Abyssal Chronicles-Chapter 1042: You thought I was a girl back then…

"You even forgot your angel cosplay? How cruel~ Back then you kept pestering me to be your girlfriend. You even wanted me to drop my pants to prove I was a guy~"

Yumo smirked playfully.

Then, seemingly trying to trigger some embarrassing memories for Satoru, she gracefully lifted her hand in her chair, letting her black-red gradient hair slide down. She delicately twirled a strand between her slender fingers, the hair flowing like black silk. A faint fragrance wafted through the air with the movement.

She tilted her head, playing with her hair while her eyes sparkled with mischief and allure. Her hair cascaded elegantly over her neck and shoulders in gentle curves.

Her eyes glinted teasingly, using this simple gesture to send a provocative message - one tinged with mockery.

"….?!!"

Satoru froze in place. Yumo’s gesture, carved into the depths of his soul, instantly triggered his most mortifying childhood memory.

Back then, he fell for a cute cosplaying underclassman... After three months of agonizing, he finally gathered the courage to confess at a convention! Only to discover embarrassingly... his angel was none other than... his classmate Yumo?! Remembering Yumo’s teasing, sympathetic, yet provocative look afterward still made him want to find a block of tofu to smash his head against.

Only Yumo and he knew about this!

While memories could be read, only Yumo who’d teased him for years could recreate this exact vibe!

At this moment, though reluctant to believe it, Satoru had to accept this incredible truth. This unrealistically beautiful black-haired girl, this ridiculously powerful being, was indeed his buddy who should’ve died ten years ago.

"Alright, alright, stop, stop making that pose..."

Satoru covered his eyes, shaking his head repeatedly.

"Looks like you believe me now."

Yumo raised an eyebrow satisfactorily,

"See? Your angel still holds a special place in your heart~"

"Please! Can you stop with that joke?!"

"Nope, it’s too fun not to mention~"

Yumo playfully stuck out her tongue, continuing to tease her old friend:

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"Enough!! I said it was a misunderstanding! Who told you to be so pretty back then! With that long hair?! How could anyone tell?! Barely anyone thought you were a guy?!"

"Not really, I was just a bit delicate, you could still tell I was a guy. You were just too thirsty, desperate for anyone~"

"That’s bull, you had zero self-awareness. Forgot you were the School Beauty?"

"No way, nonsense."

"Why would I lie about that?!"

For a moment, they rediscovered the joy of their school-day bickering. Memories buried deep in Satoru’s heart played like slides through his mind.

However, as these memories surfaced, Satoru’s gaze toward Yumo grew peculiar.

Staring at her fairy-like delicate face and slender alluring figure, Satoru pursed his lips, doubt creeping into his expression. Perhaps burned once before, he instinctively questioned Yumo’s current gender.

"Umm... are you... really a girl now?"

"Huh?"

This question left Yumo puzzled, tilting her head:

"Why are you asking that?"

"Well, how to put it? You do look much prettier than before, with glowing skin. But I feel... you’re not still a guy pretending to be a girl? After all..."

As he spoke,

Satoru’s gaze dropped to Yumo’s chest.

"Can’t see any breasts."

"Huh?"

At these words,

Yumo first froze, then broke into a smile so beautiful it pierced the soul. Beautiful yet chilling. Vaguely,

Satoru seemed to realize he’d misspoken, hurriedly waving his hands at Yumo.

"I, I was joking, don’t take it seriously!"

Unfortunately, The apology came too late.

Yumo’s gaze at Satoru was now indistinguishable from looking at a dead man.

"Wait!! I’m your bro! Don’t do anything rash!!"

"Precisely because you’re my bro... you need special care, right?"

Before she finished speaking,

The black-haired girl somehow produced a feather duster out of nowhere...

"WHACK!!"

As the three little ones watched trembling,

With a crisp sound followed by a sharp whistle cutting through the air, the feather duster struck Satoru’s bottom with lightning speed. In that instant, like hell’s flames spreading, fierce pain instantly filled his nervous system, shocking Satoru’s very soul!

