Preview: Then a black and shiny centipede covered in blood and bits of sticky stuff came crawling out from the dried up mangled carcass.

Nnngh.. F*ck.. Ugh.. What the hell.. My head hurts so much.. What in the world- Oh, the empire’s soldiers!! Yhaele woke up abruptly, startling the other hatchlings emerging from the surrounding eggs. Sounds of shell breaking and growls reached Yhaele’s ears as he started looking around.

What the f*ck? What are these ugly bastards besides me?? Why can I understand their words? Yhaele started doubting his 24 years of human life listening to mindless growls around him.

“Food!” “Food!” Food!” Screamed the ugly bastards constantly, battering my eardrums. I look around and, taking a closer look, those eggs are actually as big as 1 meter tall. This sure is crazy, what kind of species is this?

Rumble. My stomach protests in hunger and a delicious scent wafted in my olfactory senses. Searching for its source, I look down and see the cracked egg shells. They look so delicious. A weird thought popped up in my head. My hands start moving on their own to satiate the hunger that I am currently feeling. Piece by piece, crispy sounds emerge from my mouth and my surroundings. I lose myself in pleasure from having satiated my desire as if I haven't had meals for a week and continued munching on the eggshells.

Slowly, I feel less hungry and I regain my sanity. Raising my head, numerous pairs of red eyes stare at me from the darkness - filled with malice and hunger. I realized I was the only one left with a bit of eggshells while others finished theirs. I also realized that I could control myself and stay awake despite the tearing hunger inside me. And lastly, I realized that I may, perhaps, most likely is f*cked.

My legs started moving before the thought formed in my mind. I sigh with relief inwardly, thinking that it must be instinct and reaction built from constant wars kicking in. I looked ahead, looking for a place to hide and thankfully found a huge boulder, but somehow it looked strange with red and orange colors. I shook off these thoughts as I knew time was not on my side and immediately hid behind it. Sneaking a peek, I see those strange creatures fight for my eggshells and start killing each other, devouring each other in the process. And in this strangely unfamiliar environment, those who devoured others grew stronger and bigger. It's as if an accelerated growth button has been pressed and they start rampaging against others, consuming more.

I once again mentally heave a sigh of relief that they are stupid enough to ignore and forget me. Giving me a chance to look at my “new” self.

Tough steel-like claws, should be enough to tear through the thick hide of bears back in the forest of Gorges. Reptilian scales covering my body, providing me with great defense that can ward off blunt strikes from hammers. A strong and thick tail to cover my back and use as an offensive weapon to attack my enemies in surprise. Thick and big skull, just like the helmet I wore during the war. Hidden wrist blade on the back of wrist that I can extend and contract at will. Strong two legs, most likely can help me run faster, jump higher and make maneuvering better. I also have a strange mandible on my mouth, perhaps to clamp on my enemies and chew through their bones? While my.. Vocal structure seems to be capable of emitting strange high-pitched shrieks and noises to confuse my enemy, immobilizing them. My current height is around 1.5 meters and this is me being a newborn. Overall, I'd say my current state is just - AWESOME! But I feel strangely conflicted considering I traded my humanity for it.

I am highly aware of my current abilities as if the knowledge is ingrained in me through my genetics and I also realized that I am aware of what those ugly bastards are. They are my - brothers and sisters - albeit ugly. It feels weird seeing them kill each other soon after being born. But I know they also have no choice. The information in my genes is telling me that this is something every Majia- our species as a demon is called - to undergo at birth. We have to consume each other in order to produce strong predators who can grow quickly in order to adapt to this, well, “Hellish” place. I mean, it's “Hell” from what the knowledge is telling me so I suppose it can't be helped that this has to happen in order to survive. In order to grow stronger quickly, and to be able to hold my own against other predators, I have to kill my siblings - Those monsters.

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Looking at one of them - that guy is already almost 2 meters tall, It's crazy how fast they are growing. At this rate, I wouldn't be able to do anything and can only wait for death. Oh, huh, wait? Yeah, why don't I wait for them to duke it out and swoop in at the last moments? This way, there's less risk and I don't have to put in much effort.

