Adventure World Online (AWO)

The dazzling flashes of lightning stunned all of Chang Long's companions. With Lucifer's wailing as background noise, the sheer force of the magic gave everyone chills down their spines. The skill seemed to stretch on endlessly—until the user released it, ran out of mana, or until the victim was dead.

But with Chang Long--her mana was not running dry anytime soon. She had a mana-boosting ring and a dragon's cultivation that granted her an extra thousand points of mana. Unless she deactivated the spell herself, Lucifer would be fried to death long before her power ran out.

It seemed Chang Long did not want Lucifer to die easily. She released the skill, and the rampaging goat-beast's massive body dropped to the ground with a thunderous thud. His limbs twitched uncontrollably. Lucifer tried several times to get back on his feet, but each time, his convulsing body gave out, and he collapsed again. He could not move as he wished.

His eyes, however, burned with hate—locked unwaveringly on Chang Long. She walked toward him, intending to offer him a chance to surrender peacefully. After all, he was just a little kid. But then came the words from his trembling, battered lips—words that made the usually composed Reaper King twitch.

"Y... You. F... Fried Egg Boobs!"

SMACK.

A majestic foot slammed right into Lucifer's mouth, sending his head snapping sideways with a loud crack. That kick probably gave him whiplash. Chang Long's anti-goat-mouth kick left Lucifer stunned. He had not expected anyone to dare insult him this badly. Slowly, the giant goat head turned back toward her, fury and disbelief blazing in his eyes.

"That was too much! I... I'm the Demon Lord. The ruler of the underworld. I... I'll never forgive this!"

"Still not ready to surrender? I let you out of the spell to give you a chance."

Chang Long's voice was cold and emotionless. She looked him in the eye—this so-called demon overlord of hell—with not a flicker of fear in her face.

"W... Who'd surrender to you, you Fried Egg Boobs!"

SMACK.

The more he argued, the more he got kicked. Devi-chan and the rest of the crew sat watching silently, not daring to interfere. So, this was what waiting for the signal meant? Were they supposed to jump in and help with the goat beatdown Chang Long was dishing out? Anya, having never seen Chang Long in full sadist mode before, was visibly stunned. Usually, their master fought cleanly—none of this kicking-your-opponent-in-the-mouth-until-they-shut-up kind of tormenting method.

Time passed, and finally, the loudmouthed goat stopped talking. His convulsing body lay still, eyes locked on Chang Long, seemingly too scared to even twitch, lest he earn another foot to the face.

"Well? My foot's starting to hurt. Are you ready to surrender now?"

Her utterly deadpan voice made Lucifer shoot her a side-eye full of resentment. He looked as if he wanted to complain—You kicked me so hard my lips are swollen and bleeding, and my jaw's out of alignment, and you're the one complaining about sore feet. I haven't even said anything about it.

When no answer came from Lucifer's too mangled to open mouth, Chang Long raised her foot again as if to give him another round of kicking. The great goat-beast, who was really just a five-year-old child, widened his eyes in terror. That foot was coming for him again—and it was aiming right at his mouth.

He did not want to take it anymore. This was not a fight of strength. Chang Long was abusing him with foot-to-mouth combat while he could not even move. The Calamity Thunder had left his body numb and heavy, completely unable to retaliate despite his will. His jaw hurt too much to chant any spells, and trying to move was still impossible.

"W...WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~"

The giant goat burst into tears. Chang Long, poised mid-kick, nearly tripped over herself in surprise. Even the others who had been watching in silence were left utterly speechless. The terrifying image of Lucifer the Ancient Beast was now completely shattered—for the second time—right before their eyes. There he was, bawling like a child on the floor.

"What the heck. Lucifer's crying his eyes out."

Killer stood slack-jawed.

"I can't believe this..."

Murder shook his head, visibly unable to process what he was seeing. Meanwhile, Chang Long's minions all nodded as if to say he had it coming. To them, anyone who dared speak so disrespectfully to their master deserved more than just a kick to the mouth. In fact, that was being generous.

"Y... you!"

Chang Long looked at Lucifer uncertainly. For the first time in her life, she had made a child cry—and even someone as cold-blooded as her did not know what to do.

"Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! You crazy fried-egg-boobs! How could you do this to me? Hic, hic."

Lucifer, still in his massive goat form, cried and ranted at the same time, his face a mess of tears and snot. It was a pitiful sight.

"I was almost starting to feel sorry for you, but if you call me that again, I'll hit you with Calamity Thunder until you're fried to a crisp."

Chang Long's voice dropped to an icy threat. Lucifer froze, stunned, then burst out bawling even louder than before.

"Oh, for heaven's sake..."

Chang Long let out a sigh and dropped to sit on the floor, watching the crying goat. Then she reached into her bag, pulling out a few items: an unused demon puppet with no spirit bound to it, an old roll of bandages, and a single incense stick. After a moment of thought, she lit the incense and began wrapping the bandages around the puppet until it looked like a tiny mummy. Then she used the incense stick to burn eyes and a mouth into the cloth where the puppet's face would be.

Lucifer stopped crying and watched her, intrigued. He stared at the puppet in her hands like it was some rare and wondrous thing. Chang Long raised an eyebrow at him, then at the mummy puppet, and asked in a testing tone:

"You want it?"

Lucifer slowly nodded, unsure if he should want the thing in her hand.

"I'll give it to you—if you behave. No more tantrums, and you surrender."

She extended the puppet a little. Lucifer's hand instinctively reached out, but froze midair when she mentioned surrender. He quickly pulled his hand back and turned his head away in defiance. Chang Long did not give up. She spoke again, deliberately feeding his growing regret and desire:

"This puppet's great, you know. You can cuddle it when you're lonely to make you feel warm, take it anywhere, and it'll never leave you. It always smiles back, no matter what. It's loyal, and always there—smiling for you."

"Lonely..."

Lucifer mumbled, and his monstrous goat form shrank back into that of the five-year-old boy with horns. He looked at the puppet in Chang Long's hands as if it were a friend he had been waiting for so long. Chang Long understood immediately. A child was still a child, no matter how bratty, arrogant, or mean-spirited. Deep down, he was just a lonely kid with a pure heart, waiting for someone to see it.

"Come on. It's not just the doll that can give you warm hugs."

She opened her arms wide, as if waiting for him to come in for a hug. Lucifer stared at her uncertainly. She had Azrael's scent, Azrael's aura, Azrael's sword and outfit—only thing different was--well, she had boobs. He did not want to feel lonely anymore. Azrael had come back, though different in some aspect. Those aspects were what made his brother seem warmer, kinder. At last, Little Lucifer reached out and took the strange mummy-faced puppet. Then, with a bright little smile, he launched himself into Chang Long's embrace.

"Player Chang Long has completed the Hell Dungeon unlocking quest.Players may now enter Hell Dungeon freely to farm experience."

As the party finally began to relax, having completed the quest, Little Lucifer played happily with the puppet Chang Long had given him. Kitsune, Anya, and Brownie joined in the fun. Flatear asked if he could snack on elemental gems, while the twins checked the remaining talismans. Devi-chan pulled out the lunchbox he had gotten from Murder and popped something into his mouth. Hisa-chan wandered over, curious. He had seen how protective Devi-chan had been of that box earlier.

"Hey, Devi-chan, so what did you actually get in your bento box?"

Devi-chan glanced up, smirked, and showed him the contents.

"This," he said, revealing several brown cubes that smelled deliciously sweet.

"Wait, isn't that just some kind of candy?"

Hisa-chan picked up one of the chocolate cubes, eyeing it suspiciously. It did not make sense for Devi-chan to act all secretive over something as simple as candy.

"Well, since you've already picked it up, go on—give it a taste,"

Devi-chan said with a sly grin. The young samurai smiled knowingly, then popped the piece of chocolate into his mouth.

"This is—!"

Hisa-chan exclaimed as he bit into the cube, chewing it into smaller pieces.

"Heh heh heh. Just as you're thinking—whiskey-filled chocolate,"

Devi-chan confirmed, then quickly closed up the chocolate box and stashed it away. If he kept eating and ended up drunk, Chang Long was sure to scold him.

"Big Brother. Before we leave, I want you to meet my substitute."

