Controlled by the binding witchcraft, Lilith struggled desperately like a trapped beast. Her eyes were bloodshot as she strained to break free from her invisible shackles.
“Can’t you just sit still? Stop attacking me out of nowhere!”
The moment Wang Yue released the binding spell, Lilith sprang up like a startled rabbit, leaping three feet into the air and lunging straight at her.
“You actually… how dare you…”
Lilith clung to Wang Yue, let out a jagged, hysterical laugh.
For the past few days, she had been worried. Their relationship seemed to have progressed, yet Wang Yue had never shown a deep interest in her. Their desires were fundamentally unequal.
Now, the situation had finally shifted. Wang Yue was making a move!
Lilith was elated, but even more so, she was furious.
She had always tried to dominate Wang Yue and failed every time. Now, because of her own reckless curiosity, she had fallen into a massive disadvantage. Wang Yue had seized the opportunity and was now attempting to dominate her.
For cats, grooming and being groomed represented a hierarchy of status. The one whose paw was pinned down represented submission. It wasn’t just a physical act; it was a psychological understanding.
Lilith sat astride Wang Yue’s waist, her legs locked tight as she glared down at her. Their noses almost touched.
She stared into that infuriating little face. Wang Yue’s eyes sparkled with a playful light, as if she were waiting to be entertained.
Lilith huffed, suddenly realizing she couldn’t actually do anything.
Her faith had collapsed; she couldn’t use mana.
In terms of Mystic Arts, her ‘Soul Snatch’ was completely countered by Wang Yue’s ‘Puppet’ art.
Besides, if Wang Yue just chose to play dead—no resistance, no reaction, just lying there like a log—where was the fun in that?
Lilith felt at a loss. “You’re a bully,” she whispered dejectedly, swinging her leg over to climb off.
Though Wang Yue kept her face neutral using her Mystic Art, she was laughing hysterically on the inside.
Last time Lilith lost her power, it was due to a scheme. Wang Yue couldn’t be a complete jerk and take advantage of her then. But this time? This was pure, self-inflicted disaster on Lilith’s part. She had no one to blame but herself.
“Your attack failed, and now you’re calling me a bully?” Seeing Lilith’s pouting, narrowed eyes and her indignant, flushed face, Wang Yue suppressed a smile. She waved her wand, parting the fountain’s spray as moonlight flowed down like spring water. “Let’s go. If we’re not back soon, we’ll get scolded.”
The two returned to their dormitory.
Room 202.
Wang Yue pulled out her notebook, sketching and writing to organize the vital information she had gathered at the tea party.
‘Blood Dripping from Heaven’ hadn’t happened yet, and the exact timing remained a mystery.
Once the Church disclosed this to the citizens of the Holy Kingdom, the people of the Outer Lands would flee into the Evernight in droves. For a single bite of food, they would do anything. The final death toll would likely exceed that of a direct world-ending event.
Wang Yue knew all too well that her current reservoir of knowledge wasn’t enough to solve a crisis of this magnitude.
She wasn’t a savior. Even if she was worried sick, there wasn’t much she could do.
Besides, a world consisting of one savior solving everything while a crowd of “salted fish” just cheered from the sidelines was pathetic. Such a world might as well burn.
To reach a good outcome, the world needed a team of wise decision-makers and a pool of experienced think-tank personnel to steer the fate of humanity.
Wang Yue was very clear on what she needed to do before the crisis hit. It was like a survival game: collect as many resources as possible before the next stage of the disaster began.
“Stockpiling grain before winter? What are you writing? Why do we need to store food?” Lilith’s voice came from behind her.
“To fatten you up, of course!”
“What are you talking about?” Lilith tugged at Wang Yue’s sleeve. “I want to take a bath. Turn on the water heater for me.”
The heater in the washroom required mana to warm the water.
“I always thought you took cold showers.”
“Who takes a cold shower when hot water is an option?!”
As they reached the door, Wang Yue suddenly stopped.
“Why did you stop?” Lilith asked, confused.
“Let me walk in front.”
“I am not going to be your little tail!” Lilith snapped.
“Then I’m not turning it on for you.” Wang Yue turned her head, pretending to be petulant.
“Hmph! Who cares! I’ll find someone else to do it!” Lilith shouted dismissively.
“Like who?” Wang Yue asked curiously.
Lilith froze. She thought about it… and realized that besides Wang Yue, she had no one.
