Chapter 8: You'll Marry Me, Right?
"These tasks... not a single one is doable..."
Holding the mobile phone and looking at the list of achievements on the screen, which were filled with a pinkish aura, Lilith felt that her future was bleak.
"Am I supposed to kiss this guy?"
"No way! I'm a straight man! I wouldn't do something that disgusting even if I were starving to death!"
"As for the other tasks... they're even harder. None of them can be completed immediately."
Lilith stared at the screen with a frown, her facial features practically scrunched together in distress.
Seeing her constipated expression, Asmodeus, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but ask,
"What's wrong? Did the magical artifact fail? Can't produce food?"
"Uh..."
Lilith bit her lip and didn't answer.
But soon, her peripheral vision caught the third achievement on the list—
[Achievement: Abyss Bride] Condition: Have Abyssal Demon King Asmodeus, take the initiative to propose to you and officially become his fiancée. Reward: 5,000 system coins.
In a flash, a spark of inspiration struck her mind.
"Wait... this seems to have some room for maneuver?"
"It's just a verbal promise anyway, and we don't have to consummate the marriage right away. Maybe I can... trick him and get the money first?!"
Thinking of this, Lilith took a deep breath, and instantly, her inner drama queen took over.
She turned around, looked up at Asmodeus with a deeply resentful gaze, as if she had been abandoned by a heartless man, and asked with a trembling voice,
"De... Demon Lord... you'll marry me, right?"
"Hmm?"
As soon as these words were spoken, even the calm Asmodeus was stunned for a moment, a rare look of surprise appearing on his face.
"Marry you? You want to become my queen?"
"Uh..."
Lilith seemed to hesitate for a moment.
But for the sake of a hot meal, just a second later, she threw her male dignity to the wind and righteously puffed out her ample chest.
"Of... of course! I'm the one who's going to bear your children! I'm also from the Succubus Royal Clan! Even if you're the Demon Lord, you can't be so heartless and ungrateful, can you?"
"If you don't give me a formal status, when the child is born and asks who their father is, am I supposed to say he's a heartless man who abandoned us after just holding hands? Waaah, my life is so miserable..."
As she spoke, she even fake-wiped away a couple of tears.
"This..."
Asmodeus was a bit dazed by this rapid-fire barrage.
Although he felt something was off, the traditions of the Demon Race did indeed value bloodlines and promises.
Since the other party was carrying his offspring, it seemed only right to grant her a corresponding status.
He thought for a moment, and seeing Lilith's "if you don't agree, I'll cry myself to death" posture, he could only sigh helplessly.
"Fine, since you care so much about status."
He paused and made a solemn promise.
"Once I break the seal, kill all those hypocritical races, and rebuild my Abyssal Empire... I will crown you as my Queen, the only Queen of the Demon Realm!"
"Wow~"
Seeing Asmodeus's serious face, Lilith's eyes lit up.
"You're serious, right? You won't go back on your word, right?"
"I am the Demon Lord; I never lie."
Asmodeus said proudly.
"Good, it's a deal!"
Lilith instantly stopped her tears, grabbed Asmodeus's large hand with a beaming smile, and shook it vigorously.
"So from now on, I'm your fiancée~"
"Yes, that's correct."
Asmodeus nodded seriously. Immediately after, the system's heavenly notification sounded from the mobile phone.
[Ding! Detected that Asmodeus has made a betrothal promise.]
[Achievement 'Abyss Bride' completed! Reward issued: 5,000 system coins.]
"Hahaha! I'm rich!"
Inside, Lilith was jumping for joy!
She couldn't wait to open the mall and unhesitatingly bought a bowl of Braised Beef Noodles, even grandly adding a marinated egg!
In the next second, a bowl of freshly prepared noodles suddenly appeared in a flash of holy light. Lilith only had to reach out her small hand to take it, leaving Asmodeus in a state of surprise.
As for the engagement?
"Heh, who cares about that?"
As Lilith tore open the lid of the instant noodles, she schemed in her heart.
