The Devil's Evolution Catalog

The enemies carving an array into the room had me very worried, especially when it was a massive ten meter wide array. Furthermore, the carvings were highly intricate; I couldn’t even begin to fathom what they meant with my limited arcane knowledge.

Not that it mattered. As long as Ferti’nier, our resident Devil King, understood the array, we were fine.

“That’s a teleportation array, they are trying to move the Wyrm away by force. Had they kept this array hidden for longer, we might have been in trouble, but thankfully, we still have five minutes to spare.”

All right, let’s get to it!

With a focus in mind, I ordered my Shadow Guardian to disrupt the unfinished array.

However, those twelve casters had already noticed me the moment I entered, let alone while I was considering my next plan of action. In spite of that, none of them even deigned to look me in the eye. Like an unfeeling robot, they proceeded with their frantic carving without skipping a beat.

It was about then that my Shadow Guardian emerged eerily from the ground, its hand curved into a reaper’s scythe aimed right at one of the black-robed caster’s backs.

But just when I thought that I had them, a shockwave so powerful even the naked eye could see the distortions shook the room, blasting away the shadowy scythe…

What the heck?!

“A Territory -there’s an overlord hiding somewhere.”

What! Why didn’t you say something earlier?

“I thought you had some inkling when you sent your Shadow Guardian ahead. There were two eight-stars acting as door guards after all; isn’t it obvious that the person guarding the core would only be more powerful?

I… was just being cautious there… I did just get blown up…

“Hah. And here I was thinking our little brother got smarter.”

I… sorry, for being dumb…

“Oh?” Just as I was on the verge of being chewed to nothingness by Ferti’nier, a jester-esque person stepped out of the shadows. The man wore a dove-tailed, black suit, matched with an eerie-looking half white on the crying side, half black on the laughing side mask. “To think I had the fortune of meeting the legendary Lady Mo Na. Seems like luck is on my side.”

“More like your luck has finally failed you.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right, bub.”

“Bub?”

The masked man clearly did not understand that “bub” was just informal speech. The fact that he was actually mulling over it right now showed he was quite a stickler for details.

While the masked man was busy, my Shadow Guardian took the opportunity to rebound for a counter-attack. In barely no time at all, its twin blades were swinging towards the man’s back.

“Lady Mo Na’s little toys are always so adorable. Too bad, they won’t work on me.”

An instant before the blades were about to hit, the masked man’s hand shot up, and just like before, my Shadow Guardian was rebuffed by a wall of force… like a ping pong ball against a paddle…

“We’re already in his range of attack, and his abilities do not seem normal either. Little Brother, you’d best be careful, his Territory is undoubtedly strong.”

But, Ferti’nier, even with my lacking strength, I’m sure with your help unlocking my full potential, an overlord should be no problem at all.

“Ah, my dear Little Brother, weren’t you just saying you wanted to test out Wyrm?”

It can theoretically go up against an overlord, but that hasn’t been tested yet. More importantly… it’s over there!

“No worries, your big sis has already been preparing on that front.”

As I was mentally conversing with Ferti’nier, the jester front of me smiled triumphantly, most likely because he mistook my silence for fear. “Lady Mo Na, I suggest you surrender now. I wouldn’t want to have to harm a beautiful lady like you.”

“Hah, you think you’ve won?”

While I might not know what preparations she was talking about, Ferti’nier had always come through for me in a pinch; I trusted her unreservedly. And since the other party was dead set on declaring his victory so prematurely, it’s only right of me to burst his bubble.

“Oh, does Lady Mo Na still have some cards to play?” The jester cocked his head. “The array is almost done, but I wouldn’t mind having some fun before that?”

While the jester continued gloating, a small object quietly appeared in my palms; a gift of sorts from Ferti’nier.

“That’s the Dragonscale Earring, an accessory crafted from the core scale of a red dragon, situated right in the center of its skull. It has already been bound to Wyrm. Little Brother, put it on, and you can use it to reverse summon yourself into the cockpit.”

I just have to put it on? That’s it? That’s quite convenient.

Then without waiting for her to reply, I hurriedly clipped on the earring on my left earlobe. It was carved from a small reddish scale into the shape of a heart -the very girly kind… And even though I had never pierced my ear before, the moment it came into contact with my ear lobe, it automatically pierced into my lobe without resistance.

“You’re finished!” I declared with the utmost of confidence, then… nothing happened…

Five seconds later…

“Lady Mo Na, was that it?” Actually on guard for a moment, the jester sounded visibly amused as he said that -I could tell despite his masked visage that he was on the verge of tears. “If this is your idea of a joke, I must admit, you’ve beaten me.”

Awkward…

Ferti’nier! What the heck was that, didn’t you say I could reverse summon myself into the cockpit? I even threatened him because I believed you. So where’s my summoning?

Now everyone will think I’m socially awkward!

“But, Little Brother, your big sis didn’t even finish speaking before you rushed off in a fit of excitement. Since it’s a reverse summoning, there’s naturally going to be a chant involved, right?”

A chant? What is it? Quick!

“The chant is– Wyrm Transformation: ACTIVATE! With gusto, or it won’t work.”

You’re kidding… and with gusto too…

“Lady Mo Na, why have you gone quiet again? Perhaps… a lesson is in order, I doubt you will listen otherwise.”

Amidst my mental breakdown over having to say that awkward-sounding chant, I suddenly felt a giant, invisible hand grab me, like how a human would grab the nape of a small animal…

Damn it, now I can’t even move… What the heck is this!