Chapter 239: The Demon Lord’s Evolution and Degeneration.

Everyone inside the defensive barrier—humans, Dark Elves, Little Fairies, and the young dragon—craned their necks, staring in amazement at the dreamlike Fire Spirit within the pillar of light.

Hector's, Sieti's, and Nasha's eyes nearly popped out of their heads. At that moment, their senses were overwhelmed by what they had both seen and heard.

The legendary Fire Spirit had actually been summoned that easily?

And what did Sperien and the Fire Spirit mean by the "Faerie Forest"?

Their Elven wasn't particularly good, but there was absolutely no mistaking those words.

Just who was Sperien?

Nasha turned toward the black-haired boy, who had lowered his magic staff, her expression complicated.

Was the reason he was so extraordinary that he was the legendary Child of Light?

Seriu gazed at the Fire Spirit, now certain that his earlier suspicions had been correct. He hadn't misheard the purple-haired monster. It really had identified Sperien and Amanda as a Little Fairy and a young dragon.

If he hadn't been sure which of them was which before, there was no longer any doubt.

Sperien was a Little Fairy from the Faerie Forest.

According to legend, Fairies ventured into the Human World to gain experience after reaching adulthood. So the stories were true! To think he would actually encounter a Fairy traveling through the Human World in his lifetime!

There was just one thing he didn't understand.

Why had Sperien come out to gain experience before reaching adulthood?

The Fire Spirit's figure was reflected in Efit's pupils as Efit stared in a daze.

Efit had known Sperien was a special Little Fairy, but had never imagined he was so extraordinary that he not only had the Fire God's mount accompanying him, but could also summon the Fire Spirit with ease.

Before long, however, it all made sense.

It was precisely because Sperien was so unusual that their paths had crossed.

This Little Fairy had dared to venture into the darkness of Wanaku alone at such a young age. He had even dared to reveal himself, persuade Efit, and propose working together.

Everything seemed perfectly natural now.

Lanno's and Luka's mouths formed identical little O's.

A Little Fairy!

They had actually encountered a Little Fairy in Woba Grand Canyon!

But weren't the Fairies depicted in books tiny, adorable creatures with wings on their backs?

The black-haired boy standing before them looked no different from a human!

Kumandi, Dixio, Angel, and Budno all wore identical expressions of openmouthed astonishment.

None of them had imagined that summoning the Fire Spirit would expose Sperien's true identity.

Amanda was slightly less surprised.

After all, the purple-haired monster had already revealed their identities at the edge of the crater, and Seriu had overheard.

Now, instead of one human knowing, five humans knew.

Not much difference, really.

As for Shu Li, the little version of himself inside his mind had fallen to his knees and was sobbing uncontrollably. He didn't dare look at anyone else's expression.

Who could have imagined summoning the Fire Spirit would backfire like this?

His first attempt had failed, but the second had succeeded as soon as he added "Faerie Forest."

Did he seriously have to specify his place of origin when introducing himself?

Actually, he had noticed something similar while casting high-ranking magic earlier. Including or omitting "Faerie Forest" from an incantation made a difference to the spell's power.

Adding those words clearly made the magic stronger.

That was why, during his second attempt to summon the Fire Spirit, he had reluctantly included "Faerie Forest" to demonstrate his sincerity.

And sure enough, the Fire Spirit had appeared.

Unfortunately, his disguise had also been blown in front of every one of his teammates.

Shu Li sighed inwardly and pushed his distracting thoughts aside.

This was no time to worry about such things. There was still an apparently immortal Demon Lord from hell overhead, threatening everyone's lives.

After the Fire Spirit appeared, Shu Li remained silent for several seconds, gathering his composure. Then he focused entirely on the matter at hand.

"Sharo, Farm is fighting Ansedrala, a Demon Lord from hell. I'd like you to merge with Farm and destroy it!"

Sharo glanced up at the two combatants locked in battle overhead.

"Ansedram, you mean?" he corrected with a smile.

Shu Li's cheeks instantly flushed.

Of all the times for his inability to remember names to strike again!

In his defense, the Demon Lord's name was ridiculously long. It was easy to get wrong.

"Ahem."

The other Little Fairies simultaneously covered their mouths, suppressing their laughter.

"Ansedram has unusual abilities," Sharo explained. "Farm truly cannot kill it alone. Its species possesses the ability to evolve and regress continuously."

"Evolve and regress?" Shu Li looked confused. "What does that mean?"