"He's a big demon who's been sealed for hundreds of years. Re-ruling the world? Keep dreaming! Even if he could actually do it, who knows how many years it would take!"
"Besides... hehe, the Hero is my dear brother! Defeating the Demon Lord is his destiny and duty. When Old Song reaches max level and comes over to kill this Demon Lord with one strike, won't this engagement be automatically voided?"
"So smart! I'm a genius! Ahahaha~"
*Slurp~*
While she was thinking, Lilith had already started eating the delicious Braised Beef Noodles.
In the dark dungeon labyrinth, a very dominant and tempting aroma of industrial seasoning drifted through the air.
The succubus girl sat comfortably on the Black Crystal Coffin, her two smooth little feet dangling in the air, swinging happily, her face overflowing with a pink glow of happiness.
"It smells so good... sob... this is the taste of being alive..."
As she ate, Lilith sighed emotionally in her heart.
Asmodeus didn't care at first.
But as that strange aroma entered his nostrils, his Adam's apple, which hadn't moved for hundreds of years, actually rolled uncontrollably.
So, the Demon Lord opened his eyes, leaned in out of curiosity, stared at the strangely colored paper bucket in Lilith's hand, sniffed the scent, and couldn't help but ask,
"What kind of food is this? Why is the smell so unique?"
"Hmm?"
Lilith looked up with half a noodle hanging from her mouth.
Seeing the Demon Lord's look of someone who hadn't seen much of the world, the corners of her mouth curled up, and she immediately put on a smug, punchable expression.
"Hehe~ want some?"
She deliberately pulled the noodle bucket back a bit, swinging her feet while smiling sarcastically.
"Doesn't the Great Demon Lord not need to eat? Can't you live for hundreds of years just by drinking the northwest wind?"
Asmodeus didn't get angry at this. He just stared at the red soup and said calmly,
"I do not need to eat, but that does not mean I have no sense of taste. I simply feel that... this thing smells acceptable, so I wish to taste it."
"Tsk tsk, that's a bit of a problem then~"
Lilith shook her small head, her playful heart-shaped tail drawing an arc behind her as she continued to push her luck.
"Summoning such delicious food requires a huge price! How can I just give it to someone else? Unless... unless your attitude is a bit more... eh?"
Lilith couldn't finish her sentence.
Because the surrounding air suddenly froze!
A chill surged from the soles of her feet to her back, causing her heart-shaped tail, which had been swaying, to suddenly tighten and wrap around her waist—a terrifying pressure that seemed to crush the soul descended instantly!
Asmodeus leaned in with a dark expression, a dangerous light flashing in his crimson eyes.
He looked down at the woman, his domineering and cold gaze like that of someone looking at a reckless ant.
"What about my attitude?"
He asked in a deep voice.
So, in the next second.
*Thud—*
Lilith slid down from the coffin with extreme smoothness, prostrating herself on the ground in a standard 'dogeza' posture, holding the instant noodles high above her head with both hands, her voice loud.
"I'm sorry, Master! Please enjoy it to your heart's content!"
"Hmph, that's more like it."
The pressure dissipated.
As a succubus, instinct would make Lilith involuntarily submit to powerful demons and strong males, much like humans are driven by hormones. It just so happened that Asmodeus fit both categories.
So even if Asmodeus was just putting on an act to scare her, she would still lie on the ground trembling.
"So... such terrifying pressure..."
"For a moment just now, I felt like I was going to die... like I'd be killed in the next second!"
"Uh... uh?!"
"Wh... why are my legs so weak... my heart is beating so fast... I can't stand up?!"
Thinking this, a strange pink flush appeared on Lilith's cheeks, though it was unclear if it was from humiliation or something else.
On the other side, Asmodeus calmly took the instant noodles, then elegantly picked up the fork and took a bite.
"Hmm..."
The Demon Lord's brow gradually relaxed.
"The taste is not bad. It has a special aroma within the spiciness, and the noodles are quite chewy. As food, it is acceptable."
After taking a bite, he handed the instant noodles back to Lilith.
