The Snake God with SSS Rank Evolution System

Chapter 401: The Reaper

At that moment, Adam felt a massive surge of mana gathering—a dense, churning pressure that made the air itself grow heavy. His crimson eyes snapped toward the source.

The demon mages had formed a tight circle, their hands raised, their voices rising in a unified chant. A sphere of destructive crimson energy was forming above them, pulsing with unstable, violent light. It drew power from the fallen both human and demon corpses scattered across the battlefield, their lingering life force being drained and funneled into the growing sphere of annihilation.

Adam tilted his head, his eyes glinting with amusement. "You have no hearts at all, do you? Using your own fallen comrades as fuel for your attack. That so evil."

The lead mage’s lips curled into a grim, desperate smile. His voice rose above the chant.

"[Scarlet Symphony of Destruction]!"

The sphere shot forward—a massive, roiling ball of destructive crimson energy that tore through the air toward Adam, leaving a trail of scorched earth and screaming air in its wake. The demon mages unleashed it with everything they had, channeling every last drop of mana into the attack.

Adam wings snapped open, and he shot upward, his body shifting mid-flight. Scales rippled across his skin, his form expanding, his features sharpening into a hybrid form.

The crimson sphere struck the ground where he had been standing and detonated.

BOOOOOOM!

The explosion was cataclysmic. A shockwave of crimson energy erupted outward in all directions, consuming everything in its path. The ground shattered. The trees were vaporized. The demon soldiers who had been too slow to escape were caught in the blast, their bodies disintegrating instantly into ash.

Siva’s telekinetic grasp flared to life just in time. He threw up a barrier around Greg and himself, the shimmering field of force straining against the crimson tide. The barrier held but Siva’s face contorted with pain, blood spraying from his mouth as the strain tore through his body.

"Gahg—!"

Greg’s voice was sharp, his hand gripping Siva’s shoulder as he watched the devastation unfold.

"Siva—hold!"

Siva’s teeth were clenched, blood dripping from his nose, his eyes blazing with desperate focus.

"I—I can hold it... for now..."

The blast raged for what felt like an eternity. When it finally subsided, the clearing was unrecognizable—a cratered wasteland of scorched earth and scattered debris.

Adam hovered above the devastation, his half-dragon form still smoking, his scales cracked and blackened in places. His voice came out low, carrying a note of grim respect.

"Truly a terrifying spell. A worthy move."

His gaze swept the crater below, finding Greg still standing—protected by Siva’s barrier. Siva collapsed to his knees, blood still dripping from his mouth, his body trembling from the effort.

Adam’s eyes narrowed. His voice dropped, cold and commanding, as he raised his hand. His telekinetic command reached out, wrapping around the demon mages like invisible chains.

"Now it’s my turn to respond."

He poured his will into his Telekinetic Command. The mages were frozen, their bodies lifted off the ground, suspended by his will alone. Their eyes widened—terror flickering in their gazes as Adam’s voice rang out, absolute and unyielding.

"CRUSH!"

Adam’s hand clenched into a fist, and the demon mages screamed.

"AAAAHHH! NO! PLEASE AAaahh—!"

"DEMON KING! SAVE US UHGGG...."

"AAAAGHHH! MY LORD—!"

Their bodies crumpled inward, bones snapping, flesh compressing under the weight of his will—a sound like wet parchment crumpling. Blood sprayed from their mouths, their eyes, their ears. One by one, they dropped, their bodies hitting the scorched earth with a final, wet thud.

Adam lowered his hand, his expression calm, detached.

"They asked for it."

Greg’s eyes swept the battlefield, taking in the carnage. His soldiers lay scattered across the scorched earth. The mages he had commanded were crumpled heaps of flesh and bone.

His voice cracked with grief and rage, as he turned his gaze upward toward Adam’s half-dragon form.

"You... YOU MONSTER! I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL TEAR YOU APART!"

