Three months after the chaotic battle ended.
On the same mountain covered in Doom Blossoms.
'About time...'
Raising his head to sense the will of the Wailing Forest, Olthagia knew it was time to leave under the subtle countdown-like urging.
After days of relentlessly hunting various Demonic Creatures, the Evolution Points stored in his system were now more than enough for him to evolve into a [Mid-Rank Demon]. There was no reason to delay further.
With a mental projection, he conveyed his intention to depart to the will of the Wailing Forest.
In the next instant, his figure vanished from the spot, leaving behind only the eerily silent yet vibrant sea of flowers.
——
This was a murky, distorted space where irregular spots and lines chaotically scattered across the void.
The moment Olthagia appeared here, he understood—this was a transit zone between the Wailing Forest and other layers of the Abyss.
Through this place, he could reach most layers of the Abyss. It was a one-time privilege granted by the Wailing Forest and other initial territories to every Demonic Creature departing their birthplace.
For most Abyssal creatures, this was also their only chance to travel freely between layers.
Statistically speaking, the majority of greenhorns would likely be killed and devoured by other creatures long before they could afford inter-layer teleportation arrays in their chosen territories.
Take Demons, for example. Though biologically immortal and immune to aging, their average lifespan was shockingly short—even shorter than humans!
Most were born and died on the same day, with ninety percent of newborns perishing before even leaving the Banks of the River Styx.
And even those who made it off the banks still faced a 99.999% probability of dying in subsequent battles.
Only a minuscule fraction truly endured.
Faced with such absurd mortality rates, the near-infinite Demon Eggs lining the Nether River's banks ensured an endless stream of [Infant Demons] being born every moment.
Otherwise, forget population growth—Demons would be lucky not to go extinct!
Closing his eyes, Olthagia carefully sensed the imprints of various Abyssal layers within this space. Most were vague, only indicating their dominant Demon attributes—fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, poison, metal, space, time...
No further details, not even layer names. It felt like dealing with a shady intermediary.
After some hesitation, he finally selected an imprint radiating strong fire-attribute Demon energy.
Despite his eclectic abilities, Olthagia was fundamentally a Balor—a mutated one, but a Balor nonetheless.
Thus, he decided to start somewhere thematically appropriate.
Reading the imprint's sparse information, he sighed inwardly: 'Hope that place isn't a complete hellhole...'
From what he knew, some fire-attribute Abyssal layers had environments so extreme—daily meteor showers and solar storms—that only fire Demons and elemental beings could survive. Not a single ghost could be found there.
If possible, he truly didn't want to stay in such a place...
After making his choice, accompanied by a distortion of his vision, the surrounding scenery became like an abstract painting.
Through his spatial perception, he could feel his body being moved elsewhere by an immense force, yet he couldn't comprehend the level of this power.
Soon after, when his vision returned to normal, Olthagia found himself standing on unfamiliar ground.
Compared to the Wailing Forest teeming with various plants, this land was undoubtedly much more barren, with only sporadic vegetation in sight.
The putrid, damp stench of blood that had filled the air was now gone, replaced by the scorching heat radiating from the five fireballs in the sky!
The temperature here, converted to values from his previous life, was roughly over 500 degrees—extremely dry with not a trace of moisture. An ordinary person wouldn't survive even an instant here.
Taking a light sniff of the air, he also detected a strong scent of sulfur and volcanic ash.
There were volcanoes nearby, and not just one or two...
Nodding in satisfaction, Olthagia found the environment here far better than he had expected.
Through his soul's perception, confirming there was nothing nearby requiring his attention, his body began to slowly sink, soundlessly merging into the earth.
He needed to advance to a [Mid-Rank Demon], and this place would suffice for the task.
After descending about 500 meters underground, he noticed the surrounding earth gradually giving way to magma, indicating this area was likely part of a massive volcano that could erupt with countless lava flows at any moment.
'No wonder the ground is so bare...'
Though somewhat surprised by the sight, Olthagia didn't dwell on it—after all, the environment of the Bottomless Abyss had never been hospitable.
At a depth of 2,000 meters, he cast dozens of spells around himself for vigilance and protection before closing his eyes.
A mist of blood automatically emerged from his body, forming a shell around him and encasing him in a cocoon-like structure.
For Olthagia, this was both a sublimation and another experience of excruciating pain.
