The Glorious Evolution - Chapter 2: Ash’Kral

[Mature Content]I was born a bastard to the Archduke of Beloria, scorned because of my odd-looking hair and sickly body, maltreated by my stepmother and sister.And my father? He never looked my way. I was the reminder of a mistake he could never accept.My entire life should've been trying to live through my days as a labeled whores daughter and the taint to the noble house but everything changed when my marriage to the Lycan Monarch was announced.Lycans are apex predators, superior beings, beastmen, and originators of those horror stories your parents told you about to make you behave. My father saw fit to throw me to the beasts as a means to reclaim the lost lands.I was the bargain for a better future for the last human kingdom, but I felt more cursed than blessed. Forced into training to please a beast and ensure I was fit to be his wife.I dreaded the day I'd wed the Monarch and be treated no less than human meat. I've heard stories about him, and they are far worse than any combined. They call him a mindless beast, merciless, the ultimate feared being in the entire realm, and the terror that bested the vampires in war and ended it under his rule.My future was bleak.But when the day arrived and I set my gaze on the beast I'm meant to marry... I realized Drevon Balthar was unlike the rumors; they didn't tell the whole story.

You’d think seeing the future would give me a head start on surviving the apocalypse. I had it all planned—until everything I knew shattered when my husband sacrificed himself to save me and our son. Now it’s just me, my three-year-old son Leo, and my cursed gift of foresight that only seems to kick in when it’s nearly too late.I’m doing my best to keep us safe, to find food, to make some kind of plan—“Mommy?”I glance down, trying to ignore the tug on my pant leg as I focus on our supplies. “Not now, Leo. Mommy’s thinking.”“Mommy!”I sigh and finally look down. My three-year-old is standing there, clutching… I blink. “Leo, where did you get a knife?”He shrugs, grinning like it’s the most natural thing in the world.My heart stutters. “No, really. Where did you find that?”I try not to laugh. I mean, he’s three. Maybe he just—found it somewhere? But the next day, it’s a water bottle. Then, a tiny flashlight, somehow with batteries still inside.I don’t even know what else; he’s pulling things out one by one with the pleased grin of a kid who’s just figured out his favorite game.Well, we may just survive this mess after all.Now, if only the universe could have spared me from him. I don’t even know his name, but I know his type: tall, broad, and annoyingly handsome, with an air of calm control that’s out of place in this chaos. Ex-military, if I had to guess, with a voice that’s just as infuriating as his smirk. The man has a habit of showing up at the worst—or best—possible times, with a gun at the ready and secrets buried as deep as those bright green eyes.I mean, he’s probably useful, but I’m trying to keep my eyes on the prize here: survival.For Leo and me.Because, foresight or no foresight, nothing is guaranteed in this new world—except the fact that people like him are trouble.

Mysterious gates appeared all around the world a few decades ago. Beings emerged from the gates and brought disaster upon humanity. Humanity called them Demon Spirits. It wasn’t until the advent of Demon Suits and Demon Suiters that humans stood a fighting chance.For some perplexing reason, the world’s number one Demon Suiter, Li “God” Xiu abandons his identity to start over again as a newbie trial-taker. He enters the gates to participate in all sorts of trials, in a bid to seek out the reason that enticed his best friend into becoming a trial-taker.These trials weren't the run-of-the-mill dungeons, ranging from game sports (soccer, basketball, baseball, etc) to athletics. Just as fortune favors the brave, what would Li Xiu obtain on his quest?“Are you telling me he’s a greenhorn?” the other trial-takers frustratingly ask while watching Li Xiu's feats that prove why he's the number one Demon Suiter.

Three centuries ago, reality tore open and parasites from another dimension poured through. They didn't just kill humanity—they consumed it, wearing human faces while spreading like a plague through every major city.The strong became Originals, commanding lesser generations in a hierarchy of monsters that humanity calls Bloodsuckers.Now they own everything. Governments, corporations, entire cities bow to creatures that should be myths.That's when the Shadowguard was born. They were humanity's elite hunters equiped with the skills and tools to put an end to the bloodsuckers. But they became nothing more than political tools, protecting the wealthy while the poor got harvested by Bloodsuckers like cattle.Kaine Cross was one of the best hunters alive until he walked away from the corruption. He decided to become a solo hunter.Unfortunately, going freelance got him killed by the very monsters he'd spent twelve years learning to destroy.Death was supposed to be final. Instead, Kaine awakens in an ancient tomb with a system that makes him something the bloodsuckers have never faced—a predator that grows stronger with every kill, commands armies of the dead, and turns their own kind against them.Every kill feeds his strength. Every corpse becomes a loyal soldier. Every battle expands his growing army until even vampire lords will bow or join his ranks permanently.[LEGENDARY WEAPON ACQUIRED: SOUL END - THE DEATH REAPER][SKILL UNLOCKED: CORPSE DOMINATION - UNLIMITED ARMY CAPACITY][MORTAL ESSENCE SYSTEM: ABSORB POWER FROM EVERY KILL]Zombies. Liches. Reapers. Wights. Revenants. And even monster girls; beautiful, deadly creatures once enslaved by the vampires now serve at his side, bound by Kaine’s will or by lust, vengeance, and freedom.He's not a hero. Heroes save people. Kaine Cross collects enemies and turns them into allies, whether they want to be or not.The vampires ruled through fear for centuries. Now they're about to learn what happens when death itself holds a grudge.Join Kaine as he builds an unstoppable army of undead and monster girls, and leads them on a path of blood-soaked revenge.Build an army. Claim your revenge. Rule the dead.