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Suddenly, everything stopped as if God had pressed the pause button. All non-living things abruptly came to a halt.

The shockwave and burst of flame from the explosion stopped mere inches away from Lilith’s cheek, like a breathtaking crimson rose in full bloom.

Before Lilith could fully appreciate the divine spectacle, a small figure moved at an abnormal speed and collided with her back.

“Cornelia?”
“Mommy!”

CRACK.

Lilith’s face immediately paled as a distinct noise of her bone shifting out of place echoed through the air.

“M-My spine…!!!”
“Mommy… Mommy …… Mommy, mommy…”
“S-Stop howling. I know you’re excited, but can you let me go first? If you keep this up, your beautiful and charming Mommy will end up spending the remainder of her life in a wheelchair!”
“Eeeyah?”

Cornelia blinked and released Lilith, tilting her head in confusion, as if pondering why Lilith had said that. However, she quickly gave up thinking and approached Lilith with small steps, her arms wide open and her face beaming with a bright smile.

“Mommy, hug.”

Lilith took a deep breath while holding her waist as she glared at the demanding young girl in front of her.

“No.”

CRACK.

“Owww, owww! I knew you wouldn’t listen! Didn’t I tell you not to use any divine power when hugging someone? What if you accidentally flatten this 36D of mine?” Lilith lectured Cornelia sternly while peeling the little girl off her, then pulled her cheeks as hard as she could.

Cornelia hung her head like a guilty child and replied meekly, “Cornelia… happy to see… Mommy…”

Lilith hit Cornelia hard on the head and said, “Not even when you’re happy! If it’s unbearable for me, imagine what would happen to others if you use your power like that when you’re happy! You could kill them.”

Like a frightened kitten, Cornelia curled up into a ball and whimpered. She pitifully raised her head and looked up at Lilith with her big, watery eyes, as if pleading for forgiveness.

Lilith sighed in defeat and stopped reprimanding Cornelia.

This was not the first or second time that it had happened, and Lilith had already become accustomed to it. Moreover, Cornelia could not be held responsible for losing control of her power during her mood swings.

It was an expected side effect when a child attempted to wield god-like powers that could destroy the world.

If anyone were to be held accountable for this, it would be the Dragon Eater who had reduced her into this state.

Lilith rubbed her sore waist and stiffly moved her body, occasionally hearing the crunching noises of her joints.

Thankfully, her misaligned spine got fixed. Otherwise, trying to shift it back into place with her muscles would have been excruciatingly painful.

In general, Lilith would rather break a bone than have one misaligned.

Speaking of which ……

“Why are you here? Weren’t you sleeping with Lesiah and the others?”

Lilith looked at Cornelia from head to toe and asked with a hint of uncertainty in her voice, “Did you… grow a little?”

“Eeeeyah?”

Cornelia tilted her little head in confusion.

“Never mind, that’s a stupid question.”

Despite saying that, Lilith was becoming increasingly convinced that Cornelia had indeed grown a little after taking a nap.

Previously, Cornelia could only utter basic phrases like “Mommy, Mommy”, but now, her vocabulary had expanded a little.

Not only that, her powers used to be destructive, but now she could freeze time.

This was a significant growth in a short amount of time.

“Is this a good thing… or a bad thing?”

Lilith narrowed her eyes and looked at Cornelia warily as she wondered if this was a good or bad development.

For most people, growth was usually something worth celebrating for. However, Cornelia… was a different case.

After all, she was the deity who had a blood feud with the Dragon Eater inside of Lilith.

As Cornelia continued to grow and eventually regained her memory, how would she treat Lilith?

There was a high chance that she would stop babbling or seek her mother’s attention, but instead…

“Doll!”

Lilith’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Cornelia’s excited outburst.

“Doll, doll!”
“Why are you yelling? What doll?”
“That one, that one,” Cornelia yelled, pointing not far away.
“Ah, what a coincidence to see you here again.”

It was Lacey, who was on his tiptoes, trying to sneak away quietly.

As he was caught in the act, he squeezed a smile, but it ended up looking worse than his crying face.

“Both of you must have not seen each other for a long time. I’ll leave you two to your conversation and disappear from your sight now. Please excuse me.”

Lacey only managed to take two steps when he suddenly found himself being held back by an invisible force, unable to move.

“Doll, talk, run, fly. Toy, I like,” Cornelia said while tugging on the hem of Lilith’s blouse and chattering like a little sparrow.

Lilith observed the expressions on Cornelia and Lacey’s face. Cornelia looked like an excited child who had just received a birthday present. On the other hand, Lacey paled and looked as if he had been sentenced to life in prison.

Lilith’s mind raced as she tried to piece together the puzzle. She then finally figured out the reason why Lacey had fallen from the sky and the appearance of Cornelia.

She had suspected from the beginning that Lacey was seeking revenge against her by targeting Lesiah, but unfortunately, it seemed that he had run into this mischievous girl along the way.

“You like that doll?” Lilith pointed at Lacey and asked with a smirk.

“Yes.” Cornelia nodded her head vigorously.

“Then, he’ll be yours from now on.”

“Eeeyah?” Cornelia tilted her head in confusion as she wondered why her mother had to repeat that when she had already given Cornelia the doll as a present. Even so, Cornelia’s doubt quickly disappeared as her eyes crinkled into a smile. She then reached out and took Lacey into her arms.

“Let go of me… Let go of me!” Lacey struggled violently, but it was all in vain. Cornelia’s loving embrace could overpower even Lilith, let alone a little doll like himself.

Lilith leaned into Lacey and grinned. “Welcome to the family, Mr. Lacey. We’ll take good care of you.”
“Who wants to be part of your family, you flat demon!”
“Ah, it seems like Mr. Lacey still doesn’t fully understand his current situation.”
“Ah! My eyes, my eyes!”

Lilith withdrew her two fingers with a smirk and stood up straight.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. We have all the time in the world. You will soon understand the consequences of repeatedly pushing my boundaries.”

Color immediately drained from Lacey’s face.

Lilith kindly patted his soft head and said gently, “Don’t worry… I won’t take it too far with you. At least… I’ll make sure to keep you alive…”

Lacey’s eyes lit up a little…

In the next moment, the light in his eyes was gently extinguished by Lilith. “After all, you are now an important toy for Cornelia~”

Lilith stretched her body. Although there was no intense battle, she felt even more exhausted than the time she fought with Cornelia.

“Well, we’re done here. Let’s go and meet up with Lesiah and the others.” She kicked Kieran, who was still bewildered by the frozen time, to bring him back to reality, and then took Cornelia’s little hand.

“Come no, let’s go.”

“Eeeyah!” Cornelia skipped beside Lilith, swinging her new toy in hand.

“Wait, something doesn’t seem right. I feel like I’m forgetting something.” After taking two steps, Lilith suddenly stopped and scanned the surroundings.

But… What is it?

Lilith could not figure it out, no matter how hard she racked her brain.

Lacey is in Cornelia’s arms, and the explosion has been stopped thanks to the time freeze. What other crisis could there possibly be?

In any case, it was extremely assuring to have Cornelia around. After all, she was an ally with a sky-high realm.

Perhaps it was all her imagination.

Lilith shook her head vigorously, trying to clear her thoughts before she continued walking.

Cornelia, having accomplished her objective, adhered to her mother’s teachings of keeping her divine power in check at all times.

As a result, time began to flow once more.