Chapter 3: The Naughty Bug

Cynthia had no time to spare for the noisy pink devil in her mind. Her gaze was locked onto two more bugs flanking her from the left and right. They moved faster, their mandibles clicking with an urgent, enraged ferocity.

Kill!

Cynthia’s small body moved once more. Instead of retreating, she lunged forward, a swift shadow meeting the two bugs head-on.

*Splat—splat—*

Two crisp sounds rang out, and two more insect carcasses lay on the ground. Cynthia retreated rapidly, her small chest heaving slightly as her icy gaze swept over the remaining bugs. The others, which had been restless just moments before, seemed cowed by this cold, efficient slaughter and paused in their tracks, their long, thin antennae twitching uneasily.

Cynthia exhaled a cold, ragged breath. Her taut nerves were just beginning to loosen when—

*Swoosh—*

An incredibly faint sound of displaced air came from above, fast as a phantom. She looked up abruptly. On the edge of a mushroom cap, a bright yellow fluorescent worm was springing toward her, aiming directly for her small face.

It was too fast! Too close!

Cynthia’s instinct acted before her mind. She subconsciously raised her hand to block the attack.

*Plap!*

A soft, almost imperceptible sticky sound followed. The bright yellow fluorescent worm hit the back of Cynthia’s right hand squarely. The slimy, wriggling sensation traveled through her skin and straight to her brain.

At that moment, the will of the Abyssal Demon King was thoroughly shattered. An abyssal curse, potent enough to cause any low-level creature to suffer a mental breakdown, surged up her throat, ready to be roared out.

[Host detected encountering extreme stimulus (fluorescent worm contact)! Triggering keyword shielding and "cuteness-conversion" protocol! Initiating!]

The system’s cold notification sounded like a final judgment. Cynthia opened her mouth, but the curse, heavy with the abyss's ultimate fury, was choked off by an invisible hand. The syllables were forcibly twisted and altered at her vocal cords.

A second later, a high-pitched, childish scream—filled with intense grievance and terrified tremors—echoed through the glowing, dark forest:

"Buggy bad-bad!"

The sound reverberated in the silent woods, carrying a heartbreaking and pure sense of infantile fear.

[Ding! Detected high-cuteness, high-contagion emotional expression (grievance, terror, dependency)! Verdict: Exceptional performance! Cuteness points +50! Triggered "Pitiful" achievement! Bonus cuteness points +20! Current Cuteness: 73/100!]

[Stream Alert: Candidate, your channel’s popularity is skyrocketing. You have risen to 122nd place in the Bronze Zone.]

[So cute~ I’m melting~]

[Can a minor cub really participate in the Path to Godhood? Is the Main System’s oracle broken?]

[The cub must be terrified of bugs. When she first saw them, her body was stiff as a board, yet she kept a straight face and pretended to be calm while killing them~ She couldn't be any cuter~]

[Contrast-cuteness, I love it even more~]

Having entered the Path to Godhood for the first time and having been dead for ten thousand years, Cynthia did not know that her every move was being broadcast and watched by others. At this moment, the words "Buggy bad-bad" kept echoing in her mind like a curse. The fear of the bugs was replaced by a bone-deep sense of shame.

She, Cynthia, the former Abyssal Demon King, had actually uttered such... such a thing...

Just as Cynthia’s soul was on the verge of exploding from shame and anger, a loud boom shattered the space in front of her like fragile glass. A pair of long, powerful hands emerged from the rift, tearing the space completely apart.

"Vile maggots, how dare you harm my King!"

As soon as Azathoth appeared, his violent energy transformed into a terrifying, visible shockwave, crushing the entire fluorescent mushroom forest in front of him, including the worm on the back of Cynthia’s hand.

Meanwhile, Cynthia’s Path to Godhood stream was in total chaos.

[Who is this guy? How can he appear in the Fluorescent Mushroom Forest?]

[Idiot, there are special items for positioning, though they are hard to get.]

[Am I the only one curious about the relationship between the cub and him?]

[Horns on his head—that’s an Abyssal. High-level Abyssals are rarely seen after the Heroes slew the Abyssal Demon King. What are you waiting for? Screenshot, brothers!]

[Side note: Aren't Abyssals usually ugly? Why aren't the cub and that man ugly at all?]

[High-level Abyssals are like this. I want to lick the screen; the cub is so cute, fair-skinned, and soft.]

