The Evolution Of A Goblin To The Peak

Chapter 1172: The Demon: Massacre

Soon, they arrived before a colossal portal embedded deep within the cavern. The entire chamber pulsed with dark energy, the air trembling as streams of crimson light coiled around the swirling core.

”It will be activated soon,” Leimin said, her calm voice echoing through the vast underground hall.

Alice lifted her gaze to the massive gateway. The power radiating from it was overwhelming—each surge of energy carried the weight of countless lives and the greed of those who built it. The Great Demon Emperor had sacrificed vast resources to forge this passage to the Demon’s Land.

Her chest tightened.

’So much effort... just to bring me back.’

Her thoughts drifted to Souta—the memory of his back, the fierce look in his eyes as he faced the demons alone. She could still feel the pulse of his power before she was taken away, that blazing, familiar energy trying to reach her even through the chaos.

”I hope you’re still alive...” she whispered in her heart.

Perhaps this was the last time she would ever see him.

...

On the battlefield—

The army of monsters was being crushed beneath the relentless onslaught of the alliance. An alliance formed by those who sought the Blood Lightning Monster.

The two sides clashed in a storm of blood and steel. The ground quaked, the sky burned, and the cries of the dying drowned out the wind. With every passing moment, the monsters were pushed further back, their numbers dwindling under the tide of power arrayed against them.

Countless experts had joined the fray—by now, their numbers had swelled to the millions. Hero-rank warriors flooded the battlefield, their combined might far exceeding that of the fifth-stage monsters. Among them, even a Ninth Shackle Realm presence loomed like a divine executioner, its aura suffocating the land.

Their target—the Blood Lightning Monster—had vanished.

Fury consumed the alliance’s ranks. In their rage, the Hero-rank experts unleashed a storm of attacks that annihilated tens of thousands of monsters in an instant. The earth itself trembled beneath the scale of destruction.

At this rate, the monster army’s defeat was inevitable.

”Blood Lightning Monster...”

The Ninth Shackle Realm expert muttered coldly, his eyes narrowing.

He bore no personal grudge against that creature. He was a warrior from the Holy Land, sent only to fulfill his orders — capture the Blood Lightning Monster alive. Failure was not an option. If he returned empty-handed, the consequences would be dire.

Then, the air shifted.

A tremor rippled across the battlefield, faint but sharp enough to make his instincts flare. His head snapped toward the disturbance.

In the same breath, his energy exploded outward. A colossal hammer materialized in his grip, its head glowing with divine light. With a deafening roar, he swung it down.

Bang!!

The sky split open. Cracks webbed through the air itself as violent winds ripped across the land. Everything caught in the blast—monster, soldier, and stone alike—was reduced to ashes.

The raw might of a Ninth Shackle Realm expert was enough to command silence. Every being on the battlefield, even the fifth-stage monsters, turned their gaze toward him.

And then—

A figure appeared behind him.

Silent. Instantaneous. Impossible to track.

The Ninth Shackle Realm expert’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Before he could react, darkness consumed his vision.

Boom!!

A devastating slash tore through the air, carving a path straight toward the earth. The experts caught in its trajectory didn’t even have time to react.

In the blink of an eye, their bodies vanished—erased completely. The ground convulsed under the force of the blow, and a massive gully, dozens of kilometers deep, ripped open across the battlefield.

Silence followed.

Every gaze turned toward the source of that power.

At first, they looked to the Ninth Shackle Realm expert—

But what they saw made their blood run cold.

The upper half of his body was gone. Only the lower half remained, crumbling to dust.

And behind the corpse stood a humanoid figure, cloaked in writhing darkness. The aura radiating from it was unmistakable—terrifyingly familiar.

”B-Blood Lightning Monster...?!”

”H–How...?”

Shock rippled through the ranks. Even the Hero-rank experts, who had stood so confidently moments before, faltered in disbelief.

Across the battlefield, the monster army froze. Then, one by one, their eyes lit with renewed hope as they recognized the figure.

Souta had returned.

The air trembled.

The dust from the devastating slash slowly began to settle, revealing the figure standing at its center.

Darkness bled from his body like smoke—thick, heavy, and alive. The shadows twisted and coiled around him, distorting the air as if the world itself rejected his presence. Crimson sparks flickered within the black haze, and faint arcs of blood-colored lightning danced across his skin.

His eyes glowed faintly beneath the veil of shadow—cold, sharp, and merciless.

