Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - Chapter 128

Chapter 128

The night sky hung over the Imperial City.

Stars were scattered across the black velvet like crushed gemstones. Across the street, a streetlamp was sliced clean through by the mana-infused strike of a scythe. It crashed to the ground with a resounding thud.

Her lips parted slightly, and her red eyes shimmered.

“So powerful,” Beili marveled.

This was far superior to the Miniature Crossbow she had purchased in the snowy town of Vanier.

Of course, the Miniature Crossbow that had accompanied her through the closing events of the Holy Island Competition was also useful, primarily because it didn’t consume Mana.

However, the number of bombs for the Miniature Crossbow was limited. Once she fired all the ammunition, she had to find an opportunity to restock. Furthermore, Beili had never received any formal marksmanship training. With her accuracy, she was only suited for attacking stationary targets.

In other words, it worked best if the opponent stood perfectly still…

Thus, she was well aware that the Miniature Crossbow was only good for sneak attacks in her hands. That was why she was so fond of this gift from her Demon Magic Mentor.

As if sensing the young girl’s delight, the corners of his mouth curled into a faint arc. Ashera spoke in a slow, measured tone, “This is only a fraction of its power. You will gradually discover more of its uses in the future.”

…

Will it obey my commands like the butterflies I summon?

Inspired by the thought, the girl raised her hand.

In the blink of an eye, the massive Black Bone Scythe flew into her hand, surrounded by wisps of black mist as thick as ink. At her command, it dispersed like black sand, reverting into a small pendant that returned to the necklace around her neck.

Listening to Ashera’s words, another idea formed in Beili’s mind.

This Black Bone Scythe could clearly absorb Mana just like she could. Perhaps she could command it to absorb sinful Mana and then feed that Mana back to her all at once.

To test if this plan was feasible, she thought of the Flea Nest she had visited during the day. She had sensed a significant amount of sinful Mana there.

And so.

“I’m going somewhere, Ashera.”

Beili turned to bid him farewell, her tone light and airy. “The paths there are very narrow; your carriage won’t be able to get in.”

The silver-haired man in black robes stood up, a faint smile playing on his lips. Beneath his pale, hovering toes, the massive carriage pulled by four black horses vanished.

In an instant, he too transformed into a thick cloud of black mist, lingering in the air as if waiting for the girl to lead the way.

Seeing the mist, Beili’s shoulders stiffened slightly. She spoke tentatively, “Um… the atmosphere there isn’t really suitable for you to go with me.”

As she spoke, her mind immediately filled with images of the Flea Nest-the tangled, blurry shadows behind those drooping gauze curtains.

A low, muffled chuckle emanated from the dense black mist.

“Is there anywhere I cannot go?” Ashera asked.

“It’s not that you can’t go. Of course you can. I just said it’s ‘not really suitable for us to go together’…” Beili explained sheepishly.

“Your emotions are very interesting to sense right now, my dear Little Butterfly.”

The thick black mist drifted past the girl’s cheek, brushing against her. The male voice that emerged carried a hint of teasing.

“I am quite curious to know what kind of place would make you feel it is unsuitable for me to visit.”

“It’s… well…”

Beili hesitated, the words catching in her throat.

“Lead the way.”

The voice within the black mist sounded like he was suppressing a laugh.

Beili pulled at the corner of her mouth awkwardly and had no choice but to undergo her Beast Transformation into a butterfly. A shimmering blue-green butterfly and a cloud of black mist flew together into the night sky.

…

Inside the dark alley.

The air was still filled with the foul, fermented stench of decay. The walls were covered in grayish-black moss.

The moonlight was cold, casting a few weak rays through the gaps in the crowded, overlapping eaves. Sweeping through the dim alley, Beili led Ashera to the house full of windows that was the Flea Nest.

The butterfly and the black mist slowly descended, reverting to human form.

Considering that Ashera couldn’t see, the moment Beili switched to her human form, she immediately turned to warn him, “You might hear some strange noises… um… don’t mind them. Just ignore them entirely.”

Hearing this, the silver-haired man in black robes tilted his head slightly, intentionally listening for the sounds she mentioned.

However, the house at the end of the dark alley was unnervingly quiet.

“What sounds?” Ashera asked with a curl of his lip. “I don’t hear anything.”

Just as the words left his mouth, a familiar scent wafted from the house and swirled around his nose. The faint curve of his lips suddenly deepened.

“It seems we’ve arrived a step too late. What a pity,” he said softly.

At the same time, Beili also noticed the abnormality of the Flea Nest. All the lights in the house full of windows were out. It was pitch black and silent, as if shrouded in a layer of deathly gloom.

