Vol 3. Chapter 111: ‘A Wicked Little Smile’
The moment she saw Mengxi, Miss Yumo felt a pang of heartache.
After all,
although the fluctuations of Shadow of Silence Power she had unleashed just now had been directed at Xue Tianao, the residual force of that aura had still inflicted considerable injuries on Mengxi.
Even though Yumo had subconsciously been unwilling to hurt her, the shockwave had still sent Mengxi flying backward, smashing her into the ruins nearby. A streak of blood was even trickling down Mengxi’s forehead.
Seeing Mengxi injured, Yumo couldn’t help pursing her lips.
However,
after the heartache came even stronger feelings of guilt and unease...
No matter what, Yumo was currently using the identity of the Young Lady of the Black Rose Family. If Mengxi discovered the truth behind this identity, how would she view the Black Rose Family? Would she consider them enemies from now on? If that happened, then once the trial was completed and Yumo was no longer around to protect the Black Rose Family, would they still be able to survive on the Anqieka Continent?
If the Black Rose Family disappeared, then those children...
The mere thought filled Yumo with panic.
Besides that, Yumo was also worried about how Mengxi would react next. As the Chosen Girl, she was surely extremely repulsed by the aura of Shadow of Silence Power. Once she learned that Yumo was an Abyss Demon, that adorable, gentle expression of hers would probably disappear immediately, replaced by hatred and killing intent...
Just imagining Mengxi looking at her that way made Miss Yumo’s heart twist with complicated emotions.
In the past,
Yumo probably would have been delighted if the female lead hated her. After all, hatred was also a powerful source of motivation, one that could push Mengxi to continuously grow stronger.
But now?
Yumo somehow didn’t want that anymore...
And so,
clutching her black formal dress tightly with one small hand, Yumo nervously spoke in a soft voice,
“Um...”
The black-haired girl’s mind raced as she desperately tried to figure out how to explain the situation to Mengxi.
At this moment, there wasn’t the slightest trace left of the terrifying Demon King who had just unleashed Shadow of Silence Power with reckless abandon. Instead, Yumo looked like a meek and adorable little rabbit completely henpecked by her wife.
However, after thinking about it carefully, Yumo suddenly felt like crying...
She...
She had already released such an overwhelmingly dense amount of Shadow of Silence Power! And she had fucking erased Xue Tianao—the Child of Destiny—right in front of Mengxi!
There was no washing herself clean of this even if she jumped into the Yellow River!
She... she...
How the hell was she supposed to explain this?!!!
After realizing this, Yumo swallowed the words she had been about to say.
All she could do was silently stare at Mengxi and wait for the other girl’s reaction.
At this moment,
Yumo’s mind had already begun devising a desperate last resort.
She could call Shuoyue over!
Then have that child hit Mengxi with another massive memory-erasure spell!
However,
just as this thought surfaced in Miss Yumo’s mind, Mengxi’s subsequent reaction completely exceeded her expectations.
At this moment, Mengxi did not reveal the hatred or vigilance Yumo had anticipated. Unexpectedly, there wasn’t even the slightest hint of hostility anywhere in her body. She showed no signs of mobilizing the Holy Aura within her either.
It seemed...
she had absolutely no intention of guarding herself against Yumo?
Apparently sensing the confusion within Yumo’s crimson eyes, Mengxi tilted her head and revealed a faintly meaningful smile:
“Big Sister Yu... is an Abyss Demon?”
Hearing those words and sensing the calmness in Mengxi’s voice, Yumo couldn’t help frowning.
The reason was simple.
Mengxi was far too calm.
So calm that it was frightening...
“Um...”
After hesitating for a moment, Yumo cautiously asked,
“Um, you... you’re not afraid of me?”
As she spoke, Yumo nervously extended a slender finger and pointed toward the Blood Butterflies beside her, each one brimming with dense Shadow of Silence Power, seemingly emphasizing the fact that she was an Abyss Demon.
However,
before Yumo could finish speaking, Mengxi smiled slightly and directly demonstrated her answer through her actions.
?!!
‘Huh?!’
The next moment, amid Miss Yumo’s startled cry, Mengxi pushed off with her feet and leaped straight in front of Yumo. Completely ignoring the terrifying Blood Butterflies and the dense aura of Shadow of Silence Power surrounding Yumo, she immediately wrapped herself intimately around Yumo’s arm without another word.
Unsurprisingly, those two large buns once again enveloped Yumo’s arm between them.
The girl’s delicate fragrance immediately rushed into Yumo’s nose.
“Hehe~ Why would I be afraid?”
Mengxi tilted her head and asked without the slightest trace of fear.
Her pale-purple eyes, gazing directly into Yumo’s, were filled with pure innocence.
That gaze and those words immediately put Yumo considerably more at ease. However, confusion also began surging wildly through her heart like floodwaters bursting through a dam.
“But... I... I’m an Abyss Demon, you know? Aren’t you supposed to... hate the aura of Shadow of Silence Power?”
Faced with those words, Mengxi innocently blinked.
