Demon

Feili Lena was a sophomore at Nebula University, majoring in fashion design. She came from an orphanage. Her father had vanished without a trace, and her mother had died in an accident when Feili was very young. Yet she hadn't suffered much. Her keen powers of observation and social grace allowed her to navigate life in the orphanage with ease, and whenever she crossed paths with street thugs, she could easily chase them off. Sometimes she even wondered why she was so capable without ever putting in much effort. Growing up, she smoothly gained admission to the university of her choice. She had a promising future to look forward to, a secret crush, and television dramas she loved following. All in all, it was a content, happy life. She lived in the Bright Diamond Apartments two kilometers from campus, a rental complex catering primarily to students. Since there were no classes these couple of days, she had planned to go to the movies with a friend, but unexpectedly caught wind of a piece of news—her heartthrob was going to pull an all-nighter conducting experiments in the laboratory building tonight. This really had nothing to do with Feili, but her friend suddenly had to cancel their movie plans because she realized an unwritten lab report had to be uploaded tonight. Worse still, her friend had forgotten to take her lab materials after class yesterday, leaving them inside a classroom desk drawer. Torn between rushing the report and needing the materials, her friend had no choice but to beg Feili to make a trip back to campus. Harboring the faint hope that she might bump into her crush, Feili returned to Nebula University. Her plan was to retrieve the materials and then take a stroll around the laboratory building; even if she only caught a glimpse of her heartthrob absorbed in his work, it would be well worth the detour. And if she actually managed to invite him out for a late-night bite, well, she'd just have to apologize to her friend. However, just as she entered the pitch-black integrated building, she heard footsteps echoing behind her. Terrified it might be someone dangerous, she immediately hid and kept quiet. Fortunately, the person walked straight past without noticing her. Just as she found the lab materials and prepared to leave, a crackling roar of combat erupted from upstairs. The entire integrated building began to shudder, and the surrounding glass windows shattered one by one, scaring Feili so badly that she dared not make a sound. Suddenly, shouting and cursing rang out in the corridor, and Feili saw a man jump straight down from the third floor. Before she could even register her shock, the distant laboratory building blew up. Her crush—her heartthrob—! Everything unfolded in the blink of an eye. The laboratory building exploded in billowing plumes of smoke, and then a gigantic flame halberd—looking as though it had been pulled straight from a video game—slammed onto the lawn outside the integrated building with a loud thud. Feili crept closer, concealing herself in the shadows of the corridor, and poked her head out to peek at the commotion on the lawn. Then she witnessed a scene straight out of a fantasy film: a red-haired girl barely one and a half meters tall stood atop the flame halberd, looking down at a black-haired young man dual-wielding short swords. Soon, however, Feili recognized the young man—it was none other than the sensation of the Country of Stars in recent years, hailed as the "Shining Morning Star"—author, actor, composer, singer, game producer, and genius creator, Yaxiu Heath! She immediately breathed a sigh of relief and looked toward the distant laboratory building, where half a floor had been blown away, with newfound awe. It was just filming a movie! No wonder! The laboratory building had surely been evacuated long ago, serving merely as a set piece to be blown up! The modern film industry was truly incredible. She watched for a while, yet couldn't spot a single camera or microphone anywhere! Come to think of it, Mr. Heath hadn't released any new work in six months. Who would have guessed he was preparing something this massive? Thinking this, Feili pulled out her phone, wanting to snap a picture so she could brag to her friend when she got back... As she reached for her phone, she accidentally bumped into a nearby mop, which clattered loudly to the floor. Feili wondered who on earth had used the mop without putting it back, but when she turned her gaze down, she found both people below staring directly into the shadows where she hid. Those expressions were definitely not those of actors annoyed at having their scene interrupted. A powerful premonition of danger surged in Feili's chest. Muffling her footsteps, she quickly backed away from the corridor. But she soon realized that trying to leave would likely cause her to cross paths with the two of them, so she decisively chose to hide inside a supply closet in one of the classrooms! Because the utility closet was built to store buckets and mops, it had enough room to conceal an adult woman. Feili gingerly closed the door. There was an elongated ventilation slot in the door, offering her a limited view outside. Five seconds passed. Ten seconds. Twenty seconds. Aside from the shrill sirens of fire engines wailing in the distance, the integrated building was dead quiet, save for the rustling breeze sweeping through the classroom. Feili heard no footsteps; it seemed no one had entered. Feili began to second-guess her decision. She had only seen them filming a movie, not caught them dealing contraband. Why would they care about her? Had she watched too many thrillers lately and developed persecution mania? Even so, Feili had no intention of leaving. She wasn't someone prone to bold action. In fact, she was inconspicuous whether at the orphanage or at university; even when others showed goodwill toward her, she would shrink back, afraid to accept it. Yet once she set her mind on something, she saw it through to the end. Several times in her past, she had made strange decisions based purely on intuition, and every single time, her instincts had proven right. And this time, Feili's intuition screamed at her: Don't go out. Those