Not all Evil Gods are indescribably horrifying; some are actually quite beautiful. After all, the times are changing.
Standing before Chen Li was one such being, known as the Fairy Tale Evil God, an entity who draws power from fairy tales and embodies their very concepts.
Because of this, her appearance seemed to be an amalgamation of the most classic features of female characters from those stories.
Blonde hair, a cute face, an air of innocence... she was like the ultimate culmination of every fairy tale heroine. It made it nearly impossible for anyone meeting her for the first time to mount any effective defense.
All her abilities stemmed from fairy tales. The special means by which she had entered Chen Li's home, completely unnoticed by him, was likely an ability recorded in some fairy tale, not a spatial power.
Moreover, she could freely transform into any character from these tales: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, the Little Match Girl… or even an unremarkable passerby.
So, until she chose to reveal herself, you could never tell which person on the street was her in disguise.
And the name she used while walking among mortals was simply Tonghua.
As for why Chen Li knew all this so clearly, it was because…
"Alright, alright. As my one and only believer, why would I ever hurt you?" The blonde-haired girl walked over to Chen Li, stood on her tiptoes, and gently patted his head.
But the mischievous smile on her face made it difficult to fully believe her words.
"I told you, don't call me that," Chen Li sighed.
He had asked this particular Evil God to help examine his body, but she hadn't discovered anything about the Miracle System.
"But weren't you the one who sacrificed all my other followers to summon me? Before that, though, could you please explain where your World Beacon went? It's very important for me to confirm that my cute and charming little believer hasn't been possessed by someone else." The girl's smile remained adorable and captivating, yet the dappled sunlight filtering into the living room cast eerie, shifting shadows everywhere.
Countless rat-like silhouettes with crimson-glowing eyes emerged, the hissing of vipers echoed from the serpent-haired Medusa… even the most positive figures like Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella were twisted into horrifying, bizarre forms. Their every move could stir the deepest fears in the hearts of living beings.
Innumerable classic fairy tale characters invaded every shadow-filled corner of the living room. The extreme contrast was unsettling enough, but the palpable, malicious aura from these countless abominations staring at Chen Li was enough to make even the most resolute person briefly lose their sanity.
However, Chen Li was unfazed by the sight.
After all, this group of strange things used to be the ones who lulled him to sleep every night…
…if trying to knock him out with a brick could be considered "lulling him to sleep."
---o---
"Oh… I don't get it. I don't get it at all." Tonghua held The Guide to Forging Curios in her hands, feeling a headache coming on just from looking at the text.
It was hard to imagine that she, an Evil God who presided over fairy tales, couldn't understand a book.
Shouldn't this be her area of expertise?
To be defeated in her own strongest field dealt a massive blow to Tonghua's pride.
However, after touching the book, she could faintly sense the aura of the World Beacon, which put her at ease.
Her adorable believer hadn't been possessed; he had just undergone some kind of strange transformation.
Tonghua knew that Chen Li's daily life was never peaceful, but she hadn't expected it to reach this level of chaos.
"Um… Tonghua, can I ask you for something?" Seeing that Tonghua had returned to normal, Chen Li asked a little sheepishly.
"What is it?" Tonghua looked at Chen Li warily, her heart immediately on guard.
She had watched this kid, Chen Li, grow up. Whenever he used that tone of voice with her, it definitely meant he wanted something from her.
Crap, I'm in for it now!
"We've known each other for four years, right?" Chen Li sat down beside Tonghua, speaking with a great deal of emotion.
"Mhm, four years. I still remember it. Four years ago, you accidentally stumbled into my church's ritual site. Just as you were about to be captured and used as a sacrifice, you used a Relic to turn the tables and sacrificed all of my followers to me, summoning me in the process," Tonghua nodded.
At the time, the "Fairy Tale Evil God" had only deigned to descend because she found Chen Li's "fate" to be completely inscrutable and very interesting.
Otherwise, those so-called "believers," who didn't even know her true identity and had just picked up a summoning ritual from who-knows-where, would have been lucky to summon a slime!
And then, the Fairy Tale Evil God had met her match—all because of a one-time-use Relic that Chen Li's parents had given him for his safety.
The result was that not only did Chen Li learn her true name, but she was also left with him as her only believer.
Heaven knows where a child got such a high-level Relic. And to top it off, it just so happened to perfectly target her one and only weakness.
It was the equivalent of the Chains of Heaven being used against a demigod.
That was why whenever her "companions" from her "world" wanted to come to this one, she would use her own tragic story to warn them: never answer your believers, and never, ever come to this world!
For an Evil God, having their true name known by a human was one of the most terrifying things that could happen.
The degree of control it granted was even greater than grabbing a cat by the scruff of its neck.
"I remember that was the first time my Transmigrator passive triggered…"
"Stop. Just tell me what you want," Tonghua interrupted Chen Li's incantation.
"Tonghua, do you have any items of the [Dispersal] type?" Chen Li asked.
"Dispersal? Would a dandelion work?" After a moment of thought, Tonghua produced a dandelion.
"A dandelion? Are there dandelions in fairy tales?" Chen Li was taken aback for a second but took the dandelion nonetheless.
This dandelion did indeed have a [Dispersal] Entry. It was just… very different from other Entries.
[Dispersal (False)]
This was clearly unusable.
Chen Li suspected it was because this item had neither been tempered by time and fate, nor was it a real dandelion in essence. It was merely a projection of the Evil God's power.
"It's because you haven't read enough fairy tales. But you're right, this dandelion wasn't taken from a fairy tale, but from a widely-circulated story that doesn't have a precise name," Tonghua explained.
"Tonghua, has your authority expanded to encompass stories now?" Chen Li asked thoughtfully.
"Mhm. This truly is a wonderful world. Even an identity like 'Evil God' is recognized. Identity is Profession, and by performing the duties of your profession, you can gain experience and expand your authority," Tonghua said with a look of deep satisfaction.
This world was simply too marvelous.
She absolutely couldn't let those companions of hers come over and compete with her.
After all, competing with the local Evil Gods was already hard enough.