"Y-You…"
The Goddess of Kindness held the babyfied God of Evil in her arms, her lips trembling as she looked at Paimon.
"Hmm? I spared you 'cause you looked weak. You want a taste of my fists too?"
Paimon's face was deathly pale, but she still forced herself to speak with bravado.
She must've used up too much of her power just now—her body felt completely drained…
But she had already told the Traveler she'd handle this. She couldn't let him down now! Hmph!
"N-No, milady, I apologize. It was our fault just now. Please… please turn him back to normal…"
The Goddess of Kindness, being a kind-hearted goddess, had always steered away from conflict.
But looking at the baby in her arms—even if he was evil, he was still her husband. Now that he'd been reduced to this state, and she clearly couldn't win a fight, she had no thoughts of revenge. She just hoped this goddess would be willing to forgive and help restore him.
"Hmph~ If you'd apologized earlier, none of this would've happened."
Paimon crossed her arms at her waist, her graceful figure on full display. She then glanced coolly at the Goddess of Kindness and said coldly:
"I think he's perfect the way he is. Now scram, or I'll turn you into a baby too~"
"Sigh…"
Seeing that Paimon had no intention of restoring Evil, the Goddess of Kindness could only sigh and disappear with him in her arms.
For now, she could only return to the divine realm and report this incident. Hopefully, the other gods might have a solution.
"Phew~ That's finally over. If that woman kept pushing it, I probably wouldn't have had any strength left…"
Paimon patted her chest a few times, still shaken.
But standing up for the Traveler felt amazing. Surely now he'll let me sleep with him tonight, right?
Hehehe~
Now that the troublemakers had left, Paimon—though utterly exhausted—descended into the courtyard humming a tune.
The moment she had confronted the two intruders, Aether had been watching from below, ready to jump in at any moment if things went wrong.
Fortunately, their strength wasn't anything special. He had kept his eyes on the entire fight. He hadn't expected Paimon to be so composed and capable now that she was all grown up.
Still, that strange power she used to turn someone into a child… it reminded Aether of one of the most profound laws:
Time.
Even from down below, when Paimon made her move, he faintly sensed the power she wielded was somehow tied to time itself.
"You okay, Paimon?"
Seeing her return safely, Aether immediately rushed over.
"Okay? I was amazing!"
Paimon threw one arm over his shoulder, grinning smugly.
"Amazing!"
Aether stretched his neck and, seeing she had no intention of letting go, didn't mind and gave her a big thumbs-up.
"Hehe~ Then tonight… eh?"
Just as Paimon was about to continue with a coy expression, she suddenly felt her body becoming lighter, her hand on Aether's shoulder shrinking. Startled, she let out a yelp.
"Huh?"
Aether sensed a strange glow beside him. When he turned to look, he saw Paimon's elegant figure wrapped in dazzling starlight. The light flared around her—first her long legs disappeared into the glow, then her body, her arms… and finally, the once-seductive face faded into a round, puffy, adorable little face.
"Paimon…"
Aether murmured as he stared at her returned form.
"Eh? Wh-What just happened to me?"
Paimon quickly let go of his shoulder and looked herself over. Then, on the verge of tears, she whimpered:
"Waaah! I'm back to my old self again, and the power's all gone!"
"Do you feel anything wrong with your body?"
Aether grew concerned, worried something had gone wrong with her transformation.
"No, it's just… just the power is gone…"
Paimon clenched and unclenched her tiny fists, over and over, but the strength she had before was completely gone.
"That's strange… Are you like an inflatable doll or something?"
Aether picked up the floating Paimon, examining her for any sort of air valve.
Her transformation probably had something to do with absorbing a large amount of elemental energy.
After the fight with those two gods, she must've used it all up and reverted to normal.
Thinking of this, Aether asked again:
"Paimon, can you absorb elemental energy on your own?"
"Elemental energy? Waaah! Even my big bear-bear is gone!"
Paimon wailed, patting her now-flat chest with sorrow.
"…Ahem. Whatever. As long as your body's fine, the rest isn't important."
Aether cleared his throat and ignored her… colorful complaints.
Maybe she had absorbed energy unintentionally through the awakening array in this world, granting her a temporary power imbued with laws.
"Wuuu~ Traveler, will you still want me like this?"
After a moment of sulking, Paimon accepted her reality. It felt like waking up from a dream—where she'd wielded incredible power—only to return to her normal, one-fourth-boar strength self…
"You've always been like this, haven't you? Even if you turned into a Hilichurl, I'd still want you…"
Aether patted her head. Somehow, this small, familiar Paimon was the one he liked best.
Of course, the grown-up version wasn't bad either… just a bit overwhelming. That sultry grown-up Paimon had a habit of flirting at the drop of a hat—not something he was used to…
"No! We're going back to awaken again tomorrow!"
Paimon slapped Aether's hand off her head, full of determination.
She wasn't giving up! She hadn't even done anything yet before changing back! How frustrating!
"That awakening place hasn't even been cleaned up yet…"
Aether frowned. The Spirit Hall branch had just been demolished—it was uncertain if it could be cleared out in time. And here she was, already thinking of going back for round two.
"…Then what should I do? I still have so much left unfinished!"
"What exactly is unfinished? You can still do things in this form, can't you?"
"…Hmph, I don't wanna talk to you anymore."
Paimon gave him a sharp glance and flew straight into the house.
He avoided me when I was bigger, but now he's hugging me like it's nothing…
Besides, that kind of thing—I can't even do it in this body! It's so frustrating!
"…"
Aether watched as Paimon muttered to herself and floated into the room. He didn't think much of it, assuming she was just venting about changing back.
Good thing the battle had happened up in the sky. If it had been down here, it would've caused unnecessary panic.
Late into the night, Paimon lay curled in Aether's arms, sleepily smacking her lips as she muttered incomprehensible dream talk…
_
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