Little Lucifer spoke up just as Chang Long was preparing to return to the surface.

"You really plan on coming along?"

Chang Long raised a brow. The little demon clung tightly to her hand and nodded firmly. In his heart, he had already resolved never to be separated from his big brother again—even if big brother now had boobs. The kindness made up for it.

"From now on, he'll take care of Hell in my place."

Lucifer pointed toward a dark corner of the room. A moment later, a tall, handsome man appeared—bearing the exact same features as Little Lucifer. Killer and Murder's eyes went wide. This was it. The Lucifer boss form that every boss-hunting player had dreamed of facing. The copy gave a courteous bow to Chang Long, then walked over and sat on the throne in the center of the room.

"Well then, let's go. Who knows what's happened up top while we've been stuck down here—it's been a whole month,"

Chang Long said, rallying the group. They crawled out of Lucifer's secret chamber and made their way back to the gate leading to Hell Dungeon entrance. The system chimed in, asking if they wished to leave Hell Dungeon or return to the twelfth floor.

Upon confirming their exit, the group reappeared near a small door by the harbor. Fierik, the ferryman of the underground waterway, sat waiting in silence like a statue. The moment he spotted Chang Long, he rose and gestured for her to board. When he saw Little Lucifer trailing beside her, a faint, satisfied smile crept across his lips.

The sunlight—though weak—was a welcome sight after so long underground. Everyone rolled on the grass like they had missed it terribly. Over the past month, much had changed in the Land of the Dead. The construction of the restaurant Old Man Furik had insisted must be rushed to completion was finished, already serving the reborn. Curious, Chang Long walked over to take a look, wondering what food in the Land of the Dead might look like—and whether players like her, or AI from the outside world, could even eat it.

"My liege, you've returned from the Hell Dungeon?"

Furik came to greet her, looking visibly more refreshed. He had finally given the Infernal Demons some rest after the backbreaking work to finish the infrastructure. Now, he had time to show Chang Long around the newly completed Floating Heaven Restaurant, which had just opened the day before. Food options were still limited. Since the Land of the Dead was still isolated from the outside world, ingredients mostly came from local sources. Though many looked strange, their flavor was good—and perfectly edible for the living.

"Doesn't seem like there's anything to worry about down here anymore. I'll leave it in your hands, Grandpa. I think it's time I go check on the city aboveground. I left the Dark Elves in charge—I wonder how that's going. If it's doing as well as this place, then that'd be nice."

Chang Long stood from her seat. Little Lucifer's heart sank. His Big Brother was leaving again. No—he would not let her go. No matter what, he would follow her, even if he had to cling to her leg.

"I'm coming with you."

he declared immediately.

"No."

Chang Long shut him down. She was worried he would become a target for other players outside. After all, Lucifer still was an Ancient Beast. Either he would end up being hunted—or worse, he would start killing players, and then she would get stuck with some punishment quest from the GMs, again.

Lucifer's expression fell upon hearing her reasons. But then he perked up with a realization: Kitsune and Flatear were both beast gods, just like him—and they still followed Chang Long around. So, why could he not.

"Those two are pets. They follow me wherever I go, obey every command, and don't act on their own. You want to be like that?".

Chang Long asked. Her explanation made proud little Flatear flinch with shame. But he did not argue. These days, he respected Chang Long far more than before—especially with Kitsune constantly drilling proper manners into him. He had long since learned not to cross certain lines, especially ones that would displease his master.

"Then I'll be your pet too!"

Little Lucifer declared with absolute resolve.

"Ancient Beast, Lucifer, Level 150, wishes to become your pet. Do you, player Chang Long, accept?"

Chang Long stared at him in surprise. Her gaze questioned if he was really sure. But the determined look he gave her in return made her sigh in surrender.

"Yes."

She accepted.

"Player Chang Long has accepted Ancient Beast, Lucifer as her pet. Please assign your pet a name."

She took a moment to think it over. Names like Lu-chan, Fer-chan, or Mini-Lu (Killer's suggestion) did not seem fitting for his status. He was the first pet to willingly offer himself to her. He deserved better. At last, Chang Long came up with one,

"Luther!"