Demon Evolution System

Chapter 24

Hale was sent crashing across the cave floor, his sword clattering from his grip. Pain exploded through his ribs—something cracked. He gasped, vision blurring.

“Captain!” Dren shouted.

Dren rushed in, teeth clenched, blade flashing as he aimed for the troll’s knee.

His strike landed but it was too shallow.

The troll backhanded him.

CRUNCH—!

Dren’s body folded unnaturally as he was hurled through the air, slamming into the cave wall. He hit hard, sliding down limply, blood streaking from the corner of his mouth.

“Kira—!” Hale shouted. “Heal them—now!”

Kira was already moving.

She raised her staff, panic flashing in her eyes as green light poured forth, wrapping around Hale and Dren.

But the troll saw it.

Its head snapped toward her. Its Yellow eyes locked onto the glowing figure at the back.

It roared and charged.

“Kira—move!” Miles shouted from behind.

Kael rushed forward, placing himself between Kira and the troll, sword raised despite the tremor in his arms.

“Over my dead body—!”

The troll’s club came down and Kael raised his sword to block it.

CRACK—!

The impact shattered his guard instantly. The force slammed into his chest, hurling him backward into Kira. Both hit the ground hard, Kira’s staff skidding away.

Kael coughed violently, blood splattering the stone.

“Kael!” Kira cried, scrambling toward him.

The troll loomed over them, shadow swallowing them whole.

Miles’ eyes went cold instantly. He moved.

A blur of motion shot past Boros, who was just regaining his footing.

“Hey—!” Boros snarled. “Don’t steal my kill!”

Miles ignored him. He leapt onto the cave wall, kicked off, and launched himself straight at the troll’s face.

His daggers flashed. One plunged into the troll’s shoulder joint.

The other sliced across its cheek.

The monster roared, staggering back.

“Focus on defense!” Miles barked. “It’s enraged!”

Boros scoffed. “Don’t tell me what to do, kid.” He charged again—reckless, uncontrolled.

The troll baited him. As Boros raised his axe, the troll grabbed his shield with one massive hand and wrenched it aside.

Boros’ eyes widened but it was too late as the club smashed into his ribs.

CRACK—!

Boros flew, skidding across the ground, coughing violently.

Kira seized the moment, scrambling to her feet and casting a wide-area heal—but her mana faltered, panic and exhaustion catching up to her.

The troll noticed.

It turned back toward her.

“No—!” Hale shouted, forcing himself upright despite the pain.

The troll raised its club.

Miles appeared beneath it.

He slashed.

The dagger, coated faintly in demonic energy, carved deep into the troll’s Achilles tendon.

The troll staggered.

Miles’ blade was still buried deep in its tendon, dark blood pouring onto the stone as the creature roared in agony, its massive body listing sideways.

Kael forced himself up on one knee, teeth clenched through pain, and drove his sword forward with a hoarse shout. The blade pierced the troll’s abdomen, sinking in deep enough to slow it—but not enough to finish it.

Dren followed through despite his shattered balance, hurling his sword with everything he had left.

The weapon struck the troll’s throat.

The beast choked, staggering backward, arms flailing as it struggled to remain upright.

Still alive.

Still dangerous.

Then—

“GET OUT OF THE WAY!”

Boros’ roar thundered through the cave.

Miles felt the shift in air an instant before it happened and twisted aside, yanking his dagger free as Boros charged past him like a raging bull.

Mana erupted around Boros in violent waves.

His axe glowed, veins bulging as he raised it high overhead, completely abandoning defense.

“THIS IS HOW YOU KILL A MONSTER!”

The troll turned toward him, one eye wide with fury, the other ruined. It lifted its club weakly—

Too slow.

Boros brought the axe down with everything he had.

CRACK—!

The blade split through the troll’s skull, cleaving bone and flesh in a single brutal arc. The force drove the creature’s massive body into the ground, the cave floor fracturing beneath the impact.

The troll convulsed once.

Then went still.

