“Can Wang Yue’s tail really transmit magical power?”
“You’d have to ask someone who’s used it.”
“I’ve used it! It can’t transmit power at all. And I don’t want any of you touching her tail!”
“Lilith, the tail belongs to everyone! Don’t try to hog it all for yourself!”
“Exactly! Lilith is being way too selfish!”
“I’ll kill you all…”
“I heard the tail has plenty of other uses. For instance, it could be a bottle opener.”
“Wouldn’t that be convenient?”
“It could probably open cans, too.”
“Or whip cream.”
“Or stir natto.”
“It could pollinate flowers.”
“It could even… get someone pregnant.”
“Eh?”
Listening to the students’ discussion, Wang Yue covered her face. Stop with these weird fantasies! Also, having a crowd of little girls staring at my backside is just creepy!
She had no intention of making the tail a public utility. The Intention Forms were merely for data collection to be submitted to Headmaster Gwendolyn; they had nothing to do with her personally.
Wang Yue knew all too well that if she went public with her tail, there were only two paths ahead.
Either she became their leader, waking up every morning to hundreds of little witches waiting for her to look after their every need.
Or she became a “living tool,” used by everyone in rotation, reaching ecstasy through total depravity.
Neither was good.
Right now, she had a “tryst” with Lilith to attend to.
Fishmouth Town was built on a split-water sandbar, making it incredibly humid. With the population nearly doubling, the ground was a mess of muddy footprints and wheel ruts, looking quite filthy.
Wang Yue turned off the main street into a back alley, stopping beside an ancient well. The white stone rim was etched with deep grooves from years of rope friction.
She stood by the well as the blonde girl following her drew closer, until they were only an arm’s length apart.
Neither spoke. The atmosphere was heavy.
Wang Yue was right in front of her, yet Lilith kept her head down, her fingers nervously plucking at the hem of her skirt.
The thing she wanted most was within reach, yet she didn’t dare stretch out her hand.
Failure after failure had conditioned her into a reflexive fear of being hurt again. She struggled to summon the courage.
But this was the only person in the world who understood and accepted her. She didn’t want to lose her.
Lilith was lonely and despised by others, while Wang Yue was widely loved, with a vast selection of girls to choose from. This reality filled Lilith with a mix of anxiety and inferiority. Her teeth ground together audibly; she was a moth willing to dive into the flame.
Seeing Lilith’s vulnerability, Wang Yue felt a pang of pity and gently took her hand.
Though her hand was held, Lilith’s expression remained dazed and blurred. Everything before her eyes felt as though it were soaked in mist, distorted by refracted light. Wang Yue’s face, though inches away, seemed unreal.
Wang Yue squeezed her fingers one by one. The tips were slender and delicate, like flower stamens. Her small, cute nails were free of polish, showing a healthy, pale pink hue.
Turning the hand over, she revealed the soft, white palm. Wang Yue leaned in, catching a scent of odorless warmth.
A thought suddenly surged in Wang Yue’s mind—I’m enjoying Lilith’s beauty again.
She took a deep breath. An internal voice seemed to whisper, You really are a bastard, you “pretty friend.”
“I really am a bastard,” she agreed internally.
Wang Yue pulled Lilith into her embrace, her fingers sliding from the girl’s neck to the sensitive spot behind her ear she had discovered earlier.
Lilith let out a soft whimper and reacted instantly, shrinking her neck like a startled quail. Her watery eyes were filled with tension and bashfulness.
Wang Yue brought her face close. Their lips pressed and rubbed together, their noses occasionally bumping, creating an itchy sensation.
Her fingers moved to the earlobe, gently kneading and tugging, teasing her at will. Her other hand firmly gripped Lilith’s waist, feeling how slender yet fit it was.
Lilith’s body, initially stiff as iron, gradually softened. Like a sparrow drenched in a rainstorm, she trembled in the black-haired girl’s arms, asking in a pleading tone:
“Do you like me? Do you? Even just a little bit? Am I pretty? Am I too thin… am I hurting you?”
“I like you.”
Wang Yue didn’t give a long, poetic speech, which made her answer seem a bit perfunctory.
