Chapter 173: Evolution completed.

Zerin.....

The name instantly surfaced in Lukas’s mind, accompanied by a question that made his expression turn serious.

How could she be here...?

Lukas immediately began searching the surrounding platforms, his gaze sweeping across every figure within his field of vision. He carefully checked the different groups, the distant platforms, and even the enormous bone bridge connecting them, but no matter how long he looked, he couldn’t find even the slightest trace of her.

There was no familiar aura.

No recognizable figure.

Nothing that could prove Zerin was actually here.

For a moment, Lukas wanted to believe that the strange sensation he had felt earlier had simply been an illusion. Perhaps the overwhelming environment had caused his senses to become overly sensitive, making him mistake some unfamiliar aura for one he had encountered before.

But the more he thought about it, the more he rejected that possibility.

That feeling had been far too real.

It had only lasted for a brief instant, yet Lukas had clearly sensed something familiar hidden within the surroundings. It wasn’t the kind of vague intuition that could simply be dismissed as coincidence.

He was almost certain.

Zerin was somewhere in this place.

The realization immediately raised another problem.

Everyone who had entered the inheritance space had been properly monitored. Their identities had been recorded, their movements observed, and the entrance itself was under the control of powerful existences. There shouldn’t have been any possibility for an unknown person to secretly enter alongside them.

And yet...

If Zerin really was here, then something had clearly gone wrong.

How did she get inside?

Lukas’s brows slowly furrowed as he continued thinking.

Then, just as he was about to dismiss the matter for the moment, a possibility suddenly flashed through his mind.

Cloning...

His expression changed slightly.

Then another possibility immediately followed.

Possession!

Lukas’s eyes narrowed.

Given everything he knew about Star Mother Zerin, neither possibility was particularly far-fetched.

That woman had always been shrouded in mystery, and the abilities she possessed were far beyond what ordinary awakeners could imagine. If she had secretly created a clone and sent it into the inheritance space, or possessed the body of someone who had legitimately entered this place, then the monitoring system might not have detected anything unusual at all.

The more Lukas thought about it, the more plausible the possibility became.

A faint chill crept into his heart.

If that’s really what happened...

Then Zerin might have been here from the very beginning.

And none of them had noticed.

Just as Lukas was thinking, he suddenly felt that gaze again.

This time, however, there was something different about it.

Surprise.

It was subtle, but Lukas could clearly sense it, as though the person hiding among the countless awakeners hadn’t expected him to notice their presence at all. The moment their eyes met across the distance, that surprise quickly turned into something else.

Interest.

It was growing stronger.

Lukas narrowed his eyes slightly but didn’t immediately expose her.

Meanwhile, among the indifferent members of the Wasteland Titan Guild stood a young female with a head full of snow-white hair. Her appearance was rather ordinary compared to some of the other beauties gathered on the platform, and her expression remained completely indifferent, giving off the feeling that she wasn’t particularly interested in anything happening around her.

However, her eyes were completely different.

They were currently fixed on Lukas.

Her pupils narrowed into thin slits as she carefully observed him from a distance.

Interesting...

Just how long has it been since I last encountered someone whose status window I couldn’t see?

The thought flashed through her mind.

This seemingly ordinary female was none other than Zerin.

She had secretly taken over the body of this unfortunate girl, using her identity to enter the inheritance space and examine the legacy of the Vengeful Berserker Demigod.

Zerin had several reasons for doing so.

But the most important one was the legacy itself.

The path she had chosen to walk was surprisingly similar to that of the Vengeful Berserker Demigod.

Because of this, she had always been extremely interested in the existence who had once walked this path to its very peak.

If she could obtain even a portion of his understanding...

Perhaps it could help her take another step forward on her own path.

Thinking about the demigod, Zerin’s gaze gradually became sharper.

A demigod.

An existence that stood at the boundary between mortality and true divinity.

According to the information she possessed, a demigod was practically a semi-immortal existence. Killing such a being wasn’t something that could simply be accomplished through overwhelming strength. Unless certain conditions were fulfilled, even destroying their body wouldn’t necessarily mean their true death.

For ordinary young awakeners inside this inheritance space, the title of Demigod was already enough to make them excited.

They imagined themselves inheriting the legacy, obtaining unimaginable strength, and stepping onto a path that would eventually lead to immortality.

But Zerin knew better.

She understood far more about demigods than these young awakeners ever could.

To her...

Demigods were practically immortal.

And that was precisely why one fact bothered her.

Even an existence that had reached such a terrifying level had eventually died.

