Chapter 7: Roca

Time ticked away.

59:30...
59:29...

Cynthia straightened her posture, forcing herself to calm down. Regardless of whether the system’s claims were true, she had no better options at the moment; it was best to go along with its arrangements for now.

Aside from those humiliating tasks, the system had, to a certain extent, ensured her physical safety and provided a path to strength she had never before imagined.

Regaining her composure, Cynthia checked the countdown once more.

"Azathoth, you’d better be back quickly."

Cynthia kept her eyes fixed on the entrance.

*BOOM—*

A violent explosion rocked the room, and after the earth-shaking tremors subsided, a ferocious figure crashed through the silver doors.

Azathoth was wreathed in black mist, his armor still smoldering from the heat of battle, the fighting spirit in his golden, slit-pupiled eyes yet to fade.

"My King, are you unharmed?" He knelt on one knee, cracking the floor beneath him, his voice gravelly. "Your servant is incompetent; I failed to find the vermin who dared to harm you. However, I have purged the ten-mile cavern and razed the earth three thousand feet deep. If you require—"

His roar came to an abrupt halt.

He looked up and saw Cynthia.

She was standing in an extremely peculiar pose.

The moment Azathoth had burst in, Cynthia’s mind had gone blank, save for the pink countdown hovering before her eyes.

Time was almost up.

Summoning all her acting skills, Cynthia stiffened her neck and tilted her head to the left, exceeding an angle of thirty degrees.

To secure that 70% "innocent curiosity" rating, she desperately brainwashed herself to ignore the shame, straining to imbue her scarlet eyes with a sense of bewildered inquiry, earnestly playing the part of a curious kitten.

[Ding! Host detected executing "Head-Tilt Kill" maneuver! Angle confirmed: 35°! Eye contact assessment: 72% innocent curiosity! Task requirements met! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission! (★ω★)]

[Task Reward: Star Magic Wand x1, Cuteness Points +50. Current Cuteness Points: 158/200 (Lv1)]

As Cynthia exhaled, a star-shaped magic wand sparkling with pink light materialized and floated before her.

She remained frozen in her tilted pose, staring at the wand, while Azathoth stared at her.

*The King is... actually a bit cute just now. I really want to pat the King’s little head.*

*No, Azathoth, what are you thinking!*

Azathoth forced himself to discard those inexplicable thoughts and asked Cynthia, "My King, what were you doing just now? And what is that?"

***

Cynthia’s brain raced at high speed.

How was she supposed to explain this?

Should she say she was learning a "Head-Tilt Kill" to complete the tasks for a "Cuteness King Cultivation System"?

Or should she claim this object was a new weapon of the Abyss Demon King?

Either one sounded as if an Abyssal Worm had gnawed through her brain.

She took a sharp breath, forcibly suppressing the embarrassment and shame that threatened to choke her, and reached out quickly, clutching the pink-glowing star wand tightly in her hand.

"Azathoth," Cynthia said, trying to maintain her customary icy majesty, though a keen ear could detect a trace of suppressed trembling and guilt, "I have questions for you."

"Yes, my King."

*The King is so serious. Did I make a mistake?*

Azathoth reflected on his every action in his mind, feeling a surge of panic.

"What is the current status of the Abyss Clan?"

"It is... well..." Azathoth said, lowering his head in guilt.

*Well?!*

The anger Cynthia had struggled to suppress flared up again.

"I want to see the others. Bring them to me."

"My King..."

"Azathoth, the honor of the Seven Royal Guards of the Abyss does not include lying." Although Cynthia’s voice was cold, it was still childish, sounding suspiciously like a child trying to act like a grown-up.

Azathoth bowed his head even lower. After a moment of hesitation, he said softly, "Since your passing, the Seven Royal Guards have scattered. I am the only one left. The current plight of the Abyss Clan..."

As Azathoth’s voice grew quieter, a small hand rested gently on his head.

"Azathoth, you have worked hard."

This brief sentence completely shattered the stoic facade Azathoth had been maintaining. He suppressed the emotions surging within him and rubbed his head gently against Cynthia’s hand.

"To go through fire and water for my King is Azathoth’s supreme honor!"

*Still as foolish as ever.*

Cynthia withdrew her hand, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly. She loved the fierce loyalty the Abyss Clan held for their King; it was a fervor comparable to the sun itself, impossible to forget.

As their King, she cherished this warmth and held the duty to protect her subjects.

"I found a fragment of the Abyssal Crown in the hands of an Abyssal clansman who had been reduced to a slave. Azathoth, tell me, why are my people being sold as slaves?" Cynthia’s voice rose sharply. Azathoth bowed his head once more, not knowing how to answer his King.

***

Time ticked away, second by second.

After a long silence, Azathoth removed his combat armor and unclasped a device resembling a bracelet from his wrist, holding it out to Cynthia.

"My King, please use this."

"What is this?" Cynthia asked, taking the bracelet in confusion.

Azathoth remained on one knee, straightening his torso to be level with Cynthia. He pressed a button on the bracelet, and a pale blue, transparent holographic screen popped up.

"My King, it is now Star Era 20033. Over twenty thousand years have passed since your death. The times have changed."

As Azathoth spoke, he pulled up a video.

*So much time has passed.*

Cynthia felt a complex mix of emotions. She stared blankly for a few seconds before fixing her gaze on the playing video.

It was an educational clip, detailing the major events of the twenty millennia since her death.

On July 7th, 2022, Old Calendar, the Abyss Demon King was slain by the Hero, marking the beginning of a new chapter and the adoption of a new dating system—the Star Era.

In Star Era Year 1, the Hero went missing, internal turmoil erupted within the Abyss Clan, the Abyssal Crown was lost, and the Abyssal Court fractured. The once-mighty Abyss Clan declined from that day forward.

...

In Star Era 2025, a massive technological explosion occurred in the human race. The only new deity of the new era, the God of Technology, was born. A new era arrived, known as the Interstellar Age, continuing the use of the Star Era calendar.

On January 31st, Star Era 20033, the three Great Main Gods manifested, delivering the Oracle System and launching the Path to Godhood trials, sparking a nationwide fervor for ascension.

Cynthia watched the entire video patiently. She returned the bracelet to Azathoth and began to digest the vast amount of information she had just received.

"The Abyssal Crown condensed all my Abyssal power before my death. After I died, only seven people had the capability to shatter it... Someone betrayed the Abyss Clan."

Six faces, other than Azathoth’s, flashed through her mind like an old film reel, until her focus settled on a pair of fox-like eyes.

"Loca."

As soon as Cynthia spoke the name, Azathoth instinctively looked up, gazing at the tiny Abyss Demon King before him with shock and adoration.

"As expected of you, my King!" Azathoth praised her from the bottom of his heart.

"Azathoth, where is Loca?"

Her cold voice echoed through the empty hall. For a fleeting moment, Azathoth felt as if he were once again looking at the formidable, decisive King who had ruled the world ten thousand years ago.