Awakening The Gods: System's Ascension

Too Late to Move

Levi's throat felt as dry as a sandpaper as he swallowed hard. 

His breathing was shaky—uneven and shallow. Something was behind him—he didn’t need to look to know. He could feel it. Like the air itself had shifted, pressing cold against the back of his neck.

Slowly, he began to turn. After all, if it was truly something dangerous, turning his back to it wasn't the best idea.

His body was tense, every muscle coiled as his eyes scanned the twisted, shadow-cloaked trees. Then—just at the edge of his eyes, he saw a movement.

Instinctively, He snapped his head in that direction. But there was nothing. It was gone. Whatever stood there earlier had disappeared leaving nothing but gnarled trunks and swaying branches.

His chest rose and fell rapidly. He clutched it with both hands as panic surged.

“Fuck…” he hissed. “Fuck. Fuckkkk!”

He turned in a circle, searching wildly.

“What even is this?!”

Then he heard a beeping sound. The system screen flashed into view before his eyes.

[Failed to Resist Transmigration]

[New Quest Unlocked]

[Slay the Awakened Demon]

[Reward – Passive Skill: Enemy Detect (50 feet)]

"Failed to resist—" Levi didn’t bother reading the full message. His head was pounding, thoughts crashing like waves in a storm.

He waved his hand through the screen like he was swatting away a mosquito. The translucent display vanished.

“Get out! I never even asked for this shit!” he snapped.

“Since that thing showed up… it’s been hell for me!” His voice cracked as he spun in place, fists clenched. He kicked at the sand, sending it scattering into the air. “What the fuck is this?!”

He took a few heavy breaths, shoulders rising and falling with tension. "Great, now I'm swearing like a deadbeat drug addict dad..." 

Suddenly, he paused, raising his head as if a wave of realization just blew past him. Something felt off.

When he had spun just now, he saw something in the corner of his eye. At the time, he was too furious to register it. But now, it suddenly flashed like an alert or a reminder from his instincts.

He turned slowly. And then he saw it. His body froze immediately as he took in its image.

Not far off, standing partly shrouded in the mist, was a creature unlike anything he'd seen before.

It was tall—easily eight feet—its skin a dark, like a polished armor glowed faintly under the broken moonlight. 

Veins of crimson energy pulsed across its muscled form like living magma.

It had horns curved backward in arcs, and its glowing eyes locked directly onto him with unsettling calm.

It stood with a quiet, powerful grace. 

Levi's mind immediately flashed back to the system screen. He hadn’t read it properly, but the words came flooding back like a cold slap to the face.

Slay the Awakened Demon.

His heart thudded in his chest.

Could it be…? No. It wasn’t even a question.

The sharp horns. The aura that felt like it weighed down the air. The quiet pressure building just by standing near it.

This wasn’t just some creature. This was an actual awakened in the flesh.

He had read about them. B-ranked monsters. Creatures powerful enough to be if left unchecked.

And now, one was standing right in front of him.

In Astrovia, both humans and monsters were categorized by a strict ranking system—one everyone was taught about from the moment they could read.

It started with E, the weakest tier. From there, it climbed through D, C, B, A… and finally, S rank. A rank only a handful of humans and creatures have attained. 

But each rank wasn’t flat. It was further divided into grades—Grade 3 being the weakest within the rank, and Grade 1 the strongest. So a Grade 1 D-ranked fighter was far more skilled than someone at Grade 3 of the same rank, though still far below even a Grade 3 C-rank.

And if Levi's current strength were to be assessed?

He wouldn’t even break into C.

At best, at best, he would be considered a Grade 1 D-rank. Just strong enough to survive for some minutes, but not nearly enough to fight something like this.

His stomach twisted.

He stumbled backward, boots dragging lines through the sand, his face draining of color. But the fear in his eyes wasn’t entirely because of the demon in front of him.

No, there was something else. His lips parted, jaw trembling.

That sight. That cursed, unbearable sight.

It was just like the one he’d seen the night before—the moment Violet was in Emilia's arms, her body frozen.

