Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - chapter 22

Her gaze shifted from the Butterfly in her palm to the boy before her.

Susanna was not qualified to visit the Thorn Game, so she had no idea where this boy had come from.

She only thought he looked so frail.

He had no food, and even his only friend was just a Butterfly.

In her moment of hesitation, a trace of sympathy surfaced in her eyes. She said gently, “It doesn’t have human feelings, no expression, and it can’t speak. It’s just a Butterfly…”

“Mm…” The boy paused, his tone a little lost. “And… then?”

…

The firelight ignited by Mana illuminated the surroundings.

Once her eyes fully adjusted to the light, she saw there were two people in this dim room.

One inside the cage, one outside.

The hand resting on her back was as cold as an ice sculpture.

The boy’s familiar voice reached her ears, as if a current ran from the top of her head to the soles of her feet, leaving her deeply startled.

Beili struggled hard, her wings fluttering, and managed to break free from his thin fingers.

Then, as if fleeing, she flew into Susanna’s hand.

The latter was also startled, hurriedly opening her palm, and the candy in her hand fell to the ground.

The Butterfly did not fly away, but quietly rested in Susanna’s palm, as if this was the only safe place.

“…It doesn’t seem to be afraid of me.”

Susanna raised her hand, her gaze filled with disbelief.

In the darkness of the cage, the boy moved slightly. He reached out toward Susanna, the movement bringing a clatter of iron chains.

“Give it to me…” he said.

At his words, Susanna immediately stretched her arm into the silver cage.

But the Butterfly spread its wings and flew up along Susanna’s arm.

“It’s gone.”

Susanna froze, asking in confusion, “Where did it fly to?”

In the darkness, the boy raised his hand, the iron chains pulled taut, and his hand was forced to stop halfway.

“Here… here.”

He lifted his head, his hollow golden eyes gently ‘looking’ in the direction where it perched, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips.

“It’s… it’s on your… your head.”

He tried again, reaching in that direction, as if wanting the Butterfly to come down.

The Butterfly did not move.

It was perched atop Susanna’s head, quietly watching him.

The faint smile faded from his lips, and a look of confusion appeared on the boy’s face.

“Angry… w-why?”

…

Beili finally saw the boy’s appearance clearly.

His clothes were ragged and dirty, his long silver hair crudely cut short by someone.

A chain extended from his wrists, the other end welded tightly to the silver cage at his feet.

His face was pale, even thinner than when he was in Thorn Prison. No… now he was just skin and bones, a skeleton wrapped in flesh.

“On my head?”

Hearing the boy’s words, Susanna immediately moved the ball of magical light to the top of her head, and indeed saw the Butterfly resting in her shadow.

“Does it want to leave with me?”

Susanna murmured in delight, then cheerfully asked the boy, “How about I take it out and set it free?”

“…Don’t, don’t… c-carry it away.”

The boy’s tone grew anxious.

“It should return to the embrace of nature.”

Susanna patiently persuaded, “You can’t keep it locked up.”

The Butterfly circled Susanna’s head once more, then landed on her shoulder, as if agreeing with her words.

Susanna smiled, “See, it wants to go out too!”

…

The boy said nothing.

Suddenly, the ball of light in Susanna’s hand went out.

Darkness swallowed everyone.

Sensing something was wrong, Beili was the first to flutter her wings, flying behind Susanna.

But no matter how hard she tried to flap her wings, her body remained suspended in midair.
There seemed to be an inexplicable force in the air, holding her firmly in place and then slowly dragging her backward.

The conversation stalled as the ball of light disappeared.

Moments later, the firelight flared up again.

As soon as Susanna summoned the ball of light once more, she saw the Butterfly retreating backward in a strange manner.

“What’s wrong with it?” she asked.

“I-I don’t… don’t know, maybe… cough! Maybe she wants… wants to stay.”

The boy’s lips curled up slightly as he spoke, reaching out his hand.

The Butterfly instantly fell from midair, dropping into the cage.

Beili felt herself fall once again into a pair of cold palms.

Her head was pressed down, her body squeezed, and her blue-green wings felt as if they were about to be crushed.

“See, I told you… it’s… cough… my friend, it doesn’t want… want to go with you.” The boy spoke haltingly.

“But…”

Susanna’s tone was hesitant, as if she wanted to say more, but the boy interrupted her.

“Please… please leave here… cough… if you’re discovered, you’ll su… suffer… terrible punishment.”

Terrible punishment.

Susanna recalled something, her fingertips pausing, a trace of loneliness flashing in her eyes.

She glanced at him, then at the Butterfly, and nodded in compromise.

“Alright, then I’ll go back for now. Tomorrow I’ll bring warm clothes and food.”

…

After Susanna left, darkness once again enveloped the surroundings.

Ashera held the Butterfly in his arms, sitting silently in place, like a statue merged with the darkness.

“I-I’ve been waiting for you for a long, long time… friend.”

Ashera suddenly spoke, his voice sounding a bit cheerful, his mood seemingly very good.

“I-I thought you… you wouldn’t come… come find me anymore…”

Cold fingertips brushed a strand of silvery-gray hair.

Silence filled the darkness.

Receiving no response, his lashes fluttered slightly, and he asked again:

“Did you come… to find me?”

As his words fell, the Butterfly with flashing blue-green wings instantly transformed into a Young Woman with silvery-gray hair and red eyes.

Held in Ashera’s arms, Beili’s heart inexplicably tightened.

She felt weak and exhausted, and it took her a long while to find her voice.

She said, “No.”

Ashera was momentarily stunned.

Then, he lowered his head, silently ‘gazing’ at the Young Woman in his arms, whose tone was stiff.

“…Why didn’t you… come to find me?”

He murmured in confusion, his tone gradually turning desolate.

“Aren’t we… cough… friends?”

Still dare to mention it?

Beili rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“I’ve been busy lately, undergoing treatment. If you’re asking why treatment? Yes, that’s because you twisted my neck earlier!”

“Y-your neck… I-I twisted it?”

An incredulous voice came from him, trembling with every word.

Beili responded with a disgruntled hum.

The next second, someone gently touched her neck, the movement so soft it sent a tingling itch through her.

It was the sensation of skin upon contact.

“Did… did I really… do that…”

His tone was somewhat lost, as if he couldn’t believe it. His hand trembled lightly, and so did his voice.

“It was… my fault… I shouldn’t… cough… have done that… I-I didn’t know…”

In the pitch-black cage, his tone was anxious, his voice sounding as if he was about to cry.

Still acting?

Beili, just starting to feel a little uncomfortable, began to grumble inwardly again at his words.

In the darkness, she wore an expression that saw through everything.

The boy’s emotions seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

The chains clattered noisily.

He raised his right hand to clutch his head, his facial features twisted, only those golden eyes remaining hollow and lifeless.

After a moment, a tear fell onto her face.