Chapter Five: The Ink-Stained Teahouse

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Despite having slain the Abyss Listener, the Demon Princess Illusory Butterfly still held her scythe firmly, advancing step by step. She moved toward the magical girl she had previously knocked unconscious, the two streams of absorbed black mist ahead weighing down everything like an overwhelming burden. In her eyes, the magical girl before her was no longer a magical girl but a monster from the abyss.

When it came to abyssal monsters, she was always merciless—especially after that incident—she would kill on sight without hesitation. Her violet eyes fixed intently on the abyssal creature on the ground, Illusory Butterfly’s scythe gripped tightly in her hand. She swung it up, then brought it down sharply and fiercely. No hesitation, no doubt.

...

Shaking her slightly dazed head, her graceful figure was revealed in the shadows of a narrow alley. She staggered forward, her mind replaying the recent scene repeatedly, her body trembling slightly with fear that she might have killed the wrong person. When she first transformed, she could clearly distinguish who was a disaster beast, who was a magical girl, and who was human.

But after killing a disaster beast, the world in her eyes changed—the disaster beast took on a human guise while the magical girl behind her turned into an abyssal monster, her aura completely altered. Despite this, the girl could still vaguely remember. When she arrived just now, she knew who was magical girl and who was disaster beast; there was no trace of the Demon Princess here.

Yet she had no intention of attacking the remaining Abyss Listener. If she continued, the abyssal energy would converge upon the Violet Star, fully occupying it, and she might plunge into a madness that would sever all familial ties. But that “human” still hadn’t left, incessantly babbling in her mind, like a kind elder chiding an unruly youth. Telling her not to rebel, to hurry home where her loved ones awaited.

The warm greetings did not ease her; instead, they transformed into a violent rage within her heart. Family? With your kind? Knife’s glint flashed, and that “human” was effortlessly slain. At that moment, the world fell silent, yet the rage in her heart did not diminish.

Glancing around, Demon Princess Illusory Butterfly seemed to gain an insight and turned around, her shining violet eyes fixed on the “abyssal monster” behind her.

“Oh, I see now—there’s another abyssal monster behind me. No wonder the dissatisfaction and hatred in my heart remain unreleased.”

Staring at the enemy’s form before her, the violent rage constantly urged her to act swiftly and exterminate them all. Yet, a faint unease crept into her mind, warning her not to strike or she would regret it for life. But this thought was quickly drowned by an endless murderous intent.

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“Abyssal monsters must be killed, no matter how powerless I am now, no mercy for women.”

Bang!

A crisp sound of a shield shattering echoed through the wetland park. With just one slash, the “abyssal monster’s” inherent protection instantly broke.

Oh no, this “abyssal monster” even had an elven guardian. Why would an “abyssal monster” have an elven protector? This question barely surfaced before disappearing into her chaotic mind.

As she prepared to strike again, the gray ground revealed a figure both strange and familiar—the magical girl’s armor dissolved into emerald glowing particles, vanishing due to insufficient magic power.

At that moment, a flicker of clarity emerged in her haze-filled mind. Bai Youqing?

The shadow of the past once more enveloped her. Pain, fear, and unease bound her tightly...

She dared not stay any longer; she had to leave while she still retained the last thread of consciousness. Otherwise, given her nature toward abyssal monsters, she would act without hesitation.

Passing through alleys both familiar and strange, brushing past countless passing “disaster beasts,” she watched the street signs morph into unfamiliar characters.

In an instant, she felt utterly abandoned by this world. Perhaps that human was right; she had been out too long and it was time to go home.

But that thought was quickly dismissed—nonsense, disaster beasts were family, bonded by love.

Thoughts in her mind surged and ebbed; every time she tried to correct her understanding, a sharp cutting sensation would slice through her head like a saw, pulling and tearing, instantly shredding her thoughts and ideas into dust, leaving her mind blank and her body moving on autopilot.

The more she thought, the more her head ached, until her mind emptied completely.

When she stopped thinking, the pain subsided, but the worldview she absorbed was clearly wrong—one utterly alien to human values, perspectives, and life philosophies.

But she had grown accustomed to it. Since the end of the third Black Tide, she had fought daily battles in her mind against these violations of human logic. Those days had gradually stabilized. Just as she thought she had fully recovered, the abyss slapped her hard once again.

When she saw the new magical girl today, the powder keg exploded.

It shattered the last ounce of hope in her heart.

A magical girl tainted by the abyss could never be normal again, no matter how much she struggled.

Demon Princess Illusory Butterfly staggered like a drunken maiden, weaving through alleys, sensing the movements around her. A trace of confusion flickered in her hazy eyes...

Why were disaster beasts approaching? Didn’t the abyssal demon princess naturally intimidate disaster beasts?

Silently, three small, fierce-looking disaster beasts appeared beside her.

The girl leapt left.

“Shh!” A thick wooden stick swung from behind her, missing by a hair.

“That reaction speed—are you sure you’re not a magical girl?”

A pale-faced young man with dark circles under his eyes, wearing a black short-sleeved T-shirt and a heavy gold chain around his neck, dyed yellow hair, looked at her—his gaze shifting instantly from lecherous to serious.

“What fear? There’s no way a magical girl would dress like that, like some kind of lingerie, so revealing, with that tattoo on her pale belly. The magical girls on TV cover up tightly; this is probably just cosplay for show.”

A burly man with a beard emerged from the corner behind the girl, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

“Yeah, if no women are around, it’s just dragging on. If you’re scared, go hide somewhere.”

A short man beside him licked his cracked lips, growing impatient.

“Little sister, come along with us. Big brothers will take good care of you.”

The bearded man flicked his cigarette butt away, spat, and a murderous smile spread across his fierce face.

The girl said nothing, shaking her head slightly as if trying to discern whether they were human or disaster beasts, but the three showed no intention of waiting and began closing in, preparing to grope.

Her confused eyes instantly darkened to deep violet.

Anyone who offended the abyssal demon princess’s dignity...

...must die.

Ah! Ah! Ah!

Several screams echoed as the girl emerged from the alley, her fair face stained with blood, her already vacant eyes now tinged with fear.

Passing through streets and alleys with a heart full of complicated emotions, she lingered long before a tea house, hesitant to enter immediately.

The sign read: “Ink Trace Tea Room.”

The sign seemed unremarkable, yet it was the only one in the entire street whose characters she could still recognize.

After a moment’s hesitation, she slowly stepped inside. Just a few steps in, a faint aroma of tea wafted gently, cleansing the turmoil in her heart and erasing the chaotic thoughts in her mind.

Inside, her eyes fell on modern tea-making equipment surrounded by wisps of steam, accented by a few green plants.

Business was slow; only a few customers sat by the windows, quietly chatting.

Seeing the girl enter, they showed no surprise, only friendly nods.

She instinctively returned their slight nods, saying nothing more, lifted the curtain marked with the character for “tea,” and stepped in further. There, she saw a woman lounging lazily on a sofa.

The woman’s face was enchanting, dressed in a purple-black lace cheongsam, her pale long legs bare to the air, her arms draped with a sheer, delicate white veil.

She had been looking down at her slender fingers but, upon seeing the girl enter, she lifted her head and smiled gently.

“Welcome home, my dear sister.”

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