Chapter Thirteen: The Breath of the Abyss

Liu Guangze, crouching on the ground, lifted his head with a trembling motion. For a moment, it was as if he had caught sight of the light, but as he reached out, he immediately pulled his hand back. He feared that his own soiled hands might taint her, and he gazed up at her beautiful countenance. The words that had previously flowed easily now became garbled and fragmented in his throat.

"Uh, Bai... Bai Youqing, thank you so much. If you hadn't intervened this morning, I truly wouldn't have known what to do. And... and also, for your righteous act just now..."

"It’s a small matter. I’ve always despised the way Ye Qing acts like a tyrant. Besides, isn't it normal for classmates to help each other out? If you were to see a classmate being bullied in the future, I’m sure you’d step in to help, too!" The young girl waved her hand dismissively.

The bright moonlight reflected off her figure, making her look like a goddess beneath the moon, radiating an indescribable sanctity.

"Also, if this group of thugs comes looking for trouble again, just come to me. I hate nothing more than people who bully the weak and rely on their status to push others around." Bai Youqing glanced at the thugs on the ground and shook her fist.

Ye Qing’s behavior was becoming truly repulsive. After being beaten by her at school, he didn't dare to cross her, so he turned to target the cowardly and vulnerable Liu Guangze to vent his frustrations.

"Uh... th-thank you very much. But I don’t think I’ll trouble you again. After this summer vacation, I’m going to apply for a transfer to a general class."

Under the moonlight, Bai Youqing looked at Liu Guangze with confusion, wondering why he would suddenly want to transfer. The resources available to the elite classes were clearly superior to those in the general classes. But after a moment’s thought, she understood. Perhaps being beaten once would have been the end of it, but now that she had intervened, the subsequent retaliation would be endless.

"When you encounter things like this, we can go to the teachers. Our homeroom teacher, Mr. Chen, would definitely help resolve it. It wouldn't matter if the other party had money." Their homeroom teacher, Mr. Chen, was the captain of the Jianlan Magic Squad; surely such a minor issue would be easy for him to handle.

The girl’s suggestion brought a drop of dew to Liu Guangze’s parched spirit, yet he slowly shook his head, suppressing the endless bitterness in his heart as he explained, "If I go to a general class, Ye Qing won't have any reason to bother a common student like me anymore."

"Fine, suit yourself." The girl frowned, feeling that he was somewhat cowardly. He simply retreated in the face of difficulty and frustration, burying his head in the sand like an ostrich, never knowing how to resist or fight for himself. Still, she let it go; they were merely nodding acquaintances, and she had no real need to interfere with his life choices.

Compared to worrying about him, she had better worry about her own brother, who had only just turned over a new leaf.

Watching the girl’s receding back and recalling her look of confusion and disappointment, the withered flower in Liu Guangze’s heart felt as if it had been touched by a spring rain, only to wither rapidly under the ensuing storm. His life had been filled with gloom since birth, subject to too many cold sneers and mocking words, like a beast abandoned by its parents the moment it entered the world. If it were injured, it could crawl into a cave to hide, lick its own wounds, and endure, but the moment someone offered a shred of warmth, it could no longer hold back.

Bai Youqing’s appearance was like a ray of light, illuminating the darkness within him, yet it was so dazzling, so golden, that it made him instinctively fearful.

This scene reminded him of a novel he had read in middle school—his favorite one. *Dragon Raja*. Every time he read about the protagonist, he felt as if he were looking at himself, though compared to the character, he felt even more miserable. The world in that book also contained monsters, but the protagonist had a "golden finger" and eventually found people he could rely on. He, on the other hand, had nothing; apart from the living expenses his father provided to keep him from starving, there was not a trace of friendship, kinship, or love to be found.

Both were victims of an unjust fate, so why did the other have a younger brother like Lu Mingze, while he had nothing?

While Liu Guangze’s flower of romance bloomed and withered in a fleeting instant, Bai Yuze, after finishing his work, ultimately did not take a ride in Teacher Xingye Seri’s car. Instead, he transformed into a magical girl, wandering the alleys of the East District of Yeqiu City to search for traces of disaster beasts.

