“Whose induction beacon is this? Not that bastard Dean’s, is it?” Lilith asked in a hushed whisper.
“Of course not… I know you don’t like her, and neither do I,” Wang Yue replied cautiously. She held the cubic structure with both hands as if it were a ticking time bomb. “This is Professor Sabrina’s beacon. Once it’s activated and her True Name is called, her great claw will reach out from the Void Storm and… whoosh.”
Activating an Induction Beacon required whispering the True Name of a Hush-Name Witch to establish a connection. Once summoned, the witch’s true form would tear through the void, guided into the local space.
There were two golden rules when playing with induction. First, one had to coordinate with the target beforehand; this was a matter of basic respect. Second, the beacon had to be specifically tuned so only the intended Hush-Name could sense it. Using a wide-range induction ran a small but terrifying risk of having an Evil God jump out at you instead.
“She’s willing to help? No, is she also interested in Biheze?” Lilith asked, her voice trembling with excitement.
“Exactly. If we can’t handle Biheze ourselves, we’ll have to summon her into the fray. While a Hush-Name can solve any problem…” Wang Yue stowed the beacon away and shrugged. “It would mean we came all this way for nothing. We wouldn’t get a single scrap of the loot.”
“Eh? Is she really that stingy?” Lilith grumbled.
“Do you think a Hush-Name is a charity worker?”
Wang Yue pulled out a small object and pressed it into Lilith’s hand.
“Why are you giving me car keys?”
Lilith recognized it. Wang Yue had mentioned it during their ride over—the Special Grade Relic, the ‘Chameleon Key.’
“Listen to me,” Wang Yue said, her expression turning dead serious as she stared into Lilith’s small face. “Once the induction starts, it takes five seconds for a Hush-Name to enter the field. You must activate the Chameleon form and hide within a Spatial Fold immediately. Do you hear me? The Corona pollution emitted when a Hush-Name descends will destroy your physical form. I don’t want you turning into some flesh-monster version of yourself.”
“Oh.”
Lilith gave a perfunctory response, her attention fixed on the strange construction of the key. Suddenly, as if realizing something, her eyes widened.
“Wait, then what about you?”
“If you’re by my side, you can help me activate it. If not, it’s fine; I have my own ways,” Wang Yue said, pausing before shifting the subject. “So, you figured out I’m one of The Faithless!”
“I did, I did!” Lilith looked thrilled. “If I told the academy this secret, you’d be finished, wouldn’t you?”
“Hah, then I’d just have to tuck my tail and leave the school.”
“Hahaha! Me… Me too!” Lilith laughed so hard she rolled around under the covers. She covered her face, her voice muffled and distorted by her fingers. “That’s too funny. We’ve only been there for a month and a half, and we’re already getting kicked out…”
After laughing for a while, Lilith calmed down. She flipped over and crawled toward Wang Yue on all fours, staring directly into her eyes.
“Are you trying to change the subject?”
“Huh?”
“Do you think I’m stupid? There’s only one Chameleon Key. If it’s an emergency and the Hush-Name must be summoned, and I’m not with you, you’ll definitely be eroded by the pollution. You’ll lose your physical form. Your plan was to act alone, but my sudden arrival messed everything up, so…”
“Hey, don’t overthink things!”
“I know… you saw how miserable I was and felt guilty. You didn’t want to leave me alone again, so you’re acting like a big shot just to bring me along for the ride.” Lilith handed the key back. Her fingers were shaking uncontrollably, and her throat moved as if she were swallowing bitter bile. Her eyes grew moist, the light in them condensing into pearl-like tears that rolled down her cheeks. Her voice broke into a trembling sob. “Don’t ever do this again, okay? If you leave me to survive alone… how am I supposed to endure a world without you?”
Lilith was actually crying…
Wang Yue’s mind went blank. Even on the final day of their ‘terminal illness,’ when their consciousness was fading, Lilith hadn’t cried. Wang Yue had always thought Lilith’s heart was as hard as stone, incapable of such sorrow.
