Demon Evolution System

Chapter 28

Hale’s voice tore through the suffocating pressure like a blade.

“Hold the line! Formation—now!”

His command snapped the group into motion by instinct alone. Kael and Dren moved to the front despite the fear clawing at their throats, blades raised. Boros planted himself beside Hale, shield up, axe glowing faintly with mana. Kira stood behind them, staff shaking in her grip as she began chanting, green sigils spiraling into the air.

Hale’s mind was racing.

Twenty Death Knights.

This wasn’t a battle. It was an execution waiting to happen.

“Kira—barrier! Full output, now!”

His shout cut through the chaos like a blade.

Kira didn’t hesitate. She slammed the butt of her staff into the stone floor, teeth clenched as she poured every drop of mana she could muster into the spell. Runes flared beneath her feet, expanding outward in a radiant dome of pale-blue light that enveloped the entire group.

The barrier formed just in time.

Steel slammed into it.

BOOOOM—!

The first Death Knight’s broadsword crashed against the translucent wall, sparks and cursed energy exploding outward. The impact sent ripples racing across the barrier’s surface—but it held.

Another strike followed. Then another.

The Death Knights attacked in unison, blades and hammers battering the barrier from every side. The sound was deafening—metal on magic, force against force.

Yet the barrier stood.

For a moment… it worked.

“They stopped!” Dren shouted, disbelief flooding his voice.

Kael laughed breathlessly, gripping his sword tighter. “Ha—! You see that? They can’t get through!”

Boros straightened, chest swelling. “Tch. That’s more like it. I knew it wasn’t over.”

Even Hale felt a flicker of relief. He raised his sword, eyes sharp again, authority returning to his stance.

“Good work, Kira,” he said firmly. “Maintain it. We’ll regroup and push through together.”

Kira’s face was pale, sweat streaming down her temples—but she nodded, forcing a strained smile.

“I—I can hold it,” she said. “Just… just give me a little time.”

The Death Knights continued striking, relentless but contained. Their blows shook the barrier, but each impact was absorbed, dispersed by Kira’s magic.

Hope—fragile, dangerous—crept into the group’s hearts.

Then the temperature dropped.

Miles felt it first.

The air twisted, thickened, as if the dungeon itself was inhaling.

At the far end of the hall, the lich finally moved.

It lifted one skeletal hand.

The laughter came softly at first—low, amused, echoing unnaturally through the stone corridor.

“A clever trick,” the lich said, voice smooth and contemptuous. “But you mistake delay for survival.”

Its palm turned outward.

Black sigils ignited in the air.

Miles’ eyes widened. “Kira—!”

Too late.

A torrent of necrotic magic surged forward, slamming into the barrier like a tidal wave of death.

KRRRRRSH—!

The barrier screamed.

Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface, light flickering violently. Kira cried out as backlash ripped through her body, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.

“I—I can’t—!” she screamed. “It’s too strong—!”

The Death Knights reacted instantly.

Their attacks intensified.

Blow after blow rained down, synchronized with the lich’s magic. The barrier shuddered, collapsing inward with each strike.

“Hold it!” Hale shouted. “Don’t let it break—!”

Another blast from the lich.

The barrier shattered.

Light exploded outward as the spell collapsed completely, throwing the team off their feet.

The Death Knights surged forward.

The massacre began.

One knight cleaved through the space where the barrier had been, its sword tearing into Dren’s chest before he could even raise his weapon. The impact lifted him off the ground.

Dren screamed once.

Then a second Death Knight stepped in and decapitated him mid-fall.

His body hit the stone in two pieces.

Blood sprayed across the wall.

Kira froze in horror. Kira slammed her staff into the ground.

Light erupted.

Green and gold mana surged through the party—muscles tightened, reflexes sharpened, wounds sealed over just enough to keep them standing. Miles felt the buff wrap around him like a second skin, his senses flaring sharply.

The lich noticed.

“How kind of you,” it said mockingly. “Healing them… prolonging their despair.”

It snapped its fingers.

A sphere of black mana detonated against Kira’s chest.

BOOOOM—!

She was blasted backward like a broken doll, smashing into the wall. Her ribs cracked audibly. She slid down, #

“KIRA!” Kael roared.

