An iron smell came from the bottle. The bottle was green and had a smooth surface. I always hated the smell and taste of blood, but for some reason, I couldn't help myself and gulp the bottle dry. I felt as if my inner desire took over. I couldn't stop myself.

It tasted normal but felt refreshing, almost like the feeling of water.

"Seems like you like it." Orion was looking at me with a grin.

I wiped the blood off with my sweater; I looked at the tattered and dirty sleeves. The sweater and pants looked like they had gone through hell, and honestly, they did.

"Before we continue, did you get me any new clothes?" I asked Orion.

"YEAH!!!" Orion smiled widely. "Why don't we pause briefly and get you dressed better?" He said and walked over to the cabin.

"Sure..." I said, worried.

I walked in, and Orion had some clothes out on the table. He had laid them out as outfits rather than single pieces.

"What do you think?" He asked excitedly.

I chuckled at his energy. "Well, I don't know. I usually wear baggy clothing."

"Well, you gotta stop that. You're chiselled. You gotta show off." He said.

Orion removed some of the pieces I wanted since they were more open. He laid out a similar shirt to what he had on. Skin tight and dark.

"Isn't this what you usually wear?" I questioned.

"Well, yeah, but you have a similar body type to me now. Now is the time to change. Show off your muscles to the world." He spread his hands above his head, and they came down to his sides.

"It's only you and me here. Who else can I show?" I looked at the clothes. They were tempting, but I didn't know if I would like the skin-tight feel or the material itself.

Orion grinned at me. "A celestial is watching you; you gotta look good for them."

I looked at the options he proudly laid out. The first was a skin-tight, long-sleeve, black shirt paired with loose white pants and a drawstring.

The second was a short-sleeved, skin-tight shirt with grey cargo pants with pockets down the legs.

Finally, the third was just black pants with a white string. No shirt at all.

"I'll take the first set for now and decide on the rest later," I said, grabbing the set of clothes I chose. They were light and soft but felt solid and rigid. "What are these made of?" I asked.

"The familias enhanced the clothes with mana to make them more durable and resistant," Orion said back as he put the clothes away. He handed me a sack that had clothes in it. "Here are the rest; it should be enough for you." He said.

He opened the door to his room and tossed the sack of clothes in.

"I'll be outside waiting, so change quick." Orion left the cabin.

I went into my room and began to change. I took my shirt off and looked down. My chest bulged out, and my abdominals were rock-hard. I felt as if I was in a new body. I changed into the new clothing and put my old ones onto my bed. I went for the door but stopped. I returned, took out my ring for Yui, and put it into my pocket of these new pants.

"EZRA HURRY UP!!" Orion yelled.

I looked back at my clothes one last time and ran out.

Orion wasn't at the front area of the camp but at the cliffs. He was standing upside down doing push-ups on his thumb.

"I'm out," I said, surprising Orion.

Orion pushed off the ground, did a summersault, and landed on his two feet.

"Welcome to Demon Training 101," exclaimed Orion as he lifted his two hands and made a striking pose.

"Demon Training 101?" I questioned him with a smile. Orion grinned at me, looked at me up and down, then looked at the sky and gave it a thumbs up.

"I already know that I made that celestial happy. You look sexy, kid." Orion chuckled and started walking closer to the cliffside.

"Demon Training 101; now that you're a demon, I must teach you to control your powers," Orion explained. "You must be thinking," Orion changed his voice to mimic mine. "What do you mean control my powers? I can control my body very well." Orion arrived at the cliff and twirled around, resuming his voice. "You don't realize it yet, but you are powerful. Running around is one thing, but this will show you what I mean."

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He pointed at the Stick in the cliff he had inserted and said, "Climb."

I looked at him and the massive cliff. "Ah. I don't think climbing will help. I mean, I ju-"

Orion cut me off. "Trust me and climb."

"Fine," I said, annoyed and went to the cliff.

The spokes started slightly higher than me, so I had to jump. I crouched down and lept up. I soared about 20 meters into the air and fell back on my back with my head getting a good smack on the ground, and my vision went blurry. The pain was sudden but ended quickly.

I groaned as my vision returned. Orion was standing over me. "Told you so." He said and chuckled. "You also just killed yourself, or at least you would have if you were still a normal human," he said as he extended an arm out.

"Right, so this is what you meant with me being more strong now," I said. My body felt normal, but I was bursting with power.

"Demons have advanced supernaturally. Even with your true powers sealed, you could give a familia member a run for their money." Orion said. He jumped up high like I did but landed back on his feet. He crouched again and lept, only going up a foot or two.

"Let's work on getting your strength under control, and then we will move on," Orion said.

