Evolution: From Little Devil to Devil Empress - Chapter 228: Departure

Chapter 228: Departure

The space above the forest folded and began to change in shape.

Layer after layer gathered and merged together, finally transforming into a giant maw.

The maw opened wide, and the shadowy forest below was directly affected.

It was as if a black hole had appeared right above it and had begun to devour it.

First the trees, then the creatures, and finally the earth itself. They all suddenly rushed upwards, soaring into the sky and towards the maw.

Without so much as a trace of resistance, they soon vanished into it.

As if empowered, the maw grew ever bigger.

It devoured more matter and thus grew in size and power even quicker, creating a vicious cycle.

By the end, the maw was large enough to cast a shadow across the entire Ancient Beast Wilderness, able to swallow everything below it without an issue.

Throughout this whole process, none of the beasts were able to struggle, much less resist.

Even the King of Knights beasts could only helplessly watch themselves soar into the sky and fly into the maw, their consciousness frozen and their bodies unable to move.

Without the power to fight back, they could only transform into demonic energy and further enhance the Abyssal Maw’s power.

While she was collecting the souls of the dead beasts, Liora sensed that the world had stabilized.

Although it was still on the verge of death, its lifespan had been infinitely extended.

“Sure enough. The best way for a crumbling world to live longer is to forcibly downgrade its level.”

“This means killing the powerful creatures in it, as well as taking back their source of power.”

In this case, Liora was talking about Knights and Life Force, respectively.

As such, she didn’t hesitate. Her consciousness expanded and covered the entire continent, reaching into every inch of it.

Then, she had a thought, and every Knight exploded.

This was true whether they were Knight Apprentices or True Knights.

Regardless of their identity, they all died in unison.

At the same time, the Abyssal Maw on top of the now destroyed Ancient Beast Wilderness changed the direction it was pointing to, and turned towards the human Empire.

Instantly, a huge amount of invisible energy began gathering and falling into its jaws, supplying it with energy.

Part of this invisible energy came from the air, but most of it actually stemmed from people’s bodies.

It was as if this energy was an inherent part of them, like an extra limb of theirs that they could not sense.

Unfortunately, under the power of the True Devil-level Abyssal Maw, the Life Force could not resist.

Within seconds, every last bit of it had disappeared.

Just when Liora was about to nod her head in satisfaction and praise herself, a loud shriek suddenly reached her ears.

“Who is it?! Who destroyed my plans?!”

It was not only Liora who heard this voice.

It spread throughout the world, like the final cry of a desperate man.

Though it was only two, rather short, sentences, Liora immediately recognized the voice’s owner.

It was none other than the Zerg Hive.

Surprisingly, this woman, who should have long been dead, now showed signs of being alive and well.

Liora’s eyes narrowed, and her eyebrows furrowed.

But as she conducted a further investigation and understood the reason, her expression relaxed.

“It seems that I have underestimated you. You were able to integrate a tiny part of your soul with Life Force, effectively spreading your existence throughout the continent.”

“As long as a trace of Life Force remains in this world, there will eventually be a day that you can revive.”

Saying this, Liora couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Unfortunately, you are quite unlucky. I just wanted to clean up this world and take a final benefit before leaving, yet you were unintentionally affected.”

Though her speech addressed her, Liora was not expecting the Zerg Hive to hear these words.

She knew that the last part of the Zerg Hive had already turned into nutrients for the Abyssal Maw.

She could be certain that there was no way for her to revive anymore.

“At the very least, this is true for this world. I don’t know if she had made any preparations before invading this world.”

“But considering that she had been imprisoned for so long, this is highly unlikely.”

Either way, even if she were to be revived, it would take some time.

Liora was hardly scared of the Zerg Hive now, much less in the future.

Realizing this, she no longer paid much attention to this imaginary enemy.

Instead, she shifted her focus back to the world below.

With the destruction of the Ancient Beast Wilderness, the depletion of Life Energy, and the death of all Knights, the world had finally stabilized completely.

Just like Liora expected, it no longer looked to be only a step away from dying. Rather, it exuded a faint vitality.

However, this also came at a price. The price being that extraordinary people no longer existed.

Even becoming a Knight Apprentice had become impossible. All the people could now only remain as mortals for the rest of their lives.

“But this is not necessarily a bad thing.”

“Maybe this world will eventually turn like Earth in my memories, developing technology and eventually leaving this world.”

Thinking of this, Liora couldn’t help but wonder.

Was Earth a part of the so-called “Heavens”?

Was the universe a world like this that just happened to have no source of energy, thus being unable to accommodate extraordinary people?

Would she one day happen to go back?

Liora mulled over these questions.

However, she didn’t overthink them.

She had no attachment to Earth. The questions she posed were only a thought experiment rather than a yearning for an actual answer.

After a few seconds, she stopped thinking about it. She cast a final glance at the world below and discovered that there was nothing keeping her here.

She had no plan to observe the world any further. The lives of a bunch of ordinary people hardly mattered to her.

Perhaps there would eventually come a time when she would return to take a look at what happened and the results of this day.

But that time was destined to be long in the future.

Shaking her head, Liora raised her hand and crushed the space in front of her. Then, she stepped inside the gap and disappeared.