Azathoth’s appearance brought even more heat to Cynthia’s stream. He knelt on one knee, his head bowed low, almost touching Cynthia’s muddy, delicate feet, his posture one of absolute submission and fanatical loyalty. The remnants of his violent power still echoed in the forest, wiping away the cold, slimy sensation from the back of Cynthia’s hand along with the worm itself, leaving only a faint, imperceptible scorch mark.

"My King, are you unharmed?" His voice was as deep as the abyss, filled with irrepressible concern.

"I am fine!" Cynthia tried to keep her small face taut, struggling to maintain the dignity of the Abyssal King before her subordinate.

She subconsciously hid the hand touched by the worm behind her back, rubbing it fiercely against her rough clothing as if to scrub away the deep-seated disgust. The "Buggy bad-bad" baby-talk curse was still buzzing in her mind, making her ears burn. Damn the Cute-King Cultivation System! Damn the bugs!

What was worse was that Azathoth had seen it. At the thought of losing her composure in front of an old subordinate, Cynthia wanted to find a hole and bury herself on the spot. She had to regain her dignity; she had to prove she was still the terrifying Abyssal Demon King.

Cynthia straightened her back and swept a gaze she deemed icy over Azathoth.

"Azathoth, you are not allowed to interfere. This is my trial."

"But..." Azathoth tried to say something else.

"Silence! Do you wish to defy your King’s will?"

Cynthia raised her small chin slightly, attempting to project the condescending, world-weary aura of an Abyssal Demon King.

Azathoth looked at the tiny figure before him, who was trying so hard to maintain her dignity but stood no taller than his knees. His heart softened; he wanted to kiss, hug, and lift up his little King, but he knew she would be angry. He lowered his head and replied with a hint of disappointment: "Yes."

[Pfft~ Are you guys role-playing?]

[Cub, don't have such a heavy idol burden. You've almost rubbed the skin off your hand behind your back, hahahaha~]

[How dare you! How dare you question the great Majesty the Cute King! Drag them out and behead them!]

The comments in the stream were incredibly joyful, but Cynthia knew nothing of this. With a blank expression, she walked toward the place where she had sensed the abyssal aura.

[Ding! Detected host emitting high-cuteness emotional expression (feigning dignity, hypocritical)! Verdict: Consistent performance! Cuteness points +20! Second consecutive success in being cute, bonus Cuteness points +10! Current Cuteness: 103/100!]

[Congratulations to the host, Cute King level increased by 1! Reward: Cute Coquetry Set. Wearing this set increases the success rate of acting cute by 10%.]

Cynthia froze in place.

The pink light that enveloped her came and went in a flash, but it left a devastating mark on her. She looked down to see a pink lace princess skirt, and then touched something else on her head—it was ears, fluffy, furry ears.

"..."

Cynthia’s throat felt as if it were plugged with abyssal silt; she couldn't make a sound. The Abyssal Demon King’s soul shuddered violently within the tiny vessel, and fury scorched her reason. She could even feel those damned cat ears moving, twitching with her angry, rapid breathing.

"My... my King?" Azathoth, kneeling before her, was also completely bewildered.

He looked up, his golden vertical pupils reflecting a delicately carved, jade-like little girl in a tutu with cat ears on her head. The sight was so shocking that his brain crashed for several seconds. Had the King... had the King been hit by some strange transformation curse? Or was this a new form of the Abyssal Will?

[!!!!!]

[Ahhhhhhhh, the cub changed outfits!!!]

[Holy cow! Cat ears!!!]

[Contrast-cuteness nuclear explosion! The cub's expression, hahaha, "life is meaningless".jpg]

[I took a screenshot! I declare, this is my new daughter!]

[Brother, share that screenshot! I'll buy it at a high price!]

[Azathoth’s confused expression is also amazing! A massive petrification scene!]

[Long live Majesty the Cute King! Long live cat ears! Long live princess skirts! (Voice crack)]

The popularity of Cynthia’s stream shot up like a rocket, instantly rushing into the top 50 of the Bronze Zone.

However, Cynthia was completely unaware of all this. She only knew that the last shred of her dignity as an Abyssal Demon King had been crushed into powder.

"A-za-thoth!" Cynthia’s voice was squeezed through her teeth, carrying unprecedented, icy murderous intent. But because of her childish voice, it sounded more like a cute, fierce threat: "Close... your... eyes! You are not... allowed to look!"