Blood Pool

Everyone warped to the place known as Demonic Abode. One of the many branches of Demonic Cult.

The branches are typically founded and ruled by Silver Noble class demons.

The demonic hierarchy is vast but for better understanding, it was simplified so everyone knew their place and didn't try to jump over their heads.

Mortals - Bottom Demons

Apprentice Mages - Lesser Demons

Lesser Mages - High Demons 

Greater Mages - Grand Demons

Archmages - Bronze Nobles

Mana Lords - Silver Nobles

Mana Kings - Golden Nobles

Those statuses are considered irrefutable and adamant. No matter where you go in the demonic society, as long as you aren't the enemy of those people you will get treatment according to your status.

Andrew and the kids looked around the cave which was dimly lit by the torches on the walls. No one dared to take a step farther as they were afraid they would be gobbled alive.

Noah clapped his hands to garner everyone's attention.

"Everyone! Welcome to Demonic Abode, a branch of the glorious Demonic Cult!" Noah shouted excitedly as he spread his hands to appear heroic and majestic.

But there was absolutely no response from the scared cadets.

Noah didn't mind it since he couldn't give more fucks about it. This monologue was more to him, to welcome himself to such a fate-changing place.

"Everyone here will undergo a Demonic Blood Ceremony, you will all undergo a throughout blood cleansing and will be granted a demonic bloodline! Although only a bloodline of Lesser Demon and no more. Of course, if you gain more merits you will gain a greater bloodline!" Noah exuded boundless pride, since he was a descendant of Silver Noble Demon he has a chance 50% chance to awaken the bloodline which will help him achieve Mana Lord Evolutionary Realm way faster than anyone.

Combined with his monstrous desire for battle and improvement he was sure that he can even surpass his grandfather!

It took a while for the kids to process everything, and confusion was evident among the group, not all of them were knowledgeable about bloodlines, so only a few understood the true implications of such a statement.

They will cease to be humans! 

Andrew didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Happy because humans are physically weaker than demons and wield the corrosive type of mana, placing them on a higher pedestal, sad because he possessed the bloodline of Intermediate Greater Mage at the very least.

But he speculated that his biological father should be equally as strong as his mother or even more powerful to enter into Clara's eyes since she was a literal princess of the Westwood Noble Family. She had oceans worth of suitors throughout her life, but it seemed she totally chose to devote herself to Andrew's unknown biological father who went for the milk.

Slowly, one by one, the kids' minds clicked. They finally understood what it meant to undergo blood cleansing!

A total abdication of the human self! Some of the kids were excited while others were downcast, but in the end, it didn't matter, right now, they weren't someone who could decide their fates.

Noah and Lariel patiently waited until everything sank into their minds. They wanted the kids to accept the new reality since forceful blood cleansing has a high chance of failure, they just didn't want to lose even an iota of materials no matter how minuscule they were.

A half an hour later, Noah clapped his hands once again to attract everyone's attention, he didn't care about kids' opinions on this matter at all.

"Lariel, lead the way" said Noah as Lariel complied.

There were countless tunnels all over the walls of the cave, it rather looked like a point of conjunction of multiple tunnels rather than a simple cave with holes drilled in it. There were hundreds of them, each was 4 meters tall and wide.

Lariel seemingly picked up a random direction as he gestured for everyone else to follow him.

It was dark as nasty stench filled the entire tunnel. Some kids vomited from the sheer toxicity of this odor. It was unbearable as almost everyone experienced headaches and dryness in their throats.

Lariel and Noah didn't bother to explain the reason why this place smelled so disgusting. Moreover, they weren't affected by this odor at all.

It took them 10 minutes to cross the entire tunnel. Everyone had already thrown up a couple of times, including Andrew. 

Andrew didn't know what exactly was the cause of such unbearable stench. He had a couple of theories. The most plausible being demonic miasma. 

Demonic miasma are plants that thrive in environments filled with corrosive and negative energies, one of them being mana type that demons possess.

The unbearable stench was a method of spreading their seeds through the air to multiply even further. Those seeds aren't picky in terms of location where they can grow and sprout. 

The constant vomiting and desire to puke is a body's immune system trying to fight off such invasive plants. 

Of course, Noah was protected by Lariel as he didn't let even a seedling come close. 

He didn't wipe them out instantly because he wanted the kids to feel how it feels to be in a weak human body.

Indeed, demons had a natural resistance to such miasma and could consume it for food. Something that mortals would die of in a matter of weeks serves as breakfast, lunch and dinner in some poor demonic families.

Of course, it didn't mean that it was tasty if they could consume it. Even dogshit tasted better than that. Believe me, some courageous fellas out there tried it.

Once again another tunnel conjunction unfolded in their eyes. This cave was even more spacious than the previous one, having more tunnels that lead god knows where.

Suddenly, an unlucky kid in the group of 120 felt something on his shoulder. He turned around expecting to see another kid's hand but was horrified instead. 

A 2-meter tall burly humanoid figure creepily smiled at him. Its eyes and mouth glowed white as the rest of its body was pitch black. Its hands ended with razor-sharp claws. If that creature put a bit more pressure, the kid could say goodbye to his shoulder.

The kid's fighting instincts kicked in as he instantly chose to back away from that monster, the extreme amount of caution those kids have felt from the beginning made their senses reach new levels.

Moreover, they more or less expected something from a creepypasta to appear right in front of them.

The creature's smile just widened as it raised its head to look at Lariel.

"Welcome, Grand Demon Lariel, it's been a while since I have seen you here" said the tall creature as it showed a basic amount of respect, but he still had an unmistakable mocking smile.

Lariel didn't mind this, as he basically perceived everyone as enemies except Noah's grandfather and everyone closely connected to him.

Lariel just nodded as he resumed his way into the Blood Cleansing Chambers.

The creature kept looking at him until it disappeared.

Every kid was relieved that this monstrosity didn't stay for long, but Andrew suspected that it was nearby. It just cast an illusion making it impossible to spot.

They crossed multiple tunnels and navigated through many more conjunctions of tunnels. This place seemed to be structured like a hive.

Eventually, they arrived at their destination. A spacious cave 10 meters tall and 100 meters wide appeared in their view.

On the opposite side to the entrance and the group were giant double doors. They were plain in design, entirely black.

Lariel approached and lightly pushed the doors. The sheer physical strength from this push made double doors almost go off their frame.

Lariel looked at the kids as he said "Go in" with a threatening glint in his eyes.

The kids entered one by one and the thing they saw was terrifying as fuck!

A hall...

Kilometers wide and long, dozens of meters high. 

And several meters beyond the double doors was a massive pool, it extended as far as eye could see. The most striking aspect was the contents of the pool...

It was filled with blood to the brim! 

Seeing such shocking and eerie sight, Andrew wondered, how many Lesser Demons were sacrificed to produce this pool of blood. At such scale, it wasn't a pool, it was a literal lake!

Moreover, the blood seemed alive...

A bad feeling spread throughout the group.

Something didn't feel right.

Suddenly, 119 kids were lifted up in the air as they were tossed around in random directions.

Andrew was thrown into the deepest parts of the hall and truly he was the unluckiest one!

Lariel specifically did that to 'groom' a worthy rival for his Young Master, because he knew none of his peers will be able to handle him by themselves.

Andrew felt immense pressure all over his body, he did his best to stay afloat, feeling like this would be the end of him. 

But it was for naught, as if something was pulling him down to the depth of the bloody pool, he sank in like a titanic...