Felix Was Terrified

Indeed, Vichy was definitely identical to the Nether Demon. She was, after all, a demigod who had lived across three thousand years. Three thousand years—long enough to boil an ocean into dry fields and weather civilizations into rubble. The current calendar was only in the year 1669; the years she had traversed were twice the length of this entire era. Time was the mightiest force, so sorcerers capable of resisting it possessed wills more indestructible than reinforced concrete pillars. Even across different timelines, their personalities could not drastically change; at most, their experiences differed, but their core essence remained inherently the same. Yet, leaving aside that Vichy could unlock all her traits, why did her traits have to be the exact type Yaxiu least wanted to see! Though it sounded bad to say, if one of the four operators had to be chosen to die, Yaxiu would pick Vichy without hesitation. And even without such a choice, he was determined to drag Vichy down to death with him in the future. In Yaxiu's mind, Vichy was on the same level as a secret stash of "study materials"—scourges that had to be thoroughly wiped clean before death, absolutely never to be left behind in the world. And yet, the Nether Demon was actually the most cowardly member of the Doomsday Quintet! Though Dead Frenzy, Black Demon, and Mirror Master leaned in different directions, they all pursued more efficient ways to slaughter enemies. Nether Demon, however, had only [Cruelty] to enhance her offense, while [Frenzied Desire] was more about growth and development, and [Immortality] existed solely to preserve her life. Whether Nether Demon or Vichy, both upheld the same dark conviction: Survive! Survive by any means necessary! Survive humbly! Even if turned into a Lalafell, survive! And don't fear death either—give every lifetime everything you've got, pursuing power with every fiber of your being. If there was no hope, then resolutely die on the path to your dream, waiting for the soul to disperse and starting the next life, even at the risk of total obliteration! Endure, wait, persevere! Even if I lose everything, I am willing to start all over again until... I reach the summit! Looking at the trait [Immortality], Yaxiu thought that the sole upside to the destruction of the world was probably that it guaranteed Vichy couldn't resurrect. If Vichy truly achieved sorcery supremacy one day, the apocalypse might not even be a bad alternative for the people living then. Before Vichy, death was no excuse for insubordination. Still, there was no need to worry just yet. The Ruby Chains were likely an item of supreme sorcery rank; Vichy couldn't possibly break free until she reached the Divine Master rank. And right now, if they couldn't resolve the crisis of the World-Devouring Serpent, everyone was finished anyway, so there was naturally no need to fret over how dangerous Vichy was. Once they got through their present crisis, he would worry about how to handle this demon later... Yaxiu glanced at Vichy's bond level, which had reached Level 4. With a conflicted expression, he quietly closed the growth report. He opened "Operator Recruitment." There were no new recruitment events, and perhaps there never would be, since the Doomsday Quintet had only prepared four operators for him. However, Yaxiu remembered that the recruitment pool had also featured characters like 'Heart-Bewitching Maiden', 'Shadow Concubine of Purple Grudge', 'Blood-Hidden Empress', and 'Crow Cull'. Originally, he had only been certain that Crow Cull was Tamashi, but after being pulled into the Realm of Longing by Rose, he roughly guessed who the other three corresponded to. Could it be possible to recruit them into the team later as well? Was the Doomsday Quintet really that despicable? At the mere thought of all of them gathered under one roof, Yaxiu shivered from the chill and couldn't help hugging the girl in his arms tighter. Sonia glanced out at the storefronts lining the street and suddenly said, "I'm going to a convenience store to buy some things. Pull over to the curb." "I'll go too," Felix said. Yaxiu obediently shut his mouth. Someone had to stay with the car when parking by the roadside. "Get me a milk coffee." Felix followed behind Sonia into the brightly lit 24-hour convenience store. Turning toward the snack shelves, her fingers brushed across boxes of snacks in exquisite, alluring packaging. A moment later, she picked up a basket, filled it with snacks, and queued at the counter to check out. She stood in line behind Sonia. After paying, Sonia waited beside her, glancing at the four cans of milk coffee in Felix's basket. The gazes of every customer in the store trailed after the two of them, reluctantly looking away only when they got back into the car. As