The moment the Abyss aura appeared near the school, he had regretfully declined the offer from the young and beautiful teacher—a decision made while trying to save a dozen yuan on taxi fare. For some reason, Bai Yuze felt a bit angry; one doesn't know the price of firewood and rice until they manage a household. That money could have bought three or four bowls of instant noodles...

When he arrived, he didn't see any Abyssal disaster beasts, but he did see a chubby boy in a school uniform being bullied. Just as he was about to step in, his sister, Bai Youqing, descended like a deity and took on the five of them single-handedly. Seeing this, there was no need for him, the older brother, to appear. His chance to show off had been snatched by his sister, and his presence now would be meaningless.

For good measure, to prevent Bai Youqing from being extorted by these thugs for her good deed, he silently dialed the police. If his sister were to be blackmailed, he would be the one paying the medical bills in the end. After making the call, Bai Yuze decisively turned his focus back to the Abyssal disaster beast.

Previously, by utilizing the Abyssal authority of the Magic姬·Phantom Butterfly, he had forbidden disaster beasts like Abyssal Man-Demons and Servant Demons from appearing in his jurisdiction—areas he frequented, such as Yeqiu City No. 1 High School, his home, and the Yeqiu City Nursing Home.

Today, the appearance of an Abyssal creature was a violation of his bottom line. And since his "slaughter value" had just reset to zero, he was ready for some fun.

The sly moonlight cast a layer of starlight over the earth as a dark shadow moved through the night. It was incredibly fast, yet it made no sound, save for the whistling of the wind as its form frictioned against the air. As one of the first conquerors and pioneers to enter this different world through the Abyssal Gate, the Abyssal Demon Eye had only one conviction since birth: that for an Abyssal soldier, dying on the battlefield was a glorious mission.

Since entering this world, he had always acted accordingly. Every time he fought those wicked magical girls, he was on the front lines, losing repeatedly, yet fighting repeatedly. The Abyssal Demon Eye felt that even if he were to die on the battlefield one day and return to the embrace of the Abyss, it would be an honor.

That was until the arrival of Her Highness, the Phantom Butterfly, who established the Abyssal Academy. Only after joining the Abyssal remedial class did he realize that his previous notions had been wrong—dead wrong.

In class, Her Highness, the Phantom Butterfly, had taught them many things. For instance, the coordination of different Abyssal companions: Disaster Beasts of the "Giant" type were massive and powerful, excellent in a one-on-one fight, but they lacked brains and were easily kited by others. Meanwhile, Abyssal Listeners were clever and possessed the ability to bewitch and stun opponents, but were useless in melee combat. By combining them, wouldn't they achieve a result where 1+1 > 2?

She also taught them that the first step in the strategy to occupy the different world was to learn how to "break the whole into parts." Just as the great literary master Tolstoy of this world once said:

"A person must have a goal in life: a goal for a lifetime, a goal for a stage, a goal for a year, a month, a week, a day, an hour, and a minute—and one must sacrifice small goals for the sake of the grand goal."

"Therefore, occupying this different world is a massive goal. We must break it down and motivate ourselves by completing one small goal after another. Divide long distances into several segments and cross them one by one. Break tasks into easier, smaller pieces to reduce their difficulty. Even if we encounter setbacks while pursuing our goals, seeing the rewards for our efforts on each small goal allows us to continuously handle pressure and challenges, thereby delaying the urge to give up and enabling us to complete even more tasks."

Her Highness, the Phantom Butterfly, taught them so much, but unfortunately, the Abyssal Demon Eye could not understand most of it. Possessing only the [Sun-Falling] authority, he was not qualified to attend her lectures often, but he remembered one thing she had said: "A soldier who does not wish to be a general is not a good soldier."

This, when translated by Her Highness, Twilight—known as the [Wise Magic姬]—meant: "An Abyssal soldier who does not wish to enter the Abyssal Hall with Her Highness, the Phantom Butterfly, is not a good soldier."

This phrase later became one of the doctrines of the Abyssal Church.