Aurelia, now living as Kaelthar, remained silent at the edge of the arena, watching her siblings fight with savage brutality. Her large, clawed hands gripped her knees tightly, as if trying to restrain herself from sinking into the rising thrill that was beginning to take hold of her body. Her crimson eyes glowed—not from anger, but from the conflict raging within her.
Before her, the brutal spectacle continued without pause.
Her siblings struck each other mercilessly, tearing into their opponents’ bodies with fangs and claws. Every blow, every scream, was met with cheers from the spectators surrounding the arena—including the Demon King himself, who watched it all with a cruel smile.
Aurelia gritted her teeth.
She watched as one of her siblings—his body shattered—was thrown out of the arena, lifeless. The older demon who had killed him stood in the center with a satisfied grin, his face covered in blood.
But what disgusted Aurelia most was the reaction of the others watching.
There was no grief.
No sorrow.
Some of her siblings laughed.
Others merely shrugged as if death meant nothing.
Yet her own body refused to remain still.
She could feel something terrifying flowing through her blood—an unfamiliar yet intoxicating excitement.
Every time claws tore through flesh…
Every time the sound of breaking bones echoed…
Kaelthar’s body trembled with anticipation.
This body longed for that sensation.
It yearned to become part of the violence unfolding before her.
This is wrong, Aurelia whispered in her mind, trying to extinguish the fire burning inside her chest.
I will not become like them.
But when another sibling was killed—this time by a brutal strike that split his body in half—Aurelia could no longer restrain herself.
Her blood boiled.
Not only with anger…
but with a demonic excitement she could not understand.
Why… does this body… like it? she thought in horror.
A heavy voice echoed across the arena, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Kaelthar!”
The Demon King’s voice carried immense authority, making the air itself feel heavier.
Aurelia slowly raised her head, her eyes meeting the sharp gaze of the Demon King seated upon his black stone throne overlooking the arena.
He smiled faintly.
A smile full of challenge.
“Your time has come,” he said.
“Enter the arena.”
Aurelia’s heart began to pound.
She tried to control herself, but the impulse within her body could no longer be restrained.
She stood.
Her large, muscular form moved forward with heavy steps toward the arena.
Cheers and mockery from her siblings echoed around her.
“You won’t last a minute against Yareth!” one shouted.
“The coward Kaelthar will finally show his worth!” another mocked.
Aurelia ignored them.
Her gaze fixed on the massive figure standing in the center of the arena.
Yareth—one of her older brothers.
Yareth was enormous, his body packed with muscle and lined with sharp fangs. His glowing red eyes radiated confidence, and the cruel grin on his face made it clear that he enjoyed every moment of this fight.
“Kaelthar,” Yareth said mockingly.
“I hope you can at least entertain me a little.”
Aurelia did not respond.
She walked into the center of the arena, stopping several steps away from him.
Her body trembled.
Not from fear.
But from anger that had built up for far too long.
The Demon King raised his hand.
“Begin!” he roared, his voice thundering through the arena.
At that moment, something inside Aurelia exploded.
All the emotions she had been suppressing—anger, hatred, frustration, and the demonic exhilaration poisoning her body—reached their peak.
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A massive eruption of hatred burst from her body.
The entire arena shook.
Black sand scattered into the air.
A terrifying dark aura enveloped Aurelia.
All of her siblings—including Yareth—froze in shock.
The Demon King leaned forward on his throne.
His smile widened.
His eyes gleamed with fascination.
“Interesting,” he murmured softly.
Aurelia stepped forward, her gaze locked on Yareth.
This time, something about her movement had changed.
She no longer looked hesitant.
No longer restrained.
She moved like a predator that had finally found its prey.
“You wanted entertainment?” Aurelia said, her voice heavy with power.
“Very well, brother.”
“I’ll give you what you want.”
Yareth grinned, though a hint of caution flickered in his eyes.
He lunged forward, claws raised to strike.
But before he could reach her—
Aurelia moved faster.
In an instant she was in front of him.
Her claws slashed across his chest with enough force to send him flying backward.
Yareth crashed onto the ground, blood spilling from the wound across his chest.
Shock flashed across his face—
but only for a moment.
Then the savage grin returned.
“Good,” Yareth said, his voice filled with battle-lust.
“You’ve finally shown your fangs, Kaelthar!”
He rose again and rushed forward.
This time Aurelia did not retreat.
She met his attack head-on, relying on the burning power now surging through her body.
Their battle erupted with unprecedented intensity.
Every strike from Yareth was answered with even more savage attacks from Aurelia.
Their bodies became drenched in blood.
Yet neither stepped back.
For Aurelia, this fight was a war between two sides of herself.
Her human side despised this violence.
But her demonic body reveled in every brutal second.
It felt as though she were standing on the edge of a cliff, struggling not to fall completely into darkness.
Yet deep inside—
she knew this body had already made its choice.
Kaelthar, the future Demon King, had awakened.
Even if only for a moment.
Aurelia snapped out of her rage when her clawed hand pierced through Yareth’s body.
Her glowing red eyes softened slightly—
but the sight before her made her breath catch.
Yareth’s massive body trembled violently.
A gaping wound tore through his chest.
