Chapter 4: The Princess Escapes from the Abyss

Night enveloped the earth as the full moon hung high, casting down a cold, white light.

Accompanied by the sound of footsteps, Syks’s figure appeared before the small house once more.

The house was eerily silent, so quiet that not even the sound of breathing could be heard, but she could keenly sense the aura of an Evil God pervading the interior.

Evidently, Syks’s plan had “succeeded.”

The Imperial Princess, Violet, had become her puppet today.

“Creaaak—”

The door’s hinges turned, letting out a grating sound.

A pair of blood-red eyes suddenly lit up in the house.

Compared to Violet’s eyes, this pair lacked liveliness and was more vacant, like that of a doll.

Syks slowly approached.

With a wave of her hand, the room brightened, the sacred white light creating a stark contrast with the blood-stained, twisted magic circle on the floor.

A “girl” identical to Violet was sitting quietly in the center of the magic circle, her blood-red eyes unblinking, staring blankly at Syks.

“As expected of an Evil God’s creation, it looks exactly like the real thing.”

Syks praised, then casually pinched the girl’s neck.

Magic flowed into it, and only after a long moment did she release her hand in satisfaction.

As a ninth-tier Sanctuary-level all-element mage, she was also proficient in soul magic.

With just a single puppet spell, Syks could perfectly control this masterless body.

The naked girl slowly looked up, a hint of life appearing in her vacant eyes.

The corners of her mouth twitched, but couldn’t form a smile.

Even her movements as she tried to get up were somewhat comical, like a toddler learning to walk.

Syks frowned, vaguely feeling that things were somewhat exceeding her expectations.

But she didn’t dwell on it.

She casually tossed out a magnificent garment and gave the girl a command:

“Take this. Change into it and follow me.”

With that, she turned and left.

Ten minutes later, Syks, her face dark with frustration, pushed the door open, only to be met with the sight of the girl chewing on the clothes.

The expressionless girl glanced at Syks, then turned her attention back to the garment in her mouth.

But no matter how she gnawed at it, the dress remained completely undamaged.

The tailor of this dress deserves a bonus tonight.

It wasn’t until Syks rushed forward and snatched the clothes from the girl’s hands that she finally looked at her again.

“What are you doing!?”

Syks demanded sharply, but the girl remained unmoved, even reaching out to try and snatch the clothes back.

“Stop it!”

Seeing this, Syks’s patience ran out.

Her magic flared, and the puppet spell instantly took control of the girl’s body.

“I told you to put on the clothes, are you deaf?!”

The girl blinked blankly, her lips moved, and after a long moment, she finally pieced together broken, clipped sounds:

“Eat… eat food…”

Only then did Syks belatedly realize.

This substitute, it seemed, had not inherited any of Violet’s memories.

In other words, the one standing before her now was a newborn child who just happened to look identical to Violet.

Which meant that she, the magnificent ninth-tier Sanctuary-level all-element mage, the strongest in the entire Empire, the Pontiff of the Eternal Sect, was now actually going to have to raise a child personally?

She had become a mother?!

“Hehe~ My kin~ That Syks was completely fooled by us~♡”

A slender tentacle drooped down, dangling in front of Violet’s eyes, only to be gently swatted away by her.

“Shh, be quiet!”

“Waah—I’m sorry! (>_<)”

After placating the somewhat restless Nastasia, Violet cautiously crouched and continued to move through the alleys of the Imperial Capital.

And on her head, a palm-sized tentacle monster was coiled up.

If one were to look closely, they would see the twisted and chaotic patterns on the tentacle monster’s body.

And this was Nastasia’s true form.

The Lord Evil God seemed especially concerned for Her first follower, even risking the loss of most of Her power to forcefully break the seal, just to personally stay by her side.

The Imperial Capital was under curfew at night, so patrolling guards could be seen on nearly every street.

However, for Violet, who was “accompanied by an Evil God,” avoiding them was not difficult.

As a player, Violet was incredibly familiar with the Imperial Capital.

She even knew which corners guards would pass by—all experience she had traded her life for.

Finally, after another close call with the guards, Violet saw the city walls of the Imperial Capital.

There was a defensive magic circle above the walls, and the city gates were heavily guarded.

For Violet, who was still just an ordinary person, there was absolutely no way to get through.

However, she was not alone.

“Lord Evil God, can you do me a favor? Teleport me out of here. It doesn’t have to be too far, just outside the detection range of the magic circle.”

“Okay, you can count on me!”

The palm-sized Nastasia excitedly waved Her tentacles.

As Her tentacles swiped through the air, a dark spatial rift slowly formed.

Just as She was about to expand the spatial rift enough for Violet to stand and walk through, she was stopped by Violet’s raised hand:

“Save your strength. If Syks discovers something is wrong, we’ll be able to run farther.”

Saying this, she bent down, intending to crawl through the half-meter-high spatial rift.

Nastasia’s tentacles paused, but She still accepted the suggestion.

There was one thing She didn’t say, which was that Syks was still busy trying to dress the substitute…

The spatial rift was very stable, much more so than any teleportation circle Violet had used in her past life.

When she opened her eyes again, she was already in a dense forest.

Using the moonlight, Violet could vaguely see the towering city walls of the Imperial Capital through the treetops.

Clearly, that single spatial rift had carried her several kilometers.

One had to know that spells related to spatial teleportation generally had astonishing costs.

A third-tier mage in a battle could typically use [Blink]—a fifty-meter displacement—at most three times.

And she had just traveled several kilometers in one go.

An effect like this would require at least a seventh-tier spell to achieve.

Thinking of this, Violet subconsciously raised her hand and made contact with Nastasia’s tentacle.

The touch was cool and soft, like stroking the finest silk.

“Did that use up a lot of your power?”

“Eh? It’s fine! I still have plenty!”

Hearing Violet’s words, Nastasia hurriedly waved Her tentacles to show that She was in good condition.

Where Violet couldn’t see, Nastasia’s tentacles danced, as if expressing Her excitement:

‘Hehe, Her follower worries about Her!’

‘The main god? So what about the main god? Even the main god can’t find a follower this good!’

With this in mind, Nastasia didn’t forget to ask:

“My kin, my kin~ Where are we going now?”

“To Salna Village.”

Violet’s voice was calm, as if she had long anticipated this question:

“If nothing goes wrong, we should see signs of civilization by dawn tomorrow.

There, I will spread your divine name.”