He could sense that about a quarter of the Soul Crystal had already been used.
Most of the participants were battered and bruised, clearly exhausted and bloodied. Orsaga thought to himself:
"That should be enough…"
With a forceful push of his feet, he leapt onto a nearby tree branch and began dashing across the treetops.
Fortunately, the magically altered plants here were far sturdier than ordinary ones—otherwise, just his weight alone would've been a problem. Standing over two meters tall and far heavier than typical beings of his level, Orsaga would easily crush any normal vegetation.
Thanks to his high speed attribute and abundant mana reserves, he moved effortlessly even through the densely intertwined canopy. His speed exceeded 360 kilometers per hour—fast enough to chase down a high-speed train on Earth with ease. In fact, he'd be even faster if he were running on flat ground.
"Hmm?"
Halfway through his sprint, Orsaga suddenly halted.
He had clearly sensed a Soul Crystal breaking out from the battlefield ahead and rapidly approaching his position. Using energy vision to get a rough look, he saw it was being carried by a Lesser Demon, and that demon was being pursued by at least several hundred others.
Choosing whether to fight in the chaos among hundreds of demons or to blend into the mayhem among millions—it was another decision Orsaga had to make.
The former might offer a higher chance of snatching a Soul Crystal, but the latter didn't even require stealing it. He was very aware of what he truly relied on.
Soul Crystal might be the only shortcut available for other demons, but he was different—he had the Evolution System!
The millions of demons fighting ahead all had their eyes on the Soul Crystal, but he could easily change his target. As long as there were demons to kill, it was enough for him!
Those stronger demons were too distracted by their greed to notice anything else. This was the perfect time for Orsaga to blend in and kill weaker demons, racking up Evolution Points. Whether he got the Soul Crystal or not didn't matter—what mattered was harvesting enough points. Advancing to the next stage wasn't difficult for him.
Still, letting a Soul Crystal slip by when it was delivered right to his doorstep didn't sit well with him. That would feel like an unnecessary loss—after all, it was right there! How could he not at least give it a try? What kind of demon would he be?
After some thought, Orsaga decided to test his luck with the small group headed his way. If he could snag it, great. If not, he'd move on to the larger battle and pick off easier prey.
Decision made, he swiftly carved a large hole in the tree trunk with his hands, slipped inside, and concealed himself—ready to give the approaching demon a nasty surprise.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5…
Using energy vision to see through obstacles, Orsaga lay hidden in the tree, silently counting down as he judged the distance.
"Damn mutts… To think I'd be pushed this far. Once I recover, I'll kill every last one of you…"
Furious thoughts churned in the mind of Gokelius, who had never been in such a wretched state since becoming a Lesser Demon.
One-on-one, he could take down any of his pursuers. But they didn't give him that chance—they ganged up on him right from the start, leaving him seriously wounded. If he hadn't run, he'd already be dead.
Soul Crystal wasn't just useful for minor Demons; it was also valuable for Lesser Demons like him. Especially since he was about to be expelled from the Demonbone Forest.
(Note: Creatures in the Demonbone Forest are forcibly expelled once their power exceeds that of a Lesser Demon, or if they stay too long.)
With his current strength, surviving the outer Abyss,—was no simple task. He needed to seize every chance to grow stronger!
Unlike the beast-like minor Demons who lacked higher reasoning, Lesser Demons had the intelligence to scheme—and the instinct for self-preservation.
The next second, a strange force struck directly at his soul, sending a sharp buzz through his mind!
Though it didn't cause much physical damage, it made him stumble and tumble to the ground.
His pursuers didn't understand what had just happened, but the aura of Soul Crystal on him was unmistakable. Without hesitation, they launched a barrage of attacks.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Explosions ripped through the area, blowing a massive crater into the ground.
As the smoke cleared, Gokelius lay dead—his body nearly torn in half.
The Soul Crystal flew from his corpse and landed nearby.
Instantly, every demon present lunged toward it, none of them noticing that their numbers had mysteriously increased by one.
Nor did they notice that among those rushing for the Soul Crystal, one demon stepped on Gokelius' corpse—and lingered.
