Spark squeezed the trigger. BANG!
The explosive sound was still loud. Despite the equipped silencer on the rifle. The projectile moved at incredible speed.
And the slug struck the Storm Stork King. Squarely in its head.
The Tier-3 monster didn't shriek. It didn't even twitch. It simply... stopped. It stopped mid-flight.
Its eyes went dark. Its wings crumpled. And its massive body plummeted from the sky like a stone. Crashing into the ground a short distance away with a heavy thud.
Silence, relative to the storm, fell. Without their King, the remaining Storm Storks lost their cohesion. Their aggression evaporating.
They scattered. Fleeing back into the swirling grey clouds. As quickly as they had appeared.
The guards lowered their weapons. Breathing heavily. Staring at the spot where the King had fallen. Then back at Spark, who was already reloading the Power Rifle. Before returning it to his void space. Looking entirely unruffled.
"Good shot, sir!" One of the guards managed to praise. Awe replaced his exhaustion.
Spark offered a small, noncommittal nod. "Saw an opening." He didn't elaborate.
His women returned to their positions. Seemingly relaxed again. Though their internal readiness hadn't dropped at all.
Slowly, the storm began to dissipate. The rain lessened. The wind calmed. And the clouds began to break apart. Revealing patches of blue sky.
Ship repairs had been ongoing throughout the ordeal. The crew had finished them shortly after the Storm Storks fled. They had worked with renewed urgency. Eager to leave the monster-infested grassland behind.
The repair crew and the guards re-boarded the sky ship. Casting wary glances at the dark lump on the ground that marked the Storm Stork King's demise.
The captain personally thanked Spark for his 'timely intervention'. Mentioning that a Tier-3 Storm Stork King could have caused serious, potentially irreparable damage to the ship.
Spark accepted the thanks with his usual amiable façade. Dismissing it as simple self-preservation. Which, from a certain point of view, was true.
Soon, the repaired sky ship was aloft again. Leaving the storm-wracked grassland far below. The journey to Gutlark Town resumed. The delay had been annoying. The unexpected fight had been a minor hassle. But nothing more.
Spark leaned back in his seat. Already focused on what awaited him. Gutlark Town. His mansion. The materials. The evolutions. And the summoning of the modified Princess Kissara.
...
The sky ship settled onto the landing platform. With a heavy thud.
Spark Nighthawk stepped out. His massive frame was dwarfing most passengers. Lilith had already moved out before him. Her movements precise and economical.
Ivy, Serenade, and Melody followed afterward. Their expressions were a mix of slight exhaustion from the journey. And anticipation of returning to routine. Gutlark Town. Their home base.
In just a few minutes afterward, they were back home. The Nighthawk Mansion was big, luxurious, and empty. The garden, orchard, and porch outside was clean and well maintained though.
Spark nodded in satisfaction. It was not in vain for him to pay expensively to the Gutlark Accommodation Service.
He took a deep breath. The air was heavy with the faint scent of garden's flower and fresh fruit.
He unlocked the front door. Opened it. And entered. The air inside was also fresh and dust-free. His house maintenance runes worked splendidly. As always.
"Resume standard operations," Spark ordered, his voice deep and resonant. "Ivy, focus on the research we discussed on the way. Lilith, take Serenade and Melody around. Introduce the place to them. And then, give your task to audit the new investments to Serenade. And arrangement of my schedule to Melody."
He paused and continued afterward to Lilith. "Your task should be focused on handling business deals and external communication. Understand?"
His orders were met with immediate compliance. He didn't need to ask about loyalty. His Grimoire had handled that. What he demanded now was efficiency.
Ivy headed towards the labs. Already formulating experiment plans. Lilith took Serenade and Melody to familiarize them with the mansion.
Spark paid no more attention to them. He had a specific destination. He bypassed the grand living areas. Ignoring the faint echoes of his childhood. His focus was singular. Power. Evolution.
He descended into the basement. The air grew cooler, heavier. As he moved through reinforced corridors. This was the core of his operation, hidden leagues beneath the surface. The protected basement.
He soon reached the deepest level. His Treasury Chamber. Not just a place for gold and gems. Though it held plenty of those. This was where he stored his most valuable assets. The reagents for his power systems. The specimens acquired through many different ways.
