The Lord of Blasphemy's Interest in Lanqi

An antique bronze desk lamp stood quietly on the office desk, its soft glow dispelling the midnight chill of Purgatory City beyond the window. Melogas, Lord of Blasphemy, sat before the headmaster's seat without moving a muscle. Her slender back was ramrod-straight, a cup of black tea resting at her hand. Her gaze fixed upon Lanqi with deep intrigue. Within the seemingly calm Headmaster's Office, Lysandra swallowed hard. She had no idea what would come of this quiet stare-down between the two of them. She knew only that she was like a tiny skiff on the open sea—should a storm erupt, she would be completely engulfed and crushed to pieces. "Miss Lysandra, please help me bring my luggage inside." As if noticing Lysandra's predicament, Lanqi instructed his secretary. Stepping aside, he gestured with his thumb toward the corridor outside. Although Lysandra hadn't recognized him in his new demon guise, he had already recognized his former neighbor from Lis Island. "Right away." Lysandra accepted the order with immense relief. The headmaster's words had sounded firm, but he was clearly protecting her. He had noticed how terrified she was of the Lord of Blasphemy. Her heart hammering against her ribs, Lysandra jogged over. It wasn't until she trotted past the headmaster without being accosted by Melogas that she felt a measure of relief. The Lord of Blasphemy's attention seemed entirely fixed on the new headmaster, leaving her unconcerned with a petty secretary. "Fascinating. In all these years, this is the first time anyone has ever addressed me as 'Miss.'" Melogas wrapped her fingers gently around the handle of her teacup, murmuring leisurely to herself. She, too, had deduced the newcomer's identity. The new headmaster of Purgatory Corridor Academy. Judging by his Phantom Demon traits, it took no guessing to realize he had been appointed by Caliera before her death. "She is our Demon Realm's current Regent, the great demon Lady Melogas, Lord of Blasphemy," Lysandra whispered a hasty warning as she hauled the luggage past Lanqi. Melogas leaned languidly against the plush armchair. Her slender legs crossed, accentuating the curves beneath her black robe. Raising her teacup, she took a gentle sip. Waiting for this headmaster to prostrate himself before her. Sure enough, the Phantom Demon headmaster parted his lips slightly in apparent surprise. "Madam, would you mind moving aside?" As though realizing that calling someone of her age "Miss" truly wasn't appropriate and that "Madam" was far more fitting, Lanqi adjusted his address, his tone growing a shade more dignified. "..." The Lord of Blasphemy froze. Normally, if anyone addressed her that way, however inappropriate it was, she wouldn't react much. Yet judging by the shift in attitude from this fellow at the door, he seemed to have a death wish. "Seriously, Lanqi? So you don't just pull this on me—you never let any older demon woman off the hook, do you? Should I actually praise you for having zero double standards?" Talia asked him in his mind. "Master, you shouldn't belittle yourself. Combined, their charm couldn't match a ten-thousandth of yours," Lanqi replied solemnly. *Only you are truly special.* That was genuinely what he thought. "You son of a..." Talia nearly swore out loud. If not for the fact that an unfathomably powerful general-tier demon stood right in front of them, requiring her to remain on high alert, she would have loved nothing more than to manifest, pin Lanqi to the floor, and pummel him. Inside the Headmaster's Office. Seeing that Melogas hadn't responded for quite some time, Lanqi repeated himself. "Madam, would you mind moving aside?" He seemed slightly concerned that the Lord of Blasphemy had reached an age where her hearing was beginning to fail, so an extra note of tender concern laced his voice. "...Ha." Melogas set down her cup and shook her head. She was so infuriated that she laughed. Because she could hardly imagine just how exquisite the pleasure would be when she captured and tortured this fellow in a moment. "Fine. The seat is yours." Melogas curved her lips into a cold sneer. Her voice was terrifyingly gentle, yet her eyes were as sharp as glacial ice, regarding him without a speck of warmth. This Phantom Demon headmaster seemed like some demon fresh out of the countryside or from beyond the Demon Realm, completely ignorant of its current affairs. Probably one of Caliera's kinsmen. At the thought of Caliera, an ember of irritation smoldered in Melogas's heart. However, Melogas did not vacate the seat completely. Instead, she perched on the armrest, resting her scorpion tail high over the back of the chair. Her cold, mocking gaze seemed to ask the new headmaster: *I'm letting you sit, but do you dare?