I am NOT a Demon Queen!

“The Jade Purity Maiden!” one of the cultists screamed. “The false saint opposes the cleansing! She must be the first sacrifice!”

The mob surged toward her. Reinforced staves whistled through the air.

Their leader writhing on the ground spat blood and shouted into a communication talisman. “All chapters! The Maiden is here! Converge on my location! Offer everything!”

The ground trembled as dozens more white-robed figures poured from adjacent streets. Their combined energy cast a metallic light across the plaza, their voices merging into a single resonant frequency that made the air hum.

Su Yao glanced at the growing horde. “You mistake a title for a limitation.” She crushed the apple core in her hand. “A fatal error.”

She drew the Tide Cutter and swung it in a wide arc. The blade gleamed with a cold light.

A wave of energy shot forward. It sliced through the cultists’ glowing barriers. Dozens of them fell. Their chants cut short. The silver light around them flickered and died.

“Her sword! It breaks our connection!” a cultist yelled.

Su Yao swung again. The Tide Cutter parted the crowd like water. Bodies collapsed. Reinforcements arriving from side streets halted. Their eyes were wide with fear.

She pointed the blade at them. “Your comet can’t save you now.”

The remaining cultists scattered. Su Yao sheathed the Tide Cutter. The street was quiet except for the moans of the wounded.

Zhang Wei’s voice came through her phone. “The power station is secure. Military forces are mopping up the rest.”

“Notify me if they regroup,” Su Yao said. She phased away, leaving the cleanup to others.

Su Yao phased back into her apartment. The scent of smoke clung to her clothes.

“Civilian casualties are minimal. The cult’s leadership is broken. The comet’s influence appears to be fading from the survivors.”

“Good.” Su Yao walked to the kitchen and poured a glass of water. “Their devotion was weak. It shattered at the first real resistance.”

“The military wants to debrief you.”

“Tell them I am unavailable.” She drank the water in one swallow. “The incident is over. Don’t bother me with the paperwork.”

The city’s chaos was already becoming a memory. Su Yao looked out the window. The sky was clearing. A waste of a morning, but the Tide Cutter had performed adequately. She would need to find a more challenging test for it soon.

“Wait,” Su Yao said, stopping Zhang Wei from ending the call. “Why is the military response so unusually fast this time? They are normally sluggish.”

Zhang Wei sighed. “Because the Empress is scheduled to visit Duwang. They can’t have the city in chaos during an imperial inspection.”

“The Empress? Tell me, are her personal bodyguards skilled? Can I spar with them? Or with her directly if she practices cultivation?”

“Absolutely not! She’s our head of state! You can’t challenge the Empress of China to a fistfight!”

“A shame,” Su Yao replied. “It would have been more interesting than crushing cultists.” An Empress might have interesting techniques.

Su Yao paused, then added, “What about the Tsarina of Russia? Or the Emperor of Japan? Are their guards skilled enough for a spar?”

“No! You can’t challenge foreign leaders either! That would cause an international incident!”

“A pity,” Su Yao said. “Their security details are likely more entertaining than local cultists.”

Su Yao phased to the government operations center, materializing behind Zhang Wei’s chair. “The Empress’s itinerary. Now.”

Zhang Wei jumped, nearly spilling his coffee. “Xiao Ling! I told you, we can’t—”

“I am only asking for her schedule,” she interrupted. “If I can’t fight her guards, I will at least assess their quality. And I will make sure no other ‘cultists’ disrupt her visit. It would be inconvenient.”

Zhang Wei typed. A secure file appeared on the main screen. “Her motorcade route, hotel, all the secure locations, but Xiao Ling, you can’t just—”

“I will be the model of decorum,” Su Yao said. Her lips curved into a smile. “I may even wave.”

She scanned the data, memorizing every detail. “Her primary bodyguard is a former special forces commander. His spiritual pressure is negligible. What a disappointment.”

Su Yao turned from the screen. “The file on the Empress herself. Now.”

Zhang Wei frowned. “Why do you need that?”

“Assigning a subpar bodyguard means one of two things,” Su Yao said. “Either she is capable of protecting herself, or the state security does not care about her safety. I need to know which.”

Zhang Wei sighed and pulled up a classified dossier of one Jiang Lihua. “This is her file. But it’s highly sensitive.”

