SSS-Rank Evolving Monster: From Pest to Cosmic Devourer-Chapter 52: No more. No less

The scent of spiritual fruit lingered in the air like warm incense, thick and heady, soaking into the courtyard like a veil of divine intoxication. It clung to the breeze and settled on the leaves of ancient spiritual trees, their branches swaying lazily above as if lulled by the rich aroma.

Somewhere in the distance, a soft rustle echoed, quickly swallowed by the low hum of conversation and the rare sound of laughter—raw, bestial joy reverberating beneath a canopy steeped in magic and time.

Ricky hovered above it all, his compound eyes gleaming faintly under the moonlight as he surveyed the scene below. The banquet table sprawled across the courtyard like a holy offering. Fruits shimmered like tiny blood-red stars under the lanterns’ golden glow.

Alexandria lounged with a flushed face and glowing skin, steam rising gently from her nostrils. Boar sat beside her, a silent, contented mountain. Noctyss perched with grace, her gaze calm yet restless, like a viper sensing the storm. And at the head, as poised and enigmatic as ever, sat Dark Shadow.

Ricky descended with barely a whisper, his wings folding sharply with a final snap of tension.

"You made us wait," Dark Shadow said, voice clipped with her usual coolness—but beneath the words, a warmth pulsed like a hidden ember. She reached out and pushed a basket toward him, her fingers as elegant as spider legs. "Eat. This is for you—personally handpicked by me."

He didn’t reply immediately. His gaze locked on the fruit—each piece pulsed faintly with spiritual light, like hearts beating just beneath the skin. He tilted his head, sensing the density of vitality inside. Then, slowly, he reached forward and plucked one from the pile, sinking his fang-like mouthparts into the soft, yielding flesh.

Warmth detonated inside his spiritual field.

A rush of mana flooded his being—pure, dense, untamed. It surged through him like fire made liquid, coating every cell with power.

With Ricky taking the first bite, the banquet officially began. The others followed suit, unable to resist any longer. The air filled with the sound of gnashing teeth, delighted growls, and blissful sighs.

"Hehehe... slow down, everyone. There’s enough for all," Dark Shadow giggled, voice tinkling like wind chimes struck by poison-tipped nails.

Ricky didn’t look up. The second fruit was richer than the first—he could feel it refining him, twisting his essence tighter, making him more. His wings trembled with anticipation, releasing wisps of black mist that curled into the air like shadows escaping a dream.

By the third fruit, his abdomen pulsed. Thin strands of black fog escaped without his command, laced with hints of violet. The mist smelled faintly of venom and lightning.

In mere minutes, the basket in front of him was empty—save for a single fruit, glowing with a dull heartbeat-like rhythm.

Ricky stared at it but didn’t reach for it. His body felt complete, taut like a drawn bow. Thoughts ran through his mind like silver fish in a still pond—calm, fluid, powerful.

"Hmm... let’s see..." he muttered.

[STATUS WINDOW]

[Stage 2, Rank 1]

[Name: Ricky Stormwind]

[Bloodline: Venom Fang Mosquito]

[Lifespan: 1048 years]

[Evolution Progress: 100%]

[Spiritual Force: 5]

A small smile spread across Ricky’s face. His antenna twitched, curling upward in a sinister arc. The number five sat there—unmoving, absolute.

It was time.

Nearby, Alexandria’s skin glowed like molten bronze. A furnace heat wafted from her body, and her eyes looked hazy, as if drunk on divine nectar.

"You’ve eaten enough. Any more and you might explode," Dark Shadow said, a warning laced with amusement.

Alexandria blinked as if waking from a trance. Her nostrils flared, and she nodded silently, understanding the warning she stopped.

Boar, always more cautious, had already stopped. He sat in deep silence, eyes closed, the spiritual force within him swirling with potential.

Both of them had reached the edge of evolution. What remained was a proper meditation method—to form their spiritual seed.

But Ricky was no longer part of the conversation.

His blood stirred.

Like magma pressing against the crust of a dormant volcano, waiting to erupt.

