Chapter 10: The Allure of the Abyss

Ila and Leila deftly made their way to the fields outside Qingling Town, the very spot where they had reunited just last night.

If Ila’s instincts were correct, the rift tearing between the Abyssal Depths and the World Tree’s脉 on the surface should be nearby. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have unconsciously gravitated to this area yesterday evening.

It seemed a rift indeed existed. One large enough for Leila to pass through was certainly not simple, and if left unaddressed, Qingling Town would be in grave danger.

She absolutely could not allow her sister to be imperiled. Once located, Ila intended to contact the Magical Girl Headquarters, urging them to dispatch personnel to purify it immediately.

This was precisely why Ila had chosen to part ways with Mona so hastily.

As she considered the possibility of Leila returning to the Abyssal Depths through the rift, Ila instinctively began to sense its presence. This was a primal response from her own body.

Her body remained that of an Abyssal Dark Demon Princess, a truth Ila could not change, no matter how much she denied it.

For five years, the Blood Demon Princess’s inherent instincts had constantly enticed her to return to the Abyssal Depths, to once more sink into the black miasma.

True to her premonition, a familiar sensation washed over Ila as she re-entered the woods near the fields.

‘There is indeed a rift here. I can now send Leila away, and as soon as she enters the Abyssal Depths, I’ll purify this rift immediately!’

‘Then I can truly, completely go home!’

‘Excellent, it’s decided!’

Ila instinctively turned her head, her gaze coincidentally falling upon the direction of the rift.

‘Good child… come home~’

‘I’ll just take a look at the rift’s size to explain the situation to the Magical Girl Headquarters, preventing any shortage of personnel. After all, nothing has gone wrong in the past five years. Just a glance should be fine.’

‘Come home~ my child~’

‘Is that… my home?’

Such thoughts vanished before Ila could even fully process them.

Ever since arriving in the fields, Leila had remained silent, following Ila with a knowing smile that suggested she was witnessing a spectacle.

While this wasn’t her true objective, it didn’t stop her from making her dear sister owe her a favor.

Ila pushed aside the branches of the forest. What greeted her eyes was precisely the rift connecting the Abyssal Depths and the surface world. As Ila confronted the rift directly, the demonic patterns that had vanished from her skin five years ago flickered into existence once more.

She fell into a stunned silence, staring at the enormous, ground-sized fissure before her. From within this gaping chasm, it wasn’t soil that emerged, but an ink-black miasma, writhing madly, bubbling as if alive.

‘Had the World Tree’s脉 in this area been polluted to such an extent?’

‘Was it because of Leila? Still, compared to the past, this rift is considerably smaller.’

Ila recalled her battle with Leila a decade ago, when an entire nation had been swallowed by the black miasma from the rift, and the entire world had suffered varying degrees of impact.

Only when the World Tree’s脉 supporting the world became contaminated could the black miasma flow from the Abyssal Depths into the surface world. The more severe the contamination, the larger the rift, meaning more black miasma would surge forth, causing greater destruction to the world.

Ila stood beside the black miasma, her violet pupils fixed on the viscous substance that slowly crept towards her feet.

‘Once Leila returns to the Abyssal Depths, I’ll immediately call for people to purify this place. Then, she’ll never be able to return to the surface world!’

‘Then I can continue living this wonderful five-year life with Mona.’

As Ila thought this, she stared intently at the black miasma, her eyes seemingly spiraling like mosquito coils.

On the distant edge, a wild dog approached the rift. The moment it noticed the black miasma and instinctively recoiled in fear, the long-prepared miasma surged forward, completely enveloping it. No matter how the wild dog struggled, it could only alter the miasma’s shape, utterly unable to escape. Ultimately, it was dragged into the rift.

‘It probably won’t be long before this wild dog becomes a Cadaver Beast in the Abyssal Depths.’