When he stepped away, the body had turned into a desiccated husk.
[+477 Evolution Points]
"Pity… the body was already damaged, and the soul was shredded by all those attacks." Orsaga thought, a bit displeased.
He then dashed toward the Soul Crystal, deliberately slower than the rest. Along the way, he passed by a distracted minor Demon, and with a quick Soul Shock, paralyzed it. Casually, he plunged his hand through its back and crushed its heart.
[+89 Evolution Points]
Confident that he could solo any Lesser Demon, Orsaga still chose not to stand out. He was, after all, just a "harmless" minor Demon—no need to draw attention. For now, he'd just toy with demons of similar rank.
The ground looked as if it had been bombed—riddled with craters.
Fragments of stone, broken tree limbs, and scattered flesh and blood littered the grass.
---
"Hand it over. We'll let you leave alive."
Staring at the gasping demon in front of him, Temrath frowned and spoke in a low voice.
Only three demons remained standing—Temrath, Sorathis, and Glimzor.
Temrath didn't want to force the situation. He was already exhausted. If the demon in front of him chose to fight to the death, he wasn't confident he'd survive.
All three were Lesser Demons.
Every minor Demon had already been eliminated—brutally torn apart by the joint effort of the Lesser Demons.
Now, only three of those Lesser Demons remained.
But weren't there only supposed to be four strongest demons? How did they get down to three?
Well, that fourth one—Orsaga—had long since picked a nice cozy spot to play dead before the massacre started!
Over the past few days, he had evolved an ability to suppress his aura specifically for sneak attacks.
'Dammit… stop yapping and fight. If one more of you dies, I'm getting up and killing the rest of you myself!'
Lying in a pile of corpses, listening to the three Lesser Demons argue, Orsaga grew annoyed. He still wanted to go to the real battlefield and pick off some soft targets—he didn't have time to waste.
'10, 9, 8, 7…'
Getting impatient, Orsaga started counting down. If they weren't fighting by the time he hit zero, he'd jump up and kill them all—even if it meant taking a hit.
Those three half-dead demons didn't have what it took to stop him anyway. The only reason he hadn't made a move yet was because he wanted to conserve his strength for the big melee ahead.
Thankfully, before he hit zero, the trio broke into a fight again, and his irritation faded. He relaxed back into his corpse pillow.
But the Abyss wasn't on his side.
After a few more exchanges, Sorathis holding the Soul Crystal suddenly changed tactics—he hurled a few venom orbs to force back the other two, then turned and ran!
He was trying to make a break for it!
Orsaga wasn't about to let that slide!
Sorathis, feeling the presence of the others behind him but not yet reacting, suddenly took off like a rocket—his four legs blurring with speed. After a few steps, he prepared to activate a hidden escape spell—Swift Form—to leave them all in the dust.
SPLURCH!
Pain exploded from his side—something had pierced straight through him. Before he could turn to see who it was, a hand wrapped around his neck, and sharp claws dug deep into his flesh.
RIIIP!
Like tearing leather, Orsaga ripped out his throat and a chunk of flesh. His tail then punctured Sorathis's heart, leaving no room for resistance.
"Wasting my time."
After draining everything, Orsaga casually tossed Sorathis's corpse aside with one hand. In the other, he clutched the Soul Crystal, about the size of a fist, and turned to face the two remaining Lesser Demons now rushing toward him.
"Hand it over!"
Temrath stared at Orsaga, blood dripping from the latter's hands as he licked the gore from his tail. He spoke in a low voice.
Though Orsaga was just an minor Demon—and had only killed a Lesser Demon through ambush—Temrath had a bad feeling in his gut. The other Lesser Demon felt the same. Their demonic instincts screamed at them that the one in front of them was extremely dangerous. Instinctively, he stepped closer to Temrath.
"Hahaha… Hand it over to you?"
Orsaga chuckled as he looked at the two demons who were watching him cautiously.
Then, without hesitation, he opened his mouth wide—almost all the way to his ears—and swallowed the Soul Crystal in front of their eyes.
'System convert the Soul Crystal into Evolution Points…'
[+21,000 Evolution Points]