130 miles east of Red Sand Pass, the wind and sand gradually weakened.
They were now approaching the Demon Realm, and sparse patches of dark red moss grew in the low-lying hollows of the ground.
Nearby, Jin set up a small stone stove.
Cubes of Red Desert Taro bubbled in a pot—the skins were charred and peeling, revealing milky white flesh that had soaked up the golden broth made from rabbit oil.
The aroma was enticing.
“Master, I’m stewing taro soup tonight. I added rabbit oil to enhance the fragrance and help you restore your strength,” Jin said softly as he stirred the soup, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.
Xue Yin leaned against the rock wall and took a deep breath.
Her brow relaxed, and her normally tense lips curled into a rare smile.
“This aroma could practically steal one’s soul. It’s much better than the lizard you grilled last time. Jin, if you opened a shop with this skill, even the court officials would line up for a taste.”
She took the bowl, blew on it impatiently, and took a large gulp.
The warmth instantly dispelled the exhaustion of the past several days.
Then, she handed another bowl of hot soup to the person beside her.
“Arya, drink it while it’s hot. Don’t let it get cold.”
Arya Therne sat downwind, a strand of her pale flaxen-gold hair brushing against her cheek.
She took the ceramic bowl with both hands.
Her fingertips turned slightly red from the heat, but she refused to put it down.
The steam warmed her pale face, finally giving her a hint of life.
She blew gently on the surface of the soup before suddenly speaking in a strained voice, “Come to think of it, I haven’t formally introduced myself.”
She set the ceramic bowl down and smoothed the dusty blue trim of her snow-white moonlight linen robe.
Her posture was elegant, yet it carried a trace of the relaxation and resolve of someone who had just shed their shackles.
“Arya Therne, formerly the Southern High Priest of Moon-glow Fortress. In the eyes of the church, I am an ‘Oath-breaker’; on the Sin Purge Court’s most wanted list, I am a ‘Fallen One’.”
Her gaze swept over Xue Yin and Jin, a lingering fire burning in her eyes.
“But here with you, I think I am just… Arya. An ordinary person who no longer wants to pray on her knees.”
Upon hearing this, Xue Yin paused for a moment while flipping through her ledger.
That distant name surfaced in her mind once more, carrying a long-lost sense of strangeness and weight.
She looked up, her expression softening.
“Xueyin Yueling. A magical girl of High Elf blood, and currently a fugitive.”
She tapped her pointed ear with her finger and glanced at Jin, who was adding firewood nearby.
Her tone was flat but carried an unquestionable sense of belonging.
“Also, I am now Jin’s Master.”
Jin’s hand paused briefly as he added wood.
His voice was low and clear, like a whispered vow.
“Jin. Right now, I’m just Master’s apprentice.”
He paused, then turned to Arya.
“Welcome to the grueling life of a fugitive, Arya.”
Arya’s eyes grew warm as she took another sip of the soup.
The scalding taro soup slid down her throat, and a warm current instantly spread through her body.
She had never thought a simple bowl of taro soup could be so delicious, nor had she ever felt the word “companion” could be so tangible.
“We can’t stay in the human realm anymore,” Jin said suddenly, breaking the brief moment of warmth.
“After the battle at Red Sand Pass, we destroyed the escort team. The Royal Court won’t let a magical girl go, the church won’t forgive a traitor, and the Association certainly won’t let a High Elf escape. If we stay there, it’s a dead end.”
Xue Yin didn’t look up, her fingertips tracing the edge of her ledger as she followed up, “The Royal Court needs front-line fodder, the Association needs samples, and the church needs indulgences—the three of us happen to be exactly what they want.”
“The Southern Border is our only way out,” Jin said, looking directly at her with a firm gaze.
“But a frontal approach is suicide. Our only chance of survival is to loop through the Demon Realm.”
Xue Yin remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a light chuckle, a flash of determination in her eyes.
“Fine. Then we enter the Demon Realm.”
“There’s a black market at the border of the Demon Realm,” Jin added as the soup hit the bottom of the pot.
“We can disguise ourselves as smugglers buying local specialties. It’s a den of all sorts, the perfect place to take a detour.”
The plan unfolded.
Risks, routes, and division of labor—Jin was methodical, Xue Yin calmly filled the gaps, and Arya provided timely intelligence about the church.
As the discussion ended, Xue Yin set down her empty bowl.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to focus as she looked at Arya.
“I’m going to teach Jin how to perceive magic soon, and there will be some leakage. Can you use a prayer to suppress the traces? I don’t want demonic beasts tracking us by the magical resonance.”
“The Sanctuary Whisper can do that within a 1 meter radius,” Arya said, immediately standing up and clasping her hands.
A faint, soft glow emanated from her. “As long as I’m here, our presence won’t leak.”
The lesson began.
Xue Yin signaled for Jin to sit across from her, a tiny speck of silver light condensing on her fingertip.
“That fireball of yours from before was forced out by raw instinct,” Xue Yin said. Her voice was light, but every word was clear.
“That was the pounce of a beast, not the spell of a mage.”
Jin nodded, focusing his mind as he waited for guidance.