"I'm giving it back to you, Little Meow."
"Ah?"
Lilith was stunned. Looking at the fork the Demon Lord had used, she said weakly,
"If... if you want to eat, then just eat it all. You don't have to give it back..."
"No."
Asmodeus put his hands behind his back, returning to his cold and aloof state.
"I said, I do not need to eat. I was just curious to taste it. You are carrying my offspring and need nutrition, so you should be the one to finish it."
As he spoke, Asmodeus turned around.
But Lilith keenly noticed that the Demon Lord's eyes were still involuntarily glancing at the instant noodle bucket, and he even quietly swallowed some saliva.
"..."
"This guy clearly wants to eat, doesn't he?"
"I didn't realize he was actually a tsundere..."
"Tsk."
Lilith sighed.
Although this guy was a perverted Demon Lord, he had just saved her life after all, and now that the two of them were trapped here, they could be considered cellmates depending on each other.
After some consideration, Lilith opened the mall again and spent another 5 coins to buy a bucket of Old Tan Pickled Cabbage flavor.
"Here, for you."
She reached out her small hand and handed the newly bought instant noodles to Asmodeus.
"Hmm?"
Asmodeus was stunned, so Lilith explained impatiently,
"Hmph, I'd feel bad eating alone, so I'll give you a portion too."
Lilith turned her head away and said a bit awkwardly,
"Just consider it my treat."
A cute, beautiful, and sexy succubus loli was now handing precious food to her master with one hand. Anyone who saw such a scene would be moved, right?
But Asmodeus frowned, seemingly puzzled by this equal gift.
"Your entire being, along with your soul, is my property. Your things are naturally mine, so how can you call it a 'treat'?"
"Oh, I get it, I get it! So annoying!"
Lilith crossly shoved the instant noodles directly into his hand.
"Stop talking so much and just eat! If you don't eat, I'll have to throw it away!"
"This?"
Asmodeus held the warm instant noodles, silent for a second, before the corners of his mouth curled into an imperceptible arc.
"Since you are so sincere in your offering, I shall reluctantly accept it."
And so.
In the dark and terrifying ninth floor of the labyrinth, a very bizarre yet harmonious scene appeared.
A cold Demon Lord in black formal wear and a white-haired succubus in a gothic puff-sleeve dress sat side-by-side on the pitch-Black Crystal Coffin, one tall and one short, each with a bucket of instant noodles in hand, slurping in perfect unison.
*Slurp—*
*Slurp—*
...Ten minutes later.
Asmodeus, who had finished even the last drop of soup, put down the paper bucket and elegantly wiped his mouth.
He looked up at the dim light at the top of the dungeon and said in a deep voice,
"It's getting late today. We should rest early."
"Rest?"
Lilith was licking the yogurt lid, which she had bought on a whim. Hearing this, she asked curiously,
"This ghost of a place doesn't distinguish between day and night. How do you tell the time?"
"Based on the monster's respawn time."
Asmodeus raised an eyebrow and explained patiently,
"Although the Abyssal Watcher was scattered by me, it respawns once every day. So before it respawns next time to cause trouble, we need to ensure at least one period of sleep to recover our energy."
"Oh."
Lilith agreed nonchalantly, threw away the yogurt lid, and patted her stomach.
"Fine, let's sleep then... hmm? Wait?"
As she spoke, she suddenly realized a serious problem and abruptly turned her head to look at the empty rocky cave around them.
"That's all well and good, but Demon Lord, where are we supposed to sleep? There's nothing here but rocks and this coffin. We don't even have bedding."
*Thump thump—*
Hearing this, Asmodeus reached out and naturally patted the cold, hard, narrow Black Crystal Coffin beneath his buttocks.
"Isn't this the bed?"
Then, he pointed to an underground river not far away that was emitting a chilly air.
"Now that you're full, go wash up in that underground river. Once you're clean, come sleep in here in a bit."
"As my fiancée and servant, you need to serve me in bed."
..."What do you mean by that?"