And now, he was gazing upon a similar scene. It was happening again.

The girl he’d been walking with—the one he hadn’t even learned the name of—was now dangling helplessly in the demon’s massive grip.

It held her like a toy.

Two clawed fingers pressed gently—almost mockingly—against the side of her neck, her head lolling slightly as if she were barely conscious. One wrong move, one flick, and it would be over.

Levi didn’t hesitate. There was no thought, no plan—just instinct. With a sharp breath, he stomped the ground, creating an explosion beneath his feet.

He charged forward like a bullet loosed from a cannon. The sand beneath cracked and burst outward in a cloud of dust and force.

The burst element again—his one edge for boosting his speed. The principle behind it was simple. He was using the element of fire to creating an explosion beneath his feet, adding to his momentum.

And now he didn't need to read out system commands to use it

In a blink, he was in front of the creature. The demon moved, swinging its arm with an effortless slice meant to cleave him in half.

Levi ducked low, narrowly dodging the attack. The wind from the swing howled over his head, slicing the trees behind him. As he slid beneath it, he stretched his arm forward, reaching for the girl.

"Even if I'm going to fight this thing, I'm doing it while it has a hostage..." Levi thought. "I just need to—"

His thoughts were brought to a stop by the feeling of a crushing force slamming into his side.

Levi's body flipped mid-air like a broken doll, before crashing several meters away, sliding through the sand, coughing up dust and blood.

He groaned, struggling to lift his head. His vision dangled—but the demon was still there.

If looked unimpressed, like it was bored.

Then its gaze shifted lazily from Levi to the girl. And back again.

A strange noise suddenly came from its throat. Its lips curled, and it started to laugh in an unhinged manner.

It swayed its head from side to side, like a baby amused by its own little joke.

That was when it finally clicked.

Levi’s chest rose and fell rapidly as he stared at the creature, at the mocking glint in its eyes and the unnatural smile stretching across its sharp, distorted face.

This wasn’t even a high-tier threat.

This thing… it was probably a newly Awakened Demon. In other words, it was no better than a new born baby too.

His lips parted, and the words left him in a whisper, drenched in disbelief. “That thing… it’s only C-ranked.”

He swallowed hard, eyes wide.

“But why… why is it laughing like that?”

The demon’s grin hadn't faltered. If anything, it deepened, growing more twisted, more disturbing—as if it were feeding off his fear.

“What the fuck is with that smile…?” Levi clenched his fists

Finally the demon began to move Its hand, slowly and it settled atop the girl’s head, fingers spreading until its palm cradled her skull.

Levi instantly realized what it was doing. His tomach dropped.

“No—!” he shouted, launching himself forward on instinct. But his legs didn’t move.

He looked down. His muscles were frozen. Was it fear? No, there was something else. 

He hadn't noticed it before, but there was a small sharp stinging sensation at his side, exactly where the demon’s kick had landed earlier. He winced, reaching for it—and felt it.

Warm, wet, and slightly numb.

A thin, shallow cut… barely noticeable at first. His eyes widened and realization crashed into him.

“A scratch…?” His heart thundered in his ears. “Wait. No… poison?”

His knees buckled. He struggled to stay upright.

“Fuck—no. I let my guard down—”

The demon didn't rush.

It simply began to pull.

Fingers pressing in with ease, forcing the girl’s head slowly to the side. Her body twitched, feet dangling weakly as if some part of her still registered the horror of what was happening.

Helpless, Levi began to scream “Stop! Please! Stop—!”

He tried to crawl, to move, anything—but his limbs betrayed him.

Then came the sound of muscle tearing, and bones creaking under pressure. Blood vessels burst in thin red streams from her neck.

“No—!”

Her scream never came.

With one clean, effortless motion, the demon twisted and tore. Her head separated from her shoulders, spine snapped like dry wood.

Blood sprayed into the air like water coming from a fountain. It was warm, thick, painting the sand crimson. Her body dropped like a sack of flesh and limbs, lifeless.

The demon stood over it all, holding her head like a trophy, blood trickling down its wrist, the same twisted smile still carved into its face.