“Close your eyes. Don’t be in a hurry to release it. Look inward first,” Xue Yin’s voice was calm and steady.
Jin frowned slightly, trying to perceive his internal state.
“It’s too scattered.”
Xue Yin suddenly reached out, her fingertip touching his wrist.
A surge of cool life magic flowed in, forcibly smoothing the violent unrest within him.
Jin gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead.
This was ten times harder than simply throwing a fireball.
He had to forcibly suppress the urge for the magic to explode, constructing a tiny channel within his body to guide the compressed fire elements to flow slowly.
Every time he tried to contract it, the magic acted like a startled beast trying to recoil, and he had to push it back onto the path over and over.
“Yes, that’s the feeling. Don’t let it explode; maintain this ‘trickle’.”
Xue Yin watched his slightly trembling palm, her tone stern yet encouraging.
A moment later, Jin snapped his eyes open.
This time, a blaze as tall as a man didn’t erupt from his palm.
Instead, there was only a thumb-sized flame.
It was pitifully small, but it possessed a deep, ink-black color, hovering quietly at his fingertip.
Not a single stray spark flew out, and the heat was highly concentrated.
Even the surrounding air twisted slightly from the burn, as if the light itself were being swallowed.
“Do you feel it?” Xue Yin asked.
Jin looked at the tiny flame, shock flashing in his eyes.
“It’s very light. But I feel like it could burn through stone. And it consumes almost no stamina.”
“That is the efficient use of magic.”
Xue Yin withdrew her hand.
Her face was slightly pale from the guidance she had just provided, but her eyes held a sense of satisfaction.
“We’ll talk about specific incantations later. For now, practice this ‘control’ until it becomes instinct. Only when you’ve learned how to save can you be qualified to learn how to spend.”
Jin carefully dissipated the flame, leaving only a trace of warmth in his palm.
He looked at Xue Yin, his gaze full of respect and gratitude.
“Understood, Master.”
Arya stood on the periphery, chanting silently.
The Sanctuary Whisper was like a veil, wrapping around this small space and neutralizing all fluctuations of magical power.
The fire crackled softly.
For a moment, the three were silent, but a strange sense of peace flowed between them.
—
The next day, at the edge of the Red Desert.
The landscape abruptly changed into a canyon of jagged black rocks.
The three had officially stepped into the Demon Realm.
In the pile of rocks ahead, however, lay a corpse—a magical girl.
The girl was curled up in a fetal position.
The Magic Rose mark on her lower abdomen had been crudely gouged out, leaving only a charred, hollow hole.
Her skin was shriveled but showed no signs of rot, as if her life force had been drained and she had been forcibly preserved.
A half-broken copper plaque hung around her neck, engraved with blurred words: “…Moon-glow Fortress… Hero, Glory…”
“It’s Sriya,” Arya said, her voice trembling as if something were clutching her throat.
“The ‘War Star’ the Royal Court praised. Her propaganda posters were everywhere—’With my body as a shield, I protect our home.’ Children even sang songs around her portrait.”
As her gaze touched the charred hole, her pupils contracted violently.
She uncontrollably took a half-step back, covering her mouth with both hands as if suppressing the urge to vomit.
“But now… even her body is…”
She suddenly couldn’t go on, tears streaming down her face.
Xue Yin slowly crouched down.
She recognized that face.
She had seen her portrait outside a tavern in Moon-glow Fortress: silver armor, a red cloak, and a brilliant smile, labeled the “Light of Moon-glow Fortress.”
Now, she lay on the black rock, like a piece of discarded rag.
Xue Yin’s heart clenched as a familiar, icy dread crawled up her spine.
‘Will I be next? Or will it be Jin?’
She didn’t speak.
She only took a dried pink petal from a small pouch she carried and gently placed it in Sriya’s palm.
This was a silent farewell between magical girls:
‘I understand your pain; your path has not ended.’
Then, she tore a page from the ledger titled “High School Sprint Plan Ledger.”
Her fingertip lingered for 1 second on that familiar handwriting, as if saying goodbye to a time she could never return to.
*Ripppp—*
The sound of the paper tearing was exceptionally clear in the dead silence.
This was her “survival record” that she valued as much as her own life, yet she unhesitatingly used it to cover the girl’s face, hiding the eyes that had remained wide open even in death.
“She wasn’t a hero,” she said.
Her voice was light, but every word was like a blade, cutting through Arya’s final illusions and serving as a warning to herself.
“She was a consumable. Once she was used up, she was thrown away here.”
She stood up and looked at Jin and Arya.
Her gaze was no longer sharp but as calm as a deep pool, hiding an exhaustion and resolve that only Jin could read.
“Let’s go. Don’t leave her alone here for too long. We stay alive to watch this world in their place.”
Jin followed silently.
As he passed by Xue Yin’s side, he lowered his voice.
The whisper was so light that only the wind could hear it, yet it landed precisely in Xue Yin’s ear.
“Master, if your heart feels empty, don’t be afraid. No matter where we go, no matter what gaps are left behind, I will fill them.”
Xue Yin gave Jin a meaningful look, then returned to her normal composure.
The three continued forward.
The true Demon Realm was only just beginning.
And for them, there was no turning back.