I started to climb and made sure not to overdo it. The routine was to climb and jump back down. Orion taught me how to land correctly.

Noon rolled around, and we stopped to eat. Surprisingly, demons still have to sleep, eat, and drink water as humans do.

Orion finished eating and left, but I ate as much as possible. Monster meat was just so good. Orion goes hunting every morning. Sometimes he catches stuff, and sometimes he doesn't.

He came back with some weapons and placed them down beside me.

"Alrighty, kid, it's time for some sparing." Orion looked at me with delight and almost had an evil energy around him.

"Sporing, mow?" I said with a mouth full of food.

"Yes, now," Orion exclaimed.

I finished up my food and got up. Orion already had a small dagger in his hands. It was maybe the size of the average forearm. It wasn't grand or flashy but had an excellent look to it.

"So what do you feel like?" Orion looked over at the pile of weapons he had brought from Mistwood Hollow. "Swords, spear, dagger, or lance?" He questioned.

I looked at the pile. He had one of all the weapons he had named, with two swords and daggers. They were all metal, but I guess we both couldn't die unless our hearts were ripped out.

"You know each demon can summon a weapon," Orion explained. "Each demon has a natural talent for that weapon, but they're unique and are used differently than normal. Like the frost demon from before using icicles as daggers."

"What's yours?" I asked.

"I use a sword and backhanded dagger." He said back while picking his teeth with the dagger. "You'll know what weapon to choose. It's like second nature to us."

I looked around. I was drawn to swords, but the lance bothered me as well. I ended up picking two blades and the lance.

"That's strange," Orion said, looking at me.

"Maybe I'm wrong," I said worryingly.

"No, if that's what you want, then it's probably right." Orion looked at me, crouched down, and into the stance he taught me. "Let's just use the swords, for now, both of them. Come at, kid, let's see what you got."

I dropped the lance and these two swords out. "Alright, Orion, here I come."

I lept at Orion and swung my sword. Orion dodged and parried all the attack, then punched me in the gut. When he collided, my body was lifted off the ground, and I stumbled backwards, losing my swords. I clenched my belly, and the pain slowly disappeared.

"PICK THEM UP!" Orion yelled, sending a sonic wave of air at me.

I got up with my swords and ran at him. I slashed with my left and tried to faint with my right, but Orion was faster; he cut my arm during the feint and then kicked me back.

I went again, and he beat me over and over and over again. I got punched and slashed maybe 30 times. On the last attack, Orion got me deep in my waist. My body fell, and I coughed up blood.

Orion looked down at me and said, "Come on, kid, I know you better than that." Petals formed and sealed the wound on my waist. "What's with the petals?" I asked Orion. "Is it some sort of power?" My coughing stopped, and the pain and blood disappeared.

"Every demon has regeneration as a power, but it looks different depending on your kind of demon," Orion said.

"So, what kind of demon am I?"

"I don't know; I've never seen petals as a power before." Orion got out of his stance. "Your powers are sealed but will be released slowly until the painful parts. It's called enlightenment when the first seal is released. That's when you unlock your powers and learn more about yourself, like what kind of demon you are. It's also when you can summon your weapon or weapons."

"When will that happen?" I got up and grabbed my swords.

"You don't know; maybe it will be in ten seconds or years. Your celestial will decide when you are ready; until then, we train." Orion got back into his stance, and so did I.

"Well, hopefully, it's soon," I said with a fake smile and worried eyes.

"Yeah, soon," Orion said back with a more genuine smile.

I dashed at Orion, and our sparing began again. I couldn't hit him once, and he stayed in the same spot, not moving a single inch.

Night came, and we went to sleep; mourning came, and we ran, climbed, and did some weight training with literal trees as weight. Then back to sparing. This was our routine for days until the contract came to an end.

I decided to stay since I didn't have anywhere else to go. I could take my chance with the familias but Orion had a big brother vibe, which grew on me. He offered me another contract, but I declined, saying, "I think you've earned my trust."

Many weeks passed by. Orion started taking them on hunting trips so I could learn ambush tactics and how to set up traps.

Soon enough, months had passed, officially marking nine months since the Eclipse brought me here.

I was hopping through the forest on top of the trees. I felt like a ninja, dashing 50 meters at a time. The breeze passed through my hair. I was carrying a boar that I had killed. As I dashed, I made it to camp.

Orion was gone to collect herbs for seasoning tonight's dinner. I began to hang the boar to skin it, but I stopped halfway. I felt something. A familiar feeling. I felt it when I first became a demon with Orion. A presence like me. Demons.

The air turned familiarly cold, and the ground began to frost up. A woman's voice spoke behind me. "Hello... Demon."