He spun toward the entity that had been hovering behind him, the Reaper—a living extension of his soul and magic. His voice was desperate, frantic.

"Take my soul! Take it all! Give me the power to destroy him! I don’t care what it costs!"

The Reaper’s form convulsed. Its hollow features twisted into a grin, a terrible expression that sent a chill through the air. A low, rasping laugh echoed from its core, growing louder, more unhinged.

"Ehehehe... ehehehe... EHEHEHEHE—AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The sound was a horrible, wet cackle that bypassed the ears and clawed directly at the mind. The Reaper’s form swelled, its edges blurring as it surged forward, its claws sinking into Greg’s chest.

Siva’s eyes widened in horror. His voice rose, desperate and frantic, as he reached toward his commander.

"Commander! NO! Don’t—!"

But it was too late.

The Reaper’s claws tore into Greg’s chest, its fingers closing around something that glowed with a faint, golden light—his soul. With a wet, tearing sound, the Reaper wrenched it free, and Greg’s body convulsed once before crumpling to the ground, lifeless.

Siva’s scream tore through the clearing.

"COMMANDER—!"

The Reaper lifted the soul to its gaping maw and consumed it in one swift, greedy motion. A shudder ran through its form, and its aura exploded outward—a wave of dark, twisted energy that warped the air around it.

Adam hovered above, his crimson eyes fixed on the scene below.

"So that’s what happens when you make a deal with an entity."

The Reaper’s form swelled, its body twisting and contorting as Greg’s soul was absorbed. Its aura grew denser, more oppressive, pressing down on the battlefield like a collapsing sky.

Siva was hurled backward, his body crashing into a pile of rubble. He pushed himself up, his eyes wide, his voice barely a whisper as he stared at the transformed entity.

"What... what is this aura?!"

Adam’s crimson eyes widened slightly as the surge of dark energy washed over him. A slow, appreciative grin spread across his face as he watched the Reaper’s transformation unfold.

"Impressive. Very impressive. Show me your madness, Reaper."

The Reaper’s hollow form twisted, its grip tightening around the scythe that had once belonged to Greg. The weapon began to change—the crimson bone darkening, deepening into an abyssal black that seemed to drink the light around it. The edge grew sharper, more jagged, pulsing with a hunger that matched the entity’s own.

The Reaper didn’t hesitate. Its form blurred, crossing the distance to Siva in the space between heartbeats. The scythe swept forward in a brutal, jagged thrust that punched through Siva’s stomach.

Siva’s eyes went wide. A choked gasp escaped his lips as the black blade tore through his flesh, the cold metal scraping against his spine. His hands flew to the wound, but the scythe was already embedded too deep.

"G-gh...!!"

The Reaper held him there, suspended on the blade like a grotesque trophy. Siva’s body convulsed, his blood flowing freely down the scythe’s edge, pooling at the Reaper’s feet. The entity raised him higher, its hollow gaze fixed on the dying demon’s face as if savoring the moment.

Siva’s voice came out in a wet, ragged whisper.

"Commander... I... I’m sorry... I couldn’t... protect you..."

His body went limp.

The Reaper lowered the scythe, letting Siva’s corpse slide off the blade with a wet thud. It tilted its head, studying the body with detached curiosity before raising the scythe to its mouth. The blood that coated the blade began to flow, rising in thin crimson tendrils that curled toward the Reaper’s hollow maw. It drank deeply, the black metal gleaming as the last traces of Siva’s life were consumed.

Adam watched the display with amusement.

"That’s a bit much, even for a monster like me."

He tilted his head, a quiet hum escaping him as he appraised the entity’s twisted new form.

"Maybe it’s time to use Avarice’s Maw. My soul’s stabilized enough—let’s see if I can devour this thing whole."

The Reaper’s hollow gaze snapped toward him. Its form convulsed as it raised the scythe high, the black blade gleaming with an eager, devouring light.

Adam’s smile widened, his crimson eyes blazing with anticipation.

"Come on, then. Let’s see who devours who."