The Greatest Sinner

The members of Emerald Hand at Stage Two-Pointed Star tried to destroy the tree dome, but they couldn't. It was no ordinary tree. Otherwise, they would have shattered it in a single blow. The flute's melody could control and summon the tree, and it was powerful and malleable.

The light mages thought Evan was trying to escape, but in fact, Evan was preparing a deadly attack that would end their confrontation. He decided to enlist the help of the 69th demon, Marquis Decarabia, only now for several reasons.

First, without the help of the 67th demon, Duke Amdusias, he wouldn't be able to create a tree dome, and the mages would be able to escape from his attack. Secondly, the surviving mages were now severely wounded by their allies. Evan thought that a hundred mages would be able to block this attack, but right now, they didn't stand a chance.

An amber magic circle appeared above the tree dome, and spheres appeared across the area of the magic circle. With each passing second, they accumulated mana and grew larger. Such an attack cost Evan a great deal of energy. In his current state, he could hardly control such a complex and powerful structure.

"Great, it's ready." Mumbled Evan looking at the vast, golden spheres.

He spread his arms out to his sides. The spheres clenched and turned into deadly beams. They had no problem destroying the tree dome and everything beneath it.

Boom.

There was a deafening explosion. The ground and the bodies of the light mages were torn to shreds. Instead of the Emerald Hand's camp, there was now a huge crater. The rays burned through and destroyed everything there was.

The power of the 68th demon Marquis Decarabia had incredible, destructive power. This demon was the best option if everything had to be solved in a single, powerful attack.

Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.

Evan breathed heavily. This attack had taken almost all of his strength. The demon provided Evan with destructive power, but he had to use the spell himself.

"What? Someone survived?" Puzzled, Evan muttered, looking at the center of the crater.

There he saw a light mage, who had covered himself with a huge, turreted shield. Such shields weighed a lot, and a normal person or even a novice mage couldn't lift them.

Half of his body was burned and bleeding, the man was very badly wounded, but he was still alive. If some experienced Summoner came here, he would be able to heal him, albeit with difficulty.

The light mage saw Evan and looked at him with terror in his eyes. He was afraid of Evan and wanted to run away, but he didn't have the strength.

Evan just looked at him, turned around, and headed for his riding beast. The man smiled, he thought Evan had spared him. It was his only hope.

Crackling.

Suddenly a sharp beak stabbed into his chest. The purple raven began to devour the man's body while he was still alive and in agony. Reykar spent a lot of energy, as did Evan. He needed something to eat and refresh himself. Toasted skin until crispy and thick meat was the best thing for him right now.

That was the fate that befell thousands of people in this world. Any encounter with a monster could end this way. Humans, however, were far scarier than monsters. Humans could do things so terrifying that even monsters would flee in fear.

The reason for this was that, for the most part, monsters, much fewer beasts, did not act if they did not need to. An example was that a beast, a monster, or a simple pet would not eat more than they need. They would eat as much as they needed to get full and regain their strength. However, a person may continue to eat until they become nauseous.

So it is unlikely that a monster would torture a human or any other creature, but humans have been known to be masters at this. 

"Hopefully, that will be enough. The sooner I can access the Demonic Tree spells, the better." Mumbled Evan.

He could have gone to Vextin or The Last Moon to pick out his second-level spells, but he didn't see much point in doing so. He was sure that no Mage Academy had strong, rare, and unique spells as the most dangerous and powerful dark organization.

Evan wanted to get on with the experiment and unlock all the chains on the pillars. He was sure that the spells he received would make him much stronger.

When Reykar finished eating the light mage, he quickly caught up with Evan.

Evan decided to head straight to Rave rather than his tower. He had to get his full Demonic Tree status from him. Of course, Rave had said that he was not authorized to hold a formal enrollment ceremony.

But, he certainly had enough influence to make Evan a full member of the Demonic Tree once he joined the organization. That was exactly what Evan needed.

The Emerald Hand's camp was quite far from the abandoned Rave Castle. So it was not until fifteen hours later that Evan saw the castle's outline in the distance.

He was sure he had already been spotted, and if no one stopped him, that meant he was allowed to land in the castle grounds.

After a couple of minutes, Evan jumped off his mount and headed into the depths of the castle. As before, he encountered several very strong members of the Demonic Tree along the way.

They didn't pay any attention to Evan, even considering they were seeing him for the first time in their lives and Evan wasn't wearing the red robe.

It showed how confident these men were in themselves and the protective formations around the castle. Not even an insect could enter this castle without permission, let alone a mage.

As Evan approached the front door to Rave's office, he met Kilia. Like the other mages, she walked silently past him, but it was obvious that she was surprised. Even though Evan was much weaker than her, his actions were beyond her comprehension.

Click.

Evan opened the door and walked into Rave's office.