God, Help Us All [Monster Evolution/Progression/LitRPG]

"So, dog, where exactly are we going?"

Lak Hok growled, his grip tightening on my chains as he dragged me forward. "I'm not a damn dog."

"Really? Could've fooled me," I mused, my third eye shifting independently, rolling lazily toward the scarred fur and pointed ears atop his head. "You've got the ears, the tail, and you growl a lot. Seems like a dog to me."

Lak Hok's teeth bared.

"I. Am. A. Hyena."

I let out an exaggerated gasp. "Oh no. So different."

James groaned from beside me. "Arthur, please."

"No, no, mouse, I wanna know!" I smirked, tilting my head toward Lak Hok. "So, Hyena, is that like a subspecies of dog or what? You got different barking techniques or something?"

Lak Hok's ears flattened, his bushy tail bristling as his clawed fingers twitched like he was itching to strangle me.

"Do you have any idea who you pissed off back in the canyon?" he snapped. "Those weren't just random drakes, beast. They were the Twin Guardians of the Gods—the sacred wardens of these lands. The balance-keepers."

I hummed. "Balance-keepers? More like dead weight. They were slow."

Lak Hok's eye twitched.

"So what you're saying is... I can eat them?"

James let out a strangled sound. "Demi-God, please stop talking."

Lak Hok whirled on me, baring his sharp teeth. "Listen, you oversized lizard! Those drakes were blessed by the gods themselves! Their blood is sacred, their souls eternal!"

I blinked at him. "That doesn't answer my question."

Lak Hok's claws curled into fists.

"...Can I eat them or not?"

James exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face. "I swear, I am this close to switching sides."

Lak Hok hissed, yanking me forward by the platinum chains. "You're lucky we took you instead of leaving you for them. If it were up to me, I'd have let the Guardians devour you whole."

"So, dog—"

"Hyena."

"—right, right, hyena," I smirked. "You live in the human continent, yeah? Then I assume you've heard about the whole elves-waging-war-against-literally-everyone situation?"

Lak Hok's ears twitched, but he didn't answer right away.

James, however, perked up, his gaze sharpening.

"You do know something, don't you?" he asked.

Lak Hok's golden eyes darkened.

"Tch," he scoffed. "The humans and their damn problems. Always dragging everyone else into their mess."

James frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Lak Hok shot him a pointed look.

"Don't play dumb, human. You people have always looked down on my kind. Your kingdoms treated anthromorphs like pests—pushing us into the fringes of the world like we were nothing but dirt under your boots."

James opened his mouth to argue, but—for once—he hesitated.

Lak Hok snorted, his hyena ears flicking in irritation.

"Now the elves are rampaging across your lands, and suddenly? Oh, now you care about unity! Now we're all one big happy family fighting against the big bad elves!" He sneered. "Give me a break."

James' jaw clenched. "You think we had a choice?"

"Choice?" Lak Hok laughed, mocking and sharp. "Funny. My people didn't have a choice when your kind hunted us like game."

A tense silence fell between them.

I, of course, was having the time of my life.

"Well. That makes things a bit more fun."

James shot me a frustrated glare. "Fun? Arthur, people are dying—"

"People are always dying, mouse." I tilted my head, my horns glinting beneath the canyon light. "I just want to know what's worth all this effort."

James gritted his teeth, but didn't say anything.

Lak Hok huffed, yanking my chains again. "Enough talking. We're here."

And that's when I finally noticed it.

+

The first thing I noticed about the anthromorph village was how… tiny it was.

Red sand crunched beneath my bare feet as we were dragged through their humble little settlement, our wrists bound in platinum chains that shimmered beneath the dying sun. Adorable. They really thought this would hold me.

The village itself was nestled deep within the canyon, an array of sandstone huts and wooden stalls stacked together in clustered chaos. Thick ropes were strung between buildings, lined with hanging charms and tiny wind chimes that clinked softly in the desert breeze.

And everywhere, eyes watched us.

Little creatures peeked from behind woven curtains and cracked doors, their fur bristling with curiosity. I saw a trio of mouse-eared children, their tiny noses twitching as they gripped their mother's fur. A hawk-faced elder squinted at me from the rooftop of a hut, his talons flexing on the edge of the stone. A fox merchant—his apron stained with soot—gripped the hilt of a dagger as he watched us pass.

James, on the other hand, looked like he was internally screaming.

"This is bad," he muttered under his breath, his fingers twitching toward his gauntlet. "Arthur, please, for the love of all that is holy, do not commit genocide."

