Chapter 9: An Unexpected Guest
However, Luo Shuangyue forgot to consider one thing: magical beasts are not like cats or dogs; their innate aggressiveness means that a hundred pounds of them carry a hundred and twenty pounds of rebellion.
The magical beast girl she was holding was not one of her loyal guards, and her loyalty was pitifully low.
So if this magical beast girl found an opportunity, it wouldn’t be unexpected for her to take a bite.
Before, she didn’t bite because Luo Shuangyue was alert, and the girl felt the chances of success were slim.
And at that time, when it came to the latter half of the night, Xia Mo and Taya were sound asleep in their clothes, leaving only Luo Shuangyue sitting on the ground in a daze when the girl felt her chance had come.
She first closed her eyes, mimicking Xia Mo and Taya, pretending to be asleep, but secretly kept an eye on Luo Shuangyue’s actions.
When she saw Luo Shuangyue zoning out while keeping watch, looking like a statue, the rebellious thoughts within her could no longer be suppressed.
Although her strength had been drained to only maintaining her bodily stability, if she could bite Luo Shuangyue, there would still be a chance for a comeback!
The opportunity for her to turn the tables had come!
With this thought in mind, the girl suddenly opened her eyes and rolled towards Luo Shuangyue, who was just half a meter away.
Then, she opened her mouth and bit down on Luo Shuangyue’s calf.
It was tough; she exerted a lot of effort to break through Luo Shuangyue’s black skin, and then she bit and tore, finally managing to pull off a small piece of black skin from Luo Shuangyue’s body.
After swallowing this piece of spoils, the girl began to instinctively digest the power within.
Food should be eaten bite by bite; eating too much at once would upset her stomach, and she understood this logic.
Then, the little bit of magical energy extracted from the black skin made her gaze go blank.
The mouth that bit down on Luo Shuangyue’s calf had relaxed, and her entire consciousness was captivated by the power within that little bit of magical energy.
She seemed to see a divine being standing high in the sky, as if she saw the endpoint of her life.
Just from consuming this little bit of magical power, she felt that her life as a magical beast had no regrets.
“Is this child lost?” Moving the magical beast girl aside, Luo Shuangyue looked at the teeth marks and saliva on her calf, her expression slightly strange.
She really had been zoning out, using You Lian as a microphone to chat with You Ji, but she had actually snapped back to reality when the magical beast girl pounced on her.
However, she wanted to see what the child was trying to do, so she didn’t stop her.
Then she saw the child bite her calf, struggling to gnaw on her sock, and it took ages for her to create a hole; if it weren’t for Luo Shuangyue feeling sorry for the child and lowering the sock’s protection slightly, this little creature wouldn’t have gotten even a bit of magical energy.
After all, this child had already been drained by Luo Shuangyue, and her biting strength was no different from an ordinary little girl.
Meanwhile, Luo Shuangyue gained her strength and raised her own defense to the level of a magical beast.
Just one question: have you ever seen an ordinary person capable of biting through a magical beast’s skin? Luo Shuangyue certainly had not.
“Letting low-level magical beasts absorb their own strength is also a way for high-level magical beasts to control low-level ones, of course, provided you control them from the side and don’t let them truly absorb your magical energy.” This was information delivered to Luo Shuangyue via You Ji through You Lian.
In her experience of being a Demon Lord, she had plenty of experience, and she knew a thing or two about controlling low-level magical beasts.
However, the method she was now teaching Luo Shuangyue was one she had not used much before.
After all, magical beasts are inherently rebellious; even if they are killed, they may not cooperate obediently. Therefore, when You Ji had been developing a following of magical beasts in secret, she generally used more direct methods.
Beating them half to death and then directly imprinting them with magical energy would leave them no choice but to obey her commands.
However, this method would turn the imprinted magical beasts into puppets, which conflicted with Luo Shuangyue’s current idea.
What Luo Shuangyue wanted now was to draw out the rebellious spirit from the magical beast girl and let her grow naturally, understand the world, and see if this magical beast girl was different from other magical beasts.
