Little Pink Starfish

Latest issue of Demon Chronicle:

“His subordinates all died because of him—why is he the only one still alive?”

The powerful demon sitting on the throne of bones spoke the line lazily.

The little demons below instantly lowered their heads.

They had just heard something… they probably shouldn’t have.

The entire room fell into a deathly silence. No one dared speak again.

The demon didn’t seem to care at all that he’d said something so dangerous. He leaned back against his bone throne and went on,

“Besides, none of the Blood Jade Demon Army was supposed to survive. Assassins, spies—the darkest, dirtiest things were all hidden there. Even the low-level soldiers died. But this guy? A spy corps lieutenant? He lived? What were the rest of the demons doing?”

The lower demons didn’t dare breathe. Some were already wondering if they’d make it out of that room alive.

The bone chair itself had only been assembled in the past couple of days, and even it alone was proof of this demon’s cruelty.

---

Yuan Yuanyuan and Si Qun were huddled under a table, watching Li Zi Jie rage around the bar like a storm cloud ready to burst.

“…”

Yuan glanced at Si Qun, who had gotten so nervous he was biting his fingers. She silently pulled his hand out of his mouth and gave him her phone to play some Lianliankan.

This kind of rage wasn’t new for Li Zi Jie. Back when they didn’t know how chaotic manga plotlines could get, she used to lose it like this more often. Now that they were desensitized, it hardly happened anymore.

Ah, youth. The journey to maturity… Watching someone who was technically hundreds of years older still throwing a fit, Yuan suddenly felt a strange sense of enlightenment.

“There’s really no need to get so mad, Li Zi Jie. Calm down,” Yuan tried to reason. “It’s just a manga—it’s not like it’s about you. Getting upset isn’t worth it.”

She herself had become a Buddha when it came to Demon Chronicle. Even when they dropped that shocking reveal—that all of Yiqi’s subordinates had died because of him—she barely blinked.

What could she say? Too many fleas, and you stop noticing the itch.

But compared to the real Yuan’s indifference, everyone else was freaking out—especially Li Zi Jie. Yuan figured she was close to combustion.

She had originally thought Li Zi Jie wouldn’t care about this stuff, that she’d be above it. But no—her reaction was exactly like back when she first started getting into manga.

Still, Li Zi Jie would never admit she was “into” it. She claimed she was just following Demon Chronicle casually, ranting while reading, and had even picked up the habit of checking the comment section.

Yuan had once tried to pry some background info from her while she was emotionally unstable, but Li Zi Jie clearly didn’t want to talk and quickly shut it down. So Yuan didn’t push further.

---

“Ugh, I’m so mad!”

A group of girls were walking home from school, several of them side-by-side, ranting as they went.

It was deep winter, and the streetlights were already on. The city had been beautifying lately, wrapping little fairy lights around the trees—at night, they looked stunning.

The girls passed under these glowing trees, their shadows flickering on the sidewalk.

In school life, it was common for girls to walk in pairs or big groups to and from class.

Qiu Ling and Tang Shi were in the mix, quietly listening to the girls around them.

“Why did Jiuqiu make Yuan the big boss?” one girl fumed. “And not just any boss—but the kind I hate most. Ugh, I hate traitors.”

“Yeah, traitors are the worst,” another chimed in. “And it looks like Yuan escaped back then while all his men died.”

“I feel like there’s more to the story… but still, even if there was, letting all your subordinates die for you? Doesn’t sit right with me.”

Tang Shi, walking in the middle, felt a wave of conflicted emotion.

The gap between 2D and 3D really was massive… Listening to a human say how much they hated traitorous demons, Tang Shi didn’t know what kind of expression to wear.

But aside from her and Qiu Ling, no one else seemed to find this weird. For the others, it was just a story—two fictional sides battling it out.

Like watching Inuyasha. No one really felt grief when someone died. It was more like, “Aw, that was a sad death… Wow, Sesshomaru is so hot!”

Qiu Ling, worried that Tang Shi might say something weird, kept an eye on her.

“I actually like Yuan’s face,” another girl said. “Even if he’s the boss, I still stan him.”

“Total face stan. Me too, haha.”

“Big demons are so hot… I wish I were a demon.”

“I wanna write fanfic! What if I transmigrated into the war era and became a little demon?”

“Rise through the ranks, become a big boss! I’ve already got it planned—I wanna be a fox demon. Nine tails, obviously.”

“Ew, that’s such a basic setup.”

Their homes weren’t far from school, just across the street, so they weren’t in a hurry.

They meandered, buying milk tea, then some egg tarts. The street was quiet now, not as crowded.

As they walked and chatted, suddenly a man came into view up ahead.

He wore a mask, black clothes, head down, walking fast—like he might slam into a wall.

He was tall—around 1.8 meters—and skinny. His jeans fit him surprisingly well.

It was a basic outfit: jeans and black top. But on him, it looked deliberately styled. He moved through the shadows near the wall like he was trying not to be seen.

But all the girls turned to look anyway.

“Damn, he’s hot,” one girl whispered. “Where did this guy come from? I’ve been at this school two years and never seen anyone that good-looking nearby.”

Qiu Ling and Tang Shi’s eyes lit up. Tang Shi looked relieved—being the only demon surrounded by humans all day felt like getting roped into a pyramid scheme. Seeing another demon? She nearly cried.

She waved and shouted, “Boss! What are you doing here?!”

The man in black snapped his head up and looked toward them.

He seemed startled. Before Tang Shi could process why, a sudden boom echoed from the nearby street.

It was close. The girls jumped in fright. But Tang Shi and Qiu Ling instantly picked up a familiar scent.

A wave of thick, icy demon energy. Oily and cold—like a venomous snake.

Yuan Yuanyuan swore in her head when someone shouted her name.

She looked up quickly. The demon she’d been tailing clearly heard the shout—and decided to go all in.

She’d spotted the suspicious demon while out walking after dinner. He’d been acting weird, so she followed him quietly. He probably sensed he was being tailed but didn’t know by whom, so he didn’t panic—until now.

Now that someone had called her out, he was ready to fight.

Not good. This area still had lots of students, even if it wasn’t peak hours. It was dangerous.

Yuan quickly pulled a mask from her pocket and covered her face. Then she lashed out with several red vines, shooting them down to try to capture the escaping demon.

There were too many people around—who knew what the guy might try?

“What the heck?!” the girls yelled. The explosion had been deafening.

But Tang Shi knew—it was just a demon spell’s effect.

“You guys… go home,” Qiu Ling suddenly said. “It could’ve been a gas explosion or something. Don’t stay on the street. I’ll call emergency services—go!”

“Okay.” Tang Shi nodded and quietly cast a small protection spell over the group.

It wasn’t strong, but it could block a hit or two.

The girls glanced at the smoke ahead, nodded, and began to run.

“Wait… you’re the powerful demon who’s been cleaning out outsiders around here, aren’t you?”

A voice came from overhead. The girls looked up—and saw a woman’s face smiling down at them.

Then they noticed something odd.

The woman… seemed to be only a head.

And then, all of their vision went black.