Via found herself standing in a land of green mountains and clear waters.
Brilliant sunlight bathed her body.
She embraced the warm air and felt the incredibly soft grass beneath her feet.
This place felt nothing like the harsh environment the abyss should have.
Instead, it resembled a beautiful painting from a master artist.
“Lord Demon King, am I dreaming?”
Kurei rubbed her eyes.
The sky was actually blue?
Melu stared at the bright blue sky and white clouds with wide eyes.
It was her first time seeing such a scene.
After all, the sky over the Desolate Fallen Continent was always a gloomy gray.
“This is an independent space created by the all-powerful Lady Sashaya, the Abyssal Demoness!”
Desolate Fire explained.
“Lady Sashaya is exceptionally skilled in spatial magic.
Opening up a personal space even deep within the abyss is nothing difficult for her!”
“It looks so much like the outside world,”
Via said with emotion.
“The outside world?
I created this based on how the Desolate Fallen Continent looked in the past,”
Sashaya replied.
“Lady Sashaya, are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?
The Desolate Fallen Continent is nothing like this,”
Via said, thinking the other woman was joking.
In the perception of demonkin, the Desolate Fallen Continent was a desolate and barren land.
“It seems you truly don’t understand.”
“I have no obligation to explain anything to ignorant little minnows.
Talking too much with minnows will only infect me and turn me into one as well!”
Sashaya was extremely arrogant and had zero intention of elaborating on her words.
Via felt a bit speechless.
She quietly asked her demonic blade, “Desolate Fire, does she not have any friends?”
“How could she possibly have any, Lord Demon King?”
Desolate Fire replied in a low voice.
“You saw how she occasionally rambles nonsense to me.
She must have been holding it in for far too long.
With that kind of personality, who could stand being around her?
She’s way too narcissistic and looks down on everyone.”
Desolate Fire snickered.
“Hehe, if it weren’t for me—”
“Hey!
I can hear every single word of your little private conversation!”
Sashaya was clearly displeased.
“Everyone in this world loves the Abyssal Demoness!
How dare you badmouth the greatest witch right in front of me?”
“The Abyssal Demoness is loved by all, and flowers bloom wherever she goes~”
Desolate Fire laughed awkwardly.
“I’ll pass on that.
I don’t really like being overly popular.”
Sashaya led Via and the others to the front of a manor.
The manor doors opened, and a group of fluffy dolls came running out.
“Lady Sashaya!
Lady Sashaya!”
The little creatures surrounded Sashaya, raising their hands and waving excitedly while calling out her name.
These adorable dolls could actually speak.
“Mm, I’m back.
I’ve brought some guests.”
Sashaya set down her staff and took off her oversized hat and robe.
The dolls caught them together, carrying her belongings into the manor house.
Some of the dolls also ran over to Via’s group.
“Welcome, guests!
Welcome, guests!”
the dolls shouted in unison.
Meow?
Little Ha looked at the dolls with great curiosity.
“Dolls that can talk?”
Kurei found it incredibly unbelievable, her eyes sparkling.
“They seem to be familiars, but there are way too many of them!”
Melu knew that many mages could command their own familiars.
However, most familiars were living creatures.
Since they could generate their own mana, they reduced the burden on the mage.
For this reason, mages usually didn’t have too many familiars.
Yet all of Sashaya’s familiars were dolls.
They only consumed mana and produced none, and their numbers were ridiculously large.
Just from this alone, one could tell how powerful the Abyssal Demoness truly was.
“Let me tell you, Lady Sashaya’s self-care ability is actually quite terrible.
She relies heavily on these familiars,”
Desolate Fire proactively explained to the others.
“These familiars each have different responsibilities.
Not only can they not cook or do laundry, they handle all her daily needs.
That’s why there are so many of them!”
However, this act of exposing her secrets made Sashaya extremely unhappy.
“…Desolate Fire, I’m warning you.
If you run your mouth any more, I’ll throw you into the deepest part of the abyss, where you’ll never see sunlight again and can only keep the abyssal beasts company.”
“Don’t!
I won’t say another word!”
Desolate Fire immediately covered her mouth.
Via silently agreed in her heart.
Desolate Fire was great in every way, except she had a mouth that never stayed shut.
If she couldn’t speak, she would probably be the most perfect Legendary weapon in the world.
Hehe~ Hehe~ Hehe~
The dolls carried out tables and chairs, working together to quickly set up a tea seating area in the manor’s garden.
Other dolls brought out tea and snacks, stacking them high before placing everything neatly on the table.
They arranged the tableware in front of each seat.
There were exactly five seats—enough for Via, Kurei, Melu, Desolate Fire, and Sashaya.
“Alright, let’s talk here!”
Sashaya sat down first and invited the outsiders to join her.
“Then we won’t stand on ceremony.”
Via nodded and took a seat.
The others followed suit.
“Let’s get straight to the point.
I don’t want to waste time on boring pleasantries.”
After taking a sip of red tea, Sashaya stared intently at Via.
“Via, you’ve successfully caught my attention and sparked my strong interest.
I want to study you.”
“Lady Sashaya, you’re being quite blunt, aren’t you?”
“As a mixed-blood between human and demonkin, you don’t even have Transcendent-tier strength, yet you can control abyssal aura and even convert it into Abyssal Force.
Just these facts alone have filled me with intense curiosity.
I desperately want to know how you managed to do all this.”
“Well, about that…”
“I want to study you.
You have research value.”
Sashaya narrowed her eyes.
She displayed a determined attitude toward Via.
This was precisely why she had made an exception and invited these outsiders into her manor.
“Lady Sashaya, these words of yours are really dangerous.
They make me quite uneasy.”
Via continued to negotiate with Sashaya.
She understood very well that her current actions were akin to a lamb walking into a tiger’s den.
“So, what is your demand?
You wouldn’t have come looking for me just to make small talk.
You must have some goal in mind.”
Sashaya saw through Via’s intentions.
“Although you’ve reincarnated as a weak little minnow, I don’t think you’re stupid enough to throw yourself at me for nothing.”
“Tell me.
What do you want?”
“My request is very simple.”
After a moment of silence, Via spoke with an extremely serious attitude, uttering simple and straightforward words.
“—Become stronger.”