Souta.

The Blood Lightning Monster had returned.

Every creature on the battlefield could feel it. The pressure he exuded was suffocating, more terrifying than ever before. It wasn’t just his killing intent—it was as if the accumulated blood of countless battles was whispering through the air, crying out in unison with his rage.

The winds carried a metallic tang of blood. The sky darkened as if responding to his presence, clouds swirling overhead in crimson hues.

”T–The Emperor!!”

A desperate voice broke through the silence.

Howl!!

”The Emperor is here!!”

The cry echoed across the battlefield, spreading like wildfire among the monsters. Hope—raw and wild—surged through their ranks.

The fifth-stage monster who had once spoken with the Blood Lightning Monster trembled in disbelief. The figure floating above them... that oppressive presence... he couldn’t reconcile it with the being he’d known before.

The disparity was unfathomable—like the distance between heaven and earth.

High above the chaos, Souta hovered in the air, his figure cloaked in rippling shadows. The massive scythe in his hand gleamed with a dark crimson hue, its edge humming with restrained fury.

He had followed the trail of the Freedom Realm demon here. But now that he stood amidst his enemies, there was no reason to hold back.

If they had come seeking his head, then he would take theirs instead.

It wasn’t personal—just nature’s balance.

Souta’s gaze swept over the countless soldiers below. ”This should be enough,” he murmured. ”I can activate a few more skills.”

Even after clashing with ten Freedom Realm demons, he had yet to unleash everything that the Blood Lightning Monster was capable of.

He raised his hand.

Instantly, the air thickened.

Blood began to seep from the sky itself, forming into countless crimson droplets suspended in the air. Then, the clouds darkened—boiling with energy—and the world trembled.

Crack!!

Bolts of blood-colored lightning rained down like the wrath of a vengeful god, tearing through the battlefield and engulfing everything in scarlet light.

He would dismantle them swiftly.

Souta closed his palm. Behind him, a massive magic circle spiraled into existence, pulsing with ominous light.

[Inferno Darkness Spike]!!

Another forbidden spell.

The moment the words left his lips, an overwhelming sense of dread swept through the enemy ranks. Every instinct screamed danger. But before they could react—

Crack!!

Thousands of black spikes erupted violently from the broken earth.

”Arghh!!”

”Help—!”

”N-No!!”

Their screams filled the air as the spikes tore through flesh and armor alike. The darkness clinging to them writhed and spread, dragging the victims deeper into its grasp.

In the blink of an eye, the battlefield transformed into a forest of death—a dense expanse of black spikes stretching hundreds of meters into the sky. Tens of thousands were skewered where they stood, their blood painting the shadows in grotesque patterns.

And for those who had escaped above the ground—

Boom!!

Blood-colored lightning descended from the heavens, raining judgment upon them. Each strike obliterated everything it touched, leaving only ash and echoes behind.

The scene was apocalyptic.

Even the Hero-rank experts froze in horror, their faces pale as they witnessed the massacre unfold.

”Th-this can’t be...!!” one of them stammered.

”This power... it’s impossible!”

Despair rippled through the alliance’s army. No matter how they tried to comprehend it, one truth sank deep into their hearts—they couldn’t win.

High above the devastation, Souta’s expression remained calm.

He opened his system interface, glancing through the flood of notifications. A rough calculation crossed his mind.

Approximately one hundred thousand lives—gone. That number included even those from the demon army who’d been unfortunate enough to stand too close.

His experience bar surged upward, the numbers climbing rapidly toward the next level.

Souta exhaled slowly, lowering his hand before resting it on the belt strapped across his waist. A faint glow shimmered from one of the runes etched into the leather, and a surge of vitality flowed through his veins.

[Giant’s Energy Recovery]!!

A skill embedded within his equipment—one that amplified his energy regeneration to an extraordinary degree, though only for a limited time.

’There’s still some time before the blessings wear off...’ Souta’s eyes narrowed, his senses sharpening.

Then, in that very moment—

Swoosh!!

A golden flash erupted behind him.

A woman appeared, her presence cutting through the darkness like a blade of light. The air quivered as her aura expanded, a suffocating force that made even the sky tremble.

An Eighth Shackle Realm expert.

She gripped a massive golden sword, its edge radiating divine brilliance. Without hesitation, she swung it downward with the full weight of her power—

Boom!!

The strike tore through the air, splitting the atmosphere itself as it fell toward Souta like the judgment of the heavens.