Infinite Evolution: My Idle Evolution System

"!!!" "!!!"

The emotions of everyone raged like the tumultuous waves of a stormy sea, with all their eyes glued to the item in Count Sayzer's hands.

"A Karma Token!?" A Demon King from HELL's 2nd Floor couldn't believe his eyes. "Something like this could very well be worth more than this entire Minor Karma Event will allot! Why would you offer precious items like this!?"

"Yeah, what's your aim here!?" shouted a Demon King from HELL's 4th Floor. "And where did you come across multiple Karma Tokens?? It's almost a fact that only the highest-ranking factions of each Tower own them! You may be a Vampire Count, but you'd need to be at least a Duke to… Wait…"

"Which of those decrepit bastards is supporting you, Sayzer!?" Azara asked.

"Why, whatever do you all mean?" Count Sayzer's friendly expression practically blinded everyone around him. "I just happened to have these stashed away and figured I'd use them during this Karma Event."

Several EX-Rank Powerhouses clicked their tongues. They knew damn well everything that came out of this sinuous snake's mouth was a big fat lie.

"Okay, let's just say we believe your bullshit," Azara began with an accusatory tone. "What reason could you possibly have to waste Karma Tokens on this Karma Event?? Even the human bastards over there wouldn't be so foolish, and they'd be the ones to gain the most, seeing as this is their Tower!"

The human bastards, as the ruthless Azara Aluria put it, stayed in the background, keeping to themselves. Although they had a few EX-Rank Powerhouses with them, not a single one could compare to even a toe of either Commander Falar or Azara.

Within the EX-Rank, there were weight classes—ones that could very well deem a weaker EX-Rank Powerhouse no more than a powerless ant in front of the truly strong Transcendents.

"Hmm… That's a good question," said Count Sayzer. "But unfortunately, I can't tell you all the specifics. What I can, however, say is that you should take a look around."

No one really understood what he was talking about, but figuring they had nothing to lose by listening to him, they searched around with their eyes. That was when they realized that the initial metallic spaceship wasn't the only one that had slipped into the Ascension Tower.

Hundreds, possibly even thousands.

The number was substantial—substantial enough to warrant a bit of caution even from the most powerful among the congregated Transcendents. On those huge ships, slowly gliding through the void of space like an invincible fleet, were entities whose power even neared their own.

"...When did they get here…?" One of the Ice Senator Prisoners' attention was drawn away from its certain death.

Above all else in the Universe, what every single living being feared the most was—

Fear of the Unknown.

And with so little actually known about the Dissonants, it was only natural that their existence scared many—terrified them even.

No one in the Ascension Tower knew how large their force was or how big a threat they posed. They weren't even aware of their origins; it was as if they had appeared out of nowhere.

However, what everyone did know… was that they were Invaders—enemies who intended to forcefully claw their way up to higher Tower Floors.

To that end, the Transcendents gathered outside the Moon could pretty much guess why they had suddenly reared such a massive fleet of spaceships.

"They're trying to break through to the 1st Floor…" someone muttered.

"Have they already given up on finding the Floor Guardian??"

"The Floor Guardian," Azara murmured, deep in thought. "Why does that bring back memories of something Foster Mother informed me of some odd years ago…? Did it have something to do with the Yggdrasil Dimension? An affair or something?? Gah, I can't remember!"

"Whatever the case may be, the facts have been presented before us: these Foreign Invaders—the Dissonants—are making big moves," said Count Sayzer, his eyes listlessly staring out at the space fleet that constantly grew with the arrival of more and more ships of varying sizes. "And I'm willing to bet that if Nightingale were to be the ones to contribute the most toward thwarting the Dissonants' Ascent, the Karma we'd receive would be enormous."

Everything that Count Sayzer said made sense, and many were planning to take his offer. After all, they'd not only come out of this debacle with large amounts of Karma from the Karma Tokens, but they'd also not have to involve themselves with the Dissonants.

The losses incurred from fighting them could very well send their profits into the negative. Having someone else deal with them only proved to benefit them.

But…

Narrowing her eyes into thin slits, Azara spoke up. "You're not telling us everything, are you? Even for you, this level of opposition could very well prove fatal. That must mean you plan on requesting backup from whoever's backing you. And even then, you might not even break even in terms of Karma after paying us to bugger right the f*ck off."

'This little girl is as perceptive as always; she's rash, but smart.'

In spite of Count Sayzer's inner thoughts, he revealed an even friendlier smile. "I truly don't know what you're talking about, little Azara," he said, wearing an expression even faker than the appearance of a street-side whore. "I think you're simply overthinking things. The residual Karma that comes from contributing the most in this Karma Event could very well skyrocket to unbelievable heights—"

"Liar."

Silence…

'Should I tell her of our true motives being related to that 'boy,' or should I be optimistic in hoping that she'll let up? Hmm… I hear Queen Amaris has her own intentions for the boy, so maybe I shouldn't disclose everything…'

After a brief period of deliberation, Count Sayzer said, "There may be another thing that we're after, but it won't be of any value to you all. That's why I propose we just go our separate ways right now—"

"How would you know if it's of any value to me?" Azara wrinkled her nose. "I think I'll stick around and see for myself how valuable this thing you so badly desire is to me, humph!"

"This…"

Count Sayzer didn't know what to do in this situation. Deterring the crazy-powerful Succubus away by force certainly wasn't an option, but what other choice did he have?