They arrived at the coliseum, where a gaseous pink-and-lavender demoness was locked in battle with four mythical-rank Tesmanians.
The fight ended when the four were surrounded by swirling pink and lavender gas. Moments later, they collapsed unconscious.
Celeste: "That's it?"
She was the pink gaseous demoness.
Lalaine: "What the hell? They're too weak."
She was the lavender one. Both were originally Weretra—Gaseous Devils.
Celeste: "These four are pathetic. We need another fight."
Alseiga: "You've had your fun. The next match will be Elcid and Loraine against four mythical-rank caged beasts."
Lalaine: "What a boring setup."
Both Celeste and Lalaine stepped down from the battlefield and moved to the bleachers.
The spokesperson, a humanoid cyclops with four eyes, addressed the crowd. He was originally a Blitel—a one-eyed giant who had evolved and gained three more eyes.
Suddenly, a black angel with four wings descended into the arena. This was Elcid, once a Shakar (Black Raven Lord) who had evolved into a handsome fallen angel with an arrogant temperament.
He was followed by Loraine, a beautiful elf crowned with crystal antlers like an elk's. She had once been a Medetal (Mystic Deer), now transformed into a goddess-like elf. In her hand was a slender, rainbow-crystal staff.
The fight was over in moments. Two Tesmanians were smashed beneath the battlefield by Elcid's power, while the other two were turned to crystal by Loraine.
Elcid: "Why did you kill them?"
Loraine: "I didn't. The petrification will wear off after an hour. I just don't want them to suffer. How could I harm such weak creatures?"
Elcid: "Ugh, here we go again. I'm out of here."
Alseiga: "That was boring. Elcid and Loraine win without breaking a sweat. I'm changing the rules—these matches are getting too dull. Next fighter: Cassandra."
Cassandra stepped into the arena—an elegant, villainous arachnid. She was originally a Spiraxel (Chaos Spider) and had evolved into her current form.
Cassandra: "I'll give you a good show before I evolve into my fully human form tomorrow. So feast your eyes on my current monster form while you can. Now, entertain me."
Alseiga: "You'll be facing seven mythical-rank and ten legendary-rank opponents."
Celeste: "No fair! I want a rematch!"
The bleachers erupted with similar complaints.
Alseiga: "Don't worry, everyone. You'll get your turn. Now—BEGIN!"
The cages opened, and the Tesmanians surged forward, wielding the weapons they'd been given. A high-speed clash erupted—seventeen opponents against Cassandra, who met them head-on with her spear and dexterous legs.
Cassandra: "Hahaha! This is so much fun! Give me more!"
With a sweep of her power, two legendary-rank Tesmanians were slammed into the arena walls, pinned and unable to move.
Lyrus: "Hmm… Cassandra has improved a lot."
Four individuals noticed Lyrus's arrival, accompanied by Wade, Zion, Zoren, Reous, and Eros.
Arvono: "Greetings, Master."
He was a half-serpent, half-humanoid devil beast with four arms and two massive curling black horns—once a Jegwa (Naga Snakeman), now evolved into a Devil Ashura Draconic Serpent Naga.
Velter: "Welcome back, Master."
He was a red-armored insectman knight with two long crimson spears, a segmented insectoid tail tipped with sharp blades, and two pairs of buzzing wings—once a Bishtrel (Humanoid Red Insectman).
A handsome crystal-bodied elf stood beside them, his form shifting from crystalline to fully human.
Axel: "Greetings, Master."
He was originally an Urmero (Crystal Demon), a rare creature Lyrus had acquired through Bill at an auction.
Toxar: "Master."
He bowed. A dragon lord with earthen scales marked in gold and obsidian black horns, he had evolved from a Resuron (Earth Lizard) into a Chaos Dragonlord variant through forged dragon bloodlines.
Lyrus: "Seems like everyone's been playing with the Tesmanians without my permission."
Axel: "We had nothing to do with it, Master. This was all Alseiga's idea."
Reous: "But you all took part."
Toxar: "What are you talking about, birdy? You were the first to volunteer for a fight, then left because they were too weak."
Reous had no comeback and looked slightly embarrassed.
Lyrus: "Enough bickering. I see the value in testing their strength. Any notable individuals among the Tesmanians?"