* "Thank you." Lanqi walked over with absolute composure and sat down. It was as though he couldn't even see the Lord of Blasphemy beside the armrest. He had always respected the elderly and cherished the young. If this scorpion-tailed lady had trouble with her legs and wanted to lean against his headmaster's chair for support, he had no objections. "..." Melogas studied the Phantom Demon's face at close range. She couldn't shake the feeling that beneath his unruffled exterior, he was harboring some terribly rude thoughts. "Are you truly not afraid of me?" Melogas's scorpion tail swayed, tracing circles near the nape of Lanqi's neck. The stinger looked poised to pierce his spine at any second and drink his marrow as nourishment. "Why should I fear you?" Facing this mortal threat, Lanqi remained unmoved, unaffected even by the oppressive hierarchy of demons. "..." Melogas gazed sideways into his tranquil, crystal-clear emerald eyes. To her, her bloodlust was merely a form of love. Cruelty and torment were far too similar to love: no one could control whom they fell in love with, nor could anyone predict whom they would kill in the future. Yet this fellow showed neither revulsion nor fear toward her murderous intent. This was the first time she had ever encountered a creature who seemingly accepted her murderous desires. "Can you not sense that I hold your life in my hands at any given moment?" Melogas leaned down slightly and pressed further. It was already remarkable enough for any demon to keep a straight face in her presence. "Your murderous intent stems from desire, seeking pleasure through extreme acts... And right now, you are pondering just how much pleasure you could derive from killing me. Until you figure that out, you will not strike lightly." Lanqi picked up an ancient tome from the desk and flipped through it as if greeting an old friend. "Don't act as if you understand everything." In an instant, the tip of Melogas's scorpion stinger pressed against the nape of Lanqi's neck, less than a millimeter from his skin, glinting with a silvery sheen. "Aren't you afraid I'll actually do it?" As though displeased that someone had seen right through her, Melogas warned the Phantom Demon, enunciating every word. Both the male demon's appearance and his demeanor pleased her immensely. Coupled with the fact that he could be treated as a male version of Caliera, she felt something stirring within her body and mind. His eyes seemed to possess a purity akin to the princess's—unsullied by the mud from which he emerged, carrying a noble detachment meant only to be admired from afar, not defiled. Perhaps it was even a cut above the princess's, so pure that Melogas found it difficult to decipher. If possible, she truly didn't want to kill him so soon. She wanted to probe further and see if this man could truly understand her love. "If you were truly going to strike, you wouldn't be wasting words on me," Lanqi said as he flipped another page, not even glancing at the Lord of Blasphemy. "..." Melogas seemed to be making one final check to see if he was genuinely fearless. Only when she distinctly heard that his heartbeat hadn't quickened in the slightest did she relent. Her suspended tail lowered slowly, flicking behind Lanqi with deliberate coquetry. "How interesting. When I return, we'll have a nice, long chat." Melogas felt as though she had found someone perfectly to her taste. Far more intriguing than the princess. She decided to speed up the game. She would capture the princess first as an appetizer, then return to play with this one. Melogas walked out through the office door, not forgetting to cast one last backward glance at the Phantom Demon headmaster, who sat supporting the spine of his book with one hand. The door of the Headmaster's Office closed with a heavy thud. Lysandra let out a long breath, clutching her chest as her tense posture slackened. She had been terrified that the new headmaster would provoke the Lord of Blasphemy and get ousted the moment he took office, after which Melogas would redirect her fury onto a humble secretary and finish what she had started. Fortunately, the new headmaster was even more composed than she could have imagined. "Lord Headmaster, thank you so much for getting me out of that." Regaining her professional composure, Lysandra stepped up to the desk and bowed to him. "Think nothing of it. It's my duty." Lanqi's eyes remained on the book he hadn't finished reading last time. At the very end of his first Shadow World at Purgatory Corridor Academy, he had been reading this very book. Until the time limit expired, there were still a few pages left unread. Now he could finally enjoy his office all to himself. Besides, inside the Headmaster's Office, he had no desire to fight. Under no circumstances would any breach of etiquette be permitted in the Headmaster's Office. "By the way, where's Xigelei?" Talia's mental voice reached Lanqi's ears. Upon entering the Demon Realm, Talia had dismissed her materialized form under the pretext of handling some private business. Otherwise, disguised as Caliera, Lord of the Fallen, wandering around the Demon Realm would draw far too much attention from the demons. For the same reason, Lanqi had shed his radiant demon guise as the Lord of the Black Sun and, perfectly incorporating the mana left behind by Caliera, crafted a new Phantom Demon persona closely resembling her kin. Xigelei had disguised herself as a wolf demon. "Wait, where did Xigelei go?" Lanqi set down his book, walked to the office door, opened it, and looked around, only to realize Xigelei hadn't come inside yet. She was supposed to follow him right in, but there was no sign of her in the corridor either. "Could she have gotten lost?" Talia asked Lanqi. Even this labyrinthine corridor academy made