Chapter 48: Must Finish Cleaning Before Dawn! The Demon King’s Perverted Training Begins!

An endless sea of black, viscous slime.

A sweet, bloody stench pierced her nose as Lilia stepped onto it.

The soles of her shoes sank in with a “gurgle gurgle” sound, and the sticky sensation crawled up from her feet.

“Lilith-onee-sama…”

She looked up at the blackness stretching to the edge of her vision.

Her voice was dry.

“How much is this, nya?”

“About the size of the West Garden of the Evernight Palace.”

Lilith gave her answer.

West Garden?

Lilia’s mind went “buzz”.

They wanted the two of them to clean up a place this big, using Light Points no bigger than grains of rice?

Before sunrise?

“Miss, please focus.”

Lilith was already at work.

She stretched out her hands, and two fist-sized spheres of light floated above her palms.

“Pop –“

The spheres exploded, splitting into thousands of rice-grain-sized Light Points that scattered and flew in all directions.

“Zzzzzzz”

A dense sound rang out.

Within a five-meter radius, the slime was decomposed in seconds.

Pure white floor appeared beneath.

Lilia stared in shock.

This was a Fifth-Rank Monarch?

Controlling thousands of Magic Light Points at once?

A humanoid self-propelled cleaning machine!

“Miss, it’s your turn.”

Lilith turned her head.

“I…”

Lilia looked at her own hands.

She struggled just to form a single stable Light Point.

“I can’t do it, nya!”

“You’ve already succeeded in drawing out Magic Energy just now.”

Lilith’s tone brooked no refusal.

“Now, repeat the process and maintain it.”

“But it runs wild, nya! I can’t control it, nya!”

Lilia remembered the icy current that had rampaged through her mind earlier.

Her legs went weak.

“That’s precisely Her Majesty’s intention.”

Lilith stared at her.

“This game is both punishment and training.”

“Repeating the most basic Magic Energy control under extreme pressure is the fastest way for all beginner magicians to grow.”

She paused.

“Her Majesty is forcing you to become stronger.”

Lilia froze.

Lucia… was helping her?

In such a twisted way?

Her mind flashed through all that had happened.

Teaching her the Fireball Spell.

Making her practice Energy Bullets with moving targets.

Humiliating her with a collar and Leash.

But also sharpening her reflexes through extreme dodging.

Now, forcing her to practice Magic Energy manipulation with this disgusting mass cleaning.

Every torment the perverted Demon King inflicted, in the end… made her stronger?

“Miss, there’s no time.”

Lilith interrupted her thoughts.

Lilia gritted her teeth.

Who cared what Lucia wanted!

Right now, survival was most important!

If she didn’t finish by sunrise…

Who knew what even more terrifying upgraded punishment that pervert would invent!

“I understand, nya!”

She sat cross-legged on the clean floor and closed her eyes.

This time, she wasn’t afraid.

She was filled with the resolve to fight to the bitter end.

Her Spirit Force became a probe, carefully reaching into the Magic Power Node deep between her brows.

With the previous experience, she quickly entwined herself around the power.

She pulled.

A thread of icy Magic Energy was drawn out.

As soon as it emerged, it began to rampage, wanting to run wild in her spiritual world.

“Hold still for me, nya!”

Lilia roared in her mind.

She marshaled all her Spirit Force, stubbornly binding the unruly Magic Energy and forcibly suppressing it.

Sweat beaded on her forehead.

This was more exhausting than fighting.

But she did it!

The thread of Magic Energy finally stopped rampaging and obediently floated within her spiritual world.

“Very good, Miss.”

Lilith spoke from the side.

“Now, guide it along your arm to your palm.”

Lilia bit her lip and began the process.

The Magic Energy was slippery and kept trying to slip free from her Spirit Force.

She had to concentrate fully, pushing it bit by bit into the intended channel.

One minute.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes later…

In Lilia’s right palm, a pinprick-sized Light Point finally flickered into existence.

