Chapter 36: Awakening of Blood Demon

The last golden beam of sunlight rested on the western horizon. As darkness crept over the fort, torches flared to life around the arena, casting eerie shadows on the bloodstained battleground. The hill itself seemed to glow like a blooming ember, standing out amidst the rough, grim architecture of the bandit fortress.

A booming voice cracked through the heavy air, amplified by a cone-shaped brass device.

"Are you ready for the next battle?!"

The crowd roared in response.

"With two victories for the Grimknights and none for the Stallion's Champions, let's see if the underdogs can turn the tide!" The announcer's voice echoed, igniting the excitement further.

The Grimknights' next contender stepped forward—Mariposa Vask. Draped in a crimson dress that danced in the gusting wind, she carried a reaper's scythe, a wickedly curved weapon that gleamed under the torchlight. As she moved toward the battleground, Kaiser, watching from the sidelines, noticed something off about her demeanor. She was unusually tense.

From the Stallion's Champions, a striking figure emerged—Leanna Vermillion, the so-called Black Sheep of House Vermillion. She was the sibling of Carmella Vermillion, the warrior Kaiser had previously defeated at Vask's Resting.

Leanna's lips curled into a smirk as she locked eyes with Mariposa. "I heard you're the reason Carmella died. You'll pay for it, darling."

The announcer grinned at the brewing tension. "Are you excited to see a catfight?! Let the battle... BEGIN!"

The crowd erupted, some cheering wildly, others whistling lewdly at the two combatants. Mariposa tightened her grip on the scythe, her crimson dress flowing like liquid fire. Leanna raised her hand, and in a swirl of dark mist, a twisted scepter materialized in her grasp. The artifact pulsed with eerie energy. She whispered an incantation, and suddenly, two shadowy figures emerged beside her, resembling knights forged from pure darkness. Each wielded jagged black blades, their presence exuding an overwhelming sense of dread.

Mariposa narrowed her eyes. Does she have Quas blood?

Without hesitation, she advanced, but before she could close the distance, Leanna vanished into thin air, leaving only a lingering shadow. The summoned knights lunged at her, their shadowy blades striking with unrelenting aggression. Mariposa met their attacks with swift, precise blocks, but she quickly realized she was being pushed into a defensive stance. She couldn't afford to waste energy clashing with mere summons. With a sharp arc of her scythe, she decapitated both shadow knights in one fluid motion, their forms dissipating into black mist.

Anticipating Leanna's next move, Mariposa leapt towards the lingering shadow—but before she could strike, it darted away, reforming into Leanna at a different angle. New shadow knights materialized, attacking in unison. Mariposa managed to block one strike with her arm, but the second knight's punch slammed into her abdomen, sending her stumbling backward.

She dropped to one knee, gripping her scythe for support. A sudden rush of heat surged through her veins, her muscles trembling under the strange sensation. She clenched her teeth as a sharp pain pulsed through her body.

The next attack came swiftly. A shadow knight lunged, but Mariposa slashed upward, slicing it in half. The second knight thrust its sword—and SLEESH!—the blade grazed her shoulder, drawing a deep gash. Blood spurted from the wound, staining her dress. She staggered, and the shadows dissolved once more.

Leanna materialized a few feet away, striding toward her. "I haven't even broken a sweat. How did you expect to defeat me?" She laughed mockingly, pointing her scepter at Mariposa, dark energy crackling at its tip.

Then—

A sudden crimson spike shot out from Mariposa's shoulder, aiming straight for Leanna's heart. But Leanna had anticipated this. A shadowy hand emerged from behind her, catching the blood spike midair. She laughed again. "What a cute attempt."

Mariposa gritted her teeth, fury burning in her eyes. She swung her scythe in a wide arc, aiming for Leanna's legs—but a shadow knight stepped in at the last moment, stomping down on the weapon's handle. Before Mariposa could react, Leanna unleashed the charged dark energy. The blast struck Mariposa at point-blank range, hurling her across the battleground. She slammed into the edge of the arena, unconscious for several seconds.

The crowd erupted into cheers.

Kaiser made a move to rush forward, but Alzalel's voice echoed in his mind. She's alive. But something... something is changing in her.

The announcer hesitated. "Is the battle already over?"

Then—a gasp spread through the crowd.

The clouds above the fort parted, and the full moon cast its silver light upon the battlefield. An eerie transformation began.

