Chapter Summaries

Li Ye awakened as the Abyss Demon Orsaga, hatched from an egg beside the Styx, and discovered an Evolution System that greatly accelerated his growth. He began slaughtering the other Demon Eggs for their souls, growing stronger as his former humanity faded.

• Li Ye awakened inside a Demon Egg, received his demon true name, and emerged as the first Infant Demon to hatch.
• Orsaga ate his eggshell and activated the Evolution System, learning that it granted Evolution Points for consuming souls and Blood Food.
• He killed a newly hatched demon and compared the system's growth with his innate demonic evolution, finding the system far more efficient.
• Orsaga configured the system to strengthen him with half his points and reserve the rest, then began smashing nearby Demon Eggs and devouring their occupants' souls.
• As Orsaga grew stronger through slaughter, his brutality increased and his former human identity gradually faded.

Orsaga fought through the Infant Demon slaughter on the Styx’s banks and spent Evolution Points gaining flesh-and-blood absorption, stronger Demonic Power, and elemental abilities. After Bloodline Element Awakening triggered a dangerous burst of Bloodflame, he harvested more demons until the celestial body neared its descent, then used his victor’s authority to leave the riverbank.

• Orsaga killed hundreds of Infant Demons, grew stronger, and delayed advancing so he could keep harvesting souls.
• Orsaga used Evolution Points to modify his fingers and tail to absorb flesh and blood, enhance his Demonic Power, and awaken his bloodline’s elemental abilities.
• Bloodline Element Awakening left Orsaga helpless for several seconds, and he defended himself with a barrier of Demonic Power as Infant Demons swarmed him.
• Orsaga’s awakening unleashed red Bloodflame that killed the demons around him, and he withdrew it after it burned their corpses to ash.
• Orsaga continued harvesting demons as the celestial body descended, then used his victor’s authority to vanish from the riverbank.

Orsaga entered Howling Forest, where he needed to survive among stronger demons and dangerous plants. He found a cave occupied by an Ape Demon, killed it with his corrosive magic and Bloodflame, and gained 254 Evolution Points by devouring its soul.

• Orsaga arrived at Howling Forest and saw that his attributes had reached the Infant Demon limit.
• Orsaga used Bloodflame to burn the blood from his body and drive off the Bloodthirsty Flies, then passed groups of fighting demons.
• Orsaga found an Ape Demon in a cave and fought it after its desire for his blood overcame its caution.
• Orsaga wounded the Ape Demon, set it alight with Bloodflame, and prevented it from escaping as it struggled.
• Orsaga killed the Ape Demon, devoured its soul, and received 254 Evolution Points.

Orsaga used an abyssal baptism and the Evolution System to advance from an Infant Demon to a Lesser Demon, choosing the Mutated Flame Demon path and emerging with greatly enhanced power. After reviewing his new form, abilities, and stats, he restrained his excitement and began planning his future.

• Orsaga sealed the cave, prepared the Evolution System’s instructions, and began his advancement while retaining the option to withdraw from the transformation.
• The Bottomless Abyss granted Orsaga an unusually powerful baptism, and he chose the Mutated Flame Demon branch from the paths presented to him.
• The Evolution System guided the baptism’s power to further mutate Orsaga and use energy that would otherwise have been wasted.
• Orsaga emerged from the cocoon as a handsome, 2.4-meter-tall Lesser Demon with a bone-like exoskeleton, golden pupils, horns, and a longer barbed tail.
• Orsaga reviewed his increased stats and new abilities, including Bloodthirst, Energy Vision, Abyssal Contract, and several instant-cast bloodline spells.

Orsaga tested his Bloodflame and abilities, then hunted through Howling Forest to assess his strength and gather Evolution Points. Finding prey slow and remote soul harvesting beyond his abilities, he chose to remain in Howling Abyss rather than risk an uncertain summoning to another world.

• Orsaga blasted through the cave entrance’s obstruction and compared the power and magic cost of casting Fireball Technique with compressing Bloodflame directly.
• Orsaga tested his abilities in the forest and killed a Lesser Demon with Soul Impact and a strike from his tail.
• Orsaga hunted demons and Demonized Creatures through Howling Forest, but found the concealed prey difficult to locate and kill efficiently.
• Orsaga considered burning the forest and pursuing otherworldly summons, then recognized the risks of both options and chose to stay in Howling Abyss.