two are dangerous. She closed her eyes, doing her best to slow her breathing, steady her heartbeat, and diminish her presence. Just when she felt she had melted completely into the darkness, she opened her eyes—only to discover that she could no longer see outside. No, it wasn't that she couldn't see. The ventilation slot on the closet door... was blocked. Smash! The closet burst open with a crash, and the fiery-haired girl appeared abruptly before her eyes. When the fiery-haired girl struck out, Feili instinctively raised a broom to block, crying out, "I—" "Oh?" The fiery-haired girl seemed surprised that she could fight back, and her flurry of strikes grew even more ferocious. Feili swung the broom on pure instinct, throwing her weight into the fiery-haired girl to shove past her and bolt from the closet, begging for mercy as she ran: "I... I... Aaaagh..." After only a few steps, Feili stumbled to a halt. Clasping her throat, she made a sound like a broken bellows. Blood soaked the new shirt she had bought only a few days ago. Strength rapidly drained from her body, and two trails of tears streaked down her cheeks. I... I don't want to die... Her legs buckled like collapsing building blocks. She collapsed onto the familiar classroom floor, her skin pressing against the icy tiles, her consciousness rapidly fading. In her daze, she heard a familiar, magnetic male voice: "To avoid reinforcing her cognition, you were cautious enough to use garbage like a glass shard as a weapon. Truly, garbage weapons for garbage people." "It'll take a while for her to lose consciousness, and I'm not going to fight you here just because of your cheap taunts." A sweet female voice chimed in, oozing unspeakable cruelty. "Still, a slow death like this is quite harsh on her. Why don't you just stomp her head in?" Click. Clack. Footsteps steadily approached, stopping right beside her. An intense terror gripped Feili's heart, yet she couldn't even voice a plea, only able to manage feeble whimpers like a wounded cub. A warm palm gently covered her wound. Soon, Feili felt the pain subside as warm, soothing energy flowed from her throat to every corner of her body. "Haha, have you lost your mind?" The female voice scoffed, bursting into laughter. "You dare use a miracle to heal her? Aren't you afraid the mysterious chains will lock you down? What, do you know her?" The male voice replied, "I don't know her. But when you ran over earlier and I failed to stop you, that was my fault. I feel ashamed that I briefly harbored the same thought as you. Yet the difference between a human being and garbage is that humans make amends for their mistakes. "If I stood by and watched you kill her, I'd have to wonder if I'm just the same brand of trash as you. "Besides, as long as she doesn't recognize me, it's fine." The male voice said, "I will protect you, but could you please close your eyes and not look at me? If you recognize me, I won't be able to save you from this scum." Feili summoned her last ounce of strength to nod vigorously. "Oh, but how could she not recognize you?" The female voice chimed in with chilling amusement. "You're the beloved Yaxiu Heath whom everyone adores, cars stop for, and coffins pop open to welcome! The household name, Yaxiu Heath! The Yaxiu Heath whom the entire Country of Stars knows!" Though she didn't know the exact reason, Feili tightly gripped the man's hand beside her, repeating frantically in her mind: I don't know him. I don't know Yaxiu Heath. I don't know the person next to me. "Do you feel your wound healing?" the female voice proclaimed loudly. "That's because Yaxiu Heath is using a miracle to heal the cut on your throat! Modern technology can't save someone with a slit throat in a matter of seconds—surely you realize that, don't you?" I don't know him... "You must have seen Yaxiu Heath's commercials, watched his movies and shows, seen his pictures, right? This very man just snatched your life back from the Reaper. Shouldn't you etch his face into your memory and thank him properly?" I don't know him, I don't know him... "The hand you're holding right now is Yaxiu Heath's hand. Isn't it warm?" Feili felt as though a string snapped in her mind. The miracle at her throat, the warmth of the touch, Yaxiu Heath's advertisements... everything converged into a vivid image, one she could see with utter clarity even with her eyes shut! No, she truly saw Yaxiu in her mind. Before the astonished eyes of Yaxiu and Vichy, Feili suddenly floated into midair. Transparent, starlight-hued ram horns sprouted from her forehead; three pitch-black wings unfurled from her back; and delicate shackles materialized around her wrists. At the same time, a collar appeared around Yaxiu's neck. Attached to the collar was a very short chain that, while turning transparent halfway through, undoubtedly linked directly to Feili's shackles. Boom! Vichy was no fool to stand by idly while someone transformed. Disregarding the mysterious chains, she directly summoned her flame halberd and hurled it toward the two! "Don't even think about it!" Without hesitation, Yaxiu swung his swords to parry, successfully triggering the Sword Retainer miracle. A white Sword Retainer phantom erupted from him and slashed at Vichy! Naturally, Vichy shifted her weapon immediately to defend. But right at that moment, a black phantom emerged from Feili as well! The black phantom bore a striking resemblance to Feili, and it too charged toward Vichy brandishing a sharp blade. Completely caught off guard, Vichy suffered a wound to her thigh as the strike bypassed her Sanctuary. Her face darkened as she retreated over a dozen meters. "Could it be...?" she muttered. By now, Feili had slumped to the floor in fright from the shockwaves of their battle. Having long forgotten the rule not to open her eyes, she stared blankly at their fantastical combat. When Yaxiu looked over, she finally snapped back to her senses, hurriedly covering her eyes with her hands. "I don't know you, and I don't know who you are!" "You..." Yaxiu looked at the blonde girl sitting on the floor, adorned with pitch-black wings and starlight ram horns on her forehead, and asked, "Are you... the demon?"