What? I couldn’t help but doubt my ears. Evolve? Into what? What’s a higher species of Dark Wings!? Licorice was in my arms, and she also expressed her shock, “Evolution…It’s because she’s contracted with Dear Husband. She received a portion of the dungeon’s power.”

“A portion of the dungeon’s power?” I asked, perplexed.

“There’s no way something like that is natural. Because she's gained worthy achievements, she received the dungeon’s blessing through Dear Husband. Though, I never would have thought a mere wyvern could have gained enough achievements to cause an evolution… Just what was she?”

I shook my head. “She used to be the boss of a region. Rather than that… let’s go see Lotte.”

With Licorice fretting and refusing to let go, I gave up on getting her off me. Lotte had been bathed in the falling lava. When I was about to approach her, she suddenly began to glow and was encased in a red light. Even I could feel an intense heat emanating from her.

“Shin, what happened!? Did you defeat that…whoa.”

Hwaya had flown towards me quickly. She saw Licorice in my embrace and frowned slightly before closing her mouth. She was indeed quick to understand the situation. I was truly thankful. I looked at her with gratitude in my eyes and said simply, “Lotte’s evolving.”

“Evolving!?” she exclaimed, her eyes wide.

It didn’t take long before the shining light subsided. However, Lotte also seemed to be shrinking in size. She had been getting a lot bigger since our first meeting, but was now doing the exact opposite.

Eventually, she shrunk to about twelve feet long. The light then flowed into her, and she made her appearance. Although she was still black, there were red lines trimming the edges of her wings. She seemed to have gotten swifter, and her eyes were a deep red color. Her evolution had to be related to lava!

[Dark Wings are a rare species of wyverns capable of controlling cursed flames. They are well acknowledged for their swift wing beats and powerful flames, but in truth, they are simply the fallen results of a powerful species of ancient dragon being cursed.]

[Dark Wings that transcend their limits are said to be able to return to their original form. Not only are there very few Dark Wings, but also their fallen forms are so powerful that it is hard for them to reach their limit. Dark Wing Lotte will become the first Dark Wing to regain her original form!]

[Dark Wing Lotte has evolved into Blaze Queen!]

I didn’t know how the dungeon helped her, but her evolution was closer to a return to her original states. Her new form had shattered everyone’s imagination. While the rest of us were still shocked, she approached me and said, [Hero, have you seen my transformation!?]

I nodded. “Yeah, I did. Your energy seems to have doubled.”

I could feel an intense heat just by standing close to her. It seemed her energy became compressed as she got smaller. Lotte flapped her wings excitedly. Winds carrying flames blew and stirred the surroundings.

She remarked happily, [Huhu, so this is my true form. Reclaiming my true form in exchange for betraying other monsters and choosing the life as a human’s servant, it’s truly strange! Huhahaha!]

“Do you even know what you’re saying?” I said wryly.

She laughed. [Hero, it seems you truly are my blessing!]

“Yeah, I’m happy that you’re happy.”

Though it was a bit difficult as I was holding Licorice in one arm, I patted Lotte with the other hand after she approached me and said, “I’d be happy to hold a congratulatory party, but you are aware of our current situation. Wait just a little bit more.”

[I can wait however long you want, my Hero!] Lotte replied spiritedly and pushed her back towards me. Before I got on her, I patted Licorice who was still in my embrace.

“Licorice, you have used up your mana, right?” I asked.

She sounded dejected, “Mm yes. Sorry, Dear Husband. I knew we still have to face the king, but I couldn’t control myself… It won’t recover for a while.”

I shook my head. “No, it couldn’t be helped. It’s fine. You can go back to the mansion and rest. We’ll deal with the Lava King.”

“Okay, I trust you,” Licorice replied quietly and gave me a kiss on the cheek (Hwaya’s brows twitched). Then, she returned to the dungeon before I got on Lotte’s back.

I muttered, “Alright, now it’s time to…Eh?”

When the Lava Heart died, I thought that everything he owned would turn into lava and disappear, but surprisingly, his giant spear was still stuck to the ground. It had been maintaining its original form by using the remaining Lava Heart’s mana that was imbued in it.

“Hey!”

I lightly hurled the Chaotic Spear. The moment it hit the giant spear, it shone and was absorbed into the Chaotic Spear.

[Crimson Chaotic Spear has absorbed the Lava Giant Spear. Growth: 77%]

“Whoa, so much!” I gasped.

Previously, the growth wasn’t even at 70%. Even after eating all those Event Dungeon weapons and Floor Master weapons, it hadn’t even grown 23%, but this time it had grown by almost 10%. I didn’t know how I was going to fill the remaining 23%, but I believed it was possible to evolve it to the next level before the two year mark.