She only needed to reduce the girl’s strong aggressiveness.
You Ji remarked that Luo Shuangyue had put herself in a difficult position; if you want a magical beast to lose its aggressiveness, you must have it truly recognize you as its master.
The simplest and most reliable way to do this is to have the low-level magical beast consume your magical energy, and then you can use that energy to conquer it.
So Luo Shuangyue began to ponder how to use her magical energy to conquer the girl’s heart.
Then this silly girl directly pounced to bite her sock, and after taking a small bite, she went completely silly.
“So… what should I do now?” This situation left Luo Shuangyue quite flustered; what if the plan couldn’t keep up with the changes?
“Her internal magical energy should still be under your control; take advantage of the fact that she hasn’t reacted yet and go straight for her origin magical energy!”
Origin magical energy?
Although Luo Shuangyue had some doubts about whether directly targeting her origin magical energy would distort the girl’s consciousness, her trust in You Ji was still sufficient.
She didn’t understand this aspect, so she would just do what You Ji said!
She stretched her hand to press against the magical beast girl’s stomach and sensed the pieces of sock that had turned back into magical energy.
Then, her fingers gradually moved upward, guiding her magical energy through the girl’s body, slowly approaching her chest.
The origin magical energy of a magical beast roams aimlessly within the body and does not have a fixed location; for example, for Luo Shuangyue, she didn’t even know where her origin magical energy was.
Anyway, she couldn’t find it.
She just knew she had it and could use it normally, but she couldn’t locate it.
This magical beast girl was a very standard magical beast; her origin magical energy also used to wander around in her body, but this time it was particularly docile, obediently staying where a human heart should be.
While in the body of a magical beast, the origin magical energy does not appear as the usual black crystal, but rather as a mass of magical energy that doesn’t differ much from ordinary magical energy, except that it carries the fluctuations of the magical beast’s soul.
Now, the magical beast girl’s soul was in a hazy state, which allowed Luo Shuangyue to take the opportunity to leave a strong mark on the girl’s soul.
“Why does it feel like I’m a big bad guy brainwashing an ignorant girl?”
If you ignore the identities of both sides and just look at what Luo Shuangyue was doing now, she seemed to be the big villain in some undisclosed little game.
With shameless sneak attacks defeating an ignorant girl from the opposing camp, using underhanded means to strip her of her ability to resist, and then luring the girl into consuming something strange that left her in a state of stupor, before finally leaving her imprint on the girl’s consciousness, completely turning her into her possession.
Hey, if this were fully elaborated, it could probably be written into several tens of thousands of words or even a manga volume!
But what could Luo Shuangyue do? She couldn’t just do nothing and let a magical beast full of rebellion stay beside her.
Necessary preparations must be made, and according to You Ji, what she was doing would just ensure that the girl could obey her orders and wouldn’t disturb the girl’s self-awareness.
This was quite a delicate task; it took Luo Shuangyue over ten minutes to mix a bit of her magical energy into the girl’s origin magical energy.
This amount was specifically adjusted by her; if it was too much, the girl would completely become her puppet, while if it was too little, the girl might occasionally not follow her commands.
Finding this amount was not a simple task.
After doing all this, Luo Shuangyue finally let out a sigh of relief, while the girl still gazed with her hollow black eyes, her mouth slightly open, looking as if she was completely broken.
“Enough touching?”
“What do you mean enough touching… Xia Mo? Why are you awake?” Luo Shuangyue instinctively responded.
Then she suddenly realized something was off.
The only ones awake should be her and the magical beast girl; so who was asking her questions?
Taya did not have that voice, so the answer was pretty clear.
Luo Shuangyue turned slightly and saw Xia Mo, who had just been sleeping, sitting up from the ground, looking at her hand pressed on the girl’s chest.
Following Xia Mo’s gaze, Luo Shuangyue also felt that the place her hand was touching was a bit suggestive.
