The moment Kumo spoke, I felt a sense of foreboding wash over me.

"What happened?"

"Follow me, I'll take you to her!"

We didn't waste a second, and I followed behind as she led me to where Selthia was.

She led me to Selthia's room, and the moment I entered the room, I saw her laying on the bed writhing in pain.

I immediately rushed to her bedside and held her hand.

"Darling, you shouldn't have come," she said through her pain.

Her beautiful ocean-blue hair had turned pale and dull, and her once glistening skin had begun to turn into scales.

"What is happening to you?"

"It's nothing to worry about, don't worry about me."

"Isabella was the one who found her," Kumo quickly explained.

Hearing that, I then turned to Isabella for answers. She was standing at Selthia's bedside, biting her nails with a worried look on her face.

"I found her passed out on the floor, so I carried her here and sent Kumo to find you. I didn't want to leave her. I mean, I owe her; she helped save me back then. As for what's wrong with her, I don't know myself."

"You did good. I'll take over from here. The two of you can leave."

Though both looked worried about what was happening with Selthia, they still nodded their heads and left.

When we were alone, I returned my attention back to Selthia.

"I don't want you to see me like this. I'm hideous."

I gave her a warm smile and stroked her head tenderly.

"You're still beautiful no matter what you look like. But I'll need you to tell me what is happening with you so I can help."

She was on the verge of tears as she nodded her head softly and began to explain. She was more fragile than she looked and acted.

"It's my evolution. It started last night after I killed those vampires and ascended to level 25."

So that's it. She must've been afraid to tell me because of my outburst last night.

"I'm trying to suppress it," she quickly said. "It's not fair for me to evolve before you."

She was looking at things all wrong. I wiped away the tears welling up in the corner of her eyes and kissed her on the forehead.

"I'm proud of you, Selthia."

"Really?"

"You evolving is a good thing. Since I'm not able to evolve myself right now, I need powerful pack members to fight alongside me. Evolving will make you stronger, so you'll be better able to help me."

Her eyes softened, and she nodded her head.

"Yes, if it will help you, then I will evolve."

I hugged her tightly and felt her melt in my arms.

"I'll be here to help you along the way, so you don't have to worry."

Her lips folded and quivered. Seeing the face she was making while she was crying, I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Don't laugh at me," she lightly pounded her fist against my chest.

I climbed into bed beside her. At first, she seemed worried about me seeing her the way she was, covered in scales and growing shark-like teeth, but as we began to talk and laugh together, it didn't seem to bother her anymore.

Whenever she was in pain, I held her and tried to comfort her as much as possible. Her evolution was long and painful. It lasted for hours as her body changed inside out. She also experienced strong hunger pangs, so I asked the girls to go on a hunt to keep her sustained, but it seemed the more she ate, the hungrier she became.

[Evolution Complete! You have unlocked your Sea Goddess Bloodline!]

Seeing that notification was like a breath of fresh air. I looked over at Selthia, who was still covered in fish scales. Her mouth was hung open in shock.

"Sea Goddess," she mumbled to herself.

"Is something the matter?"

"No, I mean yes. How could I have this bloodline? The sea goddess was the first merfolk to ever exist. She was the one that passed the Sea-kin bloodline to everyone who resided under the sea. How could I share the same bloodline as her?"

Sea goddess, huh? I can't say I've heard of her. I hardly know anything about mermaids and sirens. But whatever it was, it sounded powerful. After the strain of her evolution, Selthia fell asleep, her appearance slowly returning back to normal.

Her skin was back to the same glossy sheen, and her hair returned to its ocean-blue color. This new bloodline of hers changes everything. I was certain that it would help a lot in conquering this city.

I wonder how far along the others were in their evolution. Sylvie became an awakened werewolf not long after she joined my pack. Whether she would undergo another evolution, I was uncertain. As for Isabella, I guess she was next since she was currently at level 23.

Kumo wasn't far behind her either. As for the others, I was fairly certain that by the time we wrapped things up in this city, they all would've evolved by then.

The only person I wasn't quite certain about was Khalissi. She underwent her first evolution long ago. I had a suspicion about her, but I wasn't quite certain I was right yet. I'll have to see how things go first.

KNOCK KNOCK!

Speaking of the devil, I could sense her presence outside the room.

"Come in," I instructed, and immediately the door cracked open and Khalissi stepped in.

As usual, she had a sly smile on her face as her eyes wandered around the room.

"I wanted to talk to you about that thing we were discussing before we got interrupted. To answer your last asked question, yes. I did find where the mana crystals are located. The witches must have something that is suppressing its power, making it harder to sense, but still, I managed to figure out where it was."

"That's good."

"Do you want me to tell you where?" She asked.

"Maybe later. I still need to figure some things out before I act. For now, I'll just have my shadow hounds keep watch on the place."

[A/N: Merry Christmas Everyone!]

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.