Her red eyes trembled slightly. An ominous premonition began to well up in the young girl’s heart.
Raising her hand to summon two Morpho Butterflies, she stepped quickly inside.

Ashera followed behind the young girl, his pale toes hovering as he too entered the building in the Flea Nest.

…

As soon as she stepped through the door, a thick scent of blood instantly flooded her nostrils.

It was suffocating.

Beili furrowed her brows and raised her hand again, summoning several more Morpho Butterflies to fly to different parts of the house.

The blue-green glow of the remaining two Morpho Butterflies was hazy, illuminating the area around her as she moved.

Her jewel-like, deep red gaze scanned the surroundings-

Splashes of blood streaked the walls.

Aside from scattered broken wine bottles and debris on the floor, there were corpses lying in every direction.

It was clear that this Flea Nest had just undergone a hellish, cruel slaughter.

Beili stopped in her tracks and did not go any further.

She stood where she was, waiting for the Morpho Butterflies that had flown off to scout the house and return.

“How could this happen…”

Her red eyes narrowed slightly as she let out a soft sigh.

Could it be related to the information she had gathered about the Swan Family earlier that day?

Beili found it hard to imagine that a single piece of intelligence would lead to an entire Flea Nest being bathed in blood.

But it was too coincidental.

She had just found the informant here during the day, and the other party had promised to deliver the news to her residence within two days. That very night, this Flea Nest was uprooted, vanishing directly from the Imperial City.

Lost in thought, Beili stared blankly at the floor, her brow tightly knit.

She failed to notice the strange behavior of the man behind her.

…

The piled corpses bled profusely.

The blood spread across the floor of the house, slowly smoothing out into a viscous, crimson carpet.

With silver hair and black robes, the tall, hovering figure slowly descended.

His pale toes touched the ground, stepping into the blood-soaked floor. The blood instantly stained his wide, flowing black robes.

As if drawn to him, the blood took the shape of tree roots, climbing up and seeping into the black fabric.

He paced slowly, treading upon the slightly congealed blood, pulling up thin, sticky threads of red with every step.

The smile on his sculpturally elegant face widened bit by bit.

His sickly, slightly greyish-pale face was now exceptionally excited.

The blood-stained walls, the curtains clinging to a peculiar scent, the tools meant for specific purposes, the mangled corpses…

Everything in this house made him…

His cold lips parted slightly, his chest heaving.

Ashera sensed his surroundings, his breathing gradually becoming rapid and heavy.

“Mm… everything here brings me pleasure…”

He sighed, a trace of a tremor in the tail of his deep, heavy voice.

“The breath of death mixed with the scent of blood…”

His long, straight, feather-like black eyelashes trembled gently, and a strange, deep crimson flushed the corners of his hollow golden eyes.

“It is intoxicating…”

…

With a flick of his pale fingertips-

In the blink of an eye, several clusters of silver flames ignited beneath the ceiling.

A slightly ghoulish smile flickered in and out of view amidst the candlelight-like dancing glow.

Immediately after, a Requiem was softly hummed from his nose, the melody echoing through the deathly silent house.

The grey-haired girl in the black dress, who had been deep in thought, felt her sharp red eyes gradually grow dazed within the eerie melody.

Her furrowed brow slowly smoothed out.

Her arms, which had been crossed over her chest, suddenly loosened and hung limply at her sides.

With a smile curling his lips, Ashera snapped his fingers.

The girl seemed to lose all weight, floating toward his embrace like a feather.

“My dear Little Butterfly, as a return gift, dance with me.”

Ashera sighed softly.

Cradling her waist and taking her hand, he began a slow dance to the melody humming in his throat.

The partner dance was slow and elegant. The girl in his arms was like a doll, moving lifelessly under his lead.

The silver flames seemed like romantic candlelight, drifting slowly through the air.

The two of them snuggled and embraced, rotating slowly.

Upon the viscous crimson carpet, they left behind a trail of messy marks.

…

The melody of the Requiem left the girl’s consciousness somewhat muddled.

Leaning against Ashera’s chest, she followed his steps in a daze.

The surrounding smell of blood and the horrific scenes seemed to blur.

All that remained were the dancing silver lights on the ceiling, the cold embrace, and the melody he hummed in a low voice.

Ashera held the girl gently, his palm stroking the back of her head as if he were holding a warm cloud.

“Little Butterfly, do you like this dance?” he asked.

His voice was deep, carrying a distinct hint of a smile.

In her daze, the girl heard Ashera’s words.

“…I like it.”

She answered, her voice somewhat slurred, as if she hadn’t yet fully emerged from the atmosphere.

