I Was Called A Demon

There was almost certainly something wrong, and it was almost certainly that same corruption that she had managed to inflict upon Song Ming with the first few times they’d slept together. Now that it had permeated enough to affect her appearance, it seemed that she had most definitely been affected mentally as well…

And at the very least, when they were alone, she was able to confirm that she had at least some awareness of it.

“I’m sorry if I made you worried, Mistress…” Song Ming said to her when they returned to their room.

Considering Song Ming’s breakthrough, it was deemed wise to give her a moment to rest and stabilise her cultivation before returning to it, especially if Song Ming was to remain involved – which Bianca heavily advocated for, since she knew that, Demon Queen Bianca aside, Song Ming would be better equipped to use her power than she was.

Thus, they were given some time alone while Xue Yaling and Yan Taijun worked to repair any damage to the array in anticipation of its use tomorrow.

“It’s okay, but… please be very careful about any mental changes. Physical stuff is one thing, it’s alright and could even be an improvement, depending on how you look at it, but when it comes to your mind… I don’t want to lose myself, and I most certainly never, ever want to lose you.”

“Of course, and I wouldn’t ever want to lose you, either… I’ll be careful, I promise. It’s just that it was so difficult to hold back when all of that energy was coursing through me and I was just feeling like… like doing what you told me to do was the only possibility. I’m sorry for upsetting you, Mistress,” Song Ming bowed to her.

“Don’t… don’t do that, sweetheart. There’s no point. Be careful… and cultivate a mental technique, or whatever those things are. Anything to fortify your mind and let you be a bit more resistant to whatever… corruption I’m inflicting upon you,” Bianca replied, patting her on the head.

As Song Ming purred in reply, she suddenly had an idea.

“Hey, do you think that Xue Yaling would be influenced by the same thing?”

“Hm? You mean the corruption and the mental influence?” Song Ming tilted her head, thought for a moment, then nodded, “It’s likely. She’s only in the third realm, so she shouldn’t have much more resistance to it than I did, and since you’re about to match her cultivation, she’ll definitely be unable to withstand it. Why do you ask?”

“… Do you think I could influence her to the point that she can’t try anything sneaky with us? Imagine if she just cannot refuse anything I tell her to do, and so we never have to worry about her having the wrong intentions?”

Song Ming frowned, “That sounds… feasible. A bit weird, but feasible. Do you plan to dual cultivate with her?”

“I could just take her up on the numerous offers to sleep with her that she’d given out so far,” Bianca said, though she immediately felt rather bad about suggesting that she sleep with another woman right to Song Ming’s face, “Of course, I shouldn’t-”

“That’s a great idea, Mistress! If you can force her to obey your every word, then we’d have a very knowledgeable and sexy kitsune on our side! You could dominate her however you want and it would be so… uh, is that… too much?” Song Ming blushed, “I’m sorry, I-”

“Again, it’s alright. It’s a good thing they gave us enough time to rest, or else things could’ve gone really badly while I was breaking through… speaking of, you need clothes. As hot as you are, I’d rather not have the entire city see you naked,” she said, her gaze drifting down to her pet’s gorgeous body and staying on it for quite the while.

“Hm… If you insist, Mistress… Just joking, I’d rather get dressed too, but I was thinking I could also reconsider my wardrobe. I don’t think I could go for something quite as… hot- I mean, revealing as your outfit, but some new robes would do me a lot of good.”

“Makes sense… and I don’t mind you calling me hot, it’s very nice, just as long as it’s not the demonic corruption making you do that,” Bianca smiled.

Song Ming shook her head, “It’s not, don’t worry, Mistress… and besides, my energy is slowly feeling less overwhelming, and the effect it has seems to diminish as well. As such, by tomorrow, it shouldn’t be anything beyond the occasional impulse or a stronger desire to obey you than before… Which I’ve had ever since we’ve gotten close to one another.”

“Hm… Alright then,” Bianca forced herself to look away and out of the window, sinking into thought as she tried to visualise some outfits on her pet’s gorgeous body.

Her thoughts first went to, of all things, a bunny girl outfit. They were somewhat common fetish material for all kinds of stories and artworks, and the few times she’d seen them on real women, they certainly looked charming. That being said, it would not only fail to be practical, but she also doubted that it would be feasible to obtain, nor particularly smart to try and dress anyone in such a thing, whether Song Ming would approve or not.

Therefore, she tried to imagine the robes that could feasibly be obtained in this world, and that proved quite a bit harder. She hadn’t paid much attention to the offerings of the Planar Continents, and so all she could contemplate were the same style that Song Ming had worn prior.

And once she was doing that, her mind was already rushing to get rid of as much coverage as possible, to show off some cleavage with those gorgeous tits of hers, maybe more of her legs…

“Hey, how was kicking with the robes you used to have? Maybe that could be adjusted in some way.”

