Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest

After commending the soldiers for their courageous battles and thanking the mythical figures, he rushed with Luna to her house.

Inside, he placed Shihan on the table and stepped back to let Luna examine her.

However, two warm hands cupped his face and forced it to turn. Raising a brow, he gazed at Luna's sparkling eyes and soft smile.

"Wha... huh?"

Before he could question her, she jumped and locked her legs around his waist. Then, her tender lips met his.

His eyes trembled, and his heart drummed in his ears as he wrapped his arms around her slender back and enjoyed the peaceful feeling.

Meanwhile, Luna's face burned for a second before she forgot about her apprehensions. She was only delivering the reward she had promised him, not enjoying the moment... even though her heart almost melted in delight and relief, contrary to her thoughts.

After a few seconds of bliss, Luna pulled back. Panting, she smiled cutely and jumped back down to the ground.

Adam returned her smile before his pupils constricted. He scratched his head, his legs losing strength and a bright blush creeping onto his face.

"What's wrong? I didn't know you were shy. But your expression is ador..."

Her voice died in her throat as he pointed a shaky finger behind her.

An icy shiver ran down her spine as a terrible idea flashed in her mind. Like a rusted robot, she turned her neck slowly to gasp in horror.

"N-Noooo!"

With her face burning crimson and tears flying, she rushed to her room, locked the door, and leaned against it. Covering her face in shame, she yelled from there.

"It's not what you think! That boor... H-He..."

As she failed to find the right words, Adam walked to the table and gripped Shihan's hand. She had woken up and had been watching them with an interested smile for Tiamat knew how long.

"It's good to see you awake." He chuckled, adding to himself. 'But you could have waited a few more seconds.'

Shihan chuckled, offering him a grateful nod.

"I was scared when I woke up, but burning your love helped me out of my confusion." She pushed herself off the table and raised her thumb. "I assume you and Luna cared for me during my sleep. Thank you, but I must ensure my lord is safe."

Adam's lips twisted, and his eyes rolled.

'What do you mean, your lord? You have another one?'

"Hahaha!"

Luna exploded into laughter from her room.

"Who do you think you're talking to?"

Amusement gave way to seriousness as her eyes hardened. Fighting against her burning shame, she returned to the living room. Stunned by the changes in her looks, she pressed on Shihan's shoulders gently, forcing her to sit back on the table before she pointed at Adam and focused on explaining.

"He evolved from an imp to a demonic draconian, so don't look for Adam. He stands in front of you." A gentle smile crept on her lips as she continued. "You've been dead for three weeks, but he brought you back today."

Shihan's blue eyes widened, her limbs stiffening and her long ears drooping. "Three weeks?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Despite the choking news, relief, joy, and sadness mixed in her gaze as she stretched her hand towards Adam's face. After all, she had sacrificed herself to save everyone. Learning about her death didn't shock her. Instead, it relieved her earlier confusion.

"I'm glad you escaped the ant colony." She started, her voice cracking. "But I missed your rise. Look at you! You're such a dashing demon now."

He sighed.

"Most of us changed, but no one forgot or gave up on you. Welcome back, Shihan."

She rose to her feet and hugged them both.

"Thank you for caring about a lesser demoness. I-I..." Tears rolled down her cheeks as she smiled brightly, her arms tightening around their backs. "I'm back."

They remained locked in the embrace for a few minutes, sharing their warmth and whispering words of comfort until Shihan recovered.

Then, she smiled and explained something weighing on her mind.

"I feel a little different. It's hard to explain, but it's as though my connection to shadows grew stronger." She pointed to the soft ears replacing her horns, then to her lower back in confusion. "Why do I have weird ears and five tails now?"

Intrigued by the shadows dancing on her fluffy tails and fox-like ears, Adam scrutinised her to get the answer through her stat panel.

Name: Shihan

Race: Five-Tailed Shadow Fox

Affinity: Demonic shadows

Job: /

Class: Shadow Queen

Loyalty: MAX

LVL: 15

Exp: 9146/13.000

HP: 17.280/17.280

Vitality: 1.728

Strength: 2.592

Agility: 2.880

Demonic essence: 150.000

Point: 0

'What am I looking at?!'

His mind rumbled as the ridiculous stats hovered tauntingly before his wide eyes. More than ridiculous, she was stronger than him at level fifteen!

'Her race and class changed, too. Wait!' He exhaled and tucked his fingers around his chin to ponder. 'Is it because I threw Leraje's corpse in? That would explain her insane essence. She probably evolved during the process, too. After all, Tiamat's quest stated that her bloodline would improve.'

Convinced of his theory, he shared it with them, causing Shihan to yelp in disbelief and Luna to pinch his ear.

"Where have you ever seen a lord give so much essence to his subject? You should have absorbed half!"

Yet, she smiled. It was just who he was, and he would never change.

Meanwhile, Shihan chuckled.

"I'm glad to see you're so close to him, Luna. You were so gloomy and unapproachable before."

"W-What?" Luna stuttered, releasing Adam's ear. "Y-you remember wrong." She turned to Adam. "Anyway, don't you have other things to do? Shoo. I'll explain everything to her."

Shihan glanced between Adam and Luna, her heart swelling with gratitude."I don't know what I did to deserve this." She whispered to herself, her fingers brushing over her tails. "But I'll prove it wasn't wasted."

With a nod, he patted Shihan's shoulder and bade them goodbye. Luna was right; he had to deliver the reward to Tiamat and check his notifications. But first...

He opened the door, causing his generals to almost fall inside as they lost their support.

Then, with a gentle push, he secured their balance and closed the door.

"Did she wake up, big bro?" Victoria asked first, her five siblings' eyes sparkling while the others' fists trembled in anticipation.

He nodded. "She did."

At his words, Bart exhaled so loudly that everyone jumped back in fright.

"That's a relief," the bulky oni said, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Thank you, my lord."

Adam smiled and winked at him.

"I'm sure she'd be delighted to see you all. Go in and catch up with her."

Eagerness fueling their steps, they rushed into the house as he chuckled on his way to his manor.