The little demons followed behind that person, chattering incessantly.
“Milady is so kind; she gives us food.”
“Milady said she would protect us.”
“In the future, I want to be as powerful as milady and protect other demons too.”
“You? As if!”
“What? Looking down on me? My great great grandfather once said that where there is a will, there is a way!”
“What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know, but it sounds very impressive!”
The little demons chattered away, smiles on their faces and light in their eyes.
It was still those same little demons, but the setting had changed. They were now in a massive city.
There were orderly houses, wide streets, and shops wafting with fragrance.
The little demons wore clean clothes; some were working, some were playing, and some sat on steps basking in the sun.
“This is wonderful.” An elderly rat demon squinted his eyes, looking at the sun above. “Being able to bask in the sun in this lifetime... it makes it all worth it.”
“Grandfather, what is so good about the sun?” a little rat demon nearby asked.
The old rat demon stroked his head. “You do not understand. When I was young, I lived underground. It was pitch black, and I never saw the sun.”
“Then what did you eat?”
“Moss, mushrooms, and anything else that could be eaten. Sometimes there was nothing, so we went hungry.”
The little rat demon blinked. “Was it not miserable?”
The old rat demon nodded. “Miserable, truly miserable. But there was nothing to be done back then. Being alive was enough.”
“And then what happened?”
“After that...”
The scene shifted again.
Wing-Fire Snake saw a colossal city, towering palaces, wide streets, and orderly houses.
Everywhere was red.
Red city walls, red roofs, red flags, and red lanterns.
Many demons moved through the streets.
Some had horns, some had scales, some had fur, and some had wings.
They laughed and talked, stopping and going; some were buying, some were selling, some were chatting, and some were fighting.
It was bustling and lively, as if they were celebrating a festival.
There were many people in the palace as well, wearing magnificent clothes with smiles on their faces.
“Congratulations, Monarch!”
“Congratulations to the Monarch for reclaiming the lost lands!”
“Congratulations to the Monarch for reviving the ancient kingdom!”
Wing-Fire Snake followed their gazes and saw a woman.
She wore a red dress, the hem fluttering gently in the wind like a ball of burning fire.
She was exquisitely beautiful, with skin as white as snow and features like a painting.
She sat upon the highest seat, looking down at her cheering subjects with a gentle smile.
Wing-Fire Snake could not see her face clearly, only the movement of her vermilion lips as if she were saying something. The demons below grew even more excited, their eyes filling with tears of joy.
The scene shifted once more.
The palace vanished, the cheers vanished, and only fire filled the sky.
Screams, wails, and cries for help rose in a chaotic chorus.
Demons struggled, rolled, and shrieked within the flames.
Wing-Fire Snake stood in the heart of the sea of fire, her own body wreathed in flames. She watched as they all turned into charred black corpses, lying in neat rows upon the ground.
Wing-Fire Snake lowered her head and looked at her hands.
Her hands were covered in blood.
Scalding blood.
Was it her blood? Or was it theirs? She could no longer tell.
She continued to walk forward.
She walked past those charred corpses, looking at each one.
Every corpse she looked at would turn its head back toward her.
Upon their scorched faces, lips moved as if they were saying something.
She could not hear them.
But likely... they were probably cursing her, right?
She had killed them. She had killed them all.
Ten thousand years. How many people had she burned to death?
A hundred thousand? A million?
She had lost count.
It seemed as if every single one of them had been burned to death by her own hand. Every single one who died before her would look at her with eyes full of terror, hatred, and despair.
They should hate her. They should curse her. They should pray for her to die a miserable death.
Wing-Fire Snake kept her head down, not daring to look at the corpses.
But she was still forced to look, because the corpses kept turning their heads, kept watching her, and kept saying something.
She could not hear. She wanted to know what they were saying. Even if they were cursing her, she wanted to hear it clearly.
She walked forward, looking at the corpses one by one.
Every corpse would turn its head, scorched lips moving.
But she still could not hear.
Until she reached the very end.
There lay a snake—a massive, colossal snake, crimson all over like a raging inferno.
But now it had been burned into a scorched husk, charred and cracked, coiled in a circle.
Wing-Fire Snake walked up to her and stopped.
That snake also turned its head.
Although her face was unrecognizable, burned until only bone remained, Wing-Fire Snake felt that she was smiling.
With bright eyes and white teeth, her smile was like a blooming flower.
The snake demon’s lips moved, saying many, many things. Wing-Fire Snake leaned in to listen, but just like before, she could hear nothing.
Wing-Fire Snake grew anxious.
“What are you saying?” she shouted. “I cannot hear you!”
The snake demon continued to smile, continued to speak.
Wing-Fire Snake desperately leaned closer, wanting to hear clearly.
But the snake demon’s figure began to turn transparent, growing fainter and fainter.
“Do not go!” Wing-Fire Snake cried out. “Please do not go! What exactly are you trying to tell me?”
No one answered her. All the charred corpses shattered at once into points of starlight.
Wing-Fire Snake’s body shuddered as she snapped back to reality.
The sun shower was still falling. Golden light and transparent water drifted down through the air.
But something had changed.
She turned her head and looked not far away.
Another snake demon stood there, her body entirely snow white, with only her pupils being pink.
Her eyes were closed, and large beads of sweat rolled down from her forehead, but she still grit her teeth, desperately channeling those streams of water.
She was the one making it rain.
Wing-Fire Snake watched her and began to walk toward her, step by step.
“What are you doing?! Have you gone mad?!”
“Do you not already know? I went mad a long time ago.”
Plague Rat’s expression shifted. “Shit, the madwoman is coming over. Why is she not fighting herself anymore?”
Plague Rat hurried to activate his Ghost Domain, wanting to block her.
But Wing-Fire Snake ignored him completely. She walked up to the barrier and thrust a charred hand through the mist. With a light tear, the Ghost Domain that Plague Rat was struggling with all his might to maintain was ripped in half like paper.
Plague Rat’s face paled in shock.
But Wing-Fire Snake ignored him. She walked up to Nie Chaoxi and looked at her.
Nie Chaoxi was still desperately channeling the water, her face as white as paper. Her body swayed, looking as though she might collapse at any moment.
Wing-Fire Snake watched her and suddenly spoke.
“What is your name...”
Before she could finish, Nie Chaoxi’s eyes closed, and she collapsed directly toward the ground.
Without a second thought, Wing-Fire Snake reached out and caught her.
She held Nie Chaoxi in her arms with very gentle movements. Simultaneously, she deliberately withdrew her terrifyingly high temperature.
The flames were extinguished, and the scorching aura vanished.
Her body became warm, like a stone that had just been basking in the sun—warm and comforting, but not burning.
Plague Rat shouted sharply, “What are you doing?! Let her go!”
Wing-Fire Snake looked up and glanced at him. Her gaze was calm—without her previous wariness or coldness, and without any longing or tenderness. It was simply very calm, like a pool of stagnant water.
Rate on N.U.