Su Yao snatched the tablet and scanned the contents. The file listed achievements: ascending the throne at age twelve, quelling three rebellions, mastering six martial arts, and reforming the imperial economy. Her eyes narrowed.

A thought flickered. Jiang Lihua, huh? Must be Jiang Jishi’s great-something, some distant cousin twice removed.

The Jiang ancestors would be beside themselves with pride. After all, hadn’t the family begun as mere mere foot soldiers who clawed their way into command? From that to an empress who shook the realm.

“This is either propaganda or she isn’t human,” Su Yao said. “No mortal this age should have such accomplishments. It reads like a poorly written hagiography. If it’s true, she will be fine without my intervention. If it’s not, then she deserves the consequences of her own deception.”

Zhang Wei cleared his throat. “For what it’s worth, you don’t technically have to be human to end up as a head of state.”

Su Yao looked at him.

He shrugged. “There was Toto, the dog who was briefly listed as prime minister of Australia during a bureaucratic stunt, and Bobby Kertanegara, the presidential cat in Indonesia who had more public appearances than half the cabinet. Power attracts symbols. Sometimes the symbol just happens to have fur.”

Su Yao snorted. “How reassuring. An empire ruled by mascots.”

“I’m just saying,” Zhang Wei replied, “humanity has never been a strict requirement for authority. Competence is optional, too. Ask anyone who survived Prime Minister Sukma Diki’s tenure.”

She tossed the tablet back to Zhang Wei. “Fine, I will not interfere. But if those cultists return during her visit, I will enjoy watching her handle them herself.”

Zhang Wei stared at her. “Why are you so obsessed with fighting world leaders? It’s not normal, even for you.”

Su Yao looked at him. “Heads of state are typically the strongest individuals in their nations. Either through personal cultivation, political cunning, or divine mandate. Challenging them is the most efficient way to gauge a country’s true power. Defeating a monarch is more conclusive than defeating an army.”

“That’s not how modern geopolitics works! Strength is about economics, alliances, and nuclear arsenals!”

“Those are tools. I am interested in the wielder,” Su Yao countered. “If a ruler is weak, their nation is weak, regardless of its weapons. If a ruler is strong, they are worth my attention. Your ‘diplomacy’ is just a delay of the inevitable conflict.”

Zhang Wei massaged his temples. “You want to fight the most powerful people on Earth to see if they’re worthy?”

“Naturally. It’s the most straightforward metric. But since you deny me this, I must find other distractions,” Su Yao paused. “Zhang Wei, provide a secure location to unseal the Deep Prince. I require a sparring partner.”

Zhang Wei’s face paled. “You want to unseal the Deep Prince? For a fight? That’s a catastrophic risk! He’s a contained entity for a reason!”

“His state isn’t recognized by any sovereign nation,” Su Yao replied. “There will be no diplomatic incidents. Since you deny me the Empress, I will settle for him. His power level is acceptable.”

“He almost destroyed a city block! And you want to let him out for practice?”

“Precisely. Arrange a containment field or a remote site. I will handle the rest. Don’t delay.”

Zhang Wei slumped in his chair. “Fine. I will set up a site in the abandoned industrial zone. If this goes wrong, it’s on you.”

“Noted.”

Su Yao phased to the abandoned industrial zone, landing on cracked concrete. She surveyed the rusted machinery and decaying buildings. With the Li bloodline protected and the black robes schemes undone, her only remaining goal was to experience whatever amusement this world could offer.

Zhang Wei’s voice crackled in her phone. “The containment field is operational. But I must repeat, this is a terrible idea. The Deep Prince’s water manipulation could flood the entire area.”

“Then don’t interrupt my fun. Release the seal.”

A shimmering barrier appeared around the center of the zone. The gourd containing the Deep Prince materialized and cracked open. A torrent of water erupted, forming into the aquatic humanoid figure. His eyes glowed.

“You dare free me?” the Deep Prince hissed. “I will drown this world!”

Su Yao drew the Tide Cutter. “Talk less, fight more.”

She lunged forward. Her blade cut through the air. The Deep Prince raised a hand, and a pressurized jet of water shot toward her. Su Yao sidestepped. The water sliced through a steel beam behind her.

“This is better than politics,” she muttered, and attacked again. The Deep Prince avoided his instant kill technique. “Why not use your body-exploding trick? Afraid it won’t work?”

The Deep Prince let out a laugh. “A clean death is too merciful! You sealed me in a common gourd! I will drown you slowly, painfully! At least use a jade vault or a crystal prison for someone of my stature!”

