In the abandoned church of Saint Weinburg, today was as peaceful as ever.

Built a hundred and fifty years ago, the grand cathedral had fallen into ruin after the Saint Weinburg fire. No new priests or clergy ever took over, leaving it to decay in silence.

Smoke-blackened deity statues lined the hall. The cross, stripped of its stand, lay toppled—blocking the slanted sunlight filtering through broken windows.

Darkness and shadow had claimed the space ever since. What was once a church now resembled an unassuming palace.

Yet few could enter. Beyond its true Master, only two resided within these walls.

The succubus Lily stood before the fallen cross, her gaze drifting again and again toward the deep shadow at the chamber’s heart—a void so profound not even a sliver of light could pierce it.

“How much longer until Master emerges?” She turned to the other occupant: a girl cradling a blank book.

“Another half month. What’s the rush?” Aisa replied without looking up. “Read a book if you’re bored.”

Her name was Aisa—a girl gifted with the peculiar ability to draw location-based knowledge from the blank book.

Lily shook her head, glancing at the table. “It’s not impatience… It’s just—looks like Master’s pleased with what I brought.”

Inside the vacuum tube rested the last vampire’s venous blood, tossed earlier into the dark. Now it had been carefully returned, with a subtle change.

Where only the symbol “⑨” once marked the tube, an ink-drawn thumbprint now sat beside it.

Like a thumbs-up.

“Seems quite satisfied,” Aisa murmured, flipping the book open. “A loli: silver hair, red eyes, tiny hands and feet, petite frame—light, soft, easy to sweep off her feet.”

How could he not be?

Hard-won details surfaced through the blood link: her face, body, name, even the blood’s origin. Aisa could almost see Luo Xiaoxiao’s bewildered, utterly confused expression the moment the needle drew blood.

“I didn’t mean *that* kind of info…” Lily opened her mouth, stammered, then sighed. “Never mind. Yeah… that’s exactly what I meant.”

So Master liked flat-chested lolis. Ugh.

“Since Master won’t emerge for half a month… should I check on her early?” Lily asked. “Can you locate her?”

Aisa set the tube on the page and flipped rapidly. “Asia. Wuzhou City. But it’s unstable—a major evil spirit empowered by Mammon is active there.”

Mammon: one of Hell’s seven demons, embodiment of Greed.

Lily’s heart-shaped tail shot straight up. “That dangerous? Can this little loli even survive two weeks? What if she meets an early end?”

She felt envy, not malice. Losing Luo Xiaoxiao would cripple Master, herself, their fledgling dark faction.

After the Holy See and Order of Light’s covert vampire purge, she was the last survivor. No room for error.

Aisa remained calm. “Someone stronger guards her. As long as she doesn’t act recklessly, she’ll be fine.”

“Right… as long as she doesn’t act recklessly,” Lily sighed—then frowned. “She’s not *that* foolish… right?”

Aisa fell silent.

Hard to say. This was the girl who turned a blood-theft op into a “charitable donation.”

“I’ll go,” Lily resolved. “Warn her. Don’t let recklessness get her killed.”

“Mm.” Aisa nodded.

After a beat, Lily’s eyes narrowed. “Wait—you said an evil spirit gained Mammon’s power?”

“Mm.” Aisa closed the book. “Might be a signal. Hell’s starting to stir.”

They called themselves the dark faction—but only by power type. They were living beings of this world. Dark factions, creatures, authorities, the Holy See, the Order of Light—all mortal conflicts. Hell? A realm apart. No compromise. No negotiation.

“Let them stir,” Lily muttered worriedly. “Just don’t let those below find a way up.”

“And keep those above from coming down,” Aisa added. “Neither side’s trustworthy.”

“Whether the ones above descend depends on the Holy See not losing their minds,” Lily scoffed. “Who knows what those old fogeys are plotting.”