I snorted, my tail flicking lazily behind me. "Relax, mouse. I'm not some mindless beast."

"Yeah?" James shot me a sideways glance. "That definitely sounds like something a genocidal monster would say."

I only grinned, letting my third eye shift independently, rolling lazily in its socket as I watched the village breathe around me.

I could hear the whispers.

"Look at its horns!"

"That's no normal drake-kin. That's something else."

"Its eye—look at its forehead! What the hell is that?"

"Why is the human bound too?"

Lak Hok—the hyena-type anthromorph leading us—kept his grip tight on my restraints. He was built broad, covered in scarred fur and leather armor, but his steps were stiff with unease.

"Mind your manners," he growled. "And keep your head down in front of the Chief."

I tilted my head, my horns glinting beneath the firelight. "If you think I bow to anyone, then I have bad news for you, dog."

Lak Hok's ears flattened. "Hyena."

"Same thing."

James groaned quietly, rubbing his temples.

Finally, we were shoved into the largest hut in the village—a wide, circular structure lined with beast-hide curtains and towering stone totems carved into snarling wolves and battle-scarred boars. The air was thick with smoke and incense, curling in twisting spirals beneath the dim lanterns.

And there—seated in the center—was the Chief of the tribe.

He was tiny.

A rabbit-wolf hybrid, fur speckled gray with age, his golden eyes gleaming with eerie intelligence. His small, round ears twitched as he studied me, his paws folded over his lap.

He looked like a plush toy that had seen war.

I should have found him harmless. But… I didn't.

My third eye twitched.

His aura was hidden, but my instincts screamed that he was dangerous. Second Stage. Mid-tier. Strong for someone his size.

And the moment I stepped forward—

His entire body froze.

Then, to my absolute delight, his golden eyes widened in horror.

"You fools!" he snarled, rounding on Lak Hok with sudden, unrestrained fury. "**Release him immediately! Get those chains off—NOW!"

A tense silence.

Lak Hok blinked, clearly not expecting that reaction. "...Chief?"

"Do it!" The old rabbit practically screeched, his ears folding back against his skull. "By the gods, you don't understand who you've insulted!"

I grinned, my tail lazily curling around my leg.

Finally. Someone with a brain.

Lak Hok scowled. "But Chief, this thing—this monster—was the reason the guardian drakes awoke!"

"I do not care!" the Chief barked, slamming his tiny paw onto the wooden table. "Do you even know who stands before you?!"

The air shuddered.

The Chief's voice dropped into a low, fearful whisper.

"This… is the most recently ascended Demi-God of the Middle Realms."

Lak Hok visibly flinched.

"That's impossible—!"

"He is also the bearer of the Codex of Creation. The fifth-ranked among the Ten World Items."

James went stiff beside me.

And just like that—the entire room changed.

Fear crept into the air.

I felt their breaths hitch. Their pulses spike.

Slowly, I exhaled.

Then, I broke the chains myself.

CRACK.

The platinum shackles shattered like they were made of cheap glass, the metal fragments scattering at my feet.

Lak Hok stumbled backward, his tail bristling.

I stretched, rolling my shoulders. "You could have saved yourself the trouble, rabbit. But at least someone here has a working brain."

Lak Hok's ears flattened in rage. "You—!"

I sighed, bored. "Enough of this."

And then—I let them feel it.

My halo ignited—a black ring of pure destruction unfurling behind my back, pulsating with raw, abyssal energy. The air distorted, rippling as the temperature plummeted. The walls shook, the flames of the lanterns snuffed out in a single breath—

And then, they saw it.

The illusion of my true form.

A monstrous, draconic shadow towered behind me—molten eyes burning like dying stars, obsidian scales twisting into a form that should not exist. My horns stretched to the heavens, my fangs glistening with otherworldly light.

I let them drown in the feeling of absolute, inevitable annihilation.

And then, in a voice like thunder breaking the sky, I spoke.

"Submit."

Lak Hok's knees buckled. The guards collapsed, their eyes wide with primal terror.

Even James—proud, stubborn James—staggered back, gasping as he remembered.

The God-Beast.

The Devourer of the Badlands.

His friend's murderer.

I tilted my head, my horns casting a shadow over my smirk.

"What's wrong, human?"

James shuddered. "Demi-Gods are way too strong."

Then, his legs gave out.

One by one—they all kneeled.

I rolled my shoulders.

"Good."

I grinned, fangs glinting.

"Now—someone fetch me a proper meal."