Evolution: From Little Devil to Devil Empress

Chapter 42: Crimson Maiden [4] - Drop of Blood

As Liora lowered her gaze, the contents of the mysterious wooden chest were finally revealed before her eyes.

To her surprise, the object lying inside was neither a rare artifact nor a prized treasure, but a single, pink-hued droplet of blood.

The rosy-crimson tear floated silently within the chest, shining with the brilliance of myriad colors.

The overwhelming oppression shrouding the mountain emanated from it, and despite its small size and gorgeous appearance, it radiated an aura of violence, cruelty, and evil.

Doing her best to ignore the pressure weighing down on her, Liora stared straight at the floating droplet.

The next moment, her vision went blank for an instant before an image flashed across her eyes.

In the image, two gigantic creatures—larger than any mountain she had ever seen—battled against each other.

One was a white-haired human with long fangs and pale skin, while the other was a colossal three-headed serpent, each of its heads breathing a different element.

Water, fire, and wind raged wildly through the air.

As the two creatures collided, blood splattered all over the place, white and red droplets scattering everywhere.

Some of these droplets blended together, turning pink before falling down and disappearing.

Liora watched the scene in trepidation.

Both of these beings were stronger than any creature she had seen before, far more powerful than Lord Embers and the Two-Headed Devil.

Even a single drop of their blood brought her intense pressure, as if staring at the droplet for too long would make her head burst apart.

A splitting headache assaulted Liora’s mind as she witnessed the two beings fight, and although this scene was a mere illusion, she felt her body in reality suffering its impact.

Large cracks began forming all over her smooth skin as if she were a porcelain doll ready to explode.

Just when she was wondering whether she had survived the battle in the City of Embers only to die in such an embarrassing way, an ancient power awakened within her.

The demonic energy coursing through her body boiled, taking a holy hue, while the power hidden deep inside her bloodline also rushed outward.

The two powers—one demonic and one divine—worked together to counterattack the blood droplet’s influence.

At first, the two powers were at a disadvantage, but as if the droplet’s actions had offended their majesty, their power gradually increased.

As it did, large fissures began spreading across the image.

The ground split apart while the sky fractured, like the reenactment of the apocalypse.

Then, with a loud snap, the image shattered into pieces as if made of fragile glass.

With its destruction, Liora’s thoughts returned to reality, back to the silent room within the Hellstone mountain.

The blood droplet still floated silently within the chest before her, but its pressure had now completely disappeared.

It was as if the previous scene had been an illusion, and the droplet had been completely ordinary from the very beginning.

Yet, whether it was the pain in her mind and body, or the large number of arrays that had shattered during their brief confrontation, they all told Liora that everything she had just witnessed was undoubtedly true.

Countless thoughts raced through her mind in an instant.

”I’m afraid that both of the creatures depicted in the image are at least True Devils, perhaps even stronger.”, she thought.

Having reached the peak of the Young Devil stage, even though Liora couldn’t claim that she could fight against Lesser Devils, she was at least confident that she wouldn’t be easily suppressed.

With the Myriad Devils Armor enhancing her defenses and the agility granted by Shadow Assimilation, she felt that she would most likely have no issue escaping if she were to encounter one.

In addition, she was certain that the Spear of the Blighted Sun—her most powerful trump card—could injure Lesser Devils if given the chance.

As such, Liora understood that these two beings could not be Lesser Devils.

After all, a mere glimpse at the drop of blood they had left behind had almost caused her to break down.

If it were not for the divine aura of the Spear of the Blighted Sun and her unknown bloodline reacting on their own, she would have most likely died.

Thinking of this, she glanced at the pinkish droplet and, after a momentary hesitation, she slowly stepped forward. As she did, her mind connected to the few surviving arrays, in case anything unexpected happened.

However, even when she stood right in front of the droplet, nothing out of the ordinary occurred.

Still, she didn’t let her guard down.

With caution, she leaned down and, after activating Dusk Armament to form a glove, picked up the pinkish droplet.

Even when the blood came into contact with the glove, it showed no reaction, resting obediently in its palm.

”Did the previous confrontation exhaust its remaining power?”, Liora couldn’t help but guess, but at the same time, her expression turned weird.

Having gotten closer to the blood, the Myriad Devils Armor covering her seemed to be stimulated, its crimson veins pulsating violently according to a strange rhythm.

It writhed eerily as if alive, as if urging her to let it devour the blood.

However, Liora immediately forced herself to restrain this impulse.

Not because she was afraid of the Myriad Devils Armor.

As its user, she knew very well that these reactions were not its own, but the instincts engraved deep within her own blood, meaning that they were actually her own reactions.

The reason she didn’t devour the blood was very simple: she didn’t dare to.

Ignoring the fact that this blood originated from two extremely powerful beings whose current state was unknown, she suspected that devouring this blood might make her explode.

After all, the energy contained within it was countless times more than the energy of every Devil she had devoured so far—combined.

But although she understood this, Liora still felt somewhat unwilling.

The blood of such a powerful creature was extremely valuable and would have caused a scramble if other Devils were to learn of its existence.

Yet, even though it lay right in her hands, she couldn’t find a way to make use of it. It was as if she had obtained a treasure chest filled with coins, only to find that they were in a currency she couldn’t recognize.

”Can I only store it away and wait to advance?”, Liora contemplated as her gaze shifted to the droplet.

Just then, a momentary haze flashed in her eyes before it was replaced by a hint of surprise.