The Devil's Evolution Catalog

“O Lion’s Majesty… By my command, bless thy emissary with new life… Come forth… burn all that stands before me to nothingness!”

At the end of the day Inferno Lion was just just an elemental creature; its death only meant it had to be resummoned. And with Ferti’nier’s recovery potions, even that wasn’t an issue.

“Be wary, Little Brother, that explosive trap just now was powerful. Anyone able to set up such an array on such short notice wouldn’t be a pushover.”

Speaking of traps, couldn’t you have warned me earlier, Ferti’nier? How about some heads-up next time?

“It’s just a death, take it as a lesson so you don’t get ahead of yourself.”

Ahead of myself? How am I getting ahead of myself?

Actually, let’s not argue about that now, but I want a warning next time there’s a trap.

“If your big sis is in the mood.”

…what good is a cheat if it’s so unreliable.

But since she’s not feeling helpful right now, maybe I should get those three elementals to lead the way instead.

Hopping onto my newly resummoned inferno lion, I quickly followed up by conjuring up my elementals. Weaker as they were, they would be perfect as mine rats to test for dangers ahead.

Under my emotionless command, the three of them proceeded onwards past the rubble of the lab doorway. However, they had barely taken a couple more steps before a flash of silver struck, followed by their instant explosive demise…

“A woman?”

A deep, booming voice preceded the arrival of a three-meter tall, silver-furred werewolf blocking the way ahead. It was he who slew the three elementals I summoned in one swipe. That lightning-fast strike was beyond what any normal human could achieve, bordering on the supernatural.

In other words, this werewolf had the speed of an overlord or a near-equivalent.

But even then, how could he kill off three elemental creatures like that? After all, beings of pure elements weren’t easy to kill- there had to be some trick to his attacks.

However, there was no time for idle chat with my opponent. Not even to bait out information; he was clearly here to stall for time.

In that case, there’s nothing to do but forge on!

“Inferno Lion, charge ahead!”

Back arched for a pounce, its fiery paws burst to life as it took to the air. Unfortunately, even its impressive leap wasn’t enough to shake off the silver-furred werewolf.

Once more, in a flash of silver, the werewolf struck, and an entire leg was severed from the Inferno Lion.

Without its rear right leg, its body began to topple, nearly tossing me off its back in the process.

However, the werewolf’s attack did not end there. Like an unstoppable lightning, it had already circled past the inferno lion and was heading straight for my heart.

All that happened in the blink of an eye, leaving me without a second to react before I was met with impending doom…

Yet when all looked lost, a blade suddenly appeared in my right hand, and as if it had a mind of its hand, the blade swung right in the path of the werewolf’s claws!

Flesh met steel as I was greeted with that grisly but comforting sensation of my sword meeting its mark.

“Be careful there, Little Brother, that strike nearly took your life.”

That was quick thinking there, Ferti’nier… at least you’re finally being useful.

“How rude!”

Naturally, I ignored her griping and focused on providing more mana to my inferno lion, allowing it to rapidly regrow its leg. At that point, I decided to just jump off its back.

“Help me stall him, I’ll make the entry myself.”

“Roar!!”

In a time-sensitive operation like this, only a fool would assume that this werewolf was the only thief trying to steal my Wyrm. Now that he was injured, my inferno lion should be able to buy me a precious few seconds to reach the magitek armor before it was too late.

“Blast! What are you doing with that accursed weapon! Come back here! Damn lioness…”

His pointless howling echoed in the hallway behind me. As I continued dashing ahead, I called forth my Shadow Guardian to scout the road ahead for further ambushes.

Ever since I absorbed Shadowfang, the strength of Shadow Guardian only grew by the day. In some aspects, it was even stronger than me, its owner. Sending it ahead should suffice…

There was only one door separating me and Wyrm. That and a handsome, blonde-haired young man, dressed in the typical garb of a noble, and poised as you would expect of one. “This road is barred, I’m afraid.”

“A vampire?”

The man oozed with the ominous smell of blood. Coupled with his ostentatious dress and ruby-red eyes, I instantly figured out who he was.

His eyes held a crazed spark within them, but only for a brief moment before he calmed his fury down with a false smile. “My fair lady, I believe you’re mistaken there. I’m no vampire. We are all children of the night, the favored of the moon, the noble Bloodkin!”

“When did you vampires get together with the werewolves?”

This wasn’t my first run-in with a vampire, thus I knew nothing would irk them more than calling them vampires, especially twice.

“Oh, my lady…” He started, but never got to finish his words as my Shadow Guardian stretched out into a blade-like form, meeting his turned neck with its razor-sharp edge…

There was no blood spurt as I would expect. The vampire hadn’t been hit by the shadowy blade at all. In fact, he still had on that smile while the rest of his body had already transformed into a blood fog that engulfed the entirety of Shadowfang!

“Even though this is no creature of flesh and blood, my blood fog has the ability to corrode anything in this world…” However, he never got to finish this sentence either before his face suddenly contorted. “How… how is it an epic-grade…”

Wrapped up in blood fog, the Shadow Guardian undid its transformation, revealing a two-meter long, blackish greatsword that promptly swung down on the vampire’s head like it was a cake.

This time, there was no escaping death for the monster. And now that its prey was defeated, the Shadow Guardian returned to the darkness.

“Next time, try actually fighting instead of showing off… if there’s even a next time…” I triumphantly stepped over the corpse of my fresh prey and entered the storage location of Wyrm.

What entered my view were a dozen black-robed figures frantically carving a giant array into the floor. In the center of this array was a dome that kept Wyrm safe.

“A dimensional barrier: once deployed, even an overlord would be hard-pressed to break it. Whad’ya think of your big sis’s anti-theft system?”

What else is there to say but “well done!”