Thick black blood poured from the hole created by her hand.
Aurelia quickly pulled her arm back.
A cold sensation spread through her body.
She stared at her claws, now drenched in her brother’s blood.
Inside her heart, a violent conflict raged.
The former Holy Queen within her felt deep disgust.
But the demon instincts of this body urged her to continue.
“Yareth…” she whispered.
Yet before she could say more—
Yareth smiled.
Blood continued to pour from his mouth.
But his eyes still burned with fierce excitement.
Like flames that refused to be extinguished.
Staggering forward, he attacked again.
“Kaelthar…” he rasped.
“Don’t stop…”
“I’m not finished yet…”
Aurelia froze.
She knew he could not survive long.
The wound was far too severe.
Yet the demon instinct inside her reacted violently to his attack.
A powerful impulse surged through her body.
Her hand moved before she could think.
In a single brutal motion—
she tore Yareth apart.
His body exploded into fragments of flesh and blood.
For a moment—
the arena fell silent.
Then her siblings erupted into cheers and laughter.
They celebrated the brutality they had just witnessed.
But Aurelia heard nothing.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the remains of Yareth scattered across the sand.
Her clawed hands trembled, still dripping with blood.
Inside her, two sides of her soul clashed violently.
The former Holy Queen felt sick with guilt.
But the demon within her felt satisfied.
Even pleased.
What have I done…?
Before she could think further, the Demon King’s voice echoed again.
“Magnificent, Kaelthar.”
The Demon King rose from his throne, his face filled with dark pride.
“You have proven that my blood flows strongly within you.”
“That cruelty…”
“That is what makes you worthy to become my heir.”
Aurelia slowly lifted her head.
She stared at him with empty eyes.
His words felt like chains tightening around her.
Yet what frightened her most—
was that her body did not reject the praise.
Instead…
a small sense of pride crept into her heart.
This isn’t me.
This body…
This is Kaelthar.
She stood silently in the arena, blood and sand covering her body.
Her siblings continued cheering.
The Demon King sat back down, still smiling.
Aurelia felt her heart crack.
As the former Holy Queen, she believed killing her own brother was an unforgivable sin.
But as Kaelthar—
she could not deny the truth.
This was their world.
And she was part of it.
Aurelia stood motionless in the center of the arena.
The cheers of her siblings still echoed around her, but they sounded distant—like voices from another world.
The black sand beneath her feet was soaked in blood.
Some of it hers.
Some of it Yareth’s.
She slowly lowered her head.
Her hands were still trembling.
Thick black blood dripped from her claws.
For several moments she simply stood there, breathing heavily.
Her human mind was still filled with horror at what had just happened.
But then something felt strange.
She looked down at her own body.
A deep tear ran across her side.
Flesh had been ripped open by one of Yareth’s earlier attacks.
The glowing red lines on her demonic skin pulsed faintly around the wound.
Aurelia frowned.
“…A wound?”
She touched her side.
Her fingers found the torn flesh.
Warm blood.
Split skin.
A wound that should have been agonizing.
But—
there was no pain.
Aurelia fell silent.
In her previous life as the Holy Queen, she had seen countless wounded soldiers.
She knew how the human body reacted.
Sharp pain.
Weakness.
Labored breathing.
But this body…
felt nothing.
No burning.
No suffering.
Only warmth.
Aurelia pressed the wound slightly deeper.
And then—
something happened.
Her body trembled.
Not from pain.
But from something far stranger.
Heat spread from the wound through her entire body like flames licking through her blood.
Her chest pulsed.
Her breathing quickened.
A sensation that made her shiver.
Pleasure.
Aurelia froze.
Her eyes widened.
This was not pain.
This was—
ecstasy.
Energy surged through her muscles like electricity.
Her heart pounded harder.
Faster.
She felt an overwhelming urge.
An urge to move.
To attack.
To fight again.
Aurelia quickly pulled her hand away from the wound.
“What… is this?”
She stared at the blood on her palm.
Then at the wound again.
Slowly, a terrifying understanding formed in her mind.
This was not a mistake.
This was not strange.
This was how a demon body worked.
A wound was not a warning signal.
It was a trigger.
She closed her eyes and focused on the sensation inside her body.
Dark energy spun inside her chest stronger than before.
The more injured she became—
the stronger the urge to fight.
Aurelia slowly opened her eyes.
Now she understood.
This was why she had lost control while fighting Yareth.
It was not just anger.
Her body itself forced her to become more aggressive.
This was why Yareth kept fighting even while dying.
It was not enjoyment.
It was not madness.
It was—
the survival instinct of demons.
In a brutal world like this, a demon who stopped because of wounds would die.
But a demon who grew more ferocious when injured—
was far more likely to win.
Aurelia looked across the arena filled with the smell of blood and black sand.
Slowly, her breathing calmed.
But a cold realization formed within her.
“So this is how they survive…”
She clenched her fist slowly.
“Wounds make them stronger.”
The realization made her stomach twist with nausea.
Yet at the same time—
her body burned with excitement.
Aurelia looked at her blood-stained hand once more.
And for the first time since being reborn in this body—
she truly understood
what it meant
to be a demon.
