Demon Castle – 1>

[Evolution cannot be reversed. Do you wish to evolve?]

The situation was different than when I had evolved into a Belkena, although I still had no options for it. I looked around, noticing that all the enemies either fled or had been killed in the battle between the angel and me. The only thing left was the black wolf that was now trembling like a rat with its head on the floor after the death of its rider. It didn’t seem like it was dangerous, so I decided to leave it be for now.

However, I didn’t have time to take a break yet. Several strong demons had fled towards the castle, not away from it. I would fail my original purpose for heading out here if I left them be.

“Let’s get this done quickly.” I nodded to myself. The evolution began right away, not having the violent change that evolving into a Crimson Elf had. It was my first evolution as a higher-level entity, so everything felt new. Particularly, that feeling like all the cells in my body was being reorganized. It wasn’t painful, though; instead, I felt it exhilarating and joyous. I almost wished it would last forever, but the changes ended abruptly. The mana boiling inside me found its place, and the Wings of Jinma stretched out behind my back to reach toward the sky. I secured control of the mana, pulling it inside of me.

[Belkena Predator.]

[You are starting to move away from being a simple Belkena. You are still bound to the race, but as you develop a sense of individuality and discover the possibilities around you, you may find yourself on a path no one has experienced before.]

A list of skills that had increased due to my evolution followed the notification window.

[Predation became Lv2. You will be able to eat almost anything that exists in the world. The limit on the amount you can eat has increased, and the efficiency of converting what you eat into energy has increased. The chance of absorbing an ability from the target of the skill has increased.]

[Lunatic Trickster became Lv2. You can now create traps that don’t currently exist in the world. The ability of the skill has increased, and the efficiency of mana consumption, when used in combination with other skills, has increased.]

[Domination became Lv2. The number of subordinates you can bring under your control has increased. Communication will become clearer, and all entities under your control will have their abilities greatly increased.]

[Black lightning became Lv3. You will be able to utilize a greater power to a wider range. You will not be bound by the type of skill.]

[Belkena Spell became Lv3. The efficiency of all magic has greatly increased.]

I was becoming more familiar with my abilities. Mana that was gathered in my heart spread out throughout my whole body, allowing me to grasp my new skills. After everything had calmed down, I finally checked my status.

[Fate]

[Belkena Predator Lv20]

[New Magic – 132, Soul Magic – 193, Luck – ???]

[Skill – Predation Lv2, Reaper Lv3, Lunatic Trickster Lv2, Ubiquitous Lv2, Domination Lv2, Blackmine Lv3, Belkena Spell Lv3]

Belkena Predator. It was a familiar term. When I had been a bugbear, I had a chance to evolve into a bugbear predator. I chose a different evolution instead, which eventually led me to become a Crimson Elf. Still, it was almost funny that I ended up as one anyway. But it made sense when I considered the name. Predator, like my skill, Predation. It must’ve been because I had been actively using Predation.

[Fate!]

[Rain.]

His voice called out to me. I wondered if I had been too occupied with my evolution to hear him calling out to me.

[You did it. That’s great. You really worried me.]

[Rain…]

I didn’t know what emotions were held in my voice, but Rain seemed to notice them. His tone became a little more serious.

[I have something I must tell you now.]

As I waited for him to speak, I made a mirror of ice to examine my face. It didn’t change much at all, except that my skin had a strange luster to it.

[You are the one who caused the Great Fusion.]

I caused the Great Fusion? It sounded stupid to say. What about all of the struggles I had gone through because of it?

[You don’t need to worry about what that angel said.]His voice was firm.

[They were said to cause discord and distrust. Even as he was dying…he…Andras…]

Rain went quiet as he spat out the name.

[Come back, I’ll explain about that traitor.]

[Traitor? No…I’ll hear you out in a moment.]

[I’ll tell you everything I can.]

I still had one thing left to take care of before I could head back to the castle. That was the huge black wolf and the headless body of the angel. I had cut off his head and devoured it, but his wings and body still remained. I knew it would taste extraordinary.

“Thank you for this meal.” Without hesitation, I immediately triggered Predation. I already had a taste of it before, but it still felt great to devour and feel my Predation growing. His flesh and blood were like ambrosia to me, but I didn’t have time to enjoy it. I had to move quickly.

[New Magic increased by 18.]

[Soul Magic increased by 11.]

The moment when not a scrap was left before me, not even of mana, I could feel a new skill taking shape inside my very existence. My prediction was exactly right.

[You have learned how to destroy space.]

[Space Destruction Lv3]

[By consuming mana, you can create destructive magic at a location in your field of view.]

That was the ability he was using to hit me from afar. It was overwhelmingly destructive and ridiculously fast to activate. No doubt, it would be incredibly powerful when combined with my own skills. It felt like a special skill, much like my Predation, rather than anything else. My worries melted away, my head only filled with the thought of eating only demons who had strong abilities. The battle was short but fierce. The moment when I risked my life to take victory made me stronger.