“Ahem, Xia Mo, don’t misunderstand, I’m doing serious work!” Luo Shuangyue quickly withdrew her hand, solemnly stating that she was not a pervert.
In terms of size, the magical beast girl would only attract the interest of scum and perverts who could kill a person just by catching one, and Luo Shuangyue was clearly not that type.
“I’m not into this kind of thing, really!”
“I believe that, but can you explain what’s going on with your leg?”
“She took the opportunity to pounce and bit me, tearing my sock. Look, there’s a saliva mark here.” Luo Shuangyue pointed to the obvious dark stains on her sock, speaking like a primary school student reporting to the teacher.
This time, she was completely passive; it was this child who actively pounced to gnaw on her sock, and after finishing, collapsed like a silly fool. Wasn’t she just taking care of her?
However, Luo Shuangyue also knew that the tear in her sock was quite unsightly, so she reached out and lightly brushed the torn part, using a bit of magical energy to repair the sock.
She could now use some magical energy for daily tasks, and repairing clothes was definitely not an issue.
“Then what about her current dazed state?”
“Well, it might be that my magical energy is too delicious, and she ate too much?”
Xia Mo’s gaze became sharp, and she slightly leaned forward, closing the distance between herself and Luo Shuangyue to just a few centimeters.
Luo Shuangyue could even clearly feel the faintly fragrant breath Xia Mo exhaled against her face.
That pair of dark eyes streaked with purplish hues was fixed intently on Luo Shuangyue; Xia Mo said nothing but just stared quietly.
She knew Luo Shuangyue was lying; she knew Luo Shuangyue was hiding something.
So she was using her eyes to press Luo Shuangyue for answers.
She wanted to know what Luo Shuangyue was hiding from her.
“Well… I just made a bit of a move to prevent her from being reckless.” Luo Shuangyue’s gaze was still somewhat evasive, “This method is fairly common between magical beasts.”
She felt a bit guilty, not because she felt she did something wrong, but because she thought that making others lose their will was not something Xia Mo, who was so kind and good, should know about.
Let me bear this darkness; you can just be a carefree magical girl in the sunlight.
That was probably the thought.
Xia Mo still stared into Luo Shuangyue’s eyes, knowing that Luo Shuangyue still hadn’t completely told the truth.
So she chose a slightly aggressive way to make Luo Shuangyue realize her feelings.
You don’t need to bear anything alone; you don’t need to act like a lone hero because you’re not alone; you still have me by your side.
Even if the whole world hates you, even if they despise you, I won’t abandon you.
Even if you have become a magical beast, I am still willing to embrace you and deliver my warmth to you.
“Um?”
At such a close distance, Xia Mo’s sudden attack meant that Luo Shuangyue could not react at all.
When she realized what was happening, Xia Mo had already pried her jaw open and initiated an invasion in her territory.
Isn’t this overly domineering? Luo Shuangyue felt a bit dazed; she sensed that Xia Mo was like two different personalities—usually a gentle and soft girl, but once she began certain actions, Xia Mo would become exceptionally aggressive.
Clearly, she should have been the more aggressive one, yet it always seemed that Xia Mo seized the initiative first, continuously attacking her and bringing her to her knees.
Luo Shuangyue attempted to resist, but her soft resistance was more akin to a kitten’s pawing; other than getting her cat-loving owner more excited, it served no other purpose.
Ten minutes later, Xia Mo, with slightly flushed cheeks, finally released her grip from Luo Shuangyue’s head.
“Do you now understand my feelings for you?” she said softly.
Feelings, indeed, were fully received, but Luo Shuangyue still couldn’t comprehend why Xia Mo had to do this.
Is there any possibility that you could have used another method? Just glaring at me a bit longer and I might have helplessly told you everything?
“I’ve made a few adjustments to her origin magical energy, so she’s basically my subordinate now.” Luo Shuangyue’s gaze fell on the girl’s chest, where a dark purple butterfly mark had appeared on her pale and flat surface.
This represented that the magical beast girl had accepted that portion of her magical energy and had truly become her subordinate.