“Seeing as my strongest attack – runes aside – is a kick… Would make sense,” she nodded, “I’ll look around for something that’s more suitable, then, Mistress. Something with plenty of room for the legs, and nothing too baggy on the arms either… and something that can withstand my runes, since they don’t do anything to me.”

“Yup… though most of the time, I’d advise using the runes away from yourself. It takes a while for them to be readied, so putting them between yourself and your opponent is probably the best thing to do,” Bianca said, then frowned, “That sounded way too clever for me…”

“Aw, Mistress, it’s alright… One day, you’ll fully merge the two sides of yourself and you’ll be able to prove that bitch kitsune wrong… Um, also too much?”

“I think of her like that too, to be honest, I just don’t tend to say it… Also, I just remembered she might well be able to hear us, so I have a feeling nothing we’ve planned will… go to plan.”

“You shouldn’t be so worried, Mistress. Since I’m in the third realm, I can sense her spiritual perception better now, and I also know that although she may try to scatter ghostflames everywhere, there is only so much she can pay attention to at any given moment. Just imagine trying to observe the entire city at the same time, with the same level of detail… It would be impossible,” Song Ming stated, “Even in the higher realms, most people are said to only be able to focus their spiritual perception in a few directions and a few spots at a time.”

“Right… Well, if she does look in this direction, tell her to fuck off and focus on something else,” Bianca said, with Song Ming nodding readily, “Anyway… What should we do now? Rest up and just wait till tomorrow, or is there something we could do?”

“Have sex?”

“… Sorry, but doing it now would be awfully awkward. I could never know what you’re doing out of your own volition, and what is driven entirely by my corruption. Besides, if we fuck, there might be another instance of me affecting your energy, and it would just make the situation worse,” Bianca sighed.

“Ah, that… makes sense, yes, even if it’s really disappointing, Mistress… but I’m sure we can think of something else to do. For one, we need some clothes for me, so…”

 

‘They caught on to the whole demonic corruption thing…’ Xue Yaling, standing on the balcony of Yan Taijun’s home, ‘I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, there was only so much time that they could spend being completely and utterly ignorant… I wonder if Bianca will be smart enough to come up with the idea of influencing me deliberately.’

“What’re you thinking about, foxy cutie? Are you worried about the kids and their cultivation?”

“Nah, it’s… Well, I am curious how it will go for Bianca. Her previous breakthrough was rather curious, so now I’m curious if she won’t somehow call down an exceptional tribulation that will attempt to kill her for her apparent demonic energy.”

“I doubt that will happen, since tribulations aren’t typically so… flexible?” Yan Taijun suggested, though even then she couldn’t decide what to label Xue Yaling’s thoughts as, “Relax, it’ll be fine.”

“Uh-huh. What about that cult of yours? Have they showed up since, or are things currently quiet on their regard?”

“In fact, I believe that they’ll be here rather soon. Chances are that Song Ming and Bianca will get attacked again, though this time, I’ve got guards posted nearby, so they should be safe enough… I won’t have them enter the fight the very same moment that a threat is spotted, if that’s alright with you. I’d rather let Song Ming make use of her skills and get used to her realm a little quicker,” Yan Taijun stated, “I still have enough time to change my orders…”

“No, it should be for the best, provided that none of the cultists are in the third realm. Song Ming and Bianca are impressive, but the third realm might push them a little too far, especially if they have access to the skill that affected Yu Juan,” Xue Yaling said, “They don’t, right?”

“From my understanding, that’s something belonging to the fourth, if not the fifth realm. Remember, it’s essentially a permanent effect, and only those in the fourth realm or above are able to stabilise their energy to the point of it remaining even after they’re far away. The worst they’d encounter is a brief manifestation of the hellscape, and even then I ought to be able to ward it away just as long as I get there quickly enough… which I will,” Yan Taijun stated confidently, “I won’t let them harm another soul in the same way.”

“I’d rather not have anyone be harmed by the likes of your cultist friends. Their archetype is… well, if Bianca’s is demonic in terms of aura, theirs is demonic entirely, in appearance and form, in nature and in function… Honestly, for all the things I’ve done and experienced, I’m still perturbed by the sheer madness of these cultists.”

“Mhm… How they can not only plunge others into their madness, but also push themselves into that same domain, is beyond me. Why couldn’t they just be like the many grave temples…”

 

“Clothes shopping… that does make sense, actually,” Bianca nodded, “We did talk about getting you some new robes… though my shirt looks hot on you.”

Song Ming had dressed herself in some of Bianca’s spare clothing until they found something more suitable for her to wear, but she wasn’t quite as big in certain regards as Bianca was, especially in terms of chest size and ass size. Thus, there was a certain messiness to her appearance, and it was incredibly appealing. It had a similar effect to a woman donning her boyfriend’s shirt and walking around with only it on, and in Song Ming’s case, it didn’t even have to involve a filthy man.