Now it was time to clean up. I made full use of Ubiquitous to move forward, but the black wolf suddenly raised his head and started following behind me as soon as I did. It occurred to me that I hadn’t yet decided how I would deal with the wolf.

[Grooaahh!]

I stopped, and the wolf stopped with me. It didn’t want to attack me; it was just standing still before me with its head bowed. It took me a second to realize what he intended.

“You mean to follow me?”

[Groah.]

The howl was affirmative. I thought he would go after me for killing his master, but that didn’t appear to be the case. Even more, his abilities were no joke. Except for Solas, I could tell this black wolf was easily stronger than anyone else under my command. It was a higher-level entity that had been bound to Andras. Maybe the reason he decided to follow me was that I ate his master’s body and took his abilities? I couldn’t know, but it was an easy matter to put him under my command with my Domination skill. Once he was, there was no way for him to rebel against me, so I stopped caring about his reasons.

“Alright, how about I call you Canis?”

[Groah.]

He seemed to want me to ride on his back, so I climbed aboard. His body was huge enough to accommodate twenty people of my size, but he soon shrunk to a size that fit me better. Even after he did, he still stood strangely tall. I began to feel an odd sense of unity with Canis as if I could use my abilities through him. I wondered how that could be possible.

[Grooooaahhhh!]

The wolf hit the ground running, and I instinctively used Ubiquitous. As if it were natural, Canis moved with me, rushing through the atmosphere. We reached the walls in a much shorter time than I thought we would, and I wondered if I needed to revise my judgment on how strong Canis was.

“Who is the master here?!”

“I can’t kill a woman.”

“That girl!”

“That beautiful girl who looks down on us!”The walls were in chaos. Out of the three people I left to guard the wall, only Solas was still fighting at full strength. Demons were fighting in an attempt to occupy the castle and destroy the walls. Although my party had been able to reduce their numbers as they were climbing, countless still remained.

“Captain, I’m dying!”

“Huh.” It was a great opportunity to test my new ability. I triggered the destruction of space, targeting the monsters surrounding Lee Chan-yu, Cain, and Mireina. It took about half of my mana to activate it, but explosions rang out throughout the castle.

[You gained 182 experience.]

[You gained 294 experience.]

[You gained 225 experience…]

Most of them didn’t die, but the weaker ones were taken care of. The amount of experience had been drastically reduced again. Still, it made sense, given how powerful this Space Destruction ability was. My level now was incomparable to how it had been just a little while ago. It wasn’t like a goblin versus a goblin fighter. The difference between each level of a higher-level entity was big enough to fill one with despair, just like it had been between Andras and me earlier.

“Now, in the midst of battle, this human is evolving.”

“I’m not human, I’m a demon.” I laughed at Lee Chan-yu’s words, jumping through space again. Cain and Lee Chan-yu were able to escape from the siege, but Mireina wasn’t safe yet.

“Fate!”

“You should’ve gotten a little stronger.” I had been thinking she wouldn’t be babbling like this after what else she had gone through. Sooner or later, I might need to drag her into a dungeon. I moved with Canis to defeat the demons surrounding her. If I was like a breeze through the battle earlier, now I was like a gust of wind. The battlefield changed around me.

“It’s him.”

“He came to eat us.”

“No doubt.”

“He is the leader.”

The eyes of the demons on the wall gradually began to stick to me, especially the higher-level ones that were more sensitive to my movements. After grasping the outcome of the fierce battle that had taken place outside the wall, the way they had been moving began to change.

[They’re going crazy, you idiot.]

L, who had been attracting the attention of the enemy so far, complained to me. Somehow, it sounded so cute.

[Be prepared.]

A’s brief warning cleared L’s sweet voice from my mind, and I could feel a huge amount of mana springing up around the castle walls. Its intent was clear: to kill me. It was the will of every demon gathered here, hundreds of higher-level entities using magic to kill only one. But now, I was a little different. I stood tall with my sword raised. It didn’t really mean anything. It was just a pose to indicate my sword would kill any who attacked me.

[Achieve everyone’s wish.]

[It is in front of you.]

“Kill him!”

“The night never ends!”

Only

Amid their shouts and the torrent of mana, I spread out a black rose. I filled it with the energy of Predation and Reaper, forming it into a solid wall around me. The wall rose up high to cover Canis too, but it didn’t end there. The Goddess’ Touch, which had disappeared after shedding the lightning attack, reappeared now. It was absorbed into the wall I made, reinforcing it. Hundreds of magic attacks came down upon us, but the wall radiated a brilliant light. The energy of Predation and Reaper triggered together, consuming all it could eat and erasing everything that couldn’t be devoured.

“Nonsense.”

“Surely…!”

I didn’t stop using the mana that was flowing into me. I collected it together and then spread it out again to trigger Space Destruction; my target was every enemy on the walls.

“Fuck.”

“Kill him before he can activate it!”

I closed my eyes and listened to the demon’s shouts and screams.

A huge explosion rocked the castle walls.