Demon

Time continued to tick by, but no one had shown themselves yet. We did not even hear a peep from the other side of the door. The only light we had was the light that shined through the cracks of the door. While dim, it was at least enough for us to now see around the room we were in now that our eyes were used to the darkness. I could feel Ray still trembling as he held my hand and hugged me close to his body. He seemed to want to protect me more than anything. And in a way, for the me who had never had someone treat me in such a way before, I couldn't help but feel warm inside.

Life was strange. Even in moments like this, I was feeling new emotions that I had never felt before. I sat there silently, listening to my brother's heartbeat. It was a little fast, but it soothed my mind. When I think about it, I guess this is the true meaning of family. Being there for one another and protecting each other. I couldn't help but smile a little as I nuzzled into my brother's chest.

"Boss, they are here. We got both a boy and a girl." I heard a rough voice break the silence. My brother also tightened his grip on me. He was holding on to me as if I was a precious jewel. Is it wrong for me to enjoy this feeling at such a time as this?

The door opened, letting light penetrate the darkness. I quickly closed my eyes to let them slowly adjust to the new light source. My brother, on the other hand, was staring straight at the two men. His grip on me was tighter than ever. While it hurt a little bit, I did not say anything because I knew just how worried he was at this time.

Two men stood before us, one with a bald head and a scar across his face with a sturdy build, while the other was more lanky and had a full set of short black hair. It seemed he was someone wealthy with the fancy clothes he was wearing. But I could not be one hundred percent sure. The fabric just looked more expensive. "Hmmm, not bad. The little girl will sell nice, and the boy is also on the pretty side. He should fit some of those nobles with special tastes. Grab the girl. We can probably sell her off before we move out of the capital."

The bald headed man stepped forward and went to reach for me, but Ray quickly swatted the man's hand away. "You dare touch my sister!?"

"Look, brat, don't make me damage the goods. You both will never get to see your mommy again, so just give up and live out your new life without any resistance." The bald headed man's voice held no sympathy. My guess is that he has done this many times already.

As he reached out to grab me from Ray's hands once more. Ray quickly kicked the man in the shin and stood up with me in his arms. For a twelve year old boy to muster up so much strength left me truly in awe, and at the same time, I felt helpless. But that was when it happened. Right before my eyes as I began to fall to the ground. I watched as the bald headed man backhanded Ray in the face causing him to let go of me and fly through the air.

Feeling the warm embrace leave me and watching the young boy who was trying to protect me with everything he had falling to the ground like a ragdoll caused my eyes to turn red. The world around me turned red as I suddenly felt like my body grew lighter. I did not fall to the ground but hovered in the air and stared coldly at the bald headed man who seemed to be struck with fear as he stared up at me. Yes up….. I do not know when but I seemed to have sprouted some extra appendages on my head, upper back, and lower back. I could see out of the corner of my eyes a set of black feathered wings flapping gently at my side. But I had no time to even inspect them as I felt strength I never had in this new body welling up from within me.

My only thought at this time was a simple one. KILL….. Kill the two men in front of me and escape this place with my brother. I gazed down at him and looked at his limp figure on the floor, blood trickling from his mouth. "You hurt him…." I said softly. "Unforgivable…."

My eyes were completely glazed over as I felt my body answer my commands, as I instantly moved from the air to appear right in front of the man's face. My little fist drew back and then thrust forward, and in an instant, the man was sent flying through the room and out the door after my fist connected with his face. A stream of blood splashed across my face as I turned and tilted my head at the other man. "You dare touch my precious family. The family that has finally given me the warmth I have searched for!? You dare!?"

"What the hell is this!? A monster!" The man yelled out and tried to turn to run, but before he could, my little hand had grabbed the back of his head as I continued to fly forward and smashed his face against the wall that was just outside the door of the room I was in. The stone wall crumbled under the impact. The man gave out a muffled moan, but he soon went silent as my little fist landed on the back of his neck, shattering everything inside. I could hear a cringing cracking sound as the bones under my fist were destroyed.

The man's body went limp and did not move. I turned and looked over at the bald headed man who was trying to crawl up from the floor and did the same to him. Silence filled the area. No sound was heard. I slowly landed on the ground and walked back into the room. The little boy, who was not even a teenager yet, still lay on the ground, knocked out cold from being hit. My eyes became moist as I knelt down next to him. I reached out with my hand that was stained with blood, wanting to caress his face, but it stopped short, not wishing to stain the pure hearted boy's skin with the blood from such villains.

As I gazed at the young boy, something in my peripheral vision caught my eye. It was a notification of sorts.

[Current Dominance changed: Neutral → Demon]

I am not sure if I should be happy or feel conflicted by this sudden change, but I can say that without it, I would never have been able to do what I just did. My power, my speed, all of it was even more than my strength in my second life.

I folded the black feathered wings from behind me to my front and touched them. Soft and smooth and tickled the skin. They did not seem demonic at all. I reached up and touched my head to feel two pointy objects protruding out. "Horns… and…." I reached down near the small bulge in the back of my skirt to feel a skinny tail. I turned my head to see the end to be a black spade like pointy shape. "So this is my demon side?" I asked myself softly.

While everything was a bit confusing, I wondered…. If my parents saw me now, would they still accept me? Would they finally believe me when I say I am not human? I summoned up my menu and looked at it to see if there were any other changes.

[Name]: Bella Rinehart

[Age]: 5

[Race]: Angel and Demon

[Current Dominance]: Demon

[Demon Shop Points]: 10

[Angel Shop Points]: 0

[Skills]

"It seems I gained 10 demon shop points…. Is it because I killed those two people? The shop button that had been grayed out is also active now as well, but it will need to wait. For now…." I looked at Ray and then back at my hands. I wiped the blood off onto my skirt before finally reaching down and picking him up into a princess carry. It was awkward with how short my arms were, but I was able to get a firm hold on him. With Ray secured, I flapped my wings and flew out of the room. I am glad. Glad that he did not have to see the Demoness of old. The one who can kill without a second thought. I want him to keep thinking of me as his precious jewel. But how long that will last, I do not know.

For me, this new family of mine in this third life were like angels sent from the gods above to look over me and give me what I so wished for, which I find ironic since I should also be an angel as well. This time I became a demon. I wonder what would need to happen for me to become an angel? But I guess before I worry about anything like that I should worry about getting Ray out of this place safe and sound.