God, Help Us All [Monster Evolution/Progression/LitRPG] Chapter 97 97: Behold, My Glorious Evolution

Arthur froze, his molten pupils narrowing. The voice wasn't cold or chanical—it sounded alive, as if pleading with him.

[You're reckless. But I will help you. Just this once.]

Before Arthur could respond, a searing energy coursed through him—foreign, ancient, and overwhelming. The Codex of Creation burned brightly, its third eye flaring with a blinding white light. Arthur let out a guttural roar, his body convulsing as the destruction energy within him fused with the foreign power. The air around him warped and distorted, cracking under the weight of reality itself being rewritten.

[Energy transfer complete. Initiating Codex override.]

The Codex spun violently in Arthur's mind, its intricate chanisms glowing as it wove a new fate. The system's voice echoed faintly, as though it were praying.

[A fate where you survive…]

Arthur's vision blacked out as the energy consud him, enveloping his massive fra in a swirling sphere of destruction. The air ignited around it, a deafening roar of power tearing through the battlefield. The molten ground beneath the sphere disintegrated, leaving a void where nothing could survive.

Volcranax growled, his gaze narrowing as he watched the phenonon. For the first ti, the wyrm took a cautious step back. "What… is this?"

The sphere cracked, light spilling through the fractures. A faint hum resonated from within, growing louder with each passing second. Then, with a sound like a thousand blades shattering, the sphere exploded outward, revealing Arthur's true form.

Arthur erged, no longer the beast he once was. His body was sleek and towering, more humanoid than draconic, yet retaining his monstrous edge. His obsidian armor had smoothed into razor-sharp plates, each piece glowing faintly with destruction runes etched into the surface. His claws were longer, shimring with an eerie black light that seed to devour the very air around them.

His horns had grown, curving upward like a twisted crown, pulsating with raw energy. Massive wings extended from his back, their edges jagged and glowing with a faint, otherworldly radiance. His tail, now longer and more serpentine, swayed behind him, each movent exuding controlled power.

But it was his third eye that commanded attention. It burned with a radiant light, its multi-pupiled gaze piercing through everything. From the eye, faint trails of black and white energy flowed outward, weaving into a shifting halo of destruction that hovered above his head. The air around him warped, bending to his will as he took a step forward.

"Your turn, wyrm."

The world shifted.

Arthur's breaths ca slow and steady, but they carried the weight of raw power. In this fleeting mont of ascension, everything was different. The oppressive heat of the battlefield no longer bore down on him. The molten rivers and crumbling rocks around him were nothing but background noise. His third eye, glowing with unrestrained energy, opened wider, its pupils fracturing and multiplying as his perception stretched across the entire battlefield.

I can see everything.

Every crack in the molten terrain, every flicker of black fire emanating from Volcranax, even the smallest vibrations in the air caused by his opponent's movents—they all ca into sharp focus. The world slowed for Arthur, almost as if ti itself was at his rcy. He flexed his claws, feeling the concept of destruction flowing through him, unbridled and infinite.

This wasn't about essence anymore. He didn't need a conduit to wield destruction—it was part of him now. Every step he took unraveled the ground beneath him, every swing of his tail carried the promise of annihilation. Yet, he could feel it: the ticking clock. A faint but undeniable presence counting down to the mont when this state would end.

"One minute," Arthur muttered, his voice a low growl reverberating across the battlefield. "That's all I need."

Volcranax stood opposite him, his black fire wings flaring wide as the massive draconic-humanoid figure studied Arthur. The air between them was a battlefield of auras—Volcranax's hellish flas clashing against Arthur's overwhelming presence of destruction.

Volcranax tilted his head, his glowing, slitted eyes narrowing. "... You are... different now, Challenger. Yet you think this form will grant you... victory?"

Arthur didn't respond with words. He moved.

In an instant, he vanished, his speed eclipsing anything he'd achieved before. The ground where he'd stood fractured violently, chunks of molten rock flung skyward. He appeared in front of Volcranax, claws already slashing. The wyrm barely had ti to block, crossing his flaming arms to intercept the blow.

BOOOOM!

The force of the clash sent shockwaves rippling outward, lava pools evaporating under the sheer pressure. Volcranax skidded back, his feet digging trenches into the molten ground, his eyes wide with genuine surprise.

Arthur's third eye flared, and the world slowed again. He could see every movent Volcranax made: the twitch of his tail, the faint rotation of his wings as they prepared to propel him backward. Arthur didn't hesitate. He lunged again, this ti striking low, his claws raking across Volcranax's leg.

SCREEECH!