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

Satoru’s body instantly stiffened, heart-rending groans bursting from his throat.

Under this unprecedented intense pain, Satoru foamed at the mouth, eyes rolling back, and without another word lost consciousness, passing out...

This,

This,

This bastard,

Still loves spanking as always...

But,

But,

Where the hell... did she pull that feather duster from...

After some time passed, Satoru gradually regained consciousness, opening his eyes to the quiet night sky above.

"Ouch... it hurts..."

Clutching his bottom and forcing himself up through the pain, Satoru looked around to figure out where he was. He found himself atop a skyscraper, the city sprawling below looking tiny and insignificant.

The terrifying giant wolf from the interrogation room was also on the roof. But now it had transformed back into its original harmless-looking white puppy form, playing with the other two cute little ones.

Of course, having experienced the wolf’s overwhelming pressure earlier, Satoru didn’t dare underestimate these adorable creatures anymore. Who knew if the other two were also terrifying monsters in cute disguises...

Well, the three little ones weren’t the main issue now.

Taking a deep breath, Satoru turned seriously toward the stunning black-haired girl sitting at the roof’s edge - his buddy in a girl’s body.

Sensing his gaze, Yumo turned back, meeting his eyes apologetically.

"Sorry, hit you out of habit... I’ve applied medicine though, you should be fine."

"Applied medicine?"

Touching his bottom and feeling the cool comfort there, Satoru’s expression turned weird.

After all, having a beautiful girl pull down his pants to apply medicine felt strange... even if she was his friend. Though it didn’t hurt as much now, and his hand seemed healed too?

Taking a deep breath, Satoru said helplessly:

"You haven’t broken that hitting habit even after 800 years. Couldn’t you at least hit lighter?"

"I was being gentle... I hit my kids harder than that."

"Uh..."

His eyebrow twitched, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

This time, Yumo showed her understanding nature, noticing Satoru’s discomfort and changing the subject,

"By the way, what’s your deal? You’re not just a power user, but seem to handle some secret work? Arresting alien invaders?"

"Something like that. Under the Holy Maiden’s guidance, Earth doesn’t allow unauthorized outsiders anymore. We’re obligated to arrest anyone entering without approval. Though invaders are rare - few are stupid enough to defy the Holy Maiden. Our main job is handling rogue power users."

"Power users?"

"People like me who’ve awakened spiritual power."

Satoru demonstrated by releasing pale yellow spiritual light from his palm.

"Spiritual power? Where I’m from, we call it magic power. And battle energy"

"Magic power? battle energy!?… Well, same difference."

"Power users, spiritual power... seems my homeland is more complicated than I imagined."

"Yeah."

Sitting quietly beside Yumo, Satoru reflected.

"I only learned about all this five years ago when my power awakened. Government officials came, an old commander taught me to control it and transferred me to this department. I was just a new state employee before. Only after joining did I learn about the outside worlds, Holy Maiden, Primal One, Abyssal Lords and such."

"Is this like... the hidden world beneath society in novels? Or a secret underground organization?"

"I guess so. Normal people don’t know we exist or understand about the Source Star Universe and Abyssal Demons. Only awakened power users or chosen ones know."

"Why keep it secret?"

"Fear chaos? Not sure exactly, just following the Holy Maiden’s orders."

Satoru waved dismissively.

"Do well and you might get taken to Heaven."

"Heaven? What’s that?"

Yumo rested her chin on her hand, looking curiously at her buddy.

"Not that unreliable afterlife stuff?"

"Of course not."

Satoru shook his head repeatedly.

"It’s another world for humans managed by the Holy Maiden, where she lives now. I’ve never been, but my master says compared to Earth, Heaven has denser spiritual energy, more advanced tech, and all kinds of alien girls."

"Oh? Sounds nice."

"I don’t think so. Going to Heaven means taking on more responsibility..."

"Responsibility? What kind?"

Facing Yumo’s question, Satoru turned slowly, meeting the black-haired girl’s eyes with utmost seriousness:

"The responsibility of fighting Abyssal Demons... fighting you Abyssal Lords."