Bloodlust

'Ah, shit.' Magnus could already see what his friend was about to do, but after a quick deliberation, he decided not to interfere.

The painful process of rebirth must have sent TJ's mind into a frenzy, and he needed to have his fill right that instant. Otherwise, it would be too difficult to suppress his hunger, therefore putting everyone else at risk.

It was just too bad that his first meal had to be the blood of a human.

TJ rose and leapt forward in a swift motion, seemingly having more Strength and Agility than he had had before he was transformed. However, the truth only applied for the latter, not the former.

Magnus 2.0 opened TJ's current status while Magnus watched as his friend arrived right in Matt's face in a flash.

TJ titled his head and opened his jaws, baring his long and sharp fangs. The next second, those fangs unhesitatingly penetrated Matt's jugular, before TJ yanked his own head, tearing off a big chunk of Matt's flesh and bones. There was now an exposed hole on Matt's throat, from which blood sprayed out, showering TJ's face. Soaked in red, he now had a delighted grin blooming on his lips.

Wide-eyed, Matt put a hand on the hole on his throat as his voice struggled to come out. It appeared his vocal cords were gone, too. Assaulted by a mix of shock and fear, his knees buckled. Magnus cancelled the cuffing on his wrists. And taking that as her cue, Summer released Matt's legs, causing the big guy to instantly plop down on the ground.

"Right. I hope that was enough blood for you today." Magnus suddenly appeared right behind TJ.

Startled, TJ raised his left hand and whipped around. His nails instantly extended into long claws that were now zooming toward Magnus' face.

Meanwhile, Magnus looked unfazed, and all he did was lift his hand and flick a finger.

*Splash!*

He threw a [Bubble] at TJ's face, halting the claw attack midair. After being 'woken up' with a bucket-worth of water, TJ blinked a few times. His claws slowly retracted. The fog of bloodlust cleared from his eyes as he looked at Magnus. "Mag–"

*Splash!*

"Oh, sorry. A bit of blood left on your cheeks. I had to clean it up," Magnus said nonchalantly.

TJ wiped his face with his sleeve. "You didn't have to–"

*Splash!*

"Oops. Sorry, I just had to make sure."

'The fuck do you mean 'to make sure'?!' TJ inwardly shouted. But he reined it in and took a deep breath.

Seeing that, Magnus was certain his friend was finally back to normal. At least mentally. For now. "So," he said, clapping his hands once, "First of all, welcome back to life, dude!"

Hearing that, there was slight confusion on TJ's face.

"Ah yes, you died. For like, ten seconds," Magnus clarified. "Good news is, you successfully crawled back from death. And that you're now as tall as me. Bad news is…" He waved his hands at TJ's figure.

As his mind finally took in what had just happened, TJ felt a slight sore on his forehead. He raised his hand and touched his horns. His hand then traveled down to his mouth, and his fingers brushed against his fangs. His gums also felt sore. He then looked down at his black-and-red arms.

Finally he winced and reached for his behind.

"Oh, there's more?" Magnus asked.

"Yeah, just…give me a sec." TJ grunted as he tugged his pants down slightly. And then, his right hand lifted the back of his shirt as his left hand pulled back the waistband of his jeans, creating a small gap between the garment and his lower back. From the gap, the tip of a black-and-red tail poked out before the whole thing slithered out of the pants.

It turned out that he had also grown a super long tail that was probably about one and a half meter in length. Maybe slightly more. However, not having the room to escape the tight confinement of TJ's jeans after it grew out of his tailbone, the tail had been forced to coil around his waist and thigh. Now it was freed.

"Ah, right. I forgot about that part," Magnus muttered.

TJ was about to say something before he noticed a couple of people approaching from behind Magnus. Out of reflex, he averted his eyes.

Magnus didn't need to look behind to know who they were—Owen and Victoria. The fact that TJ was unable to look at them didn't escape Magnus' observation, either.

