Evolution: From Little Devil to Devil Empress

While Liora was busy improving her power as much as possible, ready to deal with the impending danger, time did not stop to wait for her.

The undercurrents in the 173rd Layer of the Demon World continued surging. If anything, they became even more apparent as time passed.

At a certain point, even the Hollow Ancestor was alarmed and personally appeared in Hollow City, ordering the City Lord’s Mansion to investigate the cause behind the Elementals’ escape.

The reaction of this invincible powerhouse only served to add even more fuel to the already blazing fire.

Within just a few days, the Hollow City’s Archdevils were scrambling to find out what was happening.

Perhaps more importantly, they tried to find the purpose of the Elementals’ abnormal actions. They didn’t believe that these bloodthirsty creatures had suddenly chosen to cosplay as miners.

Their actions had to be part of a greater conspiracy.

Unfortunately, their actions proved meaningless. No matter how much they and their organizations investigated, they failed to uncover any secrets.

—

Unbeknownst to the Archdevils of Hollow City, their imagined enemies, the Elementals, had long discovered their traces.

“We only managed to bypass the seal a few months ago! How could those guys have already noticed us?”

“Could it be that there is a traitor among us?”

Four consciousnesses gathered in secret in an unknown place.

One of them fluctuated violently, its voice echoing, before another consciousness responded.

“Don’t try to stir up conflicts between us. Don’t you know whether it’s even possible for there to be a traitor among us?”, the consciousness scolded, its voice seething with anger.

Strange phenomena accompanied their communication.

Water elements gathered first, forming a turbulent sea, which was then extinguished by a rain of scorching fire.

The two consciousnesses collided, looking ready to fight.

Fortunately, one of the two silent beings spoke up in time.

A storm of hail materialized, freezing all the other visions and plunging the place into silence.

“Enough. Everyone knows about your grievances. It was fine before, but now that the Master has finally returned, it’s best not to cause any trouble.”

“I warn you: if you dare to mess up our plan…”

The unknown being did not finish their sentence, but the implication was clear.

Although the other consciousness remained silent, it was obvious that they supported their words.

Instantly, the two Elementals, one representing Water and one Fire, restrained their power. After letting out a cold snort and “glancing” at each other with disdain, they resumed their earlier conversation.

“Have we gathered enough materials to awaken the Master’s body?”, one of them questioned, and another swiftly replied.

A few minutes later, their voices faded off.

The four beings took back their consciousness while the hidden place shattered, erasing the evidence of their having ever been there.

—

A deafening crash echoed as a giant phantom materialized behind Liora’s back.

With an illusory silhouette and a form that was indistinct and inexplicable, it exuded an aura of majesty and overwhelming force.

The phantom seemed to be the amalgamation of everything evil, as if it were the representative of the Primordial Sin, the source of everything negative in the world.

Liora’s aura surged as she resonated with the phantom.

Their forms overlapped, and a pair of black-feathered wings formed behind their back. Crimson mist swirled around them, blurring their outlines.

The phantom, and by extension Liora, expanded at an astonishing rate.

Two meters, five meters, ten meters.

Just as it seemed that they would break through the cave and demolish the hiding place, Liora woke up.

Her aura returned to normal.

Sensing the various phenomena around her, she immediately worked to suppress them.

Her consciousness moved and integrated with her body, smoothing the turbulent Sinforce raging within her.

As a result, the phantom grew smaller. A few moments later, it shattered completely, transforming into a single point of light and returning to her body.

Liora softly exhaled. She opened her eyes, her gaze aloof and overbearing before turning back to normal.

“The 5th Level of the Primordial Sin Art has been mastered.”, she whispered subconsciously, confirming that her power had increased dramatically.

The most important change was not the Sinforce itself, but the accompanying abilities.

Though she had only mastered a small part of them, it was enough to greatly enhance her methods.

“The 2nd Level of the Primordial Sin Art is already equivalent in strength to fully mastered Demonic Body Art.”

“Now that I’ve reached the 5th Level, my biggest weakness, the lack of Devil Techniques, has finally been made up for.”

The Primordial Sin Art was divided into seven levels, each corresponding to one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Although Liora had only reached its 5th Level, this was already more than enough.

Combined with the Devil Techniques she had plundered from the Thousand-Eyed Devil, her mastery of Devil Techniques was no weaker than that of an ordinary Throne Stage expert.

It was not that Liora did not want to continue her practice.

Rather, it was that the Earth Spirit Ore in her possession had already been completely exhausted.

If she wished to practice the Primordial Sin Art any further, she would have to sacrifice other items when activating Profane Offering.

This was not an issue, and it was what she had already planned to do.

She only took a small break to consider what she would sacrifice next.

Yet, only moments after she ceased her practice, a flurry of messages flowed into her mind.

Before, Liora had severed her connection with the outside world, unwilling to be disturbed.

She only did so for a few days, knowing that such a short time was nothing for most Devils.

However, the moment Liora reestablished the connection, a flood of messages poured into her mind.

Some came from Alpha, others from Assira, and there were even some messages passed down from Scurry.

Liora was caught off guard at first.

Yet, she quickly understood the reason as she digested their contents.

Her face couldn’t help but grow solemn.

Though she had anticipated it, she had never expected that trouble would arrive so soon.

“There’s never a calm moment in the Demon World…”

As if to mirror that thought, the ground beneath her feet began to shake the moment it crossed her mind.

No! It was not only Liora’s hiding place.

If someone were to look at the 173rd Layer of the Demon World from above, they would come to discover that the entire Demon Layer was shaking, as if attacked by an earthquake.

And the source of that “earthquake”? The four forbidden areas!