“I just feel that forcibly altering someone else’s cognition is a bit not right…”
After saying this, she was once again silenced by Xia Mo.
Not right? Then Xia Mo used action to let Luo Shuangyue know that she was indifferent to these things.
Please, you’re manipulating a magical beast; no matter how kind and maternal Xia Mo is, she wouldn’t feel any sympathy for such creatures.
If Luo Shuangyue hadn’t said this magical beast girl still had some use, Xia Mo would have long since picked up a cannon to smash the girl’s head.
Being kind to magical beasts is cruel to her family and friends; as a seasoned magical girl, Xia Mo understood these things clearly.
She saw no problem with Luo Shuangyue’s actions.
The only thing that upset her was that after Luo Shuangyue finished, she hesitated to tell the truth, fearing she would be unhappy about it.
So Xia Mo had to use the most straightforward method to let Luo Shuangyue know about her trust in her.
After another lengthy yet short period, Luo Shuangyue was successfully persuaded by Xia Mo to pledge that she would never hide such things from her again.
Her trust in Xia Mo had been too low, to the point of thinking that such matters would affect their relationship; she was insincere and deserved punishment.
It was completely her fault, not Xia Mo deliberately playing tricks.
“That’s how it should be.” After rubbing Luo Shuangyue’s face a couple of times, Xia Mo squinted her eyes in satisfaction and said.
“By the way, how do you feel after becoming a magical beast? Does it feel the same as before?”
Now that the serious matter was done, they could touch on something more frivolous.
Having already slept for half the night, Xia Mo still felt energetic; the recent dual strikes had thoroughly robbed her of her desire to sleep.
It was just the right time to inquire about Luo Shuangyue’s current state during the stillness of the night, especially since Xia Mo had indeed noticed some rather concerning developments over the past few days.
Luo Shuangyue seemed to be gradually losing her ‘humanity’ as a person.
“Feelings?” Luo Shuangyue’s expression became conflicted. “Actually, this body is quite nice; I can block out harmful feelings and only accept the beneficial ones.”
“If you punched a hole in my stomach, I wouldn’t really feel anything, but magic is different; its damage isn’t solely on the physical level but also on the mental level.”
After becoming a magical beast, Luo Shuangyue finally understood why magical beasts could almost ignore physical attacks.
If you took an exceptional sword and slashed water, would the water sustain any damage?
No!
Only magic can counter magic.
“If you’re asking about earlier, cough, I would still have feelings because I still have the data from my previous human body saved in my head; I can easily replicate part of my original body to gain those sensations.”
Pointing to her head, Luo Shuangyue indicated she hadn’t completely lost all sensations.
In fact, she had already reestablished the sensory system belonging to humans; unlike humans who couldn’t actively control this system, she could adjust various detailed parameters of her body at will.
Such subtle adjustments were quite easy and very useful.
When she needed specific sensations, she could amplify those capabilities many times; when certain sensations became burdensome, she could swiftly sever those sensory connections.
It’s mainly about being adaptable to the environment.
“So, you can increase your sensitivity by many times?” Xia Mo’s eyes gleamed slightly.
She suddenly had a rather bold thought.
“What are you planning to do? There are others around!” Luo Shuangyue shuddered instinctively, showing a look of horror.
“I also want to try if we can use sensory magic now.” Xia Mo’s smile became even more radiant.
“…… I think that might not be too good.”
……
The next morning, Taya, who awoke from a good dream, instinctively wanted to howl at the sky.
However, just as she opened her mouth and took a deep breath, she suddenly recalled that she still had a few companions nearby, and those companions didn’t seem too keen on her morning howling.
Thus, the considerate Miss Taya closed her mouth and turned her gaze to the side.
Hmm… huh? Was it like this next to her before she went to sleep last night?
She remembered that Xia Mo and the magical beast girl should have been sleeping separately, and Luo Shuangyue was supposed to be keeping watch while sitting.
So how did it end up like this?
The magical beast girl lay on her back at Luo Shuangyue’s feet, her black eyes staring blankly at the sky, looking like a salted fish that had lost its dream.
