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Although Noelle had given her a decent fake ID for emergencies, and the face on the card actually matched the one she had on currently, Emilia was obviously not very familiar with checking into hotels.
After all, usually she either owned the place she was staying at, was an honored guest, or was breaking in to kill someone. None of these required her to show an ID, so she naturally didn't even notice the receptionist's mistake.
Closing the door to 'her' room, the crimson-haired girl took a moment to admire the heart-shaped bed and romantic lighting before hesitating. "T-This should be good enough, right…?"
Cynthia sighed. "It's fine… I guess. As long as no one else can see or touch you."
"Mhm…"
Based on what she'd learned, Emilia knew that love hotel staff had a special policy of not disturbing the occupants unless called, but she still put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign out and made sure that the door was locked before blocking it with the rather heavy table.
The internet wasn't always accurate, after all, and she could only do her best to prevent any mishaps during her evolution.
She would have used the bed to block the door, too, but… the room had a tiny little corridor past the entrance, and she would have had to snap the 'heart' in half if she really wanted to make it fit in there. Emilia didn't think that would be a very good idea.
'Maybe I should have been more patient and taken care of the evolution before setting off… but then again, there's just so much to do, and so little time.' Emilia sighed.
Anyway, there was no use regretting it now.
Making herself comfortable on the thankfully clean bed, she adjusted her mentality for a few seconds before nodding. "I'm ready."
Cynthia didn't need to be told twice.
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[ Emilia : Void Initiate ]
Ding!
[ Skills ]
-Shapeshift (Available) [ Regular Cooldown: 8 hours ]
— Image Stacks Used: 3
-Follower Summoning…
—Current Followers:
——Cynthia: 5 hours 13 minutes 25 seconds left. (Not Summoned)
==========
—Follower Summoning: Cynthia!
—Cynthia's projection can be sustained for: 5 hours 13 minutes 25 seconds
The charming raven-haired girl in the black gauze dress appeared right by her side and patted her cheek with a grin. "Don't worry too much, I'll watch over you and make sure it won't hurt much."
Before she could even respond, the crimson-haired girl felt her body revert to its original form, and a wave of dizziness struck her mind.
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Energy Reserve: 217.74%
[ Energy requirement fulfilled! ]
[ All missions completed! ]
[ All evolution requirements met… ]
[ Please select an evolution path! ]
- Evolutionary Route 1: Void Initiate → Void Disciple
—Skills to be lost: None
—Skills to be acquired: Unknown
—Maximum energy grade: 2
==========
Emilia wasn't sure if she was just too dizzy, so she couldn't help but reach out to hold Cynthia's hand in confusion, like a little child seeking her mother's help. "W-What's going on…? You're telling me there's a path I have to pick, but there's only one option…?"
Cynthia nodded solemnly. "Of course, this time there's only one, but there might be more in the future. Don't worry, I'll take care of it for you."
The raven-haired girl obviously wasn't stupid enough to tell her villainess that she did it intentionally to see her reaction.
This was one of the few times Emilia would be able to enter a somewhat delirious state with her void physique despite alcohol and poison usually having no effect on her, after all.
"Hehe… those little monkeys will never see her like this."
The crimson-haired girl felt like she heard something and turned to her partner again in confusion, but Cynthia just squeezed her cheek playfully, a mischievous smile on her face. "Close your eyes and focus, will you?"
Emilia could only nod obediently as she felt another wave of dizziness strike her along with a rather annoying ringing sound in her head.
Ding!
[ Evolution to Void Disciple Confirmed! ]
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Even though her consciousness was very fuzzy and she couldn't think very clearly, Emilia tried her best to observe the flow and transformation of both the energy flowing through her as well as her body as best as she could.
Almost as soon as her evolution had been confirmed, Emilia felt like a part of the chaos energy within her body had boiled over and turned into something else, something much more… refined.
She could even feel that it no longer shared the same 'thought process' as the 'lower level' chaos energy, and was even faintly 'rebelling' against being contained within her.
Of course, under Cynthia's control, it was like a three-year-old child trying to break free from her grip. It might be more 'effective' than an infant, but it was still ultimately futile.
It could only obediently flow through the 'channels' that Cynthia had seemingly drawn in an instant over the crimson-haired girl's body, and everywhere it passed through… melted and reformed.
Even though she was focusing on it so hard, Emilia felt more shock than pain, though she wasn't sure how much of it was because of Cynthia 'taking care' of her.
The 'new' muscles and flesh after the reformation were almost twice as strong as what she had before, and even the skin she thought to be flawless before seemed to gain an even more ethereal glow.
Moreover, Emilia felt like these 'changes' weren't limited to just her body. Even her mind seemed to clear up a little more compared to before, as if her thoughts could now flow more smoothly somehow.
'So this is evolution…' Even if it were to hurt a hundred, no, a thousand times more, Emilia felt like she would gladly go through it for such a wonderful transformation!
At the same time, she couldn't help but be amazed. 'To think that I'm still only becoming a 'disciple'… what would it be like to really become an expert in Cynthia's eyes?'
Sometimes, it was really easy to forget that her partner was someone who could mess around with not just people, but also space and time itself.
The crimson-haired girl's thoughts turned grim. 'I have to keep getting stronger quickly… or I will never be able to help her much… Thankfully, the chaos energy seems to have some affinity with me, so I at least know which direction to work in.'
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"Finally… done."
It took Emilia nearly three hours to finish 'evolving', and by the time she was done, Cynthia felt like she had almost been exhausted to death from guiding the flow of the evolutionary force through her body.
'Of course, I can't really die that easily.' Cynthia chuckled. 'Had that been possible... I wouldn't be here.'
Unfortunately for her, the crimson-haired beauty had already lost consciousness halfway through, despite her best efforts, so she had no idea that it was already over.
One doesn't just remain awake through a complete remodeling of their mind and soul, after all.
Cynthia couldn't help but smile as she looked at the sleeping beauty. "I knew my choice couldn't be wrong… Look at you, so pretty…"
No wonder all those low-level monkeys flocked to her like moths to the flame.
Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to teach this love-starved girl how to fend them off properly in time, but what was done was done.
Cynthia knew that she could only take more precautions in the future. "Don't worry, I will never let anyone hurt you again… This, I swear."
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