The system's teleportation experience was far from pleasant. Yi Chen had been dizzy and barely able to stand ever since he arrived at his destination, but just as he was about to fall, a slender yet strong hand gently steadied him.
"Kid, you're back?" Yan looked calmly at the person she had longed to see day and night. A smile she hadn't worn in ages appeared on her face.
Hearing that familiar voice, Yi Chen tried to shake his head and clear it. After a while, he finally managed to answer:
"Yeah. I finally made it back."
"You look exhausted, kid. Go get some rest." Yan helped Yi Chen sit down with her, then leaned a little closer, hoping he would rest his head against her.
"Okay," Yi Chen replied hazily. Then, as naturally as could be, he turned onto his side, rested his head on Yan's shoulder, and closed his eyes. A pleasant fragrance lingered beneath his nose, and before long, he was snoring softly.
"Kid, you know, I kept waiting for Fan Xing to appear, through countless dawns. But why did you never send word..." Yan murmured as she looked at the person beside her, then lifted her gaze to the stars overhead. The faint smile tugging at her lips showed that something in her heart had shifted.
The long night stretched on, its end weighing on my heart. A lonely lamp cast a distant shadow; I could only hope for the one who cared.
The long night didn't seem so lonely with the person she had been waiting for beside her. The two leaned against each other until dawn chased away the darkness and the sky grew bright.
As the first ray of dawn fell upon the earth, Yan opened her bleary eyes. She gently turned to look at Yi Chen, who was still asleep, and reluctantly woke him.
"Kid, demons are approaching. Get up and fight."
At Yan's call, Yi Chen struggled to open his eyes and finally managed to overcome his sleepiness. He had never imagined that the system's teleportation service would have such severe aftereffects. His head had still been swimming since yesterday, but with sheer force of will, he managed to stay alert.
Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to him, he whipped around to look at Yan and stammered:
"Um... Yan... I didn't mean to take advantage of you. My head was spinning so badly last night... I..."
The smile on Yan's face turned sly as she heard him.
"Kid, I guess that means we sort of slept together. You'll have to take responsibility..."
"..." Yi Chen turned away without answering, putting on an expressionless face.
"Oh, kid, from the look of you, you don't seem too happy about it. What, is being my Prince Charming such a raw deal?" Yan said as she slowly moved closer to Yi Chen. Her gaze shifted from warm to stern, then... turned murderous.
"Hey, Yan, don't... don't do that. Calm down. What's that? Demons? I'll go kill them." As Yan kept approaching, Yi Chen began to lose his composure, the tips of his ears turning red.
But then his sharp eyes caught sight of two ugly, winged creatures approaching them. From the looks of them, they were probably demons. An excuse to slip away and kill them immediately formed in his mind, but it seemed things wouldn't go his way.
Just as Yi Chen was about to rush forward, a Sword of Flames shot past him from behind. The blade pierced one demon with pinpoint accuracy and emerged from its back, then flew through the other demon from the opposite side. Just like that, the two aggressive demons lost their lives with ease.
After spinning through the air a few times, the Sword of Flames was caught by a slender hand.
"Um... Yan, are those the demons you woke me up specially to kill?" Yi Chen asked, turning to look at her in shock.
Yan didn't answer. Holding the Sword of Flames, she looked even more valiant. Her gaze fixed on Yi Chen, carrying some inexplicable emotion.
"Didn't you just kill them with one casual swing?" Yi Chen said, still confused. Demons like those didn't seem worth waking him up for, he thought, only to receive a rather irritated reply from Yan:
"Your head was making my shoulder sore, okay?"
"Uh..." Yi Chen awkwardly rubbed his nose.
"Enough, I'm done teasing you. I'm in no hurry. I, Angel Yan, have already decided that you're going to be my Prince Charming. We can let our feelings grow over time." Yan put away the Sword of Flames and took a deep breath to calm herself. Then she walked over to Yi Chen, gently patted his shoulder, and smiled as she said:
"They're only low-level demons. They were originally native to this planet, but became like this after being infected by the demon virus."
"Infected by the demon virus? Does that mean demons didn't exist originally?" Yi Chen asked in confusion. He had always thought demons and angels were both born as they were, but now Yan was telling him demons had once been human?
"Not at all. There were no demons in this world to begin with. But under Morgana's corrupting influence, some people and other creatures willingly shed their original forms and became these ugly things."
"Kid, do you know why we angels hunt demons?" Yan asked.
"Why?"
"Because of Morgana. Because... well... a certain technology. As long as she preserves a demon's genetic information, she might be able to bring it back to life. Otherwise, how do you think demons have been able to stand against us for so long, through so many battles, after so many of our sisters have died..." Yan's voice suddenly fell as she spoke. Anyone would be heartbroken to lose sisters they had spent every day with.
After a while, Yan gathered her thoughts and continued:
"But resurrection goes against the laws of life, so the Justice Order doesn't approve of it."
"The Queen always told us that civilization is a kind of joy, a kind of happiness. The more advanced a civilization is, the more harmonious the relationships between people become, and the greater their sense of happiness.
"And what makes people human instead of beasts is their humanity. If people become beasts, they lose not only their intelligence and technology, but also sink to the point of self-destruction. How could they ever develop advanced technology?"
"Do you know, kid? The Queen often said that death isn't frightening. Loneliness is."
"The end of life is nothing but death; the meaning of death lies only in rebirth or eternal sleep. Death isn't losing life—it's simply stepping out of time."
"We don't fear death. We take pride in dying in the war against evil."
That morning, Yan told Yi Chen many things, most of them reflections from her seven thousand years of life. After hearing her out, Yi Chen couldn't help saying:
"That's right. Death isn't frightening. Wandering alone is far more frightening."
Before you continue