At the far end of the chamber was a vault. Set into a wall of seamless, enchanted stone. It wasn't just a normal vault. It was a sealed containment unit.
He stopped before the vault. Inputting a sequence of runes, the metal door hissed open. Revealing a chilled, preserved interior.
The air inside was frigid. Sterile. The interior was spacious. Lined with runic cooling panels and stasis fields.
Several specimens lay suspended within translucent containment fields. Each carcass radiated a faint, unsettling aura. Power, even residual, was volatile.
His eyes settled on one of the target specimens. It was the carcass of a creature that looked like a miniaturized cheetah. But its hide had the color of unnatural, pale blue. With the crackling lines of silver.
This was the remain of a Tier-4 Lightning Cheetah. It looked oddly delicate in stasis. Far smaller than normal cheetahs. But the sheer density of energy contained within its form could be felt. Even through the protective fields.
He deactivated the stasis rune below the Lightning Cheetah. The field shimmered and dissolved. The carcass dropped with a soft thud.
He approached it. His huge and powerful hands reached out.
This was the moment. The culmination of a necessary detour. And a fortunate acquisition. He needed to break through the Tier-2 limit. Through his Framepath.
The Glory Orb had pushed his potential to the brink. But the physical evolution required a catalyst. A creature of the next tier. Next two tier in his case. One which was compatible with his current fused state.
His Draconic Werelion were the fusion of the all-rounder Grim Lion, and the powerful Dragon Ant. It was very strong and durable. It needed speed. The Lightning Cheetah would be a perfect fit.
He focused his intent. His Framepath power surged. A potent torrent of raw energy and biological restructuring commands.
He laid his hands upon the pale carcass.
Absorb!
A pale-blue energy pulsed. Engulfing the Lightning Cheetah's lifeless form. The carcass began to shrink. Dissolving into a shimmering, sparkling energy that flowed into him. Seeping through the pores of his skin.
It wasn't gentle. It was a violation. A forceful merging of different genetic structures and raw power. His underlying human structure. The Grim Lion's fierce, leonine essence. The powerful and durable Dragon Ant. And now... the violent, electrocuting nature of the Lightning Cheetah.
Pain hit him like a physical blow. A deep, fundamental agony. One that vibrated through bone and soul.
It was the agony of conflicting identities warring for dominance within his very being. There was a burning, acidic internal turmoil within his body.
Spark screamed. A sound that was part lion's roar. Part insect chittering. And part cat's purr.
It was less a transformation and more of a refinement. An intensification. When it was done, Spark didn't change much. He was not taller, broader, or changing form.
He wasn't any different in appearance. But he knew a great change happened within him. He checked his condition mentally. And he smiled in satisfaction.
He had done it. Fortified Level Jackmaster. Tier-3 Transcendent Human.
His physical power and raw strength had increased drastically. A feeling of unbreakable resilience settling into his bones and muscles. And his speed... the ghost of the Lightning Cheetah's velocity was now integrated into his very being.
He was fast. Extremely fast. And it was 'controllable' fast. His perception and reflex grew to balance his speed. He felt like he could be a blur of controlled force.
He flexed his hands. The static sparks intensifying for a brief moment. Good. Satisfactory. One evolution complete. Now for the others.
He left the containment vault. Still within the Treasury Chamber, he moved to different vault. This was his primary containment of other necessary materials. Minerals.
The necessary items for his fairies' evolutions were already prepared. Meticulously sourced and stored here.
He retrieved the first set of materials. For Honey. His first fairy. The Arcane Fairy who had evolved into Seven Element Fairy.
The main material needed for her next evolution was a Prismatic Amber. A rare, crystalline substance said to capture the very essence of light and elemental energies.
The chunk he took out from the vault pulsed with muted colors.
He summoned Honey from his Soulcraft Crest Tattoo on his arm. She zipped out of the tattoo. A tiny, radiant girl. A graceful fairy. In teenage girl form. With energy wings in multi-colored light.
The tiny fairy flew around Spark's head. Radiating deep affection.
Spark smiled and lifted the Prismatic Amber. Presenting it to the fairy.
"Alright there, Honey. It's time for... Evolution."