Orsaga hunted through the forest and encountered an intelligent Demonized Creature carrying a Transformation Ritual and valuable resources. After both recognized the other as prey, Orsaga attacked with Fire Arrows and left his opponent gravely injured.

• Orsaga cautiously approached a creature whose strength seemed comparable to his own.
• The creature launched a wooden spear at Orsaga, who dodged and identified it as a Mutated Demonized Creature seeking to become a Half-Demon.
• Orsaga realized the creature's Transformation Ritual held stored demon bloodlines and power that he could convert into Evolution Points.
• The creature and Orsaga each decided to kill the other for its resources, and the creature attacked first with another spear.
• Orsaga fired three Fire Arrows, destroyed the spear, and struck the creature with an explosion that caused severe internal pain and bleeding.

Orsaga killed a powerful demon with a spell combination, drained its essence, and gained 1277 Evolution Points. More than ten days later, he watched Soul’s Boon descend over Howling Forest and waited for the ensuing battle to weaken the monsters before he joined.

• Orsaga used Pain Strike and Soul Impact to stun his opponent, then crushed his skull with a kick.
• Orsaga drained the opponent’s body and soul, gaining 1277 Evolution Points as the corpse dried out.
• More than ten days later, Orsaga climbed a Demonized Tree after hearing sounds in the sky and spotted a vast swarm of monsters gathering.
• Orsaga recognized that Soul’s Boon would soon descend and observed the gathering turn into a bloody slaughter.
• Thousands of flaming purple Soul Crystals fell from the clouds, and monsters fought in the air and on the ground to seize them.
• Orsaga stayed on the treetop, waiting for more monsters to die or become wounded before entering the battle.

Orsaga hunted demons amid the battle for the Soul's Boons, relying on ambushes and his Evolution System to gain strength. After killing Solo and taking the Soul's Boon, he swallowed it before Temple and the other surviving Lower Demon could stop him.

• Orsaga chose to pursue the approaching Soul's Boon while planning to gather Evolution Points by killing weaker monsters.
• Orsaga ambushed Gokulius, killed him, and absorbed his corpse as the pursuing demons fought over the Soul's Boon.
• Orsaga hid among the corpses while Temple, Solo, and Grimp fought over the Soul's Boon.
• Solo tried to escape with the Soul's Boon, but Orsaga ambushed and killed him.
• Orsaga swallowed the Soul's Boon in front of Temple and the remaining Lower Demon, gaining 21,000 Evolution Points.

Orsaga killed Temple and Grimp, then joined the slaughter at the main battlefield and gained a large number of Evolution Points. He retreated to an abandoned cave, reviewed his status, and ordered the Evolution System to evolve two talents before beginning another comprehensive optimization.

• Orsaga used brute force and Bloodflame to grind Temple and Grimp's heads into the ground, then absorbed their power.
• Orsaga entered the chaotic battlefield and killed demons while avoiding the Soul's Boons that were still being contested.
• After nightfall, Orsaga left the battlefield and found an abandoned cave on a cliff.
• Orsaga burned the cave's remains and sealed its entrance before checking his system status and Evolution Points.
• Orsaga instructed the Evolution System to evolve two talents first, then optimize his abilities while allowing him to interrupt the transformation.

Orsaga endured a conscious, agonizing advancement and emerged as a Lower Demon with greatly enhanced abilities and wings. After testing his new strength and adapting to flight, he took to the sky, leaving himself ready to consider travel to other worlds later.

• Orsaga remained conscious through several nights of painful advancement as his body and soul were reconstructed.
• Orsaga emerged from the cocoon as a three-meter-tall Lower Demon, with enormous wings and new talents and spells.
• Orsaga reviewed his evolved abilities and decided to adapt to his new strength before attempting planar travel.
• Orsaga blasted open the cave entrance, tested his stronger Fire Arrow, and practiced retracting and using his wings.
• Orsaga flew into the sky and found that flying felt as natural as walking.

Orsaga practiced aerial combat in the Howling Forest and used his Abyssal Contract Talent Ability to enter a summoning ritual, sending a simulacrum toward an Outer Plane. There, Warlock Salter attempted to summon a demon to help the Crown Prince Jem Woz, while Baron Duke Albert and the Knight Troop waited to attack if the ritual failed.