Her roommates disliked her or feared her. They didn’t say it, but it was obvious in their eyes. Ever since Prima had been attacked and had her prosthetic limb severed, she had been avoiding Lilith, instinctively running away. Lilith couldn’t even find her to apologize.
Furthermore, Lilith’s pride wouldn’t allow her to show a pleading attitude toward those people.
“Fine. I’ll just take a cold bath then.”
Lilith lowered her head, looking utterly dejected. It wasn’t because she didn’t have friends—she didn’t care about that—it was because Wang Yue had rejected her.
She walked slowly down the hallway, alone.
Halfway there, she couldn’t help but peek back to see if Wang Yue was following her.
The hallway behind her was empty.
Dammit!
Lilith was livid. She abandoned the idea of a bath, spun around, and sprinted back to the room. She snatched a new notebook and a pencil from the bookshelf.
She flipped past the title page. She gripped the pencil so hard that the lead snapped on the first stroke. This made her even angrier.
She spent ages at the sharpener, drawing the pencil out like a sharpened sword before swatting the sharpener off the desk to vent her frustration. Finally, she gripped the pen until her knuckles turned white and wrote in crooked, jagged letters:
Crime: Refused to turn on the water heater for me.
Method of Revenge: In the dead of winter, I will shove my frozen hands down her collar.
“Eh? Isn’t that a bit cruel?” Wang Yue’s mild voice drifted from behind her.
“What are you doing?!” Lilith shrieked, covering the notebook as if her deepest secrets were being pried into.
“Why such a big reaction? Didn’t you just look at my notebook too? Anyway, I’m here to notify you. I’m changing partners for our extracurricular practice… Don’t be mad. To be honest, you can’t even use witchcraft right now. How are you going to help me complete the assignment? It won’t work. So, I’m planning to switch. I wanted your opinion—who do you think I should pick?”
As Wang Yue spoke, she watched Lilith’s expression. It was a chaotic mix of rage, confusion, resentment, and daze.
Lilith slumped into her chair, her eyes red and her hands shaking. She suddenly clutched her notebook again, seemingly ready to record another one of Wang Yue’s “crimes.”
“What are you going to write this time? I’m curious.” Wang Yue blinked, struggling to hold back her laughter.
She didn’t mind Lilith knowing she was laughing; she didn’t even use her Mystic Art to hide it.
Waves of unparalleled shame and anger crashed against Lilith’s mental defenses, mixed with a sliver of grievance.
“You… you think you’ll be forgiven for this? You’re finished. You’re going to regret this…”
Her little mouth continued to spit out pathetic, powerless threats, but every word she spoke only added to her humiliation.
“What are you babbling about? If you won’t give me a suggestion, I’ll just pick someone at random… I’m leaving this weekend. Let me know if you want me to buy you anything while I’m out.”
Wang Yue turned to leave.
Her sleeve was caught.
Wang Yue turned back, looking amusedly at Lilith. The girl was in the throes of extreme humiliation, her neck stiff, her slender body trembling slightly.
“Wait…” Lilith’s harsh voice carried a faint, pleading trail at the end.
“Hurry up. Is being indecisive really the Lilith way?” Wang Yue urged.
Lilith turned her face away, her thin lips pressed into a tight line. The slant of her eyes made her red pupils look sharp and exquisite. The flush of color had spread down to her neck, making the rest of her skin look preternaturally white. She looked like a portrait of desperate, tragic beauty.
She looked like a fallen empress forced to serve the enemy general who had conquered her capital. She prostrated herself in a shameful pose, and as a slender hand brushed across the snow-white skin of her back, the weight of her fallen kingdom and family pride surged in her heart. Her body tensed as if to launch an assassination, but all that escaped her lips was a soft moan that sounded like a vow of revenge.
Lilith fought to keep her fingers from shaking as she scrawled a line of crooked characters on the paper:
I want to stay with Wang Yue…
Halfway through writing, Lilith felt like her head was going to explode. A massive wave of shame erupted from her heart, filling her chest in an instant. It was a searing, painful, yet slightly pleasurable liquid that eroded her rationality.
“Ah—!”
Lilith suddenly let out a broken scream. She ripped the page out, crumpled it into a ball with frantic force, and stuffed it into her mouth. Then, she collapsed onto the desk, her long hair spilling out in a mess as she buried her face in the crook of her elbow. Her whole body shuddered as she let out strange, stifled whimpers.
Wang Yue listened closely for a moment. It wasn’t crying. It was the sound of ragged, trembling breaths brought on by absolute, overwhelming shame.