“Shadow of Silence Power? Enmmm... I really don’t like this power very much...”
“Then... then why...”
“But if this Shadow of Silence Power belongs to Big Sister Yu, then I don’t mind. Big Sister Yu’s power is very gentle~”
“Gen... gentle?”
Hearing those words and watching the silver-haired girl take advantage of her bewilderment to press even closer, Yumo’s little face flushed slightly.
“D-Don’t... joke around.”
“I’m not joking? I’m serious.”
“This...”
Looking into Mengxi’s sincere eyes, Yumo was momentarily speechless.
“But... is it really appropriate for you to get this close to me? It’s not like you don’t know that Abyss Demons hate the aura of you Chosen Ones. You clearly saw me kill Xue Tianao just now too. Isn’t getting this close to me far too reckless? What if... what if I attack you?”
“You won’t. I believe Big Sister Yu would never attack me.”
Mengxi spoke with absolute certainty, her voice brimming with confidence.
“If Big Sister Yu wanted to hurt me, couldn’t you have done it sometime during the past few days? Oh, no... You could have done it more than a month ago~ Why would you need to wait until now?”
“Th-That... is true.”
Yumo blankly nodded.
“More than a month ago, you could’ve... Hm??”
However,
the moment she finished nodding, Miss Yumo abruptly realized something.
Her ruby-red eyes suddenly contracted as an indescribable wave of astonishment surged through her heart.
“Wait? You... what did you just say? A month ago? Aren’t you getting something mixed—”
“I’m not mistaken~”
Mengxi hugged Yumo’s arm even tighter, bringing her little face right up against Yumo’s.
“More than a month ago, when we were inside the Great Winter Forest, weren’t there plenty of opportunities for you to attack me? Like when Big Sister helped me bathe, or when you slept with me. You didn’t attack me back then either, did you?”
As she spoke, the silver-haired girl slowly leaned toward Yumo’s ear and mischievously bit her earlobe, immediately making the latter’s entire body shudder.
“Isn’t that right? Big Sister Yu... Ah, no~ I should call you Big Sister Yumo~”
?!
Hm?
Huh?!
“Huh?... HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH?!!!!!!!!!!!!”
At that instant, Miss Yumo’s brain uncontrollably crashed.
--
Meanwhile,
elsewhere within the Imperial City of Skyvault,
or rather, strictly speaking, the Imperial Palace no longer existed. All that remained were shattered ruins engulfed in smoke...
Amid those ruins, a handsome man with beautiful long gray hair stood silently in place, holding a pitch-black spear as he gazed toward the smoke-filled southern section of the Imperial City...
“So that is Lady Yumo’s power... As expected, she’s incredibly powerful.”
Recalling the rampaging crimson Shadow of Silence Power from moments ago, Xiao couldn’t help feeling a lingering sense of fear.
Even though he was now a Peak Eighth-Tier existence, even with the amplification provided by his Demonic Spear, he still could not withstand that pressure.
As he sighed inwardly, the corners of Xiao’s lips slowly curved upward.
“This should have done it...”
Originally,
in order to completely eliminate any possibility of the Child of Destiny resurrecting, Xiao had deliberately taken an enormous risk and activated the final form of the Demonic Spear Pures.
This was a form capable of devouring a person’s soul, sealing it within the spear, and subjecting it to eternal torment.
Unfortunately, Xiao seemed to have somewhat underestimated Xue Tianao’s strength.
That guy had actually been capable of breaking through the barrier reinforced by Xiao’s power.
Once the barrier broke, Lady Yumo would be able to sense what was happening inside. If Lady Yumo rushed over, there was a risk that the plan would fail.
Fortunately, Xiao had already prepared a contingency for precisely this situation.
Thus, he immediately changed his attack pattern, turning his killing blow into an attempt to drive Xue Tianao away instead. He forced Xue Tianao to break out of the barrier from a specific direction, guiding him directly toward Lady Yumo.
Judging by Lady Yumo’s behavior back in Wind Facing City, whenever she encountered divine power, the murderous instincts within her should be uncontrollably activated.
And the facts proved that Xiao’s judgment had been perfectly accurate.
Stimulated by Xue Tianao’s divine power, Lady Yumo had finally reached the limits of her tolerance and unleashed the killing intent she had been suppressing within herself, directly erasing Xue Tianao from existence...
After being consumed by power of that magnitude, Xue Tianao’s soul presumably had no possibility of being reborn again...
‘The objective can be considered accomplished.’
For once, Xiao let out a long sigh of relief.
However,
the next moment, the Duke of the Black Rose Family frowned again.
It was just that...
He had originally intended to use Lady Yumo’s power while she was out of control to erase the Chosen Girl along with Xue Tianao...
Unexpectedly, even under those circumstances, that girl hadn’t used the Holy Aura within her.
Had she realized that Holy Aura—or divine power—would provoke Lady Yumo while she was in that state?
Or...
was there some other reason?
Enmmm...
For some reason, he had the feeling that this girl was even more troublesome...