Blood pooled rapidly beneath its corpse.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Boros stood over the body, chest heaving, axe dripping with dark ichor. Slowly, a grin spread across his face.

“Hah…” He straightened, rolling his shoulders. “See that?”

He turned toward the others, eyes burning with triumph.

“That’s what real power looks like.”

Hale stared at him, stunned.

Dren lay slumped against the wall, blood soaking through his armor.

Kael struggled to stay conscious, breath shallow and uneven.

Kira knelt between them, hands shaking as she poured what little mana she had left into healing.

And Boros… didn’t look at any of them.

He planted his axe into the ground like a trophy.

“Two trolls,” Boros continued smugly. “Mid-tier monsters. And we handled them just fine.”

Miles wiped the blood from his blade slowly, eyes fixed on Boros.

Just fine?

He glanced at Dren’s broken posture.

At Kael’s labored breathing.

At Kira’s pale face, mana nearly exhausted.

Boros’ victory wasn’t clean.

It wasn’t earned alone.

But Boros didn’t see that.

His ego swelled, fed by the kill, by the silence, by the fact that in the end—

He was the one still standing tall.

“This rift isn’t so dangerous after all,” Boros said confidently. “If anything, it’s easier than they made it sound.”

The echo of the troll’s collapse lingered in the cave long after its body stopped twitching.

Blood seeped between fractured stones, steaming faintly as mana slowly dissipated into the air. The oppressive pressure that had weighed on the group during the fight finally eased—but the relief was fragile, brittle.

Miles straightened from where he stood, wiping his dagger clean against the troll’s coarse hide before sheathing it. His eyes never left Boros.

“Your fighting was reckless,” Miles said calmly. His voice cut through the silence like a blade. “You almost got people killed.”

The words landed heavily.

Boros’ head snapped toward him.

“What did you just say?” His tone dropped, dangerous and sharp.

Miles didn’t back down. “You charged in without coordination. You ignored formations, ignored positioning, ignored your teammates. Dren and Kael were injured because of you.”

Boros let out a harsh laugh, gripping his axe tighter.

“Watch your mouth, kid,” he growled. “I was focused on killing monsters. If those two hadn’t been so damn weak, they wouldn’t have been in my way.”

Kael, still pale but standing with Kira’s support, clenched his jaw.

“That’s enough,” Kael said. “Miles is right. You didn’t care about anyone but yourself out there. This is a team raid, not your personal glory hunt.”

Boros turned fully toward him now, eyes blazing.

“You want to talk about weakness?” he snapped. “You could barely hold your sword straight. If you can’t keep up, that’s not my problem.”

Kira flinched at the rising hostility, hands tightening around her staff.

“That’s not fair,” she said quietly. “I nearly ran out of mana keeping everyone alive.”

Boros scoffed. “And you did your job. Good. That’s all I expect.”

Kael’s gaze shifted sharply toward the instructor.

“Hale,” he said. “You’re the one in charge here. Are you just going to let this slide?”

All eyes turned to Hale.

The instructor stood silently for several seconds, fists clenched behind his back. His gaze moved from the injured, to Boros, to Miles—lingering on the latter just a moment longer.

He knew they were right.

Boros had acted like a berserker without restraint. His aggression had forced Kael and Dren into dangerous positions, nearly costing them their lives.

But Hale also knew something else.

They needed Boros.

Without Boros’ raw power and ability to draw aggro, pushing deeper into an evolved rift would be exponentially more dangerous.

Hale exhaled slowly.

“Enough,” he said at last.

His voice carried authority—but it lacked conviction.

“This kind of injury is not unusual during real combat. What matters is that everyone survived.” He glanced at Boros. “You should be more mindful of your teammates.”

Boros smirked.

Hale continued, avoiding Miles’ eyes. “We cannot afford internal conflict. We move forward as one unit. Understood?”

Miles felt it then.

The hypocrisy.

Hale knew Boros was the problem—but chose convenience over leadership.

Miles said nothing.

Boros met his gaze, lips curling into a cold smile, eyes filled with warning.

Miles turned away first.