Demons

In a peaceful room decorated with beautiful paintings and a calm atmosphere, a man with blood-red hair, brown eyes, and an aquiline nose sat at a table.

He was King Rodric Bloodstone, enjoying a quiet moment, sipping from a finely crafted cup.

The calm was broken by a knock at the door.

"Enter," Rodric said, setting his cup down.

The door opened to reveal a man with blonde hair and a neatly trimmed mustache. He stepped inside, bowing respectfully.

"My king, I bring urgent news," the man said, his voice serious.

"Speak," Rodric replied, his sharp gaze fixed on the messenger.

The man carefully handed Rodric a folded piece of paper. "This letter came from the Windwalker Territory. At first, I didn't believe it, but after double-checking, I'm certain it's true."

Rodric unfolded the letter and read it. His expression, once calm, changed to one of shock.

"It can't be…" he whispered, his voice trailing off.

"My king, I've confirmed it," the messenger insisted, his tone firm.

Rodric rose abruptly, moving to stand in front of a large mirror. As he donned his armor, he issued quick orders. "Send word to the Flicker Empire. Use every contact we have. Make sure they understand how serious this is. And reach out to the Elowen Kingdom. Invite them here. It's time to put our differences aside."

The mention of inviting the Elowen Kingdom emphasized the seriousness of the situation. For centuries, the Elowens had been the Bloodstone Kingdom's greatest enemies. Extending an invitation like this was no small matter.

"Yes, my king!" the messenger said, bowing before rushing out of the room.

Rodric stood alone, staring at his reflection in the mirror.

"Demons… they're back." He thought to himself, though his face betrayed no emotion.

The demons of the Silverflower Isles had a long, hidden history that few knew. It was said the original orcs who lived on the island were worshippers of demons and possessed powerful dark artifacts.

Years ago, a group of Super-ranking knights from the Flicker Empire came to the isles. They gathered every demonic artifact they could find and sealed them away.

Only the legendary knights of the island knew this secret. No one else had any idea. The only reason Rodric knew was because those knights had shared it with his great-uncle. Without that, even a legendary knight like him would never have learned of it.

"Average. Silver. Gold. Legendary. Mythic. Ultra. Super." Rodric thought, running through the ranks of strength in his mind.

A Super-ranked knight was a being beyond mortal comprehension. With but a single breath, they could annihilate legions of Legendary knights and mages. The two were not merely separated by strength; they were entirely different life forms. Even within the Flicker Empire, Super knights were few, and each one was a name whispered with awe and reverence across the entire realm.

Yet, even they had been unable to claim every last demonic artifact. Some had eluded their grasp.

To counter this, the Flicker Empire had summoned an Ultra-ranked mage to cast a powerful suppression spell over the land. The spell quelled the lingering chaotic energies, forcing the remaining artifacts into dormancy. But even that was not a perfect solution—some items proved too elusive, slipping through the cracks.

Thus, an imperial decree was set: any ruler of Silver Flower Island must immediately report the discovery of a demonic relic. Over the last few centuries, this command had only been invoked twice.

The first incident led to a catastrophe so devastating that it became known as the Ice Age Disaster. The release of the artifact's power claimed the lives of over half the island's population, freezing the land in an unnatural winter. Even after a Super knight finally secured the relic, the aftereffects persisted. To this day, despite Silver Flower Island being a naturally warm land, snowfall still graced its fields on occasion—an eerie remnant of that calamity.

The second occurrence, fortunately, was resolved without tragedy. The artifact had been swiftly recovered and handed over to a Super knight before its corruption could spread.

This, however… This was the third time. And this time, the item had already broken free.

Had they discovered it earlier, they might have been able to contain it. But now, it was too late. According to the report he had just received, the demonic aura had already reached the Legendary rank, and its vessel—a demon—was unleashing destruction upon the land.

The Flicker Empire's Super knight would no doubt arrive as swiftly as possible, but nothing was certain. That was why Rodric had called upon the Legendary knights of the Elowen Kingdom. Their longstanding enmity mattered little in the face of this impending disaster.

Yet, despite all these precautions, Rodric held little hope.

Anything that had slipped through the hands of a Super knight was already beyond his reach. Against a force of this magnitude, he stood no chance.

On Silver Flower Island, none dared take the threat of demons lightly. These creatures held only limited power upon entering this world, but they grew fast—faster than anything else. If allowed to fester, they could become monsters that even Super knights struggled to vanquish.

Rodric exhaled slowly, shaking his head, clearing his thoughts. There was no use dwelling on fear.

...

