Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest

Power roared in his throbbing veins, making him feel as though he could punch through a chain of mountains with his bare fists. His forked tail lashed the ground, rubble exploding upward. With a powerful motion, his devilish wings unfurled, blasting the debris to the walls.

In the blink of an eye, he grasped the terrifying improvements brought by his evolution. His essence changed into something more potent—the origin of demonic essence: infernal essence. With it, the stat boost ratio increased from 1:1 to 1:1.5.

He glanced at the total—52.185—and smirked, catching his reflection in the polished brazier.

"Sharper nose, same features, more crevices. Who's more handsome than me?"

Before he resumed his descent, he paused to spin his daily talent wheel, wondering if he'd get a significant item after it reached the S rank.

The losing slots covered for three-quarters of the prizes, but the glowing materials, fruits, and sparse equipment made him nod in understanding. The previous quantity became a few items of extraordinary quality, and he wouldn't complain about it.

A moment later, the silver needle stopped, and a notification rang in his ears.

[Congratulations on obtaining the mythical material: a piece of refined Uru.]

He whistled. "Getting off to a flying start, huh? I'll put it to good use later."

Satisfied to get the same metal smelted to forge Mjolnir and ready to get the third remnant, he turned to the somber veil of flame shrouding the casino.

With a gesture, he doused it off and stepped out, the darkness of the abyss engulfing him.

Driven by his goal, he fought swarms of abyssal spawns, gaining two more levels before he found the tunnel leading to the third layer four months later. He reached the next city after a year of relentless search.

Ruined like the others, he couldn't help but notice many large buildings of doubtful uses as he walked to a crumbling palace. He passed by scenes whispering ancient pieces until he pushed the heavy doors of what had once been a grand theater.

He observed the stage from the balcony, frowning at the iridescent ribbons swirling out of the braziers like elegant pieces of clothing blown by a soft wind.

The air was thick with the echo of ancient performances, and he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of nostalgia.

Mesmerised by the beautiful spectacle, he missed the shadow encroaching on his back.

A sudden tingle ran under his skin, and his instincts shrieked a single warning: behind!

Without hesitation, his tail shot back as his sides folded to the right.

WHOOSH

Long, dark nails brushed his forehead, sending his hair fluttering. Simultaneously, his tail dug into the eldritch's horror chest with a sickening noise.

"H-How?"

He shuddered and stepped back for the first time when he heard the enticing voice. How could it come from such a grotesque creature?

Spitting on the ground in disgust, he glared at her disproportionate curves covered in layers of barbed bones. Her very existence seemed crafted to lure men into her deadly embrace.

The sudden urge to gouge out her scarlet eyes made his arm tremble as his blade materialised in a burst of flames.

"How what, bitch?"

Without waiting for an answer, he lunged, his blade shining in a scarlet arc.

However, his brows creased into a frown. Why were her lips curling into a smirk?

"We have much to discuss, and your adaptation to the abyss is... fascinating." She smiled coquettishly and opened her arms wide, the bones shifting forward like spears. The aureole hovering above her head spun, iridescent flames wrapping and distorting her figure.

Silky green hair erupted from her bald head, and her eyes sparkled a demonic green. A leather top and jacket fluttered as her proportions became divine. Her slender fingers beckoned to him and the familiar smile... only caused blood to rush to his eye and his jaw to clench.

She dared take Luna's appearance before him? What fearlessness—what foolishness!

Instead of slowing down, his blade blurred to mirror his rage.

The ground cracked under his feet as he hacked the creature's shocked arms first. Then, he followed with the legs as her trembling lips parted to talk.

But he didn't pause. Like a furious storm, he slashed the creature into morsels. Unsatisfied, he thrust his left palm at them, somber infernal flames bursting from it.

A roaring inferno engulfed her bloody remains, vaporising them into swirling dust.

Despite his victory, Adam panted. He clutched his chest, his heart pounding painfully underneath. Why, Why Luna? He couldn't think about her. He had to seal her image again and fast.

Fighting against his welling tears and the rising tide of despair, he took a deep breath and sat cross-legged. Eye closed, he opened a drawer in his mind and delicately placed her image inside.

He sighed a moment later as his heartbeat slowed and his composure slowly returned.

Thinking about their reunion strengthened him during the first weeks. But as days melded into one another, his hopes turned into doubts. Was she safe? Would she continue to wait for his return? These thoughts impeded his progress, made him weaker. No, he had a single goal now: to get the remnants, and his love for her had no place in it.

His eyes snapped open, a steely glint flashing as he rose. The only way to reunite with her was to forget her, claim the remnants, and escape.

His determined steps echoed as he walked to the brazier, and plunged his hands into the ribbons.

As if acknowledging him, they twirled elegantly to his arm and chest crevices. They vanished inside the next second, making them glow like rainbows as the familiar pain assaulted his body.

He didn't know if it was because of his evolution or the two prior experiences. But his body overwhelmed and assimilated the intruder in a brief half a minute as the desired knowledge flooded his mind.

"Photon manipulation to create captivating illusions?" He muttered, understanding the eldritch's power. However, this was only the tip of the iceberg. Instead, the core knowledge was to ally beauty with destruction while manipulating plasma.

As if to confirm his thoughts, a notification appeared before him.

[You've assimilated the Remnant: The Allure of Infernal Heat. Your flames are passively enticing. Mastery over chaotic, infernal flames constructs achieved.]

He nodded, estimating he had gained another century of knowledge as he retrieved the dark ring she had dropped. Then, he opened his notifications.

'I shouldn't have vaporised her... I lost her essence.' His lips twisted in regret as he checked the XP.

[You have defeated the tier 7 level 92 boss: Eldritch horror born from Lilû's discarded body. You have gained 14.000.000 experience points.]

'Leveling up is becoming impossible.' He shuddered, the terrifying 23.500.000 XP required to reach level eighty-six sending an icy shiver down his spine.

Did he finally catch up with the greatest imp? Surely, he couldn't still be ahead when he killed bosses one after another? He could have asked if his lord chat worked in the abyss.

He shrugged and set off toward the fourth layer, muttering, "What prison allows communication tools?"