“The gourd was available.” Su Yao parried a water whip with her blade and pressed the attack. Her strikes forced him back step by step. “If you want dignity, earn it.”

Su Yao deflected a high-pressure water jet with the Tide Cutter. “Your sister is looking for you. If you had behaved, I might have considered releasing you. Since you reacted with violence, the chances are now low.”

“My sister?” The Deep Prince halted. “She lives?”

“Apparently. But your actions have wasted this opportunity.” Su Yao swung her blade, forcing him to dodge. “Continue your futile resistance.”

The Deep Prince’s eyes glowed. He focused his power, attempting to manipulate the water within Su Yao’s body. Nothing happened.

He stared. Then his gaze fell upon the Tide Cutter in her hand. “That sword belongs to my grandfather! It was lost centuries ago! How did you acquire it?”

Su Yao shrugged, keeping the blade ready. “A talking turtle gave it to me. He said it could part more than plastic.”

His glowing eyes dimmed. The water swirling around him settled. “The turtle must be the Sage of the Abyssal Currents. With that sword, you’re now the Deep Queen. You outrank me.”

Su Yao lowered the Tide Cutter. “So, since you’re a prince and I am a queen, does that mean I get to become your mother? Can I call you son?”

“You dare mock me! I am a royal of the Deep!”

“Then show proper respect,” Su Yao said, raising her sword again. “Or I will have to teach you manners.”

“Very well. I shall test your worthiness to wield the Tide Cutter. It’s a sacred relic of my people.”

Su Yao parried a probing tendril of water. “What a coincidence. I am currently testing if this blade is worthy of me. It has been adequate so far, but I’ve high standards.”

He summoned a whirlpool of abyssal energy. “Then prove you can command its true power!”

Su Yao met the whirlpool head-on. The Tide Cutter sliced through it. “Is that all? My aunt’s kitchen blender is more impressive.”

The Deep Prince roared, launching a series of rapid water strikes. Each was deflected with precision.

“Your technique is sloppy,” she noted, dodging a high-pressure blast. “If this is the best of the Deep Royals, no wonder you were sealed in a gourd.”

He paused, panting. “You insult me, but you hold the sword. Perhaps you’re worthy after all.”

Su Yao lowered her blade. “Then stop wasting my time. Either bow to your new queen or leave. I’ve better things to do than educate a spoiled prince.”

The Deep Prince hesitated, then gave a stiff bow. “I acknowledge your status, but don’t expect my loyalty freely.”

“Your loyalty is irrelevant,” Su Yao said, watching him lift his head. “But understand this: even if you defeated me, you would never leave this place. The seals around this zone are permanent without my intervention. Your only path to freedom is my goodwill.”

She sheathed the Tide Cutter. “It’s fortunate you’re behaving. I might consider taking you on a tour of Duwang. You could experience the city as a tourist rather than an invader. The food is occasionally acceptable.”

The Deep Prince stared at her. “A tour? You expect me to sightsee?”

“Better than being re-sealed in a gourd,” Su Yao replied. “Or would you prefer I introduce you to the tax bureau? I hear they are very thorough with undocumented entities.”

The Deep Prince shuddered. “I will consider the tour.”

Su Yao kept her hand on the Tide Cutter’s hilt. “This sword does not shatter when I channel my power. Most mortal weapons turn to dust. Why? What is its significance beyond being your grandfather’s?”

The Deep Prince straightened. “The Tide Cutter was forged in the deepest trench from ore that fell with the first rain. It’s a piece of the primordial sea given form. It was meant to command the oceans, to part kingdoms of water. That is why it withstands your power.”

She examined the blade. “I care nothing for commanding oceans. All I only require is a weapon that does not disintegrate. This one serves that purpose.”

Su Yao pulled out her phone and dialed Zhang Wei. He answered. “Xiao Ling? What’s wrong now?”

“The Deep Prince is on our side now,” she stated.

There was a long silence. “What? How? He was trying to kill you minutes ago!”

“He acknowledged my authority. The details are irrelevant. Update his status in your files.”

Zhang Wei sputtered. “I can’t just mark a catastrophic entity as ‘friendly’! The protocols—”

“Then create a new category. I am done discussing this.” Su Yao ended the call and turned to the Deep Prince. “You will accompany me. Don’t attempt to drown any civilians.”