"Ansedram earned its position among the Ten Demon Lords of Hell through its ability to undergo cyclical evolution. Every death is a form of rebirth. Its body mutates with each resurrection, gradually evolving toward its ultimate, most perfect form."

Shu Li clicked his tongue.

"That's ridiculously overpowered!"

Lanno and Luka exchanged glances.

Exactly! They had been saying that all along!

Every time they killed the enormous monster, it revived on the spot with twice its previous strength, forcing them to flee for two whole days.

Kumandi asked, "If the Elven King sealed hell ten thousand years ago, how could a Demon Lord end up here?"

Sharo lowered his head. His gaze briefly lingered on the blond-haired, blue-eyed Ace before he patiently answered Kumandi's question.

"When Ansedram is in its initial state, it is no different from an ordinary animal. The Elven King's seal can imprison demonic creatures and the Dark God, but it cannot imprison ordinary animals."

"As I said earlier, Ansedram's defining racial trait is its continuous evolution and regression. Its ultimate form is extremely powerful, but it cannot maintain that state for a hundred years. Once a century has passed, it returns to its initial form and waits for the next cycle."

"That ability earned it the title of Demon Lord in hell. However, of the Ten Demon Lords, it ranks last."

"As for why it appeared here, I suspect it slipped past the seal in its initial form, escaped from hell, and returned to the Human World."

Everyone inside the defensive barrier was astonished by the Fire Spirit's explanation.

A creature this powerful was actually the weakest of the Demon Lords?

They could scarcely imagine how terrifying those ranked above it must be.

Fortunately, seven of the Ten Demon Lords had died during the War of the Gods ten thousand years ago.

"But if it can slip past the seal, why did it only leave hell now?" Angel asked, puzzled.

"Ansedram was supposed to be one of the seven Demon Lords who died," Sharo replied.

He continued watching Farm's condition, showing no immediate intention of merging with it.

"Since it has appeared here, that means it must have been gravely wounded back then and escaped destruction by feigning death. Perhaps it spent the last ten thousand years recuperating in hell and has only recently recovered its former strength. Now it has emerged to wreak havoc."

Shu Li finally understood.

The Elven King had once told him that the Dark God would eventually break free of the seal and return. When that happened, the continent would once again be plunged into darkness.

Ansedram could be considered the Dark God's advance pawn, sent to test the strength of the Human World.

The Dark God's revenge had already begun.

Shu Li's mood grew increasingly somber.

Once this incident was over, he needed to return to the Elven Kingdom as quickly as possible and report everything to the Elven King.

"ROOOAR!"

Unable to defeat the purple-haired monster despite fighting for so long, Farm was becoming increasingly agitated, letting out furious roars again and again.

Seeing that it was on the verge of losing control, Sharo transformed into a streak of red light and shot toward Farm like lightning.

When he reappeared, he was standing barefoot atop the fire dragon lizard's enormous head.

"Farm, calm down," Sharo soothed.

"ROOOAR! Sharo! I don't need your help! I can deal with this damned monster myself!" Farm bellowed indignantly.

Seeing the Fire Spirit standing on the fire dragon lizard's head, the purple-haired monster gave an unsettling smile.

"Well, well, Sharo. It's been ages. Are you still playing nursemaid to that stupid magical beast?"

"ROAR!"

Farm unleashed a dragon-shaped torrent of flame toward it.

The purple-haired monster failed to dodge in time, and several of its tentacles were reduced to charcoal.

Sharo sighed softly, dissolved into countless motes of red light, and entered the fire dragon lizard's body.

Farm's enormous eyes went blank for half a second before swiftly regaining their clarity.

Sharo had taken control of the fire dragon lizard's body.

A flicker of apprehension crossed the purple-haired monster's eyes.

With the Fire Spirit and the fire dragon lizard merged, their combined strength increased tremendously.

There was absolutely no way it could defeat them.

Under Sharo's control, the fire dragon lizard's agility improved by several orders of magnitude.

Gone was Farm's habit of charging recklessly at its opponent. Now every attack was carefully calculated, blending feints with genuine strikes and forcing the purple-haired monster into a steady retreat.

Seeing the battle turn so decisively in their favor, everyone inside the defensive barrier erupted in excited cheers.

"This is great! The Fire Spirit is amazing!" Dixio exclaimed admiringly.

"We can kill it for good this time, right?" Angel asked.

