Three months had passed since the chaotic battle.
Once again, Orsaga stood atop the mountain blanketed in Deathblossom Flowers.
"Almost there..."
Lifting his head, he attuned himself to the will of the Demonbone Forest. That gentle yet insistent nudge—almost like a countdown—told him it was time to move on.
After weeks of hunting and slaughtering countless demons, the evolution points he had stockpiled in the system were finally enough to ascend to the level of a High Rank Demon. There was no longer any reason to linger here.
So, using his psychic power, he conveyed his intent to leave directly to the will of the Demonbone Forest.
In the next instant, his figure vanished without a trace.
All that remained was the silent sea of vibrant yet eerily lifeless flowers.
---
He appeared in a distorted space filled with swirling patterns and erratic lines, seemingly scattered at random.
The moment he arrived, Orsaga immediately understood—this was a transfer hub between the Demonbone Forest and the other layers of the Abyss.
Through this hub, he could access the vast majority of Abyssal layers. It was a one-time privilege granted by the Demonbone Forest and other origin zones to any demon who successfully left their birthplace.
For most Abyssal demons, this was their only chance to traverse layers freely.
After all, statistically speaking, most juviline demons didn't survive long enough to use interlayer teleportation arrays. They'd be killed and eaten by stronger demons before they ever got that far.
Take demons, for example: while they were immortal in the sense that they didn't die of old age, their average lifespan was ridiculously short—shorter than that of humans!
Most were born and died on the same day. Nine out of ten couldn't even make it away from the Riverbank before perishing.
Even for those who did escape, the odds of survival in the days that followed were nearly nonexistent—a 99.999% chance of dying in battle.
Only a rare few ever lived to become truly powerful.
This astronomically high mortality rate was precisely why the demon eggs along the Stygian River hatched endlessly. Without that, demons would've gone extinct long ago, let alone grown in number.
Closing his eyes, Orsaga focused on the myriad Abyssal marks floating in this space—each one a gateway to a different layer. Most of them provided only vague information, hinting at the dominant elemental affinity of the demons in that layer: fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, poison, metal, space, time…
Nothing beyond that—no names, no details.
It gave him the distinct impression he was picking destinations off some shady black-market travel agency.
After some hesitation, he selected a mark saturated with fire-elemental demonic energy.
Though Orsaga wielded a chaotic variety of abilities, at his core, he was still a Flame Demon.
So it made sense to start in a place where the environment matched his nature.
Reading the brief info on the mark, he sighed to himself, "Please don't be a total hellhole…"
According to what he knew, some fire-aligned Abyssal layers were absolutely inhospitable—daily meteor showers and stellar storms sweeping the land, with nothing but fire demons and flame-elemental creatures managing to survive.
He really didn't want to end up in one of those.
The moment he made his selection, his vision warped, and the surrounding space turned surreal—like stepping into a distorted painting.
His spatial senses confirmed that some mighty force was relocating his body to another realm, but its depth was beyond comprehension.
---
When his vision cleared again, Orsaga found himself standing on unfamiliar ground.
Compared to the Demonbone Forest, where vegetation was rampant, this land was starkly barren. Only a few scattered plants could be seen.
The air no longer reeked of blood and rot. Instead, the heat radiating from five blazing fireballs in the sky scorched everything beneath them.
By Earth standards, the temperature here would be over 500°C—bone-dry and utterly devoid of moisture. A normal person wouldn't survive even a second.
Sniffing the air, Orsaga picked up the strong scent of sulfur and volcanic ash.
There were volcanoes nearby—many of them, judging by the smell.
Nodding with satisfaction, Orsaga was pleased. This place was far better than he had expected.
Sensing no immediate threats in the area, he allowed his body to slowly sink into the ground, silently merging with the earth.
It was time.
He was ready to evolve into a High Rank Demon, and this location would do just fine.
---
Roughly 500 meters underground, magma had already started to replace the surrounding soil. Clearly, this area was part of a massive volcanic system, one that could erupt at any moment.
"No wonder the surface is so barren…"
Though a little surprised, Orsaga didn't dwell on it. After all, there were no "good" environments in the Abyss.
