I Was Called A Demon

Even after a dozen minutes, there was no word of a strange woman approaching, so Bianca finally calmed down and focused on the present. She would need to go out of the Reaper’s Grave and meet with the princess of Heart’s Core Town, but that meant leaving this place undefended – more or less.

Others could mobilise the array with her permission, especially if they carried her corruption like Xue Yaling and the others did, but their ability to manipulate it would be limited due to their low realm and lack of skill – both factors that Bianca effectively cheated to overcome. Therefore, it was unwise to depart for too long. Even if there was nobody that explicitly intended to arrive any time soon, it was still best to avoid taking risks.

It was vital to take as few people as possible, and to get back as quickly as possible. Therefore, she had to ponder who was best suited for the matter. Song Ming, as dear a pet as she was, wouldn’t be the most ideal adviser on the matter, nor would Yu Juan and Han Rushu…

‘Ultimately, it’s just Huang Su and Xue Yaling again, isn’t it? Huang Su is powerful and can keep us safe, and Xue Yaling is highly knowledgeable about a fuck ton of things, and can generally offer an alternative perspective that might be of use to us,’ Bianca sighed, getting up and going about putting her appearance in order.

Putting on the proper robes, checking on her makeup, and practising that look that her Demon Queen side excelled at, all to ensure that whatever happened, she’d be looking suitable for it. If the leader of Heart’s Core Town wanted to negotiate in some manner, then she had to look suitably powerful despite her low realm, and if the princess wanted to fight, it was best to appear intimidating as to minimize the risks.

The worst case scenario should be that she wasted her time, not that they all got into a fight that left them wounded – although, oddly enough, even with their cultivation realm differences, Bianca seemed the least likely to get injured given her rather unique body technique.

And so, once she concluded her preparation, she stepped out and reached out for the kitsune and Phoenix Sect’s leader – although it was becoming awfully likely that she wouldn’t stay that way if she ever returned – to get them to assemble at the peak. With their abilities, it didn’t take long for them to do so.

“Sect Mistress… really, us two again?”

“What, should I bring along Jia Bo Xun?”

“… Song Ming, maybe, she could play the part of… uh, no, that wouldn’t help you…”

“See,” Bianca grinned, “I was right.”

“If you two would take this slightly more seriously… assuming that this is not a ploy to catch us off-guard, this will inevitably allow us an opportunity to make a diplomatic connection with the town,” Huang Su nearly rolled her eyes and forcefully changed the subject, “It is imperative for us to do our best.”

“Ugh, yeah, that’s why I’ve got you two. Out of everyone we’ve got in our core Demoness Sect – Yan Taijun doesn’t count, but also she’s a slut that would probably try to fuck the princess – you two are the most capable for this task.”

“Yan Taijun… yes, it would be wisest to avoid bringing her along the first time, especially to someone that is unfamiliar with her conduct,” Huang Su nodded, reluctantly.

Even the kitsune agreed, “Yeah, I’m sure she could do a proper job if we establish a connection first, but having the princess’ first meeting be with two sex-obsessed lunatics might be too much.”

“Isn’t that a bit of a rude way to refer to yourself?”

“Oh, suck my cock, Sect Mistress.”

“Nah, I’m good, but you’ll be getting a good taste of mine if you keep that up,” Bianca retorted, keeping her grin up happily, “But unless you’d like to get to it right now, I’d rather head out. It’s mid-day, we should be able to get there quickly enough to meet with the princess. Huang Su, your skill can carry the two of us that far, right?”

“With only three people, I should be able to pull it off. Ideally, I would arrive at the seventh realm and have no problems, but as is, my skills shall suffice.”

“Let’s hope that remains true once we get to meet with the princess… what was her name again?”

Xue Yaling didn’t need a moment of thought to answer, “Liang Song, daughter of, uh… fuck, you infected me with your terrible memory. Anyway, he’s dead, so he doesn’t matter anymore. We need to determine the qualities that Liang Song would appreciate to leave the best impression, and her dad has naught to do with it.”

“… You could’ve just said her name, and not all that other stuff.”

“Nope, not possible in the slightest,” she shook her head.

“You two… please, if you could, avoid doing this in front of Liang Song. It will do us no favours,” Huang Su sighed, then released her energy, flaming feathers gathering around them, “Please, stand close and do not attempt to move around too much. I cannot promise your safety if you do.”

Bianca nodded, and the kitsune silently got into place, letting themselves be surrounded.