I murmured, “S-Should I have checked its item description? No, it would have been eaten by the Chaotic Spear regardless…”

The Chaotic Spear spun through the air and returned to my hand. I then looked at Hwaya, who had been standing with her mouth open, and asked, “How are the two that got hurt? Are they okay?”

She recovered and replied, “Thanks to Ludia’s quick healing and the Elixirs… they’re fine, though they lost some of their equipment... It was Walker and Sumire.”

I grimaced. “I can see how they got hit by the lava.”

Walker most likely got hurt trying to protect Sumire, and it was probably the same for Sumire except she was trying to defend the other guild members. As I could imagine how painful it must have been for them, I grunted and turned to face where they were. It was best to take care of everything as quickly as possible!

We had cut down about half of the original number of Destroyers and Sweepers. Beyond these monsters, a new wave was beginning to appear. They were most likely the last wave of soldiers. There weren’t that many, but I could tell that each and every one of them seemed powerful.

I aimed my spear towards them and quietly said to Hwaya, “Hwaya, you protect the others.”

“I’m more worried about you,” she whispered.

I smiled. “I’ll be fine, really.”

“Shin…” her voice trailed off before she finally said, “Hurry.”

In all honesty, having used Sacrifice for that last attack, my health was quite low. I gulped down a potion and threw the leftover bottle on the ground, breaking it. It was a signal of sorts.

“I’ll be going ahead!” I shouted.

She yelled out. “Shin, be careful!”

I winked. “Of course!”

Having evolved into a Blaze Queen, Lotte’s speed far surpassed my imagination. Even when she was a Dark Wing, she displayed a shocking speed with that large body. Now, it almost felt like she was traveling at the speed of light.

[Hero, ready your spear!] she commanded arrogantly.

“I know, I’m ready!” I replied energetically and ushered Mad Typhoon’s power up. The enemies I now faced were Lava Knights who looked like shrunken versions of the Lava Heart. Since I was able to defeat the Lava Heart, there was no reason for me to be afraid!

“Fight me, you goddamned bastards! Open the path towards your king!”

My roar thundered throughout the volcanic region. Seemingly having understood my words, the Lava Knights held up their weapons and charged towards me. Almost as if she was waiting for this moment, Lotte raised her voice and laughed, [I shall allow you to feel the dignity of this Blaze Queen!]

Her body shone with a brilliant light similar to when I used Divine Speed. Without giving me a chance to do anything, she charged towards the Lava Knights, shattering their bodies upon contact. Although their bodies erupted into lava the moment they died, Lotte seemed unhurt.

She remarked, [Hero, my body has gotten stronger against flames. Don’t worry about me and fight them freely!]

“That’s nice to hear!”

It was a growth worthy of the word ‘evolution.’ I grinned and pointed my spear crackling with lightning towards the Lava Knights.

“Come at me! I’ll destroy you all!”

Time passed. I looked back after hearing the death throes of a Lava Knight and saw that only Revival’s members were remaining on the battlefield. The numerous Destroyers, Sweepers, and Lava Knights that had peppered the environment earlier were nowhere to be seen. The battlefield had been filled with noisy cries and erupting lava, but was now dominated by an odd silence.

“Is it… over?” I murmured, unable to believe it myself. The other members also looked around them as they dripped with blood and sweat.

[Indeed it is, Hero. There is only one remaining presence in this area.] Lotte replied in a calm manner. I knew exactly who she was referring to: it could only be the Lava King.

“Volcano… Large energy.”

Daisy approached me, looking extremely tired. In the past, she always maintained a neat appearance when wearing her uniform, but her clothes now were messy and sweat covered her from head to toe. It felt like this was the first time I ever saw Daisy sweat.

“My undead, many gone. Lava King, give me,” she demanded in her usual slow way.

I blinked. “…Do you think you can control him?”

She pursed her lips. “Probably? Giving up control of all other undead, possible.”

“That’s not good!” I exclaimed.

She insisted, “For times like today, ultimate weapon needed.”

I hesitated. She was right. Her undead monsters were strong, but it was sometimes better to have one with absolute strength. That said, Daisy was truly amazing. Even though we had not won yet, she was already thinking about obtaining an undead.

I smiled wryly. “Alright, fine.”

“Huhu.”

Daisy smiled. I then gathered the other members together. It was hard to describe how bedraggled they looked with words alone. In addition, Walker and Sumire had lost their equipment and were having even more difficulty as they fought with low tier equipment.

Furthermore, the succubi battle units also had additional casualties. I was glad that this damned lava army was taken care of, but I could only sigh at the succubi’s death.