At a depth of 2000 meters, he deployed dozens of defensive and alert spells around himself, then closed his eyes.
Blood mist seeped from his skin, forming a cocoon that enveloped him.
This was both a rebirth and a ritual of agony.
Each time he underwent this process, he could feel himself melting away—body and soul—only to be reforged into a more perfected version of himself.
It was like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly—a complete metamorphosis.
His entire being was deconstructed and rebuilt from the ground up.
And the pain... oh, the pain. It wasn't just physical. His soul was being reshaped alongside his body.
Each time he endured such indescribable torment, Orsaga felt like he gained a deeper understanding of the concept of pain itself.
A sensation beyond words.
In that moment, he became the embodiment of Pain, a being who could both endure and inflict suffering with ease.
He could hear it—the wails of agony echoing from the land itself. Countless souls, across endless ages, seemed to cry out to him, sharing their sorrow and torment.
He listened, savoring the twisted thoughts in those cries, bathing in the chaotic resonance of their suffering. It was as though he had touched the world's raw, negative current.
His soul responded involuntarily—with a joy born from the deepest core of his being.
---
Several days later, the cocoon shattered.
The blood mist dissolved and flowed back into Orsaga's body, becoming part of his power reserves.
He had grown.
His height increased from a little over three meters to roughly 4.4 meters. His exoskeleton had become even more intricate and ornate, with Deathblossom Flowers blooming across its surface in strange, symbolic patterns.
His wings had also transformed—longer, sleeker, now four in number, each edged with deadly barbs. They were not just wings, but also weapons for close combat.
His horns remained mostly the same, though now thicker and longer. His tail had evolved from a narrow, stinger-like tip to something akin to a trident fused with a double-edged blade—still great for stabbing, now also built for slashing.
---
[Host]: Vareth Ogarion Xal'Thaz Orsaga
[Race]: Mutated Flame Demon
[Rank]: High Demon]
[Strength: 107]
[Speed: 106]
[Endurance: 111]
[Magic: 114]
[Soul: 118]
[Talents]:
Self-Evolution – Plunder: Constant auto-optimization of the body; combat and devouring flesh/souls accelerate this process.
Bloodflame Magic – Soul-Eroding Flame: Bloodflame replaces magic as your core energy—able to corrode and burn all things.
Crimson Exoskeleton: Armored scales with high resistances, auto-repair, stealth, and extreme environmental adaptability.
Eye of Insight – Voidpiercer: Greatly enhanced vision; sees through most illusions and physical matter.
Deathblossom Catastrophe – Deathblossom Flowers: Complete control over plaguecraft; the Deathblossom Flower becomes your unique plague brand.
Self-Projection – Incarnation: Capable of creating long-range avatars with partial power.
Spellforge – Furnace: Spells and martial arts become intuitive; effortlessly combine and innovate.
Apocalypse – Awakening: Drastic boost in learning ability and limited precognitive awareness.
Agony – Torment: As an avatar of pain, even a glance can inflict suffering.
Abyssal Contract (Can accept summons and form binding pacts through abyssal power; not even a Demon Prince can break it)
[Abilities]:
Too many to list—assume an extensive arsenal of spells and combat techniques...
[Evolution Points: 0]
---
His entire stat screen had transformed.
The numbers were one thing—but every single innate talents had undergone refinement and synergy, evolving to a whole new level.
Stretching his limbs slightly, Orsaga gave his wings a casual flap—and in a split second, his body rocketed upward, blasting through thousands of meters of rock and magma like a missile.
The surrounding earth posed zero resistance—everything shattered like tofu before his charge.
In less than a second, he soared into the open sky.
Whereas before, his wings had to flap to maintain flight, they now seemed to possess anti-gravity capabilities, allowing him to float freely.
Flapping only served to accelerate—a means of speed, not necessity.
_____
T/N:
Hello everyone! My Patreon is just $3 — a perfect opportunity to access 20+ advanced chapters and support the translation.
🔗 patreon.com/user?u=79514336
Or simply search Translator-Sama on Patreon.