Mariposa's body convulsed. Her ears grew sharp and pointed. Her nails extended into curved claws. Her eyes gleamed an unnatural crimson, her skin turning ghostly pale. Blood seeped from her wounds but didn't fall—it crawled along her skin like living tendrils, coiling around her scythe. The very air thickened with an ominous presence.

"The Blood of Joseph..." Leanna whispered, recognizing the infamous power. Her face twisted in unease.

Mariposa had entered her Demon Form.

Henry, watching from the sidelines, muttered, "She's Quas-blooded after all... and it's the Blood of Joseph. This could get ugly."

The arena fell into hushed terror as Mariposa moved, her form blurring with unnatural speed. The summoned shadow knights attacked, but she caught one blade barehanded, crushing it into black mist. With a swipe of her claws, she shredded through the other knight in an instant. Her scythe hovered beside her, moving as if tethered by invisible strings of blood.

Leanna gritted her teeth, raising her scepter. "You're nothing but a wild beast!" She summoned her entity—Dark Apparition—a swirling mass of shadows that enveloped her like a living armor.

Mariposa's lips curled into a snarl. With blinding speed, she lunged at Leanna, her claws slashing downward. Leanna barely managed to dodge, but the sheer force of the attack sent her skidding backward. She retaliated with a dark energy blast, but Mariposa weaved through it effortlessly, launching a barrage of blood-formed spikes.

Leanna dodged most, but one pierced her shoulder—clean through.

She screamed.

Mariposa stood over her, eyes glowing like a blood moon.

The arena fell silent.

Mariposa, now in her terrifying demon form, stood in the center of the arena, blood-soaked scythe hovering beside her. The air thickened with tension as Leanna clenched her wounded shoulder, her face contorted in both pain and frustration. The dark apparition she had summoned coiled around her like a living shadow, its smoky tendrils flickering ominously in the torchlight.

With a chilling grin, Mariposa lifted her clawed hand. The blood running down her arms responded instantly, morphing into sharp crimson tendrils that whipped forward, aiming to impale Leanna. The dark apparition reacted swiftly, forming a dense, inky shield that absorbed the deadly strike. However, the sheer force sent Leanna skidding backward, her boots scraping against the rough stone of the arena.

Leanna retaliated, chanting in an ancient tongue as her apparition expanded, swallowing the entire battlefield in darkness. The crowd gasped as their vision was swallowed by a void-like mist, reducing the arena to a shadowy battlefield where only flickers of red and black clashed violently. From the darkness, multiple shadowy figures emerged—identical copies of Leanna, each wielding a dark blade dripping with cursed energy.

Mariposa exhaled sharply, her eyes glowing with an even deeper crimson. She remained eerily still, her blood-slicked fingers twitching. Without warning, her scythe spun to life, propelled by unseen forces. It slashed through the air, carving through the shadow clones like a reaper harvesting souls. But the real Leanna remained elusive, her presence shifting unpredictably within the abyss.

Suddenly, a dark blade pierced Mariposa's back. A guttural snarl escaped her lips, but rather than retreating, she twisted her body unnaturally, her arm bending at an impossible angle to grab the attacking clone by the face. With a vicious squeeze, the clone burst into black mist. Another strike came from the side—Leanna herself, using the opening to drive her dark sword straight toward Mariposa's heart.

A fraction of a second before impact, Mariposa vanished. A streak of crimson flashed behind Leanna, and before she could react, claws tore through her back. Leanna let out a cry of agony as she staggered forward, clutching her torn flesh. Blood pooled at her feet, her breath ragged.

The apparition, sensing its master's distress, expanded once more, forming a monstrous, fanged maw. It lunged at Mariposa, aiming to consume her entirely. But Mariposa, now reveling in her bloodlust, merely raised her hand. The floating scythe spun furiously before she clenched her fist.

Blood erupted from Leanna's own wounds, twisting into razor-sharp spikes that impaled the dark apparition, forcing it to convulse violently. A high-pitched shriek echoed across the arena as the entity disintegrated into nothingness. Leanna fell to her knees, trembling, she was completely drained.

Mariposa loomed over her, bloodied and victorious. She pressed the edge of her scythe against Leanna's throat, her voice dripping with malice.

"This is the price for underestimating a demon."

With a final, devastating slash, Leanna collapsed, defeated. The arena erupted into a mixture of cheers and horrified gasps as Mariposa stood tall, bathed in the glow of the bloodstained moonlight.