The flames vaguely imitated the shape of a phoenix, but lacked the power of the seventh realm to truly form one. Nevertheless, their heat was enough to make them sweat, and the cool outside air that struck them was enough to help them cool down… more or less, anyway. Still, that was how Bianca preferred it – after the kinds of fun she’d had while being all sweaty, she was starting to dislike the bad parts of it less and less.

Besides, if the princess had gotten smitten with her during the rage induced by some bastard daring to touch her pet, perhaps they’d get to fuck. That would be fun.

They couldn’t travel too far with the flames. They were rather easy to see from afar, and rather blatant as a showcase of a high realm expert, which would draw the interest of the whole of Heart’s Core Town towards them. As such, they had stopped some distance from it, and walked on foot, and it wasn’t long before they saw something of note.

“Mistress, there is someone in the distance. They appear to be waiting for someone, and they have a piece of parchment that… is that supposed to be you?” Huang Su froze up, glancing over at Bianca and raising an eyebrow, “Um… I shall chalk that up to artistic interpretation, I suppose.”

“They’re waiting for me?”

“… and that is probably meant to be the kitsune, and… me? And the others, too,” she muttered, her spiritual perception focused on the distance, “It would seem that he was asked to search for us.”

“How do you know?”

“He is shaking in fear. He would not be standing here like this if there was not something compelling him.”

Bianca shrugged, “Fuck it, let’s see. Worst case scenario… it’s a man, right? Then we can just kill him if he tries to get help and reveals us.”

Before Huang Su had the chance to butt in – as she obviously wanted to, likely to go on about how she shouldn’t just be killing people whenever she liked – Bianca hurried in the direction the Phoenix Sect’s leader had indicated, leaving the others to follow. Soon, she came upon the man in question, saw the wanted posters in his hands, and then seemed to terrify him to death as he caught sight of her and, with eyes wide, fainted, collapsing to the ground.

He landed face-first in the dirt, and Bianca wasn’t about to touch him to help him up, so she stopped and waited. Xue Yaling and Huang Su caught up a moment later, both raising an eyebrow at the scene.

“Did you kill him this quickly?” Xue Yaling said.

“You dumbass, it would’ve been very obvious if I had.”

“Yeah, but… surely you weren’t that terrifying back when you appeared in this place, right? From my understanding, you just killed a guy – that’s far from uncommon when a fight happens.”

“I mean, I did let out that aura my energy has, but even then this seems excessive,” she replied, quickly finding a rock to rest on, “Well, guess we wait.”

“I could assist the man, if-”

“No, then you’d need to clean up afterwards.”

“… Alright?” Huang Su’s words sounded as though she had no clue what Bianca meant, and… well, she probably didn’t.

Even from a distance of a few metres, she easily picked up on the potent, horrible scent of sweat lingering around him, seemingly built up from the time he’d spent waiting here. If one of the others so much as touched him, that horrible odour would linger on their skin in a way that Bianca was definitely not going to appreciate, and she wasn’t sure that Huang Su’s flames would be enough to get rid of it completely.

As such, simply waiting was best, and they didn’t need to wait long.

After just a few minutes, he came to, getting up uncertainly, only to catch sight of the three of them at once. Bianca sat on a rock in the middle, legs crossed, staring at him with pure contempt, while Xue Yaling sat on the side, barely acknowledging his presence. Huang Su stood to the other side, hands behind her back, looking like the most reasonable of the lot, but the aura of her cultivation combined with the slight taint of Bianca’s corruption made even her a terrifying sight.

Luckily, he managed to remain conscious, although he didn’t remain standing, instead dropping to his hands and knees to bow before them.

“Your excellency, I apologise for… for… um… I was tasked with bringing you safely to the Princess!” the man shouted into the dirt, although his voice still reached them with ease.

Bianca didn’t reply right away, not because she had much to think through, but mainly because she felt some satisfaction in seeing a man in his proper place, bowing to her and ready to get out of the way as soon as he served his purpose. In an ideal world, she wouldn’t have to be dealing with any men at all, but as is… this was a fine compromise.

However, as she looked down on him, she realised she needed to put in a little more work into giving off the right impression. The more terrified this guy was – assuming he was telling the truth – the more her power would effectively be communicated to the princess. She couldn’t appear too weak, after all.

So, with a thought, she allowed her planar anchor to emerge from within, slamming down on the ground behind her. The dark, three-sided pillar that radiated shadow, filled with cracks through which boundless crimson shone through upon the land. Its aura tinged the land with darkness and hatred, polluting the terrain and turning the world Bianca’s colour.

Most importantly, though, with the man seeing only the dirt beneath him, and being too far to peer at her with spiritual perception – not to mention that she’d be able to tell even if he was able to look – it was impossible to tell that this was the effect of an anchor.

