Magic power surged in like a tide.
The pink gelatinous body began to tremble violently, glow, and expand.
The sensation was strange—like a lump of chaotic clay being meticulously sculpted by an invisible pair of hands.
Limbs stretched, curves filled out, and the facial features that had once lacked detail finally became completely human.
The light faded.
Liya lowered her head to examine herself.
Her body had expanded again.
Without compression, she had grown to about half the size of an adult—around four feet tall.
Her skin had a healthy pinkish-white tone, delicate and smooth, soft as jade to the touch.
Her legs were long and straight, her waist slender, and her chest bore a budding yet bold curve.
“Still not enough?”
Was she supposed to face enemies in this “loli Demon Lord” form?
That would be too embarrassing.
Liya twisted her body, carefully admiring her current form.
The desire to advance surged once more.
“Forget it! I’ll try rushing straight to Tier Five!”
In one breath, Liya absorbed all the remaining high-grade Demon Crystals.
Fortunately, she had gathered plenty of water-attribute ones beforehand.
When everything settled, the figure standing before the mirror was no longer the same.
She now stood about five feet five inches tall, with a graceful figure—everything that should be there was there, and what shouldn’t be… well, still wasn’t.
Most importantly, Liya realized her control over this liquid body had reached an unbelievable level.
“Mimicry?”
With a thought, the girl in the mirror melted into a flowing liquid, shifting and twisting under the light.
In an instant, her chest became strikingly fuller, her hips more rounded, and her eyes and expression turned alluring like that of a mature woman.
Her entire presence radiated a seductive, mature charm.
As expected… Mimicry could replicate herself at any age or state.
She compressed her body again, shrinking to under four feet six inches, returning to a childlike form.
Though her appearance changed drastically, it was still recognizable—this was Liya as she theoretically looked at around twelve years old, Lily.
After playing around enough, she transformed again.
Silver hair, red eyes, a cold expression, and a black coat fluttering in the wind.
That was… the former Demon King’s heroic bearing.
Only now, it was a female version.
The Hero’s magic still influenced her.
Even when she returned to Demon King Liya—her instinctive form—she remained female, resembling the Duke’s Daughter she once pretended to be.
“This is way too useful…”
Zyra, who had been watching from the shadows, couldn’t help but comment, “Any age, any appearance… Pupu lover, forget smelly men—even a big sister like me wouldn’t be able to resist.”
Liya struck a pose in front of the mirror, pouting dismissively.
“Very good! As expected of me! No matter what form I take, I look imposing!”
“Let’s try something else.”
With another thought, she attempted to transform into Princess Margaret.
The reflection had Margaret’s face, but the eyes and temperament couldn’t be replicated.
It looked awkward, with an obvious sense of disharmony.
She tried Holy Maiden Yuna next, with the same result.
It might fool strangers, but anyone familiar with them would see through it instantly.
“I remember… Mimicry is an externalization of soul traits.”
Liya pondered.
“I can perfectly become Demon King Liya because my soul is hers. But I haven’t devoured anyone else’s soul, so I only get their appearance, not their essence.”
“More precisely, I can only become ‘the Margaret I perceive.’ But my perception of others is incomplete and vague, lacking their true vitality.”
Still, this was more than enough.
At the very least, Liya could now openly spend money, buy Demon Crystals, and enter various human establishments without worrying about being kicked out for being a Pupu.
Next came the main event—skills.
Liya closed her eyes and quietly sensed the new spell circuits within her after advancing, along with the “innate magic” etched into her instincts.
She could temporarily fuse different-colored Pupu together, merging their spirits and souls as well.
It was similar to how Son Goku and Vegeta fused into Super Gogeta in Dragon Ball.
Compared to Devour, Fusion could change a Pupu’s color and create new abilities, while Devour was purely consumption—better suited for evolving Pupu of the same color.
“Let’s try it.”
Liya summoned two veteran companions who had followed her to the Imperial Capital—Pika and Blackie.
As for the other two, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, they were still guarding Pupu Town and had not come along.
“Stand together… yes, right there. Good, hold still—Core Fusion!”
The two Pupu stood motionless, staring blankly at Liya.
As the skill activated, a flash of light enveloped them.
An unseen force pulled them together, and with Pika as the core, they fused into a new color and form.
Black markings appeared on the tips of its ears, and dark patterns spread across its back—yellow and black.
At this point, it really looked like it belonged in a courtroom facing a certain game company’s legal team.
The two types of magic power stacked, doubling the total amount.
“Interesting… the new general ‘Pika-Black’ is like two combined into one, able to use both abilities simultaneously.”
Liya nodded thoughtfully.
Pupu had their own advantages.
As a fluid lifeform, Pika-Black quickly adapted to its new body and ran wildly around the garden.
It activated Lightning Charge, shooting forward like an arrow, then triggered Hardening just before hitting the wall.
“Boom—!”
A dull, thunderous crash echoed.
Pika-Black smashed headfirst into the wall, blasting a large hole through it.
It wasn’t injured, but its chubby waist got stuck inside, leaving only half its body outside.
Its legs kicked like a frog, unable to touch the ground, and naturally, it couldn’t climb out.
Just over five minutes later, the Fusion effect ended.
Pika and Blackie split from “one big body” back into “two small ones,” bouncing apart and finally freeing themselves.
Next, Liya infused Hero’s magic into Fusion to enhance it.
The effect became permanent.
The second experiment resembled an upgraded version of Link—Fusion no longer consumed magic power, and unless canceled manually, Pika and Blackie would remain fused indefinitely.
But… it didn’t seem much different?
That was until Liya casually pointed, targeting Pika’s fusion partner at the chair beneath her.
The next moment—
Pika fused with the chair, gaining a “Pupu Throne” on its back, perfectly suited for Liya to sit on comfortably.
Liya froze, then her eyes lit up.
She immediately picked up Blackie, returned to the inn room, and rushed into the storage area where her luggage and the Emperor’s rewards were kept.
Pointing at a set of star-forged vibranium armor in the corner, she ordered:
“Blackie! Go! Fuse with the armor!”
“Gugi!”
The black Pupu turned into a puddle of liquid and seeped into the gaps of the armor.
In the next second, the previously empty armor began to move on its own.
It took a step forward, unsteady on two legs, stumbling as it walked.
Its head bumped into the wall, yet it didn’t fall apart in the slightest.