Several System messages popped up by the time I’d used up all the Essence and demonic energy lingering within my Core.

Chosen’s Core successfully advanced. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Perfect breakthrough has been registered.

Demonic energy has been detected. Core modifications have been noted.

Each notification was more curious than the last. A perfect breakthrough was unexpected, but something I’d consider a great boon. The Core modification, on the other hand, was something I... couldn’t quite tell what exactly it meant.

Xavier Halur

Core (Essence/Demonic): Tier-2 (0%)

Insignia: Dominance (2)

Bond – Trickster Demon (Juvenile – Lesser)

Primary Power: Shift

Replicated Powers: Blade of Astor, Burst

A... demonic Essence Core? Was that what I had now? Honestly, that was weird. Did that mean I was a demon now? Not that that mattered. I didn’t really feel all that human either. Even if I’d been born human, I wasn’t—not anymore.

Turning around, more System messages caught my attention.

Toxica Demon has been defeated. Insignia of Dominance weakened.

...

...

There were a dozen, probably more, messages of a similar nature. Each told me that I’d grown weaker, but I didn’t feel weak at all. If anything, I was stronger than ever.

My Core was brimming with power. Sure, I might not have any Essence to use, but Shift didn’t need any to function. Turning again, I saw the perpetrators who’d killed my little demon army. Three Tier-2 Demons tore them to shreds, their humanoid bodies a chaotic mess. They were amalgamations that looked like large, fleshly, two-legged lizards. Their gnarly limbs pounded across the ground as they closed in on the last of my Lesser Demons—Trickster excluded.

Whatever the Trickster Demon had done, the Demons had yet to attack me. They didn’t even seem to notice my presence until the last of my subordinates died. Then, as if on cue, the Trickster Demon collapsed on my shoulder. I pulled him back into the Insignia of Dominance and watched the three Tier-2 Demons charge at me.

They were as fast and strong as the other Tier-2 Demon had been, but I was no longer the same. I was much stronger than I used to be. So I transformed into the Khörs Vampire I’d killed earlier.

Before the perfect advancement, doing so would have been a death sentence, especially after transforming into the Juvenile Nature Dragon earlier. Now, it still put a strain on Shift, but it was no longer dangerous. Transforming into the older Vampire, I felt strange. My senses spread across the entirety of Cintre, revealing all the Vampires and other lifeforms roaming the fortress.

I couldn’t quite differentiate the lifeforms—other than Vampires—but the potency of their blood was evident. I just knew which lifeform had the most potent blood. The best blood for a Rotheart Vampire to feed to his fullest and evolve into a full-fledged member of the Family.

Among them were Clove, who I had lost earlier, and Fern. Clove’s Bloodline was strong, but so was Fern’s. At least, I was sure it was.

One way or another, a group of Tier-2 Demons was still waiting for me to kill them. Waving my hand, I called upon the Khörs Vampire’s ability, Blood Manipulation. The corpses around me stirred as their blood moved at my behest.

One moment the Tier-2 Demons closed in on me, and the next, massive spikes made of blood burst from puddles of demon blood, impaling them from all directions.

Demon has been defeated. Shift has been updated.

Demon has been defeated. Shift has been updated.

Demon has been defeated. Shift has been updated.

Essence flowed toward me, but it wasn’t enough to sustain the transformation for much longer. I was forced back into my Chimera main form, but that was hardly an issue. My body was stronger than ever before. Getting used to the Core’s advancement would take some time, but the power rumbling through my veins and muscles was amazing.

Calling upon the Blade of Astor, I rushed toward the largest mass of Rotheart Vampires nearby. Once they were dealt with, it was time to handle yet another issue. It was time to find Fern.

I dismissed the Blade of Astor to preserve the little Essence I’d procured from the kills and rushed to the Inn. There, I found towering trees, deadly bushes, and the woman of my heart.

Fern stood amid nature’s wrath, her body glowing like a luminescent emerald, while her eyes promised certain death. Roots burst out of the ground in the dozens, targeting the demons and vampires trying to reach the demihumans she was protecting.

I half-expected Tier-2 Demons or Khörs Vampires to attack her, but that was not the case. The Vampires ignored her, their focus on the demihumans, leaving her with the Demons to fight—and that she did. She tore off a head and had another invaded by thorny roots laced with what I suspected to be poison.

The thorny roots tore through the Tier-2 Demon with the same ease I had dealing with Tier-1 Demons now. It was almost like there was an entire Tier between them as she killed the Demons left and right, all while protecting the people around her.

She looked majestic as she fought, and I couldn’t help but feel like finding her was the best thing that could have happened to me. Watching her was mind-opening, and the way she smiled at me when she finally noticed me made my heart skip a beat. It was beautiful. Fern was beautiful.

As for the demons and vampires, they were quickly dealt with once the last of the Tier-2 Demons was killed. The Khörs Vampires appeared, picking up the young, bloodthirsty Rotheart Vampires, while the corpses of the fallen were left behind.

One moment, Cintre was engaged in a fierce fight, and the next, everything was over. Cintre was still covered in the blood of the fallen, but the threats had disappeared. Just like that, everything was over.

Had it been the right decision to rush to the 2nd Tier? Probably not. Was it better anyway? Definitely.

Anyway, it was over, and I needed some damn rest.