“Does she think herself too important to greet us herself?” Bianca asked, trying to speak a little more… formally? Grandly?

Whatever it was, it worked well enough.

The man was clearly terrified, as he begged them, “Please, forgive me, I am simply doing as I was commanded! Please, meet with her, forgive her for this mistake…”

“You think you can command us like that?” Xue Yaling joined in the act, “If you think that we’ll just do as you say, then-”

“Tell us why your master has called upon me, and I may allow you to live,” Bianca interrupted her.

Mainly, she just realised that it would be awfully risky to scare the man off without establishing contact with the princess, nor figuring out why she wanted to meet them in the first place.

The kitsune gave her a confused look, but ultimately settled down and listened as the man, his face still pressed firmly into the dirt, gave them an answer.

“I wasn’t informed, but the Princess wished for your excellencies to visit her in secret, through one of the passageways leading into the heart of the city! There, she will naturally reveal everything to you, but I, her lowly and insignificant servant-”

“Shut it. I have heard enough of your worthless voice,” Bianca didn’t even need to pretend there as she summarised everything in her head, ‘So, he got thrown out without any actual info. No chance he wouldn’t have spilled something with how he looks ready to piss himself… I hope he doesn’t, there’s zero chance I’m following anywhere near him after that.’

“Y-Yes, your excellency!”

“You’ll bring us to her, and we shall hear what she has to say. If you dissatisfy me at any point, though, expect to be punished.”

“Y-Yes!”

Into a small, unassuming cave, past a hidden door – or three, more precisely – and down a number of tight, narrow passageways that forced Bianca to cover her nose with her hand to avoid sensing too much of the servant’s scent. It only built in the humidity and tight confines of the passageways, and it tempted her to kill him and find the rest of the way herself… not that it would help with the smell, but at least it’d be easier to leave him behind.

Still, she endured, and eventually the torment ended as she stood before one final hidden door, this one clearly intended to be hidden from the other side. It stood out amidst the cold stone, being a segment of wall covered in wood and belonging to a proper building.

“If your excellency travels through, you should be able to meet with the Princess. Meanwhile, I ought to depart and return to my rightful place…” the servant whispered, perhaps to not be heard on the other side, “May I?”

“Fine, get out of here – just don’t touch any of us,” Bianca indulged him for a moment, lowering her voice as well, then turned her attention to the door.

Her spiritual perception could only barely peer through it, and she could sense an empty room on the other side – although considering that even the Weave was restricted to this extent, it was possible she was missing something. So, she prepared, letting the Demonic Tyrant channel her energy and prepare it for an Abyssal Shield if needed, and then immediately stepped back as she had a better idea.

“Huang Su, you’re my subordinate in the Demoness Sect, and best suited to act as a bodyguard. Open it for me,” she said, moving to the side to let her pass.

“Mistress, I… Yes, ultimately, I would be best equipped to handle a trap. Allow me,” the Phoenix Sect’s leader stepped up to the door and, after briefly examining it with her spiritual perception, pushed it open.

On the other side, nobody, only a chamber with a low coffee table in the middle, and two large couches on either side. A large, decorative carpet was present underneath all of this, completely filling out most of the room and easily fitting the couches and table alike. Besides that, there were two doors besides the secret one they had entered, one behind each couch, in the middle of the wooden walls.

Bianca let her spiritual perception reach out the moment that the door opened, and although her reach was still lacking, she could feel a strange absence of presence through one door, implying a barrier of some kind, but not through the other.

It may well have been due to this lack of barrier that their intrusion was soon noticed, and that door opened up, revealing the black-haired maid that had been on the princess’ side the last time they had seen her.

Her eyes widened for a moment, but she composed herself just as quickly and offered them a shallow bow.

“Welcome, Demon Queen of the Demoness Sect. Your entrance was expected a little later, but… I will call for the Princess, if you allow me.”

“Wait a moment, how do you know the name of my faction? I have not even explicitly stated it to anyone outside of the Dancer’s Abode.”

The maid froze up, “Ah, honestly, I had just assumed it, given a few rumours… um… should I get the Princess?”

“Might as well. Let us see what you two wish to tell us,” Bianca said, and promptly sad down in the middle of the couch facing the door that the maid retreated into, letting the other two take their places behind her.

Bianca had chosen her words very specifically, because there was something odd about this woman. She spoke confidently, lacking the kind of characteristics she’d expect from a servant. She didn’t look afraid in the slightest, despite the one outside freaking out instantly, and was also very certain that she could call upon the princess despite only being a maid.

Most servants would instead say that they would call upon her and then bring back her reply.

So, what exactly was going on here?