Velter: "There are seven, Master—the ones behind Alseiga."
Behind Alseiga, seven Tesmanians stood in a cage.
Velter: "Each of them fought evenly with our brothers and almost won."
Lyrus: "I see… So Alseiga's been culling the strongest and most talented among them. I'll observe this fight. You're free to test them yourselves, but don't kill them—some may soon be your brothers."
All: "Yes, Master."
The battle in the arena ended with all Tesmanians wrapped in Cassandra's spider silk cocoons.
Alseiga: "The winner—Cassandra."
But suddenly, one cocoon ripped apart. A Tesmanian emerged, wielding a sword blazing with elemental fire. He charged Cassandra with a devastating strike.
Sensing the danger, Cassandra moved to unleash a killing blow.
But before her strike could land—or the Tesmanian's flames could engulf her—both suddenly collapsed to the ground, their attacks dissipating.
Alseiga: "Stop! We agreed—no killing the Master's goods. Hmm… This one has talent."
Cassandra: "Tsk."
She realized she'd almost crossed the line. Her instincts had driven her to retaliate with lethal force against a threat that could have killed her.
A golden cage materialized around the Tesmanian, lifting him and placing him in the holding area behind Alseiga.
Alseiga: "Let's continue. The next fight will be for Armea. Like Cassandra, she'll be facing seventeen caged individuals."
Armea descended into the battleground, levitating effortlessly in the air. She was an elegant, ethereal beauty of bluish white — originally an Umbra (Jellyfish) that had evolved into a humanoid, celestial-like entity.
Armea: "Let's get this over with. Yawn. I need to sleep."
Alseiga: "Without further ado… FIGHT!"
The Tesmanians immediately swarmed toward her.
Armea: "What a bunch of brutes. No respect for a lady."
Hundreds of translucent tentacles materialized around her, instantly immobilizing the attackers. They stiffened and collapsed, paralyzed by her poison.
Alseiga: "Hey! You're supposed to let them fight at least. You're not following the script."
Then, suddenly, one of her tentacles — the one paralyzing a Tesmanian — turned pitch black and melted into a puddle of acidic sludge.
Alseiga: "Oh… this works too, huh? Alright, continue."
Armea: "This guy has a special ability… How about this?"
Hundreds more tentacles lashed forward, but each was instantly petrified, turning solid black before crumbling into more black sludge.
Armea: "Interesting. Hey, can I use my main abilities?"
Alseiga: "No way. That would kill him."
Ignoring the warning, Armea conjured wave after wave of water from thin air, surrounding the Tesmanian in a massive sphere. He thrashed inside, struggling for breath.
Alseiga: "Don't drown him to death!"
With a small smirk, Armea clasped her hands together. The sphere froze into solid ice and crashed to the ground, shattering into glittering shards. The Tesmanian lay unconscious in the rubble, pale from the cold but alive.
Alseiga placed him in a golden cage and set it behind him.
The remaining Tesmanians were fought one by one, each tested in turn until all had been evaluated. In the end, Alseiga had selected seventeen talented and special individuals.
Lyrus: "Good job, Alseiga. You've truly evolved into a brilliant individual."
Alseiga: "I am at your service, Master. Thank you for your praise. But… may I ask… am I already eligible to enter the real world?"
Lyrus: "No. All of you here will enter the real world together — but only on one condition. Every one of you must be intelligent enough. Help your brothers in their studies first."
Alseiga: "But Master, most of them are stupid."
Lyrus: "That's exactly why you need to teach them. That's what a big brother does. If Vigil knew you were talking like this, your life here would become hellish."
Suddenly, Vigil appeared.
Alseiga froze like stone, beads of sweat running down his face.
Vigil: "Master." (She glanced at Alseiga.)
Alseiga: "I'll be going now. I have a lot of teaching to do with those… less gifted ones. Nice meeting you, big sister!"
He hurried away, leaving Lyrus chuckling.
Vigil simply smiled.
Lyrus: "Why are you here? Thomas and the others might be looking for you. They need help with the Cultivation for Transformation."
Vigil: "Metria is handling that for now. I… have a problem. The legion has hatched, and they're all legendary rank from birth — and they eat a lot, especially now."
