"Great, AI-chan is very satisfied with this Gift."
Algol put away her small mirror, looking at Aslan with eyes full of enthusiasm. "So, can AI-chan get beauty treatments every day? I'll agree to any request you make."
Hearing this, Aslan couldn't stop the corner of his mouth from twitching.
Any request sounded tempting, and Aslan admitted he was slightly tempted, but he restrained himself.
"No way. Once a week at most, no more."
(Did she think maintaining the Spark was cost-free? Was a Star Spirit's physique that easy to modify? Helping her with one beauty treatment already required massive consumption, got it?)
A great power that could be used to create worlds was being used by Algol for beauty treatments. Aslan could practically hear his Spark wailing.
"Once a week is fine too."
Algol muttered softly, her tone still showing slight dissatisfaction. But she also knew now wasn't the time to push for more. She looked at Aslan's face with a hint of greed in her heart. Once she was free, she'd definitely tie him to her side and make him give her beauty treatments every day.
After all, since her failure in challenging the gods and Buddhas across three thousand worlds, Algol had stopped caring about almost everything. Aside from her appearance, nothing else mattered to her.
Somehow, Aslan felt a chill down his spine, as if someone with malicious intent was targeting him.
Aslan looked at her suspiciously and asked, "Algol, were you just thinking something not so nice?"
"Hey, Aslan, how about I tie that ugly woman Athena to your bed? Can you change the frequency to every three days? Every five days would work too."
Algol cleverly dodged Aslan's question and tried to negotiate.
Once a week was too long; she was a bit impatient to wait.
Her demonic instincts told her that beauty was the best way to deal with Aslan. And for seducing with beauty, no one was better than Athena. Her status was noble, her power strong, and she had widespread popularity. Aside from being less beautiful than Algol and a bit petty, Athena was perfect for seduction.
Hearing this, Aslan was left speechless.
How many drinks had Algol had? Was she drunk? He had to stop Algol's madness. If she kept spouting nonsense, who knew what other filthy words she'd say?
"You'd better wait until you're free and regain your power."
"And for the beauty issue, once a week, no more." Aslan said with a hint of firmness.
Hearing his non-negotiable tone, Algol waved her hand boredly.
"Fine, so be it. But is it really non-negotiable?" She still wanted to push a bit more.
"No way. Don't think this ability is easy to use."
Though it was nominally said that the beauty ritual was created for his Spark, in reality, it was an advanced application of the Spark developed by Little Garden's Central Core with Aslan's assistance. It was a stage after Aslan fully mastered the Spark's creative power—the power of evolution that drove world evolution.
After all, a Star Spirit's physique was extremely difficult to alter. Star Spirits were beings born by gathering the possibilities of stars from infinite worlds. They were born with a Star Body exclusive to Three-Digit beings.
The evolution of stars is very slow, making the growth of Star Spirits equally slow. Changing a Star Spirit's physique is even harder. Insufficiently sophisticated powers couldn't even affect a Star Spirit.
For Algol, ordinary beauty products were no longer enough to make her more beautiful. Only persistent treatment over thousands of years might slightly change her appearance.
That's why Algol was so interested in Aslan's beauty treatment ability. After all, it was truly unique in Little Garden. How could she not be tempted? It saved her thousands of years.
"Alright, it's time for my mask. AI-chan's going back for her beauty treatment." Seeing Aslan's firm, non-negotiable stance, Algol lost interest.
Hearing this, Aslan, expressionless, watched Algol's figure disappear. "By the way, are there masks in Athena's seal?"
Aslan sank into thought. With the Demon Star's permission, he shifted his gaze to the Demon Star on his wrist. He saw a mask production line, demons used to produce various cosmetic raw materials, and various machines transformed from demons.
Aslan was speechless.
(My goodness, can Demon Authority be used like this? It can only be said that it's indeed Algol.)
(She put in so much effort, modifying demons, altering the environment, just to produce cosmetics for herself.)
Aslan couldn't quite comprehend Algol's thinking.
Seriously, could Algol use all that? Why not just sell it?