Felix stepped on the accelerator, she felt a strange unease. She had thought the Sword Princess had something to say to her... Earlier at the school, she and Yaxiu had barely walked two steps when they ran into the Sword Princess at the corner. Felix wasn't naive enough to believe that had been a coincidence. Warnings, threats, insults, even violence—she had prepared herself for all of it, yet she hadn't received the punishment she deserved. Yes, she had hoped to be punished; it would have been best if the Sword Princess slapped some sense into her. Yet there was nothing. Nothing at all. The Sword Princess's attitude hadn't changed in the slightest, as if she hadn't seen a thing. Although this was the best possible outcome for Felix, it only made her more panicked. She understood Sonia Sevier; Sonia had summoned her very first sorcery spirit when fighting Felix, so Felix knew all too well that this village girl was never one to swallow an insult in silence. To retreat was cowardice, and to concede was defeat. At school, Sonia never let herself get the short end of the stick, because that was her creed of survival: she had to frighten off anyone coveting what was hers to ensure no one dared bully her. Yet facing a yielding Sonia, Felix didn't feel for a second that she could bully her; instead, she felt as if she were about to be murdered. Felix grew increasingly apprehensive, until terror drove her to speak up on her own initiative. "S-sorry." "Hmm?" Yaxiu and Sonia looked over at the same time. "Earlier, when I was in a bad mood, I addressed Your Seat and the others directly by name." Felix watched Sonia's expression through the rearview mirror. "My attitude was out of line." "It's fine. You just said goodbye to your family; it's only natural your emotions were unsteady," Yaxiu smiled. "It's not too late to regret it over the next couple of days. Being the duke's younger sister is far more comfortable than wandering the ends of the earth as an exile." "No, I won't go back," Felix said firmly. "I still want to follow you." "As you wish." Yaxiu paused, then reached out to pull Sonia into his arms. "Still, if danger comes, we'll protect you." Just then, Sonia arched an eyebrow and locked eyes with Felix through the rearview mirror. Three seconds later, when Sonia finally shifted her gaze back to the drama on the light screen, Felix's tense body finally relaxed. Her heart was still pounding wildly, and because she had held her breath, an oxygen-deprived flush colored her face. She felt as though she had survived a catastrophe—she hadn't even been this nervous when shattering the starry sky. The luxury silver sedan rolled slowly into the courtyard of a villa. Yaxiu stepped out and picked up the shopping bag. Sonia suddenly caught his wrist, retrieved something from the bag, and stuffed it into her own pocket. "Food?" "Something like that," Sonia said offhandedly. Yaxiu wasn't particularly interested in snacks and didn't press the matter. He had barely reached the front door when it swung open from within, and a little white-haired girl dressed in snow-white, fluffy winter clothes leaped out to hang onto him. "You're back!" "Oh, Master is back~" The maid followed her out, reaching out to take the shopping bag from his hands, smiling. "I thought you planned to stay out all night at a love hotel." "If that happened, the Witch would flip all of Jialesi upside down," the Silver Lantern said leisurely as she walked down from the second floor. "And so would I." "How did the date go?" Diya asked. "Wonderful!" Yaxiu smiled. "Aside from Felix being a little sad, the Sword Princess and I had a great time!" "I want one too!" Diya pouted angrily. "If you don't go on a date with me, my personality will drift!" "If both the Sword Princess and the Witch get one..." Weise mused, "I might inevitably develop some negative emotions too..." "I want one too. For such a precious date, asking to cash it out isn't too much, right?" Vichy tilted her head back to look at him, the corners of her mouth curving up in a smug grin. "Yaxiu, you wouldn't want my personality drifting toward the Nether Demon, would you?!" Yaxiu looked at the maid with a subtle expression, as if looking at a complete idiot. Watching this scene from behind, Felix suddenly understood why the Sword Princess hadn't paid her much mind—compared to these women, Felix wasn't even a threat; at most, she was a passing gust of wind and frost. She turned her head to look back, finding the Sword Princess still leaning against the car, looking down as she toyed with the object in her hand. Noticing Felix's gaze, Sonia slipped the item into her pocket and walked into the villa with her usual composure. Felix blinked. If she hadn't seen wrong, what Sonia had been holding in her hand just now was... a cigarette pack?