Lyrus: "How many have hatched?"
Vigil's expression grew grim.
Vigil: "Waaa… I messed up!" (She cried.) "A million."
Lyrus, in the middle of sipping tea, sprayed it everywhere.
Lyrus: "WHAT?!"
Vigil: "Yes… I thought the orb would only produce a thousand, but no — it made millions."
Lyrus: "Release them into the wild and let them hunt… Wait. Consult Volderon and hunt in areas overrun by beast hordes in Tevera Nations. You both have void-related abilities, so you can move unnoticed. And remember — don't attack nations. Oh… this could work in our favor. Create some small chaos to benefit Avalon Church's influence. Titus is working on the churches now, but this could be another useful move. Drag Titus and Volderon into this. You have my permission."
Vigil: "Thank you, Master."
She vanished.
---
Meanwhile — Ishvel
Ishvel: "What is this? Vigil, you didn't say anything about this!"
Inside the blue orb's independent realm, millions of eggs had instantly appeared after he infused his essence. The moment he entered the realm, he realized he had reproduced a race of his own — by the millions.
Ishvel: (Collapsing to the ground.) "I… messed up."
---
Meanwhile — Horus
He had gathered thousands of Zoltaur, most evolved from bull demon beasts, and now all were undergoing transformation into a demonic lineage of his own bloodline.
Horus: "This… is amazing."
---
Meanwhile — Xukhar
After infusing his essence into a purple orb, millions of eggs appeared before him.
Xukhar: "Hahaha! My own legions! …Hmm. Wait. How will I feed them?"
He stared at the endless field of eggs.
Xukhar: "Damn."
---
Meanwhile — Sedestro
He lay lazily in his independent realm, surrounded by millions of newly produced eggs.
Sedestro: "I'll… deal with this later."
---
Meanwhile — Edeo
He was gathering every horse beast he could find, transforming them into centaur-like beings to join his growing legions.
---
Maverick, Achilles, Homer, Dester, Magnus, Langres, Valor, Ormis, Maxel, and Desmir had also "messed up," each producing millions in their own realms. Fortunately, the eggs had just been laid and would not hatch for a month.
The next day, Ishvel, Horus, Edeo, Sedestro, Xukhar, Maverick, Achilles, Homer, Dester, Magnus, Langres, Valor, Ormis, Maxel, and Desmir all gathered to report the situation to Lyrus.
Once again, Lyrus spat out his tea.
Holding his head, he groaned.
Lyrus: "I never anticipated this… After we take down the Dehedra, the Black Sea will become our hunting grounds to feed these massive legions of yours. For now, focus on increasing your strength — then we'll deal with the Dehedra."
All: "Yes, Master."
---
Meanwhile — Metria
She had taken over the cultivation training within the sect.
All human members had entered an independent realm to evolve their bodies to withstand greater power.
Thomas, Selso, Vania, Logan, and Teo were carefully choosing which twelve beast transformations to integrate.
Metria: "Each transformation has different forms. For instance, this Tyrant Dragon Origin Orb grants you Armored Transformation through its bestial traits, allowing you to conjure weapons of your choice. Another is Bestial Transformation — becoming a humanoid dragon. And the most basic is Surface Transformation — manifesting partial traits like dragon scales or claws.
"Upon integration, you'll immediately gain Surface Transformation and Armored Transformation. Choose wisely."
They stood in a vast realm where countless Beast Origin Orbs floated in the air or lay in shimmering piles on the ground.
Metria: "Also, Armored Transformation has nine levels — Transformation I to IX. Transformation I alone is as strong as the peak of mythical rank."
Teo: "How will we know if we're at Transformation I?"
Metria: "By the divine rings that appear behind your head. The more rings, the stronger your transformation. Once you integrate, you'll start at Transformation I.
"Oh, and Master mentioned there's a transformation beyond IX… but I won't tell you about it. You might not reach it in a hundred years of cultivation."
Metria: "Bestial Transformation also has nine levels — Beast I to Beast IX — and beyond that lies the Primordial Sovereign Transformation. You're essentially getting two transformations in one from each of these orbs."
Thomas: "That's on the level of a beast god."
Metria: "Exactly. But whether you can reach that stage… depends entirely on you."