Demon Evolution System

Chapter 15

Miles walked steadily, weaving through pedestrians without looking back. Cole stayed close, careful not to draw attention.

Then Miles turned a corner.

Cole followed immediately— but suddenly stopped. A look of surprise flashed across his face

Miles was gone.

“Shit…” Cole muttered, scanning the street.

Crowds moved past him, oblivious. No sign of Miles anywhere.

Cole cursed under his breath and pulled out his phone.

“Ryan,” he said as soon as the call connected. “He’s alive.”

There was a silence that lasted a second.

“…I saw him,” Cole continued, voice tense.“ He just left the Awakener Association.”

Another pause.

“No, he didn’t confront me. But this is bad. Real bad.”

Cole hung up and hailed a cab, his mind racing.

Behind him, unseen, Miles stood inside a small shop across the street, watching calmly through the glass as Cole entered the taxi and drove off.

Miles’ eyes were cold as he watched Cole closely. When he left the awakener association he sensed that he was being stalked but he pretended to be oblivious of the fact as he walked. Thanks to his sharp hearing he was able to hear what Cole was saying on the phone and so he knew that Cole was going to meet Ryan.

He stepped outside moments later and flagged down another cab.

“Follow that car,” he said quietly.

As the city lights blurred past, Miles leaned back against the seat.

Ryan, he thought.

-”You made me crawl through hell. Now it’s your turn.”

Miles mumbled as he was determined to have his revenge today.

Cole didn’t notice the second cab.

The city lights slid past the window in long streaks of yellow and white as his foot tapped restlessly against the floor of the vehicle. His fingers were clenched so tightly together that his knuckles had gone pale.

I know what I saw.

He replayed the image in his head again and again—Miles Reed stepping out of the Awakener Association, alive, calm, unchanged.

No.

Not unchanged.

There had been something different about him. Something that made Cole’s stomach twist even now.

The cab slowed to a stop.

“We’re here,” the driver said.

Cole tossed the money onto the seat and stepped out, immediately pulling his hood lower over his face. The neighborhood was quiet—too quiet. Narrow streets, dim streetlamps, buildings pressed close together like they were trying to hide from the rest of the city.

He crossed the road and entered a small, unremarkable building wedged between a closed convenience store and a laundromat.

The door shut behind him with a soft click.

Inside, Ryan and Lena were already waiting.

Ryan lounged on the couch like he owned the world, one arm draped casually over the backrest, sword resting against the wall within arm’s reach. Lena sat nearby, legs crossed, her expression sharp and unreadable as she scrolled through her phone.

Ryan looked up and smirked.

“You’re late.”

Cole ignored the comment, breathing hard. “We have a problem.”

That caught their attention.

Lena lifted her head first. “What kind of problem?”

Cole swallowed. “I saw Miles.”

The room went quiet.

Ryan stared at him for a second—then laughed.

“…You’re joking.”

“I’m not,” Cole said firmly. “I saw him with my own eyes.”

Ryan waved a dismissive hand. “You probably saw someone who looked like him. Happens all the time.”

“It wasn’t someone else,” Cole snapped. “It was him. Same face. Same build. Same damn eyes.”

Ryan’s smile faded slightly, replaced by irritation. “That’s impossible. How could that measly porter survive?”

Cole was even more frustrated at this point . He knew that there was no chance that Miles could have survived the demon nest. They wouldn't have either if they hadn't used him as bait to escape.

“I saw him coming out of the Awakener Association,” Cole said, voice tight. “I followed him but lost him in the crowd.”

Lena straightened slowly. “The Awakener Association?” Her brows furrowed. “Why would Miles go there?”

Cole opened his mouth, then hesitated.

“That’s what I’ve been thinking,”

Lena continued, eyes narrowing. “If he really survived the Rift… he could report us. Do you think that was the reason he went there.”

Ryan scoffed. “Report what?”

“That we abandoned him,” Lena said coldly. “That we used him as bait to escape and left him behind.” She stood up now, pacing. “You know the rules. We weren't supposed to raid that demon nest without informing the association but we did so anyway and if it was exposed then we could lose our license and even get severely punished if it's investigated “

“They won’t,” Ryan interrupted confidently.

Lena turned on him. “You don’t know that.”

Ryan stood as well, aura flaring faintly as irritation crept into his voice. “Relax. Even if he went there, what exactly do you think he’d say?”

“That we tried to kill him,” Lena shot back.

Ryan laughed again, louder this time. “And who would believe him?”

Cole clenched his fists.

“He’s a porter,” Ryan continued. “A nobody. No rank. No influence. And if he reports the Rift, he reports himself too. He participated.”

Ryan’s eyes gleamed with arrogance. “He’d be incriminating himself.”

Lena hesitated, clearly unsettled. “Still… the fact that he survived—”

“He didn’t,” Ryan cut in sharply. “That’s the point. He couldn’t have.”

Ryan walked closer to Cole, looking down at him.

“You panicked. That’s all.”

Cole forced himself to meet Ryan’s gaze, though doubt still gnawed at him. “I know what I saw.”

Before Ryan could respond—

Knock.

The sound echoed through the room.

All three froze.

Lena’s hand drifted subtly toward the hidden dagger at her thigh. Ryan frowned, his aura tightening instinctively.

“…Were you expecting someone?” Lena asked quietly.

Ryan shook his head. “No.”

Cole felt a chill crawl up his spine.

“I checked,” he said quickly. “No one followed me.”

The knock came again.

Harder and louder this time around.

Ryan’s irritation flared. “Cole. Open it.”

Cole hesitated, then moved toward the door.

Before his hand could touch the handle—

BOOM.

The door exploded inward.