Chapter 9: Slaughter (4)bb
Faced with this scene, Temrath and Glimzor, two Lesser Demons, looked utterly grim.
Because the moment Orsaga devoured the Soul Crystal, they could no longer sense any fluctuations from it.
They immediately understood—Orsaga possessed the ability to rapidly digest Soul Crystals. Only with such a trait could a mere minor Demon dare to provoke them, two powerful Lesser Demons.
In that instant, their killing intent could no longer be restrained. They wanted nothing more than to skin Orsaga alive and swallow him whole.
Feeling his body had reached the limit of minor Demon rank and sensing the uncontainable malice from the other two—
Orsaga's blood-red eyes looked as though they were about to bleed, his golden vertical pupils brimming with murderous rage as he roared:
"I'll kill you both!"
Blood-red flames spontaneously erupted around his body. His crimson hair flowed wildly without wind.
Beneath his feet, demonic energy and bloodflame surged forth together. A wave of demonic flame appeared below him, and in an instant, he crossed dozens of meters—so fast it defied imagination—leaving behind only a streak of gliding flame suspended in the air.
He slammed both hands onto their faces, shattering their magical defenses with pure brute force. At point-blank range, demonic flames spewed into their faces, drowning their fury and fear in sheer agony.
Despite their large frames, they were completely overpowered. Orsaga pressed their faces into the ground with raw strength, grinding them against gravel and debris as he used both legs to propel himself forward at full speed.
The wind pressure from such speed turned into a semi-transparent barrier, blasting everything nearby into the air.
Flesh and bone from their heads were worn away bit by bit by the intense friction, reduced to dust and smeared across the ground.
The ground was plowed into a trench several dozen centimeters deep. Anything in the path—massive rocks, towering trees, or fallen corpses—was smashed to pieces and flung into the air with the stirred-up dust.
By the time Orsaga came to a halt, the ground behind him had been violently plowed into a path stretching hundreds of meters long. As for the two demons' heads—only about one-third remained. And even that part had been roasted thoroughly by the friction's high heat.
"Weak."
After draining the last of their power, Orsaga kicked their mangled remains aside and turned to the other untouched corpses nearby.
Nothing should be wasted. Frugality is key.
At least, for now.
After cleaning up, Orsaga immediately made his way toward the chaotic battlefield.
There was still a fortune waiting for him there.
Although the majority of the Soul Crystals had already been snatched, the scene remained chaotic—
Even more chaotic, in fact!
Most of the demonic creatures had gone completely insane. At this point, they no longer cared about Soul Crystals—they just wanted to kill everything in sight.
Spells of all kinds flew in every direction. With no such thing as allies, it didn't matter who got hit—if it hit something, that was all that mattered. Close your eyes and fire away.
Roars and wails mingled in a chaotic chorus. The excited demons cared for nothing—neither their own lives nor anyone else's. As long as there was death and suffering, that was enough.
Like a festival of carnage.
Brushing aside an ice spear flung at him by who-knows-who, Orsaga dove into the madness without hesitation. Though some Soul Crystals were still being fought over, he didn't join in—every single one was being watched by at least a thousand eyes.
If he were to convert one into evolution points in front of them, he figured there was a 95% chance he wouldn't make it out alive.
So he opted instead to join the mindless slaughter.
Tearing out hearts, kicking in skulls—simple, honest, and efficient. Like a farmer harvesting crops in a field.
He didn't even break a sweat. With a flick of his hand, blood still clinging to his fingers splattered into a nearby demon's eyes.
In this frenzied, friendless melee, it was only natural to take some hits here and there. But they were no big deal—demons' vitality made such wounds trivial. And the carnage, born from their very nature, made Orsaga feel exhilarated.
Time passed unknowingly.
Only when the celestial bodies overhead had sunk beyond the horizon did Orsaga finally leave the battlefield, leaving behind the other demons still lost in bloodlust and madness.
He was drenched in blood from head to toe.
