That voice—
Answered.
Flanya’s breath stopped for a moment.
She lowered her head, her eyes fixed on the blood magic circle forming before her.
Crimson light surged from every etched line of the hexagram, interweaving and churning in the air, finally converging into a—
Black mist.
A thick, impenetrable black mist.
It spiraled up from the center of the circle, writhing and expanding like a living thing, until it condensed into a vague humanoid silhouette.
The figure hovered silently in midair, surrounded by eerie mist, its face indistinguishable. Only a faint crimson glow flickered deep within the haze.
That was a true demon’s eye!
Flanya’s breath caught again, and her heart pounded as if it might burst from her chest.
It worked.
It actually worked!
She had really summoned a demon!
Flanya didn’t hesitate.
She bent her knees and knelt straight down.
Her expensive skirt fell onto the bloodstained carpet, but she paid it no mind.
“Great existence…”
Her voice trembled with barely suppressed excitement, yet she struggled to maintain reverence.
“Thank you for deigning to answer my call…”
The black mist remained silent, merely watching her, as if waiting for her answer to the question it had posed earlier.
Flanya took a deep breath and began to explain why she craved power.
“My name is Flanya Celestia.”
“I am the Eldest Princess of the Empire.”
“I was once a Fifth-Rank Transcendent Mage.”
Her voice was calm, as calm as if she were telling someone else’s story.
“Three months ago, I went to a dungeon to suppress a monster riot.”
“It was a routine mission—one I’d done countless times without issue.”
“Except that time—”
She paused, a flash of bitterness in her eyes.
“I got hurt.”
“It wasn’t a serious injury—just a scratch from a berserk monster.”
“At the time, I didn’t think much of it. After all, monster extermination can never go perfectly forever; there are always costs and casualties. But after that—”
Her voice finally wavered.
“The elemental spirits stopped answering my summons.”
“No matter how I called or begged, it was as if they had vanished.”
“Now, I am still technically a Fifth-Rank mage.”
“But I can’t cast a single spell. I have become a complete waste.”
The crimson glow within the black mist flickered slightly.
Flanya didn’t notice; she continued recounting her experience, her voice growing calmer—a calm far more oppressive than any weeping.
“My status plummeted.”
“People who once treated me with respect now look down on me. I’ve overheard them whispering behind my back, calling me a useless ‘failure.’”
“Those who once clamored to see me, the subjects who supported me, now take a detour whenever they see me.”
“My little sister…”
She paused, something flashing across her eyes.
“After that day, she stopped speaking to me. Her gaze was disappointed, cold, as if she were looking at a stranger.”
“My father—”
She let out a faint smile, one tinged with indescribable bitterness.
“He won’t even see me anymore.”
“He said I’m not worthy of being his daughter and even threatened to revoke my right of succession.”
Flanya lifted her head, meeting the crimson glow directly, her voice eerily calm.
“I refuse to accept this.”
“Why?”
“What did I do wrong? I went on one mission, got injured, and this is how I’m treated?”
“Just because I lost my power?”
“It’s not fair.”
“Before today, I never cut corners. I studied and trained diligently day after day for years, putting in no less effort than anyone else, and earned my own strength and glory.”
“But my power vanished for no reason, turning me into a ‘failure’ everyone despises.”
“If I had known this power could be so capriciously taken away, I would rather have never had it and taken the shortcut everyone condemns.”
“So I want…”
A flame ignited in her eyes: “Power enough to overturn everything.”
“Even if—”
She gritted her teeth.
“Even if the source of that power is unclean, even if I have to ally with a demon, I am willing.”
“I want to reclaim my peak. I want to surpass everyone! Make them regret every harsh word and belittlement they’ve heaped on me!”
“That is—”
“Why I crave power.”
*
Inside the black mist.
Xing Yue’s lips twitched.
‘Wow.’
‘Why does this script sound so familiar?’
‘Got injured by accident, suddenly became a waste, looked down on by everyone, and then—got a lucky break and started an uprising?’
‘Isn’t this the most common trash-to-awesome opener in web novels?’
‘So what am I now?’
‘The lucky break the protagonist got?’
‘The old man in the ring?’
‘Or the cheat system?’
The more she thought, the more absurd it felt.
‘Wait, is there an engagement-breaking scene coming up later?’
‘The fiancé publicly tears up the contract, points at her nose and says “You’re not worthy of me”—she knew that classic plot all too well.’
Xing Yue silently complained in her mind.
But—
She also realized a problem.
What power level did this Eldest Princess Flanya claim to have?
Fifth-Rank?
Transcendent mage?
Xing Yue sucked in a cold breath.
She was only Third Order!
She had just touched the threshold of Fourth Order and hadn’t even successfully stepped in!
A Third Order low-tier “demon” helping a Fifth-Rank “failure”?
This—
Was this deal out of her league?!
Could she even give this young girl the power she wanted?
How was she supposed to give it?
Would she have to name her again?
If the girl had bad luck and drew Flash from her skill pool, she’d probably hate her forever…
Xing Yue felt a bead of sweat.
This led to the black mist remaining silent for a long time—so long that Flanya began to grow anxious.
She didn’t know what the great existence was thinking, so she could only kneel there, waiting for her fate.
Meanwhile, deep within the black mist, Xing Yue—
Was still in full brainstorming mode.
‘What do I do, what do I do, what do I do!’
‘She’s Fifth-Rank! I’m Third Order!’
‘Can I really take this job?’
‘This is a high-difficulty match!’
‘What if I can’t carry her?’
‘Though she doesn’t know my current level right now…’
‘But what if it comes out later?’
‘I can’t just lie to her, can I?’
Xing Yue was torn.
Looking at those kneeling eyes, so full of eager pleading, she felt a bit soft-hearted.
After all, this girl had been through a lot.
Just one injury, and she was despised by her own father, given the cold shoulder by her sister, and looked down on by everyone…
Her story made Xing Yue involuntarily recall the stories Emily had told her about the Empire over the past few nights.
She hadn’t expected it to be as cruel as Emily said—losing power meant losing everything, being abandoned by everyone.