her feel disoriented. If Lanqi hadn't known the way, Talia wouldn't have known how long it would take to reach the Headmaster's Office. "No way. That kid is great with directions—she's no birdbrained scatterbrain!" Lanqi clutched his head. He had looked away for one second, and Xigelei had vanished in the corridors. The layout of Purgatory Corridor Academy shifted constantly depending on the time of day. Without understanding its rules, turning the same corner one after the other could easily lead two people into entirely different corridors. Xigelei had clearly been following right behind him, yet after rounding a corner, she was gone. This made Lanqi feel more and more as though Xigelei had become a completely different person after growing up. "How on earth do you watch a child? If you have kids in the future, are you just going to lose them, too? How could I ever trust you to raise a child?" Talia demanded in mild distress. "Come on, Master, it's not like I could hold Xigelei's hand while walking, could I?" Lanqi countered. How old was Xigelei already? Could they really walk around holding hands? In Herrom of the Protos Empire on the Northern Continent, there was also an old street with warped space where pedestrians were easily teleported to random corners of the city; unless people held hands, they were bound to get separated. While Purgatory Corridor Academy operated on a similar principle, it shouldn't have required hand-holding to avoid getting lost. He had walked through so many corridors with Hyperion back then, and they had never held hands. "Fair point," Talia conceded. Lanqi could only ever hold hands with her, his master—and even then, back in the City of Flowers, Palieu, she wouldn't necessarily have let him. "It's not a huge problem," Lanqi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Xigelei is essentially safe anywhere in this school." An eleven-year-old Xigelei could defeat tier-six opponents at night. How terrifyingly strong a twenty-something Xigelei was under the cover of darkness was something he could hardly imagine. Dropping her into Purgatory Corridor Academy—a Shadow World scaled to the fourth tier in its early stages—she could tear the entire school apart without breaking a sweat. Besides, Xigelei had told him that whenever he needed her, all he had to do was call her name; no matter how far away she was, she would follow his scent and rush to him as fast as possible. As a martial artist, Xigelei's aura-sensing prowess was ridiculously strong. Lanqi returned to his seat and sat down. Seeing the headmaster return, Lysandra stood across from the desk, shifting her feet restlessly, too anxious to remain still. "Um, Lord Headmaster..." She seemed to have something on her mind. "What is going on with the academy right now?" Lanqi took the initiative to ask. "Melogas, Lord of Blasphemy, wants to capture Princess Hyperion inside the academy. That's why there's such a massive commotion. Could you... could you please help the princess?" Lysandra squeezed her eyes shut, speaking as if in prayer. Reasonably speaking, the new headmaster had no reason to cross the Lord of Blasphemy, nor any obligation to aid Princess Hyperion. She could only gamble on the hope that as Caliera's kinsman, he might be willing to help Hyperion for Caliera's sake. "!" In an instant, Lanqi seemed to understand why the academy's atmosphere was so suffocating and why he hadn't seen a single student or teacher on his way to the office. "Stay hidden in the Headmaster's Office. I'll go stop the Lord of Blasphemy." He rose at once and strode toward the door. "She is exceptionally dangerous, even if you can control the academy's barrier! After becoming Regent, she will soon break through to tier nine using the power of faith. Right now, she is at the absolute peak of tier eight! On top of that, as a six-mark great demon, she exerts an overwhelming suppressive aura over other demons!" Lysandra followed behind him, warning the new headmaster with equal parts pleasant surprise and deep worry. She didn't know how strong the new headmaster was, but in the entire Demon Realm, virtually no demon could match Melogas. Securing control over the princess and state power was an indispensable requirement for Melogas to continuously harvest faith power. Even if the Lord of Blasphemy had been relatively polite to the new headmaster, she would never brook any negotiation on this matter. "The peak of tier eight?" Hearing Lysandra's words, Lanqi didn't slow his pace. That was roughly level 89. Likely even stronger than a cardinal. "So you..." "Lysandra, it's me. I'm back." Before Lysandra could finish, Lanqi turned his head toward her. His eyes held an extraordinarily familiar warmth of understanding and tolerance, as though among all living beings, she was the one who earned his special respect. His voice also shifted back to that of Rocky McCarthy, who had once driven her along Naicalis Bay. "McCarthy?!" Lysandra's eyelashes fluttered, her vision blurring. Her body shuddered faintly as she froze in her tracks. Tears welled up in her eyes. Then, nodding forcefully, she followed the new headmaster's instructions and dashed back into the Headmaster's Office. If it was this man... If it was him... ...then he could surely rescue the princess from any peril.