Most of his hair had been torn out, three fingers on his right hand bitten off, the tip of his tail severed, and his abdomen pierced in two places. Even the exoskeletal armor on his chest had been pried open.
Yet his face bore no anger or pain—only a relaxed smile, as if basking in something beautiful.
Blood still poured from his body—his own and others'—but none of it dampened his mood.
The battle had left him feeling utterly satisfied. It was a fight full of unrestrained brutality that let him release all the violence in his heart.
—
A long while later…
Having adjusted his mindset, Orsaga glanced at the now-darkened sky and casually picked a direction to travel.
Most nearby demons were either still fighting, already dead, or recovering from injuries—too busy to care about anything else.
So even though Orsaga was practically dripping with the stench of blood, no one stood in his way. Even the once-plentiful bloodsucking insects had vanished—probably drawn to the chaotic battlefield.
After walking a while, he reached the edge of a cliff.
After carefully surveying the area, he began to climb. Dozens of meters up, he slipped into a cave hidden beneath a patch of overgrown weeds.
There were no demons inside the cave, but plenty of corpses—twisted and varied. Judging from their state, the freshest were at least a month old.
That likely meant the cave's former owner had either died or been driven out.
So Orsaga waved his hand, summoning blood-red flames that reduced everything inside to ashes.
Then he fired two Flame Arrows at the upper part of the cave's entrance, causing the rock to collapse and bury the opening entirely.
Now, in the pitch-dark cave, only charred remnants remained—alongside Orsaga.
He opened his system panel:
---
[Host]: Vareth Ogarion Xal'Thaz Orsaga
[Race]: Mutated Flame Demon
[Rank]: Minor Demon (Ready to evolve)
[Strength]: 50 (5)
[Speed]: 50 (5)
[Constitution]: 50 (5)
[Magic]: 50 (5)
[Soul]: 50 (5)
[Talents]:
• Soul Devour Evolution – Evolves through the consumption of souls.
• Slaughter Evolution – Evolves through combat and killing.
• Combat Instinct – Innate mastery of battle.
• Flesh Assimilation – Fingers & Tail (absorbs and extracts essence from flesh contacted)
•Magic Affinity – Corrosion (more corrosive than standard magic)
•Elemental Affinity – Bloodflame (high-temperature flames that burn flesh and life force)]
•Exoskeleton — Bloodthirst (Armored bone shell that can absorb blood to self-repair)
•Energy Vision (Can see energy through most materials)
•Abyssal Contract (Can accept summons and form binding pacts through abyssal power; not even a Demon Prince can break it)
Stealth – Silence: Greatly reduces presence and aura
[Skills]:
Fireball (Bloodline Spell – 27%)
Flame Arrow (Bloodline Spell – 28%)
Life Drain (Bloodline Spell – 25%)
Agonizing Strike (Bloodline Spell – 29%)
Soul Shock (Bloodline Spell – 30%)
[Evolution Points: 87,742]
---
This was everything Orsaga had gained in the month since evolving into an minor Demon.
Except for the 4,000 evolution points used to develop Stealth – Silence, he hadn't spent a single one. Over 20,000 came from Soul Crystals. Nearly 60% of the rest came from the slaughter just now.
One day of carnage yielded results equal to a month of slow hunting. It was far more dangerous—but also far more rewarding.
Unfortunately, such an opportunity only came once a year.
The rest of the time, it was back to playing hide-and-seek. That thought made Orsaga sigh.
After a moment of thought, Orsaga began issuing commands to the evolution system.
"1. With all current evolution points as the base, optimize every aspect using the best method possible, in coordination with the system's automatic modifications upon evolution.
2. Ensure the host can exit the process at any time.
3. While maintaining optimization, adjust appearance to suit the host's personal aesthetic—unless it would cause failure, in which case this directive is void."
These three were essential, so he didn't dwell on them.
In addition, before executing the first command, Orsaga added two extra directives—both targeting the evolution of new special talents.
Only after those were complete would the remaining evolution points be spent according to the three main directives.
Only then would he be ready to proceed with his next plans and experiments.
_____
T/N:
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