Later that night, as the others retreated to meditate and consolidate their gains, Ricky rose silently into the air. The forest greeted him like a cold shroud. He drifted above the canopy, leaving the stone courtyard far behind.

Deeper and deeper he flew, past spiritual trees and glowing mushrooms, ignoring how the roots trembled with sentient awareness beneath the soil. Hours passed—maybe one, maybe two. He moved on instinct alone until he found a space that called to him.

A clearing, walled in by tall rocks like fangs of the earth, with a lone stone pillar in its center. Worn and jagged, it stood like a forgotten monument of some bygone war.

Ricky landed atop it.

The moon bathed him in a silver glow, lighting his wings—now faintly threaded with black and violet veins.

"It’s time to begin..." he whispered.

[Enough genetic information collected. Press YES to proceed with evolution.]

[YES / NO]

Without hesitation, Ricky chose yes.

The effect was immediate.

His spiritual field shuddered, rippling like a wounded tide. Mana inside him coiled and thrashed, then surged upward violently.

He gasped as lightning seemed to crawl through his blood. Every vein pulsed with fire and frost.

Then, with a final breath, he let go of control.

Inside his consciousness, his spiritual seed cracked like shattering obsidian.

A flood of dark mana exploded forth—unrestrained, wild, hungry. It swept through him like a storm. The single ring that had defined his spiritual field twisted. Crimson venom etched itself into the air, forming ancient runes that pulsed with lethal intent.

A second ring formed.

Sharper. Hungrier.

Then, the two rings converged—fusing.

His soul trembled.

He felt the boundary dissolve.

Rank 2.

He was crossing it.

Then—suddenly—he was not alone.

A presence stirred within his bloodline. Ancient. Patient. Terrible.

A whisper brushed against his mind like wings slicing through bone.

"Interesting, very interesting, after so many years another being carrying my bloodline appeared."

"Anyways let’s get this one with.."

"You who carry the Venom Fang... are you ready to devour the world?"

Ricky didn’t recoil. The blood in his body boiled with kinship, yet the voice was foreign, primordial.

What is this...? he thought—but held firm. Was this a test?

He thought carefully, then answered aloud, calm and certain.

"I’ll devour what I must. No more. No less."

There was silence.

Then, slow laughter—cold and knowing.

"Then receive the next fang... and embrace your bloom."

The voice vanished.

Then the pain struck.

A scream of transformation tore through Ricky’s being. His wings twisted, elongating, serrated edges emerging like blades. Fangs shimmered with runes etched in blood-law. His abdomen split near its tip, revealing a gland glowing with green, flame-like venom.

Poison spilled into the air. The stone beneath him hissed.

[You have reached Stage 2 - Rank 2]

[With the blessing of the Primordial Mosquito Bloodline strengthened: Venom Fang evolved into Plague Fang Sovereign]

[New Ability Unlocked: Venomous Bloom (Active)]

[Spiritual Field Radius Expanded - Venom Aura Passive Activated]

Ricky exhaled.

His body was heavier now. But refined—elevated.

He extended his spiritual field.

It bloomed out in a five-meter dome—and wherever it touched, the world changed.

Grass turned black. Not with decay—but corruption. Vines slithered upward, hissing with poisonous energy.

This was no longer normal venom. It lingered. Lived.

Ricky floated upward, testing his wings. Each flap echoed with a slicing hum, the air distorting behind him.

He grinned.

This wasn’t just power.

It was sovereignty.

Back at the courtyard, Dark Shadow opened her eyes abruptly. Meditation shattered by a ripple of strange mana.

"...What was that aura just now?" she whispered, brows furrowed.

She recognized part of it.

But something had changed.

Noctyss stirred in her sleep, brow twitching. A scent—sweet and venomous—reached her.

Boar and Alexandria remained oblivious, immersed in their own breakthroughs.

Meanwhile, Ricky hovered above the trees, overlooking the quiet forest below.

Everything was slower now. Clearer. As if the world had taken a breath and held it.

Then—he felt it.

A spiritual force touched the edge of his domain.

Distant.

Approaching.

Friend? Or enemy?

He didn’t know.

For now, he savored the moment.

The venom inside him sang.

And the night held its breath.

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