Wang Yue reached out blankly to wipe the tears away, but Lilith caught her wrist and pulled her into a tight embrace.
Her chest wasn’t broad, but her arms made up for it.
“I’m so afraid of losing you…”
Lilith’s fingers were icy, and her lips were cold as well, pressing against Wang Yue like falling snowflakes.
Once the emotional outburst had run its course, Wang Yue sat up straight and said dryly, “What kind of drama are you imagining in that head of yours?”
The silver-white ‘silk’ on the inner layer of the bedding began to flow like water, coating Wang Yue’s skin. It looked as if she were donning a high-tech space suit made of pressurized nano-polymer film.
Lilith’s mouth hung open in shock.
“Besides the Chameleon Key, I have the Amorphous Sheath. It can also block the Structural Pollution from a Hush-Name’s Corona.”
Wang Yue wiggled her fingers, showing off the Special Grade Relic to reassure her.
As someone who had crossed over from an ordinary world, Wang Yue suffered from a chronic lack of security and a severe case of ‘firepower deficiency phobia.’ She always felt this world was terrifyingly dangerous.
In addition to Professor Sabrina’s Induction Beacon, she also had a small bronze octopus pendant tied to her wrist—the Induction Beacon for Audara Ias.
She had prepared for everything: double inductions and double defenses.
Giving one to Lilith did test Wang Yue’s meager sense of security, but it wasn’t like she was giving away the only life jacket during a flood while she drowned. That would be pathetic.
Lilith blinked, stunned for several seconds. Finally, reality sank in. Her face turned red all the way to her neck. She let out a strange “guu” sound and dived deep under the covers, staying as motionless as an ostrich.
I’m going to die of shame…
How could I have misinterpreted it so badly…
Aaah, I want to pass away right now…
How could I have said those things…
This must be a dream… Wake up, wake up, wake up…
Uwaaaa…
After a while, Wang Yue tried to lift the blanket. Lilith gripped the edge tightly, refusing to let go.
Peeking through a gap, Wang Yue could only see curled-up legs, clenched toes, and a pouting backside.
“Don’t hide. If I were in your shoes, I might have said the same thing. We’re both in this together; there’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Wang Yue comforted her.
“Really? Then say it to me,” a muffled voice came from under the blanket.
“Ahem.” Wang Yue cleared her throat, her face flushing slightly. “A world without Lilith, I…” She couldn’t do it!
The lines were peak “middle-school syndrome” drama. When Lilith said them, Wang Yue hadn’t felt touched; rather, she had felt a wave of regret for having ears.
If it were just normal drama, it would be fine. But Lilith had been sincere…
Her overactive imagination had seen the key and immediately fast-forwarded to the scene where Wang Yue was hit by the Corona and turned into a flesh-monster. She had fully immersed herself in that tragedy.
Wang Yue felt incredibly conflicted. Lilith’s genuine feelings had reached her heart. If she ran away from responding just because it was cringey, wouldn’t Lilith be too pitiful?
The drama was real, but the feelings were realer.
She felt like a quail being roasted over a fire, forced to make a choice.
Finally, Wang Yue clenched her fists. After holding it in for ages, she yelled:
“A world without Lilith might as well be destroyed!”
Hearing this, Lilith acted as if a seal had been broken. She threw the blanket into the air and burst out laughing, shouting repeatedly:
“Destroy it! Let’s destroy it!”
Wang Yue’s face was beet red. she covered her eyes with her hands, her entire body shaking.
Heh… hehe…
My mental state has collapsed…
This character is ruined…
Lilith crawled over shamelessly, giggling as she poked Wang Yue, whispering loudly in her ear:
“I really, really like you!”
She nuzzled against Wang Yue’s shoulder like a cat, making happy little noises to express her joy.
“Stop squirming, our hair is getting tangled,” Wang Yue said, quickly catching the flailing Lilith and pulling the covers back over them. The Amorphous Sheath quickly formed an isolation coating on the inside of the bedding. Then, she said seriously: “Now, let’s talk about the battle plan!”