Since they wanted a chance to find something new and pretty, as well as functional, they decided to have a look through some of the stores available in the Dancer’s Abode, and used the opportunity to spend some time with one another in the process. It wasn’t the most exciting of dates, if it could be considered a date at all, but neither had any intention to complain.

It was a very relaxing experience, and more importantly, they were able to spend time together without needing to fear any aspects of Bianca’s demonic corruption, or Xue Yaling’s presence. They got to do things that women their age might’ve been able to do in this world had they not gotten engaged in all of the madness that now surrounded them. And one of the things she anticipated getting was the opportunity to dress her wonderful pet in some new clothes and see her changing.

On the surface, it wasn’t so different from just seeing her naked outright, which she had done plenty by now, but the context certainly enhanced the experience.

“Hm, this shop seems relatively empty for the moment, but the clothes within look good… Should we check it out?” Song Ming asked, pointing at a store where a number of robes were displayed by the open doorway.

“If you like what you see, then why not. I’ve got plenty of coins on me, so…”

They stepped inside, and they were instantly greeted with oddly clean air, as though they stood in the forest next to a pleasant, transparent lake, water flowing through and leaving the air clean of all pollutants associated with the modern world. It was almost unnatural, though considering the kind of feeling created by air conditioners back on Orbis, it wasn’t too unusual for Bianca, and as always, far more shocking for Song Ming.

“W-What is with the air here… Bianca?”

“Just don’t mind it, sweetheart. Does anything here catch your fancy?” she asked, all while looking out for an attendant or some employee that she could consult regarding certain things such as prices.

In general, she just wanted to confirm that there was someone here to accept their order and let them purchase something if something did catch their eye, as it would be rather disappointing if Song Ming spotted something absolutely gorgeous but there was no way for them to claim it.

“Hm… most of these are rather similar, as robes tend to be… but they do look to have limited obstruction by the legs, so if we find a set that looks good, then I’d definitely try it on…” her pet ran into the depths of the store, leaving Bianca to look around for someone to buy any of these things from. However, she couldn’t help but be a little confused.

Something about this place didn’t feel right. It was hard to explain, but it was a little too clean, too orderly… and too empty. Worse yet, the store was organised a little too much like how Bianca thought it'd be.

It reminded her of the dreams Yu Juan had granted her, as they gave off a very similar feeling.

Of course, she and Song Ming were both in this store, both looking at the same robes, and she was quite sure that she had never fallen asleep in the process of getting to this place. Furthermore, everything looked sufficiently coherent, none of the strange blurring and distortion on the things that she didn’t know or recognise.

“Hm… Song Ming!” she called out, finally grabbing her pet’s attention, “Come over here for a moment.”

“Yes, Mistress? Is there something you wanted?”

“Just look at one of these robes for me… say, that one. What do you think about it?”

“About that one… hm, it’s not bad, though I’m not sure the light shade fits me considering… well, what my energy is like, and… Bianca?” Song Ming frowned when she noticed Bianca looking around rather than focusing on her words, or on the outfit they were examining.

“So, Song Ming… we might be in danger-”

And just as the word of warning emerged past her lips, the whole store changed. A wave of crimson light washed over them, and the moment Bianca blinked, it was gone and a worn-down building took its place, dust and cobwebs and, most importantly of all, a few people taking the place of the empty yet welcoming store.

“Defend yourself!” Bianca exclaimed before any of those people could move, for she recognised them nearly instantly.

On one hand, they used a skill akin to drowning them in dreams, in mental landscapes, and on the other, she could see their strange robes and the same glow she had previously spotted shining through the patchy gaps within said robes.

“W-What the… O-Okay!” Song Ming was blatantly perturbed, but she moved quickly, turning around and covering Bianca’s back with a quick manifestation of her Planar Stream.

The Cult of Terror looked as it had before, each of the cultists in sight sharing the same burnt skin beneath their robes, but from the way in which they had nearly fooled the two of them, there was obviously someone in a higher realm here, or it was merely a result of a lot more preparation and effort than the previous cultists were permitted.

Therefore, she had to be on guard, and didn’t immediately let Demon Queen Bianca out to wreck some bitches. If they were expecting her and Song Ming, they should’ve expected one of them to see through the illusion and therefore to dispel it, meaning that they were likely to be exactly where they wanted them to be.

The only thing they likely wouldn’t have accounted for was Song Ming’s third realm. Perhaps they knew that one of them had undergone a lightning tribulation – it was hard to miss all the lightning, after all – but they would definitely lack the knowledge of which one of them had done it.

So, if they were planning for them to be here, what did they have prepared to oppose them?