherit the Santos Kingdom from the day he was born.

And yet…

The reason Prince Cyril’s position was considered unshakable was precisely because everyone knew the truth-His Majesty had never had a second child.

So where, exactly, did this so-called second Prince come from?
In such a context, it was only natural for His Highness Prince Cyril to be groomed as the Crown Prince.

The Nobles respected and supported him, largely because he was the future ruler of Sainthos.

However, this Prince was cold, arrogant, insistent on his own ideas, and sought to break the old rules.

Even though the young Prince had not yet ascended the throne, the Nobles could already see the signs in his attitude.

Consequently, some families were secretly delighted and welcomed the appearance of this mysterious second Prince.

After Hunting Day ended, they tried every possible way to approach the second Prince.

They investigated him, attempted to win him over, and even tried to discover his preferences.

They used their connections to bribe officials and secretly sent beauties with exquisite figures to the second Prince’s chambers.

Some, unsure of the second Prince’s preferences, even tried sending him men.

One confident Noble even sent herself into the palace…

And then.

All of those people vanished.

It wasn’t until the Royal Family found that Noble’s corpse-a body with its heart and eyes gouged out-and returned it to her family that the truth came out.

From that day on, rumors that the second Prince was a man-eater began to spread through the Noble circles.

Almost all Nobles avoided the mysterious second Prince like the plague.

Except, of course, for the eldest daughter of Duke Constance of Butterfly Valley.

…

At that moment.

Beili’s chin was gripped by a large, cold hand and tilted upward.

Immediately after, a pair of icy lips pressed against hers.

She saw the man’s eyes seem to darken; his long, straight lashes, like black feathers, lowered slightly. The golden hue of his eyes deepened, looking like molten gold dissolved in water.

Cold fingertips rubbed against her skin, caressing her face with immense tenderness.

Unlike his previous aggressive advances, which felt as if he were going to devour her, this kiss was exceptionally gentle.

There was still that familiar, heavy scent of blood.

The kiss deepened from a shallow touch.

Once the girl’s tiptoes began to tremble slightly, he leaned lower, pressing one hand against the back of her head while the other arm wrapped around her back.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. A chilling coolness easily parted her teeth, invading and swirling within.

Dark Mana and a thick scent of blood permeated the air.

The girl’s eyelashes fluttered as a massive, continuous stream of Mana flowed toward her.

The Mana surged through her blood, rapidly replenishing her depleted Mana Pool.

Beili partially closed her red eyes, focusing her attention on the Black Bone Scythe pendant hanging between her collarbones.

As the Mana was injected, a faint black mist began to seep from the Black Bone Scythe on the necklace.

A moment later, their lips parted.

“You can activate it now,”

Ashera reminded her, his deep voice sounding somewhat husky.

Beili reached out and gave it a tug. The scythe pendant easily detached from the interlocking fine black chains, and she held it between her fingers.

Following a ripple of Mana, the pendant transformed in her hand into a massive scythe weapon in the blink of an eye.

It was much taller than she was.

The handle of the scythe was crafted from some kind of black spinal bone, its curve slightly twisted and engraved with strange patterns.

The sharp, curved blade resembled a crescent moon.

It was pitch black, glinting with a cold, metallic light.

The entire scythe was surrounded by several wisps of black mist as thick as ink.

“It’s a weapon,”

The girl observed with a hint of wonder, her red eyes brightening slightly.

She gripped the handle with both hands and found that although the weapon looked massive and heavy, it was actually very light, perhaps due to its black bone material.

“But I… I’ve never used a scythe before. I might not be very good at it,” she sighed.

She hadn’t learned any combat techniques at all. Giving such a cool weapon to her felt like a waste.

Beili sighed inwardly.

Then, she secretly began to plan-she would hire an instructor in the Royal Capital who specialized in scythes to come and give her lessons.

“That is not a difficult matter.”

Ashera took the scythe from her hand.

After his pale fingers let go, the Black Bone Scythe remained suspended in the air.

“Since you have activated it, it will follow your commands, just like the butterflies you summon.”

He spoke unhurriedly, a faint smile curling at the corners of his lips, and then he made a swiping motion with his fingertips in the air.

The massive Black Bone Scythe danced along with his gesture, drawing a heavy arc through the air.

The arc carried a sharp, freezing chill of black Mana. As if it had gained physical form, it turned into a dark ink-like streak, lunging toward a streetlamp across the road.

The straight lamp post was sliced clean through the middle, instantly snapping into two pieces.

It hit the ground with a dull thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.