“I'm fine. I- I can heal myself.” she tried to mumble through the pain

However, Kael charged blindly but a Death Knight intercepted him. Its sword came down in a brutal diagonal arc.

Kael barely raised his blade in time.

CLANG—!

The impact sent him skidding backward like a child. His arms screamed in protest as the cursed weapon crushed through his guard and slammed into his shoulder, armor shattering. He screamed, rolling aside just in time to avoid the follow-up strike that cleaved the stone floor where his head had been.

Boros stared.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“This—this isn’t right,” he muttered, backing away. “Instructor—do something!”

Hale was already fighting for his life.

Two Death Knights pressed him from either side, blades moving with merciless precision.

Hale charged.

Mana surged through his sword as he drove forward, slashing upward with everything he had. His blade bit into black armor, sparks and cursed energy exploding outward. The Death Knight staggered half a step.

Only half.

It answered with a thrust so fast Hale barely saw it.

He parried one strike, barely dodged another as Steel punched into his side, tearing through flesh and muscle. Hale grunted, teeth clenched as blood soaked his coat —

but he didn’t fall.

“GRAAAH—!”

He twisted, ripping his blade free and hacking at the Death Knight’s neck. The strike chipped armor, cracked bone—but didn’t kill.

The lich laughed.

A dry, echoing sound that crawled through the hall like rot.

“Pathetic,” it said calmly. “You struggle so beautifully.”

Another death knight sword pierced his thigh, pinning Hale to the ground. He roared in pain, swinging upward and cracking a Death Knight’s helm—but another sword plunged into his side.

Blood poured freely now.

Still, Hale fought.

Still, he refused to fall.

The lich floated closer, amused.

“Such resolve,” it mused. “It will make your death memorable.”

Kira raised her staff, pouring mana desperately buffing kael, Hale Boros and Miles, trying to keep them alive as they fought. But that was her mistake.

The lich lifted one skeletal finger.

Black runes ignited.

A lance of necrotic energy screamed through the air.

BOOOOM—!

Kira was ripped off her feet and hurled into the wall. Her scream cut off abruptly as bone cracked. Her staff shattered, mana dispersing uselessly as her body slid down the stone, limp.

The lich tilted its skull.

“Annoying little spark.”

Boros’ shield shattered as he blocked a heavy strike from two death knights. His axe followed seconds later, crushed under a Death Knight’s hammer.

Panic consumed him and he had already started backing away.

He looked at Kael—bleeding, one arm hanging uselessly.

At Hale—on his knees, blood pouring from multiple wounds, still swinging his sword in defiance.

At Kira—motionless.

This wasn’t a fight.

This was a slaughter.

“No—no—NO—!...This—this wasn’t supposed to happen…” he muttered.He grabbed Kael’s collar and shoved him forward.

“Take him!” Boros screamed. “Kill him instead!”

Kael’s body hit the ground.

A sword came down.

Silence.

Boros ran.

He sprinted for the rift, sobbing, terror stripping away all pretense of pride.

“I don’t want to die—I don’t want to—!”

“HAHAHAHA—!” the lich laughed openly now. “Yes. Run. Show me what you are.”

Boros sprinted for the rift, terror pushing him beyond exhaustion. He didn’t look back.

The rift shimmered ahead and he was desperate to reach it as it was his Salvation.

He leapt forward

Half his body passed through.

Then—

The lich closed its hand.

The rift snapped shut.

SCHRRRK—!

Boros’ scream was wet and short-lived.

His body was severed cleanly at the waist, entrails spilling across the stone as his upper half slammed to the ground. His eyes were wide, mouth opening and closing in silent disbelief as blood pooled beneath him.

The lich drifted closer.

“You wished to escape alone,” it said pleasantly. “How fitting.”

The lich hovered over him.

“Cowardice,” it said softly. “So very human.”

A sword fell.

Hale collapsed moments later, finally overwhelmed, blood soaking into the stone beneath him.

The Death Knights stepped back.

The lich turned.

Only one figure remained standing.

Miles.

Still. Silent. Eyes burning with something far darker than fear.

The lich tilted its skull, intrigued.

“…Interesting,” it murmured.