When Lilith opened her eyes again, the light outside the window had already dimmed.
She stared at the ceiling in a daze for a long while, her mind a complete blank, before she realized one thing.
She hadn't eaten a single bite of food since last night.
It seemed this body didn't strictly require sustenance, but she still wanted to eat.
“Whatever, it’s already this late.”
Extremely reluctantly, she sat up in bed and let out a yawn.
She glanced at her collar, gave it a casual tug to pull it up, and then stepped onto the floor barefoot.
She walked to the door, placed her hand on the handle, and paused.
Then, her mind began to race.
What was she going to do?
She stood at the door and thought for three seconds before a thought popped into her head.
Run away.
Yes, run away.
In her previous life, she had been bedridden in a hospital for three years and hadn't gone anywhere.
Now that she finally had a healthy body, was she really going to stay here and argue with a bunch of horned monsters?
“No way. I’m going out to see this world with my own eyes,” she muttered to herself before pulling the door open.
Lilith poked her head out and looked left and right. Confirming no one was there, she stepped out.
After walking a few paces, she suddenly remembered something.
She didn't know where Veen was.
So, she wandered aimlessly along the corridor for a while, passing several closed stone doors that all looked like they had been copy-pasted.
Just as she was considering whether to shout “Is anyone there?”, a familiar figure appeared at the end of the corridor.
It was Gregor.
His six legs were curled up, and he looked as if he were dozing off.
Lilith walked over and stopped in front of him.
Gregor seemed to sense something. He tilted his head up slightly, his compound eyes focusing for a few seconds before he realized who was standing there. Then, his entire body stiffened.
“Your... Your Majesty, why are you here?”
“Where is Veen?” Lilith asked directly.
Gregor blinked, then raised a forelimb and pointed toward the other end of the corridor.
“The Master is in the Council Hall.”
Lilith nodded and immediately turned to walk toward the Council Hall.
Gregor hesitated for a moment before his six legs scrambled to keep up with her.
“Your Majesty, are you... not wearing shoes?”
Lilith looked down at her bare feet.
“I’m not.”
“...Oh.”
The Council Hall.
Lilith pushed the door open and walked inside.
She scanned the hall and found Veen standing just to the right of the throne.
Veen saw her too. His slit pupils constricted slightly; he clearly hadn't expected her to show up at this time.
Lilith beckoned to him.
Veen’s brow twitched, but he still walked over quickly.
“Your Majesty?” he whispered. “Why have you come?”
“A major incident has occurred outside,” Lilith said, her expression turning serious, her eyes reflecting the gravity of the situation. “I need to go out for a while.”
Veen froze.
“A major incident?” His slit pupils narrowed slightly. “What major incident? Why was I not informed?”
“There are plenty of things you don't know,” Lilith said without blinking. “Don't ask so many questions.”
Veen was silent for a second, then said in a cautious tone:
“But Your Majesty... everything within the demon race's territory has been peaceful lately, and the borders haven't reported any movement from the human kingdoms. I truly cannot think of any major matter that would require you personally to—”
“I said there is one, so there is one.”
Lilith interrupted him. Her voice wasn't loud, but her tone carried a sense of unquestionable authority.
Veen’s lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he eventually swallowed his words.
Lilith struck while the iron was hot:
“Prepare three things for me. A map, a teleportation circle, and a disguise spell. I want to hide the horns on my head.”
Veen’s expression finally underwent a visible change. His brows knitted together, and his slit pupils were filled with confusion.
“A disguise spell and teleportation magic?” he repeated. “But Your Majesty, do you not already know how to use them?”
Lilith’s expression stiffened for a split second.
The original owner probably did.
But she didn't.
However, she couldn't say that.
“Don't worry about that,” she waved her hand, her tone impatient. “Just prepare them when I tell you to.”
Veen looked at her and remained silent for three seconds.
“As you command.”
He turned and walked out of the hall. Lilith followed behind him.
They arrived at a smooth platform.
She watched as Veen crouched on the ground, using his finger to draw complex patterns on the stone slab.
A dark red light flowed from his fingertips, outlining a circular magic circle.
As Lilith watched Veen draw the array, she couldn't help but criticize him internally.
So teleportation circles are drawn by hand? Shouldn't this thing be a one-click activation?
Veen finished the final stroke, stood up, and turned to face her.
“Your Majesty, the teleportation circle is ready. Where would you like to go?”
Lilith pulled the map from her sleeve and, without even looking at it, pointed randomly.
“Here.”
Veen leaned in to take a look, and his expression shifted.
“Your Majesty,” he said in a very low voice, “that is the territory of the Human Empire. Are you certain you wish to go there?”
Lilith looked at the green patch on the map and nodded.
“I’m going.”
Veen was silent for two seconds.
“Your Majesty,” he sighed, “I take the liberty of asking... do you have important business in the human lands?”
Lilith glanced at him.
She thought to herself: Because I don't want to stay with a bunch of strange-looking monsters.
But what she said was:
“Classified.”
Veen’s expression froze for a moment.
“...I understand.”
He reached out, his fingertips hovering just above Lilith’s forehead. A few seconds later, the shape of her horns began to blur before disappearing completely.
“This disguise won't suddenly wear off, will it?” Lilith felt the top of her head.
“No, Your Majesty, rest assured. It will remain unless you choose to deactivate it yourself,” Veen promised.
“Good.”
She nodded in satisfaction and walked into the center of the teleportation circle.
Veen stood at the edge of the array, watching her.
“Your Majesty,” his voice came through the rising light, “how long... do you plan to be gone?”
Lilith thought about it.
“I don't know.”
Veen’s mouth twitched, but he said nothing.
Then, the light swallowed everything.
After the light of the teleportation circle faded, only Veen and Gregor remained on the platform.
Veen stood where he was, staring at the empty center of the array, silent for a long time.
Gregor stood behind him. He hesitated for a while before finally speaking up:
“Master, is Her Majesty... really just going to handle a major incident?”
Veen didn't answer.
He stared at the array.
“She doesn't even know magic.”
Gregor was stunned.
“What?”
“Do you think...” Veen’s voice was low, as if he were talking to himself, “that it's normal for a Demon King to not know a disguise spell or teleportation magic?”
Gregor’s compound eyes flickered.
“Then she...”
“I don't know,” Veen interrupted him, turning around and walking toward the palace. “I don't know who she really is, and I don't know what she’s trying to do.”
He took a few steps, then suddenly stopped and looked back at the now-dimmed teleportation circle.
“But I am certain of one thing.”
Gregor tilted his head. “What is it?”
Veen’s expression looked complicated in the orange light.
“She wanted to run away.”
Gregor asked, “Then why didn't you stop her?”
Veen patted Gregor’s head and said calmly, “Even if she doesn't know any magic, if she were to release all the magic power in her body... do you think anything other than a living god could withstand that massive surge of mana?”
Gregor was silent for two seconds.
“...So what do we do now?”
Veen took a deep breath and turned to continue walking.
“Leave it be.”
Alwin Forest.
A flash of dark red light appeared deep within the forest, and Lilith tumbled out of it.
She landed flat on the ground, face-planting into a thick pile of fallen leaves.
Lilith lay there, her mouth now full of a few leaves.
“Pah, pah, pah...”
She lifted her head, spat out the leaves, then sat up and looked around.
Trees were everywhere. No monsters.
She was stunned for a few seconds.
Then, the corners of her mouth slowly began to curl up.
Higher and higher.
“Hahaha, I actually made it out!”
Rate on N.U.
