"Dismiss..."
Ricky had to forcefully close the system window as his stomach rumbled loudly like a war drum. A gnawing emptiness coiled inside him, an insatiable hunger clawing at his insides.
The evolution process had drained him, leaving his body craving sustenance. He wanted to devour something—anything. Yet, when the humans appeared before him, he did not lunge. Something about them felt off, their auras carrying an unnatural weight that sent a warning deep into his instincts.
He hesitated.
Then, the air around him shrieked.
"What...?"
A golden streak tore through the night like a burning meteor. Seraphina, clad in armor that shimmered like molten gold, exploded into view, her sword descending toward him with merciless precision.
Ricky's body had changed. After his evolution, he had grown over half a meter in length, his razor-sharp proboscis now extending to nearly half his body's size. His limbs were longer, his exoskeleton more refined, almost crystalline under the dim glow of the moon.
The moment Seraphina's fiery energies ignited the battlefield, shadows recoiled from her presence, retreating beneath the weight of her radiance. The orange glow cast a grim silhouette over Ricky, exaggerating the eerie, predatory gleam in his multifaceted eyes.
Yet, for all her speed, he saw her. Every twitch of her muscles, every flicker of light bouncing off her blade. His wings moved—not in frantic desperation, but with calculated precision. He tilted his body mid-air, just enough to let the burning sword graze past by a mere breath's width.
Had he been a fraction slower, his wings might have been severed. Or perhaps not. Even he wasn't sure.
But something told him—her sword held no real threat to him.
A sharp twitch in his antennae. Another presence.
From the side, a crimson force surged toward him. Noel Nrack, his massive blade raised high, his entire being wrapped in a burning red aura.
The air itself seemed to crack under the sheer force of his muscles as he swung.
Ricky's eyes glowed dangerously. He had been wary of the woman, but this man?
This fool had a death wish.
He had underestimated them. Ricky realized now—this was a coordinated attack.
Seraphina's charge had been a feint. A clever misdirection, shifting his focus away so that Noel could strike with overwhelming force.
It was too late to dodge.
"Die, you monster!"
Noel's voice thundered as he unleashed his full strength.
Swish!
A deafening roar echoed through the night as Noel's sword carved through the air, the sheer speed leaving behind a howling gust.
The impact shattered the earth beneath him. The ground trembled, spiderweb cracks expanding outward, jagged lines radiating from the point of impact.
A golden arc of destruction—three meters in diameter—rushed toward Ricky, engulfing everything in its path.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion of golden light swallowed the battlefield.
...
"My fruits are the best..."
A dark figure moved gracefully among the branches of a massive spiritual tree, her voice carrying a soft, almost childlike melody.
She hummed—a habit she had picked up from her new friend.
It was soothing, far more effective than the so-called meditation techniques buried in her bloodline memories.
"I wonder where the thief learned it..."
Dark Shadow mused, running her fingers over the smooth skin of a fruit, polishing it with a cloth spun from her own Nether threads—a technique Ricky had taught her.
She thought of him often, the strange little mosquito who knew far too much.
How was it that someone so weak possessed such peculiar knowledge? The miraculous fertilizer, the odd habits, the refined techniques...
However, before she could entertain the thought further, her instincts screamed.
A pulse of danger, sudden and suffocating.
Her body tensed. She froze.
Then she saw it.
Above, the sky had transformed. A golden sun burned brilliantly, searing through the night.
A foreboding chill wrapped around her heart.
Something terrible had happened.
"What is this...?"
...
Crack.
A bone-chilling silence gripped the Harrier village, the stillness broken only by the crackle of burning wood and the distant collapse of stone.
"Dead..."
Seraphina stood amidst the destruction, eyes narrowed as she observed the thick cloud of dust that obscured her vision.
Then, her gaze shifted.
Noel stood some distance away, his chest rising and falling rapidly, his body trembling from exertion. His breath came in ragged gasps, sweat dripping from his brow.
He had given everything into that attack.
Seraphina gave him a slow nod before turning away.
She had misjudged him. He wasn't as dull as she had initially thought. The decision to cooperate had been the correct one.
After all, the monster had emitted an aura eerily similar to the Demon King.
And yet, something was wrong.
Her fingers curled instinctively around the hilt of her sword.
It had been only nine hundred years since the last Demon King had walked the earth. There should have been more time.
A Demon King was only born once every millennium.
"How..."
A voice, high-pitched and trembling with disbelief, broke the silence.
Seraphina's breath caught in her throat.
She turned toward the fading smoke.
Her blood ran cold.
Noel stood there, staring blankly into the haze, his body stiff.
Then, the smoke cleared.
A figure floated in the air, untouched. His sleek exoskeleton gleamed under the moonlight, pristine and unscathed.
Ricky remained exactly where he had been, his presence suffocating, his eyes filled with amusement.
"Just this much..." he mused, his voice laced with something between smugness and curiosity. But deep inside, even he was surprised.
Then, Seraphina saw it.
A barely visible, shimmering veil of energy surrounded him. A spiritual force field—something only a Stage 2 being could wield.
Her heart clenched.
She had made a grave mistake.
A Stage 2 being?
Had she gone mad?
She was strong—perhaps one of the strongest among Stage 1 knights—but a gap existed between her and Ricky that could not be crossed.
Stage 2 beings did not fight Stage 1 even in their dreams.
Stage 2 beings erased them.
The realization settled like ice in her veins.
She did not hesitate.
Seraphina turned into a ray of golden light and fled into the distance—leaving Noel alone with Ricky.