Meanwhile, Xia Mo and Luo Shuangyue were cuddled together, lying on the ground and breathing steadily in deep sleep.
No, only Xia Mo was asleep; Luo Shuangyue and the magical beast girl had expressions that were quite similar, gazing blankly at the sky with eyes that had lost all desire for the world.
Taya moved a bit closer and noticed that the fragrance of flowers here seemed even stronger.
How strange; what exactly happened while she was sleeping?
Her approaching startled the dazed magical beast girl. The girl who was once unwilling to cooperate now seemed like a different person; upon noticing Taya closing in, she jumped up and stood between Taya and Luo Shuangyue, baring her teeth and growling in a low voice to block Taya’s approach.
Like a guard dog for her master.
Unfortunately, this ‘guard dog’ was facing a dragon; Taya felt no fear at all toward her which had lost all combat ability.
“Xiao Zi, Taya is my friend, so there’s no need to be so alert.” Luo Shuangyue’s somewhat hoarse voice came from behind the magical beast girl.
Hearing this, the girl, whom Luo Shuangyue had given the nickname based on her birthplace, awkwardly stepped aside.
Taya had no intention of being angry with Xiao Zi; the child’s heart was huge, and she likely already forgot the unpleasantness when Xiao Zi let her path clear.
“Is she still asleep? Why are you two hugging together?” Moving next to Luo Shuangyue, Taya spoke with confusion.
“Let her rest well for a bit; we don’t have a goal right now. It would be better to stay here and recuperate for a few days.” Luo Shuangyue coughed awkwardly a couple of times.
Why was Xia Mo sleeping so soundly? This was a question she found difficult to answer.
After all, without transformation, Xia Mo’s tolerance for certain stimuli was far weaker than Luo Shuangyue’s.
And last night’s sensory experiment had gone very smoothly; Xia Mo and Luo Shuangyue had proven that a magical girl and a Demon Lord could indeed establish a sensory-sharing connection.
As for whether one side would faint from overstimulation after the sensory exchange, that was another issue entirely.
Last night’s situation probably went like this: Xia Mo took all the advantages, advancing with full power, and was about to win!
Then suddenly, let us congratulate Luo Shuangyue for winning this match!
As for what exactly Luo Shuangyue had done, she actually hadn’t done anything at all; her sensitivity couldn’t do much.
By the time she got her bearings, Xia Mo had already fainted.
One could only say that such games were far too stimulating for ordinary people; it might be better to avoid doing this in the future.
Let’s not mention anything else; in the current desolate wilderness environment, some light banter would be fine, but if clothes got dirty, it would become a real hassle to deal with.
Like Xia Mo; her clothes must have gotten quite damp by now.
However, she could refresh her status by transforming, so it wasn’t a big problem.
“Stay here? Alright.” Taya sat down again and nodded her head.
Then she seemed to suddenly remember something important, shaking her head hurriedly. “No!”
This time her tone was very firm.
“Why?” This was the first time Luo Shuangyue had seen Taya show such an expression, curious about what could make this easy-going child oppose her idea.
“My rations are almost finished. If I run out, I will starve.” Taya said seriously to Luo Shuangyue, “There are no prey here; I need to go hunting.”
“Uh…” Luo Shuangyue blinked.
She herself didn’t need to eat, and Xia Mo could replace food with magical energy; she had honestly not thought about this matter after so many days.
In her view, Taya, as a being with magical power, should also be able to endure hunger like herself through magical energy, right?
Faced with Luo Shuangyue’s疑惑, Taya scratched her head, indicating that using magical energy instead of food was an ability that their world’s beings only wielded when absolutely necessary.
Generally, everyone would go hunt for their desired food.
“But does Taya know if there’s a place nearby to hunt?”
“I don’t know.”
This world didn’t have maps or anything; the sea of flowers was unfamiliar territory Taya had never ventured into, so how could she possibly know where there were prey?