Edric stared at the glowing interface of his system, his heart pounding with excitement.

[Self-Consumption (Cyan)]

Permanently sacrifice one of your skills in exchange for a temporary boost in strength.

Details:

Consuming an Average-ranked skill: 1-second boost to Mythic Knight rank. Consuming a Silver-ranked skill: 8-second boost to Mythic Knight rank. Consuming a Golden-ranked skill: 64-second boost to Mythic Knight rank. Consuming a Legendary-ranked skill: 512-second boost to Mythic Knight rank. Consuming a Mythic-ranked skill: 4,096-second boost to Mythic Knight rank.

Reading through the description, Edric couldn't help but feel a surge of exhilaration.

"This… this changes everything!"

With this ability, he was no longer utterly powerless against Legendary-ranked opponents. The cost was high—permanently losing a skill—but fortunately, he had plenty of skills that were utterly useless to him.

Crystal Skin (Silver) – Its defensive properties were weaker than his natural defense. Useless. Steel Hair Manipulation (Silver) – Never once had he found a practical use for it. Garbage. Flesh Control (White) – It had been useful early on, but after reaching Golden rank, its effectiveness plummeted. He would need a higher-ranked version of the skill if he wanted real utility. 

With these expendable skills, he had a total of 17 seconds of Mythic-rank combat power at his disposal.

"Seventeen seconds might not sound like much… but against a Mythic opponent, a Legendary-ranked knight wouldn't last even a tenth of a second!"

The difference between ranks was astronomical. A Silver-ranked knight might survive a full second against a Golden-ranked foe, but a Golden-ranked knight wouldn't last even half a second against a Legendary. The gap only widened as one ascended.

"I should only use this when my life is truly in danger," Edric muttered, steeling himself. This skill was a double-edged sword. Once a skill was consumed, it was gone forever. "Reckless use would cripple me in the long run."

He shook his head, pushing aside his excitement. "I have something more important to focus on right now."

The Ancestor of a State task.

Completing it would grant him two Mythic-tier chests, and that was something he could not afford to delay.

"Mass Replication!"

At his command, the air shimmered, and 950 clones appeared, each identical to him in every way. Without missing a beat, he moved swiftly, altering their physiques one by one, transforming each of them into female versions of himself.

It took a while for him to cast the Clone Shaper spell on every single one of them.

After meticulously transforming the physiques of the clones, Edric retrieved an egg cell he had collected some time ago, one belonging to an individual with Silver-tier talent. Holding it carefully, he activated [Gene Copy], and within the confines of his small, makeshift laboratory, he replicated the egg until he had amassed a staggering 10,000 copies.

Next came the most critical step. Using his own DNA, he fertilized each and every one of them.

Without wasting a moment, he moved on to the next phase. The implantation process began. Each of his 950 clones received 10 fertilized egg cells, ensuring that each would eventually give birth to ten children.

As the procedure concluded, he glanced at the system interface to check his progress.

[Ancestor of a State Quest Progress]

13,278 / 100,000 - 22 / 1,000

"It worked!"

A wide grin spread across Edric's face. "Now, I just need to repeat this process ten more times, and the task will be complete!"

The system already recognized the fertilized eggs as viable life, meaning that if he were to cast Mass Replication again, his current clones would vanish, and with them, every implanted embryo would be lost.

That left him with only one option: he needed to accelerate the pregnancies.

With that thought, Edric extended his hand, activating a spell.

"Happy Farm!"

A wave of pale green light enveloped one of the clones.

The results were immediate. The natural gestation period of approximately 270 days was instantly reduced by 95%, bringing it down to just 14 days.

His eyes gleamed.

"If I keep this up, I can potentially reach 100,000 births in just 140 days!"

Of course, that was an optimistic estimate. Reality was rarely so kind—complications were bound to arise.

Still, it was a start.

One by one, he cast Happy Farm on each of his clones. However, after the first few hundred, fatigue hit him like a hammer.

Despite being a Golden-ranked mage, casting Happy Farm in succession was far more taxing than he had anticipated. Though only a Silver-tier spell, its spell formation was unusually chaotic and intricate, making rapid casting an exhausting endeavor.

If he had underestimated anything, it was this.

After several grueling days, Edric finally finished applying the spell to all clones. He exhaled deeply, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"That was… harder than expected," he muttered.

Now, there was nothing left to do but wait.

The births would happen soon. But deep down, a sliver of unease gnawed at him.

Would there be consequences for forcing life into the world with a spell tainted by demonic origins?

He could only hope… that nothing would go horribly wrong.