It glimmered weakly, as if it might disappear at any moment.

But it was there!

“I… I did it, nya…”

Lilia opened her eyes weakly and looked at the little Light Point in her palm.

A smile crept onto her face.

“Don’t lose focus. Maintain it.”

Lilith reminded her.

“Then, let it leave your palm and decompose the slime.”

Lilia nodded and focused her mind.

She tried to sever the magic connection between the Light Point and her palm, pushing it forward with her Spirit Force.

“Shu –“

The Light Point flew forward.

But just ten centimeters from her hand, it went “pop” and vanished.

Failure.

Lilia felt a bit deflated.

“Continue.”

Lilith’s voice was emotionless.

Lilia gritted her teeth, closed her eyes again, and gathered Magic Energy anew.

Gather, guide, release.

Failure.

Again.

Gather, guide, release.

Another failure.

She didn’t know how many times she repeated the process.

Lilia’s Spirit Force was tempered over and over through cycles of gathering and collapse.

From the initial ten minutes it took to form a single Light Point, she shortened it to five minutes, then three, then one…

Her control over the Magic Energy grew steadily.

Finally.

In another attempt, the Light Point successfully flew a meter away!

It landed shakily on a patch of black slime.

“Zzz –“

A faint sound.

A slime spot the size of a fingernail was decomposed.

Compared to Lilith’s world-destroying cleaning efficiency, it was insignificant.

But Lilia stared at the clean patch of floor, so excited she nearly jumped.

“I did it, nya! Lilith-onee-sama! I did it, nya!”

She turned to Lilith, her face filled with pride.

Lilith stood behind her, watching quietly.

For the first time, a look of satisfaction appeared on the Iceberg Maid Chief’s face.

“Miss, your talent surpasses my imagination.”

She paused.

“But the task has only just begun.”

She pointed at the vast black sea stretching endlessly ahead.

Lilia’s smile froze.

Right.

She’d spent nearly an hour cleaning a spot the size of a fingernail.

At this rate…

She did the math.

Even without eating, drinking, or resting, it would take until next year to finish!

“Lilith-onee-sama… What should I do, nya?”

Lilia felt like crying again.

“Miss, what were you thinking about when you formed the Light Point just now?”

Lilith suddenly asked an unrelated question.

“Thinking, nya?”

Lilia was blank.

“Just about how to control it and keep it from running wild, nya.”

“That’s not right.”

Lilith shook her head.

“You need to give it a form.”

“Form, nya?”

“Magic Energy has memory. When you grant it a clear, stable form, it’s easier to control.”

Lilith extended her hand, and a Light Point appeared in her palm.

It swiftly morphed into a small, delicate…

Broom.

“For example, since you’re cleaning now,”

The Light Broom in Lilith’s hand swayed.

“Imagine it as a broom.”

“Let it sweep away the filth, rather than just decomposing it.”

Lilia stared at the glowing mini broom, her eyes lighting up.

That’s right!

Why didn’t she think of that!

Just like shaping a cat toy before!

Assign a specific work form to Magic Energy!

“I understand, nya!”

Lilia’s fighting spirit reignited.

She sat down again and closed her eyes.

This time, her mind wasn’t blankly thinking “control”, but began constructing a clear image.

She imagined the cold thread of Magic Energy, not as a line, but as a collection of parts.

She would use her Spirit Force to assemble those parts into a broom!

The process was much more complex than simply pulling out a thread of Magic Energy.

But Lilia felt unprecedented ease.

Because she had a clear blueprint in her mind!

Three minutes later.

Lilia opened her eyes and extended her right hand.

Floating in her palm was a small, faintly glowing…

Plunger.

Lilia:”..Lilith:”

A long silence filled the study.

“I… I don’t know why it turned out like this either, nya!”

Lilia stared at the Light Plunger in her hand, on the verge of madness.

She’d clearly imagined a broom!

Why did she end up molding this thing?!