• Orsaga tested aerial maneuvers on flying creatures and surveyed the Howling Forest from a mountain peak.
• Orsaga entered the summoning region, ignored the red Light Dots, and forced his way into a white Light Dot.
• Orsaga used Boundary Projection—Simulacrum to send a small part of his soul through the ritual passage toward the Outer Plane.
• Salter conducted a summoning ritual with human sacrifices while Jem Woz and Baron Duke Albert watched with an elite Knight Troop.
• Jem Woz gave Salter twenty more minutes before ordering the Knight Troop to kill the Cultists.
• Salter recalled how he found a forbidden Magic Tome and arranged the ritual in hopes of helping Jem Woz and gaining noble status.

Salter’s summoning ritual opened a fiery gateway, bringing Orsaga’s projected Avatar into the plaza and leaving Salter unable to control him. Orsaga found far fewer sacrifices than he had sensed and began inspecting the ritual’s runes to learn why.

• Salter’s ritual circle began glowing red, terrifying the horses and people around it as Baron Duke and Crown Prince Jem Woz watched.
• Jem identified the ritual as Abyss Summoning and warned Duke that killing Salter would not stop it and could leave the demon uncontrolled.
• Salter and his Cultists intensified their chanting, forming a Flame Arch through which Orsaga appeared.
• Salter realized he could not control Orsaga, whose frightening presence left him paralyzed with fear.
• Orsaga surveyed the plaza, found only a few corpses instead of the many sacrifices he had sensed, and examined the runes beneath him.

Orsaga returned to the Material Plane, claimed Salter as his servant, and demanded that he grant one hundred wishes. After selecting five people to accompany him, Orsaga drained the life and souls from everyone else and set off with his new entourage for the Royal Capital.

• Orsaga secretly swapped his Avatar for his true body and inspected the Material Plane, terrifying Salter, Jem Woz, and the others with his appearance and power.
• Orsaga asked Salter if he was his summoner, then declared that Salter had to grant him one hundred wishes and named him Lackey Number One.
• Orsaga ordered Salter to choose five useful people; Salter selected three Cultists, Jem Woz, and Baron Duke.
• Orsaga drained the life force and souls of everyone nearby, including the remaining Cultists, knights, animals, and insects, leaving the area a mass grave.
• Orsaga transformed into a red-haired youth and led Salter and the others toward the Royal Capital, while scarlet flames consumed the old prison.

Two months after his summoning, Orsaga lived in the Royal Capital of the Duchy of Maldon and examined a strange substance Salter had gathered for him. As Orsaga considered Salter’s past and the world’s growing resistance to his presence, he continued pursuing his own goal, though the chapter did not reveal what it was.

• Salter delivered everything Orsaga had requested and reflected on how Orsaga’s power had shattered his pride and made him understand the suffering of his former subordinates.
• Orsaga sensed Salter’s lingering resentment and doubted that the former cult leader could truly become a good person, but chose to watch and see what happened.
• Orsaga recalled discovering that Salter’s Magic Book contained a deceptive summoning ritual with no means to restrain or banish the summoned demon.
• Orsaga assessed that the world’s magic was scarce, his strength had mostly recovered with help from the Armament Rune—Scarlet, and the world was increasingly trying to expel him.

Orsaga used his extra time to absorb his inherited knowledge, improve his combat abilities, and choose a focused path for his future development. After adjusting his Evolution System to support those specialties, he considered his remaining shortcomings and went to his laboratory.

• Orsaga studied his Inheritance Memory and developed bloodline spells and hand-to-hand combat, using his time in the world to gather more than three hundred thousand Evolution Points.
• Orsaga evolved four talents: Casually cast, Innate Skill—Martial Combat, Overclocked Brain, and Source of Death Plague.
• Orsaga chose spells, his physical body, his soul, Source of Death Plague, Suffering Torment, Bloodflame, and corrosion as the main directions for his development.
• Orsaga changed his Evolution System so that one-quarter of his gains stayed in reserve and three-quarters went toward his chosen abilities.
• Orsaga identified his crude fighting techniques, limited understanding of his bloodline spells, and lack of knowledge and experience as weaknesses.
• Orsaga ate an apple seasoned with a snake’s venom and blood, then headed to his laboratory.