Before his parents could get a word out, TJ quickly asked Magnus, "So, what am I?"

"Well…"

[Status Window

Name: Tyler John Haysmith

Race: Lesser Demon

Author: Magnus 2.0

Alias: Death

Age: 18

Title(s): None

Level 12

XP: 1460/2000

HP: 370

Mana: 350

Strength: 70

Agility: 80

Perception: 70

Stamina: 70

Skill(s): Rejuvenate, Ignite (Lv. 10), Flamethrower (Lv. 8), Swordsmanship (Lv. 6), Death Flame (Lv. 5), Decay (Lv. 5), Wind Bullet (Lv. 5), Pain Resistance (Lv. 16), Line of Fire (Lv. 3), Solar Flare (Lv. 3), Lesser Heal (Lv. 3).]

Good news was, being the main character of the birth of this new Reality had earned TJ 720 XP.

Bad news was, the former human had been heavily nerfed, especially in the HP and Mana department. That explained why his body discharged a huge amount of mana during his transformation. His mana 'container' had greatly shrunk, after all.

Magnus clicked his tongue upon seeing his friend's stats. 'This is why humans are superior.' His effort to boost TJ's stats over the past year had gone down the drain, just like that.

"A lesser demon. So...I'm no longer a human," TJ said in a low voice. He had not yet checked out his new status, so Magnus decided he would explain why his stats had plummeted later. Right now there was a more pressing matter to attend to.

"Mhm. And just like other monsters from The Abyss, you're now afflicted with bloodlust. Normally, if you were a 'true' monster, as in, you were born a monster, this bloodlust would be constant and barely controllable. But I guess since you have the mind of a human, you can keep it at bay," explained Magnus.

TJ then recalled his time in his 'inner world' or whatever it was called when he was in the form of an orb. Thanks to the new orb, in which he had stored all that made him human, he still retained his humanity. "I can still feel the bloodlust peeking in from the corner of my mind. I can sense a desire to draw more blood, since what I did just now was apparently not enough. But the desire is currently being dampened because I'm with you and dad and mom..." his voice trailed off as his eyes flitted to the two figures standing behind Magnus. However, he quickly looked away.

Magnus sighed. "I'll go take care of Matt," he said before walking pass by TJ.

TJ turned to follow him, almost as if he wanted to flee the scene.

"Nope," Magnus stopped him. "You stay."

TJ clicked his tongue, feeling betrayed. He watched as Magnus dragged Matt's not-yet-dead body away before he felt small fingers curl around his lower arm. He knew without looking that they were his own mother's fingers.

TJ's heart beat faster out of anxiety. He didn't dare turn around and show his face. Although Magnus had managed to clean up the blood off his face, there were still little and faint traces of it lingering on his jawline and ears. He knew it because he could feel it drying.

Not to mention, his red eyes and horns, and his tail, and everything. He didn't want to guess how his parents saw him now. He wasn't human anymore, after all.

"Tyler," his mother's soft voice called out. He then heard her sigh. "Sweetie..." she said, before suddenly her voice turned colder. "Turn around or I'll tell everyone about your most embarrassing moment. You know which one."

TJ reflexively gasped. He whipped around as if on instinct. "Mom, no, please don't," he begged.

Victoria almost rolled her eyes. 'Works every time,' she thought. She raised her hands and touched his cheeks, not caring about the traces of blood. She looked him in the eyes as she uttered in a firm tone, "Whatever it is you're afraid of, get it out of your mind. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't shocked when I found out you're no longer human. But that was nothing compared to the relief I felt when I saw you're alive. What you are now may be a demon, a monster as Magnus calls it. But who you are is still my son. That will never change."

Hearing his mother's words, spoken with such conviction, TJ felt his legs weakening. He hadn't realized he had been so tense. With a relieved smile on his face, he pulled his mother into a hug.

Victoria hugged him back and patted his back. 'Huh. He's gotten a little taller. This boy will surely seize every chance to stand next to Magnus now.'