In front of him stood a mantis.
Yes, a mantis. But you see, when a mantis is three meters tall, it transforms into a monstrous, menacing figure. Its blade-like arms glistened with fresh, viscous blood, and pieces of organs clung to its chitinous body as it chewed the remains of what appeared to be a child. The grotesque crunching filled the jungle air, a macabre melody that made the heart pound.
The only reason Asmodieus could even see the creature in this dense jungle was its grotesque coat of fresh, dripping blood that reeked of death.
This wasn't an ordinary bug.
This was a Bug Lord, one of the strongest insect monsters to roam this cursed trial world. Its presence exuded a terrifying aura of dominance.
Asmodieus remained motionless, heart racing, calculating his next step.
Stealth. Quiet retreat. Move like a shadow.
But fate, ever the mischievous puppeteer, had other plans for our lovely demon.
Snap.
He stepped on a brittle branch, its sharp crack echoing through the forest.
The mantis's head jerked unnaturally toward him. Its segmented eyes, cold and unblinking, locked onto his figure.
"Well, fu—"
He barely had time to curse before the towering insect monster surged forward, its spiked legs and scythe-like arms slicing the air with deadly precision.
The demon child, standing just 1.7 meters tall, activated his shield in an instant.
Veins embedded with tiger-hide runes and stitched with mana-thread blazed with a fierce glow. The artificial skin-veins coursed with power, drawing in mana from his natural veins. Then, as if thirsting for life itself, they drained a liter of his blood.
Mana erupted from the veins, expanding outward.
A golden-red barrier enveloped him just as the mantis's serrated blades struck.
The impact was like a hammer blow.
Asmodieus felt himself launched ten meters backward, skidding across the forest floor. His back slammed into a tree, splinters flying as he coughed up blood. Wiping his mouth, he grimaced.
He could already feel the strain.
"This thing… It's no ordinary Bug Lord," he muttered, eyeing the beast's serrated claws, dripping with green venom.
He wasn't about to make a stand.
He turned and ran, weaving through the forest with a singular destination: the mansion in the center of the trial world.
Victory lay there. Safety lay there. Power awaited him there.
But the mantis would not let its prey escape so easily.
It gave chase, each step a rhythmic thud that vibrated through the ground. Its blades sheared through trees as it tore after him, gaining speed with terrifying ease.
Asmodieus knew better than to rely solely on his legs. He gritted his teeth and reached for his spear, a weapon of his own brutal design.
How would he activate its enchantments?
Simple.
He turned the spear toward himself and drove the sharpened tip into his own abdomen—into the very spot where his energy core pulsed with life.
The spear's tip drank deeply of his mana, but that wasn't all. It siphoned a minuscule fragment of [Existence], the essence of his being.
The runes etched along the shaft flared to life, glowing golden-red as the enchantments awakened.
Had anyone with spiritual sight been watching, they would have seen a core no larger than a grain of sand, transparent yet radiating immense power. This core was bound to the spear by a nearly invisible thread of spiritual energy—tied directly to the soul of Asmodieus, a remnant of his draconic lineage.
He pulled the spear from his stomach with a grunt, the wound already beginning to heal as his system cores pulsed within him.
The spear, now saturated with blood, flesh, and vitality, began to transform.
But he had no time to admire his handiwork. The mantis loomed closer, its bladed arm swinging in a deadly arc.
He dodged, feeling the wind of the strike tear past him as the claw embedded itself into a massive tree, the force so great that the limb became stuck.
A chance.
Asmodieus ordered his system to bind the monster.
[COMMAND RECEIVED]
The core within his body glowed brown, channeling mana at an alarming rate. The ground beneath the mantis shifted and coiled like serpents, forming stone shackles around its legs.
Earth magic surged, locking the creature in place.
"That should buy me a few seconds..." he muttered, panting.
Seconds were all he needed.
The spear, now fully activated, had absorbed the last remnants of gore. He raised it high, invoking its hidden power.
"By the will of gods, demons, and kings, I command the earth to bend to my will, and I summon the strength of the forest to aid my cause. I cast: Elven Spear!"
Though Asmodieus loathed chanting, these particular heavenly runes demanded it for their first activation.
The spear responded.
Wooden bark spiraled along its shaft, growing thicker and sturdier until it reached two meters in length. Soft, pliable grass encased it like skin.
The spearhead, originally forged of obsidian, began to melt. The molten stone absorbed nearby metals—copper, gold, and coal—reshaping itself under immense heat. The new spearhead solidified, gleaming with a greenish hue reminiscent of Le Poe's legendary spear.
Far above, on the Sun Throne, Dreamer watched.
His lips twitched with amusement.
"Did that little brat just craft a C-rank soul-bound weapon… from a tiger's hide and a rock?" he chuckled. "No, not just that. He's forged a weapon that defies the balance of the trials. Who let a heaven-breaking genius into the Phoenix Guild? Someone get me a bag. We're kidnapping this boy!"
—---
Back in the jungle, Asmodieus's spear now thrummed with power.
The wound in his stomach healed rapidly as his system cores drank deeply of the spear's abundant vitality. Pure, refined energy coursed through him. His muscles tensed with newfound strength, and his blood felt like molten fire.
The mantis, still shackled but not defeated, thrashed wildly. Its strength cracked the stone bonds.
It would be free in moments.
Asmodieus did not wait.
Empowered by vitality and mana, he pushed his legs beyond their natural limits. His feet dug into the earth, propelling him forward like a jaguar—swift and deadly.
He leapt from tree to tree, moving with the grace of a ninja, leaves and branches blurring as he tore through the jungle.
The mantis gave chase, but he was faster now.
Five minutes of relentless pursuit brought him to the wasteland surrounding the mansion.
The vast, barren land was a stark contrast to the lush jungle. The mansion stood tall and foreboding, its ancient walls whispering promises of power and peril.
Asmodieus skidded to a stop, his chest heaving, spear in hand.
The mantis halted at the jungle's edge, its gaze fixed on the boy who had defied death itself.