Wasteful, truly wasteful!
[…You're no better!]
Little Garden's Central Core silently observed the interaction between Aslan and Algol. The corner of its mouth couldn't help but twitch.
How could these two be so unexpectedly compatible? Both were equally abstract.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
After discussing with Algol, Aslan calmly looked around at the prisoners in the Prison Barrier.
"So, how about it, my lab rats?"
The prisoners in the Prison Barrier stared at Aslan with lingering fear. They didn't even dare move.
They were terrified that if they moved, their bodies would give birth to those demons again.
"Don't be scared, friends. I just messed up the experiment earlier. Don't worry, next time, I'll definitely succeed in turning you into demons."
What, there's a next time?
Instantly, the Prison Barrier became even quieter than before.
"Kill me, just kill me!" A nobleman with a top hat shouted in despair.
Feeling that twisted, chaotic creature, not of this world, gestating in his body and tearing through his chest had caused irreversible damage to his soul.
"Hmm… looks like this lab rat's soul has some issues?" Aslan looked at the nobleman, seemingly a dragon-slayer descendant, and showed a gentle smile, like a responsible doctor. "In that case, let's restore his soul too."
A snap of his fingers, and the nobleman with the top hat returned to normal.
"Alright, who else has mental issues? I can heal them all at once."
Aslan showed a very responsible, gentle smile, but seeing that smile, even the prisoners with strong mental fortitude felt a chill run through their bodies.
At this moment, they vaguely suspected—how many times had this happened?
"No escape, no way out. This is truly hell…" A captivating woman slumped on the ground, showing a foolish expression.
She was a descendant of the Third Primogenitor, Gigliola Ghirardi.
"Have you given up on unnecessary struggles?"
Aslan spoke gently to the remaining prisoners still holding on, including Aya, who hadn't undergone the experiment.
However, Aya didn't dare move in response to Aslan's words. She didn't even dare breathe. Meanwhile, Gigliola, who had just collapsed in despair, immediately shifted to a kneeling position and said in fear, "Please, let me go. I'll give you anything you want!" She began removing her clothes, like a sow whose soul had crumbled.
At this moment, Aslan slightly raised his eyebrows and said calmly, "You're a descendant of Giada?"
"Yes, yes. I'm a descendant of Her Excellency Chaos Bride's confidant." Gigliola, as if seeing hope for survival, quickly tried to establish a connection. "Do you know Her Excellency Chaos Bride?"
At this moment, Aslan said in a cold tone, "You've disgraced her."
The pleasing smile on Gigliola's face froze. A gentle breeze blew, and time seemed to stop flowing, frozen in place.
Aslan, holding Natsuki, turned and looked at the last person, Tokoyogi Aya.
Seeing her, Aslan smiled. "Alright, the unimportant people won't move anymore. Now we should be able to talk properly."
After saying that, Aslan paused, as if suddenly remembering something. He lowered his head and looked down at the prison. "Almost forgot, they haven't been dealt with."
He referred to the prisoners whose souls had been shattered, even though Aslan had restored their physical condition after they gave birth to demons. After saying this, he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.
Instantly, time began flowing backward, returning to the moment Aslan had just turned the Prison Barrier into a Magic: The Gathering card. But time still didn't flow, frozen at that moment.
Aya watched everything with cold eyes, still acting as if it had nothing to do with her. However, deep in her heart, she couldn't help but mourn for her fellow prisoners. They might never escape this prison.
"A bit troublesome, but no matter. The talk can officially begin. I assume you have no objections, right?"
Aya's eyelids twitched as she looked at Natsuki, who seemed slightly nervous, then at Aslan, holding her. She said without a change in tone, "No objections."
"Very good."
Aslan hugged Natsuki tighter and smiled at Aya. "My purpose in seeking you out is simple."
"I think you're pretty decent, and my house lacks a maid."
"So… be my test subject or my maid."
"A very simple choice. Pick one?" Aslan looked at Aya, showing her a friendly smile.
"So you mean?"
Aya's heart sank to the bottom.