The Deep Prince bowed. “As you command, Deep Queen.”

Su Yao led the Deep Prince into the streets of Duwang. She pointed at a row of generic convenience stores and aging apartment blocks.

“Your first mistake was invading here,” she said. “Look at this. The architectural aesthetic is nonexistent. The spiritual leylines are weak and tangled and the local cuisine is predominantly greasy noodles. This city was not worth the energy you expended.”

They passed a public park where retirees practiced tai chi. “The strongest spiritual presence here is that old man who is mildly annoyed his favorite bench is taken.”

The Deep Prince observed the scene. “The legends spoke of a vibrant coastal metropolis,”

“The legends were outdated by thirty years,” Su Yao corrected. “This is the heart of your desired conquest, a place that sells overpriced bubble tea and counterfeit handbags.”

She stopped before a construction site for another identical shopping mall. “If you sought glory, you should have invaded Shanghai. Or even Guangzhou. Their dim sum is superior and their spiritual energy networks are more robust. Invading Duwang was an amateur’s error.”

The Deep Prince was silent for a long moment. “I see your point.”

“Of course you do. You brought a primordial deluge to a floodplain of apathy.” She gestured for him to follow. “Remember this lesson, always research your target’s real estate market before initiating an invasion.”

Su Yao stopped walking and turned to the Deep Prince. “If you wish to make your distaste for Nuwa known, you should go to the Loi Wo Temple in Macau. Most people in Duwang have no idea who Nuwa is. Your protests are wasted on this ignorant populace.”

The Deep Prince tilted his head. His brow furrowed. “Macau? Why there?”

“The temple is a focal point for her followers. Your message might actually be heard. Here, they would just think you’re complaining about the weather.” Su Yao gestured. “Now, stop wasting time on futile gestures. If you want to be effective, target the right audience.”

“What happens now? You’ve shown me the futility of my invasion, but what is my purpose?”

Su Yao glanced at him. “You will join the government’s Stabilization Bureau. I am recruiting you.”

“Join the government? I am a prince of the deep! I can’t serve mortal institutions!”

Su Yao looked at him. “The government can grant you authorized access to the Loi Wo Temple. They will provide secure transportation to Macau. Without their resources, you will be arrested as an illegal entity before you reach the city limits.”

The Deep Prince hesitated. “Access to the temple and transportation?”

“Correct. Your choice is simple: serve with benefits or be re-sealed in the gourd. The decision is yours.”

He paused. “You would arrange this? I would not be a prisoner?”

“You would be a contracted asset,” Su Yao corrected. “You will have a rank, a stipend, and a mandate not to flood urban areas. In return, you get legal status and a ride to Macau. A favorable exchange for a defeated invader.”

The Deep Prince lowered his gaze. “And if I refuse?”

“Then I reseal you,” Su Yao said. “The gourd is still available. I’ve no use for a rogue entity with poor judgment in targets.”

He sighed. “Very well. I accept these, terms.”

“Good. Zhang Wei will process your paperwork.” Su Yao pulled out her phone and sent a message. “Don’t embarrass me. The government’s dental plan is mediocre, but the travel benefits are decent.”

“You want me to enroll the Deep Prince? As a government employee? What’s his social security number and his preferred method of payment? Does he need a direct deposit form?”

“Figure it out,” Su Yao said, ending the call. She turned to the Deep Prince. “You will report to the headquarters. They will give you forms to fill out.”

“Forms? I am an elemental sovereign of the abyssal plains. I don’t fill out ‘forms’.”

“Then you don’t get a travel permit to Macau,” Su Yao replied. “Or a stipend. Or legal protection from the celestial immigration bureau. Your choice.”

A grey government van pulled up to the curb. The back doors opened.

“The transportation you requested,” Su Yao said, gesturing towards it. “Your first assignment is to complete onboarding. Don’t attempt to drown the human resources department. They are notoriously difficult to replace.”

The Deep Prince looked from the van back to Su Yao. He had faced her blade and been found wanting. Now he faced bureaucracy.

With a final sigh, he stepped into the back of the van. The doors closed.

Su Yao watched the van drive away. Another problem solved, another asset acquired. The methods were unorthodox, but the results spoke for themselves.

Xiao Ling: He is en route. Have the form ready. And see if you can get him a corporate discount for the Macau ferry.

She walked away. The city was safe for now, and she had a new subordinate.