“It’s just… here…”

Her dazed, jewel-like deep red eyes flickered with a ripple of emotion.

After a moment, her lips mumbled the words: “…it’s very strange.”
“What is so strange about it?”

Ashera lowered his head, his hollow golden eyes downcast as he spoke softly. “Death, too, is a part of this world.”

Recalling something, the young girl’s brow furrowed slightly.

“…Something terrible just happened here.”

After a few seconds of trailing off in thought, Ashera asked in a lazy tone:

“Are you afraid, then?”

The girl slowly shook her head.

“Why aren’t you afraid? Is it because of me?” Ashera asked again.

The girl nodded slowly.

“Why? Why is it that I can lessen your fear?”

He continued his questioning, his lips curling into a lazy smile, his drawl slow and elongated.

Following his slow footsteps, the girl said vaguely:

“To get your heart back… so…”

“How truly adorable…”

Ashera let out a low chuckle, his large, cold palm gently stroking the girl’s cheek. “My dear Little Butterfly, perhaps feeling afraid at a time like this would actually be a good thing…”

The girl tilted her head in confusion.

He stopped dancing.

The silver flames floating slowly above also came to a standstill with his footsteps.

Then, one by one, the clusters of fire flickered out.

As if a dance had concluded, the house gradually fell into darkness.

He held her gently, pressing a kiss to her forehead, and couldn’t help but sigh:

“Perhaps, I should have left the heart for last.”

Real estate in the capital of the Santos Kingdom was worth its weight in gold.

Houses located further away might still have gardens.

However, the houses on the main street were packed tightly against one another, leaving no room for gardens at all. Instead, flower beds were set upon windowsills, planted with all sorts of brightly colored flowers.

Birds, attracted by the blossoms, chirped outside the windows.

When she woke up again, it was already noon the next day.

She opened her red eyes, looking around with sleep-heavy lids.

The layout of the room was both strange and familiar; the window curtains, stirred by the wind, revealed white wire mesh, and a map of the royal capital was spread across the desk.

Everything served to remind Beili that she had returned to the Constance residence.

But she had no memory of how she had returned, nor how she had changed her clothes.

Sitting up in bed, Beili rubbed her temples and began to recall everything that had happened the previous night.

Unfortunately, her memory stopped at the house in the Flea Nest.

She had been standing there, waiting for the summoned Morpho Butterflies to finish searching all the rooms and return to report the situation to her.

Yes, her memory cut off right there.

Raising her hand, she re-summoned the Morpho Butterflies with their blue-green wings.

Beili searched through the information from the Morpho Butterflies, only learning that they had found no survivors in the house in the Flea Nest.

As for what happened after her memory cut off-because the command had expired, the Morpho Butterflies had not recorded it.

She didn’t know if that information broker, who had taken a bag of gold coins from her, was among those corpses.

After all, she only knew the person was a woman from the soft contour of her eyes and her voice.

She knew nothing of her appearance, name, or code name.

While she didn’t know if the bloodbath at the Flea Nest was related to the information she had scouted regarding the Swan Family during the day, if that person didn’t bring news as promised tomorrow, she would have to find another way.

At that moment.

There was a soft knock on the door, and a servant greeted her from the other side.

Beili pulled her thoughts away from her memories.

“Come in,” she said.

The door opened, and several servants walked in.

One carried warm water and a towel, walking to the girl’s side to wipe her face.

“Miss, which one would you like to wear today?”

Other servants brought over several sets of pre-coordinated dresses, waiting for her selection.

The girl casually chose a black-and-blue dress, and the servants immediately began dressing her, layer by layer.

The black-and-blue dress made the girl’s skin appear even fairer, as delicate as cream.

Her long, silver-gray curly hair was brushed smooth and styled into beautiful braids.

Then, matching accessories were put on.

While they were dressing her, the girl picked up her utensils and slowly ate her lunch.

The servant preparing to put a sapphire necklace on Bartholomew fumbled at the back of her neck for a moment and said in confusion, “Miss Bartholomew, the necklace you are currently wearing doesn’t seem to have a clasp to undo.”

Hearing the servant’s words, Beili’s chewing paused slightly. She subconsciously raised a hand to touch the small scythe hanging between her collarbones.

Only then did she hazily remember-

That’s right, she had gone to the Flea Nest last night specifically to test if the Black Bone Scythe could absorb sinful Mana for her.

In the end, after discovering a house full of corpses, the matter had been pushed to the back of her mind.

“It’s fine. I won’t wear this sapphire necklace.”

She glanced at the bright, beautiful sky outside the window and instructed:

“Be quick, and have the carriage ready. I’m going out in a moment.”