Huayin’s earth-shattering, ghost-wailing proposal exploded right in the center of Ange’s chaotic mind, making her lose all ability to think in an instant.
F-find… her to solve it?!
The physiological instincts brought by the Succubus Curse, at the very moment she heard that suggestion, stirred almost uncontrollably.
To be fair, Huayin’s beauty—her fiery figure, and that unique charm interwoven from her pride and the occasional vulnerability—was an irresistible elixir to Ange, who was now so deeply affected by the Magic Mark.
Just imagining that scene was enough to make her blood, which she’d only barely managed to calm down, start to boil all over again.
However, just as that tide of desire was about to smash through the dam of her rationality, a deeper, more profound persistence surged up from the depths of her soul.
For most of her life… or rather, for most of her time existing as “Ange,” she’d spent her days chasing after demons, revenge, and power.
She had been born for over twenty years, but the only time she could truly say she lived for herself was after she got her revenge, when the curse fell upon her and she became what she was now.
Those muddled, decadent days—though far from ideal—were the first time she didn’t have to live for killing.
She hadn’t had time to really see this World, hadn’t figured out what she truly wanted, hadn’t experienced the loves and hates of ordinary people……
Was she supposed to, because of one accident, one Lie, and this damn Magic Mark, just carelessly decide who would be by her side for the next decades?
That wouldn’t be fair to her.
Nor would it be fair to Huayin.
Huayin had only just become an adult six months ago. Her life also brimmed with infinite possibilities.
She ought to experience more, meet someone who truly moved her heart, someone she’d want to entrust her life to, not be bound by an accident, a Lie, and a sense of Responsibility to a former first Demon Hunter whose life was already a tangled mess.
Calm down, Angelina.
At this thought, the sudden, wavering flame in Ange’s eyes—fueled by desire and uncertainty—slowly extinguished.
She shook her head at Huayin with determination, a hint of ruthless decisiveness in her voice.
“No. I absolutely refuse this option.”
She took a deep breath, trying to suppress the dryness in her throat, and continued.
“I’ll figure out the Magic Mark issue myself. Since we’ve formed this Special Operations Squad, it buys us time, delays having to… face your Family.”
Her gaze grew firm, even flaring up with a long-lost hint of a Fighter’s Edge.
“Then I’ll do it! It’s just a Magic Mark, isn’t it?! I’m not even afraid of the Seven Demon Kings of Hell, why would I be scared of a little side effect like this?!”
She seemed to be declaring to Huayin, but even more like she was vowing to herself.
“I’ll beat it, just you watch!”
Huayin looked at the complicated emotions in Ange’s eyes, from the initial shock, to the struggle, and now to this nearly obsessive determination.
She opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something—maybe “Stop acting tough,” or “This is clearly the most direct and effective way”—but in the end, everything turned into a sigh.
She didn’t understand, nor did she want to. But since Ange could handle it herself, then that was the end of it.
“…Whatever you like.” Huayin stood up a little dejectedly, smoothing the wrinkles from her skirt.
“Hope your method works better than mine.”
She didn’t look at Ange again, turning toward the door and leaving without glancing back.
Click.
The door was pulled open.
Outside, two figures froze in place as if someone had pressed pause, stuck in an utterly comical posture.
Ingrid Beltans, with her golden hair and blue eyes, was tiptoeing, body leaning forward, her ear practically glued to the door.
Behind her, the black-haired, black-eyed Sakika wore a perfectly calm expression, standing just far enough away to hear everything happening inside the room.
Clearly, this eavesdropping had been going on for quite some time.
Huayin: “། – _ – །”
Ingrid: “╭(°A°`)╮!!!”
Sakika’s expression didn’t change; when Huayin’s gaze swept over, she very naturally raised a finger to point at the instantly petrified Ingrid beside her, using her completely unruffled tone to state,
“It was Ingrid who brought me to listen.”
“Sakika! How could you?!”
Ingrid’s face turned bright red in an instant, like a ripe apple.
She fumbled to explain, her panicked eyes darting to Ange, who was equally dumbfounded inside the room.
“T-Teacher Ange! It’s not what you think! I… I just noticed you often run off to the Restroom for long periods… I… I was worried you might have some kind of stomach problem and wanted to check if I could help…”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, until it was barely a whisper. Clearly, even she found the excuse flimsy.
Huayin looked at Ingrid, who wished she could vanish into the floor, then remembered the blood-pressure-spiking conversation she’d just had with Ange inside the room.
She rolled her eyes, her tone sharp and tinged with misplaced annoyance as she explained for Ange,
“Stomach problem? You think too much. She just has a lazy person’s habit of running to the Restroom all the time. You’ll get used to it.”
With that, she didn’t care about Ingrid’s blank stare or the subtle glimmer in Sakika’s eyes.
She walked straight between them, heading for the other end of the corridor without looking back, leaving only a fiery, upright figure behind.
Inside the room, Ange heard Huayin’s succinct “explanation” outside.
The corner of her mouth twitched, and all that heroic resolve she’d just mustered was instantly replaced by a crushing sense of doom for this squad.
In silence, she slowly lay back down on the bed, once more covering her eyes with her right hand.
This life… really is impossible.
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