Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - Chapter 56

“…Dead?”

The little Nun was so frightened by Beili’s blunt words that she was left speechless.

Aili blinked her eyes, which had suddenly become a bit dry, her expression growing uneasy. Her voice carried a trembling note as she said, “I was just playing hide-and-seek. I didn’t steal anything. They wouldn’t do that to me…”

Aili didn’t understand why Miss Bartholomew would say such things, but Miss Bartholomew’s serious expression made her feel afraid.

The look in Miss Bartholomew’s eyes revealed a trace of undisguisable sorrow beneath her cold severity, as if she were looking at someone about to die.

“I… want to find Beiji…”

She grabbed Miss Bartholomew’s hand, as if clutching a piece of driftwood in the sea.

Aili timidly glanced around, only now realizing how eerie and sinister this maze was.

She said, “Miss Bartholomew… I’ll take you to find Lisa, and then we can go look for Beiji together, okay?”

After entering the maze, Aili hadn’t gone far before she saw Lisa.

Lisa had become like a different person, clutching a dagger tightly in her hand, squatting in a corner and muttering to herself, looking extremely dangerous.

“You’ve seen her?”

Miss Bartholomew, with her gray hair and red eyes, was a bit surprised. Her stern expression softened slightly as she asked, “There are so many forks in this maze, do you remember the way?”

Aili nodded vigorously, then raised her hand to point at the “flowers” on the “hedge” wall.

…

Beili walked behind Aili, observing the state of the Tracking Ladybug on her fingernail as they went.

The two of them twisted and turned, covering a long distance.

At every fork in the path, Aili would glance down at the base of the “hedge” wall.

There, she had left flowers on the ground to help her recognize directions.

It was also through Aili that Beili learned the ends of the flowers on the “hedge” wall were not attached to the branches. The brightly colored flowers, painted with pigments, could actually be picked off.

What a clever child, she thought to herself.

…

After winding through countless intersections,

the gray mist in the air grew thicker and thicker.

With each breath, their nostrils began to feel a burning heat.

Beili glanced down at the Tracking Ladybug on her fingernail, just about to remind Aili to cover her nose, when she saw Lisa on the ground through the grayish haze.

Lisa’s hair had also been cut short like Aili’s, and her white prey uniform almost blended into the mist.

She squatted on the ground, one arm hugging her knees, the other loosely holding a dagger. Her entire face was flushed as if scalded.

Hearing footsteps approaching, she looked up.

Then, her dull, numb eyes instantly brightened.

“Miss Bartholomew… you really came.”

She spoke in disbelief.

Then her eyes reddened.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, stinging the burned skin.

She had thought she would die in this thick fog.

Her reddened, feverish skin, oozing pale yellow fluid, was a constant reminder.

If she died in the mist, her body would gradually melt into a pool of blood.

Seeing Lisa cry, Aili also began to sob in fear.

Beili, seeing this, could only raise her hand helplessly to her forehead, glancing at her fingers in the process.
Then she noticed it.

On the nails of her left thumb, right thumb, and index finger, three red-and-black ladybugs were already growing restless, spinning in place.

They were the fifth, sixth, and seventh ranked Hunters.

Beili furrowed her brow and said coldly, “Quiet. No one is allowed to cry.”

“Now is not the time for catching up or idle talk, Lisa.”

Beili pressed a hand over Aili’s mouth and grabbed Lisa, pulling her up from the ground.

“This mist is dangerous-it’s spreading through the maze. We need to head toward the Maze Center.”

She told Lisa to carry the petite nun Aili on her back, then draped the Invisibility Cloak over both of them.

“My abilities are limited, but I’ll do my best to get you out.”

Beili looked at them seriously and spoke solemnly:

“Once you put on this hooded cloak, no one will be able to see you. I’ll turn into a butterfly with blue-green wings above you to lead the way.”

“If you meet anyone wearing white like you on the way, just keep going.”

“But if someone isn’t dressed in white, stop right away, hold your breath, and don’t make a sound.”

“I’ll lure them away from above, then come back for you.”

She took a gentle breath of the hot air and continued, “Count to one hundred. If I’m not back by then, keep heading to the Maze Center. I’ll catch up with you.”

Seeing Beili’s expression, Lisa asked no further questions.

She nodded and, as instructed, steadied the little nun Aili on her back.

The two set off toward the Maze Center, following the butterfly.

……

On the way.

Lisa glanced up at the butterfly fluttering ahead and softly comforted the trembling little nun on her back, “Aili, you can close your eyes and sleep for a bit.”

Aili whimpered her assent, then weakly asked, “What about… Beiji…”

Lisa paused slightly, forcing a light tone. “Beiji is so clever. She’ll head for the Maze Center, too. Maybe she’s already there.”

Aili nodded and was quiet for a long while.

When Lisa thought the little nun had fallen asleep on her back, she heard her mumble, dreamlike:

“…What if Beiji isn’t there?”

If she wasn’t there, then Beiji would never appear again.

Lisa swallowed such cruel words and kept following the butterfly’s lead, pretending not to hear the question.

As they drew closer to the Maze Center, the gray mist in the air grew thinner and visibility improved.

With a flutter of wings, Beili looked back at the empty space behind her, listening carefully for faint footsteps to be sure Lisa was still following.

They came to a fork in the path.

Realizing she hadn’t checked on the Hunters for a long while, Beili landed and reverted to human form to inspect the ladybugs on her nails.

She reverted to human form; the ladybug on her right thumb immediately fluttered to the right and hovered in the air, waiting for her.

Through the red-and-black ladybug, Beili’s crimson gaze fell on the fork to the right.

In the thin mist, a gray-striped prairie cat, tail swaying in the wind, was racing toward her at high speed.