Chapter 108 - Demon Castle – 3 (1/2)

Demon Castle – 3

The Earth shook violently as the fog began to disappear. The land around the castle began to change color as if the dirt had been wiped away. It left behind a brighter, purer land full of energy.

“It’s growing…” Lee Chan-yu muttered blankly, but he was right. I could feel it, perhaps because I was intricately connected with the castle. This was all my land. Killing the demons who risked life and limb to occupy the castle and devouring them all had given me the right to occupy a wider area of the underground. Immediately after the fog cleared, a huge amount of mana welled up inside of me. It would’ve been difficult to handle before my evolution, but now it was very welcome.

[New Magic increased by 38.]

[Soul Magic increased by 56.]

Because my jurisdiction in my underground had widened, my own level had grown, and I had become even stronger. It felt mystical to me, and I wondered what I should say about it- it was like something was supporting me. At the same time, I could understand why the demons raged during the Devil’s Night. I was, for the first time, recognizing the underground as a place I could stay in. I now also understood why people feared the underground when merged with the Earth.

For now, I would wait for the next Devil’s Night, and I would fight as the black moon led me.

“Whoo…” Another change was also taking place. I wasn’t the only one affected by the expansion of my domain; the same was true for the other entities connected to me.

[Kohohohoh!]

Cain was the one going through the most radical changes from the expansion. What I had expected from the beginning was now happening; he was evolving into the higher system.

[Ahhhhhh!]

Cain’s body, which was already large for an ogre, began to expand even more with the mana swelling inside him. I thought he was going to shrink, just as I did when I evolved from a bugbear into an elf. However, that had only been in my case. He grew in size as if to laugh at those thoughts. His skin turned black, and dark hair grew out from the crown of his head. He grew three meters taller, and the armor protecting his body burst off. Mireina, who had been watching, let out a scream and closed her eyes.

I kept watching the process of creating an existence that dwelled in the higher system. It was an existence different than my own, whose power existed in his body rather than in his magic.

“Don’t watch.” L suddenly caught my collar. Looking back, I wondered if she had been standing there like that throughout the whole battle.

“It was a tough fight, L. Thanks.”

“Well, y-yes…” She stuttered, her cheeks red. It felt embarrassing to thank her, but apparently, she looked more embarrassed to hear it.

“But from the start, I wasn’t prepared for this to happen.”

“Is that so?”

“We didn’t know that Andras would appear, or that you would run out to intercept them alone. Perhaps you anticipated everything…” Rain strolled by, saying a bunch of ridiculous words. When L glanced at him, however, he stopped in place and gave an awkward smile.

“Rest assured, I’m not trying to disturb your time together. I just thought I could help elaborate.”

“That’s why you’re in the way!” L flicked at him. A part of the wall turned into a window into which Rain exited from, laughing leisurely. It was obvious that he was running away.

“Old man…”

“So, what was the original goal you were aiming for?”

“…Expansion.” L pouted, and I worried that maybe she might try to stab Rain later.

“The area has grown, so we have to expand the walls. I have more than enough mana now to take care of building.” I looked around the land again. Certainly, it was incomparable to how it was before. But if I left it be, it would be invaded. I needed to build walls in the expanded area to protect it.

“This wall will do, but get rid of the moat. It’s useless.”