Deep feelings were hard to articulate, and pleasure was fleeting. She chose to… fill her belly first.
Feeling the black-haired girl’s movements become lingering and tender, Lilith whispered tremulously, “Bastard… You really are a bastard…”
This was exactly what she wanted. A sense of joy, born from being finally liberated after a long torment, surged through her, masking the pain of her old wounds.
After a while, Wang Yue stopped.
“Sorry, I have to go handle some business.”
How annoying. She hadn’t even had her fill before being summoned to the Town Hall.
The Crow Sentinels were useful, but in a moment like this, they were incredibly ill-timed.
Still, it didn’t matter. Lilith was already hers; they had plenty of time.
***
In the office.
After listening to Aminata’s report, Wang Yue asked, “The appearance of the Crimson Rifts is suspected to be a precursor to a ‘Great Eruption’?”
“Yes. According to the archaeological data we possess, the current situation—the entropy increase, the emergence, the descent of the will of the evolutionary algorithms… it matches the historical era of the first Great Eruption, also known as the ‘Primordial Eruption.’ This has been reported to headquarters, and countermeasures will be implemented soon,” Aminata said solemnly.
“I didn’t expect Evernight to be the first place to have issues.”
Wang Yue pondered for a moment. “What about the Academy?”
“There are eight Lantern-Bearers remaining, patrolling the vicinity to monitor the Restorationists and the Church. However, the enemy is holed up on the plateau and hasn’t ventured out.”
Wang Yue fell into deep thought, her expression grave.
One never knows whether accidents or tomorrow will come first. And now, disaster was about to descend.
However, calling it a “disaster” wasn’t entirely accurate. For ordinary people, it was indeed a terrifying catastrophe. But to transcendents, it was a rare opportunity.
In other words, whether it was an opportunity or a disaster depended on one’s identity.
Wang Yue looked troubled and remained silent.
“It is indeed a difficult choice between pursuing transcendence or helping the weak,” Aminata said, smiling at her. Her expression was soft, though her face, composed of glowing spores, looked quite strange.
“It’s not a hard choice. I have dreams, but I won’t lose myself. Humanity doesn’t need me to save it. If a race cannot continue because it lacks one specific individual, then that race is too pathetic… In truth, when faced with disaster, humanity always produces heroes who write epics.”
Right now, Wang Yue’s head was filled with nothing but thoughts of Stardew Valley.
“While the human race might not lack for you, and you have the right to choose freely, you are irreplaceable to them… Little Principal, do you like little girls?”
Wang Yue froze. The sound of rapid, tiny footsteps reached her ears. She turned around to see a massive crowd of girls pouring in like little lambs. In an instant, the office was packed. More were squeezed into the hallway, an endless line of them chirping “Tail! Tail!”
As if responding to their call, the black-haired girl’s skirt shifted, and a Demon Tail slid out, swaying leisurely in the air.
“Oh—!” the girls gasped in unison, their eyes wide and round.
“Is that the Little Principal’s tail?”
“I saw it during the Black Mass.”
“Yeah, yeah, on the first day of class.”
“I want to touch it…”
Wang Yue walked through the crowd of girls and stepped outside the Town Hall. The courtyard was filled with young teenagers, the high-level witches of the upper grades.
Medeili walked over and whispered in her ear:
“Everyone is waiting for you to make a decision. Whatever you choose—whether to leave or stay—I will support you.”
Wang Yue felt a warmth in her heart. If not for the lingering scent of Lilith on her lips, she would have kissed Plum right then and there.
But she didn’t like mixed flavors; she’d wait for the aftertaste to fade.
Wang Yue took a deep breath and announced:
“Regrettably, I have received confirmed news that Headmaster Gwendolyn and the professors will not be returning. Even if they were to recreate the Fetal Monstrosities and rebuild the Academy, that would be years from now… As many of you likely know, I am a Faithless. I can leech power from the gods. By placing your faith in me, you can use divine power. However, there’s no need to shear just one sheep; Granahl does not have a particularly good temper. Therefore, I plan to build a ‘Pantheon.’ Using Charging Stations, we will store the divine power of various gods for everyone to use. We will use this to face the coming disaster. This… is a school trip that will never end.”
