Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest

"He does. But he, too, ultimately lost." Ahriman snorted, not pursuing the fleeing dragon. This avatar couldn't win against this force of nature in its domain.

Instead, he enveloped the ancient throne before he dissolved with it, leaving contemptuous words behind. "But I'm better than a coward constrained to its pathetic role. Millions of years gnawing at roots like a worm, yet you still spout nonsense in my face?"

Meanwhile, the dragon landed on Naströnd's shore and lowered its head. He observed Adam slide down his massive tongue like a rusted doll, his eyes narrowing.

"His draconic blood thinned, scales melted into the skin, and devil's features replaced the draconic," he muttered, intrigued by how the primordial chaos in Adam adapted his body. He also recognised Tiamat's unique signature and the faint traces of salt water in its movement to fight back the poison.

His brow creased into a frown. Since Adam was of draconian blood, he of course had to look like a dragon. But looks weren't the only problem.

"The devil part will end up swallowing his draconic lineage if I don't resolve the imbalance..." He paused, his eyes widening.

Why did he have to fix it? He had just wanted to see where the chaos came from and how a hybrid was born in the abyss.

"Hmm. The spectacle might be interesting, and Tiamat will owe me one if she ever escapes Marduk's seal. Alright, I'll help you."

Without wasting a second, he regurgitated a wooden block the size of a mountain and nudged it toward Adam.

"That's for the poison." His claw moved to one of his scales before he shook his head and redirected it to his mouth. "Angra Mainyu's venom can poison reality itself. I'll go the extra mile to ensure he can't poison you again."

With a flick, he knocked one of his tower-sized fangs and placed it by Adam. Then, he carefully moved his arms to make him touch them.

"Don't disappoint me." His lips split into a grin. "Become a powerful dragon, little one."

After all, the balance would tilt the other way around now, and it caused his paws to tremble in eagerness. The fourth chaotic dragon! He would play a part in its birth.

Simultaneously, Adam's chaotic body instinctively gripped the two giant items.

The moment he did, his energy roared as it drew power from them to resist the poison's rampage. But more importantly, notifications boomed in his mind, one panel bursting in a shower of flames after another.

[Congratulations on gathering forty thousand units of infernal essence and a compatible evolution material. ]

[Warning: Evolutionary material is of the divine rank. Another divine material has been detected. Proceed?]

Since he was unconscious, his body answered for him by devouring them.

[Evolution forcefully started using a block of Yggdrasil's roots and a fang of Nídhögg.]

As the notifications echoed, the almost extinguished ember representing Adam's life burst into a blazing inferno. Rekindled, his body drew upon the Yggdrasil's infinite life force and launched a savage counterattack against the poison.

Simultaneously, it absorbed the fang's powers over decay, death, and the underworld, slowly building a perfect immunity against all venoms.

For each passing day, he sweated putrid liquid and coughed out dark blood until, a week later, his breathing stabilised, and his body slowly calmed down after conquering the invader.

But he remained unconscious. Instead, life and death entwined in a precarious yet perfectly balanced waltz as his body began its transformation.

Claws sprouted from his fingers before his feet turned into paws. His melted scales sprouted like leaves to cover them in an impregnable dark and ashen armor before they splintered into crevices glowing an infernal scarlet.

His tail thickened, sharp spikes running along its length as the devilish forks melded into one.

Nourished by the Yggdrasil, his weight increased from several hundred kilos to a few thousand at first, then a few hundred tons, before the ground caved in as he reached a thousand. His height increased in parallel, reaching a towering fifty meters.

Finally, his head shifted into that of a true demonic dragon with teeth the size of buildings letting his peaceful breath through. His right eye kept the same scarlet glow, yet his left remained hollow despite the transformation.

And after five years of hard work, steam escaped his body like an overheated machine that finally cooled down as it finished its evolution.

DING

The first thing he heard was the familiar crisp noise of a notification. Awoken by it, his eyelids fluttered open as a lazy yawn escaped his maw.

[Talent's daily use available. Use: Yes/No]

Without minding it, he stretched his limbs, a smile curling on his lips.

"I knew I'd defeat the poison. Good job, my body."

As he pressed yes, a sudden, deep, ancient voice made him jump on his feet and narrow his eyes.

"Do you think so? One more minute, and I would have thrown your corpse to Helheim. It's a charming place next door. I'm sure you would have loved it."

Adam's eyes widened as bones crunched under his feet, and he saw the giant dragon's head towering before him. What had happened? How was a dragon in the abyss and how was he bigger than Leviathan? His mind swirled with questions as he prepared to escape.

However, the dragon shook his head. "You're confused, so let's make it short and clear. I saved you from the abyss. Then, I took you to Niflheim and helped you evolve to defeat the poison." His lips curled into a grin. "Oh, and I'm Nídhögg. Nice to meet you, grandson."

"G-Grandson?" Adam tried to point a finger in his direction, his eyes widening as he saw a glinting claw instead. "What in the realms?!"

He looked down, shuddering in horror as his dragon body two clawed hands and hind paws registered. Where was his sinful handsomeness? Why did he turn into a beast out of nowhere? At least he had evolved... but why into something so ugly?

"What's wrong? You look much better." Nídhögg shrugged. "Learn runic magic to alter your appearance if you don't like it. Odin and a few bastards enjoy doing so to mingle with mortals. And yes, grandson, since I gave out one of my fangs."

Adam didn't know if he should laugh or cry at his grotesque appearance and the sudden grandson joke... Fortunately, he could learn to shapeshift, but... it just felt too weird to think that his base form was that of a dragon. As for the lineage? His body was already a mess, so he didn't care.

Still, he had to thank Nídhögg for his help before rejoicing properly after gathering information. He took a deep breath and sat down.

---

AN: He'll learn to shapeshift in a few chapters. Don't worry.