Incubus Ascension

He slammed into the pile of cushions with bone-jarring force, the impact driving the air from his lungs. For a split second the world spun, then Liam bounced upward like a stone skipped across water. Instinct took over. He twisted mid-air, feet planting firmly on solid ground as the momentum bled away. His chest heaved, heart hammering against his ribs.

’Not dead yet,’ he thought, a grim flicker of relief cutting through the adrenaline. But the relief lasted only a heartbeat.

A deep, guttural roar echoed from somewhere below, vibrating through the ancient wood beneath his boots. It wasn’t just sound—it was pressure, a primal challenge that made the hairs on his arms stand up. Liam’s head snapped toward the source, eyes narrowing as he scanned the network of tunnels branching deeper into the colossal tree.

This had to be the worm Citra had warned him about. The one that had plagued her people for generations.

’Of course it’s waking up now,’ he thought bitterly. No rest. No moment to catch his breath after everything that had already been thrown at him. But standing here wouldn’t change anything. He started moving, boots silent on the living floor as he headed for the deepest tunnel. The roar grew louder with every step, until it felt like needles stabbing into his eardrums.

The passage narrowed, then opened abruptly into a vast chamber. Bioluminescent veins pulsed along the walls, casting an eerie red glow over the scene. In the center loomed the creature.

It was massive, a segmented horror of glistening black chitin shot through with pulsing red lines that looked almost like veins of molten lava. Liam’s eyes widened as the system window flared into existence before him.

**Worm of the End**

**Daughter of the Eye and the True Devil**

**Level: 500**

**Effective Threat: 900+**

**Unique Blessings: Reality-Altering Dominion, Eternal Hunger...**

His stomach twisted. ’Level five hundred on paper, but it fights like something far worse.’ Ten thousand years of survival didn’t produce ordinary monsters. The title alone sent a chill racing down his spine.

Before he could process more, the worm convulsed. A wet, tearing sound filled the chamber as smaller creatures began forcing their way out of its body—six of them, slick and writhing.

**Worm of the Tree of Life**

**Level: 500**

**Ability: Life-Draining Cataclysm (Area) – Ignores level disparity and most resistances.**

The mother worm let out a final shriek of triumph as the last offspring emerged. Then its countless eyes locked onto Liam standing at the tunnel mouth.

’Shit.’

The six daughters activated their skill in perfect unison. A sickly green wave exploded outward, washing over the chamber and engulfing Liam before he could retreat. His status bars plummeted. Life force, stamina—everything drained at a terrifying rate. The combined effect of six of them felt like being slowly hollowed out from the inside.

The mother worm surged forward with shocking speed, mouthparts wide.

Liam’s heart slammed against his chest. He didn’t have time to admire the horror of it. He needed this fight over fast or he was dead.

He launched himself at the nearest daughter, slipping into Devil Time mode. The world slowed around him. He poured everything into the strike—dark energy, raw strength, every ounce of frustration and fear. The blade connected with a sickening crunch.

But the wound sealed almost instantly, flesh knitting together faster than he could pull back. ’Even stronger regeneration than the lackeys of the Eye. Fantastic.’

The mother worm barreled into him like a living battering ram. The impact sent him flying across the chamber. He crashed into the far wall hard enough to crack the living wood. Before he could recover, the six daughters were on him, tearing and draining.

His health bar flashed a dangerous red. ’Not much time left. Think!’

In a desperate glance toward the mother, he noticed something crucial: her wounds weren’t closing like the daughters’. She lacked the same broken regeneration.

Liam forced himself upright, mind racing. ’Get to her. But they’re protecting her like guard dogs.’

He needed something bigger. Stronger. The answer hit him like a spark in the dark.

Nullification. Devil King.

Power flooded through him as he activated both. The transformation ripped through his body—Diabolos mode. Horns, wings of shadow, an aura of absolute dominion. His level skyrocketed on the status screen.

**Current Level: 1800**

**Stats: Monstrous.**

He shot upward in a blur, hovering directly above the mother worm. The daughters coiled protectively around her, hissing. Liam gripped his sword with both hands, channeling every drop of dark energy and nullification into the blade. It blazed like a miniature star, searing the air itself.

’One strike. Erase them all. The little ones might regenerate, but the mother won’t get the chance.’

He dove.

The blade fell like judgment.

**BOOM.**

The impact was cataclysmic. A sphere of annihilating force swallowed the worms whole. Even the Tree of Life itself trembled violently, sending tremors racing up through every branch and chamber. Dust and shattered chitin rained down as the explosion carved a massive crater where the creatures had been. Nothing remained. Not even ash.

Upstairs, in the safer levels of the tree home, the girls braced themselves against the walls as the entire structure shook.

"What in the ancestors’ name was that?!" one of them gasped, eyes wide with fear. "Is the worm finally devouring the heart of the Tree?"

Citra stood steady, a proud, almost wicked smile curving her lips. "No, my dears. That was my husband. He just blew apart the monster that has been eating chunks of my ancestors’ Tree for thousands of years. The one I was powerless against." She let out a soft, satisfied laugh. "Fufufu... I need to reward him properly for this."

She turned gracefully, heading back toward her bedroom with a sway in her hips.

---

Down in the crater, Liam hovered above the smoking pit, chest rising and falling. The silence that followed the explosion felt almost sacred. He stared at the devastation, the weight of what he’d just done settling over him.

’Did killing them cause problems?’ The thought had barely formed when a new system window materialized, glowing with ominous red text.

**Quest Received: Survive the Wrath of the True Devil and the Eye**

**Time Limit: One Month**

**Failure: Their physical descent into this world. Destruction of you and your world.**

**Rewards: 10 Shards of Reality**

Liam cursed under his breath, the words raw. "Of course. Just like I thought. Can’t kill anything important without consequences." He rubbed a hand over his face, the demonic features of Diabolos mode slowly fading. Then his gaze fell on the one-month timer. ’I can figure something out. I always do.’

A different thought intruded—Citra’s warm, generous body waiting upstairs. His pulse quickened for an entirely different reason. A tired smirk tugged at his lips. He gathered a few remaining fragments of the worm—trophies, materials, whatever the system would value—and launched himself upward through the tunnels.

When he burst into the upper chamber, still trailing shadows and power, the girls froze. Their eyes widened at the sight of him in full Diabolos glory, wings half-furled, sword still humming with residual energy.

Liam touched down lightly, the transformation receding completely until only the man remained—sweaty, breathing hard, but alive. He met their stares and offered a weary, crooked grin.

"Miss me?"