Elira was sleeping on the cold stones, her back resting against the cave wall. A small fire burned in front of her, keeping the cave warm. The crackling of the wood almost sounded like music to the ears.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching the cave entrance. Her body tensed up. She didn't have any weapons left—the only knife she had, she'd given to Damiond. Instead, she grabbed a small rock within reach. It was mostly round with rough edges, but one side was sharp enough to hurt.
As the sound of footsteps grew louder, her heartbeat quickened. She forgot to breathe for a second, her eyes fixed entirely on the entrance.
She was ready to stand and fight if the worst happened. But before she could move, a familiar voice called from the entrance.
"It's me. Calm down."
She exhaled sharply, her body relaxing as she leaned back against the wall again.
"You almost scared me there for a second, brat," she said, her tone angry, though a hint of comfort and relief slipped through.
"You… scared of me? The world really must be ending," Damiond replied, mocking her, a faint trace of mischief on his face.
"You smell so bad, I thought you were a beast," she fired back without missing a beat, teasing him again.
Damiond sighed in defeat, knowing he'd never win against her when it came to words.
Instead, he walked toward the darker side of the cave. His eyes landed on the womb. The monster's creation was still in progress, red aura pulsing from it like heat with every beat. After killing the first four soldiers earlier, he had returned, carrying their bodies. Using Elira's bird's DNA, he had created the womb and started the monster production.
At first, when she saw his red aura, she had freaked out. But once Damiond explained what happened and how he gained it, she eventually calmed down.
Honestly, Damiond didn't blame her. Most demonic aura users were so cruel, they barely seemed human. He had seen plenty of atrocities committed by noble families—but what demonic aura masters did? That was bad enough to make even nobles vomit.
What angered him most about his own family was how they tossed him aside without a second thought after completely destroying his life. He remembered another case—a strong minor family's heir was exposed as a demonic aura master. Sure, he was punished, stripped of his title, but he was probably still living comfortably somewhere in a warm, safe house.
It wasn't just his current family either. His previous family had been the same. The rules only ever seemed to apply when it came to him. His father always treated his older brother as superior. His previous family… Lucas… wasn't much different.
After that, he had gone back to deal with Aster's group. He didn't have the luxury of wasting time—it was only a matter of time before both of them were discovered and hunted down.
But there was still something that made him curious. He had returned to the cave entrance earlier, bringing back two more bodies—the masculine soldier and Aster.
As Elira saw the corpses, her heart sank, and she almost threw up the food she had eaten recently.
He hadn't brought them inside earlier because he didn't want her panicking from the smell. But now that she knew he was back, that problem was gone.
He had never used his demonic powers on other aura users before, so he wasn't sure what would happen. As he exhaled his aura and focused it on their corpses, something unexpected occurred.
The bodies didn't turn into wombs like normal.
Instead, small sparks of light floated out from both of them. Damiond guided the sparks toward the existing womb, watching as they merged into it and dissolved completely.
The change was easy to notice—but hard to understand. Something was different. But there was only one way to find out: wait and see what kind of monster would be born.
For now, all he could do was wait.
He walked back to the fire, grabbed a piece of meat hanging on the bone, and sat down beside the flames.
Just then, he realized Elira was staring at him.
"What?" he asked, meeting her gaze.
She sighed deeply, stood up, grabbed another piece of meat—one covered in snow near the corner of the cave—and hung it over the fire to cook. She sat down again, this time looking away, but the silence between them spoke louder than words.
"How was I supposed to know?" Damiond muttered defensively.
She didn't reply, but the disbelief and annoyance on her face said enough.
Damiond let it go and focused on eating. Once he finished, he closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep, knowing there wouldn't be much chance to rest after this.
Some time later, the sound of cracking flesh jolted him awake. He got up and walked toward the womb.
The fleshy surface split open, and thick smoke poured out, mixing with the cold air. Snow near the entrance melted instantly, hissing as it turned to steam.
A shadow stepped out of the womb.
It was the same bird… or at least, it used to be.
Now, its feathers were burned a deep, dark red—almost black—like they had been dipped in blood and fire. Every step it took left faint trails of heat rising from the ground. Its wings, much larger than before, stretched wide, the feathers sharp-edged like blades ready to tear flesh apart.
Curved bone spikes grew from its head, twisting backward like horns, glowing faintly with a red-orange light. But the worst part… were its eyes.
They burned bright crimson, scanning the cave with no fear—only hunger.
It didn't move like an animal, or a pet—it moved like a hunter. A monster built to kill.
Even fresh out of the womb, the pressure it gave off made the air heavy, hard to breathe. Any trained aura user would feel it—the overwhelming strength radiating from its body. It was already stronger than a Warrior Initial rank. This wasn't just a beast.
It was a nightmare dressed like a phoenix.
A small smile appeared on Damiond's face as realization sank in.
Finally… he could start his plan to escape this place.