Evolution: From Little Devil to Devil Empress

Aaron stood on the walls of a giant fortress, staring at the distant horizon with a solemn look.

Although he had managed to reach Rank 4, he was still feeling exhausted. Not only physically, but also mentally.

It had been a few weeks since the Hydra Tribe was destroyed.

Since then, he had struggled to escape under the instructions of the Mission System, relying on the rewards it granted him to grow stronger.

Shortly after he swallowed the seed of Fire Domain and advanced to Rank 4, he also happened to reach the central region. After a brief contemplation, he decided to join an organization there in the hopes of obtaining resources.

Unfortunately, he would have never expected that it would only take a few weeks before he would be forced to return to the eastern region again.

"Ay, kid! What are you looking at?"

A rough voice snapped Aaron out of his daze. As he spun around, he discovered that its source was a tall middle-aged man.

He recognized him.

"Leader.", Aaron called out while slightly lowering his head in respect.

Having gone through all these events, Aaron had shed his immaturity in the span of a few days.

From an immature man whose vision was trapped in a small tribe, he had become a valiant young man.

Now, seeing the leader of the organization he had joined and a powerful Rank 7 Awakener, he was no longer as casual or disdainful.

A trace of respect flashed deep within his eyes, directed at the other person’s power.

The tall man noticed this. He gently patted his shoulder with his rough hand.

"Kid, you don’t have to worry. Although the recent calamity is dangerous, it will soon pass away.", he said and patted his own chest.

"Our human race has existed for thousands of years. With the Human Temple and the Human Emperor supporting us, there is nothing the human race cannot deal with."

The confidence in his voice affected Aaron.

His tense nerves relaxed for a moment.

But just as he softly exhaled and was about to offer his thanks, his pupils suddenly shrank.

Lines of text emerged in his field of vision, more crimson and eerie than they had ever been before.

...

"Mission: Defeat the incoming horde of Devils."

"Rewards: Cosmic Flames Art. Rank 6 Weapon. Seed of the Wind Domain. Seed of the Water Domain. Seed of..."

...

Staring into the long list of rewards that went on for a while, Aaron should have been excited. But the opposite was true.

He had gained a rough understanding of how the Mission System worked by now.

The higher the rewards offered for a mission, the more dangerous it was bound to be.

Since the rewards for the current mission were so rich, the danger might be beyond his expectations.

Before Aaron could finish that thought, the man beside him soared into the sky.

"Enemy attack!", he roared on top of his lungs, his thunderous voice spreading throughout the fortress.

The teams atop the walls and within the barracks immediately moved.

Some took off toward the sky and followed him, while others jumped onto the walls and stayed put.

As they stared into the horizon, they all noticed a wave of black dots in the distance.

A few seconds later, that wave of black dots drew closer, finally revealing their true appearances.

A large number of creatures with varying appearances.

Some possessed humanoid forms with demon characteristics like scales and claws; others were outright grotesque demons, while some looked exactly the same as ordinary humans.

Yet none of the soldiers here would mistake them for such.

Judging by the ferocious aura they all shared and that seemed to resonate, it was abundantly clear that they were all members of the same race.

Devils. No one knew who had coined this term, but by now, it had long spread throughout the continent.

Everyone knew that this was a brand-new type of lifeform similar to demons, seemingly born to devour and destroy everything.

Just like the intelligence passed down mentioned, the so-called Devils did not say a single word.

The moment they reached the fortress, they launched several attacks in unison, targeting every single Awakener within their range.

The weakest among them used weapons made from their own flesh. The slightly stronger ones controlled the elements and spoke incomprehensible words.

As for the strongest among them? They held spears surrounded by golden lightning that seemed capable of wielding the authority of the world itself.

Within a couple of seconds, the fight between the two armies had broken out.

The Awakeners desperately fought to hold off the invaders, vowing to never let them enter the central region and wreak further havoc.

The giant scorpion phantom behind Aaron thrust its stinger into a lizard-shaped Devil. The opponent’s skin grew green before blisters arose, and it finally exploded.

However, Aaron did not have time to celebrate. Soon, another Devil took its place.

Followed by another, and another.

As he raised his head and looked around the fortress, all Aaron could see was Devils.

He recalled the information given by the Leader and understood that everything was true.

The Devils were indeed terrifying, seemingly infinite in number.

More importantly, no matter how many of them fell, they showed no fear.

As though they were being controlled, they continued to charge forward recklessly.

"No wonder they were able to capture the entire eastern region in the span of a few days.", Aaron suddenly thought.

However, a glimmer of hope arose within his eyes.

According to that same information, the strongest Devils were only equivalent to Rank 6 Awakeners.

With the Leader in charge, he should be able to curb their momentum.

Upon that thought, Aaron raised his head. His gaze swept toward the sky.

As expected, the tall man was easily dealing with his enemies.

Although their large number and reckless battle methods allowed them to hold him back for a while, it was only a matter of time before he broke free.

At that time, dealing with the rest of the horde would be easy.

...Or so, Aaron thought.

Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, however, he caught a change from the corner of his eye.

The thousands of Devils, who were originally working together to besiege the Leader, suddenly exploded.

Their entire bodies turned into a cloud of flesh and blood. Yet no human had time to be happy.

Under their astonished gazes, the cloud began to gather.

Transforming into a giant creature made of squirming flesh and dripping blood, it let out a thunderous roar.

Then, it lunged at the Rank 7 Awakener.

It only took a couple of minutes until a blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the fortress.

Then that single scream turned into thousands.

Hours later, a message spread to all human forces:

Hundreds of Rank 7 Awakeners had perished within a single day. All the border cities had been breached.

The eastern region had completely fallen into the hands of the Devils.