It had escaped death once ten thousand years ago. No matter what, they had to make sure it stayed dead today.

"Unless something unexpected happens, it's finished," Shu Li said.

He had tremendous faith in the Fire Spirit's combat abilities.

Back when he had traveled ten thousand years into the past, he had witnessed the fire dragon lizard fighting alongside the Fire God. Together, they had effortlessly wiped out an entire army of necromancers, sweeping aside everything in their path.

It was precisely the union of Sharo and Farm that allowed them to unleash such overwhelming power.

At the same time, Shu Li was privately grateful.

Without Farm and Sharo's help, he and his teammates would never have been able to turn such a desperate situation around.

And there were others to consider, too.

Shu Li turned his head toward Efit and the two young Dark Elves nestled in Efit's arms.

"Um..."

Sieti was gazing at Shu Li with shining eyes.

"Are you really... one of the legendary Little Fairies?"

Her curiosity had become too much to contain. She simply couldn't stop herself from asking.

"Uh!"

Shu Li turned his head stiffly, facing his human classmate with an awkward expression.

The other Little Fairies' hearts leaped into their throats, and they grew nervous along with him.

"If I told you... I wasn't, would you believe me?" Shu Li asked, making one last desperate attempt to salvage his disguise.

"Pfft!"

Sieti and Nasha burst into laughter.

That answer was practically an admission.

Shu Li scratched the back of his head, his eyes darting around before he sneaked a glance at Ace.

Unfortunately, Ace caught him looking.

Well, this was awkward.

Shu Li looked away in embarrassment, then adopted a serious expression.

"Until that Demon Lord is dead, we can't afford to lower our guard."

Since his identity had been exposed by accident, he had no intention of continuing to conceal it.

They were all members of the Light Squad, and they would be fighting side by side in the future. Only by being honest with one another could they work together at their best during the adventures ahead.

This simply wasn't the right moment for a long conversation.

Farm and the Fire Spirit were still locked in a life-or-death battle with the Demon Lord. They couldn't afford the slightest carelessness.

The others understood and suppressed their curiosity, turning their attention back to the fight overhead.

Suddenly, the fire dragon lizard landed a powerful kick on the purple-haired monster.

Its golden chest armor shattered, and a deep cavity caved into its chest.

"PFFFT!"

Green blood gushed from the monster's mouth as its enormous body plummeted toward the ground.

BOOOOM!

Its impact blasted a huge crater into the rocky earth.

Still coughing up blood, the purple-haired monster struggled to raise itself. Its features contorted, transforming its handsome face into something hideously vicious.

Its body was so enormous that its head alone was as large as the defensive barrier.

And, as rotten luck would have it, it had landed barely two meters away from them.

Seeing the monster's face at such close range, everyone inside the barrier gasped and immediately raised their magic staffs toward it.

The purple-haired monster, however, reacted even faster.

Noticing the defensive barrier, it flashed an evil grin, curled its fingers into claws, and slashed viciously at the shield.

CRACK!

Under a single swipe of its sharp claws, the barrier actually fractured.

Shu Li hurriedly recited an incantation in his mind, instantly casting light magic to repair the defensive formation.

The others launched magical attacks at the purple-haired monster without hesitation.

But the monster opened its enormous, blood-filled maw and unleashed a piercing shriek.

The sound waves struck everyone inside the barrier.

Agonizing pain exploded through their heads. They clutched their skulls with both hands, their bodies swaying as though they might collapse at any moment.

Seeing this, the fire dragon lizard folded its wings and dove toward them.

The purple-haired monster immediately issued an arrogant threat.

"Sharo! Take one more step, and I'll crush every last one of them!"

The fire dragon lizard was forced to halt its descent abruptly. With no other choice, it circled overhead.

Shu Li shook his head, struggling to clear the pain.

Forcing himself to remain upright, he shouted toward the fire dragon lizard.

"Sharo! Don't worry about us! Kill it! It can't break through the barrier!"

The purple-haired monster fixed its gaze on Shu Li and spoke darkly.

"Little Fairy, even an adult Fairy at the Saint Mage level is no match for me. What chance does a mere Intermediate Grand Mage like you have?"

Shu Li showed no trace of fear.

He raised his magic staff high, his voice unwavering.

"Then let's see which of us is faster!"

An incantation flashed through his mind.

Light elements gathered around his magic staff, and he instantly released a defensive formation.

The purple-haired monster's pupils narrowed into vertical slits.

"Instant casting?!"