Hank Manan and Heto Yasar realized they had been imprisoned with other capable fighters as likely sacrifices for a cult ritual. Orsaga inspected the prisoners, implanted gray-black mist into them, and left, recalling that he had already encountered and “saved” the Gale Bandits.

• Heto Yasar identified himself to Hank Manan as a Great Knight and warned that the prisoners might be intended for a cult sacrifice.
• Hank Manan said he could not pick the cage’s complex lock, while the prisoners formed factions and argued.
• Orsaga entered the prison, judged the prisoners suitable, and dismissed a man’s offer of Prince Lilia’s treasure and the Gale Bandits’ services.
• Orsaga released gray-black mist that entered every prisoner, then told them to hold out for a few more days and departed.
• Orsaga remembered meeting the Gale Bandits while setting fire to the border forest and joked that he had delivered them salvation.

Hank learned that Heto’s Talent Ability had marked Orsaga as an overwhelming threat, while Orsaga continued testing his plague on the captives and refining its effects. Two months later, Orsaga agreed to help the Duchy of Maldon win its war against the Duchy of Yar in exchange for prisoners to use as sacrifices.

• Heto told Hank that his Talent Ability had made him feel an unprecedented level of danger from Orsaga and that the gray-black mist was likely a Spellcaster’s method.
• Orsaga monitored the plague’s effects on Hank and the other captives, adjusting its traits and intensity with the Source of Death Plague.
• Orsaga considered the value of Outer Planes as targets and continued training his bodily control while planning to study spells and energy.
• Two months later, Jem Woz asked Orsaga to help the Duchy of Maldon defeat the Duchy of Yar.
• Jem offered to exile the prisoners to a deserted island as Orsaga’s sacrificial ground, and Orsaga accepted.

Jem Woz agreed to provide Orsaga with at least seventy thousand prisoners for his experiment, while Orsaga reflected on his ambitions and caused blood rain to fall over the Royal Capital. Jem recognized the omen’s effect on morale and ordered his officials to portray it as a heavenly sign of good fortune before the decisive battle.

• Jem Woz agreed to Orsaga’s demand for at least seventy thousand prisoners to be transported to the island.
• Orsaga dismissed Jem’s possible scheming, reflected on his recent studies, and wished for a fight.
• Pierce recalled the prisoners’ failed escape attempts and their deaths from a mysterious illness before dying alone in the cage.
• Orsaga sent a bead of water into the clouds, causing blood rain to fall over the Royal Capital.
• Jem Woz feared the blood rain would damage morale, but Baron Duke suggested presenting it as an auspicious sign.
• Jem ordered Duke to invent a moving story and spread the favorable rumor through the streets.

Zana discovered that the strange blood rain had turned the Royal Capital’s streets red, then learned that crowds were mourning a tragic love story invented by Duke’s collaborators. Orsaga recognized the story as a tool Jem could use against the Duchy of Yar and decided to leave his residence for a walk.

• Zana found blood-red water covering his alley and feared that the Royal Capital had been invaded or massacred.
• Zana asked an old street sweeper what had happened and learned that people blamed the colored rain on a tragic love story.
• Zana listened to the crowd’s tale about Mark, Evelyn, and her noble fiancé, and became engrossed in the story.
• Orsaga realized that Jem’s invented romance could stir public resentment toward the Duchy of Yar.
• Orsaga asked his housekeeper to prepare a carriage so he could go out for a walk.

Orsaga took a leisurely carriage ride through the Royal Capital, reflecting on the paths of magic and technology before choosing to visit the Beast Arena. There, he booked the best seat for a duel and sensed that the arena was saturated with sin and lingering resentment.

• Orsaga rode through the Royal Capital and told the coachman to wander without a destination.
• The housekeeper suggested the Zenith Club or the Beast Arena, and Orsaga chose the arena.
• Manan Oates welcomed Orsaga and recommended an upcoming duel between a Qiya Demon Lion and a Great Knight.
• Orsaga paid seven hundred gold coins for the best seat and followed an attendant into the arena.
• Orsaga sensed the arena's accumulated sin and resentment, which reminded him of the Bottomless Abyss.