“Really…Thanks, everyone.”

“You did well too.”

“We won somehow. I thought we were going to die.”

“I’m exhausted.”

While everyone threw in their comments, Ina jumped into my embrace silently. She probably did the most work today. She must have killed far more soldiers than me and must have used far more mana as well. Feeling like I had made Ina suffer needlessly, I hugged her and patted her back.

“Thank you, Ina. You did well,” I complimented her.

She stated childishly, “Hmph, I’m not done. I’ll fight with Daddy.”

“My own lack of ability is making my Ina suffer…Sorry, I still need your power. Can you help me?” I asked.

She nodded vigorously. “Ok. I’ll protect Daddy.”

Feeling even sorrier, I held Ina tighter. Leon then asked, “Friend, is that guy not coming out?”

“Yeah. He apparently doesn’t fight unless he’s in an environment where he has the most advantage.”

Leon clicked his tongue. “What an annoying guy.”

I shrugged. “Okay, now…let’s pick the members.”

A few reacted immediately after I said that. The first to jump was none other than Sumire.

“I can still go on, Shin-nim!” she pleaded.

I shook my head. “No, Sumire.”

“But I haven’t even used my god’s power yet! I only got hurt before because I wanted to save it for the boss fight…”

“Sumire.”

I shook my head once again.

“I’m only looking at one condition for the members I’m selecting now. Will they die in one hit or not? Even though you have your god’s power left, you’re too exhausted. It’ll be difficult to fight again.”

“Shin-nim…” she whined.

My father volunteered, “Son, I can go on.”

I gave him a look. “You can’t either, Father.”

“Hey!” he exclaimed indignantly.

I didn’t back down even as he continued to protest and continued, “All the succubi did amazingly today. Go back to the Resting Place of the Angels and rest. We can hold funerals for the fallen comrades when the battle is over.”

“Dear Husband…” Licorice whispered.

“Now, I’ll announce the ones coming with me to fight the Lava King. It’ll be me, Daisy, Hwaya, Ina, and Ye-Eun.”

“What? What about me, Shin!?” Ludia shrieked.

I looked her in the eye. “Not you, Ludia. It’s too dangerous.”

“Shin!” she protested.

“No.”

“But you’ll let Su Ye-Eun go!?” she whined, tears in her eyes.

I smiled wryly. “If anything, Ye-Eun’s evasive ability is the best among us. Look at her.”

I pointed at Ye-Eun. Not only did she have very few injuries, but they were also all light. Furthermore, her clothes were much cleaner than the others. I wasn’t bringing Ye-Eun for no reason. Her evasive ability was number one in the guild. As for her strength…

“Ye-Eun has ‘that’ thing.”

“Uh…. Yeah, I’ll use it…uhhh.”

Ye-Eun seemed to have realized what I was referring to as she frowned a bit and murmured, “But Master is aiming for Shin…”

I rolled my eyes. “She won’t do anything funny in the middle of battle.”

“Don’t worry, Ye-Eun. If she tries to do anything, this Unni will stop her. Even if I have to burn her to a crisp,” Hwaya interjected.

Ye-Eun looked pained. “But it’s my body, Unni!”

Then, Ren said in a dissatisfied tone, “Crown Prince, I also have Deific Manifestation.”

I pointed out heartlessly, “If you use Deific Manifestation, you’ll jump straight into the mouth of the volcano. You need to wait until the thrashing phase ends.”

“Whew.”

Hearing that I wouldn’t be taking Ren, Lebuik sighed openly. I continued with a bitter smile, “Anyone else will just get in our way. Just stay back and rest, okay?”

“Aww…”

“I don’t want to…”

I said gently, “Ludia, I’ll leave you to heal the others at the mansion. Please.”

“But Shin…wahhh.”

Ludia puffed up her cheeks, then turned away in the end.

“Do whatever you want. Go die if you want, stupid Orc!” she snapped.

I smiled. “Thanks for listening to me.”

“Hey!”

Even after telling me to go die, she threw a few bottles of Elixirs towards my face. I easily caught them. Following that, Ludia turned away again with a humph before returning to the dungeon.

“Then we’ll be off, Father. Don’t secretly follow us,” I said knowingly.

His eyes shifted. “Ahem! You’re looking down on your father too much!”

“When you get a god’s true name, you can come with us,” I teased.

He grumbled, “Gahhhhh! Fine, I swear I’ll get that damn thing!”

After having everyone return to the mansion, I looked at the remaining members and declared.

“Let’s go hunt the king!”

Our destination was the mouth of the Bulusan Volcano. There, the Lava King was waiting for us!