Time quickly passed and screams slowly died out. A strong predator was left standing on the ground surrounded by flesh and blood of its siblings, howling in absolute joy at its supremacy. Ignoring its beat and battered body, it lowered its head to consume the closest meat in order to recover quickly when something suddenly rushed out behind the boulder nearby and came charging straight at it.

. . .

Oh, that guy is the only one left huh. Its body is covered in wounds and most likely at its weakest state. Now! Yhaele sprinted towards the target when suddenly, he stumbled halfway due to the newfound limb - the tail - changing his sense of center of gravity. Although he was aware of the changes of his new body, it did not mean he already managed to adapt to this new body of his. It's just like changing a different hardware would need to take some time for it to adapt, and he didn't realize that. Rolling quickly towards the last survivor due to the inertia, a sharp and tough claw came crashing his way, scratching a large area on his left shoulder.

The pain jolted Yhaele awake and he immediately placed his palms on the ground to cushion his fall and exert strength to jump backwards and stand up. Holding the area around his left shoulder, Yhaele muttered weakly. Looking up at the 2 meter tall monster in front of him. “I guess it'll still end as a showdown between us huh..”

Growl!! The 2 meter tall monster howled in anger and lowered its body, preparing to lunge and deliver a heavy strike to end things at once. Its scales open and retract as if to vent heat and his right foot stomps the ground, causing dust to rise, charging at Yhaele.

Yhaele took this chance to take a step at the side, dodging the charge with minimal effort when suddenly. Gush! Fluorescent green blood splashed as a thick scaly tail pierce through my chest with almost no effort. I regret being confident in my light dodge as the consequences now unfolded itself in front of me in full view.

The tail retracted itself back to where it came from and along with it my blood gushed out. Pain! Maddening pain filled my entire being as I collapsed on my knees and coughed blood on the ground. The hole in my chest was big enough to fit twice the size of an orange fruit and I don't see it recovering any time soon.

My hands grip the ground tightly as I continue coughing out blood. The predator was slowly coming towards me, one stop at a time. It reminds me of the scenes of my cat toying with its prey before eating it. Fear gripped my soul and I struggled pathetically, dragging my body away from the monster coming for me.

A short scream came out of nowhere from my back, and sounds of bones being crushed and munched reached my ears. I turned back and saw an absolutely illogical thing. That ridiculously strong monster brother of mine - is being chewed into pieces by a humongous lizard-like creature. Perhaps, it's more accurate to call it “Dragon-like” with its large pair of black reddish wings. Its head resembles that of lizards, albeit with horns. It reminds me of the legends I used to listen to in the church when I was still a kid, Dragons.

The kings of the sky, the ruler of the seas, the dominator of the lands, and the ancestor of magic and language. They were said to be on par with Gods and the closest beings to constellations. I thought they were all a myth, but looking back now, perhaps there must have been some truths behind those myths. Because this bastard eating my brother sure looks the part of it. The only difference it has with the Dragons in the myths and legends is that it is bipedal. It stands upright and has humanoid body structure - but I don't think you can still call it “humanoid” at that point.

It has razor-sharp teeth, tough looking horns that prick my eyes just from looking at it, body covered in crimson red scales, and a pair of large strong wings. Its stocky build alone is 3 meters tall and I can't even begin to think how to beat it. No, that's not it, I don't even dare to conjure a thought of “beating” such an apex predator. My instincts scream at me that it's impossible to fight such a being and only death is the outcome.

Blood splashed on my face, as the “Dragon-like” monster turned to me while tearing a large chunk of meat, making a gruesome sound in the process. It stares at me while chewing the meat and swallowing it. Gulp. Its eyes look oddly intelligent and bright, and his mouth opens. This is the end, I thought.

“Pathetic.” it spoke in a deep and hoarse voice. I-it spoke! I was greatly shaken by the fact that this monster is not only ridiculously strong, but also possibly highly intelligent! It turned its head away from me, and picked up the corpse of my brother, and with a leap, its wings unfurled and disappeared from my sight.