"It looked like a dretch. In the Abyss, that was already the lowest-ranking kind of demon. Back when I entered the Abyss at the Formal Level, I would not even have bothered looking at such a lowly creature of chaos. But thinking about it now, who could say whether the ancient Blazing Sun Great Lord, the 'Demon Prince' Demogorgon, had not also been a humble dretch a very, very long time ago? In a sense, demons, born with infinite lifespans, might possess the greatest potential for growth of any creature in the Multiverse. After all, they could always overwhelm the lucky—or unlucky—odds with sheer numbers until they attained truly astonishing power."
The lingering rays of the setting sun scattered across the ground, while a faintly chilly breeze blew on. As he strolled unhurriedly toward the ruined little cabin, the Morningstar Mage leaked a trace of his aura and looked at the hungry, red-eyed dretch.
He was in no hurry to save anyone. In the eyes of a Legendary professional, the dretch's digging movements—so fast they left afterimages—were still far too slow. Although its sharp claws had already easily torn through the thin ground, and the glow of the inferior Journeyman Level magic shield had become faintly visible amid the hazy dust, the two children hiding in the cellar were actually still very safe.
After all... the instant it sensed that faint Legendary aura, so weak that ordinary people might not even notice it, the heavily breathing dretch immediately stopped digging and turned toward Punk. At the same time, there was not the slightest fear or shock in its bloodthirsty eyes. When facing a powerful enemy, at the very edge of death, the only desires filling a demon's soul were always endless bloodlust and killing intent!
"Aah-cha!"
With an excited, hoarse,