CHAPTER 129: DEMON TRANSFORMATION

His body slid against the ground, his ribs screaming, blood gurgling up his throat again.

—600!

Another notification blinked.

Riley’s teeth clenched, his head throbbing, his vision doubling.

’From that one hit... my insides are all messed up.’ he thought, trying to re-arrange his scattering thoughts.

He could feel it—his organs were damaged, bleeding, struggling to keep him alive.

And then the demon’s voice echoed from the cloud.

It was lower now, deeper, laced with a guttural resonance that reverberated through the ruined dungeon.

"You did your best... human..."

Riley’s eyes twitched, fury burning even as weakness chained his body.

The darkness began to pull back, retracting slowly, peeling away from the demon like a great curtain being drawn open. And from within, his new form was revealed.

The demon was taller now—easily a meter taller than before.

His once pale skin was gone, replaced entirely by thick, glistening scales of deep crimson.

Each one was sharp-edged, overlapping like armor forged from blood and fire. They caught the dim glow of the dungeon crystals, reflecting them in a hellish gleam.

His horns had grown longer, sharper, curling downward now toward the front of his head.

They glowed faintly, a deep red light that pulsed from within them like magma flowing through cracks of stone.

Their tips curved just above his forehead, framing his face in a menacing crown.

His eyes, once glowing faintly, now blazed like twin scarlet suns.

They radiated power, searing into Riley’s very soul as though looking directly through his body.

And his claws...

They had lengthened, sharpened, stretching out like hooked blades at the end of each finger.

The tips gleamed unnaturally, dripping faint trails of darkness that hissed as they touched the ground.

The transformation was complete.

What stood before Riley was no longer a demon merely hiding within a hooded cloak of shadows.

It was something far more terrifying. Something closer to the monsters he remembered from the darkest days of his past life.

Riley gnashed his teeth angrily, the veins on his forehead twitching as he forced his bloodshot eyes to focus on the monster in front of him. ’He... has transformed.’ he mumbled inwardly.

What he was witnessing now wasn’t some partial release of strength, nor the shadow-cloaked form the demon had worn earlier.

No. This was the full transformation of a demon.

The horns, the scales, the monstrous glow in its eyes—everything screamed of what Riley already knew to be true.

This was the point where demons revealed their true selves, the peak of their existence.

And it was precisely why Riley had been trying to end the fight as quickly as possible before this could happen.

Because once a demon transformed, their power was known to double.

It wasn’t just a rumor, or some detail hidden in the depths of lore.

Riley had seen it in his past life—felt it. He had watched warriors, stronger and more skilled than him, fall like insects the moment a demon shed its disguise and revealed its true power.

Coupled with their insane physical capabilities and their mastery over their element, a fully transformed demon was nothing short of terrifying.

They weren’t just enemies. They were calamities wrapped in flesh.

And the fact that this one was still standing, still alive, despite everything Riley had thrown at him—it spoke volumes about its endurance.

The sheer resilience packed into its body was monstrous.

Then—

Grrrrghhhhhh!

His stomach rumbled loudly, a sound so raw and guttural that it startled even him.

His eyes flickered downward for the briefest moment before narrowing again in cold realization.

’How... would it feel to eat a demon?’ The thought slithered through his mind unbidden, sharp and vivid.

He could almost taste it, the thought of tearing through the scaled flesh, devouring it whole, consuming all of its power for himself.

The hunger pulsed through him like a second heartbeat, matching the rhythm of his ragged breaths.

He clenched his jaw. His body was growing weaker each passing second.

And with every drop of blood he lost, every cough that rattled his insides, the hunger clawed deeper into him, louder, hungrier.

This wasn’t new. He already knew this would happen.

Whenever he got too injured, the hunger always grew with it. And if he wasn’t careful... he could lose control again.

He could turn into that thing. The "hungry demon." The monster he despised becoming. The one that knew no reason, no restraint, and only devoured anything that came in its path.

His fists trembled weakly as he clenched them tighter, nails digging into his palms.

’It’s not over yet...’ he told himself, blood smearing his teeth as he gritted them harder.

Despite everything, despite how much he had fought, despite how much blood he had spilled, he still hadn’t gone all out yet. Not truly.

The only thing that pained him now—the only regret—was that he had already used [Rockbound].

And now, he had to wait one entire hour before he could use it again. And right now, that wait felt like a curse.

He had hoped—no, expected—to use that single skill to end the demon’s life. To cleave its head from its body and finish this once and for all.

But fate hadn’t played out the way he wanted. His blow had been robbed from him, his victory stolen at the last second.

And now, here he was, bloodied, weakened, staring at a demon in its true form.

A low scoff suddenly echoed through the dungeon, snapping Riley’s thoughts away.

"Ohhh..." The demon’s voice was mocking, thick with amusement. "...you’re hungry?"

Riley’s eyes twitched, his expression hardening instantly.

The demon tilted his head, his glowing eyes narrowing into a wicked grin as he stepped closer, his claws dragging against the ruined stone.

"You want to eat me," he sneered, "the same way you did that monster boss?"

Another scoff escaped his mouth, twisted with cruel delight. He chuckled darkly, his bloodstained fangs glinting beneath the crimson glow of the crystals.

"You’re such an interesting human..." His grin widened, sharp and sinister. "...I never thought I would be pushed this far by an ordinary human."