The tallic sound of his claws tearing into Volcranax's blackened scales echoed across the battlefield. Molten blood sprayed, but Arthur wasn't done. He twisted mid-air, his tail whipping around to slam into Volcranax's side. The force sent the wyrm hurtling through the air, crashing into a nearby ridge with a deafening crack.

Volcranax roared, the sound shaking the cavern. He pushed himself up, his black flas swirling around him in a vortex. "Impressive... but you forget... I am faster."

He vanished, leaving a trail of heat in his wake. Arthur's third eye tracked him instantly, the world slowing once more. He raised a claw, catching the first strike aid at his neck. Volcranax hissed, twisting to attack from another angle, but Arthur intercepted again, this ti slamming his wing into the wyrm and sending him tumbling back.

"Stop fucking moving around," Arthur growled, his voice dripping with malice.

Volcranax snarled, his black fire condensing around him into sharp, jagged tendrils. They lashed out, aiming to impale Arthur, but he raised his claws, grabbing one tendril and twisting it. The fire itself scread under his touch, its destructive properties folding into themselves before he hurled it back at Volcranax.

The wyrm's eyes widened as the jagged fire tendril struck his chest, igniting a burst of black-hot flas across his torso. He staggered, his wings faltering for a mont before he steadied himself.

"How...?" Volcranax growled, his voice trembling with disbelief. "You control... destruction itself?"

Arthur's third eye pulsed brighter as he took a step forward. "Not just destruction," he said, his claws glowing with condensed energy. "Your fire. Your power. All of it—"

Arthur vanished again, reappearing behind Volcranax. The wyrm whipped around, but Arthur was already mid-swing, his claws raking across Volcranax's back, leaving a glowing trail of destruction that ate away at his scales.

"—belongs to !"

Volcranax roared in fury, his wings flaring as he took to the skies. His speed was incredible, his movents a blur even to Arthur's enhanced perception. The wyrm began a hit-and-run strategy, darting in to strike before retreating to the air. Black fireballs rained down from above, each one detonating with the force of a small star. Arthur dodged and deflected them with precision, but even his enhanced form began to feel the strain.

I need to end this.

Arthur's third eye burned brighter as he devised a plan. He let one of Volcranax's fireballs strike him, the explosion engulfing his form. Smoke and fla obscured him as Volcranax circled above, a victorious grin spreading across his face.

"Did you think... your arrogance would save you?" Volcranax growled, descending toward Arthur's smoldering form. "I will peel the Codex from your charred corpse and ascend—"

Arthur moved. Faster than ever before, he lunged from the smoke, his claws closing around Volcranax's throat. The wyrm's eyes widened in shock as Arthur's fangs sank into his neck, black flas erupting around them as the two titans struggled.

Volcranax thrashed violently, his claws raking against Arthur's armor, tearing deep gouges into his obsidian plates. His wings flared, the black fire scorching everything it touched, but Arthur held firm. His tail wrapped around Volcranax's torso, pinning the wyrm in place.

Arthur's throat glowed ominously as he gathered the last remnants of his destruction energy. The sphere condensed in his maw, darker than night itself, radiating an ominous hum. Volcranax's struggles grew more frantic, his roars echoing with desperation.

"Challenger...!" Volcranax hissed, his voice trembling. "You cannot—"

Arthur didn't let him finish. With a deafening roar, he unleashed the condensed destruction energy, the beam tearing through Volcranax's throat and into his core.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The explosion was catastrophic. Volcranax's body convulsed, black fire erupting uncontrollably as his form began to disintegrate. Arthur held on, his claws digging deeper until the wyrm's struggles ceased.

The system chid, its robotic tone cutting through the fading chaos.

[State Deactivated. Tir: 0. Exhaustion Imminent.]

Arthur released Volcranax's lifeless body, staggering back as waves of exhaustion crashed over him. His obsidian armor cracked, his wings drooping as his third eye dimd. The battlefield was silent, save for the faint crackling of fading flas.

The system spoke again, this ti congratulatory.

[Congratulations. You have defeated a Peak Third-Stage Monster and a Direct Descendant of a Primordial Being.]

[Choose Your Reward:

Attribute of Hellfire (Black Fire).

Divinity Absorption.

Random Skill]

Arthur's vision blurred, his body trembling as he selected the second option.

[Reward Selected: Divinity Absorption. Rank Ascension to Peak Third Stage Initiating...]

Then, he slept.

[. . .]

[. . .]

[. . .Now-warning!]

[Warning! As a consequence of breaking the heavenly principles, I have been subjected to an expulsion in a ti period of one mont-Error, Error!]

[Stop it, Gabriel! You cannot contai-]

[This ssage has been removed. Moderator has been called. System will be reset.]

[A New System Has Been Granted. Now proceeding onwards with the ascension to the peak of the demi-god realm.]