“Then how about you make do with her?” Luo Shuangyue pointed to Xiao Zi again.
Look at this girl, she’s soft and tender, just perfect for you, big bad dragon, isn’t she?
At this suggestion, Taya immediately showed an expression of horror, shaking her head so fast it nearly left an afterimage. “The Holy Lord said monsters are toxic; eating them will turn you into the same kind of monster!”
“That sounds a lot like our side…”
Slightly shifting her body, Luo Shuangyue realized she couldn’t shake off Xia Mo hanging on her, so she could only maintain her lying position and continue talking to Taya.
“I need to wait for Xia Mo to wake up first. Taya, why don’t you scout the area nearby first, and then you can choose where we go after?”
Luo Shuangyue was unfamiliar with the area, so her leading would be purely guesswork.
It would be better to let Taya, the local, take the lead; at least with her guiding, the chance of getting lost would be slightly reduced, wouldn’t it?
“Okay!” Taya had no objections and immediately stood up to rush off into the distance.
Watching the dragon girl disappear into the sea of flowers, Luo Shuangyue suddenly felt a bit anxious inside.
It was as if… something terrifying was gradually approaching her.
“Strange, is it an illusion?”
……
“The landing point is just ahead, but I can’t sense her presence; how strange.”
A jet-black air current slowly seeped out from the magic circle, coalescing into a girl with pale long hair, draped in a tattered overcoat. Her dark eyes scanned over a part of the flower sea that had been completely ravaged by magical energy, displaying a hint of confusion.
Her previous sensing had not been mistaken; this area had indeed erupted in a fairly significant Black Calamity.
So, where was the kindred soul that had emerged from the Black Calamity?
Where would a kindred spirit, freshly born from the Black Calamity and akin to a blank sheet of paper, have run off to?
Shouldn’t she be here, aimlessly destroying everything?
Slowly descending onto the pitch-black plain, the girl bent down, scooping up a bit of soil soaked in magical energy and bringing it to her mouth.
“Good power; with a little training, she could become an excellent warrior, but where could she be?”
Standing up, she closed her eyes and began sensing the traces of magical energy nearby, hoping to find the footprints of that newborn kin.
The scent was very faint; it had been nearly a whole day since she left. The direction was… that way?
The girl reopened her eyes and chased after the magical energy’s position she sensed.
Her speed was not particularly fast; the magical energy trails left in the air were too faint. She needed to be meticulous in distinguishing them from the chaotic environment around her to obtain the part of information she sought.
As she pursued, her brows gradually furrowed tighter.
Something was wrong; how was there another trace of magical energy nearby?
She was tracing a very faint instance of magical energy, and in the flower sea near her, there lingered another source of magical energy.
The magical energy she pursued had a clear target and a straightforward path, whereas the other was strange, winding about like a ball of yarn that had been played with by a cat.
Looking again at the area where petals had been completely devoured, leaving only a barren patch, the girl couldn’t help but entertain a rather impolite thought.
Could the owner of this other magical energy be a glutton?
Has she really devoured the entire flower sea?
These flowers in the sea aren’t precious heavenly treasures that could instantly boost someone’s strength; they are just the most ordinary blossoms.
Whoosh…
A gentle breeze blew through, and suddenly an out-of-place figure appeared in the completely diminished purple flower sea.
White, small.
The girl’s gaze locked with a white girl standing in the distance.
Those were golden vertical pupils, reflecting emotion named fear.
Isn’t this supposed to be an uninhabited area? Hadn’t those cowards completely given up on this place? Could it be that those timid souls dared to plot a counterattack from their shells?
But if they were to counterattack, there would be no way to start from this place; this was the heart of an uninhabited zone, a distance from the Sacred Domain that couldn’t even be described in numbers.
“Regardless, I can’t let her go!” A cold light flashed in the girl’s eyes; anyone daring to show up here was her enemy.
And enemies must die.
Black starlight gathered in her palm, and she leaped into the air, transforming the starlight into a spear that she hurled towards the fleeing figure.
“Go die!”
