Infinite Evolution: My Idle Evolution System

*Ding…*

[As his Character Development Building System, I should be proud of how far along my little protégé has come. But for some inexplicable reason, I feel as if I messed up somewhere along the way...… ( ╹ -╹)?]

[Oh, well! He'll eventually get over it and emerge as an even more developed character! Yep, yep!]

The Idle Evolution System was partially correct, as Cassius did eventually return to the way he once was—putting aside most of his Alpha Sigma loneliness—but the time it took to reach that point turned out to be… longer than expected.

— 9 Days Later —

This day was one day before the start of the Raid on the World's END Gate. It was also rapidly approaching the time when its energy readings were expected to be at their highest, indicating the approaching Gate Break.

The world's only Evolving Gate—on the verge of breaking.

This was naturally a time when the unrest of nearly everyone in the world was at an all-time high. Many looked to the powerful Hunters for reassurance, and they gave it.

But for some reason, this reassurance felt… almost eerie. Something wasn't right. Nobody could discern exactly what that something was or if it was all merely a figment of their agitated imaginations. Thus, in the end, all anyone could do was leave their lives in the hands of those higher up on the hierarchical ladder.

However, in reality, what many were feeling was not actually too far from the truth. After all, just about every single S-Rank and A-Rank Hunter outside of Japan had long since been switched out for their Extraterrestrial counterparts.

Aliens—Dissonants—had successfully taken over 99+% of the world governments and Hunter agencies. Only the Japanese S-Rank Hunters remained mostly unaffected by the subtle alien takeover. Save for Dante and Victor Rapido—who had been unlucky enough to leave the country—and a few others, the rest of them were still human. S-Rank Hunters: Kaida, Arden, Luna, Viola, and Rika—all members of the Japanese World's End Hunter Party—were still themselves.

This phenomenon was, of course, not because they were more special than the other S-Rank Hunters in the world but rather because the Dissonants were unable to progress their plans any further in the country of Japan. All because of one man—their sub-target.

It was merely coincidental that, when Cassius started proactively eradicating all Dissonants in the country, only the six World's End Raid members remained. Viola, in particular, wouldn't have been turned regardless of the order the Dissonants conquered in. After all, she was personally on the sub-target's protection list.

Being able to switch Viola out without Cassius noticing and stopping it would've been impossible. And when the high-ranking Dissonants realized this, they gave up on taking over Japan for now, instead leaving it for the grand finale. It wouldn't be long now, anyway.

Doomsday was quickly approaching.

However, Cassius—who was mere centimeters away from completely filling up his Experience Bar and reaching Lvl 100—was far too focused on the grind to fully map out all the undercurrents happening in the world. Many pieces on the chessboard were being moved around, with numerous mysterious figures vying for a checkmate.

From the Dissonants to the prisoners of the Gates to even the forces planted by the other six Dimensions—everyone wanted to come out of this Nexus Event on top.

Yet, in the midst of it all, just a day ago, the legendary Russian Hunter—Igor Volkov—escaped from the Ice Sovereign's Cage in a show of grand splendor.

As a follow-up to the disastrous events in the Antarctic and in Russia, the commotion created by his reappearance was monumental. A plethora of news stations wished to have an interview with him. Yet, without placing a single one of them in his eyes, the Wolf Deity announced the primary purposes for his return.

Firstly, he would take his revenge for the decimation of Russia by challenging and killing Yimin. Then he would dish out some more revenge by challenging and killing the #1 World-Class Hunter in the world—the Ice Sovereign.
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The Ice Sovereign was someone who came from the same generation as the Wolf Deity—also being the first human awakener on Earth. Yet, some odd years ago, for reasons unknown to most, the Ice Sovereign dueled with the infamous and notorious Wolf Deity. But then, completely out of the expectations of many, the Ice Sovereign sealed up the Wolf Deity underneath millions of pounds of earth, his cage impermeable by anyone who wasn't as strong as either of them.

Another unexpected event occurred, as the Ice Sovereign—immediately following the Wolf Deity's sealing—left the secular world and immersed himself in the lush greenery of East Asia and eventually outside Earth. He hadn't been sighted since, remaining just as much a myth as the Wolf Deity.

— Returning to the Present —

It had been a few hours past the dueling date announced by the Wolf Deity, and his opponent was a no-show. He was left out in the middle of a wide valley somewhere in Asia. The smoldering sun's rays did very little to make the dark shadows covering his face disappear.

As for his large audience of hundreds of thousands, they were all sweating buckets—but not because of the heat—instead because of the daunting scythe of death that loomed over them all.

They wanted to experience some enjoyment by witnessing a Legend fight in person—as somewhat of a stress reliever from the imminent, potentially apocalyptic Gate Break. But not once had they expected someone to be courageous enough to blatantly disregard the challenge of the Wolf Deity. A blatant disregard that caused a scary aura to emanate from Igor and suffocate them.

If this 'Silver Bullet Devil' didn't show up in the next few minutes, they might just perish because of the Wolf Deity's oppressive aura…

At this point in time, a grouping of trees located near one of the wide valley's entrances began to rattle all over the place.

"Is that the Silver Bullet Devil!? It must be!"

"I'm sure of it! That's her!! I bet she's extremely scary and menacing in person!!"

"I wager she's especially hideous as well! An absolute pain to look at for too long!"