Every time he reached this stage, he could clearly feel himself being melted and reforged bit by bit, much like a caterpillar undergoing metamorphosis into a butterfly before emerging from its chrysalis.
Dissolving his entire body, only to reshape a more perfect version of himself on the old foundation!
This pain and transformation weren't limited to his physical form—his soul underwent the same process simultaneously.
Each time he acutely felt this unparalleled agony, Olthagia gained a certain insight, as though he had grasped the concept of [Pain] more profoundly.
It was an indescribably wondrous sensation.
At this moment, Olthagia felt as though he had become the very [Avatar of Pain], capable of effortlessly enduring and inflicting it. It was as if he could hear the countless agonized cries of this land throughout the endless ages, as though billions of creatures had transcended the barriers of time to recount their suffering to him.
Listening intently to those painful wails, savoring the myriad thoughts within them, Olthagia felt as though he was hearing the symphony of chaos, touching the torrential negativity of the entire world.
His soul involuntarily revealed a joy that stemmed from the depths of his heart...
Several days later, the giant cocoon's shell shattered.
It transformed into a crimson mist that returned to Olthagia's body, becoming his reserve power.
Now, his height had increased from over three meters to approximately four and a half meters. His exoskeleton had become more ornate, adorned with countless Doom Blossoms forming intricate, seemingly meaningful patterns. His wings had undergone a dramatic transformation—elongated and slender, their number increased to four, their edges lined with sharp barbs, serving both as wings and melee weapons.
The twin horns on his head showed little change, merely growing thicker and longer. The tip of his tail, once needle-thin, had morphed into a shape resembling a trident or a three-pointed blade, retaining its piercing capability while gaining slashing potential.
[Host: Stuart Ogarisa Asalonne… Curif Olthagia]
[Race/Level: Demon - Mutated Balor / Mid-Rank Demon]
[Strength: 107]
[Speed: 106]
[Constitution: 111]
[Demonic Power: 114]
[Soul: 118]
[Innate Abilities: Self-Evolution - Plunder (The body is in a constant state of self-optimization; combat and devouring flesh and souls accelerate this process.), Demonic Power - Soul-Corroding Blood Flame (Blood Flame has completely replaced your Demonic Power, becoming your fundamental energy. It possesses the traits of corroding and burning all things.), Exoskeleton - Scarlet (Armor composed of your scales, boasting extreme resistance to various elements, self-repair capabilities, and the ability to conceal your presence while enhancing adaptability to any environment.), Insightful Eyes - Void Piercing (Vision greatly enhanced, capable of seeing through illusions and most physical barriers.), Death Plague Calamity - Doom Blossom (Can freely manipulate plagues as desired, with Doom Blossoms serving as their symbols, marking your imprint.), Self-Projection - Avatar (Can project avatars with considerable strength over vast distances.), Martial Arts - Furnace (Any Spell or combat technique becomes astonishingly simple to you, easily innovated upon, and can be combined freely without adhering to conventional methods.), Revelation - Awakening (As if divinely inspired, your learning abilities are vastly improved, with a degree of precognition.), Torment - Agony (As a herald of suffering, even a casual glance can inflict misery upon others if you so desire.), Abyssal Contract (Through the power of the Bottomless Abyss, gains the ability to accept summons autonomously and form pacts with other beings using the Abyss as a medium. Note: None can break the contract, not even a Demon Prince.)]
[Skills: Too lengthy to list, skipping for brevity—essentially various Spells and combat techniques...]
[Evolution Points: 0]
The attribute interface had undergone a complete overhaul.
As for the numerical values, they spoke for themselves.
Apart from the Abyssal Contract, all innate abilities also evolved during this advancement by combining and compensating for each other.
They achieved substantial improvements on their original foundations!
Slightly stretching his body, as the four wings on Olthagia's back flapped casually, his figure instantly shot upwards like an arrow from a bow. The layers of earth and magma along the way posed no hindrance—every obstacle in his path was shattered effortlessly, as fragile as tofu.
In less than a second, he had pierced through over a thousand meters of obstructions to reach the high altitude.
If his previous wings required flapping to fly, the current wings now possessed an innate anti-gravity flight capability, allowing Olthagia to move freely without even needing to move them. Flapping them now served more for acceleration, simply making flight faster.