Infinite Evolution: My Idle Evolution System

After a brief pause, Barla continued, "But the threat we worry about… does not originate from this planet…"

"!!!"

Memphis had no clue why she was suddenly being told all of this or what brought it about, but she knew for certain that what she'd hear next would definitely change —everything—

Realizing that she had Memphis's full attention, Barla said gravely, "The threat I refer to comes from places unknown. We have no idea how long they have been here, what they have been up to, or what they are planning. But what we do know is that they exist. And that they've taken over… our Government. Even many of your comrades in the Guild are no longer who you think they are…"

"!!!"

"Are you saying that…"

"Yes," said the Bladedevil, his voice scratchy. "Aliens from beyond our home planet have invaded. And their plans… are huge."

"We don't even know how strong they are," the Battlemonger added. "But we can say for certain that they are stronger than us and even all of humanity combined. If we face them head-on, we are certain to perish. This is why—even though we know they roam among us—we've done nothing about them."

Memphis's frown deepened with every word they spoke. Eventually, she could no longer take it and got right down to asking the question pressing on her the most:

"Why tell me all this? Why now?"

The World-class Hunters exchanged a look. Then the Gentlemanly Saint stepped forward and said, "If it was before, you would've never learned of this; after all, you weren't qualified to know. But with your recent altercation with Victor, we've been assured that you have the necessary strength, for flukes don't exist when you become as powerful as we are. But, of course, even that—if by itself—is not enough to warrant us telling you all this." Read exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire

"So then… !!!"

"It seems you figured it out," said the Battlemonger, quite impressed. "You are new here. And since your arrival wasn't grand enough to immediately catch the attention of those things, we could confidently rope you in. But it had to be now."

Memphis understood what was being implied. 'Some of those who were cheering for me out there… weren't human. Rather, they were something else entirely…'

"It seems you're finally starting to understand why we did this," Barla said, pointing at the shimmering isolation barrier covering them. "That's also why we set up this barrier to keep our conversation private. They're always watching you know…"

Memphis felt a chill.

A slight sense of worry also began to fill her heart. Those back at home probably had no idea about these Aliens. And even if nothing had happened to them yet, what if… what if they were no longer the same as before…?

Memphis's cold eyes locked onto the Battlemonger. "What happens when one of the Aliens takes the place of a human? What happens to the human?"

The World-class Hunters paused ever so slightly, then Barla said, "Sweetie, they die."

'...They die…'

Memphis figured as much, but hearing it told to her personally was just… terrifying.

"How do you know they exist…?" she asked, biting down on her lower lip. "What evidence do you have?"

Victor's feet tapped. "I'm the evidence," he said proudly. "Me and the big-headed gray freak we have locked up in the top-secret basement of this place."

Memphis gave the World-class Hunters a look, requesting an explanation.

The Bladedevil went this time, saying, "Victor Rapido, as you know, is a Japanese Hunter. But a while back, he and another Japanese S-Rank Hunter—Dante Blackthorn—came to us with matters concerning 'more shadows in the world than usual.'"

"At first, we passed it off as a big joke," the Bladedevil continued. "But on one particular day not long after, we just so happened to catch one of these Aliens whilst it was in the process of assuming a human form. We promptly locked away that creature in the 49th Basement Floor of our Research Facility. This was also around when we took Victor and Dante's matter more seriously; those extra shadows—all of them are Aliens. And there are millions of them, from what Victor has told us."

"This…" Memphis was finding it hard to swallow all of this information. Though, after a couple of seconds, she managed to get out, "Why… Why do you think I'll be useful in whatever it is you're planning? What can I do against such a threat?"

Barla warmly smiled. "Sweetie… Your only purpose… The only thing we want from you is your… body!!"

"!!!"

At the same time as all the World-class Hunters' and Victor's faces went dark, Memphis activated her hand symbol. A brilliant flash of golden light erupted. But by then, Barla's outstretched hand was already right at her throat. She swerved her head out of the way just in the nick of time, before following up with a sideways cartwheel.

Barla was right on her tail, but with their stats now the same, she was not able to catch up.

Memphis tried to break free from the Isolation Barrier erected around the whole backside of the Auditorium. But quickly, she realized that… there was no escape…

"Did you really believe we spent all this time talking to you for no reason?" Barla's sickeningly sweet voice echoed. "During our entire conversation, Gentlemanly Saint has been actively making use of his 'Saint' Class to fortify the barrier enough that even I would not be able to break out. Which brings up the second point: why do you think I've been taking the lead in most of the discussions? You think we wouldn't be able to figure out how your Ability works? Or where it comes from?"

"The Angels," said the Battlemonger, a bit annoyed. "They exist even outside this world and the Tower you live in. But it seems that their Abilities vary very little here."

Memphis's expression drastically changed. "So then you all are…"@@novelbin@@

"Yes," the Bladedevil said, his face fluctuating between his wrinkled face and something far more horrifying. "We are not humans. These bodies—they once belonged to World-class Hunters. But now, they are ours. Everything—from their powers to their families to their memories—all ours."

With her back pressed against the Isolation Barrier's wall, Memphis muttered, "So everything you said…"