The Vengeful Berserker Demigod had been powerful enough to leave behind an inheritance that attracted countless geniuses from across Earth, yet the person himself was no longer alive.

Why?

How had such an existence died?

What had been powerful enough to kill someone who was practically impossible to kill?

Zerin’s thoughts began to deepen as she considered the possibilities.

There had to be something hidden behind his death.

Something important.

Something that could potentially explain the boundary between immortality and true death.

She was still lost in these thoughts when a familiar presence suddenly brushed against her senses.

Zerin’s expression changed slightly.

She immediately turned her head.

There was no need to search for long.

Her gaze quickly locked onto a figure standing in the distance.

Lukas.

Her memory was extraordinarily sharp.

Even after so much time had passed, she instantly recognized him.

Hmm...

That young one from Roaring Dragon Settlement...

A trace of curiosity appeared in Zerin’s eyes.

She still remembered the strange anomaly surrounding his soul.

It had been unusual enough to leave an impression on her.

Now that she had encountered him again, that curiosity naturally resurfaced.

Zerin quietly observed Lukas for several seconds before casually attempting to inspect his status window.

It was an instinctive action.

She had done it countless times before.

A faint fluctuation of magic spread from her body as her ability activated.

Yet...

Nothing happened.

Zerin’s eyes narrowed.

She tried again.

Still nothing.

The familiar information that should have appeared before her remained completely absent.

Her magic had failed.

How?

For the first time in a very long time, genuine curiosity appeared within Zerin’s eyes.

She stared at Lukas from across the enormous bone platform, her expression finally losing its previous indifference.

She couldn’t see his status window.

Not because he had hidden it.

Not because she had failed to activate her magic correctly.

Her magic simply...

Couldn’t see him.

Just as Zerin was still lost in thought, a handsome young man with a confident smile walked toward her. His posture was relaxed, yet there was an unmistakable sense of authority in the way he carried himself, as though he was accustomed to having others follow his lead.

"Aella... it’s time we also get moving."

The name belonged to the confident young man, Rufus, the leader of this expedition.

Hearing his words, Zerin, who was currently assuming the identity of Aella, slowly turned her eyes toward him. Her expression remained calm, but a faint coldness appeared in her gaze. She didn’t like being ordered around, especially by someone she considered nothing more than an insignificant young man.

Rufus naturally noticed her reaction.

Instead of becoming angry, however, the smile on his face only deepened. To anyone watching from the outside, he still appeared perfectly confident and composed, but if one looked carefully, they could see the faintest hint of a smirk briefly appearing at the corner of his lips.

This is it...

He liked it this way.

If she had simply submitted without putting up any resistance, where would the fun have been?

Rufus had always enjoyed conquering things that appeared difficult to obtain, and Aella’s cold attitude only made his interest in her grow stronger. As long as she continued resisting, he had all the more reason to continue pushing forward.

Meanwhile, the remaining members of the Wasteland Titan Guild didn’t waste any time.

The moment Rushing Spear gave the order, they immediately began moving toward the enormous bone staircase. One after another, they stepped onto the first step and started ascending without hesitation.

Their movements were steady and orderly, and there wasn’t even the slightest trace of hesitation among them. The enormous pressure surrounding the staircase seemed to have little effect on these people, as though they had already prepared themselves for it before entering the inheritance space.

...

By now, Lukas had already confirmed exactly where Zerin was.

His gaze remained fixed on the members of the Wasteland Titan Guild as they began their ascent, and his expression gradually became solemn.

At this point, there was only one thing he genuinely wanted to see.

He wanted Zerin to suddenly explode into a mass of blood.

Unfortunately, Lukas also knew that this was nothing more than wishful thinking.

People hadn’t called her Star Mother for no reason.

If someone like her could be killed so easily by the pressure of a demigod’s inheritance, she wouldn’t have survived long enough to become the terrifying existence she was today.

Lukas could only watch silently as the Wasteland Titan members continued climbing.

Step after step, their figures steadily moved higher.

The invisible pressure surrounding the staircase grew stronger with every step, yet the members of the guild remained completely unaffected. Their movements didn’t slow down, and their expressions didn’t even change.

The gap between them and the other groups quickly became obvious.

While many awakeners were still struggling to adapt to the pressure, the Wasteland Titan members had already climbed several steps.

Then ten.

In the blink of an eye, they had reached the tenth step, far ahead of everyone else.

Lukas continued watching, his eyes narrowing slightly as he wondered just how far they could go.

But before he could think any further, a familiar notification suddenly appeared directly in front of his vision.

[Your Undead Tommy has finished evolving...]