This was the black miasma that constituted the Abyssal Depths. It was inherently driven to devour all things that changed in this world, whether the life of flesh or the emotions of the soul.

When change occurred, the black miasma would seize the opportunity, leaving no time for reaction.

‘What a strange and eerie existence it is~’

This was a truth Ila had experienced firsthand during her five years as the Blood Demon Princess (not counting the five years she spent fleeing marriage).

‘Or perhaps I could bring my sister here, enter the black miasma with her, and let her become like me. That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about Mona getting hurt~ I could protect her forever.’

‘How wonderful that would be~’

Without her noticing, a strange smile crept onto Ila’s lips. She slowly crouched down, deliberately extending her hand to touch the black miasma.

‘Yes, good child, just come home again like this~’

‘This is also a way home; this way, I can go home with my sister~’

And these black miasmas seemed to notice Ila’s change. They layered and converged, slowly transforming into a black hand, identical to Ila’s own, pressing tightly against her palm.

The black miasma that spread from it gradually merged with Ila’s skin, working in concert to slowly pull her body towards the bottomless rift.

Even two thick tentacles emerged from within, wrapping around Ila’s torso.

The large tentacles split into filamentous tendrils, which in turn branched into silken threads, slowly enveloping Ila’s body, gently caressing her skin.

‘My child, you are finally willing to return~’

‘Your family is waiting for you~’

‘Come, this is your true home.’

‘Return to the Abyssal Depths, fall into the embrace of the black miasma.’

The voice she had possessed as the Blood Demon Princess echoed in Ila’s mind, and the demonic patterns on her body reappeared, deepening from faint to vivid.

Ila gasped for breath, a cold sweat involuntarily breaking out on her body. As White Rose, the strongest Magical Girl, she felt a subtle sense of unease, yet her mind told her that everything was perfectly normal.

It was as if she had returned to her first defeat ten years ago, when Leila had enveloped her body in black miasma.

Whether it was the hand gripping her contaminated body and pulling her towards the black miasma, or the tentacles binding her, in Ila’s mind, these were all normal actions.

As if she were born to be treated this way.

Ila’s eyes gradually lost their light, and the smile on her lips slowly turned vacant. Deep within her still-dimming gaze, a flicker of resistance could still be seen.

The black miasma climbed upwards, finally reaching her temples. Numerous silken tendrils twisted together to form a needle, aimed directly at Ila’s brain.

Once it pierced her, Ila would never recover her past memories, and even the Blood Demon Princess’s memories and personality would be tampered with.

At this critical moment, Leila, who had been following behind, snapped her fingers with a cold expression, pointing at Ila.

Instantly, the black miasma clinging to Ila’s body flowed off her as if washed away by water, hissing as it retreated back into the rift, leaving only the black hand reluctantly clutching the swaying Ila.

Swish!

A purple blade light flashed, splitting the black hand in two. A mournful shriek emanated from within the black miasma.

“Since when did you mongrels become worthy of polluting my sister?”

Leila’s icy violet eyes gazed down at the rift, an invisible aura gradually enveloping it.

Leila tilted her head slightly, her eyes turning ash-white, and she spoke without emotion, “She is mine, understand?”

The black miasma, which had been writhing madly moments before, now cowered, its tumultuous movements calming under Leila’s oppressive presence.

Deprived of the black hand’s support, Ila’s body involuntarily swayed towards the miasma.

When her eyes regained their light and reopened, what met her gaze was Leila’s gentle, smiling face and the soft caress of her hand.

“Leila?”

Ila had regained consciousness the moment the black miasma receded. She still retained memories of everything that had just occurred, so she clearly remembered that Leila had helped her dispel the black miasma’s contamination, saving her from another round of brainwashing and degradation.

But wasn’t this what she had always hoped for?

Why had Leila stopped the black miasma at the last possible moment?

Ila’s heart was not only filled with confusion but also a myriad of conflicting emotions.

‘Leila, what exactly do you want?’