The Devil's Evolution Catalog

The golden-armored figure who traded blows with my stone giant was a paladin, and most likely a general of some sort of the troops below. Upon landing on the ground, he immediately gathered by the side of the other eight-stars. “Vakarina, is that an elemental summon?”

“Unlikely, and this mana signature… our enemy is no ordinary person, I’m afraid,” the female mage shook her head and continued, “I think it’s best if we retreat for now…” The fact that their troops were getting slaughtered while the golden figure was unable to defeat me left her very concerned.

“That woman should be a fallen angel by the looks of things. She is strong, but I do not believe that the four of us combined is unable to defeat her!” the red-armored figure immediately countered firmly.

“And look at her face, it’s exactly the same as that statue in the hall -she’s clearly the devil they were worshiping! If we do not kill her now, the casualties will only grow in the future! Just look at those foolish villagers behind me, they don’t even realize they are being bewitched.”

“The devil must die.” A short but forceful answer from Sorrowind, one dripping with hatred.

“His Excellency the Duke ordered that we cleanse the base of those demonesses. If we were to allow the devil herself to escape, who knows how many will die because of this decision.” Bolstered by his companions, the golden figure’s tone only grew more assured and firm. “Have you not noticed how she’s looking at us? Even if we run, she does not plan on letting us go.”

“All right. We shouldn’t show our backs to our enemies anyway…” the female mage shrugged her shoulders a little. “It’s a shame this task was issued so urgently, and no one could have predicted how things would have turned out… else we could have dispatched more…”

“The four of us is enough.”

The red-armored swung his greatsword around for a moment, then with a leaping stride, he rushed at me. A barrage of sonorous clanging trailed behind him, assaulting my sense of hearing from a distance away, and trying my already thin patience further.

“We should join in.” The golden figure charged in as well, armor brimming with a thick layer of aura.

“Right.” The female mage gripped her staff tightly. A powerful wave of mana soon washed over her as an array materialized around her; she was preparing a powerful spell to throw at me.

Sorrowind, on the other hand, was more stealthy with his approach, choosing to duck in silently from a blindspot like a waiting assassin.

Standing high above on my stone giant, I silently watched as they completed their discussions, only willing the giant forward once they started attacking. As the stone giant took its first few steps in a while, its massive pillar-like legs sent shockwaves through the ground, each step a terror-inducing tremor for both the earth and the hearts of the soldiers. Even if they were more powerful than ordinary soldiers, there was no stopping this force of nature.

Knowing that, they scattered to the winds in a hurry, lest they were drawn into this superhuman battle.

With each step I took, the targets of my revenge grew ever closer. And as if in anticipation, the hatred within me burned ever stronger. Yet my heart was cold like the flames of Gehenna, and this all-consuming hatred threatened to consume my entire mind each passing moment.

For what did I labor so tirelessly for? Was it not for these humans? Have I not proven myself enough? What have Ancarin and Regine done wrong? And those abused demonesses?

Why deny them this last bit of refuge? Was it all my fault for trying to save the humans? Perhaps destruction is the correct answer…

“Crush them, my stone giant!”

—-Villagers—-

“Is that Lady Mo Ke?!”

“Is that truly Lady Mo Ke?!”

“Wasn’t she a red-skinned devil?”

“You may not know this since you’ve been absent from the village these past few years, but the last time Lady Mo Ke visited, she was already like a normal person…”

“Should we help her? She seems to be in danger…”

“Don’t be foolish, those are His Excellency’s army, if we help them… And besides, these are soldiers, not normal bandits…”

“Fear not, Lady Mo Ke, Dioh is here to rescue you!”

Amidst the din of whispers and undisguised anxiety, an ordinary-looking boy rushed out of the crowd, armed with a shortsword and a strikingly red buzzcut. But just as suddenly as he ran out, he was swiftly grabbed by the collar and subdued.

With no way of progressing forward, the buzz cut boy turned around to glare at the source of his temporary incarceration. However, he quickly held his tongue when he found a familiar face.

“Brother… Why are you stopping me?!” Even if Dioh was a little afraid of this stern older brother of his, he quickly plucked up the courage to yell, “I’m going to save Lady Mo Ke, don’t get in the way!”

“Those are the Duke’s men, if you go out now, the entire village will be in trouble.” George barked at his unbelievably foolhardy younger brother. He lowered his voice, “There’s no way our village can stand against the Duke. Besides, the strongest person here is a four-star… this isn’t a battle we can hope to interfere with.”

“Brother! We aren’t the ones causing trouble here! They are the ones who trespassed against us first!” Dioh burst out in anxiety and fear. Not only was his brother too afraid to act, the girl of his dreams was in the midst of a possible fight to the death. How could he not be concerned?

“Have you not heard those screams?! Even now, none of the women in the Demoness Abode have left that building… they might have already been… exactly did they do wrong?! Aren’t they just desperate women who were forced by a cruel world to seek out this last refuge? I… I don’t care! I know I can’t win against them, but I swear that I won’t let a single one of those soldiers go!”

Having finished his grand tirade, Dioh struggled even harder to break free. Yet try as he might, his puny two-star might wasn’t ever going to beat a four-star like his older brother.

“Let go of me! If you still consider me your brother, let me go!”

Dioh threw a punch and kick towards his brother, but George only tightened his grip further.

“I’ve made myself clear. You are not taking a single step further. For the sake of the village.” George coolly flung his brother, tripping him in the process.

“Sigh… I just knew having a devil’s henchmen in the village wasn’t going to end well…”